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heads and visitors nominated by the founder. Likewise such corporation shall have, take, and purchase lands, so as not to exceed 2001. a year, provided the same be not held of the king; and make leases, reserving the accustomed yearly rent. See CORPORATION.

Most of the counties in England have hospitals appropriated for the reception and comfort of the sick and infirm: but in London and its neighbourhood, there are many excellent institutions under this name, intended either for the instruction of youth, the comfort and restoration of the sick, or for the support of the aged: of these we can barely mention their names. But most of them are so universally known by their beneficial effects, that a minute account may the rather be spared. They are, Aske's, or Haberdasher's Hospital, St. Bartholomew, Bethlem, Bridewell, Charter-house, Chelsea, Christ's, or the Blue Coat, Emanuel, the Foundling, French, St. George's, Greenwich, Guy's, the Lock, London, St. Luke's, the Lying-in, the Magdalen, St. Peter's, SmallPox, and St. Thomas's Hospitals.

HOSPITAL (William Francis Antony, marquis of), a great mathematician of France, was born of an ancient family in 1661. He was a geometrician almost from his infancy; for one day being at the duke of Rolan's, where some able mathematicians were speaking of a problem of Pascal's which appeared to them extremely difficult, he ventured to say that he believed he could solve it. They were amazed at such presumption in a boy of fifteen, for he was then no more; never theless, in a few days he sent them the solution. He entered early into the army, and was a captain of horse: but being extremely short-sighted, and exposed on that account to perpetual inconveniences and errors, he at length quitted the army, and applied himself entirely to his favourite amusement. He contracted a friendship with Malbranche, and took his opinion upon all occasions, In 1693 he was received an honorary member of the academy of sciences at Paris; and he published a work upon Sir Isaac Newtons analysis, entitled, L'Analyse des infinimens petits. He was the first in France who wrote upon this subject; and on this account was regarded almost as a prodigy. He engaged afterwards in another work of the mathematical kind, in which he included Les Sections Coniques, les Lieux Geometriques, la Construction des Equations, et Une Theorie des Courbes Mechaniques: but a little before he had finished it, he was seized with a fever, of which he died Feb. 2, 1704, aged fortythree. It was published after his death, and is a very valuable work considering the time in which it was written. It was translated into English by Stone.

HO'SPITALER, one that entertains and provides for poor people, travellers, &c.

HOSPITALERS, HOSPITALARII, more particularly denote an order of religious knights, who built an hospital at Jerusalem, wherein

pilgrims were received. To these pope Clement V. transferred the effects and revenues of the templars; whom, by a counsel held at Vienna, he suppressed, for their many and great misdemeanours.

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HOSPITALITY, the practice of entertaining strangers. Dr. Robertson, speaking of the middle ages, says, Among people whose manners are simple, and who are seldom visited by strangers, hospitality is virtue of the first rank. This duty of hos pitality was so necessary in that state of society which took place during the middle ages, that it was not considered as one of those virtues which men may practise or not, according to the temper of their minds and the generosity of their hearts. Hospitality was enforced by statutes, and those who neglected the duty were liable to punishment. The laws of the Slavi ordained that the moveables of an inhospitable person should be confiscated, and his house burnt. They were even so solicitous for the entertainment of strangers, that they permitted the landlord to steal for the support of his guest."

The hospitality of our British ancestors, particularly of the great and opulent barons, hath been much admired. Their castles were capacious palaces, daily crowded with their numerous retainers, who were always welcome to their plentiful tables.

Those who are conversant with the books of the Mosaic history, will recollect that hospitality was a prominent feature in the character of the patriarch Abraham. It is in allusion to his conduct, and that of Lot, that hospitality is recommended by Paul, because “thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews xiii. 2.

To HOSPITATE. v. a. (hospitor, Latin.) To reside under the roof of another (Grew).

HOSPODAR, a title borne by the princes of Walachia and Moldavia, who receive the investiture of their principalities from the grand Seignior.

HOST, s. (hoste, Fr. hospes, hospitis, Lat.) 1. One who gives entertainment to another. 2. The landlord of an inn (Shakspeare). 3. (from hostis, Latin.) An army; numbers as sembled for war (Dryden). 4. Any great number (Shakspeare). 5. (hostia, Lat.) The sacrifice of the mass in the Romish church; the consecrated wafer.

