NICOLAS KLIM’S UNDERGROUND JOURNEY
by Ludvig Holbergtranslation © Dennis List, 2000
CHAPTER 7
In which the author discusses affairs of state in Potua,
On their policies
and lists 20 precepts for new monarchs.
Previous chapter • Contents • Home • Next chapter
In the Potuan empire, a hereditary and linear succession has flourished for a thousand years, and still continues. Their history shows that once they departed from this succession. As it seemed reasonable that rulers should surpass their subjects in wisdom and intellect, it followed that virtue was more important than birth, and that the most worthy and excellent subject should be made the King.
So the ancient succession was set aside, and by general acclamation the supreme power was conferred on a philosopher named Rabbacku. At first he governed with such prudence and mildness that he seemed a model for his successors. But these happy times didn't last long, and the Potuans were convinced too late of the falseness of the saying that "a kingdom ruled by a philosopher is a happy one."
Because the new ruler was raised from poverty to the height of power, he did not receive the respect which is the great support of any monarch's power. Those who had recently been his equals or superiors could hardly be brought to bow to him, or to obey him as subjects should obey their rulers. Therefore when they were given any strict or difficult commands, they muttered away, treating the prince not as he was then, but as he had been earlier.
Thus he had to flatter them - and even this didn't work, because is followers still received his commands with frowns and reluctance.
Rabbacku then saw that other means were necessary to keep the subjects to their duties. He changed his approach, and treated his people severely. With that, the sparks that had lain concealed under the ashes now burst into flame. The subjects rose in arms against their prince, and as soon as one rebellion was subdued, another began. Finally, the ruler realized that the government could not survive except under a sovereign of illustrious descent, whose high birth might earn respect from the people. Thus he abdicated in favour of the prince who would otherwise have ruled.
With the ancient family being restored, peace was restored too, and all those storms which had disturbed the peace immediately subsided. From then onwards, it became a capital crime to attempt any innovation in the succession of rulers.
The empire is now hereditary, and probably will remain so till the end of time, unless the most urgent necessity obliges the Potuans to change this rule. Mention is made in the Potuan annals of a philosopher who worked out a way of breaking this law. His advice was to let the royal family continue, but, when a sovereign died, to choose the most virtuous son, regardless of age.
Having proposed this law, the philosopher submitted himself to the usual test: to have his neck in a noose, while they debated the usefulness of the proposed law. The senate was assembled, the votes cast up, and the proposal was condemned as detrimental to the commonwealth. The senators believed it would be the source of perpetual trouble, and would sow the seeds of discord between the royal progeny: that therefore it was better for the old law to continue, and the right of succession should pass to the first-born, even though a younger one might excel in mental endowment. As the law did not pass, the philosopher was strangled.
These are the only type of criminals that were punished with death. The Potuans believe that every change, no matter how well meant, creates disturbance and commotion, unsettling the state. If the change is rash and ill-digested, it would be followed by inevitable ruin.
The power of the Potuan king, though subject to no laws, is a paternal rather than regal one. As the Potuans love justice, power, and liberty, things that are incompatible elsewhere here go hand in hand.
Among the laws of this kingdom, the most salutary is the one which tries to preserve equality between the subjects - as far as the nature of government will allow. You see here no different ranks, or titles of honour. Inferiors obey their superiors, the younger obey the older, and that is all.
The subterranean archives show that some ages ago, a class system was used, and established by law. But these distinctions became the source of infinite disorders. It was an intolerable evil for an elder brother to make way for his younger, or a parent to his child; they would shun each other's company,and this put a stop of conversation and good fellowship.
But these were not the only grievances. Eventually, the more noble and worthy trees, whom Nature had blessed with the strongest capabilities and the greatest number of branches, were seated in the lowest places at feasts and assemblies. No tree of real virtue could bring himself to sue for a mark of pre-eminence, which his soul despised. On the other hand, the more profligate and worthless trees would incessantly bother their royal master with petitions, till they finally were granted a title that would hide the poverty of their nature. Finally, titles were regarded as certain indications of the most vile trees. To strangers their festivals and meetings were the most absurd spectacle that could be imagined. People would see brambles and bushes in the most honourable seats, while the lofty cedar and noble oak adorned by nature with 10 or 12 rows of branches, took the most distant and obscure seats.
