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Title: The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3

Author: Joseph Addison

Sir Richard Steele

Editor: Henry Morley

Release date: April 1, 2004 [eBook #12030]

Most recently updated: October 28, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12030

Credits: Jonathon Ingram, Clytie Siddall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPECTATOR, VOLUMES 1, 2 AND 3 ***

The Spectator

in three volumes: translations and index

for:

Spectator Volume 1 (Nos. 1-202)

Spectator Volume 2 (Nos. 203-416)

Spectator Volume 3 (Nos 417-635)

Additional Notes and Translations

Index

A New Edition

Reproducing the Original Text

Both as First Issued

and as Corrected by its Authors

with Introduction, Notes, and Index

edited by Henry Morley

1891

The Spectator

in three volumes: volume 1

A New Edition

Reproducing the Original Text

Both as First Issued

and as Corrected by its Authors

with Introduction, Notes, and Index

edited by Henry Morley

1891

Table of Contents  /  [Volume 3 link: Index]

- Preface

- Original Dedication

- Dedication to the Second Volume

- Dedication to the Third Volume

- No. 1 – Thursday, March 1, 1711 – Addison

- No. 2 – Friday, March 2, 1711 – Steele

- No. 3 – Saturday, March 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 4 – Monday, March 5, 1711 – Steele

- No. 5 – Tuesday, March 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 6 – Wednesday, March 7, 1711 – Steele

- No. 7 – Thursday, March 8, 1711 – Addison

- No. 8 – Friday, March 9, 1711 – Addison

- No. 9 – Saturday, March 10, 1711 – Addison

- No. 10 – Monday, March 12, 1711 – Addison

- No. 11 – Tuesday, March 13, 1711 – Steele

- No. 12 – Wednesday, March 14, 1711 – Addison

- No. 13 – Thursday, March 15, 1711 – Addison

- No. 14 – Friday, March 16, 1711 – Steele

- No. 15 – Saturday, March 17, 1711 – Addison

- No. 16 – Monday, March 19, 1711 – Addison

- No. 17 – Tuesday, March 20, 1711 – Steele

- No. 18 – Wednesday, March 21, 1711 – Addison

- No. 19 – Thursday, March 22, 1711 – Steele

- No. 20 – Friday, March 23, 1711 – Steele

- No. 21 – Saturday, March 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 22 – Monday, March 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 23 – Tuesday, March 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 24 – Wednesday, March 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 25 – Thursday, March 29, 1711 – Addison

- No. 26 – Friday, March 30, 1711 – Addison

- No. 27 – Saturday, March 31, 1711 – Steele

- No. 28 – Monday, April 2, 1711 – Addison

- No. 29 – Tuesday, April 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 30 – Wednesday, April 4, 1711 – Steele

- No. 31 – Thursday, April 5, 1711 – Addison

- No. 32 – Friday, April 6, 1711 – Steele

- No. 33 – Saturday, April 7, 1711 – Steele

- No. 34 – Monday, April 9, 1711 – Addison

- No. 35 – Tuesday, April 10, 1711 – Addison

- No. 36 – Wednesday, April 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 37 – Thursday, April 12, 1711 – Addison

- No. 38 – Friday, April 13, 1711 – Steele

- No. 39 – Saturday, April 14, 1711 – Addison

- No. 40 – Monday, April 16, 1711 – Addison

- No. 41 – Tuesday, April 17, 1711 – Steele

- No. 42 – Wednesday, April 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 43 – Thursday, April 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 44 – Friday, April 20, 1711 – Addison

- No. 45 – Saturday, April 21, 1711 – Addison

- No. 46 – Monday, April 23, 1711 – Addison

- No. 47 – Tuesday, April 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 48 – Wednesday, April 25, 1711 – Steele

- No. 49 – Thursday, April 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 50 – Friday, April 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 51 – Saturday, April 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 52 – Monday, April 30, 1711 – Steele

- No. 53 – Tuesday, May 1, 1711 – Steele

- No. 54 – Wednesday, May 2, 1711 – Steele

- No. 55 – Thursday, May 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 56 – Friday, May 4, 1711 – Addison

- No. 57 – Saturday, May 5, 1711 – Addison

- No. 58 – Monday, May 7, 1711 – Addison

- No. 59 – Tuesday, May 8, 1711 – Addison

- No. 60 – Wednesday, May 9, 1711 – Addison

- No. 61 – Thursday, May 10, 1711 – Addison

- No. 62 – Friday, May 11, 1711 – Addison

- No. 63 – Saturday, May 12, 1711 – Addison

- No. 64 – Monday, May 14, 1711 – Steele

- No. 65 – Tuesday, May 15, 1711 – Steele

- No. 66 – Wednesday, May 16, 1711 – Steele

- No. 67 – Thursday, May 17, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 68 – Friday, May 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 69 – Saturday, May 19, 1711 – Addison

- No. 70 – Monday, May 21, 1711 – Addison

- No. 71 – Tuesday, May 22, 1711 – Steele

- No. 72 – Wednesday, May 23, 1711 – Addison

- No. 73 – Thursday, May 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 74 – Friday, May 25, 1711 – Addison

- No. 75 – Saturday, May 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 76 – Monday, May 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 77 – Tuesday, May 29, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 78 – Wednesday, May 30, 1711 – Steele

- No. 79 – Thursday, May 31, 1711 – Steele

- No. 80 – Friday, June 1, 1711 – Steele

- No. 81 – Saturday, June 2, 1711 – Addison

- No. 82 – Monday, June 4, 1711 – Steele

- No. 83 – Tuesday, June 5, 1711 – Addison

- No. 84 – Wednesday, June 6, 1711 – Steele

- No. 85 – Thursday, June 7, 1711 – Addison

- No. 86 – Friday, June 8, 1711 – Addison

- No. 87 – Saturday, June 9, 1711 – Steele

- No. 88 – Monday, June 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 89 – Tuesday, June 12, 1711 – Addison

- No. 90 – Wednesday, June 13, 1711 – Addison

- No. 91 – Thursday, June 14, 1711 – Steele

- No. 92 – Friday, June 15, 1711 – Addison

- No. 93 – Saturday, June 16, 1711 – Addison

- No. 94 – Monday, June 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 95 – Tuesday, June 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 96 – Wednesday, June 20, 1711 – Steele

- No. 97 – Thursday, June 21, 1711 – Steele

- No. 98 – Friday, June 22, 1711 – Addison

- No. 99 – Saturday, June 23, 1711 – Addison

- No. 100 – Monday, June 24, 1711 – Steele

- No. 101 – Tuesday, June 26, 1711 – Addison

- No. 102 – Wednesday, June 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 103 – Thursday, June 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 104 – Friday, June 29, 1711 – Steele

- No. 105 – Saturday, June 30, 1711 – Addison

- No. 106 – Monday, July 2, 1711 – Addison

- No. 107 – Tuesday, July 3, 1711 – Steele

- No. 108 – Wednesday, July 4, 1711 – Addison

- No. 109 – Thursday, July 5, 1711 – Steele

- No. 110 – Friday, July 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 111 – Saturday, July 7, 1711 – Addison

- No. 112 – Monday, July 9, 1711 – Addison

- No. 113 – Tuesday, July 10, 1711 – Steele

- No. 114 – Wednesday, July 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 115 – Thursday, July 12, 1711 – Addison

- No. 116 – Friday, July 13, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 117 – Saturday, July 14, 1711 – Addison

- No. 118 – Monday, July 16, 1711 – Steele

- No. 119 – Tuesday, July 17, 1711 – Addison

- No. 120 – Wednesday, July 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 121 – Thursday, July 19, 1711 – Addison

- No. 122 – Friday, July 20, 1711 – Addison

- No. 123 – Saturday, July 21, 1711 – Addison

- No. 124 – Monday, July 23, 1711 – Addison

- No. 125 – Tuesday, July 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 126 – Wednesday, July 25, 1711 – Addison

- No. 127 – Thursday, July 26, 1711 – Addison

- No. 128 – Friday, July 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 129 – Saturday, July 28, 1711 – Addison

- No. 130 – Monday, July 30, 1711 – Addison

- No. 131 – Tuesday, July 31, 1711 – Addison

- No. 132 – Wednesday, August 1, 1711 – Steele

- No. 133 – Thursday, August 2, 1711 – Steele

- No. 134 – Friday, August 3, 1711 – Steele

- No. 135 – Saturday, August 4, 1711 – Addison

- No. 136 – Monday, August 6, 1711 – Steele

- No. 137 – Tuesday, August 7, 1711 – Steele

- No. 138 – Wednesday, August 8, 1711 – Steele

- No. 139 – Thursday, August 9, 1711 – Steele

- No. 140 – Friday, August 10, 1711 – Steele

- No. 141 – Saturday, August 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 142 – Monday, August 13, 1711 – Steele

- No. 143 – Tuesday, August 14, 1711 – Steele

- No. 144 – Wednesday, August 15, 1711 – Steele

- No. 145 – Thursday, August 16, 1711 – Steele

- No. 146 – Friday, August 17, 1711 – Steele

- No. 147 – Saturday, August 18, 1711 – Steele

- No. 148 – Monday, August 20, 1711 – Steele

- No. 149 – Tuesday, August 21, 1711 – Steele

- No. 150 – Wednesday, August 22, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 151 – Thursday, August 23, 1711 – Steele

- No. 152 – Friday, August 24, 1711 – Steele

- No. 153 – Saturday, August 25, 1711 – Steele

- No. 154 – Monday, August 27, 1711 – Steele

- No. 155 – Tuesday, August 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 156 – Wednesday, August 29, 1711 – Steele

- No. 157 – Thursday, August 30, 1711 – Steele

- No. 158 – Friday, August 31, 1711 – Steele

- No. 159 – Saturday, September 1, 1711 – Addison

- No. 160 – Monday, September 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 161 – Tuesday, September 4, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 162 – Wednesday, September 5, 1711 – Addison

- No. 163 – Thursday, September 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 164 – Friday, September 7, 1711 – Addison

- No. 165 – Saturday, September 8, 1711 – Addison

- No. 166 – Monday, September 10, 1711 – Addison

- No. 167 – Tuesday, September 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 168 – Wednesday, September 12, 1711 – Steele

- No. 169 – Thursday, September 13, 1711 – Addison

- No. 170 – Friday, September 14, 1711 – Addison

- No. 171 – Saturday, September 15, 1711 – Addison

- No. 172 – Monday, September 17, 1711 – Steele

- No. 173 – Tuesday, September 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 174 – Wednesday, September 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 175 – Thursday, September 20, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 176 – Friday, September 21, 1711 – Steele

- No. 177 – Saturday, September 22, 1711 – Addison

- No. 178 – Monday, September 24, 1711 – Steele

- No. 179 – Tuesday, September 25, 1711 – Addison

- No. 180 – Wednesday, September 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 181 – Thursday, September 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 182 – Friday, September 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 183 – Saturday, September 29, 1711 – Addison

- No. 184 – Monday, October 1, 1711 – Addison

- No. 185 – Tuesday, October 2, 1711 – Addison

- No. 186 – Wednesday, October 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 187 – Thursday, October 4, 1711 – Steele

- No. 188 – Friday, October 5, 1711 – Steele

- No. 189 – Saturday, October 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 190 – Monday, October 8, 1711 – Steele

- No. 191 – Tuesday, October 9, 1711 – Addison

- No. 192 – Wednesday, October 10, 1711 – Steele

- No. 193 – Thursday, October 11, 1711 – Steele

- No. 194 – Friday, October 12, 1711 – Steele

- No. 195 – Saturday, October 13, 1711 – Addison

- No. 196 – Monday, October 15, 1711 – Steele

- No. 197 – Tuesday, October 16, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 198 – Wednesday, October 17, 1711 – Addison

- No. 199 – Thursday, October 18, 1711 – Steele

- No. 200 – Friday, October 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 201 – Saturday, October 20, 1711 – Addison

- No. 202 – Monday, October 22, 1711 – Steele

List of Original Advertisements Included

- Great Works

- The House of Atreus

- Italian Chirurgeon

- St. James' Coffee House

- Bird-Trainer

- Mr Powell

- Painter

- Pope's Essay on Criticism

- Three Critics

- Snuff-Box Handling

- Patridges

- Mr. Sly

- Great Works

- Great Works

original advertisement

Each In Three Vols., Price 10s. 6d.

Charles Knight's Shakspere.

Napier's History of the Peninsular War. with Maps and Plans.

Longfellow's Works — poems — prose — Dante.

Boswell's Life Of Johnson. with Illustrations.

Motley's Rise Of The Dutch Republic.

Byron's Poetical Works.

Preface

Spectator

'the gentleman of whose assistance I formerly boasted in the Preface and concluding Leaf of my Tatlers. I am indeed much more proud of his long-continued Friendship, than I should be of the fame of being thought the author of any writings which he himself is capable of producing. I remember when I finished the Tender Husband, I told him there was nothing I so ardently wished, as that we might some time or other publish a work, written by us both, which should bear the name of The Monument, in Memory of our Friendship.'

Spectator

'I heartily wish what I have done here were as honorary to that sacred name as learning, wit, and humanity render those pieces which I have taught the reader how to distinguish for his.'

SpectatorHymn on Gratitude

Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss

Has made my cup run o'er,

And in a kind and faithful Friend

Has doubled all my store?

SpectatorSpectatorSpectator

'I claim to myself the merit of having extorted excellent productions from a person of the greatest abilities, who would not have let them appear by any other means.'

TatlerLying LoverSpectator

'leaving his country, when he was summoned out of it, with the secret satisfaction of thinking that he had not lived in vain.'

Drummer

'were things of this nature to be exposed to public view, I could show under the Dean's own hand, in the warmest terms, his blessing on the friendship between his son and me; nor had he a child who did not prefer me in the first place of kindness and esteem, as their father loved me like one of them.'

TatlerSpectator

Spectator

Spectator

A short account of all the Muse-possest,

That, down from Chaucer's days to Dryden's times

Have spent their noble rage in British rhymes,

... age has rusted what the Poet writ,

Worn out his language, and obscured his wit:

In vain he jests in his unpolish'd strain,

And tries to make his readers laugh in vain.

Old Spenser next, warm'd with poetic rage,

In ancient tales amused a barb'rous age;

But now the mystic tale, that pleased of yore,

Can charm an understanding age no more.

'in the neighing of an horse, or in the growling of a mastiff, there is a meaning, there is as lively expression, and, may I say, more humanity than many times in the tragical flights of Shakespeare.'

SpectatorChevy ChaseBabes in the WoodParadise LostSpectator

SpectatorParadise LostParadise LostCreation

'one of the most useful and noble productions of our English verse. The reader,' he added, of a piece which shared certainly with Salisbury Plain the charms of flatness and extent of space, 'the reader cannot but be pleased to find the depths of philosophy enlivened with all the charms of poetry, and to see so great a strength of reason amidst so beautiful a redundancy of the imagination.'

Whate'er his pen describes I more than see,

Whilst every verse, arrayed in majesty,

Bold and sublime, my whole attention draws,

And seems above the critic's nicer laws.

Oh, had the Poet ne'er profaned his pen,

To varnish o'er the guilt of faithless men;

His other works might have deserved applause

But now the language can't support the cause,

While the clean current, tho' serene and bright,

Betrays a bottom odious to the sight.

The Procession.Tatler

The days of man are doom'd to pain and strife,

Quiet and ease are foreign to our life;

No satisfaction is, below, sincere,

Pleasure itself has something that's severe.

But in the thought they stopp'd, their locks they tore,

Threw down the steel, and cruelly forbore.

The innocents their parents' love forgive,

Smile at their fate, nor know they are to live.

With dread concern, the awful Senate came,

Their grief, as all their passions, is the same.

The next Assembly dissipates our fears,

The stately, mourning throng of British Peers.

Their clouded beauties speak man's gaudy strife,

The glittering miseries of human life.

She unconcerned and careless all the while

Rewards their loud applauses with a smile,

With easy Majesty and humble State

Smiles at the trifle Power, and knows its date.

What hands commit the beauteous, good, and just,

The dearer part of William, to the dust?

In her his vital heat, his glory lies,

In her the Monarch lived, in her he dies.

...

No form of state makes the Great Man forego

The task due to her love and to his woe;

Since his kind frame can't the large suffering bear

In pity to his People, he's not here:

For to the mighty loss we now receive

The next affliction were to see him grieve.

Musæ Anglicanæanglice

'His arguments were founded upon the general pravity and corruption of men of business, who wanted liberal education. And I remember, as if I had read the letter yesterday, that my Lord ended with a compliment, that, however he might be represented as no friend to the Church, he never would do it any other injury than keeping Mr. Addison out of it.'

Campaign

CampaignCampaignsCampaign

... on classic ground.

For here the Muse so oft her harp hath strung,

That not a mountain rears its head unsung;

Renown'd in verse each shady thicket grows,

And ev'ry stream in heav'nly numbers flows.

I bridle in my struggling Muse with pain,

That longs to launch into a bolder strain.

'when he mounted a war-horse, with a great sword in his hand, and planted himself behind King William III against Louis XIV, he lost the succession to a very good estate in the county of Wexford, in Ireland, from the same humour which he has preserved, ever since, of preferring the state of his mind to that of his fortune.'

Christian Hero

'He first became an author when an Ensign of the Guards, a way of life exposed to much irregularity; and being thoroughly convinced of many things, of which he often repented, and which he more often repeated, he writ, for his own private use, a little book called the Christian Hero, with a design principally to fix upon his own mind a strong impression of virtue and religion, in opposition to a stronger propensity towards unwarrantable pleasures. This secret admiration was too weak; he therefore printed the book with his name, in hopes that a standing testimony against himself, and the eyes of the world (that is to say, of his acquaintance) upon him in a new light, would make him ashamed of understanding and seeming to feel what was virtuous, and living so contrary a life.'

Spectator

... Fuit Ilium, et ingens

Gloria.

Christian HeroTatlerSpectatorTatlerSpectator

Christian HeroThe FuneralGrief à la Mode

'But be them honest, firm, impartial;

Let neither love, nor hate, nor faction move thee;

Distinguish words from things, and men from crimes.'

FuneralThe Tender HusbandThe Monument

'At my first arrival I received the news of my father's death, and ever since have been engaged in so much noise and company, that it was impossible for me to think of rhyming in it.'

Campaign

'I look upon my intimacy with you as one of the most valuable enjoyments of my life. At the same time I make the town no ill compliment for their kind acceptance of this comedy, in acknowledging that it has so far raised my opinion of it, as to make me think it no improper memorial of an inviolable Friendship. I should not offer it to you as such, had I not been very careful to avoid everything that might look ill-natured, immoral, or prejudicial to what the better part of mankind hold sacred and honourable.'

Short View of the Profaneness and Immorality of the English Stage

Lying LoverLiarla Verdad sospechosaMenteurBiblioteca de Autores Españolesla Verdad sospechosaMenteur

Lying Lover

Menteur

MenteurLying Lover

Conscious LoversCatoConscious Lovers

Drummer

'for the want of those studied similies and repartees which we, who have writ before him, have thrown into our plays, to indulge and gain upon a false taste that has prevailed for many years in the British theatre. I believe the author would have condescended to fall into this way a little more than he has, had he before the writing of it been often present at theatrical representations. I was confirmed in my thoughts of the play by the opinion of better judges to whom it was communicated, who observed that the scenes were drawn after Molière's manner, and that an easy and natural vein of humour ran through the whole. I do not question but the reader will discover this, and see many beauties that escaped the audience; the touches being too delicate for every taste in a popular assembly. My brother-sharers' (in the Drury Lane patent) 'were of opinion, at the first reading of it, that it was like a picture in which the strokes were not strong enough to appear at a distance. As it is not in the common way of writing, the approbation was at first doubtful, but has risen every time it has been acted, and has given an opportunity in several of its parts for as just and good actions as ever I saw on the stage.'

SpectatorDrummerSpectatorSpectatorDrummerDrummer

CampaignRemarks on ItalyDrummerDrummer

'He was above all men in that talent we call humour, and enjoyed it in such perfection, that I have often reflected, after a night spent with him apart from all the world, that I had had the pleasure of conversing with an intimate acquaintance of Terence and Catullus, who had all their wit and nature, heightened with humour more exquisite and delightful than any other man ever possessed.' And again in the same Preface, Steele dwelt upon 'that smiling mirth, that delicate satire and genteel raillery, which appeared in Mr. Addison when he was free from that remarkable bashfulness which is a cloak that hides and muffles merit; and his abilities were covered only by modesty, which doubles the beauties which are seen, and gives credit and esteem to all that are concealed.'

Spectator

RosamondArsinoeCamillaRosamondRosamond

Believe your Rosamond alive.

King.

O happy day! O pleasing view!

My Queen forgives —

Queen.

— My lord is true.

King.

No more I'll change.

Queen.

No more I'll grieve.

Both.

But ever thus united live.

Campaign

Christian Hero

'Let us make our regards to each other,' Steele wrote just before marriage, 'mutual and unchangeable, that whilst the world around us is enchanted with the false satisfactions of vagrant desires, our persons may be shrines to each other, and sacred to conjugal faith, unreserved confidence, and heavenly society.'

'I beg of you to shew my letters to no one living, but let us be contented with one another's thoughts upon our words and actions, without the intervention of other people, who cannot judge of so delicate a circumstance as the commerce between man and wife.'

SpectatorLady's Library

'if there are such beings as guardian angels, thus are they employed. I will no more believe one of them more good in its inclinations than I can conceive it more charming in its form than my wife.'

Spectator

TatlerSpectatorGuardianGuardianEnglishman

Examiner

'This was ill hinted both in relation to him and me. I know no party; but the truth of the question is what I will support as well as I can, when any man I honour is attacked.'

'whether his humours be sarcastic or polite, the friendship of Steele and Addison is for ever suggesting some annoyance to himself, some mortification, some regret, but never once the doubt that it was not intimate and sincere, or that into it entered anything inconsistent with a perfect equality.'

Theatre

'that there never was a more strict friendship than between himself and Addison, nor had they ever any difference but what proceeded from their different way of pursuing the same thing; the one waited and stemmed the torrent, while the other too often plunged into it; but though they thus had lived for some years past, shunning each other, they still preserved the most passionate concern for their mutual welfare; and when they met they were as unreserved as boys, and talked of the greatest affairs, upon which they saw where they differed, without pressing (what they knew impossible) to convert each other.'

he

SpectatorSpectatorTatlerTatlerReviewSpectatorTender Husband

News-WritersPetty-Statesmen

'After our Serious Matters are over, we shall at the end of every Paper, Present you with a little Diversion, as anything occurs to make the World Merry; and whether Friend or Foe, one Party or another, if anything happens so scandalous as to require an open Reproof, the World may meet with it there.'

TatlersSpectators

Mercure Scandale:

or,

Advice from the Scandalous Club.

Translated out of French.

This Society is a Corporation long since established in Paris, and we cannot compleat our Advices from France, without entertaining the World with everything we meet with from that Country.

And, tho Corresponding with the Queens Enemies is prohibited; yet since the Matter will be so honest, as only to tell the World of what everybody will own to be scandalous, we reckon we shall be welcome.

This Corporation has been set up some months, and opend their first Sessions about last Bartholomew Fair; but having not yet obtaind a Patent, they have never, till now, made their Resolves publick.

The Business of this Society is to censure the Actions of Men, not of Parties, and in particular, those Actions which are made publick so by their Authors, as to be, in their own Nature, an Appeal to the general Approbation.

They do not design to expose Persons but things; and of them, none but such as more than ordinarily deserve it; they who would not be censurd by this Assembly, are desired to act with caution enough, not to fall under their Hands; for they resolve to treat Vice, and Villanous Actions, with the utmost Severity.

The First considerable Matter that came before this Society, was about Bartholomew Fair; but the Debates being long, they were at last adjourned to the next Fair, when we suppose it will be decided; so being not willing to trouble the World with anything twice over, we refer that to next August.

On the 10th of September last, there was a long Hearing, before the Club, of a Fellow that said he had killd the Duke of Bavaria. Now as David punishd the Man that said he had killd King Saul, whether it was so or no, twas thought this Fellow ought to be delivered up to Justice, tho the Duke of Bavaria was alive.

Upon the whole, twas voted a scandalous Thing, That News. Writers shoud kill Kings and Princes, and bring them to life again at pleasure; and to make an Example of this Fellow, he was dismissd, upon Condition he should go to the Queens-bench once a Day, and bear Fuller, his Brother of the Faculty, company two hours for fourteen Days together; which cruel Punishment was executed with the utmost Severity.

The Club has had a great deal of trouble about the News-Writers, who have been continually brought before them for their ridiculous Stories, and imposing upon Mankind; and tho the Proceedings have been pretty tedious, we must give you the trouble of a few of them in our next.

Mercure ScandaleAdvice from the Scandalous Club.

'We have been so often on the Defence of our Title,' says Defoe, in No. 38, 'that the world begins to think Our Society wants Employment ... If Scandalous must signify nothing but Personal Scandal, respecting the Subject of which it is predicated; we desire those gentlemen to answer for us how Post-Man or Post-Boy can signify a News-Paper, the Post Man or Post Boy being in all my reading properly and strictly applicable, not to the Paper, but to the Person bringing or carrying the News? Mercury also is, if I understand it, by a Transmutation of Meaning, from a God turned into a Book — From hence our Club thinks they have not fair Play, in being deny'd the Privilege of making an Allegory as well as other People.'

Advice from the Scandal ClubTatlerSpectatorSpectatorMonthly Supplementary Journal Advice from the Scandal ClubTatlerSpectatorReviewMonthly Supplement

'care but for a little reading at a time,' and said, 'thus we wheedle them in, if it may be allow'd that Expression, to the Knowledge of the World, who rather than take more Pains, would be content with their Ignorance, and search into nothing.'

Tatler

'wit, if a man had it, unless it be directed to some useful end, is but a wanton, frivolous quality; all that one should value himself upon in this kind is that he had some honourable intention in it.'

Tatler

'on the 29th of March next, about eleven at night, of a raging fever.'

'The Accomplishment of the first of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions: being an account of the death of Mr. Partridge, the almanack-maker, upon the 29th instant.'

'whereas it has been industriously given out by Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq., and others, to prevent the sale of this year's almanack, that John Partridge is dead, this may inform all his loving countrymen that he is still living, in health, and they are knaves that reported it otherwise.'

TatlerTatler

'I have in another place, and in a paper by itself, sufficiently convinced this man that he is dead; and if he has any shame, I do not doubt but that by this time he owns it to all his acquaintance. For though the legs and arms and whole body of that man may still appear and perform their animal functions, yet since, as I have elsewhere observed, his art is gone, the man is gone.'

Tatler

'we have a contempt,' he says, 'for such paltry barterers, and have therefore all along informed the public that we intend to give them our advices for our own sakes, and are labouring to make our lucubrations come to some price in money, for our more convenient support in the service of the public. It is certain that many other schemes have been proposed to me, as a friend offered to show me in a treatise he had writ, which he called, The whole Art of Life; or, The Introduction to Great Men, illustrated in a Pack of Cards. But being a novice at all manner of play, I declined the offer.'

TatlerSpectatorGuardianTatlerSpectatorGuardianTatlerSpectatorGuardianTatler

TatlersSpectators

The Present State of Wit, in a Letter to a Friend in the CountrySpectatorTatler

"Before I proceed further in the account of our weekly papers, it will be necessary to inform you that at the beginning of the winter, to the infinite surprise of all the Town, Mr. Steele flung up his Tatler, and instead of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire, subscribed himself Richard Steele to the last of those papers, after a handsome compliment to the Town for their kind acceptance of his endeavours to divert them.

The chief reason he thought fit to give for his leaving off writing was, that having been so long looked on in all public places and companies as the Author of those papers, he found that his most intimate friends and acquaintance were in pain to speak or act before him.

The Town was very far from being satisfied with this reason, and most people judged the true cause to be, either

- That he was quite spent, and wanted matter to continue his undertaking any longer; or

- That he laid it down as a sort of submission to, and composition with, the Government for some past offences; or, lastly,

- That he had a mind to vary his Shape, and appear again in some new light.

However that were, his disappearance seemed to be bewailed as some general calamity. Every one wanted so agreeable an amusement, and the Coffee-houses began to be sensible that the Esquire's Lucubrations alone had brought them more customers than all their other newspapers put together.

It must indeed be confessed that never man threw up his pen, under stronger temptations to have employed it longer. His reputation was at a greater height, than I believe ever any living author's was before him. It is reasonable to suppose that his gains were proportionably considerable. Every one read him with pleasure and good-will; and the Tories, in respect to his other good qualities, had almost forgiven his unaccountable imprudence in declaring against them.

Lastly, it was highly improbable that, if he threw off a Character, the ideas of which were so strongly impressed in every one's mind, however finely he might write in any new form, that he should meet with the same reception.

To give you my own thoughts of this gentleman's writings I shall, in the first place, observe, that there is a noble difference between him and all the rest of our gallant and polite authors. The latter have endeavoured to please the Age by falling in with them, and encouraging them in their fashionable vices and false notions of things. It would have been a jest, some time since, for a man to have asserted that anything witty could be said in praise of a married state, or that Devotion and Virtue were any way necessary to the character of a Fine Gentleman. Bickerstaff ventured to tell the Town that they were a parcel of fops, fools, and coquettes; but in such a manner as even pleased them, and made them more than half inclined to believe that he spoke truth.

Instead of complying with the false sentiments or vicious tastes of the Age — either in morality, criticism, or good breeding — he has boldly assured them that they were altogether in the wrong; and commanded them, with an authority which perfectly well became him, to surrender themselves to his arguments for Virtue and Good Sense.

It is incredible to conceive the effect his writings have had on the Town; how many thousand follies they have either quite banished or given a very great check to; how much countenance they have added to Virtue and Religion; how many people they have rendered happy, by shewing them it was their own fault if they were not so; and, lastly, how entirely they have convinced our young fops and young fellows of the value and advantages of Learning.

He has indeed rescued it out of the hands of pedants and fools, and discovered the true method of making it amiable and lovely to all mankind. In the dress he gives it, it is a most welcome guest at tea-tables and assemblies, and is relished and caressed by the merchants on the Change. Accordingly there is not a Lady at Court, nor a Banker in Lombard Street, who is not verily persuaded that Captain Steele is the greatest scholar and best Casuist of any man in England.

Lastly, his writings have set all our Wits and men of letters on a new way of thinking, of which they had little or no notion before: and, although we cannot say that any of them have come up to the beauties of the original, I think we may venture to affirm, that every one of them writes and thinks much more justly than they did some time since.

The vast variety of subjects which Mr. Steele has treated of, in so different manners, and yet all so perfectly well, made the World believe that it was impossible they should all come from the same hand. This set every one upon guessing who was the Esquire's friend? and most people at first fancied it must be Doctor Swift; but it is now no longer a secret, that his only great and constant assistant was Mr. Addison.

This is that excellent friend to whom Mr. Steele owes so much; and who refuses to have his name set before those pieces, which the greatest pens in England would be proud to own. Indeed, they could hardly add to this Gentleman's reputation: whose works in Latin and English poetry long since convinced the World, that he was the greatest Master in Europe in those two languages.

I am assured, from good hands, that all the visions, and other tracts of that way of writing, with a very great number of the most exquisite pieces of wit and raillery through the Lucubrations are entirely of this Gentleman's composing: which may, in some measure, account for that different Genius, which appears in the winter papers, from those of the summer; at which time, as the Examiner often hinted, this friend of Mr. Steele was in Ireland.

Mr. Steele confesses in his last Volume of the Tatlers that he is obliged to Dr. Swift for his Town Shower, and the Description of the Morn, with some other hints received from him in private conversation.

I have also heard that several of those Letters, which came as from unknown hands, were written by Mr. Henley: which is an answer to your query, 'Who those friends are whom Mr. Steele speaks of in his last Tatler?'

But to proceed with my account of our other papers. The expiration of Bickerstaff's Lucubrations was attended with much the same consequences as the death of Meliboeus's Ox in Virgil: as the latter engendered swarms of bees, the former immediately produced whole swarms of little satirical scribblers.

One of these authors called himself the Growler, and assured us that, to make amends for Mr. Steele's silence, he was resolved to growl at us weekly, as long as we should think fit to give him any encouragement. Another Gentleman, with more modesty, called his paper the Whisperer; and a third, to please the Ladies, christened his the Tell tale.

At the same-time came out several Tatlers; each of which, with equal truth and wit, assured us that he was the genuine Isaac Bickerstaff.

It may be observed that when the Esquire laid down his pen; though he could not but foresee that several scribblers would soon snatch it up, which he might (one would think) easily have prevented: he scorned to take any further care about it, but left the field fairly open to any worthy successor. Immediately, some of our Wits were for forming themselves into a Club, headed by one Mr. Harrison, and trying how they could shoot in this Bow of Ulysses; but soon found that this sort of writing requires so fine and particular a manner of thinking, with so exact a knowledge of the World, as must make them utterly despair of success.

They seemed indeed at first to think that what was only the garnish of the former Tatlers, was that which recommended them; and not those Substantial Entertainments which they everywhere abound in. According they were continually talking of their Maid, Night Cap, Spectacles, and Charles Lillie. However there were, now and then, some faint endeavours at Humour and sparks of Wit: which the Town, for want of better entertainment, was content to hunt after through a heap of impertinences; but even those are, at present, become wholly invisible and quite swallowed up in the blaze of the Spectator.

You may remember, I told you before, that one cause assigned for the laying down the Tatler was, Want of Matter; and, indeed, this was the prevailing opinion in Town: when we were surprised all at once by a paper called the Spectator, which was promised to be continued every day; and was written in so excellent a style, with so nice a judgment, and such a noble profusion of wit and humour, that it was not difficult to determine it could come from no other hands but those which had penned the Lucubrations.

This immediately alarmed these gentlemen, who, as it is said Mr. Steele phrases it, had 'the Censorship in Commission.' They found the new Spectator came on like a torrent, and swept away all before him. They despaired ever to equal him in wit, humour, or learning; which had been their true and certain way of opposing him: and therefore rather chose to fall on the Author; and to call out for help to all good Christians, by assuring them again and again that they were the First, Original, True, and undisputed Isaac Bickerstaff.

Meanwhile, the Spectator, whom we regard as our Shelter from that flood of false wit and impertinence which was breaking in upon us, is in every one's hands; and a constant for our morning conversation at tea-tables and coffee-houses. We had at first, indeed, no manner of notion how a diurnal paper could be continued in the spirit and style of our present Spectators: but, to our no small surprise, we find them still rising upon us, and can only wonder from whence so prodigious a run of Wit and Learning can proceed; since some of our best judges seem to think that they have hitherto, in general, outshone even the Esquire's first Tatlers.

Most people fancy, from their frequency, that they must be composed by a Society: I withal assign the first places to Mr. Steele and his Friend.

TatlersSpectatorsSpectator

SpectatorEssay on Criticism,SpectatorMessiah

'Taking care,' it is said, 'not to alarm the country gentlemen by any premature mention of antiquities, he endeavoured at first to allure them into the more flowery paths of literature. In 1709 a few of them were brought together every post-day at the coffee-house in the Abbey Yard; and after one of the party had read aloud the last published number of the Tatler, they proceeded to talk over the subject among themselves.'

'the gentlemen met after church on Sunday to discuss the news of the week; the Spectators were read as regularly as the Journal.'

Tatler

'so ambitious to be thought worse than he is that in his degree of understanding he sets up for a free-thinker, and talks atheistically in coffee-houses all day, though every morning and evening, it can be proved upon him, he regularly at home says his prayers.'

SpectatorGuardianGuardianEnglishmanExaminerThe Crisis

SpectatorSpectatorSpectator'sSpectator

SpectatorCato

Freeholder

PlebeianOld Whig

TheatreThe Conscious LoversSpectator

'he retained his cheerful sweetness of temper to the last; and would often be carried out, of a summer's evening, where the country lads and lasses were assembled at their rural sports, — and, with his pencil, gave an order on his agent, the mercer, for a new gown to the best dancer.'

SpectatorReliques of Ancient PoetryChambers's Cyclopædia

TatlerSpectatorGuardianTatler

TatlerTatlerSpectatorSpectatorSpectator

Spectatorpartsartsthe appellationto have seento seewithbetween

preciselythe amount and character of the revision

- Sentences added in the reprint are printed in brown without any appended note.

- Sentences omitted, or words altered, are shown by printing the revised version in brown, and giving the text as it stood in the original daily issue as a foot-note[1].

SpectatorEssaysSpectator

- As the few differences between good spelling in Queen Anne's time and good spelling now are never of a kind to obscure the sense of a word, or lessen the enjoyment of the reader, it has been thought better to make the reproduction perfect, and thus show not only what Steele and Addison wrote, but how they spelt,

- while restoring to their style the proper harmony of their own methods of punctuating,

- and their way of sometimes getting emphasis by turning to account the use of Capitals, which in their hands was not wholly conventional.

- The original folio numbers have been followed also in the use of italics

- and other little details of the disposition of the type; for example, in the reproduction of those rows of single inverted commas, which distinguish what a correspondent called the parts 'laced down the side with little c's.' [This last detail of formatting has not been reproduced in this file. html Ed.]

- The translation of the mottos and Latin quotations, which Steele and Addison deliberately abstained from giving, and which, as they were since added, impede and sometimes confound and contradict the text, are here placed in a body at the end, for those who want them.

HomerSpectatorEssay on Criticism.

- The mottos then are placed in an Appendix.

- There is a short Appendix also of advertisements taken from the original number of the Spectator, and a few others, where they seem to illustrate some point in the text, will be found among the notes.

- Finally, from the General Index to the Spectators, &c., published as a separate volume in 1760, there has been taken what was serviceable, and additions have been made to it with a desire to secure for this edition of the Spectator the advantages of being handy for reference as well as true to the real text.

Footnote 1:AthenaeumSelections from Addison

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Contents

Original Dedication

To The Right Honourable John Lord Sommers, Baron Of Evesham[1].

My Lord,

GreeceRomeEurope

I am,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's

Most Obedient,

Most Devoted

Humble Servant,

The Spectator.

Footnote 1:

'If you, well pleas'd, shall smile upon my lays,

Secure of fame, my voice I'll boldly raise,

For next to what you write, is what you praise.'

Essays

the Spectator

'He had traversed the whole vast range of polite literature, ancient and modern. He was at once a munificent and a severely judicious patron of genius and learning. Locke owed opulence to Somers. By Somers Addison was drawn forth from a cell in a college. In distant countries the name of Somers was mentioned with respect and gratitude by great scholars and poets who had never seen his face. He was the benefactor of Leclerc. He was the friend of Filicaja. Neither political nor religious differences prevented him from extending his powerful protection to merit. Hickes, the fiercest and most intolerant of all the non-jurors, obtained, by the influence of Somers, permission to study Teutonic antiquities in freedom and safety. Vertue, a Strict Roman Catholic, was raised, by the discriminating and liberal patronage of Somers, from poverty and obscurity to the first rank among the engravers of the age.'

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Contents

No. 1

Thursday, March 1, 1711

Addison

Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem

Cogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat.

Hor.

Iaccording to the tradition of the village where it lies,[1]WilliamYearsruns[2]

that my parts were solid, and would wear well

AnEurope in which[3]EgyptGrand Cairo[4]

Theregeneral[5]Will's[6]SometimesChild's[7]Post-Man[8]ISundaySt. James's[9]MyGrecian[10]Cocoa-Tree[11]Drury LaneHay-Market[12]haveExchangeJewJonathan's[13]

Therepainis[14]

HoweverTo the SpectatorBuckley'sLittle Britain[15]ITuesdaysThursdays

[16]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:PyramidographiaSpectatorThe Origine and Antiquity of our English Weights and Measures discovered by their near agreement with such Standards that are now found in one of the Egyptian Pyramids.Pyramidographia

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:Will'sRed CowRoseSpectator

return

Footnote 7:Child'sChild's

return

Footnote 8:PostmanLife and Errors,

'the Observator is best to towel the Jacks, the Review is best to promote peace, the Flying Post is best for the Scotch news, the Postboy is best for the English and Spanish news, the Daily Courant is the best critic, the English Post is the best collector, the London Gazette has the best authority, and the Postman is the best for everything.'

return

Footnote 9:St. James's

return

Footnote 10:Grecian

return

cross-reference: return to Footnote 1 of No. 49

Footnote 11:Cocoa TreeSt. James's

return

Footnote 12:Jew of Malta,New Way to Pay Old Debts,Drury Lane TheatreProloguethe Spectatorthe Spectator's

The Provoked Wife,Haymarket TheatreThe Confederacy,Drury LaneDrury LaneHaymarketHaymarketDrury LaneHaymarketDrury LaneHaymarketHaymarketDrury LaneThe Fair Quaker of Deal.Drury LaneHaymarket

Drury LaneHaymarketSpectatorDrury LaneHaymarket

return

Footnote 13: Jonathan'sGarraway's

return

Footnote 14:

return

Footnote 15:The Spectator

'Printed for Sam. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little Britain; and sold by A. Baldwin in Warwick Lane.'

return

Footnote 16:

return

Contents

No. 2

Friday, March 2, 1711

Steele

... Ast Alii sex

Et plures uno conclamant ore.

Juv.

TheWorcestershireRoger De Coverly.[1]RogerWhenSoho Square[2]BeforeRogerRochester[3]George Etherege[4]Dawson[5]RogerRogerQuorum

Inner TempleAristotleLonginusLittletonCookeDemosthenesTullyHeNew InnRussel CourtWill's[6]

Andrew FreeportLondonBritish CommonAndrewEngland

NextAndrewSentry[7]Roger

ButWill. Honeycomb[8]MonmouthPark

'He has good Blood in his Veins, Tom Mirabell begot him, the Rogue cheated me in that Affair; that young Fellow's Mother used me more like a Dog than any Woman I ever made Advances to.'

These

[9]

Footnote 1:Spectator

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Footnote 2:Soho Square

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:The Comical Revenge, She Would if she Could,The Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter,

return

Footnote 5:The Squire of Alsatia.

return

Footnote 6:RoseRose

return

Footnote 7:Royal George

return

Footnote 8:

return

Footnote 9:RTRT

CLLCLILIOCO

return

Contents

No. 3

Thursday, March 1, 1711

Addison

Quoi quisque ferè studio devinctus adhæret:

Aut quibus in rebus multùm sumus antè morati:

Atque in quâ ratione fuit contenta magis mens;

In somnis eadem plerumque videmur obire.

Lucr. L. 4.

In[1]

Publick CreditAtMagna Charta[2][3][4][5]

Lydian

It[6]TheRehearsal[7]

Et neq; jam color est misto candore rubori;

Nec Vigor, et Vires, et quæ modò visa placebant;

Nec Corpus remanet ...

Ov. Met. Lib. 3.

The[8]Great BritainAt[9]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Magna Charta Libertatum

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Essay

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:RehearsalRehearsal

'Well, Sir, then what do I, but make the earth, sun, and moon, come out upon the stage, and dance the hey' ... 'Come, come out, eclipse, to the tune of Tom Tyler.'

Enter Luna. Luna:  Orbis, O Orbis! Come to me, thou little rogue, Orbis!

Enter the Earth.

Orb.:   Who calls Terra-firma pray?

...

Enter Sol, to the tune of Robin Hood, &c.

While they dance Bayes cries, mightily taken with his device,

'Now the Earth's before the Moon; now the Moon's before the Sun: there's the Eclipse again.'

return

Footnote 8:

return

Footnote 9:

'from this time loans were made of a vast increasing amount with great facility, and generally at a low interest, by which the nation were enabled to resist their enemies. The French wondered at the prodigious efforts that were made by so small a power, and the abundance with which money was poured into its treasury... Books were written, projects drawn up, edicts prepared, which were to give to France the same facilities as her rival; every plan that fiscal ingenuity could strike out, every calculation that laborious arithmetic could form, was proposed, and tried, and found wanting; and for this simple reason, that in all their projects drawn up in imitation of England, one little element was omitted, videlicet, her free constitution.'

return

Contents

No. 4

Monday, March 5, 1711

Steele

.. Egregii Mortalem altique silenti!

Hor.

in anything

I am never less alone than when aloneTheredid the other day,[1]

That strange Fellow,

I have known the Fellow's Face for these twelve Years, and so must you; but I believe you are the first ever asked who he was.

what-d-ye-call-him

Will. HoneycombTheWill young thing[2]

'I am quite of another Opinion: She has, I will allow, a very pleasing Aspect, but, methinks, that Simplicity in her Countenance is rather childish than innocent.'

'I grant her Dress is very becoming, but perhaps the Merit of Choice is owing to her Mother; for though,' continued he, 'I allow a Beauty to be as much to be commended for the Elegance of her Dress, as a Wit for that of his Language; yet if she has stolen the Colour of her Ribbands from another, or had Advice about her Trimmings, I shall not allow her the Praise of Dress, any more than I would call a Plagiary an Author.'

Willaccording to his romantic imagination

'Behold, you who dare, that charming Virgin. Behold the Beauty of her Person chastised by the Innocence of her Thoughts. Chastity, Good-Nature, and Affability, are the Graces that play in her Countenance; she knows she is handsome, but she knows she is good. Conscious Beauty adorned with conscious Virtue! What a Spirit is there in those Eyes! What a Bloom in that Person! How is the whole Woman expressed in her Appearance! Her Air has the Beauty of Motion, and her Look the Force of Language.'

WorksTea-Table Talk

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 5

Tuesday, March 6, 1711

Addison

Spectatum admissi risum teneatis?

Hor.

Charles'sNicoliniFlanders

in

ThisMartin Mar-all[1]New RiverInRinaldo[2]insure

ArmidaAmazonianCassaniPersons representedMago ChristianoAmazongoodfor such is the part of the magician

Italian

Eccoti, benigno Lettore, un Parto di poche Sere, che se ben nato di Notte, non è però aborto di Tenebre, mà si farà conoscere Figlio d'Apollo con qualche Raggio di Parnasso.

Behold, gentle Reader, the Birth of a few Evenings, which, tho' it be the Offspring of the Night, is not the Abortive of Darkness, but will make it self known to be the Son of Apollo, with a certain Ray of Parnassus.

HeHendel[3]OrpheusItaliansItaliansCiceroVirgilEnglishItaliansBoileauVirgilClincantTasso

WhittingtonRichAndGermany[4]

BeforeLondonWise[5]RinaldoArmida

Footnote 1:Sir Martin Mar-allL'Amour sous sa Loi

'A pretty-humoured song — but stay, methinks he plays and sings still, and yet we cannot hear him — Play louder, Sir Martin, that we may have the Fruits on't.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Jerusalem DeliveredRinaldoCara sposaLascia ch'io piangaHamletAmbleto

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

'Hamelin town's in Brunswick,

By famous Hanover city;

The river Weser, deep and wide,

Washes its wall on the southern side.'

return

Footnote 5:Complete Gardener

return

Contents

No. 6

Wednesday, March 7, 1711

Steele

Credebant hoc grande Nefas, et Morte piandum,

Si Juvenis Vetulo non assurrexerat ....

Juv.

RogerScarecrowLincoln's-Inn-FieldsScarecrow

Richard BlackmoreIt is a mighty Dishonour and Shame 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 odious Being in the whole CreationHeto rescue the Muses out of the Hands of RavishersEmployment suitable to their Dignity[1]

England

'It happen'd at Athens, during a publick Representation of some Play exhibited in honour of the Common-wealth that an old Gentleman came too late for a Place suitable to his Age and Quality. Many of the young Gentlemen who observed the Difficulty and Confusion he was in, made Signs to him that they would accommodate him if he came where they sate: The good Man bustled through the Crowd accordingly; but when he came to the Seats to which he was invited, the Jest was to sit close, and expose him, as he stood out of Countenance, to the whole Audience. The Frolick went round all the Athenian Benches. But on those Occasions there were also particular Places assigned for Foreigners: When the good Man skulked towards the Boxes appointed for the Lacedemonians, that honest People, more virtuous than polite, rose up all to a Man, and with the greatest Respect received him among them. The Athenians being suddenly touched with a Sense of the Spartan Virtue, and their own Degeneracy, gave a Thunder of Applause; and the old Man cry'd out, The Athenians understand what is good, but the Lacedemonians practise it.'

Footnote 1:Creation

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Contents

No. 7

Thursday, March 8, 1711

Addison

Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, Sagas,

Nocturnos lemures, portentaque Thessala rides?

Hor.

My dear, says she, turning to her husband, you may now see the Stranger that was in the Candle last Night.

Thursday

Thursday, says she, no, Child, if it please God, you shall not begin upon Childermas-day; tell your Writing-Master that Friday will be soon enough.

My Dear, Misfortunes never come Single.

Do not you remember, Child, says she, that the Pidgeon-House fell the very Afternoon that our careless Wench spilt the Salt upon the Table?

Yes, says he, my Dear, and the next Post brought us an Account of the Battel of Almanza[1].

Iquitting[2]

Therewhich[3]

Thiswho[4]

Sybils

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Contents

No. 8

Friday, March 9, 1711

Addison

At Venus obscuro gradientes ære sepsit,

Et multo Nebulæ circum Dea fudit amictu,

Cernere ne quis eos ...

Virg.

Ihim[1]

'To the Spectator, &c.

Sir,

I am one of the Directors of the Society for the Reformation of Manners, and therefore think myself a proper Person for your Correspondence. I have thoroughly examined the present State of Religion in Great-Britain, and am able to acquaint you with the predominant Vice of every Market-Town in the whole Island. I can tell you the Progress that Virtue has made in all our Cities, Boroughs, and Corporations; and know as well the evil Practices that are committed in Berwick or Exeter, as what is done in my own Family. In a Word, Sir, I have my Correspondents in the remotest Parts of the Nation, who send me up punctual Accounts from time to time of all the little Irregularities that fall under their Notice in their several Districts and Divisions.

I am no less acquainted with the particular Quarters and Regions of this great Town, than with the different Parts and Distributions of the whole Nation. I can describe every Parish by its Impieties, and can tell you in which of our Streets Lewdness prevails, which Gaming has taken the Possession of, and where Drunkenness has got the better of them both. When I am disposed to raise a Fine for the Poor, I know the Lanes and Allies that are inhabited by common Swearers. When I would encourage the Hospital of Bridewell, and improve the Hempen Manufacture, I am very well acquainted with all the Haunts and Resorts of Female Night-walkers.

After this short Account of my self, I must let you know, that the Design of this Paper is to give you Information of a certain irregular Assembly which I think falls very properly under your Observation, especially since the Persons it is composed of are Criminals too considerable for the Animadversions of our Society. I mean, Sir, the Midnight Masque, which has of late been frequently held in one of the most conspicuous Parts of the Town, and which I hear will be continued with Additions and Improvements. As all the Persons who compose this lawless Assembly are masqued, we dare not attack any of them in our Way, lest we should send a Woman of Quality to Bridewell, or a Peer of Great-Britain to the Counter: Besides, that their Numbers are so very great, that I am afraid they would be able to rout our whole Fraternity, tho' we were accompanied with all our Guard of Constables. Both these Reasons which secure them from our Authority, make them obnoxious to yours; as both their Disguise and their Numbers will give no particular Person Reason to think himself affronted by you.

If we are rightly inform'd, the Rules that are observed by this new Society are wonderfully contriv'd for the Advancement of Cuckoldom. The Women either come by themselves, or are introduced by Friends, who are obliged to quit them upon their first Entrance, to the Conversation of any Body that addresses himself to them. There are several Rooms where the Parties may retire, and, if they please, show their Faces by Consent. Whispers, Squeezes, Nods, and Embraces, are the innocent Freedoms of the Place. In short, the whole Design of this libidinous Assembly seems to terminate in Assignations and Intrigues; and I hope you will take effectual Methods, by your publick Advice and Admonitions, to prevent such a promiscuous Multitude of both Sexes from meeting together in so clandestine a Manner.'

I am,

Your humble Servant,

And Fellow Labourer,

T. B.

Middle Temple, 1710-11.

Sir,

When a Man has been guilty of any Vice or Folly, I think the best Attonement he can make for it is to warn others not to fall into the like. In order to this I must acquaint you, that some Time in February last I went to the Tuesday's Masquerade. Upon my first going in I was attacked by half a Dozen female Quakers, who seemed willing to adopt me for a Brother; but, upon a nearer Examination, I found they were a Sisterhood of Coquets, disguised in that precise Habit. I was soon after taken out to dance, and, as I fancied, by a Woman of the first Quality, for she was very tall, and moved gracefully. As soon as the Minuet was over, we ogled one another through our Masques; and as I am very well read in Waller, I repeated to her the four following Verses out of his poem to Vandike.

'The heedless Lover does not know

Whose Eyes they are that wound him so;

But confounded with thy Art,

Enquires her Name that has his Heart.'

I pronounced these Words with such a languishing Air, that I had some Reason to conclude I had made a Conquest. She told me that she hoped my Face was not akin to my Tongue; and looking upon her Watch, I accidentally discovered the Figure of a Coronet on the back Part of it. I was so transported with the Thought of such an Amour, that I plied her from one Room to another with all the Gallantries I could invent; and at length brought things to so happy an Issue, that she gave me a private Meeting the next Day, without Page or Footman, Coach or Equipage. My Heart danced in Raptures; but I had not lived in this golden Dream above three Days, before I found good Reason to wish that I had continued true to my Landress. I have since heard by a very great Accident, that this fine Lady does not live far from Covent-Garden, and that I am not the first Cully whom she has passed herself upon for a Countess.

Thus, Sir, you see how I have mistaken a Cloud for a Juno; and if you can make any use of this Adventure for the Benefit of those who may possibly be as vain young Coxcombs as my self, I do most heartily give you Leave.'

I am,

Sir,

Your most humble admirer,

B. L.

IGrand Cairo[2]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Spectator No. 1.

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Contents

No. 9

Saturday, March 10, 1711

Addison

Tigris agit rabidâ cum tigride pacem

Perpetuam, sævis inter se convenit ursis.

Juv.

Clubs

KingsCharlesKing

GeorgesGeorgeGeorge'sBefore George

Street-ClubsOrmond-Street

Hum-DrumMum

Charlesthe Club of Duellists

The Kit-Cat[1]Beef-Steak[2][3]

Rules to be observed in the Two-penny Club, erected in this Place, for the Preservation of Friendship and good Neighbourhood.

1. Every Member at his first coming in shall lay down his Two Pence.

2. Every Member shall fill his Pipe out of his own Box.

3. If any Member absents himself he shall forfeit a Penny for the Use of the Club, unless in case of Sickness or Imprisonment.

4. If any Member swears or curses, his Neighbour may give him a Kick upon the Shins.

5. If any Member tells Stories in the Club that are not true, he shall forfeit for every third Lie an Half-Penny.

6. If any Member strikes another wrongfully, he shall pay his Club for him.

7. If any Member brings his Wife into the Club, he shall pay for whatever she drinks or smoaks.

8. If any Member's Wife comes to fetch him Home from the Club, she shall speak to him without the Door.

9. If any Member calls another Cuckold, he shall be turned out of the Club.

10. None shall be admitted into the Club that is of the same Trade with any Member of it.

11. None of the Club shall have his Cloaths or Shoes made or mended, but by a Brother Member.

12. No Non-juror shall be capable of being a Member.

TheLeges ConvivalesBen. Johnson[4]RomanLipsiusSymposiumGreek

Footnote 1:Kit-CatKit-Cat ClubBocaj

One Night in Seven at this convenient Seat

Indulgent Bocaj did the Muses treat;

Their Drink was gen'rous Wine and Kit-Cat's Pyes their Meat.

Hence did th' Assembly's Title first arise,

And Kit-Cat Wits spring first from Kit-Cat's Pyes.

'Of old Cats and young Kits.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Beef-Steak

return

Footnote 3:October

return

Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 10

Monday, March 12, 1711

Addison

Non aliter quàm qui adverso vix flumine lembum

Remigiis subigit: si brachia fortè remisit,

Atque illum in præceps prono rapit alveus amni.

Virg.

LondonWestminsterSocrates

Francis BaconMoses'sÆgyptiansSpectatorMuscovyPoland

Contents

No. 11

Tuesday, March 13, 1711

Steele

Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas.

Juv.

Will. HoneycombAriettaArietta'sSheEphesian[1]

Arietta

Sir, when I consider, how perfectly new all you have said on this Subject is, and that the Story you have given us is not quite two thousand Years Old, I cannot but think it a Piece of Presumption to dispute with you: But your Quotations put me in Mind of the Fable of the Lion and the Man. The Man walking with that noble Animal, showed him, in the Ostentation of Human Superiority, a Sign of a Man killing a Lion. Upon which the Lion said very justly, We Lions are none of us Painters, else we could show a hundred Men killed by Lions, for one Lion killed by a Man. You Men are Writers, and can represent us Women as Unbecoming as you please in your Works, while we are unable to return the Injury. You have twice or thrice observed in your Discourse, that Hypocrisy is the very Foundation of our Education; and that an Ability to dissemble our affections, is a professed Part of our Breeding. These, and such other Reflections, are sprinkled up and down the Writings of all Ages, by Authors, who leave behind them Memorials of their Resentment against the Scorn of particular Women, in Invectives against the whole Sex. Such a Writer, I doubt not, was the celebrated Petronius, who invented the pleasant Aggravations of the Frailty of the Ephesian Lady; but when we consider this Question between the Sexes, which has been either a Point of Dispute or Raillery ever since there were Men and Women, let us take Facts from plain People, and from such as have not either Ambition or Capacity to embellish their Narrations with any Beauties of Imagination. I was the other Day amusing myself with Ligon's Account of Barbadoes; and, in Answer to your well-wrought Tale, I will give you (as it dwells upon my Memory) out of that honest Traveller, in his fifty fifth page, the History of Inkle and Yarico[2].

Mr. Thomas Inkle of London, aged twenty Years, embarked in the Downs, on the good Ship called the Achilles, bound for the West Indies, on the 16th of June 1647, in order to improve his Fortune by Trade and Merchandize. Our Adventurer was the third Son of an eminent Citizen, who had taken particular Care to instill into his Mind an early Love of Gain, by making him a perfect Master of Numbers, and consequently giving him a quick View of Loss and Advantage, and preventing the natural Impulses of his Passions, by Prepossession towards his Interests. With a Mind thus turned, young Inkle had a Person every way agreeable, a ruddy Vigour in his Countenance, Strength in his Limbs, with Ringlets of fair Hair loosely flowing on his Shoulders. It happened, in the Course of the Voyage, that the Achilles, in some Distress, put into a Creek on the Main of America, in search of Provisions. The Youth, who is the Hero of my Story, among others, went ashore on this Occasion. From their first Landing they were observed by a Party of Indians, who hid themselves in the Woods for that Purpose. The English unadvisedly marched a great distance from the Shore into the Country, and were intercepted by the Natives, who slew the greatest Number of them. Our Adventurer escaped among others, by flying into a Forest. Upon his coming into a remote and pathless Part of the Wood, he threw himself tired and breathless on a little Hillock, when an Indian Maid rushed from a Thicket behind him: After the first Surprize, they appeared mutually agreeable to each other. If the European was highly charmed with the Limbs, Features, and wild Graces of the Naked American; the American was no less taken with the Dress, Complexion, and Shape of an European, covered from Head to Foot. The Indian grew immediately enamoured of him, and consequently sollicitous for his Preservation: She therefore conveyed him to a Cave, where she gave him a Delicious Repast of Fruits, and led him to a Stream to slake his Thirst. In the midst of these good Offices, she would sometimes play with his Hair, and delight in the Opposition of its Colour to that of her Fingers: Then open his Bosome, then laugh at him for covering it. She was, it seems, a Person of Distinction, for she every day came to him in a different Dress, of the most beautiful Shells, Bugles, and Bredes. She likewise brought him a great many Spoils, which her other Lovers had presented to her; so that his Cave was richly adorned with all the spotted Skins of Beasts, and most Party-coloured Feathers of Fowls, which that World afforded. To make his Confinement more tolerable, she would carry him in the Dusk of the Evening, or by the favour of Moon-light, to unfrequented Groves, and Solitudes, and show him where to lye down in Safety, and sleep amidst the Falls of Waters, and Melody of Nightingales. Her Part was to watch and hold him in her Arms, for fear of her Country-men, and wake on Occasions to consult his Safety. In this manner did the Lovers pass away their Time, till they had learn'd a Language of their own, in which the Voyager communicated to his Mistress, how happy he should be to have her in his Country, where she should be Cloathed in such Silks as his Wastecoat was made of, and be carried in Houses drawn by Horses, without being exposed to Wind or Weather. All this he promised her the Enjoyment of, without such Fears and Alarms as they were there tormented with. In this tender Correspondence these Lovers lived for several Months, when Yarico, instructed by her Lover, discovered a Vessel on the Coast, to which she made Signals, and in the Night, with the utmost Joy and Satisfaction accompanied him to a Ships-Crew of his Country-Men, bound for Barbadoes. When a Vessel from the Main arrives in that Island, it seems the Planters come down to the Shoar, where there is an immediate Market of the Indians and other Slaves, as with us of Horses and Oxen.

To be short, Mr. Thomas Inkle, now coming into English Territories, began seriously to reflect upon his loss of Time, and to weigh with himself how many Days Interest of his Mony he had lost during his Stay with Yarico. This Thought made the Young Man very pensive, and careful what Account he should be able to give his Friends of his Voyage. Upon which Considerations, the prudent and frugal young Man sold Yarico to a Barbadian Merchant; notwithstanding that the poor Girl, to incline him to commiserate her Condition, told him that she was with Child by him: But he only made use of that Information, to rise in his Demands upon the Purchaser.

EphesianArietta's

Footnote 1:SatyriconSeven Wise Masters

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes. By Richard Ligon, Gent.,

'This Indian dwelling near the Sea Coast, upon the Main, an English ship put in to a Bay, and sent some of her Men a shoar, to try what victuals or water they could find, for in some distress they were: But the Indians perceiving them to go up so far into the Country, as they were sure they could not make a safe retreat, intercepted them in their return, and fell upon them, chasing them into a Wood, and being dispersed there, some were taken, and some kill'd: But a young man amongst them straggling from the rest, was met by this Indian maid, who upon the first sight fell in love with him, and hid him close from her Countrymen (the Indians) in a Cave, and there fed him, till they could safely go down to the shoar, where the ship lay at anchor, expecting the return of their friends. But at last, seeing them upon the shoar, sent the long-Boat for them, took them aboard, and brought them away. But the youth, when he came ashoar in the Barbadoes, forgot the kindness of the poor maid, that had ventured her life for his safety, and sold her for a slave, who was as free born as he: And so poor Yarico for her love, lost her liberty.'

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Contents

No. 12

Wednesday, March 14, 1711

Addison

... Veteres avias tibi de pulmone revello.

Per.

LondonDaily Courant

Whereas a melancholy Man left his Lodgings on Thursday last in the Afternoon, and was afterwards seen going towards Islington; If any one can give Notice of him to R. B., Fishmonger in the Strand, he shall be very well rewarded for his Pains.

Red-SeaThis that they should[1]

to pull the old Woman out of our HeartsPersiusMotto

[2]finelyHesiod[3]

Nor think, though Men were none,

That Heav'n would want Spectators, God want praise:

Millions of spiritual Creatures walk the Earth

Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep;

All these with ceaseless Praise his Works behold

Both Day and Night. How often from the Steep

Of echoing Hill or Thicket, have we heard

Celestial Voices to the midnight Air,

Sole, or responsive each to others Note,

Singing their great Creator: Oft in bands,

While they keep Watch, or nightly Rounding walk,

With heav'nly Touch of instrumental Sounds,

In full harmonick Number join'd, their Songs

Divide the Night, and lift our Thoughts to Heav'n.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Paradise Lost

return

Footnote 3:Works and Days

Yet still held state on earth, and guardians were

Of all best mortals still surviving there,

Observ'd works just and unjust, clad in air,

And gliding undiscovered everywhere.

Chapman's Translation.

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Contents

No. 13

Thursday, March 15, 1711

Addison

Dic mi hi si fueris tu leo qualis eris?

Mart.

ThereNicolini'sHay-Market[1]Great BritainHydaspesWilliam'sNicoliniRecitativoOrpheusItalyHigh DutchHydaspes

For (says he) I do not intend to hurt anybody.

NicoliniHydaspesItalianIwho[2]The Ass in the Lion's skin

NicoliniDramaWestminster-Hall

NicoliniEquestrianPont-NeufParisLondonEnglishItalianGreat Britain

Footnote 1:Pyrrhus and Demetrius,AlmahideHydaspesSpectatorHistory of the Opera

'after appealing to the monster in a minor key, and telling him that he may tear his bosom, but cannot touch his heart, he attacks him in the relative major, and strangles him.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 14

Friday, March 16, 1711

Steele

... Teque his, Infelix, exue monstris.

Ovid.

beau MondeThe Lyon presents his humble Service to you, and desired me to give this into your own Hands.

From my Den in the Hay-market, March 15.

Sir

'I have read all your Papers, and have stifled my Resentment against your Reflections upon Operas, till that of this Day, wherein you plainly insinuate, that Signior Grimaldi and my self have a Correspondence more friendly than is consistent with the Valour of his Character, or the Fierceness of mine. I desire you would, for your own Sake, forbear such Intimations for the future; and must say it is a great Piece of Ill-nature in you, to show so great an Esteem for a Foreigner, and to discourage a Lyon that is your own Country-man.

I take notice of your Fable of the Lyon and Man, but am so equally concerned in that Matter, that I shall not be offended to which soever of the Animals the Superiority is given. You have misrepresented me, in saying that I am a Country-Gentleman, who act only for my Diversion; whereas, had I still the same Woods to range in which I once had when I was a Fox-hunter, I should not resign my Manhood for a Maintenance; and assure you, as low as my Circumstances are at present, I am so much a Man of Honour, that I would scorn to be any Beast for Bread but a Lyon.

Yours, &c.

viz

Covent Garden, March 13.

Sir,

'I Have been for twenty Years Under-Sexton of this Parish of St. Paul's, Covent-Garden, and have not missed tolling in to Prayers six times in all those Years; which Office I have performed to my great Satisfaction, till this Fortnight last past, during which Time I find my Congregation take the Warning of my Bell, Morning and Evening, to go to a Puppett-show set forth by one Powell, under the Piazzas. By this Means, I have not only lost my two Customers, whom I used to place for six Pence a Piece over against Mrs Rachel Eyebright, but Mrs Rachel herself is gone thither also. There now appear among us none but a few ordinary People, who come to Church only to say their Prayers, so that I have no Work worth speaking of but on Sundays. I have placed my Son at the Piazzas, to acquaint the Ladies that the Bell rings for Church, and that it stands on the other side of the Garden; but they only laugh at the Child.

I desire you would lay this before all the World, that I may not be made such a Tool for the Future, and that Punchinello may chuse Hours less canonical. As things are now, Mr Powell has a full Congregation, while we have a very thin House; which if you can Remedy, you will very much oblige,

Sir, Yours, &c.'

The[1]

Sir,

'I Have observed the Rules of my Masque so carefully (in not enquiring into Persons), that I cannot tell whether you were one of the Company or not last Tuesday; but if you were not and still design to come, I desire you would, for your own Entertainment, please to admonish the Town, that all Persons indifferently are not fit for this Sort of Diversion. I could wish, Sir, you could make them understand, that it is a kind of acting to go in Masquerade, and a Man should be able to say or do things proper for the Dress in which he appears. We have now and then Rakes in the Habit of Roman Senators, and grave Politicians in the Dress of Rakes. The Misfortune of the thing is, that People dress themselves in what they have a Mind to be, and not what they are fit for. There is not a Girl in the Town, but let her have her Will in going to a Masque, and she shall dress as a Shepherdess. But let me beg of them to read the Arcadia, or some other good Romance, before they appear in any such Character at my House. The last Day we presented, every Body was so rashly habited, that when they came to speak to each other, a Nymph with a Crook had not a Word to say but in the pert Stile of the Pit Bawdry; and a Man in the Habit of a Philosopher was speechless, till an occasion offered of expressing himself in the Refuse of the Tyring-Rooms. We had a Judge that danced a Minuet, with a Quaker for his Partner, while half a dozen Harlequins stood by as Spectators: A Turk drank me off two Bottles of Wine, and a Jew eat me up half a Ham of Bacon. If I can bring my Design to bear, and make the Maskers preserve their Characters in my Assemblies, I hope you will allow there is a Foundation laid for more elegant and improving Gallantries than any the Town at present affords; and consequently that you will give your Approbation to the Endeavours of,

Sir, Your most obedient humble servant.'

Powell

Sir,

'The Opera at the Hay-Market, and that under the little Piazza in Covent-Garden, being at present the Two leading Diversions of the Town; and Mr Powell professing in his Advertisements to set up Whittington and his Cat against Rinaldo and Armida, my Curiosity led me the Beginning of last Week to view both these Performances, and make my Observations upon them.

First therefore, I cannot but observe that Mr Powell wisely forbearing to give his Company a Bill of Fare before-hand, every Scene is new and unexpected; whereas it is certain, that the Undertakers of the Hay-Market, having raised too great an Expectation in their printed Opera, very much disappointed their Audience on the Stage. The King of Jerusalem is obliged to come from the City on foot, instead of being drawn in a triumphant Chariot by white Horses, as my Opera-Book had promised me; and thus, while I expected Armida's Dragons should rush forward towards Argantes, I found the Hero was obliged to go to Armida, and hand her out of her Coach. We had also but a very short Allowance of Thunder and Lightning; tho' I cannot in this Place omit doing Justice to the Boy who had the Direction of the Two painted Dragons, and made them spit Fire and Smoke: He flash'd out his Rosin in such just Proportions, and in such due Time, that I could not forbear conceiving Hopes of his being one Day a most excellent Player. I saw, indeed, but Two things wanting to render his whole Action compleat, I mean the keeping his Head a little lower, and hiding his Candle.

I observe that Mr Powell and the Undertakers had both the same Thought, and I think, much about the same time, of introducing Animals on their several Stages, though indeed with very different Success. The Sparrows and Chaffinches at the Hay-Market fly as yet very irregularly over the Stage; and instead of perching on the Trees and performing their Parts, these young Actors either get into the Galleries or put out the Candles; whereas Mr Powell has so well disciplined his Pig, that in the first Scene he and Punch dance a Minuet together. I am informed however, that Mr Powell resolves to excell his Adversaries in their own Way; and introduce Larks in his next Opera of Susanna, or Innocence betrayed, which will be exhibited next Week with a Pair of new Elders[2].

The Moral of Mr Powell's Drama is violated I confess by Punch's national Reflections on the French, and King Harry's laying his Leg upon his Queen's Lap in too ludicrous a manner before so great an Assembly.

As to the Mechanism and Scenary, every thing, indeed, was uniform, and of a Piece, and the Scenes were managed very dexterously; which calls on me to take Notice, that at the Hay-Market the Undertakers forgetting to change their Side-Scenes, we were presented with a Prospect of the Ocean in the midst of a delightful Grove; and tho' the Gentlemen on the Stage had very much contributed to the Beauty of the Grove, by walking up and down between the Trees, I must own I was not a little astonished to see a well-dressed young Fellow in a full-bottomed Wigg, appear in the Midst of the Sea, and without any visible Concern taking Snuff.

I shall only observe one thing further, in which both Dramas agree; which is, that by the Squeak of their Voices the Heroes of each are Eunuchs; and as the Wit in both Pieces are equal, I must prefer the Performance of Mr Powell, because it is in our own Language.

'I am, &c.'

Footnote 1:Tomyris, Queen of Scythia

'I was born,' he said, 'a Swiss, and came to England without a farthing, where I have found means to gain, £5000 a-year, — and to spend it. Now I defy the ablest Englishman to go to Switzerland and either gain that income or spend it there.'

return to footnote mark

cross-reference: return to Footnote 8 of No. 31

Footnote 2:History of Susanna

Their Sights are so rich, is able to bewitch

The heart of a very fine man-a;

Here's 'Patient Grisel' here, and 'Fair Rosamond' there,

And 'the History of Susanna.'

Patient Grisel.

TheTatlerthe Creation of the World

'made the most like Florimel that ever was seen,' and 'when we came to Noah's Flood in the show, Punch and his wife were introduced dancing in the ark.'

'the then Ministry, who loved a little persecution well enough, was, however, so wise as not to disturb their madness, and only ordered one Powell, the master of a famous Puppet-Show, to make Punch turn Prophet; which he did so well, that it soon put an end to the prophets and their prophecies. The obscure Dr Sacheverell's fortune was made by a parliamentary prosecution' (from Feb. 27 to March 23, 1709-10) 'much about the same time the French Prophets were totally extinguished by a Puppet-Show'

(Misc. Works, ed. Maty., Vol. II, p. 523, 555).

No. 5 of the SpectatorWhittington and his CatRinaldo and ArmidaNo. 31.]

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cross-reference: return to Footnote 5 of No. 31

Contents

original advertisement

On the first of April will be performed at the Play-house in the Hay-market, an Opera call'd

The Cruelty of Atreus.

N. B. The Scene wherein Thyestes eats his own Children,

is to be performed by the famous Mr Psalmanazar[1],

lately arrived from Formosa;

The whole Supper being set to Kettle-drums.

R.

Advertisement Footnote 1:

Spectator

return to footnote mark

No. 15

Saturday, March 17, 1711

Addison

Parva leves capiunt animos ...

Ovid.

FranceCupidsVenusAdonis

Cleanthe

Aurelia

FulviaFulvia

VirgilCamillaTheTrojan who[1]A Golden BowHung upon his Shoulder; his Garment was buckled with a Golden Clasp, and his Head was covered with an Helmet of the same shining MettleAmazon

... Totumque incauta per agmen

Fæmineo prædæ et spoliorum ardebat amore.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 16

Monday, March 19, 1711

Addison

Quid verum atque decens curo et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum.

Hor.

IFleet-street[1]

The Censor of small WaresTolest they should[2]

Thewho[3]Cælia, Phillis, PastoraIn[4]LaisSilenusCaligulaRome

Howevermy[5]which[6]Ifencreasing[7]

To the Spectator.

March 15, 1710-11.

Sir,

'I Am at present so unfortunate, as to have nothing to do but to mind my own Business; and therefore beg of you that you will be pleased to put me into some small Post under you. I observe that you have appointed your Printer and Publisher to receive Letters and Advertisements for the City of London, and shall think my self very much honoured by you, if you will appoint me to take in Letters and Advertisements for the City of Westminster and the Dutchy of Lancaster. Tho' I cannot promise to fill such an Employment with sufficient Abilities, I will endeavour to make up with Industry and Fidelity what I want in Parts and Genius. I am,

Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

Charles Lillie.'

Footnote 1:RainbowRainbowSpectator's

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:DrawcansirRehearsalTyrannic Love,

Spite of myself, I'll stay, fight, love, despair;

And all this I can do, because I dare,

I drink, I huff, I strut, look big and stare;

And all this I can do, because I dare.

'At last, Drawcansir comes in and Kills them all on both Sides,' explaining himself in lines that begin,

Others may boast a single man to kill;

But I the blood of thousands daily spill.

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:

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Contents

No. 17

Tuesday, March 20, 1711

Steele

... Tetrum ante Omnia vultum.

Juv.

Madam Maintenon's[1]HarryFalstaffeShakespearFalstaffeWoolsackBed-presserHill of FleshStarvelingElves-SkinSheathBowcaseTuckOxford

'Most Profound Sir,

Having been very well entertained, in the last of your Speculations that I have yet seen, by your Specimen upon Clubs, which I therefore hope you will continue, I shall take the Liberty to furnish you with a brief Account of such a one as perhaps you have not seen in all your Travels, unless it was your Fortune to touch upon some of the woody Parts of the African Continent, in your Voyage to or from Grand Cairo. There have arose in this University (long since you left us without saying any thing) several of these inferior Hebdomadal Societies, as the Punning Club, the Witty Club, and amongst the rest, the Handsom Club; as a Burlesque upon which, a certain merry Species, that seem to have come into the World in Masquerade, for some Years last past have associated themselves together, and assumed the name of the Ugly Club: This ill-favoured Fraternity consists of a President and twelve Fellows; the Choice of which is not confin'd by Patent to any particular Foundation (as St. John's Men would have the World believe, and have therefore erected a separate Society within themselves) but Liberty is left to elect from any School in Great Britain, provided the Candidates be within the Rules of the Club, as set forth in a Table entituled The Act of Deformity. A Clause or two of which I shall transmit to you.

1. That no Person whatsoever shall be admitted without a visible Quearity in his Aspect, or peculiar Cast of Countenance; of which the President and Officers for the time being are to determine, and the President to have the casting Voice.

2. That a singular Regard be had, upon Examination, to the Gibbosity of the Gentlemen that offer themselves, as Founders Kinsmen, or to the Obliquity of their Figure, in what sort soever.

3. That if the Quantity of any Man's Nose be eminently miscalculated, whether as to Length or Breadth, he shall have a just Pretence to be elected.

'Lastly, That if there shall be two or more Competitors for the same Vacancy, cæteris paribus, he that has the thickest Skin to have the Preference.

Every fresh Member, upon his first Night, is to entertain the Company with a Dish of Codfish, and a Speech in praise of Æsop[2]; whose portraiture they have in full Proportion, or rather Disproportion, over the Chimney; and their Design is, as soon as their Funds are sufficient, to purchase the Heads of Thersites, Duns Scotus, Scarron, Hudibras, and the old Gentleman in Oldham[3], with all the celebrated ill Faces of Antiquity, as Furniture for the Club Room.

As they have always been profess'd Admirers of the other Sex, so they unanimously declare that they will give all possible Encouragement to such as will take the Benefit of the Statute, tho' none yet have appeared to do it.

The worthy President, who is their most devoted Champion, has lately shown me two Copies of Verses composed by a Gentleman of his Society; the first, a Congratulatory Ode inscrib'd to Mrs. Touchwood, upon the loss of her two Fore-teeth; the other, a Panegyrick upon Mrs. Andirons left Shoulder. Mrs. Vizard (he says) since the Small Pox, is grown tolerably ugly, and a top Toast in the Club; but I never hear him so lavish of his fine things, as upon old Nell Trot, who constantly officiates at their Table; her he even adores, and extolls as the very Counterpart of Mother Shipton; in short, Nell (says he) is one of the Extraordinary Works of Nature; but as for Complexion, Shape, and Features, so valued by others, they are all meer Outside and Symmetry, which is his Aversion. Give me leave to add, that the President is a facetious, pleasant Gentleman, and never more so, than when he has got (as he calls 'em) his dear Mummers about him; and he often protests it does him good to meet a Fellow with a right genuine Grimmace in his Air, (which is so agreeable in the generality of the French Nation;) and as an Instance of his Sincerity in this particular, he gave me a sight of a List in his Pocket-book of all of this Class, who for these five Years have fallen under his Observation, with himself at the Head of 'em, and in the Rear (as one of a promising and improving Aspect),

Sir, Your Obliged and Humble Servant,

Alexander Carbuncle.

[Sidenote: Oxford, March 12, 1710.]

Footnote 1:Relation Véritable de tout ce qui s'est passé en l'autre Monde, au combat des Parques et des Poëtes, sur la Mort de Voiture.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:The Life of Æsop

'the most deformed of all men of his age, for he had a pointed head, flat nostrils, a short neck, thick lips, was black, pot-bellied, bow-legged, and hump-backed; perhaps even uglier than Homer's Thersites.'

return

Footnote 3:

The most

Ill-favoured wight was he, I ween, of all the Grecian host.

With hideous squint the railer leered: on one foot he was lame;

Forward before his narrow chest his hunching shoulders came;

Slanting and sharp his forehead rose, with shreds of meagre hair.

His beard

In cut and dye so like a tile

A sudden view it would beguile:

The upper part thereof was whey;

The nether, orange mix'd with grey.

This hairy meteor, &c.

Oldham

Summon'd together, all th' officious band

The orders of their bedrid, chief attend.

Like Delphic Hag of old, by Fiend possest,

He swells, wild Frenzy heaves his panting breast,

His bristling hairs stick up, his eyeballs glow,

And from his mouth long strakes of drivel flow.

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Contents

No. 18

Wednesday, March 21, 1711

Addison

Equitis quoque jam migravit ab aure voluptas

Omnis ad incertos oculos et gaudia vana.

Hor.

It

Arsinoe[1]Thewhich[2]ThisDay[3]That nothing is capable of being well set to Musick, that is not Nonsense.

Thiswhich[4]they[5]Camilla

Barbara si t' intendo, &c.

Barbarous Woman, yes, I know your Meaning,

Frail are a Lovers Hopes, &c.

Itwhich[6]

And turned my Rage, into Pity;

And into Pity turn'd my Rage.

ItAndTheThen, For,From;[7]

Wewere[8]In the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century, the Italian Tongue was so well understood in England, that Operas were acted on the publick Stage in that Language.

WouldPhædraHippolitus[9]Plato

Footnote 1:ArsinoeNo. 20 of the Spectator

The Passion of Sappho, and Feast of Alexander: Set to Musick by Mr. Thomas Clayton, as it is performed at his house in York Buildings.

RosamondRosamondCamilla

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:Rosciad

In monosyllables his thunders roll,

He, she, it, and, we, ye, they, fright the soul.

return

Footnote 8:

return

Footnote 9:Phædra and HippolitusPrologue

Had Valentini, musically coy,

Shunned Phædra's Arms, and scorn'd the puffer'd Joy,

It had not moved your Wonder to have seen

An Eunich fly from an enamour'd Queen;

How would it please, should she in English speak,

And could Hippolitus reply in Greek!

EpiloguePhædraHippolitusPeace of RyswickÆneid

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Contents

No. 19

Thursday, March 22, 1711

Steele

Dii benefecerunt, inopis me quodque pusilli

Finxerunt animi, rarî et perpauca loquentis.

Hor.

Sir Francis Bacon[1]

Will. ProsperWill.

Gentlemen, if you are sure none of you yourselves had an hand in it, you are but where you were, whoever writ it.

Upon[2]Spectator

Footnote 1:

We see likewise, the Scripture calleth Envy an Evil Eye: And the Astrologers call the evil influences of the stars, Evil Aspects; so that still there seemeth to be acknowledged, in the act of envy, an ejaculation or irradiation of the eye. Nay some have been so curious as to note that the times when the stroke or percussion of an envious eye doth most hurt, are, when the party envied is beheld in glory or triumph; for that sets an edge upon Envy; And besides, at such times, the spirits of the persons envied do come forth most into the outward parts, and so meet the blow.

Bacon's Essays: IX Of Envy

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:No. 17

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Contents

No. 20

Friday, March 23, 1711

Steele

Hom.

Spectator

'Sir,

There never was (I believe) an acceptable Man, but had some awkward Imitators. Ever since the Spectator appear'd, have I remarked a kind of Men, whom I choose to call Starers, that without any Regard to Time, Place, or Modesty, disturb a large Company with their impertinent Eyes. Spectators make up a proper Assembly for a Puppet-Show or a Bear-Garden; but devout Supplicants and attentive Hearers, are the Audience one ought to expect in Churches. I am, Sir, Member of a small pious congregation near one of the North Gates of this City; much the greater Part of us indeed are Females, and used to behave our selves in a regular attentive Manner, till very lately one whole Isle has been disturbed with one of these monstrous Starers: He's the Head taller than any one in the Church; but for the greater Advantage of exposing himself, stands upon a Hassock, and commands the whole Congregation, to the great Annoyance of the devoutest part of the Auditory; for what with Blushing, Confusion, and Vexation, we can neither mind the Prayers nor Sermon. Your Animadversion upon this Insolence would be a great favour to,

Sir,

Your most humble servant,

S. C.

StarerWill. ProsperWill

StarersStarersStarers

StarersOxfordTemple

I put an impudent Face upon the Matter

Contents

No. 21

Saturday, March 24, 1711[1]

Addison

Locus est et phiribus Umbris.

Hor.

England

TheVirgil's[2]Westminster-HallMartial's

Iras et verba locant.

These[3]

Westminster-Hall

Sir William TempleGothsVandals[4]ThorWodenBritishCæsar's

LondonVagellius

Footnote 1:Spectator

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Origines Juridiciales

'the music being begun, the Master of the Revels was twice called. At the second call, the Reader with the white staff advanced, and began to lead the measures, followed by the barristers and students in order; and when one measure was ended, the Reader at the cupboard called for another.'

return

Footnote 4:Essay on Heroic Virtue

'This part of Scythia, in its whole Northern extent, I take to have been the vast Hive out of which issued so many mighty swarms of barbarous nations,' &c. And again, 'Each of these countries was like a mighty hive, which, by the vigour of propagation and health of climate, growing too full of people, threw out some new swarm at certain periods of time, that took wing and sought out some new abode, expelling or subduing the old inhabitants, and seating themselves in their rooms, if they liked the conditions of place and commodities of life they met with; if not, going on till they found some other more agreeable to their present humours and dispositions.' He attributes their successes and their rapid propagation to the greater vigour of life in the northern climates; and the only reason he gives for the absence of like effects during the continued presence of like causes is, that Christianity abated their enthusiasm and allayed 'the restless humour of perpetual wars and actions.'

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Contents

No. 22

Monday, March 26, 1711

Steele

Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic incredulus odi.

Hor.

SpectatorButshall therefore[1]and that the business of Playing is now so managed that you are not to be surprised when I saythem[2]

"Mr. Spectator,

Your having been so humble as to take Notice of the Epistles of other Animals, emboldens me, who am the wild Boar that was killed by Mrs. Tofts[3], to represent to you, That I think I was hardly used in not having the Part of the Lion in Hydaspes given to me. It would have been but a natural Step for me to have personated that noble Creature, after having behaved my self to Satisfaction in the Part above-mention'd: But that of a Lion, is too great a Character for one that never trod the Stage before but upon two Legs. As for the little Resistance which I made, I hope it may be excused, when it is considered that the Dart was thrown at me by so fair an Hand. I must confess I had but just put on my Brutality; and Camilla's charms were such, that b-holding her erect Mien, hearing her charming Voice, and astonished with her graceful Motion, I could not keep up to my assumed Fierceness, but died like a Man.

I am Sir,

Your most humble Servan.,

Thomas Prone."

Mr. Spectator,

This is to let you understand, that the Play-House is a Representation of the World in nothing so much as in this Particular, That no one rises in it according to his Merit. I have acted several Parts of Household-stuff with great Applause for many Years: I am one of the Men in the Hangings in the Emperour of the Moon[4]; I have twice performed the third Chair in an English Opera; and have rehearsed the Pump in the Fortune-Hunters[5]. I am now grown old, and hope you will recommend me so effectually, as that I may say something before I go off the Stage: In which you will do a great Act of Charity to

Your most humble servant,

William Serene."

"Mr. Spectator,

Understanding that Mr. Serene has writ to you, and desired to be raised from dumb and still Parts; I desire, if you give him Motion or Speech, that you would advance me in my Way, and let me keep on in what I humbly presume I am a Master, to wit, in representing human and still Life together. I have several times acted one of the finest Flower-pots in the same Opera wherein Mr. Serene is a Chair; therefore, upon his promotion, request that I may succeed him in the Hangings, with my Hand in the Orange-Trees.

Your humble servant,

Ralph Simple."

Drury Lane, March 24, 1710-11.

Sir,

I saw your Friend the Templar this Evening in the Pit, and thought he looked very little pleased with the Representation of the mad Scene of the Pilgrim. I wish, Sir, you would do us the Favour to animadvert frequently upon the false Taste the Town is in, with Relation to Plays as well as Operas. It certainly requires a Degree of Understanding to play justly; but such is our Condition, that we are to suspend our Reason to perform our Parts. As to Scenes of Madness, you know, Sir, there are noble Instances of this Kind in Shakespear; but then it is the Disturbance of a noble Mind, from generous and humane Resentments: It is like that Grief which we have for the decease of our Friends: It is no Diminution, but a Recommendation of humane Nature, that in such Incidents Passion gets the better of Reason; and all we can think to comfort ourselves, is impotent against half what we feel. I will not mention that we had an Idiot in the Scene, and all the Sense it is represented to have, is that of Lust. As for my self, who have long taken Pains in personating the Passions, I have to Night acted only an Appetite: The part I play'd is Thirst, but it is represented as written rather by a Drayman than a Poet. I come in with a Tub about me, that Tub hung with Quart-pots; with a full Gallon at my Mouth[6]. I am ashamed to tell you that I pleased very much, and this was introduced as a Madness; but sure it was not humane Madness, for a Mule or an ass[7] may have been as dry as ever I was in my Life.

I am, Sir, Your most obedient And humble servant."

"From the Savoy in the Strand.

Mr. Spectator,

If you can read it with dry Eyes, I give you this trouble to acquaint you, that I am the unfortunate King Latinus, and believe I am the first Prince that dated from this Palace since John of Gaunt. Such is the Uncertainty of all human Greatness, that I who lately never moved without a Guard, am now pressed as a common Soldier, and am to sail with the first fair Wind against my Brother Lewis of France. It is a very hard thing to put off a Character which one has appeared in with Applause: This I experienced since the Loss of my Diadem; for, upon quarrelling with another Recruit, I spoke my Indignation out of my Part in recitativo:

... Most audacious Slave, Dar'st thou an angry Monarch's Fury brave?[8]

The Words were no sooner out of my Mouth, when a Serjeant knock'd me down, and ask'd me if I had a Mind to Mutiny, in talking things no Body understood. You see, Sir, my unhappy Circumstances; and if by your Mediation you can procure a Subsidy for a Prince (who never failed to make all that beheld him merry at his Appearance) you will merit the Thanks of

Your friend,

The King of Latium."

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

Camilla.

That Dorinda's my Name.

Linco.

Well, I know't, I'll take care.

Camilla.

And my Life scarce of late —

Linco.

You need not repeat.

Prenesto.

Help me! oh help me!

A wild Boar struck by Prenesto.

Huntsman.

Let's try to assist him.

Linco.

Ye Gods, what Alarm!

Huntsman.

Quick run to his aid.

Enter Prenesto: The Boar pursuing him.

Prenesto.

O Heav'ns! who defends me?

Camilla.

My Arm.

She throws a Dart, and kills the Boar.

Linco.

Dorinda of nothing afraid,

She's sprightly and gay, a valiant Maid,

And as bright as the Day.

Camilla.

Take Courage, Hunter, the Savage is dead.

prime donne in

'sequestered from the world in a remote part of the house, and had a large garden to range in, in which she would frequently walk, singing and giving way to that innocent frenzy which had seized her in the earlier part of her life.'

return

Footnote 4:Emperor of the MoonHarlequin I'Empereur dans le Monde de la Lune

'The Front of the Scene is only a Curtain or Hangings to be drawn up at Pleasure.'

'plac'd them all in the Hanging in which they make the Figures, where they stand without Motion in Postures.'

'the best in Italy for the Rareness of the Figures, sir.'

'placed on a Tree in the Hangings, hits him on the 'Head with his Truncheon.'

Spectator's

return

Footnote 5:'The Fortune Hunters, or Two Fools Well Met,' the Fortune Hunters

return

Footnote 6:Pilgrim

Some of pity

That it would make ye melt to see their passions,

And some as light again.

Give me some drink,

Fill me a thousand pots and froth 'em, froth 'em!

Those English are so malt-mad, there's no meddling with 'em.

When they've a fruitful year of barley there,

All the whole Island's thus.

return

Footnote 7:

return

Footnote 8:Camilla

return

Contents

original advertisement

For the Good of the Publick.

Within two Doors of the Masquerade lives an eminent Italian Chirurgeon,

arriv'd from the Carnaval at Venice,

of great Experience in private Cures.

Accommodations are provided, and Persons admitted in their masquing Habits.

He has cur'd since his coming thither, in less than a Fortnight,

Four Scaramouches,

a Mountebank Doctor,

Two Turkish Bassas,

Three Nuns,

and a Morris Dancer.

"Venienti occurrite morbo."

N. B. Any Person may agree by the Great, and be kept in Repair by the Year.

The Doctor draws Teeth without pulling off your Mask.

R.

No. 23

Tuesday, March 27, 1711[1]

Addison

Savit atrox Volscens, nec teli conspicit usquam

Auctorem nec quo se ardens immittere possit.

Vir.

Socrates'sThisAristophanes[2]Socrates

When Julius CæsarCatullus[3]MazarineQuilletThis[4]

Sextus QuintusPasquinPasquinRomeThe[5]Aretine[6]Persia

IRoger l'Estrange[7]

'A company of Waggish Boys were watching of Frogs at the side of a Pond, and still as any of 'em put up their Heads, they'd be pelting them down again with Stones. Children (says one of the Frogs), you never consider that though this may be Play to you, 'tis Death to us.'

As[8]

Footnote 1:SpectatorSpectators

'Have you seen the Spectators yet, a paper that comes out every day? It is written by Mr. Steele, who seems to have gathered new life and have a new fund of wit; it is in the same nature as his Tatlers, and they have all of them had something pretty. I believe Addison and he club.'

'The Spectator is written by Steele with Addison's help; 'tis often very pretty.'

'I yet know no man half so agreeable to me as he is.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Plato's PhædonThe Clouds

'that when the man is dead, the soul exists and retains thought and power,' Plato represents him as suggesting: Not the sharpest censor 'could say that in now discussing such matters, I am dealing with what does not concern me.'

return

Footnote 3:PoemsLife of Julius Cæsarletters

'after the eighth hour in the bath; then he heard De Mamurrâ; did not change countenance; was anointed; lay down; took an emetic.'

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Footnote 4:Callipædia

'Trinacriis devectus ab oris advena.'

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:il Flagello de' Principi

return

Footnote 7:Fables of Æsop and other eminent Mythologists, with 'Morals and Reflections. By Sir Roger l'Estrange.Boys and Frogs

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Footnote 8:

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Contents

No. 24

Wednesday, March 28, 1711

Steele

Accurrit quidam notus mihi nomine tantum;

Arreptaque manu, Quid agis dulcissime rerum?

Hor.

ParkWhatsuch Fellows[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'The Aversion I for some Years have had to Clubs in general, gave me a perfect Relish for your Speculation on that Subject; but I have since been extremely mortified, by the malicious World's ranking me amongst the Supporters of such impertinent Assemblies. I beg Leave to state my Case fairly; and that done, I shall expect Redress from your judicious Pen.

I am, Sir, a Batchelour of some standing, and a Traveller; my Business, to consult my own Humour, which I gratify without controuling other People's; I have a Room and a whole Bed to myself; and I have a Dog, a Fiddle, and a Gun; they please me, and injure no Creature alive. My chief Meal is a Supper, which I always make at a Tavern. I am constant to an Hour, and not ill-humour'd; for which Reasons, tho' I invite no Body, I have no sooner supp'd, than I have a Crowd about me of that sort of good Company that know not whither else to go. It is true every Man pays his Share, yet as they are Intruders, I have an undoubted Right to be the only Speaker, or at least the loudest; which I maintain, and that to the great Emolument of my Audience. I sometimes tell them their own in pretty free Language; and sometimes divert them with merry Tales, according as I am in Humour. I am one of those who live in Taverns to a great Age, by a sort of regular Intemperance; I never go to Bed drunk, but always flustered; I wear away very gently; am apt to be peevish, but never angry. Mr. Spectator, if you have kept various Company, you know there is in every Tavern in Town some old Humourist or other, who is Master of the House as much as he that keeps it. The Drawers are all in Awe of him; and all the Customers who frequent his Company, yield him a sort of comical Obedience. I do not know but I may be such a Fellow as this my self. But I appeal to you, whether this is to be called a Club, because so many Impertinents will break in upon me, and come without Appointment? Clinch of Barnet[2] has a nightly Meeting, and shows to every one that will come in and pay; but then he is the only Actor. Why should People miscall things?

If his is allowed to be a Consort, why mayn't mine be a Lecture? However, Sir, I submit it to you, and am,

Sir,

Your most obedient, Etc.

Tho. Kimbow.'

Good Sir,

'You and I were press'd against each other last Winter in a Crowd, in which uneasy Posture we suffer'd together for almost Half an Hour. I thank you for all your Civilities ever since, in being of my Acquaintance wherever you meet me. But the other Day you pulled off your Hat to me in the Park, when I was walking with my Mistress: She did not like your Air, and said she wonder'd what strange Fellows I was acquainted with. Dear Sir, consider it is as much as my Life is Worth, if she should think we were intimate; therefore I earnestly intreat you for the Future to take no Manner of Notice of,

Sir,

Your obliged humble Servant,

Will. Fashion.'

A like[3]is

Madam, 'I take this Way to acquaint you with what common Rules and Forms would never permit me to tell you otherwise; to wit, that you and I, tho' Equals in Quality and Fortune, are by no Means suitable Companions. You are, 'tis true, very pretty, can dance, and make a very good Figure in a publick Assembly; but alass, Madam, you must go no further; Distance and Silence are your best Recommendations; therefore let me beg of you never to make me any more Visits. You come in a literal Sense to see one, for you have nothing to say. I do not say this that I would by any Means lose your Acquaintance; but I would keep it up with the Strictest Forms of good Breeding. Let us pay Visits, but never see one another: If you will be so good as to deny your self always to me, I shall return the Obligation by giving the same Orders to my Servants. When Accident makes us meet at a third Place, we may mutually lament the Misfortune of never finding one another at home, go in the same Party to a Benefit-Play, and smile at each other and put down Glasses as we pass in our Coaches. Thus we may enjoy as much of each others Friendship as we are capable: For there are some People who are to be known only by Sight, with which sort of Friendship I hope you will always honour,

Madam,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

Mary Tuesday.

P.S. I subscribe my self by the Name of the Day I keep, that my supernumerary Friends may know who I am.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

'the Horses, the Huntsmen and a Pack of Hounds, a Sham Doctor, an old Woman, the Bells, the Flute, the Double Curtell (or bassoon) and the Organ, — all with his own Natural Voice, to the greatest perfection.'

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

original advertisement

To prevent all Mistakes that may happen

among Gentlemen of the other End of the Town,

who come but once a Week to St. James's Coffee-house,

either by miscalling the Servants,

or requiring such things from them as are not properly within their respective Provinces;

this is to give Notice, that Kidney, Keeper of the Book-Debts of the outlying Customers,

and Observer of those who go off without paying,

having resigned that Employment,

is succeeded by John Sowton;

to whose Place of Enterer of Messages and first Coffee-Grinder,

William Bird is promoted;

and Samuel Burdock comes as Shooe-Cleaner

in the Room of the said Bird.

R.

No. 25

Thursday, March 29, 1711

Addison

... Ægrescitque medendo.

Vir.

Sir,

'I am one of that sickly Tribe who are commonly known by the Name of Valetudinarians, and do confess to you, that I first contracted this ill Habit of Body, or rather of Mind, by the Study of Physick. I no sooner began to peruse Books of this Nature, but I found my Pulse was irregular, and scarce ever read the Account of any Disease that I did not fancy my self afflicted with. Dr. Sydenham's learned Treatise of Fevers[1] threw me into a lingring Hectick, which hung upon me all the while I was reading that excellent Piece. I then applied my self to the Study of several Authors, who have written upon Phthisical Distempers, and by that means fell into a Consumption, till at length, growing very fat, I was in a manner shamed out of that Imagination. Not long after this I found in my self all the Symptoms of the Gout, except Pain, but was cured of it by a Treatise upon the Gravel, written by a very Ingenious Author, who (as it is usual for Physicians to convert one Distemper into another) eased me of the Gout by giving me the Stone. I at length studied my self into a Complication of Distempers; but accidentally taking into my Hand that Ingenious Discourse written by Sanctorius[2], I was resolved to direct my self by a Scheme of Rules, which I had collected from his Observations. The Learned World are very well acquainted with that Gentleman's Invention; who, for the better carrying on of his Experiments, contrived a certain Mathematical Chair, which was so Artifically hung upon Springs, that it would weigh any thing as well as a Pair of Scales. By this means he discovered how many Ounces of his Food pass'd by Perspiration, what quantity of it was turned into Nourishment, and how much went away by the other Channels and Distributions of Nature.

Having provided myself with this Chair, I used to Study, Eat, Drink, and Sleep in it; insomuch that I may be said, for these three last Years, to have lived in a Pair of Scales. I compute my self, when I am in full Health, to be precisely Two Hundred Weight, falling short of it about a Pound after a Day's Fast, and exceeding it as much after a very full Meal; so that it is my continual Employment, to trim the Ballance between these two Volatile Pounds in my Constitution. In my ordinary Meals I fetch my self up to two Hundred Weight and a half pound[3]; and if after having dined I find my self fall short of it, I drink just so much Small Beer, or eat such a quantity of Bread, as is sufficient to make me weight. In my greatest Excesses I do not transgress more than the other half Pound; which, for my Healths sake, I do the first Monday in every Month. As soon as I find my self duly poised after Dinner, I walk till I have perspired five Ounces and four Scruples; and when I discover, by my Chair, that I am so far reduced, I fall to my Books, and Study away three Ounces more. As for the remaining Parts of the Pound, I keep no account of them. I do not dine and sup by the Clock, but by my Chair, for when that informs me my Pound of Food is exhausted I conclude my self to be hungry, and lay in another with all Diligence. In my Days of Abstinence I lose a Pound and an half, and on solemn Fasts am two Pound lighter than on other Days in the Year.

I allow my self, one Night with another, a Quarter of a Pound of Sleep within a few Grains more or less; and if upon my rising I find that I have not consumed my whole quantity, I take out the rest in my Chair. Upon an exact Calculation of what I expended and received the last Year, which I always register in a Book, I find the Medium to be two hundred weight, so that I cannot discover that I am impaired one Ounce in my Health during a whole Twelvemonth. And yet, Sir, notwithstanding this my great care to ballast my self equally every Day, and to keep my Body in its proper Poise, so it is that I find my self in a sick and languishing Condition. My Complexion is grown very sallow, my Pulse low, and my Body Hydropical. Let me therefore beg you, Sir, to consider me as your Patient, and to give me more certain Rules to walk by than those I have already observed, and you will very much oblige

Your Humble Servant.'

ThisItalianStavo ben, ma per star Meglio, sto qui[4]

Martial

JupiterJupiter

Footnote 1:Methodus Curandi Febres

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Footnote 2:Ars de Static MedicindArt of Static MedicineComplete Dispensatory

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

'I was well; I would be better; and here I am.'

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Contents

No. 26

Friday, March 30, 1711

Addison

Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas

Regumque turres, O beate Sexti,

Vitæ summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam.

Jam te premet nox, fabulæque manes,

Et domus exilis Plutonia.

Hor.

Westminster

Glaucumque, Medontaque, Thersilochumque. – Virg.

the Path of an Arrow

Afterwhich[1]Somehave[2]Inwho[3]which had[4]I[5]Blenheim

Sir Cloudesly Shovel's[6]DutchSeaweed

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:Spectator

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Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 27

Saturday, March 31, 1711

Steele

Ut nox longa, quibus Mentitur arnica, diesque

Longa videtur opus debentibus, ut piger Annus

Pupillis, quos dura premit Custodia matrum,

Sic mihi Tarda fluunt ingrataque Tempora, quæ spem

Consiliumque morantur agendi Gnaviter, id quod

Æquè pauperibus prodest, Locupletibus aquè,

Æquè neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit.

Hor.

My[1]

Sir,

'I know not with what Words to express to you the Sense I have of the high Obligation you have laid upon me, in the Penance you enjoined me of doing some Good or other, to a Person of Worth, every Day I live. The Station I am in furnishes me with daily Opportunities of this kind: and the Noble Principle with which you have inspired me, of Benevolence to all I have to deal with, quickens my Application in every thing I undertake. When I relieve Merit from Discountenance, when I assist a Friendless Person, when I produce conceal'd Worth, I am displeas'd with my self, for having design'd to leave the World in order to be Virtuous. I am sorry you decline the Occasions which the Condition I am in might afford me of enlarging your Fortunes; but know I contribute more to your Satisfaction, when I acknowledge I am the better Man, from the Influence and Authority you have over,

Sir,

Your most Oblig'd and Most Humble, Servant,

R. O.'

Sir,

'I am intirely convinced of the Truth of what you were pleas'd to say to me, when I was last with you alone. You told me then of the silly way I was in; but you told me so, as I saw you loved me, otherwise I could not obey your Commands in letting you know my Thoughts so sincerely as I do at present. I know the Creature for whom I resign so much of my Character is all that you said of her; but then the Trifler has something in her so undesigning and harmless, that her Guilt in one kind disappears by the Comparison of her Innocence in another. Will you, Virtuous Men, allow no alteration of Offences? Must Dear Chloe[2] be called by the hard Name you pious People give to common Women? I keep the solemn Promise I made you, in writing to you the State of my Mind, after your kind Admonition; and will endeavour to get the better of this Fondness, which makes me so much her humble Servant, that I am almost asham'd to Subscribe my self

Yours,

T. D.'

Sir,

'There is no State of Life so Anxious as that of a Man who does not live according to the Dictates of his own Reason. It will seem odd to you, when I assure you that my Love of Retirement first of all brought me to Court; but this will be no Riddle, when I acquaint you that I placed my self here with a Design of getting so much Mony as might enable me to Purchase a handsome Retreat in the Country. At present my Circumstances enable me, and my Duty prompts me, to pass away the remaining Part of my Life in such a Retirement as I at first proposed to my self; but to my great Misfortune I have intirely lost the Relish of it, and shou'd now return to the Country with greater Reluctance than I at first came to Court. I am so unhappy, as to know that what I am fond of are Trifles, and that what I neglect is of the greatest Importance: In short, I find a Contest in my own Mind between Reason and Fashion. I remember you once told me, that I might live in the World, and out of it, at the same time. Let me beg of you to explain this Paradox more at large to me, that I may conform my Life, if possible, both to my Duty and my Inclination.

I am,

Your most humble Servant,

R.B.'

Footnote 1:No. 2

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 28

Monday, April 2, 1711

Addison

... Neque semper arcum

Tendit Apollo.

Hor.

our I consider it as a Satyr upon Projectors in general, and a lively Picture of the whole Art of Modern Criticism.[1]

Sir,

'Observing that you have Thoughts of creating certain Officers under you for the Inspection of several petty Enormities which you your self cannot attend to; and finding daily Absurdities hung out upon the Sign-Posts of this City[2], to the great Scandal of Foreigners, as well as those of our own Country, who are curious Spectators of the same: I do humbly propose, that you would be pleased to make me your Superintendant of all such Figures and Devices, as are or shall be made use of on this Occasion; with full Powers to rectify or expunge whatever I shall find irregular or defective. For want of such an Officer, there is nothing like sound Literature and good Sense to be met with in those Objects, that are everywhere thrusting themselves out to the Eye, and endeavouring to become visible. Our streets are filled with blue Boars, black Swans, and red Lions; not to mention flying Pigs, and Hogs in Armour, with many other Creatures more extraordinary than any in the desarts of Africk. Strange! that one who has all the Birds and Beasts in Nature to chuse out of, should live at the Sign of an Ens Rationis!

My first Task, therefore, should be, like that of Hercules, to clear the City from Monsters. In the second Place, I would forbid, that Creatures of jarring and incongruous Natures should be joined together in the same Sign; such as the Bell and the Neats-tongue, the Dog and Gridiron. The Fox and Goose may be supposed to have met, but what has the Fox and the Seven Stars to do together? and when did the Lamb[3] and Dolphin ever meet, except upon a Sign-Post? As for the Cat and Fiddle, there is a Conceit in it, and therefore, I do not intend that anything I have here said should affect it. I must however observe to you upon this Subject, that it is usual for a young Tradesman, at his first setting up, to add to his own Sign that of the Master whom he serv'd; as the Husband, after Marriage, gives a Place to his Mistress's Arms in his own Coat. This I take to have given Rise to many of those Absurdities which are committed over our Heads, and, as I am inform'd, first occasioned the three Nuns and a Hare, which we see so frequently joined together. I would, therefore, establish certain Rules, for the determining how far one Tradesman may give the Sign of another, and in what Cases he may be allowed to quarter it with his own.

In the third place, I would enjoin every Shop to make use of a Sign which bears some Affinity to the Wares in which it deals. What can be more inconsistent, than to see a Bawd at the Sign of the Angel, or a Taylor at the Lion? A Cook should not live at the Boot, nor a Shoemaker at the roasted Pig; and yet, for want of this Regulation, I have seen a Goat set up before the Door of a Perfumer, and the French King's Head at a Sword-Cutler's.

An ingenious Foreigner observes, that several of those Gentlemen who value themselves upon their Families, and overlook such as are bred to Trade, bear the Tools of their Fore-fathers in their Coats of Arms. I will not examine how true this is in Fact: But though it may not be necessary for Posterity thus to set up the Sign of their Fore-fathers; I think it highly proper for those who actually profess the Trade, to shew some such Marks of it before their Doors.

When the Name gives an Occasion for an ingenious Sign-post, I would likewise advise the Owner to take that Opportunity of letting the World know who he is. It would have been ridiculous for the ingenious Mrs. Salmon[4] to have lived at the Sign of the Trout; for which Reason she has erected before her House the Figure of the Fish that is her Namesake. Mr. Bell has likewise distinguished himself by a Device of the same Nature: And here, Sir, I must beg Leave to observe to you, that this particular Figure of a Bell has given Occasion to several Pieces of Wit in this Kind. A Man of your Reading must know, that Abel Drugger gained great Applause by it in the Time of Ben Johnson[5]. Our Apocryphal Heathen God[6] is also represented by this Figure; which, in conjunction with the Dragon, make a very handsome picture in several of our Streets. As for the Bell-Savage, which is the Sign of a savage Man standing by a Bell, I was formerly very much puzzled upon the Conceit of it, till I accidentally fell into the reading of an old Romance translated out of the French; which gives an Account of a very beautiful Woman who was found in a Wilderness, and is called in the French la belle Sauvage; and is everywhere translated by our Countrymen the Bell-Savage. This Piece of Philology will, I hope, convince you that I have made Sign posts my Study, and consequently qualified my self for the Employment which I sollicit at your Hands. But before I conclude my Letter, I must communicate to you another Remark, which I have made upon the Subject with which I am now entertaining you, namely, that I can give a shrewd Guess at the Humour of the Inhabitant by the Sign that hangs before his Door. A surly cholerick Fellow generally makes Choice of a Bear; as Men of milder Dispositions, frequently live at the Lamb. Seeing a Punch-Bowl painted upon a Sign near Charing Cross, and very curiously garnished, with a couple of Angels hovering over it and squeezing a Lemmon into it, I had the Curiosity to ask after the Master of the House, and found upon Inquiry, as I had guessed by the little Agréemens upon his Sign, that he was a Frenchman. I know, Sir, it is not requisite for me to enlarge upon these Hints to a Gentleman of your great Abilities; so humbly recommending my self to your Favour and Patronage,

I remain, &c.

From my own Apartment near Charing-Cross.

Honoured Sir,

'Having heard that this Nation is a great Encourager of Ingenuity, I have brought with me a Rope-dancer that was caught in one of the Woods belonging to the Great Mogul. He is by Birth a Monkey; but swings upon a Rope, takes a pipe of Tobacco, and drinks a Glass of Ale, like any reasonable Creature. He gives great Satisfaction to the Quality; and if they will make a Subscription for him, I will send for a Brother of his out of Holland, that is a very good Tumbler, and also for another of the same Family, whom I design for my Merry-Andrew, as being an excellent mimick, and the greatest Drole in the Country where he now is. I hope to have this Entertainment in a Readiness for the next Winter; and doubt not but it will please more than the Opera or Puppet-Show. I will not say that a Monkey is a better Man than some of the Opera Heroes; but certainly he is a better Representative of a Man, than the most artificial Composition of Wood and Wire. If you will be pleased to give me a good Word in your paper, you shall be every Night a Spectator at my Show for nothing.

I am, &c.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Spectator'sNew View of London

'in Prescott Street, Goodman's Fields, instead of signs the houses are distinguished by numbers, as the staircases in the Inns of Court and Chancery.'

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:the Golden Salmon

return

Footnote 5:

Subtle

He shall have a bel, that's Abel;

And by it standing one whose name is Dee

In a rug grown, there's D and rug, that's Drug:

And right anenst him a dog snarling er,

There's Drugger, Abel Drugger. That's his sign.

And here's now mystery and hieroglyphic.

Face

Abel, thou art made.

Drugger

Sir, I do thank his worship.

return

Footnote 6:Book of Danielthe History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon.

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Contents

No. 29

Tuesday, April 3, 1711

Addison

... Sermo linguâ concinnus utrâque

Suavior: ut Chio nota si commista Falerni est.

Hor.

hasEnglishItalian RecitativoEnter a King and two Fidlers Solus

ItalianRecitativoEnglishPurcell's

Italian RecitativeEnglish

ToFrenchWelshScotchwho[1]EnglishFrenchEnglish

ItalyRecitativo

ThusItalianEnglishasking[2]

ForItalianEnglishPurcell's[3]

EnglishItalianDying FallsShakespearEnglishItalianEnglishEnglish

Signior Baptist Lully[4]Frenchhe[5]FrenchItalianItalianFrenchItalianscarceFrenchmanItalianFrenchEnglishAlpheus

ProserpinePlutoFrenchAscalaphusValet de ChambreFrench

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

'He was,' says Mr. Hullah, in his Lectures on the History of Modern Music, 'the first Englishman to demonstrate the possibility of a national opera. No Englishman of the last century succeeded in following Purcell's lead into this domain of art; none, indeed, would seem to have understood in what his excellence consisted, or how his success was attained. His dramatic music exhibits the same qualities which had already made the success of Lulli. ... For some years after Purcell's death his compositions, of whatever kind, were the chief, if not the only, music heard in England. His reign might have lasted longer, but for the advent of a musician who, though not perhaps more highly gifted, had enjoyed immeasurably greater opportunities of cultivating his gifts,'

return

Footnote 4:

'Lulli being the first modern composer who caught the French ear, was the means, to a great extent, of forming the modern French taste.'

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 30

Wednesday, April 4, 1711[1]

Steele

Si, Mimnermus uti censet, sine amore Focisque

Nil est Fucundum; vivas in amore Focisque.

Hor.

Oxford

Fringe-Glove ClubOxoniansChlorisLesbiaQuixoteSpaniard

Sir,

'Since I find you take Notice of Clubs, I beg Leave to give you an Account of one in Oxford, which you have no where mention'd, and perhaps never heard of. We distinguish our selves by the Title of the Amorous Club, are all Votaries of Cupid, and Admirers of the Fair Sex. The Reason that we are so little known in the World, is the Secrecy which we are obliged to live under in the University. Our Constitution runs counter to that of the Place wherein we live: For in Love there are no Doctors, and we all profess so high Passion, that we admit of no Graduates in it. Our Presidentship is bestow'd according to the Dignity of Passion; our Number is unlimited; and our Statutes are like those of the Druids, recorded in our own Breasts only, and explained by the Majority of the Company. A Mistress, and a Poem in her Praise, will introduce any Candidate: Without the latter no one can be admitted; for he that is not in love enough to rhime, is unqualified for our Society. To speak disrespectfully of any Woman, is Expulsion from our gentle Society. As we are at present all of us Gown-men, instead of duelling when we are Rivals, we drink together the Health of our Mistress. The Manner of doing this sometimes indeed creates Debates; on such Occasions we have Recourse to the Rules of Love among the Antients.

Nævia sex Cyathis, septem Justina bibatur.

This Method of a Glass to every Letter of her Name, occasioned the other Night a Dispute of some Warmth. A young Student, who is in Love with Mrs. Elizabeth Dimple, was so unreasonable as to begin her Health under the Name of Elizabetha; which so exasperated the Club, that by common Consent we retrenched it to Betty. We look upon a Man as no Company, that does not sigh five times in a Quarter of an Hour; and look upon a Member as very absurd, that is so much himself as to make a direct Answer to a Question. In fine, the whole Assembly is made up of absent Men, that is, of such Persons as have lost their Locality, and whose Minds and Bodies never keep Company with one another. As I am an unfortunate Member of this distracted Society, you cannot expect a very regular Account of it; for which Reason, I hope you will pardon me that I so abruptly subscribe my self,

Sir,

Your most obedient,

humble Servant,

T. B.

I forgot to tell you, that Albina, who has six Votaries in this Club, is one of your Readers.'

Footnote 1:SpectatorCompleat Setts of this Paper for the Month of March.

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Contents

No. 31

Thursday, April 5, 1711

Addison

Sit mihi fas audita loqui!

Vir.

Hay-MarketThe Expedition of Alexander the Great

Expedition of AlexanderDelphosClenchBarnetDelphosTheDariusSalmon[1]StatiraWhenQuintus CurtiusHockley in the Hole[2]AsiaAlexanderAsiaIn[3]PorusElephantPowell[4]AlexanderPowellBucephalusUponPowell, junior[5]AlexanderIndiaOurGerman ArtistPinkethman's

[6]

UponAlexanderGreekIonickacceptable[7]GreekItalianGreeksTurkishSmyrnaTurkeyLawrenceGreekItalian

Besides, Sir, I have heard of a very extraordinary Genius for Musick that lives in Switzerland, who has so strong a Spring in his Fingers, that he can make the Board of an Organ sound like a Drum, and if I could but procure a Subscription of about Ten Thousand Pound every Winter, I would undertake to fetch him over, and oblige him by Articles to set every thing that should be sung upon the English Stage.

AfterSwiss

Is our Musick then to receive further Improvements from Switzerland![8]

Footnote 1:Tatler

'an Old Woman flying from Time, who shakes his head and hour-glass with sorrow at seeing age so unwilling to die. Nothing but life can exceed the motions of the heads, hands, eyes, &c., of these figures, &c.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Spectator'sBeggar's Opera

return

Footnote 3:

'the Flower of Bartholomew Fair and the Idol of the Rabble; a Fellow that overdoes everything, and spoils many a Part with his own Stuff,'

Spectator

return

Footnote 4:the Indian Emperor,Rival QueensCato

return

Footnote 5:noteanteGroans of Great Britain

I was the other Day at a Coffee-House when the following Advertisement was thrown in.

At Punch's Theatre in the Little Piazza, Covent-Garden, this present Evening will be performed an Entertainment, called, The History of Sir Richard Whittington, shewing his Rise from a Scullion to be Lord-Mayor of London, with the Comical Humours of Old Madge, the jolly Chamber-Maid, and the Representation of the Sea, and the Court of Great Britain, concluding with the Court of Aldermen, and Whittington Lord-Mayor, honoured with the Presence of K. Hen. VIII and his Queen Anna Bullen, with other diverting Decorations proper to the Play, beginning at 6 o'clock. Note, No money to be returned after the Entertainment is begun. Boxes, 2s. Pit, 1s. Vivat Regina.

On enquiring into the Matter, I find this has long been a noble Diversion of our Quality and Gentry; and that Mr. Powell, by Subscriptions and full Houses, has gathered such Wealth as is ten times sufficient to buy all the Poets in England; that he seldom goes out without his Chair, and thrives on this incredible Folly to that degree, that, were he a Freeman, he might hope that some future Puppet-Show might celebrate his being Lord Mayor, as he has done Sir R. Whittington.'

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Footnote 6:

'Mr. Penkethman's Wonderful Invention call'd the Pantheon: or, the Temple of the Heathen Gods. The Work of several Years, and great Expense, is now perfected; being a most surprising and magnificent Machine, consisting of 5 several curious Pictures, the Painting and contrivance whereof is beyond Expression Admirable. The Figures, which are above 100, and move their Heads, Legs, Arms, and Fingers, so exactly to what they perform, and setting one Foot before another, like living Creatures, that it justly deserves to be esteem'd the greatest Wonder of the Age. To be seen from 10 in the Morning till 10 at Night, in the Little Piazza, Covent Garden, in the same House where Punch's Opera is. Price 1s. 6d., 1s., and the lowest, 6d.'

46Spectator

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Footnote 7:

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Footnote 8:noteante

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Contents

No. 32

Friday, April 6, 1711

Steele

Nil illi larvâ aut tragicis opus esse Cothurnis.

Hor.

Ugly-ClubOxford

Mr. Spectator,

'Your making publick the late Trouble I gave you, you will find to have been the Occasion of this: Who should I meet at the Coffee-house Door t'other Night, but my old Friend Mr. President? I saw somewhat had pleased him; and as soon as he had cast his Eye upon me,

"Oho, Doctor, rare News from London, (says he); the Spectator has made honourable Mention of the Club (Man) and published to the World his sincere Desire to be a Member, with a recommendatory Description of his Phiz: And tho' our Constitution has made no particular Provision for short Faces, yet, his being an extraordinary Case, I believe we shall find an Hole for him to creep in at; for I assure you he is not against the Canon; and if his Sides are as compact as his Joles, he need not disguise himself to make one of us."

I presently called for the Paper to see how you looked in Print; and after we had regaled our selves a while upon the pleasant Image of our Proselite, Mr. President told me I should be his Stranger at the next Night's Club: Where we were no sooner come, and Pipes brought, but Mr. President began an Harangue upon your Introduction to my Epistle; setting forth with no less Volubility of Speech than Strength of Reason,

"That a Speculation of this Nature was what had been long and much wanted; and that he doubted not but it would be of inestimable Value to the Publick, in reconciling even of Bodies and Souls; in composing and quieting the Minds of Men under all corporal Redundancies, Deficiencies, and Irregularities whatsoever; and making every one sit down content in his own Carcase, though it were not perhaps so mathematically put together as he could wish." And again, "How that for want of a due Consideration of what you first advance, viz. that our Faces are not of our own choosing, People had been transported beyond all good Breeding, and hurried themselves into unaccountable and fatal Extravagancies: As, how many impartial Looking-Glasses had been censured and calumniated, nay, and sometimes shivered into ten thousand Splinters, only for a fair Representation of the Truth? How many Headstrings and Garters had been made accessory, and actually forfeited, only because Folks must needs quarrel with their own Shadows? And who (continues he) but is deeply sensible, that one great Source of the Uneasiness and Misery of human Life, especially amongst those of Distinction, arises from nothing in the World else, but too severe a Contemplation of an indefeasible Contexture of our external Parts, or certain natural and invincible Disposition to be fat or lean? When a little more of Mr. Spectator's Philosophy would take off all this; and in the mean time let them observe, that there's not one of their Grievances of this Sort, but perhaps in some Ages of the World has been highly in vogue; and may be so again, nay, in some Country or other ten to one is so at this Day. My Lady Ample is the most miserable Woman in the World, purely of her own making: She even grudges her self Meat and Drink, for fear she should thrive by them; and is constantly crying out, In a Quarter of a Year more I shall be quite out of all manner of Shape! Now the[1] Lady's Misfortune seems to be only this, that she is planted in a wrong Soil; for, go but t'other Side of the Water, it's a Jest at Harlem to talk of a Shape under eighteen Stone. These wise Traders regulate their Beauties as they do their Butter, by the Pound; and Miss Cross, when she first arrived in the Low-Countries, was not computed to be so handsom as Madam Van Brisket by near half a Tun. On the other hand, there's 'Squire Lath, a proper Gentleman of Fifteen hundred Pound per Annum, as well as of an unblameable Life and Conversation; yet would not I be the Esquire for half his Estate; for if it was as much more, he'd freely pare with it all for a pair of Legs to his Mind: Whereas in the Reign of our first King Edward of glorious Memory, nothing more modish than a Brace of your fine taper Supporters; and his Majesty without an Inch of Calf, managed Affairs in Peace and War as laudably as the bravest and most politick of his Ancestors; and was as terrible to his Neighbours under the Royal Name of Long-shanks, as Coeur de Lion to the Saracens before him. If we look farther back into History we shall find, that Alexander the Great wore his Head a little over the left Shoulder; and then not a Soul stirred out 'till he had adjusted his Neck-bone; the whole Nobility addressed the Prince and each other obliquely, and all Matters of Importance were concerted and carried on in the Macedonian Court with their Polls on one Side. For about the first Century nothing made more Noise in the World than Roman Noses, and then not a Word of them till they revived again in Eighty eight[2]. Nor is it so very long since Richard the Third set up half the Backs of the Nation; and high Shoulders, as well as high Noses, were the Top of the Fashion. But to come to our selves, Gentlemen, tho' I find by my quinquennial Observations that we shall never get Ladies enough to make a Party in our own Country, yet might we meet with better Success among some of our Allies. And what think you if our Board sate for a Dutch Piece? Truly I am of Opinion, that as odd as we appear in Flesh and Blood, we should be no such strange Things in Metzo-Tinto. But this Project may rest 'till our Number is compleat; and this being our Election Night, give me leave to propose Mr. Spectator: You see his Inclinations, and perhaps we may not have his Fellow."

I found most of them (as it is usual in all such Cases) were prepared; but one of the Seniors (whom by the by Mr. President had taken all this Pains to bring over) sate still, and cocking his Chin, which seemed only to be levelled at his Nose, very gravely declared,

"That in case he had had sufficient Knowledge of you, no Man should have been more willing to have served you; but that he, for his part, had always had regard to his own Conscience, as well as other Peoples Merit; and he did not know but that you might be a handsome Fellow; for as for your own Certificate, it was every Body's Business to speak for themselves."

Mr. President immediately retorted,

"A handsome Fellow! why he is a Wit (Sir) and you know the Proverb;"

and to ease the old Gentleman of his Scruples, cried,

"That for Matter of Merit it was all one, you might wear a Mask."

This threw him into a Pause, and he looked, desirous of three Days to consider on it; but Mr. President improved the Thought, and followed him up with an old Story,

"That Wits were privileged to wear what Masks they pleased in all Ages; and that a Vizard had been the constant Crown of their Labours, which was generally presented them by the Hand of some Satyr, and sometimes of Apollo himself:"

For the Truth of which he appealed to the Frontispiece of several Books, and particularly to the English Juvenal[3], to which he referred him; and only added,

"That such Authors were the Larvati[4] or Larvâ donati of the Ancients."

This cleared up all, and in the Conclusion you were chose Probationer; and Mr. President put round your Health as such, protesting,

"That tho' indeed he talked of a Vizard, he did not believe all the while you had any more Occasion for it than the Cat-a-mountain;"

so that all you have to do now is to pay your Fees, which here are very reasonable if you are not imposed upon; and you may stile your self Informis Societatis Socius: Which I am desired to acquaint you with; and upon the same I beg you to accept of the Congratulation of,

Sir,

Your oblig'd humble Servant,

R. A. C.

Oxford March 21.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Satires of Juvenal and Persius

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 33

Saturday, April 7, 1711

Steele

Fervidus tecum Puer, et solutis

Gratiæ zonis, properentque Nymphæ,

Et parum comis sine te Juventas,

Mercuriusque.

Hor. ad Venerem.

LætitiaDaphneLætitiaDaphneDaphneLætitiaLætitiaDaphneLætitiaDaphneLætitiaDaphneLætitiaLætitiaDaphneDearwert thou but as Handsome as Lætitia!LætitiaDaphneLætitiaDaphneFaith Daphne,I am in Love with thee, and despise thy Sister sincerelyNay,I knew you would Laugh at me, but I'll ask your Father.BeautyDaphne's

Monsieur St. Evremont[1] has concluded one of his Essays, with affirming that the last Sighs of a Handsome Woman are not so much for the loss of her Life, as of her Beauty. Perhaps this Raillery is pursued too far, yet it is turn'd upon a very obvious Remark, that Woman's strongest Passion is for her own Beauty, and that she values it as her Favourite Distinction. From hence it is that all Arts, which pretend to improve or preserve it, meet with so general a Reception among the Sex. To say nothing of many False Helps and Contraband Wares of Beauty, which are daily vended in this great Mart, there is not a Maiden-Gentlewoman, of a good Family in any County of South-Britain, who has not heard of the Virtues of May-Dew, or is unfurnished with some Receipt or other in Favour of her Complexion; and I have known a Physician of Learning and Sense, after Eight Years Study in the University, and a Course of Travels into most Countries of Europe, owe the first raising of his Fortunes to a Cosmetick Wash.

This has given me Occasion to consider how so Universal a Disposition in Womankind, which springs from a laudable Motive, the Desire of Pleasing, and proceeds upon an Opinion, not altogether groundless, that Nature may be helped by Art, may be turn'd to their Advantage. And, methinks, it would be an acceptable Service to take them out of the Hands of Quacks and Pretenders, and to prevent their imposing upon themselves, by discovering to them the true Secret and Art of improving Beauty.

In order to this, before I touch upon it directly, it will be necessary to lay down a few Preliminary Maxims, viz.

- That no Woman can be Handsome by the Force of Features alone, any more than she can be Witty only by the Help of Speech.

- That Pride destroys all Symmetry and Grace, and Affectation is a more terrible Enemy to fine Faces than the Small-Pox.

- That no Woman is capable of being Beautiful, who is not incapable of being False.

- And, That what would be Odious in a Friend, is Deformity in a Mistress.

From these few Principles, thus laid down, it will be easie to prove, that the true Art of assisting Beauty consists in Embellishing the whole Person by the proper Ornaments of virtuous and commendable Qualities. By this Help alone it is that those who are the Favourite Work of Nature, or, as Mr. Dryden expresses it, the Porcelain Clay of human Kind[2], become animated, and are in a Capacity of exerting their Charms: And those who seem to have been neglected by her, like Models wrought in haste, are capable, in a great measure, of finishing what She has left imperfect.

It is, methinks, a low and degrading Idea of that Sex, which was created to refine the Joys, and soften the Cares of Humanity, by the most agreeable Participation, to consider them meerly as Objects of Sight. This is abridging them of their natural Extent of Power, to put them upon a Level with their Pictures at Kneller's. How much nobler is the Contemplation of Beauty heighten'd by Virtue, and commanding our Esteem and Love, while it draws our Observation? How faint and spiritless are the Charms of a Coquet, when compar'd with the real Loveliness of Sophronia's Innocence, Piety, good Humour and Truth; Virtues which add a new Softness to her Sex, and even beautify her Beauty! That Agreeableness, which must otherwise have appeared no longer in the modest Virgin, is now preserv'd in the tender Mother, the prudent Friend, and the faithful Wife. Colours, artfully spread upon Canvas, may entertain the Eye, but not affect the Heart; and she, who takes no care to add to the natural Graces of her Person any excelling Qualities, may be allowed still to amuse, as a Picture, but not to triumph as a Beauty.

When Adam is introduced by Milton describing Eve in Paradise, and relating to the Angel the Impressions he felt upon seeing her at her first Creation, he does not represent her like a Grecian Venus by her Shape or Features, but by the Lustre of her Mind which shone in them, and gave them their Power of charming.

Grace was in all her Steps, Heaven in her Eye,

In all her Gestures Dignity and Love.

Without this irradiating Power the proudest Fair One ought to know, whatever her Glass may tell her to the contrary, that her most perfect Features are Uninform'd and Dead.

I cannot better close this Moral, than by a short Epitaph written by Ben Johnson, with a Spirit which nothing could inspire but such an Object as I have been describing.

Underneath this Stone doth lie

As much Virtue as cou'd die,

Which when alive did Vigour give

To as much Beauty as cou'd live[3].

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

R. B.

Footnote 1:Miscellany Essays by Monsieur de St. Evremont,Of the Pleasure that Women take in their Beauty

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Don Sebastian, King of Portugal,

Ay; There look like the Workmanship of Heav'n:

This is the Porcelain Clay of Human Kind.

return

Footnote 3:on Elizabeth L.H.

'One name was Elizabeth,

The other, let it sleep in death.'

Underneath this stone doth lie,

As much Beauty as could die,

Which in Life did Harbour give

To more Virtue than doth live.

return

Contents

No. 34

Monday, April 9, 1711

Addison

... parcit

Cognatis maculis similis fera ...

Juv.

Will. HoneycombWill

Andrew FreeportAndrew

TemplarAndrewCharles'sHorace, Juvenal, BoileauRoger De CoverleySpectatorEnglish

Sentry

Will. HoneycombAndrewTemplarRogerCaptain

Roman

Punch

Contents

No. 35

Tuesday, April 10, 1711

Addison

Risu inepto res ineptior milla est.

Mart.

Bedlam;Therewhich[1]

TheShadwell[2]English

CowleyPlato'sTruthGood SenseGood SenseWitMirthHumourHumourMerry-Andrew

Butis an Impostor[3]takes upon him[4]Cheats[5]this Pretender,[6]TruthGood SenseTheyTrue Humourabout him[7]False HumourWitMirthMirthWit

FalsehoodNonsenseFrenzyFollyLaughterFalse HumourTrue Humour

Falsehood

Truth

|

|

Nonsense

Good Sense

|

|

Frenzy=Laughter

Wit=Mirth

|

|

False Humour

Humour

False HumourFalse HumourTrue

1. He is exceedingly given to little Apish Tricks and Buffooneries.

2. He so much delights in Mimickry, that it is all one to him whether he exposes by it Vice and Folly, Luxury and Avarice; or, on the contrary, Virtue and Wisdom, Pain and Poverty.

3. He is wonderfully unlucky, insomuch that he will bite the Hand that feeds him, and endeavour to ridicule both Friends and Foes indifferently. For having but small Talents, he must be merry where he can, not where he should.

4. Being entirely void of Reason, he pursues no Point either of Morality or Instruction, but is ludicrous only for the sake of being so.

5. Being incapable of any thing but Mock-Representations, his Ridicule is always Personal, and aimed at the Vicious Man, or the Writer; not at the Vice, or at the Writing.

attacking Multitudes

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Woman Captain.

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:

return

Contents

No. 36

Wednesday, April 11, 1711

Steele

... Immania monstra

Perferimus ...

Virg.

Drury-Lane, April[1] the 9th.

'Upon reading the Project which is set forth in one of your late Papers[2], of making an Alliance between all the Bulls, Bears, Elephants, and Lions, which are separately exposed to publick View in the Cities of London and Westminster; together with the other Wonders, Shows, and Monsters, whereof you made respective Mention in the said Speculation; We, the chief Actors of this Playhouse, met and sat upon the said Design. It is with great Delight that We expect the Execution of this Work; and in order to contribute to it, We have given Warning to all our Ghosts to get their Livelihoods where they can, and not to appear among us after Day-break of the 16th Instant. We are resolved to take this Opportunity to part with every thing which does not contribute to the Representation of humane Life; and shall make a free Gift of all animated Utensils to your Projector. The Hangings you formerly mentioned are run away; as are likewise a Set of Chairs, each of which was met upon two Legs going through the Rose Tavern at Two this Morning. We hope, Sir, you will give proper Notice to the Town that we are endeavouring at these Regulations; and that we intend for the future to show no Monsters, but Men who are converted into such by their own Industry and Affectation. If you will please to be at the House to-night, you will see me do my Endeavour to show some unnatural Appearances which are in vogue among the Polite and Well-bred. I am to represent, in the Character of a fine Lady Dancing, all the Distortions which are frequently taken for Graces in Mien and Gesture. This, Sir, is a Specimen of the Method we shall take to expose the Monsters which come within the Notice of a regular Theatre; and we desire nothing more gross may be admitted by you Spectators for the future. We have cashiered three Companies of Theatrical Guards, and design our Kings shall for the future make Love and sit in Council without an Army: and wait only your Direction, whether you will have them reinforce King Porus or join the Troops of Macedon. Mr. Penkethman resolves to consult his Pantheon of Heathen Gods in Opposition to the Oracle of Delphos, and doubts not but he shall turn the Fortunes of Porus when he personates him. I am desired by the Company to inform you, that they submit to your Censures; and shall have you in greater Veneration than Hercules was in of old, if you can drive Monsters from the Theatre; and think your Merit will be as much greater than his, as to convince is more than to conquer.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

T.D.

Sir,

When I acquaint you with the great and unexpected Vicissitudes of my Fortune, I doubt not but I shall obtain your Pity and Favour. I have for many Years last past been Thunderer to the Play-house; and have not only made as much Noise out of the Clouds as any Predecessor of mine in the Theatre that ever bore that Character, but also have descended and spoke on the Stage as the bold Thunder in The Rehearsal.[3]

When they got me down thus low, they thought fit to degrade me further, and make me a Ghost. I was contented with this for these two last Winters; but they carry their Tyranny still further, and not satisfied that I am banished from above Ground, they have given me to understand that I am wholly to depart their Dominions, and taken from me even my subterraneous Employment. Now, Sir, what I desire of you is, that if your Undertaker thinks fit to use Fire-Arms (as other Authors have done) in the Time of Alexander, I may be a Cannon against Porus, or else provide for me in the Burning of Persepolis, or what other Method you shall think fit.

Salmoneus of Covent-Garden.'

- The Merit of this Petition referred to Mr. Chr. Rich, who made them Devils.

HamletAlexander

- Granted.

TheWilliam BullockHephestionPenkethman the Great.[4]

- Granted.

The caricature here, and in following lines, is of a passage in Sir Robert Stapylton's Slighted Maid: 'I am the Evening, dark as Night,' &c.

In the Spectator's time the Rehearsal was an acted play, in which Penkethman had the part of the gentleman Usher, and Bullock was one of the two Kings of Brentford; Thunder was Johnson, who played also the Grave-digger in Hamlet and other reputable parts.

Footnote 1:March

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:No. 31

return

Footnote 3:Rehearsal

Come out, Thunder and Lightning.

Enter Thunder and Lightning..

Thun

I am the bold Thunder.

Bayes

Mr. Cartwright, prithee speak that a little louder, and with a hoarse voice. I am the bold Thunder: pshaw! Speak it me in a voice that thunders it out indeed: I am the bold Thunder.

Thun

I am the bold Thunder.

Light

The brisk Lightning, I.

return

Footnote 4:Injured Lovethe Rival Queens

return

Contents

original advertisement

A Widow Gentlewoman,

wellborn both by Father and Mother's Side,

being the Daughter of Thomas Prater, once an eminent Practitioner in the Law,

and of Letitia Tattle, a Family well known in all Parts of this Kingdom,

having been reduc'd by Misfortunes to wait on several great Persons,

and for some time to be Teacher at a Boarding-School of young Ladies;

giveth Notice to the Publick,

That she hath lately taken a House near Bloomsbury-Square, commodiously situated next the Fields in a good Air;

where she teaches all sorts of Birds of the loquacious Kinds, as Parrots, Starlings, Magpies, and others,

to imitate human Voices in greater Perfection than ever yet was practis'd.

They are not only instructed to pronounce Words distinctly, and in a proper Tone and Accent,

but to speak the Language with great Purity and Volubility of Tongue,

together with all the fashionable Phrases and Compliments now in use either at Tea-Tables or visiting Days.

Those that have good Voices may be taught to sing the newest Opera-Airs,

and, if requir'd, to speak either Italian or French, paying something extraordinary above the common Rates.

They whose Friends are not able to pay the full Prices may be taken as Half-boarders.

She teaches such as are design'd for the Diversion of the Publick,

and to act in enchanted Woods on the Theatres, by the Great.

As she has often observ'd with much Concern how indecent an Education is usually given these innocent Creatures,

which in some Measure is owing to their being plac'd in Rooms next the Street,

where, to the great Offence of chaste and tender Ears,

they learn Ribaldry, obscene Songs, and immodest Expressions from Passengers and idle People,

and also to cry Fish and Card-matches, with other useless Parts of Learning to Birds who have rich Friends,

she has fitted up proper and neat Apartments for them in the back Part of her said House;

where she suffers none to approach them but her self, and a Servant Maid who is deaf and dumb,

and whom she provided on purpose to prepare their Food and cleanse their Cages;

having found by long Experience how hard a thing it is for those to keep Silence who have the Use of Speech,

and the Dangers her Scholars are expos'd to by the strong Impressions that are made by harsh Sounds and vulgar Dialects.

In short, if they are Birds of any Parts or Capacity,

she will undertake to render them so accomplish'd in the Compass of a Twelve-month,

that they shall be fit Conversation for such Ladies as love to chuse their Friends and Companions out of this Species.

R.

No. 37

Thursday, April 12, 1711

Addison

... Non illa colo calathisve Minervæ

Fœmineas assueta manus ...

Virg.

LeonoraLady's LibraryFoliosChinaPiece of Architecture. The QuartosOctavosdelightful[1]OctavosChina

Among[2]

- Ogleby's Virgil.

- Dryden's Juvenal.

- Cassandra.

- Cleopatra.

- Astræa.

- Sir Isaac Newton's Works.

- The Grand Cyrus: With a Pin stuck in one of the middle Leaves.

- Pembroke's Arcadia.

- Locke of Human Understanding: With a Paper of Patches in it.

- A Spelling-Book.

- A Dictionary for the Explanation of hard Words.

- Sherlock upon Death.

- The fifteen Comforts of Matrimony.

- Sir William Temptle's Essays.

- Father Malbranche's Search after Truth, translated into English.

- A Book of Novels.

- The Academy of Compliments.

- Culpepper's Midwifry.

- The Ladies Calling.

- Tales in Verse by Mr. Durfey: Bound in Red Leather, gilt on the Back, and doubled down in several Places.

- All the Classick Authors in Wood.

- A set of Elzevers by the same Hand.

- Clelia: Which opened of it self in the Place that describes two Lovers in a Bower.

- Baker's Chronicle.

- Advice to a Daughter.

- The New Atalantis, with a Key to it.

- Mr. Steel's Christian Heroe.

- A Prayer Book: With a Bottle of Hungary Water by the side of it.

- Dr. Sacheverell's Speech.

- Fielding's Tryal.

- Seneca's Morals.

- Taylor's holy Living and Dying.

- La ferte's Instructions for Country Dances.

LeonoraRogerYes

LeonoraRogerLeonoraRogerRogerLondonThe Purling StreamRoger

Amidstwho[3]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Virgil

JuvenalPersiusSatiresEssay on Satire

CassandraCleopatraCassandraCleopatraCleopatraCassandraCleopatraAstræaArcadiathe Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia

Spectator'sEssay on the Human Understanding

Grand CyrusGrand CyrusClelia

Practical Discourse concerning Death

Spectator'sRecherche de la Vérité

New Poems, with Songs

New AtalantisSpectator'sNew AtalantisSecret Memoirs and Manners of several Persons of Quality of both sexes, from the New Atalantis, an Island in the Mediterranean.

Spectator52 54

return

Footnote 3:

return

Contents

No. 38

Friday, April 13, 1711

Steele

Cupias non placuisse nimis.

Mart.

TheBurnet[1]

I[2]

Dear Sir,

'I Spent some Time with you the other Day, and must take the Liberty of a Friend to tell you of the unsufferable Affectation you are guilty of in all you say and do. When I gave you an Hint of it, you asked me whether a Man is to be cold to what his Friends think of him? No; but Praise is not to be the Entertainment of every Moment: He that hopes for it must be able to suspend the Possession of it till proper Periods of Life, or Death it self. If you would not rather be commended than be Praiseworthy, contemn little Merits; and allow no Man to be so free with you, as to praise you to your Face. Your Vanity by this Means will want its Food. At the same time your Passion for Esteem will be more fully gratified; Men will praise you in their Actions: Where you now receive one Compliment, you will then receive twenty Civilities. Till then you will never have of either, further than

Sir,

Your humble Servant.'

Footnote 1:Telluris Theoria Sacra,the Sacred Theory of the Earth,Spectator'sTheoryNew Theory of the Earth

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 39

Saturday, April 14, 1711

Addison

Multa fero, ut placem genus irritabile vatum,

Cum scribo.

Hor.

ASeneca[1]

Drama

GreeceRome

Thismay[2]English

Aristotle[3]thatIambickGreekIambicksEnglishEnglishHexametersGreekLatinItalianRecitativoExitEnglishHemistick

EnglishOnCorneilleRacine[4]EnglishEnglish

ShakespearThereAristotle[5]HoraceAristotle

Et Tragicus plerumque dolet Sermone pedestri,

Telephus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque,

Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba,

Si curat cor Spectantis tetigisse querelâ.

Tragedians too lay by their State, to grieve.

Peleus and Telephus, Exit'd and Poor,

Forget their Swelling and Gigantick Words.

(Ld. Roscommon.)

AmongEnglishLee[6]Statira'sAlexander's

Then he would talk: Good Gods! how he would talk!

Otway[7]followedEnglishAristotle'sVenice PreservedRomanCatilinesi pro Patriâ sic concidisset

Footnote 1:Providence

"De Providentiâ, sive Quare Bonis Viris Mala Accidant cum sit Providentia' § 2,

'Ecce spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo Deus: ecce par Deo dignum, vir fortis cum malâ fortunâ compositus, utique si et provocavit."

Adversus Gentes:

"Quam pulchrum spectaculum Deo, cum Christianus cum dolore congueditur? cum adversus minas, et supplicia, et tormenta componitur? cum libertatem suam adversus reges ac Principes erigit.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:PoeticsRhetoric

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:Poetics

return

Footnote 6:NeroRival QueensTheodosiusŒdipus

return

Footnote 7:AlcibiadesNeroDon CarlosOrphanVenice Preserved

return

Contents

No. 40

Monday, April 16, 1711

Addison

Ac ne forte putes, me, que facere ipse recusem,

Cum recte tractant alii, laudare maligne;

Ille per extentum funem mihi fosse videtur

Ire Poeta, meum qui pectus inaniter angit,

Irritat, mulcet, falsis terroribus implet,

Ut magus; et modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis.

Hor.

EnglishAristotle considers[1]TheThe Orphan, Venice Preserved, Alexander the Great, Theodosius, All for Love, Œdipus, Oroonoko, Othello[2]King LearShakespearAtThe Mourning Bride, Tamerlane, Ulysses, PhædraHippolitusDryden's[3]Shakespear'sEnglish

EnglishÆneasHudibras

English

EnglishRantsPowell

DrydenLee

Œdipus

To you, good Gods, I make my last Appeal;

Or clear my Virtues, or my Crimes reveal.

If in the Maze of Fate I blindly run,

And backward trod those Paths I sought to shun;

Impute my Errors to your own Decree:

My Hands are guilty, but my Heart is free.

Let[4]

O that as oft have at Athens seen,

Œdipus

The Stage arise, and the big Clouds descend;

So now, in very Deed, I might behold

This pond'rous Globe, and all yen marble Roof,

Meet like the Hands of Jove, and crush Mankind.

For all the Elements, &c.

Footnote 1:

'and as the strongest proof of it we find that upon the stage, and in the dramatic contests, such tragedies, if they succeed, have always the most tragic effect.'

Poetics

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:OthelloAll for LoveAntony and CleopatraOroonokoSpectator'sIsabella

return

Footnote 3:Mourning BrideTamerlaneUlyssesPhædraHippolitus

return

Footnote 4:Œdipus

return

Contents

original advertisement

Having spoken of Mr. Powell,

as sometimes raising himself Applause from the ill Taste of an Audience;

I must do him the Justice to own,

that he is excellently formed for a Tragoedian,

and, when he pleases, deserves the Admiration of the best Judges;

as I doubt not but he will in the Conquest of Mexico,

which is acted for his own Benefit To-morrow Night.

C.

No. 41

Tuesday, April 17, 1711

Steele

Tu non inventa reperta es.

Ovid

Sir,

Supposing you to be a Person of general Knowledge, I make my Application to you on a very particular Occasion. I have a great Mind to be rid of my Wife, and hope, when you consider my Case, you will be of Opinion I have very just Pretensions to a Divorce. I am a mere Man of the Town, and have very little Improvement, but what I have got from Plays. I remember in The Silent Woman the Learned Dr. Cutberd, or Dr. Otter (I forget which) makes one of the Causes of Separation to be Error Personæ, when a Man marries a Woman, and finds her not to be the same Woman whom he intended to marry, but another[1]. If that be Law, it is, I presume, exactly my Case. For you are to know, Mr. Spectator, that there are Women who do not let their Husbands see their Faces till they are married.

Not to keep you in suspence, I mean plainly, that Part of the Sex who paint. They are some of them so Exquisitely skilful this Way, that give them but a Tolerable Pair of Eyes to set up with, and they will make Bosoms, Lips, Cheeks, and Eye-brows, by their own Industry. As for my Dear, never Man was so Enamour'd as I was of her fair Forehead, Neck, and Arms, as well as the bright Jett of her Hair; but to my great Astonishment, I find they were all the Effects of Art: Her Skin is so Tarnished with this Practice, that when she first wakes in a Morning, she scarce seems young enough to be the Mother of her whom I carried to Bed the Night before. I shall take the Liberty to part with her by the first Opportunity, unless her Father will make her Portion suitable to her real, not her assumed, Countenance. This I thought fit to let him and her know by your Means.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient,

humble Servant.

PictsBritishBritishPictsPictsPict

Will. HoneycombPictWillPictCowley

Th' adorning Thee, with so much Art,

Is but a barbarous Skill;

'Tis like the Pois'ning of a Dart,

Too apt before to kill[2].

PictHoneycombSpanish

PictBritishLindamiraincog.

Statira

PictDonne

Her pure and eloquent Blood

Spoke in her Cheeks, and so distinctly wrought,

That one would almost say her Body thought[3].

Footnote 1:EpicœneSpectator's

Tom Otter's bull, bear, and horse is known all over England, in rerum naturâ.

for how many causes a man may have divortium legitimum, a lawful divorce.

Cutb.

The first is impedimentum erroris.

Otter.

Of which there are several species.

Cutb

Ay, as error personæ.

Otter

If you contract yourself to one person, thinking her another.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:The Waiting-Maid,The Mistress

return

Footnote 3:Funeral ElegiesOf the Progress of the Soul,

'and was also,' says Isaac Walton, 'a cherisher of his studies, and such a friend as sympathized with him and his, in all their joys and sorrows.'

return

Contents

original advertisement

A young Gentlewoman of about Nineteen Years of Age

(bred in the Family of a Person of Quality lately deceased,)

who Paints the finest Flesh-colour,

wants a Place,

and is to be heard of at the House of

Minheer Grotesque a Dutch Painter in Barbican.

N.B. She is also well-skilled in the Drapery-part,

and puts on Hoods and mixes Ribbons

so as to suit the Colours of the Face

with great Art and Success.

R.

No. 42

Wednesday, April 18, 1711

Addison

Garganum inugire putes nemus aut mare Thuscum,

Tanto cum strepitu ludi spectantur; et artes,

Divitiæque peregrina, quibus oblitus actor

Cum stetit in Scena, concurrit dextera lævæ.

Dixit adhuc aliquid? Nil sane. Quid placet ergo?

Lana Tarentino violas imitata veneno.

Hor.

[1]observedEnglish

English

Non tamen intus

Digna geri promes in scenam: multaque tolles

Ex oculis, qua mox narret facundia prœsens.

Hor.

Yet there are things improper for a Scene,

Which Men of Judgment only will relate.

(L. Roscom.)

FrenchFrenchHay-MarketCharing-Cross

ItaliansFourberia della Scena, The Knavery or trickish Part of the Drama

BrutusShakespear

Footnote 1:Poetics

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 43

Thursday, April 19, 1711

Steele

Ha tibi erunt artes; pacisque imponere morem,

Parcere Subjectis, et debellare Superbos.

Virg.

Oxford

Oxford, April 13, 1711.

Four a Clock in the Morning.

Sir,

'In some of your late Speculations, I find some Sketches towards an History of Clubs: But you seem to me to shew them in somewhat too ludicrous a Light. I have well weighed that Matter, and think, that the most important Negotiations may best be carried on in such Assemblies. I shall therefore, for the Good of Mankind, (which, I trust, you and I are equally concerned for) propose an Institution of that Nature for Example sake.

I must confess, the Design and Transactions of too many Clubs are trifling, and manifestly of no consequence to the Nation or Publick Weal: Those I'll give you up. But you must do me then the Justice to own, that nothing can be more useful or laudable than the Scheme we go upon. To avoid Nicknames and Witticisms, we call ourselves The Hebdomadal Meeting: Our President continues for a Year at least, and sometimes four or five: We are all Grave, Serious, Designing Men, in our Way: We think it our Duty, as far as in us lies, to take care the Constitution receives no Harm, — Ne quid detrimenti Res capiat publica — To censure Doctrines or Facts, Persons or Things, which we don't like; To settle the Nation at home, and to carry on the War abroad, where and in what manner we see fit: If other People are not of our Opinion, we can't help that. 'Twere better they were. Moreover, we now and then condescend to direct, in some measure, the little Affairs of our own University.

Verily, Mr. Spectator, we are much offended at the Act for importing French Wines[1]: A Bottle or two of good solid Edifying Port, at honest George's, made a Night chearful, and threw off Reserve. But this plaguy French Claret will not only cost us more Mony, but do us less Good: Had we been aware of it, before it had gone too far, I must tell you, we would have petitioned to be heard upon that Subject. But let that pass.

I must let you know likewise, good Sir, that we look upon a certain Northern Prince's March, in Conjunction with Infidels[2], to be palpably against our Goodwill and Liking; and, for all Monsieur Palmquist[3], a most dangerous Innovation; and we are by no means yet sure, that some People are not at the Bottom on't. At least, my own private Letters leave room for a Politician well versed in matters of this Nature, to suspect as much, as a penetrating Friend of mine tells me.

We think we have at last done the business with the Malecontents in Hungary, and shall clap up a Peace there[4].

What the Neutrality Army[5] is to do, or what the Army in Flanders, and what two or three other Princes, is not yet fully determined among us; and we wait impatiently for the coming in of the next Dyer's[6] who, you must know, is our Authentick Intelligence, our Aristotle in Politics. And 'tis indeed but fit there should be some Dernier Resort, the Absolute Decider of all Controversies.

We were lately informed, that the Gallant Train'd Bands had patroll'd all Night long about the Streets of London: We indeed could not imagine any Occasion for it, we guessed not a Tittle on't aforehand, we were in nothing of the Secret; and that City Tradesmen, or their Apprentices, should do Duty, or work, during the Holidays, we thought absolutely impossible: But Dyer being positive in it, and some Letters from other People, who had talked with some who had it from those who should know, giving some Countenance to it, the Chairman reported from the Committee, appointed to examine into that Affair, That 'twas Possible there might be something in't. I have much more to say to you, but my two good Friends and Neighbours, Dominick and Slyboots, are just come in, and the Coffee's ready. I am, in the mean time,

Mr. Spectator,

Your Admirer, and

Humble Servant,

Abraham Froth.

The British PrinceIncomparable[7]

A painted Vest Prince Voltager had on,

Which from a Naked Pict his Grandsire won.

nothaveVoltagerPict

Will's

Footnote 1:Respublicane quid Respublica detrimenti capiatHebdomadal Meeting

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Spectator

return to footnote mark

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:The British PrincesLæliusThe British PrincesThe British Princes

'A vest as admir'd Vortiger had on,

Which from this Island's foes his Grandsire won.'

return

Contents

No. 44

Friday, April 20, 1711

Addison

Tu, quid ego et populus mecum desideret, audi.

Hor.

Amongan[1]EnglishThusVenice Preserved[2]HamletHamlet

Hor.

Look, my Lord, it comes!

Ham.

Angels and Ministers of Grace defend us!

Be thou a Spirit of Health, or Goblin damn'd;

Bring with thee Airs from Heav'n, or Blasts from Hell;

Be thy Events wicked or charitable;

Thou com'st in such a questionable Shape

That I will speak to thee. I'll call thee Hamlet,

King, Father, Royal Dane: Oh! Oh! Answer me,

Let me not burst in Ignorance; but tell

Why thy canoniz'd Bones, hearsed in Death,

Have burst their Cearments? Why the Sepulchre,

Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd,

Hath op'd his ponderous and marble Jaws

To cast thee up again? What may this mean?

That thou dead Coarse again in compleat Steel

Revisit'st thus the Glimpses of the Moon,

Making Night hideous?

EnglishToBritishFrench[3]FrenchFrenchCorneilleHoratiiCuriatiiCuriatiipublick Blood-shed

SophoclesOrestesHamletShakespearOrestes byHorace

Nec coram populo natos Medea trucidet.

Let not Medea draw her murth'ring Knife,

And spill her Children's Blood upon the Stage.

FrenchHorace's

Nec pueros coram populo Medea trucidet;

Aut humana palam coquat exta nefarius Atreus;

Aut in avem Progne vertatur, Cadmus in anguem,

Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi.

Hor.

Medea must not draw her murth'ring Knife,

Nor Atreus there his horrid Feast prepare.

Cadmus and Progne's Metamorphosis,

(She to a Swallow turn'd, he to a Snake)

And whatsoever contradicts my Sense,

I hate to see, and never can believe.

(Ld. Roscommon.)[4]

thetheBullockaNorris[5]ACharles[6]becausebecause[7]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

'sufficient, were all other critics lost, to teach anew the rules of writing,'

Reflections on Aristotle's Treatise of Poetry,

The English, our Neighbours, love Blood in their Sports, by the quality of their Temperament: These are Insulaires, separated from the rest of men; we are more humane ... The English have more of Genius for Tragedy than other People, as well by the Spirit of their Nation, which delights in Cruelty, as also by the Character of their Language, which is proper for Great Expressions.'

return

Footnote 4:Essay on Translated Verse,Horace's Art of PoetryEssay

'The Muse's Empire is restored again

In Charles his reign, and by Roscommon's pen.'

return

Footnote 5:anteTrip to the Jubilee,

return

Footnote 6:The Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub

return

Footnote 7:

return

Contents

No. 45

Saturday, April 21, 1711

Addison

Natio Comæda est.

Juv.

