Essays, Moral and Political/Essay 15
ESSAY XV.
Of Liberty and Despotism.
Those who employ their Pens on political Subjects, free from Party-Rage, and Party-Prejudices, cultivate a Science, which, of all others, contributes most both to public Utility, and to the private Satisfaction of those who addict themselves to the Study of it. I am apt, however, to entertain a Suspicion, that the World is still too young to fix any general stable Truths in Politics, which will remain true to the latest Posterity. We have not as yet had Experience of above three thousand Years; so that not only the Art of Reasoning is still defective in this Science, as well as in all others, but we even want sufficient Materials, upon which we can reason. 'Tis not sufficiently known, what Degrees of Refinement, either in Virtue or Vice, human Nature is susceptible of; nor what may be expected of Mankind from any great Revolution in their Education, Customs, or Principles. Machiavel was certainly a great Genius; but having confin'd his Study to the furious Tyranny of antient Sovereigns, or the little disorderly Principalities of Italy, his Reasonings, especially upon Monarchical Government, have been found extremely defective; and there scarce is any Maxim in his Prince, which subsequent Experience has not entirely refuted. A weak Sovereign, says he, is incapable of receiving good Counsel; for if he consult with several, he will not be able to choose among their different Counsels. If he abandon himself to one, that Minister may, perhaps, have Capacity; but he will not be long a Minister: He will be sure to dispossess his Master, and place himself and his own Family upon the Throne. I mention this, among innumerable Instances, of the Errors of that Politician, proceeding from his having liv'd in too early an Age of the World, to be a good Judge of political Truth. Almost all the Princes of Europe are at present governed by their Ministers, and have been so for near two Centuries; and yet no such Event has ever happen'd, or can possibly happen. Sejanus might project the dethroning the Cæsars; but Fleury, though ever so vicious, could not, while in his Senses, entertain the least Hopes of dispossessing the Bourbons.
Trade was never esteem'd an Affair of State, 'till within this last Century; nor is there any antient Writer on Politics, who has made mention of it. Even the Italians have kept a profound Silence with regard to it; though it has now excited the chief Attention, as well of Ministers of State, as of speculative Reasoners. The great Opulence, Grandeur, and military Archievements of the two Maritime Powers, seem first to have instructed Mankind in the vast Importance of an extensive Commerce.
Having, therefore, intended in this Essay to have made a full Comparison of Liberty and Despotism, and have shown the Advantages and Disadvantages of each, I began to entertain a Suspicion, that no Man in this Age was sufficiently qualified for such an Undertaking, and that whatever he should advance on that Head would, in all Probability, be refuted by further Experience, and be rejected by Posterity. Such mighty Revolutions have happened in human Affairs, and so many Events have arisen contrary to the Expectation of the antients, as are sufficient to beget the Suspicion of still farther Changes.
It had been observ'd by the Antients, that all the Arts and Sciences arose among free Nations, and that the Persians and Egyptians, notwithstanding all their Ease, Opulence and Luxury, made but faint Efforts towards a Relish in those finer Pleasures, which were carried to such Perfection by the Greeks, amidst continual Wars, attended with Poverty, and the greatest Simplicity of Life and Manners. It had also been observ'd, that as soon as the Greeks lost their Liberty, tho' they encreased mightily in Riches, by Means of the Conquests of Alexander; yet the Arts, from that Moment, declin'd among them, and have never since been able to raise their Head in that Climate. Learning was transplanted to Rome, the only free Nation at that Time in the Universe; and having met with so favourable a Soil, it made prodigious Shoots for above a Century; till the Decay of Liberty produced also the Decay of Letters, and spread a total Barbarity over the World. From these two Experiments, of which each was double in its Kind, and show'd the Fall of Learning in Despotic Governments, as well as its Rise in popular Ones, Longinus thought himself sufficiently justified, in asserting, That the Arts and Sciences could never flourish, but in a free Government: And in this Opinion, he has been followed by several eminent Writers[1] in our own Country, who either confin'd their View merely to antient Facts, or entertain'd too great a Partiality in Favour of that Form of Government, which is establish'd amongst us.
But what would these Writers have said, to the Instance of modern Rome and Florence; of which the former carried to Perfection all the finer Arts of Sculpture, Painting and Music, as well as Poetry, tho' they groah'd under Slavery, and under the Slavery of Priests: While the latter never made any Efforts towards the Arts and Sciences, till they began to lose their Liberty by the Usurpations of the Family of the Medicis? Ariosto, Tasso, Galilæo, no more than Raphael, or Michael Angelo, were not born in Republics. And tho' the Lombard School was famous as well as the Roman, yet the Venetians have had the smallest Share in its Honours, and seem rather inferior to the other Italians, in their Genius for the Sciences. Rubens establish'd his School at Antwerp, not at Amsterdam. Dresden, not Hamburg, is the Centre of Politeness in Germany.
