第57章

Thisopinionandcommonusagetoobserveothersmorethanourselveshasverymuchrelievedusthatway:’tisaverydispleasingobject:wecanthereseenothingbutmiseryandvanity:nature，thatwemaynotbedejectedwiththesightofourowndeformities，haswiselythrusttheactionofseeingoutward。Wegoforwardwiththecurrent，buttoturnbacktowardsourselvesisapainfulmotion;soistheseamovedandtroubledwhenthewavesrushagainstoneanother。Observe，sayseveryone，themotionsoftheheavens，ofpublicaffairs;observethequarrelofsuchaperson，takenoticeofsuchaone’spulse，ofsuchanother’slastwillandtestament;insum，bealwayslookinghighorlow，ononeside，beforeorbehindyou。ItwasaparadoxicalcommandancientlygivenusbythatgodofDelphos:"Lookintoyourself;discoveryourself;keepclosetoyourself;callbackyourmindandwill，thatelsewhereconsumethemselvesintoyourself;yourunout，youspillyourself;carryamoresteadyhand:menbetrayyou，menspillyou，menstealyoufromyourself。

Dostthounotseethatthisworldweliveinkeepsallitssightconfinedwithin，anditseyesopentocontemplateitself？’Tisalwaysvanityforthee，bothwithinandwithout;but’tislessvanitywhenlessextended。

Exceptingthee，Oman，saidthatgod，everythingstudiesitselffirst，andhasboundstoitslaboursanddesires，accordingtoitsneed。Thereisnothingsoemptyandnecessitousasthou，whoembracesttheuniverse;

thouarttheinvestigatorwithoutknowledge，themagistratewithoutjurisdiction，and，afterall，thefoolofthefarce。

EndTheEssaysofMontaigne，V18

byMicheldeMontaigneTranslatedbyCharlesCottonEditedbyWilliamCarewHazilitt1877

CONTENTSOFVOLUME18。

X。OfManagingtheWill。

XI。OfCripples。

XII。OfPhysiognomy。

CHAPTERX

OFMANAGINGTHEWILL

Fewthings，incomparisonofwhatcommonlyaffectothermen，move，or，tosaybetter，possessme:for’tisbutreasonthey，shouldconcernaman，providedtheydonotpossesshim。Iamverysolicitous，bothbystudyandargument，toenlargethisprivilegeofinsensibility，whichisinmenaturallyraisedtoaprettydegree，sothatconsequentlyIespouseandamverymuchmovedwithveryfewthings。Ihaveaclearsightenough，butIfixituponveryfewobjects;Ihaveasensedelicateandtenderenough;butanapprehensionandapplicationhardandnegligent。Iamveryunwillingtoengagemyself;asmuchasinmelies，Iemploymyselfwhollyonmyself，andeveninthatsubjectshouldratherchoosetocurbandrestrainmyaffectionfromplungingitselfoverheadandearsintoit，itbeingasubjectthatIpossessatthemercyofothers，andoverwhichfortunehasmorerightthanI;sothatevenastohealth，whichI

somuchvalue，’tisallthemorenecessaryformenotsopassionatelytocovetandheedit，thantofinddiseasessoinsupportable。Amanoughttomoderatehimselfbetwixtthehatredofpainandtheloveofpleasure:

andPlatosetsdownamiddlepathoflifebetwixtthetwo。Butagainstsuchaffectionsaswhollycarrymeawayfrommyselfandfixmeelsewhere，againstthose，Isay，Iopposemyselfwithmyutmostpower。’Tismyopinionthatamanshouldlendhimselftoothers，andonlygivehimselftohimself。Weremywilleasytolenditselfoutandtobeswayed，I

shouldnotstickthere;Iamtootenderbothbynatureanduse:

"Fugaxrerum，securaqueinotianatus。"

["Avoidingaffairsandborntosecureease。"

——Ovid，DeTrist。，iii。2，9。]

Hotandobstinatedisputes，whereinmyadversarywouldatlasthavethebetter，theissuethatwouldrendermyheatandobstinacydisgracefulwouldperadventurevexmetothelastdegree。ShouldIsetmyselftoitattheratethatothersdo，mysoulwouldneverhavetheforcetobeartheemotionandalarmsofthosewhograspatsomuch;itwouldimmediatelybedisorderedbythisinwardagitation。If，sometimes，I

havebeenputuponthemanagementofothermen’saffairs，Ihavepromisedtotaketheminhand，butnotintomylungsandliver;totakethemuponme，nottoincorporatethem;totakepains，yes:tobeimpassionedaboutit，bynomeans;Ihaveacareofthem，butIwillnotsituponthem。

