Chapter XXV: Appendix: No. 1.—Page 2, Vol. I (5)

In 1120, some Bathenians having assassinated Boursiki, prince of Mossoul, they were cut to pieces on the spot. The mother of one of these Ismaëlians having learnt the death of the emir and the fate of the assassins, gave herself up to transports of joy; but her satisfaction was changed into as lively a grief when she learnt that her son, by some fortunate chance, had escaped the destiny of his companions. Thus fanaticism produced the same effect upon this woman as was produced by national honour and patriotism in the case of the Spartan mother, whom history has immortalized as sinking under her grief when she heard that her son had escaped from the massacre of Thermopylæ. What becomes of the charm and power of virtue, if blind fanaticism, the disgrace of our nature, can rival her in the noblest actions she inspires?

The Ismaëlians were the more dangerous and redoubtable, from their practice of insinuating themselves into the courts of most princes, and their skill in adopting such disguises as circumstances required. They assumed the Syrian dress, in order to get rid of that Ahmed Bal, of whom I have just spoken; they entered the service of Tadjelmouth Bouri, prince of Damascus, in the quality of grooms of Korassan, and attacked him with impunity. The murderers of Bouriski took the dress of dervises, to avert all suspicion. The Ismaëlians deputed to poniard the marquis of Montferrat, embraced Christianity, wore religious habits, affected the most austere piety, gained the friendship and esteem of the clergy, acquired the good-will of their victim, and, after having killed him, endured the tortures in which they perished with admirable resignation. The imaun Fakr-eddin, a very celebrated Persian doctor, having been accused of practising the Ismaëlian doctrines in secret, in order to clear himself from the calumny, ascended the pulpit, and pronounced maledictions against the sect. This news reaching Altamont, Mohammed, who then reigned, charged a fedaï with the execution of his vengeance. This man repaired to the dwelling of the imaun, and told him that he was a jurisconsult, that he was desirous of being instructed by so able a master, and with his caresses and flattery, played his part so well, that he was admitted into the family of the doctor; he passed seven months with him without obtaining an opportunity to execute his purpose. At length, finding himself one day alone with the imaun, he shut the doors of the house, drew his poniard, rushed upon the doctor, struck him to the ground, and seated himself upon his chest. “I will rip you up,” said he, “from the navel to the breast.” “What for?” replied the imaun. Then the fedaï reproached him with having cursed the Ismaëlians from the pulpit. The imaun swore several times never to speak ill of that sect in future; upon which the fedaï released him, saying: “I have no orders to kill you, otherwise I should not delay the execution of those orders, or hesitate in performing them; know, then, that Mohammed salutes you, and desires that you would do him the honour of visiting him at his castle. You will become an all-powerful governor, for we shall obey you blindly.” And he added, “We take no account of the discourse of common people; their insults have no effect upon us. But you, you ought never to permit your tongue to utter anything against us, or to censure our conduct; because your words sink into the people’s hearts as the strokes of the engraver penetrate the stone.” The imaun said: “It is impossible for me to go to the castle, but I will, henceforward, never pronounce a word that may be displeasing to the sovereign of Altamont.” After this conversation, the fedaï took from his girdle three hundred and sixty pieces of gold, and said to the imaun: “Here is your salary for one year, and it has been ordered by the _sublime divan_, that you should receive every year a similar sum from the reis Modhaffer. I have in my chamber two Yeman robes; when I am gone your servants must take them, for our master has sent them to you.” The fedaï instantly disappeared. The imaun took the pieces of gold and the robes, and during five years received the appointed salary.

This miraculous devotedness, this confidence in an after-life, the felicity of which was beyond description, produced the audacity and perseverance in the execution of the orders of the prince, and the imperturbable courage which led the Ismaëlians to endure death, without allowing the most severe tortures to draw a confession from them. Caliphs and emirs fell beneath their blows, in mosques, in streets, within the walls of palaces, amidst crowds of people and courts of nobles. If they were taken with the fatal knife in their hands, they thanked heaven for bringing them nearer to the goal of their desires, and hailed death as leading them the first step towards felicity. Moudoud and Ac Sancar Albourski, princes of Mossoul, were assassinated as they were coming out of the great mosque of the city, although surrounded by their officers and domestics. Ahmed Bal, governor of some castles of the Azerbaidjan, had several times declared himself an enemy to the Lord of the Mountain; he was struck dead in the midst of the hall of audience of the sultan Mohammed at Bagdad. The great Saladin refused to embrace or protect the Ismaëlian doctrine, and announced his intention of destroying it. Whilst he was carrying on the siege of Akka, or Ptolemaïs, a fedaï threw himself upon him, and dealt him a blow of a poniard upon his head. Saladin seized him by the arm, but the murderer never ceased striking till he was killed. A second and a third fedaï continued the attack, but without obtaining better success. Nevertheless, says the historian, Saladin retired to his tent in great fear.

