Part 11

Hor. I believe, that between Two and Three Hundred Years ago, Bigotry was at the greatest Height.

Cleo. The Church of Rome had, long before that Time, gain'd such an Ascendant over the Laity, that Men of the highest Quality stood in Awe of the least Parish-Priest. This made Superstition fashionable; and the most resolute Heroes were not ashamed to pay a blind Veneration to every Thing which the Clergy was pleased to call Sacred. Men had an entire Confidence in the Pope's Power; his blessing of Swords, Armours, Colours and Standards; and No body doubted of the Influence, which Saints and Angels had upon Earth, the miraculous Virtue of Relicks, the Reality of Witches and Enchantments, the Black Art, or that Men might be made invulnerable.

Hor. But the Ignorance of those Days notwithstanding, you believe, that there were Men of that strict Honour, you have been speaking of.

Cleo. Men of Honour, I told you, were required and supposed to be possess'd of those Qualities; and I believe, that several endeavour'd to be, and some actually were such, as far as Human Frailty would let them; but I believe likewise, that there were others, who gain'd the Title, by their Undauntedness only, and had but a small Stock of any other Virtue besides; and that the Number of these was always far the greatest. Courage and Intrepidity always were, and ever will be the grand Characteristick of a Man of Honour: It is this Part of the Character only, which it is always in our Power to demonstrate. The best Friend a King has, may want an Opportunity to shew his Loyalty: So a Man may be just and chaste, and yet not be able to convince the World that he is so; but he may pick a Quarrel, and shew, that he dares to Fight when he pleases, especially if he converses with Men of the Sword. Where the Principle of Honour was in high Esteem, Vanity and Impatience must have always prompted the most proud and forward to seek after Opportunities of Signalizing themselves, in order to be stiled Men of Honour. This would naturally occasion Quarrelling and Fighting, as it did and had frequently done before the Time I speak of. As Duelling was made a Fashion, the Point of Honour became, of Course, a common Topick of Discourse among the best bred Men: By this Means the Rules for Quarrelling and Ponctilio in Behaviour, which at first were very uncertain and precarious, came to be better understood, and refin'd upon from Time to Time, till, in the Beginning of the last Century, the Sence of Honour was arrived to such a Degree of Nicety all over Europe, especially in France, that barely looking upon a Man was often taken for an Affront. The Custom of Duelling, by this, was become to universal in that Kingdom, that the Judges themselves thought it dishonourable to refuse a Challenge. Henry IVth. seeing the best Blood of France so often sacrific'd to this Idol, endeavour'd to put a Stop to it, but was not able; and the several Edicts made in 1602 and 1609 were fruitless. The Resolutions of Parliament likewise, made in the Reign of Lewis XIIIth. were as ineffectual: the First Check that was given to Duelling, was in the Minority of Lewis XIVth, and from the Method by which it was prevented at last, it is evident, that Honour is an Idol, by Human Contrivance, rais'd on the Basis of Human Pride.

Hor. The Method by which a Stop was put to it, was strictly to punish and never to pardon Any that either sent or accepted of Challenges, whether they fought or not.

Cleo. This was not trusted to only. An Edict was publish'd in the Year 1651, by which Courts of Honour were erected throughout the Kingdom, with Gentlemen Commissioners in every Bailiwick, that were to have Advice of, and immediately to interpose in all Differences that might arise between Gentlemen. The Difficulty they labour'd under was, that they would abolish the Custom of Duelling without parting with the Notions of Honour; destroying of which must have been certain Ruin to a warlike Nation, that once had received them; and therefore they never design'd, that the Worship of the Idol should cease, but they only try'd, whether it was not to be satisfied with less valuable Victims, and other Sacrifices besides human Blood. In the Year 1653, Lewis XIV. set forth another Declaration against Duels; in which having made some Additions to his former Edict, he commands the Marshals of France to draw up a Regulation touching the Satisfactions and Reparations of Honour, which they should think necessary for the several Sorts of Offences. This Order was immediately obey'd, and nineteen Articles were drawn up and publish'd accordingly. In these, calling a Man Fool, Coward, or the Like, was punish'd with a Month's Imprisonment; and after being released, the Offender was to declare to the Party so offended, that he had wrongfully and impertinently injur'd him by outragious Words, which he own'd to be false, and ask'd him to forgive. Giving one the Lie, or threatning to beat him, was two Month's Imprisonment, and the Submission to be made afterwards yet more humble than the foregoing. For Blows, as striking with the Hand, and other Injuries of the same Nature, the Offender was to lye in Prison Six Months, unless, at the Request of the offended, half of that Time was chang'd into a pecuniary Mulct, that might not be under Fifteen Hundred Livres, to be paid before he was set at Liberty, for the Use of the Nearest Hospital to the Abode of the offended; after which, the Offender was to submit to the same Blows from the offended, and to declare by Word of Mouth, and in Writing, that he had struck him in a Brutish Manner, and beg'd him to pardon and forget that Offence.

