man. Some have fancied that envy has a certain magical force in it, and that the eyes of the envious have by their fafcination blafted the enjoyments of the happy. Sir Francis Bacon fays, fome have been fo curious as to remark the times and seasons when the stroke of an envious eye is most effectually pernicious, and have obferved that it has been when the perfon envied has been in any circumftance of glory and triumph. At fuch a time the mind of the profperous man goes, as it were, abroad among things without him, and is more expofed to the malignity. But I fhall not dwell upon fpeculations fo abstracted as this, or repeat the many excellent things which one might collect. out of authors upon this miferable affection; but keeping in the road of common life, confider the envious man with relation to thefe three heads, his pains, his reliefs, and his happiness. THE envious man is in pain upon all occafions which ought to give him pleafure. The relish of his life is inverted; and the objects which adminifter the highest fatiffaction to thofe who are exempt from this paffion, give the quickest pangs to perfons who are fubject to it. All the perfections of their fellow-creatures are odious: youth, beauty, valour, and wisdom are provocations of their difpleasure. What a wretched and apoftate ftate is this L To be offended with excellence, and to hate a man be-caufe we approve him! The condition of the envious man is the most emphatically miferable; he is not only incapable: of rejoicing in another's merit or fuccefs, but lives in a world wherein all mankind are in a plot againft his quiet,, by ftudying their own happiness and advantage. Will. Profper is an honeft talebearer, he makes it his bufinefs to join in converfation with envious men. He points to fuck. an handfome young fellow, and whifpers that he is fecretly. married to a great fortune: when they doubt, he adds. circumftances to prove it; and never fails to aggravate. their diftrefs, by affuring them, that, to his knowledge, he has an uncle will leave him fome thoufands. Will.. has many arts of this kind to torture this fort of temper, and delights in it. When he finds them change colour, and fay faintly they wifh fuch a piece of news is true, he has the malice to speak fome good or other of every man of their acquaintance. THE I THE reliefs of the envious man are thofe little blemishes and imperfections that discover themselves in an illuftrious character. It is matter of great confolation to an envious perfon, when a man of known honour does a thing unworthy himself: or when any action which was well executed, upon better information appears fo altered in its circumftances, that the fame of it is divided among many, inftead of being attributed to one. This is a fecret fatiffaction to thefe malignants; for the perfon whom they before could not but admire, they fancy is nearer their own condition as foon as his merit is fhared among others. remember fome years ago there came out an excellent poem without the name of the author. The little wits, who were incapable of writing it, began to pull in pieces. the supposed writer. When that would not do, they took great pains to fuppress the opinion that it was his. That again failed. The next refuge was to fay, it was overlooked by one man, and many pages wholly written by another. An honeft fellow who fat among a cluster of them in debate on this fubject, cried out, Gentlemen, if you are fure none of you yourselves had an hand in it, you are but where you were, whoever writ it. But the most ufual fuccour to the envious, in cafes of namelefs merit in this kind, is to keep the property, if poffible, unfixed, and by that means to hinder the reputation of it from falling upon any particular perfon. You fee an envious man clear up his countenance, if in the relation of any man's great happiness in one point, you mention his uneafinefs in another. When he hears fuch a one is very rich, he turns pale, but recovers when you add that he has many children. In a word, the only fure way to an envious man's favour, is not to deferve it. But if we confider the envious man in delight, it is like reading the feat of a giant in a romance; the magnificence of his houfe confists in the many limbs of men whom he has flain. If any who promised themselves fuccefs in any uncommon undertaking miscarry in the attempt, or he that aimed at what would have been useful and laudable, meets with contempt and derifion, the envious man, under the colour of hating vain-glory, can fmile with an inward wantonnefs of heart at the ill effect it may have upon an honeft ambition for the future. HAVING. HAVING thoroughly confidered the nature of this paffion, I have made it my study how to avoid the envy that may accrue to me from thefe my fpeculations; and if I am not mistaken in myself, I think I have a genius to escape it. Upon hearing in a coffeehoufe one of my papers commended, I immediately apprehended the envy that would fpring from that applaufe; and therefore gave a defcription of my face the next day; being refolved, as I grow in reputation for wit, to refign my pretenfions to beauty. This, I hope, may give fome eafe to thefe unhappy gentlemen, who do me the honour to torment themselves upon the account of this my paper. As their cafe is very deplorable, and deferves compaffion, I fhall fometimes be dull, in pity to them, and will