doned writings of men of wit, and the aukward imitation of the reft of mankind. For this reafon Sir ROGER was faying laft night, that he was of opinion none but men of fine parts, deferve to be hanged. The reflections of fuch men are fo delicate upon all occurrences which they are concerned in, that they fhould be expofed to more than ordinary infamy and punishment for offending against fuch quick adatonitions as their own fouls give them, and blunting the fine edge of their minds in fuch a manner, that they are no more thocked at vice and folly, than men of flower capacities. There is no greater monfter in being, than a very ill man of great parts: He lives like a man in a palfy, with one fide of him dead. While perhaps he enjoys the fatisfaction of luxury, of wealth, of ambition, he has loft the tafte of good-will, of friendship, of innocence. Scarecrow, the beggar in Lincolns-Inn-Fields, who difabled himfelf in his right leg, and afks alms all day to get himself a warm fupper and a trull all night, is not half fo despicable a wretch as fuch a man of fenfe. The beggar has no relifh above fenfations; he finds reft more agrecable than motion; and while he has a warm fire and his doxy, 'never reflects that he deferves to be whipped. Every man who torminates his fatisfactions and enjoyments within the fupply of his own neceffities and paffions, is, fays Sir RoGer, in my eye, as poor a rogue as Scarecrow. But, continued he, for the lofs of publick and private virtue," we are beholden to your men of parts forfooth; it is with them no matter what is done, fo it be done with an air. But to me, who am fo whimfical in a corrupt age as to act according to nature and rea fon, a selfish män, in the most shining circumstance and equipage, appears in the fame condition with the fellow above-mentioned, but more contemptible, in proportion to what more he robs the public of, and enjoys above him. I lay it down there 1.10 fore fore for a rule, that the whole man is to move together; that every action of any importance, is to have a profpect of public good; and that the general tendency of our indifferent actions, ought to be agreeable to the dictates of reafon, of religion, of good-breeding; without this, a man, as I before have hinted, is hopping instead of walking, he is not in his intire and proper motion. While the honeft knight was thus bewildering himfelfin good starts, I looked attentively upon him, which made him, I thought, collect his mind a little. What I aim at, fays he, is to reprefent, that I am of opinion, to polifh our understandings and neglect our manners, is of all things the moft inexcufable. Reafon fhould govern paffion, but instead of that, you fee, it is often fubfervient to it; and, as unaccountable as one would think it, a wife man is not always a good man. This degeneracy is not only the guilt of particular perfons, but at fome times of a whole people; and perhaps it may appear upon examination, that the moft polite ages are the leaft virtuous. This may be attributed to the folly of admitting wit and learning as merit in themselves, without confidering the application of them. By this means it becomes a rule, not so much to regard what we do, as how we do it. But this falfe beauty will not pafs upon men of honeft minds and true tafte. Sir Richard Blackmore fays, with as much good fenfe as virtue, It is a mighty difbonour and fhame to employ excellent faculties and abundance of wit to humour and please men in their vices and follies. The great enemy of mankind, notwithstanding his wit and angelick faculties, is the most edious being in the whole creation. He goes on foon after to fay very generously, that he undertook the writing of his poem to refcue the mufes out of the bands of ravifbers, to restore them to their fweet and chafte manfions, and to engage them in an employment fuitable to their dignity. This certainty ought to be C 2 the the purpose of every man who appears in publick, and whoever does not proceed upon that foundation, injures his country as fast as he fucceeds in his ftudies. When modefty ceafes to be the chief ornament of one fex, and integrity of the other, fociety is upon a wrong bafis, and we fhall be ever after without rules to guide our judgment in what is really becoming and ornamental. Nature and reafon direct one thing, paffion and humour another: To follow the dictates of the two latter, is going into a road that is both endless and intricate; when we purfue the other, our paffage is delightful, and what we aim at eafily attainable. I do not doubt but England is at prefent as polite a