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Text and Textuality in Early Medieval
Iberia
OXFORD HISTORICAL MONOGRAPHS
The Oxford Historical Monographs series publishes some of the best
Oxford University doctoral theses on historical topics, especially
those likely to engage the interest of a broad academic readership.
Editors
P. B E TTS, F. D E V J I , P. G AU C I , K . L E B O W
J. M c D O U G A L L , R . R E I D, D. PA R R OTT
H . S KO D A , J. S M I T H , W. W H Y T E
Text and Textuality in Early
Medieval Iberia
The Written and The World, 711–1031
G R A H A M B A R R E TT
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing
worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in
certain other countries
© Graham Barrett 2023
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in
writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under
terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,
Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same
condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022944889
ISBN 978–0–19–289537–0
ebook ISBN 978–0–19–264866–2
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780192895370.001.0001
Printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only.
Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website
referenced in this work.
Simon Barton
(1962–2017)
Mark Whittow
(1957–2017)
Peter Linehan
(1943–2020)
At last came the end of Don Quixote, after he had received all the
sacraments and execrated the books of chivalry with manifold and
convincing arguments. The scribe was present there, and said that
he had never read in any book of chivalry that any knight-errant had
died in his bed so serenely and in so Christian a manner as Don
Quixote: and he, with the sympathies and tears of those who looked
on, gave out his spirit – that is to say, he died. And when the priest
saw this, he asked of the scribe to prepare for him a written record
of how the good Alonso Quixano, commonly called Don Quixote de
La Mancha, had departed from this life, and died of natural causes;
and he was asking for this testimony lest any author, other than Cide
Hamete Benengeli, should falsely raise him from the dead and make
endless accounts of his exploits.
This book has been a while in the making, and remains in many
ways unsatisfactory. I have always found it easier to define what it is
not than what it is: while its focus is the Latin charters of the
kingdoms of Asturias-León and Navarra in the early Middle Ages, it is
neither a palaeographic nor a diplomatic nor a linguistic study of
material normally treated in one of those terms, and my approach is
neither legal nor institutional nor social nor cultural, at least in the
strict sense of those traditions. I have instead attempted something
at once simpler and more difficult, but which has seemed to me the
precondition for all such enquiries of a higher order. This is a
sociocultural study of the interface between the written and the
world: my aim is to trace the lifecycle of the charters and the
network of texts in which they were embedded as a step towards
finding their place in the society and culture which we use them to
describe. I hope to convey some sense of not the literacy but the
textuality of early medieval Iberia, its inscription in writing, and
thereby provide a point of departure for its historical study.
Preparing such a study has at times felt like a Sisyphean labour.
The charters which I have assembled into a database are divided up
amongst many archives in Spain and Portugal; visiting each of them
in turn, or where impractical scanning digital images kindly supplied
by understanding archivists instead, has been the work of a decade.
Ironically, tracking down the printed editions in which they are
published has been no easier an undertaking, and remains a
chimeric dream. Certain of these publications have such an exiguous
presence in libraries that consulting them conveys something of the
experience of samizdat literature. There is no one critical
introduction to the whole corpus and few translations to provide any
apprenticeship in often difficult texts, access to archival material
varies widely, not always explicably, editions differ in date, quality,
and coverage by region and from archive to archive, and some
charters still await cataloguing, let alone publication. My hope here is
not only to lay groundwork for a new way of reading the
documentation of early medieval Iberia, but also to lower the bar to
entry as best I can for students and scholars approaching this
material for the first time.
Some explanatory notes are in order for what follows. The
foundation of this book is a survey of all, or very nearly all, the
charters of early medieval Iberia, excluding Catalunya for the sake of
manageability, and I should say up front that I employ the term
‘Iberia’ with that limited compass. In the main body I provide
illustrative extracts from the texts themselves as often as possible,
and as an aid to comprehension I have paraphrased each one in
parentheses rather than translating directly, because (for me at
least) the Latin tends often to elude precise rendering into English.
In the footnotes, I cite a representative range of charters for each of
my points, rather than all possible examples, simply because this
would make a book which is long as is unending. It is also partly a
control, as I am bound to have misinterpreted some of the charters,
or missed new scholarship.
