T H E

F A B L E
O F T H E

B E E S :
By

BERNARD MANDEVILLE.
With a Commentary

Critical, Historical, and Explanatory b y

F. B . K A Y E

O X F O R D :

A t the C l a r e n d o n Press
M DCCCC X X I V

The Fable of the Bees

or Private Vices, Publick Benefits.
BY BERNARD MANDEVILLE

WITH A COMMENTARY CRITICAL, HISTORICAL, AND EXPLANATORY

BY E 6. KAYE

VOLUME ONE

!
1

Liberty Fund
INDIANAPOLIS

l a *

This book is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a foundation established to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.

The cuneiform inscription that serves as our logo and as the design motif for our endpapers is the earliest-known written appearance of the word "freedom" ( m a g i ) , or "liberty." It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash. This Liberty Fund edition of 1988 is an exact photographic reproduction of the edition published by Oxford University Press in 1924. Permission to reprint has been granted by the Yale University Library, New Haven, CT who own the rights to the 1924 edition. Copy for reprint from Indiana University Library, Bloomington, IN. Liberty Fund, Inc. 8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mandeville, Bernard, 1670-1733. The fable of the bees, or, Private vices, publick benefitdby Bernard Mandeville ; with a commentary, critical, historical, and explanatoryhy F.B. Kaye. Previously published: Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1924. Includes index. 1. Ethics-Early works to 1800. 2. Virtue-Early works to 1800. 3. Charity-schools-Early works to 1800. I. Title. II. Title: Private vices, publick benefits. BJ1520.M4 1988 1 7 M c 19 ISBN 0-86597-072-6(set) ISBN 0-86597-073-4 (v. 1) ISBN 0-86597-074-2(v. 2) ISBN 0-86597-075-0(pbk. : set) ISBN 0-86597-076-9 (pbk. : v. 1) ISBN 0-86597-077-7 (pbk. : V. 2) 02 03 02 01 C 6 5 4 3 00 99 P 8 67 5 4

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PRINTED AND BOUND BY EDWARDS BROTHERS, INC.. ANN ARBOR, MI

I readMandevilleforty,or, I believe,fiftyyearsago he opened my views into real life very much. JOHNSON, in Boswells Life, ed. Hill, 1887,iii. 292.

....

The wickedest cleverest book in the English language.

ROBINSON, Diary, ed. Sadler, 1869, i. 392. CRABB

If Shakespearehad written a bookon the motivesofhuman actions, it is . . . , extremely improbablethat it would have contained half ao much able reasoning on the subject as is to be found in the Fable of the Bees. MACAWLAY, in the essay on Milton (Works, ed. 1866, v. 5).
I like Mandeville better [than La Rochefoucauld]. He goes more into his subject. HAZLITT, Collected Works, ed. Waller and Glover, vi. 387.
Ay, this same midnight, by this chair of mine, Come and review thy counsels : art thou still Staunch to their teaching ?-not as fools opine Its purport might be, but as subtler skill Could, through turbidity, the loaded line Of logic casting, sound deep, deeper, till It touched a quietude and reached a shrine And recognized harmoniously combine Evil with good, and hailed truths triumph-thir,e, Sage dead long since, Bernard de Mandeville ! BROWNING, Parleyings with Certain People (1887),p. 31.

THE

[iii]

PREFACE.
A W S and Government are tothe Political Bodies of
Vital Spirits and Life it self are to theNatural Bodies of Animated Creatures ; and as those that study the Anatomy of Dead Carcases may see, that the chief Organs and nicest Springs more immediately required to continuetheMotion of our Machine, are not hard Bones, strong Muscles and Nerves, nor the smooth white Skin that so beautifullyI covers them, i.1 but small trifling Films and little Pipes that are either over-look'd, or else seem inconsiderable to Vulgar Eyes ; so they that
2522.1

A 2

The

examine into the Nature of Man, abstract horn Art and Education, may observe,that what renders him a Sociable Anima, consists not in his desire of Company, Goodnature, Pity,Affability,and other Graces of a fair Outside ; but that his vilest and most hatehl Qualities arethe most necessary Accomplishments to fit him for the largest, and, according to the World, the happiest and most flourishing Societies. The following Fable, in which what I have said is set forth at large, was printed above eight" Years ago * in a Six Penny Pamphlet, call'd, the GrumJZing Hive ; or Knaves tzlrn'dHonest; and being soon afier Pirated, cry'd about the Streets in a. Half-Penny Sheet.' Since thefirstpublishing of it I have met with several that either wilhlly or ignorantly mistaking the [VI Design, would have it, that the I Scope of it was a Satyr upon Virtue and Morality, and the whole wrote for the Encouragementc of Vice. This made me resolve, whenever it should be reprinted, some way or other to inform the Reader of the real Intent *T h i s was wrote in 1714.b
*
above eight] about fifteen 29 b Footnote add. 23 c Encourgement 32 1 See above, i. xxxiii, and below, ii. 387-9.

T R E F A CE.

