{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_2816/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_2816","id":"gutenberg_2816","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2816","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Utopias -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"THE CITY OF THE SUN\n\nBy Tommaso Campanella\n\n\n\n\nA Poetical Dialogue between a Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitallers\nand a Genoese Sea-Captain, his guest.\n\n\nG.M. Prithee, now, tell me what happened to you during that voyage?\n\n\nCapt. 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\na wood. When I stepped out of this I found myself on a large plain\nimmediately under the equator.\n\n\nG.M. And what befell you here?\n\n\nCapt. I came upon a large crowd of men and armed women, many of whom did\nnot understand our language, and they conducted me forthwith to the City\nof the Sun.\n\n\nG.M. Tell me after what plan this city is built and how it is governed.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nthat the diameter of the city is upward 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 toward the four points of the compass.\nFurthermore, it is so built that if the first circle were stormed, it\nwould of necessity entail a double amount of energy to storm the second;\nstill more to storm the third; and in each succeeding case the strength\nand energy would have to be doubled; so that he who wishes to capture\nthat city must, as it were, storm it seven times. For my own part,\nhowever, I think that not even the first wall could be occupied, so\nthick are the earthworks and so well fortified is it with breastworks,\ntowers, 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\nthe thick 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\na manner 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\nBut the palaces have no entrances from below, except on the inner or\nconcave partition, from which one enters directly to the lower parts\nof the 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 decorated\nwalls. The convex or outer wall of the ring is about eight spans thick;\nthe concave, three; the intermediate walls are one, or perhaps one and a\nhalf. Leaving this circle one gets to the second plain, which is nearly\nthree paces narrower than the first. Then the first wall of the second\nring is seen adorned above and below with similar galleries for walking,\nand there is on the inside of it another interior wall enclosing\npalaces. It has also similar peristyles supported by columns in the\nlower part, but above are excellent pictures, round the ways into the\nupper houses. And so on afterward through similar spaces and double\nwalls, enclosing palaces, and adorned with galleries for walking,\nextending along their outer side, and supported by columns, till the\nlast circuit is reached, the way being still 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\nG.M. Tell on, I pray you! Tell on! I am dying to hear more.\n\n\nCapt. 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 350 paces. Without it, arches measuring about eight\npaces extend from the heads of the columns outward, whence other columns\nrise about three paces from the thick, strong, and erect wall. Between\nthese and the former columns there are galleries for walking, with\nbeautiful pavements, and in the recess of the wall, which is adorned\nwith numerous large doors, there are immovable seats, placed as it were\nbetween the inside columns, supporting the temple. Portable chairs are\nnot wanting, many and well adorned. Nothing is seen over the altar but\na large globe, upon which the heavenly bodies are painted, and another\nglobe upon which there is a representation of the earth. Furthermore, in\nthe vault of the dome there can be discerned representations of all the\nstars of heaven from the first to the sixth magnitude, with their proper\nnames and power to influence terrestrial things marked in three little\nverses for each. There are the poles and greater and lesser circles\naccording to the right latitude of the place, but these are not perfect\nbecause there is no wall below. They seem, too, to be made in their\nrelation to the globes on the altar. The pavement of the temple is\nbright with precious stones. Its seven golden lamps hang always burning,\nand these bear the names 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\nG.M. I pray you, worthy hero, explain to me their whole system of\ngovernment; for I am anxious to hear it.\n\n\nCapt. 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,\nin temporal and spiritual matters, and all business and lawsuits\nare settled 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;\na tenth, Medicus; an eleventh, Physiologus; a twelfth, Politicus; a\nthirteenth, Moralis. They have but one book, which they call Wisdom,\nand in 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,\nthe higher 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, etc. On the exterior convex wall is first\nan immense drawing of the whole earth, given at one view. Following upon\nthis, there are tablets setting forth for every separate country the\ncustoms both public and private, the laws, the origins and the power of\nthe inhabitants; and the alphabets the different people use can be seen\nabove 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\nis also 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 300 years old, which cure all diseases. Hail and snow, storms and\nthunder, and whatever else takes place in the air, are represented with\nsuitable figures and little verses. The inhabitants even have the art\nof representing in stone all the phenomena of the air, such as the wind,\nrain, thunder, the rainbow, etc.