There are a number of systems of abbreviation in use for the
major collections in the corpus, but I have devised my own in an
attempt to offer an immediately recognisable sign for each archive
as a guide to the reader. Where this short form is followed by a
comma, it refers to introductory material from that edition; without a
comma, it designates a document or series of documents. For the
sake of economy, I employ these abbreviations to refer to the
charter in its physical as well as its edited form, but in the cases
where I discuss script, layout, or other material aspects of
presentation in detail I have provided full archival referencing in the
list of figures. For the same reason, all citations of literature are in
the shortest form possible, author surname and distinguishing noun
from the title, and the full entry can be consulted in the bibliography.
For the sake of clarity rather than literary elegance, I have quoted
the New International Version for all verses of Scripture, and the
corresponding numbering (applicable to the Psalms). On the
problem of proper names, in the end I have employed the
modernised Spanish or Portuguese equivalent wherever there is a
sizeable historiography. For all other names, including unidentified
places, I use that in the document, though even this approach is
bound to be inconsistent, since they are often spelled multiply within
a text, leaving the nominative case, if there was one, unfathomable.
Handling such a large corpus of material inevitably poses a
problem of how to present it manageably. To escape as best I can
the Scylla of generalising anecdote and the Charybdis of plodding
exhaustiveness, I have distilled the charters into tables and charts
illustrating the main aspects which I then treat in detail. The tables
are explained in the course of discussion, but the charts call for a
brief introduction here. As historians we are in the business of
change over time, but the charters are distributed unevenly from
year to year, so to say that there is a greater number of examples of
some phenomenon in one year than in another risks reflecting this
distribution back at the reader without understanding what lies
behind the trend. In other words, if the total number of lay charters,
for instance, increases over time, this may only be the product of the
total number of charters rising at that rate, rather than any social or
cultural change in documentary practice. By way of correction, all
graphic representations of the data in this book are given not in
absolute numbers but as proportions of all charters surviving for a
given year. The other distorting factor when dealing with
documentation is forgery, and so each chart has three lines to
convey full context. The thin solid line denotes the rate per year for
genuine charters only, the thin dashed line includes false charters,
and the thick solid line indicates a five-year moving average based
on the annual rate for authentic charters. For clarity, however, the
more complex charts comparing multiple trends show the moving
average alone.
In many ways this book is the product of the effort of others;
certainly my own share in it is the result of the immeasurable
support which I have enjoyed over the long years of its gestation. I
owe my start in the field to the inspiration of Nick Everett and Mark
Meyerson in Toronto, but it was Chris Wickham who guided me
through my doctorate at Oxford with his unflagging encouragement
and boundless wisdom, and I had the great good fortune to benefit
from the generous criticism of Wendy Davies and the late Simon
Barton as thesis examiners.
In helping me to bring that initial effort to publication, I must
thank my colleagues at Balliol College and St John’s College, Oxford,
the Institute of Historical Research, London, and the University of
Lincoln, as well as the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the British Library,
London, the Archivo Catedralicio de León, the Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Científicas and Archivo Histórico Nacional (AHN),
Madrid, and the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (ANTT), Lisbon.
Of the many colleagues and collaborators whom I have been
privileged to rely upon while writing this book, I wish particularly to
thank Julio Escalona Monge and Eduardo Manzano Moreno for their
welcome to Spain and their countless acts of kindness since then, as
well as Álvaro Carvajal Castro, Ainoa Castro Correa, André
Evangelista Marques, David Peterson, José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo,
Jamie Wood, and Roger Wright for much stimulating discussion and
comradeship. Above and beyond the call of duty, Roger Collins read
through the final manuscript with patience and surpassing acumen.
As stout yeomen of soundness, my friends Oren Margolis, Robert
Portass, Matthew Walker, and George Woudhuysen have sustained
me in all things, and I am truly blessed by my parents David Barrett
and Virginia Robeson, my sister Meredith, and the gift of Emma
Cayley, my partner. Now and ever, they have all my gratitude, and all
my love. This book is dedicated to the memory of three dearly
departed mentors—Simon Barton, Mark Whittow, and Peter Linehan
—whose friendship and counsel I miss no less for the passage of
time.