The T R E F A C E .

this little Poem was wrote with. I do not dignify these few loose Lines with the Name of Poem, that I would have the Reader expect any Poetry in them, but barely because they are Rhime, and I am in reality puzzled what Name to give them; for they are neither Heroick nor Pastoral, Satyr,Burlesque nor Heroi-comick ; to be a Tale they want Probability, and the whole is rather too long for a Fable. All I can say of them is, that they are a Story told in Dogrel, which without the least design of being Witty, I have endeavourd to do in as easy and h i l i a r a manner as I was able : The Reader shall be welcome to call them what hepleases.Twas said of Montagne, that hewas pretty well versd in the Defects of Man-/kind, but unac- [v;] quainted with the Excellencies of human Nature : I If I fire no worse, I shall think my self well used.
I This is cited from Pierre Logiqw, ou ?Art de Penscr, by Bayles Miscellaneous Rcfkctions, A. Arnauld and P. Nicole], pt. 3, Occasiond by the Comet (1708) ch. 19 ; but La Logiqw contains i. 97-8 : Montagne, of whom no suchpassagethere, although similar criticism of Messieurs de Port Royal, who are it offers i s . 9 and 11s. none of his best Friends, are Montaigne in 1x1. x pleasd to observe, That having x. 6. Nicole elsewhere (BJJU~J never understood the Dignity of de Morde, Paris, 1714, 214) Human Nature, he was well asserted that Montaigne, in his enough acquainted with its De- analysis of things, a eu assez de pour en reconoitre la fects.. . Bayleplaced the passage lumiere in the Art of Thinking [La sottise & la vanit6 .

vi.

The T R E F A C E .

What Countrysoever in the Universe is to be understood by the Bee-Hive represented here, it is evident fiom what is said of the Laws and Constitution of it, the Glory, Wealth, Power and Industry of its a large, rich and Inhabitants, that it must be warlike Nation, that is happilygovernd by a limited Monarchy. The Satyr therefore to be met with in the following Lines upon the several Professions and Callings, and almostevery Degree and Station of People, was not made to injure and point to a particular Persons, but only to shew the Vileness of the Ingredients that all together compose the wholesome Mixture of a wellorderd Society ; in order to extol the wonderhl Power of Political Wisdom, by the help of which so beautifid a Machine is raisd &om the most contemptible Bran[GI ches. I For the main Design of the Fable, (as it is briefly explaind in the Moral) is to shew the Impossibility of enjoying all the most elegant Comforts of Life that are to be met with in an industrious, wealthy and powerhlNation, and atthe same time be blessd with all the Virtue and Innocence that can be wishd for in a Golden
a

at 14

all together] altogether

32

The T R E F A C E .

Age ; from thence toexpose the Unreasonableness and Folly of those, that desirous of being an opulent andflourishing People, and wonderhlly greedy afier all the Benefits they can receive as such, are yet always murmuring at and exclairning against those Vices and Inconveniences, that from the Beginning of the World to this present Day, havebeen inseparable fiom all Kingdoms and States that ever were famd for Strength, Riches, and Politeness, at the same time. 1. Faltas y T o do this, I 6rst slightly touch upon corrupciones que tienen las someof the Faults and Corruptions the profesiones. several Professionsand Callings are gener2. Los vicios de ally charged with. After that I I shew that [v;;i~ cada persona those very Vices of every particular Person en particular by skilful Management, were made subestn al servicio de la servient to the Grandeur and worldly felicidad de Happiness of the whole. Lastly, by setting todos. forth what of necessity must be the con3. Si la sequence of general Honesty and Virtue, humanidad no tuviera vicios, and National Temperance, Innocence and no podran ser Content, I demonstrate that if Mankind capaz de could be cured of the Failings theyare organizarse en sociedades Naturally guiltyof, they would cease to be buenas. capable of being raisd into such vast, potent and polite Societies,as they have

wealths and Monarchies that haveflourishd since the Creation. If you ask me, whyI have done all this, ctli b o ~ o P and what Good these Notions will produce ? truly, besides the Readers Diversion, I believe none at all ; but if I a was askd, what Naturally ought to be L expected fiom em, I woud answer, That in thefirst Place the People, who continually find fiult with others, by reading I [ ; I them, would be 1 taught to look at home, and examining their own Consciences, be made ashamd of alwaysrailing at what they are more or less guilty of themselves ; and that in the next, those who are so fond of the Ease and Comforts, and reap all the Benefitsthat are the Consequenceof a great and flourishing Nation, would learn more Imposibilidad de gozar de patiently to submit to those Inconveniences,los benecios una nacin which no Government upon Earthcan de oreciente, sin remedy, when they should see the Im- aceptar los possibility of enjoying any great share of inconveniente (vicios) que the first, without partaking likewise of the s nadie ha podido latter, This I say ought naturally to be expectedremediar. fiom the publishingofthese Notions, if
8

