Part 2 (2/2)

_As No body was debarr'd from Small Beer, the Clergy made use of it as well as the Laity, and some of them very plentifully; yet all of them desired to be thought less Thirsty by their Function than others, and never would own, that they drank any, but to mend their Complexions. In their Religious a.s.semblies they were more sincere; for as soon as they came there, they all openly confess'd, the Clergy as well as the Laity, from the highest to the lowest, that they were Thirsty; that Mending their Complexions was what they minded the least, and that all their Hearts were set upon Small Beer and Quenching their Thirst, whatever they might pretend to the Contrary. What was remarkable is, that to have laid Hold of those Truths to any one's Prejudice, and made use of those Confessions afterwards out of their Temples, would have been counted very impertinent; and Every body thought it a heinous Affront to be call'd_ Thirsty, _tho' you had seen him drink Small Beer by whole Gallons. The chief Topicks of their Preachers was the great Evil of Thirst, and the Folly there was in quenching it. They exhorted their Hearers to resist the Temptations of it, inveigh'd against Small Beer, and often told them it was Poyson, if they drank it with Pleasure, or any other Design than to mend their Complexions._

_In their Acknowledgments to the G.o.ds, they thank'd them for the Plenty of comfortable Small Beer they had received from them, notwithstanding they had so little deserv'd it, and continually quench'd their Thirst with it; whereas they were so thorowly satisfy'd, that it was given them for a better Use. Having begg'd Pardon for those Offences, they desired the G.o.ds to lessen their Thirst, and give them Strength to resist the Importunities of it; yet, in the Midst of their sorest Repentance, and most humble Supplications, they never forgot Small Beer, and pray'd that they might continue to have it in great Plenty, with a solemn Promise, that how neglectful soever they might hitherto have been in this Point, they would for the Future not drink a Drop of it with any other Design than to mend their Complexions._

_These were standing Pet.i.tions, put together to last; and having continued to be made use of without any Alterations for several Hundred Years together, it was thought by Some, that the G.o.ds, who understood Futurity, and knew, that the same Promise they heard in_ June, _would be made to them the_ January _following, did not rely much more on those Vows, than we do on those waggish Inscriptions by which Men offer us their Goods,_ To Day for Money, and to Morrow for Nothing. _They often began their Prayers very mystically, and spoke many Things in a spiritual Sense; yet they never were so abstract from the World in them, as to end One without beseeching the G.o.ds to bless and prosper the Brewing Trade in all its Branches, and, for the Good of the Whole, more and more to increase the Consumption of the Hops and Barley._

This Parable likewise has been very displeasing to my Enemies, yet they never complain'd of it, nor ever shew'd their Resentment against those Pa.s.sages, where their Frailties were most exposed. But the true Grievance not being to be named, their next Care was to hinder the Spreading of my Animadversions upon them; that what I had said might not be read by Many; and accordingly, giving the Book an ill Name, and making some imperfect Quotations from it, they procure, as I have said before, the Grand Jury's Presentment against it. But this being now-a-Days the wrongest Way in the World to stifle Books, it made it more known, and encreas'd the Sale of it. This made some hot People raving mad; and now I began to be attack'd with great Fury from all Quarters; but as Nothing has appeared yet, that might not be easily answer'd from _The Fable of the Bees_ it self, or the Vindication I have spoke of before, I have not hitherto thought fit to take Notice of any.

It was wrote for the Entertainment of idle People, and calculated for Persons of Education, when they are at Leisure and want Amus.e.m.e.nt; and therefore to ask Men of Business, or that have any Thing else to do, to read such an incoherent Rhapsody throughout, would be an unreasonable Request; at least, the Author himself ought to be more modest than to expect it: Yet I must beg Leave to say, that whoever has not done this, ought not to be so magisterial in his Censures, as Some have been on Pa.s.sages the most justifiable in the World. It is impossible to say every Thing at once; and yet Every body, who has a Book before him, has the Liberty of opening and shutting it, when and where he pleases.

