CHARACTERS. 



381 



vate persons should think proper 

 to distinguish tliemselves and their 

 posterity, from their fellow-citi- 

 zens, and form an order of here- 

 ditary knights, in direct opposition 

 to the solennily-declared sense of 

 their country! 1 imagine it must 

 be likewise contrary to the good 

 senseofmostof those drawn into it, 

 by the persuasion of its projectors, 

 who have been too much struck 

 with the ribbands and crosses they 

 have seen hanging to the bvitton- 

 holes of foreign othcers. And I 

 suppose those who disapprove of 

 it, have not hitherto given it much 

 opposition, from a principle some- 

 what like that of your good mo- 

 ther, relating to punctilious per- 

 sons, who are always exacting 

 little observances of respect ; that 

 " if people can be pleased with 

 small matters, it is a pity but tliey 

 should have them." Jn this view, 

 perhaps, I should not myself, if 

 my advice had been asked, have 

 objected to their wearing their 

 ribband and badge themselves ac- 

 cording to their fancy, though I 

 certainly should to the entailing it 

 as an honor on their posterity. 

 For honor, worthily obtained, (as 

 that for example of our officers) 

 is in its nature a personal thing, 

 and inconuimnicable to any but 

 those who had some shaie in ob- 

 taining it. Thus among the Chi- 

 nese, the most ancient, and from 

 long experience the wisest of na- 

 tions, honor does not descend, but 

 ascends. If a man from his learn- 

 ing, his wisdom, or his valour, is 

 promoted by the Emperor to the 

 rank of Mandarin, his parents are 

 immediately entitled to all the 

 same ceremonies of respect from 

 the people, that are established as 

 due to the Mandarin himself ; on 

 the suj)po>ition that it must have 



been owing to the education, in- 

 struction, and good example af- 

 forded him by his pajvnts, that he 

 was rendered capable of serving 

 the public. This ascending honor 

 is therefore useful to the state, as 

 it encourages parents to give their 

 children a good and virtuous edu- 

 cation. But the descending honor, 

 to a posterity who could have no 

 shaie in obtaining it, is not only 

 groundless and absurd, but often 

 hurtful to that posterity, since it is 

 apt to make them pioud, disdain- 

 ing to be employed in useful arts, 

 and thence falling into poverty, and 

 all the meannesses, servility, and 

 wretchedness attending it; which 

 is the present case with much of 

 what is c.-illeti the noblesse in 

 Europe. Or if, to keep up the 

 dignity of the family, estates are 

 entailed entire on the eldest male 

 heir, another pest to industry and 

 improvement of tlie coiuitry is 

 intioduced, which will be followed 

 by all the odious- mixture of pride 

 and beggary, and idleness, tliPt 

 have half depopulated and decul- 

 tivated Spain ; occasioning con- 

 tiimal extinction of families by the 

 discouragements of marriage, and 

 neglect in the improvement of 

 estates. I wish therefore that the 

 Cincinnati, if they must go on 

 with their project, would direct 

 the badges of their order to be 

 worn by their fathers and mothers, 

 instead of handing them down to 

 their children. It would be a good 

 precedent, and might have good 

 effects. It would a!so be a kind 

 of obedience to the fcmrth com- 

 mandment, in which God enjoins 

 us to honor our father and mother, 

 but has no where directed us to 

 honor our children. And cer- 

 tainly no mode of honoring those 

 immcili-ue authors of our being 



can 



