Chapter XIX
Original French
Relation d'une dispute de controverse à la Chine.
DAns les premieres années du regne du grand Empereur Kam-hi, un Mandarin de la Ville de Kanton entendit de sa maison un grand bruit qu'on faisait dans la maison voisine; il s'informa si l'on ne tuait personne; on lui dit que c'était l'Aumônier de la Compagnie Danoise, un Chapelain de Batavia, & un Jésuite qui disputaient: il les fit venir, leur fit servir du thé & des confitures, & leur demanda pourquoi ils se querellaient.
Ce Jésuite lui répondit qu'il était bien douloureux pour lui, qui avait toujours raison, d'avoir à faire à des gens qui avaient toujours tort; que d'abord il avait argumenté avec la plus grande retenue, mais qu'enfin la patience lui avait échappé.
Le Mandarin leur fit sentir, avec toute la discrétion possible, combien la politesse est nécessaire dans la dispute, leur dit qu'on ne se fâchait jamais à la Chine, & leur demanda de quoi il s'agissait?
Le Jésuite lui répondit: Monseigneur, je vous en fais juge; ces deux Messieurs refusent de se soumettre aux décisions du Concile de Trente.
Cela m'étonne, dit le Mandarin. Puis se tournant vers les deux réfractaires: Il me paraît, leur dit-il, Messieurs, que vous devriez respecter les avis d'une grande Assemblée; je ne sais pas ce que c'est que le Concile de Trente; mais plusieurs personnes sont toujours plus instruites qu'une seule. Nul ne doit croire qu'il en sait plus que les autres, & que la raison n'habite que dans sa tête; c'est ainsi que l'enseigne notre grand Confucius; & si vous m'en croyez, vous ferez très-bien de vous en rapporter au Concile de Trente.
Le Danois prit alors la parole, & dit: Monseigneur parle avec la plus grande sagesse; nous respectons les grandes Assemblées comme nous le devons; aussi sommes-nous entiérement de l'avis de plusieurs Assemblées qui se sont tenues avant celle de Trente.
Oh! si cela est ainsi, dit le Mandarin, je vous demande pardon, vous pourriez bien avoir raison. Ça, vous êtes donc du même avis, ce Hollandais & vous, contre ce pauvre Jésuite.
Point du tout, dit le Hollandais: cet homme-ci a des opinions presque aussi extravagantes que celles de ce Jésuite, qui fait ici le doucereux avec vous; il n'y a pas moyen d'y tenir.
Je ne vous conçois pas, dit le Mandarin: N'êtes-vous pas tous trois Chrétiens? ne venez-vous pas tous trois enseigner le Christianisme dans notre Empire? & ne devez-vous pas par conséquent avoir les mêmes dogmes?
Vous voyez, Monseigneur, dit le Jésuite: ces deux gens-ci sont ennemis mortels, & disputent tous deux contre moi; il est donc évident qu'ils ont tous les deux tort, & que la raison n'est que de mon côté. Cela n'est pas si évident, dit le Mandarin: il se pourrait faire à toute force que vous eussiez tort tous trois; je serais curieux de vous entendre l'un après l'autre.
Le Jésuite fit alors un assez long discours, pendant lequel le Danois & le Hollandais levaient les épaules; le Mandarin n'y comprit rien. Le Danois parla à son tour; ses deux Adversaires le regarderent en pitié, & le Mandarin n'y comprit pas davantage. Le Hollandais eut le même sort. Enfin, ils parlerent tous trois ensemble, ils se dirent de grosses injures. L'honnête Mandarin eut bien de la peine à mettre le hola, & leur dit: Si vous voulez qu'on tolere ici votre Doctrine, commencez par n'être ni intolérants ni intolérables.
