"My joys are felt in street or bower, My aid is everywhere; Thy Christmas-tree, my precious flower, Here, in the open air, "Shall far outshine those other trees, Which caught thine infant eye." The stranger child looks up, and sees, Far, in the deep blue sky, A glorious tree, and stars among The branches hang their light; The child, with soul all music, sung, "My tree indeed is bright!' As 'neath the power of a dream The baby to its Christ they bear; With Jesus it shall live; It finds a house and treasure there Sweeter than earth can give. THE LADIES OF LONG AGO. [FRANÇOIS VILLON, a French poet, born 1431, was distinguished both as a great rogue and a great poet. He wrote his finest things in prison. We give one speci men of his powers:] Tell me to what region flown Where is Eloïse the wise, Where thy voice, O regal fair, OF PROFIT AND HONESTY. There is no man but at one time or other says a silly thing; but the worst of it is when he affects it Ne iste magno conatu magnas nugas dixerit. 1 Has prov'd that one and one make two This does not touch me. My nonsense slips from me with as little care as it merits, and it is well it does so. I would quit it on a sudden for the little there is in it of value, and neither buy nor sell it for more than the weight. I speak on paper as I do to the first man I meet; and that this is true observe what follows. Who would not abhor treachery when Tiberius would not admit of it in a matter of such importance to him?? He had word sent from Germany that, if he thought fit, they would by poison rid him of Ariminius, who was the most powerful enemy the Romans had, he having treated them very basely in the time of Varus, and being the only man that opposed their dominion in those countries. The answer he returned was, that it was the custom of the Romans to be revenged on their enemies by open force, sword in hand; not clandestinely, nor by fraud: wherein he preferred the thing that was honourable to the profitable. He was (you will say) a hector. I believe as much; but that is no great wonder in the gentlemen of his profession. But the acknowledgment of virtue is no less valid by its coming from the lips of him who hates it, forasmuch as truth forces it from him; and if he will not sincerely embrace it, he puts it on at least by way of ornament. Our structure, both external and internal, is full of imperfection; yet there is nothing in nature but what is of use, not even inutility itself. There is nothing in this universe which has not some proper place in it. Our being is cemented with certain mean qualities; ambition, jealousy, envy, revenge, superstition, despair, have so natural a lodg. ment in us that the image of them is discerned in the brute beasts; nay cruelty itself, a vice so much out of nature; for even in the midst of compassion we feel within us an unaccountable bitter-sweet titillation of ill-natured pleasure in seeing another suffer; and even children are sensible of it: Terence, Heauton, act iii. scene 9. Tacit., Annal. lib. ii. cap. 88. Suave mari magno turbantibus æquora ventis E terra magnum alterius spectare laborem.1 "Tis sweet from land to see a storm at sea, And others sinking whilst ourselves are free. Whoever would divest man of the seeds of such qualities would destroy the fundamental conditions of human life. Likewise in all governments there are necessary offices, not only abject but vicious. Vices have their department there, and are employed as cement to connect us together, like poison that is administered for the preservation of our health. If they become excusable, as being necessary for us, and because the public necessity disguises their real qualities, we are to resign this part to the strongest and boldest citizens, who sacrifice their honour and conscience, as the ancients sacrificed their lives for the good of their country. We that are weaker play those parts that are more easy and less hazardous. The public weal requires that a should betray, tell lies, and commit murder: let us leave this commission to men that are more obedient and more supple. man I have really been often vexed to see judges by fraud and false hopes of favour or pardon draw in a criminal to confess his guilt; and to observe what recourse they therein have to tricking and impudence. It would be of good service to justice, and even to Plato himself, who countenances this manner of proceeding, to furnish me with other means more suitable to my inclination. It is a malicious kind of justice, and I think it is as much offended by itself as by others. I said not long since, in some company, that as I would be very sorry to betray any private man for the service of my prince, I would be very loth to betray my prince to any private man. As I have an aversion to cheat another, so I would hate to be deceived myself, and will not so much as furnish any pretext or occasion for it. In the few concerns