Now the mark of a noble is that he can read and write.  When the ancients were scattered, the remnant that was left behind was, for the most part, the ignorant and the poor.  But among them there was here and there a man who possessed some little education and force of mind.  At first there was no order; but after thirty years or so, after a generation, some order grew up, and these men, then become aged, were naturally chosen as leaders.  They had, indeed, no actual power then, no guards or armies; but the common folk, who had no knowledge, came to them for decision of their disputes, for advice what to do, for the pronouncement of some form of marriage, for the keeping of some note of property, and to be united against a mutual danger.

These men in turn taught their children to read and write, wishing that some part of the wisdom of the ancients might be preserved.  They themselves wrote down what they knew, and these manuscripts, transmitted to their children, were saved with care.  Some of them remain to this day.  These children, growing to manhood, took more upon them, and assumed higher authority as the past was forgotten, and the original equality of all men lost in antiquity.  The small enclosed farms of their fathers became enlarged to estates, the estates became towns, and thus, by degrees, the order of the nobility was formed.  As they intermarried only among themselves, they preserved a certain individuality.  At this day a noble is at once known, no matter how coarsely he may be dressed, or how brutal his habits, by his delicacy of feature, his air of command, even by his softness of skin and fineness of hair.

Still the art of reading and writing is scrupulously imparted to all their legitimate offspring, and scrupulously confined to them alone.  It is true that they do not use it except on rare occasions when necessity demands, being wholly given over to the chase, to war, and politics, but they retain the knowledge.  Indeed, were a noble to be known not to be able to read and write, the prince would at once degrade him, and the sentence would be upheld by the entire caste.  No other but the nobles are permitted to acquire these arts; if any attempt to do so, they are enslaved and punished.  But none do attempt; of what avail would it be to them?

All knowledge is thus retained in the possession of the nobles; they do not use it, but the physicians, for instance, who are famous, are so because by favour of some baron, they have learned receipts in the ancient manuscripts which have been mentioned.  One virtue, and one only, adorns this exclusive caste; they are courageous to the verge of madness.  I had almost omitted to state that the merchants know how to read and write, having special license and permits to do so, without which they may not correspond.  There are few books, and still fewer to read them; and these all in manuscript, for though the way to print is not lost, it is not employed since no one wants books.