Confessions
Jeanne-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1719)
I HAVE begun on
a work which is without precedent, whose accomplishment will have no imitator. I
propose to set before my fellow-mortals a man in all the truth of nature; and
this man shall be myself.
I have studied
mankind and know my heart; I am not made like any one I have been acquainted
with, perhaps like no one in existence; if not better, I at least claim
originality, and whether Nature has acted rightly or wrongly in destroying the
mold in which she cast me, can only be decided after I have been read.
I will present
myself, whenever the last trumpet shall sound, before the Sovereign Judge with
this book in my hand, and loudly proclaim, "Thus have I acted; these were my
thoughts; such was I. With equal freedom and veracity have I related what was
laudable or wicked, I have concealed no crimes, added no virtues; and if I have
sometimes introduced superfluous ornament, it was merely to occupy a void
occasioned by defect of memory: I may have supposed that certain, which I only
knew to be probable, but have never asserted as truth, a conscious falsehood.
Such as I was, I have declared myself; sometimes vile and despicable, at others,
virtuous, generous, and sublime; even as Thou hast read my inmost soul: Power
Eternal! assemble round Thy throne an innumerable throng of my fellow-mortals,
let them listen to my confessions, let them blush at my depravity, let them
tremble at my sufferings; let each in his turn expose with equal sincerity the
failings, the wanderings of his heart, and if he dare, aver, I was better than
that man."
I was born at Geneva,
in 1712,
son of Isaac Rousseau and Susannah Bernard, citizens.
….
I was the unfortunate fruit of this return, being born ten months after, in a very weakly and
infirm state; my birth cost my mother her life, and was the first of my
misfortunes. I am ignorant how my father supported her loss at that time, but I
know he was ever after inconsolable. In me he still thought he saw her he so
tenderly lamented, but could never forget that I had been the innocent cause of
his misfortune, nor did he over embrace me, but his sighs, the convulsive
pressure of his arms, witnessed that a bitter regret mingled itself with his
caresses, though, as may be supposed, they were not on this account less ardent.
When he said to me, "Jean Jacques, let us talk of your mother," my usual reply
was, "Yes, father, but then, you know, we shall cry," and immediately the tears
started from his eyes. "Ah!" exclaimed he, with agitation, "Give me back my
wife; at least console me for her loss; fill up, dear boy, the void she has left
in my soul. Could I love thee thus wert thou only my son?" Forty years after
this loss he expired in the arms of a second wife, but the name of the first
still vibrated on his lips, still was her image engraved on his heart.
Such were the
authors of my being: of all the gifts it had pleased Heaven to bestow on them, a
feeling heart was the only one that descended to me; this had been the source of
their felicity, it was the foundation of all my misfortunes.
…
Every night,
after supper, we read some part of a small collection of romances which had been
my mother's. My father's design was only to improve me in reading, and he
thought these entertaining works were calculated to give me a fondness for it;
but we soon found ourselves so interested in the adventures they contained, that
we alternately read whole nights together, and could not bear to give over until
at the conclusion of a volume. Sometimes, in a morning, on hearing the swallows
at our window, my father, quite ashamed of this weakness, would cry, "Come,
come, let us go to bed; I am more a child than thou art."
I soon
acquired, by this dangerous custom, not only an extreme facility in reading and
comprehending, but, for my age, a too intimate acquaintance with the passions.
An infinity of sensations were familiar to me, without possessing any precise
idea of the objects to which they related -- I had conceived nothing -- I had
felt the whole. This confused succession of emotions did not retard the future
efforts of my reason, though they added an extravagant, romantic notion of human
life, which experience and reflection have never been able to eradicate.