Hor. What Mortal could submit to such Condescensions?

Cleo. For Caning, or Blows given with a Stick, the Punishment was still more severe; and the Offender was to beg pardon upon his Knees.

Hor. I should have no great Opinion of a Man's Honour, who would not chuse to Die rather than comply with such Demands.

Cleo. Several thought as you do, and were hang'd for their Pains. But what Need a Man come to those Extremes, when he could have Satisfaction for any real Offence that might provoke him? For the Articles took Notice of, and made ample Provisions against all Manner of Injuries, from the most trifling Offences to the highest Outrages, and were very severe against all those that should refuse to submit to the Penalties imposed. The Marshals of France remain'd the Supreme Judges in all these Matters; and under them acted the Governours and Lieutenants General of Provinces, in whose Absence the Gentlemen Commissioners in every Bailiwick, having Power to call the Officers of Justice to their Assistance, were to take all provisional Care imaginable; so that no Lawyers or Mechanicks had a Hand in composing any Differences concerning the Point of Honour.

Hor. All these Things, we'll say, are wisely contriv'd; but in complaining first there is a meanness which a Man of Honour cannot stoop to.

Cleo. That the Instinct of Sovereignty will always bid Men revenge their own Wrongs, and do Justice to themselves, is certain. But I wanted, to shew you the Equivalent, that wise Men substituted in the Room of Dueling, and which Men of unqueston'd Honour took up with. The Scheme was contrived by Men of tried Valour, whose Example is always of great Weight: Besides, from the Nature of the Remedies that were applied to the Evil, it must always follow, that those who had given the greatest Proofs of their Courage, would be the most ready to subscribe to those Articles.

Hor. In our last Conversation but one you told me, that all Laws pointed at, and tally'd with some Frailty or Passion in our Nature; pray, what is it that these Laws of Honour tally with?

Cleo. It is self-evident, that they point at Self-liking and the Instinct of Sovereignty. But what is singular in these Laws is, that in their Operation they are the reverse of all others.

Hor. I don't understand you.