I have told you, sir, that the irruption of Holagon into Persia, and the expeditions of Biban into Syria, ruined the Ismaëlian power. But, whilst destroying their castles, these two great warriors were not able to completely exterminate the sect. When Tamerlane penetrated into Mezinderan, he found a great number of Ismaëlians. Mention is often made of these sectaries in the history of the conquest of Yemen by the Turks. We know that they are at present scattered through many parts of Persia, and that the government tolerates them. They even pretend that they have preserved their imaun to this moment; that he is descended from Ismaël himself, the son of Djafar Elasdie, and is named Chah Kalil. He dwells in the city of Khekh, near to Kom. This imaun is almost venerated as a god, among his proselytes, who attribute to him the gift of miracles, and often decorate him with the title of caliph. The Ismaëlians are found as far as the banks of the Ganges and the Indus, whence they piously come every year to receive the blessings of their lord in return for the magnificent offerings they bring him. There likewise still exist many families of them in the mountains of Libanus, upon whom M. Rousseau, consul-general of France to Aleppo, has given us some valuable information.

The Ismaëlians of Syria are divided into two classes,—the _Soueidanis_ and the _Khedhrewis_. The latter, who form the most numerous part of the sect, have for chief the emir Ali Zoghbi, successor of the emir Mustapha Edris. Their principal place of abode is at Messias, which M. de Sacy thinks ought to be called Mesiat. This ancient fortress is situated at twelve leagues west of Hamah, upon an isolated rock. At three leagues west of Messias, the Ismaëlians possess another fortress, named Kadmous, of not less consequence than the other.

The second class, which comprises the _Soueidanis_, is much less numerous than the preceding one, and is concentrated in the village of Feudara, of the district of Messias. Its poverty has drawn upon it the contempt of the Khedhrewis; its present chief is named _Cheikh Soleiman_.

The sect of the Ismaëlians at the present moment only consists of some wretched families scattered here and there, whom the persecutions of the Turks are daily annihilating. The following is the sinister event which has plunged them into these circumstances. We will leave M. Rousseau to speak:—“The _Reslans_, one of the most distinguished families of the sect of the Nosaïris, possessed from time immemorial the fortress and territory of Messias, when the Ismaëlians, having become sufficiently powerful to encroach upon their domains, suddenly attacked them, and drove them from the country, in which they established themselves. This manifest usurpation increased the inveterate hatred which all the neighbouring peoples entertained for them. The Nosaïris, after having uselessly attempted, by several means, to regain their possessions, at length had recourse to stratagem. They sent some of their people to Messias, who, under borrowed names, and without creating any suspicion of their designs, entered the service of the Chich emir, _Mustafa Edris_, who then commanded in the fortress.

“Abou Ali Hammour and Ali Bacha, chief of the conspirators, had not long to wait for the opportunity they wished for. One day when the emir remained alone in his dwelling, they assailed him, and slew him with several dagger-wounds. This unexpected murder was the signal for great misfortunes for the Ismaëlians. Measures were so well concerted among their enemies, that at a given signal, a numerous band of Nosaïris, posted in the avenues of Messias, were to precipitate themselves upon it on a sudden, and massacre all the inhabitants who attempted to defend themselves. This project was completely carried out. The Ismaëlians, attacked sharply, terrified, and, for the most part, killed in the open streets, offered but weak resistance to their enemies, to whom they were compelled to swear submission and obedience for the future. The booty made on this day was valued at more than a million piastres, reckoning the plunder of the villages and the country. This event took place in the year 1809.”

These Ismaëlians have a book which contains the dogmas of their present belief, the practices of their worship, &c. Its author was a certain Cheikh Ibrahim, who seems to have been one of the visionaries of the sect; it was made public after the pillage of Messias. It is an assemblage of absurd reveries and incoherent, ridiculous, insignificant principles, in which the primitive doctrine of these sectaries is joined to a crowd of dogmas which are foreign to it, and which time, communication with other sects, and ignorance, have introduced into their belief. Nevertheless, the study of them ought not to be entirely neglected, as they serve to prove to what a degree the human mind may deceive itself.

To avoid fatiguing your patience, I will pass over that which relates to mystic theology, and the different incarnations of the Imaun or Messiah, who was manifested in the persons of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Ali, fourth caliph, according to orthodox Mahometans. I will likewise be silent upon the mysteries of the alphabetical letters, which are divided into the luminous and the obscure, the substantial and the corporeal; were at first twenty-two in number, were augmented by six, at the time of the revelation of the Koran; are connected with the houses of the moon, with the signs of the zodiac, with the planets, and the elements; designate sometimes a prophet, sometimes a holy personage; in short, are susceptible of an infinity of allegorical applications; but I will give in its entirety the description of Paradise.

“I have reserved an abode more permanent, and filled with eternal delights for those who follow my law, and fear the effects of my justice. This abode is paradise, to which entrance may be obtained by eight different gates, which lead to the same number of inclosures; there are in each inclosure or division, 70,000 meadows of saffron, and 70,000 abodes of mother-of-pearl and coral; in each dwelling-place or abode, there are 70,000 palaces and 70,000 galleries of topaz; in each gallery there are 70,000 golden saloons; in each saloon, 70,000 silver tables; upon each table, 70,000 exquisite dishes, &c. &c. Each of these 70,000 palaces contains 70,000 springs, or streams of milk and honey with as many purple pavilions, occupied by beautiful young women. Still further, each saloon is surmounted by 70,000 domes of amber, and upon each dome are set forth 70,000 wonders from the hand of Omnipotence. The inhabitants of these enchanted places are immortal and are unacquainted with infirmities, tears, laughter, prayers, or fasting.”

