229 the addition of a new fyllable. Nich in Italian is Nicolini, Jack in French, Janot; and fo of the reft. There is another particular in our language, which is a great inftance of our frugality of words, and that is the fuppreffing of feveral particles which must be produced in other tongues to make a fentence intelligible: This often perplexes the best writers, when they find the relatives whom, which, or they, at their mercy whether they may have admiffion or not, and will never be decided till we have fomething like an academy, that by the best autho. rities and rules drawn from the analogy of languages fhall fettle all controverfies between grammar and idiom. I have only confidered our language as it fhews the genius and natural temper of the English, which is modeft, thoughtful and fincere, and which perhaps may recommend the people, though it has fpoiled the tongue. We might perhaps carry the fame thought into other languages, and deduce a great part of what is peculiar to them from the genius of the people who speak them. It is certain, the light talkative humour of the French has not a little infected their tongue, which might be fhewn by many instances; as the genius of the Italians, which is fo much addicted to mufick and ceremony, has moulded all their words and phrafes to thofe particular ufes. The stateliness and gravity of the Spaniards fhews itself to perfection in the folemnity of their language, and the blunt honest humour of the Germans founds better in the roughness of the High-Dutch, than it would in a politer tongue. C VOL. II. U MONDAY, ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰******************** No. 136. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, -Parthis mendacior HOR. Ep. 1. 1. 2. ver. 112. A greater liar Parthia never bred. ACCORDING to the request of his ftrange fellow, fhall print the following letter, Mr SPECTATOR, 'I SHALL without any manner of preface or apology acquaint you, that I am, and ever have been from my youth upward, one of the greatest liars this island has produced. I have read all the moralifts upon the fubject, but could never find any effect their difcourfes had upon me, but to add to my misfortune by new thoughts and ideas, and making me more ready in my language and capable of fometimes mixing feeming truths with my improbabilities. With this ftrong paffion towards falfehood in this kind, there does not live an honefter man or a fincerer friend; but my imagination runs away with me, and whate" ver is ftarted I have fuch a fcene of adventures appears in an inftant before me, that I cannot help uttering them; though, to my immediate confufion, I cannot but know I am liable to be 'detected by the first man I meet. Upon occafion of the mention of the battle of 'Pultowa, I could not forbear giving an account ' of a kinfinan of mine, a young merchant who 'was bred at Mofcow, that had too much mettle to ' attend books of entries and accounts, when there " was fo active a scene in the country where he re< fided, and followed the Czar as a volunteer: This warm youth, born at the inftant the thing was 6 • spoke fpoke of, was the man who unhorfed the Swedifh General, he was the occafion that the Mufcovites kept their fire in fo foldier-like a manner, ' and brought up thofe troops which were covered 'from the enemy at the beginning of the day; be'fides this, he had at last the good fortune to be the man who took Count Piper. With all this 'fire I knew my cousin to be the civileft creature in the world. He never made any impertinent fhow ' of his valour, and then he had an excellent genius ' for the world in every other kind. I had letters from him (here I felt in my pockets) that exactly fpoke the Czar's character, which I knew perfectly well; and I could not forbear concluding, that I lay with his imperial majefty twice or thrice a week all the while he lodged at Deptford. What is worfe than all this, it is impoffible to fpeak to me, but you give me fome occafion of coming out with one lie or other, that has neither wit, humour, 'profpect of intereft, or any other motive that I can think of in nature. The other day, when ' one was commending an eminent and learned divine, what occafion in the world had I to fay, 'Methinks he would look more venerable if he " were not fo fair a man; I remember the company fmiled. I have feen the gentleman fince, and he is cole-black. I have intimations every ' day in my life that nobody believes me, yet I am 'never the better. I was faying fomething the other day to an old friend at Will's coffee-house, and he made me no manner of anfwer; but told < me, that an acquaintance of Tully the orator having two or three times together faid to him, without ' receiving any answer, That upon his honour he · was but that very month forty years of age; Tully anfwered, Surely you think me the moft incre'dulous man in the world, if I do not believe what you have told me every day these ten years. The mifchief of it is, I find myfelf wonderfully in'clined U 2 clined to have been prefent at every occurrence that is spoken of before me; this has led me into many inconveniencies, but indeed they have been 'the fewer, because I am no ill-natured man, and never speak things to any man's disadvantage. I never directly defame, but I do what is as bad in the confequence, for I have often made a man fay fuch and fuch a lively expreffion, who was 'born a mere elder brother. When one has faid in my hearing, Such a one is no wifer than he fhould be; I have immediately replied, Now 'faith I cannot fee that, he said a very good thing to my lord fuch a one, upon fuch an occafion, and the like. Such an honest dolt as this has 'been watched in every expreffion he uttered, upon my recommendation of him, and confequently been fubject to the more ridicule. I once endeavoured to cure myself of this impertinent qua'lity, and refolved to hold my tongue for feven 'days together: I did fo, but then I had fo many winks and unneceffary diftortions of my face upon what any body else said, that I found I only forbore the expreffion, and that I fill lied in my ' heart to every man I met with. You are to know one thing (which I believe you will fay is a pity, confidering the ufe I fhould have made of it), Í never travelled in my life; but I do not know whether I could have fpoken of any foreign counI try with more familiarity than I dó at prefent, in company who are ftrangers to me. I have 'curfed the inns in Germany; commended the 'brothels at Venice; the freedom of converfation in France; and though I never was out of this dear town, and fifty miles about it, have been 'three nights together dogged by bravoes for an intrigue with a cardinal's miflrefs at Rome." 'It were endless to give you particulars of this kind, but I can affure you Mr SPECTATOR, there are about twenty or thirty of us in this 'town, town, I mean by this town the cities of London and Westminster: I fay there are in town a fufficient number of us to make a fociety among our'felves; and fince we cannot be believed any longer, I beg of you to print this my letter, that we 'may meet together, and be under fuch regula'tion as there may be no occafion for belief or con'fidence among us. If you think fit, we might be called The Hiftorians, for liar is become a very ' harsh word. And that a member of the society 6 may not hereafter be ill received by the rest of 'the world, I defire you would explain a little this 'fort of men, and not let us Hiftorians be ranked, as we are in the imaginations of ordinary people, < among common liars, make-bates, impoftors, and 'incendiaries. For your inftruction herein, you are to know that an hiftorian in converfation is "only a person of fo pregnant a fancy, that he cannot be contended with ordinary occurrences. I 'know a man of quality of our order who is of 'the wrong fide of forty-three, and has been of that age, according to Tully's jeft, for fome years 'fince, whofe vein is upon the romantick. Give ' him the last occafion, and he will tell you fomething fo very particular that happened in such a year, and in such a company, where by the bye was " prefent fuch a one, who was afterwards made 'fuch a thing. Out of all these circumstances, in the best language in the world, he will join together with fuch probable incidents an account that 'fhews a perfon of the deepest penetration, the ho'neftest mind, and withal fomething fo humble ' when he speaks of himself, that you would admire. Dear Sir, why fhould this be lying? there ' is nothing so instructive. He has withal the gravest afpect; fomething so very venerable and great! Another of these historians is a young man whom we would take in, though he extremely wants parts; as people fend children (before they can U 3 learn |