An Essay upon National Character: being an inquiry into some of the principal causes which contribute to form and modify the characters of nations in the state of civilisation

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AN ESSAY UPON NATIONAL CHARACTER BEING AN INQUIRY INTO SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL CAUSES WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO FORM AND MODIFV THE CHARACTERS OF NATIONS IN THE STATE OF CIVILISATION. BY THE I.ATE RICHARD CHENEVIX, Esq. , F.Ii.S. L. 4ND E., M.R.I.A., Sic. TWO VOLUMES. Vol. I. LONDON: JAMES DUNCAN, PATERNOSTER-ROW; J. AND J. J. DEIGHTON, CAMBRIDGE; AND MILLIKEN AND SON, DUBLIN MDCCCXXXII. LONDON; Printed by William Clowes, Stamford Street.

ADVERTISEMENT.

. In the introductory chapter the Author has detailed the motives which suggested this Essay — an undertaking for which he was eminently qualified by the possession of talents which have associated his name with the history of science in the present age, by the variety and extent of his literary attainments, and by an intimate knowledge, acquired from personal observation, of the distinctive features of National Character in the principal states of Europe. The Author's thoughts had during many years been constantly directed to this subject ; and in connexion with it he had written several articles in the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, on the comparative state of England and France, which attracted much attention at the time of their appearance. The manuscript of these volumes had been placed by the Author in the printer's hands for publication, a short time before his decease ; and, in compliance with a wish expressed by him in his last moments, the Editor has care fully revised the whole work, and superintended its progress through the press. Thomas Pery Knox. London, Oct. 26, 1831. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Chapter I

General Considerations upon the study of National Character. Page Part I. Introduction — General Preliminaries respecting National Character .... Part II. General Considerations respecting the simple Fundamental Faculties of Human Nature as connected with National Character in Part III. Summary of the general Causes which contribute to form or modify the Characters of Nations in the state of Civilisation in

Chapter II

On Pride and Vanity Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify Pride and Vanity 20 Part II. On the Development of Pride and Vanity in the Human Character 26 Part III. On the Reaction of Pride and Vanity on the Human Character 29 Conclusion VI CONTENTS.

Chapter III

On the Pride and Vanity of Nations. Pa;e Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify the Pride 35 and Vanity of Nations Part II. On the Development and Progress of Pride and 43 Vanity among Nations Part III. On the Reaction of Pride and Vanity upon the Cha- 6s racters of Nations

Chapter IV

On Social Improvement. Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify Social Improvement 64 Part II. On the Development and Progress of the different Modifications of Social Improvement among Nations 66 Part III. On the Reaction of the different Modifications of Social Improvement upon the Characters of Nations 82

Chapter V

On Religion. Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify Religion among Nations 87 Part II. On the Development and Progress of the different Modifications of Religion among Nations 89 Part III. On the Reaction of the different Modifications of Religion upon the Characters of Nations CONTENTS. VII

Chapter VI

On Morality Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify Morality among Nations . . . 135 Part II. On the Development and Progress of the different Modifications of Morality among Nations 137 Part III. On the Reaction of the different Modifications of Morality upon the Characters of Nations 199

Chapter VII

On Government. Part I. On the Causes which promote and modify Govern. ment 202 Part II. On the Progress of the different Modifications of Government among Nations, and on Colonies and Dependant States 205 Part III. On the Reaction of the different Modifications of Government upon the Characters of Nations . 299 Part IV. On Revolutions ; and on this question — Whether Nations can, or cannot be educated to Liberty ? .313 Conclusion . . . . 363

Chapter VIII

On Intellect. Part I. On the Causes which develop and modify the Powers of Intellect among Nations 370 Part II. On the Development and Progress of the Different Modifications of Intellect among Nations 371 Part III. On the Reaction of the different Modifications of Intellect upon the Characters of Nations ox NATIONAL CHARACTER.

Part I

Introduction — General Preliminaries respecting National Character. The object of the present essay is to inquire into some of the principal causes which contribute to form or modify the characters of nations in the state of civilisation. By the character of a nation is to be understood the com bination of the prominent and leading features by which that nation is distinguished. Though every member of society has peculiar humours and dispositions which con stitute the individuality of his mind, yet there are certain general outlines which comprehend the entire mass, and which cannot fail to be discovered by minute and well directed observation. To place this in a clearer point of view, let the three fol lowing cases be supposed. First. If a painter be desired to give a representation of a single indefinite plant, and if no bounds are set to his imagination, he is at liberty to draw the most beautiful which he can conceive.

