IL est ordinaire, de voir les bonnes intentions, si elles sont conduites sans moderation, pousser les hommes à des effects tres-vitieux. En ce desbat, par lequel la France est à present agitée de guerres ciuiles, le meilleur et le plus sain party, est sans doubte celuy, qui maintient et la religion et la police ancienne du pays.
It is common to see good intentions, if they are pursued without moderation, drive men to very vicious acts. In this dispute by which France is now torn with civil wars, the best and soundest party is no doubt the one that upholds both the religion and the ancient government of the country.
Entre les gens de bien toutesfois, qui le suyuent (car ie ne parle point de ceux, qui s’en seruent de pretexte, pour, ou exercer leurs vengeances particulieres, ou fournir à leur auarice, ou suiure la faueur des Princes: mais de ceux qui le font par vray zele enuers leur religion, et saincte affection, à maintenir la paix et l’estat de leur patrie) de ceux-cy, dis-ie, il s’en voit plusieurs, que la passion pousse hors les bornes de la raison, et leur faict par fois prendre des conseils iniustes, violents, et encore temeraires.
Among the good men who follow it, however—for I am not speaking of those who use it as a pretext either to carry out their private vengeances, or to feed their avarice, or to court the favor of princes, but of those who do so out of true zeal for their religion and a holy desire to maintain the peace and the state of their country—among these, I say, we see many whom passion drives beyond the bounds of reason, and sometimes leads to adopt unjust, violent and even rash counsels.
Il est certain, qu’en ces premiers temps, que nostre religion commença de gaigner authorité auec les loix, le zele en arma plusieurs contre toute sorte de liures payens; dequoy les gens de lettre souffrent vne merueilleuse perte. I’estime que ce desordre ait plus porté de nuysance aux lettres, que tous les feux des barbares. Cornelius Tacitus en est vn bon tesmoing: car quoy que l’Empereur Tacitus son parent, en eust peuplé par ordonnances expresses toutes les librairies du monde: toutes-fois vn seul exemplaire entier n’a peu eschapper la curieuse recherche de ceux qui desiroyent l’abolir, pour cinq ou six vaines clauses, contraires à nostre creance.
It is certain that in those early times when our religion began to gain authority with the laws, zeal armed many against every sort of pagan book, by which men of letters suffer an extraordinary loss. I reckon this disorder did more harm to letters than all the fires of the barbarians. Cornelius Tacitus is a good witness of this: for although the Emperor Tacitus, his kinsman, had by express ordinances stocked all the libraries in the world with him, nevertheless not a single complete copy could escape the diligent search of those who wanted to abolish him for five or six idle clauses contrary to our belief.
The Emperor Julian
Montaigne defends Julian the Apostate’s chastity, justice and courage against the slanders of Christian writers.
Ils ont aussi eu cecy, de prester aisément des louanges fauces, à tous les Empereurs, qui faisoyent pour nous, et condamner vniuersellement toutes les actions de ceux, qui nous estoyent aduersaires, comme il est aisé à voir en l’Empereur Iulian, surnommé l’Apostat. C’estoit à la verité vn tres-grand homme et rare; comme celuy, qui auoit son ame viuement tainte des discours de la philosophie, ausquels il faisoit profession de regler toutes ses actions: et de vray il n’est aucune sorte de vertu, dequoy il n’ait laissé de tres-notables exemples.
They also had this habit: readily lending false praise to all the emperors who favored us, and condemning wholesale all the actions of those who were our adversaries, as is easy to see in the case of the Emperor Julian, surnamed the Apostate. He was in truth a very great and rare man, as one whose soul was deeply dyed with the reasonings of philosophy, by which he professed to rule all his actions; and indeed there is no kind of virtue of which he has not left very notable examples.
En chasteté, de laquelle le cours de sa vie donne bien clair tesmoignage, on lit de luy vn pareil traict, à celuy d’Alexandre et de Scipion, que de plusieurs tresbelles captiues, il n’en voulut pas seulement voir vne, estant en la fleur de son aage: car il fut tué par les Parthes aagé de trente vn an seulement. Quant à la iustice, il prenoit luy-mesme la peine d’ouyr les parties: et encore que par curiosité il s’informast à ceux qui se presentoient à luy, de quelle religion ils estoient: toutes-fois l’inimitié qu’il portoit à la nostre, ne donnoit aucun contrepoix à la balance. Il fit luy mesme plusieurs bonnes loix, et retrancha vne grande partie des subsides et impositions, que leuoyent ses predecesseurs.
