“Pero ya es hora de explicaros el trato mutuo de este pueblo, su comercio y las reglas por las cuales todas las cosas se distribuyen entre ellos.
“As their cities are composed of families, so their families are made up of those that are nearly related to one another. Their women, when they grow up, are married out, but all the males, both children and grand-children, live still in the same house, in great obedience to their common parent, unless age has weakened his understanding, and in that case he that is next to him in age comes in his room; but lest any city should become either too great, or by any accident be dispeopled, provision is made that none of their cities may contain above six thousand families, besides those of the country around it. No family may have less than ten and more than sixteen persons in it, but there can be no determined number for the children under age; this rule is easily observed by removing some of the children of a more fruitful couple to any other family that does not abound so much in them. By the same rule they supply cities that do not increase so fast from others that breed faster; and if there is any increase over the whole island, then they draw out a number of their citizens out of the several towns and send them over to the neighbouring continent, where, if they find that the inhabitants have more soil than they can well cultivate, they fix a colony, taking the inhabitants into their society if they are willing to live with them; and where they do that of their own accord, they quickly enter into their method of life and conform to their rules, and this proves a happiness to both nations; for, according to their constitution, such care is taken of the soil that it becomes fruitful enough for both, though it might be otherwise too narrow and barren for any one of them. But if the natives refuse to conform themselves to their laws they drive them out of those bounds which they mark out for themselves, and use force if they resist, for they account it a very just cause of war for a nation to hinder others from possessing a part of that soil of which they make no use, but which is suffered to lie idle and uncultivated, since every man has, by the law of nature, a right to such a waste portion of the earth as is necessary for his subsistence. If an accident has so lessened the number of the inhabitants of any of their towns that it cannot be made up from the other towns of the island without diminishing them too much (which is said to have fallen out but twice since they were first a people, when great numbers were carried off by the plague), the loss is then supplied by recalling as many as are wanted from their colonies, for they will abandon these rather than suffer the towns in the island to sink too low.
“Pero volviendo a su modo de vivir en sociedad: el hombre de más edad en cada familia, como ya se ha dicho, es su gobernador; las mujeres sirven a sus maridos, y los hijos a sus padres, y siempre el menor sirve al mayor. Cada ciudad está dividida en cuatro partes iguales, y en el centro de cada una hay una plaza de mercado. Lo que allí se lleva y es fabricado por las distintas familias, se transporta desde allí a casas destinadas a ese propósito, en las cuales todas las cosas de una misma clase se almacenan por separado; y allí acude cada padre, y toma todo aquello que él o su familia necesitan, sin pagar nada ni dejar nada a cambio. No hay razón para negarle nada a nadie, puesto que hay tanta abundancia de todo entre ellos; y no hay peligro de que un hombre pida más de lo que necesita; no tienen incentivos para hacer esto, ya que están seguros de que siempre serán abastecidos: es el miedo a la escasez lo que hace que cualquier individuo de toda la raza de animales sea codicioso o voraz; pero, además del miedo, hay en el hombre un orgullo que le hace imaginar que es una gloria particular superar a los demás en pompa y exceso; mas según las leyes de los utopianos, no hay lugar para esto. Cerca de estos mercados hay otros para todo tipo de provisiones, donde no solo hay hierbas, frutas y pan, sino también pescado, aves y ganado. Hay también, fuera de sus ciudades, lugares designados junto a alguna corriente de agua para matar a sus bestias y para lavar su suciedad, lo cual es hecho por sus esclavos; porque no permiten que ninguno de sus ciudadanos mate a su ganado, pues piensan que la piedad y la bondad, que se cuentan entre los mejores afectos con que nacemos, se deterioran mucho con el sacrificio de animales; ni permiten que nada inmundo o sucio sea llevado dentro de sus ciudades, no sea que el aire se infecte con malos olores, lo cual podría perjudicar su salud. En cada calle hay grandes salas, situadas a igual distancia unas de otras, distinguidas por nombres particulares. Los Sifograntes habitan en aquellas que están asignadas a treinta familias, quince de las cuales viven a un lado y otras tantas al otro. En estas salas se reúnen todos y toman sus comidas; los mayordomos de cada una de ellas acuden a la plaza de mercado a una hora señalada, y según el número de los que pertenecen a la sala, llevan provisiones a sus casas. Pero cuidan de sus enfermos más que de cualquier otro; estos se alojan y son atendidos en hospitales públicos. Tienen pertenecientes a cada ciudad cuatro hospitales, que están construidos fuera de sus murallas y son tan grandes que pueden pasar por pequeñas ciudades; de este modo, por gran número de enfermos que tengan, pueden alojarlos convenientemente, y a tal distancia que aquellos que están enfermos de enfermedades contagiosas pueden mantenerse tan lejos del resto que no haya peligro de contagio. Los hospitales están amueblados y provistos de todo lo necesario para el descanso y la recuperación de los enfermos; y a los que son ingresados en ellos se les atiende con un cuidado tan tierno y vigilante, y son asistidos tan constantemente por sus hábiles médicos, que así como a ninguno se le envía contra su voluntad, apenas hay uno en toda la ciudad que, si cayera enfermo, no prefiriera ir allí antes que yacer enfermo en casa.