nation as any in the world; but any man who thinks can easily fee, that the affectation of being gay and in fashion, has very near eaten up our good fenfe and our religion. Is there any thing fo juft, as that mode and galantry fhould be built upon (xerting ourselves in what is proper and agreeable to the inftitutions of justice and piety among us? And yet is there any thing more common than that we run in perfect contradiction to them? All which is fupported by no other pretenfion, than that it is done with what we call a good grace. Nothing ought to be held laudable or becoming, but what nature itfelf fhould prompt us to think fo. Refpect to all kind of fuperiors is founded, methinks, upon instinct; and yet what is fo ridiculous as age? I make this abrupt tranfition to the mention of this vice more than any other, in order to introduce a little ftory, which I think a pretty inftance that the moft polite age is in danger of being the most vici ous. It happened at Athens, during a publick reprefentation of fome play exhibited in honour of the commonwealth, that an old gentleman came too late for a place fuitable to his age and quality. Many of the young gentlemen who obferved the difficulty R difficulty and confufion he was in, made figns to ⚫ him that they would accommodate him if he came where they fat: The good man buftled through the crowd accordingly; but when he came to the feats to which he was invited, the jeft was to fit clofe, and expofe him, as he stood out of countenance, to the whole audience, The frolick went round all the Athenian benches. But on ⚫ thofe occafions there were alfo particular places affigned for foreigners: When the good man fkulked towards the boxes appointed for the Lace• demonians, that honeft people, more virtuous than polite, rofe up all to a man, and with the greatest refpect received him among them. The Athe *nians, being fuddenly touched with a fenfe of the • Spartan virtue and their own degeneracy, gave a thunder of applaufe; and the old man cried out, The Athenians understand what is good, but the Las ⚫cedemonians practice it." No 7. THURSDAY, MARCH 8. R Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, fagas, Going yefterday to dine with an old acquaintance, I had the misfortune to find his whole family very much dejected. Upon afking him the occafion of it, he told me that his wife had dreamt a Atrange dream the night before, which they were afraid portended fome misfortune to themfelves or to their children. At her coming into the room I obferved a fettled melancholy in her countenance, which I fhould have been troubled for, had I not. heard from whence it proceeded. We were no fooner fat down, but after having looked upon me a little while, My dear, (fays the turning to her hufband) you may now fee the ftranger that was in the candle last night. Soon after this, as they be gan to talk of family-affairs, a little boy at the lower end of the table told her, that he was to go into join-hand on Thursday. Thurfday? (fays fhe) No, child, if it pleafe God, you shall not begin upon Childermas-day; tell your writing-mafter that Friday will be foon enough. I was reflecting with myfelf on the oddnefs of her fancy, and wondering that any body would eftablifh it as a rule to lofe a day in every week. In the midft of thefe my mufings, the defired me to reach her a little falt upon the point of my knife, which I did in fuch a trepidation and hurry of obedience, that I let it drop by the way; at which the immediately startled, and faid it fell towards her. Upon this I looked very blank; and; obferving the concern of the whole table, began to confider myfelf, with fome confufion, as a perfon that had brought a difafter upon the family. The Lady however recovering herself after a little fpace, faid to her husband, with a figh, My dear, misfortunes never come fingle. My friend, I found, acted but an under-part at his table, and being a man of more good-nature than underftanding, thinks him-1 felf obliged to fall in with all the paffions and humours of his yoke-fellow: Do not you remember, child, (fays the) that the pigeon-house fell the very afternoon that our careless wench fpilt the falt upon the table? Yes, (fays he) My dear, and the next post brought us an account of the battle of Almanza. The reader may guefs at the figure I made, after having done all this mifchief. I difpatched my dinner as foon as I could, with my ufual taciturnity; when, to my utter confufion, the Lady feeing me qutting my knife and fork, and laying them acrofs one another upon my plate, defired me that I would hu mour |