John Moore

“ Public affairs, so apt to disturb the repose of many worshipful citizens of London, never give a Frenchman uneasiness. If the arms of France are successful, he rejoices with all his heart;—if they are unfortunate, he laughs at the commanders with all his soul. If his mistress is kind, he celebrates her goodness and commends [370] her taste;—if she is cruel, he derides her folly in the arms of another.
No people ever were so fond of amusement, and so easily amused. ”

“ This is necessary before we can form a just idea of any nation; but perhaps more so with respect to the English, than any other: for in no nation are the education, sentiments, and pursuits of those who travel, so different from those of the people who remain at home.
The first class is composed of a few invalids, a great many young men raw from the university, and some idle men of fortune, void of ambition, and incapable of application, who, every now and then, saunter through Europe, because they know not how to employ their time at home. ”

“ By avoiding gaming he will secure one kind of independence, and at the same time keep possession of another, by continuing the habit of study, till the acquisition of knowledge has become one of his most pleasing amusements.—Unlike those wretched mortals, who, to drag through the dreary hours of life, are continually obliged to have recourse to the assistance of others, this fortunate turn of mind will add to his own happiness, while it renders him more useful to, and less dependent on, society. ”

“ People of great sensibility seldom endure it long; their fond [414] desire of immortality overturns every fabric which scepticism had attempted to raise in their minds; they cannot abide by a doctrine which plucks from the heart a deeply-rooted hope, tears asunder all those ties of humanity, affection, friendship, and love, which it has been the business of their lives to bind, and which they expect will be eternal. Since sensibility renders the heart averse to scepticism, and inclinable to devotion, we may naturally expect to find women more devout than men ”

“ There are instances of Englishmen, who, while on their travels, shock foreigners by an ostentatious preference of England to all the rest of the world, and ridicule the manners, customs, and opinions of every other nation, yet on their return to their own country, immediately assume foreign manners, and continue during the remainder of their lives to express the highest contempt for every thing that is English.—— I hope he will entirely avoid such perverse and ridiculous affectation. ”

“ All the grimace and parade to which people in my situation are accustomed from their cradle, have not made me so vain, as to imagine that I am in any essential quality superior to other men; and if I had any tendency to such an opinion, the surest way to get rid of it, is the method I take, of mixing in society, where I have daily occasions of finding myself inferior in talents to those I meet with. ”

“ I am fully convinced, that Nature is continually producing some individuals in every nation of a finer organization, with an infinitely greater aptitude for science of every kind, and whose minds are capable of a more sublime and extensive range of thought, than is attainable by the common run of mankind with any possible degree of culture. This natural superiority is what I call genius. ”

“ A government, supported by an army of 180,000 men, may safely disregard the criticisms of a few speculative politicians, and the pen of the satirist. While his Majesty retains the power of disposing of the lives and properties of his subjects as his wisdom shall direct, he allows them the most perfect freedom to amuse themselves with as many remarks or jokes on his conduct as they please.
The mind of this monarch is infinitely superior to that gossiping disposition, by which the despicable race of whisperers and retailers of scandal thrive at some courts. ”

“ She said, she knew it was her duty to adore the Creator of the universe, and she fulfilled it to the best of her power, but she could not divest herself of a certain degree of restraint in her devotions to him, or even to her Saviour; but the blessed Mary being herself a woman, and acquainted with all the weakness and delicacies of the sex, she could to her open her heart with a degree of freedom which it was not possible for her to use to any of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.—Regardez sa physionomie, added she, pointing to the picture,—mon Dieu, qu’elle est douce, qu’elle est gracieuse! ”

“ When you recollect that Sans-Souci is a solitary mansion, about half a league from Potsdam, where all the guards are shut up, and therefore could be of no manner of use, in case of any attempt on the King’s person during the night; when you consider that he, who lies thus defenceless [190] and exposed, is a despotic monarch, who governs by the dictates of his own will and understanding, without minding the ill-humour or discontent of any man, or any set of men, and who, no doubt, has many inveterate enemies, you must confess, that all these circumstances argue great magnanimity. ”

“ This very splendid entertainment was given to the Arch-duke, and the Princess of Modena, whose usual residence is at Milan.—The Empress, thus surrounded by her offspring, appeared cheerful and happy.—She seemed to enjoy the vivacity, and sympathize with the gaiety, of the company.—She is greatly beloved by her own children, and by her subjects in general, whom she also considers as her children in a greater degree than is usual for sovereigns. ”

“ Some of the best company of this place were assembled on the occasion, and we were here made acquainted with old Field-Marshal Sporken, and other people of distinction. Hanover is a neat, thriving and agreeable city. It has more the air of an English town than any other I have seen in Germany, and the English manners and customs gain ground every day among the inhabitants. The genial influence of freedom has extended from England to this place. Tyranny is not felt, and ease and satisfaction appear in the countenances of the citizens. ”

“ Having left Presburg, we travelled eight posts across a very fertile country to the palace of Estherhasie, the residence of the Prince of that name. He is the first in rank of the Hungarian nobility, and one of the most magnificent subjects in Europe. He has body-guards of his own, all genteel-looking men, richly dressed in the Hungarian manner.
The palace is a noble building, lately finished, and situated near a fine lake. The apartments are equally grand and commodious: the furniture more splendid than almost any thing I have seen in royal palaces. ”

