deftroyer of all things, ought to be paid in his own coin, and be deftroyed and murdered without mercy, by all the ways that can be invented. Another favourite faying of theirs is, That bufinefs was defigned only for knaves, and ftudy for blockheads: a third feems to be a ludicrous one, but has a great effect upon their lives; and is this, That the devil is at home. Now for their manner of living: and here I have a large field to expatiate in; but I fhall referve particulars for my intended difcourfe, and now only mention one or two of their principal exercifos. The elder proficients employ themfelves in infpecting mores hominum • multorum, in getting acquainted with all the figns and windows in the town. Some are arrived to fo great a knowledge, that they can tell every time any butcher kills a calf, every time an old woman's cat is in the ftraw; and a thoufand other matters as important. One ancient philofopher contemplates two or three hours every day over a fun-dial; and is true to the ⚫ dial As the dial to the fun, Although it be not fhone upon. Our younger ftudents are content to carry their fpeculations as yet no farther than bowling-greens, billiardtables, and fuch like places. This may ferve for a fketch of my defign; in which I hope I fhall have your encouragement. I am, Sir, Yours.' I Must be so just as to obferve, I have formerly seen of this fect at our other univerfity; tho' not diftinguished by the appellation which the learned hiftorian, my correfpondent, reports they bear at Cambridge: they were ever looked upon as a people that impaired themselves more by their firict applications to the rules of their order order than any other students whatever. Others feldom hurt themselves any further than to gain weak eyes, and fometimes head-achs; but these philofophers are feized all over with a general inability, indolence, and wearinefs, and a certain impatience of the place they are in, with an heavinefs in removing to another. The Loungers are fatisfied with being merely part of the number of mankind, without diftinguithing themfelves from amongst them. They may be faid rather to fuffer their time to pafs than to spend it, without regard to the paft or profpect of the future: all they know of life is only the prefent inftant, and do not tafte even that. When one of this order happens to be a man of fortune, the expence of his time is transferred to his coach and horfes, and his life is to be meafured by their motion, not his own enjoyments or fufferings: the chief entertainment one of thefe philofophers can poffibly propofe to himself is, to get a relifh of drefs. This, methinks, might diverfify the perfon he is weary of, his own dear felf to himfelf. I have known thefe two amufements make one of thefe philofophers make a tolerable figure in the world; with variety of dreffes in public affemblies in town, and quick motion of his horfes out of it: now to Bath, now to Tunbridge, then to New-Market, then to London; he has, in procefs of time, brought it to pafs, that his coach and his horfes have been mentioned in all thofe places. When the Loungers leave an academic life, and, instead of this more elegant way of appearing in the polite world, retire to the feats of their ancestors, they ufually join a pack of dogs, and employ their days in defending their poultry from foxes. I do not know any other method that any of this order has ever taken to make a noife in the world; but I fhall inquire into fuch about this town as have arrived at the dignity of being Loungers by the force of natural parts, without having ever feen an univerfity: and fend my correfpondent, for the embellishment of his book, the names and history of those who pafs their lives without any incidents at all; and how they U 2 fhift fhift coffee-houfes and chocolate-houfes from hour to hour, to get over the insupportable labour of doing nothing. No. LV. THURSDAY, MAY 3. -Intus & in jecore ægro Nafcuntur domini PERS. Our paffions play the tyrants in our breasts. R. MOST of the trades, profeffions, and ways of living among mankind take their original either from the love of pleasure, or the fear of want. The former, when it becomes too violent, degenerates into Luxury, and the latter into Avarice. As thefe two principles of action draw different ways, Perfius has given us a very humorous account of a young fellow who was roufed out of his bed in order to be fent upon a long voyage by Avarice, and afterwards over-perfuaded and kept at home by Luxury. I fall fet down at length the pleadings of thefe two imaginary perfons, as they are in the original, with Mr. Dryden's tranflation of them. Mane piger ftertis: furge, inquit Avaritia; eia Surge. Negas. Inflat, furge, inquit. Non queo. Surge. Jam pueris pellem fuccinctus & enophorum aptas Exhalet Exhalet vapidâ læfum pice feiilis, obba? Quid petis? Ut nummi, quos hic quincunce modefto Indulge genio; carpamus dulcia; noftrum eft, Quod vivis, cinis, & manes, & fabula fies. Vive memor leti. Fugit hora; hoc quod loquor, inde est. En quid agis? Duplici in diverfum fcinderis hamɔ; Hunccine, an hunc fequeris ? Whether alone, or in thy harlot's lap, At his command th'unwilling fluggard wakes. With thy own hands, from the tir'd camel's back, 'Tis whole fome fin; but Jove, thou fay'ft, will hear Stark, faring mad, that thou would'ft tempt the sea ? On a brown George, with loufed fwabbers, fed; Say, woulaft thou bear all this, to raise thy store, For not to live at eafe, is not to live: U 3 } Death Death ftalks behind thee, and each flying hour When a government flourishes in conquefts, and is fecure from foreign attacks, it naturally falls into all the pleasures of luxury; and as thefe pleasures are very expenfive, they put thofe who are addicted to them upon raifing fresh fupplies of money, by all the methods of rapaciousness and corruption; so that avarice and luxury very often become one complicated principle of action in those whofe hearts are wholly fet upon eafe, magnificence, and pleasure. The most elegant and correct of all the Latin hiftorians obferves, that in his time, when the most formidable ftates of the world were fubdued by the Romans, the Republic funk into those two vices of a quite different nature, luxury and avarice : and accordingly defcribes Catiline as one who coveted the wealth of other men, at the fame time that he fquandered away his own. This obfervation on the commonwealth, when it was in its height of power and riches, holds good of all governments that are fettled in a state of eafe and profperity. At fuch times men naturally endeavour to outfhine one another in pomp and splendor, and having no fears to alarm them from abroad, indulge themselves in the enjoyment of all the pleafures they can get in their poffeflion; which naturally produces avarice, and an immoderate purfuit after wealth and riches. As I was humouring myfelf in the fpeculation of these two great principles of action, I could not forbear throwing my thoughts into a little kind of allegory or fable; with which I fhall here prefent my reader. There were two very powerful tyrants engaged in a perpetual war against each other: the name of the first was Luxury; and of the fecond, Avarice. The aim of each of them was no less than univerfal monarchy over the hearts of mankind. Luxury had many generals under |