166 LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

and his Electorate the finest: Dresden is the capital, and a beautiful town. The Elector of Brandenburg is also King of Prussia, and master of a great extent of country; the capital town of Brandenburg is Berlin. The two most considerable towns belonging to the Elector Palatine are, Manheim and Duffeldorp. The Elector of Hanover is also King of England; the capital town of that Electorate is Hanover, a miserable capital of a miserable country.

Besides the Electors, there are other sovereign Princes, and powerful ones, as the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, the Duke of Württemberg, &c.

The rest of this geographical description of Germany, and the beginning of that of Asia, are unfortunately left.

* His Lordship is mistaken with regard to the country of Hanover, which is tolerably good, rather pleasant, and not unfruitful.

LETTER

TO HIS SON.

167

LETTER LXVI.

Asia.

La Perse, qui fait aufli une partie de l'Afie, eft un très grand Empire; dont la ville capitale s'appelle Ispahan. L'Empereur d'aujourd'hui eft Thamas Kouli Kan; qui de particulier, qu'il étoit, s'éft élevé à l'Empire par fon adreſſe et par ſon courage.

L'Empire du Grand Mogol, ou l'Indoftan, ſe joint à la Perſe; c'eſt un très vafle et très riche païs, avec lequel nous faifons un grand commerce. La ville capitale eſt Agra: il y a dans cet Empire, deux rivieres fameufes, même dans l'antiquité, faire l'Inde, et le Gange.

La Chine eſt un vafte Empire, qui fait encore partie de l'Afie. Elle a deux villes capitales; l'une au nord, nommée Pékin, l'autre au sud, qui s'appelle Nankin. La Tartarie, qui eſt aufli un païs immenſe, appartient à la Chine : il n'y a pas cent ans que les Tartares firent la conquête de la Chine.

Les ifles Afiaſtiques ſont en grand nombre : mais les plus confi-dérables ſont celles du Japon, qui ſont très riches.

TRANSLA-

165

LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

Afia.

TRANSLATION.

Perfia is also a part of Afia, and a very great Empire: the capital city is Ispahan; the present Emperor's name, Thamas Kouli Kan: he, from a private station, raised himself to the Empire by skill and courage.

The Empire of the Great Mogul, otherwife called Indofan, is contiguous to Perfia. It is a very great, and extremely rich country, with which we carry on a confiderable trade. The capital city is Agra. Here are also two rivers, famous in antiquity; the Indus and the Ganges.

China, a vast Empire, is another part of Afia: it has two capital towns; one in the northern parts, called Peking; the other towards the south, called Nanking. Tartary, which is an immenfe country, belongs to China. The Tartars conquered China, not an hundred years ago.

The Asiatic islands are very numerous; the most confiderable are those of Japan, which are extremely rich.

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LETTER

TO HIS SON.

169

LETTER LXVII.

MON CHER ENFANT,

COMME dans la description, que je vous envoie, de l'Italie*, j'ai fait mention du Pape, je crois que vous ferez bien aife de savoir, ce que c'est que ce Pape. Le Pape donc eft un vieux fourbe, qui se dit le Vicaire de Jefus Chrift, c'eft à dire, la personne qui reprefente Jefus Chrift fur la terre, et qui a le pouvoir de fauver ou de damner les gens. En vertu de ce prétendu pouvoir; il accorde des Indulgences, c'eft à dire des pardons pour les pechés; ou bien il lance des Excommunications, c'eft à dire qu'il envoie les gens au Diable. Les Catholiques, autrement appellé les Papiftes, font affez fous pour croire tout cela; ils croient de plus que le Pape eft infaillible; c'eft à dire, qu'il ne peut pas ſe tromper, et que tout ce qu'il dit eſt vrai, et tout ce qu'il fait, eſt bien. Autre fottife: Le Pape prétend être le premier Prince de la Chrétienté et prend le pas fur tous les Rois; mais les Rois Proteftans ne lui accordent pas cela.

C'eſt le Pape qui fait les Cardinaux, leur nombre eſt de foixante et douze, ils font au deſſus des Evêques, et des Archeveques. On donne à un Cardinal le titre de vòtre Emignence, et au Pape celui de vòtre Sainteé. Quand le Pape meurt, les Cardinaux s'afflèmblent, pour en élire un autre; cette afflemblée s'appelle le Conclave. Lorſqu'on eſt prétenté au Pape, on lui baife le pied et non pas la main, comme aux autres Princes. Les loix que le Pape fait, s'appellent les Bulles du Pape. Le palais où le Pape demeure à Rome, s'appelle le Vatican et contient la plus belle bibliotheque du monde.

* Cette defcription ne ſe trouve point.

VOL. I.

