356 Memoir upon the Causes of the long Duration 
rules, and the infinite domain of genius is for ever closed against 
them? Ah! by how many advantages is this magnificent pri- 
vilege compensated among these nations who are deprived of it! 
The Chinese are born for a life of indifference and tranquillity. 
If perfection in the arts, extent and depth in the sciences, are 
withheld from them, they are also ignorant of the revolutions 
and catastrophes of Europe. No ambitious views interrupt the 
stream of their enjoyments. They belong to the soil, like the 
plant which feeds them: they never experience the torments of 
curiosity; and with respect to them, their caste is that of the 
human race, and China the universe. 
In China in general the epochs of life are feebly marked by 
the advancement and decrease of intellect; and if we descend 
to the lower classes, we shudder at beholding immense genera- 
tions confusedly pressing upon each other, and continually dis- 
appearing in a fixed state of inveterate infancy. For this rea- 
‘son the vices of the muititude in China exhibit fickleness and 
imbecility, and for this reason also they abstain from the per- 
petration of those crimes which sully the annals of so many other 
nations. 
Let us compare this condition of the Chinese with that of the 
people who were formidable by the glory of their arms, and 
celebrated by the more solid conquests of their genius ; and we 
shall find on one hand a long series of happiness without noise, 
and on the other, some brilliant epochs purchased by centuries of 
calamity and crime; we shall find also (a problem which it, 
would be difficult to solve} that man is happy wherever the 
laws reward the useful arts, and that warlike or highly cultivated 
nations are so much the more removed from happiness as they 
are greedy of glory or renown. We can easily reckon the 
happy days of ancient Rome, but we cannot_count the days of 
sorrow and ignominy by which she expiated the conquest of 
the world. 
The civilization of nations-is slow, gradual, and frequently in- 
terrupted by a diversity of circumstances. We may therefore 
reasonably suppose that the civilization of the Chinese goes 
back to an era far anterior to the reign of Fohi. In his time 
they were subject to the same usages, the same laws, and the 
same form of goyetfiment. Here we may observe that several 
things seem to have been established aniong this people to se- 
parate them from all other nations: their language is a parti- 
cular instance. ‘lo reproach the Chinese with the imperfection 
of their language, is to be ignorant of the spirit and object of 
their institutions. An uniform system of education, a compli- 
cated etiquette, superstitious ceremonies, a life of effeminate in- 
dolence for the fair sex, painful for the poor, sumptuous for the 
rich, 
¢ > ‘ 