“After the steward of the hospitals has taken for the sick whatsoever the physician prescribes, then the best things that are left in the market are distributed equally among the halls in proportion to their numbers; only, in the first place, they serve the Prince, the Chief Priest, the Tranibors, the Ambassadors, and strangers, if there are any, which, indeed, falls out but seldom, and for whom there are houses, well furnished, particularly appointed for their reception when they come among them. At the hours of dinner and supper the whole Syphogranty being called together by sound of trumpet, they meet and eat together, except only such as are in the hospitals or lie sick at home. Yet, after the halls are served, no man is hindered to carry provisions home from the market-place, for they know that none does that but for some good reason; for though any that will may eat at home, yet none does it willingly, since it is both ridiculous and foolish for any to give themselves the trouble to make ready an ill dinner at home when there is a much more plentiful one made ready for him so near hand. All the uneasy and sordid services about these halls are performed by their slaves; but the dressing and cooking their meat, and the ordering their tables, belong only to the women, all those of every family taking it by turns. They sit at three or more tables, according to their number; the men sit towards the wall, and the women sit on the other side, that if any of them should be taken suddenly ill, which is no uncommon case amongst women with child, she may, without disturbing the rest, rise and go to the nurses’ room (who are there with the sucking children), where there is always clean water at hand and cradles, in which they may lay the young children if there is occasion for it, and a fire, that they may shift and dress them before it. Every child is nursed by its own mother if death or sickness does not intervene; and in that case the Syphogrants’ wives find out a nurse quickly, which is no hard matter, for any one that can do it offers herself cheerfully; for as they are much inclined to that piece of mercy, so the child whom they nurse considers the nurse as its mother. All the children under five years old sit among the nurses; the rest of the younger sort of both sexes, till they are fit for marriage, either serve those that sit at table, or, if they are not strong enough for that, stand by them in great silence and eat what is given them; nor have they any other formality of dining. In the middle of the first table, which stands across the upper end of the hall, sit the Syphogrant and his wife, for that is the chief and most conspicuous place; next to him sit two of the most ancient, for there go always four to a mess. If there is a temple within the Syphogranty, the Priest and his wife sit with the Syphogrant above all the rest; next them there is a mixture of old and young, who are so placed that as the young are set near others, so they are mixed with the more ancient; which, they say, was appointed on this account: that the gravity of the old people, and the reverence that is due to them, might restrain the younger from all indecent words and gestures. Dishes are not served up to the whole table at first, but the best are first set before the old, whose seats are distinguished from the young, and, after them, all the rest are served alike. The old men distribute to the younger any curious meats that happen to be set before them, if there is not such an abundance of them that the whole company may be served alike.
“Así se honra a los ancianos con un respeto particular, pero todos los demás se alimentan tan bien como ellos. Tanto la comida como la cena comienzan con alguna lectura de moralidad que se les lee; pero es tan breve que no les resulta tediosa ni incómoda de escuchar. A partir de esto, los ancianos aprovechan la ocasión para entretener a quienes los rodean con algunas digresiones útiles y agradables; mas no acaparan toda la conversación para sí mismos durante las comidas de modo que los más jóvenes no puedan intervenir; al contrario, los incitan a hablar para así, en esa libre manera de conversar, descubrir la fuerza del espíritu de cada uno y observar su temperamento.
Despachan las comidas rápidamente, pero se quedan mucho tiempo en la cena, porque van a trabajar después de la primera y deben dormir tras la segunda, periodo durante el cual piensan que el estómago realiza la digestión con mayor vigor. Nunca cenan sin música, y siempre se sirven frutas después de la carne; mientras están a la mesa, algunos queman perfumes y rocían ungüentos fragantes y aguas aromáticas; en suma, no les falta nada que pueda alegrar sus espíritus; se conceden una gran holgura en ese sentido y se entregan a todos aquellos placeres que no conllevan ningún inconveniente.
Así es como viven juntos los que están en las ciudades; pero en el campo, donde viven a gran distancia unos de otros, cada uno come en su hogar, y a ninguna familia le falta ninguna clase de provisión necesaria, pues son precisamente ellos quienes envían los víveres a los que habitan en las ciudades.