Au sortir de l'audience, le Jésuite rencontra un Missionnaire Jacobin; il lui apprit qu'il avait gagné sa cause, l'assurant que la vérité triomphait toujours. Le Jacobin lui dit: Si j'avais été là, vous ne l'auriez pas gagnée; je vous aurais convaincu de mensonge & d'idolâtrie. La querelle s'échauffa; le Jacobin & le Jésuite se prirent aux cheveux. Le Mandarin informé du scandale les envoya tous deux en prison. Un Sous-Mandarin dit au Juge: Combien de temps votre Excellence veut-elle qu'ils soient aux Arrêts? Jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient d'accord, dit le Juge. Ah! dit le Sous-Mandarin, ils seront donc en prison toute leur vie. Eh bien, dit le Juge, jusqu'à ce qu'ils se pardonnent. Ils ne se pardonneront jamais, dit l'autre, je les connais. Eh bien donc, dit le Mandarin, jusqu'à ce qu'ils fassent semblant de se pardonner.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation directly from French, reviewed against it. Includes all 25 chapters, Voltaire’s notes and the added Article with six edition references. Article transcription: French Wikisource, Garnier 1879, revision 15479820. Translation and Article: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
An account of a theological dispute in China.
In the first years of the great Emperor Kangxi’s reign, a mandarin in the city of Canton heard a great uproar in the house next door. He asked whether anyone was being killed; he was told that the chaplain of the Danish Company, a chaplain from Batavia, and a Jesuit were disputing. He had them brought before him, served them tea and preserves, and asked why they were quarreling.
The Jesuit replied that it was deeply painful for him, who was always right, to deal with people who were always wrong; that he had begun by arguing with the utmost restraint, but had finally lost patience.
With all possible tact, the mandarin impressed upon them how necessary courtesy was in debate, told them that no one ever grew angry in China, and asked what the matter was.
The Jesuit replied, “My lord, I leave you to judge: these two gentlemen refuse to submit to the decisions of the Council of Trent.”
“That surprises me,” said the mandarin. Then, turning to the two dissenters, he said, “Gentlemen, it seems to me that you ought to respect the opinions of a great assembly. I do not know what the Council of Trent is, but several people are always better informed than one. No one should believe that he knows more than everyone else, or that reason dwells in his head alone. That is what our great Confucius teaches; and if you take my advice, you would do very well to defer to the Council of Trent.”
The Dane then spoke. “Your lordship speaks with the greatest wisdom. We respect great assemblies as we should; indeed, we agree entirely with several assemblies held before the one at Trent.”
“Oh! If that is so,” said the mandarin, “I beg your pardon: you may well be right. Well then, you and this Dutchman share the same opinion against this poor Jesuit?”
“Not at all,” said the Dutchman. “This man’s opinions are almost as extravagant as those of this Jesuit, who is acting so sweetly toward you here. It is more than anyone can bear.”
“I do not understand you,” said the mandarin. “Are you not all three Christians? Have you not all three come to teach Christianity in our empire? And should you not therefore hold the same doctrines?”
“You see, my lord,” said the Jesuit, “these two men are mortal enemies, yet both argue against me. It is therefore clear that both are wrong and that reason is on my side alone.” “That is not so clear,” said the mandarin. “It is just possible that all three of you are wrong. I would be curious to hear you one at a time.”
The Jesuit then delivered a fairly long speech, during which the Dane and the Dutchman shrugged their shoulders; the mandarin understood none of it. The Dane spoke in his turn; his two adversaries looked at him with pity, and the mandarin understood no more than before. The Dutchman met with the same fate. At last all three spoke at once, hurling gross insults at one another. The worthy mandarin had great difficulty calling them to order, and said, “If you wish your doctrine to be tolerated here, begin by being neither intolerant nor intolerable.”
