CHAP. XXXI.
Against several erroneous Opinions.
Though there are People of a bad Taste in every Art or Science, there are more in that of Fencing than in others, as well by Reason of the little Understanding of some Teachers, as of the little Practice of some Learners, who are not acting upon a good Foundation, or long enough, to have a good idea of it, argue so weakly on this Exercise, that I thought it as much my Business to observe their Errors, as it is my Duty to instruct those that I have the Honour to teach in the Theory of it: By this Means, I may furnish the One with jus
ter Sentiments, and the Others with the Means of preserving their Honour and Lives.
I begin with those, who defer letting their Children learn 'till they have attained a certain Age, Growth and Strength. If these three Qualities would enable them to put this Art in Execution immediately, I acknowledge that they ought not to begin 'till they possessed them; but it is by long Experience and Practice only, that they can become perfect; so that except they begin young, the Employments for which they are designed, may not give them Time to arrive to it; besides, by beginning in a tender Age, the Body is more easily brought to a good Air, and an easy Disengagement; being more at Liberty, and less used to Faults, which it would naturally fall into for want of being cultivated.
Others say that it is needless to learn when the Disposition is wanting, which is an Error; for a Body that is well disposed by Nature, can better dispense with the Want of Improvement, than those that she has taken less care of; these requiring a constant Labour, to acquire what the others have almost of themselves; and tho' they cannot arrive to a perfect Agility, yet their
Bodies will be better disposed to act, and their Lives not so much in Danger.
Some assure you that the knowing how to Fence, makes a Man quarrelsome, and thereby exposes him to dangerous Consequences, without considering it is a natural Brutality, Honour, or Danger, which obliges him to attack another, or defend himself, which he would do without having learned, with this Difference; that though he have the same Brutality or Courage, the Issue of the Battle is not the same; and if he have Occasion to defend himself, would it not be better for him to be able to do it, than to leave his Life to an uncertain and dangerous Hazard.
Others say that it is enough to learn one Exercise at a time; that a Plurality of different Lessons fatigues the Mind and the Body: But as one Science disposes the Mind for the others, they having a Sort of a Correspondence one with another, so Exercises favour one another as well in regard to the Posture of the Body, as to the Freedom of Motion; besides, that learning them one after another, as each Particular would take up as much Time as all in general, this Length of Time would be too great for any one almost to succed in them.
Many People say that with Sword in Hand the Rules of the School are not observed, and that 'tis sufficient to have a good Heart: It is certain that People who are subject to this Error, are not capable of following the Rules which are to be acquired only by putting a good Theory in Practice; which by frequent Use, disposes the Eye and the Part of Executing so well, that it is almost impossible to act otherwise: And as to the Practice of Schools and of the Sword, 'tis the same; for no one ought to do any thing with the Foil, but what he knows by Experience to be without Risque, according to his Rules. In some Cases, it is true, what is esteemed good in one, is not in the other. For Example: Thrusts with the Foil are good only on the Body, and with the Sword they are good every where; and that in an Assault with the Foil, the joining is reckoned as nothing, whereas in Battle 'tis the Seal of the Victory; but except in that, it should be alike in every Thing.
Others say that if they had to do with experienced Men, they would not give them Time to put themselves in Guard; as if a Man who is expert were not always on his Guard, being more knowing, and bet
ter disposed, not only to place himself at once, by the Habit that all his Parts have contrasted, but also to surprise, and to avoid being surprised, by the Knowledge he has of Time and Measure: On the contrary, an unskilful Person being ignorant of both, is easily catch'd; besides, that his Parts being unaccustomed to place themselves regularly, or at once, must always be in a continual Motion, vainly seeking their Place, by which they give the Time, and would lose it if it were given to them.
Some, in Opposition to these, say that if they know how to keep themselves in Guard 'tis sufficient. They are in the right if the Guard be perfect, which is not to be acquired but by a Practice as long as is necessary to make them perfectly dexterous, which is not their Meaning; they thinking that it is only the placing of the Parts, which is useless, without Freedom and Vigour to manage them. These are Qualities which when accompanied with a certain regular Air, and a good Grace, shew, as soon as a Man takes a Sword or Foil in his Hand, to what Pitch of Dexterity he is arrived.