The Roman Catholics pay adoration to the host upon a false presumption that the elements are no longer bread and wine, but transubstantiated into the real body and blood of Christ. See TRANSUBSTANTIA

TION.

The vessel whereon the hosts are kept, is called the cibory, being a large covered chalice.

To HOST. v. n. (from the noun.) 1. To take up entertainment (Shakspeare). 2. To encounter in battle (Milton). 3. To review a body of men; to muster (Spenser),

HO'STAGE, 8. (ostage, French.) One

given in pledge for security of performance of
conditions (Arbuthnot).
HOʻSTEL. 18. (hostel, hostelerie, Fr.)
HO'STELRY. ƒ An inn (Ainsworth).
HOʻSTESS. 8. (hostesse, French). 1. A
female host; a woman that gives entertain-
ment (Dryden). 2. A woman that keeps a
house of public entertainment (Temple).
HOSTESS-SHIP. s. (from hostess.) The
character of an hostess (Shakspeare).

HOSTIA, in antiquity, a victim offered in sacrifice to a deity. We read of many kinds of hostia: as hostia puræ, sheep or lambs of ten days old: hostia bidentes, animals of two years old; hostiæ piaculares, expiatory sacrifices, &c.

HOʻSTILE. a. (hostilis, Latin.) Adverse, opposite, suitable to an enemy (Dryden). HOSTILITY. 8. (hostilité, Fr. from hostile). The practices of an open enemy; open war; opposition in war (Hayward). HOʻSTLER. 8. (hosteller, from hostel, French.) One who has the care of horses at an inn (Sp.).

HO'STKY. 8. (corrupted from hostelry.) A place where the horses of guests are kept (Dryden).

HOT. a. (hat, Saxon).

1. Having the power to excite the sense of heat; contrary to cold; fiery (Newton). 2. Lustful; lewd (Shakspeare). 3. Violent; furious; dangerous (Clarendon). 4. Ardent; vebement; precipitate (Denham). 5. Eager; keen in desire (Locke). 6. Piquant; acrid: as, hot as mustard.

HOT-BEDS, in gardening, are made either with fresh horse-dung, or tanner's bark; and covered with glasses, to protect them from the severity of the wind and weather.

Where horse-dung is employed, dig a trench of a length and width proportionable to the frames for which you intend it; and if the ground be dry, make it about a foot or a foot and a half deep; but if wet, not above six inches: then wheel the dung into the opening, observing to stir every part of it with a fork, and to place it exactly even and smooth on every part of the bed, laying the bottom part of the heap, which is commonly free from litter, upon the surface of the bed: and if it be designed for a bed to plant out cucumbers to remain there, make a hole in the middle of the place designed for each light, about ten inches over and six deep, which should be filled with good fresh earth, thrusting in a stick to show the places of the apertures; then cover the bed all over with the earth that was taken out of the trench, about four inches thick, and put it on the frame, letting it remain till the earth be warm, which commonly takes place in three or four days after the bed is made, and then the plants may be placed in it. Yet if your hot bed be designed for other plants, there need be no apertures made in the dung; but after baving smoothed the surface with a spade, cover VOL. VI.

the dung about three or four inches thick with good earth, putting on the frames and glasses, as before. In making these beds, care must be taken to settle the dung close with a fork; and if it be pretty full of long litter, it should be trod down equally on every part. During the first week or ten days after the bed is made, cover the glasses but slightly in the night, and in the day-time carefully raise them, to let out the steam; but as the heat abates, the covering should be increased; and as the bed grows cold, new hot dung should be added round the sides of it.