The PR E F A C E . been under the several great Common8

Iom.3a

that could be said to them ; but Mankind having for so many Ages remaind still the same, notwithstanding themany instructive and elaborate Writings, by which their Amendment has beenendeavourd, I am not so vain as to hope for bet-Iter Success [x] fiom so inconsiderable a Trifle. Having allowd the small Advantage this little Whim is likely to produce, I think my self obligd to shew, that it cannot be prejudicial to any ; for what is published, if it does no good, ought at least to do no harm : In order to this I have made some Explanatory Notes, to which the Reader will find himself referrd in those Passages that seem to be most liable to Exceptions. The Censorious that never saw the Grumbhg Hiae, will tell me, that whatever I may t a l k of the Fable, it not taking up a Tenth part of the Book, was only contrivd to introduce the Remarh ; that instead of clearing upthe doubtful or
had introduced his Disc w s u of Free-Tbinking with a similarcynicism : For as Truth will neverserve the Purposes of Knaves, so it will never suit the Understandings of Fools ; and thelatter will ever be as well
(1713),

The P R E F A C E . 9 People were to be made better by any thing

*C o l l i n s ,only the yearbeforepleasd

inbeingdeceivd, as the former in deceiving. It is thereforewithout the least hopes of doing any good,butpurely to complywithyourRequest,that I send you this Apolqyfur Frtclbinking , @.4).

. .

worse, and shewnmyselfa more bare1 4 faced Champion for Vice, in the ram-lbling Digressions, than I had done in the Fable it self. I shall spend no time in answering these Accusations ; where Men are prejudiced, the best Apologies are lost; and I know that those whothink it Criminal to suppose a necessity of Vice in any case whatever, will never be reconcild to any Part of the Performance ; but if this be thoroughly examind, all the Offence it can give, must result fiom the wrong Inferences that may perhaps be drawn from it, and which I desire no body to make. When I assert, that Vices are inseparable from great and potent Societies, and that it is impossible their Wealth and Grandeur should subsist without, I do not say that the particular Members of them who are guilty of any should not be continually reprovd, or not be punishd for them when they grow into Crimes. few People in There are, I believe,
Pero esto no quiere decir que los miembros particulares, que son culpables, no deban ser castigados cuando cometen crmenes.

The T R E F A C E . obscure Places, I have only pitchd upon such as I had a mind to expatiate upon ; and that far fiom striving to extenuate the Errors committed before, I have made Bad
IO

Los vicios son inseparables de las grandes potencias, y que es imposible que su riqueza y grandeza pueda subsistir sin stos.

forcd to go a-foot, but what could wish the I Streets of it muchcleaner than generally they are ; while they regard nothing but their own Clothes and private Conveniency : but when once they come to consider,thatwhat offends them is the result of thePlenty,greatTraffickand if they have Opulency of that mighty City, any Concern in its Welfare, they will hardly everwish to see the Streets of it less dirty. For if we mind the Materials of all Sorts that must supply such an infinite numberof Trades and Handicrafis, as are always going forward ; the vast quantity of Victuals, Drink andFewel that are daily consumd in it, theb Waste and Superfluities that must be produced &om them ; the multitudes of Horses and other Cattle that arealways dawbing the Streets, the Carts, Coaches and more heavy Carriages that are perpetually wearing and breaking the Pavement of them, and above all the numberless swarms of People that are continually harassingand trampling through every part I of them : If, I say, we c-1 mind all these, we shall findthat every
*
times 14
b the] and the

The PR E F A C E . I1 London, of those that are atanytimea

1423

swarm x4

12

The fipRE F A C E .

[SVJ

Momentmustproducenew Filth ; and considering how fir distant the great Streets are firom the River side, what Cost and Care soeverbebestow'd to remove the Nastiness almost as &st as 'tis' made, it isimpossible London should be more cleanlybefore it islessflourishing.Now would I ask ifa good Citizen,in considerahas been said, might not tion of what assert, that dirty Streetsareanecessary Evil inseparable horn the Felicity of London,without being the least hindrance to the cleaning of Shoes, or sweeping of Streets, and consequently without any Prejudice eitherto the BZacAguard' or the Scaoingers. But if, without any regard to the Interest or Happiness of theCity, the Question was put, What Place I thought most pleasant to walk in ? No body can doubt but, before the stinking Streetsof London, I wouldesteem a fragrantGarden, or a shady Grove in theCountry, I In the same manner, if laying aside all worldly Greatness and Vain-Glory, I should beask'd where I thought it was most probable that
* 'tis]
1

it is I4-24

Street shoe-blacks.

The T R E F A C E ,

Men might enjoy true Happiness, I would prefer a small peaceable Society, in which Men, neither envy'd nor esteem'd by Neighbours, should be contented to live upon the Natural Product of the Spot they inhabit, to a vast Multitude aboundinginWealthand Power, that should always be conquering others by their Arms Abroad, and debauchingthemselves by Foreign Luxury at Home.a Thus much I hadb said to theReader in the FirstEdition ; and have added nothing by way of Preface inthe Second, But since that, a violent Out-cry has beenmade against the Book, exactly answering the Expectation I always had of the Justice, the Wisdom, the Charity, and Fair-dealing of those whose Good-will I despair'd of. It has been presented by the Grand-Jury,' and condemn'd I by thousands who never [=I
Preface d r here 14 b have 23 Instead of rcmaindcr of prdacc, a3 hru what I have further to say to him he w i l l find in the Additions I have made since.
1

'3

For Mandeville's account of this presentment in 1723 see Fabk i. 383 sqq. Fiveyears later, on 28 Nov. 1728,the Grand Jury of Middlesex again decided to ' '' , , most humbly present the Author, Printers and Publishers of a Book, entituled, The Fable o f tbc Btcs,
f

or, Privatc Yiccs, Publick Bnvjts ,the fifth Edition. ' " And we beg Leave humbly to observe, that t h i s infamous and sanddous Book wa8 presented by the Grand-Jury of this County, to this Honourable Court, inthe Year 1723 ; yet notwithstanding the said Pre-

...

