{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_18638/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_18638","id":"gutenberg_18638","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18638","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Utopias"],"text":"Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Graeme Mackreth and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIDEAL COMMONWEALTHS\n\n\nPLUTARCH'S LYCURGUS\n\nMORE'S UTOPIA\n\nBACON'S NEW ATLANTIS\n\nCAMPANELLA'S CITY OF THE SUN\n\nAND A FRAGMENT OF\n\nHALL'S MUNDUS ALTER ET IDEM\n\n\n_WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HENRY MORLEY_\n\nLL.D., PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LITERATURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON\n\nFIFTH EDITION\n\nLONDON\nGEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED\nBROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL\nGLASGOW, MANCHESTER, AND NEW YORK\n\n1890\n\nMORLEY'S UNIVERSAL LIBRARY.\n\n\n1. _Sheridan's Plays._\n\n2. _Plays from Moli\u00e8re._ By English Dramatists.\n\n3. _Marlowe's Faustus_ and _Goethe's Faust._\n\n4. _Chronicle of the Cid._\n\n5. _Rabelais' Gargantua_ and the _Heroic Deeds of Pantagruel._\n\n6. _Machiavelli's Prince._\n\n7. _Bacon's Essays._\n\n8. _Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year._\n\n9. _Locke on Civil Government_ and _Filmer's \"Patriarcha\"._\n\n10. _Butler's Analogy of Religion._\n\n11. _Dryden's Virgil._\n\n12. _Scott's Demonology and Witchcraft._\n\n13. _Herrick's Hesperides._\n\n14. _Coleridge's Table-Talk._\n\n15. _Boccaccio's Decameron._\n\n16. _Sterne's Tristram Shandy._\n\n17. _Chapman's Homer's Iliad._\n\n18. _Medi\u00e6val Tales._\n\n19. _Voltaire's Candide_, and _Johnson's Rasselas._\n\n20. _Jonson's Plays and Poems._\n\n21. _Hobbes's Leviathan._\n\n22. _Samuel Butler's Hudibras._\n\n23. _Ideal Commonwealths._\n\n24. _Cavendish's Life of Wolsey._\n\n25 & 26. _Don Quixote._\n\n27. _Burlesque Plays and Poems._\n\n28. _Dante's Divine Comedy._ LONGFELLOW'S Translation.\n\n29. _Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, Plays, and Poems._\n\n30. _Fables and Proverbs from the Sanskrit. (Hitopadesa.)_\n\n31. _Lamb's Essays of Elia._\n\n32. _The History of Thomas Ellwood._\n\n33. _Emerson's Essays, &c._\n\n34. _Southey's Life of Nelson._\n\n35. _De Quincey's Confession of an Opium-Eater, &c._\n\n36. _Stories of Ireland._ By Miss EDGEWORTH.\n\n37. _Frere's Aristophanes: Acharnians, Knights, Birds._\n\n38. _Burke's Speeches and Letters._\n\n39. _Thomas \u00e0 Kempis._\n\n40. _Popular Songs of Ireland._\n\n41. _Potter's \u00c6schylus._\n\n42. _Goethe's Faust: Part II._ ANSTER'S Translation.\n\n43. _Famous Pamphlets._\n\n44. _Francklin's Sophocles._\n\n45. _M.G. Lewis's Tales of Terror and Wonder._\n\n46. _Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation._\n\n47. _Drayton's Barons' Wars, Nymphidia, &c._\n\n48. _Cobbett's Advice to Young Men._\n\n49. _The Banquet of Dante._\n\n50. _Walker's Original._\n\n51. _Schiller's Poems and Ballads._\n\n52. _Peele's Plays and Poems._\n\n53. _Harrington's Oceana._\n\n54. _Euripides: Alcestis and other Plays._\n\n55. _Praed's Essays._\n\n56. _Traditional Tales._ ALLAN CUNNINGHAM.\n\n57. _Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity. Books I.-IV._\n\n58. _Euripides: The Bacchanals and other Plays._\n\n59. _Izaak Walton's Lives._\n\n60. _Aristotle's Politics._\n\n61. _Euripides: Hecuba and other Plays._\n\n62. _Rabelais--Sequel to Pantagruel._\n\n63. _A Miscellany._\n\n\"Marvels of clear type and general neatness.\"--_Daily Telegraph._\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nPlato in his \"Republic\" argues that it is the aim of Individual Man as\nof the State to be wise, brave and temperate. In a State, he says, there\nare three orders, the Guardians, the Auxiliaries, the Producers. Wisdom\nshould be the special virtue of the Guardians; Courage of the\nAuxiliaries; and Temperance of all. These three virtues belong\nrespectively to the Individual Man, Wisdom to his Rational part; Courage\nto his Spirited; and Temperance to his Appetitive: while in the State as\nin the Man it is Injustice that disturbs their harmony.\n\nBecause the character of Man appears in the State unchanged, but in a\nlarger form, Plato represented Socrates as studying the ideal man\nhimself through an Ideal Commonwealth.\n\nIn another of his dialogues, \"Critias,\" of which we have only the\nbeginning, Socrates wishes that he could see how such a commonwealth\nwould work, if it were set moving. Critias undertakes to tell him. For\nhe has received tradition of events that happened more than nine\nthousand years ago, when the Athenians themselves were such ideal\ncitizens. Critias has received this tradition, he says, from a\nninety-year-old grandfather, whose father, Dropides, was the friend of\nSolon. Solon, lawgiver and poet, had heard it from the priests of the\ngoddess Ne\u00efth or Athene at Sais, and had begun to shape it into a heroic\npoem.\n\nThis was the tradition:--Nine thousand years before the time of Solon,\nthe goddess Athene, who was worshipped also in Sais, had given to her\nAthenians a healthy climate, a fertile soil, and temperate people strong\nin wisdom and courage. Their Republic was like that which Socrates\nimagined, and it had to bear the shock of a great invasion by the people\nof the vast island Atlantis. This island, larger than all Libya and Asia\nput together, was once in the sea westward beyond the Atlantic\nwaves,--thus America was dreamed of long before it was discovered.\nAtlantis had ten kings, descended from ten sons of Poseidon (Neptune),\nwho was the god magnificently worshipped by its people. Vast power and\ndominion, that extended through all Libya as far as Egypt, and over a\npart of Europe, caused the Atlantid kings to grow ambitious and unjust.\nThen they entered the Mediterranean and fell upon Athens with enormous\nforce. But in the little band of citizens, temperate, brave, and wise,\nthere were forces of Reason able to resist and overcome brute strength.\nNow, however, gone are the Atlantids, gone are the old virtues of\nAthens. Earthquakes and deluges laid waste the world. The whole great\nisland of Atlantis, with its people and its wealth, sank to the bottom\nof the ocean. The ideal warriors of Athens, in one day and night, were\nswallowed by an earthquake, and were to be seen no more.\n\nPlato, a philosopher with the soul of a poet, died in the year 347\nbefore Christ. Plutarch was writing at the close of the first century\nafter Christ, and in his parallel Lives of Greeks and Romans, the most\nfamous of his many writings, he took occasion to paint an Ideal\nCommonwealth as the conception of Lycurgus, the half mythical or all\nmythical Solon of Sparta. To Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus, as well as to\nPlato, Thomas More and others have been indebted for some part of the\nshaping of their philosophic dreams.\n\nThe discovery of the New World at the end of the fifteenth century\nfollowed hard upon the diffusion of the new invention of printing, and\ncame at a time when the fall of Constantinople by scattering Greek\nscholars, who became teachers in Italy, France and elsewhere, spread the\nstudy of Greek, and caused Plato to live again. Little had been heard of\nhim through the Arabs, who cared little for his poetic method. But with\nthe revival of learning he had become a force in Europe, a strong aid to\nthe Reformers.\n\nSir Thomas More's Utopia was written in the years 1515-16, when its\nauthor's age was about thirty-seven. He was a young man of twenty when\nColumbus first touched the continent named after the Florentine Amerigo\nVespucci, who made his voyages to it in the years 1499-1503. More wrote\nhis Utopia when imaginations of men were stirred by the sudden\nenlargement of their conceptions of the world, and Amerigo Vespucci's\naccount of his voyages, first printed in 1507, was fresh in every\nscholar's mind. He imagined a traveller, Raphael Hythloday--whose name\nis from Greek words that mean \"Knowing in Trifles\"--who had sailed with\nVespucci on his three last voyages, but had not returned from the last\nvoyage until, after separation from his comrades, he had wandered into\nsome farther discovery of his own. Thus he had found, somewhere in those\nparts, the island of Utopia. Its name is from Greek words meaning\nNowhere. More had gone on an embassy to Brussels with Cuthbert Tunstal\nwhen he wrote his philosophical satire upon European, and more\nparticularly English, statecraft, in the form of an Ideal Commonwealth\ndescribed by Hythloday as he had found it in Utopia. It was printed at\nLouvain in the latter part of the year 1516, under the editorship of\nErasmus, and that enlightened young secretary to the municipality of\nAntwerp, Peter Giles, or \u00c6gidius, who is introduced into the story.\n\"Utopia\" was not printed in England in the reign of Henry VIII., and\ncould not be, for its satire was too direct to be misunderstood, even\nwhen it mocked English policy with ironical praise for doing exactly\nwhat it failed to do. More was a wit and a philosopher, but at the same\ntime so practical and earnest that Erasmus tells of a burgomaster at\nAntwerp who fastened upon the parable of Utopia with such goodwill that\nhe learnt it by heart. And in 1517 Erasmus advised a correspondent to\nsend for Utopia, if he had not yet read it, and if he wished to see the\ntrue source of all political evils.\n\nFrancis Bacon's \"New Atlantis,\" first written in Latin, was published in\n1629, three years after its author's death. Bacon placed his Ideal\nCommonwealth in those seas where a great Austral continent was even then\nsupposed to be, but had not been discovered. As the old Atlantis implied\na foreboding of the American continent, so the New Atlantis implied\nforeboding of the Australian. Bacon in his philosophy sought through\nexperimental science the dominion of men over things, \"for Nature is\nonly governed by obeying her.\" In his Ideal World of the New Atlantis,\nScience is made the civilizer who binds man to man, and is his leader to\nthe love of God.\n\nThomas Campanella was Bacon's contemporary, a man only seven years\nyounger; and an Italian who suffered for his ardour in the cause of\nscience. He was born in Calabria in 1568, and died in 1639. He entered\nthe Dominican order when a boy, but had a free and eager appetite for\nknowledge. He urged, like Bacon, that Nature should be studied through\nher own works, not through books; he attacked, like Bacon, the dead\nfaith in Aristotle, that instead of following his energetic spirit of\nresearch, lapsed into blind idolatry. Campanella strenuously urged that\nmen should reform all sciences by following Nature and the books of God.\nHe had been stirring in this way for ten years, when there arose in\nCalabria a conspiracy against the Spanish rule. Campanella, who was an\nItalian patriot was seized and sent to Naples. The Spanish inquisition\njoined in attack on him. He was accused of books he had not written and\nof opinions he did not hold; he was seven times put to the question and\nsuffered, with firmness of mind, the most cruel tortures. The Pope\ninterceded in vain for him with the King of Spain. He suffered\nimprisonment for twenty-seven years, during which time he wrote much,\nand one piece of his prison work was his ideal of \"The City of the Sun.\"\n\nReleased at last from his prison, Campanella went to Rome, where he was\ndefended by Pope Urban VIII. against continued violence of attack. But\nhe was compelled at last to leave Rome, and made his escape as a servant\nin the livery of the French ambassador. In Paris, Richelieu became\nCampanella's friend; the King of France gave him a pension of three\nthousand livres; the Sorbonne vouched for the orthodoxy of his writings.\nHe died in Paris, at the age of seventy-one, in the Convent of the\nDominicans.\n\nOf Campanella's \"Civitas Solis,\" which has not hitherto been translated\ninto English, the translation here given, with one or two omissions of\ndetail which can well be spared, has been made for me by my old pupil\nand friend, Mr. Thomas W. Halliday.\n\nIn the works (published in 1776) of the witty Dr. William King, who\nplayed much with the subject of cookery, is a fragment found among his\nremaining papers, and given by his editors as an original piece in the\nmanner of Rabelais. It seems never to have been observed that this is\nonly a translation of that part of Joseph Hall's \"Mundus Alter es Idem,\"\nwhich deals with the kitchen side of life. The fragment will be found at\nthe end of this volume, preceded by a short description of the other\nparts of Hall's World which is other than ours, and yet the same.\n\nH.M.\n\n_March 1885._\n\n\n\n\nPLUTARCH'S\n\nLIFE OF LYCURGUS.\n\n\n\n\nLIFE OF LYCURGUS.\n\n\nOf Lycurgus the lawgiver we have nothing to relate that is certain and\nuncontroverted. For there are different accounts of his birth, his\ntravels, his death, and especially of the laws and form of government\nwhich he established. But least of all are the times agreed upon in\nwhich this great man lived. For some say he flourished at the same time\nwith Iphitus, and joined with him in settling the cessation of arms\nduring the Olympic games. Among these is Aristotle the philosopher, who\nalleges for proof an Olympic quoit, on which was preserved the\ninscription of Lycurgus's name. But others who, with Eratosthenes and\nApollodorus, compute the time by the succession of the Spartan kings,\nplace him much earlier than the first Olympiad. Tim\u00e6us, however,\nsupposes that, as there were two Lycurguses in Sparta at different\ntimes, the actions of both are ascribed to one, on account of his\nparticular renown; and that the more ancient of them lived not long\nafter Homer: nay, some say he had seen him. Xenophon too confirms the\nopinion of his antiquity, when he makes him contemporary with the\nHeraclid\u00e6. It is true, the latest of the Laced\u00e6monian kings were of the\nlineage of the Heraclid\u00e6; but Xenophon there seems to speak of the first\nand more immediate descendants of Hercules. As the history of those\ntimes is thus involved, in relating the circumstances of Lycurgus's\nlife, we shall endeavour to select such as are least controverted, and\nfollow authors of the greatest credit.\n\nSimonides the poet, tells us, that Prytanis, not Eunomus, was father to\nLycurgus. But most writers give us the genealogy of Lycurgus and Eunomus\nin a different manner; for, according to them, Sous was the son of\nPatrocles, and grandson of Aristodemus, Eurytion the son of Sous,\nPrytanis of Eurytion, and Eunomus of Prytanis; to this Eunomus was born\nPolydectes, by a former wife, and by a second, named Dianassa, Lycurgus.\nEutychidas, however, says Lycurgus was the sixth from Patrocles, and the\neleventh from Hercules. The most distinguished of his ancestors was\nSous, under whom the Laced\u00e6monians made the Helotes their slaves, and\ngained an extensive tract of land from the Arcadians. Of this Sous it is\nrelated, that, being besieged by the Clitorians in a difficult post\nwhere there was no water, he agreed to give up all his conquests,\nprovided that himself and all his army should drink of the neighbouring\nspring. When these conditions were sworn to, he assembled his forces,\nand offered his kingdom to the man that would forbear drinking; not one\nof them, however, would deny himself, but they all drank. Then Sous went\ndown to the spring himself, and having only sprinkled his face in sight\nof the enemy, he marched off, and still held the country, because all\nhad not drank. Yet, though he was highly honoured for this, the family\nhad not their name from him, but from his son, were called Eurytionid\u00e6;\nand this, because Eurytion seems to be the first who relaxed the\nstrictness of kingly government, inclining to the interest of the\npeople, and ingratiating himself with them. Upon this relaxation their\nencroachments increased, and the succeeding kings, either becoming\nodious, treating them with greater rigour, or else giving way through\nweakness or in hopes of favour, for a long time anarchy and confusion\nprevailed in Sparta; by which one of its kings, the father of Lycurgus,\nlost his life. For while he was endeavouring to part some persons who\nwere concerned in a fray, he received a wound by a kitchen knife, of\nwhich he died, leaving the kingdom to his eldest son Polydectes.\n\nBut he too dying soon after, the general voice gave it for Lycurgus to\nascend the throne; and he actually did so, till it appeared that his\nbrother's widow was pregnant. As soon as he perceived this, he declared\nthat the kingdom belonged to her issue, provided it were male, and he\nkept the administration in his hands only as his guardian. This he did\nwith the title of Prodicos, which the Laced\u00e6monians give to the\nguardians of infant kings. Soon after, the queen made him a private\noverture, that she would destroy her child, upon condition that he would\nmarry her when king of Sparta. Though he detested her wickedness, he\nsaid nothing against the proposal, but pretending to approve it, charged\nher not to take any drugs to procure an abortion, lest she should\nendanger her own health or life; for he would take care that the child,\nas soon as born, should be destroyed. Thus he artfully drew on the woman\nto her full time, and, when he heard she was in labour, he sent persons\nto attend and watch her delivery, with orders, if it were a girl, to\ngive it to the women, but if a boy, to bring it to him, in whatever\nbusiness he might be engaged. It happened that he was at supper with the\nmagistrates when she was delivered of a boy, and his servants, who were\npresent, carried the child to him. When he received it, he is reported\nto have said to the company, \"Spartans, see here your new-born king.\" He\nthen laid him down upon the chair of state, and named him Charilaus,\nbecause of the joy and admiration of his magnanimity and justice\ntestified by all present. Thus the reign of Lycurgus lasted only eight\nmonths. But the citizens had a great veneration for him on other\naccounts, and there were more that paid him their attentions, and were\nready to execute his commands, out of regard to his virtues, than those\nthat obeyed him as a guardian to the king, and director of the\nadministration. There were not, however, wanting those that envied him,\nand opposed his advancement, as too high for so young a man;\nparticularly the relations and friends of the queen-mother, who seemed\nto have been treated with contempt. Her brother Leonidas, one day boldly\nattacked him with virulent language, and scrupled not to tell him that\nhe was well assured he would soon be king; thus preparing suspicions,\nand matter of accusation against Lycurgus, in case any accident should\nbefall the king. Insinuations of the same kind were likewise spread by\nthe queen-mother. Moved with this ill-treatment, and fearing some dark\ndesign, he determined to get clear of all suspicion, by travelling into\nother countries, till his nephew should be grown up, and have a son to\nsucceed him in the kingdom.\n\nHe set sail, therefore, and landed in Crete. There having observed the\nforms of government, and conversed with the most illustrious personages,\nhe was struck with admiration of some of their laws, and resolved at his\nreturn to make use of them in Sparta. Some others he rejected. Among the\nfriends he gained in Crete was Thales, with whom he had interest enough\nto persuade him to go and settle at Sparta. Thales was famed for his\nwisdom and political abilities: he was withal a lyric poet, who under\ncolour of exercising his art, performed as great things as the most\nexcellent lawgivers. For his odes were so many persuasives to obedience\nand unanimity, as by means of melody and numbers they had great grace\nand power, they softened insensibly the manners of the audience, drew\nthem off from the animosities which then prevailed, and united them in\nzeal for excellence and virtue. So that, in some measure, he prepared\nthe way for Lycurgus towards the instruction of the Spartans. From Crete\nLycurgus passed to Asia, desirous, as is said, to compare the Ionian\nexpense and luxury with the Cretan frugality and hard diet, so as to\njudge what effect each had on their several manners and governments;\njust as physicians compare bodies that are weak and sickly with the\nhealthy and robust. There also, probably, he met with Homer's poems,\nwhich were preserved by the posterity of Cleophylus. Observing that many\nmoral sentences and much political knowledge were intermixed with his\nstories, which had an irresistible charm, he collected them into one\nbody, and transcribed them with pleasure, in order to take them home\nwith him. For his glorious poetry was not yet fully known in Greece;\nonly some particular pieces were in a few hands, as they happened to be\ndispersed. Lycurgus was the first that made them generally known. The\nEgyptians likewise suppose that he visited them; and as of all their\ninstitutions he was most pleased with their distinguishing the military\nmen from the rest of the people, he took the same method at Sparta, and,\nby separating from these the mechanics and artificers, he rendered the\nconstitution more noble and more of a piece. This assertion of the\nEgyptians is confirmed by some of the Greek writers. But we know of no\none, except Aristocrates, son of Hipparchus, and a Spartan, who has\naffirmed that he went to Libya and Spain, and in his Indian excursions\nconversed with the Gymnosophists.\n\nThe Laced\u00e6monians found the want of Lycurgus when absent, and sent many\nembassies to entreat him to return. For they perceived that their kings\nhad barely the title and outward appendages of royalty, but in nothing\nelse differed from the multitude; whereas Lycurgus had abilities from\nnature to guide the measures of government, and powers of persuasion,\nthat drew the hearts of men to him. The kings, however, where consulted\nabout his return, and they hoped that in his presence they should\nexperience less insolence amongst the people. Returning then to a city\nthus disposed, he immediately applied himself to alter the whole frame\nof the constitution; sensible that a partial change, and the introducing\nof some new laws, would be of no sort of advantage; but, as in the case\nof a body diseased and full of bad humours, whose temperament is to be\ncorrected and new formed by medicines, it was necessary to begin a new\nregimen. With these sentiments he went to Delphi, and when he had\noffered and consulted the god, he returned with that celebrated oracle,\nin which the priestess called him \"Beloved of the gods, and rather a god\nthan a man.\" As to his request that he might enact good laws, she told\nhim, Apollo had heard his request, and promised that the constitution he\nshould establish would be the most excellent in the world. Thus\nencouraged, he applied to the nobility, and desired them to put their\nhands to the work; addressing himself privately at first to his friends,\nand afterwards by degrees, trying the disposition of others, and\npreparing them to concur in the business. When matters were ripe, he\nordered thirty of the principal citizens to appear armed in the\nmarket-place by break of day, to strike terror into such as might desire\nto oppose him. Hermippus has given us the names of twenty of the most\neminent of them; but he that had the greatest share in the whole\nenterprise, and gave Lycurgus the best assistance in the establishing of\nhis laws, was called Arithmiades. Upon the first alarm, king Charilaus,\napprehending it to be a design against his person, took refuge in the\nChalcioicos. But he was soon satisfied, and accepted of their oath. Nay,\nso far from being obstinate, he joined in the undertaking. Indeed, he\nwas so remarkable for the gentleness of his disposition, that Archelaus,\nhis partner in the throne, is reported to have said to some that were\npraising the young king, \"Yes, Charilaus is a good man to be sure, who\ncannot find in his heart to punish the bad.\" Among the many new\ninstitutions of Lycurgus, the first and most important was that of a\nsenate; which sharing, as Plato says, in the power of the kings, too\nimperious and unrestrained before, and having equal authority with them,\nwas the means of keeping them within the bounds of moderation, and\nhighly contributed to the preservation of the state. For before it had\nbeen veering and unsettled, sometimes inclining to arbitrary power, and\nsometimes towards a pure democracy; but this establishment of a senate,\nan intermediate body, like ballast, kept it in a just equilibrium, and\nput it in a safe posture: the twenty-eight senators adhering to the\nkings, whenever they saw the people too encroaching, and, on the other\nhand, supporting the people, when the kings attempted to make themselves\nabsolute. This, according to Aristotle, was the number of senators fixed\nupon, because two of the thirty associates of Lycurgus deserted the\nbusiness through fear. But Sph\u00e6rus tells us there were only twenty-eight\nat first entrusted with the design. Something, perhaps, there is in its\nbeing a perfect number, formed of seven multiplied by four, and withal\nthe first number, after six, that is equal to all its parts. But I\nrather think, just so many senators were created, that, together with\nthe two kings, the whole body might consist of thirty members.\n\nHe had this institution so much at heart, that he obtained from Delphi\nan oracle in its behalf, called _rhetra_, or the decree. This was\ncouched in very ancient and uncommon terms, which interpreted, ran thus:\n\"When you have built a temple to the Syllanian Jupiter, and the\nSyllanian Minerva, divided the people into tribes and classes, and\nestablished a senate of thirty persons, including the two kings, you\nshall occasionally summon the people to an assembly between Babyce and\nCnacion, and they shall have the determining voice.\" Babyce and Cnacion\nare now called Oenus. But Aristotle thinks, by Cnacion is meant the\nriver, and by Babyce the bridge. Between these they held their\nassemblies, having neither halls, nor any kind of building for that\npurpose. These things he thought of no advantage to their councils, but\nrather a disservice; as they distracted the attention, and turned it\nupon trifles, on observing the statues and pictures, the splendid roofs,\nand every other theatrical ornament. The people thus assembled had no\nright to propose any subject of debate, and were only authorized to\nratify or reject what might be proposed to them by the senate and the\nkings. But because, in process of time, the people, by additions or\nretrenchments, changed the terms, and perverted the sense of the\ndecrees, the kings Polydorus and Theopompus inserted in the _rhetra_\nthis clause: \"If the people attempt to corrupt any law, the senate and\nchiefs shall retire:\" that is, they shall dissolve the assembly, and\nannul the alterations. And they found means to persuade the Spartans\nthat this too was ordered by Apollo; as we learn from these verses of\nTyrt\u00e6us:\n\n     Ye sons of Sparta, who at Phoebus' shrine\n     Your humble vows prefer, attentive hear\n     The god's decision. O'er your beauteous lands\n     Two guardian kings, a senate, and the voice\n     Of the concurring people, lasting laws\n     Shall with joint power establish.\n\nThough the government was thus tempered by Lycurgus, yet soon after it\ndegenerated into an oligarchy, whose power was exercised with such\nwantonness and violence, that it wanted indeed a bridle, as Plato\nexpresses it. This curb they found in the authority of the Ephori, about\na hundred and thirty years after Lycurgus. Elatus was the first invested\nwith this dignity, in the reign of Theopompus; who, when his wife\nupbraided him, that he would leave the regal power to his children less\nthan he received it, replied, \"Nay but greater, because more lasting.\"\nAnd, in fact, the prerogative, so stripped of all extravagant\npretensions, no longer occasioned either envy or danger to its\npossessors. By these means they escaped the miseries which befell the\nMessenian and Argive kings, who would not in the least relax the\nseverity of their power in favour of the people. Indeed, from nothing\nmore does the wisdom and foresight of Lycurgus appear, than from the\ndisorderly governments, and the bad understanding that subsisted between\nthe kings and people of Messena and Argos, neighbouring states, and\nrelated in blood to Sparta. For, as at first they were in all respects\nequal to her, and possessed of a better country, and yet preserved no\nlasting happiness, but, through the insolence of the kings and\ndisobedience of the people, were harassed with perpetual troubles, they\nmade it very evident that it was really a felicity more than human, a\nblessing from heaven to the Spartans, to have a legislator who knew so\nwell how to frame and temper their government. But this was an event of\na later date.\n\nA second and bolder political enterprise of Lycurgus was a new division\nof the lands. For he found a prodigious inequality, the city overcharged\nwith many indigent persons, who had no land, and the wealth centred in\nthe hands of a few. Determined, therefore, to root out the evils of\ninsolence, envy, avarice, and luxury, and those distempers of a state\nstill more inveterate and fatal, I mean poverty and riches, he persuaded\nthem to cancel all former divisions of land, and to make new ones, in\nsuch a manner that they might be perfectly equal in their possessions\nand way of living. Hence, if they were ambitious of distinction they\nmight seek it in virtue, as no other difference was left between them\nbut that which arises from the dishonour of base actions and the praise\nof good ones. His proposal was put in practice. He made nine thousand\nlots for the territory of Sparta, which he distributed among so many\ncitizens, and thirty thousand for the inhabitants of the rest of\nLaconia. But some say he made only six thousand shares for the city, and\nthat Polydorus added three thousand afterwards; others, that Polydorus\ndoubled the number appointed by Lycurgus, which were only four thousand\nfive hundred. Each lot was capable of producing (one year with another)\nseventy bushels of grain for each man, and twelve for each woman,\nbesides a quantity of wine and oil in proportion. Such a provision they\nthought sufficient for health and a good habit of body, and they wanted\nnothing more. A story goes of our legislator, that some time after\nreturning from a journey through the fields just reaped, and seeing the\nshocks standing parallel and equal, he smiled, and said to some that\nwere by, \"How like is Laconia to an estate newly divided among many\nbrothers!\"\n\nAfter this, he attempted to divide also the movables, in order to take\naway all appearance of inequality; but he soon perceived that they could\nnot bear to have their goods directly taken from them, and therefore\ntook another method, counterworking their avarice by a stratagem. First\nhe stopped the currency of the gold and silver coin, and ordered that\nthey should make use of iron money only, then to a great quantity and\nweight of this he assigned but a small value; so that to lay up ten\n_min\u00e6_, a whole room was required, and to remove it, nothing less than a\nyoke of oxen. When this became current, many kinds of injustice ceased\nin Laced\u00e6mon. Who would steal or take a bribe, who would defraud or rob,\nwhen he could not conceal the booty; when he could neither be dignified\nby the possession of it, nor if cut in pieces be served by its use? For\nwe are told that when hot, they quenched it in vinegar, to make it\nbrittle and unmalleable, and consequently unfit for any other service.\nIn the next place, he excluded unprofitable and superfluous arts:\nindeed, if he had not done this, most of them would have fallen of\nthemselves, when the new money took place, as the manufactures could not\nbe disposed of. Their iron coin would not pass in the rest of Greece,\nbut was ridiculed and despised; so that the Spartans had no means of\npurchasing any foreign or curious wares; nor did any merchant-ship\nunlade in their harbours. There were not even to be found in all their\ncountry either sophists, wandering fortune-tellers, keepers of infamous\nhouses, or dealers in gold and silver trinkets, because there was no\nmoney. Thus luxury, losing by degrees the means that cherished and\nsupported it, died away of itself: even they who had great possessions,\nhad no advantage from them, since they could not be displayed in public,\nbut must lie useless, in unregarded repositories. Hence it was, that\nexcellent workmanship was shown in their useful and necessary furniture,\nas beds, chairs, and tables; and the Laced\u00e6monian cup called _cothon_,\nas Critias informs us, was highly valued, particularly in campaigns: for\nthe water, which must then of necessity be drank, though it would often\notherwise offend the sight, had its muddiness concealed by the colour of\nthe cup, and the thick part stopping at the shelving brim, it came\nclearer to the lips. Of these improvements the lawgiver was the cause;\nfor the workmen having no more employment in matters of mere curiosity,\nshowed the excellence of their art in necessary things.\n\nDesirous to complete the conquest of luxury, and exterminate the love of\nriches, he introduced a third institution, which was wisely enough and\ningeniously contrived. This was the use of public tables, where all were\nto eat in common of the same meat, and such kinds of it as were\nappointed by law. At the same time they were forbidden to eat at home,\nupon expensive couches and tables, to call in the assistance of butchers\nand cooks, or to fatten like voracious animals in private. For so not\nonly their manners would be corrupted, but their bodies disordered;\nabandoned to all manner of sensuality and dissoluteness, they would\nrequire long sleep, warm baths, and the same indulgence as in perpetual\nsickness. To effect this was certainly very great; but it was greater\nstill, to secure riches from rapine and from envy, as Theophrastus\nexpresses it, or rather by their eating in common, and by the frugality\nof their table, to take from riches their very being. For what use or\nenjoyment of them, what peculiar display of magnificence could there be,\nwhere the poor man went to the same refreshment with the rich? Hence the\nobservation, that it was only at Sparta where Plutus (according to the\nproverb) was kept blind, and like an image, destitute of life or motion.\nIt must further be observed, that they had not the privilege to eat at\nhome, and so to come without appetite to the public repast: they made a\npoint of it to observe any one that did not eat and drink with them, and\nto reproach him as an intemperate and effeminate person that was sick of\nthe common diet.\n\nThe rich, therefore (we are told), were more offended with this\nregulation than with any other, and, rising in a body, they loudly\nexpressed their indignation: nay, they proceeded so far as to assault\nLycurgus with stones, so that he was forced to fly from the assembly and\ntake refuge in a temple. Unhappily, however, before he reached it, a\nyoung man named Alcander, hasty in his resentments, though not otherwise\nill-tempered, came up with him, and, upon his turning round, struck out\none of his eyes with a stick. Lycurgus then stopped short, and, without\ngiving way to passion, showed the people his eye beat out, and his face\nstreaming with blood. They were so struck with shame and sorrow at the\nsight, that they surrendered Alcander to him, and conducted him home\nwith the utmost expressions of regret. Lycurgus thanked them for their\ncare of his person, and dismissed them all except Alcander. He took him\ninto his house, but showed no ill treatment either by word or action;\nonly ordering him to wait upon him, instead of his usual servants and\nattendants. The youth, who was of an ingenuous disposition, without\nmurmuring, did as he was commanded. Living in this manner with Lycurgus,\nand having an opportunity to observe the mildness and goodness of his\nheart, his strict temperance and indefatigable industry, he told his\nfriends that Lycurgus was not that proud and severe man he might have\nbeen taken for, but, above all others, gentle and engaging in his\nbehaviour. This, then, was the chastisement, and this punishment he\nsuffered, of a wild and headstrong young man to become a very modest and\nprudent citizen. In memory of his misfortune, Lycurgus built a temple to\nMinerva Optiletis, so called by him from a term which the Dorians use\nfor the eye. Yet Dioscorides, who wrote a treatise concerning the\nLaced\u00e6monian government, and others, relate that his eye was hurt, but\nnot put out, and that he built the temple in gratitude to the goddess\nfor his cure. However, the Spartans never carried staves to their\nassemblies afterwards.\n\nThe public repasts were called by the Cretans Andria; but the\nLaced\u00e6monians styled them Phiditia, either from their tendency to\nfriendship and mutual benevolence, _phiditia_ being used instead of\n_philitia_; or else from their teaching frugality and parsimony, which\nthe word _pheido_ signifies. But it is not all impossible that the first\nletter might by some means or other be added, and so _phiditia_ take\nplace of _editia_, which barely signifies eating. There were fifteen\npersons to a table, or a few more or less. Each of them was obliged to\nbring in monthly a bushel of meal, eight gallons of wine, five pounds of\ncheese, two pounds and a half of figs, and a little money to buy flesh\nand fish. If any of them happened to offer a sacrifice of first fruits,\nor to kill venison, he sent a part of it to the public table: for after\na sacrifice or hunting, he was at liberty to sup at home: but the rest\nwere to appear at the usual place. For a long time this eating in common\nwas observed with great exactness: so that when king Agis returned from\na successful expedition against the Athenians, and from a desire to sup\nwith his wife, requested to have his portion at home, the Polemarchs\nrefused to send it: nay, when, through resentment, he neglected, the day\nfollowing, to offer the sacrifice usual on occasion of victory, they set\na fine upon him. Children also were introduced at these public tables,\nas so many schools of sobriety. There they heard discourses concerning\ngovernment, and were instructed in the most liberal breeding. There they\nwere allowed to jest without scurrility, and were not to take it ill\nwhen the raillery was returned. For it was reckoned worthy of a\nLaced\u00e6monian to bear a jest: but if any one's patience failed, he had\nonly to desire them to be quiet, and they left off immediately. When\nthey first entered, the oldest man present pointed to the door, and\nsaid, \"Not a word spoken in this company goes out there.\" The admitting\nof any man to a particular table was under the following regulation.\nEach member of that small society took a little ball of soft bread in\nhis hand. This he was to drop, without saying a word, into a vessel\ncalled _caddos_, which the waiter carried upon his head. In case he\napproved of the candidate, he did it without altering the figure, if\nnot, he first pressed it flat in his hand; for a flatted ball was\nconsidered as a negative. And if but one such was found, the person was\nnot admitted, as they thought it proper that the whole company should be\nsatisfied with each other. He who thus rejected, was said to have no\nluck in the _caddos_. The dish that was in the highest esteem amongst\nthem was the black broth. The old men were so fond of it that they\nranged themselves on one side and eat it, leaving the meat to the young\npeople. It is related of a king of Pontus, that he purchased a\nLaced\u00e6monian cook, for the sake of this broth. But when he came to taste\nit he strongly expressed his dislike; and the cook made answer, \"Sir, to\nmake this broth relish, it is necessary first to bathe in the Eurotas.\"\nAfter they had drank moderately, they went home without lights. Indeed,\nthey were forbidden to walk with a light either on this or any other\noccasion, that they might accustom themselves to march in the darkest\nnight boldly and resolutely. Such was the order of their public\nrepasts.\n\nLycurgus left none of his laws in writing; it was ordered in one of the\n_Rhetr\u00e6_ that none should be written. For what he thought most conducive\nto the virtue and happiness of a city, was principles interwoven with\nthe manners and breeding of the people. These would remain immovable, as\nfounded in inclination, and be the strongest and most lasting tie; and\nthe habits which education produced in the youth, would answer in each\nthe purpose of a lawgiver. As for smaller matters, contracts about\nproperty, and whatever occasionally varied, it was better not to reduce\nthese to a written form and unalterable method, but to suffer them to\nchange with the times, and to admit of additions or retrenchments at the\npleasure of persons so well educated. For he resolved the whole business\nof legislation into the bringing up of youth. And this, as we have\nobserved, was the reason why one of his ordinances forbad them to have\nany written laws.\n\nAnother ordinance levelled against magnificence and expense, directed\nthat the ceilings of houses should be wrought with no tool but the axe\nand the doors with nothing but the saw. For, as Epaminondas is reported\nto have said afterwards, of his table, \"Treason lurks not under such a\ndinner,\" so Lycurgus perceived before him, that such a house admits of\nno luxury and needless splendour. Indeed, no man could be so absurd as\nto bring into a dwelling so homely and simple, bedsteads with silver\nfeet, purple coverlets, golden cups, and a train of expense that follows\nthese: but all would necessarily have the bed suitable to the room, the\ncoverlet of the bed and the rest of their utensils and furniture to\nthat. From this plain sort of dwellings, proceeded the question of\nLeotychidas the elder to his host, when he supped at Corinth, and saw\nthe ceiling of the room very splendid and curiously wrought, \"Whether\ntrees grew square in his country.\"\n\nA third ordinance of Lycurgus was, that they should not often make war\nagainst the same enemy, lest, by being frequently put upon defending\nthemselves, they too should become able warriors in their turn. And this\nthey most blamed king Agesilaus for afterwards, that by frequent and\ncontinued incursions into Boeotia, he taught the Thebans to make head\nagainst the Laced\u00e6monians. This made Antalcidas say, when he saw him\nwounded, \"The Thebans pay you well for making them good soldiers who\nneither were willing nor able to fight you before.\" These ordinances he\ncalled _Rhetr\u00e6_, as if they had been oracles and decrees of the Deity\nhimself.\n\nAs for the education of youth, which he looked upon as the greatest and\nmost glorious work of a lawgiver, he began with it at the very source,\ntaking into consideration their conception and birth, by regulating the\nmarriages. For he did not (as Aristotle says) desist from his attempt to\nbring the women under sober rules. They had, indeed, assumed great\nliberty and power on account of the frequent expeditions of their\nhusbands, during which they were left sole mistresses at home, and so\ngained an undue deference and improper titles; but notwithstanding this\nhe took all possible care of them. He ordered the virgins to exercise\nthemselves in running, wrestling, and throwing quoits and darts; that\ntheir bodies being strong and vigorous, the children afterwards produced\nfrom them might be the same; and that, thus fortified by exercise, they\nmight the better support the pangs of child-birth, and be delivered with\nsafety. In order to take away the excessive tenderness and delicacy of\nthe sex, the consequence of a recluse life, he accustomed the virgins\noccasionally to be seen naked as well as the young men, and to dance and\nsing in their presence on certain festivals. There they sometimes\nindulged in a little raillery upon those that had misbehaved themselves,\nand sometimes they sung encomiums on such as deserved them, thus\nexciting in the young men a useful emulation and love of glory. For he\nwho was praised for his bravery and celebrated among the virgins, went\naway perfectly happy: while their satirical glances thrown out in sport,\nwere no less cutting than serious admonitions; especially as the kings\nand senate went with the other citizens to see all that passed. As for\nthe virgins appearing naked, there was nothing disgraceful in it,\nbecause everything was conducted with modesty, and without one indecent\nword or action. Nay, it caused a simplicity of manners and an emulation\nfor the best habit of body; their ideas too were naturally enlarged,\nwhile they were not excluded from their share of bravery and honour.\nHence they were furnished with sentiments and language, such as Gorgo\nthe wife of Leonidas is said to have made use of. When a woman of\nanother country said to her, \"You of Laced\u00e6mon are the only women in the\nworld that rule the men;\" she answered, \"We are the only women that\nbring forth men.\"\n\nThese public dances and other exercises of the young maidens naked, in\nsight of the young men, were, moreover, incentives to marriage: and, to\nuse Plato's expression, drew them almost as necessarily by the\nattractions of love, as a geometrical conclusion follows from the\npremises. To encourage it still more, some marks of infamy were set upon\nthose that continued bachelors. For they were not permitted to see these\nexercises of the naked virgins; and the magistrates commanded them to\nmarch naked round the market-place in the winter, and to sing a song\ncomposed against themselves, which expressed how justly they were\npunished for their disobedience to the laws. They were also deprived of\nthat honour and respect which the younger people paid to the old; so\nthat nobody found fault with what was said to Dercyllidas, though an\neminent commander. It seems, when he came one day into company, a young\nman, instead of rising up and giving place, told him, \"You have no child\nto give place to me, when I am old.\"\n\nIn their marriages, the bridegroom carried off the bride by violence;\nand she was never chosen in a tender age, but when she had arrived at\nfull maturity. Then the woman that had the direction of the wedding, cut\nthe bride's hair close to the skin, dressed her in man's clothes, laid\nher upon a mattrass, and left her in the dark. The bridegroom, neither\noppressed with wine nor enervated with luxury, but perfectly sober, as\nhaving always supped at the common table, went in privately, untied her\ngirdle, and carried her to another bed. Having stayed there a short\ntime, he modestly retired to his usual apartment, to sleep with the\nother young men; and observed the same conduct afterwards, spending the\nday with his companions, and reposing himself with them in the night,\nnor even visiting his bride but with great caution and apprehensions of\nbeing discovered by the rest of the family; the bride at the same time\nexerted all her art to contrive convenient opportunities for their\nprivate meetings. And this they did not for a short time only, but some\nof them even had children before they had an interview with their wives\nin the daytime. This kind of commerce not only exercised their\ntemperance and chastity, but kept their bodies fruitful, and the first\nardour of their love fresh and unabated; for as they were not satiated\nlike those that are always with their wives, there still was place for\nunextinguished desire. When he had thus established a proper regard to\nmodesty and decorum with respect to marriage, he was equally studious to\ndrive from that state the vain and womanish passion of jealousy; by\nmaking it quite as reputable to have children in common with persons of\nmerit, as to avoid all offensive freedom in their own behaviour to their\nwives. He laughed at those who revenge with wars and bloodshed the\ncommunication of a married woman's favours; and allowed, that if a man\nin years should have a young wife, he might introduce to her some\nhandsome and honest young man, whom he most approved of, and when she\nhad a child of this generous race, bring it up as his own. On the other\nhand, he allowed, that if a man of character should entertain a passion\nfor a married woman on account of her modesty and the beauty of her\nchildren, he might treat with her husband for admission to her company,\nthat so planting in a beauty-bearing soil, he might produce excellent\nchildren, the congenial offspring of excellent parents. For, in the\nfirst place, Lycurgus considered children, not so much the property of\ntheir parents as of the state; and therefore he would not have them\nbegot by ordinary persons, but by the best men in it. In the next place,\nhe observed the vanity and absurdity of other nations, where people\nstudy to have their horses and dogs of the finest breed they can procure\neither by interest or money; and yet keep their wives shut up, that they\nmay have children by none but themselves, though they may happen to be\ndoting, decrepit, or infirm. As if children, when sprung from a bad\nstock, and consequently good for nothing, were no detriment to those\nwhom they belong to, and who have the trouble of bringing them up, nor\nany advantage, when well descended and of a generous disposition. These\nregulations tending to secure a healthy offspring, and consequently\nbeneficial to the state, were so far from encouraging that\nlicentiousness of the women which prevailed afterwards, that adultery\nwas not known amongst them. A saying, upon this subject of Geradas, an\nancient Spartan, is thus related. A stranger had asked him, \"What\npunishment their law appointed for adulterers?\" He answered, \"My friend,\nthere are no adulterers in our country.\" The other replied, \"But what if\nthere should be one?\" \"Why then,\" says Geradas, \"he must forfeit a bull\nso large that he might drink of the Eurotas from the top of Mount\nTaygetus.\" When the stranger expressed his surprise at this, and said,\n\"How can such a bull be found?\" Geradas answered with a smile, \"How can\nan adulterer be found in Sparta?\" This is the account we have of their\nmarriages.\n\nIt was not left to the father to rear what children he pleased, but he\nwas obliged to carry the child to a place called Lesche, to be examined\nby the most ancient men of the tribe, who were assembled there. If it\nwas strong and well-proportioned, they gave orders for its education,\nand assigned it one of the nine thousand shares of land; but if it was\nweakly and deformed, they ordered it to be thrown into the place called\nApothet\u00e6, which is a deep cavern near the mountain Taygetus; concluding\nthat its life could be no advantage either to itself or to the public,\nsince nature had not given it at first any strength or goodness of\nconstitution. For the same reason the women did not wash their new-born\ninfants with water, but with wine, thus making some trial of their habit\nof body; imagining that sickly and epileptic children sink and die under\nthe experiment, while healthy became more vigorous and hardy. Great care\nand art was also exerted by the nurses; for, as they never swathed the\ninfants, their limbs had a freer turn, and their countenances a more\nliberal air; besides, they used them to any sort of meat, to have no\nterrors in the dark, nor to be afraid of being alone, and to leave all\nill humour and unmanly crying. Hence people of other countries purchased\nLaced\u00e6monian nurses for their children; and Alcibiades the Athenian is\nsaid to have been nursed by Amicla, a Spartan. But if he was fortunate\nin a nurse, he was not so in a preceptor: for Zopyrus, appointed to that\noffice by Pericles, was, as Plato tells us, no better qualified than a\ncommon slave. The Spartan children were not in that manner, under tutors\npurchased or hired with money, nor were the parents at liberty to\neducate them as they pleased: but as soon as they were seven years old,\nLycurgus ordered them to be enrolled in companies, where they were all\nkept under the same order and discipline, and had their exercises and\nrecreations in common. He who showed the most conduct and courage\namongst them, was made captain of the company. The rest kept their eyes\nupon him, obeyed his orders, and bore with patience the punishment he\ninflicted: so that their whole education was an exercise of obedience.\nThe old men were present at their diversions, and often suggested some\noccasion of dispute or quarrel, that they might observe with exactness\nthe spirit of each, and their firmness in battle.\n\nAs for learning, they had just what was absolutely necessary. All the\nrest of their education was calculated to make them subject to command,\nto endure labour, to fight and conquer. They added, therefore, to their\ndiscipline, as they advance in age; cutting their hair very close,\nmaking them go barefoot, and play, for the most part, quite naked. At\ntwelve years of age, their under garment was taken away, and but one\nupper one a year allowed them. Hence they were necessarily dirty in\ntheir persons, and not indulged the great favour of baths, and oils,\nexcept on some particular days of the year. They slept in companies, on\nbeds made of the tops of reeds, which they gathered with their own\nhands, without knives, and brought from the banks of the Eurotas. In\nwinter they were permitted to add a little thistle-down, as that seemed\nto have some warmth in it.\n\nAt this age, the most distinguished amongst them became the favourite\ncompanions of the elder; and the old men attended more constantly their\nplaces of exercise, observing their trials of strength and wit, not\nslightly and in a cursory manner, but as their fathers, guardians, and\ngovernors: so that there was neither time nor place where persons were\nwanting to instruct and chastise them. One of the best and ablest men of\nthe city was, moreover, appointed inspector of the youth: and he gave\nthe command of each company to the discreetest and most spirited of\nthose called Irens. An Iren was one that had been two years out of the\nclass of boys: a Melliren one of the oldest lads. This Iren, then, a\nyouth twenty years old, gives orders to those under his command in their\nlittle battles, and has them to serve him at his house. He sends the\noldest of them to fetch wood, and the younger to gather pot-herbs: these\nthey steal where they can find them, either slily getting into gardens,\nor else craftily and warily creeping to the common tables. But if any\none be caught, he is severely flogged for negligence or want of\ndexterity. They steal, too, whatever victuals they possibly can,\ningeniously contriving to do it when persons are asleep, or keep but\nindifferent watch. If they are discovered, they are punished not only\nwith whipping, but with hunger. Indeed, their supper is but slender at\nall times, that, to fence against want, they may be forced to exercise\ntheir courage and address. This is the first intention of their spare\ndiet: a subordinate one is, to make them grow tall. For when the animal\nspirits are not too much oppressed by a great quantity of food, which\nstretches itself out in breadth and thickness, they mount upwards by\ntheir natural lightness, and the body easily and freely shoots up in\nheight. This also contributes to make them handsome; for thin and\nslender habits yield more freely to nature, which then gives a fine\nproportion to the limbs; whilst the heavy and gross resist her by their\nweight. So women that take physic during their pregnancy, have slighter\nchildren indeed, but of a finer and more delicate turn, because the\nsuppleness of the matter more readily obeys the plastic power. However,\nthese are speculations which we shall leave to others.\n\nThe boys steal with so much caution, that one of them having conveyed a\nyoung fox under his garment, suffered the creature to tear out his\nbowels with his teeth and claws, choosing rather to die than to be\ndetected. Nor does this appear incredible, if we consider what their\nyoung men can endure to this day; for we have seen many of them expire\nunder the lash at the altar of Diana Orthia.\n\nThe Iren, reposing himself after supper, used to order one of the boys\nto sing a song; to another he put some question which required a\njudicious answer: for example, \"Who was the best man in the city?\" or\n\"What he thought of such an action?\" This accustomed them from their\nchildhood to judge of the virtues, to enter into the affairs of their\ncountrymen. For if one of them was asked, \"Who is a good citizen, or who\nan infamous one,\" and hesitated in his answer, he was considered a boy\nof slow parts, and of a soul that would not aspire to honour. The answer\nwas likewise to have a reason assigned for it, and proof conceived in\nfew words. He whose account of the matter was wrong, by way of\npunishment had his thumb bit by the Iren. The old men and magistrates\noften attended these little trials, to see whether the Iren exercised\nhis authority in a rational and proper manner. He was permitted, indeed,\nto inflict the penalties; but when the boys were gone, he was to be\nchastised himself, if he had punished them either with too much severity\nor remissness.\n\nThe adopters of favourites also shared both in the honour and disgrace\nof their boys: and one of them is said to have been mulcted by the\nmagistrates, because the boy whom he had taken into his affections let\nsome ungenerous word or cry escape him as he was fighting. This love was\nso honourable and in so much esteem, that the virgins too had their\nlovers amongst the most virtuous matrons. A competition of affection\ncaused no misunderstanding, but rather a mutual friendship between those\nthat had fixed their regards upon the same youth, and an united\nendeavour to make him as accomplished as possible.\n\nThe boys were also taught to use sharp repartee, seasoned with humour,\nand whatever they said was to be concise and pithy. For Lycurgus, as we\nhave observed, fixed but a small value on a considerable quantity of his\niron money; but, on the contrary, the worth of speech was to consist in\nits being comprised in a few plain words, pregnant with a great deal of\nsense: and he contrived that by long silence they might learn to be\nsententious and acute in their replies. As debauchery often causes\nweakness and sterility in the body, so the intemperance of the tongue\nmakes conversation empty and insipid. King Agis, therefore, when a\ncertain Athenian laughed at the Laced\u00e6monian short swords, and said,\n\"The jugglers would swallow them with ease upon the stage,\" answered in\nhis laconic way, \"And yet we can reach our enemies' hearts with them.\"\nIndeed, to me there seems to be something in this concise manner of\nspeaking which immediately reaches the object aimed at, and forcibly\nstrikes the mind of the hearer. Lycurgus himself was short and\nsententious in his discourse, if we may judge by some of his answers\nwhich are recorded; that, for instance, concerning the constitution.\nWhen one advised him to establish a popular government in Laced\u00e6mon,\n\"Go,\" said he, \"and first make a trial of it in thy own family.\" That\nagain, concerning sacrifices to the Deity, when he was asked why he\nappointed them so trifling and of so little value, \"That we might never\nbe in want,\" said he, \"of something to offer him.\" Once more, when they\ninquired of him, what sort of martial exercises he allowed of, he\nanswered, \"All, except those in which you stretch out your hands.\"\nSeveral such like replies of his are said to be taken from the letters\nwhich he wrote to his countrymen: as to their question, \"How shall we\nbest guard against the invasion of an enemy?\"--\"By continuing poor, and\nnot desiring in your possessions to be one above another.\" And to the\nquestion, whether they should enclose Sparta with walls, \"That city is\nwell fortified, which has a wall of men instead of brick.\" Whether these\nand some other letters ascribed to him are genuine or not, is no easy\nmatter to determine. However, that they hated long speeches, the\nfollowing apophthegms are a farther proof. King Leonidas said to one\nwho discoursed at an improper time about affairs of some concern, \"My\nfriend, you should not talk so much to the purpose, of what it is not to\nthe purpose to talk of.\" Charilaus, the nephew of Lycurgus, being asked\nwhy his uncle had made so few laws, answered, \"To men of few words, few\nlaws are sufficient.\" Some people finding fault with Hecat\u00e6us the\nsophist, because, when admitted to one of the public repasts, he said\nnothing all the time, Archidamidas replied, \"He that knows how to speak,\nknows also when to speak.\"\n\nThe manner of their repartees, which, as I said, were seasoned with\nhumour, may be gathered from these instances. When a troublesome fellow\nwas pestering Demaratus with impertinent questions, and this in\nparticular several times repeated, \"Who is the best man in Sparta?\" He\nanswered, \"He that is least like you.\" To some who were commending the\nEleans for managing the Olympic games with so much justice and\npropriety, Agis said, \"What great matter is it, if the Eleans do justice\nonce in five years?\" When a stranger was professing his regard for\nTheopompus, and saying that his own countrymen called him Philolacon (a\nlover of the Laced\u00e6monians), the king answered him, \"My good friend, it\nwere much better, if they called you Philopolites\" (a lover of your own\ncountrymen). Plistonax, the son of Pausanias, replied to an orator of\nAthens, who said the Laced\u00e6monians had no learning. \"True, for we are\nthe only people of Greece that have learned no ill of you.\" To one who\nasked what number of men there was in Sparta, Archidamidas said, \"Enough\nto keep bad men at a distance.\"\n\nEven when they indulged a vein of pleasantry, one might perceive that\nthey would not use one unnecessary word, nor let an expression escape\nthem that had not some sense worth attending to. For one being asked to\ngo and hear a person who imitated the nightingale to perfection,\nanswered, \"I have heard the nightingale herself.\" Another said, upon\nreading this epitaph,\n\n     Victims of Mars, at Selinus they fell,\n     Who quench'd the rage of tyranny--\n\n\"And they deserved to fall, for, instead of _quenching_ it, they should\nhave let it _burn out_.\" A young man answered one that promised him some\ngame-cocks that would stand their death, \"Give me those that will be the\ndeath of others.\" Another seeing some people carried into the country in\nlitters, said, \"May I never sit in any place where I cannot rise before\nthe aged!\" This was the manner of their apophthegms: so that it has been\njustly enough observed that the term _lakonizein_ (to act the\nLaced\u00e6monian) is to be referred rather to the exercises of the mind,\nthan those of the body.\n\nNor were poetry and music less cultivated among them, than a concise\ndignity of expression. Their songs had a spirit, which could rouse the\nsoul, and impel it in an enthusiastic manner to action. The language was\nplain and manly, the subject serious and moral. For they consisted\nchiefly of the praises of heroes that had died for Sparta, or else of\nexpressions of detestation for such wretches as had declined the\nglorious opportunity, and rather chose to drag on life in misery and\ncontempt. Nor did they forget to express an ambition for glory suitable\nto their respective ages. Of this it may not be amiss to give an\ninstance. There were three choirs on their festivals, corresponding with\nthe three ages of man. The old men began,\n\n     Once in battle bold we shone;\n\nthe young men answered,\n\n     Try us: our vigour is not gone;\n\nand the boys concluded,\n\n     The palm remains for us alone.\n\nIndeed, if we consider with some attention such of the Laced\u00e6monian\npoems as are still extant, and get into those airs which were played\nupon the flute when they marched to battle, we must agree that Terpander\nand Pindar have very fitly joined valour and music together. The former\nthus speaks of Laced\u00e6mon,\n\n     There gleams the youth's bright falchion: there the muse\n     Lifts her sweet voice: there awful Justice opes\n     Her wide pavilion.\n\nAnd Pindar sings,\n\n     There in grave council sits the sage;\n     There burns the youth's resistless rage\n       To hurl the quiv'ring lance;\n     The Muse with glory crowns their arms,\n     And Melody exerts her charms,\n       And Pleasure leads the dance.\n\nThus we are informed, not only of their warlike turn, but their skill in\nmusic. For as the Spartan poet says,\n\n     To swell the bold notes of the lyre,\n     Becomes the warrior's lofty fire.\n\nAnd the king always offered sacrifice to the muses before a battle,\nputting his troops in mind, I suppose, of their early education and of\nthe judgment that would be passed upon them; as well as that those\ndivinities might teach them to despite danger, while they performed some\nexploit fit for them to celebrate.\n\nOn these occasions they relaxed the severity of their discipline,\npermitting their men to be curious in dressing their hair, and elegant\nin their arms and apparel, while they expressed their alacrity, like\nhorses full of fire and neighing for the race. They let their hair,\ntherefore, grow from their youth, but took more particular care, when\nthey expected an action, to have it well combed and shining; remembering\na saying of Lycurgus, that \"a large head of hair made the handsome more\ngraceful, and the ugly more terrible.