P — Préjugés

Prejudice is an opinion without judgment. Thus, throughout the earth, children are filled with whatever opinions people please before they are able to judge.

There are universal, necessary prejudices that are virtue itself. In every country children are taught to acknowledge a God who rewards and avenges; to respect and love their father and mother; to regard theft as a crime and self-serving falsehood as a vice, before they can guess what a vice or a virtue is.

There are therefore very good prejudices: those that judgment ratifies when we reason.

Feeling is not mere prejudice; it is something much stronger. A mother does not love her son because someone told her she must love him; fortunately, she cherishes him despite herself. It is not prejudice that makes you run to save an unknown child about to fall down a precipice or be devoured by a beast.

But it is prejudice that makes you respect a man dressed in certain clothes, walking gravely and speaking in the same fashion. Your parents told you to bow before this man; you respect him before knowing whether he deserves your respect. You grow in age and knowledge; you discover that this man is a charlatan, steeped in pride, self-interest, and deceit. You despise what you revered, and prejudice yields to judgment. Through prejudice you believed the fables that cradled your childhood. You were told that the Titans made war on the gods and Venus fell in love with Adonis; at twelve you take these fables for truths; at twenty you regard them as ingenious allegories.

Let us briefly examine the different kinds of prejudice, to put our affairs in order. We may be like those who, in the days of Law’s system, discovered that they had been calculating imaginary riches.

Prejudices of the senses.

Is it not amusing that our eyes always deceive us, even when we see very well, whereas our ears do not? Let your well-formed ear hear “You are beautiful; I love you”: it is quite certain that no one has said “I hate you; you are ugly.” But you see a smooth mirror: it is demonstrable that you are mistaken; its surface is very rough. You see the sun as about two feet in diameter: it is demonstrable that it is a million times larger than the earth.

It seems that God has put truth in your ears and error in your eyes. But study optics, and you will see that God has not deceived you, and that in the present state of things objects cannot appear otherwise than you see them.

Physical prejudices.

The sun rises, so does the moon, the earth is motionless: these are natural physical prejudices. But that crayfish are good for the blood because, when cooked, they are red like it; that eels cure paralysis because they wriggle; that the moon influences our illnesses because someone once observed a patient’s fever grow worse during the waning moon—these ideas and a thousand others were the errors of old charlatans who judged without reasoning, and, being deceived, deceived others.

Historical prejudices.

Most histories have been believed without examination, and this belief is a prejudice. Fabius Pictor relates that several centuries before his time a Vestal of the city of Alba, going to fill her pitcher with water, was raped; that she gave birth to Romulus and Remus; that they were nursed by a she-wolf, etc. The Roman people believed this fable. They did not examine whether there were Vestals in Latium at that time, whether it was plausible for a king’s daughter to leave her convent with a pitcher, whether it was likely that a she-wolf would nurse two children instead of eating them. The prejudice took root.

A monk writes that Clovis, in great danger at the battle of Tolbiac, vowed to become a Christian if he escaped. But is it natural to appeal to a foreign god on such an occasion? Is that not precisely when the religion into which one was born acts most powerfully? What Christian in a battle against the Turks would not appeal to the Holy Virgin rather than Muhammad? It is added that a pigeon brought the holy ampulla in its beak to anoint Clovis, and an angel brought the oriflamme to guide him. Prejudice believed all the little stories of this kind. Those who know human nature know very well that the usurper Clovis and the usurper Rollo or Rol became Christians to govern Christians more securely, just as the Turkish usurpers became Muslims to govern Muslims more securely.

Religious prejudices.

If your nurse told you that Ceres presides over grain, or that Vishnu and Shaka became men several times, or that Sammonocodom came to cut down a forest, or that Odin awaits you in his hall near Jutland, or that Muhammad or someone else made a journey to heaven; in short, if your tutor then drives into your brain what your nurse engraved there, you have it for life. Does your judgment attempt to rise against these prejudices? Your neighbors, and especially your female neighbors, cry out that you are impious and frighten you. Your dervish, afraid of seeing his income fall, denounces you to the cadi, and the cadi has you impaled if he can, because he wants to command fools and believes fools obey better than other people. And this will last until your neighbors, the dervish, and the cadi begin to understand that stupidity is good for nothing, and persecution is abominable.

