The following is taken from an electronic text of Montesquieu's Persian
Letters (1721). The edition is by John Davidson, who translated
the novel, wrote an introduction to it and added explanatory footnotes.
It was published by Gibbings & Company in London in 1899 (3 vols.) and
is therefore in the public domain. The full e-text of the novel can be
found at: http://fsweb.wm.edu/plp/
Below is an extract consisting of Letters 11-14, also known as “The Parable of the Troglodytes.” Usbek and Mirza are the two main characters, a pair of Persians who journey together to Europe. Along the way they are frequently separated, and thus the novel consists of the letters they send to each other during their travels. The letters contain philosophical speculations of all sorts; politics are a frequent subject for examination.
LETTER XI
Usbek to Mirza, at Ispahan
You waive your own judgment
in deference to mine;1you
even deign to consult me; you to profess your belief in my ability to instruct
you. My dear Mirza, if there is one thing which flatters me more than
your good opinion of me, it is the friendship which prompts it.
In the fulfillment of the task
you have prescribed me, I do not think there is any necessity for argument of
an abstruse order. There are certain truths which it is not sufficient to
know, but which must be realized: such are the great commonplaces of
morality. Probably the following fable will affect you more than the most
subtle argument:
One upon a time there dwelt in
Arabia a small tribe called Troglodytes, descendents of the ancient
Troglodytes, who, if historians are to be believed,2 were liker beasts
than men. They were not, however, counterfeit presentments of the lower
animals. They had not fur like bears; they did not hiss like serpents;
and they did possess two eyes:3
but they were so malicious, so brutish, that they lacked all notion of justice
and equity.
A king of foreign origin reigned
over them. Wishing to correct their natural wickedness, he treated them
with severity; but they conspired against him, slew him, and exterminated his
line.
They then assembled to appoint a
governing body. After many dissensions, they elected magistrates.
These had not been long in office, when they found them
intolerable, and killed them also.
Freed from this new yoke, the people
were swayed only by their savage instincts. Every man determined to do
what was right in his own eyes; and in attending to his own interests, the
general welfare was forgotten.
The unanimous decision gave
universal satisfaction. They said: “Why should I kill myself with work
for those in whom I have no interest? I will only think of myself: how
should the welfare of others affect me: I will provide for my own
necessities; and, if these are satisfied, it is not concern of mine though all
the other Troglodytes live in misery.”
Each man said to himself in
seed-time, “I shall till no more land than will supply me with corn enough for
my wants. What use have I for any more? I am not going to bother
myself for nothing.”
The land in this little kingdom was
not all of the same quality: some of it was barren and mountainous; and other
portions, lying low, were well-watered. One year a drought
occurred, so severe, that the uplands bore no crop at all, whilst those that
were well-watered brought forth abundantly. In consequence of this, the
highlanders almost all died of hungered, because the people of the lowlands had
no mercy on them, and refused to share the harvest.
The year after, the weather being
very wet, the higher grounds produced extraordinary crops, whilst the lowlands
were flooded. Again half the people were famine-stricken; but the
wretched sufferers found the mountaineers as hard as they themselves had been.
One of the chief men of the country
had a very lovely wife. A neighbour of his fell in love with her, and
carried her off. This gave rise to a bitter quarrel; and after many words
and blows, the parties agreed to submit their case to the judgment of a
Troglodyte, who had been well esteemed during the republic. Having gone
to him, they were about to argue the case before him, when he cried, “What does
it matter whose wife she is? My land waits to be tilled; and I am not
going to waste my time settling your quarrels and doing your business, when I
might be attending to my own; be kind enough to leave me alone, and trouble me
no more with your disputes.” With that he left them, and went to work in
his fields. The ravisher, who was the stronger man, swore he would sooner
die than give up the woman. The other, smarting under his neighbour’s
ill-treatment and the unfeeling conduct of the umpire, was going home in
despair, when he met a fine young woman returning from the well. Having
no longer a wife of his own, he was attracted towards her; and she pleased him
all the more when he learnt she was the wife of him whom he had solicited to
judge his case, and who had proved so pitiless to him. He therefore
seized the woman and carried her to his house.
Another man, the owner of some
fairly productive ground, took great pains in its cultivation. Two of his
neighbors conspired to drive him from his house, and seize his lands.
They entered into a compact to oppose all who should try to oust them, and they
actually succeeded for several months. One of the two, however, disgusted
at having to share what might be his own exclusively, killed the other, and
became sole master of the ground. But his reign was soon over: two other
Troglodytes attacked him, and as he was no match for them, they killed him.