Some Men will tell you that they know enough to serve their Turn: Those
who use this Expression, as well as those I have spoken of before, sufficiently shew that they have learnt but little or nothing. In Effect it is no hard Matter to judge of the different Degrees of Ability; so that when a Man finds himself inferiour, he cannot properly say that he knows enough to serve his Turn; and a Man who is superiour, knows very well that he is not perfect, and that if his good Disposition together with his long Practice, has brought him very forward in the Art, others may know as much as he, and that therefore he is not so perfect as an unskilful Person may imagine.
I have heard several People say that they did not care to be dexterous, nor to know the five Rules, provided they knew how to defend themselves, and to push and parry well; and really they are in the right, supposing they could do that without practising what the most able Men have invented upon this Occasion.
There are People that say, that with Sword in Hand, against an able Man, there is nothing to be done but push vigorously, to disorder him: I am apt to believe that this may succeed against a Man who is not well form'd, or has not the Courage and
Resolution that is necessary; but if he has enough to keep up his Spirit, this Attack will be advantageous to him; because it cannot be done without giving him an Opportunity of getting the better; and besides, I have Reason to believe that the greatest Part of those who talk in this Manner, would hardly attempt an able Man.
It may be said that People have then fought in this Manner with Success; but as there is Difference in Persons, what succeeded with them against unskilful People or Cowards, would have been dangerous against other Men.
I have met with People who were weak enough to believe that Knowledge in Fencing takes away the Heart, saying, that seeing the Counters to every Thrust they form, by Means of that Knowledge, an Idea of evident Danger, which dissipating the Courage, and causing an Apprehension, hinders them from their Enterprise; when an unskilful Person blindly undertakes every thing. It is true that there is great Blindness in this Way of pushing, as they say, and still more in their Understanding, to think that an able Man dares not undertake or venture when the Appearance of Success leads him to it; and that an ignorant Man shall venture when
his Loss is almost certain. Is it reasonable to suppose, that a Man of natural Courage shou'd lose it, because he is assured that he is more expert than his Enemy, over whom, or perhaps his Equals, he always had the Better in Assaults, by the Help of his Knowledge and Dexterity? This, far from intimidating him, seems to assure him of Success, which is due to his habitual Practice. On the contrary, an awkard Man having seen, by his Disadvantage in School Assaults, that he has no Room to hope in Combat, the dexterous Man possessing the Qualities which procure Success, and one who had never handled a Foil, will be as much puzzled, as if he had experience'd the Disadvantage of it.
Others, with as little Reason, leave all to Chance, but the very Name is sufficient to shew that it is not to be relye'd on.
Some again say to what Purpose shall we learn to Fence, the KING had forbid Duels: It is true that this great Prince, as august for his Piety as for his Victories, was willing thereby to preserve the Blood of his bravest Subjects, who expose'd it every Day to be shed through a false Notion of Honour.
But tho' he forbid Duels, he was so far from hindering the Practice of the Sword, that he has established several Academies for the perfect Use of it, not only for Defence, but also to qualify his Subjects to put the Justice of his Measures in Execution: And it must at last be agreed to, that a Man who wears a Sword, without knowing how to use it, runs as great a Hazard, and is full as ridiculous, as a Man who carries Books about him without knowing how to read.
Many Men are of Opinion that a Man may naturally know enough to attack or defend himself, without the Assistance of Art: Man, tho' the only reasonable Creature, finds himself deprived of what irrational Creatures naturally possess; and he requires for his Improvement the Assistance and Practice of others; the grand Art of War, and that of using the Sword, which has been practised thro' so many Ages, still find new Inventions; and it may be said, that as there is no Place, in whatever Situation by Nature, but requires Art to secure it's Defence; so likewise, whatever Disposition a Man possesses, he cannot be perfect without the Assistance of Rules and Practice.
