To this fine Tale they added, that from the two Persons were descended the Inhabitants of their Country, which they thought was the only Part of the World that was inhabited. But as soon as the Portuguese arriv'd, and told his Adventures, they were convinc'd, that they were not the only People of the World, and that the pretended Labour of the Earth was a meer Fable; which was follow'd by the Revolution that I just now mention'd. From that Time, the Kings and their Subjects liv'd in great Tranquillity and Harmony, spoke extremely well of one another, and indeed, I always observ'd that the People had an infinite Respect for their Sovereign, and that the King on his Part was fond of giving Demonstrations of his Tenderness to all that approach'd his Presence. He was civil to all Men in general, and as to us in particular, 'tis certain that he was so beyond measure.
CHAP. IX.
Which contains several very curious Conversations betwixt the King and our Author.
'Tis not to be imagin'd how assiduous this Monarch was at first to see us at work, and how attentive to hear us talk of our Part of the World. Above all, he took an unspeakable Pleasure in conversing about the Sciences, and particularly Philosophy, in which he exercis'd himself very much: And we were seldom together, but he put some Question to me in Natural Philosophy, and Mechanics, or Astronomy.
He was mightily fond of the System of Copernicus, and to his Praise be it spoken, I made him easily comprehend all the different Motions which the Earth was under a Necessity of making to answer the apparent Motions according to the Opinion of the Vulgar, which are distinguish'd by Diurnal from West to East, by annual round the Sun, the Motion of the fix'd Stars, and the two Motions of Vibration ascrib'd heretofore to the Crystalline Heavens. For I took a Bowl, and having mark'd on it the chief Points and Circles of a Terrestrial Globe, I shew'd him how the Earth turn'd from West to East round its Centre in a Natural Day, and in the Space of 365 Days 6 Hours wanting 11 Minutes, round the Sun, which I plac'd in the Centre of the World. I afterwards observ'd to him how this annual Motion was not perform'd upon the Equator but according to the Ecliptic, because the Axis of the Earth, instead of being perpendicular to the Plan of the annual Circle, inclines to it on both Sides 23 Degrees 30 Minutes which we call the Motion of Parallelism. Then we discours'd of the fourth Motion occasion'd by the Impulsion or Pressure which the Earth feels more or less according to the Places where it passes in its Tour; for by that means it happens that its Axis rises or falls sometimes several Minutes, and that consequently the Ecliptic appears nearer the Equator at certain Times than at others. This is also explain'd perfectly well by the subtile Matter which enters and passes by the Vortexes; but I did not choose then to expatiate upon a Point which perhaps would have puzzled him, or at least requir'd more Time. As to the Calculation of Eclipses, this Prince understood it as well as Copernicus himself; he reason'd very well about Comets, Planets, Meteors, and all the most agreeable Parts of Natural Philosophy. But he was absolutely ignorant of the Cause of the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea, which he had indeed scarce ever heard of; and he was all in Admiration to hear of the Proportion of Spaces which Falling Bodies pass through in certain determin'd Times, of the Vibration of Pendulums, of the Force of the Lever, and in general of every thing relating to Statics.
Fire-Arms were also quite unknown to him, but the bad Use that they were put to, took off his liking to them. Nothing affected him with so much Horror as the Narratives I gave him now and then, of our Wars and bloody Battles. He could not conceive how People could be so silly as to rush into Slaughter, and to the Destruction of their Species, for such trifling Causes, and often only for gratifying the Covetousness, Ambition, or Caprice of one Man. 'Tis near four Centuries ago, he said to me one Day, that the King then reigning was declar'd incapable, because under pretence of his Origin and such a miraculous Birth, as distinguish'd him from other Men, he treated his Subjects at his Will and Pleasure. You would have said, added he, that his Vanity was sufficient to excite him to great Undertakings in order to maintain himself on the Throne; but so far from it, that he scarce said a Word in his own Vindication, and to appease the Wrath of those who sent him to the Mines; and when he heard it was his People's Will, he instantly obey'd. And I swear to you, that instead of exposing Armies to the Fury of my Enemies, I would rather by a thousand times be the meanest Man in my Kingdom, than keep the Sovereignty at the Expence of one single Man's Life.