...

...

14

saw aword of it. It hasbeenpreachd ; and against before my Lord Mayor an utter Rehtation of it is daily expected fi-om aReverendDivine, who has calld me Names in the Advertisements, and threatned to answer meintwoMonths time for above five Months together. What I have to say for my self, the Reader will see in my Vindication at the End of the Book, where he will likewise find the
sentment, and Contempt in Author of The Fable of the Bees, thereof, an Edition of this Book and Catos Letter in the British has been published ; together Journal, June 15. 1723. are fully with the Presentment of the said and distinctly answered. By Grand-Jury, with scandalous and W.H E N D L E Y , Lecturer of St. infamous Reflections thereon, in Mary Islington. Note. the present Year 1728 (see The Book t o be deliverd in Two Remarks upon Two Late Present- Months Time. .-The adm n t s ofthe Grand-rury, pp. 5-6). vertisement was repeated on This immunity of Mandevilles 16 and 26 Aug. and on 2 Sept. is interesting as indicative of T h e book, however, did not powerful patronage. Chancellor appear till nearly Angust 17241 Macdesfield, it w i l l be re- for not until the Post-Boy of membered (see above, i. xxvi- 25-8 July is i t advertised as T h i s xxvii), was his friend. Poor Day is publishd Mandevilles Woolston, one of whose Dis- five months are, therefore, no courses on the miracles was pre- exaggeration. sented in 1728 along with the Mandevilles witticism fixes the Fabk, did not escape so easily, date when he added this passage but served a term in jail. t o his preface. It must have been x On Monday, 12 Aug. 1723, about five months after the the True Briton published an initial appearance of the adveradvertisement wherein it was tisement, or just before the declared that there was T o issue of the 1724 edition, which be Printed by Subscription, was on sale 18 Jan. I724 (see Defence A of the CHARITY above, i. Hxiv, n. 8). SCHOOLS. Wherein the many 3 Of thisvindicationMandefalse, scandalous and malicious ville elsewhere (Lettcr to Dion, Objections of those Adwocates for pp. 6-7) writes : First, it came Ignorance and Irreligion, the out in a News-Paper [London

...

..

...

...

The P R E F A C E .

15

Grand-Jurys Presentment, and a Letter to the Right Honourable Lord C.*which is very Rhetorical beyond Argument or Connexion. The Author shews a fine Talent for Invectives,and great Sagacity in discovering Atheism, where others can find none. He is zealous against wicked Books, points at theFable of the Bees, and is very angry with the Author : he bestows four strong Epithets on the Enormity of his Guilt, and by several elegant Innuendos tothe Multitude, as theDanger there is in suffering such Authors to live, and the Vengeance I of Heaven upon a [nil whole Nation, very charitably recommends him to their Care. Considering the length of this Epistle,
yournal, IO Aug. 17231 ; after that, I publishd it in a Six-penny Pamphlet, together with the Words of the firstPresentment of theGrand Jury and an injuriousabusive LettertoLord C . that came out immediately after it [27 July 1723, in the London ~ o u r n a; l the Presentment was published I I July in the Evening Post]. , I took care to have this printed in such a Manner,as to the Letter and Form, that for the Benefit of the Buyers, it might conveniently be boundup, and look of a Piece with the then last, which was the second Edition. It was really the third edition bee below. k 392). 1 Mandeville seems to have thought Lord C. to be that staunch Hanoverian, Baron Carteret-to whom the title of Right Honourable would apply -for he refers, in connexion with the letter mentioned, to the Peace in the North and Navigation (i.403), matters closely connected with Carteret, who had arranged the Peace and opened the Baltic to English navigation. The doubleallusion, otherwise unsuggested by the context, is unlikely to have been the result of mere chance.

..

16

and that it is not wholly levelld at me only, I thought at first to have made some Extracts fiom it ofwhat related to my self; butfinding, ona nearer Enquiry,that whatconcerndme was so blendedand I was interwoven with what did not, obligd to trouble the Reader with it entire, not without Hopes that, prolix as it is, theExtravagancy of it will be entertaining to thosewho have perused theTreatise it condemnswith so much Horror.a
a A table of contents (nine pages) and list of errata (OM page) follow prcf.ce in 14 ; see below, ii. 389-91. Preface followed in 29 by advertisement of 20th ed. of Pufmdorfs Introduction to rhc Histoy of the Principal States of Europe

The T R E F A CE.

.. .