IhaveenoughtodotoorderandgovernthedomesticthrongofthosethatIhaveinmyownveinsandbowels，withoutintroducingacrowdofothermen’saffairs;andamsufficientlyconcernedaboutmyownproperandnaturalbusiness，withoutmeddlingwiththeconcernsofothers。Suchasknowhowmuchtheyowetothemselves，andhowmanyofficestheyareboundtooftheirown，，findthatnaturehascutthemoutworkenoughoftheirowntokeepthemfrombeingidle。"Thouhastbusinessenoughathome:

looktothat。"

Menletthemselvesouttohire;theirfacultiesarenotforthemselves，butforthosetowhomtheyhaveenslavedthemselves;’tistheirtenantsoccupythem，notthemselves。Thiscommonhumourpleasesnotme。Wemustbethriftyofthelibertyofoursouls，andneverletitoutbutuponjustoccasions，whichareveryfew，ifwejudgearight。Dobutobservesuchashaveaccustomedthemselvestobeateveryone’scall:theydoitindifferentlyuponall，aswelllittleasgreat，occasions;inthatwhichnothingconcernsthem;asmuchasinwhatimportsthemmost。Theythrustthemselvesinindifferentlywhereverthereisworktodoandobligation，andarewithoutlifewhennotintumultuousbustle:

"Innegotiissunt，negotiicause，"

["Theyareinbusinessforbusiness’sake。"——Seneca，Ep。，22。]

Itisnotsomuchthattheywillgo，asitisthattheycannotstandstill:likearollingstonethatcannotstoptillitcangonofurther。

Occupation，withacertainsortofmen，isamarkofunderstandinganddignity:theirsoulsseekreposeinagitation，aschildrendobybeingrockedinacradle;theymaypronouncethemselvesasserviceabletotheirfriends，astheyaretroublesometothemselves。Noonedistributeshismoneytoothers，buteveryonedistributeshistimeandhislife:thereisnothingofwhichwearesoprodigalasofthesetwothings，ofwhichtobethriftywouldbebothcommendableanduseful。Iamofaquitecontraryhumour;Ilooktomyself，andcommonlycovetwithnogreatardourwhatIdodesire，anddesirelittle;andIemployandbusymyselfatthesamerate，rarelyandtemperately。Whatevertheytakeinhand，theydoitwiththeirutmostwillandvehemence。Therearesomanydangeroussteps，that，forthemoresafety，wemustalittlelightlyandsuperficiallyglideovertheworld，andnotrushthroughit。Pleasureitselfispainfulinprofundity:

"Incedisperignes，Suppositoscineridoloso。"

["Youtreadonfire，hiddenunderdeceitfulashes。"

——Horace，Od。，ii。i，7。]

TheParliamentofBordeauxchosememayoroftheircityatatimewhenI

wasatadistancefromFrance，——[AtBagnoDellaVilla，nearLucca，September1581]——andstillmoreremotefromanysuchthought。

Ientreatedtobeexcused，butIwastoldbymyfriendsthatIhadcommittedanerrorinsodoing，andthegreaterbecausethekinghad，moreover，interposedhiscommandinthataffair。’Tisanofficethatoughttobelookeduponsomuchmorehonourable，asithasnoothersalarynoradvantagethanthebarehonourofitsexecution。Itcontinuestwoyears，butmaybeextendedbyasecondelection，whichveryrarelyhappens;itwastome，andhadneverbeensobuttwicebefore:someyearsagotoMonsieurdeLansac，andlatelytoMonsieurdeBiron，MarshalofFrance，inwhoseplaceIsucceeded;and，IleftminetoMonsieurdeMatignon，MarshalofFrancealso:proudofsonobleafraternity——

"Uterquebonuspacisbelliqueminister。"

["Eitheroneagoodministerinpeaceandwar。"

——AEneid，xi。658。]

Fortunewouldhaveahandinmypromotion，bythisparticularcircumstancewhichsheputinofherown，notaltogethervain;forAlexanderdisdainedtheambassadorsofCorinth，whocametoofferhimaburgess—shipoftheircity;butwhentheyproceededtolaybeforehimthatBacchusandHerculeswerealsointheregister，hegraciouslythankedthem。