My romance
reading concluded with the summer of 1719, the following winter was differently
employed. My mother's library being quite exhausted, we had recourse to that
part of her father's which had devolved to us; here we happily found some
valuable books, which was by no means extraordinary, having been selected by a
minister that truly deserved that title, in whom learning (which was the rage of
the times) was but a secondary commendation, his taste and good sense being most
conspicuous. The history of the Church and Empire by Le Sueur, Bossuett's
Discourses on Universal History, Plutarch's
Lives, the History of Venice by Nani, Ovid's Metamorphoses, La
Bruyère, Fontenelle's World, his Dialogues of the Dead, and a few volumes of
Moliere, were soon ranged in my father's closet, where, during the hours he was
employed in his business, I daily read them, with an avidity and taste uncommon,
perhaps unprecedented at my age.
Plutarch presently became my greatest
favorite. The satisfaction I derived from the repeated readings I gave this
author, extinguished my passion for romances, and I shortly preferred Agesilaus,
Brutus, and Aristides, to Orondates, Artemenes, and Juba. These interesting
studies, seconded by the conversations they frequently occasioned with my
father, produced that republican spirit and love of liberty, that haughty and
invincible turn of mind, which rendered me impatient of restraint or servitude,
and became the torment of my life, as I continually found myself in situations
incompatible with these sentiments. Incessantly occupied with Rome and Athens,
conversing, if I may so express myself, with their illustrious heroes; born the
citizen of a republic, of a father whose ruling passion was the love of his
country, I was fired with these examples; could fancy myself a Greek or Roman,
and readily give into the character of the personage whose life I read;
transported by the recital of any extraordinary instance of fortitude or
intrepidity, animation flashed from my eyes, and gave my voice additional
strength and energy. One day, at table, while relating the fortitude of
Scoevola, they were terrified at seeing me start from my seat and hold my hand
over a hot chafing-dish, to represent more forcibly the action of that
determined Roman.
My brother, who was seven years older than myself, was brought up to my father's profession.
The extraordinary affection they lavished on me might be the reason he was too
much neglected: this certainly was a fault which cannot be justified. His
education and morals suffered by this neglect, and he acquired the habits of a
libertine before he arrived at an age to be really one. My father tried what
effect placing him with a master would produce, but he still persisted in the
same ill conduct. Though I saw him so seldom that it could hardly be said we
were acquainted, I loved him tenderly, and believe he had as strong an affection
for me as a youth of his dissipated turn of mind could be supposed capable of.
One day, I remember, when my father was correcting him severely, I threw myself
between them, embracing my brother, whom I covered with my body, receiving the
strokes designed for him; I persisted so obstinately in my protection, that
either softened by my cries and tears, or fearing to hurt me most, his anger
subsided, and he pardoned his fault. In the end, my brother's conduct became so
bad that he suddenly disappeared, and we learned some time after that he was in
Germany, but he never wrote to us, and from that day we heard no news of him:
thus I became an only son.
If this poor
lad was neglected, it was quite different with his brother, for the children of
a king could not be treated with more attention and tenderness than were
bestowed on my infancy, being the darling of the family; and what is rather
uncommon, though treated as a beloved, never a spoiled child; was never
permitted, while under paternal inspection, to play in the street with other
children; never had any occasion to contradict or indulge those fantastical
humors which are usually attributed to nature, but are in reality the effects of
an injudicious education. I had the faults common to my age, was talkative, a
glutton, and sometimes a liar; made no scruple of stealing sweetmeats, fruits,
or, indeed, any kind of eatables; but never took delight in mischievous waste,
in accusing others, or tormenting harmless animals. I recollect, indeed, that
one day, while Madam Clot, a neighbor of ours, was gone to church, I made water
in her kettle; the remembrance even now makes me smile, for Madam Clot (though,
if you please, a good sort of creature) was one of the most tedious grumbling
old women I ever knew. Thus have I given a brief, but faithful, history of my
childish transgressions.
How could I
become cruel or vicious, when I had before my eyes only examples of mildness,
and was surrounded by some of the best people in the world? My father, my aunt,
my nurse, my relations, our friends, our neighbors, all I had any connections
with, did not obey me, it is true, but loved me tenderly, and I returned their
affection. I found so little to excite my desires, and those I had were so
seldom contradicted, that I was hardly sensible of possessing any, and can
solemnly aver I was an absolute stranger to caprice until after I had
experienced the authority of a master.
