to Poverty and Want and if Age kindles in them a spark of Reason they endeavour then but in vain to recal and overtake him These are bad players at Tennis who are forc'd to run after their Ball And as they are not accustomed to Labour or Subjection being abandoned by their Frieddâ— and destitute of a subsistance they from Luxury and Debauchery run into the most extreme Wickedness Then they quit the Court and instead of doing duty at the Prince's Palace they take up their station on some High-way They are never without Almanacks to know the Country-Fayres and Marts These are a sort of Merchants who sell all and buy nothing and in the end their Destiny or rather their Conduct prepares for them a Fortune at the end of a Gibbet or upon a Scaffold I protest the frequenting the company of Fools is not so dangerous and does not cause a man to make such dreadful Lapses but 't is a Barricado which always blocks up the way to Fortune All agree that no man can Accomplish himself with them Folly is no good Tutour to teach us Wisdome Neither can I conceive what bond of Friendship an Ingenious man can make with a Fool all their qualities are so different that they cannot be supposed to be reconciled together I think there need not many arguments to disswade a Prudent person from being concern'd with such a one I can scarce believe that he is able to endure him When any one is taken with our Conversation and Courts our Friendship 't is a great argument without doubt that he is much of the same Sentiments and opinion Nature has not created Heterogeneous Bodies to be United she is a Mistris that inspires Passions and inclinations more prevalent than our Reason A Fool is fit for nothing but to divert an Ingenious person sometimes he may make a pastime of him but not a Friend I could say that he would serve very well to be cullied if I would adhere to the opinion of many who believe that men of parts ought to be maintain'd at his Expence But this Maxime comes not within my precepts as being contrary to Honesty I had rather that men should avoid his Company than cheat him Injustice is upon all accounts Injustice his weakness ought to move us to compassion and his Holly should neither dismount our Wisdome nor violate our own Integrity But let us pass him by forasmuch as he cannot instruct us in that which remains to be known of the knowledge of the world CHAP. XVIII Whether a Private Gentleman may play at Games of Hazard and upon what account GAmes of Hazard are a Recreation or rather a kinde of Commerce among men from whence arises a Problem which well deserves to be illustrated Such as follow a severe Vertue banish them as Vicious and will not permit Youth to use them They consider them as a violent passion which domineers Tyrannically over the Minde and filling our Heads with empty hopes oftentimes brings us to the Hospital 'T is this which causes Shipracks on the main Land which frustrates our designes by depriving us of the means of executing them which renders us chargeable and beholding to our Friends and which causes our Company to be avoided as importunate and unprofitable There is nothing more easie than to make it appear deformed and villaâ—â—ous when we paint it on the worst side 'T is a Proteus which receives diverse forms and a Cameleon which often changâ—s its Colours But if we compare its advantages together with its defects examining it in its whole as well as in its parts it will not be impossible to evince that it may be more profitable than hurtful if we observe circumstances which are necessary therein I affirm that Gaming is as dangerous to a person of Quality as it is advantageous to a private Gentleman the one hazards very much because he is Rich the other hazards but little because he is not so and yet a Private person may hope for as much from the fortune of Play as the greatest Lord So that what I shall hereafter say as to this particular concerns onely private Gentlemen I have always esteemed the love of Gaming to be a gift of Nature of which I have acknowledged the benefit my opinion is not to be suspected in this matter forasmuch as she has given me no inclination to it therefore I speak thereof as a difinteress'd person and without Passion I lay this for a foundation that we should naturally delight therein for without such a Disposition we shall never be other than Cullies The Exercises of the Body are a great accomplishment but very improper to win Money withal our known address is obliged to give others such odds as render the parties so equal that it seems unuseful to our good success I intend to speak onely of Cards and Dice which require our study and our application First of all we ought to know all the advantage which the most subtile Cheats have by their slight of hand and afterwards understand the make of all sorts of Dice and the Cut and marks of Cards Then so soon as we have gathered together a considerable Stock of Money let us get into the greatest Gaming-houses and hold for a Maxime always to attaque the bâ—st Purses I have heard a wise Gamester who had won a very considerable Estate profess that for to reduce Gaming into an Art he had found out no other secret than to make himself Master of his Passion and to propose to himself this Exercise as a Trade of gaining Money by discreetly managing his fortunate and unfortunate hours without being transported or dejected His reason was that Chance being the Soul of Gaming it would not be Chance if it did not oftentimes change that every thing has its continuance which although unknown to us does yet come within the reach of the Rules of our Prudence Your good Fortune does vex and trouble him that looses against you Venture at whatsoever he sets you so long as you can answer it out of his Stock the more he looses the less he will be capable of managing his bad Fortune Passion precipitates him into a blindness of which you ought to take an advantage and if Fortune runs against you Grata superveniet quae non sperahitur hora. give her time to spit out her Venome and do not set very much at once propound to your self a sum to lose without hazarding any more devide your Stock to re-unite your Fortune and your last piece will bring back all your others if you be engaged with passionate Gamesters We seldome see a Gamester want Money as he looses it with care so he regains it with little trouble There is a certain Charity among them which does not permit them to desert one another in distress Although they have but three Dice for their whole Estate and can give no other security but Fortune yet they will be sooner entrusted with a considerable sum