Some Men acknowledge that Skill is necessary in single Combat, but that in a Crowd or Battle it is altogether useless: I own that on these Occasions, it is less useful than in single Battle, by reason of the different Accidents, as of Cannon, Musquets, and of other Arms; besides, a Man may be attacked by several at once: But if a Man cannot avoid being hit with a Ball, and sometimes with a Sword, he may, nevertheless, by the Disposition and Agility of the Parts, more easily defend and return a Thrust: Besides, being more able to hit with the Edge or Point, he may put more Enemies to flight, or keep them at a greater Distance. If the French Troops have always been victorious, Sword in Hand, a Part of the Glory is owing to the Skill of several Officers; and I'll venture to say, that if they had all been as expert as they should have been, you might see, as well on Foot as on Horseback, in Battle as on a Breach, Actions that would be not only uncommon but prodigious. It may perhaps be said, that our Enemies have some expert Officers among them; besides, that their Number is commonly less than in France, there is as great a Difference between their Dexterity and that of the French, as between their Masters
and our's, from whom very few would have learned if the War had no suspended our Academies.[[5]]
I think it proper to finish this Chapter by confuting an Error as common, and more ridiculous, than the others; which is, of an infallible Thrust, which a great many People think that Masters reserve for dangerous Occasions, or to sell it at a dear Rate. This wonderful Thing, is called the secret Thrust. I don't know whether this Error proceeded from those who have not learned, or from the Chimera of some self-conceited Masters, who have sold to ignorant Scholars, some Thrusts as infallible, of their own Contrivance, as ridiculous and dangerous as the Simplicity of the Scholar and the Knavery of the Master are great.
To discover the Error of this Opinion you must observe two Things: First, that in Fencing there are no more than five Thrusts or Places, which I have described
in Page 27, shewing the Parade of each of them; and secondly, that there is no Motion without it's Opposite; so that as you cannot push without a Motion, there is no Thrust without it's Counter, and even several; for besides the different Positions of the Body, there is not only the Time to take, but also several Parades to favour the Risposts, which plainly shews, that doing one of these Things properly, this imaginary infallible Thrust, far from succeeding will expose him that would make it.
All the Secrets in the Thrusts that are given by an able Man, far from being an Effect of the Thrust, is only an Effect of the Occasion, and the Swiftness; or rather of the judgment and Practice: By Means of these Qualities all Thrusts are secret ones, or they wou'd be worth nothing.
All the Thrusts in Fencing are equally good, when they are made according to Rule, with Swiftness, and on the Occasions proper to them; wherefore they ought not to be neglected whilst the Time of learning them offers; not but you may stick closer to some Thrusts than to others, either because you may be better disposed for them, or because you are more used to them.
I thought that after I had exposed the Errors of several Persons, I might tell them, that it is contrary to the Rules of good Breeding, to talk of Things they do not understand; that oftentimes People, by their first Appearance, have been thought to possess the Qualities of knowing Men, but have afterwards forfeited the good Opinion which they had at first imposed on others.
FINIS.
Thrusts of Emulation for Prizes, Wagers &c.
All Thrusts from the Neckband to the Wastband are counted good.
Coup Fourrés or interchanged Thrusts are not counted on either side, except one of the Competitors has Recourse to it in order to make the Thrusts equal, then the Thrust of the other is good, and not his.
If one hits the Body and the other the Face or below the Wast at the same Time; the Thrust on the Body is counted, but not the other.
If a Man parrys with his Hand, and afterwards hit, his Thrust is not good, because by parrying with the Hand, his Antagonist's Foil is less at Liberty than if he had parryed with the Blade, and might be a Reason why he could not parry and risposte.
If a Man takes the Time, opposing with the Left-hand, and hits without receiving, his Thrust is not good, because if he had
not Opposed with the Hand, both would have hit, the Opposition of the Hand serving only to avoid, but no way contributing to the Success of the Thrust.
If in parrying, binding, or lashing the Foil, it Falls, and that the Thrust is made without Interval, it is Good.
Thrusts made with the Sword in both hands, or shifting from one Hand to the other are not good.
A Master is not to give judgment for his own Scholar.