There are many Things, which we entirely approve of, Part of which we disliked, before we were acquainted with the whole; and we ought always to consider, that Authors often reserve some Places on Purpose to clear up and explain others, that are difficult and obscure: Even when we meet with a Thing really offensive and no ways to be maintain'd, unless we read a Book through, we do not know but the Author has excepted against that very Pa.s.sage himself; perhaps he has retracted, or begg'd Pardon for it.

It is hardly possible, that a Man of Candour and any tolerable Judgment, who seriously considers the Book, can be offended at it. In the First Place, he will find, that what I call Vices are the Fas.h.i.+onable Ways of Living, the Manners of the Age, that are often practis'd and preach'd against by the same People: Those Vices, that the Persons who are guilty of them, are angry with me for calling them so: The Decencies and Conveniencies, which my Adversaries are so fond of, and which, rather than forsake and part with, they would take Pains to justify. In the Second, That I address myself to the Voluptuous, whose greatest Delight is in this World; and, that when I speak to Others, that would be contented without Superfluities, and prefer Virtue and Honesty to Pomp and Greatness, I lay down quite different Maxims: That what I have said, Page 258, is true, _viz._ Tho' I have shewn the Way to Worldly Greatness, I have, without Hesitation, preferr'd the Road that leads to Virtue.

Should it be objected, that I was not in Earnest, when I recommended those mortifying Maxims, I would answer, That those, who think so, would have said the same to St. _Paul_, or JESUS CHRIST himself, if he had bid them sell their Estates and give their Money to the Poor.

Poverty and Self-denial have no Allurements in Sight of my Enemies; they hate the Aspect and the very Thoughts of them, as much as they do me; and therefore, whoever recommends them must be in Jest. No Mathematical Demonstration is more true, than that to prohibit Navigation, and all Commerce with Strangers, is the most effectual Way to keep out Vice and Luxury: It is almost as true, that Citizens, and Men of Worth, who defend their own, and fight _pro Aris & Focis_, when once disciplin'd and inur'd to Hards.h.i.+p, are more to be depended upon than hired Troops and mercenary Soldiers. Let a Man preach this in _London_, and they'll say he is craz'd. But if Men won't buy Virtue at the Price it is only to be had at, Whose Fault is that?

I knew what People I had to deal with; and when I spoke of the _Spartans_ and their Frugality, and how formidable they were to their Enemies, I said then, that such a Way of Living, and a Glory to be obtain'd by so austere a Self-denial, were not the Things which Englishmen wanted or desired. There are Twenty Pa.s.sages in the Book to the same Purpose; but from this alone it is manifest, that, unless I was a Fool, or a Madman, I could have no Design to encourage or promote the Vices of the Age. It will be difficult to shew me an Author, that has exposed and ridicul'd them more openly. Breaches of the Law I have treated in a more serious Manner; and tho' it has been insinuated, that I was an Advocate for all Wickedness and Villany in General, there is no such Thing in the Book. I have said indeed, that we often saw an evident Good spring up from a palpable Evil, and given Instances to prove, that, by the wonderful Direction of unsearchable Providence, Robbers, Murderers, and the worst of Malefactors were sometimes made instrumental to great Deliverances in Distress, and remarkable Blessings, which G.o.d wrought and conferr'd on the Innocent and Industrious; but as to the Crimes themselves, I have never spoke of them, but with the utmost Detestation, and on all Occasions urg'd the great Necessity of punis.h.i.+ng all, that are guilty of them, without Favour or Connivance.

That Honesty is the best Policy, even as to Temporals, is generally true; but it does not so often raise Men to great Wealth and Power as Knavery and Ambition; and Opportunity is a great Rascal. Attorneys, Money-Scriveners, Bankers and Brokers, as well as Factors of all Sorts, may, without doubt, be as honest in their Callings as Men of any other; but it is evident in all Trades, that the greater the Trust is to be reposed in Persons, and the more their Transactions are Secrets and such as they can only be accountable for to G.o.d and their Conscience, the more Lat.i.tude they have of being Knaves without being discover'd.

