César-François de Saussure Quotes

The lower populace is of a brutal and insolent nature, and is very quarrelsome. Should two men of this class have a disagreement which they cannot end up amicably, they retire into some quiet place and strip from their waists upwards. Everyone who sees them preparing for a fight surrounds them, not in order to separate them, but on the contrary to enjoy the fight, for it is a great sport to the lookers-on, and they judge the blows and also help to enforce certain rules in use for this mode of warfare. The spectators sometimes get so interested that they lay bets on the combatants and form a big circle around them. The two champions shake hands before commencing, and then attack each other courageously with their fists, and sometimes also with their heads, which they use like rams. Should one of the men fall, his opponent may, according to the rules, give him a blow with his fist, but those who have laid their bets on the fallen man generally encourage him to continue till one of the combatants is quite knocked up and says he has had enough.

Would you believe it, though water is to be had in abundance in London, and of fairly good quality, absolutely none is drunk? The lower classes, even the paupers, do not know what it is to quench their thirst with water. In this country nothing but beer is drunk, and it is made in several quantities. Small beer is what everyone drinks when thirsty. ... It is said that more grain is consumed in England for making beer than for making bread.

The English are very fond of a game they call cricket. For this purpose they go into a large open field, and knock a small ball about with a piece of wood. I will not attempt to describe this game to you, it is too complicated; but it requires agility and skill, and everyone plays it, the common people and also men of rank.

Englishmen look on death in quite a different light to what other nations do, and are not afraid of it. As I have mentioned elsewhere, most criminals may be seen going with wonderful courage and fortitude to the gallows. I have also remarked that the passions of this nation are extremely strong and violent; they cannot bear failure, and customs and example are, I think, a great incitement to them.

...we were shown the chapel where the kings of England are crowned, and called on that account the Royal Chapel. In this part of the Abbey there are also the tombs of some former kings without any ornament or statues, but with Latin epitaphs. On that of Edward I there is a sword more than seven or eight feet in length, and a shield of enormous size. We were told they were the weapons used by that king, but they looked like the weapons of Goliath. In this same chapel we saw a very ancient chair made of wood and gilt, on which the kings of England are crowned. On the day of the great ceremony this chair is covered with crimson velvet. A large stone is firmly set under the seat of this venerable chair, and we are assured that it is the same stone the patriarch Jacob slept on when he dreamed his famous dream. You must own you did not expect me to find such a relic as this in a Protestant church. However, nothing is truer, and this stone is kept with the greatest care, having been taken from the Scots by the English several centuries ago.

No Roman Catholic may occupy a post of any sort whatever. When soldiers are enrolled—and this is the case more especially with the Guards—they are made to take the oath that they are Protestants. If after enrolment any one of them should be discovered to be a Roman Catholic attending Mass he would be condemned to death.

Only persons professing the Anglican religion may fill civil and military posts. King George I abandoned the Lutheran religion and embraced the Anglican before ascending the throne, and the present reigning King followed his father's example. A member of Parliament must, before sitting, take the Communion according to the Anglican rite in his parish church, and then swear fealty before a magistrate.

The curious sect of Quakers, or Shakers, arose in the troubled times when England was torn by revolutions, anarchy, and fanaticism, that is to say in the time of Cromwell. A rather crazy shoemaker's apprentice, George Fox, was the founder of this sect. It can almost be said that the Quakers form a particular nation of people, quite different from ordinary English citizens, by their language, manner of dressing, and religion. Amongst their other customs, one of which is the use of the pronoun "thou," is that of never giving any man his titles, whatever his position or worth may be, for everyone to them is but a vile earthworm inhabiting this planet for a few years. Quakers make use of a sort of Bible talk, which strikes you more particularly, as it appears to date two hundred years back, no Bible having been printed in England in the fine modern language, the earliest edition of the Holy Book being still in use.

One may say that there is cruelty and even ferocity in some of the pastimes of the people. Occasionally dogs are made to fight, and sometimes men belabour each other with wicker staves, or kill cocks with blows from a club.

I think that it is principally owing to this sect that Sunday is solemnised as it is in England. During the Commonwealth Cromwell, who was a Presbyterian, severely forbade shows or amusements of any kind, as well as concerts and games. All these are still forbidden, and on Sundays you never hear the sound of music. There is no opera, no comedy, no sounds in the streets. Card-playing on this day is also strictly forbidden, at least for the citizens and common people, for persons of rank, I believe, do not scruple to play. Unfortunately a great number of the people divert themselves in the taverns, and there indulge in debauch.

As far as I can judge, English peasants are comfortably off. ... I have visited several farmers' homes in the country; their houses are clean and well furnished with all necessaries, and most of them possess silver spoons and mugs. They are all well fed and well dressed, and the coarse black bread our peasants eat is unknown to them. On Sundays they always have a good piece of beef before the fire, and all the year round a cask of ale in the cellar; in a word, there is plenty everywhere.

They cherish their liberty to such an extent that they often let both their religious opinions and their morals degenerate into licentiousness. This is the reason why so many different sects are to be found in England, and also so great a number of persons with deistical opinions, and who, taking advantage of the leniency of the government, occasionally publish pamphlets against the established religion, that in any other country would, together with their authors, pass through the hands of the executioner. A man of the name of Woolston was profane and godless enough to write and publish a treatise against our Saviour's miracles.

Commerce is considered to be England's strength, and care has been taken not to drive away anyone who contributes to build it up. Jews therefore are protected by laws, and are even granted certain privileges. They are not forced to bear a distinctive mark, as is the case in many countries.

Englishmen say that it is better that twelve culprits should escape human justice rather than that one innocent man should perish.

You can imagine nothing more beautiful than the banks of the Thames; on either side are charming country houses and many pretty towns and villages, the principal being Sheerness, Gravesend, and Greenwich; in the latter place is a magnificent hospital for seamen.