César-François de Saussure Quotes

In England the Low Church is composed of Presbyterians, in Scotland it becomes the High Church. The churches of this sect are chapels and have no bells; neither have those of the Nonconformists, as all Protestants who do not conform to the ceremonials of the Anglican Church are termed. ... The dogmas of the English-Scottish Presbyterians are very much the same as those of Calvin, differing, however, from those of Geneva, there being no printed prayers or liturgy. Presbyterian ministers are obliged, and I believe even forced, to take the oath that they will always make extempore prayers, and never repeat those they have recited before. ... These ministers are not permitted either to learn their sermons by heart, or even to write them out or prepare them, and you can imagine how uninteresting their sermons must be. They contain nothing but repetitions or citations, taken out of a Bible which they hold before them; and they preach through their noses in the peculiar manner that the English people call "cant," that is to say, a scientific jargon derived from a Presbyterian minister so enthusiastic and full of his own importance as to render his words and meaning impossible to understand.

They are most kind-hearted and compassionate, but they think they are more so than any other nation, hence the term "good-natured," which is not found outside England. Generally speaking, English people are not servile, and are not capable of baseness to obtain notoriety. ... The Englishman in general is not made for court; he is too fond of his liberty and is too sincere and artless, and he is not a flatterer. He detests trouble and restraints to such a degree that he lives according to his own taste and ideas, and does not consider that fashion is to be followed with servility. There are some people who keep so apart from fashion that in any other country they would be considered singularly odd and perhaps something more; but in this country people are above caring what is thought of them, and do not trouble themselves about other people's opinions.

All these seats [in the House of Lords] are upholstered and covered with red cloth, as are also the bales of wool, which are placed in this hall according to an ancient custom, intended to remind Parliament of the great wealth England has derived from woollen merchandise, and in order to encourage the development of this branch of her industry. The hall is hung with tapestries formerly belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, and which she is supposed to have embroidered, with the help of her ladies, during her long captivity. These tapestries are all of silk, and represent the history of the famous Spanish Armada which Philip II of Spain sent against Queen Elizabeth. This is an immense piece of work; you see the fleet sailing from the ports of Spain, its dispersal by storm, and its final destruction by the English fleet.

...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.

It may be said with entire justice that Englishmen are very brave; they give a convincing proof of this in seeming to fear neither death nor danger. Their soldiers fight with the greatest valour. This has been sufficiently proved in the latest wars. However, few Englishmen seek service out of England, and very few are partisans of duelling, so that you do not often hear of this mode of settling quarrels, but should duels occur, the combatants will always come out of the fight with honour.

The greater number of educated Englishmen have much solid good sense, and in many cases rare genius, and I am certain that the liberty they enjoy, allowing them to say and write their ideas and opinions freely, contributes immensely to make science popular; but you rarely meet with that bright, petulant, and lively wit you meet with in France. Few Englishmen would amuse themselves inventing and writing love stories after the manner and style of the French, but they write scientific and sound works like those of Newton, Tillotson, Radcliffe, Addison, and others. The writings most in fashion at the present period are pamphlets for and against the government, on politics and different subjects of interest relating to England and her allies. Almost every day some of these works appear and are eagerly sought after, for politics in this country seem to interest everyone. I suppose this taste is cultivated by the liberty which the government affords, and in which Englishmen take great pride, for they value this gift more than all the joys of life, and would sacrifice everything to retain it. Even the populace will make proof of this, and will give you to understand that there is no country in the world where such perfect freedom may be enjoyed as in England.

England has not always been a land of liberty. Everyone has heard of the cruel and barbarous persecutions Protestants had to endure under the reigns of Henry VIII and of his daughter Mary. At the present time people have become more humane, and everyone may enjoy peace and tranquillity, maintained by just and wise laws.

An innumerable quantity of Englishmen are still more corrupt in their morals than in their religion. Debauch runs riot with an unblushing countenance. It is not the lower populace alone that is addicted to drunkenness; numbers of persons of high rank and even of distinction are over fond of liquor. This vice is said to be less widely spread than formerly; but all men, even churchmen, have a particular club or tavern, where they meet at least twice in the week to drink together in company. Though no wines are grown in England, it is no hindrance to drunkenness, for in the daytime the lower classes get intoxicated with liquor and beer, and the higher classes in the evening with Portuguese wines and punch.

The numerous pamphlets that appear every day for and against these two political parties is certainly a means of maintaining and augmenting animosity between them, and another is the interests of certain individuals who become either zealous Tories or ardent Whigs, according to whether their hopes of power lie in the one or the other of these parties. The Anglican clergy of inferior rank are accused of being exaggerated Tories, and of writing the greater number of violent pamphlets in the hope of attracting the favour of the King, who disposes of the bishoprics and of many important benefices. All Anglicans are not Tories; many of them, on the contrary, are Whigs, and they try to please the people in order to strengthen their own power. You would naturally suppose that the party at Court always upholds the Tories, but it is not so; this party sometimes has reasons for raising the Whigs to power. King William III owed his throne to this party, and always upheld and favoured its politics.

The Tories uphold all the prerogatives of the Sovereign, and declare that his or her subjects must submit without resistance, even though his or her power be arbitrary. The opposite party, or Whigs, accuse their opponents of wishing to upset the recognised form of government and the liberties of the nation by endeavouring to establish despotism, thus making the King a tyrant and his subjects slaves, and they, moreover, consider that respect and obedience are owed to the King only so long as the latter maintains the conditions under which supreme power has been given him, but were he to attempt to govern the consciences, lives, and possessions of his subjects, and thus violate the fundamental laws of the State, the latter should not only refuse him obedience, but also take the necessary measures to be governed according to the established laws of the country. The Tories reproach the Whigs with these principles, and declare that they are real republicans, desirous of taking all authority and power from the Sovereign, leaving him no more rights than are allowed to a Doge of Venice.

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.

London is assuredly the greatest commercial city in the world.

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.

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.

I was surprised at seeing everyone making a profound reverence or bow as the King went by, which he in his turn acknowledged by a slight inclination of the head. The English do not consider their King to be so very much above them that they dare not salute him, as in France; they respect him and are faithful to him, and often sincerely attached to him. I speak, of course, of those who favour the reigning family, for there are in England many different political parties. There is a custom which shows the fidelity of those who are attached to the King: at dessert or after a meal the first glass of wine that is tasted is always drunk to the King's health.