Those hours
that were not employed in reading or writing with my father, or walking with my
governess, Jaqueline, I spent with my aunt; and whether seeing her embroider, or
hearing her sing, whether sitting or standing by her side, I was ever happy. Her
tenderness and unaffected gayety, the charms of her figure and countenance, have
left such indelible impressions on my mind, that her manner, look, and attitude,
are still before my eyes; I recollect a thousand little caressing questions;
could describe her clothes, her head-dress, nor have the two curls of fine black
hair which hung on her temples, according to the mode of that time, escaped my
memory.
Though my
taste, or rather passion, for music, did not show itself until a considerable
time after, I am fully persuaded it is to her I am indebted for it. She knew a
great number of songs, which she sung with great sweetness and melody. The
serenity and cheerfulness which were conspicuous in this lovely girl, banished
melancholy, and made all round her happy.
…
Such were my
affections on entering this life. Thus began to form and demonstrate itself a
heart at once haughty and tender, a character effeminate, yet invincible; which,
fluctuating between weakness and courage, luxury and virtue, has ever set me in
contradiction to myself; causing abstinence and enjoyment, pleasure and
prudence, equally to shun me.
This course of
education was interrupted by an accident, whose consequences influenced the rest
of my life. My father had a quarrel ungenerous man, happening to bleed at the
nose, in order to be revenged, accused my father of having drawn his sword on
him in the city, and in consequence of this charge they were about to conduct
him to prison. He insisted (according to the law of this republic) that the
accuser should be confined at the same time; and, not being able to obtain this,
preferred a voluntary banishment for the remainder of his life, to giving up a
point by which he must sacrifice his honor and liberty.
I remained
under the tuition of my uncle Bernard, who was at that time employed in the
fortifications of Geneva. He had lost his eldest daughter, but had a son about
my own age, and we were sent together to Bossey, to board with the Minister
Lambercier. Here we were to learn Latin, with all the insignificant trash that
has obtained the name of education.
Two years spent
in this village softened, in some degree, my Roman fierceness, and again reduced
me to a state of childhood. At Geneva, where nothing was exacted, I loved
reading, which was, indeed, my principal amusement; but, at Bossey, where
application was expected, I was fond of play as a relaxation. The country was so
new, so charming in my idea, that it seemed impossible to find satiety in its
enjoyments, and I conceived a passion for rural life, which time has not been
able to extinguish; nor have I ever ceased to regret the pure and tranquil
pleasures I enjoyed at this place in my childhood; the remembrance having
followed me through every age, even to that in which I am hastening again
towards it.
M. Lambercier
was a worthy, sensible man, who, without neglecting our instruction, never made
our acquisitions burthensome, or tasks tedious. What convinces me of the
rectitude of his method is, that notwithstanding my extreme aversion to
restraint, the recollection of my studies is never attended with disgust; and,
if my improvement was trivial, it was obtained with ease, and has never escaped
memory.
…
The manner in
which I passed my time at Bossey was so agreeable to my disposition, that it
only required a longer duration absolutely to have fixed my character, which
would have had only peaceable, affectionate, benevolent sentiments for its
basis. I believe no individual of our kind ever possessed less natural vanity
than myself. At intervals, by an extraordinary effort, I arrived at sublime
ideas, but presently sunk again into my original languor. To be beloved by every
one who knew me was my most ardent wish. I was naturally mild, my cousin was
equally so, and those who had the care of us were of similar dispositions.
Everything contributed to strengthen those propensities which nature had
implanted in my breast, and during the two years I was neither the victim nor
witness of any violent emotions.
…
Neither she nor
her brother were deficient in a reasonable severity, but as this was scarce ever
exerted without just cause, I was more afflicted at their disapprobation than
the punishment. Certainly the method of treating youth would be altered if the
distant effects, this indiscriminate, and frequently indiscreet method produces,
were more conspicuous. I would willingly excuse myself from a further
explanation, did not the lesson this example conveys (which points out an evil
as frequent as it is pernicious) forbid my silence.