I ought to tell you, with regard to this passage, that in the true doctrine of the Ismaëlians, paradise is the true religion, and the epoch of its manifestation, and that this description, or any other like it, must be considered as an allegory.

To this quotation I cannot refrain from adding two others: one upon the duties of man, the other upon the metaphysical ideas of this sect.

“Oh! son of Adam, the empire of the universe belongs to me; all that you possess comes from me; but learn that the aliments which nourish you, will not preserve you from death, nor the clothes which cover you from the infirmities of the flesh; you will advance or go back, as you employ your tongue in falsehood or in truth. Thy being is composed of three parts: the first is mine, the second is thine; and the third belongs to us in common. That which is mine, is thy soul; that which is thine, is thy actions; and that which we share between us, is the prayers which thou addressest to me. Thou oughtest to implore me in thy wants; my delight is to listen to the prayers of the good. Oh! son of Adam, honour me, and thou wilt know me; fear me, and thou wilt see me; adore me, and thou wilt draw near to me. Oh! son of Adam, if kings are cast into flames for their tyranny, magistrates for their treachery, doctors for their jealousies, artisans for their frauds, the great for their pride, the low for their hypocrisy, the poor for their falsehoods,—where will they be found who can aspire to enter into paradise?

* * * * *

There are three sorts of existence: the first, usual and relative, exposed to the influence of the stars, subject to alterations, and susceptible of being and not being at the same time; that is matter: the second, intellectual, which has been preceded by non-existence, but which becomes permanent from the moment it begins; that is the soul, upon which the celestial bodies cannot act: the third, necessary, absolute, and eternal, superior by its nature to the two others, that is the Supreme Being, by whom everything has been produced, who has always subsisted, and will subsist for ever.

“The Being whose existence is eternal, the first principle, is unlimited, One, and without companions.

“Man exists then doubly,—by his soul and by his body; his spiritual existence survives his bodily existence, which, sooner of later, is dissolved.

“The soul is a simple substance, homogeneous and immaterial, an indestructible breath of the Divinity. The body is a compound of material parts heterogeneous and destructible, which only exists as long as its parts remain united together. The soul is not essentially inherent to the body; the latter is not the subject of it; we only know that it is present in it, as we are aware of the splendour of the sun upon the surface of any object whatever.

“The soul is immortal.

* * * * *

Souls were created before bodies: they resided, whilst waiting for them, in the intellectual world, the abode of true essences.

“After their union with the body, they constantly endeavour to preserve the reminiscence of their productive cause; and if, in their new state, they do not forget this first essence, they return to their former dwelling; otherwise they continue wandering and unhappy in the _material_ world, there to perpetually experience the vicissitudes and pains of the present life.

“In order not to deteriorate, or lose its rights to proximity with its author, the soul must be constantly filled with the idea of that first cause which is disposed to attract it, unceasingly, towards it. It is its true state of perfection, that in which it maintains itself by becoming insensible to all terrestrial affections.

“In addition to his immaterial and reasonable soul, man has still another, which is the natural soul; this is born and dies with the body; it is a certain inexplicable, but active and actual force, which is common to him and animals devoid of reason, and which elevates him above these; it is the immortal breath which the Divinity has communicated to him, to the exclusion of the other beings of the universe.”[146]—Receive, monsieur, I beg, &c. &c.

_No. 25._

_Treaty made under the Walls of Constantinople._

This is certainly one of the most extraordinary documents we have ever seen. A handful of warriors, in a strange and foreign country, without any certainty of reinforcements, are before the second city of the world, well peopled, completely fortified, and prepared for defence; and yet they, before giving an assault, coolly draw up a treaty, by which the city and its empire are divided amongst them; and what completes the wonder is, that they succeeded, and, for a while, obtained what they contemplated.

