BOOK I. purpose, by contributions, taxes of different kinds, &c.-but CHAP. XIV. of this subject we shall treat in another place. crease its 184. The We have here summed up the principal ingredients that nation ought constitute that strength which a nation ought to augment and not to in- improve. Can it be necessary to add the observation, that power by il- this desirable object is not to be pursued by any other melegal means. thods than such as are just and innocent? A laudable end is not sufficient to sanctify the means; for these ought to be in their own nature lawful. The law of nature cannot contradict itself: if it forbids an action as unjust or dishonest in its own nature, it can never permit it for any purpose whatever. And therefore in those cases where that object, in itself so valuable and so praiseworthy, cannot be attained without employing unlawful means, it ought to be considered as unattainable, and consequently be relinquished. Thus, we shall show, in treating of the just causes of war, that a nation is not allowed to attack another with a view to aggrandize itself by subduing and giving law to the latter. This is just the same as if a private person should attempt to enrich himself by seizing his neighbour's property. 2185. Pow lative. The power of a nation is relative, and ought to be measured er is but re- by that of its neighbours, or of all the nations from whom it has any thing to fear. The state is sufficiently powerful when it is capable of causing itself to be respected, and of repelling whoever would attack it. It may be placed in this happy situation, either by keeping up its own strength equal or even superior to that of its neighbours, or by preventing their rising to a predominant and formidable power. But we cannot show here in what cases and by what means a state may [91] justly set bounds to the power of another. It is necessary, first, to explain the duties of a nation towards others, in order to combine them afterwards with its duties towards itself. For the present, we shall only observe, that a nation, while it obeys the dictates of prudence and wise policy in this instance, ought never to lose sight of the maxims of justice. CHAP. XV. 2186. Advantages of glory. CHAP. XV. OF THE GLORY OF A NATION. THE glory of a nation is intimately connected with its power, and indeed forms a considerable part of it. It is this brilliant advantage that procures it the esteem of other nations, and renders it respectable to its neighbours. A nation whose reputation is well established-especially one whose glory is illustrious-is courted by all sovereigns; they desire its friendship, and are afraid of offending it. Its friends, and those who wish to become so, favour its enterprises; and BOOK I. those who envy its prosperity are afraid to show their ill-will. CHAP. XV. It is, then, of great advantage to a nation to establish its a 187. Duty reputation and glory; hence, this becomes one of the most of the naimportant of the duties it owes to itself. True glory consists tion. in the favourable opinion of men of wisdom and discernment; it is acquired by the virtues or good qualities of the head and the heart, and by great actions, which are the fruits of those virtues. A nation may have a two-fold claim How true to it;-first, by what it does in its national character, by the glory is acconduct of those who have the administration of its affairs, quired. and are invested with its authority and government; and, secondly, by the merit of the individuals of whom the nation is composed. We prince. A prince, a sovereign of whatever kind, being bound to 188. Duty exert every effort for the good of the nation, is doubtless of the obliged to extend its glory as far as lies in his power. have seen that his duty is to labour after the perfection of the state, and of the people who are subject to him; by that means he will make them merit a good reputation and glory. He ought always to have this object in view, in every thing he undertakes, and in the use he makes of his power. Let him, in all his actions, display justice, moderation, and greatness of soul, and he will thus acquire for himself and his people a name respected by the universe, and not less useful than glorious. The glory of Henry IV. saved France. In the deplorable state in which he found affairs, his virtues gave animation to the loyal part of his subjects, and encouraged foreign nations to lend him their assistance, and to enter into an alliance with him against the ambitious Spaniards. In his circumstances, a weak prince of little estimation would have been abandoned by all the world; people would have been afraid of being involved in his ruin. He can Besides the virtues which constitute the glory of princes as [92] well as of private persons, there is a dignity and decorum that particularly belong to the supreme rank, and which a sovereign ought to observe with the greatest care. not neglect them without degrading himself, and casting a stain upon the state. Every thing that emanates from the throne ought to bear the character of purity, nobleness, and greatness. What an idea do we conceive of a people, when we see their sovereign display, in his public acts, a meanness of sentiment by which a private person would think himself disgraced! All the majesty of the nation resides in the person of the prince; what, then, must become of it, if he prostitutes it, or suffers it to be prostituted by those who speak and act in his name? The minister who puts into his master's mouth a language unworthy of him, deserves to be turned out of office with every mark of ignominy. The reputation of individuals is, by a common and natural BOOK I. mode of speaking and thinking, made to reflect on the whole CHAP. XV. nation. In general, we attribute a virtue or a vice to a peo189. Duty ple, when that vice or that virtue is frequently observed among of the citi zens. 190. Example of the Swiss. them. We say that a nation is warlike, when it produces a great number of brave warriors; that it is learned, when there are many learned men among the citizens; and that it excels in the arts, when it produces many able artists. On the other hand, we call it cowardly, lazy, or stupid, when men of those characters are more numerous there than elsewhere. The citizens, being obliged to labour with all their might to promote the welfare and advantage of their country, not only owe to themselves the care of deserving a good reputation, but they also owe it to the nation, whose glory is so liable to be influenced by theirs. Bacon, Newton, Descartes, Leibnitz, and Bernouilli, have each done honour to his native country, and essentially benefited it by the glory he acquired. Great ministers, and great generals-an Oxenstiern, a Turenne, a Marlborough, a Ruyter-serve their country in a double capacity, both by their actions and by their glory. On the other hand, the fear of reflecting a disgrace on his country will furnish the good