Rielaborazione basata su dispense esame Cultura Inglese, docente Trulli, The Rise of Modern Culture

B. ManDeville. Preface to "The Fable of the Bees"

MandEville - Born in Holland - was mainly remembered for his impact on discussions of morality and economic theory in the early 18th century.

His most noteworthy and notorious work was The Fable of the Bees, one of the greatest and most provocative of all early-18th century English works, since he used humour to raise a point to make the profound economic point that private vices or self-interest lead to public benefits.

MandEville was a trade supporter, however he used satire to criticize the merchants which are puritans but also hypocrites since they exploited virtues and moral values over their associated with vices and dishonesty that made them rich, in a civil way.

MandEville used the metaphor of a beehive to illustrate a well-organized and regulated society (bees) governed by amoral structures.

His innovative idea was that without the desire of individual bees for gain and taking advantage of other people, the beehive (society) could not thrive.

He asserted in fact that priests - doctors - lawyers - politicians are all corrupted and full of vices, despite this, society was successful and thriven.

People tried to riot in order to obtain more just laws and a reduction of prices, but MandEville should they used not with honesty in virtues society cannot be prosperous since if there were no injustices, lawyers could not work or if nobody robed a lawyer, there would not be speculation. In other words, society would decay. MandEville asserted that self-interest was a necessary condition for economic prosperity.

The worst qualities of men were the ones who could support a flourishing society, since:

• Vices stimulate trade and the growth of society

Thus, MandEville wanted to criticize those puritans which condemned these vices, while they were the exact reason of their wealth and prosperity. Indeed, there cannot be prosperity without greed vanity which led people to buy to seem better than what they are → pride → which led people to desire more and more money; while generosity does not lead to a prosperous society.

He wanted to unveil the vileness of society and how the government was successful even when society is composed of the worst people (merchants).

An honest society is static and archaic.

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD, THE CORRUPTED GOVERNMENTS THE MOST PROSPEROUS. HENCE IF THE MIDDLE CLASS/the MERCHANTS WANTED TO BE RICH, THEY SHOULD HAVE NOT CRITICIZED THE VICES SINCE THEY HELPED THEM TO PROSPER. HOWEVER, IF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THESE SOCIETIES COMMITTED CRIMES/FELONIES, THEY SHOULD BE PUNISHED. PEOPLE SHOULD NOT CRITICIZE THE DIRTY STREET SINCE THEY WERE THE ONES WHO COLONED THE TRADE AND WHICH LED TO OPULENCE.

HEALTHY STREETS WOULD HAVE INDICATED A POORER SOCIETY.

IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH, HE ASSERTED THAT HE WOULD HAVE PREFERRED LIVING IN A PEACEFUL SOCIETY OR IN A GARDEN, WHERE MEN COULD LIVE WITH THEIR OWN PRODUCTS WITHOUT DISHONESTY.

IN OTHER WORDS, MANDEVILLE’S FABLE ASSERTING THAT THE FOUNDATIONS OF A SOCIETY AND THE BASIS OF CIVILIZATION DID NOT COME FROM MORAL PRINCIPLES OR VALUES, BUT FROM INDIVIDUAL!

THE VICES OF A MAN - MOVE HIM TOWARDS EVOLUTION - SINCE BEING BETTER ORGANIZE HIS SURVIVAL AND HIS PASSIONS - SUCH AS PRIDE AND AVARICE STIMULATE THE DESIRE TO BECOME ENRICHED AND BEHAVIOURS SUCH AS COMPETITION.

BEES ARE LIKE MEN - THEY ARE ACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WHILST THEY ARE HUNGRY FOR THEIR OWN ADVANTAGE, BUT WHEN THEY WANT TO BE MORAL, THEIR STIMULUS AND VICE CEASE TO EXIST AND LOSE PROSPERITY.

2

J. Dennis "Essay Upon Publick Spirit"

• English critic and dramatist
• He engaged in polemics the question of luxury.
• And inveigled against the servile imitation of foreign customs and fashions.
• He compared the manners of his ancestors during Henry the 7th reign - the ones in his time.

