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A Defense of Paternal Government
Bossuet carries this idea of the
state as the source of all progress even so far as to defend the
Egyptians against the charge that they rejected wrestling and
music. He said:
"How is that possible? These
arts were invented by Trismegistus [who was alleged to have been
Chancellor to the Egyptian god Osiris]".
And again among the Persians,
Bossuet claims that all comes from above:
"One of the first
responsibilities of the prince was to encourage agriculture....
Just as there were offices established for the regulation of
armies, just so were there offices for the direction of farm
work.... The Persian people were inspired with an overwhelming
respect for royal authority."
And according to Bossuet, the Greek
people, although exceedingly intelligent, had no sense of
personal responsibility; like dogs and horses, they themselves
could not have invented the most simple games:
"The Greeks, naturally
intelligent and courageous, had been early cultivated by the
kings and settlers who had come from Egypt. From these Egyptian
rulers, the Greek people had learned bodily exercises, foot
races, and horse and chariot races.... But the best thing that
the Egyptians had taught the Greeks was to become docile, and to
permit themselves to be formed by the law for the public
good."
Clark Simmons, Webmaster
Copyright© 2000, Lillian Martinez Simmons |
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