from time to time adminifter confolations to them, by further difcoveries of my perfon.. In the mean while, if any one fays the SPECTATOR has wit, it may be fome relief to them, to think that he does not fhew it in company. And if any one praises his morality, they may comfort themselves, by confidering that his face is none of the longest. R A MONG the other hardy undertakings which I have proposed to myself, that of the correction of impu-. dence is what I have very much at heart. This in a parti-. cular manner is my province as SPECTATOR; for it is generally an offence committed by the eyes, and that against fuch as the offenders would perhaps never have an opportunity of injuring any other way. The following letter is a complaint of a young lady, who fets forth a trefpass of this kind, with that command of herself as befits beauty and innocence, and yet with fo much fpirit as fufficiently expreffes her indignation. The whole tranfaction is performed with the eyes; and the crime is no lefs than employing them in fuch a manner, as to divert the eyes of others others from the beft ufe they can make of them, even looking up to heaven. SIR, THE "HERE never was (I believe) an acceptable man but had fome awkward imitators. Ever fmce the SPECTATOR appeared, have I remarked a kind of men, whom I chufe to call Starers, that without any regard to time, place, or modefty, difturb a large company with their impertinent eyes. Spectators make up a proper affembly for a puppet show or a bear-garden; but devout fupplicants and attentive hearers are the audience one ought to expect in churches. I am, Sir, member of a fmall pious congregation near one of the north gates of this city; much the greater part of us indeed are females, and ufed to behave ourselves in a regular attentive manner, till very lately one whole ifle has been difturbed with one of these monftrous Starers; he's the head taller than any one in the church; but for the greater advantage of expofing himself, stands upon a hafsock, and commands the whole congregation, to the great annoyance of the devouteft part of the auditory; for what with blushing, confufion, and vexation, we can neither mind the prayers nor fermon. Your animadverfion upon this infolence would be a great favour to, SIR, Your most humble fervant, I HAVE frequently feen of this fort of fellows, and do not think there can be a greater aggravation of an offence, than that it is committed where the criminal is protected by the facredness of the place which he violates. Many reflections of this fort might be very justly made upon this kind of behaviour; but a Starer is not ufually a perfon to be convinced by the reafon of the thing, and a fellow that is capable of fhewing an impudent front before a whole congregation, and can bear being a public fpectacle, is not fo easily rebuked as to amend by admonitions. If therefore my correfpondent does not inform me, that within feven days after this date the barbarian does not at least stand upon his own legs only, without an eminence, my friend Will! Will. Profper has promised to take an haffock oppofite to him, and ftare against him in defence of the ladies. I have given him directions, according to the moft exact rules of optics, to place himself in fuch a manner that he fhall meet his eyes wherever he throws them: I have hopes that when Will. confronts him, and all the ladies, in whofe behalf he engages him, caft kind looks and wishes of fuccefs at their champion, he will have some shame, and feel a little of the pain he has fo often put others to, of being out of countenance. IT has indeed been time out of mind generally remarked, and as often lamented, that this family of Starers have infested public affemblies: And I know no other way to obviate fo great an evil, except, in the cafe of fixing their eyes upon women, fome male friend will take the part of fuch as are under the oppreffion of impudence, and encounter the eyes of the Starers where-ever they meet them. While we fuffer our women to be thus impudently attacked, they have no defence, but in the end to cast yielding glances at the Starers and in this cafe, a man who has no fenfe of fhame has the fame advantage over his mistress, as he who has no regard for his own life has over his adverfary. While the generality of the world are fettered by rules, and move by proper and juft methods; he who has no respect to any of them, carries away the reward due to that propriety of behaviour, with no other merit, but that of having neglected it. I TAKE an impudent fellow to be a fort of outlaw in good-breeding, and therefore what is faid of him no nation or perfon can be concerned for. For this reafon one may be free upon him. I have put myself to great pains in confidering this prevailing quality which we call impudence, and have taken notice that it exerts itfelf in a different manner, according to the different foils wherein fuch fubjects of thefe dominions, as are masters of it, were born. Impudence in an Englishman is fullen and infolent; in a Scotchman it is untractable and rapacious; in an Irishman abfurd and fawning: as the courfe of the world now runs, the impudent Englishman behaves like a furly landlord, the Scot like an ill-received gueft, and the Irishman like a stranger who knows he is not welcome. There is feldom any thing entertaining either in the impudence of a South or |