“We, Henry Dandolo, by the grace of God doge of Venice, Dalmatia, and Croatia, and the very illustrious lords, Boniface, marquis of Montferrat; Baldwin, count of Flanders and Hainault; Louis, count of Blois and Clermont; and Henry, count of St. Pol; each on his own part, in order to maintain among us union and concord, and to avoid every subject of offence, with the co-operation of Him who is our peace, who made everything, and for whose glory we have thought fit to establish the following order, after having reciprocally engaged ourselves with the bonds of an oath. In the first place, we all agree (after having invoked the name of Jesus Christ) to cause the city to be attacked; and if, by the aid of divine power, we succeed in entering it, we will remain and serve under the command of those who shall be established leaders of the army, and follow them as it shall be ordered. All the wealth that shall be found in the city, shall by every one be deposited in a common place, which shall be chosen for this purpose, we reserving always, as well as for our Venetians, three parts of this wealth, which are to be remitted to us as an indemnity for that which the Emperor Alexius was bound to pay to us, as well as to you. On your side, you will retain a fourth part, until we have all obtained equal satisfaction; and if there should be anything left, we will share it equally between us and you, so that all may be satisfied. And if the said wealth should not prove sufficient to discharge that which is due to us, this wealth, from whatever source it may arise, shall be shared in the same manner between you and us, as it has been thereupon agreed, except the provisions and forage, which shall be set aside and divided equally among your people and ours, in order that all may subsist in a suitable manner; and all that may be found besides shall be shared with the other booty, according as it has been agreed thereupon. We and our Venetians are to enjoy, throughout the empire, in a free and absolute manner, and without any kind of contradiction, all the prerogatives and possessions which we have been accustomed to enjoy, as well in spiritual as in temporal matters; as well as all privileges and usages, written or not written. There shall also be chosen six members on our part, and six on yours, who, after having taken an oath, shall choose in the army and raise to the empire, him whom they shall believe to be most fit to exercise it, and to command in this land for the advantage and glory of God, of the holy Romish church, and of the empire. If they agree among themselves, we will recognise as emperor him whom they shall have elected with one common voice. But if it should happen that six shall be on one side and six on the other, it shall be left to chance, and him upon whom the lot shall fall we will acknowledge as emperor. If there should be a majority on one side, we will acknowledge as emperor him in favour of whom this majority shall be declared. If the council should be divided into more than two parts, we will acknowledge for emperor him whom the most numerous party shall have elected. The person who may be chosen emperor, shall have the quarter of all that shall be conquered from the empire, the palace of Blachernæ, and the Lion’s Mouth. The three other quarters shall be shared equally among you and us. As to the clerical members who shall be of the side on which the emperor shall not have been chosen, they shall have the privilege of composing the clergy of the Church of St. Sophia, and to elect a patriarch for the glory of God, of the holy Roman church, and the empire. But as regards the clerical members on one side and the other, they shall compose the clergy of the churches which shall fall to their share. As to the wealth of the churches, care will be taken to distribute to the ecclesiastics as much as will be sufficient to provide honourably for them, and to the churches as much as will be requisite to maintain them properly. Whatever may remain of this wealth shall be divided and shared as above directed. We will, in addition, make oath, on both sides, that, dating from the last day of the present month of March, we will remain during the space of an entire year in the service of the emperor, in order to contribute to and strengthen his power, for the glory of God, the holy Romish church, and the empire; and that all those who shall have previously sojourned in the empire, shall swear fidelity to the emperor, according to the good and praiseworthy custom. Thus then, all those who now dwell in the empire, as has been mentioned, shall swear they will hold as good and authentic the regulations and treaties which have been made. It is also proper to observe that, as well on your side as on ours, there shall be chosen twelve members, at most, as it may be convenient, who, after having taken the oath, shall be charged with the duty of distributing the fiefs and honours among individuals, and of regulating the rights of service to which these same individuals shall be subjected as regards the emperor and the empire, according to what these members shall think suitable; that the fief which shall be assigned to any one shall be possessed freely and without any obstacle, by his posterity, as well masculine as feminine, and that the possessor shall have entire power to execute whatever to him may seem good, saving his obedience to the laws and the duty he shall owe to the service of the emperor and the empire. There shall be likewise done for the emperor all the service necessary, independently of that to which the possessors of fiefs and privileges shall be bound, according to the order that shall be assigned to them. It is further enacted, that no inhabitant of a nation which shall be at war with us or our successors, or the Venetians, shall be admitted into the empire until that war shall be entirely terminated. Moreover, each party is held to labour sincerely to obtain from our holy father the pope, that if any one shall attempt to contravene the present constitution, he shall be struck by excommunication. On his side, the emperor is bound to swear that he will hold the acts and gifts which shall be made, irrevocable, conformably with all which has hereupon been named. That if the present treaty should require any addition or suppression, it will be within our power and liberty to make it, assisted by our six counsellors, conjointly with the said lord marquis, assisted equally by his six counsellors. On the other side, the above-named lord doge cannot take the oath to the emperor for any service, for any fief or privilege that may be granted to him; but he or they whom he shall delegate in that which concerns him, shall take the oath to do, towards the emperor and towards the empire, all services required, conformably with all which has been thereupon mentioned.

_Given, in the year of grace 1204, the 7th day of the month of March._

_No. 26._

In the year 1195, Walter Hemingford, an English chronicler, says that the Old Man of the Mountain sent to all the princes of Europe a letter, in which he exculpates the illustrious king Richard from the death of the marquis of Montferrat. Although this letter may be a little apocryphal, we publish it, to show our readers how the Old Man of the Mountain was then spoken of.