which I have had to negotiate between our princes, in those divisions and sub-divisions by which we are at this time rent, I have nicely avoided leading them into any mistakes of me, and their deceiving others by my mask. The people of this profession are the most reserved, and pretend to be the men of the greatest moderation, and the nearest conformity to the sentiments of those with whom they have to do. I speak sincerely 1 Lucret. lib. ii. ver. 1, 2 what I think, and in my own manner; being | a tender negotiator, and but a learner, who had rather fail of success than be wanting to myself. Yet it has hitherto proved so lucky (for surely it is chiefly owing to fortune) that few things have passed from hand to hand with less suspicion, and more favour and secrecy. I have an open manner, which readily insinuates itself and gains credit upon the first acquaintance. Simplicity, and the naked truth, in what age soever, make their way, and find their account; and moreover the freedom of men who treat without any interest of their own is neither hateful nor suspected; and such may very well make use of the answer of Hyparides to the Athenians, when they complained of his rough way of speaking, "Gentlemen, do not regard whether I am "free; but whether I am so from sincerity, "and without any advantage from it to my "own affairs." 1 My freedom of speech has also naturally cleared me of all suspicion of dissimulation by its vehemency (leaving nothing unsaid, how pungent and cutting soever, so that I could not have said worse behind their backs), and by the full discovery it made of simplicity and indifference. I aim at no other advantage by my pleading than to plead, and tack no long arguments or propositions to it. Every plea plays its own part, hit or miss. For the rest I am not swayed by any passion either of love or hatred to the great men, nor is my will influenced by the sense of any particular injury or obligation. I honour our kings with an affection that is simply loyal and respectful, being neither prompted to nor restrained from it, by private interest; and for this I value myself. Nor does the general and just cause attract me otherwise than with moderation and coolness. I am not bound by such cogent and penetrating pre-contracts and engagements. Anger and hatred are not within the sphere of justice, and are passions of no use but to those who are not to be kept to their duty by mere reason; Utatur motu animi, qui uti ratione non potest: "He that cannot be guided by reason "is governed by passion." All lawful intentions are temperate in themselves; if otherwise, they become seditious and unlawful. This is what makes me walk every where with my head erect, a frank countenance, and an open heart. It is a truth, 1 Plutarch, in his Treatise of the Difference between the Flatterer and the Friend, cap. 24. and I fear not to confess it, I could, were it necessary, hold a candle to St. Michael, and another to his serpent, after the manner of the old woman. I will follow the right side even to the fire, but will keep out of it if possible. Let Montaigne be overwhelmed in the public ruin, if it must be so; but if it be not necessary, I would thank my stars for his safety, and I make use of all the length of line which my duty allows me for his preservation. Was it not Atticus, who being on the just but losing side, preserved himself by his moderation in that universal shipwreck of the world, among so many various changes and revolutions? For a private man as he was, this is more easy; and upon an occasion of the like nature I think men are very excusable for not being ambitious to meddle or make. For a man to be wavering and trimming, to keep his affection unmoved, and without inclination, in the disturbances of his country, and in a public division, I think it neither decent nor honest: Ea non media, sed nulla via est, velut eventum expectantium, quò fortuna consilia sua applicent. That is not taking the middle way, but "really no way at all, like those who wait "for the event of things in order to take "their resolution accordingly. " This may be allowed with respect to the feuds of our neighbours; and accordingly Gelo the tyrant of Syracuse suspended his resolu tion in the war of the Barbarians against the Grecians, keeping an embassy at Delphos, with presents, to observe to which side fortune would incline, and to take the critical minute to make the victors his friends. ' But it would be a sort of treason to proceed after this manner in our own domestic affairs, wherein a man must necessarily be of one side or the other; though for a man to sit still, who has no office nor express command to urge him to action, I think it more excusable (and yet this is no excuse for myself) than to meddle in foreign broils, to which, however, according to our laws, no man is compelled. Yet even those who wholly engage themselves in such broils, may act with such 1 Montaigne means that he would be inclined to make his court to both the opposite parties, as the old woman did who offered one wax taper to St. Michael the archangel, and another to the dragon which is represented fighting with St. Michael. This woman's action has given rise to a sort of proverb. Titus Livy, lib. xxxii. cap. 21. 