Atmyarrival，IfaithfullyandconscientiouslyrepresentedmyselftothemforsuchasIfindmyselftobe——amanwithoutmemory，withoutvigilance，withoutexperience，andwithoutvigour;butwithal，withouthatred，withoutambition，withoutavarice，andwithoutviolence;thattheymightbeinformedofmyqualities，andknowwhattheyweretoexpectfrommyservice。Andwhereastheknowledgetheyhadhadofmylatefather，andthehonourtheyhadforhismemory，hadaloneincitedthemtoconferthisfavouruponme，IplainlytoldthemthatIshouldbeverysorryanythingshouldmakesogreatanimpressionuponmeastheiraffairsandtheconcernsoftheircityhadmadeuponhim，whilstheheldthegovernmenttowhichtheyhadpreferredme。Iremembered，whenaboy，tohaveseenhiminhisoldagecruellytormentedwiththesepublicaffairs，neglectingthesoftreposeofhisownhouse，towhichthedeclensionofhisagehadreducedhimforseveralyearsbefore，themanagementofhisownaffairs，andhishealth;andcertainlydespisinghisownlife，whichwasingreatdangerofbeinglost，bybeingengagedinlongandpainfuljourneysontheirbehalf。Suchwashe;andthishumourofhisproceededfromamarvellousgoodnature;neverwasthereamorecharitableandpopularsoul。YetthisproceedingwhichIcommendinothers，Idonotlovetofollowmyself，andamnotwithoutexcuse。

Hehadlearnedthatamanmustforgethimselfforhisneighbour，andthattheparticularwasofnomannerofconsiderationincomparisonwiththegeneral。Mostoftherulesandpreceptsoftheworldrunthisway;todriveusoutofourselvesintothestreetforthebenefitofpublicsociety;theythoughttodoagreatfeattodivertandremoveusfromourselves，assumingwewerebuttoomuchfixedthere，andbyatoonaturalinclination;andhavesaidalltheycouldtothatpurpose:for’tisnonewthingforthesagestopreachthingsastheyserve，notastheyare。Truthhasitsobstructions，inconveniences，andincompatibilitieswithus;wemustoftendeceivethatwemaynotdeceiveourselves;andshutoureyesandourunderstandingstoredressandamendthem:

"Imperitienimjudicant，etquifrequenterinhocipsumfallendisunt，neerrent。"

["Fortheignorantjudge，andthereforeareofttobedeceived，lesstheyshoulderr。"——Quintil。，Inst。Orat。，xi。17。]

Whentheyorderustolovethree，four，orfiftydegreesofthingsaboveourselves，theydolikearchers，who，tohitthewhite，taketheiraimagreatdealhigherthanthebutt;tomakeacrookedstickstraight，webenditthecontraryway。

IbelievethatintheTempleofPallas，asweseeinallotherreligions，therewereapparentmysteriestobeexposedtothepeople;andothers，moresecretandhigh，thatwereonlytobeshowntosuchaswereprofessed;’tislikelythatinthesethetruepointoffriendshipthateveryoneowestohimselfistobefound;notafalsefriendship，thatmakesusembraceglory，knowledge，riches，andthelike，withaprincipalandimmoderateaffection，asmembersofourbeing;noranindiscreetandeffeminatefriendship，whereinithappens，aswithivy，thatitdecaysandruinsthewallsitembraces;butasoundandregularfriendship，equallyusefulandpleasant。HewhoknowsthedutiesofthisfriendshipandpractisesthemistrulyofthecabinetoftheMuses，andhasattainedtotheheightofhumanwisdomandofourhappiness，suchanone，exactlyknowingwhatheowestohimself，willonhispartfindthatheoughttoapplytohimselftheuseoftheworldandofothermen;andtodothis，tocontributetopublicsocietythedutiesandofficesappertainingtohim。Hewhodoesnotinsomesortliveforothers，doesnotlivemuchforhimself:

"Quisibiamicusest，scitohuncamicumomnibusesse。"

["Hewhoishisownfriend，isafriendtoeverybodyelse。"

——Seneca，Ep。，6。]

Theprincipalchargewehaveis，toeveryonehisownconduct;and’tisforthisonlythatwehereare。Ashewhoshouldforgettoliveavirtuousandholylife，andshouldthinkheacquittedhimselfofhisdutyininstructingandtrainingothersuptoit，wouldbeaf