Should now a Man of a Business, where he has great Opportunity of defrauding others with Impunity, be a cunning Sharper, a covetous Miser, and a wicked Hypocrite; can it be a Question, whether he is not more likely to get a great Estate, with the same setting out in a few Years, than a charitable, religious Man, whose chief Care is not for this World, in the same or any other Calling, equally beneficial to fair Dealers? I am not ignorant of what may be said against me, about G.o.d's Blessing, and on whom it is most likely to fall. The Dispositions of Providence are unfathomable, and the Distribution of what we call Good and Evil in this World, is a Mystery not to be accounted for by the Notions we have of G.o.d's Justice, without having Recourse to a Future State; therefore I need not to take this in Consideration here.

The Question is not, which is the readiest Way to Riches, but whether the Riches themselves are worth being d.a.m.n'd for.

There never was yet, and it is impossible to conceive, an opulent Nation, without great Vices: This is a Truth; and I am not accessary to its being so, for divulging it. When I have shewn the Necessity of Vice, to render a Society great and potent, I have exposed that Greatness, and left it to them, the Members of it, whether it is worth buying at that Price; and I defy all my Enemies to shew me, where I have recommended Vice, or said the least t.i.ttle, by which I contradict that true, as well as remarkable Saying of Monsieur _Baile_. _Les utilites du vice n'empechent pas qu' il ne soit mauvais._ Vice is always bad, whatever Benefit we may receive from it.--But I have been strangely treated.

Should a thriving Youth in Athletick Health, almost arriv'd at Manhood, industriously waste his Flesh for no other Purpose, than to weigh less, I would 'count him a Fool for his Pains; because he runs the Risque of doing himself great Injury. But he must ride; the Match is made; he has a Master to oblige, and he is undone it he refuses: So he is managed accordingly against the Time. If I had a Mind to expose this Practice, and, laying open the whole Regimen Men are to go through in order to waste, acquaint the World with the sharp Liquors they take, how they are purged, sweated, stinted in their Food, and debarr'd from their natural Rest; If, I say, I had a Mind to do this, and ridicule the Expedient, I don't see where would be the Harm. As to the Thing it self, No body would doubt, but drinking Vinegar, Physicking, Watching, and Starving, would be a more proper Means to lose Flesh, than good Nourishment three Times a Day, and comfortable Sleep at Night. But the Question is, whether Weighing less, or the Riding it self, be of that Importance, that a Man would undergo so much for it; and I believe, most People, far from following this Method, would content themselves with admiring and laughing at the Folly of it. But it would be barbarous to say, that I had prescrib'd it, when I had openly declared against it. But what Name would you give it, if the Jockeys themselves, continuing their former Practice, should in Revenge, that I had expos'd it, pretend seriously to exclaim against me for broaching a destructive Doctrine, that would endanger the Health, and spoil the Growth of young People, and to prove their a.s.sertions, quote as many of my own Words as would serve their Purpose, and no more?

I take this to be a pretty near Resemblance of my Case: _Omne Simile claudicat_. But it is not sufficient for me to say, that I am innocent, any more than it is for my Enemies to cry out, that I am guilty: Men of Sense can not be long imposed upon by either: It is the Book we must stand or fall by at last; and it is to this I refer all judicious as well as impartial Readers. They will soon find out the true Cause of the Malice, and all the Clamours against me, and that my laying open the luxurious Lives of some Men; my shewing the great Scarcity of Self-denial among Christians as well as others, and, in short, my reprehending, las.h.i.+ng and ridiculing Vice and Insincerity, have procured me infinitely more Enemies than all the pretended Encouragement to Vice and Immorality they can meet with; and if, after perusing the whole, all Persons of Candour, and Capacity to read Books of that Nature, are not fully convinced of this, may I be despised for ever, and forfeit the good Opinion of all Men I value. But still the t.i.tle, _Private Vices, Publick Benefits_: The hearing and seeing of it, I shall be told, must be offensive to those, who don't read the Book, and will never vouchsafe to look into it.