In chastity, of which the course of his life gives very clear testimony, we read of him a trait like that of Alexander and Scipio: that of many very beautiful captives he would not so much as look at one, though he was in the flower of his age—for he was killed by the Parthians at only thirty-one. As for justice, he took the trouble of hearing the parties himself; and although out of curiosity he asked those who came before him what religion they were, nonetheless the hostility he bore ours put no weight in the scales. He himself made several good laws, and cut a great part of the subsidies and taxes his predecessors had levied.
Nous auons deux bons historiens tesmoings oculaires de ses actions: l’vn desquels, Marcellinus, reprend aigrement en diuers lieux de son histoire, cette sienne ordonnance, par laquelle il deffendit l’escole, et interdit l’enseigner à tous les rhetoriciens et grammairiens Chrestiens, et dit, qu’il souhaiteroit cette sienne action estre enseuelie soubs le silence. Il est vray-semblable, s’il eust faict quelque chose de plus aigre contre nous, qu’il ne l’eust pas oublié, estant bien affectionné à nostre party. Il nous estoit aspre à la verité, mais non pourtant cruel ennemy.
We have two good historians who were eyewitnesses of his actions. One of them, Marcellinus, sharply censures in several places of his history that edict of his by which he closed the schools and forbade all Christian rhetoricians and grammarians to teach, and says he wishes this action of Julian’s could be buried in silence. It is likely that if Julian had done anything harsher against us, Marcellinus would not have forgotten it, being well disposed to our side. He was harsh toward us, in truth, but not a cruel enemy.
Car noz gens mesmes recitent de luy cette histoire, que se promenant vn iour autour de la ville de Chalcedoine, Maris Euesque du lieu, osa bien l’appeller meschant, traistre à Christ, et qu’il n’en fit autre chose, sauf luy respondre: Va miserable, pleure la perte de tes yeux: à quoy l’Euesque encore repliqua: Ie rends graces à Iesus Christ, de m’auoir osté la veuë, pour ne voir ton visage impudent: affectant en cela, disent-ils, vne patience philosophique. Tant y a que ce faict là, ne se peut pas bien rapporter aux cruautez qu’on le dit auoir exercées contre nous. Il estoit, dit Eutropius mon autre tesmoing, ennemy de la Chrestienté, mais sans toucher au sang.
For our own people tell this story of him: that as he was walking one day around the city of Chalcedon, Maris, the bishop of the place, dared to call him wicked, a traitor to Christ, and that he did nothing about it except answer: “Go, wretch, weep for the loss of your eyes.” To which the bishop replied in turn: “I give thanks to Jesus Christ for having taken away my sight, so that I need not see your impudent face.” In this, they say, Julian was affecting a philosophical patience. At any rate, this act cannot well be squared with the cruelties he is said to have practiced against us. He was, says Eutropius, my other witness, an enemy of Christianity, but without shedding blood.
Et pour reuenir à sa iustice, il n’est rien qu’on y puisse accuser, que les rigueurs, dequoy il vsa au commencement de son empire, contre ceux qui auoyent suiuy le party de Constantius son predecesseur. Quant à sa sobrieté, il viuoit tousiours vn viure soldatesque: et se nourrissoit en pleine paix, comme celuy qui se preparoit et accoustumoit à l’austerité de la guerre. La vigilance estoit telle en luy, qu’il departoit la nuict à trois ou à quatre parties, dont la moindre estoit celle qu’il donnoit au sommeil: le reste, il l’employoit à visiter luy mesme en personne, l’estat de son armée et ses gardes, ou à estudier: car entre autres siennes rares qualitez, il estoit tres-excellent en toute sorte de literature.
And to return to his justice, there is nothing in it to find fault with except the severity he showed at the beginning of his reign toward those who had followed the party of Constantius, his predecessor. As for his sobriety, he always lived a soldier’s life, and in full peacetime fed himself like one who was preparing and accustoming himself to the austerity of war. His vigilance was such that he divided the night into three or four parts, the smallest of which was the one he gave to sleep. The rest he spent either inspecting in person the state of his army and his guards, or studying; for among his other rare qualities, he was most excellent in every kind of literature.
