Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 20.djvu/26

10 a set of enthusiasts, breathing nothing but faction, madness, and civil discord. To read the history of the happy years of Louis XIV. one would think they were born to obey, to conquer, and to cultivate the polite arts. And, should any one consult the memoirs of the first years of Louis XV. he will find them devoted to luxury and avarice, and too regardless of everything else. The Spaniards at present are not the Spaniards of Charles V. and yet they may be so in a few years. The English of this age bear no more resemblance to the fanatics in Cromwell's time, than the monks and monsignori, that crowd the streets of Rome, do to the ancient Scipios. I doubt much whether the Swedish troops could be rendered, all of a sudden, so hardy and warlike as were those of Charles XII. We say of a man, that he was brave at such a time; in like manner we should say in speaking of a nation, they were of this or that character in such a year, and under such a government.

Should any prince or minister meet with disagreeable truths in this book, let them remember that, as they act in a public station, they ought to give the public an account of their conduct. Such is the price they must pay for their greatness. The business of a historian is to record, not to flatter; and the only way to oblige mankind to speak well of us, is to contribute all that lies in our power to their happiness and welfare.