Pray, Sir, let us examine this. It is evident, that the Words _Private Vices, Publick Benefits_ make not a compleat Sentence according to Grammar; and that there is at least a Verb, if not a great deal more wanting to make the Sense perfect. In the Vindication of _The Fable of the Bees_, I have said, that I understood by it, that _Private Vices_, by the dexterous Management of a skilful Politician, might be turn'd into _Publick Benefits_. There is Nothing forc'd or unnatural in this Explanation; and Everybody ought to have the Liberty of being an Interpreter of his own Words. But if I wave this Privilege, the worst Construction that can be put upon the Words is, that they are an Epitome of what I have labour'd to prove throughout the Book, that Luxury and the Vices of Man, under the Regulations and Restrictions laid down in the _Fable of the Bees_, are subservient to, and even inseparable from the Earthly Felicity of the Civil Society; I mean what is commonly call'd Temporal Happiness, and esteem'd to be such.

As to those who, without reading the Book, may be corrupted by the Sight, or by the bare Sound of the Words _Private Vices, Publick Benefits_, I confess, I don't know what Provision to make for them.

People who judge of Books from their t.i.tles, must be often imposed upon. There is neither Blasphemy nor Treason in the Words, and they are far enough from Obscenity: If any Mischief is to be fear'd from them, _Drink and be Rich_, a t.i.tle that has been bawl'd about the Streets, must be far more dangerous. This latter is a direct Precept, a pernicious, as well as deceitful Doctrine, comprised in a full Sentence, wrote in the Imperative Mood. What strange Consequence would it be of, especially among the Poor, if, relying on the Wisdom of this t.i.tle, and taking it for wholesome Advice, People should act accordingly, without any further Examination?

The true Reason why I made use of the t.i.tle, _Private Vices, Publick Benefits_, I sincerely believe, was to raise Attention: As it is generally counted to be a Paradox, I pitch'd upon it in Hopes that those who might hear or see it, would have the Curiosity to know, what could be said to maintain it; and perhaps sooner buy the Book, than they would have done otherwise. This, to the best of my Knowledge, is all the Meaning I had in it; and I think it must have been Stupidity to have had any other.

If it be urged, that these Benefits are worldly, I own it; and Every body may see, in whose Sense I call them so; in the Language of the World, the Age and the Time I live: This one of my Adversaries perceived plainly, and endeavoured to take Advantage of it against me, by saying, that Nothing could be a real Benefit, that did not conduce to a Man's eternal Happiness; and that it was evident, that the Things, to which I gave that Name, did not. I agree with him, that a Man's Salvation is the greatest Benefit he can receive or wish for; and I am persuaded, that, speaking of Things Spiritual, the Word is very proper in that Sense; the same may be said of the Words Profit, Gain, and, if you please, Lucre; but I deny, that without any Addition, this is the common Acceptation of them; in which, I hope, I may have the Liberty to make use of Words with the Rest of my Fellow-Subjects. All temporal Privileges and worldly Advantages whatever, are call'd Benefits, and a Thousand Things are beneficial to the Body, that have Nothing to do with the Soul. So a Felon may have the Benefit of the Clergy; such are Benefit-Tickets; and so a Man may go in the Country for the Benefit of the Air. I would ask this wise Gentleman, when he reads, that a Play is to be acted for the Benefit of such a one; which he thinks it is, the Money the Person receives, or the Performance it self, that contributes most to his eternal Happiness.

But I am more cautious and exact, than my Enemies imagine: If I would have made my Readers to understand, that the Vices of Men often prove of worldly Advantage to those who commit them, tho' it is very true, yet in this Case, I would not have used the Word Benefit in so general a Manner: for as Nothing is of greater Concern to every individual Person, than his future Welfare, Nothing can be Beneficial to him, in an unlimited Sense, that might destroy, or any Ways interfere with his eternal Happiness: But this eternal Happiness cannot at the soonest commence till after this Life; and when a Man is dead, he ceases to be a Member of the Society, and he is no longer a Part of the Publick; which latter is a collective Body of living Creatures, living upon this Earth, and consequently, as such, not capable of enjoying eternal Happiness. A Miser may go directly to h.e.l.l, as the Reward of his Avarice and Extortion, at the same Time, that the great Wealth he leaves, and the Hospital he builds, are a considerable Relief to the Poor, and consequently a Publick Benefit.