He may mingle light and shade, create forms, and combine qualities, in such a manner as to embody on his canvass an ideal image of perfection. Still, however, he must express what every sound perception will recognise as having a possible prototype in nature. Poets, novelists, writers of imagination, are painters of mankind upon the same principles. Vol. I. B -s [Ch. I. 2 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON THE Secondly. If it be required that one particular flower be copied, no room is left for fancy. The artist must represent precisely what is given to him as a model. He must examine every part of it, and place it in every light. He must not neglect its very defects ; for even they contribute to give it a specific character. In the former case, he would roam through the vegetable world, and collect into a single speci men all the graces of nature.

He must now look only to the object before him, and his sole aim must be to produce a faithful imitation of it. Such is the duty of every moral portrait painter, who copies originals ; and such is most par ticularly the obligation of historians and biographers. Lastly. If a wider view be taken, if the painter be placed before an extensive landscape, his task becomes different. In the great mass of verdure which he beholds, the variety of minuter shades is not distinguishable. The red, blue, white, and yellow flowers, however lively their tints may be, when seen alone and near, are all confounded in the mingled prospect, and the result is one universal green. Of this nature is the appreciation of national character. It is the universal green, if the expression may be allowed, resulting from the union and mixture of the characteristic hues of every individual, which must be looked for, and accidental variations must be rejected.

The period at which society has reached the state of civi lisation naturally presents itself as that most worthy of in vestigation ; not only on account of the high development which the human faculties have then attained, but also as comprehending every cause which can influence the mind. To this condition of society, then, inquiry shall principally be directed ; and the previous steps of social progress shall be considered only as its necessary preliminaries. From this sketch concerning the object of the present essay, it may be thought a presumptuous undertaking, and beyond the power of any single person. It can hardly be supposed within the reach of an individual to acquire such a knowledge of the character of millions, as may enable him to pass sentence on them. If we spend our life with a single friend, if we see him in his most unguarded moments, when he has no motive for dissembling, and no power to deceive us, can we yet say that we possess infallible means of forming our judgment of him ?

How great, then, will be the difficulty, when we have to pronounce upon the multitudes of which a populous nation is composed ! But we attach, in fact, a very different meaning to the expressions,— knowing the character of a single individual, and knowing that of a nation. The majority indeed of the persons whom we meet with in life, pass before our eyes with out leaving in our memory a trace of their existence. If, however, one among the number excite a warmer interest, our whole attention is fixed upon him. We observe him in the minutest particulars of his disposition. We endeavour to fathom every thought, and to follow every movement of his soul. But all that can be hoped for with respect to a nation, is a general knowledge of the leading features of its character ; of that prevailing shade which results from a comprehensive view of all its elementary colours.

But, beside this, there are reasons inherent in the nature of the subject which show, that the appreciation of national character is not attended with all the difficulties which, at first, appear to bid defiance to human observation. First, then, — The pursuits and passions of an individual are more complicated than those of a nation. Whatever does not affect the bulk of society, though it may act strongly upon individuals, cannot be considered as contributing to national character. Conquest, commerce, liberty, whatever has been among the pursuits of empires, are ob jects round which the wishes of mankind unite. Against these, opposition is principally levelled by the jealousy and power of other nations, whose intercourse is remote, and whose influence is slow. But a single being, surrounded by bis fellow-creatures, with each of whom he stands in multi plied relations, must be acted upon by causes more nume rous, though more minute, than can affect a community.

Secondly, — An obstacle to the study of individual character, which may be neglected in observing the character of a nation, is dissimulation. Should an individual pursue a system of concealment, the true temper of his mind may B2 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON THE [Ch. I. 4 long remain unknown ; but it is impossible that such a com bination should be entered into by a nation as can hide lfs real disposition ; and it would be more easy for a ferocious people to become humanised, than to assume the garb of humanity. Thirdly, — Another obstacle which militates against the study of individuals, is change of character. It is true that as men and nations advance from infancy to mature age, new circumstances arise ; and a succession of events awakens new passions in both. The toy which amused a child, the care of flocks which occupied a young society, give place to other pursuits, as children grow to manhood, and nations become polished.

Now, even if no other cause but the natural expansion of intellect be admitted, the change must be quicker in individuals ; for the life of man is measured by years, while the existence of nations is counted by ages. Every change of situation, from health to sickness, from happiness to misery ; all that, in prosperity, can elate the mind, or, in adversity, depress it, are perpetually operating on individuals. Nothing less than a total subversion of the basis on which society is established can act with sufficient energy to cause a sudden alteration in the character of a nation. Fourthly, — As a further preservative against the illusions which dissimulation or change might produce in national character, the records of history may be consulted. Had the transactions of every great society since the creation of the world been preserved to this day, a body of laws of which few sciences could boast would now be extant concerning human character.