Leeds
February 2022
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Introduction: Literacy as Textuality
The Case Study
1. Archival Voices
The Corpus
Centre: Asturias
Cantabria
León
West: Galicia
Portugal
East: Aragón
Castilla
La Rioja
Navarra
Transmission
Chronology
Actors
Actions
Textual Memories
2. Creating
Agents
Scribes
Employers
Methods
Processes
Presentations
Contexts
Affirmations
Settings
Communities
Individuals
Audible Texts
3. Retaining
Extension
Confirmation
Augmentation
Preservation
Consolidation
Organisation
Portable Texts
4. Proving
Reference
Documenting
Emphasising
Evidence
Parchmentwork
Litigation
Integration
Manipulation
Textual Mentalities
5. Framing
Rhetoric
Legalities
Penalties
Practice
Families
Findings
Advantage
Treason
Adultery
Silence
Numbers
Customs
Practical Texts
6. Sacred Words
Scriptures
Inspiration
Malediction
Canons
Norms
Rules
Identities
Contracts
Malleable Texts
Conclusion: Imaginary Libraries
Two Questions
The Temple of Text
Appendices
Bibliography
Abbreviations: Primary Sources
Primary Sources
Abbreviations: Secondary Literature
Secondary Literature
Index
List of Figures
1.1 Map: Major Archival Collections and Repositories for Early Medieval Iberia
1.2 Regional Groupings of Archives and Charters
1.3 Cartulary copy, reproducing monograms and confirmations: Celanova 72
(Tumbo de Celanova, Madrid, AHN, Códices, L.986, fol. 4r: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CODICES, L.986)
1.4 Palaeography
1.5 Palaeography (911–1031)
1.6 Diplomatic
1.7 Diplomatic (911–1031)
1.8 Region
1.9 Region (911–1031)
1.10 Charters (711–910)
1.11 Charters (911–1031)
1.12 Personnel
1.13 Personnel (911–1031)
1.14 Typology
1.15 Typology (911–1031)
1.16 Complexity
1.17 Complexity (911–1031)
1.18 Witnesses to Rabal Charters
2.1 Original charter, autograph signatures: Sahagún 79 (Madrid, AHN, Sección
Clero, Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 873, no. 6: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.873,N.6)
2.2 Original charter, ‘signature hand’: Sahagún 96 (Madrid, AHN, Sección Clero,
Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 873, no. 10: Ministerio de Cultura y
Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.873,N.10)
2.3 Original charter, draft signatures: Sahagún 96 (Madrid, AHN, Sección Clero,
Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 873, no. 10, dorso: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.873,N.10)
2.4 Original charter, empty brackets: Eslonza 10 (Madrid, AHN, Sección Clero,
Regular, San Pedro de Eslonza, carp. 957, no. 13: Ministerio de Cultura y
Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.957,N.13)
2.5 Named Scribes
2.6 Original charter, product of scribal collaboration: PMH 254 (Lisbon, ANTT,
Ordem de São Bento, Mosteiro de São João Baptista de Pendorada, mç. 1,
no. 5 (PT/TT/MSJBP/004/0001): Imagem cedida pelo ANTT)
2.7 Bell tower and scriptorium of the monastery of San Salvador de Tábara
(Beato de Tábara, Madrid, AHN, Códices, L.1097, fol. 171v: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CODICES,L.1097)
2.8 Named Scribes (911–1031)
2.9 Scribal Careers (911–1031)
2.10 Regnal Dating
2.11 Regnal Dating (911–1031)
2.12 Original charter, preparatory scribal notes: Eslonza 26 (Madrid, AHN, Sección
Clero, Regular, San Pedro de Eslonza, carp. 958, no. 9, dorso: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.958,N.9)
2.13 Original charter, prepared template, blank price: PMH 175 (Lisbon, ANTT,
Ordem de São Bento, Mosteiro de São João Baptista de Pendorada, mç. 1,
no. 2 (PT/TT/MSJBP/004/0001/02): Imagem cedida pelo ANTT)
2.14 Original charter, formatted for display: Sahagún 6 (Madrid, AHN, Sección
Clero, Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 872, no. 6: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.872,N.6)
2.15 Original charter, main text distinct from witness section: PMH 41 (Lisbon,
ANTT, Cónegos Regulares de Santo Agostinho, Mosteiro do Salvador de
Moreira, mç. 1, no. 5 (PT/TT/MSM/A/M01): Imagem cedida pelo ANTT)
2.16 Original charter, formatted for reading: Sahagún 148 (Madrid, AHN, Sección
Clero, Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 874, no. 5: Ministerio de
Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.874,N.5)
2.17 Original charters, two documents written on one parchment: León 519, 523
(León, Archivo Catedralicio, Pergaminos, no. 146A–B)
2.18 Original ‘miniature archive’, single scribe: León 864, 866–8, 870 (León,
Archivo Catedralicio, Pergaminos, nos 152–153A–E)
2.19 Original ‘miniature archive’, multiple scribes: León 457–9, 465, 467, 471–2
(León, Archivo Catedralicio, Pergaminos, no. 7255)
2.20 Original charter, retrospective archive: Sahagún 233–6 (Madrid, AHN,
Sección Clero, Regular, San Benito de Sahagún, carp. 875, no. 13: Ministerio
de Cultura y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.875,N.13)
2.21 Sworn Charters (911–1031)
2.22 Royal Movements
2.23 Map: Royal Movements
2.24 Reading Charters (911–1031)
3.1 Notices of Confirmation
3.2 Notices of Confirmation (911–1031)
3.3 Original charter, posterior notices of confirmation: León 280 (León, Archivo
Catedralicio, Pergaminos, no. 892)
3.4 Charters of Confirmation
3.5 Charters of Confirmation (911–1031)
3.6 Dorsal Notes
3.7 Dorsal Notes (911–1031)
3.8 Original charter, folded with archival notes: PMH 250 (Lisbon, ANTT, Ordem
de São Bento, Mosteiro de São João Baptista de Pendorada, mç. 1, no. 4
(PT/TT/MSJBP/004/0001), dorso: Imagem cedida pelo ANTT)
4.1 Charters Citing Charters
4.2 Charters Citing Charters (911–1031)
5.1 Charters Citing Law
5.2 Charters Citing Law (911–1031)
5.3 Charters Citing Law versus Charters by Career Scribes (911–1031)
5.4 Laws Cited in Charters
5.5 Treason Law in Practice
6.1 Charters Citing Scripture
6.2 Charters Citing Scripture (911–1031)
6.3 Charters Citing Canons
6.4 Charters Citing Canons (911–1031)
6.5 Charters Citing Rules
6.6 Charters Citing Rules (911–1031)
6.7 Monastic Rules (911–1031)
6.8 Scripture Cited in Charters
6.9 Canonical Citations
C.1 Charters Citing Texts
C.2 Charters Citing Texts (911–1031)
C.3 Charters Mentioning Books
C.4 Charters Mentioning Books (911–1031)
C.5 Charter copy of Visigothic laws: Eslonza 24 (Madrid, AHN, Sección Clero,
Regular, San Pedro de Eslonza, carp. 958, no. 7, dorso: Ministerio de Cultura
y Deporte. Archivo Histórico Nacional. CLERO-
SECULAR_REGULAR,Car.958,N.7)
C.6 John receives the Scroll and measures the Temple (Morgan Beatus, New
York, NY, Morgan Library, MS M.644, fol. 146r: The Morgan Library &
Museum, New York)
Appendix 1 List of Regnal Dates
Appendix 2 Astorga: Concordance of Charters and Corrected Dates
Appendix 3 Celanova: Concordance of Charters and Corrected Dates
Appendix 4 Lugo: Concordance of Editions and Dates of Charters
Appendix 5 Portugal: Concordance of Editions and Dates of Charters
Appendix 6 Career Scribes (5+ Charters)
Appendix 7 Institutional and Individual (Ecclesiastical and Lay) Archives
Introduction
Literacy as Textuality
The study of literacy should justify itself. What relation does the
written record of the past have to the world which it seems to
describe for us? Why was it made, and why does it survive? This is,
or should be, the study of literacy: asking our sources the question
of their own existence, and investigating how texts—and text itself—
mattered. The challenge is that it can so easily become a simple
survey, a catalogue of everything set down in writing, rather than a
critical examination of what was written when, by and for whom,
and why. Maybe a new word is needed to capture this orientation: in
ordinary usage ‘literacy’ is the antithesis of ‘illiteracy’, but it can
range well beyond the ability to read and write, to denote a
familiarity with certain skills or knowledge. Recognising this by
speaking of ‘literacies’ only draws out the point, that the term is an
empty vessel, to be filled with cultural priorities of the moment and
used to measure their attainment in society, whether past or
present.1 For as long as there have been Middle Ages, the question
of literacy has been asked by the standards of Antiquity and the
Renaissance, but reluctance to query the question itself has directed
the search for an answer towards description and evaluation by
those terms, away from definition and analysis within the
