No. 586, No. 586. Friday, August 27, Friday, August -Quae in vita usurpant homines, cogitant, curant, vident, 27, 1714. quaeque agunt vigilantes, agitantque, ea cuique in somno accidunt.-Cic. De Div. BY the last Post I received the following Letter, which is built upon a Thought that is new, and very well carried on; for which Reasons I shall give it to the Publick without Alteration, Addition, or Amendment, 'Sir, It was a good Piece of Advice which Pythagoras gave to his Scholars, That every Night before they slept they should examine what they had been a doing that Day, and so discover what Actions were worthy of Pursuit to Morrow, and what little Vices were to be prevented from slipping unawares into a Habit. If I might second the Philosopher's Advice, it should be mine, That in a Morning before my Scholar rose, he should consider what he had been about that Night, and with the same Strictness, as if the Condition, he has believ'd himself to be in, was real. Such a Scrutiny into the Actions of his Fancy must be of considerable Advantage, for this Reason, Because the Circumstances which a Man imagines himself in during Sleep, are generally such as entirely favour his Inclinations good or bad, and give him imaginary Opportunities of pursuing them to the utmost; so that his Temper will lye fairly open to his View, while he considers how it is moved when free from those Constraints which the Accidents of real Life put it under. Dreams are certainly the Result of our waking Thoughts, and our daily Hopes and Fears are what give the Mind such nimble Relishes of Pleasure, and such severe Touches of Pain, in its Midnight Rambles. A Man that murders his Enemy, or deserts his Friend in a Dream, had need to guard his Temper against Revenge and Ingratitude, and take heed that he be not tempted to do a vile thing in the Pursuit of false, or the Neglect of true Honour. For my Part, I seldom receive a Benefit, but in a Night or two's Time I make most noble Returns for it; which tho' my Benefactor is not a whit the better for No. 586, for, yet it pleases me to think that it was from a Principle of Gratitude in me, that my Mind was susceptible of such generous Transport while I thought my self repaying the Kindness of my Friends And I have often been ready to beg Pardon, instead of returning an Injury, after con sidering, that when the Offender was in my Power I had carried my Resentments much too far. I think it has been observ'd in the Course of your Papers, how much one's Happiness or Misery may depend upon the Imagination Of which Truth those strange Workings of Fancy in Sleep are no inconsider able Instances; so that not only the Advantage a Man has of making Discoveries of himself, but a Regard to his own Ease or Disquiet, may induce him to accept of my Advice. Such as are willing to comply with it, I shall put into a way of doing it with Pleasure, by observing only one Maxim which I shall give them, viz. To go to Bed with a Mind entirely free from Passion, and a Body clear of the least Intemperance. They indeed who can sink into Sleep with their Thoughts less calm or innocent than they should be, do but plunge themselves into Scenes of Guilt and Misery; or they who are willing to purchase any Midnight Dis quietudes for the Satisfaction of a full Meal, or a Škin full of Wine; these I have nothing to say to, as not know ing how to invite 'em to Reflections full of Shame and Horror But those that will observe this Rule, I promise 'em they shall awake into Health and Cheerfulness, and be capable of recounting with Delight those glorious Moments wherein the Mind has been indulging it self in such Luxury of Thought, such noble Hurry of Imagin ation. Suppose a Man's going supperless to Bed should introduce him to the Table of some great Prince or other, where he shall be entertained with the noblest Marks of Honour and Plenty, and do so much Business after, that he shall rise with as good a Stomach to his Breakfast as if he had fasted all Night long; or suppose he should see his dearest Friends remain all Night in great Distresses, which he could instantly have disingaged them from, could he have been content to have gone to Bed without the t'other Bottle: Believe me, these Effects of Fancy are no no contemptible Consequences of commanding or indulg. No. 586. ing one's Appetite. Friday, in forbear recommending my Advice upon many other August Accounts, 'till I hear how you and your Readers relish what I have already said; among whom, if there be any that may pretend it is useless to them, because they never dream at all, there may be others, perhaps, who do little else all Day long. Were every one as sensible as I am what happens to him in his Sleep, it would be no Dispute whether we past so considerable a Portion of our Time in the Condition of Stocks and Stones, or whether the Soul were not perpetually at Work upon the Principle of Thought. However, 'tis an honest Endeavour of mine to persuade my Countrymen to reap some Advantage from so many unregarded Hours, and as such you will encourage it. I shall conclude with giving you a Sketch or two of my Way of proceeding. If I