man I suppose he is that already and has no need of any thing but conduct to arrive at his end I will only demonstrate that Wealth and Birth do infinitely contribute to the rendring us happy and to the obtaining of Honours suitable to the Quality of a Gentleman If any one objects that Riches may be prejudicial I answer that if he looks upon the right bias of the thing the error proceeds from us and not from them they are good of themselves and nothing is hurtful but the bad use we make of them The commendation of Poverty with which we meet so often in the Writings of the Antient Philosophers is a Paradox more proper to exercise the vivacity and sharpness of their Wits than to convince us of the truth thereof Plato and Aristotle have Philosophiz'd of it very much at their ease being the most considerable men of Greece both for their Birth and for their Employments Seneca extols it highly in the midst of a vast abundance and though he so often insinuates nay inculcates into us the contentedness of his Spirit yet did not die without great suspition of having had a designe of seating himself in the Throne of his Master and Benefactor Without doubt a Gentleman born rich and of a good Family has no reason to complain of Fortune if he continues in the Country she is not obliged to go finde him out there He ought to show himself at the King's Court there it is that he can hope to raise himself above others his equals providing he knows two things The first is the inclination and humour of his Master the second is his own inclination and natural disposition CHAP. III. Two ways of advancing a man's Fortune THere are two ways of advancing a man's Fortune one is to follow the War and the other is to apply himself to the Prince's Person It is true that Military services render a Gentleman infinitely â—ore meritorious than any other but Fâ—â—rces are men as well as our selves they act according to the impulses of Nature and we see they daily bestow their favours and caresses on persons that please them rather than on such as advantagiously serve them We have in our time seen a person rais'd to the dignity of Constable of France for having taught Magpies to flye at Sparrows and others from Pages become Dukes and Peers and in former Ages those who could cunningly manage the intrigue of a Maiden-head have made themselves great Lords by it I say again that a Gentleman who designes to raise his Fortunes at the Court must perfectly understand his own natural disposition because it is impossible to divert his Prince if he takes no pleasure himself in what he does It would be a great folly for a person to seek his advancement by Hâ—nting or Hawking who is not delighted with those Recreations we do every thing we fancie not with a very bad grace because our Soul can never apply it self to any Objects that do not please it and therefore we should not think to render our selves agreeable when we do things contrary to our inclinations Neither study nor the force of Reason can correct this default We are not masters of the Appetites which Nature has inspired into us and whatsoever pains we take to suppress them our discontent will sometimes appear and make all our forced complaisance ineffectual I may assert the same of the War which I have of Hunting we ought to perceive in our selves courage to despise dangers vigor to endure the toils of the Army and ambition to aspire to great Charges without these we can expect no advaâ—â—age from this painful exercise This way without dispute is the most honourable for besides the Wealth that is acquired by it we have the pleasure of beholding our Virtues accompani'd with an advantageous Repâ—tation and a Renown which lives eternally in the memory of men yet we cannot but acknowledge it is the most difficult for among those that aspire to the honor of Marshal of France many faulter in the Enterprize It would be a very inconsiderable business if we should rencounter no other obstacles but hazards A man is not to complain when he dies in the pursuit of his ends the same end which limits his life terminates likewise his Designes his Hopes and his Fortune There are two other things which do more incommode him the first is that his advancement depends from the happy success of Battels of which all humane Prudence is not sufficient to assure us The last is that it is requisite to have a Patron of great Authority in the Cabinet without whom his services will not finde that just reception they deserve it is true that it is a hard matter to surmount these two difficulties which render this way by War to great honours very uncertain and at last the Rewards are in the hands of the Soveraign if he delights in War he does often ascribe to himself the happy success of his Arms which he frequently commands in person and when bad success happens the Officers of his Army are hardly put to 't to defend themselves a gainst his anger and reproches But if he be addicted to his Pleasures more than to his Affairs he sees almost nothing but with the eyes of his Favourite who represents the Actions of every man in those colours that please him best and having abandon'd all his Authority at his Councils he must of necessity become a Slave to his Ministers Therefore after this manner a Gentleman ought to employ his policie and if he builds upon any other foundation he has often for the only recompence of his famous Exploits an Arm of iron or a Leg of wood I speak of such Gentlemen only who make great Dignities the Object of their Archiovments I know there are many who go into the Field only to gain esteem and to make appear that they are men of Courage which indeed is a duâ—y that seems incumbent upon every Person of Quality and without dissembling it would be a shameful thing never to have performed some gallant Exploit by their Arms whenas they make Arms their proper Profession I add further they are oblig'd to attempt something bravely by their own hands to establish their Reputation It is not sufficient never to have been guilty of any ignoble Act the world thinks it obliges us very much in speaking well of the Virtues we have made appear without making Almanacks to our advantage Nothing more is required of these but to do well for as they look upon their houses as a Râ—treat they are not oblig'd to concern themselves with the Ministers or the Court neither is it necessary that they spâ—nd their whole lives in Military Exâ—rcises it is enough that they have once shown themselves and pretending to no other advantage than that which they have already acquired which is to be esteem'd Valiant they may reasonably â—â—joy the benefit thereof in their own Families with the pleasure
young persons admits of nothing severe receives complaisance into the number of Vertues and rejects neither decency nor any other thing which contributes to the making of a good meen Comliness has great Charms to bewitch hearts we can hardly forbear having an inclination for one that enters into a company with a good grace His Carriage and his Countenance convince us of his Merit and the freedom which appears in his actions that he is a person of Quality To know how to dress himself advantageously is not an unprofitable science A Courtier of our time said that a Gentleman was fine enough when he was black new and neat And indeed it is not always the great expense which denotes a Gentleman undoubtedly it has a great lustre but it is uneasiâ— to make it continue Excesses are always followed with inconveniencies it is better that one should make himself ordinary Clothes often than rich and wear them a long time Moreover his chief care ought to be not to affect strange fashions or any out of the mode The fantastickness of his habit gives men cause to suspect that of his Manners If he is proper in his own person he will be so in his equipage and retinue 'T is his duty to consult his purse for to increase or diminish it and I would advise him rather to get many Merits than a quantity of Servants the great train of Pages and Footmen which pass not the Court of the Louvre make no great noise in the Presence-chamber it becomes only the Lords of Low Britain who come once or twice in their lives to show their Noses at Court to be accompani'd like the Embassadors of the great Mogol These are but wiles to amuse Citizens and Country-men He ought to wear such a garb as he can maintain a long time and which may secure him from the