\" The exercises, too, of the young\nmen, during the campaigns, were more moderate, their diet not so hard,\nand their whole treatment more indulgent: so that they were the only\npeople in the world with whom military discipline wore, in time of war,\na gentler face than usual. When the army was drawn up, and the enemy\nnear, the king sacrificed a goat, and commanded them all to set garlands\nupon their heads, and the musicians to play Castro's march, while\nhimself began the p\u00e6an, which was the signal to advance. It was at once\na solemn and dreadful sight to see them measuring their steps to the\nsound of music, and without the least disorder in their ranks or tumult\nof spirits, moving forward cheerfully and composedly, with harmony, to\nbattle. Neither fear nor rashness was likely to approve men so disposed,\npossessed as they were of a firm presence of mind, with courage and\nconfidence of success, as under the conduct of heaven. When the king\nadvanced against the enemy, he had always with him some one that had\nbeen crowned in the public games of Greece. And they tell us, that a\nLaced\u00e6monian, when large sums were offered him on condition that he\nwould not enter the Olympic lists, refused them, having with much\ndifficulty thrown his antagonist, one put this question to him,\n\"Spartan, what will you get by this victory?\" He answered with a smile,\n\"I shall have the honour to fight foremost in the ranks before my\nprince.\" When they had routed the enemy, they continued the pursuit till\nthey were assured of the victory: after that they immediately desisted;\ndeeming it neither generous nor worthy of a Grecian to destroy those who\nmade no farther resistance. This was not only a proof of magnanimity,\nbut of great service to their cause. For when their adversaries found\nthat they killed such as stood it out, but spared the fugitives, they\nconcluded it was better to fly than to meet their fate upon the spot.\n\nHippias the sophist tells us, that Lycurgus himself was a man of great\npersonal valour, and an experienced commander. Philostephanus also\nascribes to him the first division of cavalry into troops of fifty, who\nwere drawn up in a square body. But Demetrius the Phalerean says, that\nhe never had any military employment, and that there was the profoundest\npeace imaginable when he established the constitution of Sparta. His\nproviding for a cessation of arms during the Olympic games is likewise a\nmark of the humane and peaceable man. Some, however, acquaint us, and\namong the rest Hermippus, that Lucurgus at first had no communication\nwith Iphitus; but coming that way, and happening to be a spectator, he\nheard behind him a human voice (as he thought) which expressed some\nwonder and displeasure that he did not put his countrymen upon resorting\nto so great an assembly. He turned round immediately, to discover whence\nthe voice came, and as there was no man to be seen, concluded it was\nfrom heaven. He joined Iphitus, therefore; and ordering, along with him,\nthe ceremonies of the festival, rendered it more magnificent and\nlasting.\n\nThe discipline of the Laced\u00e6monians continued after they were arrived at\nyears of maturity. For no man was at liberty to live as he pleased; the\ncity being like one great camp, where all had their stated allowance,\nand knew their public charge, each man concluding that he was born, not\nfor himself, but for his country. Hence, if they had no particular\norders, they employed themselves in inspecting the boys, and teaching\nthem something useful, or in learning of those that were older than\nthemselves. One of the greatest privileges that Lycurgus procured his\ncountrymen, was the enjoyment of leisure, the consequence of his\nforbidding them to exercise any mechanic trade. It was not worth their\nwhile to take great pains to raise a fortune, since riches there were of\nno account: and the Helotes, who tilled the ground, were answerable for\nthe produce above-mentioned. To this purpose we have a story of a\nLaced\u00e6monian, who, happening to be at Athens while the court sat, was\ninformed of a man who was fined for idleness; and when the poor fellow\nwas returning home in great dejection, attended by his condoling\nfriends, he desired the company to show him the person that was\ncondemned for keeping up his dignity. So much beneath them they reckoned\nall attention to mechanics arts, and all desire of riches!\n\nLawsuits were banished from Laced\u00e6mon with money. The Spartans knew\nneither riches nor poverty, but possessed an equal competency, and had a\ncheap and easy way of supplying their few wants. Hence, when they were\nnot engaged in war, their time was taken up with dancing, feasting,\nhunting, or meeting to exercise, or converse. They went not to market\nunder thirty years of age, all their necessary concerns being managed by\ntheir relations and adopters. Nor was it reckoned a credit to the old to\nbe seen sauntering in the market-place; it was deemed more suitable for\nthem to pass great part of the day in the schools of exercise, or places\nof conversation. Their discourse seldom turned upon money, or business,\nor trade, but upon the praise of the excellent, or the contempt of the\nworthless; and the last was expressed with that pleasantry and humour,\nwhich conveyed instruction and correction without seeming to intend it.\nNor was Lycurgus himself immoderately severe in his manner; but, as\nSosibius tells us, he dedicated a little statue to the god of laughter\nin each hall. He considered facetiousness as a seasoning of their hard\nexercise and diet, and therefore ordered it to take place on all proper\noccasions, in their common entertainments and parties of pleasure.\n\nUpon the whole, he taught his citizens to think nothing more\ndisagreeable than to live by (or for) themselves. Like bees, they acted\nwith one impulse for the public good, and always assembled about their\nprince. They were possessed with a thirst of honour, an enthusiasm\nbordering upon insanity, and had not a wish but for their country. These\nsentiments are confirmed by some of their aphorisms. When P\u00e6daretus lost\nhis election for one of the \"three hundred,\" he went away \"rejoicing\nthat there were three hundred better men than himself found in the\ncity.\" Pisistratidas going with some others, ambassador to the king of\nPersia's lieutenants, was asked whether they came with a public\ncommission, or on their own account, to which he answered, \"If\nsuccessful, for the public; if unsuccessful, for ourselves.\" Agrileonis,\nthe mother of Brasidas, asking some Amphipolitans that waited upon her\nat her house, whether Brasidas died honourably and as became a Spartan?\nthey greatly extolled his merit, and said there was not such a man left\nin Sparta; whereupon she replied, \"Say not so, my friends; for Brasidas\nwas indeed a man of honour, but Laced\u00e6mon can boast of many better men\nthan he.\"\n\nThe senate, as I said before, consisted at first of those that were\nassistants to Lycurgus in his great enterprise. Afterwards, to fill up\nany vacancy that might happen, he ordered the most worthy men to be\nselected, of those that were full threescore years old. This was the\nmost respectable dispute in the world, and the contest was truly\nglorious; for it was not who should be swiftest among the swift, or\nstrongest of the strong, but who was the wisest and best among the good\nand wise. He who had the preference was to bear this mark of superior\nexcellence through life, this great authority, which put into his hands\nthe lives and honour of the citizens, and every other important affair.\nThe manner of the election was this: when the people were assembled,\nsome persons appointed for the purpose were shut up in a room near the\nplace; where they could neither see nor be seen, and only hear the\nshouts of the constituents: for by them they decided this and most\nother affairs. Each candidate walked silently through the assembly, one\nafter another according to lot. Those that were shut up had writing\ntables, in which they set down in different columns the number and\nloudness of the shouts, without knowing who they were for; only they\nmarked them as first, second, third, and so on, according to the number\nof the competitors. He that had the most and loudest acclamations, was\ndeclared duly elected. Then he was crowned with a garland, and went\nround to give thanks to the gods: a number of young men followed,\nstriving which should extol him most, and the women celebrated his\nvirtues in their songs, and blessed his worthy life and conduct. Each of\nhis relations offered him a repast, and their address on the occasion\nwas, \"Sparta honours you with this collation.\" When he had finished the\nprocession, he went to the common table, and lived as before. Only two\nportions were set before him, one of which he carried away: and as all\nthe women related to him attended at the gates of the public hall, he\ncalled her for whom he had the greatest esteem, and presented her with\nthe portion, saying at the same time, \"That which I received as a mark\nof honour, I give to you.\" Then she was conducted home with great\napplause by the rest of the women.\n\nLycurgus likewise made good regulations with respect to burials. In the\nfirst place, to take away all superstition, he ordered the dead to be\nburied in the city, and even permitted their monuments to be erected\nnear the temples; accustoming the youth to such sights from their\ninfancy, that they might have no uneasiness from them, nor any horror\nfor death, as if people were polluted with the touch of a dead body, or\nwith treading upon a grave. In the next place, he suffered nothing to be\nburied with the corpse, except the red cloth and the olive leaves in\nwhich it was wrapped. Nor would he suffer the relations to inscribe any\nnames upon the tombs, except of those men that fell in battle, or those\nwomen who died in some sacred office. He fixed eleven days for the time\nof mourning: on the twelfth they were to put an end to it, after\noffering sacrifice to Ceres. No part of life was left vacant and\nunimproved, but even with their necessary actions he interwove the\npraise of virtue and the contempt of vice: and he so filled the city\nwith living examples, that it was next to impossible, for persons who\nhad these from their infancy before their eyes, not to be drawn and\nformed to honour.\n\nFor the same reason he would not permit all that desired to go abroad\nand see other countries, lest they should contract foreign manners, gain\ntraces of a life of little discipline, and of a different form of\ngovernment. He forbid strangers too to resort to Sparta, who could not\nassign a good reason for their coming; not, as Thucydides says, out of\nfear they should imitate the constitution of that city, and make\nimprovements in virtue, but lest they should teach his own people some\nevil. For along with foreigners come new subjects of discourse; new\ndiscourse produces new opinions; and from these there necessarily spring\nnew passions and desires, which, like discords in music, would disturb\nthe established government. He, therefore, thought it more expedient for\nthe city to keep out of it corrupt customs and manners, than even to\nprevent the introduction of a pestilence.\n\nThus far, then, we can perceive no vestiges of a disregard to right and\nwrong, which is the fault some people find with the laws of Lycurgus,\nallowing them well enough calculated to produce valour, but not to\npromote justice. Perhaps it was the Cryptia, as they called it, or\nambuscade, if that was really one of this lawgiver's institutions, as\nAristotle says it was, which gave Plato so bad an impression both of\nLycurgus and his laws. The governors of the youth ordered the shrewdest\nof them from time to time to disperse themselves in the country,\nprovided only with daggers and some necessary provisions. In the daytime\nthey hid themselves, and rested in the most private places they could\nfind, but at night they sallied out into the roads, and killed all the\nHelotes they could meet with. Nay, sometimes by day, they fell upon them\nin the fields, and murdered the ablest and strongest of them. Thucydides\nrelates in his history of the Peloponnesian war, that the Spartans\nselected such of them as were distinguished for their courage, to the\nnumber of two thousand or more, declared them free, crowned them with\ngarlands, and conducted them to the temples of the gods; but soon after\nthey all disappeared; and no one could, either then or since, give\naccount in what manner they were destroyed. Aristotle particularly says,\nthat the Ephori, as soon as they were invested in their office, declared\nwar against the Helotes, that they might be massacred under pretence of\nlaw. In other respects they treated them with great inhumanity:\nsometimes they made them drink till they were intoxicated, and in that\ncondition led them into the public halls, to show the young men what\ndrunkenness was. They ordered them too to sing mean songs, and to dance\nridiculous dances, but not to meddle with any that were genteel and\ngraceful. Thus they tell us, that when the Thebans afterwards invaded\nLaconia, and took a great number of the Helotes prisoners, they ordered\nthem to sing the odes of Terpander, Aleman, or Spendon the Laced\u00e6monian,\nbut they excused themselves, alleging that it was forbidden by their\nmasters. Those who say that a freeman in Sparta was most a freeman, and\na slave most a slave, seem well to have considered the difference of\nstates. But in my opinion, it was in after-times that these cruelties\ntook place among the Laced\u00e6monians, chiefly after the great earthquake,\nwhen, as history informs us, the Helotes, joining the Messenians,\nattacked them, did infinite damage to the country, and brought the city\nto the greatest extremity. I can never ascribe to Lycurgus so\nabominable an act as that of the ambuscade. I would judge in this case\nby the mildness and justice which appeared in the rest of his conduct,\nto which also the gods gave their sanction.\n\nWhen his principal institutions had taken root in the manners of the\npeople, and the government was come to such maturity as to be able to\nsupport and preserve itself, then, as Plato says of the Deity, that he\nrejoiced when he had created the world, and given it its first motion;\nso Lycurgus was charmed with the beauty and greatness of his political\nestablishment, when he saw it exemplified in fact, and move on in due\norder. He was next desirous to make it immortal, so far as human wisdom\ncould effect it, and to deliver it down unchanged to the latest times.\nFor this purpose he assembled all the people, and told them the\nprovisions he had already made for the state were indeed sufficient for\nvirtue and happiness, but the greatest and most important matter was\nstill behind, which he could not disclose to them till he had consulted\nthe oracle; that they must therefore inviolably observe his laws,\nwithout altering anything in them, till he returned from Delphi; and\nthen he would acquaint them with the pleasure of Apollo. When they had\nall promised to do so, and desired him to set forward, he took an oath\nof the kings and senators, and afterwards of all the citizens, that they\nwould abide by the present establishment till Lycurgus came back. He\nthen took his journey to Delphi.\n\nWhen he arrived there, he offered sacrifice to the gods, and consulted\nthe oracle, whether his laws were sufficient to promote virtue, and\nsecure the happiness of the state. Apollo answered, that the laws were\nexcellent, and that the city which kept to the constitution he had\nestablished, would be the most glorious in the world. This oracle\nLycurgus took down in writing, and sent it to Sparta. He then offered\nanother sacrifice, and embraced his friends and his son, determined\nnever to release his citizens from their oath, but voluntarily there to\nput a period to his life; while he was yet of an age when life was not a\nburden, when death was not desirable, and while he was not unhappy in\nany one circumstance. He, therefore, destroyed himself by abstaining\nfrom food, persuaded that the very death of lawgivers should have its\nuse, and their exit, so far from being insignificant, have its share of\nvirtue, and be considered as a great action. To him, indeed, whose\nperformances were so illustrious, the conclusion of life was the crown\nof happiness, and his death was left guardian of those invaluable\nblessings he had procured his countrymen through life, as they had taken\nan oath not to depart from his establishment till his return. Nor was he\ndeceived in his expectations. Sparta continued superior to the rest of\nGreece, both in its government at home and reputation abroad, so long as\nit retained the institution of Lycurgus: and this it did during the\nspace of five hundred years, and the reign of fourteen successive kings,\ndown to Agis the son of Archidamus. As for the appointment of the\nEphori, it was so far from weakening the constitution, that it gave it\nadditional vigour, and though it seemed to be established in favour of\nthe people, it strengthened the aristocracy.\n\nBut in the reign of Agis money found its way into Sparta, and with money\ncame its inseparable attendant--avarice. This was by means of Lysander;\nwho, though himself incapable of being corrupted by money, filled his\ncountry with the love of it, and with luxury too. He brought both gold\nand silver from the wars, and thereby broke through the laws of\nLycurgus. While these were in force, Sparta was not so much under the\npolitical regulations of a commonwealth, as the strict rules of a\nphilosophic life; and as the poets feign of Hercules, that only with a\nclub and lion's skin he travelled over the world, clearing it of lawless\nruffians and cruel tyrants; so the Laced\u00e6monians with a piece of\nparchment and coarse coat kept Greece in a voluntary obedience,\ndestroyed usurpation and tyranny in the states, put an end to wars, and\nlaid seditions asleep, very often without either shield or lance, and\nonly by sending one ambassador; to whose directions all parties\nconcerned immediately submitted. Thus bees, when their prince appears,\ncompose their quarrels and unite in one swarm. So much did justice and\ngood government prevail in that state, that I am surprised at those who\nsay the Laced\u00e6monians knew indeed how to obey, but not how to govern:\nand on this occasion quote the saying of king Theopompus, who, when one\ntold him that Sparta was preserved by the good administration of its\nkings, replied, \"Nay, rather by the obedience of their subjects.\" It is\ncertain that people will not continue pliant to those who know not how\nto command; but it is the part of a good governor to teach obedience. He\nwho knows how to lead well, is sure to be well followed: and as it is by\nthe art of horsemanship that a horse is made gentle and tractable, so it\nis by the abilities of him that fills the throne that the people become\nductile and submissive. Such was the conduct of the Laced\u00e6monians, that\npeople did not only endure, but even desired to be their subjects. They\nasked not of them either ships, money or troops, but only a Spartan\ngeneral. When they had received him, they treated him with the greatest\nhonour and respect; so Gylippus was revered by the Sicilians, Brasidas\nby the Chalcidians, Lysander, Callicratidas, and Agesilaus by all the\npeople of Asia. These, and such as these, wherever they came, were\ncalled moderators and reformers, both of the magistrates and people, and\nSparta itself was considered as a school of discipline, where the beauty\nof life and political order were taught in the utmost perfection. Hence\nStratonicus seems facetiously enough to have said, that he would order\n\"the Athenians to have the conduct of mysteries and processions; the\nEleans to preside in games, as their particular province; and the\nLaced\u00e6monians to be beaten, if the other did amiss.\" This was spoken in\njest: but Antisthenes, one of the scholars of Socrates, said (more\nseriously) of the Thebans, when he saw them pluming themselves upon\ntheir success at Leuctra, \"They were just like so many school-boys\nrejoicing that they had beaten their master.\"\n\nIt was not, however, the principal design of Lycurgus that his city\nshould govern many others, but he considered its happiness like that of\na private man, as flowing from virtue and self-consistency: he therefore\nso ordered and disposed it, that by the freedom and sobriety of its\ninhabitants, and their having a sufficiency within themselves, its\ncontinuance might be the more secure. Plato, Diogenes, Zeno, and other\nwriters upon government, have taken Lycurgus for their model: and these\nhave attained great praise, though they left only an idea of something\nexcellent. Yet he who, not in idea and in words, but in fact produced a\nmost inimitable form of government, and by showing a whole city of\nphilosophers, confounded those who imagine that the so much talked of\nstrictness of a philosophic life is impracticable; he, I say, stands in\nthe rank of glory far beyond the founders of all the other Grecian\nstates. Therefore Aristotle is of opinion, that the honours paid him in\nLaced\u00e6mon were far beneath his merit. Yet those honours were very great;\nfor he has a temple there, and they offer him a yearly sacrifice, as a\ngod. It is also said, that when his remains were brought home, his tomb\nwas struck with lightning: a seal of divinity which no other man,\nhowever eminent, has had, except Euripides, who died and was buried at\nArethusa in Macedonia. This was matter of great satisfaction and triumph\nto the friends of Euripides, that the same thing should befall him after\ndeath, which had formerly happened to the most venerable of men, and the\nmost favoured of heaven. Some say, Lycurgus died at Cirrha; but\nApollothemis will have it, that he was brought to Elis and died there;\nand Tim\u00e6us and Aristoxenus write, that he ended his days in Crete; nay,\nAristoxenus adds, that the Cretans show his tomb at Pergamia, near the\nhigh road. We are told, he left an only son named Antiorus: and as he\ndied without issue, the family was extinct. His friends and relations\nobserved his anniversary, which subsisted for many ages, and the days on\nwhich they met for that purpose they called Lycurgid\u00e6. Aristocrates, the\nson of Hipparchus, relates, that the friends of Lycurgus, with whom he\nsojourned, and at last died in Crete, burned his body, and, at his\nrequest, threw his ashes into the sea. Thus he guarded against the\npossibility of his remains being brought back to Sparta by the\nLaced\u00e6monians, lest they should then think themselves released from\ntheir oath, on the pretence that he was returned, and make innovations\nin the government. This is what we had to say of Lycurgus.\n\n\n\n\nSIR THOMAS MORE'S\n\nUTOPIA.\n\n\n\n\nUTOPIA.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK I.\n\n\nHenry the Eighth, the unconquered King of England, a prince adorned with\nall the virtues that become a great monarch, having some differences of\nno small consequence with Charles the most serene prince of Castile,\nsent me into Flanders, as his ambassador, for treating and composing\nmatters between them. I was colleague and companion to that incomparable\nman Cuthbert Tonstal, whom the king with such universal applause lately\nmade Master of the Rolls; but of whom I will say nothing; not because I\nfear that the testimony of a friend will be suspected, but rather\nbecause his learning and virtues are too great for me to do them\njustice, and so well known, that they need not my commendations unless I\nwould, according to the proverb, \"Show the sun with a lanthorn.\" Those\nthat were appointed by the prince to treat with us met us at Bruges,\naccording to agreement; they were all worthy men. The Margrave of Bruges\nwas their head, and the chief man among them; but he that was esteemed\nthe wisest, and that spoke for the rest, was George Temse, the Provost\nof Casselsee; both art and nature had concurred to make him eloquent: he\nwas very learned in the law; and as he had a great capacity, so by a\nlong practice in affairs he was very dextrous at unravelling them.\nAfter we had several times met without coming to an agreement, they went\nto Brussels for some days to know the prince's pleasure. And since our\nbusiness would admit it, I went to Antwerp. While I was there, among\nmany that visited me, there was one that was more acceptable to me than\nany other, Peter Giles, born at Antwerp, who is a man of great honour,\nand of a good rank in his town, though less than he deserves; for I do\nnot know if there be anywhere to be found a more learned and a better\nbred young man: for as he is both a very worthy and a very knowing\nperson, so he is so civil to all men, so particularly kind to his\nfriends, and so full of candour and affection, that there is not perhaps\nabove one or two anywhere to be found that is in all respects so perfect\na friend. He is extraordinarily modest, there is no artifice in him; and\nyet no man has more of a prudent simplicity: his conversation was so\npleasant and so innocently cheerful, that his company in a great measure\nlessened any longings to go back to my country, and to my wife and\nchildren, which an absence of four months had quickened very much. One\nday as I was returning home from Mass at St. Mary's, which is the chief\nchurch, and the most frequented of any in Antwerp, I saw him by accident\ntalking with a stranger, who seemed past the flower of his age; his face\nwas tanned, he had a long beard, and his cloak was hanging carelessly\nabout him, so that by his looks and habit I concluded he was a seaman.\nAs soon as Peter saw me, he came and saluted me; and as I was returning\nhis civility, he took me aside, and pointing to him with whom he had\nbeen discoursing, he said, \"Do you see that man? I was just thinking to\nbring him to you.\" I answered, \"He should have been very welcome on your\naccount.\" \"And on his own too,\" replied he, \"if you knew the man, for\nthere is none alive that can give so copious an account of unknown\nnations and countries as he can do; which I know you very much desire.\"\nThen said I, \"I did not guess amiss, for at first sight I took him for\na seaman.\" \"But you are much mistaken,\" said he, \"for he has not sailed\nas a seaman, but as a traveller, or rather a philosopher. This Raphael,\nwho from his family carries the name of Hythloday, is not ignorant of\nthe Latin tongue, but is eminently learned in the Greek, having applied\nhimself more particularly to that than to the former, because he had\ngiven himself much to philosophy, in which he knew that the Romans have\nleft us nothing that is valuable, except what is to be found in Seneca\nand Cicero. He is a Portuguese by birth, and was so desirous of seeing\nthe world, that he divided his estate among his brothers, run the same\nhazard as Americus Vesputius, and bore a share in three of his four\nvoyages, that are now published; only he did not return with him in his\nlast, but obtained leave of him almost by force, that he might be one of\nthose twenty-four who were left at the farthest place at which they\ntouched, in their last voyage to New Castile. The leaving him thus did\nnot a little gratify one that was more fond of travelling than of\nreturning home, to be buried in his own country; for he used often to\nsay, that the way to heaven was the same from all places; and he that\nhad no grave, had the heaven still over him. Yet this disposition of\nmind had cost him dear, if God had not been very gracious to him; for\nafter he, with five Castilians, had travelled over many countries, at\nlast, by strange good fortune, he got to Ceylon, and from thence to\nCalicut, where he very happily found some Portuguese ships; and, beyond\nall men's expectations, returned to his native country.\" When Peter had\nsaid this to me, I thanked him for his kindness, in intending to give me\nthe acquaintance of a man whose conversation he knew would be so\nacceptable; and upon that Raphael and I embraced each other. After those\ncivilities were past which are usual with strangers upon their first\nmeeting, we all went to my house, and entering into the garden, sat down\non a green bank, and entertained one another in discourse. He told us,\nthat when Vesputius had sailed away, he and his companions that stayed\nbehind in New Castile, by degrees insinuated themselves into the\naffections of the people of the country, meeting often with them, and\ntreating them gently: and at last they not only lived among them without\ndanger, but conversed familiarly with them; and got so far into the\nheart of a prince, whose name and country I have forgot, that he both\nfurnished them plentifully with all things necessary, and also with the\nconveniences of travelling; both boats when they went by water, and\nwaggons when they travelled over land: he sent with them a very faithful\nguide, who was to introduce and recommend them to such other princes as\nthey had a mind to see: and after many days' journey, they came to\ntowns, and cities, and to commonwealths, that were both happily governed\nand well peopled. Under the equator, and as far on both sides of it as\nthe sun moves, there lay vast deserts that were parched with the\nperpetual heat of the sun; the soil was withered, all things looked\ndismally, and all places were either quite uninhabited, or abounded with\nwild beasts and serpents, and some few men, that were neither less wild\nnor less cruel than the beasts themselves. But as they went farther, a\nnew scene opened, all things grew milder, the air less burning, the soil\nmore verdant, and even the beasts were less wild: and at last there were\nnations, towns, and cities, that had not only mutual commerce among\nthemselves, and with their neighbours, but traded both by sea and land,\nto very remote countries. There they found the conveniences of seeing\nmany countries on all hands, for no ship went any voyage into which he\nand his companions were not very welcome. The first vessels that they\nsaw were flat-bottomed, their sails were made of reeds and wicker woven\nclose together, only some were of leather; but afterwards they found\nships made with round keels, and canvas sails, and in all respects like\nour ships; and the seamen understood both astronomy and navigation. He\ngot wonderfully into their favour, by showing them the use of the\nneedle, of which till then they were utterly ignorant. They sailed\nbefore with great caution, and only in summer-time, but now they count\nall seasons alike, trusting wholly to the loadstone, in which they are\nperhaps more secure than safe; so that there is reason to fear that this\ndiscovery, which was thought would prove so much to their advantage, may\nby their imprudence become an occasion of much mischief to them. But it\nwere too long to dwell on all that he told us he had observed in every\nplace; it would be too great a digression from our present purpose:\nwhatever is necessary to be told, concerning those wise and prudent\ninstitutions which he observed among civilized nations, may perhaps be\nrelated by us on a more proper occasion. We asked him many questions\nconcerning all these things, to which he answered very willingly; only\nwe made no inquiries after monsters, than which nothing is more common;\nfor everywhere one may hear of ravenous dogs and wolves, and cruel\nmen-eaters; but it is not so easy to find states that are well and\nwisely governed.\n\nAs he told us of many things that were amiss in those new-discovered\ncountries, so he reckoned up not a few things from which patterns might\nbe taken for correcting the errors of these nations among whom we live;\nof which an account may be given, as I have already promised, at some\nother time; for at present I intend only to relate those particulars\nthat he told us of the manners and laws of the Utopians: but I will\nbegin with the occasion that led us to speak of that commonwealth. After\nRaphael had discoursed with great judgment on the many errors that were\nboth among us and these nations; had treated of the wise institutions\nboth here and there, and had spoken as distinctly of the customs and\ngovernment of every nation through which he had passed, as if he had\nspent his whole life in it; Peter being struck with admiration, said, \"I\nwonder, Raphael, how it comes that you enter into no king's service, for\nI am sure there are none to whom you would not be very acceptable: for\nyour learning and knowledge, both of men and things, is such, that you\nwould not only entertain them very pleasantly, but be of great use to\nthem, by the examples you could set before them, and the advices you\ncould give them; and by this means you would both serve your own\ninterest, and be of great use to all your friends.\"--\"As for my\nfriends,\" answered he, \"I need not be much concerned, having already\ndone for them all that was incumbent on me; for when I was not only in\ngood health, but fresh and young, I distributed that among my kindred\nand friends which other people do not part with till they are old and\nsick; when they then unwillingly give that which they can enjoy no\nlonger themselves. I think my friends ought to rest contented with this,\nand not to expect that for their sakes I should enslave myself to any\nking whatsoever.\"--\"Soft and fair,\" said Peter, \"I do not mean that you\nshould be a slave to any king, but only that you should assist them, and\nbe useful to them.\"--\"The change of the word,\" said he, \"does not alter\nthe matter.\"--\"But term it as you will,\" replied Peter, \"I do not see\nany other way in which you can be so useful, both in private to your\nfriends, and to the public, and by which you can make your own condition\nhappier.\"--\"Happier!\" answered Raphael, \"is that to be compassed in a\nway so abhorrent to my genius? Now I live as I will, to which I believe\nfew courtiers can pretend. And there are so many that court the favour\nof great men, that there will be no great loss if they are not troubled\neither with me or with others of my temper.\" Upon this, said I, \"I\nperceive, Raphael, that you neither desire wealth nor greatness; and\nindeed I value and admire such a man much more than I do any of the\ngreat men in the world. Yet I think you would do what would well become\nso generous and philosophical a soul as yours is, if you would apply\nyour time and thoughts to public affairs, even though you may happen to\nfind it a little uneasy to yourself: and this you can never do with so\nmuch advantage, as by being taken into the counsel of some great prince,\nand putting him on noble and worthy actions, which I know you would do\nif you were in such a post; for the springs both of good and evil flow\nfrom the prince, over a whole nation, as from a lasting fountain. So\nmuch learning as you have, even without practice in affairs, or so great\na practice as you have had, without any other learning, would render you\na very fit counsellor to any king whatsoever.\"--\"You are doubly\nmistaken,\" said he, \"Mr. More, both in your opinion of me, and in the\njudgment you make of things: for as I have not that capacity that you\nfancy I have; so, if I had it, the public would not be one jot the\nbetter, when I had sacrificed my quiet to it. For most princes apply\nthemselves more to affairs of war than to the useful arts of peace; and\nin these I neither have any knowledge, nor do I much desire it: they are\ngenerally more set on acquiring new kingdoms, right or wrong, than on\ngoverning well those they possess. And among the ministers of princes,\nthere are none that are not so wise as to need no assistance, or at\nleast that do not think themselves so wise, that they imagine they need\nnone; and if they court any, it is only those for whom the prince has\nmuch personal favour, whom by their fawnings and flatteries they\nendeavour to fix to their own interests: and indeed Nature has so made\nus, that we all love to be flattered, and to please ourselves with our\nown notions. The old crow loves his young, and the ape her cubs. Now if\nin such a Court, made up of persons who envy all others, and only admire\nthemselves, a person should but propose anything that he had either read\nin history, or observed in his travels, the rest would think that the\nreputation of their wisdom would sink, and that their interest would be\nmuch depressed, if they could not run it down: and if all other things\nfailed, then they would fly to this, that such or such things pleased\nour ancestors, and it were well for us if we could but match them. They\nwould set up their rest on such an answer, as a sufficient confutation\nof all that could be said; as if it were a great misfortune, that any\nshould be found wiser than his ancestors; but though they willingly let\ngo all the good things that were among those of former ages, yet if\nbetter things are proposed they cover themselves obstinately with this\nexcuse of reverence to past times. I have met with these proud, morose,\nand absurd judgments of things in many places, particularly once in\nEngland.\"--\"Was you ever there?\" said I.--\"Yes, I was,\" answered he,\n\"and stayed some months there, not long after the rebellion in the west\nwas suppressed with a great slaughter of the poor people that were\nengaged in it.\n\n\"I was then much obliged to that reverend prelate, John Morton,\nArchbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal, and Chancellor of England: a man,\"\nsaid he, \"Peter (for Mr. More knows well what he was), that was not less\nvenerable for his wisdom and virtues, than for the high character he\nbore. He was of a middle stature, not broken with age; his looks begot\nreverence rather than fear; his conversation was easy, but serious and\ngrave; he sometimes took pleasure to try the force of those that came as\nsuitors to him upon business, by speaking sharply, though decently to\nthem, and by that he discovered their spirit and presence of mind, with\nwhich he was much delighted, when it did not grow up to impudence, as\nbearing a great resemblance to his own temper; and he looked on such\npersons as the fittest men for affairs. He spoke both gracefully and\nweightily; he was eminently skilled in the law, had a vast\nunderstanding, and a prodigious memory; and those excellent talents with\nwhich Nature had furnished him, were improved by study and experience.\nWhen I was in England the king depended much on his counsels, and the\ngovernment seemed to be chiefly supported by him; for from his youth he\nhad been all along practised in affairs; and having passed through many\ntraverses of fortune, he had with great cost acquired a vast stock of\nwisdom, which is not soon lost when it is purchased so dear. One day\nwhen I was dining with him there happened to be at table one of the\nEnglish lawyers, who took occasion to run out in a high commendation of\nthe severe execution of justice upon thieves, who, as he said, were then\nhanged so fast, that there were sometimes twenty on one gibbet; and upon\nthat he said he could not wonder enough how it came to pass, that since\nso few escaped, there were yet so many thieves left who were still\nrobbing in all places. Upon this, I who took the boldness to speak\nfreely before the Cardinal, said, there was no reason to wonder at the\nmatter, since this way of punishing thieves was neither just in itself\nnor good for the public; for as the severity was too great, so the\nremedy was not effectual; simple theft not being so great a crime that\nit ought to cost a man his life, no punishment how severe soever being\nable to restrain those from robbing who can find out no other way of\nlivelihood. 'In this,' said I, 'not only you in England, but a great\npart of the world imitate some ill masters that are readier to chastise\ntheir scholars than to teach them. There are dreadful punishments\nenacted against thieves, but it were much better to make such good\nprovisions by which every man might be put in a method how to live, and\nso be preserved from the fatal necessity of stealing and of dying for\nit.'--'There has been care enough taken for that,' said he, 'there are\nmany handicrafts, and there is husbandry, by which they may make a shift\nto live unless they have a greater mind to follow ill courses.'--'That\nwill not serve your turn,' said I, 'for many lose their limbs in civil\nor foreign wars, as lately in the Cornish rebellion, and some time ago\nin your wars with France, who being thus mutilated in the service of\ntheir king and country, can no more follow their old trades, and are\ntoo old to learn new ones: but since wars are only accidental things,\nand have intervals, let us consider those things that fall out every\nday. There is a great number of noblemen among you, that are themselves\nas idle as drones, that subsist on other men's labour, on the labour of\ntheir tenants, whom, to raise their revenues, they pare to the quick.\nThis indeed is the only instance of their frugality, for in all other\nthings they are prodigal, even to the beggaring of themselves: but\nbesides this, they carry about with them a great number of idle fellows,\nwho never learned any art by which they may gain their living; and\nthese, as soon as either their lord dies, or they themselves fall sick,\nare turned out of doors; for your lords are readier to feed idle people,\nthan to take care of the sick; and often the heir is not able to keep\ntogether so great a family as his predecessor did. Now when the stomachs\nof those that are thus turned out of doors, grow keen, they rob no less\nkeenly; and what else can they do? for when, by wandering about, they\nhave worn out both their health and their clothes, and are tattered, and\nlook ghastly, men of quality will not entertain them, and poor men dare\nnot do it; knowing that one who has been bred up in idleness and\npleasure, and who was used to walk about with his sword and buckler,\ndespising all the neighbourhood with an insolent scorn, as far below\nhim, is not fit for the spade and mattock: nor will he serve a poor man\nfor so small a hire, and in so low a diet as he can afford to give him.'\nTo this he answered, 'This sort of men ought to be particularly\ncherished, for in them consists the force of the armies for which we\nhave occasion; since their birth inspires them with a nobler sense of\nhonour, than is to be found among tradesmen or ploughmen.'--'You may as\nwell say,' replied I, 'that you must cherish thieves on the account of\nwars, for you will never want the one, as long as you have the other;\nand as robbers prove sometimes gallant soldiers, so soldiers often prove\nbrave robbers; so near an alliance there is between those two sorts of\nlife. But this bad custom, so common among you, of keeping many\nservants, is not peculiar to this nation. In France there is yet a more\npestiferous sort of people, for the whole country is full of soldiers,\nstill kept up in time of peace; if such a state of a nation can be\ncalled a peace: and these are kept in pay upon the same account that you\nplead for those idle retainers about noblemen; this being a maxim of\nthose pretended statesmen that it is necessary for the public safety, to\nhave a good body of veteran soldiers ever in readiness. They think raw\nmen are not to be depended on, and they sometimes seek occasions for\nmaking war, that they may train up their soldiers in the art of cutting\nthroats; or as Sallust observed, for keeping their hands in use, that\nthey may not grow dull by too long an intermission. But France has\nlearned to its cost, how dangerous it is to feed such beasts. The fate\nof the Romans, Carthaginians, and Syrians, and many other nations and\ncities, which were both overturned and quite ruined by those standing\narmies, should make others wiser: and the folly of this maxim of the\nFrench, appears plainly even from this, that their trained soldiers\noften find your raw men prove too hard for them; of which I will not say\nmuch, lest you may think I flatter the English. Every day's experience\nshows, that the mechanics in the towns, or the clowns in the country,\nare not afraid of fighting with those idle gentlemen, if they are not\ndisabled by some misfortune in their body, or dispirited by extreme\nwant, so that you need not fear that those well-shaped and strong men\n(for it is only such that noblemen love to keep about them, till they\nspoil them) who now grow feeble with ease, and are softened with their\neffeminate manner of life, would be less fit for action if they were\nwell bred and well employed. And it seems very unreasonable, that for\nthe prospect of a war, which you need never have but when you please,\nyou should maintain so many idle men, as will always disturb you in\ntime of peace, which is ever to be more considered than war. But I do\nnot think that this necessity of stealing arises only from hence; there\nis another cause of it more peculiar to England.'--'What is that?' said\nthe Cardinal.--'The increase of pasture,' said I, 'by which your sheep,\nwhich are naturally mild, and easily kept in order, may be said now to\ndevour men, and unpeople, not only villages, but towns; for wherever it\nis found that the sheep of any soil yield a softer and richer wool than\nordinary, there the nobility and gentry, and even those holy men the\nabbots, not contented with the old rents which their farms yielded, nor\nthinking it enough that they, living at their ease, do no good to the\npublic, resolve to do it hurt instead of good. They stop the course of\nagriculture, destroying houses and towns, reserving only the churches,\nand enclose grounds that they may lodge their sheep in them. As if\nforests and parks had swallowed up too little of the land, those worthy\ncountrymen turn the best inhabited places in solitudes; for when an\ninsatiable wretch, who is a plague to his country, resolves to inclose\nmany thousand acres of ground, the owners, as well as tenants, are\nturned out of their possessions, by tricks, or by main force, or being\nwearied out with ill usage, they are forced to sell them. By which means\nthose miserable people, both men and women, married and unmarried, old\nand young, with their poor but numerous families (since country business\nrequires many hands), are all forced to change their seats, not knowing\nwhither to go; and they must sell almost for nothing their household\nstuff, which could not bring them much money, even though they might\nstay for a buyer. When that little money is at an end, for it will be\nsoon spent; what is left for them to do, but either to steal and so to\nbe hanged (God knows how justly), or to go about and beg? And if they do\nthis, they are put in prison as idle vagabonds; while they would\nwillingly work, but can find none that will hire them; for there is no\nmore occasion for country labour, to which they have been bred, when\nthere is no arable ground left. One shepherd can look after a flock,\nwhich will stock an extent of ground that would require many hands, if\nit were to be ploughed and reaped. This likewise in many places raises\nthe price of corn. The price of wool is also so risen, that the poor\npeople who were wont to make cloth are no more able to buy it; and this\nlikewise makes many of them idle. For since the increase of pasture, God\nhas punished the avarice of the owners, by a rot among the sheep, which\nhas destroyed vast numbers of them; to us it might have seemed more just\nhad it fell on the owners themselves. But suppose the sheep should\nincrease ever so much, their price is not like to fall; since though\nthey cannot be called a monopoly, because they are not engrossed by one\nperson, yet they are in so few hands, and these are so rich, that as\nthey are not pressed to sell them sooner than they have a mind to it, so\nthey never do it till they have raised the price as high as possible.\nAnd on the same account it is, that the other kinds of cattle are so\ndear, because many villages being pulled down, and all country labour\nbeing much neglected, there are none who make it their business to breed\nthem. The rich do not breed cattle as they do sheep, but buy them lean,\nand at low prices; and after they have fattened them on their grounds,\nsell them again at high rates. And I do not think that all the\ninconveniences this will produce are yet observed; for as they sell the\ncattle dear, so if they are consumed faster than the breeding countries\nfrom which they are brought can afford them, then the stock must\ndecrease, and this must needs end in great scarcity; and by these means\nthis your island, which seemed as to this particular the happiest in the\nworld, will suffer much by the cursed avarice of a few persons; besides\nthis, the rising of corn makes all people lessen their families as much\nas they can; and what can those who are dismissed by them do, but\neither beg or rob? And to this last, a man of a great mind is much\nsooner drawn than to the former. Luxury likewise breaks in apace upon\nyou, to set forward your poverty and misery; there is an excessive\nvanity in apparel, and great cost in diet; and that not only in\nnoblemen's families, but even among tradesmen, among the farmers\nthemselves, and among all ranks of persons. You have also many infamous\nhouses, and besides those that are known, the taverns and alehouses are\nno better; add to these, dice, cards, tables, foot-ball, tennis, and\nquoits, in which money runs fast away; and those that are initiated into\nthem, must in the conclusion betake themselves to robbing for a supply.\nBanish these plagues, and give orders that those who have dispeopled so\nmuch soil, may either rebuild the villages they have pulled down, or let\nout their grounds to such as will do it: restrain those engrossings of\nthe rich, that are as bad almost as monopolies; leave fewer occasions to\nidleness; let agriculture be set up again, and the manufacture of the\nwool be regulated, that so there may be work found for those companies\nof idle people whom want forces to be thieves, or who now being idle\nvagabonds, or useless servants, will certainly grow thieves at last. If\nyou do not find a remedy to these evils, it is a vain thing to boast of\nyour severity in punishing theft, which though it may have the\nappearance of justice, yet in itself is neither just nor convenient. For\nif you suffer your people to be ill educated, and their manners to be\ncorrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to\nwhich their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded\nfrom this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?'\n\n\"While I was talking thus, the counsellor who was present had prepared\nan answer, and had resolved to resume all I had said, according to the\nformality of a debate, in which things are generally repeated more\nfaithfully than they are answered; as if the chief trial to be made\nwere of men's memories. 'You have talked prettily for a stranger,' said\nhe, 'having heard of many things among us which you have not been able\nto consider well; but I will make the whole matter plain to you, and\nwill first repeat in order all that you have said, then I will show how\nmuch your ignorance of our affairs has misled you, and will in the last\nplace answer all your arguments. And that I may begin where I promised,\nthere were four things----' 'Hold your peace,' said the Cardinal, 'this\nwill take up too much time; therefore we will at present ease you of the\ntrouble of answering, and reserve it to our next meeting, which shall be\nto-morrow, if Raphael's affairs and yours can admit of it. But,\nRaphael,' said he to me, 'I would gladly know upon what reason it is\nthat you think theft ought not to be punished by death? Would you give\nway to it? Or do you propose any other punishment that will be more\nuseful to the public? For since death does not restrain theft, if men\nthought their lives would be safe, what fear or force could restrain ill\nmen? On the contrary, they would look on the mitigation of the\npunishment as an invitation to commit more crimes.' I answered, 'It\nseems to me a very unjust thing to take away a man's life for a little\nmoney; for nothing in the world can be of equal value with a man's life:\nand if it is said, that it is not for the money that one suffers, but\nfor his breaking the law, I must say, extreme justice is an extreme\ninjury; for we ought not to approve of these terrible laws that make the\nsmallest offences capital, nor of that opinion of the Stoics, that makes\nall crimes equal, as if there were no difference to be made between the\nkilling a man and the taking his purse, between which, if we examine\nthings impartially, there is no likeness nor proportion. God has\ncommanded us not to kill, and shall we kill so easily for a little\nmoney? But if one shall say, that by that law we are only forbid to kill\nany, except when the laws of the land allow of it; upon the same\ngrounds, laws may be made in some cases to allow of adultery and\nperjury: for God having taken from us the right of disposing, either of\nour own or of other people's lives, if it is pretended that the mutual\nconsent of man in making laws can authorize man-slaughter in cases in\nwhich God has given us no example, that it frees people from the\nobligation of the divine law, and so makes murder a lawful action; what\nis this, but to give a preference to human laws before the divine? And\nif this is once admitted, by the same rule men may in all other things\nput what restrictions they please upon the laws of God. If by the\nMosaical law, though it was rough and severe, as being a yoke laid on an\nobstinate and servile nation, men were only fined, and not put to death\nfor theft, we cannot imagine that in this new law of mercy, in which God\ntreats us with the tenderness of a father, He has given us a greater\nlicense to cruelty than He did to the Jews. Upon these reasons it is,\nthat I think putting thieves to death is not lawful; and it is plain and\nobvious that it is absurd, and of ill consequence to the commonwealth,\nthat a thief and a murderer should be equally punished; for if a robber\nsees that his danger is the same, if he is convicted of theft as if he\nwere guilty of murder, this will naturally incite him to kill the person\nwhom otherwise he would only have robbed, since if the punishment is the\nsame, there is more security, and less danger of discovery, when he that\ncan best make it is put out of the way; so that terrifying thieves too\nmuch, provokes them to cruelty.\n\n\"'But as to the question, what more convenient way of punishment can be\nfound? I think it is much more easier to find out that, than to invent\nanything that is worse; why should we doubt but the way that was so long\nin use among the old Romans, who understood so well the arts of\ngovernment, was very proper for their punishment? They condemned such as\nthey found guilty of great crimes, to work their whole lives in\nquarries, or to dig in mines with chains about them. But the method that\nI liked best, was that which I observed in my travels in Persia, among\nthe Polylerits, who are a considerable and well-governed people. They\npay a yearly tribute to the King of Persia; but in all other respects\nthey are a free nation, and governed by their own laws. They lie far\nfrom the sea, and are environed with hills; and being contented with the\nproductions of their own country, which is very fruitful, they have\nlittle commerce with any other nation; and as they, according to the\ngenius of their country, have no inclination to enlarge their borders;\nso their mountains, and the pension they pay to the Persian, secure them\nfrom all invasions. Thus they have no wars among them: they live rather\nconveniently than with splendour, and may be rather called a happy\nnation, than either eminent or famous; for I do not think that they are\nknown so much as by name to any but their next neighbours. Those that\nare found guilty of theft among them, are bound to make restitution to\nthe owner, and not as it is in other places, to the prince, for they\nreckon that the prince has no more right to the stolen goods than the\nthief; but if that which was stolen is no more in being, then the goods\nof the thieves are estimated, and restitution being made out of them,\nthe remainder is given to their wives and children: and they themselves\nare condemned to serve in the public works, but are neither imprisoned,\nnor chained, unless there happened to be some extraordinary\ncircumstances in their crimes. They go about loose and free, working for\nthe public. If they are idle or backward to work, they are whipped; but\nif they work hard, they are well used and treated without any mark of\nreproach, only the lists of them are called always at night, and then\nthey are shut up. They suffer no other uneasiness, but this of constant\nlabour; for as they work for the public, so they are well entertained\nout of the public stock, which is done differently in different places.\nIn some places, whatever is bestowed on them, is raised by a charitable\ncontribution; and though this way may seem uncertain, yet so merciful\nare the inclinations of that people, that they are plentifully supplied\nby it; but in other places, public revenues are set aside for them; or\nthere is a constant tax of a poll-money raised for their maintenance. In\nsome places they are set to no public work, but every private man that\nhas occasion to hire workmen, goes to the market-places and hires them\nof the public, a little lower than he would do a freeman: if they go\nlazily about their task, he may quicken them with the whip. By this\nmeans there is always some piece of work or other to be done by them;\nand beside their livelihood, they earn somewhat still to the public.\nThey all wear a peculiar habit, of one certain colour, and their hair is\ncropped a little above their ears, and a piece of one of their ears is\ncut off. Their friends are allowed to give them either meat, drink, or\nclothes, so they are of their proper colour; but it is death, both to\nthe giver and taker, if they give them money; nor is it less penal for\nany freeman to take money from them, upon any account whatsoever: and it\nis also death for any of these slaves (so they are called) to handle\narms. Those of every division of the country are distinguished by a\npeculiar mark; which it is capital for them to lay aside, to go out of\ntheir bounds, or to talk with a slave of another jurisdiction; and the\nvery attempt of an escape is no less penal than an escape itself; it is\ndeath for any other slave to be accessory to it; and if a freeman\nengages in it he is condemned to slavery. Those that discover it are\nrewarded; if freemen, in money; and if slaves, with liberty, together\nwith a pardon for being accessory to it; that so they might find their\naccount, rather in repenting of their engaging in such a design, than in\npersisting in it.\n\n\"These are their laws and rules in relation to robbery; and it is\nobvious that they are as advantageous as they are mild and gentle;\nsince vice is not only destroyed, and men preserved, but they treated in\nsuch a manner as to make them see the necessity of being honest, and of\nemploying the rest of their lives in repairing the injuries they have\nformerly done to society. Nor is there any hazard of their falling back\nto their old customs: and so little do travellers apprehend mischief\nfrom them, that they generally make use of them for guides, from one\njurisdiction to another; for there is nothing left them by which they\ncan rob, or be the better for it, since as they are disarmed, so the\nvery having of money is a sufficient conviction: and as they are\ncertainly punished if discovered, so they cannot hope to escape; for\ntheir habit being in all the parts of it different from what is commonly\nworn, they cannot fly away, unless they would go naked, and even then\ntheir cropped ear would betray them. The only danger to be feared from\nthem, is their conspiring against the government: but those of one\ndivision and neighbourhood can do nothing to any purpose, unless a\ngeneral conspiracy were laid amongst all the slaves of the several\njurisdictions, which cannot be done, since they cannot meet or talk\ntogether; nor will any venture on a design where the concealment would\nbe so dangerous, and the discovery so profitable. None are quite\nhopeless of recovering their freedom, since by their obedience and\npatience, and by giving good grounds to believe that they will change\ntheir manner of life for the future, they may expect at last to obtain\ntheir liberty: and some are every year restored to it, upon the good\ncharacter that is given of them.--When I had related all this, I added,\nthat I did not see why such a method might not be followed with more\nadvantage, than could ever be expected from that severe justice which\nthe counsellor magnified so much. To this he answered, that it could\nnever take place in England, without endangering the whole nation. As he\nsaid this, he shook his head, made some grimaces, and held his peace,\nwhile all the company seemed of his opinion, except the Cardinal, who\nsaid that it was not easy to form a judgment of its success, since it\nwas a method that never yet had been tried. 'But if,' said he, 'when the\nsentence of death was passed upon a thief, the prince would reprieve him\nfor a while, and make the experiment upon him, denying him the privilege\nof a sanctuary; and then if it had a good effect upon him, it might take\nplace; and if it did not succeed, the worst would be, to execute the\nsentence on the condemned persons at last. And I do not see,' added he,\n'why it would be either unjust, inconvenient, or at all dangerous, to\nadmit of such a delay: in my opinion, the vagabonds ought to be treated\nin the same manner; against whom, though we have made many laws, yet we\nhave not been able to gain our end.' When the Cardinal had done, they\nall commended the motion, though they had despised it when it came from\nme; but more particularly commended what related to the vagabonds,\nbecause it was his own observation.\n\n\"I do not know whether it be worth while to tell what followed, for it\nwas very ridiculous; but I shall venture at it, for as it is not foreign\nto this matter, so some good use may be made of it. There was a jester\nstanding by, that counterfeited the fool so naturally, that he seemed to\nbe really one. The jests which he offered were so cold and dull, that we\nlaughed more at him than at them; yet sometimes he said, as it were by\nchance, things that were not unpleasant; so as to justify the old\nproverb, 'That he who throws the dice often, will sometimes have a lucky\nhit.' When one of the company had said, that I had taken care of the\nthieves, and the Cardinal had taken care of the vagabonds, so that there\nremained nothing but that some public provision might be made for the\npoor, whom sickness or old age had disabled from labour. 'Leave that to\nme,' said the fool, 'and I shall take care of them; for there is no\nsort of people whose sight I abhor more, having been so often vexed\nwith them, and with their sad complaints; but as dolefully soever as\nthey have told their tale, they could never prevail so far as to draw\none penny from me: for either I had no mind to give them anything, or\nwhen I had a mind to do it, I had nothing to give them: and they now\nknow me so well, that they will not lose their labour, but let me pass\nwithout giving me any trouble, because they hope for nothing, no more in\nfaith than if I were a priest: but I would have a law made, for sending\nall these beggars to monasteries, the men to the Benedictines to be made\nlay-brothers, and the women to be nuns.' The Cardinal smiled, and\napproved of it in jest; but the rest liked it in earnest. There was a\ndivine present, who though he was a grave morose man, yet he was so\npleased with this reflection that was made on the priests and the monks,\nthat he began to play with the fool, and said to him, 'This will not\ndeliver you from all beggars, except you take care of us friars.'--'That\nis done already,' answered the fool, 'for the Cardinal has provided for\nyou, by what he proposed for restraining vagabonds, and setting them to\nwork, for I know no vagabonds like you.' This was well entertained by\nthe whole company, who looking at the Cardinal, perceived that he was\nnot ill pleased at it; only the friar himself was vexed, as may be\neasily imagined, and fell into such a passion, that he could not forbear\nrailing at the fool, and calling him knave, slanderer, back-biter, and\nson of perdition, and then cited some dreadful threatenings out of the\nScriptures against him. Now the jester thought he was in his element,\nand laid about him freely. 'Good friar,' said he, 'be not angry, for it\nis written, \"In patience possess your soul.\"'--The friar answered (for I\nshall give you his own words), 'I am not angry, you hangman; at least I\ndo not sin in it, for the Psalmist says, \"Be ye angry, and sin\nnot.\"'--Upon this the Cardinal admonished him gently, and wished him to\ngovern his passions. 'No, my lord,' said he, 'I speak not but from a\ngood zeal, which I ought to have; for holy men have had a good zeal, as\nit is said, \"The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;\" and we sing in our\nchurch, that those who mocked Elisha as he went up to the house of God,\nfelt the effects of his zeal; which that mocker, that rogue, that\nscoundrel, will perhaps feel.'--'You do this perhaps with a good\nintention,' said the Cardinal; 'but in my opinion, it were wiser in you,\nand perhaps better for you, not to engage in so ridiculous a contest\nwith a fool.'--'No, my lord,' answered he, 'that were not wisely done;\nfor Solomon, the wisest of men, said, \"Answer a fool according to his\nfolly;\" which I now do, and show him the ditch into which he will fall,\nif he is not aware of it; for if the many mockers of Elisha, who was but\none bald man, felt the effect of his zeal, what will become of one\nmocker of so many friars, among whom there are so many bald men? We have\nlikewise a Bull, by which all that jeer us are excommunicated.'--When\nthe Cardinal saw that there was no end of this matter, he made a sign to\nthe fool to withdraw, turned the discourse another way; and soon after\nrose from the table, and dismissing us, went to hear causes.