Cleo. All other Precepts and Commandments are visibly labouring to restrain the Passions, and cure the Imperfections of our Nature; but these Regulations of Honour are endeavouring to prevent Mischief, by soothing and flattering the Frailties they point at. In Offences against a Man's Honour, Pardon is not ask'd of God or the King, but of him who receiv'd the Affront. It is he, therefore, whom all the Address and Homage are paid to: He is the Idol that is kneel'd to, and the only Sovereign that can forgive the Trespasses committed against himself. The Punishment of the first Aggressor, you see, is altogether a Compliment to the Person offended, whose Wrath the Law is so far from blaming, that it justifies it, and gives him an Opportunity of indulging it by the Indignity it puts upon the Offender. The real Mischief is not apprehended from the Offender, but the Person offended; and therefore it is him, whom the Law coaxes and wheedles into good Humour, by offering him a Reparation that shall be equally honourable with what he would chuse, tho' less prejudicial to the Society. What the Law promises is a Tribute to the same Passion which he wants to gratify, a Sacrifice to the Idol which he himself adores. Should Any one personate these Laws, and, representing the Sentiments on those who made them, speak to a Man of Honour, who had receiv'd an Affront, an Officer of the Guards, we'll say, who had been call'd Fool by his Equal, the Purport of the Discourse would be this: You are very much in the Right, Sir, to be highly incensed against the Man who dared to call you Fool, you that are a Man of Honour, to whom, as such, the whole World ought to pay the highest Esteem. You have not only an undoubted Right to do your Self justice, and revenge the Affront that has been given you; but there is likewise such a Necessity of your resenting it, that if you could tamely put up the Injury you have receiv'd, and neglect demanding Satisfaction, you would deserve to be branded with Ignominy, and all Men of Honour would justly refuse ever to converse with you for the future. But the Person, whom you have this Affair with, being likewise a Man of Honour, it is greatly to be fear'd, that upon your demanding Satisfaction of him, a Battle will ensue, which, between two Persons who value their Honours a Thousand Times more than their Lives, will probably be fatal to one, if not to both; you are therefore earnestly desired by the King himself, that for his Sake you would make some Alteration in the Manner of taking that Satisfaction which you ought to receive; and the Marshals of France have not only given it under their Hands, that the Equivalents, which they have proposed for Fighting, will be as entire a Reparation to your Honour as can be obtain'd by Arms; but moreover they have promised and engaged their Honours, that in Cases of Affronts they will take up and content themselves with the same Equivalents, and on all Occasions submit to the same Regulations, which you are now desired to follow. And that it may appear, how highly reasonable this Request is; you are likewise desired to take the following Remonstrance into your Consideration: That the Valour and Steadiness of Men of Honour: are the grand Support of all States and Kingdoms, is a Truth not to be denied; and that not only the Peace and Tranquility, and all the Blessings we enjoy, but likewise the King's Crown and Safety would be precarious without them, is as unquestionable. For this Reason all wise Princes, Magistrates and Governours, will ever take all imaginable Care, on the one Hand, to cultivate and encourage the most noble Principle of Honour, and, on the other, to encrease the Numbers of the worthy Posessors of it, by favouring and on all Occasions shewing them the most tender Affection, as well as highest Esteem. It is easy then to be imagin'd, that a Monarch, who loves his People, and has the Interest of his Nation at Heart, must be sensibly afflicted to see it become a common Practice for such valuable Men to destroy one another, and behold that Bravery and Spirit, which should only be made Use of against the Enemies of the Country, hourly employ'd and lavish'd away in private Quarrels, that can have no other Tendency that the weakening of the Kingdom, and which, if suffer'd to go on, must compleat its Ruin.

Hor. You make these Laws speak very notably.

Cleo. I have said Nothing but what is certainly imply'd in them. Every Man in France knew, that the chief Motive of all those Edicts against Duelling, was the Loss of the brave Men that was sustain'd by that Custom. The Sinfulness of it was the least Consideration.

Hor. There, I believe, you wrong them, for I have seen some of these Edicts, where Duelling is call'd an Antichristian Practice, which God was highly offended at.

Cleo. In wording of the Edicts, indeed, some such Thing was put in for Form's Sake; but the Regulations themselves, by which the Men of Honour were to walk, were openly Antichristian; and in some Cases, instead of Teaching Men to forgive those that had trespas'd against them, they obliged and forced the Offended to shew their Resentment, tho' they would rather not, and desired to be excused.

Hor. Where the Affront was very heinous, I know what you say is true. But you set these Things in a strange Light. I can make the same Glosses upon our Laws, which oblige me to prosecute a Man that has robb'd me, if I can catch him, whether I will or not; and he shall be hang'd, tho' I forgive him the Injury, and even would beg his Life.