But the most eminent Instance of the flourishing of Learning in despotic Governments, is that of France, which never enjoy'd any Shadow of Liberty, and yet has carried the Arts and Sciences nearer Perfection than any other Nation of the Universe. The English are, perhaps, better Philosophers; the Italians better Painters and Musicians; the Romans were better Orators: But the French are the only People, except the Greeks, who have been at once Philosophers, Poets, Orators, Historians, Painters, Architects, Sculptors and Musicians. With regard to the Stage, they have far excell'd the Greeks: And in common Life, have, in a great Measure, perfected that Art, the most useful and agreeable of any, l'Art de Vivre, the Art of Society and Conversation.
If we consider the State of the Sciences and polite Arts in our own Country, Horace's Observation, with regard to the Romans, may, in a great Measure, be applied to the British.
Manserunt, hodieque manent vestigia ruris.
The Elegance and Propriety of Stile have been very much neglected among us. We have no Dictionary of our Language, and scarce a tolerable Grammar. The first polite Prose we have, was wrote by a Man[2] who is still alive. As to Sprat, Temple and Locke, they knew too little of the Rules of Art to be esteem'd elegant Writers. The Prose of Bacon, Harrington and Milton, is altogether stiff and pedantic; tho' their Sense be excellent. Men, in this Country, have been so much occupied in the Grand Disputes of Religion, Politics and Philosophy, that they had no Relish for the minute Observations of Grammar and Criticism. And tho' this Turn of Thinking must have considerably improv'd our Sense and Talent of Reasoning beyond that of other Nations; yet it must be confest, that even in these Sciences, we have not any Standard-Book, which we can transmit to Posterity: And the utmost we have to boast of, are a few faint Efforts towards a more just Philosophy; which, indeed, promise very much, but have not, as yet, reach'd any Degree of Perfection.
It has become an establish'd Opinion, That Commerce can never flourish but in a free Government; and this Opinion seems to have been founded on a longer and larger Experience than the foregoing, with Regard to the Arts and Sciences. If we trace Commerce in its Progress thro' Tyre, Athens, Syracuse, Carthage, Venice, Florence, Genoa, Antwerp, Holland, England, &c. we shall always find it to have fixt its Seat in free Governments. The three greatest trading Towns now in the World, are London, Amsterdam, and Hamburgh; all free Cities, and Protestant Cities; that is, enjoying a double Liberty. It must, however, be observ'd, that the great Jealousy entertain'd of late, with regard to the Commerce of France, seems to prove, that this Maxim is no more certain and infallible, than the foregoing, and that the Subjects of absolute Princes may become our Rivals in Commerce, as well as in Learning.
Durst I deliver my Opinion in an Affair of so much Uncertainty, I would assert, That, notwithstanding the Efforts of the French, there is something pernicious to Commerce inherent in the very Nature of absolute Government, and inseparable from it: Tho' the Reason I would assign for this Opinion, is somewhat different from that which is commonly insisted on. Private Property seems to me fully as secure in a civiliz'd Europæan Monarchy, as in a Republic; nor is any Danger ever apprehended, in such a Government, from the Violence of the Sovereign; no more than we commonly apprehend Danger from Thunder, or Earthquakes, or any Accident the most unusual and extraordinary. Avarice, the Spur of Industry, is so obstinate a Passion, and works its Way thro' so many real Dangers and Difficulties, that 'tis not likely it will be scarr'd by an imaginary Danger, which is so small, that it scarce admits of Calculation. Commerce, therefore, in my Opinion, is apt to decay in absolute Governments, not because it is there less secure, but because it is less honourable. A Subordination of Ranks is absolutely necessary to the Support of Monarchy. Birth, Titles, and Place, must be honour'd above Industry and Riches. And while these Notions prevail, all the considerable Traders will be tempted to throw up their Commerce, in order to purchase some of these Employments, to which Privileges and Honours are annex'd.