There[1]French

Valet de ChambreAbigails

About[2]Will. HoneycombEnglish

SemproniaFrench

Frenchmore awakened

MacbethFranceWhen will the dear Witches enter?ABettertonBalloon[3]Macbeth'sBanquo

AFrench[4]France

AsTravelledwho[5]LondonhaveJames'sbetray[6]Europe

Footnote 1:Spectator

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Précieusescourir les ruellesruelle

return

Footnote 3:Balloon

return

Footnote 4:PhébusPrécieuses

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Contents

No. 46

Monday, April 23, 1711

Addison

Non bene junctarum discordia semina rerum.

Ovid.

AboutLloyd's[1]

Minutes

Sir Roger de Coverly's Country Seat — Yes, for I hate long Speeches — Query, if a good Christian may be a Conjurer — Childermas-day, Saltseller, House-Dog, Screech-owl, Cricket — Mr. Thomas Inkle of London, in the good Ship called The Achilles. Yarico — Ægrescitique medendo — Ghosts — The Lady's Library — Lion by Trade a Taylor — Dromedary called Bucephalus — Equipage the Lady's summum bonum — Charles Lillie to be taken notice of[2] — Short Face a Relief to Envy — Redundancies in the three Professions — King Latinus a Recruit — Jew devouring an Ham of Bacon — Westminster Abbey — Grand Cairo — Procrastination — April Fools — Blue Boars, Red Lions, Hogs in Armour — Enter a King and two Fidlers solus — Admission into the Ugly Club — Beauty, how improveable — Families of true and false Humour — The Parrot's School-Mistress — Face half Pict half British — no Man to be an Hero of Tragedy under Six foot — Club of Sighers — Letters from Flower-Pots, Elbow-Chairs, Tapestry-Figures, Lion, Thunder — The Bell rings to the Puppet-Show — Old-Woman with a Beard married to a smock-faced Boy — My next Coat to be turned up with Blue — Fable of Tongs and Gridiron — Flower Dyers — The Soldier's Prayer — Thank ye for nothing, says the Gally-Pot — Pactolus in Stockings, with golden Clocks to them — Bamboos, Cudgels, Drumsticks — Slip of my Landlady's eldest Daughter — The black Mare with a Star in her Forehead — The Barber's Pole — Will. Honeycomb's Coat-pocket — Cæsar's Behaviour and my own in Parallel Circumstances — Poem in Patch-work — Nulli gravis est percussus Achilles — The Female Conventicler — The Ogle Master.

SpectatorAOxford Scholar[3]PactolusPost-manfurther

TheSalisbury[4]Dum nimia pia est, facta est impia

Sir,

'I am one of those unhappy Men that are plagued with a Gospel-Gossip, so common among Dissenters (especially Friends). Lectures in the Morning, Church-Meetings at Noon, and Preparation Sermons at Night, take up so much of her Time, 'tis very rare she knows what we have for Dinner, unless when the Preacher is to be at it. With him come a Tribe, all Brothers and Sisters it seems; while others, really such, are deemed no Relations. If at any time I have her Company alone, she is a meer Sermon Popgun, repeating and discharging Texts, Proofs, and Applications so perpetually, that however weary I may go to bed, the Noise in my Head will not let me sleep till towards Morning. The Misery of my Case, and great Numbers of such Sufferers, plead your Pity and speedy Relief, otherwise must expect, in a little time, to be lectured, preached, and prayed into Want, unless the Happiness of being sooner talked to Death prevent it.

I am, &c.

R. G.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am an Irish Gentleman, that have travelled many Years for my Improvement; during which time I have accomplished myself in the whole Art of Ogling, as it is at present practised in all the polite Nations of Europe. Being thus qualified, I intend, by the Advice of my Friends, to set up for an Ogling-Master. I teach the Church Ogle in the Morning, and the Play-house Ogle by Candle-light. I have also brought over with me a new flying Ogle fit for the Ring; which I teach in the Dusk of the Evening, or in any Hour of the Day by darkning one of my Windows. I have a Manuscript by me called The Compleat Ogler, which I shall be ready to show you upon any Occasion. In the mean time, I beg you will publish the Substance of this Letter in an Advertisement, and you will very much oblige,

Yours, &c.

Footnote 1:Lloyd's Coffee HouseThe Wealthy Shopkeeper

Now to Lloyd's Coffee-house he never fails,

To read the Letters, and attend the Sales.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:16th18thSpectator

'London: Printed for Sam. Buckley, at the Dolphin in Little Britain; and Sold by A. Baldwin in Warwick-Lane; where Advertisements are taken in;'

'as also by Charles Lillie, Perfumer, at the Corner of Beaufort-Buildings in the Strand'.

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:History of the Reformation,History of his own Time,

'Some Letters containing an Account of what seemed most remarkable in Travelling through Switzerland, Italy, some parts of Germany, &c., in the Years 1685 and 1686. Written by G. Burnet, D.D., to the Honourable R. B.'

Bonum MemoriamEpitaphium huncNimia

'quædum Nimia pia fuit, facta est Impia'

(who while she was too pious, was made impious),

return

Contents

No. 47

Tuesday, April 24, 1711

Addison

Ride si sapis.

Mart.

MrHobbsDiscourse of Human Nature[1]

'The Passion of Laughter is nothing else but sudden Glory arising from some sudden Conception of some Eminency in ourselves by Comparison with the Infirmity of others, or with our own formerly: For Men laugh at the Follies of themselves past, when they come suddenly to Remembrance, except they bring with them any present Dishonour.'

EnglandGermany

DutchGaperAmsterdam

MrDennisSatire[2]

Thus one Fool lolls his Tongue out at another,

And shakes his empty Noddle at his Brother.

Hobbs's

that they could eat themHollandPickled HerringsFrance, Jean PottagesItaly, MaccaroniesGreat Britain, Jack Puddings

AprilSleeveless ErrandApril

AprilBiters

at

ButtsButtsButtButtButtSir John FalstaffButtMen of all Sortstake a pride to gird at me. The Brain of Man is not able to invent any thing that tends to Laughter more than I invent, or is invented on me. I am not only Witty in my self, but the Cause that Wit is in other Men[3]

Footnote 1:Human Nature

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Henry IV Part II

return

Contents

No. 48

Wednesday, April 25, 1711

Steele

... Per multas aditum sibi sæpe figuras

Repperit ...

Ovid

To the President and Fellows of the Ugly Club.

May it please your Deformities,

I have received the Notification of the Honour you have done me, in admitting me into your Society. I acknowledge my Want of Merit, and for that Reason shall endeavour at all Times to make up my own Failures, by introducing and recommending to the Club Persons of more undoubted Qualifications than I can pretend to. I shall next Week come down in the Stage-Coach, in order to take my Seat at the Board; and shall bring with me a Candidate of each Sex. The Persons I shall present to you, are an old Beau and a modern Pict. If they are not so eminently gifted by Nature as our Assembly expects, give me Leave to say their acquired Ugliness is greater than any that has ever appeared before you. The Beau has varied his Dress every Day of his Life for these thirty Years last past, and still added to the Deformity he was born with. The Pict has still greater Merit towards us; and has, ever since she came to Years of Discretion, deserted the handsome Party, and taken all possible Pains to acquire the Face in which I shall present her to your Consideration and Favour.

I desire to know whether you admit People of Quality.

I am, Gentlemen,

Your most obliged

Humble Servant,

The Spectator.

April 7.

Mr. Spectator,

To shew you there are among us of the vain weak Sex, some that have Honesty and Fortitude enough to dare to be ugly, and willing to be thought so; I apply my self to you, to beg your Interest and Recommendation to the Ugly Club. If my own Word will not be taken, (tho' in this Case a Woman's may) I can bring credible Witness of my Qualifications for their Company, whether they insist upon Hair, Forehead, Eyes, Cheeks, or Chin; to which I must add, that I find it easier to lean to my left Side than my right. I hope I am in all respects agreeable: And for Humour and Mirth, I'll keep up to the President himself. All the Favour I'll pretend to is, that as I am the first Woman has appeared desirous of good Company and agreeable Conversation, I may take and keep the upper End of the Table. And indeed I think they want a Carver, which I can be after as ugly a Manner as they can wish. I desire your Thoughts of my Claim as soon as you can. Add to my Features the Length of my Face, which is full half Yard; tho' I never knew the Reason of it till you gave one for the Shortness of yours. If I knew a Name ugly enough to belong to the above-described Face, I would feign one; but, to my unspeakable Misfortune, my Name is the only disagreeable Prettiness about me; so prithee make one for me that signifies all the Deformity in the World: You understand Latin, but be sure bring it in with my being in the Sincerity of my Heart,

Your most frightful Admirer,

and Servant,

Hecatissa.

Mr. Spectator,

I Read your Discourse upon Affectation, and from the Remarks made in it examined my own Heart so strictly, that I thought I had found out its most secret Avenues, with a Resolution to be aware of you for the future. But alas! to my Sorrow I now understand, that I have several Follies which I do not know the Root of. I am an old Fellow, and extremely troubled with the Gout; but having always a strong Vanity towards being pleasing in the Eyes of Women, I never have a Moment's Ease, but I am mounted in high-heel'd Shoes with a glased Wax-leather Instep. Two Days after a severe Fit I was invited to a Friend's House in the City, where I believed I should see Ladies; and with my usual Complaisance crippled my self to wait upon them: A very sumptuous Table, agreeable Company, and kind Reception, were but so many importunate Additions to the Torment I was in. A Gentleman of the Family observed my Condition; and soon after the Queen's Health, he, in the Presence of the whole Company, with his own Hand degraded me into an old Pair of his own Shoes. This operation, before fine Ladies, to me (who am by Nature a Coxcomb) was suffered with the same Reluctance as they admit the Help of Men in their greatest Extremity. The Return of Ease made me forgive the rough Obligation laid upon me, which at that time relieved my Body from a Distemper, and will my Mind for ever from a Folly. For the Charity received I return my Thanks this Way.

Your most humble Servant.

Epping, April 18.

Sir,

We have your Papers here the Morning they come out, and we have been very well entertained with your last, upon the false Ornaments of Persons who represent Heroes in a Tragedy. What made your Speculation come very seasonably amongst us is, that we have now at this Place a Company of Strolers, who are very far from offending in the impertinent Splendor of the Drama. They are so far from falling into these false Gallantries, that the Stage is here in its Original Situation of a Cart. Alexander the Great was acted by a Fellow in a Paper Cravat. The next Day, the Earl of Essex[1] seemed to have no Distress but his Poverty: And my Lord Foppington[2] the same Morning wanted any better means to shew himself a Fop, than by wearing Stockings of different Colours. In a Word, tho' they have had a full Barn for many Days together, our Itinerants are still so wretchedly poor, that without you can prevail to send us the Furniture you forbid at the Play-house, the Heroes appear only like sturdy Beggars, and the Heroines Gipsies. We have had but one Part which was performed and dressed with Propriety, and that was Justice Clodpate[3]: This was so well done that it offended Mr. Justice Overdo[4]; who, in the midst of our whole Audience, was (like Quixote in the Puppet-Show) so highly provok'd, that he told them, If they would move compassion, it should be in their own Persons, and not in the Characters of distressed Princes and Potentates: He told them, If they were so good at finding the way to People's Hearts, they should do it at the End of Bridges or Church-Porches, in their proper Vocation of Beggars. This, the Justice says, they must expect, since they could not be contented to act Heathen Warriors, and such Fellows as Alexander, but must presume to make a Mockery of one of the Quorum. Your Servant.

Footnote 1:The Unhappy Favourite

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Careless Husband

return

Footnote 3:Epsons Wells

return

Footnote 4:Bartholomew Fair

'for the good of the Republic in the Fair and the weeding out of enormity.'

return

Contents

No. 49

Thursday, April 26, 1711

Steele

... Hominem pagina nostra sapit.

Mart.

BeaverGreat-BritainEuropeBeaverBeaverWestminsterIGrecian, Squire's, Searle's[1]Virtuoso's

DeshabiléNeighbourhoods

Eubulus

EubulusEubulusEubulusTom

Footnote 1:GreciannoteanteSquire'sSerle'sSquire'sSerle's

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 50

Friday, April 27, 1711[1]

Addison

Nunquam aliud Natura, aliud Sapientia dixit.

Juv.

WhenIndian[2]

Sa Ga Yean Qua Rash TowGreat BritainLondonPaul

'On the most rising Part of the Town there stands a huge House, big enough to contain the whole Nation of which I am King. Our good Brother E Tow O Koam, King of the Rivers, is of opinion it was made by the Hands of that great God to whom it is consecrated. The Kings of Granajah and of the Six Nations believe that it was created with the Earth, and produced on the same Day with the Sun and Moon. But for my own Part, by the best Information that I could get of this Matter, I am apt to think that this prodigious Pile was fashioned into the Shape it now bears by several Tools and Instruments of which they have a wonderful Variety in this Country. It was probably at first an huge mis-shapen Rock that grew upon the Top of the Hill, which the Natives of the Country (after having cut it into a kind of regular Figure) bored and hollowed with incredible Pains and Industry, till they had wrought in it all those beautiful Vaults and Caverns into which it is divided at this Day. As soon as this Rock was thus curiously scooped to their Liking, a prodigious Number of Hands must have been employed in chipping the Outside of it, which is now as smooth as the Surface of a Pebble[3]; and is in several Places hewn out into Pillars that stand like the Trunks of so many Trees bound about the Top with Garlands of Leaves. It is probable that when this great Work was begun, which must have been many Hundred Years ago, there was some Religion among this People; for they give it the Name of a Temple, and have a Tradition that it was designed for Men to pay their Devotions in. And indeed, there are several Reasons which make us think that the Natives of this Country had formerly among them some sort of Worship; for they set apart every seventh Day as sacred: But upon my going into one of these[4] holy Houses on that Day, I could not observe any Circumstance of Devotion in their Behaviour: There was indeed a Man in Black who was mounted above the rest, and seemed to utter something with a great deal of Vehemence; but as for those underneath him, instead of paying their Worship to the Deity of the Place, they were most of them bowing and curtisying to one another, and a considerable Number of them fast asleep.

The Queen of the Country appointed two Men to attend us, that had enough of our Language to make themselves understood in some few Particulars. But we soon perceived these two were great Enemies to one another, and did not always agree in the same Story. We could make a Shift to gather out of one of them, that this Island was very much infested with a monstrous Kind of Animals, in the Shape of Men, called Whigs; and he often told us, that he hoped we should meet with none of them in our Way, for that if we did, they would be apt to knock us down for being Kings.

Our other Interpreter used to talk very much of a kind of Animal called a Tory, that was as great a Monster as the Whig, and would treat us as ill for being Foreigners. These two Creatures, it seems, are born with a secret Antipathy to one another, and engage when they meet as naturally as the Elephant and the Rhinoceros. But as we saw none of either of these Species, we are apt to think that our Guides deceived us with Misrepresentations and Fictions, and amused us with an Account of such Monsters as are not really in their Country.

These Particulars we made a shift to pick out from the Discourse of our Interpreters; which we put together as well as we could, being able to understand but here and there a Word of what they said, and afterwards making up the Meaning of it among ourselves. The Men of the Country are very cunning and ingenious in handicraft Works; but withal so very idle, that we often saw young lusty raw-boned Fellows carried up and down the Streets in little covered Rooms by a Couple of Porters, who are hired for that Service. Their Dress is likewise very barbarous, for they almost strangle themselves about the Neck, and bind their Bodies with many Ligatures, that we are apt to think are the Occasion of several Distempers among them which our Country is entirely free from. Instead of those beautiful Feathers with which we adorn our Heads, they often buy up a monstrous Bush of Hair, which covers their Heads, and falls down in a large Fleece below the Middle of their Backs; with which they walk up and down the Streets, and are as proud of it as if it was of their own growth.

We were invited to one of their publick Diversions, where we hoped to have seen the great Men of their Country running down a Stag or pitching a Bar, that we might have discovered who were the Persons of the greatest Abilities among them[5]; but instead of that, they conveyed us into a huge Room lighted up with abundance of Candles, where this lazy People sat still above three Hours to see several Feats of Ingenuity performed by others, who it seems were paid for it.

As for the Women of the Country, not being able to talk with them, we could only make our Remarks upon them at a Distance. They let the Hair of their Heads grow to a great Length; but as the Men make a great Show with Heads of Hair that are not of their own, the Women, who they say have very fine Heads of Hair, tie it up in a Knot, and cover it from being seen. The Women look like Angels, and would be more beautiful than the Sun, were it not for little black Spots that are apt to break out in their Faces, and sometimes rise in very odd Figures. I have observed that those little Blemishes wear off very soon; but when they disappear in one Part of the Face, they are very apt to break out in another, insomuch that I have seen a Spot upon the Forehead in the Afternoon, which was upon the Chin in the Morning[6].'

Indian

Footnote 1:

'The Spectator is written by Steele, with Addison's help; 'tis often very pretty. Yesterday it was made of a noble hint I gave him long ago for his Tatlers, about an Indian, supposed to write his travels into England. I repent he ever had it. I intended to have written a book on that subject. I believe he has spent it all in one paper, and all the under hints there are mine too; but I never see him or Addison.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:upon the Black Spots worn by my Lady D. E.,

... Mourning weeds for Hearts forlorn,

Which, though you must not love, you could not scorn,

return

Contents

No. 51

Saturday, April 28, 1711

Steele

Torquet ab Obscenis jam nunc Sermonibus Aurem.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'My Fortune, Quality, and Person are such as render me as Conspicuous as any Young Woman in Town. It is in my Power to enjoy it in all its Vanities, but I have, from a very careful Education, contracted a great Aversion to the forward Air and Fashion which is practised in all Publick Places and Assemblies. I attribute this very much to the Stile and Manners of our Plays: I was last Night at the Funeral, where a Confident Lover in the Play, speaking of his Mistress, cries out:

Oh that Harriot! to fold these Arms about the Waste of that Beauteous strugling, and at last yielding Fair![1]

Such an Image as this ought, by no means, to be presented to a Chaste and Regular Audience. I expect your Opinion of this Sentence, and recommend to your Consideration, as a Spectator, the conduct of the Stage at present with Relation to Chastity and Modesty.

I am, Sir,

Your Constant Reader

and Well-wisher.

Thegreat[2]Whenabout him to delight[3]

George Etherege;She would if She could.She would if She couldGeniusDullthem[4]their[5]withtheir[6]their[7]ApiciusClodius

TheIbrahim[8]TurkishThis[9]RoverBluntBartholomew

RoverExit

Footnote 1:Spectator

Campley.

Oh that Harriot! to embrace that beauteous –

Lord Hardy.

Ay, Tom; but methinks your Head runs too much on the Wedding Night only, to make your Happiness lasting; mine is fixt on the married State; I expect my Felicity from Lady Sharlot, in her Friendship, her Constancy, her Piety, her household Cares, her maternal Tenderness — You think not of any excellence of your Mistress that is more than skin deep.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:

return

Footnote 8:Ibrahim XII, Emperor of the Turks

return

Footnote 9:Rover, or the Banished Cavaliers

return

Contents

No. 52

Thursday, April 2, 1711

Addison

Omnes ut Tecum meritis pro Talibus annos

Exigat, et pulchra faciat Te prole parentem.

Virg.

Hecatissa

Martial

Tacta places, Audit a places, si non videare

Tota places, neutro, si videare, places.

Whilst in the Dark on thy soft Hand I hung,

And heard the tempting Siren in thy Tongue,

What Flames, what Darts, what Anguish I endured!

But when the Candle entered I was cur'd.

'Your Letter to us we have received, as a signal Mark of your Favour and brotherly Affection. We shall be heartily glad to see your short Face in Oxford: And since the Wisdom of our Legislature has been immortalized in your Speculations, and our personal Deformities in some sort by you recorded to all Posterity; we hold ourselves in Gratitude bound to receive with the highest Respect, all such Persons as for their extraordinary Merit you shall think fit, from Time to Time, to recommend unto the Board. As for the Pictish Damsel, we have an easy Chair prepared at the upper End of the Table; which we doubt not but she will grace with a very hideous Aspect, and much better become the Seat in the native and unaffected Uncomeliness of her Person, than with all the superficial Airs of the Pencil, which (as you have very ingeniously observed) vanish with a Breath, and the most innocent Adorer may deface the Shrine with a Salutation, and in the literal Sense of our Poets, snatch and imprint his balmy Kisses, and devour her melting Lips: In short, the only Faces of the Pictish Kind that will endure the Weather, must be of Dr. Carbuncle's Die; tho' his, in truth, has cost him a World the Painting; but then he boasts with Zeuxes, In eternitatem pingo; and oft jocosely tells the Fair Ones, would they acquire Colours that would stand kissing, they must no longer Paint but Drink for a Complexion: A Maxim that in this our Age has been pursued with no ill Success; and has been as admirable in its Effects, as the famous Cosmetick mentioned in the Post-man, and invented by the renowned British Hippocrates of the Pestle and Mortar; making the Party, after a due Course, rosy, hale and airy; and the best and most approved Receipt now extant for the Fever of the Spirits. But to return to our Female Candidate, who, I understand, is returned to herself, and will no longer hang out false Colours; as she is the first of her Sex that has done us so great an Honour, she will certainly, in a very short Time, both in Prose and Verse, be a Lady of the most celebrated Deformity now living; and meet with Admirers here as frightful as herself. But being a long-headed Gentlewoman, I am apt to imagine she has some further Design than you have yet penetrated; and perhaps has more mind to the Spectator than any of his Fraternity, as the Person of all the World she could like for a Paramour: And if so, really I cannot but applaud her Choice; and should be glad, if it might lie in my Power, to effect an amicable Accommodation betwixt two Faces of such different Extremes, as the only possible Expedient to mend the Breed, and rectify the Physiognomy of the Family on both Sides. And again, as she is a Lady of very fluent Elocution, you need not fear that your first Child will be born dumb, which otherwise you might have some Reason to be apprehensive of. To be plain with you, I can see nothing shocking in it; for tho she has not a Face like a John-Apple, yet as a late Friend of mine, who at Sixty-five ventured on a Lass of Fifteen, very frequently, in the remaining five Years of his Life, gave me to understand, That, as old as he then seemed, when they were first married he and his Spouse could[1] make but Fourscore; so may Madam Hecatissa very justly allege hereafter, That, as long-visaged as she may then be thought, upon their Wedding-day Mr. Spectator and she had but Half an Ell of Face betwixt them: And this my very worthy Predecessor, Mr. Sergeant Chin, always maintained to be no more than the true oval Proportion between Man and Wife. But as this may be a new thing to you, who have hitherto had no Expectations from Women, I shall allow you what Time you think fit to consider on't; not without some Hope of seeing at last your Thoughts hereupon subjoin'd to mine, and which is an Honour much desired by,

Sir,

Your assured Friend,

and most humble Servant,

Hugh Gobling[2], Præses.'

Sir,

'You proposed, in your Spectator of last Tuesday, Mr. Hobbs's Hypothesis for solving that very odd Phænomenon of Laughter. You have made the Hypothesis valuable by espousing it your self; for had it continued Mr. Hobbs's, no Body would have minded it. Now here this perplexed Case arises. A certain Company laughed very heartily upon the Reading of that very Paper of yours: And the Truth on it is, he must be a Man of more than ordinary Constancy that could stand it out against so much Comedy, and not do as we did. Now there are few Men in the World so far lost to all good Sense, as to look upon you to be a Man in a State of Folly inferior to himself. Pray then how do you justify your Hypothesis of Laughter?

Thursday, the 26th of

the Month of Fools.

Your most humble,

Q. R.'

Sir,

'In answer to your Letter, I must desire you to recollect yourself; and you will find, that when you did me the Honour to be so merry over my Paper, you laughed at the Idiot, the German Courtier, the Gaper, the Merry-Andrew, the Haberdasher, the Biter, the Butt, and not at

Your humble Servant,

The Spectator.'

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 53

Tuesday, May 1, 1711

Steele

... Aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus.

Hor.

Mr Spectator,

'I am glad I can inform you, that your Endeavours to adorn that Sex, which is the fairest Part of the visible Creation, are well received, and like to prove not unsuccessful. The Triumph of Daphne over her Sister Letitia has been the Subject of Conversation at Several Tea-Tables where I have been present; and I have observed the fair Circle not a little pleased to find you considering them as reasonable Creatures, and endeavouring to banish that Mahometan Custom which had too much prevailed even in this Island, of treating Women as if they had no Souls. I must do them the Justice to say, that there seems to be nothing wanting to the finishing of these lovely Pieces of Human Nature, besides the turning and applying their Ambition properly, and the keeping them up to a Sense of what is their true Merit. Epictetus, that plain honest Philosopher, as little as he had of Gallantry, appears to have understood them, as well as the polite St. Evremont, and has hit this Point very luckily[1]. When young Women, says he, arrive at a certain Age, they hear themselves called Mistresses, and are made to believe that their only Business is to please the Men; they immediately begin to dress, and place all their Hopes in the adorning of their Persons; it is therefore, continues he, worth the while to endeavour by all means to make them sensible that the Honour paid to them is only, upon account of their conducting themselves with Virtue, Modesty, and Discretion.

Now to pursue the Matter yet further, and to render your Cares for the Improvement of the Fair Ones more effectual, I would propose a new method, like those Applications which are said to convey their virtues by Sympathy; and that is, in order to embellish the Mistress, you should give a new Education to the Lover, and teach the Men not to be any longer dazzled by false Charms and unreal Beauty. I cannot but think that if our Sex knew always how to place their Esteem justly, the other would not be so often wanting to themselves in deserving it. For as the being enamoured with a Woman of Sense and Virtue is an Improvement to a Man's Understanding and Morals, and the Passion is ennobled by the Object which inspires it; so on the other side, the appearing amiable to a Man of a wise and elegant Mind, carries in it self no small Degree of Merit and Accomplishment. I conclude therefore, that one way to make the Women yet more agreeable is, to make the Men more virtuous. I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

R. B.'

April 26.

Sir,

'Yours of Saturday last I read, not without some Resentment; but I will suppose when you say you expect an Inundation of Ribbons and Brocades, and to see many new Vanities which the Women will fall into upon a Peace with France, that you intend only the unthinking Part of our Sex: And what Methods can reduce them to Reason is hard to imagine.

But, Sir, there are others yet, that your Instructions might be of great Use to, who, after their best Endeavours, are sometimes at a loss to acquit themselves to a Censorious World: I am far from thinking you can altogether disapprove of Conversation between Ladies and Gentlemen, regulated by the Rules of Honour and Prudence; and have thought it an Observation not ill made, that where that was wholly denied, the Women lost their Wit, and the Men their Good-manners. 'Tis sure, from those improper Liberties you mentioned, that a sort of undistinguishing People shall banish from their Drawing-Rooms the best-bred Men in the World, and condemn those that do not. Your stating this Point might, I think, be of good use, as well as much oblige,

Sir,

Your Admirer, and

most humble Servant,

Anna Bella.'

No Answer to this, tillsends a Description of those she calls the Best-bred Men in the World

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Gentleman who for many Years last past have been well known to be truly Splenatick, and that my Spleen arises from having contracted so great a Delicacy, by reading the best Authors, and keeping the most refined Company, that I cannot bear the least Impropriety of Language, or Rusticity of Behaviour. Now, Sir, I have ever looked upon this as a wise Distemper; but by late Observations find that every heavy Wretch, who has nothing to say, excuses his Dulness by complaining of the Spleen. Nay, I saw, the other Day, two Fellows in a Tavern Kitchen set up for it, call for a Pint and Pipes, and only by Guzling Liquor to each other's Health, and wafting Smoke in each other's Face, pretend to throw off the Spleen. I appeal to you, whether these Dishonours are to be done to the Distemper of the Great and the Polite. I beseech you, Sir, to inform these Fellows that they have not the Spleen, because they cannot talk without the help of a Glass at their Mouths, or convey their Meaning to each other without the Interposition of Clouds. If you will not do this with all Speed, I assure you, for my part, I will wholly quit the Disease, and for the future be merry with the Vulgar.

I am, Sir,

Your humble Servant.'

Sir,

'This is to let you understand, that I am a reformed Starer, and conceived a Detestation for that Practice from what you have writ upon the Subject. But as you have been very severe upon the Behaviour of us Men at Divine Service, I hope you will not be so apparently partial to the Women, as to let them go wholly unobserved. If they do everything that is possible to attract our Eyes, are we more culpable than they for looking at them? I happened last Sunday to be shut into a Pew, which was full of young Ladies in the Bloom of Youth and Beauty. When the Service began, I had not Room to kneel at the Confession, but as I stood kept my eyes from wandring as well as I was able, till one of the young Ladies, who is a Peeper, resolved to bring down my Looks, and fix my Devotion on her self. You are to know, Sir, that a Peeper works with her Hands, Eyes, and Fan; one of which is continually in Motion, while she thinks she is not actually the Admiration of some Ogler or Starer in the Congregation. As I stood utterly at a loss how to behave my self, surrounded as I was, this Peeper so placed her self as to be kneeling just before me. She displayed the most beautiful Bosom imaginable, which heaved and fell with some Fervour, while a delicate well-shaped Arm held a Fan over her Face. It was not in Nature to command ones Eyes from this Object; I could not avoid taking notice also of her Fan, which had on it various Figures, very improper to behold on that Occasion. There lay in the Body of the Piece a Venus, under a Purple Canopy furled with curious Wreaths of Drapery, half naked, attended with a Train of Cupids, who were busied in Fanning her as she slept. Behind her was drawn a Satyr peeping over the silken Fence, and threatening to break through it. I frequently offered to turn my Sight another way, but was still detained by the Fascination of the Peeper's Eyes, who had long practised a Skill in them, to recal the parting Glances of her Beholders. You see my Complaint, and hope you will take these mischievous People, the Peepers, into your Consideration: I doubt not but you will think a Peeper as much more pernicious than a Starer, as an Ambuscade is more to be feared than an open Assault.

I am, Sir,

Your most Obedient Servant.'

This Peeper using both Fan and Eyes to be considered as aand proceed accordingly.

King Latinus to the Spectator, Greeting.

'Tho' some may think we descend from our Imperial Dignity, in holding Correspondence with a private Litterato[2]; yet as we have great Respect to all good Intentions for our Service, we do not esteem it beneath us to return you our Royal Thanks for what you published in our Behalf, while under Confinement in the Inchanted Castle of the Savoy, and for your Mention of a Subsidy for a Prince in Misfortune. This your timely Zeal has inclined the Hearts of divers to be aiding unto us, if we could propose the Means. We have taken their Good will into Consideration, and have contrived a Method which will be easy to those who shall give the Aid, and not unacceptable to us who receive it. A Consort of Musick shall be prepared at Haberdashers-Hall for Wednesday the Second of May, and we will honour the said Entertainment with our own Presence, where each Person shall be assessed but at two Shillings and six Pence. What we expect from you is, that you publish these our Royal Intentions, with Injunction that they be read at all Tea-Tables within the Cities of London and Westminster; and so we bid you heartily Farewell.

Latinus, King of the Volscians.'

Given at our Court in Vinegar-Yard, Story the Third from the Earth.

April 28, 1711.

Footnote 1:Epictetus his Morals, with Simplicius his Comment,

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Footnote 2:Litterati

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Contents

No. 54

Wednesday, May 2, 1711

Steele

... Sirenua nos exercet inertia.

Hor.

Cambridge

Cambridge, April 26.

Mr. Spectator,

'Believing you to be an universal Encourager of liberal Arts and Sciences, and glad of any Information from the learned World, I thought an Account of a Sect of Philosophers very frequent among us, but not taken Notice of, as far as I can remember, by any Writers either ancient or modern, would not be unacceptable to you. The Philosophers of this Sect are in the Language of our University called Lowngers. I am of Opinion, that, as in many other things, so likewise in this, the Ancients have been defective; viz. in mentioning no Philosophers of this Sort. Some indeed will affirm that they are a kind of Peripateticks, because we see them continually walking about. But I would have these Gentlemen consider, that tho' the ancient Peripateticks walked much, yet they wrote much also; (witness, to the Sorrow of this Sect, Aristotle and others): Whereas it is notorious that most of our Professors never lay out a Farthing either in Pen, Ink, or Paper. Others are for deriving them from Diogenes, because several of the leading Men of the Sect have a great deal of the cynical Humour in them, and delight much in Sun-shine. But then again, Diogenes was content to have his constant Habitation in a narrow Tub; whilst our Philosophers are so far from being of his Opinion, that it's Death to them to be confined within the Limits of a good handsome convenient Chamber but for half an Hour. Others there are, who from the Clearness of their Heads deduce the Pedigree of Lowngers from that great Man (I think it was either Plato or Socrates[1]) who after all his Study and Learning professed, That all he then knew was, that he knew nothing. You easily see this is but a shallow Argument, and may be soon confuted.

I have with great Pains and Industry made my Observations from time to time upon these Sages; and having now all Materials ready, am compiling a Treatise, wherein I shall set forth the Rise and Progress of this famous Sect, together with their Maxims, Austerities, Manner of living, &c. Having prevailed with a Friend who designs shortly to publish a new Edition of Diogenes Laertius, to add this Treatise of mine by way of Supplement; I shall now, to let the World see what may be expected from me (first begging Mr. Spectator's Leave that the World may see it) briefly touch upon some of my chief Observations, and then subscribe my self your humble Servant. In the first Place I shall give you two or three of their Maxims: The fundamental one, upon which their whole System is built, is this, viz. That Time being an implacable Enemy to and Destroyer of all things, ought to be paid in his own Coin, and be destroyed and murdered without Mercy by all the Ways that can be invented. Another favourite Saying of theirs is, That Business was designed only for Knaves, and Study for Blockheads. A third seems 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 shall reserve Particulars for my intended Discourse, and now only mention one or two of their principal Exercises. The elder Proficients employ themselves in inspecting mores hominum multorum, in getting acquainted with all the Signs and Windows in the Town. Some are arrived at so great Knowledge, that they can tell every time any Butcher kills a Calf, every time any old Woman's Cat is in the Straw; and a thousand other Matters as important. One ancient Philosopher contemplates two or three Hours every Day over a Sun-Dial; and is true to the Dial,

... As the Dial to the Sun, Although it be not shone upon[2].

Our younger Students are content to carry their Speculations as yet no farther than Bowling-greens, Billiard-Tables, and such like Places. This may serve for a Sketch of my Design; in which I hope I shall have your Encouragement. I am,

Sir,

Yours[3].

Cambridge

LowngersBathTunbridgeNewmarketLondonLowngersLowngers

Footnote 1:ApologyDefence

'When I left him I reasoned thus with myself, I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing, whereas I, as I do not know anything, do not fancy that I do.'

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Footnote 2:

True as Dial to the Sun,

Although it be not shined upon.

Hudibras

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Footnote 3:No. 78

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Contents

No. 55

Thursday, May 3, 1711

Addison

... Intus, et in jecore ægro

Nascuntur Domini ...

Pers.

LuxuryAvaricePersiusAvariceLuxuryDryden's

Mane, piger, stertis: surge, inquit Avaritia; eja

Surge. Negas, Instat, surge inquit. Non queo. Surge.

Et quid agam? Rogitas? Saperdas advehe Ponto,

Castoreum, stuppas, hebenum, thus, lubrica Coa.

Tolle recens primus piper è siliente camelo.

Verte aliquid; jura. Sed Jupiter Audiet. Eheu!

Baro, regustatum digito terebrare salinum

Contentus perages, si vivere cum Jove tendis.

Jam pueris pellem succinctus et ænophorum aptas;

Ocyus ad Navem. Nil obstat quin trabe vasta

Ægæum rapias, nisi solers Luxuria ante

Seductum moneat; quo deinde, insane ruis? Quo?

Quid tibi vis? Calido sub pectore mascula bilis

Intumuit, quam non extinxerit urna cicutæ?

Tun' mare transilias? Tibi torta cannabe fulto

Cœna sit in transtro? Veientanúmque rubellum

Exhalet vapida læsum pice sessilis obba?

Quid petis? Ut nummi, quos hic quincunce modesto

Nutrieras, pergant avidos sudare deunces?

Indulge genio: carpamus dulcia; nostrum est

Quod vivis; cinis, et manes, et fabula fies.

Vive memor lethi: fugit hora. Hoc quod loquor, inde est.

En quid agis? Duplici in diversum scinderis hamo.

Hunccine, an hunc sequeris! — —

Whether alone, or in thy Harlot's Lap,

When thou wouldst take a lazy Morning's Nap;

Up, up, says Avarice; thou snor'st again,

Stretchest thy Limbs, and yawn'st, but all in vain.

The rugged Tyrant no Denial takes;

At his Command th' unwilling Sluggard wakes.

What must I do? he cries; What? says his Lord:

Why rise, make ready, and go streight Aboard:

With Fish, from Euxine Seas, thy Vessel freight;

Flax, Castor, Coan Wines, the precious Weight

Of Pepper and Sabean Incense, take

With thy own Hands, from the tir'd Camel's Back,

And with Post-haste thy running Markets make.

Be sure to turn the Penny; Lye and Swear,

'Tis wholsome Sin: But Jove, thou say'st, will hear.

Swear, Fool, or Starve; for the Dilemma's even:

A Tradesman thou! and hope to go to Heav'n?

Resolv'd for Sea, the Slaves thy Baggage pack,

Each saddled with his Burden on his Back.

Nothing retards thy Voyage, now; but He,

That soft voluptuous Prince, call'd Luxury;

And he may ask this civil Question; Friend,

What dost thou make a Shipboard? To what End?

Art thou of Bethlem's noble College free?

Stark, staring mad, that thou wouldst tempt the Sea?

Cubb'd in a Cabbin, on a Mattress laid,

On a brown George, with lousy Swobbers fed;

Dead Wine, that stinks of the Borachio, sup

From a foul Jack, or greasy Maple Cup!

Say, wouldst thou bear all this, to raise the Store,

From Six i'th' Hundred to Six Hundred more?

Indulge, and to thy Genius freely give:

For, not to live at Ease, is not, to live:

Death stalks behind thee, and each flying Hour

Does some loose Remnant of thy Life devour.

Live, while thou liv'st; for Death will make us all,

A Name, a Nothing but an Old Wife's Tale.

Speak, wilt thou Avarice or Pleasure choose

To be thy Lord? Take one, and one refuse.

TheLatinRomans[1]Catiline

LuxuryAvariceLuxuryPleasureMirthPompFashionAvariceHungerIndustryCareWatchfulnessPovertyAvaricePovertyPlentyLuxuryAvariceAvariceLuxuryNeuterLuxuryPovertyAvaricePlentyPovertyAvariceLuxuryAvariceAvariceLuxuryPlentyLuxuryAvaricePoverty

Footnote 1:

Alieni appetens, sui profusus.

Sallust.

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Contents

No. 56

Friday, May 4, 1711

Addison

Felices errore suo ...

Lucan.

AmericansEuropeanPlato'sAristoteliansIAlbertus Magnussubstantial FormWest-IndianSoul[1]

AmericansAIndian[2]

MarratonIndianNicharaguaAmerica

Herepresented[3]Thisa[4]departed UtensilsIndian

IndianIndiansMarratonYaratildaMarratonYaratildaYaratildaYaratildaMarratonMarratonYaratilda

TheEuropeanswho[5]Indians

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:No. 50.

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 57

Saturday, May 5, 1711

Addison

Quem præstare potest mulier galeata pudorem,

Quæ fugit à Sexu!

Juv.

WhenHectorHomer's Iliads[1]

England

Andromache

CamillaBritishViragoPenthesilea

[2]partWhenSouls[3]

ITitus Oates[4]Will. Honeycomb[5]WillTruelove'sOthelloI am afraid,Mr. Honeycomb[5] you are a Tory; tell me truly, are you a Friend to the Doctor or not? WillWellI'll be hang'd if you and your silent Friend there are not against the Doctor in your Hearts, I suspected as much by his saying nothing

Footnote 1:

No more — but hasten to thy tasks at home,

There guide the spindle, and direct the loom;

Me glory summons to the martial scene,

The field of combat is the sphere for men.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnotes 5:

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Contents

No. 58

Monday, May 7, 1711

Addison

Ut pictura poesis erit ...

Hor.

the SublimeSaturday

Great-Britain

IliadGreek

[1]forEnglish

MinervaEpeusTrojan

Thethat[2][3]

TroilusHecubaTheocritus

Procrustes

Drydenin his Mac FlecnoEnglish

... Chuse for thy Command

Some peaceful Province in Acrostick Land;

There may'st thou Wings display, and Altars raise,

And torture one poor Word a thousand Ways.

ThisMr. Herbert'sDu Bartas[4]CharlesPsalmsOxfordOld TestamentApocryphaWilliamKings

IEnglish[5]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:SyrinxCharacter of a Small Poet

'As for Altars and Pyramids in poetry, he has outdone all men that way; for he has made a gridiron and a frying-pan in verse, that besides the likeness in shape, the very tone and sound of the words did perfectly represent the noise that is made by those utensils.'

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Footnote 4:Art of Poetry,

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 59

Tuesday, May 8, 1711

Addison

Operose Nihil agunt.

Seneca.

FlashFroth

TheLipogrammiatists[1]Letter-droppersTryphiodorusOdysseyUlyssesAAlphaLucus a non LucendoAlphaBeta

GreekOdysseyTryphiodorusOdysseyHomerGreek

IRebus[2]CæsarRomanCæsarPunickCæsarCicerowhoCicerLatinMarcus Tullius CiceroMarcus Tullius[3]GreekMarcus AureliusAthenianNewberryCambdenNewberryNN-ew-berry

RebusBlenheimEnglishLatinFrenchmanEnglish

OvidTheErasmus[4]Latin, GreekHebrewHudibrasBruinRhymes

He rag'd, and kept as heavy a Coil as

Stout Hercules for loss of Hylas;

Forcing the Valleys to repeat

The Accents of his sad Regret;

He beat his Breast, and tore his Hair,

For Loss of his dear Crony Bear,

That Eccho from the hollow Ground

His Doleful Wailings did resound

More wistfully, but many times,

Then in small Poets Splay-foot Rhymes,

That make her, in her rueful Stories

To answer to Introgatories,

And most unconscionably depose

Things of which She nothing knows:

And when she has said all she can say,

'Tis wrested to the Lover's Fancy.

Quoth he, O whither, wicked Bruin,

Art thou fled to my — Eccho, Ruin?

I thought th' hadst scorn'd to budge a Step

for Fear. (Quoth Eccho) Marry guep.

Am not I here to take thy Part!

Then what has quell'd thy stubborn Heart?

Have these Bones rattled, and this Head

So often in thy Quarrel bled?

Nor did I ever winch or grudge it,

For thy dear Sake. (Quoth she) Mum budget.

Think'st thou 'twill not be laid i' th' Dish.

Thou turn'dst thy Back? Quoth Eccho, Pish.

To run from those th' hadst overcome

Thus cowardly? Quoth Eccho, Mum.

But what a-vengeance makes thee fly

From me too, as thine Enemy?

Or if thou hadst not Thought of me,

Nor what I have endur'd for Thee,

Yet Shame and Honour might prevail

To keep thee thus for turning tail;

For who will grudge to spend his Blood in

His Honour's Cause? Quoth she, A Pudding.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:rebus

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Footnote 3:Rebus or Name devises,RemainsRemains

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Footnote 4:Colloquia Familiaria

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Contents

No. 60

Wednesday, May 9, 1711

Addison

Hoc est quod palles? Cur quis non prandeat, Hoc est?

Per. Sat. 3.

ÆneidLatinBeaux EspritsÆneidMary,

Tot, tibi, sunt, Virgo, dotes, quot, sidera, Cælo.

Thou hast as many Virtues, O Virgin, as there are Stars in Heaven.

Thechanges[1]It[2]The Anagram of a Man

Sheknown[3]Mary BoonMaryMollMoll BoonBoonBohun

... Ibi omnis

Effusus labor ...

The[4]were[5]SimpleChineseCompound

Therecalled[6]ThisGermany[7]Gustavus AdolphusGerman

The Boutz Rimez[8]FrenchFrenchMercure GalantMercureNovember last

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Lauriers

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Guerriers

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Musette

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Lisette

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Cesars

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Etendars

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Houlette

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Folette

Menage

Monsieur de la Chambre has told me that he never knew what he was going to write when he took his Pen into his Hand; but that one Sentence always produced another. For my own part, I never knew what I should write next when I was making Verses. In the first place I got all my Rhymes together, and was afterwards perhaps three or four Months in filling them up. I one Day shewed Monsieur Gombaud a Composition of this Nature, in which among others I had made use of the four following Rhymes, Amaryllis, Phillis, Marne, Arne, desiring him to give me his Opinion of it. He told me immediately, that my Verses were good for nothing. And upon my asking his Reason, he said, Because the Rhymes are too common; and for that Reason easy to be put into Verse. Marry, says I, if it be so, I am very well rewarded for all the Pains I have been at. But by Monsieur Gombaud's Leave, notwithstanding the Severity of the Criticism, the Verses were good.

VidMenagianaThusMenage,[9]

Bouts RimezFrenchButbooty[10]

ISarasin,La Defaite des Bouts-Rimez, The Rout of the Bouts-Rimez.[11]

Iflittle[12]Hudibras

Pulpit, Drum Ecclesiastick,

Was beat with fist instead of a Stick,

There was an ancient sage Philosopher

Who had read Alexander Ross over,

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Book of Psalms.

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Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:

return

Footnote 8:

return

Footnote 9:MenagianaMenagiana

'could say a thousand good things in a thousand pleasing ways.'

return

Footnote 10:

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Footnote 11:Dulot Vaincu

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Footnote 12:

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Contents

No. 61

Thursday, May 10, 1711

Addison

Non equidem studeo, bullalis ut mihi nugis

Pagina turgescal, dare pondus idonea fumo.

Pers.

Punning

AristotleGreekCicerothe PunnJamesConundrumAndrewsShakespear

ParagrammatistSwanSwan'sParanomasiaPlocèAntanaclasis

Isocrates, PlatoCiceroItrue[1]QuintilianLonginusAcrosticksWitches PrayerBritish AcrosticksAnagramsWhigsToriesAnagramsAcrosticks

vox et præterea nihil,AristinetusdressedundressedMercerus

Induitur, formosa est: Exuitur, ipsa forma est.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 62

Friday, May 11, 1711

Addison

Scribendi rectè sapere est et principium et fons.

Hor.

Lock

And hence, perhaps, may be given some Reason of that common Observation, That Men who have a great deal of Wit and prompt Memories, have not always the clearest Judgment, or deepest Reason. For Wit lying most in the Assemblage of Ideas, and putting those together with Quickness and Variety, wherein can be found any Resemblance or Congruity, thereby to make up pleasant Pictures and agreeable Visions in the Fancy; Judgment, on the contrary, lies quite on the other Side, In separating carefully one from another, Ideas wherein can be found the least Difference, thereby to avoid being misled by Similitude, and by Affinity to take one thing for another. This is a way of proceeding quite contrary to Metaphor and Allusion; wherein, for the most part, lies that Entertainment and Pleasantry of Wit which strikes so lively on the Fancy, and is therefore so acceptable to all People.[1]

DelightSurpriseLock's

true Witfalse WitEggs, AxesAltars

true Witfalse Witmixt WitCowleyWallerDrydenMiltonSpencerMiltonItaliansBoileauGreekLatinVirgil, LucretiusCatullusHoraceOvidMartial

mixt WitCowleyÆtnaVulcan'sCupid's

mixt Wit

Dryden'sWit

'a Propriety of Words and Thoughts adapted to the Subject.'[2]

IfEuclid was[3]DrydenCowleyVirgilOvidMartial

BouhourswhomFrench[4]Boileau[5]GothsGreeks and RomansMrDrydenOvidDidoÆneas[6]

'Ovid' says he, (speaking of Virgil's Fiction of Dido and Æneas) 'takes it up after him, even in the same Age, and makes an Ancient Heroine of Virgil's new-created Dido; dictates a Letter for her just before her Death to the ungrateful Fugitive; and, very unluckily for himself, is for measuring a Sword with a Man so much superior in Force to him on the same Subject. I think I may be Judge of this, because I have translated both. The famous Author of the Art of Love has nothing of his own; he borrows all from a greater Master in his own Profession, and, which is worse, improves nothing which he finds: Nature fails him, and being forced to his old Shift, he has Recourse to Witticism. This passes indeed with his soft Admirers, and gives him the Preference to Virgil in their Esteem.'

DrydenEnglishGothickHeSegrais[7]

'Segrais has distinguished the Readers of Poetry, according to their Capacity of judging, into three Classes. [He might have said the same of Writers too, if he had pleased.] In the lowest Form he places those whom he calls Les Petits Esprits, such things as are our Upper-Gallery Audience in a Play-house; who like nothing but the Husk and Rind of Wit, prefer a Quibble, a Conceit, an Epigram, before solid Sense and elegant Expression: These are Mob Readers. If Virgil and Martial stood for Parliament-Men, we know already who would carry it. But though they make the greatest Appearance in the Field, and cry the loudest, the best on't is they are but a sort of French Huguenots, or Dutch Boors, brought over in Herds, but not Naturalized; who have not Lands of two Pounds per Annum in Parnassus, and therefore are not privileged to poll. Their Authors are of the same Level, fit to represent them on a Mountebank's Stage, or to be Masters of the Ceremonies in a Bear-garden: Yet these are they who have the most Admirers. But it often happens, to their Mortification, that as their Readers improve their Stock of Sense, (as they may by reading better Books, and by Conversation with Men of Judgment) they soon forsake them.'

I must not dismiss this Subject without[8]LockResemblanceOpposition

Footnote 1:Essay concerning Human Understanding

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

'If Wit has truly been defined as a Propriety of Thoughts and Words, then that definition will extend to all sorts of Poetry ... Propriety of Thought is that Fancy which arises naturally from the Subject, or which the Poet adapts to it. Propriety of Words is the cloathing of these Thoughts with such Expressions as are naturally proper to them.'

Albion and Albanius

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

'The Art of Criticism: or the Method of making a Right Judgment upon Subjects of Wit and Learning. Translated from the best Edition of the French, of the Famous Father Bouhours, by a Person of Quality. In Four Dialogues.'

'Truth is the first Quality, and, as it were, the foundation of Thought; the fairest is the faultiest, or, rather, those which pass for the fairest, are not really so, if they want this Foundation.... I do not understand your Doctrine, replies Philanthus, and I can scarce persuade myself that a witty Thought should be always founded on Truth: On the contrary, I am of the opinion of a famous Critic (i.e. Vavassor in his book on Epigrams) that Falsehood gives it often all its Grace, and is, as it were, the Soul of it,'

return

Footnote 5:

Tout doit tendre au Bon Sens: mais pour y parvenir

Le chemin est glissant et penible a tenir.

Art. Poétique,

Aux dépens du Bon Sens gardez de plaisanter.

Art. Poétique

return

Footnote 6:Æneid

return

Footnote 7:PrécieusesHotel Rambouilletbon tonÆneidGeorgicsÆneid

return

Footnote 8:Erratumwithoutwith

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Contents

No. 63

Saturday, May 12, 1711

Addison

Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam

Jungere si velit et varías inducere plumas

Undique collatis membris, ut turpiter atrum

Desinat in piscem mulier formosa supernè;

Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici?

Credite, Pisones, isti tabulæ fore librum

Persimilem, cujus, velut ægri somnia, vanæ

Finguntur species ...

Hor.

Falsehoodthe Region of False WitThe[1]GothickDullnessIndustryCapriceAltarAxes, WingsEggsAnagrams

AcrosticksAcrosticksChronograms

TryphiodorusLipogrammatist

TempleRebus'sCramboDouble Rhymes

EuropeanPunnsTruthWitFalse WitRegionsFalsehood

Mixed WitTruthFalsehood

FalsehoodTruthTruth

WitTruthHeroic PoetryTragedySatyrRhetorickComedyEpigramWit

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 64

Monday, May 14, 1711

Steele

... Hic vivimus Ambitiosa

Paupertate omnes ...

Juv.

Youof[1]

HeSpainPortugal[2]Gazette.

Well, I see all the Foreign Princes are in good HealthPostmanViennaMake us thankful, thePrinces are all wellBarcelonaHe does not speak but that the Country agrees very well with the new Queen

'That all this shall be well and truly performed, provided no foreign Potentate shall depart this Life within the Time above-mentioned.'

Austria

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 65

Tuesday, May 15, 1711

Steele

... Demetri teque Tigelli

Discipularum inter jubeo plorare cathedras.

Hor.

Spectator

TheFopling Flutter[1]DorimantHarriot

BellairLoveitAn Over-grown Jade, with a Flasket of Guts before herHow now, Double Tripewill lay his Life she is some awkward ill-fashioned Country Toad, who not having above four Dozen of Hairs on her Head, has adorned her Baldness with a large white Fruz, that she may look Sparkishly in the Forefront of the King's Box at an old Play

If he did not wait betterI'll uncase you

HarriotBusiethat she is so pleased with findingagain, that she cannot chide her for being out of the wayIn what Struggle is my poor Mother yonder? See, see, her Head tottering, her Eyes staring, and her under Lip tremblingshe has more Wit than is usual in her Sex, and as much Malice, tho' she is as Wild as you would wish her and has a Demureness in her Looks that makes it so surprising!I thinkI might be brought to endure him, and that is all a reasonable Woman should expect in an HusbandDorimantFoplingmakes the Women think the better of his Understanding, and judge more favourably of my Reputation. It makes him pass upon some for a Man of very good Sense, and me upon others for a very civil Person

Dorimant'sis not such another Heathen in the Town, except the ShoemakerDramaThere isnever a Man in Town lives more like a Gentleman with his Wife than I do; I never mind her Motions; she never enquires into mine. We speak to one another civilly, hate one another heartily; and because it is Vulgar to Lye and Soak together, we have each of us our several Settle-BedSoaking togetherDorimant

At[2]

Footnote 1:The Man of ModeSir Fopling Flutter

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:SpectatorEssay on Criticism

This Day is publish'd An Essay on Criticism.

Printed for W. Lewis in Russell street Covent-Garden;

and Sold by W. Taylor, at the Ship in Pater Noster Row;

T. Osborn, in Gray's Inn near the Walks;

T. Graves, in St. James's Street;

and T. Morphew, near Stationers-Hall.

Price 1s.

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Contents

No. 66

Wednesday, May 16, 1711

Steele

Motus doceri gaudet Ionicos

Matura Virgo, et fingitur artubus

Jam nunc, et incestos amores

De Tenero meditatur Ungui.

Hor.

To the Spectator.

Sir,

I Take the Freedom of asking your Advice in behalf of a Young Country Kinswoman of mine who is lately come to Town, and under my Care for her Education. She is very pretty, but you can't imagine how unformed a Creature it is. She comes to my Hands just as Nature left her, half-finished, and without any acquired Improvements. When I look on her I often think of the Belle Sauvage mentioned in one of your Papers. Dear Mr. Spectator, help me to make her comprehend the visible Graces of Speech, and the dumb Eloquence of Motion; for she is at present a perfect Stranger to both. She knows no Way to express her self but by her Tongue, and that always to signify her Meaning. Her Eyes serve her yet only to see with, and she is utterly a Foreigner to the Language of Looks and Glances. In this I fancy you could help her better than any Body. I have bestowed two Months in teaching her to Sigh when she is not concerned, and to Smile when she is not pleased; and am ashamed to own she makes little or no Improvement. Then she is no more able now to walk, than she was to go at a Year old. By Walking you will easily know I mean that regular but easy Motion, which gives our Persons so irresistible a Grace as if we moved to Musick, and is a kind of disengaged Figure, or, if I may so speak, recitative Dancing. But the want of this I cannot blame in her, for I find she has no Ear, and means nothing by Walking but to change her Place. I could pardon too her Blushing, if she knew how to carry her self in it, and if it did not manifestly injure her Complexion.

They tell me you are a Person who have seen the World, and are a Judge of fine Breeding; which makes me ambitious of some Instructions from you for her Improvement: Which when you have favoured me with, I shall further advise with you about the Disposal of this fair Forrester in Marriage; for I will make it no Secret to you, that her Person and Education are to be her Fortune.

I am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant

Celimene.

Sir, Being employed by Celimene to make up and send to you her Letter, I make bold to recommend the Case therein mentioned to your Consideration, because she and I happen to differ a little in our Notions. I, who am a rough Man, am afraid the young Girl is in a fair Way to be spoiled: Therefore pray, Mr. Spectator, let us have your Opinion of this fine thing called Fine Breeding; for I am afraid it differs too much from that plain thing called Good Breeding.

Your most humble Servant[1].

Cleomira

Footnote 1:3353The Siege of DamascusCalypso and Telemachus

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Contents

No. 67

Thursday, May 17, 1711

Budgell[1]

Saltare elegantius quam necesse est probæ.

Sal.

LucianDialogues[2]RheaJupiterSaturn.HomerMerionFine Dancer;GreeksTrojans

PyrrhusLacedæmoniansGreeceHormusFrench BrawlAsiaThessalianHomerHesiodthe Gods have bestowed Fortitude on some Men, and on others a Disposition for Dancing

SocratesApollo

Change

Sir,

'I am a Man in Years, and by an honest Industry in the World have acquired enough to give my Children a liberal Education, tho' I was an utter Stranger to it my self. My eldest Daughter, a Girl of Sixteen, has for some time been under the Tuition of Monsieur Rigadoon, a Dancing-Master in the City; and I was prevailed upon by her and her Mother to go last Night to one of his Balls. I must own to you, Sir, that having never been at any such Place before, I was very much pleased and surprized with that Part of his Entertainment which he called French Dancing. There were several young Men and Women, whose Limbs seemed to have no other Motion, but purely what the Musick gave them. After this Part was over, they began a Diversion which they call Country Dancing, and wherein there were also some things not disagreeable, and divers Emblematical Figures, Compos'd, as I guess, by Wise Men, for the Instruction of Youth.

Among the rest, I observed one, which, I think, they call Hunt the Squirrel, in which while the Woman flies the Man pursues her; but as soon as she turns, he runs away, and she is obliged to follow.

The Moral of this Dance does, I think, very aptly recommend Modesty and Discretion to the Female Sex.

But as the best Institutions are liable to Corruptions, so, Sir, I must acquaint you, that very great Abuses are crept into this Entertainment. I was amazed to see my Girl handed by, and handing young Fellows with so much Familiarity; and I could not have thought it had been in the Child. They very often made use of a most impudent and lascivious Step called Setting, which I know not how to describe to you, but by telling you that it is the very reverse of Back to Back. At last an impudent young Dog bid the Fidlers play a Dance called Mol Patley[3], and after having made two or three Capers, ran to his Partner, locked his Arms in hers, and whisked her round cleverly above Ground in such manner, that I, who sat upon one of the lowest Benches, saw further above her Shoe than I can think fit to acquaint you with. I could no longer endure these Enormities; wherefore just as my Girl was going to be made a Whirligig, I ran in, seized on the Child, and carried her home.

Sir, I am not yet old enough to be a Fool. I suppose this Diversion might be at first invented to keep up a good Understanding between young Men and Women, and so far I am not against it; but I shall never allow of these things. I know not what you will say to this Case at present, but am sure that had you been with me you would have seen matter of great Speculation.

I am

Yours, &c.

kissing DancesWill. Honeycomb

ICowley's[4]

Country Dancing

Postscript

Friday

From the three Chairs in the Piazza, Covent-Garden.

May 16, 1711.

Sir

'As you are Spectator, I think we, who make it our Business to exhibit any thing to publick View, ought to apply our selves to you for your Approbation. I have travelled Europe to furnish out a Show for you, and have brought with me what has been admired in every Country through which I passed. You have declared in many Papers, that your greatest Delights are those of the Eye, which I do not doubt but I shall gratifie with as Beautiful Objects as yours ever beheld. If Castles, Forests, Ruins, Fine Women, and Graceful Men, can please you, I dare promise you much Satisfaction, if you will Appear at my Auction on Friday next. A Sight is, I suppose, as grateful to a Spectator, as a Treat to another Person, and therefore I hope you will pardon this Invitation from,

Sir,

Your most Obedient

Humble Servant,

J. Graham.

Footnote 1:SpectatorSpectatorChristianity as Old as the Creation

Let Budgell charge low Grub-street on my quill,

And write whate'er he please, — except my Will.

'What Cato did, and Addison approved, cannot be wrong.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Of Dancing

'of the Works of Lucian, translated from the Greek by several Eminent Hands, 1711.'

return

Footnote 3:Moll Peatley

return

Footnote 4:a Proposition for the Advancement of Experimental Philosophy,

'in foul weather it would not be amiss for them to learn to Dance, that is, to learn just so much (for all beyond is superfluous, if not worse) as may give them a graceful comportment of their bodies.'

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Contents

No. 68

Friday, May 18, 1711

Addison

Nos duo turba sumus ...

Ovid.

TullyFrancis BaconConfuciusGrecianThe Wisdom of the Son of

'That we should have many Well-wishers, but few 'Friends.'

Sweet Language will multiply Friends; and a fair-speaking Tongue will increase kind Greetings. Be in Peace with many, nevertheless have but one Counsellor of a thousand[1].

If thou wouldst get a Friend, prove him first, and be not hasty to credit him: For some Man is a Friend for his own Occasion, and will not abide in the Day of thy Trouble. And there is a Friend, who being turned to Enmity and Strife will discover thy Reproach.

Some Friend is a Companion at the Table, and will not continue in the Day of thy Affliction: But in thy Prosperity he will be as thy self, and will be bold over thy Servants. If thou be brought low he will be against thee, and hide himself from thy Face.[2]

Separate thy self from thine Enemies, and take heed of thy Friends.

A faithful Friend is a strong Defence; and he that hath found such an one, hath found a Treasure. Nothing doth countervail a faithful Friend, and his Excellency is unvaluable. A faithful Friend is the Medicine of Life; and they that fear the Lord shall find him. Whoso feareth the Lord shall direct his Friendship aright; for as he is, so shall his Neighbour (that is, his Friend) be also.[3]

Forsake not an old Friend, for the new is not comparable to him: A new Friend is as new Wine; When it is old thou shalt drink it with Pleasure.[4]

Whoso casteth a Stone at the Birds frayeth them away; and he that upbraideth his Friend, breaketh Friendship. Tho' thou drawest a Sword at a Friend yet despair not, for there may be a returning to Favour: If thou hast opened thy Mouth against thy Friend fear not, for there may be a Reconciliation; except for Upbraiding, or Pride, or disclosing of Secrets, or a treacherous Wound; for, for these things every Friend will depart.[5]

HoraceEpictetus

Whoso discovereth Secrets, loseth his Credit, and shall never find a Friend to his Mind. Love thy Friend, and be faithful unto him; but if thou bewrayest his Secrets, follow no more after him: For as a Man hath destroyed his Enemy, so hast thou lost the Love of thy Friend; as one that letteth a Bird go out of his Hand, so hast thou let thy Friend go, and shalt not get him again: Follow after him no mere, for he is too far off; he is as a Roe escaped out of the Snare. As for a Wound it may be bound up, and after reviling there may be Reconciliation; but he that bewrayeth Secrets, is without Hope.[6]

AmongCiceroMorum Comitas[7]Martial

Difficilis, facilis, jucundus, acerbus es idem,

Nec tecum possum vivere, nec sine te.

In all thy Humours, whether grave or mellow,

Thou'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant Fellow;

Hast so much Wit, and Mirth, and Spleen about thee,

There is no living with thee, nor without thee.

Footnote 1:Ecclesiasticus

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Footnote 2:Ecclesiasticus

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Footnote 3:Ecclesiasticus

return

Footnote 4:Ecclesiasticus

return

Footnote 5:Ecclesiasticus

return

Footnote 6:Ecclesiasticus

return

Footnote 7:de AmicitiâDe Officiis

'difficile dicta est, quantopere conciliet animos hominum comitas, affabilitasque sermonia.'

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Contents

No. 69

Saturday, May 19, 1711

Addison

Hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvæ:

Arborei fœtus alibi, atque injussa virescunt

Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,

India mittit ebur, molles sua thura Sabæi?

At Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus

Castorea, Eliadum palmas Epirus equarum?

Continuo has leges æternaque fœdera certis

Imposuit Natura locis ...

Virg.

Royal-ExchangeEnglishmanEmporiumJapanLondonGreat MogulCzar of MuscovyArmeniansJewsDutchmenDaneSwedeFrenchman

AndrewThereEgyptGrand Cairo[1]Coptick

DegreePortugalBarbadoes:ChinaIndianPhilippickEuropeanPeruIndostan

Naturalour[2]EnglishChinaJapanAmericaIndianAndrewFrancePersiansChineseNorwhich[3]Britain

EnglishMahometansBritish

'ChangeEuropeBritish

Footnote 1:Spectator'sNo. 1.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 70

Monday, May 21, 1711

Addison

Interdum vulgus rectum videt.

Hor.

ConditionsMolièreBoileau

an[1]who[2][3]

HomerVirgilMiltonMartialCowley

Chevey ChaseEnglandBen JohnsonSir Philip SidneyDiscourse of Poetry[4]

I never heard the old Song of Piercy and Douglas, that I found not my Heart more moved than with a Trumpet; and yet it is sung by some blind Crowder with no rougher Voice than rude Stile; which being so evil apparelled in the Dust and Cobweb of that uncivil Age, what would it work trimmed in the gorgeous Eloquence of Pindar?

HomerVirgilGreecePersianHomerGrecianAsiatickAt[5]EnglishScotch

God save the King, and bless the Land

In Plenty, Joy, and Peace;

And grant henceforth that foul Debate

'Twixt Noblemen may cease.

Virgil'sRomeHomer'sGreeceValerius FlaccusStatiusRomansGolden FleeceWars of Thebes

The Englishwho[6]who[7]EnglishScotchEnglishScotchButScotchEnglishreceive[8]

This News was brought to Edinburgh,

Where Scotland's King did reign,

That brave Earl Douglas suddenly

Was with an Arrow slain.

O heavy News, King James did say,

Scotland can Witness be,

I have not any Captain more

Of such Account as he.

Like Tydings to King Henry came

Within as short a Space,

That Piercy of Northumberland

Was slain in Chevy-Chase.

Now God be with him, said our King,

Sith 'twill no better be,

I trust I have within my Realm

Five hundred as good as he.

Yet shall not Scot nor Scotland say

But I will Vengeance take,

And be revenged on them all

For brave Lord Piercy's Sake.

This Vow full well the King performed

After on Humble-down,

In one Day fifty Knights were slain,

With Lords of great Renown.

And of the rest of small Account

Did many Thousands dye, &c.

Scots

Earl Douglas on a milk-white Steed,

Most like a Baron bold,

Rode foremost of the Company

Whose Armour shone like Gold.

Onein single Fight.[9]

Ere thus I will out-braved be,

One of us two shall dye;

I know thee well, an Earl thou art,

Lord Piercy, so am I.

But trust me, Piercy, Pity it were,

And great Offence, to kill

Any of these our harmless Men,

For they have done no Ill.

Let thou and I the Battle try,

And set our Men aside;

Accurst be he, Lord Piercy said,

By whom this is deny'd.

Scotch

With that there came an Arrow keen

Out of an English Bow,

Which struck Earl Douglas to the Heart

A deep and deadly Blow.

Who never spoke more Words than these,

Fight on, my merry Men all,

For why, my Life is at an End,

Lord Piercy sees my Fall.

Merry MenVirgil's ÆneidCamilla

Tum sic exspirans, &c.

A gathering Mist overclouds her chearful Eyes;

And from her Cheeks the rosie Colour flies.

Then turns to her, whom, of her Female Train,

She trusted most, and thus she speaks with Pain.

Acca, 'tis past! He swims before my Sight,

Inexorable Death; and claims his Right.

Bear my last Words to Turnus, fly with Speed,

And bid him timely to my Charge succeed;

Repel the Trojans, and the Town relieve:

Farewel ...

TurnusTurnus's

Lord Piercy sees my Fall.

... Vicisti, et victum tendere palmas

Ausonii videre ...

Piercy's

Then leaving Life, Earl Piercy took

The dead Man by the Hand,

And said, Earl Douglas, for thy Life

Would I had lost my Land.

O Christ! my very heart doth bleed

With Sorrow for thy Sake;

For sure a more renowned Knight

Mischance did never take.

Taking the dead Man by the HandÆneas'sLausus

At vero ut vultum vidit morientis, et ora,

Ora modis Anchisiades, pallentia miris;

Ingemuit, miserans graviter, dextramque tetendit, &c.

The pious Prince beheld young Lausus dead;

He grieved, he wept; then grasped his Hand, and said,

Poor hapless Youth! What Praises can be paid

To worth so great ...

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Defence of Poesy.

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Footnote 5:Chevy ChaseHunting of the Cheviot

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Footnote 6:

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Footnote 7:

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Footnote 8:

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Footnote 9:

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Contents

No. 71

Tuesday, May 22, 1711

Steele

... Scribere jussit Amor.

Ovid.

DrydenCymonIphigeniaCymon

He Whistled as he went, for want of Thought,

It happen'd on a Summer's Holiday,

That to the Greenwood-shade he took his Way;

His Quarter-staff, which he cou'd ne'er forsake,

Hung half before, and half behind his Back.

He trudg'd along unknowing what he sought,

And whistled as he went, for want of Thought.

By Chance conducted, or by Thirst constrain'd,

The deep recesses of the Grove he gain'd;

Where in a Plain, defended by the Wood,

Crept thro' the matted Grass a Crystal Flood,

By which an Alabaster Fountain stood:

And on the Margin of the Fount was laid,

(Attended by her Slaves) a sleeping Maid,

Like Dian, and her Nymphs, when, tir'd with Sport,

To rest by cool Eurotas they resort:

The Dame herself the Goddess well expressed,

Not more distinguished by her Purple Vest,

Than by the charming Features of her Face,

And even in Slumber a superior Grace:

Her comely Limbs composed with decent Care,

Her Body shaded with a slight Cymarr;

Her Bosom to the View was only bare:[1]

...

The fanning Wind upon her Bosom blows,

To meet the fanning Wind the Bosom rose;

The fanning Wind and purling Streams continue her Repose.

The Fool of Nature stood with stupid Eyes

And gaping Mouth, that testify'd Surprize,

Fix'd on her Face, nor could remove his Sight,

New as he was to Love, and Novice in Delight:

Long mute he stood, and leaning on his Staff,

His Wonder witness'd with an Idiot Laugh;

Then would have spoke, but by his glimmering Sense

First found his want of Words, and fear'd Offence:

Doubted for what he was he should be known,

By his Clown-Accent, and his Country Tone.

ButDrydenverbatim[2]JamesJamesBettyBettyBettyJamesJamesMolly

To Elizabeth ...

My Dear Betty, May 14, 1711.

Remember your bleeding Lover,

who lies bleeding at the ...

Where two beginning Paps were scarcely spy'd,

For yet their Places were but signify'd.

Wounds Cupid made with the Arrows he borrowed at the Eyes of Venus, which is your sweet Person.

Nay more, with the Token you sent me for my Love and Service offered to your sweet Person; which was your base Respects to my ill Conditions; when alas! there is no ill Conditions in me, but quite contrary; all Love and Purity, especially to your sweet Person; but all this I take as a Jest.

But the sad and dismal News which Molly brought me, struck me to the Heart, which was, it seems, and is your ill Conditions for my Love and Respects to you.

For she told me, if I came Forty times to you, you would not speak with me, which Words I am sure is a great Grief to me.

Now, my Dear, if I may not be permitted to your sweet Company, and to have the Happiness of speaking with your sweet Person, I beg the Favour of you to accept of this my secret Mind and Thoughts, which hath so long lodged in my Breast; the which if you do not accept, I believe will go nigh to break my Heart.

For indeed, my Dear, I Love you above all the Beauties I ever saw in all my Life.

The young Gentleman, and my Masters Daughter, the Londoner that is come down to marry her, sat in the Arbour most part of last Night. Oh! dear Betty, must the Nightingales sing to those who marry for Mony, and not to us true Lovers! Oh my dear Betty, that we could meet this Night where we used to do in the Wood!

Now, my Dear, if I may not have the Blessing of kissing your sweet Lips, I beg I may have the Happiness of kissing your fair Hand, with a few Lines from your dear self, presented by whom you please or think fit. I believe, if Time would permit me, I could write all Day; but the Time being short, and Paper little, no more from your never-failing Lover till Death, James ...

Dear Creature, Can you then neglect him who has forgot all his Recreations and Enjoyments, to pine away his Life in thinking of you?

When I do so, you appear more amiable to me than Venus does in the most beautiful Description that ever was made of her. All this Kindness you return with an Accusation, that I do not love you: But the contrary is so manifest, that I cannot think you in earnest. But the Certainty given me in your Message by Molly, that you do not love me, is what robs me of all Comfort. She says you will not see me: If you can have so much Cruelty, at least write to me, that I may kiss the Impression made by your fair Hand. I love you above all things, and, in my Condition, what you look upon with Indifference is to me the most exquisite Pleasure or Pain. Our young Lady, and a fine Gentleman from London, who are to marry for mercenary Ends, walk about our Gardens, and hear the Voice of Evening Nightingales, as if for Fashion-sake they courted those Solitudes, because they have heard Lovers do so. Oh Betty! could I hear these Rivulets murmur, and Birds sing while you stood near me, how little sensible should I be that we are both Servants, that there is anything on Earth above us. Oh! I could write to you as long as I love you, till Death it self.

James.

N.B.Ill-ConditionsCoquetryInconstancy

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

'No, James,' he said, 'you shall be a great man. This letter must appear in the Spectator.'

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Contents

No. 72

Wednesday, May 23, 1711

Addison

... Genus immortale manet, multosque per annos

Stat fortuna Domus, et avi numerantur avorum.

Virg.

Everlasting Club

Theanother[1]Bywho[2]

Itwhich[2]Sede vacante

ThisGreat Fire[3]Thismentioned in my Lord Clarendon, who[2]Nemine Contradicente

Ben. Johnson'sfocus perennis estoTheywhich[2]

Theirwho[2]who[2]which[2]

Footnote 1:

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Footnotes 2:

return (1)

return (2)

return (3)

return (4)

return (5, 6, 7)

Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 73

Thursday, May 24, 1711

Addison

... O Dea certé!

Virg.

Butwhich[1]which[1]

It[2]

IdolsIdolIdolsIdolsOvid'sArt of LoveIdol

ItIdolsMilton's[3]CanaanMolochFire and FlamesBaalIdolApocryphaChinese Idols

IdolsIdols

IdolThisIdolChaucer[4]

IdolChaucerClarindaIdols

IdolApotheosis

IdolIdol

WomanIdol

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Tuscul. Quæst.

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Footnote 3:Paradise Lost

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Footnote 4:The Remedy of Love

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Contents

No. 74

Friday, May 25, 1711

Addison

... Pendent opera interrupta ...

Virg.

InMonday'sChevey-Chasethe[1]Æneid

Philip SidneyIPhilip Sidneysonorous;[2]ApparelgorgeousElizabeth's

To drive the Deer with Hound and Horn

Earl Piercy took his Way;

The Child may rue that was unborn

The Hunting of that Day!

This[3]which took their rise[4]

Audiet pugnas vilio parentum

Rara juventus.

Hor.

The stout Earl of Northumberland

A Vow to God did make,

His Pleasure in the Scotish Woods

Three Summers Days to take.

With fifteen hundred Bowmen bold,

All chosen Men of Might,

Who knew full well, in time of Need,

To aim their Shafts aright.

The Hounds ran swiftly thro' the Woods

The nimble Deer to take,

And with their Cries the Hills and Dales

An Eccho shrill did make.

... Vocat ingenti Clamore Cithseron

Taygetique canes, domitrixque Epidaurus equorum:

Et vox assensu nemorum ingeminata remugit.

Lo, yonder doth Earl Dowglas come,

His Men in Armour bright;

Full twenty Hundred Scottish Spears,

All marching in our Sight.

All Men of pleasant Tividale,

Fast by the River Tweed, etc.

ScotchVirgil

Adversi campo apparent, hastasque reductis

Protendunt longe dextris; et spicula vibrant;

Quique altum Preneste viri, quique arva Gabinæ

Junonis, gelidumque Anienem, et roscida rivis

Hernica saxa colunt: ... qui rosea rura Velini,

Qui Terticæ horrentes rupes, montemque Severum,

Casperiamque colunt, Forulosque et flumen Himellæ:

Qui Tiberim Fabarimque bibunt ...

Earl Dowglas on a milk-white Steed,

Most like a Baron bold,

Rode foremost of the Company,

Whose Armour shone like Gold.

Our English Archers bent their Bows

Their Hearts were good and true;

At the first Flight of Arrows sent,

Full threescore Scots they slew.

They clos'd full fast on ev'ry side,

No Slackness there was found.

And many a gallant Gentleman

Lay gasping on the Ground.

With that there came an Arrow keen

Out of an English Bow,

Which struck Earl Dowglas to the Heart

A deep and deadly Blow.

Has inter voces, media inter talia verba,

Ecce viro stridens alis allapsa sagitta est,

Incertum quâ pulsa manu ...

HomerVirgil

So thus did both those Nobles die,

Whose Courage none could stain:

An English Archer then perceived

The noble Earl was slain.

He had a Bow bent in his Hand,

Made of a trusty Tree,

An Arrow of a Cloth-yard long

Unto the Head drew he.

Against Sir Hugh Montgomery

So right his Shaft he set,

The Gray-goose Wing that was thereon

In his Heart-Blood was wet.

This Fight did last from Break of Day

Till setting of the Sun;

For when they rung the Evening Bell

The Battle scarce was done.

And with Earl Dowglas there was slain

Sir Hugh Montgomery,

Sir Charles Carrel, that from the Field

One Foot would never fly:

Sir Charles Murrel of Ratcliff too,

His Sister's Son was he;

Sir David Lamb, so well esteem'd,

Yet saved could not be.

Virgil

... Cadit et Ripheus justissimus unus

Qui fuit in Teucris et servantissimus æqui,

Diis aliter visum est ...

InEnglish who[5]Witherington's ; though I am satisfied your little Buffoon Readers (who have seen that Passage ridiculed in Hudibras) will not be able to take the Beauty of it: For which Reason I dare not so much as quote it.

Then stept a gallant Squire forth,

Witherington was his Name,

Who said, I would not have it told

To Henry our King for Shame,

That e'er my Captain fought on Foot,

And I stood looking on.

Virgil

Non pudet, O Rutuli, cunctis pro talibus unam

Objectare animam? numerone an viribus æqui

Non sumus ... ?

Next Day did many Widows come

Their Husbands to bewail;

They washed their Wounds in brinish Tears,

But all would not prevail.

Their Bodies bath'd in purple Blood,

They bore with them away;

They kiss'd them dead a thousand Times,

When they were clad in Clay.

GothicLatinVirgil

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Contents

No. 75

Saturday, May 26, 1711

Steele

Omnis Aristippum decuit color, et status, et res.

Hor.

DorimantFoplingDorimant'Tis she, that lovely Hair, that easy Shape, those wanton Eyes, and all those melting Charms about her Mouth, whichspoke of; I'll follow the Lottery, and put in for a Prize with my Friend

In Love the Victors from the Vanquish'd fly;

They fly that wound, and they pursue that dye,

And you and Loveit to her Cost shall find

I fathom all the Depths of Womankind.

LoveitFopling

I, that I may Successful prove,

Transform my self to what you love.

The Wife will find a Diff'rence in our Fate,

You wed a Woman, I a good Estate.

Fine Gentleman

DorimantOrange WenchDouble TripeVociferVocifer

Ignotus

Contents

No. 76

Monday, May 28, 1711

Steele

Ut tu Fortunam, sic nos te, Celse, feremus.

Hor.

TheyPharamond of France[1]

'Pharamond, says my Author, was a Prince of infinite Humanity and Generosity, and at the same time the most pleasant and facetious Companion of his Time. He had a peculiar Taste in him (which would have been unlucky in any Prince but himself,) he thought there could be no exquisite Pleasure in Conversation but among Equals; and would pleasantly bewail himself that he always lived in a Crowd, but was the only man in France that never could get into Company. This Turn of Mind made him delight in Midnight Rambles, attended only with one Person of his Bed-chamber: He would in these Excursions get acquainted with Men (whose Temper he had a Mind to try) and recommend them privately to the particular Observation of his first Minister. He generally found himself neglected by his new Acquaintance as soon as they had Hopes of growing great; and used on such Occasions to remark, That it was a great Injustice to tax Princes of forgetting themselves in their high Fortunes, when there were so few that could with Constancy bear the Favour of their very Creatures.'

Pharamond

'Sir, You have twice what you desired, by the Favour of Pharamond; but look to it, that you are satisfied with it, for 'tis the last you shall ever receive. I from this Moment consider you as mine; and to make you truly so, I give you my Royal Word you shall never be greater or less than you are at present. Answer me not, (concluded the Prince smiling) but enjoy the Fortune I have put you in, which is above my own Condition; for you have hereafter nothing to hope or to fear.'

Eucrate

PharamondEucratePharamondPharamond

'As he could take away a Man's Five Senses, he could give him an Hundred. The Man in Disgrace shall immediately lose all his natural Endowments, and he that finds Favour have the Attributes of an Angel.' He would carry it so far as to say, 'It should not be only so in the Opinion of the lower Part of his Court, but the Men themselves shall think thus meanly or greatly of themselves, as they are out or in the good Graces of a Court.'

PharamondPharamond

Footnote 1:Faramond

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Contents

No. 77

Tuesday, May 29, 1711

Budgell

Non convivere licet, nec urbe tota

Quisquam est tam propè tam proculque nobis.

Mart.

Will HoneycombFrencha reveura distraitSomersetWill.VirtuosoWill.Thames

I[1]Dryden

Great Wit to Madness sure is near ally'd,

And thin Partitions do their Bounds divide.

AbsentAbsent

IdeasEuclidParis

Puppet-ShowOperaHamletOthelloWill. Honeycombmal a propos

WillMoll Hinton

'Why now there's my Friend (mentioning me by my Name) he is a Fellow that thinks a great deal, but never opens his Mouth; I warrant you he is now thrusting his short Face into some Coffee-house about 'Change. I was his Bail in the time of the Popish-Plot, when he was taken up for a Jesuit.'

Out of Sight out of Mind

Monsieur Bruyèrean absent[2]

'Menalcas (says that excellent Author) comes down in a Morning, opens his Door to go out, but shuts it again, because he perceives that he has his Night-cap on; and examining himself further finds that he is but half-shaved, that he has stuck his Sword on his right Side, that his Stockings are about his Heels, and that his Shirt is over his Breeches. When he is dressed he goes to Court, comes into the Drawing-room, and walking bolt-upright under a Branch of Candlesticks his Wig is caught up by one of them, and hangs dangling in the Air. All the Courtiers fall a laughing, but Menalcas laughs louder than any of them, and looks about for the Person that is the Jest of the Company. Coming down to the Court-gate he finds a Coach, which taking for his own, he whips into it; and the Coachman drives off, not doubting but he carries his Master. As soon as he stops, Menalcas throws himself out of the Coach, crosses the Court, ascends the Staircase, and runs thro' all the Chambers with the greatest Familiarity, reposes himself on a Couch, and fancies himself at home. The Master of the House at last comes in, Menalcas rises to receive him, and desires him to sit down; he talks, muses, and then talks again. The Gentleman of the House is tired and amazed; Menalcas is no less so, but is every Moment in Hopes that his impertinent Guest will at last end his tedious Visit. Night comes on, when Menalcas is hardly undeceived.

When he is playing at Backgammon, he calls for a full Glass of Wine and Water; 'tis his turn to throw, he has the Box in one Hand and his Glass in the other, and being extremely dry, and unwilling to lose Time, he swallows down both the Dice, and at the same time throws his Wine into the Tables. He writes a Letter, and flings the Sand into the Ink-bottle; he writes a second, and mistakes the Superscription: A Nobleman receives one of them, and upon opening it reads as follows: I would have you, honest Jack, immediately upon the Receipt of this, take in Hay enough to serve me the Winter. His Farmer receives the other and is amazed to see in it, My Lord, I received your Grace's Commands with an entire Submission to — If he is at an Entertainment, you may see the Pieces of Bread continually multiplying round his Plate: 'Tis true the rest of the Company want it, as well as their Knives and Forks, which Menalcas does not let them keep long. Sometimes in a Morning he puts his whole Family in an hurry, and at last goes out without being able to stay for his Coach or Dinner, and for that Day you may see him in every Part of the Town, except the very Place where he had appointed to be upon a Business of Importance. You would often take him for every thing that he is not; for a Fellow quite stupid, for he hears nothing; for a Fool, for he talks to himself, and has an hundred Grimaces and Motions with his Head, which are altogether involuntary; for a proud Man, for he looks full upon you, and takes no notice of your saluting him: The Truth on't is, his Eyes are open, but he makes no use of them, and neither sees you, nor any Man, nor any thing else: He came once from his Country-house, and his own Footman undertook to rob him, and succeeded: They held a Flambeau to his Throat, and bid him deliver his Purse; he did so, and coming home told his Friends he had been robbed; they desired to know the Particulars, Ask my Servants, says Menalcas, for they were with me.

Footnote 1:de Tranquill. Anim

'Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixturâ dementiæ'

Absalom and Achitophel

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Footnote 2:Caractères

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Contents

No. 78

Wednesday, May 30, 1711

Steele

Cum Talis sis, Utinam noster esses!

Cambridge

Sir,

'I Send you the inclosed, to be inserted (if you think them worthy of it) in your Spectators; in which so surprizing a Genius appears, that it is no Wonder if all Mankind endeavours to get somewhat into a Paper which will always live.

As to the Cambridge Affair, the Humour was really carried on in the Way I described it. However, you have a full Commission to put out or in, and to do whatever you think fit with it. I have already had the Satisfaction of seeing you take that Liberty with some things I have before sent you[1].

Go on, Sir, and prosper. You have the best Wishes of

Sir, Your very Affectionate,

and Obliged Humble Servant.

Cambridge.

Mr, Spectator,

'You well know it is of great Consequence to clear Titles, and it is of Importance that it be done in the proper Season; On which Account this is to assure you, that the Club Of Ugly Faces was instituted originally at Cambridge in the merry Reign of King Charles II. As in great Bodies of Men it is not difficult to find Members enough for such a Club, so (I remember) it was then feared, upon their Intention of dining together, that the Hall belonging to Clarehall, (the ugliest then in the Town, tho' now the neatest) would not be large enough Handsomely to hold the Company. Invitations were made to great Numbers, but very few accepted them without much Difficulty. One pleaded that being at London in a Bookseller's Shop, a Lady going by with a great Belly longed to kiss him. He had certainly been excused, but that Evidence appeared, That indeed one in London did pretend she longed to kiss him, but that it was only a Pickpocket, who during his kissing her stole away all his Money. Another would have got off by a Dimple in his Chin; but it was proved upon him, that he had, by coming into a Room, made a Woman miscarry, and frightened two Children into Fits. A Third alledged, That he was taken by a Lady for another Gentleman, who was one of the handsomest in the University; But upon Enquiry it was found that the Lady had actually lost one Eye, and the other was very much upon the Decline. A Fourth produced Letters out of the Country in his Vindication, in which a Gentleman offered him his Daughter, who had lately fallen in Love with him, with a good Fortune: But it was made appear that the young Lady was amorous, and had like to have run away with her Father's Coachman, so that it was supposed, that her Pretence of falling in Love with him was only in order to be well married. It was pleasant to hear the several Excuses which were made, insomuch that some made as much Interest to be excused as they would from serving Sheriff; however at last the Society was formed, and proper Officers were appointed; and the Day was fix'd for the Entertainment, which was in Venison Season. A pleasant Fellow of King's College (commonly called Crab from his sour Look, and the only Man who did not pretend to get off) was nominated for Chaplain; and nothing was wanting but some one to sit in the Elbow-Chair, by way of President, at the upper end of the Table; and there the Business stuck, for there was no Contention for Superiority there. This Affair made so great a Noise, that the King, who was then at Newmarket, heard of it, and was pleased merrily and graciously to say, He could not Be There himself, but he would Send them a Brace of Bucks.

I would desire you, Sir, to set this Affair in a true Light, that Posterity may not be misled in so important a Point: For when the wise Man who shall write your true History shall acquaint the World, That you had a Diploma sent from the Ugly Club at Oxford, and that by vertue of it you were admitted into it, what a learned Work will there be among future Criticks about the Original of that Club, which both Universities will contend so warmly for? And perhaps some hardy Cantabrigian Author may then boldly affirm, that the Word Oxford was an interpolation of some Oxonian instead of Cambridge. This Affair will be best adjusted in your Life-time; but I hope your Affection to your Mother will not make you partial to your Aunt.

To tell you, Sir, my own Opinion: Tho' I cannot find any ancient Records of any Acts of the Society of the Ugly Faces, considered in a publick Capacity; yet in a private one they have certainly Antiquity on their Side. I am perswaded they will hardly give Place to the Lowngers, and the Lowngers are of the same Standing with the University itself.

Tho' we well know, Sir, you want no Motives to do Justice, yet I am commission'd to tell you, that you are invited to be admitted ad eundem at Cambridge; and I believe I may venture safely to deliver this as the Wish of our Whole University.'

To Mr. Spectator.

The humble Petition of Who and Which.

Sheweth,

'That your Petitioners being in a forlorn and destitute Condition, know not to whom we should apply ourselves for Relief, because there is hardly any Man alive who hath not injured us. Nay, we speak it with Sorrow, even You your self, whom we should suspect of such a Practice the last of all Mankind, can hardly acquit your self of having given us some Cause of Complaint. We are descended of ancient Families, and kept up our Dignity and Honour many Years, till the Jack-sprat THAT supplanted us. How often have we found ourselves slighted by the Clergy in their Pulpits, and the Lawyers at the Bar? Nay, how often have we heard in one of the most polite and august Assemblies in the Universe, to our great Mortification, these Words, That That that noble Lord urged; which if one of us had had Justice done, would have sounded nobler thus, That Which that noble Lord urged. Senates themselves, the Guardians of British Liberty, have degraded us, and preferred That to us; and yet no Decree was ever given against us. In the very Acts of Parliament, in which the utmost Right should be done to every Body, Word and Thing, we find our selves often either not used, or used one instead of another. In the first and best Prayer Children are taught, they learn to misuse us: Our Father Which art in Heaven, should be, Our Father Who art in Heaven; and even a Convocation after long Debates, refused to consent to an Alteration of it. In our general Confession we say, — Spare thou them, O God, Which confess their Faults, which ought to be, Who confess their Faults. What Hopes then have we of having Justice done so, when the Makers of our very Prayers and Laws, and the most learned in all Faculties, seem to be in a Confederacy against us, and our Enemies themselves must be our Judges.'

The Spanish Proverb says,

Il sabio muda consejo, il necio no;

i. e.

A wise Man changes his Mind, a Fool never will.

So that we think You, Sir, a very proper Person to address to, since we know you to be capable of being convinced, and changing your Judgment. You are well able to settle this Affair, and to you we submit our Cause. We desire you to assign the Butts and Bounds of each of us; and that for the future we may both enjoy our own. We would desire to be heard by our Counsel, but that we fear in their very Pleadings they would betray our Cause: Besides, we have been oppressed so many Years, that we can appear no other way, but in forma pauperis. All which considered, we hope you will be pleased to do that which to Right and Justice shall appertain.

And your Petitioners, &c.

Footnote 1:No. 54.

Know, Eusden thirsts no more for sack or praise;

He sleeps among the dull of ancient days.

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Contents

No. 79

Thursday, May 31, 1711

Steele

Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator, 'I am Young, and very much inclin'd to follow the Paths of Innocence: but at the same time, as I have a plentiful Fortune, and of Quality, I am unwilling to resign the Pleasures of Distinction, some little Satisfaction in being Admired in general, and much greater in being beloved by a Gentleman, whom I design to make my Husband. But I have a mind to put off entering into Matrimony till another Winter is over my Head, which, (whatever, musty Sir, you may think of the Matter) I design to pass away in hearing Music, going to Plays, Visiting, and all other Satisfactions which Fortune and Youth, protected by Innocence and Virtue, can procure for, '

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

M. T.

'My Lover does not know I like him, therefore having no Engagements upon me, I think to stay and know whether I may not like any one else better.'

Will. Honeycomb

A Woman seldom writes her Mind but in her Postscript.

Eudosia! EudosiaEudosiaFlavia

Hecatissa

Mr. Spectator,

"I Write this to acquaint you, that very many Ladies, as well as myself, spend many Hours more than we used at the Glass, for want of the Female Library of which you promised us a Catalogue. I hope, Sir, in the Choice of Authors for us, you will have a particular Regard to Books of Devotion. What they are, and how many, must be your chief Care; for upon the Propriety of such Writings depends a great deal. I have known those among us who think, if they every Morning and Evening spend an Hour in their Closet, and read over so many Prayers in six or seven Books of Devotion, all equally nonsensical, with a sort of Warmth, (that might as well be raised by a Glass of Wine, or a Drachm of Citron) they may all the rest of their time go on in whatever their particular Passion leads them to. The beauteous Philautia, who is (in your Language) an Idol, is one of these Votaries; she has a very pretty furnished Closet, to which she retires at her appointed Hours: This is her Dressing-room, as well as Chapel; she has constantly before her a large Looking-glass, and upon the Table, according to a very witty Author,

Together lye her Prayer-book and Paint,

At once t' improve the Sinner and the Saint.

It must be a good Scene, if one could be present at it, to see this Idol by turns lift up her Eyes to Heaven, and steal Glances at her own dear Person. It cannot but be a pleasing Conflict between Vanity and Humiliation. When you are upon this Subject, choose Books which elevate the Mind above the World, and give a pleasing Indifference to little things in it. For want of such Instructions, I am apt to believe so many People take it in their Heads to be sullen, cross and angry, under pretence of being abstracted from the Affairs of this Life, when at the same time they betray their Fondness for them by doing their Duty as a Task, and pouting and reading good Books for a Week together. Much of this I take to proceed from the Indiscretion of the Books themselves, whose very Titles of Weekly Preparations, and such limited Godliness, lead People of ordinary Capacities into great Errors, and raise in them a Mechanical Religion, entirely distinct from Morality. I know a Lady so given up to this sort of Devotion, that tho' she employs six or eight Hours of the twenty-four at Cards, she never misses one constant Hour of Prayer, for which time another holds her Cards, to which she returns with no little Anxiousness till two or three in the Morning. All these Acts are but empty Shows, and, as it were, Compliments made to Virtue; the Mind is all the while untouched with any true Pleasure in the Pursuit of it. From hence I presume it arises that so many People call themselves Virtuous, from no other Pretence to it but an Absence of Ill. There is Dulcianara is the most insolent of all Creatures to her Friends and Domesticks, upon no other Pretence in Nature but that (as her silly Phrase is) no one can say Black is her Eye. She has no Secrets, forsooth, which should make her afraid to speak her Mind, and therefore she is impertinently Blunt to all her Acquaintance, and unseasonably Imperious to all her Family. Dear Sir, be pleased to put such Books in our Hands, as may make our Virtue more inward, and convince some of us that in a Mind truly virtuous the Scorn of Vice is always accompanied with the Pity of it. This and other things are impatiently expected from you by our whole Sex; among the rest by,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,'

Contents

No. 80

Friday, June 1, 1711

Steele

Cœlum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.

Hor.

Cheapside, LondonBrunettaPhillisPhillis

MaySunday

PhillisWest-IndianAmericanPhillisBrunettaBrunettaPhillisBarbadoesBrunettaBrunettaPhillisBrunettaPhillisBrunettaPhillis'sBrunettaPhillisBrunettaBrunettaPhillisPhillisPlymouth

Postscript

To Mr. Spectator.

The just Remonstrance of affronted That.

'Tho' I deny not the Petition of Mr. Who and Which, yet You should not suffer them to be rude and call honest People Names: For that bears very hard on some of those Rules of Decency, which You are justly famous for establishing. They may find fault, and correct Speeches in the Senate and at the Bar: But let them try to get themselves so often and with so much Eloquence repeated in a Sentence, as a great Orator doth frequently introduce me.

My Lords! (says he) with humble Submission, That that I say is this; that, That that that Gentleman has advanced, is not That, that he should have proved to your Lordships. Let those two questionary Petitioners try to do thus with their Who's and their Whiches.

What great advantage was I of to Mr. Dryden in his Indian Emperor,

You force me still to answer You in That,

to furnish out a Rhyme to Morat? And what a poor Figure would Mr. Bayes have made without his Egad and all That? How can a judicious Man distinguish one thing from another, without saying This here, or That there? And how can a sober Man without using the Expletives of Oaths (in which indeed the Rakes and Bullies have a great advantage over others) make a Discourse of any tolerable Length, without That is; and if he be a very grave Man indeed, without That is to say? And how instructive as well as entertaining are those usual Expressions in the Mouths of great Men, Such Things as That and The like of That.

I am not against reforming the Corruptions of Speech You mention, and own there are proper Seasons for the Introduction of other Words besides That; but I scorn as much to supply the Place of a Who or a Which at every Turn, as they are unequal always to fill mine; And I expect good Language and civil Treatment, and hope to receive it for the future: That, that I shall only add is, that I am,

Yours,

That.'

Contents

Dedication to the Second Volume as Originally Issued

To The Right Honourable

Charles Lord Hallifax[1].

My Lord,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's

Most Obliged,

Most Obedient, and

Most Humble Servant,

The Spectator.

Footnote 1:Spectators

Hind and Panther

Spectator

"He became proud even to insolence. Old companions ... hardly knew their friend Charles in the great man who could not forget for one moment that he was First Lord of the Treasury, that he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, that he had been a Regent of the kingdom, that he had founded the Bank of England, and the new East India Company, that he had restored the Currency, that he had invented the Exchequer Bills, that he had planned the General Mortgage, and that he had been pronounced, by a solemn vote of the Commons, to have deserved all the favours which he had received from the Crown. It was said that admiration of himself and contempt of others were indicated by all his gestures, and written in all the lines of his face."

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Contents

No. 81

Saturday, June 2, 1711

Addison

Qualis ubi audito venantum murmure Tigris

Horruit in maculas ...

Statins.

Hay-MarketAmazons

RosalindaRosalindaRosalindaNigranilla

ThisCowley

... She swells with angry Pride,

And calls forth all her Spots on ev'ry Side[1].

Spectator

RomansSabines

BritishGreeksOlympickGreece

AsEnglishproper[2]RomansEnglish

SincePericles[3]AtheniansLacedæmonians

'And as for you (says he) I shall advise you in very few Words: Aspire only to those Virtues that are peculiar to your Sex; follow your natural Modesty, and think it your greatest Commendation not to be talked of one way or other'.

Footnote 1:Davideis

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 82

Monday, June 4, 1711

Steele

... Caput domina venate sub hasta.

Juv.

PassingLudgate[1]

Where with like Haste, tho' diff'rent Ways they run;

Some to undo, and some to be undone;[2]

Denham,That he is unjustEnglishAndrew.Jack Truepenny,Andrew.JackJackTruepennyJack

Jack

Sir, 'Your Ingratitude for the many Kindnesses I have done you, shall not make me unthankful for the Good you have done me, in letting me see there is such a Man as you in the World. I am obliged to you for the Diffidence I shall have all the rest of my Life: I shall hereafter trust no Man so far as to be in his Debt.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Cooper's Hill.

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Contents

No. 83

Tuesday, June 5, 1711

Addison

... Animum pictura pascit inani.

Virg.

LivingDead

LivingVanityFrenchmanToujours GaiPetits MaitresCoquets

VanityGermanStupidity

FantasqueChimera

Henor[1]Avarice

DutchmanIndustryFire

Envy

Raphael'sTitian'sGuido Rheni'sHannibal CarracheCorreggioRubens

Hethe[2]Time

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 84

Wednesday, June 6, 1711

Steele

... Quis talia fando

Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles Ulyssei

Temperet a Lachrymis?

Virg.

LookingPharamond[1]EucratePharamond

'Pharamond, when he had a Mind to retire for an Hour or two from the Hurry of Business and Fatigue of Ceremony, made a Signal to Eucrate, by putting his Hand to his Face, placing his Arm negligently on a Window, or some such Action as appeared indifferent to all the rest of the Company. Upon such Notice, unobserved by others, (for their entire Intimacy was always a Secret) Eucrate repaired to his own Apartment to receive the King. There was a secret Access to this Part of the Court, at which Eucrate used to admit many whose mean Appearance in the Eyes of the ordinary Waiters and Door-keepers made them be repulsed from other Parts of the Palace. Such as these were let in here by Order of Eucrate, and had Audiences of Pharamond. This Entrance Pharamond called The Gate of the Unhappy, and the Tears of the Afflicted who came before him, he would say were Bribes received by Eucrate; for Eucrate had the most compassionate Spirit of all Men living, except his generous Master, who was always kindled at the least Affliction which was communicated to him. In the Regard for the Miserable, Eucrate took particular Care, that the common Forms of Distress, and the idle Pretenders to Sorrow, about Courts, who wanted only Supplies to Luxury, should never obtain Favour by his Means: But the Distresses which arise from the many inexplicable Occurrences that happen among Men, the unaccountable Alienation of Parents from their Children, Cruelty of Husbands to Wives, Poverty occasioned from Shipwreck or Fire, the falling out of Friends, or such other terrible Disasters, to which the Life of Man is exposed; In Cases of this Nature, Eucrate was the Patron; and enjoyed this Part of the Royal Favour so much without being envied, that it was never inquired into by whose Means, what no one else cared for doing, was brought about. 'One Evening when Pharamond came into the Apartment of Eucrate, he found him extremely dejected; upon which he asked (with a Smile which was natural to him)

"What, is there any one too miserable to be relieved by Pharamond, that Eucrate is melancholy?

I fear there is, answered the Favourite; a Person without, of a good Air, well Dressed, and tho' a Man in the Strength of his Life, seems to faint under some inconsolable Calamity: All his Features seem suffused with Agony of Mind; but I can observe in him, that it is more inclined to break away in Tears than Rage. I asked him what he would have; he said he would speak to Pharamond. I desired his Business; he could hardly say to me, Eucrate, carry me to the King, my Story is not to be told twice, I fear I shall not be able to speak it at all."

Pharamond commanded Eucrate to let him enter; he did so, and the Gentleman approached the King with an Air which spoke him under the greatest Concern in what Manner to demean himself[2]. The King, who had a quick Discerning, relieved him from the Oppression he was under; and with the most beautiful Complacency said to him,

"Sir, do not add to that Load of Sorrow I see in your Countenance, the Awe of my Presence: Think you are speaking to your Friend; if the Circumstances of your Distress will admit of it, you shall find me so."

To whom the Stranger:

"Oh excellent Pharamond, name not a Friend to the unfortunate Spinamont. I had one, but he is dead by my own Hand[3]; but, oh Pharamond, tho' it was by the Hand of Spinamont, it was by the Guilt of Pharamond. I come not, oh excellent Prince, to implore your Pardon; I come to relate my Sorrow, a Sorrow too great for human Life to support: From henceforth shall all Occurrences appear Dreams or short Intervals of Amusement, from this one Affliction which has seiz'd my very Being: Pardon me, oh Pharamond, if my Griefs give me Leave, that I lay before you, in the Anguish of a wounded Mind, that you, good as you are, are guilty of the generous Blood spilt this Day by this unhappy Hand: Oh that it had perished before that Instant!"

Here the Stranger paused, and recollecting his Mind, after some little Meditation, he went on in a calmer Tone and Gesture as follows.

"There is an Authority due to Distress; and as none of human Race is above the Reach of Sorrow, none should be above the Hearing the Voice of it: I am sure Pharamond is not. Know then, that I have this Morning unfortunately killed in a Duel, the Man whom of all Men living I most loved. I command my self too much in your royal Presence, to say, Pharamond, give me my Friend! Pharamond has taken him from me! I will not say, shall the merciful Pharamond destroy his own Subjects? Will the Father of his Country murder his People? But, the merciful Pharamond does destroy his Subjects, the Father of his Country does murder his People. Fortune is so much the Pursuit of Mankind, that all Glory and Honour is in the Power of a Prince, because he has the Distribution of their Fortunes. It is therefore the Inadvertency, Negligence, or Guilt of Princes, to let any thing grow into Custom which is against their Laws. A Court can make Fashion and Duty walk together; it can never, without the Guilt of a Court, happen, that it shall not be unfashionable to do what is unlawful. But alas! in the Dominions of Pharamond, by the Force of a Tyrant Custom, which is mis-named a Point of Honour, the Duellist kills his Friend whom he loves; and the Judge condemns the Duellist, while he approves his Behaviour. Shame is the greatest of all Evils; what avail Laws, when Death only attends the Breach of them, and Shame Obedience to them? As for me, oh Pharamond, were it possible to describe the nameless Kinds of Compunctions and Tendernesses I feel, when I reflect upon the little Accidents in our former Familiarity, my Mind swells into Sorrow which cannot be resisted enough to be silent in the Presence of Pharamond."

With that he fell into a Flood of Tears, and wept aloud.

"Why should not Pharamond hear the Anguish he only can relieve others from in Time to come? Let him hear from me, what they feel who have given Death by the false Mercy of his Administration, and form to himself the Vengeance call'd for by those who have perished by his Negligence.'

Footnote 1:No. 76.Pharamond

'whole Person,' says the romancer, 'was of so excellent a composition, and his words so Great and so Noble that it was very difficult to deny him reverence,'

truly and wholly charming, as well for the vivacity and delicateness of his spirit, accompanied with a perfect knowledge of all Sciences, as for a sweetness which is wholly particular to him, and a complacence which &c.... All his inclinations are in such manner fixed upon virtue, that no consideration nor passion can disturb him; and in those extremities into which his ill fortune hath cast him, he hath never let pass any occasion to do good.'

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:TatlerSpectatorGuardian

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Contents

No. 85

Thursday, June 7, 1711

Addison

Interdum speciosa locis, morataque recte

Fabula nullius Veneris, sine pondere et Arte,

Valdius oblectat populum, meliusque moratur,

Quàm versus inopes rerum, nugæque canoræ.

Hor.

MahometansAlcoranMussulmanBaxterChristmasViandeLondon BooksellersGreat-BritainTwo Children in the WoodEnglishmen

The[1], as I have before said,natural[2]true[3]TheReader of common Humanity[4]Robin-red-breastthe Genius of the Author[5]LatinHorace

Me fabulosa Vulture in Apulo,

Altricis extra limen Apuliæ,

Ludo fatigatumque somno

Fronde novâ puerum palumbes

Texere ...

IDorsetCandour,[6]EnglishDryden

Moliere'sMisanthropeAswhich[7][8]

Footnote 1:Virgil

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Footnote 7:

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Footnote 8:Tom ThumbBabes in the Wood

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Contents

No. 86

Friday, June 8, 1711

Addison

Heu quam difficile est crimen non prodere vultu!

Ovid.

Thereall Men are in[1]Masters[2]WeStrangers[3]

Charing-CrossRoyal-Exchange

ISpeak that I may see thee:[4]

Martial

Crine ruber, niger ore, brevis pede, lumine lœsus:

Rem magnam prœstas, Zoile, si bonus es.

(Epig. 54, 1. 12)

Thy Beard and Head are of a diff'rent Dye;

Short of one Foot, distorted in an Eye:

With all these Tokens of a Knave compleat,

Should'st thou be honest, thou'rt a dev'lish Cheat.

Iwho[5][6]a littleIConde[7]the[8]

SocratesThereAthens[9]Socrates'she was then in company with him[10]amet with[11]wholeSocrates

WeSocratesSilenus[12]that[13]Itwe[14]DrMoore[15]Prosopolepsia

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Flor

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:De Humanâ Physiognomiâ

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Footnote 7:Histoire du Louis de Bourbon II du Nom Prince de Condé,

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Footnote 8:

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Footnote 9:Tusc. Quæst.de Fato

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Footnote 10:

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Footnote 11:

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Footnote 12:Symposium

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Footnote 13:

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Contents

No. 87

Saturday, June 9, 1711

Steele

... Nimium ne crede colori.

Virg.

Ugly ClubIdols

June 4

Mr. Spectator,.

After I have assured you I am in every respect one of the Handsomest young Girls about Town — I need be particular in nothing but the make of my Face, which has the Misfortune to be exactly Oval. This I take to proceed from a Temper that naturally inclines me both to speak and hear.

With this Account you may wonder how I can have the Vanity to offer my self as a Candidate, which I now do, to a Society, where the Spectator and Hecatissa have been admitted with so much Applause. I don't want to be put in mind how very Defective I am in every thing that is Ugly: I am too sensible of my own Unworthiness in this Particular, and therefore I only propose my self as a Foil to the Club.

You see how honest I have been to confess all my Imperfections, which is a great deal to come from a Woman, and what I hope you will encourage with the Favour of your Interest.

There can be no Objection made on the Side of the matchless Hecatissa, since it is certain I shall be in no Danger of giving her the least occasion of Jealousy: And then a Joint-Stool in the very lowest Place at the Table, is all the Honour that is coveted by

Your most Humble and Obedient Servant,

Rosalinda.

P.S. I have sacrificed my Necklace to put into the Publick Lottery against the Common Enemy. And last Saturday, about Three a Clock in the Afternoon, I began to patch indifferently on both Sides of my Face.

London, June 7, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

'Upon reading your late Dissertation concerning Idols, I cannot but complain to you that there are, in six or seven Places of this City, Coffee-houses kept by Persons of that Sisterhood. These Idols sit and receive all Day long the adoration of the Youth within such and such Districts: I know, in particular, Goods are not entered as they ought to be at the Custom-house, nor Law-Reports perused at the Temple; by reason of one Beauty who detains the young Merchants too long near Change, and another Fair One who keeps the Students at her House when they should be at Study. It would be worth your while to see how the Idolaters alternately offer Incense to their Idols, and what Heart-burnings arise in those who wait for their Turn to receive kind Aspects from those little Thrones, which all the Company, but these Lovers, call the Bars. I saw a Gentleman turn as pale as Ashes, because an Idol turned the Sugar in a Tea-Dish for his Rival, and carelessly called the Boy to serve him, with a Sirrah! Why don't you give the Gentleman the Box to please himself? Certain it is, that a very hopeful young Man was taken with Leads in his Pockets below Bridge, where he intended to drown himself, because his Idol would wash the Dish in which she had but just then[1] drank Tea, before she would let him use it.

I am, Sir, a Person past being Amorous, and do not give this Information out of Envy or Jealousy, but I am a real Sufferer by it. These Lovers take any thing for Tea and Coffee; I saw one Yesterday surfeit to make his Court; and all his Rivals, at the same time, loud in the Commendation of Liquors that went against every body in the Room that was not in Love. While these young Fellows resign their Stomachs with their Hearts, and drink at the Idol in this manner, we who come to do Business, or talk Politicks, are utterly poisoned: They have also Drams for those who are more enamoured than ordinary; and it is very common for such as are too low in Constitution to ogle the Idol upon the Strength of Tea, to fluster themselves with warmer Liquors: Thus all Pretenders advance, as fast as they can, to a Feaver or a Diabetes. I must repeat to you, that I do not look with an evil Eye upon the Profit of the Idols, or the Diversion of the Lovers; what I hope from this Remonstrance, is only that we plain People may not be served as if we were Idolaters; but that from the time of publishing this in your Paper, the Idols would mix Ratsbane only for their Admirers, and take more care of us who don't love them.

I am, Sir,

Yours,

T.T.[2]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

original advertisement

This to give Notice,

That the three Criticks

who last Sunday settled the Characters

of my Lord Rochester and Boileau,

in the Yard of a Coffee House in Fuller's Rents,

will meet this next Sunday at the same Time and Place,

to finish the Merits of several Dramatick Writers:

And will also make an End of the Nature of True Sublime.

No. 88

Monday, June 11, 1711

Steele

Quid Domini facient, audent cum tulia Fures?

Virg.

May 30, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

I have no small Value for your Endeavours to lay before the World what may escape their Observation, and yet highly conduces to their Service. You have, I think, succeeded very well on many Subjects; and seem to have been conversant in very different Scenes of Life. But in the Considerations of Mankind, as a Spectator, you should not omit Circumstances which relate to the inferior Part of the World, any more than those which concern the greater. There is one thing in particular which I wonder you have not touched upon, and that is the general Corruption of Manners in the Servants of Great Britain. I am a Man that have travelled and seen many Nations, but have for seven Years last past resided constantly in London, or within twenty Miles of it: In this Time I have contracted a numerous Acquaintance among the best Sort of People, and have hardly found one of them happy in their Servants. This is matter of great Astonishment to Foreigners, and all such as have visited Foreign Countries; especially since we cannot but observe, That there is no Part of the World where Servants have those Privileges and Advantages as in England: They have no where else such plentiful Diet, large Wages, or indulgent Liberty: There is no Place wherein they labour less, and yet where they are so little respectful, more wasteful, more negligent, or where they so frequently change their Masters. To this I attribute, in a great measure, the frequent Robberies and Losses which we suffer on the high Road and in our own Houses. That indeed which gives me the present Thought of this kind, is, that a careless Groom of mine has spoiled me the prettiest Pad in the World with only riding him ten Miles, and I assure you, if I were to make a Register of all the Horses I have known thus abused by Negligence of Servants, the Number would mount a Regiment. I wish you would give us your Observations, that we may know how to treat these Rogues, or that we Masters may enter into Measures to reform them. Pray give us a Speculation in general about Servants, and you make me

Pray do not omit the Mention of Grooms in particular.

Yours,

Philo-Britannicus

Fallinga[1]

Hide-ParkItWhite's[2]Billets-douxSir, I know you have too much Respect for yourself to cane me in this honourable Habit: But you see there is a Lady in the Case, and I hope on that Score also you will put off your Anger till I have told you all another time.Sirrah, bring the Lady with you to ask Pardon for you;Look to itI'll never forgive you else.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:White's

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Contents

No. 89

Tuesday, June 12, 1711

Addison

... Petite hinc juvenesque senesque

Finem animo certum, miserisque viatica canis.

Cras hoc fiet. Idem eras fiet. Quid? quasi magnum

Nempe diem donas? sed cum lux altera venit,

Jam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras

Egerit hos annos, et semper paulum erit ultra.

Nam quamvis prope te, quamvis temone sub uno

Vertentem sese frustra sectabere canthum.

Per.

Vicesimo nono Caroli secundiTemple;demurrsDemurrersThirsisPhilanderSilviaStrephonDemurrer:

Dear Sir,

'You know very well my Passion for Mrs. Martha, and what a Dance she has led me: She took me at the Age of Two and Twenty, and dodged with me above Thirty Years. I have loved her till she is grown as Grey as a Cat, and am with much ado become the Master of her Person, such as it is at present. She is however in my Eye a very charming old Woman. We often lament that we did not marry sooner, but she has no Body to blame for it but her self: You know very well that she would never think of me whilst she had a Tooth in her Head. I have put the Date of my Passion (Anno Amoris Trigesimo primo) instead of a Posy, on my Wedding-Ring. I expect you should send me a Congratulatory Letter, or, if you please, an Epithalamium, upon this Occasion.

Mrs. Martha's and

Yours Eternally,

Sam Hopewell

Demurrage

Jews

latter Spring

EveMilton

The Rib he form'd and fashion'd with his Hands;

Under his forming Hands a Creature grew,

Man-like, but diff'rent Sex; so lovely fair!

That what seem'd fair in all the World, seem'd now

Mean, or in her summ'd up, in her contain'd

And in her Looks; which from that time infus'd

Sweetness into my Heart, unfelt before:

And into all things from her Air inspir'd

The Spirit of Love and amorous Delight.

She disappear'd, and left me dark! I wak'd

To find her, or for ever to deplore

Her Loss, and other Pleasures all[1] abjure;

When out of Hope, behold her, not far off,

Such as I saw her in my Dream, adorn'd

With what all Earth or Heaven could bestow

To make her amiable: On she came,

Led by her heav'nly Maker, though unseen,

And guided by his Voice, nor uninform'd

Of nuptial Sanctity and Marriage Rites:

Grace was in all her Steps, Heav'n in her Eye,

In every Gesture Dignity and Love.

I overjoyed, could not forbear aloud.

This Turn hath made Amends; thou hast fulfill'd

Thy Words, Creator bounteous and benign!

Giver of all things fair! but fairest this

Of all thy Gifts, nor enviest. I now see

Bone of my Bone, Flesh of my Flesh, my Self....

She heard me thus, and tho' divinely brought,

Yet Innocence and Virgin Modesty,

Her Virtue, and the Conscience of her Worth,

That would be woo'd, and not unsought be won,

Not obvious, not obtrusive, but retir'd

The more desirable; or, to say all,

Nature her self, tho' pure of sinful Thought,

Wrought in her so, that seeing me, she turn'd[2].

I followed her: she what was Honour knew,

And with obsequious Majesty approved

My pleaded Reason. To the Nuptial Bower

I led her blushing like the Morn[3] ...

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 90

Wednesday, June 13, 1711

Addison

... Magnus sine viribus Ignis

Incassum furit

Virg.

TherePlato[1]

PlatonistsPlato

PlatonickPlatoPlato

Tantalus

VirgilPlatonickÆneid

... Lucent genialibus altis

Aurea fulcra toris, epulæque ante ora paratæ

Regifico luxu: Furiarum maxima juxta

Accubat, et manibus prohibet contingere mensas;

Exurgitque facem attollens, atque intonat ore.

They lie below on Golden Beds display'd,

And genial Feasts with regal Pomp are made:

The Queen of Furies by their Side is set,

And snatches from their Mouths th' untasted Meat;

Which if they touch, her hissing Snakes she rears,

Tossing her Torch, and thund'ring in their Ears.

Dryd.

Thatthat[2]ThePlatonickPontignan[3]

'When I was in the Country last Summer, I was often in Company with a Couple of charming Women, who had all the Wit and Beauty one could desire in Female Companions, with a Dash of Coquetry, that from time to time gave me a great many agreeable Torments. I was, after my Way, in Love with both of them, and had such frequent opportunities of pleading my Passion to them when they were asunder, that I had Reason to hope for particular Favours from each of them. As I was walking one Evening in my Chamber with nothing about me but my Night gown, they both came into my Room and told me, They had a very pleasant Trick to put upon a Gentleman that was in the same House, provided I would bear a Part in it. Upon this they told me such a plausible Story, that I laughed at their Contrivance, and agreed to do whatever they should require of me: They immediately began to swaddle me up in my Night-Gown with long Pieces of Linnen, which they folded about me till they had wrapt me in above an hundred Yards of Swathe: My Arms were pressed to my Sides, and my Legs closed together by so many Wrappers one over another, that I looked like an Ægyptian Mummy. As I stood bolt upright upon one End in this antique Figure, one of the Ladies burst out a laughing, And now, Pontignan, says she, we intend to perform the Promise that we find you have extorted from each of us. You have often asked the Favour of us, and I dare say you are a better bred Cavalier than to refuse to go to Bed to two Ladies, that desire it of you. After having stood a Fit of Laughter, I begged them to uncase me, and do with me what they pleased. No, no, said they, we like you very well as you are; and upon that ordered me to be carried to one of their Houses, and put to Bed in all my Swaddles. The Room was lighted up on all Sides: and I was laid very decently between a pair[4] of Sheets, with my Head (which was indeed the only Part I could move) upon a very high Pillow: This was no sooner done, but my two Female Friends came into Bed to me in their finest Night-Clothes. You may easily guess at the Condition of a Man that saw a Couple of the most beautiful Women in the World undrest and abed with him, without being able to stir Hand or Foot. I begged them to release me, and struggled all I could to get loose, which I did with so much Violence, that about Midnight they both leaped out of the Bed, crying out they were undone. But seeing me safe, they took their Posts again, and renewed their Raillery. Finding all my Prayers and Endeavours were lost, I composed my self as well as I could, and told them, that if they would not unbind me, I would fall asleep between them, and by that means disgrace them for ever: But alas! this was impossible; could I have been disposed to it, they would have prevented me by several little ill-natured Caresses and Endearments which they bestowed upon me. As much devoted as I am to Womankind, I would not pass such another Night to be Master of the whole Sex. My Reader will doubtless be curious to know what became of me the next Morning: Why truly my Bed-fellows left me about an Hour before Day, and told me, if I would be good and lie still, they would send somebody to take me up as soon as it was time for me to rise: Accordingly about Nine a Clock in the Morning an old Woman came to un-swathe me. I bore all this very patiently, being resolved to take my Revenge of my Tormentors, and to keep no Measures with them as soon as I was at Liberty; but upon asking my old Woman what was become of the two Ladies, she told me she believed they were by that Time within Sight of Paris, for that they went away in a Coach and six before five a clock in the Morning.

Footnote 1:RepublicPhædonPhilebusGorgiasPhædonComusNo. 86

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Footnote 3:Academe Galante

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Contents

No. 91

Thursday, June 14, 1711

Steele

In furias ignemque ruunt, Amor omnibus Idem.

Virg.

WestminsterHonoriaHonoriaFlaviaFlaviaHonoriaFlaviaHonoriaFlaviaHonoriaFlaviaFlaviaFlaviaHonoriaHonoriaFlaviaHonoriaFlaviaDick CrastinTom TulipDickHonoriaTomFlaviaDickTomDick CrastinHonoriaTom TulipFlaviaTulipCrastinTulipCrastinTulipOvid's Art of Love

'Tis I can in soft Battles pass the Night,

Yet rise next Morning vigorous for the Fight,

Fresh as the Day, and active as the Light.

CrastinHonoria's

Sedley has that prevailing gentle Art,

That can with a resistless Charm impart

The loosest Wishes to the chastest Heart:

Raise such a Conflict, kindle such a Fire,

Between declining Virtue and Desire,

Till the poor vanquish'd Maid dissolves away

In Dreams all Night, in Sighs and Tears all Day.[1]

CrastinHonoriaFlaviaCrastin'sTulip'sTulipPlatonickCrastin'sTulip

Celia the Fair, in the bloom of Fifteen;

Sir, 'I understand very well what you meant by your Mention of Platonick Love. I shall be glad to meet you immediately in Hide-Park, or behind Montague-House, or attend you to Barn-Elms[2], or any other fashionable Place that's fit for a Gentleman to die in, that you shall appoint for,

Sir, Your most Humble Servant,

Richard Crastin.

Tulip'sTulipCrastinHide-ParkTulipFlaviaCrastinRival Mother

Footnote 1:Imitations of Horace

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No. 92

Friday, June 15, 1711

Addison

... Convivæ prope dissentire videntur,

Poscentes vario multum diversa palato;

Quid dem? Quid non dem?

Hor.

Looking[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'Your Paper is a Part of my Tea-Equipage; and my Servant knows my Humour so well, that calling for my Breakfast this Morning (it being past my usual Hour) she answer'd, the Spectator was not yet come in; but that the Tea-Kettle boiled, and she expected it every Moment. Having thus in part signified to you the Esteem and Veneration which I have for you, I must put you in mind of the Catalogue of Books which you have promised to recommend to our Sex; for I have deferred furnishing my Closet with Authors, 'till I receive your Advice in this Particular, being your daily Disciple and humble Servant,

Leonora.

Dalton's Country JusticeThe Compleat JockeyMrupon the RevelationsThe Secret Treaties and Negotiations of MarshalJacob Tonson Jun.Bayle's DictionaryMr.History of Infant BaptismThe finishing Stroke: Being a Vindication of the Patriarchal Scheme

A Paraphrase on the History ofRules to keepThe Christian's Overthrow prevented. A Dissuasive from the Play-house. The Virtues of Camphire, with Directions to make Camphire Tea. The Pleasures of a Country Life. The Government of the TongueCheapsideWingate's ArithmetickThe Countess ofReceipts

PharamondCassandraCoquetillaFlorellaPlaysAll for LoveSophonisbaHannibal's OverthrowThe Innocent AdulteryMithridates King of PontusAlexander the GreatAurengzebeTheodosiusThe Force of Love[2]

A. B

Will'sfine Ladiespretty Fellows

Tom TattleWill TrippetFrank Smoothly

Footnote 1:140163

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Footnote 2:Country JusticeClavis ApocalypticaThe Country JusticeBayle's DictionaryHistory of Infant BaptismAurungzebeMithridatesTheodosius

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Contents

No. 93

Saturday, June 16, 1711

Addison

... Spatio brevi

Spem longam reseces: dum loquimur, fugerit Invida

Ætas: carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Hor.

WeSeneca[1]

Stage

Footnote 1:Epist. 49De Brevitate Vita

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Contents

No. 94

Monday, June 18, 1711

Addison

... Hoc est

Vivere bis, vita posse priore frui.

Mart.

Saturday's PaperIMr. Boyle[1]

MrLock[2]

'That we get the Idea of Time, or Duration, by reflecting on that Train of Ideas which succeed one another in our Minds: That for this Reason, when we sleep soundly without dreaming, we have no Perception of Time, or the Length of it whilst we sleep; and that the Moment wherein we leave off to think, till the Moment we begin to think again, seems to have no distance.'

'And so I doubt not but it would be to a waking Man, if it were possible for him to keep only one Idea in his Mind, without Variation, and the Succession of others: And we see, that one who fixes his Thoughts very intently on one thing, so as to take but little notice of the Succession of Ideas that pass in his Mind whilst he is taken up with that earnest Contemplation, lets slip out of his Account a good Part of that Duration, and thinks that Time shorter than it is.'

AccordinglyMallebrancheEnquiry after Truth[3]Lock's Essay on Human Understanding

MallebrancheLock

AlcoranMahometIt

[4]GabrielMahometAlcoranMahometGabriel

TurkishEgyptMahomet'sMahometans

MahometanHe

Footnote 1:The Usefulness of Natural PhilosophyWorksCurrus Triumphalis Antimonii

'That the shortness of life makes it impossible for one man thoroughly to learn Antimony, in which every day something of new is discovered.'

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Footnote 2:Essay on the Human Understanding

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Footnote 3:Search after Truth

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Footnote 4:KoranTurkish Tales.

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Contents

No. 95

Tuesday, June 19, 1711

Steele

Curæ Leves loquuntur, Ingentes Stupent.[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'I was very well pleased with your Discourse upon General Mourning, and should be obliged to you if you would enter into the Matter more deeply, and give us your Thoughts upon the common Sense the ordinary People have of the Demonstrations of Grief, who prescribe Rules and Fashions to the most solemn Affliction; such as the Loss of the nearest Relations and dearest Friends. You cannot go to visit a sick Friend, but some impertinent Waiter about him observes the Muscles of your Face, as strictly as if they were Prognosticks of his Death or Recovery. If he happens to be taken from you, you are immediately surrounded with Numbers of these Spectators, who expect a melancholy Shrug of your Shoulders, a Pathetical shake of your Head, and an Expressive Distortion of your Face, to measure your Affection and Value for the Deceased: But there is nothing, on these Occasions, so much in their Favour as immoderate Weeping. As all their passions are superficial, they imagine the Seat of Love and Friendship to be placed visibly in the Eyes: They judge what Stock of Kindness you had for the Living, by the Quantity of Tears you pour out for the Dead; so that if one Body wants that Quantity of Salt-water another abounds with, he is in great Danger of being thought insensible or ill-natured: They are Strangers to Friendship, whose Grief happens not to be moist enough to wet such a Parcel of Handkerchiefs. But Experience has told us, nothing is so fallacious as this outward Sign of Sorrow; and the natural History of our Bodies will teach us that this Flux of the Eyes, this Faculty of Weeping, is peculiar only to some Constitutions. We observe in the tender Bodies of Children, when crossed in their little Wills and Expectations, how dissolvable they are into Tears. If this were what Grief is in Men, Nature would not be able to support them in the Excess of it for one Moment. Add to this Observation, how quick is their Transition from this Passion to that of their Joy. I won't say we see often, in the next tender Things to Children, Tears shed without much Grieving. Thus it is common to shed Tears without much Sorrow, and as common to suffer much Sorrow without shedding Tears. Grief and Weeping are indeed frequent Companions, but, I believe, never in their highest Excesses. As Laughter does not proceed from profound Joy, so neither does Weeping from profound Sorrow. The Sorrow which appears so easily at the Eyes, cannot have pierced deeply into the Heart. The Heart distended with Grief, stops all the Passages for Tears or Lamentations.

'Now, Sir, what I would incline you to in all this, is, that you would inform the shallow Criticks and Observers upon Sorrow, that true Affliction labours to be invisible, that it is a Stranger to Ceremony, and that it bears in its own Nature a Dignity much above the little Circumstances which are affected under the Notion of Decency. You must know, Sir, I have lately lost a dear Friend, for whom I have not yet shed a Tear, and for that Reason your Animadversions on that Subject would be the more acceptable to',

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

B.D.

June the 15th.

Mr. Spectator,

'As I hope there are but few who have so little Gratitude as not to acknowledge the Usefulness of your Pen, and to esteem it a Publick Benefit; so I am sensible, be that as it will, you must nevertheless find the Secret and Incomparable Pleasure of doing Good, and be a great Sharer in the Entertainment you give. I acknowledge our Sex to be much obliged, and I hope improved, by your Labours, and even your Intentions more particularly for our Service. If it be true, as 'tis sometimes said, that our Sex have an Influence on the other, your Paper may be a yet more general Good. Your directing us to Reading is certainly the best Means to our Instruction; but I think, with you, Caution in that Particular very useful, since the Improvement of our Understandings may, or may not, be of Service to us, according as it is managed. It has been thought we are not generally so Ignorant as Ill-taught, or that our Sex does so often want Wit, Judgment, or Knowledge, as the right Application of them: You are so well-bred, as to say your fair Readers are already deeper Scholars than the Beaus, and that you could name some of them that talk much better than several Gentlemen that make a Figure at Will's: This may possibly be, and no great Compliment, in my Opinion, even supposing your Comparison to reach Tom's and the Grecian: Surely you are too wise to think That a Real Commendation of a Woman. Were it not rather to be wished we improved in our own Sphere, and approved our selves better Daughters, Wives, Mothers, and Friends?

I can't but agree with the Judicious Trader in Cheapside (though I am not at all prejudiced in his Favour) in recommending the Study of Arithmetick; and must dissent even from the Authority which you mention, when it advises the making our Sex Scholars. Indeed a little more Philosophy, in order to the Subduing our Passions to our Reason, might be sometimes serviceable, and a Treatise of that Nature I should approve of, even in exchange for Theodosius, or The Force of Love; but as I well know you want not Hints, I will proceed no further than to recommend the Bishop of Cambray's Education of a Daughter, as 'tis translated into the only Language I have any Knowledge of[2], tho' perhaps very much to its Disadvantage. I have heard it objected against that Piece, that its Instructions are not of general Use, but only fitted for a great Lady; but I confess I am not of that Opinion; for I don't remember that there are any Rules laid down for the Expences of a Woman, in which Particular only I think a Gentlewoman ought to differ from a Lady of the best Fortune, or highest Quality, and not in their Principles of Justice, Gratitude, Sincerity, Prudence, or Modesty. I ought perhaps to make an Apology for this long Epistle; but as I rather believe you a Friend to Sincerity, than Ceremony, shall only assure you I am,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Annabella.

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No. 96

Wednesday, June 20, 1711

Steele

... Amicum

Mancipium domino, et frugi ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator, I have frequently read your Discourse upon Servants, and, as I am one my self, have been much offended that in that Variety of Forms wherein you considered the Bad, you found no Place to mention the Good. There is however one Observation of yours I approve, which is, That there are Men of Wit and good Sense among all Orders of Men; and that Servants report most of the Good or Ill which is spoken of their Masters. That there are Men of Sense who live in Servitude, I have the Vanity to say I have felt to my woful Experience. You attribute very justly the Source of our general Iniquity to Board-Wages, and the Manner of living out of a domestick Way: But I cannot give you my Thoughts on this Subject any way so well, as by a short account of my own Life to this the Forty fifth Year of my Age; that is to say, from my being first a Foot-boy at Fourteen, to my present Station of a Nobleman's Porter in the Year of my Age above-mentioned. Know then, that my Father was a poor Tenant to the Family of Sir Stephen Rackrent: Sir Stephen put me to School, or rather made me follow his Son Harry to School, from my Ninth Year; and there, tho' Sir Stephen paid something for my Learning, I was used like a Servant, and was forced to get what Scraps of Learning I could by my own Industry, for the Schoolmaster took very little Notice of me. My young Master was a Lad of very sprightly Parts; and my being constantly about him, and loving him, was no small Advantage to me. My Master loved me extreamly, and has often been whipped for not keeping me at a Distance. He used always to say, That when he came to his Estate I should have a Lease of my Father's Tenement for nothing. I came up to Town with him to Westminster School; at which time he taught me at Night all he learnt; and put me to find out Words in the Dictionary when he was about his Exercise. It was the Will of Providence that Master Harry was taken very ill of a Fever, of which he died within Ten Days after his first falling sick. Here was the first Sorrow I ever knew; and I assure you, Mr. Spectator, I remember the beautiful Action of the sweet Youth in his Fever, as fresh as if it were Yesterday. If he wanted any thing, it must be given him by Tom: When I let any thing fall through the Grief I was under, he would cry, Do not beat the poor Boy: Give him some more Julep for me, no Body else shall give it me. He would strive to hide his being so bad, when he saw I could not bear his being in so much Danger, and comforted me, saying, Tom, Tom, have a good Heart. When I was holding a Cup at his Mouth, he fell into Convulsions; and at this very Time I hear my dear Master's last Groan. I was quickly turned out of the Room, and left to sob and beat my Head against the Wall at my Leisure. The Grief I was in was inexpressible; and every Body thought it would have cost me my Life. In a few Days my old Lady, who was one of the Housewives of the World, thought of turning me out of Doors, because I put her in mind of her Son. Sir Stephen proposed putting me to Prentice; but my Lady being an excellent Manager, would not let her Husband throw away his Money in Acts of Charity. I had sense enough to be under the utmost Indignation, to see her discard with so little Concern, one her Son had loved so much; and went out of the House to ramble wherever my Feet would carry me.

The third Day after I left Sir Stephen's Family, I was strolling up and down the Walks in the Temple. A young Gentleman of the House, who (as I heard him say afterwards) seeing me half-starved and well-dressed, thought me an Equipage ready to his Hand, after very little Inquiry more than Did I want a Master?, bid me follow him; I did so, and in a very little while thought myself the happiest Creature in this World. My Time was taken up in carrying Letters to Wenches, or Messages to young Ladies of my Master's Acquaintance. We rambled from Tavern to Tavern, to the Play-house, the Mulberry-Garden[1], and all places of Resort; where my Master engaged every Night in some new Amour, in which and Drinking he spent all his Time when he had Money. During these Extravagancies I had the Pleasure of lying on the Stairs of a Tavern half a Night, playing at Dice with other Servants, and the like Idleness. When my Master was moneyless, I was generally employ'd in transcribing amorous Pieces of Poetry, old Songs, and new Lampoons. This Life held till my Master married, and he had then the Prudence to turn me off, because I was in the Secret of his Intreagues.

I was utterly at a loss what Course to take next; when at last I applied my self to a Fellow-sufferer, one of his Mistresses, a Woman of the Town. She happening at that time to be pretty full of Money, cloathed me from Head to Foot, and knowing me to be a sharp Fellow, employed me accordingly. Sometimes I was to go abroad with her, and when she had pitched upon a young Fellow she thought for her Turn, I was to be dropped as one she could not trust. She would often cheapen Goods at the New Exchange[2] and when she had a mind to be attacked, she would send me away on an Errand. When an humble Servant and she were beginning a Parley, I came immediately, and told her Sir John was come home; then she would order another Coach to prevent being dogged. The Lover makes Signs to me as I get behind the Coach, I shake my Head it was impossible: I leave my Lady at the next Turning, and follow the Cully to know how to fall in his Way on another Occasion. Besides good Offices of this Nature, I writ all my Mistress's Love-Letters; some from a Lady that saw such a Gentleman at such a Place in such a coloured Coat, some shewing the Terrour she was in of a jealous old Husband, others explaining that the Severity of her Parents was such (tho' her Fortune was settled) that she was willing to run away with such a one, tho' she knew he was but a younger Brother. In a Word, my half Education and Love of idle Books, made me outwrite all that made Love to her by way of Epistle; and as she was extremely cunning, she did well enough in Company by a skilful Affectation of the greatest Modesty. In the midst of all this I was surprised with a Letter from her and a Ten Pound Note.

Honest Tom,

You will never see me more. I am married to a very cunning Country Gentleman, who might possibly guess something if I kept you still; therefore farewell.

When this Place was lost also in Marriage, I was resolved to go among quite another People, for the future; and got in Butler to one of those Families where there is a Coach kept, three or four Servants, a clean House, and a good general Outside upon a small Estate. Here I lived very comfortably for some Time,'till I unfortunately found my Master, the very gravest Man alive, in the Garret with the Chambermaid. I knew the World too well to think of staying there; and the next Day pretended to have received a Letter out of the Country that my Father was dying, and got my Discharge with a Bounty for my Discretion.

The next I lived with was a peevish single man, whom I stayed with for a Year and a Half. Most part of the Time I passed very easily; for when I began to know him, I minded no more than he meant what he said; so that one Day in a good Humour he said I was the best man he ever had, by my want of respect to him.

These, Sir, are the chief Occurrences of my Life; and I will not dwell upon very many other Places I have been in, where I have been the strangest Fellow in the World, where no Body in the World had such Servants as they, where sure they were the unluckiest People in the World in Servants; and so forth. All I mean by this Representation, is, to shew you that we poor Servants are not (what you called us too generally) all Rogues; but that we are what we are, according to the Example of our Superiors. In the Family I am now in, I am guilty of no one Sin but Lying; which I do with a grave Face in my Gown and Staff every Day I live, and almost all Day long, in denying my Lord to impertinent Suitors, and my Lady to unwelcome Visitants. But, Sir, I am to let you know that I am, when I get abroad, a Leader of the Servants: I am he that keep Time with beating my Cudgel against the Boards in the Gallery at an Opera; I am he that am touched so properly at a Tragedy, when the People of Quality are staring at one another during the most important Incidents: When you hear in a Crowd a Cry in the right Place, an Humm where the Point is touched in a Speech, or an Hussa set up where it is the Voice of the People; you may conclude it is begun or joined by,

T. Sir,

Your more than Humble Servant,

Thomas Trusty

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No. 97

Thursday, June 21, 1711

Steele

Projecere animas.

Virg.

PharamondEucrateEucrate

'As for me, says Pharamond, I have conquer'd France, and yet have given Laws to my People: The Laws are my Methods of Life; they are not a Diminution but a Direction to my Power. I am still absolute to distinguish the Innocent and the Virtuous, to give Honours to the Brave and Generous: I am absolute in my Good-will: none can oppose my Bounty, or prescribe Rules for my Favour. While I can, as I please, reward the Good, I am under no Pain that I cannot pardon the Wicked: For which Reason, continued Pharamond, I will effectually put a stop to this Evil, by exposing no more the Tenderness of my Nature to the Importunity of having the same Respect to those who are miserable by their Fault, and those who are so by their Misfortune. Flatterers (concluded the King smiling) repeat to us Princes, that we are Heaven's Vice-regents; Let us be so, and let the only thing out of our Power be to do Ill.'

PharamondEucrate

'Pharamond's Edict against Duels.

Pharamond, King of the Gauls, to all his loving Subjects sendeth Greeting.

Whereas it has come to our Royal Notice and Observation, that in contempt of all Laws Divine and Human, it is of late become a Custom among the Nobility and Gentry of this our Kingdom, upon slight and trivial, as well as great and urgent Provocations, to invite each other into the Field, there by their own Hands, and of their own Authority, to decide their Controversies by Combat; We have thought fit to take the said Custom into our Royal Consideration, and find, upon Enquiry into the usual Causes whereon such fatal Decisions have arisen, that by this wicked Custom, maugre all the Precepts of our Holy Religion, and the Rules of right Reason, the greatest Act of the human Mind, Forgiveness of Injuries, is become vile and shameful; that the Rules of Good Society and Virtuous Conversation are hereby inverted; that the Loose, the Vain, and the Impudent, insult the Careful, the Discreet, and the Modest; that all Virtue is suppressed, and all Vice supported, in the one Act of being capable to dare to the Death. We have also further, with great Sorrow of Mind, observed that this Dreadful Action, by long Impunity, (our Royal Attention being employed upon Matters of more general Concern) is become Honourable, and the Refusal to engage in it Ignominious. In these our Royal Cares and Enquiries We are yet farther made to understand, that the Persons of most Eminent Worth, and most hopeful Abilities, accompanied with the strongest Passion for true Glory, are such as are most liable to be involved in the Dangers arising from this Licence. Now taking the said Premises into our serious Consideration, and well weighing that all such Emergencies (wherein the Mind is incapable of commanding it self, and where the Injury is too sudden or too exquisite to be born) are particularly provided for by Laws heretofore enacted; and that the Qualities of less Injuries, like those of Ingratitude, are too nice and delicate to come under General Rules; We do resolve to blot this Fashion, or Wantonness of Anger, out of the Minds of Our Subjects, by Our Royal Resolutions declared in this Edict, as follow.

No Person who either Sends or Accepts a Challenge, or the Posterity of either, tho' no Death ensues thereupon, shall be, after the Publication of this our Edict, capable of bearing Office in these our Dominions.

The Person who shall prove the sending or receiving a Challenge, shall receive to his own Use and Property, the whole Personal Estate of both Parties: and their Real Estate shall be immediately vested in the next Heir of the Offenders in as ample Manner as if the said Offenders were actually Deceased.

In Cases where the Laws (which we have already granted to our Subjects) admit of an Appeal for Blood; when the Criminal is condemned by the said Appeal, He shall not only suffer Death, but his whole Estate, Real, Mixed, and Personal, shall from the Hour of his Death be vested in the next Heir of the Person whose Blood he spilt.

That it shall not hereafter be in our Royal Power, or that of our Successors, to pardon the said Offences, or restore the Offenders[1] in their Estates, Honour, or Blood for ever.

Given at our Court at Blois, the 8th of February, 420. In the Second Year of our Reign.

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No. 98

Friday, June 22, 1711

Addison

Tanta est quarendi cura decoris.

Juv.

About[1]Thewe appeared as Grasshoppers before them[2]Juvenal's

Tot premit ordinibus, tot adhuc compagibus altum

Ædificat caput: Andromachen a fronte videbis;

Post minor est: Altam credas.

Juv.

PigmieColossusMonsieur Paradin[3]

'That these old-fashioned Fontanges rose an Ell above the Head; that they were pointed like Steeples, and had long loose Pieces of Crape fastened to the Tops of them, which were curiously fringed and hung down their Backs like Streamers.'

TheThomas Conecte[4]

Paradin's

'The Women that, like Snails, in a Fright, had drawn in their Horns, shot them out again as soon as the Danger was over.'

Thisd'Argentré[5]Bretagne

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No. 99

Saturday, June 23, 1711

Addison

... Turpi secernis Honestum.

Hor.

Thursday'sPharamond

Westminster AbbeyNewcastle:

'Her Name was Margaret Lucas, youngest Sister to the Lord Lucas of Colchester; a noble Family, for all the Brothers were valiant, and all the Sisters virtuous.

Spain

I cannot omit under this Head what Herodotus tells us of the ancient Persians, That from the Age of five Years to twenty they instruct their Sons only in three things, to manage the Horse, to make use of the Bow, and to speak Truth.

An English[1]FrenchParisEnglish

France

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No. 100

Monday, June 25, 1711

Steele

Nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico.

Hor.

Roger's

Harry TersettHarryRebecca Quickly

VarilasVarilasVarilas

Contents

No. 101

Tuesday, June 26, 1711

Addison

Romulus, et Liber pater, et cum Castore Pollux,

Post ingentia facta, Deorum in templa recepti;

Dum terras hominumque colunt genus, aspera bella

Componunt, agros assignant, oppida condunt;

Ploravere suis non respondere favorem

Speratum meritis: ...

Hor.

Censureis the Tax a Man pays to the Publick for being Eminent[1]Roman

CæsarPompeyCatoCæsar

AccordingIsaac Newton's[2]Englishmanrecentibus odiisTacitus

AnneEnglishLightan[3]British

British

It was under this Reign, says he, that the Spectator publish'd those little Diurnal Essays which are still extant. We know very little of the Name or Person of this Author, except only that he was a Man of a very short Face, extreamly addicted to Silence, and so great a Lover of Knowledge, that he made a Voyage to Grand Cairo for no other Reason, but to take the Measure of a Pyramid. His chief Friend was one Sir Roger De Coverley, a whimsical Country Knight, and a Templar whose Name he has not transmitted to us. He lived as a Lodger at the House of a Widow-Woman, and was a great Humourist in all Parts of his Life. This is all we can affirm with any Certainty of his Person and Character. As for his Speculations, notwithstanding the several obsolete Words and obscure Phrases of the Age in which he lived, we still understand enough of them to see the Diversions and Characters of the English Nation in his Time: Not but that we are to make Allowance for the Mirth and Humour of the Author, who has doubtless strained many Representations of Things beyond the Truth. For if we interpret his Words in the literal Meaning, we must suppose that Women of the first Quality used to pass away whole Mornings at a Puppet-Show: That they attested their Principles by their Patches: That an Audience would sit out an[4] Evening to hear a Dramatical Performance written in a Language which they did not understand: That Chairs and Flower-pots were introduced as Actors upon the British Stage: That a promiscuous Assembly of Men and Women were allowed to meet at Midnight in Masques within the Verge of the Court; with many Improbabilities of the like Nature. We must therefore, in these and the like Cases, suppose that these remote Hints and Allusions aimed at some certain Follies which were then in Vogue, and which at present we have not any Notion of. We may guess by several Passages in the Speculations, that there were Writers who endeavoured to detract from the Works of this Author; but as nothing of this nature is come down to us, we cannot guess at any Objections that could be made to his Paper. If we consider his Style with that Indulgence which we must shew to old English Writers, or if we look into the Variety of his Subjects, with those several Critical Dissertations, Moral Reflections,

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No. 102

Wednesday, June 27, 1711

Addison

... Lusus animo debent aliquando dari,

Ad cogitandum melior ut redeat sibi.

Phædr.

Mr. Spectator,

'Women are armed with Fans as Men with Swords, and sometimes do more Execution with them. To the end therefore that Ladies may be entire Mistresses of the Weapon which they bear, I have erected an Academy for the training up of young Women in the Exercise of the Fan, according to the most fashionable Airs and Motions that are now practis'd at Court. The Ladies who carry Fans under me are drawn up twice a-day in my great Hall, where they are instructed in the Use of their Arms, and exercised by the following Words of Command,

Handle your Fans,

Unfurl your fans.

Discharge your Fans,

Ground your Fans,

Recover your Fans,

Flutter your Fans.

By the right Observation of these few plain Words of Command, a Woman of a tolerable Genius, who[1] will apply herself diligently to her Exercise for the Space of but one half Year, shall be able to give her Fan all the Graces that can possibly enter into that little modish Machine.

But to the end that my Readers may form to themselves a right Notion of this Exercise, I beg leave to explain it to them in all its Parts. When my Female Regiment is drawn up in Array, with every one her Weapon in her Hand, upon my giving the Word to handle their Fans, each of them shakes her Fan at me with a Smile, then gives her Right-hand Woman a Tap upon the Shoulder, then presses her Lips with the Extremity of her Fan, then lets her Arms fall in an easy Motion, and stands in a Readiness to receive the next Word of Command. All this is done with a close Fan, and is generally learned in the first Week.

The next Motion is that of unfurling the Fan, in which are[2] comprehended several little Flirts and Vibrations, as also gradual and deliberate Openings, with many voluntary Fallings asunder in the Fan itself, that are seldom learned under a Month's Practice. This Part of the Exercise pleases the Spectators more than any other, as it discovers on a sudden an infinite Number of Cupids, Garlands, Altars, Birds, Beasts, Rainbows, and the like agreeable Figures, that display themselves to View, whilst every one in the Regiment holds a Picture in her Hand.

Upon my giving the Word to discharge their Fans, they give one general Crack that may be heard at a considerable distance when the Wind sits fair. This is one of the most difficult Parts of the Exercise; but I have several Ladies with me, who at their first Entrance could not give a Pop loud enough to be heard at the further end of a Room, who can now discharge a Fan in such a manner, that it shall make a Report like a Pocket-Pistol. I have likewise taken care (in order to hinder young Women from letting off their Fans in wrong Places or unsuitable Occasions) to shew upon what Subject the Crack of a Fan may come in properly: I have likewise invented a Fan, with which a Girl of Sixteen, by the help of a little Wind which is inclosed about one of the largest Sticks, can make as loud a Crack as a Woman of Fifty with an ordinary Fan.

When the Fans are thus discharged, the Word of Command in course is to ground their Fans. This teaches a Lady to quit her Fan gracefully when she throws it aside in order to take up a Pack of Cards, adjust a Curl of Hair, replace a falling Pin, or apply her self to any other Matter of Importance. This Part of the Exercise, as it only consists in tossing a Fan with an Air upon a long Table (which stands by for that Purpose) may be learned in two Days Time as well as in a Twelvemonth.

When my Female Regiment is thus disarmed, I generally let them walk about the Room for some Time; when on a sudden (like Ladies that look upon their Watches after a long Visit) they all of them hasten to their Arms, catch them up in a Hurry, and place themselves in their proper Stations upon my calling out Recover your Fans. This Part of the Exercise is not difficult, provided a Woman applies her Thoughts to it.

The Fluttering of the Fan is the last, and indeed the Master-piece of the whole Exercise; but if a Lady does not mis-spend her Time, she may make herself Mistress of it in three Months. I generally lay aside the Dog-days and the hot Time of the Summer for the teaching this Part of the Exercise; for as soon as ever I pronounce Flutter your Fans, the Place is fill'd with so many Zephyrs and gentle Breezes as are very refreshing in that Season of the Year, tho' they might be dangerous to Ladies of a tender Constitution in any other.

There is an infinite Variety of Motions to be made use of in the Flutter of a Fan. There is the angry Flutter, the modest Flutter, the timorous Flutter, the confused Flutter, the merry Flutter, and the amorous Flutter. Not to be tedious, there is scarce any Emotion in the Mind which[3] does not produce a suitable Agitation in the Fan; insomuch, that if I only see the Fan of a disciplin'd Lady, I know very well whether she laughs, frowns, or blushes. I have seen a Fan so very angry, that it would have been dangerous for the absent Lover who[3] provoked it to have come within the Wind of it; and at other times so very languishing, that I have been glad for the Lady's sake the Lover was at a sufficient Distance from it. I need not add, that a Fan is either a Prude or Coquet according to the Nature of the Person who[3] bears it. To conclude my Letter, I must acquaint you that I have from my own Observations compiled a little Treatise for the use of my Scholars, entitled The Passions of the Fan; which I will communicate to you, if you think it may be of use to the Publick. I shall have a general Review on Thursday next; to which you shall be very welcome if you will honour it with your Presence. I am, &c.

P. S. I teach young Gentlemen the whole Art of Gallanting a Fan.

N. B. I have several little plain Fans made for this Use, to avoid Expence.'

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No. 103

Thursday, June 28, 1711

Steele

... Sibi quivis

Speret idem frusta sudet frustraque laboret

Ausus idem ...

Hor.

Our[1]Longinus

'... Amongst too many other Instances of the great Corruption and Degeneracy of the Age wherein we live, the great and general Want of Sincerity in Conversation is none of the least. The World is grown so full of Dissimulation and Compliment, that Mens Words are hardly any Signification of their Thoughts; and if any Man measure his Words by his Heart, and speak as he thinks, and do not express more Kindness to every Man, than Men usually have for any Man, he can hardly escape the Censure of want of Breeding. The old English Plainness and Sincerity, that generous Integrity of Nature, and Honesty of Disposition, which always argues true Greatness of Mind and is usually accompanied with undaunted Courage and Resolution, is in a great measure lost amongst us: There hath been a long Endeavour to transform us into Foreign Manners and Fashions, and to bring us to a servile Imitation of none of the best of our Neighbours in some of the worst of their Qualities. The Dialect of Conversation is now-a-days so swelled with Vanity and Compliment, and so surfeited (as I may say) of Expressions of Kindness and Respect, that if a Man that lived an Age or two ago should return into the World again he would really want a Dictionary to help him to understand his own Language, and to know the true intrinsick Value of the Phrase in Fashion, and would hardly at first believe at what a low Rate the highest Strains and Expressions of Kindness imaginable do commonly pass in current Payment; and when he should come to understand it, it would be a great while before he could bring himself with a good Countenance and a good Conscience to converse with Men upon equal Terms, and in their own way.

And in truth it is hard to say, whether it should more provoke our Contempt or our Pity, to hear what solemn Expressions of Respect and Kindness will pass between Men, almost upon no Occasion; how great Honour and Esteem they will declare for one whom perhaps they never saw before, and how entirely they are all on the sudden devoted to his Service and Interest, for no Reason; how infinitely and eternally obliged to him, for no Benefit; and how extreamly they will be concerned for him, yea and afflicted too, for no Cause. I know it is said, in Justification of this hollow kind of Conversation, that there is no Harm, no real Deceit in Compliment, but the Matter is well enough, so long as we understand one another; et Verba valent ut Nummi: Words are like Money; and when the current Value of them is generally understood, no Man is cheated by them. This is something, if such Words were any thing; but being brought into the Account, they are meer Cyphers. However, it is still a just Matter of Complaint, that Sincerity and Plainness are out of Fashion, and that our Language is running into a Lie; that Men have almost quite perverted the use of Speech, and made Words to signifie nothing, that the greatest part of the Conversation of Mankind is little else but driving a Trade of Dissimulation; insomuch that it would make a Man heartily sick and weary of the World, to see the little Sincerity that is in Use and Practice among Men.

When the Vice is placed in this contemptible Light, he argues unanswerably against it, in Words and Thoughts so natural, that any Man who reads them would imagine he himself could have been the Author of them.

If the Show of any thing be good for any thing, I am sure Sincerity is better: for why does any Man dissemble, or seem to be that which he is not, but because he thinks it good to have such a Quality as he pretends to? For to counterfeit and dissemble, is to put on the Appearance of some real Excellency. Now the best way in the World to seem to be any thing, is really to be what he would seem to be. Besides, that it is many times as troublesome to make good the Pretence of a good Quality, as to have it; and if a Man have it not, it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it; and then all his Pains and Labour to seem to have it, is lost.

'Whatsoever Convenience may be thought to be in Falshood and Dissimulation, it is soon over; but the Inconvenience of it is perpetual, because it brings a Man under an everlasting Jealousie and Suspicion, so that he is not believed when he speaks Truth, nor trusted when perhaps he means honestly. When a Man hath once forfeited the Reputation of his Integrity, he is set fast, and nothing will then serve his Turn, neither Truth nor Falshood.'

Footnote 1:on Sincerity,

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Contents

No. 104

Friday, June 29, 1711

Steele

... Qualis equos Threissa fatigat

Harpalyce ...

Virg.

TullyIn[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'Going lately to take the Air in one of the most beautiful Evenings this Season has produced, as I was admiring the Serenity of the Sky, the lively Colours of the Fields, and the Variety of the Landskip every Way around me, my Eyes were suddenly called off from these inanimate Objects by a little party of Horsemen I saw passing the Road. The greater Part of them escaped my particular Observation, by reason that my whole Attention was fixed on a very fair Youth who rode in the midst of them, and seemed to have been dressed by some Description in a Romance. His Features, Complexion, and Habit had a remarkable Effeminacy, and a certain languishing Vanity appeared in his Air: His Hair, well curl'd and powder'd, hung to a considerable Length on his Shoulders, and was wantonly ty'd, as if by the Hands of his Mistress, in a Scarlet Ribbon, which played like a Streamer behind him: He had a Coat and Wastecoat of blue Camlet trimm'd and embroidered with Silver; a Cravat of the finest Lace; and wore, in a smart Cock, a little Beaver Hat edged with Silver, and made more sprightly by a Feather. His Horse too, which was a Pacer, was adorned after the same airy Manner, and seemed to share in the Vanity of the Rider. As I was pitying the Luxury of this young Person, who appeared to me to have been educated only as an Object of Sight, I perceived on my nearer Approach, and as I turned my Eyes downward, a Part of the Equipage I had not observed before, which was a Petticoat of the same with the Coat and Wastecoat. After this Discovery, I looked again on the Face of the fair Amazon who had thus deceived me, and thought those Features which had before offended me by their Softness, were now strengthened into as improper a Boldness; and tho' her Eyes Nose and Mouth seemed to be formed with perfect Symmetry, I am not certain whether she, who in Appearance was a very handsome Youth, may not be in Reality a very indifferent Woman.

There is an Objection which naturally presents it self against these occasional Perplexities and Mixtures of Dress, which is, that they seem to break in upon that Propriety and Distinction of Appearance in which the Beauty of different Characters is preserved; and if they should be more frequent than they are at present, would look like turning our publick Assemblies into a general Masquerade. The Model of this Amazonian Hunting-Habit for Ladies, was, as I take it, first imported from France, and well enough expresses the Gaiety of a People who are taught to do any thing so it be with an Assurance; but I cannot help thinking it sits awkwardly yet on our English Modesty. The Petticoat is a kind of Incumbrance upon it, and if the Amazons should think fit to go on in this Plunder of our Sex's Ornaments, they ought to add to their Spoils, and compleat their Triumph over us, by wearing the Breeches.

