D — De la Chine
Original French
Nous allons chercher à la Chine de la terre, comme si nous n’en avions point; des étoffes, comme si manquions d’étoffes; une petite herbe pour infuser dans de l’eau, comme si nous n'avions point de simples dans nos climats. En récompense, nous voulons convertir les Chinois, c’est un zèle très louable, mais il ne faut pas leur contester leur antiquité, & leur dire qu'ils sont des idolâtres. Trouverait-on bon, en vérité, qu’un capucin ayant été bien reçu dans un château des Montmorency, voulût leur persuader qu’ils sont des nouveaux nobles, comme les secrétaires du Roi, & les accuser d’être idolâtres, parce qu’ils auraient trouvé dans ce château deux ou trois statues de connétables, pour lesquelles on aurait un profond respect?
Le célèbre Wolf, professeur de mathématique dans l’université de Halle, prononça un jour un très bon discours, à la louange de la philosophie Chinoise; il loüa cette ancienne espèce d'hommes, qui diffère de nous par la barbe, par les yeux, par le nez, par les oreilles & par le raisonnement; il loua, dis-je, les Chinois d’adorer un Dieu suprême, & d'aimer la vertu; il rendait cette justice aux empereurs de la Chine, aux Kolao, aux tribunaux, aux lettrés. La justice qu’on rend aux bonzes est d’une espèce différente.
Il faut sçavoir que ce Wolf attirait à Halle un millier d’écoliers de toutes les nations. Il y avait dans la même université un professeur de Théologie nommé L'Ange, qui n’attirait personne; cet homme au désespoir de geler de froid seul dans son auditoire, voulut, comme de raison, perdre le professeur de mathématiques; il ne manqua pas, selon la coutume de ses semblables, de l’accuser de ne pas croire en Dieu.
Quelques écrivains d'Europe, qui n’avaient jamais été à la Chine, avaient prétendu que le gouvernement de Pékin était athée. Wolf avait loué les philosophes de Pékin, donc Wolf était athée; l’envie & la haine ne font jamais de meilleur syllogismes. Cet argument de L'Ange, soutenu d’une cabale & d’un protecteur, fut trouvé concluant par le Roi du pays, qui envoya un dilème en forme au mathématicien; ce dilème lui donnait le choix de sortir de Halle dans vingt-quatre heures, ou d’être pendu. Et comme Wolf raisonnait fort juste, il ne manqua pas de partir; sa retraite ôta au Roi deux ou trois cent mille écus par an, que ce philosophe faisait entrer dans le royaume, par l’affluence de ses disciples.
Cet exemple doit faire sentir aux souverains qu’il ne faut pas toujours écouter la calomnie, & sacrifier un grand homme à la fureur d’un sot. Revenons à la Chine.
De quoi nous avisons - nous, nous autres au bout de l’occident, de disputer avec acharnement & avec des torrents d’injures, pour sçavoir s’il y avait eu quatorze princes, ou non, avant Fohi empereur de la Chine, & si ce Fohi vivait trois mille, ou deux mille neuf cent ans avant nôtre ère vulgaire? Je voudrais bien que deux Irlandais s’avisassent de se quereller à Dublin pour sçavoir quel fut au douziéme siècle le possesseur des terres que j’occupe aujourd’hui; n’est-il pas évident qu’ils devraient s’en raporter à moi qui ai les archives entre mes mains? Il en est de même à mon gré des premiers empereurs de la Chine; il faut s’en raporter aux tribunaux du pays.
Disputez tant qu’il vous plaira sur les quatorze princes qui régnèrent avant Fohi, vôtre belle dispute n’aboutira qu’à prouver que la Chine était très - peuplée alors, & que les loix y régnaient. Maintenant, je vous demande si une nation assemblée, qui a des loix & des princes, ne suppose pas une prodigieuse antiquité? Songez combien de temps il faut pour qu’un concours singulier de circonstances fasse trouver le fer dans les mines, pour qu’on l’employe à l’agriculture, pour qu’on invente la navette & tous les autres arts.