Z

Le

170 LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

Le Pape n'eſt réellement que l'Evêque de Rome; mais la folie
et la ſuperſtition d'un côté, l'ambition et l'artifice du Clergé, de
l'autre, l'ont fait ce qu'il eſt; c'eſt à dire un Prince confidérable,
et le Chef de l'Eglise Catholique.

Nous autres Proteſtants, ne ſommes pas aſſez ſimples pour croire
toutes ces ſottifes. Nous croions, et avec raſon, qu'il n'y a que
Dieu ſeul qui ſoit inſaillible, et qui puiffe nous rendre heureux
ou malheureux.

Adieu ! Divertissez vous et ſoiez gai, il n'y a rien de tel.

TRANSLATION.

MY DEAR CHILD,

AS, in the deſcription which I ſent you of Italy*, I have
mentioned the Pope, I believe you will wifh to know
who that perfon is. The Pope, then, is an old cheat; who calls
himſelf the Vicar of Jefus Chriſt; that is to ſay, the perfon
who repreſents Jefus Chriſt upon earth, and has the power of
ſaving people, or of damning them. By virtue of this pretended
power he grants Indulgences; that is to ſay, pardons for fins:
or eſſe he thunders out Excommunications; this means ſending
people to the Devil. The Catholics, otherwife called Papifts,
are filly enough to believe this. Befides which, they believe
the Pope to be inſallible; that is, that he never can miſtake;
that whatever he ſays, is true, and whatever he does, is right.
Another abſurdity: the Pope pretends to be the greateſt Prince
in Chriſtendom; and takes place of all Kings. The Proteſtant
Kings, however, do not allow this.

The Pope creates the Cardinals, who are seventy-two in number,
and higher in rank than Bifhops and Archbifhops. The title given

* That deſcription is not to be found.

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to

TO HIS SON.

171

to a Cardinal is, your Eminence; and to the Pope, your Holines.
When a Pope dies, the Cardinals aſſemble to elect another; and
that aſſembly is called a Conclave. Whenever a perfon is pre-
fented to the Pope, they kifs his foot, and not his hand, as we
do to other Princes. Laws, made by the Pope, are called Bulla.
The palace he inhabits, at Rome, is called the Vatican; and
contains the fineſt library in the world.

The Pope is, in reality, nothing more than Bifhop of Rome;
but, on the one ſide, weakneſs and ſuperſtition, and on the other,
the artifice and ambition of the Clergy, have made him what he
is; that is to ſay, a confiderable Prince, and Head of the Catholic
Church.

We Proteſtants are not weak enough to give into all this
nonſenſe. We believe, and with reaſon, that God alone is inſaſ-
lible; and that he only can make people happy or miferable.

Adieu ! Divert yourself and be merry; there is nothing like it.

LETTER LXVIII.

Monday.

DEAR BOY,

WHEN I wrote to you laſt, we were in Egypt*. Now, if
you pleafe, we will travel a little to the north-eaſt of
Egypt, and vifit the famous city of Jeruſalem, which we read ſo
much of, both in the Old and the New Teſtament. It is the
chief town of Judea, or Paleſtine; a country in the Kingdom of
Syria, as you will find, if you look into the map of Afia. It
was anciently a very great and confiderable city; where the Kings
of Judea reſided, and where Solomon built the famous temple of
the Jews. It was often taken and plundered by neighbouring

* That Letter is alſo wanting.

Z 2

Princes;

172

LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

Princes; but the Babylonians were the first that utterly destroyed it. Both the town and the temple were afterwards rebuilt by the Jews, under Efrairs and Zorobabel; but, at laft, were entirely burnt and ruined by the Roman Emperor Titus. The Emperor Adrian rebuilt it, in the year 132; since when, it has been taken and plundered by the Saracens, retaken by the Chriftians; and now, at laft, belongs to the Turks. It is a very inconfiderable place at prefent, and only famous upon account of what it has been formerly: for Jefus Chrift preached the Chriftian religion there, and was crucified by the Jews, upon Mount Calvary. In the eighth century, the Saracens got poffeflion of it; and in the eleventh century many Chriftian Princes, in Europe, joined, and went with a confiderable army to take it from the Saracens. This war was called the Holy war; and, as all thofe who went to it wore a crofs upon their breafts, it was called a Croifado. The ignorance and Superflition of thofe times made them think it meritorious to take the land, where Jefus Chrift lived and died, out of the hands of Infidels; that is, thofe who did not believe in Chrift: but it was, in truth, a notorious piece of injuſtice, to go and attack thofe who did not meddle with them.

Not far from Judea, you will find, in the map, the vaſt country of Arabia; which is divided into three parts: Arabia Deſerta, or the Deſert, ſo called becauſe it is hardly inhabited, and has immenſe deſerts, where you ſee nothing but ſand: Arabia Petreae, or the Stoney: and Arabia Felix, or the Happy; becauſe it is a fine fruitful country, and produces gums and aromatics of all kinds. Hence comes the common ſaying, " All the fweets of Arabia," when you would ſay that any thing has a very fine ſmell. Arabia Felix has two famous towns: Medina and Mecca; becauſe the famous impoſor Mahomet, the great Prophet of the Turks, was born at Medina, and buried at Mecca, where his tomb is

TO HIS SON.