Hot-beds made with tanner's bark, are, however, far preferable; and especially for all tender exotic plants and fruits, which require an even degree of warmth to be continued for several months, which cannot be effected with horse-dung. The manner of making them is as follows: Dig a trench about three feet deep, if the ground be dry; but if wet, it must not be above a foot deep at most, and must be raised two feet above the ground. The length must be proportioned to the frames intended to cover the bed, but it should never be less than ten or twelve feet, and the width not less than six. The trench should be bricked up round the sides to the above height of three feet, and filled in the spring with fresh tanner's bark, that has been lately drawn out of the vat, and has lain in a round heap, for the moisture to drain out of it, only three or four days; as it is put in, gently beat it down equally with a dung fork; but it must not be trodden, which would prevent its heating, by settling it too close: then put on the frame, covering it with glasses; and in about ten days or a fortnight, it will begin to heat; at which time plunge your pots of plants or seeds into it, observing not to tread down the bark in so doing. This bed will continue three or four months in a good temper of heat; and if you stir up the bark pretty deep, and mix a load or two of fresh bark with the old when you find the warmth decline, you will preserve its heat two or three months longer. Many lay some hot horse-dung in the bottom of the trench under the bark; but this ought never to be practised, unless the bed is wanted sooner than the bark would heat of itself, and even then there ought only to be a small quantity of dung at the bottom. The frames which cover these beds should be proportioned to the several plants they are designed to contain; if they be to protect the ananas or pine-apple, the back part should be three feet high, and the lower part fifteen inches: if the bed be intended for taller plants, the frame must be made of a depth proportionable to their height; but if it be for sowing seeds alone, the frame need not be above fourteen inches high at the back, and seven in the front; by which means the heat will be much greater.

D

HOTBRAINED. a. (hot and brain.) Violent; vehement; furious (Dryden). HOTCHPOTCH.}&hing hash, a en poché, Fr.)

mixture (Camden. Bacon). HOTCO'CKLES. s. (hautes coquilles, Fr.) A play in which one covers his eyes, and guesses who strikes him (Arbuthnot). HOTEL, a French term, anciently signifying a house or dwelling-place; afterwards used for the palaces or houses of the king, princes, and great lords. Since the abolition of monarchy, however, this term has been more commonly applied to public buildings, hospitals, &c. In England, the word Hotel signifies a large inn or temporary lodging-house, ready-furnished.

HOTHEA'DED. a. (hot and head.) Vehement; violent; passionate (Arbuthnot). HOT-HOUSE. In gardening, a building formed much upon the plan, and for the same purpose, as a green-house: but with a hot-bed of tan in its centre, instead of tressels and rows of plants in an ascending series; and warmed by a double stove to a considerably greater extent of heat, which should be seldom less than 70 of Fahrenheit, and equally maintained. Here are reared such exotics as the usual heat of the green house is incapable of bringing to perfection: and as these are commonly of less height than green-house plants, the hot-honse itself is considerably less lofty. Various methods have been lately devised for the purpose of warming both hot-houses and green-houses by the heat of the sun alone, or nearly so: but the principles are for the most part so operose, or the degree of care requisite so considerable, that the usual method of warming by flues, as described in the article GREEN-HOUSE, seems upon the whole superior to any other that has hitherto been proposed.

HO'TLY. ad. (from hot.) 1. With heat; not coldly. 2. Violently; vehemently (Sidney). 3. Lustfully (Dryden).

HOTMOUTHED. a. (hot and mouth.) Headstrong; ungovernable (Dryden). HOTNESS. 8. (from hot.) Heat; violence;

fury.

HOTSPUR. 8. (hot and spur.) 1. A man violent, passionate, precipitate, and Leady (Burton). 2. A kind of pea of speedy growth (Mort).

HOTSPURRED. a. (from hotspur.) Vehement; rash; heady (Peacham). HOTTENTOT CHERRY, in botany. See

CHASSINE.

HOTTENTOTS (Country of the). A large region in the south extremity of Africa, extending N. and W. from the Cape of Good Hope beyond the mouth of Orange River, and from that Cape in an E. N. E. direction, to the mouth of the Great Fish River, which parts it from Caffraria. It lies between the tropic of Capricorn and 35 S. lat. and is bounded on the W, S., and E., by the Atlautic, Southern, and Indian Oceans, and on

the N. by regions very little if at all explored. The coast is mountainous, and abounds in bays There are no considerable kingdoms