Even the ladies had titles: they were Councillors of the Household, Councillors of State, and Councillors of Court. This caused more discord among the weaker sex than among the stronger. This vain ambition rose so much that those to whom nature had been so unkind as to give them only two or three branches, had absurd titles of "Trees with 10 or 12 branches." Such vanity is as ridiculous as if the most deformed monster in nature should pretend to be a beauty, or a man of the meanest origin should give himself the airs of a man of quality.
When this evil had reached its highest pitch, and the kingdom was on the brink of ruin, with every mortal grasping at hollow names and dishonourable titles, a native of Keba was brave enough to propose a law abolishing this custom.
The brave man was brought before the senate with a noose around his neck. The voting was unanimously in favour of his proposal. He was crowned with a garland of flowers and led into the city in triumph, amid the shouted acclamation of the people. Later, when the full advantages of the repeal of that law were discovered, the proposer was awarded the honour of Kadoki, or high chancellor.
Ever since this time, the law for preserving equality among subjects has been strictly followed. Yet the repeal did not put a stop of all emulation, because everybody then tried to shine by true virtue and real merit.
It appears from the Empire's annals that since then only one person has attempted (twice) to revive the distinction of dignities. For his first effort, he was condemned to venae-section, and since he persisted in the attempt, he was then banished to the firmament.
So now no titles or ranks of honour exist here - only the supreme magistrate declares some professions to be nobler than others. However, nobody has a right to assume the chief seats in public assemblies. This small difference we find in the king's edicts, which generally end with these words:
WE COMMAND AND ENJOIN ALL HUSBANDMEN, INVENTORS OF MACHINERY, MERCHANTS, TRADESMEN, PHILOSOPHERS, OFFICERS OF THE COURT, etc."
I was told that in the archives of the prince, this catalog of honour was preserved:
1. Those who had helped the commonwealth in its greatest straits, with their wealth.This series of honours seemed very ridiculous to me, as it must to everyone on our globe. I guessed at some of the reasons for this inverted order, what logic it was based on, and the arguments the subterraneans would use to defend it. On the whole, though, it was a paradox that I could not understand.
2. Officers who work without salary or pension.
3. Husbandmen with eight or more branches.
4. Husbandmen with seven or fewer branches.
5. Inventors and constructors of manufacturing machines.
6. Workers in the most essential occupations.
7. Philosophers and graduate doctors, of both sexes.
8. Artisans.
9. Merchants.
10. Officers of the court, with a salary of 500 rupats.
11. Officers of the court, with a salary of 1000 rupats.I also noted that the more benefit anybody received from the government, the more modestly he carried himself. Thus I often saw Bospolak, the richest man in Potua, greet everybody with such humility that he lowered all his branches, and by bowing his head, testified to every common tree his gratefulness for public favours.
I was told that this was quite proper: as the greatest beneficiary of public money, he was also the greatest debtor of the government. No law required him to be so humble, but as the Potuans in general act widely, they make a voluntary virtue of it, holding themselves bound to grateful behaviour. This is very different from our world, in which those whom their country has loaded with wealth and titles receive their inferiors with a contemptuous air.
The most deserving subjects of all, and those who win the greatest honour and respect, are the parents of numerous children. These are the heroes of the subterranean world, and their memory is held sacred by posterity. They are also the only persons awarded the name of Great. Not so with us, where the destroyers of mankind are given that title. You can easily guess what the Potuans would think of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, each of whom, after killing millions, died without offspring.
I remember seeing at Keba this epitaph for a husbandman: "Here lies Jochtan the great, father of 30 children, the hero of his time." However, to earn this glory, mere procreation is not enough - unless those children are also liberally and virtuously educated.
When enacting laws, they proceed with deliberation equal to that of the ancient Romans. Any proposed new law is displayed in courts and public places throughout the city. The citizens are free to examine it, and send their comments to the College of Wise Men, which is set up for this very purpose. In that college, all relevant information is weighed up, concerning that law. After it has gone through all this examination, it is offered to the prince for his approval. This delay may seem absurd to some, but the consequence is that their laws are immortal. I was told that none one of their laws in the last 500 years has needed the slightest alteration.
The sovereign keeps a list of the most worthy trees, together with certificates of their learning from the Karatti, and of their life and morals from their neighbours. Thus the government is never short of suitable persons to fill vacant positions. It is worth noting that nobody has a right to live in any city or village without a certificate from the place they came from, and security for their future behaviour.