If a Man should affirm, that the Publick is wholly incapable of having any Religion at all, it would, perhaps, be shocking to some People; yet it is as true, as that the Body Politick, which is but another Name for the Publick, has no Liver nor Kidneys, no real Lungs nor Eyes in a literal Sense. Mix'd Mult.i.tudes of Good and Bad Men, high and low Quality, may join in outward Signs of Devotion, and perform together what is call'd Publick Wors.h.i.+p; but Religion it self can have no Place but in the Heart of Individuals; and the most a Legislator can act in Behalf of it in a Christian Country, is, first, to establish it by Law; and, after that, every way to secure and promote the Exercise of it on the one Hand; and, on the other, to prohibit and punish Wickedness, and all Manner of Impiety, that can fall under the Cognizance of Magistrates. But thus much I think to be necessary in the Civil Administration of all Governments, for the temporal Interest of the Whole, before true Christianity comes in Question, which is a private Concern of every Individual: And tho' I have not every where taken Notice of this, when I have been soothing the Voluptuous, yet when it has come directly in my Way, I have earnestly recommended to all Magistrates the Care of Divine Wors.h.i.+p, even when my greatest Regard has been for the Wealth and Greatness of Nations, and the Advancement of worldly Glory; which good Christians ought to have little to do with. Of which you may see an undeniable Proof in Page 352, where speaking of the Instructions the Children of the Poor might receive at Church; _From which,_ I say, _or some other Place of Wors.h.i.+p, I would not have the meanest of the Parish, that is able to walk to it, be absent on Sundays,_ I have these Words: _It is the Sabbath, the most useful Day in Seven, that is set apart for Divine Service & Religious Exercise, as well as Resting from bodily Labour; and it is a Duty inc.u.mbent on all Magistrates, to take a particular Care of that Day.

The Poor more especially, and their Children, should be made to go to Church on it, both in the Fore- and the Afternoon, because they have no Time on any other. By Precept and Example they ought to be encourag'd to it from their Infancy. The wilful Neglect of it ought to be 'counted scandalous; and if down-right Compulsion to what I urge, might seem too harsh, and perhaps impracticable, all Diversions, at least, ought strictly to be prohibited, and the Poor hinder'd from every Amus.e.m.e.nt abroad, that might allure or draw them from it._

I return to my Subject. How shocking to Some, and ridiculous to others, the explanatory Part of the t.i.tle I mention'd, may have been, yet it is irrefragrably true; and there are various Ways, by which Private Vices may become Publick Benefits, Ways more real and practicable, than what, some Time ago, was offer'd by that serious Divine, whose Religion and Piety are so amply set forth in that undisguised Confession of his Faith, _The Tale of a Tub_. People may wrangle about the Definition of Luxury as long as they please; but when Men may be furnish'd with all the Necessaries for Life from their own Growth, and yet will send for Superfluities from Foreign Countries, which they might (as many actually do) live comfortably without, it certainly is a Degree of Luxury, if there be such a Thing as Luxury in the World. Now, if a Legislator, who is to take Care of the Welfare, and consequently the Defence, as well as the Tranquility of the Publick, perceiving this vicious Inclination and Longing after Superfluities, made use of it as a Means to provide for the Publick Safety, and actually raised Money by Licensing the Importation of such Foreign Superfluities; might it not be said, that, by such skilful Management, _Private Vices_ were turn'd into _Publick Benefits_? And is this not done, when heavy Duties are laid on Sugar, Wine, Silk, Tobacco, and a Hundred other Things less necessary, and not to be purchas'd but with infinite Toil and Trouble, and at the Hazard of Men's Lives? If you tell me, that Men may make use of all these Things with Moderation, and consequently that the Desire after them is no Vice, then I answer, that either no Degree of Luxury ought to be call'd a Vice, or, that it is impossible to give a Definition of Luxury, which Every body will allow to be a just one.