sociocultural framework of the period. This keeps us in the business
of measuring surface phenomena, the survival of Classical literary
culture and education. What we need is a more basic enquiry, to
map out the foundations. Before we can securely make use of what
text we have, we must find its home in the society which produced
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esclaves guident ses pas chancelans, l'or de ses habits semble le
disputer à l'éclat du soleil, il s'avance lentement. Que vois-je? des
yeux glacés qui regardent avec froideur les beautés de la nature, une
physionomie flétrie où regnent l'orgueil & le mépris insultant. Il voit le
soleil se coucher derriere les montagnes & darder ses rayons
enflammés à travers un nuage épais, & ce spectacle brillant ne fait
aucune impression sur son ame. Les ombres descendent
majestueusement du sommet des montagnes, un calme sacré
s'étend sur toute la nature, le rossignol remplit le vallon de sa voix
touchante, un ruisseau fuit en murmurant entre les fleurs d'une
prairie & les arbrisseaux d'un bosquet touffu. Le riche n'a rien vu; il
foule dédaigneusement: les fleurs de la prairie, il court s'enfermer
dans ces édifices qu'il a décorés du beau nom de maisons de
campagne, & s'y plonger dans les vices que l'habitude lui a rendus
nécessaires. L'aurore aura déjà déployé le bonheur sur toute la
nature, que le riche sera encore enseveli dans la molle dépouille des
cygnes; & des barrieres multipliées défendront sa retraite contre les
premiers rayons du soleil.
Mais faut-il que la foudre écrase les villes? faut-il que l'édifice
immense de la société s'écroule tout d'un coup pour te convaincre de
ton injustice? Non, non, mille accidens peuvent détruire l'illusion de
ta prétendue grandeur & te découvrir ton néant. Tu peux perdre en
un instant tous ces biens étrangers qui font l'objet de ta vanité; un
conquérant peut t'en dépouiller, & t'envoyer avec d'autres hommes
peupler des contrées désertes. C'est alors que tu verras les hommes
qui ont appris dès leur enfance à être utiles à leurs semblables, tenir
le premier rang dans la société naturelle; c'est alors que, ramené à
l'état de nature, tu sentiras que tu es le dernier de tous les êtres,
parce que tu es le moins utile.
Il est des riches que les préjugés & les passions n'ont pas
entiérement endurcis, un triple airain n'a pas encore fermé leur cœur
à toutes les impressions des plaisirs innocens, & la nature sourit
quelquefois à leurs sens émus. Dès que les neiges coulent en torrent
du haut des montagnes, pour faire place à la verdure, dès que la
terre offre les appas séduisans des fleurs au Zéphyr qui la
renouvelle; ils sentent renaître, dans leur cœur, le germe du bonheur
qui leur étoit destiné; ils volent dans nos Campagnes; ils tressaillent
à la vue de leurs beautés; & ils croient avoir trouvé le bonheur. Mais
ce plaisir qui n'étoit qu'une invitation de la nature, se dissipe bientôt.
Ils dédaignent de mettre la main au râteau & à la bêche, ils sont trop
foibles pour se courber sur la charrue, & ils ne veulent pas mériter la
gaieté vive des moissonneurs qui, après avoir supporté la chaleur du
jour, vuident en chantant une cruche de cidre rafraîchissante qu'ils se
passent à la ronde, ou se reposent à demi-nus sous le feuillage
épais d'un orme bienfaisant. Le dégoût & l'ennui les rappellent
bientôt à la ville, ils se replongent dans le tourbillon de leurs faux
plaisirs, & méprisent la Campagne dont ils ne savent pas jouir.
Homme vain & superficiel, fuis à jamais de ces lieux fortunés, ils
ne sont faits que pour les ames qui en sentent tout le prix; mais du
moins ne les méprises pas sans les connoître. Arrête un instant tes
regards sur ce champ où croît le blé qui va te nourrir, considere ce
côteau où la nature mûrit en silence la liqueur vermeille où tu
puiseras l'oubli de tes maux; vois ton semblable courbé sous le poids
des années, s'avancer lentement sur cette montagne escarpée, &
employer le reste de ses forces à relever les branches de la vigne.
Considere un instant ce spectacle; frémis de ton inutilité & de ton
ingratitude, & apprends à respecter des lieux sacrés où toi seul es un
profane.