“The Old Man of the Mountain to the princes and all the people of the Christian religion, salutation. As we do not wish ill to him who is innocent and merits it not, we will not allow that the innocence of another should be compromised by any act that we have done. We will never suffer, with the permission of God, that they who have offended us shall rejoice long in the injuries inflicted on our simplicity. We signify then to you all, and we take as witness him by whom we hope to be saved, that it was not by any machinations of the king of England that the marquis was killed. He was justly killed, by our will and by our order, by our satellites, because he had offended us, and had neglected, in spite of our warnings, to make us reparation: for it is our custom first to warn those who have offended us in anything, either us or our friends, in order that they may give us satisfaction; and it is our custom, if they despise our warning, to avenge ourselves by the hands of our ministers, who obey us with the greater devotion from being convinced they shall be gloriously recompensed by God, if they fall whilst executing our orders. We have learnt likewise that it is said of the same king that he had engaged us, as less incorruptible than others, to send some one of our people to lay an ambush for the king of Franco. This is false, and the effect of a vain suspicion. God is our witness, that he never proposed anything of the kind to us, and that our honesty would not permit us to allow anything evil to be attempted against a person who had not merited it. Fare ye well.”

_No. 27._

_Fragment from Nicetas Choniates, concerning the Statues of Constantinople destroyed by the Crusaders._[147]

The Latins manifested that love of gold which characterizes their nation, by thinking of a new species of plunder, till that time unknown to all the former spoilers of this city of cities. After opening the coffins of the emperors which are in the Heroüm, erected near the magnificent church of the disciples of Jesus Christ, they pillaged them all during the night; and, in violation of the laws of equity, they took away all the ornaments in gold, pearls, and precious transparent stones, which had so long remained untouched in that sacred place.

Having found, likewise, the body of the emperor Justinian, still perfect and undecomposed, after the lapse of so many years, this spectacle struck them with admiration; but they paid no more respect, on that account, to the ornaments with which the body had been buried.

It may be affirmed that the Occidentals spared neither the living nor the dead, and beginning with God and his servants, they made all, indifferently, sensible to the effects of their impiety. A short time after, they bore away from the great church that veil which was valued at many thousand silver minæ, and which was ornamented with thick golden embroidery. But as even all these riches could not satisfy the boundless cupidity of these barbarians, they cast their eyes upon the bronze statues, and consigned them to the flames. The Juno of bronze, which stood in the Square of Constantine, was taken to pieces and sent to the melting-house, to be transformed into _staters_;[148] so large was this statue that the head was as much as four pairs of oxen could draw to the palace.

After the Juno, they took down from its base a group of Paris and Venus; the shepherd offering the goddess the golden apple of discord.

Whoever beheld without admiration that square obelisk of bronze, the height of which was almost equal to that of the loftiest columns? Upon it were sculptured all the birds which, in spring, make the air resound with their melodious concerts, the labours of husbandmen, musical instruments, bleating sheep, and bounding lambs. The sea there spread forth its waves, with vast numbers of fish, part of which were taken alive, and the rest, bursting through the nets, were plunging back into their watery home. Naked cupids, sporting by twos and threes, pelting each other with apples, and indulging in the wildest gambols. At the top of this square obelisk, which terminated in a pyramidal form, was placed a female figure, which turned with the least breath of wind; whence she was called _Anemodoulos_ (that is to say, the slave of the winds). This work, of admirable beauty, was likewise melted, as was a colossal statue, which stood in the Place of Taurus, and represented a man on horseback in heroic costume. This figure, whose base was a trapezium, was said by some to be Joshua, because his hand was extended towards the declining sun, and that he seemed to be commanding it to stay its course. But most persons thought it was intended for Bellerophon, the hero born and brought up in the Peloponnesus, mounted upon Pegasus; for the horse had no bridle, and it is thus Pegasus is represented, striking, at will, the plain with his hoof, and, whether flying or running, disdaining to submit to his rider. There was an ancient tradition, which was preserved to our times, and known to everybody, that under the left forefoot of this horse was concealed the figure of a man, representing, according to some, a Venetian, and according to others, some other enemy from the West, bearing a Roman name, or else it was a Bulgarian. Efforts had often been made to render this foot so firm and so solid that it might not be possible to discover what was said to be hidden beneath it. When this horse and his rider were taken to pieces to be melted, the figure was really found concealed under the foot of the horse; it was clothed in a mantle, much in appearance like one of wool; but the Latins, troubling themselves very little about the predictions concerning it, cast it also into the fire. Many other statues and admirable works, standing in the Hippodrome, shared the same fate, and were destroyed by these barbarians, who, incapable of admiration for the beautiful, converted all these masterpieces into coin, and annihilated monuments which had cost so much, for the sake of such an inconsiderable amount of money. They broke to pieces a Hercules, reclining upon an osier-basket (or mattress), covered by a lion’s skin, the head of which had, even in the bronze, so terrible an aspect, that it appeared about to roar, and spread terror among the idle multitude who stopped to look at it. The hero was seated, without quiver, bow, or club; his right arm and leg were stretched out to their full length, whilst his left leg was bent; placing his left elbow on his knee, he raised his fore-arm, and with an air of sadness, reposed his head upon the palm of his hand. He appeared to deplore his destiny, and to be thinking over with indignation the troubles to which Eurystheus constrained him, from jealousy, and not from necessity. His chest and shoulders were broad, his hair curly, his thighs large, his arms muscular, and his height was such as Lysimachus might, upon conjecture, have assigned to the true Hercules. This bronze Hercules was his first and last work: it was so large that the cord which went round his thumb was long enough for a common man’s girdle, and that with which his leg was measured was equal in length to the height of a man. They did not, however, fail to annihilate such a Hercules; these men who had separated courage from the virtues allied to it, who attributed it to themselves particularly, and professed to esteem it above everything! They took away the ass with his pack-saddle, walking and braying, with the ass-driver following him, which Cæsar Augustus had caused to be placed at Actium or Nicopolis, in Greece, to perpetuate the remembrance of his having gone out one night to observe the army of Antony, and having met with this man, of whom he asked who he was, and whither he was going, the man answered his name was Nico, and that of his ass Nicander, and that he was going to Cæsar’s army. Neither could they keep their hands from the hyena, and the wolf which suckled Remus and Romulus;—they melted this precious monument of the Roman nation for the sake of some paltry pieces of copper coin. They destroyed, in the same manner, the man contending with a lion; an hippopotamus of the Nile, the body of which ended in a tail covered with scales; the elephant shaking his trunk; the sphynxes, whose upper parts were those of women of rare beauty, but who, below, resembled fearful and horrid animals; these sphynxes were the more admirable from appearing to be able to walk, and at the same time to fly, and to dispute the palm of swiftness with the largest birds. A horse without a bridle, pricking up his ears and neighing; a tamed bull, walking with slow, heavy steps; and Scylla, that ancient monster, a woman to the waist, with her long neck, her large breasts, and an air full of cruelty; her inferior parts divided, to form those animals which attacked the vessels of Ulysses, and devoured several of his companions.