Ceux qui font les enfans à coups de plume, ont imaginé un fort plaisant calcul. Le jésuite Pétau, par une belle supputation, donne à la terre, 285 ans après le déluge, cent fois plus d'habitans qu’on n’ose lui en suposer à présent. Les Cumberlans & les Wistons ont fait des calculs aussi comiques; ces bonnes gens n’avaient qu’à consulter les régistres de nos colonies en Amérique, ils auraient été bien étonnés, ils auraient apris combien peu le genre humain se multiplie, & qu'il diminue très souvent, au lieu d’augmenter.
Laissons donc, nous qui sommes d'hier, nous descendans des Celtes, qui venons de défricher les forêts de nos contrées sauvages, laissons les Chinois & les Indiens jouir en paix de leur beau climat, & de leur antiquité. Cessons surtout d’apeller idolâtres l’empereur de la Chine, & le Soubab de Dekan; il ne faut pas être fanatique du mérite Chinois; la constitution de leur empire est à la vérité la meilleure qui soit au monde, la seule qui soit toute fondée sur le pouvoir paternel (ce qui n'empêche pas que les mandarins ne donnent force coups de bâtons à leurs enfans); la seule dans laquelle un gouverneur de province soit puni, quand en sortant de charge il n’a pas eu les aclamations du peuple; la seule qui ait institué des prix pour la vertu, tandis que partout ailleurs les loix se bornent à punir le crime; la seule qui ait fait adopter ses loix à ses vainqueurs, tandis que nous sommes encor sujets aux coutumes des Burgundiens, des Francs & des Goths qui nous ont domptés. Mais on doit avouer que le petit peuple gouverné par des bonzes, est aussi fripon que le nôtre, qu'on y vend tout fort cher aux étrangers, ainsi que chez nous; que dans les sciences, les Chinois sont encor au terme où nous étions il y a deux cent ans; qu’ils ont comme nous mille préjugés ridicules, qu’ils croyent aux talismans, à l’astrologie judiciaire, comme nous y avons crû longtemps.
Avouons encor qu’ils ont été étonnés de nôtre thermomètre, de nôtre manière de mettre des liqueurs à la glace avec du salpêtre, & de toutes les expériences de Torricellis, & d’Otogueric, tout comme nous le fumes lors que nous vimes ces amusements de physique pour la première fois; ajoutons que leurs médecins ne guérissent pas plus les maladies mortelles, que les nôtres, & que la nature toute seule guérit à la Chine les petites maladies comme ici; mais tout cela n’empêche pas que les Chinois il y a quatre milles ans, lorsque nous ne sçavions pas lire, ne sussent toutes les choses essentiellement utiles dont nous nous vantons aujourd’hui.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation of the 73 articles in the 1764 first edition, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
We go to China for earth, as though we had none; for fabrics, as though we lacked fabrics; for a little herb to steep in water, as though no herbs grew in our climate. In return, we wish to convert the Chinese. This is a very praiseworthy zeal, but we must not dispute their antiquity or tell them they are idolaters. Would anyone really approve of a Capuchin who, after a warm welcome at a château of the Montmorencys, tried to persuade them that they were newly minted nobles, like the king’s secretaries, and accused them of idolatry because he had found two or three statues of constables in the château, held in profound respect?
The celebrated Wolff, professor of mathematics at the University of Halle, once delivered an excellent address in praise of Chinese philosophy. He praised that ancient species of men, which differs from us in beard, eyes, nose, ears, and reasoning; he praised the Chinese, I say, for worshiping a supreme God and loving virtue. He did this justice to the emperors of China, the Kolao, the tribunals, the scholars. The justice done to the bonzes is of a different kind.
You must know that this Wolff drew a thousand students of every nation to Halle. At the same university there was a professor of theology named Lange, who drew no one. In despair at freezing all alone in his lecture hall, this man naturally wished to ruin the professor of mathematics. As is the custom of his kind, he did not fail to accuse him of not believing in God.
