Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/474

422 own. Laziness is the effect of pride; labour a consequence of vanity: the pride of a Spaniard leads him to refuse labour; the vanity of a Frenchman to know how to work better than others.

All lazy nations are grave; for those who do not labour, regard themselves as the sovereigns of those who do.

If we search amongst all nations, we shall find that for the most part, gravity, pride, and indolence go hand in hand.

The people of Achim are proud and lazy; those who have no slaves hire one, if it be only to carry a quart of rice a hundred paces; they would be dishonoured if they carried it themselves.

In many places people let their nails grow, that all may see they do not work.

Women in the Indies believe it shameful for them to learn to read: this is, say they, the business of the slaves, who sing their spiritual songs in the temples of their pagods. In one tribe they do not spin; in another they make nothing but baskets and mats; they are not even to pound rice; and in others they must not go to fetch water. These rules are established by pride, and the same passion makes them followed. Rh