have any Business of Consequence to do to Morrow, I am scarce dropt asleep to Night but I am in the midst of it, and when awake I consider the whole Procession of the Affair, and get the Advantage of the next Day's Experience before the Sun has risen upon it. There is scarce a great Post but what I have some Time or other been in; but my Behaviour while I was Master of a College pleases me so well, that whenever there is a Province of that Nature vacant, I intend to step in as soon as I can, I have done many Things that would not pass Exami nation, when I have had the Art of Flying, or being Invisible; for which Reason I am glad I am not possessed of those extraordinary Qualities. Lastly, Mr. SPECTATOR, I have been a great Correspondent of yours, and have read many of my Letters in your Paper which I never wrote to you. If you have a Mind I should really be so, I have got a Parcel of Visions and other Miscellanies in my Noctuary, which I shall send you to enrich your Paper with on proper Occasions, Oxford, Aug. 20. I am, &c. 27, 1714, IV. 2 D Monday No. 587. No. 587, THO Monday, August 30, -Intus & in cute novi-Pers. HO' the Author of the following Vision is unknown to me, I am apt to think it may be the Work of that ingenious Gentleman, who promised me, in the last Paper, some Extracts out of his Noctuary. 'Sir I was the other Day reading the Life of Mahomet. Among many other Extravagancies, I find it recorded of that Impostor, that in the fourth Year of his Age the Angel Gabriel caught him up, while he was among his Play-fellows, and carrying him aside, cut open his Breast, plucked out his Heart, and wrung out of it that black Drop of Blood, in which, say the Turkish Divines, is contained the Fomes Peccati, so that he was free from Sin ever after. I immediately said to my self, tho' this Story be a Fiction, a very good Moral may be drawn from it, would every Man but apply it to himself, and endeavour to squeeze out of his Heart whatever Sins or ill Qualities he finds in it. While my Mind was wholly taken up with this Con templation, I insensibly fell into a most pleasing Slumber, when methought two Porters entered my Chamber, carrying a large Chest between them, After having set it down in the middle of the Room they departed, I immediately endeavoured to open what was sent me, when a Shape, like that in which we paint our Angels, appeared before me, and forbad me. Enclosed, said he, are the Hearts of several of your Friends and Acquaint ance; but before you can be qualified to see and anim advert on the Failings of others, you must be pure your self; whereupon he drew out his Incision Knife, cut me open, took out my Heart, and began to squeeze it. I was in a great Confusion, to see how many things, which I had always cherished as Virtues, issued out of my Heart on this Occasion. In short, after it had been throughly squeezed, it looked like an empty Bladder, when the Phantome, breathing a fresh Particle of Divine Air into it, restored it safe to its former Repository; and No. 587. having sewed me up, we began to examine the Chest, Monday, The Hearts were all enclosed in transparent Phials, August 30, 1714. and preserved in a Liquor which looked like Spirits of Wine, The first which I cast my Eye upon, I was afraid would have broke the Glass which contained it. It shot up and down, with incredible Swiftness, thro' the Liquor in which it swam, and very frequently bounced against the Side of the Phial. The Fomes, or Spot in the Middle of it, was not large, but of a red fiery Colour, and seemed to be the Cause of these violent Agitations. That, says my Instructor, is the Heart of Tom. Dread-Nought, who behaved himself well in the late Wars, but has for these Ten Years last past been aiming at some Post of Honour to no Purpose, He is lately retired into the Country, where, quite choaked up with Spleen and Choler, he rails at better Men than himself, and will be for ever uneasie, because it is im possible he should think his Merit sufficiently rewarded. The next Heart that I examined was remarkable for its Smallness; it lay still at the Bottom of the Phial, and I could hardly perceive that it beat at all. The Phomes was quite black, and had almost diffused itself over the whole Heart. This, says my Interpreter, is the Heart of Dick Gloomy, who never thirsted after any thing but Mony. Notwithstanding all his Endeavours, he is still poor. This has flung him into a most deplorable State of Melancholly and Despair. He is a Composition of Envy and Idleness, hates Mankind, but gives them their Revenge by being more uneasie to himself than to any one else. The Phial I looked upon next contained a large fair Heart, which beat very strongly, The Fomes or Spot in it was exceeding small; but I could not help observing, that which way soever I turned the Phial it always appeared uppermost, and in the strongest Point of Light. The Heart you are examining, says my Companion, belongs to Will Worthy. He has, indeed, a most noble Soul, and is possessed of a thousand good Qualities. The Speck which you discover is Vanity, Here, says the Angel, is the Heart of Freelove, your intimate |