THE

K N A v E s turn'd Honest.'
SpaciousHivewell stocktwith Bees, That liv'd in Luxury and Ease ; And yet as fam'd for Laws and Arms,

As yielding large and early Swarms;

Was counted the great Nursery Of Sciences and Industry. No Bees had better Government, More Fickleness, or less Content : They were not Slaves to Tyranny, Nor rul'd by wild Democracy ; But Kings, that could not wrong, because Their Power was circumscrib'd by Laws.
a: or, KNAVES turn'd Honest] om. in bcpding, altbwgb frdsrnt 01) titk-pagt) 05
252a. I

18

The GrumbZing Hive : Or,

T H E s E Insects livd like Men, and all

Our Actions they performd in small : They did whatevers done in Town, And what belongs to Sword or Gown : Tho th Artful Works, by nimble Slight Of minute Limbs, scapd Human Sight ; Yet weve no Engines, Labourers, Ships, Castles, Arms, Artificers, Craft, Science, Shop, or Instrument, But they had an Equivalent: Which, since their Language is unknown, Must be calld, as we do our own.

As grant, that among other Things, They wanted Dice, yet they had Kings ; And those had Guards ; from whence we may Justly conclude, they had some Play ; Unless a Regiment be shewn Of Soldiers, that make use of none.
[3]

V A s T Numbers throngd the fruitful Hive ; Yet those vast Numbers made em .thrive ; Millions endeavouring to supply Each others Lust and Vanity ; While other Millions were employd, T o see their Handy-works destroyd ; They furnishd half the Universe ; Yet had more Work than Labourers.

Knaves turnd Honest.

Some with vast Stocks, and little Pains, Jumpd into Business of great Gains ; And some were damnd to Sythes and Spades, And all those hard laborious Trades ; Where willing Wretches daily sweat, And wear out Strength and Limbs to eat : (A,)* While others followd Mysteries, To which few Folks bind Prentices ; That want no Stock, but that of Brass, And may set up without a Cross ;I As Sharpers, Parasites, Pimps, Players, Pick-pockets, Coiners, Quacks, South-sayers, 2 And all those, that in Enmity, With downright Working, cunningly Convert to their own Use the Labour Of their good-naturd heedless Neighbour. (B.) These were calld Knaves, but bar the Name, The grave Industrious were the same :

19

1 Without money, A cross Like those that w i t h theircredit small was a coin. drive 9 Cf.Butlersposthumous Upon A trade, without a stock, and the Wcakncss and Misery o j Man : thrive , . bawds, whores, and usurers, Had Mandeville perhaps seen Pimps,scrivners,silencdminisa MS. of Butlers poem (published 1759)f The poem, inciters, That get estates by being undone dentally, stated, FOX tender conscience, and have holiestactionshavebeen none, Th effects of wickedness and

. ..

..

sin
B2

...

20

The GrumbZing Hive : Or,

All Trades and Places knew some Cheat,

No Calling was without Deceit.

T H E Lawyers, of whose Art the Basis

Was raising Feuds and splitting Cases, Opposd all Registers, that Cheats Might make more Work with dipt Estates ; As wert unlawful, that ones own, Without a Law-Suit, should be known. They kept off Hearings wilfully, To finger the refreshing a Fee ; And to defend a wicked Cause, Examind and surveyd the Laws, As Burglars Shops and Houses do, T o find out where theyd best break through.
[5]

P H Y s I c I A N s valud Fame and Wealth

Above the drooping Patients Health, Or their own Skill : The greatest Part Studyd, instead of Rules of Art, Grave pensive Looks and dull Behaviour, T o gain thy Apothecarys Favour ; The Praise of Midwives, Priests, and all That servd a t Birth or Funeral.
a

retaining 05

Mortgaged estates.

Knaves tlcmd Honest.

To bear with th ever-talking Tribe,
And hear my Ladys Aunt prescribe ; With formal Smile, and kind How dye, To fawn on all the Family ;
And, which of all the greatest Curse is,

21

T endure th Impertinence of Nurses.

A M o N G the many Priests of Jovr,

Hird to draw Blessings from Above, Some few were Learnd and Eloquent, But thousands Hot and Ignorant : Yet all passd Muster that could hide Their Sloth, Lust, Avarice and Pride ; For which they were as famd as Tailors For Cabbage, or for Brandy Sailors :a Some,meagre-lookd, and meanly clad, Would mystically pray for Bread, Meaning by that an ample Store, Yet litrally received no more ; And, while these holy Drudges starvd, The lazy Ones, for which they servd, Indulgd their Ease, with all the Graces Of Health and Plenty in their Faces.
1

Sailors :] Sailors, 39

b Some 0923

22

The GrumbZhg Hive : Or,

(C.) T H E Soldiers, that were forcd to fight, If they survivd, got Honour byt ; Tho some, that shunnd the bloody Fray, Had Limbs shot off, that ran away : Some valiant Genrals fought the Foe ; Others took Bribes to let them go : Some venturd always where twas warm, Lost now a Leg, and then an Arm ; Till quite disabled, and put by, They livd on half their Salary ; [I While others never came in Play, And staid at Home for double Pay.

T H E I R Kings were servd, but Knavishly,

Cheated by their own Ministry ; Many, that for their Welfare slaved, Robbing the very Crown they saved : Pensions were small, and they livd high, Yet boasted of their Honesty. Calling, wheneer they straind their Right, The slippry Trick a Perquisite ; And when Folks understood their Cant, They changd that for Emolument ; Unwilling t o be short or plain, I n any thing concerning Gain ; (0.) For there was not a Bee but would. Get more, I wont say, than he should ;

Knaves turnd Honest.