throughout this large extent of country, the whole

being inhabited by different nations or

tribes of

or

Hottentots, governed by different honquers, or chiefs, who have no fixed residence; living, like the Arabs, in huts or portable houses, and removing their kraals, becomes too bare for the subsistence of their or villages, whenever the pasture cattle, and upon the natural or violent death of an inhabitant. The known nations are the Kochaquan, Suffaquan, Odiquan, Chirigriquan, Greater and Lesser Namaquan, Attaquan, Hessaquan, Sonquan, Dunquan, Damaquan, Gauros Gouriquan, Houteniquan, Chamtover, and Hei kom. They no longer compose, as formerly, one nation, uniform in their manners, customs, and pursuits. The establishment of the Dutch colony was a fatal epoch, which disunited them all, and occasioned those differences by which they are at present distinguished. In 1652, when Riebeck, the surgeon, on his return from India, opened the eyes of the directors of the company, respecting the importance of an establishment at the Cape, they wisely thought that such an enterprise could not be better executed than by the genius which had planned it. Furnished, therefore, with ample powers, and being supplied with provisions, and every thing that could contribute to the success of the project, Riebeck soon arrived at Table Bay. Like an able politician, and a skilful negociator, he employed every method in his power to secure the friendship of the Hottentots; and he covered with honey the edge of the poisoned bowl. Gained over by powmasters of all this part of Africa, did not perceive erful allurements, these savages, the how many of their rights, and how much authority, repose, and happiness, this profanation deprived them of. Indolent by nature, and little addicted to agriculture, they were not uneasy that strangers should seize on a small corner of useless land, which was often uninhabited. They thought that whether a little farther, or a little nearer, it was of no importance where their flocks, the only riches worthy of engaging their attention, sought for their food, provided they could find it. The avaricious policy of the Dutch had did not fail to finish the work, by holding out two great hopes from so peaceful a beginning; and tobacco and strong liquors. very seducing allurements to the

unlimited

Hottentots

From that moment

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these unhappy savages bade adieu to their liberty, and to that spirit which mankind inherit from nature. Attracted by these two baits, they approached as near as they could to the source from which they received them; whilst the Dutch, who for a pipe of tobacco, or a glass of brandy, could procure an ox, paid every attention in their power to such valuable neighbours. colony insensibly increasing, and acquiring more strength, that formidable power which dictated laws to all this part of Africa, and removed a great distance every thing that attempted to oppose its eager ambition, was seen to rise on foundations that could no longer be shaken. The fame of its prosperity was soon spread, and drew thither every day a number of new settlers. It may be easily judged, that, according to the usual practice, founded upon a logic which destroys the laws of property, so sacred and so re

to

spectable, the will of the stronger party was a inches to twelve. This is frequently adorned

sufficient title for it to extend its possessions. The Dutch seized indiscriminately, at several times, and even without having occasion for them, on all the lands which government, or individuals favoured by government, thought proper, or found convenient. The Hottentots, thus confined, pressed, and harassed on all sides, divided themselves, and pursued plans entirely opposite. Those who were still interested in the preservation of their flocks, penetrated among the mountains towards the north and north-east; but these were the fewer number. The rest, ruined by a few glasses of brandy, and a few rolls of tobacco, impoverished and stripped of every thing, did not think of quitting their country; but, absolutely renouncing their manners, as well as their ancient and happy condition, of which they have no remembrance at present, they basely sold their services to the whites, who eased themselves of the painful and multiplied labours requisite on their plantations, by laying them upon these unfortunate Hottentots, more and more degenerated and corrupted. A few paltry and miserable hordes have indeed established themselves, and live as they can, in different cantons of the colony; but they have not even the power of choosing their own chief. As they are in the district of government, and under its authority, the right of naming him belongs entirely to the governor. The person whom he chooses repairs to the town, and receives a large cane, the knob of which is copper: after which a crescent or gorget, formed of the same metal, upon which is engraven, in large letters, the word capitein, is put round his neck, as a badge of his dignity. From that moment his melancholy borde, which for a long time has lost its national

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assumes that of the new chief who has been set over it. They will then say, for example, The horde of captain Kees, &c. who becomes to the governor a new creature, a new spy, and a new slave, and, to his own countrymen, a new tyrant. The governor himself is never personally acquainted with those whom he appoints. It is generally the planter nearest the horde, who solicits and determines the nomination for one of his own creatures; because he trusts that a low person whom he has in this manner patronized, will not be ungrateful, and that he will have all his vassals ready at his service when necessity may require. Thus, without any preliminary information, and even without any regard to justice, a helpless and feeble horde are obliged to receive laws from a man often incapable of commanding them; and thus does the interest of one individual prevail over the general good, both in great and little affairs: and it is thus that the revolutions of a republic, and the puerile election of the syndic of a village, proceeding from the same principles, are equal and similar in their effects. Such, in general, are the Hottentots known under the name of the Hottentots of the Cape, or Hottentots of the Colonies; but we must not confound with them the savage Hottentots, who, by way of derision, are called the Jackal-Hottentots; and who, far removed from the arbitrary Dutch government, still preserve in the desert which they inhabit all the purity of their primitive manners. Among the different tribes of Hottentots, the women wear two or three coverings, formed of a skin, and fastened about their bodies like an apron; the outermost, which is the largest, measuring from seven

