Another collection of philosophical conferences of the French virtuosi upon questions of all sorts for the improving of natural knowledg made in the assembly of the Beaux Esprits at Paris by the most ingenious persons of that nation / render'd into English by G. Havers, Gent. & J. Davies ..., Gent.

CONFERENCE CCXIX. Of Fables and Fictions, and whether their conve∣niences or inconviences be greater? (Book 219)

OF all the flowers of Rhetorick, lying is one of the worst, and withal so much the more pernicious, the more full it is of artifice. For if the saying of Aristotle be true, That the ly∣ar always deserves to be blamed, there is a certain resemblance between him who simply tells a lie, and him who simply takes away another man's life by poyson; inasmuch as the latter infects the Heart, and the former viciates and corrupts the source of our Ratiocination; the end whereof is only to come to the know∣ledge of Truth. As therefore the poysoning of a man is always a heinous and punishable crime; but that Steward who should poyson his Master, when he gave somewhat to eat or drink, when the other pretended to be exteamly hungry or dry, would be the greatest villany in the world, and deserve a far greater pun∣ishment: So he who simply tells a lie is not so much to be blamed, as he who covers and disguises his lie under the appearance of some probable history, which is clearly receiv'd by our under∣standing; and this thus drawn in by the liklyhood of the relati∣on, grows less distrustful of it, than of the other kinds of falshood, which are deliver'd without any artifice. So that lying, and consequently Fables, and all the species thereof, have the same proportion to our Understanding, as Monsters have to Nature; our Understanding cannot endure them, whereas Truth is its sustenance. Thence it comes that those Fables which are desti∣tute of the ornament of Truth, which is probability, are not heard with any patience, such as are old Wives Tales, and the like absurd relations, which are so ridiculous, that only the igno∣rance of Children is capable of entertaining them with any plea∣sure; but with so much the greater danger to themselves, in re∣gard

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that those tender Tables receiving the impression of some false perswasion, will not afterwards so easily part with it; nay on the contrary, it commonly continues there to the end, at least some part of it, as if Time were not able so fully to eat it out, but there may be seen some lines of the first draught. Whence it comes that some eminent persons do account it a great over∣sight in the education of Children, to entertain them with Tales and Stories: instead whereof, those weak minds, wherein, as in soft wax, a man may easily imprint what he pleases, should rather be acquainted with History, which, by reason of its va∣riety and truth, would be equally delightful, but much more ad∣vantageous. And indeed those who make use of Fables, think∣ing by them to teach truth, take a very preposterous way to do it. For all the advantage which may be deriv'd from Fables, is only to draw on mens minds with greater delight to the know∣ledge of true things: and it is easily found to be a way as un∣likely to prevail, as if a man should make use of some place in∣famous and notorious for lewdness, as a School wherein he should read Lectures of Chastity to young Men and Maids; or lodge a Fuller or Whitener of Cloth with the Collier, one soyling all that the other had cleans'd.

The second said, that Man's understanding h••ving its distasts and humoursomness, as well as his body, and Content being equally requisite for the sustenance of both, in regard that a coarser dish of meat taken with a good stomack is preferr'd be∣fore better chear forc'd down against Appetite; it is but neces∣sary, that the same remedies should be used to recreate our minds, when they are wearied, and out of humour with an over-earnestness of study, as are us'd to retrive and sharpen the languishing appetite. This latter is recover'd by feeding on some dish excellently well-order'd, such as by its haut-gousts, and picquancy will rather excite, then satisfie the Appetite. Such is the bitterness of the Olive, Vinegar in Sallets, and the like; which have the same effect as the stepping back of such as leap, or the appearance of a Fly on a face of an exquisitely fair com∣plexion. These Fables are invented to reduce the wandring and wearied Understanding to its former interrupted pursuance of Truth. There are two kinds of them: One may be called a simple Fiction, such as are old Wives Tales, which deserve not the name of fabulous Relations, unless it be upon the account of their absurdity; and yet it ought to be season'd with some∣thing that is miraculous and delightful. The other is Mythologi∣cal, which may be divided into four kinds. First, the Poëtical, in one continu'd Relation, such as are the Metamorphoses of Ovid; or Drammatick, and accommodated to Persons, such as as are Comedies and Tragedies. Secondly, the Emblem, or De∣vice, which is a real explication of some feigned thing, paint∣ed, or otherwise represented. Thirdly, the Apologue, such as are the Fables of Aesop; and these are divided into three sorts,