On leaving the audience, the Jesuit met a Dominican missionary. He told him that he had won his case, assuring him that truth always triumphed. The Dominican said, “Had I been there, you would not have won it. I would have proved you guilty of falsehood and idolatry.” The quarrel grew heated; the Dominican and the Jesuit seized each other by the hair. Informed of the scandal, the mandarin sent them both to prison. A subordinate mandarin asked the judge, “How long does Your Excellency wish them to remain under arrest?” “Until they agree,” said the judge. “Ah!” said the subordinate, “then they will be in prison all their lives.” “Very well,” said the judge, “until they forgive each other.” “They will never forgive each other,” the other replied. “I know them.” “Well then,” said the mandarin, “until they pretend to forgive each other.”
Plain English translation
Independent, complete machine-assisted Plain English translation directly from French, reviewed against it. All 25 chapters, author’s notes and added Article with six edition references are retained. Article transcription: French Wikisource, Garnier 1879, revision 15479820. Translation and Article: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Account of a Religious Dispute in China.
In the first years of the great Emperor Kangxi's reign, a mandarin in Canton heard a great noise coming from the house next door. He asked whether someone was being killed. He was told that the chaplain of the Danish Company, a chaplain from Batavia, and a Jesuit were arguing. He sent for them, had tea and preserves served, and asked why they were quarreling.
The Jesuit answered that it was very painful for him, who was always right, to deal with people who were always wrong. At first he had argued with the greatest restraint, but eventually he had lost patience.
As tactfully as possible, the mandarin made them see how necessary courtesy is in an argument. He told them that people never got angry in China and asked what the dispute was about.
The Jesuit answered, "My lord, I leave you to judge. These two gentlemen refuse to submit to the decisions of the Council of Trent."
"That surprises me," said the mandarin. Then, turning to the two dissenters, he said, "Gentlemen, it seems to me that you should respect the opinions of a large assembly. I do not know what the Council of Trent is, but several people always know more than one. No one should believe that he knows more than everyone else and that reason lives only in his own head. That is what our great Confucius teaches. If you take my advice, you will do very well to defer to the Council of Trent."
The Dane then spoke. "My lord speaks with the greatest wisdom. We respect large assemblies as we should. That is why we agree entirely with several assemblies held before the one at Trent."
"Oh! If that is so," said the mandarin, "I beg your pardon. You may well be right. So then, you and this Dutchman agree against this poor Jesuit?"
"Not at all," said the Dutchman. "This man's opinions are almost as outrageous as those of this Jesuit, who is acting so sweetly toward you here. It is unbearable."
"I do not understand you," said the mandarin. "Are you not all three Christians? Have you not all three come to teach Christianity in our empire? Should you not therefore have the same doctrines?"
"You see, my lord," said the Jesuit, "these two men are mortal enemies, and both argue against me. So clearly both of them are wrong, and I alone am right." "That is not so clear," said the mandarin. "It is just possible that all three of you are wrong. I would be interested to hear you one at a time."
The Jesuit then made a fairly long speech. During it the Dane and the Dutchman shrugged their shoulders, and the mandarin understood nothing. The Dane spoke next. His two opponents looked at him with pity, and the mandarin understood no more than before. The Dutchman met with the same response. Finally all three spoke at once and hurled insults at one another. The decent mandarin had great difficulty calling a halt. He told them, "If you want your teaching to be tolerated here, start by being neither intolerant nor intolerable."
On leaving the audience, the Jesuit met a Dominican missionary. He told him that he had won his case, assuring him that truth always triumphed. The Dominican said, "If I had been there, you would not have won. I would have proved you guilty of lying and idolatry." The quarrel grew heated. The Dominican and the Jesuit grabbed each other by the hair. Informed of the scandal, the mandarin sent them both to prison. A junior mandarin asked the judge, "How long does Your Excellency want them kept under arrest?" "Until they agree," said the judge. "Ah!" said the junior mandarin. "Then they will be in prison all their lives." "Well then," said the judge, "until they forgive each other." "They will never forgive each other," said the other. "I know them." "Well then," said the mandarin, "until they pretend to forgive each other."
About this section
Chapter XIX is part of Treatise on Tolerance by Voltaire. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 19 of 26 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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