\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, etc. On the exterior wall are all\nthe races of fish found in rivers, lakes, and seas, and their habits\nand values, and ways of breeding, training, and living, the purposes\nfor which they exist in the world, and their uses to man. Further,\ntheir resemblances to celestial and terrestrial things, produced both\nby nature 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, colors, manner of living,\netc.; and the only real phoenix is possessed by the inhabitants of\nthis city. On the exterior are shown all the races of creeping animals,\nserpents, dragons, and worms; the insects, the flies, gnats, beetles,\netc., 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\nof breeds 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\nof the twelve Apostles, whom they consider very worthy and hold to be\ngreat. Of the representations of men, I perceived Caesar, 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\nthere was 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 learned 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, manages 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\nG.M. Tell me, please, of the magistrates, their services and duties, of\nthe education and mode of living, whether the government is a monarchy,\na republic, or an aristocracy.\n\n\nCapt. 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 honors 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\nriches and dignities, and leave an heir to much wealth, we become either\nready to grasp at the property of the State, if in any case fear\nshould be removed from the power which belongs to riches and rank; or\navaricious, crafty, and hypocritical, if anyone is of slender purse,\nlittle strength, and mean ancestry. But when we have taken away\nself-love, there remains only love for the State.\n\n\nG.M. Under such circumstances no one will be willing to labor, while\nhe expects others to work, on the fruit of whose labors he can live, as\nAristotle argues against Plato.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nof our 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 toward all,\nas it was in the time of the apostles, and is now in a great many cases.\n\n\nG.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\nCapt. Nay, indeed. For it is worth the trouble to see that no one\ncan receive gifts from another. Whatever is necessary they have, they\nreceive it from the community, and the magistrate takes care that no\none receives more than he deserves. Yet nothing necessary is denied to\nanyone. Friendship is recognized among them in war, in infirmity, in the\nart contests, by which means they aid one another mutually by\nteaching. Sometimes they improve themselves mutually with praises, with\nconversation, with actions, and out of the things they need. All those\nof the same age call one another brothers. They call all over twenty-two\nyears of age, fathers; those that 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\nG.M. And how?\n\n\nCapt. As many names of virtues as there are among us, so many\nmagistrates there are among them. There is a magistrate who is named\nMagnanimity, another Fortitude, a third Chastity, a fourth Liberality,\na fifth 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, etc. 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 anyone 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\nhonors, until the judge thinks that they agree with their correction.\n\n\nG.M. Tell me the manner in which the magistrates are chosen.\n\n\nCapt. You would not rightly understand this, unless you first learned\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. Afterward they lead them to\nthe offices of the trades, such as shoemaking, cooking, metal-working,\ncarpentry, painting, etc. 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 are continual debate and studied\nargument among them, and after a time they become magistrates of those\nsciences or mechanical arts in which they are the most proficient; for\neveryone 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 favor 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\nthe mechanical arts, the physical sciences, astrology and mathematics.\nNearly 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,\nand the 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\nideas of God, as much as mortal man can know of him. He must also be\nwell read in the prophets and in astrology. And thus they know long\nbeforehand who will be Hoh. He is not chosen to so great a dignity\nunless he has attained his thirty-fifth year. And this office is\nperpetual, because it is not known who may be too wise for it or who too\nskilled in ruling.\n\n\nG.M. Who indeed can be so wise? If even anyone has a knowledge of the\nsciences it seems that he must be unskilled in ruling.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nyours much servile labor and memory work are 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\nthat or 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.