they hold in great estimation; 143 for though there is no nation in the world that needs physic so little as they do, yet there is not any that honours it so much. They reckon the knowledge of it to be one of the pleasantest and profitablest parts of philosophy, by which, as they search into the secrets of nature, so they not only find marvellous pleasure in it, but think that in making such inquiries they do a most acceptable thing to the Author of nature; and imagine that he, as all inventors of curious. engines, has exposed to our view this great machine of the universe, we being the only creatures capable of contemplating it; and that therefore an exact and curious observer and admirer of his workmanship, is much more acceptable to him than one of the herd; who, as if he were a beast, and not capable of reason, looks on all this glorious scene only as a dull and unconcerned spectator.144

143 This is one of the lamest parts of the whole work, considered with a view to probability. What! render such a list of foreign authors, in a new language, popular in so few years! I admire Sir Thomas's taste in authors, and agree with him in his estimate of them; and cannot otherwise than smile when I find them domiciliated so rapidly among the Utopians.

144 Cicero, De Naturâ Deorum, II. §. 37, 38, has translated a passage on this subject from Aristotle, so brilliant, so richly glowing with masculine eloquence, that it would rather appear to have proceeded from Plato's own mouth. I fear to attempt it in English. Nevertheless, as the reader might not choose to be at the trouble of construing the original, I shall endeavour to give the sense. "Aristotle admirably describes the wonder which would seize upon men, supposing them to have lived up to a certain age underground, and to be then brought suddenly into the light. Allowing them to have inhabited subterranean palaces, adorned with sculpture and painting, and every ornament

"The minds of the Utopians, when they are once excited by learning, are very ingenious in finding out all such arts as tend to the conveniences of life. Two things they owe to us, which are the art of printing, and the manufacture of paper: yet they do not owe these so entirely to us, but that a great part of the invention was their own; for after we had showed them some paper books of Aldus's impression, and began to explain to them the way of making paper, and of printing, though we spake but very crudely of both these, not being practised in either of them, they presently took up the whole matter from the hints that we gave them; and whereas before they only writ on parchment, or on the barks of trees or reeds, they have now set up the manufacture of paper, and printing-presses; and though at first they could not arrive at a perfection in them, yet by making many essays, they at last found out and corrected all their errors, and brought the whole thing to perfection; so that if they had but a good number of Greek authors, they would be quickly supplied with many copies of them; at present, though they have no more

procurable by wealth; admit that they might have heard of the power and majesty of the gods; yet how great would be their emotion should the earth open suddenly, and disclose to them the vast scene we daily witness! the land- the sea —the skythe prodigious volumes of the clouds-the power of the windsthe sun, its magnitude, its splendour, gilding the whole earth, filling the whole heaven! And then, the spectacle presented by the face of night! The whole firmament glittering with stars, the increasing or waning moon.-Seeing all these things, could they doubt that there are gods, or that these are their works?”

than those I have mentioned, yet by several impressions, they have multiplied them into many thousands.

"If any man should go among them that had some extraordinary talent, or that by much travelling had observed the customs of many nations, (which made us to be well received,) he would be very welcome to them; for they are very desirous to know the state of the whole world. Very few go among them on the account of traffic; for what can a man carry to them but iron, or gold and silver, which merchants desire rather to export than import to any strange country; and as for their exportation, they think it better to manage that themselves, than to let foreigners come and deal in it; for by this means, as they understand the state of the neighbouring countries better, so they keep up the art of navigation, which cannot be maintained but by much practice in it.

OF THEIR SLAVES, AND OF THEIR MARRIAGES.

"They do not make slaves of prisoners of war, except those that are taken fighting against them; nor of the sons of their slaves, nor of the slaves of other nations. The slaves among them are only such as are condemned to that state of life for some crime that they had committed, or, which is more common, such as their merchants find condemned to die in those parts to which they trade, whom they redeem sometimes at low rates; and in other places they have them for nothing, and so they

fetch them away. All their slaves are kept at perpetual labour, and are always chained, but with this difference, that they treat their own natives much worse, looking on them as a more profligate sort of people; who not being restrained from crimes by the advantages of so excellent an education, are judged worthy of harder usage than others. Another sort of slaves is when some of the poorer sort in the neighbouring countries offer of their own accord to come and serve them; they treat these better, and use them in all other respects as well as their own countrymen, except that they impose more labour upon them, which is no hard task to them that have been accustomed to it; and any of these have a mind to go back to their own country, which indeed falls out but seldom, as they do not force them to stay, so they do not send them away empty-handed.

if

"I have already told you with what care they look after their sick, so that nothing is left undone that can contribute either to their ease or health : and for those who are taken with fixed and incurable diseases, they use all possible ways to cherish them, and make their lives as comfortable as may be they visit them often, and take great pains to make their time pass off easily. But when any is taken with a torturing and lingering pain, so that there is no hope, either of recovery or ease, the priests and magistrates come and exhort them, that since they are now unable to go on with the business of life, and are become a burden to themselves and to all about them, so that they have

really outlived themselves, they would no longer nourish such a rooted distemper, but would choose rather to die, since they cannot live, but in much misery; being assured, that if they either deliver themselves from their prison and torture, or are willing that others should do it they shall be happy after their deaths and since by their dying thus, they lose none of the pleasures, but only the troubles of life, they think they act not only reasonably in so doing, but religiously and piously, because they follow the advices that are given them by the priests, who are the expounders of the will of God to them. Such as are wrought on by these persuasions, do either starve themselves of their own accord, or they take opium,145 and so they die without pain. But no man is forced on this way of ending his life; and if they cannot be persuaded to it, they do not for that fail in their attendance and care of them. But as they believe that a voluntary death, when it is chosen upon such an authority, is very honourable, so if any man takes away his own life, without the approbation of the priests and the senate, they give him none of the honours of

145 This is one of those maxims of a "rough and fierce philosophy," which Bishop Burnet speaks of in his preface. It differs in one particular from Napoleon's "philosophy," which led him, from motives of mistaken humanity, to think of poisoning the sick in Syria, to prevent their falling into the hands of a savage enemy. The Utopians only starved or poisoned those who consented to be so treated; which Mr. Hobbes assures us could be doing them no injury; for he who consents to anything, cannot consider himself injured. De Cive. 1. I. c. iii. $ 7.