第61章

Wehad，inthiscopse，averylongcontestaboutmyransom，whichtheysetsohigh，thatitwasmanifestthatIwasnotknowntothem。Theywere，moreover，inaverygreatdebateaboutmylife;and，intruth，therewerevariouscircumstancesthatclearlyshowedthedangerIwasin:

"Tuncanimisopus，AEnea，tuncpectorefirmo。"

[Then，AEneas，thereisneedofcourage，ofafirmheart。"

——AEneid，vi。261。]

Istillinsisteduponthetruce，toowillingtheyshouldhavethegainofwhattheyhadalreadytakenfromme，whichwasnottobedespised，withoutpromiseofanyotherransom。Aftertwoorthreehoursthatwehadbeeninthisplace，andthattheyhadmountedmeuponahorsethatwasnotlikelytorunfromthem，andcommittedmetotheguardoffifteenortwentyharquebusiers，anddispersedmyservantstoothers，havinggivenorderthattheyshouldcarryusawayprisonersseveralways，andI

beingalreadygotsometwoorthreemusket—shotsfromtheplace，"JamprecePollucis，jamCastoris，implorata，"

["ByaprayeraddressednowtoPollux，nowtoCastor。"

——Catullus，lxvi。65。]

beholdasuddenandunexpectedalteration;Isawthechiefreturntomewithgentlerlanguage，makingsearchamongstthetroopersformyscatteredproperty，andcausingasmuchascouldberecoveredtoberestoredtome，eventomymoney—box;butthebestpresenttheymadewasmyliberty，fortherestdidnotmuchconcernmeatthattime。Thetruecauseofsosuddenachange，andofthisreconsideration，withoutanyapparentimpulse，andofsomiraculousarepentance，insuchatime，inaplannedanddeliberateenterprise，andbecomejustbyusage（for，atthefirstdash，IplainlyconfessedtothemofwhatpartyIwas，andwhitherIwasgoing），truly，Idonotyetrightlyunderstand。Themostprominentamongstthem，whopulledoffhisvizorandtoldmehisname，repeatedlytoldmeatthetime，overandoveragain，thatIowedmydeliverancetomycountenance，andthelibertyandboldnessofmyspeech，thatrenderedmeunworthyofsuchamisadventure，andshouldsecuremefromitsrepetition。’TispossiblethattheDivinegoodnesswilledtomakeuseofthisvaininstrumentformypreservation;andit，moreover，defendedmethenextdayfromotherandworseambushes，ofwhichthesemyassailantshadgivenmewarning。Thelastofthesetwogentlemenisyetlivinghimselftotellthestory;thefirstwaskillednotlongago。

Ifmyfacedidnotanswerforme，ifmendidnotreadinmyeyesandinmyvoicetheinnocenceofintention，Ihadnotlivedsolongwithoutquarrelsandwithoutgivingoffence，seeingtheindiscreetwhatevercomesintomyhead，andtojudgesorashlyofthings。Thiswaymay，withreason，appearuncivil，andilladaptedtoourwayofconversation;butIhavenevermetwithanywhojudgeditoutrageousormalicious，orthattookoffenceatmyliberty，ifhehaditfrommyownmouth;wordsrepeatedhaveanotherkindofsoundandsense。NordoIhateanyperson;

andIamsoslowtooffend，thatIcannotdoit，evenupontheaccountofreasonitself;andwhenoccasionhasrequiredmetosentencecriminals，Ihaveratherchosentofailinpointofjusticethantodoit:

"Utmagispeccarinolim，quamsatisanimiadvindicandapeccatahabeam。"

["SothatIhadrathermenshouldnotcommitfaultsthanthatI

shouldhavesufficientcouragetocondemnthem。"———Livy，xxxix。21。]

Aristotle，’tissaid，wasreproachedforhavingbeentoomercifultoawickedman:"Iwasindeed，"saidhe，"mercifultotheman，butnottohiswickedness。"Ordinaryjudgmentsexasperatethemselvestopunishmentbythehorrorofthefact:butitcoolsmine;thehorrorofthefirstmurdermakesmefearasecond;andthedeformityofthefirstcrueltymakesmeabhorallimitationofit。’Thatmaybeappliedtome，whoambutaSquireofClubs，whichwassaidofCharillus，kingofSparta:"Hecannotbegood，seeingheisnotevileventothewicked。"Orthus——forPlutarchdeliversitboththeseways，ashedoesathousandotherthings，variouslyandcontradictorily——"Hemustneedsbegood，becauseheissoeventothewicked。"EvenasinlawfulactionsIdisliketoemploymyselfwhenforsuchasaredispleasedatit;so，tosaythetruth，inunlawfulthingsIdonotmakeconscienceenoughofemployingmyselfwhenitisforsuchasarewilling。