There was, likewise, in the Hippodrome, a bronze eagle, a wonderful monument of the magic art of Apollonius of Tyana. Being at Byzantium, he was implored to put an end to the trouble the inhabitants endured from the bites of serpents. Having recourse to his criminal arts, in which he had been instructed by demons and men initiated in their wicked mysteries, he placed upon a column an eagle which could not be looked upon without pleasure, and which drew passers-by to stop and contemplate it, as the songs of the Syrens fascinated those who listened to them. His wings were extended as if he were about to fly; but the folds of a serpent, which he held in his talons, impeded his efforts. The reptile stretched out its head as if to reach the wings of the bird; but its efforts were in vain; for, pierced by the claws of the eagle, its ardour relaxed, so that it appeared rather to be about to sleep or die than to fasten on the wings of the eagle. Thus the serpent was breathing its last sigh, and its venom was exhaling with it; whilst the eagle, with a haughty glance, and actually appearing to utter cries of victory, endeavoured to raise the serpent, and bear it away into the heavens with him; all which was expressed by the eagle’s superb look, and the death of the serpent. It might almost be said, in seeing the serpent thus forced to slacken its flexible folds, and forego its venomous bites, that it drove away, by its example, other serpents from Byzantium, and exhorted them to conceal themselves in their holes. And this was not all that rendered the figure of this eagle admirable; for it indicated, very correctly to the eye of an instructed spectator, the twelve hours of the day, by twelve lines traced upon its wings, when the rays of the sun were not veiled by clouds.

What shall I say of the Helen, with arms whiter than snow, with small delicate feet, and a bosom of alabaster? Of Helen, who brought all Greece together against Troy, who occasioned the ruin of that city, who from the Trojan shores, passed to those of the Nile, and thence at length returned to Lacedæmon? Was she able to subdue these inexorable men, and soften these hearts of iron? She had not the power; she, whose beauty charmed every spectator, whose robing was magnificent, who, although of bronze, was full of delicious languor, and who, even to her tunic, her veil, her diadem, and her elegantly arranged hair, appeared to respire the very spirit of voluptuousness. Her tunic was of a fabric more delicate than the tissues of Arachne; her veil was of the most admirable workmanship; the diadem which encircled her brow, glittered with the brilliancy of gold and precious stones; and her floating tresses, agitated by the wind, were gathered together behind, and descended to her legs. Her lips, slightly separated, like the cup of a rose, appeared ready to breathe soft and pleasant words, whilst her inexpressibly sweet smile seemed, in a manner, to meet the spectator, and fill him with delicious emotion. But language cannot describe or transmit to posterity the charm of her look, the arch so exquisitely marked of her eyebrows, or the graces which adorned her person. But thou, Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, lovely with natural beauty, work of the Loves, object of the cares of Venus, the most admirable gift of nature, the prize of victory proposed to Greeks and Trojans, where is the Nepenthe, that remedy against sadness, which the wife of Thoas remitted to thee? Where are those philters which none can resist? Why didst thou not employ them as formerly? But I see how it was. Thy inevitable destiny was to become the prey of the flames, thou, whose image alone had power to kindle the flames of love in the hearts of all who beheld thee. Perhaps I may say, that these descendants of Æneas condemned thee to the fire, to avenge in thy own person Ilium, consumed by the fires which thy loves had created. But the fury of gold which possessed the Latins, and led them to annihilate in every spot the most beautiful masterpieces of art, is beyond my power of imagining or describing. But I may venture to say this; they separate themselves from their wives, and yield them to the embraces of others for a few oboles; they are incessantly occupied in plunder, or in games of chance; they put on armour, and fight with each other, with a senseless and furious ardour, and not with a prudent, regulated valour; expose all they possess as the prize for victory, without excepting the young brides who have given them the pleasures of paternity, or even their own lives, a treasure so dear and valuable to all other men, and for the preservation of which there is nothing they will not undertake.—Barbarians even, without letters, know and repeat these verses upon thee, Helen:—“It is just that both Greeks and Trojans should undergo long misfortunes for the woman whose beauty equals that of immortal goddesses.”

