Page:The whole familiar colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam.djvu/326

322 FAMILIAR COLLOQUIES. death, if it be very much for the good of the public ; as the Greeks, after the taking of Troy, put Astyauax, the son of Hector, to death, lest he should set a new war on foot : nor do they think it any wickedness to put a tyrant's innocent children to death after they have slain the father. And do not we Christians go to war, though at the same time the greatest share of the calamities falls on those persons that least deserve them 1 He that does the injury is saved, and the greatest part of the calamities falls upon those persons that least deserve them. And it is the same thing in our reprisals or letters of marque; he who did the wrong is safe, and the merchant is robbed, who never so imich as heard one word of it, he is so far from being chargeable with the fault. Now, if we make use of such remedies as these in things of no great moment, what think you ought to be done in a matter of the greatest conse- quence ? Pe. I am overcome by the truth of your arguments. Ga. Then take this along with you too. As soon as ever the plague begins to appear in Italy, the infected houses are shut up, and the nurses that look after the sick are forbidden to appear abroad. And though some call this inhumanity, it is the greatest humanity ; for by this prudent care the calamity is put a stop to by the burials of a few persons. But how great humanity is it to take care to preserve the lives of so many thousands ? Some think it a very inhospitable thing for the Italians, when there is but the bare report of a pestilence, to drive travellers from their very gates in an evening, and force them to lie all night in the open air. But for my part, I account it an act of piety to take care of the public good at the inconvenience of a few. Some persons look upon themselves very courageous and complaisant in daring to venture to visit one that is sick of the plague, having no manner of call at all to do it ; but what greater folly can there be than by this courage, when they come home, to bring the distemper to their wives and children, and all their family? What can be more unkind than by this complaisance to a friend, to bring those persons that are the dearest to you in the world into the danger of their lives 1 But then again, how less dangerous is the plague itself than the pox 1 The plague frequently passes by those that are nearest, and seldom affects the old, and as to those that it does affect, it either despatches them quickly or restores them to their health much sounder than they were before. But as for the pox, what is that but a lingering death, or, to speak more properly, burial ? Pe. What you say is very true, and at least the same care ought to be taken to prevent so fatal an evil as they take to prevent the spreading of the leprosy; or if this should be thought too much, nobody should let another shave him, but be his own barber. Ga. But what will you say if both of them keep their mouths shut? Pe. They would take the infection in at their nostrils. Ga. But there is a remedy for that too. Pe. What is it? Ga. They may do as the alchemists do, they may wear a mask with glasses for eyes to see through, and a breathing place for their mouths and nostrils through a horn which reaches from their jawbones down to their back. Pe. That contriv- ance might do pretty well if there were no danger from the touch of the finger, the linen, the combs, and the scissors. Ga. But, however, I think it is the best way to let the beard grow, though it be even down to the knees. Pe. Why, I am of that mind too. And then let there