But than he dard to let them know, (E.) That payd fort ; as your Gamesters do, i l l own That, tho a t fair Play, neer w Before the Losers what theyve won.

23

B u T who can all their Frauds repeat ? The very Stuff, which in the Street They sold for Dirt tenrich the Ground, Was often by the Buyers found Sophisticated with a quarter Of good-for-nothing Stones and Mortar ; Tho Flail had little Cause to mutter, Who sold the other Salt for Butter.
J u s T I c E her self, famd for fair Dealing, By Blindness had not lost her Feeling ; Her Left Hand, which the Scales should hold, Had often dropt em, bribd with Gold ; And, tho she seemd Impartial, Where Punishment was corporal, Pretended to a reglar Course, In Murther, and all Crimes of Force ; Tho some, first pilloryd for Cheating, Were hangd in Hemp of their own beating ; Yet, it was thought, the Sword she bore Checkd but the Desprate and the Poor ;

24

The GrtmdliPlg Hiae : Or,

193 That, urgd by meer Necessity,

Were tyd up to thewretched Tree 1 For Crimes, which not deservd that Fate, But to secure the Rich and Great.

T H u s every Part was full of Vice,

Yet the whole Mass a Paradise ; Flatterd in Peace, and feard in Wars, They were th Esteem of Foreigners, And lavish of their Wealth and Lives, The Balance of all other Hives. Such were the Blessings of that State ; Their Crimes conspird to make them * Great : (F.) And Virtue, who from Politicks Had learnd a Thousand Cunning Tricks, Was, by their happy Influence, Made Friends with Vice : And ever since, (G.) The worst of all the Multitude Did something for the Common Good,

Lo peor de cada uno hizo algo por el bien comn.

[14 T H I s was the States Craft, that maintaind

he Whole of which each Part complaind : This, as in Musick Harmony,b Made Jarrings in the main agree ;O * em 05 b Harmony,] Harmony 05-30
Pro G.2abirio iv. 13.
I

C f . Livy i. 26 : infelici arbori reate ruependito ; also Cicuo,

agree ;I a@*, 30

Knaves tumd Honest,

Assist each other *, as mere for Spight ; And Temprance with Sobriety, Serve Drunkenness and Gluttony.

25

(H.) Parties directly opposite,

(I.) T H E Root of Evil, Avarice,

That damnd ill-natwd baneful Vice, Was Slave to Prochgality,
Vicios - Emplear gente - Aumentar la industria

(K.) That noble Sin ; (L.) whilst Luxury

Employd a M i l l i o n of the Poor, (M.) And odious Pride a Million more : (N.) b Envy it self, and Vanity, Were Ministers of Industry ; Their darling Folly, Fickleness, In Diet, Furniture and Dress, That strange ridiclous Vice, was made The very Wheel that turnd the Trade. Their Laws and Clothes were equally Objects of Mutability ; For, what was well done for a time, In half a Year became a Crime ; Yet while they alterd thus their Laws, Still finding and correcting Flaws, They mended by Inconstancy Faults, which no Prudence could foresee.

* OthIOJ

(N.)Wh 14

26

The GrumdZing Hive : Or,

Los pobres vivan mejor que los ricos antes

T H u s Vice nursd Ingenuity,

Which joind with Time and Industry, Had carryd Lifes Conveniencies *, (0.) Its real Pleasures,Comforts,Ease, (P.) T o such a Height, the very Poor Livd better than theRich before,s And nothing could be added more.

H o w Vain is Mortal Happiness !

Had they but known the Bounds of Bliss ; And that Perfection here below Is more than Gods can well bestow ; [IZ] The Grumbling Brutes had been content With Ministers and Government. But they, a t every ill Success, Like Creatures lost without Redress, Cursd Politicians, Armies, Fleets ; While every one cryd, Damn the Cheats, And would, tho conscious of his own, In others barbrously bear none.

* Conveniences 32
x Of these lines and their elaboration in Remark P, I note two anticipations (not necessarily sources) : . a king of a large and fruitful territory there [America] feeds, lodges, and is clad worse than a day-labourer in England (Locke, Of Civil Government 11.

(N.) =4
v.

(0.) 14

..

41); and c. a King of India is not so well lodgd, and fed, and cloathd, as a Day-labourer of England (Considerations on the East-India Trade, in Select Collection o f Early English Ttacts on Commerce, ed. Political Economy Club, 1856, p. 594).

..

1;Cnave.s turnd Honest,

0 N E, that had got a Princely Store,
By cheating Master, King and Poor, Dard cry aloud, The Land must sink For all its Fraud ; And whom dye think The Sermonizing Rascal chid? A Glover that sold Lamb for Kid.