\"\n\nIn this matter I was struck with astonishment at their truthful\ndiscourse and at the trial of their boys, who did not understand my\nlanguage well. Indeed it is necessary that three of them should be\nskilled in our tongue, three in Arabic, three in Polish, and three in\neach of the other languages, and no recreation is allowed them unless\nthey become more learned. For that they go out to the plain for the\nsake of running about and hurling arrows and lances, and of firing\nharquebuses, and for the sake of hunting the wild animals and getting a\nknowledge of plants and stones, and agriculture and pasturage; sometimes\nthe 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 the marking out of camps, in the manufacture\nof every 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\nG.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\nCapt. 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 practise 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 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\nyoung people, 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\nas in the refectories of the monks, there is no noise. While they are\neating a young man reads a book from a platform, intoning distinctly\nand sonorously, 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\nnapkin, a 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 honors. 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 under-garments 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 straightway\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\nas many 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.\n\nMoreover, the clothes are washed at the pillars of the peristyles, and\nthe water is brought down by means of canals which are continued as\nsewers. In every street of the different rings there are suitable\nfountains, which send forth their water by means of canals, the water\nbeing drawn up from nearly the bottom of the mountain by the sole\nmovement of a cleverly contrived handle. There is water in fountains\nand in cisterns, whither the rain-water collected from the roofs of the\nhouses is brought through pipes full of sand. They wash their bodies\noften, according as the doctor and master command. All the mechanical\narts are practised under the peristyles, but the speculative are carried\non above in the walking galleries and ramparts where are the more\nsplendid paintings, but the more sacred ones are taught in the temple.\nIn the halls and wings of the rings there are solar time-pieces and\nbells, and hands by which the hours and seasons are marked off.\n\n\nG.M. Tell me about their children.\n\n\nCapt. When their women have brought forth children, they suckle and rear\nthem in temples set apart for all. They give milk for two years or more\nas the physician orders. After that time the weaned child is given into\nthe charge of the mistresses, if it is a female, and to the masters,\nif it is a male. And then with other young children they are pleasantly\ninstructed in the alphabet, and in the knowledge of the pictures, and in\nrunning, walking, and wrestling; also in the historical drawings, and\nin languages; and they are adorned with a suitable garment of different\ncolors. After their sixth year they are taught natural science, and then\nthe mechanical sciences. The men who are weak in intellect are sent\nto farms, and when they have become more proficient some of them are\nreceived into the State. And those of the same age and born under the\nsame constellation are especially like one another in strength and in\nappearance, and hence arises much lasting concord in the State, these\nmen honoring one another with mutual love and help. Names are given\nto them by Metaphysicus, and that not by chance, but designedly, and\naccording to each one's peculiarity, as was the custom among the\nancient Romans. Wherefore one is called Beautiful (Pulcher), another\nthe Big-nosed (Naso), another the Fat-legged (Cranipes), another Crooked\n(Torvus), another Lean (Macer), and so on. But when they have become\nvery skilled in their professions and done any great deed in war or in\ntime of peace, a cognomen from art is given to them, such as Beautiful\nthe Great Painter (Pulcher, Pictor Magnus), the Golden One (Aureus),\nthe Excellent One (Excellens), or the Strong (Strenuus); or from their\ndeeds, such as Naso the Brave (Nason Fortis), or the Cunning, or the\nGreat, or Very Great Conqueror; or from the enemy anyone has overcome,\nAfricanus, Asiaticus, Etruscus; or if anyone has overcome Manfred or\nTortelius, he is called Macer Manfred or Tortelius, and so on. All these\ncognomens are added by the higher magistrates, and very often with a\ncrown suitable to the deed or art, and with the flourish of music.\nFor gold and silver are reckoned of little value among them except as\nmaterial for their vessels and ornaments, which are common to all.\n\n\nG.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\nCapt. 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,\nand not to individuals, except in so far as they are constituents of\nthe commonwealth. 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;\nfor the 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 while the\nlots are being led out of the city by the magistrates, so that at all\ntimes 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\nappear tall, 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 color and have pale complexions, and become feeble and small.\nFor this reason they are without proper complexions, use high sandals,\nand become beautiful not from strength, but from slothful tenderness.\nAnd thus they ruin their own tempers and natures, and consequently those\nof their offspring. Furthermore, if at any time a man is taken captive\nwith ardent love for a certain woman, the two are allowed to converse\nand joke together and to give one another garlands of flowers or leaves,\nand to make verses. But if the race is endangered, by no means is\nfurther union between them permitted. Moreover, the love born of eager\ndesire is not known among them; only that born of friendship.