3 Herodot. lib. vii. p. 498. sible. I say nothing to one party that I may not upon a fit occasion say to the other, with a little alteration of accent; and report nothing but things either indifferent or known, or what is of common consequence. I cannot allow myself for any consideration to tell them a lie. What is trusted with me as a secret, I religiously conceal; but I take as few trusts upon me of that nature as I can; the secrets of princes are a troublesome burden to those who are not interested in them. I am will temper and moderation that the storm shall | taken that they carry away as little as posfly over their heads without bursting on them. Had we not reason to expect as much from M. de Morvilliers, the late Bishop of Orleans? And among those who behave valiantly at this time, I know some of so much candour and good-nature that they will continue steady, whatever may be the change or fate which heaven is preparing for us. I am of opinion, that it properly belongs to kings to quarrel with kings, and laugh at those bullies who out of mere wantonness push themselves into quarrels where the odds are so great. For a man has no particular quarrel with a prince, being that they trust me with little, but that cause he marches against him publicly and courageously, for his own honour, and according to his duty. If he does not love such a personage, he does better, he esteems him. The cause of the laws, and the defence of the ancient government, are always remarkable for this, that such even as for their own private interest disturb the state, excuse if they do not honour its defenders. But we ought not, though it is our daily practice, to call a bitterness and roughness of temper, which spring from private interest and passion, by the name of duty, nor a treacherous and malicious conduct, by the name of courage. They call their propensity to mischief and violence by the name of zeal. It is not the cause by which they are warmed, but their interest. They kindle a war, not because it is just, but because it is war. Nothing hinders but men may behave commodiously and loyally too among those who are of the adverse party. Carry your self, if not with an affection always equal (for it is capable of different degrees), at least moderate, such as may not so engage you to one party that it may challenge all that you are able to do; and content yourself also with a moderate degree of their favour, and to swim in the troubled water without attempting to fish in it. The other way of a man's offering him self to serve both parties is much more conscientious than prudent. Does not he to whom you betray another person, with whom you was on good terms, know that you will do as much by him another time? He holds you for a villain, yet he hears what you have to say, draws intelligence from you, and works his own ends through your treachery; for double-dealing men are useful in what they bring, but care must be they rely with confidence upon what I tell them. I have always known more than I desired. One open way of speaking introduces another open way of speaking, and draws out discoveries like wine and love. In my opinion Philippides answered king Lysimachus very discreetly, who asking him what share of his estate he should bestow upon him, "What you will," said he, "provided it be none of your secrets." Í see that every one grumbles and is dis pleased if the bottom of such affairs as he is concerned in be concealed from him, or that there be any reservation used. For my part I am content to know no more of the matter than what it is intended I should be employed in, nor do I desire that my knowledge should exceed or constrain my promise. If I must serve for an instrument of deceit, let it be at least with a salvo to my conscience. I am not willing to be reputed a servant so affectionate or so loyal as to be thought a fit tool to betray any man. He that is faithless to himself may well be so to his sovereign. But princes do not accept of men by halves, and despise services that are limited and conditional. There is no remedy for it. I tell them frankly how far I can go, and no farther; for a slave I would not be but with reason, and yet I could hardly submit to that condition. They also are to blame who exact from a free man the same subjection and obligation to their service as they do from him whom they have made and bought, or whose fortune depends particularly and expressly upon them. The laws have rid me of a great anxiety; they have chosen me a fortune and given me a guardian. Every other