But the history of more than half the globe, during more than half the time of its existence, either never was recorded, or has been lost ; and few memorials remain which can truly be called characteristic. Still, however, though much is left to be wished for, much has been done; and the annals of our ancestors, imperfect as they are, are sources of valuable information, concerning the philosophy of national character. Another thing which facilitates this study is, the variety of persons who may be observed by those who wish to solve" the problem. Inquirers may live surrounded by the best means of information, and, as it were, plunge into the waters which they wish to taste. They may convert the objects of their study into a thousand shapes. The qualities which they cannot sufficiently discriminate in one person, they can force into a clearer light in another; and they have all the assistance which comparison can afford.

It is by no means the purport of this essay to be descrip tive. The intention is to investigate general causes; to deduce consequences from history, and from observations upon living men and empires. Without subjecting the writer to the charge of egotism, it may be proper to state the motives which suggested the undertaking, the situation in which it was pursued, and the opportunities which he had of collecting and digesting the materials. Placed by fortuitous circumstances in the midst of one of the most tremendous political convulsions that ever agitated a civilised and powerful people, and spread its influence over an enlightened world, his attention was soon engrossed by the scenes which were passing around him. An immense population, conceiving all at once that they had yielded up too large a share of their natural liberties, led or misled by the lights of what they called philosophy, undertook to reform their political condition, and to correct the malprac tices which offended them.

The farther they advanced in the career of imaginary freedom, the more they became heated in the pursuit; and, in the warmth of their frenzy, each person formed to himself a different idea of the object which all had in view. One single point there seemed to be, round which all rallied ; and that was, destruction. The more moderate sought to destroy a little ; the most frenetic would have demolished everything. A greater horde of passions than ever at once broke loose upon man kind burst forth from among the ruins of the oldest monarchy of Europe, and all were gigantic. The vices and virtues which grew amid the conflict could no more be rated by the common standard of human good and evil, than could the winds which issued from the cavern of Eolus be measured by the breezes of Tempo. On every [Ch. I. 6 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON THE side the soul found something to make it shudder, even when it admired ; and the nation, in which this awful scene of desolation was acting, had long been civilised, powerful, luxurious, and corrupted.

The contemplation of such a super-excitation of moral energy naturally led to the questions — Why are these things so ? and, Would they be thus elsewhere ? The most direct mode of obtaining an answer, was to compare the history of the French with that of other nations. A coincidence soon became manifest between what was thus learned, and what observation detected in living examples. A connexion, as little variable as human affairs could allow, became manifest between the sentiments, pas sions, and intellects of nations, and the situation in which they had been placed by nature ; and all their actions, all their thoughts, their institutions and the minds which formed them, their government, religion, philosophy, industry, all seemed to follow, as natural and necessary consequences, from the circumstances which acted upon their feelings, moral and physical, from the very first moment they became inhabitants of earth.

To unravel this great mystery, but little assistance could be found in previous works. Various as are the aspects under which man has been considered, but little attention has been paid to the laws which govern the characters of nations. The sublimest speculations con cerning the human heart and understanding are inapplicable to such a view of nature as is here proposed to be taken. The enterprise, however, was pursued with constancy. Of all studies, that of mankind is the most easily prosecuted in conjunction with another ; for whatever does not exclude the species, leaves some opportunity of indulging in it. The hours of relaxation are those during which the thoughts may be busied in collecting observations ; and from every occupation, however abstruse or captivating, they can turn with cheerfulness to the contemplation of our fellow-creatures, and find repose and comfort in a study so near to the heart.

But on no topic, perhaps, is a greater profusion of errors current, than on human character, as is fully proved by the diversity of opinion which prevails respecting men and nations. One cause of this diversity is the particular natures and dispositions of the observers, which are variously acted upon by the natures and dispositions of others, and of which no account is taken. To study one's own character is an indispensable step towards studying mankind. " Know thyself" was long laid down as one of the first principles of ethics " Know thyself " is the first precept toward the general study of human character. To a thorough knowledge of self, must be added a long and constant habit of observing men. There is not a single branch of science which does not require some labour and attention ; there is not even a mechanical art to which some apprenticeship is not necessary.