disgrace of falling into Bayliffs clutches Profuseness goes never without Injustice and Folly It is not the property of a discreet man to contract Debts and not to be in a condition to pay them If he be of this humour he will finde much to do to save his Repute and not pass for a Cheat. What I speak concerning the Equipage is also to be understood of the Table if he concerns himself therewith he is oblig'd to keep a good one This is a way to extend his acquaintance but no sure one to procure friends The greatest part of those who dine with us come not to oblige us it is very much if they forbear controwling the Sawces and the Drink When one keeps open house the whole Court think they have right to sit down at his Table This Galimaufry of men would make me abhor this kinde of Expence which deprives him of his liberty that makes it There were three rich Martyns at Paris who thought to gain great Credit by this means but they reapt no other benefit by their expences than to be called Martyn the eater Martyn that 's eaten and Martyn whom men eat For my part I look upon the first as the most prudent The pleasure of good Chear ceases to be a pleasure so soon as it is constrain'd I would very much approve of making good Meals provided they were not Ordinaries free to all Comers 'T is enough that a Courtier resignes to his Master all his liberty it is too pretious a Jewel to be prostrated before the multitude he ought to husband it as well as his Purse The Farmers of the Crowns Revenues may treat at their Tables private persons out of that which they extort from the Publick and 't is wisdom to make themselves considered for those things which they possess of greatest value 'T is sufficient for them that men admire their Cooks and their Plate for we should not oblige them by endeavouring to inform our selves of their qualifications and should be hardly put to 't to praise their worth This Counsel which I give to a young Courtier would not be proper for a Minister of State or a great Lord whose Fortunes are already well advanced To these a Table is a mark of grandeur which is not unprofitable for it facilitates the access to their persons and gives their friends who court them an opportunity of receiving their caresses and seeing they are superiour to their Guests they cannot be much importun'd by them It behoves a Courtier to know and to consider that as there is a great difference between him that seeks his fortune and him that has made it so their manner of living ought not to be alike What we do without discretion cannot be well done Deprive a man of this guide and you take away the Rudder from the Vessel CHAP. XIII That Fortune cannot advance a Fool. ALthough I should acknowledge that power of Fortune which I will abolish Stultitia est proficiendi impedimentum Stob. yet I could maintain with Reason that she cannot Advance a Fool she may give the Prince a great inclination for him This is a motion of the Soul the reason of which is not easie to be comprehended and may puzzle the most ingenious to resolve it but this Inclination will proceed no further when the Prince shall perceive what a bad choice he has made Friendship resembles Fire it must be suppli'd with Fuel to subsist Princes understand they are our Masters when they set one step to descend to us they believe we ought to make all the rest to ascend to them Indeed it is but reasonable that we should do our utmost to please them who owing us nothing do out of their own goodness oblige us It is our Duty to divert them and conform our selves to their humours For seeing they honour us with their Favours it is but just that we should endeavour to deserve them There are always found at Court many fair Counterfeits these are false Diamonds which have the resemblance of true their meen and their Birth make us conceive they are of some value and we cannot disabuse our selves before we hear them discourse Loquere puer ut te â—ognoscam by this Socrates would know the young Athenian who was presented to him to be Instructed There is but little difference between a fair Statue and a man of a good Countenance without Wit I would advise the Parents of such as these to bring them seldom to Court It is sufficient that the Countrymen know that they have once been there the stay which they make there serves onely to discover their weakness and make them the Cullies of a company of Wits who lose no occasion of diverting themselves at their Clownishness A little rudeness is pardonable in those poor unhappy Creatures and when it is known that their Hands are nimble mens tongues do not run so fast But these are not subjects fit to make a Fortune they want Counsel onely to keep them from committing gross absurdities in their Country Civility Generosity and Liberality are to be Inculcated into them If they be
all Ages been the reward of generous Exploits performed in the War It was by this means that Princes always engaged the most Valiant in their Service and this just recompence of Honour which was but personal descended afterwards to their Posterity and became Hereditary to Infants who through the imbecility of their age were not capable of deserving it Therefore men cannot deny but it is a great advantage to be born a Gentleman and that Vertue appears with a greater lustre in persons of a good Extraction But I suppose there is no other reason for it than a Custom we have to believe it so We are easily convinced that our Progenitors have raised themselves but received Customs have such a Tyrannical power that they force even our very Judgements For to examine things very well what has Nature done more for the Nobleman than for the Yeoman Nobilitas sola est atque unica Virtus and who can perceive any difference between them when they suck the Breasts of their Nurses If we agree that they have the same Organs the same Temperament and the same Faculties of Soul and Body where shall we finde that difference that exalts the Nobleman to that degree and depresses the Yeoman so unjustly We have an infinity of Examples which would contradict this opinion and make us acknowledge that Vertue and Merit are equally proper to all men When the People of Rome constrain'd the Senate to admit the Plebëans to the dignity of the Consulship as well as the Patricians the Republick did not finde its Puissance lessened nor its Dominions limited We do not read that those Plebëan Consals were ever more guilty of Cowardise or had less Zeal for their Honour than their Colleagues If we consider the men of Learning the greatest Proficients have not been Noblemen Homer's Birth was so obscure Smyrna Rhodos Colophon Salamis Chios Argos Athenae that after his death the Excellency of his Works caused a great contention to arise between Chios Smyrna and five other Cities which pretended every one to the glory thereof When it pleases the King to Nobilitate a Yeoman by vertue of his absolute power do we observe that his Patent encreases his Worth I should have a particular reverence for this Quality if it was the recompence of Vertue Et genus proavos quae non fecimus ipsi vix ca nostra voco rather than the chance of Succession We enjoy with pleasure that which we have acquired we look kindly upon the works of our own hands and cannot justly attribute to our selves any thing but what we have deserved Nevertheless we must follow the general Custom and not strive against the Stream but confess that a man of Honour Wit and Merit findes a wonderful Impediment in bringing himself forth when this qualification