As Miss
Lambercier felt a mother's affection, she sometimes exerted a mother's
authority, even to inflicting on us, when we deserved it, the punishment of
infants. She had often threatened it, and this threat of a treatment entirely
new, appeared to me extremely dreadful; but I found the reality much less
terrible than the idea, and what is still more unaccountable, this punishment
increased my affection for the person who had inflicted it. All this affection,
aided by my natural mildness, was scarcely sufficient to prevent my seeking, by
fresh offenses, a return of the same chastisement; for a degree of sensuality
had mingled with the smart and shame, which left more desire than fear of a
repetition. I was well convinced the same discipline from her brother would have
produced a quite contradictory effect; but from a man of his disposition this
was not probable, and if I abstained from meriting correction, it was merely
from a fear of offending Miss Lambercier, for benevolence, aided by the
passions, has ever maintained an empire over me which has given law to my heart.
This event,
which, though desirable, I had not endeavored to accelerate, arrived without my
fault; I should say, without my seeking; and I profited by it with a safe
conscience; but this second, was also the last time, for Miss Lambercier, who
doubtless had some reason to imagine this chastisement did not produce the
desired effect, declared it was too fatiguing, and that she renounced it for the
future. Till now we had slept in her chamber, and during the winter, even in her
bed; but two days after another room was prepared for us.
Who would
believe this childish discipline, received at eight years old, from the hand of
a woman of thirty, should influence my propensities, my desires, my passions,
for the rest of my life, and that in quite a contrary sense from what might
naturally have been expected? The very incident that inflamed my senses, gave my
desires such an extraordinary turn, that, confined to what I had already
experienced, I sought no further, and, with blood boiling with sensuality almost
from my birth, preserved my purity beyond the age when the coldest constitutions
lose their sensibility; long tormented, without knowing by what, I gazed on
every handsome woman with delight; imagination incessantly brought their charms
to my remembrance, only to transform them into so many Miss Lamberciers. Even
after having attained the marriageable age this odd taste still continued and
drove me nearly to depravity and madness.
…
These
prejudices of education, proper in themselves to retard the first explosions of
a combustible constitution, were strengthened, as I have already hinted, by the
effect the first moments of sensuality produced in me, for notwithstanding the
troublesome ebullition of my blood, I was satisfied with the species of
voluptuousness I had already been acquainted with, and sought no further. I
never went to the other species of voluptuousness and had no suspicion that I
was so near it. In my crazy fancies during my erotic passions and while I was
committing extravagant acts, I borrowed the help of the other sex in my
imagination.
Thus I passed
the age of puberty, with a constitution extremely ardent, without knowing or
even wishing for any other gratification of the passions than what Miss
Lambercier had innocently given me an idea of; and when I became a man, that
childish taste, instead of vanishing, only associated with the other that I
never could remove from my sensual desires. This folly, joined to a natural
timidity, has always prevented my being very enterprising with women, so that I
have passed my days in languishing in silence for those I most admired, without
daring to disclose my wishes.
To fall at the
feet of an imperious mistress, obey her mandates, or implore pardon, were for me
the most exquisite enjoyments, and the more my blood was inflamed by the efforts
of a lively imagination the more I acquired the appearance of a whining lover.
It will be
readily conceived that this mode of making love is not attended with a rapid
progress or imminent danger to the virtue of its object; yet, though I have few
favors to boast of I have not been excluded from enjoyment, however imaginary.
Thus the senses, in concurrence with a mind equally timid and romantic, have
preserved my morals chaste, and feelings uncorrupted, with precisely the same
inclinations, which, seconded with a moderate portion of effrontery, might have
plunged me into the most unwarrantable excesses.
I have made the
first, most difficult step, in the obscure and painful maze of my Confessions.