No naturalist would visit the Alps, with a view to examine the structure of the globe, unless he had devoted some time and study to every object which could mature his judgment, and give validity to his opinions. Yet persons who have passed their lives with books, who have seen human nature in print, or who have not seen it at all, go to distant nations, and describe, as universal truths, what they perceive there, under impres sions arising from inexperience and astonishment. The usual feeling upon first visiting a foreign country is surprise, the natural attendant upon novelty ; and the sentiment is shared not only by the vulgar, but by the enlight ened. It is accompanied by pain or pleasure, as the objects seen are in discord or in harmony with the disposition of the observer ; but in either case, it is generally exag gerated.

Every day diminishes the impression ; till, at length, the customs which astonished inexperience are looked upon with as little wonder as those which were left at home. But no condition of mind is more hostile to calm observa tion than a state of emotion, which magnifies and disfigures truth. On the other hand again, when habit, which has the power of destroying sensibility to peculiar customs, has diminished the perception of things worthy of attention, much which, when new, excited astonishment, no longer attracts observation. [Ch. I. 8 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON THE There is, however, a middle condition of mind most fa vourable both to observation and induction ; when the edge of novelty is somewhat dulled, yet still sufficiently keen to excite curiosity, and stimulate attention ; in which the viva city of perception is undiminished, and the judgment un biassed by emotion.

The precise moment at which this condition is attained must depend on the mind and habits of the observer. But the mode in which it may be retarded or accelerated is one of the most essential considerations, in preparing for the study of national character. However competent the observer of nations may be to appreciate individual character, he will find himself at a loss the first time he applies his knowledge to a larger sphere. Even if he travel into more countries than one, his first visit to each will not find him in that placid mood which suits the operations of judgment; for every where he will meet with something which he had not seen before. But if he return by the same tract on which he set out, he will be struck by the enlargement of his ideas. Many things will appear to him in a corrected shape ; and he will perceive the necessity of judging by comparison as well of nations as of all other things.

He will never take a second journey to any country, without learning that, in the first, he had fallen into many errors, which required a third or a fourth visit before they were removed. He will become apprised, that the safest method is to take a general view at first, and to reserve a more minute acquaintance for a further occasion. Of all means, comparison will afford the greatest assistance ; and the prompt but not hasty confrontation of the manners and habits which he wishes to study. If the time which he can bestow is short, he will find more benefit in repeating his visits alternately, than in protracting his stay, first in one country, then in the other. If he pass the limits of neighbouring states frequently, and at short intervals, having previously formed a well-grounded acquaintance with them individually, he will reap new pleasure and instruction from every journey.

It is indeed difficult to conceive a higher satisfaction than that of observing the propensities of our fellow-creatures, spread over immense continents, long the seats of civilisation and refinement. A perpetual variety of interest leads the traveller every day a little further on his speculative enterprise ; and the more he proceeds, the more his thirst after knowledge will be gratified and excited. Sometimes he will find common characteristic features in nations separated by vast inter vening tracts; while others he will see divided by a moun tain or a rivulet, nay, by some imaginary line, which has no trace upon earth, no prototype in the heavens, as different as civilised men can be. If his excursions are in Europe, his observations will be of unbounded interest and importance, because there he beholds the intellectual being in his most intellectual condition.

If men and nations understood' each other ; if they all spoke a language measurable by one universal standard, there would be no necessity for any glossary to interpret what they spoke and acted, except their words and actions. But their sentiments and passions are far more different than the idioms which attempt to express them. A feeling which thrills through every human heart, in one region, is feebly acknowledged in another ; while, a little farther to the right or to the left, a new series of ideas rules with arbitrary sway. Words and things have a different value in every breast; and virtue, honour, power, happiness, are term:- winch each interprets by his own peculiar mind. Even th lations who have fought for freedom have bled for i! undo various forms; and the liberties of Rome and Britain were no more alike than the republics of Sparta and of France.

To bring the minds of men to the same level, to bestow on them all an equal delicacy of perception, or the same accuracy of judgment, would be as chimerical as the wild projects of universal monarchy, or universal fraternity. The storm of passion cannot be allayed by any magic of words ; the bitterness of opposing parties cannot be sweetened by any dictates of philosophy. While power is gratifying, while wealth procures enjoyment, while men are ambitious, nations will seek supremacy, and armies will contend. No hope of endless perfectibility, then, is here indulged; neither is it denied that events will continue in future ages, as in past times, to revolve within a certain, though a widening orbit, [Ch. II. 10 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON THE where empires will shine for a period, to set in glory or in shame.