EndTheEssaysofMontaigne，V19

byMicheldeMontaigneTranslatedbyCharlesCottonEditedbyWilliamCarewHazilitt1877

CONTENTSOFVOLUME19。

XIII。OfExperience。

CHAPTERXIII

OFEXPERIENCE

Thereisnodesiremorenaturalthanthatofknowledge。Wetryallwaysthatcanleadustoit;wherereasoniswanting，wethereinemployexperience，"Pervariosususartemexperientiafecit，Exemplomonstranteviam，"

["Byvarioustrialsexperiencecreatedart，exampleshewingtheway。"——Manilius，i。59。]

whichisameansmuchmoreweakandcheap;buttruthissogreatathingthatweoughtnottodisdainanymediationthatwillguideustoit。

Reasonhassomanyformsthatweknownottowhichtotake;experiencehasnofewer;theconsequencewewoulddrawfromthecomparisonofeventsisunsure，byreasontheyarealwaysunlike。Thereisnoqualitysouniversalinthisimageofthingsasdiversityandvariety。BoththeGreeksandtheLatinsandwe，forthemostexpressexampleofsimilitude，employthatofeggs;andyettherehavebeenmen，particularlyoneatDelphos，whocoulddistinguishmarksofdifferenceamongsteggssowellthathenevermistookoneforanother，andhavingmanyhens，couldtellwhichhadlaidit。

Dissimilitudeintrudesitselfofitselfinourworks;noartcanarriveatperfectsimilitude:neitherPerrozetnoranyothercansocarefullypolishandblanchthebacksofhiscardsthatsomegamesterswillnotdistinguishthembyseeingthemonlyshuffledbyanother。Resemblancedoesnotsomuchmakeoneasdifferencemakesanother。Naturehasobligedherselftomakenothingotherthatwasnotunlike。

AndyetIamnotmuchpleasedwithhisopinion，whothoughtbythemultitudeoflawstocurbtheauthorityofjudgesincuttingoutforthemtheirseveralparcels;hewasnotawarethatthereisasmuchlibertyandlatitudeintheinterpretationoflawsasintheirform;andtheybutfoolthemselves，whothinktolessenandstopourdisputesbyrecallingustotheexpresswordsoftheBible:forasmuchasourminddoesnotfindthefieldlessspaciouswhereintocontrovertthesenseofanotherthantodeliverhisown;andasiftherewerelessanimosityandtartnessincommentarythanininvention。Weseehowmuchhewasmistaken，forwehavemorelawsinFrancethanalltherestoftheworldputtogether，andmorethanwouldbenecessaryforthegovernmentofalltheworldsofEpicurus:

"Utolimflagitiis，sicnunclegibus，laboramus。"

["Aswewereformerlybycrimes，sowearenowoverburdenedbylaws。"——Tacitus，Annal。，iii。25。]

andyetwehaveleftsomuchtotheopinionsanddecisionsofourjudgesthatthereneverwassofullalibertyorsofullalicense。Whathaveourlegislatorsgainedbycullingoutahundredthousandparticularcases，andbyapplyingtotheseahundredthousandlaws？Thisnumberholdsnomannerofproportionwiththeinfinitediversityofhumanactions;themultiplicationofourinventionswillneverarriveatthevarietyofexamples;addtotheseahundredtimesasmanymore，itwillstillnothappenthat，ofeventstocome，thereshallonebefoundthat，inthisvastnumberofmillionsofeventssochosenandrecorded，shallsotallywithanyotherone，andbesoexactlycoupledandmatchedwithitthattherewillnotremainsomecircumstanceanddiversitywhichwillrequireadiversejudgment。Thereislittlerelationbetwixtouractions，whichareinperpetualmutation，andfixedandimmutablelaws;

themosttobedesiredarethosethatarethemostrare，themostsimpleandgeneral;andIamevenofopinionthatwehadbetterhavenoneatallthantohavetheminsoprodigiousanumberaswehave。

