History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

by Henry Fielding

  Chapter xv.

  A brief history of Europe; and a curious discourse between Mr Jonesand the Man of the Hill.

  "In Italy the landlords are very silent. In France they are moretalkative, but yet civil. In Germany and Holland they are generallyvery impertinent. And as for their honesty, I believe it is prettyequal in all those countries. The _laquais a louange_ are sure to loseno opportunity of cheating you; and as for the postilions, I thinkthey are pretty much alike all the world over. These, sir, are theobservations on men which I made in my travels; for these were theonly men I ever conversed with. My design, when I went abroad, was todivert myself by seeing the wondrous variety of prospects, beasts,birds, fishes, insects, and vegetables, with which God has beenpleased to enrich the several parts of this globe; a variety which, asit must give great pleasure to a contemplative beholder, so doth itadmirably display the power, and wisdom, and goodness of the Creator.Indeed, to say the truth, there is but one work in his whole creationthat doth him any dishonour, and with that I have long since avoidedholding any conversation."

  "You will pardon me," cries Jones; "but I have always imagined thatthere is in this very work you mention as great variety as in all therest; for, besides the difference of inclination, customs and climateshave, I am told, introduced the utmost diversity into human nature."

  "Very little indeed," answered the other: "those who travel in orderto acquaint themselves with the different manners of men might sparethemselves much pains by going to a carnival at Venice; for there theywill see at once all which they can discover in the several courts ofEurope. The same hypocrisy, the same fraud; in short, the same folliesand vices dressed in different habits. In Spain, these are equippedwith much gravity; and in Italy, with vast splendor. In France, aknave is dressed like a fop; and in the northern countries, like asloven. But human nature is everywhere the same, everywhere the objectof detestation and scorn.

  "As for my own part, I past through all these nations as you perhapsmay have done through a croud at a shew-jostling to get by them,holding my nose with one hand, and defending my pockets with theother, without speaking a word to any of them, while I was pressing onto see what I wanted to see; which, however entertaining it might bein itself, scarce made me amends for the trouble the company gave me."

  "Did not you find some of the nations among which you travelled lesstroublesome to you than others?" said Jones. "O yes," replied the oldman: "the Turks were much more tolerable to me than the Christians;for they are men of profound taciturnity, and never disturb a strangerwith questions. Now and then indeed they bestow a short curse uponhim, or spit in his face as he walks the streets, but then they havedone with him; and a man may live an age in their country withouthearing a dozen words from them. But of all the people I ever saw,heaven defend me from the French! With their damned prate andcivilities, and doing the honour of their nation to strangers (as theyare pleased to call it), but indeed setting forth their own vanity;they are so troublesome, that I had infinitely rather pass my lifewith the Hottentots than set my foot in Paris again. They are a nastypeople, but their nastiness is mostly without; whereas, in France, andsome other nations that I won't name, it is all within, and makes themstink much more to my reason than that of Hottentots does to my nose.

  "Thus, sir, I have ended the history of my life; for as to all thatseries of years during which I have lived retired here, it affords novariety to entertain you, and may be almost considered as oneday.[*] The retirement has been so compleat, that I could hardly haveenjoyed a more absolute solitude in the deserts of the Thebais thanhere in the midst of this populous kingdom. As I have no estate, I amplagued with no tenants or stewards: my annuity is paid me prettyregularly, as indeed it ought to be; for it is much less than what Imight have expected in return for what I gave up. Visits I admit none;and the old woman who keeps my house knows that her place entirelydepends upon her saving me all the trouble of buying the things that Iwant, keeping off all sollicitation or business from me, and holdingher tongue whenever I am within hearing. As my walks are all by night,I am pretty secure in this wild unfrequented place from meeting anycompany. Some few persons I have met by chance, and sent them homeheartily frighted, as from the oddness of my dress and figure theytook me for a ghost or a hobgoblin. But what has happened to-nightshows that even here I cannot be safe from the villany of men; forwithout your assistance I had not only been robbed, but very probablymurdered."

  [*] the rest of this paragraph is omitted in the third edition

  Jones thanked the stranger for the trouble he had taken in relatinghis story, and then expressed some wonder how he could possibly endurea life of such solitude; "in which," says he, "you may well complainof the want of variety. Indeed I am astonished how you have filled up,or rather killed, so much of your time."