is wanting It is to great purpose for him to Philosopâ—â—â— against popular Errours he sees himself exposed to a thousand trouble some rencounters and findes he haâ— so much the more cause to be waâ— his condition as he has been to well educated If he has much worth if he possesses a great Soul he cannot conceive mean projects his politeness cannot accommodatâ— it self with the rudeness of those oâ— his own rank and his Vertue cannoâ— suffer obscurity yet he lives in thâ— Court as in an Enemies Country 〈◊〉 he findes there more contempt foâ— his Quality than esteem for his Merit and is commonly obliged to embrace meaner Sentiments hiding his lofty humour under the Cassocâ— of a Priest or the Gown of a Lawâ— yer this is the onely means left him whereby he can put himself in aâ— good a condition as those who formerly scorn'd his Company Thiâ— is a Lyon who chains up himself or to speak more properly a Wisâ— man who understands his true Interest The War in my opinion would not be more proper for him than thâ— Court Our Nation cannot bear Yoak that is not painted or gilt â—e are perswaded that they who â—mmand us are born to comâ—and and that we owe nothing 〈◊〉 our equals but all to our Suâ—riors This opinion of the peoâ—e with Time has created the Granâ—ur of the Nobility A person of â—uality has no difficulty to make â—â—mself be obeyed his name supâ—ies even the defect of his Merit â—d men do not enquire if he be complisht when they understand 〈◊〉 is of a good Family CHAP. III. That our Neighbours attribute more to the Merit of a Person than to his Birth and of the Profitableness of Commerce OUr Neighbours do not observe this Maxime We have seen in our days great Men raised from the dregs of the People in the service of the Emperour and the King oâ— Spain In Germany Aldringher from a Clerk became a General of thâ— Army John de Waert from a Servant was made General of the Emperours Cavalry and Beck a Carrieâ— at Brussels obtain'd the principal Employs of the Low Countries Thesâ— Examples which are not very frequent in any place are almost unknown among us so that although one may happen sometimes it oughâ— not to turn a wise man cut of thâ— beaten road I mean that the Employs of the Church and the Law ought to make the profession of 〈◊〉 man of the middle Rank who has Wealth and Wit above those of his â—ondition but if he has a more â—ean Soul Traidng is the way to â—ake his Fortune I have often reâ—ark'd among men of Sense that 〈◊〉 is a very rare thing to finde any â—â—cht by the excellencie of the Arts â—hey have possest The greatest â—ainters and the most famous Staturies have got more glory than proâ—it by their works The admirable Players on the Lute and the most â—xcellent Musitians spend their lives â—n diverting the curious and commonly let slip the occasions of maâ—ing their Fortune I speak this to show that the Common people are not unhappy in their â—ondition seeing there are so many ways of bettering it I speak not of â—he Treasurers nor of the Farmers of â—he Crown-Revenues if they take â—ot a Course that is the most just I â—m well assured that it is the shortest â—nd the most infallible These are Mushrooms which grow up in one â—ight Their progress towards Wealth has something in 't of the nature of Enchantments The people hate them rail against them and curse them but notwithstanding all this they make themselves Great Lords And if it happens that their Children have any wit they advance them to the most honourable Charges they marry them into great Families and assume to themselves the name of one of their best Mannors Time obliterates that of their Fathers and the People forget the oppressions they have undergone by them I cannot but with discontent consider the posture of a younger Brother of a good House who has naturally a generous and noble Soul reduced to the necessity of seeking his Fortune and Livelyhood his Quality which seems to make all his Glory is an Embarras which
of every thing concerning the Artillery to accompany the General Officers when they go to take a view of the places they designe to attaque or the Pass through which the Army must march to apply himself seriously to the study of Geometry and Fortification joyning the Theory with the Practice and to serve himself advantageously of all these Autfuit aut veniet nihil est presentis in illâ Morsque minus paâ—â— quà m mora mortis habet he must accustom himself to think that Death is not an evil that it meets as infallibly with the Cowards as the Valiant and that it is but a moment which terminates our fears aswel as our hopes When he shall be advanced to the Charge of a Captain he ought to look upon that but as one degree to ascend to that of a Master of the Camp and resolve to go as far as Worth and Valour can lead a Gentleman but he must ground his hopes upon the knowledge which he hath acquired and which can render him worthy of so great a Fortune Ignorance hinders often a Souldier from propounding to himself any considerable employ he must understand the function of a Captain before he can justly wish to be one When we perceive our own forces Seasit vim qâ—â—que saam our Soul has a certain vigorous quality which causes us to embrace the means of arriving at our ends It assumes a fierceness by which she surmounts all the difficulties which â—ecur she Arms her self with a resolution which causes her equally to despise the opposition both of Toils and Perils for without doubt by resolving stedfastly on that which we undertake we make a mighty progress in difficult matters and re-unite 〈◊〉 powers of our mindes by which they are also rendred fertil in inventions From hence proceeds that holdness accompanied with a confidence of succeeding well in our designes which wise men esteem so necessary and which Religion it self dâ—mands for the making of Miracles It is upon this sure Foundation that Pâ—mpey the Great said By knocking with his Foot he would make Souldiers spring out of the Earth And Caesar not regarding the most violent ragings of the Sea and Winds animated his Pilot by telling him that he had Caesar and his Fortune aboard Boldness and Resolution are necessary in a Martial man the one confronts and seeks dangers the other is not dejected by any bad accidents that persecute it Aâ—daces Fortuâ—a juvat tiâ—â—dâ—â—q â—epelâ—â— Great men have all been adventurous Alexander enterprized the Conquest of the World with 30000 men Caesar with 40000 took the City of Alesia belonging to the Gauls defended by 80000 Combatants and succoured by 200000 Souldiers of the same Nation Edward discomfited an Army of 40000 French with 7000 English and took King John Prisoner And King Gustavus Adolphus in our days made a descent into Pomerain with 8000 Swedes to fight against all the Forces of the Empire These mighty Successes are not always the effects of Fortune the Vertue of those who make the Enterprizes hath often the greatest share in them And it is very apparent that they are grounded upon some reason For as great men penetrate more profoundly into the Causes â—f things so they discover more clearly the possibility of their effects which were enveloped under contrary appearances From these prodigious examples we may descend to these particular Reasonings and affirm that a Gentleman after he has acquired the Sciences necessary for his profession ought continually to aspire to great Employs and to have more Zeal to deserve them than care to preserve his Life If he fixes his eyes upon them as the end of his hopes he cannot live