We never feel so great a degree of repugnance in divulging what is really
criminal, as what is merely ridiculous. I am now assured of my resolution, for
after what I have dared disclose, nothing can have power to deter me. The
difficulty attending these acknowledgments will be readily conceived, when I
declare, that during the whole of my life, though frequently laboring under the
most violent agitation, being hurried away with the impetuosity of passion I
could never, in the course of the most unbounded familiarity, acquire sufficient
courage to declare my folly, and implore the only favor that remained to bestow.
That has only once happened, when a child, with a girl of my own age; even then
it was she who first proposed it.
In thus
investigating the first traces of my sensible existence, I find elements, which,
though seemingly incompatible, have united to produce a simple and uniform
effect; while others, apparently the same, have, by the concurrence of certain
circumstances, formed such different combinations, that it would never be
imagined they had any affinity; who would believe, for example, that one of the
most vigorous springs of my soul was tempered in the identical source from
whence luxury and ease mingled with my constitution and circulated in my veins?
Before I quit this subject, I will add a striking instance of the different
effects they produced.
One day, while
I was studying in a chamber contiguous to the kitchen, the maid set some of Miss
Lambercier's combs to dry by the fire, and on coming to fetch them some time
after, was surprised to find the teeth of one of them broken off. Who could be
suspected of this mischief? No one but myself had entered the room: I was
questioned, but denied having any knowledge of it. Mr. and Miss Lambercier
consult, exhort, threaten, but all to no purpose; I obstinately persist in the
denial; and, though this was the first time I had been detected in a confirmed
falsehood, appearances were so strong that they overthrew all my protestations.
This affair was thought serious; the mischief, the lie, the obstinacy, were
considered equally deserving of punishment, which was not now to be administered
by Miss Lambercier. My uncle Bernard was written to; he arrived; and my poor
cousin being charged with a crime no less serious, we were conducted to the same
execution, which was inflicted with great severity. If finding a remedy in the
evil itself, they had sought ever to allay my depraved desires, they could not
have chosen a shorter method to accomplish their designs, and, I can assure my
readers, I was for a long time freed from the dominion of them.
As this
severity could not draw from me the expected acknowledgment, which obstinacy
brought on several repetitions, and reduced me to a deplorable situation, yet I
was immovable, and resolutely determined to suffer death rather than submit.
Force, at length, was obliged to yield to the diabolical infatuation of a child,
for no better name was bestowed on my constancy, and I came out of this dreadful
trial, torn, it is true, but triumphant. Fifty years have expired since this
adventure -- the fear of punishment is no more. Well, then, I aver, in the face
of Heaven, I was absolutely innocent: and, so far from breaking, or even
touching the comb, never came near the fire. It will be asked, how did this
mischief happen? I can form no conception of it, I only know my own innocence.
Let any one
figure to himself a character whose leading traits were docility and timidity,
but haughty, ardent, and invincible, in its passions; a child, hitherto governed
by the voice of reason, treated with mildness, equity, and complaisance, who
could not even support the idea of injustice, experiencing, for the first time,
so violent an instance of it, inflicted by those he most loved and respected.
What perversion of ideas! What confusion in the heart, the brain, in all my
little being, intelligent and moral! -- let any one, I say, if possible, imagine
all this, for I am incapable of giving the least idea of what passed in my mind
at that period.
My reason was
not sufficiently established to enable me to put myself in the place of others,
and judge how much appearances condemned me, I only beheld the rigor of a
dreadful chastisement, inflicted for a crime I had not committed; yet I can
truly affirm, the smart I suffered, though violent, was inconsiderable to what I
felt from indignation, rage, and despair. My cousin, who was almost in similar
circumstances, having been punished for an involuntary fault, as guilty of a
premeditated crime, became furious by my example. Both in the same bed, we
embraced each other with convulsive transport; we were almost suffocated; and
when our young hearts found sufficient relief to breathe out our indignation, we
sat up in the bed, and with all our force, repeated a hundred times, Carnifex!
