Thus fhould a benefaction be done with a good grace, and fhine in the ftrongest point of light; it fhould not only answer all the hopes and exigencies of the receiver, but even out-run his wishes: It is this happy manner of behaviour which adds new charms to it, and softens those gifts of art and nature, which otherwife would be rather distasteful than agreeable. Without it, valour would degenerate into brutality, learning into pedantry, and the genteeleft demeanour into affectation. Even religion itfelf, unless decency be the handmaid which waits upon her, is apt to make people appear guilty of fournefs and ill-humour: but this fhews virtue in her firft original form, adds a comelinefs to religion, and gives its profeffors the jufteft title to the beauty of holiness. A man fully inftructed in this art, may affume a thousand fhapes, and please in all: he may do a thousand actions shall become none other but himself; not that the things themselves are different, but the manner of doing them.

If you examine each feature by itself, Aglaura and Calliclea are equally handfome; but take them in the whole, and you cannot fuffer the comparison: The one is full of numberlefs nameless graces, the other of as many nameless faults.

The comeliness of perfon, and the decency of behaviour, add infinite weight to what is pronounced by any one. It is the want of this that often makes the rebukes and advice of old rigid perfons of no effect, and leave a displeasure in the minds of thofe they are directed to: But youth and beauty, if accompanied with a graceful and becoming feverity, is of mighty force to raise, even in the most profligate, a fenfe of fhame. In Milton, the devil is never described ashamed but once, and that at the rebuke of a beauteous angel.

So fpake the cherub, and his grave rebuke,
Severe in youthful beauty, added grace
Invincible: Abafb'd the devil ftood,
And felt bow awful goodness is, and faw,

Virtue in her own shape how lovely! jaw and pin'd
His lofs.

The

The care of doing nothing unbecoming has accompanied the greatest minds to their laft moments. They avoided even an indecent pofture in the very article of death. Thus Cæfar gathered his robe about him, that he might not fall in a manner unbecoming of himself, and the greatest concern that appeared in the behaviour of Lucretia. when she stabbed herself, was, that her body fhould lie in an attitude worthy the mind which had inhabited it.

Ne non procumbat honeftè,

Extrema bac etiam cura cadentis erat.

Ovid. Faft. 1. 3. ver. 833. 'Twas her last thought, how decently to fall.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I

Am a young woman without a fortune; but of a very high mind: That is, good Sir, I am to the last degree proud and vain, I am ever railing at the rich, for doing things, which upon fearch into my heart, [ "find I am only angry at because I cannot do the fame myself. I wear the hooped petticoat, and am all in calicoes when the finest are in filks. It is a dreadful "thing to be poor and proud; therefore if you please, a lecture on that fubject for the fatisfaction of

N° 293

Tuesday, February 5.

Πᾶσιν γὰρ εὐφρονῶσι συμμαχεῖ τύχη.

Frag. Vet. Poet.

The prudent ftill have fortune on their fide.

T

HE famous Gratian, in his little book wherein he lays down maxims for a man's advancing himself

at court, advises his reader to affociate himself with the fortunate, and to fhun the company of the unfortunate; which, notwithstanding the bafenefs of the precept to an honeft mind, may have fomething ufeful in it for those whe push their intereft in the world. It is certain a great part of what we call good or ill fortune, rifes out of right or wrong measures and schemes of life. When I hear a man complain of his being unfortunate in all his undertakings, I fhrewdly fufpect him for a very weak man in his affairs. In conformity with this way of thinking, cardinal Richlieu used to fay, that unfortunate and imprudent were but two words for the fame thing. As the cardinal himself had a great share both of prudence and good fortune, his famous antagonift, the Count d'Olivarez, was difgraced at the court of Madrid, because it was alledged against him that he had never any fuccefs in his undertakings. This, fays an eminent author, was indirectly accusing him of imprudence.