Cleo. There is a vast Difference between the two Cases, a Robbery, and an Affront: No body hinders you from forgiving a Man that robb'd you; but notwithstanding your pardoning him, he is punish'd for acting against the Laws; therefore his Offence is against the King, who is the Guardian and Superintendant of them. And No body but the King can pardon the Trespasses that are committed against his Crown and Dignity. Whoever robs you, must be hang'd, because he robb'd, not because he robb'd YOU in particular: Tho' you are bound to prosecute him for Robbing you, yet the Injury is reckon'd as done to the Publick; and you become a Criminal your Self, if you connive at his Escape, tho' he restor'd to you what he had robb'd you of. But in the Case of an Affront the Injury is reckon'd to be done to him only who receiv'd it. His Anger, as I said before, is thought to be just, and his Resentment reasonable, till an ample Satisfaction be made him; therefore it is He who is to be appeas'd, and He only who is to be applied to. The Laws that were compiled by the Marshals of France, don't pretend to mend the Heart, and lay no greater Restraint on the Spirit of Revenge, than Matrimony does on the Desire of Procreation; on the Contrary, they flatter the Frailty, and are administring to the Haughtiness of the offended: They are so far from denying him his Demands, or refusing to give him Satisfaction for the Affront, that they appoint it by Authority; in the ordering of which they make such ample Provisions for the Gratification of his Pride, as no reasonable Man could ever think of without blushing. The only Thing they oblige him to is, that he shall take the Satisfaction in such a Manner, as shall be most safe to himself, and least detrimental to the Publick. Now if you will consider first, that those who made these Regulations were Men of undoubted Honour, who hourly feeling the Force of it within themselves, were perfectly well acquainted with the Principle which it is built upon; and secondly, that the profound Humility of the Offender, and his asking Pardon of the offended, are two main Points in the repairing of Honour, necessary postulata, without which those knowing Judges thought it impossible, that an Affront could be forgiven: If, I say, you'll consider these two Things, you'll see plainly, what Passion in Human Nature it is, which those Laws of Honour tally'd with, and likewise that it is true, what I have asserted of them, that instead of reproving, curbing, or diminishing the Frailty that is offensive, which seems to be the Intention of all other Laws, their Aim is to prevent Mischief and do Service to the Civil Society, by approving of, cherishing, and indulging that very Passion, from which the Evil they would prevent can only proceed.

Hor. You think those Regulations were effectual, and yet you seem to dislike them.

Cleo. I dislike them because they are destructive to Religion; and if a Minister of the Gospel was to dissuade and deter Men from Duelling he would do it in quite another Manner. By a Minister of the Gospel I don't mean a Philosophizing Divine, or a polite Preacher, but a sincere Follower of the Apostles, a down-right Christian. He would, in the First Place, insist upon it, that Forgiving of Injuries was a Christian Duty never to be dispens'd with; because it is made the Condition on which we are taught to beg Pardon for our own Offences. In the Second, he would demonstrate that no Man is ever to revenge himself, how highly and how atrociously soever he might have been injured. If ever he heard of a Man's sending a Challenge for having been call'd Fool, or other verbal Injuries, he would reprove his Frowardness and Want of Temper, for resenting such Trifles as the Law of his Country thought it not worthy to take Notice of. He would appeal to his Reason, and ask him, whether he could think, that the Affront he complain'd of, was a sufficient Cause to take away a Man's Life. He would represent to him the Heinousnesss of Murder, God's express Command against it; his Justice, his Wrath, his Vengeance when provok'd. But if all these could not divert the Dueller from his Purpose, he would attack his stubborn Heart in its inmost Recesses, and forget Nothing of what I told you on the Subject in our Second and Third Conversation. He would recommend to him the Fable of the Bees, and, like that, he'd dissect and lay open to him the Principle of Honour, and shew him, how diametrically opposite the Worship of that Idol was to the Christian Religion; the First consisting in openly cherishing and feeding that very Frailty in our Nature, which the latter strictly commands us with all our Might to conquer and destroy. Having convinced him of the substantial Difference and Contrariety between these Two Principles, he would display to him, on the one Hand, the Vanity of Earthly Glory, and the Folly of Coveting the Applause of a Sinful World; and, on the other, the Certainty of a Future State, and the Transcendency of everlasting Happiness over every Thing that is perishable. From such Remonstrances as these the good, pious Man would take an Opportunity of exhorting him to a Christian Self-denial, and the Practice of real Virtue, and he would earnestly endeavour to make him sensible of the Peace of Conscience and solid Comforts that are to be found in Meekness and Humility, Patience, and an entire Resignation to the Will of God.

Hor. How long, pray, do you intend to go on with this Cant?

Cleo. If I am to personate a Christian Divine, who is a sincere Believer, you must give me Leave to speak his Language.

Hor. But if a Man had really such an Affair upon his Hands, and he knew the Person, he had to do with, to be a resolute Man that understood the Sword, do you think he would have Patience or be at Leisure to hearken to all that puritanical Stuff, which you have been heaping together? Do you think (for that is the Point) it would have any Influence over his Actions?

Cleo. If he believ'd the Gospel, and consequently future Rewards and Punishments, and he likewise acted consistently with what he believ'd, it would put an entire Stop to all, and it would certainly hinder him from fending or accepting of Challenges, or ever engaging in any Thing relating to a Duel.