Carnifex! Carnifex! Executioner, tormentor.
Even while I
write this I feel my pulse quicken, and should I live a hundred thousand years,
the agitation of that moment would still be fresh in my memory. The first
instance of violence and oppression is so deeply engraven on my soul, that every
relative idea renews my emotion: the sentiment of indignation, which in its
origin had reference only to myself, has acquired such strength, and is at
present so completely detached from personal motives, that my heart is as much
inflamed at the sight or relation of any act of injustice (whatever may be the
object, or wheresoever it may be perpetrated) as if I was the immediate
sufferer. When I read the history of a merciless tyrant, or the dark and the
subtle machination of a knavish designing priest, I could on the instant set off
to stab the miscreants, though I was certain to perish in the attempt.
I have
frequently fatigued myself by running after and stoning a cock, a cow, a dog, or
any animal I saw tormenting another, only because it was conscious of possessing
superior strength. This may be natural to me, and I am inclined to believe it
is, though the lively impression of the first injustice I became the victim of
was too long and too powerfully remembered not to have added considerable force
to it.
This occurrence
terminated my infantine serenity; from that moment I ceased to enjoy a pure
unadulterated happiness, and on a retrospection of the pleasures of my
childhood, I yet feel they ended here.
…
[A few years
later, Rousseau is apprenticed….]
My vocation
thus determined, I was bound apprentice; not, however, to a watchmaker, but to
an engraver, and I had been so completely humiliated by the contempt of the
register, that I submitted without a murmur. My master, whose name was M.
Ducommon, was a young man of a very violent and boorish character, who contrived
in a short time to tarnish all the amiable qualities of my childhood, to stupefy
a disposition naturally sprightly, and reduce my feelings, as well as my
condition, to an absolute state of servitude. I forgot my Latin, history, and
antiquities; I could hardly recollect whether such people as Romans ever
existed. When I visited my father, he no longer beheld his idol, nor could the
ladies recognize the gallant Jean Jacques; nay, I was so well convinced that Mr.
and Miss Lambercier would scarce receive me as their pupil, that I endeavored to
avoid their company, and from that time have never seen them. The vilest
inclinations, the basest actions, succeeded my amiable amusements, and even
obliterated the very remembrance of them. I must have had, in spite of my good
education, a great propensity to degenerate, else the declension could not have
followed with such ease and rapidity, for never did so promising a Caesar so
quickly become a Laradon.
The art itself
did not displease me. I had a lively taste for drawing. There was nothing
displeasing in the exercise of the graver; and as it required no very
extraordinary abilities to attain perfection as a watchcase engraver, I hoped to
arrive at it. Perhaps I should have accomplished my design, if unreasonable
restraint, added to the brutality of my master, had not rendered my business
disgusting. I wasted his time, and employed myself in engraving medals, which
served me and my companions as a kind of insignia for a new invented order of
chivalry, and though this differed very little from my usual employ, I
considered it as a relaxation. Unfortunately, my master caught me at this
contraband labor, and a severe beating was the consequence. He reproached me at
the same time with attempting to make counterfeit money, because our medals bore
the arms of the Republic, though, I can truly aver, I had no conception of false
money, and very little of the true, knowing better how to make a Roman As than
one of our threepenny pieces.
My master's
tyranny rendered insupportable that labor I should otherwise have loved, and
drove me to vices I naturally despised, such as falsehood, idleness, and theft.
