way from her fawn. The lapwing is no lefs ingenious: if a perfon approach, the flies about, retiring always from her nest. A partridge is extremely artful: fhe hops away, hanging a wing as if broken lingers till the perfon approach, and hops again. A hen, timid by nature, is bold as a lion in defence of her young: she darts upon every creature that threatens danger. The roe-buck defends its young with refolution and courage. So doth a ram ; and fo do many other quadrupeds. It is obferved by an ingenious writer (a), that nature sports in the colour of domestic animals, in order that men may the more readily distinguish their own. It is not cafy to fay, why colour is more varied in fuch animals, than in thofe which remain in the state of nature: I can only fay, that the cause affigned is not fatisfactory. One is feldom at a lofs to distinguish one animal from another; and Providence never interpofes to vary the ordinary course of nature, for an end fo little neceffary as to make the diftinction still more obvious. Such interpofition would befide have a bad effect, by encouraging inattention and indolence. The foregoing particulars are offered to the public as hints merely may it not be hoped, that they will excite curiosity in those who relifh natural hiftory? The field is rich, tho' little cultivated; and I know no other branch of natural history that finer views into the conduct of Providence. (a) Pennant. opens VOL. I. Ff SKETCH SKETCH VII. Progress of MANNERS. 'Here are peculiarities in the appearance, in the expreffions, TH in the actions, of fome perfons, which, in oppofition to the manners of the generality, are termed their manners. Such peculiarities in the bulk of a nation, by which it differs from other nations, or from itself at different periods, are termed the manners of that nation. Manners therefore fignify a mode of behaviour peculiar to a certain perfon, or to a certain nation. The term is not applied to mankind in general; except perhaps in contradiftinction to other beings. Manners are distinguished from morals; but in what respect has not been clearly explained. Do not the fame actions relate to both? Certainly; but in different refpects: an action confidered as right or wrong, belongs to morals; confidered as characteristical of a perfon, or of a people, it belongs to manners. Manners peculiar to certain tribes and to certain governments, fall under other branches of this work. The intention of the prefent sketch is, to trace out the manners of nations, in the different ftages of their progrefs, from infancy to maturity. I am far from regretting, that manners produced by climate, by foil, and by other permanent caufes, fall not under my plan: I fhould in deed deed make but a poor figure upon a fubject that has been learnedly difcuffed by the greatest genius of the prefent age (a). I begin with external appearance, being the first thing that draws attention. The human countenance hath a greater variety of expreffions than that of any other animal; and fome perfons differ widely from the generality in thefe expreffions. The fame variety is obfervable in human gestures; and the fame peculiarity in particular perfons, fo as to be known by their manner of walking, or even by fo flight an action as that of putting on or taking off a hat: fome men are known even by the found of their feet. Whole nations are distinguishable by the fame peculiarities. And yet there is lefs variety in looks and geftures, than the different tones of mind would produce, were men left to the impulfes of pure nature: man, an imitative animal, is prone to copy others; and by imitation, external behaviour is nearly uniform among those who study to be agreeable; witnefs people of fashion in France. I am acquainted with a blind man, who, without moving his feet, is constantly balancing from fide to fide, excited probably by fome internal impulfe. Had he been endowed with eyefight, he would have imitated the manners of others. I reft upon these outlines to enter fully into the fubject would be an endlefs work; difproportioned at any rate to the narrowness of my plan. Dress must not be omitted, because it enters into external appearance. Providence hath clothed all animals that are unable to clothe themselves. Man can clothe himself; and he is endowed befide with an appetite for drefs, no less natural than an appetite for food. That appetite is proportioned in degree to its ufe: in cold climates it is vigorous; in hot climates, extremely faint. (a) Montefquieu. Ff2 Savages Savages must go naked till they learn to cover themselves; and they foon learn where covering is neceffary. The Patagonians, who go naked in a bitter-cold climate, must be woefully ftupid. And the Picts, a Scotch tribe, who, it is faid, continued naked down to the time of Severus, did not probably much furpass the Patagonians in the talent of invention. Modesty is another caufe for clothing: few favages expose the whole of the body without covering. It gives no high idea of Grecian modefty, that at the Olympic games people wrestled and run races ftark naked. There is a third caufe for clothing, which is, the pleasure it affords. A fine woman, feen naked once in her life, is a defirable object; defire being inflamed by novelty. But let her go naked for a month; how much more charming will fhe appear, when dreffed with propriety and elegance! Cloathing is fo effential to health, that to be lefs agreeable than nakedness would argue an incongruity in our nature. Savages probably at first thought of cloathing as a protection only against the weather; but they foon discovered a beauty in dress: men led the way, and women followed. Such favages as go naked, paint their bodies, excited by the fame fondnefs for ornament, that our women fhew in their party-coloured garments. Among the Jews, the men wore earrings as well as the women (a). When Media was governed by its own kings, the men were fumptuous in drefs: they wore loofe robes, floating in the air; had long hair covered with a rich bonnet, bracelets, chains of gold, and precious ftones: they painted their faces, and mixed artificial hair with that of nature. As authors are filent about the women, they probably made no figure in that kingdom, being fhut up, as at prefent, in feraglios. Very (a) Exod. xxxii. 2. different different was the cafe of Athenian ladies, after polygamy was banished from Greece. They confumed the whole morning at the toilette; employing paint, and every drug for cleaning and whitening the fkin: they laid red even upon their lips, and took great - care of their teeth: their hair, made up in buckles with a hot iron, was perfumed and fpread upon the fhoulders: their drefs was elegant, and artfully contrived to fet off a fine fhape. Such is the influence of appetite for drefs: vanity could not be the fole motive, as Athenian ladies were never feen in public. We learn from St Gregory, that women in his time dreffed their heads extremely high; environing them with many treffes of falfe hair, disposed in knots and buckles, so as to resemble a regular fortification. Jofephus reports, that the Jewish ladies powdered their hair with gold duft; a fashion that was carried from Afia to Rome. The firft writer who mentions white powder for the hair, the fame we use at present, is L'Etoile, in his journal for the year 1593. He relates, that nuns walked the streets of Paris curled and powdered. That fashion fpread by degrees through Europe. For many years after the civil wars in France, it was the fafhion in Paris to wear boots and fpurs with a long fword: a gentleman was not in full drefs without thefe accoutrements. The fword continues an article of drefs, tho' it diftinguishes not a gentleman from his valet. To fhow that a tafte for drefs and ornament is deeply rooted in human nature, favages difplay that taste upon the body, having no covering to difplay it upon. Seldom is a child left to nature: it is deprived of a testicle, a finger, a tooth; or its fkin is engraved with figures. Cloathing hath no flight influence, even with refpect to morals. I venture to affirm, at the hazard of being thought paradoxical, that nakedness is more friendly to chastity than covering. Adultery is unknown among favages, even in hot climates where they have fcarce any covering. A woman dreffed with tafte is a more. defirable |