If it be natural to contract insensibly the Manners of those we imitate, the Ladies who are pleased with assuming our Dresses will do us more Honour than we deserve, but they will do it at their own Expence. Why should the lovely Camilla deceive us in more Shapes than her own, and affect to be represented in her Picture with a Gun and a Spaniel, while her elder Brother, the Heir of a worthy Family, is drawn in Silks like his Sister? The Dress and Air of a Man are not well to be divided; and those who would not be content with the Latter, ought never to think of assuming the Former. There is so large a portion of natural Agreeableness among the Fair Sex of our Island, that they seem betrayed into these romantick Habits without having the same Occasion for them with their Inventors: All that needs to be desired of them is, that they would be themselves, that is, what Nature designed them; and to see their Mistake when they depart from this, let them look upon a Man who affects the Softness and Effeminacy of a Woman, to learn how their Sex must appear to us, when approaching to the Resemblance of a Man.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 105

Saturday, June 30, 1711

Addison

... Id arbitror

Adprime in vita esse utile, ne quid nimis.

Ter. And.

Will. HoneycombWillWillWill.Will.

Will.ForWill.of[1]

Will.TemplarWill.

Awho[2]

Whatwho[3]

Westminster-HallSpainPolandGazette

Ofmentioned[4]

Greek

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 106

Monday, July 2, 1711

Addison

... Hinc tibi Copia

Manabit ad plenum, benigno

Ruris honorum opulenta cornu.

Hor.

Roger De CoverleyRoger

Roger

This[1]

RogerRogerRoger

Rogerhis

My Friend, says Sir Roger., found me out this Gentleman, who, besides the Endowments required[2] of him, is, they tell me, a good Scholar, tho' he does not shew it. I have given him the Parsonage of the Parish; and because I know his Value have settled upon him a good Annuity for Life. If he outlives me, he shall find that he was higher in my Esteem than perhaps he thinks he is. He has now been with me thirty Years; and tho' he does not know I have taken Notice of it, has never in all that time asked anything of me for himself, tho' he is every Day solliciting me for something in behalf of one or other of my Tenants his Parishioners. There has not been a Law-suit in the Parish since he has liv'd among them: If any Dispute arises they apply themselves to him for the Decision; if they do not acquiesce in his Judgment, which I think never happened above once or twice at most, they appeal to me. At his first settling with me, I made him a Present of all the good Sermons which[3] have been printed in English, and only begg'd of him that every Sunday he would pronounce one of them in the Pulpit. Accordingly, he has digested them into such a Series, that they follow one another naturally, and make a continued System of practical Divinity.

AsRogerSaturdayAsaphSouthTillotsonSaundersonBarrowCalamy[4]

Footnote 1:Historical Essay on Mr. Addison

contre-dansePopular Music of the Olden Time,Dancing Master

'upon the Preludis being ended, each party fell to bawling and calling for particular tunes. The hobnail'd fellows, whose breeches and lungs seem'd to be of the same leather, cried out for Cheshire Rounds, Roger of Coverly,' &c.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:SermonsWorksAgainst Evil Speaking.

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Contents

No. 107

Tuesday, July 3, 1711

Steele

Æsopo ingentem statuam posuere Attici,

Servumque collocârunt Æterna in Basi,

Patere honoris scirent ut Cuncti viam.

Phæd.

RogerRoger

Roger

Oneas a[1]RogerRoger

RogerRogerRogerRogerRoger

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 108

Wednesday, July 4, 1711

Addison

Gratis anhelans, multa agendo nihil agens.

Phæd.

RogerWilliam Wimble

Sir Roger,

'I desire you to accept of a Jack, which is the best I have caught this Season. I intend to come and stay with you a Week, and see how the Perch bite in the Black River. I observed with some Concern, the last time I saw you upon the Bowling-Green, that your Whip wanted a Lash to it; I will bring half a dozen with me that I twisted last Week, which I hope will serve you all the Time you are in the Country. I have not been out of the Saddle for six Days last past, having been at Eaton with Sir John's eldest Son. He takes to his Learning hugely. I am,

Sir, Your Humble Servant

Will. Wimble[1].'

Will. WimbleWimblesMay-flyWillmadehow they wearWill

RogerRogerRogerWill.RogerSir RogerWill. began[2]

Will's

Will. Wimble'sEuropeWillTwenty first

Footnote 1:SpectatorTheophrastus

'most of the characters in the Spectator were conspicuously known.'

Tatler

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 109

Thursday, July 5, 1711

Steele

Abnormis sapiens ...

Hor.

RogerDe Coverleys

'It is, said he, worth while to consider the Force of Dress; and how the Persons of one Age differ from those of another, merely by that only. One may observe also, that the general Fashion of one Age has been followed by one particular Set of People in another, and by them preserved from one Generation to another. Thus the vast jetting Coat and small Bonnet, which was the Habit in Harry the Seventh's Time, is kept on in the Yeomen of the Guard; not without a good and politick View, because they look a Foot taller, and a Foot and an half broader: Besides that the Cap leaves the Face expanded, and consequently more terrible, and fitter to stand at the Entrance of Palaces.

This Predecessor of ours, you see, is dressed after this manner, and his Cheeks would be no larger than mine, were he in a Hat as I am. He was the last Man that won a Prize in the Tilt-Yard (which is now a Common Street before Whitehall[1].) You see the broken Lance that lies there by his right Foot; He shivered that Lance of his Adversary all to Pieces; and bearing himself, look you, Sir, in this manner, at the same time he came within the Target of the Gentleman who rode against him, and taking him with incredible Force before him on the Pommel of his Saddle, he in that manner rid the Turnament over, with an Air that shewed he did it rather to perform the Rule of the Lists, than expose his Enemy; however, it appeared he knew how to make use of a Victory, and with a gentle Trot he marched up to a Gallery where their Mistress sat (for they were Rivals) and let him down with laudable Courtesy and pardonable Insolence. I don't know but it might be exactly where the Coffee-house is now.

You are to know this my Ancestor was not only of a military Genius, but fit also for the Arts of Peace, for he played on the Base-Viol as well as any Gentlemen at Court; you see where his Viol hangs by his Basket-hilt Sword. The Action at the Tilt-yard you may be sure won the fair Lady, who was a Maid of Honour, and the greatest Beauty of her Time; here she stands, the next Picture. You see, Sir, my Great Great Great Grandmother has on the new-fashioned Petticoat, except that the Modern is gather'd at the Waste; my Grandmother appears as if she stood in a large Drum, whereas the Ladies now walk as if they were in a Go-Cart. For all this Lady was bred at Court, she became an Excellent Country-Wife, she brought ten Children, and when I shew you the Library, you shall see in her own Hand (allowing for the Difference of the Language) the best Receipt now in England both for an Hasty-pudding and a White-pot[2].

If you please to fall back a little, because 'tis necessary to look at the three next Pictures at one View; these are three Sisters. She on the right Hand, who is so very beautiful, died a Maid; the next to her, still handsomer, had the same Fate, against her Will; this homely thing in the middle had both their Portions added to her own, and was stolen by a neighbouring Gentleman, a Man of Stratagem and Resolution, for he poisoned three Mastiffs to come at her, and knocked down two Deer-stealers in carrying her off. Misfortunes happen in all Families: The Theft of this Romp and so much Mony, was no great matter to our Estate. But the next Heir that possessed it was this soft Gentleman, whom you see there: Observe the small Buttons, the little Boots, the Laces, the Slashes about his Cloaths, and above all the Posture he is drawn in, (which to be sure was his own choosing;) you see he sits with one Hand on a Desk writing, and looking as it were another way, like an easy Writer, or a Sonneteer: He was one of those that had too much Wit to know how to live in the World; he was a Man of no Justice, but great good Manners; he ruined every Body that had any thing to do with him, but never said a rude thing in his Life; the most indolent Person in the World, he would sign a Deed that passed away half his Estate with his Gloves on, but would not put on his Hat before a Lady if it were to save his Country. He is said to be the first that made Love by squeezing the Hand. He left the Estate with ten thousand Pounds Debt upon it, but however by all Hands I have been informed that he was every way the finest Gentleman in the World. That Debt lay heavy on our House for one Generation, but it was retrieved by a Gift from that honest Man you see there, a Citizen of our Name, but nothing at all a-kin to us. I know Sir Andrew. FREEPORT has said behind my Back, that this Man was descended from one of the ten Children of the Maid of Honour I shewed you above; but it was never made out. We winked at the thing indeed, because Mony was wanting at that time.

Roger

'This Man (pointing to him I looked at) I take to be the Honour of our House. Sir Humphrey De Coverley; he was in his Dealings as punctual as a Tradesman, and as generous as a Gentleman. He would have thought himself as much undone by breaking his Word, as if it were to be followed by Bankruptcy. He served his Country as Knight of this Shire to his dying Day. He found it no easy matter to maintain an Integrity in his Words and Actions, even in things that regarded the Offices which were incumbent upon him, in the Care of his own Affairs and Relations of Life, and therefore dreaded (tho' he had great Talents) to go into Employments of State, where he must be exposed to the Snares of Ambition. Innocence of Life and great Ability were the distinguishing Parts of his Character; the latter, he had often observed, had led to the Destruction of the former, and used frequently to lament that Great and Good had not the same Signification. He was an excellent Husbandman, but had resolved not to exceed such a Degree of Wealth; all above it he bestowed in secret Bounties many Years after the Sum he aimed at for his own Use was attained. Yet he did not slacken his Industry, but to a decent old Age spent the Life and Fortune which was superfluous to himself, in the Service of his Friends and Neighbours.

Roger

'For,' said he, 'he was sent out of the Field upon a private Message, the Day before the Battel of Worcester.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 110

Friday, July 6, 1711

Addison

Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent.

Virg.

RogerwhoPsalmsIRetirement[1]haunted

The Ideas of Goblins and Sprights have really no more to do with Darkness than Light: Yet let but a foolish Maid inculcate these often on the Mind of a Child, and raise them there together, possibly he shall never be able to separate them again so long as he lives; but Darkness shall ever afterwards bring with it those frightful Ideas, and they shall be so joined, that he can no more bear the one than the other[2].

startle

RogerTheto[3]all the Apartments[4]exorcised

LucretiusHe[5]

Josephus

'Glaphyra the Daughter of King Archelaus, after the Death of her two first Husbands (being married to a third, who was Brother to her first Husband, and so passionately in love with her that he turned off his former Wife to make room for this Marriage) had a very odd kind of Dream. She fancied that she saw her first Husband coming towards her, and that she embraced him with great Tenderness; when in the midst of the Pleasure which she expressed at the Sight of him, he reproached her after the following manner: Glaphyra, says he, thou hast made good the old Saying, That Women are not to be trusted. Was not I the Husband of thy Virginity? Have I not Children by thee? How couldst thou forget our Loves so far as to enter into a second Marriage, and after that into a third, nay to take for thy Husband a Man who has so shamelessly crept into the Bed of his Brother? However, for the sake of our passed Loves, I shall free thee from thy present Reproach, and make thee mine for ever. Glaphyra told this Dream to several Women of her Acquaintance, and died soon after.[6] I thought this Story might not be impertinent in this Place, wherein I speak of those Kings: Besides that, the Example deserves to be taken notice of as it contains a most certain Proof of the Immortality of the Soul, and of Divine Providence. If any Man thinks these Facts incredible, let him enjoy his own Opinion to himself, but let him not endeavour to disturb the Belief of others, who by Instances of this Nature are excited to the Study of Virtue.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Essay on the Human Understanding

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:Antiq. Jud

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Contents

No. 111

Saturday, July 7, 1711

Addison

... Inter Silvas Academi quærere Verum.

Hor.

1. From the Nature of the Soul it self, and particularly its Immateriality; which, tho' not absolutely necessary to the Eternity of its Duration, has, I think, been evinced to almost a Demonstration.

2. From its Passions and Sentiments, as particularly from its Love of Existence, its Horrour of Annihilation, and its Hopes of Immortality, with that secret Satisfaction which it finds in the Practice of Virtue, and that Uneasiness which follows in it upon the Commission of Vice.

3. From the Nature of the Supreme Being, whose Justice, Goodness, Wisdom and Veracity are all concerned in this great Point.

A. He provides[1]

... Hares

Hæredem alterius, velut unda, supervenit undam.

The[2]

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 112

Monday, July 9, 1711

Addison

ISundaywere[1]ItHabits[2]SundayChurch-yardChange

RogerHehis Parishioners[3]

RogerAmen

John MatthewsJohn Matthews

Roger

RogerRoger

RogerSunday

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 113

Tuesday, July 10, 1711

Steele

... Harent infixi pectore vultus.

Virg.

Roger

'It is, quoth the good Old Man, looking round him with a Smile, very hard, that any Part of my Land should be settled upon one who has used me so ill as the perverse Widow[1] did; and yet I am sure I could not see a Sprig of any Bough of this whole Walk of Trees, but I should reflect upon her and her Severity. She has certainly the finest Hand of any Woman in the World. You are to know this was the Place wherein I used to muse upon her; and by that Custom I can never come into it, but the same tender Sentiments revive in my Mind, as if I had actually walked with that Beautiful Creature under these Shades. I have been Fool enough to carve her Name on the Bark of several of these Trees; so unhappy is the Condition of Men in Love, to attempt the removing of their Passion by the Methods which serve only to imprint it deeper. She has certainly the finest Hand of any Woman in the World.'

'I came to my Estate in my Twenty Second Year, and resolved to follow the Steps of the most Worthy of my Ancestors who have inhabited this Spot of Earth before me, in all the Methods of Hospitality and good Neighbourhood, for the sake of my Fame; and in Country Sports and Recreations, for the sake of my Health. In my Twenty Third Year I was obliged to serve as Sheriff of the County; and in my Servants, Officers and whole Equipage, indulged the Pleasure of a young Man (who did not think ill of his own Person) in taking that publick Occasion of shewing my Figure and Behaviour to Advantage. You may easily imagine to yourself what Appearance I made, who am pretty tall, rid[2] well, and was very well dressed, at the Head of a whole County, with Musick before me, a Feather in my Hat, and my Horse well Bitted. I can assure you I was not a little pleased with the kind Looks and Glances I had from all the Balconies and Windows as I rode to the Hall where the Assizes were held. But when I came there, a Beautiful Creature in a Widow's Habit sat in Court to hear the Event of a Cause concerning her Dower. This commanding Creature (who was born for Destruction of all who behold her) put on such a Resignation in her Countenance, and bore the Whispers of all around the Court with such a pretty Uneasiness, I warrant you, and then recovered her self from one Eye to another, 'till she was perfectly confused by meeting something so wistful in all she encountered, that at last, with a Murrain to her, she cast her bewitching Eye upon me. I no sooner met it, but I bowed like a great surprized Booby; and knowing her Cause to be the first which came on, I cried, like a Captivated Calf as I was, Make way for the Defendant's Witnesses. This sudden Partiality made all the County immediately see the Sheriff also was become a Slave to the fine Widow. During the Time her Cause was upon Tryal, she behaved herself, I warrant you, with such a deep Attention to her Business, took Opportunities to have little Billets handed to her Council, then would be in such a pretty Confusion, occasioned, you must know, by acting before so much Company, that not only I but the whole Court was prejudiced in her Favour; and all that the next Heir to her Husband had to urge, was thought so groundless and frivolous, that when it came to her Council to reply, there was not half so much said as every one besides in the Court thought he could have urged to her Advantage. You must understand, Sir, this perverse Woman is one of those unaccountable Creatures, that secretly rejoice in the Admiration of Men, but indulge themselves in no further Consequences. Hence it is that she has ever had a Train of Admirers, and she removes from her Slaves in Town to those in the Country, according to the Seasons of the Year. She is a reading Lady, and far gone in the Pleasures of Friendship; She is always accompanied by a Confident, who is Witness to her daily Protestations against our Sex, and consequently a Bar to her first Steps towards Love, upon the Strength of her own Maxims and Declarations.

However, I must needs say this accomplished Mistress of mine has distinguished me above the rest, and has been known to declare Sir Roger De Coverley was the Tamest and most Human of all the Brutes in the Country. I was told she said so, by one who thought he rallied me; but upon the Strength of this slender Encouragement, of being thought least detestable, I made new Liveries, new paired my Coach-Horses, sent them all to Town to be bitted, and taught to throw their Legs well, and move all together, before I pretended to cross the Country and wait upon her. As soon as I thought my Retinue suitable to the Character of my Fortune and Youth, I set out from hence to make my Addresses. The particular Skill of this Lady has ever been to inflame your Wishes, and yet command Respect. To make her Mistress of this Art, she has a greater Share of Knowledge, Wit, and good Sense, than is usual even among Men of Merit. Then she is beautiful beyond the Race of Women. If you won't let her go on with a certain Artifice with her Eyes, and the Skill of Beauty, she will arm her self with her real Charms, and strike you with Admiration instead of Desire. It is certain that if you were to behold the whole Woman, there is that Dignity in her Aspect, that Composure in her Motion, that Complacency in her Manner, that if her Form makes you hope, her Merit makes you fear. But then again, she is such a desperate Scholar, that no Country-Gentleman can approach her without being a Jest. As I was going to tell you, when I came to her House I was admitted to her Presence with great Civility; at the same time she placed her self to be first seen by me in such an Attitude, as I think you call the Posture of a Picture, that she discovered new Charms, and I at last came towards her with such an Awe as made me Speechless. This she no sooner observed but she made her Advantage of it, and began a Discourse to me concerning Love and Honour, as they both are followed by Pretenders, and the real Votaries to them. When she had discussed these Points in a Discourse, which I verily believe was as learned as the best Philosopher in Europe could possibly make, she asked me whether she was so happy as to fall in with my Sentiments on these important Particulars. Her Confident sat by her, and upon my being in the last Confusion and Silence, this malicious Aid of hers, turning to her, says, I am very glad to observe Sir Roger pauses upon this Subject, and seems resolved to deliver all his Sentiments upon the Matter when he pleases to speak. They both kept their Countenances, and after I had sat half an Hour meditating how to behave before such profound Casuists, I rose up and took my Leave. Chance has since that time thrown me very often in her Way, and she as often has directed a Discourse to me which I do not understand. This Barbarity has kept me ever at a Distance from the most beautiful Object my Eyes ever beheld. It is thus also she deals with all Mankind, and you must make Love to her, as you would conquer the Sphinx, by posing her. But were she like other Women, and that there were any talking to her, how constant must the Pleasure of that Man be, who could converse with a Creature — But, after all, you may be sure her Heart is fixed on some one or other; and yet I have been credibly inform'd; but who can believe half that is said! After she had done speaking to me, she put her Hand to her Bosom, and adjusted her Tucker. Then she cast her Eyes a little down, upon my beholding her too earnestly. They say she sings excellently: her Voice in her ordinary Speech has something in it inexpressibly sweet. You must know I dined with her at a publick Table the Day after I first saw her, and she helped me to some Tansy in the Eye of all the Gentlemen in the Country: She has certainly the finest Hand of any Woman in the World. I can assure you, Sir, were you to behold her, you would be in the same Condition; for as her Speech is Musick, her Form is Angelick. But I find I grow irregular while I am talking of her; but indeed it would be Stupidity to be unconcerned at such Perfection. Oh the excellent Creature, she is as inimitable to all Women, as she is inaccessible to all Men.'

MartialEnglish, Dum facet hanc loquiturI[3]

Quicquid agit Rufus nihil est nisi Nævia Rufo,

Si gaudet, si flet, si tacet, hanc loquitur:

Cœnat, propinat, poscit, negat, annuit, una est

Nævia; Si non sit Nævia mutus erit.

Scriberet hesterna Patri cum Luce Salutem,

Nævia lux, inquit, Nævia lumen, ave.

Let Rufus weep, rejoice, stand, sit, or walk,

Still he can nothing but of Nævia talk;

Let him eat, drink, ask Questions, or dispute,

Still he must speak of Nævia, or be mute.

He writ to his Father, ending with this Line,

I am, my Lovely Nævia, ever thine.

Footnote 1:Lady's Library

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 114

Wednesday, July 11, 1711

Steele

... Paupertatis pudor et fuga ...

Hor.

Sir Roger's

Great Britain

Laertesfifteen[1]Yet[2]LaertesIrusLaertes

LaertesIrusIrusLaertesLaertesIrusLaertesIrus

CertainCowley[3]Cowley's great Vulgar

RogerRoger'sCowley

If e'er Ambition did my Fancy cheat,

With any Wish so mean as to be Great;

Continue, Heav'n, still from me to remove

The humble Blessings of that Life I love.[4]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Life of CowleyOf LibertyOf Greatness,Odes

Hence, ye profane; I hate ye all;

Both the Great Vulgar and the Small.

return

Footnote 4:Of Greatness.

return

Contents

No. 115

Thursday, July 12, 1711

Addison

... Ut sit Mens sana in Corpore sano.

Juv.

HadMotions[1]

RogerRogerRoger

IdeaDoctor SydenhamEnglishMedicina Gymnastica[2]

WhenLatin[3]skiomachia

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Medicina Gymnastica, or, a Treatise concerning the Power of Exercise.

return

Footnote 3:Artis Gymnasticæ apud Antiquos ...

return

Contents

No. 116

Friday, July 13, 1711

Budgell

... Vocat ingenti clamore Cithœron,

Taygetique canes ...

Virg.

Bastile

Roger

Sir RogerStop-Hounds[1]BaseCounter-TenorCouldShakespearTheseusMidsummer Night's Dream[2]

My Hounds are bred out of the Spartan Kind,

So flu'd, so sanded; and their Heads are hung

With Ears that sweep away the Morning Dew.

Crook-knee'd and dew-lap'd like Thessalian Bulls;

Slow in Pursuit, but match'd in Mouths like Bells,

Each under each: A Cry more tuneable

Was never hallowed to, nor chear'd with Horn.

Roger

Rogerif Puss was gone that Way?YesThat 'twas a Wonder they had not lost all their Sport, for want of the silent Gentleman's crying Stole Away.

Flying the CountryLiar

in ViewChidinginnocentRoger

Paschalthe Misery of Manall our Endeavours after Greatness proceed from nothing but a Desire of being surrounded by a Multitude of Persons and Affairs that may hinder us from looking into our selves, which is a View we cannot bearHuntingWhatunless it be to drown Thought, can make Men throw away so much Time and Pains upon a silly Animal, which they might buy cheaper in the MarketThe Preservation of Health, and keeping all the Organs of the Soul in a Condition to execute her OrdersHad[3]

Roger

IDryden[4]

The first Physicians by Debauch were made;

Excess began, and Sloth sustains the Trade.

By Chace our long-liv'd Fathers earn'd their Food;

Toil strung the Nerves, and purify'd the Blood;

But we their Sons, a pamper'd Race of Men,

Are dwindled down to threescore Years and ten.

Better to hunt in Fields for Health unbought,

Than fee the Doctor for a nauseous Draught.

The Wise for Cure on Exercise depend:

God never made his Work for Man to mend.

Footnote 1:Spectator'sSpectator

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Pensées

return

Footnote 4:Epistle

return

Contents

No. 117

Saturday, July 14, 1711

Addison

... Ipsi sibi somnia fingunt.

Virg.

NorwayLaplandEastWest IndiesEurope

RogerHerOtway[1]

In a close Lane as I pursued my Journey,

I spy'd a wrinkled Hag, with Age grown double,

Picking dry Sticks, and mumbling to her self.

Her Eyes with scalding Rheum were gall'd and red,

Cold Palsy shook her Head; her Hands seem'd wither'd;

And on her crooked Shoulders had she wrap'd

The tatter'd Remnants of an old striped Hanging,

Which served to keep her Carcase from the Cold:

So there was nothing of a Piece about her.

Her lower Weeds were all o'er coarsly patch'd

With diff'rent-colour'd Rags, black, red, white, yellow,

And seem'd to speak Variety of Wretchedness.[2]

As I was musing on this Description, and comparing it with the Object before me, the Knight told me,

[3]thisAmenMoll WhiteMoll WhiteMoll WhiteMoll WhiteRogerMoll White

RogerRogerMoll WhiteMoll

Roger

RogerMoll

IRoger[4]

EnglandMoll White

Footnote 1:Ottway

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Footnote 2:Orphan

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Contents

No. 118

Monday, July 16, 1711

Steele

... Haret lateri lethalis arundo.

Virg.

This Woman, says he, is of all others the most unintelligible: she either designs to marry, or she does not. What is the most perplexing of all, is, that she doth not either say to her Lovers she has any Resolution against that Condition of Life in general, or that she banishes them; but conscious of her own Merit, she permits their Addresses, without Fear of any ill Consequence, or want of Respect, from their Rage or Despair. She has that in her Aspect, against which it is impossible to offend. A Man whose Thoughts are constantly bent upon so agreeable an Object, must be excused if the ordinary Occurrences in Conversation are below his Attention. I call her indeed perverse, but, alas! why do I call her so? Because her superior Merit is such, that I cannot approach her without Awe, that my Heart is checked by too much Esteem: I am angry that her Charms are not more accessible, that I am more inclined to worship than salute her: How often have I wished her unhappy that I might have an Opportunity of serving her? and how often troubled in that very Imagination, at giving her the Pain of being obliged? Well, I have led a miserable Life in secret upon her Account; but fancy she would have condescended to have some regard for me, if it had not been for that watchful Animal her Confident.

Of all Persons under the Sun (continued he, calling me by my Name) be sure to set a Mark upon Confidents: they are of all People the most impertinent. What is most pleasant to observe in them, is, that they assume to themselves the Merit of the Persons whom they have in their Custody. Orestilla is a great Fortune, and in wonderful Danger of Surprizes, therefore full of Suspicions of the least indifferent thing, particularly careful of new Acquaintance, and of growing too familiar with the old. Themista, her Favourite-Woman, is every whit as careful of whom she speaks to, and what she says. Let the Ward be a Beauty, her Confident shall treat you with an Air of Distance; let her be a Fortune, and she assumes the suspicious Behaviour of her Friend and Patroness. Thus it is that very many of our unmarried Women of Distinction, are to all Intents and Purposes married, except the Consideration of different Sexes. They are directly under the Conduct of their Whisperer; and think they are in a State of Freedom, while they can prate with one of these Attendants of all Men in general, and still avoid the Man they most like. You do not see one Heiress in a hundred whose Fate does not turn upon this Circumstance of choosing a Confident. Thus it is that the Lady is addressed to, presented and flattered, only by Proxy, in her Woman. In my Case, how is it possible that–

Rodger'What, not one Smile?'William

'Oh thou dear Picture, if thou couldst remain there in the Absence of that fair Creature whom you represent in the Water, how willingly could I stand here satisfied for ever, without troubling my dear Betty herself with any Mention of her unfortunate William, whom she is angry with: But alas! when she pleases to be gone, thou wilt also vanish — Yet let me talk to thee while thou dost stay. Tell my dearest Betty thou dost not more depend upon her, than does her William? Her Absence will make away with me as well as thee. If she offers to remove thee, I'll jump into these Waves to lay hold on thee; her self, her own dear Person, I must never embrace again — Still do you hear me without one Smile — It is too much to bear — '

'I thought how well you would drown yourself. No, no, you won't drown yourself till you have taken your leave of Susan Holliday.'

'Don't, my Dear, believe a Word Kate Willow says; she is spiteful and makes Stories, because she loves to hear me talk to her self for your sake.'

Look you there, quoth Sir Roger, do you see there, all Mischief comes from Confidents! But let us not interrupt them; the Maid is honest, and the Man dares not be otherwise, for he knows I loved her Father: I will interpose in this matter, and hasten the Wedding. Kate Willow is a witty mischievous Wench in the Neighbourhood, who was a Beauty; and makes me hope I shall see the perverse Widow in her Condition. She was so flippant with her Answers to all the honest Fellows that came near her, and so very vain of her Beauty, that she has valued herself upon her Charms till they are ceased. She therefore now makes it her Business to prevent other young Women from being more Discreet than she was herself: However, the saucy Thing said the other Day well enough, 'Sir Roger and I must make a Match, for we are 'both despised by those we loved:' The Hussy has a great deal of Power wherever she comes, and has her Share of Cunning.

However, when I reflect upon this Woman, I do not know whether in the main I am the worse for having loved her: Whenever she is recalled to my Imagination my Youth returns, and I feel a forgotten Warmth in my Veins. This Affliction in my Life has streaked all my Conduct with a Softness, of which I should otherwise have been incapable. It is, perhaps, to this dear Image in my Heart owing, that I am apt to relent, that I easily forgive, and that many desirable things are grown into my Temper, which I should not have arrived at by better Motives than the Thought of being one Day hers. I am pretty well satisfied such a Passion as I have had is never well cured; and between you and me, I am often apt to imagine it has had some whimsical Effect upon my Brain: For I frequently find, that in my most serious Discourse I let fall some comical Familiarity of Speech or odd Phrase that makes the Company laugh; However, I cannot but allow she is a most excellent Woman. When she is in the Country I warrant she does not run into Dairies, but reads upon the Nature of Plants; but has a Glass Hive, and comes into the Garden out of Books to see them work, and observe the Policies of their Commonwealth. She understands every thing. I'd give ten Pounds to hear her argue with my Friend Sir Look you there, quoth Sir Roger, do you see there, all Mischief comes from Confidents! But let us not interrupt them; the Maid is honest, and the Man dares not be otherwise, for he knows I loved her Father: I will interpose in this matter, and hasten the Wedding. Kate Willow is a witty mischievous Wench in the Neighbourhood, who was a Beauty; and makes me hope I shall see the perverse Widow in her Condition. She was so flippant with her Answers to all the honest Fellows that came near her, and so very vain of her Beauty, that she has valued herself upon her Charms till they are ceased. She therefore now makes it her Business to prevent other young Women from being more Discreet than she was herself: However, the saucy Thing said the other Day well enough, 'Sir Roger and I must make a Match, for we are 'both despised by those we loved:' The Hussy has a great deal of Power wherever she comes, and has her Share of Cunning. However, when I reflect upon this Woman, I do not know whether in the main I am the worse for having loved her: Whenever she is recalled to my Imagination my Youth returns, and I feel a forgotten Warmth in my Veins. This Affliction in my Life has streaked all my Conduct with a Softness, of which I should otherwise have been incapable. It is, perhaps, to this dear Image in my Heart owing, that I am apt to relent, that I easily forgive, and that many desirable things are grown into my Temper, which I should not have arrived at by better Motives than the Thought of being one Day hers. I am pretty well satisfied such a Passion as I have had is never well cured; and between you and me, I am often apt to imagine it has had some whimsical Effect upon my Brain: For I frequently find, that in my most serious Discourse I let fall some comical Familiarity of Speech or odd Phrase that makes the Company laugh; However, I cannot but allow she is a most excellent Woman. When she is in the Country I warrant she does not run into Dairies, but reads upon the Nature of Plants; but has a Glass Hive, and comes into the Garden out of Books to see them work, and observe the Policies of their Commonwealth. She understands every thing. I'd give ten Pounds to hear her argue with my Friend Sir Andrew Freeport about Trade. No, no, for all she looks so innocent as it were, take my Word for it she is no Fool.

Contents

No. 119

Tuesday, July 17, 1711

Addison

Urbem quam dicunt Romam, Melibæe, putavi

Stultus ego huic nostræ similem ...

Virg.

Romish

Will. Wimble

IdeasFrance

Contents

No. 120

Wednesday, July 18, 1711

Addison

... Equidem credo, quia sit Divinitus illis

Ingenium ...

Virg.

Roger

LustHunger

Somedeposite[1]

Reason

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 121

Thursday, July 19, 1711

Addison

... Jovis omnia plena.

Virg.

InstinctABayle[1]Dissertation on the Souls of BrutesDeus est Anima BrutorumTullyDampierin[2]America

Proboscis

ILockWe mayfrom the Make of an Oyster, or Cockle, conclude, that it has not so many nor so quick Senses as a Man, or several other Animals: Nor if it had, would it, in that State and Incapacity of transferring it self from one Place to another, be bettered by them. What good would Sight and Hearing do to a Creature, that cannot move it self to, or from the Object, wherein at a distance it perceives Good or Evil? And would not Quickness of Sensation be an Inconvenience to an Animal, that must be still where Chance has once placed it; and there receive the Afflux of colder or warmer, clean or foul Water, as it happens to come to it[3]

ILockMoor[4]CardanWhat is more obvious and ordinary than a Mole? and yet what more palpable Argument of Providence than she? The Members of her Body are so exactly fitted to her Nature and Manner of Life: For her Dwelling being under Ground where nothing is to be seen, Nature has so obscurely fitted her with Eyes, that Naturalists can hardly agree whether she have any Sight at all or no. But for Amends, what she is capable of for her Defence and Warning of Danger, she has very eminently conferred upon her; for she is exceeding quick of hearing. And then her short Tail and short Legs, but broad Fore-feet armed with sharp Claws, we see by the Event to what Purpose they are, she so swiftly working her self under Ground, and making her way so fast in the Earth as they that behold it cannot but admire it. Her Legs therefore are short, that she need dig no more than will serve the mere Thickness of her Body; and her Fore-feet are broad that she may scoop away much Earth at a time; and little or no Tail she has, because she courses it not on the Ground, like the Rat or Mouse, of whose Kindred she is, but lives under the Earth, and is fain to dig her self a Dwelling there. And she making her way through so thick an Element, which will not yield easily, as the Air or the Wafer, it had been dangerous to have drawn so long a Train behind her; for her Enemy might fall upon her Rear, and fetch her out, before she had compleated or got full Possession of her Works

IBoyle's[5]

Howling WildernessGreat Deep

Tully

Footnote 1:Bayle's Dictionary

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Voyages round the World

return

Footnote 3:Essay on Human Understanding

return

Footnote 4:Antidote against Atheism

return

Footnote 5:Disquisition about the Final Causes of Natural Things,

return

Contents

No. 122

Friday, July 20, 1711

Addison

Comes jucundus in via pro vehiculo est.

Publ. Syr. Frag.

Will. WimbleWill. Wimble

Tom Touchytaking the LawWidowcast

RogerWill. WimbleRogerWillTouchyWillTom Touchytake the Law of himRogermuch might be said on both Sides

RogerThat he was glad his Lordship had met with so much good Weather in his CircuitRoger

Roger was up

RogerRogerthe Knight's HeadRogerSaracen's HeadRoger'sRogerSaracenThat much might be said on both Sides

Contents

No. 123

Saturday, July 21, 1711

Addison

Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam,

Rectique cultus pectora roborant:

Utcunque defecere mores,

Dedecorant bene nata culpæ.

Hor.

RogerRoger

EudoxusLeontineEudoxusLeontineEuropeGazetteEudoxusLeontineWhen[1]LeontineEudoxusFathersEudoxusLeontineLeontineEudoxusLeontineEudoxusEudoxusLeontineLeonillaFlorioLeontineEudoxusFlorioLeontineFlorio'sLeontine

FlorioEudoxusLeonillaLeonillaFlorioFlorioLeontineEudoxusLeontineEudoxusFlorioEudoxusI have no other way left of acknowledging my Gratitude tothan by marrying you to his Daughter. He shall not lose the Pleasure of being your Father by the Discovery I have made to you.too shall be still my Daughter; her filial Piety, though misplaced, has been so exemplary that it deserves the greatest Reward I can confer upon it. You shall have the Pleasure of seeing a great Estate fall to you, which you would have lost the Relish of had you known your self born to it. Continue only to deserve it in the same manner you did before you were possessed of it. I have left your Mother in the next Room. Her Heart yearns towards you. She is making the same Discoveries to

which I have made to your self. FlorioEudoxus'sLeontineEudoxusFlorioLeonilla

Footnote 1:On the Danger of Procrastination

'There's no fooling with Life when it is once turn'd beyond Forty.'

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 124

Monday, July 23, 1711

Addison

That a great Book is a great Evil.

WhenProverbs

Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her Voice in the Streets: she crieth in the chief Place of Concourse, in the Openings of the Gates. In the City she uttereth her Words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love Simplicity? and the Scorners delight in their Scorning? and Fools hate Knowledge?[1]

rural Speculations

Works

... Nox atra cava circumvolat umbra.

'That Spectacles, though they might help the Eye of a Man, could be of no use to a Mole.'

AsLatin[2]

Footnote 1:Proverbs

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Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 125

Tuesday, July 24, 1711

Addison

Ne pueri, ne tanta animis assuescite bella:

Neu patriæ validas in viscera vertite vires.

Vir.

RogerAnne'sAnneAnne'sRogerRoger

Plutarch says[1]might[2]

isthatForEnglandcontrary Characters,[3]Knowledgea[4]British

ItalyGuelfesGibellinesFranceItPersons[5]SpanishIf there were neither Fools nor Knaves in the World, all People would be of one Mind

WereBody of Neutral[6]

Footnote 1:Moral EssaysHow one shall be helped by Enemies.Lives

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Luke

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 126

Wednesday, July 25, 1711

Addison

Tros Rutulusve fuat, nullo discrimine habebo.

Virg.

the

We whose Names are hereunto subscribed do solemnly declare, That we do in our Consciences believe two and two make four; and that we shall adjudge any Man whatsoever to be our Enemy who endeavours to persuade us to the contrary. We are likewise ready to maintain, with the Hazard of all that is near and dear to us, That six is less than seven in all Times and all Places, and that ten will not be more three Years hence than it is at present. We do also firmly declare, That it is our Resolution as long as we live to call Black black, and White white. And we shall upon all Occasions oppose such Persons that upon any Day of the Year shall call Black white, or White black, with the utmost Peril of our Lives and Fortunes.

IDiodorus Siculus[1]IchneumonIchneumonÆgyptÆgyptians

Tartars

Roger De CoverleyAndrew FreeportlandedmonyedLondonRoger's

Roger'sBettor

Amongconcerns[2]Will. Wimble waswhich[3]WillRoger

Footnote 1:Bibliothecæ Historicæ

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 127

Thursday, July 26, 1711

Addison

Quantum est in rebus Inane?

Pers.

Roger'sDyer'sSpectator

Mr. Spectator,

'You have diverted the Town almost a whole Month at the Expence of the Country, it is now high time that you should give the Country their Revenge. Since your withdrawing from this Place, the Fair Sex are run into great Extravagancies. Their Petticoats, which began to heave and swell before you left us, are now blown up into a most enormous Concave, and rise every Day more and more: In short, Sir, since our Women know themselves to be out of the Eye of the Spectator, they will be kept within no Compass. You praised them a little too soon, for the Modesty of their Head-Dresses; for as the Humour of a sick Person is often driven out of one Limb into another, their Superfluity of Ornaments, instead of being entirely Banished, seems only fallen from their Heads upon their lower Parts. What they have lost in Height they make up in Breadth, and contrary to all Rules of Architecture widen the Foundations at the same time that they shorten the Superstructure. Were they, like Spanish Jennets, to impregnate by the Wind, they could not have thought on a more proper Invention. But as we do not yet hear any particular Use in this Petticoat, or that it contains any thing more than what was supposed to be in those of Scantier Make, we are wonderfully at a loss about it.

The Women give out, in Defence of these wide Bottoms, that they are Airy, and very proper for the Season; but this I look upon to be only a Pretence, and a piece of Art, for it is well known we have not had a more moderate Summer these many Years, so that it is certain the Heat they complain of cannot be in the Weather: Besides, I would fain ask these tender constitutioned Ladies, why they should require more Cooling than their Mothers before them.

I find several Speculative Persons are of Opinion that our Sex has of late Years been very sawcy, and that the Hoop Petticoat is made use of to keep us at a Distance. It is most certain that a Woman's Honour cannot be better entrenched than after this manner, in Circle within Circle, amidst such a Variety of Out-works and Lines of Circumvallation. A Female who is thus invested in Whale-Bone is sufficiently secured against the Approaches of an ill-bred Fellow, who might as well think of Sir George Etherege's way of making Love in a Tub[1], as in the midst of so many Hoops.

Among these various Conjectures, there are Men of Superstitious tempers, who look upon the Hoop Petticoat as a kind of Prodigy. Some will have it that it portends the Downfal of the French King, and observe that the Farthingale appeared in England a little before the Ruin of the Spanish Monarchy. Others are of Opinion that it foretels Battle and Bloodshed, and believe it of the same Prognostication as the Tail of a Blazing Star. For my part, I am apt to think it is a Sign that Multitudes are coming into the World rather than going out of it.

The first time I saw a Lady dressed in one of these Petticoats, I could not forbear blaming her in my own Thoughts for walking abroad when she was so near her Time, but soon recovered myself out of my Error, when I found all the Modish Part of the Sex as far gone as her self. It is generally thought some crafty Women have thus betrayed their Companions into Hoops, that they might make them accessory to their own Concealments, and by that means escape the Censure of the World; as wary Generals have sometimes dressed two or three Dozen of their Friends in their own Habit, that they might not draw upon themselves any particular Attacks of the Enemy. The strutting Petticoat smooths all Distinctions, levels the Mother with the Daughter, and sets Maids and Matrons, Wives and Widows, upon the same Bottom. In the mean while I cannot but be troubled to see so many well-shaped innocent Virgins bloated up, and waddling up and down like big-bellied Women.

Should this Fashion get among the ordinary People our publick Ways would be so crowded that we should want Street-room. Several Congregations of the best Fashion find themselves already very much streightened, and if the Mode encrease I wish it may not drive many ordinary Women into Meetings and Conventicles. Should our Sex at the same time take it into their Heads to wear Trunk Breeches (as who knows what their Indignation at this Female Treatment may drive them to) a Man and his Wife would fill a whole Pew.

You know, Sir, it is recorded of Alexander the Great[2], that in his Indian Expedition he buried several Suits of Armour, which by his Direction were made much too big for any of his Soldiers, in order to give Posterity an extraordinary Idea of him, and make them believe he had commanded an Army of Giants. I am persuaded that if one of the present Petticoats happen to be hung up in any Repository of Curiosities, it will lead into the same Error the Generations that lie some Removes from us: unless we can believe our Posterity will think so disrespectfully of their Great Grand-Mothers, that they made themselves Monstrous to appear Amiable.

When I survey this new-fashioned Rotonda in all its Parts, I cannot but think of the old Philosopher, who after having entered into an Egyptian Temple, and looked about for the Idol of the Place, at length discovered a little Black Monkey Enshrined in the midst of it, upon which he could not forbear crying out, (to the great Scandal of the Worshippers) What a magnificent Palace is here for such a Ridiculous Inhabitant!

Though you have taken a Resolution, in one of your Papers, to avoid descending to Particularities of Dress, I believe you will not think it below you, on so extraordinary an Occasion, to Unhoop the Fair Sex, and cure this fashionable Tympany that is got among them. I am apt to think the Petticoat will shrink of its own accord at your first coming to Town; at least a Touch of your Pen will make it contract it self, like the sensitive Plant, and by that means oblige several who are either terrified or astonished at this portentous Novelty, and among the rest,

Your humble Servant, &c.

Footnote 1:Love in a Tub

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Footnote 2:Life

return

Contents

No. 128

Friday, July 27, 1711

Addison

... Concordia discors.

Lucan.

draw

the

Dryden

Our thoughtless Sex is caught by outward Form,

And empty Noise, and loves it self in Man.

and

FaustinaMarcus AureliusRomanCommodusRomanAswhich[1]Hercules

Roger

AristusAspasiaAristusnotAspasiaAspasiaesteemed[2]Aristus

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 129

Saturday, July 28, 1711

Addison

Vertentem sese frustra sectabere canthum,

Cum rota posterior curras et in axe secundo.

Pers.

Romaneverlasting DraperyForstanding Dresswho[1]who[1]

which[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'Being a Lawyer of the Middle-Temple, a[2] Cornishman by Birth, I generally ride the Western Circuit for my health, and as I am not interrupted with Clients, have leisure to make many Observations that escape the Notice of my Fellow-Travellers.

One of the most fashionable Women I met with in all the Circuit was my Landlady at Stains, where I chanced to be on a Holiday. Her Commode was not half a Foot high, and her Petticoat within some Yards of a modish Circumference. In the same Place I observed a young Fellow with a tolerable Periwig, had it not been covered with a Hat that was shaped in the Ramillie Cock[3]. As I proceeded in my Journey I observed the Petticoat grew scantier and scantier, and about threescore Miles from London was so very unfashionable, that a Woman might walk in it without any manner of Inconvenience.

Not far from Salisbury I took notice of a Justice of Peace's Lady who[4] was at least ten Years behindhand in her Dress, but at the same time as fine as Hands could make her. She was flounced and furbelowed from Head to Foot; every Ribbon was wrinkled, and every Part of her Garments in Curl, so that she looked like one of those Animals which in the Country we call a Friezeland Hen.

Not many Miles beyond this Place I was informed that one of the last Year's little Muffs had by some means or other straggled into those Parts, and that all Women of Fashion were cutting their old Muffs in two, or retrenching them, according to the little Model which[5] was got among them. I cannot believe the Report they have there, that it was sent down frank'd by a Parliament-man in a little Packet; but probably by next Winter this Fashion will be at the Height in the Country, when it is quite out at London.

The greatest Beau at our next Country Sessions was dressed in a most monstrous Flaxen Periwig, that was made in King William's Reign. The Wearer of it goes, it seems, in his own Hair, when he is at home, and lets his Wig lie in Buckle for a whole half Year, that he may put it on upon Occasions to meet the Judges in it.

I must not here omit an Adventure which[5] happened to us in a Country Church upon the Frontiers of Cornwall. As we were in the midst of the Service, a Lady who is the chief Woman of the Place, and had passed the Winter at London with her Husband, entered the Congregation in a little Headdress, and a hoop'd Petticoat. The People, who were wonderfully startled at such a Sight, all of them rose up. Some stared at the prodigious Bottom, and some at the little Top of this strange Dress. In the mean time the Lady of the Manor filled the area[6] of the Church, and walked up to her Pew with an unspeakable Satisfaction, amidst the Whispers, Conjectures, and Astonishments of the whole Congregation.

Upon our Way from hence we saw a young Fellow riding towards us full Gallop, with a Bob Wig and a black Silken Bag tied to it. He stopt short at the Coach, to ask us how far the Judges were behind us. His Stay was so very short, that we had only time to observe his new silk Waistcoat, which[7] was unbutton'd in several Places to let us see that he had a clean Shirt on, which was ruffled down to his middle.

From this Place, during our Progress through the most Western Parts of the Kingdom, we fancied ourselves in King Charles the Second's Reign, the People having made very little Variations in their Dress since that time. The smartest of the Country Squires appear still in the Monmouth-Cock[8] and when they go a wooing (whether they have any Post in the Militia or not) they generally put on a red Coat. We were, indeed, very much surprized, at the Place we lay at last Night, to meet with a Gentleman that had accoutered himself in a Night-Cap Wig, a Coat with long Pockets, and slit Sleeves, and a pair of Shoes with high Scollop Tops; but we soon found by his Conversation that he was a Person who laughed at the Ignorance and Rusticity of the Country People, and was resolved to live and die in the Mode.

Sir, If you think this Account of my Travels may be of any Advantage to the Publick, I will next Year trouble you with such Occurrences as I shall meet with in other Parts of England. For I am informed there are greater Curiosities in the Northern Circuit than in the Western; and that a Fashion makes its Progress much slower into Cumberland than into Cornwall. I have heard in particular, that the Steenkirk[9] arrived but two Months ago at Newcastle, and that there are several Commodes in those Parts which are worth taking a Journey thither to see.

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Contents

No. 130

Monday, July 30, 1711

Addison

... Semperque recentes

Convectare juvat prædas, et vivere rapto.

Virg.

Roger

If a stray Piece of Linnen hangs upon an Hedge, says Sir Roger, they are sure to have it; if the Hog loses his Way in the Fields, it is ten to one but he becomes their Prey; our Geese cannot live in Peace for them; if a Man prosecutes them with Severity, his Hen-roost is sure to pay for it: They generally straggle into these Parts about this Time of the Year; and set the Heads of our Servant-Maids so agog for Husbands, that we do not expect to have any Business done as it should be whilst they are in the Country. I have an honest Dairy-maid who[1] crosses their Hands with a Piece of Silver every Summer, and never fails being promised the handsomest young Fellow in the Parish for her pains. Your Friend the Butler has been Fool enough to be seduced by them; and, though he is sure to lose a Knife, a Fork, or a Spoon every time his Fortune is told him, generally shuts himself up in the Pantry with an old Gypsie for above half an Hour once in a Twelvemonth. Sweet-hearts are the things they live upon, which they bestow very plentifully upon all those that apply themselves to them. You see now and then some handsome young Jades among them: The Sluts have very often white Teeth and black Eyes.

RogerCassandraMyRogerwho[2]

Roger

Iwho[3]EuropeButwhich[4]Holland

'As the Trekschuyt, or Hackney-boat, which carries Passengers from Leyden to Amsterdam, was putting off, a Boy running along the side[5] of the Canal desired to be taken in; which the Master of the Boat refused, because the Lad had not quite Money enough to pay the usual Fare. An eminent Merchant being pleased with the Looks of the Boy, and secretly touched with Compassion towards him, paid the Money for him[6], and ordered him to be taken on board. Upon talking with him afterwards, he found that he could speak readily in three or four Languages, and learned upon farther Examination that he had been stoln away when he was a Child by a Gypsie, and had rambled ever since with a Gang of those Strollers up and down several Parts of Europe. It happened that the Merchant, whose Heart seems to have inclined towards the Boy by a secret kind of Instinct, had himself lost a Child some Years before. The Parents, after a long Search for him, gave him for drowned in one of the Canals with which that Country abounds; and the Mother was so afflicted at the Loss of a fine Boy, who was her only Son, that she died for Grief of it. Upon laying together all Particulars, and examining the several Moles and Marks by which the Mother used to describe the Child when[7] he was first missing, the Boy proved to be the Son of the Merchant whose Heart had so unaccountably melted at the Sight of him. The Lad was very well pleased to find a Father who[8] was so rich, and likely to leave him a good Estate; the Father on the other hand was not a little delighted to see a Son return to him, whom he had given for lost, with such a Strength of Constitution, Sharpness of Understanding, and Skill in Languages.'

Naythose who sent him[9]

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Contents

No. 131

Tuesday, July 31, 1711

Addison

... Ipsæ rursum concedite Sylvæ.

Virg.

MyRogera[1]where it

LondonWestminster

some as very modest,Will. WimblewhichMoll WhiteRogerWhite Witch

Roger'sRoger

Roger's

Suchwhich[2]RogerThat it is my waythis[2]

LondonWill. HoneycombLondon

Dear Spec,

'I Suppose this Letter will find thee picking of Daisies, or smelling to a Lock of Hay, or passing away thy time in some innocent Country Diversion of the like Nature. I have however Orders from the Club to summon thee up to Town, being all of us cursedly afraid thou wilt not be able to relish our Company, after thy Conversations with Moll White and Will. Wimble. Pr'ythee don't send us up any more Stories of a Cock and a Bull, nor frighten the Town with Spirits and Witches. Thy Speculations begin to smell confoundedly of Woods and Meadows. If thou dost not come up quickly, we shall conclude that thou art in Love with one of Sir Roger's Dairy-maids. Service to the Knight. Sir Andrew is grown the Cock of the Club since he left us, and if he does not return quickly will make every Mother's Son of us Commonwealth's Men.

Dear Spec,

Thine Eternally,

Will. Honeycomb.

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Contents

No. 132

Wednesday, August 1, 1711

Steel

... Qui aut Tempus quid postulet non videt, aut plura loquitur, aut se ostentat, aut eorum quibuscum est rationem non habet, is ineptus esse dicitur.

Tull.

RogerLondonTheBetty ArableQuicksetEphraim[1]Roger De Coverley's

'That indeed he had but very little Luck, and had suffered much by Desertion, therefore should be glad to end his Warfare in the Service of her or her fair Daughter. In a Word, continued he, I am a Soldier, and to be plain is my Character: You see me, Madam, young, sound, and impudent; take me your self, Widow, or give me to her, I will be wholly at your Disposal. I am a Soldier of Fortune, ha!'

'Come, said he, resolve upon it, we will make a Wedding at the next Town: We will wake this pleasant Companion who is fallen asleep, to be the Brideman, and' (giving the Quaker a Clap on the Knee) he concluded, 'This sly Saint, who, I'll warrant, understands what's what as well as you or I, Widow, shall give the Bride as Father.'

'Friend, I take it in good Part that thou hast given me the Authority of a Father over this comely and virtuous Child; and I must assure thee, that if I have the giving her, I shall not bestow her on thee. Thy Mirth, Friend, savoureth of Folly: Thou art a Person of a light Mind; thy Drum is a Type of thee, it soundeth because it is empty. Verily, it is not from thy Fullness, but thy Emptiness that thou hast spoken this Day. Friend, Friend, we have hired this Coach in Partnership with thee, to carry us to the great City; we cannot go any other Way. This worthy Mother must hear thee if thou wilt needs utter thy Follies; we cannot help it, Friend, I say: if thou wilt we must hear thee: But if thou wert a Man of Understanding, thou wouldst not take Advantage of thy courageous Countenance to abash us Children of Peace. Thou art, thou sayest, a Soldier; give Quarter to us, who cannot resist thee. Why didst thou fleer at our Friend, who feigned himself asleep? he said[2] nothing: but how dost thou know what he containeth? If thou speakest improper things in the hearing of this virtuous young Virgin, consider it is an Outrage against a distressed Person that cannot get from thee: To speak indiscreetly what we are obliged to hear, by being hasped up with thee in this publick Vehicle, is in some Degree assaulting on the high Road.'

Ephraim

'Faith, Friend, I thank thee; I should have been a little impertinent if thou hadst not reprimanded me. Come, thou art, I see, a smoaky old Fellow, and I'll be very orderly the ensuing Part of the Journey. I was going[3] to give my self Airs, but, Ladies, I beg Pardon.'

EphraimEphraim:London

EphraimLondonEphraim

'There is no ordinary Part of humane Life which expresseth so much a good Mind, and a right inward Man, as his Behaviour upon meeting with Strangers, especially such as may seem the most unsuitable Companions to him: Such a Man, when he falleth in the way with Persons of Simplicity and Innocence, however knowing he may be in the Ways of Men, will not vaunt himself thereof; but will the rather hide his Superiority to them, that he may not be painful unto them.

My good Friend, (continued he, turning to the Officer) thee and I are to part by and by, and peradventure we may never meet again: But be advised by a plain Man; Modes and Apparel are but Trifles to the real Man, therefore do not think such a Man as thy self terrible for thy Garb, nor such a one as me contemptible for mine.

When two such as thee and I meet, with Affections as we ought to have towards each other, thou should'st rejoice to see my peaceable Demeanour, and I should be glad to see thy Strength and Ability to protect me in it.'

Footnote 1:Psalm

'The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.'

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Contents

No. 133

Thursday, August 2, 1711

Steele

Quis Desiderio sit pudor aut modus

Tam Chari capitis?

Hor.

Socrates

Phocion'sPhocion?Athenians. NioclesPhocion

These[1]EpaminondasThebanhadout

This is not the end of my Life, my Fellow-Soldiers; it is now your Epaminondas is born, who dies in so much Glory.

I[2]

'How surprising is this Change! from the Possession of vigorous Life and Strength, to be reduced in a few Hours to this fatal Extremity! Those Lips which look so pale and livid, within these few Days gave Delight to all who heard their Utterance: It was the Business, the Purpose of his Being, next to Obeying him to whom he is going, to please and instruct, and that for no other end but to please and instruct. Kindness was the Motive of his Actions, and with all the Capacity requisite for making a Figure in a contentious World, Moderation, Good-Nature, Affability, Temperance and Chastity, were the Arts of his Excellent Life. There as he lies in helpless Agony, no Wise Man who knew him so well as I, but would resign all the World can bestow to be so near the end of such a Life. Why does my Heart so little obey my Reason as to lament thee, thou excellent Man. ... Heaven receive him, or restore him ... Thy beloved Mother, thy obliged Friends, thy helpless Servants, stand around thee without Distinction. How much wouldst thou, hadst thou thy Senses, say to each of us.

But now that good Heart bursts, and he is at rest — with that Breath expired a Soul who never indulged a Passion unfit for the Place he is gone to: Where are now thy Plans of Justice, of Truth, of Honour? Of what use the Volumes thou hast collated, the Arguments thou hast invented, the Examples thou hast followed. Poor were the Expectations of the Studious, the Modest and the Good, if the Reward of their Labours were only to be expected from Man. No, my Friend, thy intended Pleadings, thy intended good Offices to thy Friends, thy intended Services to thy Country, are already performed (as to thy Concern in them) in his Sight before whom the Past, Present, and Future appear at one View. While others with thy Talents were tormented with Ambition, with Vain-glory, with Envy, with Emulation, how well didst thou turn thy Mind to its own Improvement in things out of the Power of Fortune, in Probity, in Integrity, in the Practice and Study of Justice; how silent thy Passage, how private thy Journey, how glorious thy End! Many have I known more Famous, some more Knowing, not one so Innocent.'

Footnote 1:Life of Phocion.

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No. 134

Friday, August 3, 1711

Steele

... Opiferque per Orbem

Dicor ...

Ovid.

Tower-Hill

Sir,

'Your saying t'other Day there is something wonderful in the Narrowness of those Minds which can be pleased, and be barren of Bounty to those who please them, makes me in pain that I am not a Man of Power: If I were, you should soon see how much I approve your Speculations. In the mean time, I beg leave to supply that Inability with the empty Tribute of an honest Mind, by telling you plainly I love and thank you for your daily Refreshments. I constantly peruse your Paper as I smoke my Morning's Pipe, (tho' I can't forbear reading the Motto before I fill and light) and really it gives a grateful Relish to every Whif; each Paragraph is freight either with useful or delightful Notions, and I never fail of being highly diverted or improved. The Variety of your Subjects surprizes me as much as a Box of Pictures did formerly, in which there was only one Face, that by pulling some Pieces of Isinglass over it, was changed into a grave Senator or a Merry Andrew, a patch'd Lady or a Nun, a Beau or a Black-a-moor, a Prude or a Coquet, a Country 'Squire or a Conjurer, with many other different Representations very entertaining (as you are) tho' still the same at the Bottom. This was a childish Amusement when I was carried away with outward Appearance, but you make a deeper Impression, and affect the secret Springs of the Mind; you charm the Fancy, sooth the Passions, and insensibly lead the Reader to that Sweetness of Temper that you so well describe; you rouse Generosity with that Spirit, and inculcate Humanity with that Ease, that he must be miserably Stupid that is not affected by you. I can't say indeed that you have put Impertinence to Silence, or Vanity out of Countenance; but methinks you have bid as fair for it, as any Man that ever appeared upon a publick Stage; and offer an infallible Cure of Vice and Folly, for the Price of One Penny. And since it is usual for those who receive Benefit by such famous Operators, to publish an Advertisement, that others may reap the same Advantage, I think my self obliged to declare to all the World, that having for a long time been splenatick, ill natured, froward, suspicious, and unsociable, by the Application of your Medicines, taken only with half an Ounce of right Virginia Tobacco, for six successive Mornings, I am become open, obliging, officious, frank, and hospitable.

I am, Your Humble Servant, and great Admirer,

George Trusty.

Tower-hill,

July 5, 1711.

July the 5th, 1711.

Sir,

'In your Spectator of June the 7th you Transcribe a Letter sent to you from a new sort of Muster-master, who teaches Ladies the whole Exercise of the Fan; I have a Daughter just come to Town, who tho' she has always held a Fan in her Hand at proper Times, yet she knows no more how to use it according to true Discipline, than an awkward School-boy does to make use of his new Sword: I have sent for her on purpose to learn the Exercise, she being already very well accomplished in all other Arts which are necessary for a young Lady to understand; my Request is, that you will speak to your Correspondent on my behalf, and in your next Paper let me know what he expects, either by the Month, or the Quarter, for teaching; and where he keeps his Place of Rendezvous. I have a Son too, whom I would fain have taught to gallant Fans, and should be glad to know what the Gentleman will have for teaching them both, I finding Fans for Practice at my own Expence. This Information will in the highest manner oblige,

Sir, Your most humble Servant,

William Wiseacre.

As soon as my Son is perfect in this Art (which I hope will be in a Year's time, for the Boy is pretty apt,) I design he shall learn to ride the great Horse, (altho' he is not yet above twenty Years old) if his Mother, whose Darling he is, will venture him.

To the Spectator.

The humble Petition of Benjamin Easie, Gent.

Sheweth,

'That it was your Petitioner's Misfortune to walk to Hackney Church last Sunday, where to his great Amazement he met with a Soldier of your own training: she furls a Fan, recovers a Fan, and goes through the whole Exercise of it to Admiration. This well-managed Officer of yours has, to my Knowledge, been the Ruin of above five young Gentlemen besides my self, and still goes on laying waste wheresoever she comes, whereby the whole Village is in great danger. Our humble Request is therefore that this bold Amazon be ordered immediately to lay down her Arms, or that you would issue forth an Order, that we who have been thus injured may meet at the Place of General Rendezvous, and there be taught to manage our Snuff-Boxes in such manner as we may be an equal Match for her:

And your Petitioner shall ever Pray, &c.

Contents

No. 135

Saturday, August 4, 1711

Addison

Est brevitate opus, ut currat Sententia ...

Hor.

Frenchman:EnglishmanAmongLanguagewho[1]

English

EnglishEuropean

EnglishTheEnglishwhich[2]

LatinLiberty, Conspiracy, Theatre, Orator

drown'd, walk' d, arriv'ddrowned, walked, arrived

Thised[3]ethsdrowns, walks, arrivesdrowneth, walketh, arrivethEnglishhissing

HisHer

mayn't, can't, shd'n't, wo'n'tmay not, can not, shall not, will not

mob. rep. pos. incog.Hudibras'sRoger E Estrange

NickItalianNicoliniJackJanot

EnglishFrenchItaliansSpaniardsGermans

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No. 136

Monday, August 6, 1711

Steele

... Parthis mendacior ...

Hor.

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 Moralists upon the Subject, but could never find any Effect their Discourses 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 sometimes mixing seeming Truths with my Improbabilities. With this strong Passion towards Falshood in this kind, there does not live an honester Man or a sincerer Friend; but my Imagination runs away with me, and whatever is started I have such a Scene of Adventures appears in an Instant before me, that I cannot help uttering them, tho', to my immediate Confusion, I cannot but know I am liable to be detected by the first Man I meet.

Upon occasion of the mention of the Battel of Pultowa, I could not forbear giving an Account of a Kinsman of mine, a young Merchant who was bred at Mosco, that had too much Metal to attend Books of Entries and Accounts, when there was so active a Scene in the Country where he resided, and followed the Czar as a Volunteer: This warm Youth, born at the Instant the thing was spoke of, was the Man who unhorsed the Swedish General, he was the Occasion that the Muscovites kept their Fire in so soldier-like a manner, and brought up those Troops which were covered from the Enemy at the beginning of the Day; besides this, he had at last the good Fortune to be the Man who took Count Piper[1] With all this Fire I knew my Cousin to be the Civilest Creature in the World. He never made any impertinent Show 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 spoke the Czar's Character, which I knew perfectly[2] well; and I could not forbear concluding, that I lay with his Imperial Majesty twice or thrice a Week all the while he lodged at Deptford[3]. What is worse than all this, it is impossible to speak to me, but you give me some occasion of coming out with one Lie or other, that has neither Wit, Humour, Prospect of Interest, or any other Motive that I can think of in Nature. The other Day, when one was commending an Eminent and Learned Divine, what occasion in the World had I to say, Methinks he would look more Venerable if he were not so fair a man? I remember the Company smiled. I have seen the Gentleman since, and he is Coal-Black. I have Intimations every Day in my Life that no Body believes me, yet I am never the better. I was saying something the other Day to an old Friend at Will's Coffee-house, and he made me no manner of Answer; but told me, that an Acquaintance of Tully the Orator having two or three times together said to him, without receiving any Answer, That upon his Honour he was but that very Month forty Years of Age; Tully answer'd, Surely you think me the most incredulous Man in the World, if I don't believe what you have told me every Day this ten Years. The Mischief of it is, I find myself wonderfully inclin'd to have been present 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-natur'd Man, and never speak Things to any Man's Disadvantage. I never directly defame, but I do what is as bad in the Consequence, for I have often made a Man say such and such a lively Expression, who was born a mere Elder Brother. When one has said in my Hearing, Such a one is no wiser than he should be, I immediately have reply'd, Now 'faith, I can't see that, he said a very good Thing to my Lord such a one, upon such an Occasion, and the like. Such an honest Dolt as this has been watch'd in every Expression he uttered, upon my Recommendation of him, and consequently been subject to the more Ridicule. I once endeavoured to cure my self of this impertinent Quality, and resolved to hold my Tongue for seven Days together; I did so, but then I had so many Winks and unnecessary Distortions of my Face upon what any body else said, that I found I only forbore the Expression, and that I still lied in my Heart to every Man I met with. You are to know one Thing (which I believe you'll say is a pity, considering the Use I should have made of it) I never Travelled in my Life; but I do not know whether I could have spoken of any Foreign Country with more Familiarity than I do at present, in Company who are Strangers to me. I have cursed the Inns in Germany; commended the Brothels at Venice; the Freedom of Conversation in France; and tho' I never was out of this dear Town, and fifty Miles about it, have been three Nights together dogged by Bravoes for an Intreague with a Cardinal's Mistress at Rome.

It were endless to give you Particulars of this kind, but I can assure you, Mr. Spectator, there are about Twenty or Thirty of us in this Town, I mean by this Town the Cities of London and Westminster; I say there are in Town a sufficient Number of us to make a Society among our selves; and since we cannot be believed any longer, I beg of you to print this my Letter, that we may meet together, and be under such Regulation as there may be no Occasion for Belief or Confidence among us. If you think fit, we might be called The Historians, for Liar is become a very harsh Word. And that a Member of the Society may not hereafter be ill received by the rest of the World, I desire you would explain a little this sort of Men, and not let us Historians be ranked, as we are in the Imaginations of ordinary People, among common Liars, Makebates, Impostors, and Incendiaries. For your Instruction herein, you are to know that an Historian in Conversation is only a Person of so pregnant a Fancy, that he cannot be contented with ordinary Occurrences. I know a Man of Quality of our Order, who is of the wrong Side of Forty-three, and has been of that Age, according to Tully's Jest, for some Years since, whose Vein is upon the Romantick. Give him the least Occasion, and he will tell you something so very particular that happen'd in such a Year, and in such Company, where by the by was present such a one, who was afterwards made such a thing. Out of all these Circumstances, in the best Language in the World, he will join together with such probable Incidents an Account that shews a Person of the deepest Penetration, the honestest Mind, and withal something so Humble when he speaks of himself, that you would Admire. Dear Sir, why should this be Lying! There is nothing so instructive. He has withal the gravest Aspect; something so very venerable and great! Another of these Historians is a Young Man whom we would take in, tho' he extreamly wants Parts, as People send Children (before they can learn any thing) to School, to keep them out of Harm's way. He tells things which have nothing at all in them, and can neither please nor[4] displease, but merely take up your Time to no manner of Purpose, no manner of Delight; but he is Good-natured, and does it because he loves to be saying something to you, and entertain you.

I could name you a Soldier that hath[5] done very great things without Slaughter; he is prodigiously dull and slow of Head, but what he can say is for ever false, so that we must have him.

Give me leave to tell you of one more who is a Lover; he is the most afflicted Creature in the World, lest what happened between him and a Great Beauty should ever be known. Yet again, he comforts himself. Hang the Jade her Woman. If Mony can keep the Slut trusty I will do it, though I mortgage every Acre; Anthony and Cleopatra for that; All for Love and the World well lost ... Then, Sir, there is my little Merchant, honest Indigo of the Change, there's my Man for Loss and Gain, there's Tare and Tret, there's lying all round the Globe; he has such a prodigious Intelligence he knows all the French are doing, or what we intend or ought to intend, and has it from such Hands. But, alas, whither am I running! While I complain, while I remonstrate to you, even all this is a Lie, and there is not one such Person of Quality, Lover, Soldier, or Merchant as I have now described in the whole World, that I know of. But I will catch my self once in my Life, and in spite of Nature speak one Truth, to wit that I am

Your Humble Servant, &c.

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No. 137

Tuesday, August 7, 1711

Steele

At hæc etiam Servis semper libera fuerunt, timerent, gauderent, dolerent, suo potius quam alterius arbitrio.

Tull. Epist.

August 2, 1711.

Sir,

I have read your Spectator of the third of the last Month, and wish I had the Happiness of being preferred to serve so good a Master as Sir Roger. The Character of my Master is the very Reverse of that good and gentle Knight's. All his Directions are given, and his Mind revealed, by way of Contraries: As when any thing is to be remembered, with a peculiar Cast of Face he cries, Be sure to forget now. If I am to make haste back, Don't come these two Hours; be sure to call by the Way upon some of your Companions. Then another excellent Way of his is, if he sets me any thing to do, which he knows must necessarily take up half a Day, he calls ten times in a Quarter of an Hour to know whether I have done yet. This is his Manner; and the same Perverseness runs through all his Actions, according as the Circumstances vary. Besides all this, he is so suspicious, that he submits himself to the Drudgery of a Spy. He is as unhappy himself as he makes his Servants: He is constantly watching us, and we differ no more in Pleasure and Liberty than as a Gaoler and a Prisoner. He lays Traps for Faults, and no sooner makes a Discovery, but falls into such Language, as I am more ashamed of for coming from him, than for being directed to me. This, Sir, is a short Sketch of a Master I have served upwards of nine Years; and tho' I have never wronged him, I confess my Despair of pleasing him has very much abated my Endeavour to do it. If you will give me leave to steal a Sentence out of my Master's Clarendon, I shall tell you my Case in a Word, Being used worse than I deserved, I cared less to deserve well than I had done.

I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Ralph Valet.

Dear Mr. Specter, I am the next thing to a Lady's Woman, and am under both my Lady and her Woman. I am so used by them both, that I should be very glad to see them in the Specter. My Lady her self is of no Mind in the World, and for that Reason her Woman is of twenty Minds in a Moment. My Lady is one that never knows what to do with her self; she pulls on and puts off every thing she wears twenty times before she resolves upon it for that Day. I stand at one end of the Room, and reach things to her Woman. When my Lady asks for a thing, I hear and have half brought it, when the Woman meets me in the middle of the Room to receive it, and at that Instant she says No she will not have it. Then I go back, and her Woman comes up to her, and by this time she will have that and two or three things more in an Instant: The Woman and I run to each other; I am loaded and delivering the things to her, when my Lady says she wants none of all these things, and we are the dullest Creatures in the World, and she the unhappiest Woman living, for she shan't be dress'd in any time. Thus we stand not knowing what to do, when our good Lady with all the Patience in the World tells us as plain as she can speak, that she will have Temper because we have no manner of Understanding; and begins again to dress, and see if we can find out of our selves what we are to do. When she is Dressed she goes to Dinner, and after she has disliked every thing there, she calls for the Coach, then commands it in again, and then she will not go out at all, and then will go too, and orders the Chariot. Now, good Mr. Specter, I desire you would in the Behalf of all who serve froward Ladies, give out in your Paper, that nothing can be done without allowing Time for it, and that one cannot be back again with what one was sent for, if one is called back before one can go a Step for that they want. And if you please let them know that all Mistresses are as like as all Servants.

I am

Your Loving Friend,

Patience Giddy.

Chelsea

PamphilioOne of my Footmen is gone to the Wedding of his Sister, and the other I don't expect to Wait, because his Father died but two Days ago

Contents

No. 138

Wednesday, August 8, 1711

Steele

Utitur in re non Dubia testibus non necessariis.

Tull.

Tully[1]usThemistodes, Pericles, CyrusAlexander

Charles'sOates'sBearHolborn:CrossJack Thompson

TillotsonBeveridgeown

I shall briefly explain the Words, and then consider the Matter contained in them

Entring into the MatterBriefly explainingBeveridgeshall endeavour to make it as plain as I can from the Words which I have now read, wherein for that Purpose we shall consider

Gravel-PitsSt. James'sOne of these Fellows is Milking a Ram, and the other holds the Pail

Footnote 1:On Rhetorical Invention

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Contents

original advertisement

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according to the most fashionable Airs and Motions,

in opposition to the Exercise of the Fan,

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T.

No. 139

Thursday, August 9, 1711

Steele

Vera Gloria radices agit, atque etiam propagatur: Ficta omnia celeriter, tanquam flosculi, decidunt, nec simulatum potest quidquam esse diuturnum.

Tull.

EuropeGreatLewisFrancePeterRussiaLewisFrancehisInstance[1]FranceWhile these were the Rules of Life, Perjuries in the Prince, and a general Corruption of Manners in the Subject, were the Snares in whichhas Entangled all her Neighbours.Lewis

Peter AlexiwitzRussiaGenius

FrenchmanRussian

Westminsterthat[2]

TheTully[3]That the People love us; that they have Confidence in us; that being affected with a certain Admiration towards us, they think we deserve Honour

Idea

August, 1711,JohnMarlborough

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Philippic

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Contents

No. 140

Friday, August 10, 1711

Steele

Animum curis nunc huc nunc dividit illuc.

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

'I have lost so much Time already, that I desire, upon the Receipt hereof, you would sit down immediately and give me your Answer. And I would know of you whether a Pretender of mine really loves me.

As well as I can I will describe his Manners. When he sees me he is always talking of Constancy, but vouchsafes to visit me but once a Fortnight, and then is always in haste to be gone.

When I am sick, I hear, he says he is mightily concerned, but neither comes nor sends, because, as he tells his Acquaintance with a Sigh, he does not care to let me know all the Power I have over him, and how impossible it is for him to live without me.

When he leaves the Town he writes once in six Weeks, desires to hear from me, complains of the Torment of Absence, speaks of Flames, Tortures, Languishings and Ecstasies. He has the Cant of an impatient Lover, but keeps the Pace of a Lukewarm one.

You know I must not go faster than he does, and to move at this rate is as tedious as counting a great Clock. But you are to know he is rich, and my Mother says, As he is slow he is sure; He will love me long, if he loves me little: But I appeal to you whether he loves at all

Your Neglected, Humble Servant,

Lydia Novell.

All these Fellows who have Mony are extreamly sawcy and cold; Pray, Sir, tell them of it.

Mr.Spectator,

'I have been delighted with nothing more through the whole Course of your Writings than the Substantial Account you lately gave of Wit, and I could wish you would take some other Opportunity to express further the Corrupt Taste the Age is run into; which I am chiefly apt to attribute to the Prevalency of a few popular Authors, whose Merit in some respects has given a Sanction to their Faults in others.

Thus the Imitators of Milton seem to place all the Excellency of that sort of Writing either in the uncouth or antique Words, or something else which was highly vicious, tho' pardonable, in that Great Man.

The Admirers of what we call Point, or Turn, look upon it as the particular Happiness to which Cowley, Ovid and others owe their Reputation, and therefore imitate them only in such Instances; what is Just, Proper and Natural does not seem to be the Question with them, but by what means a quaint Antithesis may be brought about, how one Word may be made to look two Ways, and what will be the Consequence of a forced Allusion.

Now tho' such Authors appear to me to resemble those who make themselves fine, instead of being well dressed or graceful; yet the Mischief is, that these Beauties in them, which I call Blemishes, are thought to proceed from Luxuriance of Fancy and Overflowing of good Sense: In one word, they have the Character of being too Witty; but if you would acquaint the World they are not Witty at all, you would, among many others, oblige,

Sir,

Your Most Benevolent Reader,

R. D.

Sir,

'I am a young Woman, and reckoned Pretty, therefore you'll pardon me that I trouble you to decide a Wager between me and a Cousin of mine, who is always contradicting one because he understands Latin. Pray, Sir. is Dimpple spelt with a single or a double P?'

I am, Sir,

Your very Humble Servant,

Betty Saunter.

Pray, Sir, direct thus, To the kind Querist, and leave it at; Mr. Lillie's, for I don't care to be known in the thing at all. I am, Sir, again Your Humble Servant.'

Mr. Spectator,

'I must needs tell you there are several of your Papers I do not much like. You are often so Nice there is no enduring you, and so Learned there is no understanding you. What have you to do with our Petticoats?'

Your Humble Servant,

Parthenope.

Mr. Spectator,

'Last Night as I was walking in the Park, I met a couple of Friends; Prithee Jack, says one of them, let us go drink a Glass of Wine, for I am fit for nothing else. This put me upon reflecting on the many Miscarriages which happen in Conversations over Wine, when Men go to the Bottle to remove such Humours as it only stirs up and awakens. This I could not attribute more to any thing than to the Humour of putting Company upon others which Men do not like themselves. Pray, Sir, declare in your Papers, that he who is a troublesome Companion to himself, will not be an agreeable one to others. Let People reason themselves into good-Humour, before they impose themselves upon their Friends. Pray, Sir, be as Eloquent as you can upon this Subject, and do Human Life so much Good, as to argue powerfully, that it is not every one that can swallow who is fit to drink a Glass of Wine.'

Your most Humble Servant.

Sir,

'I this Morning cast my Eye upon your Paper concerning the Expence of Time. You are very obliging to the Women, especially those who are not Young and past Gallantry, by touching so gently upon Gaming: Therefore I hope you do not think it wrong to employ a little leisure Time in that Diversion; but I should be glad to hear you say something upon the Behaviour of some of the Female Gamesters.

I have observed Ladies, who in all other respects are Gentle, Good-humoured, and the very Pinks of good Breeding; who as soon as the Ombre Table is called for, and set down to their Business, are immediately Transmigrated into the veriest Wasps in Nature.

You must know I keep my Temper, and win their Mony; but am out of Countenance to take it, it makes them so very uneasie. Be pleased, dear Sir, to instruct them to lose with a better Grace, and you will oblige'

Yours,

Rachel Basto.

Mr. Spectator[1],

'Your Kindness to Eleonora, in one of your Papers, has given me Encouragement to do my self the Honour of writing to you. The great Regard you have so often expressed for the Instruction and Improvement of our Sex, will, I hope, in your own Opinion, sufficiently excuse me from making any Apology for the Impertinence of this Letter. The great Desire I have to embellish my Mind with some of those Graces which you say are so becoming, and which you assert Reading helps us to, has made me uneasie 'till I am put in a Capacity of attaining them: This, Sir, I shall never think my self in, 'till you shall be pleased to recommend some Author or Authors to my Perusal.

I thought indeed, when I first cast my Eye on Eleonora's Letter, that I should have had no occasion for requesting it of you; but to my very great Concern, I found, on the Perusal of that Spectator, I was entirely disappointed, and am as much at a loss how to make use of my Time for that end as ever. Pray, Sir, oblige me at least with one Scene, as you were pleased to entertain Eleonora with your Prologue. I write to you not only my own Sentiments, but also those of several others of my Acquaintance, who are as little pleased with the ordinary manner of spending one's Time as my self: And if a fervent Desire after Knowledge, and a great Sense of our present Ignorance, may be thought a good Presage and Earnest of Improvement, you may look upon your Time you shall bestow in answering this Request not thrown away to no purpose. And I can't but add, that unless you have a particular and more than ordinary Regard for Eleonora, I have a better Title to your Favour than she; since I do not content myself with Tea-table Reading of your Papers, but it is my Entertainment very often when alone in my Closet. To shew you I am capable of Improvement, and hate Flattery, I acknowledge I do not like some of your Papers; but even there I am readier to call in question my own shallow Understanding than Mr. Spector's profound Judgment.

I am, Sir,

your already (and in hopes of being more) your obliged Servant,

Parthenia.

Footnote 1:PartheniaNo. 92Leonora

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Contents

No. 141

Saturday, August 11, 1711

Steele

... Migravit ab Aure voluptas

Omnis ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator[1], 'Upon a Report that Moll White had followed you to Town, and was to act a Part in the Lancashire-Witches, I went last Week to see that Play[2]. It was my Fortune to sit next to a Country Justice of the Peace, a Neighbour (as he said) of Sir Roger's, who pretended to shew her to us in one of the Dances. There was Witchcraft enough in the Entertainment almost to incline me to believe him; Ben Johnson was almost lamed; young Bullock narrowly saved his Neck; the Audience was astonished, and an old Acquaintance of mine, a Person of Worth, whom I would have bowed to in the Pit, at two Yards distance did not know me.

If you were what the Country People reported you, a white Witch, I could have wished you had been there to have exorcised that Rabble of Broomsticks, with which we were haunted for above three Hours. I could have allowed them to set Clod in the Tree, to have scared the Sportsmen, plagued the Justice, and employed honest Teague with his holy Water. This was the proper Use of them in Comedy, if the Author had stopped here; but I cannot conceive what Relation the Sacrifice of the Black Lamb, and the Ceremonies of their Worship to the Devil, have to the Business of Mirth and Humour.

The Gentleman who writ this Play, and has drawn some Characters in it very justly, appears to have been misled in his Witchcraft by an unwary following the inimitable Shakespear. The Incantations in Mackbeth have a Solemnity admirably adapted to the Occasion of that Tragedy, and fill the Mind with a suitable Horror; besides, that the Witches are a Part of the Story it self, as we find it very particularly related in Hector Bœtius, from whom he seems to have taken it. This therefore is a proper Machine where the Business is dark, horrid, and bloody; but is extremely foreign from the Affair of Comedy. Subjects of this kind, which are in themselves disagreeable, can at no time become entertaining, but by passing through an Imagination like Shakespear's to form them; for which Reason Mr. Dryden would not allow even Beaumont and Fletcher capable of imitating him.

But Shakespear's Magick cou'd not copy'd be,

Within that Circle none durst walk but He[3].

I should not, however, have troubled you with these Remarks, if there were not something else in this Comedy, which wants to be exorcised more than the Witches. I mean the Freedom of some Passages, which I should have overlook'd, if I had not observed that those Jests can raise the loudest Mirth, though they are painful to right Sense, and an Outrage upon Modesty.

We must attribute such Liberties to the Taste of that Age, but indeed by such Representations a Poet sacrifices the best Part of his Audience to the worst; and, as one would think, neglects the Boxes, to write to the Orange-Wenches.

I must not conclude till I have taken notice of the Moral with which this Comedy ends. The two young Ladies having given a notable Example of outwitting those who had a Right in the Disposal of them, and marrying without Consent of Parents, one of the injur'd Parties, who is easily reconciled, winds up all with this Remark,

... Design whate'er we will,

There is a Fate which over-rules us still.

We are to suppose that the Gallants are Men of Merit, but if they had been Rakes the Excuse might have serv'd as well. Hans Carvel's Wife[4] was of the same Principle, but has express'd it with a Delicacy which shews she is not serious in her Excuse, but in a sort of humorous Philosophy turns off the Thought of her Guilt, and says,

That if weak Women go astray,

Their Stars are more in fault than they.

This, no doubt, is a full Reparation, and dismisses the Audience with very edifying Impressions.

These things fall under a Province you have partly pursued already, and therefore demand your Animadversion, for the regulating so Noble an Entertainment as that of the Stage. It were to be wished, that all who write for it hereafter would raise their Genius, by the Ambition of pleasing People of the best Understanding; and leave others who shew nothing of the Human Species but Risibility, to seek their Diversion at the Bear-Garden, or some other Privileg'd Place, where Reason and Good-manners have no Right to disturb them.'

August 8, 1711.

I am, &c.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Lancashire WitchesSpectator

'By her Majesty's Company of Comedians.

At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, on Tuesday next, being the 14th Day of August, will be presented, A comedy call'd the Lancashire Witches, Written by the Ingenious Mr. Shadwell, late Poet Laureat. Carefully Revis'd. With all the Original Decorations of Scenes, Witche's Songs and Dances, proper to the Dramma. The Principal Parts to be perform'd by Mr. Mills, Mr. Booth, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Bullock, Sen., Mr. Norris, Mr. Pack, Mr. Bullock, Jun., Mrs. Elrington, Mrs. Powel, Mrs. Bradshaw, Mrs. Cox. And the Witches by Mr. Burkhead, Mr. Ryan, Mrs. Mills, and Mrs. Willis. It being the last time of Acting in this Season.'

return

Footnote 3:Tempest

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Footnote 4:Hans Carvel

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Contents

No. 142

Monday, August 13, 1711

Steele

... Irrupta tenet Copula ...

Hor.

The[1]

August 9, 1711. Mr. Spectator, 'I am now in the sixty seventh Year of my Age, and read you with Approbation; but methinks you do not strike at the Root of the greatest Evil in Life, which is the false Notion of Gallantry in Love. It is, and has long been, upon a very ill Foot; but I, who have been a Wife Forty Years, and was bred in a way that has made me ever since very happy, see through the Folly of it. In a Word, Sir, when I was a young Woman, all who avoided the Vices of the Age were very carefully educated, and all fantastical Objects were turned out of our Sight. The Tapestry Hangings, with the great and venerable Simplicity of the Scripture Stories, had better Effects than now the Loves of Venus and Adonis or Bacchus and Ariadne in your fine present Prints. The Gentleman I am married to made Love to me in Rapture, but it was the Rapture of a Christian and a Man of Honour, not a Romantick Hero or a Whining Coxcomb: This put our Life upon a right Basis. To give you an Idea of our Regard one to another, I inclose to you several of his Letters, writ Forty Years ago, when my Lover; and one writ t'other Day, after so many Years Cohabitation.'

Your Servant,

Andromache.

August 7, 1671.

Madam,

'If my Vigilance and ten thousand Wishes for your Welfare and Repose could have any force, you last Night slept in Security, and had every good Angel in your Attendance. To have my Thoughts ever fixed on you, to live in constant Fear of every Accident to which Human Life is liable, and to send up my hourly Prayers to avert 'em from you; I say, Madam, thus to think, and thus to suffer, is what I do for Her who is in Pain at my Approach, and calls all my tender Sorrow Impertinence. You are now before my Eyes, my Eyes that are ready to flow with Tenderness, but cannot give relief to my gushing Heart, that dictates what I am now Saying, and yearns to tell you all its Achings. How art thou, oh my Soul, stoln from thy self! How is all thy Attention broken! My Books are blank Paper, and my Friends Intruders. I have no hope of Quiet but from your Pity; To grant it, would make more for your Triumph. To give Pain is the Tyranny, to make Happy the true Empire of Beauty. If you would consider aright, you'd find an agreeable Change in dismissing the Attendance of a Slave, to receive the Complaisance of a Companion. I bear the former in hopes of the latter Condition: As I live in Chains without murmuring at the Power which inflicts 'em, so I could enjoy Freedom without forgetting the Mercy that gave it.'

Madam, I am

Your most devoted, most obedient Servant.

Tho' I made him no Declarations in his Favour, you see he had Hopes of Me when he writ this in the Month following.

Madam, September 3, 1671.

'Before the Light this Morning dawned upon the Earth I awaked, and lay in Expectation of its return, not that it cou'd give any new Sense of Joy to me, but as I hoped it would bless you with its chearful Face, after a Quiet which I wish'd you last Night. If my Prayers are heard, the Day appeared with all the Influence of a Merciful Creator upon your Person and Actions. Let others, my lovely Charmer, talk of a blind Being that disposes their Hearts, I contemn their low Images of Love. I have not a Thought which relates to you, that I cannot with Confidence beseech the All-seeing Power to bless me in. May he direct you in all your Steps, and reward your Innocence, your Sanctity of Manners, your Prudent Youth, and becoming Piety, with the Continuance of his Grace and Protection. This is an unusual Language to Ladies; but you have a Mind elevated above the giddy Motions of a Sex insnared by Flattery, and misled by a false and short Adoration into a solid and long Contempt. Beauty, my fairest Creature, palls in the Possession, but I love also your Mind; your Soul is as dear to me as my own; and if the Advantages of a liberal Education, some Knowledge, and as much Contempt of the World, join'd with the Endeavours towards a Life of strict Virtue and Religion, can qualify me to raise new Ideas in a Breast so well disposed as yours is, our Days will pass away with Joy; and old Age, instead of introducing melancholy Prospects of Decay, give us hope of Eternal Youth in a better Life. I have but few Minutes from the Duty of my Employment to write in, and without time to read over what I have writ, therefore beseech you to pardon the first Hints of my Mind, which I have expressed in so little Order.

I am, dearest Creature,

Your most Obedient,

most Devoted Servant.'

The two next were written after the Day of our Marriage was fixed.

September 25, 1671

Madam,

'It is the hardest thing in the World to be in Love, and yet attend Business. As for me, all that speak to me find me out, and I must lock myself up, or other People will do it for me. A Gentleman asked me this Morning what News from Holland, and I answered, 'She's Exquisitely handsome'. Another desir'd to know when I had been last at Windsor, I reply'd, 'She designs to go with me'. Prethee, allow me at least to kiss your Hand before the appointed Day, that my Mind may be in some Composure. Methinks I could write a Volume to you, but all the Language on Earth would fail in saying how much, and with what dis-interested Passion,

I am ever Yours.

September 30, 1671.

Seven in the Morning.

Dear Creature,

Next to the Influence of Heav'n, I am to thank you that I see the returning Day with Pleasure. To pass my Evenings in so sweet a Conversation, and have the Esteem of a Woman of your Merit, has in it a Particularity of Happiness no more to be express'd than return'd. But I am, my Lovely Creature, contented to be on the obliged Side, and to employ all my Days in new Endeavours to convince you and all the World of the Sense I have of your Condescension in Chusing,

Madam, Your Most Faithful,

Most Obedient Humble Servant.

He was, when he writ the following Letter, as agreeable and pleasant a Man as any in England.

October 20, 1671.

Madam,

I Beg Pardon that my Paper is not Finer, but I am forced to write from a Coffee-house where I am attending about Business. There is a dirty Crowd of Busie Faces all around me talking of Mony, while all my Ambition, all my Wealth is Love: Love which animates my Heart, sweetens my Humour, enlarges my Soul, and affects every Action of my Life. 'Tis to my lovely Charmer I owe that many noble Ideas are continually affix'd to my Words and Actions: 'Tis the natural Effect of that generous Passion to create in the Admirer some Similitude of the Object admired; thus, my Dear, am I every Day to improve from so sweet a Companion. Look up, my Fair One, to that Heaven which made thee such, and join with me to implore its Influence on our tender innocent Hours, and beseech the Author of Love to bless the Rites he has ordained, and mingle with our Happiness a just Sense of our transient Condition, and a Resignation to his Will, which only can regulate our Minds to a steady Endeavour to please him and each other.

I am, for Ever,

your Faithful Servant.

I will not trouble you with more Letters at this time, but if you saw the poor withered Hand which sends you these Minutes, I am sure you will smile to think that there is one who is so gallant as to speak of it still as so welcome a Present, after forty Years Possession of the Woman whom he writes to.

June 23, 1711.

Madam,

I Heartily beg your Pardon for my Omission to write Yesterday. It was of no Failure of my tender Regard for you; but having been very much perplexed in my Thoughts on the Subject of my last, made me determine to suspend speaking of it 'till I came to myself. But, my Lovely Creature, know it is not in the Power of Age, or Misfortune, or any other Accident which hangs over Human Life, to take from me the pleasing Esteem I have for you, or the Memory of the bright Figure you appeared in when you gave your Hand and Heart to,

Madam,

Your most Grateful Husband,

and Obedient Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 143

Tuesday, August 14, 1711

Steele

Non est vivere sed valere Vita.

Martial.

Itsitting[1]CottilusCottilus

UraniusUranius

ATheory of the Earth[2]

For what is this Life but a Circulation of little mean Actions? We lie down and rise again, dress and undress, feed and wax hungry, work or play, and are weary, and then we lie down again, and the Circle returns. We spend the Day in Trifles, and when the Night comes we throw our selves into the Bed of Folly, amongst Dreams and broken Thoughts, and wild Imaginations. Our Reason lies asleep by us, and we are for the Time as arrant Brutes as those that sleep in the Stalls or in the Field. Are not the Capacities of Man higher than these? And ought not his Ambition and Expectations to be greater? Let us be Adventurers for another World: 'Tis at least a fair and noble Chance; and there is nothing in this worth our Thoughts or our Passions. If we should be disappointed, we are still no worse than the rest of our Fellow-Mortals; and if we succeed in our Expectations, we are Eternally Happy.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 144

Wednesday, August 15, 1711

Steele

... Nôris quam elegans formarum

Spectator siem.

Ter.

[1]told[2][3][4]Carneades

Amaryllis

DulcissaofDulcissa

MerabMerab

Albacinda

EudosiaEudosiaEudosiaEudosia

EucratiaEucratiaOthersEucratia[5]

OmnamanteLucreceCleopatraMessalinaOmnamante's

But[6]That it is very Beautiful. And are not you ashamedto value your self upon that only of which a Piece of Brass is capable?

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 145

Thursday, August 16, 1711

Steele

Stultitiam patiuntur opes ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am obliged to you for your Discourse the other Day upon frivolous Disputants, who with great Warmth, and Enumeration of many Circumstances and Authorities, undertake to prove Matters which no Body living denies. You cannot employ your self more usefully than in adjusting the Laws of Disputation in Coffee-houses and accidental Companies, as well as in more formal Debates. Among many other things which your own Experience must suggest to you, it will be very obliging if you please to take notice of Wagerers. I will not here repeat what Hudibras says of such Disputants, which is so true, that it is almost Proverbial[1]; but shall only acquaint you with a Set of young Fellows of the Inns of Court, whose Fathers have provided for them so plentifully, that they need not be very anxious to get Law into their Heads for the Service of their Country at the Bar; but are of those who are sent (as the Phrase of Parents is) to the Temple to know how to keep their own. One of these Gentlemen is very loud and captious at a Coffee-house which I frequent, and being in his Nature troubled with an Humour of Contradiction, though withal excessive Ignorant, he has found a way to indulge this Temper, go on in Idleness and Ignorance, and yet still give himself the Air of a very learned and knowing Man, by the Strength of his Pocket. The Misfortune of the thing is, I have, as it happens sometimes, a greater Stock of Learning than of Mony. The Gentleman I am speaking of, takes Advantage of the Narrowness of my Circumstances in such a manner, that he has read all that I can pretend to, and runs me down with such a positive Air, and with such powerful Arguments, that from a very Learned Person I am thought a mere Pretender. Not long ago I was relating that I had read such a Passage in Tacitus, up starts my young Gentleman in a full Company, and pulling out his Purse offered to lay me ten Guineas, to be staked immediately in that Gentleman's Hands, (pointing to one smoaking at another Table) that I was utterly mistaken. I was Dumb for want of ten Guineas; he went on unmercifully to Triumph over my Ignorance how to take him up, and told the whole Room he had read Tacitus twenty times over, and such a remarkable Instance as that could not escape him. He has at this time three considerable Wagers depending between him and some of his Companions, who are rich enough to hold an Argument with him. He has five Guineas upon Questions in Geography, two that the Isle of Wight is a Peninsula, and three Guineas to one that the World is round. We have a Gentleman comes to our Coffee-house, who deals mightily in Antique Scandal; my Disputant has laid him twenty Pieces upon a Point of History, to wit, that Cæsar never lay with Cato's Sister, as is scandalously reported by some People.

There are several of this sort of Fellows in Town, who wager themselves into Statesmen, Historians, Geographers, Mathematicians, and every other Art, when the Persons with whom they talk have not Wealth equal to their Learning. I beg of you to prevent, in these Youngsters, this compendious Way to Wisdom, which costs other People so much Time and Pains, and you will oblige

Your humble Servant.

Coffee-House near the Temple, Aug. 12, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

'Here's a young Gentleman that sings Opera-Tunes or Whistles in a full House. Pray let him know that he has no Right to act here as if he were in an empty Room. Be pleased to divide the Spaces of a Publick Room, and certify Whistlers, Singers, and Common Orators, that are heard further than their Portion of the Room comes to, that the Law is open, and that there is an Equity which will relieve us from such as interrupt us in our Lawful Discourse, as much as against such as stop us on the Road. I take these Persons, Mr. Spectator, to be such Trespassers as the Officer in your Stage-Coach, and of the same Sentiment with Counsellor Ephraim. It is true the Young Man is rich, and, as the Vulgar say, needs[2] not care for any Body; but sure that is no Authority for him to go whistle where he pleases.

I am, Sir,

Your Most Humble Servant,

P.S. I have Chambers in the Temple, and here are Students that learn upon the Hautboy; pray desire the Benchers that all Lawyers who are Proficients in Wind-Musick may lodge to the Thames.

Mr. Spectator,

We are a Company of young Women who pass our Time very much together, and obliged by the mercenary Humour of the Men to be as Mercenarily inclined as they are. There visits among us an old Batchelor whom each of us has a Mind to. The Fellow is rich, and knows he may have any of us, therefore is particular to none, but excessively ill-bred. His Pleasantry consists in Romping, he snatches Kisses by Surprize, puts his Hand in our Necks, tears our Fans, robs us of Ribbons, forces Letters out of our Hands, looks into any of our Papers, and a thousand other Rudenesses. Now what I'll desire of you is to acquaint him, by Printing this, that if he does not marry one of us very suddenly, we have all agreed, the next time he pretends to be merry, to affront him, and use him like a Clown as he is. In the Name of the Sisterhood I take my Leave of you, and am, as they all are,

Your Constant Reader and Well-wisher.

Mr. Spectator,

I and several others of your Female Readers, have conformed our selves to your Rules, even to our very Dress. There is not one of us but has reduced our outward Petticoat to its ancient Sizable Circumference, tho' indeed we retain still a Quilted one underneath, which makes us not altogether unconformable to the Fashion; but 'tis on Condition, Mr. Spectator extends not his Censure so far. But we find you Men secretly approve our Practice, by imitating our Pyramidical Form. The Skirt of your fashionable Coats forms as large a Circumference as our Petticoats; as these are set out with Whalebone, so are those with Wire, to encrease and sustain the Bunch of Fold that hangs down on each Side; and the Hat, I perceive, is decreased in just proportion to our Head-dresses. We make a regular Figure, but I defy your Mathematicks to give Name to the Form you appear in. Your Architecture is mere Gothick, and betrays a worse Genius than ours; therefore if you are partial to your own Sex, I shall be less than I am now

Your Humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

I have heard old cunning Stagers

Say Fools for Arguments lay Wagers.

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 146

Friday, August 17, 1711

Steele

Nemo Vir Magnus sine aliquo Afflatu divino unquam fuit.

Tull.

CiceroThe Theory of the EarthDayCicero[1]PlatoSocrates

I have great Hopes, oh my Judges, that it is infinitely to my Advantage that I am sent to Death: For it is of necessity that one of these two things must be the Consequence. Death must take away all these Senses, or convey me to another Life. If all Sense is to be taken away, and Death is no more than that profound Sleep without Dreams, in which we are sometimes buried, oh Heavens! how desirable is it to die? how many Days do we know in Life preferable to such a State? But if it be true that Death is but a Passage to Places which they who lived before us do now inhabit, how much still happier is it to go from those who call themselves Judges, to appear before those that really are such; before Minos, Rhadamanthus, Æacus, and Triptolemus, and to meet Men who have lived with Justice and Truth? Is this, do you think, no happy Journey? Do you think it nothing to speak with Orpheus, Musceus, Homer, and Hesiod? I would, indeed, suffer many Deaths to enjoy these Things. With what particular Delight should I talk to Palamedes, Ajax, and others, who like me have suffered by the Iniquity of their Judges. I should examine the Wisdom of that great Prince, who carried such mighty Forces against Troy; and argue with Ulysses and Sisyphus, upon difficult Points, as I have in Conversation here, without being in Danger of being condemned. But let not those among you who have pronounced me an innocent Man be afraid of Death. No Harm can arrive at a good Man whether dead or living; his Affairs are always under the direction of the Gods; nor will I believe the Fate which is allotted to me myself this Day to have arrived by Chance; nor have I ought to say either against my Judges or Accusers, but that they thought they did me an Injury ... But I detain you too long, it is Time that I retire to Death, and you to your Affairs of Life; which of us has the Better is known to the Gods, but to no Mortal Man.

SocratesWhen[2]

Let us only, if you please, to take leave of this Subject, reflect upon this Occasion on the Vanity and transient Glory of this habitable World. How by the Force of one Element breaking loose upon the rest, all the Vanities of Nature, all the Works of Art, all the Labours of Men, are reduced to Nothing. All that we admired and adored before as great and magnificent, is obliterated or vanished; and another Form and Face of things, plain, simple, and every where the same, overspreads the whole Earth. Where are now the great Empires of the World, and their great Imperial Cities? Their Pillars, Trophies, and Monuments of Glory? Shew me where they stood, read the Inscription, tell me the Victors Name. What Remains, what Impressions, what Difference or Distinction, do you see in this Mass of Fire? Rome it self, eternal Rome, the great City, the Empress of the World, whose Domination and Superstition, ancient and modern, make a great Part of the History of the Earth, what is become of her now? She laid her Foundations deep, and her Palaces were strong and sumptuous; She glorified her self, and lived deliciously, and said in her Heart, I sit a Queen, and shall see no Sorrow: But her Hour is come, she is wiped away from the Face of the Earth, and buried in everlasting Oblivion. But it is not Cities only, and Works of Mens Hands, but the everlasting Hills, the Mountains and Rocks of the Earth are melted as Wax before the Sun, and their Place is no where found. Here stood the Alps, the Load of the Earth, that covered many Countries, and reached their Arms from the Ocean to the Black Sea; this huge Mass of Stone is softned and dissolved as a tender Cloud into Rain. Here stood the African Mountains, and Atlas with his Top above the Clouds; there was frozen Caucasus, and Taurus, and Imaus, and the Mountains of Asia; and yonder towards the North, stood the Riphaean Hills, cloathd in Ice and Snow. All these are Vanished, dropt away as the Snow upon their Heads. Great and Marvellous are thy Works, Just and True are thy Ways, thou King of Saints! Hallelujah.

Footnote 1:Tusculan Questions

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Footnote 2:Theory of the Earth

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Contents

No. 147

Saturday, August 18, 1711

Steele

Pronuntiatio est Vocis et Vultus et Gestus moderatio cum venustate.

Tull.

Mr. Spectator,

The well Reading of the Common Prayer is of so great Importance, and so much neglected, that I take the Liberty to offer to your Consideration some Particulars on that Subject: And what more worthy your Observation than this? A thing so Publick, and of so high Consequence. It is indeed wonderful, that the frequent Exercise of it should not make the Performers of that Duty more expert in it. This Inability, as I conceive, proceeds from the little Care that is taken of their Reading, while Boys and at School, where when they are got into Latin, they are looked upon as above English, the Reading of which is wholly neglected, or at least read to very little purpose, without any due Observations made to them of the proper Accent and Manner of Reading; by this means they have acquired such ill Habits as won't easily be removed. The only way that I know of to remedy this, is to propose some Person of great Ability that way as a Pattern for them; Example being most effectual to convince the Learned, as well as instruct the Ignorant.

You must know, Sir, I've been a constant Frequenter of the Service of the Church of England for above these four Years last past, and 'till Sunday was Seven-night never discovered, to so great a Degree, the Excellency of the Common-Prayer. When being at St. James's Garlick-Hill Church, I heard the Service read so distinctly, so emphatically, and so fervently, that it was next to an Impossibility to be unattentive. My Eyes and my Thoughts could not wander as usual, but were confin'd to my Prayers: I then considered I addressed my self to the Almighty, and not to a beautiful Face. And when I reflected on my former Performances of that Duty, I found I had run it over as a matter of Form, in comparison to the Manner in which I then discharged it. My Mind was really affected, and fervent Wishes accompanied my Words. The Confession was read with such a resigned Humility, the Absolution with such a comfortable Authority, the Thanksgivings with such a Religious Joy, as made me feel those Affections of the Mind in a Manner I never did before. To remedy therefore the Grievance above complained of, I humbly propose, that this excellent Reader[1], upon the next and every Annual Assembly of the Clergy of Sion-College, and all other Conventions, should read Prayers before them. For then those that are afraid of stretching their Mouths, and spoiling their soft Voice, will learn to Read with Clearness, Loudness, and Strength. Others that affect a rakish negligent Air by folding their Arms, and lolling on their Book, will be taught a decent Behaviour, and comely Erection of Body. Those that Read so fast as if impatient of their Work, may learn to speak deliberately. There is another sort of Persons whom I call Pindarick Readers, as being confined to no set measure; these pronounce five or six Words with great Deliberation, and the five or six subsequent ones with as great Celerity: The first part of a Sentence with a very exalted Voice, and the latter part with a submissive one: Sometimes again with one sort of a Tone, and immediately after with a very different one. These Gentlemen will learn of my admired Reader an Evenness of Voice and Delivery, and all who are innocent of these Affectations, but read with such an Indifferency as if they did not understand the Language, may then be informed of the Art of Reading movingly and fervently, how to place the Emphasis, and give the proper Accent to each Word, and how to vary the Voice according to the Nature of the Sentence. There is certainly a very great Difference between the Reading a Prayer and a Gazette, which I beg of you to inform a Set of Readers, who affect, forsooth, a certain Gentleman-like Familiarity of Tone, and mend the Language as they go on, crying instead of Pardoneth and Absolveth, Pardons and Absolves. These are often pretty Classical Scholars, and would think it an unpardonable Sin to read Virgil or Martial with so little Taste as they do Divine Service.

This Indifferency seems to me to arise from the Endeavour of avoiding the Imputation of Cant, and the false Notion of it. It will be proper therefore to trace the Original and Signification of this Word. Cant is, by some People, derived from one Andrew Cant, who, they say, was a Presbyterian Minister in some illiterate Part of Scotland, who by Exercise and Use had obtained the Faculty, alias Gift, of Talking in the Pulpit in such a Dialect, that it's said he was understood by none but his own Congregation, and not by all of them. Since Mas. Cant's time, it has been understood in a larger Sense, and signifies all sudden Exclamations, Whinings, unusual Tones, and in fine all Praying and Preaching, like the unlearned of the Presbyterians. But I hope a proper Elevation of Voice, a due Emphasis and Accent, are not to come within this Description. So that our Readers may still be as unlike the Presbyterians as they please. The Dissenters (I mean such as I have heard) do indeed elevate their Voices, but it is with sudden jumps from the lower to the higher part of them; and that with so little Sense or Skill, that their Elevation and Cadence is Bawling and Muttering. They make use of an Emphasis, but so improperly, that it is often placed on some very insignificant Particle, as upon if, or and. Now if these Improprieties have so great an Effect on the People, as we see they have, how great an Influence would the Service of our Church, containing the best Prayers that ever were composed, and that in Terms most affecting, most humble, and most expressive of our Wants, and Dependance on the Object of our Worship, dispos'd in most proper Order, and void of all Confusion; what Influence, I say, would these Prayers have, were they delivered with a due Emphasis, and apposite Rising and Variation of Voice, the Sentence concluded with a gentle Cadence, and, in a word, with such an Accent and Turn of Speech as is peculiar to Prayer?

As the matter of Worship is now managed, in Dissenting Congregations, you find insignificant Words and Phrases raised by a lively Vehemence; in our own Churches, the most exalted Sense depreciated, by a dispassionate Indolence. I remember to have heard Dr. S — e[2] say in his Pulpit, of the Common-prayer, that, at least, it was as perfect as any thing of Human Institution: If the Gentlemen who err in this kind would please to recollect the many Pleasantries they have read upon those who recite good Things with an ill Grace, they would go on to think that what in that Case is only Ridiculous, in themselves is Impious. But leaving this to their own Reflections, I shall conclude this Trouble with what Cæsar said upon the Irregularity of Tone in one who read before him, Do you read or sing? If you sing, you sing very ill[3].

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

Si legis cantas; si cantas, male cantas.

cantare

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Contents

No. 148

Monday, August 20, 1711

Steele

Exempta juvat spinis e pluribus una.

Hor.

TempleFrenchSince you from Death have saved me?

EnglandEnglishmanIndian

Do not you think so?but you know that Person;

Sir,

I have, you may be sure, heard of your Irregularities without regard to my Observations upon you; but shall not treat you with so much Rigour as you deserve. If you will give yourself the Trouble to repair to the Place mentioned in the Postscript to this Letter at Seven this Evening, you will be conducted into a spacious Room well-lighted, where there are Ladies and Musick. You will see a young Lady laughing next the Window to the Street; you may take her out, for she loves you as well as she does any Man, tho' she never saw you before. She never thought in her Life, any more than your self. She will not be surprised when you accost her, nor concerned when you leave her. Hasten from a Place where you are laughed at, to one where you will be admired. You are of no Consequence, therefore go where you will be welcome for being so.

Your most Humble Servant.'

Sir,

'The Ladies whom you visit, think a wise Man the most impertinent Creature living, therefore you cannot be offended that they are displeased with you. Why will you take pains to appear wise, where you would not be the more esteemed for being really so? Come to us; forget the Gigglers; and let your Inclination go along with you whether you speak or are silent; and let all such Women as are in a Clan or Sisterhood, go their own way; there is no Room for you in that Company who are of the common Taste of the Sex.'

For Women born to be controll'd

Stoop to the forward and the bold;

Affect the haughty, and the proud,

The gay, the frolick, and the loud.[1]

Footnote 1:Of Love.

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Contents

No. 149

Tuesday, August 21, 1711

Steele

Cui in manu sit quem esse dementem velit,

Quem sapere, quem sanari, quem in morbum injici,

Quem contra amari, quem accersiri, quem expeti.

Cæcil. apud Tull.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am the young Widow of a Country Gentleman who has left me Entire Mistress of a large Fortune, which he agreed to as an Equivalent for the Difference in our Years. In these Circumstances it is not extraordinary to have a Crowd of Admirers; which I have abridged in my own Thoughts, and reduced to a couple of Candidates only, both young, and neither of them disagreeable in their Persons; according to the common way of computing, in one the Estate more than deserves my Fortune, and in the other my Fortune more than deserves the Estate. When I consider the first, I own I am so far a Woman I cannot avoid being delighted with the Thoughts of living great; but then he seems to receive such a Degree of Courage from the Knowledge of what he has, he looks as if he was going to confer an Obligation on me; and the Readiness he accosts me with, makes me jealous I am only hearing a Repetition of the same things he has said to a hundred Women before. When I consider the other, I see myself approached with so much Modesty and Respect, and such a Doubt of himself, as betrays methinks an Affection within, and a Belief at the same time that he himself would be the only Gainer by my Consent. What an unexceptionable Husband could I make out of both! but since that's impossible, I beg to be concluded by your Opinion; it is absolutely in your Power to dispose of

Your most Obedient Servant,

Sylvia.

Madam,

You do me great Honour in your Application to me on this important Occasion; I shall therefore talk to you with the Tenderness of a Father, in Gratitude for your giving me the Authority of one. You do not seem to make any great Distinction between these Gentlemen as to their Persons; the whole Question lies upon their Circumstances and Behaviour; If the one is less respectful because he is rich, and the other more obsequious because he is not so, they are in that Point moved by the same Principle, the Consideration of Fortune, and you must place them in each others Circumstances before you can judge of their Inclination. To avoid Confusion in discussing this Point, I will call the richer Man Strephon, and the other Florio. If you believe Florio with Strephon's Estate would behave himself as he does now, Florio is certainly your Man; but if you think Strephon, were he in Florio's Condition, would be as obsequious as Florio is now, you ought for your own sake to choose Strephon; for where the Men are equal, there is no doubt Riches ought to be a Reason for Preference. After this manner, my dear Child, I would have you abstract them from their Circumstances; for you are to take it for granted, that he who is very humble only because he is poor, is the very same Man in Nature with him who is haughty because he is rich.

When you have gone thus far, as to consider the Figure they make towards you; you will please, my Dear, next to consider the Appearance you make towards them. If they are Men of Discerning, they can observe the Motives of your Heart; and Florio can see when he is disregarded only upon your Account of Fortune, which makes you to him a mercenary Creature: and you are still the same thing to Strephon, in taking him for his Wealth only: You are therefore to consider whether you had rather oblige, than receive an Obligation.

The Marriage-Life is always an insipid, a vexatious, or an happy Condition. The first is, when two People of no Genius or Taste for themselves meet together, upon such a Settlement as has been thought reasonable by Parents and Conveyancers from an exact Valuation of the Land and Cash of both Parties: In this Case the young Lady's Person is no more regarded, than the House and Improvements in Purchase of an Estate: but she goes with her Fortune, rather than her Fortune with her. These make up the Crowd or Vulgar of the Rich, and fill up the Lumber of human Race, without Beneficence towards those below them, or Respect towards those above them; and lead a despicable, independent and useless Life, without Sense of the Laws of Kindness, Good-nature, mutual Offices, and the elegant Satisfactions which flow from Reason and Virtue.

The vexatious Life arises from a Conjunction of two People of quick Taste and Resentment, put together for Reasons well known to their Friends, in which especial Care is taken to avoid (what they think the chief of Evils) Poverty, and insure to them Riches, with every Evil besides. These good People live in a constant Constraint before Company, and too great Familiarity alone; when they are within Observation they fret at each other's Carriage and Behaviour; when alone they revile each other's Person and Conduct: In Company they are in a Purgatory, when only together in an Hell.

The happy Marriage is, where two Persons meet and voluntarily make Choice of each other, without principally regarding or neglecting the Circumstances of Fortune or Beauty. These may still love in spite of Adversity or Sickness: The former we may in some measure defend our selves from, the other is the Portion of our very Make. When you have a true Notion of this sort of Passion, your Humour of living great will vanish out of your Imagination, and you will find Love has nothing to do with State. Solitude, with the Person beloved, has a Pleasure, even in a Woman's Mind, beyond Show or Pomp. You are therefore to consider which of your Lovers will like you best undressed, which will bear with you most when out of Humour? and your way to this is to ask your self, which of them you value most for his own sake? and by that judge which gives the greater Instances of his valuing you for your self only.

After you have expressed some Sense of the humble Approach of Florio, and a little Disdain at Strephon's Assurance in his Address, you cry out, What an unexceptionable Husband could I make out of both? It would therefore methinks be a good way to determine your self: Take him in whom what you like is not transferable to another; for if you choose otherwise, there is no Hopes your Husband will ever have what you liked in his Rival; but intrinsick Qualities in one Man may very probably purchase every thing that is adventitious in another[1]. In plainer Terms: he whom you take for his personal Perfections will sooner arrive at the Gifts of Fortune, than he whom you take for the sake of his Fortune attain to Personal Perfections. If Strephon is not as accomplished and agreeable as Florio, Marriage to you will never make him so; but Marriage to you may make Florio as rich as Strephon? Therefore to make a sure Purchase, employ Fortune upon Certainties, but do not sacrifice Certainties to Fortune.

I am, Your most Obedient, Humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 150

Wednesday, August 22, 1711

Budgell

Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se,

Quàm quod ridiculos homines facit ...

Juv.

The ninety nine Plagues of an empty PurseGrub-streetPlaguesThe Plagues of Matrimony, The Plagues of a single Life, The nineteen Plagues of a Chambermaid, The Plagues of a Coachman, The Plagues of a FootmanThe Plague of PlaguesPlaguesempty PurseJuvenalRome

Quid, quod materiam præbet causasque jocorum

Omnibus hic idem? si fœda et scissa lacerna,

Si toga sordidula est, et rupta calceus alter

Pelle patet, vel si consuto vulnere crassum

Atque recens linam ostendit non una Cicatrix.

(Juv. Sat. 3.)

Add, that the Rich have still a Gibe in Store,

And will be monstrous witty on the Poor;

For the torn Surtout and the tatter'd Vest,

The Wretch and all his Wardrobe are a Jest:

The greasie Gown sully'd with often turning,

Gives a good Hint to say the Man's in Mourning;

Or if the Shoe be ript, or Patch is put,

He's wounded I see the Plaister on his Foot.

(Dryd.)

Want is the Scorn of every wealthy Fool,

And Wit in Rags is turn'd to Ridicule.

(Dryd.)

TullyHeathen Philosopher

Terræ-filiusthey had but one Mind, one Purse, one Chamber, and one Hatnotable Man;very notable

VictorAtticus

TheOsbourn[1]Mr.Esq.

TempleIlads[2]Why he must be used with less Respect than that Fop there?Thegreat[3]TemplarHark you, Sirrah, I'll pay off your extravagant Bills once more; but will take effectual Care for the future, that your Prodigality shall not spirit up a Parcel of Rascals to insult your Father

Footnote 1:Advice to a Son

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 151

Thursday, August 23, 1711

Steele

Maximas Virtutes jacere omnes necesse est Voluptate dominante.

Tull. de Fin.

Will. HoneycombWill

Will. HoneycombWill.'s

Tyburn

Contents

No. 152

Friday, August 24, 1711

Steele

Sentry

'What you wonder at may very naturally be the Subject of Admiration to all who are not conversant in Camps; but when a Man has spent some time in that way of Life, he observes a certain Mechanick Courage which the ordinary Race of Men become Masters of from acting always in a Crowd: They see indeed many drop, but then they see many more alive; they observe themselves escape very narrowly, and they do not know why they should not again. Besides which general way of loose thinking, they usually spend the other Part of their Time in Pleasures upon which their Minds are so entirely bent, that short Labours or Dangers are but a cheap purchase of Jollity, Triumph, Victory, fresh Quarters, new Scenes, and uncommon Adventures.'

that[1]hasFrench-manhisI wish I could live another Hour, to see how this blundering Coxcomb will get clear of this Business.[2]

Harry ThompsonAy, he had a mad Horse

Lace upon his own; and below the most rapacious Agent, should he enjoy a Farthing above his own Pay. Go on, brave Man, immortal Glory is thy Fortune, and immortal Happiness thy Reward.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Memoirs of Condé

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Contents

No. 153

Saturday, August 25, 1711

Steele

Habet natura ut aliarum omnium rerum sic vivendi modum; senectus autem peractio Ætatis est tanquam Fabulæ. Cujus defatigationem fugere debemus, præsertim adjunctâ Satietate.

Tull. de Senec.

ButYoung[1]Oh Jack, those were happy Days! That is truebut methinks we go about our Business more quietly than we did then

'He that would be long an old Man, must begin early to be one:'

FlandersChelsea

Tully

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 154

Monday, August 27, 1711

Steele

Nemo repente fuit turpissimus ...

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

'You are frequent in the mention of Matters which concern the feminine World, and take upon you to be very severe against Men upon all those Occasions: But all this while I am afraid you have been very little conversant with Women, or you would know the generality of them are not so angry as you imagine at the general Vices among[1] us. I am apt to believe (begging your Pardon) that you are still what I my self was once, a queer modest Fellow; and therefore, for your Information, shall give you a short Account of my self, and the Reasons why I was forced to wench, drink, play, and do every thing which are necessary to the Character of a Man of Wit and Pleasure, to be well with the Ladies.

You are to know then that I was bred a Gentleman, and had the finishing Part of my Education under a Man of great Probity, Wit, and Learning, in one of our Universities. I will not deny but this made my Behaviour and Mein bear in it a Figure of Thought rather than Action; and a Man of a quite contrary Character, who never thought in his Life, rallied me one Day upon it, and said, He believed I was still a Virgin. There was a young Lady of Virtue present, and I was not displeased to favour the Insinuation; but it had a quite contrary Effect from what I expected. I was ever after treated with great Coldness both by that Lady and all the rest of my Acquaintance. In a very little time I never came into a Room but I could hear a Whisper, Here comes the Maid: A Girl of Humour would on some Occasion[2] say, Why, how do you know more than any of us? An Expression of that kind was generally followed by a loud Laugh: In a word, for no other Fault in the World than that they really thought me as innocent as themselves, I became of no Consequence among them, and was received always upon the Foot of a Jest. This made so strong an Impression upon me, that I resolved to be as agreeable as the best of the Men who laugh'd at me; but I observed it was Nonsense for me to be Impudent at first among those who knew me: My Character for Modesty was so notorious wherever I had hitherto appeared, that I resolved to shew my new Face in new Quarters of the World. My first Step I chose with Judgment; for I went to Astrop[3], and came down among a Crowd of Academicks, at one Dash, the impudentest Fellow they had ever seen in their Lives. Flushed with this Success, I made Love and was happy. Upon this Conquest I thought it would be unlike a Gentleman to stay longer with my Mistress, and crossed the Country to Bury: I could give you a very good Account of my self at that Place also. At these two ended my first Summer of Gallantry. The Winter following, you would wonder at it, but I relapsed into Modesty upon coming among People of Figure in London, yet not so much but that the Ladies who had formerly laughed at me, said, Bless us! how wonderfully that Gentleman is improved? Some Familiarities about the Play-houses towards the End of the ensuing Winter, made me conceive new Hopes of Adventures; and instead of returning the next Summer to Astrop or Bury[4], I thought my self qualified to go to Epsom, and followed a young Woman, whose Relations were jealous of my Place in her Favour, to Scarborough. I carried my Point, and in my third Year aspired to go to Tunbridge, and in the Autumn of the same Year made my Appearance at Bath. I was now got into the Way of Talk proper for Ladies, and was run into a vast Acquaintance among them, which I always improved to the best Advantage. In all this Course of Time, and some Years following, I found a sober modest Man was always looked upon by both Sexes as a precise unfashioned Fellow of no Life or Spirit. It was ordinary for a Man who had been drunk in good Company, or passed a Night with a Wench, to speak of it next Day before Women for whom he had the greatest Respect. He was reproved, perhaps, with a Blow of the Fan, or an Oh Fie, but the angry Lady still preserved an apparent Approbation in her Countenance: He was called a strange wicked Fellow, a sad Wretch; he shrugs his Shoulders, swears, receives another Blow, swears again he did not know he swore, and all was well. You might often see Men game in the Presence of Women, and throw at once for more than they were worth, to recommend themselves as Men of Spirit. I found by long Experience that the loosest Principles and most abandoned Behaviour, carried all before them in Pretensions to Women of Fortune. The Encouragement given to People of this Stamp, made me soon throw off the remaining Impressions of a sober Education. In the above-mentioned Places, as well as in Town, I always kept Company with those who lived most at large; and in due Process of Time I was a pretty Rake among the Men, and a very pretty Fellow among the Women. I must confess, I had some melancholy Hours upon the Account of the Narrowness of my Fortune, but my Conscience at the same time gave me the Comfort that I had qualified my self for marrying a Fortune.

When I had lived in this manner for some time, and became thus accomplished, I was now in the twenty seventh Year of my Age, and about the Forty seventh of my Constitution, my Health and Estate wasting very fast; when I happened to fall into the Company of a very pretty young Lady in her own Disposal. I entertained the Company, as we Men of Gallantry generally do, with the many Haps and Disasters, Watchings under Windows, Escapes from jealous Husbands, and several other Perils. The young Thing was wonderfully charmed with one that knew the World so well, and talked so fine; with Desdemona, all her Lover said affected her; it was strange,'twas wondrous strange. In a word, I saw the Impression I had made upon her, and with a very little Application the pretty Thing has married me. There is so much Charm in her Innocence and Beauty, that I do now as much detest the Course I have been in for many Years, as I ever did before I entred into it.

What I intend, Mr. Spectator, by writing all this to you, is that you would, before you go any further with your Panegyricks on the Fair Sex, give them some Lectures upon their silly Approbations. It is that I am weary of Vice, and that it was not my natural Way, that I am now so far recovered as not to bring this believing dear Creature to Contempt and Poverty for her Generosity to me. At the same time tell the Youth of good Education of our Sex, that they take too little Care of improving themselves in little things: A good Air at entring into a Room, a proper Audacity in expressing himself with Gaiety and Gracefulness, would make a young Gentleman of Virtue and Sense capable of discountenancing the shallow impudent Rogues that shine among the Women.

Mr. Spectator, I don't doubt but you are a very sagacious Person, but you are so great with Tully of late, that I fear you will contemn these Things as Matters of no Consequence: But believe me, Sir, they are of the highest Importance to Human Life; and if you can do any thing towards opening fair Eyes, you will lay an Obligation upon all your Contemporaries who are Fathers, Husbands, or Brothers to Females.

Your most affectionate humble Servant,

Simon Honeycomb.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 155 [1]

Tuesday, August 28, 1711

Steele

... Hæ nugæ seria ducunt

In mala ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I Keep a Coffee-house, and am one of those whom you have thought fit to mention as an Idol some time ago. I suffered a good deal of Raillery upon that Occasion; but shall heartily forgive you, who are the Cause of it, if you will do me Justice in another Point. What I ask of you, is, to acquaint my Customers (who are otherwise very good ones) that I am unavoidably hasped in my Bar, and cannot help hearing the improper Discourses they are pleased to entertain me with. They strive who shall say the most immodest Things in my Hearing: At the same time half a dozen of them loll at the Bar staring just in my Face, ready to interpret my Looks and Gestures according to their own Imaginations. In this passive Condition I know not where to cast my Eyes, place my Hands, or what to employ my self in: But this Confusion is to be a Jest, and I hear them say in the End, with an Air of Mirth and Subtlety, Let her alone, she knows as well as we, for all she looks so. Good Mr. Spectator, persuade Gentlemen that it is out of all Decency: Say it is possible a Woman may be modest and yet keep a Publick-house. Be pleased to argue, that in truth the Affront is the more unpardonable because I am oblig'd to suffer it, and cannot fly from it. I do assure you, Sir, the Chearfulness of Life which would arise from the honest Gain I have, is utterly lost to me, from the endless, flat, impertinent Pleasantries which I hear from Morning to Night. In a Word, it is too much for me to bear, and I desire you to acquaint them, that I will keep Pen and Ink at the Bar, and write down all they say to me, and send it to you for the Press. It is possible when they see how empty what they speak, without the Advantage of an impudent Countenance and Gesture, will appear, they may come to some Sense of themselves, and the Insults they are guilty of towards me. I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

The Idol.

RoyalNew Exchange'Change-AlleyNew Exchange

Mr. Spectator,

'I have read your Account of Beauties, and was not a little surprized to find no Character of my self in it. I do assure you I have little else to do but to give Audience as I am such. Here are Merchants of no small Consideration, who call in as certainly as they go to 'Change, to say something of my roguish Eye: And here is one who makes me once or twice a Week tumble over all my Goods, and then owns it was only a Gallantry to see me act with these pretty Hands; then lays out three Pence in a little Ribbon for his Wrist-bands, and thinks he is a Man of great Vivacity. There is an ugly Thing not far off me, whose Shop is frequented only by People of Business, that is all Day long as busy as possible. Must I that am a Beauty be treated with for nothing but my Beauty? Be pleased to assign Rates to my kind Glances, or make all pay who come to see me, or I shall be undone by my Admirers for want of Customers. Albacinda, Eudosia, and all the rest would be used just as we are, if they were in our Condition; therefore pray consider the Distress of us the lower Order of Beauties, and I shall be

Your obliged humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 156

Wednesday, August 29, 1711

Steele

... Sed tu simul obligasti

Perfidum votis caput, enitescis

Pulchrior multo ...

Hor.

Will. HoneycombBareface

Ovid's

'A little Gallantry to hear him Talk one would indulge one's self in, let him reckon the Sticks of one's Fan, say something of the Cupids in it, and then call one so many soft Names which a Man of his Learning has at his Fingers Ends. There sure is some Excuse for Frailty, when attacked by such a Force against a weak Woman.'

arrive[1]

Footnote 1:

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Contents

original advertisement

Mr. Spectator gives his most humble Service

to Mr. R. M. of Chippenham in Wilts,

and hath received the Patridges.

No. 157

Thursday, August 30, 1711

Steele

... Genius natale comes qui temperat astrum

Naturæ Deus humanæ Mortalis in unum

Quodque Caput ...

Hor.

IndolesLatinAlexanderCassiusCæsarSyllaRomanScipioRomansMariusMariusScipioGreat BritainAristotle, TullyVirgil

SenecaAs the immortal Gods never learnt any Virtue, tho they are endowed with all that is good; so there are some Men who have so natural a Propensity to what they should follow, that they learn it almost as soon as they hear it.[1]

Spartan

Great Britain he

Spectatorbona Indoles Lincoln Enos Thomas

A Chesnut Horse called Cæsar, bred by James Darcy, Esq., at Sedbury, near Richmond in the County of York; his Grandam was his old royal Mare, and got by Blunderbuss, which was got by Hemsly Turk, and he got Mr. Courand's Arabian, which got Mr. Minshul's Jews-trump. Mr. Cæsar sold him to a Nobleman (coming five Years old, when he had but one Sweat) for three hundred Guineas. A Guinea a Leap and Trial, and a Shilling the Man .

T. Enos Thomas.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 158

Friday, August 31, 1711

Steele

Nos hoec novimus esse nihil.

Martial.

Mr . Spectator, I have observed through the whole Course of your Rhapsodies, (as you once very well called them) you are very industrious to overthrow all that many your Superiors who have gone before you have made their Rule of writing. I am now between fifty and sixty, and had the Honour to be well with the first Men of Taste and Gallantry in the joyous Reign of Charles the Second: We then had, I humbly presume, as good Understandings among us as any now can pretend to. As for yourself, Mr. Spectator, you seem with the utmost Arrogance to undermine the very Fundamentals upon which we conducted our selves. It is monstrous to set up for a Man of Wit, and yet deny that Honour in a Woman is any thing else but Peevishness, that Inclination is[1] the best Rule of Life, or Virtue and Vice any thing else but Health and Disease. We had no more to do but to put a Lady into good Humour, and all we could wish followed of Course. Then again, your Tully, and your Discourses of another Life, are the very Bane of Mirth and good Humour. Pr'ythee don't value thyself on thy Reason at that exorbitant Rate, and the Dignity of human Nature; take my Word for it, a Setting-dog has as good Reason as any Man in England. Had you (as by your Diurnals one would think you do) set up for being in vogue in Town, you should have fallen in with the Bent of Passion and Appetite; your Songs had then been in every pretty Mouth in England, and your little Distichs had been the Maxims of the Fair and the Witty to walk by: But alas, Sir, what can you hope for from entertaining People with what must needs make them like themselves worse than they did before they read you? Had you made it your Business to describe Corinna charming, though inconstant, to find something in human Nature itself to make Zoilus excuse himself for being fond of her; and to make every Man in good Commerce with his own Reflections, you had done something worthy our Applause; but indeed, Sir, we shall not commend you for disapproving us. I have a great deal more to say to you, but I shall sum it up all in this one Remark, In short, Sir, you do not write like a Gentleman.

'I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant.'

Mr. Spectator,

'The other Day we were several of us at a Tea-Table, and according to Custom and your own Advice had the Spectator read among us: It was that Paper wherein you are pleased to treat with great Freedom that Character which you call a Woman's Man. We gave up all the Kinds you have mentioned, except those who, you say, are our constant Visitants. I was upon the Occasion commissioned by the Company to write to you and tell you, That we shall not part with the Men we have at present, 'till the Men of Sense think fit to relieve them, and give us their Company in their Stead. You cannot imagine but that we love to hear Reason and good Sense better than the Ribaldry we are at present entertained with, but we must have Company, and among us very inconsiderable is better than none at all. We are made for the Cements of Society, and came into the World to create Relations among Mankind; and Solitude is an unnatural Being to us. If the Men of good Understanding would forget a little of their Severity, they would find their Account in it; and their Wisdom would have a Pleasure in it, to which they are now Strangers. It is natural among us when Men have a true Relish of our Company and our Value, to say every thing with a better Grace; and there is without designing it something ornamental in what Men utter before Women, which is lost or neglected in Conversations of Men only. Give me leave to tell you, Sir, it would do you no great Harm if you yourself came a little more into our Company; it would certainly cure you of a certain positive and determining Manner in which you talk sometimes. In hopes of your Amendment,

'I am, Sir,

'Your gentle Reader.'

Mr. Spectator,

'Your professed Regard to the Fair Sex, may perhaps make them value your Admonitions when they will not those of other Men. I desire you, Sir, to repeat some Lectures upon Subjects which you have now and then in a cursory manner only just touched. I would have a Spectator wholly writ upon good Breeding: and after you have asserted that Time and Place are to be very much considered in all our Actions, it will be proper to dwell upon Behaviour at Church. On Sunday last a grave and reverend Man preached at our Church: There was something particular in his Accent, but without any manner of Affectation. This Particularity a Set of Gigglers thought the most necessary Thing to be taken notice of in his whole Discourse, and made it an Occasion of Mirth during the whole time of Sermon: You should see one of them ready to burst behind a Fan, another pointing to a Companion in another Seat, and a fourth with an arch Composure, as if she would if possible stifle her Laughter. There were many Gentlemen who looked at them stedfastly, but this they took for ogling and admiring them: There was one of the merry ones in particular, that found out but just then that she had but five Fingers, for she fell a reckoning the pretty Pieces of Ivory over and over again, to find her self Employment and not laugh out. Would it not be expedient, Mr. Spectator, that the Church-warden should hold up his Wand on these Occasions, and keep the Decency of the Place as a Magistrate does the Peace in a Tumult elsewhere?

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Woman's Man, and read with a very fine Lady your Paper, wherein you fall upon us whom you envy: What do you think I did? you must know she was dressing, I read the Spectator to her, and she laughed at the Places where she thought I was touched; I threw away your Moral, and taking up her Girdle cried out,

Give me but what this Ribbon bound,

Take all the rest the Sun[2] goes round[3].

She smiled, Sir, and said you were a Pedant; so say of me what you please, read Seneca and quote him against me if you think fit.

I am,

Sir,

Your humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:World

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Footnote 3:On a Girdle

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Contents

No. 159

Saturday, September 1, 1711

Addison

... Omnem quæ nunc obducta tuenti

Mortales hebetat visus tibi, et humida circum

Caligat, nubem eripiam ...

Virg.

Grand CairoThe Visions of Mirzah

'On the fifth Day of the Moon, which according to the Custom of my Forefathers I always keep holy, after having washed my self, and offered up my Morning Devotions, I ascended the high Hills of Bagdat, in order to pass the rest of the Day in Meditation and Prayer. As I was here airing my self on the Tops of the Mountains, I fell into a profound Contemplation on the Vanity of human Life; and passing from one Thought to another, Surely, said I, Man is but a Shadow and Life a Dream. Whilst I was thus musing, I cast my Eyes towards the Summit of a Rock that was not far from me, where I discovered one in the Habit of a Shepherd, with a little Musical Instrument in his Hand. As I looked upon him he applied it to his Lips, and began to play upon it. The Sound of it was exceeding sweet, and wrought into a Variety of Tunes that were inexpressibly melodious, and altogether different from any thing I had ever heard: They put me in mind of those heavenly Airs that are played to the departed Souls of good Men upon their first Arrival in Paradise, to wear out the Impressions of the last Agonies, and qualify them for the Pleasures of that happy Place. My Heart melted away in secret Raptures.

I had been often told that the Rock before me was the Haunt of a Genius; and that several had been entertained with Musick who had passed by it, but never heard that the Musician had before made himself visible. When he had raised my Thoughts by those transporting Airs which he played, to taste the Pleasures of his Conversation, as I looked upon him like one astonished, he beckoned to me, and by the waving of his Hand directed me to approach the Place where he sat. I drew near with that Reverence which is due to a superior Nature; and as my Heart was entirely subdued by the captivating Strains I had heard, I fell down at his Feet and wept. The Genius smiled upon me with a Look of Compassion and Affability that familiarized him to my Imagination, and at once dispelled all the Fears and Apprehensions with which I approached him. He lifted me from the Ground, and taking me by the hand, Mirzah, said he, I have heard thee in thy Soliloquies; follow me.

He then led me to the highest Pinnacle of the Rock, and placing me on the Top of it, Cast thy Eyes Eastward, said he, and tell me what thou seest. I see, said I, a huge Valley, and a prodigious Tide of Water rolling through it. The Valley that thou seest, said he, is the Vale of Misery, and the Tide of Water that thou seest is part of the great Tide of Eternity. What is the Reason, said I, that the Tide I see rises out of a thick Mist at one End, and again loses itself in a thick Mist at the other? What thou seest, said he, is that Portion of Eternity which is called Time, measured out by the Sun, and reaching from the Beginning of the World to its Consummation. Examine now, said he, this Sea that is bounded with Darkness at both Ends, and tell me what thou discoverest in it. I see a Bridge, said I, standing in the Midst of the Tide. The Bridge thou seest, said he, is human Life, consider it attentively. Upon a more leisurely Survey of it, I found that it consisted of threescore and ten entire Arches, with several broken Arches, which added to those that were entire, made up the Number about an hundred. As I was counting the Arches, the Genius told me that this Bridge consisted at first of a thousand Arches; but that a great Flood swept away the rest, and left the Bridge in the ruinous Condition I now beheld it: But tell me further, said he, what thou discoverest on it. I see Multitudes of People passing over it, said I, and a black Cloud hanging on each End of it. As I looked more attentively, I saw several of the Passengers dropping thro' the Bridge, into the great Tide that flowed underneath it; and upon farther Examination, perceived there were innumerable Trap-doors that lay concealed in the Bridge, which the Passengers no sooner trod upon, but they fell thro' them into the Tide and immediately disappeared. These hidden Pit-falls were set very thick at the Entrance of the Bridge, so that the Throngs of People no sooner broke through the Cloud, but many of them fell into them. They grew thinner towards the Middle, but multiplied and lay closer together towards the End of the Arches that were entire.

'There were indeed some Persons, but their Number was very small, that continued a kind of hobbling March on the broken Arches, but fell through one after another, being quite tired and spent with so long a Walk.

I passed some Time in the Contemplation of this wonderful Structure, and the great Variety of Objects which it presented. My Heart was filled with a deep Melancholy to see several dropping unexpectedly in the midst of Mirth and Jollity, and catching at every thing that stood by them to save themselves. Some were looking up towards the Heavens in a thoughtful Posture, and in the midst of a Speculation stumbled and fell out of Sight. Multitudes were very busy in the Pursuit of Bubbles that glittered in their Eyes and danced before them; but often when they thought themselves within the reach of them their Footing failed and down they sunk. In this Confusion of Objects, I observed some with Scymetars in their Hands, and others with Urinals, who ran to and fro upon the Bridge, thrusting several Persons on Trap-doors which did not seem to lie in their Way,[1] and which they might have escaped had they not been forced upon them.

The Genius seeing me indulge my self in this melancholy Prospect, told me I had dwelt long enough upon it: Take thine Eyes off the Bridge, said he, and tell me if thou yet seest any thing thou dost not comprehend. Upon looking up, What mean, said I, those great Flights of Birds that are perpetually hovering about the Bridge, and settling upon it from time to time? I see Vultures, Harpyes, Ravens, Cormorants, and among many other feather'd Creatures several little winged Boys, that perch in great Numbers upon the middle Arches. These, said the Genius, are Envy, Avarice, Superstition, Despair, Love, with the like Cares and Passions that infest human Life.

I here fetched a deep Sigh, Alas, said I, Man was made in vain! How is he given away to Misery and Mortality! tortured in Life, and swallowed up in Death! The Genius being moved with Compassion towards me, bid me quit so uncomfortable a Prospect: Look no more, said he, on Man in the first Stage of his Existence, in his setting out for Eternity; but cast thine Eye on that thick Mist into which the Tide bears the several Generations of Mortals that fall into it. I directed my Sight as I was ordered, and (whether or no the good Genius strengthened it with any supernatural Force, or dissipated Part of the Mist that was before too thick for the Eye to penetrate) I saw the Valley opening at the farther End, and spreading forth into an immense Ocean, that had a huge Rock of Adamant running through the Midst of it, and dividing it into two equal Parts. The Clouds still rested on one Half of it, insomuch that I could discover nothing in it: But the other appeared to me a vast Ocean planted with innumerable Islands, that were covered with Fruits and Flowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining Seas that ran among them. I could see Persons dressed in glorious Habits with Garlands upon their Heads, passing among the Trees, lying down by the Side of Fountains, or resting on Beds of Flowers; and could hear a confused Harmony of singing Birds, falling Waters, human Voices, and musical Instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the Discovery of so delightful a Scene. I wished for the Wings of an Eagle, that I might fly away to those happy Seats; but the Genius told me there was no Passage to them, except through the Gates of Death that I saw opening every Moment upon the Bridge. The Islands, said he, that lie so fresh and green before thee, and with which the whole Face of the Ocean appears spotted as far as thou canst see, are more in Number than the Sands on the Sea-shore; there are Myriads of Islands behind those which thou here discoverest, reaching further than thine Eye, or even thine Imagination can extend it self. These are the Mansions of good Men after Death, who according to the Degree and Kinds of Virtue in which they excelled, are distributed among these several Islands, which abound with Pleasures of different Kinds and Degrees, suitable to the Relishes and Perfections of those who are settled in them; every Island is a Paradise accommodated to its respective Inhabitants. Are not these, O Mirzah, Habitations worth contending for? Does Life appear miserable, that gives thee Opportunities of earning such a Reward? Is Death to be feared, that will convey thee to so happy an Existence? Think not Man was made in vain, who has such an Eternity reserved for him. I gazed with inexpressible Pleasure on these happy Islands. At length, said I, shew me now, I beseech thee, the Secrets that lie hid under those dark Clouds which cover the Ocean on the other side of the Rock of Adamant. The Genius making me no Answer, I turned about to address myself to him a second time, but I found that he had left me; I then turned again to the Vision which I had been so long contemplating; but Instead of the rolling Tide, the arched Bridge, and the happy Islands, I saw nothing but the long hollow Valley of Bagdat, with Oxen, Sheep, and Camels grazing upon the Sides of it.

The End of the first Vision of Mirzah.

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Contents

No. 160

Monday, September 3, 1711

Addison

... Cui mens divinior, atque os

Magna sonaturum, des nominis hujus honorem.

Hor.

fine Geniusgreat Geniusprodigious Genius

FrenchBel EspritThewhich[1]

HomerVirgilHomerSolomonLibanonDamascusHomerPersiaFrenchBienséance

Shakespear

PindarHoraceTerence

... Incerta hæc si tu postules

Ratione certâ facere, nihilo plus agas,

Quàm si des operam, ut cum ratione insanias.

InPindar[2]Virgil

There is another kind of great Genius's which I shall place in a second Class, not as I think them inferior to the first, but only for Distinction's sake, as they are of a different kind. This[3]GreeksPlatoAristotleRomansVirgilTullyEnglishMiltonFrancis Bacon

[4]inafter[5]

[6]is

IItalianwho[7]Archimedes

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 7:

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No. 161

Tuesday, September 4, 1711

Budgell

Ipse dies agitat festos: Fususque per herbam,

Ignis ubi in medio et Socii cratera coronant,

Te libans, Lenæe, vocat: pecorisque magistris

Velocis Jaculi certamina ponit in ulmo,

Corporaque agresti nudat prædura Palæstra.

Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini,

Hanc Remus et Frater: Sic fortis Etruria crevit,

Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma.

Virg. G. 2.

Sir,

'Though you are pleased to retire from us so soon into the City, I hope you will not think the Affairs of the Country altogether unworthy of your Inspection for the future. I had the Honour of seeing your short Face at Sir Roger De Coverley's, and have ever since thought your Person and Writings both extraordinary. Had you stayed there a few Days longer you would have seen a Country Wake, which you know in most Parts of England is the Eve-Feast of the Dedication of our Churches. I was last Week at one of these Assemblies which was held in a neighbouring Parish; where I found their Green covered with a promiscuous Multitude of all Ages and both Sexes, who esteem one another more or less the following Part of the Year according as they distinguish themselves at this Time. The whole Company were in their Holiday Cloaths, and divided into several Parties, all of them endeavouring to shew themselves in those Exercises wherein they excelled, and to gain the Approbation of the Lookers on.

I found a Ring of Cudgel-Players, who were breaking one another's Heads in order to make some Impression on their Mistresses Hearts. I observed a lusty young Fellow, who had the Misfortune of a broken Pate; but what considerably added to the Anguish of the Wound, was his over-hearing an old Man, who shook his Head and said, That he questioned now if black Kate would marry him these three Years. I was diverted from a farther Observation of these Combatants, by a Foot-ball Match, which was on the other side of the Green; where Tom Short behaved himself so well, that most People seemed to agree it was impossible that he should remain a Batchelor till the next Wake. Having played many a Match my self, I could have looked longer on this Sport, had I not observed a Country Girl, who was posted on an Eminence at some Distance from me, and was making so many odd Grimaces, and writhing and distorting her whole Body in so strange a Manner, as made me very desirous to know the Meaning of it. Upon my coming up to her, I found that she was overlooking a Ring of Wrestlers, and that her Sweetheart, a Person of small Stature, was contending with an huge brawny Fellow, who twirled him about, and shook the little Man so violently, that by a secret Sympathy of Hearts it produced all those Agitations in the Person of his Mistress, who I dare say, like Cælia in Shakespear on the same Occasion, could have wished herself invisible to catch the strong Fellow by the Leg. The Squire of the Parish treats the whole Company every Year with a Hogshead of Ale; and proposes a Beaver-Hat as a Recompense to him who gives most Falls. This has raised such a Spirit of Emulation in the Youth of the Place, that some of them have rendered themselves very expert at this Exercise; and I was often surmised to see a Fellow's Heels fly up, by a Trip which was given him so smartly that I could scarce discern it. I found that the old Wrestlers seldom entered the Ring, till some one was grown formidable by having thrown two or three of his Opponents; but kept themselves as it were in a reserved Body to defend the Hat, which is always hung up by the Person who gets it in one of the most Conspicuous Parts of the House, and looked upon by the whole Family as something redounding much more to their Honour than a Coat of Arms. There was a Fellow who was so busy in regulating all the Ceremonies, and seemed to carry such an Air of Importance in his Looks, that I could not help inquiring who he was, and was immediately answered, That he did not value himself upon nothing, for that he and his Ancestors had won so many Hats, that his Parlour looked like a Haberdashers Shop: However this Thirst of Glory in them all, was the Reason that no one Man stood Lord of the Ring for above three Falls while I was amongst them.

The young Maids, who were not Lookers on at these Exercises, were themselves engaged in some Diversion; and upon my asking a Farmer's Son of my own Parish what he was gazing at with so much Attention, he told me, That he was seeing Betty Welch, whom I knew to be his Sweet-Heart, pitch a Bar.

In short, I found the men endeavoured to shew the Women they were no Cowards, and that the whole Company strived to recommend themselves to each other, by making it appear that they were all in a perfect State of Health, and fit to undergo any Fatigues of bodily Labour.

Your Judgment upon this Method of Love and Gallantry, as it is at present practised amongst us in the Country, will very much oblige,

Sir, Yours, &c.'

GreeceRomansPentathlumRunning, Wrestling, Leaping, ThrowingBoxingEnglandTom ShortBlack Kate

ILoveKennet[1]

These Wakes, says he, were in Imitation of the ancient or Love-Feasts; and were first established in England by Pope Gregory the Great, who in an Epistle to Melitus the Abbot gave Order that they should be kept in Sheds or Arbories made up with Branches and Boughs of Trees round the Church.

He adds, That this laudable Custom of Wakes prevailed for many Ages, till the nice Puritans began to exclaim against it as a Remnant of Popery; and by degrees the precise Humour grew so popular, that at an Exeter Assizes the Lord Chief Baron Walter made an Order for the Suppression of all Wakes; but on Bishop Laud's complaining of this innovating Humour, the King commanded the Order to be reversed.

Footnote 1:Parochial Antiquities

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No. 162

Wednesday, September 5, 1711

Addison

... Servetur ad imum,

Qualis ab incœpto processerit, et sibi constet.

Hor.

Irresolutionwhich[1]Ambition[2]one

Horace

... Sardus habebat

Ille Tigellius hoc: Cæsar qui cogere posset

Si peteret per amicitiam patris, atque suam, non

Quidquam proficeret: Si collibuisset, ab ovo

Usque ad mala citaret, Io Bacche, modò summâ

Voce, modò hâc, resonat quæ; chordis quatuor ima.

Nil æquale homini fuit illi: Sæpe velut qui

Currebat fugiens hostem: Persæpe velut qui

Junonis sacra ferret: Habebat sæpe ducentos,

Sæpe decem servos: Modò reges atque tetrarchas,

Omnia magna loquens: Modò sit mihi mensa tripes, et

Concha salis puri, et toga, quæ defendere frigus,

Quamvis crassa, queat. Decies centena dedisses

Huic parco paucis contento, quinque diebus

Nil erat in loculis. Noctes vigilabat ad ipsum

Manè: Diem totam stertebat. Nil fuit unquam

Sic impar sibi ...

Hor. Sat. 3, Lib. 1.

InsteadHoraceEnglishDryden[3]

In the first Rank of these did Zimri stand:

A Man so various, that he seem'd to be

Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome.

Stiff in Opinions, always in the wrong;

Was ev'ry thing by Starts, and nothing long;

But, in the Course of one revolving Moon,

Was Chemist, Fidler, Statesman, and Buffoon:

Then all for Women, Painting, Rhiming, Drinking:

Besides ten thousand Freaks that dy'd in thinking.

Blest Madman, who cou'd ev'ry flour employ,

With something New to wish, or to enjoy!

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Footnote 3:Absalom and Achitophel.

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No. 163

Thursday, September 6, 1711

Addison

... Si quid ego adjuero, curamve levasso,

Quæ nunc te coquit, et versat sub pectore fixa,

Ecquid erit pretii?

Enn. ap. Tullium.

Enquiriesones[1]

Mr. Spectator[2], 'I am one of your Disciples, and endeavour to live up to your Rules, which I hope will incline you to pity my Condition: I shall open it to you in a very few Words. About three Years since a Gentleman, whom, I am sure, you yourself would have approved, made his Addresses to me. He had every thing to recommend him but an Estate, so that my Friends, who all of them applauded his Person, would not for the sake of both of us favour his Passion. For my own part, I resigned my self up entirely to the Direction of those who knew the World much better than my self, but still lived in hopes that some Juncture or other would make me happy in the Man, whom, in my Heart, I preferred to all the World; being determined if I could not have him, to have no Body else. About three Months ago I received a Letter from him, acquainting me, that by the Death of an Uncle he had a considerable Estate left him, which he said was welcome to him upon no other Account, but as he hoped it would remove all Difficulties that lay in the Way to our mutual Happiness. You may well suppose, Sir, with how much Joy I received this Letter, which was followed by several others filled with those Expressions of Love and Joy, which I verily believe no Body felt more sincerely, nor knew better how to describe than the Gentleman I am speaking of. But Sir, how shall I be able to tell it you! by the last Week's Post I received a letter from an intimate Friend of this unhappy Gentleman, acquainting me, that as he had just settled his Affairs, and was preparing for his Journey, he fell sick of a Fever and died. It is impossible to express to you the Distress I am in upon this Occasion. I can only have Recourse to my Devotions; and to the reading of good Books for my Consolation; and as I always take a particular Delight in those frequent Advices and Admonitions which you give to the Publick, it would be a very great piece of Charity in you to lend me your Assistance in this Conjuncture. If after the reading of this Letter you find your self in a Humour, rather to Rally and Ridicule, than to Comfort me, I desire you would throw it into the Fire, and think no more of it; but if you are touched with my Misfortune, which is greater than I know how to bear, your Counsels may very much Support, and will infinitely Oblige the afflicted

Leonora.'

collectedwhich[3]

MonsieurEvremontwho[4]Don QuixotePlutarchSeneca

Leonora

FranceLeonora

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:No. 140.

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 164

Friday, September 7, 1711

Addison

Illa; Quis et me, inquit, miseram, et te perdidit, Orpheu? Jamque vale: feror ingenti circumdata nocte, Invalidasque tibi tendens, heu! non tua, palmas.

Virg.

ConstantiaTheodosiusConstantiaAsefface[1]ConstantiaTheodosiusConstantiaConstantiaTheodosiusConstantiaConstantiaTheodosiusConstantia

'The Thought of my Constantia, which for some years has been my only Happiness, is now become a greater Torment to me than I am able to bear. Must I then live to see you another's? The Streams, the Fields and Meadows, where we have so often talked together, grow painful to me; Life it self is become a Burden. May you long be happy in the World, but forget that there was ever such a Man in it as

Theodosius.'

ConstantiaTheodosiusConstantiaTheodosius:Theodosius,ConstantiaHera[2]which[3]

ConstantiaHavinghimself[4]who[5]ConstantiaTheTheodosiusFrancisshaven[6]

ConstantiaConstantiaTheodosiussConstantiaTheodosius

Constantia'sFrancis

Francis:

'As the First-fruits of those Joys and Consolations which you may expect from the Life you are now engaged in, I must acquaint you that Theodosius, whose Death sits so heavy upon your Thoughts, is still alive; and that the Father, to whom you have confessed your self, was once that Theodosius whom you so much lament. The love which we have had for one another will make us more happy in its Disappointment than it could have done in its Success. Providence has disposed of us for our Advantage, tho' not according to our Wishes. Consider your Theodosius still as dead, but assure your self of one who will not cease to pray for you in Father.'

Francis.

ConstantiaTheodosiusTheodosius

ConstantiaTheodosius.Constantia,TheodosiusConstantiaTheodosius.

FrancisConstance.

They were lovely in their Lives, and in their Deaths they were not divided.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 165

Saturday, September 8, 1711

Addison

... Si fortè necesse est,

Fingere cinctutis non exaudita Cethegis

Continget: dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter.[1]

Hor.

FrenchFrenchEnglishFrenchEnglishEnglish

Iwhich[2]FrenchBritonsRomanDrydenVerseVirgil

Purpurea intexti[3] tollunt aulœa Britanni.

Georg. 3, v. 25.

Which interwoven Britains seem to raise,

And shew the Triumph that their Shame displays.

The[4]EdwardFrenchBlack Prince

Blenheim

Sir,

Upon the Junction of the French and Bavarian Armies they took Post behind a great Morass which they thought impracticable. Our General the next Day sent a Party of Horse to reconnoitre them from a little Hauteur, at about a Quarter of an Hour's[5] distance from the Army, who returned again to the Camp unobserved through several Defiles, in one of which they met with a Party of French that had been Marauding, and made them all Prisoners at Discretion. The Day after a Drum arrived at our Camp, with a Message which he would communicate to none but the General; he was followed by a Trumpet, who they say behaved himself very saucily, with a Message from the Duke of Bavaria. The next Morning our Army being divided into two Corps, made a Movement towards the Enemy: You will hear in the Publick Prints how we treated them, with the other Circumstances of that glorious Day. I had the good Fortune to be in that Regiment that pushed the Gens d'Arms. Several French Battalions, who some say were a Corps de Reserve, made a Show of Resistance; but it only proved a Gasconade, for upon our preparing to fill up a little Fossé, in order to attack them, they beat the Chamade, and sent us Charte Blanche. Their Commandant, with a great many other General Officers, and Troops without number, are made Prisoners of War, and will I believe give you a Visit in England, the Cartel not being yet settled. Not questioning but these Particulars will be very welcome to you, I congratulate you upon them, and am your most dutiful Son, &c.'

Compos MentisCharte BlancheCharles

Footnote 1:

Semivirumque bovem Semibovemque virum.

Ovid.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Atique

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 166

Monday, September 10, 1711

Addison

... Quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis,

Nec poterit ferrum, nec edax abolere vetustas.

Ovid.

Cowley

Now all the wide extended Sky,

And all th' harmonious Worlds on high,

And Virgil's sacred Work shall die.

Michael AngeloFontanaRaphaelPhidiasVitruviusApelles

VirgilHomerCiceroAristotle

ConfuciusSocrates

Contents

No. 167

Tuesday, September 11, 1711

Steele

Fuit haud ignobilis Argis,

Qui se credebat miros audire tragœdos,

In vacuo lætus sessor plausorque theatro;

Cætera qui vitæ servaret munia recto

More; bonus sanè vicinus, amabilis hospes,

Comis in uxorem; posset qui ignoscere servis,

Et signo læso non insanire lagenæ;

Posset qui rupem et puteum vitare patentem.

Hic ubi cognatorum opibus curisque refectus

Expulit elleboro morbum bilemque meraco,

Et redit ad sese: Pol me occidistis, amici,

Non servastis, ait; cui sic extorta valuptas,

Et demptus per vim mentis gratissimus Error.

Hor.