citizen with a new motive for abstaining from every dishonourable action. And the prince ought not to suffer his subjects to give themselves up to vices capable of bringing infamy on the nation, or even of simply tarnishing the brightness of its glory; he has a right to suppress and to punish scandalous enormities, which do a real injury to the state. The example of the Swiss is very capable of showing how advantageous glory may prove to a nation. (56) The high reputation they have acquired for their valour, and which they still gloriously support, has preserved them in peace for above two centuries, and rendered all the powers of Europe desirous of their assistance. Louis XI., while dauphin, was witness of the prodigies of valour they performed at the [93] battle of St. Jacques, near Basle, and he immediately formed the design of closely attaching to his interest so intrepid a nation. The twelve hundred gallant heroes, who on this occasion attacked an army of between fifty and sixty thousand veteran troops, first defeated the vanguard of the Armagnacs, which was eighteen thousand strong; afterwards, rashly engaging the main body of the army, they perished almost to a man, without being able to complete their victory.† But, besides their terrifying the enemy, and preserving (56) This observation properly refers considered by their countrymen to ante, 124, p. 54. * See the Memoirs of Comines. † Of this small army, "eleven hundred and fifty-eight were counted dead on the field, and thirty-two wounded. Twelve men only escaped, who were as cowards that had preferred a life of shame to the honour of dying for their country." History of the Helvetic Confederacy, by M. de Watterille, vol. i. p. 250.-Tschudi, p. 425. Switzerland from a ruinous invasion, they rendered her essen- BOOK I. CHAP. XV. Since the glory of a nation is a real and substantial ad-? 191. Atvantage, she has a right to defend it, as well as her other ad- tacking the glory of a vantages. He who attacks her glory does her an injury; and nation is doshe has a right to exact of him, even by force of arms, a just ing her an reparation. We cannot, then, condemn those measures, some- injury. times taken by sovereigns to support or avenge the dignity of their crown. They are equally just and necessary. If, when they do not proceed from too lofty pretensions, we attribute them to a vain pride, we only betray the grossest ignorance of the art of reigning: and despise one of the firmest supports of the greatness and safety of a state. CHAP. XVI. OF THE PROTECTION SOUGHT BY A NATION, AND ITS VOLUN- CHAP. XVI. WHEN a nation is not capable of preserving herself from 192. Proinsult and oppression, she may procure the protection of a tection. more powerful state. If she obtains this by only engaging to perform certain articles, as to pay a tribute in return for the safety obtained,-to furnish her protector with troops,and to embark in all his wars as a joint concern,-but still [ 94 ] reserving to herself the right of administering her own government at pleasure, it is a simple treaty of protection, that does not all derogate from her sovereignty, and differs not from the ordinary treaties of alliance, otherwise than as it creates a difference in the dignity of the contracting parties. mission of one nation But this matter is sometimes carried still farther: and, al-? 193. Vothough a nation is under an obligation to preserve with the luntary subutmost care the liberty and independence it inherits from nature, yet when it has not sufficient strength of itself, and to another. feels itself unable to resist its enemies, it may lawfully subject itself to a more powerful nation on certain conditions * Vogel's Historical and political France and the 'Thirteen Cantons, p. Treatise of the Alliances between 75, 76. BOOK L. agreed to by both parties: and the compact or treaty of subCHAP. XVI. mission will thenceforward be the measure and rule of the 2 194. Se veral kinds of submis sion. 195. Right zens when the nation er. rights of each. For, since the people who enter into subjec tion resign a right which naturally belongs to them, and transfer it to the other nation, they are perfectly at liberty to annex what conditions they please to this transfer; and the other party, by accepting their submission on this footing, engages to observe religiously all the clauses of the treaty. This submission may be varied to infinity, according to the will of the contracting parties: it may either leave the inferior nation a part of the sovereignty, restraining it only in certain respects, or it may totally abolish it, so that the superior nation shall become the sovereign of the other,-or, finally, the lesser nation may be incorporated with the greater, in order thenceforward to form with it but one and the same state and then the citizens of the former will have the same privileges as those with whom they are united. The Roman history furnishes examples of each of these three kinds of submission,-1. The allies of the Roman people, such as the inhabitants of Latium were for a long time, who, in several respects, depended on Rome, but, in all others, were governed according to their own laws, and by their own magistrates;— 2. The countries reduced to Roman provinces, as Capua, whose inhabitants submitted absolutely to the Romans;-* 3. The nations to which Rome granted the freedom of the city. In after times the emperors granted that privilege to all the nations subject to the empire, and thus transformed all their subjects into citizens. In the case of a real subjection to a foreign power, the of the citi citizens who do not approve this change are not obliged to submit to it-they ought to be allowed to sell their effects submits to a and retire elsewhere. For, my having entered into a society foreign pow- does not oblige me to follow its fate, when it dissolves itself in order to submit to a foreign dominion. I submitted to the society as it then was, to live in that society as the member of a sovereign state, and not in another: I am bound to obey it, while it remains a political society: but, when it divests [95] itself of that quality in order to receive its laws from another state, it breaks the bond of union between its members, and releases them from their obligations. ? 196. When a nation has placed itself under the protection of These com- another that is more powerful, or has even entered into subpacts annul- jection to it with a view to receiving its protection,-if the latter does not effectually protect the other in case of need, it is manifest, that, by failing in its engagements, it loses all the rights it had acquired by the convention, and that the other, being disengaged from the obligation it had contracted, led by the failure of protection. * Itaque populum Campanum, ur- patres conscripti, populique Romani bemque Capuam, agros, delubra deûm, ditionem dedimus. LIVY, book vii. divina humanaque omnia, in vestram, c. 31. |