Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 4.6.5

4.6.5

The Great Mogol cannot select for his service, princes, noblemen and gentlemen of opulent and ancient families; nor the sons of his citizens, merchants and manufacturers; men of education, possessing a high sense of propriety, affectionately attached to their Sovereign, ready to support, by acts of valour, the reputation of their family, and, as the occasion may arise, able and willing to maintain themselves, either at court or in the army, by means of their own patrimony; animated by the hope of better times, and satisfied with the approbation and smile of their Sovereign. Instead of men of this description, he is surrounded by slaves, ignorant and brutal; by parasites raised from the dregs of society; strangers to loyalty and patriotism; full of insufferable pride, and destitute of courage, of honour, and of decency. The country is ruined by the necessity of defraying the enormous charges required to maintain the splendour of a numerous court, and to pay a large army maintained for the purpose of keeping the people in subjection. No adequate idea can be conveyed of the sufferings of that people. The cudgel and the whip compel them to incessant labour for the benefit of others; and driven to despair by every kind of cruel treatment, their revolt or their flight is only prevented by the presence of a military force.