all forts of Authors, both ancient and modern, in the barbarous as well as the current Languages, to learn the Things of which they variously treat.

Commenda

But Cæfar, in particular, does, in my Opinion, deserve to be ftudied, not for the Knowledge of the tion of Cæfar's Hiftory only, but for his own fake, he has Commentaries. fo much Perfection and Excellence above all the reft, not excepting Salluft. In Truth, I read this Author with a little more Refpect and Reverence than I pay to human Compofitions, confidering him one while perfonally, by his Actions and his wonderful Greatness; and another while by the Purity and inimitable Accuracy of his Language, wherein he has not only furpaffed all Historians, as Cicero fays, but, perhaps, even Cicero himself. For he speaks of his Enemies with fo much Sincerity, that, fetting afide the falfe Colours with which he endeavours to palliate his bad Cause, and the Corruption of his peftilent Ambition, I think the only Thing for which he is to be blamed is his fpeaking too fparingly of himself; for fo many great Things could not have been performed under his Conduct, if he had not had a greater Share in them than he attributes to himself. I love Hiftories that are either very plain, or of diftinguifhed Excellency. The plain Hiftorians, who have nothing of their own to infert, and who only take the Care and Pains to collect every Thing that comes to their Notice, and to make a faithful Regifter of all Things, without Choice or Diftinction, leave the Discovery of the Truth intirely to our own Judgments.

Mere Writers of Facts, in what Refpect they are to be efteemed.

Froiffard

commended.

Such, for Example, among others, is honeft Froiffard, who has proceeded, in his Undertaking, with ranked in this fuch a frank Plainness, that, when he has comNumber, and mitted an Error, he is never afraid to confess and correct it in the Place where 'tis pointed out to him; and who even represents to us the Variety of Rumours that were then spread abroad, and the different Reports that were brought to him. Thus the Matter of his History is naked and unadorned, and every one may profit by it, according to his Share of Understanding.

The

Wherein con

The very excellent Hiftorians have the Capacity of selecting what is fit to be known, and of two Reports to fingle out that which is moft like- fits the Value ly to be true. From the Condition of Prin- of the best Hif ces, and their Tempers, they judge of their torians. Counfels, and attribute Speeches to them that are therewith confiftent; and fuch have a Title for affuming the Authority of regulating our Belief by Theirs, but cer tainly this is a Privilege that belongs to very few.

The Hiftorians of the middle Clafs (who are the most numerous) pervert us all. They aim to chew What Hiftothe Morfels for us; they make it a Law to rians are to be themselves to judge of, and confequently to defpifed. bend the History to their own Fancy; for, while the Judgment leans on one Side, the Writer cannot avoid turning and winding his Narrative according to that Biafs. They undertake to chufe Things worthy to be known, yet often conceal from us fuch an Expreffion, or such a private Tranfaction, as would instruct us better: They omit, as incredible, fuch Things as they don't understand, and fome Things, perhaps too, because they know not how to exprefs them in good Language. Let them vaunt their Eloquence, and their Reafon, with as much Affurance as they please, and let them judge as they fancy; but let them leave us fomething to judge of after them, and neither alter nor difguife any Thing of the Substance of the Matter by their Abridgments and their own Preference, but refer it to us pure and intire in all its Dimenfions. In thefe latter Ages efpecially, the People who are most commonly appointed for this Tafk are culled out from the common People for no other Merit but their good Stile, as if we wanted them to teach us Grammar; and, as they are hired for no other End, and vent nothing but Tittle-tattle, they are in the Right to apply their Thoughts chiefly to this Point. Thus, with a fine Flourish of Words, they feed us with a`curious Chain of Reports, which they pick up in the public Places of the Towns.

The only good Hiftories are fuch as have been written by the Persons themselves who had the Direction, or VOL. II.

I

were

Book II. were Sharers in the Management of the Affairs of which they write, or who happened, at leaft, to have the Conduct of others of the fame kind.

What are the

only good Hif tories.

The Miftakes that have been difcovered in Cæfar's Commentaries.

Such are, in a manner, all the Greek and Roman Hiftorians. For feveral Eye-witnefs having wrote of the fame Affair, (as this happened at a Time when Grandeur and Literature commonly met in the fame Perfon) if there happened to be an Error, it muft, of Neceffity, be a very flight one, and about an Event very dubious. What can one expect from a Phyfician who treats of War, or from a Student, in his Clofet, that undertakes to lay open the Secrets of the Cabinets of Princes? If we would take Notice how religious the Romans were in this Point, there needs no more than this Inftance of it. Afinius Pollio" found, even in Cafar's Commentaries, a Miftake which he had fallen into, either for not having his Eyes in all the Parts of his Army at once, and giving Credit to particular Perfons, who had not given him a true Account, or else for not having been exactly informed, by his Lieutenants, of what they had done in his Abfence. By this we may fee how hard a Matter it is to come at the Truth, when one cannot depend for a right Account of a Battle upon the Knowledge of the General who commanded in it, nor upon the very Soldiers for what paffed near them, unless, after the manner of Examinations before a Judge, the Witneffes are confronted, and the Objections admitted to the Proof of the minuteft Circumstances of every Event. In Truth, the Knowledge we have of our own Affairs is very imperfect. But this has been fufficiently treated of by Bodin, and according to my own Way of thinking. In order to give fome little Affiftance to my treacherous Memory, which is fo extremely defective, that it has happened to me, more than once, to take Books in my Hand, as new, and altogether unknown to me, which I had read carefully a few Years ago, and fcribbled my Notes in them, I have made

