CHAP. XIX.

Integrity the true Political Wifdom. THE tendency of a religious temper to exalt a prince into a hero, might be sufficiently illustrated by the fingle instance of Louis the Ninth. It is notorious, that nothing more feverely tries the character of princes, as well as of individuals, than remarkable fuccefs. It was, however, in this circumftance precifely, that the prince juft mentioned evinced how completely his Christian temper had corrected, both the selfishness natural to man, and the arro gance habitual to profperity.

When, under the unfortunate reign of our Henry the Third, the affairs of Eng land were reduced to a low condition, while thofe of France were in a highly flourishing ftate; Louis, in making a treaty with England, generoufly refused to take an unfair advantage of the mif

fortunes

fortunes of this country, or to avail him felf to the utmost of his own fuperiority. His conceffions to the depreffed enemy were liberal; and he foon after reaped the reward of his moderation, in the confidence which it infpired. Louis was chofen, both by Henry and his nobles, to fettle the differences between them. In confequence of the recent inftance of his public integrity, the foreign adverfary. was invited to be the arbiter of domeftic difagreements; and they were happily terminated by his decifion. Let infidels remark, to the difgrace of their scepticifm, that the monarch who was, perhaps, one of the greatest inftances of Christian piety and devotion, furnished also an example of the most striking moral rectitude!

Henry the Fourth, when only king of Navarre, discovered no lefs integrity after his glorious victory at Coutras. Being afked what terms he would require from the king of France, after gaining such a victory,

victory, "Just the fame," replied he, "that I fhould ask after lofing one."

It is, however, neceffary to observe, that integrity, in order to be fuccessful, must be uniform. Truth, for example, occafionally spoken, may not afford to the speaker any part of the profit which attends the regular obfervance of truth. The error of corrupt politicians confists much in treating each question, as if it were an infulated cafe, and then arguing, perhaps not unjustly, that the practice of virtue, in this or that particular inftance, will not be productive of good; forgetting that if, in all inftances, they would be virtuous, they would then, most probably, obtain the fuccefs and full reward of virtue.

We know that even in that particular branch of political tranfactions, the diplomatic, wherein the strongest temptations to diffimulation and chicanery are held forth to little minds, fome of the most able and fuccefsful negotiators have gene

roufly

roufly difdained the ufe of any fuch mean expedients. The franknefs and in-. tegrity of Temple and De Wit are not more esteemed by the moralift for their probity, than by the ftatefman for their. true wifdom. What can there be, indeed, fo different between the fituation of two public men, who on the part of their feveral countries refpectively, are negotiating on questions of policy or commerce; and that of two private men who are treating on fome business of ordinary life, which should render impolitic, in the public concern, that honesty which, in the private, is fo univerfally acknowledged to be the best policy, as to have grown into an adage of univerfal and unqualified acceptance. Indeed, as the adage may refer to what is truly politic in the long run, and with a view to general confequences, we might rather expect, that fraud would be admiffible into the tranfactions of private men, whofe fhort fpan of life might not be likely to

be

be more than counterbalanced by future Hofs, rather than in the concerns of states, which, by containing a long continued ex iftence, a political identity, under all the fucceffive generations of the members of which they are compofed, may pay, and pay perhaps feverely too, in later times, the price of former acts of fraud and treachery. Again, in public, no less than in private bufinefs, will not any one find the benefit of employing an agent, who poffeffes a high character for probity and honour? Will not larger and more liberal conceffions be made to him, who may be fafely relied on for paying their equivalent ? Once more, how often are public wars, as well as private differences, produced or fermented by mutual diftruft! and how furely would a confidence in each other's truth and honefty tend to the restoration of peace and harmony! Even the wily Florenine allows, that it is advantageous to

Machiavel.