\n\nDomestic affairs and partnerships are of little account, because,\nexcepting the sign of honor, each one receives what he is in need of.\nTo the heroes and heroines of the republic, it is customary to give\nthe pleasing gifts of honor, 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\nat table or to work in the kitchen or fields. All work they call\ndiscipline, and thus they say that it is honorable 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 honorable. 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 exist 70,000 souls, and out of these scarcely\n10,000 or 15,000 do any work, and they are always lean from overwork\nand are getting weaker every day. The rest become a prey to idleness,\navarice, ill-health, lasciviousness, usury, and other vices, and\ncontaminate and corrupt very many families by holding them in servitude\nfor their own use, by keeping them in poverty and slavishness, and by\nimparting to them their own vices. Therefore public slavery ruins them;\nuseful works, in the field, in military service, and in arts, except\nthose which are debasing, are not cultivated, the few who do practise\nthem doing so with much aversion.\n\nBut in the City of the Sun, while duty and work are distributed among\nall, it only falls to each one to work for about four hours every day.\nThe remaining hours are spent in learning joyously, in debating, in\nreading, in reciting, in writing, in walking, in exercising the mind and\nbody, and with play. They allow no game which is played while sitting,\nneither the single die nor dice, nor chess, nor others like these. But\nthey play with the ball, with the sack, with the hoop, with wrestling,\nwith hurling at the stake. They say, moreover, that grinding poverty\nrenders men worthless, cunning, sulky, thievish, insidious, vagabonds,\nliars, false witnesses, etc.; and that wealth makes them insolent,\nproud, ignorant, traitors, assumers of what they know not, deceivers,\nboasters, wanting in affection, slanderers, etc. But with them all the\nrich and poor together make up the community. They are rich because they\nwant nothing, poor because they possess nothing; and consequently they\nare not slaves to circumstances, but circumstances serve them. And on\nthis point they strongly recommend the religion of the Christians, and\nespecially the life of the apostles.\n\n\nG.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\nthe Glossary, that the first Christians had everything in common except\nwives.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nwith Plato, in whom I have read these same things. The reasoning of our\nCajetan does not convince me, and least of all that of Aristotle.\nThis thing, 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\nG.M. Tell me now, I pray you, of their military affairs. Then you\nmay explain their arts, ways of life and sciences, and lastly their\nreligion.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nobey the 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,\nunder inferior masters. But at twelve they are taught how to strike at\nthe enemy, 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\nto the 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\nof Brahma 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\nis unworthy 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 Maccabaeus, of Caesar, 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\nhonorably, and then the teacher answers and says who are right.\n\n\nG.M. With whom do they wage war, and for what reasons, since they are so\nprosperous?\n\n\nCapt. 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,\nfor this 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 neighbors, 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\nan expedition are declared by a herald in the great Council. All from\ntwenty years and upward are admitted to this Council, and thus the\nnecessaries are agreed upon. All kinds of weapons stand in the armories,\nand these they use often in sham fights. The exterior walls of each ring\nare full of guns prepared by their labors, and they have other engines\nfor hurling which are called cannons, and which they take into battle\nupon mules and asses and carriages. When they have arrived in an\nopen plain they enclose in the middle the provisions, engines of war,\nchariots, ladders, and machines, and all fight courageously. Then each\none returns to the standards, and the enemy thinking that they are\ngiving and preparing to flee, are deceived and relax their order: then\nthe warriors of the City of the Sun, wheeling into wings and columns on\neach side, regain their breath and strength, and ordering the artillery\nto discharge 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 a\nbody of boys, armed and on horses, so that they may learn to fight, just\nas the whelps of lions and wolves are accustomed to blood. And these in\ntime of danger betake themselves to a place of safety, along with many\narmed women. After the battle the women and boys soothe and relieve\nthe pain of the warriors, and wait upon them and encourage them with\nembraces 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 of a crown of grass, as a token of honor,\nand at the presentation the women and boys applaud loudly; that one who\naffords aid to an ally gets a civic crown of oak-leaves; he who kills\na tyrant dedicates his arms in the temple and receives from Hoh the\ncognomen of his deed, and other warriors obtain other kinds of crowns.