Matteo Revolti

« Remarks upon that wonderful chapter1»: the controversy about luxury between Mandeville and Dennis

On 9th April 1724 the Daily Courant published the advertising of a book entitled Vice and luxury publick mischiefs: the author of the book was the sixty-four year John Dennis, English critic, who was engaged in those years in a literary controversy with Alexander Pope. The work came out some months after the early attacks moved by Law and Fiddes against the Fable of the Bees: unlike those authors, the criticism of Dennis concerned particularly the problem of luxury exposed in Mandeville’s text2. That subject, soon become the Leitmotiv of many critics of the Fable, played an essential role within the public debate in Great Britain at the beginning of the Eighteenth century. Dennis’s contribution to the topic is important for two reasons: the topos of luxury is strongly anchored within his literary productions; moreover his book against Fable symbolized the clash between the values of the ancient Constitution and the new economy model promoted by Mandeville.

Born in London from a saddler family in 1657, Dennis attended the Caius College of Cambridge and he received his Master of Art in 1683 at the Trinity Hall. After his degree he began to hang around the Will’s Coffee-house where he met the famous dramatist John Dryden who afterwards became his patron. Dennis was soon known in London for his ferocious reviews against some contemporaries authors such as Blackmore, Steele and Gay. The same Mandeville in his Letter to Dion described him as «a noted Critick, who seems to hate all Books that sell, and no other[…]3». Dennis was engaged not only in literary works but he also filled institutional appointments: in 1701 the Duke of Marlborough procured him the place of one of the Queen’s Waiter in the Custom- house. During that experience Dennis published an essay entitled A Proposal for putting a speedy end to the war about the conflict between England and France, where he proposed to boycott the French maritime commerce and to strengthen the power of the English fleet on international

1 Cfr. J. Dennis, Vice and luxury publick mischiefs: or, remarks on a book intituled, The fable of the bees; or, private vices publick benefits, London, printed for W. Mears, at the Lamb, without Temple-Bar, 1724, p. 5. 2 As reported the Monthly catalogue for the year 1724, Law’s Remarks were published in January, whereas Fiddes’s Treatise in February. Concerned the controversy between Dennis and Pope sees Edward. N. Hooker, The critical works of John Dennis, 2 vol (1711-1729), Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1943, pp. xxvi-xxx. 3 Cfr. B. Mandeville, A letter to Dion, occasion'd by his Book call'd Alciphron, or the Minute Philosopher, London, printed and sold by J. Roberts in Warwick lane, 1732, p. 46. waters4. Particularly in the Proposal Dennis sketched his theory about the English independence from foreign costumes and commerce: he advanced the idea that English merchants could have had the monopoly of the market, financing the English fleet against their foreign competitors.

During the years of the debate on Fable, the old critic was loosing the ancient prestige: he was on the margins of the literary environment and he lived isolated in his lodging near Charing Cross. The shock raised from Fable appeared for Dennis a good occasion to redeem his reputation: first of all with Vice and Luxury he intended to rehabilitate his literary position from the aspersions of Scriblerus Club’s members. Secondly, that essay offered him the opportunity to treat some arguments close to his interest.

Vice and Luxury was cataloged by the first Dennis’s biographer as «a religious controversy5», whereas H. G Paul in 1911 marked it as «his last and longest political tract6»; this complicated classification of Dennis’s work can be solved through the analysis of its title, and especially paying attention to the word “luxury” contained in it. As many studies demonstrated, in England at the end of seventeenth century that topic was disconnected from the moral dimension: luxury was linked especially with the problem of commerce on the British ground7. According to that approach luxury showed itself through the introduction of foreign products in England. Consequently, luxury appeared as the negative effect of commercial activities and its foreign character was the cause of its bad reputation among the inhabitants of the British islands. This argument raised many debates: in his essay Usury at six per cent (1669) Thomas Manley criticized the proposal moved by Thomas Culpeper in his Tract against the high rate of usurie, where he had sponsored the reduction of tax’s interest from ten to six pro cent. Manley answered to Culpeper arguing the reduction would have provoked «the vain consumption of Forraign Commodities, imported by English Money8». This position against «foreign commodities» was stressed especially with the beginning of the war