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with glass beads in different forms. All these coverings are well smeared with grease. garment usually worn for covering the men's bodies, is a sheep-skin with the wool. This pelisse, or kaross, is tied forward over the breast. If the weather is not cold, they let it hang loose over their shoulders, in a careless manner; when it reaches down to the calves of their legs, leaving the lower part of the breast, stomach, and fore part of the legs and thighs bare; but in rainy and cold weather they wrap it round them, so that the fore part of the body likewise is in some measure covered with it, as far as below the knees. That which is used by the women for the same purpose, does not differ from those used by the men in any other respect, than that the women have a peak to their karosses, which they turn up, forming with it a hood or little pouch, with the hairy side inwards. In this they carry their little children. The men in general wear no peculiar covering on their heads. Those who live nearest to the colonists, wear European hats, slouched all round, or else with one side turned up. The women frequently go bareheaded; when they cover their heads, it is with a cap in the form of a short truncated cone, without any seam, made of some animal's stomach; and as black as soot, mixed up with fat, can make it. Over this cap they sometimes wear another ornament, consisting of an oval wreath, made of buffalo's hide, with the brown' hair outwards. Both the rims of this wreath (as well the lower one on which it rests, as the upper one) are always smooth and even; each of them set with a row of small shells, to the number of more than thirty, in such a manner, that, being placed quite close to each other, their beautiful white enamel, together with their mouths, is turned outwards. Neither the ears nor nose of the Hottentots are adorned with any pendant or other ornaments. The necks of the men are bare; but those of the women are decorated with a strip of undressed leather, upon which are strung eight or ten shells. Another ornament in use with both sexes, is rings on their arms and legs. Most of these rings are made of thick leather straps, generally cut in a circular shape, which, by being beat and held over the fire, are rendered tough enough to retain the curvature that is given them. these rings that, according to Sparman, have given rise to the almost universally received notion, that the Hottentots wrap guts about their legs, in order to eat them occasionally. The men wear from one to five or six of these rings on their arms, just above the wrist; but seldom on their legs. The matrons of a higher rank, frequently have a considerable number of them both on their arms and legs, especially the latter, so that they are covered with them from the feet up to their knees. These rings are of various thickness; being sometimes as thick as a goose-quill, and sometimes two or three times that size. Now and then they are made of pieces of leather forming one entire ring, so that the arms and feet must be put through them when the wearer wishes to put them on. Rings of iron and copper, and especially of brass, of the size of a goose-quill, are considered as more genteel and more valuable than those made of leather. They seldom wear any shoes. The

It is

Hottentots who live within the boundaries of the Dutch colonies, seldom make use of any weapons.

Here and there, indeed, a man will furnish him- the men also. He thinks that the women of sav. self with a javelin, by way of defence against the wolves: this is called hassagai. Their habitations are as simple as their dress, and equally adapted to the wandering pastoral life they lead in those parts. In fact, they scarcely merit any other name than that of huts; though they are sufficient for the Hottentot's wants and desires. Every hut is disposed in the following manner: They are of a circular form, resembling a round bee-hive or vault. The ground plot is from eighteen to twenty-four feet in diameter. The highest of them are so low, that a middle-sized man can scarcely stand upright. From the situation of their fire-place, which is in the centre, the Hottentots have this advantage; that when they sit or lie in a circle round the fire, the whole company equally enjoy the benefit of its warmth. The door, which is low, is the only place that lets in the light; and at the same time the only outlet that is left for the smoke. The frame of this arched roof is