173

is now, to which the Turks often go in pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is a journey that people take, to any place, on a religious account; and the perſon, who takes that journey, is called a Pilgrim.

The Roman Catholics often go Pilgrimages to our Lady of Loretto, in Italy, and ſometimes even to Jeruſalem, in order to pray before a croſs, or the figure of ſome ſaint or other: but theſe are all follies of weak and ignorant people. Adieu.

## LETTER LXIX.

Bath, June the 28th, 1742.

DEAR BOY,

YOUR promifes give me great pleafure; and your performance of them, which I rely upon, will give me full greater. I am ſure you know that breaking of your word is a folly, a diſhonour, and a crime. It is a folly, becauſe nobody will truſt you afterwards; and it is both a diſhonour and a crime, truth being the firſt duty of religion and morality: and whoever has not truth, cannot be ſuppofed to have any one good quality, and muſt become the deteſtation of God and man. Therefore I expeſt, from your truth and your honour; that you will do that, which, independently of your promife, your own intereſt and ambition ought to incline you to do: that is, to excel in every thing you undertake. When I was of your age, I ſhould have been aſhamed if any boy of that age had learned his book better, or played at any play better than I did; and I would not have reſted a moment till I had got before him. Julius Cefar, who had a noble thirſt of glory, uſed to ſay, that he would rather be the firſt in a village, than the ſecond in Rome; and he even cried when he ſaw the ſtatue of Alexander the Great, with the reflection,

LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

174

reflection, of how much more glory Alexander had acquired, at thirty years old, than he at a much more advanced age. These are the sentiments to make people confiderable; and those who have them not, will pafs their lives in obscurity and contempt: whereas those who endeavour to excel all, are at least fure of excelling a great many. The fure way to excel in any thing, is only to have a close and undiflipated attention while you are about it; and then you need not be half the time that otherwife you muſt be: for long, plodding, puzzling application, is the buſineſs of dullneſs; but good parts attend regularly, and take a thing immediately. Confider, then, which you would chufe; to attend diligently while you are learning, and thereby excel all other boys, get a great reputation, and have a great deal more time to play; or eſſe not mind your book, let boys even younger than yourſelf get before you, be laughed at by them for a dunce, and have no time to play at all: for, I aſſure you, if you will not learn, you ſhall not play. What is the way, then, to arrive at that perfection, which you promife me to aim at? It is, firſt, to do your duty towards God and Man; without which, every thing eſſe signifies nothing: ſecondly, to acquire great knowledge; without which, you will be a very contemptible man, though you may be a very honest one: and, laſtly, to be very well bred; without which, you will be a very diſagreeable, unpleasing man, though you ſhould be an honest and a learn-
ed one.

Remember then these three things, and resolve to excel in them all; for they comprehend whatever is neceſſary and uſeful for this world or the next: and, in proportion as you improve in them, you will enjoy the affection and tenderneſs of, Yours.

LETTER

TO HIS SON.

175

LETTER LXX*.

KING Charles the Firſt succeeded his father, King James the Firſt; and, though he was nothing very extraordinary, was fill much better than his father; having both more ſenſe and more courage. He married a Princes of France, daughter to Henry the Great; who, being a zealous Papift, and a busy, meddling woman, had an influence over him; which contributed much to his misfortunes. He had learned from his father to fancy that he had a right to be abſolute; and had the courage, that his father wanted, to try for it. This made him quarrel with Parliaments, and attempt to raife money without them; which no King has a right to do: but there was then ſpirit and virtue enough in the nation to oppoſe it. He would likewife, by the advice of a hot-headed parfon, (Archbifhop Laud) eſtablish the Common Prayer through the whole kingdom by force, which the Preſbyterians would not ſubmit to. These, and many other vio-lences, raſed a civil war in the nation, in which he was beaten, and taken prifoner. A high Court of Juitice was eredted on purpofe for his trial, where he was tried and condemned for high treaſon againſt the Conſtitution; and was beheaded publicly, about one hundred years ago, at Whitehall, on the 30th of January. This action is much blamed; but, however, if it had not happened, we had had no liberties left.

After Charles's death, the Parliament governed for a time; but the Army ſoon took the power out of their hands; and then Oliver Cromwell, a private gentleman of Huntingdonshire, and a Colonel in that army, uſurped the government, and called him-

* We believe the reader will join with us in regretting, that this is all that re nains of the late Earl of Chelmerfield's epitome of the Hiftory of England, which he had proba-bly begun at a much earlier period.

ſelf