Castle-builderCastle-builders

Sept. 6, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Fellow of a very odd Frame of Mind, as you will find by the Sequel; and think myself Fool enough to deserve a Place in your Paper. I am unhappily far gone in Building, and am one of that Species of Men who are properly denominated Castle-Builders, who scorn to be beholden to the Earth for a Foundation, or dig in the Bowels of it for Materials; but erect their Structures in the most unstable of Elements, the Air, Fancy alone laying the Line, marking the Extent, and shaping the Model. It would be difficult to enumerate what august Palaces and stately Porticoes have grown under my forming Imagination, or what verdant Meadows and shady Groves have started into Being, by the powerful Feat of a warm Fancy. A Castle-builder is even just what he pleases, and as such I have grasped imaginary Scepters, and delivered uncontroulable Edicts, from a Throne to which conquered Nations yielded Obeysance. I have made I know not how many Inroads into France, and ravaged the very Heart of that Kingdom; I have dined in the Louvre, and drank Champaign at Versailles; and I would have you take Notice, I am not only able to vanquish a People already cowed and accustomed to Flight, but I could, Almanzor-like[1], drive the British General from the Field, were I less a Protestant, or had ever been affronted by the Confederates. There is no Art or Profession, whose most celebrated Masters I have not eclipsed. Where-ever I have afforded my Salutary Preference, Fevers have ceased to burn, and Agues to shake the Human Fabrick. When an Eloquent Fit has been upon me, an apt Gesture and proper Cadence has animated each Sentence, and gazing Crowds have found their Passions work'd up into Rage, or soothed into a Calm. I am short, and not very well made; yet upon Sight of a fine Woman, I have stretched into proper Stature, and killed with a good Air and Mein. These are the gay Phantoms that dance before my waking Eyes and compose my Day-Dreams. I should be the most contented happy Man alive, were the Chimerical Happiness which springs from the Paintings of the Fancy less fleeting and transitory. But alas! it is with Grief of Mind I tell you, the least Breath of Wind has often demolished my magnificent Edifices, swept away my Groves, and left no more Trace of them than if they had never been. My Exchequer has sunk and vanished by a Rap on my Door, the Salutation of a Friend has cost me a whole Continent, and in the same Moment I have been pulled by the Sleeve, my Crown has fallen from my Head. The ill Consequence of these Reveries is inconceivably great, seeing the loss of imaginary Possessions makes Impressions of real Woe. Besides, bad Œconomy is visible and apparent in Builders of invisible Mansions. My Tenant's Advertisements of Ruins and Dilapidations often cast a Damp on my Spirits, even in the Instant when the Sun, in all his Splendor, gilds my Eastern Palaces. Add to this the pensive Drudgery in Building, and constant grasping Aerial Trowels, distracts and shatters the Mind, and the fond Builder of Babells is often cursed with an incoherent Diversity and Confusion of Thoughts. I do not know to whom I can more properly apply my self for Relief from this Fantastical Evil, than to your self; whom I earnestly implore to accommodate me with a Method how to settle my Head and cool my Brain-pan. A Dissertation on Castle-Building may not only be serviceable to my self, but all Architects, who display their Skill in the thin Element. Such a Favour would oblige me to make my next Soliloquy not contain the Praises of my dear Self but of the Spectator, who shall, by complying with this, make me.' His Obliged, Humble Servant.

Vitruvius.

Footnote 1:Conquest of Granada

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Contents

No. 168

Wednesday, September 12, 1711

Steele

... Pectus Præceptis format amicis.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

I Send you this to congratulate your late Choice of a Subject, for treating on which you deserve publick Thanks; I mean that on those licensed Tyrants the Schoolmasters. If you can disarm them of their Rods, you will certainly have your old Age reverenced by all the young Gentlemen of Great-Britain who are now between seven and seventeen Years. You may boast that the incomparably wise Quintilian and you are of one Mind in this Particular.

'Si cui est (says he) mens tam illiberalis ut objurgatione non corrigatur, is etiam ad plagas, ut pessimo quæque mancipia, durabitur[1].

If any Child be of so disingenuous a Nature, as not to stand corrected by Reproof, he, like the very worst of Slaves, will be hardned even against Blows themselves.'

And afterwards,

'Pudet dicere in quæ probra nefandi homines isto cædendi jure abutantur,

i. e. I blush to say how shamefully those wicked Men abuse the Power of Correction.'

I was bred myself, Sir, in a very great School, of which the Master was a Welchman, but certainly descended from a Spanish Family, as plainly appeared from his Temper as well as his Name[2]. I leave you to judge what sort of a Schoolmaster a Welchman ingrafted on a Spaniard would make. So very dreadful had he made himself to me, that altho' it is above twenty Years since I felt his heavy Hand, yet still once a Month at least I dream of him, so strong an Impression did he make on my Mind. 'Tis a Sign he has fully terrified me waking, who still continues to haunt me sleeping.

And yet I may say without Vanity, that the Business of the School was what I did without great Difficulty; and I was not remarkably unlucky; and yet such was the Master's Severity that once a Month, or oftner, I suffered as much as would have satisfied the Law of the Land for a Petty Larceny.

Many a white and tender Hand, which the fond Mother has passionately kissed a thousand and a thousand times, have I seen whipped till it was covered with Blood: perhaps for smiling, or for going a Yard and half out of a Gate, or for writing an O for an A, or an A for an O: These were our great Faults! Many a brave and noble Spirit has been there broken; others have run from thence and were never heard of afterwards.

It is a worthy Attempt to undertake the Cause of distrest Youth; and it is a noble Piece of Knight-Errantry to enter the Lists against so many armed Pedagogues. 'Tis pity but we had a Set of Men, polite in their Behaviour and Method of Teaching, who should be put into a Condition of being above flattering or fearing the Parents of those they instruct. We might then possibly see Learning become a Pleasure, and Children delighting themselves in that which now they abhor for coming upon such hard Terms to them: What would be a still greater Happiness arising from the Care of such Instructors, would be, that we should have no more Pedants, nor any bred to Learning who had not Genius for it. I am, with the utmost Sincerity,

Sir,

Your most affectionate humble Servant.

Richmond, Sept. 5th, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Boy of fourteen Years of Age, and have for this last Year been under the Tuition of a Doctor of Divinity, who has taken the School of this Place under his Care[3]. From the Gentleman's great Tenderness to me and Friendship to my Father, I am very happy in learning my Book with Pleasure. We never leave off our Diversions any farther than to salute him at Hours of Play when he pleases to look on. It is impossible for any of us to love our own Parents better than we do him. He never gives any of us an harsh Word, and we think it the greatest Punishment in the World when he will not speak to any of us. My Brother and I are both together inditing this Letter: He is a Year older than I am, but is now ready to break his Heart that the Doctor has not taken any Notice of him these three Days. If you please to print this he will see it, and, we hope, taking it for my Brother's earnest Desire to be restored to his Favour, he will again smile upon him.

Your most obedient Servant,

T. S.

Mr. Spectator,

You have represented several sorts of Impertinents singly, I wish you would now proceed, and describe some of them in Sets. It often happens in publick Assemblies, that a Party who came thither together, or whose Impertinencies are of an equal Pitch, act in Concert, and are so full of themselves as to give Disturbance to all that are about them. Sometimes you have a Set of Whisperers, who lay their Heads together in order to sacrifice every Body within their Observation; sometimes a Set of Laughers, that keep up an insipid Mirth in their own Corner, and by their Noise and Gestures shew they have no Respect for the rest of the Company. You frequently meet with these Sets at the Opera, the Play, the Water-works[4], and other publick Meetings, where their whole Business is to draw off the Attention of the Spectators from the Entertainment, and to fix it upon themselves; and it is to be observed that the Impertinence is ever loudest, when the Set happens to be made up of three or four Females who have got what you call a Woman's Man among them.

I am at a loss to know from whom People of Fortune should learn this Behaviour, unless it be from the Footmen who keep their Places at a new Play, and are often seen passing away their Time in Sets at All-fours in the Face of a full House, and with a perfect Disregard to People of Quality sitting on each Side of them.

For preserving therefore the Decency of publick Assemblies, methinks it would be but reasonable that those who Disturb others should pay at least a double Price for their Places; or rather Women of Birth and Distinction should be informed that a Levity of Behaviour in the Eyes of People of Understanding degrades them below their meanest Attendants; and Gentlemen should know that a fine Coat is a Livery, when the Person who wears it discovers no higher Sense than that of a Footman.

I am Sir,

Your most humble Servant.

Bedfordshire, Sept.. 1, 1711

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of those whom every Body calls a Pocher, and sometimes go out to course with a Brace of Greyhounds, a Mastiff, and a Spaniel or two; and when I am weary with Coursing, and have killed Hares enough, go to an Ale-house to refresh my self. I beg the Favour of you (as you set up for a Reformer) to send us Word how many Dogs you will allow us to go with, how many Full-Pots of Ale to drink, and how many Hares to kill in a Day, and you will do a great Piece of Service to all the Sportsmen: Be quick then, for the Time of Coursing is come on.

Yours in Haste,

T. Isaac Hedgeditch.

Footnote 1:Instit. Orat.

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Contents

No. 169

Thursday, September 13, 1711

Addison

Sic vita erat: facile omnes perferre ac pati:

Cum quibus erat cunque una, his sese dedere,

Eorum obsequi studiis: advorsus nemini;

Nunquam præponens se aliis: Ita facillime

Sine invidia invenias laudem.

Ter. And.

Good-Breeding

[1]the LifePhilanthropyNaywho[2]

InSalust[3]CæsarCatoCæsar'sCato's

exposeswho[4]

Footnote 1:Cyropædia

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Catiline

return

Footnote 4:

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Contents

original dedication

To The Right Honourable

Henry Boyle, Esq.[1]

Sir,

British

Sir,

Your most obedient,

humble Servant,

The Spectator

Footnote 1:Spectator

Life

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Contents

No. 170

Friday, September 14, 1711

Addison

In amore hæc omnia insunt vitía: injuriæ,

Suspiciones, inimicitiæ, induciæ,

Bellum, pax rursum ...

Ter. Eun.

IHallifaxAdvice to a Daughter[1]

Jealousy is that Pain which a Man feels from the Apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the Person whom he entirely loves.

Phædria's

Cum milite isto præsens, absens ut sies:

Dies, noctesque me ames: me desideres:

Me somnies: me exspectes: de me cogites:

Me speres: me te oblectes: mecum tola sis:

Meus fac sis postremo animus, quando ego sum tuus.

Ter. Eun[2].

SuchBe not jealous over the Wife of thy Bosom, and teach her not an evil Lesson against thy self.[3]

Andwho[4]Thenwhich[5]Thebefore[6]

sowho[7]

WomenMen

America

Afterwho[8]

Footnote 1:Miscellanies

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

'When you are in company with that Soldier, behave as if you were absent: but continue to love me by Day and by Night: want me; dream of me; expect me; think of me; wish for me; delight in me: be wholly with me: in short, be my very Soul, as I am yours.'

return

Footnote 3:Ecclus

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Footnote 7:

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Footnote 8:

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Contents

No. 171

Saturday, September 15, 1711

Addison

Credula res amor est ...

Ovid. Met.

JealousieHoraceLydia;[1]

Quum tu, Lydia, Telephi

Cervicem roseam, et cerea Telephi

Laudas brachia, væ meum

Fervens difficili bile tumet jecur:

Tunc nec mens mihi, nec color

Certâ sede manet; humor et in genas

Furtim labitur, arguens

Quam lentis penitus macerer ignibus.

When Telephus his youthful Charms,

His rosie Neck and winding Arms,

With endless Rapture you recite,

And in the pleasing Name delight;

My Heart, inflam'd by jealous Heats,

With numberless Resentments beats;

From my pale Cheek the Colour flies,

And all the Man within me dies:

By Turns my hidden Grief appears

In rising Sighs and falling Tears,

That shew too well the warm Desires,

The silent, slow, consuming Fires,

Which on my inmost Vitals prey,

And melt my very Soul away.

Therewho[2]

Ardeat ipsa licet tormentis gaudet amantis.

Juv.

This this Passion,[3]besides feel[4]

IHerodMariamneJosephus[5]

MariamneHerodMariamneMark AntonyHerodEgyptHerodAntony'sMariamneJosephJosephMariamne'sHerod'sJoseph'sHerodMark AntonyMariamneHerodJosephMariamne

EgyptSohemusMariamneSohemusHerodMariamneHerodMariamne'sHerodwhosomething[6] SohemusSohemusJosephHerodHerodMariamne

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:Antiquities of the Jews

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Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 172

Monday, September 17, 1711

Steele

Non solum Scientia, quæ est remota a Justitia, Calliditas potius quam Sapientia est appellanda; verum etiam Animus paratus ad periculum, si suâ cupiditate, non utilitate communi impellitur, Audaciæ potius nomen habeat, quam Fortitudinis.

Plato apud Tull.

Omniamante

Let the Buyer look to it

Contents

No. 173

Tuesday, September 18, 1711

Addison

... Remove fera monstra, tuægue

Saxificos vultus, quæcunque ea, tolle Medusæ.

Ovid. Met.

BritishPost-BoyPost-Boy

ColeshillWarwickshireEnglandSwanOctoberWarwickshireKentish

Detur tetriori.

The frightfull'st Grinner

Be the Winner.

Dutch

UponNamur[1]French ManandMilton's

Grinn'd horribly[2]

a Ghastly Smile ...

Jacobite

Giles Gorgon

ThisHuman Face Divine[3]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:horridly

'Death Grinn'd horrible a ghastly smile.'

P. L.

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Footnote 3:Original Letters

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Contents

No. 174

Wednesday, September 19, 1711

Steele

Hæc memini et victum frustra contendere Thyrsin.

Virg.

RomanGreat Britain

Roger De Coverley Andrew FreeportItCarthaginian[1]RogerCarthaginians

Captain SentryAndrewRoger

AndrewRogerRogerRogerRoger'sRogerRogerRomanCarthaginianRomansCarthaginianRomanRogerHollandhe has not kept true Accounts

RogerTurkeyEnglandRoger

RogerCoverleysRoger

Footnote 1:Punica fides.

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Contents

No. 175

Thursday, September 20, 1711

Budgell

Proximus à tectis ignis defenditur ægre:

Ov. Rem. Am.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a young Gentleman of a competent Fortune, and a sufficient Taste of Learning, to spend five or six Hours every Day very agreeably among my Books. That I might have nothing to divert me from my Studies, and to avoid the Noises of Coaches and Chair-men, I have taken Lodgings in a very narrow Street, not far from Whitehall; but it is my Misfortune to be so posted, that my Lodgings are directly opposite to those of a Jezebel. You are to know, Sir, that a Jezebel (so call'd by the Neighbourhood from displaying her pernicious Charms at her Window) appears constantly dress'd at her Sash, and has a thousand little Tricks and Fooleries to attract the Eyes of all the idle young Fellows in the Neighbourhood. I have seen more than six Persons at once from their several Windows observing the Jezebel I am now complaining of. I at first looked on her my self with the highest Contempt, could divert my self with her Airs for half an Hour, and afterwards take up my Plutarch with great Tranquillity of Mind; but was a little vexed to find that in less than a Month she had considerably stoln upon my Time, so that I resolved to look at her no more. But the Jezebel, who, as I suppose, might think it a Diminution to her Honour, to have the Number of her Gazers lessen'd, resolved not to part with me so, and began to play so many new Tricks at her Window, that it was impossible for me to forbear observing her. I verily believe she put her self to the Expence of a new Wax Baby on purpose to plague me; she us'd to dandle and play with this Figure as impertinently as if it had been a real Child: sometimes she would let fall a Glove or a Pin Cushion in the Street, and shut or open her Casement three or four times in a Minute. When I had almost wean'd my self from this, she came in her Shift-Sleeves, and dress'd at the Window. I had no Way left but to let down my Curtains, which I submitted to, though it considerably darkned my Room, and was pleased to think that I had at last got the better of her; but was surpriz'd the next Morning to hear her talking out of her Window quite cross the Street, with another Woman that lodges over me: I am since informed, that she made her a Visit, and got acquainted with her within three Hours after the Fall of my Window Curtains. Sir, I am plagued every Moment in the Day one way or other in my own Chambers; and the Jezebel has the Satisfaction to know, that, tho' I am not looking at her, I am list'ning to her impertinent Dialogues that pass over my Head. I would immediately change my Lodgings, but that I think it might look like a plain Confession that I am conquer'd; and besides this, I am told that most Quarters of the Town are infested with these Creatures. If they are so, I am sure 'tis such an Abuse, as a Lover of Learning and Silence ought to take notice of.

I am, Sir,

Yours, &c.'

JezebelsTemple

Mr. Spectator,

'I have lately read the Conclusion of your forty-seventh Speculation upon Butts with great Pleasure, and have ever since been thoroughly perswaded that one of those Gentlemen is extreamly necessary to enliven Conversation. I had an Entertainment last Week upon the Water for a Lady to whom I make my Addresses, with several of our Friends of both Sexes. To divert the Company in general, and to shew my Mistress in particular my Genius for Raillery, I took one of the most celebrated Butts in Town along with me. It is with the utmost Shame and Confusion that I must acquaint you with the Sequel of my Adventure: As soon as we were got into the Boat, I played a Sentence or two at my Butt which I thought very smart, when my ill Genius, who I verily believe inspir'd him purely for my Destruction, suggested to him such a Reply, as got all the Laughter on his Side. I was clashed at so unexpected a Turn; which the Butt perceiving, resolved not to let me recover my self, and pursuing his Victory, rallied and tossed me in a most unmerciful and barbarous manner 'till we came to Chelsea. I had some small Success while we were eating Cheese-Cakes; but coming Home, he renewed his Attacks with his former good Fortune, and equal Diversion to the whole Company. In short, Sir, I must ingenuously own that I was never so handled in all my Life; and to compleat my Misfortune, I am since told that the Butt, flushed with his late Victory, has made a Visit or two to the dear Object of my Wishes, so that I am at once in danger of losing all my Pretensions to Wit, and my Mistress into[1] the Bargain. This, Sir, is a true Account of my present Troubles, which you are the more obliged to assist me in, as you were your self in a great measure the Cause of them, by recommending to us an Instrument, and not instructing us at the same time how to play upon it.

I have been thinking whether it might not be highly convenient, that all Butts should wear an Inscription affixed to some Part of their Bodies, shewing on which Side they are to be come at, and that if any of them are Persons of unequal Tempers, there should be some Method taken to inform the World at what Time it is safe to attack them, and when you had best to let them alone. But, submitting these Matters to your more serious Consideration,

I am, Sir,

Yours, &c.'

Whether their Companions are weakWhether themselves are Wits

Exeter

Mr. Spectator,

Exeter, Sept. 7.

'You were pleased in a late Speculation to take notice of the Inconvenience we lie under in the Country, in not being able to keep Pace with the Fashion: But there is another Misfortune which we are subject to, and is no less grievous than the former, which has hitherto escaped your Observation. I mean, the having Things palmed upon us for London Fashions, which were never once heard of there.

A Lady of this Place had some time since a Box of the newest Ribbons sent down by the Coach: Whether it was her own malicious Invention, or the Wantonness of a London Milliner, I am not able to inform you; but, among the rest, there was one Cherry-coloured Ribbon, consisting of about half a Dozen Yards, made up in the Figure of a small Head-Dress. The foresaid Lady had the Assurance to affirm, amidst a Circle of Female Inquisitors, who were present at the opening of the Box, that this was the newest Fashion worn at Court. Accordingly the next Sunday we had several Females, who came to Church with their Heads dress'd wholly in Ribbons, and looked like so many Victims ready to be Sacrificed. This is still a reigning Mode among us. At the same time we have a Set of Gentlemen who take the Liberty to appear in all Publick Places without any Buttons to their Coats, which they supply with several little Silver Hasps, tho' our freshest Advices from London make no mention of any such Fashion; and we are something shy of affording Matter to the Button-Makers for a second Petition[2].

What I would humbly propose to the Publick is, that there may be a Society erected in London, to consist of the most skilful Persons of both Sexes, for the Inspection of Modes and Fashions; and that hereafter no Person or Persons shall presume to appear singularly habited in any Part of the Country, without a Testimonial from the foresaid Society, that their Dress is answerable to the Mode at London. By this means, Sir, we shall know a little whereabout we are.

If you could bring this Matter to bear, you would very much oblige great Numbers of your Country Friends, and among the rest,

Your very Humble Servant,

Jack Modish.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

'the maintenance and subsistence of many thousands of men, women and children depends upon the making of silk, mohair, gimp, and thread buttons, and button-holes with the needle,' and these have been ruined by 'a late unforeseen practice of making and binding button-holes with cloth, serge,' &c.

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Contents

No. 176

Friday, September 21, 1711

Steele

Parvula, pumilio, lota merum Sal.

Luc.

Mr. Spectator.

'I do not deny but you appear in many of your Papers to understand Human Life pretty well; but there are very many Things which you cannot possibly have a true Notion of, in a single Life; these are such as respect the married State; otherwise I cannot account for your having overlooked a very good Sort of People, which are commonly called in Scorn the Henpeckt. You are to understand that I am one of those innocent Mortals who suffer Derision under that Word for being governed by the best of Wives. It would be worth your Consideration to enter into the Nature of Affection it self, and tell us, according to your Philosophy, why it is that our Dears shall do what they will with us, shall be froward, ill-natured, assuming, sometimes whine, at others rail, then swoon away, then come to Life, have the Use of Speech to the greatest Fluency imaginable, and then sink away again, and all because they fear we do not love them enough: that is, the poor things love us so heartily, that they cannot think it possible we should be able to love them in so great a Degree, which makes them take on so. I say, Sir, a true good-natured Man, whom Rakes and Libertines call Hen-peckt, shall fall into all these different Moods with his dear Life, and at the same time see they are wholly put on; and yet not be hard-hearted enough to tell the dear good Creature that she is an Hypocrite. This sort of good Man is very frequent in the populous and wealthy City of London, and is the true Hen-peckt Man; the kind Creature cannot break through his Kindnesses so far as to come to an Explanation with the tender Soul, and therefore goes on to comfort her when nothing ails her, to appease her when she is not angry, and to give her his Cash when he knows she does not want it; rather than be uneasy for a whole Month, which is computed by hard-hearted Men the Space of Time which a froward Woman takes to come to her self, if you have Courage to stand out.

There are indeed several other Species of the Hen-peckt, and in my Opinion they are certainly the best Subjects the Queen has; and for that Reason I take it to be your Duty to keep us above Contempt.

I do not know whether I make my self understood in the Representation of an Hen-peckt Life, but I shall take leave to give you an Account of my self, and my own Spouse. You are to know that I am reckoned no Fool, have on several Occasions been tried whether I will take ill Usage, and yet the Event has been to my Advantage; and yet there is not such a Slave in Turkey as I am to my Dear. She has a good Share of Wit, and is what you call a very pretty agreeable Woman. I perfectly doat on her, and my Affection to her gives me all the Anxieties imaginable but that of Jealousy. My being thus confident of her, I take, as much as I can judge of my Heart, to be the Reason, that whatever she does, tho' it be never so much against my Inclination, there is still left something in her Manner that is amiable. She will sometimes look at me with an assumed Grandeur, and pretend to resent that I have not had Respect enough for her Opinion in such an Instance in Company. I cannot but smile at the pretty Anger she is in, and then she pretends she is used like a Child. In a Word, our great Debate is, which has the Superiority in point of Understanding. She is eternally forming an Argument of Debate; to which I very indolently answer, Thou art mighty pretty. To this she answers, All the World but you think I have as much Sense as your self. I repeat to her, Indeed you are pretty. Upon this there is no Patience; she will throw down any thing about her, stamp and pull off her Head-Cloaths. Fie, my Dear, say I; how can a Woman of your Sense fall into such an intemperate Rage? This is an Argument which never fails. Indeed, my Dear, says she, you make me mad sometimes, so you do, with the silly Way you have of treating me like a pretty Idiot. Well, what have I got by putting her into good Humour? Nothing, but that I must convince her of my good Opinion by my Practice; and then I am to give her Possession of my little Ready Money, and, for a Day and half following, dislike all she dislikes, and extol every thing she approves. I am so exquisitely fond of this Darling, that I seldom see any of my Friends, am uneasy in all Companies till I see her again; and when I come home she is in the Dumps, because she says she is sure I came so soon only because I think her handsome. I dare not upon this Occasion laugh; but tho' I am one of the warmest Churchmen in the Kingdom, I am forced to rail at the Times, because she is a violent Whig. Upon this we talk Politicks so long, that she is convinc'd I kiss her for her Wisdom. It is a common Practice with me to ask her some Question concerning the Constitution, which she answers me in general out of Harington's Oceana[1]: Then I commend her strange Memory, and her Arm is immediately lock'd in mine. While I keep her in this Temper she plays before me, sometimes dancing in the Midst of the Room, sometimes striking an Air at her Spinnet, varying her Posture and her Charms in such a Manner that I am in continual Pleasure: She will play the Fool if I allow her to be wise; but if she suspects I like her for her Trifling, she immediately grows grave.

These are the Toils in which I am taken, and I carry off my Servitude as well as most Men; but my Application to you is in Behalf of the Hen-peckt in general, and I desire a Dissertation from you in Defence of us. You have, as I am informed, very good Authorities in our Favour, and hope you will not omit the mention of the Renowned Socrates, and his Philosophick Resignation to his Wife Xantippe. This would be a very good Office to the World in general, for the Hen-peckt are powerful in their Quality and Numbers, not only in Cities but in Courts; in the latter they are ever the most obsequious, in the former the most wealthy of all Men. When you have considered Wedlock throughly, you ought to enter into the Suburbs of Matrimony, and give us an Account of the Thraldom of kind Keepers and irresolute Lovers; the Keepers who cannot quit their Fair Ones tho' they see their approaching Ruin; the Lovers who dare not marry, tho' they know they never shall be happy without the Mistresses whom they cannot purchase on other Terms.

What will be a great Embellishment to your Discourse, will be, that you may find Instances of the Haughty, the Proud, the Frolick, the Stubborn, who are each of them in secret downright Slaves to their Wives or Mistresses. I must beg of you in the last Place to dwell upon this, That the Wise and Valiant in all Ages have been Hen-peckt: and that the sturdy Tempers who are not Slaves to Affection, owe that Exemption to their being enthralled by Ambition, Avarice, or some meaner Passion. I have ten thousand thousand Things more to say, but my Wife sees me Writing, and will, according to Custom, be consulted, if I do not seal this immediately.

Yours,

T. Nathaniel Henroost.'

Footnote 1:OceanaOceanaOceana

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Contents

No. 177

Saturday, September 22, 1711

Addison

... Quis enim bonus, aut face dignus

Arcanâ, qualem Cereris vult esse sacerdos,

Ulla aliena sibi credat mala?

Juv.

ThisDrydenMilkiness of Blood[1]

Sir Francis Bacon mentionswho[2]Philanthropy

EugeniusEugeniusEugenius

Bytheir Patrons[3]

Sir Thomas BrownReligio MediciSolomon, He that giveth to the Poor, lendeth to the Lord[4]

'There is more Rhetorick in that one Sentence, says he, than in a Library of Sermons; and indeed if those Sentences were understood by the Reader, with the same Emphasis as they are delivered by the Author, we needed not those Volumes of Instructions, but might be honest by an Epitome[5].'

This[6]Epitaph[7]

Job

Oh that I were as in Months past, as in the Days when God preserved me: When his Candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness: When the Almighty was yet with me: when my Children were about me: When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured out rivers of oyl.

When the Ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the Eye saw me, it gave witness to me. Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the Widow's Heart to sing for joy. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame; I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my Soul grieved for the poor? Let me be weighed in an even ballance, that God may know mine Integrity. If I did despise the cause of my man-servant or my maid-servant when they contended with me: What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? Did not he that made me in the womb, make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof: If I have seen any perish for want of cloathing, or any poor without covering: If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep: If I have lift up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate; then let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. If I have rejoiced at the Destruction of him that hated me, or lift up myself when evil found him: (Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin, by wishing a curse to his soul). The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveller. If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain: If I have eaten the Fruits thereof without mony, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their Life; Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley.[8]

Footnote 1:

'Would I could share thy Balmy, even Temper,

And Milkiness of Blood.'

Cleomenes

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Proverbs

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Footnote 5:Rel. Med.

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Footnote 6:Matt

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Footnote 7:

'How now, who is heare?

I Robin of Doncastere

And Margaret my feare.

That I spent, that I had;

That I gave, that I have;

That I left, that I lost.'

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Footnote 8:Job

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Contents

No. 178

Monday, September 24, 1711

Steele

Comis in uxorem ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

I am but too good a Judge of your Paper of the 15th Instant, which is a Master-piece; I mean that of Jealousy: But I think it unworthy of you to speak of that Torture in the Breast of a Man, and not to mention also the Pangs of it in the Heart of a Woman. You have very Judiciously, and with the greatest Penetration imaginable, considered it as Woman is the Creature of whom the Diffidence is raised; but not a Word of a Man who is so unmerciful as to move Jealousy in his Wife, and not care whether she is so or not. It is possible you may not believe there are such Tyrants in the World; but alas, I can tell you of a Man who is ever out of Humour in his Wife's Company, and the pleasantest Man in the World every where else; the greatest Sloven at home when he appears to none but his Family, and most exactly well-dressed in all other Places. Alas, Sir, is it of Course, that to deliver one's self wholly into a Man's Power without Possibility of Appeal to any other Jurisdiction but to his own Reflections, is so little an Obligation to a Gentleman, that he can be offended and fall into a Rage, because my Heart swells Tears into my Eyes when I see him in a cloudy Mood? I pretend to no Succour, and hope for no Relief but from himself; and yet he that has Sense and Justice in every thing else, never reflects, that to come home only to sleep off an Intemperance, and spend all the Time he is there as if it were a Punishment, cannot but give the Anguish of a jealous Mind. He always leaves his Home as if he were going to Court, and returns as if he were entring a Gaol. I could add to this, that from his Company and his usual Discourse, he does not scruple being thought an abandoned Man, as to his Morals. Your own Imagination will say enough to you concerning the Condition of me his Wife; and I wish you would be so good as to represent to him, for he is not ill-natured, and reads you much, that the Moment I hear the Door shut after him, I throw myself upon my Bed, and drown the Child he is so fond of with my Tears, and often frighten it with my Cries; that I curse my Being; that I run to my Glass all over bathed in Sorrows, and help the Utterance of my inward Anguish by beholding the Gush of my own Calamities as my Tears fall from my Eyes. This looks like an imagined Picture to tell you, but indeed this is one of my Pastimes. Hitherto I have only told you the general Temper of my Mind, but how shall I give you an Account of the Distraction of it? Could you but conceive how cruel I am one Moment in my Resentment, and at the ensuing Minute, when I place him in the Condition my Anger would bring him to, how compassionate; it would give you some Notion how miserable I am, and how little I deserve it. When I remonstrate with the greatest Gentleness that is possible against unhandsome Appearances, and that married Persons are under particular Rules; when he is in the best Humour to receive this, I am answered only, That I expose my own Reputation and Sense if I appear jealous. I wish, good Sir, you would take this into serious Consideration, and admonish Husbands and Wives what Terms they ought to keep towards each other. Your Thoughts on this important Subject will have the greatest Reward, that which descends on such as feel the Sorrows of the Afflicted. Give me leave to subscribe my self,

Your unfortunate humble Servant,

Celinda.

Husband,

Stay more at home. I know where you visited at Seven of the Clock on Thursday Evening. The Colonel whom you charged me to see no more, is in Town.

Martha Housewife.

Contents

No. 179

Tuesday, September 25, 1711

Addison

Centuriæ seniorum agitant expertia frugis:

Celsi prætereunt austera Poemata Rhamnes.

Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci,

Lectorem delectando, pariterque monendo ...

Hor.

MercurialSaturnine

SenecaEpictetus

British

OneWaller[1]

Poets lose half the Praise they would have got,

Were it but known what they discreetly blot.

Sir,

'Having lately seen your Discourse upon a Match of Grinning, I cannot forbear giving you an Account of a Whistling Match, which, with many others, I was entertained with about three Years since at the Bath. The Prize was a Guinea, to be conferred upon the ablest Whistler, that is, on him who could whistle clearest, and go through his Tune without Laughing, to which at the same time he was provoked[2] by the antick Postures of a Merry-Andrew, who was to stand upon the Stage and play his Tricks in the Eye of the Performer. There were three Competitors for the Ring. The first was a Plow-man of a very promising Aspect; his Features were steady, and his Muscles composed in so inflexible a Stupidity, that upon his first Appearance every one gave the Guinea for lost. The Pickled Herring however found the way to shake him; for upon his Whistling a Country Jigg, this unlucky Wag danced to it with such a Variety of Distortions and Grimaces, that the Country-man could not forbear smiling upon him, and by that means spoiled his Whistle, and lost the Prize.

The next that mounted the Stage was an Under-Citizen of the Bath, a Person remarkable among the inferior People of that Place for his great Wisdom and his Broad Band. He contracted his Mouth with much Gravity, and, that he might dispose his Mind to be more serious than ordinary, began the Tune of The Children in the Wood, and went through part of it with good Success; when on a sudden the Wit at his Elbow, who had appeared wonderfully grave and attentive for some time, gave him a Touch upon the left Shoulder, and stared him in the Face with so bewitching a Grin, that the Whistler relaxed his Fibres into a kind of Simper, and at length burst out into an open Laugh. The third who entered the Lists was a Foot-man, who in Defiance of the Merry-Andrew, and all his Arts, whistled a Scotch Tune and an Italian Sonata, with so settled a Countenance, that he bore away the Prize, to the great Admiration of some Hundreds of Persons, who, as well as my self, were present at this Trial of Skill. Now, Sir, I humbly conceive, whatever you have determined of the Grinners, the Whistlers ought to be encouraged, not only as their Art is practised without Distortion, but as it improves Country Musick, promotes Gravity, and teaches ordinary People to keep their Countenances, if they see any thing ridiculous in their Betters; besides that it seems an Entertainment very particularly adapted to the Bath, as it is usual for a Rider to whistle to his Horse when he would make his Waters pass.

I am, Sir, &c.

Postscript.

After having despatched these two important Points of Grinning and Whistling, I hope you will oblige the World with some Reflections upon Yawning, as I have seen it practised on a Twelfth-Night among other Christmas Gambols at the House of a very worthy Gentleman, who always entertains his Tenants at that time of the Year. They Yawn for a Cheshire Cheese, and begin about Midnight, when the whole Company is disposed to be drowsie. He that Yawns widest, and at the same time so naturally as to produce the most Yawns among his Spectators, carries home the Cheese. If you handle this Subject as you ought, I question not but your Paper will set half the Kingdom a Yawning, tho' I dare promise you it will never make any Body fall asleep.

Footnote 1:Art of Poetry

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 180

Wednesday, September 26, 1711

Steele

... Delirant Reges, plectuntur Achivi.

Hor.

The[1]viz. LewisFrance

Mr. Spectator,

'Amidst the Variety of Subjects of which you have treated, I could wish it had fallen in your way to expose the Vanity of Conquests. This Thought would naturally lead one to the French King, who has been generally esteemed the greatest Conqueror of our Age, 'till her Majesty's Armies had torn from him so many of his Countries, and deprived him of the Fruit of all his former Victories. For my own Part, if I were to draw his Picture, I should be for taking him no lower than to the Peace of Reswick[2], just at the End of his Triumphs, and before his Reverse of Fortune: and even then I should not forbear thinking his Ambition had been vain and unprofitable to himself and his People.

As for himself, it is certain he can have gained nothing by his Conquests, if they have not rendered him Master of more Subjects, more Riches, or greater Power. What I shall be able to offer upon these Heads, I resolve to submit to your Consideration.

To begin then with his Increase of Subjects. From the Time he came of Age, and has been a Manager for himself, all the People he had acquired were such only as he had reduced by his Wars, and were left in his Possession by the Peace; he had conquered not above one third Part of Flanders, and consequently no more than one third Part of the Inhabitants of that Province.

About 100 Years ago the Houses in that Country were all Numbered, and by a just Computation the Inhabitants of all Sorts could not then exceed 750 000 Souls. And if any Man will consider the Desolation by almost perpetual Wars, the numerous Armies that have lived almost ever since at Discretion upon the People, and how much of their Commerce has removed for more Security to other Places, he will have little Reason to imagine that their Numbers have since increased; and therefore with one third Part of that Province that Prince can have gained no more than one third Part of the Inhabitants, or 250 000 new Subjects, even tho' it should be supposed they were all contented to live still in their native Country. and transfer their Allegiance to a new Master.

The Fertility of this Province, its convenient Situation for Trade and Commerce, its Capacity for furnishing Employment and Subsistence to great Numbers, and the vast Armies that have been maintained here, make it credible that the remaining two Thirds of Flanders are equal to all his other Conquests; and consequently by all he cannot have gained more than 750 000 new Subjects, Men, Women and Children, especially if a Deduction shall be made of such as have retired from the Conqueror to live under their old Masters.

It is Time now to set his Loss against his Profit, and to shew for the new Subjects he had acquired, how many old ones he had lost in the Acquisition: I think that in his Wars he has seldom brought less into the Field in all Places than 200 000 fighting Men, besides what have been left in Garrisons; and I think the common Computation is, that of an Army, at the latter End of a Campaign, without Sieges or Battle, scarce Four Fifths can be mustered of those that came into the Field at the Beginning of the Year. His Wars at several Times till the last Peace have held about 20 Years; and if 40 000 yearly lost, or a fifth Part of his Armies, are to be multiplied by 20, he cannot have lost less than 800 000 of his old Subjects, all able-body'd Men; a greater Number than the new Subjects he had acquired.

But this Loss is not all: Providence seems to have equally divided the whole Mass of Mankind into different Sexes, that every Woman may have her Husband, and that both may equally contribute to the Continuance of the Species. It follows then, that for all the Men that have been lost, as many Women must have lived single, and it were but Charity to believe they have not done all the Service they were capable of doing in their Generation. In so long a Course of Years great part of them must have died, and all the rest must go off at last without leaving any Representatives behind. By this Account he must have lost not only 800000 Subjects, but double that Number, and all the Increase that was reasonably to be expected from it.

It is said in the last War there was a Famine in his Kingdom, which swept away two Millions of his People. This is hardly credible: If the loss was only of one fifth Part of that Sum, it was very great. But 'tis no wonder there should be Famine, where so much of the People's Substance is taken away for the King's Use, that they have not sufficient left to provide against Accidents: where so many of the Men are taken from the Plough to serve the King in his Wars, and a great part of the Tillage is left to the weaker Hands of so many Women and Children. Whatever was the Loss, it must undoubtedly be placed to the Account of his Ambition.

And so must also the Destruction or Banishment of 3 or 400 000 of his reformed Subjects; he could have no other Reasons for valuing those Lives so very cheap, but only to recommend himself to the Bigotry of the Spanish Nation.

How should there be Industry in a Country where all Property is precarious? What Subject will sow his Land that his Prince may reap the whole Harvest? Parsimony and Frugality must be Strangers to such a People; for will any Man save to-day what he has Reason to fear will be taken from him to-morrow? And where is the Encouragement for marrying? Will any Man think of raising Children, without any Assurance of Cloathing for their Backs, or so much as Food for their Bellies? And thus by his fatal Ambition he must have lessened the Number of his Subjects not only by Slaughter and Destruction, but by preventing their very Births, he has done as much as was possible towards destroying Posterity itself.

Is this then the great, the invincible Lewis? This the immortal Man, the tout-puissant, or the Almighty, as his Flatterers have called him? Is this the Man that is so celebrated for his Conquests? For every Subject he has acquired, has he not lost three that were his Inheritance? Are not his Troops fewer, and those neither so well fed, or cloathed, or paid, as they were formerly, tho' he has now so much greater Cause to exert himself? And what can be the Reason of all this, but that his Revenue is a great deal less, his Subjects are either poorer, or not so many to be plundered by constant Taxes for his Use?

It is well for him he had found out a Way to steal a Kingdom; if he had gone on conquering as he did before, his Ruin had been long since finished. This brings to my Mind a saying of King Pyrrhus, after he had a second time beat the Romans in a pitched Battle, and was complimented by his Generals; Yes, says he, such another Victory and I am quite undone. And since I have mentioned Pyrrhus, I will end with a very good, though known Story of this ambitious mad Man. When he had shewn the utmost Fondness for his Expedition against the Romans, Cyneas his chief Minister asked him what he proposed to himself by this War? Why, says Pyrrhus, to conquer the Romans, and reduce all Italy to my Obedience. What then? says Cyneas. To pass over into Sicily, says Pyrrhus, and then all the Sicilians must be our Subjects. And what does your Majesty intend next? Why truly, says the King, to conquer Carthage, and make myself Master of all Africa. And what, Sir, says the Minister is to be the End of all your Expeditions? Why then, says the King, for the rest of our Lives we'll sit down to good Wine. How, Sir, replied Cyneas, to better than we have now before us? Have we not already as much as we can drink?[3]

Riot and Excess are not the becoming Characters of Princes: but if Pyrrhus and Lewis had debauched like Vitellius, they had been less hurtful to their People.'

Your humble Servant,

T. Philarithmus.

Footnote 1:No. 143SpectatorThe British Merchant, or Commerce Preserved,Mercator, or Commerce Retrieved.Spectator's

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Life of Pyrrhus

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Contents

No. 181

Thursday, September 27, 1711

Addison

His lacrymis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultrò.

Virg.

Sir,

'Among all the Distresses which happen in Families, I do not remember that you have touched upon the Marriage of Children without the Consent of their Parents. I am one of these[1] unfortunate Persons. I was about Fifteen when I took the Liberty to choose for my self; and have ever since languished under the Displeasure of an inexorable Father, who, though he sees me happy in the best of Husbands, and blessed with very fine Children, can never be prevailed upon to forgive me. He was so kind to me before this unhappy Accident, that indeed it makes my Breach of Duty, in some measure, inexcusable; and at the same Time creates in me such a Tenderness towards him, that I love him above all things, and would die to be reconciled to him. I have thrown myself at his Feet, and besought him with Tears to pardon me; but he always pushes me away, and spurns me from him; I have written several Letters to him, but he will neither open nor receive them. About two Years ago I sent my little Boy to him, dressed in a new Apparel; but the Child returned to me crying, because he said his Grandfather would not see him, and had ordered him to be put out of his House. My Mother is won over to my Side, but dares not mention me to my Father for fear of provoking him. About a Month ago he lay sick upon his Bed, and in great Danger of his Life: I was pierced to the Heart at the News, and could not forbear going to inquire after his Health. My Mother took this Opportunity of speaking in my Behalf: she told him with abundance of Tears, that I was come to see him, that I could not speak to her for weeping, and that I should certainly break my Heart if he refus'd at that Time to give me his Blessing, and be reconciled to me. He was so far from relenting towards me, that he bid her speak no more of me, unless she had a mind to disturb him in his last Moments; for, Sir, you must know that he has the Reputation of an honest and religious Man, which makes my Misfortune so much the greater. God be thanked he is since recovered: But his severe Usage has given me such a Blow, that I shall soon sink under it, unless I may be relieved by any Impressions which the reading of this in your Paper may make upon him.

I am, &c.

Thewho[2]

Amongwhich[3]

To[4]

conveyedwho[5]butappointed[6]Princesshim[7]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Rerum Germanicarum Scriptores,Dictionary

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:

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Footnote 7:

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Contents

No. 182

Friday, September 28, 1711

Steele

Plus aloës quàm mellis habet ...

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

'It is wonderful to me that among the many Enormities which you have treated of, you have not mentioned that of Wenching, and particularly the Insnaring Part; I mean, that it is a Thing very fit for your Pen, to expose the Villany of the Practice of deluding Women. You are to know, Sir, that I myself am a Woman who have been one of the Unhappy that have fallen into this Misfortune, and that by the Insinuation of a very worthless Fellow, who served others in the same Manner both before my Ruin and since that Time. I had, as soon as the Rascal left me, so much Indignation and Resolution, as not to go upon the Town, as the Phrase is, but took to Work for my Living in an obscure Place, out of the Knowledge of all with whom I was before acquainted.

It is the ordinary Practice and Business of Life with a Set of idle Fellows about this Town, to write Letters, send Messages, and form Appointments with little raw unthinking Girls, and leave them after Possession of them, without any Mercy, to Shame, Infamy, Poverty, and Disease. Were you to read the nauseous Impertinences which are written on these Occasions, and to see the silly Creatures sighing over them, it could not but be Matter of Mirth as well as Pity. A little Prentice Girl of mine has been for some time applied to by an Irish Fellow, who dresses very fine, and struts in a laced Coat, and is the Admiration of Seamstresses who are under Age in Town. Ever since I have had some Knowledge of the Matter, I have debarred my Prentice from Pen, Ink and Paper. But the other Day he bespoke some Cravats of me: I went out of the Shop, and left his Mistress to put them up into a Band-box in order to be sent to him when his Man called. When I came into the Shop again, I took occasion to send her away, and found in the Bottom of the Box written these Words, Why would you ruin a harmless Creature that loves you? then in the Lid, There is no resisting Strephon: I searched a little farther, and found in the Rim of the Box, At Eleven of clock at Night come in an Hackney-Coach at the End of our Street. This was enough to alarm me; I sent away the things, and took my Measures accordingly. An Hour or two before the appointed Time I examined my young Lady, and found her Trunk stuffed with impertinent Letters, and an old Scroll of Parchment in Latin, which her Lover had sent her as a Settlement of Fifty Pounds a Year: Among other things, there was also the best Lace I had in my Shop to make him a Present for Cravats. I was very glad of this last Circumstance, because I could very conscientiously swear against him that he had enticed my Servant away, and was her Accomplice in robbing me: I procured a Warrant against him accordingly. Every thing was now prepared, and the tender Hour of Love approaching, I, who had acted for myself in my Youth the same senseless Part, knew how to manage accordingly. Therefore after having locked up my Maid, and not being so much unlike her in Height and Shape, as in a huddled way not to pass for her, I delivered the Bundle designed to be carried off to her Lover's Man, who came with the Signal to receive them. Thus I followed after to the Coach, where when I saw his Master take them in, I cryed out, Thieves! Thieves! and the Constable with his Attendants seized my expecting Lover. I kept my self unobserved till I saw the Crowd sufficiently encreased, and then appeared to declare the Goods to be mine; and had the Satisfaction to see my Man of Mode put into the Round-House, with the stolen Wares by him, to be produced in Evidence against him the next Morning. This Matter is notoriously known to be Fact; and I have been contented to save my Prentice, and take a Year's Rent of this mortified Lover, not to appear further in the Matter. This was some Penance; but, Sir, is this enough for a Villany of much more pernicious Consequence than the Trifles for which he was to have been indicted? Should not you, and all Men of any Parts or Honour, put things upon so right a Foot, as that such a Rascal should not laugh at the Imputation of what he was really guilty, and dread being accused of that for which he was arrested?

In a word, Sir, it is in the Power of you, and such as I hope you are, to make it as infamous to rob a poor Creature of her Honour as her Cloaths. I leave this to your Consideration, only take Leave (which I cannot do without sighing) to remark to you, that if this had been the Sense of Mankind thirty Years ago, I should have avoided a Life spent in Poverty and Shame.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Alice Threadneedle.

Round-House, Sept. 9.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Man of Pleasure about Town, but by the Stupidity of a dull Rogue of a Justice of Peace, and an insolent Constable, upon the Oath of an old Harridan, am imprisoned here for Theft, when I designed only Fornication. The Midnight Magistrate, as he conveyed me along, had you in his Mouth, and said, this would make a pure Story for the Spectator. I hope, Sir, you won't pretend to Wit, and take the Part of dull Rogues of Business. The World is so altered of late Years, that there was not a Man who would knock down a Watchman in my Behalf, but I was carried off with as much Triumph as if I had been a Pick-pocket. At this rate, there is an end of all the Wit and Humour in the World. The Time was when all the honest Whore-masters in the Neighbourhood would have rose against the Cuckolds to my Rescue. If Fornication is to be scandalous, half the fine things that have been writ by most of the Wits of the last Age may be burnt by the common Hangman. Harkee, Mr. Spec, do not be queer; after having done some things pretty well, don't begin to write at that rate that no Gentleman can read thee. Be true to Love, and burn your Seneca. You do not expect me to write my Name from hence, but I am

Your unknown humble, &c.'

Contents

No. 183

Saturday, September 29, 1711

Addison

Jotham's Fable of the Trees[1]Nathan's Fable of the poor Man and his Lamb[2]likewiseÆsopGreeceandRomeFable of the Belly and the Limbs[3]HoraceAugustanBoileauLa Fontaine

IliadOdysseyIliadPallasOdysseyHoraceItalianSpencer's Fairy-QueenCiceroPlatoXenophonwasHerculesProdicusSocratesGreece[4]

PlatoSocrates

That[5]

which[6]

There were two Families which from the Beginning of the World were as opposite to each other as Light and Darkness. The one of them lived in Heaven, and the other in Hell. The youngest Descendant of the first Family was Pleasure, who was the Daughter of Happiness, who was the Child of Virtue, who was the Offspring of the Gods. These, as I said before,The youngest of the opposite Family was Pain, who was the Son of Misery, who was the Child of Vice, who was the Offspring of the Furies. The Habitation of this Race of Beings was in Hell.

The middle Station of Nature between these two opposite Extremes was the Earth, which was inhabited by Creatures of a middle Kind, neither so Virtuous as the one, nor so Vicious as the other, but partaking of the good and bad Qualities of these two opposite Families.considering that this Species commonly called Man, was too virtuous to be miserable, and too vicious to be happy; that he might make a Distinction between the Good and the Bad, ordered the two youngest of the above-mentioned Families, Pleasure who was the Daughter of Happiness, and Pain who was the Son of Misery, to meet one another upon this Part of Nature which lay in the half-Way between them, having promised to settle it upon them both, provided they could agree upon the Division of it, so as to share Mankind between them. Pleasure and Pain were no sooner met in their new Habitation, but they immediately agreed upon this Point, that Pleasure should take Possession of the Virtuous, and Pain of the Vicious Part of that Species which was given up to them. But upon examining to which of them any Individual they met with belonged, they found each of them had a Right to him; for that, contrary to what they had seen in their old Places of Residence, there was no Person so Vicious who had not some Good in him, nor any Person so Virtuous who had not in him some Evil. The Truth of it is, they generally found upon Search, that in the most vicious Man Pleasure might lay a Claim to an hundredth Part, and that in the most virtuous Man Pain might come in for at least two Thirds. This they saw would occasion endless Disputes between them, unless they could come to some Accommodation. To this end there was a Marriage proposed between them, and at length concluded: By this means it is that we find Pleasure and Pain are such constant Yoke-fellows, and that they either make their Visits together, or are never far asunder. If Pain comes into an Heart, he is quickly followed by Pleasure; and if Pleasure enters, you may be sure Pain is not far off.

But notwithstanding this Marriage was very convenient for the two Parties, it did not seem to answer the Intention ofin sending them among Mankind. To remedy therefore this Inconvenience, it was stipulated between them by Article, and confirmed by the Consent of each Family, that notwithstanding they here possessed the Species indifferently; upon the Death of every single Person, if he was found to have in him a certain Proportion of Evil, he should be dispatched into the infernal Regions by a Passport from Pain, there to dwell with Misery, Vice and the Furies. Or on the contrary, if he had in him a certain Proportion of Good, he should be dispatched into Heaven by a Passport from Pleasure, there to dwell with Happiness, Virtue and the Gods.

Footnote 1:Judges

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Footnote 2: 2 Sam

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Footnote 3:Livy

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Footnote 4:Memorabilia Socratis

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Footnote 5:Phædon

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Contents

No. 184

Monday, October 1, 1711

Addison

... Opere in longo fas est obrepere somnum ...

Hor.

Sir,

'You have already obliged the World with a Discourse upon Grinning, and have since proceeded to Whistling, from whence you at length came[1] to Yawning; from this, I think, you may make a very natural Transition to Sleeping. I therefore recommend to you for the Subject of a Paper the following Advertisement, which about two Months ago was given into every Body's Hands, and may be seen with some Additions in the Daily Courant of August the Ninth.

'Nicholas Hart[2], who slept last Year in St. Bartholomew's Hospital, intends to sleep this Year at the Cock and Bottle in Little-Britain.'

Having since inquired into the Matter of Fact, I find that the above-mentioned Nicholas Hart is every Year seized with a periodical Fit of Sleeping, which begins upon the Fifth of August, and ends on the Eleventh of the same Month: That

- On the First of that Month he grew dull;

- On the Second, appeared drowsy;

- On the Third, fell a yawning;

- On the Fourth, began to nod;

- On the Fifth, dropped asleep;

- On the Sixth, was heard to snore;

- On the Seventh, turned himself in his Bed;

- On the Eighth, recovered his former Posture;

- On the Ninth fell a stretching;

- On the Tenth about Midnight, awaked;

- On the Eleventh in the Morning called for a little Small-Beer.

This Account I have extracted out of the Journal of this sleeping Worthy, as it has been faithfully kept by a Gentleman of Lincoln's-Inn, who has undertaken to be his Historiographer. I have sent it to you, not only as it represents the Actions of Nicholas Hart, but as it seems a very natural Picture of the Life of many an honest English Gentleman, whose whole History very often consists of Yawning, Nodding, Stretching, Turning, Sleeping, Drinking, and the like extraordinary Particulars. I do not question, Sir, that, if you pleased, you could put out an Advertisement not unlike the[3] above-mentioned, of several Men of Figure; that Mr. John such-a-one, Gentleman, or Thomas such-a-one, Esquire, who slept in the Country last Summer, intends to sleep in Town this Winter. The worst of it is, that the drowsy Part of our Species is chiefly made up of very honest Gentlemen, who live quietly among their Neighbours, without ever disturbing the publick Peace: They are Drones without Stings. I could heartily wish, that several turbulent, restless, ambitious Spirits, would for a while change Places with these good Men, and enter themselves into Nicholas Hart's Fraternity. Could one but lay asleep a few busy Heads which I could name, from the First of November next to the First of May ensuing[4], I question not but it would very much redound to the Quiet of particular Persons, as well as to the Benefit of the Publick.

But to return to Nicholas Hart: I believe, Sir, you will think it a very extraordinary Circumstance for a Man to gain his Livelihood by Sleeping, and that Rest should procure a Man Sustenance as well as Industry; yet so it is that Nicholas got last Year enough to support himself for a Twelvemonth. I am likewise informed that he has this Year had a very comfortable Nap. The Poets value themselves very much for sleeping on Parnassus, but I never heard they got a Groat by it: On the contrary, our Friend Nicholas gets more by Sleeping than he could by Working, and may be more properly said, than ever Homer was, to have had Golden Dreams. Fuvenal indeed mentions a drowsy Husband who raised an Estate by Snoring, but then he is represented to have slept what the common People call a Dog's Sleep; or if his Sleep was real, his Wife was awake, and about her Business. Your Pen, which[5] loves to moralize upon all Subjects, may raise something, methinks, on this Circumstance also, and point out to us those Sets of Men, who instead of growing rich by an honest Industry, recommend themselves to the Favours of the Great, by making themselves agreeable Companions in the Participations of Luxury and Pleasure.

I must further acquaint you, Sir, that one of the most eminent Pens in Grub-street is now employed in Writing the Dream of this miraculous Sleeper, which I hear will be of a more than ordinary Length, as it must contain all the Particulars that are supposed to have passed in his Imagination during so long a Sleep. He is said to have gone already through three Days and three Nights of it, and to have comprised in them the most remarkable Passages of the four first Empires of the World. If he can keep free from Party-Strokes, his Work may be of Use; but this I much doubt, having been informed by one of his Friends and Confidents, that he has spoken some things of Nimrod with too great Freedom.

I am ever, Sir, &c.

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Contents

No. 185

Tuesday, October 2, 1711

Addison

... Tantæne Animis cœlestibus Iræ?

Virg.

InterestA Man who[1]

... Video meliora proboque,

Deteriora sequor ...

(Ov.)

therewhich[2]which[3]

hiswhich[4]andwhich[5]

Theywho[6]

andinto[7]

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 186

Wednesday, October 3, 1711

Addison

Cœlum ipsum petimus stultitiâ.

Hor.

'A Believer may be excused by the most hardened Atheist for endeavouring to make him a Convert, because he does it with an Eye to both their Interests. The Atheist is inexcusable who tries to gain over a Believer, because he does not propose the doing himself or the Believer any Good by such a Conversion.

The Prospect of a future State is the secret Comfort and Refreshment of my Soul; it is that which makes Nature look gay about me; it doubles all my Pleasures, and supports me under all my Afflictions. I can look at Disappointments and Misfortunes, Pain and Sickness, Death itself, and, what is worse than Death, the Loss of those who are dearest to me, with Indifference, so long as I keep in view the Pleasures of Eternity, and the State of Being in which there will be no Fears nor Apprehensions, Pains nor Sorrows, Sickness nor Separation. Why will any Man be so impertinently Officious as to tell me all this is only Fancy and Delusion? Is there any Merit in being the Messenger of ill News? If it is a Dream, let me enjoy it, since it makes me both the happier and better Man.

I must confess I do not know how to trust a Man who[1] believes neither Heaven nor Hell, or, in other Words, a future State of Rewards and Punishments. Not only natural Self-love, but Reason directs us to promote our own Interest above all Things. It can never be for the Interest of a Believer to do me a Mischief, because he is sure upon the Balance of Accompts to find himself a Loser by it. On the contrary, if he considers his own Welfare in his Behaviour towards me, it will lead him to do me all the Good he can, and at the same Time restrain him from doing me any Injury. An Unbeliever does not act like a reasonable Creature, if he favours me contrary to his present Interest, or does not distress me when it turns to his present Advantage. Honour and Good-nature may indeed tie up his Hands; but as these would be very much strengthened by Reason and Principle, so without them they are only Instincts, or wavering unsettled Notions, which[2] rest on no Foundation.

Infidelity has been attack'd with so good Success of late Years, that it is driven out of all its Out-works. The Atheist has not found his Post tenable, and is therefore retired into Deism, and a Disbelief of revealed Religion only. But the Truth of it is, the greatest Number of this Set of Men, are those who, for want of a virtuous Education, or examining the Grounds of Religion, know so very little of the Matter in Question, that their Infidelity is but another Term for their Ignorance.

As Folly and Inconsiderateness are the Foundations of Infidelity, the great Pillars and Supports of it are either a Vanity of appearing wiser than the rest of Mankind, or an Ostentation of Courage in despising the Terrors of another World, which have so great an Influence on what they call weaker Minds; or an Aversion to a Belief that must cut them off from many of those Pleasures they propose to themselves, and fill them with Remorse for many of those they have already tasted.

The great received Articles of the Christian Religion have been so clearly proved, from the Authority of that Divine Revelation in which they are delivered, that it is impossible for those who have Ears to hear, and Eyes to see, not to be convinced of them. But were it possible for any thing in the Christian Faith to be erroneous, I can find no ill Consequences in adhering to it. The great Points of the Incarnation and Sufferings of our Saviour produce naturally such Habits of Virtue in the Mind of Man, that I say, supposing it were possible for us to be mistaken in them, the Infidel himself must at least allow that no other System of Religion could so effectually contribute to the heightning of Morality. They give us great Ideas of the Dignity of human Nature, and of the Love which the Supreme Being bears to his Creatures, and consequently engage us in the highest Acts of Duty towards our Creator, our Neighbour, and our selves. How many noble Arguments has Saint Paul raised from the chief Articles of our Religion, for the advancing of Morality in its three great Branches? To give a single Example in each Kind: What can be a stronger Motive to a firm Trust and Reliance on the Mercies of our Maker, than the giving us his Son to suffer for us? What can make us love and esteem even the most inconsiderable of Mankind more than the Thought that Christ died for him? Or what dispose us to set a stricter Guard upon the Purity of our own Hearts, than our being Members of Christ, and a Part of the Society of which that immaculate Person is the Head? But these are only a Specimen of those admirable Enforcements of Morality, which the Apostle has drawn from the History of our blessed Saviour.

If our modern Infidels considered these Matters with that Candour and Seriousness which they deserve, we should not see them act with such a Spirit of Bitterness, Arrogance, and Malice: They would not be raising such insignificant Cavils, Doubts, and Scruples, as may be started against every thing that is not capable of mathematical Demonstration; in order to unsettle the Minds of the Ignorant, disturb the publick Peace, subvert Morality, and throw all things into Confusion and Disorder. If none of these Reflections can have any Influence on them, there is one that perhaps may, because it is adapted to their Vanity, by which they seem to be guided much more than their Reason. I would therefore have them consider, that the wisest and best of Men, in all Ages of the World, have been those who lived up to the Religion of their Country, when they saw nothing in it opposite to Morality, and to the best Lights they had of the Divine Nature. Pythagoras's first Rule directs us to worship the Gods as it is ordained by Law, for that is the most natural Interpretation of the Precept[3]. Socrates, who was the most renowned among the Heathens both for Wisdom and Virtue, in his last Moments desires his Friends to offer a Cock to Æsculapius[4]; doubtless out of a submissive Deference to the established Worship of his Country. Xenophon tells us, that his Prince (whom he sets forth as a Pattern of Perfection), when he found his Death approaching, offered Sacrifices on the Mountains to the Persian Jupiter, and the Sun, according to the Custom of the Persians; for those are the Words of the Historian[5]. Nay, the Epicureans and Atomical Philosophers shewed a very remarkable Modesty in this Particular; for though the Being of a God was entirely repugnant to their Schemes of natural Philosophy, they contented themselves with the Denial of a Providence, asserting at the same Time the Existence of Gods in general; because they would not shock the common Belief of Mankind, and the Religion of their Country.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:No. 112

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:Cyropædia

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Contents

No. 187

Thursday, October 4, 1711

Steele

... Miseri quibus

Intentata nites ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator, 'I do not know that you have ever touched upon a certain species of Women, whom we ordinarily call Jilts. You cannot possibly go upon a more useful Work, than the Consideration of these dangerous Animals. The Coquet is indeed one Degree towards the Jilt; but the Heart of the former is bent upon admiring her self, and giving false Hopes to her Lovers; but the latter is not contented to be extreamly amiable, but she must add to that Advantage a certain Delight in being a Torment to others. Thus when her Lover is in the full Expectation of Success, the Jilt shall meet him with a sudden Indifference, and Admiration in her Face at his being surprised that he is received like a Stranger, and a Cast of her Head another Way with a pleasant Scorn of the Fellow's Insolence. It is very probable the Lover goes home utterly astonished and dejected, sits down to his Scrutore, sends her word in the most abject Terms, That he knows not what he has done; that all which was desirable in this Life is so suddenly vanished from him, that the Charmer of his Soul should withdraw the vital Heat from the Heart which pants for her. He continues a mournful Absence for some time, pining in Secret, and out of Humour with all things which he meets with. At length he takes a Resolution to try his Fate, and explain with her resolutely upon her unaccountable Carriage. He walks up to her Apartment, with a thousand Inquietudes and Doubts in what Manner he shall meet the first Cast of her Eye; when upon his first Appearance she flies towards him, wonders where he has been, accuses him of his Absence, and treats him with a Familiarity as surprising as her former Coldness. This good Correspondence continues till the Lady observes the Lover grows happy in it, and then she interrupts it with some new Inconsistency of Behaviour. For (as I just now said) the Happiness of a Jilt consists only in the Power of making others uneasy. But such is the Folly of this Sect of Women, that they carry on this pretty skittish Behaviour, till they have no charms left to render it supportable. Corinna, that used to torment all who conversed with her with false Glances, and little heedless unguarded Motions, that were to betray some Inclination towards the Man she would ensnare, finds at present all she attempts that way unregarded; and is obliged to indulge the Jilt in her Constitution, by laying Artificial Plots, writing perplexing Letters from unknown Hands, and making all the young Fellows in Love with her, till they find out who she is. Thus as before she gave Torment by disguising her Inclination, she is now obliged to do it by hiding her Person.

As for my own Part, Mr, Spectator, it has been my unhappy Fate to be jilted from my Youth upward; and as my Taste has been very much towards Intreague, and having Intelligence with Women of Wit, my whole Life has passed away in a Series of Impositions. I shall, for the Benefit of the present Race of young Men, give some Account of my Loves. I know not whether you have ever heard of the famous Girl about Town called Kitty: This Creature (for I must take Shame upon my self) was my Mistress in the Days when Keeping was in Fashion. Kitty, under the Appearance of being Wild, Thoughtless, and Irregular in all her Words and Actions, concealed the most accomplished Jilt of her Time. Her Negligence had to me a Charm in it like that of Chastity, and Want of Desires seemed as great a Merit as the Conquest of them. The Air she gave herself was that of a Romping Girl, and whenever I talked to her with any Turn of Fondness, she would immediately snatch off my Perriwig, try it upon herself in the Glass, clap her Arms a Kimbow, draw my Sword, and make Passes on the Wall, take off my Cravat, and seize it to make some other Use of the Lace, or run into some other unaccountable Rompishness, till the Time I had appointed to pass away with her was over. I went from her full of Pleasure at the Reflection that I had the keeping of so much Beauty in a Woman, who, as she was too heedless to please me, was also too inattentive to form a Design to wrong me. Long did I divert every Hour that hung heavy upon me in the Company of this Creature, whom I looked upon as neither Guilty or Innocent, but could laugh at my self for my unaccountable Pleasure in an Expence upon her, till in the End it appeared my pretty Insensible was with Child by my Footman.

This Accident roused me into a Disdain against all Libertine Women, under what Appearance soever they hid their Insincerity, and I resolved after that Time to converse with none but those who lived within the Rules of Decency and Honour. To this End I formed my self into a more regular Turn of Behaviour, and began to make Visits, frequent Assemblies, and lead out Ladies from the Theatres, with all the other insignificant Duties which the professed Servants of the Fair place themselves in constant Readiness to perform. In a very little time, (having a plentiful Fortune) Fathers and Mothers began to regard me as a good Match, and I found easie Admittance into the best Families in Town to observe their daughters; but I, who was born to follow the Fair to no Purpose, have by the Force of my ill Stars made my Application to three Jilts successively.

Hyæna is one of those who form themselves into a melancholy and indolent Air, and endeavour to gain Admirers from their Inattention to all around them. Hyaena can loll in her Coach, with something so fixed in her Countenance, that it is impossible to conceive her Meditation is employed only on her Dress and her Charms in that Posture. If it were not too coarse a Simile, I should say, Hyaena, in the Figure she affects to appear in, is a Spider in the midst of a Cobweb, that is sure to destroy every Fly that approaches it. The Net Hyaena throws is so fine, that you are taken in it before you can observe any Part of her Work. I attempted her for a long and weary Season, but I found her Passion went no farther than to be admired; and she is of that unreasonable Temper, as not to value the Inconstancy of her Lovers provided she can boast she once had their Addresses. Biblis was the second I aimed at, and her Vanity lay in purchasing the Adorers of others, and not in rejoicing in their Love it self. Biblis is no Man's Mistress, but every Woman's Rival. As soon as I found this, I fell in Love with Chloe, who is my present Pleasure and Torment. I have writ to her, danced with her, and fought for her, and have been her Man in the Sight and Expectation of the whole Town these[1] three Years, and thought my self near the End of my Wishes; when the other Day she called me into her Closet, and told me, with a very grave Face, that she was a Woman of Honour, and scorned to deceive a Man who loved her with so much Sincerity as she saw I did, and therefore she must inform me that she was by Nature the most inconstant Creature breathing, and begg'd of me not to marry her; If I insisted upon it, I should; but that she was lately fallen in Love with another. What to do or say I know not, but desire you to inform me, and you will infinitely oblige,

Sir, Your most humble Servant,

Charles Yellow.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

original advertisement

Mr. Sly, Haberdasher of Hats,

at the Corner of Devereux-Court in the Strand,

gives notice,

That he has prepared very neat Hats, Rubbers, and Brushes

for the Use of young Tradesmen in their last Year of Apprenticeship,

at reasonable Rates[1].

Footnote 1:

"Last night died of a mortification in his leg, after a long time enduring the same, John Sly, the late famous haberdasher, so often mentioned in the Spectator."

Evening Post

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No. 188

Friday, October 5, 1711

Steele

Lœtus sum Laudari à te Laudato viro.

Tull.

Presents[1]The[2]

The[3]

Madam, "I should be insensible to a Stupidity, if I could forbear making you my Acknowledgments for your late mention of me with so much Applause. It is, I think, your Fate to give me new Sentiments; as you formerly inspired me with the true Sense of Love, so do you now with the true Sense of Glory. As Desire had the least Part in the Passion I heretofore professed towards you, so has Vanity no Share in the Glory to which you have now raised me. Innocence, Knowledge, Beauty, Virtue, Sincerity, and Discretion, are the constant Ornaments of her who has said this of me. Fame is a Babbler, but I have arrived at the highest Glory in this World, the Commendation of the most deserving Person in it."

Footnote 1:Sat

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Footnote 2:Life of Lycurgus

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Footnote 3:Life of Phocion

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Contents

No. 189

Saturday, October 6, 1711

Addison

... Patriæ pietatis imago.

Virg.

Mr. Buckley,

"Mr. Spectator having of late descanted upon the Cruelty of Parents to their Children, I have been induced (at the Request of several of Mr. Spectator's Admirers) to inclose this Letter, which I assure you is the Original from a Father to his own Son, notwithstanding the latter gave but little or no Provocation. It would be wonderfully obliging to the World, if Mr. Spectator would give his Opinion of it, in some of his Speculations, and particularly to"

(Mr. Buckley)

Your Humble Servant.

Sirrah,

"You are a sawcy audacious Rascal, and both Fool and Mad, and I care not a Farthing whether you comply or no; that does not raze out my Impressions of your Insolence, going about Railing at me, and the next Day to sollicit my Favour: These are Inconsistencies, such as discover thy Reason depraved. To be brief, I never desire to see your Face; and, Sirrah, if you go to the Work-house, it is no Disgrace to me for you to be supported there; and if you Starve in the Streets, I'll never give any thing underhand in your Behalf. If I have any more of your scribling Nonsense I'll break your Head the first Time I set Sight on you. You are a stubborn Beast; is this your Gratitude for my giving you Mony? You Rogue, I'll better your Judgment, and give you a greater Sense of your Duty to (I regret to say)

your Father, &c."

"P.S. It's Prudence for you to keep out of my Sight; for to reproach me, that Might overcomes Right, on the Outside of your Letter, I shall give you a great Knock on the Skull for it."

IfEnglishSampson[1]Love for Love

sawcy and audacious RascalTo go about railingthe Outside of his Letterthat Might overcomes Righthis Reason to be depravedthat he is either Fool or Madbetter his Judgment, and give him a greater Sense of his Dutybreaking his Headgiving him a great Knock on the SkullasVirgil

... Crudelis tu quoque mater:

Crudelis mater magis an puer Improbus ille?

Improbus ille puer, crudelis tu quoque mater[2].

Greek

It[4]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Ecl

return

Footnote 3:

Footnote 4:Present State of China

return

Contents

No. 190

Monday, October 8, 1711

Steele

Servitus crescit nova ...

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'As your Speculations are not confined to any Part of Humane Life, but concern the Wicked as well as the Good, I must desire your favourable Acceptance of what I, a poor stroling Girl about Town, have to say to you. I was told by a Roman Catholic Gentleman who picked me up last Week, and who, I hope, is absolved for what passed between us; I say I was told by such a Person, who endeavoured to convert me to his own Religion, that in Countries where Popery prevails, besides the Advantage of licensed Stews, there are large Endowments given for the Incurabili, I think he called them, such as are past all Remedy, and are allowed such Maintenance and Support as to keep them without further Care till they expire. This manner of treating poor Sinners has, methinks, great Humanity in it; and as you are a Person who pretend to carry your Reflections upon all Subjects, whatever occur to you, with Candour, and act above the Sense of what Misinterpretation you may meet with, I beg the Favour of you to lay before all the World the unhappy Condition of us poor Vagrants, who are really in a Way of Labour instead of Idleness. There are Crowds of us whose Manner of Livelihood has long ceased to be pleasing to us; and who would willingly lead a new Life, if the Rigour of the Virtuous did not for ever expel us from coming into the World again. As it now happens, to the eternal Infamy of the Male Sex, Falshood among you is not reproachful, but Credulity in Women is infamous.

Give me Leave, Sir, to give you my History. You are to know that I am a Daughter of a Man of a good Reputation, Tenant to a Man of Quality. The Heir of this great House took it in his Head to cast a favourable Eye upon me, and succeeded. I do not pretend to say he promised me Marriage: I was not a Creature silly enough to be taken by so foolish a Story: But he ran away with me up to this Town; and introduced me to a grave Matron, with whom I boarded for a Day or two with great Gravity, and was not a little pleased with the Change of my Condition, from that of a Country Life to the finest Company, as I believed, in the whole World. My humble Servant made me to understand that I should be always kept in the plentiful Condition I then enjoyed; when after a very great Fondness towards me, he one Day took his Leave of me for four or five Days. In the Evening of the same Day my good Landlady came to me, and observing me very pensive began to comfort me, and with a Smile told me I must see the World. When I was deaf to all she could say to divert me, she began to tell me with a very frank Air that I must be treated as I ought, and not take these squeamish Humours upon me, for my Friend had left me to the Town; and, as their Phrase is, she expected I would see Company, or I must be treated like what I had brought my self to. This put me into a Fit of Crying: And I immediately, in a true Sense of my Condition, threw myself on the Floor, deploring my Fate, calling upon all that was good and sacred to succour me. While I was in all my Agony, I observed a decrepid old Fellow come into the Room, and looking with a Sense of Pleasure in his Face at all my Vehemence and Transport. In a Pause of my Distress I heard him say to the shameless old Woman who stood by me, She is certainly a new Face, or else she acts it rarely. With that the Gentlewoman, who was making her Market of me, in all the Turn of my Person, the Heaves of my Passion, and the suitable Changes of my Posture, took Occasion to commend my Neck, my Shape, my Eyes, my Limbs. All this was accompanied with such Speeches as you may have heard Horse-coursers make in the Sale of Nags, when they are warranted for their Soundness. You understand by this Time that I was left in a Brothel, and exposed to the next Bidder that could purchase me of my Patroness. This is so much the Work of Hell; the Pleasure in the Possession of us Wenches, abates in proportion to the Degrees we go beyond the Bounds of Innocence; and no Man is gratified, if there is nothing left for him to debauch. Well, Sir, my first Man, when I came upon the Town, was Sir Jeoffry Foible, who was extremely lavish to me of his Money, and took such a Fancy to me that he would have carried me off, if my Patroness would have taken any reasonable Terms for me: But as he was old, his Covetousness was his strongest Passion, and poor I was soon left exposed to be the common Refuse of all the Rakes and Debauchees in Town. I cannot tell whether you will do me Justice or no, till I see whether you print this or not; otherwise, as I now live with Sal, I could give you a very just Account of who and who is together in this Town. You perhaps won't believe it; but I know of one who pretends to be a very good Protestant who lies with a Roman-Catholick: But more of this hereafter, as you please me. There do come to our House the greatest Politicians of the Age; and Sal is more shrewd than any Body thinks: No Body can believe that such wise Men could go to Bawdy-houses out of idle Purposes; I have heard them often talk of Augustus Cæsar, who had Intrigues with the Wives of Senators, not out of Wantonness but Stratagem.

it is a thousand Pities you should be so severely virtuous as I fear you are; otherwise, after a Visit or two, you would soon understand that we Women of the Town are not such useless Correspondents as you may imagine: You have undoubtedly heard that it was a Courtesan who discovered Cataline's Conspiracy. If you print this I'll tell you more; and am in the mean time, Sir.

Your most humble Servant, Rebecca Nettletop.

Mr. Spectator, 'I am an idle young Woman that would work for my Livelihood, but that I am kept in such a Manner as I cannot stir out. My Tyrant is an old jealous Fellow, who allows me nothing to appear in. I have but one Shooe and one Slipper; no Head-dress, and no upper Petticoat. As you set up for a Reformer, I desire you would take me out of this wicked Way, and keep me your self.

Eve Afterday.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am to complain to you of a Set of impertinent Coxcombs, who visit the Apartments of us Women of the Town, only, as they call it, to see the World. I must confess to you, this to Men of Delicacy might have an Effect to cure them; but as they are stupid, noisy and drunken Fellows, it tends only to make Vice in themselves, as they think, pleasant and humourous, and at the same Time nauseous in us. I shall, Sir, hereafter from Time to Time give you the Names of these Wretches who pretend to enter our Houses meerly as Spectators. These Men think it Wit to use us ill: Pray tell them, however worthy we are of such Treatment, it is unworthy them to be guilty of it towards us. Pray, Sir, take Notice of this, and pity the Oppressed: I wish we could add to it, the Innocent.

Contents

No. 191

Tuesday, October 9, 1711

Addison

I[1]on666[2]

This is to give notice, That Ten Shillings over and above the Market-Price, will be given for the Ticket in the £1 500 000 Lottery, No. 132, by Nath. Cliff at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am the Person that lately advertised I would give ten Shillings more than the current Price for the Ticket No. 132 in the Lottery now drawing; which is a Secret I have communicated to some Friends, who rally me incessantly upon that Account. You must know I have but one Ticket, for which Reason, and a certain Dream I have lately had more than once, I was resolved it should be the Number I most approved. I am so positive I have pitched upon the great Lot, that I could almost lay all I am worth of it. My Visions are so frequent and strong upon this Occasion, that I have not only possessed the Lot, but disposed of the Money which in all probability it will sell for. This Morning, in particular, I set up an Equipage which I look upon to be the gayest in the Town. The Liveries are very Rich, but not Gaudy. I should be very glad to see a Speculation or two upon lottery Subjects, in which you would oblige all People concerned, and in particular

'Your most humble Servant,

'George Gossling.

'P.S. Dear Spec, if I get the 12 000 Pound, I'll make thee a handsome Present.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 192

Wednesday, October 10, 1711

Steele

... Uni ore omnes omnia

Bona dicere, et Laudare fortunas meas,

Qui Gnatum haberem tali ingenio prœditum.

Ter.

Datein[1]

Languagehis[2]

Dear Sir,

'I know no Part of Life more impertinent than the Office of administring Consolation: I will not enter into it, for I cannot but applaud your Grief. The virtuous Principles you had from that excellent Man whom you have lost, have wrought in you as they ought, to make a Youth of Three and Twenty incapable of Comfort upon coming into Possession of a great Fortune. I doubt not but that you will honour his Memory by a modest Enjoyment of his Estate; and scorn to triumph over his Grave, by employing in Riot, Excess, and Debauchery, what he purchased with so much Industry, Prudence, and Wisdom. This is the true Way to shew the Sense you have of your Loss, and to take away the Distress of others upon the Occasion. You cannot recal your Father by your Grief, but you may revive him to his Friends by your Conduct.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 193

Thursday, October 11, 1711

Steele

... Ingentem foribus domus alta superbis

Mane salutantum totis vomit œdibus undam.

Virg.

Moorfields

CowServant[1][2]

CivilI will not say;have[3]

ManBounteous[4]is[5]

The[6]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Contents

No. 194

Friday, October 12, 1711

Steele

... Difficili Bile Tumet Jecur.

Hor.

Corinna

Mr. Spectator,

I have read your Papers which relate to Jealousy, and desire your Advice in my Case, which you will say is not common. I have a Wife, of whose Virtue I am not in the least doubtful; yet I cannot be satisfied she loves me, which gives me as great Uneasiness as being faulty the other Way would do. I know not whether I am not yet more miserable than in that Case, for she keeps Possession of my Heart, without the Return of hers. I would desire your Observations upon that Temper in some Women, who will not condescend to convince their Husbands of their Innocence or their Love, but are wholly negligent of what Reflections the poor Men make upon their Conduct (so they cannot call it Criminal,) when at the same time a little Tenderness of Behaviour, or Regard to shew an Inclination to please them, would make them Entirely at Ease. Do not such Women deserve all the Misinterpretation which they neglect to avoid? Or are they not in the actual Practice of Guilt, who care not whether they are thought guilty or not? If my Wife does the most ordinary thing, as visiting her Sister, or taking the Air with her Mother, it is always carried with the Air of a Secret: Then she will sometimes tell a thing of no Consequence, as if it was only Want of Memory made her conceal it before; and this only to dally with my Anxiety. I have complained to her of this Behaviour in the gentlest Terms imaginable, and beseeched her not to use him, who desired only to live with her like an indulgent Friend, as the most morose and unsociable Husband in the World. It is no easy Matter to describe our Circumstance, but it is miserable with this Aggravation, That it might be easily mended, and yet no Remedy endeavoured. She reads you, and there is a Phrase or two in this Letter which she will know came from me. If we enter into an Explanation which may tend to our future Quiet by your Means, you shall have our joint Thanks: In the mean time I am (as much as I can in this ambiguous Condition be any thing) Sir,

Your humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

'Give me Leave to make you a Present of a Character not yet described in your Papers, which is that of a Man who treats his Friend with the same odd Variety which a Fantastical Female Tyrant practises towards her Lover. I have for some time had a Friendship with one of these Mercurial Persons: The Rogue I know loves me, yet takes Advantage of my Fondness for him to use me as he pleases. We are by Turns the best Friends and the greatest Strangers imaginable; Sometimes you would think us inseparable; at other Times he avoids me for a long Time, yet neither he nor I know why. When we meet next by Chance, he is amazed he has not seen me, is impatient for an Appointment the same Evening: and when I expect he should have kept it, I have known him slip away to another Place; where he has sat reading the News, when there is no Post; smoaking his Pipe, which he seldom cares for; and staring about him in Company with whom he has had nothing to do, as if he wondered how he came there.

That I may state my Case to you the more fully, I shall transcribe some short Minutes I have taken of him in my Almanack since last Spring; for you must know there are certain Seasons of the Year, according to which, I will not say our Friendship, but the Enjoyment of it rises or falls. In March and April he was as various as the Weather; In May and part of June I found him the sprightliest best-humoured Fellow in the World; In the Dog-Days he was much upon the Indolent; In September very agreeable but very busy; and since the Glass fell last to changeable, he has made three Appointments with me, and broke them every one. However I have good Hopes of him this Winter, especially if you will lend me your Assistance to reform him, which will be a great Ease and Pleasure to,

Sir, Your most humble Servant. October 9, 1711.

Contents

No. 195

Saturday, October 13, 1711

Addison

ThereArabian Nights Tales[1]rightly preparedmy Hundred and Fifteenth Paper

It[2]

tillat[3]Were[4]It[5]

insomuchSure and certain Methods[6]

Footnote 1:The History of the Greek King and Douban the Physicianthe Fisherman.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Lives of the Philosophers,

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Essay upon Health and Long Life of Government of Diet and Exercise,

'In both which, all excess is to be avoided, especially in the common use of wine: Whereof the first Glass may pass for Health, the second for good Humour, the third for our Friends; but the fourth is for our Enemies.'

return

Footnote 5:Life of SocratesVar. Hist.

return

Footnote 6:

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Contents

No. 196

Monday, October 15, 1711

Steele

Est Ulubris, animus si te non deficit œquus.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'There is a particular Fault which I have observed in most of the Moralists in all Ages, and that is, that they are always professing themselves, and teaching others to be happy. This State is not to be arrived at in this Life, therefore I would recommend to you to talk in an humbler Strain than your Predecessors have done, and instead of presuming to be happy, instruct us only to be easy. The Thoughts of him who would be discreet, and aim at practicable things, should turn upon allaying our Pain rather than promoting our Joy. Great Inquietude is to be avoided, but great Felicity is not to be attained. The great Lesson is Æquanimity, a Regularity of Spirit, which is a little above Chearfulness and below Mirth. Chearfulness is always to be supported if a Man is out of Pain, but Mirth to a prudent Man should always be accidental: It should naturally arise out of the Occasion, and the Occasion seldom be laid for it; for those Tempers who want Mirth to be pleased, are like the Constitutions which flag without the use of Brandy. Therefore, I say, let your Precept be, Be easy. That Mind is dissolute and ungoverned, which must be hurried out of it self by loud Laughter or sensual Pleasure, or else be[1] wholly unactive.

There are a Couple of old Fellows of my Acquaintance who meet every Day and smoak a Pipe, and by their mutual Love to each other, tho' they have been Men of Business and Bustle in the World, enjoy a greater Tranquility than either could have worked himself into by any Chapter of Seneca. Indolence of Body and Mind, when we aim at no more, is very frequently enjoyed; but the very Enquiry after Happiness has something restless in it, which a Man who lives in a Series of temperate Meals, friendly Conversations, and easy Slumbers, gives himself no Trouble about. While Men of Refinement are talking of Tranquility, he possesses it.

What I would by these broken Expressions recommend to you, Mr. Spectator, is, that you would speak of the Way of Life, which plain Men may pursue, to fill up the Spaces of Time with Satisfaction. It is a lamentable Circumstance, that Wisdom, or, as you call it, Philosophy, should furnish Ideas only for the Learned; and that a Man must be a Philosopher to know how to pass away his Time agreeably. It would therefore be worth your Pains to place in an handsome Light the Relations and Affinities among Men, which render their Conversation with each other so grateful, that the highest Talents give but an impotent Pleasure in Comparison with them. You may find Descriptions and Discourses which will render the Fire-side of an honest Artificer as entertaining as your own Club is to you. Good-nature has an endless Source of Pleasure in it; and the Representation of domestick Life, filled with its natural Gratifications, (instead of the necessary Vexations which are generally insisted upon in the Writings of the Witty) will be a very good Office to Society.

The Vicissitudes of Labour and Rest in the lower Part of Mankind, make their Being pass away with that Sort of Relish which we express by the Word Comfort; and should be treated of by you, who are a Spectator, as well as such Subjects which appear indeed more speculative, but are less instructive. In a word, Sir, I would have you turn your Thoughts to the Advantage of such as want you most; and shew that Simplicity, Innocence, Industry and Temperance, are Arts which lead to Tranquility, as much as Learning, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Contemplation.

I am, Sir,

Your most Humble Servant,

'T. B.'

Hackney, October 12.[2]

Mr. Spectator,

'I am the young Woman whom you did so much Justice to some time ago, in acknowledging that I am perfect Mistress of the Fan, and use it with the utmost Knowledge and Dexterity. Indeed the World, as malicious as it is, will allow, that from an Hurry of Laughter I recollect my self the most suddenly, make a Curtesie, and let fall my Hands before me, closing my Fan at the same instant, the best of any Woman in England. I am not a little delighted that I have had your Notice and Approbation; and however other young Women may rally me out of Envy, I triumph in it, and demand a Place in your Friendship. You must therefore permit me to lay before you the present State of my Mind. I was reading your Spectator of the 9th Instant, and thought the Circumstance of the Ass divided between two Bundles of Hay which equally affected his Senses, was a lively Representation of my present Condition: For you are to now that I am extremely enamoured with two young Gentlemen who at this time pretend to me. One must hide nothing when one is asking Advice, therefore I will own to you, that I am very amorous and very covetous. My Lover Will is very rich, and my Lover Tom very handsome. I can have either of them when I please; but when I debate the Question in my own Mind, I cannot take Tom for fear of losing Will's Estate, nor enter upon Will's Estate, and bid adieu to Tom's Person. I am very young, and yet no one in the World, dear Sir, has the main Chance more in her Head than myself. Tom is the gayest, the blithest Creature! He dances well, is very civil, and diverting at all Hours and Seasons. Oh, he is the Joy of my Eyes! But then again Will is so very rich and careful of the Main. How many pretty Dresses does Tom appear in to charm me! But then it immediately occurs to me, that a Man of his Circumstances is so much the poorer. Upon the whole I have at last examined both these Desires of Loves and Avarice, and upon strictly weighing the Matter I begin to think I shall be covetous longer than fond; therefore if you have nothing to say to the contrary, I shall take Will. Alas, poor Tom!

Your Humble Servant,

Biddy Loveless.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 197

Tuesday, October 16, 1711

Budgell

Alter rixatur de lanâ sæpe caprinâ,

Propugnat nugis armatus: scilicet, ut non

Sit mihi prima fides; et vere quod placet, ut non

Acriter elatrem, pretium ætas altera sordet.

Ambigitur quid enim? Castor sciat an Docilis plus,

Brundusium Numici melius via ducat an Appî.

Hor.

Captain SentryHe has known but few Pleaders that were tolerable Company

soHudibras, could still change Sides, and still confute[1]

TempleDunkirk

British

Temperis[2]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 198

Wednesday, October 17, 1711

Addison

Cervæ luporum præda rapacium

Sectamur ultro, quos opimus

Fallere et effugere est triumphus.

Hor.

Frenchpreserv'dOrdealLikeEmma[1]

TemptationsOpportunitiesIChamontOrphan[2]

Trust not a Man, we are by Nature False,

Dissembling, Subtle, Cruel, and Unconstant:

When a Man talks of Love, with Caution trust him:

But if he Swears, he'll certainly deceive thee.

ISpanish[3]

CastileInwhich[4]CastilianNaplesAlgerineCastilianCastilianSpain

FrenchCastiliantoduring[5]AlgerinesCastilianCastileAlgerine MasterCastlianCastilianAlgiersCastilianCastilianAlgiersCastilianAlgerine

Footnote 1:Bayle's DictionarySpectatorBayle's Dictionary

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 199

Thursday, October 18, 1711

Steele

Scribere jussit amor.

Ovid.

Mr. Spectator,

'Tho' you are every where in your Writings a Friend to Women, I do not remember that you have directly considered the mercenary Practice of Men in the Choice of Wives. If you would please to employ your Thoughts upon that Subject, you would easily conceive the miserable Condition many of us are in, who not only from the Laws of Custom and Modesty are restrained from making any Advances towards our Wishes, but are also, from the Circumstance of Fortune, out of all Hope of being addressed to by those whom we love. Under all these Disadvantages I am obliged to apply my self to you, and hope I shall prevail with you to Print in your very next Paper the following Letter, which is a Declaration of Passion to one who has made some feint Addresses to me for some time. I believe he ardently loves me, but the Inequality of my Fortune makes him think he cannot answer it to the World, if he pursues his Designs by way of Marriage; and I believe, as he does not want Discerning, he discovered me looking at him the other Day unawares in such a Manner as has raised his Hopes of gaining me on Terms the Men call easier. But my Heart was very full on this Occasion, and if you know what Love and Honour are, you will pardon me that I use no further Arguments with you, but hasten to my Letter to him, whom I call Oroondates[1], because if I do not succeed it shall look like Romance; and if I am regarded, you shall receive a pair of Gloves at my Wedding, sent you under the Name of

Statira.

To Oroondates.

Sir,

'After very much Perplexity in my self, and revolving how to acquaint you with my own Sentiments, and expostulate with you concerning yours, I have chosen this Way, by which means I can be at once revealed to you, or, if you please, lie concealed. If I do not within few Days find the Effect which I hope from this, the whole Affair shall be buried in Oblivion. But, alas! what am I going to do, when I am about to tell you that I love you? But after I have done so, I am to assure you, that with all the Passion which ever entered a tender Heart, I know I can banish you from my Sight for ever, when I am convinced that you have no Inclinations towards me but to my Dishonour. But, alas! Sir, why should you sacrifice the real and essential Happiness of Life, to the Opinion of a World, that moves upon no other Foundation but profess'd Error and Prejudice? You all can observe that Riches alone do not make you happy, and yet give up every Thing else when it stands in Competition with Riches. Since the World is so bad, that Religion is left to us silly Women, and you Men act generally upon Principles of Profit and Pleasure, I will talk to you without arguing from any Thing but what may be most to your Advantage, as a Man of the World. And I will lay before you the State of the Case, supposing that you had it in your Power to make me your Mistress, or your Wife, and hope to convince you that the latter is more for your Interest, and will contribute more to your Pleasure. 'We will suppose then the Scene was laid, and you were now in Expectation of the approaching Evening wherein I was to meet you, and be carried to what convenient Corner of the Town you thought fit, to consummate all which your wanton Imagination has promised you in the Possession of one who is in the Bloom of Youth, and in the Reputation of Innocence: you would soon have enough of me, as I am Sprightly, Young, Gay, and Airy. When Fancy is sated, and finds all the Promises it made[2] it self false, where is now the Innocence which charmed you? The first Hour you are alone you will find that the Pleasure of a Debauchee is only that of a Destroyer; He blasts all the Fruit he tastes, and where the Brute has been devouring, there is nothing left worthy the Relish of the Man. Reason resumes her Place after Imagination is cloyed; and I am, with the utmost Distress and Confusion, to behold my self the Cause of uneasie Reflections to you, to be visited by Stealth, and dwell for the future with the two Companions (the most unfit for each other in the World) Solitude and Guilt. I will not insist upon the shameful Obscurity we should pass our Time in, nor run over the little short Snatches of fresh Air and free Commerce which all People must be satisfied with, whose Actions will not bear Examination, but leave them to your Reflections, who have seen of that Life of which I have but a meer Idea.

On the other hand, If you can be so good and generous as to make me your Wife, you may promise your self all the Obedience and Tenderness with which Gratitude can inspire a virtuous Woman. Whatever Gratifications you may promise your self from an agreeable Person, whatever Compliances from an easie Temper, whatever Consolations from a sincere Friendship, you may expect as the Due of your Generosity. What at present in your ill View you promise your self from me, will be followed by Distaste and Satiety; but the Transports of a virtuous Love are the least Part of its Happiness. The Raptures of innocent Passion are but like Lightning to the Day, they rather interrupt than advance the Pleasure of it. How happy then is that Life to be, where the highest Pleasures of Sense are but the lower Parts of its Felicity?

Now am I to repeat to you the unnatural Request of taking me in direct Terms. I know there stands between me and that Happiness, the haughty Daughter of a Man who can give you suitably to your Fortune. But if you weigh the Attendance and Behaviour of her who comes to you in Partnership of your Fortune, and expects an Equivalent, with that of her who enters your House as honoured and obliged by that Permission, whom of the two will you chuse? You, perhaps, will think fit to spend a Day abroad in the common Entertainments of Men of Sense and Fortune; she will think herself ill-used in that Absence, and contrive at Home an Expence proportioned to the Appearance which you make in the World. She is in all things to have a Regard to the Fortune which she brought you, I to the Fortune to which you introduced me. The Commerce between you two will eternally have the Air of a Bargain, between us of a Friendship: Joy will ever enter into the Room with you, and kind Wishes attend my Benefactor when he leaves it. Ask your self, how would you be pleased to enjoy for ever the Pleasure of having laid an immediate Obligation on a grateful Mind? such will be your Case with Me. In the other Marriage you will live in a constant Comparison of Benefits, and never know the Happiness of conferring or receiving any.

It may be you will, after all, act rather in the prudential Way, according to the Sense of the ordinary World. I know not what I think or say, when that melancholy Reflection comes upon me; but shall only add more, that it is in your Power to make me

your Grateful Wife,

but never your Abandoned Mistress.

Footnote 1:Grand Cyrus.

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 200

Friday, October 19, 1711

Steele[1]

Vincit Amor Patriæ.

Virg.

AsPhilarithmus[2]LewisPhilarithmusLewis

Great Britain

viz.

BritonsBritish

Great Britain

ThatHesiodIW. PettyScotlandIrelandGreat Britain[4]

LewisPhilarithmusLewis

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:No. 180

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Essays in Political Arithmetic

return

Contents

No. 201

Saturday, October 20, 1711

Addison

Religentem esse oportet, Religiosum nefas.

Incerti Autoris apud Aul. Gell.

towhich[1]

Aulus GelliusReligentem esse oportet, Religiosum nefasForNigidiusLatinosus[2]

EnglandRoman

Romanthowhich[3]GothicVandalhas

Peter's

thewhich[4]

English

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Noct. Att.

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Contents

No. 202

Monday, October 22, 1711

Steele

Sæpe decem vitiis instructior odit et horret.

Hor.

hisCut-Periwig[1]Tacitus

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Servant to an old Lady who is governed by one she calls her Friend; who is so familiar an one, that she takes upon her to advise her without being called to it, and makes her uneasie with all about her. Pray, Sir, be pleased to give us some Remarks upon voluntary Counsellors; and let these People know that to give any Body Advice, is to say to that Person, I am your Betters. Pray, Sir, as near as you can, describe that eternal Flirt and Disturber of Families, Mrs. Taperty, who is always visiting, and putting People in a Way, as they call it. If you can make her stay at home one Evening, you will be a general Benefactor to all the Ladies Women in Town, and particularly to

Your loving Friend,

Susan Civil.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Footman, and live with one of those Men, each of whom is said to be one of the best humoured Men in the World, but that he is passionate. Pray be pleased to inform them, that he who is passionate, and takes no Care to command his Hastiness, does more Injury to his Friends and Servants in one half Hour, than whole Years can attone for. This Master of mine, who is the best Man alive in common Fame, disobliges Some body every Day he lives; and strikes me for the next thing I do, because he is out of Humour at it. If these Gentlemen knew[2] that they do all the Mischief that is ever done in Conversation, they would reform; and I who have been a Spectator of Gentlemen at Dinner for many Years, have seen that Indiscretion does ten times more Mischief than Ill-nature. But you will represent this better than Your abused

Humble Servant,

Thomas Smoaky.

To the Spectator,

The humble Petition of John Steward, Robert Butler, Harry Cook, and Abigail Chambers, in Behalf of themselves and their Relations, belonging to and dispersed in the several Services of most of the great Families within the Cities of London and Westminster;

Sheweth,

That in many of the Families in which your Petitioners live and are employed, the several Heads of them are wholly unacquainted with what is Business, and are very little Judges when they are well or ill used by us your said Petitioners.

That for want of such Skill in their own Affairs, and by Indulgence of their own Laziness and Pride, they continually keep about them certain mischievous Animals called Spies.

That whenever a Spy is entertained, the Peace of that House is from that Moment banished.

That Spies never give an Account of good Services, but represent our Mirth and Freedom by the Words Wantonness and Disorder.

That in all Families where there are Spies, there is a general Jealousy and Misunderstanding.

That the Masters and Mistresses of such Houses live in continual Suspicion of their ingenuous and true Servants, and are given up to the Management of those who are false and perfidious.

That such Masters and Mistresses who entertain Spies, are no longer more than Cyphers in their own Families; and that we your Petitioners are with great Disdain obliged to pay all our Respect, and expect all our Maintenance from such Spies.

Your Petitioners therefore most humbly pray, that you would represent the Premises to all Persons of Condition; and your Petitioners, as in Duty bound, shall for ever Pray, &c.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

end of Volume 1.

The Spectator

in three volumes: volume 2

A New Edition

Reproducing the Original Text

Both as First Issued

and as Corrected by its Authors

with Introduction, Notes, and Index

edited by Henry Morley

1891

Table of Contents  /  [Volume 3 link: Index]

- Dedication of the Fourth Volume of The Spectator

- Dedication of the Fifth Volume of The Spectator

- Dedication of the Sixth Volume of The Spectator

- No. 203 – Tuesday, October 23, 1711 – Addison

- No. 204 – Wednesday, October 24, 1711 – Steele

- No. 205 – Thursday, October 25, 1711 – Addison

- No. 206 – Friday, October 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 207 – Saturday, October 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 208 – Monday, October 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 209 – Tuesday, October 30, 1711 – Addison

- No. 210 – Wednesday, October 31, 1711 – Hughes

- No. 211 – Thursday, November 1, 1711 – Addison

- No. 212 – Friday, November 2, 1711 – Steele

- No. 213 – Saturday, November 3, 1711 – Addison

- No. 214 – Monday, November 5, 1711 – Steele

- No. 215 – Tuesday, November 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 216 – Wednesday, November 7, 1711 – Steele

- No. 217 – Thursday, November 8, 1711 – Budgell

- No. 218 – Friday, November 9, 1711 – Steele

- No. 219 – Saturday, November 10, 1711 – Addison

- No. 220 – Monday, November 12, 1711 – Steele

- No. 221 – Tuesday, November 13, 1711 – Addison

- No. 222 – Wednesday, November 14, 1711 – Steele

- No. 223 – Thursday, November 15, 1711 – Addison

- No. 224 – Friday, November 16, 1711 – Hughes

- No. 225 – Saturday, November 17, 1711 – Addison

- No. 226 – Monday, November 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 227 – Tuesday, November 20, 1711 – Addison

- No. 228 – Wednesday, November 21, 1711 – Steele

- No. 229 – Thursday, November 22, 1711 – Addison

- No. 230 – Friday, November 23, 1711 – Steele

- No. 231 – Saturday, November 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 232 – Monday, November 26, 1711 – Hughes

- No. 233 – Tuesday, November 27, 1711 – Addison

- No. 234 – Wedneday, November 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 235 – Thursday, November 29, 1711 – Addison

- No. 236 – Friday, November 30, 1711 – Steele

- No. 237 – Saturday, December 1, 1711 – Addison

- No. 238 – Monday, December 3, 1711 – Steele

- No. 239 – Tuesday, December 4, 1711 – Addison

- No. 240 – Wednesday, December 5, 1711 – Steele

- No. 241 – Thursday, December 6, 1711 – Addison

- No. 242 – Friday, December 7, 1711 – Steele

- No. 243 – Saturday, December 8, 1711 – Addison

- No. 244 – Monday, December 10, 1711 – Steele

- No. 245 – Tuesday, December 11, 1711 – Addison

- No. 246 – Wednesday, December 12, 1711 – Steele

- No. 247 – Thursday, December 13, 1711 – Addison

- No. 248 – Friday, December 14, 1711 – Steele

- No. 249 – Saturday, December 15, 1711 – Addison

- No. 250 – Monday, December 17, 1711 –

- No. 251 – Tuesday, December 18, 1711 – Addison

- No. 252 – Wedneday, December 19, 1711 – Steele

- No. 253 – Thursday, December 20, 1711 – Addison

- No. 254 – Friday, December 21, 1711 – Steele

- No. 255 – Saturday, December 22, 1711 – Addison

- No. 256 – Monday, December 24, 1711 – Addison

- No. 257 – Tuesday, December 25, 1711 – Addison

- No. 258 – Wednesday, December 26, 1711 – Steele

- No. 259 – Thursday, December 27, 1711 – Steele

- No. 260 – Friday, December 28, 1711 – Steele

- No. 261 – Saturday, December 29, 1711 – Addison

- No. 262 – Monday, December 31, 1711 – Steele

- No. 263 – Tuesday, January 1, 1712 – Steele

- No. 264 – Wednesday, January 2, 1712 – Steele

- No. 265 – Thursday, January 3, 1712 – Addison

- No. 266 – Friday, January 4, 1712 – Steele

- No. 267 – Saturday, January 5, 1712 – Addison

- No. 268 – Monday, January 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 269 – Tuesday, January 8, 1712 – Addison

- No. 270 – Wednesday, January 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 271 – Thursday, January 10, 1712 – Addison

- No. 272 – Friday, January 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 273 – Saturday, January 12, 1712 – Addison

- No. 274 – Monday, January 14, 1712 – Steele

- No. 275 – Tuesday, January 15, 1712 – Addison

- No. 276 – Wednesday, January 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 277 – Thursday, January 17, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 278 – Friday, January 18, 1712 – Steele

- No. 279 – Saturday, January 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 280 – Monday, January 21, 1712 – Steele

- No. 281 – Tuesday, January 22, 1712 – Addison

- No. 282 – Wednesday, January 23, 1712 – Steele

- No. 283 – Thursday, January 24, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 284 – Friday, January 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 285 – Saturday, January 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 286 – Monday, January 28, 1712 – Steele

- No. 287 – Tuesday, January 29, 1712 – Addison

- No. 288 – Wednesday, January 30, 1712 – Steele

- No. 289 – Thursday, January 31, 1712 – Addison

- No. 290 – Friday, February 1, 1712 – Steele

- No. 291 – Saturday, February 2, 1712 – Addison

- No. 292 – Monday, February 4, 1712 –

- No. 293 – Tuesday, February 5, 1712 – Addison

- No. 294 – Wednesday, February 6, 1712 – Steele

- No. 295 – Thursday, February 7, 1712 – Addison

- No. 296 – Friday, February 8, 1712 – Steele

- No. 297 – Saturday, February 9, 1712 – Addison

- No. 298 – Monday, February 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 299 – Tuesday, February 12, 1712 – Addison

- No. 300 – Wednesday, February 13, 1712 – Steele

- No. 301 – Thursday, February 14, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 302 – Friday, February 15, 1712 – Steele

- No. 303 – Saturday, February 16, 1712 – Addison

- No. 304 – Monday, February 18, 1712 – Steele

- No. 305 – Tuesday, February 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 306 – Wednesday, February 20, 1712 – Steele

- No. 307 – Thursday, February 21, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 308 – Friday, February 22, 1712 – Steele

- No. 309 – Saturday, February 23, 1712 – Addison

- No. 310 – Monday, February 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 311 – Tuesday, February 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 312 – Wednesday, February 27, 1712 – Steele

- No. 313 – Thursday, February 28, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 314 – Friday, February 29, 1712 – Steele

- No. 315 – Saturday, March 1, 1712 – Addison

- No. 316 – Monday, March 3, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 317 – Tuesday, March 4, 1712 – Addison

- No. 318 – Wednesday, March 5, 1712 – Steele

- No. 319 – Thursday, March 6, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 320 – Friday, March 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 321 – Saturday, March 8, 1712 – Addison

- No. 322 – Monday, March 10, 1712 – Steele

- No. 323 – Tuesday, March 11, 1712 – Addison

- No. 324 – Wednesday, March 12, 1712 – Steele

- No. 325 – Thursday, March 13, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 326 – Friday, March 14, 1712 – Steele

- No. 327 – Saturday, March 15, 1712 – Addison

- No. 328 – Monday, March 17, 1712 – Steele

- No. 328b – Monday, March 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 329 – Tuesday, March 18, 1712 – Addison

- No. 330 – Wednesday, March 19, 1712 – Steele

- No. 331 – Thursday, March 20, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 332 – Friday, March 21, 1712 – Steele

- No. 333 – Saturday, March 22, 1712 – Addison

- No. 334 – Monday, March 24, 1712 – Steele

- No. 335 – Tuesday, March 25, 1712 – Addison

- No. 336 – Wednesday, March 26, 1712 – Steele

- No. 337 – Thursday, March 27, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 338 – Friday, March 28, 1712 –

- No. 339 – Saturday, March 29, 1712 – Addison

- No. 340 – Monday, March 31, 1712 – Steele

- No. 341 – Tuesday, April 1, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 342 – Wednesday, April 2, 1712 – Steele

- No. 343 – Thursday, April 3, 1712 – Addison

- No. 344 – Friday, April 4, 1712 – Steele

- No. 345 – Saturday, April 5, 1712 – Addison

- No. 346 – Monday, April 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 347 – Tuesday, April 8, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 348 – Wednesday, April 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 349 – Thursday, April 10, 1712 – Addison

- No. 350 – Friday, April 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 351 – Saturday, April 12, 1712 – Addison

- No. 352 – Monday, April 14, 1712 – Steele

- No. 353 – Tuesday, April 15, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 354 – Wednesday, April 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 355 – Thursday, April 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 356 – Friday, April 18, 1712 – Steele

- No. 357 – Saturday, April 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 358 – Monday, April 21, 1712 – Steele

- No. 359 – Tuesday, April 22, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 360 – Wednesday, April 23, 1712 – Steele

- No. 361 – Thursday, April 24, 1712 – Addison

- No. 362 – Friday, April 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 363 – Saturday, April 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 364 – Monday, April 28, 1712 – Steele

- No. 365 – Tuesday, April 29, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 366 – Wednesday, April 30, 1712 – Steele

- No. 367 – Thursday, May 1, 1712 – Addison

- No. 368 – Friday, May 2, 1712 – Steele

- No. 369 – Saturday, May 3, 1712 – Addison

- No. 370 – Monday, May 5, 1712 – Steele

- No. 371 – Tuesday, May 6, 1712 – Addison

- No. 372 – Wednesday, May 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 373 – Thursday, May 8, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 374 – Friday, May 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 375 – Saturday, May 10, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 376 – Monday, May 12, 1712 – Steele

- No. 377 – Tuesday, May 13, 1712 – Addison

- No. 378 – Wednesday, May 14, 1712 – Pope

- No. 379 – Thursday, May 15, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 380 – Friday, May 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 381 – Saturday, May 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 382 – Monday, May 19, 1712 – Steele

- No. 383 – Tuesday, May 20, 1712 – Addison

- No. 384 – Wednesday, May 21, 1712 – Addison

- No. 385 – Thursday, May 22, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 386 – Friday, May 23, 1712 – Steele

- No. 387 – Saturday, May 24, 1712 – Addison

- No. 388 – Monday, May 26, 1712 – Barr

- No. 389 – Tuesday, May 27, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 390 – Wednesday, May 28, 1712 – Steele

- No. 391 – Thursday, May 29, 1712 – Addison

- No. 392 – Friday, May 30, 1712 – Steele

- No. 393 – Saturday, May 31, 1712 – Addison

- No. 394 – Monday, June 2, 1712 – Steele

- No. 395 – Tuesday, June 3, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 396 – Wednesday, June 4, 1712 – Henley

- No. 397 – Thursday, June 5, 1712 – Addison

- No. 398 – Friday, June 6, 1712 – Steele

- No. 399 – Saturday, June 7, 1712 – Addison

- No. 400 – Monday, June 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 401 – Tuesday, June 10, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 402 – Wednesday, June 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 403 – Thursday, June 12, 1712 – Addison

- No. 404 – Friday, June 13, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 405 – Saturday, June 14, 1712 – Addison

- No. 406 – Monday, June 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 407 – Tuesday, June 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 408 – Wednesday, June 18, 1712 – Pope

- No. 409 – Thursday, June 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 410 – Friday, June 20, 1712 – Tickell

- No. 411 – Saturday, June 21, 1712 – Addison

- No. 412 – Monday, June 23, 1712 – Addison

- No. 413 – Tuesday, June 24, 1712 – Addison

- No. 414 – Wednesday, June 25, 1712 – Addison

- No. 415 – Thursday, June 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 416 – Friday, June 27, 1712 – Addison

List of Original Advertisements Included

- Painter from Italy

- Ladies' Hoods in Church

- Ladies' Boarding-School

No. 203

Tuesday, October 1, 1711

Addison

Phœbe pater, si das hujus mihi nominis usum,

Nec fals, Clymene culpam sub imagine celat;

Pignora da, Genitor

Ov. Met.

LondonWestminster

WeJus trium LiberorumRomanwho[1]

—Nec longum tempus et ingens

Exiit ad cœlum ramis felicibus arbos,

Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma.

Virg.[2]

Will MapleMary MapleKate Coleviz. William, Richard,Rebecca. Sal TwifordSarah, Tom, Will,Frank

ApollodorusMenanderThou mayest shut up thy Doors, says he, with Bars and Bolts: It will be impossible for the Blacksmith to make them so fast, but a Cat and a Whoremaster will find a Way through them

AmericanDiogenesPlant Men

wouldtho' very unreasonably, a Degree ofDisgrace[3]AndBastardyCuckoldomIgnominy[4]isare[5]

Sir,

'I am one of those People who by the general Opinion of the World are counted both Infamous and Unhappy.

'My Father is a very eminent Man in this Kingdom, and one who bears considerable Offices in it. I am his Son, but my Misfortune is, That I dare not call him Father, nor he without Shame own me as his Issue, I being illegitimate, and therefore deprived of that endearing Tenderness and unparallel'd Satisfaction which a good Man finds in the Love and Conversation of a Parent: Neither have I the Opportunities to render him the Duties of a Son, he having always carried himself at so vast a Distance, and with such Superiority towards me, that by long Use I have contracted a Timorousness when before him, which hinders me from declaring my own Necessities, and giving him to understand the Inconveniencies I undergo.

'It is my Misfortune to have been neither bred a Scholar, a Soldier, nor to any kind of Business, which renders me Entirely uncapable of making Provision for my self without his Assistance; and this creates a continual Uneasiness in my Mind, fearing I shall in Time want Bread; my Father, if I may so call him, giving me but very faint Assurances of doing any thing for me.

'I have hitherto lived somewhat like a Gentleman, and it would be very hard for me to labour for my Living. I am in continual Anxiety for my future Fortune, and under a great Unhappiness in losing the sweet Conversation and friendly Advice of my Parents; so that I cannot look upon my self otherwise than as a Monster, strangely sprung up in Nature, which every one is ashamed to own.

'I am thought to be a Man of some natural Parts, and by the continual Reading what you have offered the World, become an Admirer thereof, which has drawn me to make this Confession; at the same time hoping, if any thing herein shall touch you with a Sense of Pity, you would then allow me the Favour of your Opinion thereupon; as also what Part I, being unlawfully born, may claim of the Man's Affection who begot me, and how far in your Opinion I am to be thought his Son, or he acknowledged as my Father. Your Sentiments and Advice herein will be a great Consolation and Satisfaction to,

Sir,

Your Admirer and Humble Servant,

W. B.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 204

Wednesday, October 24, 1711

Steele

Urit grata protervitas,

Et vultus nimium lubricùs aspici.

Hor.

To the Sothades[1].

"The Word, by which I address you, gives you, who understand Portuguese, a lively Image of the tender Regard I have for you. The Spectator'S late Letter from Statira gave me the Hint to use the same Method of explaining my self to you. I am not affronted at the Design your late Behaviour discovered you had in your Addresses to me; but I impute it to the Degeneracy of the Age, rather than your particular Fault. As I aim at nothing more than being yours, I am willing to be a Stranger to your Name, your Fortune, or any Figure which your Wife might expect to make in the World, provided my Commerce with you is not to be a guilty one. I resign gay Dress, the Pleasure of Visits, Equipage, Plays, Balls, and Operas, for that one Satisfaction of having you for ever mine. I am willing you shall industriously conceal the only Cause of Triumph which I can know in this Life. I wish only to have it my Duty, as well as my Inclination, to study your Happiness. If this has not the Effect this Letter seems to aim at, you are to understand that I had a mind to be rid of you, and took the readiest Way to pall you with an Offer of what you would never desist pursuing while you received ill Usage. Be a true Man; be my Slave while you doubt me, and neglect me when you think I love you. I defy you to find out what is your present Circumstance with me; but I know while I can keep this Suspence.

I am your admired

Belinda.

Madam,

"It is a strange State of Mind a Man is in, when the very Imperfections of a Woman he loves turn into Excellencies and Advantages. I do assure you, I am very much afraid of venturing upon you. I now like you in spite of my Reason, and think it an ill Circumstance to owe one's Happiness to nothing but Infatuation. I can see you ogle all the young Fellows who look at you, and observe your Eye wander after new Conquests every Moment you are in a publick Place; and yet there is such a Beauty in all your Looks and Gestures, that I cannot but admire you in the very Act of endeavouring to gain the Hearts of others. My Condition is the same with that of the Lover in the Way of the World[2], I have studied your Faults so long, that they are become as familiar to me, and I like them as well as I do my own. Look to it, Madam, and consider whether you think this gay Behaviour will appear to me as amiable when an Husband, as it does now to me a Lover. Things are so far advanced, that we must proceed; and I hope you will lay it to Heart, that it will be becoming in me to appear still your Lover, but not in you to be still my Mistress. Gaiety in the Matrimonial Life is graceful in one Sex, but exceptionable in the other. As you improve these little Hints, you will ascertain the Happiness or Uneasiness of,

Madam, Your most obedient,

Most humble Servant,

T.D.

Sir,

'When I sat at the Window, and you at the other End of the Room by my Cousin, I saw you catch me looking at you. Since you have the Secret at last, which I am sure you should never have known but by Inadvertency, what my Eyes said was true. But it is too soon to confirm it with my Hand, therefore shall not subscribe my Name.

Sir,

'There were other Gentlemen nearer, and I know no Necessity you were under to take up that flippant Creature's Fan last Night; but you shall never touch a Stick of mine more, that's pos.

Phillis.

To Colonel R——s[3] in Spain.

'Before this can reach the best of Husbands and the fondest Lover, those tender Names will be no more of Concern to me. The Indisposition in which you, to obey the Dictates of your Honour and Duty, left me, has increased upon me; and I am acquainted by my Physicians I cannot live a Week longer. At this time my Spirits fail me; and it is the ardent Love I have for you that carries me beyond my Strength, and enables me to tell you, the most painful Thing in the Prospect of Death, is, that I must part with you. But let it be a Comfort to you, that I have no Guilt hangs upon me, no unrepented Folly that retards me; but I pass away my last Hours in Reflection upon the Happiness we have lived in together, and in Sorrow that it is so soon to have an End. This is a Frailty which I hope is so far from criminal, that methinks there is a kind of Piety in being so unwilling to be separated from a State which is the Institution of Heaven, and in which we have lived according to its Laws. As we know no more of the next Life, but that it will be an happy one to the Good, and miserable to the Wicked, why may we not please ourselves at least, to alleviate the Difficulty of resigning this Being, in imagining that we shall have a Sense of what passes below, and may possibly be employed in guiding the Steps of those with whom we walked with Innocence when mortal? Why may not I hope to go on in my usual Work, and, tho' unknown to you, be assistant in all the Conflicts of your Mind? Give me leave to say to you, O best of Men, that I cannot figure to myself a greater Happiness than in such an Employment: To be present at all the Adventures to which human Life is exposed, to administer Slumber to thy Eyelids in the Agonies of a Fever, to cover thy beloved Face in the Day of Battle, to go with thee a Guardian Angel incapable of Wound or Pain, where I have longed to attend thee when a weak, a fearful Woman: These, my Dear, are the Thoughts with which I warm my poor languid Heart; but indeed I am not capable under my present Weakness of bearing the strong Agonies of Mind I fall into, when I form to myself the Grief you will be in upon your first hearing of my Departure. I will not dwell upon this, because your kind and generous Heart will be but the more afflicted, the more the Person for whom you lament offers you Consolation. My last Breath will, if I am my self, expire in a Prayer for you. I shall never see thy Face again.

'Farewell for ever. T.

Footnote 1:saudadesSaudades da PatriaTenho Saudades

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Footnote 2:Way of the World

'I like her with all her faults, nay, like her for her faults. Her 'follies are so natural, or so artful, that they become her; and those affectations which in another woman would be odious, serve but to make her more agreeable. I'll tell thee, Fainall, she once used me with that insolence, that in revenge I took her to pieces, sifted her, and separated her failings; I studied 'em and got 'em by rote. The Catalogue was so large, that I was not without hopes one day or other to hate her heartily: to which end I so used myself to think of 'em, that at length, contrary to my design and expectation, they gave me every hour less and less disturbance; 'till in a few days it became habitual to me to remember 'em without being displeased. They are now grown as familiar to me as my own frailties; and, in all probability, in a little time longer I shall like 'em as well.'

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Contents

No. 205

Thursday, October 25, 1711

Addison

Decipimur specie recti

Hor.

ThusAllusion[1]andwhich[2]

Mr. Spectator,

'There are none of your Speculations which I read over with greater Delight, than those which are designed for the Improvement of our Sex. You have endeavoured to correct our unreasonable Fears and Superstitions, in your Seventh and Twelfth Papers; our Fancy for Equipage, in your Fifteenth; our Love of Puppet-Shows, in your Thirty-First; our Notions of Beauty, in your Thirty-Third; our Inclination for Romances, in your Thirty-Seventh; our Passion for French Fopperies, in your Forty-Fifth; our Manhood and Party-zeal, in your Fifty-Seventh; our Abuse of Dancing, in your Sixty-Sixth and Sixty-Seventh; our Levity, in your Hundred and Twenty-Eighth; our Love of Coxcombs, in your Hundred and Fifty-Fourth, and Hundred and Fifty-Seventh; our Tyranny over the Henpeckt, in your Hundred and Seventy-Sixth. You have described the Pict in your Forty-first; the Idol, in your Seventy-Third; the Demurrer, in your Eighty-Ninth; the Salamander, in your Hundred and Ninety-Eighth. You have likewise taken to pieces our Dress, and represented to us the Extravagancies we are often guilty of in that Particular. You have fallen upon our Patches, in your Fiftieth and Eighty-First; our Commodes, in your Ninety-Eighth; our Fans in your Hundred and Second; our Riding Habits in your Hundred and Fourth; our Hoop-petticoats, in your Hundred and Twenty-Seventh; besides a great many little Blemishes which you have touched upon in your several other Papers, and in those many Letters that are scattered up and down your Works. At the same Time we must own, that the Compliments you pay our Sex are innumerable, and that those very Faults which you represent in us, are neither black in themselves nor, as you own, universal among us. But, Sir, it is plain that these your Discourses are calculated for none but the fashionable Part of Womankind, and for the Use of those who are rather indiscreet than vicious. But, Sir, there is a Sort of Prostitutes in the lower Part of our Sex, who are a Scandal to us, and very well deserve to fall under your Censure. I know it would debase your Paper too much to enter into the Behaviour of these Female Libertines; but as your Remarks on some Part of it would be a doing of Justice to several Women of Virtue and Honour, whose Reputations suffer by it, I hope you will not think it improper to give the Publick some Accounts of this Nature. You must know, Sir, I am provoked to write you this Letter by the Behaviour of an infamous Woman, who having passed her Youth in a most shameless State of Prostitution, is now one of those who gain their Livelihood by seducing others, that are younger than themselves, and by establishing a criminal Commerce between the two Sexes. Among several of her Artifices to get Money, she frequently perswades a vain young Fellow, that such a Woman of Quality, or such a celebrated Toast, entertains a secret Passion for him, and wants nothing but an Opportunity of revealing it: Nay, she has gone so far as to write Letters in the Name of a Woman of Figure, to borrow Money of one of these foolish Roderigo's[3], which she has afterwards appropriated to her own Use. In the mean time, the Person who has lent the Money, has thought a Lady under Obligations to him, who scarce knew his Name; and wondered at her Ingratitude when he has been with her, that she has not owned the Favour, though at the same time he was too much a Man of Honour to put her in mind of it.

'When this abandoned Baggage meets with a Man who has Vanity enough to give Credit to Relations of this nature, she turns him to very good Account, by repeating Praises that were never uttered, and delivering Messages that were never sent. As the House of this shameless Creature is frequented by several Foreigners, I have heard of another Artifice, out of which she often raises Money. The Foreigner sighs after some British Beauty, whom he only knows by Fame: Upon which she promises, if he can be secret, to procure him a Meeting. The Stranger, ravished at his good Fortune, gives her a Present, and in a little time is introduced to some imaginary Title; for you must know that this cunning Purveyor has her Representatives upon this Occasion, of some of the finest Ladies in the Kingdom. By this Means, as I am informed, it is usual enough to meet with a German Count in foreign Countries, that shall make his Boasts of Favours he has received from Women of the highest Ranks, and the most unblemished Characters. Now, Sir, what Safety is there for a Woman's Reputation, when a Lady may be thus prostituted as it were by Proxy, and be reputed an unchaste Woman; as the Hero in the ninth Book of Dryden's Virgil is looked upon as a Coward, because the Phantom which appeared in his Likeness ran away from Turnus? You may depend upon what I relate to you to be Matter of Fact, and the Practice of more than one of these female Pandars. If you print this Letter, I may give you some further Accounts of this vicious Race of Women.

Your humble Servant,

Belvidera.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Country Clergyman, and hope you will lend me your Assistance in ridiculing some little Indecencies which cannot so properly be exposed from the Pulpit.

'A Widow Lady, who straggled this Summer from London into my Parish for the Benefit of the Air, as she says, appears every Sunday at Church with many fashionable Extravagancies, to the great Astonishment of my Congregation.

'But what gives us the most Offence is her theatrical Manner of Singing the Psalms. She introduces above fifty Italian Airs into the hundredth Psalm, and whilst we begin All People in the old solemn Tune of our Forefathers, she in a quite different Key runs Divisions on the Vowels, and adorns them with the Graces of Nicolini; if she meets with Eke or Aye, which are frequent in the Metre of Hopkins and Sternhold[4], we are certain to hear her quavering them half a Minute after us to some sprightly Airs of the Opera.

'I am very far from being an Enemy to Church Musick; but fear this Abuse of it may make my Parish ridiculous, who already look on the Singing Psalms as an Entertainment, and no Part of their Devotion: Besides, I am apprehensive that the Infection may spread, for Squire Squeekum, who by his Voice seems (if I may use the Expression) to be cut out for an Italian Singer, was last Sunday practising the same Airs.

'I know the Lady's Principles, and that she will plead the Toleration, which (as she fancies) allows her Non-Conformity in this Particular; but I beg you to acquaint her, That Singing the Psalms in a different Tune from the rest of the Congregation, is a Sort of Schism not tolerated by that Act.

I am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant,

R. S.

Mr. Spectator,

'In your Paper upon Temperance, you prescribe to us a Rule of drinking, out of Sir William Temple, in the following Words; The first Glass for myself, the second for my Friends, the third for Good-humour, and the fourth for mine Enemies. Now, Sir, you must know, that I have read this your Spectator, in a Club whereof I am a Member; when our President told us, there was certainly an Error in the Print, and that the Word Glass should be Bottle; and therefore has ordered me to inform you of this Mistake, and to desire you to publish the following Errata: In the Paper of Saturday, Octob. 13, Col. 3. Line 11, for Glass read Bottle.

L. Yours, Robin Good-fellow.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 206

Friday, October 26, 1711

Steele

Quanto quisque sibi plura negaverit,

A Diis plura feret—

Hor.

Cinna

GlorianaMirtillaChloeCorinnaRoxana

MacbethHe bore his Faculties so meekly

TheSun-shiny[1]

Lucceius

Footnote 1:Sun-shine

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No. 207

Saturday, October 27, 1711

Addison

Omnibus in terris, quœ sunt à Gadibus usque

Auroram et Gangem, pauci dignoscere possunt

Vera bona, atque illis multùm diversa, remotâ

Erroris nebulâ—

Juv.

Saturday'sPlato'sAlcibiades the SecondJuvenal's PersiusAlcibiades the First

Socrates Alcibiades

SocratesAlcibiadesŒdipusAlcibiadesAlcibiadeshimSocratesreceiving[1]edAlcibiadesAlcibiades

GreekOgive us those Things which are good for us, whether they are such Things as we pray for, or such Things as we do not pray for: and remove from us those Things which are hurtful, though they are such Things as we pray for.

Lacedemoniansto give them all good Things so long as they were virtuous

AtheniansLacedemoniansJupiter AmmonLacedemoniansI am better pleased with the Prayer of thethan with all the Oblations of theAsHomer[2]TrojanPriam

SocratesAlcibiadesWe must therefore wait till such Time as we may learn how we ought to behave ourselves towards the Gods, and towards MenAlcibiadesItSocratesHomer[3]MinervaDiomedesAlcibiadesSocrates

Some[4]

Plato'sLacedemoniansthat our Offences may be forgiven, as we forgive those of othersSocratesthe coming of his Kingdom, being solicitous for no other temporal Blessings but our daily SustenanceEvilSocrateshis Will may be done:Nevertheless not my Will, but thine be done

Footnote 1:having received

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Footnote 2:Iliad

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Footnote 3:Iliad

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Footnote 4:John

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No. 208

Thursday, October 1, 1711

Addison

—Veniunt spectentur ut ipsæ.

Ov.[1]

ShakespearInMacbeth[2]

Examples

Pray settle what is to be a proper Notification of a Person's being in Town, and how that differs according to People's Quality.

Sir,

'As you are one that doth not only pretend to reform, but effects it amongst People of any Sense; makes me (who are one of the greatest of your Admirers) give you this Trouble to desire you will settle the Method of us Females knowing when one another is in Town: For they have now got a Trick of never sending to their Acquaintance when they first come; and if one does not visit them within the Week which they stay at home, it is a mortal Quarrel. Now, dear Mr. Spec, either command them to put it in the Advertisement of your Paper, which is generally read by our Sex, or else order them to breathe their saucy Footmen (who are good for nothing else) by sending them to tell all their Acquaintance. If you think to print this, pray put it into a better Style as to the spelling Part. The Town is now filling every Day, and it cannot be deferred, because People take Advantage of one another by this Means and break off Acquaintance, and are rude: Therefore pray put this in your Paper as soon as you can possibly, to prevent any future Miscarriages of this Nature. I am, as I ever shall be,

Dear Spec,

Your most obedient

Humble Servant,

Mary Meanwell.

Mr. Spectator,

October the 20th.

'I have been out of Town, so did not meet with your Paper dated September the 28th, wherein you, to my Heart's Desire, expose that cursed Vice of ensnaring poor young Girls, and drawing them from their Friends. I assure you without Flattery it has saved a Prentice of mine from Ruin; and in Token of Gratitude as well as for the Benefit of my Family, I have put it in a Frame and Glass, and hung it behind my Counter. I shall take Care to make my young ones read it every Morning, to fortify them against such pernicious Rascals. I know not whether what you writ was Matter of Fact, or your own Invention; but this I will take my Oath on, the first Part is so exactly like what happened to my Prentice, that had I read your Paper then, I should have taken your Method to have secured a Villain. Go on and prosper.

Your most obliged Humble Servant,

Mr. Spectator,

'Without Raillery, I desire you to insert this Word for Word in your next, as you value a Lover's Prayers. You see it is an Hue and Cry after a stray Heart (with the Marks and Blemishes underwritten) which whoever shall bring to you, shall receive Satisfaction. Let me beg of you not to fail, as you remember the Passion you had for her to whom you lately ended a Paper.

Noble, Generous, Great, and Good,

But never to be understood;

Fickle as the Wind, still changing,

After every Female ranging,

Panting, trembling, sighing, dying,

But addicted much to Lying:

When the Siren Songs repeats,

Equal Measures still it beats;

Who-e'er shall wear it, it will smart her,

And who-e'er takes it, takes a Tartar.

Footnote 1:Spectaret Populum ludis attentius ipsis

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No. 209

Tuesday, October 30, 1711

Addison

Simonides[1]TroyFrenchbienséanceSimonides

In the Beginning God made the Souls of Womankind out of different Materials, and in a separate State from their Bodies.

The Souls of one Kind of Women were formed out of those Ingredients which compose a Swine. A Woman of this Make is a Slut in her House and a Glutton at her Table. She is uncleanly in her Person, a Slattern in her Dress, and her Family is no better than a Dunghill.

A Second Sort of Female Soul was formed out of the same Materials that enter into the Composition of a Fox. Such an one is what we call a notable discerning Woman, who has an Insight into every thing, whether it be good or bad. In this Species of Females there are some Virtuous and some Vicious.

A Third Kind of Women were made up of Canine Particles. These are what we commonly call Scolds, who imitate the Animals of which they were taken, that are always busy and barking, that snarl at every one who comes in their Way, and live in perpetual Clamour.

The Fourth Kind of Women were made out of the Earth. These are your Sluggards, who pass away their Time in Indolence and Ignorance, hover over the Fire a whole Winter, and apply themselves with Alacrity to no kind of Business but Eating.

The Fifth Species of Females were made out of the Sea. These are Women of variable uneven Tempers, sometimes all Storm and Tempest, sometimes all Calm and Sunshine. The Stranger who sees one of these in her Smiles and Smoothness would cry her up for a Miracle of good Humour; but on a sudden her Looks and her Words are changed, she is nothing but Fury and Outrage, Noise and Hurricane.

The Sixth Species were made up of the Ingredients which compose an Ass, or a Beast of Burden. These are naturally exceeding slothful, but, upon the Husband's exerting his Authority, will live upon hard Fare, and do every thing to please him. They are however far from being averse to Venereal Pleasure, and seldom refuse a Male Companion.

The Cat furnished Materials for a Seventh Species of Women, who are of a melancholy, froward, unamiable Nature, and so repugnant to the Offers of Love, that they fly in the Face of their Husband when he approaches them with conjugal Endearments. This Species of Women are likewise subject to little Thefts, Cheats and Pilferings.

The Mare with a flowing Mane, which was never broke to any servile Toil and Labour, composed an Eighth Species of Women. These are they who have little Regard for their Husbands, who pass away their Time in Dressing, Bathing, and Perfuming; who throw their Hair into the nicest Curls, and trick it up with the fairest Flowers and Garlands. A Woman of this Species is a very pretty Thing for a Stranger to look upon, but very detrimental to the Owner, unless it be a King or Prince who takes a Fancy to such a Toy.

The Ninth Species of Females were taken out of the Ape. These are such as are both ugly and ill-natured, who have nothing beautiful in themselves, and endeavour to detract from or ridicule every thing which appears so in others.

The Tenth and last Species of Women were made out of the Bee; and happy is the Man who gets such an one for his Wife. She is altogether faultless and unblameable; her Family flourishes and improves by her good Management. She loves her Husband, and is beloved by him. She brings him a Race of beautiful and virtuous Children. She distinguishes her self among her Sex. She is surrounded with Graces. She never sits among the loose Tribe of Women, nor passes away her Time with them in wanton Discourses. She is full of Virtue and Prudence, and is the best Wife that Jupiter can bestow on Man.

A Man cannot possess any Thing that is better than a good Woman, nor any thing that is worse than a bad one

JuvenalBoileauFrenchThe Satyr upon Man

Footnote 1:

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No. 210

Wednesday, October 31, 1711

John Hughes

Nescio quomodo inhæret in mentibus quasi seculorum quoddam augurium futurorum; idque in maximis ingeniis altissimisque animis et existit maxime et apparet facillime.

Cic. Tusc. Quæst.

To the Spectator.

Sir,

'I am fully persuaded that one of the best Springs of generous and worthy Actions, is the having generous and worthy Thoughts of our selves. Whoever has a mean Opinion of the Dignity of his Nature, will act in no higher a Rank than he has allotted himself in his own Estimation. If he considers his Being as circumscribed by the uncertain Term of a few Years, his Designs will be contracted into the same narrow Span he imagines is to bound his Existence. How can he exalt his Thoughts to any thing great and noble, who only believes that, after a short Turn on the Stage of this World, he is to sink into Oblivion, and to lose his Consciousness for ever?

'For this Reason I am of Opinion, that so useful and elevated a Contemplation as that of the Soul's Immortality cannot be resumed too often. There is not a more improving Exercise to the human Mind, than to be frequently reviewing its own great Privileges and Endowments; nor a more effectual Means to awaken in us an Ambition raised above low Objects and little Pursuits, than to value our selves as Heirs of Eternity.

'It is a very great Satisfaction to consider the best and wisest of Mankind in all Nations and Ages, asserting, as with one Voice, this their Birthright, and to find it ratify'd by an express Revelation. At the same time if we turn our Thoughts inward upon our selves, we may meet with a kind of secret Sense concurring with the Proofs of our own Immortality.

'You have, in my Opinion, raised a good presumptive Argument from the increasing Appetite the Mind has to Knowledge, and to the extending its own Faculties, which cannot be accomplished, as the more restrained Perfection of lower Creatures may, in the Limits of a short Life. I think another probable Conjecture may be raised from our Appetite to Duration it self, and from a Reflection on our Progress through the several Stages of it: We are complaining, as you observe in a former Speculation, of the Shortness of Life, and yet are perpetually hurrying over the Parts of it, to arrive at certain little Settlements, or imaginary Points of Rest, which are dispersed up and down in it.

'Now let us consider what happens to us when we arrive at these imaginary Points of Rest: Do we stop our Motion, and sit down satisfied in the Settlement we have gain'd? or are we not removing the Boundary, and marking out new Points of Rest, to which we press forward with the like Eagerness, and which cease to be such as fast as we attain them? Our Case is like that of a Traveller upon the Alps, who should fancy that the Top of the next Hill must end his Journey, because it terminates his Prospect; but he no sooner arrives as it, than he sees new Ground and other Hills beyond it, and continues to travel on as before[1].

'This is so plainly every Man's Condition in Life, that there is no one who has observed any thing, but may observe, that as fast as his Time wears away, his Appetite to something future remains. The Use therefore I would make of it is this, That since Nature (as some love to express it) does nothing in vain, or, to speak properly, since the Author of our Being has planted no wandering Passion in it, no Desire which has not its Object, Futurity is the proper Object of the Passion so constantly exercis'd about it; and this Restlessness in the present, this assigning our selves over to further Stages of Duration, this successive grasping at somewhat still to come, appears to me (whatever it may to others) as a kind of Instinct or natural Symptom which the Mind of Man has of its own Immortality.

'I take it at the same time for granted, that the Immortality of the Soul is sufficiently established by other Arguments: And if so, this Appetite, which otherwise would be very unaccountable and absurd, seems very reasonable, and adds Strength to the Conclusion. But I am amazed when I consider there are Creatures capable of Thought, who, in spite of every Argument, can form to themselves a sullen Satisfaction in thinking otherwise. There is something so pitifully mean in the inverted Ambition of that Man who can hope for Annihilation, and please himself to think that his whole Fabrick shall one Day crumble into Dust, and mix with the Mass of inanimate Beings, that it equally deserves our Admiration and Pity. The Mystery of such Mens Unbelief is not hard to be penetrated; and indeed amounts to nothing more than a sordid Hope that they shall not be immortal, because they dare not be so.

'This brings me back to my first Observation, and gives me Occasion to say further, That as worthy Actions spring from worthy Thoughts, so worthy Thoughts are likewise the Consequence of worthy Actions: But the Wretch who has degraded himself below the Character of Immortality, is very willing to resign his Pretensions to it, and to substitute in its Room a dark negative Happiness in the Extinction of his Being.

'The admirable Shakespear has given us a strong Image of the unsupported Condition of such a Person in his last Minutes, in the second Part of King Henry the Sixth, where Cardinal Beaufort, who had been concerned in the Murder of the good Duke Humphrey, is represented on his Death-bed. After some short confused Speeches which shew an Imagination disturbed with Guilt, just as he is expiring, King Henry standing by him full of Compassion, says,

Lord Cardinal! if thou think'st on Heaven's Bliss,

Hold up thy Hand, make Signal of that Hope!

He dies, and makes no Sign!—

'The Despair which is here shewn, without a Word or Action on the Part of the dying Person, is beyond what could be painted by the most forcible Expressions whatever.

'I shall not pursue this Thought further, but only add, That as Annihilation is not to be had with a Wish, so it is the most abject Thing in the World to wish it. What are Honour, Fame, Wealth, or Power when compared with the generous Expectation of a Being without End, and a Happiness adequate to that Being?

'I shall trouble you no further; but with a certain Gravity which these Thoughts have given me, I reflect upon some Things People say of you, (as they will of Men who distinguish themselves) which I hope are not true; and wish you as good a Man as you are an Author.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

T. D.

Footnote 1:

'Hills peep o'er Hills, and Alps on Alps arise.'

Essay on Criticism

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No. 211

Thursday, November 1, 1711

Addison

Fictis meminerit nos jocari Fabulis.

Phæd.

Horace has[1]Prometheus

SimonidesSimonidesDrydenPythagorasOvid

Thus all things are but alter'd, nothing dies,

And here and there th' unbody'd Spirit flies:

By Time, or Force, or Sickness dispossess'd,

And lodges where it lights, in Bird or Beast,

Or hunts without till ready Limbs it find,

And actuates those according to their Kind:

From Tenement to Tenement is toss'd:

The Soul is still the same, the Figure only lost.

Then let not Piety be put to Flight,

To please the Taste of Glutton-Appetite;

But suffer inmate Souls secure to dwell,

Lest from their Seats your Parents you expel;

With rabid Hunger feed upon your Kind,

Or from a Beast dislodge a Brother's Mind.

Plato inErusArmenianOrpheusAjaxAgamemnonThersites[2]

MrCongreve[3]

Thus Aristotle's Soul of old that was,

May now be damn'd to animate an Ass;

Or in this very House, for ought we know,

Is doing painful Penance in some Beau.

Tuesday's

From my House in the Strand, October 30, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

'Upon reading your Tuesday's Paper, I find by several Symptoms in my Constitution that I am a Bee. My Shop, or, if you please to call it so, my Cell, is in that great Hive of Females which goes by the Name of The New Exchange; where I am daily employed in gathering together a little Stock of Gain from the finest Flowers about the Town, I mean the Ladies and the Beaus. I have a numerous Swarm of Children, to whom I give the best Education I am able: But, Sir, it is my Misfortune to be married to a Drone, who lives upon what I get, without bringing any thing into the common Stock. Now, Sir, as on the one hand I take care not to behave myself towards him like a Wasp, so likewise I would not have him look upon me as an Humble-Bee; for which Reason I do all I can to put him upon laying up Provisions for a bad Day, and frequently represent to him the fatal Effects his[4] Sloth and Negligence may bring upon us in our old Age. I must beg that you will join with me in your good Advice upon this Occasion, and you will for ever oblige

Your humble Servant,

Melissa.

Picadilly, October 31, 1711.

Sir,

'I am joined in Wedlock for my Sins to one of those Fillies who are described in the old Poet with that hard Name you gave us the other Day. She has a flowing Mane, and a Skin as soft as Silk: But, Sir, she passes half her Life at her Glass, and almost ruins me in Ribbons. For my own part, I am a plain handicraft Man, and in Danger of breaking by her Laziness and Expensiveness. Pray, Master, tell me in your next Paper, whether I may not expect of her so much Drudgery as to take care of her Family, and curry her Hide in case of Refusal.

Your loving Friend,

Barnaby Brittle.

Cheapside, October 30.

Mr. Spectator,

I am mightily pleased with the Humour of the Cat, be so kind as to enlarge upon that Subject.

Yours till Death,

Josiah Henpeck.

P. S. You must know I am married to a Grimalkin.

Wapping, October 31, 1711.

Sir,

'Ever since your Spectator of Tuesday last came into our Family, my Husband is pleased to call me his Oceana, because the foolish old Poet that you have translated says, That the Souls of some Women are made of Sea-Water. This, it seems, has encouraged my Sauce-Box to be witty upon me. When I am angry, he cries Pr'ythee my Dear be calm; when I chide one of my Servants, Pr'ythee Child do not bluster. He had the Impudence about an Hour ago to tell me, That he was a Sea-faring Man, and must expect to divide his Life between Storm and Sunshine. When I bestir myself with any Spirit in my Family, it is high Sea in his House; and when I sit still without doing any thing, his Affairs forsooth are Wind-bound. When I ask him whether it rains, he makes Answer, It is no Matter, so that it be fair Weather within Doors. In short, Sir, I cannot speak my Mind freely to him, but I either swell or rage, or do something that is not fit for a civil Woman to hear. Pray, Mr. Spectator, since you are so sharp upon other Women, let us know what Materials your Wife is made of, if you have one. I suppose you would make us a Parcel of poor-spirited tame insipid Creatures; but, Sir, I would have you to know, we have as good Passions in us as your self, and that a Woman was never designed to be a Milk-Sop.

Martha Tempest.

Footnote 1:Odes

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Footnote 2:Timæus

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Footnote 3:Love for Love.

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No. 212

Friday, November 2, 1711

Steele

—Eripe turpi

Colla jugo, liber, liber dic, sum age—

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I Never look upon my dear Wife, but I think of the Happiness Sir Roger De Coverley enjoys, in having such a Friend as you to expose in proper Colours the Cruelty and Perverseness of his Mistress. I have very often wished you visited in our Family, and were acquainted with my Spouse; she would afford you for some Months at least Matter enough for one Spectator a Week. Since we are not so happy as to be of your Acquaintance, give me leave to represent to you our present Circumstances as well as I can in Writing. You are to know then that I am not of a very different Constitution from Nathaniel Henroost, whom you have lately recorded in your Speculations; and have a Wife who makes a more tyrannical Use of the Knowledge of my easy Temper than that Lady ever pretended to. We had not been a Month married, when she found in me a certain Pain to give Offence, and an Indolence that made me bear little Inconveniences rather than dispute about them. From this Observation it soon came to that pass, that if I offered to go abroad, she would get between me and the Door, kiss me, and say she could not part with me; and then down again I sat. In a Day or two after this first pleasant Step towards confining me, she declared to me, that I was all the World to her, and she thought she ought to be all the World to me. If, she said, my Dear loves me as much as I love him, he will never be tired of my Company. This Declaration was followed by my being denied to all my Acquaintance; and it very soon came to that pass, that to give an Answer at the Door before my Face, the Servants would ask her whether I was within or not; and she would answer No with great Fondness, and tell me I was a good Dear. I will not enumerate more little Circumstances to give you a livelier Sense of my Condition; but tell you in general, that from such Steps as these at first, I now live the Life of a Prisoner of State; my Letters are opened, and I have not the Use of Pen, Ink and Paper, but in her Presence. I never go abroad, except she sometimes takes me with her in her Coach to take the Air, if it may be called so, when we drive, as we generally do, with the Glasses up. I have overheard my Servants lament my Condition, but they dare not bring me Messages without her Knowledge, because they doubt my Resolution to stand by 'em. In the midst of this insipid Way of Life, an old Acquaintance of mine, Tom Meggot, who is a Favourite with her, and allowed to visit me in her Company because he sings prettily, has roused me to rebel, and conveyed his Intelligence to me in the following Manner. My Wife is a great Pretender to Musick, and very ignorant of it; but far gone in the Italian Taste. Tom goes to Armstrong, the famous fine Writer of Musick, and desires him to put this Sentence of Tully[1] in the Scale of an Italian Air, and write it out for my Spouse from him.

An ille mihi liber cui mulier imperat? Cui leges imponit, præscribit, jubet, vetat quod videtur? Qui nihil imperanti negare, nihil recusare audet? Poscit? dandum est. Vocat? veniendum. Ejicit? abeundum. Minitatur? extimiscendum.

Does he live like a Gentlemanwho is commanded by a Woman? He to whom she gives Law, grants and denies what she pleases? who can neither deny her any thing she asks, or refuse to do any thing she commands?

'To be short, my Wife was extremely pleased with it; said the Italian was the only Language for Musick; and admired how wonderfully tender the Sentiment was, and how pretty the Accent is of that Language, with the rest that is said by Rote on that Occasion. Mr. Meggot is sent for to sing this Air, which he performs with mighty Applause; and my Wife is in Ecstasy on the Occasion, and glad to find, by my being so much pleased, that I was at last come into the Notion of the Italian; for, said she, it grows upon one when one once comes to know a little of the Language; and pray, Mr. Meggot, sing again those Notes, Nihil Imperanti negare, nihil recusare. You may believe I was not a little delighted with my Friend Tom's Expedient to alarm me, and in Obedience to his Summons I give all this Story thus at large; and I am resolved, when this appears in the Spectator, to declare for my self. The manner of the Insurrection I contrive by your Means, which shall be no other than that Tom Meggot, who is at our Tea-table every Morning, shall read it to us; and if my Dear can take the Hint, and say not one Word, but let this be the Beginning of a new Life without farther Explanation, it is very well; for as soon as the Spectator is read out, I shall, without more ado, call for the Coach, name the Hour when I shall be at home, if I come at all; if I do not, they may go to Dinner. If my Spouse only swells and says nothing, Tom and I go out together, and all is well, as I said before; but if she begins to command or expostulate, you shall in my next to you receive a full Account of her Resistance and Submission, for submit the dear thing must to,

Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

Anthony Freeman.

P. S. I hope I need not tell you that I desire this may be in your very next.

Footnote 1:Paradox

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Contents

No. 213

Saturday, November 3, 1711

Addison

—Mens sibi conscia recti.

Virg.

shining SinsItSin exceeding sinful[1]

ThereAcosta'sLimborch[2]JewishJew

Monsieur St. Evremond[3]

Itholy Officiousnesswhether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do.[4]

HeDown-sitting and his Up-rising, who is about his Path, and about his Bed, and spieth out all his Ways.[5]Thiswalked with God?[6]

SocratesErasmus

Whether or no God will approve of my Actions, I know not; but this I am sure of, that I have at all Times made it my Endeavour to please him, and I have a good Hope that this my Endeavour will be accepted by him.

ErasmusSocrates

When I reflect on such a Speech pronounced by such a Person, I can scarce forbear crying out, Sancte Socrates, ora pro nobis: O holy Socrates, pray for us[7].

Footnote 1:Rom

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Footnote 2:Arnica Collatio de Veritate Relig. Christ. cum Erudito Judæo

return

Footnote 3:Sur la Religion.

return

Footnote 4:Cor

return

Footnote 5:Psalm

return

Footnote 6:Genesis

return

Footnote 7:

return

Contents

No. 214

Monday, November 5, 1711

Steele

Perierunt tempora longi

Servitii

Juv. [1]

Of[2]

ItTricks[3]

WorthyPlato'sEpicurus's[4]

Footnote 1:

Dulcis inexperta cultura potentis amici,

Expertus metuit

Hor.

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Trick

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Footnote 4:

return

Contents

No. 215

Tuesday, November 6, 1711

Addison

—Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes

Emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros.

Ov.

Aristotle

American

ChristophersBritishEngland

English

PhidiasPraxiteles

Contents

No. 216

Wednesday, November 7, 1711

Steele

Siquidem hercle possis, nil prius, neque fortius:

Verum si incipies, neque perficies naviter,

Atque ubi pati non poteris, cum nemo expetet,

Infecta pace ultrò ad eam venies indicans

Te amare, et ferre non posse: Actum est, ilicet,

Perîsti: eludet ubi te victum senserit.

Ter.

To Mr. Spectator,

Sir, This is to inform you, that Mr. Freeman[1] had no sooner taken Coach, but his Lady was taken with a terrible Fit of the Vapours, which,'tis feared will make her miscarry, if not endanger her Life; therefore, dear Sir, if you know of any Receipt that is good against this fashionable reigning Distemper, be pleased to communicate it for the Good of the Publick, and you will oblige

Yours,

A. Noewill.

Mr. Spectator,

'The Uproar was so great as soon as I had read the Spectator concerning Mrs. Freeman, that after many Revolutions in her Temper, of raging, swooning, railing, fainting, pitying herself, and reviling her Husband, upon an accidental coming in of a neighbouring Lady (who says she has writ to you also) she had nothing left for it but to fall in a Fit. I had the Honour to read the Paper to her, and have a pretty good Command of my Countenance and Temper on such Occasions; and soon found my historical Name to be Tom Meggot in your Writings, but concealed my self till I saw how it affected Mrs. Freeman. She looked frequently at her Husband, as often at me; and she did not tremble as she filled Tea, till she came to the Circumstance of Armstrong's writing out a Piece of Tully for an Opera Tune: Then she burst out, She was exposed, she was deceiv'd, she was wronged and abused. The Tea-cup was thrown in the Fire; and without taking Vengeance on her Spouse, she said of me, That I was a pretending Coxcomb, a Medler that knew not what it was to interpose in so nice an Affair as between a Man and his Wife. To which Mr. Freeman; Madam, were I less fond of you than I am, I should not have taken this Way of writing to the Spectator, to inform a Woman whom God and Nature has placed under my Direction with what I request of her; but since you are so indiscreet as not to take the Hint which I gave you in that Paper, I must tell you, Madam, in so many Words, that you have for a long and tedious Space of Time acted a Part unsuitable to the Sense you ought to have of the Subordination in which you are placed. And I must acquaint you once for all, that the Fellow without, ha Tom! (here the Footman entered and answered Madam) 'Sirrah don't you know my Voice; look upon me when I speak to you: I say, Madam, this Fellow here is to know of me my self, whether I am at Leisure to see Company or not. I am from this Hour Master of this House; and my Business in it, and every where else, is to behave my self in such a Manner, as it shall be hereafter an Honour to you to bear my Name; and your Pride, that you are the Delight, the Darling, and Ornament of a Man of Honour, useful and esteemed by his Friends; and I no longer one that has buried some Merit in the World, in Compliance to a froward Humour which has grown upon an agreeable Woman by his Indulgence. Mr. Freeman ended this with a Tenderness in his Aspect and a downcast Eye, which shewed he was extremely moved at the Anguish he saw her in; for she sat swelling with Passion, and her Eyes firmly fixed on the Fire; when I, fearing he would lose all again, took upon me to provoke her out of that amiable Sorrow she was in, to fall upon me; upon which I said very seasonably for my Friend, That indeed Mr. Freeman was become the common Talk of the Town; and that nothing was so much a Jest, as when it was said in Company Mr. Freeman had promised to come to such a Place. Upon which the good Lady turned her Softness into downright Rage, and threw the scalding Tea-Kettle upon your humble Servant; flew into the Middle of the Room, and cried out she was the unfortunatest of all Women: Others kept Family Dissatisfactions for Hours of Privacy and Retirement: No Apology was to be made to her, no Expedient to be found, no previous Manner of breaking what was amiss in her; but all the World was to be acquainted with her Errors, without the least Admonition. Mr. Freeman was going to make a soft'ning Speech, but I interposed; Look you, Madam, I have nothing to say to this Matter, but you ought to consider you are now past a Chicken; this Humour, which was well enough in a Girl, is insufferable in one of your Motherly Character. With that she lost all Patience, and flew directly at her Husband's Periwig. I got her in my Arms, and defended my Friend: He making Signs at the same time that it was too much; I beckoning, nodding, and frowning over her Shoulder, that he[2] was lost if he did not persist. In this manner [3] flew round and round the Room in a Moment, 'till the Lady I spoke of above and Servants entered; upon which she fell on a Couch as breathless. I still kept up my Friend; but he, with a very silly Air, bid them bring the Coach to the Door, and we went off, I forced to bid the Coachman drive on. We were no sooner come to my Lodgings, but all his Wife's Relations came to enquire after him; and Mrs. Freeman's Mother writ a Note, wherein she thought never to have seen this Day, and so forth.

In a word, Sir, I am afraid we are upon a thing we have no Talents for; and I can observe already, my Friend looks upon me rather as a Man that knows a Weakness of him that he is ashamed of, than one who has rescu'd him from Slavery. Mr. Spectator, I am but a young Fellow, and if Mr. Freeman submits, I shall be looked upon as an Incendiary, and never get a Wife as long as I breathe. He has indeed sent Word home he shall lie at Hampstead to-night; but I believe Fear of the first Onset after this Rupture has too great a Place in this Resolution. Mrs. Freeman has a very pretty Sister; suppose I delivered him up, and articled with the Mother for her for bringing him home. If he has not Courage to stand it, (you are a great Casuist) is it such an ill thing to bring my self off, as well as I can? What makes me doubt my Man, is, that I find he thinks it reasonable to expostulate at least with her; and Capt. SENTREY will tell you, if you let your Orders be disputed, you are no longer a Commander. I wish you could advise me how to get clear of this Business handsomely.

Yours,

Tom Meggot.

Footnote 1:No. 212

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Footnote 2:we

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Footnote 3:he

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Contents

No. 217

Thursday, November 1, 1711

Budgell

—Tunc fœmina simplex,

Et pariter toto repetitur clamor ab antro.

Juv. Sat. 6.

Mr. Spectator,

'In some of your first Papers you were pleased to give the Publick a very diverting Account of several Clubs and nocturnal Assemblies; but I am a Member of a Society which has wholly escaped your Notice, I mean a Club of She-Romps. We take each a Hackney-Coach, and meet once a Week in a large upper Chamber, which we hire by the Year for that Purpose; our Landlord and his Family, who are quiet People, constantly contriving to be abroad on our Club-Night. We are no sooner come together than we throw off all that Modesty and Reservedness with which our Sex are obliged to disguise themselves in publick Places. I am not able to express the Pleasure we enjoy from Ten at Night 'till four in the Morning, in being as rude as you Men can be, for your Lives. As our Play runs high the Room is immediately filled with broken Fans, torn Petticoats, Lappets of Head-dresses, Flounces, Furbelows, Garters, and Working-Aprons. I had forgot to tell you at first, that besides the Coaches we come in our selves, there is one which stands always empty to carry off our dead Men, for so we call all those Fragments and Tatters with which the Room is strewed, and which we pack up together in Bundles and put into the aforesaid Coach. It is no small Diversion for us to meet the next Night at some Member's Chamber, where every one is to pick out what belonged to her from this confused Bundle of Silks, Stuffs, Laces, and Ribbons. I have hitherto given you an Account of our Diversion on ordinary Club-Nights; but must acquaint you farther, that once a Month we demolish a Prude, that is, we get some queer formal Creature in among us, and unrig her in an Instant. Our last Month's Prude was so armed and fortified in Whalebone and Buckram that we had much ado to come at her; but you would have died with laughing to have seen how the sober awkward Thing looked when she was forced out of her Intrenchments. In short, Sir,'tis impossible to give you a true Notion of our Sports, unless you would come one Night amongst us; and tho' it be directly against the Rules of our Society to admit a Male Visitant, we repose so much Confidence in your Silence and Taciturnity, that 'twas agreed by the whole Club, at our last Meeting, to give you Entrance for one Night as a Spectator.

I am, Your Humble Servant,

Kitty Termagant.

P. S. We shall demolish a Prude next Thursday.

KittyClodiusBona DeaDemolishedPrude

Spectator;

Mr. Spectator,

'It is my Misfortune to be in Love with a young Creature who is daily committing Faults, which though they give me the utmost Uneasiness, I know not how to reprove her for, or even acquaint her with. She is pretty, dresses well, is rich, and good-humour'd; but either wholly neglects, or has no Notion of that which Polite People have agreed to distinguish by the Name of Delicacy. After our Return from a Walk the other Day she threw her self into an Elbow-Chair, and professed before a large Company, that she was all over in a Sweat. She told me this Afternoon that her Stomach aked; and was complaining Yesterday at Dinner of something that stuck in her Teeth. I treated her with a Basket of Fruit last Summer, which she eat so very greedily, as almost made me resolve never to see her more. In short, Sir, I begin to tremble whenever I see her about to speak or move. As she does not want Sense, if she takes these Hints I am happy; if not, I am more than afraid, that these Things which shock me even in the Behaviour of a Mistress, will appear insupportable in that of a Wife.

I am, Sir, Yours, &c.

Mr. Spectator,

I am happily arrived at a State of Tranquillity, which few People envy, I mean that of an old Maid; therefore being wholly unconcerned in all that Medley of Follies which our Sex is apt to contract from their silly Fondness of yours, I read your Railleries on us without Provocation. I can say with Hamlet,

—Man delights not me,

Nor Woman neither—

Therefore, dear Sir, as you never spare your own Sex, do not be afraid of reproving what is ridiculous in ours, and you will oblige at least one Woman, who is

Your humble Servant,

Susannah Frost.

Mr. Spectator,

I am Wife to a Clergyman, and cannot help thinking that in your Tenth or Tithe-Character of Womankind[1] you meant my self, therefore I have no Quarrel against you for the other Nine Characters.

Your humble Servant,

A.B.

Footnote 1:No. 209.