Since I am upon this Head of the Alterations that Time has produc'd, or may produce in Politics, I must observe, That all Kinds of Government, free and despotic, seem to have undergone, in modern Times, a great Change to the better, with regard both to foreign and domestic Management. The Balance of Power is a Secret in Politics known only to the present Age; and I must add, That the internal Police of the State has also receiv'd great Improvements within this last Century. We are inform'd by Sallust, That Cataline's Army was much augmented by the Accession of the Highway-men about Rome; tho' I believe, that all of that Profession, who are at present dispers'd over Europe, would not amount to a Regiment. In Cicero's Pleadings for Milo, I find this Argument, among others, made Use of to prove, that his Client had not assassinated Clodius. Had Milo, says he, intended to have kill'd Clodius, he had not attack'd him in the Day-time, and at such a Distance from the City: He had Way-laid him at Night, near the Suburbs, where it might have been pretended, that he was kill'd by Robbers; and the Frequency of the Accident would have favour'd the Deceit. This is a surprizing Proof of the loose Police of Rome, and of the Number and Force of these Robbers; since Clodius, as we learn from the same Oration, was at that Time attended with Sixty Slaves, who were compleatly arm'd, and, by the Roman Laws, answerable, upon their own Lives, for the Life of their Master.
But tho' all Kinds of Government be much improv'd in modern Times, yet Monarchical Government seems to have receiv'd the most considerable Improvements. It may now be affirm'd of civiliz'd Monarchies, what was formerly said in Praise of Republics alone, that they are a Government of Laws, not of Men. They are found susceptible of Order, Method, and Constancy, to a surprizing Degree. Property is secure; Industry encourag'd; the Arts flourish; and the Prince lives secure among his Subjects, like a Father among his Children. It must, however, be confest, that tho' Monarchical Governments have approach'd nearer to popular Ones, in Gentleness and Stability; yet they are still much inferior. Our modern Education and Customs instil more Humanity and Moderation than the antient; but have not as yet been able to overcome entirely the Disadvantages of that Form of Government.
But here I must beg leave to advance a Conjecture, which seems to me very probable, but which Posterity alone can fully judge of. I am apt to think, that in Monarchical Governments there is a Source of Improvement, and in Popular Governments a Source of Degeneracy, which in Time will bring these Species of Government still nearer an Equality. The greatest Abuses, which arise in France, the most perfect Model of pure Monarchy, proceed not from the Number or Weight of the Taxes, beyond what are to be met with in free Countries; but from the Expensive, unequal, arbitrary, and intricate Method of levying them, by which the Industry of the Poor, especially of the Peasants and Farmers, is, in a great Measure, discourag'd, and Agriculture render'd a beggarly and a slavish Employment. But to whose Advantage do these Abuses serve? If to that of the Nobility, they might be esteem'd inherent in that Form of Government; since the Nobility are the true Supports of Monarchy; and 'tis natural their Interest should be more consulted, in such a Constitution, than that of the People. But the Nobility are, in reality, the principal Losers by this Oppression; since it ruins their Estates, and beggars their Tenants. The only Gainers by it are the Finançiers, a Race of Men despised and hated by the Nobility and the whole Kingdom. If a Prince or Minister, therefore, should arise, endow'd with sufficient Discernment to know his own and the public Interest, and of sufficient Force of Mind to break thro' antient Customs, we may expect to see these Abuses remedied; in which Case, the Difference betwixt their absolute Government and our free one, would be more nominal than real.
The Source of Degeneracy, that may be remark'd in free Governments, consists in the Practice of contracting Debt, and mortaging the public Revenues, by which Taxes may, in Time, become altogether intolerable, and all the Property of the State be brought into the Hands of the Public. This Practice is of modern Date. The Athenians, though a Republic, paid Twenty per Cent. for Money, as we learn from Xenophon. Among the Moderns, the Dutch first introduced the Practice of borrowing great Sums at low Interest, and have well nigh ruined themselves by it. Absolute Princes have also contracted Debt; but as an Absolute Prince may play the Bankrupt when he pleases, his People can never be opprest by his Debts. In popular Governments, the People, and chiefly those who have the highest Offices, being always the public Creditors, 'tis impossible the State can ever make use of this Remedy, which, however it may be sometimes necessary, is always cruel and barbarous. This, therefore, seems to be an Inconvenience, that nearly threatens all free Governments, especially our own, at the present Juncture of Affairs. And what a strong Motive is this, to encrease our Frugality of the public Money; left, for want of it we be reduced, by the Multiplicity of Taxes, to curse our free Government, and with ourselves in the same State of Servitude with all the Nations that surround us.
FINIS.
- ↑ Mr. Addison, and my Lord Shaftsbury.
- ↑ Dr. Swift.