Lorsque Lucette fut entiérement rétablie, son pere lui dit un jour:
Ma fille, tu commences aujourd'hui ta dix-huitieme année, allons
visiter les arbres que je plantai le jour de ta naissance, & remercier le
ciel qui n'a pas permis que tu me sois enlevée. Ils arriverent vers les
ormeaux; Licidas, par les ordres de Palémon, avoit conduit son
troupeau dans le même endroit. Viens, Licidas, lui dit le vieillard,
viens recevoir le prix de ta bonne action. Tu as sauvé la vie à
Lucette, elle te donne cette prairie que tu vois devant toi. Je la lui
donnai le jour de sa naissance. N'est-ce pas, Lucette, dit le vieillard
en sonriant à sa fille, tu veux bien y consentir? Les deux amans
étoient tremblans, ils s'étoient attendus à une autre récompense. Ma
fille vient de te témoigner sa reconnoissance, poursuit le vieillard,
mais je ne t'ai pas encore témoigné la mienne. Tu m'as rendu le plus
grand service que son puisse rendre à un pere. Sans toi, je
mouillerois mon pain de mes larmes, & ma voix tremblante
demanderoit ma fille à tous les échos de la contrée; sans toi, j'aurois
fini ma vie, sans jouir de ses derniers embrassemens. Prends, mon
ami; prends ce que j'ai de plus cher, prends cette fille que tu m'as
rendue, je te la donne pour épouse. En disant ces mots, le vieillard
mit la main de sa fille dans celle de Licidas, puis il les pressa tous
deux contre son sein; en même temps des sanglots s'échapperent
de sa poitrine, & des larmes coulerent le long de ses joues. Les
amans pleuroient aussi; ils prenoient les mains du vieillard & les
couvroient de baisers & de larmes. Ils étoient tous trois heureux.
Mais le vieillard l'étoit encore plus que ses enfans. Leur bonheur étoit
son ouvrage.
S E C O N D E N U I T.
D i e u .
Placé comme un point sur ce globe qui n'est lui-même qu'un point
imperceptible dans l'immensité de l'univers, l'homme se demande à
lui-même: Que suis-je? où suis-je? d'où suis-je venu? Il se regarde
avec curiosité, se touche avec étonnement. Il regarde, il touche tout
ce qui se trouve à sa portée. Il sent qu'il existe, il sent qu'il y a
d'autres êtres qui existent hors de lui; mais tout le reste n'est pour lui
qu'obscurité & ténebres. Il jette de tous côtés ses regards étonnés &
incertains, une multitude d'apparences qui varient au gré de la
lumiere & des vents semblent se jouer à chaque instant de sa
crédulité. Il leve les yeux, l'éclat du soleil l'éblouit, l'immensité des
cieux l'effraie, & ses regards découragés retombent sur la terre.
Il est heureux, & il ne connoît encore que la plus petite partie des
plaisirs qui lui sont destinés. Quels seront les transports de sa joie &
de sa reconnoissance, lorsque son cœur s'ouvrira pour la premiere
fois au doux besoin de l'amour & de l'amitié; lorsque la tendresse
paternelle fera tressaillir ses entrailles; & qu'associé, pour ainsi dire,
à la puissance de son Dieu, il verra des êtres vivans qui lui devront
une partie de leur bonheur? Un être semblable à lui se présente à sa
vue. Saisi d'un trouble plus vif & plus délicieux que tout ce qu'il a
éprouvé jusqu'alors, il s'approche. C'est une compagne que le ciel lui
envoie. Elle répond au langage de ses yeux, elle partage les
transports qu'elle inspire. Leurs regards se confondent, leurs bras
s'entrelacent, ils sont enivrés des délices de l'amour.
Hélas! la nature & mon cœur m'avoient appris une partie des
choses que vous me dites, le reste me paroît obscur. Vous n'êtes
point d'accord sur les choses que vous m'annoncez, & vous me
menacez tous de la vengeance du ciel, si je refuse de vous croire.
Puis-je croire que Dieu se sert d'un langage obscur pour instruire une
créature foible & bornée? Le Dieu de la lumiere se manifeste-t-il
donc au milieu des ténebres? Le Dieu de toute bonté se joueroit-il de
ma foiblesse, en attachant mon salut éternel à des choses que je ne
puis comprendre?