Naturealwaysgivesthembetterandhappierthanthosewemakeourselves;

witnessthepictureoftheGoldenAgeofthePoetsandthestatewhereinweseenationslivewhohavenoother。Somethereare，whofortheironlyjudgetakethefirstpasser—bythattravelsalongtheirmountains，todeterminetheircause;andotherswho，ontheirmarketday，chooseoutsomeoneamongstthemuponthespottodecidetheircontroversies。Whatdangerwouldtherebethatthewisestamongstusshouldsodetermineours，accordingtooccurrencesandatsight，withoutobligationofexampleandconsequence？Foreveryfootitsownshoe。KingFerdinand，sendingcoloniestotheIndies，wiselyprovidedthattheyshouldnotcarryalongwiththemanystudentsofjurisprudence，forfearlestsuitsshouldgetfootinginthatnewworld，asbeingascienceinitsownnature，breederofaltercationanddivision;judgingwithPlato，"thatlawyersandphysiciansarebadinstitutionsofacountry。"

Whencedoesitcometopassthatourcommonlanguage，soeasyforallotheruses，becomesobscureandunintelligibleinwillsandcontracts？

andthathewhosoclearlyexpresseshimselfinwhateverelsehespeaksorwrites，cannotfindintheseanywayofdeclaringhimselfthatdoesnotfallintodoubtandcontradiction？ifitbenotthattheprincesofthatart，applyingthemselveswithapeculiarattentiontoculloutportentouswordsandtocontriveartificialsentences，havesoweighedeverysyllable，andsothoroughlysiftedeverysortofquirkingconnectionthattheyarenowconfoundedandentangledintheinfinityoffiguresandminutedivisions，andcannomorefallwithinanyruleorprescription，noranycertainintelligence:

"Confusumest，quidquidusqueinpulveremsectumest。"

["Whateverisbeatenintopowderisundistinguishable（confused）。"

——Seneca，Ep。，89。]

Asyouseechildrentryingtobringamassofquicksilvertoacertainnumberofparts，themoretheypressandworkitandendeavourtoreduceittotheirownwill，themoretheyirritatethelibertyofthisgenerousmetal;itevadestheirendeavourandsprinklesitselfintosomanyseparatebodiesasfrustrateallreckoning;soisithere，forinsubdividingthesesubtiltiesweteachmentoincreasetheirdoubts;theyputusintoawayofextendinganddiversifyingdifficulties，andlengthenanddispersethem。Insowingandretailingquestionstheymaketheworldfructifyandincreaseinuncertaintiesanddisputes，astheearthismadefertilebybeingcrumbledanddugdeep。

"Difficultatemfacitdoctrina。"

["Learning（Doctrine）begetsdifficulty。"

——Quintilian，Insat。Orat。，x。3。]

WedoubtedofUlpian，andarestillnowmoreperplexedwithBartolusandBaldus。Weshouldeffacethetraceofthisinnumerablediversityofopinions;notadornourselveswithit，andfillposteritywithcrotchets。

Iknownotwhattosaytoit;butexperiencemakesitmanifest，thatsomanyinterpretationsdissipatetruthandbreakit。Aristotlewrotetobeunderstood;ifhecouldnotdothis，muchlesswillanotherthatisnotsogoodatit;andathirdthanhe，whoexpressedhisownthoughts。Weopenthematter，andspillitinpouringout:ofonesubjectwemakeathousand，andinmultiplyingandsubdividingthem，fallagainintotheinfinityofatomsofEpicurus。Neverdidtwomenmakethesamejudgmentofthesamething;and’tisimpossibletofindtwoopinionsexactlyalike，notonlyinseveralmen，butinthesameman，atdiversehours。

Ioftenfindmatterofdoubtinthingsofwhichthecommentaryhasdisdainedtotakenotice;Iammostapttostumbleinanevencountry，likesomehorsesthatIhaveknown，thatmakemosttripsinthesmoothestway。

Whowillnotsaythatglossesaugmentdoubtsandignorance，sincethere’snobooktobefound，eitherhumanordivine，whichtheworldbusiesitselfabout，whereofthedifficultiesareclearedbyinterpretation。

Thehundredthcommentatorpassesitontothenext，stillmoreknottyandperplexedthanhefoundit。Whenwereweeveragreedamongstourselves:

"Thisbookhasenough;thereisnownomoretobesaidaboutit"？Thisismostapparentinthelaw;wegivetheauthorityoflawtoinfinitedoctors，infinitedecrees，andasmanyinterpretations;yetdowefindanyendoftheneedofinterpretating？isthere，forallthat，anyprogressoradvancementtowardspeace，ordowestandinneedofanyfeweradvocatesandjudgesthanwhenthisgreatmassoflawwasyetinitsfirstinfancy？Onthecontrary，wedarkenandburyintelligence;wecannolongerdiscoverit，butatthemercyofsomanyfencesandbarriers。Mendonotknowthenaturaldiseaseofthemind;itdoesnothingbutferretandinquire，andiseternallywheeling，juggling，andperplexingitselflikesilkworms，andthe