A prejudice is an opinion you haven’t judged for yourself. Everywhere, then, people teach children whatever opinions they want before the children can judge.

Some prejudices are universal and necessary; they’re virtue itself. In every country, children learn to acknowledge a God who rewards and punishes. They learn to respect and love their father and mother. They learn that theft is a crime and lying for gain is a vice. All this comes before they can even guess what vice and virtue mean.

So some prejudices are very good. They’re the ones our judgment confirms when we start to reason.

Feeling isn’t just prejudice. It’s much stronger. A mother doesn’t love her son because someone told her to. Fortunately, she loves him whether she means to or not. You see a child you don’t know about to fall over a cliff or be eaten by an animal. You rush to help, and prejudice has nothing to do with it.

But prejudice makes you respect a man in certain clothes, walking and speaking solemnly. Your parents told you to bow to him. You respect him before you know whether he deserves it. As you grow older and learn more, you discover he’s a fraud. He’s full of pride, self-interest, and deceit. You now despise what you once looked up to. Judgment has replaced prejudice. Prejudice made you believe the stories you were brought up on. You heard that the Titans fought the gods and Venus loved Adonis. At twelve you think those stories are true. At twenty you see them as clever allegories.

Let’s briefly look at the different kinds of prejudice and put our affairs in order. We may be like the people who made a discovery during Law’s financial scheme. The wealth they’d been counting was imaginary.

Prejudices of the senses.

Isn’t it funny? Our eyes keep misleading us even when we see perfectly well. Our ears, on the other hand, don’t. Suppose your ear is properly formed and hears, “You’re beautiful, I love you.” You certainly weren’t told, “I hate you, you’re ugly.” But you see a smooth mirror, and it’s been proved you’re wrong. The surface is very rough. The sun looks about two feet across to you. It’s been proved to be a million times bigger than the earth.

God seems to have put truth in your ears and error in your eyes. But study optics, and you’ll see he hasn’t misled you. As things stand, objects couldn’t look any other way.

Prejudices about the physical world.

The sun rises, the moon rises too, and the earth doesn’t move. Those are natural prejudices about the physical world. But what about these ideas? Crayfish are good for the blood because cooking turns them red like blood. Eels cure paralysis because they wriggle. The moon affects our illnesses because someone once saw a patient’s fever worsen as the moon waned. Those ideas, and a thousand others, were errors made by ancient quacks. They judged without reasoning. They were misled and misled other people.

Historical prejudices.

People have believed most historical accounts without examining them. That belief is a prejudice. Fabius Pictor tells a story set several centuries before his time. A Vestal from Alba went to fill her water jug and was raped. She gave birth to Romulus and Remus, and a she-wolf nursed them, and so on. The Romans believed the story. Were there any Vestals in Latium then? Would a king’s daughter have gone out of her convent with a jug? Would a she-wolf have nursed two children instead of eating them? They didn’t ask. The prejudice took hold.

A monk writes that Clovis was in great danger at the battle of Tolbiac. He vowed to become a Christian if he escaped. But would you naturally turn to a foreign god at a moment like that? Isn’t that when the religion you were born into has its strongest hold? What Christian fighting the Turks wouldn’t pray to the Holy Virgin rather than Muhammad? We’re also told a pigeon brought the holy vial in its beak to anoint Clovis. And an angel brought the oriflamme to lead him. Prejudice accepted every little story of that kind. People who know human nature understand why the usurpers Clovis and Rollo, or Rol, became Christians. It made governing Christians safer. Turkish usurpers became Muslims for the same reason: to govern Muslims more safely.

Religious prejudices.

Your nurse may have told you that Ceres rules over grain. Or that Vishnu and Shaka became human several times. Or that Sammoncodom came to cut down a forest. Perhaps Odin is waiting for you in his hall near Jutland. Perhaps Muhammad or someone else traveled to heaven. Then your tutor hammers into your head what your nurse engraved there. You’re caught for life. Does your judgment try to challenge those prejudices? Your neighbors, especially the women, shout that you’re godless and frighten you. Your dervish fears losing income, so he reports you to the qadi. If he can, the qadi has you impaled. He wants to command fools, and thinks fools obey better than other people. This will last until your neighbors, the dervish, and the qadi begin to understand. Stupidity does no good, and persecution is appalling.