On dit d’Alexandre le grand, qu’estant couché, de peur que le sommeil ne le desbauchast de ses pensemens, et de ses estudes, il faisoit mettre vn bassin ioignant son lict, et tenoit l’vne de ses mains au dehors, auec vne boulette de cuiure: affin que le dormir le surprenant, et relaschant les prises de ses doigts, cette boullette par le bruit de sa cheutte dans le bassin, le reueillast. Cettuy-cy auoit l’ame si tendue à ce qu’il vouloit, et si peu empeschée de fumées, par sa singuliere abstinence, qu’il se passoit bien de cet artifice.
It is said of Alexander the Great that when he lay down, for fear that sleep might lure him away from his thoughts and studies, he had a basin placed beside his bed and held one hand out over it with a little copper ball, so that if sleep overtook him and loosened the grip of his fingers, the noise of the ball falling into the basin would wake him. Julian had his soul so intent on what he wanted, and so little clouded with fumes, thanks to his singular abstinence, that he could easily do without this device.
Quant à la suffisance militaire, il fut admirable en toutes les parties d’vn grand Capitaine: aussi fut-il quasi toute sa vie en continuel exercice de guerre: et la pluspart, auec nous, en France contre les Allemans et Francons. Nous n’auons guere memoire d’homme, qui ait veu plus de hazards, ny qui ait plus souuent faict preuue de sa personne.
As for military ability, he was admirable in every part of a great captain. Indeed he spent almost his whole life in continual warfare, and most of it with us, in France, against the Alemanni and the Franks. We hardly remember any man who faced more dangers or more often put his own person to the test.
Sa mort a quelque chose de pareil à celle d’Epaminondas: car il fut frappé d’vn traict, et essaya de l’arracher, et l’eust fait, sans ce que le traict estant tranchant, il se couppa et affoiblit la main. Il demandoit incessamment qu’on le repportast en ce mesme estat, en la meslée, pour y encourager ses soldats; lesquels contesterent cette battaille sans luy, trescourageusement, iusques à ce que la nuict separa les armées. Il deuoit à la philosophie, vn singulier mespris, en quoy il auoit sa vie, et les choses humaines. Il auoit ferme creance de l’eternité des ames.
His death has something in common with that of Epaminondas. For he was struck by a dart and tried to pull it out, and would have done so had not the dart, being sharp-edged, cut and weakened his hand. He kept asking to be carried back, just as he was, into the fray, to encourage his soldiers there; and they contested that battle very bravely without him until night separated the armies. He owed to philosophy a singular contempt in which he held his life and human things. He firmly believed in the eternity of souls.
En matiere de religion, il estoit vicieux par tout; on l’a surnommé l’Apostat, pour auoir abandonné la nostre: toutesfois cette opinion me semble plus vray-semblable, qu’il ne l’auoit iamais euë à cœur, mais que pour l’obeïssance des loix il s’estoit feint iusques à ce qu’il tinst l’empire en sa main. Il fut si superstitieux en la sienne, que ceux mesmes qui en estoyent de son temps, s’en mocquoient: et disoit-on, s’il eust gaigné la victoire contre les Parthes, qu’il eust fait tarir la race des bœufs au monde, pour satisfaire à ses sacrifices. Il estoit aussi embabouyné de la science diuinatrice, et donnoit authorité à toute façon de prognostics.
In matters of religion he was wrong all round. He was surnamed the Apostate for having abandoned ours; yet the more likely opinion, to my mind, is that he had never held it at heart, but had feigned it in obedience to the laws until he held the empire in his hand. He was so superstitious in his own that even those who shared it in his time mocked him; and it was said that if he had won the victory against the Parthians he would have made the race of oxen die out in the world to supply his sacrifices. He was also besotted with the art of divination and lent authority to every kind of prognostication.
Il dit entre autres choses, en mourant, qu’il sçauoit bon gré aux Dieux et les remercioit, dequoy ils ne l’auoyent pas voulu tuer par surprise, l’ayant de long temps aduerty du lieu et heure de sa fin, ny d’vne mort molle ou lasche, mieux conuenable aux personnes oysiues et delicates, ny languissante, longue et douloureuse: et qu’ils l’auoyent trouué digne de mourir de cette noble façon, sur le cours de ses victoires, et en la fleur de sa gloire. Il auoit eu vne pareille vision à celle de Marcus Brutus, qui premierement le menassa en Gaule, et depuis se representa à luy en Perse, sur le point de sa mort.
Among other things, he said as he was dying that he was grateful to the gods and thanked them for not having chosen to kill him by surprise, since they had long warned him of the place and hour of his end; nor by a soft or cowardly death, better suited to idle and delicate people; nor by a lingering, long and painful one; and that they had found him worthy of dying in this noble way, in the course of his victories and in the flower of his glory. He had had a vision like that of Marcus Brutus, which first threatened him in Gaul and later appeared to him again in Persia, on the point of his death.