without obtaining them of Fortune and will not wax old in the Army without an honourable Charge because his courage sollicites him to Enterprize not valuing the dangers and other obstacles that oppose themselves to his designes CHAP. V. That the Fortune of a Gentleman depends on the good or bad choice which he makes of a Master IF the Peace be so universal that he cannot get any Military employ and if the necessity of his affairs or his Passion of advancing his Fortune causes him to abandon his home and get himself a Service it is not to be doubted but his happiness will depend from the choice which he shall make of a Master To attend on a Lord who is not capable of advancing our Fortune is the same as to embark our selves in a leaky Vessel And to discern this we must endeavour to understand his Interest and Abilities for I may assert that if he be destitute of an Employment and has no good parts he is not proper to render a Gentleman happy We reason idly and sottishly to perswade our selves that he being rich will recompense us Never any Ingenious man built his Fortune upon the Purse of his Master If he be a Great Lord his Quality obliges him to great Expences and consequently puts him in a very bad condition of making such considerable Presents as may enrich a Gentleman and if he be not rich we can expect no benefit in his service Liberality is a Saint which has no Altars in the World and the greatest part of Noblemen have less knowledge of her than private Gentlemen The Respect which is given them from their Infancy perswades them that every thing is created for them they receive services as debâ—s that are paid them and not as gifts that are presented them they believe that their Bread has the faculty of making all those slaves that eat thereof they exact a Reverence as insupportable to those that render it as it is unjustly rendred to them that receive it and the quality of a Domestick makes them frequently forget the Merits of such as serve them Neither are they contented themselves to treat them without any respect but they force them sometimes to give respect to other persons much inferiour both in Merit and Extraction to them who have nothing recommendable but Wealth which exempts them from living in subjection Their Masters will permit these to sit down and be covered whilst they must stand behind them with their hats off One can hardly distinguish them in this posture from Valets de Chambre and they are sometimes abus'd like Villains It is very hard for a poor Gentleman to undergo all these grievous disasters Subjection is an evil which draws on a thousand others after it and therefore I do not admire that it should be so inconsistent with Worth and Vertue The Romans fought Six hundred years to win their liberty and the Switzers and Hollanders have hazarded all to regain theirs I esteem it the Soveraign good of this life when Fortune suffers us to enjoy it without want or ambition From hence I conclude that we ought never to engage it but with a probability of reassuming it one day with great advantage after having faithfully served CHAP. VI. That he ought to establish his esteem
in the minde of his Master before he enters into his service and how he should bring that to pass IT is very difficult that such a designe should prosper without the assistance of our Friends forasmuch as our Worth ought to be known before our Person it being always advantageous to make our selves to be desired 'T is through this fair gate we should make our entry into Great Families and 't is in this that our Friends can render us good Offices if they make a beautiful draught of our Extraction and Qualifications It is a vanity to have Worth and want an Address to gain the Râ—putation thereof Hidden Vertues are Treasures which enrich no-body therefore to make a beneficial discovery thereof we must procure the friendship of those who have the greatest Authority in the Provinces where we would settle our selves Among the Nobility there are ever some wise and more ingenious than others Among the Clergy some more learned who pretend to instruct the rest And in Cities are Officers of good repute and credit when once we are known to them and they have thought us worthy of their approbation without doubt they will give a good Character of us to such as know us not Their Testimonies and Reports will make us pass for what we are and in a little time will extend our Reputation through the whole Province The Multitude Ducimur ut nervis alienis mobile lignum which examines nothing consents presently to those who have the greatest Vogue among them and seeing our Esteem is formed by the number and we have no other opportunity of manifesting our Parts in publick Prudence commands us to make use of these Trumpets to spread abroad our good Qualifications Thus the minds of men being possest with a great opinion of our Worth a Great Lord who understands his own Interests believes himself as much obliged to entertain us as we are to serve him Another Reason is that every one considers himself in the first place and that both Glory and Profit will redound to him by being attended by an Ingenious person and especially if he has great Employments forasmuch as being obliged to give out many Commissions which depend on his Ministry he takes pleasure to entrust them with understanding persons who can give a good account thereof so that there happens a certain connexion between the Master and Servant which frequently produces Friendship in the one and Profit for the other If we acquit our selves worthily of an ordinary Employ they are easily enclin'd to bestow a better upon us Employments are linkt one to another our Sufficiencie and Conduct turn the Wheel which raises them in our favour and we become rich without impoverishing our Masters Their services resemble Flambo's which give light to many without diminishing any thing of their heat or brightness Our Fidelity and Affection joyn'd to the acknowledgement of the favours which they have procured us make them rejoyce at our prosperity they look upon it as one of their fairest Productions without desisting from giving us some means of encreasing it forasmuch as it contributes to their Glory without putting them to any expence or charge Experience teaches us that there is no person absolutely dis-interested and the most generous are never to that degree as to do good out of the consideration of Vertue alone Thus Wise men for the obtaining of a Courtesie finde out some way to interess their Benefactors in their own concern The very Country-men who follow the light of Nature only perceiving themselves equally destitute of Abilities and Merits have their recourse to presents Placatur bouis Jupiter ipse datis Ovid. thereby to render themselves acceptable to those of whose help they stand in need they know by experience that gifts excite Charity and if I may with permission speak it the Prayers both for the Living for the Dead would not be so frequent if our bounty did not engage those that make them By this Discourse we see that there are none but the services which we render to Lords of great Charges that can be advantageous to us and all others are uncapable of promoting our Interest The time we spend with them serves only to bring us to an unhappy Old Age Dat libera cuique Fata Deus propriisque fluunt mortalia causis Borb full of inconveniencies and afflictions If we fall into this fault let us accuse our own folly and indiscretion and not complain of Fortune If we had discretion enough