I own, said I, that there is something cruel and inhuman in War; but just Wars are often enter'd into, and then God himself gives a Sanction to them, and as a Mark that he takes Pleasure in them, he has term'd himself the God of Hosts. O Heavens! said the King, What's that you say? I am angry to hear you talk so. 'Tis very well for you that none of our Judges hears you, for tho' you are but a Stranger, you would pass your Time very ill; because, according to our Principles, you could not have utter'd a more enormous Blasphemy. I ask your Pardon, Sir, said I; the most holy Men that have written our Law, affect in many Places thus to characterise the Deity: To him alone they ascribe all the Victories and Conquests obtained by the Jews, and they put him at the Head of their Troops like a formidable General, who demolishes every thing in his way. I am far from thinking it a Crime to tread in the Steps of such great Men, and to have their Lives, Precepts, and Sentiments in Veneration; yet I have so much Respect for your Person, that I had rather be for ever silent, than give you any Cause of Disgust. What, said the King, do your Legislators talk in this Strain? Really, I think it very extraordinary that a God, who, according to you, forbids the shedding of one Man's Blood, should authorise a general Slaughter of whole Nations. There is undoubtedly a great deal of Passion and Cruelty in your Laws; the very Thought of it makes me shiver. Let us talk no more of it, for fear I should say more than you would choose to hear. I am really charm'd with your Sciences, but your Religion and your Politicks don't please me at all. That's because you don't understand 'em, Sir, said I; I want Books, and am not a Divine good enough to convert you; but we have a thousand Doctors in our Country capable of pointing out so many Marks of the Divinity in our Bible, and to shew you the Contents of it so clearly that you wou'd be forc'd to give your Consent to it as much as to any Demonstration in the Mathematics.
Very well, reply'd the King; but till such time as we see one, tell me, how those Armies which you talk to me so much of, are compos'd and subsisted, how they fight, what Reward the Conquerors have, and what Profit the Widows and Orphans; whether such Wars have no End, and whether you never have a Peace. Very seldom, Sir, said I: The Earth is immensely great, in comparison to your Empire; there's a vast Number of such Kingdoms in the Parts from whence we came. So many great Lords cannot possibly live long without a Misunderstanding: The Interests of the Royal Families, more than those of private Men, often cause Broils. Jealousy, the Desire of Aggrandisement, Precedence, the Diversity of Religions almost in every Kingdom; all these things are Causes of Ruptures, which are seldom accommodated till there has been a great Effusion of Blood. We have an Empire call'd Spain, in the Bowels of which a War broke out some time ago, which rag'd fifty or sixty Years, and cost the Lives of a Million of Men.
The prevailing Religion of that Country, and in which I was born, is the Christian, which differs extremely from all others; nor have all that profess it the same Sentiments in every respect. The greatest part pretend, 'tis not sufficient to worship one God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, but that Prayers should also be made to the departed Saints, to the end that they may intercede for us in Paradise. The Prelates of this Church injoin the Necessity of believing Purgatory, which is a Place full of Fire and Brimstone, where, after Death, Souls are to fry in Torment, for a certain Number of Years, more or less, according to the Crimes they have committed, that they may be enabled to appear pure and undefiled before the Throne of God. This same Church demands a Confession that Jesus Christ is alive still in Flesh and Bones, and altogether as large, as when he was crucify'd, in a Wafer or Piece of Paste no bigger than the Palm of one's Hand, which the Priest gives to every Layman on certain Days of the Year appropriated to that Ceremony, &c. Many People finding these Maxims as inconsistent with common Sense, as they are with the Precepts contain'd in the sacred Book of our Laws, thought in their Consciences they should be to blame if they observ'd them. The Clergy perceiving this Disorder in the Church, erected a severe Tribunal, which impos'd great Penalties on those that took the Liberty to reform the Divine Worship. To this we must add, that besides the Clergy who drain'd the People's Purses, and took their Money for reading Prayers, by which they pretended effectually to deliver the Souls of their Ancestors out of Purgatory, the King's Officers loaded them every Day with new Taxes, insomuch that the most resolute Inhabitants, in order to shake off the Yoke, form'd secret Cabals, and made themselves Masters of some wall'd Cantons or Cities. Thereupon Commerce decay'd, the Labourers suffer'd for want of Work, and a Foreign Prince puts himself at the Head of the Malecontents, who are join'd by other Monarchs jealous of the King of Spain's Greatness, who only seek to raise themselves upon his Ruin. Companies of Tradesmen are form'd, who are glad to serve for their Subsistence. Of these Companies, which consist of 100 Men, more or less, with their proper Officers, are form'd Regiments, and of these Regiments Armies, which are commanded by Generals experienced in the Art of War, who take care to furnish them with Arms, Clothes, and all sorts of Ammunition, at the Expence of the Public, whom the Magistrates charge with Subsidies for that Purpose. When the Forces are ready in the Field, a thousand Artifices and Stratagems are invented and made use of to surprise the Enemy; at length they come to close Engagement, and after they have fought a whole Day many times, it happens sometimes that the greatest Advantage which the Conqueror has to boast of is, having kept the Field of Battle, which costs him upon those Occasions 15 or 20000 fighting Men, while perhaps his Enemy retreats about 500 Paces, with the Loss of not half that Number. When the one has intirely defeated the other, he improves his Victory by gaining Countries and Towns, where sometimes he lays all waste with Fire and Sword. Mean time his Adversary endeavours to recruit himself, either by raising new Troops, or by contracting Alliances with other Princes whom he draws into his Party. Then he returns to the Charge, when Fortune declares sometimes for the one, sometimes for the other, till their Men and Money are exhausted, and they are forc'd to come to an Accommodation; which is sure to last not long, because there are turbulent Spirits that never want Pretences to disturb the Tranquillity.