Some European writers who had never been to China had claimed that the government of Peking was atheistic. Wolff had praised the philosophers of Peking; therefore Wolff was an atheist. Envy and hatred never make better syllogisms. This argument of Lange’s, supported by a cabal and a patron, was found conclusive by the country’s king, who sent the mathematician a formal dilemma: leave Halle within twenty-four hours or be hanged. And since Wolff reasoned very soundly, he did not fail to leave. His departure deprived the king of two or three hundred thousand crowns a year, which the philosopher had brought into the kingdom through the influx of his disciples.
This example should teach sovereigns that they must not always listen to slander and sacrifice a great man to a fool’s fury. Let us return to China.
What possessed us, here at the far end of the West, to argue so bitterly and with such torrents of abuse over whether there had been fourteen princes before Fohi, emperor of China, and whether this Fohi lived three thousand or two thousand nine hundred years before our common era? I should like to see two Irishmen take it into their heads to quarrel in Dublin over who owned the land I now occupy in the twelfth century. Is it not obvious that they ought to rely on me, since I have the archives in my hands? To my mind it is the same with China’s first emperors: we must rely on the country’s tribunals.
Argue as much as you please about the fourteen princes who reigned before Fohi: your fine dispute will only prove that China was then very populous and governed by laws. Now I ask you whether a nation brought together, with laws and princes, does not presuppose a prodigious antiquity. Consider how much time is needed before a singular combination of circumstances leads to the discovery of iron in mines, its use in agriculture, the invention of the shuttle and all the other arts.
Those who make children with strokes of the pen have devised a very amusing calculation. The Jesuit Pétau, by a fine computation, gives the earth, 285 years after the Flood, a hundred times more inhabitants than anyone dares suppose it has today. The Cumberlands and Whistons have made equally comical calculations. These good men had only to consult the registers of our colonies in America: they would have been astonished. They would have learned how little the human race multiplies, and how very often it diminishes instead of increasing.
Let us then, we who date from yesterday, we descendants of the Celts who have only just cleared the forests of our savage lands, let the Chinese and Indians enjoy their fine climate and their antiquity in peace. Above all, let us stop calling the emperor of China and the subah of the Deccan idolaters. We must not be fanatical about Chinese merit. The constitution of their empire is indeed the best in the world: the only one entirely founded on paternal authority—which does not prevent the mandarins from giving their children plenty of beatings; the only one in which a provincial governor is punished if, on leaving office, he has not won the people’s acclamations; the only one to have instituted prizes for virtue, while everywhere else the laws confine themselves to punishing crime; the only one to have made its conquerors adopt its laws, while we are still subject to the customs of the Burgundians, Franks, and Goths who subdued us. But one must admit that the common people, governed by bonzes, are as roguish as ours; that everything is sold very dear to foreigners there, just as here; that in the sciences the Chinese are still at the point we reached two hundred years ago; that, like us, they have a thousand ridiculous prejudices and believe in talismans and judicial astrology, as we believed for so long.
Let us also admit that they were astonished by our thermometer, by our way of freezing liquids with saltpeter, and by all the experiments of Torricelli and Otto von Guericke, just as we were when we first saw these amusements of physics. Let us add that their doctors cure fatal illnesses no better than ours, and that nature alone cures minor illnesses in China, as it does here. But none of this alters the fact that four thousand years ago, when we could not read, the Chinese knew all the essentially useful things of which we boast today.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Plain English translation of the same 73 articles, made directly from the French and reviewed against the scan-collated French text. The author’s notes, quotations and verse are retained. Historical ethnic labels, including offensive terms, are retained from the 1764 text.
We go to China to get clay. It’s as though we had none at home. We buy their cloth, as though we lacked cloth. We bring back a little herb to soak in water. You’d think our own climate had no medicinal plants. What do we offer in return? We want to convert the Chinese. That’s very praiseworthy zeal. Still, we mustn’t deny how ancient their country is. We mustn’t call them idol worshipers, either. Imagine the Montmorency family welcoming a Capuchin into their castle. He then tries to tell them they’re newly made nobles, like the king’s secretaries. Would that really go down well? He finds two or three statues of constables there. The family deeply respects these statues. Should he accuse them of worshiping idols?