\n\n\"Thus, Mr. More, I have run out into a tedious story, of the length of\nwhich I had been ashamed, if, as you earnestly begged it of me, I had\nnot observed you to hearken to it, as if you had no mind to lose any\npart of it. I might have contracted it, but I resolved to give it you at\nlarge, that you might observe how those that despised what I had\nproposed, no sooner perceived that the Cardinal did not dislike it, but\npresently approved of it, fawned so on him, and flattered him to such a\ndegree, that they in good earnest applauded those things that he only\nliked in jest. And from hence you may gather, how little courtiers would\nvalue either me or my counsels.\"\n\nTo this I answered, \"You have done me a great kindness in this\nrelation; for as everything has been related by you, both wisely and\npleasantly, so you have made me imagine that I was in my own country,\nand grown young again, by recalling that good Cardinal to my thoughts,\nin whose family I was bred from my childhood: and though you are upon\nother accounts very dear to me, yet you are the dearer, because you\nhonour his memory so much; but after all this I cannot change my\nopinion; for I still think that if you could overcome that aversion\nwhich you have to the Courts of Princes, you might, by the advice which\nit is in your power to give, do a great deal of good to mankind; and\nthis is the chief design that every good man ought to propose to himself\nin living: for your friend Plato thinks that nations will be happy, when\neither philosophers become kings, or kings become philosophers; it is no\nwonder if we are so far from that happiness, while philosophers will not\nthink it their duty to assist kings with their councils.\"--\"They are not\nso base-minded,\" said he, \"but that they would willingly do it; many of\nthem have already done it by their books, if those that are in power\nwould but hearken to their good advice. But Plato judged right, that\nexcept kings themselves became philosophers, they who from their\nchildhood are corrupted with false notions, would never fall in entirely\nwith the councils of philosophers, and this he himself found to be true\nin the person of Dionysius.\n\n\"Do not you think, that if I were about any king, proposing good laws to\nhim, and endeavouring to root out all the cursed seeds of evil that I\nfound in him, I should either be turned out of his Court, or at least be\nlaughed at for my pains? For instance, what could it signify if I were\nabout the King of France, and were called into his cabinet-council,\nwhere several wise men, in his hearing, were proposing many expedients;\nas by what arts and practices Milan may be kept; and Naples, that had so\noft slipped out of their hands, recovered; how the Venetians, and after\nthem the rest of Italy, may be subdued; and then how Flanders, Brabant,\nand all Burgundy, and some other kingdoms which he has swallowed already\nin his designs, may be added to his empire. One proposes a league with\nthe Venetians, to be kept as long as he finds his account in it, and\nthat he ought to communicate councils with them, and give them some\nshare of the spoil, till his success makes him need or fear them less,\nand then it will be easily taken out of their hands. Another proposes\nthe hiring the Germans, and the securing the Switzers by pensions.\nAnother proposes the gaining the Emperor by money, which is omnipotent\nwith him. Another proposes a peace with the King of Arragon, and in\norder to cement it, the yielding up the King of Navarre's pretensions.\nAnother thinks the Prince of Castile is to be wrought on, by the hope of\nan alliance; and that some of his courtiers are to be gained to the\nFrench faction by pensions. The hardest point of all is what to do with\nEngland: a treaty of peace is to be set on foot, and if their alliance\nis not to be depended on, yet it is to be made as firm as possible; and\nthey are to be called friends, but suspected as enemies: therefore the\nScots are to be kept in readiness, to be let loose upon England on every\noccasion: and some banished nobleman is to be supported underhand (for\nby the league it cannot be done avowedly) who has a pretension to the\ncrown, by which means that suspected prince may be kept in awe. Now when\nthings are in so great a fermentation, and so many gallant men are\njoining councils, how to carry on the war, if so mean a man as I should\nstand up, and wish them to change all their councils, to let Italy\nalone, and stay at home, since the kingdom of France was indeed greater\nthan could be well governed by one man; that therefore he ought not to\nthink of adding others to it: and if after this, I should propose to\nthem the resolutions of the Achorians, a people that lie on the\nsouth-east of Utopia, who long ago engaged in war, in order to add to\nthe dominions of their prince another kingdom, to which he had some\npretensions by an ancient alliance. This they conquered, but found that\nthe trouble of keeping it was equal to that by which it was gained; that\nthe conquered people were always either in rebellion or exposed to\nforeign invasions, while they were obliged to be incessantly at war,\neither for or against them, and consequently could never disband their\narmy; that in the meantime they were oppressed with taxes, their money\nwent out of the kingdom, their blood was spilt for the glory of their\nking, without procuring the least advantage to the people, who received\nnot the smallest benefit from it even in time of peace; and that their\nmanners being corrupted by a long war, robbery and murders everywhere\nabounded, and their laws fell into contempt; while their king,\ndistracted with the care of two kingdoms, was the less able to apply his\nmind to the interests of either. When they saw this, and that there\nwould be no end to these evils, they by joint councils made an humble\naddress to their king, desiring him to choose which of the two kingdoms\nhe had the greatest mind to keep, since he could not hold both; for they\nwere too great a people to be governed by a divided king, since no man\nwould willingly have a groom that should be in common between him and\nanother. Upon which the good prince was forced to quit his new kingdom\nto one of his friends (who was not long after dethroned), and to be\ncontented with his old one. To this I would add, that after all those\nwarlike attempts, the vast confusions, and the consumption both of\ntreasure and of people that must follow them; perhaps upon some\nmisfortune, they might be forced to throw up all at last; therefore it\nseemed much more eligible that the king should improve his ancient\nkingdom all he could, and make it flourish as much as possible; that he\nshould love his people, and be beloved of them; that he should live\namong them, govern them gently, and let other kingdoms alone, since that\nwhich had fallen to his share was big enough, if not too big for him.\nPray how do you think would such a speech as this be heard?\"--\"I\nconfess,\" said I, \"I think not very well.\"\n\n\"But what,\" said he, \"if I should sort with another kind of ministers,\nwhose chief contrivances and consultations were, by what art the\nprince's treasures might be increased. Where one proposes raising the\nvalue of specie when the king's debts are large, and lowering it when\nhis revenues were to come in, that so he might both pay much with a\nlittle, and in a little receive a great deal: another proposes a\npretence of a war, that money might be raised in order to carry it on,\nand that a peace be concluded as soon as that was done; and this with\nsuch appearances of religion as might work on the people, and make them\nimpute it to the piety of their prince, and to his tenderness for the\nlives of his subjects. A third offers some old musty laws, that have\nbeen antiquated by a long disuse; and which, as they had been forgotten\nby all the subjects, so they had been also broken by them; and proposes\nthe levying the penalties of these laws, that as it would bring in a\nvast treasure, so there might be a very good pretence for it, since it\nwould look like the executing a law, and the doing of justice. A fourth\nproposes the prohibiting of many things under severe penalties,\nespecially such as were against the interest of the people, and then the\ndispensing with these prohibitions upon great compositions, to those who\nmight find their advantage in breaking them. This would serve two ends,\nboth of them acceptable to many; for as those whose avarice led them to\ntransgress would be severely fined, so the selling licenses dear would\nlook as if a prince were tender of his people, and would not easily, or\nat low rates, dispense with anything that might be against the public\ngood. Another proposes that the judges must be made sure, that they may\ndeclare always in favour of the prerogative, that they must be often\nsent for to Court, that the king may hear them argue those points in\nwhich he is concerned; since how unjust soever any of his pretensions\nmay be, yet still some one or other of them, either out of contradiction\nto others, or the pride of singularity, or to make their court, would\nfind out some pretence or other to give the king a fair colour to carry\nthe point: for if the judges but differ in opinion, the clearest thing\nin the world is made by that means disputable, and truth being once\nbrought in question, the king may then take advantage to expound the law\nfor his own profit; while the judges that stand out will be brought\nover, either out of fear or modesty; and they being thus gained, all of\nthem may be sent to the bench to give sentence boldly, as the king would\nhave it: for fair pretences will never be wanting when sentence is to be\ngiven in the prince's favour. It will either be said that equity lies of\nhis side, or some words in the law will be found sounding that way, or\nsome forced sense will be put on them; and when all other things fail,\nthe king's undoubted prerogative will be pretended, as that which is\nabove all law; and to which a religious judge ought to have a special\nregard. Thus all consent to that maxim of Crassus, that a prince cannot\nhave treasure enough, since he must maintain his armies out of it: that\na king, even though he would, can do nothing unjustly; that all property\nis in him, not excepting the very persons of his subjects: and that no\nman has any other property, but that which the king out of his goodness\nthinks fit to leave him. And they think it is the prince's interest,\nthat there be as little of this left as may be, as if it were his\nadvantage that his people should have neither riches nor liberty; since\nthese things make them less easy and less willing to submit to a cruel\nand unjust government; whereas necessity and poverty blunts them, makes\nthem patient, beats them down, and breaks that height of spirit, that\nmight otherwise dispose them to rebel. Now what if after all these\npropositions were made, I should rise up and assert, that such councils\nwere both unbecoming a king, and mischievous to him: and that not only\nhis honour but his safety consisted more in his people's wealth, than in\nhis own; if I should show that they choose a king for their own sake,\nand not for his; that by his care and endeavours they may be both easy\nand safe; and that therefore a prince ought to take more care of his\npeople's happiness than of his own, as a shepherd is to take more care\nof his flock than of himself. It is also certain, that they are much\nmistaken that think the poverty of a nation is a means of the public\nsafety. Who quarrel more than beggars? Who does more earnestly long for\na change, than he that is uneasy in his present circumstances? And who\nrun to create confusions with so desperate a boldness, as those who have\nnothing to lose, hope to gain by them? If a king should fall under such\ncontempt or envy, that he could not keep his subjects in their duty, but\nby oppression and ill usage, and by rendering them poor and miserable,\nit were certainly better for him to quit his kingdom, than to retain it\nby such methods, as makes him while he keeps the name of authority, lose\nthe majesty due to it. Nor is it so becoming the dignity of a king to\nreign over beggars, as over rich and happy subjects. And therefore\nFabricius, a man of a noble and exalted temper, said, he would rather\ngovern rich men, than be rich himself; since for one man to abound in\nwealth and pleasure, when all about him are mourning and groaning, is to\nbe a gaoler and not a king. He is an unskilful physician, that cannot\ncure one disease without casting his patient into another: so he that\ncan find no other way for correcting the errors of his people, but by\ntaking from them the conveniences of life, shows that he knows not what\nit is to govern a free nation. He himself ought rather to shake off his\nsloth, or to lay down his pride; for the contempt or hatred that his\npeople have for him, takes its rise from the vices in himself. Let him\nlive upon what belongs to him, without wronging others, and accommodate\nhis expense to his revenue. Let him punish crimes, and by his wise\nconduct let him endeavour to prevent them, rather than be severe when he\nhas suffered them to be too common: let him not rashly revive laws that\nare abrogated by disuse, especially if they have been long forgotten,\nand never wanted; and let him never take any penalty for the breach of\nthem, to which a judge would not give way in a private man, but would\nlook on him as a crafty and unjust person for pretending to it. To these\nthings I would add, that law among the Macarians, a people that lie not\nfar from Utopia, by which their king, on the day on which he begins to\nreign, is tied by an oath confirmed by solemn sacrifices, never to have\nat once above a thousand pounds of gold in his treasures, or so much\nsilver as is equal to that in value. This law, they tell us, was made by\nan excellent king, who had more regard to the riches of his country than\nto his own wealth; and therefore provided against the heaping up of so\nmuch treasure, as might impoverish the people. He thought that moderate\nsum might be sufficient for any accident; if either the king had\noccasion for it against rebels, or the kingdom against the invasion of\nan enemy; but that it was not enough to encourage a prince to invade\nother men's rights, a circumstance that was the chief cause of his\nmaking that law. He also thought that it was a good provision for that\nfree circulation of money, so necessary for the course of commerce and\nexchange: and when a king must distribute all those extraordinary\naccessions that increase treasure beyond the due pitch, it makes him\nless disposed to oppress his subjects. Such a king as this will be the\nterror of ill men, and will be beloved by all the good.\n\n\"If, I say, I should talk of these or such like things, to men that had\ntaken their bias another way, how deaf would they be to all I could\nsay?\"--\"No doubt, very deaf,\" answered I; and no wonder, for one is\nnever to offer at propositions or advice that we are certain will not be\nentertained. Discourses so much out of the road could not avail\nanything, nor have any effect on men whose minds were prepossessed with\ndifferent sentiments. This philosophical way of speculation is not\nunpleasant among friends in a free conversation, but there is no room\nfor it in the Courts of Princes where great affairs are carried on by\nauthority.\"--\"That is what I was saying,\" replied he, \"that there is no\nroom for philosophy in the Courts of Princes.\"--\"Yes, there is,\" said I,\n\"but not for this speculative philosophy that makes everything to be\nalike fitting at all times: but there is another philosophy that is more\npliable, that knows its proper scene, accommodates itself to it, and\nteaches a man with propriety and decency to act that part which has\nfallen to his share. If when one of Plautus's comedies is upon the stage\nand a company of servants are acting their parts, you should come out in\nthe garb of a philosopher, and repeat out of 'Octavia' a discourse of\nSeneca's to Nero, would it not be better for you to say nothing than by\nmixing things of such different natures to make an impertinent\ntragi-comedy? For you spoil and corrupt the play that is in hand when\nyou mix with it things of an opposite nature, even though they are much\nbetter. Therefore go through with the play that is acting the best you\ncan, and do not confound it because another that is pleasanter comes\ninto your thoughts. It is even so in a commonwealth, and in the councils\nof princes; if ill opinions cannot be quite rooted out, and you cannot\ncure some received vice according to your wishes, you must not therefore\nabandon the commonwealth, for the same reasons you should not forsake\nthe ship in a storm because you cannot command the winds. You are not\nobliged to assault people with discourses that are out of their road,\nwhen you see that their received notions must prevent your making an\nimpression upon them. You ought rather to cast about and to manage\nthings with all the dexterity in your power, so that if you are not\nable to make them go well they may be as little ill as possible; for\nexcept all men were good everything cannot be right, and that is a\nblessing that I do not at present hope to see. According to your\narguments,\" answered he, \"all that I could be able to do would be to\npreserve myself from being mad while I endeavoured to cure the madness\nof others; for if I speak truth, I must repeat what I have said to you;\nand as for lying, whether a philosopher can do it or not, I cannot tell,\nI am sure I cannot do it. But though these discourses may be uneasy and\nungrateful to them, I do not see why they should seem foolish or\nextravagant: indeed if I should either propose such things as Plato has\ncontrived in his commonwealth, or as the Utopians practise in theirs,\nthough they might seem better, as certainly they are, yet they are so\ndifferent from our establishment, which is founded on property, there\nbeing no such thing among them, that I could not expect that it would\nhave any effect on them; but such discourses as mine, which only call\npast evils to mind and give warning of what may follow, have nothing in\nthem that is so absurd that they may not be used at any time, for they\ncan only be unpleasant to those who are resolved to run headlong the\ncontrary way; and if we must let alone everything as absurd or\nextravagant which by reason of the wicked lives of many may seem\nuncouth, we must, even among Christians, give over pressing the greatest\npart of those things that Christ hath taught us, though He has commanded\nus not to conceal them, but to proclaim on the house-tops that which He\ntaught in secret. The greatest parts of His precepts are more opposite\nto the lives of the men of this age than any part of my discourse has\nbeen; but the preachers seemed to have learned that craft to which you\nadvise me, for they observing that the world would not willingly suit\ntheir lives to the rules that Christ has given, have fitted His doctrine\nas if it had been a leaden rule, to their lives, that so some way or\nother they might agree with one another. But I see no other effect of\nthis compliance except it be that men become more secure in their\nwickedness by it. And this is all the success that I can have in a\nCourt, for I must always differ from the rest, and then I shall signify\nnothing; or if I agree with them, I shall then only help forward their\nmadness. I do not comprehend what you mean by your casting about, or by\nthe bending and handling things so dexterously, that if they go not well\nthey may go as little ill as may be; for in Courts they will not bear\nwith a man's holding his peace or conniving at what others do. A man\nmust barefacedly approve of the worst counsels, and consent to the\nblackest designs: so that he would pass for a spy, or possibly for a\ntraitor, that did but coldly approve of such wicked practices: and\ntherefore when a man is engaged in such a society, he will be so far\nfrom being able to mend matters by his casting about, as you call it,\nthat he will find no occasions of doing any good: the ill company will\nsooner corrupt him, than be the better for him: or if notwithstanding\nall their ill company, he still remains steady and innocent, yet their\nfollies and knavery will be imputed to him; and by mixing counsels with\nthem, he must bear his share of all the blame that belongs wholly to\nothers.\n\n\"It was no ill simile by which Plato set forth the unreasonableness of a\nphilosopher's meddling with government. If a man, says he, was to see a\ngreat company run out every day into the rain, and take delight in being\nwet; if he knew that it would be to no purpose for him to go and\npersuade them to return to their houses, in order to avoid the storm,\nand that all that could be expected by his going to speak to them would\nbe that he himself should be as wet as they, it would be best for him to\nkeep within doors; and since he had not influence enough to correct\nother people's folly, to take care to preserve himself.\n\n\"Though to speak plainly my real sentiments, I must freely own, that as\nlong as there is any property, and while money is the standard of all\nother things, I cannot think that a nation can be governed either justly\nor happily: not justly, because the best things will fall to the share\nof the worst men; nor happily, because all things will be divided among\na few (and even these are not in all respects happy), the rest being\nleft to be absolutely miserable. Therefore when I reflect on the wise\nand good constitution of the Utopians, among whom all things are so well\ngoverned, and with so few laws; where virtue hath its due reward, and\nyet there is such an equality, that every man lives in plenty; when I\ncompare with them so many other nations that are still making new laws,\nand yet can never bring their constitution to a right regulation, where\nnotwithstanding every one has his property; yet all the laws that they\ncan invent have not the power either to obtain or preserve it, or even\nto enable men certainly to distinguish what is their own from what is\nanother's; of which the many lawsuits that every day break out, and are\neternally depending, give too plain a demonstration; when, I say, I\nbalance all these things in my thoughts, I grow more favourable to\nPlato, and do not wonder that he resolved not to make any laws for such\nas would not submit to a community of all things: for so wise a man\ncould not but foresee that the setting all upon a level was the only way\nto make a nation happy, which cannot be obtained so long as there is\nproperty: for when every man draws to himself all that he can compass,\nby one title or another, it must needs follow, that how plentiful soever\na nation may be, yet a few dividing the wealth of it among themselves,\nthe rest must fall into indigence. So that there will be two sorts of\npeople among them, who deserve that their fortunes should be\ninterchanged; the former useless, but wicked and ravenous; and the\nlatter, who by their constant industry serve the public more than\nthemselves, sincere and modest men. From whence I am persuaded, that\ntill property is taken away there can be no equitable or just\ndistribution of things, nor can the world be happily governed: for as\nlong as that is maintained, the greatest and the far best part of\nmankind will be still oppressed with a load of cares and anxieties. I\nconfess without taking it quite away, those pressures that lie on a\ngreat part of mankind may be made lighter; but they can never be quite\nremoved. For if laws were made to determine at how great an extent in\nsoil, and at how much money every man must stop, to limit the prince\nthat he might not grow too great, and to restrain the people that they\nmight not become too insolent, and that none might factiously aspire to\npublic employments; which ought neither to be sold, nor made burthensome\nby a great expense; since otherwise those that serve in them would be\ntempted to reimburse themselves by cheats and violence, and it would\nbecome necessary to find out rich men for undergoing those employments\nwhich ought rather to be trusted to the wise. These laws, I say, might\nhave such effects, as good diet and care might have on a sick man, whose\nrecovery is desperate: they might allay and mitigate the disease, but it\ncould never be quite healed, nor the body politic be brought again to a\ngood habit, as long as property remains; and it will fall out as in a\ncomplication of diseases, that by applying a remedy to one sore, you\nwill provoke another; and that which removes the one ill symptom\nproduces others, while the strengthening one part of the body weakens\nthe rest.\"--\"On the contrary,\" answered I, \"it seems to me that men\ncannot live conveniently, where all things are common: how can there be\nany plenty, where every man will excuse himself from labour? For as the\nhope of gain doth not excite him, so the confidence that he has in other\nmen's industry may make him slothful: if people come to be pinched with\nwant, and yet cannot dispose of anything as their own; what can follow\nupon this but perpetual sedition and bloodshed, especially when the\nreverence and authority due to magistrates falls to the ground? For I\ncannot imagine how that can be kept up among those that are in all\nthings equal to one another.\"--\"I do not wonder,\" said he, \"that it\nappears so to you, since you have no notion, or at least no right one,\nof such a constitution: but if you had been in Utopia with me, and had\nseen their laws and rules, as I did, for the space of five years, in\nwhich I lived among them; and during which time I was so delighted with\nthem, that indeed I should never have left them, if it had not been to\nmake the discovery of that new world to the Europeans; you would then\nconfess that you had never seen a people so well constituted as\nthey,\"--\"You will not easily persuade me,\" said Peter, \"that any nation\nin that new world is better governed than those among us. For as our\nunderstandings are not worse than theirs, so our government, if I\nmistake not, being more ancient, a long practice has helped us to find\nout many conveniences of life: and some happy chances have discovered\nother things to us, which no man's understanding could ever have\ninvented.\"--\"As for the antiquity, either of their government, or of\nours,\" said he, \"you cannot pass a true judgment of it, unless you had\nread their histories; for if they are to be believed, they had towns\namong them before these parts were so much as inhabited. And as for\nthose discoveries, that have been either hit on by chance, or made by\ningenious men, these might have happened there as well as here. I do not\ndeny but we are more ingenious than they are, but they exceed us much in\nindustry and application. They knew little concerning us before our\narrival among them; they call us all by a general name of the nations\nthat lie beyond the Equinoctial Line; for their Chronicle mentions a\nshipwreck that was made on their coast 1,200 years ago; and that some\nRomans and Egyptians that were in the ship, getting safe ashore, spent\nthe rest of their days amongst them; and such was their ingenuity, that\nfrom this single opportunity they drew the advantage of learning from\nthose unlooked-for guests, and acquired all the useful arts that were\nthen among the Romans, and which were known to these shipwrecked men:\nand by the hints that they gave them, they themselves found out even\nsome of those arts which they could not fully explain; so happily did\nthey improve that accident, of having some of our people cast upon their\nshore. But if such an accident has at any time brought any from thence\ninto Europe, we have been so far from improving it, that we do not so\nmuch as remember it; as in after-times perhaps it will be forgot by our\npeople that I was ever there. For though they from one such accident\nmade themselves masters of all the good inventions that were among us;\nyet I believe it would be long before we should learn or put in practice\nany of the good institutions that are among them. And this is the true\ncause of their being better governed, and living happier than we, though\nwe come not short of them in point of understanding or outward\nadvantages.\"--Upon this I said to him, \"I earnestly beg you would\ndescribe that island very particularly to us. Be not too short, but set\nout in order all things relating to their soil, their rivers, their\ntowns, their people, their manners, constitution, laws, and, in a word,\nall that you imagine we desire to know. And you may well imagine that we\ndesire to know everything concerning them, of which we are hitherto\nignorant.\"--\"I will do it very willingly,\" said he, \"for I have digested\nthe whole matter carefully; but it will take up some time,\"--\"Let us go\nthen,\" said I, \"first and dine, and then we shall have leisure enough.\"\nHe consented. We went in and dined, and after dinner came back, and sat\ndown in the same place. I ordered my servants to take care that none\nmight come and interrupt us. And both Peter and I desired Raphael to be\nas good as his word. When he saw that we were very intent upon it, he\npaused a little to recollect himself, and began in this manner.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK II.\n\n\nThe island of Utopia is in the middle two hundred miles broad, and holds\nalmost at the same breadth over a great part of it; but it grows\nnarrower towards both ends. Its figure is not unlike a crescent: between\nits horns, the sea comes in eleven miles broad, and spreads itself into\na great bay, which is environed with land to the compass of about five\nhundred miles, and is well secured from winds. In this bay there is no\ngreat current, the whole coast is, as it were, one continued harbour,\nwhich gives all that live in the island great convenience for mutual\ncommerce; but the entry into the bay, occasioned by rocks on the one\nhand, and shallows on the other, is very dangerous. In the middle of it\nthere is one single rock which appears above water, and may therefore be\neasily avoided, and on the top of it there is a tower in which a\ngarrison is kept, the other rocks lie under water, and are very\ndangerous. The channel is known only to the natives, so that if any\nstranger should enter into the bay, without one of their pilots, he\nwould run great danger of shipwreck; for even they themselves could not\npass it safe, if some marks that are on the coast did not direct their\nway; and if these should be but a little shifted, any fleet that might\ncome against them, how great soever it were, would be certainly lost. On\nthe other side of the island there are likewise many harbours; and the\ncoast is so fortified, both by nature and art, that a small number of\nmen can hinder the descent of a great army. But they report (and there\nremains good marks of it to make it credible) that this was no island at\nfirst, but a part of the continent. Utopus that conquered it (whose name\nit still carries, for Abraxa was its first name) brought the rude and\nuncivilized inhabitants into such a good government, and to that measure\nof politeness, that they now far excel all the rest of mankind; having\nsoon subdued them, he designed to separate them from the continent, and\nto bring the sea quite round them. To accomplish this, he ordered a deep\nchannel to be dug fifteen miles long; and that the natives might not\nthink he treated them like slaves, he not only forced the inhabitants,\nbut also his own soldiers, to labour in carrying it on. As he set a vast\nnumber of men to work, he beyond all men's expectations brought it to a\nspeedy conclusion. And his neighbours who at first laughed at the folly\nof the undertaking, no sooner saw it brought to perfection, than they\nwere struck with admiration and terror.\n\nThere are fifty-four cities in the island, all large and well built: the\nmanners, customs, and laws of which are the same, and they are all\ncontrived as near in the same manner as the ground on which they stand\nwill allow. The nearest lie at least twenty-four miles distance from one\nanother, and the most remote are not so far distant, but that a man can\ngo on foot in one day from it, to that which lies next it. Every city\nsends three of their wisest senators once a year to Amaurot, to consult\nabout their common concerns; for that is chief town of the island, being\nsituated near the centre of it, so that it is the most convenient place\nfor their assemblies. The jurisdiction of every city extends at least\ntwenty miles: and where the towns lie wider, they have much more ground:\nno town desires to enlarge its bounds, for the people consider\nthemselves rather as tenants than landlords. They have built over all\nthe country, farmhouses for husbandmen, which are well contrived, and\nare furnished with all things necessary for country labour. Inhabitants\nare sent by turns from the cities to dwell in them; no country family\nhas fewer than forty men and women in it, besides two slaves. There is a\nmaster and a mistress set over every family; and over thirty families\nthere is a magistrate. Every year twenty of this family come back to the\ntown, after they have stayed two years in the country; and in their\nroom there are other twenty sent from the town, that they may learn\ncountry work from those that have been already one year in the country,\nas they must teach those that come to them the next from the town. By\nthis means such as dwell in those country farms are never ignorant of\nagriculture, and so commit no errors, which might otherwise be fatal,\nand bring them under a scarcity of corn. But though there is every year\nsuch a shifting of the husbandmen, to prevent any man being forced\nagainst his will to follow that hard course of life too long; yet many\namong them take such pleasure in it, that they desire leave to continue\nin it many years. These husbandmen till the ground, breed cattle, hew\nwood, and convey it to the towns, either by land or water, as is most\nconvenient. They breed an infinite multitude of chickens in a very\ncurious manner; for the hens do not sit and hatch them, but vast number\nof eggs are laid in a gentle and equal heat, in order to be hatched, and\nthey are no sooner out of the shell, and able to stir about, but they\nseem to consider those that feed them as their mothers, and follow them\nas other chickens do the hen that hatched them. They breed very few\nhorses, but those they have are full of mettle, and are kept only for\nexercising their youth in the art of sitting and riding them; for they\ndo not put them to any work, either of ploughing or carriage, in which\nthey employ oxen; for though their horses are stronger, yet they find\noxen can hold out longer; and as they are not subject to so many\ndiseases, so they are kept upon a less charge, and with less trouble;\nand even when they are so worn out, that they are no more fit for\nlabour, they are good meat at last. They sow no corn, but that which is\nto be their bread; for they drink either wine, cyder, or perry, and\noften water, sometimes boiled with honey or liquorice, with which they\nabound; and though they know exactly how much corn will serve every\ntown, and all that tract of country which belongs to it, yet they sow\nmuch more, and breed more cattle than are necessary for their\nconsumption; and they give that overplus of which they make no use to\ntheir neighbours. When they want anything in the country which it does\nnot produce, they fetch that from the town, without carrying anything in\nexchange for it. And the magistrates of the town take care to see it\ngiven them; for they meet generally in the town once a month, upon a\nfestival day. When the time of harvest comes, the magistrates in the\ncountry send to those in the towns, and let them know how many hands\nthey will need for reaping the harvest; and the number they call for\nbeing sent to them, they commonly despatch it all in one day.\n\n\nOF THEIR TOWNS, PARTICULARLY OF AMAUROT.\n\nHe that knows one of their towns, knows them all, they are so like one\nanother, except where the situation makes some difference. I shall\ntherefore describe one of them; and none is so proper as Amaurot; for as\nnone is more eminent, all the rest yielding in precedence to this,\nbecause it is the seat of their supreme council; so there was none of\nthem better known to me, I having lived five years altogether in it.\n\nIt lies upon the side of a hill, or rather a rising ground: its figure\nis almost square, for from the one side of it, which shoots up almost to\nthe top of the hill, it runs down in a descent for two miles to the\nriver Anider; but it is a little broader the other way that runs along\nby the bank of that river. The Anider rises about eighty miles above\nAmaurot in a small spring at first; but other brooks falling into it, of\nwhich two are more considerable than the rest. As it runs by Amaurot, it\nis grown half a mile broad; but it still grows larger and larger, till\nafter sixty miles course below it, it is lost in the ocean, between the\ntown and the sea, and for some miles above the town, it ebbs and flows\nevery six hours, with a strong current. The tide comes up for about\nthirty miles so full, that there is nothing but salt water in the river,\nthe fresh water being driven back with its force; and above that, for\nsome miles, the water is brackish; but a little higher, as it runs by\nthe town, it is quite fresh; and when the tide ebbs, it continues fresh\nall along to the sea. There is a bridge cast over the river, not of\ntimber, but of fair stone, consisting of many stately arches; it lies at\nthat part of the town which is farthest from the sea, so that ships\nwithout any hindrance lie all along the side of the town. There is\nlikewise another river that runs by it, which though it is not great,\nyet it runs pleasantly, for it rises out of the same hill on which the\ntown stands, and so runs down through it, and falls into the Anider. The\ninhabitants have fortified the fountain-head of this river, which\nsprings a little without the towns; that so if they should happen to be\nbesieged, the enemy might not be able to stop or divert the course of\nthe water, nor poison it; from thence it is carried in earthen pipes to\nthe lower streets; and for those places of the town to which the water\nof that small river cannot be conveyed, they have great cisterns for\nreceiving the rain-water, which supplies the want of the other. The town\nis compassed with a high and thick wall, in which there are many towers\nand forts; there is also a broad and deep dry ditch, set thick with\nthorns, cast round three sides of the town, and the river is instead of\na ditch on the fourth side. The streets are very convenient for all\ncarriage, and are well sheltered from the winds. Their buildings are\ngood, and are so uniform, that a whole side of a street looks like one\nhouse. The streets are twenty feet broad; there lie gardens behind all\ntheir houses; these are large but enclosed with buildings, that on all\nhands face the streets; so that every house has both a door to the\nstreet, and a back door to the garden. Their doors have all two leaves,\nwhich, as they are easily opened, so they shut of their own accord; and\nthere being no property among them, every man may freely enter into any\nhouse whatsoever. At every ten years end they shift their houses by\nlots. They cultivate their gardens with great care, so that they have\nboth vines, fruits, herbs, and flowers in them; and all is so well\nordered, and so finely kept, that I never saw gardens anywhere that were\nboth so fruitful and so beautiful as theirs. And this humour of ordering\ntheir gardens so well, is not only kept up by the pleasure they find in\nit, but also by an emulation between the inhabitants of the several\nstreets, who vie with each other; and there is indeed nothing belonging\nto the whole town that is both more useful and more pleasant. So that he\nwho founded the town, seems to have taken care of nothing more than of\ntheir gardens; for they say, the whole scheme of the town was designed\nat first by Utopus, but he left all that belonged to the ornament and\nimprovement of it, to be added by those that should come after him, that\nbeing too much for one man to bring to perfection. Their records, that\ncontain the history of their town and state, are preserved with an exact\ncare, and run backwards 1,760 years. From these it appears that their\nhouses were at first low and mean, like cottages, made of any sort of\ntimber, and were built with mud walls and thatched with straw. But now\ntheir houses are three stories high: the fronts of them are faced either\nwith stone, plastering, or brick; and between the facings of their walls\nthey throw in their rubbish. Their roofs are flat, and on them they lay\na sort of plaster, which costs very little, and yet is so tempered that\nit is not apt to take fire, and yet resists the weather more than lead.\nThey have great quantities of glass among them, with which they glaze\ntheir windows. They use also in their windows a thin linen cloth, that\nis so oiled or gummed that it both keeps out the wind and gives free\nadmission to the light.\n\n\nOF THEIR MAGISTRATES.\n\nThirty families choose every year a magistrate, who was anciently called\nthe Syphogrant, but is now called the Philarch; and over every ten\nSyphogrants, with the families subject to them, there is another\nmagistrate, who was anciently called the Tranibor, but of late the\nArchphilarch. All the Syphogrants, who are in number 200, choose the\nPrince out of a list of four, who are named by the people of the four\ndivisions of the city; but they take an oath before they proceed to an\nelection, that they will choose him whom they think most fit for the\noffice. They give their voices secretly, so that it is not known for\nwhom every one gives his suffrage. The Prince is for life, unless he is\nremoved upon suspicion of some design to enslave the people. The\nTranibors are new chosen every year, but yet they are for the most part\ncontinued. All their other magistrates are only annual. The Tranibors\nmeet every third day, and oftener if necessary, and consult with the\nPrince, either concerning the affairs of the state in general, or such\nprivate differences as may arise sometimes among the people; though that\nfalls out but seldom. There are always two Syphogrants called into the\ncouncil-chamber, and these are changed every day. It is a fundamental\nrule of their government, that no conclusion can be made in anything\nthat relates to the public, till it has been first debated three several\ndays in their council. It is death for any to meet and consult\nconcerning the state, unless it be either in their ordinary council, or\nin the assembly of the whole body of the people.\n\nThese things have been so provided among them, that the Prince and the\nTranibors may not conspire together to change the government, and\nenslave the people; and therefore when anything of great importance is\nset on foot, it is sent to the Syphogrants; who after they have\ncommunicated it to the families that belong to their divisions, and have\nconsidered it among themselves, make report to the senate; and upon\ngreat occasions, the matter is referred to the council of the whole\nisland. One rule observed in their council, is, never to debate a thing\non the same day in which it is first proposed; for that is always\nreferred to the next meeting, that so men may not rashly, and in the\nheat of discourse, engage themselves too soon, which might bias them so\nmuch, that instead of consulting the good of the public, they might\nrather study to support their first opinions, and by a perverse and\npreposterous sort of shame, hazard their country rather than endanger\ntheir own reputation, or venture the being suspected to have wanted\nforesight in the expedients that they at first proposed. And therefore\nto prevent this, they take care that they may rather be deliberate than\nsudden in their motions.\n\n\nOF THEIR TRADES, AND MANNER OF LIFE.\n\nAgriculture is that which is so universally understood among them, that\nno person, either man or woman, is ignorant of it; they are instructed\nin it from their childhood, partly by what they learn at school, and\npartly by practice; they being led out often into the fields, about the\ntown, where they not only see others at work, but are likewise exercised\nin it themselves. Besides agriculture, which is so common to them all,\nevery man has some peculiar trade to which he applies himself, such as\nthe manufacture of wool, or flax, masonry, smith's work, or carpenter's\nwork; for there is no sort of trade that is in great esteem among them.\nThroughout the island they wear the same sort of clothes without any\nother distinction, except what is necessary to distinguish the two\nsexes, and the married and unmarried. The fashion never alters; and as\nit is neither disagreeable nor uneasy, so it is suited to the climate,\nand calculated both for their summers and winters. Every family makes\ntheir own clothes; but all among them, women as well men, learn one or\nother of the trades formerly mentioned. Women, for the most part, deal\nin wool and flax, which suit best with their weakness, leaving the ruder\ntrades to the men. The same trade generally passes down from father to\nson, inclinations often following descent; but if any man's genius lies\nanother way, he is by adoption translated into a family that deals in\nthe trade to which he is inclined: and when that is to be done, care is\ntaken not only by his father, but by the magistrate, that he may be put\nto a discreet and good man. And if after a person has learned one trade,\nhe desires to acquire another, that is also allowed, and is managed in\nthe same manner as the former. When he has learned both, he follows that\nwhich he likes best, unless the public has more occasion for the other.\n\nThe chief, and almost the only business of the Syphogrants, is to take\ncare that no man may live idle, but that every one may follow his trade\ndiligently: yet they do not wear themselves out with perpetual toil,\nfrom morning to night, as if they were beasts of burden, which as it is\nindeed a heavy slavery, so it is everywhere the common course of life\namongst all mechanics except the Utopians; but they dividing the day and\nnight into twenty-four hours, appoint six of these for work; three of\nwhich are before dinner; and three after. They then sup, and at eight\no'clock, counting from noon, go to bed and sleep eight hours. The rest\nof their time besides that taken up in work, eating and sleeping, is\nleft to every man's discretion; yet they are not to abuse that interval\nto luxury and idleness, but must employ it in some proper exercise\naccording to their various inclinations, which is for the most part\nreading. It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before\ndaybreak; at which none are obliged to appear but those who are marked\nout for literature; yet a great many, both men and women of all ranks,\ngo to hear lectures of one sort or other, according to their\ninclinations. But if others, that are not made for contemplation, choose\nrather to employ themselves at that time in their trades, as many of\nthem do, they are not hindered, but are rather commended, as men that\ntake care to serve their country. After supper, they spend an hour in\nsome diversion, in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls\nwhere they eat; where they entertain each other, either with music or\ndiscourse. They do not so much as know dice, or any such foolish and\nmischievous games: they have, however, two sorts of games not unlike our\nchess; the one is between several numbers, in which one number, as it\nwere, consumes another: the other resembles a battle between the virtues\nand the vices, in which the enmity in the vices among themselves, and\ntheir agreement against virtue, is not unpleasantly represented;\ntogether with the special oppositions between the particular virtues and\nvices; as also the methods by which vice either openly assaults or\nsecretly undermines virtue; and virtue on the other hand resists it. But\nthe time appointed for labour is to be narrowly examined, otherwise you\nmay imagine, that since there are only six hours appointed for work,\nthey may fall under a scarcity of necessary provisions. But it is so far\nfrom being true, that this time is not sufficient for supplying them\nwith plenty of all things, either necessary or convenient; that it is\nrather too much; and this you will easily apprehend, if you consider how\ngreat a part of all other nations is quite idle. First, women generally\ndo little, who are the half of mankind; and if some few women are\ndiligent, their husbands are idle: then consider the great company of\nidle priests, and of those that are called religious men; add to these\nall rich men, chiefly those that have estates in land, who are called\nnoblemen and gentlemen, together with their families, made up of idle\npersons, that are kept more for show than use; add to these, all those\nstrong and lusty beggars, that go about pretending some disease, in\nexcuse for their begging; and upon the whole account you will find that\nthe number of those by whose labours mankind is supplied, is much less\nthan you perhaps imagined. Then consider how few of those that work are\nemployed in labours that are of real service; for we who measure all\nthings by money, give rise to many trades that are both vain and\nsuperfluous, and serve only to support riot and luxury. For if those who\nwork were employed only in such things as the conveniences of life\nrequire, there would be such an abundance of them, that the prices of\nthem would so sink, that tradesmen could not be maintained by their\ngains; if all those who labour about useless things, were set to more\nprofitable employments, and if all they that languish out their lives in\nsloth and idleness, every one of whom consumes as much as any two of the\nmen that are at work, were forced to labour, you may easily imagine that\na small proportion of time would serve for doing all that is either\nnecessary, profitable, or pleasant to mankind, especially while pleasure\nis kept within its due bounds. This appears very plainly in Utopia, for\nthere, in a great city, and in all the territory that lies round it, you\ncan scarce find five hundred, either men or women, by their age and\nstrength, are capable of labour, that are not engaged in it; even the\nSyphogrants, though excused by the law, yet do not excuse themselves,\nbut work, that by their examples they may excite the industry of the\nrest of the people. The like exemption is allowed to those, who being\nrecommended to the people by the priests, are by the secret suffrages of\nthe Syphogrants privileged from labour, that they may apply themselves\nwholly to study; and if any of these fall short of those hopes that they\nseemed at first to give, they are obliged to return to work. And\nsometimes a mechanic, that so employs his leisure hours, as to make a\nconsiderable advancement in learning, is eased from being a tradesman,\nand ranked among their learned men. Out of these they choose their\nambassadors, their priests, their Tranibors, and the Prince himself;\nanciently called their Barzenes, but is called of late their Ademus.\n\nAnd thus from the great numbers among them that are neither suffered to\nbe idle, nor to be employed in any fruitless labour, you may easily make\nthe estimate how much may be done in those few hours in which they are\nobliged to labour. But besides all that has been already said, it is to\nbe considered that the needful arts among them are managed with less\nlabour than anywhere else. The building or the repairing of houses among\nus employ many hands, because often a thriftless heir suffers a house\nthat his father built to fall into decay, so that his successor must, at\na great cost, repair that which he might have kept up with a small\ncharge: it frequently happens, that the same house which one person\nbuilt at a vast expense, is neglected by another, who thinks he has a\nmore delicate sense of the beauties of architecture; and he suffering it\nto fall to ruin, builds another at no less charge. But among the\nUtopians, all things are so regulated that men very seldom build upon a\nnew piece of ground; and are not only very quick in repairing their\nhouses, but show their foresight in preventing their decay: so that\ntheir buildings are preserved very long, with but little labour; and\nthus the builders to whom that care belongs are often without\nemployment, except the hewing of timber, and the squaring of stones,\nthat the materials may be in readiness for raising a building very\nsuddenly, when there is any occasion for it. As to their clothes,\nobserve how little work is spent in them: while they are at labour, they\nare clothed with leather and skins, cast carelessly about them, which\nwill last seven years; and when they appear in public they put on an\nupper garment, which hides the other; and these are all of one colour,\nand that is the natural colour of the wool. As they need less woollen\ncloth than is used anywhere else, so that which they make use of is much\nless costly. They use linen cloth more; but that is prepared with less\nlabour, and they value cloth only by the whiteness of the linen, or the\ncleanness of the wool, without much regard to the fineness of the\nthread: while in other places, four or five upper garments of woollen\ncloth, of different colours, and as many vests of silk, will scarce\nserve one man; and while those that are nicer think ten too few, every\nman there is content with one, which very often serves him two years.\nNor is there anything that can tempt a man to desire more; for if he had\nthem, he would neither be the warmer, nor would he make one jot the\nbetter appearance for it. And thus, since they are all employed in some\nuseful labour, and since they content themselves with fewer things, it\nfalls out that there is a great abundance of all things among them: so\nthat it frequently happens, that for want of other work, vast numbers\nare sent out to mend the highways. But when no public undertaking is to\nbe performed, the hours of working are lessened. The magistrates never\nengage the people in unnecessary labour, since the chief end of the\nconstitution is to regulate labour by the necessities of the public, and\nto allow all the people as much time as is necessary for the improvement\nof their minds, in which they think the happiness of life consists.\n\n\nOF THEIR TRAFFIC.\n\nBut it is now time to explain to you the mutual intercourse of this\npeople, their commerce, and the rules by which all things are\ndistributed among them.\n\nAs their cities are composed of families, so their families are made up\nof those that are nearly related to one another. Their women, when they\ngrow up, are married out; but all the males, both children and\ngrandchildren, live still in the same house, in great obedience to their\ncommon parent, unless age has weakened his understanding; and in that\ncase, he that is next to him in age comes in his room. But lest any city\nshould become either too great, or by any accident be dispeopled,\nprovision is made that none of their cities may contain above six\nthousand families, besides those of the country round it. No family may\nhave less than ten, and more than sixteen persons in it; but there can\nbe no determined number for the children under age. This rule is easily\nobserved, by removing some of the children of a more fruitful couple to\nany other family that does not abound so much in them. By the same rule,\nthey supply cities that do not increase so fast, from others that breed\nfaster; and if there is any increase over the whole island, then they\ndraw out a number of their citizens out of the several towns, and send\nthem over to the neighbouring continent; where, if they find that the\ninhabitants have more soil than they can well cultivate, they fix a\ncolony, taking the inhabitants into their society, if they are willing\nto live with them; and where they do that of their own accord, they\nquickly enter into their method of life, and conform to their rules, and\nthis proves a happiness to both nations: for according to their\nconstitution, such care is taken of the soil, that it becomes fruitful\nenough for both, though it might be otherwise too narrow and barren for\nany one of them. But if the natives refuse to conform themselves to\ntheir laws, they drive them out of those bounds which they mark out for\nthemselves, and use force if they resist. For they account it a very\njust cause of war, for a nation to hinder others from possessing a part\nof that soil, of which they make no use, but which is suffered to lie\nidle and uncultivated; since every man has by the law of Nature a right\nto such a waste portion of the earth as is necessary for his\nsubsistence. If an accident has so lessened the number of the\ninhabitants of any of their towns, that it cannot be made up from the\nother towns of the island, without diminishing them too much, which is\nsaid to have fallen out but twice since they were first a people, when\ngreat numbers were carried off by the plague; the loss is then supplied\nby recalling as many as are wanted from their colonies; for they will\nabandon these, rather than suffer the towns in the island to sink too\nlow.\n\nBut to return to their manner of living in society, the oldest man of\nevery family, as has been already said, is its governor. Wives serve\ntheir husbands, and children their parents, and always the younger\nserves the elder. Every city is divided into four equal parts, and in\nthe middle of each there is a market-place: what is brought thither, and\nmanufactured by the several families, is carried from thence to houses\nappointed for that purpose, in which all things of a sort are laid by\nthemselves; and thither every father goes and takes whatsoever he or his\nfamily stand in need of, without either paying for it, or leaving\nanything in exchange. There is no reason for giving a denial to any\nperson, since there is such plenty of everything among them; and there\nis no danger of a man's asking for more than he needs; they have no\ninducements to do this, since they are sure that they shall always be\nsupplied. It is the fear of want that makes any of the whole race of\nanimals either greedy or ravenous; but besides fear, there is in man a\npride that makes him fancy it a particular glory to excel others in pomp\nand excess. But by the laws of the Utopians, there is no room for this.\nNear these markets there are others for all sorts of provisions, where\nthere are not only herbs, fruits, and bread, but also fish, fowl, and\ncattle. There are also, without their towns, places appointed near some\nrunning water, for killing their beasts, and for washing away their\nfilth; which is done by their slaves: for they suffer none of their\ncitizens to kill their cattle, because they think that pity and\ngood-nature, which are among the best of those affections that are born\nwith us, are much impaired by the butchering of animals: nor do they\nsuffer anything that is foul or unclean to be brought within their\ntowns, lest the air should be infected by ill smells which might\nprejudice their health. In every street there are great halls that lie\nat an equal distance from each other, distinguished by particular names.\nThe Syphogrants dwell in those that are set over thirty families,\nfifteen lying on one side of it, and as many on the other. In these\nhalls they all meet and have their repasts. The stewards of every one of\nthem come to the market-place at an appointed hour; and according to the\nnumber of those that belong to the hall, they carry home provisions. But\nthey take more care of their sick than of any others: these are lodged\nand provided for in public hospitals: they have belonging to every town\nfour hospitals, that are built without their walls, and are so large\nthat they may pass for little towns: by this means, if they had ever\nsuch a number of sick persons, they could lodge them conveniently, and\nat such a distance, that such of them as are sick of infectious diseases\nmay be kept so far from the rest that there can be no danger of\ncontagion. The hospitals are furnished and stored with all things that\nare convenient for the ease and recovery of the sick; and those that are\nput in them are looked after with such tender and watchful care, and are\nso constantly attended by their skilful physicians, that as none is sent\nto them against their will, so there is scarce one in a whole town that,\nif he should fall ill, would not choose rather to go thither than lie\nsick at home.\n\nAfter the steward of the hospitals has taken for the sick whatsoever the\nphysician prescribes, then the best things that are left in the market\nare distributed equally among the halls, in proportion to their numbers,\nonly, in the first place, they serve the Prince, the chief priest, the\nTranibors, the ambassadors, and strangers, if there are any, which\nindeed falls out but seldom, and for whom there are houses well\nfurnished, particularly appointed for their reception when they come\namong them. At the hours of dinner and supper, the whole Syphogranty\nbeing called together by sound of trumpet, they meet and eat together,\nexcept only such as are in the hospitals, or lie sick at home. Yet after\nthe halls are served, no man is hindered to carry provisions home from\nthe market-place; for they know that none does that but for some good\nreason; for though any that will may eat at home, yet none does it\nwillingly, since it is both ridiculous and foolish for any to give\nthemselves the trouble to make ready an ill dinner at home, when there\nis a much more plentiful one made ready for him so near hand. All the\nuneasy and sordid services about these halls are performed by their\nslaves; but the dressing and cooking their meat, and the ordering their\ntables, belong only to the women, all those of every family taking it by\nturns. They sit at three or more tables, according to their number; the\nmen sit towards the wall, and the women sit on the other side, that if\nany of them should be taken suddenly ill, which is no uncommon case\namongst women with child, she may, without disturbing the rest, rise and\ngo to the nurse's room, who are there with the sucking children; where\nthere is always clean water at hand, and cradles in which they may lay\nthe young children, if there is occasion for it, and a fire that they\nmay shift and dress them before it. Every child is nursed by its own\nmother, if death or sickness does not intervene; and in that case the\nSyphogrants' wives find out a nurse quickly, which is no hard matter;\nfor any one that can do it, offers herself cheerfully; for as they are\nmuch inclined to that piece of mercy, so the child whom they nurse\nconsiders the nurse as its mother. All the children under five years old\nsit among the nurses, the rest of the younger sort of both sexes, till\nthey are fit for marriage, either serve those that sit at table; or if\nthey are not strong enough for that, stand by them in great silence, and\neat what is given them; nor have they any other formality of dining. In\nthe middle of the first table, which stands across the upper end of the\nhall, sit the Syphogrant and his wife; for that is the chief and most\nconspicuous place; next to him sit two of the most ancient, for there go\nalways four to a mess. If there is a temple within that Syphogranty, the\npriest and his wife sit with the Syphogrant above all the rest: next\nthem there is a mixture of old and young, who are so placed, that as the\nyoung are set near others, so they are mixed with the more ancient;\nwhich they say was appointed on this account, that the gravity of the\nold people, and the reverence that is due to them, might restrain the\nyounger from all indecent words and gestures. Dishes are not served up\nto the whole table at first, but the best are first set before the old,\nwhose seats are distinguished from the young, and after them all the\nrest are served alike. The old men distribute to the younger any curious\nmeats that happen to be set before them, if there is not such an\nabundance of them that the whole company may be served alike.\n\nThus old men are honoured with a particular respect; yet all the rest\nfare as well as they. Both dinner and supper are begun with some lecture\nof morality that is read to them; but it is so short, that it is not\ntedious nor uneasy to them to hear it: from hence the old men take\noccasion to entertain those about them, with some useful and pleasant\nenlargements; but they do not engross the whole discourse so to\nthemselves, during their meals, that the younger may not put in for a\nshare: on the contrary, they engage them to talk, that so they may in\nthat free way of conversation find out the force of every one's spirit,\nand observe his temper. They despatch their dinners quickly, but sit\nlong at supper; because they go to work after the one, and are to sleep\nafter the other, during which they think the stomach carries on the\nconcoction more vigorously. They never sup without music; and there is\nalways fruit served up after meat; while they are at table, some burn\nperfumes, and sprinkle about fragrant ointments and sweet waters: in\nshort, they want nothing that may cheer up their spirits: they give\nthemselves a large allowance that way, and indulge themselves in all\nsuch pleasures as are attended with no inconvenience. Thus do those that\nare in the towns live together; but in the country, where they live at\ngreat distance, every one eats at home, and no family wants any\nnecessary sort of provision, for it is from them that provisions are\nsent unto those that live in the towns.\n\n\nOF THE TRAVELLING OF THE UTOPIANS.