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Contents

No. 218

Friday, November 9, 1711

Steele

Quid de quoque viro et cui dicas sæpe caveto.

Hor.

Spectator

MrOh! do you leave your Money at his Shop? Why, do you know MrHe is indeed a general Merchant

Contents

No. 219

Saturday, November 10, 1711

Addison

Vix ea nostra voco—

Ov.

StrangersSojournersEarthPilgrimage

EpictetusIfcast[1]

The Wisdom ofThen shall the righteous Man stand in great Boldness before the Face of such as have afflicted him, and made no Account of his Labours. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible Fear, and shall be amazed at the Strangeness of his Salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. And they repenting and groaning for Anguish of Spirit, shall say within themselves; This was he whom we had sometime in Derision, and a Proverb of Reproach. We Fools accounted his Life Madness, and his End to be without Honour. How is he numbered among the Children of God, and his Lot is among the Saints![2]

If[3]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 220

Monday, November 12, 1711

Steele

Rumoresque serit varios

Virg.[1]

Sir,

'Why will you apply to my Father for my Love? I cannot help it if he will give you my Person; but I assure you it is not in his Power, nor even in my own, to give you my Heart. Dear Sir, do but consider the ill Consequence of such a Match; you are Fifty-five, I Twenty-one. You are a Man of Business, and mightily conversant in Arithmetick and making Calculations; be pleased therefore to consider what Proportion your Spirits bear to mine; and when you have made a just Estimate of the necessary Decay on one Side, and the Redundance on the other, you will act accordingly. This perhaps is such Language as you may not expect from a young Lady; but my Happiness is at Stake, and I must talk plainly. I mortally hate you; and so, as you and my Father agree, you may take me or leave me: But if you will be so good as never to see me more, you will for ever oblige,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Henrietta.

Mr. Spectator[2],

'There are so many Artifices and Modes of false Wit, and such a Variety of Humour discovers it self among its Votaries, that it would be impossible to exhaust so fertile a Subject, if you would think fit to resume it. The following Instances may, if you think fit, be added by Way of Appendix to your Discourses on that Subject.

'That Feat of Poetical Activity mentioned by Horace, of an Author who could compose two hundred Verses while he stood upon one Leg[3], has been imitated (as I have heard) by a modern Writer; who priding himself on the Hurry of his Invention, thought it no small Addition to his Fame to have each Piece minuted with the exact Number of Hours or Days it cost him in the Composition. He could taste no Praise till he had acquainted you in how short Space of Time he had deserved it; and was not so much led to an Ostentation of his Art, as of his Dispatch.

—Accipe si vis,

Accipe jam tabulas; detur nobis locus, hora,

Custodes: videamus uter plus scribere possit.

Hor.

'This was the whole of his Ambition; and therefore I cannot but think the Flights of this rapid Author very proper to be opposed to those laborious Nothings which you have observed were the Delight of the German Wits, and in which they so happily got rid of such a tedious Quantity of their Time.

'I have known a Gentleman of another Turn of Humour, who, despising the Name of an Author, never printed his Works, but contracted his Talent, and by the help of a very fine Diamond which he wore on his little Finger, was a considerable Poet upon Glass. He had a very good Epigrammatick Wit; and there was not a Parlour or Tavern Window where he visited or dined for some Years, which did not receive some Sketches or Memorials of it. It was his Misfortune at last to lose his Genius and his Ring to a Sharper at Play; and he has not attempted to make a Verse since.

'But of all Contractions or Expedients for Wit, I admire that of an ingenious Projector whose Book I have seen[4]. This Virtuoso being a Mathematician, has, according to his Taste, thrown the Art of Poetry into a short Problem, and contrived Tables by which any one without knowing a Word of Grammar or Sense, may, to his great Comfort, be able to compose or rather to erect Latin Verses. His Tables are a kind of Poetical Logarithms, which being divided into several Squares, and all inscribed with so many incoherent Words, appear to the Eye somewhat like a Fortune-telling Screen. What a Joy must it be to the unlearned Operator to find that these Words, being carefully collected and writ down in Order according to the Problem, start of themselves into Hexameter and Pentameter Verses? A Friend of mine, who is a Student in Astrology, meeting with this Book, performed the Operation, by the Rules there set down; he shewed his Verses to the next of his Acquaintance, who happened to understand Latin; and being informed they described a Tempest of Wind, very luckily prefixed them, together with a Translation, to an Almanack he was just then printing, and was supposed to have foretold the last great Storm[5].

'I think the only Improvement beyond this, would be that which the late Duke of Buckingham mentioned to a stupid Pretender to Poetry, as the Project of a Dutch Mechanick, viz. a Mill to make Verses. This being the most compendious Method of all which have yet been proposed, may deserve the Thoughts of our modern Virtuosi who are employed in new Discoveries for the publick Good: and it may be worth the while to consider, whether in an Island where few are content without being thought Wits, it will not be a common Benefit, that Wit as well as Labour should be made cheap.

I am, Sir, Your humble Servant, &c.

Mr. Spectator,

'I often dine at a Gentleman's House, where there are two young Ladies, in themselves very agreeable, but very cold in their Behaviour, because they understand me for a Person that is to break my Mind, as the Phrase is, very suddenly to one of them. But I take this Way to acquaint them, that I am not in Love with either of them, in Hopes they will use me with that agreeable Freedom and Indifference which they do all the rest of the World, and not to drink to one another only, but sometimes cast a kind Look, with their Service to,

Sir, Your humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a young Gentleman, and take it for a Piece of Good-breeding to pull off my Hat when I see any thing particularly charming in any Woman, whether I know her or not. I take care that there is nothing ludicrous or arch in my Manner, as if I were to betray a Woman into a Salutation by Way of Jest or Humour; and yet except I am acquainted with her, I find she ever takes it for a Rule, that she is to look upon this Civility and Homage I pay to her supposed Merit, as an Impertinence or Forwardness which she is to observe and neglect. I wish, Sir, you would settle the Business of salutation; and please to inform me how I shall resist the sudden Impulse I have to be civil to what gives an Idea of Merit; or tell these Creatures how to behave themselves in Return to the Esteem I have for them. My Affairs are such, that your Decision will be a Favour to me, if it be only to save the unnecessary Expence of wearing out my Hat so fast as I do at present.

'There are some that do know me, and won't bow to me.

I am, Sir,

Yours,

T.D.

Footnote 1:

—Aliena negotia centum

Per caput, et circa saliunt latus.

Hor.

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

—in hora saepe ducentos,

Ut magnum, versus dictabat stans pede in uno.

Sat

return

Footnote 4:Artificial Versifying, a New Way to make Latin Verses.

return

Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 221

Tuesday, November 13, 1711

Addison

—Ab Ovo

Usque ad Mala—

Hor.

It[1]

a Word to the WiseSpectatorThat good Wine needs no Bush

haveLatinSundayLatinAs in præsenti[2]

LatinGreek

RogerXenophonXerxes

AnswerI cover it,on purpose that you should not knowAbracadabra[3]

ThoseTetrachtys[4]Ten

EnglandEssexElizabeth'sCambridgeFirstFirstFirstChronicles

Adam, Sheth, Enosh

TheAlabasterFuller'sEnglish[5]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Quæ GenusAs in Præsenti

return

Footnote 3:

Abracadabra

Abracadabr

Abracadab

Abracada

History of the Plague.

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 222

Wednesday, November 14, 1711

Steele

Cur alter fratrum cessare, et ludere, et ungi,

Præferat Herodis palmetis pinguibus

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'There is one thing I have often look'd for in your Papers, and have as often wondered to find my self disappointed; the rather, because I think it a Subject every way agreeable to your Design, and by being left unattempted by others, seems reserved as a proper Employment for you; I mean a Disquisition, from whence it proceeds, that Men of the brightest Parts, and most comprehensive Genius, compleatly furnished with Talents for any Province in humane Affairs; such as by their wise Lessons of Œconomy to others have made it evident, that they have the justest Notions of Life and of true Sense in the Conduct of it—: from what unhappy contradictious Cause it proceeds, that Persons thus finished by Nature and by Art, should so often fail in the Management of that which they so well understand, and want the Address to make a right Application of their own Rules. This is certainly a prodigious Inconsistency in Behaviour, and makes much such a Figure in Morals as a monstrous Birth in Naturals, with this Difference only, which greatly aggravates the Wonder, that it happens much more frequently; and what a Blemish does it cast upon Wit and Learning in the general Account of the World? And in how disadvantageous a Light does it expose them to the busy Class of Mankind, that there should be so many Instances of Persons who have so conducted their Lives in spite of these transcendent Advantages, as neither to be happy in themselves, nor useful to their Friends; when every Body sees it was entirely in their own Power to be eminent in both these Characters? For my part, I think there is no Reflection more astonishing, than to consider one of these Gentlemen spending a fair Fortune, running in every Body's Debt without the least Apprehension of a future Reckoning, and at last leaving not only his own Children, but possibly those of other People, by his Means, in starving Circumstances; while a Fellow, whom one would scarce suspect to have a humane Soul, shall perhaps raise a vast Estate out of Nothing, and be the Founder of a Family capable of being very considerable in their Country, and doing many illustrious Services to it. That this Observation is just, Experience has put beyond all Dispute. But though the Fact be so evident and glaring, yet the Causes of it are still in the Dark; which makes me persuade my self, that it would be no unacceptable Piece of Entertainment to the Town, to inquire into the hidden Sources of so unaccountable an Evil. I am,

Sir,

Your most Humble Servant.

HoraceTigelliusMrDrydenZimri[1]

A Man so various, that he seem'd to be

Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome.

Stiff in Opinion, always in the Wrong,

Was every Thing by Starts, and Nothing long;

But in the Course of one revolving Moon,

Was Chymist, Fidler, Statesman, and Buffoon.

Then all for Women, Painting, Rhiming, Drinking,

Besides ten thousand Freaks that died in thinking;

Blest Madman, who could every Hour employ

In something new to wish or to enjoy!

In squandering Wealth was his peculiar Art,

Nothing went unrewarded but Desert.

Tully

s

No Thanks to him; if he had no Business, he would have nothing to do.

Footnote 1:i. e.Absalom and Achitophel.

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Contents

No. 223

Thursday, November 15, 1711

Addison

O suavis Anima! qualem te dicam bonam

Antehac fuisse, tales cùm sint reliquiæ!

Phæd.

GreeceItaly

Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto.

SapphoPlutarchCacusVulcan

PhaonSicilyVenusPhaonSappho

ThereAcarnaniaLeucrate[1]despairingThe Lover's LeapSappho

AfterSapphoWinter-Piece[2]DacierEnglishSapphoSappho

An Hymn to Venus

I

O Venus, Beauty of the Skies,

To whom a Thousand Temples rise,

Gayly false in gentle Smiles,

Full of Love's perplexing Wiles;

O Goddess! from my Heart remove

The wasting Cares and Pains of Love.

II

If ever thou hast kindly heard

A Song in soft Distress preferr'd,

Propitious to my tuneful Vow,

O gentle Goddess! hear me now.

Descend, thou bright, immortal Guest,

In all thy radiant Charms confest.

III

Thou once didst leave Almighty Jove,

And all the Golden Roofs above:

The Carr thy wanton Sparrows drew;

Hov'ring in Air they lightly flew,

As to my Bower they wing'd their Way:

I saw their quiv'ring Pinions play.

IV

The Birds dismist (while you remain)

Bore back their empty Carr again:

Then You, with Looks divinely mild,

In ev'ry heav'nly Feature smil'd,

And ask'd what new Complaints I made,

And why I call'd you to my Aid?

V

What Phrenzy in my Bosom rag'd,

And by what Care to be asswag'd?

What gentle Youth I could allure,

Whom in my artful Toiles secure?

Who does thy tender Heart subdue,

Tell me, my Sappho, tell me Who?

VI

Tho' now he Shuns thy longing Arms,

He soon shall court thy slighted Charms;

Tho' now thy Off'rings he despise,

He soon to thee shall Sacrifice;

Tho' now he freeze, he soon shall burn,

And be thy Victim in his turn.

VII

Celestial Visitant, once more

Thy needful Presence I implore!

In Pity come and ease my Grief,

Bring my distemper'd Soul Relief;

Favour thy Suppliant's hidden Fires,

And give me All my Heart desires.

DacierVenusSappho'sThisGreek[3]

Longinus

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:TatlerGuardianGuardianSpectator

When simple Macer, now of high renown,

First sought a Poet's fortune in the town,

'Twas all the ambition his high soul could feel,

To wear red stockings, and to dine with Steele.

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 224

Friday, November 16, 1711

Hughes

—Fulgente trahit constrictos Gloria curru

Non minus ignotos generosis

Hor. Sat. 6.

Thisingenuous[1]

TisWaller'sJulius CæsarRoman

Great Julius on the Mountains bred,

A Flock perhaps or Herd had led;

He that the World subdued, had been

But the best Wrestler on the Green.[2]

A covetous Man will call himself poor, that you may sooth his Vanity by contradicting him

DomitianRoman

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:To Zelinda.

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Contents

No. 225

Saturday, November 17, 1711

Addison

Nullum numen abest si sit Prudentia

Juv.

Reveriesthinking aloud

TullySirach

Polyphemus

speakSaturday's

Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away, yet she is easily seen of them that love her, and found of such as seek her. She preventeth them that desire her, in making herself first known unto them. He that seeketh her early, shall have no great Travel: for he shall find her sitting at his Doors. To think therefore upon her is Perfection of Wisdom, and whoso watcheth for her shall quickly be without Care. For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her, sheweth her self favourably unto them in the Ways, and meeteth them in every Thought[1].

Footnote 1:Wisdom

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Contents

No. 226

Monday, November 19, 1711[1]

Steele

—Mutum est pictura poema.

Hor. [2]

VenusBacchanalCupidsPolyphemesHampton—CourtRaphaelPaulAtheniansPresentDivine[3]Peter receives[4]sThomasRaphael

TheseDorigny[5]Raphael

BoulWednesdayShandois-street

Footnote 1:

'Do you ever read the SpectatorS? I never do; they never come in my way; I go to no coffee-houses. They say abundance of them are very pretty; they are going to be printed in small volumes; I'll bring them over with me.'

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Footnote 2:

Pictura Poesis erit.

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

Advertisement

There is arrived from Italy

a Painter

who acknowledges himself the greatest Person of the Age in that Art,

and is willing to be as renowned in this Island

as he declares he is in Foreign Parts.

The Doctor paints the Poor for nothing.

No. 227

Tuesday, November 20, 1711

Addison

Thursday'sThe Lover's LeapLeucasThis LeucasAcarnaniajoined to[1]LeucasIonianLeucateLeucasMauroLeucateThe Cape of St.

Theocritus

Alas! What will become of me! Wretch that I am! Will you not hear me? I'll throw off my Cloaths, and take a Leap into that Part of the Sea which is so much frequented by Olphis the Fisherman. And tho' I should escape with my Life, I know you will be pleased with it.

LeucatecannotLife[2]

Mr. Spectator,

'The Lover's Leap, which you mention in your 223d Paper, was generally, I believe, a very effectual Cure for Love, and not only for Love, but for all other Evils. In short, Sir, I am afraid it was such a Leap as that which Hero took to get rid of her Passion for Leander. A Man is in no Danger of breaking his Heart, who breaks his Neck to prevent it. I know very well the Wonders which ancient Authors relate concerning this Leap; and in particular, that very many Persons who tried it, escaped not only with their Lives but their Limbs. If by this Means they got rid of their Love, tho' it may in part be ascribed to the Reasons you give for it; why may not we suppose that the cold Bath into which they plunged themselves, had also some Share in their Cure? A Leap into the Sea or into any Creek of Salt Waters, very often gives a new Motion to the Spirits, and a new Turn to the Blood; for which Reason we prescribe it in Distempers which no other Medicine will reach. I could produce a Quotation out of a very venerable Author, in which the Frenzy produced by Love, is compared to that which is produced by the Biting of a mad Dog. But as this Comparison is a little too coarse for your Paper, and might look as if it were cited to ridicule the Author who has made use of it; I shall only hint at it, and desire you to consider whether, if the Frenzy produced by these two different Causes be of the same Nature, it may not very properly be cured by the same Means.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant, and Well-wisher,

Esculapius.'

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a young Woman crossed in Love. My Story is very long and melancholy. To give you the heads of it: A young Gentleman, after having made his Applications to me for three Years together, and filled my Head with a thousand Dreams of Happiness, some few Days since married another. Pray tell me in what Part of the World your Promontory lies, which you call The Lover's Leap, and whether one may go to it by Land? But, alas, I am afraid it has lost its Virtue, and that a Woman of our Times would find no more Relief in taking such a Leap, than in singing an Hymn to Venus. So that I must cry out with Dido in Dryden's Virgil,

Ah! cruel Heaven, that made no Cure for Love!

Your disconsolate Servant,

Athenais.'

Mister Spictatur,

' My Heart is so full of Lofes and Passions for Mrs. Gwinifrid, and she is so pettish and overrun with Cholers against me, that if I had the good Happiness to have my Dwelling (which is placed by my Creat-Cranfather upon the Pottom of an Hill) no farther Distance but twenty Mile from the Lofer's Leap, I would indeed indeafour to preak my Neck upon it on Purpose. Now, good Mister Spictatur of Crete Prittain, you must know it there is in Caernaruanshire a fery pig Mountain, the Glory of all Wales, which is named Penmainmaure, and you must also know, it iss no great Journey on Foot from me; but the Road is stony and bad for Shooes. Now, there is upon the Forehead of this Mountain a very high Rock, (like a Parish Steeple) that cometh a huge deal over the Sea; so when I am in my Melancholies, and I do throw myself from it, I do desire my fery good Friend to tell me in his Spictatur, if I shall be cure of my grefous Lofes; for there is the Sea clear as Glass, and as creen as the Leek: Then likewise if I be drown, and preak my Neck, if Mrs. Gwinifrid will not lose me afterwards. Pray be speedy in your Answers, for I am in crete Haste, and it is my Tesires to do my Pusiness without Loss of Time. I remain with cordial Affections, your ever lofing Friend,

Davyth ap Shenkyn.'

P. S. 'My Law-suits have brought me to London, but I have lost my Causes; and so have made my Resolutions to go down and leap before the Frosts begin; for I am apt to take Colds.'

HudibrasDon QuixoteGreekApolloLeucateGrecianspeak[3]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:227234237247248certainlybe ready

There is now Printing by Subscription two Volumes of the SpectatorS on a large Character in Octavo; the Price of the two Vols. well Bound and Gilt two Guineas. Those who are inclined to Subscribe, are desired to make their first Payments to Jacob Tonson, Bookseller in the Strand, the Books being so near finished, that they will be ready for the Subscribers at or before Christmas next.

The Third and Fourth Volumes of the Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq., are ready to be delivered at the same Place.

N .B. The Author desires that such Gentlemen who have not received their Books for which they have Subscribed, would be pleased to signify the same to Mr. Tonson.

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No. 228

Wednesday, November 21, 1711

Steele

Percunctatorem fugito, nam Garrulus idem est.

Hor.

IndianEuropean

verbatim

This wants Confirmation, This occasions many SpeculationsTime will discover the Event

Mr. Spectator,

'Plutarch tells us, that Caius Gracchus, the Roman, was frequently hurried by his Passion into so loud and tumultuous a way of Speaking, and so strained his Voice as not to be able to proceed. To remedy this Excess, he had an ingenious Servant, by Name Licinius, always attended him with a Pitch-pipe, or Instrument to regulate the Voice; who, whenever he heard his Master begin to be high, immediately touched a soft Note; at which,'tis said, Caius would presently abate and grow calm.

'Upon recollecting this Story, I have frequently wondered that this useful Instrument should have been so long discontinued; especially since we find that this good Office of Licinius has preserved his Memory for many hundred Years, which, methinks, should have encouraged some one to have revived it, if not for the publick Good, yet for his own Credit. It may be objected, that our loud Talkers are so fond of their own Noise, that they would not take it well to be check'd by their Servants: But granting this to be true, surely any of their Hearers have a very good Title to play a soft Note in their own Defence. To be short, no Licinius appearing and the Noise increasing, I was resolved to give this late long Vacation to the Good of my Country; and I have at length, by the Assistance of an ingenious Artist, (who works to the Royal Society) almost compleated my Design, and shall be ready in a short Time to furnish the Publick with what Number of these Instruments they please, either to lodge at Coffee-houses, or carry for their own private Use. In the mean time I shall pay that Respect to several Gentlemen, who I know will be in Danger of offending against this Instrument, to give them notice of it by private Letters, in which I shall only write, Get a Licinius.

'I should now trouble you no longer, but that I must not conclude without desiring you to accept one of these Pipes, which shall be left for you with Buckley; and which I hope will be serviceable to you, since as you are silent yourself you are most open to the Insults of the Noisy.

I am, Sir, &c.

W. B.

'I had almost forgot to inform you, that as an Improvement in this Instrument, there will be a particular Note, which I call a Hush-Note; and this is to be made use of against a long Story, Swearing, Obsceneness, and the like.

Contents

No. 229

Thursday, November 22, 1711

Addison

—Spirat adhuc amor,

Vivuntque commissi calores

Æoliæ fidibus puellæ.

Hor.

AmongRome[1]Michael AngeloGustoItalianMichael Angelo's

FragmentSappho[2]Dryden

CatullusBoileauHymn to Venus

Ad Lesbiam

Ille mî par esse deo videtur,

Ille, si fas est, superare divos,

Qui sedens adversus identidem te,

Spectat, et audit.

Dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis

Eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te,

Lesbia, adspexi, nihil est super mî

Quod loquar amens.

Lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus

Flamnia dimanat, sonitu suopte

Tinniunt aures, gemina teguntur

Lumina nocte.

MyRoman[3]GreekSapphickDacierSapphoLonginus

Boileau

Heureux! qui prés de toi, pour toi seule soûpire:

Qui jouït du plaisir de t'entendre parler:

Qui te voit quelquefois doucement lui soûrire.

Les Dieux, dans son bonheur, peuvent-ils l'égaler?

Je sens de veine en veine une subtile flamme

Courir par tout mon corps, si-tost que je te vois:

Et dans les doux transports, où s'egare mon ame,

Je ne sçaurois trouver de langue, ni de voix.

Un nuage confus se répand sùr ma vuë,

Je n'entens plus, je tombe en de douces langueurs;

Et pâle, sans haleine, interdite, esperduë,

Un frisson me saisit, je tremble, je me meurs.

BoileauEnglish

I

Blest as th'immortal Gods is he,

The Youth who fondly sits by thee,

And hears and sees thee all the while

Softly speak and sweetly smile.

II

'Twas this deprived my Soul of Rest,

And raised such Tumults in my Breast;

For while I gaz'd, in Transport tost,

My Breath was gone, my Voice was lost:

III

My Bosom glowed; the subtle Flame

Ran quick through all my vital Frame;

O'er my dim Eyes a Darkness hung;

My Ears with hollow Murmurs rung.

IV

In dewy Damps my Limbs were chil'd;

My Blood with gentle Horrors thrill'd;

My feeble Pulse forgot to play;

I fainted, sunk, and dy'd away.

LonginusSapphoGreek

LonginusSappho

PlutarchThatAntiochusStratoniceErasistratusSappho's[4]StratoniceSapphoAntiochus

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:223

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Life of Demetrius.

'When others entered Antiochus was entirely unaffected. But when Stratonice came in, as she often did, he shewed all the symptoms described by Sappho, the faltering voice, the burning blush, the languid eye, the sudden sweat, the tumultuous pulse; and at length, the passion overcoming his spirits, a swoon and mortal paleness.'

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No. 230

Friday, November 23, 1711

Steele

Homines ad Deos nullâ re propiùs accedunt, quam salutem Hominibus dando.

Tull.

Buteach[1]Pliny

To MAXIMUS.

What I should gladly do for any Friend of yours, I think I may now with Confidence request for a Friend of mine. Arrianus Maturius is the most considerable Man of his Country; when I call him so, I do not speak with Relation to his Fortune, though that is very plentiful, but to his Integrity, Justice, Gravity, and Prudence; his Advice is useful to me in Business, and his Judgment in Matters of Learning: His Fidelity, Truth, and good Understanding, are very great; besides this, he loves me as you do, than which I cannot say any thing that signifies a warmer Affection. He has nothing that's aspiring; and though he might rise to the highest Order of Nobility, he keeps himself in an inferior Rank; yet I think my self bound to use my Endeavours to serve and promote him; and would therefore find the Means of adding something to his Honours while he neither expects nor knows it, nay, though he should refuse it. Something, in short, I would have for him that may be honourable, but not troublesome; and I entreat that you will procure him the first thing of this kind that offers, by which you will not only oblige me, but him also; for though he does not covet it, I know he will be as grateful in acknowledging your Favour as if he had asked it[2].

Mr. Spectator,

The Reflections in some of your Papers on the servile manner of Education now in Use, have given Birth to an Ambition, which, unless you discountenance it, will, I doubt, engage me in a very difficult, tho not ungrateful Adventure. I am about to undertake, for the sake of the British Youth, to instruct them in such a manner, that the most dangerous Page in Virgil or Homer may be read by them with much Pleasure, and with perfect Safety to their Persons.

Could I prevail so far as to be honoured with the Protection of some few of them, (for I am not Hero enough to rescue many) my Design is to retire with them to an agreeable Solitude; though within the Neighbourhood of a City, for the Convenience of their being instructed in Musick, Dancing, Drawing, Designing, or any other such Accomplishments, which it is conceived may make as proper Diversions for them, and almost as pleasant, as the little sordid Games which dirty School-boys are so much delighted with. It may easily be imagined, how such a pretty Society, conversing with none beneath themselves, and sometimes admitted as perhaps not unentertaining Parties amongst better Company, commended and caressed for their little Performances, and turned by such Conversations to a certain Gallantry of Soul, might be brought early acquainted with some of the most polite English Writers. This having given them some tolerable Taste of Books, they would make themselves Masters of the Latin Tongue by Methods far easier than those in Lilly, with as little Difficulty or Reluctance as young Ladies learn to speak French, or to sing Italian Operas. When they had advanced thus far, it would be time to form their Taste something more exactly: One that had any true Relish of fine Writing, might, with great Pleasure both to himself and them, run over together with them the best Roman Historians, Poets, and Orators, and point out their more remarkable Beauties; give them a short Scheme of Chronology, a little View of Geography, Medals, Astronomy, or what else might best feed the busy inquisitive Humour so natural to that Age. Such of them as had the least Spark of Genius, when it was once awakened by the shining Thoughts and great Sentiments of those admired Writers, could not, I believe, be easily withheld from attempting that more difficult Sister Language, whose exalted Beauties they would have heard so often celebrated as the Pride and Wonder of the whole Learned World. In the mean while, it would be requisite to exercise their Style in Writing any light Pieces that ask more of Fancy than of Judgment: and that frequently in their Native Language, which every one methinks should be most concerned to cultivate, especially Letters, in which a Gentleman must have so frequent Occasions to distinguish himself. A Set of genteel good-natured Youths fallen into such a Manner of Life, would form almost a little Academy, and doubtless prove no such contemptible Companions, as might not often tempt a wiser Man to mingle himself in their Diversions, and draw them into such serious Sports as might prove nothing less instructing than the gravest Lessons. I doubt not but it might be made some of their Favourite Plays, to contend which of them should recite a beautiful Part of a Poem or Oration most gracefully, or sometimes to join in acting a Scene of Terence, Sophocles, or our own Shakespear. The Cause of Milo might again be pleaded before more favourable Judges, Cæsar a second time be taught to tremble, and another Race of Athenians be afresh enraged at the Ambition of another Philip. Amidst these noble Amusements, we could hope to see the early Dawnings of their Imagination daily brighten into Sense, their Innocence improve into Virtue, and their unexperienced Good-nature directed to a generous Love of their Country.

I am, &c.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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No. 231

Saturday, November 24, 1711

Addison

O Pudor! O Pietas!

Mart.

Mr. Spectator[1],

You, who are no Stranger to Publick Assemblies, cannot but have observed the Awe they often strike on such as are obliged to exert any Talent before them. This is a sort of elegant Distress, to which ingenuous Minds are the most liable, and may therefore deserve some remarks in your Paper. Many a brave Fellow, who has put his Enemy to Flight in the Field, has been in the utmost Disorder upon making a Speech before a Body of his Friends at home: One would think there was some kind of Fascination in the Eyes of a large Circle of People, when darting altogether upon one Person. I have seen a new Actor in a Tragedy so bound up by it as to be scarce able to speak or move, and have expected he would have died above three Acts before the Dagger or Cup of Poison were brought in. It would not be amiss, if such an one were at first introduced as a Ghost or a Statue, till he recovered his Spirits, and grew fit for some living Part.

As this sudden Desertion of one's self shews a Diffidence, which is not displeasing, it implies at the same time the greatest Respect to an Audience that can be. It is a sort of mute Eloquence, which pleads for their Favour much better than Words could do; and we find their Generosity naturally moved to support those who are in so much Perplexity to entertain them. I was extremely pleased with a late Instance of this Kind at the Opera of Almahide, in the Encouragement given to a young Singer[2], whose more than ordinary Concern on her first Appearance, recommended her no less than her agreeable Voice, and just Performance. Meer Bashfulness without Merit is awkward; and Merit without Modesty, insolent. But modest Merit has a double Claim to Acceptance, and generally meets with as many Patrons as Beholders.

I am, &c.

the Lips

Cicero

—Linguá melior, sedfrigida bello

Dextera—

boldDrancesVirgilHomer[3]

Feeling

Greece

SenecaCato

Cæsar

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Iliad

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Contents

No. 232

Monday, November 26, 1711

Hughes[1]

Nihil largiundo gloriam adeptus est.

Sallust.

Andrew FreeportAndrew

'Well then', says Sir Andrew, 'we go off with the Prayers and good Wishes of the Beggars, and perhaps too our Healths will be drunk at the next Ale-house: So all we shall be able to value ourselves upon, is, that we have promoted the Trade of the Victualler and the Excises of the Government. But how few Ounces of Wooll do we see upon the Backs of those poor Creatures? And when they shall next fall in our Way, they will hardly be better dressd; they must always live in Rags to look like Objects of Compassion. If their Families too are such as they are represented, tis certain they cannot be better clothed, and must be a great deal worse fed: One would think Potatoes should be all their Bread, and their Drink the pure Element; and then what goodly Customers are the Farmers like to have for their Wooll, Corn and Cattle? Such Customers, and such a Consumption, cannot choose but advance the landed Interest, and hold up the Rents of the Gentlemen.

'But of all Men living, we Merchants, who live by Buying and Selling, ought never to encourage Beggars. The Goods which we export are indeed the Product of the lands, but much the greatest Part of their Value is the Labour of the People: but how much of these People's Labour shall we export whilst we hire them to sit still? The very Alms they receive from us, are the Wages of Idleness. I have often thought that no Man should be permitted to take Relief from the Parish, or to ask it in the Street, till he has first purchased as much as possible of his own Livelihood by the Labour of his own Hands; and then the Publick ought only to be taxed to make good the Deficiency. If this Rule was strictly observed, we should see every where such a Multitude of new Labourers, as would in all probability reduce the Prices of all our Manufactures. It is the very Life of Merchandise to buy cheap and sell dear. The Merchant ought to make his Outset as cheap as possible, that he may find the greater Profit upon his Returns; and nothing will enable him to do this like the Reduction of the Price of Labour upon all our Manufactures. This too would be the ready Way to increase the Number of our Foreign Markets: The Abatement of the Price of the Manufacture would pay for the Carriage of it to more distant Countries; and this Consequence would be equally beneficial both to the Landed and Trading Interests. As so great an Addition of labouring Hands would produce this happy Consequence both to the Merchant and the Gentle man; our Liberality to common Beggars, and every other Obstruction to the Increase of Labourers, must be equally pernicious to both.

Andrew

'It may seem, says he, a Paradox, that the Price of Labour should be reduced without an Abatement of Wages, or that Wages can be abated without any Inconvenience to the Labourer, and yet nothing is more certain than that both those Things may happen. The Wages of the Labourers make the greatest Part of the Price of every Thing that is useful; and if in Proportion with the Wages the Prices of all other Things should be abated, every Labourer with less Wages would be still able to purchase as many Necessaries of Life; where then would be the Inconvenience? But the Price of Labour may be reduced by the Addition of more Hands to a Manufacture, and yet the Wages of Persons remain as high as ever. The admirable Sir William Petty[2] has given Examples of this in some of his Writings: One of them, as I remember, is that of a Watch, which I shall endeavour to explain so as shall suit my present Purpose. It is certain that a single Watch could not be made so cheap in Proportion by one only Man, as a hundred Watches by a hundred; for as there is vast Variety in the Work, no one Person could equally suit himself to all the Parts of it; the Manufacture would be tedious, and at last but clumsily performed: But if an hundred Watches were to be made by a hundred Men, the Cases may be assigned to one, the Dials to another, the Wheels to another, the Springs to another, and every other Part to a proper Artist; as there would be no need of perplexing any one Person with too much Variety, every one would be able to perform his single Part with greater Skill and Expedition; and the hundred Watches would be finished in one fourth Part of the Time of the first one, and every one of them at one fourth Part of the Cost, tho' the Wages of every Man were equal. The Reduction of the Price of the Manufacture would increase the Demand of it, all the same Hands would be still employed and as well paid. The same Rule will hold in the Clothing, the Shipping, and all the other Trades whatsoever. And thus an Addition of Hands to our Manufactures will only reduce the Price of them; the Labourer will still have as much Wages, and will consequently be enabled to purchase more Conveniencies of Life; so that every Interest in the Nation would receive a Benefit from the Increase of our Working People.

Besides, I see no Occasion for this Charity to common Beggars, since every Beggar is an Inhabitant of a Parish, and every Parish is taxed to the Maintenance of their own Poor[3].

For my own part, I cannot be mightily pleased with the Laws which have done this, which have provided better to feed than employ the Poor. We have a Tradition from our Forefathers, that after the first of those Laws was made, they were insulted with that famous Song;

Hang Sorrow, and cast away Care,

The Parish is bound to find us, &c.

And if we will be so good-natured as to maintain them without Work, they can do no less in Return than sing us The Merry Beggars.

What then? Am I against all Acts of Charity? God forbid! I know of no Virtue in the Gospel that is in more pathetical Expressions recommended to our Practice.

I was hungry and ye[4] gave me no Meat, thirsty and ye gave me no Drink, naked and ye clothed me not, a Stranger and ye took me not in, sick and in prison and ye visited me not.

Our Blessed Saviour treats the Exercise or Neglect of Charity towards a poor Man, as the Performance or Breach of this Duty towards himself. I shall endeavour to obey the Will of my Lord and Master: And therefore if an industrious Man shall submit to the hardest Labour and coarsest Fare, rather than endure the Shame of taking Relief from the Parish, or asking it in the Street, this is the Hungry, the Thirsty, the Naked; and I ought to believe, if any Man is come hither for Shelter against Persecution or Oppression, this is the Stranger, and I ought to take him in. If any Countryman of our own is fallen into the Hands of Infidels, and lives in a State of miserable Captivity, this is the Man in Prison, and I should contribute to his Ransom. I ought to give to an Hospital of Invalids, to recover as many useful Subjects as I can; but I shall bestow none of my Bounties upon an Alms-house of idle People; and for the same Reason I should not think it a Reproach to me if I had withheld my Charity from those common Beggars. But we prescribe better Rules than we are able to practise; we are ashamed not to give into the mistaken Customs of our Country: But at the same time, I cannot but think it a Reproach worse than that of common Swearing, that the Idle and the Abandoned are suffered in the Name of Heaven and all that is sacred, to extort from Christian and tender Minds a Supply to a profligate Way of Life, that is always to be supported, but never relieved.

Z[5]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Discourse of Taxes

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:you

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Footnote 5:

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No. 233

Tuesday, November 27, 1711

Addison

—Tanquam hec sint nostri medicina furoris,

Aut Deus ille malis hominum mitescere discat. Virg.

GreekApolloLeucateAn Account of Persons Male and Female, who offered up their Vows in the Temple of thein the Forty sixth Olympiad, and leaped from the Promontory ofinto thein order to cure themselves of the Passion of Love

Battus, the Son of Menalcas the Sicilian, leaped for Bombyca the Musician: Got rid of his Passion with the Loss of his Right Leg and Arm, which were broken in the Fall.

Melissa, in Love with Daphnis, very much bruised, but escaped with Life.

Cynisca, the Wife of Æschines, being in Love with Lycus; and Æschines her Husband being in Love with Eurilla; (which had made this married Couple very uneasy to one another for several Years) both the Husband and the Wife took the Leap by Consent; they both of them escaped, and have lived very happily together ever since.

Larissa, a Virgin of Thessaly, deserted by Plexippus, after a Courtship of three Years; she stood upon the Brow of the Promontory for some time, and after having thrown down a Ring, a Bracelet, and a little Picture, with other Presents which she had received from Plexippus, she threw her self into the Sea, and was taken up alive.

N. B. Larissa, before she leaped, made an Offering of a Silver Cupid in the Temple of Apollo.

Simaetha, in Love with Daphnis the Myndian, perished in the Fall.

Charixus, the Brother of Sappho, in Love with Rhodope the Courtesan, having spent his whole Estate upon her, was advised by his Sister to leap in the Beginning of his Amour, but would not hearken to her till he was reduced to his last Talent; being forsaken by Rhodope, at length resolved to take the Leap. Perished in it.

Aridæus, a beautiful Youth of Epirus, in Love with Praxinoe, the Wife of Thespis, escaped without Damage, saving only that two of his Fore-Teeth were struck out and his Nose a little flatted.

Cleora, a Widow of Ephesus, being inconsolable for the Death of her Husband, was resolved to take this Leap in order to get rid of her Passion for his Memory; but being arrived at the Promontory, she there met with Dimmachus the Miletian, and after a short Conversation with him, laid aside the Thoughts of her Leap, and married him in the Temple of Apollo.

N. B. Her Widow's Weeds are still to be seen hanging up in the Western Corner of the Temple.

Olphis, the Fisherman, having received a Box on the Ear from Thestylis the Day before, and being determined to have no more to do with her, leaped, and escaped with Life.

Atalanta, an old Maid, whose Cruelty had several Years before driven two or three despairing Lovers to this Leap; being now in the fifty fifth Year of her Age, and in Love with an Officer of Sparta, broke her Neck in the Fall.

Hipparchus being passionately fond of his own Wife who was enamoured of Bathyllus, leaped, and died of his Fall; upon which his Wife married her Gallant.

Tettyx, the Dancing-Master, in Love with Olympia an Athenian Matron, threw himself from the Rock with great Agility, but was crippled in the Fall.

Diagoras, the Usurer, in Love with his Cook-Maid; he peeped several times over the Precipice, but his Heart misgiving him, he went back, and married her that Evening.

Cinædus, after having entered his own Name in the Pythian Records, being asked the Name of the Person whom he leaped for, and being ashamed to discover it, he was set aside, and not suffered to leap.

Eunica, a Maid of Paphos, aged Nineteen, in Love with Eurybates. Hurt in the Fall, but recovered.

N. B. This was her second Time of Leaping.

Hesperus, a young Man of Tarentum, in Love with his Master's Daughter. Drowned, the Boats not coming in soon enough to his Relief.

Sappho, the Lesbian, in Love with Phaon, arrived at the Temple of Apollo, habited like a Bride in Garments as white as Snow. She wore a Garland of Myrtle on her Head, and carried in her Hand the little Musical Instrument of her own Invention. After having sung an Hymn to Apollo, she hung up her Garland on one Side of his Altar, and her Harp on the other. She then tuck'd up her Vestments, like a Spartan Virgin, and amidst thousands of Spectators, who were anxious for her Safety, and offered up Vows for her Deliverance, marched[1] directly forwards to the utmost Summit of the Promontory, where after having repeated a Stanza of her own Verses, which we could not hear, she threw herself off the Rock with such an Intrepidity as was never before observed in any who had attempted that dangerous Leap. Many who were present related, that they saw her fall into the Sea, from whence she never rose again; tho' there were others who affirmed, that she never came to the Bottom of her Leap, but that she was changed into a Swan as she fell, and that they saw her hovering in the Air under that Shape. But whether or no the Whiteness and Fluttering of her Garments might not deceive those who looked upon her, or whether she might not really be metamorphosed into that musical and melancholy Bird, is still a Doubt among the Lesbians.

Alcæus, the famous Lyrick Poet, who had for some time been passionately in Love with Sappho, arrived at the Promontory of Leucate that very Evening, in order to take the Leap upon her Account; but hearing that Sappho had been there before him, and that her Body could be no where found, he very generously lamented her Fall, and is said to have written his hundred and twenty fifth Ode upon that Occasion.

Leaped in this Olympiad

250[2]

Males

124

Females

126

Cured

120[3]

Males

51

Females

69

Footnote 1:she marched

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Footnote 2:350

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Footnote 3:150

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Contents

No. 234

Wednesday, November 28, 1711

Steele

Vellum in amicitia erraremus.

Hor.[1]

AtheniansO Athenians!PlatoHething[2]England

To the Spectator.

Devonshire, Nov. 14, 1711.

Sir,

There arrived in this Neighbourhood two Days ago one of your gay Gentlemen of the Town, who being attended at his Entry with a Servant of his own, besides a Countryman he had taken up for a Guide, excited the Curiosity of the Village to learn whence and what he might be. The Countryman (to whom they applied as most easy of Access) knew little more than that the Gentleman came from London to travel and see Fashions, and was, as he heard say, a Free-thinker: What Religion that might be, he could not tell; and for his own Part, if they had not told him the Man was a Free-thinker, he should have guessed, by his way of talking, he was little better than a Heathen; excepting only that he had been a good Gentleman to him, and made him drunk twice in one Day, over and above what they had bargained for.

I do not look upon the Simplicity of this, and several odd Inquiries with which I shall not trouble you to be wondered at, much less can I think that our Youths of fine Wit, and enlarged Understandings, have any Reason to laugh. There is no Necessity that every Squire in Great Britain should know what the Word Free-thinker stands for; but it were much to be wished, that they who value themselves upon that conceited Title were a little better instructed in what it ought to stand for; and that they would not perswade themselves a Man is really and truly a Free-thinker in any tolerable Sense, meerly by virtue of his being an Atheist, or an Infidel of any other Distinction. It may be doubted, with good Reason, whether there ever was in Nature a more abject, slavish, and bigotted Generation than the Tribe of Beaux Esprits, at present so prevailing in this Island. Their Pretension to be Free-thinkers, is no other than Rakes have to be Free-livers, and Savages to be Free-men, that is, they can think whatever they have a Mind to, and give themselves up to whatever Conceit the Extravagancy of their Inclination, or their Fancy, shall suggest; they can think as wildly as they talk and act, and will not endure that their Wit should be controuled by such formal Things as Decency and common Sense: Deduction, Coherence, Consistency, and all the Rules of Reason they accordingly disdain, as too precise and mechanical for Men of a liberal Education.

This, as far as I could ever learn from their Writings, or my own Observation, is a true Account of the British Free-thinker. Our Visitant here, who gave occasion to this Paper, has brought with him a new System of common Sense, the Particulars of which I am not yet acquainted with, but will lose no Opportunity of informing my self whether it contain any thing[3] worth Mr. Spectator'S Notice. In the mean time, Sir, I cannot but think it would be for the good of Mankind, if you would take this Subject into your own Consideration, and convince the hopeful Youth of our Nation, that Licentiousness is not Freedom; or, if such a Paradox will not be understood, that a Prejudice towards Atheism is not Impartiality.

I am, Sir, Your most humble Servant,

Philonous.

Footnote 1:

Splendide mendax.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 235

Thursday, November 29, 1711

Addison

Populares

Vincentum strepitus Hor.

Trunk-maker in the upper GalleryHamlet

Nicolini'sHeDogget[1]Shakespear

meanVirgils[2]

Brutum fulmenHeadThe[3]

Horace'sHerculesApollo

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Æneid

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 236

Friday, November 30, 1711

Steele

—Dare Jura maritis.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'You have not spoken in so direct a manner upon the Subject of Marriage as that important Case deserves. It would not be improper to observe upon the Peculiarity in the Youth of Great Britain, of railing and laughing at that Institution; and when they fall into it, from a profligate Habit of Mind, being insensible of the Satisfaction[1] in that Way of Life, and treating their Wives with the most barbarous Disrespect.

'Particular Circumstances and Cast of Temper, must teach a Man the Probability of mighty Uneasinesses in that State, (for unquestionably some there are whose very Dispositions are strangely averse to conjugal Friendship;) but no one, I believe, is by his own natural Complexion prompted to teaze and torment another for no Reason but being nearly allied to him: And can there be any thing more base, or serve to sink a Man so much below his own distinguishing Characteristick, (I mean Reason) than returning Evil for Good in so open a Manner, as that of treating an helpless Creature with Unkindness, who has had so good an Opinion of him as to believe what he said relating to one of the greatest Concerns of Life, by delivering her Happiness in this World to his Care and Protection? Must not that Man be abandoned even to all manner of Humanity, who can deceive a Woman with Appearances of Affection and Kindness, for no other End but to torment her with more Ease and Authority? Is any Thing more unlike a Gentleman, than when his Honour is engaged for the performing his Promises, because nothing but that can oblige him to it, to become afterwards false to his Word, and be alone the Occasion of Misery to one whose Happiness he but lately pretended was dearer to him than his own? Ought such a one to be trusted in his common Affairs? or treated but as one whose Honesty consisted only in his Incapacity of being otherwise?

'There is one Cause of this Usage no less absurd than common, which takes place among the more unthinking Men: and that is the Desire to appear to their Friends free and at Liberty, and without those Trammels they have so much ridiculed. To avoid[2] this they fly into the other Extream, and grow Tyrants that they may seem Masters. Because an uncontroulable Command of their own Actions is a certain Sign of entire Dominion, they won't so much as recede from the Government even in one Muscle, of their Faces. A kind Look they believe would be fawning, and a civil Answer yielding the Superiority. To this must we attribute an Austerity they betray in every Action: What but this can put a Man out of Humour in his Wife's Company, tho' he is so distinguishingly pleasant every where else? The Bitterness of his Replies, and the Severity of his Frowns to the tenderest of Wives, clearly demonstrate, that an ill-grounded Fear of being thought too submissive, is at the Bottom of this, as I am willing to call it, affected Moroseness; but if it be such only, put on to convince his Acquaintance of his entire Dominion, let him take Care of the Consequence, which will be certain, and worse than the present Evil; his seeming Indifference will by Degrees grow into real Contempt, and if it doth not wholly alienate the Affections of his Wife for ever from him, make both him and her more miserable than if it really did so.

However inconsistent it may appear, to be thought a well-bred Person has no small Share in this clownish Behaviour: A Discourse therefore relating to good Breeding towards a loving and a tender Wife, would be of great Use to this Sort of Gentlemen. Could you but once convince them, that to be civil at least is not beneath the Character of a Gentleman, nor even tender Affection towards one who would make it reciprocal, betrays any Softness or Effeminacy that the most masculine Disposition need be ashamed of; could you satisfy them of the Generosity of voluntary Civility, and the Greatness of Soul that is conspicuous in Benevolence without immediate Obligations; could you recommend to People's Practice the Saying of the Gentleman quoted in one of your Speculations, That he thought it incumbent upon him to make the Inclinations of a Woman of Merit go along with her Duty: Could you, I say, perswade these Men of the Beauty and Reasonableness of this Sort of Behaviour, I have so much Charity for some of them at least, to believe you would convince them of a Thing they are only ashamed to allow: Besides, you would recommend that State in its truest, and consequently its most agreeable Colours; and the Gentlemen who have for any Time been such professed Enemies to it, when Occasion should serve, would return you their Thanks for assisting their Interest in prevailing over their Prejudices. Marriage in general would by this Means be a more easy and comfortable Condition; the Husband would be no where so well satisfied as in his own Parlour, nor the Wife so pleasant as in the Company of her Husband: A Desire of being agreeable in the Lover would be increased in the Husband, and the Mistress be more amiable by becoming the Wife. Besides all which, I am apt to believe we should find the Race of Men grow wiser as their Progenitors grew kinder, and the Affection of the Parents would be conspicuous in the Wisdom of their Children; in short, Men would in general be much better humoured than they are, did not they so frequently exercise the worst Turns of their Temper where they ought to exert the best.

MR. Spectator,

I am a Woman who left the Admiration of this whole Town, to throw myself (for[3] Love of Wealth) into the Arms of a Fool. When I married him, I could have had any one of several Men of Sense who languished for me; but my Case is just. I believed my superior Understanding would form him into a tractable Creature. But, alas, my Spouse has Cunning and Suspicion, the inseparable Companions of little Minds; and every Attempt I make to divert, by putting on an agreeable Air, a sudden Chearfulness, or kind Behaviour, he looks upon as the first Act towards an Insurrection against his undeserved Dominion over me. Let every one who is still to chuse, and hopes to govern a Fool, remember

Tristissa.

St. Martins, November 25.

Mr. Spectator,

This is to complain of an evil Practice which I think very well deserves a Redress, though you have not as yet taken any Notice of it: If you mention it in your Paper, it may perhaps have a very good Effect. What I mean is the Disturbance some People give to others at Church, by their Repetition of the Prayers after the Minister, and that not only in the Prayers, but also the Absolution and the Commandments fare no better, winch are in a particular Manner the Priest's Office: This I have known done in so audible a manner, that sometimes their Voices have been as loud as his. As little as you would think it, this is frequently done by People seemingly devout. This irreligious Inadvertency is a Thing extremely offensive: But I do not recommend it as a Thing I give you Liberty to ridicule, but hope it may be amended by the bare Mention.

Sir, Your very humble Servant,

T. S.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:For this Reason should they appear the least like what they were so much used to laugh at, they would become the Jest of themselves, and the Object of that Raillery they formerly bestowed on others. To avoid &c.

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Footnote 3:by

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Contents

No. 237

Saturday, December 1, 1711

Addison

Visu carentem magna pars veri latet.

Senec. in Œdip.

Milton

Others apart sate on a Hill retired,

In Thoughts more elevate, and reason'd high

Of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will, and Fate,

First Fate, Freewill, Foreknowledge absolute,

And found no End in wandring Mazes lost.[1]

From[2]

PlatoSeneca has[3]StoicksDemetriusnothing would be more unhappy than a Man who had never known AfflictionJupiterCato

We see but in part, and as in a Glass darklyIt is to be considered, that Providence[4]so thatPast, PresentTo come

shallJewishMoses[5]InColloquy[6]TheMosesMoses[7]

Footnote 1:Paradise Lost

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:forread238

return

Footnote 3:De Constantia Sapientis

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Footnote 4:Since Providence, therefore

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Footnote 5:Divine Dialogues

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Footnote 6:Conference

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Footnote 7:WorksPoems

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Contents

No. 238

Monday, December 3, 1711

Steele

Nequicquam populo bibulas donaveris Aures;

Respue quod non es

Persius, Sat. 4.

So softens and disarms the Mind,

That not one Arrow can Resistance find.

AManly[1]

GermanicusTacitus

MalvolioMalvolio

good[2]

Mr. Spectator,

'The Translations which you have lately given us from the Greek, in some of your last Papers, have been the Occasion of my looking into some of those Authors; among whom I chanced on a Collection of Letters which pass under the Name of Aristænetus. Of all the Remains of Antiquity, I believe there can be Nothing produc'd of an Air so gallant and polite; each Letter contains a little Novel or Adventure, which is told with all the Beauties of Language and heightened with a Luxuriance of Wit. There are several of them translated[3], but with such wide Deviations from the Original, and in a Style so far differing from the Authors, that the Translator seems rather to have taken Hints for the expressing his own Sense and Thoughts, than to have endeavoured to render those of Aristænetus. In the following Translation, I have kept as near the Meaning of the Greek as I could, and have only added a few Words to make the Sentences in English fit together a little better than they would otherwise have done. The Story seems to be taken from that of Pygmalion and the Statue in Ovid: Some of the Thoughts are of the same Turn, and the whole is written in a kind of Poetical Prose.

Philopinax to Chromation.

"Never was Man more overcome with so fantastical a Passion as mine. I have painted a beautiful Woman, and am despairing, dying for the Picture. My own Skill has undone me; 'tis not the Dart of Venus, but my own Pencil has thus wounded me. Ah me! with what Anxiety am I necessitated to adore my own Idol? How miserable am I, whilst every one must as much pity the Painter as he praises the Picture, and own my Torment more than equal to my Art. But why do I thus complain? Have there not been more unhappy and unnatural Passions than mine? Yes, I have seen the Representations of Phædra, Narcissus, and Pasiphæ. Phædra was unhappy in her Love; that of Pasiphæ was monstrous; and whilst the other caught at his beloved Likeness, he destroyed the watery Image, which ever eluded his Embraces. The Fountain represented Narcissus to himself, and the Picture both that and him, thirsting after his adored Image. But I am yet less unhappy, I enjoy her Presence continually, and if I touch her, I destroy not the beauteous Form, but she looks pleased, and a sweet Smile sits in the charming Space which divides her Lips. One would swear that Voice and Speech were issuing out, and that one's Ears felt the melodious Sound. How often have I, deceived by a Lover's Credulity, hearkned if she had not something to whisper me? and when frustrated of my Hopes, how often have I taken my Revenge in Kisses from her Cheeks and Eyes, and softly wooed her to my Embrace, whilst she (as to me it seem'd) only withheld her Tongue the more to inflame me. But, Madman that I am, shall I be thus taken with the Representation only of a beauteous Face, and flowing Hair, and thus waste myself and melt to Tears for a Shadow? Ah, sure 'tis something more, 'tis a Reality! for see her Beauties shine out with new Lustre, and she seems to upbraid me with such unkind Reproaches. Oh may I have a living Mistress of this Form, that when I shall compare the Work of Nature with that of Art, I may be still at a loss which to choose, and be long perplex'd with the pleasing Uncertainty.

Footnote 1:Plain Dealer

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Footnote 2:Eccles

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Footnote 3:Letters on Wit, Politicks, and Morality,

Letters of Love and Gallantry, written in Greek by Aristænetus.Spectator

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Contents

No. 239

Tuesday, December 4, 1711

Addison

Bella, horrida bella!

Virg.

Socrates

AristotleSocratickAristotelickSocratesAristotle

Europe

AristotleArgumentum BasilinumBacilinumBaculinumEnglishClub-LawThereOxfordDefile[1]Logic-LanehaveScotists,[2]Smiglesians[3]High-street

ThisErasmus's[4]GreekEuropeGreeksTrojansGreciansErasmusTrojans

A[5]Ratio ultima Regum, The Logick of KingsoneRoman[6]I am never asham'dto be confuted by one who is Master of fifty Legions

shallHudibras[7]

Arguing by TortureThisMaryBayle[8]EnglandSmithfieldTheseSorites[9]

Philip of MacedonAthens

Spectator

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Epist

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Footnote 5:

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Footnote 6:Apophthegms

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Footnote 7:noteNo. 145

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Footnote 8:Life

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Footnote 9:

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Contents

No. 240

Wednesday, December 5, 1711

Steele

—Aliter not fit, Avite, liber.

Mart.

Mr. Spectator,

I am of one of the most genteel Trades in the City, and understand thus much of liberal Education, as to have an ardent Ambition of being useful to Mankind, and to think That the chief End of Being as to this Life. I had these good Impressions given me from the handsome Behaviour of a learned, generous, and wealthy Man towards me when I first began the World. Some Dissatisfaction between me and my Parents made me enter into it with less Relish of Business than I ought; and to turn off this Uneasiness I gave my self to criminal Pleasures, some Excesses, and a general loose Conduct. I know not what the excellent Man above-mentioned saw in me, but he descended from the Superiority of his Wisdom and Merit, to throw himself frequently into my Company. This made me soon hope that I had something in me worth cultivating, and his Conversation made me sensible of Satisfactions in a regular Way, which I had never before imagined. When he was grown familiar with me, he opened himself like a good Angel, and told me, he had long laboured to ripen me into a Preparation to receive his Friendship and Advice, both which I should daily command, and the Use of any Part of his Fortune, to apply the Measures he should propose to me, for the Improvement of my own. I assure you, I cannot recollect the Goodness and Confusion of the good Man when he spoke to this Purpose to me, without melting into Tears; but in a word, Sir, I must hasten to tell you, that my Heart burns with Gratitude towards him, and he is so happy a Man, that it can never be in my Power to return him his Favours in Kind, but I am sure I have made him the most agreeable Satisfaction I could possibly, in being ready to serve others to my utmost Ability, as far as is consistent with the Prudence he prescribes to me. Dear Mr. Spectator, I do not owe to him only the good Will and Esteem of my own Relations, (who are People of Distinction) the present Ease and Plenty of my Circumstances, but also the Government of my Passions, and Regulation of my Desires. I doubt not, Sir, but in your Imagination such Virtues as these of my worthy Friend, bear as great a Figure as Actions which are more glittering in the common Estimation. What I would ask of you, is to give us a whole Spectator upon Heroick Virtue in common Life, which may incite Men to the same generous Inclinations, as have by this admirable Person been shewn to, and rais'd in,

Sir, Your most humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Country Gentleman, of a good plentiful Estate, and live as the rest of my Neighbours with great Hospitality. I have been ever reckoned among the Ladies the best Company in the World, and have Access as a sort of Favourite. I never came in Publick but I saluted them, tho' in great Assemblies, all round, where it was seen how genteelly I avoided hampering my Spurs in their Petticoats, while I moved amongst them; and on the other side how prettily they curtsied and received me, standing in proper Rows, and advancing as fast as they saw their Elders, or their Betters, dispatch'd by me. But so it is, Mr. Spectator, that all our good Breeding is of late lost by the unhappy Arrival of a Courtier, or Town Gentleman, who came lately among us: This Person where-ever he came into a Room made a profound Bow, and fell back, then recovered with a soft Air, and made a Bow to the next, and so to one or two more, and then took the Gross of the Room, by passing by them in a continued Bow till he arrived at the Person he thought proper particularly to entertain. This he did with so good a Grace and Assurance, that it is taken for the present Fashion; and there is no young Gentlewoman within several Miles of this Place has been kissed ever since his first Appearance among us. We Country Gentlemen cannot begin again and learn these fine and reserved Airs; and our Conversation is at a Stand, till we have your Judgment for or against Kissing, by way of Civility or Salutation; which is impatiently expected by your Friends of both Sexes, but by none so much as

Your humble Servant,

Rustick Sprightly.

December 3, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

I was the other Night at Philaster[1], where I expected to hear your famous Trunk-maker, but was happily disappointed of his Company, and saw another Person who had the like Ambition to distinguish himself in a noisy manner, partly by Vociferation or talking loud, and partly by his bodily Agility. This was a very lusty Fellow, but withal a sort of Beau, who getting into one of the Side-boxes on the Stage before the Curtain drew, was disposed to shew the whole Audience his Activity by leaping over the Spikes; he pass'd from thence to one of the entering Doors, where he took Snuff with a tolerable good Grace, display'd his fine Cloaths, made two or three feint Passes at the Curtain with his Cane, then faced about and appear'd at t'other Door: Here he affected to survey the whole House, bow'd and smil'd at random, and then shew'd his Teeth, which were some of them indeed very white: After this he retired behind the Curtain, and obliged us with several Views of his Person from every Opening.

During the Time of Acting, he appear'd frequently in the Prince's Apartment, made one at the Hunting-match, and was very forward in the Rebellion. If there were no Injunctions to the contrary, yet this Practice must be confess'd to diminish the Pleasure of the Audience, and for that Reason presumptuous and unwarrantable: But since her Majesty's late Command has made it criminal[2], you have Authority to take Notice of it.

Sir, Your humble Servant,

Charles Easy.

Footnote 1:Philaster

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Footnote 2:

By her Majesty's Command no Person is to be admitted behind the Scenes.

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Contents

No. 241

Thursday, December 6, 1711

Addison

—Semperque relinqui

Sola sibi, semper longam incomitata videtur

Ire viam—

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

Though you have considered virtuous Love inmost of its Distresses, I do not remember that you have given us any Dissertation upon the Absence of Lovers, or laid down any Methods how they should support themselves under those long Separations which they are sometimes forced to undergo. I am at present in this unhappy Circumstance, having parted with the best of Husbands, who is abroad in the Service of his Country, and may not possibly return for some Years. His warm and generous Affection while we were together, with the Tenderness which he expressed to me at parting, make his Absence almost insupportable. I think of him every Moment of the Day, and meet him every Night in my Dreams. Every thing I see puts me in mind of him. I apply myself with more than ordinary Diligence to the Care of his Family and his Estate; but this, instead of relieving me, gives me but so many Occasions of wishing for his Return. I frequent the Rooms where I used to converse with him, and not meeting him there, sit down in his Chair, and fall a weeping. I love to read the Books he delighted in, and to converse with the Persons whom he esteemed. I visit his Picture a hundred times a Day, and place myself over-against it whole Hours together. I pass a great part of my Time in the Walks where I used to lean upon his Arm, and recollect in my Mind the Discourses which have there passed between us: I look over the several Prospects and Points of View which we used to survey together, fix my Eye upon the Objects which he has made me take notice of, and call to mind a thousand [agreeable] Remarks which he has made on those Occasions. I write to him by every Conveyance, and contrary to other People, am always in good Humour when an East-Wind blows, because it seldom fails of bringing me a Letter from him. Let me entreat you, Sir, to give me your Advice upon this Occasion, and to let me know how I may relieve my self in this my Widowhood.

I am, Sir, Your most humble Servant,

Asteria.

Ovid'sthemOtway's Monimia[1]

It was not kind

To leave me like a Turtle, here alone,

To droop and mourn the Absence of my Mate.

When thou art from me, every Place is desert:

And I, methinks, am savage and forlorn.

Thy Presence only 'tis can make me blest,

Heal my unquiet Mind, and tune my Soul.

Asteria

Scudery's

Strada, in one of his Prolusions,[2]whichbegan[3]

Scudery

Flames, Darts, Die, Language, Absence, Cupid, Heart, Eyes, Hang, Drown

Footnote 1:Orphan

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Footnote 2:In one of Strada's Prolusions he

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Footnote 3:begun

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Contents

No. 242

Friday, December 7, 1711

Steele

Creditur, ex medio quia res arcessit, habere

Sudoris minimum—

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

Your Speculations do not so generally prevail over Men's Manners as I could wish. A former Paper of yours[1] concerning the Misbehaviour of People, who are necessarily in each other's Company in travelling, ought to have been a lasting Admonition against Transgressions of that Kind: But I had the Fate of your Quaker, in meeting with a rude Fellow in a Stage-Coach, who entertained two or three Women of us (for there was no Man besides himself) with Language as indecent as was ever heard upon the Water. The impertinent Observations which the Coxcomb made upon our Shame and Confusion were such, that it is an unspeakable Grief to reflect upon them. As much as you have declaimed against Duelling, I hope you will do us the Justice to declare, that if the Brute has Courage enough to send to the Place where he saw us all alight together to get rid of him, there is not one of us but has a Lover who shall avenge the Insult. It would certainly be worth your Consideration, to look into the frequent Misfortunes of this kind, to which the Modest and Innocent are exposed, by the licentious Behaviour of such as are as much Strangers to good Breeding as to Virtue. Could we avoid hearing what we do not approve, as easily as we can seeing what is disagreeable, there were some Consolation; but since in a Box at a Play,[2] in an Assembly of Ladies, or even in a Pew at Church, it is in the Power of a gross Coxcomb to utter what a Woman cannot avoid hearing, how miserable is her Condition who comes within the Power of such Impertinents? And how necessary is it to repeat Invectives against such a Behaviour? If the Licentious had not utterly forgot what it is to be modest, they would know that offended Modesty labours under one of the greatest Sufferings to which human Life can be exposed. If one of these Brutes could reflect thus much, tho' they want Shame, they would be moved, by their Pity, to abhor an impudent Behaviour in the Presence of the Chaste and Innocent. If you will oblige us with a Spectator on this Subject, and procure it to be pasted against every Stage-Coach in Great-Britain, as the Law of the Journey, you will highly oblige the whole Sex, for which you have professed so great an Esteem; and in particular, the two Ladies my late Fellow-Sufferers, and,

Sir, Your most humble Servant,

Rebecca Ridinghood.

Mr. Spectator,

The Matter which I am now going to send you, is an unhappy Story in low Life, and will recommend it self, so that you must excuse the Manner of expressing it. A poor idle drunken Weaver in Spittle-Fields has a faithful laborious Wife, who by her Frugality and Industry had laid by her as much Money as purchased her a Ticket in the present Lottery. She had hid this very privately in the Bottom of a Trunk, and had given her Number to a Friend and Confident, who had promised to keep the Secret, and bring her News of the Success. The poor Adventurer was one Day gone abroad, when her careless Husband, suspecting she had saved some Money, searches every Corner, till at length he finds this same Ticket; which he immediately carries abroad, sells, and squanders away the Money without the Wife's suspecting any thing of the Matter. A Day or two after this, this Friend, who was a Woman, comes and brings the Wife word, that she had a Benefit of Five Hundred Pounds. The poor Creature over-joyed, flies up Stairs to her Husband, who was then at Work, and desires him to leave his Loom for that Evening, and come and drink with a Friend of his and hers below. The Man received this chearful Invitation as bad Husbands sometimes do, and after a cross Word or two told her he wou'dn't come. His Wife with Tenderness renewed her Importunity, and at length said to him, My Love! I have within these few Months, unknown to you, scraped together as much Money as has bought us a Ticket in the Lottery, and now here is Mrs. Quick come[3] to tell me, that 'tis come up this Morning a Five hundred Pound Prize. The Husband replies immediately, You lye, you Slut, you have no Ticket, for I have sold it. The poor Woman upon this Faints away in a Fit, recovers, and is now run distracted. As she had no Design to defraud her Husband, but was willing only to participate in his good Fortune, every one pities her, but thinks her Husband's Punishment but just. This, Sir, is Matter of Fact, and would, if the Persons and Circumstances were greater, in a well-wrought Play be called Beautiful Distress. I have only sketched it out with Chalk, and know a good Hand can make a moving Picture with worse Materials.

Sir, &c.

Mr. Spectator,

I am what the World calls a warm Fellow, and by good Success in Trade I have raised myself to a Capacity of making some Figure in the World; but no matter for that. I have now under my Guardianship a couple of Nieces, who will certainly make me run mad; which you will not wonder at, when I tell you they are Female Virtuosos, and during the three Years and a half that I have had them under my Care, they never in the least inclined their Thoughts towards any one single Part of the Character of a notable Woman. Whilst they should have been considering the proper Ingredients for a Sack-posset, you should hear a Dispute concerning the magnetick[4], Virtue of the Loadstone, or perhaps the Pressure of the Atmosphere: Their Language is peculiar to themselves, and they scorn to express themselves on the meanest Trifle with Words that are not of a Latin Derivation. But this were supportable still, would they suffer me to enjoy an uninterrupted Ignorance; but, unless I fall in with their abstracted Idea of Things (as they call them) I must not expect to smoak one Pipe in Quiet. In a late Fit of the Gout I complained of the Pain of that Distemper when my Niece Kitty begged Leave to assure me, that whatever I might think, several great Philosophers, both ancient and modern, were of Opinion, that both Pleasure and Pain were imaginary Distinctions[5], and that there was no such thing as either in rerum Natura. I have often heard them affirm that the Fire was not hot; and one Day when I, with the Authority of an old Fellow, desired one of them to put my blue Cloak on my Knees; she answered, Sir, I will reach the Cloak; but take notice, I do not do it as allowing your Description; for it might as well be called Yellow as Blue; for Colour is nothing but the various Infractions of the Rays of the Sun. Miss Molly told me one Day; That to say Snow was white, is allowing a vulgar Error; for as it contains a great Quantity of nitrous Particles, it might more reasonably be supposed to[6] be black. In short, the young Husseys would persuade me, that to believe one's Eyes is a sure way to be deceived; and have often advised me, by no means, to trust any thing so fallible as my Senses. What I have to beg of you now is, to turn one Speculation to the due Regulation of Female Literature, so far at least, as to make it consistent with the Quiet of such whose Fate it is to be liable to its Insults; and to tell us the Difference between a Gentleman that should make Cheesecakes and raise Paste, and a Lady that reads Locke, and understands the Mathematicks. In which you will extreamly oblige

Your hearty Friend and humble Servant,

Abraham Thrifty.

Footnote 1: No. 132

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Footnote 2:at a Box in a Play,

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Footnote 3:comes

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Footnote 4:magnetical

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Footnote 5:Distractions

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Footnote 6:may more seasonably

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Contents

No. 243

Saturday, December 8, 1711

Addison

Formam quidem ipsam, Marce fili, et tanquam faciem Honesti vides: quæ si oculis cerneretur, mirabiles amores (ut ait Plato) excitaret Sapientiæ.—

Tull. Offic.

Hierodes

TullyPyrrhusTullyHannibal

Accordingly Cato[1]TullyCato

Tully

Footnote 1:Cato

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Contents

No. 244

Monday, December 10, 1711

Steele

—Judex et callidus audis.

Hor.

Covent-Garden, Dec. 7.

Mr. Spectator,

I cannot, without a double Injustice, forbear expressing to you the Satisfaction which a whole Clan of Virtuosos have received from those Hints which you have lately given the Town on the Cartons of the inimitable Raphael. It[1] should be methinks the Business of a Spectator to improve the Pleasures of Sight, and there cannot be a more immediate Way to it than recommending the Study and Observation of excellent Drawings and Pictures. When I first went to view those of Raphael which you have celebrated, I must confess 1 was but barely pleased; the next time I liked them better, but at last as I grew better acquainted with them, I fell deeply in love with them, like wise Speeches they sunk deep into my Heart; for you know, Mr. Spectator, that a Man of Wit may extreamly affect one for the Present, but if he has not Discretion, his Merit soon vanishes away, while a Wise Man that has not so great a Stock of Wit, shall nevertheless give you a far greater and more lasting Satisfaction: Just so it is in a Picture that is smartly touched but not well studied; one may call it a witty Picture, tho' the Painter in the mean time may be in Danger of being called a Fool. On the other hand, a Picture that is thoroughly understood in the Whole, and well performed in the Particulars, that is begun on the Foundation of Geometry, carried on by the Rules of Perspective, Architecture, and Anatomy, and perfected by a good Harmony, a just and natural Colouring, and such Passions and Expressions of the Mind as are almost peculiar to Raphael; this is what you may justly style a wise Picture, and which seldom fails to strike us Dumb, till we can assemble all our Faculties to make but a tolerable Judgment upon it. Other Pictures are made for the Eyes only, as Rattles are made for Childrens Ears; and certainly that Picture that only pleases the Eye, without representing some well-chosen Part of Nature or other, does but shew what fine Colours are to be sold at the Colour-shop, and mocks the Works of the Creator. If the best Imitator of Nature is not to be esteemed the best Painter, but he that makes the greatest Show and Glare of Colours; it will necessarily follow, that he who can array himself in the most gaudy Draperies is best drest, and he that can speak loudest the best Orator. Every Man when he looks on a Picture should examine it according to that share of Reason he is Master of, or he will be in Danger of making a wrong Judgment. If Men as they walk abroad would make more frequent Observations on those Beauties of Nature which every Moment present themselves to their View, they would be better Judges when they saw her well imitated at home: This would help to correct those Errors which most Pretenders fall into, who are over hasty in their Judgments, and will not stay to let Reason come in for a share in the Decision. 'Tis for want of this that Men mistake in this Case, and in common Life, a wild extravagant Pencil for one that is truly bold and great, an impudent Fellow for a Man of true Courage and Bravery, hasty and unreasonable Actions for Enterprizes of Spirit and Resolution, gaudy Colouring for that which is truly beautiful, a false and insinuating Discourse for simple Truth elegantly recommended. The Parallel will hold through all the Parts of Life and Painting too; and the Virtuosos above-mentioned will be glad to see you draw it with your Terms of Art. As the Shadows in Picture represent the serious or melancholy, so the Lights do the bright and lively Thoughts: As there should be but one forcible Light in a Picture which should catch the Eye and fall on the Hero, so there should be but one Object of our Love, even the Author of Nature. These and the like Reflections well improved, might very much contribute to open the Beauty of that Art, and prevent young People from being poisoned by the ill Gusto of an extravagant Workman that should be imposed upon us.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

Though I am a Woman, yet I am one of those who confess themselves highly pleased with a Speculation you obliged the World with some time ago[2], from an old Greek Poet you call Simonides, in relation to the several Natures and Distinctions of our own Sex. I could not but admire how justly the Characters of Women in this Age, fall in with the Times of Simonides, there being no one of those Sorts I have not at some time or other of my Life met with a Sample of. But, Sir, the Subject of this present Address, are a Set of Women comprehended, I think, in the Ninth Specie of that Speculation, called the Apes; the Description of whom I find to be, "That they are such as are both ugly and ill-natured, who have nothing beautiful themselves, and endeavour to detract from or ridicule every thing that appears so in others." Now, Sir, this Sect, as I have been told, is very frequent in the great Town where you live; but as my Circumstance of Life obliges me to reside altogether in the Country, though not many Miles from London, I can't have met with a great Number of 'em, nor indeed is it a desirable Acquaintance, as I have lately found by Experience. You must know, Sir, that at the Beginning of this Summer a Family of these Apes came and settled for the Season not far from the Place where I live. As they were Strangers in the Country, they were visited by the Ladies about 'em, of whom I was, with an Humanity usual in those that pass most of their Time in Solitude. The Apes lived with us very agreeably our own Way till towards the End of the Summer, when they began to bethink themselves of returning to Town; then it was, Mr. Spectator, that they began to set themselves about the proper and distinguishing Business of their Character; and, as 'tis said of evil Spirits, that they are apt to carry away a Piece of the House they are about to leave, the Apes, without Regard to common Mercy, Civility, or Gratitude, thought fit to mimick and fall foul on the Faces, Dress, and Behaviour of their innocent Neighbours, bestowing abominable Censures and disgraceful Appellations, commonly called Nicknames, on all of them; and in short, like true fine Ladies, made their honest Plainness and Sincerity Matter of Ridicule. I could not but acquaint you with these Grievances, as well at the Desire of all the Parties injur'd, as from my own Inclination. I hope, Sir, if you can't propose entirely to reform this Evil, you will take such Notice of it in some of your future Speculations, as may put the deserving Part of our Sex on their Guard against these Creatures; and at the same time the Apes may be sensible, that this sort of Mirth is so far from an innocent Diversion, that it is in the highest Degree that Vice which is said to comprehend all others[3].

I am, Sir, Your humble Servant,

Constantia Field.

Footnote 1:205206207208210

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Footnote 2:209

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Footnote 3:

Ingratum si dixeris, omnia dixeris.

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Contents

No. 245

Tuesday, December 11, 1711

Addison

Ficta Voluptatis causâ sint proxima Veris.

Hor.

CordeliersFrancisShakespearhackney'd in the Ways of Men

Timothy DoodleDoodle

Sir,

I could heartily wish that you would let us know your Opinion upon several innocent Diversions which are in use among us, and which are very proper to pass away a Winter Night for those who do not care to throw away their Time at an Opera, or at the Play-house. I would gladly know in particular, what Notion you have of Hot-Cockles; as also whether you think that Questions and Commands, Mottoes, Similes, and Cross-Purposes have not more Mirth and Wit in them, than those publick Diversions which are grown so very fashionable among us. If you would recommend to our Wives and Daughters, who read your Papers with a great deal of Pleasure, some of those Sports and Pastimes that may be practised within Doors, and by the Fire-side, we who are Masters of Families should be hugely obliged to you. I need not tell you that I would have these Sports and Pastimes not only merry but innocent, for which Reason I have not mentioned either Whisk or Lanterloo, nor indeed so much as One and Thirty. After having communicated to you my Request upon this Subject, I will be so free as to tell you how my Wife and I pass away these tedious Winter Evenings with a great deal of Pleasure. Tho' she be young and handsome, and good-humoured to a Miracle, she does not care for gadding abroad like others of her Sex. There is a very friendly Man, a Colonel in the Army, whom I am mightily obliged to for his Civilities, that comes to see me almost every Night; for he is not one of those giddy young Fellows that cannot live out of a Play-house. When we are together, we very often make a Party at Blind-Man's Buff, which is a Sport that I like the better, because there is a good deal of Exercise in it. The Colonel and I are blinded by Turns, and you would laugh your Heart out to see what Pains my Dear takes to hoodwink us, so that it is impossible for us to see the least Glimpse of Light. The poor Colonel sometimes hits his Nose against a Post, and makes us die with laughing. I have generally the good Luck not to hurt myself, but am very often above half an Hour before I can catch either of them; for you must know we hide ourselves up and down in Corners, that we may have the more Sport. I only give you this Hint as a Sample of such Innocent Diversions as I would have you recommend; and am,

Most esteemed Sir, your ever loving Friend,

Timothy Doodle.

Thursday's

Sir,

Among the several Ways of Consolation which absent Lovers make use of while their Souls are in that State of Departure, which you say is Death in Love, there are some very material ones that have escaped your Notice. Among these, the first and most received is a crooked Shilling, which has administered great Comfort to our Forefathers, and is still made use of on this Occasion with very good Effect in most Parts of Her Majesty's Dominions. There are some, I know, who think a Crown-Piece cut into two equal Parts, and preserved by the distant Lovers, is of more sovereign Virtue than the former. But since Opinions are divided in this Particular, why may not the same Persons make use of both? The Figure of a Heart, whether cut in Stone or cast in Metal, whether bleeding upon an Altar, stuck with Darts, or held in the Hand of a Cupid, has always been looked upon as Talismanick in Distresses of this Nature. I am acquainted with many a brave Fellow, who carries his Mistress in the Lid of his Snuff-box, and by that Expedient has supported himself under the Absence of a whole Campaign. For my own Part, I have tried all these Remedies, but never found so much Benefit from any as from a Ring, in which my Mistress's Hair is platted together very artificially in a kind of True-Lover's Knot. As I have received great Benefit from this Secret, I think myself obliged to communicate it to the Publick, for the Good of my Fellow-Subjects. I desire you will add this Letter as an Appendix to your Consolations upon Absence, and am, Your very humble Servant,

T. B.

Tuesday'sGreeksTrojans

Sir, This will give you to understand, that there is at present in the Society, whereof I am a Member, a very considerable Body of Trojans, who, upon a proper Occasion, would not fail to declare ourselves. In the mean while we do all we can to annoy our Enemies by Stratagem, and are resolved by the first Opportunity to attack Mr. Joshua Barnes[1], whom we look upon as the Achilles of the opposite Party. As for myself, I have had the Reputation ever since I came from School, of being a trusty Trojan, and am resolved never to give Quarter to the smallest Particle of Greek, where-ever I chance to meet it. It is for this Reason I take it very ill of you, that you sometimes hang out Greek Colours at the Head of your Paper, and sometimes give a Word of the Enemy even in the Body of it. When I meet with any thing of this nature, I throw down your Speculations upon the Table, with that Form of Words which we make use of when we declare War upon an Author. Græcum est, non potest legi.[2] I give you this Hint, that you may for the future abstain from any such Hostilities at your Peril.

Troilus.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

It is Greek. It cannot be read.

Græcum est, nec potest legi

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Contents

No. 246

Wednesday, December 12, 1711

Steele

Mr. Spectator,

As your Paper is Part of the Equipage of the Tea-Table, I conjure you to print what I now write to you; for I have no other Way to communicate what I have to say to the fair Sex on the most important Circumstance of Life, even the Care of Children. I do not understand that you profess your Paper is always to consist of Matters which are only to entertain the Learned and Polite, but that it may agree with your Design to publish some which may tend to the Information of Mankind in general; and when it does so, you do more than writing Wit and Humour. Give me leave then to tell you, that of all the Abuses that ever you have as yet endeavoured to reform, certainly not one wanted so much your Assistance as the Abuse in nursing[1] Children. It is unmerciful to see, that a Woman endowed with all the Perfections and Blessings of Nature, can, as soon as she is delivered, turn off her innocent, tender, and helpless Infant, and give it up to a Woman that is (ten thousand to one) neither in Health nor good Condition, neither sound in Mind nor Body, that has neither Honour nor Reputation, neither Love nor Pity for the poor Babe, but more Regard for the Money than for the whole Child, and never will take further Care of it than what by all the Encouragement of Money and Presents she is forced to; like Æsop's Earth, which would not nurse the Plant of another Ground, altho' never so much improved, by reason that Plant was not of its own Production. And since another's Child is no more natural to a Nurse than a Plant to a strange and different Ground, how can it be supposed that the Child should thrive? and if it thrives, must it not imbibe the gross Humours and Qualities of the Nurse, like a Plant in a different Ground, or like a Graft upon a different Stock? Do not we observe, that a Lamb sucking a Goat changes very much its Nature, nay even its Skin and Wooll into the Goat Kind? The Power of a Nurse over a Child, by infusing into it, with her Milk, her Qualities and Disposition, is sufficiently and daily observed: Hence came that old Saying concerning an ill-natured and malicious Fellow, that he had imbibed his Malice with his Nurse's Milk, or that some Brute or other had been his Nurse. Hence Romulus and Remus were said to have been nursed by a Wolf, Telephus the Son of Hercules by a Hind, Pelias the Son of Neptune by a Mare, and Ægisthus by a Goat; not that they had actually suck'd such Creatures, as some Simpletons have imagin'd, but that their Nurses had been of such a Nature and Temper, and infused such into them.

'Many Instances may be produced from good Authorities and daily Experience, that Children actually suck in the several Passions and depraved Inclinations of their Nurses, as Anger, Malice, Fear, Melancholy, Sadness, Desire, and Aversion. This Diodorus, lib. 2, witnesses, when he speaks, saying, That Nero the Emperor's Nurse had been very much addicted to Drinking; which Habit Nero received from his Nurse, and was so very particular in this, that the People took so much notice of it, as instead of Tiberius Nero, they call'd him Biberius Mero. The same Diodorus also relates of Caligula, Predecessor to Nero, that his Nurse used to moisten the Nipples of her Breast frequently with Blood, to make Caligula take the better Hold of them; which, says Diodorus, was the Cause that made him so blood-thirsty and cruel all his Life-time after, that he not only committed frequent Murder by his own Hand, but likewise wished that all human Kind wore but one Neck, that he might have the Pleasure to cut it off. Such like Degeneracies astonish the Parents, who not knowing after whom the Child can take, see[2] one to incline to Stealing, another to Drinking, Cruelty, Stupidity; yet all these are not minded. Nay it is easy to demonstrate, that a Child, although it be born from the best of Parents, may be corrupted by an ill-tempered Nurse. How many Children do we see daily brought into Fits, Consumptions, Rickets, &c., merely by sucking their Nurses when in a Passion or Fury? But indeed almost any Disorder of the Nurse is a Disorder to the Child, and few Nurses can be found in this Town but what labour under some Distemper or other. The first Question that is generally asked a young Woman that wants to be a Nurse, Why[3] she should be a Nurse to other People's Children; is answered, by her having an ill Husband, and that she must make Shift to live. I think now this very Answer is enough to give any Body a Shock if duly considered; for an ill Husband may, or ten to one if he does not, bring home to his Wife an ill Distemper, or at least Vexation and Disturbance. Besides as she takes the Child out of meer Necessity, her Food will be accordingly, or else very coarse at best; whence proceeds an ill-concocted and coarse Food for the Child; for as the Blood, so is the Milk; and hence I am very well assured proceeds the Scurvy, the Evil, and many other Distempers. I beg of you, for the Sake of the many poor Infants that may and will be saved, by weighing this Case seriously, to exhort the People with the utmost Vehemence to let the Children suck their own Mothers[4], both for the Benefit of Mother and Child. For the general Argument, that a Mother is weakned by giving suck to her Children, is vain and simple; I will maintain that the Mother grows stronger by it, and will have her Health better than she would have otherwise: She will find it the greatest Cure and Preservative for the Vapours and future Miscarriages, much beyond any other Remedy whatsoever: Her Children will be like Giants, whereas otherwise they are but living Shadows and like unripe Fruit; and certainly if a Woman is strong enough to bring forth a Child, she is beyond all Doubt strong enough to nurse it afterwards. It grieves me to observe and consider how many poor Children are daily ruin'd by careless Nurses; and yet how tender ought they to be of a poor Infant, since the least Hurt or Blow, especially upon the Head, may make it senseless, stupid, or otherwise miserable for ever?

'But I cannot well leave this Subject as yet; for it seems to me very unnatural, that a Woman that has fed a Child as Part of her self for nine Months, should have no Desire to nurse it farther, when brought to Light and before her Eyes, and when by its Cry it implores her Assistance and the Office of a Mother. Do not the very cruellest of Brutes tend their young ones with all the Care and Delight imaginable? For how can she be call'd a Mother that will not nurse her young ones? The Earth is called the Mother of all Things, not because she produces, but because she maintains and nurses what she produces. The Generation of the Infant is the Effect of Desire, but the Care of it argues Virtue and Choice. I am not ignorant but that there are some Cases of Necessity where a Mother cannot give Suck, and then out of two Evils the least must be chosen; but there are so very few, that I am sure in a Thousand there is hardly one real Instance; for if a Woman does but know that her Husband can spare about three or six Shillings a Week extraordinary, (altho' this is but seldom considered) she certainly, with the Assistance of her Gossips, will soon perswade the good Man to send the Child to Nurse, and easily impose upon him by pretending In-disposition. This Cruelty is supported by Fashion, and Nature gives Place to Custom.

Sir, Your humble Servant.

Footnote 1:nursing of

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Footnote 2:seeing

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Footnote 3: is, why

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Footnote 4:Mother

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Contents

No. 247

Thursday, December 13, 1711

Addison

SocratesAspasia

anyof the[1] British

Socrates

GossipsFiddle Faddle

andCartesiansDoctrine[2]orderor[3]Hudibras

Irishman's

The Wanton Wife of Bath

I think, quoth Thomas, Womens Tongues Of Aspen Leaves are made.

Ovid

—Comprensam forcipe linguam

Abstulit ense fero. Radix micat ultima linguæ,

Ipsa jacet, terræque tremens immurmurat atræ;

Utque salire solet mutilatæ cauda colubræ

Palpitat:—[4]`

Footnote 1: that belong to our

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Footnote 2:Opinion

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Footnote 3:and

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Footnote 4:Met

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Contents

No. 248

Friday, December 14, 1711

Steele

Hoc maximè Officii est, ut quisque maximè opis indigeat, ita ei potissimùm opitulari.

Tull.

Mena[1]LapiriusLapirius

Honoured Brother,

I enclose to you the Deeds whereby my Father gave me this House and Land: Had he lived 'till now, he would not have bestowed it in that Manner; he took it from the Man you were, and I restore it to the Man you are. I am,

Sir,

Your affectionate Brother, and humble Servant,

P. T.

MerchantStrepkonPhillis

Sir,

'I Have heard of the Casualties which have involved you in extreme Distress at this Time; and knowing you to be a Man of great Good-Nature, Industry and Probity, have resolved to stand by you. Be of good Chear, the Bearer brings with him five thousand Pounds, and has my Order to answer your drawing as much more on my Account. I did this in Haste, for fear I should come too late for your Relief; but you may value your self with me to the Sum of fifty thousand Pounds; for I can very chearfully run the Hazard of being so much less rich than I am now, to save an honest Man whom I love.

Your Friend and Servant,

W. S.[2]

MontaigneEuropeTempleincog

For making a Man happy:

£

s.

d.

10

0

0

Footnote 1:an

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Footnote 2:W. P. 152

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Contents

No. 249

Saturday, December 15, 1711

Addison

a

haveForty-seventh Paper[1]

RomeI said of Laughter, it is mad; and of Mirth, what does it?Adam

Don QuixoteLucian'sDisputeDispensary;[2]Hudibras

Hudibras

VenusWallerHoraceMiltonin[3]Hisset[4]the Passage

But come thou Goddess fair and free,

In Heaven yeleped Euphrosyne,

And by Men, heart-easing Mirth,

Whom lovely Venus at a Birth,

With two Sister Graces more,

To Ivy-crowned Bacchus bore:

Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee

Jest and youthful jollity,

Quips and Cranks, and wanton Wiles,

Nods, and Becks, and wreathed Smiles,

Such as hang on Hebe's Cheek,

And love to live in Dimple sleek:

Sport that wrinkled Care derides,

And Laughter holding both his Sides.

Come, and trip it, as you go,

On the light fantastick Toe:

And in thy right Hand lead with thee

The Mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty;

And if I give thee Honour due,

Mirth, admit me of thy Crew,

To live with her, and live with thee,

In unreproved Pleasures free.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:the Dispensary

The piercing Caustics ply their spiteful Pow'r;

Emetics ranch, and been Cathartics sour.

The deadly Drugs in double Doses fly;

And Pestles peal a martial Symphony.

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Footnote 3:L'Allegro

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Footnote 4: set it

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Contents

No. 250

Monday, December 17, 1711

Disce docendus adhuc, quæ censet amiculus, ut si

Cæcus iter monstrare velit; tamen aspice si quid

Et nos, quod cures proprium fecisse, loquamur.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'You see the Nature of my Request by the Latin Motto which I address to you. I am very sensible I ought not to use many Words to you, who are one of but few; but the following Piece, as it relates to Speculation in Propriety of Speech, being a Curiosity in its Kind, begs your Patience. It was found in a Poetical Virtuoso's Closet among his Rarities; and since the several Treatises of Thumbs, Ears, and Noses, have obliged the World, this of Eyes is at your Service.

'The first Eye of Consequence (under the invisible Author of all) is the visible Luminary of the Universe. This glorious Spectator is said never to open his Eyes at his Rising in a Morning, without having a whole Kingdom of Adorers in Persian Silk waiting at his Levée. Millions of Creatures derive their Sight from this Original, who, besides his being the great Director of Opticks, is the surest Test whether Eyes be of the same Species with that of an Eagle, or that of an Owl: The one he emboldens with a manly Assurance to look, speak, act or plead before the Faces of a numerous Assembly; the other he dazzles out of Countenance into a sheepish Dejectedness. The Sun-Proof Eye dares lead up a Dance in a full Court; and without blinking at the Lustre of Beauty, can distribute an Eye of proper Complaisance to a Room crowded with Company, each of which deserves particular Regard; while the other sneaks from Conversation, like a fearful Debtor, who never dares to look out, but when he can see no body, and no body him.

The next Instance of Opticks is the famous Argus, who (to speak in the Language of Cambridge) was one of an Hundred; and being used as a Spy in the Affairs of Jealousy, was obliged to have all his Eyes about him. We have no Account of the particular Colours, Casts and Turns of this Body of Eyes; but as he was Pimp for his Mistress Juno, 'tis probable he used all the modern Leers, sly Glances, and other ocular Activities to serve his Purpose. Some look upon him as the then King at Arms to the Heathenish Deities; and make no more of his Eyes than as so many Spangles of his Herald's Coat.

The next upon the Optick List is old Janus, who stood in a double-sighted Capacity, like a Person placed betwixt two opposite Looking-Glasses, and so took a sort of retrospective Cast at one View. Copies of this double-faced Way are not yet out of Fashion with many Professions, and the ingenious Artists pretend to keep up this Species by double-headed Canes and Spoons[1]; but there is no Mark of this Faculty, except in the emblematical Way of a wise General having an Eye to both Front and Rear, or a pious Man taking a Review and Prospect of his past and future State at the same Time.

I must own, that the Names, Colours, Qualities, and Turns of Eyes vary almost in every Head; for, not to mention the common Appellations of the Black, the Blue, the White, the Gray, and the like; the most remarkable are those that borrow their Titles from Animals, by Vertue of some particular Quality or Resemblance they bear to the Eyes of the respective Creatures; as that of a greedy rapacious Aspect takes its Name from the Cat, that of a sharp piercing Nature from the Hawk, those of an amorous roguish Look derive their Title even from the Sheep, and we say such an one has a Sheep's Eye, not so much to denote the Innocence as the simple Slyness of the Cast: Nor is this metaphorical Inoculation a modern Invention, for we find Homer taking the Freedom to place the Eye of an Ox, Bull, or Cow in one of his principal Goddesses, by that frequent Expression of

Now as to the peculiar Qualities of the Eye, that fine Part of our Constitution seems as much the Receptacle and Seat of our Passions, Appetites and Inclinations as the Mind it self; and at least it is the outward Portal to introduce them to the House within, or rather the common Thorough-fare to let our Affections pass in and out. Love, Anger, Pride, and Avarice, all visibly move in those little Orbs. I know a young Lady that can't see a certain Gentleman pass by without shewing a secret Desire of seeing him again by a Dance in her Eye-balls; nay, she can't for the Heart of her help looking Half a Street's Length after any Man in a gay Dress. You can't behold a covetous Spirit walk by a Goldsmith's Shop without casting a wistful Eye at the Heaps upon the Counter. Does not a haughty Person shew the Temper of his Soul in the supercilious Rowl of his Eye? and how frequently in the Height of Passion does that moving Picture in our Head start and stare, gather a Redness and quick Flashes of Lightning, and make all its Humours sparkle with Fire, as Virgil finely describes it.

—Ardentis ab ore

Scintillæ absistunt: oculis micat acribus ignis.[3]

As for the various Turns of the Eye-sight, such as the voluntary or involuntary, the half or the whole Leer, I shall not enter into a very particular Account of them; but let me observe, that oblique Vision, when natural, was anciently the Mark of Bewitchery and magical Fascination, and to this Day 'tis a malignant ill Look; but when 'tis forced and affected it carries a wanton Design, and in Play-houses, and other publick Places, this ocular Intimation is often an Assignation for bad Practices: But this Irregularity in Vision, together with such Enormities as Tipping the Wink, the Circumspective Rowl, the Side-peep through a thin Hood or Fan, must be put in the Class of Heteropticks, as all wrong Notions of Religion are ranked under the general Name of Heterodox. All the pernicious Applications of Sight are more immediately under the Direction of a Spectator; and I hope you will arm your Readers against the Mischiefs which are daily done by killing Eyes, in which you will highly oblige your wounded unknown Friend,

T. B.

Mr. Spectator,

You professed in several Papers your particular Endeavours in the Province of Spectator, to correct the Offences committed by Starers, who disturb whole Assemblies without any Regard to Time, Place or Modesty. You complained also, that a Starer is not usually a Person to be convinced by Reason of the Thing, nor so easily rebuked, as to amend by Admonitions. I thought therefore fit to acquaint you with a convenient Mechanical Way, which may easily prevent or correct Staring, by an Optical Contrivance of new Perspective-Glasses, short and commodious like Opera Glasses, fit for short-sighted People as well as others, these Glasses making the Objects appear, either as they are seen by the naked Eye, or more distinct, though somewhat less than Life, or bigger and nearer. A Person may, by the Help of this Invention, take a View of another without the Impertinence of Staring; at the same Time it shall not be possible to know whom or what he is looking at. One may look towards his Right or Left Hand, when he is supposed to look forwards: This is set forth at large in the printed Proposals for the Sale of these Glasses, to be had at Mr. Dillon's in Long-Acre, next Door to the White-Hart. Now, Sir, as your Spectator has occasioned the Publishing of this Invention for the Benefit of modest Spectators, the Inventor desires your Admonitions concerning the decent Use of it; and hopes, by your Recommendation, that for the future Beauty may be beheld without the Torture and Confusion which it suffers from the Insolence of Starers. By this means you will relieve the Innocent from an Insult which there is no Law to punish, tho' it is a greater Offence than many which are within the Cognizance of Justice.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Abraham Spy.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 251

Tuesday, December 18, 1711

Addison

Lingua centum sunt, oraque centum.

Ferrea Vox.

Virgil.

Cries of LondonRogerWill. HoneycombRamage de la Ville

Sir,

"I am a Man of all Business, and would willingly turn my Head to any thing for an honest Livelihood. I have invented several Projects for raising many Millions of Money without burthening the Subject, but I cannot get the Parliament to listen to me, who look upon me, forsooth, as a Crack, and a Projector; so that despairing to enrich either my self or my Country by this Publick-spiritedness, I would make some Proposals to you relating to a Design which I have very much at Heart, and which may procure me a[1] handsome Subsistence, if you will be pleased to recommend it to the Cities of Londonand Westminster.

The Post I would aim at, is to be Comptroller-General of the London Cries, which are at present under no manner of Rules or Discipline. I think I am pretty well qualified for this Place, as being a Man of very strong Lungs, of great Insight into all the Branches of our BritishTrades and Manufactures, and of a competent Skill in Musick.

The Cries of Londonmay be divided into Vocal and Instrumental. As for the latter they are at present under a very great Disorder. A Freeman of Londonhas the Privilege of disturbing a whole Street for an Hour together, with the Twanking of a Brass-Kettle or a Frying-Pan. The Watchman's Thump at Midnight startles us in our Beds, as much as the Breaking in of a Thief. The Sowgelder's Horn has indeed something musical in it, but this is seldom heard within the Liberties. I would therefore propose, that no Instrument of this Nature should be made use of, which I have not tuned and licensed, after having carefully examined in what manner it may affect the Ears of her Majesty's liege Subjects.

Vocal Cries are of a much larger Extent, and indeed so full of Incongruities and Barbarisms, that we appear a distracted City to Foreigners, who do not comprehend the Meaning of such enormous Outcries. Milk is generally sold in a note above Ela, and in Sounds so exceeding[2] shrill, that it often sets our Teeth on[3] Edge. The Chimney-sweeper is confined[4] to no certain Pitch; he sometimes utters himself in the deepest Base, and sometimes in the sharpest Treble; sometimes in the highest, and sometimes in the lowest Note of the Gamut. The same Observation might be made on the Retailers of Small-coal, not to mention broken Glasses or Brick-dust. In these therefore, and the like Cases, it should be my Care to sweeten and mellow the Voices of these itinerant Tradesmen, before they make their Appearance in our Streets; as also to accommodate their Cries to their respective Wares; and to take care in particular, that those may not make the most Noise who have the least to sell, which is very observable in the Venders of Card-matches, to whom I cannot but apply that old Proverb of Much Cry but little Wool.

'Some of these last mentioned Musicians are so very loud in the Sale of these trifling Manufactures, that an honest Splenetick Gentleman of my Acquaintance bargained with one of them never to come into the Street where he lived: But what was the Effect of this Contract? Why, the whole Tribe of Card-match-makers which frequent that Quarter, passed by his Door the very next Day, in hopes of being bought off after the same manner.

'It is another great Imperfection in our LondonCries, that there is no just Time nor Measure observed in them. Our News should indeed be published in a very quick Time, because it is a Commodity that will not keep cold. It should not, however, be cried with the same Precipitation as Fire: Yet this is generally the Case. A Bloody Battle alarms the Town from one End to another in an Instant. Every Motion of the Frenchis Published in so great a Hurry, that one would think the Enemy were at our Gates. This likewise I would take upon me to regulate in such a manner, that there should be some Distinction made between the spreading of a Victory, a March, or an Incampment, a Dutch, a Portugalor a SpanishMail. Nor must I omit under this Head, those excessive Alarms with which several boisterous Rusticks infest our Streets in Turnip Season; and which are more inexcusable, because these are Wares which are in no Danger of Cooling upon their Hands.

'There are others who affect a very slow Time, and are, in my Opinion, much more tuneable than the former; the Cooper in particular swells his last Note in an hollow Voice, that is not without its Harmony; nor can I forbear being inspired with a most agreeable Melancholy, when I hear that sad and solemn Air with which the Public are very often asked, if they have any Chairs to mend? Your own Memory may suggest to you many other lamentable Ditties of the same Nature, in which the Musick is wonderfully languishing and melodious.

'I am always pleased with that particular Time of the Year which is proper for the pickling of Dill and Cucumbers; but alas, this Cry, like the Song of the Nightingale[5], is not heard above two Months. It would therefore be worth while to consider, whether the same Air might not in some Cases be adapted to other Words.

'It might likewise deserve our most serious Consideration, how far, in a well-regulated City, those Humourists are to be tolerated, who, not contented with the traditional Cries of their Forefathers, have invented particular Songs and Tunes of their own: Such as was, not many Years since, the Pastryman, commonly known by the Name of the Colly-Molly-Puff; and such as is at this Day the Vender of Powder and Wash-balls, who, if I am rightly informed, goes under the Name of Powder-Watt.

'I must not here omit one particular Absurdity which runs through this whole vociferous Generation, and which renders their Cries very often not only incommodious, but altogether useless to the Publick; I mean, that idle Accomplishment which they all of them aim at, of Crying so as not to be understood. Whether or no they have learned this from several of our affected Singers, I will not take upon me to say; but most certain it is, that People know the Wares they deal in rather by their Tunes than by their Words; insomuch that I have sometimes seen a Country Boy run out to buy Apples of a Bellows-mender, and Gingerbread from a Grinder of Knives and Scissars. Nay so strangely infatuated are some very eminent Artists of this particular Grace in a Cry, that none but then Acquaintance are able to guess at their Profession; for who else can know, that Work if I had it, should be the Signification of a Corn-Cutter?

'Forasmuch therefore as Persons of this Rank are seldom Men of Genius or Capacity, I think it would be very proper, that some Man of good Sense and sound Judgment should preside over these Publick Cries, who should permit none to lift up their Voices in our Streets, that have not tuneable Throats, and are not only able to overcome the Noise of the Croud, and the Rattling of Coaches, but also to vend their respective Merchandizes in apt Phrases, and in the most distinct and agreeable Sounds. I do therefore humbly recommend my self as a Person rightly qualified for this Post; and if I meet with fitting Encouragement, shall communicate some other Projects which I have by me, that may no less conduce to the Emolument of the Public.'

I am

Sir, &c.,

Ralph Crotchet.

Footnote 1:an

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Footnote 2:exceedingly

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Footnote 3:an

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Footnote 4:contained

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Footnote 5:Nightingales

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Contents

Dedication of the Fourth Volume of The Spectator

To The Duke of Marlborough[1].

My

Marlborough

France

You[2]Mindleheim

He

His

Lord

Your Grace's

Most Obedient,

Most Devoted

Humble Servant

The Spectator

Footnote 1:

Spectator

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Footnote 2:Julius Cæsar

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Contents

No. 252

Wednesday, December 19, 1711

Steele

Erranti, passimque oculos per cuncta ferenti.

Virgil[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'I am very sorry to find by your Discourse upon the Eye, 1 that you have not thoroughly studied the Nature and Force of that Part of a beauteous Face. Had you ever been in Love, you would have said ten thousand things, which it seems did not occur to you: Do but reflect upon the Nonsense it makes Men talk, the Flames which it is said to kindle, the Transport it raises, the Dejection it causes in the bravest Men; and if you do believe those things are expressed to an Extravagance, yet you will own, that the Influence of it is very great which moves Men to that Extravagance. Certain it is, that the whole Strength of the Mind is sometimes seated there; that a kind Look imparts all, that a Year's Discourse could give you, in one Moment. What matters it what she says to you, see how she looks, is the Language of all who know what Love is. When the Mind is thus summed up and expressed in a Glance, did you never observe a sudden Joy arise in the Countenance of a Lover? Did you never see the Attendance of Years paid, over-paid in an Instant? You a Spectator, and not know that the Intelligence of Affection is carried on by the Eye only; that Good-breeding has made the Tongue falsify the Heart, and act a Part of continual Constraint, while Nature has preserved the Eyes to her self, that she may not be disguised or misrepresented. The poor Bride can give her Hand, and say, I do, with a languishing Air, to the Man she is obliged by cruel Parents to take for mercenary Reasons, but at the same Time she cannot look as if she loved; her Eye is full of Sorrow, and Reluctance sits in a Tear, while the Offering of the Sacrifice is performed in what we call the Marriage Ceremony. Do you never go to Plays? Cannot you distinguish between the Eyes of those who go to see, from those who come to be seen? I am a Woman turned of Thirty, and am on the Observation a little; therefore if you or your Correspondent had consulted me in your Discourse on the Eye, I could have told you that the Eye of Leonora is slyly watchful while it looks negligent: she looks round her without the Help of the Glasses you speak of, and yet seems to be employed on Objects directly before her. This Eye is what affects Chance-medley, and on a sudden, as if it attended to another thing, turns all its Charms against an Ogler. The Eye of Lusitania is an Instrument of premeditated Murder; but the Design being visible, destroys the Execution of it; and with much more Beauty than that of Leonora, it is not half so mischievous. There is a brave Soldier's Daughter in Town, that by her Eye has been the Death of more than ever her Father made fly before him. A beautiful Eye makes Silence eloquent, a kind Eye makes Contradiction an Assent, an enraged Eye makes Beauty deformed. This little Member gives Life to every other Part about us, and I believe the Story of Argus implies no more than that the Eye is in every Part, that is to say, every other Part would be mutilated, were not its Force represented more by the Eye than even by it self. But this is Heathen Greek to those who have not conversed by Glances. This, Sir, is a Language in which there can be no Deceit, nor can a Skilful Observer be imposed upon by Looks even among Politicians and Courtiers. If you do me the Honour to print this among your Speculations, I shall in my next make you a Present of Secret History, by Translating all the Looks of the next Assembly of Ladies and Gentlemen into Words, to adorn some future Paper.

I am, Sir,

Your faithful Friend,

Mary Heartfree.

Dear Mr. Spectator,

I have a Sot of a Husband that lives a very scandalous Life, and wastes away his Body and Fortune in Debaucheries; and is immoveable to all the Arguments I can urge to him. I would gladly know whether in some Cases a Cudgel may not be allowed as a good Figure of Speech, and whether it may not be lawfully used by a Female Orator.

Your humble Servant,

Barbara Crabtree.

Mr. Spectator[2],

Though I am a Practitioner in the Law of some standing, and have heard many eminent Pleaders in my Time, as well as other eloquent Speakers of both Universities, yet I agree with you, that Women are better qualified to succeed in Oratory than the Men, and believe this is to be resolved into natural Causes. You have mentioned only the Volubility of their Tongue; but what do you think of the silent Flattery of their pretty Faces, and the Perswasion which even an insipid Discourse carries with it when flowing from beautiful Lips, to which it would be cruel to deny any thing? It is certain too, that they are possessed of some Springs of Rhetorick which Men want, such as Tears, fainting Fits, and the like, which I have seen employed upon Occasion with good Success. You must know I am a plain Man and love my Money; yet I have a Spouse who is so great an Orator in this Way, that she draws from me what Sum she pleases. Every Room in my House is furnished with Trophies of her Eloquence, rich Cabinets, Piles of China, Japan Screens, and costly Jars; and if you were to come into my great Parlour, you would fancy your self in an India Ware-house: Besides this she keeps a Squirrel, and I am doubly taxed to pay for the China he breaks. She is seized with periodical Fits about the Time of the Subscriptions to a new Opera, and is drowned in Tears after having seen any Woman there in finer Cloaths than herself: These are Arts of Perswasion purely Feminine, and which a tender Heart cannot resist. What I would therefore desire of you, is, to prevail with your Friend who has promised to dissect a Female Tongue, that he would at the same time give us the Anatomy of a Female Eye, and explain the Springs and Sluices which feed it with such ready Supplies of Moisture; and likewise shew by what means, if possible, they may be stopped at a reasonable Expence: Or, indeed, since there is something so moving in the very Image of weeping Beauty, it would be worthy his Art to provide, that these eloquent Drops may no more be lavished on Trifles, or employed as Servants to their wayward Wills; but reserved for serious Occasions in Life, to adorn generous Pity, true Penitence, or real Sorrow.

I am, &c.

Footnote 1:

quis Temeros oculus mihi fascinat Agnos

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Contents

No. 253

Thursday, December 20, 1711

Addison

Indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse

Compositum, illepideve putetur, sed quia nuper.

Hor.

greatestsole Wonder[1]AugustusVirgilHoraceVirgilGallus, Propertius, Horace, Varius, TuccaOvidBaviusMaevius

John DenhamFletcher's

But whither am I strayed? I need not raise

Trophies to thee from other Mens Dispraise:

Nor is thy Fame on lesser Ruins built,

Nor needs thy juster Title the foul Guilt

Of Eastern Kings, who, to secure their Reign,

Must have their Brothers, Sons, and Kindred slain.

sorryThe Art of Criticism[2]Horace's Art of PoetryBoileautHorace's Art of PoetryAristotleAugustan

LatinHorace, Petronius, QuintilianLonginus

LonginusEnglish

These Equal Syllables alone require,

Tho' oft the Ear the open Vowels tire,

While Expletives their feeble Aid do join,

And ten low Words oft creep in one dull Line.

do

A needless Alexandrine ends the Song,

That like a wounded Snake, drags its slow Length along.

'Tis not enough no Harshness gives Offence,

The Sound must seem an Eccho to the Sense.

Soft is the Strain when Zephyr gently blows,

And the smooth Stream in smoother Numbers flows;

But when loud Surges lash the sounding Shore,

The hoarse rough Verse shou'd like the Torrent roar.

When Ajax strives some Rock's vast Weight to throw,

The Line too labours, and the Words move slow;

Not so, when swift Camilla scours the Plain,

Flies o'er th' unbending Corn, and skims along the Main.

beautifulAjaxHomer's[3]SisyphusSpondeesDactyls

Virgil

cannot[4][5]

Footnote 1:single Product

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Footnote 2:

'Though it be the highest satisfaction to find myself commended by a Writer whom all the world commends, yet I am not more obliged to you for that than for your candour and frankness in acquainting me with the error I have been guilty of in speaking too freely of my brother moderns.'

The Narrative of Dr. Robert Norrisupon the Frenzy J. D

Blest with each talent and each art to please, And born to live, converse, and write with ease,

Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,

Just hint the fault and hesitate dislike,

Who when two wits on rival themes contest,

Approves of both, but likes the worse the best:

Like Cato, give his little Senate laws,

And sits attentive to his own applause;

While wits and templars every sentence raise:

And wonder with a foolish face of praise:

Who would not laugh if such a man there be?

Who would not weep if Addison were he?

SpectatorEssay on Criticism

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Footnote 3:Odyssey

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Footnote 4:

in all Charles's days

Roscommon only boasts unspotted lays,

Essay on Translated Verse

Immodest words admit of no Defence:

For Want of Decency is Want of Sense.

return

Footnote 5:SpectatorRehearsalSpectatorEssay on Poetry

A faultless monster which the world ne'er saw.

Read Homer once, and you can read no more;

For all books else appear so mean, so poor,

Verse will seem Prose; but still persist to read,

And Homer will be all the Books you need.

Who durst assert the juster ancient Cause

And have restored Wit's Fundamental Laws.

Such was the Muse, whose Rules and Practice tell,

Nature's chief Masterpiece is writing well.

Essay on Poetry

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Contents

No. 254

Friday, December 21, 1711

Steele

My dear Harriot,

If thou art she, but oh how fallen, how changed, what an Apostate! how lost to all that's gay and agreeable! To be married I find is to be buried alive; I can't conceive it more dismal to be shut up in a Vault to converse with the Shades of my Ancestors, than to be carried down to an old Manor-House in the Country, and confined to the Conversation of a sober Husband and an awkward Chamber-maid. For Variety I suppose you may entertain yourself with Madam in her Grogram Gown, the Spouse of your Parish Vicar, who has by this time I am sure well furnished you with Receipts for making Salves and Possets, distilling Cordial Waters, making Syrups, and applying Poultices.

Blest Solitude! I wish thee Joy, my Dear, of thy loved Retirement, which indeed you would perswade me is very agreeable, and different enough from what I have here described: But, Child, I am afraid thy Brains are a little disordered with Romances and Novels: After six Months Marriage to hear thee talk of Love, and paint the Country Scenes so softly, is a little extravagant; one would think you lived the Lives of Sylvan Deities, or roved among the Walks of Paradise, like the first happy Pair. But pr'ythee leave these Whimsies, and come to Town in order to live and talk like other Mortals. However, as I am extremely interested in your Reputation, I would willingly give you a little good Advice at your first Appearance under the Character of a married Woman: 'Tis a little Insolence in me perhaps, to advise a Matron; but I am so afraid you'll make so silly a Figure as a fond Wife, that I cannot help warning you not to appear in any publick Places with your Husband, and never to saunter about St. James's Park together: If you presume to enter the Ring at Hide-Park together, you are ruined for ever; nor must you take the least notice of one another at the Play-house or Opera, unless you would be laughed at for a very loving Couple most happily paired in the Yoke of Wedlock. I would recommend the Example of an Acquaintance of ours to your Imitation; she is the most negligent and fashionable Wife in the World; she is hardly ever seen in the same Place with her Husband, and if they happen to meet, you would think them perfect Strangers: She never was heard to name him in his Absence, and takes care he shall never be the Subject of any Discourse that she has a Share in. I hope you'll propose this Lady as a Pattern, tho' I am very much afraid you'll be so silly to think Portia, &c. Sabine and Roman Wives much brighter Examples. I wish it may never come into your Head to imitate those antiquated Creatures so far, as to come into Publick in the Habit as well as Air of a Roman Matron. You make already the Entertainment at Mrs. Modish's Tea-Table; she says, she always thought you a discreet Person, and qualified to manage a Family with admirable Prudence: she dies to see what demure and serious Airs Wedlock has given you, but she says she shall never forgive your Choice of so gallant a Man as Bellamour to transform him to a meer sober Husband; 'twas unpardonable: You see, my Dear, we all envy your Happiness, and no Person more than

Your humble Servant,

Lydia.

Be not in pain, good Madam, for my Appearance in Town; I shall frequent no publick Places, or make any Visits where the Character of a modest Wife is ridiculous. As for your wild Raillery on Matrimony, 'tis all Hypocrisy; you, and all the handsome young Women of our Acquaintance, shew yourselves to no other Purpose than to gain a Conquest over some Man of Worth, in order to bestow your Charms and Fortune on him. There's no Indecency in the Confession, the Design is modest and honourable, and all your Affectation can't disguise it.

I am married, and have no other Concern but to please the Man I Love; he's the End of every Care I have; if I dress, 'tis for him; if I read a Poem or a Play, 'tis to qualify myself for a Conversation agreeable to his Taste: He's almost the End of my Devotions; half my Prayers are for his Happiness. I love to talk of him, and never hear him named but with Pleasure and Emotion. I am your Friend, and wish your Happiness, but am sorry to see by the Air of your Letter that there are a Set of Women who are got into the Common-Place Raillery of every Thing that is sober, decent, and proper: Matrimony and the Clergy are the Topicks of People of little Wit and no Understanding. I own to you, I have learned of the Vicar's Wife all you tax me with: She is a discreet, ingenious, pleasant, pious Woman; I wish she had the handling of you and Mrs. Modish; you would find, if you were too free with her, she would soon make you as charming as ever you were, she would make you blush as much as if you had never been fine Ladies. The Vicar, Madam, is so kind as to visit my Husband, and his agreeable Conversation has brought him to enjoy many sober happy Hours when even I am shut out, and my dear Master is entertained only with his own Thoughts. These Things, dear Madam, will be lasting Satisfactions, when the fine Ladies, and the Coxcombs by whom they form themselves, are irreparably ridiculous, ridiculous in old Age.

I am, Madam, your most humble Servant,

Mary Home.

Dear Mr. Spectator,

You have no Goodness in the World, and are not in earnest in any thing you say that is serious, if you do not send me a plain Answer to this: I happened some Days past to be at the Play, where during the Time of Performance, I could not keep my Eyes off from a beautiful young Creature who sat just before me, and who I have been since informed has no Fortune. It would utterly ruin my Reputation for Discretion to marry such a one, and by what I can learn she has a Character of great Modesty, so that there is nothing to be thought on any other Way. My Mind has ever since been so wholly bent on her, that I am much in danger of doing something very extravagant without your speedy Advice to,

Sir, Your most humble Servant.

Dear Correspondent, Would you marry to please other People, or your self?

Contents

No. 255

Saturday, December 22, 1711

Addison

Laudis amore tumes? sunt certa piacula, quæ te

Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello.

Hor.

Andgreat[1]that a Man's Sense of his own[2]him[3]he has[4]his[5]his Soul[6]him[7]himself[8]

is Salust'sCato[9]

Besidesand[10]

Fameor[11]

Footnote 1: all great

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Footnote 9:

Bell. Catil

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No. 256

Monday, December 24, 1711

Addison

becausePart[1]

evenPerson[2]his

ThereCæsar'sCicero[3]That he was satisfied with his Share of Life and Fame, Se satis vel ad Naturam, vel ad Gloriam vixisse

We[4]

Footnote 1:Parts

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Footnote 2:Name

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Footnote 3:Oratio pro M. Marcello

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Footnote 4:I shall conclude this Subject in my next Paper.

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Contents

No. 257

Tuesday, December 25, 1711[1]

Addison

First

Secondly

Thirdly

thereforeHe

Well done, thou good and faithful Servant, enter thou into thy Master's Joy

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 258

Wednesday, December 26, 1711

Steele

Divide et Impera.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am considerably obliged to you for your speedy Publication of my last in yours of the 18th Instant, and am in no small Hopes of being settled in the Post of Comptroller of the Cries. Of all the Objections I have hearkened after in publick Coffee-houses there is but one that seems to carry any Weight with it, viz. That such a Post would come too near the Nature of a Monopoly. Now, Sir, because I would have all Sorts of People made easy, and being willing to have more Strings than one to my Bow; in case that of Comptroller should fail me, I have since formed another Project, which, being grounded on the dividing a present Monopoly, I hope will give the Publick an Equivalent to their full Content. You know, Sir, it is allowed that the Business of the Stage is, as the Latin has it, Jucunda et Idonea dicere Vitæ. Now there being but one Dramatick Theatre licensed for the Delight and Profit of this extensive Metropolis, I do humbly propose, for the Convenience of such of its Inhabitants as are too distant from Covent-Garden, that another Theatre of Ease may be erected in some spacious Part of the City; and that the Direction thereof may be made a Franchise in Fee to me, and my Heirs for ever. And that the Town may have no Jealousy of my ever coming to an Union with the Set of Actors now in being, I do further propose to constitute for my Deputy my near Kinsman and Adventurer, Kit Crotchet[1], whose long Experience and Improvements in those Affairs need no Recommendation. 'Twas obvious to every Spectator what a quite different Foot the Stage was upon during his Government; and had he not been bolted out of his Trap-Doors, his Garrison might have held out for ever, he having by long Pains and Perseverance arriv'd at the Art of making his Army fight without Pay or Provisions. I must confess it, with a melancholy Amazement, I see so wonderful a Genius laid aside, and the late Slaves of the Stage now become its Masters, Dunces that will be sure to suppress all Theatrical Entertainments and Activities that they are not able themselves to shine in!

Every Man that goes to a Play is not obliged to have either Wit or Understanding; and I insist upon it, that all who go there should see something which may improve them in a Way of which they are capable. In short, Sir, I would have something done as well as said on the Stage. A Man may have an active Body, though he has not a quick Conception; for the Imitation therefore of such as are, as I may so speak, corporeal Wits or nimble Fellows, I would fain ask any of the present Mismanagers, Why should not Rope-dancers, Vaulters, Tumblers, Ladder-walkers, and Posture-makers appear again on our Stage? After such a Representation, a Five-bar Gate would be leaped with a better Grace next Time any of the Audience went a Hunting. Sir, these Things cry loud for Reformation and fall properly under the Province of Spectator General; but how indeed should it be otherwise, while Fellows (that for Twenty Years together were never paid but as their Master was in the Humour) now presume to pay others more than ever they had in their Lives; and in Contempt of the Practice of Persons of Condition, have the Insolence to owe no Tradesman a Farthing at the End of the Week. Sir, all I propose is the publick Good; for no one can imagine I shall ever get a private Shilling by it: Therefore I hope you will recommend this Matter in one of your this Week's Papers, and desire when my House opens you will accept the Liberty of it for the Trouble you have receiv'd from,

Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Ralph Crotchet.

P. S. I have Assurances that the Trunk-maker will declare for us.

Mr. Spectator,

"We whose Names are subscribed[2], think you the properest Person to signify what we have to offer the Town in Behalf of our selves, and the Art which we profess, Musick. We conceive Hopes of your Favour from the Speculations on the Mistakes which the Town run into with Regard to their Pleasure of this Kind; and believing your Method of judging is, that you consider Musick only valuable, as it is agreeable to, and heightens the Purpose of Poetry, we consent that That is not only the true Way of relishing that Pleasure, but also, that without it a Composure of Musick is the same thing as a Poem, where all the Rules of Poetical Numbers are observed, tho' the Words have no Sense or Meaning; to say it shorter, meer musical Sounds are in our Art no other than nonsense Verses are in Poetry. Musick therefore is to aggravate what is intended by Poetry; it must always have some Passion or Sentiment to express, or else Violins, Voices, or any other Organs of Sound, afford an Entertainment very little above the Rattles of Children. It was from this Opinion of the Matter, that when Mr. Clayton had finished his Studies in Italy, and brought over the Opera of Arsinoe, that Mr. Haym and Mr. Dieupart, who had the Honour to be well known and received among the Nobility and Gentry, were zealously inclined to assist, by their Solicitations, in introducing so elegant an Entertainment as the Italian Musick grafted upon English Poetry. For this End Mr. Dieupart and Mr. Haym, according to their several Opportunities, promoted the Introduction of Arsinoe, and did it to the best Advantage so great a Novelty would allow. It is not proper to trouble you with Particulars of the just Complaints we all of us have to make; but so it is, that without Regard to our obliging Pains, we are all equally set aside in the present Opera. Our Application therefore to you is only to insert this Letter, in your Papers, that the Town may know we have all Three joined together to make Entertainments of Musick for the future at Mr. Clayton's House in York-buildings. What we promise ourselves, is, to make a Subscription of two Guineas, for eight Times; and that the Entertainment, with the Names of the Authors of the Poetry, may be printed, to be sold in the House, with an Account of the several Authors of the Vocal as well as the Instrumental Musick for each Night; the Money to be paid at the Receipt of the Tickets, at Mr. Charles Lillie's. It will, we hope, Sir, be easily allowed, that we are capable of undertaking to exhibit by our joint Force and different Qualifications all that can be done in Musick; but lest you should think so dry a thing as an Account of our Proposal should be a Matter unworthy your Paper, which generally contains something of publick Use; give us leave to say, that favouring our Design is no less than reviving an Art, which runs to ruin by the utmost Barbarism under an Affectation of Knowledge. We aim at establishing some settled Notion of what is Musick, as recovering from Neglect and Want very many Families who depend upon it, at making all Foreigners who pretend to succeed in England to learn the Language of it as we our selves have done, and not be so insolent as to expect a whole Nation, a refined and learned Nation, should submit to learn them. In a word, Mr. Spectator, with all Deference and Humility, we hope to behave ourselves in this Undertaking in such a Manner, that all English Men who have any Skill in Musick may be furthered in it for their Profit or Diversion by what new Things we shall produce; never pretending to surpass others, or asserting that any Thing which is a Science is not attainable by all Men of all Nations who have proper Genius for it: We say, Sir, what we hope for is not expected will arrive to us by contemning others, but through the utmost Diligence recommending ourselves.

We are, Sir,

Your most humble Servants,

Thomas Clayton,

Nicolino Haym,

Charles Dieupart.

Footnote 1:Tatler

'has a perfect art in being unintelligible in discourse and uncomeatable in business. But he, having no understanding in his polite way, brought in upon us, to get in his money, ladder-dancers, rope-dancers, jugglers, and mountebanks, to strut in the place of Shakespeare's heroes and Jonson's humorists.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Alexander's FeastArsinoe, Queen of CyprusCamillaRosamondRinaldoHistory of Music

Arsinoe

return

Contents

No. 259

Thursday, December 27, 1711

Steele

Quod decet honestum est, et quod honestum est decet.

Tull.

English

ofwhoEnglandAnabaptisteldest[1]

Footnote 1:elder

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 260

Friday, December 28, 1711

Steele

Singula de nobis anni prædantur euntes.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

I am now in the Sixty fifth Year of my Age, and having been the greater Part of my Days a Man of Pleasure, the Decay of my Faculties is a Stagnation of my Life. But how is it, Sir, that my Appetites are increased upon me with the Loss of Power to gratify them? I write this, like a Criminal, to warn People to enter upon what Reformation they may please to make in themselves in their Youth, and not expect they shall be capable of it from a fond Opinion some have often in their Mouths, that if we do not leave our Desires they will leave us. It is far otherwise; I am now as vain in my Dress, and as flippant if I see a pretty Woman, as when in my Youth I stood upon a Bench in the Pit to survey the whole Circle of Beauties. The Folly is so extravagant with me, and I went on with so little Check of my Desires, or Resignation of them, that I can assure you, I very often meerly to entertain my own Thoughts, sit with my Spectacles on, writing Love-Letters to the Beauties that have been long since in their Graves. This is to warm my Heart with the faint Memory of Delights which were once agreeable to me; but how much happier would my Life have been now, if I could have looked back on any worthy Action done for my Country? If I had laid out that which I profused in Luxury and Wantonness, in Acts of Generosity or Charity? I have lived a Batchelor to this Day; and instead of a numerous Offspring, with which, in the regular Ways of Life, I might possibly have delighted my self, I have only to amuse my self with the Repetition of Old Stories and Intrigues which no one will believe I ever was concerned in. I do not know whether you have ever treated of it or not; but you cannot fall on a better Subject, than that of the Art of growing old. In such a Lecture you must propose, that no one set his Heart upon what is transient; the Beauty grows wrinkled while we are yet gazing at her. The witty Man sinks into a Humourist imperceptibly, for want of reflecting that all Things around him are in a Flux, and continually changing: Thus he is in the Space of ten or fifteen Years surrounded by a new Set of People whose Manners are as natural to them as his Delights, Method of Thinking, and Mode of Living, were formerly to him and his Friends. But the Mischief is, he looks upon the same kind of Errors which he himself was guilty of with an Eye of Scorn, and with that sort of Ill-will which Men entertain against each other for different Opinions: Thus a crasie Constitution, and an uneasie Mind is fretted with vexatious Passions for young Mens doing foolishly what it is Folly to do at all. Dear Sir, this is my present State of Mind; I hate those I should laugh at, and envy those I contemn. The Time of Youth and vigorous Manhood passed the Way in which I have disposed of it, is attended with these Consequences; but to those who live and pass away Life as they ought, all Parts of it are equally pleasant; only the Memory of good and worthy Actions is a Feast which must give a quicker Relish to the Soul than ever it could possibly taste in the highest Enjoyments or Jollities of Youth. As for me, if I sit down in my great Chair and begin to ponder, the Vagaries of a Child are not more ridiculous than the Circumstances which are heaped up in my Memory. Fine Gowns, Country Dances, Ends of Tunes, interrupted Conversations, and midnight Quarrels, are what must necessarily compose my Soliloquy. I beg of you to print this, that some Ladies of my Acquaintance, and my Years, may be perswaded to wear warm Night-caps this cold Season: and that my old Friend Jack Tawdery may buy him a Cane, and not creep with the Air of a Strut. I must add to all this, that if it were not for one Pleasure, which I thought a very mean one 'till of very late Years, I should have no one great Satisfaction left; but if I live to the 10th of March, 1714, and all my Securities are good, I shall be worth Fifty thousand Pound.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Jack Afterday.

Mr. Spectator,

You will infinitely oblige a distressed Lover, if you will insert in your very next Paper, the following Letter to my Mistress. You must know, I am not a Person apt to despair, but she has got an odd Humour of stopping short unaccountably, and, as she her self told a Confident of hers, she has cold Fits. These Fits shall last her a Month or six Weeks together; and as she falls into them without Provocation, so it is to be hoped she will return from them without the Merit of new Services. But Life and Love will not admit of such Intervals, therefore pray let her be admonished as follows.

Madam,

I Love you, and I honour you: therefore pray do not tell me of waiting till Decencies, till Forms, till Humours are consulted and gratified. If you have that happy Constitution as to be indolent for ten Weeks together, you should consider that all that while I burn in Impatiences and Fevers; but still you say it will be Time enough, tho' I and you too grow older while we are yet talking. Which do you think the more reasonable, that you should alter a State of Indifference for Happiness, and that to oblige me, or I live in Torment, and that to lay no Manner of Obligation upon you? While I indulge your Insensibility I am doing nothing; if you favour my Passion, you are bestowing bright Desires, gay Hopes, generous Cares, noble Resolutions and transporting Raptures upon, Madam,

Your most devoted humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

Here's a Gentlewoman lodges in the same House with me, that I never did any Injury to in my whole Life; and she is always railing at me to those that she knows will tell me of it. Don't you think she is in Love with me? or would you have me break my Mind yet or not?

Your Servant,

T. B.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Footman in a great Family, and am in Love with the House-maid. We were all at Hot-cockles last Night in the Hall these Holidays; when I lay down and was blinded, she pulled off her Shoe, and hit me with the Heel such a Rap, as almost broke my Head to Pieces. Pray, Sir, was this Love or Spite?

Contents

No. 261

Saturday, December 29, 1711

Addison

youwould[1]

s

Nothingwhich[2]

Footnote 1:will

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Contents

No. 262

Monday, December 31, 1711

Steele

Nulla venenato Littera mista Joco est.

Ovid.

Seasonings

Butnot[1]NoAptness[2]

would[3]This[4]

ForReason[5]

EnglishMiltonParadise LostSaturdayHorace

—Si quid novisti rectius istis,

Candidus imperti; si non, his utere mecum,

'If you have made any better Remarks of your own, communicate them with Candour; if not, make use of these I present you with.'

Footnote 1:not to

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: Aptness in them

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:Reasons

return

Contents

No. 263

Tuesday, January 1, 1712

Steele

Gratulor quod eum quem necesse erat diligere, qualiscunque esset, talem habemus ut libenter quoque diligamus.

Trebonius apud Tull.

Mr, Spectator,

I am the happy Father of a very towardly Son, in whom I do not only see my Life, but also my Manner of Life, renewed. It would be extremely beneficial to Society, if you would frequently resume Subjects which serve to bind these sort of Relations faster, and endear the Ties of Blood with those of Good-will, Protection, Observance, Indulgence, and Veneration. I would, methinks, have this done after an uncommon Method, and do not think any one, who is not capable of writing a good Play, fit to undertake a Work wherein there will necessarily occur so many secret Instincts, and Biasses of human Nature which would pass unobserved by common Eyes. I thank Heaven I have no outrageous Offence against my own excellent Parents to answer for; but when I am now and then alone, and look back upon my past Life, from my earliest Infancy to this Time, there are many Faults which I committed that did not appear to me, even till I my self became a Father. I had not till then a Notion of the Earnings of Heart, which a Man has when he sees his Child do a laudable Thing, or the sudden Damp which seizes him when he fears he will act something unworthy. It is not to be imagined, what a Remorse touched me for a long Train of childish Negligencies of my Mother, when I saw my Wife the other Day look out of the Window, and turn as pale as Ashes upon seeing my younger Boy sliding upon the Ice. These slight Intimations will give you to understand, that there are numberless little Crimes which Children take no notice of while they are doing, which upon Reflection, when they shall themselves become Fathers, they will look upon with the utmost Sorrow and Contrition, that they did not regard, before those whom they offended were to be no more seen. How many thousand Things do I remember, which would have highly pleased my Father, and I omitted for no other Reason, but that I thought what he proposed the Effect of Humour and old Age, which I am now convinced had Reason and good Sense in it. I cannot now go into the Parlour to him, and make his Heart glad with an Account of a Matter which was of no Consequence, but that I told it, and acted in it. The good Man and Woman are long since in their Graves, who used to sit and plot the Welfare of us their Children, while, perhaps, we were sometimes laughing at the old Folks at another End of the House. The Truth of it is, were we merely to follow Nature in these great Duties of Life, tho' we have a strong Instinct towards the performing of them, we should be on both Sides very deficient. Age is so unwelcome to the Generality of Mankind, and Growth towards Manhood so desirable to all, that Resignation to Decay is too difficult a Task in the Father; and Deference, amidst the Impulse of gay Desires, appears unreasonable to the Son. There are so few who can grow old with a good Grace, and yet fewer who can come slow enough into the World, that a Father, were he to be actuated by his Desires, and a Son, were he to consult himself only, could neither of them behave himself as he ought to the other. But when Reason interposes against Instinct, where it would carry either out of the Interests of the other, there arises that happiest Intercourse of good Offices between those dearest Relations of human Life. The Father, according to the Opportunities which are offered to him, is throwing down Blessings on the Son, and the Son endeavouring to appear the worthy Offspring of such a Father. It is after this manner that Camillus and his firstborn dwell together. Camillus enjoys a pleasing and indolent old Age, in which Passion is subdued, and Reason exalted. He waits the Day of his Dissolution with a Resignation mixed with Delight, and the Son fears the Accession of his Father's Fortune with Diffidence, lest he should not enjoy or become it as well as his Predecessor. Add to this, that the Father knows he leaves a Friend to the Children of his Friends, an easie Landlord to his Tenants, and an agreeable Companion to his Acquaintance. He believes his Son's Behaviour will make him frequently remembered, but never wanted. This Commerce is so well cemented, that without the Pomp of saying, Son, be a Friend to such a one when I am gone; Camillus knows, being in his Favour, is Direction enough to the grateful Youth who is to succeed him, without the Admonition of his mentioning it. These Gentlemen are honoured in all their Neighbourhood, and the same Effect which the Court has on the Manner of a Kingdom, their Characters have on all who live within the Influence of them.

My Son and I are not of Fortune to communicate our good Actions or Intentions to so many as these Gentlemen do; but I will be bold to say, my Son has, by the Applause and Approbation which his Behaviour towards me has gained him, occasioned that many an old Man, besides my self, has rejoiced. Other Men's Children follow the Example of mine, and I have the inexpressible Happiness of overhearing our Neighbours, as we ride by, point to their Children, and say, with a Voice of Joy, There they go.

'You cannot, Mr. Spectator, pass your time better than insinuating the Delights which these Relations well regarded bestow upon each other. Ordinary Passions are no longer such, but mutual Love gives an Importance to the most indifferent things, and a Merit to Actions the most insignificant. When we look round the World, and observe the many Misunderstandings which are created by the Malice and Insinuation of the meanest Servants between People thus related, how necessary will it appear that it were inculcated that Men would be upon their Guard to support a Constancy of Affection, and that grounded upon the Principles of Reason, not the Impulses of Instinct.

It is from the common Prejudices which Men receive from their Parents, that Hatreds are kept alive from one Generation to another; and when Men act by Instinct, Hatreds will descend when good Offices are forgotten. For the Degeneracy of human Life is such, that our Anger is more easily transferred to our Children than our Love. Love always gives something to the Object it delights in, and Anger spoils the Person against whom it is moved of something laudable in him. From this Degeneracy therefore, and a sort of Self-Love, we are more prone to take up the Ill-will of our Parents, than to follow them in their Friendships.

One would think there should need no more to make Men keep up this sort of Relation with the utmost Sanctity, than to examine their own Hearts. If every Father remembered his own Thoughts and Inclinations when he was a Son, and every Son remembered what he expected from his Father, when he himself was in a State of Dependance, this one Reflection would preserve Men from being dissolute or rigid in these several Capacities. The Power and Subjection between them, when broken, make them more emphatically Tyrants and Rebels against each other, with greater Cruelty of Heart, than the Disruption of States and Empires can possibly produce. I shall end this Application to you with two Letters which passed between a Mother and Son very lately, and are as follows.

Dear FRANK,

If the Pleasures, which I have the Grief to hear you pursue in Town, do not take up all your Time, do not deny your Mother so much of it, as to read seriously this Letter. You said before Mr. Letacre, that an old Woman might live very well in the Country upon half my Jointure, and that your Father was a fond Fool to give me a Rent-Charge of Eight hundred a Year to the Prejudice of his Son. What Letacre said to you upon that Occasion, you ought to have born with more Decency, as he was your Father's well-beloved Servant, than to have called him Country-put. In the first place, Frank, I must tell you, I will have my Rent duly paid, for I will make up to your Sisters for the Partiality I was guilty of, in making your Father do so much as he has done for you. I may, it seems, live upon half my Jointure! I lived upon much less, Frank, when I carried you from Place to Place in these Arms, and could neither eat, dress, or mind any thing for feeding and tending you a weakly Child, and shedding Tears when the Convulsions you were then troubled with returned upon you. By my Care you outgrew them, to throw away the Vigour of your Youth in the Arms of Harlots, and deny your Mother what is not yours to detain. Both your Sisters are crying to see the Passion which I smother; but if you please to go on thus like a Gentleman of the Town, and forget all Regards to your self and Family, I shall immediately enter upon your Estate for the Arrear due to me, and without one Tear more contemn you for forgetting the Fondness of your Mother, as much as you have the Example of your Father. O Frank, do I live to omit writing myself,

Your Affectionate Mother, A.T.

MADAM,

I will come down to-morrow and pay the Money on my Knees. Pray write so no more. I will take care you never shall, for I will be for ever hereafter,

Your most dutiful Son,

F.T.

I will bring down new Heads for my Sisters. Pray let all be forgotten.

Contents

No. 264

Wednesday, January 2, 1712

Steele

—Secretum iter et fallentis Semita vitæ.

Hor.

IrusIrusIrusIrusIrusJohn StreetIrusIrus

Roger

Mr. Spectator,

Having observed in Lilly's Grammar how sweetly Bacchus and Apollo run in a Verse: I have (to preserve the Amity between them) call'd in Bacchus to the Aid of my Profession of the Theatre. So that while some People of Quality are bespeaking Plays of me to be acted upon such a Day, and others, Hogsheads for their Houses against such a Time; I am wholly employ'd in the agreeable Service of Wit and Wine: Sir, I have sent you Sir Roger de Coverley's Letter to me, which pray comply with in Favour of the Bumper Tavern. Be kind, for you know a Player's utmost Pride is the Approbation of the Spectator.

I am your Admirer, tho' unknown,

Richard Estcourt[1]

To Mr. Estcourt at his House in Covent-Garden.

Coverley, December the 18th, 1711.

Old Comical Ones,

The Hogsheads of Neat Port came safe, and have gotten thee good Reputation in these Parts; and I am glad to hear, that a Fellow who has been laying out his Money ever since he was born, for the meer Pleasure of Wine, has bethought himself of joining Profit and Pleasure together. Our Sexton (poor Man) having received Strength from thy Wine since his fit of the Gout, is hugely taken with it: He says it is given by Nature for the Use of Families, that no Steward's Table can be without it, that it strengthens Digestion, excludes Surfeits, Fevers and Physick; which green Wines of any kind can't do. Pray get a pure snug Room, and I hope next Term to help fill your Bumper with our People of the Club; but you must have no Bells stirring when the Spectator comes; I forbore ringing to Dinner while he was down with me in the Country. Thank you for the little Hams and Portugal Onions; pray keep some always by you. You know my Supper is only good Cheshire Cheese, best Mustard, a golden Pippin, attended with a Pipe of John Sly's Best. Sir Harry has stoln all your Songs, and tells the Story of the 5th of November to Perfection.

Yours to serve you,

Roger de Coverley.

We've lost old John since you were here.'

Footnote 1:Alexander the GreatProvidoreSpectator'sPrunellaSpectator

'neat natural wines, fresh and in perfection; being bought by Brooke and Hellier, by whom the said Tavern will from time to time be supplied with the best growths that shall be imported; to be sold by wholesale as well as retail, with the utmost fidelity by his old servant, trusty Anthony, who has so often adorned both the theatres in England and Ireland; and as he is a person altogether unknowing in the wine trade, it cannot be doubted but that he will deliver the wine in the same natural purity that he receives it from the said merchants; and on these assurances he hopes that all his friends and acquaintance will become his customers, desiring a continuance of their favours no longer than they shall find themselves well served.'

Spectator

return to footnote mark

cross-reference: return to Footnote 3 of No. 358

Contents

No. 265

Thursday, January 3, 1712

Addison

Dixerit e multis aliquis, quid virus in angues

Adjicis? et rabidæ tradis ovile lupæ?

Ov.

an Animal that delights in Finery

PinacleAs Nature on the contrary[1]British

moulting Season

One[2]IndianEnglish

Will. HoneycombIrisDryden's Virgil

WillMoroccoMelesinda

Cornelia

Honeycomb'sOvidWillOvidOvidAurora

As[3]BritishGreek

[4]

Footnote 1:On the contrary as Nature

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Feuille mort

return

Footnote 3:

'I will not meddle with the Spectator. Let him fair-sex it to the world's end.'

return

Footnote 4:T268

return

Contents

No. 266

Friday, January 4, 1712

Steele

Id vero est, quod ego mihi puto palmarium,

Me reperisse, quomodo adolescentulus

Meretricum ingenia et mores possit noscere:

Mature ut cum cognórit perpetuo oderit.

Ter. Eun. Act. 5, Sc. 4.

sWill. Honeycomb

Covent-GardenJames-streetBumperThisunder[1]newly come upon the TownFletcher'sThe Humorous Lieutenant. LeucippeC

Her Maidenhead will yield me; let me see now;

She is not Fifteen they say: For her Complexion—-

Cloe, Cloe, Cloe, here I have her,

Cloe, the Daughter of a Country Gentleman;

Here Age upon Fifteen. Now her Complexion,

A lovely brown; here 'tis; Eyes black and rolling,

The Body neatly built; she strikes a Lute well,

Sings most enticingly: These Helps consider'd,

Her Maidenhead will amount to some three hundred,

Or three hundred and fifty Crowns, 'twill bear it handsomly.

Her Father's poor, some little Share deducted,

To buy him a Hunting Nag—

As Cloe350[2]Leucippe's

Whether she was well educated, could forbear playing the Wanton with Servants, and idle fellows, of which this Townis too fullWhether she knew enough of Breeding, as that if a Squire or a Gentleman, or one that was her Betters, should give her a civil Salute, she should curtsy and be humble, nevertheless.forsooths, yes's, and't please you's, and she would do her Endeavourhisand, these[3]Plain-Dealer[4]Will

Footnote 1:under in

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:. These

return

Footnote 4:Plain-Dealerbillet doux

return

Contents

No. 267

Saturday, January 5, 1712

Addison

Cedite Romani Scriptores, cedite Graii.[1]

Propert.

Theremore irksome than[2]Milton's Paradise LostDivine Poemwillalledge[3]AdamÆneasEve Helen

IliadÆneidThe[4]should[5]IliadÆneidParadise LostHomer toHorace[6]goneLeda's EggHelenTroyartfully[7]materialthem[8]ÆneasTyrrheneItalyLatiumTroyVirgilÆneidMiltonParadise Lost

Aristotle himselfHomer

[9]GreekSomeÆneid also labours[10]OnIncidents[11]Simplicity; uniform in its Nature, tho' diversified in the Execution.[12]

VirgilRomanCarthaginianMiltonFall of ManshortThe Spanish FrierThe Double Discovery[13]

entireAristotleAchillesÆneas'sItalyMiltonTheOrder[14]

GreatnessAchillesGreeceTroyÆneas'sItalyCæsarsRomanMilton's

willÆneidIliadVirgil's[15]kind[16]Iliadderogating from[17]Paradise Lost

Aristotlejust[18]Homer and VirgilIliadÆneidInvention[19]EpisodesMilton'sIliadÆneidFall of ManHomerVirgilMilton

IliadÆneidMilton's

This Piece of Criticism onshall be carried on in the following Saturdays Papers

Footnote 1:

'Give place to him, Writers of Rome and Greece.'

Spectator'sTatlerParadise LostTatlersSpectators

'Whate'er his pen describes I more than see,

Whilst ev'ry verse, array'd in majesty,

Bold and sublime, my whole attention draws,

And seems above the critics' nicer laws.'

SpectatorJuvenalPersius

"As for Mr. Milton, whom we all admire with so much Justice, his Subject, is not that of an Heroick Poem, properly so call'd: His Design is the Losing of our Happiness; his Event is not prosperous, like that of all other Epique Works" (Dryden's French spelling of the word Epic is suggestive. For this new critical Mode was one of the fashions that had been imported from Paris); "His Heavenly Machines are many, and his Human Persons are but two. But I will not take Mr. Rymer's work out of his Hands: He has promised the World a Critique on that Author; wherein, tho' he will not allow his Poem for Heroick, I hope he will grant us, that his Thoughts are elevated, his Words sounding, and that no Man has so happily copy'd the manner of Homer; or so copiously translated his Grecisms and the Latin Elegancies of Virgil. 'Tis true he runs into a Flat of Thought, sometimes for a Hundred Lines together, but 'tis when he is got into a Track of Scripture ... Neither will I justify Milton for his Blank Verse, tho' I may excuse him, by the Example of Hanabal Caro and other Italians who have used it: For whatever Causes he alledges for the abolishing of Rhime (which I have not now the leisure to examine), his own particular Reason is plainly this, that Rhime was not his Talent; he had neither the Ease of doing it, nor the Graces of it."

The Tragedies of the Last Age consider'd and examined by the Practice of the Ancients and by the Common Sense of all Ages, in a letter to Fleetwold Shepheard, EsqSpectator

"With the remaining Tragedies I shall also send you some reflections on that Paradise Lost of Milton's, which some are pleased to call a Poem, and assert Rhime against the slender Sophistry wherewith he attaques it."

JuvenalPersiusReflections on Aristotle's PoesieGondibertDavideisParadise Lost

'There is no arriving at Perfection but by these Rules, and they certainly go astray that take a different course.... And if a Poem made by these Rules fails of success, the fault lies not in the Art, but in the Artist; all who have writ of this Art, have followed no other Idea but that of Aristotle.'

'to say the truth, what is good on this subject is all taken from Aristotle, who is the only source whence good sense is to be drawn, when one goes about to write.'

the Laws of Poetry

'Mr. Addison in the Spectators, in his criticisms upon Milton, seems to have mistaken the matter, in endeavouring to bring that poem to the rules of the epopœia, which cannot be done ... It is not an Heroic Poem, but a Divine one, and indeed of a new species. It is plain that the proposition of all the heroic poems of the ancients mentions some one person as the subject of their poem... But Milton begins his poem of things, and not of men.'

Vom Wunderbaren in der PoesieSpectatorParadise Lost

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:so irksom as

return

Footnote 3:say

return

Footnote 4:Poetics

'with respect to that species of Poetry which imitates by Narration ... it is obvious, that the Fable ought to be dramatically constructed, like that of Tragedy, and that it should have for its Subject one entire and perfect action, having a beginning, a middle, and an end;'

return

Footnote 5:Poetics

'Epic Poetry agrees so far with Tragic as it is an imitation of great characters and actions.'

'all the parts of the Epic poem are to be found in Tragedy, not all those of Tragedy in the Epic poem.'

return

Footnote 6:

Nec reditum Diomedis ab interitu Meleagri,

Nec gemino bellum Trojanum orditur ab ovo,

Semper ad eventum festinat, et in medias res,

Non secus ac notas, auditorem rapit—

De Arte Poet.

return

Footnote 7:with great Art

return

Footnote 8:the Story

return

Footnote 9:Poetics

'there is less Unity in all Epic imitation; as appears from this—that any Epic Poem will furnish matter for several Tragedies ... The Iliad, for example, and the Odyssey, contain many such subordinate parts, each of which has a certain Magnitude and Unity of its own; yet is the construction of those Poems as perfect, and as nearly approaching to the imitation of a single action, as possible.'

return

Footnote 10:labours also

return

Footnote 11:Circumstances

return

Footnote 12:Simplicity

return

Footnote 13:Spanish FriarWorks

'the felicity does not consist in the ingenuity of his original conception, but in the minutely artificial strokes by which the reader is perpetually reminded of the dependence of the one part of the Play on the other. These are so frequent, and appear so very natural, that the comic plot, instead of diverting our attention from the tragic business, recalls it to our mind by constant and unaffected allusion. No great event happens in the higher region of the camp or court that has not some indirect influence upon the intrigues of Lorenzo and Elvira; and the part which the gallant is called upon to act in the revolution that winds up the tragic interest, while it is highly in character, serves to bring the catastrophe of both parts of the play under the eye of the spectator, at one and the same time.'

return

Footnote 14:

return

Footnote 15:Æneid

'And as young striplings whip the top for sport,

On the smooth pavement of an empty court,

The wooden engine files and whirls about,

Admir'd, with clamours, of the beardless rout;

They lash aloud, each other they provoke,

And lend their little souls at every stroke:

Thus fares the Queen, and thus her fury blows

Amidst the crowds, and trundles as she goes.'

return

Footnote 16:nature

return

Footnote 17: offence to

return

Footnote 18:Poetics

return

Footnote 19:Intervention

return

Contents

No. 268

Monday, January 7, 1712

Steele

—Minus aptus acutis

Naribus Horum Hominum.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator[1],

'As you are Spectator-General, I apply myself to you in the following Case; viz. I do not wear a Sword, but I often divert my self at the Theatre, where I frequently see a Set of Fellows pull plain People, by way of Humour and[2] Frolick, by the Nose, upon frivolous or no Occasions. A Friend of mine the other Night applauding what a graceful Exit Mr. Wilks made, one of these Nose-wringers overhearing him, pinched him by the nose. I was in the Pit the other Night, (when it was very much crowded) a Gentleman leaning upon me, and very heavily, I very civilly requested him to remove his Hand; for which he pulled me by the Nose. I would not resent it in so publick a Place, because I was unwilling to create a Disturbance; but have since reflected upon it as a thing that is unmanly and disingenuous, renders the Nose-puller odious, and makes the Person pulled by the Nose look little and contemptible. This Grievance I humbly request you would endeavour to redress.

I am your Admirer, &c.

James Easy.

Mr. Spectator,

Your Discourse of the 29th of December on Love and Marriage is of so useful a Kind, that I cannot forbear adding my Thoughts to yours on that Subject. Methinks it is a Misfortune, that the Marriage State, which in its own Nature is adapted to give us the compleatest Happiness this Life is capable of, should be so uncomfortable a one to so many as it daily proves. But the Mischief generally proceeds from the unwise Choice People make for themselves, and Expectation of Happiness from Things not capable of giving it. Nothing but the good Qualities of the Person beloved can be a Foundation for a Love of Judgment and Discretion; and whoever expects Happiness from any Thing but Virtue, Wisdom, Good-humour, and a Similitude of Manners, will find themselves widely mistaken. But how few are there who seek after these things, and do not rather make Riches their chief if not their only Aim? How rare is it for a Man, when he engages himself in the Thoughts of Marriage, to place his Hopes of having in such a Woman a constant, agreeable Companion? One who will divide his Cares and double his Joys? Who will manage that Share of his Estate he intrusts to her Conduct with Prudence and Frugality, govern his House with Œconomy and Discretion, and be an Ornament to himself and Family? Where shall we find the Man who looks out for one who places her chief Happiness in the Practice of Virtue, and makes her Duty her continual Pleasure? No: Men rather seek for Money as the Complement of all their Desires; and regardless of what kind of Wives they take, they think Riches will be a Minister to all kind of Pleasures, and enable them to keep Mistresses, Horses, Hounds, to drink, feast, and game with their Companions, pay their Debts contracted by former Extravagancies, or some such vile and unworthy End; and indulge themselves in Pleasures which are a Shame and Scandal to humane Nature. Now as for the Women; how few of them are there who place the Happiness of their Marriage in the having a wise and virtuous Friend? one who will be faithful and just to all, and constant and loving to them? who with Care and Diligence will look after and improve the Estate, and without grudging allow whatever is prudent and convenient? Rather, how few are there who do not place their Happiness in outshining others in Pomp and Show? and that do not think within themselves when they have married such a rich Person, that none of their Acquaintance shall appear so fine in their Equipage, so adorned in their Persons, or so magnificent in their Furniture as themselves? Thus their Heads are filled with vain Ideas; and I heartily wish I could say that Equipage and Show were not the Chief Good of so many Women as I fear it is.

After this Manner do both Sexes deceive themselves, and bring Reflections and Disgrace upon the most happy and most honourable State of Life; whereas if they would but correct their depraved Taste, moderate their Ambition, and place their Happiness upon proper Objects, we should not find Felicity in the Marriage State such a Wonder in the World as it now is.

Sir, if you think these Thoughts worth inserting among[3] your own, be pleased to give them a better Dress, and let them pass abroad; and you will oblige Your Admirer,

A. B.

Mr. Spectator,

As I was this Day walking in the Street, there happened to pass by on the other Side of the Way a Beauty, whose Charms were so attracting that it drew my Eyes wholly on that Side, insomuch that I neglected my own Way, and chanced to run my Nose directly against a Post; which the Lady no sooner perceived, but fell out into a Fit of Laughter, though at the same time she was sensible that her self was the Cause of my Misfortune, which in my Opinion was the greater Aggravation of her Crime. I being busy wiping off the Blood which trickled down my Face, had not Time to acquaint her with her Barbarity, as also with my Resolution, viz. never to look out of my Way for one of her Sex more: Therefore, that your humble Servant may be revenged, he desires you to insert this in one of your next Papers, which he hopes will be a Warning to all the rest of the Women Gazers, as well as to poor

Anthony Gape.

Mr. Spectator,

I desire to know in your next, if the merry Game of The Parson has lost his Cloak, is not mightily in Vogue amongst the fine Ladies this Christmas; because I see they wear Hoods of all Colours, which I suppose is for that Purpose: If it is, and you think it proper, I will carry some of those Hoods with me to our Ladies in Yorkshire; because they enjoyned me to bring them something from London that was very New. If you can tell any Thing in which I can obey their Commands more agreeably, be pleased to inform me, and you will extremely oblige

Your humble Servant

Oxford, Dec. 29.

Mr. Spectator,

Since you appear inclined to be a Friend to the Distressed, I beg you would assist me in an Affair under which I have suffered very much. The reigning Toast of this Place is Patetia; I have pursued her with the utmost Diligence this Twelve-month, and find nothing stands in my Way but one who flatters her more than I can. Pride is her Favourite Passion; therefore if you would be so far my Friend as to make a favourable Mention of her in one of your Papers, I believe I should not fail in my Addresses. The Scholars stand in Rows, as they did to be sure in your Time, at her Pew-door: and she has all the Devotion paid to her by a Crowd of Youths who are unacquainted with the Sex, and have Inexperience added to their Passion: However, if it succeeds according to my Vows, you will make me the happiest Man in the World, and the most obliged amongst all

Your humble Servants.

Mr. Spectator,

I came to[4] my Mistress's Toilet this Morning, for I am admitted when her Face is stark naked: She frowned, and cryed Pish when I said a thing that I stole; and I will be judged by you whether it was not very pretty. Madam, said I, you shall[5] forbear that Part of your Dress; it may be well in others, but you cannot place a Patch where it does not hide a Beauty.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:amongst

return

Footnote 4:at

return

Footnote 5:should

return

Contents

No. 269

Tuesday, January 8, 1712

Addison

—Ævo rarissima nostro

Simplicitas—

Ovid.

Roger De CoverleyGray's-InnAsRogerEugene[1]

EugenioScanderbeg

Grays-Inn Walks

SundayBarrow

Will WimbleUponWillmade[2]WillTom Touchy

Moll WhiteRoger

RogerChristmasRogerChristmasisPoverty and Cold[3]

ChristmasWill Wimble

then[4]EnglandChristmas

RogerAndrew FreeportAndrewAndrew

EugenioBritishdweltBaker'swho[5]

Squire'sSupplement

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:had made

return

Footnote 3:Cold and Poverty

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:that

return

Contents

No. 270

Wednesday, January 9, 1712

Steele

Discit enim citius, meminitque libentius illud,

Quod quis deridet, quam quod probat.

Hor.

doThe Scornful Lady[1]

RogerWelfordas one sent four or five Miles in a Morning on Foot for Eggs.RogerRoger

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 271

Thursday, January 10, 1712

Addison

Mille trahens varios adverso sole colores.

Virg.

Sir,

'I was last Thursday in an Assembly of Ladies, where there were Thirteen different coloured Hoods. Your Spectator of that Day lying upon the Table, they ordered me to read it to them, which I did with a very clear Voice, 'till I came to the Greek Verse at the End of it. I must confess I was a little startled at its popping upon me so unexpectedly. However, I covered my Confusion as well as I could, and after having mutter'd two or three hard Words to my self, laugh'd heartily, and cried, A very good Jest, Faith. The Ladies desired me to explain it to them; but I begged their pardon for that, and told them, that if it had been proper for them to hear, they may be sure the Author would not have wrapp'd it up in Greek. I then let drop several Expressions, as if there was something in it that was not fit to be spoken before a Company of Ladies. Upon which the Matron of the Assembly, who was dressed in a Cherry-coloured Hood, commended the Discretion of the Writer for having thrown his filthy Thoughts into Greek, which was likely to corrupt but few of his Readers. At the same time she declared herself very well pleased, that he had not given a decisive Opinion upon the new-fashioned Hoods; for to tell you truly, says she, I was afraid he would have made us ashamed to shew our Heads. Now, Sir, you must know, since this unlucky Accident happened to me in a Company of Ladies, among whom I passed for a most ingenious Man, I have consulted one who is well versed in the Greek Language, and he assures me upon his Word, that your late Quotation means no more, than that Manners and not Dress are the Ornaments of a Woman. If this comes to the Knowledge of my Female Admirers, I shall be very hard put to it to bring my self off handsomely. In the mean while I give you this Account, that you may take care hereafter not to betray any of your Well-wishers into the like Inconveniencies. It is in the Number of these that I beg leave to subscribe my self,

Tom Trippit.