Still another Troglodyte, seeing
some wool exposed for sale, asked the price of it. The seller argued thus
with himself: “At the market price I should receive for my wool as much money
as would buy two measures of corn; but I will sell it for four times that sum,
and then I can buy eight measures.” As the other wanted the wool, he paid
the price demanded. “Many thanks,” said the vendor, “I shall now buy some
corn.” “What rejoined the buyer, “you want corn? I have some to
sell; but the price will rather astonish you. You must know that, as
there is a famine in the land, corn is extremely dear. If you return me
my money, I will give you on measure of corn: I would not give you a grain more
for the price, though you were to die of hunger.”
Meantime a dreadful malady was
ravaging the land. An able physician came from a neighboring country, and
prescribed with such success that he cured all his patients. When the
plague ceased, he called for his fees, but was refused by one and all.
There was nothing for it but to return to his own country, which he reached
worn to a skeleton by the fatigues of a long journey. Soon after he heard
that the same disease had broken out afresh among these thankless people, and
with more virulence than before. This time they did not wait for him, but
sent to entreat his presence. “Begone,” he cried, “unrighteous men!
In your souls there is a poison more deadly than that which you wish me to
cure; you are unworthy to live, for you are inhuman monsters, unacquainted with
the first principles of justice. I will not offend the gods who punish
you by opposing their just wrath.”
Erzeroum,
the 3rd of the second moon of Gemmadi4, 1711.
1 “Essayer la
mienne,” a Gascon provincialism for “user,” &c. the meaning is,
therefore, as above, and not “to test mine.”
2 Herodotus , Plutarch,
Pomponius Mela, and Pliny the Elder, are the authorities for the Troglodytes.
3 Contradictions of
assertions in Pomponius Mela.
4 Gemal-i-ul-sani, the
sixth month of the Persian year.
LETTER XII
Usbek to the Same, at Ispahan
You have seen, my dear Mirza, how
the Troglodytes perished in their sins, the victims of their own
righteousness. Only two families escaped the doom which befell the
nation.
In that country there lived just two
very remarkable men, humane, just, lovers of virtue. United by their
uprightness as much as by the corruption of their fellows, they regarded the
general desolation with hearts from which pity expelled every other feeling;
and their compassion united them in a new bond. Together they laboured
for their mutual benefit; no dissensions arose between them except such as may
spring from the tenderest friendship. In a secluded part of the country,
far removed from those who were unworthy of their companionship, they led a
calm and happy life. The earth, glad to be tilled by such virtuous hands,
seemed to yield her fruits of her own accord.
They loved their wives, and were
beloved most tenderly. Their utmost care was given to the virtuous
training of their children. They kept before their young minds the
misfortunes of their countrymen, and held them up as a most melancholy example.
Above all, they led them to see that the interest of the individual was bound
up in that of the community; that to isolate oneself was to court ruin; that
the sot of virtue should never be counted, nor the practice of it regarded as
troublesome; and that in acting justly by others, we bestow blessings on
ourselves.
They soon enjoyed the reward of
virtuous parents, which consists in having children like themselves.
Happy marriages increased the number of the young people who grew up under
their guidance. Although the community increased, there was still but one
interest; and virtue, instead of losing its force in the crowd, grew stronger
by reason of more numerous examples.
It is impossible to depict the
happiness of these Troglodytes! So upright a people could not fail to be
the special objects of divine care. They were taught to reverence the
Gods with the first dawning of intellect; and religion refined manners that
nature had left untutored.
They established feasts in honour of the Gods. Young men and maidens,
decked with flowers, worshipped them with dances and rural minstrelsy.
Banquets followed, in which they struck a happy mean between mirth and
frugality. At these gatherings nature spoke its artless language; there
the young folks learned how to make love’s bargain of hearts: trembling girls
blushed to find on their lips a promise which the blessing of their parents
soon ratified; tender mothers delighted themselves in forecasting happy
marriages.
When they visited the temple it was not
to ask of the Gods wealth and overflowing plenty; these fortunate Troglodytes
regarded such requests as unworthy of them; if they made them at all, it was
not for themselves, but for their countrymen. They approached the altar
only to pray for the health of their parents, for the unity of their brethren,
for the love of their wives, the affection and obedience of their
children. Thither the maidens came to offer up the sweet sacrifice of
their hearts, asking in return only the right to make a Troglodyte happy.
In the evening, when the flocks had
left the fields, and the weary oxen had returned from ploughing, these people
met together. During a frugal meal they sang of the crimes of the first
Troglodytes, and their sad fate; of the revival of virtue with a new race, and
of its happiness. Then they celebrated the greatness of the Gods,
abounding in mercy to those who seek them, and visiting with inevitable
judgments those who reverence them not. These would be followed by a
description of the delights of a country life, and the happiness that springs
from a state of innocence. Soon after they retired to rest, and their
slumbers were unbroken by care or anxiety.