\n\nIf any man has a mind to visit his friends that live in some other town,\nor desires to travel and see the rest of the country, he obtains leave\nvery easily from the Syphogrant and Tranibors, when there is no\nparticular occasion for him at home: such as travel, carry with them a\npassport from the Prince, which both certifies the license that is\ngranted for travelling, and limits the time of their return. They are\nfurnished with a waggon and a slave, who drives the oxen, and looks\nafter them: but unless there are women in the company, the waggon is\nsent back at the end of the journey as a needless encumbrance: while\nthey are on the road, they carry no provisions with them; yet they want\nnothing, but are everywhere treated as if they were at home. If they\nstay in any place longer than a night, every one follows his proper\noccupation, and is very well used by those of his own trade: but if any\nman goes out of the city to which he belongs, without leave, and is\nfound rambling without a passport, he is severely treated, he is\npunished as a fugitive, and sent home disgracefully; and if he falls\nagain into the like fault, is condemned to slavery. If any man has a\nmind to travel only over the precinct of his own city, he may freely do\nit, with his father's permission and his wife's consent; but when he\ncomes into any of the country houses, if he expects to be entertained by\nthem, he must labour with them and conform to their rules: and if he\ndoes this, he may freely go over the whole precinct; being thus as\nuseful to the city to which he belongs, as if he were still within it.\nThus you see that there are no idle persons among them, nor pretences of\nexcusing any from labour. There are no taverns, no alehouses nor stews\namong them; nor any other occasions of corrupting each other, of getting\ninto corners, or forming themselves into parties: all men live in full\nview, so that all are obliged, both to perform their ordinary task, and\nto employ themselves well in their spare hours. And it is certain that a\npeople thus ordered must live in great abundance of all things; and\nthese being equally distributed among them, no man can want, or be\nobliged to beg.\n\nIn their great council at Amaurot, to which there are three sent from\nevery town once a year, they examine what towns abound in provisions,\nand what are under any scarcity, that so the one may be furnished from\nthe other; and this is done freely, without any sort of exchange; for\naccording to their plenty or scarcity, they supply, or are supplied from\none another; so that indeed the whole island is, as it were, one family.\nWhen they have thus taken care of their whole country, and laid up\nstores for two years, which they do to prevent the ill consequences of\nan unfavourable season, they order an exportation of the overplus, both\nof corn, honey, wool, flax, wood, wax, tallow, leather, and cattle;\nwhich they send out commonly in great quantities to other nations. They\norder a seventh part of all these goods to be freely given to the poor\nof the countries to which they send them, and sell the rest at moderate\nrates. And by this exchange, they not only bring back those few things\nthat they need at home (for indeed they scarce need anything but iron),\nbut likewise a great deal of gold and silver; and by their driving this\ntrade so long, it is not to be imagined how vast a treasure they have\ngot among them: so that now they do not much care whether they sell off\ntheir merchandise for money in hand, or upon trust. A great part of\ntheir treasure is now in bonds; but in all their contracts no private\nman stands bound, but the writing runs in the name of the town; and the\ntowns that owe them money, raise it from those private hands that owe it\nto them, lay it up in their public chamber, or enjoy the profit of it\ntill the Utopians call for it; and they choose rather to let the\ngreatest part of it lie in their hands who make advantage by it, than to\ncall for it themselves: but if they see that any of their other\nneighbours stand more in need of it, then they call it in and lend it to\nthem: whenever they are engaged in war, which is the only occasion in\nwhich their treasure can be usefully employed, they make use of it\nthemselves. In great extremities or sudden accidents they employ it in\nhiring foreign troops, whom they more willingly expose to danger than\ntheir own people: they give them great pay, knowing well that this will\nwork even on their enemies, that it will engage them either to betray\ntheir own side, or at least to desert it, and that it is the best means\nof raising mutual jealousies among them: for this end they have an\nincredible treasure; but they do not keep it as a treasure, but in such\na manner as I am almost afraid to tell, lest you think it so\nextravagant, as to be hardly credible. This I have the more reason to\napprehend, because if I had not seen it myself, I could not have been\neasily persuaded to have believed it upon any man's report.\n\nIt is certain that all things appear incredible to us, in proportion as\nthey differ from own customs. But one who can judge aright, will not\nwonder to find, that since their constitution differs so much from ours,\ntheir value of gold and silver should be measured by a very different\nstandard; for since they have no use for money among themselves, but\nkeep it as a provision against events which seldom happen, and between\nwhich there are generally long intervening intervals; they value it no\nfarther than it deserves, that is, in proportion to its use. So that it\nis plain, they must prefer iron either to gold or silver: for men can no\nmore live without iron, than without fire or water; but Nature has\nmarked out no use for the other metals, so essential as not easily to be\ndispensed with. The folly of men has enhanced the value of gold and\nsilver, because of their scarcity. Whereas, on the contrary, it is their\nopinion that Nature, as an indulgent parent, has freely given us all the\nbest things in great abundance, such as water and earth, but has laid up\nand hid from us the things that are vain and useless.\n\nIf these metals were laid up in any tower in the kingdom, it would raise\na jealousy of the Prince and Senate, and give birth to that foolish\nmistrust into which the people are apt to fall, a jealousy of their\nintending to sacrifice the interest of the public to their own private\nadvantage. If they should work it into vessels, or any sort of plate,\nthey fear that the people might grow too fond of it, and so be unwilling\nto let the plate be run down, if a war made it necessary to employ it in\npaying their soldiers. To prevent all these inconveniences, they have\nfallen upon an expedient, which as it agrees with their other policy, so\nis it very different from ours, and will scarce gain belief among us,\nwho value gold so much, and lay it up so carefully. They eat and drink\nout of vessels of earth, or glass, which make an agreeable appearance\nthough formed of brittle materials: while they make their chamber-pots\nand close-stools of gold and silver; and that not only in their public\nhalls, but in their private houses: of the same metals they likewise\nmake chains and fetters for their slaves; to some of which, as a badge\nof infamy, they hang an ear-ring of gold, and make others wear a chain\nor a coronet of the same metal; and thus they take care, by all possible\nmeans, to render gold and silver of no esteem. And from hence it is,\nthat while other nations part with their gold and silver, as unwillingly\nas if one tore out their bowels, those of Utopia would look on their\ngiving in all they possess of those (metals, when there were any use for\nthem) but as the parting with a trifle, or as we would esteem the loss\nof a penny. They find pearls on their coast; and diamonds and carbuncles\non their rocks; they do not look after them, but if they find them by\nchance, they polish them, and with them they adorn their children, who\nare delighted with them, and glory in them during their childhood; but\nwhen they grow to years, and see that none but children use such\nbaubles, they of their own accord, without being bid by their parents,\nlay them aside; and would be as much ashamed to use them afterwards, as\nchildren among us, when they come to years, are of their puppets and\nother toys.\n\nI never saw a clearer instance of the opposite impressions that\ndifferent customs make on people, than I observed in the ambassadors of\nthe Anemolians, who came to Amaurot when I was there. As they came to\ntreat of affairs of great consequence, the deputies from several towns\nmet together to wait for their coming. The ambassadors of the nations\nthat lie near Utopia, knowing their customs, and that fine clothes are\nin no esteem among them, that silk is despised, and gold is a badge of\ninfamy, use to come very modestly clothed; but the Anemolians lying more\nremote, and having had little commerce with them, understanding that\nthey were coarsely clothed, and all in the same manner, took it for\ngranted that they had none of those fine things among them of which they\nmade no use; and they being a vain-glorious rather than a wise people,\nresolved to set themselves out with so much pomp, that they should look\nlike gods, and strike the eyes of the poor Utopians with their\nsplendour. Thus three ambassadors made their entry with an hundred\nattendants, all clad in garments of different colours, and the greater\npart in silk; the ambassadors themselves, who were of the nobility of\ntheir country, were in cloth of gold, and adorned with massy chains,\near-rings and rings of gold: their caps were covered with bracelets set\nfull of pearls and other gems: in a word, they were set out with all\nthose things that, among the Utopians, were either the badges of\nslavery, the marks of infamy, or the playthings of children. It was not\nunpleasant to see, on the one side, how they looked big, when they\ncompared their rich habits with the plain clothes of the Utopians, who\nwere come out in great numbers to see them make their entry: and, on the\nother, to observe how much they were mistaken in the impression which\nthey hoped this pomp would have made on them. It appeared so ridiculous\na show to all that had never stirred out of their country, and had not\nseen the customs of other nations, that though they paid some reverence\nto those that were the most meanly clad, as if they had been the\nambassadors, yet when they saw the ambassadors themselves, so full of\ngold and chains, they looked upon them as slaves, and forbore to treat\nthem with reverence. You might have seen the children, who were grown\nbig enough to despise their playthings, and who had thrown away their\njewels, call to their mothers, push them gently, and cry out, \"See that\ngreat fool that wears pearls and gems, as if he were yet a child.\" While\ntheir mothers very innocently replied, \"Hold your peace, this I believe\nis one of the ambassador's fools.\" Others censured the fashion of their\nchains, and observed that they were of no use; for they were too slight\nto bind their slaves, who could easily break them; and besides hung so\nloose about them, that they thought it easy to throw them away, and so\nget from them. But after the ambassadors had stayed a day among them,\nand saw so vast a quantity of gold in their houses, which was as much\ndespised by them as it was esteemed in other nations, and beheld more\ngold and silver in the chains and fetters of one slave than all their\nornaments amounted to, their plumes fell, and they were ashamed of all\nthat glory for which they had formerly valued themselves, and\naccordingly laid it aside; a resolution that they immediately took, when\non their engaging in some free discourse with the Utopians, they\ndiscovered their sense of such things and their other customs. The\nUtopians wonder how any man should be so much taken with the glaring\ndoubtful lustre of a jewel or a stone, that can look up to a star, or to\nthe sun himself; or how any should value himself because his cloth is\nmade of a finer thread: for how fine soever that thread may be, it was\nonce no better than the fleece of a sheep, and that sheep was a sheep\nstill for all its wearing it. They wonder much to hear that gold which\nin itself is so useless a thing, should be everywhere so much esteemed,\nthat even men for whom it was made, and by whom it has its value, should\nyet be thought of less value than this metal. That a man of lead, who\nhas no more sense than a log of wood, and is as bad as he is foolish,\nshould have many wise and good men to serve him, only because he has a\ngreat heap of that metal; and that if it should happen that by some\naccident or trick of law (which sometimes produces as great changes as\nchance itself) all this wealth should pass from the master to the\nmeanest varlet of his whole family, he himself would very soon become\none of his servants, as if he were a thing that belonged to his wealth,\nand so were bound to follow its fortune. But they much more admire and\ndetest the folly of those who when they see a rich man, though they\nneither owe him anything, nor are in any sort dependent on his bounty,\nyet merely because he is rich give him little less than divine honours;\neven though they know him to be so covetous and base-minded, that\nnotwithstanding all his wealth, he will not part with one farthing of it\nto them as long as he lives.\n\nThese and such like notions has that people imbibed, partly from their\neducation, being bred in a country whose customs and laws are opposite\nto all such foolish maxims, and partly from their learning and studies;\nfor though there are but few in any town that are so wholly excused from\nlabour as to give themselves entirely up to their studies, these being\nonly such persons as discover from their childhood an extraordinary\ncapacity and disposition for letters; yet their children, and a great\npart of the nation, both men and women, are taught to spend those hours\nin which they are not obliged to work in reading: and this they do\nthrough the whole progress of life. They have all their learning in\ntheir own tongue, which is both a copious and pleasant language, and in\nwhich a man can fully express his mind. It runs over a great tract of\nmany countries, but it is not equally pure in all places. They had never\nso much as heard of the names of any of those philosophers that are so\nfamous in these parts of the world, before we went among them; and yet\nthey had made the same discoveries as the Greeks, both in music, logic,\narithmetic, and geometry. But as they are almost in everything equal to\nthe ancient philosophers, so they far exceed our modern logicians; for\nthey have never yet fallen upon the barbarous niceties that our youth\nare forced to learn in those trifling logical schools that are among us;\nthey are so far from minding chimeras, and fantastical images made in\nthe mind, that none of them could comprehend what we meant when we\ntalked to them of a man in the abstract, as common to all men in\nparticular (so that though we spoke of him as a thing that we could\npoint at with our fingers, yet none of them could perceive him), and yet\ndistinct from every one, as if he were some monstrous Colossus or\ngiant. Yet for all this ignorance of these empty notions, they knew\nastronomy, and were perfectly acquainted with the motions of the\nheavenly bodies, and have many instruments, well contrived and divided,\nby which they very accurately compute the course and positions of the\nsun, moon, and stars. But for the cheat, of divining by the stars by\ntheir oppositions or conjunctions, it has not so much as entered into\ntheir thoughts. They have a particular sagacity, founded upon much\nobservation, in judging of the weather, by which they know when they may\nlook for rain, wind, or other alterations in the air; but as to the\nphilosophy of these things, the causes of the saltness of the sea, of\nits ebbing and flowing, and of the original and nature both of the\nheavens and the earth; they dispute of them, partly as our ancient\nphilosophers have done, and partly upon some new hypothesis, in which,\nas they differ from them, so they do not in all things agree among\nthemselves.\n\nAs to moral philosophy, they have the same disputes among them as we\nhave here: they examine what are properly good both for the body and the\nmind, and whether any outward thing can be called truly good, or if that\nterm belong only to the endowments of the soul. They inquire likewise\ninto the nature of virtue and pleasure; but their chief dispute is\nconcerning the happiness of a man, and wherein it consists? Whether in\nsome one thing, or in a great many? They seem, indeed, more inclinable\nto that opinion that places, if not the whole, yet the chief part of a\nman's happiness in pleasure; and, what may seem more strange, they make\nuse of arguments even from religion, notwithstanding its severity and\nroughness, for the support of that opinion so indulgent to pleasure; for\nthey never dispute concerning happiness without fetching some arguments\nfrom the principles of religion, as well as from natural reason, since\nwithout the former they reckon that all our inquiries after happiness\nmust be but conjectural and defective.\n\nThese are their religious principles, that the soul of man is immortal,\nand that God of His goodness has designed that it should be happy; and\nthat He has therefore appointed rewards for good and virtuous actions,\nand punishments for vice, to be distributed after this life. Though\nthese principles of religion are conveyed down among them by tradition,\nthey think that even reason itself determines a man to believe and\nacknowledge them, and freely confess that if these were taken away no\nman would be so insensible as not to seek after pleasure by all possible\nmeans, lawful or unlawful; using only this caution, that a lesser\npleasure might not stand in the way of a greater, and that no pleasure\nought to be pursued that should draw a great deal of pain after it; for\nthey think it the maddest thing in the world to pursue virtue, that is a\nsour and difficult thing; and not only to renounce the pleasures of\nlife, but willingly to undergo much pain and trouble, if a man has no\nprospect of a reward. And what reward can there be for one that has\npassed his whole life, not only without pleasure, but in pain, if there\nis nothing to be expected after death? Yet they do not place happiness\nin all sorts of pleasures, but only in those that in themselves are good\nand honest. There is a party among them who place happiness in bare\nvirtue; others think that our natures are conducted by virtue to\nhappiness, as that which is the chief good of man. They define virtue\nthus, that it is a living according to Nature, and think that we are\nmade by God for that end; they believe that a man then follows the\ndictates of Nature when he pursues or avoids things according to the\ndirection of reason; they say that the first dictate of reason is the\nkindling in us a love and reverence for the Divine Majesty, to whom we\nowe both all that we have, and all that we can ever hope for. In the\nnext place, reason directs us to keep our minds as free from passion and\nas cheerful as we can, and that we should consider ourselves as bound by\nthe ties of good-nature and humanity to use our utmost endeavours to\nhelp forward the happiness of all other persons; for there never was any\nman such a morose and severe pursuer of virtue, such an enemy to\npleasure, that though he set hard rules for men to undergo much pain,\nmany watchings, and other rigours, yet did not at the same time advise\nthem to do all they could, in order to relieve and ease the miserable,\nand who did not represent gentleness and good-nature as amiable\ndispositions. And from thence they infer that if a man ought to advance\nthe welfare and comfort of the rest of mankind, there being no virtue\nmore proper and peculiar to our nature, than to ease the miseries of\nothers, to free from trouble and anxiety, in furnishing them with the\ncomforts of life, in which pleasure consists, Nature much more\nvigorously leads them to do all this for himself. A life of pleasure is\neither a real evil, and in that case we ought not to assist others in\ntheir pursuit of it, but on the contrary, to keep them from it all we\ncan, as from that which is most hurtful and deadly; or if it is a good\nthing, so that we not only may, but ought to help others to it, why then\nought not a man to begin with himself? Since no man can be more bound to\nlook after the good of another than after his own; for Nature cannot\ndirect us to be good and kind to others, and yet at the same time to be\nunmerciful and cruel to ourselves. Thus, as they define virtue to be\nliving according to Nature, so they imagine that Nature prompts all\npeople on to seek after pleasure, as the end of all they do. They also\nobserve that in order to our supporting the pleasures of life, Nature\ninclines us to enter into society; for there is no man so much raised\nabove the rest of mankind as to be the only favourite of Nature, who, on\nthe contrary, seems to have placed on a level all those that belong to\nthe same species. Upon this they infer that no man ought to seek his own\nconveniences so eagerly as to prejudice others; and therefore they think\nthat not only all agreements between private persons ought to be\nobserved; but likewise that all those laws ought to be kept, which\neither a good prince has published in due form, or to which a people,\nthat is neither oppressed with tyranny nor circumvented by fraud, has\nconsented, for distributing those conveniences of life which afford us\nall our pleasures.\n\nThey think it is an evidence of true wisdom for a man to pursue his own\nadvantages, as far as the laws allow it. They account it piety to prefer\nthe public good to one's private concerns; but they think it unjust for\na man to seek for pleasure, by snatching another man's pleasures from\nhim. And on the contrary, they think it a sign of a gentle and good\nsoul, for a man to dispense with his own advantage for the good of\nothers; and that by this means a good man finds as much pleasure one\nway, as he parts with another; for as he may expect the like from others\nwhen he may come to need it, so if that should fail him, yet the sense\nof a good action, and the reflections that he makes on the love and\ngratitude of those whom he has so obliged, gives the mind more pleasure\nthan the body could have found in that from which it had restrained\nitself. They are also persuaded that God will make up the loss of those\nsmall pleasures, with a vast and endless joy, of which religion easily\nconvinces a good soul.\n\nThus upon an inquiry into the whole matter, they reckon that all our\nactions, and even all our virtues, terminate in pleasure, as in our\nchief end and greatest happiness; and they call every motion or state,\neither of body or mind, in which Nature teaches us to delight, a\npleasure. Thus they cautiously limit pleasure only to those appetites to\nwhich Nature leads us; for they say that Nature leads us only to those\ndelights to which reason as well as sense carries us, and by which we\nneither injure any other person, nor lose the possession of greater\npleasures, and of such as draw no troubles after them; but they look\nupon those delights which men by a foolish, though common, mistake call\npleasure, as if they could change as easily the nature of things as the\nuse of words; as things that greatly obstruct their real happiness,\ninstead of advancing it, because they so entirely possess the minds of\nthose that are once captivated by them with a false notion of pleasure,\nthat there is no room left for pleasures of a truer or purer kind.\n\nThere are many things that in themselves have nothing that is truly\ndelightful; on the contrary, they have a good deal of bitterness in\nthem; and yet from our perverse appetites after forbidden objects, are\nnot only ranked among the pleasures, but are made even the greatest\ndesigns of life. Among those who pursue these sophisticated pleasures,\nthey reckon such as I mentioned before, who think themselves really the\nbetter for having fine clothes; in which they think they are doubly\nmistaken, both in the opinion that they have of their clothes, and in\nthat they have of themselves; for if you consider the use of clothes,\nwhy should a fine thread be thought better than a coarse one? And yet\nthese men, as if they had some real advantages beyond others, and did\nnot owe them wholly to their mistakes, look big, seem to fancy\nthemselves to be more valuable, and imagine that a respect is due to\nthem for the sake of a rich garment, to which they would not have\npretended if they had been more meanly clothed; and even resent it as an\naffront, if that respect is not paid them. It is also a great folly to\nbe taken with outward marks of respect, which signify nothing: for what\ntrue or real pleasure can one man find in another's standing bare, or\nmaking legs to him? Will the bending another man's knees give ease to\nyours? And will the head's being bare cure the madness of yours? And yet\nit is wonderful to see how this false notion of pleasure bewitches many\nwho delight themselves with the fancy of their nobility, and are pleased\nwith this conceit, that they are descended from ancestors, who have been\nheld for some successions rich, and who have had great possessions; for\nthis is all that makes nobility at present; yet they do not think\nthemselves a whit the less noble, though their immediate parents have\nleft none of this wealth to them, or though they themselves have\nsquandered it away. The Utopians have no better opinion of those who are\nmuch taken with gems and precious stones, and who account it a degree of\nhappiness, next to a divine one, if they can purchase one that is very\nextraordinary; especially if it be of that sort of stones that is then\nin greatest request; for the same sort is not at all times universally\nof the same value; nor will men buy it unless it be dismounted and taken\nout of the gold; the jeweller is then made to give good security, and\nrequired solemnly to swear that the stone is true, that by such an exact\ncaution a false one might not be bought instead of a true: though if you\nwere to examine it, your eye could find no difference between the\ncounterfeit and that which is true; so that they are all one to you as\nmuch as if you were blind. Or can it be thought that they who heap up an\nuseless mass of wealth, not for any use that it is to bring them, but\nmerely to please themselves with the contemplation of it, enjoy any true\npleasure in it? The delight they find is only a false shadow of joy.\nThose are no better whose error is somewhat different from the former,\nand who hide it, out of their fear of losing it; for what other name can\nfit the hiding it in the earth, or rather the restoring it to it again,\nit being thus cut off from being useful, either to its owner or to the\nrest of mankind? And yet the owner having hid it carefully, is glad,\nbecause he thinks he is now sure of it. If it should be stole, the\nowner, though he might live perhaps ten years after the theft, of which\nhe knew nothing, would find no difference between his having or losing\nit; for both ways it was equally useless to him.\n\nAmong those foolish pursuers of pleasure, they reckon all that delight\nin hunting, in fowling, or gaming: of whose madness they have only\nheard, for they have no such things among them. But they have asked us,\nwhat sort of pleasure is it that men can find in throwing the dice? For\nif there were any pleasure in it, they think the doing of it so often\nshould give one a surfeit of it: and what pleasure can one find in\nhearing the barking and howling of dogs, which seem rather odious than\npleasant sounds? Nor can they comprehend the pleasure of seeing dogs run\nafter a hare, more than of seeing one dog run after another; for if the\nseeing them run is that which gives the pleasure, you have the same\nentertainment to the eye on both these occasions; since that is the same\nin both cases: but if the pleasure lies in seeing the hare killed and\ntorn by the dogs, this ought rather to stir pity, that a weak, harmless\nand fearful hare should be devoured by strong, fierce, and cruel dogs.\nTherefore all this business of hunting is, among the Utopians, turned\nover to their butchers; and those, as has been already said, are all\nslaves; and they look on hunting as one of the basest parts of a\nbutcher's work: for they account it both more profitable and more decent\nto kill those beasts that are more necessary and useful to mankind;\nwhereas the killing and tearing of so small and miserable an animal can\nonly attract the huntsman with a false show of pleasure, from which he\ncan reap but small advantage. They look on the desire of the bloodshed,\neven of beasts, as a mark of a mind that is already corrupted with\ncruelty, or that at least by the frequent returns of so brutal a\npleasure must degenerate into it.\n\nThus, though the rabble of mankind look upon these, and on innumerable\nother things of the same nature, as pleasures; the Utopians, on the\ncontrary, observing that there is nothing in them truly pleasant,\nconclude that they are not to be reckoned among pleasures: for though\nthese things may create some tickling in the senses (which seems to be a\ntrue notion of pleasure), yet they imagine that this does not arise\nfrom the thing itself, but from a depraved custom, which may so vitiate\na man's taste, that bitter things may pass for sweet; as women with\nchild think pitch or tallow taste sweeter than honey; but as a man's\nsense when corrupted, either by a disease or some ill habit, does not\nchange the nature of other things, so neither can it change the nature\nof pleasure.\n\nThey reckon up several sorts of pleasures, which they call true ones:\nsome belong to the body and others to the mind. The pleasures of the\nmind lie in knowledge, and in that delight which the contemplation of\ntruth carries with it; to which they add the joyful reflections on a\nwell-spent life, and the assured hopes of a future happiness. They\ndivide the pleasures of the body into two sorts; the one is that which\ngives our senses some real delight, and is performed, either by\nrecruiting nature, and supplying those parts which feed the internal\nheat of life by eating and drinking; or when nature is eased of any\nsurcharge that oppresses it; when we are relieved from sudden pain, or\nthat which arises from satisfying the appetite which Nature has wisely\ngiven to lead us to the propagation of the species. There is another\nkind of pleasure that arises neither from our receiving what the body\nrequires, nor its being relieved when overcharged, and yet by a secret,\nunseen virtue affects the senses, raises the passions, and strikes the\nmind with generous impressions; this is the pleasure that arises from\nmusic. Another kind of bodily pleasure is that which results from an\nundisturbed and vigorous constitution of body, when life and active\nspirits seem to actuate every part. This lively health, when entirely\nfree from all mixture of pain, of itself gives an inward pleasure,\nindependent of all external objects of delight; and though this pleasure\ndoes not so powerfully affect us, nor act so strongly on the senses as\nsome of the others, yet it may be esteemed as the greatest of all\npleasures, and almost all the Utopians reckon it the foundation and\nbasis of all the other joys of life; since this alone makes the state\nof life easy and desirable; and when this is wanting, a man is really\ncapable of no other pleasure. They look upon freedom from pain, if it\ndoes not rise from perfect health, to be a state of stupidity rather\nthan of pleasure. This subject has been very narrowly canvassed among\nthem; and it has been debated whether a firm and entire health could be\ncalled a pleasure or not? Some have thought that there was no pleasure\nbut what was excited by some sensible motion in the body. But this\nopinion has been long ago excluded from among them, so that now they\nalmost universally agree that health is the greatest of all bodily\npleasures; and that as there is a pain in sickness, which is as opposite\nin its nature to pleasure as sickness itself is to health; so they hold,\nthat health is accompanied with pleasure: and if any should say that\nsickness is not really pain, but that it only carries pain along with\nit, they look upon that as a fetch of subtilty, that does not much alter\nthe matter. It is all one, in their opinion, whether it be said that\nhealth is in itself a pleasure, or that it begets a pleasure, as fire\ngives heat; so it be granted, that all those whose health is entire have\na true pleasure in the enjoyment of it: and they reason thus--what is\nthe pleasure of eating, but that a man's health which had been weakened,\ndoes, with the assistance of food, drive away hunger, and so recruiting\nitself recovers its former vigour? And being thus refreshed, it finds a\npleasure in that conflict; and if the conflict is pleasure, the victory\nmust yet breed a greater pleasure, except we fancy that it becomes\nstupid as soon as it has obtained that which it pursued, and so neither\nknows nor rejoices in its own welfare. If it is said that health cannot\nbe felt, they absolutely deny it; for what man is in health that does\nnot perceive it when he is awake? Is there any man that is so dull and\nstupid as not to acknowledge that he feels a delight in health? And what\nis delight but another name for pleasure?\n\nBut of all pleasures, they esteem those to be most valuable that lie in\nthe mind; the chief of which arises out of true virtue, and the witness\nof a good conscience. They account health the chief pleasure that\nbelongs to the body; for they think that the pleasure of eating and\ndrinking, and all the other delights of sense, are only so far desirable\nas they give or maintain health. But they are not pleasant in\nthemselves, otherwise than as they resist those impressions that our\nnatural infirmities are still making upon us: for as a wise man desires\nrather to avoid diseases than to take physic; and to be freed from pain,\nrather than to find ease by remedies; so it is more desirable not to\nneed this sort of pleasure, than to be obliged to indulge it. If any man\nimagines that there is a real happiness in these enjoyments, he must\nthen confess that he would be the happiest of all men if he were to lead\nhis life in perpetual hunger, thirst, and itching, and by consequence in\nperpetual eating, drinking, and scratching himself; which any one may\neasily see would be not only a base, but a miserable state of a life.\nThese are indeed the lowest of pleasures, and the least pure; for we can\nnever relish them, but when they are mixed with the contrary pains. The\npain of hunger must give us the pleasure of eating; and here the pain\nout-balances the pleasure; and as the pain is more vehement, so it lasts\nmuch longer; for as it begins before the pleasure, so it does not cease\nbut with the pleasure that extinguishes it, and both expire together.\nThey think, therefore, none of those pleasures are to be valued any\nfurther than as they are necessary; yet they rejoice in them, and with\ndue gratitude acknowledge the tenderness of the great Author of Nature,\nwho has planted in us appetites, by which those things that are\nnecessary for our preservation are likewise made pleasant to us. For how\nmiserable a thing would life be, if those daily diseases of hunger and\nthirst were to be carried off by such bitter drugs as we must use for\nthose diseases that return seldomer upon us? And thus these pleasant as\nwell as proper gifts of Nature maintain the strength and the\nsprightliness of our bodies.\n\nThey also entertain themselves with the other delights let in at their\neyes, their ears, and their nostrils, as the pleasant relishes and\nseasonings of life, which Nature seems to have marked out peculiarly for\nman; since no other sort of animals contemplates the figure and beauty\nof the universe; nor is delighted with smells, any farther than as they\ndistinguish meats by them; not do they apprehend the concords or\ndiscords of sound; yet in all pleasures whatsoever they take care that a\nlesser joy does not hinder a greater, and that pleasure may never breed\npain, which they think always follows dishonest pleasures. But they\nthink it madness for a man to wear out the beauty of his face, or the\nforce of his natural strength; to corrupt the sprightliness of his body\nby sloth and laziness, or to waste it by fasting; that it is madness to\nweaken the strength of his constitution, and reject the other delights\nof life; unless by renouncing his own satisfaction, he can either serve\nthe public or promote the happiness of others, for which he expects a\ngreater recompense from God. So that they look on such a course of life\nas the mark of a mind that is both cruel to itself, and ungrateful to\nthe Author of Nature, as if we would not be beholden to Him for His\nfavours, and therefore rejects all His blessings; as one who should\nafflict himself for the empty shadow of virtue; or for no better end\nthan to render himself capable of bearing those misfortunes which\npossibly will never happen.\n\nThis is their notion of virtue and of pleasure; they think that no man's\nreason can carry him to a truer idea of them, unless some discovery from\nHeaven should inspire him with sublimer notions. I have not now the\nleisure to examine whether they think right or wrong in this matter: nor\ndo I judge it necessary, for I have only undertaken to give you an\naccount of their constitution, but not to defend all their principles. I\nam sure, that whatsoever may be said of their notions, there is not in\nthe whole world either a better people or a happier government: their\nbodies are vigorous and lively; and though they are but of a middle\nstature, and have neither the fruitfullest soil nor the purest air in\nthe world, yet they fortify themselves so well by their temperate course\nof life, against the unhealthiness of their air, and by their industry\nthey so cultivate their soil, that there is nowhere to be seen a greater\nincrease both of corn and cattle, nor are there anywhere healthier men,\nand freer from diseases: for one may there see reduced to practice, not\nonly all the art that the husbandman employs in manuring and improving\nan ill soil, but whole woods plucked up by the roots, and in other\nplaces new ones planted, where there were none before. Their principal\nmotive for this is the convenience of carriage, that their timber may be\neither near their towns, or growing on the banks of the sea, or of some\nrivers, so as to be floated to them; for it is a harder work to carry\nwood at any distance over land, than corn. The people are industrious,\napt to learn, as well as cheerful and pleasant; and none can endure more\nlabour, when it is necessary; but except in that case they love their\nease. They are unwearied pursuers of knowledge; for when we had given\nthem some hints of the learning and discipline of the Greeks, concerning\nwhom we only instructed them (for we know that there was nothing among\nthe Romans, except their historians and their poets, that they would\nvalue much), it was strange to see how eagerly they were set on learning\nthat language. We began to read a little of it to them, rather in\ncompliance with their importunity, than out of any hopes of their\nreaping from it any great advantage. But after a very short trial, we\nfound they made such progress, that we saw our labour was like to be\nmore successful than we could have expected. They learned to write\ntheir characters, and to pronounce their language so exactly, had so\nquick an apprehension, they remembered it so faithfully, and became so\nready and correct in the use of it, that it would have looked like a\nmiracle if the greater part of those whom we taught had not been men\nboth of extraordinary capacity and of a fit age for instruction. They\nwere for the greatest part chosen from among their learned men, by their\nchief council, though some studied it of their own accord. In three\nyears' time they became masters of the whole language, so that they read\nthe best of the Greek authors very exactly. I am indeed apt to think\nthat they learned that language the more easily, from its having some\nrelation to their own. I believe that they were a colony of the Greeks;\nfor though their language comes nearer the Persian, yet they retain many\nnames, both for their towns and magistrates, that are of Greek\nderivation. I happened to carry a great many books with me, instead of\nmerchandise, when I sailed my fourth voyage; for I was so far from\nthinking of soon coming back, that I rather thought never to have\nreturned at all, and I gave them all my books, among which were many of\nPlato's and some of Aristotle's works. I had also Theophrastus on\nPlants, which, to my great regret, was imperfect; for having laid it\ncarelessly by, while we were at sea, a monkey had seized upon it, and in\nmany places torn out the leaves. They have no books of grammar but\nLascares, for I did not carry Theodorus with me; nor have they any\ndictionaries but Hesichius and Dioscorides. They esteem Plutarch highly,\nand were much taken with Lucian's wit, and with his pleasant way of\nwriting. As for the poets, they have Aristophanes, Homer, Euripides, and\nSophocles of Aldus's edition; and for historians Thucydides, Herodotus\nand Herodian. One of my companions, Thricius Apinatus, happened to carry\nwith him some of Hippocrates's works, and Galen's Microtechne, which\nthey hold in great estimation; for though there is no nation in the\nworld that needs physic so little as they do, yet there is not any that\nhonours it so much: they reckon the knowledge of it one of the\npleasantest and most profitable parts of philosophy, by which, as they\nsearch into the secrets of Nature, so they not only find this study\nhighly agreeable, but think that such inquiries are very acceptable to\nthe Author of Nature; and imagine that as He, like the inventors of\ncurious engines amongst mankind, has exposed this great machine of the\nuniverse to the view of the only creatures capable of contemplating it,\nso an exact and curious observer, who admires His workmanship, is much\nmore acceptable to Him than one of the herd, who like a beast incapable\nof reason, looks on this glorious scene with the eyes of a dull and\nunconcerned spectator.\n\nThe minds of the Utopians when fenced with a love for learning, are very\ningenious in discovering all such arts as are necessary to carry it to\nperfection. Two things they owe to us, the manufacture of paper, and the\nart of printing: yet they are not so entirely indebted to us for these\ndiscoveries, but that a great part of the invention was their own. We\nshowed them some books printed by Aldus, we explained to them the way of\nmaking paper, and the mystery of printing; but as we had never practised\nthese arts, we described them in a crude and superficial manner. They\nseized the hints we gave them, and though at first they could not arrive\nat perfection, yet by making many essays they at last found out and\ncorrected all their errors, and conquered every difficulty. Before this\nthey only wrote on parchment, on reeds, or on the barks of trees; but\nnow they have established the manufactures of paper, and set up\nprinting-presses, so that if they had but a good number of Greek authors\nthey would be quickly supplied with many copies of them: at present,\nthough they have no more than those I have mentioned, yet by several\nimpressions they have multiplied them into many thousands. If any man\nwas to go among them that had some extraordinary talent, or that by\nmuch travelling had observed the customs of many nations (which made us\nto be so well received), he would receive a hearty welcome; for they are\nvery desirous to know the state of the whole world. Very few go among\nthem on the account of traffic, for what can a man carry to them but\niron, or gold, or silver, which merchants desire rather to export than\nimport to a strange country: and as for their exportation, they think it\nbetter to manage that themselves than to leave it to foreigners, for by\nthis means, as they understand the state of the neighbouring countries\nbetter, so they keep up the art of navigation, which cannot be\nmaintained but by much practice.\n\n\nOF THEIR SLAVES, AND OF THEIR MARRIAGES.\n\nThey do not make slaves of prisoners of war, except those that are taken\nin battle; nor of the sons of their slaves, nor of those of other\nnations: the slaves among them are only such as are condemned to that\nstate of life for the commission of some crime, or, which is more\ncommon, such as their merchants find condemned to die in those parts to\nwhich they trade, whom they sometimes redeem at low rates; and in other\nplaces have them for nothing. They are kept at perpetual labour, and are\nalways chained, but with this difference, that their own natives are\ntreated much worse than others; they are considered as more profligate\nthan the rest, and since they could not be restrained by the advantages\nof so excellent an education, are judged worthy of harder usage. Another\nsort of slaves are the poor of the neighbouring countries, who offer of\ntheir own accord to come and serve them; they treat these better, and\nuse them in all other respects as well as their own countrymen, except\ntheir imposing more labour upon them, which is no hard task to those\nthat have been accustomed to it; and if any of these have a mind to go\nback to their own country, which indeed falls out but seldom, as they do\nnot force them to stay, so they do not send them away empty-handed.\n\nI have already told you with what care they look after their sick, so\nthat nothing is left undone that can contribute either to their ease or\nhealth: and for those who are taken with fixed and incurable diseases,\nthey use all possible ways to cherish them, and to make their lives as\ncomfortable as possible. They visit them often, and take great pains to\nmake their time pass off easily: but when any is taken with a torturing\nand lingering pain, so that there is no hope, either of recovery or\nease, the priests and magistrates come and exhort them, that since they\nare now unable to go on with the business of life, are become a burden\nto themselves and to all about them, and they have really outlived\nthemselves, they should no longer nourish such a rooted distemper, but\nchoose rather to die, since they cannot live but in much misery: being\nassured, that if they thus deliver themselves from torture, or are\nwilling that others should do it, they shall be happy after death. Since\nby their acting thus, they lose none of the pleasures, but only the\ntroubles of life; they think they behave not only reasonably, but in a\nmanner consistent with religion and piety; because they follow the\nadvice given them by their priests, who are the expounders of the will\nof God. Such as are wrought on by these persuasions, either starve\nthemselves of their own accord, or take opium, and by that means die\nwithout pain. But no man is forced on this way of ending his life; and\nif they cannot be persuaded to it, this does not induce them to fail in\ntheir attendance and care of them; but as they believe that a voluntary\ndeath, when it is chosen upon such an authority, is very honourable, so\nif any man takes away his own life, without the approbation of the\npriests and the Senate, they give him none of the honours of a decent\nfuneral, but throw his body into a ditch.\n\nTheir women are not married before eighteen, nor their men before\ntwo-and-twenty, and if any of them run into forbidden embraces before\nmarriage they are severely punished, and the privilege of marriage is\ndenied them, unless they can obtain a special warrant from the Prince.\nSuch disorders cast a great reproach upon the master and mistress of the\nfamily in which they happen, for it is supposed that they have failed in\ntheir duty. The reason of punishing this so severely is, because they\nthink that if they were not strictly restrained from all vagrant\nappetites, very few would engage in a state in which they venture the\nquiet of their whole lives, by being confined to one person, and are\nobliged to endure all the inconveniences with which it is accompanied.\nIn choosing their wives they use a method that would appear to us very\nabsurd and ridiculous, but it is constantly observed among them, and is\naccounted perfectly consistent with wisdom. Before marriage some grave\nmatron presents the bride naked, whether she is a virgin or a widow, to\nthe bridegroom; and after that some grave man presents the bridegroom\nnaked to the bride. We indeed both laughed at this, and condemned it as\nvery indecent. But they, on the other hand, wondered at the folly of the\nmen of all other nations, who, if they are but to buy a horse of a small\nvalue, are so cautious that they will see every part of him, and take\noff both his saddle and all his other tackle, that there may be no\nsecret ulcer hid under any of them; and that yet in the choice of a\nwife, on which depends the happiness or unhappiness of the rest of his\nlife, a man should venture upon trust, and only see about a\nhand's-breadth of the face, all the rest of the body being covered,\nunder which there may lie hid what may be contagious, as well as\nloathsome. All men are not so wise as to choose a woman only for her\ngood qualities; and even wise men consider the body as that which adds\nnot a little to the mind: and it is certain there may be some such\ndeformity covered with the clothes as may totally alienate a man from\nhis wife when it is too late to part with her. If such a thing is\ndiscovered after marriage, a man has no remedy but patience. They\ntherefore think it is reasonable that there should be good provision\nmade against such mischievous frauds.\n\nThere was so much the more reason for them to make a regulation in this\nmatter, because they are the only people of those parts that neither\nallow of polygamy, nor of divorces, except in the case of adultery, or\ninsufferable perverseness; for in these cases the Senate dissolves the\nmarriage, and grants the injured person leave to marry again; but the\nguilty are made infamous, and are never allowed the privilege of a\nsecond marriage. None are suffered to put away their wives against their\nwills, from any great calamity that may have fallen on their persons;\nfor they look on it as the height of cruelty and treachery to abandon\neither of the married persons when they need most the tender care of\ntheir comfort, and that chiefly in the case of old age, which as it\ncarries many diseases along with it, so it is a disease of itself. But\nit frequently falls out that when a married couple do not well agree,\nthey by mutual consent separate, and find out other persons with whom\nthey hope they may live more happily. Yet this is not done without\nobtaining leave of the Senate, which never admits of a divorce, but upon\na strict inquiry made, both by the senators and their wives, into the\ngrounds upon which it is desired; and even when they are satisfied\nconcerning the reasons of it, they go on but slowly, for they imagine\nthat too great easiness in granting leave for new marriages would very\nmuch shake the kindness of married people. They punish severely those\nthat defile the marriage-bed. If both parties are married they are\ndivorced, and the injured persons may marry one another, or whom they\nplease; but the adulterer and the adulteress are condemned to slavery.\nYet if either of the injured persons cannot shake off the love of the\nmarried person, they may live with them still in that state, but they\nmust follow them to that labour to which the slaves are condemned; and\nsometimes the repentance of the condemned, together with the unshaken\nkindness of the innocent and injured person, has prevailed so far with\nthe Prince that he has taken off the sentence; but those that relapse\nafter they are once pardoned are punished with death.\n\nTheir law does not determine the punishment for other crimes; but that\nis left to the Senate, to temper it according to the circumstances of\nthe fact. Husbands have power to correct their wives, and parents to\nchastise their children, unless the fault is so great that a public\npunishment is thought necessary for striking terror into others. For the\nmost part, slavery is the punishment even of the greatest crimes; for as\nthat is no less terrible to the criminals themselves than death, so they\nthink the preserving them in a state of servitude is more for the\ninterest of the commonwealth than killing them; since as their labour is\na greater benefit to the public than their death could be, so the sight\nof their misery is a more lasting terror to other men than that which\nwould be given by their death. If their slaves rebel, and will not bear\ntheir yoke, and submit to the labour that is enjoined them, they are\ntreated as wild beasts that cannot be kept in order, neither by a\nprison, nor by their chains; and are at last put to death. But those who\nbear their punishment patiently, and are so much wrought on by that\npressure that lies so hard on them that it appears they are really more\ntroubled for the crimes they have committed than for the miseries they\nsuffer, are not out of hope but that at last either the Prince will, by\nhis prerogative, or the people by their intercession, restore them again\nto their liberty, or at least very much mitigate their slavery. He that\ntempts a married woman to adultery, is no less severely punished than he\nthat commits it; for they believe that a deliberate design to commit a\ncrime, is equal to the fact itself: since its not taking effect does\nnot make the person that miscarried in his attempt at all the less\nguilty.\n\nThey take great pleasure in fools, and as it is thought a base and\nunbecoming thing to use them ill, so they do not think it amiss for\npeople to divert themselves with their folly: and, in their opinion,\nthis is a great advantage to the fools themselves: for if men were so\nsullen and severe as not at all to please themselves with their\nridiculous behaviour and foolish sayings, which is all that they can do\nto recommend themselves to others, it could not be expected that they\nwould be so well provided for, nor so tenderly used as they must\notherwise be. If any man should reproach another for his being misshaped\nor imperfect in any part of his body, it would not at all be thought a\nreflection on the person so treated, but it would be accounted\nscandalous in him that had upbraided another with what he could not\nhelp. It is thought a sign of a sluggish and sordid mind not to preserve\ncarefully one's natural beauty; but it is likewise infamous among them\nto use paint. They all see that no beauty recommends a wife so much to\nher husband as the probity of her life, and her obedience: for as some\nfew are catched and held only by beauty, so all are attracted by the\nother excellences which charm all the world.\n\nAs they fright men from committing crimes by punishments, so they invite\nthem to the love of virtue by public honours: therefore they erect\nstatues to the memories of such worthy men as have deserved well of\ntheir country, and set these in their market-places, both to perpetuate\nthe remembrance of their actions, and to be an incitement to their\nposterity to follow their example.\n\nIf any man aspires to any office, he is sure never to compass it: they\nall live easily together, for none of the magistrates are either\ninsolent or cruel to the people: they affect rather to be called\nfathers, and by being really so, they well deserve the name; and the\npeople pay them all the marks of honour the more freely, because none\nare exacted from them. The Prince himself has no distinction, either of\ngarments, or of a crown; but is only distinguished by a sheaf of corn\ncarried before him; as the high priest is also known by his being\npreceded by a person carrying a wax light.\n\nThey have but few laws, and such is their constitution that they need\nnot many. They very much condemn other nations, whose laws, together\nwith the commentaries on them, swell up to so many volumes; for they\nthink it an unreasonable thing to oblige men to obey a body of laws that\nare both of such a bulk, and so dark as not to be read and understood by\nevery one of the subjects.\n\nThey have no lawyers among them, for they consider them as a sort of\npeople whose profession it is to disguise matters, and to wrest the\nlaws; and therefore they think it is much better that every man should\nplead his own cause, and trust it to the judge, as in other places the\nclient trusts it to a counsellor. By this means they both cut off many\ndelays, and find out truth more certainly: for after the parties have\nlaid open the merits of the cause, without those artifices which lawyers\nare apt to suggest, the judge examines the whole matter, and supports\nthe simplicity of such well-meaning persons, whom otherwise crafty men\nwould be sure to run down: and thus they avoid those evils which appear\nvery remarkably among all those nations that labour under a vast load of\nlaws. Every one of them is skilled in their law, for as it is a very\nshort study, so the plainest meaning of which words are capable is\nalways the sense of their laws. And they argue thus: all laws are\npromulgated for this end, that every man may know his duty; and\ntherefore the plainest and most obvious sense of the words is that which\nought to be put upon them; since a more refined exposition cannot be\neasily comprehended, and would only serve to make the laws become\nuseless to the greater part of mankind, and especially to those who need\nmost the direction of them: for it is all one, not to make a law at\nall, or to couch it in such terms that without a quick apprehension, and\nmuch study, a man cannot find out the true meaning of it; since the\ngenerality of mankind are both so dull, and so much employed in their\nseveral trades, that they have neither the leisure nor the capacity\nrequisite for such an inquiry.\n\nSome of their neighbours, who are masters of their own liberties, having\nlong ago, by the assistance of the Utopians, shaken off the yoke of\ntyranny, and being much taken with those virtues which they observe\namong them, have come to desire that they would send magistrates to\ngovern them; some changing them every year, and others every five years.\nAt the end of their government they bring them back to Utopia, with\ngreat expressions of honour and esteem, and carry away others to govern\nin their stead. In this they seem to have fallen upon a very good\nexpedient for their own happiness and safety; for since the good or ill\ncondition of a nation depends so much upon their magistrates, they could\nnot have made a better choice than by pitching on men whom no advantages\ncan bias; for wealth is of no use to them, since they must so soon go\nback to their own country; and they being strangers among them, are not\nengaged in any of their heats or animosities; and it is certain that\nwhen public judicatories are swayed, either by avarice or partial\naffections, there must follow a dissolution of justice, the chief sinew\nof society.\n\nThe Utopians call those nations that come and ask magistrates from them,\nneighbours; but those to whom they have been of more particular service,\nfriends. And as all other nations are perpetually either making leagues\nor breaking them, they never enter into an alliance with any state. They\nthink leagues are useless things, and believe that if the common ties of\nhumanity do not knit men together, the faith of promises will have no\ngreat effect; and they are the more confirmed in this by what they see\namong the nations round about them, who are no strict observers of\nleagues and treaties. We know how religiously they are observed in\nEurope, more particularly where the Christian doctrine is received,\namong whom they are sacred and inviolable. Which is partly owing to the\njustice and goodness of the princes themselves, and partly to the\nreverence they pay to the popes; who as they are most religious\nobservers of their own promises, so they exhort all other princes to\nperform theirs; and when fainter methods do not prevail, they compel\nthem to it by the severity of the pastoral censure, and think that it\nwould be the most indecent thing possible if men who are particularly\ndistinguished by the title of the faithful, should not religiously keep\nthe faith of their treaties. But in that new-found world, which is not\nmore distant from us in situation than the people are in their manners\nand course of life, there is no trusting to leagues, even though they\nwere made with all the pomp of the most sacred ceremonies; on the\ncontrary, they are on this account the sooner broken, some slight\npretence being found in the words of the treaties, which are purposely\ncouched in such ambiguous terms that they can never be so strictly bound\nbut they will always find some loophole to escape at; and thus they\nbreak both their leagues and their faith. And this is done with such\nimpudence, that those very men who value themselves on having suggested\nthese expedients to their princes, would with a haughty scorn declaim\nagainst such craft, or to speak plainer, such fraud and deceit, if they\nfound private men make use of it in their bargains, and would readily\nsay that they deserved to be hanged.\n\nBy this means it is, that all sort of justice passes in the world for a\nlow-spirited and vulgar virtue, far below the dignity of royal\ngreatness. Or at least, there are set up two sorts of justice; the one\nis mean, and creeps on the ground, and therefore becomes none but the\nlower part of mankind, and so must be kept in severely by many\nrestraints that it may not break out beyond the bounds that are set to\nit. The other is the peculiar virtue of princes, which as it is more\nmajestic than that which becomes the rabble, so takes a freer compass;\nand thus lawful and unlawful are only measured by pleasure and interest.\nThese practices of the princes that lie about Utopia, who make so little\naccount of their faith, seem to be the reasons that determine them to\nengage in no confederacies; perhaps they would change their mind if they\nlived among us; but yet though treaties were more religiously observed,\nthey would still dislike the custom of making them; since the world has\ntaken up a false maxim upon it, as if there were no tie of Nature\nuniting one nation to another, only separated perhaps by a mountain or a\nriver, and that all were born in a state of hostility, and so might\nlawfully do all that mischief to their neighbours against which there is\nno provision made by treaties; and that when treaties are made, they do\nnot cut off the enmity, or restrain the license of preying upon each\nother, if by the unskilfulness of wording them there are not effectual\nprovisoes made against them. They, on the other hand, judge that no man\nis to be esteemed our enemy that has never injured us; and that the\npartnership of the human nature is instead of a league. And that\nkindness and good-nature unite men more effectually and with greater\nstrength than any agreements whatsoever; since thereby the engagements\nof men's hearts become stronger than the bond and obligation of words.\n\n\nOF THEIR MILITARY DISCIPLINE.\n\nThey detest war as a very brutal thing; and which, to the reproach of\nhuman nature, is more practised by men than by any sort of beasts. They,\nin opposition to the sentiments of almost all other nations, think that\nthere is nothing more inglorious than that glory that is gained by war.\nAnd therefore though they accustom themselves daily to military\nexercises and the discipline of war, in which not only their men but\ntheir women likewise are trained up, that in cases of necessity they may\nnot be quite useless; yet they do not rashly engage in war, unless it be\neither to defend themselves, or their friends, from any unjust\naggressors; or out of good-nature or in compassion assist an oppressed\nnation in shaking off the yoke of tyranny. They indeed help their\nfriends, not only in defensive, but also in offensive wars; but they\nnever do that unless they had been consulted before the breach was made,\nand being satisfied with the grounds on which they went, they had found\nthat all demands of reparation were rejected, so that a war was\nunavoidable. This they think to be not only just, when one neighbour\nmakes an inroad on another, by public order, and carry away the spoils;\nbut when the merchants of one country are oppressed in another, either\nunder pretence of some unjust laws, or by the perverse wresting of good\nones. This they count a juster cause of war than the other, because\nthose injuries are done under some colour of laws. This was the only\nground of that war in which they engaged with the Nephelogetes against\nthe Aleopolitanes, a little before our time; for the merchants of the\nformer having, as they thought, met with great injustice among the\nlatter, which, whether it was in itself right or wrong, drew on a\nterrible war, in which many of their neighbours were engaged; and their\nkeenness in carrying it on being supported by their strength in\nmaintaining it, it not only shook some very flourishing states, and very\nmuch afflicted others, but after a series of much mischief ended in the\nentire conquest and slavery of the Aleopolitanes, who though before the\nwar they were in all respects much superior to the Nephelogetes, were\nyet subdued; but though the Utopians had assisted them in the war, yet\nthey pretended to no share of the spoil.