  "I am not at all surprized," answered the other, "that to one whoseaffections and thoughts are fixed on the world my hours should appearto have wanted employment in this place: but there is one single act,for which the whole life of man is infinitely too short: what time cansuffice for the contemplation and worship of that glorious, immortal,and eternal Being, among the works of whose stupendous creation notonly this globe, but even those numberless luminaries which we mayhere behold spangling all the sky, though they should many of them besuns lighting different systems of worlds, may possibly appear but asa few atoms opposed to the whole earth which we inhabit? Can a man whoby divine meditations is admitted as it were into the conversation ofthis ineffable, incomprehensible Majesty, think days, or years, orages, too long for the continuance of so ravishing an honour? Shallthe trifling amusements, the palling pleasures, the silly business ofthe world, roll away our hours too swiftly from us; and shall the paceof time seem sluggish to a mind exercised in studies so high, soimportant, and so glorious? As no time is sufficient, so no place isimproper, for this great concern. On what object can we cast our eyeswhich may not inspire us with ideas of his power, of his wisdom, andof his goodness? It is not necessary that the rising sun should darthis fiery glories over the eastern horizon; nor that the boisterouswinds should rush from their caverns, and shake the lofty forest; northat the opening clouds should pour their deluges on the plains: it isnot necessary, I say, that any of these should proclaim his majesty:there is not an insect, not a vegetable, of so low an order in thecreation as not to be honoured with bearing marks of the attributes ofits great Creator; marks not only of his power, but of his wisdom andgoodness. Man alone, the king of this globe, the last and greatestwork of the Supreme Being, below the sun; man alone hath baselydishonoured his own nature; and by dishonesty, cruelty, ingratitude,and treachery, hath called his Maker's goodness in question, bypuzzling us to account how a benevolent being should form so foolishand so vile an animal. Yet this is the being from whose conversationyou think, I suppose, that I have been unfortunately restrained, andwithout whose blessed society, life, in your opinion, must be tediousand insipid."

  "In the former part of what you said," replied Jones, "I most heartilyand readily concur; but I believe, as well as hope, that theabhorrence which you express for mankind in the conclusion, is muchtoo general. Indeed, you here fall into an error, which in my littleexperience I have observed to be a very common one, by taking thecharacter of mankind from the worst and basest among them; whereas,indeed, as an excellent writer observes, nothing should be esteemed ascharacteristical of a species, but what is to be found among the bestand most perfect individuals of that species. This error, I believe,is generally committed by those who from want of proper caution in thechoice of their friends and acquaintance, have suffered injuries frombad and worthless men; two or three instances of which are veryunjustly charged on all human nature."

  "I think I had experience enough of it," answered the other: "my firstmistress and my first friend betrayed me in the basest manner, and inmatters which threatened to be of the worst of consequences--even tobring me to a shameful death."

  "But you will pardon me," cries Jones, "if I desire
you to reflect whothat mistress and who that friend were. What better, my good sir,could be expected in love derived from the stews, or in friendshipfirst produced and nourished at the gaming-table? To take thecharacters of women from the former instance, or of men from thelatter, would be as unjust as to assert that air is a nauseous andunwholesome element, because we find it so in a jakes. I have livedbut a short time in the world, and yet have known men worthy of thehighest friendship, and women of the highest love."

  "Alas! young man," answered the stranger, "you have lived, youconfess, but a very short time in the world: I was somewhat older thanyou when I was of the same opinion."

  "You might have remained so still," replies Jones, "if you had notbeen unfortunate, I will venture to say incautious, in the placingyour affections. If there was, indeed, much more wickedness in theworld than there is, it would not prove such general assertionsagainst human nature, since much of this arrives by mere accident, andmany a man who commits evil is not totally bad and corrupt in hisheart. In truth, none seem to have any title to assert human nature tobe necessarily and universally evil, but those whose own minds affordthem one instance of this natural depravity; which is not, I amconvinced, your case."

  "And such," said the stranger, "will be always the most backward toassert any such thing. Knaves will no more endeavour to persuade us ofthe baseness of mankind, than a highwayman will inform you that thereare thieves on the road. This would, indeed, be a method to put you onyour guard, and to defeat their own purposes. For which reason, thoughknaves, as I remember, are very apt to abuse particular persons, yetthey never cast any reflection on human nature in general." The oldgentleman spoke this so warmly, that as Jones despaired of making aconvert, and was unwilling to offend, he returned no answer.

  The day now began to send forth its first streams of light, when Jonesmade an apology to the stranger for having staid so long, and perhapsdetained him from his rest. The stranger answered, "He never wantedrest less than at present; for that day and night were indifferentseasons to him; and that he commonly made use of the former for thetime of his repose and of the latter for his walks and lucubrations.However," said he, "it is now a most lovely morning, and if you canbear any longer to be without your own rest or food, I will gladlyentertain you with the sight of some very fine prospects which Ibelieve you have not yet seen."

  Jones very readily embraced this offer, and they immediately setforward together from the cottage. As for Partridge, he had falleninto a profound repose just as the stranger had finished his story;for his curiosity was satisfied, and the subsequent discourse was notforcible enough in its operation to conjure down the charms of sleep.Jones therefore left him to enjoy his nap; and as the reader mayperhaps be at this season glad of the same favour, we will here put anend to the eighth book of our history.

  BOOK IX.

  CONTAINING TWELVE HOURS.