The provision of nature was
sufficient for both their pleasures and their wants. A covetous man was
unknown in this happy country. When they made presents, the giver always
felt himself more blessed than the receiver. The whole race looked upon
themselves as one single family; their flocks were almost always intermixed,
and the only trouble which they usually shirked was that of separating them.
Erzeroum, the 6th of the second moon of Gemmadi, 1711
LETTER XIII
Usbek to the Same
I cannot say half I wish to
say about the virtue of the Troglodytes. One of them once said, “Tomorrow
it is my father’s turn to work in the fields; I shall rise two hours before
him, and when he comes to his work he will find it all done.”
Another said to himself, “I think my
sister has taken a fancy for a young cousin of mine. I must talk to my
father about it, and get him to arrange a marriage.”1
Another, being told that
robbers had carried off his herd, replied, “I am very sorry, because it
contained a white heifer which I meant to offer to the Gods.”
One was heard telling another
that he was bound for the temple to return thanks to Heaven for the recovery
from sickness of this brother, who was so dear to his father, and whom he
himself loved so much.
This also was once said: “In a field
adjoining my father’s, the workers are all day long exposed to the heat of the
sun. I shall plant some trees there that these poor folks may sometimes
rest in their shade.”
Their unexpected prosperity was not
regarded without envy. A neighbouring nation gathered together and on
some paltry context determined to carry off their cattle. As soon as they
heard this, the Troglodytes dispatched ambassadors, who addressed their enemies
in the following terms, “What evil have the Troglodytes done you? Have
they carried off your wives, stolen your cattle, or ravaged your lands?
No; we are just men, and fear the Gods. What, then, do your require of us?
Would you have wool to make clothes? Do you wish the milk of our cows, or
the products of our fields? Lay down your arms, then; come with us and we
will give you all you demand. But we swear by all we hold most sacred,
that if you enter our territories in enmity, we will regard you as dishonest
men, and deal with you as we would with wild beasts.”
This speech was received with
contempt; and, believing that the Troglodytes had no means of defense except
their innocence, the barbarians invaded their territory in warlike array.
But the Troglodytes were well
prepared to defend themselves. They had placed their wives and children
in their midst. Astonished they certainly were at the injustice of their
enemies, but were not dismayed by their number. Their hearts burned
within them with an ardour before unknown. One longed to lay down his
life for his father, another for his wife and children, this one for his
brothers, that one for his friends, and all for each other. When one fell
in fight, he who immediately took his place, besides fighting for the common
cause, had the death of his comrade to avenge.
And so the battle raged between
right and wrong. Those wretched creatures, whose sole aim was plunder,
felt no shame when they were forced to fight. They were forced to yield
to the prowess of that virtue, whose worth they were unable to appreciate.
Erzeroum, the 9th of the second moon of Gemmadi, 1711
LETTER XIV
Usbek to the Same
As their numbers increased every
day, the Troglodytes thought it behooved them to elect a king. They
judged it wise to confer the crown upon the justest man among them; and their
thoughts turned to one, venerable by reason of his age and his long career of
virtue. He, however, had refused to attend the meeting, and withdrew to
his house, oppressed with grief.
When deputies were sent to him to
announce his election, “The Gods forbid,” cried he, “that I should wrong the
Troglodytes by permitting them to believe that there is one man among them more
just than I! You offer me the crown; and if you insist upon it
absolutely, I cannot but take it. Remember, however, that I shall die of
sorrow, having known the Troglodytes freemen, to behold them subjected to a ruler.”
Having said this, he burst into a torrent of tears. “Unhappy day!” he
exclaimed. “Why have I lived to see it?” Then he upbraided
them. “I see,” he cried, “O Troglodytes, what moves you to this;
uprightness becomes a burden to you. In your present condition, having no
head, you are constrained in your own despite to be virtuous; otherwise your
very existence would be at stake, and you would relapse into the wretched state
of your ancestors. But this seems to you too heavy a yoke; you would
rather become the subjects of a king, and submit to laws of his framing-laws
less exacting than your present customs. You know that then you would be
able to satisfy your ambition, and while away the time in slothful luxury; and
that, provided you avoided the graver crimes, there would be no necessity for
virtue.” He ceased speaking for a little, and his tears fell faster than
ever. “And what do you expect of me? How can I lay commands upon a
Troglodyte? Would one act more nobly because I ordered him? You forget
that a Troglodyte without any command does what is right from natural
inclination?”
“O Troglodytes, my days are nearly
done, my blood is frozen in my veins, I shall soon join your blessed ancestors;
why would you have me carry them the sad news that you have submitted to
another law than that of virtue?”
Erzeroum, the 10th of the second moon of Gemmadi, 1711.