superiority and obligation ought to be relative to that appoint 1 Plutarch, of Curiosity, chap. iv. ment, and to be curtailed. Not that if my affection should incline me otherwise, I would consent to it immediately. The will and the desire make a law for themselves, but actions are to receive theirs from public authority. All this procedure of mine is somewhat different from our common forms; it would not be productive of great effects, nor would it be of long duration. Innocence itself could not in this age either negotiate without dissimulation, or traffic without lying: and indeed public employments do not at all suit my taste; what my profession requires I perform in the most private manner I can. While I was but young I was deeply engaged in business, and succeeded; but I retired from it in good time. I have since often avoided meddling in it, rarely accepted, and never asked it, turning my back to ambition; and if not like the watermen who advance forward while they look backward, yet I am not so much obliged to my resolution as to my good fortune that I was not embarked in it for there are ways less displeasing to my taste, and more suitable to my ability, by which if she had heretofore called me to the public service and my own advancement in the world's opinion I know I would in spite of all my arguments have pursued them. Such as commonly say in opposition to what I profess, that what I called freedom, simplicity, and plainness in my manners, is art and finesse, and rather prudence than goodness, industry than nature, good sense than good luck, do me more honor than disgrace, but really they make my subtlety too refined. Whoever has followed me close, and pried narrowly into me, I will give him up the point if he does not confess that there is no rule in their school that could answer to this natural motion, and maintain an appearance of liberty and license so equal and inflexible through so many various and crooked paths, that all their care and ingenuity could not have carried them through. The path of truth is but one and simple; but that of private advantage, and of the conveniency of the business which a man has upon his hands, is double, uneven, and casual. I have often seen these counterfeit and artificial liberties taken, but for the most part without success. They are apt to relish of the ass in Esop's Fables, which in emulation of the dog, fawningly clapped his two fore feet upon his master's shoulders, for which his master gave him twice the number of blows with a cudgel, as the dog had caresses for the like sort of complai sance. Id maximè quemque decet, quod est cujusque suum maximè: "That is most "becoming to every man, which is most "natural to him." I am not willing to deprive deceit of its due rank; that would be mistaking the world. There are vices which are lawful, as there are many actions either good or excusable, that are in a strict sense illegal. The justice which in itself is natural and universal, is otherwise and more nobly regulated than that other particular and national justice, which is restrained to the necessity of our state affairs. Veri juris germanaeque Justitiæ solidam et expressam effigiem nullam tenemus: umbra et imaginibus utimur: " "We retain no solid and express model of true law and perfect jus"tice; we have only a shadow and faint sketch of it"; insomuch that the sage Dandamys,3 hearing the lives of Socrates, Py. thagoras, and Diogenes read, esteemed them to be great personages in every other respect but in their too great subjection to the reverence of the laws, for the authority and support of which true virtue must abate very much of its original vigor; and many vi cious actions are introduced, not only by their permission, but also by their persuasion. Ex senatus-consultis plebisque scitis scelera exercentur.⭑ "The commission of certain "crimes is authorized by the decrees of the 66 senate and the common people." I follow the common phrase, which makes a distinction between things profitable and honest, so as to call some natural actions, which are not only useful but necessary, dishonest and obscene. But let us proceed in our instances of treachery. Two pretenders to the kingdom of Thrace fell into a dispute about their title. The emperor hindered them from taking arms; but one of them under colour of bringing matters to an amicable issue by an interview, having invited his competitor to an entertainment at his house, caused him to be secured and put to death. Jus 1 Cicero de Offic. lib. I. cap. 31. Idem, lib. iii. cap. 17. 3 He was an Indian sage who lived in the time of Alexander. What Montaigne here says of him is re ported by Plutarch, who calls him Dandamis, in the Life of Alexander, chap. 20. It is the same in Strabo, lib. xv. where this Indian philosopher is called Mandanis. I have taken all this from M. de la Monnoye. 4 Senec, ep. 95. Tacit. Annal. lib. ii. cap. 65. |