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were born and bred up. They are hardened both against heat, cold, and labour,
and know nothing of the delicacies of life. They do not apply themselves to
agriculture, nor do they care either for their houses or their clothes: cattle is
all that they look after; and for the greatest part they live either by hunting or
upon rapine; and are made, as it were, only for war. They watch all
opportunities of engaging in it, and very readily embrace such as are offered
them. Great numbers of them will frequently go out, and offer themselves for
a very low pay, to serve any that will employ them: they know none of the
arts of life, but those that lead to the taking it away; they serve those that hire
them, both with much courage and great fidelity; but will not engage to serve
for any determined time, and agree upon such terms, that the next day they
may go over to the enemies of those whom they serve if they offer them a
greater encouragement; and will, perhaps, return to them the day after that
upon a higher advance of their pay. There are few wars in which they make
not a considerable part of the armies of both sides: so it often falls out that
they who are related, and were hired in the same country, and so have lived
long and familiarly together, forgetting both their relations and former
friendship, kill one another upon no other consideration than that of being
hired to it for a little money by princes of different interests; and such a regard
have they for money that they are easily wrought on by the difference of one
penny a day to change sides. So entirely does their avarice influence them;
and yet this money, which they value so highly, is of little use to them; for
what they purchase thus with their blood they quickly waste on luxury, which
among them is but of a poor and miserable form.
“This nation serves the Utopians against all people whatsoever, for they
pay higher than any other. The Utopians hold this for a maxim, that as they
seek out the best sort of men for their own use at home, so they make use of
this worst sort of men for the consumption of war; and therefore they hire
them with the offers of vast rewards to expose themselves to all sorts of
hazards, out of which the greater part never returns to claim their promises;
yet they make them good most religiously to such as escape. This animates
them to adventure again, whenever there is occasion for it; for the Utopians
are not at all troubled how many of these happen to be killed, and reckon it a
service done to mankind if they could be a means to deliver the world from
such a lewd and vicious sort of people, that seem to have run together, as to
the drain of human nature. Next to these, they are served in their wars with
those upon whose account they undertake them, and with the auxiliary troops
of their other friends, to whom they join a few of their own people, and send
some man of eminent and approved virtue to command in chief. There are
two sent with him, who, during his command, are but private men, but the
first is to succeed him if he should happen to be either killed or taken; and, in
70
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Utopia
- Titel
- Utopia
- Autor
- Thomas Morus
- Datum
- 1516
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- PD
- Abmessungen
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Seiten
- 86
- Schlagwörter
- Utopia, State, Religion, English
- Kategorien
- International
- Weiteres Belletristik