to penetrate into Causes we might prognosticate their Effects and should not aim at any thing above that which they can naturally produce CHAP. VII Whether it be better to serve a very understanding Master or one of no great wit THere are some popular errours which have gained such Authority by the number of those that follow them that the wisest men finde it very difficult to unwinde themselves out of them If a particular person consults his Friends about the choice of a Master they will inform him that an ingenious person as I suppose he is would be happy to get into the service of a Prince or a great Lord very rich and of little Wit that he would infallibly posess himself of his Inclinations that he would become Master of his affairs as also of his Conduct that the whole house would have dependance on him that he would have the disposal of his Wealth and his Authority and that at last he should want onely the Name and the Arms of his Master to entitle himself the absolute Patron of the Family I consess that this proposition at first glance seems to be very probable but let us examine it strictly and neerer at hand and we shall gather from thence far different consequences There is nothing so opposite to a man of understanding as an ignorant person and consequently more inconsistant the property of a soft man is to cashire or to fear one that is more ingenious than himself This being supposed I see no Friendship that can be made between two Subjects so disagreeing But if it happens through the secret operation of some sympathy that this Lord has an inclination for such a person and this incomprehensible Passion of the Soul renders him Master of his Heart and confident of his Secrets it will not continue long before he remembers himself that he lives as under a Guardian and the jealousie of his Superiority will make him change his sentiments the lights of his Counsellour dazie rather than enlighten him his Reasons over-set him not perswade him his Merit becomes a burthen to him and his Esteem displeases him he imagines that men attribute to his attendant the good success of his affairs and so will make him responsible for the events of his Counsels but if they have happy ends he willingly attributes them to himself if unhappy he lays the whole fault on the other's ill conduct This Employ is too troublesome for the benefit thereof and
wholly ruines his Repute when he makes an open profession thereof unless he does excel in the art Whether it arises from Folly or from Reason it is a custom so antient and so universally establisht that it is impossible to abolish it so that we should make use of this Talent with great circumspection A man well accomplisht and of a good disposition is happy if he meets with a Master that delights in Learning This is a means of diverting him and gaining his Friendship he does not every day finde occasions of rendring him great and important Services We seldom see our selves in a condition of saving our Masters Life or of negotiating his affairs so discreety that our management thereof may procure him the most honourable Charges of the State These are chances of an extraordinary happiness which are not often in our power but if we have any ingenuity we may render our selves agreable by our complaisance insinuate our selves into his thoughts dispel his Melancholy and prevent his Orders by our diligence Great Services make a fairer show and are more obliging and advantageous he that neglects the performance thereof passes for one that is Ignorant or Treacherous Honour and Justice which engage us therein diminish in some measure the resentments which Masters ought to have of them because we our selves are interessed therein by our own glory But these little intrigues of pleasing being continued and often reiterated are received as Tokens of our inclination and friendship and make a marvellous Progress in the minde of the Lord who knows how to judge well thereof It is impossible that he should refrain from having a friendship for us seeing that friendship is a motion of Nature which derives its Origine and principle from things that please us and are presented to our judgement under the appearances of good I say that this â—ffect of our complaisancy is infallible supposing always that we have to do with an Ingenious person who understands something otherwise we loose our time and our labour Ignorance to the Soul is as deafness to the Far tell it wonders or impertinencies you are alike understood and alike esteem'd Men cannot have an esteem for unknown things and 't is the greatest misfortune that can befall a well-accomplisht Gentleman to be engaged in the service of a Master of this nature it is better to be concern'd with the wickedest Ingenious man than any Innocent fool The one is moved either by the consideration of the pleasure you do him or by that of some other interest but the other escapes from you when you think you hold him the fastest He frustrates all the designes of Prudence and Reason He is a Quick-sand which has no solid Foundation and as he does not distinguish mâ—n but by their Fortune and by their Habits they ought not to look upon him but with Galileo's Spectacles CHAP. IX That he ought to love his Master and how he should demean himself towards him I Have made this Repetition because it is of great importance to avoid this kinde of subjection and that which remains to be spoken concerning the Conduct of a Gentleman with his Master presupposes that he has made a better choice It is certain that it appertains not to all people to form indissoluble bonds of Friendship This Sacred knot of civil Society requires many other circumstances of which all the world is not capable Goodness is the best foundation and the pleasure of mutual Offices and of Conversation makes the continuance thereof as long as the life of them whom it has united I am sensible that men add hereto the equality of persons without which it is somewhat defective And so we cannot properly call this good-will Friendship that happens between Master and Servant But I answer that this inequality of Birth and Fortune does not hinder true Friendship providing that the respect of the Inferiour tempers it accordingly It would be a sort of tyranny not to love him whom we esteem worthy of our favour and an intolerable injustice to deprive a particular person of the most delightful function of his life For my part I assert that men may love their Master and ought so to do if they would be beloved again This being supposed Reason requires that the Qualities of which I have spoken meet in the bond of this Friendship but more apparently in the person of the Attendant than in the Master because the one must court it by his services and purchase it by the efficaâ—ie of his Merit not being able to possiss it but as a favour and the other bestows it as a Gratuity which depends more from his generosity than his acknowledgements From this Principle I infer that the Attendant should be pliable and expert and contribute to the Pleasures of his Master that he should do his utmost endeavour to conform himself to his humours and not omit any thing that will either serve him or please him for to succeed well in this case he has need of a good judgement to discern what his Master loves and an inclination to perform very well what he undertakes A too profound respect is not always advantageous it would be more convenient if it proceeded from Reason rather than Fear The Quality of a Gentleman cannot accommodate