27

The least thing was not done amiss, Or crossd the Publick Business ; But all the Rogues cryd brazenly, Good Gods, Had we but Honesty ! Mercry smild a t thy Impudence, And others calld it want of Sense, Always to rail at what they lovd : But Jose with Indignation movd, At last in Anger swore, Hed rid The bawling Hive of Fraud ; and did. The very Moment it departs, And Honesty fills all their Hearts ; There shews em, like th Instructive Tree, Those Crimes which theyre ashamd to see ; Which now in Silence they confess, By blushing a t their Ugliness : Like Children, that would hide their Faults, And by their Colour own their Thoughts :

28

The GrslmbliPtg Hive : Or,

Irnagning, when theyre lookd upon, That others see what they have done. B u T, Oh ye Gods ! W h a t Consternation, How vast and sudden was th Alteration ! In half an Hour, the Nation round, Meat fell a Peny in thePound. 1x41 The Mask Hypocrisys flung down, From the great Statesman to the Clown : And some in borrowd Looks well known, Appeard like Strangers in their own. The Bar was silent from that Day ; For now the willing Debtors pay, Evn whats by Creditors forgot ; Who quitted them that had it not. Those, that were in the Wrong, stood mute, And dropt the patchd vexatious Suit : On which since nothing less a can thrive, Than Lawyers in an honest Hive, All, except those that got enough, With Inkhorns by their sides troopd o f f .

J u s T I c E hangd some, set others free ; And after Goal delivery, Her Presence being no more requird, With all her Train and Pomp retird.
a

3a

b beng

rq-sg

Knaves tzlmd Honest.

First marchd some Smiths with Locks and Grates, Fetters, and Doors with Iron Plates : Next Goalers, Turnkeys and Assistants : Before the Goddess, at some distance, Her chief and faithful Minister, Squire C A T c H,X the Laws great Finisher, Bore not th imaginary Sword, But his own Tools, an Ax and Cord : Then on a Cloud the Hood-winkd Fair, J us T I c E her self was pushd by Air : About her Chariot, and behind, Were Serjeants, Bums 3 of every kind, Tip-staffs, and all those Officers, That squeeze a Living out of Tears.

29

bsl

T H 0Physick livd, while Folks were ill, None would prescribe, but Bees of skill,
Which through theHive dispersd so wide, That none of them had need to ride ; Wavd vain Disputes, and strove to free The Patients of their Misery ;
em 05 Anglcterrc que de la hache pour a generic term for executioners. trancher la tgte, jamais de 1EpCe. a Probably the aword of jus- Cest pour cela quildonne le nom tice, although a note in the dimaginaire 1 cette EpCequon French translation explains it attribue au Bourreau. differently (ea. 1750, i. 21) : On 3 Bumbailifh. ne se sert dam les executions en

* Jack Ketch hadbecome

30
Left Drugs in cheating Countries grown, And usd the Product of their own ; 1163 Knowing the Gods sent no Disease T o Nations without Remedies.

T H E I R Clergy rousd from Laziness,

Laid not their Charge on Journey-Bees ; I But servd themselves, exempt from Vice, T h e Gods with Prayr and Sacrifice ; All those, that were unfit, or knew Their Service might be spard, withdrew : Nor was there Business for so many, (If th Honest stand in need of any,) Few only with the High-Priest staid, To whom the rest Obedience paid : Himself employd in Holy Cares,. Resignd to others State-Affairs. He chasd no Starvling from his Door, Nor pinchd the Wages of the Poor ; But a t his House the Hungrys fed, The Hireling finds unmeasurd Bread, The needy Travler Board and Bed.
a
1

Cares,]Cares ; 24-32 a slang term for a curate.

Journeyman parson was

Knaves t w d d Honest.
A M o N G the Kings great Ministers,
And all th inferior Officers The Change was great ; (&) a for frugally They now livd on their Salary : That a poor Bee should ten times come T o ask his Due, a trifling Sum, And by some well-hird Clerk be made To give a Crown, or neer be paid, Would now be calld a downright Cheat, Tho formerly a Perquisite. All Places managd first by Three, Who watchd each others Knavery, And often for a Fellow-feeling, Promoted one anothers stealing, Are happily supplyd by One, By which some thousands more are gone. (R ) No Honour now could be content, To live and owe for what was spent ; Livries in Brokers Shops are hung, They part with Coaches for a Song ; Sell stately Horses by whole Sets ; And Country-Houses, to pay Debts.

[VI

32

V A I N Cost is shunnd as much as Fraud ; They have no Forces kept Abroad ; Laugh at thyEsteem of Foreigners, And empty Glory got by Wars ; They fight, but for their Countrys sake, When Right or Libertys at Stake.
N o w mind the glorious Hive, and see How Honesty and Trade agree. The Shew is gone, it thins apace ; And looks with quite another Face. For twas not only that They went, By whom vast Sums were Yearly spent ; But Multitudes that livd on them, Were daily forcd to do thesame. In vain to other Trades theyd fly ; All were oer-stockd accordingly.
[19]

The Grumbling Hive : Or,

T H E Price of Land and Houses falls ;

Miraclous Palaces, whose Walls, Like those of Ihebes, were raisd by Play, Are to be let ; while the once gay,
I A footnote in the French translation (ed. 1750, i. 27) says : LAuteur vent parler des bitimens Uev& pour lOpera & la ComCdie. Amphion, apr& avoir chassb Cadmus !9sa Femme du lieu deleurdemeure, J bdtit la

Ville de Thibcs, en J attirant les pierres avec ordre & mesure, par Iharmonie merveilleuse de son divin Luth. It is possible, however, that Mandeville intended a pun on Play as meaning both music and gambling.