\n\nBut though they so vigorously assist their friends in obtaining\nreparation for the injuries they have received in affairs of this\nnature, yet if any such frauds was committed against themselves,\nprovided no violence was done to their persons, they would only on their\nbeing refused satisfaction forbear trading with such a people. This is\nnot because they consider their neighbours more than their own citizens;\nbut since their neighbours trade every one upon his own stock, fraud is\na more sensible injury to them than it is to the Utopians, among whom\nthe public in such a case only suffers. As they expect nothing in return\nfor the merchandises they export but that in which they so much abound,\nand is of little use to them, the loss does not much affect them; they\nthink therefore it would be too severe to revenge a loss attended with\nso little inconvenience either to their lives, or their subsistence,\nwith the death of many persons; but if any of their people is either\nkilled or wounded wrongfully, whether it be done by public authority or\nonly by private men, as soon as they hear of it they send ambassadors,\nand demand that the guilty persons may be delivered up to them; and if\nthat is denied, they declare war; but if it be complied with, the\noffenders are condemned either to death or slavery.\n\nThey would be both troubled and ashamed of a bloody victory over their\nenemies, and think it would be as foolish a purchase as to buy the most\nvaluable goods at too high a rate. And in no victory do they glory so\nmuch as in that which is gained by dexterity and good conduct, without\nbloodshed. In such cases they appoint public triumphs, and erect\ntrophies to the honour of those who have succeeded; for then do they\nreckon that a man acts suitably to his nature when he conquers his enemy\nin such a way as that no other creature but a man could be capable of,\nand that is by the strength of his understanding. Bears, lions, boars,\nwolves, and dogs, and all other animals employ their bodily force one\nagainst another, in which as many of them are superior to men, both in\nstrength and fierceness, so they are all subdued by his reason and\nunderstanding.\n\nThe only design of the Utopians in war is to obtain that by force, which\nif it had been granted them in time would have prevented the war; or if\nthat cannot be done, to take so severe a revenge on those that have\ninjured them that they may be terrified from doing the like for the time\nto come. By these ends they measure all their designs, and manage them\nso that it is visible that the appetite of fame or vain-glory does not\nwork so much on them as a just care of their own security.\n\nAs soon as they declare war, they take care to have a great many\nschedules, that are sealed with their common seal, affixed in the most\nconspicuous places of their enemies' country. This is carried secretly,\nand done in many places all at once. In these they promise great rewards\nto such as shall kill the prince, and lesser in proportion to such as\nshall kill any other persons, who are those on whom, next to the prince\nhimself, they cast the chief balance of the war. And they double the sum\nto him that, instead of killing the person so marked out, shall take him\nalive and put him in their hands. They offer not only indemnity, but\nrewards, to such of the persons themselves that are so marked, if they\nwill act against their countrymen: by this means those that are named in\ntheir schedules become not only distrustful of their fellow-citizens,\nbut are jealous of one another, and are much distracted by fear and\ndanger; for it has often fallen out that many of them, and even the\nPrince himself, have been betrayed by those in whom they have trusted\nmost: for the rewards that the Utopians offer are so unmeasurably great,\nthat there is no sort of crime to which men cannot be drawn by them.\nThey consider the risk that those run who undertake such services, and\noffer a recompense proportioned to the danger; not only a vast deal of\ngold, but great revenues in lands, that lie among other nations that are\ntheir friends, where they may go and enjoy them very securely; and they\nobserve the promises they make of this kind most religiously. They very\nmuch approve of this way of corrupting their enemies, though it appears\nto others to be base and cruel; but they look on it as a wise course, to\nmake an end of what would be otherwise a long war, without so much as\nhazarding one battle to decide it. They think it likewise an act of\nmercy and love to mankind to prevent the great slaughter of those that\nmust otherwise be killed in the progress of the war, both on their own\nside and on that of their enemies, by the death of a few that are most\nguilty; and that in so doing they are kind even to their enemies, and\npity them no less than their own people, as knowing that the greater\npart of them do not engage in the war of their own accord, but are\ndriven into it by the passions of their prince.\n\nIf this method does not succeed with them, then they sow seeds of\ncontention among their enemies, and animate the prince's brother, or\nsome of the nobility, to aspire to the crown. If they cannot disunite\nthem by domestic broils, then they engage their neighbours against them,\nand make them set on foot some old pretensions, which are never wanting\nto princes when they have occasion for them. These they plentifully\nsupply with money, though but very sparingly with any auxiliary troops:\nfor they are so tender of their own people, that they would not\nwillingly exchange one of them, even with the prince of their enemies'\ncountry.\n\nBut as they keep their gold and silver only for such an occasion, so\nwhen that offers itself they easily part with it, since it would be no\ninconvenience to them though they should reserve nothing of it to\nthemselves. For besides the wealth that they have among them at home,\nthey have a vast treasure abroad, many nations round about them being\ndeep in their debt: so that they hire soldiers from all places for\ncarrying on their wars, but chiefly from the Zapolets, who live five\nhundred miles east of Utopia. They are a rude, wild, and fierce nation,\nwho delight in the woods and rocks, among which they were born and bred\nup. They are hardened both against heat, cold and labour, and know\nnothing of the delicacies of life. They do not apply themselves to\nagriculture, nor do they care either for their houses or their clothes.\nCattle is all that they look after; and for the greatest part they live\neither by hunting, or upon rapine; and are made, as it were, only for\nwar. They watch all opportunities of engaging in it, and very readily\nembrace such as are offered them. Great numbers of them will frequently\ngo out, and offer themselves for a very low pay, to serve any that will\nemploy them: they know none of the arts of life, but those that lead to\nthe taking it away; they serve those that hire them, both with much\ncourage and great fidelity; but will not engage to serve for any\ndetermined time, and agree upon such terms, that the next day they may\ngo over to the enemies of those whom they serve, if they offer them a\ngreater encouragement: and will perhaps return to them the day after\nthat, upon a higher advance of their pay. There are few wars in which\nthey make not a considerable part of the armies of both sides: so it\noften falls out that they who are related, and were hired in the same\ncountry, and so have lived long and familiarly together, forgetting both\ntheir relations and former friendship, kill one another upon no other\nconsideration than that of being hired to it for a little money, by\nprinces of different interests; and such a regard have they for money,\nthat they are easily wrought on by the difference of one penny a day to\nchange sides. So entirely does their avarice influence them; and yet\nthis money, which they value so highly, is of little use to them; for\nwhat they purchase thus with their blood, they quickly waste on luxury,\nwhich among them is but of a poor and miserable form.\n\nThis nation serves the Utopians against all people whatsoever, for they\npay higher than any other. The Utopians hold this for a maxim, that as\nthey seek out the best sort of men for their own use at home, so they\nmake use of this worst sort of men for the consumption of war, and\ntherefore they hire them with the offers of vast rewards, to expose\nthemselves to all sorts of hazards, out of which the greater part never\nreturns to claim their promises. Yet they make them good most\nreligiously to such as escape. This animates them to adventure again,\nwhenever there is occasion for it; for the Utopians are not at all\ntroubled how many of these happen to be killed, and reckon it a service\ndone to mankind if they could be a means to deliver the world from such\na lewd and vicious sort of people, that seem to have run together as to\nthe drain of human nature. Next to these they are served in their wars\nwith those upon whose account they undertake them, and with the\nauxiliary troops of their other friends, to whom they join a few of\ntheir own people, and send some men of eminent and approved virtue to\ncommand in chief. There are two sent with him, who during his command\nare but private men, but the first is to succeed him if he should happen\nto be either killed or taken; and in case of the like misfortune to him,\nthe third comes in his place; and thus they provide against ill events,\nthat such accidents as may befall their generals may not endanger their\narmies. When they draw out troops of their own people, they take such\nout of every city as freely offer themselves, for none are forced to go\nagainst their wills, since they think that if any man is pressed that\nwants courage, he will not only act faintly, but by his cowardice\ndishearten others. But if an invasion is made on their country they make\nuse of such men, if they have good bodies, though they are not brave;\nand either put them aboard their ships or place them on the walls of\ntheir towns, that being so posted they may find no opportunity of flying\naway; and thus either shame, the heat of action, or the impossibility of\nflying, bears down their cowardice; they often make a virtue of\nnecessity and behave themselves well, because nothing else is left them.\nBut as they force no man to go into any foreign war against his will, so\nthey do not hinder those women who are willing to go along with their\nhusbands; on the contrary, they encourage and praise them, and they\nstand often next their husbands in the front of the army. They also\nplace together those who are related, parents and children, kindred, and\nthose that are mutually allied, near one another; that those whom Nature\nhas inspired with the greatest zeal for assisting one another, may be\nthe nearest and readiest to do it; and it is matter of great reproach if\nhusband or wife survive one another, or if a child survives his parents,\nand therefore when they come to be engaged in action they continue to\nfight to the last man, if their enemies stand before them. And as they\nuse all prudent methods to avoid the endangering their own men, and if\nit is possible let all the action and danger fall upon the troops that\nthey hire, so if it becomes necessary for themselves to engage, they\nthen charge with as much courage as they avoided it before with\nprudence: nor is it a fierce charge at first, but it increases by\ndegrees; and as they continue in action, they grow more obstinate and\npress harder upon the enemy, insomuch that they will much sooner die\nthan give ground; for the certainty that their children will be well\nlooked after when they are dead, frees them from all that anxiety\nconcerning them which often masters men of great courage; and thus they\nare animated by a noble and invincible resolution. Their skill in\nmilitary affairs increases their courage; and the wise sentiments which,\naccording to the laws of their country are instilled into them in their\neducation, give additional vigour to their minds: for as they do not\nundervalue life so as prodigally to throw it away, they are not so\nindecently fond of it as to preserve it by base and unbecoming methods.\nIn the greatest heat of action, the bravest of their youth, who have\ndevoted themselves to that service, single out the general of their\nenemies, set on him either openly or by ambuscade, pursue him\neverywhere, and when spent and wearied out, are relieved by others, who\nnever give over the pursuit; either attacking him with close weapons\nwhen they can get near him, or with those which wound at a distance,\nwhen others get in between them; so that unless he secures himself by\nflight, they seldom fail at last to kill or to take him prisoner. When\nthey have obtained a victory, they kill as few as possible, and are much\nmore bent on taking many prisoners than on killing those that fly before\nthem; nor do they ever let their men so loose in the pursuit of their\nenemies, as not to retain an entire body still in order; so that if they\nhave been forced to engage the last of their battalions before they\ncould gain the day, they will rather let their enemies all escape than\npursue them, when their own army is in disorder; remembering well what\nhas often fallen out to themselves, that when the main body of their\narmy has been quite defeated and broken, when their enemies imagining\nthe victory obtained, have let themselves loose into an irregular\npursuit, a few of them that lay for a reserve, waiting a fit\nopportunity, have fallen on them in their chase, and when straggling in\ndisorder and apprehensive of no danger, but counting the day their own,\nhave turned the whole action, and wresting out of their hands a victory\nthat seemed certain and undoubted, while the vanquished have suddenly\nbecome victorious.\n\nIt is hard to tell whether they are more dexterous in laying or avoiding\nambushes. They sometimes seem to fly when it is far from their thoughts;\nand when they intend to give ground, they do it so that it is very hard\nto find out their design. If they see they are ill posted, or are like\nto be overpowered by numbers, they then either march off in the night\nwith great silence, or by some stratagem delude their enemies: if they\nretire in the daytime, they do it in such order, that it is no less\ndangerous to fall upon them in a retreat than in a march. They fortify\ntheir camps with a deep and large trench, and throw up the earth that is\ndug out of it for a wall; nor do they employ only their slaves in this,\nbut the whole army works at it, except those that are then upon the\nguard; so that when so many hands are at work, a great line and a strong\nfortification is finished in so short a time that it is scarce credible.\nTheir armour is very strong for defence, and yet is not so heavy as to\nmake them uneasy in their marches; they can even swim with it. All that\nare trained up to war, practise swimming. Both horse and foot make great\nuse of arrows, and are very expert. They have no swords, but fight with\na pole-axe that is both sharp and heavy, by which they thrust or strike\ndown an enemy. They are very good at finding out warlike machines, and\ndisguise them so well, that the enemy does not perceive them till he\nfeels the use of them; so that he cannot prepare such a defence as would\nrender them useless; the chief consideration had in the making them, is\nthat they may be easily carried and managed.\n\nIf they agree to a truce, they observe it so religiously that no\nprovocations will make them break it. They never lay their enemies'\ncountry waste, nor burn their corn, and even in their marches they take\nall possible care that neither horse nor foot may tread it down, for\nthey do not know but that they may have use for it themselves. They hurt\nno man whom they find disarmed, unless he is a spy. When a town is\nsurrendered to them, they take it into their protection: and when they\ncarry a place by storm, they never plunder it, but put those only to the\nsword that opposed the rendering of it up, and make the rest of the\ngarrison slaves, but for the other inhabitants, they do them no hurt;\nand if any of them had advised a surrender, they give them good rewards\nout of the estates of those that they condemn, and distribute the rest\namong their auxiliary troops, but they themselves take no share of the\nspoil.\n\nWhen a war is ended, they do not oblige their friends to reimburse their\nexpenses; but they obtain them of the conquered, either in money, which\nthey keep for the next occasion, or in lands, out of which a constant\nrevenue is to be paid them; by many increases, the revenue which they\ndraw out from several countries on such occasions, is now risen to above\n700,000 ducats a year. They send some of their own people to receive\nthese revenues, who have orders to live magnificently, and like princes,\nby which means they consume much of it upon the place; and either bring\nover the rest to Utopia, or lend it to that nation in which it lies.\nThis they most commonly do, unless some great occasion, which falls out\nbut very seldom, should oblige them to call for it all. It is out of\nthese lands that they assign rewards to such as they encourage to\nadventure on desperate attempts. If any prince that engages in war with\nthem is making preparations for invading their country, they prevent\nhim, and make his country the seat of the war; for they do not willingly\nsuffer any war to break in upon their island; and if that should happen,\nthey would only defend themselves by their own people, but would not\ncall for auxiliary troops to their assistance.\n\n\nOF THE RELIGIONS OF THE UTOPIANS.\n\nThere are several sorts of religions, not only in different parts of the\nisland, but even in every town; some worshipping the sun, others the\nmoon, or one of the planets; some worship such men as have been eminent\nin former times for virtue, or glory, not only as ordinary deities, but\nas the supreme God: yet the greater and wiser sort of them worship none\nof these, but adore one eternal, invisible, infinite, and\nincomprehensible Deity; as a Being that is far above all our\napprehensions, that is spread over the whole universe, not by His bulk,\nbut by His power and virtue; Him they call the Father of All, and\nacknowledge that the beginnings, the increase, the progress, the\nvicissitudes, and the end of all things come only from Him; nor do they\noffer divine honours to any but to Him alone. And indeed, though they\ndiffer concerning other things, yet all agree in this, that they think\nthere is one supreme Being that made and governs the world, whom they\ncall in the language of their country Mithras. They differ in this, that\none thinks the God whom he worships is this supreme Being, and another\nthinks that his idol is that God; but they all agree in one principle,\nthat whoever is this supreme Being, He is also that great Essence to\nwhose glory and majesty all honours are ascribed by the consent of all\nnations.\n\nBy degrees, they fall off from the various superstitions that are among\nthem, and grow up to that one religion that is the best and most in\nrequest; and there is no doubt to be made but that all the others had\nvanished long ago, if some of those who advised them to lay aside their\nsuperstitions had not met with some unhappy accident, which being\nconsidered as inflicted by Heaven, made them afraid that the God whose\nworship had like to have been abandoned, had interposed, and revenged\nthemselves on those who despised their authority.\n\nAfter they had heard from us an account of the doctrine, the course of\nlife, and the miracles of Christ, and of the wonderful constancy of so\nmany martyrs, whose blood, so willingly offered up by them, was the\nchief occasion of spreading their religion over a vast number of\nnations; it is not to be imagined how inclined they were to receive it.\nI shall not determine whether this proceeded from any secret inspiration\nof God, or whether it was because it seemed so favourable to that\ncommunity of goods, which is an opinion so particular as well as so dear\nto them; since they perceived that Christ and His followers lived by\nthat rule, and that it was still kept up in some communities among the\nsincerest sort of Christians. From whichsoever of these motives it might\nbe, true it is that many of them came over to our religion, and were\ninitiated into it by baptism. But as two of our number were dead, so\nnone of the four that survived were in priest's orders; we therefore\ncould only baptize them; so that to our great regret they could not\npartake of the other sacraments, that can only be administered by\npriests; but they are instructed concerning them, and long most\nvehemently for them. They have had great disputes among themselves,\nwhether one chosen by them to be a priest would not be thereby qualified\nto do all the things that belong to that character, even though he had\nno authority derived from the Pope; and they seemed to be resolved to\nchoose some for that employment, but they had not done it when I left\nthem.\n\nThose among them that have not received our religion, do not fright any\nfrom it, and use none ill that goes over to it; so that all the while I\nwas there, one man was only punished on this occasion. He being newly\nbaptized, did, notwithstanding all that we could say to the contrary,\ndispute publicly concerning the Christian religion with more zeal than\ndiscretion; and with so much heat, that he not only preferred our\nworship to theirs, but condemned all their rites as profane; and cried\nout against all that adhered to them, as impious and sacrilegious\npersons, that were to be damned to everlasting burnings. Upon his having\nfrequently preached in this manner, he was seized, and after trial he\nwas condemned to banishment, not for having disparaged their religion,\nbut for his inflaming the people to sedition: for this is one of their\nmost ancient laws, that no man ought to be punished for his religion. At\nthe first constitution of their government, Utopus having understood\nthat before his coming among them the old inhabitants had been engaged\nin great quarrels concerning religion, by which they were so divided\namong themselves, that he found it an easy thing to conquer them, since\ninstead of uniting their forces against him, every different party in\nreligion fought by themselves; after he had subdued them, he made a law\nthat every man might be of what religion he pleased, and might endeavour\nto draw others to it by the force of argument, and by amicable and\nmodest ways, but without bitterness against those of other opinions; but\nthat he ought to use no other force but that of persuasion, and was\nneither to mix with it reproaches nor violence; and such as did\notherwise were to be condemned to banishment or slavery.\n\nThis law was made by Utopus, not only for preserving the public peace,\nwhich he saw suffered much by daily contentions and irreconcilable\nheats, but because he thought the interest of religion itself required\nit. He judged it not fit to determine anything rashly, and seemed to\ndoubt whether those different forms of religion might not all come from\nGod, who might inspire men in a different manner, and be pleased with\nthis variety; he therefore thought it indecent and foolish for any man\nto threaten and terrify another to make him believe what did not appear\nto him to be true. And supposing that only one religion was really true,\nand the rest false, he imagined that the native force of truth would at\nlast break forth and shine bright, if supported only by the strength of\nargument, and attended to with a gentle and unprejudiced mind; while, on\nthe other hand, if such debates were carried on with violence and\ntumults, as the most wicked are always the most obstinate, so the best\nand most holy religion might be choked with superstition, as corn is\nwith briars and thorns; he therefore left men wholly to their liberty,\nthat they might be free to believe as they should see cause; only he\nmade a solemn and severe law against such as should so far degenerate\nfrom the dignity of human nature as to think that our souls died with\nour bodies, or that the world was governed by chance, without a wise\noverruling Providence: for they all formerly believed that there was a\nstate of rewards and punishments to the good and bad after this life;\nand they now look on those that think otherwise as scarce fit to be\ncounted men, since they degrade so noble a being as the soul, and reckon\nit no better than a beast's: thus they are far from looking on such men\nas fit for human society, or to be citizens of a well-ordered\ncommonwealth; since a man of such principles must needs, as oft as he\ndares do it, despise all their laws and customs: for there is no doubt\nto be made that a man who is afraid of nothing but the law, and\napprehends nothing after death, will not scruple to break through all\nthe laws of his country, either by fraud or force, when by this means he\nmay satisfy his appetites. They never raise any that hold these maxims,\neither to honours or offices, nor employ them in any public trust, but\ndespise them, as men of base and sordid minds: yet they do not punish\nthem, because they lay this down as a maxim that a man cannot make\nhimself believe anything he pleases; nor do they drive any to dissemble\ntheir thoughts by threatenings, so that men are not tempted to lie or\ndisguise their opinions; which being a sort of fraud, is abhorred by the\nUtopians. They take care indeed to prevent their disputing in defence of\nthese opinions, especially before the common people; but they suffer,\nand even encourage them to dispute concerning them in private with their\npriests and other grave men, being confident that they will be cured of\nthose mad opinions by having reason laid before them. There are many\namong them that run far to the other extreme, though it is neither\nthought an ill nor unreasonable opinion, and therefore is not at all\ndiscouraged. They think that the souls of beasts are immortal, though\nfar inferior to the dignity of the human soul, and not capable of so\ngreat a happiness. They are almost all of them very firmly persuaded\nthat good men will be infinitely happy in another state; so that though\nthey are compassionate to all that are sick, yet they lament no man's\ndeath, except they see him loth to depart with life; for they look on\nthis as a very ill presage, as if the soul, conscious to itself of\nguilt, and quite hopeless, was afraid to leave the body, from some\nsecret hints of approaching misery. They think that such a man's\nappearance before God cannot be acceptable to Him, who, being called on,\ndoes not go out cheerfully, but is backward and unwilling, and is, as it\nwere, dragged to it. They are struck with horror when they see any die\nin this manner, and carry them out in silence and with sorrow, and\npraying God that He would be merciful to the errors of the departed\nsoul, they lay the body in the ground; but when any die cheerfully, and\nfull of hope, they do not mourn for them, but sing hymns when they carry\nout their bodies, and commending their souls very earnestly to God:\ntheir whole behaviour is then rather grave than sad, they burn the body,\nand set up a pillar where the pile was made, with an inscription to the\nhonour of the deceased. When they come from the funeral, they discourse\nof his good life and worthy actions, but speak of nothing oftener and\nwith more pleasure than of his serenity at the hour of death. They think\nsuch respect paid to the memory of good men is both the greatest\nincitement to engage others to follow their example, and the most\nacceptable worship that can be offered them; for they believe that\nthough by the imperfection of human sight they are invisible to us, yet\nthey are present among us, and hear those discourses that pass\nconcerning themselves. They believe it inconsistent, with the happiness\nof departed souls not to be at liberty to be where they will, and do\nnot imagine them capable of the ingratitude of not desiring to see\nthose friends with whom they lived on earth in the strictest bonds of\nlove and kindness: besides they are persuaded that good men after death\nhave these affections and all other good dispositions increased rather\nthan diminished, and therefore conclude that they are still among the\nliving, and observe all they say or do. From hence they engage in all\ntheir affairs with the greater confidence of success, as trusting to\ntheir protection; while this opinion of the presence of their ancestors\nis a restraint that prevents their engaging in ill designs.\n\nThey despise and laugh at auguries, and the other vain and superstitious\nways of divination, so much observed among other nations; but have great\nreverence for such miracles as cannot flow from any of the powers of\nNature, and look on them as effects and indications of the presence of\nthe supreme Being, of which they say many instances have occurred among\nthem; and that sometimes their public prayers, which upon great and\ndangerous occasions they have solemnly put up to God, with assured\nconfidence of being heard, have been answered in a miraculous manner.\n\nThey think the contemplating God in His works, and the adoring Him for\nthem, is a very acceptable piece of worship to Him.\n\nThere are many among them, that upon a motive of religion neglect\nlearning, and apply themselves to no sort of study; nor do they allow\nthemselves any leisure time, but are perpetually employed, believing\nthat by the good things that a man does he secures to himself that\nhappiness that comes after death. Some of these visit the sick; others\nmend highways, cleanse ditches, repair bridges, or dig turf, gravel, or\nstones. Others fell and cleave timber, and bring wood, corn, and other\nnecessaries on carts into their towns. Nor do these only serve the\npublic, but they serve even private men, more than the slaves\nthemselves do; for if there is anywhere a rough, hard, and sordid piece\nof work to be done, from which many are frightened by the labour and\nloathsomeness of it, if not the despair of accomplishing it, they\ncheerfully, and of their own accord, take that to their share; and by\nthat means, as they ease others very much, so they afflict themselves,\nand spend their whole life in hard labour; and yet they do not value\nthemselves upon this, nor lessen other people's credit to raise their\nown; but by their stooping to such servile employments, they are so far\nfrom being despised, that they are so much the more esteemed by the\nwhole nation.\n\nOf these there are two sorts; some live unmarried and chaste, and\nabstain from eating any sort of flesh; and thus weaning themselves from\nall the pleasures of the present life, which they account hurtful, they\npursue, even by the hardest and painfullest methods possible, that\nblessedness which they hope for hereafter; and the nearer they approach\nto it, they are the more cheerful and earnest in their endeavours after\nit. Another sort of them is less willing to put themselves to much toil,\nand therefore prefer a married state to a single one; and as they do not\ndeny themselves the pleasure of it, so they think the begetting of\nchildren is a debt which they owe to human nature and to their country;\nnor do they avoid any pleasure that does not hinder labour, and\ntherefore eat flesh so much the more willingly, as they find that by\nthis means they are the more able to work; the Utopians look upon these\nas the wiser sect, but they esteem the others as the most holy. They\nwould indeed laugh at any man, who from the principles of reason would\nprefer an unmarried state to a married, or a life of labour to an easy\nlife; but they reverence and admire such as do it from the motives of\nreligion. There is nothing in which they are more cautious than in\ngiving their opinion positively concerning any sort of religion. The men\nthat lead those severe lives are called in the language of their\ncountry Brutheskas, which answers to those we call religious orders.\n\nTheir priests are men of eminent piety, and therefore they are but few,\nfor there are only thirteen in every town, one for every temple; but\nwhen they go to war, seven of these go out with their forces, and seven\nothers are chosen to supply their room in their absence; but these enter\nagain upon their employment when they return; and those who served in\ntheir absence attend upon the high-priest, till vacancies fall by death;\nfor there is one set over all the rest. They are chosen by the people as\nthe other magistrates are, by suffrages given in secret, for preventing\nof factions; and when they are chosen they are consecrated by the\ncollege of priests. The care of all sacred things, the worship of God,\nand an inspection into the manners of the people, are committed to them.\nIt is a reproach to a man to be sent for by any of them, or for them to\nspeak to him in secret, for that always gives some suspicion. All that\nis incumbent on them is only to exhort and admonish the people; for the\npower of correcting and punishing ill men belongs wholly to the Prince\nand to the other magistrates. The severest thing that the priest does,\nis the excluding those that are desperately wicked from joining in their\nworship. There is not any sort of punishment more dreaded by them than\nthis, for as it loads them with infamy, so it fills them with secret\nhorrors, such is their reverence to their religion; nor will their\nbodies be long exempted from their share of trouble; for if they do not\nvery quickly satisfy the priests of the truth of their repentance, they\nare seized on by the Senate, and punished for their impiety. The\neducation of youth belongs to the priests, yet they do not take so much\ncare of instructing them in letters as in forming their minds and\nmanners aright; they use all possible methods to infuse very early into\nthe tender and flexible minds of children such opinions as are both good\nin themselves and will be useful to their country. For when deep\nimpressions of these things are made at that age, they follow men\nthrough the whole course of their lives, and conduce much to preserve\nthe peace of the government, which suffers by nothing more than by vices\nthat rise out of ill opinions. The wives of their priests are the most\nextraordinary women of the whole country; sometimes the women themselves\nare made priests, though that falls out but seldom, nor are any but\nancient widows chosen into that order.\n\nNone of the magistrates have greater honour paid them than is paid the\npriests; and if they should happen to commit any crime, they would not\nbe questioned for it. Their punishment is left to God, and to their own\nconsciences; for they do not think it lawful to lay hands on any man,\nhow wicked soever he is, that has been in a peculiar manner dedicated to\nGod; nor do they find any great inconvenience in this, both because they\nhave so few priests, and because these are chosen with much caution, so\nthat it must be a very unusual thing to find one who merely out of\nregard to his virtue, and for his being esteemed a singularly good man,\nwas raised up to so great a dignity, degenerate into corruption and\nvice. And if such a thing should fall out, for man is a changeable\ncreature, yet there being few priests, and these having no authority but\nwhat rises out of the respect that is paid them, nothing of great\nconsequence to the public can proceed from the indemnity that the\npriests enjoy.\n\nThey have indeed very few of them, lest greater numbers sharing in the\nsame honour might make the dignity of that order which they esteem so\nhighly to sink in its reputation. They also think it difficult to find\nout many of such an exalted pitch of goodness, as to be equal to that\ndignity which demands the exercise of more than ordinary virtues. Nor\nare the priests in greater veneration among them than they are among\ntheir neighbouring nations, as you may imagine by that which I think\ngives occasion for it.\n\nWhen the Utopians engage in battle, the priests who accompany them to\nthe war, apparelled in their sacred vestments, kneel down during the\naction, in a place not far from the field; and lifting up their hands to\nheaven, pray, first for peace, and then for victory to their own side,\nand particularly that it may be gained without the effusion of much\nblood on either side; and when the victory turns to their side, they run\nin among their own men to restrain their fury; and if any of their\nenemies see them, or call to them, they are preserved by that means; and\nsuch as can come so near them as to touch their garments, have not only\ntheir lives, but their fortunes secured to them; it is upon this account\nthat all the nations roundabout consider them so much, and treat them\nwith such reverence, that they have been often no less able to preserve\ntheir own people from the fury of their enemies, than to save their\nenemies from their rage; for it has sometimes fallen out, that when\ntheir armies have been in disorder, and forced to fly, so that their\nenemies were running upon the slaughter and spoil, the priests by\ninterposing have separated them from one another, and stopped the\neffusion of more blood; so that by their mediation a peace has been\nconcluded on very reasonable terms; nor is there any nation about them\nso fierce, cruel, or barbarous as not to look upon their persons as\nsacred and inviolable.\n\nThe first and the last day of the month, and of the year, is a festival.\nThey measure their months by the course of the moon, and their years by\nthe course of the sun. The first days are called in their language the\nCynemernes, and the last the Trapemernes; which answers in our language\nto the festival that begins, or ends the season.\n\nThey have magnificent temples, that are not only nobly built, but\nextremely spacious; which is the more necessary, as they have so few of\nthem; they are a little dark within, which proceeds not from any error\nin the architecture, but is done with design; for their priests think\nthat too much light dissipates the thoughts, and that a more moderate\ndegree of it both recollects the mind and raises devotion. Though there\nare many different forms of religion among them, yet all these, how\nvarious soever, agree in the main point, which is the worshipping the\nDivine Essence; and therefore there is nothing to be seen or heard in\ntheir temples in which the several persuasions among them may not agree;\nfor every sect performs those rites that are peculiar to it, in their\nprivate houses, nor is there anything in the public worship that\ncontradicts the particular ways of those different sects. There are no\nimages for God in their temples, so that every one may represent Him to\nhis thoughts, according to the way of his religion; nor do they call\nthis one God by any other name but that of Mithras, which is the common\nname by which they all express the Divine Essence, whatsoever otherwise\nthey think it to be; nor are there any prayers among them but such as\nevery one of them may use without prejudice to his own opinion.\n\nThey meet in their temples on the evening of the festival that concludes\na season: and not having yet broke their fast, they thank God for their\ngood success during that year or month, which is then at an end; and the\nnext day being that which begins the new season, they meet early in\ntheir temples, to pray for the happy progress of all their affairs\nduring that period upon which they then enter. In the festival which\nconcludes the period, before they go to the temple, both wives and\nchildren fall on their knees before their husbands or parents, and\nconfess everything in which they have either erred or failed in their\nduty, and beg pardon for it. Thus all little discontents in families are\nremoved, that they may offer up their devotions with a pure and serene\nmind; for they hold it a great impiety to enter upon them with disturbed\nthoughts, or with a consciousness of their bearing hatred or anger in\ntheir hearts to any person whatsoever; and think that they should become\nliable to severe punishments if they presumed to offer sacrifices\nwithout cleansing their hearts, and reconciling all their differences.\nIn the temples, the two sexes are separated, the men go to the right\nhand, and the women to the left; and the males and females all place\nthemselves before the head and master or mistress of that family to\nwhich they belong; so that those who have the government of them at home\nmay see their deportment in public; and they intermingle them so, that\nthe younger and the older may be set by one another; for if the younger\nsort were all set together, they would perhaps trifle away that time too\nmuch in which they ought to beget in themselves that religious dread of\nthe supreme Being, which is the greatest and almost the only incitement\nto virtue.\n\nThey offer up no living creature in sacrifice, nor do they think it\nsuitable to the divine Being, from whose bounty it is that these\ncreatures have derived their lives, to take pleasure in their deaths, or\nthe offering up their blood. They burn incense and other sweet odours,\nand have a great number of wax lights during their worship; not out of\nany imagination that such oblations can add anything to the divine\nNature, which even prayers cannot do; but as it is a harmless and pure\nway of worshipping God, so they think those sweet savours and lights,\ntogether with some other ceremonies, by a secret and unaccountable\nvirtue, elevate men's souls, and inflame them with greater energy and\ncheerfulness during the divine worship.\n\nAll the people appear in the temples in white garments, but the priest's\nvestments are parti-coloured, and both the work and colours are\nwonderful. They are made of no rich materials, for they are neither\nembroidered nor set with precious stones, but are composed of the plumes\nof several birds, laid together with so much art and so neatly, that the\ntrue value of them is far beyond the costliest materials. They say that\nin the ordering and placing those plumes some dark mysteries are\nrepresented, which pass down among their priests in a secret tradition\nconcerning them; and that they are as hieroglyphics, putting them in\nmind of the blessings that they have received from God, and of their\nduties both to Him and to their neighbours. As soon as the priest\nappears in those ornaments, they all fall prostrate on the ground, with\nso much reverence and so deep a silence that such as look on cannot but\nbe struck with it, as if it were the effect of the appearance of a\nDeity. After they have been for some time in this posture, they all\nstand up, upon a sign given by the priest, and sing hymns to the honour\nof God, some musical instruments playing all the while. These are quite\nof another form than those used among us: but as many of them are much\nsweeter than ours, so others are made use of by us. Yet in one thing\nthey very much exceed us; all their music, both vocal and instrumental,\nis adapted to imitate and express the passions, and is so happily suited\nto every occasion, that whether the subject of the hymn be cheerful or\nformed to soothe or trouble the mind, or to express grief or remorse,\nthe music takes the impression of whatever is represented, affects and\nkindles the passions, and works the sentiments deep into the hearts of\nthe hearers. When this is done, both priests and people offer up very\nsolemn prayers to God in a set form of words; and these are so composed,\nthat whatsoever is pronounced by the whole assembly may be likewise\napplied by every man in particular to his own condition; in these they\nacknowledge God to be the author and governor of the world, and the\nfountain of all the good they receive, and therefore offer up to Him\ntheir thanksgiving; and in particular bless Him for His goodness in\nordering it so, that they are born under the happiest government in the\nworld, and are of a religion which they hope is the truest of all\nothers: but if they are mistaken, and if there is either a better\ngovernment or a religion more acceptable to God, they implore His\ngoodness to let them know it, vowing that they resolve to follow Him\nwhithersoever He leads them. But if their government is the best, and\ntheir religion the truest, then they pray that He may fortify them in\nit, and bring all the world both to the same rules of life, and to the\nsame opinions concerning himself; unless, according to the\nunsearchableness of His mind, He is pleased with a variety of religions.\nThen they pray that God may give them an easy passage at last to\nhimself; not presuming to set limits to Him, how early or late it should\nbe; but if it may be wished for, without derogating from His supreme\nauthority, they desire to be quickly delivered, and to be taken to\nhimself, though by the most terrible kind of death, rather than to be\ndetained long from seeing Him by the most prosperous course of life.\nWhen this prayer is ended, they all fall down again upon the ground, and\nafter a little while they rise up, go home to dinner, and spend the rest\nof the day in diversion or military exercises.\n\nThus have I described to you, as particularly as I could, the\nconstitution of that commonwealth, which I do not only think the best in\nthe world, but indeed the only commonwealth that truly deserves that\nname. In all other places it is visible, that while people talk of a\ncommonwealth, every man only seeks his own wealth; but there, where no\nman has any property, all men zealously pursue the good of the public:\nand, indeed, it is no wonder to see men act so differently; for in other\ncommonwealths, every man knows that unless he provides for himself, how\nflourishing soever the commonwealth may be, he must die of hunger; so\nthat he sees the necessity of preferring his own concerns to the public;\nbut in Utopia, where every man has a right to everything, they all know\nthat if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no private man can\nwant anything; for among them there is no unequal distribution, so that\nno man is poor, none in necessity; and though no man has anything, yet\nthey are all rich; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene\nand cheerful life, free from anxieties; neither apprehending want\nhimself, nor vexed with the endless complaints of his wife? He is not\nafraid of the misery of his children, nor is he contriving how to raise\na portion for his daughters, but is secure in this, that both he and his\nwife, his children and grandchildren, to as many generations as he can\nfancy, will all live both plentifully and happily; since among them\nthere is no less care taken of those who were once engaged in labour,\nbut grow afterwards unable to follow it, than there is elsewhere of\nthese that continue still employed. I would gladly hear any man compare\nthe justice that is among them with that of all other nations; among\nwhom, may I perish, if I see anything that looks either like justice or\nequity: for what justice is there in this, that a nobleman, a goldsmith,\na banker, or any other man, that either does nothing at all, or at best\nis employed in things that are of no use to the public, should live in\ngreat luxury and splendour, upon what is so ill acquired; and a mean\nman, a carter, a smith, or a ploughman, that works harder even than the\nbeasts themselves, and is employed in labours so necessary, that no\ncommonwealth could hold out a year without them, can only earn so poor a\nlivelihood, and must lead so miserable a life, that the condition of the\nbeasts is much better than theirs? For as the beasts do not work so\nconstantly, so they feed almost as well, and with more pleasure; and\nhave no anxiety about what is to come, whilst these men are depressed by\na barren and fruitless employment, and tormented with the apprehensions\nof want in their old age; since that which they get by their daily\nlabour does but maintain them at present, and is consumed as fast as it\ncomes in, there is no overplus left to lay up for old age.\n\nIs not that government both unjust and ungrateful, that is so prodigal\nof its favours to those that are called gentlemen, or goldsmiths, or\nsuch others who are idle, or live either by flattery, or by contriving\nthe arts of vain pleasure; and on the other hand, takes no care of those\nof a meaner sort, such as ploughmen, colliers, and smiths, without whom\nit could not subsist? But after the public has reaped all the advantage\nof their service, and they come to be oppressed with age, sickness, and\nwant, all their labours and the good they have done is forgotten; and\nall the recompense given them is that they are left to die in great\nmisery. The richer sort are often endeavouring to bring the hire of\nlabourers lower, not only by their fraudulent practices, but by the laws\nwhich they procure to be made to that effect; so that though it is a\nthing most unjust in itself, to give such small rewards to those who\ndeserve so well of the public, yet they have given those hardships the\nname and colour of justice, by procuring laws to be made for regulating\nthem.\n\nTherefore I must say that, as I hope for mercy, I can have no other\nnotion of all the other governments that I see or know, than that they\nare a conspiracy of the rich, who on pretence of managing the public\nonly pursue their private ends, and devise all the ways and arts they\ncan find out; first, that they may, without danger, preserve all that\nthey have so ill acquired, and then that they may engage the poor to\ntoil and labour for them at as low rates as possible, and oppress them\nas much as they please. And if they can but prevail to get these\ncontrivances established by the show of public authority, which is\nconsidered as the representative of the whole people, then they are\naccounted laws. Yet these wicked men after they have, by a most\ninsatiable covetousness, divided that among themselves with which all\nthe rest might have been well supplied, are far from that happiness that\nis enjoyed among the Utopians: for the use as well as the desire of\nmoney being extinguished, much anxiety and great occasions of mischief\nis cut off with it. And who does not see that the frauds, thefts,\nrobberies, quarrels, tumults, contentions, seditions, murders,\ntreacheries, and witchcrafts, which are indeed rather punished than\nrestrained by the severities of law, would all fall off, if money were\nnot any more valued by the world? Men's fears, solicitudes, cares,\nlabours, and watchings, would all perish in the same moment with the\nvalue of money: even poverty itself, for the relief of which money seems\nmost necessary, would fall. But, in order to the apprehending this\naright, take one instance.\n\nConsider any year that has been so unfruitful that many thousands have\ndied of hunger; and yet if at the end of that year a survey was made of\nthe granaries of all the rich men that have hoarded up the corn, it\nwould be found that there was enough among them to have prevented all\nthat consumption of men that perished in misery; and that if it had been\ndistributed among them, none would have felt the terrible effects of\nthat scarcity; so easy a thing would it be to supply all the necessities\nof life, if that blessed thing called money, which is pretended to be\ninvented for procuring them, was not really the only thing that\nobstructed their being procured!\n\nI do not doubt but rich men are sensible of this, and that they well\nknow how much a greater happiness it is to want nothing necessary than\nto abound in many superfluities, and to be rescued out of so much misery\nthan to abound with so much wealth; and I cannot think but the sense of\nevery man's interest, added to the authority of Christ's commands, who\nas He was infinitely wise, knew what was best, and was not less good in\ndiscovering it to us, would have drawn all the world over to the laws of\nthe Utopians, if pride, that plague of human nature, that source of so\nmuch misery, did not hinder it; for this vice does not measure happiness\nso much by its own conveniences as by the miseries of others; and would\nnot be satisfied with being thought a goddess, if none were left that\nwere miserable, over whom she might insult. Pride thinks its own\nhappiness shines the brighter by comparing it with the misfortunes of\nother persons; that by displaying its own wealth, they may feel their\npoverty the more sensibly. This is that infernal serpent that creeps\ninto the breasts of mortals, and possesses them too much to be easily\ndrawn out; and therefore I am glad that the Utopians have fallen upon\nthis form of government, in which I wish that all the world could be so\nwise as to imitate them; for they have indeed laid down such a scheme\nand foundation of policy, that as men live happily under it, so it is\nlike to be of great continuance; for they having rooted out of the minds\nof their people all the seeds both of ambition and faction, there is no\ndanger of any commotion at home; which alone has been the ruin of many\nstates, that seemed otherwise to be well secured; but as long as they\nlive in peace at home, and are governed by such good laws, the envy of\nall their neighbouring princes, who have often though in vain attempted\ntheir ruin, will never be able to put their state into any commotion or\ndisorder.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhen Raphael had thus made an end of speaking, though many things\noccurred to me, both concerning the manners and laws of that people,\nthat seemed very absurd, as well as their way of making war, as in their\nnotions of religion and divine matters; together with several other\nparticulars, but chiefly what seemed the foundation of all the rest,\ntheir living in common, without the use of money, by which all nobility,\nmagnificence, splendour, and majesty, which, according to the common\nopinion, are the true ornaments of a nation, would be quite taken away;\nyet since I perceived that Raphael was weary, and was not sure whether\nhe could easily bear contradiction, remembering that he had taken notice\nof some who seemed to think they were bound in honour to support the\ncredit of their own wisdom, by finding out something to censure in all\nother men's inventions, besides their own; I only commended their\nconstitution, and the account he had given of it in general; and so\ntaking him by the hand, carried him to supper, and told him I would find\nout some other time for examining this subject more particularly, and\nfor discoursing more copiously upon it; and indeed I shall be glad to\nembrace an opportunity of doing it. In the meanwhile, though it must be\nconfessed that he is both a very learned man, and a person who has\nobtained a great knowledge of the world, I cannot perfectly agree to\neverything he has related; however, there are many things in the\nCommonwealth of Utopia that I rather wish, than hope, to see followed in\nour governments.\n\n\n\n\nBACON'S\n\nNEW ATLANTIS.\n\n\n\n\nNEW ATLANTIS.\n\n\nWe sailed from Peru, where we had continued by the space of one whole\nyear, for China and Japan, by the South Sea, taking with us victuals for\ntwelve months; and had good winds from the east, though soft and weak,\nfor five months' space and more. But then the wind came about, and\nsettled in the west for many days, so as we could make little or no way,\nand were sometimes in purpose to turn back. But then again there arose\nstrong and great winds from the south, with a point east; which carried\nus up, for all that we could do, towards the north: by which time our\nvictuals failed us, though we had made good spare of them. So that\nfinding ourselves, in the midst of the greatest wilderness of waters in\nthe world, without victual, we gave ourselves for lost men, and prepared\nfor death. Yet we did lift up our hearts and voices to God above, who\nshoweth His wonders in the deep; beseeching Him of his mercy, that as in\nthe beginning He discovered the face of the deep, and brought forth dry\nland, so He would now discover land to us, that we might not perish. And\nit came to pass, that the next day about evening we saw within a kenning\nbefore us, towards the north, as it were thick clouds, which did put us\nin some hope of land: knowing how that part of the South Sea was utterly\nunknown: and might have islands or continents, that hitherto were not\ncome to light. Wherefore we bent out course thither, where we saw the\nappearance of land, all that night: and in the dawning of next day, we\nmight plainly discern that it was a land flat to our sight, and full of\nboscage, which made it show the more dark. And after an hour and a\nhalf's sailing, we entered into a good haven, being the port of a fair\ncity. Not great indeed, but well built, and that gave a pleasant view\nfrom the sea. And we thinking every minute long till we were on land,\ncame close to the shore and offered to land. But straightways we saw\ndivers of the people, with bastons in their hands, as it were forbidding\nus to land: yet without any cries or fierceness, but only as warning us\noff, by signs that they made. Whereupon being not a little discomfited,\nwe were advising with ourselves what we should do. During which time\nthere made forth to us a small boat, with about eight persons in it,\nwhereof one of them had in his hand a tipstaff of a yellow cane, tipped\nat both ends with blue, who made aboard our ship, without any show of\ndistrust at all. And when he saw one of our number present himself\nsomewhat afore the rest, he drew forth a little scroll of parchment\n(somewhat yellower than our parchment, and shining like the leaves of\nwriting tables, but otherwise soft and flexible), and delivered it to\nour foremost man. In which scroll were written in ancient Hebrew, and in\nancient Greek, and in good Latin of the school, and in Spanish these\nwords: \"Land ye not, none of you, and provide to be gone from this coast\nwithin sixteen days, except you have further time given you; meanwhile,\nif you want fresh water, or victual, or help for your sick, or that your\nship needeth repair, write down your wants, and you shall have that\nwhich belongeth to mercy.\" This scroll was signed with a stamp of\ncherubim's wings, not spread, but hanging downwards; and by them a\ncross. This being delivered, the officer returned, and left only a\nservant with us to receive our answer. Consulting hereupon amongst\nourselves, we were much perplexed. The denial of landing, and hasty\nwarning us away, troubled us much: on the other side, to find that the\npeople had languages, and were so full of humanity, did comfort us not a\nlittle. And above all, the sign of the cross to that instrument, was to\nus a great rejoicing, and as it were a certain presage of good. Our\nanswer was in the Spanish tongue, \"That for our ship, it was well; for\nwe had rather met with calms and contrary winds, than any tempests. For\nour sick, they were many, and in very ill case; so that if they were not\npermitted to land, they ran in danger of their lives.\" Our other wants\nwe set down in particular, adding, \"That we had some little store of\nmerchandise, which if it pleased them to deal for, it might supply our\nwants, without being chargeable unto them.\" We offered some reward in\npistolets unto the servant, and a piece of crimson velvet to be\npresented to the officer; but the servant took them not, nor would\nscarce look upon them; and so left us, and went back in another little\nboat which was sent for him.\n\nAbout three hours after we had despatched our answer there came towards\nus a person (as it seemed) of a place. He had on him a gown with wide\nsleeves, of a kind of water chamolet, of an excellent azure colour, far\nmore glossy than ours: his under apparel was green, and so was his hat,\nbeing in the form of a turban, daintily made, and not so huge as the\nTurkish turbans; and the locks of his hair came down below the brims of\nit. A reverend man was he to behold. He came in a boat, gilt in some\npart of it, with four persons more only in that boat; and was followed\nby another boat, wherein were some twenty. When he was come within a\nflight-shot of our ship, signs were made to us that we should send forth\nsome to meet him upon the water, which we presently did in our\nship-boat, sending the principal man amongst us save one, and four of\nour number with him. When we were come within six yards of their boat,\nthey called to us to stay, and not to approach farther, which we did.\nAnd thereupon the man, whom I before described, stood up, and with a\nloud voice in Spanish, asked, \"Are ye Christians?\" We answered, \"We\nwere;\" fearing the less, because of the cross we had seen in the\nsubscription. At which answer the said person lift up his right hand\ntowards heaven, and drew it softly to his mouth (which is the gesture\nthey use, when they thank God), and then said: \"If ye will swear, all of\nyou, by the merits of the Saviour, that ye are no pirates; nor have shed\nblood, lawfully nor unlawfully, within forty days past; you may have\nlicense to come on land.\" We said, \"We were all ready to take that\noath.\" Whereupon one of those that were with him, being (as it seemed) a\nnotary, made an entry of this act. Which done, another of the attendants\nof the great person, which was with him in the same boat, after his lord\nhad spoken a little to him, said aloud: \"My lord would have you know,\nthat it is not of pride, or greatness, that he cometh not aboard your\nship: but for that, in your answer, you declare that you have many sick\namongst you, he was warned by the conservator of health of the city that\nhe should keep a distance.\" We bowed ourselves towards him, and\nanswered: \"We were his humble servants; and accounted for great honour\nand singular humanity towards us, that which was already done: but hoped\nwell, that the nature of the sickness of our men was not infectious.\" So\nhe returned; and a while after came the notary to us aboard our ship;\nholding in his hand a fruit of that country, like an orange, but of\ncolour between orange-tawny and scarlet: which cast a most excellent\nodour. He used it (as it seemed) for a preservative against infection.\nHe gave us our oath, \"By the name of Jesus, and His merits:\" and after\ntold us, that the next day by six of the clock in the morning, we should\nbe sent to, and brought to the strangers' house (so he called it), where\nwe should be accommodated of things, both for our whole and for our\nsick. So he left us; and when we offered him some pistolets, he\nsmiling, said, \"He must not be twice paid for one labour:\" meaning (as I\ntake it) that he had salary sufficient of the state for his service. For\n(as I after learned) they call an officer that taketh rewards\ntwice-paid.\n\nThe next morning early, there came to us the same officer that came to\nus at first with his cane, and told us: \"He came to conduct us to the\nstrangers' house: and that he had prevented the hour, because we might\nhave the whole day before us for our business. For (said he) if you will\nfollow my advice, there shall first go with me some few of you, and see\nthe place, and how it may be made convenient for you: and then you may\nsend for your sick, and the rest of your number, which ye will bring on\nland.\" We thanked him, and said, \"That his care which he took of\ndesolate strangers, God would reward.\" And so six of us went on land\nwith him; and when we were on land, he went before us, and turned to us,\nand said, \"He was but our servant, and our guide.\" He led us through\nthree fair streets; and all the way we went there were gathered some\npeople on both sides, standing in a row; but in so civil a fashion, as\nif it had been, not to wonder at us, but to welcome us; and divers of\nthem, as we passed by them, put their arms a little abroad, which is\ntheir gesture when they bid any welcome. The strangers' house is a fair\nand spacious house, built of brick, of somewhat a bluer colour than our\nbrick; and with handsome windows, some of glass, some of a kind of\ncambric oiled. He brought us first into a fair parlour above stairs, and\nthen asked us, \"What number of persons we were? and how many sick?\" We\nanswered, \"We were in all (sick and whole) one and fifty persons,\nwhereof our sick were seventeen.\" He desired us to have patience a\nlittle, and to stay till he came back to us, which was about an hour\nafter; and then he led us to see the chambers which were provided for\nus, being in number nineteen. They having cast it (as it seemeth) that\nfour of those chambers, which were better than the rest, might receive\nfour of the principal men of our company; and lodge them alone by\nthemselves; and the other fifteen chambers were to lodge us, two and two\ntogether. The chambers were handsome and cheerful chambers, and\nfurnished civilly. Then he led us to a long gallery, like a dorture,\nwhere he showed us all along the one side (for the other side was but\nwall and window) seventeen cells, very neat ones, having partitions of\ncedar wood. Which gallery and cells, being in all forty (many more than\nwe needed), were instituted as an infirmary for sick persons. And he\ntold us withal, that as any of our sick waxed well, he might be removed\nfrom his cell to a chamber: for which purpose there were set forth ten\nspare chambers, besides the number we spake of before. This done, he\nbrought us back to the parlour, and lifting up his cane a little (as\nthey do when they give any charge or command), said to us, \"Ye are to\nknow that the custom of the land requireth, that after this day and\nto-morrow (which we give you for removing your people from your ship),\nyou are to keep within doors for three days. But let it not trouble you,\nnor do not think yourselves restrained, but rather left to your rest and\nease. You shall want nothing; and there are six of our people appointed\nto attend you for any business you may have abroad.\" We gave him thanks\nwith all affection and respect, and said, \"God surely is manifested in\nthis land.\" We offered him also twenty pistolets; but he smiled, and\nonly said: \"What? Twice paid!