\n\nEvery horse-soldier carries a spear and two strongly tempered pistols,\nnarrow at the mouth, hanging from his saddle. And to get the barrels of\ntheir pistols narrow they pierce the metal which they intend to convert\ninto arms. Further, every cavalry soldier has a sword and a dagger. But\nthe rest, who form the light-armed troops, carry a metal cudgel. For if\nthe foe cannot pierce their metal for pistols and cannot make swords,\nthey attack 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 are aimed at the enemy they surround his neck and drag\nhim to the ground; and in order that they may be able to use the club\nmore easily, they do not hold the reins with their hands, but use them\nby means of the feet. If perchance the reins are interchanged above\nthe trappings 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\nthe left, and with the left to the right. This secret, moreover, is not\nknown to the Tartars. For, although they govern the reins with their\nfeet, they are ignorant nevertheless of turning them and drawing them\nin and letting them out by means of the block of the stirrups. The\nlight-armed cavalry with them are the first to engage in battle, then the\nmen forming 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\nin their 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\nor historian, who according to custom was with the expedition. And the\ngreatest chief, Hoh, crowns the general with laurel and distributes\nlittle gifts and honors 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 favoring 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\nis received into favor again. The conquered States or those willingly\ndelivered up to them, forthwith have all things in common, and receive\na garrison 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\nand without 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\nat the 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 and\nhold festivities in the plains. Then the music strikes up, and freely\nthey 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 afterward they never\ncease to load the conquered with favors, for they say that there ought\nto be no fighting, except when the conquerors give up the conquered, not\nwhen they kill them. If there is a dispute among them concerning injury\nor any other matter (for they themselves scarcely ever contend except\nin matters of honor), the chief and his magistrates chastise the accused\none secretly, if he has done harm in deeds after he has been first\nangry. If they wait until the time of the battle for the verbal\ndecision, they must give vent to their anger against the enemy, and he\nwho in battle shows the most daring deeds is considered to have defended\nthe better and truer cause in the struggle, and the other yields, and\nthey are punished justly. Nevertheless, they are not allowed to come to\nsingle combat, since right is maintained by the tribunal, and because\nthe unjust cause is often apparent when the more just succumbs, and he\nwho professes to be the better man shows this in public fight.\n\n\nG.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\nand Athens show. Now, I pray you, tell me of their works and matter\nconnected therewith.\n\n\nCapt. I believe that you have already heard about their military affairs\nand about their agricultural and pastoral life, and in what way these\nare common to them, and how they honor with the first grade of nobility\nwhoever is considered to have knowledge of these. They who are skilful\nin more arts than these they consider still nobler, and they set\nthat one apart for teaching the art in which he is most skilful. The\noccupations which require the most labor, such as working in metals and\nbuilding, are the most praiseworthy among 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 labor, no one does work harmful to him, but only that\nwhich is necessary for him. The occupations entailing less labor 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\na small 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 laborers. 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 honor 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 wagons 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\nit up well and use secret remedies, so that fruit is borne quickly and\nmultiplies, and is not destroyed. They have a book for this work,\nwhich they 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 favorable 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 everyone likes to be industrious, their labors 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\nis the 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\nor the 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 nation\nwhose manner of living is better and more approved than the rest. They\nadmire the Christian institutions and look for a realization 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\nto explore. Furthermore, they have artificial fires, battles on sea\nand land, and many strategic secrets. Therefore they are nearly always\nvictorious.\n\n\nG.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\nCapt. Their food consists of flesh, butter, honey, cheese, garden herbs,\nand vegetables of various kinds. They were unwilling at first to slay\nanimals, because it seemed cruel; but thinking afterward that is was\nalso 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.\nThey always change their food. First they eat flesh, then fish, then\nafterward 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 may satisfy nature. The length\nof their lives is generally 100 years, but often they reach 200.