Mr. Spectator,

' Your Readers are so well pleased with your Character of Sir Roger De Coverley, that there appeared a sensible Joy in every Coffee-house, upon hearing the old Knight was come to Town. I am now with a Knot of his Admirers, who make it their joint Request to you, that you would give us publick Notice of the Window or Balcony where the Knight intends to make his Appearance. He has already given great Satisfaction to several who have seen him at Squire's Coffee-house. If you think fit to place your short Face at Sir Roger's Left Elbow, we shall take the Hint, and gratefully acknowledge so great a Favour.

I am, Sir,

Your most Devoted

Humble Servant,

C. D.

Sir,

' Knowing that you are very Inquisitive after every thing that is Curious in Nature, I will wait on you if you please in the Dusk of the Evening, with my Show upon my Back, which I carry about with me in a Box, as only consisting of a Man, a Woman, and an Horse. The two first are married, in which State the little Cavalier has so well acquitted himself, that his Lady is with Child. The big-bellied Woman, and her Husband, with their whimsical Palfry, are so very light, that when they are put together into a Scale, an ordinary Man may weigh down the whole Family. The little Man is a Bully in his Nature; but when he grows cholerick I confine him to his Box till his Wrath is over, by which Means I have hitherto prevented him from doing Mischief. His Horse is likewise very vicious, for which Reason I am forced to tie him close to his Manger with a Pack-thread. The Woman is a Coquet. She struts as much as it is possible for a Lady of two Foot high, and would ruin me in Silks, were not the Quantity that goes to a large Pin-Cushion sufficient to make her a Gown and Petticoat. She told me the other Day, that she heard the Ladies wore coloured Hoods, and ordered me to get her one of the finest Blue. I am forced to comply with her Demands while she is in her present Condition, being very willing to have more of the same Breed. I do not know what she may produce me, but provided it be a Show I shall be very well satisfied. Such Novelties should not, I think, be concealed from the British Spectator; for which Reason I hope you will excuse this Presumption in

Your most Dutiful,

most Obedient,

and most Humble Servant,

S. T.

Contents

No. 272

Friday, January 11, 1712

Steele

Longa est injuria, longæ

Ambages

Virg.[1]

Mr. Spectator,

The Occasion of this Letter is of so great Importance, and the Circumstances of it such, that I know you will but think it just to insert it, in Preference of all other Matters that can present themselves to your Consideration. I need not, after I have said this, tell you that I am in Love. The Circumstances of my Passion I shall let you understand as well as a disordered Mind will admit. That cursed Pickthank Mrs. Jane! Alas, I am railing at one to you by her Name as familiarly as if you were acquainted with her as well as my self: But I will tell you all, as fast as the alternate Interruptions of Love and Anger will give me Leave. There is a most agreeable young Woman in the World whom I am passionately in Love with, and from whom I have for some space of Time received as great Marks of Favour as were fit for her to give, or me to desire. The successful Progress of the Affair of all others the most essential towards a Man's Happiness, gave a new Life and Spirit not only to my Behaviour and Discourse, but also a certain Grace to all my Actions in the Commerce of Life in all Things tho' never so remote from Love. You know the predominant Passion spreads its self thro' all a Man's Transactions, and exalts or depresses him[2] according to the Nature of such Passion. But alas, I have not yet begun my Story, and what is making Sentences and Observations when a Man is pleading for his Life? To begin then: This Lady has corresponded with me under the Names of Love, she my Belinda, I her Cleanthes. Tho' I am thus well got into the Account of my Affair, I cannot keep in the Thread of it so much as to give you the Character of Mrs. Jane, whom I will not hide under a borrowed Name; but let you know that this Creature has been since I knew her very handsome, (tho' I will not allow her even she has been for the future) and during the Time of her Bloom and Beauty was so great a Tyrant to her Lovers, so over-valued her self and under-rated all her Pretenders, that they have deserted her to a Man; and she knows no Comfort but that common one to all in her Condition, the Pleasure of interrupting the Amours of others. It is impossible but you must have seen several of these Volunteers in Malice, who pass their whole Time in the most labourous Way of Life in getting Intelligence, running from Place to Place with new Whispers, without reaping any other Benefit but the Hopes of making others as unhappy as themselves. Mrs. Jane happened to be at a Place where I, with many others well acquainted with my Passion for Belinda, passed a Christmas Evening. There was among the rest a young Lady so free in Mirth, so amiable in a just Reserve that accompanied it; I wrong her to call it a Reserve, but there appeared in her a Mirth or Chearfulness which was not a Forbearance of more immoderate Joy, but the natural Appearance of all which could flow from a Mind possessed of an Habit of Innocence and Purity. I must have utterly forgot Belinda to have taken no Notice of one who was growing up to the same womanly Virtues which shine to Perfection in her, had I not distinguished one who seemed to promise to the World the same Life and Conduct with my faithful and lovely Belinda. When the Company broke up, the fine young Thing permitted me to take Care of her Home. Mrs. Jane saw my particular Regard to her, and was informed of my attending her to her Father's House. She came early to Belinda the next Morning, and asked her if Mrs. Such-a-one had been with her? No. If Mr. Such-a-one's Lady? No. Nor your Cousin Such-a-one? No. Lord, says Mrs. Jane, what is the Friendship of Woman?—Nay, they may laugh at it. And did no one tell you any thing of the Behaviour of your Lover Mr. What d'ye call last Night? But perhaps it is nothing to you that he is to be married to young Mrs.—on Tuesday next? Belinda was here ready to die with Rage and Jealousy. Then Mrs. Jane goes on: I have a young Kinsman who is Clerk to a Great Conveyancer, who shall shew you the rough Draught of the Marriage Settlement. The World says her Father gives him Two Thousand Pounds more than he could have with you. I went innocently to wait on Belinda as usual, but was not admitted; I writ to her, and my Letter was sent back unopened. Poor Betty her Maid, who is on my Side, has been here just now blubbering, and told me the whole Matter. She says she did not think I could be so base; and that she is now odious to her Mistress for having so often spoke well of me, that she dare not mention me more. All our Hopes are placed in having these Circumstances fairly represented in the Spectator, which Betty says she dare not but bring up as soon as it is brought in; and has promised when you have broke the Ice to own this was laid between us: And when I can come to an Hearing, the young Lady will support what we say by her Testimony, that I never saw her but that once in my whole Life. Dear Sir, do not omit this true Relation, nor think it too particular; for there are Crowds of forlorn Coquets who intermingle themselves with other Ladies, and contract Familiarities out of Malice, and with no other Design but to blast the Hopes of Lovers, the Expectation of Parents, and the Benevolence of Kindred. I doubt not but I shall be,

Sir,

Your most obliged

humble Servant,

Cleanthes.

Will's Coffee-house, Jan. 10.

Sir,

The other Day entering a Room adorned with the Fair Sex, I offered, after the usual Manner, to each of them a Kiss; but one, more scornful than the rest, turned her Cheek. I did not think it proper to take any Notice of it till I had asked your Advice.

Your humble Servant, E. S.

Footnote 1:

Ubi visus eris nostra medicabilis arte Fac monitis fugias otia prima meis.

Rem. Am

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2: it

return

Contents

Advertisement

From the Parish-Vestry, January 9.

All Ladies who come to Church in the New-fashioned Hoods,

are desired to be there before Divine Service begins,

lest they divert the Attention of the Congregation.

Ralph.

No. 273

Saturday, January 12, 1712

Addison

Notandi sunt tibi Mores.

Hor.

Paradise LostThis is Aristotle's Method of considering, first the Fable, and secondly[1]English

HomerIliad

HomerGrecianTheseus, Hercules, PolyphemusHisSon[2]Offspring of other Deities, who have[3]TrojanHomerVulcanThersites

VirgilHomerÆneasAchatesGyasMnesteusSergestusCloanthus

Fortemque Gyan, fortemque Cloanthum.

AscaniusDidoTurnusPallasEvanderremoteHectorPriamLaususMezentiusPallasEvanderNisusEurialusWe must not forget the Parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, which are fine Improvements on the Greek Poet.ÆneidIliad

weMiltonhis Fable[4]The[5]VirgilHomer

Milton wasSinDeath[6]wrought into[7]as I shall shew more at large hereafter

VirgilÆneidfindDispensaryLutrin[8]andsuch[9]

PartUlyssesHomer's OdysseyAristotle[10]Ulysses

RaphaelThe Angels are indeed as much diversified in Milton, and distinguished by their proper Parts, as the Gods are in Homer or Virgil. The Reader will find nothing ascribed to Uriel, Gabriel, Michael, or Raphael, which is not in a particular manner suitable to their respective Characters.

isIliadÆneidpeculiar[11]AchillesÆneasRomeRomanÆneasGreekAchilles

Milton's

Aristotle

'If a Man of perfect and consummate Virtue falls into a Misfortune, it raises our Pity, but not our Terror, because we do not fear that it may be our own Case, who do not resemble the Suffering Person. But as that great Philosopher adds, If we see a Man of Virtue mixt with Infirmities, fall into any Misfortune, it does not only raise our Pity but our Terror; because we are afraid that the like Misfortunes may happen to our selves, who resemble the Character of the Suffering Person.'

takeAristotle[12]

andAristotle'sHomerstill have been[13]Æneid

In my next, I shall go through other Parts ofPoem; and hope that what I shall there advance, as well as what I have already written, will not only serve as a Comment uponbut upon

Footnote 1:These are what Aristotle means by the Fable and &c.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Offspring

return

Footnote 3:Son of Aurora who has

return

Footnote 4:that his Poem

return

Footnote 5:Paradise Lost

'one of the greatest and most daring Genius's that has appear'd in the World, and who has made his country a glorious present of the most lofty, but most irregular Poem, that has been produc'd by the Mind of Man. That great Man had a desire to give the World something like an Epick Poem; but he resolv'd at the same time to break thro' the Rules of Aristotle. Not that he was ignorant of them, or contemned them.... Milton was the first who in the space of almost 4000 years resolv'd for his Country's Honour and his own, to present the World with an Original Poem; that is to say, a Poem that should have his own thoughts, his own images, and his own spirit. In order to this he was resolved to write a Poem, that, by virtue of its extraordinary Subject, cannot so properly be said to be against the Rules as it may be affirmed to be above them all ... We shall now shew for what Reasons the choice of Milton's Subject, as it set him free from the obligation which he lay under to the Poetical Laws, so it necessarily threw him upon new Thoughts, new Images, and an Original Spirit. In the next place we shall shew that his Thoughts, his Images, and by consequence too, his Spirit are actually new, and different from those of Homer and Virgil. Thirdly, we shall shew, that besides their Newness, they have vastly the Advantage of Homer and Virgil.']

return

Footnote 6:Paradise Lost

return

Footnote 7:interwoven in

return

Footnote 8:DispensaryLutrin

'Shrill Colon's person took,

In morals loose, but most precise in look.'

return

Footnote 9:that such

return

Footnote 10:Poetics

return

Footnote 11:particular

return

Footnote 12:Poetics

'this is neither terrible nor piteous, but shocking. Then he adds that our pity is excited by undeserved misfortune, and our terror by some resemblance between the sufferer and ourselves.'

return

Footnote 13:have been still

return

Contents

No. 274

Monday, January 14, 1712

Steele

Audire est operæ pretium, procedere recte

Qui mœchis non vultis.

Hor.

She has, I assure you, seen none but old Mr. Such-a-oneSpectator

January 5, 1711.

Mr. Spectator,

'The Subject of your Yesterday's Paper is of so great Importance, and the thorough handling of it may be so very useful to the Preservation of many an innocent young Creature, that I think every one is obliged to furnish you with what Lights he can, to expose the pernicious Arts and Practices of those unnatural Women called Bawds. In order to this the enclosed is sent you, which is verbatim the Copy of a Letter written by a Bawd of Figure in this Town to a noble Lord. I have concealed the Names of both, my Intention being not to expose the Persons but the Thing.

I am,

Sir,

Your humble Servant

My Lord,

'I having a great Esteem for your Honour, and a better Opinion of you than of any of the Quality, makes me acquaint you of an Affair that I hope will oblige you to know. I have a Niece that came to Town about a Fortnight ago. Her Parents being lately dead she came to me, expecting to a found me in so good a Condition as to a set her up in a Milliner's Shop. Her Father gave Fourscore Pounds with her for five Years: Her Time is out, and she is not Sixteen; as pretty a black Gentlewoman as ever you saw, a little Woman, which I know your Lordship likes: well shaped, and as fine a Complection for Red and White as ever I saw; I doubt not but your Lordship will be of the same Opinion. She designs to go down about a Month hence except I can provide for her, which I cannot at present. Her Father was one with whom all he had died with him, so there is four Children left destitute; so if your Lordship thinks fit to make an Appointment where I shall wait on you with my Niece, by a Line or two, I stay for your Answer; for I have no Place fitted up since I left my House, fit to entertain your Honour. I told her she should go with me to see a Gentleman a very good Friend of mine; so I desire you to take no Notice of my Letter by reason she is ignorant of the Ways of the Town. My Lord, I desire if you meet us to come alone; for upon my Word and Honour you are the first that ever I mentioned her to. So I remain,

Your Lordship's

Most humble Servant to Command.

'I beg of you to burn it when you've read it.

Contents

No. 275

Tuesday, January 15, 1712

Addison

—tribus Anticyris caput insanabile—

Juv.

Beau's HeadCoquet's HeartHomer

Pineal Gland

AntrumSinciputAntrumsSpanish

DuctDuctFrenchGalimatiasEnglish

Os CribriformeLatin

Musculi AmatoriiEnglishOgling MusclesElevator

a Man

prepared

Coquet's Heart

Contents

No. 276

Wednesday, January 16, 1712

Steele

Errori nomen virtus posuisset honestum.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I hope you have Philosophy enough to be capable of bearing the Mention of your Faults. Your Papers which regard the fallen Part of the Fair Sex, are, I think, written with an Indelicacy, which makes them unworthy to be inserted in the Writings of a Moralist who knows the World. I cannot allow that you are at Liberty to observe upon the Actions of Mankind with the Freedom which you seem to resolve upon; at least if you do, you should take along with you the Distinction of Manners of the World, according to the Quality and Way of Life of the Persons concerned. A Man of Breeding speaks of even Misfortune among Ladies without giving it the most terrible Aspect it can bear: And this Tenderness towards them, is much more to be preserved when you speak of Vices. All Mankind are so far related, that Care is to be taken, in things to which all are liable, you do not mention what concerns one in Terms which shall disgust another. Thus to tell a rich Man of the Indigence of a Kinsman of his, or abruptly inform a virtuous Woman of the Lapse of one who till then was in the same degree of Esteem with her self, is in a kind involving each of them in some Participation of those Disadvantages. It is therefore expected from every Writer, to treat his Argument in such a Manner, as is most proper to entertain the sort of Readers to whom his Discourse is directed. It is not necessary when you write to the Tea-table, that you should draw Vices which carry all the Horror of Shame and Contempt: If you paint an impertinent Self-love, an artful Glance, an assumed Complection, you say all which you ought to suppose they can possibly be guilty of. When you talk with this Limitation, you behave your self so as that you may expect others in Conversation may second your Raillery; but when you do it in a Stile which every body else forbears in Respect to their Quality, they have an easy Remedy in forbearing to read you, and hearing no more of their Faults. A Man that is now and then guilty of an Intemperance is not to be called a Drunkard; but the Rule of polite Raillery, is to speak of a Man's Faults as if you loved him. Of this Nature is what was said by Cæsar: When one was railing with an uncourtly Vehemence, and broke out, What must we call him who was taken in an Intrigue with another Man's Wife? Cæsar answered very gravely, A careless Fellow. This was at once a Reprimand for speaking of a Crime which in those Days had not the Abhorrence attending it as it ought, as well as an Intimation that all intemperate Behaviour before Superiors loses its Aim, by accusing in a Method unfit for the Audience. A Word to the Wise. All I mean here to say to you is, That the most free Person of Quality can go no further than being a kind Woman[1]; and you should never say of a Man of Figure worse, than that he knows the World.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Francis Courtly.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Woman of an unspotted Reputation, and know nothing I have ever done which should encourage such Insolence; but here was one the other Day, and he was dressed like a Gentleman too, who took the Liberty to name the Words Lusty Fellow in my Presence. I doubt not but you will resent it in Behalf of,

Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Celia.

Mr. Spectator,

'You lately put out a dreadful Paper, wherein you promise a full Account of the State of criminal Love; and call all the Fair who have transgressed in that Kind by one very rude Name which I do not care to repeat: But 1 desire to know of you whether I am or I am not of those? My Case is as follows. I am kept by an old Batchelour, who took me so young, that I knew not how he came by me: He is a Bencher of one of the Inns of Court, a very gay healthy old Man; which is a lucky thing for him, who has been, he tells me, a Scowrer, a Scamperer, a Breaker of Windows, an Invader of Constables, in the Days of Yore when all Dominion ended with the Day, and Males and Females met helter skelter, and the Scowrers drove before them all who pretended to keep up Order or Rule to the Interruption of Love and Honour. This is his way of Talk, for he is very gay when he visits me; but as his former Knowledge of the Town has alarmed him into an invincible Jealousy, he keeps me in a pair of Slippers, neat Bodice, warm Petticoats, and my own Hair woven in Ringlets, after a Manner, he says, he remembers. I am not Mistress of one Farthing of Money, but have all Necessaries provided for me, under the Guard of one who procured for him while he had any Desires to gratify. I know nothing of a Wench's Life, but the Reputation of it: I have a natural Voice, and a pretty untaught Step in Dancing. His Manner is to bring an old Fellow who has been his Servant from his Youth, and is gray-headed: This Man makes on the Violin a certain Jiggish Noise to which I dance, and when that is over I sing to him some loose Air, that has more Wantonness than Musick in it. You must have seen a strange window'd House near Hide-Park, which is so built that no one can look out of any of the Apartments; my Rooms are after that manner, and I never see Man, Woman, or Child, but in Company with the two Persons above-mentioned. He sends me in all the Books, Pamphlets, Plays, Operas and Songs that come out; and his utmost Delight in me as a Woman, is to talk over old Amours in my Presence, to play with my Neck, say the Time was, give me a Kiss, and bid me be sure to follow the Directions of my Guardian (the above-mentioned Lady) and I shall never want. The Truth of my Case is, I suppose, that I was educated for a Purpose he did not know he should be unfit for when I came to Years. Now, Sir, what I ask of you, as a Casuist, is to tell me how far in these Circumstances I am innocent, though submissive; he guilty, though impotent?

I am,

Sir,

Your constant Reader,

Pucella.

To the Man called the Spectator.

Friend,

'Forasmuch as at the Birth of thy Labour, thou didst promise upon thy Word, that letting alone the Vanities that do abound, thou wouldst only endeavour to strengthen the crooked Morals of this our Babylon, I gave Credit to thy fair Speeches, and admitted one of thy Papers, every Day save Sunday, into my House; for the Edification of my Daughter Tabitha, and to the end that Susannah the Wife of my Bosom might profit thereby. But alas, my Friend, I find that thou art a Liar, and that the Truth is not in thee; else why didst thou in a Paper which thou didst lately put forth, make mention of those vain Coverings for the Heads of our Females, which thou lovest to liken unto Tulips, and which are lately sprung up amongst us? Nay why didst thou make mention of them in such a seeming, as if thou didst approve the Invention, insomuch that my Daughter Tabitha beginneth to wax wanton, and to lust after these foolish Vanities? Surely thou dost see with the Eyes of the Flesh. Verily therefore, unless thou dost speedily amend and leave off following thine own Imaginations, I will leave off thee.

Thy Friend as hereafter thou dost demean thyself,

Hezekiah Broadbrim.

Footnote 1:an unkind

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 277

Thursday, January 17, 1712

Budgell

—fas est et ab hoste doceri. Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am so great a Lover of whatever is French, that I lately discarded an humble Admirer, because he neither spoke that Tongue, nor drank Claret. I have long bewailed, in secret, the Calamities of my Sex during the War, in all which time we have laboured under the insupportable Inventions of English Tire-Women, who, tho' they sometimes copy indifferently well, can never compose with that Goût they do in France.

I was almost in Despair of ever more seeing a Model from that dear Country, when last Sunday I over-heard a Lady, in the next Pew to me, whisper another, that at the Seven Stars in King-street Covent-garden, there was a Madamoiselle compleatly dressed just come from Paris.

I was in the utmost Impatience during the remaining part of the Service, and as soon as ever it was over, having learnt the Milleners Addresse, I went directly to her House in King-street, but was told that the French Lady was at a Person of Qualitys in Pall-mall, and would not be back again till very late that Night. I was therefore obliged to renew my Visit very early this Morning, and had then a full View of the dear Moppet from Head to Foot.

You cannot imagine, worthy Sir, how ridiculously I find we have all been trussed up during the War, and how infinitely the French Dress excels ours.

The Mantua has no Leads in the Sleeves, and I hope we are not lighter than the French Ladies, so as to want that kind of Ballast; the Petticoat has no Whale-bone; but fits with an Air altogether galant and degagé: the Coiffeure is inexpressibly pretty, and in short, the whole Dress has a thousand Beauties in it, which I would not have as yet made too publick.

I thought fit, however, to give this Notice, that you may not be surprized at my appearing à la mode de Paris on the next Birth-Night. I am, Sir,

Your humble Servant,

Teraminta.

Sir,

'On Saturday last, being the 12th Instant, there arrived at my House in King-street, Covent-Garden, a French Baby for the Year 1712. I have taken the utmost Care to have her dressed by the most celebrated Tyre-women and Mantua-makers in Paris, and do not find that I have any Reason to be sorry for the Expence I have been at in her Cloaths and Importation: However, as I know no Person who is so good a Judge of Dress as your self, if you please to call at my House in your Way to the City, and take a View of her, I promise to amend whatever you shall disapprove in your next Paper, before I exhibit her as a Pattern to the Publick.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Admirer,

and most obedient Servant,

Betty Cross-stitch.

Cross-stitch

Paris

British

Mademoiselle

PowellParisFrance

extemporeWill. Honeycomb's

Contents

No. 278

Friday, January 18, 1712

Steele

Sermones ego mallem

Repentes per humum.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

Sir,

Your having done considerable Service in this great City, by rectifying the Disorders of Families, and several Wives having preferred your Advice and Directions to those of their Husbands, emboldens me to apply to you at this Time. I am a Shop-keeper, and tho but a young Man, I find by Experience that nothing but the utmost Diligence both of Husband and Wife (among trading People) can keep Affairs in any tolerable Order. My Wife at the Beginning of our Establishment shewed her self very assisting to me in my Business as much as could lie in her Way, and I have Reason to believe twas with her Inclination; but of late she has got acquainted with a Schoolman, who values himself for his great Knowledge in the Greek Tongue. He entertains her frequently in the Shop with Discourses of the Beauties and Excellencies of that Language; and repeats to her several Passages out of the Greek Poets, wherein he tells her there is unspeakable Harmony and agreeable Sounds that all other Languages are wholly unacquainted with. He has so infatuated her with his Jargon, that instead of using her former Diligence in the Shop, she now neglects the Affairs of the House, and is wholly taken up with her Tutor in learning by Heart Scraps of Greek, which she vents upon all Occasions. She told me some Days ago, that whereas I use some Latin Inscriptions in my Shop, she advised me with a great deal of Concern to have them changed into Greek; it being a Language less understood, would be more conformable to the Mystery of my Profession; that our good Friend would be assisting to us in this Work; and that a certain Faculty of Gentlemen would find themselves so much obliged to me, that they would infallibly make my Fortune: In short her frequent Importunities upon this and other Impertinences of the like Nature make me very uneasy; and if your Remonstrances have no more Effect upon her than mine, I am afraid I shall be obliged to ruin my self to procure her a Settlement at Oxford with her Tutor, for she's already too mad for Bedlam. Now, Sir, you see the Danger my Family is exposed to, and the Likelihood of my Wife's becoming both troublesome and useless, unless her reading her self in your Paper may make her reflect. She is so very learned that I cannot pretend by Word of Mouth to argue with her. She laughed out at your ending a Paper in Greek, and said 'twas a Hint to Women of Literature, and very civil not to translate it to expose them to the Vulgar. You see how it is with,

Sir,

Your humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

If you have that Humanity and Compassion in your Nature that you take such Pains to make one think you have, you will not deny your Advice to a distressed Damsel, who intends to be determined by your Judgment in a Matter of great Importance to her. You must know then, There is an agreeable young Fellow, to whose Person, Wit, and Humour no body makes any Objection, that pretends to have been long in Love with me. To this I must add, (whether it proceeds from the Vanity of my Nature, or the seeming Sincerity of my Lover, I won't pretend to say) that I verily believe he has a real Value for me; which if true, you'll allow may justly augment his Merit for his Mistress. In short, I am so sensible of his good Qualities, and what I owe to his Passion, that I think I could sooner resolve to give up my Liberty to him than any body else, were there not an Objection to be made to his Fortunes, in regard they don't answer the utmost mine may expect, and are not sufficient to secure me from undergoing the reproachful Phrase so commonly used, That she has played the Fool. Now, tho' I am one of those few who heartily despise Equipage, Diamonds, and a Coxcomb, yet since such opposite Notions from mine prevail in the World, even amongst the best, and such as are esteemed the most prudent People, I can't find in my Heart to resolve upon incurring the Censure of those wise Folks, which I am conscious I shall do, if when I enter into a married State, I discover a Thought beyond that of equalling, if not advancing my Fortunes. Under this Difficulty I now labour, not being in the least determined whether I shall be governed by the vain World, and the frequent Examples I meet with, or hearken to the Voice of my Lover, and the Motions I find in my Heart in favour of him. Sir, Your Opinion and Advice in this Affair, is the only thing I know can turn the Ballance; and which I earnestly intreat I may receive soon; for till I have your Thoughts upon it, I am engaged not to give my Swain a final Discharge.

Besides the particular Obligation you will lay on me, by giving this Subject Room in one of your Papers, tis possible it may be of use to some others of my Sex, who will be as grateful for the Favour as,

Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Florinda.

P. S. To tell you the Truth I am Married to Him already, but pray say something to justify me.

Mr. Spectator,

You will forgive Us Professors of Musick if We make a second Application to You, in order to promote our Design of exhibiting Entertainments of Musick in York-Buildings. It is industriously insinuated that Our Intention is to destroy Operas in General, but we beg of you to insert this plain Explanation of our selves in your Paper. Our Purpose is only to improve our Circumstances, by improving the Art which we profess. We see it utterly destroyed at present; and as we were the Persons who introduced Operas, we think it a groundless Imputation that we should set up against the Opera in it self. What we pretend to assert is, That the Songs of different Authors injudiciously put together, and a Foreign Tone and Manner which are expected in every thing now performed among us, has put Musick it self to a stand; insomuch that the Ears of the People cannot now be entertained with any thing but what has an impertinent Gayety, without any just Spirit, or a Languishment of Notes, without any Passion or common Sense. We hope those Persons of Sense and Quality who have done us the Honour to subscribe, will not be ashamed of their Patronage towards us, and not receive Impressions that patronising us is being for or against the Opera, but truly promoting their own Diversions in a more just and elegant Manner than has been hitherto performed. We are, Sir,

Your most humble Servants,

Thomas Clayton.

Nicolino Haym.

Charles Dieupart[1].

There will be no Performances intill after that of the Subscription.

Footnote 1:No. 258.

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 279

Saturday, January 19, 1712

Addison

Reddere personæ scit convenientia cuique.

Hor.

Milton's Paradise LostTheAristotle'sSentimentsLanguage[1]

justThingsPersonsinendeavours to argue or explain, to magnify or diminish, to raise[2]those[3]HomercensuredIliadOdyssey[4]HomerVirgilMiltonHomerVirgilMilton'sShakespearCalyban,HotspurJulius Cæsar:HomerGrecianMiltonDidoÆneasAdamEvenoneso many apt[5]

NaturalSublimeHomerVirgil

IliadHomer

Milton'sHomersecondsLetLonginus[6]HomerParadise Lost

Virgil: Hetrifling[7]OvidLucanStatinsClaudianTassoHisaffect it[8]

DrydenVirgil'sÆneidHomerMilton

sincemean[9]HomerZoilus[10]Perrault[11]Virgila

shallThought[12]HomerVirgilMiltonHomerVulcan[13]Thersites[14]MarsVenus[15]Irus[16]MonætesParadise Lost

—Satan beheld their Plight,

And to his Mates thus in Derision call'd.

O Friends, why come not on those Victors proud?

Ere-while they fierce were coming, and when we,

To entertain them fair with open Front,

And Breast, (what could we more?) propounded terms

Of Composition, straight they chang'd their Minds,*

Flew off, and into strange Vagaries fell

As they would dance: yet for a Dance they seem'd

Somewhat extravagant, and wild; perhaps

For Joy of offer'd Peace; but I suppose

If our Proposals once again were heard,

We should compel them to a quick Result.

To whom thus Belial in like gamesome Mood:

Leader, the Terms we sent were Terms of Weight,

Of hard Contents, and full of force urg'd home;

Such as we might perceive amus'd them all,

And stumbled many: who receives them right,

Had need, from Head to Foot, will understand;

Not understood, this Gift they have besides,

They shew us when our Foes walk not upright.

Thus they among themselves in pleasant vein

Stood scoffing[17]——

Footnote 1:Poetics

'I mean the contexture of incidents, or the Plot. By Manners, I mean, whatever marks the Character of the Persons. By Sentiments, whatever they say, whether proving any thing, or delivering a general sentiment, &c.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:argues or explains, magnifies or diminishes, raises

return

Footnote 3:these

return

Footnote 4:

'What is base and ignoble at one time and in one country, is not always so in others. We are apt to smile at Homer's comparing Ajax to an Ass in his Iliad. Such a comparison now-a-days would be indecent and ridiculous; because it would be indecent and ridiculous for a person of quality to ride upon such a steed. But heretofore this Animal was in better repute: Kings and princes did not disdain the best so much as mere tradesman do in our time. 'Tis just the same with many other smiles which in Homer's time were allowable. We should now pity a Poet that should be so silly and ridiculous as to compare a Hero to a piece of Fat. Yet Homer does it in a comparison he makes of Ulysses... The reason is that in these Primitive Times, wherein the Sacrifices ... were living creatures, the Blood and the Fat were the most noble, the most august, and the most holy things.'

return

Footnote 5:such Beautiful

return

Footnote 6:

While scarce the skies her horrid head can bound,

She stalks on earth.

(Iliad iv.)

Far as a shepherd from some spot on high

O'er the wide main extends his boundless eye,

Through such a space of air, with thund'ring sound,

At one long leap th' immortal coursers bound.

(Iliad v.)

IliadIliadIliad

return

Footnote 7:little

return

Footnote 8:affect it. I remember but one line in him which has been objected against, by the Criticks, as a point of Wit. It is in his ninth Book, where Juno, speaking of the Trojans, how they survived the Ruins of their City, expresses her self in the following words;

Num copti potuere copi, num incense cremorunt Pergama?

Were the Trojans taken even after they were Captives, or did Troy burn even when it was in Flames?

return

Footnote 9:low

return

Footnote 10:

return

Footnote 11:Critical Reflections on Longinus

return

cross-reference: return to Footnote 3 of No. 303

Footnote 12:Sentiments

return

Footnote 13:Iliad

return

Footnote 14:Iliad

return

Footnote 15:

return

Footnote 16:Odyssey

return

Footnote 17: Paradise Lost

return

Contents

No. 280

Monday, January 21, 1712

Steele

Principibus Placuisse viris non ultima I laus est.

Hor.

Whatthe[1]PolycarpusPolycarpus

Augustus

Horace

Irus

be a fine Gentleman

Footnote 1:that

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 281

Tuesday, January 22, 1712

Addison

Pectoribus inhians spirantia consulit exta.

Virg.

Pericardium

Pericardium

PericardiumMufro

Rosamond's

Tuesday's

Phœnomenon

Contents

No. 282

Wednesday, January 23, 1712

Steele

Spes incerta futuri.

Virg.[1]

ThatDelusions[2]Will. HoneycombWill.

per Annumper Annum

Father's

£800→

£16000

Uncle's

£400→

£8000

Aunts'

£10000

+£6000→

£16000

Grandmother

£900→

£18000

Own each

£1000→

£3000

Total

£61000

This equally divided between us three, amounts to £20000; and, allowance being given for Enlargement upon common Fame, we may lawfully pass for £30000 Fortunes.

mark the End:by

January the 14th, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a young Woman and have my Fortune to make; for which Reason I come constantly to Church to hear Divine Service, and make Conquests: But one great Hindrance in this my Design, is, that our Clerk, who was once a Gardener, has this Christmas so over-deckt the Church with Greens, that he has quite spoilt my Prospect, insomuch that I have scarce seen the young Baronet I dress at these three Weeks, though we have both been very constant at our Devotions, and don't sit above three Pews off. The Church, as it is now equipt, looks more like a Green-house than a Place of Worship: The middle Isle is a very pretty shady Walk, and the Pews look like so many Arbours of each Side of it. The Pulpit itself has such Clusters of Ivy, Holly, and Rosemary about it, that a light Fellow in our Pew took occasion to say, that the Congregation heard the Word out of a Bush, like Moses. Sir Anthony Love's Pew in particular is so well hedged, that all my Batteries have no Effect. I am obliged to shoot at random among the Boughs, without taking any manner of Aim. Mr. Spectator, unless youll give Orders for removing these Greens, I shall grow a very awkward Creature at Church, and soon have little else to do there but to say my Prayers. I am in haste,

Dear Sir,

Your most Obedient Servant,

Jenny Simper.

Footnote 1:Et nulli rei nisi Pœnitentiæ natus.

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Footnote 2:Pollutions

return

Contents

No. 283

Thursday, January 24, 1712

Budgell

Magister artis et largitor ingeni

Venter

Pers.

[1]Richesreal Goods

Cataline'sthey had nothing to hope for but a Civil War

The Ways to raise a Man's FortuneThe Art of growing Rich.

Thrift:DiligenceThrift:Italian

Never do that by Proxy which you can do yourself.

Never defer that 'till To-morrow which you can do To-day.

Never neglect small Matters and Expences.

Method in Business

De Witone thing at once

ScaramouchParisTabac de mille fleuresSnuff of a thousand FlowersSwiss

RabelaisParisPoyson for MonsieurPoyson for the DauphinPoyson for the KingFrance

RabelaisDrole

Doilyhaveable[2]

SpectatorChangeWhitehallJames's

MaximSavingThriftAmbitionbe[3]

Longinus

Genius's

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:able so well

return

Footnote 3:descend to and be

return

Contents

No. 284

Thursday, January 1, 1712

Addison

Posthabui tamen illorum mea seria Ludo.

Virg.[1]

I am the carelessest Creature in the World, I have certainly the worst Memory of any Man livingthink

Theselet[2]

Sir, The Post is just going out, and I have many other Letters of very great Importance to write this Evening, but I could not omit making my Compliments to you for your Civilities to me when I was last in Town. It is my Misfortune to be so full of Business, that I cannot tell you a Thousand Things which I have to say to you. I must desire you to communicate the Contents of this to no one living; but believe me to be, with the greatest Fidelity,

Sir,

Your most Obedient,

Humble Servant,

Stephen Courier.

Madam,

I hate Writing, of all Things in the World; however, though I have drunk the Waters, and am told I ought not to use my Eyes so much, I cannot forbear writing to you, to tell you I have been to the last Degree hipped since I saw you. How could you entertain such a Thought, as that I should hear of that silly Fellow with Patience? Take my Word for it, there is nothing in it; and you may believe it when so lazy a Creature as I am undergo the Pains to assure you of it by taking Pen, Ink, and Paper in my Hand. Forgive this, you know I shall not often offend in this Kind. I am very much Your Servant,

Bridget Eitherdown.

The Fellow is of your Country, pr'ythee send me Word how ever whether he has so great an Estate.

Jan. 24, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am Clerk of the Parish from whence Mrs. Simper sends her Complaint, in your Yesterday's Spectator. I must beg of you to publish this as a publick Admonition to the aforesaid Mrs. Simper, otherwise all my honest Care in the Disposition of the Greens in the Church will have no Effect: I shall therefore with your Leave lay before you the whole Matter. I was formerly, as she charges me, for several Years a Gardener in the County of Kent: But I must absolutely deny, that 'tis out of any Affection I retain for my old Employment that I have placed my Greens so liberally about the Church, but out of a particular Spleen I conceived against Mrs. Simper (and others of the same Sisterhood) some time ago. As to herself, I had one Day set the Hundredth Psalm, and was singing the first Line in order to put the Congregation into the Tune, she was all the while curtsying to Sir Anthony in so affected and indecent a manner, that the Indignation I conceived at it made me forget my self so far, as from the Tune of that Psalm to wander into Southwell Tune, and from thence into Windsor Tune, still unable to recover my self till I had with the utmost Confusion set a new one. Nay, I have often seen her rise up and smile and curtsy to one at the lower End of the Church in the midst of a Gloria Patri; and when I have spoke the Assent to a Prayer with a long Amen uttered with decent Gravity, she has been rolling her Eyes around about in such a Manner, as plainly shewed, however she was moved, it was not towards an Heavenly Object. In fine, she extended her Conquests so far over the Males, and raised such Envy in the Females, that what between Love of those and the Jealousy of these, I was almost the only Person that looked in the Prayer-Book all Church-time. I had several Projects in my Head to put a Stop to this growing Mischief; but as I have long lived in Kent, and there often heard how the Kentish Men evaded the Conqueror, by carrying green Boughs over their Heads, it put me in mind of practising this Device against Mrs. Simper. I find I have preserved many a young Man from her Eye-shot by this Means; therefore humbly pray the Boughs may be fixed, till she shall give Security for her peaceable Intentions.

Your Humble Servant,

Francis Sternhold.

Footnote 1:

Strenua nos exercet inertia.

Hor.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:but

return

Contents

No. 285

Saturday, January 26, 1712

Addison

Ne, quicunque Deus, quicunque adhibebitur heros,

Regali conspectus in auro nuper et ostro,

Migret in Obscuras humili sermone tabernas:

Aut, dum vitat humum, nubes et inania captet.

Hor.

Paradise Lost

is[1]

—God and his Son except,

Created thing nought valu'd he nor shunn'd.

Adam the goodliest Man of Men since born

His Sons, the fairest of her Daughters Eve.

Such[2]

Milton[3]

Embrios and Idiots, Eremites and Fryars,

White, Black, and Grey,—with all their Trumpery,

Here Pilgrims roam—

—A while discourse they hold,

No fear lest Dinner cool;—when thus began

Our Author—

Who of all Ages to succeed, but feeling

The Evil on him brought by me, will curse

My Head, ill fare our Ancestor impure,

For this we may thank Adam—

Aristotle[4]

Firstby: Such are those of Milton.[5]

Imparadised in one another's Arms.

—And in his Hand a Reed

Stood waving tipt with Fire.—

The grassie Clods now calv'd,—

Spangled with Eyes—

sowhich[6]

Nor did they not perceive the evil Plight

In which they were, or the fierce Pains not feel,

Yet to their Gen'ral's Voice they soon obey'd.—

—Who shall tempt with wand'ring Feet

The dark unbottom'd Infinite Abyss,

And through the palpable Obscure find out

His uncouth way, or spread his airy Flight

Upborn with indefatigable Wings

Over the vast Abrupt!

—So both ascend

In the Visions of God— Book 2.

for

the[7]

who[8]these[9]

should[10]

Footnote 1:Poetics

'The excellence of Diction consists in being perspicuous without being mean.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis

Offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit,

Aut humana parum cavit natura.

De Ar. Poet.

return

Footnote 3:see an Instance or two

return

Footnote 4:Poetics

return

Footnote 5:,like those in Milton

return

Footnote 6:

'That language is elevated and remote from the vulgar idiom which employs unusual words: by unusual, I mean foreign, metaphorical, extended—all, in short, that are not common words. Yet, should a poet compose his Diction entirely of such words, the result would be either an enigma or a barbarous jargon: an enigma if composed of metaphors, a barbarous jargon if composed of foreign words. For the essence of an enigma consists in putting together things apparently inconsistent and impossible, and at the same time saying nothing but what is true. Now this cannot be effected by the mere arrangement of words; by the metaphorical use of them it may.'

return

Footnote 7:On Life and Poetry of Homer

return

Footnote 8:Poetics

'A judicious intermixture is requisite ... It is without reason, therefore, that some critics have censured these modes of speech, and ridiculed the poet for the use of them; as old Euclid did, objecting that versification would be an easy business, if it were permitted to lengthen words at pleasure, and then giving a burlesque example of that sort of diction... In the employment of all the species of unusual words, moderation is necessary: for metaphors, foreign words, or any of the others improperly used, and with a design to be ridiculous, would produce the same effect. But how great a difference is made by a proper and temperate use of such words may be seen in heroic verse. Let any one put common words in the place of the metaphorical, the foreign, and others of the same kind, and he will be convinced of the truth of what I say.'

'the same Iambic verse occurs in Æschylus and Euripides; but by means of a single alteration—the substitution of a foreign for a common and usual word—one of these verses appears beautiful, the other ordinary. For Æschylus in his Philoctetes says, "The poisonous wound that eats my flesh." But Euripides for "eats" says "banquets on."'

return

Footnote 9:this

return

Footnote 10:P. L.

Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song.

That to the height of this great argument

I may assert Eternal Providence.

Stirr'd up with envy and revenge.

To set himself in glory above his peers,

Against the throne and monarchy of God.

That were an ignominy and shame beneath

This downfall.

Sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven.

the excess

Of Glory obscured: as when the sun, new ris'n,

Looks through the horizontal misty air,

Death as oft accused

Of tardy execution, since denounc'd

The day of his offence.

return

Contents

No. 286

Monday, January 28, 1712

Steele

Nomina Honesta prætenduntur vitiis.

Tacit.

York, Jan. 18, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

I pretend not to inform a Gentleman of so just a Taste, whenever he pleases to use it; but it may not be amiss to inform your Readers, that there is a false Delicacy as well as a true one. True Delicacy, as I take it, consists in Exactness of Judgment and Dignity of Sentiment, or if you will, Purity of Affection, as this is opposed to Corruption and Grossness. There are Pedants in Breeding as well as in Learning. The Eye that cannot bear the Light is not delicate but sore. A good Constitution appears in the Soundness and Vigour of the Parts, not in the Squeamishness of the Stomach; And a false Delicacy is Affectation, not Politeness. What then can be the Standard of Delicacy but Truth and Virtue? Virtue, which, as the Satyrist long since observed, is real Honour; whereas the other Distinctions among Mankind are meerly titular. Judging by that Rule, in my Opinion, and in that of many of your virtuous Female Readers, you are so far from deserving Mr. Courtly's Accusation, that you seem too gentle, and to allow too many Excuses for an enormous Crime, which is the Reproach of the Age, and is in all its Branches and Degrees expresly forbidden by that Religion we pretend to profess; and whose Laws, in a Nation that calls it self Christian, one would think should take Place of those Rules which Men of corrupt Minds, and those of weak Understandings follow. I know not any thing more pernicious to good Manners, than the giving fair Names to foul Actions; for this confounds Vice and Virtue, and takes off that natural Horrour we have to Evil. An innocent Creature, who would start at the Name of Strumpet, may think it pretty to be called a Mistress, especially if her Seducer has taken care to inform her, that a Union of Hearts is the principal Matter in the Sight of Heaven, and that the Business at Church is a meer idle Ceremony. Who knows not that the Difference between obscene and modest Words expressing the same Action, consists only in the accessary Idea, for there is nothing immodest in Letters and Syllables. Fornication and Adultery are modest Words: because they express an Evil Action as criminal, and so as to excite Horrour and Aversion: Whereas Words representing the Pleasure rather than the Sin, are for this Reason indecent and dishonest. Your Papers would be chargeable with something worse than Indelicacy, they would be Immoral, did you treat the detestable Sins of Uncleanness in the same manner as you rally an impertinent Self-love and an artful Glance; as those Laws would be very unjust, that should chastise Murder and Petty Larceny with the same Punishment. Even Delicacy requires that the Pity shewn to distressed indigent Wickedness, first betrayed into, and then expelled the Harbours of the Brothel, should be changed to Detestation, when we consider pampered Vice in the Habitations of the Wealthy. The most free Person of Quality, in Mr. Courtly's Phrase, that is, to speak properly, a Woman of Figure who has forgot her Birth and Breeding, dishonoured her Relations and her self, abandoned her Virtue and Reputation, together with the natural Modesty of her Sex, and risqued her very Soul, is so far from deserving to be treated with no worse Character than that of a kind Woman, (which is doubtless Mr. Courtly's Meaning, if he has any,) that one can scarce be too severe on her, in as much as she sins against greater Restraints, is less exposed, and liable to fewer Temptations, than Beauty in Poverty and Distress. It is hoped therefore, Sir, that you will not lay aside your generous Design of exposing that monstrous Wickedness of the Town, whereby a Multitude of Innocents are sacrificed in a more barbarous Manner than those who were offered to Moloch. The Unchaste are provoked to see their Vice exposed, and the Chaste cannot rake into such Filth without Danger of Defilement; but a meer Spectator may look into the Bottom, and come off without partaking in the Guilt. The doing so will convince us you pursue publick Good, and not meerly your own Advantage: But if your Zeal slackens, how can one help thinking that Mr. Courtly's Letter is but a Feint to get off from a Subject, in which either your own, or the private and base Ends of others to whom you are partial, or those of whom you are afraid, would not endure a Reformation?

I am, Sir, your humble Servant and Admirer, so long as you tread in the Paths of Truth, Virtue, and Honour.

Mr. Spectator,

Trin. Coll. Cantab. Jan. 12, 1711-12.

It is my Fortune to have a Chamber-Fellow, with whom, tho' I agree very well in many Sentiments, yet there is one in which we are as contrary as Light and Darkness. We are both in Love: his Mistress is a lovely Fair, and mine a lovely Brown. Now as the Praise of our Mistresses Beauty employs much of our Time, we have frequent Quarrels in entering upon that Subject, while each says all he can to defend his Choice. For my own part, I have racked my Fancy to the utmost; and sometimes, with the greatest Warmth of Imagination, have told him, That Night was made before Day, and many more fine Things, tho' without any effect: Nay, last Night I could not forbear saying with more Heat than Judgment, that the Devil ought to be painted white. Now my Desire is, Sir, that you would be pleased to give us in Black and White your Opinion in the Matter of Dispute between us; which will either furnish me with fresh and prevailing Arguments to maintain my own Taste, or make me with less Repining allow that of my Chamber-Fellow. I know very well that I have Jack Cleveland[1] and Bond's Horace on my Side; but then he has such a Band of Rhymers and Romance-Writers, with which he opposes me, and is so continually chiming to the Tune of Golden Tresses, yellow Locks, Milk, Marble, Ivory, Silver, Swan, Snow, Daisies, Doves, and the Lord knows what; which he is always sounding with so much Vehemence in my Ears, that he often puts me into a brown Study how to answer him; and I find that I am in a fair Way to be quite confounded, without your timely Assistance afforded to,

Sir,

Your humble Servant,

Philobrune.

T.[2]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Z.

return

Contents

No. 287

Tuesday, January 29, 1712

Addison

LookHistory[1]

Aswho[2]

Footnote 1:Historian

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Contents

No. 288

Wednesday, January 30, 1712

Steele

—Pavor est utrique molestus.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'When you spoke of the Jilts and Coquets, you then promised to be very impartial, and not to spare even your own Sex, should any of their secret or open Faults come under your Cognizance; which has given me Encouragement to describe a certain Species of Mankind under the Denomination of Male Jilts. They are Gentlemen who do not design to marry, yet, that they may appear to have some Sense of Gallantry, think they must pay their Devoirs to one particular Fair; in order to which they single out from amongst the Herd of Females her to whom they design to make their fruitless Addresses. This done, they first take every Opportunity of being in her Company, and then never fail upon all Occasions to be particular to her, laying themselves at her Feet, protesting the Reality of their Passion with a thousand Oaths, solliciting a Return, and saying as many fine Things as their Stock of Wit will allow; and if they are not deficient that way, generally speak so as to admit of a double Interpretation; which the credulous Fair is apt to turn to her own Advantage, since it frequently happens to be a raw, innocent, young Creature, who thinks all the World as sincere as her self, and so her unwary Heart becomes an easy Prey to those deceitful Monsters, who no sooner perceive it, but immediately they grow cool, and shun her whom they before seemed so much to admire, and proceed to act the same common-place Villany towards another. A Coxcomb flushed with many of these infamous Victories shall say he is sorry for the poor Fools, protest and vow he never thought of Matrimony, and wonder talking civilly can be so strangely misinterpreted. Now, Mr. Spectator, you that are a professed Friend to Love, will, I hope, observe upon those who abuse that noble Passion, and raise it in innocent Minds by a deceitful Affectation of it, after which they desert the Enamoured. Pray bestow a little of your Counsel to those fond believing Females who already have or are in Danger of broken Hearts; in which you will oblige a great Part of this Town, but in a particular Manner,

Sir Your (yet Heart-whole) Admirer,

and devoted humble Servant,

Melainia.

To the Spectator.

Sir[1],

'Since so many Dealers turn Authors, and write quaint Advertisements in praise of their Wares, one who from an Author turn'd Dealer may be allowed for the Advancement of Trade to turn Author again. I will not however set up like some of 'em, for selling cheaper than the most able honest Tradesman can; nor do I send this to be better known for Choice and Cheapness of China and Japan Wares, Tea, Fans, Muslins, Pictures, Arrack, and other Indian Goods. Placed as I am in Leadenhall-street, near the India-Company, and the Centre of that Trade, Thanks to my fair Customers, my Warehouse is graced as well as the Benefit Days of my Plays and Operas; and the foreign Goods I sell seem no less acceptable than the foreign Books I translated, Rabelais and Don Quixote: This the Criticks allow me, and while they like my Wares they may dispraise my Writing. But as 'tis not so well known yet that I frequently cross the Seas of late, and speaking Dutch and French, besides other Languages, I have the Conveniency of buying and importing rich Brocades, Dutch Atlasses, with Gold and Silver, or without, and other foreign Silks of the newest Modes and best Fabricks, fine Flanders Lace, Linnens, and Pictures, at the best Hand: This my new way of Trade I have fallen into I cannot better publish than by an Application to you. My Wares are fit only for such as your Readers; and I would beg of you to print this Address in your Paper, that those whose Minds you adorn may take the Ornaments for their Persons and Houses from me. This, Sir, if I may presume to beg it, will be the greater Favour, as I have lately received rich Silks and fine Lace to a considerable Value, which will be sold cheap for a quick Return, and as I have also a large Stock of other Goods. Indian Silks were formerly a great Branch of our Trade; and since we must not sell 'em, we must seek Amends by dealing in others. This I hope will plead for one who would lessen the Number of Teazers of the Muses, and who, suiting his Spirit to his Circumstances, humbles the Poet to exalt the Citizen. Like a true Tradesman, I hardly ever look into any Books but those of Accompts. To say the Truth, I cannot, I think, give you a better Idea of my being a downright Man of Traffick, than by acknowledging I oftener read the Advertisements, than the Matter of even your Paper. I am under a great Temptation to take this Opportunity of admonishing other Writers to follow my Example, and trouble the Town no more; but as it is my present Business to increase the Number of Buyers rather than Sellers, I hasten to tell you that I am,

Sir, Your most humble,

and most obedient Servant,

Peter Motteux.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 289

Thursday, January 31, 1712

Addison

Vitæ summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam.

Hor.

A[1]populus virorum

perhapswritten[2]

Be. They[3]

which[4]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:which have been written

return

Footnote 3:; for they

return

Footnote 4:

return

Contents

No. 290

Friday, February 1, 1712

Steele

Projicit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba.

Hor.[1]

TheyWill. Honeycomb[2]Will Honeycombs

Mr. Spectator,

I am appointed to act a Part in the new Tragedy called The Distressed Mother: It is the celebrated Grief of Orestes which I am to personate; but I shall not act it as I ought, for I shall feel it too intimately to be able to utter it. I was last Night repeating a Paragraph to my self, which I took to be an Expression of Rage, and in the middle of the Sentence there was a Stroke of Self-pity which quite unmanned me. Be pleased, Sir, to print this Letter, that when I am oppressed in this manner at such an Interval, a certain Part of the Audience may not think I am out; and I hope with this Allowance to do it to Satisfaction. I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

George Powell.

Mr. Spectator,

'As I was walking t'other Day in the Park, I saw a Gentleman with a very short Face; I desire to know whether it was you. Pray inform me as soon as you can, lest I become the most heroick Hecatissa's Rival.

Your humble Servant to command,

Sophia.

Spectator

Footnote 1:

Spirat Tragicum satis, et fœliciter Audet.

Hor.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Andromaque

return

Contents

No. 291

Saturday, February 2, 1712

Addison

Ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis

Offendor maculis, quas aut Incuria fudit,

Aut Humana parum cavit Natura.

Hor.

Paradise Lost

MrEssay on Human Understanding[1]

few[2]

This

Errors, like Straws, upon the Surface flow;

He who would search for Pearls must dive below[3].

TullyVerbum ardens[4]

Paradise Lostmust[5]

shall[6]The[7]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Whole Critical Works

'he has long dictated in this part of letters. He is acknowledged as the great arbitrator between the merits of the best writers; and during the course of almost thirty years there have been few appeals from his sentence.'

Footnote 3No. 44Footnote 4No. 62Dialogues of the DeadEssay on SatirePoetics

return

Footnote 3:Annus Mirabilis,

return

Footnote 4:Ad Brutum

'Facile est enim verbum aliquod ardens (ut ita dicam) notare, idque restinctis jam animorum incendiis, irridere.'

return

Footnote 5:On the Sublime

return

Footnote 6:Ragguagli di Parnassola Secretaria di ParnassoPietra di ParangoneRagguagli di ParnassoNews from ParnassusAdvertisements from Parnassus,Spectator

return

Footnote 7:Spectator

The First and Second Volumes of the Spectator in 8vo are now ready to be delivered to the subscribers by J. Tonson, at Shakespeare's Head, over-against Catherine Street in the Strand.

return

Contents

No. 292

Monday, February 4, 1712

Addison

Illam, quicquid agit, quoquo Vestigia flectit,

Componit furlim, subsequiturque decor.

Tibull. L. 4.

It[1]

Pliny to Quintilian.

Tho I am fully acquainted with the Contentment and just Moderation of your Mind, and the Conformity the Education you have given your Daughter bears to your own Character; yet since she is suddenly to be married to a Person of Distinction, whose Figure in the World makes it necessary for her to be at a more than ordinary Expence in Cloaths and Equipage suitable to her Husbands Quality; by which, tho her intrinsick Worth be not augmented, yet will it receive both Ornament and Lustre: And knowing your Estate to be as moderate as the Riches of your Mind are abundant, I must challenge to my self some part of the Burthen; and as a Parent of your Child. I present her with Twelve hundred and fifty Crowns towards these Expences; which Sum had been much larger, had I not feared the Smallness of it would be the greatest Inducement with you to accept of it. Farewell.

In

So spake the Cherub, and his grave Rebuke,

Severe in youthful Beauty, added Grace

Invincible: Abash'd the Devil stood,

And felt how awful Goodness is, and saw

Virtue in her own Shape ho'w lovely I saw, and pin'd

His Loss[2].

and

Ne non procumbat honeste

Extrema hæc etiam cura, cadentis erat[3].

'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 Search into my Heart, I find I am only angry because I cannot do the same my self. I wear the hooped Petticoat, and am all in Callicoes when the finest are in Silks. It is a dreadful thing to be poor and proud; therefore if you please, a Lecture on that Subject for the Satisfaction of

Your Uneasy Humble Servant,

JEZEBEL.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Par. L.

return

Footnote 3:Fast

return

Contents

No. 293

Tuesday, February 5, 1712

Addison

The[1]

Queen[2]has representedAfflavit Deus et dissipantur.

is[3]

s

Dropinsignificant[4]Concern[5]Itits[6]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

cross-reference: return to Footnote 3 of No. 379

Footnote 2:erratumyou see inhas represented

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:erratuminconsiderable

return

Footnote 5:significancy

return

Footnote 6:his

return

Contents

No. 294

Wednesday, February 6, 1712

Steele

Difficile est plurimum virtutem revereri qui semper secunda fortuna sit usus.

Tull. ad Herennium.

The[1]Bride'sSundaySnape's

The wise Providence has amply compensated the Disadvantages of the Poor and Indigent, in wanting many of the Conveniencies of this Life, by a more abundant Provision for their Happiness in the next. Had they been higher born, or more richly endowed, they would have wanted this Manner of Education, of which those only enjoy the Benefit, who are low enough to submit to it; where they have such Advantages without Money, and without Price, as the Rich cannot purchase with it. The Learning which is given, is generally more edifying to them, than that which is sold to others: Thus do they become more exalted in Goodness, by being depressed in Fortune, and their Poverty is, in Reality, their Preferment[2].

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

'Just Published.

'A very neat Pocket Edition of the Spectator, in two volumes 12mo. Printed for S. Buckley, at the Dolphin, in Little Britain, and J. Tonson, at Shakespear's Head, over-against Catherine-Street in the Strand.'

return

Contents

No. 295

Thursday, February 7, 1712

Addison

Prodiga non sentit pereuntem fæmina censum:

At velut exhaustâ redivivus pullulet arcâ

Nummus, et è pleno semper tollatur acervo,

Non unquam reputat quanti sibi gandia constent.

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

I am turned of my great Climacteric, and am naturally a Man of a meek Temper. About a dozen Years ago I was married, for my Sins, to a young Woman of a good Family, and of an high Spirit; but could not bring her to close with me, before I had entered into a Treaty with her longer than that of the Grand Alliance. Among other Articles, it was therein stipulated, that she should have £400 a Year for Pin-money, which I obliged my self to pay Quarterly into the hands of one who had acted as her Plenipotentiary in that Affair. I have ever since religiously observed my part in this solemn Agreement. Now, Sir, so it is, that the Lady has had several Children since I married her; to which, if I should credit our malicious Neighbours, her Pin-money has not a little contributed. The Education of these my Children, who, contrary to my Expectation, are born to me every Year, streightens me so much, that I have begged their Mother to free me from the Obligation of the above-mentioned Pin-money, that it may go towards making a Provision for her Family. This Proposal makes her noble Blood swell in her Veins, insomuch that finding me a little tardy in her last Quarter's Payment, she threatens me every Day to arrest me; and proceeds so far as to tell me, that if I do not do her Justice, I shall die in a Jayl. To this she adds, when her Passion will let her argue calmly, that she has several Play-Debts on her Hand, which must be discharged very suddenly, and that she cannot lose her Money as becomes a Woman of her Fashion, if she makes me any Abatements in this Article. I hope, Sir, you will take an Occasion from hence to give your Opinion upon a Subject which you have not yet touched, and inform us if there are any Precedents for this Usage among our Ancestors; or whether you find any mention of Pin-money in Grotius, Puffendorf, or any other of the Civilians.

I am ever

the humblest of your Admirers,

Josiah Fribble, Esq.

rememberRogerfor her[1]Roger

Footnote 1:to keep her in

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Contents

No. 296

Friday, February 8, 1712

Steele

Nugis addere pondus.

Hor.

Dear Spec.

Having lately conversed much with the Fair Sex on the Subject of your Speculations, (which since their Appearance in Publick, have been the chief Exercise of the Female loquacious Faculty) I found the fair Ones possess'd with a Dissatisfaction at your prefixing Greek Motto's to the Frontispiece of your late Papers; and, as a Man of Gallantry, I thought it a Duty incumbent on me to impart it to you, in Hopes of a Reformation, which is only to be effected by a Restoration of the Latin to the usual Dignity in your Papers, which of late, the Greek, to the great Displeasure of your Female Readers, has usurp'd; for tho' the Latin has the Recommendation of being as unintelligible to them as the Greek, yet being written of the same Character with their Mother-Tongue, by the Assistance of a Spelling-Book it's legible; which Quality the Greek wants: And since the Introduction of Operas into this Nation, the Ladies are so charmed with Sounds abstracted from their Ideas, that they adore and honour the Sound of Latin as it is old Italian. I am a Sollicitor for the Fair Sex, and therefore think my self in that Character more likely to be prevalent in this Request, than if I should subscribe myself by my proper Name.

J.M.

I desire you may insert this in one of your Speculations, to shew my Zeal for removing the Dissatisfaction of the Fair Sex, and restoring you to their Favour.

Sir,

I was some time since in Company with a young Officer, who entertained us with the Conquest he had made over a Female Neighbour of his; when a Gentleman who stood by, as I suppose, envying the Captain's good Fortune, asked him what Reason he had to believe the Lady admired him? Why, says he, my Lodgings are opposite to hers, and she is continually at her Window either at Work, Reading, taking Snuff, or putting her self in some toying Posture on purpose to draw my Eyes that Way. The Confession of this vain Soldier made me reflect on some of my own Actions; for you must know, Sir, I am often at a Window which fronts the Apartments of several Gentlemen, who I doubt not have the same Opinion of me. I must own I love to look at them all, one for being well dressed, a second for his fine Eye, and one particular one, because he is the least Man I ever saw; but there is something so easie and pleasant in the Manner of my little Man, that I observe he is a Favourite of all his Acquaintance. I could go on to tell you of many others that I believe think I have encouraged them from my Window: But pray let me have your Opinion of the Use of the Window in a beautiful Lady: and how often she may look out at the same Man, without being supposed to have a Mind to jump out to him. Yours,

Aurelia Careless.'

Mr. Spectator,

'I have for some Time made Love to a Lady, who received it with all the kind Returns I ought to expect. But without any Provocation, that I know of, she has of late shunned me with the utmost Abhorrence, insomuch that she went out of Church last Sunday in the midst of Divine Service, upon my coming into the same Pew. Pray, Sir, what must I do in this Business?

Your Servant,

Euphues.'

York, Jan. 20, 1711-12.

Mr. Spectator,

'We have in this Town a sort of People who pretend to Wit and write Lampoons: I have lately been the Subject of one of them. The Scribler had not Genius enough in Verse to turn my Age, as indeed I am an old Maid, into Raillery, for affecting a youthier Turn than is consistent with my Time of Day; and therefore he makes the Title to his Madrigal, The Character of Mrs. Judith Lovebane, born in the Year 1680[1]. What I desire of you is, That you disallow that a Coxcomb who pretends to write Verse, should put the most malicious Thing he can say in Prose. This I humbly conceive will disable our Country Wits, who indeed take a great deal of Pains to say any thing in Rhyme, tho' they say it very ill.

I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Susanna Lovebane.'

Mr. Spectator,

'We are several of us, Gentlemen and Ladies, who Board in the same House, and after Dinner one of our Company (an agreeable Man enough otherwise) stands up and reads your Paper to us all. We are the civillest People in the World to one another, and therefore I am forced to this way of desiring our Reader, when he is doing this Office, not to stand afore the Fire. This will be a general Good to our Family this cold Weather. He will, I know, take it to be our common Request when he comes to these Words, Pray, Sir, sit down; which I desire you to insert, and you will particularly oblige

Your Daily Reader,

Charity Frost.'

Sir,

I am a great Lover of Dancing, but cannot perform so well as some others; however, by my Out-of-the-Way Capers, and some original Grimaces, I don't fail to divert the Company, particularly the Ladies, who laugh immoderately all the Time. Some, who pretend to be my Friends, tell me they do it in Derision, and would advise me to leave it off, withal that I make my self ridiculous. I don't know what to do in this Affair, but I am resolved not to give over upon any Account, 'till I have the Opinion of the Spectator.

Your humble Servant,

John Trott.'

Spectator

Footnote 1:1750

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 297

Saturday, February 9, 1712

Addison

—velut si

Egregio inspersos reprendas corpore nævos.

Hor.

Paradise Lost

The[1]

InStory of Ulysses[2]

particularly[3]

as a,[4]

Paradise LostThis[5]

Paradise Lostor aandbut[6]tischief Episodes[7]Whethersublimer[8]Paradise Lost

finely[9]

Tully[10]

Lucan[11]Milton'sfor[12]

Paradise Lost

—The small Infantry

Warrdon by Cranes—

Anotherthat[13]

Riget ejus oratio, nihil in eâ placidum nihil lene

And brought into the World a World of Woe.

—Begirt th' Almighty throne

Beseeching or besieging—

This tempted our attempt—

At one slight bound high overleapt all bound.

know[14]

isof[15]

Tack to the Larboard, and stand off to Sea.

Veer Star-board Sea and Land.

shallPapers[16]

Footnote 1:Poetics

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Stories of Achilles, Ulysses, and Æneas.

return

Footnote 3:Poetics

return

Footnote 4:that

return

Footnote 5:

'Spencer has a better for his "Fairy Queen" had his action been finished, or been one; and Milton if the Devil had not been his hero, instead of Adam; if the giant had not foiled the knight, and driven him out of his stronghold, to wander through the world with his lady-errant; and if there had not been more machining persons that human in his poem.'

return

Footnote 6:or

return

Footnote 7:Episode

return

Footnote 8:greater

return

Footnote 9:Poetics

'ambitious to figure throughout themselves, imitate but little and seldom. Homer, after a few preparatory lines, immediately introduces a man or woman or some other character, for all have their character.'

'No Heroic Poem raises such admiration of the Poet, as his hath done, though not so great admiration of the persons he introduceth.'

return

Footnote 10:Letters to Atticus

return

Footnote 11:Poetics

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Footnote 12:of

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Footnote 13:which

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Footnote 14:RhetoricParadise Lost

'rhetoric taught out of the rules of Plato, Aristotle, Phalereus, Cicero, Hermogenes, Longinus. To which poetry would be made subsequent, or, indeed, rather precedent, as being less subtile and fine, but more simple, sensuous, and passionate. I mean not here the prosody of a verse, which they could not but have hit on before among the rudiments of grammar; but that sublime art which in Aristotle's Poetics, in Horace, and the Italian commentaries of Castelvetro, Tasso, Mazzoni, and others, teaches what the laws are of a true epic poem, what of a dramatic, what of a lyric, what decorum is, which is the grand masterpiece to observe. This would make them soon perceive what despicable creatures our common rhymers and play-writers be; and show them what religious, what glorious and magnificent use might be made of poetry, both in divine and human things.'

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Footnote 15:in

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Footnote 16:Saturday's Paper

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Contents

No. 298

Monday, February 11, 1712

Steele

Nusquam Tuta fides.

Virg.

'I am a Virgin, and in no Case despicable; but yet such as I am I must remain, or else become, 'tis to be feared, less happy: for I find not the least good Effect from the just Correction you some time since gave, that too free, that looser Part of our Sex which spoils the Men; the same Connivance at the Vices, the same easie Admittance of Addresses, the same vitiated Relish of the Conversation of the greatest of Rakes (or in a more fashionable Way of expressing one's self, of such as have seen the World most) still abounds, increases, multiplies.

'The humble Petition therefore of many of the most strictly virtuous, and of my self, is, That you'll once more exert your Authority, and that according to your late Promise, your full, your impartial Authority, on this sillier Branch of our Kind: For why should they be the uncontroulable Mistresses of our Fate? Why should they with Impunity indulge the Males in Licentiousness whilst single, and we have the dismal Hazard and Plague of reforming them when married? Strike home, Sir, then, and spare not, or all our maiden Hopes, our gilded Hopes of nuptial Felicity are frustrated, are vanished, and you your self, as well as Mr. Courtly, will, by smoothing over immodest Practices with the Gloss of soft and harmless Names, for ever forfeit our Esteem. Nor think that I'm herein more severe than need be: If I have not reason more than enough, do you and the World judge from this ensuing Account, which, I think, will prove the Evil to be universal.

'You must know then, that since your Reprehension of this Female Degeneracy came out, I've had a Tender of Respects from no less than five Persons, of tolerable Figure too as Times go: But the Misfortune is, that four of the five are professed Followers of the Mode. They would face me down, that all Women of good Sense ever were, and ever will be, Latitudinarians in Wedlock; and always did, and will, give and take what they profanely term Conjugal Liberty of Conscience.

'The two first of them, a Captain and a Merchant, to strengthen their Argument, pretend to repeat after a Couple, a Brace of Ladies of Quality and Wit, That Venus was always kind to Mars; and what Soul that has the least spark of Generosity, can deny a Man of Bravery any thing? And how pitiful a Trader that, whom no Woman but his own Wife will have Correspondence and Dealings with? Thus these; whilst the third, the Country Squire, confessed, That indeed he was surprized into good Breeding, and entered into the Knowledge of the World unawares. That dining t'other Day at a Gentleman's House, the Person who entertained was obliged to leave him with his Wife and Nieces; where they spoke with so much Contempt of an absent Gentleman for being slow at a Hint, that he had resolved never to be drowsy, unmannerly, or stupid for the future at a Friend's House; and on a hunting Morning, not to pursue the Game either with the Husband abroad, or with the Wife at home.

'The next that came was a Tradesman, no[1] less full of the Age than the former; for he had the Gallantry to tell me, that at a late Junket which he was invited to, the Motion being made, and the Question being put, 'twas by Maid, Wife and Widow resolved nemine contradicente, That a young sprightly Journeyman is absolutely necessary in their Way of Business: To which they had the Assent and Concurrence of the Husbands present. I dropped him a Curtsy, and gave him to understand that was his Audience of Leave.

'I am reckoned pretty, and have had very many Advances besides these; but have been very averse to hear any of them, from my Observation on these above-mentioned, 'till I hoped some Good from the Character of my present Admirer, a Clergyman. But I find even amongst them there are indirect Practices in relation to Love, and our Treaty is at present a little in Suspence, 'till some Circumstances are cleared. There is a Charge against him among the Women, and the Case is this: It is alledged, That a certain endowed Female would have appropriated her self to and consolidated her self with a Church, which my Divine now enjoys; (or, which is the same thing, did prostitute her self to her Friend's doing this for her): That my Ecclesiastick, to obtain the one, did engage himself to take off the other that lay on Hand; but that on his Success in the Spiritual, he again renounced the Carnal.

I put this closely to him, and taxed him with Disingenuity. He to clear himself made the subsequent Defence, and that in the most solemn Manner possible: That he was applied to and instigated to accept of a Benefice: That a conditional Offer thereof was indeed made him at first, but with Disdain by him rejected: That when nothing (as they easily perceived) of this Nature could bring him to their Purpose, Assurance of his being entirely unengaged before-hand, and safe from all their After-Expectations (the only Stratagem left to draw him in) was given him: That pursuant to this the Donation it self was without Delay, before several reputable Witnesses, tendered to him gratis, with the open Profession of not the least Reserve, or most minute Condition; but that yet immediately after Induction, his insidious Introducer (or her crafty Procurer, which you will) industriously spread the Report, which had reached my Ears, not only in the Neighbourhood of that said Church, but in London, in the University, in mine and his own County, and where-ever else it might probably obviate his Application to any other Woman, and so confine him to this alone: And, in a Word, That as he never did make any previous Offer of his Service, or the least Step to her Affection; so on his Discovery of these Designs thus laid to trick him, he could not but afterwards, in Justice to himself, vindicate both his Innocence and Freedom by keeping his proper Distance.

'This is his Apology, and I think I shall be satisfied with it. But I cannot conclude my tedious Epistle, without recommending to you not only to resume your former Chastisement, but to add to your Criminals the Simoniacal Ladies, who seduce the sacred Order into the Difficulty of either breaking a mercenary Troth made to them whom they ought not to deceive, or by breaking or keeping it offending against him whom they cannot deceive. Your Assistance and Labours of this sort would be of great Benefit, and your speedy Thoughts on this Subject would be very seasonable to,

Sir, Your most obedient Servant,

Chastity Loveworth.'

Footnote 1:nor

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Contents

No. 299

Tuesday, February 12, 1712

Addison

Malo Venusinam, quam te, Cornelia, Mater

Gracchorum, si cum magnis virtutibus affers

Grande supercilium, et numeras in dote triumphos.

Tolle tuum precor Annibalem victumque Syphacem

In castris, et cum totâ Carthagine migra.

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

'Having carefully perused a Letter sent you by Josiah Fribble, Esq., with your subsequent Discourse upon Pin-Money, I do presume to trouble you with an Account of my own Case, which I look upon to be no less deplorable than that of Squire Fribble. I am a Person of no Extraction, having begun the World with a small parcel of Rusty Iron, and was for some Years commonly known by the Name of Jack Anvil[1]. I have naturally a very happy Genius for getting Money, insomuch that by the Age of Five and twenty I had scraped together Four thousand two hundred Pounds Five Shillings, and a few odd Pence. I then launched out into considerable Business, and became a bold Trader both by Sea and Land, which in a few Years raised me a very great[2] Fortune. For these my Good Services I was Knighted in the thirty fifth Year of my Age, and lived with great Dignity among my City-Neighbours by the Name of Sir John Anvil. Being in my Temper very Ambitious, I was now bent upon making a Family, and accordingly resolved that my Descendants should have a Dash of Good Blood in their Veins. In order to this, I made Love to the Lady Mary Oddly, an Indigent young Woman of Quality. To cut short the Marriage Treaty, I threw her a Charte Blanche, as our News Papers call it, desiring her to write upon it her own Terms. She was very concise in her Demands, insisting only that the Disposal of my Fortune, and the Regulation of my Family, should be entirely in her Hands. Her Father and Brothers appeared exceedingly averse to this Match, and would not see me for some time; but at present are so well reconciled, that they Dine with me almost every Day, and have borrowed considerable Sums of me; which my Lady Mary very often twits me with, when she would shew me how kind her Relations are to me. She had no Portion, as I told you before, but what she wanted in Fortune, she makes up in Spirit. She at first changed my Name to Sir John Envil, and at present writes her self Mary Enville. I have had some Children by her, whom she has Christened with the Sirnames of her Family, in order, as she tells me, to wear out the Homeliness of their Parentage by the Father's Side. Our eldest Son is the Honourable Oddly Enville, Esq., and our eldest Daughter Harriot Enville. Upon her first coming into my Family, she turned off a parcel of very careful Servants, who had been long with me, and introduced in their stead a couple of Black-a-moors, and three or four very genteel Fellows in Laced Liveries, besides her French woman, who is perpetually making a Noise in the House in a Language which no body understands, except my Lady Mary. She next set her self to reform every Room of my House, having glazed all my Chimney-pieces with Looking-glass, and planted every Corner with such heaps of China, that I am obliged to move about my own House with the greatest Caution and Circumspection, for fear of hurting some of our Brittle Furniture. She makes an Illumination once a Week with Wax-Candles in one of the largest Rooms, in order, as she phrases it, to see Company. At which time she always desires me to be Abroad, or to confine my self to the Cock-loft, that I may not disgrace her among her Visitants of Quality. Her Footmen, as I told you before, are such Beaus that I do not much care for asking them Questions; when I do, they answer me with a sawcy Frown, and say that every thing, which I find Fault with, was done by my Lady Mary's Order. She tells me that she intends they shall wear Swords with their next Liveries, having lately observed the Footmen of two or three Persons of Quality hanging behind the Coach with Swords by their Sides. As soon as the first Honey-Moon was over, I represented to her the Unreasonableness of those daily Innovations which she made in my Family, but she told me I was no longer to consider my self as Sir John Anvil, but as her Husband; and added, with a Frown, that I did not seem to know who she was. I was surprized to be treated thus, after such Familiarities as had passed between us. But she has since given me to know, that whatever Freedoms she may sometimes indulge me in, she expects in general to be treated with the Respect that is due to her Birth and Quality. Our Children have been trained up from their Infancy with so many Accounts of their Mother's Family, that they know the Stories of all the great Men and Women it has produced. Their Mother tells them, that such an one commanded in such a Sea Engagement, that their Great Grandfather had a Horse shot under him at Edge-hill, that their Uncle was at the Siege of Buda, and that her Mother danced in a Ball at Court with the Duke of Monmouth; with abundance of Fiddle-faddle of the same Nature. I was, the other Day, a little out of Countenance at a Question of my little Daughter Harriot, who asked me, with a great deal of Innocence, why I never told them of the Generals and Admirals that had been in my Family. As for my Eldest Son Oddly, he has been so spirited up by his Mother, that if he does not mend his Manners I shall go near to disinherit him. He drew his Sword upon me before he was nine years old, and told me, that he expected to be used like a Gentleman; upon my offering to correct him for his Insolence, my Lady Mary stept in between us, and told me, that I ought to consider there was some Difference between his Mother and mine. She is perpetually finding out the Features of her own Relations in every one of my Children, tho', by the way, I have a little Chubfaced Boy as like me as he can stare, if I durst say so; but what most angers me, when she sees me playing with any of them upon my Knee, she has begged me more than once to converse with the Children as little as possibly, that they may not learn any of my awkward Tricks.

'You must farther know, since I am opening my Heart to you, that she thinks her self my Superior in Sense, as much as she is in Quality, and therefore treats me like a plain well-meaning Man, who does not know the World. She dictates to me in my own Business, sets me right in Point of Trade, and if I disagree with her about any of my Ships at Sea, wonders that I will dispute with her, when I know very well that her Great Grandfather was a Flag Officer.

'To compleat my Sufferings, she has teazed me for this Quarter of a[3] Year last past, to remove into one of the Squares at the other End of the Town, promising for my Encouragement, that I shall have as good a Cock-loft as any Gentleman in the Square; to which the Honourable Oddly Enville, Esq., always adds, like a Jack-a-napes as he is, that he hopes 'twill be as near the Court as possible.

'In short, Mr. Spectator, I am so much out of my natural Element, that to recover my old Way of Life I would be content to begin the World again, and be plain Jack Anvil; but alas! I am in for Life, and am bound to subscribe my self, with great Sorrow of Heart,

Your humble Servant,

John Enville, Knt.'

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:considerableerratumNo. 301

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Footnote 3:an

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Contents

No. 300

Wednesday, February 13, 1712

Steele

Diversum vitio vitium prope majus.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'When you talk of the Subject of Love, and the Relations arising from it, methinks you should take Care to leave no Fault unobserved which concerns the State of Marriage. The great Vexation that I have observed in it, is, that the wedded Couple seem to want Opportunities of being often enough alone together, and are forced to quarrel and be fond before Company. Mr. Hotspur and his Lady, in a Room full of their Friends, are ever saying something so smart to each other, and that but just within Rules, that the whole Company stand in the utmost Anxiety and Suspence for fear of their falling into Extremities which they could not be present at. On the other Side, Tom Faddle and his pretty Spouse where-ever they come are billing at such a Rate, as they think must do our Hearts good who behold 'em. Cannot you possibly propose a Mean between being Wasps and Doves in Publick? I should think if you advised to hate or love sincerely it would be better: For if they would be so discreet as to hate from the very Bottom of their Hearts, their Aversion would be too strong for little Gibes every Moment; and if they loved with that calm and noble Value which dwells in the Heart, with a Warmth like that of Life-Blood, they would not be so impatient of their Passion as to fall into observable Fondness. This Method, in each Case, would save Appearances; but as those who offend on the fond Side are by much the fewer, I would have you begin with them, and go on to take Notice of a most impertinent Licence married Women take, not only to be very loving to their Spouses in Publick, but also make nauseous Allusions to private Familiarities, and the like. Lucina is a Lady of the greatest Discretion, you must know, in the World; and withal very much a Physician: Upon the Strength of these two Qualities there is nothing she will not speak of before us Virgins; and she every Day talks with a very grave Air in such a Manner, as is very improper so much as to be hinted at but to obviate the greatest Extremity. Those whom they call good Bodies, notable People, hearty Neighbours, and the purest goodest Company in the World, are the great Offenders in this Kind. Here I think I have laid before you an open Field for Pleasantry; and hope you will shew these People that at least they are not witty: In which you will save from many a Blush a daily Sufferer, who is very much

Your most humble Servant,

Susanna Loveworth.'

Mr. Spectator,

'In yours of Wednesday the 30th past, you and your Correspondent are very severe on a sort of Men, whom you call Male Coquets; but without any other Reason, in my Apprehension, than that of paying a shallow Compliment to the fair Sex, by accusing some Men of imaginary Faults, that the Women may not seem to be the more faulty Sex; though at the same time you suppose there are some so weak as to be imposed upon by fine Things and false Addresses. I can't persuade my self that your Design is to debar the Sexes the Benefit of each other's Conversation within the Rules of Honour; nor will you, I dare say, recommend to 'em, or encourage the common Tea-Table Talk, much less that of Politicks and Matters of State: And if these are forbidden Subjects of Discourse, then, as long as there are any Women in the World who take a Pleasure in hearing themselves praised, and can bear the Sight of a Man prostrate at their Feet, so long I shall make no Wonder that there are those of the other Sex who will pay them those impertinent Humiliations. We should have few People such Fools as to practise Flattery, if all were so wise as to despise it. I don't deny but you would do a meritorious Act, if you could prevent all Impositions on the Simplicity of young Women; but I must confess I don't apprehend you have laid the Fault on the proper Person, and if I trouble you with my Thoughts upon it I promise my self your Pardon. Such of the Sex as are raw and innocent, and most exposed to these Attacks, have, or their Parents are much to blame if they have not, one to advise and guard 'em, and are obliged themselves to take Care of 'em: but if these, who ought to hinder Men from all Opportunities of this sort of Conversation, instead of that encourage and promote it, the Suspicion is very just that there are some private Reasons for it; and I'll leave it to you to determine on which Side a Part is then acted. Some Women there are who are arrived at Years of Discretion, I mean are got out of the Hands of their Parents and Governours, and are set up for themselves, who yet are liable to these Attempts; but if these are prevailed upon, you must excuse me if I lay the Fault upon them, that their Wisdom is not grown with their Years. My Client, Mr. Strephon, whom you summoned to declare himself, gives you Thanks however for your Warning, and begs the Favour only to inlarge his Time for a Week, or to the last Day of the Term, and then he'll appear gratis, and pray no Day over.

Yours,

Philanthropes.'

Mr. Spectator,

'I was last Night to visit a Lady who I much esteem, and always took for my Friend; but met with so very different a Reception from what I expected, that I cannot help applying my self to you on this Occasion. In the room of that Civility and Familiarity I used to be treated with by her, an affected Strangeness in her Looks, and Coldness in her Behaviour, plainly told me I was not the welcome Guest which the Regard and Tenderness she has often expressed for me gave me Reason to flatter my self to think I was. Sir, this is certainly a great Fault, and I assure you a very common one; therefore I hope you will think it a fit Subject for some Part of a Spectator. Be pleased to acquaint us how we must behave our selves towards this valetudinary Friendship, subject to so many Heats and Colds, and you will oblige,

Sir, Your humble Servant,

Miranda.'

Sir,

'I cannot forbear acknowledging the Delight your late Spectators on Saturdays have given me; for it is writ in the honest Spirit of Criticism, and called to my Mind the following four Lines I had read long since in a Prologue to a Play called Julius Cæsar[1] which has deserved a better Fate. The Verses are addressed to the little Criticks.

Shew your small Talent, and let that suffice ye;

But grow not vain upon it, I advise ye.

For every Fop can find out Faults in Plays:

You'll ne'er arrive at Knowing when to praise.

Yours, D. G.'

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Contents

No. 301

Thursday, February 14, 1712

Budgell

Possint ut Juvenes visere fervidi

Multo non sine risu,

Dilapsam in cineres facem.

Hor.

Will. HoneycombWill's

To Cloe.

Madam,

'Since my waking Thoughts have never been able to influence you in my Favour, I am resolved to try whether my Dreams can make any Impression on you. To this end I shall give you an Account of a very odd one which my Fancy presented to me last Night, within a few Hours after I left you.

'Methought I was unaccountably conveyed into the most delicious Place mine Eyes ever beheld, it was a large Valley divided by a River of the purest Water I had ever seen. The Ground on each Side of it rose by an easie Ascent, and was covered with Flowers of an infinite Variety, which as they were reflected in the Water doubled the Beauties of the Place, or rather formed an Imaginary Scene more beautiful than the real. On each Side of the River was a Range of lofty Trees, whose Boughs were loaden with almost as many Birds as Leaves. Every Tree was full of Harmony.

'I had not gone far in this pleasant Valley, when I perceived that it was terminated by a most magnificent Temple. The Structure was ancient, and regular. On the Top of it was figured the God Saturn, in the same Shape and Dress that the Poets usually represent Time.

'As I was advancing to satisfie my Curiosity by a nearer View, I was stopped by an Object far more beautiful than any I had before discovered in the whole Place. I fancy, Madam, you will easily guess that this could hardly be any thing but your self; in reality it was so; you lay extended on the Flowers by the side of the River, so that your Hands which were thrown in a negligent Posture, almost touched the Water. Your Eyes were closed; but if your Sleep deprived me of the Satisfaction of seeing them, it left me at leisure to contemplate several other Charms, which disappear when your Eyes are open. I could not but admire the Tranquility you slept in, especially when I considered the Uneasiness you produce in so many others.

'While I was wholly taken up in these Reflections, the Doors of the Temple flew open, with a very great Noise; and lifting up my Eyes, I saw two Figures, in human Shape, coming into the Valley. Upon a nearer Survey, I found them to be Youth and Love. The first was encircled with a kind of Purple Light, that spread a Glory over all the Place; the other held a flaming Torch in his Hand. I could observe, that all the way as they came towards us, the Colours of the Flowers appeared more lively, the Trees shot out in Blossoms, the Birds threw themselves into Pairs, and Serenaded them as they passed: The whole Face of Nature glowed with new Beauties. They were no sooner arrived at the Place where you lay, when they seated themselves on each Side of you. On their Approach, methought I saw a new Bloom arise in your Face, and new Charms diffuse themselves over your whole Person. You appeared more than Mortal; but, to my great Surprise, continued fast asleep, tho' the two Deities made several gentle Efforts to awaken you.

'After a short Time, Youth (displaying a Pair of Wings, which I had not before taken notice of) flew off. Love still remained, and holding the Torch which he had in his Hand before your Face, you still appeared as beautiful as ever. The glaring of the Light in your Eyes at length awakened you; when, to my great Surprise, instead of acknowledging the Favour of the Deity, you frowned upon him, and struck the Torch out of his Hand into the River. The God after having regarded you with a Look that spoke at once[1] his Pity and Displeasure, flew away. Immediately a kind of Gloom overspread the whole Place. At the same time I saw an hideous Spectre enter at one end of the Valley. His Eyes were sunk into his Head, his Face was pale and withered, and his Skin puckered up in Wrinkles. As he walked on the sides of the Bank the River froze, the Flowers faded, the Trees shed their Blossoms, the Birds dropped from off the Boughs, and fell dead at his Feet. By these Marks I knew him to be Old-age. You were seized with the utmost Horror and Amazement at his Approach. You endeavoured to have fled, but the Phantome caught you in his Arms. You may easily guess at the Change you suffered in this Embrace. For my own Part, though I am still too full of the frightful[2] Idea, I will not shock you with a Description of it. I was so startled at the Sight that my Sleep immediately left me, and I found my self awake, at leisure to consider of a Dream which seems too extraordinary to be without a Meaning. I am, Madam, with the greatest Passion,

Your most Obedient,

most Humble Servant, &c.'

Footnote 1:the same time

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Contents

No. 302

Friday, February 15, 1712

Steele

Lachrymæque decoræ,

Gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore Virtus.

Vir. Æn. 5.

Mr. Spectator[1],

If this Paper has the good Fortune to be honoured with a Place in your Writings, I shall be the more pleased, because the Character of Emilia is not an imaginary but a real one. I have industriously obscured the whole by the Addition of one or two Circumstances of no Consequence, that the Person it is drawn from might still be concealed; and that the Writer of it might not be in the least suspected, and for other[2] Reasons, I chuse not to give it the Form of a Letter: But if, besides the Faults of the Composition, there be any thing in it more proper for a Correspondent than the Spectator himself to write, I submit it to your better Judgment, to receive any other Model you think fit.

I am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant.'

There is nothing which gives one so pleasing a Prospect of human Nature, as the Contemplation of Wisdom and Beauty: The latter is the peculiar Portion of that Sex which is therefore called Fair; but the happy Concurrence of both these Excellencies in the same Person, is a Character too celestial to be frequently met with. Beauty is an over-weaning self-sufficient thing, careless of providing it self any more substantial Ornaments; nay so little does it consult its own Interests, that it too often defeats it self by betraying that Innocence which renders it lovely and desirable. As therefore Virtue makes a beautiful Woman appear more beautiful, so Beauty makes a virtuous Woman really more virtuous. Whilst I am considering these two Perfections gloriously united in one Person, I cannot help representing to my Mind the Image of Emilia.

Who ever beheld the charming Emilia, without feeling in his Breast at once the Glow of Love and the Tenderness of virtuous Friendship? The unstudied Graces of her Behaviour, and the pleasing Accents of her Tongue, insensibly draw you on to wish for a nearer Enjoyment of them; but even her Smiles carry in them a silent Reproof to the Impulses of licentious Love. Thus, tho' the Attractives of her Beauty play almost irresistibly upon you and create Desire, you immediately stand corrected not by the Severity but the Decency of her Virtue. That Sweetness and Good-humour which is so visible in her Face, naturally diffuses it self into every Word and Action: A Man must be a Savage, who at the Sight of Emilia, is not more inclined to do her Good than gratifie himself. Her Person, as it is thus studiously embellished by Nature, thus adorned with unpremeditated Graces, is a fit Lodging for a Mind so fair and lovely; there dwell rational Piety, modest Hope, and chearful Resignation.

Many of the prevailing Passions of Mankind do undeservedly pass under the Name of Religion; which is thus made to express itself in Action, according to the Nature of the Constitution in which it resides: So that were we to make a Judgment from Appearances, one would imagine Religion in some is little better than Sullenness and Reserve, in many Fear, in others the Despondings of a melancholly Complexion, in others the Formality of insignificant unaffecting Observances, in others Severity, in others Ostentation. In Emilia it is a Principle founded in Reason and enlivened with Hope; it does not break forth into irregular Fits and Sallies of Devotion, but is an uniform and consistent Tenour of Action; It is strict without Severity, compassionate without Weakness; it is the Perfection of that good Humour which proceeds from the Understanding, not the Effect of an easy Constitution.

By a generous Sympathy in Nature, we feel our selves disposed to mourn when any of our Fellow-Creatures are afflicted; but injured Innocence and Beauty in Distresses an Object that carries in it something inexpressibly moving: It softens the most manly Heart with the tenderest Sensations of Love and Compassion, till at length it confesses its Humanity, and flows out into Tears.

Were I to relate that part of Emilia's Life which has given her an Opportunity of exerting the Heroism of Christianity, it would make too sad, too tender a Story: But when I consider her alone in the midst of her Distresses, looking beyond this gloomy Vale of Affliction and Sorrow into the Joys of Heaven and Immortality, and when I see her in Conversation thoughtless and easie as if she were the most happy Creature in the World, I am transported with Admiration. Surely never did such a Philosophic Soul inhabit such a beauteous Form! For Beauty is often made a Privilege against Thought and Reflection; it laughs at Wisdom, and will not abide the Gravity of its Instructions.

Were I able to represent Emilia's Virtues in their proper Colours and their due Proportions, Love or Flattery might perhaps be thought to have drawn the Picture larger than Life; but as this is but an imperfect Draught of so excellent a Character, and as I cannot, will not hope to have any Interest in her Person, all that I can say of her is but impartial Praise extorted from me by the prevailing Brightness of her Virtues. So rare a Pattern of Female Excellence ought not to be concealed, but should be set out to the View and Imitation of the World; for how amiable does Virtue appear thus as it were made visible to us in so fair an Example!

Honoria's Disposition is of a very different Turn: Her Thoughts are wholly bent upon Conquest and arbitrary Power. That she has some Wit and Beauty no Body denies, and therefore has the Esteem of all her Acquaintance as a Woman of an agreeable Person and Conversation; but (whatever her Husband may think of it) that is not sufficient for Honoria: She waves that Title to Respect as a mean Acquisition, and demands Veneration in the Right of an Idol; for this Reason her natural Desire of Life is continually checked with an inconsistent Fear of Wrinkles and old Age.

Emilia cannot be supposed ignorant of her personal Charms, tho' she seems to be so; but she will not hold her Happiness upon so precarious a Tenure, whilst her Mind is adorned with Beauties of a more exalted and lasting Nature. When in the full Bloom of Youth and Beauty we saw her surrounded with a Crowd of Adorers, she took no Pleasure in Slaughter and Destruction, gave no false deluding Hopes which might encrease the Torments of her disappointed Lovers; but having for some Time given to the Decency of a Virgin Coyness, and examined the Merit of their several Pretensions, she at length gratified her own, by resigning herself to the ardent Passion of Bromius. Bromius was then Master of many good Qualities and a moderate Fortune, which was soon after unexpectedly encreased to a plentiful Estate. This for a good while proved his Misfortune, as it furnished his unexperienced Age with the Opportunities of Evil Company and a sensual Life. He might have longer wandered in the Labyrinths of Vice and Folly, had not Emilia's prudent Conduct won him over to the Government of his Reason. Her Ingenuity has been constantly employed in humanizing his Passions and refining his Pleasures. She shewed him by her own Example, that Virtue is consistent with decent Freedoms and good Humour, or rather, that it cannot subsist without 'em. Her good Sense readily instructed her, that a silent Example and an easie unrepining Behaviour, will always be more perswasive than the Severity of Lectures and Admonitions; and that there is so much Pride interwoven into the Make of human Nature, that an obstinate Man must only take the Hint from another, and then be left to advise and correct himself. Thus by an artful Train of Management and unseen Perswasions, having at first brought him not to dislike, and at length to be pleased with that which otherwise he would not have bore to hear of, she then knew how to press and secure this Advantage, by approving it as his Thoughts, and seconding it as his Proposal. By this Means she has gained an Interest in some of his leading Passions, and made them accessary to his Reformation.

There is another Particular of Emilia's Conduct which I can't forbear mentioning: To some perhaps it may at first Sight appear but a trifling inconsiderable Circumstance but for my Part, I think it highly worthy of Observation, and to be recommended to the Consideration of the fair Sex. I have often thought wrapping Gowns and dirty Linnen, with all that huddled Œconomy of Dress which passes under the general Name of a Mob, the Bane of conjugal Love, and one of the readiest Means imaginable to alienate the Affection of an Husband, especially a fond one. I have heard some Ladies, who have been surprized by Company in such a Deshabille, apologize for it after this Manner; Truly I am ashamed to be caught in this Pickle; but my Husband and I were sitting all alone by our selves, and I did not expect to see such good Company —This by the way is a fine Compliment to the good Man, which 'tis ten to one but he returns in dogged Answers and a churlish Behaviour, without knowing what it is that puts him out of Humour.

Emilia's Observation teaches her, that as little Inadvertencies and Neglects cast a Blemish upon a great Character; so the Neglect of Apparel, even among the most intimate Friends, does insensibly lessen their Regards to each other, by creating a Familiarity too low and contemptible. She understands the Importance of those Things which the Generality account Trifles; and considers every thing as a Matter of Consequence, that has the least Tendency towards keeping up or abating the Affection of her Husband; him she esteems as a fit Object to employ her Ingenuity in pleasing, because he is to be pleased for Life.

By the Help of these, and a thousand other nameless Arts, which 'tis easier for her to practise than for another to express, by the Obstinacy of her Goodness and unprovoked Submission, in spight of all her Afflictions and ill Usage, Bromius is become a Man of Sense and a kind Husband, and Emilia a happy Wife.

Ye guardian Angels to whose Care Heaven has entrusted its dear Emilia, guide her still forward in the Paths of Virtue, defend her from the Insolence and Wrongs of this undiscerning World; at length when we must no more converse with such Purity on Earth, lead her gently hence innocent and unreprovable to a better Place, where by an easie Transition from what she now is, she may shine forth an Angel of Light.

Footnote 1:Letters of John Hughes

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Footnote 2:some other

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Contents

No. 303

Saturday, February 16, 1712

Addison

—volet hæc sub luce videri,

Judicis argulum quæ non formidat acumen.

Hor.

Paradise Lost

Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought Death into the World and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater Man

Restore us, and regain the blisful Seat,

Sing Heavenly Muse—

Thus Satan talking to his nearest Mate,

With head up-lift above the wave, and eyes

That sparkling blazed, his other parts beside

Prone on the Flood, extended long and large,

Lay floating many a rood—

Forthwith upright he rears from off the pool

His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames

Driv'n backward slope their pointing Spires, and roared

In Billows, leave i'th' midst a horrid vale.

Then with expanded wings he steers his flight

Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air

That felt unusual weight—

—His pondrous Shield

Ethereal temper, massie, large and round,

Behind him cast; the broad circumference

Hung on his Shoulders like the Moon, whose orb

Thro' Optick Glass the Tuscan Artist views

At Ev'ning, from the top of Fesole,

Or in Valdarno, to descry new Lands,

Rivers, or Mountains, on her spotted Globe.

His Spear (to equal which the tallest pine

Hewn on Norwegian Hills to be the Mast

Of some great Admiral, were but a wand)

He walk'd with, to support uneasie Steps

Over the burning Marl—

He call'd so loud, that all the hollow deep

Of Hell resounded—

—He, above the rest

In shape and gesture proudly eminent

Stood like a Tower, &c.

—Hail Horrors! hail

Infernal World! and thou profoundest Hell

Receive thy new Possessor, one who brings

A mind not to be changed by place or time.

—Here at least

We shall be free; th'Almighty hath not built

Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:

Here we may reign secure; and in my choice

To reign is worth Ambition, tho' in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n.

—He now prepared

To speak; whereat their doubled ranks they bend

From wing to wing, and half enclose him round

With all his Peers: Attention held them mute.

Thrice he assayed, and thrice in spite of Scorn

Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth—

Theits[1]

—Thammuz came next behind.

Whose annual Wound in Lebanon allured

The Syrian Damsels to lament his fate,

In amorous Ditties all a Summer's day,

While smooth Adonis from his native Rock

Ran purple to the Sea, supposed with Blood

Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the Love tale

Infected Zion's Daughters with like Heat,

Whose wanton Passions in the sacred Porch

Ezekiel saw, when by the Vision led

His Eye survey'd the dark Idolatries

Of alienated Judah.—

Reader[2]

'We came to a fair large River—doubtless the Ancient River Adonis, so famous for the Idolatrous Rites performed here in Lamentation of Adonis. We had the Fortune to see what may be supposed to be the Occasion of that Opinion which Lucian relates, concerning this River, viz. That this Stream, at certain Seasons of the Year, especially about the Feast of Adonis, is of a bloody Colour; which the Heathens looked upon as proceeding from a kind of Sympathy in the River for the Death of Adonis, who was killed by a wild Boar in the Mountains, out of which this Stream rises. Something like this we saw actually come to pass; for the Water was stain'd to a surprizing Redness; and, as we observ'd in Travelling, had discolour'd the Sea a great way into a reddish Hue, occasion'd doubtless by a sort of Minium, or red Earth, washed into the River by the Violence of the Rain, and not by any Stain from Adonis's Blood.'

Thus incorporeal Spirits to smallest Forms

Reduced their Shapes immense, and were at large,

Though without Number, still amidst the Hall

Of that Infernal Court. But far within,

And in their own Dimensions like themselves,

The great Seraphick Lords and Cherubim,

In close recess and secret conclave sate,

A thousand Demy-Gods on Golden Seats,

Frequent and full—

The Seat of Desolation, void of Light,

Save what the glimm'ring of those livid Flames

Casts pale and dreadful—

—The universal Host up sent

A Shout that tore Hell's Concave, and beyond

Frighted the reign of Chaos and old Night.

—He thro' the armed files

Darts his experienc'd eye, and soon traverse

The whole Battalion mews, their Order due,

Their Visages and Stature as of Gods.

Their Number last he sums; and now his Heart

Distends with Pride, and hard'ning in his strength

Glories—

He spake: and to confirm his words outflew

Millions of flaming Swords, drawn from the thighs

Of mighty Cherubim; the sudden Blaze

Far round illumin'd Hell—

Anon out of the Earth a Fabrick huge

Rose like an Exhalation, with the Sound

Of dulcet Symphonies and Voices sweet.

—From the arched Roof

Pendent by subtle Magick, many a Row

Of Starry Lamps and blazing Crescets, fed

With Naphtha and Asphaltus, yielded Light

As from a Sky—

MonsieurComparisons a longue queue[3]

'Comparisons, says he, in Odes and Epic Poems, are not introduced only to illustrate and embellish the Discourse, but to amuse and relax the Mind of the Reader, by frequently disengaging him from too painful an Attention to the Principal Subject, and by leading him into other agreeable Images. Homer, says he, excelled in this Particular, whose Comparisons abound with such Images of Nature as are proper to relieve and diversifie his Subjects. He continually instructs the Reader, and makes him take notice, even in Objects which are every Day before our Eyes, of such Circumstances as we should not otherwise have observed.'

'That it is not necessary in Poetry for the Points of the Comparison to correspond with one another exactly, but that a general Resemblance is sufficient, and that too much Nicety in this Particular favours of the Rhetorician and Epigrammatist.'

Footnote :his

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Footnote 3:note to No. 279.

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Contents

No. 304

Monday, February 18, 1712

Steele

Vulnus alit venis et cæco carpitur igni.

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

I have for some Years indulged a Passion for a young Lady of Age and Quality suitable to my own, but very much superior in Fortune. It is the Fashion with Parents (how justly I leave you to judge) to make all Regards give way to the Article of Wealth. From this one Consideration it is that I have concealed the ardent Love I have for her; but I am beholden to the Force of my Love for many Advantages which I reaped from it towards the better Conduct of my Life. A certain Complacency to all the World, a strong Desire to oblige where-ever it lay in my Power, and a circumspect Behaviour in all my Words and Actions, have rendered me more particularly acceptable to all my Friends and Acquaintance. Love has had the same good Effect upon my Fortune; and I have encreased in Riches in proportion to my Advancement in those Arts which make a man agreeable and amiable. There is a certain Sympathy which will tell my Mistress from these Circumstances, that it is I who writ this for her Reading, if you will please to insert it. There is not a downright Enmity, but a great Coldness between our Parents; so that if either of us declared any kind Sentiment for each other, her Friends would be very backward to lay an Obligation upon our Family, and mine to receive it from hers. Under these delicate Circumstances it is no easie Matter to act with Safety. I have no Reason to fancy my Mistress has any Regard for me, but from a very disinterested Value which I have for her. If from any Hint in any future Paper of yours she gives me the least Encouragement, I doubt not but I shall surmount all other Difficulties; and inspired by so noble a Motive for the Care of my Fortune, as the Belief she is to be concerned in it, I will not despair of receiving her one Day from her Father's own Hand.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

Clytander.

To his Worship the Spectator,

The humble Petition of Anthony Title-Page, Stationer, in the Centre of Lincolns-Inn-Fields,

Sheweth,

That your Petitioner and his Fore-Fathers have been Sellers of Books for Time immemorial; That your Petitioner's Ancestor, Crouchback Title-Page, was the first of that Vocation in Britain; who keeping his Station (in fair Weather) at the Corner of Lothbury, was by way of Eminency called the Stationer, a Name which from him all succeeding Booksellers have affected to bear: That the Station of your Petitioner and his Father has been in the Place of his present Settlement ever since that Square has been built: That your Petitioner has formerly had the Honour of your Worship's Custom, and hopes you never had Reason to complain of your Penny-worths; that particularly he sold you your first Lilly's Grammar, and at the same Time a Wit's Commonwealth almost as good as new: Moreover, that your first rudimental Essays in Spectatorship were made in your Petitioner's Shop, where you often practised for Hours together, sometimes on his Books upon the Rails, sometimes on the little Hieroglyphicks either gilt, silvered, or plain, which the Egyptian Woman on the other Side of the Shop had wrought in Gingerbread, and sometimes on the English Youth, who in sundry Places there were exercising themselves in the traditional Sports of the Field.

From these Considerations it is, that your Petitioner is encouraged to apply himself to you, and to proceed humbly to acquaint your Worship, That he has certain Intelligence that you receive great Numbers of defamatory Letters designed by their Authors to be published, which you throw aside and totally neglect: Your Petitioner therefore prays, that you will please to bestow on him those Refuse Letters, and he hopes by printing them to get a more plentiful Provision for his Family; or at the worst, he may be allowed to sell them by the Pound Weight to his good Customers the Pastry-Cooks of London and Westminster. And your Petitioner shall ever pray, &c.

To the Spectator,

The humble Petition of Bartholomew Ladylove, of Round-Court in the Parish of St. Martins in the Fields, in Behalf of himself and Neighbours,

Sheweth,

That your Petitioners have with great Industry and Application arrived at the most exact Art of Invitation or Entreaty: That by a beseeching Air and perswasive Address, they have for many Years last past peaceably drawn in every tenth Passenger, whether they intended or not to call at their Shops, to come in and buy; and from that Softness of Behaviour, have arrived among Tradesmen at the gentle Appellation of the Fawners.

That there have of late set up amongst us certain Persons of Monmouth-street and Long-lane, who by the Strength of their Arms, and Loudness of their Throats, draw off the Regard of all Passengers from your said Petitioners; from which Violence they are distinguished by the Name of the Worriers.

That while your Petitioners stand ready to receive Passengers with a submissive Bow, and repeat with a gentle Voice, Ladies, what do you want? pray look in here; the Worriers reach out their Hands at Pistol-shot, and seize the Customers at Arms Length.

That while the Fawners strain and relax the Muscles of their Faces in making Distinction between a Spinster in a coloured Scarf and an Handmaid in a Straw-Hat, the Worriers use the same Roughness to both, and prevail upon the Easiness of the Passengers, to the Impoverishment of your Petitioners.

Your Petitioners therefore most humbly pray, that the Worriers may not be permitted to inhabit the politer Parts of the Town; and that Round-Court may remain a Receptacle for Buyers of a more soft Education.

And your Petitioners, &c.

Contents

No. 305

Tuesday, February 19, 1712

Addison

Non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis

Tempus eget.

Virg.

Paris, February 12.

''Tis confirmed that the King has resolved to establish a new Academy for Politicks, of which the Marquis de Torcy, Minister and Secretary of State, is to be Protector. Six Academicians are to be chosen, endowed with proper Talents, for beginning to form this Academy, into which no Person is to be admitted under Twenty-five Years of Age: They must likewise each have an Estate of Two thousand Livres a Year, either in Possession, or to come to 'em by Inheritance. The King will allow to each a Pension of a Thousand Livres. They are likewise to have able Masters to teach 'em the necessary Sciences, and to instruct them in all the Treaties of Peace, Alliance, and others, which have been made in several Ages past. These Members are to meet twice a Week at the Louvre. From this Seminary are to be chosen Secretaries to Ambassies, who by degrees may advance to higher Employments.

jeux d'esprit

Nothing

Contents

No. 306

Wednesday, February 20, 1712

Steele

Quæ forma, ut se tibi semper

Imputet?

Juv.

Mr. Spectator[1],

'I write this to communicate to you a Misfortune which frequently happens, and therefore deserves a consolatory Discourse on the Subject. I was within this Half-Year in the Possession of as much Beauty and as many Lovers as any young Lady in England. But my Admirers have left me, and I cannot complain of their Behaviour. I have within that Time had the Small-Pox; and this Face, which (according to many amorous Epistles which I have by me) was the Seat of all that is beautiful in Woman, is now disfigured with Scars. It goes to the very Soul of me to speak what I really think of my Face; and tho' I think I did not over-rate my Beauty while I had it, it has extremely advanc'd in its value with me now it is lost. There is one Circumstance which makes my Case very particular; the ugliest Fellow that ever pretended to me, was and is most in my Favour, and he treats me at present the most unreasonably. If you could make him return an Obligation which he owes me, in liking a Person that is not amiable;—But there is, I fear, no Possibility of making Passion move by the Rules of Reason and Gratitude. But say what you can to one who has survived her self, and knows not how to act in a new Being. My Lovers are at the Feet of my Rivals, my Rivals are every Day bewailing me, and I cannot enjoy what I am, by reason of the distracting Reflection upon what I was. Consider the Woman I was did not die of old Age, but I was taken off in the Prime of my Youth, and according to the Course of Nature may have Forty Years After-Life to come. I have nothing of my self left which I like, but that

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Parthenissa.'

Sir,

'If you flattered me before I had this terrible Malady, pray come and see me now: But if you sincerely liked me, stay away; for I am not the same

Corinna.'

Madam,

'I am not obliged, since you are not the same Woman, to let you know whether I flattered you or not; but I assure you, I do not, when I tell you I now like you above all your Sex, and hope you will bear what may befall me when we are both one, as well as you do what happens to your self now you are single; therefore I am ready to take such a Spirit for my Companion as soon as you please.

Amilcar.'

P. S.

Spectator

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 307

Thursday, February 21, 1712

Budgell

—Versate diu quid ferre recusent

Quid valeant humeri—

Hor.

Sir,

'Though I believe none of your Readers more admire your agreeable manner of working up Trifles than my self, yet as your Speculations are now swelling into Volumes, and will in all Probability pass down to future Ages, methinks I would have no single Subject in them, wherein the general Good of Mankind is concern'd, left unfinished.

'I have a long time expected with great Impatience that you would enlarge upon the ordinary Mistakes which are committed in the Education of our Children. I the more easily flattered my self that you would one time or other resume this Consideration, because you tell us that your [Volume 1 link:168th Paper] was only composed of a few broken Hints; but finding myself hitherto disappointed, I have ventur'd to send you my own Thoughts on this Subject.

'I remember Pericles in his famous Oration at the Funeral of those Athenian young Men who perished in the Samian Expedition, has a Thought very much celebrated by several Ancient Criticks, namely, That the Loss which the Commonwealth suffered by the Destruction of its Youth, was like the Loss which the Year would suffer by the Destruction of the Spring. The Prejudice which the Publick sustains from a wrong Education of Children, is an Evil of the same Nature, as it in a manner starves Posterity, and defrauds our Country of those Persons who, with due Care, might make an eminent Figure in their respective Posts of Life.

'I have seen a Book written by Juan Huartes[1], a Spanish Physician, entitled Examen de Ingenios, wherein he lays it down as one of his first Positions, that Nothing but Nature can qualifie a Man for Learning; and that without a proper Temperament for the particular Art or Science which he studies, his utmost Pains and Application, assisted by the ablest Masters, will be to no purpose.

'He illustrates this by the Example of Tully's Son Marcus.

'Cicero, in order to accomplish his Son in that sort of Learning which he designed him for, sent him to Athens, the most celebrated Academy at that time in the World, and where a vast Concourse, out of the most Polite Nations, could not but furnish a young Gentleman with a Multitude of great Examples, and Accidents that might insensibly have instructed him in his designed Studies: He placed him under the Care of Cratippus, who was one of the greatest Philosophers of the Age, and, as if all the Books which were at that time written had not been sufficient for his Use, he composed others on purpose for him: Notwithstanding all this, History informs us, that Marcus proved a meer Blockhead, and that Nature, (who it seems was even with the Son for her Prodigality to the Father) rendered him incapable of improving by all the Rules of Eloquence, the Precepts of Philosophy, his own Endeavours, and the most refined Conversation in Athens. This Author therefore proposes, that there should be certain Tryers or Examiners appointed by the State to inspect the Genius of every particular Boy, and to allot him the Part that is most suitable to his natural Talents.

'Plato in one of his Dialogues tells us, that Socrates, who was the Son of a Midwife, used to say, that as his Mother, tho' she was very skilful in her Profession, could not deliver a Woman, unless she was first with Child; so neither could he himself raise Knowledge out of a Mind, where Nature had not planted it.

'Accordingly the Method this Philosopher took, of instructing his Scholars by several Interrogatories or Questions, was only helping the Birth, and bringing their own Thoughts to Light.

'The Spanish Doctor above mentioned, as his Speculations grow more refined, asserts that every kind of Wit has a particular Science corresponding to it, and in which alone it can be truly Excellent. As to those Genius's, which may seem to have an equal Aptitude for several things, he regards them as so many unfinished Pieces of Nature wrought off in haste.

'There are, indeed, but very few to whom Nature has been so unkind, that they are not capable of shining in some Science or other. There is a certain Byass towards Knowledge in every Mind, which may be strengthened and improved by proper Applications.

'The Story of Clavius[2] is very well known; he was entered in a College of Jesuits, and after having been tryed at several Parts of Learning, was upon the Point of being dismissed as an hopeless Blockhead, 'till one of the Fathers took it into his Head to make an assay of his Parts in Geometry, which it seems hit his Genius so luckily that he afterwards became one of the greatest Mathematicians of the Age. It is commonly thought that the Sagacity of these Fathers, in discovering the Talent of a young Student, has not a little contributed to the Figure which their Order has made in the World.

'How different from this manner of Education is that which prevails in our own Country? Where nothing is more usual than to see forty or fifty Boys of several Ages, Tempers and Inclinations, ranged together in the same Class, employed upon the same Authors, and enjoyned the same Tasks? Whatever their natural Genius may be, they are all to be made Poets, Historians, and Orators alike. They are all obliged to have the same Capacity, to bring in the same Tale of Verse, and to furnish out the same Portion of Prose. Every Boy is bound to have as good a Memory as the Captain of the Form. To be brief, instead of adapting Studies to the particular Genius of a Youth, we expect from the young Man, that he should adapt his Genius to his Studies. This, I must confess, is not so much to be imputed to the Instructor, as to the Parent, who will never be brought to believe, that his Son is not capable of performing as much as his Neighbour's, and that he may not make him whatever he has a Mind to.

'If the present Age is more laudable than those which have gone before it in any single Particular, it is in that generous Care which several well-disposed Persons have taken in the Education of poor Children; and as in these Charity-Schools there is no Place left for the over-weening Fondness of a Parent, the Directors of them would make them beneficial to the Publick, if they considered the Precept which I have been thus long inculcating. They might easily, by well examining the Parts of those under their Inspection, make a just Distribution of them into proper Classes and Divisions, and allot to them this or that particular Study, as their Genius qualifies them for Professions, Trades, Handicrafts, or Service by Sea or Land.

'How is this kind of Regulation wanting in the three great Professions!

'Dr. South complaining of Persons who took upon them Holy Orders, tho' altogether unqualified for the Sacred Function, says somewhere, that many a Man runs his Head against a Pulpit, who might have done his Country excellent Service at a Plough-tail.

'In like manner many a Lawyer, who makes but an indifferent Figure at the Bar, might have made a very elegant Waterman, and have shined at the Temple Stairs, tho' he can get no Business in the House.

'I have known a Corn-cutter, who with a right Education would have been an excellent Physician.

'To descend lower, are not our Streets filled with sagacious Draymen, and Politicians in Liveries? We have several Taylors of six Foot high, and meet with many a broad pair of Shoulders that are thrown away upon a Barber, when perhaps at the same time we see a pigmy Porter reeling under a Burthen, who might have managed a Needle with much Dexterity, or have snapped his Fingers with great Ease to himself, and Advantage to the Publick.

'The Spartans, tho' they acted with the Spirit which I am here speaking of, carried it much farther than what I propose: Among them it was not lawful for the Father himself to bring up his Children after his own Fancy. As soon as they were seven Years old they were all listed in several Companies, and disciplined by the Publick. The old Men were Spectators of their Performances, who often raised Quarrels among them, and set them at Strife with one another, that by those early Discoveries they might see how their several Talents lay, and without any regard to their Quality, dispose of them accordingly for the Service of the Commonwealth. By this Means Sparta soon became the Mistress of Greece, and famous through the whole World for her Civil and Military Discipline.

'If you think this Letter deserves a place among your Speculations, I may perhaps trouble you with some other Thoughts on the same Subject.

I am, &c.

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No. 308

Friday, February 22, 1712

Steele

Jam proterva

Fronte petet Lalage maritum.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I give you this Trouble in order to propose my self to you as an Assistant in the weighty Cares which you have thought fit to undergo for the publick Good. I am a very great Lover of Women, that is to say honestly, and as it is natural to study what one likes, I have industriously applied my self to understand them. The present Circumstance relating to them, is, that I think there wants under you, as Spectator, a Person to be distinguished and vested in the Power and Quality of a Censor on Marriages. I lodge at the Temple, and know, by seeing Women come hither, and afterwards observing them conducted by their Council to Judges Chambers, that there is a Custom in Case of making Conveyance of a Wife's Estate, that she is carried to a Judge's Apartment and left alone with him, to be examined in private whether she has not been frightened or sweetned by her Spouse into the Act she is going to do, or whether it is of her own free Will. Now if this be a Method founded upon Reason and Equity, why should there not be also a proper Officer for examining such as are entring into the State of Matrimony, whether they are forced by Parents on one Side, or moved by Interest only on the other, to come together, and bring forth such awkward Heirs as are the Product of half Love and constrained Compliances? There is no Body, though I say it my self, would be fitter for this Office than I am: For I am an ugly Fellow of great Wit and Sagacity. My Father was an hail Country-'Squire, my Mother a witty Beauty of no Fortune: The Match was made by Consent of my Mother's Parents against her own: and I am the Child of a Rape on the Wedding-Night; so that I am as healthy and as homely as my Father, but as sprightly and agreeable as my Mother. It would be of great Ease to you if you would use me under you, that Matches might be better regulated for the future, and we might have no more Children of Squabbles. I shall not reveal all my Pretensions till I receive your Answer; and am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Mules Palfrey.

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of those unfortunate Men within the City-Walls, who am married to a Woman of Quality, but her Temper is something different from that of Lady Anvil. My Lady's whole Time and Thoughts are spent in keeping up to the Mode both in Apparel and Furniture. All the Goods in my House have been changed three times in seven Years. I have had seven Children by her; and by our Marriage Articles she was to have her Apartment new furnished as often as she lay in. Nothing in our House is useful but that which is fashionable; my Pewter holds out generally half a Year, my Plate a full Twelvemonth; Chairs are not fit to sit in that were made two Years since, nor Beds fit for any thing but to sleep in that have stood up above that Time. My Dear is of Opinion that an old-fashioned Grate consumes Coals, but gives no Heat: If she drinks out of Glasses of last Year, she cannot distinguish Wine from Small-Beer. Oh dear Sir you may guess all the rest. Yours.

P. S. I could bear even all this, if I were not obliged also to eat fashionably. I have a plain Stomach, and have a constant Loathing of whatever comes to my own Table; for which Reason I dine at the Chop-House three Days a Week: Where the good Company wonders they never see you of late. I am sure by your unprejudiced Discourses you love Broth better than Soup.

Will's, Feb. 19.

Mr. Spectator,

You may believe you are a Person as much talked of as any Man in Town. I am one of your best Friends in this House, and have laid a Wager you are so candid a Man and so honest a Fellow, that you will print this Letter, tho' it is in Recommendation of a new Paper called The Historian[1]. I have read it carefully, and find it written with Skill, good Sense, Modesty, and Fire. You must allow the Town is kinder to you than you deserve; and I doubt not but you have so much Sense of the World, Change of Humour, and instability of all humane Things, as to understand, that the only Way to preserve Favour, is to communicate it to others with Good-Nature and Judgment. You are so generally read, that what you speak of will be read. This with Men of Sense and Taste is all that is wanting to recommend The Historian.

I am, Sir,

Your daily Advocate,

Reader Gentle.

Mr. Spectator, The Privilege you have indulged John Trot has proved of very bad Consequence to our illustrious Assembly, which, besides the many excellent Maxims it is founded upon, is remarkable for the extraordinary Decorum always observed in it. One Instance of which is that the Carders, (who are always of the first Quality) never begin to play till the French-Dances are finished, and the Country-Dances begin: But John Trot having now got your Commission in his Pocket, (which every one here has a profound Respect for) has the Assurance to set up for a Minuit-Dancer. Not only so, but he has brought down upon us the whole Body of the Trots, which are very numerous, with their Auxiliaries the Hobblers and the Skippers, by which Means the Time is so much wasted, that unless we break all Rules of Government, it must redound to the utter Subversion of the Brag-Table, the discreet Members of which value Time as Fribble's Wife does her Pin-Money. We are pretty well assured that your Indulgence to Trot was only in relation to Country-Dances; however we have deferred the issuing an Order of Council upon the Premisses, hoping to get you to join with us, that Trot, nor any of his Clan, presume for the future to dance any but Country-Dances, unless a Horn-Pipe upon a Festival-Day. If you will do this you will oblige a great many Ladies, and particularly Your most humble Servant,

Eliz. Sweepstakes.

York, Feb. 16.

Footnote 1:Historian Rhapsody, Observator, Moderator, Growler, Censor, Hermit, Surprize, Silent Monitor, Inquisitor, Pilgrim, Restorer, Instructor, GrumblerRamblerRambler

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Contents

No. 309

Saturday, February 23, 1712

Addison

Dî, quibus imperium est animarum, umbræque silentes,

Et Chaos, et Phlegethon, loca nocte silentia late;

Sit mihi fas audita loqui! sit numine vestro

Pandere res alta terra et caligine mersas.

Virg.

Satan was now at hand, and from his Seat

The Monster moving onward came as fast

With horrid strides, Hell trembled as he strode,

Th' undaunted Fiend what this might be admir'd,

Admired, not fear'd—

—Where the might of Gabriel fought,

And with fierce Ensigns pierc'd the deep array

Of Moloc, furious King, who him defy'd,

And at his chariot wheels to drag him bound

Threatened, nor from the Holy one of Heav'n

Refrain'd his tongue blasphemous; but anon

Down cloven to the waste, with shatter'd arms

And uncouth pain fled bellowing.—

—No, let us rather chuse,

Arm'd with Hell flames and fury, all at once

O'er Heavens high tow'rs to force resistless way,

Turning our tortures into horrid arms

Against the Torturer; when to meet the Noise

Of his almighty Engine he shall hear

Infernal Thunder, and for Lightning see

Black fire and horror shot with equal rage

Among his Angels; and his throne it self

Mixt with Tartarean Sulphur, and strange Fire,

His own invented Torments—

—This deep World

Of Darkness do we dread? How oft amidst

Thick cloud and dark doth Heav'ns all-ruling Sire

Chuse to reside, his Glory unobscured,

And with the Majesty of Darkness round

Covers his Throne; from whence deep Thunders roar

Mustering their Rage, and Heav'n resembles Hell?

As he our Darkness, cannot we his Light

Imitate when we please? This desart Soil

Wants not her hidden Lustre, Gems and Gold;

Nor want we Skill or Art, from whence to raise

Magnificence; and what can Heav'n shew more?

Space may produce new Worlds, whereof so rife

There went a Fame in Heav'n, that he erelong

Intended to create, and therein plant

A Generation, whom his choice Regard

Should favour equal to the Sons of Heaven:

Thither, if but to pry, shall be perhaps

Our first Eruption, thither or elsewhere:

For this Infernal Pit shall never hold

Celestial Spirits in Bondage, nor th' Abyss

Long under Darkness cover. But these Thoughts

Full Counsel must mature:—

—What if we find

Some easier Enterprise? There is a Place

(If ancient and prophetick Fame in Heav'n

Err not) another World, the happy Seat

Of some new Race call'd Man, about this Time

To be created like to us, though less

In Power and Excellence, but favoured more

Of him who rules above; so was his Will

Pronounc'd among the Gods, and by an Oath,

That shook Heav'n's whole Circumference, confirm'd.

Their rising all at once was as the Sound

Of Thunder heard remote—

Others with vast Typhæan rage more fell

Rend up both Rocks and Hills, and ride the Air

In Whirlwind; Hell scarce holds the wild Uproar.

—Nature breeds,

Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious Things,

Abominable, inutterable, and worse

Than Fables yet have feign'd, or Fear conceiv'd,

Gorgon's, and Hydra's, and Chimera's dire.

Before mine Eyes in Opposition sits

Grim Death my Son and Foe, who sets them on,

And me his Parent would full soon devour

For want of other Prey, but that he knows

His End with mine involv'd—

the Regal Crown upon his Head,

—On a sudden open fly

With impetuous Recoil and jarring Sound

Th' infernal Doors, and on their Hinges grate

Harsh Thunder, that the lowest Bottom shook

Of Erebus. She open'd, but to shut

Excell'd her Pow'r; the Gates wide open stood,

That with extended Wings a banner'd Host

Under spread Ensigns marching might pass through

With Horse and Chariots rank'd in loose Array;

So wide they stood, and like a Furnace Mouth

Cast forth redounding Smoak and ruddy Flame.

The Womb of Nature, and perhaps her Grave.

Contents

No. 310

Monday, February 25, 1712

Steele

Connubio Jungam stabili—

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a certain young Woman that love a certain young Man very heartily; and my Father and Mother were for it a great while, but now they say I can do better, but I think I cannot. They bid me love him, and I cannot unlove him. What must I do? speak quickly.

Biddy Dow-bake.

Dear Spec,

Feb. 19, 1712.

'I have lov'd a Lady entirely for this Year and Half, tho' for a great Part of the Time (which has contributed not a little to my Pain) I have been debarred the Liberty of conversing with her. The Grounds of our Difference was this; that when we had enquired into each other's Circumstances, we found that at our first setting out into the World, we should owe five hundred Pounds more than her Fortune would pay off. My Estate is seven hundred Pounds a Year, besides the benefit of Tin-Mines. Now, dear Spec, upon this State of the Case, and the Lady's positive Declaration that there is still no other Objection, I beg you'll not fail to insert this, with your Opinion as soon as possible, whether this ought to be esteemed a just Cause or Impediment why we should not be join'd, and you will for ever oblige

Yours sincerely,

Dick Lovesick.

P. S. Sir, if I marry this Lady by the Assistance of your Opinion, you may expect a Favour for it.

Mr. Spectator,

I have the misfortune to be one of those unhappy Men who are distinguished by the Name of discarded Lovers; but I am the less mortified at my Disgrace, because the young Lady is one of those Creatures who set up for Negligence of Men, are forsooth the most rigidly Virtuous in the World, and yet their Nicety will permit them, at the Command of Parents, to go to Bed to the most utter Stranger that can be proposed to them. As to me my self, I was introduced by the Father of my Mistress; but find I owe my being at first received to a Comparison of my Estate with that of a former Lover, and that I am now in like manner turned off, to give Way to an humble Servant still richer than I am. What makes this Treatment the more extravagant is, that the young Lady is in the Management of this way of Fraud, and obeys her Father's Orders on these Occasions without any Manner of Reluctance, and does it with the same Air that one of your Men of the World would signifie the Necessity of Affairs for turning another out of Office. When I came home last Night I found this Letter from my Mistress.

Sir,

I hope you will not think it is any manner of Disrespect to your Person or Merit, that the intended Nuptials between us are interrupted. My Father says he has a much better Offer for me than you can make, and has ordered me to break off the Treaty between us. If it had proceeded, I should have behaved my self with all suitable Regard to you, but as it is, I beg we may be Strangers for the Future. Adieu.

Lydia.

This great Indifference on this Subject, and the mercenary Motives for making Alliances, is what I think lies naturally before you, and I beg of you to give me your Thoughts upon it. My Answer to Lydia was as follows, which I hope you will approve; for you are to know the Woman's Family affect a wonderful Ease on these Occasions, tho' they expect it should be painfully received on the Man's Side.

Madam,

"I have received yours, and knew the Prudence of your House so well, that I always took Care to be ready to obey your Commands, tho' they should be to see you no more. Pray give my Service to all the good Family.

Adieu,

The Opera Subscription is full.

Clitophon."

Mr. Spectator,

There is an elderly Person, lately left off Business and settled in our Town, in order, as he thinks, to retire from the World; but he has brought with him such an Inclination to Talebearing, that he disturbs both himself and all our Neighbourhood. Notwithstanding this Frailty, the honest Gentleman is so happy as to have no Enemy: At the same time he has not one Friend who will venture to acquaint him with his Weakness. It is not to be doubted but if this Failing were set in a proper Light, he would quickly perceive the Indecency and evil Consequences of it. Now, Sir, this being an Infirmity which I hope may be corrected, and knowing that he pays much Deference to you, I beg that when you are at Leisure to give us a Speculation on Gossiping, you would think of my Neighbour: You will hereby oblige several who will be glad to find a Reformation in their gray-hair'd Friend: And how becoming will it be for him, instead of pouring forth Words at all Adventures to set a Watch before the Door of his Mouth, to refrain his Tongue, to check its Impetuosity, and guard against the Sallies of that little, pert, forward, busie Person; which, under a sober Conduct, might prove a useful Member of a Society. In Compliance with whose Intimations, I have taken the Liberty to make this Address to you.

I am, Sir,

Your most obscure Servant

Philanthropos.

Mr. Spectator,

Feb. 16, 1712.

'This is to Petition you in Behalf of my self and many more of your gentle Readers, that at any time when you have private Reasons against letting us know what you think your self, you would be pleased to pardon us such Letters of your Correspondents as seem to be of no use but to the Printer.

'It is further our humble Request, that you would substitute Advertisements in the Place of such Epistles; and that in order hereunto Mr. Buckley may be authorized to take up of your zealous Friend Mr. Charles Lillie, any Quantity of Words he shall from time to time have occasion for.

'The many useful parts of Knowledge which may be communicated to the Publick this Way, will, we hope, be a Consideration in favour of your Petitioners.'

And your Petitioners, &c.

Note[1]

Footnote 1:No. 134

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Contents

No. 311

Tuesday, February 26, 1712

Addison

Nec Veneris pharetris macer est; aut lampade fervet:

Inde faces ardent, veniunt a dote sagittæ.

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am amazed that among all the Variety of Characters, with which you have enriched your Speculations, you have never given us a Picture of those audacious young Fellows among us, who commonly go by the Name of Fortune-Stealers. You must know, Sir, I am one who live in a continual Apprehension of this sort of People that lye in wait, Day and Night, for our Children, and may be considered as a kind of Kidnappers within the Law. I am the Father of a Young Heiress, whom I begin to look upon as Marriageable, and who has looked upon her self as such for above these Six Years. She is now in the Eighteenth Year of her Age. The Fortune-hunters have already cast their Eyes upon her, and take care to plant themselves in her View whenever she appears in any Publick Assembly. I have my self caught a young Jackanapes with a pair of Silver Fringed Gloves, in the very Fact. You must know, Sir, I have kept her as a Prisoner of State ever since she was in her Teens. Her Chamber Windows are cross-barred, she is not permitted to go out of the House but with her Keeper, who is a stay'd Relation of my own; I have likewise forbid her the use of Pen and Ink for this Twelve-Month last past, and do not suffer a Ban-box to be carried into her Room before it has been searched. Notwithstanding these Precautions, I am at my Wits End for fear of any sudden Surprize. There were, two or three Nights ago, some Fiddles heard in the Street, which I am afraid portend me no Good; not to mention a tall Irish-Man, that has been seen walking before my House more than once this Winter. My Kinswoman likewise informs me, that the Girl has talked to her twice or thrice of a Gentleman in a Fair Wig, and that she loves to go to Church more than ever she did in her Life. She gave me the slip about a Week ago, upon which my whole House was in Alarm. I immediately dispatched a Hue and Cry after her to the Change, to her Mantua-maker, and to the young Ladies that Visit her; but after above an Hour's search she returned of herself, having been taking a Walk, as she told me, by Rosamond's Pond. I have hereupon turned off her Woman, doubled her Guards, and given new Instructions to my Relation, who, to give her her due, keeps a watchful Eye over all her Motions. This, Sir, keeps me in a perpetual Anxiety, and makes me very often watch when my Daughter sleeps, as I am afraid she is even with me in her turn. Now, Sir, what I would desire of you is, to represent to this fluttering Tribe of young Fellows, who are for making their Fortunes by these indirect Means, that stealing a Man's Daughter for the sake of her Portion, is but a kind of Tolerated Robbery; and that they make but a poor Amends to the Father, whom they plunder after this Manner, by going to bed with his Child. Dear Sir, be speedy in your Thoughts on this Subject, that, if possible, they may appear before the Disbanding of the Army.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Tim. Watchwell.

HoneycombWhenWillher[1]

who

—took his Stand

Upon a Widow's Jointure Land[2],

Footnote 1:them

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 312

Wednesday, February 27, 1712

Steele

Quod huic Officium, quæ laus, quod Decus erit tanti, quod adipisci cum colore Corporis velit, qui dolorem summum malum sibi persuaserit? Quam porro quis ignominiam, quam turpitudinem non pertulerit, ut effugiat dolorem, si id summum malum esse decrevit?

Tull. de Dolore tolerando.

HoraceDeliusTullyPompeyPompeyRhodesPossidonius

Mr. Spectator, Having seen in several of your Papers, a Concern for the Honour of the Clergy, and their doing every thing as becomes their Character, and particularly performing the publick Service with a due Zeal and Devotion; I am the more encouraged to lay before them, by your Means, several Expressions used by some of them in their Prayers before Sermon, which I am not well satisfied in: As their giving some Titles and Epithets to great Men, which are indeed due to them in their several Ranks and Stations, but not properly used, I think, in our Prayers. Is it not Contradiction to say, Illustrious, Right, Reverend, and Right Honourable poor Sinners? These Distinctions are suited only to our State here, and have no place in Heaven: We see they are omitted in the Liturgy; which I think the Clergy should take for their Pattern in their own Forms of Devotion[1]. There is another Expression which I would not mention, but that I have heard it several times before a learned Congregation, to bring in the last Petition of the Prayer in these Words, O let not the Lord be angry and I will speak but this once; as if there was no Difference between Abraham's interceding for Sodom, for which he had no Warrant as we can find, and our asking those Things which we are required to pray for; they would therefore have much more Reason to fear his Anger if they did not make such Petitions to him. There is another pretty Fancy: When a young Man has a Mind to let us know who gave him his Scarf, he speaks a Parenthesis to the Almighty, Bless, as I am in Duty bound to pray, the right honourable the Countess; is not that as much as to say, Bless her, for thou knowest I am her Chaplain?

Your humble Servant,

J. O.

Footnote 1:Devotion. Another Expression which I take to be improper, is this, the whole Race of Mankind, when they pray for all Men; for Race signifies Lineage or Descent; and if the Race of Mankind may be used for the present generation, (though I think not very fitly) the whole Race takes in all from the Beginning to the End of the World. I don't remember to have met with that Expression in their sense anywhere but in the old Version of Psal. 14, which those Men, I suppose, have but little Esteem for. And some, when they have prayed for all Schools and Nurserys of good Learning and True Religion, especially the two Universities, add these Words, Grant that from them and all other Places dedicated to thy Worship and Service, may come forth such Persons. But what do they mean by all other Places? It seems to me that this is either a Tautology, as being the same with all Schools and Nurserys before expressed, or else it runs too far; for there are general Places dedicated to the Divine Service which cannot properly be intended here.

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Contents

No. 313

Thursday, February 28, 1712

Budgell

Exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice ducat,

Ut si quis cerâ vultum facit.

Juv.

Thursday

Sir,

'I send you, according to my Promise, some farther Thoughts on the Education of Youth, in which I intend to discuss that famous Question, whether the Education at a Publick School, or under a private Tutor, is to be preferred?

'As some of the greatest Men in most Ages have been of very different Opinions in this Matter, i shall give a short Account of what i think may be best urged on both sides, and afterwards leave every Person to determine for himself.

'It is certain from Suetonius, that the Romans thought the Education of their Children a business properly belonging to the Parents themselves; and Plutarch, in the Life of Marcus Cato, tells us, that as soon as his Son was capable of Learning, Cato would suffer no Body to Teach him but himself, tho' he had a Servant named Chilo, who was an excellent Grammarian, and who taught a great many other Youths.

'On the contrary, the Greeks seemed more inclined to Publick Schools and Seminaries.

' A private Education promises in the first place Virtue and Good-Breeding; a publick School Manly Assurance, and an early Knowledge in the Ways of the World.

' Mr. Locke in his celebrated Treatise of Education[1], confesses that there are Inconveniencies to be feared on both sides; If, says he, I keep my Son at Home, he is in danger of becoming my young Master; If I send him Abroad, it is scarce possible to keep him from the reigning Contagion of Rudeness and Vice. He will perhaps be more Innocent at Home, but more ignorant of the World, and more sheepish when he comes Abroad. However, as this learned Author asserts, That Virtue is much more difficult to be attained than Knowledge of the World; and that Vice is a more stubborn, as well as a more dangerous Fault than Sheepishness, he is altogether for a private Education; and the more so, because he does not see why a Youth, with right Management, might not attain the same Assurance in his Father's House, as at a publick School. To this end he advises Parents to accustom their Sons to whatever strange Faces come to the House; to take them with them when they Visit their Neighbours, and to engage them in Conversation with Men of Parts and Breeding.

'It may be objected to this Method, that Conversation is not the only thing necessary, but that unless it be a Conversation with such as are in some measure their Equals in Parts and Years, there can be no room for Emulation, Contention, and several of the most lively Passions of the Mind; which, without being sometimes moved by these means, may possibly contract a Dulness and Insensibility.

'One of the greatest Writers our Nation ever produced observes, That a Boy who forms Parties, and makes himself Popular in a School or a College, would act the same Part with equal ease in a Senate or a Privy Council; and Mr. Osborn speaking like a Man versed in the Ways of the World, affirms, that the well laying and carrying on of a design to rob an Orchard, trains up a Youth insensibly to Caution, Secrecy and Circumspection, and fits him for Matters of greater Importance.

'In short, a private Education seems the most natural Method for the forming of a virtuous Man; a Publick Education for making a Man of Business. The first would furnish out a good Subject for Plato's Republick, the latter a Member for a Community over-run with Artifice and Corruption.

'It must however be confessed, that a Person at the head of a publick School has sometimes so many Boys under his Direction, that it is impossible he should extend a due proportion of his Care to each of them. This is, however, in reality, the Fault of the Age, in which we often see twenty Parents, who tho' each expects his Son should be made a Scholar, are not contented altogether to make it worth while for any Man of a liberal Education to take upon him the Care of their Instruction.

'In our great Schools indeed this Fault has been of late Years rectified, so that we have at present not only Ingenious Men for the chief Masters, but such as have proper Ushers and Assistants under them; I must nevertheless own, that for want of the same Encouragement in the Country, we have many a promising Genius spoiled and abused in those Seminaries.

'I am the more inclined to this Opinion, having my self experienced the Usage of two Rural Masters, each of them very unfit for the Trust they took upon them to discharge. The first imposed much more upon me than my Parts, tho' none of the weakest, could endure; and used me barbarously for not performing Impossibilities. The latter was of quite another Temper; and a Boy, who would run upon his Errands, wash his Coffee-pot, or ring the Bell, might have as little Conversation with any of the Classicks as he thought fit. I have known a Lad at this Place excused his Exercise for assisting the Cook-maid; and remember a Neighbouring Gentleman's Son was among us five Years, most of which time he employed in airing and watering our Master's grey Pad. I scorned to Compound for my Faults, by doing any of these Elegant Offices, and was accordingly the best Scholar, and the worst used of any Boy in the School.

'I shall conclude this Discourse with an Advantage mentioned by Quintilian, as accompanying a Publick way of Education, which I have not yet taken notice of; namely, That we very often contract such Friendships at School, as are a Service to us all the following Part of our Lives.

'I shall give you, under this Head, a Story very well known to several Persons, and which you may depend upon as a real Truth.

'Every one, who is acquainted with Westminster-School, knows that there is a Curtain which used to be drawn a-cross the Room, to separate the upper School from the lower. A Youth happened, by some Mischance, to tear the above-mentioned Curtain: The Severity of the Master[2] was too well known for the Criminal to expect any Pardon for such a Fault; so that the Boy, who was of a meek Temper, was terrified to Death at the Thoughts of his Appearance, when his Friend, who sat next to him, bad him be of good Cheer, for that he would take the Fault on himself. He kept his word accordingly. As soon as they were grown up to be Men the Civil War broke out, in which our two Friends took the opposite Sides, one of them followed the Parliament, the other the Royal Party.

'As their Tempers were different, the Youth, who had torn the Curtain, endeavoured to raise himself on the Civil List, and the other, who had born the Blame of it, on the Military: The first succeeded so well, that he was in a short time made a Judge under the Protector. The other was engaged in the unhappy Enterprize of Penruddock and Groves in the West. I suppose, Sir, I need not acquaint you with the Event of that Undertaking. Every one knows that the Royal Party was routed, and all the Heads of them, among whom was the Curtain Champion, imprisoned at Exeter. It happened to be his Friend's Lot at that time to go to the Western Circuit: The Tryal of the Rebels, as they were then called, was very short, and nothing now remained but to pass Sentence on them; when the Judge hearing the Name of his old Friend, and observing his Face more attentively, which he had not seen for many Years, asked him, if he was not formerly a Westminster-Scholar; by the Answer, he was soon convinced that it was his former generous Friend; and, without saying any thing more at that time, made the best of his Way to London, where employing all his Power and Interest with the Protector, he saved his Friend from the Fate of his unhappy Associates.

'The Gentleman, whose Life was thus preserv'd by the Gratitude of his School-Fellow, was afterwards the Father of a Son, whom he lived to see promoted in the Church, and who still deservedly fills one of the highest Stations in it[3].

Footnote 1:Some Thoughts concerning EducationLife of Cato

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 314

Friday, February 29, 1712

Steele

Tandem desine Matrem

Tempestiva sequi viro.

Hor. Od. 23.

Feb. 7, 1711-12.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a young Man about eighteen Years of Age, and have been in Love with a young Woman of the same Age about this half Year. I go to see her six Days in the Week, but never could have the Happiness of being with her alone. If any of her Friends are at home, she will see me in their Company; but if they be not in the Way, she flies to her Chamber. I can discover no Signs of her Aversion; but either a Fear of falling into the Toils of Matrimony, or a childish Timidity, deprives us of an Interview apart, and drives us upon the Difficulty of languishing out our Lives in fruitless Expectation. Now, Mr. Spectator, if you think us ripe for Œconomy, perswade the dear Creature, that to pine away into Barrenness and Deformity under a Mother's Shade, is not so honourable, nor does she appear so amiable, as she would in full Bloom. [There is a great deal left out before he concludes] Mr. Spectator,

Your humble Servant,

Bob Harmless.

Spectator

Mr. Spectator,

I shall ever own my self your obliged humble Servant for the Advice you gave me concerning my Dancing; which unluckily came too late: For, as I said, I would not leave off Capering till I had your Opinion of the Matter; was at our famous Assembly the Day before I received your Papers, and there was observed by an old Gentleman, who was informed I had a Respect for his Daughter; told me I was an insignificant little Fellow, and said that for the future he would take Care of his Child; so that he did not doubt but to crosse my amorous Inclinations. The Lady is confined to her Chamber, and for my Part, am ready to hang my self with the Thoughts that I have danced my self out of Favour with her Father. I hope you will pardon the Trouble I give; but shall take it for a mighty Favour, if you will give me a little more of your Advice to put me in a write Way to cheat the old Dragon and obtain my Mistress. I am once more,

Sir,

Your obliged humble Servant, John Trott.

York, Feb. 23, 1711-12.

Let me desire you to make what Alterations you please, and insert this as soon as possible. Pardon Mistake by Haste.

Spectator

Feb. 27, 1711-12.

Sir,

Pray be so kind as to let me know what you esteem to be the chief Qualification of a good Poet, especially of one who writes Plays; and you will very much oblige,

Sir, Your very humble Servant, N. B.

Spectator

Mr. Spectator,

You are to know that I am naturally Brave, and love Fighting as well as any Man in England. This gallant Temper of mine makes me extremely delighted with Battles on the Stage. I give you this Trouble to complain to you, that Nicolini refused to gratifie me in that Part of the Opera for which I have most Taste. I observe it's become a Custom, that whenever any Gentlemen are particularly pleased with a Song, at their crying out Encore or Altro Volto, the Performer is so obliging as to sing it over again. I was at the Opera the last time Hydaspes was performed. At that Part of it where the Heroe engages with the Lion, the graceful Manner with which he put that terrible Monster to Death gave me so great a Pleasure, and at the same time so just a Sense of that Gentleman's Intrepidity and Conduct, that I could not forbear desiring a Repetition of it, by crying out Altro Volto in a very audible Voice; and my Friends flatter me, that I pronounced those Words with a tolerable good Accent, considering that was but the third Opera I had ever seen in my Life. Yet, notwithstanding all this, there was so little Regard had to me, that the Lion was carried off, and went to Bed, without being killed any more that Night. Now, Sir, pray consider that I did not understand a Word of what Mr. Nicolini said to this cruel Creature; besides, I have no Ear for Musick; so that during the long Dispute between 'em, the whole Entertainment I had was from my Eye; Why then have not I as much Right to have a graceful Action repeated as another has a pleasing Sound, since he only hears as I only see, and we neither of us know that there is any reasonable thing a doing? Pray, Sir, settle the Business of this Claim in the Audience, and let us know when we may cry Altro Volto, Anglicè, again, again, for the Future. I am an Englishman, and expect some Reason or other to be given me, and perhaps an ordinary one may serve; but I expect your Answer.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Toby Rentfree.

Nov. 29.

Mr. Spectator,

You must give me Leave, amongst the rest of your Female Correspondents, to address you about an Affair which has already given you many a Speculation; and which, I know, I need not tell you have had a very happy Influence over the adult Part of our Sex: But as many of us are either too old to learn, or too obstinate in the Pursuit of the Vanities which have been bred up with us from our Infancy, and all of us quitting the Stage whilst you are prompting us to act our Part well; you ought, methinks, rather to turn your Instructions for the Benefit of that Part of our Sex, who are yet in their native Innocence, and ignorant of the Vices and that Variety of Unhappinesses that reign amongst us.

I must tell you, Mr. Spectator, that it is as much a Part of your Office to oversee the Education of the female Part of the Nation, as well as of the Male; and to convince the World you are not partial, pray proceed to detect the Male Administration of Governesses as successfully as you have exposed that of Pedagogues; and rescue our Sex from the Prejudice and Tyranny of Education as well as that of your own, who without your seasonable Interposition are like to improve upon the Vices that are now in vogue.

I who know the Dignity of your Post, as Spectator, and the Authority a skilful Eye ought to bear in the Female World, could not forbear consulting you, and beg your Advice in so critical a Point, as is that of the Education of young Gentlewomen. Having already provided myself with a very convenient House in a good Air, I'm not without Hope but that you will promote this generous Design. I must farther tell you, Sir, that all who shall be committed to my Conduct, beside the usual Accomplishments of the Needle, Dancing, and the French Tongue, shall not fail to be your constant Readers. It is therefore my humble Petition, that you will entertain the Town on this important Subject, and so far oblige a Stranger, as to raise a Curiosity and Enquiry in my Behalf, by publishing the following Advertisement.

I am, Sir,

Your constant Admirer,

M. W.

Contents

Advertisement

The Boarding-School for young Gentlewomen, which was formerly kept on Mile-End-Green, being laid down, there is now one set up almost opposite to it at the two Golden-Balls, and much more convenient in every Respect; where, beside the common Instructions given to young Gentlewomen, they will be taught the whole Art of Paistrey and Preserving, with whatever may render them accomplished. Those who please to make Tryal of the Vigilance and Ability of the Persons concerned may enquire at the two Golden-Balls on Mile-End-Green near Stepney, where they will receive further Satisfaction.

This is to give Notice, that the Spectator has taken upon him to be Visitant of all Boarding-Schools, where young Women are educated; and designs to proceed in the said Office after the same Manner that the Visitants of Colleges do in the two famous Universities of this Land.

All Lovers who write to the Spectator, are desired to forbear one Expression which is in most of the Letters to him, either out of Laziness, or want of Invention, and is true of not above two thousand Women in the whole World; viz.

No. 315

Saturday, March 1, 1712

Addison

Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus

Inciderit.

Hor.

Horace[1]MiltonChaos

Milton's

VirgilJupiter

Now had th' Almighty Father from above,

(From the pure Empyrean where he sits

High thron'd above all height) bent down his Eye,

His own Works and their Works at once to view.

About him all the Sanctities of Heav'n

Stood thick as Stars, and from his Sight received

Beatitude past utt'rance: On his right

The radiant Image of his Glory sat,

His only Son. On earth he first beheld

Our two first Parents, yet the only two

Of Mankind, in the happy garden plac'd,

Reaping immortal fruits of Joy and Love;

Uninterrupted Joy, unrival'd Love

In blissful Solitude. He then surveyed

Hell and the Gulph between, and Satan there

Coasting the Wall of Heaven on this side Night,

In the dun air sublime; and ready now

To stoop with wearied wings, and willing feel

On the bare outside of this world, that seem'd

Firm land imbosom'd without firmament;

Uncertain which, in Ocean or in Air.

Him God beholding from his prospect high,

Wherein past, present, future he beholds,

Thus to his only Son foreseeing spake.

Satan's

Thus while God spake, ambrosial fragrance fill'd

All Heav'n, and in the blessed Spirits elect

Sense of new Joy ineffable diffus'd.

Beyond compare the Son of God was seen

Most glorious, in him all his Father shone

Substantially expressed, and in his face

Divine Compassion visibly appeared,

Love without end, and without measure Grace.

No sooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all

The multitudes of Angels with a shout

(Loud as from numbers without number, sweet

As from blest Voices) utt'ring Joy, Heav'n rung

With Jubilee, and loud Hosanna's fill'd

Th' eternal regions; &c. &c.--

Satan'sLimbo of Vanity,

Aristotle[2]FrenchAristotle's

Ulysses'sÆneas'sHomerVirgilÆneidÆneasPolydorusMilton'sLimbo of VanitySinDeathChaosCircePolyphemeSirensOdysseyIliadAristotle

Satan

I saw when at his Word the formless Mass,

This World's material Mould, came to a Heap:

Confusion heard his Voice, and wild Uproar

Stood rul'd, stood vast Infinitude confin'd.

Till at his second Bidding Darkness fled,

Light shon, &c.

Look downward on the Globe whose hither Side

With Light from hence, tho but reflected, shines;

That place is Earth, the Seat of Man, that Light

His Day, &c.

Paradise LostMilton

Footnote 1:De Arte Poetica

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Footnote 2:Poetics

'The surprising is necessary in tragedy; but the Epic Poem goes farther, and admits even the improbable and incredible, from which the highest degree of the surprising results, because there the action is not seen.'

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Contents

No. 316

Monday, March 3, 1712

John Hughes

Libertas; quæ sera tamen respexit Inertem.

Virg. Ecl. I.

'Mr. Spectator,

'If you ever read a Letter which is sent with the more Pleasure for the Reality of its Complaints, this may have Reason to hope for a favourable Acceptance; and if Time be the most irretrievable Loss, the Regrets which follow will be thought, I hope, the most justifiable. The regaining of my Liberty from a long State of Indolence and Inactivity, and the Desire of resisting the further Encroachments of Idleness, make me apply to you; and the Uneasiness with which I I recollect the past Years, and the Apprehensions with which I expect the Future, soon determined me to it.

'Idleness is so general a Distemper that I cannot but imagine a Speculation on this Subject will be of universal Use. There is hardly any one Person without some Allay of it; and thousands besides my self spend more Time in an idle Uncertainty which to begin first of two Affairs, that would have been sufficient to have ended them both. The Occasion of this seems to be the Want of some necessary Employment, to put the Spirits in Motion, and awaken them out of their Lethargy. If I had less Leisure, I should have more; for I should then find my Time distinguished into Portions, some for Business, and others for the indulging of Pleasures: But now one Face of Indolence overspreads the whole, and I have no Land-mark to direct my self by. Were one's Time a little straitned by Business, like Water inclosed in its Banks, it would have some determined Course; but unless it be put into some Channel it has no Current, but becomes a Deluge without either Use or Motion.

'When Scanderbeg Prince of Epirus was dead, the Turks, who had but too often felt the Force of his Arm in the Battels he had won from them, imagined that by wearing a piece of his Bones near their Heart, they should be animated with a Vigour and Force like to that which inspired him when living. As I am like to be but of little use whilst I live, I am resolved to do what Good I can after my Decease; and have accordingly ordered my Bones to be disposed of in this Manner for the Good of my Countrymen, who are troubled with too exorbitant a Degree of Fire. All Fox-hunters upon wearing me, would in a short Time be brought to endure their Beds in a Morning, and perhaps even quit them with Regret at Ten: Instead of hurrying away to teaze a poor Animal, and run away from their own Thoughts, a Chair or a Chariot would be thought the most desirable Means of performing a Remove from one Place to another. I should be a Cure for the unnatural Desire of John Trott for Dancing, and a Specifick to lessen the Inclination Mrs. Fidget has to Motion, and cause her always to give her Approbation to the present Place she is in. In fine, no Egyptian Mummy was ever half so useful in Physick, as I should be to these feaverish Constitutions, to repress the violent Sallies of Youth, and give each Action its proper Weight and Repose.

'I can stifle any violent Inclination, and oppose a Torrent of Anger, or the Sollicitations of Revenge, with Success. But Indolence is a Stream which flows slowly on, but yet undermines the Foundation of every Virtue. A Vice of a more lively Nature were a more desirable Tyrant than this Rust of the Mind, which gives a Tincture of its Nature to every Action of ones Life. It were as little Hazard to be lost in a Storm, as to lye thus perpetually becalmed: And it is to no Purpose to have within one the Seeds of a thousand good Qualities, if we want the Vigour and Resolution necessary for the exerting them. Death brings all Persons back to an Equality; and this Image of it, this Slumber of the Mind, leaves no Difference between the greatest Genius and the meanest Understanding: A Faculty of doing things remarkably praise-worthy thus concealed, is of no more use to the Owner, than a Heap of Gold to the Man who dares not use it.

'To-Morrow is still the fatal Time when all is to be rectified: To-Morrow comes, it goes, and still I please my self with the Shadow, whilst I lose the Reality; unmindful that the present Time alone is ours, the future is yet unborn, and the past is dead, and can only live (as Parents in their Children) in the Actions it has produced.

'The Time we live ought not to be computed by the Numbers of Years, but by the Use has been made of it; thus 'tis not the Extent of Ground, but the yearly Rent which gives the Value to the Estate. Wretched and thoughtless Creatures, in the only Place where Covetousness were a Virtue we turn Prodigals! Nothing lies upon our Hands with such Uneasiness, nor has there been so many Devices for any one Thing, as to make it slide away imperceptibly and to no purpose. A Shilling shall be hoarded up with Care, whilst that which is above the Price of an Estate, is flung away with Disregard and Contempt. There is nothing now-a-days so much avoided, as a sollicitous Improvement of every part of Time; 'tis a Report must be shunned as one tenders the Name of a Wit and a fine Genius, and as one fears the Dreadful Character of a laborious Plodder: But notwithstanding this, the greatest Wits any Age has produced thought far otherwise; for who can think either Socrates or Demosthenes lost any Reputation, by their continual Pains both in overcoming the Defects and improving the Gifts of Nature. All are acquainted with the Labour and Assiduity with which Tully acquired his Eloquence.

'Seneca in his Letters to Lucelius[1] assures him, there was not a Day in which he did not either write something, or read and epitomize some good Author; and I remember Pliny in one of his Letters, where he gives an Account of the various Methods he used to fill up every Vacancy of Time, after several Imployments which he enumerates; sometimes, says he, I hunt; but even then I carry with me a Pocket-Book, that whilst my Servants are busied in disposing of the Nets and other Matters I may be employed in something that may be useful to me in my Studies; and that if I miss of my Game, I may at the least bring home some of my own Thoughts with me, and not have the Mortification of having caught nothing all Day[2].

'Thus, Sir, you see how many Examples I recall to Mind, and what Arguments I use with my self, to regain my Liberty: But as I am afraid 'tis no Ordinary Perswasion that will be of Service, I shall expect your Thoughts on this Subject, with the greatest Impatience, especially since the Good will not be confined to me alone, but will be of Universal Use. For there is no Hopes of Amendment where Men are pleased with their Ruin, and whilst they think Laziness is a desirable Character: Whether it be that they like the State it self, or that they think it gives them a new Lustre when they do exert themselves, seemingly to be able to do that without Labour and Application, which others attain to but with the greatest Diligence.

I am, Sir,

Your most obliged humble Servant,

Samuel Slack.

Clytander to Cleone.

'Madam,

Permission to love you is all I desire, to conquer all the Difficulties those about you place in my Way, to surmount and acquire all those Qualifications you expect in him who pretends to the Honour of being,

'Madam,

Your most humble Servant,

'Clytander.

Footnote 1:Ep

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Footnote 2:Ep

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Contents

No. 317

Tuesday, March 4, 1712

Addison

—fruges consumere nati.

Hor.

Let me then, says he, go off the Stage with your ApplauseExit

n

Andrew FreeportAndrewSince[1]

Monday

Eight-a-Clock

I put on my Cloaths and walked into the Parlour.

Nine a-Clock

ditto. Tied my Knee-strings, and washed my Hands.

Hours Ten, Eleven and Twelve.

Smoaked three Pipes of Virginia. Read the Supplement and Daily Courant. Things go ill in the North. Mr. Nisby's Opinion thereupon.

One a-Clock in the Afternoon.

Chid Ralph for mislaying my Tobacco-Box.

Two a-Clock.

Sate down to Dinner. Mem. Too many Plumbs, and no Sewet.

From Three to Four.

Took my Afternoon's Nap.

From Four to Six.

Walked into the Fields. Wind, S. S. E.

From Six to Ten.