Nothing ever gave me a clearer demonstration of the difference between filial
dependence and abject slavery, than the remembrance of the change produced in me
at that period. Hitherto I had enjoyed a reasonable liberty; this I had suddenly
lost. I was enterprising at my father's, free at M. Lambercier's, discreet at my
uncle's; but, with my master, I became fearful and from that moment my mind was
vitiated. Accustomed to live on terms of perfect equality, to be witness of no
pleasures I could not command, to see no dish I was not to partake of, or be
sensible of a desire I might not express; to be able to bring every wish of my
heart to my lips -- what a transition! -- at my master's I was scarce allowed to
speak, was forced to quit the table without tasting what I most longed for, and
the room when I had nothing particular to do there; was incessantly confined to
my work, while the liberty my master and his journeymen enjoyed, served only to
increase the weight of my subjection. When disputes happened to arise, though
conscious that I understood the subject better than any of them, I dared not
offer my opinion; in a word, everything I saw became an object of desire, for no
other reason than because I was not permitted to enjoy anything. Farewell
gayety, ease, those happy turns of expression, which formerly even made my
faults escape correction. I recollect, with pleasure, a circumstance that
happened at my father's, which even now makes me smile. Being for some fault
ordered to bed without my supper, as I was passing through the kitchen, with my
poor morsel of bread in my hand, I saw the meat turning on the spit; my father
and the rest were round the fire; I must bow to every one as I passed. When I
had gone through this ceremony, leering with a wishful eye at the roast meat,
which looked so inviting, and smelt so savory, I could not abstain from making
that a bow likewise, adding in a pitiful tone, good-by, roast meat! This
unpremeditated pleasantry put them in such good humor, that I was permitted to
stay, and partake of it. Perhaps the same thing might have produced a similar
effect at my master's, but such a thought could never have occurred to me, or,
if it had, I should not have had courage to express it.
Thus I learned
to covet, dissemble, lie, and, at length, to steal, a propensity I never felt
the least idea of before, though since that time I have never been able entirely
to divest myself of it. Desire and inability united naturally led to this vice,
which is the reason pilfering is so common among footmen and apprentices, though
the latter, as they grow up, and find themselves in a situation where everything
is at their command, lose this shameful propensity. As I never experienced the
advantage, I never enjoyed the benefit.
Good
sentiments, ill directed, frequently lead children into vice. Notwithstanding my
continual wants and temptations, it was more than a year before I could resolve
to take even eatables. My first theft was occasioned by complaisance, but it was
productive of others which had not so plausible an excuse. My master had a
journeyman named Verrat, whose mother lived in the neighborhood, and had a
garden at a considerable distance from the house, which produced excellent
asparagus. This Verrat, who had no great plenty of money, took it in his head to
rob her of the most early production of her garden, and by the sale of it
procure those indulgences he could not otherwise afford himself; not being very
nimble, he did not care to run the hazard of a surprise. After some preliminary
flattery, which I did not comprehend the meaning of, he proposed this expedition
to me, as an idea which had that moment struck him. At first I would not listen
to the proposal; but he persisted in his solicitation, and as I could never
resist the attacks of flattery, at length prevailed. In pursuance of this
virtuous resolution, I every morning repaired to the garden, gathered the best
of the asparagus, and took it to the Molard where some good old women, who
guessed how I came by it, wishing to diminish the price, made no secret of their
suspicions; this produced the desired effect, for, being alarmed, I took
whatever they offered, which being taken to Mr. Verrat, was presently
metamorphosed into a breakfast, and divided with a companion of his; for, though
I procured it, I never partook of their good cheer, being fully satisfied with
an inconsiderable bribe.
I executed my
roguery with the greatest fidelity, seeking only to please my employer; and
several days passed before it came into my head to rob the robber, and tithe Mr.
Verrat's harvest. I never considered the hazard I run in these expeditions, not
only of a torrent of abuse, but what I should have been still more sensible of,
a hearty beating; for the miscreant, who received the whole benefit, would
certainly have denied all knowledge of the fact, and I should only have received
a double portion of punishment for daring to accuse him, since being only an
apprentice, I stood no chance of being believed in opposition to a journeyman.
Thus in every situation, powerful rogues know how to save themselves at the
expense of the feeble.