There stood upon a column another woman of singular beauty, apparently in the period of brilliant youth, whose hair descended in tresses on each side of her face, and was fastened behind; she occupied a situation but slightly elevated, so that she could be touched by the hand. In the right hand, although the arm had no support, this statue bore a horseman, whose horse she held by one foot, and that apparently as easily as a cup of wine is carried. This horseman, of a manly, noble bearing, clothed in his cuirass, and with booted legs, seemed actually to breathe war. The horse’s ears were raised as if he heard the sound of the trumpet, his head elevated, his look fiery, and the ardour painted in his eyes denoted his impatience for the course; his feet, prancing in the air, seemed springing forward with a warlike bound.

After this statue, next to the eastern boundary of the Quadriges, called of the yellow faction, were placed statues of charioteers, examples and models of the art of skilfully driving a chariot. They appeared almost, by the disposition of their hands, to warn charioteers, not to loosen the reins on approaching the boundary; but to hold the horses with a tight hand whilst turning, and to make a sharp and continual use of the whip, so as to keep as close to the boundary as possible, and leave the unskilful rival charioteer, to make too wide a sweep, and lose the advantage, even with the best horses.

I will only add one particularity, for I have not undertaken to describe everything. That which excited remarkable pleasure and admiration, was a stone basis, upon which was placed an animal in bronze, which might have been taken for an ox, but that its tail was too small; like the oxen of Egypt, it had not long dewlaps, and its hoofs were not cloven. It crushed within its jaws, almost to the point of stifling it, another animal, whose body was bristling with scales, so pointed, that although of bronze, they would wound those who ventured to touch them: this animal was supposed to be a basilisk, and the creature it had seized, an aspick; but by others one was said to be an ox from the banks of the Nile, and the other a crocodile. For my part, I will not undertake to reconcile these opinions; I will content myself with saying that they were engaged in a most astonishing contest, and inflicted serious wounds upon each other; for sometimes the more strong, sometimes the mere weak, they were at the same time conquerors and conquered. The animal, which many supposed to be a basilisk, was all swollen from head to feet, and the poison circulating throughout its body, and flowing through all its members, gave it a colour greener than that of frogs,—a colour of death. It was upon its knees, with languishing eyes, and appeared to have lost all strength and vigour. It might have been believed even, that it had long been dead, had not its hind legs, at least, still stood firmly under it. The other animal which it held in its jaws, still waved its tail a little, and opened its long mouth under the pressure of the teeth which held and stifled it. It appeared to use its utmost efforts to escape from the teeth and jaws which held it so tenaciously, but could not succeed; for its body was fast between the jaws, and transpierced by the teeth of its enemy from the shoulders and the fore-feet to the part next to the tail. It was thus they died, the one by the other; the combat was mutual, the vengeance reciprocal, the victory equal, and the death common.[149] For my part, I believe I may remark on this subject, that it is not only in effigy, or among fierce and strong animals, that beings wicked and fatal to man thus inflict a mutual death upon each other; but that we often see nations, which bring war to the Romans, destroy each other; which is an effect of the power of Christ, who disperses nations that are friends to war, who holds blood in horror, and shows the just marching against the aspick and the basilisk, and trampling under foot the lion and the dragon.

_No. 28._

_Letter to M. Michaud upon the Crusade of Children of 1212, by M. Am. Jourdain._

The expedition beyond the seas, undertaken about 1212, and composed entirely of children, if not one of the most striking events of the crusades, certainly appears to me to be not one of the least extraordinary. That institutions dictated by the spirit of religion, and destined either to propagate our religion, or to elevate its splendour, have not always found in their object a preservative against the corruption attached to human beings, is a truth established by numberless examples; but that fanaticism or the genius of evil, should be sufficiently powerful to extinguish in childhood the natural sentiment of its weakness, and draw it away from its natural supports, to inspire it with this train of ideas, this perseverance in resolutions, this accordance required by every enterprise formed by a numerous concourse of individuals, is what we can scarcely believe, although the memory of the fact is preserved by several historians. Whoever is acquainted with the taste of the middle ages for the marvellous, and has only read the incomplete account of the modern historians of the crusades, is at first tempted to range this expedition among fabulous adventures; and to procure it any credit, it is necessary to produce evidences worthy of our confidence.

In my first incredulity, I employed myself in collecting these evidences; I offer them to you in this letter, monsieur, in order to furnish, if possible, one trait more for the varied picture of the errors of the human mind.

We must distinguish various circumstances in this strange event; its date, the means which prepared it, the places that witnessed it, and its issue. Although criticism has not sufficient data to determine each of these points with precision, nevertheless the chronicles of the middle ages furnish us with documents sufficiently extensive to satisfy a prudent curiosity.