4 Cfr. J. Dennis, A proposal for putting a speedy end to the war, by ruining the commerce of the French and Spaniards, and securing our own, without any additional expence to the nation, 1703. 5 Cfr. The Life of Mr. John Dennis, the renowned critik. In which are likewise some observations on most of the poets and criticks, his contemporaries. Not written by Mr.Curll, London, printed for J. Roberts in Warwick-Lane, MDCCXXXIV, p. 53. 6 Cfr. H. G. Paul, John Dennis, his life and criticism, New York, The Columbia University Press, 1911, p. 62. 7 On luxury’s controversy sees at least: J. Sekora, Luxury : the concept in western thought, Eden to Smollett, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977; Christopher J. Berry, The idea of luxury: a conceptual and historical investigation, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994; D. Grugel-Pannier, Luxus: eine Begriffs- und ideengeschichtliche Untersuchung unter besondere Berücksichtigung von Bernard Mandeville, Frankfurt am Main, Lang, 1996; M. Berg, Consumers and luxury: consumer culture in Europe 1650 – 1850, Manchester, Manchester Univ. Press, 1999; R. Reith, "Luxus und Konsum" - eine historische Annäherung, Münster, Waxmann, 2003; M. Berg, Luxury and pleasure in eighteenth-century Britain, Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. 8 Cfr. T. Manley, Usury at six per cent. examined, and found unjustly charged by Sir Tho. Culpepper and J.C. with many crimes and oppressions, where of 'tis altogether innocent : wherein is shewed the necessity of retrenching our luxury, and vain consumption of forraign commodities, imported by English money, London, printed by Thomas Ratcliffe, and Thomas Daniel, and are to be sold by Ambrose Isted, 1669. between France and England: the consume of foreign products, especially from France, was perceived as a betrayal against England. This alarm was launched in 1700 by A Proposal for remeeding our excessive luxury, where the anonymous author asserted that «the promoving of our Trade, and amending of our Coin, will not much increase our Stocks, until we amend our Manners: for if Luxurie bring in more Goods that by our Native product and industrie we export9». This idea of luxury as an exogenous element from England appeared in many of literary works of Dennis: in 1705 John argued that luxury had a precisely geographic collocation in French costumes and the following year he identified the music of the Italian opera as a signal of luxury10. Despite the literary attention devoted to luxury, the theme achieved a political meaning only in Dennis's Essay on publick spirits published in 1711. In the thirty-one pages of that essay he denounced the British prostitution toward the continental fashions: this submission was guilty of the death of public spirit, that is «the ardent Love of one’s Country, affecting us with a zealous Concern for its Honour and Interest, and inspiring us with Resolution and Courage to promote its Service and Glory11». According to Dennis the inhibition of this sentiment was provoked by several factors, such as the importation of foreign costumes and the impotency of the Church against the dangerous Free- Thinkers. The solution advanced by Dennis was the introduction of sumptuary laws against luxury; in particular he argued that «If what is here is publish’d is favourably reciv’d, I shall endeavour to shew in a second part the mighty Mischiefs that the introduction of foreign Manners and foreign Luxury hath done to his Islands, and to rest of Europe; and the proper Methods that are to be us’d to restrain Luxury, and to retrieve Publick Spirit12».

After thirteen years Dennis returned on the topic with Vice and luxury. We do not know whether this work was conceived by Dennis as Essay’s continuation: however many of Essay’s arguments appear in Vice and luxury. This work is divided into three remarks with four letters and a treatise on the excellency of Christianity in appendix. Dennis’s book was dedicated to Thomas Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. This name is significant for two reasons. First, the same Dennis dedicated in 1702 his Essay on the navy to him; second, Pembroke was appealed by Fiddes as the patron, thank to his Treatise against the Fable, two months before Vice and luxury. In his Preface Dennis argued that the origin of his essay was moved from the defence of religion meant as a bulwark of the civil society and British liberty. Particularly Dennis recognized that the current liberty is threatened by