In the past, people in the countryside were healthy and productive, even when they travelled to towns, they were not obsessed or influenced by luxury, but criticized foreign customs.

Now, cities are corrupted.

London is the example of the growth of British luxury.

Pride - avarice - luxury ruined the manners since people have always searched for opportunity to show what they have, their wealth and to surpass other people. They have been influenced by the manners of their mortal enemies, the French.

So if to love a country is to love its manners, they cannot love their manners and have public spirit since their manners were all borrowed, from Charles and Spanish dances.

Luxury changed the nature of men/women. People now constantly drink to invigorate themselves.

Men are soft and passive, they use make up.

Women drink too, they are rude and show violent emotions and irreligious desires. Women are masculine in desires and practices.

Both the body and estates are decaying. Luxury leads to desire which makes men unhappy and unsatisfied, and makes them become burglary too in order to achieve the wealth.

He criticized the Italian opera too since ridiculed the English old wit and courage.

D. DEFOE "A Tour Through England and Wales" (1724-26)

Letter V

Defoe describes London and presented it as a guide to the city in a colloquial tone, directed to the middle class in order to educate it and encourage it to reflect upon its astonishment and rapidity of economic, commercial, social, demographic, political growth that London had been subjected to.

After the Great Fire in 1666, they destroyed four-fifths of the ancient commercial center of London within 3 days. He showed the way.

London was rebuilt after the Great Fire through new buildings on both sides of the river. Now London had been rebuilt and reconstructed through the aggregation of villages – the so-called boroughs – thanks to great link roads used for the transportation of goods.

London was governed by:

• The Lord Mayor
• 24 Alderman
• 2 sheriffs
• The Recorder
• Common Council

The government was marked out except the boroughs – by walls and bars, governed by the justices of peace (like fielding), sheriffs of London/Middlesex.

Defoe asserted that before the disaster, new buildings were forbidden to be built by the king, until the parliament regulated the manner of building and established rules for adjusting people’s property and enlarging streets for beauty/safety in case of any future mobility/people of quality.

After the fire of 1666, although new materials were built closer than before, to reduce the risk of fire, many more masses were distributed.

Defoe celebrated the greatness of London after the disaster since it was a major commercial center through his praise and astonishment of his city in economic/social/religious institutions (Royal Exchange -> grand fear of business, Custom House), churches (Cathedral of St. Paul’s -> a building exceedingly beautiful and magnificent).

The city of London was divided into:

• The city – center of its commerce/wealth (business)
• The Court – center of its gallantry and splendor
• The out-parts (markets) – spacious quarters than those of the city

In all these, no city in the world could ever equal it.

Reference Texts

1. R. Williams, "Keywords" - Culture

   According to him, culture was one of the 2 or 3 most complicated words in the English language. After researching meanings and definitions that this word had carried during its history in English and other European languages, he found its evolution from the simple literal word derived from the Latin word which was originated from the root "colere" which basically meant "to tend or to cultivate". As an alternative to cultivate as in farming/farmland, it began as a noun of process geared to describing the fostering, or the growth of something (a plant or an animal) that is "cultivation".

   During the 16^th century, "culture" extended to a metaphorical cultivation or culture of the mind or intellect of human beings.

   In this effort, he not only explained the meanings of the words "culture" and "cultivation", but he also explored "civilization" and the meanings/uses of the word "culture" in other languages such as French as culture accompanied by a grammatical form indicating the matter being cultivated.

   However, during 19^th century, this notion had expanded to include entire societies, seen as something not everyone or every society had attained. It was apparent to the cultured that not all persons were equally civilized. It was a condition to be aspired to and acquired by the educated classes. In other words, to be cultured one needed to possess a knowledge of the arts, letters, and sciences of the Western world. Culture was defined as a particular stage of civilization -> advanced state of human societies in which a high level of culture had been reached.

   Eventually, Williams settled on the conclusion that "culture" had 3 common meanings:

   • A stand-alone abstraction
   • The idea of enriching one's knowledge and taste or the historical self-development of humanity
   • As a way of life to a period, a group of people or mankind in general