\" And so he left us. Soon after our dinner\nwas served in; which was right good viands, both for bread and meat:\nbetter than any collegiate diet that I have known in Europe. We had also\ndrink of three sorts, all wholesome and good; wine of the grape; a drink\nof grain, such as is with us our ale, but more clear; and a kind of\ncider made of a fruit of that country; a wonderful pleasing and\nrefreshing drink. Besides, there were brought in to us great store of\nthose scarlet oranges for our sick; which (they said) were an assured\nremedy for sickness taken at sea. There was given us also a box of small\ngrey or whitish pills, which they wished our sick should take, one of\nthe pills every night before sleep; which (they said) would hasten their\nrecovery. The next day, after that our trouble of carriage and removing\nof our men and goods out of our ship was somewhat settled and quiet, I\nthought good to call our company together, and when they were assembled,\nsaid unto them, \"My dear friends, let us know ourselves, and how it\nstandeth with us. We are men cast on land, as Jonas was out of the\nwhale's belly, when we were as buried in the deep; and now we are on\nland, we are but between death and life, for we are beyond both the old\nworld and the new; and whether ever we shall see Europe, God only\nknoweth. It is a kind of miracle hath brought us hither, and it must be\nlittle less that shall bring us hence. Therefore in regard of our\ndeliverance past, and our danger present and to come, let us look up to\nGod, and every man reform his own ways. Besides we are come here amongst\na Christian people, full of piety and humanity. Let us not bring that\nconfusion of face upon ourselves, as to show our vices or unworthiness\nbefore them. Yet there is more, for they have by commandment (though in\nform of courtesy) cloistered us within these walls for three days; who\nknoweth whether it be not to take some taste of our manners and\nconditions? And if they find them bad, to banish us straightways; if\ngood, to give us further time. For these men that they have given us for\nattendance, may withal have an eye upon us. Therefore, for God's love,\nand as we love the weal of our souls and bodies, let us so behave\nourselves, as we may be at peace with God, and may find grace in the\neyes of this people.\" Our company with one voice thanked me for my good\nadmonition, and promised me to live soberly and civilly, and without\ngiving any the least occasion of offence. So we spent our three days\njoyfully, and without care, in expectation what would be done with us\nwhen they were expired. During which time, we had every hour joy of the\namendment of our sick, who thought themselves cast into some divine pool\nof healing, they mended so kindly and so fast.\n\nThe morrow after our three days were past, there came to us a new man,\nthat we had not seen before, clothed in blue as the former was, save\nthat his turban was white with a small red cross on the top. He had also\na tippet of fine linen. At his coming in, he did bend to us a little,\nand put his arms abroad. We of our parts saluted him in a very lowly and\nsubmissive manner; as looking that from him we should receive sentence\nof life or death. He desired to speak with some few of us. Whereupon six\nof us only stayed, and the rest avoided the room. He said, \"I am by\noffice governor of this house of strangers, and by vocation I am a\nChristian priest; and therefore am come to you, to offer you my service,\nboth as strangers, and chiefly as Christians. Some things I may tell\nyou, which I think you will not be unwilling to hear. The state hath\ngiven you license to stay on land for the space of six weeks: and let it\nnot trouble you, if your occasions ask further time, for the law in this\npoint is not precise; and I do not doubt, but myself shall be able to\nobtain for you such further time as shall be convenient. Ye shall also\nunderstand, that the strangers' house is at this time rich, and much\naforehand; for it hath laid up revenue these thirty-seven years: for so\nlong it is since any stranger arrived in this part; and therefore take\nye no care; the state will defray you all the time you stay. Neither\nshall you stay one day the less for that. As for any merchandise you\nhave brought, ye shall be well used, and have your return, either in\nmerchandise or in gold and silver: for to us it is all one. And if you\nhave any other request to make, hide it not; for ye shall find we will\nnot make your countenance to fall by the answer ye shall receive. Only\nthis I must tell you, that none of you must go above a karan (that is\nwith them a mile and a half) from the walls of the city, without special\nleave.\" We answered, after we had looked a while upon one another,\nadmiring this gracious and parent-like usage, that we could not tell\nwhat to say, for we wanted words to express our thanks; and his noble\nfree offers left us nothing to ask. It seemed to us, that we had before\nus a picture of our salvation in heaven; for we that were a while since\nin the jaws of death, were now brought into a place where we found\nnothing but consolations. For the commandment laid upon us, we would not\nfail to obey it, though it was impossible but our hearts should be\ninflamed to tread further upon this happy and holy ground. We added,\nthat our tongues should first cleave to the roofs of our mouths, ere we\nshould forget, either this reverend person, or this whole nation, in our\nprayers. We also most humbly besought him to accept of us as his true\nservants, by as just a right as ever men on earth were bounden; laying\nand presenting both our persons and all we had at his feet. He said, he\nwas a priest, and looked lot a priest's reward; which was our brotherly\nlove, and the good of our souls and bodies. So he went from us, not\nwithout tears of tenderness in his eyes, and left us also confused with\njoy and kindness, saying amongst ourselves, that we were come into a\nland of angels, which did appear to us daily, and prevent us with\ncomforts, which we thought not of, much less expected.\n\nThe next day, about ten of the clock, the governor came to us again, and\nafter salutations, said familiarly, that he was come to visit us; and\ncalled for a chair, and sat him down; and we being some ten of us (the\nrest were of the meaner sort, or else gone abroad), sat down with him;\nand when we were set, he began thus: \"We of this island of Bensalem\n(for so they called it in their language) have this: that by means of\nour solitary situation, and of the laws of secrecy, which we have for\nour travellers, and our rare admission of strangers; we know well most\npart of the habitable world, and are ourselves unknown. Therefore\nbecause he that knoweth least is fittest to ask questions, it is more\nreason, for the entertainment of the time, that ye ask me questions,\nthan that I ask you.\" We answered, that we humbly thanked him, that he\nwould give us leave so to do. And that we conceived by the taste we had\nalready, that there was no worldly thing on earth more worthy to be\nknown than the state of that happy land. But above all (we said) since\nthat we were met from the several ends of the world, and hoped assuredly\nthat we should meet one day in the kingdom of heaven (for that we were\nboth parts Christians), we desired to know (in respect that land was so\nremote, and so divided by vast and unknown seas from the land where our\nSaviour walked on earth) who was the apostle of that nation, and how it\nwas converted to the faith? It appeared in his face, that he took great\ncontentment in this our question; he said, \"Ye knit my heart to you, by\nasking this question in the first place: for it showeth that you first\nseek the kingdom of heaven: and I shall gladly, and briefly, satisfy\nyour demand.\n\n\"About twenty years after the ascension of our Saviour it came to pass,\nthat there was seen by the people of Renfusa (a city upon the eastern\ncoast of our island, within sight, the night was cloudy and calm), as it\nmight be some mile in the sea, a great pillar of light; not sharp, but\nin form of a column, or cylinder, rising from the sea, a great way up\ntowards heaven; and on the top of it was seen a large cross of light,\nmore bright and resplendent than the body of the pillar. Upon which so\nstrange a spectacle, the people of the city gathered apace together upon\nthe sands, to wonder; and so after put themselves into a number of\nsmall boats to go nearer to this marvellous sight. But when the boats\nwere come within about sixty yards of the pillar, they found themselves\nall bound, and could go no further, yet so as they might move to go\nabout, but might not approach nearer; so as the boats stood all as in a\ntheatre, beholding this light, as an heavenly sign. It so fell out, that\nthere was in one of the boats one of the wise men of the Society of\nSalomon's House; which house or college, my good brethren, is the very\neye of this kingdom, who having a while attentively and devoutly viewed\nand contemplated this pillar and cross, fell down upon his face; and\nthen raised himself upon his knees, and lifting up his hands to heaven,\nmade his prayers in this manner:\n\n\"'Lord God of heaven and earth; thou hast vouchsafed of thy grace, to\nthose of our order to know thy works of creation, and true secrets of\nthem; and to discern (as far as appertaineth to the generations of men)\nbetween divine miracles, works of Nature, works of art and impostures,\nand illusions of all sorts. I do here acknowledge and testify before\nthis people, that the thing we now see before our eyes, is thy finger,\nand a true miracle. And forasmuch as we learn in our books, that thou\nnever workest miracles, but to a divine and excellent end (for the laws\nof Nature are thine own laws, and thou exceedest them not but upon great\ncause), we most humbly beseech thee to prosper this great sign, and to\ngive us the interpretation and use of it in mercy; which thou dost in\nsome part secretly promise, by sending it unto us.'\n\n\"When he had made his prayer, he presently found the boat he was in\nmovable and unbound; whereas all the rest remained still fast; and\ntaking that for an assurance of leave to approach, he caused the boat to\nbe softly and with silence rowed towards the pillar; but ere he came\nnear it, the pillar and cross of light broke up, and cast itself abroad,\nas it were into a firmament of many stars, which also vanished soon\nafter; and there was nothing left to be seen but a small ark, or chest\nof cedar, dry and not wet at all with water, though it swam; and in the\nfore-end of it, which was towards him, grew a small green branch of\npalm; and when the wise man had taken it with all reverence into his\nboat, it opened of itself, and there were found in it a book and a\nletter, both written in fine parchment, and wrapped in sindons of linen.\nThe book contained all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament,\naccording as you have them (for we know well what the churches with you\nreceive), and the Apocalypse itself; and some other books of the New\nTestament, which were not at that time written, were nevertheless in the\nbook. And for the letter, it was in these words:\n\n\"'I Bartholomew, a servant of the Highest, and apostle of Jesus Christ,\nwas warned by an angel that appeared to me in a vision of glory, that I\nshould commit this ark to the floods of the sea. Therefore I do testify\nand declare unto that people where God shall ordain this ark to come to\nland, that in the same day is come unto them salvation and peace, and\ngoodwill from the Father, and from the Lord Jesus.'\n\n\"There was also in both these writings, as well the book as the letter,\nwrought a great miracle, conform to that of the apostles, in the\noriginal gift of tongues. For there being at that time, in this land,\nHebrews, Persians, and Indians, besides the natives, every one read upon\nthe book and letter, as if they had been written in his own language.\nAnd thus was this land saved from infidelity (as the remain of the old\nworld was from water) by an ark, through the apostolical and miraculous\nevangelism of St. Bartholomew.\" And here he paused, and a messenger\ncame, and called him forth from us. So this was all that passed in that\nconference.\n\nThe next day, the same governor came again to us, immediately after\ndinner, and excused himself, saying, \"That the day before he was called\nfrom us somewhat abruptly, but now he would make us amends, and spend\ntime with us, if we held his company and conference agreeable.\" We\nanswered, that we held it so agreeable and pleasing to us, as we forgot\nboth dangers past, and fears to come, for the time we heard him speak;\nand that we thought an hour spent with him was worth years of our former\nlife. He bowed himself a little to us, and after we were set again, he\nsaid, \"Well, the questions are on your part.\" One of our number said,\nafter a little pause, that there was a matter we were no less desirous\nto know than fearful to ask, lest we might presume too far. But\nencouraged by his rare humanity towards us (that could scarce think\nourselves strangers, being his vowed and professed servants), we would\ntake the hardness to propound it; humbly beseeching him, if he thought\nit not fit to be answered, that he would pardon it, though he rejected\nit. We said, we well observed those his words, which he formerly spake,\nthat this happy island, where we now stood, was known to few, and yet\nknew most of the nations of the world, which we found to be true,\nconsidering they had the languages of Europe, and knew much of our state\nand business; and yet we in Europe (notwithstanding all the remote\ndiscoveries and navigations of this last age) never heard any of the\nleast inkling or glimpse of this island. This we found wonderful\nstrange; for that all nations have interknowledge one of another, either\nby voyage into foreign parts, or by strangers that come to them; and\nthough the traveller into a foreign country doth commonly know more by\nthe eye than he that stayeth at home can by relation of the traveller;\nyet both ways suffice to make a mutual knowledge, in some degree, on\nboth parts. But for this island, we never heard tell of any ship of\ntheirs, that had been seen to arrive upon any shore of Europe; no, nor\nof either the East or West Indies, nor yet of any ship of any other\npart of the world, that had made return for them. And yet the marvel\nrested not in this. For the situation of it (as his lordship said) in\nthe secret conclave of such a vast sea might cause it. But then, that\nthey should have knowledge of the languages, books, affairs, of those\nthat lie such a distance from them, it was a thing we could not tell\nwhat to make of; for that it seemed to us a condition and propriety of\ndivine powers and beings, to be hidden and unseen to others, and yet to\nhave others open, and as in a light to them. At this speech the governor\ngave a gracious smile and said, that we did well to ask pardon for this\nquestion we now asked, for that it imported, as if we thought this land\na land of magicians, that sent forth spirits of the air into all parts,\nto bring them news and intelligence of other countries. It was answered\nby us all, in all possible humbleness, but yet with a countenance taking\nknowledge, that we knew that he spake it but merrily. That we were apt\nenough to think, there was somewhat supernatural in this island, but yet\nrather as angelical than magical. But to let his lordship know truly\nwhat it was that made us tender and doubtful to ask this question, it\nwas not any such conceit, but because we remembered he had given a touch\nin his former speech, that this land had laws of secrecy touching\nstrangers. To this he said, \"You remember it aright; and therefore in\nthat I shall say to you, I must reserve some particulars, which it is\nnot lawful for me to reveal, but there will be enough left to give you\nsatisfaction.\n\n\"You shall understand (that which perhaps you will scarce think\ncredible) that about three thousand years ago, or somewhat more, the\nnavigation of the world (especially for remote voyages) was greater than\nat this day. Do not think with yourselves, that I know not how much it\nis increased with you, within these threescore years; I know it well,\nand yet I say, greater then than now; whether it was, that the example\nof the ark, that saved the remnant of men from the universal deluge,\ngave men confidence to adventure upon the waters, or what it was; but\nsuch is the truth. The Phoenicians, and especially the Tyrians, had\ngreat fleets; so had the Carthaginians their colony, which is yet\nfarther west. Toward the east the shipping of Egypt, and of Palestine,\nwas likewise great. China also, and the great Atlantis (that you call\nAmerica), which have now but junks and canoes, abounded then in tall\nships. This island (as appeareth by faithful registers of those times)\nhad then fifteen hundred strong ships, of great content. Of all this\nthere is with you sparing memory, or none; but we have large knowledge\nthereof.\n\n\"At that time, this land was known and frequented by the ships and\nvessels of all the nations before named. And (as it cometh to pass) they\nhad many times men of other countries, that were no sailors, that came\nwith them; as Persians, Chaldeans, Arabians, so as almost all nations of\nmight and fame resorted hither; of whom we have some stirps and little\ntribes with us at this day. And for our own ships, they went sundry\nvoyages, as well to your straits, which you call the Pillars of\nHercules, as to other parts in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas; as\nto Paguin (which is the same with Cambalaine) and Quinzy, upon the\nOriental Seas, as far as to the borders of the East Tartary.\n\n\"At the same time, and an age after or more, the inhabitants of the\ngreat Atlantis did flourish. For though the narration and description\nwhich is made by a great man with you, that the descendants of Neptune\nplanted there, and of the magnificent temple, palace, city and hill; and\nthe manifold streams of goodly navigable rivers, which as so many chains\nenvironed the same site and temple; and the several degrees of ascent,\nwhereby men did climb up to the same, as if it had been a Scala Coeli;\nbe all poetical and fabulous; yet so much is true, that the said country\nof Atlantis, as well that of Peru, then called Coya, as that of Mexico,\nthen named Tyrambel, were mighty and proud kingdoms, in arms, shipping,\nand riches; so mighty, as at one time, or at least within the space of\nten years, they both made two great expeditions; they of Tyrambel\nthrough the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea; and they of Coya, through\nthe South Sea upon this our island; and for the former of these, which\nwas into Europe, the same author amongst you, as it seemeth, had some\nrelation from the Egyptian priest, whom he citeth. For assuredly, such a\nthing there was. But whether it were the ancient Athenians that had the\nglory of the repulse and resistance of those forces, I can say nothing;\nbut certain it is there never came back either ship or man from that\nvoyage. Neither had the other voyage of those of Coya upon us had better\nfortune, if they had not met with enemies of greater clemency. For the\nking of this island, by name Altabin, a wise man and a great warrior,\nknowing well both his own strength and that of his enemies, handled the\nmatter so, as he cut off their land forces from their ships, and\nentoiled both their navy and their camp with a greater power than\ntheirs, both by sea and land; and compelled them to render themselves\nwithout striking a stroke; and after they were at his mercy, contenting\nhimself only with their oath, that they should no more bear arms against\nhim, dismissed them all in safety. But the divine revenge overtook not\nlong after those proud enterprises. For within less than the space of\none hundred years the Great Atlantis was utterly lost and destroyed; not\nby a great earthquake, as your man saith, for that whole tract is little\nsubject to earthquakes, but by a particular deluge, or inundation; those\ncountries having at this day far greater rivers, and far higher\nmountains to pour down waters, than any part of the old world. But it is\ntrue that the same inundation was not deep, not past forty foot, in most\nplaces, from the ground, so that although it destroyed man and beast\ngenerally, yet some few wild inhabitants of the wood escaped. Birds also\nwere saved by flying to the high trees and woods. For as for men,\nalthough they had buildings in many places higher than the depth of the\nwater, yet that inundation, though it were shallow, had a long\ncontinuance, whereby they of the vale that were not drowned perished for\nwant of food, and other things necessary. So as marvel you not at the\nthin population of America, nor at the rudeness and ignorance of the\npeople; for you must account your inhabitants of America as a young\npeople, younger a thousand years at the least than the rest of the\nworld, for that there was so much time between the universal flood and\ntheir particular inundation. For the poor remnant of human seed which\nremained in their mountains, peopled the country again slowly, by little\nand little, and being simple and a savage people (not like Noah and his\nsons, which was the chief family of the earth), they were not able to\nleave letters, arts, and civility to their posterity; and having\nlikewise in their mountainous habitations been used, in respect of the\nextreme cold of those regions, to clothe themselves with the skins of\ntigers, bears, and great hairy goats, that they have in those parts;\nwhen after they came down into the valley, and found the intolerable\nheats which are there, and knew no means of lighter apparel, they were\nforced to begin the custom of going naked, which continueth at this day.\nOnly they take great pride and delight in the feathers of birds, and\nthis also they took from those their ancestors of the mountains, who\nwere invited unto it, by the infinite flight of birds, that came up to\nthe high grounds, while the waters stood below. So you see, by this main\naccident of time, we lost our traffic with the Americans, with whom of\nall others, in regard they lay nearest to us, we had most commerce. As\nfor the other parts of the world, it is most manifest that in the ages\nfollowing (whether it were in respect of wars, or by a natural\nrevolution of time) navigation did everywhere greatly decay, and\nspecially far voyages (the rather by the use of galleys, and such\nvessels as could hardly brook the ocean) were altogether left and\nomitted. So then, that part of intercourse which could be from other\nnations, to sail to us, you see how it hath long since ceased; except it\nwere by some rare accident, as this of yours. But now of the cessation\nof that other part of intercourse, which might be by our sailing to\nother nations, I must yield you some other cause. For I cannot say, if I\nshall say truly, but our shipping, for number, strength, mariners,\npilots, and all things that appertain to navigation, is as great as\never; and therefore why we should sit at home, I shall now give you an\naccount by itself; and it will draw nearer, to give you satisfaction, to\nyour principal question.\n\n\"There reigned in this island, about 1,900 years ago, a king, whose\nmemory of all others we most adore; not superstitiously, but as a divine\ninstrument, though a mortal man: his name was Salomona; and we esteem\nhim as the lawgiver of our nation. This king had a large heart,\ninscrutable for good; and was wholly bent to make his kingdom and people\nhappy. He therefore taking into consideration how sufficient and\nsubstantive this land was, to maintain itself without any aid at all of\nthe foreigner; being 5,000 miles in circuit, and of rare fertility of\nsoil, in the greatest part thereof; and finding also the shipping of\nthis country might be plentifully set on work, both by fishing and by\ntransportations from port to port, and likewise by sailing unto some\nsmall islands that are not far from us, and are under the crown and laws\nof this state; and recalling into his memory the happy and flourishing\nestate wherein this land then was, so as it might be a thousand ways\naltered to the worse, but scarce any one way to the better; though\nnothing wanted to his noble and heroical intentions, but only (as far as\nhuman foresight might reach) to give perpetuity to that which was in\nhis time so happily established, therefore amongst his other fundamental\nlaws of this kingdom he did ordain the interdicts and prohibitions which\nwe have touching entrance of strangers; which at that time (though it\nwas after the calamity of America) was frequent; doubting novelties and\ncommixture of manners. It is true, the like law against the admission of\nstrangers without license is an ancient law in the kingdom of China, and\nyet continued in use. But there it is a poor thing; and hath made them a\ncurious, ignorant, fearful foolish nation. But our lawgiver made his law\nof another temper. For first, he hath preserved all points of humanity,\nin taking order and making provision for the relief of strangers\ndistressed; whereof you have tasted.\" At which speech (as reason was) we\nall rose up, and bowed ourselves. He went on: \"That king also still\ndesiring to join humanity and policy together; and thinking it against\nhumanity, to detain strangers here against their wills; and against\npolicy, that they should return, and discover their knowledge of this\nestate, he took this course; he did ordain, that of the strangers that\nshould be permitted to land, as many at all times might depart as many\nas would; but as many as would stay, should have very good conditions,\nand means to live from the state. Wherein he saw so far, that now in so\nmany ages since the prohibition, we have memory not of one ship that\never returned, and but of thirteen persons only, at several times, that\nchose to return in our bottoms. What those few that returned may have\nreported abroad, I know not. But you must think, whatsoever they have\nsaid, could be taken where they came but for a dream. Now for our\ntravelling from hence into parts abroad, our lawgiver thought fit\naltogether to restrain it. So is it not in China. For the Chinese sail\nwhere they will, or can; which showeth, that their law of keeping out\nstrangers is a law of pusillanimity and fear. But this restraint of ours\nhath one only exception, which is admirable; preserving the good which\ncometh by communicating with strangers, and avoiding the hurt: and I\nwill now open it to you. And here I shall seem a little to digress, but\nyou will by-and-by find it pertinent. Ye shall understand, my dear\nfriends, that amongst the excellent acts of that king, one above all\nhath the pre-eminence. It was the erection and institution of an order,\nor society, which we call Salomon's House; the noblest foundation, as we\nthink, that ever was upon the earth, and the lantern of this kingdom. It\nis dedicated to the study of the works and creatures of God. Some think\nit beareth the founder's name a little corrupted, as if it should be\nSolomon's House. But the records write it as it is spoken. So as I take\nit to be denominate of the king of the Hebrews, which is famous with\nyou, and no strangers to us; for we have some parts of his works which\nwith you are lost; namely, that natural history which he wrote of all\nplants, from the cedar of Libanus to the moss that groweth out of the\nwall; and of all things that have life and motion. This maketh me think\nthat our king finding himself to symbolize, in many things, with that\nking of the Hebrews, which lived many years before him, honoured him\nwith the title of this foundation. And I am the rather induced to be of\nthis opinion, for that I find in ancient records, this order or society\nis sometimes called Solomon's House, and sometimes the College of the\nSix Days' Works; whereby I am satisfied that our excellent king had\nlearned from the Hebrews that God had created the world, and all that\ntherein is, within six days: and therefore he instituted that house, for\nthe finding out of the true nature of all things, whereby God might have\nthe more glory in the workmanship of them, and men the more fruit in\ntheir use of them, did give it also that second name. But now to come to\nour present purpose. When the king had forbidden to all his people\nnavigation into any part that was not under his crown, he made\nnevertheless this ordinance; that every twelve years there should be\nset forth out of this kingdom, two ships, appointed to several voyages;\nthat in either of these ships there should be a mission of three of the\nfellows or brethren of Salomon's House, whose errand was only to give us\nknowledge of the affairs and state of those countries to which they were\ndesigned; and especially of the sciences, arts, manufactures, and\ninventions of all the world; and withal to bring unto us books,\ninstruments, and patterns in every kind: that the ships, after they had\nlanded the brethren, should return; and that the brethren should stay\nabroad till the new mission, the ships are not otherwise fraught than\nwith store of victuals, and good quantity of treasure to remain with the\nbrethren, for the buying of such things, and rewarding of such persons,\nas they should think fit. Now for me to tell you how the vulgar sort of\nmariners are contained from being discovered at land, and how they that\nmust be put on shore for any time, colour themselves under the names of\nother nations, and to what places these voyages have been designed; and\nwhat places of rendezvous are appointed for the new missions, and the\nlike circumstances of the practice, I may not do it, neither is it much\nto your desire. But thus you see we maintain a trade, not for gold,\nsilver, or jewels, nor for silks, nor for spices, nor any other\ncommodity of matter; but only for God's first creature, which was light;\nto have light, I say, of the growth of all parts of the world.\" And when\nhe had said this, he was silent, and so were we all; for indeed we were\nall astonished to hear so strange things so probably told. And he\nperceiving that we were willing to say somewhat, but had it not ready,\nin great courtesy took us off, and descended to ask us questions of our\nvoyage and fortunes, and in the end concluded that we might do well to\nthink with ourselves, what time of stay we would demand of the state,\nand bade us not to scant ourselves; for he would procure such time as we\ndesired. Whereupon we all rose up and presented ourselves to kiss the\nskirt of his tippet, but he would not suffer us, and so took his leave.\nBut when it came once amongst our people, that the state used to offer\nconditions to strangers that would stay, we had work enough to get any\nof our men to look to our ship, and to keep them from going presently to\nthe governor, to crave conditions; but with much ado we restrained them,\ntill we might agree what course to take.\n\nWe took ourselves now for freemen, seeing there was no danger of our\nutter perdition, and lived most joyfully, going abroad and seeing what\nwas to be seen in the city and places adjacent, within our tedder; and\nobtaining acquaintance with many of the city, not of the meanest\nquality, at whose hands we found such humanity, and such a freedom and\ndesire to take strangers, as it were, into their bosom, as was enough to\nmake us forget all that was dear to us in our own countries; and\ncontinually we met with many things, right worthy of observation and\nrelation; as indeed, if there be a mirror in the world, worthy to hold\nmen's eyes, it is that country. One day there were two of our company\nbidden to a feast of the family, as they call it; a most natural, pious,\nand reverend custom it is, showing that nation to be compounded of all\ngoodness. This is the manner of it; it is granted to any man that shall\nlive to see thirty persons descended of his body, alive together, and\nall above three years old, to make this feast, which is done at the cost\nof the state. The father of the family, whom they call the Tirsan, two\ndays before the feast, taketh to him three of such friends as he liketh\nto choose, and is assisted also by the governor of the city or place\nwhere the feast is celebrated, and all the persons of the family, of\nboth sexes, are summoned to attend him. These two days the Tirsan\nsitteth in consultation, concerning the good estate of the family.\nThere, if there be any discord or suits between any of the family, they\nare compounded and appeased. There, if any of the family be distressed\nor decayed, order is taken for their relief, and competent means to\nlive. There, if any be subject to vice, or take ill courses, they are\nreproved and censured. So likewise direction is given touching\nmarriages, and the courses of life which any of them should take, with\ndivers other the like orders and advices. The governor assisteth to the\nend, to put in execution, by his public authority, the decrees and\norders of the Tirsan, if they should be disobeyed, though that seldom\nneedeth; such reverence and obedience they give to the order of Nature.\nThe Tirsan doth also then ever choose one man from amongst his sons, to\nlive in house with him; who is called ever after the Son of the Vine.\nThe reason will hereafter appear. On the feast day, the father or Tirsan\ncometh forth after divine service into a large room where the feast is\ncelebrated; which room hath an half-pace at the upper end. Against the\nwall, in the middle of the half-pace, is a chair placed for him, with a\ntable and carpet before it. Over the chair is a state, made round or\noval, and it is of ivy; an ivy somewhat whiter than ours, like the leaf\nof a silver asp, but more shining; for it is green all winter. And the\nstate is curiously wrought with silver and silk of divers colours,\nbroiding or binding in the ivy; and is ever of the work of some of the\ndaughters of the family; and veiled over at the top, with a fine net of\nsilk and silver. But the substance of it is true ivy; whereof after it\nis taken down, the friends of the family are desirous to have some leaf\nor sprig to keep. The Tirsan cometh forth with all his generation or\nlineage, the males before him, and the females following him; and if\nthere be a mother, from whose body the whole lineage is descended, there\nis a traverse placed in a loft above on the right hand of the chair,\nwith a privy door, and a carved window of glass, leaded with gold and\nblue; where she sitteth, but is not seen. When the Tirsan is come forth,\nhe sitteth down in the chair; and all the lineage place themselves\nagainst the wall, both at his back, and upon the return of the\nhalf-pace, in order of their years, without difference of sex, and stand\nupon their feet. When he is set, the room being always full of company,\nbut well kept and without disorder, after some pause there cometh in\nfrom the lower end of the room a Taratan (which is as much as an\nherald), and on either side of him two young lads: whereof one carrieth\na scroll of their shining yellow parchment, and the other a cluster of\ngrapes of gold, with a long foot or stalk. The herald and children are\nclothed with mantles of sea-water green satin; but the herald's mantle\nis streamed with gold, and hath a train. Then the herald with three\ncurtsies, or rather inclinations, cometh up as far as the half-pace, and\nthere first taketh into his hand the scroll. This scroll is the king's\ncharter, containing gift of revenue, and many privileges, exemptions,\nand points of honour, granted to the father of the family; and it is\never styled and directed, \"To such an one, our well-beloved friend and\ncreditor,\" which is a title proper only to this case. For they say, the\nking is debtor to no man, but for propagation of his subjects; the seal\nset to the king's charter is the king's image, embossed or moulded in\ngold; and though such charters be expedited of course, and as of right,\nyet they are varied by discretion, according to the number and dignity\nof the family. This charter the herald readeth aloud; and while it is\nread, the father or Tirsan standeth up, supported by two of his sons,\nsuch as he chooseth. Then the herald mounteth the half-pace, and\ndelivereth the charter into his hand: and with that there is an\nacclamation, by all that are present, in their language, which is thus\nmuch, \"Happy are the people of Bensalem.\" Then the herald taketh into\nhis hand from the other child the cluster of grapes, which is of gold;\nboth the stalk, and the grapes. But the grapes are daintily enamelled;\nand if the males of the family be the greater number, the grapes are\nenamelled purple, with a little sun set on the top; if the females, then\nthey are enamelled into a greenish yellow, with a crescent on the top.\nThe grapes are in number as many as there are descendants of the family.\nThis golden cluster the herald delivereth also to the Tirsan; who\npresently delivereth it over to that son that he had formerly chosen, to\nbe in house with him: who beareth it before his father, as an ensign of\nhonour, when he goeth in public ever after; and is thereupon called the\nSon of the Vine. After this ceremony ended the father or Tirsan\nretireth; and after some time cometh forth again to dinner, where he\nsitteth alone under the state, as before; and none of his descendants\nsit with him, of what degree or dignity so ever, except he hap to be of\nSalomon's House. He is served only by his own children, such as are\nmale; who perform unto him all service of the table upon the knee, and\nthe women only stand about him, leaning against the wall. The room below\nhis half-pace hath tables on the sides for the guests that are bidden;\nwho are served with great and comely order; and towards the end of\ndinner (which in the greatest feasts with them lasteth never above an\nhour and a half) there is an hymn sung, varied according to the\ninvention of him that composeth it (for they have excellent poesy), but\nthe subject of it is always the praises of Adam, and Noah, and Abraham;\nwhereof the former two peopled the world, and the last was the father of\nthe faithful: concluding ever with a thanksgiving for the nativity of\nour Saviour, in whose birth the births of all are only blessed. Dinner\nbeing done, the Tirsan retireth again; and having withdrawn himself\nalone into a place, where he maketh some private prayers, he cometh\nforth the third time, to give the blessing; with all his descendants,\nwho stand about him as at the first. Then he calleth them forth by one\nand by one, by name as he pleaseth, though seldom the order of age be\ninverted. The person that is called (the table being before removed)\nkneeleth down before the chair, and the father layeth his hand upon his\nhead, or her head, and giveth the blessing in these words: \"Son of\nBensalem (or daughter of Bensalem), thy father saith it; the man by whom\nthou hast breath and life speaketh the word; the blessing of the\neverlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and the Holy Dove be upon thee,\nand make the days of thy pilgrimage good and many.\" This he saith to\nevery of them; and that done, if there be any of his sons of eminent\nmerit and virtue, so they be not above two, he calleth for them again,\nand saith, laying his arm over their shoulders, they standing: \"Sons, it\nis well you are born, give God the praise, and persevere to the end.\"\nAnd withal delivereth to either of them a jewel, made in the figure of\nan ear of wheat, which they ever after wear in the front of their\nturban, or hat; this done, they fall to music and dances, and other\nrecreations, after their manner, for the rest of the day. This is the\nfull order of that feast.\n\nBy that time six or seven days were spent, I was fallen into straight\nacquaintance with a merchant of that city, whose name was Joabin. He was\na Jew and circumcised; for they have some few stirps of Jews yet\nremaining among them, whom they leave to their own religion. Which they\nmay the better do, because they are of a far differing disposition from\nthe Jews in other parts. For whereas they hate the name of Christ, and\nhave a secret inbred rancour against the people amongst whom they live;\nthese, contrariwise, give unto our Saviour many high attributes, and\nlove the nation of Bensalem extremely. Surely this man of whom I speak\nwould ever acknowledge that Christ was born of a Virgin; and that He was\nmore than a man; and he would tell how God made Him ruler of the\nseraphims, which guard His throne; and they call Him also the Milken\nWay, and the Eliah of the Messiah, and many other high names, which\nthough they be inferior to His divine majesty, yet they are far from the\nlanguage of other Jews. And for the country of Bensalem, this man would\nmake no end of commending it, being desirous by tradition among the Jews\nthere to have it believed that the people thereof were of the\ngenerations of Abraham, by another son, whom they call Nachoran; and\nthat Moses by a secret cabala ordained the laws of Bensalem which they\nnow use; and that when the Messias should come, and sit in His throne at\nHierusalem, the King of Bensalem should sit at His feet, whereas other\nkings should keep a great distance. But yet setting aside these Jewish\ndreams, the man was a wise man and learned, and of great policy, and\nexcellently seen in the laws and customs of that nation. Amongst other\ndiscourses one day I told him, I was much affected with the relation I\nhad from some of the company of their custom in holding the feast of the\nfamily, for that, methought, I had never heard of a solemnity wherein\nNature did so much preside. And because propagation of families\nproceedeth from the nuptial copulation, I desired to know of him what\nlaws and customs they had concerning marriage, and whether they kept\nmarriage well, and whether they were tied to one wife? For that where\npopulation is so much affected, and such as with them it seemed to be,\nthere is commonly permission of plurality of wives. To this he said:\n\"You have reason for to commend that excellent institution of the feast\nof the family; and indeed we have experience, that those families that\nare partakers of the blessings of that feast, do flourish and prosper\never after, in an extraordinary manner. But hear me now, and I will tell\nyou what I know. You shall understand that there is not under the\nheavens so chaste a nation as this of Bensalem, nor so free from all\npollution or foulness. It is the virgin of the world; I remember, I have\nread in one of your European books, of an holy hermit amongst you, that\ndesired to see the spirit of fornication, and there appeared to him a\nlittle foul ugly Ethiope; but if he had desired to see the spirit of\nchastity of Bensalem, it would have appeared to him in the likeness of a\nfair beautiful cherubim. For there is nothing, amongst mortal men, more\nfair and admirable than the chaste minds of this people. Know,\ntherefore, that with them there are no stews, no dissolute houses, no\ncourtezans, nor anything of that kind. Nay, they wonder, with\ndetestation, at you in Europe, which permit such things. They say ye\nhave put marriage out of office; for marriage is ordained a remedy for\nunlawful concupiscence; and natural concupiscence seemeth as a spur to\nmarriage. But when men have at hand a remedy, more agreeable to their\ncorrupt will, marriage is almost expulsed. And therefore there are with\nyou seen infinite men that marry not, but choose rather a libertine and\nimpure single life, than to be yoked in marriage; and many that do\nmarry, marry late, when the prime and strength of their years is past.\nAnd when they do marry, what is marriage to them but a very bargain;\nwherein is sought alliance, or portion, or reputation, with some desire\n(almost indifferent) of issue; and not the faithful nuptial union of man\nand wife, that was first instituted. Neither is it possible, that those\nthat have cast away so basely so much of their strength, should greatly\nesteem children (being of the same matter) as chaste men do. So likewise\nduring marriage is the case much amended, as it ought to be if those\nthings were tolerated only for necessity; no, but they remain still as a\nvery affront to marriage. The haunting of those dissolute places, or\nresort to courtezans, are no more punished in married men than in\nbachelors. And the depraved custom of change, and the delight in\nmeretricious embracements (where sin is turned into art), maketh\nmarriage a dull thing, and a kind of imposition or tax. They hear you\ndefend these things, as done to avoid greater evils; as advoutries,\ndeflowering of virgins, unnatural lust, and the like. But they say, this\nis a preposterous wisdom; and they call it Lot's offer, who to save his\nguests from abusing, offered his daughters; nay, they say further, that\nthere is little gained in this; for that the same vices and appetites do\nstill remain and abound, unlawful lust being like a furnace, that if you\nstop the flames altogether it will quench, but if you give it any vent\nit will rage; as for masculine love, they have no touch of it; and yet\nthere are not so faithful and inviolate friendships in the world again\nas are there, and to speak generally (as I said before) I have not read\nof any such chastity in any people as theirs. And their usual saying is\nthat whosoever is unchaste cannot reverence himself; and they say that\nthe reverence of a man's self, is, next religion, the chiefest bridle of\nall vices.\" And when he had said this the good Jew paused a little;\nwhereupon I, far more willing to hear him speak on than to speak myself;\nyet thinking it decent that upon his pause of speech I should not be\naltogether silent, said only this; that I would say to him, as the widow\nof Sarepta said to Elias: \"that he was come to bring to memory our\nsins;\" and that I confess the righteousness of Bensalem was greater than\nthe righteousness of Europe. At which speech he bowed his head, and went\non this manner: \"They have also many wise and excellent laws, touching\nmarriage. They allow no polygamy. They have ordained that none do\nintermarry, or contract, until a month be past from their first\ninterview. Marriage without consent of parents they do not make void,\nbut they mulct it in the inheritors; for the children of such marriages\nare not admitted to inherit above a third part of their parents'\ninheritance. I have read in a book of one of your men, of a feigned\ncommonwealth, where the married couple are permitted, before they\ncontract, to see one another naked. This they dislike; for they think it\na scorn to give a refusal after so familiar knowledge; but because of\nmany hidden defects in men and women's bodies, they have a more civil\nway; for they have near every town a couple of pools (which they call\nAdam and Eve's pools), where it is permitted to one of the friends of\nthe man, and another of the friends of the woman, to see them severally\nbathe naked.\"\n\nAnd as we were thus in conference, there came one that seemed to be a\nmessenger, in a rich huke, that spake with the Jew; whereupon he turned\nto me, and said, \"You will pardon me, for I am commanded away in haste.\"\nThe next morning he came to me again, joyful as it seemed, and said,\n\"There is word come to the governor of the city, that one of the fathers\nof Salomon's House will be here this day seven-night; we have seen none\nof them this dozen years. His coming is in state; but the cause of his\ncoming is secret. I will provide you and your fellows of a good standing\nto see his entry.\" I thanked him, and told him I was most glad of the\nnews. The day being come he made his entry. He was a man of middle\nstature and age, comely of person, and had an aspect as if he pitied\nmen. He was clothed in a robe of fine black cloth with wide sleeves, and\na cape: his under garment was of excellent white linen down to the foot,\ngirt with a girdle of the same; and a sindon or tippet of the same about\nhis neck. He had gloves that were curious, and set with stone; and shoes\nof peach-coloured velvet. His neck was bare to the shoulders. His hat\nwas like a helmet, or Spanish montero; and his locks curled below it\ndecently; they were of colour brown. His beard was cut round and of the\nsame colour with his hair, somewhat lighter. He was carried in a rich\nchariot, without wheels, litter-wise, with two horses at either end,\nrichly trapped in blue velvet embroidered; and two footmen on each side\nin the like attire. The chariot was all of cedar, gilt and adorned with\ncrystal; save that the fore-end had panels of sapphires, set in borders\nof gold, and the hinder-end the like of emeralds of the Peru colour.\nThere was also a sun of gold, radiant upon the top, in the midst; and on\nthe top before a small cherub of gold, with wings displayed. The chariot\nwas covered with cloth of gold tissued upon blue. He had before him\nfifty attendants, young men all, in white satin loose coats up to the\nmid-leg, and stockings of white silk; and shoes of blue velvet; and hats\nof blue velvet, with fine plumes of divers colours, set round like\nhat-bands. Next before the chariot went two men, bare-headed, in linen\ngarments down to the foot, girt, and shoes of blue velvet, who carried\nthe one a crosier, the other a pastoral staff like a sheep-hook; neither\nof them of metal, but the crosier of balm-wood, the pastoral staff of\ncedar. Horsemen he had none, neither before nor behind his chariot; as\nit seemeth, to avoid all tumult and trouble. Behind his chariot went all\nthe officers and principals of the companies of the city. He sat alone,\nupon cushions, of a kind of excellent plush, blue; and under his foot\ncurious carpets of silk of divers colours, like the Persian, but far\nfiner. He held up his bare hand, as he went, as blessing the people, but\nin silence. The street was wonderfully well kept; so that there was\nnever any army had their men stand in better battle-array than the\npeople stood. The windows likewise were not crowded, but every one stood\nin them, as if they had been placed. When the show was passed, the Jew\nsaid to me, \"I shall not be able to attend you as I would, in regard of\nsome charge the city hath laid upon me for the entertaining of this\ngreat person.\" Three days after the Jew came to me again, and said, \"Ye\nare happy men; for the father of Salomon's House taketh knowledge of\nyour being here, and commanded me to tell you, that he will admit all\nyour company to his presence, and have private conference with one of\nyou, that ye shall choose; and for this hath appointed the next day\nafter to-morrow. And because he meaneth to give you his blessing, he\nhath appointed it in the forenoon.\" We came at our day and hour, and I\nwas chosen by my fellows for the private access. We found him in a fair\nchamber, richly hanged, and carpeted under foot, without any degrees to\nthe state; he was set upon a low throne richly adorned, and a rich cloth\nof state over his head of blue satin embroidered. He was alone, save\nthat he had two pages of honour, on either hand one, finely attired in\nwhite. His under garments were the like that we saw him wear in the\nchariot; but instead of his gown, he had on him a mantle with a cape, of\nthe same fine black, fastened about him. When we came in, as we were\ntaught, we bowed low at our first entrance; and when we were come near\nhis chair, he stood up, holding forth his hand ungloved, and in posture\nof blessing; and we every one of us stooped down, and kissed the end of\nhis tippet. That done, the rest departed, and I remained. Then he warned\nthe pages forth of the room, and caused me to sit down beside him, and\nspake to me thus in the Spanish tongue:\n\n\"God bless thee, my son; I will give thee the greatest jewel I have. For\nI will impart unto thee, for the love of God and men, a relation of the\ntrue state of Salomon's House. Son, to make you know the true state of\nSalomon's House, I will keep this order. First, I will set forth unto\nyou the end of our foundation. Secondly, the preparations and\ninstruments we have for our works. Thirdly, the several employments and\nfunctions whereto our fellows are assigned. And fourthly, the ordinances\nand rites which we observe.\n\n\"The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret\nmotions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to\nthe effecting of all things possible.\n\n\"The preparations and instruments are these. We have large and deep\ncaves of several depths; the deepest are sunk 600 fathoms; and some of\nthem are digged and made under great hills and mountains; so that if you\nreckon together the depth of the hill, and the depth of the cave, they\nare, some of them, above three miles deep. For we find that the depth of\nan hill, and the depth of a cave from the flat, is the same thing; both\nremote alike from the sun and heaven's beams, and from the open air.\nThese caves we call the lower region. And we use them for all\ncoagulations, indurations, refrigerations, and conservations of bodies.\nWe use them likewise for the imitation of natural mines and the\nproducing also of new artificial metals, by compositions and materials\nwhich we use and lay there for many years. We use them also sometimes\n(which may seem strange) for curing of some diseases, and for\nprolongation of life, in some hermits that choose to live there, well\naccommodated of all things necessary, and indeed live very long; by whom\nalso we learn many things.\n\n\"We have burials in several earths, where we put divers cements, as the\nChinese do their porcelain. But we have them in greater variety, and\nsome of them more fine. We also have great variety of composts and\nsoils, for the making of the earth fruitful.\n\n\"We have high towers, the highest about half a mile in height, and some\nof them likewise set upon high mountains, so that the vantage of the\nhill with the tower, is in the highest of them three miles at least. And\nthese places we call the upper region, account the air between the high\nplaces and the low, as a middle region. We use these towers, according\nto their several heights and situations, for insulation, refrigeration,\nconservation, and for the view of divers meteors--as winds, rain, snow,\nhail; and some of the fiery meteors also. And upon them, in some places,\nare dwellings of hermits, whom we visit sometimes, and instruct what to\nobserve.\n\n\"We have great lakes, both salt and fresh, whereof we have use for the\nfish and fowl. We use them also for burials of some natural bodies, for\nwe find a difference in things buried in earth, or in air below the\nearth, and things buried in water. We have also pools, of which some do\nstrain fresh water out of salt, and others by art do turn fresh water\ninto salt. We have also some rocks in the midst of the sea, and some\nbays upon the shore for some works, wherein is required the air and\nvapour of the sea. We have likewise violent streams and cataracts, which\nserve us for many motions; and likewise engines for multiplying and\nenforcing of winds to set also on divers motions.\n\n\"We have also a number of artificial wells and fountains, made in\nimitation of the natural sources and baths, as tincted upon vitriol,\nsulphur, steel, brass, lead, nitre, and other minerals; and again, we\nhave little wells for infusions of many things, where the waters take\nthe virtue quicker and better than in vessels or basins. And amongst\nthem we have a water, which we call water of Paradise, being by that we\ndo it made very sovereign for health and prolongation of life.\n\n\"We have also great and spacious houses, where we imitate and\ndemonstrate meteors--as snow, hail, rain, some artificial rains of\nbodies, and not of water, thunders, lightnings; also generations of\nbodies in air--as frogs, flies, and divers others.\n\n\"We have also certain chambers, which we call chambers of health, where\nwe qualify the air as we think good and proper for the cure of divers\ndiseases, and preservation of health.\n\n\"We have also fair and large baths, of several mixtures, for the cure of\ndiseases, and the restoring of man's body from arefaction; and others\nfor the confirming of it in strength of sinews, vital parts, and the\nvery juice and substance of the body.\n\n\"We have also large and various orchards and gardens, wherein we do not\nso much respect beauty as variety of ground and soil, proper for divers\ntrees and herbs, and some very spacious, where trees and berries are\nset, whereof we make divers kinds of drinks, besides the vineyards. In\nthese we practise likewise all conclusions of grafting, and inoculating,\nas well of wild-trees as fruit-trees, which produceth many effects. And\nwe make by art, in the same orchards and gardens, trees and flowers, to\ncome earlier or later than their seasons, and to come up and bear more\nspeedily than by their natural course they do. We make them also by art\ngreater much than their nature; and their fruit greater and sweeter, and\nof differing taste, smell, colour, and figure, from their nature. And\nmany of them we so order, as that they become of medicinal use.\n\n\"We have also means to make divers plants rise by mixtures of earths\nwithout seeds, and likewise to make divers new plants, differing from\nthe vulgar, and to make one tree or plant turn into another.\n\n\"We have also parks, and enclosures of all sorts, of beasts and birds;\nwhich we use not only for view or rareness, but likewise for dissections\nand trials, that thereby may take light what may be wrought upon the\nbody of man. Wherein we find many strange effects: as continuing life in\nthem, though divers parts, which you account vital, be perished and\ntaken forth; resuscitating of some that seem dead in appearance, and the\nlike. We try also all poisons, and other medicines upon them, as well of\nchirurgery as physic. By art likewise we make them greater or smaller\nthan their kind is, and contrariwise dwarf them and stay their growth;\nwe make them more fruitful and bearing than their kind is, and\ncontrariwise barren and not generative. Also we make them differ in\ncolour, shape, activity, many ways. We find means to make commixtures\nand copulations of divers kinds, which have produced many new kinds, and\nthem not barren, as the general opinion is. We make a number of kinds of\nserpents, worms, flies, fishes of putrefaction, whereof some are\nadvanced (in effect) to be perfect creatures, like beasts or birds, and\nhave sexes, and do propagate. Neither do we this by chance, but we know\nbeforehand of what matter and commixture, what kind of those creatures\nwill arise.\n\n\"We have also particular pools where we make trials upon fishes, as we\nhave said before of beasts and birds.\n\n\"We have also places for breed and generation of those kinds of worms\nand flies which are of special use; such as are with you your silkworms\nand bees.\n\n\"I will not hold you long with recounting of our brew-houses,\nbake-houses, and kitchens, where are made divers drinks, breads, and\nmeats, rare and of special effects. Wines we have of grapes, and drinks\nof other juice, of fruits, of grains, and of roots, and of mixtures with\nhoney, sugar, manna, and fruits dried and decocted; also of the tears or\nwounding of trees, and of the pulp of canes. And these drinks are of\nseveral ages, some to the age or last of forty years. We have drinks\nalso brewed with several herbs, and roots, and spices; yea, with several\nfleshes, and white-meats; whereof some of the drinks are such as they\nare in effect meat and drink both, so that divers, especially in age, do\ndesire to live with them with little or no meat or bread. And above all\nwe strive to have drinks of extreme thin parts, to insinuate into the\nbody, and yet without all biting, sharpness, or fretting; insomuch as\nsome of them put upon the back of your hand, will with a little stay\npass through to the palm, and yet taste mild to the mouth. We have also\nwaters, which we ripen in that fashion, as they become nourishing, so\nthat they are indeed excellent drinks, and many will use no other. Bread\nwe have of several grains, roots, and kernels; yea, and some of flesh,\nand fish, dried; with divers kinds of leavings and seasonings; so that\nsome do extremely move appetites, some do nourish so, as divers do live\nof them, without any other meat, who live very long. So for meats, we\nhave some of them so beaten, and made tender, and mortified, yet without\nall corrupting, as a weak heat of the stomach will turn them into good\nchilus, as well as a strong heat would meat otherwise prepared. We have\nsome meats also and bread, and drinks, which taken by men, enable them\nto fast long after; and some other, that used make the very flesh of\nmen's bodies sensibly more hard and tough, and their strength far\ngreater than otherwise it would be.\n\n\"We have dispensatories or shops of medicines; wherein you may easily\nthink, if we have such variety of plants, and living creatures, more\nthan you have in Europe (for we know what you have), the simples, drugs,\nand ingredients of medicines, must likewise be in so much the greater\nvariety. We have them likewise of divers ages, and long fermentations.\nAnd for their preparations, we have not only all manner of exquisite\ndistillations, and separations, and especially by gentle heats, and\npercolations through divers strainers, yea, and substances; but also\nexact forms of composition, whereby they incorporate almost as they were\nnatural simples.\n\n\"We have also divers mechanical arts, which you have not; and stuffs\nmade by them, as papers, linen, silks, tissues, dainty works of feathers\nof wonderful lustre, excellent dyes, and many others, and shops likewise\nas well for such as are not brought into vulgar use amongst us, as for\nthose that are. For you must know, that of the things before recited,\nmany of them are grown into use throughout the kingdom, but yet, if they\ndid flow from our invention, we have of them also for patterns and\nprincipals.\n\n\"We have also furnaces of great diversities, and that keep great\ndiversity of heats; fierce and quick, strong and constant, soft and\nmild, blown, quiet, dry, moist, and the like. But above all we have\nheats, in imitation of the sun's and heavenly bodies' heats, that pass\ndivers inequalities, and as it were orbs, progresses, and returns\nwhereby we produce admirable effects. Besides, we have heats of dungs,\nand of bellies and maws of living creatures and of their bloods and\nbodies, and of hays and herbs laid up moist, of lime unquenched, and\nsuch like. Instruments also which generate heat only by motion. And\nfarther, places for strong insulations; and again, places under the\nearth, which by nature or art yield heat. These divers heats we use, as\nthe nature of the operation which we intend requireth.\n\n\"We have also perspective-houses, where we make demonstrations of all\nlights and radiations, and of all colours; and out of things uncoloured\nand transparent, we can represent unto you all several colours, not in\nrainbows, as it is in gems and prisms, but of themselves single. We\nrepresent also all multiplications of light, which we carry to great\ndistance, and make so sharp, as to discern small points and lines. Also\nall colourations of light: all delusions and deceits of the sight, in\nfigures, magnitudes, motions, colours; all demonstrations of shadows. We\nfind also divers means, yet unknown to you, of producing of light,\noriginally from divers bodies. We procure means of seeing objects afar\noff, as in the heaven and remote places; and represent things near as\nafar off, and things afar off as near; making feigned distances. We have\nalso helps for the sight far above spectacles and glasses in use; we\nhave also glasses and means to see small and minute bodies, perfectly\nand distinctly; as the shapes and colours of small flies and worms,\ngrains, and flaws in gems, which cannot otherwise be seen, observations\nin urine and blood not otherwise to be seen. We make artificial\nrainbows, halos, and circles about light. We represent also all manner\nof reflections, refractions, and multiplications of visual beams of\nobjects.\n\n\"We have also precious stones, of all kinds, many of them of great\nbeauty and to you unknown; crystals likewise, and glasses of divers\nkind; and amongst them some of metals vitrificated, and other materials,\nbesides those of which you make glass. Also a number of fossils, and\nimperfect minerals, which you have not. Likewise loadstones of\nprodigious virtue: and other rare stones, both natural and artificial.\n\n\"We have also sound-houses, where we practise and demonstrate all sounds\nand their generation. We have harmony which you have not, of\nquarter-sounds and lesser slides of sounds. Divers instruments of music\nlikewise to you unknown, some sweeter than any you have; with bells and\nrings that are dainty and sweet. We represent small sounds as great and\ndeep, likewise great sounds, extenuate and sharp; we make divers\ntremblings and warblings of sounds, which in their original are entire.\nWe represent and imitate all articulate sounds and letters, and the\nvoices and notes of beasts and birds. We have certain helps, which set\nto the ear do further the hearing greatly; we have also divers strange\nand artificial echoes, reflecting the voice many times, and as it were\ntossing it; and some that give back the voice louder than it came, some\nshriller and some deeper; yea, some rendering the voice, differing in\nthe letters or articulate sound from that they receive. We have all\nmeans to convey sounds in trunks and pipes, in strange lines and\ndistances.\n\n\"We have also perfume-houses, wherewith we join also practices of taste.\nWe multiply smells which may seem strange: we imitate smells, making all\nsmells to breathe out of other mixtures than those that give them. We\nmake divers imitations of taste likewise, so that they will deceive any\nman's taste. And in this house we contain also a confiture-house, where\nwe make all sweetmeats, dry and moist, and divers pleasant wines, milks,\nbroths, and salads, far in greater variety than you have.