Yet surely by stating the principles upon which men and nations interpret expressions, apparently synony mous, and appreciate ideas that seem capable but of one single value, some prejudices may be diminished, and some animosities allayed. Did not the endless diversity of human disposition make language as various aud capricious as itself, or could greater precision be used in estimating human character, some healing assimilation might be hoped for amonothe jarring opinions of our fellow-creatures. But the nature of man does not admit of absolute modes ; and his best destiny in this world seems an indefinite approximation to perfections which he never can attain.

Part II

General Considerations respecting the simple Fundamental Faculties of Human Nature as connected with National Character. That the Author of nature has endowed his creatures with innate faculties, can no more be doubted, than that he has given them existence. To the most ignorant observer, it must be evident, that the first manifestations of life are little more than manifestations of powers coeval with life. To discover what those faculties are has been the object of philosophers for many ages ; but the subject is so abstract, that it has given but little satisfaction to inquiry. Cata logues, indeed, have been made out by inductions and rea sonings, rather than by observation ; and functions have been mistaken for faculties. Unanimity, then, could not be expected in the result of these investigations ; and the science of mind and feeling has remained a labyrinth of confusion, from the days of Anaxagoras down to the nine teenth century.

To enter into the various systems of metaphysics which, announced as immortal, soon followed their predecessors to oblivion, is foreign to the present inquiry. Neither would Part II.] STUDY OF NATIONAL CHARACTER. it be more relevant to offer anything in their place. The object here is not to examine what may be the original faculties of man, but only what are those powers which are called into action by the general constitution of society ; and what are the circumstances which give those powers a greater or a less development. This shall now be attempted. Man has no innate ideas ; but the powers by which he acquires ideas are innate. So are his propensities, his feel ings, and all the faculties by which he perceives surrounding objects, and reflects upon their relations. These powers are all spontaneously developed ; if they were not so, man would be in part his own creator.

They may, however, become active — not all at the same moment — but one after another ; neither does their successive mani festation contradict the assertion that they are innate. All seeds do not spring out of the earth in equal times, even though of the same species. The law which governs the development of the human faculties is the wisest which could be devised. Every one of them becomes active at the precise period when the growth of intellect and body requires its assistance. In infancy the powers of perception are indispensable, as, by them, the first knowledge is collected ; in manhood reflection comes to mature our percep tions, and to enable us to draw conclusions. But we must perceive before we can reason. The progress of the propensities and feelings is the same. Those which are indispensable to existence are the earliest developed ; those which are necessary in order to com municate that existence to others, become active at a later period ; but not until some preparatory faculties have preceded them, to fit the full-grown being for the task of parent.

All that man is, all that he can become, he is, or will be, by his innate powers. Without them he can do nothing. If he be social, it is because a power which draws him toward his species is implanted in his nature. If he feel that the soil which he has made productive is his, in virtue of the labour by which he has purchased its fertility, it is oecausc a sense of property is inborn in his mind. If he know that the invasion of that property is a violation of justice, it is because a native sensibility to right and wrong has told him so. These and other faculties are the* foundations upon which the social state is founded, and by them it is preserved ; neither could it exist without them. To say that these powers arise from the social state, is to mistake the effect for the cause. Man was destined for society ; to dwell in houses, not in fields, — to yield up a part of his personal independence for political freedom, — to worship God in companionship with his fellow-creatures, — to scan the heavens in thought, — to combine the scattered elements of wisdom into philosophy, — to give the inert fragments of shapeless matter, order, form, and motion.

To do these things and more, much more, is his nature ; and his Creator has provided him with means — with faculties adapted to those ends. That those faculties are adequate to their attainment, is proved by the distance at which the species now stands, from where it stood originally — by the contrasted state of Europe and Africa. All the powers then, which will come under consideration in the present inquiry into national character, are in nate ; and no condition of society can exist but in virtue of those innate powers. To whatever height of civilisation, to whatever cultivation of intellect, nations may have reached, they have done so by their assistance, and could not have done so without them. But they can create no faculty ; they can give themselves no new power ; they can merely develop those which were born within them.

Education, that is to say, the circumstances to which they are exposed during their whole existence, modify, increase, diminish their native powers ; and, in the lapse of ages, were they to accomplish the hopes of endless perfectibility of which visionaries dream, still they will be able to use no faculties but those which God has given. Those faculties are by no means bestowed upon all men in the same proportion. They are as diversely °ranted to different individuals as external appearance. None would pretend to say that strength, beauty, stature, are the work of accident, not of original design ; neither is it more Part II.] STUDY OF NATIONAL CHARACTER. 13 rational to suppose that diversity of mind and disposition is not innate*. But though individuals are born different, it by no means follows that nations are created according to the same law.