At the Club. Mr. Nisby's Opinion about the Peace.

Ten a-Clock.

Went to Bed, slept sound.

Tuesday, Being Holiday,

Eight a-Clock.

Rose as usual.

Nine a-Clock.

Washed Hands and Face, shaved, put on my double-soaled Shoes.

Ten, Eleven, Twelve.

Took a Walk to Islington.

One.

Took a Pot of Mother Cob's Mild.

Between Two and Three.

Return'd, dined on a Knuckle of Veal and Bacon. Mem. Sprouts wanting.

Three.

Nap as usual.

From Four to Six.

Coffee-house. Read the News. A Dish of Twist. Grand Vizier strangled.

From Six to Ten.

At the Club. Mr. Nisby's Account of the Great Turk.

Ten.

Dream of the Grand Vizier. Broken Sleep.

Wednesday

Eight a-Clock.

Tongue of my Shooe-Buckle broke. Hands but not Face.

Nine.

Paid off the Butcher's Bill. Mem. To be allowed for the last Leg of Mutton.

Ten, Eleven.

At the Coffee-house. More Work in the North. Stranger in a black Wigg asked me how Stocks went.

From Twelve to One.

Walked in the Fields. Wind to the South.

From One to Two.

Smoaked a Pipe and an half.

Two.

Dined as usual. Stomach good.

Three.

Nap broke by the falling of a Pewter Dish. Mem. Cook-maid in Love, and grown careless.

From Four to Six.

At the Coffee-house. Advice from Smyrna, that the Grand Vizier was first of all strangled, and afterwards beheaded.

Six a-Clock in the Evening.

Was half an Hour in the Club before any Body else came. Mr. Nisby of Opinion that the Grand Vizier was not strangled the Sixth Instant.

Ten at Night.

Went to Bed. Slept without waking till Nine next Morning.

Thursday

Nine a-Clock.

Staid within till Two a-Clock for Sir Timothy; who did not bring me my Annuity according to his Promise.

Two in the Afternoon.

Sate down to Dinner. Loss of Appetite. Small Beer sour. Beef over-corned.

Three.

Gave Ralph a box on the Ear. Turned off my Cookmaid. Sent a Message to Sir Timothy. Mem. I did not go to the Club to-night. Went to Bed at Nine a-Clock.

Friday

Passed the Morning in Meditation upon Sir Timothy, who was with me a Quarter before Twelve.

Twelve a-Clock.

Bought a new Head to my Cane, and a Tongue to my Buckle. Drank a Glass of Purl to recover Appetite.

Two and Three.

Dined, and Slept well.

From Four to Six.

Went to the Coffee-house. Met Mr. Nisby there. Smoaked several Pipes. Mr. Nisby of opinion that laced Coffee is bad for the Head.

Six a-Clock.

At the Club as Steward. Sate late.

Twelve a-Clock.

Went to Bed, dreamt that I drank Small Beer with the Grand Vizier.

Saturday

Waked at Eleven, walked in the Fields. Wind N. E.

Twelve.

Caught in a Shower.

One in the Afternoon.

Returned home, and dryed my self.

Two.

Mr. Nisby dined with me. First Course Marrow-bones, Second Ox-Cheek, with a Bottle of Brooks and Hellier.

Three a-Clock.

Overslept my self.

Six.

Went to the Club. Like to have faln into a Gutter. Grand Vizier certainly Dead. etc.

Footnote 1:As

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Contents

No. 318

Wednesday, March 5, 1712

Steele

—non omnia possumus omnes.

Virg.[1]

Mr. Spectator,

A certain Vice which you have lately attacked, has not yet been considered by you as growing so deep in the Heart of Man, that the Affectation outlives the Practice of it. You must have observed that Men who have been bred in Arms preserve to the most extreme and feeble old Age a certain Daring in their Aspect: In like manner, they who have pass'd their Time in Gallantry and Adventure, keep up, as well as they can, the Appearance of it, and carry a petulant Inclination to their last Moments. Let this serve for a Preface to a Relation I am going to give you of an old Beau in Town, that has not only been amorous, and a Follower of Women in general, but also, in Spite of the Admonition of grey Hairs, been from his sixty-third Year to his present seventieth, in an actual Pursuit of a young Lady, the Wife of his Friend, and a Man of Merit. The gay old Escalus has Wit, good Health, and is perfectly well bred; but from the Fashion and Manners of the Court when he was in his Bloom, has such a natural Tendency to amorous Adventure, that he thought it would be an endless Reproach to him to make no use of a Familiarity he was allowed at a Gentleman's House, whose good Humour and Confidence exposed his Wife to the Addresses of any who should take it in their Head to do him the good Office. It is not impossible that Escalus might also resent that the Husband was particularly negligent of him; and tho' he gave many Intimations of a Passion towards the Wife, the Husband either did not see them, or put him to the Contempt of over-looking them. In the mean time Isabella, for so we shall call our Heroine, saw his Passion, and rejoiced in it as a Foundation for much Diversion, and an Opportunity of indulging her self in the dear Delight of being admired, addressed to, and flattered, with no ill Consequence to her Reputation. This Lady is of a free and disengaged Behaviour, ever in good Humour, such as is the Image of Innocence with those who are innocent, and an Encouragement to Vice with those who are abandoned. From this Kind of Carriage, and an apparent Approbation of his Gallantry, Escalus had frequent Opportunities of laying amorous Epistles in her Way, of fixing his Eyes attentively upon her Action, of performing a thousand little Offices which are neglected by the Unconcerned, but are so many Approaches towards Happiness with the Enamoured. It was now, as is above hinted, almost the End of the seventh Year of his Passion, when Escalus from general Terms, and the ambiguous Respect which criminal Lovers retain in their Addresses, began to bewail that his Passion grew too violent for him to answer any longer for his Behaviour towards her; and that he hoped she would have Consideration for his long and patient Respect, to excuse the Motions of a Heart now no longer under the Direction of the unhappy Owner of it. Such for some Months had been the Language of Escalus both in his Talk and his Letters to Isabella; who returned all the Profusion of kind Things which had been the Collection of fifty Years with I must not hear you; you will make me forget that y'ou are a Gentleman, I would not willingly lose you as a Friend; and the like Expressions, which the Skilful interpret to their own Advantage, as well knowing that a feeble Denial is a modest Assent. I should have told you, that Isabella, during the whole Progress of this Amour, communicated it to her Husband; and that an Account of Escalus's Love was their usual Entertainment after half a Day's Absence: Isabella therefore, upon her Lover's late more open Assaults, with a Smile told her Husband she could hold out no longer, but that his Fate was now come to a Crisis. After she had explained her self a little farther, with her Husband's Approbation she proceeded in the following Manner. The next Time that Escalus was alone with her, and repeated his Importunity, the crafty Isabella looked on her Fan with an Air of great Attention, as considering of what Importance such a Secret was to her; and upon the Repetition of a warm Expression, she looked at him with an Eye of Fondness, and told him he was past that Time of Life which could make her fear he would boast of a Lady's Favour; then turned away her Head with a very well-acted Confusion, which favoured the Escape of the aged Escalus. This Adventure was Matter of great Pleasantry to Isabella and her Spouse; and they had enjoyed it two Days before Escalus could recollect himself enough to form the following Letter.

Madam,

"What happened the other Day, gives me a lively Image of the Inconsistency of human Passions and Inclinations. We pursue what we are denied, and place our Affections on what is absent, tho' we neglected it when present. As long as you refused my Love, your Refusal did so strongly excite my Passion, that I had not once the Leisure to think of recalling my Reason to aid me against the Design upon your Virtue. But when that Virtue began to comply in my Favour, my Reason made an Effort over my Love, and let me see the Baseness of my Behaviour in attempting a Woman of Honour. I own to you, it was not without the most violent Struggle that I gained this Victory over my self; nay, I will confess my Shame, and acknowledge I could not have prevailed but by Flight. However, Madam, I beg that you will believe a Moment's Weakness has not destroyed the Esteem I had for you, which was confirmed by so many Years of Obstinate Virtue. You have Reason to rejoice that this did not happen within the Observation of one of the young Fellows, who would have exposed your Weakness, and gloried in his own Brutish Inclinations.

I am, Madam,

Your most devoted Humble Servant."

Isabella, with the Help of her Husband, returned the following Answer.

Sir,

"I cannot but account my self a very happy Woman, in having a Man for a Lover that can write so well, and give so good a Turn to a Disappointment. Another Excellence you have above all other Pretenders I ever heard of; on Occasions where the most reasonable Men lose all their Reason, you have yours most powerful. We are each of us to thank our Genius, that the Passion of one abated in Proportion as that of the other grew violent. Does it not yet come into your Head, to imagine that I knew my Compliance was the greatest Cruelty I could be guilty of towards you? In Return for your long and faithful Passion, I must let you know that you are old enough to become a little more Gravity; but if you will leave me and coquet it any where else, may your Mistress yield.

Isabella."'

Footnote 1:

'Rideat et pulset Lasciva decentius Ætas.'

Hor.

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Contents

No. 319

Thursday, March 6, 1712

Budgell

Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo?

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I always make one among a Company of young Females, who peruse your Speculations every Morning. I am at present Commissioned, by our whole Assembly, to let you know, that we fear you are a little enclined to be partial towards your own Sex. We must however acknowledge, with all due Gratitude, that in some Cases you have given us our Revenge on the Men, and done us Justice. We could not easily have forgiven you several Strokes in the Dissection of the Coquets Heart, if you had not, much about the same time, made a Sacrifice to us of a Beau's Scull.

'You may, however, Sir, please to remember, that long since you attacked our Hoods and Commodes in such manner, as, to use your own Expression, made very many of us ashamed to shew our Heads. We must, therefore, beg leave to represent to you, that we are in Hopes, if you would please to make a due Enquiry, the Men in all Ages would be found to have been little less whimsical in adorning that Part, than our selves. The different Forms of their Wiggs, together with the various Cocks of their Hats, all flatter us in this Opinion.

'I had an humble Servant last Summer, who the first time he declared himself, was in a Full-Bottom'd Wigg; but the Day after, to my no small Surprize, he accosted me in a thin Natural one. I received him, at this our second Interview, as a perfect Stranger, but was extreamly confounded, when his Speech discovered who he was. I resolved, therefore, to fix his Face in my Memory for the future; but as I was walking in the Park the same Evening, he appeared to me in one of those Wiggs that I think you call a Night-cap, which had altered him more effectually than before. He afterwards played a Couple of Black Riding Wiggs upon me, with the same Success; and, in short, assumed a new Face almost every Day in the first Month of his Courtship.

'I observed afterwards, that the Variety of Cocks into which he moulded his Hat, had not a little contributed to his Impositions upon me.

'Yet, as if all these ways were not sufficient to distinguish their Heads, you must, doubtless, Sir, have observed, that great Numbers of young Fellows have, for several Months last past, taken upon them to wear Feathers.

'We hope, therefore, that these may, with as much Justice, be called Indian Princes, as you have styled a Woman in a coloured Hood an Indian Queen; and that you will, in due time, take these airy Gentlemen into Consideration.

'We the more earnestly beg that you would put a Stop to this Practice, since it has already lost us one of the most agreeable Members of our Society, who after having refused several good Estates, and two Titles, was lured from us last Week by a mixed Feather.

'I am ordered to present you the Respects of our whole Company, and am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant,

Dorinda.

Note, The Person wearing the Feather, tho' our Friend took him for an Officer in the Guards, has proved to be an arrant Linnen-Draper[1].'

Sir,

'I presume I need not inform you, that among Men of Dress it is a common Phrase to say Mr. Such an one has struck a bold Stroke; by which we understand, that he is the first Man who has had Courage enough to lead up a Fashion. Accordingly, when our Taylors take Measure of us, they always demand whether we will have a plain Suit, or strike a bold Stroke. 1 think I may without Vanity say, that I have struck some of the boldest and most successful Strokes of any Man in Great Britain. I was the first that struck the Long Pocket about two Years since: I was likewise the Author of the Frosted Button, which when I saw the Town came readily into, being resolved to strike while the Iron was hot, I produced much about the same time the Scallop Flap, the knotted Cravat, and made a fair Push for the Silver-clocked Stocking.

'A few Months after I brought up the modish Jacket, or the Coat with close Sleeves. I struck this at first in a plain Doily; but that failing, I struck it a second time in blue Camlet; and repeated the Stroke in several kinds of Cloth, till at last it took effect. There are two or three young Fellows at the other End of the Town, who have always their Eye upon me, and answer me Stroke for Stroke. I was once so unwary as to mention my Fancy in relation to the new-fashioned Surtout before one of these Gentlemen, who was disingenuous enough to steal my Thought, and by that means prevented my intended Stroke.

'I have a Design this Spring to make very considerable Innovations in the Wastcoat, and have already begun with a Coup d'essai upon the Sleeves, which has succeeded very well.

'I must further inform you, if you will promise to encourage or at least to connive at me, that it is my Design to strike such a Stroke the Beginning of the next Month, as shall surprise the whole Town.

'I do not think it prudent to acquaint you with all the Particulars of my intended Dress; but will only tell you, as a Sample of it, that I shall very speedily appear at White's in a Cherry-coloured Hat. I took this Hint from the Ladies Hoods, which I look upon as the boldest Stroke that Sex has struck for these hundred Years last past.

I am, Sir,

Your most Obedient, most Humble Servant,

Will. Sprightly.'

I have not Time at present to make any Reflections on this Letter, but must not however omit that having shewn it to Will. Honeycomb, he desires to be acquainted with the Gentleman who writ it.

Footnote 1: only an Ensign in the Train Bands.

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Contents

No. 320

Friday, March 7, 1712

Steele

'—non pronuba Juno,

Non Hymenæus adest, non illi Gratia lecto,

Eumenides stravere torum.'

Ovid[1].

Mr. Spectator,

'You have given many Hints in your Papers to the Disadvantage of Persons of your own Sex, who lay Plots upon Women. Among other hard Words you have published the Term Male-Coquets, and been very severe upon such as give themselves the Liberty of a little Dalliance of Heart, and playing fast and loose, between Love and Indifference, till perhaps an easie young Girl is reduced to Sighs, Dreams and Tears; and languishes away her Life for a careless Coxcomb, who looks astonished, and wonders at such an Effect from what in him was all but common Civility. Thus you have treated the Men who are irresolute in Marriage; but if you design to be impartial, pray be so honest as to print the Information I now give you, of a certain Set of Women who never Coquet for the Matter, but with an high Hand marry whom they please to whom they please. As for my Part, I should not have concerned my self with them, but that I understand I am pitched upon by them, to be married, against my Will, to one I never saw in my Life. It has been my Misfortune, Sir, very innocently, to rejoice in a plentiful Fortune, of which I am Master, to bespeak a fine Chariot, to give Direction for two or three handsome Snuff-Boxes, and as many Suits of fine Cloaths; but before any of these were ready, I heard Reports of my being to be married to two or three different young Women. Upon my taking Notice of it to a young Gentleman who is often in my Company he told me smiling, I was in the Inquisition. You may believe I was not a little startled at what he meant, and more so when he asked me if I had bespoke any thing of late that was fine. I told him several; upon which he produced a Description of my Person from the Tradesmen whom I had employed, and told me that they had certainly informed against me. Mr. Spectator, Whatever the World may think of me, I am more Coxcomb than Fool, and I grew very inquisitive upon this Head, not a little pleased with the Novelty. My Friend told me there were a certain Set of Women of Fashion whereof the Number of Six made a Committee, who sat thrice a Week, under the Title of the Inquisition on Maids and Batchelors. It seems, whenever there comes such an unthinking gay Thing as my self to Town, he must want all Manner of Necessaries, or be put into the Inquisition by the first Tradesman he employs. They have constant Intelligence with Cane-Shops, Perfumers, Toymen, Coach-makers, and China-houses. From these several Places, these Undertakers for Marriages have as constant and regular Correspondence, as the Funeral-men have with Vintners and Apothecaries. All Batchelors are under their immediate Inspection, and my Friend produced to me a Report given into their Board, wherein an old Unkle of mine, who came to Town with me, and my self, were inserted, and we stood thus; the Unkle smoaky, rotten, poor; the Nephew raw, but no Fool, sound at present, very rich. My Information did not end here, but my Friend's Advices are so good, that he could shew me a Copy of the Letter sent to the young Lady who is to have me which I enclose to you.

Madam,

'This is to let you know, that you are to be Married to a Beau that comes out on Thursday Six in the Evening. Be at the Park. You cannot but know a Virgin Fop; they have a Mind to look saucy, but are out of Countenance. The Board has denied him to several good Families. I wish you Joy.

Corinna.'

Temple, March 3, 1711.

Sir,

Your Speculation this Day on the Subject of Idleness, has employed me, ever since I read it, in sorrowful Reflections on my having loitered away the Term (or rather the Vacation) of ten Years in this Place, and unhappily suffered a good Chamber and Study to lie idle as long. My Books (except those I have taken to sleep upon) have been totally neglected, and my Lord Coke and other venerable Authors were never so slighted in their Lives. I spent most of the Day at a Neighbouring Coffee-House, where we have what I may call a lazy Club. We generally come in Night-Gowns, with our Stockings about our Heels, and sometimes but one on. Our Salutation at Entrance is a Yawn and a Stretch, and then without more Ceremony we take our Place at the Lolling Table; where our Discourse is, what I fear you would not read out, therefore shall not insert. But I assure you, Sir, I heartily lament this Loss of Time, and am now resolved (if possible, with double Diligence) to retrieve it, being effectually awakened by the Arguments of Mr. Slack out of the Senseless Stupidity that has so long possessed me. And to demonstrate that Penitence accompanies my Confession, and Constancy my Resolutions, I have locked my Door for a Year, and desire you would let my Companions know I am not within. I am with great Respect,

Sir, Your most obedient Servant,

N. B.

Footnote 1:

Hæ sunt qui tenui sudant in Cyclade.

Hor.

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Contents

No. 321[1]

Saturday, March 8, 1712

Addison

Nec satis est pulchra esse poemata, dulcia sunto.

Hor.

HomerVirgilMiltonParadise LostOdysseyIliadÆneidMilton

Adam'sAdamEve

theAristotle's[2]Milton's

AdamEve

Satan

O thou that with surpassing Glory crown'd,

Look'st from thy sole Dominion like the God

Of this new World; at whose Sight all the Stars

Hide their diminish'd Heads; to thee I call,

But with no friendly Voice, and add thy name,

O Sun! to tell thee how I hate thy beams,

That bring to my Remembrance from what State

I fell, how glorious once above thy Sphere.

arethis[3]

Satan'sIliad

HisEveform[4]Hisis[5]

Know ye not then, said Satan, fll'd with Scorn,

Know ye not Me? ye knew me once no mate

For you, there sitting where you durst not soar;

Not to know Me argues your selves unknown,

The lowest of your throng;—

Zephon'sSatanSatanGabrielGabriel's

O Friends, I hear the tread of nimble Feet

Hasting this Way, and now by glimps discern

Ithuriel and Zephon through the shade;

And with them comes a third of Regal Port,

But faded splendor wan; who by his gait

And fierce demeanor seems the Prince of Hell;

Not likely to part hence without contest:

Stand firm, for in his look defiance lours.

GabrielSatanSatanHomer'sLonginusVirgil

While thus he spake, th' Angelic Squadron bright

Turn'd fiery red, sharpning in mooned Horns

Their Phalanx, and began to hem him round

With ported Spears, &c.

—On the other side Satan alarm'd,

Collecting all his might dilated stood

Like Teneriff, or Atlas, unremov'd.

His Stature reached the Sky, and on his Crest

Sat horror plum'd;—

mustnotice[6]MiltonGreekLatin

GabrielSatanHomer'sHectorAchillesJupiterIliad

VirgilJupiterTurnusÆneasMiltonIliadÆneidTo this we may further add, that Milton is the more justified in this Passage, as we find the same noble Allegory in Holy Writ, where a wicked Prince, some few Hours before he was assaulted and slain, is said to have been weighed in the Scales, and to have been found wanting.

Uriel'sMilton

So saying, on he led his radiant files,

Dazling the Moon;—

AdamEveSatan

Two of far nobler Shape erect and tall,

God-like erect! with native honour clad

In naked Majesty, seem'd lords of all;

And worthy seem'd: for in their looks divine

The image of their glorious Maker shon,

Truth, Wisdom, Sanctitude severe and pure;

Severe, but in true filial freedom plac'd:

For contemplation he and valour form'd,

For softness she and sweet attractive grace;

He for God only, she for God in him.

His fair large front, and eye sublime, declar'd

Absolute rule; and Hyacinthin Locks

Round from his parted forelock manly hung

Clustring, but not beneath his Shoulders broad.

She, as a Veil, down to her slender waste

Her unadorned golden tresses wore

Dis-shevel'd, but in wanton ringlets wav'd.

So pass'd they naked on, nor shun'd the Sight

Of God or Angel, for they thought no ill:

So hand in hand they passed, the loveliest pair

That ever since in love's embraces met.

—When Adam first of Men—

Sole partner and sole part of all these joys,

Dearer thy self than all;—

But let us ever praise him, and extol

His bounty, following our delightful Task,

To prune these growing plants, and tend these flow'rs;

Which were it toilsome, yet with thee were sweet.

To whom thus Eve reply'd. O thou for whom,

And from whom I was form'd, flesh of thy flesh,

And without whom am to no end, my Guide

And Head, what thou hast said is just and right.

For we to him indeed all praises owe.

And daily thanks; I chiefly, who enjoy

So far the happier Lot, enjoying thee

Preeminent by so much odds, while thou

Like consort to thy self canst no where find, &c.

Eve'sAdamMilton

That Day I oft remember, when from Sleep, &c.

Poetthese[7]

So spake our general Mother, and with eyes

Of Conjugal attraction unreproved,

And meek surrender, half embracing lean'd

On our first father; half her swelling breast

Naked met his under the flowing Gold

Of her loose tresses hid: he in delight

Both of her beauty and submissive charms

Smil'd with superior Love.—

Eve

Thus at their shady Lodge arriv'd, both stood,

Both turn'd, and under open Sky, ador'd

The God that made both Sky, Air, Earth and Heaven,

Which they beheld, the Moon's resplendent Globe,

And Starry Pole: Thou also mad'st the Night,

Maker Omnipotent, and thou the Day, &c.

HomerLonginus

Footnote 1:Spectator

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Footnote 2:Poetics

'The diction should be most laboured in the idle parts of the poem; those in which neither manners nor sentiments prevail; for the manners and the sentiments are only obscured by too splendid a diction.'

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Footnote 3:this great

return

Footnote 4:shape

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Footnote 5:are

return

Footnote 6:notice by the way

return

Footnote 7:those

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Contents

Dedication of the Fifth Volume of The Spectator

To The Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Wharton[1].

My Lord

Spectator

Lord

Spectator

Footnote 1:Spectator

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 322

Monday, March 10, 1712

Steele

Ad humum mærore gravi deducit et angit.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'Some Years ago it happened that I lived in the same House with a young Gentleman of Merit; with whose good Qualities I was so much taken, as to make it my Endeavour to shew as many as I was able in my self. Familiar Converse improved general Civilities into an unfeigned Passion on both Sides. He watched an Opportunity to declare himself to me; and I, who could not expect a Man of so great an Estate as his, received his Addresses in such Terms, as gave him no reason to believe I was displeased by them, tho' I did nothing to make him think me more easy than was decent. His Father was a very hard worldly Man, and proud; so that there was no reason to believe he would easily be brought to think there was any thing in any Woman's Person or Character that could ballance the Disadvantage of an unequal Fortune. In the mean time the Son continued his Application to me, and omitted no Occasion of demonstrating the most disinterested Passion imaginable to me; and in plain direct Terms offer'd to marry me privately, and keep it so till he should be so happy as to gain his Father's Approbation, or become possessed of his Estate. I passionately loved him, and you will believe I did not deny such a one what was my Interest also to grant. However I was not so young, as not to take the Precaution of carrying with me a faithful Servant, who had been also my Mother's Maid, to be present at the Ceremony. When that was over I demanded a Certificate, signed by the Minister, my Husband, and the Servant I just now spoke of. After our Nuptials, we conversed together very familiarly in the same House; but the Restraints we were generally under, and the Interviews we had, being stolen and interrupted, made our Behaviour to each other have rather the impatient Fondness which is visible in Lovers, than the regular and gratified Affection which is to be observed in Man and Wife. This Observation made the Father very anxious for his Son, and press him to a Match he had in his Eye for him. To relieve my Husband from this Importunity, and conceal the Secret of our Marriage, which I had reason to know would not be long in my power in Town, it was resolved that I should retire into a remote Place in the Country, and converse under feigned Names by Letter. We long continued this Way of Commerce; and I with my Needle, a few Books, and reading over and over my Husband's Letters, passed my Time in a resigned Expectation of better Days. Be pleased to take notice, that within four Months after I left my Husband I was delivered of a Daughter, who died within few Hours after her Birth. This Accident, and the retired Manner of Life I led, gave criminal Hopes to a neighbouring Brute of a Country Gentle-man, whose Folly was the Source of all my Affliction. This Rustick is one of those rich Clowns, who supply the Want of all manner of Breeding by the Neglect of it, and with noisy Mirth, half Understanding, and ample Fortune, force themselves upon Persons and Things, without any Sense of Time and Place. The poor ignorant People where I lay conceal'd, and now passed for a Widow, wondered I could be so shy and strange, as they called it, to the Squire; and were bribed by him to admit him whenever he thought fit. I happened to be sitting in a little Parlour which belonged to my own Part of the House, and musing over one of the fondest of my Husband's Letters, in which I always kept the Certificate of my Marriage, when this rude Fellow came in, and with the nauseous Familiarity of such unbred Brutes, snatched the Papers out of my Hand. I was immediately under so great a Concern, that I threw my self at his Feet, and begged of him to return them. He with the same odious Pretence to Freedom and Gaiety, swore he would read them. I grew more importunate, he more curious, till at last, with an Indignation arising from a Passion I then first discovered in him, he threw the Papers into the Fire, swearing that since he was not to read them, the Man who writ them should never be so happy as to have me read them over again. It is insignificant to tell you my Tears and Reproaches made the boisterous Calf leave the Room ashamed and out of Countenance, when I had leisure to ruminate on this Accident with more than ordinary Sorrow: However, such was then my Confidence in my Husband, that I writ to him the Misfortune, and desired another Paper of the same kind. He deferred writing two or three Posts, and at last answered me in general, That he could not then send me what I asked for, but when he could find a proper Conveyance, I should be sure to have it. From this time his Letters were more cold every Day than the other, and as he grew indifferent I grew jealous. This has at last brought me to Town, where I find both the Witnesses of my Marriage dead, and that my Husband, after three Months Cohabitation, has buried a young Lady whom he married in Obedience to his Father. In a word, he shuns and disowns me. Should I come to the House and confront him, the Father would join in supporting him against me, though he believed my Story; should I talk it to the World, what Reparation can I expect for an Injury I cannot make out? I believe he means to bring me, through Necessity, to resign my Pretentions to him for some Provision for my Life; but I will die first. Pray bid him remember what he said, and how he was charmed when he laughed at the heedless Discovery I often made of my self; let him remember how awkward he was in my dissembled Indifference towards him before Company; ask him how I, who could never conceal my Love for him, at his own Request, can part with him for ever? Oh, Mr. Spectator, sensible Spirits know no Indifference in Marriage; what then do you think is my piercing Affliction?—- I leave you to represent my Distress your own way, in which I desire you to be speedy, if you have Compassion for Innocence exposed to Infamy.

Octavia.

Contents

No. 323

Tuesday, March 11, 1712

Addison

Modo Vir, modo Fœmina.

Virg.[1]

Rake's Journal,Sot's Journal,Whoremaster's Journal,The Journal of a Mohock

Clarinda

Dear Mr. Spectator,

'You having set your Readers an Exercise in one of your last Week's Papers, I have perform'd mine according to your Orders, and herewith send it you enclosed. You must know, Mr. Spectator, that I am a Maiden Lady of a good Fortune, who have had several Matches offered me for these ten Years last past, and have at present warm Applications made to me by a very pretty Fellow. As I am at my own Disposal, I come up to Town every Winter, and pass my Time in it after the manner you will find in the following Journal, which I begun to write upon the very Day after your Spectator upon that Subject.

Tuesday

Night.

Could not go to sleep till one in the Morning for thinking of my Journal.

Wednesday

From Eight 'till Ten

Drank two Dishes of Chocolate in Bed, and fell asleep after 'em.

From Ten to Eleven.

Eat a Slice of Bread and Butter, drank a Dish of Bohea, read the Spectator.

From Eleven to One.

At my Toilet, try'd a new Head. Gave Orders for Veny to be combed and washed. Mem. I look best in Blue.

From One till Half an Hour after Two.

Drove to the Change. Cheapned a Couple of Fans.

Till Four.

At Dinner. Mem. Mr. Froth passed by in his new Liveries.

From Four to Six.

Dressed, paid a Visit to old Lady Blithe and her Sister, having before heard they were gone out of Town that Day.

From Six to Eleven.

At Basset. Mem. Never set again upon the Ace of Diamonds.

Thursday

From Eleven at Night to Eight in the Morning.

Dream'd that I punted to Mr. Froth.

From Eight to Ten.

Chocolate. Read two Acts in Aurenzebe[2] abed.

From Ten to Eleven.

Tea-Table. Sent to borrow Lady Faddle's Cupid for Veny. Read the Play-Bills. Received a Letter from Mr. Froth. Mem. locked it up in my strong Box.

Rest of the Morning.

Fontange, the Tire-woman, her Account of my Lady Blithe's Wash. Broke a Tooth in my little Tortoise-shell Comb. Sent Frank to know how my Lady Hectick rested after her Monky's leaping out at Window. Looked pale. Fontange tells me my Glass is not true. Dressed by Three.

From Three to Four.

Dinner cold before I sat down.

From Four to Eleven.

Saw Company. Mr. Froth's Opinion of Milton. His Account of the Mohocks. His Fancy for a Pin-cushion. Picture in the Lid of his Snuff-box. Old Lady Faddle promises me her Woman to cut my Hair. Lost five Guineas at Crimp.

Twelve a-Clock at Night.

Went to Bed.

Friday

Eight in the Morning.

Abed. Read over all Mr. Froth's Letters. Cupid and Veny.

Ten a-Clock.

Stay'd within all day, not at home.

From Ten to Twelve.

In Conference with my Mantua-Maker. Sorted a Suit of Ribbands. Broke my Blue China Cup.

From Twelve to One.

Shut my self up in my Chamber, practised Lady Betty Modely's Skuttle.

One in the Afternoon.

Called for my flowered Handkerchief. Worked half a Violet-Leaf in it. Eyes aked and Head out of Order. Threw by my Work, and read over the remaining Part of Aurenzebe.

From Three to Four.

Dined.

From Four to Twelve.

Changed my Mind, dressed, went abroad, and play'd at Crimp till Midnight. Found Mrs. Spitely at home. Conversation: Mrs. Brilliant's Necklace false Stones. Old Lady Loveday going to be married to a young Fellow that is not worth a Groat. Miss Prue gone into the Country. Tom Townley has red Hair. Mem. Mrs. Spitely whispered in my Ear that she had something to tell me about Mr. Froth, I am sure it is not true.

Between Twelve and One.

Dreamed that Mr. Froth lay at my Feet, and called me Indamora[3].

Saturday

Rose at Eight a-Clock in the Morning. Sate down to my Toilet.

From Eight to Nine.

Shifted a Patch for Half an Hour before I could determine it. Fixed it above my left Eye-brow.

From Nine to Twelve.

Drank my Tea, and dressed.

From Twelve to Two.

At Chappel. A great deal of good Company. Mem. The third Air in the new Opera. Lady Blithe dressed frightfully.

From Three to Four.

Dined. Miss Kitty called upon me to go to the Opera before I was risen from Table.

From Dinner to Six.

Drank Tea. Turned off a Footman for being rude to Veny.

Six a-Clock.

Went to the Opera. I did not see Mr. Froth till the beginning of the second Act. Mr. Froth talked to a Gentleman in a black Wig. Bowed to a Lady in the front Box. Mr. Froth and his Friend clapp'd Nicolini in the third Act. Mr. Froth cried out Ancora. Mr. Froth led me to my Chair. I think he squeezed my Hand.

Eleven at Night.

Went to Bed. Melancholy Dreams. Methought Nicolini said he was Mr. Froth.

Sunday

Indisposed.

Monday

Eight a-Clock.

Waked by Miss Kitty. Aurenzebe lay upon the Chair by me. Kitty repeated without Book the Eight best Lines in the Play. Went in our Mobbs to the dumb Man[4], according to Appointment. Told me that my Lover's Name began with a G. Mem. The Conjurer was within a Letter of Mr. Froth's Name, &c.

Upon looking back into this my Journal, I find that I am at a loss to know whether I pass my Time well or ill; and indeed never thought of considering how I did it before I perused your Speculation upon that Subject. I scarce find a single Action in these five Days that I can thoroughly approve of, except the working upon the Violet-Leaf, which I am resolved to finish the first Day I am at leisure. As for Mr. Froth and Veny I did not think they took up so much of my Time and Thoughts, as I find they do upon my Journal. The latter of them I will turn off, if you insist upon it; and if Mr. Froth does not bring Matters to a Conclusion very suddenly, I will not let my Life run away in a Dream.

Your humble Servant,

Clarinda.

shall[5]

On the Countess Dowager of Pembroke.

Underneath this Marble Hearse

Lies the Subject of all Verse,

Sidney's Sister, Pembroke's Mother:

Death, ere thou hast kil'd another,

Fair, and learn'd, and good as she,

Time shall throw a Dart at thee.

Footnote 1:Æn

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:Aurengzebe

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 324

Wednesday, March 12, 1712

Steele

O curvæ in terris animæ, et cœlestium inanes.

Pers. [1]

Mr. Spectator,

The Materials you have collected together towards a general History of Clubs, make so bright a Part of your Speculations, that I think it is but a Justice we all owe the learned World to furnish you with such Assistances as may promote that useful Work. For this Reason I could not forbear communicating to you some imperfect Informations of a Set of Men (if you will allow them a place in that Species of Being) who have lately erected themselves into a Nocturnal Fraternity, under the Title of the Mohock Club, a Name borrowed it seems from a sort of Cannibals in India, who subsist by plundering and devouring all the Nations about them. The President is styled Emperor of the Mohocks; and his Arms are a Turkish Crescent, which his Imperial Majesty bears at present in a very extraordinary manner engraven upon his Forehead. Agreeable to their Name, the avowed design of their Institution is Mischief; and upon this Foundation all their Rules and Orders are framed. An outrageous Ambition of doing all possible hurt to their Fellow-Creatures, is the great Cement of their Assembly, and the only Qualification required in the Members. In order to exert this Principle in its full Strength and Perfection, they take care to drink themselves to a pitch, that is, beyond the Possibility of attending to any Motions of Reason and Humanity; then make a general Sally, and attack all that are so unfortunate as to walk the Streets through which they patrole. Some are knock'd down, others stabb'd, others cut and carbonado'd. To put the Watch to a total Rout, and mortify some of those inoffensive Militia, is reckon'd a Coup d'éclat. The particular Talents by which these Misanthropes are distinguished from one another, consist in the various kinds of Barbarities which they execute upon their Prisoners. Some are celebrated for a happy Dexterity in tipping the Lion upon them; which is performed by squeezing the Nose flat to the Face, and boring out the Eyes with their Fingers: Others are called the Dancing-Masters, and teach their Scholars to cut Capers by running Swords thro' their Legs; a new Invention, whether originally French I cannot tell: A third sort are the Tumblers, whose office it is to set Women on their Heads, and commit certain Indecencies, or rather Barbarities, on the Limbs which they expose. But these I forbear to mention, because they can't but be very shocking to the Reader as well as the Spectator. In this manner they carry on a War against Mankind; and by the standing Maxims of their Policy, are to enter into no Alliances but one, and that is Offensive and Defensive with all Bawdy-Houses in general, of which they have declared themselves Protectors and Guarantees[2].

'I must own, Sir, these are only broken incoherent Memoirs of this wonderful Society, but they are the best I have been yet able to procure; for being but of late Establishment, it is not ripe for a just History; And to be serious, the chief Design of this Trouble is to hinder it from ever being so. You have been pleas'd, out of a concern for the good of your Countrymen, to act under the Character of Spectator, not only the Part of a Looker-on, but an Overseer of their Actions; and whenever such Enormities as this infest the Town, we immediately fly to you for Redress. I have reason to believe, that some thoughtless Youngsters, out of a false Notion of Bravery, and an immoderate Fondness to be distinguished for Fellows of Fire, are insensibly hurry'd into this senseless scandalous Project: Such will probably stand corrected by your Reproofs, especially if you inform them, that it is not Courage for half a score Fellows, mad with Wine and Lust, to set upon two or three soberer than themselves; and that the Manners of Indian Savages are no becoming Accomplishments to an English fine Gentleman. Such of them as have been Bullies and Scowrers of a long standing, and are grown Veterans in this kind of Service, are, I fear, too hardned to receive any Impressions from your Admonitions. But I beg you would recommend to their Perusal your [Volume 1 link:ninth] Speculation: They may there be taught to take warning from the Club of Duellists; and be put in mind, that the common Fate of those Men of Honour was to be hang'd.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Philanthropos

March the 10th, 1711-12.

To her I very much respect, Mrs. Margaret Clark.

'Lovely, and oh that I could write loving Mrs. Margaret Clark, I pray you let Affection excuse Presumption. Having been so happy as to enjoy the Sight of your sweet Countenance and comely Body, sometimes when I had occasion to buy Treacle or Liquorish Powder at the Apothecary's Shop, I am so enamoured with you, that I can no more keep close my flaming Desire to become your Servant. And I am the more bold now to write to your sweet self, because I am now my own Man, and may match where I please; for my Father is taken away, and now I am come to my Living, which is Ten Yard Land, and a House; and there is never a Yard of Land in our Field but it is as well worth ten Pound a Year, as a Thief is worth a Halter; and all my Brothers and Sisters are provided for: Besides I have good Houshold-stuff, though I say it, both Brass and Pewter, Linnens and Woollens; and though my House be thatched, yet, if you and I match, it shall go hard but I will have one half of it slated. If you think well of this Motion, I will wait upon you as soon as my new Cloaths is made and Hay Harvest is in. I could, 'though I say it, have good—'

The[3]

Footnote 1:

'Sævis inter se convenit Ursis.'

Juv.

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Footnote 2:

'Grub-street papers about them fly like lightning, and a list printed of near eighty put into several prisons, and all a lie, and I begin to think there is no truth, or very little, in the whole story.'

return

Footnote 3:No. 328

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Contents

No. 325

Thursday, March 13, 1712

Budgell

Quid frustra Simulacra fugacia captas?

Quod petis, est nusquam: quod amas avertere, perdes.

Ista repercussæ quam cernis imaginis umbra est,

Nil habet ista sui; tecum venitque, manetque,

Tecum discedet si tu discedere possis.

Ovid.

Will. Honeycomb

WillDrydenOvidPolypheme

Will

Will.'s

Sir,

'I have read your last Saturday's Observations on the Fourth Book of Milton with great Satisfaction, and am particularly pleased with the hidden Moral, which you have taken notice of in several Parts of the Poem. The Design of this Letter is to desire your Thoughts, whether there may not also be some Moral couched under that Place in the same Book where the Poet lets us know, that the first Woman immediately after her Creation ran to a Looking-Glass, and became so enamoured of her own Face, that she had never removed to view any of the other Works of Nature, had not she been led off to a Man. If you think fit to set down the whole Passage from Milton, your Readers will be able to judge for themselves, and the Quotation will not a little contribute to the filling up of your Paper.

Your humble Servant,

R. T.'

Eve'sAdam

That Day I oft remember, when from sleep

I first awaked, and found my self repos d

Under a shade of flow'rs, much wondering where

And what I was, whence thither brought, and how.

Not distant far from thence a murmuring Sound

Of Waters issu'd from a Cave, and spread

Into a liquid Plain, then stood unmoved

Pure as th' Expanse of Heav'n: I thither went

With unexperienced Thought, and laid me down

On the green Bank, to look into the clear

Smooth Lake, that to me seemed another Sky.

As I bent down to look, just opposite,

A Shape within the watry Gleam appeared

Bending to look on me; I started back,

It started back; but pleas'd I soon returned,

Pleas'd it return'd as soon with answering Looks

Of Sympathy and Love; there I had fix d

Mine Eyes till now, and pined with vain Desire,

Had not a Voice thus warn'd me, What thou seest,

What there thou seest, fair Creature, is thy self,

With thee it came and goes: but follow me,

And I will bring thee where no Shadow stays

Thy coming, and thy soft Embraces, he

Whose Image thou art, him thou shalt enjoy

Inseparably thine, to him shalt bear

Multitudes like thy self, and thence be call'd

Mother of Human Race. What could I do,

But follow streight, invisibly thus led?

Till I espy'd thee, fair indeed and tall,

Under a Platan, yet methought less fair,

Less winning soft, less amiably mild,

Than that smooth watry Image: back I turn'd,

Thou following cry'dst aloud, Return fair Eve,

Whom fly'st thou? whom thou fly'st, of him thou art,

His Flesh, his Bone; to give thee Being, I lent

Out of my Side to thee, nearest my Heart,

Substantial Life, to have thee by my side

Henceforth an individual Solace dear.

Part of my Soul I seek thee, and thee claim

My other half!—-With that thy gentle hand

Seized mine, I yielded, and from that time see

How Beauty is excell'd by manly Grace,

And Wisdom, which alone is truly fair.

So spake our general Mother,—

Contents

No. 326

Friday, March 14, 1712

Steele

Inclusam Danaen turris ahenea

Robustæque fores, et vigilum canum

Tristes exubiæ, munierant satis

Nocturnis ab adulteris;

Si non—

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'Your Correspondent's Letter relating to Fortune-Hunters, and your subsequent Discourse upon it, have given me Encouragement to send you a State of my Case, by which you will see, that the Matter complained of is a common Grievance both to City and Country.

'I am a Country Gentleman of between five and six thousand a Year. It is my Misfortune to have a very fine Park and an only Daughter; upon which account I have been so plagu'd with Deer-Stealers and Fops, that for these four Years past I have scarce enjoy'd a Moment's Rest. I look upon my self to be in a State of War, and am forc'd to keep as constant watch in my Seat, as a Governour would do that commanded a Town on the Frontier of an Enemy's Country. I have indeed pretty well secur'd my Park, having for this purpose provided my self of four Keepers, who are Left-handed, and handle a Quarter-Staff beyond any other Fellow in the Country. And for the Guard of my House, besides a Band of Pensioner-Matrons and an old Maiden Relation, whom I keep on constant Duty, I have Blunderbusses always charged, and Fox-Gins planted in private Places about my Garden, of which I have given frequent Notice in the Neighbourhood; yet so it is, that in spite of all my Care, I shall every now and then have a saucy Rascal ride by reconnoitring (as I think you call it) under my Windows, as sprucely drest as if he were going to a Ball. I am aware of this way of attacking a Mistress on Horseback, having heard that it is a common Practice in Spain; and have therefore taken care to remove my Daughter from the Road-side of the House, and to lodge her next the Garden. But to cut short my Story; what can a Man do after all? I durst not stand for Member of Parliament last Election, for fear of some ill Consequence from my being off of my Post. What I would therefore desire of you, is, to promote a Project I have set on foot; and upon which I have writ to some of my Friends; and that is, that care may be taken to secure our Daughters by Law, as well as our Deer; and that some honest Gentleman of a publick Spirit, would move for Leave to bring in a Bill For the better preserving of the Female Game.

I am, Sir,

Your humble Servant.

Mile-End-Green, March 6, 1711-12.

Mr. Spectator,

Here is a young Man walks by our Door every Day about the Dusk of the Evening. He looks up at my Window, as if to see me; and if I steal towards it to peep at him, he turns another way, and looks frightened at finding what he was looking for. The Air is very cold; and pray let him know that if he knocks at the Door, he will be carry'd to the Parlour Fire; and I will come down soon after, and give him an Opportunity to break his Mind.

I am, Sir,

Your humble Servant,

Mary Comfitt.

If I observe he cannot speak, I'll give him time to recover himself, and ask him how he does.

Dear Sir,

I beg you to print this without Delay, and by the first Opportunity give us the natural Causes of Longing in Women; or put me out of Fear that my Wife will one time or other be delivered of something as monstrous as any thing that has yet appeared to the World; for they say the Child is to bear a Resemblance of what was desird by the Mother. I have been marryd upwards of six Years, have had four Children, and my Wife is now big with the fifth. The Expences she has put me to in procuring what she has longed for during her Pregnancy with them, would not only have handsomely defrayd the Charges of the Month, but of their Education too; her Fancy being so exorbitant for the first Year or two, as not to confine it self to the usual Objects of Eatables and Drinkables, but running out after Equipage and Furniture, and the like Extravagancies. To trouble you only with a few of them: When she was with Child of Tom, my eldest Son, she came home one day just fainting, and told me she had been visiting a Relation, whose Husband had made her a Present of a Chariot and a stately pair of Horses; and that she was positive she could not breathe a Week longer, unless she took the Air in the Fellow to it of her own within that time: This, rather than lose an Heir, I readily complyd with. Then the Furniture of her best Room must be instantly changed, or she should mark the Child with some of the frightful Figures in the old-fashion'd Tapestry. Well, the Upholsterer was called, and her Longing sav'd that bout. When she went with Molly, she had fix'd her Mind upon a new Set of Plate, and as much China as would have furnished an India Shop: These also I chearfully granted, for fear of being Father to an Indian Pagod. Hitherto I found her Demands rose upon every Concession; and had she gone on, I had been ruined: But by good Fortune, with her third, which was Peggy, the Height of her Imagination came down to the Corner of a Venison Pasty, and brought her once even upon her Knees to gnaw off the Ears of a Pig from the Spit. The Gratifications of her Palate were easily preferred to those of her Vanity; and sometimes a Partridge or a Quail, a Wheat-Ear or the Pestle of a Lark, were chearfully purchased; nay, I could be contented tho' I were to feed her with green Pease in April, or Cherries in May. But with the Babe she now goes, she is turned Girl again, and fallen to eating of Chalk, pretending 'twill make the Child's Skin white; and nothing will serve her but I must bear her Company, to prevent its having a Shade of my Brown: In this however I have ventur'd to deny her. No longer ago than yesterday, as we were coming to Town, she saw a parcel of Crows so heartily at Break-fast upon a piece of Horse-flesh, that she had an invincible Desire to partake with them, and (to my infinite Surprize) begged the Coachman to cut her off a Slice as if 'twere for himself, which the Fellow did; and as soon as she came home she fell to it with such an Appetite, that she seemed rather to devour than eat it. What her next Sally will be, I cannot guess: but in the mean time my Request to you is, that if there be any way to come at these wild unaccountable Rovings of Imagination by Reason and Argument, you'd speedily afford us your Assistance. This exceeds the Grievance of Pin-Money, and I think in every Settlement there ought to be a Clause inserted, that the Father should be answerable for the Longings of his Daughter. But I shall impatiently expect your Thoughts in this Matter and am

Sir,

Your most Obliged, and

most Faithful Humble Servant,

T.B.

Let me know whether you think the next Child will love Horses as much as Molly does China-Ware.

Contents

No. 327

Saturday, March 15, 1712

Addison

Major rerum mihi nascitur ordo.

Virg.

EveAdamEve

His wonder was, to find unwaken'd Eve

With Tresses discompos'd, and glowing Cheek,

As through unquiet Rest: he on his side

Leaning half-rais'd, with Looks of cordial Love

Hung over her enamour'd, and beheld

Beauty, which whether waking or asleep,

Shot forth peculiar Graces: then, with Voice

Mild, as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes,

Her Hand soft touching, whisper'd thus: Awake

My Fairest, my Espous'd, my latest found,

Heav'n's last best Gift, my ever new Delight!

Awake: the Morning shines, and the fresh Field

Calls us, we lose the Prime, to mark how spring

Our tended Plants, how blows the Citron Grove,

What drops the Myrrh, and what the balmy Reed,

How Nature paints her Colours, how the Bee

Sits on the Bloom, extracting liquid Sweets.

Such whispering wak'd her, but with startled Eye

On Adam, whom embracing, thus she spake:

O Sole, in whom my Thoughts find all Repose,

My Glory, my Perfection! glad I see

Thy Face, and Morn return'd—

MiltonAdamEveBook of CanticlesHomerSolomon

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my Love, my Fair one, and come away; for lo the Winter is past, the Rain is over and gone, the Flowers appear on the Earth, the Time of the singing of Birds is come, and the Voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land. The Fig-tree putteth forth her green Figs, and the Vines with the tender Grape give a good Smell. Arise my Love, my Fair-one and come away.

Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the Field; let us get up early to the Vineyards, let us see if the Vine flourish, whether the tender Grape appear, and the Pomegranates bud forth.

—Where the Sapient King

Held Dalliance with his fair Egyptian Spouse,

Eve'shigh Conceits engendring PrideAdam

Why sleep'st thou Eve? now is the pleasant Time,

The cool, the silent, save where Silence yields

To the night-warbling Bird, that now awake

Tunes sweetest his love-labour'd Song; now reigns

Full orb'd the Moon, and with more pleasing[1] Light

Shadowy sets off the Face of things: In vain,

If none regard. Heav'n wakes with all his Eyes,

Whom to behold but thee, Nature's Desire,

In whose sight all things joy, with Ravishment,

Attracted by thy Beauty still to gaze!

AdamMilton's AdamEveAdamEve

So chear'd he his fair Spouse, and she was chear'd,

But silently a gentle Tear let fall

From either Eye, and wiped them with her hair;

Two other precious Drops, that ready stood

Each in their chrystal Sluice, he ere they fell

Kiss'd, as the gracious Sign of sweet Remorse

And pious Awe, that fear'd to have offended.

Morning HymnPsalmsPsalmistHymn

alreadygives[2]RaphaelMilton

'Till at the Gate

Of Heav'n arriv'd, the Gate self-open'd wide,

On golden Hinges turning, as by Work

Divine, the Sovereign Architect had framed.

IliadVulcanHomerHomerHomerMilton'sTripodes

MiltonMessiahlivingEzekiel's

—Forth rush'd with Whirlwind sound

The Chariot of paternal Deity

Flashing thick flames?, Wheel within Wheel undrawn,

Itself instinct with Spirit—

BossuDaciersHomerVulcan's TripodesEzekiel's

Raphael'sFrench, ItalianEnglishMilton

—Like Maia's Son he stood,

And shook his Plumes, that Heavnly Fragrance fill'd

The Circuit wide.—

Raphael'sAdamEve

So saying, with dispatchful Looks in haste

She turns, on hospitable Thoughts intent,

What Choice to chuse for Delicacy best,

What order, so contrived, as not to mix

Tastes, not well join'd, inelegant, but bring

Taste after Taste; upheld with kindliest Change;

Bestirs her then, &c.—

AdamEve

Raphael'sAdamAdam

Bossu'sMiltonParadise LostRaphael'sÆneidÆneidMilton'sMilton

Homer

At length into the Limits of the North

They came, and Satan took his Royal Seat

High on a Hill, far blazing, as a Mount

Rais'd on a Mount, with Pyramids and Tow'rs

From Diamond Quarries hewn, and Rocks of Gold,

The Palace of great Lucifer, (so call

That Structure in the Dialect of Men

Interpreted)—

HomerMiltonAbdiel

So spake the Seraph Abdiel, faithful found

Among the faithless, faithful only he;

Among innumerable false, unmov'd,

Unshaken, unseduc'd, unterrify'd;

His Loyalty he kept, his Love, his Zeal:

Nor Number, nor Example with him wrought

To swerve from truth, or change his constant Mind,

Though single. From amidst them forth he pass'd,

Long way through hostile Scorn, which he sustain'd

Superior, nor of Violence fear'd ought;

And, with retorted Scorn, his Back he turn'd

On those proud Tow'rs to swift Destruction doom'd.

Footnote 1:pleasant

return

Footnote 2:gives us

return

Contents

No. 328[1]

Monday, March 17, 1712

Steele

Delectata illa urbanitate tam stulta.

Petron. Arb.

March 13, 1712.

Sir,

'Upon reading your Paper of yesterday[2], I took the Pains to look out a Copy I had formerly taken, and remembered to be very like your last Letter: Comparing them, I found they were the very same, and have, underwritten, sent you that Part of it which you say was torn off. I hope you will insert it, that Posterity may know 'twas Gabriel Bullock that made Love in that natural Stile of which you seem to be fond. But, to let you see I have other Manuscripts in the same Way, I have sent you Enclosed three Copies, faithfully taken by my own Hand from the Originals, which were writ by a Yorkshire gentleman of a good estate to Madam Mary, and an Uncle of hers, a Knight very well known by the most ancient Gentry in that and several other Counties of Great Britain. I have exactly followed the Form and Spelling. I have been credibly informed that Mr. William Bullock, the famous Comedian, is the descendant of this Gabriel, who begot Mr. William Bullock's great grandfather on the Body of the above-mentioned Mrs. Margaret Clark. But neither Speed, nor Baker, nor Selden, taking notice of it, I will not pretend to be positive; but desire that the letter may be reprinted, and what is here recovered may be in Italic.

I am, Sir,

Your daily Reader.

To her I very much respect, Mrs. Margaret Clark.

Lovely, and oh that I could write loving Mrs. Margaret Clark, I pray you let Affection excuse Presumption. Having been so happy as to enjoy the Sight of your sweet Countenance and comely Body, sometimes when I had occasion to buy Treacle or Liquorish Power at the apothecary's shop, I am so enamoured with you, that I can no more keep close my flaming Desire to become your Servant. And I am the more bold now to write to your sweet self, because I am now my own Man, and may match where I please; for my Father is taken away; and now I am come to my Living, which is ten yard Land, and a House; and there is never a Yard Land[3] in our Field but is as well worth ten Pound a Year, as a Thief's worth a Halter; and all my Brothers and Sisters are provided for: besides I have good Household Stuff, though I say it, both Brass and Pewter, Linnens and Woollens; and though my House be thatched, yet if you and I match, it shall go hard but I will have one half of it slated. If you shall think well of this Motion, I will wait upon you as soon as my new Cloaths is made, and Hay-Harvest is in. I could, though I say it, have good Matches in our Town; but my Mother (God's Peace be with her) charged me upon her Death-Bed to marry a Gentlewoman, one who had been well trained up in Sowing and Cookery. I do not think but that if you and I can agree to marry, and lay our Means together, I shall be made grand Jury-man e'er two or three Years come about, and that will be a great Credit to us. If I could have got a Messenger for Sixpence, I would have sent one on Purpose, and some Trifle or other for a Token of my Love; but I hope there is nothing lost for that neither. So hoping you will take this Letter in good Part, and answer it with what Care and Speed you can, I rest and remain,

Yours, if my own, Mr. Gabriel Bullock,

now my father is dead.

Swepston, Leicestershire.

When the Coal Carts come, I shall send oftener; and may come in one of them my self.

For sir William to go to london at westminster, remember a parlement.

Sir William, i hope that you are well. i write to let you know that i am in troubel abbut a lady you nease; and I do desire that you will be my frend; for when i did com to see her at your hall, i was mighty Abuesed. i would fain a see you at topecliff, and thay would not let me go to you; but i desire that you will be our frends, for it is no dishonor neither for you nor she, for God did make us all. i wish that i might see you, for thay say that you are a good man: and many doth wounder at it, but madam norton is abuesed and ceated two i beleive. i might a had many a lady, but i con have none but her with a good consons, for there is a God that know our harts, if you and madam norton will come to York, there i shill meet you if God be willing and if you pleased, so be not angterie till you know the trutes of things.

George Nelon I give my to me lady, and to Mr. Aysenby, and to madam norton March, the 19th; 1706.

This is for madam mary norton disforth Lady she went to York.

Madam Mary. Deare loving sweet lady, i hope you are well. Do not go to london, for they will put you in the nunnery; and heed not Mrs. Lucy what she saith to you, for she will ly and ceat you. go from to another Place, and we will gate wed so with speed, mind what i write to you, for if they gate you to london they will keep you there; and so let us gate wed, and we will both go. so if you go to london, you rueing your self, so heed not what none of them saith to you. let us gate wed, and we shall lie to gader any time. i will do any thing for you to my poore. i hope the devill will faile them all, for a hellish Company there be. from there cursed trick and mischiefus ways good lord bless and deliver both you and me.

I think to be at york the 24 day.

This is for madam mary norton to go to london for a lady that belongs to dishforth.

Madam Mary, i hope you are well, i am soary that you went away from York, deare loving sweet lady, i writt to let you know that i do remain faithful; and if can let me know where i can meet you, i will wed you, and I will do any thing to my poor; for you are a good woman, and will be a loving Misteris. i am in troubel for you, so if you will come to york i will wed you. so with speed come, and i will have none but you. so, sweet love, heed not what to say to me, and with speed come: heed not what none of them say to you; your Maid makes you believe ought.

So deare love think of Mr. george Nillson with speed; i sent you 2 or 3 letters before.

I gave misteris elcock some nots, and thay put me in pruson all the night for me pains, and non new whear i was, and i did gat cold.

But it is for mrs. Lucy to go a good way from home, for in york and round about she is known; to writ any more her deeds, the same will tell hor soul is black within, hor corkis stinks of hell.

March 19th, 1706.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:No. 324

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 328 (b)

Monday, March 17, 1712

Addison

Nullum me a labore reclinat otium.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

As I believe this is the first Complaint that ever was made to you of this nature, so you are the first Person I ever could prevail upon my self to lay it before. When I tell you I have a healthy vigorous Constitution, a plentiful Estate, no inordinate Desires, and am married to a virtuous lovely Woman, who neither wants Wit nor Good-Nature, and by whom I have a numerous Offspring to perpetuate my Family, you will naturally conclude me a happy Man. But, notwithstanding these promising Appearances, I am so far from it, that the prospect of being ruind and undone, by a sort of Extravagance which of late Years is in a less degree crept into every fashionable Family, deprives me of all the Comforts of my Life, and renders me the most anxious miserable Man on Earth. My Wife, who was the only Child and darling Care of an indulgent Mother, employd her early Years in learning all those Accomplishments we generally understand by good Breeding and polite Education. She sings, dances, plays on the Lute and Harpsicord, paints prettily, is a perfect Mistress of the French Tongue, and has made a considerable Progress in Italian. She is besides excellently skilld in all domestick Sciences, as Preserving, Pickling, Pastry, making Wines of Fruits of our own Growth, Embroydering, and Needleworks of every Kind. Hitherto you will be apt to think there is very little Cause of Complaint; but suspend your Opinion till I have further explain'd my self, and then I make no question you will come over to mine. You are not to imagine I find fault that she either possesses or takes delight in the Exercise of those Qualifications I just now mention'd; 'tis the immoderate Fondness she has to them that I lament, and that what is only design'd for the innocent Amusement and Recreation of Life, is become the whole Business and Study of her's. The six Months we are in Town (for the Year is equally divided between that and the Country) from almost Break of Day till Noon, the whole Morning is laid out in practising with her several Masters; and to make up the Losses occasion'd by her Absence in Summer, every Day in the Week their Attendance is requir'd; and as they all are People eminent in their Professions, their Skill and Time must be recompensed accordingly: So how far these Articles extend, I leave you to judge. Limning, one would think, is no expensive Diversion, but as she manages the Matter, 'tis a very considerable Addition to her Disbursements; Which you will easily believe, when you know she paints Fans for all her Female Acquaintance, and draws all her Relations Pictures in Miniature; the first must be mounted by no body but Colmar, and the other set by no body but Charles Mather. What follows, is still much worse than the former; for, as I told you, she is a great Artist at her Needle, 'tis incredible what Sums she expends in Embroidery; For besides what is appropriated to her personal Use, as Mantua's, Petticoats, Stomachers, Handkerchiefs, Purses, Pin-cushions, and Working Aprons, she keeps four French Protestants continually employ'd in making divers Pieces of superfluous Furniture, as Quilts, Toilets, Hangings for Closets, Beds, Window-Curtains, easy Chairs, and Tabourets: Nor have I any hopes of ever reclaiming her from this Extravagance, while she obstinately persists in thinking it a notable piece of good Housewifry, because they are made at home, and she has had some share in the Performance. There would be no end of relating to you the Particulars of the annual Charge, in furnishing her Store-Room with a Profusion of Pickles and Preserves; for she is not contented with having every thing, unless it be done every way, in which she consults an Hereditary Book of Receipts; for her female Ancestors have been always fam'd for good Housewifry, one of whom is made immortal, by giving her Name to an Eye-Water and two sorts of Puddings. I cannot undertake to recite all her medicinal Preparations, as Salves, Cerecloths, Powders, Confects, Cordials, Ratafia, Persico, Orange-flower, and Cherry-Brandy, together with innumerable sorts of Simple Waters. But there is nothing I lay so much to Heart, as that detestable Catalogue of counterfeit Wines, which derive their Names from the Fruits, Herbs, or Trees of whose Juices they are chiefly compounded: They are loathsome to the Taste, and pernicious to the Health; and as they seldom survive the Year, and then are thrown away, under a false Pretence of Frugality, I may affirm they stand me in more than if I entertaind all our Visiters with the best Burgundy and Champaign. Coffee, Chocolate, Green, Imperial, Peco, and Bohea-Tea seem to be Trifles; but when the proper Appurtenances of the Tea-Table are added, they swell the Account higher than one would imagine. I cannot conclude without doing her Justice in one Article; where her Frugality is so remarkable, I must not deny her the Merit of it, and that is in relation to her Children, who are all confind, both Boys and Girls, to one large Room in the remotest Part of the House, with Bolts on the Doors and Bars to the Windows, under the Care and Tuition of an old Woman, who had been dry Nurse to her Grandmother. This is their Residence all the Year round; and as they are never allowd to appear, she prudently thinks it needless to be at any Expence in Apparel or Learning. Her eldest Daughter to this day would have neither read nor writ, if it had not been for the Butler, who being the Son of a Country Attorney, has taught her such a Hand as is generally used for engrossing Bills in Chancery. By this time I have sufficiently tired your Patience with my domestick Grievances; which I hope you will agree could not well be containd in a narrower Compass, when you consider what a Paradox I undertook to maintain in the Beginning of my Epistle, and which manifestly appears to be but too melancholy a Truth. And now I heartily wish the Relation I have given of my Misfortunes may be of Use and Benefit to the Publick. By the Example I have set before them, the truly virtuous Wives may learn to avoid those Errors which have so unhappily mis-led mine, and which are visibly these three. First, in mistaking the proper Objects of her Esteem, and fixing her Affections upon such things as are only the Trappings and Decorations of her Sex. Secondly, In not distinguishing what becomes the different Stages of Life. And, Lastly, The Abuse and Corruption of some excellent Qualities, which, if circumscribd within just Bounds, would have been the Blessing and Prosperity of her Family, but by a vicious Extreme are like to be the Bane and Destruction of it.

Contents

No. 329

Tuesday, March 18, 1712

Addison

Ire tamen restat, Numa quo devenit et Ancus.

Hor.

Roger De CoverleyWestminster AbbyTombsBaker's ChronicleAndrew Freeport Abby

Trueby'shad

RogerDautzickWhena[1]

Trueby'sTruebyRoger

RogerAbby

RogerMorocco'sChronicle

Jacob's PillarGothickJacobRogerWill. Wimble

RogerEdward the Third's

Edward the Confessor'sRogerHenry the Fourth's

Roger

Henry the FifthQueen ElizabethAbby

Footnote :an

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Contents

No. 330

Wednesday, March 19, 1712

Steele

Maxima debetur pueris reverentia.

Juv.

Sir,

'I have long expected, that in the Course of your Observations upon the several Parts of human Life, you would one time or other fall upon a Subject, which, since you have not, I take the liberty to recommend to you. What I mean, is the Patronage of young modest Men to such as are able to countenance and introduce them into the World. For want of such Assistances, a Youth of Merit languishes in Obscurity or Poverty, when his Circumstances are low, and runs into Riot and Excess when his Fortunes are plentiful. I cannot make my self better understood, than by sending you an History of my self, which I shall desire you to insert in your Paper, it being the only Way I have of expressing my Gratitude for the highest Obligations imaginable.

I am the Son of a Merchant of the City of London, who, by many Losses, was reduced from a very luxuriant Trade and Credit to very narrow Circumstances, in Comparison to that his former Abundance. This took away the Vigour of his Mind, and all manner of Attention to a Fortune, which he now thought desperate; insomuch that he died without a Will, having before buried my Mother in the midst of his other Misfortunes. I was sixteen Years of Age when I lost my Father; and an Estate of £200 a Year came into my Possession, without Friend or Guardian to instruct me in the Management or Enjoyment of it. The natural Consequence of this was, (though I wanted no Director, and soon had Fellows who found me out for a smart young Gentleman, and led me into all the Debaucheries of which I was capable) that my Companions and I could not well be supplied without my running in Debt, which I did very frankly, till I was arrested, and conveyed with a Guard strong enough for the most desperate Assassine, to a Bayliff's House, where I lay four Days, surrounded with very merry, but not very agreeable Company. As soon as I had extricated my self from this shameful Confinement, I reflected upon it with so much Horror, that I deserted all my old Acquaintance, and took Chambers in an Inn of Court, with a Resolution to study the Law with all possible Application. But I trifled away a whole Year in looking over a thousand Intricacies, without Friend to apply to in any Case of Doubt; so that I only lived there among Men, as little Children are sent to School before they are capable of Improvement, only to be out of harm's way. In the midst of this State of Suspence, not knowing how to dispose of my self, I was sought for by a Relation of mine, who, upon observing a good Inclination in me, used me with great Familiarity, and carried me to his Seat in the Country. When I came there, he introduced me to all the good Company in the County; and the great Obligation I have to him for this kind Notice and Residence with him ever since, has made so strong an Impression upon me, that he has an Authority of a Father over me, founded upon the Love of a Brother. I have a good Study of Books, a good Stable of Horses always at my command; and tho' I am not now quite eighteen Years of Age, familiar Converse on his Part, and a strong Inclination to exert my self on mine, have had an effect upon me that makes me acceptable wherever I go. Thus, Mr. Spectator, by this Gentleman's Favour and Patronage, it is my own fault if I am not wiser and richer every day I live. I speak this as well by subscribing the initial Letters of my Name to thank him, as to incite others to an Imitation of his Virtue. It would be a worthy Work to shew what great Charities are to be done without Expence, and how many noble Actions are lost, out of Inadvertency in Persons capable of performing them, if they were put in mind of it. If a Gentleman of Figure in a County would make his Family a Pattern of Sobriety, good Sense, and Breeding, and would kindly endeavour to influence the Education and growing Prospects of the younger Gentry about him, I am apt to believe it would save him a great deal of stale Beer on a publick Occasion, and render him the Leader of his Country from their Gratitude to him, instead of being a Slave to their Riots and Tumults in order to be made their Representative. The same thing might be recommended to all who have made any Progress in any Parts of Knowledge, or arrived at any Degree in a Profession; others may gain Preferments and Fortunes from their Patrons, but I have, I hope, receiv'd from mine good Habits and Virtues. I repeat to you, Sir, my Request to print this, in return for all the Evil an helpless Orphan shall ever escape, and all the Good he shall receive in this Life; both which are wholly owing to this Gentleman's Favour to,

Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

S. P.

Mr. Spectator,

'I am a Lad of about fourteen. I find a mighty Pleasure in Learning. I have been at the Latin School four Years. I don't know I ever play'd truant[1], or neglected any Task my Master set me in my Life. I think on what I read in School as I go home at noon and night, and so intently, that I have often gone half a mile out of my way, not minding whither I went. Our Maid tells me, she often hears me talk Latin in my sleep. And I dream two or three Nights in the Week I am reading Juvenal and Homer. My Master seems as well pleased with my Performances as any Boy's in the same Class. I think, if I know my own Mind, I would chuse rather to be a Scholar, than a Prince without Learning. I have a very good[2] affectionate Father; but tho' very rich, yet so mighty near, that he thinks much of the Charges of my Education. He often tells me, he believes my Schooling will ruin him; that I cost him God-knows what in Books. I tremble to tell him I want one. I am forced to keep my Pocket-Mony, and lay it out for a Book, now and then, that he don't know of. He has order'd my Master to buy no more Books for me, but says he will buy them himself. I asked him for Horace t'other Day, and he told me in a Passion, he did not believe I was fit for it, but only my Master had a Mind to make him think I had got a great way in my Learning. I am sometimes a Month behind other Boys in getting the Books my Master gives Orders for. All the Boys in the School, but I, have the Classick Authors in usum Delphini, gilt and letter'd on the Back. My Father is often reckoning up how long I have been at School, and tells me he fears I do little good. My Father's Carriage so discourages me, that he makes me grow dull and melancholy. My Master wonders what is the matter with me; I am afraid to tell him; for he is a Man that loves to encourage Learning, and would be apt to chide my Father, and, not knowing my Father's Temper, may make him worse. Sir, if you have any Love for Learning, I beg you would give me some Instructions in this case, and persuade Parents to encourage their Children when they find them diligent and desirous of Learning. I have heard some Parents say, they would do any thing for their Children, if they would but mind their Learning: I would be glad to be in their place. Dear Sir, pardon my Boldness. If you will but consider and pity my case, I will pray for your Prosperity as long as I live.

London, March 2,1711.

Your humble Servant,

James Discipulus.

March the 18th.

Mr. Spectator,

The ostentation you showed yesterday would have been pardonable had you provided better for the two Extremities of your Paper, and placed in one the letter R., in the other Nescio quid meditans nugarum, et lotus in illis. A Word to the wise.

I am your most humble Servant, T. Trash.

According[3]

Footnote 1:at truant

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Footnote 2:loving

return

Footnote 3:No. 134

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Contents

No. 331

Thursday, March 20, 1712

Budgell

Stolidam præbet tibi vellere barbam.

Pers.

RogerWestminster-AbbyAbrahamsIsaacsJacobs

RogerLucian

ÆlianZoilusHomerPlatoZoilus

Spaniards

Don QuevedoVision on the Last Judgment

SaxonNormanQueen Mary'sCardinal PooleBishop Gardiner;

King James the First.

HudibrasButler

His tawny Beard was th' equal Grace

Both of his Wisdom, and his Face;

In Cut and Dye so like a Tyle,

A sudden View it would beguile:

The upper Part thereof was Whey,

The nether Orange mixt with Grey.

Roger'sRogerÆsculapius

Contents

No. 332

Friday, March 21, 1712

Steele

Minus aptus acutis

Naribus horum hominum

Hor.

Dear Short-Face,

'In your Speculation of Wednesday last, you have given us some Account of that worthy Society of Brutes the Mohocks; wherein you have particularly specify'd the ingenious Performance of the Lion-Tippers, the Dancing-Masters, and the Tumblers: But as you acknowledge you had not then a perfect History of the whole Club, you might very easily omit one of the most notable Species of it, the Sweaters, which may be reckon'd a sort of Dancing-Masters too. It is it seems the Custom for half a dozen, or more, of these well-dispos'd Savages, as soon as they have inclos'd the Person upon whom they design the Favour of a Sweat, to whip out their Swords, and holding them parallel to the Horizon, they describe a sort of Magick Circle round about him with the Points. As soon as this Piece of Conjuration is perform'd, and the Patient without doubt already beginning to wax warm, to forward the Operation, that Member of the Circle towards whom he is so rude as to turn his Back first, runs his Sword directly into that Part of the Patient wherein School-boys are punished; and, as it is very natural to imagine this will soon make him tack about to some other Point, every Gentleman does himself the same Justice as often as he receives the Affront. After this Jig has gone two or three times round, and the Patient is thought to have sweat sufficiently, he is very handsomly rubb'd down by some Attendants, who carry with them Instruments for that purpose, and so discharged. This Relation I had from a Friend of mine, who has lately been under this Discipline. He tells me he had the Honour to dance before the Emperor himself, not without the Applause and Acclamations both of his Imperial Majesty, and the whole Ring; tho' I dare say, neither I or any of his Acquaintance ever dreamt he would have merited any Reputation by his Activity.

'I can assure you, Mr. SPEC, I was very near being qualify'd to have given you a faithful and painful Account of this walking Bagnio, if I may so call it, my self: For going the other night along Fleet-street, and having, out of curiosity, just enter'd into Discourse with a wandring Female who was travelling the same Way, a couple of Fellows advanced towards us, drew their Swords, and cry'd out to each other, A Sweat! a Sweat! Whereupon suspecting they were some of the Ringleaders of the Bagnio, I also drew my Sword, and demanded a Parly; but finding none would be granted me, and perceiving others behind them filing off with great diligence to take me in Flank, I began to sweat for fear of being forced to it: but very luckily betaking my self to a Pair of Heels, which I had good Reason to believe would do me justice, I instantly got possession of a very snug Corner in a neighbouring Alley that lay in my Rear; which Post I maintain'd for above half an hour with great Firmness and Resolution, tho' not letting this Success so far overcome me, as to make me unmindful of the Circumspection that was necessary to be observ'd upon my advancing again towards the Street; by which Prudence and good Management I made a handsome and orderly Retreat, having suffer'd no other Damage in this Action than the Loss of my Baggage, and the Dislocation of one of my Shoe-heels, which last I am just now inform'd is in a fair way of Recovery. These Sweaters, by what I can learn from my Friend, and by as near a View as I was able to take of them myself, seem to me to have at present but a rude kind of Discipline amongst them. It is probable, if you would take a little Pains with them, they might be brought into better order. But I'll leave this to your own Discretion; and will only add, that if you think it worth while to insert this by way of Caution to those who have a mind to preserve their Skins whole from this sort of Cupping, and tell them at the same time the Hazard of treating with Night-Walkers, you will perhaps oblige others, as well as

Your very humble Servant,

Jack Lightfoot.

'P. S. My Friend will have me acquaint you, That though he would not willingly detract from the Merit of that extra-ordinary Strokes-Man Mr. Sprightly, yet it is his real Opinion, that some of those Fellows, who are employ'd as Rubbers to this new-fashioned Bagnio, have struck as bold Strokes as ever he did in his Life.

'I had sent this four and twenty Hours sooner, if I had not had the Misfortune of being in a great doubt about the Orthography of the word Bagnio. I consulted several Dictionaries, but found no relief; at last having recourse both to the Bagnio in Newgate-street, and to that in Chancery lane, and finding the original Manuscripts upon the Sign-posts of each to agree literally with my own Spelling, I returned home, full of Satisfaction, in order to dispatch this Epistle.'

Mr. Spectator,

As you have taken most of the Circumstances of human Life into your Consideration, we, the under-written, thought it not improper for us also to represent to you our Condition. We are three Ladies who live in the Country, and the greatest Improvements we make is by reading. We have taken a small Journal of our Lives, and find it extremely opposite to your last Tuesday's Speculation. We rise by seven, and pass the beginning of each Day in Devotion, and looking into those Affairs that fall within the Occurrences of a retired Life; in the Afternoon we sometimes enjoy the Company of some Friend or Neighbour, or else work or read; at Night we retire to our Chambers, and take Leave of each other for the whole Night at Ten of Clock. We take particular Care never to be sick of a Sunday. Mr. Spectator, We are all very good Maids, but are ambitious of Characters which we think more laudable, that of being very good Wives. If any of your Correspondents enquire for a Spouse for an honest Country Gentleman, whose Estate is not dipped, and wants a Wife that can save half his Revenue, and yet make a better Figure than any of his Neighbours of the same Estate, with finer bred Women, you shall have further notice from,

Sir,

Your courteous Readers,

Martha Busie.

Deborah Thrifty.

Alice Early[1].

Footnote 1:Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff'render them accomplish'dNo. 314.

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Contents

No. 333

Saturday, March 22, 1712

Addison

—vocat in Certamina Divos.

Virg.

Paradise LostSatan

—Him the Almighty Power

Hurl'd headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Sky,

With hideous ruin and combustion, down

To bottomless Perdition, there to dwell

In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,

Who durst defy th' Omnipotent to Arms.

O Prince! O Chief of many throned Powers,

That led th' imbattel'd Seraphim to War,

Too well I see and rue the dire Event,

That with sad Overthrow and foul Defeat

Hath lost us Heav'n, and all this mighty Host

In horrible Destruction laid thus low.

But see I the angry Victor has recalled

His Ministers of Vengeance and Pursuit,

Back to the Gates of Heav'n: The sulphurous Hail

Shot after us in Storm, overblown, hath laid

The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice

Of Heaven receiv'd us falling: and the Thunder,

Winged with red Lightning and impetuous Rage,

Perhaps hath spent his Shafts, and ceases now

To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.

What when we fled amain, pursued and strook

With Heav'n's afflicting Thunder, and besought

The Deep to shelter us; this Hell then seem'd

A Refuge from those Wounds—

Thus Satan; and him thus the Anarch old

With faultring Speech, and Visage incompos'd,

Answer'd, I know thee, Stranger, who thou art,

That mighty leading Angel, who of late

Made Head against Heaven's King, tho' overthrown.

I saw and heard, for such a numerous Host

Fled not in silence through the frighted Deep

With Ruin upon Ruin, Rout on Rout,

Confusion worse confounded; and Heav'n's Gates

Pour'd out by Millions her victorious Bands

Pursuing—

HomerIliadMilton'sMessiah

Homerstilland gave birth to the sublimest Description in Hesiod's Works was[1]

LatinGreekHomerLonginusVirgilOvidOssaOlympusPelionOssaPelion GreeksMilton'sClaudianLemnosVulcan's Shop Mount IdaRiver EnipeusMilton

From their Foundations loos'ning to and fro,

They pluck'd the seated Hills, with all their Land,

Rocks, Waters, Woods; and by the shaggy Tops

Up-lifting bore them in their Hands—

HomerClaudian

Lord Roscommon's Essay on Translated PoetryParadise Lost

MiltonTheMichaela[2]

—But the Sword

Of Michael from the Armory of God

Was given him tempered so, that neither keen

Nor solid might resist that Edge: It met

The Sword of Satan, with steep Force to smite

Descending, and in half cut sheer—

VirgilÆneasTurnusEasternJewishBook of MaccabeesProphet JeremiahSatanMichaelHomer

The griding Sword with discontinuous Wound

Passed through him; butt the Ethereal Substance closed

Not long divisible; and from the Gash

A Stream of Nectarous Humour issuing flowed

Sanguine, (such as celestial Spirits may bleed)

And all his Armour stained—

HomerDiomedes

MiltonMolochMarsIliadHomerGreeksTrojansMilton

—Where the Might of Gabriel fought,

And with fierce Ensigns pierc'd the deep Array

Of Moloch, furious King! who him defy'd,

And at his Chariot-wheels to drag him bound

Threaten'd, nor from the Holy One of Heav'n

Refrained his Tongue blasphemous: but anon

Down cloven to the Waste, with shattered Arms

And uncouth Pain fled bellowing.—

MiltonMessiah'sEzekielGrotiusHomer's

MessiahPsalms

Go then thou Mightiest in thy Father's Might!

Ascend my Chariot, guide the rapid Wheels

That shake Heav'n's Basis; bring forth all my War,

My Bow, my Thunder, my Almighty Arms,

Gird on thy Sword on thy puissant Thigh.

MiltonHomerHomerMarsJupiterNeptunePlutoHomerVulcanXanthusMinervaMars

HomerMilton

All Heaven resounded, and had Earth been then,

All Earth had to its Center shook—

Messiah'sThrone of God

—Under his burning Wheels

The stedfast Empyrean shook throughout,

All but the Throne it self of God—

Messiah

Yet half his Strength he put not forth, but checkt

His Thunder in mid Volley; for he meant

Not to destroy, but root them out of Heaven.

Milton'sAshe knew it was necessary to give[3]thereforethe[4]

Footnote 1:is

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Footnote 2:an

return

Footnote 3:had he not given

return

Footnote 4:his

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Contents

No. 334

Monday, March 24, 1712

Steele

Voluisti in suo Genere, unumquemque nostrum quasi quendam esse Roscium, dixistique non tam ea quæ recta essent probari, quam quæ prava sunt fastidiis adhærescere.

Cicero de Gestu.

BoothPyrrhusOrestesThis[1]

Mr. Spectator,

'Since there are scarce any of the Arts or Sciences that have not been recommended to the World by the Pens of some of the Professors, Masters, or Lovers of them, whereby the Usefulness, Excellence, and Benefit arising from them, both as to the Speculative and practical Part, have been made publick, to the great Advantage and Improvement of such Arts and Sciences; why should Dancing, an Art celebrated by the Ancients in so extraordinary a Manner, be totally neglected by the Moderns, and left destitute of any Pen to recommend its various Excellencies and substantial Merit to Mankind?

'The low Ebb to which Dancing is now fallen, is altogether owing to this Silence. The Art is esteem'd only as an amusing Trifle; it lies altogether uncultivated, and is unhappily fallen under the Imputation of Illiterate and Mechanick: And as Terence in one of his Prologues, complains of the Rope-dancers drawing all the Spectators from his Play, so may we well say, that Capering and Tumbling is now preferred to, and supplies the Place of just and regular Dancing on our Theatres. It is therefore, in my opinion, high time that some one should come in to its Assistance, and relieve it from the many gross and growing Errors that have crept into it, and over-cast its real Beauties; and to set Dancing in its true light, would shew the Usefulness and Elegancy of it, with the Pleasure and Instruction produc'd from it; and also lay down some fundamental Rules, that might so tend to the Improvement of its Professors, and Information of the Spectators, that the first might be the better enabled to perform, and the latter render'd more capable of judging, what is (if there be any thing) valuable in this Art.

'To encourage therefore some ingenious Pen capable of so generous an Undertaking, and in some measure to relieve Dancing from the Disadvantages it at present lies under, I, who teach to dance, have attempted a small Treatise as an Essay towards an History of Dancing; in which I have enquired into its Antiquity, Original, and Use, and shewn what Esteem the Ancients had for it: I have likewise considered the Nature and Perfection of all its several Parts, and how beneficial and delightful it is, both as a Qualification and an Exercise; and endeavoured to answer all Objections that have been maliciously rais'd against it. I have proceeded to give an Account of the particular Dances of the Greeks and Romans, whether religious, warlike, or civil; and taken particular notice of that Part of Dancing relating to the ancient Stage, and in which the Pantomimes had so great a share: Nor have I been wanting in giving an historical Account of some particular Masters excellent in that surprising Art. After which, I have advanced some Observations on the modern Dancing, both as to the Stage, and that Part of it so absolutely necessary for the Qualification of Gentlemen and Ladies; and have concluded with some short Remarks on the Origin and Progress of the Character by which Dances are writ down, and communicated to one Master from another. If some great Genius after this would arise, and advance this Art to that Perfection it seems capable of receiving, what might not be expected from it? For if we consider the Origin of Arts and Sciences, we shall find that some of them took rise from Beginnings so mean and unpromising, that it is very wonderful to think that ever such surprizing Structures should have been raised upon such ordinary Foundations. But what cannot a great Genius effect? Who would have thought that the clangorous Noise of a Smith's Hammers should have given the first rise to Musick? Yet Macrobius in his second Book relates, that Pythagoras, in passing by a Smith's Shop, found that the Sounds proceeding from the Hammers were either more grave or acute, according to the different Weights of the Hammers. The Philosopher, to improve this Hint, suspends different Weights by Strings of the same Bigness, and found in like manner that the Sounds answered to the Weights. This being discover'd, he finds out those Numbers which produc'd Sounds that were Consonants: As, that two Strings of the same Substance and Tension, the one being double the Length, of the other, give that Interval which is called Diapason, or an Eighth; the same was also effected from two Strings of the same Length and Size, the one having four times the Tension of the other. By these Steps, from so mean a Beginning, did this great Man reduce, what was only before Noise, to one of the most delightful Sciences, by marrying it to the Mathematicks; and by that means caused it to be one of the most abstract and demonstrative of Sciences. Who knows therefore but Motion, whether Decorous or Representative, may not (as it seems highly probable it may) be taken into consideration by some Person capable of reducing it into a regular Science, tho' not so demonstrative as that proceeding from Sounds, yet sufficient to entitle it to a Place among the magnify'd Arts.

'Now, Mr. Spectator, as you have declared your self Visitor of Dancing-Schools, and this being an Undertaking which more immediately respects them, I think my self indispensably obliged, before I proceed to the Publication of this my Essay, to ask your Advice, and hold it absolutely necessary to have your Approbation; and in order to recommend my Treatise to the Perusal of the Parents of such as learn to dance, as well as to the young Ladies, to whom, as Visitor, you ought to be Guardian.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant.

Salop, March 19, 1711-12.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 335

Tuesday, March 25, 1712

Addison

Respicere exemplar vitæ morumque jubebo Doctum imitatorem, et veras hinc ducere voces.

Hor.

MyRoger De Coverley[1]lastRogerCommittee[2]Distrest Mother Hector'sRogerSentry

RogerSteenkirkRoger'sPyrrhusFranceAndromacheHermionePyrrhus

RogerAndromache'sWidowPyrrhus

Hector'sAstyanaxHermione'sPyrrhusRoger

RogerOrestesPyladesPyrrhusRogerSentryRogerOrestesPyrrhusOrestesOrestes

Roger

Footnote 1:223229290packing a houseAndromaque

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Footnote 2:CommitteeFaithful Irishman,Committee

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Contents

No. 336

Wednesday, March 26, 1712

Steele

—Clament periisse pudorem

Cuncti penè patres, ea cum reprehendere coner,

Quæ gravis Æsopus, quæ doctus Roscius egit:

Vel quia nil rectum, nisi quod placuit sibi, ducunt;

Vel quia turpe putant parere minoribus, et, quæ

Imberbes didicere, senes perdenda fateri.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'As you are the daily Endeavourer to promote Learning and good Sense, I think myself obliged to suggest to your Consideration whatever may promote or prejudice them.. There is an Evil which has prevailed from Generation to Generation, which grey Hairs and tyrannical Custom continue to support; I hope your Spectatorial Authority will give a seasonable Check to the Spread of the Infection; I mean old Men's overbearing the strongest Sense of their Juniors by the mere Force of Seniority; so that for a young Man in the Bloom of Life and Vigour of Age to give a reasonable Contradiction to his Elders, is esteemed an unpardonable Insolence, and regarded as a reversing the Decrees of Nature. I am a young Man, I confess, yet I honour the grey Head as much as any one; however, when in Company with old Men, I hear them speak obscurely, or reason preposterously (into which Absurdities, Prejudice, Pride, or Interest, will sometimes throw the wisest) I count it no Crime to rectifie their Reasoning, unless Conscience must truckle to Ceremony, and Truth fall a Sacrifice to Complaisance. The strongest Arguments are enervated, and the brightest Evidence disappears, before those tremendous Reasonings and dazling Discoveries of venerable old Age: You are young giddy-headed Fellows, you have not yet had Experience of the World. Thus we young Folks find our Ambition cramp'd, and our Laziness indulged, since, while young, we have little room to display our selves; and, when old, the Weakness of Nature must pass for Strength of Sense, and we hope that hoary Heads will raise us above the Attacks of Contradiction. Now, Sir, as you would enliven our Activity in the pursuit of Learning, take our Case into Consideration; and, with a Gloss on brave Elihu's Sentiments, assert the Rights of Youth, and prevent the pernicious Incroachments of Age. The generous Reasonings of that gallant Youth would adorn your Paper; and I beg you would insert them, not doubting but that they will give good Entertainment to the most intelligent of your Readers.

'So these three Men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own Eyes. Then was kindled the Wrath of Elihu the Son of Barachel the Buzite, of the Kindred of Ram: Against Job was his Wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. Also against his three Friends was his Wrath kindled, because they had found no Answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he. When Elihu saw there was no Answer in the Mouth of these three Men, then his Wrath was kindled. And Elihu the Son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old, wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine Opinion. I said, Days should speak, and Multitude of Years should teach Wisdom. But there is a Spirit in Man; and the Inspiration of the Almighty giveth them Understanding. Great Men are not always wise: Neither do the Aged understand Judgment. Therefore I said, hearken to me, I also will shew mine Opinion. Behold, I waited for your Words; I gave ear to your Reasons, whilst you searched out what to say. Yea, I attended unto you: And behold there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his Words; lest ye should say, we have found out Wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not Man. Now he hath not directed his Words against me: Neither will I answer him with your Speeches. They were amazed, they answered no more: They left off speaking. When I had waited (for they spake not, but stood still and answered no more) I said, I will answer also my Part, I also will shew mine Opinion. For I am full of Matter, the Spirit within me constraineth me. Behold my Belly is as Wine which hath no vent, it is ready to burst like new Bottles. I will speak that I may be refreshed: I will open my Lips, and answer. Let me not, I pray you, accept any Man's Person, neither let me give flattering Titles unto Man. For I know not to give flattering Titles; in so doing my Maker would soon take me away[1].

Mr. Spectator,

'I have formerly read with great Satisfaction your Papers about Idols, and the Behaviour of Gentlemen in those Coffee-houses where Women officiate, and impatiently waited to see you take India and China Shops into Consideration: But since you have pass'd us over in silence, either that you have not as yet thought us worth your Notice, or that the Grievances we lie under have escaped your discerning Eye, I must make my Complaints to you, and am encouraged to do it because you seem a little at leisure at this present Writing. I am, dear Sir, one of the top China-Women about Town; and though I say it, keep as good Things, and receive as fine Company as any o' this End of the Town, let the other be who she will: In short, I am in a fair Way to be easy, were it not for a Club of Female Rakes, who under pretence of taking their innocent Rambles, forsooth, and diverting the Spleen, seldom fail to plague me twice or thrice a-day to cheapen Tea, or buy a Skreen; What else should they mean? as they often repeat it. These Rakes are your idle Ladies of Fashion, who having nothing to do, employ themselves in tumbling over my Ware. One of these No-Customers (for by the way they seldom or never buy any thing) calls for a Set of Tea-Dishes, another for a Bason, a third for my best Green-Tea, and even to the Punch Bowl, there's scarce a piece in my Shop but must be displaced, and the whole agreeable Architecture disordered; so that I can compare 'em to nothing but to the Night-Goblins that take a Pleasure to over-turn the Disposition of Plates and Dishes in the Kitchens of your housewifely Maids. Well, after all this Racket and Clutter, this is too dear, that is their Aversion; another thing is charming, but not wanted: The Ladies are cured of the Spleen, but I am not a Shilling the better for it. Lord! what signifies one poor Pot of Tea, considering the Trouble they put me to? Vapours, Mr. Spectator, are terrible Things; for though I am not possess'd by them my self, I suffer more from 'em than if I were. Now I must beg you to admonish all such Day-Goblins to make fewer Visits, or to be less troublesome when they come to one's Shop; and to convince 'em, that we honest Shop-keepers have something better to do, than to cure Folks of the Vapours gratis. A young Son of mine, a School-Boy, is my Secretary, so I hope you'll make Allowances. I am, Sir,

Your constant Reader, and very humble Servant,

Rebecca the Distress'd.

March the 22nd.

Footnote 1:Job

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 337

Thursday, March 27, 1712

Budgell

Fingit equum tenerâ docilem cervice Magister,

Ire viam quam monstrat eques—

Hor.

Sir,

If I had not been hindered by some extraordinary Business, I should have sent you sooner my further Thoughts upon Education. You may please to remember, that in my last Letter I endeavoured to give the best Reasons that could be urged in favour of a private or publick Education. Upon the whole it may perhaps be thought that I seemed rather enclined to the latter, though at the same time I confessed that Virtue, which ought to be our first and principal Care, was more usually acquired in the former.

I intend therefore, in this Letter, to offer at Methods, by which I conceive Boys might be made to improve in Virtue, as they advance in Letters.

I know that in most of our public Schools Vice is punished and discouraged whenever it is found out; but this is far from being sufficient, unless our Youth are at the same time taught to form a right Judgment of Things, and to know what is properly Virtue.

To this end, whenever they read the Lives and Actions of such Men as have been famous in their Generation, it should not be thought enough to make them barely understand so many Greek or Latin Sentences, but they should be asked their Opinion of such an Action or Saying, and obliged to give their Reasons why they take it to be good or bad. By this means they would insensibly arrive at proper Notions of Courage, Temperance, Honour and Justice.

There must be great Care taken how the Example of any particular Person is recommended to them in gross; instead of which, they ought to be taught wherein such a Man, though great in some respects, was weak and faulty in others. For want of this Caution, a Boy is often so dazzled with the Lustre of a great Character, that he confounds its Beauties with its Blemishes, and looks even upon the faulty Parts of it with an Eye of Admiration.

I have often wondered how Alexander, who was naturally of a generous and merciful Disposition, came to be guilty of so barbarous an Action as that of dragging the Governour of a Town after his Chariot. I know this is generally ascribed to his Passion for Homer; but I lately met with a Passage in Plutarch, which, if I am not very much mistaken, still gives us a clearer Light into the Motives of this Action. Plutarch tells us, that Alexander in his Youth had a Master named Lysimachus, who, tho' he was a Man destitute of all Politeness, ingratiated himself both with Philip and his Pupil, and became the second Man at Court, by calling the King Peleus, the Prince Achilles, and himself Phœnix. It is no wonder if Alexander having been thus used not only to admire, but to personate Achilles, should think it glorious to imitate him in this piece of Cruelty and Extravagance.

To carry this Thought yet further, I shall submit it to your Consideration, whether instead of a Theme or Copy of Verses, which are the usual Exercises, as they are called in the School-phrase, it would not be more proper that a Boy should be tasked once or twice a Week to write down his Opinion of such Persons and Things as occur to him in his Reading; that he should descant upon the Actions of Turnus and Æneas, shew wherein they excelled or were defective, censure or approve any particular Action, observe how it might have been carried to a greater Degree of Perfection, and how it exceeded or fell short of another. He might at the same time mark what was moral in any Speech, and how far it agreed with the Character of the Person speaking. This Exercise would soon strengthen his Judgment in what is blameable or praiseworthy, and give him an early Seasoning of Morality.

Next to those Examples which may be met with in Books, I very much approve Horace's Way of setting before Youth the infamous or honourable Characters of their Contemporaries: That Poet tells us, this was the Method his Father made use of to incline him to any particular Virtue, or give him an Aversion to any particular Vice. If, says Horace, my Father advised me to live within Bounds, and be contented with the Fortune he should leave me; Do not you see (says he) the miserable Condition of Burrus, and the Son of Albus? Let the Misfortunes of those two Wretches teach you to avoid Luxury and Extravagance. If he would inspire me with an Abhorrence to Debauchery, do not (says he) make your self like Sectanus, when you may be happy in the Enjoyment of lawful Pleasures. How scandalous (says he) is the Character of Trebonius, who was lately caught in Bed with another Man's Wife? To illustrate the Force of this Method, the Poet adds, That as a headstrong Patient, who will not at first follow his Physician's Prescriptions, grows orderly when he hears that his Neighbours die all about him; so Youth is often frighted from Vice, by hearing the ill Report it brings upon others.

'Xenophon's Schools of Equity, in his Life of Cyrus the Great, are sufficiently famous: He tells us, that the Persian Children went to School, and employed their Time as diligently in learning the Principles of Justice and Sobriety, as the Youth in other Countries did to acquire the most difficult Arts and Sciences: their Governors spent most part of the Day in hearing their mutual Accusations one against the other, whether for Violence, Cheating, Slander, or Ingratitude; and taught them how to give Judgment against those who were found to be any ways guilty of these Crimes. I omit the Story of the long and short Coat, for which Cyrus himself was punished, as a Case equally known with any in Littleton.

'The Method, which Apuleius tells us the Indian Gymnosophists took to educate their Disciples, is still more curious and remarkable. His Words are as follow: When their Dinner is ready, before it is served up, the Masters enquire of every particular Scholar how he has employed his Time since Sun-rising; some of them answer, that having been chosen as Arbiters between two Persons they have composed their Differences, and made them Friends; some, that they have been executing the Orders of their Parents; and others, that they have either found out something new by their own Application, or learnt it from the Instruction of their Fellows: But if there happens to be any one among them, who cannot make it appear that he has employed the Morning to advantage, he is immediately excluded from the Company, and obliged to work, while the rest are at Dinner.

'It is not impossible, that from these several Ways of producing Virtue in the Minds of Boys, some general Method might be invented. What I would endeavour to inculcate, is, that our Youth cannot be too soon taught the Principles of Virtue, seeing the first Impressions which are made on the Mind are always the strongest.

'The Archbishop of Cambray makes Telemachus say, that though he was young in Years, he was old in the Art of knowing how to keep both his own and his Friend's Secrets. When my Father, says the Prince, went to the Siege of Troy, he took me on his Knees, and after having embraced and blessed me, as he was surrounded by the Nobles of Ithaca, O my Friends, says he, into your Hands I commit the Education of my Son; if ever you lovd his Father, shew it in your Care towards him; but above all, do not omit to form him just, sincere, and faithful in keeping a Secret. These Words of my Father, says Telemachus, were continually repeated to me by his Friends in his Absence; who made no scruple of communicating to me in their Uneasiness to see my Mother surrounded with Lovers, and the Measures they designed to take on that Occasion. He adds, that he was so ravished at being thus treated like a Man, and at the Confidence reposed in him, that he never once abused it; nor could all the Insinuations of his Fathers Rivals ever get him to betray what was committed to him under the Seal of Secrecy.

There is hardly any Virtue which a Lad might not thus learn by Practice and Example.

I have heard of a good Man, who used at certain times to give his Scholars Six Pence apiece, that they might tell him the next day how they had employd it. The third part was always to be laid out in Charity, and every Boy was blamed or commended as he could make it appear that he had chosen a fit Object.

In short, nothing is more wanting to our publick Schools, than that the Masters of them should use the same care in fashioning the Manners of their Scholars, as in forming their Tongues to the learned Languages. Where-ever the former is omitted, I cannot help agreeing with Mr. Locke, That a Man must have a very strange Value for Words, when preferring the Languages of the Greeks and Romans to that which made them such brave Men, he can think it worth while to hazard the Innocence and Virtue of his Son for a little Greek and Latin.

As the Subject of this Essay is of the highest Importance, and what I do not remember to have yet seen treated by any Author, I have sent you what occurrd to me on it from my own Observation or Reading, and which you may either suppress or publish as you think fit.

I am, Sir, Yours, &c.

Contents

No. 338

Friday, March 28, 1712

—Nil fuit unquam

Tam dispar sibi.

Hor.[1]

Distrest MotherThe[2]

Mr. Spectator,

I had the Happiness the other Night of sitting very near you, and your worthy Friend Sir Roger, at the acting of the new Tragedy, which you have in a late Paper or two so justly recommended. I was highly pleased with the advantageous Situation Fortune had given me in placing me so near two Gentlemen, from one of which I was sure to hear such Reflections on the several Incidents of the Play, as pure Nature suggested, and from the other such as flowed from the exactest Art and Judgment: Tho I must confess that my Curiosity led me so much to observe the Knight's Reflections, that I was not so well at leisure to improve my self by yours. Nature, I found, play'd her Part in the Knight pretty well, till at the last concluding Lines she entirely forsook him. You must know, Sir, that it is always my Custom, when I have been well entertained at a new Tragedy, to make my Retreat before the facetious Epilogue enters; not but that those Pieces are often very well writ, but having paid down my Half Crown, and made a fair Purchase of as much of the pleasing Melancholy as the Poet's Art can afford me, or my own Nature admit of, I am willing to carry some of it home with me; and can't endure to be at once trick'd out of all, tho' by the wittiest Dexterity in the World. However, I kept my Seat t'other Night, in hopes of finding my own Sentiments of this Matter favour'd by your Friend's; when, to my great Surprize, I found the Knight entering with equal Pleasure into both Parts, and as much satisfied with Mrs. Oldfield's Gaiety, as he had been before with Andromache's Greatness. Whether this were no other than an Effect of the Knight's peculiar Humanity, pleas'd to find at last, that after all the tragical Doings every thing was safe and well, I don't know. But for my own part, I must confess, I was so dissatisfied, that I was sorry the Poet had saved Andromache, and could heartily have wished that he had left her stone-dead upon the Stage. For you cannot imagine, Mr. Spectator, the Mischief she was reserv'd to do me. I found my Soul, during the Action, gradually work'd up to the highest Pitch; and felt the exalted Passion which all generous Minds conceive at the Sight of Virtue in Distress. The Impression, believe me, Sir, was so strong upon me, that I am persuaded, if I had been let alone in it, I could at an Extremity have ventured to defend your self and Sir ROGER against half a Score of the fiercest Mohocks: But the ludicrous Epilogue in the Close extinguish'd all my Ardour, and made me look upon all such noble Atchievements, as downright silly and romantick. What the rest of the Audience felt, I can't so well tell: For my self, I must declare, that at the end of the Play I found my Soul uniform, and all of a Piece; but at the End of the Epilogue it was so jumbled together, and divided between Jest and Earnest, that if you will forgive me an extravagant Fancy, I will here set it down. I could not but fancy, if my Soul had at that Moment quitted my Body, and descended to the poetical Shades in the Posture it was then in, what a strange Figure it would have made among them. They would not have known what to have made of my motley Spectre, half Comick and half Tragick, all over resembling a ridiculous Face, that at the same time laughs on one side and cries o' t'other. The only Defence, I think, I have ever heard made for this, as it seems to me, most unnatural Tack of the Comick Tail to the Tragick Head, is this, that the Minds of the Audience must be refreshed, and Gentlemen and Ladies not sent away to their own Homes with too dismal and melancholy Thoughts about them: For who knows the Consequence of this? We are much obliged indeed to the Poets for the great Tenderness they express for the Safety of our Persons, and heartily thank them for it. But if that be all, pray, good Sir, assure them, that we are none of us like to come to any great Harm; and that, let them do their best, we shall in all probability live out the Length of our Days, and frequent the Theatres more than ever. What makes me more desirous to have some Reformation of this matter, is because of an ill Consequence or two attending it: For a great many of our Church-Musicians being related to the Theatre, they have, in Imitation of these Epilogues, introduced in their farewell Voluntaries a sort of Musick quite foreign to the design of Church-Services, to the great Prejudice of well-disposed People. Those fingering Gentlemen should be informed, that they ought to suit their Airs to the Place and Business; and that the Musician is obliged to keep to the Text as much as the Preacher. For want of this, I have found by Experience a great deal of Mischief: For when the Preacher has often, with great Piety and Art enough, handled his Subject, and the judicious Clark has with utmost Diligence culled out two Staves proper to the Discourse, and I have found in my self and in the rest of the Pew good Thoughts and Dispositions, they have been all in a moment dissipated by a merry Jigg from the Organ-Loft. One knows not what further ill Effects the Epilogues I have been speaking of may in time produce: But this I am credibly informed of, that Paul Lorrain[3]—has resolv'd upon a very sudden Reformation in his tragical Dramas; and that at the next monthly Performance, he designs, instead of a Penitential Psalm, to dismiss his Audience with an excellent new Ballad of his own composing. Pray, Sir, do what you can to put a stop to those growing Evils, and you will very much oblige

Your Humble Servant,

Physibulus.

Footnote 1:

Servetur ad imum

Qualis ab incepto processerit, et sibi constet.

Hor.

return

Footnote 2:

'It was known in Tonson's family and told to Garrick, that Addison was himself the author of it, and that when it had been at first printed with his name, he came early in the morning, before the copies were distributed, and ordered it to be given to Budgell, that it might add weight to the solicitation which he was then making for a place.'

'the most successful Epilogue that was ever yet spoken on the English theatre.'

No. 341

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Footnote 3:TatlerPaul Lorrain's Saints

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Contents

No. 339

Saturday, March 29, 1712

Addison

—Ut his exordia primis

Omnia, et ipse tener Mundi concreverit orbis.

Tum durare solum et discludere Nerea ponto

Coeperit, et rerum pauliatim sumere formas.

Virg.[1]

Longinus[2]Milton

Critick[3]HomerVirgilHomer

MiltonLonginus

haveJewsGenesis[4]Milton

Adam's

And the great Light of Day yet wants to run

Much of his Race, though steep, suspense in Heav'n

Held by thy Voice; thy potent Voice he hears,

And longer will delay, to hear thee tell

His Generation, &c.

sMessiahcomesappears[5]And[6]

About his Chariot numberless were pour'd

Cherub and Seraph, Potentates and Thrones,

And Virtues, winged Spirits, and Chariots wing'd,

From th' Armoury of Gold, where stand of old

Myriads between two brazen Mountains lodg'd

Against a solemn Day, harness'd at hand;

Celestial Equipage! and now came forth

Spontaneous, for within them Spirit liv'd,

Attendant on their Lord: Heav'n open'd wide

Her ever-during Gates, Harmonious Sound!

On golden Hinges moving—

Homer

Messiah

On Heavenly Ground they stood, and from the Shore

They view'd the vast immeasurable Abyss,

Outrageous as a Sea, dark, wasteful, wild;

Up from the bottom turned by furious Winds

And surging Waves, as Mountains to assault

Heaven's height, and with the Center mix the Pole.

Silence, ye troubled Waves, and thou Deep, Peace!

Said then th' Omnific Word, your Discord end:

Nor staid; but, on the Wings of Cherubim

Up-lifted, in Paternal Glory rode

Far into Chaos, and the World unborn;

For Chaos heard his Voice. Him all His Train

Follow'd in bright Procession, to behold

Creation, and the Wonders, of his Might.

Then staid the fervid Wheels, and in his Hand

He took the Golden Compasses, prepar'd

In God's eternal Store, to circumscribe

This Universe, and all created Things:

One Foot he center'd, and the other turn'd

Round, through the vast Profundity obscure;

And said, Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds,

This be thy just Circumference, O World!

Homer'sHomerMinerva'sPlatoMilton

And Earth self-ballanc'd on her Center hung.

—Thus was the first Day Ev'n and Morn

Nor past uncelebrated nor unsung

By the Celestial Quires, when Orient Light

Exhaling first from Darkness they beheld;

Birth-day of Heav'n and Earth! with Joy and Shout

The hollow universal Orb they fill'd.

Immediately the Mountains huge appear

Emergent, and their broad bare Backs up-heave

Into the Clouds, their Tops ascend the Sky:

So high as heav'd the tumid Hills, so low

Down sunk a hollow Bottom, broad and deep,

Capacious Bed of Waters—

First in his East the glorious Lamp was seen,

Regent of Day; and all th' Horizon round

Invested with bright Rays, jocund to round

His Longitude through Heav'ns high Road: the gray

Dawn, and the Pleiades before him danced,

Shedding sweet Influence. Less bright the Moon,

But opposite in level'd West was set,

His Mirror, with full face borrowing her Light

From him, for other Lights she needed none

In that aspect, and still that distance keeps

Till Night; then in the East her turn she shines,

Revolv'd on Heav'n's great Axle, and her Reign

With thousand lesser Lights dividual holds,

With thousand thousand Stars! that then appear'd

Spangling the Hemisphere—

Asthe[7]Adam

MessiahMessiah

So Ev'n and Morn accomplished the sixth Day:

Yet not 'till the Creator from his Work

Desisting, tho' unwearied, up return'd,

Up to the Heav'n of Heav'ns, his high Abode;

Thence to behold this new created World,

Th' Addition of his Empire, how it shewed

In prospect from his Throne, how good, how fair,

Answering his great Idea: Up he rode,

Follow'd with Acclamation, and the Sound

Symphonious of ten thousand Harps, that tuned

Angelick Harmonies; the Earth, the Air

Resounding (thou remember'st, for thou heard'sf)

The Heavens and all the Constellations rung;

The Planets in their Station listning stood,

While the bright Pomp ascended jubilant.

Open, ye everlasting Gates, they sung,

Open, ye Heavens, your living Doors; let in

The great Creator from his Work return'd

Magnificent, his six Days Work, a World!

cannot[8]Sirach

Footnote 1:Ovid

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:On the Sublime

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

"So likewise the Jewish legislator, no ordinary person, having conceived a just idea of the power of God, has nobly expressed it in the beginning of his law. 'And God said,'—What? 'Let there be Light, and there was Light. Let the Earth be, and the Earth was.'"

return

Footnote 5:looks like

return

Footnote 6:Zechariah

return

Footnote 7:this

return

Footnote 8:Creation

had written nothing else it would have transmitted him to posterity among the first favourites of the English muse.'

The Sea does next demand our View; and there

No less the Marks of perfect skill appear.

When first the Atoms to the Congress came,

And by their Concourse form'd the mighty Frame,

What did the Liquid to th' Assembly call

To give their Aid to form the ponderous Ball?

First, tell us, why did any come? next, why

In such a disproportion to the Dry!

Why were the Moist in Number so outdone,

That to a Thousand Dry, they are but one,

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Contents

No. 340

Monday, March 31, 1712

Steele

Quis novus hic nostris successit sedibus Hospes?

Quem sese Ore ferens! quam forti Pectore et Armis!

Virg.

Whether a yearning[1]have[2]CremonaTurinAlexanderCæsarEugeneEugeneThis[3]

Footnote 1:an earning

return

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 341

Tuesday, April 1, 1712

Budgell[1]

—Revocate animos mœstumque timorem Mittite—

Virg.

Physibulus

Sir,

I am amazed to find an Epilogue attacked in your last Friday's Paper, which has been so generally applauded by the Town, and receiv'd such Honours as were never before given to any in an English Theatre.

The Audience would not permit Mrs. Oldfield to go off the Stage the first Night, till she had repeated it twice; the second Night the Noise of Ancoras was as loud as before, and she was again obliged to speak it twice: the third Night it was still called for a second time; and, in short, contrary to all other Epilogues, which are dropt after the third Representation of the Play, this has already been repeated nine times.

I must own I am the more surprized to find this Censure in Opposition to the whole Town, in a Paper which has hitherto been famous for the Candour of its Criticisms.

I can by no means allow your melancholy Correspondent, that the new Epilogue is unnatural because it is gay. If I had a mind to be learned, I could tell him that the Prologue and Epilogue were real Parts of the ancient Tragedy; but every one knows that on the British Stage they are distinct Performances by themselves, Pieces entirely detached from the Play, and no way essential to it.

The moment the Play ends, Mrs. Oldfield is no more Andromache, but Mrs. Oldfield; and tho' the Poet had left Andromache stone-dead upon the Stage, as your ingenious Correspondent phrases it, Mrs. Oldfield might still have spoke a merry Epilogue. We have an Instance of this in a Tragedy[2] where there is not only a Death but a Martyrdom. St. Catherine was there personated by Nell Gwin; she lies stone dead upon the Stage, but upon those Gentlemen's offering to remove her Body, whose Business it is to carry off the Slain in our English Tragedies, she breaks out into that abrupt Beginning of what was a very ludicrous, but at the same time thought a very good Epilogue.

Hold, are you mad? you damn'd confounded Dog,

I am to rise and speak the Epilogue.

This diverting Manner was always practised by Mr. Dryden, who if he was not the best Writer of Tragedies in his time, was allowed by every one to have the happiest Turn for a Prologue or an Epilogue. The Epilogues to Cleomenes, Don Sebastian, The Duke of Guise, Aurengzebe, and Love Triumphant, are all Precedents of this Nature.

I might further justify this Practice by that excellent Epilogue which was spoken a few Years since, after the Tragedy of Phædra and Hippolitus; with a great many others, in which the Authors have endeavour'd to make the Audience merry. If they have not all succeeded so well as the Writer of this, they have however shewn that it was not for want of Good-will.

I must further observe, that the Gaiety of it may be still the more proper, as it is at the end of a French Play; since every one knows that Nation, who are generally esteem'd to have as polite a Taste as any in Europe, always close their Tragick Entertainments with what they call a Petite Piece, which is purposely design'd to raise Mirth, and send away the Audience well pleased. The same Person who has supported the chief Character in the Tragedy, very often plays the principal Part in the Petite Piece; so that I have my self seen at Paris, Orestes and Lubin acted the same Night by the same Man.

Tragi-Comedy, indeed, you have your self in a former Speculation found fault with very justly, because it breaks the Tide of the Passions while they are yet flowing; but this is nothing at all to the present Case, where they have already had their full Course.

As the new Epilogue is written conformable to the Practice of our best Poets, so it is not such an one which, as the Duke of Buckingham says in his Rehearsal, might serve for any other Play; but wholly rises out of the Occurrences of the Piece it was composed for.

The only Reason your mournful Correspondent gives against this Facetious Epilogue, as he calls it, is, that he has mind to go home melancholy. I wish the Gentleman may not be more Grave than Wise. For my own part, I must confess I think it very sufficient to have the Anguish of a fictitious Piece remain upon me while it is representing, but I love to be sent home to bed in a good humour. If Physibulus is however resolv'd to be inconsolable, and not to have his Tears dried up, he need only continue his old Custom, and when he has had his half Crown's worth of Sorrow, slink out before the Epilogue begins.

It is pleasant enough to hear this Tragical Genius complaining of the great Mischief Andromache had done him: What was that? Why, she made him laugh. The poor Gentleman's Sufferings put me in mind of Harlequin's Case, who was tickled to Death. He tells us soon after, thro' a small Mistake of Sorrow for Rage, that during the whole Action he was so very sorry, that he thinks he could have attack'd half a score of the fiercest Mohocks in the Excess of his Grief. I cannot but look upon it as an happy Accident, that a Man who is so bloody-minded in his Affliction, was diverted from this Fit of outragious Melancholy. The Valour of this Gentleman in his Distress, brings to one's memory the Knight of the sorrowful Countenance, who lays about him at such an unmerciful rate in an old Romance. I shall readily grant him that his Soul, as he himself says, would have made a very ridiculous Figure, had it quitted the Body, and descended to the Poetical Shades, in such an Encounter.

As to his Conceit of tacking a Tragic Head with a Comic Tail, in order to refresh the Audience, it is such a piece of Jargon, that I dont know what to make of it.

The elegant Writer makes a very sudden Transition from the Play-house to the Church, and from thence, to the Gallows.

As for what relates to the Church, he is of Opinion, that these Epilogues have given occasion to those merry Jiggs from the Organ-Loft which have dissipated those good Thoughts, and Dispositions he has found in himself, and the rest of the Pew, upon the singing of two Staves culld out by the judicious and diligent Clark.

He fetches his next Thought from Tyburn; and seems very apprehensive lest there should happen any Innovations in the Tragedies of his Friend Paul Lorrain.

In the mean time, Sir, this gloomy Writer, who is so mightily scandaliz'd at a gay Epilogue after a serious Play, speaking of the Fate of those unhappy Wretches who are condemned to suffer an ignominious Death by the Justice of our Laws, endeavours to make the Reader merry on so improper an occasion, by those poor Burlesque Expressions of Tragical Dramas, and Monthly Performances.

I am, Sir, with great Respect,

Your most obedient, most humble Servant,

Philomeides.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Maximin

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Contents

No. 342

Wednesday, April 2, 1712

Steele

Justitiæ partes sunt non violare homines: Verecundiæ non offendere.

Tull.

'Mr. Spectator,

'I was this Day looking over your Papers, and reading in that of December the 6th with great delight, the amiable Grief of Asteria for the Absence of her Husband, it threw me into a great deal of Reflection. I cannot say but this arose very much from the Circumstances of my own Life, who am a Soldier, and expect every Day to receive Orders; which will oblige me to leave behind me a Wife that is very dear to me, and that very deservedly. She is, at present, I am sure, no way below your Asteria for Conjugal Affection: But I see the Behaviour of some Women so little suited to the Circumstances wherein my Wife and I shall soon be, that it is with a Reluctance I never knew before, I am going to my Duty. What puts me to present Pain, is the Example of a young Lady, whose Story you shall have as well as I can give it you. Hortensius, an Officer of good Rank in her Majesty's Service, happen'd in a certain Part of England to be brought to a Country-Gentleman's House, where he was receiv'd with that more than ordinary Welcome, with which Men of domestick Lives entertain such few Soldiers whom a military Life, from the variety of Adventures, has not render'd over-bearing, but humane, easy, and agreeable: Hortensius stay'd here some time, and had easy Access at all hours, as well as unavoidable Conversation at some parts of the Day with the beautiful Sylvana, the Gentleman's Daughter. People who live in Cities are wonderfully struck with every little Country Abode they see when they take the Air; and 'tis natural to fancy they could live in every neat Cottage (by which they pass) much happier than in their present Circumstances. The turbulent way of Life which Hortensius was used to, made him reflect with much Satisfaction on all the Advantages of a sweet Retreat one day; and among the rest, you'll think it not improbable, it might enter into his Thought, that such a Woman as Sylvana would consummate the Happiness. The World is so debauched with mean Considerations, that Hortensius knew it would be receiv'd as an Act of Generosity, if he asked for a Woman of the Highest Merit, without further Questions, of a Parent who had nothing to add to her personal Qualifications. The Wedding was celebrated at her Father's House: When that was over, the generous Husband did not proportion his Provision for her to the Circumstances of her Fortune, but considered his Wife as his Darling, his Pride, and his Vanity, or rather that it was in the Woman he had chosen that a Man of Sense could shew Pride or Vanity with an Excuse, and therefore adorned her with rich Habits and valuable Jewels. He did not however omit to admonish her that he did his very utmost in this; that it was an Ostentation he could not but be guilty of to a Woman he had so much Pleasure in, desiring her to consider it as such; and begged of her also to take these Matters rightly, and believe the Gems, the Gowns, the Laces would still become her better, if her Air and Behaviour was such, that it might appear she dressed thus rather in Compliance to his Humour that Way, than out of any Value she her self had for the Trifles. To this Lesson, too hard for Woman, Hortensius added, that she must be sure to stay with her Friends in the Country till his Return. As soon as Hortensius departed, Sylvana saw in her Looking-glass that the Love he conceiv'd for her was wholly owing to the Accident of seeing her: and she is convinced it was only her Misfortune the rest of Mankind had not beheld her, or Men of much greater Quality and Merit had contended for one so genteel, tho' bred in Obscurity; so very witty, tho' never acquainted with Court or Town. She therefore resolved not to hide so much Excellence from the World, but without any Regard to the Absence of the most generous Man alive, she is now the gayest Lady about this Town, and has shut out the Thoughts of her Husband by a constant Retinue of the vainest young Fellows this Age has produced: to entertain whom, she squanders away all Hortensius is able to supply her with, tho' that Supply is purchased with no less Difficulty than the Hazard of his Life.

'Now, Mr. Spectator, would it not be a Work becoming your Office to treat this Criminal as she deserves? You should give it the severest Reflections you can: You should tell Women, that they are more accountable for Behaviour in Absence than after Death. The Dead are not dishonour'd by their Levities; the Living may return, and be laugh'd at by empty Fops, who will not fail to turn into Ridicule the good Man who is so unseasonable as to be still alive, and come and spoil good Company.

I am, Sir,

your most Obedient Humble Servant.

Contents

No. 343

Thursday, April 3, 1712

Addison

—Errat et illinc

Huc venit, hinc illuc, et quoslibet occupat artus

Spiritus: éque feris humana in corpora transit,

Inque feras noster—

Pythag. ap. Ov.

Will. HoneycombSir Paul Rycaut[1]MahometansAlgiersWillWill

WilltoldJack Freeloveon[2]

WillJack

Madam,

Not having the Gift of Speech, I have a long time waited in vain for an Opportunity of making myself known to you; and having at present the Conveniences of Pen, Ink, and Paper by me, I gladly take the occasion of giving you my History in Writing, which I could not do by word of Mouth. You must know, Madam, that about a thousand Years ago I was an Indian Brachman, and versed in all those mysterious Secrets which your European Philosopher, called Pythagoras, is said to have learned from our Fraternity. I had so ingratiated my self by my great Skill in the occult Sciences with a Daemon whom I used to converse with, that he promised to grant me whatever I should ask of him. I desired that my Soul might never pass into the Body of a brute Creature; but this he told me was not in his Power to grant me. I then begg'd that into whatever Creature I should chance to Transmigrate, I might still retain my Memory, and be conscious that I was the same Person who lived in different Animals. This he told me was within his Power, and accordingly promised on the word of a Daemon that he would grant me what I desired. From that time forth I lived so very unblameably, that I was made President of a College of Brachmans, an Office which I discharged with great Integrity till the day of my Death. I was then shuffled into another Human Body, and acted my Part so very well in it, that I became first Minister to a Prince who reigned upon the Banks of the Ganges. I here lived in great Honour for several Years, but by degrees lost all the Innocence of the Brachman, being obliged to rifle and oppress the People to enrich my Sovereign; till at length I became so odious that my Master, to recover his Credit with his Subjects, shot me thro' the Heart with an Arrow, as I was one day addressing my self to him at the Head of his Army.

Upon my next remove I found my self in the Woods, under the shape of a Jack-call, and soon listed my self in the Service of a Lion. I used to yelp near his Den about midnight, which was his time of rouzing and seeking after his Prey. He always followed me in the Rear, and when I had run down a fat Buck, a wild Goat, or an Hare, after he had feasted very plentifully upon it himself, would now and then throw me a Bone that was but half picked for my Encouragement; but upon my Being unsuccessful in two or three Chaces, he gave me such a confounded Gripe in his Anger, that I died of it.

In my next Transmigration I was again set upon two Legs, and became an Indian Tax-gatherer; but having been guilty of great Extravagances, and being marry'd to an expensive Jade of a Wife, I ran so cursedly in debt, that I durst not shew my Head. I could no sooner step out of my House, but I was arrested by some body or other that lay in wait for me. As I ventur'd abroad one Night in the Dusk of the Evening, I was taken up and hurry'd into a Dungeon, where I died a few Months after.

My Soul then enter'd into a Flying-Fish, and in that State led a most melancholy Life for the space of six Years. Several Fishes of Prey pursued me when I was in the Water, and if I betook my self to my Wings, it was ten to one but I had a flock of Birds aiming at me. As I was one day flying amidst a fleet of English Ships, I observed a huge Sea-Gull whetting his Bill and hovering just over my Head: Upon my dipping into the Water to avoid him, I fell into the Mouth of a monstrous Shark that swallow'd me down in an instant.

I was some Years afterwards, to my great surprize, an eminent Banker in Lombard-street; and remembring how I had formerly suffered for want of Money, became so very sordid and avaritious, that the whole Town cried shame of me. I was a miserable little old Fellow to look upon, for I had in a manner starved my self, and was nothing but Skin and Bone when I died.

I was afterwards very much troubled and amazed to find my self dwindled into an Emmet. I was heartily concerned to make so insignificant a Figure, and did not know but some time or other I might be reduced to a Mite if I did not mend my Manners. I therefore applied my self with great diligence to the Offices that were allotted me, and was generally look'd upon as the notablest Ant in the whole Molehill. I was at last picked up, as I was groaning under a Burden, by an unlucky Cock-Sparrow that lived in the Neighbourhood, and had before made great depredations upon our Commonwealth.

I then better'd my Condition a little, and lived a whole Summer in the Shape of a Bee; but being tired with the painful and penurious Life I had undergone in my two last Transmigrations, I fell into the other Extream, and turned Drone. As I one day headed a Party to plunder an Hive, we were received so warmly by the Swarm which defended it, that we were most of us left dead upon the Spot.

I might tell you of many other Transmigrations which I went thro': how I was a Town-Rake, and afterwards did Penance in a Bay Gelding for ten Years; as also how I was a Taylor, a Shrimp, and a Tom-tit. In the last of these my Shapes I was shot in the Christmas Holidays by a young Jack-a-napes, who would needs try his new Gun upon me.

But I shall pass over these and other several Stages of Life, to remind you of the young Beau who made love to you about Six Years since. You may remember, Madam, how he masked, and danced, and sung, and play'd a thousand Tricks to gain you; and how he was at last carry'd off by a Cold that he got under your Window one Night in a Serenade. I was that unfortunate young Fellow, whom you were then so cruel to. Not long after my shifting that unlucky Body, I found myself upon a Hill in Æthiopia, where I lived in my present Grotesque Shape, till I was caught by a Servant of the English Factory, and sent over into Great Britain: I need not inform you how I came into your Hands. You see, Madam, this is not the first time that you have had me in a Chain: I am, however, very happy in this my Captivity, as you often bestow on me those Kisses and Caresses which I would have given the World for, when I was a Man. I hope this Discovery of my Person will not tend to my Disadvantage, but that you will still continue your accustomed Favours to

Your most Devoted

Humble Servant,

Pugg.

P. S. I would advise your little Shock-dog to keep out of my way; for as I look upon him to be the most formidable of my Rivals, I may chance one time or other to give him such a Snap as he won't like.

Footnote 1:Present State of the Ottoman EmpireA Particular Description of the Mahometan Religion, the Seraglio, the Maritime and Land Forces of TurkeyHistory of the Turks The Present State of the Greek and American ChurchesHistory of the TurksLives of the PopesHistory of Peru

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Footnote 2:upon

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Contents

No. 344

Friday, April 4, 1712

Steele

In solo vivendi causa palato est.

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

I think it has not yet fallen into your Way to discourse on little Ambition, or the many whimsical Ways Men fall into, to distinguish themselves among their Acquaintance: Such Observations, well pursued, would make a pretty History of low Life. I my self am got into a great Reputation, which arose (as most extraordinary Occurrences in a Man's Life seem to do) from a mere Accident. I was some Days ago unfortunately engaged among a Set of Gentlemen, who esteem a Man according to the Quantity of Food he throws down at a Meal. Now I, who am ever for distinguishing my self according to the Notions of Superiority which the rest of the Company entertain, ate so immoderately for their Applause, as had like to have cost me my Life. What added to my Misfortune was, that having naturally a good Stomach, and having lived soberly for some time, my Body was as well prepared for this Contention as if it had been by Appointment. I had quickly vanquished every Glutton in Company but one, who was such a Prodigy in his Way, and withal so very merry during the whole Entertainment, that he insensibly betrayed me to continue his Competitor, which in a little time concluded in a compleat Victory over my Rival; after which, by Way of Insult, I ate a considerable Proportion beyond what the Spectators thought me obliged in Honour to do. The Effect however of this Engagement, has made me resolve never to eat more for Renown; and I have, pursuant to this Resolution, compounded three Wagers I had depending on the Strength of my Stomach; which happened very luckily, because it was stipulated in our Articles either to play or pay. How a Man of common Sense could be thus engaged, is hard to determine; but the Occasion of this, is to desire you to inform several Gluttons of my Acquaintance, who look on me with Envy, that they had best moderate their Ambition in time, lest Infamy or Death attend their Success. I forgot to tell you, Sir, with what unspeakable Pleasure I received the Acclamations and Applause of the whole Board, when I had almost eat my Antagonist into Convulsions: It was then that I returned his Mirth upon him with such success as he was hardly able to swallow, though prompted by a Desire of Fame, and a passionate Fondness for Distinction: I had not endeavoured to excel so far, had not the Company been so loud in their Approbation of my Victory. I don't question but the same Thirst after Glory has often caused a Man to drink Quarts without taking Breath, and prompted Men to many other difficult Enterprizes; which if otherwise pursued, might turn very much to a Man's Advantage. This Ambition of mine was indeed extravagantly pursued; however I can't help observing, that you hardly ever see a Man commended for a good Stomach, but he immediately falls to eating more (tho' he had before dined) as well to confirm the Person that commended him in his good Opinion of him, as to convince any other at the Table, who may have been unattentive enough not to have done Justice to his Character.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Epicure Mammon.

Mr. Spectator,

I have writ to you three or four times, to desire you would take notice of an impertinent Custom the Women, the fine Women, have lately fallen into, of taking Snuff[1]. This silly Trick is attended with such a Coquet Air in some Ladies, and such a sedate masculine one in others, that I cannot tell which most to complain of; but they are to me equally disagreeable. Mrs. Saunter is so impatient of being without it, that she takes it as often as she does Salt at Meals; and as she affects a wonderful Ease and Negligence in all her manner, an upper Lip mixed with Snuff and the Sauce, is what is presented to the Observation of all who have the honour to eat with her. The pretty Creature her Neice does all she can to be as disagreeable as her Aunt; and if she is not as offensive to the Eye, she is quite as much to the Ear, and makes up all she wants in a confident Air, by a nauseous Rattle of the Nose, when the Snuff is delivered, and the Fingers make the Stops and Closes on the Nostrils. This, perhaps, is not a very courtly Image in speaking of Ladies; that is very true: but where arises the Offence? Is it in those who commit, or those who observe it? As for my part, I have been so extremely disgusted with this filthy Physick hanging on the Lip, that the most agreeable Conversation, or Person, has not been able to make up for it. As to those who take it for no other end but to give themselves Occasion for pretty Action, or to fill up little Intervals of Discourse, I can bear with them; but then they must not use it when another is speaking, who ought to be heard with too much respect, to admit of offering at that time from Hand to Hand the Snuff-Box. But Flavilla is so far taken with her Behaviour in this kind, that she pulls out her Box (which is indeed full of good Brazile) in the middle of the Sermon; and to shew she has the Audacity of a well-bred Woman, she offers it the Men as well as the Women who sit near her: But since by this Time all the World knows she has a fine Hand, I am in hopes she may give her self no further Trouble in this matter. On Sunday was sennight, when they came about for the Offering, she gave her Charity with a very good Air, but at the same Time asked the Churchwarden if he would take a Pinch. Pray, Sir, think of these things in time, and you will oblige,

Sir,

Your most humble servant.

Footnote 1:The British Perfumer, Snuff Manufacturer, and Colourman's GuideSnuffs

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Contents

No. 345

Saturday, April 5, 1712

Addison

Sanctius his animal, mentisque capacius altæ

Deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in cœtera posset,

Natus homo est.

Ov. Met.

Raphael

sAdamEveAdam'sEve

So spake our Sire, and by his Countenance seem'd

Entring on studious Thoughts abstruse: which Eve

Perceiving, where she sat retired in sight,

With lowliness majestick, from her Seat,

And Grace, that won who saw to wish her Stay,

Rose; and went forth among her Fruits and Flowers

To visit how they prosper'd, Bud and Bloom,

Her Nursery: they at her coming sprung,

And touch'd by her fair Tendance gladlier grew.

Yet went she not, as not with such Discourse

Delighted, or not capable her Ear

Of what was high: Such Pleasure she reserved,

Adam relating, she sole Auditress;

Her Husband the Relater she preferr'd

Before the Angel, and of him to ask

Chose rather: he, she knew, would intermix

Grateful Digressions, and solve high Dispute

With conjugal Caresses; from his Lip

Not Words alone pleas'd her. O when meet now

Such Pairs, in Love and mutual Honour join'd!

Adam'sPtolemaickCopernican

AdamEveAdam

For while I sit with thee, I seem in Heav'n,

And sweeter thy Discourse is to my Ear

Than Fruits of Palm-tree (pleasantest to Thirst

And Hunger both from Labour) at the hour

Of sweet Repast: they satiate, and soon fill,

Tho' pleasant; but thy Words with Grace divine

Imbu'd, bring to their Sweetness no Satiety.

Adam

For I that day was absent, as befel,

Bound on a Voyage uncouth and obscure;

Far on Excursion towards the Gates of Hell,

Squar'd in full Legion such Command we had

To see that none thence issued forth a Spy,

Or Enemy; while God was in his Work,

Lest he, incens'd at such Eruption bold,

Destruction with Creation might have mix'd.

Virgil'sÆneasSibyl

—Fast we found, fast shut

The dismal Gates, and barricado'd strong;

But long ere our Approaching heard within

Noise, other than the Sound of Dance or Song,

Torment, and loud Lament, and furious Rage.

Adam

—As new waked from soundest Sleep,

Soft on the flow'ry Herb I found me laid

In balmy Sweat, which with his Beams the Sun

Soon dried, and on the reaking Moisture fed.

Streight towards Heav'n my wond'ring Eyes I turn'd,

And gazed awhile the ample Sky, till rais'd

By quick instinctive Motion, up I sprung,

As thitherward endeavouring, and upright

Stood on my Feet: About me round I saw

Hill, Dale, and shady Woods, and sunny Plains,

And liquid lapse of murmuring Streams; by these

Creatures that liv'd, and mov'd, and walked, or flew,

Birds on the Branches warbling; all things smil'd:

With Fragrance, and with Joy my Heart o'erflow'd.

Adam

—Thou Sun, said I, fair Light,

And thou enlighten'd Earth, so fresh and gay,

Ye Hills and Dales, ye Rivers, Woods and Plains,

And ye that live and move, fair Creatures tell,

Tell if you saw, how came I thus, how here?

—Each Bird and Beast behold

Approaching two and two, these cowring low

With Blandishment; each Bird stoop'd on his Wing:

I nam'd them as they pass'd—

AdamAdam

Thus I presumptuous; and the Vision bright,

As with a Smile more bright-tied, thus reply'd, &c.

—I, with leave of Speech implor'd

And humble Deprecation, thus reply d:

Let not my Words offend thee, Heav'nly Power,

My Maker, be propitious while I speak, &c.

AdamEve

Under his forming Hands a Creature grew,

Manlike, but different Sex: so lovely fair,

That what seem'd fair in all the World, seemed now

Mean, or in her summ'd up, in her contained,

And in her Looks; which from that time infused

Sweetness info my Heart, unfelt before:

And into all things from her Air inspired

The Spirit of Love and amorous Delight.

Adam's

AdamEveDrydenMiltonAdam

Thus have I told thee all my State, and brought

My Story to the sum of earthly Bliss,

Which I enjoy; and must confess to find

In all things else Delight indeed, but such

As us'd or not, works in the Mind no Change

Nor vehement Desire; these Delicacies

I mean of Taste, Sight, Smell, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers,

Walks, and the Melody of Birds: but here

Far otherwise, transported I behold,

Transported touch; here Passion first I felt,

Commotion strange! in all Enjoyments else

Superiour and unmov'd, here only weak

Against the Charms of Beauty's powerful Glance.

Or Nature fail'd in me, and left some Part

Not Proof enough such Object to sustain;

Or from my Side subducting, took perhaps

More than enough; at least on her bestowed

Too much of Ornament in outward shew

Elaborate, of inward less exact.

—When I approach

Her Loveliness, so absolute she seems

And in herself compleat, so well to know

Her own, that what she wills to do or say

Seems wisest, vertuousest, discreetest, best:

All higher Knowledge in her Presence falls

Degraded: Wisdom in discourse with her

Loses discountenanced, and like Folly shews;

Authority and Reason on her wait,

As one intended first, not after made

Occasionally: and to consummate all,

Greatness of Mind, and Nobleness their Seat

Build in her loveliest, and create an Awe

About her, as a Guard angelick plac'd.

AdamAdam

Neither her outside Form so fair, nor aught

In Procreation common to all kinds,

(Tho' higher of the genial Bed by far,

And with mysterious Reverence I deem)

So much delights me, as those graceful Acts,

Those thousand Decencies that daily flow

From all her Words and Actions, mixt with Love

And sweet Compliance, which declare unfeign'd

Union of Mind, or in us both one Soul;

Harmony to behold in—wedded Pair!

Adam's

Contents

No. 346

Monday, April 7, 1712

Steele

Consuetudinem benignitatis largitioni Munerum longe antepono. Hæc est Gravium hominum atque Magnorum; Illa quasi assentatorum populi, multitudinis levitatem voluptate quasi titillantium.

Tull.

TomTomToryWhig

SpectatorEdward KeenGeorge PowellAlexander, Timon, LearOrestesJack Falstaffe.

Contents

No. 347

Tuesday, April 8, 1712

Budgell

Quis furor ô Cives! quæ tanta licentia ferri!

Lucan.

To the Spectator.

Sir,

"Finding that our earnest Endeavours for the Good of Mankind have been basely and maliciously represented to the World, we send you enclosed our Imperial Manifesto, which it is our Will and Pleasure that you forthwith communicate to the Publick, by inserting it in your next daily Paper. We do not doubt of your ready Compliance in this Particular, and therefore bid you heartily Farewell."

Sign'd,

Taw Waw Eben Zan Kaladar,

Emperor of the Mohocks.

The Manifesto of Taw Waw Eben Zan Kaladar, Emperor of the Mohocks.

"Whereas we have received Information from sundry Quarters of this great and populous City, of several Outrages committed on the Legs, Arms, Noses, and other Parts of the good People of England, by such as have styled themselves our Subjects; in order to vindicate our Imperial Dignity from those false Aspersions which have been cast on it, as if we our selves might have encouraged or abetted any such Practices; we have, by these Presents, thought fit to signify our utmost Abhorrence and Detestation of all such tumultuous and irregular Proceedings: and do hereby further give notice, that if any Person or Persons has or have suffered any Wound, Hurt, Damage or Detriment in his or their Limb or Limbs, otherwise than shall be hereafter specified, the said Person or Persons, upon applying themselves to such as we shall appoint for the Inspection and Redress of the Grievances aforesaid, shall be forthwith committed to the Care of our principal Surgeon, and be cured at our own Expence, in some one or other of those Hospitals which we are now erecting for that purpose.

"And to the end that no one may, either through Ignorance or Inadvertency, incur those Penalties which we have thought fit to inflict on Persons of loose and dissolute Lives, we do hereby notifie to the Publick, that if any Man be knocked down or assaulted while he is employed in his lawful Business, at proper Hours, that it is not done by our Order; and we do hereby permit and allow any such person so knocked down or assaulted, to rise again, and defend himself in the best manner that he is able.

"We do also command all and every our good Subjects, that they do not presume, upon any Pretext whatsoever, to issue and sally forth from their respective Quarters till between the Hours of Eleven and Twelve. That they never Tip the Lion upon Man, Woman or Child, till the Clock at St. Dunstan's shall have struck One.

"That the Sweat be never given but between the Hours of One and Two; always provided, that our Hunters may begin to Hunt a little after the Close of the Evening, any thing to the contrary herein notwithstanding. Provided also, that if ever they are reduced to the Necessity of Pinking, it shall always be in the most fleshy Parts, and such as are least exposed to view.

"It is also our Imperial Will and Pleasure, that our good Subjects the Sweaters do establish their Hummums[1] in such close Places, Alleys, Nooks, and Corners, that the Patient or Patients may not be in danger of catching Cold.

"That the Tumblers, to whose Care we chiefly commit the Female Sex, confine themselves to Drury-Lane and the Purlieus of the Temple; and that every other Party and Division of our Subjects do each of them keep within the respective Quarters we have allotted to them. Provided nevertheless, that nothing herein contained shall in any wise be construed to extend to the Hunters, who have our full Licence and Permission to enter into any Part of the Town where-ever their Game shall lead them.

"And whereas we have nothing more at our Imperial Heart than the Reformation of the Cities of London and Westminster, which to our unspeakable Satisfaction we have in some measure already effected, we do hereby earnestly pray and exhort all Husbands, Fathers, Housekeepers and Masters of Families, in either of the aforesaid Cities, not only to repair themselves to their respective Habitations at early and seasonable Hours; but also to keep their Wives and Daughters, Sons, Servants, and Apprentices, from appearing in the Streets at those Times and Seasons which may expose them to a military Discipline, as it is practised by our good Subjects the Mohocks: and we do further promise, on our Imperial Word, that as soon as the Reformation aforesaid shall be brought about, we will forthwith cause all Hostilities to cease.

"Given from our Court at the Devil-Tavern,

March 15, 1712."

Footnote 1:Hummumsbagnios

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Contents

No. 348

Wednesday, April 9, 1712

Steele

Invidiam placare paras virtute relicta?

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

'I have not seen you lately at any of the Places where I visit, so that I am afraid you are wholly unacquainted with what passes among my part of the World, who are, tho' I say it, without Controversy, the most accomplished and best bred of the Town. Give me leave to tell you, that I am extremely discomposed when I hear Scandal, and am an utter Enemy to all manner of Detraction, and think it the greatest Meanness that People of Distinction can be guilty of: However, it is hardly possible to come into Company, where you do not find them pulling one another to pieces, and that from no other Provocation but that of hearing any one commended. Merit, both as to Wit and Beauty, is become no other than the Possession of a few trifling People's Favour, which you cannot possibly arrive at, if you have really any thing in you that is deserving. What they would bring to pass, is, to make all Good and Evil consist in Report, and with Whispers, Calumnies and Impertinencies, to have the Conduct of those Reports. By this means Innocents are blasted upon their first Appearance in Town; and there is nothing more required to make a young Woman the object of Envy and Hatred, than to deserve Love and Admiration. This abominable Endeavour to suppress or lessen every thing that is praise-worthy, is as frequent among the Men as the Women. If I can remember what passed at a Visit last Night, it will serve as an Instance that the Sexes are equally inclined to Defamation, with equal Malice, with equal Impotence. Jack Triplett came into my Lady Airy's about Eight of the Clock. You know the manner we sit at a Visit, and I need not describe the Circle; but Mr. Triplett came in, introduced by two Tapers supported by a spruce Servant, whose Hair is under a Cap till my Lady's Candles are all lighted up, and the Hour of Ceremony begins: I say, Jack Triplett came in, and singing (for he is really good Company) 'Every Feature, Charming Creature,—he went on, It is a most unreasonable thing that People cannot go peaceably to see their Friends, but these Murderers are let loose. Such a Shape! such an Air! what a Glance was that as her Chariot pass'd by mine—My Lady herself interrupted him; Pray who is this fine Thing—I warrant, says another, 'tis the Creature I was telling your Ladyship of just now. You were telling of? says Jack; I wish I had been so happy as to have come in and heard you, for I have not Words to say what she is: But if an agreeable Height, a modest Air, a Virgin Shame, and Impatience of being beheld, amidst a Blaze of ten thousand Charms—The whole Room flew out—Oh Mr. Triplett!—When Mrs. Lofty, a known Prude, said she believed she knew whom the Gentleman meant; but she was indeed, as he civilly represented her, impatient of being beheld —- Then turning to the Lady next to her—The most unbred Creature you ever saw. Another pursued the Discourse: As unbred, Madam, as you may think her, she is extremely bely'd if she is the Novice she appears; she was last Week at a Ball till two in the Morning; Mr. Triplett knows whether he was the happy Man that took Care of her home; but—This was followed by some particular Exception that each Woman in the Room made to some peculiar Grace or Advantage so that Mr. Triplett was beaten from one Limb and Feature to another, till he was forced to resign the whole Woman. In the end I took notice Triplett recorded all this Malice in his Heart; and saw in his Countenance, and a certain waggish Shrug, that he design'd to repeat the Conversation: I therefore let the Discourse die, and soon after took an Occasion to commend a certain Gentleman of my Acquaintance for a Person of singular Modesty, Courage, Integrity, and withal as a Man of an entertaining Conversation, to which Advantages he had a Shape and Manner peculiarly graceful. Mr. Triplett, who is a Woman's Man, seem'd to hear me with Patience enough commend the Qualities of his Mind: He never heard indeed but that he was a very honest Man, and no Fool; but for a fine Gentleman, he must ask Pardon. Upon no other Foundation than this, Mr. Triplett took occasion to give the Gentleman's Pedigree, by what Methods some part of the Estate was acquired, how much it was beholden to a Marriage for the present Circumstances of it: After all, he could see nothing but a common Man in his Person, his Breeding or Understanding.

Thus, Mr. Spectator, this impertinent Humour of diminishing every one who is produced in Conversation to their Advantage, runs thro the World; and I am, I confess, so fearful of the Force of ill Tongues, that I have begged of all those who are my Well-wishers never to commend me, for it will but bring my Frailties into Examination, and I had rather be unobserved, than conspicuous for disputed Perfections. I am confident a thousand young People, who would have been Ornaments to Society, have, from Fear of Scandal, never dared to exert themselves in the polite Arts of Life. Their Lives have passed away in an odious Rusticity, in spite of great Advantages of Person, Genius and Fortune. There is a vicious Terror of being blamed in some well-inclin'd People, and a wicked Pleasure in suppressing them in others; both which I recommend to your Spectatorial Wisdom to animadvert upon; and if you can be successful in it, I need not say how much you will deserve of the Town; but new Toasts will owe to you their Beauty, and new Wits their Fame. I am,

Sir,

Your most Obedient

Humble Servant,

Mary."

Contents

No. 349

Thursday, April 10, 1712

Addison

Quos ille timorum

Maximus haud urget lethi metus: inde ruendi

In ferrum mens prona viris, animæque capaces

Mortis.

Lucan.

Phalaris

uponEpaminondasChabriasIphicrates[1]

GrecianRomanMonsieur de St. EvremontPetronius ArbiterSeneca, CatoSocratesPetronius'sSocratesSir Thomas More.

ErasmusEpistle DedicatoryDemocritus

GreeksRomansmetHistory of the Revolutions in PortugalAbbot de Vertot[2]

Don SebastianMuly MolucMoluc

Footnote 1:Life of Epaminondas.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Spectator'sHistory of the Revolutions of Portugal,

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Contents

No. 350

Friday, April 11, 1712

Steele

Ea animi elatio quæ cernitur in periculis, si Justitia vacat pugnatque pro suis commodis, in vitio est.

Tull.

Captain SentreyIpswichSpectatorDominick PottiereGoodwinEnglishmanFrenchEnglishmanIpswichEnglishmanPottiereGoodwinCalaisPottiereGoodwin

Sentrey

TurnusÆneasÆneasTurnusÆneasÆneasÆneasTurnus

Contents

No. 351

Saturday, April 12, 1712

Addison

In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit.

Virg.

HomerTrojanGreeksAchillesUlysses

ÆneasVirgilRomansÆneasItalyTheDionysius Halicarnasseus[1]

Virgil'sÆneasÆneasVirgilÆneasHarpyesTrojansRomansÆneasÆneasWestwardItalyWe are eating our TablesVirgilÆneasProphetessHarpyAscanius[2]

Heus etiam mensas consumimus, inquit Inlus!

TrojanÆneidVirgilÆneasOvid

Æneid

Milton'sIliadÆneidAdamMiltonSatan'sexaminedissued[3]Homer

So saying, through each Thicket Dank or Dry,

Like a black Mist, low creeping, he held on

His Midnight Search, where soonest he might find

The Serpent: him fast sleeping soon he found

In Labyrinth of many a Round self-roll'd,

His Head the midst, well stor'd with subtle Wiles.

AdamEve

Now when as sacred Light began to dawn

In Eden on the humid Flowers, that breathed

Their Morning Incense, when all things that breathe

From th' Earth's great Altar send up silent Praise

To the Creator, and his Nostrils fill

With grateful Smell; forth came the human Pair,

And join'd their vocal Worship to the Choir

Of Creatures wanting Voice—

Disputeproceeds[4]Adam'sEve

Her long with ardent Look his Eye pursued

Delighted, but desiring more her stay:

Oft he to her his Charge of quick return

Repeated; she to him as oft engaged

To be return'd by noon amid the Bower.

—Adam the while,

Waiting desirous her return, had wove

Of choicest Flowers a Garland, to adorn

Her Tresses, and her rural Labours crown:

As Reapers oft are wont their Harvest Queen.

Great Joy he promised to his thoughts, and new

Solace in her return, so long delay'd.

—Some cursed Fraud

Or Enemy hath beguil'd thee, yet unknown,

And me with thee hath ruin'd; for with thee

Certain my Resolution is to die!

How can I live without thee; how forego

Thy sweet Converse and Love so dearly join'd,

To live again in these wild Woods forlorn?

Should God create another Eve, and I

Another Rib afford, yet loss of thee

Would never from my Heart! no, no! I feel

The Link of Nature draw me: Flesh of Flesh,

Bone of my Bone thou art, and from thy State

Mine never shall be parted, Bliss or Woe!

Eve

EveAdam

—Hope elevates, and Joy

Brightens his Crest; as when a wandering Fire,

Compact of unctuous Vapour, which the Night

Condenses, and the Cold invirons round,

Kindled through Agitation to a Flame,

(Which oft, they say, some evil Spirit attends)

Hovering and blazing with delusive Light,

Misleads th' amaz'd Night-wanderer from his Way

To Bogs and Mires, and oft through Pond or Pool,

There swallowed up and lost, from succour far.

secretthose[5]

DidoÆneidVirgilMiltonEve's

So saying, her rash Hand in evil hour

Forth reaching to the Fruit, she pluckt, she eat:

Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her Seat

Sighing, through all her Works gave signs of Woe

That all was lost—

—He scrupled not to eat

Against his better knowledge; not deceiv'd,

But fondly overcome with female Charm.

Earth trembled from her Entrails, as again

In Pangs, and Nature gave a second Groan,

Sky lowred, and muttering Thunder, some sad Drops

Wept at compleating of the mortal Sin—

Adam'sEveJupiterJunoIliadJuno thereJupiterVenus[6]Ida

MiltonAdam'sEve

For never did thy Beauty, since the Day

I saw thee first and wedded thee, adorn'd

With all Perfections, so enflame my Sense

With ardor to enjoy thee, fairer now

Than ever, Bounty of this virtuous Tree.

So said he, and forbore not Glance or Toy

Of amorous Intent, well understood

Of Eve, whose Eye darted contagious Fire.

Her hand he seiz'd, and to a shady Bank

Thick over-head with verdant Roof embower'd,

He led her nothing loth: Flow'rs were the Couch,

Pansies, and Violets, and Asphodel,

And Hyacinth, Earth's freshest softest Lap.

There they their fill of Love, and Love's disport,

Took largely, of their mutual Guilt the Seal,

The Solace of their Sin, till dewy Sleep

Oppress'd them—

HomerMiltonGreekHomer

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:run

return

Footnote 4:arises

return

Footnote 5:that

return

Footnote 6:ever had

return

Contents

No. 352

Monday, April 14, 1712

Steele

Si ad honestatem nati sumus, ea aut sola expetenda est, aut certe omni pondere gravior est habenda quam reliqua omnia.

Tull.

Will. HoneycombWillWillCharles'sshall[1]

Footnote 1:Sermons

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 353

Tuesday, April 15, 1712

Budgell

—In tenui labor—

Virg.

Sir,

I take the Liberty to send you a fourth Letter upon the Education of Youth: In my last I gave you my Thoughts about some particular Tasks which I conceivd it might not be amiss to use with their usual Exercises, in order to give them an early Seasoning of Virtue; I shall in this propose some others, which I fancy might contribute to give them a right turn for the World, and enable them to make their way in it.

The Design of Learning is, as I take it, either to render a Man an agreeable Companion to himself, and teach him to support Solitude with Pleasure, or if he is not born to an Estate, to supply that Defect, and furnish him with the means of acquiring one. A Person who applies himself to Learning with the first of these Views may be said to study for Ornament, as he who proposes to himself the second, properly studies for Use. The one does it to raise himself a Fortune, the other to set off that which he is already possessed of. But as far the greater part of Mankind are included in the latter Class, I shall only propose some Methods at present for the Service of such who expect to advance themselves in the World by their Learning: In order to which, I shall premise, that many more Estates have been acquird by little Accomplishments than by extraordinary ones; those Qualities which make the greatest Figure in the Eye of the World, not being always the most useful in themselves, or the most advantageous to their Owners.

The Posts which require Men of shining and uncommon Parts to discharge them, are so very few, that many a great Genius goes out of the World without ever having had an opportunity to exert it self; whereas Persons of ordinary Endowments meet with Occasions fitted to their Parts and Capacities every day in the common Occurrences of Life.'

'I am acquainted with two Persons who were formerly School-fellows[1], and have been good Friends ever since. One of them was not only thought an impenetrable Block-head at School, but still maintain'd his Reputation at the University; the other was the Pride of his Master, and the most celebrated Person in the College of which he was a Member. The Man of Genius is at present buried in a Country Parsonage of eightscore Pounds a year; while the other, with the bare Abilities of a common Scrivener, has got an Estate of above an hundred thousand Pounds.'

'I fancy from what I have said it will almost appear a doubtful Case to many a wealthy Citizen, whether or no he ought to wish his Son should be a great Genius; but this I am sure of, that nothing is more absurd than to give a Lad the Education of one, whom Nature has not favour'd with any particular Marks of Distinction.'

'The fault therefore of our Grammar-Schools is, that every Boy is pushed on to Works of Genius; whereas it would be far more advantageous for the greatest part of them to be taught such little practical Arts and Sciences as do not require any great share of Parts to be Master of them, and yet may come often into play during the course of a Man's Life.'

'Such are all the Parts of Practical Geometry. I have known a Man contract a Friendship with a Minister of State, upon cutting a Dial in his Window; and remember a Clergyman who got one of the best Benefices in the West of England, by setting a Country Gentleman's Affairs in some Method, and giving him an exact Survey of his Estate.'

'While I am upon this Subject, I cannot forbear mentioning a Particular which is of use in every Station of Life, and which methinks every Master should teach his Scholars. I mean the writing of English Letters. To this End, instead of perplexing them with Latin Epistles, Themes and Verses, there might be a punctual Correspondence established between two Boys, who might act in any imaginary Parts of Business, or be allowd sometimes to give a range to their own Fancies, and communicate to each other whatever Trifles they thought fit, provided neither of them ever fail'd at the appointed time to answer his Correspondent's Letter.

I believe I may venture to affirm, that the generality of Boys would find themselves more advantaged by this Custom, when they come to be Men, than by all the Greek and Latin their Masters can teach them in seven or eight Years.

The want of it is very visible in many learned Persons, who, while they are admiring the Styles of Demosthenes or Cicero, want Phrases to express themselves on the most common Occasions. I have seen a Letter from one of these Latin Orators, which would have been deservedly laughd at by a common Attorney.

Under this Head of Writing I cannot omit Accounts and Short-hand, which are learned with little pains, and very properly come into the number of such Arts as I have been here recommending.

You must doubtless, Sir, observe that I have hitherto chiefly insisted upon these things for such Boys as do not appear to have any thing extraordinary in their natural Talents, and consequently are not qualified for the finer Parts of Learning; yet I believe I might carry this Matter still further, and venture to assert that a Lad of Genius has sometimes occasion for these little Acquirements, to be as it were the forerunners of his Parts, and to introduce him[2] into the World.

History is full of Examples of Persons, who tho they have had the largest Abilities, have been obliged to insinuate themselves into the Favour of great Men by these trivial Accomplishments; as the compleat Gentleman, in some of our modern Comedies, makes his first Advances to his Mistress under the disguise of a Painter or a Dancing-Master.

The Difference is, that in a Lad of Genius these are only so many Accomplishments, which in another are Essentials; the one diverts himself with them, the other works at them. In short, I look upon a great Genius, with these little Additions, in the same Light as I regard the Grand Signior, who is obliged, by an express Command in the Alcoran, to learn and practise some Handycraft Trade. Tho' I need not have gone for my Instance farther than Germany, where several Emperors have voluntarily done the same thing. Leopold the last[3], worked in Wood; and I have heard there are several handycraft Works of his making to be seen at Vienna so neatly turned, that the best Joiner in Europe might safely own them, without any disgrace to his Profession.

I would not be thought, by any thing I have said, to be against improving a Boy's Genius to the utmost pitch it can be carried. What I would endeavour to shew in this Essay is, that there may be Methods taken, to make Learning advantageous even to the meanest Capacities.

I am, Sir,

Yours, &c.

Footnote 1:

'Stratford is worth a plumb, and is now lending the Government £40,000; yet we were educated together at the same school and university.'

Journal

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:them

return

Footnote 3:Spectator

return

Contents

No. 354

Wednesday, April 16, 1712

Steele

—Cum magnis virtutibus affers

Grande supercilium—

Juv.

Mr. Spectator,

You have in some of your Discourses describ'd most sorts of Women in their distinct and proper Classes, as the Ape, the Coquet, and many others; but I think you have never yet said anything of a Devotée. A Devotée is one of those who disparage Religion by their indiscreet and unseasonable introduction of the Mention of Virtue on all Occasions: She professes she is what nobody ought to doubt she is; and betrays the Labour she is put to, to be what she ought to be with Chearfulness and Alacrity. She lives in the World, and denies her self none of the Diversions of it, with a constant Declaration how insipid all things in it are to her. She is never her self but at Church; there she displays her Virtue, and is so fervent in her Devotions, that I have frequently seen her Pray her self out of Breath. While other young Ladies in the House are dancing, or playing at Questions and Commands, she reads aloud in her Closet. She says all Love is ridiculous, except it be Celestial; but she speaks of the Passion of one Mortal to another with too much Bitterness, for one that had no Jealousy mixed with her Contempt of it. If at any time she sees a Man warm in his Addresses to his Mistress, she will lift up her Eyes to Heaven, and cry, What Nonsense is that Fool talking? Will the Bell never ring for Prayers? We have an eminent Lady of this Stamp in our Country, who pretends to Amusements very much above the rest of her Sex. She never carries a white Shock-dog with Bells under her Arm, nor a Squirrel or Dormouse in her Pocket, but always an abridg'd Piece of Morality to steal out when she is sure of being observ'd. When she went to the famous Ass-Race (which I must confess was but an odd Diversion to be encouraged by People of Rank and Figure) it was not, like other Ladies, to hear those poor Animals bray, nor to see Fellows run naked, or to hear Country Squires in bob Wigs and white Girdles make love at the side of a Coach, and cry, Madam, this is dainty Weather. Thus she described the Diversion; for she went only to pray heartily that no body might be hurt in the Crowd, and to see if the poor Fellow's Face, which was distorted with grinning, might any way be brought to it self again. She never chats over her Tea, but covers her Face, and is supposed in an Ejaculation before she tastes a Sup. This ostentatious Behaviour is such an Offence to true Sanctity, that it disparages it, and makes Virtue not only unamiable, but also ridiculous. The Sacred Writings are full of Reflections which abhor this kind of Conduct; and a Devotée is so far from promoting Goodness, that she deters others by her Example. Folly and Vanity in one of these Ladies, is like Vice in a Clergyman; it does not only debase him, but makes the inconsiderate Part of the World think the worse of Religion.