\n\nAs regards drinking, they are extremely moderate. Wine is never given\nto young 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 upward 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,\nand counteract 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, nor catarrh, nor\nsciatica, nor grievous colics, nor flatulency, nor hard breathing.\nFor these diseases are caused by indigestion and flatulency, and by\nfrugality and exercise they remove every humor and spasm. Therefore 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\nfrom the dry spasm, which they relieve with plenty of good and juicy\nfood. They heal fevers with pleasant baths and with milk-food, and with\na pleasant 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 the\nsweat of exercise they diffuse the poisonous vapor which corrupts the\nblood and the marrow. They do suffer a little from consumption, because\nthey cannot perspire at the breast, but they never have asthma, for the\nhumid nature of which a heavy man is required. They cure hot fevers\nwith cold potations of water, but slight ones with sweet smells, with\ncheese-bread or sleep, with music or dancing. Tertiary fevers are cured\nby bleeding, by rhubarb or by a similar drawing remedy, or by water\nsoaked 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 humors 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\nthe observation of stars and of plants, and by prayers to God. Fevers\nrecurring every fifth, sixth, eighth or more days, you never find\nwhenever heavy humors 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 labor to cure the epilepsy, with which they are\noften troubled.\n\n\nG.M. A sign this disease is of wonderful cleverness, for from it\nHercules, Scotus, Socrates, Callimachus, and Mahomet have suffered.\n\n\nCapt. 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\nhighly strengthening spices, and they temper their richness with\nacids, so that they never vomit. They do not drink ice-cold drinks nor\nartificial hot drinks, as the Chinese do; for they are not without aid\nagainst the humors of the body, on account of the help they get from the\nnatural heat of the water; but they strengthen it with crushed garlic,\nwith vinegar, with wild thyme, with mint, and with basil, in the summer\nor in time of special heaviness. They know also a secret for renovating\nlife after about the seventieth year, and for ridding it of affliction,\nand this they do by a pleasing and indeed wonderful art.\n\n\nG.M. Thus far you have said nothing concerning their sciences and\nmagistrates.\n\n\nCapt. Undoubtedly I have But since you are so curious I will add more.\nBoth when it is new moon and full moon they call a council after a\nsacrifice. To this all from twenty years upward 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\nlast has 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,\nand breeding. 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\nthe people, 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 honorable, since they yield\nwillingly to the wiser man and are taught by him. This, however, rarely\nhappens. The principals of the sciences, except Metaphysic, 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 are 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\nG.M. What about their judges?\n\n\nCapt. This is the point I was just thinking of explaining. Everyone\nis judged 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\nan eye with an eye, a nose for a nose, a tooth for a tooth, and so\non, according 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\nand Power; 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 or condemned. On the\nthird day he is dismissed through the mercy and clemency of Hoh, or\nreceives the inviolable rigor 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.\n\nNo one is killed or stoned unless by the hands of the people, the\naccuser and the witnesses beginning first. For they have no executioners\nand lictors, lest the State should sink into ruin. The choice of death\nis given 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\nthe sentence 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\nhe is 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 learners\nunder the law and discipline of those sciences or arts against which\nthey 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\nwarrant of 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\nthe columns. And on single columns can be seen the essences of things\ndescribed in the very terse style of Metaphysic--viz., the essences\nof God, 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, etc. But the sentences are certain\nand true correctives, savoring more of clemency than of actual\npunishment.\n\n\nG.M. Now you ought to tell me about their priests, their sacrifices,\ntheir religion, and their belief.\n\n\nCapt. 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,\nwho at once purge their souls and teach those that are inimical to\nthe people. 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 succors\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\nhad been 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. Afterward 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\nwrongdoings 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\na wonderful 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 honor, for the reason that he\noffered himself unto death for the sake of his country. But God does not\nrequire death.