\n\n\"We have also engine-houses, where are prepared engines and instruments\nfor all sorts of motions. There we imitate and practise to make swifter\nmotions than any you have, either out of your muskets or any engine that\nyou have; and to make them and multiply them more easily and with small\nforce, by wheels and other means, and to make them stronger and more\nviolent than yours are, exceeding your greatest cannons and basilisks.\nWe represent also ordnance and instruments of war and engines of all\nkinds; and likewise new mixtures and compositions of gunpowder,\nwild-fires burning in water and unquenchable, also fire-works of all\nvariety, both for pleasure and use. We imitate also flights of birds; we\nhave some degrees of flying in the air. We have ships and boats for\ngoing under water and brooking of seas, also swimming-girdles and\nsupporters. We have divers curious clocks and other like motions of\nreturn, and some perpetual motions. We imitate also motions of living\ncreatures by images of men, beasts, birds, fishes, and serpents; we have\nalso a great number of other various motions, strange for equality,\nfineness and subtilty.\n\n\"We have also a mathematical-house, where are represented all\ninstruments, as well of geometry as astronomy, exquisitely made.\n\n\"We have also houses of deceits of the senses, where we represent all\nmanner of feats of juggling, false apparitions, impostures and\nillusions, and their fallacies. And surely you will easily believe that\nwe, that have so many things truly natural which induce admiration,\ncould in a world of particulars deceive the senses if we would disguise\nthose things, and labour to make them more miraculous. But we do hate\nall impostures and lies, insomuch as we have severely forbidden it to\nall our fellows, under pain of ignominy and fines, that they do not show\nany natural work or thing adorned or swelling, but only pure as it is,\nand without all affectation of strangeness.\n\n\"These are, my son, the riches of Salomon's House.\n\n\"For the several employments and offices of our fellows, we have twelve\nthat sail into foreign countries under the names of other nations (for\nour own we conceal), who bring us the books and abstracts, and patterns\nof experiments of all other parts. These we call merchants of light.\n\n\"We have three that collect the experiments which are in all books.\nThese we call deprepators.\n\n\"We have three that collect the experiments of all mechanical arts, and\nalso of liberal sciences, and also of practices which are not brought\ninto arts. These we call mystery-men.\n\n\"We have three that try new experiments.\n\n\"Such as themselves think good. These we call pioneers or miners.\n\n\"We have three that draw the experiments of the former four into titles\nand tables, to give the better light for the drawing of observations and\naxioms out of them. These we call compilers. We have three that bend\nthemselves, looking into the experiments of their fellows, and cast\nabout how to draw out of them things of use and practice for man's life\nand knowledge, as well for works as for plain demonstration of causes,\nmeans of natural divinations, and the easy and clear discovery of the\nvirtues and parts of bodies. These we call dowry-men or benefactors.\n\n\"Then after divers meetings and consults of our whole number, to\nconsider of the former labours and collections, we have three that take\ncare out of them to direct new experiments, of a higher light, more\npenetrating into Nature than the former. These we call lamps.\n\n\"We have three others that do execute the experiment so directed, and\nreport them. These we call inoculators.\n\n\"Lastly, we have three that raise the former discoveries by experiments\ninto greater observations, axioms, and aphorisms. These we call\ninterpreters of Nature.\n\n\"We have also, as you must think, novices and apprentices, that the\nsuccession of the former employed men do not fail; besides a great\nnumber of servants and attendants, men and women. And this we do also:\nwe have consultations, which of the inventions and experiences which we\nhave discovered shall be published, and which not: and take all an oath\nof secrecy for the concealing of those which we think fit to keep\nsecret: though some of those we do reveal sometime to the state, and\nsome not.\n\n\"For our ordinances and rites, we have two very long and fair galleries:\nin one of these we place patterns and samples of all manner of the more\nrare and excellent inventions: in the other we place the statues of all\nprincipal inventors. There we have the statue of your Columbus, that\ndiscovered the West Indies: also the inventor of ships: your Monk that\nwas the inventor of ordnance and of gunpowder: the inventor of music:\nthe inventor of letters: the inventor of printing: the inventor of\nobservations of astronomy: the inventor of works in metal: the inventor\nof glass: the inventor of silk of the worm: the inventor of wine: the\ninventor of corn and bread: the inventor of sugars; and all these by\nmore certain tradition than you have. Then we have divers inventors of\nour own, of excellent works; which since you have not seen, it were too\nlong to make descriptions of them; and besides, in the right\nunderstanding of those descriptions you might easily err. For upon every\ninvention of value we erect a statue to the inventor, and give him a\nliberal and honourable reward. These statues are some of brass, some of\nmarble and touchstone, some of cedar and other special woods gilt and\nadorned; some of iron, some of silver, some of gold.\n\n\"We have certain hymns and services, which we say daily, of laud and\nthanks to God for His marvellous works. And forms of prayers, imploring\nHis aid and blessing for the illumination of our labours; and turning\nthem into good and holy uses.\n\n\"Lastly, we have circuits or visits, of divers principal cities of the\nkingdom; where as it cometh to pass we do publish such new profitable\ninventions as we think good. And we do also declare natural divinations\nof diseases, plagues, swarms of hurtful creatures, scarcity, tempest,\nearthquakes, great inundations, comets, temperature of the year, and\ndivers other things; and we give counsel thereupon, what the people\nshall do for the prevention and remedy of them.\"\n\nAnd when he had said this, he stood up; and I, as I had been taught,\nknelt down; and he laid his right hand upon my head, and said, \"God\nbless thee, my son, and God bless this relation which I have made. I\ngive thee leave to publish it, for the good of other nations; for we\nhere are in God's bosom, a land unknown.\" And so he left me; having\nassigned a value of about two thousand ducats for a bounty to me and my\nfellows. For they give great largesses, where they come, upon all\noccasions.\n\n\nTHE REST WAS NOT PERFECTED.\n\n\n\n\nCAMPANELLA'S\n\nCITY OF THE SUN.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CITY OF THE SUN.\n\n_A Poetical Dialogue between a Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitallers\nand a Genoese Sea-captain, his guest._\n\n_G.M._ Prithee, now, tell me what happened to you during that voyage?\n\n_Capt._ I have already told you how I wandered over the whole earth. In\nthe course of my journeying I came to Taprobane, and was compelled to go\nashore at a place, where through fear of the inhabitants I remained in a\nwood. When I stepped out of this I found myself on a large plain\nimmediately under the equator.\n\n_G.M._ And what befell you here?\n\n_Capt._ I came upon a large crowd of men and armed women, many of whom\ndid not understand our language, and they conducted me forthwith to the\nCity of the Sun.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me after what plan this city is built and how it is\ngoverned?\n\n_Capt._ The greater part of the city is built upon a high hill, which\nrises from an extensive plain, but several of its circles extend for\nsome distance beyond the base of the hill, which is of such a size that\nthe diameter of the city is upwards of two miles, so that its\ncircumference becomes about seven. On account of the humped shape of the\nmountain, however, the diameter of the city is really more than if it\nwere built on a plain.\n\nIt is divided into seven rings or huge circles named from the seven\nplanets, and the way from one to the other of these is by four streets\nand through four gates, that look towards the four points of the\ncompass. Furthermore, it is so built that if the first circle were\nstormed, it would of necessity entail a double amount of energy to storm\nthe second; still more to storm the third; and in each succeeding case\nthe strength and energy would have to be doubled; so that he who wishes\nto capture that city must, as it were, storm it seven times. For my own\npart, however, I think that not even the first wall could be occupied,\nso thick are the earthworks and so well fortified is it with\nbreastworks, towers, guns and ditches.\n\nWhen I had been taken through the northern gate (which is shut with an\niron door so wrought that it can be raised and let down, and locked in\neasily and strongly, its projections running into the grooves of the\nthick posts by a marvellous device), I saw a level space seventy\npaces[1] wide between the first and second walls. From hence can be seen\nlarge palaces all joined to the wall of the second circuit, in such a\nmanner as to appear all one palace. Arches run on a level with the\nmiddle height of the palaces, and are continued round the whole ring.\nThere are galleries for promenading upon these arches, which are\nsupported from beneath by thick and well-shaped columns, enclosing\narcades like peristyles, or cloisters of an abbey.\n\n[Footnote 1: A pace was 1-9/25 yards, 1,000 paces making a mile.]\n\nBut the palaces have no entrances from below, except on the inner or\nconcave partition, from which one enters directly to the lower parts of\nthe building. The higher parts, however, are reached by flights of\nmarble steps, which lead to galleries for promenading on the inside\nsimilar to those on the outside. From these one enters the higher rooms,\nwhich are very beautiful, and have windows on the concave and convex\npartitions. These rooms are divided from one another by richly\ndecorated walls. The convex or outer wall of the ring is about eight\nspans thick; the concave, three; the intermediate walls are one, or\nperhaps one and a half. Leaving this circle one gets to the second\nplain, which is nearly three paces narrower than the first. Then the\nfirst wall of the second ring is seen adorned above and below with\nsimilar galleries for walking, and there is on the inside of it another\ninterior wall enclosing palaces. It has also similar peristyles\nsupported by columns in the lower part, but above are excellent\npictures, round the ways into the upper houses. And so on afterwards\nthrough similar spaces and double walls, enclosing palaces, and adorned\nwith galleries for walking, extending along their outer side, and\nsupported by columns, till the last circuit is reached, the way being\nstill over a level plain.\n\nBut when the two gates, that is to say, those of the outmost and the\ninmost walls, have been passed, one mounts by means of steps so formed\nthat an ascent is scarcely discernible, since it proceeds in a slanting\ndirection, and the steps succeed one another at almost imperceptible\nheights. On the top of the hill is a rather spacious plain, and in the\nmidst of this there rises a temple built with wondrous art.\n\n_G.M._ Tell on, I pray you! Tell on! I am dying to hear more.\n\n_Capt._ The temple is built in the form of a circle; it is not girt with\nwalls, but stands upon thick columns, beautifully grouped. A very large\ndome, built with great care in the centre or pole, contains another\nsmall vault as it were rising out of it, and in this is a spiracle,\nwhich is right over the altar. There is but one altar in the middle of\nthe temple, and this is hedged round by columns. The temple itself is on\na space of more than three hundred and fifty paces. Without it, arches\nmeasuring about eight paces extend from the heads of the columns\noutwards, whence other columns rise about three paces from the thick,\nstrong and erect wall. Between these and the former columns there are\ngalleries for walking, with beautiful pavements, and in the recess of\nthe wall, which is adorned with numerous large doors, there are\nimmovable seats, placed as it were between the inside columns,\nsupporting the temple. Portable chairs are not wanting, many and well\nadorned. Nothing is seen over the altar but a large globe, upon which\nthe heavenly bodies are painted, and another globe upon which there is a\nrepresentation of the earth. Furthermore, in the vault of the dome there\ncan be discerned representations of all the stars of heaven from the\nfirst to the sixth magnitude, with their proper names and power to\ninfluence terrestrial things marked in three little verses for each.\nThere are the poles and greater and lesser circles according to the\nright latitude of the place, but these are not perfect because there is\nno wall below. They seem, too, to be made in their relation to the\nglobes on the altar. The pavement of the temple is bright with precious\nstones. Its seven golden lamps hang always burning, and these bear the\nnames of the seven planets.\n\nAt the top of the building several small and beautiful cells surround\nthe small dome, and behind the level space above the bands or arches of\nthe exterior and interior columns there are many cells, both small and\nlarge, where the priests and religious officers dwell to the number of\nforty-nine.\n\nA revolving flag projects from the smaller dome, and this shows in what\nquarter the wind is. The flag is marked with figures up to thirty-six,\nand the priests know what sort of year the different kinds of winds\nbring and what will be the changes of weather on land and sea.\nFurthermore, under the flag a book is always kept written with letters\nof gold.\n\n_G.M._ I pray you, worthy hero, explain to me their whole system of\ngovernment; for I am anxious to hear it.\n\n_Capt._ The great ruler among them is a priest whom they call by the\nname HOH, though we should call him Metaphysic. He is head over all, in\ntemporal and spiritual matters, and all business and lawsuits are\nsettled by him, as the supreme authority. Three princes of equal\npower--viz., Pon, Sin and Mor--assist him, and these in our tongue we\nshould call POWER, WISDOM and LOVE. To POWER belongs the care of all\nmatters relating to war and peace. He attends to the military arts, and,\nnext to Hoh, he is ruler in every affair of a warlike nature. He governs\nthe military magistrates and the soldiers, and has the management of the\nmunitions, the fortifications, the storming of places, the implements of\nwar, the armories, the smiths and workmen connected with matters of this\nsort.\n\nBut WISDOM is the ruler of the liberal arts, of mechanics, of all\nsciences with their magistrates and doctors, and of the discipline of\nthe schools. As many doctors as there are, are under his control. There\nis one doctor who is called Astrologus; a second, Cosmographus; a third,\nArithmeticus; a fourth, Geometra; a fifth, Historiographus; a sixth,\nPoeta; a seventh, Logicus; an eighth, Rhetor; a ninth, Grammaticus; a\ntenth, Medicus; an eleventh, Physiologus; a twelfth, Politicus; a\nthirteenth, Moralis. They have but one book, which they call Wisdom, and\nin it all the sciences are written with conciseness and marvellous\nfluency of expression. This they read to the people after the custom of\nthe Pythagoreans. It is Wisdom who causes the exterior and interior, the\nhigher and lower walls of the city to be adorned with the finest\npictures, and to have all the sciences painted upon them in an admirable\nmanner. On the walls of the temple and on the dome, which is let down\nwhen the priest gives an address, lest the sounds of his voice, being\nscattered, should fly away from his audience, there are pictures of\nstars in their different magnitudes, with the powers and motions of\neach, expressed separately in three little verses.\n\nOn the interior wall of the first circuit all the mathematical figures\nare conspicuously painted--figures more in number than Archimedes or\nEuclid discovered, marked symmetrically, and with the explanation of\nthem neatly written and contained each in a little verse. There are\ndefinitions and propositions, &c. &c. On the exterior convex wall is\nfirst an immense drawing of the whole earth, given at one view.\nFollowing upon this, there are tablets setting forth for every separate\ncountry the customs both public and private, the laws, the origins and\nthe power of the inhabitants; and the alphabets the different people use\ncan be seen above that of the City of the Sun.\n\nOn the inside of the second circuit, that is to say of the second ring\nof buildings, paintings of all kinds of precious and common stones, of\nminerals and metals, are seen; and a little piece of the metal itself is\nalso there with an apposite explanation in two small verses for each\nmetal or stone. On the outside are marked all the seas, rivers, lakes\nand streams which are on the face of the earth; as are also the wines\nand the oils and the different liquids, with the sources from which the\nlast are extracted, their qualities and strength. There are also vessels\nbuilt into the wall above the arches, and these are full of liquids from\none to three hundred years old, which cure all diseases. Hail and snow,\nstorms and thunder, and whatever else takes place in the air, are\nrepresented with suitable figures and little verses. The inhabitants\neven have the art of representing in stone all the phenomena of the air,\nsuch as the wind, rain, thunder, the rainbow, &c.\n\nOn the interior of the third circuit all the different families of trees\nand herbs are depicted, and there is a live specimen of each plant in\nearthenware vessels placed upon the outer partition of the arches. With\nthe specimens there are explanations as to where they were first found,\nwhat are their powers and natures, and resemblances to celestial things\nand to metals: to parts of the human body and to things in the sea, and\nalso as to their uses in medicine, &c. On the exterior wall are all the\nraces of fish, found in rivers, lakes and seas, and their habits and\nvalues, and ways of breeding, training and living, the purposes for\nwhich they exist in the world, and their uses to man. Further, their\nresemblances to celestial and terrestrial things, produced both by\nnature and art, are so given that I was astonished when I saw a fish\nwhich was like a bishop, one like a chain, another like a garment, a\nfourth like a nail, a fifth like a star, and others like images of those\nthings existing among us, the relation in each case being completely\nmanifest. There are sea-urchins to be seen, and the purple shell-fish\nand mussels; and whatever the watery world possesses worthy of being\nknown is there fully shown in marvellous characters of painting and\ndrawing.\n\nOn the fourth interior wall all the different kinds of birds are\npainted, with their natures, sizes, customs, colours, manner of living,\n&c.; and the only real phoenix is possessed by the inhabitants of this\ncity. On the exterior are shown all the races of creeping animals,\nserpents, dragons and worms; the insects, the flies, gnats, beetles,\n&c., in their different states, strength, venoms and uses, and a great\ndeal more than you or I can think of.\n\nOn the fifth interior they have all the larger animals of the earth, as\nmany in number as would astonish you. We indeed know not the thousandth\npart of them, for on the exterior wall also a great many of immense size\nare also portrayed. To be sure, of horses alone, how great a number of\nbreeds there is and how beautiful are the forms there cleverly\ndisplayed!\n\nOn the sixth interior are painted all the mechanical arts, with the\nseveral instruments for each and their manner of use among different\nnations. Alongside the dignity of such is placed, and their several\ninventors are named. But on the exterior all the inventors in science,\nin warfare, and in law are represented. There I saw Moses, Osiris,\nJupiter, Mercury, Lycurgus, Pompilius, Pythagoras, Zamolxis, Solon,\nCharondas, Phoroneus, with very many others. They even have Mahomet,\nwhom nevertheless they hate as a false and sordid legislator. In the\nmost dignified position I saw a representation of Jesus Christ and of\nthe twelve Apostles, whom they consider very worthy and hold to be\ngreat. Of the representations of men, I perceived C\u00e6sar, Alexander,\nPyrrhus and Hannibal in the highest place; and other very renowned\nheroes in peace and war, especially Roman heroes, were painted in lower\npositions, under the galleries. And when I asked with astonishment\nwhence they had obtained our history, they told me that among them there\nwas a knowledge of all languages, and that by perseverance they\ncontinually send explorers and ambassadors over the whole earth, who\nlearn thoroughly the customs, forces, rule and histories of the nations,\nbad and good alike. These they apply all to their own republic, and with\nthis they are well pleased. I learnt that cannon and typography were\ninvented by the Chinese before we knew of them. There are magistrates,\nwho announce the meaning of the pictures, and boys are accustomed to\nlearn all the sciences, without toil and as if for pleasure; but in the\nway of history only until they are ten years old.\n\nLOVE is foremost in attending to the charge of the race. He sees that\nmen and women are so joined together, that they bring forth the best\noffspring. Indeed, they laugh at us who exhibit a studious care for our\nbreed of horses and dogs, but neglect the breeding of human beings. Thus\nthe education of the children is under his rule. So also is the medicine\nthat is sold, the sowing and collecting of fruits of the earth and of\ntrees, agriculture, pasturage, the preparations for the months, the\ncooking arrangements, and whatever has any reference to food, clothing,\nand the intercourse of the sexes. Love himself is ruler, but there are\nmany male and female magistrates dedicated to these arts.\n\nMetaphysic then with these three rulers manage all the above-named\nmatters, and even by himself alone nothing is done; all business is\ndischarged by the four together, but in whatever Metaphysic inclines to\nthe rest are sure to agree.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me, please, of the magistrates, their services and duties,\nof the education and mode of living, whether the government is a\nmonarchy, a republic, or an aristocracy.\n\n_Capt._ This race of men came there from India, flying from the sword of\nthe Magi, a race of plunderers and tyrants who laid waste their country,\nand they determined to lead a philosophic life in fellowship with one\nanother. Although the community of wives is not instituted among the\nother inhabitants of their province, among them it is in use after this\nmanner. All things are common with them, and their dispensation is by\nthe authority of the magistrates. Arts and honours and pleasures are\ncommon, and are held in such a manner that no one can appropriate\nanything to himself.\n\nThey say that all private property is acquired and improved for the\nreason that each one of us by himself has his own home and wife and\nchildren. From this self-love springs. For when we raise a son to riches\nand dignities, and leave an heir to much wealth, we become either ready\nto grasp at the property of the state, if in any case fear should be\nremoved from the power which belongs to riches and rank; or avaricious,\ncrafty, and hypocritical, if any one is of slender purse, little\nstrength, and mean ancestry. But when we have taken away self-love,\nthere remains only love for the state.\n\n_G.M._ Under such circumstances no one will be willing to labour, while\nhe expects others to work, on the fruit of whose labours he can live, as\nAristotle argues against Plato.\n\n_Capt._ I do not know how to deal with that argument, but I declare to\nyou that they burn with so great a love for their fatherland, as I could\nscarcely have believed possible; and indeed with much more than the\nhistories tell us belonged to the Romans, who fell willingly for their\ncountry, inasmuch as they have to a greater extent surrendered their\nprivate property. I think truly that the friars and monks and clergy of\nour country, if they were not weakened by love for their kindred and\nfriends, or by the ambition to rise to higher dignities, would be less\nfond of property, and more imbued with a spirit of charity towards all,\nas it was in the time of the Apostles, and is now in a great many cases.\n\n_G.M._ St. Augustine may say that, but I say that among this race of\nmen, friendship is worth nothing; since they have not the chance of\nconferring mutual benefits on one another.\n\n_Capt._ Nay, indeed. For it is worth the trouble to see that no one can\nreceive gifts from another. Whatever is necessary they have, they\nreceive it from the community, and the magistrate takes care that no one\nreceives more than he deserves. Yet nothing necessary is denied to any\none. Friendship is recognized among them in war, in infirmity, in the\nart contests, by which means they aid one another mutually by teaching.\nSometimes they improve themselves mutually with praises, with\nconversation, with actions and out of the things they need. All those of\nthe same age call one another brothers. They call all over twenty-two\nyears of age, fathers; those who are less than twenty-two are named\nsons. Moreover, the magistrates govern well, so that no one in the\nfraternity can do injury to another.\n\n_G.M._ And how?\n\n_Capt._ As many names of virtues as there are amongst us, so many\nmagistrates there are among them. There is a magistrate who is named\nMagnanimity, another Fortitude, a third Chastity, a fourth Liberality, a\nfifth Criminal and Civil Justice, a sixth Comfort, a seventh Truth, an\neighth Kindness, a tenth Gratitude, an eleventh Cheerfulness, a twelfth\nExercise, a thirteenth Sobriety, &c. They are elected to duties of that\nkind, each one to that duty for excellence in which he is known from\nboyhood to be most suitable. Wherefore among them neither robbery nor\nclever murders, nor lewdness, incest, adultery, or other crimes of\nwhich we accuse one another, can be found. They accuse themselves of\ningratitude and malignity when any one denies a lawful satisfaction to\nanother, of indolence, of sadness, of anger, of scurrility, of slander,\nand of lying, which curseful thing they thoroughly hate. Accused persons\nundergoing punishment are deprived of the common table, and other\nhonours, until the judge thinks that they agree with their correction.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me the manner in which the magistrates are chosen.\n\n_Capt._ You would not rightly understand this, unless you first learnt\ntheir manner of living. That you may know then, men and women wear the\nsame kind of garment, suited for war. The women wear the toga below the\nknee, but the men above. And both sexes are instructed in all the arts\ntogether. When this has been done as a start, and before their third\nyear, the boys learn the language and the alphabet on the walls by\nwalking round them. They have four leaders, and four elders, the first\nto direct them, the second to teach them, and these are men approved\nbeyond all others. After some time they exercise themselves with\ngymnastics, running, quoits, and other games, by means of which all\ntheir muscles are strengthened alike. Their feet are always bare, and so\nare their heads as far as the seventh ring. Afterwards they lead them to\nthe offices of the trades, such as shoemaking, cooking, metal-working,\ncarpentry, painting, &c. In order to find out the bent of the genius of\neach one, after their seventh year, when they have already gone through\nthe mathematics on the walls, they take them to the readings of all the\nsciences; there are four lectures at each reading, and in the course of\nfour hours the four in their order explain everything.\n\nFor some take physical exercise or busy themselves with public services\nor functions, others apply themselves to reading. Leaving these studies\nall are devoted to the more abstruse subjects, to mathematics, to\nmedicine, and to other sciences. There is continual debate and studied\nargument amongst them, and after a time they become magistrates of those\nsciences or mechanical arts in which they are the most proficient; for\nevery one follows the opinion of his leader and judge, and goes out to\nthe plains to the works of the field, and for the purpose of becoming\nacquainted with the pasturage of the dumb animals. And they consider him\nthe more noble and renowned who has dedicated himself to the study of\nthe most arts and knows how to practise them wisely. Wherefore they\nlaugh at us in that we consider our workmen ignoble, and hold those to\nbe noble who have mastered no pursuit; but live in ease, and are so many\nslaves given over to their own pleasure and lasciviousness; and thus as\nit were from a school of vices so many idle and wicked fellows go forth\nfor the ruin of the state.\n\nThe rest of the officials, however, are chosen by the four chiefs, Hoh,\nPon, Sin and Mor, and by the teachers of that art over which they are\nfit to preside. And these teachers know well who is most suited for\nrule. Certain men are proposed by the magistrates in council, they\nthemselves not seeking to become candidates, and he opposes who knows\nanything against those brought forward for election, or if not, speaks\nin favour of them. But no one attains to the dignity of Hoh except him\nwho knows the histories of the nations, and their customs and sacrifices\nand laws, and their form of government, whether a republic or a\nmonarchy. He must also know the names of the lawgivers and the inventors\nin science, and the laws and the history of the earth and the heavenly\nbodies. They think it also necessary that he should understand all the\nmechanical arts, the physical sciences, astrology and mathematics.\n(Nearly every two days they teach our mechanical art. They are not\nallowed to overwork themselves, but frequent practice and the paintings\nrender learning easy to them. Not too much care is given to the\ncultivation of languages, as they have a goodly number of interpreters\nwho are grammarians in the state.) But beyond everything else it is\nnecessary that Hoh should understand metaphysics and theology; that he\nshould know thoroughly the derivations, foundations and demonstrations\nof all the arts and sciences; the likeness and difference of things;\nnecessity, fate, and the harmonies of the universe; power, wisdom, and\nthe love of things and of God; the stages of life and its symbols;\neverything relating to the heavens, the earth and the sea; and the ideas\nof God, as much as mortal man can know of Him. He must also be well read\nin the Prophets and in astrology. And thus they know long beforehand who\nwill be Hoh. He is not chosen to so great a dignity unless he has\nattained his thirty-fifth year. And this office is perpetual, because it\nis not known who may be too wise for it or who too skilled in ruling.\n\n_G.M._ Who indeed can be so wise? If even any one has a knowledge of the\nsciences it seems that he must be unskilled in ruling.\n\n_Capt._ This very question I asked them and they replied thus: \"We,\nindeed, are more certain that such a very learned man has the knowledge\nof governing, than you who place ignorant persons in authority, and\nconsider them suitable merely because they have sprung from rulers or\nhave been chosen by a powerful faction. But our Hoh, a man really the\nmost capable to rule, is for all that never cruel nor wicked, nor a\ntyrant, inasmuch as he possesses so much wisdom. This, moreover, is not\nunknown to you, that the same argument cannot apply among you, when you\nconsider that man the most learned who knows most of grammar, or logic,\nor of Aristotle or any other author. For such knowledge as this of yours\nmuch servile labour and memory work is required, so that a man is\nrendered unskilful; since he has contemplated nothing but the words of\nbooks and has given his mind with useless result to the consideration of\nthe dead signs of things. Hence he knows not in what way God rules the\nuniverse, nor the ways and customs of Nature and the nations. Wherefore\nhe is not equal to our HOH. For that one cannot know so many arts and\nsciences thoroughly, who is not esteemed for skilled ingenuity, very apt\nat all things, and therefore at ruling especially. This also is plain to\nus that he who knows only one science, does not really know either that\nor the others, and he who is suited for only one science and has\ngathered his knowledge from books, is unlearned and unskilled. But this\nis not the case with intellects prompt and expert in every branch of\nknowledge and suitable for the consideration of natural objects, as it\nis necessary that our HOH should be. Besides in our state the sciences\nare taught with a facility (as you have seen) by which more scholars are\nturned out by us in one year than by you in ten, or even fifteen. Make\ntrial, I pray you, of these boys.\" In this matter I was struck with\nastonishment at their truthful discourse and at the trial of their boys,\nwho did not understand my language well. Indeed it is necessary that\nthree of them should be skilled in our tongue, three in Arabic, three in\nPolish, and three in each of the other languages, and no recreation is\nallowed them unless they become more learned. For that they go out to\nthe plain for the sake of running about and hurling arrows and lances,\nand of firing harquebuses, and for the sake of hunting the wild animals\nand getting a knowledge of plants and stones, and agriculture and\npasturage; sometimes the band of boys does one thing, sometimes another.\n\nThey do not consider it necessary that the three rulers assisting HOH\nshould know other than the arts having reference to their rule, and so\nthey have only a historical knowledge of the arts which are common to\nall. But their own they know well, to which certainly one is dedicated\nmore than another. Thus POWER is the most learned in the equestrian art,\nin marshalling the army, in marking out of camps, in the manufacture of\nevery kind of weapon and of warlike machines, in planning stratagems,\nand in every affair of a military nature. And for these reasons, they\nconsider it necessary that these chiefs should have been philosophers,\nhistorians, politicians, and physicists. Concerning the other two\ntriumvirs, understand remarks similar to those I have made about POWER.\n\n_G.M._ I really wish that you would recount all their public duties, and\nwould distinguish between them, and also that you would tell clearly how\nthey are all taught in common.\n\n_Capt._ They have dwellings in common and dormitories, and couches and\nother necessaries. But at the end of every six months they are separated\nby the masters. Some shall sleep in this ring, some in another; some in\nthe first apartment, and some in the second; and these apartments are\nmarked by means of the alphabet on the lintel. There are occupations,\nmechanical and theoretical, common to both men and women, with this\ndifference, that the occupations which require more hard work, and\nwalking a long distance, are practised by men, such as ploughing,\nsowing, gathering the fruits, working at the threshing-floor, and\nperchance at the vintage. But it is customary to choose women for\nmilking the cows, and for making cheese. In like manner, they go to the\ngardens near to the outskirts of the city both for collecting the plants\nand for cultivating them. In fact, all sedentary and stationary pursuits\nare practised by the women, such as weaving, spinning, sewing, cutting\nthe hair, shaving, dispensing medicines, and making all kinds of\ngarments. They are, however, excluded from working in wood and the\nmanufacture of arms. If a woman is fit to paint, she is not prevented\nfrom doing so; nevertheless, music is given over to the women alone,\nbecause they please the more, and of a truth to boys also. But the women\nhave not the practice of the drum and the horn.\n\nAnd they prepare their feasts and arrange the tables in the following\nmanner. It is the peculiar work of the boys and girls under twenty to\nwait at the tables. In every ring there are the suitable kitchens,\nbarns, and stores of utensils for eating and drinking, and over every\ndepartment an old man and an old woman preside. These two have at once\nthe command of those who serve, and the power of chastising, or causing\nto be chastised, those who are negligent or disobedient; and they also\nexamine and mark each one, both male and female, who excels in his or\nher duties.\n\nAll the young people wait upon the older ones who have passed the age of\nforty, and in the evening when they go to sleep the master and mistress\ncommand that those should be sent to work in the morning, upon whom in\nsuccession the duty falls, one or two to separate apartments. The young\npeople, however, wait upon one another, and that alas! with some\nunwillingness. They have first and second tables, and on both sides\nthere are seats. On one side sit the women, on the other the men; and as\nin the refectories of the monks, there is no noise. While they are\neating a young man reads a book from a platform, intoning distinctly and\nsonorously, and often the magistrates question them upon the more\nimportant parts of the reading. And truly it is pleasant to observe in\nwhat manner these young people, so beautiful and clothed in garments so\nsuitable, attend to them, and to see at the same time so many friends,\nbrothers, sons, fathers and mothers all in their turn living together\nwith so much honesty, propriety and love. So each one is given a napkin,\na plate, fish, and a dish of food. It is the duty of the medical\nofficers to tell the cooks what repasts shall be prepared on each day,\nand what food for the old, what for the young, and what for the sick.\nThe magistrates receive the full-grown and fatter portion, and they from\ntheir share always distribute something to the boys at the table who\nhave shown themselves more studious in the morning at the lectures and\ndebates concerning wisdom and arms. And this is held to be one of the\nmost distinguished honours. For six days they ordain to sing with music\nat table. Only a few, however, sing; or there is one voice accompanying\nthe lute and one for each other instrument. And when all alike in\nservice join their hands, nothing is found to be wanting. The old men\nplaced at the head of the cooking business and of the refectories of the\nservants praise the cleanliness of the streets, the houses, the vessels,\nthe garments, the workshops and the warehouses.\n\nThey wear white undergarments to which adheres a covering, which is at\nonce coat and legging, without wrinkles. The borders of the fastenings\nare furnished with globular buttons, extended round and caught up here\nand there by chains. The coverings of the legs descend to the shoes and\nare continued even to the heels. Then they cover the feet with large\nsocks, or as it were half-buskins fastened by buckles, over which they\nwear a half-boot, and besides, as I have already said, they are clothed\nwith a toga. And so aptly fitting are the garments, that when the toga\nis destroyed, the different parts of the whole body are straight-way\ndiscerned, no part being concealed. They change their clothes for\ndifferent ones four times in the year, that is when the sun enters\nrespectively the constellations Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, and\naccording to the circumstances and necessity as decided by the officer\nof health. The keepers of clothes for the different rings are wont to\ndistribute them, and it is marvellous that they have at the same time as\nmany garments as there is need for, some heavy and some slight,\naccording to the weather. They all use white clothing, and this is\nwashed in each month with lye or soap, as are also the workshops of the\nlower trades, the kitchens, the pantries, the barns, the store-houses,\nthe armories, the refectories and the baths. Moreover, the clothes are\nwashed at the pillars of the peristyles, and the water is brought down\nby means of canals which are continued as sewers. In every street of the\ndifferent rings there are suitable fountains, which send forth their\nwater by means of canals, the water being drawn up from nearly the\nbottom of the mountain by the sole movement of a cleverly contrived\nhandle. There is water in fountains and in cisterns, whither the\nrain-water collected from the roofs of the houses is brought through\npipes full of sand. They wash their bodies often, according as the\ndoctor and master command. All the mechanical arts are practised under\nthe peristyles, but the speculative are carried on above in the walking\ngalleries and ramparts where are the more splendid paintings, but the\nmore sacred ones are taught in the temple. In the halls and wings of the\nrings there are solar time-pieces and bells, and hands by which the\nhours and seasons are marked off.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me about their children.\n\n_Capt._ When their women have brought forth children, they suckle and\nrear them in temples set apart for all. They give milk for two years or\nmore as the physician orders. After that time the weaned child is given\ninto the charge of the mistresses, if it is a female, and to the\nmasters, if it is a male. And then with other young children they are\npleasantly instructed in the alphabet, and in the knowledge of the\npictures, and in running, walking and wrestling; also in the historical\ndrawings, and in languages; and they are adorned with a suitable garment\nof different colours. After their sixth year they are taught natural\nscience, and then the mechanical sciences. The men who are weak in\nintellect are sent to farms, and when they have become more proficient\nsome of them are received into the state. And those of the same age and\nborn under the same constellation are especially like one another in\nstrength and in appearance, and hence arises much lasting concord in the\nstate, these men honouring one another with mutual love and help. Names\nare given to them by Metaphysicus, and that not by chance but\ndesignedly, and according to each one's peculiarity, as was the custom\namong the ancient Romans. Wherefore one is called Beautiful (_Pulcher_),\nanother the Big-nosed (_Naso_), another the Fat-legged (_Cranipes_)\nanother Crooked (_Torvus_) another Lean (_Macer_) and so on. But when\nthey have become very skilled in their professions and done any great\ndeed in war or in time of peace, a cognomen from art is given to them,\nsuch as Beautiful, the great painter (_Pulcher_, _Pictor Magnus_), the\ngolden one (_Aureus_) the excellent one (_Excellens_) or the strong\n(_Strenuus_); or from their deeds, such as Naso the Brave (_Nason\nFortis_) or the cunning, or the great, or very great conqueror; or from\nthe enemy any one has overcome, Africanus, Asiaticus, Etruscus; or if\nany one has overcome Manfred or Tortelius, he is called Macer Manfred or\nTortelius, and so on. All these cognomens are added by the higher\nmagistrates, and very often with a crown suitable to the deed or art,\nand with the flourish of music. For gold and silver is reckoned of\nlittle value among them except as material for their vessels and\nornaments, which are common to all.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me, I pray you, is there no jealousy among them or\ndisappointment to that one who has not been elected to a magistracy, or\nto any other dignity to which he aspires?\n\n_Capt._ Certainly not. For no one wants either necessaries or luxuries.\nMoreover, the race is managed for the good of the commonwealth and not\nof private individuals, and the magistrates must be obeyed. They deny\nwhat we hold--viz., that it is natural to man to recognize his offspring\nand to educate them, and to use his wife and house and children as his\nown. For they say that children are bred for the preservation of the\nspecies and not for individual pleasure, as St. Thomas also asserts.\nTherefore the breeding of children has reference to the commonwealth and\nnot to individuals, except in so far as they are constituents of the\ncommonwealth. And since individuals for the most part bring forth\nchildren wrongly and educate them wrongly, they consider that they\nremove destruction from the state, and therefore, for this reason, with\nmost sacred fear, they commit the education of the children, who as it\nwere are the element of the republic, to the care of magistrates; for\nthe safety of the community is not that of a few. And thus they\ndistribute male and female breeders of the best natures according to\nphilosophical rules. Plato thinks that this distribution ought to be\nmade by lot, lest some men seeing that they are kept away from the\nbeautiful women, should rise up with anger and hatred against the\nmagistrates; and he thinks further that those who do not deserve\ncohabitation with the more beautiful women, should be deceived whilst\nthe lots are being led out of the city by the magistrates, so that at\nall times the women who are suitable should fall to their lot, not those\nwhom they desire. This shrewdness, however, is not necessary among the\ninhabitants of the City of the Sun. For with them deformity is unknown.\nWhen the women are exercised they get a clear complexion, and become\nstrong of limb, tall and agile, and with them beauty consists in\ntallness and strength. Therefore, if any woman dyes her face, so that it\nmay become beautiful, or uses high-heeled boots so that she may appear\ntall, or garments with trains to cover her wooden shoes, she is\ncondemned to capital punishment. But if the women should even desire\nthem, they have no facility for doing these things. For who indeed would\ngive them this facility? Further, they assert that among us abuses of\nthis kind arise from the leisure and sloth of women. By these means they\nlose their colour and have pale complexions, and become feeble and\nsmall. For this reason they are without proper complexions, use high\nsandals, and become beautiful not from strength, but from slothful\ntenderness. And thus they ruin their own tempers and natures, and\nconsequently those of their offspring. Furthermore, if at any time a man\nis taken captive with ardent love for a certain woman, the two are\nallowed to converse and joke together, and to give one another garlands\nof flowers or leaves, and to make verses. But if the race is endangered,\nby no means is further union between them permitted. Moreover, the love\nborn of eager desire is not known among them; only that born of\nfriendship.\n\nDomestic affairs and partnerships are of little account, because,\nexcepting the sign of honour, each one receives what he is in need of.\nTo the heroes and heroines of the republic, it is customary to give the\npleasing gifts of honour, beautiful wreaths, sweet food or splendid\nclothes, while they are feasting. In the daytime all use white garments\nwithin the city, but at night or outside the city they use red garments\neither of wool or silk. They hate black as they do dung, and therefore\nthey dislike the Japanese, who are fond of black. Pride they consider\nthe most execrable vice, and one who acts proudly is chastised with the\nmost ruthless correction. Wherefore no one thinks it lowering to wait at\ntable or to work in the kitchen or fields. All work they call\ndiscipline, and thus they say that it is honourable to go on foot, to do\nany act of nature, to see with the eye, and to speak with the tongue;\nand when there is need, they distinguish philosophically between tears\nand spittle.\n\nEvery man who, when he is told off to work, does his duty, is considered\nvery honourable. It is not the custom to keep slaves. For they are\nenough, and more than enough, for themselves. But with us, alas! it is\nnot so. In Naples there exists seventy thousand souls, and out of these\nscarcely ten or fifteen thousand do any work, and they are always lean\nfrom overwork and are getting weaker every day. The rest become a prey\nto idleness, avarice, ill-health, lasciviousness, usury and other vices,\nand contaminate and corrupt very many families by holding them in\nservitude for their own use, by keeping them in poverty and slavishness,\nand by imparting to them their own vices. Therefore public slavery ruins\nthem; useful works, in the field, in military service and in arts,\nexcept those which are debasing, are not cultivated, the few who do\npractise them doing so with much aversion. But in the City of the Sun,\nwhile duty and work is distributed among all, it only falls to each one\nto work for about four hours every day. The remaining hours are spent in\nlearning joyously, in debating, in reading, in reciting, in writing, in\nwalking, in exercising the mind and body, and with play. They allow no\ngame which is played while sitting, neither the single die nor dice, nor\nchess, nor others like these. But they play with the ball, with the\nsack, with the hoop, with wrestling, with hurling at the stake. They\nsay, moreover, that grinding poverty renders men worthless, cunning,\nsulky, thievish, insidious, vagabonds, liars, false witnesses, &c.; and\nthat wealth makes them insolent, proud, ignorant, traitors, assumers of\nwhat they know not, deceivers, boasters, wanting in affection,\nslanderers, &c. But with them all the rich and poor together make up the\ncommunity. They are rich because they want nothing, poor because they\npossess nothing; and consequently they are not slaves to circumstances,\nbut circumstances serve them. And on this point they strongly recommend\nthe religion of the Christians, and especially the life of the Apostles.\n\n_G.M._ This seems excellent and sacred, but the community of women is a\nthing too difficult to attain. The holy Roman Clement says that wives\nought to be common in accordance with the apostolic institution, and\npraises Plato and Socrates, who thus teach, but the Glossary interprets\nthis community with regard to obedience. And Tertullian agrees with the\nGlossary, that the first Christians had everything in common except\nwives.\n\n_Capt._ These things I know little of. But this I saw among the\ninhabitants of the City of the Sun that they did not make this\nexception. And they defend themselves by the opinion of Socrates, of\nCato, of Plato, and of St. Clement but, as you say, they misunderstand\nthe opinions of these thinkers. And the inhabitants of the solar city\nascribe this to their want of education, since they are by no means\nlearned in philosophy. Nevertheless, they send abroad to discover the\ncustoms of nations, and the best of these they always adopt. Practice\nmakes the women suitable for war and other duties. Thus they agree with\nPlato, in whom I have read these same things. The reasoning of our\nCajetan does not convince me, and least of all that of Aristotle. This\nthing, however, existing among them is excellent and worthy of\nimitation--viz., that no physical defect renders a man incapable of\nbeing serviceable except the decrepitude of old age, since even the\ndeformed are useful for consultation. The lame serve as guards, watching\nwith the eyes which they possess. The blind card wool with their hands,\nseparating the down from the hairs, with which latter they stuff the\ncouches and sofas; those who are without the use of eyes and hands give\nthe use of their ears or their voice for the convenience of the state,\nand if one has only one sense, he uses it in the farms. And these\ncripples are well treated, and some become spies, telling the officers\nof the state what they have heard.\n\n_G.M._ Tell me now, I pray you, of their military affairs. Then you may\nexplain their arts, ways of life and sciences, and lastly their\nreligion.\n\n_Capt._ The triumvir, Power, has under him all the magistrates of arms,\nof artillery, of cavalry, of foot-soldiers, of architects, and of\nstrategists, and the masters and many of the most excellent workmen obey\nthe magistrates, the men of each art paying allegiance to their\nrespective chiefs. Moreover, Power is at the head of all the professors\nof gymnastics, who teach military exercise, and who are prudent\ngenerals, advanced in age. By these the boys are trained after their\ntwelfth year. Before this age, however, they have been accustomed to\nwrestling, running, throwing the weight and other minor exercises, under\ninferior masters. But at twelve they are taught how to strike at the\nenemy, at horses and elephants, to handle the spear, the sword, the\narrow and the sling; to manage the horse; to advance and to retreat; to\nremain in order of battle; to help a comrade in arms; to anticipate the\nenemy by cunning; and to conquer.\n\nThe women also are taught these arts under their own magistrates and\nmistresses, so that they may be able if need be to render assistance to\nthe males in battles near the city. They are taught to watch the\nfortifications lest at some time a hasty attack should suddenly be made.\nIn this respect they praise the Spartans and Amazons. The women know\nwell also how to let fly fiery balls, and how to make them from lead;\nhow to throw stones from pinnacles and to go in the way of an attack.\nThey are accustomed also to give up wine unmixed altogether, and that\none is punished most severely who shows any fear.\n\nThe inhabitants of the City of the Sun do not fear death, because they\nall believe that the soul is immortal, and that when it has left the\nbody it is associated with other spirits, wicked or good, according to\nthe merits of this present life. Although they are partly followers of\nBramah and Pythagoras, they do not believe in the transmigration of\nsouls, except in some cases, by a distinct decree of God. They do not\nabstain from injuring an enemy of the republic and of religion, who is\nunworthy of pity. During the second month the army is reviewed, and\nevery day there is practice of arms, either in the cavalry plain or\nwithin the walls. Nor are they ever without lectures on the science of\nwar. They take care that the accounts of Moses, of Joshua, of David, of\nJudas Maccabeus, of C\u00e6sar, of Alexander, of Scipio, of Hannibal, and\nother great soldiers should be read. And then each one gives his own\nopinion as to whether these generals acted well or ill, usefully or\nhonourably, and then the teacher answers and says who are right.\n\n_G.M._ With whom do they wage war, and for what reasons, since they are\nso prosperous?\n\n_Capt._ Wars might never occur, nevertheless they are exercised in\nmilitary tactics and in hunting, lest perchance they should become\neffeminate and unprepared for any emergency. Besides there are four\nkingdoms in the island, which are very envious of their prosperity, for\nthis reason that the people desire to live after the manner of the\ninhabitants of the City of the Sun, and to be under their rule rather\nthan that of their own kings. Wherefore the state often makes war upon\nthese because, being neighbours, they are usurpers and live impiously,\nsince they have not an object of worship and do not observe the religion\nof other nations or of the Brahmins. And other nations of India, to\nwhich formerly they were subject, rise up as it were in rebellion, as\nalso do the Taprobanese, whom they wanted to join them at first. The\nwarriors of the City of the Sun, however, are always the victors. As\nsoon as they suffered from insult or disgrace or plunder, or when their\nallies have been harassed, or a people have been oppressed by a tyrant\nof the state (for they are always the advocates of liberty), they go\nimmediately to the council for deliberation. After they have knelt in\nthe presence of God that He might inspire their consultation, they\nproceed to examine the merits of the business, and thus war is decided\non. Immediately after a priest, whom they call Forensic, is sent away.\nHe demands from the enemy the restitution of the plunder, asks that the\nallies should be freed from oppression, or that the tyrant should be\ndeposed. If they deny these things war is declared by invoking the\nvengeance of God--the God of Sabaoth--for destruction of those who\nmaintain an unjust cause. But if the enemy refuse to reply, the priest\ngives him the space of one hour for his answer, if he is a king, but\nthree if it is a republic, so that they cannot escape giving a response.\nAnd in this manner is war undertaken against the insolent enemies of\nnatural rights and of religion. When war has been declared, the deputy\nof Power performs everything, but Power, like the Roman dictator, plans\nand wills everything, so that hurtful tardiness may be avoided. And when\nanything of great moment arises he consults Hoh and Wisdom and Love.\n\nBefore this, however, the occasion of war and the justice of making an\nexpedition is declared by a herald in the great council. All from twenty\nyears and upwards are admitted to this council, and thus the necessaries\nare agreed upon. All kinds of weapons stand in the armories, and these\nthey use often in sham fights. The exterior walls of each ring are full\nof guns prepared by their labours, and they have other engines for\nhurling which are called cannons, and which they take into battle upon\nmules and asses and carriages. When they have arrived in an open plain\nthey enclose in the middle the provisions, engines of war, chariots,\nladders and machines and all fight courageously. Then each one returns\nto the standards, and the enemy thinking that they are giving and\npreparing to flee, are deceived and relax their order: then the warriors\nof the City of the Sun, wheeling into wings and columns on each side,\nregain their breath and strength, and ordering the artillery to\ndischarge their bullets they resume the fight against a disorganized\nhost. And they observe many ruses of this kind. They overcome all\nmortals with their stratagems and engines. Their camp is fortified after\nthe manner of the Romans. They pitch their tents and fortify with wall\nand ditch with wonderful quickness. The masters of works, of engines and\nhurling machines, stand ready, and the soldiers understand the use of\nthe spade and the axe.\n\nFive, eight, or ten leaders learned in the order of battle and in\nstrategy consult together concerning the business of war, and command\ntheir bands after consultation. It is their wont to take out with them\na body of boys, armed and on horses, so that they may learn to fight,\njust as the whelps of lions and wolves are accustomed to blood. And\nthese in time of danger betake themselves to a place of safety, along\nwith many armed women. After the battle the women and boys soothe and\nrelieve the pain of the warriors, and wait upon them and encourage them\nwith embraces and pleasant words. How wonderful a help is this! For the\nsoldiers, in order that they may acquit themselves as sturdy men in the\neyes of their wives and offspring, endure hardships, and so love makes\nthem conquerors. He who in the fight first scales the enemy's walls\nreceives after the battle a crown of grass, as a token of honour, and at\nthe presentation the women and boys applaud loudly; that one who affords\naid to an ally gets a civic crown of oak-leaves; he who kills a tyrant\ndedicates his arms in the temple and receives from Hoh the cognomen of\nhis deed, and other warriors obtain other kinds of crowns. Every\nhorse-soldier carries a spear and two strongly tempered pistols, narrow\nat the mouth, hanging from his saddle. And to get the barrels of their\npistols narrow they pierce the metal which they intend to convert into\narms. Further, every cavalry soldier has a sword and a dagger. But the\nrest, who form the light-armed troops, carry a metal cudgel. For if the\nfoe cannot pierce their metal for pistols and cannot make swords, they\nattack him with clubs, shatter and overthrow him. Two chains of six\nspans length hang from the club, and at the end of these are iron balls,\nand when these aimed at the enemy they surround his neck and drag him to\nthe ground; and in order that they may be able to use the club more\neasily, they do not hold the reins with their hands, but use them by\nmeans of the feet. If perchance the reins are interchanged above the\ntrappings of the saddle, the ends are fastened to the stirrups with\nbuckles and not to the feet. And the stirrups have an arrangement for\nswift movement of the bridle, so that they draw in or let out the rein\nwith marvellous celerity. With the right foot they turn the horse to the\nleft and with the left to the right. This secret, moreover, is not known\nto the Tartars. For, although they govern the reins with their feet,\nthey are ignorant nevertheless of turning them and drawing them in and\nletting them out by means of the block of the stirrups. The light-armed\ncavalry with them are the first to engage in battle, then the men\nforming the phalanx with their spears, then the archers for whose\nservices a great price is paid, and who are accustomed to fight in lines\ncrossing one another as the threads of cloth, some rushing forward in\ntheir turn and others receding. They have a band of lancers\nstrengthening the line of battle, but they make trial of the swords only\nat the end.\n\nAfter the battle they celebrate the military triumphs after the manner\nof the Romans, and even in a more magnificent way. Prayers by the way of\nthank-offerings are made to God, and then the general presents himself\nin the temple, and the deeds, good and bad, are related by the poet or\nhistorian, who according to custom was with the expedition. And the\ngreatest chief, Hoh, crowns the general with laurel and distributes\nlittle gifts and honours to all the valorous soldiers, who are for some\ndays free from public duties. But this exemption from work is by no\nmeans pleasing to them, since they know not what it is to be at leisure,\nand so they help their companions. On the other hand, they who have been\nconquered through their own fault, or have lost the victory, are blamed;\nand they who were the first to take to flight are in no way worthy to\nescape death, unless when the whole army asks their lives, and each one\ntakes upon himself a part of their punishment. But this indulgence is\nrarely granted, except when there are good reasons favouring it. But he\nwho did not bear help to an ally or friend is beaten with rods. That one\nwho did not obey orders is given to the beasts, in an enclosure, to be\ndevoured, and a staff is put in his hand, and if he should conquer the\nlions and the bears that are there, which is almost impossible, he is\nreceived into favour again. The conquered states or those willingly\ndelivered up to them, forthwith have all things in common, and receive a\ngarrison and magistrates from the City of the Sun, and by degrees they\nare accustomed to the ways of the city, the mistress of all, to which\nthey even send their sons to be taught without contributing anything for\nexpense.\n\nIt would be too great trouble to tell you about the spies and their\nmaster, and about the guards and laws and ceremonies, both within and\nwithout the state, which you can of yourself imagine. Since from\nchildhood they are chosen according to their inclination and the star\nunder which they were born, therefore each one working according to his\nnatural propensity does his duty well and pleasantly, because naturally.\nThe same things I may say concerning strategy and the other functions.\n\nThere are guards in the city by day and by night, and they are placed at\nthe four gates, and outside the walls of the seventh ring, above the\nbreastworks and towers and inside mounds. These places are guarded in\nthe day by women, in the night by men. And lest the guard should become\nweary of watching, and in case of a surprise, they change them every\nthree hours, as is the custom with our soldiers. At sunset, when the\ndrum and symphonia sound, the armed guards are distributed. Cavalry and\ninfantry make use of hunting as the symbol of war, and practise games\nand hold festivities in the plains. Then the music strikes up, and\nfreely they pardon the offences and faults of the enemy, and after the\nvictories they are kind to them, if it has been decreed that they should\ndestroy the walls of the enemy's city and take their lives. All these\nthings are done on the same day as the victory, and afterwards they\nnever cease to load the conquered with favours, for they say that there\nought to be no fighting, except when the conquerors give up the\nconquered, not when they kill them. If there is a dispute among them\nconcerning injury or any other matter (for they themselves scarcely ever\ncontend except in matters of honour), the chief and his magistrates\nchastise the accused one secretly, if he has done harm in deeds after he\nhas been first angry. If they wait until the time of the battle for the\nverbal decision, they must give vent to their anger against the enemy,\nand he who in battle shows the most daring deeds is considered to have\ndefended the better and truer cause in the struggle, and the other\nyields, and they are punished justly. Nevertheless, they are not allowed\nto come to single combat, since right is maintained by the tribunal, and\nbecause the unjust cause is often apparent when the more just succumbs,\nand he who professes to be the better man shows this in public fight.\n\n_G.M._ This is worth while, so that factions should not be cherished for\nthe harm of the fatherland, and so that civil wars might not occur, for\nby means of these a tyrant often arises, as the examples of Rome and\nAthens show. Now, I pray you, tell me of their works and matter\nconnected therewith.