Knaves tumd Honest.

Well-seated Houshold Gods would be More pleasd to expire a in Flames, than see T h e mean Inscription on the Door Smile at the lofty ones they bore. The building Trade is quite destroyd, Artificers are not employd ; (S,) No Limner for his Art is famd, Stone-cutters, Carvers are not namd.

33

T H o s E, that remaind, grown temprate, strive,

Not how to spend, but how to live, And, when they paid their Tavern Score, Resolvd to enter it no more : No Vintners Jilt in all the Hive Could wear now Cloth of Gold, and thrive ; Nor lorcol such vast Sums advance, For Burgundy and Ortclans ; The Courtiers gone, that with his Miss Suppd a t his House on ChriJtmas Peas ; Spending as much in two H o u r s stay, As keeps a Troop of Horse a Day.

r201

T H E haughty Chloe, to live Great, Had made her (1.) Husband rob the State :

t O @e]
1p.x

t C I p h OJ-25
c

(1.) m.14
C

(2.1 14

34 7he GrambZiflg Hive : Or, But now she sells her Furniture, Which th India had been ransackd for ;
Contracts th expensive Bill of Fare, And wears her strong Suit a whole Year : The slight and fickle Age is past ; And Clothes, as well as Fashions, last. Weavers, that joind rich Silk with Plate, And all the Trades subordinate,
A r e gone. Still Peace and Plenty reign, And every Thing is cheap, tho plain :

Kind Nature, free from Gardners Force, Allows all Fruits in her own Course ; But Rarities cannot be had, Where Pains t o get them * are not paid.
E213

As Prideand Luxury decrease,

So by degrees they leave the Seas. Not Merchants now, but Companies Remove whole Manufactories. AU Arts and Crafts neglected lie ; (7.) Content, the Bane of Industry,
a

em 05-29

b But 32

(SJ14

Compare Lochs reflection : thus wesee our all-wise Maker, suitably to our constitution and with the state he is in-which is frame, and knowing what it ia when he is perfectly without any that determines the will, has put uneasiness-what industry, what into man the uneasiness of hunger action, what will is there left, and thirst, and other natural debut to continue in i t f And sires, that return a t their season4

When a man is perfectly content

.. .

Knaves turnd Honest.

Makes em admire their homely Store,
And neither seek nor covet more,

35

S o few in the vast Hive remain,

n e hundredth Part they cant maintain Against th Insults of numerous Foes ; Whom yet they valiantly oppose : Till some well-fencd Retreat is found, And here they dieor stand their Ground. No Hireling in their Armys known ; But bravely fighting for their own, heir Courage and Integrity At last were crownd with Victory. They triumphd not without their Cost, For many Thousand Bees were lost. Hardned with Toils and Exercise, They counted Ease it self a Vice ; Which so improvd their Temperance ; That, to avoid Extravagance, They flew into a hollow Tree, Blest with Content and Honesty.
to move and determine their of their speaes (Elsay concerning wills, for the pramation of Human U&stading, e d .Fraseer, themselves, and the continuation 1 8 9 4 , ~ m. 3 ) .

THE

M O R A L .
make a Great an Honest Hive I enjoy the Wwlds Conveniencies,c Be famd in War, yet live in East, Without great Yices, is a vain EUTOPIA seated i n the Brain. Fraud, Luxury and Pride must live, While we the Benefits receive : Hungers a dreadful Plague, no doubt, Y e t who digests or thrives without? Do we not owe the Growth of W i n e l o the dry shabby crooked d Vine P Which, while its Shoots neglected stood, Chokd other Plants, and ran to Wood ; But blest us with its noble Ftuit, As soon as it was tyd and cut :
a

T W (r.)

H E N leave Complaints : Fools only strive

l o

(1.1 I4

v.>*4 shabby clookedj crooked, shabby 05

Convcnimce~ 31

7be &?ORAL.
limitado por el

37

So Vice is beneficial found, Benecio del vicio When its by Justice lopt and bound ; mientras est

[+I

Nay, where the People would be great, derecho (leyes que el soberano As necessary to the State, no puede As Hunger is to make ern eat, transgredir) Bare Yirtue cant make Nations live Virtudes no In Splendor ; they, that would revive pueden hacer una Nacin A Golden Age, must be as free, esplendorosa For Acorns, as for Honesty.1
I In its use of feminine endings the Grumbling Hivc is less Hudibrastic than is Mandevilles other verse, containing only some seven per cent of theseendings as against the twenty per cent of Mandevilles verse as a whole and the thirty-five per cent of his translations from Scarron in Iypbon

Wisbes to a Godson Perhaps Mandeville consciously imitated this feature of Hudibras, a poem which hetwice quoted (Ireatire, ed. 1711,p. g+ and Origin of Honour, p. 134) and whose author he called the incomparableButler (Ircutisc, P* 9 4 ) .
(1704) and

(1712).

FINIS,