This practice
taught me it was not so terrible to thieve as I had imagined; I took care to
make this discovery turn to some account, helping myself to everything within my
reach, that I conceived an inclination for. I was not absolutely ill-fed at my
master's, and temperance was only painful to me by comparing it with the luxury
he enjoyed. The custom of sending young people from table precisely when those
things are served up which seem most tempting, is calculated to increase their
longing, and induces them to steal what they conceive to be so delicious. It may
be supposed I was not backward in this particular: in general my knavery
succeeded pretty well. though quite the reverse when I happened to be detected.
I recollect an
attempt to procure some apples, which was attended with circumstances that make
me smile and shudder even at this instant. The fruit was standing in a pantry,
which by a lattice at a considerable height received light from the kitchen. One
day, being alone in the house, I climbed up to see these precious apples, which,
being out of my reach, made this pantry appear the garden of Hesperides. I
fetched the spit -- tried if it would reach them -- it was too short -- I
lengthened it with a small one which was used for game, -- my master being very
fond of hunting, darted at them several times without success; at length was
more fortunate; being transported to find I was bringing up an apple, I drew it
gently to the lattice- was going to seize it, when (who can express my grief and
astonishment!) I found it would not pass through -- it was too large. I tried
every expedient to accomplish my design, sought supporters to keep the spits in
the same position, a knife to divide the apple, and a lath to hold it with; at
length, I so far succeeded as to effect the division, and made no doubt of
drawing the pieces through; but it was scarcely separated (compassionate reader,
sympathize with my affliction) when both pieces fell into the pantry.
Though I lost
time by this experiment, I did not lose courage, but, dreading a surprise, I put
off the attempt till next day, when I hoped to be more successful, and returned
to my work as if nothing had happened, without once thinking of what the two
obvious witnesses I had left in the pantry deposed against me. The next day (a
fine opportunity offering) I renew the trial. I fasten the spits together: get
on the stool; take aim; am just going to dart at my prey -- unfortunately the
dragon did not sleep; the pantry door opens, my master makes his appearance,
and, looking up, exclaims, "Bravo!" -- The horror of that moment returns -- the
pen drops from my hand.
A continual
repetition of ill treatment rendered me callous; it seemed a kind of composition
for my crimes, which authorized me to continue them, and, instead of looking
back at the punishment, I looked forward to revenge. Being beat like a slave, I
judged I had a right to all the vices of one. I was convinced that to rob and be
punished were inseparable, and constituted, if I may so express myself, a kind
of traffic, in which, if I perform my part of the bargain, my master would take
care not to be deficient in his; that preliminary settled, I applied myself to
thieving with great tranquillity, and whenever this interrogatory occurred to my
mind, "What will be the consequence?" the reply was ready, "I know the worst, I
shall be beat; no matter, I was made for it."
…
Before I
abandon myself to the fatality of my destiny, let me contemplate for a moment
the prospect that awaited me had I fallen into the hands of a better master.
Nothing could have been more agreeable to my disposition, or more likely to
confer happiness, than the peaceful condition of a good artificer, in so
respectable a line as engravers are considered at Geneva. I could have obtained
an easy subsistence, if not a fortune; this would have bounded my ambition; I
should have had means to indulge in moderate pleasures, and should have
continued in my natural sphere, without meeting with any temptation to go beyond
it. Having an imagination sufficiently fertile to embellish with its chimeras
every situation, and powerful enough to transport me from one to another, it was
immaterial in which I was fixed; that was best adapted to me, which, requiring
the least care or exertion, left the mind most at liberty; and this happiness I
should have enjoyed. In my native country, in the bosom of my religion, family,
and friends, I should have passed a calm and peaceful life in the uniformity of
a pleasing occupation, and among connections dear to my heart. I should have
been a good Christian, a good citizen, a good friend, a good man. I
should have relished my condition, perhaps have been an honor to it, and
after having passed a life of happy obscurity, surrounded by my family, I should
have died at peace. Soon it may be forgotten, but while remembered it would have
been with tenderness and regret.
Instead of this
-- what a picture am I about to draw! -- Alas! why should I anticipate the
miseries I have endured? The reader will have but too much of the melancholy
subject.