\n\n_Capt._ I believe that you have already heard about their military\naffairs and about their agricultural and pastoral life, and in what way\nthese are common to them, and how they honour with the first grade of\nnobility whoever is considered, to have a knowledge of these. They who\nare skilful in more arts than these they consider still nobler, and they\nset that one apart for teaching the art in which he is most skilful. The\noccupations which require the most labour, such as working in metals and\nbuilding, are the most praiseworthy amongst them. No one declines to go\nto these occupations, for the reason that from the beginning their\npropensities are well known, and among them, on account of the\ndistribution of labour, no one does work harmful to him, but only that\nwhich is necessary for him. The occupations entailing less labour belong\nto the women. All of them are expected to know how to swim, and for this\nreason ponds are dug outside the walls of the city and within them near\nto the fountains.\n\nCommerce is of little use to them, but they know the value of money, and\nthey count for the use of their ambassadors and explorers, so that with\nit they may have the means of living. They receive merchants into their\nstates from the different countries of the world, and these buy the\nsuperfluous goods of the city. The people of the City of the Sun refuse\nto take money, but in importing they accept in exchange those things of\nwhich they are in need, and sometimes they buy with money; and the young\npeople in the City of the Sun are much amused when they see that for a\nsmall price they receive so many things in exchange. The old men,\nhowever, do not laugh. They are unwilling that the state should be\ncorrupted by the vicious customs of slaves and foreigners. Therefore\nthey do business at the gates, and sell those whom they have taken in\nwar or keep them for digging ditches and other hard work without the\ncity, and for this reason they always send four bands of soldiers to\ntake care of the fields, and with them there are the labourers. They go\nout of the four gates from which roads with walls on both sides of them\nlead to the sea, so that goods might easily be carried over them and\nforeigners might not meet with difficulty on their way.\n\nTo strangers they are kind and polite; they keep them for three days at\nthe public expense; after they have first washed their feet, they show\nthem their city and its customs, and they honour them with a seat at the\ncouncil and public table, and there are men whose duty it is to take\ncare of and guard the guests. But if strangers should wish to become\ncitizens of their state, they try them first for a month on a farm, and\nfor another month in the city, then they decide concerning them, and\nadmit them with certain ceremonies and oaths.\n\nAgriculture is much followed among them; there is not a span of earth\nwithout cultivation, and they observe the winds and propitious stars.\nWith the exception of a few left in the city all go out armed, and with\nflags and drums and trumpets sounding, to the fields, for the purposes\nof ploughing, sowing, digging, hoeing, reaping, gathering fruit and\ngrapes; and they set in order everything, and do their work in a very\nfew hours and with much care. They use waggons fitted with sails which\nare borne along by the wind even when it is contrary, by the marvellous\ncontrivance of wheels within wheels.\n\nAnd when there is no wind a beast draws along a huge cart, which is a\ngrand sight.\n\nThe guardians of the land move about in the meantime, armed and always\nin their proper turn. They do not use dung and filth for manuring the\nfields, thinking that the fruit contracts something of their rottenness,\nand when eaten gives a short and poor subsistence, as women who are\nbeautiful with rouge and from want of exercise bring forth feeble\noffspring. Wherefore they do not as it were paint the earth, but dig it\nup well and use secret remedies, so that fruit is borne quickly and\nmultiplies, and is not destroyed. They have a book for this work, which\nthey call the Georgics. As much of the land as is necessary is\ncultivated, and the rest is used for the pasturage of cattle.\n\nThe excellent occupation of breeding and rearing horses, oxen, sheep,\ndogs and all kinds of domestic and tame animals, is in the highest\nesteem among them as it was in the time of Abraham. And the animals are\nled so to pair that they may be able to breed well.\n\nFine pictures of oxen, horses, sheep, and other animals are placed\nbefore them. They do not turn out horses with mares to feed, but at the\nproper time they bring them together in an enclosure of the stables in\ntheir fields. And this is done when they observe that the constellation\nArcher is in favourable conjunction with Mars and Jupiter. For the oxen\nthey observe the Bull, for the sheep the Ram, and so on in accordance\nwith art. Under the Pleiades they keep a drove of hens and ducks and\ngeese, which are driven out by the women to feed near the city. The\nwomen only do this when it is a pleasure to them. There are also places\nenclosed, where they make cheese, butter, and milk-food. They also keep\ncapons, fruit and other things, and for all these matters there is a\nbook which they call the Bucolics. They have an abundance of all things,\nsince every one likes to be industrious, their labours being slight and\nprofitable. They are docile, and that one among them who is head of the\nrest in duties of this kind they call king. For they say that this is\nthe proper name of the leaders, and it does not belong to ignorant\npersons. It is wonderful to see how men and women march together\ncollectively, and always in obedience to the voice of the king. Nor do\nthey regard him with loathing as we do, for they know that although he\nis greater than themselves, he is for all that their father and brother.\nThey keep groves and woods for wild animals, and they often hunt.\n\nThe science of navigation is considered very dignified by them, and they\npossess rafts and triremes, which go over the waters without rowers or\nthe force of the wind, but by a marvellous contrivance. And other\nvessels they have which are moved by the winds. They have a correct\nknowledge of the stars, and of the ebb and flow of the tide. They\nnavigate for the sake of becoming acquainted with nations and different\ncountries and things. They injure nobody, and they do not put up with\ninjury, and they never go to battle unless when provoked. They assert\nthat the whole earth will in time come to live in accordance with their\ncustoms, and consequently they always find out whether there be a\nnation whose manner of living is better and more approved than the rest.\nThey admire the Christian institutions and look for a realisation of the\napostolic life in vogue among themselves and in us. There are treaties\nbetween them and the Chinese, and many other nations, both insular and\ncontinental, such as Siam and Calicut, which they are only just able to\nexplore. Furthermore, they have artificial fires, battles on sea and\nland, and many strategic secrets. Therefore they are nearly always\nvictorious.\n\n_G.M._ Now it would be very pleasant to learn with what foods and drinks\nthey are nourished, and in what way and for how long they live.\n\n_Capt._ Their food consists of flesh, butter, honey, cheese, garden\nherbs, and vegetables of various kinds. They were unwilling at first to\nslay animals, because it seemed cruel; but thinking afterwards that it\nwas also cruel to destroy herbs which have a share of sensitive feeling,\nthey saw that they would perish from hunger unless they did an\nunjustifiable action for the sake of justifiable ones, and so now they\nall eat meat. Nevertheless, they do not kill willingly useful animals,\nsuch as oxen and horses. They observe the difference between useful and\nharmful foods, and for this they employ the science of medicine. They\nalways change their food. First they eat flesh, then fish, then\nafterwards they go back to flesh, and nature is never incommoded or\nweakened. The old people use the more digestible kind of food, and take\nthree meals a day, eating only a little. But the general community eat\ntwice, and the boys four times, that they might satisfy nature. The\nlength of their lives is generally one hundred years, but often they\nreach two hundred.\n\nAs regards drinking, they are extremely moderate. Wine is never given to\nyoung people until they are ten years old, unless the state of their\nhealth demands it. After their tenth year they take it diluted with\nwater, and so do the women, but the old men of fifty and upwards use\nlittle or no water. They eat the most healthy things, according to the\ntime of the year.\n\nThey think nothing harmful which is brought forth by God, except when\nthere has been abuse by taking too much. And therefore in the summer\nthey feed on fruits, because they are moist and juicy and cool, and\ncounteract the heat and dryness. In the winter they feed on dry\narticles, and in the autumn they eat grapes, since they are given by God\nto remove melancholy and sadness; and they also make use of scents to a\ngreat degree. In the morning, when they have all risen they comb their\nhair and wash their faces and hands with cold water. Then they chew\nthyme or rock parsley or fennel, or rub their hands with these plants.\nThe old men make incense, and with their faces to the east repeat the\nshort prayer which Jesus Christ taught us. After this they go to wait\nupon the old men, some go to the dance, and others to the duties of the\nstate. Later on they meet at the early lectures, then in the temple,\nthen for bodily exercise. Then for a little while they sit down to rest,\nand at length they go to dinner.\n\nAmong them there is never gout in the hands or feet, no catarrh, nor\nsciatica, nor grievous colics, nor flatulency, nor hard breathing. For\nthese diseases are caused by indigestion and flatulency, and by\nfrugality and exercise they remove every humour and spasm. Wherefore it\nis unseemly in the extreme to be seen vomiting or spitting, since they\nsay that this is a sign either of little exercise or of ignoble sloth,\nor of drunkenness or gluttony. They suffer rather from swellings or from\nthe dry spasm, which they relieve with plenty of good and juicy food.\nThey heal fevers with pleasant baths and with milk-food, and with a\npleasant habitation in the country and by gradual exercise. Unclean\ndiseases cannot be prevalent with them because they often clean their\nbodies by bathing in wine, and soothe them with aromatic oil, and by\nthe sweat of exercise they diffuse the poisonous vapour which corrupts\nthe blood and the marrow. They do suffer a little from consumption,\nbecause they cannot perspire at the breast, but they never have asthma,\nfor the humid nature of which a heavy man is required. They cure hot\nfevers with cold potations of water, but slight ones with sweet smells,\nwith cheese-bread or sleep, with music or dancing. Tertiary fevers are\ncured by bleeding, by rhubarb or by a similar drawing remedy, or by\nwater soaked in the roots of plants, with purgative and sharp-tasting\nqualities. But it is rarely that they take purgative medicines. Fevers\noccurring every fourth day are cured easily by suddenly startling the\nunprepared patients, and by means of herbs producing effects opposite to\nthe humours of this fever. All these secrets they told me in opposition\nto their own wishes. They take more diligent pains to cure the lasting\nfevers, which they fear more, and they strive to counteract these by the\nobservation of stars and of plants, and by prayers to God. Fevers\nrecurring every fifth, sixth, eighth or more days, you never find\nwhenever heavy humours are wanting.\n\nThey use baths, and moreover they have warm ones according to the Roman\ncustom, and they make use also of olive oil. They have found out, too, a\ngreat many secret cures for the preservation of cleanliness and health.\nAnd in other ways they labour to cure the epilepsy, with which they are\noften troubled.\n\n_G.M._ A sign this disease is of wonderful cleverness, for from it\nHercules, Scotus, Socrates, Callimachus, and Mahomet have suffered.\n\n_Capt._ They cure by means of prayers to heaven, by strengthening the\nhead, by acids, by planned gymnastics, and with fat cheese-bread\nsprinkled with the flour of wheaten corn. They are very skilled in\nmaking dishes, and in them they put spice, honey, butter and many highly\nstrengthening spices, and they temper their richness with acids, so that\nthey never vomit. They do not drink ice-cold drinks nor artificial hot\ndrinks, as the Chinese do; for they are not without aid against the\nhumours of the body, on account of the help they get from the natural\nheat of the water; but they strengthen it with crushed garlic, with\nvinegar, with wild thyme, with mint, and with basil, in the summer or in\ntime of special heaviness. They know also a secret for renovating life\nafter about the seventieth year, and for ridding it of affliction, and\nthis they do by a pleasing and indeed wonderful art.\n\n_G.M._ Thus far you have said nothing concerning their sciences and\nmagistrates.\n\n_Capt._ Undoubtedly I have. But since you are so curious I will add\nmore. Both when it is new moon and full moon they call a council after a\nsacrifice. To this all from twenty years upwards are admitted, and each\none is asked separately to say what is wanting in the state, and which\nof the magistrates have discharged their duties rightly and which\nwrongly. Then after eight days all the magistrates assemble, to wit, Hoh\nfirst, and with him Power, Wisdom and Love. Each one of the three last\nhas three magistrates under him, making in all thirteen, and they\nconsider the affairs of the arts pertaining to each one of them; Power,\nof war; Wisdom, of the sciences; Love, of food, clothing, education and\nbreeding. The masters of all the bands, who are captains of tens, of\nfifties, of hundreds, also assemble, the women first and then the men.\nThey argue about those things which are for the welfare of the state,\nand they choose the magistrates from among those who have already been\nnamed in the great council. In this manner they assemble daily, Hoh and\nhis three princes, and they correct, confirm and execute the matters\npassing to them, as decisions in the elections; other necessary\nquestions they provide of themselves. They do not use lots unless when\nthey are altogether doubtful how to decide. The eight magistrates under\nHoh, Power, Wisdom and Love are changed according to the wish of the\npeople, but the first four are never changed, unless they, taking\ncounsel with themselves, give up the dignity of one to another, whom\namong them they know to be wiser, more renowned, and more nearly\nperfect. And then they are obedient and honourable, since they yield\nwillingly to the wiser man and are taught by him. This, however, rarely\nhappens. The principals of the sciences, except Metaphysics, who is Hoh\nhimself, and is as it were the architect of all science, having rule\nover all, are attached to Wisdom. Hoh is ashamed to be ignorant of any\npossible thing. Under Wisdom therefore is Grammar, Logic, Physics,\nMedicine, Astrology, Astronomy, Geometry, Cosmography, Music,\nPerspective, Arithmetic, Poetry, Rhetoric, Painting, Sculpture. Under\nthe triumvir Love are Breeding, Agriculture, Education, Medicine,\nClothing, Pasturage, Coining.\n\n_G.M._ What about their judges?\n\n_Capt._ This is the point I was just thinking of explaining. Everyone is\njudged by the first master of his trade, and thus all the head\nartificers are judges. They punish with exile, with flogging, with\nblame, with deprivation of the common table, with exclusion from the\nchurch and from the company of women. When there is a case in which\ngreat injury has been done, it is punished with death, and they repay an\neye with an eye, a nose for a nose, a tooth for a tooth, and so on,\naccording to the law of retaliation. If the offence is wilful the\ncouncil decides. When there is strife and it takes place undesignedly,\nthe sentence is mitigated; nevertheless, not by the judge but by the\ntriumvirate, from whom even it may be referred to Hoh, not on account of\njustice but of mercy, for Hoh is able to pardon. They have no prisons,\nexcept one tower for shutting up rebellious enemies, and there is no\nwritten statement of a case, which we commonly call a lawsuit. But the\naccusation and witnesses are produced in the presence of the judge and\nPower; the accused person makes his defence, and he is immediately\nacquitted or condemned by the judge; and if he appeals to the\ntriumvirate, on the following day he is acquitted of condemned. On the\nthird day he is dismissed through the mercy and clemency of Hoh, or\nreceives the inviolable rigour of his sentence. An accused person is\nreconciled to his accuser and to his witnesses, as it were, with the\nmedicine of his complaint, that is, with embracing and kissing. No one\nis killed or stoned unless by the hands of the people, the accuser and\nthe witnesses beginning first. For they have no executioners and\nlictors, lest the state should sink into ruin. The choice of death is\ngiven to the rest of the people, who enclose the lifeless remains in\nlittle bags and burn them by the application of fire, while exhorters\nare present for the purpose of advising concerning a good death.\nNevertheless, the whole nation laments and beseeches God that His anger\nmay be appeased, being in grief that it should as it were have to cut\noff a rotten member of the state. Certain officers talk to and convince\nthe accused man by means of arguments until he himself acquiesces in the\nsentence of death passed upon him, or else he does not die. But if a\ncrime has been committed against the liberty of the republic, or against\nGod, or against the supreme magistrates, there is immediate censure\nwithout pity. These only are punished with death. He who is about to die\nis compelled to state in the presence of the people and with religious\nscrupulousness the reasons for which he does not deserve death, and also\nthe sins of the others who ought to die instead of him, and further the\nmistakes of the magistrates. If, moreover, it should seem right to the\nperson thus asserting, he must say why the accused ones are deserving of\nless punishment than he. And if by his arguments he gains the victory he\nis sent into exile, and appeases the state by means of prayers and\nsacrifices and good life ensuing. They do not torture those named by the\naccused person, but they warn them. Sins of frailty and ignorance are\npunished only with blaming, and with compulsory continuation as\nlearners under the law and discipline of those sciences or arts against\nwhich they have sinned. And all these things they have mutually among\nthemselves, since they seem to be in very truth members of the same\nbody, and one of another.\n\nThis further I would have you know, that if a transgressor, without\nwaiting to be accused, goes of his own accord before a magistrate,\naccusing himself and seeking to make amends, that one is liberated from\nthe punishment of a secret crime, and since he has not been accused of\nsuch a crime, his punishment is changed into another. They take special\ncare that no one should invent slander, and if this should happen they\nmeet the offence with the punishment of retaliation. Since they always\nwalk about and work in crowds, five witnesses are required for the\nconviction of a transgressor. If the case is otherwise, after having\nthreatened him, he is released after he has sworn an oath as the warrant\nof good conduct. Or if he is accused a second or third time, his\nincreased punishment rests on the testimony of three or two witnesses.\nThey have but few laws, and these short and plain, and written upon a\nflat table, and hanging to the doors of the temple, that is between the\ncolumns. And on single columns can be seen the essences of things\ndescribed in the very terse style of Metaphysics--viz., the essences of\nGod, of the angels, of the world, of the stars, of man, of fate, of\nvirtue, all done with great wisdom. The definitions of all the virtues\nare also delineated here, and here is the tribunal, where the judges of\nall the virtues have their seat. The definition of a certain virtue is\nwritten under that column where the judges for the aforesaid virtue sit,\nand when a judge gives judgment he sits and speaks thus: O son, thou\nhast sinned against this sacred definition of beneficence, or of\nmagnanimity, or of another virtue, as the case may be. And after\ndiscussion the judge legally condemns him to the punishment for the\ncrime of which he is accused--viz., for injury for despondency, for\npride, for ingratitude, for sloth, &c. But the sentences are certain and\ntrue correctives, savouring more of clemency than of actual punishment.\n\n_G.M._ Now you ought to tell me about their priests, their sacrifices,\ntheir religion, and their belief.\n\n_Capt._ The chief priest is Hoh, and it is the duty of all the superior\nmagistrates to pardon sins. Therefore the whole state by secret\nconfession, which we also use, tell their sins to the magistrates, who\nat once purge their souls and teach those that are inimical to the\npeople. Then the sacred magistrates themselves confess their own\nsinfulness to the three supreme chiefs, and together they confess the\nfaults of one another, though no special one is named, and they confess\nespecially the heavier faults and those harmful to the state. At length\nthe triumvirs confess their sinfulness to Hoh himself, who forthwith\nrecognizes the kinds of sins that are harmful to the state, and succours\nwith timely remedies. Then he offers sacrifices and prayers to God. And\nbefore this he confesses the sins of the whole people, in the presence\nof God, and publicly in the temple, above the altar, as often as it had\nbeen necessary that the fault should be corrected. Nevertheless, no\ntransgressor is spoken of by his name. In this manner he absolves the\npeople by advising them that they should beware of sins of the aforesaid\nkind. Afterwards he offers sacrifice to God, that He should pardon the\nstate and absolve it of its sins, and to teach and defend it. Once in\nevery year the chief priests of each separate subordinate state confess\ntheir sins in the presence of Hoh. Thus he is not ignorant of the\nwrong-doings of the provinces, and forthwith he removes them with all\nhuman and heavenly remedies.\n\nSacrifice is conducted after the following manner: Hoh asks the people\nwhich one among them wishes to give himself as a sacrifice to God for\nthe sake of his fellows. He is then placed upon the fourth table, with\nceremonies and the offering up of prayers: the table is hung up in a\nwonderful manner by means of four ropes passing through four cords\nattached to firm pulley-blocks in the small dome of the temple. This\ndone they cry to the God of mercy, that He may accept the offering, not\nof a beast as among the heathen, but of a human being. Then Hoh orders\nthe ropes to be drawn and the sacrifice is pulled up above to the centre\nof the small dome, and there it dedicates itself with the most fervent\nsupplications. Food is given to it through a window by the priests, who\nlive around the dome, but it is allowed a very little to eat, until it\nhas atoned for the sins of the state. There with prayer and fasting he\ncries to the God of heaven that He might accept its willing offering.\nAnd after twenty or thirty days, the anger of God being appeased, the\nsacrifice becomes a priest, or sometimes, though rarely, returns below\nby means of the outer way for the priests. Ever after this man is\ntreated with great benevolence and much honour, for the reason that he\noffered himself unto death for the sake of his country. But God does not\nrequire death. The priests above twenty-four years of age offer praises\nfrom their places in the top of the temple. This they do in the middle\nof the night, at noon, in the morning and in the evening, to wit, four\ntimes a day they sing their chants in the presence of God. It is also\ntheir work to observe the stars and to note with the astrolabe their\nmotions and influences upon human things, and to find out their powers.\nThus they know in what part of the earth any change has been or will be,\nand at what time it has taken place, and they send to find whether the\nmatter be as they have it. They make a note of predictions, true and\nfalse, so that they may be able from experience to predict most\ncorrectly. The priests, moreover, determine the hours for breeding and\nthe days for sowing, reaping, and gathering the vintage, and are as it\nwere the ambassadors and intercessors and connection between God and\nman. And it is from among them mostly that Hoh is elected. They write\nvery learned treatises and search into the sciences. Below they never\ndescend, unless for their dinner and supper, so that the essence of\ntheir heads do not descend to the stomachs and liver. Only very seldom,\nand that as a cure for the ills of solitude, do they have converse with\nwomen. On certain days Hoh goes up to them and deliberates with them\nconcerning the matters which he has lately investigated for the benefit\nof the state and all the nations of the world.\n\nIn the temple beneath one priest always stands near the altar praying\nfor the people, and at the end of every hour another succeeds him, just\nas we are accustomed in solemn prayer to change every fourth hour. And\nthis method of supplication they call perpetual prayer. After a meal\nthey return thanks to God. Then they sing the deeds of the Christian,\nJewish, and Gentile heroes, and of those of all other nations, and this\nis very delightful to them. Forsooth, no one is envious of another. They\nsing a hymn to Love, one to Wisdom, and one each to all the other\nvirtues, and this they do under the direction of the ruler of each\nvirtue. Each one takes the woman he loves most, and they dance for\nexercise with propriety and stateliness under the peristyles. The women\nwear their long hair all twisted together and collected into one knot on\nthe crown of the head, but in rolling it they leave one curl. The men,\nhowever, have one curl only and the rest of their hair around the head\nis shaven off. Further, they wear a slight covering, and above this a\nround hat a little larger than the size of their head. In the fields\nthey use caps, but at home each one wears a biretto white, red, or\nanother colour according to his trade or occupation. Moreover, the\nmagistrates use grander and more imposing-looking coverings for the\nhead.\n\nThey hold great festivities when the sun enters the four cardinal points\nof the heavens, that is, when he enters Cancer, Libra, Capricorn, and\nAries. On these occasions they have very learned, splendid, and as it\nwere comic performances. They celebrate also every full and every new\nmoon with a festival, as also they do the anniversaries of the founding\nof the city, and of the days when they have won victories or done any\nother great achievement. The celebrations take place with the music of\nfemale voices, with the noise of trumpets and drums, and the firing of\nsalutations. The poets sing the praises of the most renowned leaders and\nthe victories. Nevertheless, if any of them should deceive even by\ndisparaging a foreign hero, he is punished. No one can exercise the\nfunction of a poet who invents that which is not true, and a license\nlike this they think to be a pest of our world, for the reason that it\nputs a premium upon virtue and often assigns it to unworthy persons,\neither from fear or flattery, or ambition or avarice. For the praise of\nno one is a statue erected until after his death; but whilst he is\nalive, who has found out new arts and very useful secrets, or who has\nrendered great service to the state either at home or on the\nbattle-field, his name is written in the book of heroes. They do not\nbury dead bodies, but burn them, so that a plague may not arise from\nthem, and so that they may be converted into fire, a very noble and\npowerful thing, which has its coming from the sun and returns to it. And\nfor the above reasons no chance is given for idolatry. The statues and\npictures of the heroes, however, are there, and the splendid women set\napart to become mothers often look at them. Prayers are made from the\nstate to the four horizontal corners of the world. In the morning to the\nrising sun, then to the setting sun, then to the south, and lastly to\nthe north; and in the contrary order in the evening, first to the\nsetting sun, to the rising sun, to the north, and at length to the\nsouth. They repeat but one prayer, which asks for health of body and of\nmind, and happiness for themselves and all people, and they conclude it\nwith the petition \"As it seems best to God.\" The public prayer for all\nis long, and it is poured forth to heaven. For this reason the altar is\nround and is divided crosswise by ways at right angles to one another.\nBy these ways Hoh enters after he has repeated the four prayers, and he\nprays looking up to heaven. And then a great mystery is seen by them.\nThe priestly vestments are of a beauty and meaning like to those of\nAaron. They resemble Nature and they surpass Art.\n\nThey divide the seasons according to the revolution of the sun, and not\nof the stars, and they observe yearly by how much time the one precedes\nthe other. They hold that the sun approaches nearer and nearer, and\ntherefore by ever-lessening circles reaches the tropics and the equator\nevery year a little sooner. They measure months by the course of the\nmoon, years by that of the sun. They praise Ptolemy, admire Copernicus,\nbut place Aristarchus and Philolaus before him. They take great pains in\nendeavouring to understand the construction of the world, and whether or\nnot it will perish, and at what time. They believe that the true oracle\nof Jesus Christ is by the signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the\nstars, which signs do not thus appear to many of us foolish ones.\nTherefore they wait for the renewing of the age, and perchance for its\nend. They say that it is very doubtful whether the world was made from\nnothing, or from the ruins of other worlds, or from chaos, but they\ncertainly think that it was made, and did not exist from eternity.\nTherefore they disbelieve in Aristotle, whom they consider a logician\nand not a philosopher. From analogies, they can draw many arguments\nagainst the eternity of the world. The sun and the stars they, so to\nspeak, regard as the living representatives and signs of God, as the\ntemples and holy living altars, and they honour but do not worship them.\nBeyond all other things they venerate the sun, but they consider no\ncreated thing worthy the adoration of worship. This they give to God\nalone, and thus they serve Him, that they may not come into the power of\na tyrant and fall into misery by undergoing punishment by creatures of\nrevenge. They contemplate and know God under the image of the Sun, and\nthey call it the sign of God, His face and living image, by means of\nwhich light, heat, life, and the making of all things good and bad\nproceeds. Therefore they have built an altar like to the Sun in shape,\nand the priests praise God in the sun and in the stars, as it were His\naltars, and in the heavens, His temple as it were; and they pray to good\nangels, who are, so to speak, the intercessors living in the stars,\ntheir strong abodes. For God long since set signs of their beauty in\nheaven, and of His glory in the Sun. They say there is but one heaven,\nand that the planets move and rise of themselves when they approach the\nsun or are in conjunction with it.\n\nThey assert two principles of the physics of things below, namely, that\nthe Sun is the father, and the Earth the mother; the air is an impure\npart of the heavens; all fire is derived from the sun. The sea is the\nsweat of earth, or the fluid of earth combusted, and fused within its\nbowels; but is the bond of union between air and earth, as the blood is\nof the spirit and flesh of animals. The world is a great animal, and we\nlive within it as worms live within us. Therefore we do not belong to\nthe system of stars, sun, and earth, but to God only; for in respect to\nthem which seek only to amplify themselves, we are born and live by\nchance; but in respect to God, whose instruments we are, we are formed\nby prescience and design, and for a high end. Therefore we are bound to\nno Father but God, and receive all things from Him. They hold as beyond\nquestion the immortality of souls, and that these associate with good\nangels after death, or with bad angels, according as they have likened\nthemselves in this life to either. For all things seek their like. They\ndiffer little from us as to places of reward and punishment. They are in\ndoubt whether there are other worlds beyond ours, and account it\nmadness to say there is nothing. Nonentity is incompatible with the\ninfinite entity of God. They lay down two principles of metaphysics,\nentity which is the highest God, and nothingness which is the defect of\nentity. Evil and sin come of the propensity to nothingness; the sin\nhaving its cause not efficient, but in deficiency. Deficiency is, they\nsay, of power, wisdom or will. Sin they place in the last of these\nthree, because he who knows and has the power to do good is bound also\nto have the will, for will arises out of them. They worship God in\nTrinity, saying God is the supreme Power, whence proceeds the highest\nWisdom, which is the same with God, and from these comes Love, which is\nboth Power and Wisdom; but they do not distinguish persons by name, as\nin our Christian law, which has not been revealed to them. This\nreligion, when its abuses have been removed, will be the future mistress\nof the world, as great theologians teach and hope. Therefore Spain found\nthe New World (though its first discoverer, Columbus, greatest of\nheroes, was a Genoese), that all nations should be gathered under one\nlaw. We know not what we do, but God knows, whose instruments we are.\nThey sought new regions for lust of gold and riches, but God works to a\nhigher end. The sun strives to burn up the earth, not to produce plants\nand men, but God guides the battle to great issues. His the praise, to\nHim the glory!\n\n_G.M._ Oh, if you knew what our astrologers say of the coming age, and\nof our age, that has in it more history within a hundred years than all\nthe world had in four thousand years before! Of the wonderful invention\nof printing and guns, and the use of the magnet, and how it all comes of\nMercury, Mars, the Moon, and the Scorpion!\n\n_Capt._ Ah, well! God gives all in His good time. They astrologize too\nmuch.\n\n\n\n\nA FRAGMENT OF\n\nJOSEPH HALL'S\n\nMUNDUS ALTER ET IDEM\n\n(_THE OTHER-AND SAME WORLD_)\n\nTRANSLATED BY\n\nDR. WILLIAM KING.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY SKETCH.\n\n\nJoseph Hall was born at Bristow Park, by Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the year\n1574, and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1597 he published\nthree books, and in 1598 three more books, of Satires, \"_Virgidemiarum_,\nSix Bookes.\" These satires, with others published about the same time by\nMarlowe and Marston, were burnt by order of Whitgift, Archbishop of\nCanterbury, who had no relish for that kind of writing. Nine years\nlater, in the year 1607, at the age of thirty-two, Hall published the\nsatire now to be described. He was a witty and an earnest man, who rose\nto honour in the Church, became successively Bishop of Exeter and of\nNorwich; as Bishop of Norwich was in controversy with John Milton on\nChurch Discipline; suffered patiently imprisonment and persecution from\nthe Puritans; and closed an honourable life of more than fourscore years\nin 1656. He has been called by some the Christian Seneca.\n\nHis early work, the \"Mundus Alter et Idem,\" represents an ideal world\ndivided into regions answering to man's chief weaknesses or vices. He\ngave with it a map of its Crapulia, Latronia, &c., fully peopled, with a\nneighbouring land in which there are no signs of settlement, _Terra\nSancta, ignota etiam adhuc_, the Holy Land, even yet unknown.\n\nJoseph Hall's new world is also figured as an Austral Continent. They\nare good travellers, he says, who tell what they have seen in known\nlands, but he is a better who not only travels but is himself the maker\nof the lands he travels through. He chose his day, and went aboard the\ngood ship Phantasy, quitted harbour, sailed away, reached in two years\nthe Fortunate Isles, and, leaving the shores of Africa behind him, came\nin sight of the black headland of Crapulia.\n\nHere Introduction ends and Travel begins with the part partly translated\nby Dr. King: Crapulia, named from Crapula, is the Land of Inebriate\nExcess, and its two provinces, Pamphagonia and Yvronia, mean by their\nnames the provinces of Omnivorous Gluttony and Drunkenness. Dr. King has\ntranslated six chapters, and begun the seventh, which is upon the wars\nof the Pamphagonians, to which they march forth armed with spits and\ntwo-pronged forks and heavy ribs of beef. In their free city, Ucalegon,\nbuilt near the borders of Moronia, the citizens live happy as monks.\nThey are so well shut in by high rocks that they can laugh at enemies,\nand through a hollow in the rocks with softest pace creeps the river\nOysivius (the Idle). There is only one way up, their rocks for the\ninhabitants, and that is not by zigzag steps, but by a rope and basket.\nBirds wholly peculiar to the place supply food by being themselves\neatable, and by the great multitude of their eggs, and by the loads of\nfish they bring into their nests to feed their young. The citizens make\nto themselves also beds of the soft feathers of these birds. This valley\nyields to the people of Ucalegon everything except what they don't care\nfor. They are free, therefore, to sup, sleep, rise, dine, and lie down.\n\nHusbandry, as among the old Egyptians, consists chiefly in feeding pigs,\nfor the husbandmen wait on the rich. One, with a gentle touch, opens the\nricher man's eyes when he wakes; another fans him with a flapper while\nhe eats; another puts bits into his mouth when it opens. There are two\ncities under Ucalegon, Livona and Roncara (Snort and Snore), which have\nlike privileges, except that here the inhabitants are almost always\nasleep, and fatten wonderfully.\n\nThese are among the laws of Crapulia:--It is a crime to drink alone.\nWhoever has defrauded Nature by fasting four hours after sleep shall be\ncompelled to sup. When the mouth is full it is enough to answer\nquestions by holding out a finger. What cook soever shall treat food so\nthat it cannot be eaten, shall be tied to a stake beside which is hung\nmeat half raw or half burnt, and shall remain so tied until somebody\ncomes who will eat that meat.\n\nNo coin of metal is current in Crapulia, but they make payment in kind.\nThus two sparrows are one starling, two starlings are one fieldfare, two\nfieldfares one hen, two hens one goose, two geese one lamb, two lambs\none kid, two kids one goat, two goats one cow, and so forth.\n\nThe next chapter is on the Religion of the Crapulians. They hate Jove\nbecause his thunder turns the wine sour and he spoils ripe fruit by\nraining on it. Their God is Time, who eats everything.\n\nBut I hasten, says the traveller, to the palace of the Grand Duke,\nwhither I was happily led by my genius. The first Duke must have been as\nlarge as the man two of whose teeth were dug up at Cambridge, each as\nbig as a man's head. On his tomb is an inscription. \"I Omasius, Duke of\nFagonia, Lord, Victor, Prince and God lie here. No man shall say I\nstarved, shall pass by fasting, or salute me sober. Let him be my heir\nwho can, my subject who will, my enemy who dares. Farewell and Fatten.\"\n\nAfter a description of the Island of Hunger, the traveller passes from\nPamphagonia to Yvronia, the other province of Crapulia.\n\nThese are among the laws of Yvronia:--A cup must be either full or\nempty. Whoever takes or returns a cup half empty shall be guilty of\n_l\u00e8se societ\u00e9_. The sober man who hurts a drunkard, shall be cut off\nfrom wine for ever: if he kill a drunkard, he shall die by thirst. To\nwalk from supper in a right line shall be criminal. He who adds water to\nwine shall be degraded to the table of the dogs.\n\nYvronia having been described in seven chapters, the traveller in this\nOther-and-Same World passes on to Viraginia, the land of the Viragoes.\nThis is Gynia Nova, miswritten New Guinea. The chief of its many\nprovinces is Linguadocia, in which Garrula is one of the famous cities.\nIn Viraginia the traveller was at once made prisoner, but permitted to\nsee the land after he had subscribed to certain articles, as, That in\nword or deed he would work no ill to the nobler sex; That he would never\ninterpose a word when a woman was speaking; That wherever he might be he\nwould concede domestic rule to the woman; That he would never deny to a\nwife any ornament of dress she looked at.\n\nAs to its form of government, the state seemed to be a democracy, in\nwhich all governed and none obeyed. They settled affairs at public\nmeetings, in which all spoke and none listened; and they had a perpetual\nParliament.\n\nThe men in Viraginia are subject to the women. When a wife leaves her\nhouse for any reason, she places the care of her husband under any other\nwoman of the household until she returns. A husband who survives his\nwife, is married at once to his wife's maid, or goes into bondage to the\nnearest mother of a family, because it is not permitted that any man\nshall become master in his own house.\n\nThe women sit while the men serve, sleep when the men are roused to get\nup, scold them when they complain, and beat them. That day is worthy to\nbe marked with a white stone to which men can say good-bye with a whole\nskin.\n\nContrary to the custom with us, the women in Viraginia cut their hair\nand let their nails grow. Some of them also practise with profit the\ngymnastic art, so that they can make beautiful use of teeth, nails, and\nheels. A nobler and more cleanly polished place is not to be seen than\nViraginia, where everything is washed, cooked and cared for by the men,\nand there is nothing unbecoming but the garments of the men themselves.\n\nThe next land to be visited was Moronia, Foolsland, the vastest, the\nmost uncultivated and the most populous of all these countries. To the\neast is Variana or Moronia Mobilis, to the north is Moronia Aspera, to\nthe south Moronia Felix, and to the west Moronia Pia. The people are,\nnearly all of them, tall and fat, with palish hair, prominent lips, and\nvery thick ears. In midwinter they go with their chests open, and the\nrest of the body lightly clothed, that the warmth may enter the more\nreadily, and the cold go out of them; but in summer they put on thick\novercoats and cloaks, and all the clothes they have, to shut out the\nheat. They shave their heads, either because they remember that they\nwere born bald, or to allay the heat of the brain, or because the hair\ncomes between the brain and heaven, and checks the freedom of the mind\nin going heavenward.\n\nProvinces, towns and people of Moronia having been visited and fully\ndescribed, the traveller through this Other-and-Same World then proceeds\nto describe Lavernia, the Land of Thieves and Cheats, who obtain great\npart of their plunder from Moronia. In this land the Larcinians require\nmuch attention. And at the end of all, adds Joseph Hall, \"These men,\nthese manners, these cities I have seen, have marvelled at, have laughed\nat, and at last, broken by the toils of so great a journey, have\nreturned to my own land. PEREGRINUS, QUONDAM ACADEMICUS.\"\n\nDr. William King was born in the year 1663, son of Ezekiel King, a\ngentleman of London. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ\nChurch, Oxford. He early inherited a fair estate, took his Master of\nArts degree in 1688, and began his career as writer with a refutation of\nattacks upon Wiclif in the \"History of Heresy,\" by M. Varillas. He then\nchose law for a profession, in 1692 graduated as LL.D., and was admitted\nan Advocate at Doctor's Commons. He kept a light heart and a lighter\npurse than beseemed one of his fraternity, publishing playful satires,\nat times showing an earnest mind under his mirth. In or soon after the\nyear 1702 Dr. King went to Ireland as judge of the High Court of\nAdmiralty, sole Commissioner of the Prizes, Vicar-General to the Lord\nPrimate, and Keeper of the Records in Birmingham's Tower, in which\noffice he was succeeded in 1708 by Joseph Addison. Dr. King, who had not\nincreased his credit for a love of work, returned to London about that\ntime, and following his own way of mirth began publishing \"Useful\nTransactions in Philosophy and other sorts of learning.\" In 1709 he\npublished the best of his playful poems, \"The Art of Cookery, in\nimitation of Horace's Art of Poetry; with some letters to Dr. Lister and\nothers, occasioned principally by the Title of a Book published by the\nDoctor, being the works of Apicius Coelius concerning the Soups and\nSauces of the Ancients.\" When he came across Joseph Hall's satire, he\nfound it so much to his mind that he began to translate as follows:--\n\nH.M.\n\n\n\n\nCRAPULIA.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n_The Situation of the Country._\n\n\nCrapulia is a very fair and large territory, which on the north is\nbounded with the \u00c6thiopic Ocean, on the east with Laconia and Viraginia,\non the south by Moronia Felix, and westward with the Tryphonian Fens. It\nlies in that part of the universe where is bred the monstrous bird\ncalled Ruc, that for its prey will bear off an elephant in its talons;\nand is described by the modern geographers.\n\nThe soil is too fruitful, and the heavens too serene; so that I have\nlooked upon them with a silent envy, not without pity, when I considered\nthey were blessings so little deserved by the inhabitants. It lies in\nseventy-four degrees of longitude, and sixty degrees of latitude, and\neleven degrees distant from the Cape of Good Hope; and lies, as it were,\nopposite to the whole coast of Africa. It is commonly divided into two\nprovinces, Pamphagonia and Ivronia, the former of which is of the same\nlength and breadth as Great Britain (which I hope will not be taken as\nany reflection), the other is equal to the High and Low Dutch Lands.\nBoth obey the same prince, are governed by the same laws, and differ\nvery little in their habit or their manners.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n_Pamphagonia; or, Glutton's Paradise._\n\n\nPamphagonia is of a triangular figure, like that of ancient Egypt, or\nthe Greek letter delta, [Greek: delta]. It is mountainous, inclosed\nwith very high hills; its soil is of the richest, so that birds which\ncome thither to feed, if they tarry but three months, grow so very fat\nand weighty, that they cannot fly back again over the mountains, but\nsuffer themselves to be taken up in the hand, and are as delicious as\nthe ortolan or the beccaficos of the Italians. And it is no wonder to\nthem who know that geese in Scotland are generated from leaves fallen\ninto the water, and believe the testimony of one of our ambassadors,\nthat in the north-east parts of the world lambs grow upon stalks like\ncabbages and eat up the grass all around about them, to find the same\nsort of provisions in this country. Besides, the fish upon that coast\nare in such plenty, and so voracious (whether they conform themselves\nto the genius of the place and people, or presage to themselves the\nhonour of so magnificent a sepulchre as was given to Nero's turbot),\nthat, as soon as the hook is cast in, they press to it as the ghosts\nin Lucian did to Charon's boat, and cling to the iron as miners do to\na rope that is let down when the light of their candle forbodes some\nmalignant exhalation.\n\nThe sea-ports, with which this country abounds more than any other, are\nof no other use than to receive and take in such things as are edible,\nwhich they have for their superfluous wool and hides: nor may the\ninhabitants export anything that has the least relation to the palate.\nYou see nothing there but fruit-trees. They hate plains, limes, and\nwillows, as being idle and barren, and yielding nothing useful but their\nshade. There are hops, pears, plums, and apples, in the hedge-rows, as\nthere is in all Ivronia; from whence the Lombards, and some counties in\nthe west of England, have learned their improvements. In ancient times,\nFrugonia, or the Land of Frugality, took in this country as one of its\nprovinces; and histories tell us, that, in Saturn's time, the Frugonian\nprinces gave laws to all this part of the world, and had their palace\nthere; and that their country was called Fagonia, from the simplicity of\ntheir diet, which consisted only in beech-mast. But that yoke has been\nlong ago shaken off; their manners are wholly changed, and, from the\nuniversality of their food, they have obtained, in their own country\nlanguage, the title of Pamphagones.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n_The First Province of Pamphagonia._\n\n\nFriviandy, or Tight-bittia (that we may take the provinces in their\norder), were it not for a temperament peculiar to the place, is rather\nof the hottest to produce those who are properly called good\ntrencher-men. Its utmost point, which other geographers call the\nPromontory of the Terra Australis, is of the same latitude as the most\nsoutherly parts of Castile, and is about forty-two degrees distant from\nthe equator. The inhabitants have curled hair and dusky complexions, and\nregard more the delicacy than the largeness and number of their dishes.\nIn this very promontory, which we shall call the black one from its\ncolour (for it is a very smoky region, partly from the frequent vapours\nof the place, partly from its vicinity to the Terra del Fogo, which, by\nthe common consent of geographers, lies on the right hand of it, but\nrather nearer than they have placed it), is the city Lucina, whose\nbuildings are lofty, but apt to be smoky and offensive to the smell;\nfrom whence a colony went, perhaps, as far as the Indies, where it\nremains to this day by the name of Cochin-China.\n\nHere is the famous temple of the great deity Omasius Gorgut, or\nGorbelly. It is a vast pile, and contains a thousand hearths, and as\nmany altars, which are constantly employed in the Rucal Festivals. In\nthe midst is a high pyramid, as lofty as the hand of man can erect it,\nlittle inferior to those of Memphis. It is called the Cheminean Tower.\nThis, rising high, gives the signal of war to the adjoining countries:\nfor, as we by beacons lighted upon a high hill discover the danger of an\napproaching enemy, so these, on the contrary, do the same by letting\ntheir smoke cease and their fires go out: for, when the perpetual vapour\nceases to roll forth in thick and dark clouds of smoke, it is a token\nthat the Hambrians are drawing nearer, than whom there can be no enemy\nmore terrible to this nation. There are several smaller towns, that lie\nunder the dominion of this supreme city. Charbona is the largest\nvillage, and, what is seldom seen elsewhere, lies all under ground. Upon\nits barren soil arises another, though of less note, called Favillia.\nAfter these lies Tenaille, a narrow town, and Batill\u00fb, a broad one, both\nconsiderable. On the left are some subservient petty hamlets, as\nAssadora, Marmitta, Culliera, as useful for the reception of strangers,\namongst which, that of Marmitta is watered by the river Livenza; which,\nas is said of a fountain in the Peak of Derby, boils over twice in\nfour-and-twenty hours.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n_The Second Province of Pamphagonia._\n\n\nNext to this is the Golosinian district, the most pleasant part of\nPamphagonia, covered with dates, almonds, figs, olives, pomegranates,\noranges, citrons, and pistaches; through which run the smoothest of\nstreams, called the Oglium. Here is the beautiful city of Marzapane,\nwith noble turrets glittering with gold, but lying too open to the\nenemy. Over it hang the Zucker hills, out of whose bowels they draw\nsomething that is hard, white, and sparkling, but sweet as that moisture\nwhich the ancients gathered out of the reeds which grew in Arabia and\nthe Indies. You shall find few people here, who are grown up, but what\nhave lost their teeth, and have stinking breaths. Near to this is the\nlittle city Seplasium, which admits of no tradesmen but perfumers. It is\na town of great commerce with the people of Viraginia, especially the\nLocanians, who use to change their looking-glass with them for oils and\npastils. The agreeableness of the place, and the bounty of the heavens,\nis favourable to their art; for the whole track of land, at certain\nseasons, is covered with aromatic comfits, that fall like hail-stones:\nwhich Anathumiasis I take to be essentially the same as that aerial\nhoney which we often find upon our oaks, especially in the spring, and\nthat it differs only in thickness; for whereas that honey is sprinkled\nin drops, the little globules are hardened by the intense cold of the\nmiddle region, and rebound in falling.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n_Of the Third Province of Pamphagonia._\n\n\nIn the fifty-fifth degree, we come into the plains of Lecania, and so\ninto the very heart of Pamphagonia, where the chief city we meet with is\nCibinium, which is washed with the acid streams of the river Assagion.\nIn the forum, or market-place, is the tomb (as I conjecture by the\nfootsteps of some letters now remaining) of Apicius, that famous Roman,\nnot very beautiful, but antique. It is engraved upon the shell of a\nsea-crab; and it might happen, notwithstanding what Seneca says, that\nthis famous epicure, after having sought for larger shell-fish than the\ncoast of Gallia could supply him with, and then going in vain to Africa\nto make a farther inquiry, might hear some rumour concerning this coast,\nsteer his course thither, and there die of a surfeit. But this I leave\nto the critics. Here I shall only mention the most fertile fields of\nLardana and Ossulia. The delicious situation of Mortadella, the\npleasantest of places, had wonderfully delighted me, had it not been for\nthe salt-works which often approach too near it. There is an offensive\nstinking town called Formagium, alias Butterboxia, and Mantica, a boggy\nplace near the confines of Ivronia.\n\nI hasten to the metropolis of the whole region, which, whether you\nrespect the uniformity of the building, the manners of the people, or\ntheir way of living, their rules for behaviour, their law and justice,\nwill show as much as if I were to descend to particulars.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n_Of the Metropolis of Pamphagonia, and the Customs of the Inhabitants._\n\n\nThere are but very few villages in this country, as well as in some\nothers; from whence a traveller may conjecture, that the country towns\nare devoured by the cities, which are not so many in number as they are\nlarge and populous; of which the mother and governess is called\nArtocreopolis. The report goes, that in ancient times there were two\nfamous cities, Artopolis and Creatium, which had many and long contests\nabout the superiority: for so it happens to places, as well as men, that\nincrease in power; insomuch as the two most flourishing Universities in\nthe world (to both of which I bear the relation of a son, though I am\nmore peculiarly obliged to one of them for my education),\nnotwithstanding they are sisters, could not abstain from so ungrateful a\ncontention.\n\nArtopolis boasted of its antiquity, and that it had flourished in the\nSaturnian age, when it had as yet no rival. Creatium set forth its own\nsplendour, pleasantness, and power. At last, a council being called,\nCreatium got the preference by the universal votes of the assembly; for\nsuch is the iniquity of the times, that though the head be covered with\ngrey hairs, yet nothing is allowed to the reverence of antiquity, when\nencountered by a proud and upstart novelty. The other city is now so far\nneglected, that the ruins or footsteps of its magnificence are scarce\nremaining, any more than of Verulam, as is most elegantly set forth by\nour noble poet Spenser in his verses on that subject; the latter\nusurping the name of the other, as well as the other has now the double\ntitle of Artocreopolis. The city is more extensive than beautiful: it is\nfortified with a large and deep ditch of running water, which washes\nalmost all the streets, wherein are a thousand several ponds for fish;\nupon which swim ducks, geese, swans, and all sorts of water-fowl, which\nhas been wisely imitated by the people of Augsburg. This ditch is called\nGruessa. There are two walls, whose materials were furnished by the\nflesh-market; for they are made of bones, the larger serving for the\nfoundations, the lesser for the superstructure, whilst the smallest fill\nup what is wanting in the middle; being all cemented with the whites of\neggs, by a wonderful artifice. The houses are not very beautiful, nor\nbuilt high after the manner of other cities; so that there is no need of\nan Augustus to restrain the buildings to the height of seventy feet, as\nwas done at Rome; nor is there room for a Seneca or Juvenal to complain\nof the multitude of their stairs and number of their stories.\n\nThey have no regard for staircases; for indeed none of the citizens care\nfor them, partly from the trouble of getting up them (especially when,\nas they often do, they have drunk heartily) as much as for the danger of\ngetting down again. Their houses are all covered with large blade-bones,\nvery neatly joined together. There are no free citizens admitted, but\nsuch whose employment has more immediately some relation to the table.\nHusbandmen, smiths, millers, and butchers, live in their colonies, who,\nwhen they have a belly of an unwieldy bulk, are promoted to be\nburgesses; to which degree none were anciently admitted but cooks,\nbakers, victuallers, and the gravest senators, who are chosen here, as\nin other places, not for their prudence, riches, or length of beard; but\nfor their measure, which they must come up to yearly if they will\npretend to bear any office in the public. As any one grows in\ndimensions, he rises in honour; so that I have seen some who, from the\nmeanest and most contemptible village, have, for their merits, been\npromoted to a more famous town, and at last obtained the senatorial\ndignity in this most celebrated city: and yet, when by some disease (as\nit often happens), or by age, they have grown leaner than they are\nallowed to be by the statutes, have lost their honour, together with the\nbulk of their carcass. Their streets were paved with polished marble;\nwhich seemed strange amongst a people so incurious, both because the\nworkmanship was troublesome, and there might be danger in its being\nslippery. But the true reason of it was, that they might not be forced\nto lift their feet higher than ordinary by the inequality of the\npavement, and likewise that the chairs of the senators might the more\neasily be pushed forward; for they never go on foot, or on horseback,\nnor even in a coach, to the exchange, or their public feasts, because of\ntheir weight; but they are moved about in great easy elbow-chairs, with\nfour wheels to them, and continue sitting so fixed, in the same posture,\nsnoring and flabbering till they are wheeled home again.\n\nAt the four gates of the city, whose form is circular, there sit in\ntheir turns as many senators, who are called Buscadores. These carefully\nexamine all who come in and go out, those that go out, lest they should\npresume by chance to do it fasting, which they can easily judge of by\nthe extent of their bellies, and the matter being proved, they are fined\nin a double supper: those that come in, to see what they bring with them\nupon their return; for they must neither depart with empty stomachs, nor\ncome back with empty hands. Every month, according to the laws, which\nthey unwillingly transgress, there are stated feasts, at which all the\nsenators are obliged to be present, that after dinner (for no person can\ngive his vote before he has dined) they may deliberate concerning the\npublic affairs. The name of their common-hall is Pythanoscome. Every one\nknows his own seat, and his conveniences and a couch to repose upon when\nthe heat of their wine and seasoned dainties incline them to it. Their\ngreatest delicacies are served up at the first course; for they think it\nfoolish not to eat the best things with the greatest appetite: nor do\nthey cut their boars, sheep, goats, and lambs into joints or quarters,\nas commonly we do, but convey them whole to table, by the help of\nmachines, as I remember to have read in Petronius Arbiter. They are\nfineable who rise before they have set six hours; for then the edge of\ntheir stomach is blunted. They eat and drink so leisurely, for the same\nreason as the famous Epicure of old wished that his neck were as long as\na crane's. They measure the seasonable time for their departure after\nthis method: they have a door to their town-house, which is wide enough\nfor the largest man to enter when he is fasting: through this the guests\npass; and when any one would depart, if he stops in this passage, he is\ntrusted to go out at another door; but if it be as easy as if he were\nfasting, the master of the ceremonies makes him tarry till he comes to\nbe of a statutable magnitute: after which example, Willfrid's needle in\nBelvior Castle was a pleasant trial of Roman Catholic sanctity. They\nhave gardens of many acres extent, but not like those of Adonis or\nAlcino\u00fcs; for nothing delightful is to be expected in them, neither\norder, nor regularity of walk, nor grass-plots, nor variety of flowers\nin the borders: but you will find all planted with cabbages, turnips,\ngarlick, and musk-melons, which were carried hence to Italy, and are in\nquantity sufficient to feast an hundred Pythagoreans.\n\nThere is a public college, or hospital, whither they are sent who have\ngot the dropsy, gout, or asthma, by their eating and drinking; and there\nthey are nourished at the public expense. As for such as have lost their\nteeth by their luxury, or broken them by eating too greedily or\nincautiously, they are provided for in the island of Sorbonia. All the\nricher sort have several servants, in the nature of vassals, to\ncultivate their gardens, and be employed in inferior offices, who have\ntheir liberty when they can arrive at such a bulkiness. If any of the\ngrandees of the country die of a surfeit, he is given, as being all made\nup of the most exquisite dainties, to be eaten up by his servants; and\nthis they do that nothing should be lost that is so delicate. The men\nare thick and fat to a miracle; nor will any one salute another whose\nchin does not come to the midst of his breast, and his paunch falls to\nhis knees. The women are not unlike them, and in shape resemble the\nItalians, and have breasts like the Hottentots. They go almost naked,\nhaving no regard to their garments. The magistrates and persons of\nbetter figure have gowns made of the skins of such beasts as they have\neaten at one meal. All wear a knife, with a large spoon, hanging upon\ntheir right arm. Before their breasts they wear a smooth skin, instead\nof a napkin, to receive what falls out of their mouths, and to wipe them\nupon occasion; which whether it be more black or greasy, is hard to\ndetermine.\n\nThey are of a very slow apprehension, and no way fit for any science;\nbut yet understand such arts as they have occasion for. Their schools\nare public-houses, where they are educated in the sciences of eating,\ndrinking, and carving; over which, one Archisilenius, an exquisite\nEpicure, was then provost, who, instead of grammar, read some fragments\nof Apicius. Instead of a library, there is a public repository of\ndrinking-vessels, in which cups of all orders and sizes are disposed\ninto certain classes. Cups and dishes are instead of books. The younger\nscholars have less, the elder have greater; one has a quart, the other a\npottle, the other a gallon: this has a hen, that a goose, a third a lamb\nor a porker: nor have they any liberty, or recess, till the whole is\nfinished; and if by a seven years' stuffing they are no proficients in\nfatness, are presently banished into the Fancetic Islands; nor are they\nsuffered long to stay there idle and without improvement. Hither\nlikewise are sent all physicians who prescribe a course of diet to any\nperson. When any one is sick, without recourse to \u00c6sculapius, they make\nhim eat radish, and drink warm water; which, according to Celsus, will\npurge and vomit him. Venison is that which they most delight in; but\nthey never take it in hunting, but by nets and gins. They look upon the\nswine as the most profitable and best of all animals; whether it is for\nthe likeness of its manners, as being good for nothing but the table, or\nelse from its growing fat on the sudden with the worst of nutriment. It\nmay not seem credible, yet parsimony appears in the midst of their\nprofuseness: but then it is very ill placed, for it is in crumbs, bones,\nand crusts. They do not so much as keep any dogs, cats, hawks, or\nanything that eats flesh. If any person suffer meat to stink, he is\nimpaled; but venison and rabbits are to have the _haut-gout_: and then\ntheir cheese is kept till it is overrun with little animals, which they\ndevour with mustard and sugar. This is an odd sort of custom, derived\nfrom the Dutch.\n\nThe country abounds with rivers, which ebb and flow according to their\ndigestion, and generally overflow at the beginning of January, and\ntowards the end of February, and do mischief to the neighbouring\ncountry.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n_Of the Wars of the Pamphagonians._\n\n\nThe Pamphagones have perpetual wars with the Hambrians, or the Fancetic\nIslands, and the Frugonians.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n_C\u00e6tera desunt._\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\nPRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. LONDON AND EDINBURGH","title":"Ideal Commonwealths","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":94609}