it

" In Suetonius's Life of Julius Cæfar, fect. 56, where the Reader will find Pollio's Criticifm more fevere than in Montaigne, who, however, must have taken it from Suetonius.

3

it a Practice, for fome Time past, to add, at the End of every Book, (I mean, of fuch as I defire never to use but once) the Time that I finished the Reading of it, and the Judgment I had formed of it in Grofs; to the End that this may, at least, reprefent to me the general Air and Idea which I had conceived of the Author when I read him. I will here transcribe some of those Annotations for a Specimen.

6

I wrote what follows, about ten Years ago, in my Guiccardin, for, in what Language foever my Montaigne's Books accoft me, I fpeak to them in my Reflections upon own: He is a diligent Hiftoriographer, Guiccardin. and one from whom, in my Opinion, we may know the Truth of the Affairs of his Time as exactly as from any other; for in most of them he was himself an Actor, and in an honourable Rank. There's no Appear⚫ance that he has difguised Things out of Hatred, Favour, or Vanity, of which we have ample Teftimony in the free Cenfures he has paffed upon the great Men, and especially those by whom he was advanced and em'ployed in Offices of Truft, namely, Pope Clement VII. in particular. As to that Part for which he seems to have valued himself moft, viz. his Digreffions and Paraphrafes; • he has, indeed, fome very good ones, and inriched with ⚫ beautiful Expreffions, but he is too fond of them: For, because he would leave nothing unfaid, as he had a Subject fo copious, and a Field fo ample, and almost boundlefs, he becomes flat, and has a little Smack of the fcholaftic Prattle. I have alfo made this Remark, that of so many Men and Things, fo many Motives and Counfels on which he paffes his Judginent, he does not fo ⚫ much as attribute a fingle Motive to Virtue, Religion, • and Conscience, as if they were all quite extinct in the World; and he afcribes the Caufe of all Actions, how fair foever they appear in themfelves, to fome vicious Occafion, or View of Profit. It is impoffible to imagine but, amongst such an infinite Number of Actions, of which he gives his Judgment, there must be • some one that was conducted by Reafon. No CorrupI 2.

tion

Book II. tion could have fo univerfally infected Men, but fome one must have efcaped the Contagion; which makesme fufpect that his own Tafte was a little vitiated, and it might happen, that he judged of other Men by him-. • felf.'

6

In my Philip de Comines there is this written: You Upon Philip will here find the Language smooth and de Comines. agreeable, with an artlefs Simplicity; the Narration pure, and in which the Author's Regard to Truth is fully difplayed; free from Vanity when he fpeaks of himself, and from Affection and Envy when he fpeaks of another: His Reasonings and Exhortations are accompanied with more Zeal and Truth than with any exquifite Sufficiency, and with all that Authority and Gravity throughout the Whole, which fhews him to be a Man of a good Family, and that has had no ordinary Education.

6

And this in my Memoirs upon M. Du Bellay: 'Tis Upon the Me- always pleasant to read Things that are moirs of Du written by those who have experienced how Bellay. they ought to be carried on; but it cannot be denied, that, in thofe two Lords (William and Martin du Bellay) there is a great Declenfion from that free ⚫ and unconítrained manner of Writing, which is fo confpicuous in the Ancients of their Profeffion; fuch as M. de Jouinville, Domestic to St. Lewis; Eginard, Chancellor to Charlemain; and as Philip de Comines, of later Date. This Book is rather an Apology for King Francis, against the Emperor Charles V, than a Hiftory. I am not inclined to think, that they have falfified any Thing as to the Fact in general; but they are dexterous at wrefting the Judgment of Events to our Advantage, • tho'

c

w Thefe Memoirs, published by Martin du Bellay, confift of ten Books, of which the four firft, and three laft, are Martin du Bellay's, and the others, his Brother William de Langey's, and were taken from his fifth Ogdoade, from the Year 1536 to 1540. They are intitled Memoirs of Martin du Bellay, containing Accounts of feveral Things that happened in France, from 1513 to the Death of Francis I, in 1547. From all this 'tis obvious, why Montaigne fpeaks of two Lords Du Bellay, after he had mentioned the Memoirs of M. Du Bellay. I have made this Remark, to fave others from the Perplexity that I myself was involved in, at firft, upon this Occafion.