it self with that villanous Passion of the Soul which is suitable to none but Valets The respect which he renders ought to be accompani'd with a certain freedom which makes him known to be what he is And a man of Sense will never exact more than is due to him I have seen some who running into the other extreme became so familiar with Princes that they grew impudent This is a manner of living which has ever seem'd to me sottish and ridiculous and which is never practised but by dizzy-headed people it is not because it does not sometimes succeed well at Court and in the Families of Great Lords and that these men do not attain their ends for they demand their assistance with such impudence importunity that Princes cannot tell how to refuse them And being for the most part more brisk than judicious they are commonly great talkers and if they cannot perswade they deafen Thus these free and pratling humours being not capable of serious reflections hazard all things and are not very sensible of contempts or abuses They are expos'd every hour to receive affronts if they are driven out at the door they will enter again at the window and do never conceive themselves to be in disgrace But whatsoever swerves from the Rules of Wisdom and Modesty cannot become a person of Honour his Scope is not only to make a Fortune but to preserve his Reputation The most profitable course is not permitted him when it ceases to be honourable Men may gather Wealth by deceipt if they are willing to be reputed Cheats and commonly they who are too greedy and covetous have little regard to their Esteem Our Souls are not capable of
two equal Passions at the same time Equality is contrary to their Nature which is to transport themselves violently towards the Object which has the predominance and every one knows that balances made equal have no inclination A wise man may have these two Passions provided he considers that of Honour as essential and necessary the other as profitable and accidental The first cannot miss its Effect because it is wholly in his power and its greatest tyranny cannot extort any thing from him contrary to Vertue But the Effect of the last is not wholly in his power Therefore we see that men do not pardon the faults which we commit against our Honour but they easily pity the unhappy success of our Fortune I have often observed that great Wits who have this fire which hears and enlightens them are subject to violent Passions but they always weigh down the ballance on the most honest part They say that Julius Caesar had two principal ones which were his Masters during the whole course of his life Love and Ambition Never was any man so lascivious and took so much pleasure in winning the favours of Ladies but the enrag'd desire of commanding was ever predominant over that of Love he made Glory his Idol to which he sacrific'd his thoughts his sleep his cares his sweats his toils his perils and even his love it self This Passion reign'd so imperiously in his Soul that it suffered none others but as slaves which she entertain'd only for her own service For my part I conceive that that of gaining Esteem and Honour ought to possess the soveraign command in a Gentleman's minde forasmuch as Wealth far from being contrary to his fortune naturally produces effects which successfully tend to the same end For if he aspires to the repute of more than an ordinary man he is obliged to perform such noble actions as may procure him this advantage and this necessity engages him to apply himself seriously to the knowledge of the affairs of his own Profession and to behave himself after that manner that he may not give any person an occasion of condemning his proceedings This is so necessary a circumstance for his fortune and his establishment that it makes the very foundation of all his hopes seeing it is manifest that his Master cannot love him unless he esteems him and cannot esteem him unless he be convinced of his merits They may tell me that the good opinion we have of things does not always oblige us to love them and that a rational man will acknowledge the valour of his Enemy without bearing any friendship towards him but this objection is not pertinent to the subject of which I treat forasmuch as our enemy may conserve his good qualities and despise our friendship But a Gentleman receives an advantage by his Worth viz. he renders himself amiable in his Masters sight this esteem and friendship accompany one the other as a shadow the body and are ever inseparable I have said that he ought to avoid Impudence and that ridiculous familiarity which savours too much of the Buffoon I do not advise him to be continually so reserved that he dares not speak a witty word if he findes an opportunity of doing it discreetly Silence is aswel a mark of stupidity as of respect It is sufficient if he speaks to the purpose and never becomes importunate he may entertain his Master with some privacies in particular if he perceives that his conversation pleases him provided he be careful to observe his distance in the presence of strangers CHAP. X. That he ought to endeavour to be employed in the negotiation of his Master's Affairs at Court and wherefore THe World is a Comedy the best Actors are those that represent their Parts the most naturally but the wisest do not always act Kings and Great Lords and are seldome the Hero's of the Play In the Subject whereof I treat the most difficult is that of the inferiour he has much to act before he can hope for any thing his faults retort upon himself and his spectators are ever more ready to abuse than to favour him 'T is upon this account that he ought to keep a continual guard against his Imprudence as well as against the Malice of his Enemies A grand domestick cannot be without intrigues and we seldome see a Gentleman in a great Family so much respected by the others as that they will not pretend in the least to his Employments 'T is not sufficient to deserve them better than his Competitours but it is convenient to promote his Interest with great circumspection and cunning viz. To demand them most submissively or to employ the Friendship of his Masters confidents for to suggest to him that he has deserved them There is no Justice so exact nor Bounty so perfect but receives more life by being follicited There is no impudence in demanding great Employs when men know themselves to be capable of discharging them honourably they have always for a pretext the passion of serving their Master and making appear their fidelity I do particularly esteem that Gentleman happy who is employed by a Great Lord to negotiate his affairs at Court if he has any ingenuity he promotes his own interest together with his Masters by giving there great evidences of his sufficiency which beat him out a path to arrive at greater preferments There are many accomplisht persons who are not unhappy but because they are unknown those who walk in the long Gallery without being admitted into the Council-Chamber are like the Souls in Limbo who cannot go to Paradise The most difficult thing is to make their worth known Kings have Eyes and Ears throughout the whole World and their inclinations are not more determined to confer Honours on Great Lords than on private Gentlemen If they have an advantage by their Birth these have one by their good Qualifications Nature is not unjust in the distribution of her favours she seldom bestows an extraordinary Wit on such as she causes to be born in the midst of abundance and she often delights to give but very little Wealth to the most ingenious persons But let us rather say that is an effect of the Wisdom of God who orders her operations I once heard a paradox proved before the King of Sweden which had great relation to what I have asserted A certain man extol'd the mighty progress of his Arms in Germany and maintain'd in his presence that his Valour his vast designes and his noble Exploits were the most perfect works of Providence that ever were that without him the house of Austria had rais'd it self to an Universal Monarchy to the utter Ruine and Extirpation of the Protestant Religion that it was most evident by the Miracles of his Life that God had Created him for the safety of Mankinde that the unlimited greatness of his Courage was a present of God's Omnipotency and a visible effect of his infinite goodness Say rather repli'd