Ce langage qu’on luy fait tenir, quand il se sentit frappé: Tu as veincu, Nazareen: ou, comme d’autres, Contente toy, Nazareen; à peine eust il esté oublié, s’il eust esté creu par mes tesmoings: qui estants presens en l’armée ont remarqué iusques aux moindres mouuements et parolles de sa fin: non plus que certains autres miracles, qu’on y attache.
The words they put in his mouth when he felt himself struck—“You have conquered, Nazarene,” or, as others have it, “Be content, Nazarene”—would hardly have been forgotten if my witnesses had believed them, for they were present in the army and noted even the slightest movements and words of his end; nor would certain other miracles that are attached to it.
Freedom of conscience
Julian granted religious freedom to divide the Christians; French kings now grant it to bring peace.
Et pour venir au propos de mon theme: il couuoit, dit Marcellinus, de long temps en son cœur, le paganisme; mais par ce que toute son armée estoit de Chrestiens, il ne l’osoit descouurir. En fin, quand il se vit assez fort pour oser publier sa volonté, il fit ouurir les temples des Dieux, et s’essaya par tous moyens de mettre sus l’idolatrie. Pour paruenir à son effect, ayant rencontré en Constantinople, le peuple descousu, auec les prelats de l’Eglise Chrestienne diuisez, les ayant faict venir à luy au palais, les admonesta instamment d’assoupir ces dissentions ciuiles, et que chacun sans empeschement et sans crainte seruist à la religion.
And to come to the point of my subject: he had long nursed paganism in his heart, says Marcellinus, but because his whole army was made up of Christians, he did not dare reveal it. At last, when he saw himself strong enough to make his will public, he had the temples of the gods opened and tried by every means to set up idolatry. To achieve his aim, he found the people of Constantinople at odds and the prelates of the Christian Church divided. So he summoned them to the palace and earnestly urged them to calm these civil dissensions, and to let each man follow his religion without hindrance and without fear.
Ce qu’il sollicitoit auec grand soing, pour l’esperance que cette licence augmenteroit les parts et les brigues de la diuision, et empescheroit le peuple de se reünir, et de se fortifier par consequent, contre luy, par leur concorde, et vnanime intelligence: ayant essayé par la cruauté d’aucuns Chrestiens, qu’il n’y a point de beste au monde tant à craindre à l’homme, que l’homme.
He pressed this with great care, hoping that such license would increase the factions and intrigues of the division. It would keep the people from uniting, and so from strengthening themselves against him through their concord and unanimous understanding. For he had learned by experience, from the cruelty of some Christians, that there is no beast in the world so much to be feared by man as man.
Voyla ses mots à peu pres: en quoy cela est digne de consideration, que l’Empereur Iulian se sert pour attiser le trouble de la dissention ciuile, de cette mesme recepte de liberté de conscience, que noz Roys viennent d’employer pour l’estaindre. On peut dire d’vn costé, que de lascher la bride aux pars d’entretenir leur opinion, c’est espandre et semer la diuision, c’est prester quasi la main à l’augmenter, n’y ayant aucune barriere ny coërction des loix, qui bride et empesche sa course. Mais d’autre costé, on diroit aussi, que de lascher la bride aux pars d’entretenir leur opinion, c’est les amollir et relascher par la facilité, et par l’aisance, et que c’est esmousser l’eguillon qui s’affine par la rareté, la nouuelleté, et la difficulté.
Those are roughly his words. What deserves consideration here is that the Emperor Julian uses, to stir up the trouble of civil dissension, the very same remedy of freedom of conscience that our kings have just employed to extinguish it. One can say, on the one hand, that to give the factions free rein to hold their opinions is to spread and sow division; it is almost to lend a hand in increasing it, since there is no barrier or constraint of the laws to curb and check its course. But on the other hand one could also say that to give the factions free rein to hold their opinions is to soften and slacken them through ease and facility. It is to blunt the spur that is sharpened by rarity, novelty and difficulty.
Et si croy mieux, pour l’honneur de la deuotion de noz Roys; c’est, que n’ayans peu ce qu’ils vouloient, ils ont fait semblant de vouloir ce qu’ils pouuoient.
And yet, for the honor of our kings’ piety, I prefer to believe this: that being unable to do what they wanted, they pretended to want what they could do.