Wolf, the famous mathematics professor at Halle University, once gave a very good speech. He praised Chinese philosophy and that ancient breed of people. Their beards, eyes, noses, ears, and ways of reasoning differ from ours. What did he praise the Chinese for? For loving virtue and worshiping a God above all others. He gave the Chinese emperors their due, along with the Kolao, courts, and scholars. Giving the bonzes their due is a different matter.
Wolf, you should know, drew a thousand students to Halle. They came from every nation. Another professor there, L’Ange, taught theology and drew no students. He sat freezing in his empty lecture hall, in despair. So, naturally enough, he wanted to destroy the mathematics professor. People of his sort always do the same thing. He accused Wolf of having no belief in God.
Some writers in Europe had called Peking’s government godless. None had ever set foot in China. Wolf praised the philosophers of Peking. Therefore Wolf was godless too. That’s as good as the reasoning of envy and hatred ever gets. L’Ange had a faction and an influential backer behind him. The local king accepted his argument as proof. He sent the mathematician a formally worded choice. Wolf could leave Halle in twenty-four hours or hang. Wolf was very good at reasoning, so he left. All those students had brought money into the kingdom. Without the philosopher, the king lost two or three hundred thousand écus every year.
That should teach rulers a lesson. They shouldn’t always believe vicious lies about people. They shouldn’t let a raging fool destroy a great man. But let’s get back to China.
What are we doing, here at the western world’s far end? We argue furiously and hurl streams of insults. Did fourteen princes rule before China’s emperor Fohi, or not? Did Fohi live three thousand years before our common era? Or was it two thousand nine hundred? Imagine two Irishmen in Dublin starting an argument about my land. Who held the land I now occupy in the twelfth century? Wouldn’t they plainly have to ask me? I’ve got the records in my hands. I think China’s first emperors are a similar case. We should trust the country’s own courts on that.
Go ahead and argue about those fourteen princes before Fohi. However fine your argument, it will prove only this. China already had a large population, governed by laws. Now, doesn’t that tell us something? A people living together under laws and princes must have a tremendously long history. Think how long the right circumstances take to come together. People have to find iron in the mines. They have to learn to farm with it. They have to invent the shuttle and every other craft.
Some people make babies simply by writing them down. They’ve come up with a very amusing calculation. The Jesuit Pétau does some splendid arithmetic. Just 285 years after the Flood, he gives the earth an enormous population. It’s a hundred times what anyone dares estimate for today. The Cumberlands and Whistons have produced equally laughable sums. These good fellows just needed to check our American colonies’ records. What a surprise they’d have had! They’d have learned how little the human population grows. Very often it falls instead of rising.
We descendants of the Celts have only just arrived. We’ve barely cleared the forests from our wild countryside. Let’s leave the Chinese and Indians to enjoy their lovely climate and ancient history in peace. Above all, stop calling China’s emperor and the subah of the Deccan idol worshipers. There’s no need to get fanatical about Chinese achievements. Their empire does have the world’s best system of government. No other system rests entirely on a father’s authority. That doesn’t keep mandarins from beating their children soundly with sticks. Nowhere else is a provincial governor punished for leaving office without public cheers. Nowhere else has the government set up prizes for virtue. Elsewhere, the law simply punishes crime. No other country has made its conquerors take its laws. We still follow the customs of those who conquered us: Burgundians, Franks, and Goths. But we have to admit some things too. Under the bonzes, ordinary people are just as crooked as ours. Foreigners pay far too much for everything there, just as here. Chinese science is still where ours was two hundred years ago. They share our thousand ridiculous prejudices. They trust talismans and the predictions of astrology, as we did for so long.
We must also admit how amazed they were by our thermometer. They marveled at our way of freezing liquids with saltpeter. All the experiments of Torricelli and Otto Guericke amazed them too. We reacted just that way to our first sight of these entertaining physics experiments. Their doctors, we should add, can’t cure fatal illnesses any better than ours. Nature cures small illnesses on its own, there as here. But none of that changes this fact. Four thousand years ago the Chinese already knew every basically useful thing we boast of knowing today. Back then, we couldn’t even read.
About this section
D — De la Chine is part of Pocket Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is article 25 of 73 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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