[101]. The islanders of Sumatra pluck out their beards in the same manner. (See Cook’s third voyage, vol. iii.)
CHAP. XI.
The Conclusion.
WILL reason, and the constant desire of nature at length determine the men of the present day to adopt the custom of long beards? I don’t believe it. The power of working such a revolution is reserved for opinion and fashion. But there are men in society who ought to be independent of these two wavering powers: these are those that govern the people, and whom religion and the state have entrusted with their interests and powers. These mediators between God and man, between the law and the citizen, who are not of the ordinary class, should be distinguished from those that are so. Regularity of conduct is not their first duty; it is the art of giving themselves, by means of their dress, an air of wisdom and gravity: all the virtues which their state requires are not sufficient, they must likewise have the appearance. People see only by their eyes; it is only physical objects that have the power of captivating their veneration or exciting their contempt. If a man, who wishes to gain the respect and confidence of the public, does not forsake the manners, customs, and fashions of the world, he will soon perceive the respect and confidence he enjoyed disappear. Not only the man, but the character with which he is invested, will lose its consideration; he will be like the wooden king which Jupiter sent to the frogs: his want of dignity drew on him the contempt and insults of his aquatic people.
Of all the exterior means that can attract the admiration of the people, a long beard is beyond a doubt the most powerful, the only one that is not sought after, the only natural one, and which cannot be reasonably taxed with vanity or pride. Our forefathers always thought, that both religion and morals were interested in the support of this ornament of man’s face. And truly, what priests were ever more respected than those old white bearded ones of the ancient religions, especially the patriarchs of the Israelites? In the beginning of Christianity, what veneration did not the grave, stern faces of the fathers of the Church command? Where are these divine men? and where the respect due to the ministers of God?
If the constant seeing of objects, which have the appearance of grandeur and majesty, stir up the soul and give it a spring; the sight of objects which have the appearance of weakness insensibly enervate and degrade it. The soul appears in the face: the man, who beholds in another, only the picture of effeminacy, soon learns to withdraw his esteem from him, and to no longer respect him; pious veneration, sincere consideration, and cordial friendship, are replaced by politeness and decorum, which are only the gloss of interest and egotism; people no longer fulfill the duties of society, nor do good for their own satisfaction; and if men’s outward, effeminate appearance is not the sole cause of all these evils, it greatly contributes towards them.
In the vast regions of the East, where long beards are highly esteemed, hospitality, filial piety, and fidelity in engagements are the premier virtues: men respect one another there. Let us take a people whom the same law subjects nearly to the same morals as ours, the Greek or Latin Christians who are under the Mahometan government: adultery, among them, is almost unknown, and yet the women are not confined; but they respect their husbands, and these husbands wear long beards.
Where is filial piety now-a-days? will the sad wrinkled faces of our old men, which incite our disgust and contempt, prevail above the sweet majesty of a long, white beard? Where is conjugal fidelity? was it ever less observed than at the time, and in the countries where men appear before a sex, that ought to be under their subjection, in an effeminate dress? How many are there, in this shameful age, the sad victims of this truth!
I repeat it; outward appearance is one of the great movers of a monarchial state, especially among a superficial nation. Deprive subjects of their popular notions of decorum, and of their customs, and people in place of their ornaments, manner, plausibleness, and grave imposing appearance: you will destroy most of the social virtues; there will be no more energy nor spirit in the people; all their mental faculties will become languid, if you cease to feed their imaginations with this aliment.
An extravagant turn of mind has produced many a hero; reason, by analysing every thing, has discouraged and slackened the course of our actions, and luxury, &c. &c. have completed the work. But what a generation is ours!