With regard to the date, contemporary historians all place this crusade under the year 1212,[150] or 1213 at the latest.[151] It is only by an error very easy to be reconciled, that others advance it twelve years,[152] or put it back ten.[153]

As to the places that witnessed the birth and growth of such an enterprise, it appears that the Crusaders belonged to two nations, and formed two troops, which followed different routes: one, leaving Germany, traversed Saxony and the Alps, and arrived on the shores of the Adriatic Sea;[154] France furnished the others, who, after collecting in the environs of Paris, crossed Burgundy, and arrived at Marseilles, the place of embarkation.[155]

Prestiges, fanaticism, the announcement of prodigies, were all employed to rouse the youth of these countries, and put them in motion. It was reported, according to Vincent de Beauvais that the Old Man of the Mountain, who was accustomed to educate _arsacides_ from the tenderest age, detained two clerks captives, and would only grant them their liberty upon condition that they brought him back some young boys from France. The opinion then was, that these children, deceived by false visions, and seduced by the promises of these two clerks, marked themselves with the sign of the cross.

The promoter of the crusade in Germany was a certain Nicolas, a German by nation.[156] “This multitude of children,” says Bezarre, “were persuaded, by the help of a false revelation, that the drought would be so great that year, that the abysses of the sea would be dry; and they went to Genoa, with the intention of passing over to Jerusalem, across the arid bed of the Mediterranean.”

The composition of these troops corresponded with the means employed to seduce them. There were children of all ages and conditions, and of both sexes; some of them were not more than twelve years old; they set out from villages and towns, without leaders, without guides, without provisions, and with empty purses. It was in vain their parents or friends thought to dissuade them by showing them the folly of such an expedition: the captivity to which they condemned them redoubled their ardour; breaking through doors, or opening themselves passages through walls, they succeeded in escaping, and went to rejoin their respective bands. If they were questioned upon the object of their voyage, they answered that they were going to visit the holy places. Although a pilgrimage commenced under such auspices, and stained with all sorts of excesses, must have been an object of scandal rather than of edification, there were people senseless enough to see in it an act of the all-powerful God; men and women quitted their houses and their lands to join these vagabond troops, believing they pursued the way of salvation: others furnished them with money and food, thinking they aided souls inspired by God, and guided by sentiments of divine piety. The pope, when informed of their proceedings, exclaimed, with a groan: “These children reproach us with being buried in sleep, whilst they are flying to the defence of the Holy Land.”[157] If some few of the clergy, endowed with a little foresight, openly blamed this expedition, their censures were at once attributed to motives of avarice and incredulity; and, in order to avoid public contempt,[158] wisdom and prudence were condemned to silence.

The event, however, proved that all which man undertakes without employing the balance of reason and earnest reflection, does not come to a fortunate issue; “for soon,” says Bishop Sicard, “this multitude entirely disappeared:—_quasi evanuit universa_.”

But we must carefully distinguish between the fate of the German and that of the French Crusaders, although a part of the latter directed their course towards Italy.

It required nothing beyond wearing the cross to be admitted into the crusade; if the watchful care of princes and prelates in expeditions directed by ecclesiastical and secular power could not succeed in excluding from them men of bad morals, what sort of people must have been mixed with a host got together without the least care, and under the eye of no superior intelligence, the greater part of whom fled, like the prodigal son, from the paternal dwelling, in order to give themselves up, without restraint, to their vicious inclinations? The account of Godfrey the Monk, therefore, does not at all astonish us when he says that thieves insinuated themselves among the German pilgrims, and disappeared after having plundered them of their baggage and the gifts the faithful had bestowed upon them. One of these thieves being recognised at Cologne, ended his days on the rack. To this first misfortune a crowd of evils quickly succeeded, the necessary result of the want of foresight of the Crusaders. The fatigue of a long journey, heat, disease, and want, swept away a great number of them. Of those who arrived in Italy, some, dispersing themselves over the country, and plundered by the inhabitants, were reduced to servitude; others, to the amount of seven thousand, presented themselves before Genoa. At first the senate gave them permission to remain six or seven days in the city; but reflecting afterwards upon the folly of the expedition, fearing that such a multitude would produce famine, and, above all, apprehending that Frederick, who was then in a state of rebellion against the Holy See and at war with Genoa, might take advantage of the circumstance to excite a tumult, they ordered the Crusaders to depart from the city. Nevertheless, it was a received opinion in the time of Bizarre, that the republic granted the rights of citizenship to several of the young Germans of this formidable body, who were distinguished by birth; they acquired afterwards so much consideration, that they were admitted into the order of patricians; “and it is from them,” adds the same historian, “that several of the great families of the present day derive their origin; among whom may be remarked that of the Vivaldi.” The others, finding their error, turned back towards their own country again; and these Crusaders, who had been seen advancing in numerous troops, and singing animating songs, returned singly, robbed of everything, walking barefooted, undergoing the pangs of hunger, and subjected to the scoffs and derision of the population of the cities and countries they passed through: it is not to be wondered at, that in such circumstances many young girls lost the chastity which had been their ornament in their homes.