But I'll give you another Instance, how palpable and gross Vices may be, and are turn'd into Publick Benefits. It is the Business of all Law-givers to watch over the Publick Welfare, and, in order to procure that, to submit to any Inconveniency, any Evil, to prevent a much greater, if it is impossible to avoid that greater Evil at a cheaper Rate. Thus the Law, taking into Consideration the daily Encrease of Rogues and Villains, has enacted, that if a Felon, before he is convicted himself, will impeach two or more of his Accomplices, or any other Malefactors, so that they are convicted of a Capital Crime, he shall be pardon'd and dismiss'd with a Reward in Money. There is no Doubt but this is a good and wise Law; for without such an Expedient, the Country would swarm with Robbers and Highwaymen Ten-times more than it does; for by this Means we are not only deliver'd from a greater Number of Villains, than we could expect to be from any other; but it likewise stops the Growth of them, breaks their Gangs, and hinders them from trusting One another. For Three Rogues, acting separately, cannot do so much substantial Mischief on all Occasions, as when they act in Company. All this while it is evident, that in this Case the Law has only Regard to the Publick Good, and, to procure that, sets aside all other Laws, and proceeds rather contrary to the Common Notions we have of Justice; which, according to the _Civilians_, consists _in a constant and perpetual Desire of giving every one his Due_: For instead of Hanging, which is a Felon's Due, it pardons him; and for Fear he should have some Goodness left, and that natural Compa.s.sion might make him unwilling to destroy his dearest Friends, and perhaps his Brother, with his Breath, the Law invites him to it by a large Sum of Money, and actually bribes him to add to the Rest of his Crimes that Piece of Treachery to his Companions, whom he had sworn Fidelity to, and perhaps drawn into the Villany.

It is in vain to tell me, that this Impeaching of his Companions is no Crime in a Felon, but a Duty which he owes his Country; and that I don't know but it is the Effect of his sincere Repentance, which makes him look upon this open Confession as the only Attonement he is able to make the Publick for all his Offences against it. Those who would impeach Others from a Motive of Conscience, and a Sense of their Duty, were not the Men the Legislature had in View. When that Law was made, it was well known, from what was observed of Thieves, Pickpockets, and House-breakers, that those Common Villains will do any Thing to get Money, and still more to save Life, when they are conscious that it is forfeited. The Knowledge of this was the Foundation of that Law. For the Worst of Rogues have Friends.h.i.+p and Affection for one another; and Constancy, Faithfulness, and Intrepidity are 'counted valuable Qualities among them, as well as among other People. One Villain who betrays another merely for Money, and without Necessity, thinks himself to be guilty of a bad Action; and among the many Hundreds of Rogues, who have impeach'd and hang'd their Companions, I don't believe there ever was one, who made himself a Witness against an a.s.sociate, with whom he was not at Enmity before, if he could have got the same Temporal Advantage by holding his Tongue.

This shews the Usefulness of such a Law, and at the same Time the Wisdom of the Politician, by whose skilful Management the Private Vices of the Worst of Men are made to turn to a Publick Benefit. There are Men who are of Opinion, that no positive Evil may be done or commanded, that Good may come of it, on any Account whatever: Should any one of these be in doubt whether there is not some Reasonableness or other Merit in this Law, besides its contributing to the Welfare of the Society; I would ask him, if it would not be an unpardonable Folly, nay a wicked Action in any Legislature, to enact, that a most abandon'd Wretch, who has been guilty of many Capital Crimes, should, without having shewn any Remorse, not only be pardon'd, but likewise with a Reward in Money be let loose again upon the Publick; if what is design'd by such an extraordinary Conduct, to wit, the Decrease of Thefts and Villanies, might be obtain'd by any other Method, less clas.h.i.+ng with the common Notions we have of Justice: Which being undeniably true, the only Reason that can be given, why Enacting this is neither Wickedness nor Folly, is Necessity, and the Publick Benefit, which is expected from it.

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