the Moral, the Rational, and the Mixt. The Moral, are those, wherein irrational things are introduc'd, such as is the Fable of the two Pots, the earthen and the brazen; or that of the distri∣bution of the prey between the Lyon, the Ass, and the Fox. The Rational are only of Men, such as is that of the Satyr and his Entertainer, whom he leaves, because he blew hot and cold out of the same mouth. Of the Mixt, we have an example in the Fable of the Fowler, and the Stork, taken in the net with the Cranes. The fourth kind is the Romance: The benefit and advantage of all which kinds of Fable is notorious to all: For besides that they comprehend that common recreation, which is opposite to the conflict of Mind, and serious occupation pro∣duc'd by the reading of Histories, the Poetical kind of Fable, I mean that of the continu'd Relation, where the Poet speaks alone, does make extraordinary discoveries of the old Pagan Antiquities, whereof a man cannot be ignorant without a great defect. The Dramatick, where Persons are introduc'd speaking, when it is represented by good Actors, makes a prevalent im∣pression on the minds of the Spectators and Auditors, and hath nothing comparable to the other kinds of writing and expres∣sing: so that it is the most efficacious instrument to move and work upon the Passions. There may also be very great advan∣tages made of the other fore-mentioned kinds of Fable, espe∣cially of the Romance, which hath the same effect on our minds, in order to their instruction in goodness and vertue, as well-pro∣portion'd Pictures have to teach us the art of Drawing. For, as there are not to be seen now any Pictures com∣parable, in point of body, to that of the so much celebrated Venus, which consisted of whatever was handsom in any Woman or Maid, and borrow'd the hair of one, the complexion of ano∣ther, the neck of a third, and the breast and other members of others; so is it impossible that History should ever come up to the noble height and delight of the Romance. For, History, though it be not absolutely true, yet being oblig'd to represent things past with as much likeness as a picture is taken according to the face of him who is to be drawn, the consequence of that obligation is, that however it may embellish things and actions, yet is it still engag'd to expose them to the eye of the Reader as they are, or at least as they are conceiv'd to be. Now the number of unjust things much exceeds that of the just, and con∣sequently the bad and sad examples will much shorten the Rea∣der's delight. Whence it follows, that History wants those two principal ends, for which it ought to be sought after, to wit, content and advantage: whereas the Romance brings both along with it, as being commonly full of the rewards obtain'd by ver∣tue, whereof one is, that a sincere and constant Love should at last be crown'd with the greatest of worldly enjoyments; and on the contrary, there are not wanting the punishments and executions of lewd and vicious persons; whereto add the strange

variety of the accidents, represented therein, which being car∣ried on with nobler and more unexpected intrigues, extreamly heighten the satisfaction of the Reader.

The Third said, That for any man to endeavour the discove∣ry of Truth by its contrary, to wit, Fables, is to look for light in the midst of darkness; and as a certain Musician among the Ancients demanded a double reward, for teaching those who had been instructed amiss in that Art, for this reason, as he said, that there was a certain time requisite for the forgetting of what they already knew, and as much for learning how to play well: so that Child, who shall have heard of the universal Deluge by the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha, will find more difficulty to disengage his mind of those stones, which, they having cast be∣hind them, became men and women, then he will have to im∣print in it the natural Story of Noah and his Ark. The same thing may be said of all the other Fables, out of which there is any truth to be deriv'd, to wit, that it is like the ordering of Crabs, where there is much more to be picked away, then there is to be eaten. Nay the Romans themselves, who seem to be more instructive, may be reproach'd with this, that they have not represented to their Readers, the State of life and civil Conversation, as it really is, but have entertain'd them with a Platonical Commonwealth. And that discourages men very much, when they find the course and customs of the World to be contrary to what they had taken so much pains to read: Whereas the young man will be the less startled to find himself hiss'd by his Auditors, when he speaks well; and slighted by Fortune, when he does well; while the ignorant and the wicked are her greatest Favourites, after he hath read in History of ma∣ny Persons of worth so treated; than he would be, if he thrust himself into affairs, having never seen any thing but examples of Vice punish'd, and Vertue rewarded.