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Montesquieu's De l'esprit des lois, which may claim to be the parent work of modern social science, Voltaire's Essai sur les moeurs, and Turgot's plan of a Histoire universelle begin a new era in man's vision of the past. Montesquieu was not among the apostles of the idea of Progress. It never secured any hold upon his mind.
When the superb mausoleum was built for Lully by his widow, some unknown poet, who hated him for his moeurs infames, scrawled on his tomb these terrific lines: "Pourquoi, par un faste nouveau, Nous rappeler la scandaleuse histoire D'un libertin, indigne de memoire, Peut-être même indigne du tombeau."
Les Caractères is the title of La Bruyère's book; but its sub-title 'Les Moeurs de ce Siècle' gives a juster notion of its contents. The whole of society, as it appeared to the subtle and penetrating gaze of La Bruyère, flows through its pages. In them, Versailles rises before us, less in its outward form than in its spiritual content its secret, essential self.
Why do they just vanish?" "Autre temps autres moeurs," said the creature. "Is that the Ninevite language?" asked Anthea, who had learned no foreign language at school except French. "What I mean is," the Psammead went on, "that in the old days people wished for good solid everyday gifts, Mammoths and Pterodactyls and things, and those could be turned into stone as easy as not.
But, a day or two before thus addressing him, he had already enclosed to Leicester very important letters addressed by the council of Gelderland to Count Moeurs, stadholder of the Province, and by him forwarded to the state-council.
It would hardly have comported with her dignity, if Count Maurice of Nassau, or Count William, or Count Moeurs, had been appointed governor absolute, for in that case the Earl, as general of the auxiliary English force, would have been subject to the authority of the chieftain thus selected.
He is the scavenger of manners, as the Constantinople street-dog is of gutters; a natural police des moeurs, infinitely more efficient than any artificial organisation; an all-ramifying association created to keep the bounds of social order, on duty at every street corner, alert to check every outbreak of individuality. Do ladies aspire to ride bicycles? Or wear bloomers?
One of his drunken exclamations was, "And the jade doats on your youth, you raw blockhead! and talks of your noble deportment, as she calls your accursed English formality and your pure morals, forsooth! des moeurs de Caton a-t-elle dit sotte!"
He would have become a Pillar of the Order of Knighthood and an Ornament of the Age of Chivalry. A wreath of laurels would have encircled his brow instead of a rope of hemp encircling his neck. Autres jours autres moeurs. How many people called him Hubshi, we know not; but we know, from his own lips, of the killing of some few.
He had also, she protested, used "very evil speeches of all the ladies in the country." For her own part the Princess avowed her determination to have him instantly murdered. Count Moeurs was quite of the same mind, and desired nothing better than to be one of his executioners.
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