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composed of slender rods, or sprays of trees. These rods, being previously bent into a proper form, are laid, either whole or pieced, some parallel with each other, others crosswise; they are then strengthened by binding others round them, in a circular form, with withies. Large mats are then laid very neatly over this latticework, so as perfectly to cover the whole. The aperture which is left for the door, is closed, whenever there is occasion for it, with a skin fitted to it, or a piece of matting. These mats are made of a piece of cane or reed: the reeds, being laid parallel to each other, are fastened together with sinews or catguts; or else some kind of packthread, such as they have had an opportunity of procuring from Europeans. order or distribution of these huts in a kraal, or clan, is most frequently in the form of a circle, with the doors inwards; by this means a kind of yard or court is formed, where the cattle are kept at night. The milk, as soon as taken from the cow, is put to other milk which is curdled, and is kept in a leather sack; of this the hairy side, being considered as the cleanest, is turned inwards: so that the milk is never drunk while it is sweet. Many falsehoods have been related of this people, which seem to have originated in the prejudices and misrepresentations of the planters, to which Kolben, as well as other travellers since his time, seem to have given too easy faith. Vaillant, who certainly had the best opportunities of being acquainted with them, from learning their language and living among them, speaks of them with a degree of affection. Some authors have said that the families of the savages sleep promiscuously in the same hut; and are neither acquainted with difference of age, nor that invincible horror which separates persons of different sexes connected by blood. The savages, indeed, confined to what is strictly necessary, have never thought of preserving, under an apparent decency, all the turpitude of unnatural inclinations; and different apartments for brother and sister, mother and son, are not to be found among them: but to conclude because they have only one habitation, one bed, and one mat to repose on, after the labours of the day, that they live like the brutes, would be to calumniate innocence, and offer an insult to nature. Vaillant says, he visited more than one borde of savages, and always found modesty and reserve amongst the women, and amongst

age nations, once visited by corrupted Europeans, and too well acquainted with their perverse inclinations, prostitute themselves to all those who choose to enjoy them, and gratify their taste, from a dread of the barbarous cruelties which the whites are capable of committing.-There is something peculiar in the features of the Hottentot, which, in a certain degree, separates him from the generality of mankind. His cheekbones are exceedingly prominent, SO that his face being very broad in that part, and the jaw-bones, on the contrary, extremely narrow, his visage continues decreasing even to the point of the chin. This configuration gives him an air of lankness, which makes his head appear very much disproportioned, and too small for his full and plump body. His flat nose rises scarcely half an inch at its highest elevation; and his nostrils, which are excessively wide, often exceed in height the ridge of his nose. His mouth is large, and furnished with small teeth, well enamelled, and perfectly white: his eyes, very beautiful and open, incline a little towards the nose, like those of the Chinese : and to the sight and touch bis bair has the resemblance of wool; it is very short, curls naturally, and in colour is as black as ebony. He has very little hair, yet he employs no small care to pull out by the roots part of what he has; but the natural thinness of his eye-brows saves him from this trouble in that part. Though he has no beard but upon the upper lip, below the nose, and at the extremity of the chin, he never fails to pluck it out as soon as it appears. This gives him an effeminate look, which, joined to the natural mildness of his character, destroys that commanding fierceness common to all men in a state of nature, and which has acquired them the proud title of kings. With regard to proportion of body, a Hottentot is as perfect as if cast in a mould. His gait is graceful and agile, and all his motions, which are easy, seem very different from those of the American savages. The women, with more delicacy of features, exhibit the same characteristic marks in their figure: they are equally well made. Their breasts, admirably placed, have a most beautiful form, while in the bloom of youth: their hands are small; and their feet extremely well shaped, though they never wear sandals. The sound of their voice is soft; and their speech passing through the throat, is not destitute of harmony. When they speak, they employ a great many gestures, which give power and gracefulness to their arms. Hottentots, being naturally timid, are consequently not at all an enterprising people. Their phlegmatic coolness, and their serious looks, give them an air of reserve, which they never lay aside, even at the most joyful moments; while, on the contrary, all other black or tawny nations give themselves up to pleasure with the liveliest joy, and without any restraint. A profound indifference to the affairs of life, inclines them very much to inactivity and indolence: the keeping of their flocks, and the care of procuring a subsistence, are the only objects that occupy their thoughts. They never follow hunting as sportmen, but like people oppressed and tormented by hunger. In short, forgetting the past, and being under no uneasiness for the future, they are struck only with the present; and it is that alone which engages their

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