is somewhat certain to our knowledge forasmuch as this uncertainty is infallible You affirm something in saying that every thing is uncertain and from hence I conclude that your Science is false in its Principles CHAP. XXII Of the Vanity of Judicial Astrology Of the Folly of Men And that Honesty really makes our Fortune LEt us rather say that all things are certain but our Senses are deceitful because we are not perfect notwithstanding this our Ignorance would know every thing it is not contented to examine the operations of Nature and to rake in her Secrets it would also pry into future things Quod stat ante pedes nemo spectat coeli scrutantur plagas Ci. cero which have no being it imagines to read in the Constellations as in a large Book every thing that shall come to pass here below and figuring to it self admirable rencounters from the Aspects and Conjunctions of the Planets it draws from thence consequences as remote from Truth as the Stars themselves are from the Earth I confess I have ever esteemed this Science vain and ridiculous for indeed it must either be true or false if true that which it predicts is infallible Ne utile quidem est scire quod futurum sit miserum enim est nihil proficientem angi Cicero and inevitatable and consequently unuseful to be foreknown For what will it advantage me to understand the Evil that shall happen to me if it is not in my power to prevent it and what will it benefit an unhappy man to be advertised that he shall loose his Head by the hands of a Hangman but onely burthen his Soul with grief and disquiet becoming miserable twenty years before he ought to be And if Prosperity and happiness shall be my lot what necessity is there that I should entertain with care and anxiety this hope which will at last infallibly make me happy But if it is false as it may easily be evinced to be would not a man of Sense be blamed to apply his minde to and loose his time in the Study thereof It ought to be the occupation of a Shallow brain that feeds himself with Chimerical Fancies or of an Impostor who makes a mystery of every thing which he understands not for to deceive Women and Credulous people Folly is certainly a Malady which has many different Symptomes Stultorum infinitus numerus Ecclesiast Stultorum plena sunt omnia Cicero it reigns so Universally that I admire for what cause the Antients have not Dedicated Temples to her as well as to Fortune If we should make reflexions on our Prudence and on our most discreet Conduct we could not but acknowledge that the most clear and sound Reason is oftentimes subject to strange Convulsions The most true cause of our Extravagancies is that the Object which should terminate our desires is seldom fixt and determined Pyrrhus making one day great preparations to invade Italy Cineus the Philosopher askt him what he designed to do when he should have subdued the Romans He answered I will then pass with my Army into Sicily And whither then replied the Philosopher I will said the King if Fortune favours me carry my Arms into Africa and make my self Lord of Carthage and Lybia And if you should be Victorious replied Cineus what will you then do I will answered the King resolve on some greater Exploits Enterprizes And at last said the Philosopher what shall be the end of your toils and labour Repose repli'd the King Then the Philosopher exclaim'd Oh Prince enjoy it from this instant to what purpose will you make such vast Projects to conquer that which you have already under your command Can your ambition be reconcil'd with Prudence to deprive your self out of a gayety of humour of that pleasure which you perfectly enjoy without stirring from your Palace to engage your self in the most extreme perils for an uncertain Victory and most inevitable Evils Men might have said as much to Charlemaigne to Francis the First to Charles the Fifth and to the King of Sweden A Prince by extending his Dominions increases the sound of his Name and contributes nothing to his repose but on the contrary multiplies his cares and troubles by creating to himself new Enemies Nevertheless the World admires the Conquerours there is no Divinity so reverenc'd as the Valour of these illustrious Robbers who sacrifice the wealth life and liberty of men to their ambition Men fear their arms whilst they live when dead they praise them nay sometimes they are canoniz'd Never was any thing so unreasonable but it found abettors A famous Orator of Athens spent his life in making a Panegyrick of the third Ague Poverty bereaves the whole World of its repose and Riches ravisht it from Anacreon in such manner that he return'd again to Polycrates Tyrant of Samos the ten thousand Ducats which he had presented him because they disturb'd his sleep As every one has his peculiar Sense so every one has his peculiar Folly they follow their temperament in this as in all other things There is great Probability Alter ridebat quoties à limine moverat unum Protuleratque pedem flebat contrarius alter that Democritus was of a Sanguine Complexion Heraclitus of a Melancholick The one made the principle of his Philosophy to deride the World and to make all serious things ridiculous the other establisht his upon Lamentations and Tears perhaps a third person would have been more reasonable as less interessed There are few States governed by the same Policy they tend all to the same end by divers ways Religion it self as holy as it is could never Universally be the same in all parts of the world The diversity of our judgements is the Origine of all these things and ignorance which is natural to us is the Source of the diversity of our judgements Truth is so stately and majestick that she disdains men as being unworthy to behold her she conceals her self under so many shapes that there is hardly one wise man in an age whom she admits to her sight She communicates her self unmask'd to Faith alone because that is the Creature of the Eternal Truth 'T is that which gives us infallible lessons for our Conduct as well as for our Salvation without it our Reason is blinde and leads us into precipices Her precepts are always just and her promises are never ineffectual If we give ear to her she will tell us in two words the whole method we should observe to advance our fortunes viz. first of all seek the Kingdom of God and all your affairs shall succeed happily This precept is an admirable abridgment of the best Morality in the world and deserves both our belief and our consideration For what is it but to follow Vertue which guides us in the path and slie Vice which leads us astray The examination of this Proposition shall make the Epilogue to this Discourse Vertue is a