9 Cfr. A proposal for remeeding our excessive luxury, p. 1. 10 J. Dennis, An essay on the opera's after the Italian manner, which are about to be establish'd on the English stage: with some reflections on the damage which they may bring to the publick, London, printed for, and to be sold by John Nutt near Stationer’s-Hall, 1706. 11 Cfr. J. Dennis, An essay upon publick spirit; being a satyr in prose upon the Manners and Luxury of the times, the chief sources of our present parties and division, London, printed for Bernard Lintott, between the Two Temple Gates in Fleetstreet, 1711, p. 2. 12 Ivi. p. v. infidelity: this phenomenon raised its peak with the Fable «a Champion for Vice and Luxury, a serious, a cool, a deliberate Champion, that is a Creature intirely new, and has never been heard of before in any Nation, or any Age of the World13». In the first remark Dennis offered a semantic analysis of the title of Fable: he believed the private vices did not provoke public benefits, but only public mischiefs. Public benefits are addressed towards liberty, whereas the vices and luxury are caused by public mischiefs, as showed by the recent scandal of the South Sea Bubble. In this perspective Dennis quoted Sidney, Bacon and Machiavelli as champions of virtues and authorities of the republican tradition: Dennis's support to the republican cause was admitted by the author himself, who declared with reference to Sidney’s Discourses «I am be branded with the odious Name of Republican14». The second remark is devoted to the notes about the Inquire into the origin of moral virtues: against Mandeville’s argument about the a-moral genesis of civil society, Dennis refuted that religion and virtues are the basis of society. Particularly the old critic identified in the ancient Romans a prototype of society founded on virtues and civil values: with Machiavelli he recognized that «Roman Virtue was the Effect of their Religion, and not of the Contrivance of wary Politicians15». In the third note Dennis analyzed the famous remark L of the Fable dedicated to luxury: as the English author remembered, this praise on luxury was at the origin of his essay because «it has rais’d so much fresh Indignation in me, that I cannot help bestowing some particular Remarks upon that wonderful Chapter16». In his remark Mandeville supported the beneficial effects of luxury with three reasons: first, it had an arbitrary character because luxury could be considered everything or nothing; second, the importation of foreign luxury did not impoverish the wealth of the nation; at last its presence did not bring negative effects within the army17. Dennis refuted the thesis about the relative meaning of luxury, appealing indirectly to the Aristotelian doctrine of metriotes: according to him moderation was the best canon to identify what is excessive and what is not. As an example to prove his theory, he uses the image of diet, as medium between abstinence and gluttony. But most important Dennis’s consideration on luxury concerned the critic to Mandeville’s laissez-faire model, arguing that the model suggested by Fable’s author forced citizens to spend their savings in foreign products. A significant example of his model was expressed by Mandeville through the commerce between Turkey and England; in his remark the Dutch physician argued that the economic relationship with Turkey was an expression of the laissez-faire and a source of wealth for England18. Dennis answered to Mandeville that if a man,

13 Vice and luxury, pp. xvi-xvii. 14 Ivi. p. 8. 15 Ivi. p. 48. 16 Ivi. p. 51. 17 B. Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees, ed. F. B. Kaye, 1 vol, Oxford, 1924, pp. 73-85. 18 Ivi. pp. 75-77. with a 500 £ income spends all his savings in foreign products like wine and oil, he will become poor and the nation will receive no benefits. In addition Dennis criticized Mandeville’s thesis about the impunity of luxury: in Fable the Dutch physician expressed that luxury in itself was not criminal and that corruption and robberies derived only from bad administration. Dennis asserted instead that the political administration was not guilty; for him the State had only a guarantee role and it had to defend the properties of the citizens. In this perspective the State cannot intervene into the private affairs, therefore the presence of corruption is due only to the same luxury. Finally Dennis dealt the argument about the benefits from the circulation of luxury in the military sphere, showing the absolute incompatibility between luxury and army19.

Vice and Luxury portrays a fundamental puzzle within the controversy of luxury raised by Fable: Dennis was the first author to understand Mandeville’s innovation in the economic system, reading his text as the dilation of perverse model which had spin-offs into social episodes like the South Sea Bubble. Against Mandeville’s system he opposed the values of the ancient Constitution and he appealed himself to the republican myth: the constant recovery of the ancient roman’s tradition in his works is the signal of his discomfort towards corruption of the current society20. This alarm is constantly launched through the defense of civil liberty: according to Dennis, England’s liberty was threatened by its economic and cultural dependence from foreign costumes. This stress on freedom and independence places the same Dennis within the circle of the country-whig, who fought in those years against the Financial Revolution and the moneyed interests. Behind the controversy with Fable, finally Dennis developed a political text showing the contrast between the nostalgia for a virtuous and traditional society and the new economic model promoted by Fable.

19 Vice and luxury, pp. 59-63. 20 See as for two Dennis’s significant works like Coriolanus, the invader of his country (1720) and Julius Caesar acquitted, and his murderers condemn'd (1722).