\n\nThe priests above twenty-four years of age offer praises from their\nplaces in the top of the temple. This they do in the middle of the\nnight, at noon, in the morning and in the evening, to wit, four times a\nday they sing their chants in the presence of God. It is also their work\nto observe the stars and to note with the astrolabe their motions and\ninfluences upon human things, and to find out their powers. Thus they\nknow in what part of the earth any change has been or will be, and at\nwhat time it has taken place, and they send to find whether the matter\nbe as they have it. They make a note of predictions, true and false,\nso that they may be able from experience to predict most correctly. The\npriests, moreover, determine the hours for breeding and the days for\nsowing, reaping, and gathering the vintage, and are, as it were, the\nambassadors and intercessors and connection between God and man. And it\nis from among them mostly that Hoh is elected. They write very learned\ntreatises and search into the sciences. Below they never descend, unless\nfor their dinner and supper, so that the essence of their heads do not\ndescend to the stomachs and liver. Only very seldom, and that as a cure\nfor the ills of solitude, do they have converse with women. On certain\ndays Hoh goes up to them and deliberates with them concerning the\nmatters which he has lately investigated for the benefit of the State\nand 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.\nThey sing 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 biretta, white, red, or\nanother color 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\nand the victories. Nevertheless, if any of them should deceive even\nby disparaging 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 of flattery, or ambition, or avarice.\n\nFor the praise of no one is a statue erected until after his death; but\nwhile he is alive, who has found out new arts and very useful secrets,\nor who has rendered 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\nto the 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\nendeavoring 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.\n\nThey 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 logican and\nnot a philosopher. From analogies, they can draw many arguments against\nthe eternity of the world. The sun and the stars they, so to speak,\nregard as the living representatives and signs of God, as the temples\nand holy living altars, and they honor but do not worship them. Beyond\nall other things they venerate the sun, but they consider no created\nthing worthy the adoration of worship. This they give to God alone, and\nthus they serve Him, that they may not come into the power of a tyrant\nand fall into misery by undergoing punishment by creatures of revenge.\nThey contemplate and know God under the image of the Sun, and they call\nit the sign of God, His face and living image, by means of which light,\nheat, life, and the making of all things good and bad proceed. Therefore\nthey have built an altar like to the sun in shape, and the priests\npraise God in the sun and in the stars, as it were His altars, and in\nthe heavens, His temple as it were; and they pray to good angels, who\nare, so to speak, the intercessors living in the stars, their strong\nabodes. For God long since set signs of their beauty in heaven, and of\nHis glory in the sun. They say there is but one heaven, and that the\nplanets move and rise of themselves when they approach the sun or are in\nconjunction 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\nto them 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 madness\nto say there is nothing. Nonentity is incompatible with the infinite\nentity of God. They lay down two principles of metaphysics, entity which\nis the highest God, and nothingness which is the defect of entity. Evil\nand sin come of the propensity to nothingness; the sin having its cause\nnot efficient, but in deficiency. Deficiency is, they say, of power,\nwisdom, or will. Sin they place in the last of these three, because he\nwho knows and has the power to do good is bound also to have the will,\nfor will arises out of them. They worship God in trinity, saying God is\nthe Supreme Power, whence proceeds the highest Wisdom, which is the same\nwith God, and from these comes Love, which is both power and wisdom; but\nthey do not distinguish persons by name, as in our Christian law, which\nhas not been revealed to them. This religion, when its abuses have been\nremoved, will be the future mistress of the world, as great theologians\nteach and hope. Therefore Spain found the New World (though its first\ndiscoverer, Columbus, greatest of heroes, was a Genoese), that all\nnations should be gathered under one law. We know not what we do, but\nGod knows, whose instruments we are. They sought new regions for lust of\ngold and riches, but God works to a higher end. The sun strives to burn\nup the earth, not to produce plants and men, but God guides the battle\nto great issues. His the praise, to Him the glory!\n\n\nG.M. Oh, if you knew what our astrologers say of the coming age, and of\nour age, that has in it more history within 100 years than all the world\nhad in 4,000 years before! of the wonderful inventions of printing and\nguns, and the use of the magnet, and how it all comes of Mercury, Mars,\nthe Moon, and the Scorpion!\n\n\nCapt. Ah, well! God gives all in His good time. They astrologize too\nmuch.\n\n\n\n     (1) A pace was 1-9/25 yard, 1,000 paces making a mile","title":"The City of the Sun","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":16565}