“ The house itself has nothing extraordinary in its appearance; but the gardens are as fine as gardens planned in the Dutch taste, and formed on ground perfectly level, can be. The orangery is reckoned equal to any in Europe. Here is a kind of rural theatre, where plays may be acted during the fine weather. There is a spacious amphitheatre cut out in green seats for the spectators; a stage in the same taste, with rows of trees for side-scenes, and a great number of arbours and summer-rooms, surrounded by lofty hedges, for the actors to retire and dress in. ”

“ If men of fortune and character adopted the practice of gaming upon any principle of reasoning, there might be a greater probability of their being reasoned out of it: but most of them begin to game, not with any view or fixed plan of increasing their wealth, but merely as a fashionable amusement, or perhaps by way of showing the liberality of their spirit, and their contempt for money. ”

“ All the houses, with any appearance of magnificence, are old, and it is not probable, that any new ones will be built in that style: for the Bohemian nobility, who are in circumstances to bear such an expence, live at Vienna, and the trade and manufactures of this town are not sufficient to enable any of the mercantile people to build fine houses.
In whatever degree this city may have dwindled in wealth and magnificence, the piety of the inhabitants certainly flourishes as much as ever. ”

“ Since such a number of men all over Europe are doomed to this state of constraint, it is much to be lamented that, from the nature of the service, the doom should fall on the useful, industrious peasantry, who, when uncontrolled by cruel and absurd policy, pass their days in cheerfulness, tasting every real pleasure without the nausea of satiety, or the stings of remorse, and perhaps, of all mankind, have the greatest enjoyment of life. ”

“ Every thing must be considered as of importance by a soldier, replied my Prussian acquaintance, which his officer orders him to do. In all probability, the fault was involuntary; but it is not always possible to distinguish involuntary faults from those that happen through negligence. To prevent any man from hoping that his negligence will be forgiven as involuntary, all blunders are punished, from whatever cause they happen; the consequence of which is, that every man is more attentive and alert than he would otherwise be. ”

“ I never had any delight in contemplating or exposing the dark side of human nature; but there are some shades so obvious, that you cannot open your eyes without observing them. The satisfaction that many people enjoy in reading libels, wherein private characters are traduced, is of that number. If to be abused in pamphlets and news-papers is considered as adversity, the truth of Rochefoucault’s maxim is uncontrovertible:—Dans l’adversité de nos meilleurs amis, nous trouvons toujours quelquechose qui ne nous déplait pas. ”

“ The most powerful of all arguments against entirely declining to appear at the public table of the inn, is, that in this country it is customary for the ladies themselves, when on a journey, to eat there; and my partiality for the table d’Hôte may possibly be owing in some degree to my having met, at one of them, with two of the handsomest women that I have seen since I have been in this country, which abounds in female beauty. ”

“ I therefore think these are more essentially necessary to the happiness of people of high rank and great fortune, than to those in confined circumstances.
If independence be desired with universal ardour by mankind, the road of science [368] is neither the most certain, nor the shortest way to attain it. But those who are already in possession of this, have infinite need of the other to teach them to enjoy their independence with dignity and satisfaction, and to prevent the gifts of fortune from becoming sources of misery instead of happiness. ”

“ He seems to be of opinion, that the vanity and ignorance of many Princes [387] are frequently owing to the forms in which they are intrenched, and to their being deprived of the advantages which the rest of mankind enjoy from a free comparison and exchange of sentiment. He is convinced, that unless a King can contrive to live in some societies on a footing of equality, and can weigh his own merit, without throwing his guards and pomp into the scale, it will be difficult for him to know either the world or himself. ”

“ I never passed my time more agreeably than since I came to Vienna. There is not such a constant round of amusements as to fill up a man’s time without any plan or occupation of his own; and yet there is enough to satisfy any mind not perfectly vacant and dependent on external objects.—We dine abroad two or three times a week. We sometimes see a little play, but never any deep gaming.—At the Countess Thune’s, where I generally pass the evening, there is no play of any kind.—The society there literally form a conversazione. ”

“ What politician in 1741 could have thought that in the course of a few years the Empress would be in strict alliance with France, and one of her daughters seated on the throne of that kingdom?—Should a soothsayer of Boston prophesy, that John Hancock, or his son, will, sometime hence, demand in marriage a daughter of England,—pray, do not lay an uncommon odds, that the thing will not happen. ”

“ I should forgive them, and even join in sentiment with them, as far as my regard for the honour and happiness of my country would permit, if this proceeded from an attachment to liberty, and a generous partiality for men who repel oppression, and struggle for independency.—But this is not the case.—Those who can reap no possible advantage from the revolt of America; those who have not an idea of civil liberty, and would even be sorry to see it established in their own country ”

“ Soldiers are sometimes punished for slips, which perhaps all their attention cannot prevent; because, though it is impossible to ascertain, that any particular man could have avoided them, yet experience has taught, that, by punishing every blunder, fewer are committed on the whole. This sufficiently justifies the practice of what you call cruelty, but which is in reality salutary discipline; for an individual suffering unjustly is not so great an evil in an army, as the permitting negligence to pass unpunished. ”

“ Nothing has a better influence on the temper, disposition, and manners of a young person, than living much in the company of those whom he respects. Exclusive of the improvement he may receive from their conversation, he is habituated to self-denial, and must relinquish many indulgencies which lead to indolence and languor.
The young French nobility, even although they should have no great share of ambition, no love of study, no particular turn for any of those higher accomplishments which enable men to pass the hours of life independent of other amusements ”