After a law has been enacted, any criticism of it is prohibited, on pain of death. Thus in their politics, their liberty seems more restrained than in their religion. The reason they give is this:
"If anybody errs in matters of faith, it is at his own peril. But if anybody calls into question the established laws, or tries to pervert their sense by some new interpretation, he is an enemy to society."Something has already been said about the state and economy of the court. I have mentioned that the Kadoki, or High Chancellor, is the supreme officer. Next to him is the Smirian, or High Treasurer. This post was in my time held by a widow of seven branches, named Rahagna. For her eminent integrity and other great endowments, she was advanced to an office of that distinction. She had long presided at the head of the Treasury, even many years before the death of her husband. Though well versed in the state of the finances, he was entirely ruled by the advice of his wife, and never ventured to act on his own judgement. Hence he was more her deputy than her husband. The edicts were issued in his name, as she was often hindered by childbirth or illness, but nothing was regarded as authentic until her signature or seal was affixed to it.Rahagna had two brothers. One was a butcher and the other butler to the court. Though they had a very exalted sister, they did not dare to aim at anything greater, because of their limited abilities. This shows how fairly preferments are distributed here.
This lady, though engaged in the most arduous affairs of the kingdom, at the same time suckled an infant born soon after the death of her husband. This I thought was too lowly an employment for such a great matron. When I told mentioned this, I was told "Do you imagine that Nature has given women breasts only as an ornament, and not for the nourishment of their children? The quality of the milk and the temper of the nurse have a huge influence in forming the disposition of the infant. And mothers who disdain to nourish their own children dissolve one of the finest and strongest ties of Nature." Thus there's hardly a woman throughout all these dominions who does not suckle her own children.
The Heir Apparent to the crown was a boy aged six, in whom it was easy to see the seeds of many great virtues. Nature had been so generous as to give him six pairs of branches - a rare circumstance at so tender an age. His preceptor, the wisest tree in the whole empire, instructed him in knowledge of the Creator, History, Mathematics, and Moral Philosophy. I saw the moral and political compendium which he compiled for use by his pupil. The title of it was Mahalda Libab Helil, which in the subterranean language means "A key to government". It is a collection of precepts and maxims, some of which I remember clearly. They include:
1. Don't believe criticism or praise too easily. Suspend judgement until you have certain knowledge.
2. When anybody is accused and convicted of a crime, examine what good he has ever done. Comparing his good actions with his band, pronounce sentence according to reason.
3. The sovereign may as safely confide in counselors who disagree and argue with him, as with the most agreeable subjects. For those who expose themselves to some danger regard the welfare of their state more dearly than their private safety.
4. Let none enter the Senate but men with large estates. Their private advantage is also the public's advantage. This with a movable estate look on the kingdom not as their country but as an inn, and themselves as travellers.
5. You may use bad men, if they happen to be fit for a particular business - but never award them special privileges. If a wicked man should be given favour, the worst of subjects will rise under his patronage, and work themselves into office.
6. The most suspect of all are those who continually haunt the court. They have either committed, or are preparing to commit, the most daring crimes.
7. Be very slow to reward those who are most impatient for honours. Just as nobody begs unless poor and hungry, nobody pursues privilege except those who despair to rise through merit and real virtue
(The 8th precept is a very useful one, but the odious example that accompanied it did not please me at all.)
8. No subject is to be considered totally useless. Even the dullest people may serve some good purpose - and may even be made to excel in some point. For example, one excels in judgement, another in ingenuity. One's excellence may be in the mind, another's in the body. This one shall make a good judge; another, a better advocate. One shall have a vast power of invention. another shall labour at the execution of a work. Thus few people are totally unprofitable. That some creatures seem so is not the fault of the creator, but of those who fail to see where their main strength lies, and to follow that clue.We have seen (says the Preceptor) in our own age, one of the super-terranean animals, who by the unanimous vote of all was deemed an unprofitable load on our earth, because his judgement was too hasty. Yet we find that his great swiftness of foot is very useful to us.
(On reading this paragraph, I could not help saying that this is an honest preface, but a scandalous conclusion.)9. A prince must be very cautious in the choice of a Preceptor to his heir. Let him choose one of remarkable piety and eminent learning, since during the reign of the successor, the welfare of the state will be determined. What we learn in tender youth later becomes our nature. Thus it is necessary that the young prince's tutor shall be a lover of his country, that he may instill into his prince a love for his subjects - the principal mark that all his precepts should be aimed at.