Cicero recommended Pompey to the Romans for their general upon three accounts, as he was a man of courage, conduct, and good fortune. It was, perhaps, for the reafon above-mentioned, namely, that a series of good fortune fuppofes a prudent management in the perfon whom it befalls, that not only Sylla the dictator, but feveral of the Roman Emperors, as is ftill to be seen upon their medals, among their other titles, gave themselves that of Felix or fortunate. The heathens, indeed, feem to have valued a man more for his good fortune than for any VOL. IV.

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other

other quality, which I think is very natural for those who have not a ftrong belief of another world. For how can I conceive a man crowned with many diftinguishing bleffings, that has not fome extraordinary fund of merit and perfection in him, which lies open to the fupreme eye, though perhaps it is not difcovered by my obfervation? What is the reafon Homer's and Virgil's heroes do not form a refolution, or strike a blow, without the conduct and direction of fome deity? Doubtless, because the poets esteemed it the greatest honour to be favoured by the Gods, and thought the best way of praifing a man was to recount thofe favours which naturally implied an extraordinary merit in the perfon on whom they defcended.

Those who believe a future state of rewards and punishments act very abfurdly, if they form their opinions of a man's merit from his fucceffes. But certainly, if I thought the whole circle of our being was concluded between our births and deaths, I fhould think a man's good fortune the measure and standard of his real merit, fince providence would have no opportunity of rewarding his virtue and perfections, but in the prefent life. A virtuous unbeliever, who lies under the preffure of misfortunes, has reafon to cry out, as they fay Brutus did a little before his death: O virtue, I have worshipped thee as a subftantial good, but I find thou art an empty name.

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But to return to our first point: Though prudence does undoubtedly in a great meafure produce our good or ill fortune in the world, it is certain there are maunforeseen accidents and occurrences which very often pervert the finest schemes that can be laid by human wifdom. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the ftrong, Nothing lefs than infinite wifdom can have an abfolute command over fortune; the highest degree of it, which man can poffefs, is by no means equal to fortuitous events, and to fuch contingencies as may rife in the prosecution of our affairs. Nay, it very often happens, that prudence, which has always in it a great mixture of caution, hinders a man from being fo fortunate as he might poffibly have been without it. A perfon who only aims at what is likely to fucceed, and follows closely the dictates of human prudence, never

meets

meets with those great and unforeseen fucceffes, which are often the effect of a fanguine temper, or a more happy rafhnefs; and this perhaps may be the reason, that, according to the common obfervation, fortune, like other females, delights rather in favouring the young than the old.

Upon the whole, fince man is fo fhort-fighted a creature, and the accidents which may happen to him fo various, I cannot but be of Dr. Tillotson's opinion in an-. other cafe, that were there any doubt of a Providence, yet it certainly would be very defirable there fhould be fuch a Being of infinite wisdom and goodness, on whose direction we might rely in the conduct of human life.

It is a great prefumption to afcribe our fucceffes to our own management, and not to esteem ourselves upon any bleffing, rather as it is the bounty of heaven, than the acquifition of our own prudence. I am very well pleafed with a medal which was ftruck by Queen Elizabeth, a little after the defeat of the invincible armada, to perpetuate the memory of that extraordinary event. It is well known how the King of Spain, and others who were the enemies of that great Princess, to derogate from her glory, afcribed the ruin of their fleet rather to the violence of ftorms and tempefts, than to the bravery of the English. Queen Elizabeth, inftead of looking upon this as a diminution of her honour, valued herself upon fuch a fignal favour of Providence, and accordingly, in the reverse of the medal above-mentioned, has reprefented a fleet beaten by a tempeft, and falling foul upon one another, with that religious infcription, Aflavit Deus, & diffipantur. He blew with his wind, and they were fcattered.

It is remarked of a famous Grecian general, whose name I cannot at prefent recollect, and who had been a particular favourite of fortune, that, upon recounting his victories among his friends, he added at the end of several great actions, And in this fortune had no share. After which it is obferved in history, that he never profpered in any thing he undertook.

As arrogance and a conceitedness of our own abilities are very fhocking and offenfive to men of fenfe and virtue, we may be fure they are highly difpleafing to that

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Being