10. The prince must study the genius of his government, and conform to that. If he wants to correct the errors of his subjects, he should do it by his own example rather than from laws.
...Velocius et citius nos11. Allow no idlers, for they are a dead weight on their country. Through constant industry, the republic builds its strength. There is no room for pernicious contrivances against the state. Thus it is safer for the state to allow the subjects their insignificant diversions than to indulge them in a laziness which would be a source of conspiracies.
Corrumpunt vitiorum exempla domestica, magnis
Cum subeant animos auctoribus.12. Preserve peace among your subjects. However it would not be amiss to encourage rivalry among your counsellors, as it leads to the discovery of truth. A skilful judge will often extract the truth from the passions of the advocates.
13. You would act wisely in urgent situations if you listened to each member of the senate separately, rather than when convened. In a full senate, where opinions are openly stated, the most fluent speaker often carries all before him in a torrent of eloquence, and so the sovereign hears only one opinion.
14. Punishments are as necessary as rewards. The former put a stop to evil, and the latter encourage goodness. Hence it may not be wrong to reward a bad subject for a good action - this may incite others to do their duty vigorously.
15. When choosing candidates for public posts, pay principal regard to that person's aptitude for that particular work. Though piety and integrity are commendable virtues, we can be deceived by appearances. Everybody would affect such behaviour if he believed that a show of virtue was the road to honours. He would profess the utmost probity. Besides, it is no easy matter to form a judgement of a person's virtues till he is admitted to employment, in which (as if on a stage) he will exhibit his virtues.
It is much harder for the stupid to conceal their ignorance than for a hypocrite to cover his impiety, or a knave his roguery. Besides, ability and virtue are not opposite: they are often found united in the same character. If a person of great ability is also virtuous, nothing more can be found wanting. An ignorant person is either good or bad. If bad, who knows what monsters are produced by ignorance and wickedness together? If good, his dullness will hinder the exercise of his virtues. And even if he himself cannot conceive of committing a crime, the servant whose assistance he must use may do so.
A foolish landlord often has a roguish bailiff, and a dull judge a knavish clerk who fearlessly commits frauds under the protection of his master. Therefore, in promotions, let ability be the main factor.
16. Don't hastily censure somebody as too ambitious, for aiming at an employment that he is unfit for, or for that reason exclude him from all hopes of preferment. If, in the distribution of public honours, you adhere too closely to this rule, the most ambitious will soon pretend humility, as a safe shortcut to preferment. Thus the sovereign would, contrary to his inclination, prefer the most forward worshippers of fortune. He would reward those who at the time of any vacancy pretend to fly from the court and retire into the shade, telling their friends that they are averse to grandeur.
To illustrate this point, the Preceptor gave an example of a person who was very keen to win a vacant position. This man wrote to the prince:
"Though I have heard that Your Serene Highness has designated this vacant position for me, I must beg leave to decline an office to which I profess myself unequal. I entreat Your Majesty to confer it on some more suitable person. Being perfectly content with my present station, I aspire to nothing greater."The prince, moved by this attestation of humility, appointed this hypocrite to the position. But he soon learned that he'd been abused: no minister ever acted with such pride, or such weakness.17. To appoint a poor man as head of the treasury is the same as putting a hungry man in your pantry. Nor is a covetous rich man a better choice. The former has nothing, and the latter thinks nothing is enough.
18. Let there be no establishments for the maintenance of slothful trees. Throughout this empire, the monasteries and colleges admit only the diligent: those who by some useful manufacture advance the interest of the republic, or who by their learning can be an ornament to their society. A few monasteries are to be excepted, to maintain the aged and helpless, who are exempted from all labour.
19. When disorders of the state bring calls for reform, proceed slowly. Trying to extirpate evils at a single blow is absurd as prescribing simultaneous purging, bleeding, and vomiting to a patient.
20. Those who boldly attempt everything, undertaking a multitude of actions at the same time, are either fools who have not compared their own powers with the weight of their works, or else they are wicked and unnatural members of their society, who put their own interests ahead of the commonwealth. A prudent man will try his arms before he takes up his burden, and an honest man, who loves his country, will not transact its affairs superficially.