I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Hotspur.

Mr. Spectator,

'Xenophon, in his short Account of the Spartan Commonwealth[1], speaking of the Behavior of their young Men in the Streets, says, There was so much Modesty in their Looks, that you might as soon have turned the eyes of a Marble Statue upon you as theirs; and that in all their Behaviour they were more modest than a Bride when put to bed upon her Wedding-Night: This Virtue, which is always join'd to Magnanimity, had such an influence upon their Courage, that in Battel an Enemy could not look them in the Face, and they durst not but Die for their Country.

'Whenever I walk into the Streets of London and Westminster, the Countenances of all the young Fellows that pass by me, make me wish my self in Sparta; I meet with such blustering Airs, big Looks, and bold Fronts, that to a superficial Observer would bespeak a Courage above those Grecians. I am arrived to that Perfection in Speculation, that I understand the Language of the Eyes, which would be a great misfortune to me, had I not corrected the Testiness of old Age by Philosophy. There is scarce a Man in a red Coat who does not tell me, with a full Stare, he's a bold Man: I see several swear inwardly at me, without any Offence of mine, but the Oddness of my Person: I meet Contempt in every Street, express'd in different Manners, by the scornful Look, the elevated Eye-brow, and the swelling Nostrils of the Proud and Prosperous. The Prentice speaks his Disrespect by an extended Finger, and the Porter by stealing out his Tongue. If a Country Gentleman appears a little curious in observing the Edifices, Signs, Clocks, Coaches, and Dials, it is not to be imagined how the Polite Rabble of this Town, who are acquainted with these Objects, ridicule his Rusticity. I have known a Fellow with a Burden on his Head steal a Hand down from his Load, and slily twirle the Cock of a Squire's Hat behind him; while the Offended Person is swearing, or out of Countenance, all the Wagg-Wits in the High-way are grinning in applause of the ingenious Rogue that gave him the Tip, and the Folly of him who had not Eyes all round his Head to prevent receiving it. These things arise from a general Affectation of Smartness, Wit, and Courage. Wycherly somewhere[2] rallies the Pretensions this Way, by making a Fellow say, Red Breeches are a certain Sign of Valour; and Otway makes a Man, to boast his Agility, trip up a Beggar on Crutches[3]. From such Hints I beg a Speculation on this Subject; in the mean time I shall do all in the Power of a weak old Fellow in my own Defence: for as Diogenes, being in quest of an honest Man, sought for him when it was broad Day-light with a Lanthorn and Candle, so I intend for the future to walk the Streets with a dark Lanthorn, which has a convex Chrystal in it; and if any Man stares at me, I give fair Warning that I'll direct the Light full into his Eyes. Thus despairing to find Men Modest, I hope by this Means to evade their Impudence,

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Sophrosunius.

Footnote 1:The Polity of Lacedæmonthe Polity of Athens the Polity of LacedæmonCritical History of the Language and Literature of Ancient Greece

'indiscriminately held up to admiration as superior in all respects to all others. Some of its more offensive features, such as the Cryptia, child murder, and more glaring atrocities of the Helot system, are suppressed; while the legalized thieving, adultery, and other unnatural practices, are placed in the most favourable or least odious light.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Plain Dealer

Novel

(a pert railing coxcomb)

These sea captains make nothing of dressing. But let me tell you, sir, a man by his dress, as much as by anything, shows his wit and judgment; nay, and his courage too.

Freeman

How, his courage, Mr. Novel?

Novel

Why, for example, by red breeches, tucked-up hair, or peruke, a greasy broad belt, and now-a-days a short sword.

return

Footnote 3:Friendship in Fashion

Malagene

I tell you what I did t'other Day: Faith't is as good a Jest as ever you heard.

Valentine

Pray, sir, do.

Malagene

Why, walking alone, a lame Fellow follow'd me and ask'd my Charity (which by the way was a pretty Proposition to me). Being in one of my witty, merry Fits, I ask'd him how long he had been in that Condition? The poor Fellow shook his Head, and told me he was born so. But how d'ye think I served him?

Valentine

Nay, the Devil knows.

Malagene

I show'd my Parts, I think; for I tripp'd up both his Wooden Legs, and walk'd off gravely about my Business.

Valentine

And this you say is your way of Wit?

Malagene

Ay, altogether, this and Mimickry. I'm a very good Mimick; I can act Punchinello, Scaramoucho, Harlequin, Prince Prettyman, or anything. I can act the rumbling of a Wheel-barrow.

Valentine

The rumbling of a Wheelbarrow!

Malagene

Ay, the rumbling of a Wheelbarrow, so I say. Nay, more than that, I can act a Sow and Pigs, Sausages a broiling, a Shoulder of Mutton a roasting: I can act a Fly in a Honey-pot.

Valentine

That indeed must be the effect of very curious Observation.

Malagene

No, hang it, I never make it my Business to observe anything, that is Mechanick.

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Contents

No. 355

Thursday, April 17, 1712

Addison

Non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine quenquam.

Ovid.[1]

metEpictetus[2]

TheBalzacFrance[3]

Eastern

Boccalini's

Footnote 1:

quenquam, Nulla venenata littera mista joco est.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Enchiridion

return

Footnote 3:Letters and Remains

return

Contents

No. 356

Friday[1], April 18, 1712

Steele

Aptissima quæque dabunt Dii,

Charior est illis homo quam sibi.

Juv.

took[2]they[3]He

[4]

ButGod[5]

for[6]

JerusalemHosannahDavidHosannahShallNazareneIsraelDavid[7]Their[8]PeterPeter

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Christian HeroC. H.Tatler

return

Footnote 3:

'—wiser than they: Is not this the Carpenter's Son, is not his Mother called Mary, his Brethren, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? They could not—'

Christian Hero.

return

Footnote 4:

'He had compassion on 'em, commanded 'em to be seated, and with Seven Loaves, and a few little Fishes, Fed four thousand Men, besides Women and Children: Oh, the Ecstatic—'

Christian Hero.

return

Footnote 5:Good GodChristian Hero

return

Footnote 6:Christian Hero

'become a Secular Prince, or in a Forcible or Miraculous Manner to cast off the Roman Yoke they were under, and restore again those Disgraced Favourites of Heav'n, to its former Indulgence, yet had not hitherto the Apostles themselves (so deep set is our Natural Pride) any other than hopes of worldly Power, Preferment, Riches and Pomp: For Peter, who it seems ever since he left his Net and his Skiff, Dreamt of nothing but being a great Man, was utterly undone to hear our Saviour explain to 'em that his Kingdom was not of this World; and was so scandalized—'

return

Footnote 7:

'Throne of David? Such were the unpleasant Forms that ran in the Thoughts of the then Powerful in Jerusalem, upon the most Truly Glorious Entry that ever Prince made; for there was not one that followed him who was not in his Interest; their Proud—'

Christian Hero

return

Footnote 8:

'Putrified with the—'

Christian Hero.

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Contents

No. 357

Saturday, April 19, 1712

Addison

Quis talia fando

Temperet à lachrymis?

Virg.[1]

Paradise Lost

Up into Heaven from Paradise in haste

Th' Angelick Guards ascended, mute and sad

For Man; for of his State by this they knew:

Much wondering how the subtle Fiend had stol'n

Entrance unseen. Soon as th' unwelcome News

From Earth arriv'd at Heaven-Gate, displeased

All were who heard: dim Sadness did not spare

That time Celestial Visages; yet mixt

With Pity, violated not their Bliss.

About the new-arriv'd, in multitudes

Th' Ethereal People ran, to hear and know

How all befel: They tow'rds the Throne supreme

Accountable made haste to make appear

With righteous Plea, their utmost vigilance,

And easily approved; when the Most High

Eternal Father, from his secret cloud,

Amidst in thunder utter'd thus his voice.

AdamEveSinDeath

See! with what heat these Dogs of Hell advance,

To waste and havock yonder World, which I

So fair and good created; &c.

Hallelujahs

He ended, and the Heavenly Audience loud

Sung Hallelujah, as the sound of Seas,

Through Multitude that sung: Just are thy Ways,

Righteous are thy Decrees in all thy Works,

Who can extenuate thee?—

SinDeath

—Behind her Death

Close following pace for pace, not mounted yet

On his pale Horse—

And I look'd, and behold a pale Horse, and his Name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him: and Power was given unto them over the fourth Part of the Earth, to kill with Sword, and with Hunger, and with Sickness, and with the Beasts of the Earth.[2]

Some say he bid his Angels turn ascanse

The Poles of Earth twice ten Degrees and more

From the Sun's Axle; they with Labour push'd

Oblique the Centrick Globe—

MiltonVirgil'sAsia, AfrickEuropeMilton'sSatan

SatanOvid'sMiltonSatan

AdamEveMilton'sAdamEveAdamMilton

AdamEveAdam

Did I request thee, Maker, from my Clay

To mould me Man? did I sollicite thee

From Darkness to promote me? or here place

In this delicious Garden? As my Will

Concurr'd not to my Being, 'twere but right

And equal to reduce me to my Dust,

Desirous to resign, and render back

All I received—

—Why delays

His Hand to execute, what his Decree

Fix'd on this day? Why do I overlive?

Why am I mock'd with Death, and lengthened out

To deathless Pain? how gladly would I meet

Mortality my Sentence, and be Earth

Insensible! how glad would lay me down,

As in my Mother's Lap? there should I rest

And sleep secure; his dreadful Voice no more

Would thunder in my Ears: no fear of worse

To me and to my Offspring, would torment me

With cruel Expectation—

—Hide me from the Face

Of God, whom to behold was then my heighth

Of Happiness! yet well, if here would end

The Misery, I deserved it, and would bear

My own Deservings: but this will not serve;

All that I eat, or drink, or shall beget

Is propagated Curse. O Voice once heard

Delightfully, Increase and Multiply;

Now Death to hear!—

—In me all

Posterity stands curst! Fair Patrimony,

That I must leave ye, Sons! O were I able

To waste it all my self, and leave you none!

So disinherited, how would you bless

Me, now your Curse! Ah, why should all Mankind,

For one Man's Fault, thus guiltless be condemn'd,

If guiltless? But from me what can proceed

But all corrupt—

Thus Adam to himself lamented loud,

Thro' the still Night; not now, (as ere Man fell)

Wholesome, and cool, and mild, but with black Air

Accompanied, with Damps and dreadful Gloom;

Which to his evil Conscience represented

All things with double Terror. On the Ground

Outstretched he lay; on the cold Ground! and oft

Curs'd his Creation; Death as oft accus'd

Of tardy Execution—

EveAdam

He added not, and from her turned: But Eve

Not so repulst, with Tears that ceas'd not flowing,

And Tresses all disorder'd, at his feet

Fell humble; and embracing them, besought

His Peace, and thus proceeding in her Plaint.

Forsake me not thus, Adam! Witness Heav'n

What Love sincere, and Reverence in my Heart

I bear thee, and unweeting have offended,

Unhappily deceived! Thy Suppliant

I beg, and clasp thy Knees; bereave me not

(Whereon I live!) thy gentle Looks, thy Aid,

Thy Counsel, in this uttermost Distress,

My only Strength, and Stay! Forlorn of thee,

Whither shall I betake me, where subsist?

While yet we live, (scarce one short Hour perhaps)

Between us two let there be Peace, &c.

Adam'sEveEveAdam

inDeath and Sin[3]SinDeathEnglishsDeathMilton

HomerVirgilHomer indeedSleepIliad[4]HomerFlightFearApolloHoursMinerva'sTerror, Rout, Discord, Fury, Pursuit, MassacreDeathVictoryDiomedes; Discord FuneralsMourningVenusGracesBellonaTerrorConsternationHomerVirgilMiltonVictoryMessiahHoursDiscordSinSilenceMessiah'sPeaceConfusionSinDeathStrengthNecessityoneÆschylusPrometheus[5]describingPestilence[6]FeverPainPhrenzyDeathInfection

Footnote 1:

'Reddere personæ scit convenientia cuique.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Revelation

return

Footnote 3:Sin and Death

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:Prometheus Bound

Now let the shrivelling flame at me be driven,

Let him, with flaky snowstorms and the crash

Of subterraneous thunders, into ruins

And wild confusion hurl and mingle all:

For nought of these will bend me that I speak

Who is foredoomed to cast him from his throne.

return

Footnote 6:Habakkuk

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Contents

No. 358

Monday, April 21, 1712

Steele

Desipere in loco.

Charles Lillie attendedStunsfieldWoodstock[1]LillieThe[2]Covent-Garden

bestEstcourt[3]EstcourtLove for Love

Footnote 1:No. 353Spectator

'Whereas about nine weeks since there was accidentally discovered by an Husbandman, at Stunsfield, near Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, (a large Pavement of rich Mosaick Work of the Ancient Romans, which is adorn'd with several Figures alluding to Mirth and Concord, in particular that of Bacchus seated on a Panther.) This is to give Notice the Exact Delineation of the same is Engraven and Imprinted on a large Elephant sheet of Paper, which are to be sold at Mr. Charles Lillie's, Perfumer, at the corner of Beauford Buildings, in the Strand, at 1s. N. B. There are to be had, at the same Place, at one Guinea each, on superfine Atlas Paper, some painted with the same variety of Colours that the said Pavement is beautified with; this piece of Antiquity is esteemed by the Learned to be the most considerable ever found in Britain.'

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Footnote 1No. 264Love for Love

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Contents

No. 359

Tuesday, April 22, 1712

Budgell

Torva leæna lupum sequitur, lupus ipse capellam;

Florentem cytisum sequitur lusciva capella.

Virg.

RogerAndrew FreeportAndrewAndrewRogerRoger

Will. HoneycombWillWill

Honeycomb

Will'sRogerandPocket-MiltonAdam'sEve

—O! why did our

Creator wise! that peopled highest Heav'n

With Spirits masculine, create at last

This Novelty on Earth, this fair Defect

Of Nature? and not fill the World at once

With Men, as Angels, without Feminine?

Or find some other way to generate

Mankind? This Mischief had not then befall'n,

And more that shall befall; innumerable

Disturbances on Earth through Female Snares,

And strait Conjunction with this Sex: for either

He never shall find out fit Mate, but such

As some misfortune brings him, or mistake;

Or, whom he wishes most, shall seldom gain

Through her perverseness; but shall see her gain'd

By a far worse; or if she love, with-held

By Parents; or his happiest Choice too late

Shall meet already link'd, and Wedlock bound

To a fell Adversary, his Hate or Shame;

Which infinite Calamity shall cause

To human Life, and Household Peace confound[1].

RogerHoneycomb

Footnote 1:Paradise Lost,

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Contents

No. 360

Wednesday, April 23, 1712

Steele

—De paupertate tacentes

Plus poscente ferent.

Hor.

Latin

Mr. Spectator,

'There is an Evil under the Sun which has not yet come within your Speculation; and is, the Censure, Disesteem, and Contempt which some young Fellows meet with from particular Persons, for the reasonable Methods they take to avoid them in general. This is by appearing in a better Dress, than may seem to a Relation regularly consistent with a small Fortune; and therefore may occasion a Judgment of a suitable Extravagance in other Particulars: But the Disadvantage with which the Man of narrow Circumstances acts and speaks, is so feelingly set forth in a little Book called the Christian Hero[1], that the appearing to be otherwise is not only pardonable but necessary. Every one knows the hurry of Conclusions that are made in contempt of a Person that appears to be calamitous, which makes it very excusable to prepare one's self for the Company of those that are of a superior Quality and Fortune, by appearing to be in a better Condition than one is, so far as such Appearance shall not make us really of worse.

It is a Justice due to the Character of one who suffers hard Reflections from any particular Person upon this Account, that such Persons would enquire into his manner of spending his Time; of which, tho' no further Information can be had than that he remains so many Hours in his Chamber, yet if this is cleared, to imagine that a reasonable Creature wrung with a narrow Fortune does not make the best use of this Retirement, would be a Conclusion extremely uncharitable. From what has, or will be said, I hope no Consequence can be extorted, implying, that I would have any young Fellow spend more Time than the common Leisure which his Studies require, or more Money than his Fortune or Allowance may admit of, in the pursuit of an Acquaintance with his Betters: For as to his Time, the gross of that ought to be sacred to more substantial Acquisitions; for each irrevocable Moment of which he ought to believe he stands religiously Accountable. And as to his Dress, I shall engage myself no further than in the modest Defence of two plain Suits a Year: For being perfectly satisfied in Eutrapelus's Contrivance of making a Mohock of a Man, by presenting him with lac'd and embroider'd Suits, I would by no means be thought to controvert that Conceit, by insinuating the Advantages of Foppery. It is an Assertion which admits of much Proof, that a Stranger of tolerable Sense dress'd like a Gentleman, will be better received by those of Quality above him, than one of much better Parts, whose Dress is regulated by the rigid Notions of Frugality. A Man's Appearance falls within the Censure of every one that sees him; his Parts and Learning very few are Judges of; and even upon these few, they can't at first be well intruded; for Policy and good Breeding will counsel him to be reserv'd among Strangers, and to support himself only by the common Spirit of Conversation. Indeed among the Injudicious, the Words Delicacy, Idiom, fine Images, Structure of Periods, Genius, Fire, and the rest, made use of with a frugal and comely Gravity, will maintain the Figure of immense Reading, and Depth of Criticism.

'All Gentlemen of Fortune, at least the young and middle-aged, are apt to pride themselves a little too much upon their Dress, and consequently to value others in some measure upon the same Consideration. With what Confusion is a Man of Figure obliged to return the Civilities of the Hat to a Person whose Air and Attire hardly entitle him to it? For whom nevertheless the other has a particular Esteem, tho' he is ashamed to have it challenged in so publick a Manner. It must be allowed, that any young Fellow that affects to dress and appear genteelly, might with artificial Management save ten Pound a Year; as instead of fine Holland he might mourn in Sackcloth, and in other Particulars be proportionably shabby: But of what great Service would this Sum be to avert any Misfortune, whilst it would leave him deserted by the little good Acquaintance he has, and prevent his gaining any other? As the Appearance of an easy Fortune is necessary towards making one, I don't know but it might be of advantage sometimes to throw into ones Discourse certain Exclamations about Bank-Stock, and to shew a marvellous Surprize upon its Fall, as well as the most affected Triumph upon its Rise. The Veneration and Respect which the Practice of all Ages has preserved to Appearances, without doubt suggested to our Tradesmen that wise and Politick Custom, to apply and recommend themselves to the publick by all those Decorations upon their Sign-posts and Houses, which the most eminent Hands in the Neighbourhood can furnish them with. What can be more attractive to a Man of Letters, than that immense Erudition of all Ages and Languages which a skilful Bookseller, in conjunction with a Painter, shall image upon his Column and the Extremities of his Shop? The same Spirit of maintaining a handsome Appearance reigns among the grave and solid Apprentices of the Law (here I could be particularly dull in proving[2] the Word Apprentice to be significant of a Barrister) and you may easily distinguish who has most lately made his Pretensions to Business, by the whitest and most ornamental Frame of his Window: If indeed the Chamber is a Ground-Room, and has Rails before it, the Finery is of Necessity more extended, and the Pomp of Business better maintain'd. And what can be a greater Indication of the Dignity of Dress, than that burdensome Finery which is the regular Habit of our Judges, Nobles, and Bishops, with which upon certain Days we see them incumbered? And though it may be said this is awful, and necessary for the Dignity of the State, yet the wisest of them have been remarkable, before they arrived at their present Stations, for being very well dressed Persons. As to my own Part, I am near Thirty; and since I left School have not been idle, which is a modern Phrase for having studied hard. I brought off a clean System of Moral Philosophy, and a tolerable Jargon of Metaphysicks from the University; since that, I have been engaged in the clearing Part of the perplex'd Style and Matter of the Law, which so hereditarily descends to all its Professors: To all which severe Studies I have thrown in, at proper Interims, the pretty Learning of the Classicks. Notwithstanding which, I am what Shakespear calls A Fellow of no Mark or Likelihood[3]; which makes me understand the more fully, that since the regular Methods of making Friends and a Fortune by the mere Force of a Profession is so very slow and uncertain, a Man should take all reasonable Opportunities, by enlarging a good Acquaintance, to court that Time and Chance which is said to happen to every Man.

Footnote 1:

'It is in every body's observation with what disadvantage a Poor Man enters upon the most ordinary affairs,' &c.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:clearing

return

Footnote 3:Henry IV

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Contents

No. 361

Thursday, April 24, 1712

Addison

Tartaream intendit vocem, quâ protinus omnis

Contremuit domus—

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

'The Night before I left London I went to see a Play, called The Humorous Lieutenant[1]. Upon the Rising of the Curtain I was very much surprized with the great Consort of Cat-calls which was exhibited that Evening, and began to think with myself that I had made a Mistake, and gone to a Musick-Meeting, instead of the Play-house. It appeared indeed a little odd to me to see so many Persons of Quality of both Sexes assembled together at a kind of Catterwawling; for I cannot look upon that Performance to have been any thing better, whatever the Musicians themselves might think of it. As I had no Acquaintance in the House to ask Questions of, and was forced to go out of Town early the next Morning, I could not learn the Secret of this Matter. What I would therefore desire of you, is, to give some account of this strange Instrument, which I found the Company called a Cat-call; and particularly to let me know whether it be a piece of Musick lately come from Italy. For my own part, to be free with you, I would rather hear an English Fiddle; though I durst not shew my Dislike whilst I was in the Play-House, it being my Chance to sit the very next Man to one of the Performers. I am, Sir,

Your most affectionate Friend

and Servant,

John Shallow, Esq.

Shallow'sJubal

ThespisMomus

Orpheus

EnglishBritishheardthe[2]Drury-Lane

BritishItalian

CollierEssay upon Musick[3]

I believe 'tis possible to invent an Instrument that shall have a quite contrary Effect to those Martial ones now in use: An Instrument that shall sink the Spirits, and shake the Nerves, and curdle the Blood, and inspire Despair, and Cowardice and Consternation, at a surprizing rate. 'Tis probable the Roaring of Lions, the Warbling of Cats and Scritch-Owls, together with a Mixture of the Howling of Dogs, judiciously imitated and compounded, might go a great way in this Invention. Whether such Anti-Musick as this might not be of Service in a Camp, I shall leave to the Military Men to consider.

Humorous LieutenantAlmanzor

L.[4]

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Footnote 3:Essays upon several Moral SubjectsEssaysShort View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage

return

Footnote 4:Not being yet determined with whose Name to fill up the Gap in this Dissertation which is marked with ——, I shall defer it till this Paper appears with others in a Volume. L.

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Contents

No. 362

Friday, April 25, 1712

Steele

Laudibus arguitur Vini vinosus—

Hor.

Temple, Apr. 24.

Mr. Spectator,

Several of my Friends were this Morning got together over a Dish of Tea in very good Health, though we had celebrated Yesterday with more Glasses than we could have dispensed with, had we not been beholden to Brooke and Hillier. In Gratitude therefore to those good Citizens, I am, in the Name of the Company, to accuse you of great Negligence in overlooking their Merit, who have imported true and generous Wine, and taken care that it should not be adulterated by the Retailers before it comes to the Tables of private Families, or the Clubs of honest Fellows. I cannot imagine how a Spectator can be supposed to do his Duty, without frequent Resumption of such Subjects as concern our Health, the first thing to be regarded, if we have a mind to relish anything else. It would therefore very well become your Spectatorial Vigilance, to give it in Orders to your Officer for inspecting Signs, that in his March he would look into the Itinerants who deal in Provisions, and enquire where they buy their several Wares. Ever since the Decease of Cully[1]-Mully-Puff[2] of agreeable and noisy Memory, I cannot say I have observed any thing sold in Carts, or carried by Horse or Ass, or in fine, in any moving Market, which is not perished or putrified; witness the Wheel-barrows of rotten Raisins, Almonds, Figs, and Currants, which you see vended by a Merchant dressed in a second-hand Suit of a Foot Soldier. You should consider that a Child may be poisoned for the Worth of a Farthing; but except his poor Parents send to one certain Doctor in Town[3], they can have no advice for him under a Guinea. When Poisons are thus cheap, and Medicines thus dear, how can you be negligent in inspecting what we eat and drink, or take no Notice of such as the above-mentioned Citizens, who have been so serviceable to us of late in that particular? It was a Custom among the old Romans, to do him particular Honours who had saved the Life of a Citizen, how much more does the World owe to those who prevent the Death of Multitudes? As these Men deserve well of your Office, so such as act to the Detriment of our Health, you ought to represent to themselves and their Fellow-Subjects in the Colours which they deserve to wear. I think it would be for the publick Good, that all who vend Wines should be under oaths in that behalf. The Chairman at a Quarter Sessions should inform the Country, that the Vintner who mixes Wine to his Customers, shall (upon proof that the Drinker thereof died within a Year and a Day after taking it) be deemed guilty of Wilful Murder: and the Jury shall be instructed to enquire and present such Delinquents accordingly. It is no Mitigation of the Crime, nor will it be conceived that it can be brought in Chance-Medley or Man-Slaughter, upon Proof that it shall appear Wine joined to Wine, or right Herefordshire poured into Port O Port; but his selling it for one thing, knowing it to be another, must justly bear the foresaid Guilt of wilful Murder: For that he, the said Vintner, did an unlawful Act willingly in the false Mixture; and is therefore with Equity liable to all the Pains to which a Man would be, if it were proved he designed only to run a Man through the Arm, whom he whipped through the Lungs. This is my third Year at the Temple, and this is or should be Law. An ill Intention well proved should meet with no Alleviation, because it out-ran[4] it self. There cannot be too great Severity used against the Injustice as well as Cruelty of those who play with Mens Lives, by preparing Liquors, whose Nature, for ought they know, may be noxious when mixed, tho innocent when apart: And Brooke and Hillier[5], who have ensured our Safety at our Meals, and driven Jealousy from our Cups in Conversation, deserve the Custom and Thanks of the whole Town; and it is your Duty to remind them of the Obligation. I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

Tom. Pottle.

Mr. Spectator,

I am a Person who was long immured in a College, read much, saw little; so that I knew no more of the World than what a Lecture or a View of the Map taught me. By this means I improved in my Study, but became unpleasant in Conversation. By conversing generally with the Dead, I grew almost unfit for the Society of the Living; so by a long Confinement I contracted an ungainly Aversion to Conversation, and ever discoursed with Pain to my self, and little Entertainment to others. At last I was in some measure made sensible of my failing, and the Mortification of never being spoke to, or speaking, unless the Discourse ran upon Books, put me upon forcing my self amongst Men. I immediately affected the politest Company, by the frequent use of which I hoped to wear off the Rust I had contracted; but by an uncouth Imitation of Men used to act in publick, I got no further than to discover I had a Mind to appear a finer thing than I really was.

Such I was, and such was my Condition, when I became an ardent Lover, and passionate Admirer of the beauteous Belinda: Then it was that I really began to improve. This Passion changed all my Fears and Diffidences in my general Behaviour, to the sole Concern of pleasing her. I had not now to study the Action of a Gentleman, but Love possessing all my Thoughts, made me truly be the thing I had a Mind to appear. My Thoughts grew free and generous, and the Ambition to be agreeable to her I admired, produced in my Carriage a faint Similitude of that disengaged Manner of my Belinda. The way we are in at present is, that she sees my Passion, and sees I at present forbear speaking of it through prudential Regards. This Respect to her she returns with much Civility, and makes my Value for her as little a Misfortune to me, as is consistent with Discretion. She sings very charmingly, and is readier to do so at my Request, because she knows I love her: She will dance with me rather than another, for the same Reason. My Fortune must alter from what it is, before I can speak my Heart to her; and her Circumstances are not considerable enough to make up for the Narrowness of mine. But I write to you now, only to give you the Character of Belinda, as a Woman that has Address enough to demonstrate a Gratitude to her Lover, without giving him Hopes of Success in his Passion. Belinda has from a great Wit, governed by as great Prudence, and both adorned with Innocence, the Happiness of always being ready to discover her real Thoughts. She has many of us, who now are her Admirers; but her Treatment of us is so just and proportioned to our Merit towards her, and what we are in our selves, that I protest to you I have neither Jealousy nor Hatred toward my Rivals. Such is her Goodness, and the Acknowledgment of every Man who admires her, that he thinks he ought to believe she will take him who best deserves her. I will not say that this Peace among us is not owing to Self-love, which prompts each to think himself the best Deserver: I think there is something uncommon and worthy of Imitation in this Lady's Character. If you will please to Print my Letter, you will oblige the little Fraternity of happy Rivals, and in a more particular Manner,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Will. Cymon.

Footnote 1:Mully

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:No. 251Biographical History of England.

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:out-run

return

Footnote 5:

'This is to give Notice, That Brooke and Hellier have not all the New Port Wines this Year, nor above one half, the Vintners having bought 130 Pipes of Mr. Thomas Barlow and others, which are all natural, and shall remain Genuine, on which all Gentlemen and others may depend. Note.—Altho' Brooke and Hellier have asserted in several Papers that they had 140 Pipes of New Oporto Wines coming from Bristol, it now appears, since their landing, that they have only 133 Pipes, I Hhd. of the said Wines, which shews plainly how little what they say is to be credited.'

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Contents

No. 363

Saturday, April 26, 1712

Addison

—Crudelis ubique

Luctus, ubique pavor, et plurima Mortis

Imago.

Virg.

Milton

—They forthwith to the place

Repairing where he judg'd them, prostrate fell

Before him Reverent, and both confess'd

Humbly their Faults, and Pardon begg'd, with Tears

Watering the Ground—

There is a Beauty of the same kind in a Tragedy of Sophocles, where Œdipus, after having put out his own Eyes, instead of breaking his Neck from the Palace-Battlements (which furnishes so elegant an Entertainment for our English Audience) desires that he may be conducted to Mount Cithoeron, in order to end his Life in that very Place where he was exposed in his Infancy, and where he should then have died, had the Will of his Parents been executed.

—To Heavn their Prayers

Flew up, nor miss'd the Way, by envious Winds

Blown vagabond or frustrate: in they pass'd

Dimensionless through heavnly Doors, then clad

With Incense, where the Golden Altar fumed,

By their great Intercessor, came in sight

Before the Father's Throne—

Messiah

MiltonEzekiel

—The Cohort bright

Of watchful Cherubims, four Faces each

Had like a double Janus, all their Shape

Spangled with Eyes—

Michael

—Yet lest they faint

At the sad Sentence rigorously urg'd,

For I behold them softned, and with Tears

Bewailing their Excess, all Terror hide,

AdamEve

—Why in the East

Darkness ere Days mid-course, and morning Light

More orient in that Western Cloud that draws

O'er the blue Firmament a radiant White,

And slow descends, with something Heavnly fraught?

He err'd not, for by this the heavenly Bands

Down from a Sky of Jasper lighted now

In Paradise, and on a Hill made halt;

A glorious Apparition—

MichaelRaphael

—Th' Archangel soon drew nigh,

Not in his Shape Celestial; but as Man

Clad to meet Man: over his lucid Arms

A Military Vest of Purple flow'd,

Livelier than Meliboean, or the Grain

Of Sarra, worn by Kings and Heroes old,

In time of Truce: Iris had dipt the Wooff:

His starry Helm, unbuckled, shew'd him prime

In Manhood where Youth ended; by his side,

As in a glistring Zodiack, hung the Sword,

Satan's dire dread, and in his Hand the Spear.

Adam bow'd low, he Kingly from his State

Inclined not, but his coming thus declared.

Eve's

Must I then leave thee, Paradise? Thus leave

Thee, native Soil, these happy Walks and Shades,

Fit haunt of Gods? Where I had hope to spend

Quiet, though sad, the respite of that Day

That must be mortal to us both. O Flowrs,

That never will in other Climate grow,

My early Visitation, and my last

At Even, which I bred up with tender Hand

From the first opening Bud, and gave you Names;

Who now shall rear you to the Sun, or rank

Your Tribes, and water from th' ambrosial Fount?

Thee, lastly, nuptial Bower, by me adorn'd

With what to Sight or Smell was sweet; from thee

How shall I part, and whither wander down

Into a lower World, to this obscure

And wild? how shall we breathe in other Air

Less pure, accustomd to immortal Fruits?

Adam's

This most afflicts me, that departing hence

As from his Face I shall be hid, deprived

His blessed Countnance: here I could frequent,

With Worship, place by place where he vouchsaf'd

Presence Divine; and to my Sons relate,

On this Mount he appear'd, under this Tree

Stood visible, among these Pines his Voice

I heard, here with him at this Fountain talk'd;

So many grateful Altars I would rear

Of grassy Turf, and pile up every Stone

Of lustre from the Brook, in memory

Or monument to Ages, and thereon

Offer sweet-smelling Gums and Fruits and Flowers.

In yonder nether World—where shall I seek

His bright Appearances, or Footsteps trace?

For though I fled him angry, yet recalled

To Life prolonged and promised Race, I now

Gladly behold though but his utmost Skirts

Of Glory, and far off his Steps adore.

AdamMilton'sIliadÆneidVirgil'sÆneidMiltonAdam's

AdamCainAbelAdam

But have I now seen Death? is this the way

I must return to native Dust? O Sight

Of Terror foul, and ugly to behold,

Horrid to think, how horrible to feel!

Dire was the tossing, deep the Groans. Despair

Tended the Sick, busy from Couch to Couch;

And over them triumphant Death his Dart

Shook, but delayed to strike, though oft invoked

With Vows, as their chief Good and final Hope.

Sight so deform, what Heart of Rock could long

Dry-eyed behold? Adam could not, but wept,

Tho' not of Woman born; Compassion quell'd

His best of Man, and gave him up to Tears.

Adam

Adam's

For that fair female Troop thou sawst, that seemed

Of Goddesses, so Blithe, so Smooth, so Gay,

Yet empty of all Good wherein consists

Woman's domestick Honour and chief Praise;

Bred only and compleated to the taste

Of lustful Appetence, to sing, to dance,

To dress, and troule the Tongue, and roll the Eye:

To these that sober Race of Men, whose Lives

Religious titled them the Sons of God,

Shall yield up all their Virtue, all their Fame

Ignobly, to the Trains and to the Smiles

Of those fair Atheists—

Adam

—O what are these!

Death's Ministers, not Men, who thus deal Death

Inhumanly to Men, and multiply

Ten Thousandfold the Sin of him who slew

His Brother: for of whom such Massacre

Make they but of their Brethren, Men of Men?

Milton

Ovid'sLatinWeSeneca[1]the[2]OvidOvidMilton

Jamque mare et tellus nullum discrimen habebant,

Nil nisi pontus erat, deerant quoque littora ponto.

(Ovid)

—Sea cover'd Sea,

Sea without Shore—

(Milton.)

MiltonEnglish

—And in their Palaces

Where Luxury late reign'd, Sea-Monsters whelp'd

And stabled—

OvidLatinEnglish

—Then shall this Mount

Of Paradise by might of Waves be mov'd

Out of his Place, pushed by the horned Flood

With all his Verdure spoil'd, and Trees adrift

Down the great River to the opning Gulf,

And there take root, an Island salt and bare,

The haunt of Seals and Orcs and Sea-Mews clang.

AdamVirgilOvid

How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold

The End of all thy Offspring, End so sad,

Depopulation! thee another Flood

Of Tears and Sorrow, a Flood thee also drowned,

And sunk thee as thy Sons; till gently rear'd

By th' Angel, on thy Feet thou stoodst at last,

Tho' comfortless, as when a Father mourns

His Children, all in view destroyed at once.

Paradise Lost,Milton

Footnote 3:Nat. Quaest

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:this

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Contents

No. 364

Monday, April 28, 1712

Steele

—Navibus[1] atque

Quadrigis petimus bene vivere.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator[2],

A Lady of my Acquaintance, for whom I have too much Respect to be easy while she is doing an indiscreet Action, has given occasion to this Trouble: She is a Widow, to whom the Indulgence of a tender Husband has entrusted the Management of a very great Fortune, and a Son about sixteen, both which she is extremely fond of. The Boy has Parts of the middle Size, neither shining nor despicable, and has passed the common Exercises of his Years with tolerable Advantage; but is withal what you would call a forward Youth: By the Help of this last Qualification, which serves as a Varnish to all the rest, he is enabled to make the best Use of his Learning, and display it at full length upon all Occasions. Last Summer he distinguished himself two or three times very remarkably, by puzzling the Vicar before an Assembly of most of the Ladies in the Neighbourhood; and from such weighty Considerations as these, as it too often unfortunately falls out, the Mother is become invincibly persuaded that her Son is a great Scholar; and that to chain him down to the ordinary Methods of Education with others of his Age, would be to cramp his Faculties, and do an irreparable Injury to his wonderful Capacity.

I happened to visit at the House last Week, and missing the young Gentleman at the Tea-Table, where he seldom fails to officiate, could not upon so extraordinary a Circumstance avoid inquiring after him. My Lady told me, he was gone out with her Woman, in order to make some Preparations for their Equipage; for that she intended very speedily to carry him to travel. The Oddness of the Expression shock'd me a little; however, I soon recovered my self enough to let her know, that all I was willing to understand by it was, that she designed this Summer to shew her Son his Estate in a distant County, in which he has never yet been: But she soon took care to rob me of that agreeable Mistake, and let me into the whole Affair. She enlarged upon young Master's prodigious Improvements, and his comprehensive Knowledge of all Book-Learning; concluding, that it was now high time he should be made acquainted with Men and Things; that she had resolved he should make the Tour of France and Italy, but could not bear to have him out of her Sight, and therefore intended to go along with him.

I was going to rally her for so extravagant a Resolution, but found my self not in fit Humour to meddle with a Subject that demanded the most soft and delicate Touch imaginable. I was afraid of dropping something that might seem to bear hard either upon the Son's Abilities, or the Mother's Discretion; being sensible that in both these Cases, tho' supported with all the Powers of Reason, I should, instead of gaining her Ladyship over to my Opinion, only expose my self to her Disesteem: I therefore immediately determined to refer the whole Matter to the Spectator.

When I came to reflect at Night, as my Custom is, upon the Occurrences of the Day, I could not but believe that this Humour of carrying a Boy to travel in his Mother's Lap, and that upon pretence of learning Men and Things, is a Case of an extraordinary Nature, and carries on it a particular Stamp of Folly. I did not remember to have met with its Parallel within the Compass of my Observation, tho' I could call to mind some not extremely unlike it. From hence my Thoughts took Occasion to ramble into the general Notion of Travelling, as it is now made a Part of Education. Nothing is more frequent than to take a Lad from Grammar and Taw, and under the Tuition of some poor Scholar, who is willing to be banished for thirty Pounds a Year, and a little Victuals, send him crying and snivelling into foreign Countries. Thus he spends his time as Children do at Puppet-Shows, and with much the same Advantage, in staring and gaping at an amazing Variety of strange things: strange indeed to one who is not prepared to comprehend the Reasons and Meaning of them; whilst he should be laying the solid Foundations of Knowledge in his Mind, and furnishing it with just Rules to direct his future Progress in Life under some skilful Master of the Art of Instruction.

Can there be a more astonishing Thought in Nature, than to consider how Men should fall into so palpable a Mistake? It is a large Field, and may very well exercise a sprightly Genius; but I don't remember you have yet taken a Turn in it. I wish, Sir, you would make People understand, that Travel is really the last Step to be taken in the Institution of Youth; and to set out with it, is to begin where they should end.

Certainly the true End of visiting Foreign Parts, is to look into their Customs and Policies, and observe in what Particulars they excel or come short of our own; to unlearn some odd Peculiarities in our Manners, and wear off such awkward Stiffnesses and Affectations in our Behaviour, as may possibly have been contracted from constantly associating with one Nation of Men, by a more free, general, and mixed Conversation. But how can any of these Advantages be attained by one who is a mere Stranger to the Custom sand Policies of his native Country, and has not yet fixed in his Mind the first Principles of Manners and Behaviour? To endeavour it, is to build a gawdy Structure without any Foundation; or, if I may be allow'd the Expression, to work a rich Embroidery upon a Cobweb.

Another End of travelling which deserves to be considerd, is the Improving our Taste of the best Authors of Antiquity, by seeing the Places where they lived, and of which they wrote; to compare the natural Face of the Country with the Descriptions they have given us, and observe how well the Picture agrees with the Original. This must certainly be a most charming Exercise to the Mind that is rightly turned for it; besides that it may in a good measure be made subservient to Morality, if the Person is capable of drawing just Conclusions concerning the Uncertainty of human things, from the ruinous Alterations Time and Barbarity have brought upon so many Palaces, Cities and whole Countries, which make the most illustrious Figures in History. And this Hint may be not a little improved by examining every Spot of Ground that we find celebrated as the Scene of some famous Action, or retaining any Footsteps of a Cato, Cicero or Brutus, or some such great virtuous Man. A nearer View of any such Particular, tho really little and trifling in it self, may serve the more powerfully to warm a generous Mind to an Emulation of their Virtues, and a greater Ardency of Ambition to imitate their bright Examples, if it comes duly temper'd and prepar'd for the Impression. But this I believe you'll hardly think those to be, who are so far from ent'ring into the Sense and Spirit of the Ancients, that they don't yet understand their Language with any Exactness[3].

But I have wander'd from my Purpose, which was only to desire you to save, if possible, a fond English Mother, and Mother's own Son, from being shewn a ridiculous Spectacle thro' the most polite Part of Europe, Pray tell them, that though to be Sea-sick, or jumbled in an outlandish Stage-Coach, may perhaps be healthful for the Constitution of the Body, yet it is apt to cause such a Dizziness in young empty Heads, as too often lasts their Life-time.

I am, Sir,

Your most Humble Servant,

Philip Homebred.

Birchan-Lane.

Sir,

I was marry'd on Sunday last, and went peaceably to bed; but, to my Surprize, was awakend the next Morning by the Thunder of a Set of Drums. These warlike Sounds (methinks) are very improper in a Marriage-Consort, and give great Offence; they seem to insinuate, that the Joys of this State are short, and that Jars and Discord soon ensue. I fear they have been ominous to many Matches, and sometimes proved a Prelude to a Battel in the Honey-Moon. A Nod from you may hush them; therefore pray, Sir, let them be silenced, that for the future none but soft Airs may usher in the Morning of a Bridal Night, which will be a Favour not only to those who come after, but to me, who can still subscribe my self,

Your most humble

and most obedient Servant,

Robin Bridegroom.

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of that sort of Women whom the gayer Part of our Sex are apt to call a Prude. But to shew them that I have very little Regard to their Raillery, I shall be glad to see them all at The Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife, which is to be acted, for the Benefit of Mrs. Porter, on Monday the 28th Instant. I assure you I can laugh at an Amorous Widow, or Wanton Wife, with as little Temptation to imitate them, as I could at any other vicious Character. Mrs. Porter obliged me so very much in the exquisite Sense she seemed to have of the honourable Sentiments and noble Passions in the Character of Hermione, that I shall appear in her behalf at a Comedy, tho I have not great Relish for any Entertainments where the Mirth is not seasond with a certain Severity, which ought to recommend it to People who pretend to keep Reason and Authority over all their Actions.

I am, Sir,

Your frequent Reader,

Altamira.

Footnote 1:Strenua nos exercet inertia: Navibus...

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Footnote 2:Spectator

return

Footnote 3:Exactness.

I cant quit this head without paying my Acknowledgments to one of the most entertaining Pieces this Age has produc'd, for the Pleasure it gave me. You will easily guess, that the Book I have in my head is Mr. A——'s Remarks upon Italy. That Ingenious gentleman has with so much Art and Judgment applied his exact Knowledge of all the Parts of Classical Learning to illustrate the several occurrences of his Travels, that his Work alone is a pregnant Proof of what I have said. No Body that has a Taste this way, can read him going from Rome to Naples, and making Horace and Silius Italicus his Chart, but he must feel some Uneasiness in himself to Reflect that he was not in his Retinue. I am sure I wish'd it Ten Times in every Page, and that not without a secret Vanity to think in what State I should have Travelled the Appian Road with Horace for a Guide, and in company with a Countryman of my own, who of all Men living knows best how to follow his Steps.

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Contents

No. 365

Tuesday, April 29, 1712

Budgell

Vere magis, quia vere calor redit ossibus—

Virg.

MenagianaMayMayApril

FranceBritishFrench

WinterHoweverare[1]

Tarpeia

DrydenMonth

For thee, sweet Month, the Groves green Livries wear,

If not the first, the fairest of the Year;

For thee the Graces lead the dancing Hours,

And Nature's ready Pencil paints the Flow'rs.

The sprightly May commands our Youth to keep

The Vigils of her Night, and breaks their Sleep;

Each gentle Breast with kindly Warmth she moves,

Inspires new Flames, revives extinguish'd Loves[2].

CupidsZephirs

YorkshireZelindaMay

Proserpinea MayingMiltonmentions

—That fair Field

Of Enna, where Proserpine gathering Flowers,

Herself a fairer Flower, by gloomy Dis

Was gathered—[3]

Virgil's Snake in the Grass

Gemini

MayDecember

Footnote 1:is

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Footnote 2:Knights TalePalamon and Arcite

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Footnote 3:Paradise Lost

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Contents

No. 366

Wednesday, April 30, 1712

Steele

Pone me pigris ubi nulla campis

Arbor æstiva recreatur aura,

Dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo,

Dulce loquentem.

Hor.

Mr. Spectator,

The following Verses are a Translation of a Lapland Love-Song, which I met with in Scheffer's History of that Country[1]. I was agreeably surprized to find a Spirit of Tenderness and Poetry in a Region which I never suspected for Delicacy. In hotter Climates, tho' altogether uncivilized, I had not wonder'd if I had found some sweet wild Notes among the Natives, where they live in Groves of Oranges, and hear the Melody of Birds about them: But a Lapland Lyric, breathing Sentiments of Love and Poetry, not unworthy old Greece or Rome; a regular Ode from a Climate pinched with Frost, and cursed with Darkness so great a Part of the Year; where 'tis amazing that the poor Natives should get Food, or be tempted to propagate their Species: this, I confess, seemed a greater Miracle to me, than the famous Stories of their Drums, their Winds and Inchantments.

I am the bolder in commending this Northern Song, because I have faithfully kept to the Sentiments, without adding or diminishing; and pretend to no greater Praise from my Translation, than they who smooth and clean the Furs of that Country which have suffered by Carriage. The Numbers in the Original are as loose and unequal, as those in which the British Ladies sport their Pindaricks; and perhaps the fairest of them might not think it a disagreeable Present from a Lover: But I have ventured to bind it in stricter Measures, as being more proper for our Tongue, tho perhaps wilder Graces may better suit the Genius of the Laponian Language.

It will be necessary to imagine, that the Author of this Song, not having the Liberty of visiting his Mistress at her Father's House, was in hopes of spying her at a Distance in the Fields.

I

Thou rising Sun, whose gladsome Ray

Invites my Fair to Rural Play,

Dispel the Mist, and clear the Skies,

And bring my Orra to my Eyes.

II

Oh! were I sure my Dear to view,

I'd climb that Pine-Trees topmost Bough,

Aloft in Air that quivering plays,

And round and round for ever gaze.

III

My Orra Moor, where art thou laid?

What Wood conceals my sleeping Maid?

Fast by the Roots enrag'd I'll tear

The Trees that hide my promised Fair.

IV

Oh! I cou'd ride the Clouds and Skies,

Or on the Raven's Pinions rise:

Ye Storks, ye Swans, a moment stay,

And waft a Lover on his Way.

V

My Bliss too long my Bride denies,

Apace the wasting Summer flies:

Nor yet the wintry Blasts I fear,

Not Storms or Night shall keep me here.

VI

What may for Strength with Steel compare?

Oh! Love has Fetters stronger far:

By Bolts of Steel are Limbs confin'd,

But cruel Love enchains the Mind.

VII

No longer then perplex thy Breast,

When Thoughts torment, the first are best;

'Tis mad to go, 'tis Death to stay,

Away to Orra, haste away.

April the 10th.

Mr. Spectator,

I am one of those despicable Creatures called a Chamber-Maid, and have lived with a Mistress for some time, whom I love as my Life, which has made my Duty and Pleasure inseparable. My greatest Delight has been in being imploy'd about her Person; and indeed she is very seldom out of Humour for a Woman of her Quality: But here lies my Complaint, Sir; To bear with me is all the Encouragement she is pleased to bestow upon me; for she gives her cast-off Cloaths from me to others: some she is pleased to bestow in the House to those that neither wants nor wears them, and some to Hangers-on, that frequents the House daily, who comes dressed out in them. This, Sir, is a very mortifying Sight to me, who am a little necessitous for Cloaths, and loves to appear what I am, and causes an Uneasiness, so that I can't serve with that Chearfulness as formerly; which my Mistress takes notice of, and calls Envy and Ill-Temper at seeing others preferred before me. My Mistress has a younger Sister lives in the House with her, that is some Thousands below her in Estate, who is continually heaping her Favours on her Maid; so that she can appear every Sunday, for the first Quarter, in a fresh Suit of Cloaths of her Mistress's giving, with all other things suitable: All this I see without envying, but not without wishing my Mistress would a little consider what a Discouragement it is to me to have my Perquisites divided between Fawners and Jobbers, which others enjoy intire to themselves. I have spoke to my Mistress, but to little Purpose; I have desired to be discharged (for indeed I fret my self to nothing) but that she answers with Silence. I beg, Sir, your Direction what to do, for I am fully resolved to follow your Counsel; who am

Your Admirer and humble Servant,

Constantia Comb-brush.

I beg that you would put it in a better Dress, and let it come abroad; that my Mistress, who is an Admirer of your Speculations, may see it.

Footnote 1:LapponiaSpectator

With brightest beams let the Sun shine

On Orra Moor.

Could I be sure

That from the top o' th' lofty Pine

I Orra Moor might see,

I to his highest Bough would climb,

And with industrious Labour try

Thence to descry

My Mistress if that there she be.

Could I but know amidst what Flowers

Or in what Shade she stays,

The gaudy Bowers,

With all their verdant Pride,

Their Blossoms and their Sprays,

Which make my Mistress disappear;

And her in envious Darkness hide,

I from the Roots and Beds of Earth would tear.

No. 406Spectator

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Contents

No. 367

Thursday, May 1, 1712

Addison

—Perituræ parcite chartæ.

Juv.

Post-Men, Post-Boys, Daily-Courants, Reviews, MedleysExaminersSpectatorsSpectator

Spectators

s-

FranceLouvreHollandVeniceElziverAldus

EnglandEditionCæsar'sEnglish[1]British

Footnote 1:Being and Attributes of God and the Evidences of Natural and Revealed ReligionOpticsCæsarScripture Doctrine of the Trinity

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Contents

No. 368

Friday, May 2, 1712

Steele

Nos decebat

Lugere ubi esset aliquis in lucem editus

Humanæ vitæ varia reputantes mala;

At qui labores morte finisset graves

Omnes amices laude et lætitia exequi.

Eurip. apud Tull.

Paris, April 18, 1712.

Sir,

It is so many Years since you left your native Country, that I am to tell you the Characters of your nearest Relations as much as if you were an utter Stranger to them. The Occasion of this is to give you an account of the Death of Madam de Villacerfe, whose Departure out of this Life I know not whether a Man of your Philosophy will call unfortunate or not, since it was attended with some Circumstances as much to be desired as to be lamented. She was her whole Life happy in an uninterrupted Health, and was always honoured for an Evenness of Temper and Greatness of Mind. On the 10th instant that Lady was taken with an Indisposition which confined her to her Chamber, but was such as was too slight to make her take a sick Bed, and yet too grievous to admit of any Satisfaction in being out of it. It is notoriously known, that some Years ago Monsieur Festeau, one of the most considerable Surgeons in Paris, was desperately in love with this Lady: Her Quality placed her above any Application to her on the account of his Passion; but as a Woman always has some regard to the Person whom she believes to be her real Admirer, she now took it in her head (upon Advice of her Physicians to lose some of her Blood) to send for Monsieur Festeau on that occasion. I happened to be there at that time, and my near Relation gave me the Privilege to be present. As soon as her Arm was stripped bare, and he began to press it in order to raise the Vein, his Colour changed, and I observed him seized with a sudden Tremor, which made me take the liberty to speak of it to my Cousin with some Apprehension: She smiled, and said she knew Mr. Festeau had no Inclination to do her Injury. He seemed to recover himself, and smiling also proceeded in his Work. Immediately after the Operation he cried out, that he was the most unfortunate of all Men, for that he had open'd an Artery instead of a Vein. It is as impossible to express the Artist's Distraction as the Patient's Composure. I will not dwell on little Circumstances, but go on to inform you, that within three days time it was thought necessary to take off her Arm. She was so far from using Festeau as it would be natural to one of a lower Spirit to treat him, that she would not let him be absent from any Consultation about her present Condition, and on every occasion asked whether he was satisfy'd in the Measures that were taken about her. Before this last Operation she ordered her Will to be drawn, and after having been about a quarter of an hour alone, she bid the Surgeons, of whom poor Festeau was one, go on in their Work. I know not how to give you the Terms of Art, but there appeared such Symptoms after the Amputation of her Arm, that it was visible she could not live four and twenty hours. Her Behaviour was so magnanimous throughout this whole Affair, that I was particularly curious in taking Notice of what passed as her Fate approached nearer and nearer, and took Notes of what she said to all about her, particularly Word for Word what she spoke to Mr. Festeau, which was as follows.

"Sir, you give me inexpressible Sorrow for the Anguish with which I see you overwhelmed. I am removed to all Intents and Purposes from the Interests of human Life, therefore I am to begin to think like one wholly unconcerned in it. I do not consider you as one by whose Error I have lost my Life; no, you are my Benefactor, as you have hasten'd my Entrance into a happy Immortality. This is my Sense of this Accident; but the World in which you live may have Thoughts of it to your Disadvantage, I have therefore taken Care to provide for you in my Will, and have placed you above what you have to fear from their Ill-Nature."

While this excellent Woman spoke these Words, Festeau looked as if he received a Condemnation to die, instead of a Pension for his Life. Madam de Villacerfe lived till Eight of the Clock the next Night; and tho she must have laboured under the most exquisite Torments, she possessed her Mind with so wonderful a Patience, that one may rather say she ceased to breathe than she died at that hour. You who had not the happiness to be personally known to this Lady, have nothing but to rejoyce in the Honour you had of being related to so great Merit; but we who have lost her Conversation, cannot so easily resign our own Happiness by Reflection upon hers.

I am, Sir,

Your affectionate Kinsman,

and most obedient humble Servant,

Paul Regnaud.

Contents

No. 369

Saturday, May 3, 1712

Addison

Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures

Quam quæ sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus—

Hor.

MiltonAdamMilton'sBabelEgypt

—Thus with ten Wounds

The River-Dragon tamed at length submits

To let his Sojourners depart, and oft

Humbles his stubborn Heart; but still as Ice

More harden'd after Thaw, till in his Rage

Pursuing whom he late dismissed, the Sea

Swallows him with his Host, but them lets pass

As on dry Land between two Chrystal Walls,

Aw'd by the Rod of Moses so to stand

Divided—

NileEgyptEzekielThus saith the Lord God, behold I am against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great Dragon that lieth in the midst of his Rivers, which hath said, my River is mine own, and I have made it for my self. MiltonMoses

All Night he will pursue, but his Approach

Darkness defends between till morning Watch;

Then through the fiery Pillar and the Cloud

God looking forth, will trouble all his Host,

And craze their Chariot Wheels: when by command

Moses once more his potent Rod extends

Over the Sea: the Sea his Rod obeys:

On their embattell'd Ranks the Waves return

And overwhelm their War—

AdamAbrahamMessiahPatriarch

I see him, but thou canst not, with what Faith

He leaves his Gods, his Friends, his Native Soil,

Ur of Chaldæa, passing now the Ford

To Haran, after him a cumbrous Train

Of Herds and Flocks, and numerous Servitude,

Not wand'ring poor, but trusting all his Wealth

With God, who call'd him, in a Land unknown.

Canaan he now attains, I see his Tents

Pitch'd about Sechem, and the neighbouring Plain

Of Moreh, there by Promise he receives

Gifts to his Progeny of all that Land,

From Hamath Northward to the Desart South.

(Things by their Names I call, though yet unnamed.)

Virgil'sÆneidMiltonAnchises

Hæc tum nomina erunt, nunc sunt sine nomine terræ.

AdamMessiah

O Goodness infinite, Goodness immense!

That all this Good of Evil shall produce, &c.

MiltonMilton'sSatanAdam

Milton'sAdamEve

Whence thou return'st, and whither went'st, I know;

For God is also in Sleep, and Dreams advise,

Which he hath sent propitious, some great Good

Presaging, since with Sorrow and Heart's Distress

Wearied I fell asleep: but now lead on;

In me is no delay: with thee to go,

Is to stay here; without thee here to stay,

Is to go hence unwilling: thou to me

Art all things under Heav'n, all Places thou,

Who for my wilful Crime art banish'd hence.

This farther Consolation yet secure

I carry hence; though all by me is lost,

Such Favour, I unworthy, am vouchsafed,

By me the promised Seed shall all restore.

HeliodorusÆthiopicksMilton

So spake our Mother Eve, and Adam heard

Well pleas'd, but answered not; for now too nigh

Th' Archangel stood, and from the other Hill

To their fix'd Station, all in bright Array

The Cherubim descended; on the Ground

Gliding meteorous, as evening Mist

Ris'n from a River, o'er the Marish glides,

And gathers ground fast at the Lab'rer's Heel

Homeward returning. High in Front advanced,

The brandishd Sword of God before them blaz'd

Fierce as a Comet—

Lot

In either Hand the hast'ning Angel caught

Our ling'ring Parents, and to th' Eastern Gate

Led them direct; and down the Cliff as fast

To the subjected Plain; then disappear'd.

They looking back, &c.

The[1]

They looking back, all th' Eastern side beheld

Of Paradise, so late their happy Seat,

Wav'd over by that flaming Brand, the Gate

With dreadful Faces throng'd and fiery Arms:

Some natural Tears they dropped, but wiped them soon;

The World was all before them, where to chuse

Their Place of Rest, and Providence their Guide.

They hand in hand, with wandering Steps and slow,

Through Eden took their solitary Way.

The world was all before them, where to chuse

Their Place of Rest, and Providence their Guide.

Paradise LostÆneidVirgil

BossuParadise LostMiltonAdamEve

OdysseyIliadÆneidMiltonAdam's

Englishthe Fable, the Characters, the Sentiments, and the LanguageParadise Lost,Paperprove[2]HomerVirgilinsertedTassohas[3]TassoItalianEnglish

Footnote 1:Prospect

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Footnote 2:shew

return

Footnote 3:has likewise

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Contents

No. 370

Monday, May 5, 1712

Steele

Totus Mundus agit Histrionem.

LatinDrury-LaneSpectatorMackbethHarry the FourthofTrip to the Jubilee,[1]Fox[2]WilksEstcourtoneLord Foppington[3]CibbertheDoggetJohnsonCorbacchio[4]TheMr. William PenkethmanFop's Fortune[5]Don Cholerick Snap Shorto de TestyPenkethmanhavePenkethman[6]

Mrs. BicknellBicknell

Footnote 1:Farquhar's Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee

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Footnote 2:Volpone

return

Footnote 3:Careless Husband.

return

Footnote 4:Volpone

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Footnote 5:Love makes a Man, or The Fop's Fortune

return

Footnote 6:

For the Benefit of Mr. Penkethman. At the Desire of Several Ladies of Quality. By Her Majesty's Company of Comedians. At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, this present Monday, being the 5th of May, will be presented a Comedy called Love makes a Man, or The Fop's Fortune. The Part of Don Lewis, alias Don Choleric Snap Shorto de Testy, by Mr. Penkethman; Carlos, Mr. Wilks; Clodio, alias Don Dismallo Thick-Scullo de Half Witto, Mr. Cibber; and all the other Parts to the best Advantage. With a new Epilogue, spoken by Mr. Penkethman, riding on an Ass. By her Majesty's Command no Persons are to be admitted behind the Scenes. And To-Morrow, being Tuesday, will be presented, A Comedy call'd The Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee. For the Benefit of Mrs. Bicknell.

Essay

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Contents

No. 371

Tuesday, May 6, 1712

Addison

Jamne igitur laudas quod se sapientibus unus

Ridebat?

Juv.

Sir,

You know very well that our Nation is more famous for that sort of Men who are called Whims and Humourists, than any other Country in the World; for which reason it is observed that our English Comedy excells that of all other Nations in the Novelty and Variety of its Characters.

Among those innumerable Setts of Whims which our Country produces, there are none whom I have regarded with more Curiosity than those who have invented any particular kind of Diversion for the Entertainment of themselves or their Friends. My Letter shall single out those who take delight in sorting a Company that has something of Burlesque and Ridicule in its Appearance. I shall make my self understood by the following Example. One of the Wits of the last Age, who was a Man of a good Estate[1], thought he never laid out his Money better than in a Jest. As he was one Year at the Bath, observing that in the great Confluence of fine People, there were several among them with long Chins, a part of the Visage by which he himself was very much distinguished, he invited to dinner half a Score of these remarkable Persons who had their Mouths in the Middle of their Faces. They had no sooner placed themselves about the Table, but they began to stare upon one another, not being able to imagine what had brought them together. Our English Proverb says,

Tis merry in the Hall,

When Beards wag all.

It proved so in the Assembly I am now speaking of, who seeing so many Peaks of Faces agitated with Eating, Drinking, and Discourse, and observing all the Chins that were present meeting together very often over the Center of the Table, every one grew sensible of the Jest, and came into it with so much Good-Humour, that they lived in strict Friendship and Alliance from that Day forward.

The same Gentleman some time after packed together a Set of Oglers, as he called them, consisting of such as had an unlucky Cast in their Eyes. His Diversion on this Occasion was to see the cross Bows, mistaken Signs, and wrong Connivances that passed amidst so many broken and refracted Rays of Sight.

The third Feast which this merry Gentleman exhibited was to the Stammerers, whom he got together in a sufficient Body to fill his Table. He had ordered one of his Servants, who was placed behind a Skreen, to write down their Table-Talk, which was very easie to be done without the help of Short-hand. It appears by the Notes which were taken, that tho' their Conversation never fell, there were not above twenty Words spoken during the first Course; that upon serving up the second, one of the Company was a quarter of an Hour in telling them, that the Ducklins and Asparagus[2] were very good; and that another took up the same time in declaring himself of the same Opinion. This Jest did not, however, go off so well as the former; for one of the Guests being a brave Man, and fuller of Resentment than he knew how to express, went out of the Room, and sent the facetious Inviter a Challenge in Writing, which though it was afterwards dropp'd by the Interposition of Friends, put a Stop to these ludicrous Entertainments.

Now, Sir, I dare say you will agree with me, that as there is no Moral in these Jests, they ought to be discouraged, and looked upon rather as pieces of Unluckiness than Wit. However, as it is natural for one Man to refine upon the Thought of another, and impossible for any single Person, how great soever his Parts may be, to invent an Art, and bring it to its utmost Perfection; I shall here give you an account of an honest Gentleman of my Acquaintance who upon hearing the Character of the Wit above mentioned, has himself assumed it, and endeavoured to convert it to the Benefit of Mankind. He invited half a dozen of his Friends one day to Dinner, who were each of them famous for inserting several redundant Phrases in their Discourse, as d'y hear me, d'ye see, that is, and so Sir. Each of the Guests making frequent use of his particular Elegance, appeared so ridiculous to his Neighbour, that he could not but reflect upon himself as appearing equally ridiculous to the rest of the Company: By this means, before they had sat long together, every one talking with the greatest Circumspection, and carefully avoiding his favourite Expletive, the Conversation was cleared of its Redundancies, and had a greater Quantity of Sense, tho' less of Sound in it.

The same well-meaning Gentleman took occasion, at another time, to bring together such of his Friends as were addicted to a foolish habitual Custom of Swearing. In order to shew the Absurdity of the Practice, he had recourse to the Invention above mentioned, having placed an Amanuensis in a private part of the Room. After the second Bottle, when Men open their Minds without Reserve, my honest Friend began to take notice of the many sonorous but unnecessary Words that had passed in his House since their sitting down at Table, and how much good Conversation they had lost by giving way to such superfluous Phrases. What a Tax, says he, would they have raised for the Poor, had we put the Laws in Execution upon one another? Every one of them took this gentle Reproof in good part: Upon which he told them, that knowing their Conversation would have no Secrets in it, he had ordered it to be taken down in Writing, and for the humour sake would read it to them, if they pleased. There were ten Sheets of it, which might have been reduced to two, had there not been those abominable Interpolations I have before mentioned. Upon the reading of it in cold Blood, it looked rather like a Conference of Fiends than of Men. In short, every one trembled at himself upon hearing calmly what he had pronounced amidst the Heat and Inadvertency of Discourse.

I shall only mention another Occasion wherein he made use of the same Invention to cure a different kind of Men, who are the Pests of all polite Conversation, and murder Time as much as either of the two former, though they do it more innocently; I mean that dull Generation of Story-tellers. My Friend got together about half a dozen of his Acquaintance, who were infected with this strange Malady. The first Day one of them sitting down, entered upon the Siege of Namur, which lasted till four a-clock, their time of parting. The second Day a North-Britain took possession of the Discourse, which it was impossible to get out of his Hands so long as the Company staid together. The third Day was engrossed after the same manner by a Story of the same length. They at last began to reflect upon this barbarous way of treating one another, and by this means awakened out of that Lethargy with which each of them had been seized for several Years.

As you have somewhere declared, that extraordinary and uncommon Characters of Mankind are the Game which you delight in, and as I look upon you to be the greatest Sportsman, or, if you please, the Nimrod among this Species of Writers, I thought this Discovery would not be unacceptable to you.

I am,

Sir, &c.

Footnote 1:ZimriRehearsal

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Sparrow-grass

return

Contents

No. 372

Wednesday, May 7, 1712

Steele

Pudet hæc opprobria nobis

Et dici potuisse et non potuisse refelli.

Ovid.

May 6, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

I am Sexton of the Parish of Covent-Garden, and complained to you some time ago, that as I was tolling in to Prayers at Eleven in the Morning, Crowds of People of Quality hastened to assemble at a Puppet-Show on the other Side of the Garden. I had at the same time a very great Disesteem for Mr. Powell and his little thoughtless Commonwealth, as if they had enticed the Gentry into those Wandrings: But let that be as it will, I now am convinced of the honest Intentions of the said Mr. Powell and Company; and send this to acquaint you, that he has given all the Profits which shall arise to-morrow Night by his Play to the use of the poor Charity-Children of this Parish. I have been informed, Sir, that in Holland all Persons who set up any Show, or act any Stage-Play, be the Actors either of Wood and Wire, or Flesh and Blood, are obliged to pay out of their Gain such a Proportion to the honest and industrious Poor in the Neighbourhood: By this means they make Diversion and Pleasure pay a Tax to Labour and Industry. I have been told also, that all the time of Lent, in Roman Catholick Countries, the Persons of Condition administred to the Necessities of the Poor, and attended the Beds of Lazars and diseased Persons. Our Protestant Ladies and Gentlemen are so much to seek for proper ways of passing Time, that they are obliged to Punchinello for knowing what to do with themselves. Since the Case is so, I desire only you would intreat our People of Quality, who are not to be interrupted in their Pleasure to think of the Practice of any moral Duty, that they would at least fine for their Sins, and give something to these poor Children; a little out of their Luxury and Superfluity, would attone, in some measure, for the wanton Use of the rest of their Fortunes. It would not, methinks, be amiss, if the Ladies who haunt the Cloysters and Passages of the Play-house, were upon every Offence obliged to pay to this excellent Institution of Schools of Charity: This Method would make Offenders themselves do Service to the Publick. But in the mean time I desire you would publish this voluntary Reparation which Mr. Powell does our Parish, for the Noise he has made in it by the constant rattling of Coaches, Drums, Trumpets, Triumphs, and Battels. The Destruction of Troy adorned with Highland Dances, are to make up the Entertainment of all who are so well disposed as not to forbear a light Entertainment, for no other Reason but that it is to do a good Action.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Ralph Bellfry.

I am credibly informed, that all the Insinuations which a certain Writer made against Mr. Powell at the Bath, are false and groundless.

Mr. Spectator,

My Employment, which is that of a Broker, leading me often into Taverns about the Exchange, has given me occasion to observe a certain Enormity, which I shall here submit to your Animadversion. In three or four of these Taverns, I have, at different times, taken notice of a precise Set of People with grave Countenances, short Wiggs, black Cloaths, or dark Camlet trimmd with Black, and mourning Gloves and Hatbands, who meet on certain Days at each Tavern successively, and keep a sort of moving Club. Having often met with their Faces, and observed a certain slinking Way in their dropping in one after another, I had the Curiosity to enquire into their Characters, being the rather moved to it by their agreeing in the Singularity of their Dress; and I find upon due Examination they are a Knot of Parish-Clarks, who have taken a fancy to one another, and perhaps settle the Bills of Mortality over their Half-pints. I have so great a Value and Veneration for any who have but even an assenting Amen in the Service of Religion, that I am afraid lest these Persons should incur some Scandal by this Practice; and would therefore have them, without Raillery, advised to send the Florence and Pullets home to their own Houses, and not pretend to live as well as the Overseers of the Poor.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Humphry Transfer.

May 6.

Mr. Spectator,

I was last Wednesday Night at a Tavern in the City, among a Set of Men who call themselves the Lawyer's Club. You must know, Sir, this Club consists only of Attorneys; and at this Meeting every one proposes the Cause he has then in hand to the Board, upon which each Member gives his Judgment according to the Experience he has met with. If it happens that any one puts a Case of which they have had no Precedent, it is noted down by their Clerk Will. Goosequill, (who registers all their Proceedings) that one of them may go the next Day with it to a Counsel. This indeed is commendable, and ought to be the principal End of their Meeting; but had you been there to have heard them relate their Methods of managing a Cause, their Manner of drawing out their Bills, and, in short, their Arguments upon the several ways of abusing their Clients, with the Applause that is given to him who has done it most artfully, you would before now have given your Remarks on them. They are so conscious that their Discourses ought to be kept secret, that they are very cautious of admitting any Person who is not of their Profession. When any who are not of the Law are let in, the Person who introduces him, says, he is a very honest Gentleman, and he is taken in, as their Cant is, to pay Costs. I am admitted upon the Recommendation of one of their Principals, as a very honest good-natured Fellow that will never be in a Plot, and only desires to drink his Bottle and smoke his Pipe. You have formerly remarked upon several Sorts of Clubs; and as the Tendency of this is only to increase Fraud and Deceit, I hope you will please to take Notice of it.

I am (with Respect)

Your humble Servant,

H. R.

Contents

No. 373

Thursday, May 8, 1712

Budgell

Fallit enim Vitium specie virtutis et umbra.

Juv.[1]

LockeTreatise of Human Understanding[2]The first and most palpable Abuse of Wordsis, when they are used without clear and distinct Ideas: The second, when we are so inconstant and unsteady in the Application of them, that we sometimes use them to signify one Idea, sometimes another.A Definition is the only way whereby the precise Meaning of Moral Words can be known.

ModestyAssurance

ModestySheepishnessImpudenceAssurance

ModestyThe Reflection of an Ingenuous Mind

RomansSenateRomeSenate

AssuranceFaculty of possessing a Man's selfof saying and doing indifferent things without any Uneasiness or Emotion in the Mind.

ModestyAssurance

AssuranceModestyHonourVirtue

AssuranceModesty

ModestyAssurancemodest AssuranceBashfulnessImpudence

ModestAssuredImpudentBashful

That the Practice of Virtue is the most proper Method to give a Man a becoming Assurance in his Words and Actions.

Footnote 1:

—Strabonem

Appellat pætumm pater; et pullum, male parvus

Si cui filius est; ut abortivus fuit olim

Sisyphus: hunc varum, distortis cruribus; illum

Balbutit scaurum, pravis fullum malè talis.

return

Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 374

Friday, May 9, 1712

Steele

Nil actum reputans si quid superesset agendum.

Luc.

CæsarPharsalia

My Part is now but begun, and my Glory must be sustained by the Use I make of this Victory; otherwise my Loss will be greater than that of Pompey. Our personal Reputation will rise or fall as we bear our respective Fortunes. All my private Enemies among the Prisoners shall be spared. I will forget this, in order to obtain such another Day. Trebutius is ashamed to see me: I will go to his Tent, and be reconciled in private. Give all the Men of Honour, who take part with me, the Terms I offered before the Battel. Let them owe this to their Friends who have been long in my Interests. Power is weakened by the full Use of it, but extended by Moderation. Galbinius is proud, and will be servile in his present Fortune; let him wait. Send for Stertinius: He is modest, and his Virtue is worth gaining. I have cooled my Heart with Reflection; and am fit to rejoice with the Army to-morrow. He is a popular General who can expose himself like a private Man during a Battel; but he is more popular who can rejoice but like a private Man after a Victory.

Calphurnia's

Be it so then[1]. If I am to die to-Morrow, that is what I am to do to-Morrow: It will not be then, because I am willing it should be then; nor shall I escape it, because I am unwilling. It is in the Gods when, but in my self how I shall die. If Calphurnia's Dreams are Fumes of Indigestion, how shall I behold the Day after to-morrow? If they are from the Gods, their Admonition is not to prepare me to escape from their Decree, but to meet it. I have lived to a Fulness of Days and of Glory; what is there that Cæsar has not done with as much Honour as antient Heroes? Cæsar has not yet died; Cæsar is prepared to die.

Footnote 1:than

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Contents

No. 375

Saturday, May 10, 1712

Hughes

Non possidentem multa vocaveris

Rectè beatum: rectiùs occupat

Nomen beati, qui Deorum

Muneribus sapienter uti,

Duramque callet Pauperiem pati,

Pejusque Letho flagitium timet.

Hor.

SenecaThat a virtuous Person struggling with Misfortunes, and rising above them, is an Object on which the Gods themselves may look down with Delight[1]

AmandaAmandaAmanda'sAmanda's

Sir,

I have heard of your Misfortune, and have offer'd your Daughter, if she will live with me, to settle on her Four hundred Pounds a year, and to lay down the Sum for which you are now distressed. I will be so ingenuous as to tell you that I do not intend Marriage: But if you are wise, you will use your Authority with her not to be too nice, when she has an opportunity of saving you and your Family, and of making her self happy.

I am, &c.

Dearest Child,

Your Father and I have just now receiv'd a Letter from a Gentleman who pretends Love to you, with a Proposal that insults our Misfortunes, and would throw us to a lower Degree of Misery than any thing which is come upon us. How could this barbarous Man think, that the tenderest of Parents would be tempted to supply their Wants by giving up the best of Children to Infamy and Ruin? It is a mean and cruel Artifice to make this Proposal at a time when he thinks our Necessities must compel us to any thing; but we will not eat the Bread of Shame; and therefore we charge thee not to think of us, but to avoid the Snare which is laid for thy Virtue. Beware of pitying us: It is not so bad as you have perhaps been told. All things will yet be well, and I shall write my Child better News.

I have been interrupted. I know not how I was moved to say things would mend. As I was going on I was startled by a Noise of one that knocked at the Door, and hath brought us an unexpected Supply of a Debt which had long been owing. Oh! I will now tell thee all. It is some days I have lived almost without Support, having conveyd what little Money I could raise to your poor Father—Thou wilt weep to think where he is, yet be assured he will be soon at Liberty. That cruel Letter would have broke his Heart, but I have concealed it from him. I have no Companion at present besides little Fanny, who stands watching my Looks as I write, and is crying for her Sister. She says she is sure you are not well, having discover'd that my present Trouble is about you. But do not think I would thus repeat my Sorrows, to grieve thee: No, it is to intreat thee not to make them insupportable, by adding what would be worse than all. Let us bear chearfully an Affliction, which we have not brought on our selves, and remember there is a Power who can better deliver us out of it than by the Loss of thy Innocence. Heaven preserve my dear Child.

Your Affectionate Mother ——

AmandaAmandaAmanda's

Madam,

I am full of Shame, and will never forgive my self, if I have not your Pardon for what I lately wrote. It was far from my Intention to add Trouble to the Afflicted; nor could any thing, but my being a Stranger to you, have betray'd me into a Fault, for which, if I live, I shall endeavour to make you amends, as a Son. You cannot be unhappy while Amanda is your Daughter: nor shall be, if any thing can prevent it, which is in the power of, Madam,

Your most obedient

Humble Servant ——

Amanda'sAmanda

Footnote 1:Footnote 1No. 39

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Contents

No. 376

Monday, May 12, 1712

Steele

—Pavone ex Pythagoreo—

Persius.

Mr. Spectator,

I have observed that the Officer you some time ago appointed as Inspector of Signs, has not done his Duty so well as to give you an Account of very many strange Occurrences in the publick Streets, which are worthy of, but have escaped your Notice. Among all the Oddnesses which I have ever met with, that which I am now telling you of gave me most Delight. You must have observed that all the Criers in the Street attract the Attention of the Passengers, and of the Inhabitants in the several Parts, by something very particular in their Tone it self, in the dwelling upon a Note, or else making themselves wholly unintelligible by a Scream. The Person I am so delighted with has nothing to sell, but very gravely receives the Bounty of the People, for no other Merit but the Homage they pay to his Manner of signifying to them that he wants a Subsidy. You must, sure, have heard speak of an old Man, who walks about the City, and that part of the Suburbs which lies beyond the Tower, performing the Office of a Day-Watchman, followed by a Goose, which bears the Bob of his Ditty, and confirms what he says with a Quack, Quack. I gave little heed to the mention of this known Circumstance, till, being the other day in those Quarters, I passed by a decrepit old Fellow with a Pole in his Hand, who just then was bawling out, Half an Hour after one a-Clock, and immediately a dirty Goose behind him made her Response, Quack, Quack. I could not forbear attending this grave Procession for the length of half a Street, with no small amazement to find the whole Place so familiarly acquainted with a melancholy Mid-night Voice at Noon-day, giving them the Hour, and exhorting them of the Departure of Time, with a Bounce at their Doors. While I was full of this Novelty, I went into a Friend's House, and told him how I was diverted with their whimsical Monitor and his Equipage. My Friend gave me the History; and interrupted my Commendation of the Man, by telling me the Livelihood of these two Animals is purchased rather by the good Parts of the Goose, than of the Leader: For it seems the Peripatetick who walked before her was a Watchman in that Neighbourhood; and the Goose of her self by frequent hearing his Tone, out of her natural Vigilance, not only observed, but answer'd it very regularly from Time to Time. The Watchman was so affected with it, that he bought her, and has taken her in Partner, only altering their Hours of Duty from Night to Day. The Town has come into it, and they live very comfortably. This is the Matter of Fact: Now I desire you, who are a profound Philosopher, to consider this Alliance of Instinct and Reason; your Speculation may turn very naturally upon the Force the superior Part of Mankind may have upon the Spirits of such as, like this Watchman, may be very near the Standard of Geese. And you may add to this practical Observation, how in all Ages and Times the World has been carry'd away by odd unaccountable things, which one would think would pass upon no Creature which had Reason; and, under the Symbol of this Goose, you may enter into the Manner and Method of leading Creatures, with their Eyes open, thro' thick and thin, for they know not what, they know not why.

All which is humbly submitted to your Spectatorial Wisdom by,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Michael Gander.

Mr. Spectator,

I have for several Years had under my Care the Government and Education of young Ladies, which Trust I have endeavour'd to discharge with due regard to their several Capacities and Fortunes: I have left nothing undone to imprint in every one of them an humble courteous Mind, accompanied with a graceful becoming Mein, and have made them pretty much acquainted with the Houshold Part of Family-Affairs; but still I find there is something very much wanting in the Air of my Ladies, different from what I observe in those that are esteemed your fine bred Women. Now, Sir, I must own to you, I never suffered my Girls to learn to Dance; but since I have read your Discourse of Dancing, where you have described the Beauty and Spirit there is in regular Motion, I own my self your Convert, and resolve for the future to give my young Ladies that Accomplishment. But upon imparting my Design to their Parents, I have been made very uneasy, for some Time, because several of them have declared, that if I did not make use of the Master they recommended, they would take away their Children. There was Colonel Jumper's Lady, a Colonel of the Train-Bands, that has a great Interest in her Parish; she recommends Mr. Trott for the prettiest Master in Town, that no Man teaches a Jigg like him, that she has seen him rise six or seven Capers together with the greatest Ease imaginable, and that his Scholars twist themselves more ways than the Scholars of any Master in Town: besides there is Madam Prim, an Alderman's Lady, recommends a Master of her own Name, but she declares he is not of their Family, yet a very extraordinary Man in his way; for besides a very soft Air he has in Dancing, he gives them a particular Behaviour at a Tea-Table, and in presenting their Snuff-Box, to twirl, flip, or flirt a Fan, and how to place Patches to the best advantage, either for Fat or Lean, Long or Oval Faces: for my Lady says there is more in these Things than the World Imagines. But I must confess the major Part of those I am concern'd with leave it to me. I desire therefore, according to the inclosed Direction, you would send your Correspondent who has writ to you on that Subject to my House. If proper Application this way can give Innocence new Charms, and make Virtue legible in the Countenance, I shall spare no Charge to make my Scholars in their very Features and Limbs bear witness how careful I have been in the other Parts of their Education.

I am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

Rachael Watchful

Contents

No. 377

Tuesday, May 13, 1712

Addison

Quid quisque vitet, nunquam homini satis

Cautum est in horas—

Hor.

LovePoetryOroondates

dying for Love

butCowleya Porcupine, that sends an Arrow from every Part[1]

Lysander

slain at a Puppet-show on the third of September.

Thirsis

shot from a Casement in Pickadilly.

T. S.

wounded by Zehinda's Scarlet Stocking, as she was stepping out of a Coach.

Will. Simple

smitten at the Opera by the Glance of an Eye that was aimed at one who stood by him.

Tho. Vainlove

lost his Life at a Ball.

Tim. Tattle

kill'd by the Tap of a Fan on his left Shoulder by Coquetilla, as he was talking carelessly with her in a Bow-window.

Sir Simon Softly

murder'd at the Play-house in Drury-lane by a Frown.

Philander

mortally wounded by Cleora, as she was adjusting her Tucker.

Ralph Gapely, Esq.

hit by a random Shot at the Ring.

F. R.

caught his Death upon the Water, April the 31st.

W. W.

killed by an unknown Hand, that was playing with the Glove off upon the Side of the Front-Box in Drury-Lane.

Sir Christopher Crazy, Bart.

hurt by the Brush of a Whalebone Petticoat.

Sylvius

shot through the Sticks of a Fan at St. James's Church.

Damon

struck thro' the Heart by a Diamond Necklace.

Thomas Trusty

Francis Goosequill

William Meanwell

Edward Callow, Esqrs.

standing in a Row, fell all four at the same time, by an Ogle of the Widow Trapland.

Tom. Rattle

chancing to tread upon a Lady's Tail as he came out of the Play-house, she turned full upon him, and laid him dead upon the Spot.

Dick Tastewell

slain by a Blush from the Queen's Box in the third Act of the Trip to the Jubilee.

Samuel Felt, Haberdasher

wounded in his Walk to Islington by Mrs. Susannah Crossstich, as she was clambering over a Stile.

R. F.,

T. W.,

S. I.,

M. P., &c.

put to Death in the last Birth-Day Massacre.

Roger Blinko

cut off in the Twenty-first Year of his Age by a White-wash.

Musidorus

slain by an Arrow that flew out of a Dimple in Belinda's Left Cheek.

Ned Courtly

presenting Flavia with her Glove (which she had dropped on purpose) she receivd it, and took away his Life with a Curtsie.

John Gosselin

having received a slight Hurt from a Pair of blue Eyes, as he was making his Escape was dispatch'd by a Smile.

Strephon

killed by Clarinda as she looked down into the Pit.

Charles Careless

shot flying by a Girl of Fifteen, who unexpectedly popped her Head upon him out of a Coach.

Josiah Wither

aged threescore and three, sent to his long home by Elizabeth Jet-well, Spinster.

Jack Freelove

murderd by Melissa in her Hair.

William Wiseaker, Gent.

drown'd in a Flood of Tears by Moll Common.

John Pleadwell, Esq.

of the Middle Temple, Barrister at Law, assassinated in his Chambers the sixth Instant by Kitty Sly, who pretended to come to him for his Advice.

Footnote 1:

They are all weapon, and they dart

Like Porcupines from every Part.

Anacreontics

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Contents

No. 378

Wednesday, May 14, 1712

Pope

Aggredere, O magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores.

Virg.

make[1]

Messiah

Isaiah the Prophet.

Virgil's Pollio

Ye Nymphs of Solyma! begin the Song:

To heav'nly Themes sublimer Strains belong.

The Mossy Fountains, and the Sylvan Shades,

The Dreams of Pindus and th' Aonian Maids,

Delight no more—O Thou my Voice inspire,

Who touch'd Isaiah's hallow'd[2] Lips with Fire!

Rapt into future Times, the Bard begun;

A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bear a Son!

Isaiah, Cap. II. v. 1.

From Jesse's Root behold a Branch arise,

Whose sacred Flow'r with Fragrance fills the Skies.

Th' Æthereal Spirit o'er its Leaves shall move,

And on its Top descends the Mystick Dove.

Cap. 45. v. 8.

Ye Heav'ns! from high the dewy Nectar pour,

And in soft Silence shed the kindly Show'r!

Cap. 25. v. 4.

The Sick and Weak, the healing Plant shall aid,

From Storms a Shelter, and from Heat a Shade.

All Crimes shall cease, and ancient Fraud shall fail;

Cap. 9. v. 7.

Returning Justice lift aloft her Scale;

Peace o'er the World her Olive Wand extend,

And white-rob'd Innocence from Heav'n descend.

Swift fly the Years, and rise th' expected Morn!

Oh spring to Light, Auspicious Babe, be born!

See Nature hastes her earliest Wreaths to bring,

With all the Incense of the breathing Spring:

Cap. 35. v. 2.

See lofty Lebanon his Head advance,

See nodding Forests on the Mountains dance,

See spicy Clouds from lowly Sharon rise,

And Carmels flow'ry Top perfumes the Skies!

Cap. 40. v. 3, 4.

Hark! a glad Voice the lonely Desart chears;

Prepare the Way! a God, a God appears:

A God! a God! the vocal Hills reply,

The Rocks proclaim th' approaching Deity.

Lo Earth receives him from the bending Skies!

Sink down ye Mountains, and ye Vallies rise!

With Heads declin'd, ye Cedars, Homage pay!

Be smooth ye Rocks, ye rapid Floods give way!

The Saviour comes! by ancient Bards foretold;

Cap. 42. v. 18.

Hear him, ye Deaf, and all ye Blind behold!

Cap. 35. v. 5, 6.

He from thick Films shall purge the visual Ray,

And on the sightless Eye-ball pour the Day.

'Tis he th' obstructed Paths of Sound shall clear,

And bid new Musick charm th' unfolding Ear,

The Dumb shall sing, the Lame his Crutch forego,

And leap exulting like the bounding Roe;

No Sigh, no Murmur the wide World shall hear,

From ev'ry Face he wipes off ev'ry Tear.

Cap. 25. v. 8.

In Adamantine Chains shall Death be bound,

And Hell's grim Tyrant feel th' eternal Wound. [3]

Cap. 30. v. xx.

As the good Shepherd tends his fleecy Care,

Seeks freshest Pastures and the purest Air,

Explores the lost, the wand'ring Sheep directs,

By day o'ersees them, and by night protects;

The tender Lambs he raises in his Arms,

Feeds from his Hand, and in his Bosom warms:

Mankind shall thus his Guardian Care engage,

The promis'd Father of the future Age[4].

No more shall Nation against Nation rise[5],

No ardent Warriors meet with hateful Eyes,

Nor Fields with gleaming Steel be coverd o'er,

The Brazen Trumpets kindle Rage no more;

But useless Lances into Scythes shall bend,

And the broad Falchion in a Plow-share end.

Then Palaces shall rise; the joyful Son[6]

Shall finish what his short-liv'd Sire begun;

Their Vines a Shadow to their Race shall yield,

And the same Hand that sow'd shall reap the Field.

The Swain in barren Desarts with Surprize[7]

Sees Lillies spring, and sudden Verdure rise;

And Starts, amidst the thirsty Wilds, to hear,

New Falls of Water murmuring in his Ear:

On rifted Rocks, the Dragon's late Abodes,

The green Reed trembles, and the Bulrush nods.

Waste sandy Vallies, once perplexd with Thorn[8],

The spiry Fir and shapely Box adorn:

To leafless Shrubs the flow'ring Palms succeed,

And od'rous Myrtle to the noisome Weed.

The Lambs with Wolves shall graze the verdant Mead[9]

And Boys in flow'ry Bands the Tyger lead;

The Steer and Lion at one Crib shall meet,

And harmless Serpents Lick the Pilgrim's Feet.

The smiling Infant in his Hand shall take

The crested Basilisk and speckled Snake;

Pleas'd, the green Lustre of the Scales survey,

And with their forky Tongue and pointless Sting shall play.

Rise, crown'd with Light, imperial Salem rise![10]

Exalt thy tow'ry Head, and lift thy Eyes!

See, a long Race thy spacious Courts adorn;[11]

See future Sons and Daughters yet unborn

In crowding Ranks on ev'ry side arise,

Demanding Life, impatient for the Skies!

See barb'rous Nations at thy Gates attend,[12]

Walk in thy Light, and in thy Temple bend.

See thy bright Altars throng'd with prostrate Kings,

And heap'd with Products of Sabæan Springs![13]

For thee Idume's spicy Forests blow;

And seeds of Gold in Ophir's Mountains glow.

See Heav'n its sparkling Portals wide display,

And break upon thee in a Flood of Day!

No more the rising Sun shall gild the Morn,[14]

Nor Evening Cynthia fill her silver Horn,

But lost, dissolv'd in thy superior Rays;

One Tide of Glory, one unclouded Blaze

O'erflow thy Courts: The Light Himself shall shine

Reveal'd; and God's eternal Day be thine!

The Seas shall waste, the Skies in Smoke decay;[15]

Rocks fall to Dust, and Mountains melt away;

But fix'd His Word, His saving Pow'r remains:

Thy Realm for ever lasts! thy own Messiah reigns.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:hollow'd

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Footnote 3:

Before him Death, the grisly Tyrant, flies;

He wipes the Tears for ever from our Eyes.

I have turned to every verse and chapter, and think you have preserved the sublime, heavenly spirit throughout the whole, especially at "Hark a glad voice," and "The lamb with wolves shall graze." There is but one line which I think is below the original:

He wipes the tears for ever from our eyes.

You have expressed it with a good and pious but not so exalted and poetical a spirit as the prophet: The Lord God shall wipe away tears from off all faces. If you agree with me in this, alter it by way of paraphrase or otherwise, that when it comes into a volume it may be amended.

return

Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

return

Footnote 6:

return

Footnote 7:

return

Footnote 8:

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Footnote 9:

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Footnote 10:

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Footnote 11:

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Footnote 12:

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Footnote 13:

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Footnote 14:

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Footnote 15:

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Contents

No. 379

Thursday, May 15, 1712

Budgell

Scire tuum nihil est nisi te scire hoc sciat alter.

Pers.

andLatin A Man's Knowledge is worth nothing, if he communicates what he knows to any one besides.[1]

stillAlexander the Great Aristotle[2]

Luisa de PadillaLadyArandaGratian[3]Treatise of the Discrete

PersiusLatinCowleyYou tell me, that you do not know whether be a good Poet or no, because you cannot understand him; for which very Reason I affirm that he is not so.

EgyptiansHieroglyphicks

Rosicrucius's Sepulchre.needRosicrusian[4]

Rosicrucius

Footnote 1:

Nil proprium ducas quod mutarier potest.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Noct. Att.

return

Footnote 3:DiscretoSpectator

Footnote 1No. 293cultismoArt of PoetryCriticonDiscreto

return

cross-reference: return to Footnote 1 of No. 409

Footnote 4:Comte de GabalisSpectatorsBrotherhood of the Honourable Order of the Rosy CrossComte de GabalisRape of the Lock

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Contents

No. 380

Friday, May 16, 1712

Steele

Rivalem patienter habe—

Ovid.

Thursday, May 8, 1712.

Sir,

The Character you have in the World of being the Lady's Philosopher, and the pretty Advice I have seen you give to others in your Papers, make me address my self to you in this abrupt Manner, and to desire your Opinion what in this Age a Woman may call a Lover. I have lately had a Gentleman that I thought made Pretensions to me, insomuch that most of my Friends took Notice of it and thought we were really married; which I did not take much Pains to undeceive them, and especially a young Gentlewoman of my particular Acquaintance which was then in the Country. She coming to Town, and seeing our Intimacy so great, she gave her self the Liberty of taking me to task concerning it: I ingenuously told her we were not married, but I did not know what might the Event. She soon got acquainted with the Gentleman, and was pleased to take upon her to examine him about it. Now whether a new Face had made a greater Conquest than the old, I'll leave you to judge: But I am informd that he utterly deny'd all Pretensions to Courtship, but withal profess'd a sincere Friendship for me; but whether Marriages are propos'd by way of Friendship or not, is what I desire to know, and what I may really call a Lover. There are so many who talk in a Language fit only for that Character, and yet guard themselves against speaking in direct Terms to the Point, that it is impossible to distinguish between Courtship and Conversation. I hope you will do me Justice both upon my Lover and my Friend, if they provoke me further: In the mean time I carry it with so equal a Behaviour, that the Nymph and the Swain too are mighty at a loss; each believes I, who know them both well, think my self revenged in their Love to one another, which creates an irreconcileable Jealousy. If all comes right again, you shall hear further from,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

Mirtilla.

April 28, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

Your Observations on Persons that have behaved themselves irreverently at Church, I doubt not have had a good Effect on some that have read them: But there is another Fault which has hitherto escaped your Notice, I mean of such Persons as are very zealous and punctual to perform an Ejaculation that is only preparatory to the Service of the Church, and yet neglect to join in the Service it self. There is an Instance of this in a Friend of Will. Honeycomb's, who sits opposite to me: He seldom comes in till the Prayers are about half over, and when he has enter'd his Seat (instead of joining with the Congregation) he devoutly holds his Hat before his Face for three or four Moments, then bows to all his Acquaintance, sits down, takes a Pinch of Snuff, (if it be Evening Service perhaps a Nap) and spends the remaining Time in surveying the Congregation. Now, Sir, what I would desire, is, that you will animadvert a little on this Gentleman's Practice. In my Opinion, this Gentleman's Devotion, Cap-in-Hand, is only a Compliance to the Custom of the Place, and goes no further than a little ecclesiastical Good-Breeding. If you will not pretend to tell us the Motives that bring such Triflers to solemn Assemblies, yet let me desire that you will give this Letter a Place in your Paper, and I shall remain,

Sir,

Your obliged humble Servant,

J. S.

May the 5th.

Mr. Spectator,

The Conversation at a Club, of which I am a Member, last Night falling upon Vanity and the Desire of being admired, put me in mind of relating how agreeably I was entertained at my own Door last Thursday by a clean fresh-colour'd Girl, under the most elegant and the best furnished Milk-Pail I had ever observed. I was glad of such an Opportunity of seeing the Behaviour of a Coquet in low Life, and how she received the extraordinary Notice that was taken of her; which I found had affected every Muscle of her Face in the same manner as it does the Feature of a first-rate Toast at a Play, or in an Assembly. This Hint of mine made the Discourse turn upon the Sense of Pleasure; which ended in a general Resolution, that the Milk-Maid enjoys her Vanity as exquisitely as the Woman of Quality. I think it would not be an improper Subject for you to examine this Frailty, and trace it to all Conditions of Life; which is recommended to you as an Occasion of obliging many of your Readers, among the rest,

Your most humble Servant,

T. B.

Sir,

Coming last Week into a Coffee-house not far from the Exchange with my Basket under my Arm, a Jew of considerable Note, as I am informed, takes half a Dozen Oranges of me, and at the same time slides a Guinea into my Hand; I made him a Curtsy, and went my Way: He follow'd me, and finding I was going about my Business, he came up with me, and told me plainly, that he gave me the Guinea with no other Intent but to purchase my Person for an Hour. Did you so, Sir? says I: You gave it me then to make me be wicked, I'll keep it to make me honest. However, not to be in the least ungrateful, I promise you Ill lay it out in a couple of Rings, and wear them for your Sake. I am so just, Sir, besides, as to give every Body that asks how I came by my Rings this Account of my Benefactor; but to save me the Trouble of telling my Tale over and over again, I humbly beg the favour of you so to tell it once for all, and you will extremely oblige,

Your humble Servant,

Betty Lemon.

May 12, 1712.

St. Bride's, May 15, 1712.

Sir,

'Tis a great deal of Pleasure to me, and I dare say will be no less Satisfaction to you, that I have an Opportunity of informing you, that the Gentlemen and others of the Parish of St. Bride's, have raised a Charity-School of fifty Girls, as before of fifty Boys. You were so kind to recommend the Boys to the charitable World, and the other Sex hope you will do them the same Favour in Friday's Spectator for Sunday next, when they are to appear with their humble Airs at the Parish Church of St. Bride's. Sir, the Mention of this may possibly be serviceable to the Children; and sure no one will omit a good Action attended with no Expence.

I am, Sir, Your very humble Servant,

The Sexton.

Contents

No. 381

Saturday, May 17, 1712

Addison

Æquam memento rebus in arduis,

Servare mentem, non secùs in bonis

Ab insolenti temperatam

Lætitiâ, moriture Deli.

Hor.

ChearfulnessMirth

Christians

Contents

No. 382

Monday, May 19, 1712

Steele

Habes confitentem reum.

Tull.

DauphinFranceKing

Spectator

Contents

No. 383

Tuesday, May 20, 1712

Addison

Criminibus debent Hortos—

Hor.

Roger'sbe a good Child and mind his Book

RogerYou must knowRogerI never make use of any body to row me, that has not either lost a Leg or an Arm. I would rather bate him a few Strokes of his Oar, than not employ an honest Man that has been wounded in the Queen's Service. If I was a Lord or a Bishop, and kept a Barge, I would not put a Fellow in my Livery that had not a Wooden-Leg.

Roger obligedat La Hogue[1]BritishEnglishmanFrenchmenThamesEuropeLondon BridgeEnglishman

A most Heathenish Sight! RogerThere is no Religion at this End of the Town. The fifty new Churches will very much mend the Prospect; but Church-work is slow, Church-work is slow!

Roger'sKnight of the Shirewhat queer old Put we had in the Boat, and whether he was not ashamed to go a Wenching at his Years?Thames-RibaldryThat if he were a Middlesex Justice, he would make such Vagrants know that Her Majesty's Subjects were no more to be abused by Water than by Land.

Spring-GardenMahometanRogeran Aviary of NightingalesYou must understand,there is nothing in the World that pleases a Man in Love so much as your Nightingale. Ah, Mr. Spectator! the many Moon-light Nights that I have walked by my self, and thought on the Widow by the Musek of the Nightingales!Masqueif he would drink a Bottle of Mead with her?She was a wanton Baggage, and bid her go about her Business.

Burton-AleHung-Beefcarry the remainder to the Waterman that had but one Leg.

That he should be a better Customer to her Garden, if there were more Nightingales, and fewer Strumpets.

Footnote 1: in Bantry Bay

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Contents

No. 384

Wednesday, May 21, 1712

Steele

Hague, May 24. N. S.

The same Republican Hands, who have so often since the Chevalier de St. George's Recovery killed him in our publick Prints, have now reduced the young Dauphin of France to that desperate Condition of Weakness, and Death it self, that it is hard to conjecture what Method they will take to bring him to Life again. Mean time we are assured by a very good Hand from Paris, That on the 20th Instant, this young Prince was as well as ever he was known to be since the Day of his Birth. As for the other, they are now sending his Ghost, we suppose, (for they never had the Modesty to contradict their Assertions of his Death) to Commerci in Lorrain, attended only by four Gentlemen, and a few Domesticks of little Consideration. The Baron de Bothmar having delivered in his Credentials to qualify him as an Ambassador to this State, (an Office to which his greatest Enemies will acknowledge him to be equal) is gone to Utrecht, whence he will proceed to Hanover, but not stay long at that Court, for fear the Peace should be made during his lamented Absence.

Post-Boy, May 20.

My Lord Bishop of St. AsaphSermonsPreface[1]ChristianChristianityPost-BoyPrefaceLord of St. AsaphPost-BoyRepublicansBothmarHanoverEngland

The publishing a few Sermons, whilst I live, the latest of which was preached about eight Years since, and the first above seventeen, will make it very natural for People to enquire into the Occasion of doing so; And to such I do very willingly assign these following Reasons.

First, From the Observations I have been able to make, for these many Years last past, upon our publick Affairs, and from the natural Tendency of several Principles and Practices, that have of late been studiously revived, and from what has followed thereupon, I could not help both fearing and presaging, that these Nations would some time or other, if ever we should have an enterprising Prince upon the Throne, of more Ambition than Virtue, Justice, and true Honour, fall into the way of all other Nations, and lose their Liberty.

Nor could I help foreseeing to whose Charge a great deal of this dreadful Mischief, whenever it should happen, would be laid, whether justly or unjustly, was not my Business to determine; but I resolved for my own particular part, to deliver my self, as well as I could, from the Reproaches and the Curses of Posterity, by publickly declaring to all the World, That although in the constant Course of my Ministry, I have never failed, on proper Occasions, to recommend, urge, and insist upon the loving, honouring, and the reverencing the Prince's Person, and holding it, according to the Laws, inviolable and sacred; and paying all Obedience and Submission to the Laws, though never so hard and inconvenient to private People: Yet did I never think my self at liberty, or authorized to tell the People, that either Christ, St. Peter, or St. Paul, or any other Holy Writer, had by any Doctrine delivered by them, subverted the Laws and Constitutions of the Country in which they lived, or put them in a worse Condition, with respect to their Civil Liberties, than they would have been had they not been Christians. I ever thought it a most impious Blasphemy against that holy Religion, to father any thing upon it that might encourage Tyranny, Oppression, or Injustice in a Prince, or that easily tended to make a free and happy People Slaves and Miserable. No: People may make themselves as wretched as they will, but let not God be called into that wicked Party. When Force and Violence, and hard Necessity have brought the Yoak of Servitude upon a People's Neck, Religion will supply them with a patient and submissive Spirit under it till they can innocently shake it off; but certainly Religion never puts it on. This always was, and this at present is, my Judgment of these Matters: And I would be transmitted to Posterity (for the little Share of Time such Names as mine can live) under the Character of one who lov'd his Country, and would be thought a good Englishman, as well as a good Clergyman.

This Character I thought would be transmitted by the following Sermons, which were made for, and preached in a private Audience, when I could think of nothing else but doing my Duty on the Occasions that were then offered by God's Providence, without any manner of design of making them publick: And for that reason I give them now as they were then delivered; by which I hope to satisfie those People who have objected a Change of Principles to me, as if I were not now the same Man I formerly was. I never had but one Opinion of these Matters; and that I think is so reasonable and well-grounded, that I believe I never can have any other. Another Reason of my publishing these Sermons at this time, is, that I have a mind to do my self some Honour, by doing what Honour I could to the Memory of two most excellent Princes, and who have very highly deserved at the hands of all the People of these Dominions, who have any true Value for the Protestant Religion, and the Constitution of the English Government, of which they were the great Deliverers and Defenders. I have lived to see their illustrious Names very rudely handled, and the great Benefits they did this Nation treated slightly and contemptuously. I have lived to see our Deliverance from Arbitrary Power and Popery, traduced and vilified by some who formerly thought it was their greatest Merit, and made it part of their Boast and Glory, to have had a little hand and share in bringing it about; and others who, without it, must have liv'd in Exile, Poverty, and Misery, meanly disclaiming it, and using ill the glorious Instruments thereof. Who could expect such a Requital of such Merit? I have, I own it, an Ambition of exempting my self from the Number of unthankful People: And as I loved and honoured those great Princes living, and lamented over them when dead, so I would gladly raise them up a Monument of Praise as lasting as any thing of mine can be; and I chuse to do it at this time, when it is so unfashionable a thing to speak honourably of them.

The Sermon that was preached upon the Duke of Gloucester's Death was printed quickly after, and is now, because the Subject was so suitable, join'd to the others. The Loss of that most promising and hopeful Prince was, at that time, I saw, unspeakably great; and many Accidents since have convinced us, that it could not have been over-valued. That precious Life, had it pleased God to have prolonged it the usual Space, had saved us many Fears and Jealousies, and dark Distrusts, and prevented many Alarms, that have long kept us, and will keep us still, waking and uneasy. Nothing remained to comfort and support us under this heavy Stroke, but the Necessity it brought the King and Nation under, of settling the Succession in the House of Hannover, and giving it an Hereditary Right, by Act of Parliament, as long as it continues Protestant. So much good did God, in his merciful Providence, produce from a Misfortune, which we could never otherwise have sufficiently deplored.

The fourth Sermon was preached upon the Queen's Accession to the Throne, and the first Year in which that Day was solemnly observed, (for, by some Accident or other, it had been overlook'd the Year before;) and every one will see, without the date of it, that it was preached very early in this Reign, since I was able only to promise and presage its future Glories and Successes, from the good Appearances of things, and the happy Turn our Affairs began to take; and could not then count up the Victories and Triumphs that, for seven Years after, made it, in the Prophet's Language, a Name and a Praise among all the People of the Earth. Never did seven such Years together pass over the head of any English Monarch, nor cover it with so much Honour: The Crown and Sceptre seemed to be the Queen's least Ornaments; those, other Princes wore in common with her, and her great personal Virtues were the same before and since; but such was the Fame of her Administration of Affairs at home, such was the Reputation of her Wisdom and Felicity in chusing Ministers, and such was then esteemed their Faithfulness and Zeal, their Diligence and great Abilities in executing her Commands; to such a height of military Glory did her great General and her Armies carry the British Name abroad; such was the Harmony and Concord betwixt her and her Allies, and such was the Blessing of God upon all her Counsels and Undertakings, that I am as sure as History can make me, no Prince of ours was ever yet so prosperous and successful, so beloved, esteemed, and honoured by their Subjects and their Friends, nor near so formidable to their Enemies. We were, as all the World imagined then, just ent'ring on the ways that promised to lead to such a Peace, as would have answered all the Prayers of our religious Queen, the Care and Vigilance of a most able Ministry, the Payments of a willing and obedient People, as well as all the glorious Toils and Hazards of the Soldiery; when God, for our Sins, permitted the Spirit of Discord to go forth, and, by troubling sore the Camp, the City, and the Country, (and oh that it had altogether spared the Places sacred to his Worship!) to spoil, for a time, this beautiful and pleasing Prospect, and give us, in its stead, I know not what — Our Enemies will tell the rest with Pleasure. It will become me better to pray to God to restore us to the Power of obtaining such a Peace, as will be to his Glory, the Safety, Honour, and the Welfare of the Queen and her Dominions, and the general Satisfaction of all her High and Mighty Allies.

May 2, 1712.

Footnote 1:

1. On the death of Queen Mary, 1694.

2. On the death of the Duke of Gloucester, 1700.

3. On the death of King William, 1701.

4. On the Queen's Accession to the Throne, in 1702,

Spectator

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Contents

No. 385

Thursday, May 22, 1712

Budgell

Theseâ pectora juncta fide.

Ovid.

Friendship is a strong and habitual Inclination in two Persons to promote the Good and Happiness of one another.

LoveEsteem

Envy

AchillesPatroclusÆneasAchatesGreece

AchatesAchatesÆneid

AtticusRomeMariusSylla's

CæsarPompeyCæsarBrutusAntony'sAntonyAugustusAtticusCornelius NeposRome

Contents

No. 386

Friday, May 23, 1712

Steele

Cum Tristibus severe, cum Remissis jucunde, cum Senibus graviter, cum Juventute comiter vivere.

Tull.

LatinCiceroCatilinelived with the Sad severely, with the Chearful agreeably, with the Old gravely, with the Young pleasantly; he added, with the Wicked boldly, with the Wanton lasciviously. alla[1]

AcastoAcastoAcastoAcasto

TullyAnthony in eo facetiæ erant, quæ nulla arte tradi possunt: He had a witty Mirth, which could be acquired by no Art.

Footnote 1:an

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Contents

No. 387[1]

Saturday, May 24, 1712

Addison

Quid purè tranquillet—

Hor.

Saturday'sChearfulnessa Moral Habit of the Mind

English

famous[2]All Colours that are more luminous, overpower and dissipate the animal Spirits which are employd in Sight; on the contrary, those that are more obscure do not give the animal Spirits a sufficient Exercise; whereas the Rays that produce in us the Idea of Green, fall upon the Eye in such a due proportion, that they give the animal Spirits their proper Play, and by keeping up the struggle in a just Ballance, excite a very pleasing and agreeable Sensation

FrenchIn the gloomy Month of November, when the People of England hang and drown themselves, a disconsolate Lover walked out into the Fields, &c.

LockeEssay on Human Understanding

Beyond all this, we may find another Reason why God hath scattered up and down several Degrees of Pleasure and Pain, in all the things that environ and affect us, and blended them together, in almost all that our Thoughts and Senses have to do with; that we finding Imperfection, Dissatisfaction, and Want of compleat Happiness in all the Enjoyments which the Creatures can afford us, might be led to seek it in the Enjoyment of him, with whom there is Fulness of Joy, and at whose Right Hand are Pleasures for evermore.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 388

Monday, May 26, 1712

Barr?[1]

—Tibi res antiquæ Laudis et Artis

Ingredior; sanctos ausus recludere Fontes.

Virg.

Mr. Spectator,

It is my Custom, when I read your Papers, to read over the Quotations in the Authors from whence you take them: As you mentiond a Passage lately out of the second Chapter of Solomon's Song, it occasion'd my looking into it; and upon reading it I thought the Ideas so exquisitely soft and tender, that I could not help making this Paraphrase of it; which, now it is done, I can as little forbear sending to you. Some Marks of your Approbation, which I have already receiv'd, have given me so sensible a Taste of them, that I cannot forbear endeavouring after them as often as I can with any Appearance of Success.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient[2] humble Servant.

I

As when in Sharon's Field the blushing Rose

Does its chaste Bosom to the Morn disclose,

Whilst all around the Zephyrs bear

The fragrant Odours thro' the Air:

Or as the Lilly in the shady Vale,

Does o'er each Flower with beauteous Pride prevail,

And stands with Dews and kindest Sun-shine blest,

In fair Pre-eminence, superior to the rest:

So if my Love, with happy Influence, shed

His Eyes bright Sun-shine on his Lover's Head,

Then shall the Rose of Sharon's Field,

And whitest Lillies to my Beauties yield.

Then fairest Flowers with studious Art combine,

The Roses with the Lillies join,

And their united Charms are[3] less than mine.

II

As much as fairest Lillies can surpass

A Thorn in Beauty, or in Height the Grass;

So does my Love among the Virgins shine,

Adorn'd with Graces more than half Divine;

Or as a Tree, that, glorious to behold,

Is hung with Apples all of ruddy Gold,

Hesperian Fruit! and beautifully high,

Extends its Branches to the Sky;

So does my Love the Virgin's Eyes invite:

'Tis he alone can fix their wand'ring Sight,

Among[4] ten thousand eminently bright.

III

Beneath this pleasing Shade

My weaned Limbs at Ease I laid,

And on his fragrant Boughs reclined my Head.

I pull'd the Golden Fruit with eager haste;

Sweet was the Fruit, and pleasing to the Taste:

With sparkling Wine he crown'd the Bowl,

With gentle Ecstacies he fill'd my Soul;

Joyous we sate beneath the shady Grove,

And o'er my Head he hung the Banners of his Love.

IV

I faint; I die! my labouring Breast

Is with the mighty Weight of Love opprest:

I feel the Fire possess my Heart,

And pain conveyed to every Part.

Thro' all my Veins the Passion flies,

My feeble Soul forsakes its Place,

A trembling Faintness seals my Eyes,

And Paleness dwells upon my Face;

Oh! let my Love with pow'rful Odours stay

My fainting lovesick Soul that dies away;

One Hand beneath me let him place,

With t'other press me in a chaste Embrace.

V

I charge you, Nymphs of Sion, as you go

Arm'd with the sounding Quiver and the Bow,

Whilst thro' the lonesome Woods you rove,

You ne'er disturb my sleeping Love,

Be only gentle Zephyrs there,

With downy Wings to fan the Air;

Let sacred Silence dwell around,

To keep off each intruding Sound:

And when the balmy Slumber leaves his Eyes,

May he to Joys, unknown till then, arise.

VI

But see! he comes! with what majestick Gate

He onward bears his lovely State!

Now thro' the Lattice he appears,

With softest Words dispels my Fears,

Arise, my Fair-One, and receive

All the Pleasures Love can give.

For now the sullen Winters past,

No more we fear the Northern Blast:

No Storms nor threatning Clouds appear,

No falling Rains deform the Year.

My Love admits of no delay,

Arise, my Fair, and come away.

VII

Already, see! the teeming Earth

Brings forth the Flow'rs, her beauteous Birth.

The Dews, and soft-descending Showers,

Nurse the new-born tender Flow'rs.

Hark! the Birds melodious sing,

And sweetly usher in the Spring.

Close by his Fellow sits the Dove,

And billing whispers her his Love.

The spreading Vines with Blossoms swell,

Diffusing round a grateful Smell,

Arise, my Fair-One, and receive

All the Blessings Love can give:

For Love admits of no delay,

Arise, my Fair, and come away.

VIII

As to its Mate the constant Dove

Flies thro' the Covert of the spicy Grove,

So let us hasten to some lonely Shade,

There let me safe in thy lov'd Arms be laid,

Where no intruding hateful Noise

Shall damp the Sound of thy melodious Voice;

Where I may gaze, and mark each beauteous Grace;

For sweet thy Voice, and lovely is thy Face.

IX

As all of me, my Love, is thine,

Let all of thee be ever mine.

Among the Lillies we will play,

Fairer, my Love, thou art than they,

Till the purple Morn arise,

And balmy Sleep forsake thine Eyes;

Till the gladsome Beams of Day

Remove the Shades of Night away;

Then when soft Sleep shall from thy Eyes depart,

Rise like the bounding Roe, or lusty Hart,

Glad to behold the Light again

From Bether's Mountains darting o'er the Plain.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:obliged

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Footnote 3:Beauties shall be

return

Footnote 4:And stands among

return

Contents

No. 389

Tuesday, May 27, 1712

Budgell

Meliora pii docuere parentes.

Hor.

NothingEnglandSpaccio della Bestia triom fante[1]Thisthirty[2]Jordanus Brunus

JupiterMomusJupiter

PlatosCicerosBaconsBoylesLockes

Hottentots

havingGabble[3]

SocratesSenecaHottentots

The[4]

wasCasimir LiszynskiPoland[5]Tartary

EnglandBritishPoland

Tartary Cape of Good HopeHottentots

enough

Demi-culverin

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Fifty

return

Footnote 3:Gabling

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:

return

Contents

No. 390

Wednesday, May 28, 1712

Steele

Non pudendo sed non faciendo id quod non decet impudentiæ nomen effugere debemus.

Tull.

OrbicillaSpencerhis Fairy Queen

'The best, said he, that I can you advise,

Is to avoid th' Occasion of the Ill;

For when the Cause, whence Evil doth arise,

Removed is, th' Effect surceaseth still.

Abstain from Pleasure, and restrain your Will,

Subdue Desire, and bridle loose Delight:

Use scanted Diet, and forbear your Fill;

Shun Secrecy, and talk in open sight:

So shall you soon repair your present evil Plight[1].'

Queen Bess's

Spectator

She is the laziest Creature in the World, but I must confess strictly Virtuous: The peevishest Hussy breathing, but as to her Virtue she is without Blemish: She has not the least Charity for any of her Acquaintance, but I must allow rigidly Virtuous. Virtuous

Footnote 1:F. Q.

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Contents

No. 391

Thursday, May 29, 1712

Addison

—Non tu prece poscis emaci,

Qua nisi seductis nequeas committere Divis:

At bona pars procerum tacitâ libabit acerrâ.

Haud cuivis promptum est, murmurque humilesque susurros

Tollere de Templis; et aperto vivere voto.

Mens bona, fama, fides, hæc clarè, et ut audiat hospes.

Illa sibi introrsum, et sub lingua immurmurat: O si

Ebullit patrui præclarum funus! Et O si

Sub rastro crepet argenti mihi seria dextro

Hercule! pupillumve utinam, quem proximus hæres

Impello, expungam!—

Pers.

Where Homer[1]PhœnixAchillesThe Godssuffer themselves to be prevailed upon by Entreaties. When Mortals have offended them by their Transgressions, they appease them by Vows and Sacrifices. You must know, Achilles, that Prayers are the Daughters of They are crippled by frequent Kneeling, have their Faces full of Cares and Wrinkles, and their Eyes always cast towards Heaven. They are constant Attendants on the Goddess Ateand march behind her. This Goddess walks forward with a bold and haughty Air, and being very light of foot, runs thro' the whole Earth, grieving and afflicting the Sons of Men. She gets the start of Prayerswho always follow her, in, order to heal those Persons whom she wounds. He who honours these Daughters ofwhen they draw near to him, receives great Benefit from them; but as for him who rejects them, they intreat their Father to give his Orders to the Goddess Ate to punish him for his Hardness of Heart.AteInjuryGuilt divine Justice,

Lucian

Menippus[2]JupiterJupiterMenippusJoveAthensJupiterMenippusLicanderJupiterJupiterEphesianJupiterthenMenippusJoveJupiterJupiterJupiterJupiterIonianJupiterZephirsMenippusJupiterPaphosWesternJupiter

SocratesPlatoJuvenalPersius

Footnote 1:Iliad

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Footnote 2:Satiræ Menippeæ.

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Contents

No. 392

Friday, May 30, 1712

Steele

Per Ambages et Ministeria Deorum

Præcipitandus est liber Spiritus.

Pet.

To the Spectator.

The Transformation of Fidelio into a Looking-Glass.

I was lately at a Tea-Table, where some young Ladies entertained the Company with a Relation of a Coquet in the Neighbourhood, who had been discovered practising before her Glass. To turn the Discourse, which from being witty grew to be malicious, the Matron of the Family took occasion, from the Subject, to wish that there were to be found amongst Men such faithful Monitors to dress the Mind by, as we consult to adorn the Body. She added, that if a sincere Friend were miraculously changed into a Looking-Glass, she should not be ashamed to ask its Advice very often. This whimsical Thought worked so much upon my Fancy the whole Evening, that it produced a very odd Dream[1].

Methought, that as I stood before my Glass, the Image of a Youth, of an open ingenuous Aspect, appeared in it; who with a small shrill Voice spoke in the following manner.

The Looking-Glass, you see, was heretofore a Man, even I, the unfortunate Fidelio. I had two Brothers, whose Deformity in Shape was made out by the Clearness of their Understanding: It must be owned however, that (as it generally happens) they had each a Perverseness of Humour suitable to their Distortion of Body. The eldest, whose Belly sunk in monstrously, was a great Coward; and tho' his splenetick contracted Temper made him take fire immediately, he made Objects that beset him appear greater than they were. The second, whose Breast swelled into a bold Relievo, on the contrary, took great pleasure in lessening every thing, and was perfectly the Reverse of his Brother. These Oddnesses pleased Company once or twice, but disgusted when often seen; for which reason the young Gentlemen were sent from Court to study Mathematicks at the University.

I need not acquaint you, that I was very well made, and reckoned a bright polite Gentleman. I was the Confident and Darling of all the Fair; and if the Old and Ugly spoke ill of me, all the World knew it was because I scorned to flatter them. No Ball, no Assembly was attended till I had been consulted. Flavia colour'd her Hair before me, Celia shew'd me her Teeth, Panthea heaved her Bosom, Cleora brandished her Diamonds; I have seen Cloe's Foot, and tied artificially the Garters of Rhodope.

'Tis a general Maxim, that those who doat upon themselves, can have no violent Affection for another: But on the contrary, I found that the Women's Passion for me rose in proportion to the Love they bare to themselves. This was verify'd in my Amour with Narcissa, who was so constant to me, that it was pleasantly said, had I been little enough, she would have hung me at her Girdle. The most dangerous Rival I had, was a gay empty Fellow, who by the Strength of a long Intercourse with Narcissa, joined to his natural Endowments, had formed himself into a perfect Resemblance with her. I had been discarded, had she not observed that he frequently asked my Opinion about Matters of the last Consequence: This made me still more considerable in her Eye.

Tho' I was eternally caressed by the Ladies, such was their Opinion of my Honour, that I was never envy'd by the Men. A jealous Lover of Narcissa one day thought he had caught her in an Amorous Conversation; for tho' he was at such a Distance that he could hear nothing, he imagined strange things from her Airs and Gestures. Sometimes with a serene Look she stepped back in a listning Posture, and brightened into an innocent Smile. Quickly after she swelled into an Air of Majesty and Disdain, then kept her Eyes half shut after a languishing Manner, then covered her Blushes with her Hand, breathed a Sigh, and seemd ready to sink down. In rushed the furious Lover; but how great was his Surprize to see no one there but the innocent Fidelio, with his Back against the Wall betwixt two Windows?

It were endless to recount all my Adventures. Let me hasten to that which cost me my Life, and Narcissa her Happiness.

She had the misfortune to have the Small-Pox, upon which I was expressly forbid her Sight, it being apprehended that it would increase her Distemper, and that I should infallibly catch it at the first Look. As soon as she was suffered to leave her Bed, she stole out of her Chamber, and found me all alone in an adjoining Apartment. She ran with Transport to her Darling, and without Mixture of Fear, lest I should dislike her. But, oh me! what was her Fury when she heard me say, I was afraid and shock'd at so loathsome a Spectacle. She stepped back, swollen with Rage, to see if I had the Insolence to repeat it. I did, with this Addition, that her ill-timed Passion had increased her Ugliness. Enraged, inflamed, distracted, she snatched a Bodkin, and with all her Force stabbed me to the Heart. Dying, I preserv'd my Sincerity, and expressed the Truth, tho' in broken Words; and by reproachful Grimaces to the last I mimick'd the Deformity of my Murderess.

Cupid, who always attends the Fair, and pity'd the Fate of so useful a Servant as I was, obtained of the Destinies, that my Body should be made incorruptible, and retain the Qualities my Mind had possessed. I immediately lost the Figure of a Man, and became smooth, polished, and bright, and to this day am the first Favourite of the Ladies.

Footnote 1: so odd a Dream, that no one but the Spectator could believe that the Brain, clogged in Sleep, could furnish out such a regular Wildness of Imagination.

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Contents

No. 393

Saturday, May 31, 1712

Addison

Nescio quâ præter solitum dulcedine læti.

Virg.

Denmark

Copenhagen, May 1, 1710.

Dear Sir,

The Spring with you has already taken Possession of the Fields and Woods: Now is the Season of Solitude, and of moving Complaints upon trivial Sufferings: Now the Griefs of Lovers begin to flow, and their Wounds to bleed afresh. I too, at this Distance from the softer Climates, am not without my Discontents at present. You perhaps may laugh at me for a most Romantick Wretch, when I have disclosed to you the Occasion of my Uneasiness; and yet I cannot help thinking my Unhappiness real, in being confined to a Region, which is the very Reverse of Paradise. The Seasons here are all of them unpleasant, and the Country quite Destitute of Rural Charms. I have not heard a Bird sing, nor a Brook murmur, nor a Breeze whisper, neither have I been blest with the Sight of a flow'ry Meadow these two years. Every Wind here is a Tempest, and every Water a turbulent Ocean. I hope, when you reflect a little, you will not think the Grounds of my Complaint in the least frivolous and unbecoming a Man of serious Thought; since the Love of Woods, of Fields and Flowers, of Rivers and Fountains, seems to be a Passion implanted in our Natures the most early of any, even before the Fair Sex had a Being.

I am, Sir, &c.

SpainItalyEnglandFranceEnglishEurope

MiltonsurveyingParadise Lost,

Blossoms and Fruits at once of golden hue

Appear'd, with gay enamel'd Colours mixt:

On which the Sun more glad impress'd his Beams

Than in fair evening Cloud, or humid Bow,

When God hath shower'd the Earth; so lovely seem'd

That Landskip: And of pure now purer Air

Meets his approach, and to the Heart inspires

Vernal Delight, and Joy able to drive

All Sadness but Despair, &c.[1]

Saturday'sPsalmist

MiltonChristianApostlethose who are sad to pray, and those who are merry to sing Psalms

Footnote 1:Paradise Lost,

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Contents

No. 394

Monday, June 2, 1712

Steele

Bene colligitur hæc Pueris et Mulierculis et Servis et Servorum simillimis Liberis esse grata. Gravi vero homini et ea quæ fiunt Judicio certo ponderanti probari posse nullo modo.

Tull.

SpainLatinSpain the King knows I understand Latin better than he does.

Trick-trackBaggammonmaking one's CourtPresentBribeBillet-douxthat one part of Matter asks one thing, and another another, to make it fluent; but there is nothing but may be dissolved by a proper MeanBarbadoesGreat-Britain

Contents

Dedication of the Sixth Volume of The Spectator

To The Right Honorable Charles, Earl of Sunderland[1].

My Lord

SpectatorEuropeGreat-Britain

The Spectator

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 395

Tuesday, June 3, 1712

Budgell

Quod nunc ratio est, Impetus ante fuit.

Ovid.

Beware of the Ides of MarchRomanJulius CæsarBeware of the Month of MayBritish SpectatorCæsar's

Roger

Forewarned forearm'd

MayJune

ThyrsisSylviaSpectator

Mat Meager,May

CaveatCongratulation

Ordeal Tryal.Milton

TrojansGreciansWill. Honeycomb

ChamontSister

—Long she flourish'd,

Grew sweet to Sense, and lovely to the Eye;

Till at the last a cruel Spoiler came,

Cropt this fair Rose, and rifled all its Sweetness;

Then cast it like a loathsome Weed away.[1]

JuneMay

VirtueModesty

LondonWestminster

Footnote 1:Orphan

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Contents

No. 396

Wednesday, June 4, 1712

Henley

Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferio, Baralipton.

CambridgePeter de Quir

To Mr. Spectator[1].

From St. John's College Cambridge, Feb. 3, 1712.

Sir,

The Monopoly of Punns in this University has been an immemorial Privilege of the Johnians; and we can't help resenting the late Invasion of our ancient Right as to that Particular, by a little Pretender to Clenching in a neighbouring College, who in an Application to you by way of Letter, a while ago, styled himself Philobrune. Dear Sir, as you are by Character a profest Well-wisher to Speculation, you will excuse a Remark which this Gentleman's Passion for the Brunette has suggested to a Brother Theorist; 'tis an Offer towards a mechanical Account of his Lapse to Punning, for he belongs to a Set of Mortals who value themselves upon an uncommon Mastery in the more humane and polite Part of Letters. A Conquest by one of this Species of Females gives a very odd Turn to the Intellectuals of the captivated Person, and very different from that way of thinking which a Triumph from the Eyes of another more emphatically of the fair Sex, does generally occasion. It fills the Imagination with an Assemblage of such Ideas and Pictures as are hardly any thing but Shade, such as Night, the Devil, &c. These Portraitures very near over-power the Light of the Understanding, almost benight the Faculties, and give that melancholy Tincture to the most sanguine Complexion, which this Gentleman calls an Inclination to be in a Brown-study, and is usually attended with worse Consequences in case of a Repulse. During this Twilight of Intellects, the Patient is extremely apt, as Love is the most witty Passion in Nature, to offer at some pert Sallies now and then, by way of Flourish, upon the amiable Enchantress, and unfortunately stumbles upon that Mongrel miscreated (to speak in Miltonic) kind of Wit, vulgarly termed, the Punn. It would not be much amiss to consult Dr. T—W—[2] (who is certainly a very able Projector, and whose system of Divinity and spiritual Mechanicks obtains very much among the better Part of our Under-Graduates) whether a general Intermarriage, enjoyned by Parliament, between this Sisterhood of the Olive Beauties, and the Fraternity of the People call'd Quakers, would not be a very serviceable Expedient, and abate that Overflow of Light which shines within them so powerfully, that it dazzles their Eyes, and dances them into a thousand Vagaries of Error and Enthusiasm. These Reflections may impart some Light towards a Discovery of the Origin of Punning among us, and the Foundation of its prevailing so long in this famous Body. Tis notorious from the Instance under Consideration, that it must be owing chiefly to the use of brown Juggs, muddy Belch, and the Fumes of a certain memorable Place of Rendezvous with us at Meals, known by the Name of Staincoat Hole: For the Atmosphere of the Kitchen, like the Tail of a Comet, predominates least about the Fire, but resides behind and fills the fragrant Receptacle above-mentioned. Besides, 'tis farther observable that the delicate Spirits among us, who declare against these nauseous proceedings, sip Tea, and put up for Critic and Amour, profess likewise an equal Abhorrency for Punning, the ancient innocent Diversion of this Society. After all, Sir, tho' it may appear something absurd, that I seem to approach you with the Air of an Advocate for Punning, (you who have justified your Censures of the Practice in a set Dissertation upon that Subject;) yet, I'm confident, you'll think it abundantly atoned for by observing, that this humbler Exercise may be as instrumental in diverting us from any innovating Schemes and Hypothesis in Wit. as dwelling upon honest Orthodox Logic would be in securing us from Heresie in Religion. Had Mr. W—n's[3] Researches been confined within the Bounds of Ramus or Crackanthorp, that learned News-monger might have acquiesced in what the holy Oracles pronounce upon the Deluge, like other Christians; and had the surprising Mr. L—y[4] been content with the Employment of refining upon Shakespear's Points and Quibbles, (for which he must be allowed to have a superlative Genius) and now and then penning a Catch or a Ditty, instead of inditing Odes, and Sonnets, the Gentlemen of the Bon Goust in the Pit would never have been put to all that Grimace in damning the Frippery of State, the Poverty and Languor of Thought, the unnatural Wit, and inartificial Structure of his Dramas.

I am, Sir,

Your very humble Servant,

Peter de Quir.

Footnote 1:EstherDunciadHip Doctor,

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Footnote 2:The Old Apology for the Truth against the Jews and Gentiles Revived

return

Footnote 3:New Theory of the Earth,Sacred Theory of the Earth

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Footnote 4:Taming of the Shrew

Then will I say, swelled with poetic rage,

That I, John Lacy, have reformed the age.

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Contents

No. 397

Thursday, June 5, 1712

Addison

—Dolor ipse disertum

Fecerat—

Ovid.

AsIf thou seest thy Friend in TroubleEpictetusthou mayst put on a Look of Sorrow, and condole with him, but take care that thy Sorrow be not real[1]What is that to me? All this may be true, but what is it to me?

Ann of BologneKing Henry the EighthQueen ElizabethCotton Library,

ShakespearJane SeymourAnn of Bologne.

Queen Ann Boleyn's last Letter to King Henry.

[Cotton Libr. Otho C. 10.]

Sir,

Your Grace's Displeasure, and my Imprisonment, are Things so strange unto me, as what to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether ignorant. Whereas you send unto me (willing me to confess a Truth, and so obtain your Favour) by such an one, whom you know to be mine ancient professed Enemy, I no sooner received this Message by him, than I rightly conceived your Meaning; and if, as you say, confessing a Truth indeed may procure my Safety, I shall with all Willingness and Duty perform your Command.

But let not your Grace ever imagine, that your poor Wife will ever be brought to acknowledge a Fault, where not so much as a Thought thereof preceded. And to speak a Truth, never Prince had Wife more Loyal in all Duty, and in all true Affection, than you have ever found in Ann Boleyn: with which Name and Place I could willingly have contented my self, if God and your Grace's Pleasure had been so pleased. Neither did I at any time so far forget my self in my Exaltation, or received Queenship, but that I always looked for such an Alteration as now I find; for the Ground of my Preferment being on no surer Foundation than your Grace's Fancy, the least Alteration I knew was fit and sufficient to draw that Fancy to some other Object[2]. You have chosen me, from a low Estate, to be your Queen and Companion, far beyond my Desert or Desire. If then you found me worthy of such Honour, good your Grace let not any light Fancy, or bad Counsel of mine Enemies, withdraw your Princely Favour from me; neither let that Stain, that unworthy Stain, of a Disloyal Heart towards your good Grace, ever cast so foul a Blot on your most Dutiful Wife, and the Infant-Princess your Daughter. Try me, good King, but let me have a lawful Tryal, and let not my sworn Enemies sit as my Accusers and Judges; Yea let me receive an open Tryal, for my Truth shall fear no open Shame; then shall you see either mine Innocence cleared, your Suspicion and Conscience satisfied, the Ignominy and Slander of the World stopped, or my Guilt openly declared. So that whatsoever God or you may determine of me, your Grace may be freed from an open Censure, and mine Offence being so lawfully proved, your Grace is at liberty, both before God and Man, not only to Execute worthy Punishment on me as an unlawful Wife, but to follow your Affection, already settled on that Party, for whose sake I am now as I am, whose Name I could some good while since have pointed unto, your Grace being not ignorant of my Suspicion therein.

But if you have already determined of me, and that not only my Death, but an Infamous Slander must bring you the enjoying of your desired Happiness; then I desire of God, that he will pardon your great Sin therein, and likewise mine Enemies, the Instruments thereof; and that he will not call you to a strict Account for your unprincely and cruel Usage of me, at his general Judgment Seat, where both you and my self must shortly appear, and in whose Judgment I doubt not (whatsoever the World may think of me) mine Innocence shall be openly known, and sufficiently cleared.

My last and only Request shall be, that my self may only bear the Burthen of your Grace's Displeasure, and that it may not touch the innocent Souls of those poor Gentlemen, who (as I understand) are likewise in strait Imprisonment for my sake. If ever I have found Favour in your Sight, if ever the Name of Ann Boleyn hath been pleasing in your Ears, then let me obtain this Request, and I will so leave to trouble your Grace any further, with mine earnest Prayers to the Trinity to have your Grace in his good Keeping, and to direct you in all your Actions. From my doleful Prison in the Tower, this sixth of May;

Your most Loyal,

And ever Faithful Wife,

Ann Boleyn.

Footnote 1:

When you see a Neighbour in Tears, and hear him lament the Absence of his Son, the Hazards of his Voyage into some remote Part of the World, or the Loss of his Estate; keep upon your Guard, for fear lest some false Ideas that may rise upon these Occasions, surprise you into a Mistake, as if this Man were really miserable, upon the Account of these outward Accidents. But be sure to distinguish wisely, and tell your self immediately, that the Thing which really afflicts this Person is not really the Accident it self, (for other People, under his Circumstances, are not equally afflicted with it) but merely the Opinion which he hath formed to himself concerning this Accident. Notwithstanding all which, you may be allowed, as far as Expressions and outward Behaviour go, to comply with him; and if Occasion require, to bear a part in his Sighs, and Tears too; but then you must be sure to take care, that this Compliance does not infect your Mind, nor betray you to an inward and real Sorrow, upon any such Account.

Epictetus his Morals, with Simplicius his Comment.

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Footnote 2:Subject

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Contents

No. 398

Friday, June 6, 1712

Steele

Insanire pares certa ratione modoque.

Hor.

CynthioFlaviaCeciliaCynthioLætitiaCynthioFlaviaFlaviaCynthioPiazzaCovent-GardenFlaviaIt is an Infirmity that I am not constant tobut it would be still a greater Crime, since I cannot continue to love her, to profess that I do. To marry a Woman with the Coldness that usually indeed comes on after Marriage, is ruining one's self with one's Eyes open; besides it is really doing her an Injury.Robin the PorterWill's Coffee-HouseRobinCynthio'sFlaviaFlaviaRobinCynthioFlavia'sCynthioCynthioRobinFlavia'sRobinFlavia'sCynthioRobinFlaviaRobinWills'

June 4, 1712.

Sir,

It is in vain to deny it, basest, falsest of Mankind; my Maid, as well as the Bearer, saw you.

The injur'd Flavia.

CynthioRobinRobin

Cynthio

June 4, Three Afternoon, 1712.

Madam,

That your Maid and the Bearer has seen me very often is very certain; but I desire to know, being engaged at Picket, what your Letter means by 'tis in vain to deny it. I shall stay here all the Evening.

Your amazed Cynthio.

RobinFlavia

Dear Cynthio,

I have walked a Turn or two in my Anti-Chamber since I writ to you, and have recovered my self from an impertinent Fit which you ought to forgive me, and desire you would come to me immediately to laugh off a Jealousy that you and a Creature of the Town went by in an Hackney-Coach an Hour ago. I am Your most humble Servant,

Flavia

I will not open the Letter which my Cynthio writ, upon the Misapprehension you must have been under when you writ, for want of hearing the whole Circumstance.

RobinCynthio

Half Hour, six Minutes after Three,

June 4. Will's Coffee-house.

Madam, It is certain I went by your Lodgings with a Gentlewoman to whom I have the Honour to be known, she is indeed my Relation, and a pretty sort of Woman. But your starting Manner of Writing, and owning you have not done me the Honour so much as to open my Letter, has in it something very unaccountable, and alarms one that has had Thoughts of passing his Days with you. But I am born to admire you with all your little Imperfections.

Cynthio.

Robin

Exact Sir, that are at Will's Coffee-house six Minutes after Three, June 4; one that has had Thoughts and all my little Imperfections. Sir, come to me immediately, or I shall determine what may perhaps not be very pleasing to you.

Flavia

RobinCynthio

Cynthio

Madam,

I have that Prejudice in Favour of all you do, that it is not possible for you to determine upon what will not be very pleasing to Your Obedient Servant,

Cynthio.

Sir,

Is it come to this? You never loved me; and the Creature you were with is the properest Person for your Associate. I despise you, and hope I shall soon hate you as a Villain to

The Credulous Flavia.

Madam,

Your Credulity when you are to gain your Point, and Suspicion when you fear to lose it make it a very hard Part to behave as becomes Your humble Slave,

Cynthio.

Mr. Wellford,

Flavia and Cynthio are no more. I relieve you from the hard Part of which you complain, and banish you from my Sight for ever.

Ann Heart.

RobinCeciliaFlavia

Contents

No. 399

Saturday, June 7, 1712

Addison

Ut nemo in sese tentat descendere!

Pers.

Hypocrisie

isWho can understand his Errors? cleanse thou me from secret Faults[1]

Plutarch[2]

withoutbesides[3]

the hundred and thirty ninth PsalmTry me, O God, and seek the ground of my heart; prove me, and examine my Thoughts. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Footnote 1:Psalm

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Footnote 2:Footnote 1No. 125

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Footnote 3:more than

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Contents

No. 400

Monday, June 9, 1712

Steele

—Latet Anguis in Herba.

Virg.

of

{Sedley has that prevailing gentle Art,

{Which, can with a resistless Charm impart

{The loosest Wishes to the chastest Heart;

Raise such a Conflict, kindle such a Fire,

Between declining Virtue and Desire,

That the poor vanquished Maid dissolves away

In Dreams all Night, in Sighs and Tears all Day[1].

thisAntonyDolabellaCleopatra

Her Galley down the Silver Cydnos row'd;

The Tackling Silk, the Streamers wav'd with Gold;

The gentle Winds were lodg'd in purple Sails:

Her Nymphs, like Nereids, round her Couch were placed,

Where she, another Sea-born Venus, lay;

She lay, and lean'd her Cheek upon her Hand,

And cast a Look so languishingly sweet,

As if, secure of all Beholders Hearts,

Neglecting she could take 'em. Boys like Cupids

Stood fanning with their painted Wings the Winds

That play'd about her Face; but if she smil'd,

A darting Glory seemed to blaze abroad,

That Men's desiring Eyes were never weary'd,

But hung upon the Object. To soft Flutes

The Silver Oars kept Time; and while they play'd,

The Hearing gave new Pleasure to the Sight,

And both to Thought[2]—

likePhilip's Pastorals[3]

Breathe soft ye Winds, ye Waters gently flow,

Shield her ye Trees, ye Flowers around her grow,

Ye Swains, I beg you, pass in Silence by,

My Love in yonder Vale asleep does lie.

youPyladesOrestes

When Lucy decks with Flowers her swelling Breast,

And on her Elbow leans, dissembling Rest,

Unable to refrain my madding Mind,

Nor Sleep nor Pasture worth my Care I find.

Once Delia slept, on easie Moss reclin'd,

Her lovely Limbs half bare, and rude the Wind;

I smoothed her Coats, and stole a silent Kiss:

Condemn me Shepherds if I did amiss[4].

WelfordHardyButvery often[5]

PlatonickPlatonist

Footnote 1:Allusion to the 10th Satire of the 1st Book of Horace.

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Footnote 2:All for Love

return

Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Pastoral

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Footnote 5:(, for want of other Amusement, often study Anatomy together; and what is worse than happens in any other Friendship, they)

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Contents

No. 401

Tuesday, June 10, 1712

Budgell

In amore hæc omnia insunt vitia: Injuriæ,

Suspiciones, Inimicitiæ, Induciæ,

Bellum, pax rursum:

Ter..

Mr. Spectator,

Since you have often confess'd that you are not displeased your Paper should sometimes convey the Complaints of distressed Lovers to each other, I am in Hopes you will favour one who gives you an undoubted Instance of her Reformation, and at the same time a convincing Proof of the happy Influence your Labours have had over the most Incorrigible Part of the most Incorrigible Sex. You must know, Sir, I am one of that Species of Women, whom you have often Characteriz'd under the Name of Jilts, and that I send you these Lines, as well to do Publick Penance for having so long continued in a known Error, as to beg Pardon of the Party offended. I the rather chuse this way, because it in some measure answers the Terms on which he intimated the Breach between us might possibly be made up, as you will see by the Letter he sent me the next Day after I had discarded him; which I thought fit to send you a Copy of, that you might the better know the whole Case.

I must further acquaint you, that before I Jilted him, there had been the greatest Intimacy between us for an Year and half together, during all which time I cherished his Hopes, and indulged his Flame. I leave you to guess after this what must be his Surprize, when upon his pressing for my full Consent one Day, I told him I wondered what could make him fancy he had ever any Place in my Affections. His own Sex allow him Sense, and all ours Good-Breeding. His Person is such as might, without Vanity, make him believe himself not incapable to be beloved. Our Fortunes indeed, weighed in the nice Scale of Interest, are not exactly equal, which by the way was the true Case of my Jilting him, and I had the Assurance to acquaint him with the following Maxim, That I should always believe that Man's Passion to be the most Violent, who could offer me the largest Settlement. I have since changed my Opinion, and have endeavoured to let him know so much by several Letters, but the barbarous Man has refused them all; so that I have no way left of writing to him, but by your Assistance. If we can bring him about once more, I promise to send you all Gloves and Favours, and shall desire the Favour of Sir Roger and your self to stand as God-Fathers to my first Boy.

I am, Sir,

Your most Obedient

most Humble Servant,

Amoret.

Philander to Amoret.

Madam,

I am so surprised at the Question you were pleased to ask me Yesterday, that I am still at a loss what to say to it. At least my Answer would be too long to trouble you with, as it would come from a Person, who, it seems, is so very indifferent to you. Instead of it, I shall only recommend to your Consideration the Opinion of one whose Sentiments on these matters I have often heard you say are extremely just. A generous and Constant Passion, says your favourite Author, in an agreeable Lover, where there is not too great a Disparity in their Circumstances, is the greatest Blessing that can befal a Person beloved; and if overlook'd in one, may perhaps never be found in another.

I do not, however, at all despair of being very shortly much better beloved by you than Antenor is at present; since whenever my Fortune shall exceed his, you were pleased to intimate your Passion would encrease accordingly.

The World has seen me shamefully lose that Time to please a fickle Woman, which might have been employed much more to my Credit and Advantage in other Pursuits. I shall therefore take the Liberty to acquaint you, however harsh it may sound in a Lady's Ears, that tho your Love-Fit should happen to return, unless you could contrive a way to make your Recantation as well known to the Publick, as they are already apprised of the manner with which you have treated me, you shall never more see Philander.

Amoret to Philander.

Sir,

Upon Reflection, I find the Injury I have done both to you and my self to be so great, that though the Part I now act may appear contrary to that Decorum usually observed by our Sex, yet I purposely break through all Rules, that my Repentance may in some measure equal my Crime. I assure you that in my present Hopes of recovering you, I look upon Antenor's Estate with Contempt. The Fop was here Yesterday in a gilt Chariot and new Liveries, but I refused to see him. Tho' I dread to meet your Eyes after what has pass'd, I flatter my self, that amidst all their Confusion you will discover such a Tenderness in mine, as none can imitate but those who Love. I shall be all this Month at Lady D—'s in the Country; but the Woods, the Fields and Gardens, without Philander, afford no Pleasures to the unhappy Amoret.

I must desire you, dear Mr. Spectator, to publish this my Letter to Philander as soon as possible, and to assure him that I know nothing at all of the Death of his rich Uncle in Gloucestershire.

Contents

No. 402

Wednesday, June 11, 1712

Steele

—quæ

Spectator tradit sibi—

Hor.[1].

s

Mr. Spectator,

I am a young Woman of Beauty and Quality, and suitably married to a Gentleman who doats on me. But this Person of mine is the Object of an unjust Passion in a Nobleman who is very intimate with my Husband. This Friendship gives him very easie Access, and frequent Opportunities of entertaining me apart. My Heart is in the utmost Anguish, and my Face is covered over with Confusion, when I impart to you another Circumstance, which is, that my Mother, the most mercenary of all Women, is gained by this false Friend of my Husband to sollicit me for him. I am frequently chid by the poor believing Man my Husband, for shewing an Impatience of his Friend's Company; and I am never alone with my Mother, but she tells me Stories of the discretionary Part of the World, and such a one, and such a one who are guilty of as much as she advises me to. She laughs at my Astonishment; and seems to hint to me, that as virtuous as she has always appeared, I am not the Daughter of her Husband. It is possible that printing this Letter may relieve me from the unnatural Importunity of my Mother, and the perfidious Courtship of my Husband's Friend. I have an unfeigned Love of Virtue, and am resolved to preserve my Innocence. The only Way I can think of to avoid the fatal Consequences of the Discovery of this Matter, is to fly away for ever; which I must do to avoid my Husband's fatal Resentment against the Man who attempts to abuse him, and the Shame of exposing the Parent to Infamy. The Persons concerned will know these Circumstances relate to 'em; and though the Regard to Virtue is dead in them, I have some Hopes from their Fear of Shame upon reading this in your Paper; which I conjure you to do, if you have any Compassion for Injured Virtue.

Sylvia.

Mr. Spectator,

I am the Husband of a Woman of Merit, but am fallen in Love, as they call it, with a Lady of her Acquaintance, who is going to be married to a Gentleman who deserves her. I am in a Trust relating to this Lady's Fortune, which makes my Concurrence in this Matter necessary; but I have so irresistible a Rage and Envy rise in me when I consider his future Happiness, that against all Reason, Equity, and common Justice, I am ever playing mean Tricks to suspend the Nuptials. I have no manner of Hopes for my self; Emilia, for so I'll call her, is a Woman of the most strict Virtue; her Lover is a Gentleman who of all others I could wish my Friend; but Envy and Jealousie, though placed so unjustly, waste my very Being, and with the Torment and Sense of a Daemon, I am ever cursing what I cannot but approve. I wish it were the Beginning of Repentance, that I sit down and describe my present Disposition with so hellish an Aspect; but at present the Destruction of these two excellent Persons would be more welcome to me than their Happiness. Mr. Spectator, pray let me have a Paper on these terrible groundless Sufferings, and do all you can to exorcise Crowds who are in some Degree possessed as I am.

Canniball.

Mr. Spectator,

I have no other Means but this to express my Thanks to one Man, and my Resentment against another. My Circumstances are as follows. I have been for five Years last past courted by a Gentleman of greater Fortune than I ought to expect, as the Market for Women goes. You must to be sure have observed People who live in that sort of Way, as all their Friends reckon it will be a Match, and are marked out by all the World for each other. In this View we have been regarded for some Time, and I have above these three Years loved him tenderly. As he is very careful of his Fortune, I always thought he lived in a near Manner to lay up what he thought was wanting in my Fortune to make up what he might expect in another. Within few Months I have observed his Carriage very much altered, and he has affected a certain Air of getting me alone, and talking with a mighty Profusion of passionate Words, How I am not to be resisted longer, how irresistible his Wishes are, and the like. As long as I have been acquainted with him, I could not on such Occasions say down-right to him, You know you may make me yours when you please. But the other Night he with great Frankness and Impudence explained to me, that he thought of me only as a Mistress. I answered this Declaration as it deserv'd; upon which he only doubled the Terms on which he proposed my yielding. When my Anger heightned upon him, he told me he was sorry he had made so little Use of the unguarded Hours we had been together so remote from Company, as indeed, continued he, so we are at present. I flew from him to a neighbouring Gentlewoman's House, and tho' her Husband was in the Room, threw my self on a Couch, and burst into a Passion of Tears. My Friend desired her Husband to leave the Room. But, said he, there is something so extraordinary in this, that I will partake in the Affliction; and be it what it will, she is so much your Friend, that she knows she may command what Services I can do her. The Man sate down by me, and spoke so like a Brother, that I told him my whole Affliction. He spoke of the Injury done me with so much Indignation, and animated me against the Love he said he saw I had for the Wretch who would have betrayed me, with so much Reason and Humanity to my Weakness, that I doubt not of my Perseverance. His Wife and he are my Comforters, and I am under no more Restraint in their Company than if I were alone; and I doubt not but in a small time Contempt and Hatred will take Place of the Remains of Affection to a Rascal.

I am

Sir,

Your affectionate Reader,

Dorinda.

Mr. Spectator,

I had the Misfortune to be an Uncle before I knew my Nephews from my Nieces, and now we are grown up to better Acquaintance they deny me the Respect they owe. One upbraids me with being their Familiar, another will hardly be perswaded that I am an Uncle, a third calls me Little Uncle, and a fourth tells me there is no Duty at all due to an Uncle. I have a Brother-in-law whose Son will win all my Affection, unless you shall think this worthy of your Cognizance, and will be pleased to prescribe some Rules for our future reciprocal Behaviour. It will be worthy the Particularity of your Genius to lay down Rules for his Conduct who was as it were born an old Man, in which you will much oblige,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

Cornelius Nepos.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 403

Thursday, June 12, 1712

Addison

Qui mores hominun multorum vidit?

Hor..

St. James'sCheapsideTempleSmithfield

LondonWestminsterFrance'sEuropeBritish

St James's,SpanishBourbon

Giles'sFrenchGrand MonarqueWhigGallies

Jenny Man'sWell, Jack, the old Prig is dead at last. Sharp's the Word. Now or never, Boy. Up to the Walls of Paris directly.

Charing-CrossCovent-GardenWillsMonsieur Boileau, Racine, Corneile,

TempleSpanishDuke of AnjouImperial MajestyPaul's Church-Yard,FranceFish-streetFrance

FrenchAugustus Cæsar,NeroCheapside

FrenchFrenchGarraway'sFranceThismuch[1]

Footnote 1:great

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Contents

No. 404

Friday, June 13, 1712

Budgell

—Non omnia possumus omnes.

Virg.[1].

the Creator of the Universe

CleanthesCleanthesCleanthesCleanthes

ValerioValerioValerioValerioValerio

TullyVirgilCæsarCicero'sVirgil'sVirgilTully's

CæliaIrasCæliaIrasCæliaIrasCælia'sIrasCæliaIrasIrasCæliaCæliaIras

Semanthethe Olive BeautySemanthethe Lady that paints so well.Follow NatureTullya direct Opposition to the Disposition of ProvidenceTullyan actual Rebellion against Heaven.

Footnote 1:

Continuo has leges æternaque fœdera certis

Imposuit natura locis.

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Contents

No. 405

Saturday, June 14, 1712

Addison

.

needSignior Nicolini.[1]Italian

EuropeanOrientalHebrewEnglishHebraismsHoly WritPlato'sHoly Scriptures.

HebrewEnglishBook of Psalms,HoracePindar

Songs of SionEasternPsalmsPoetryGrecianTabernacle

HomerHesiodJupiter

Footnote 1:Footnote 1No. 13Antiochus

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Contents

No. 406

Monday, June 16, 1712

Steele

Hæc studia Adolescentiam alunt, Senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis solatium et perfugium præbet delectant domi, non impediunt foris; Pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur.

Tull..

theLaplandScheffer's[1]

Dear Sir,

You have obliged me with a very kind Letter; by which I find you shift the Scene of your Life from the Town to the Country, and enjoy that mixt State which wise Men both delight in, and are qualified for. Methinks most of the Philosophers and Moralists have run too much into Extreams, in praising entirely either Solitude or publick Life; in the former Men generally grow useless by too much Rest, and in the latter are destroyed by too much Precipitation: As Waters lying still, putrifie and are good for nothing; and running violently on, do but the more Mischief in their Passage to others, and are swallowed up and lost the sooner themselves. Those who, like you, can make themselves useful to all States, should be like gentle Streams, that not only glide through lonely Vales and Forests amidst the Flocks and Shepherds, but visit populous Towns in their Course, and are at once of Ornament and Service to them. But there is another sort of People who seem designed for Solitude, those I mean who have more to hide than to shew: As for my own Part, I am one of those of whom Seneca says, Tum Umbratiles sunt, ut putent in turbido esse quicquid in luce est. Some Men, like Pictures, are fitter for a Corner than a full Light; and I believe such as have a natural Bent to Solitude, are like Waters which may be forced into Fountains, and exalted to a great Height, may make a much nobler Figure, and a much louder Noise, but after all run more smoothly, equally and plentifully, in their own natural Course upon the Ground. The Consideration of this would make me very well contented with the Possession only of that Quiet which Cowley calls the Companion of Obscurity; but whoever has the Muses too for his Companions, can never be idle enough to be uneasie. Thus, Sir, you see I would flatter my self into a good Opinion of my own Way of Living; Plutarch just now told me, that 'tis in human Life as in a Game at Tables, one may wish he had the highest Cast, but if his Chance be otherwise, he is even to play it as well as he can, and make the best of it.

I am, Sir,

Your most obliged,

and most humble Servant.

Mr. Spectator,

The Town being so well pleased with the fine Picture of artless Love, which Nature inspired the Laplander to paint in the Ode you lately printed; we were in Hopes that the ingenious Translator would have obliged it with the other also which Scheffer has given us; but since he has not, a much inferior Hand has ventured to send you this.

It is a Custom with the Northern Lovers to divert themselves with a Song, whilst they Journey through the fenny Moors to pay a visit to their Mistresses. This is addressed by the Lover to his Rain-Deer, which is the Creature that in that Country supplies the Want of Horses. The Circumstances which successively present themselves to him in his Way, are, I believe you will think, naturally interwoven. The Anxiety of Absence, the Gloominess of the Roads, and his Resolution of frequenting only those, since those only can carry him to the Object of his Desires; the Dissatisfaction he expresses even at the greatest Swiftness with which he is carried, and his joyful Surprize at an unexpected Sight of his Mistress as she is bathing, seems beautifully described in the Original.

If all those pretty Images of Rural Nature are lost in the Imitation, yet possibly you may think fit to let this supply the Place of a long Letter, when Want of Leisure or Indisposition for Writing will not permit our being entertained by your own Hand. I propose such a Time, because tho' it is natural to have a Fondness for what one does ones self, yet I assure you I would not have any thing of mine displace a single Line of yours.

I

Haste, my Rain-Deer, and let us nimbly go

Our am'rous Journey through this dreery Waste;

Haste, my Rain-Deer! still still thou art too slow;

Impetuous Love demands the Lightning's Haste.

II

Around us far the Rushy Moors are spread:

Soon will the Sun withdraw her chearful Ray:

Darkling and tir'd we shall the Marshes tread,

No Lay unsung to cheat the tedious Way.

III

The wat'ry Length of these unjoyous Moors

Does all the flow'ry Meadow's Pride excel,

Through these I fly to her my Soul adores;

Ye flowery Meadows, empty Pride, Farewel.

IV

Each Moment from the Charmer I'm confin'd,

My Breast is tortur'd with impatient Fires;

Fly, my Rain-Deer, fly swifter than the Wind,

Thy tardy Feet wing with my fierce Desires.

V

Our pleasing Toil will then be soon o'erpaid,

And thou, in Wonder lost, shalt view my Fair,

Admire each Feature of the lovely Maid,

Her artless Charms, her Bloom, her sprightly Air,

VI

But lo! with graceful Motion there she swims,

Gently moving each ambitious Wave;

The crowding Waves transported clasp her Limbs:

When, when, oh when, shall I such Freedoms have!

VII

In vain, you envious Streams, so fast you flow,

To hide her from a Lover's ardent Gaze:

From ev'ry Touch you more transparent grow,

And all reveal'd the beauteous Wanton plays.

Footnote 1:No. 366note

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Contents

No. 407

Tuesday, June 17, 1712

Addison

—abest facundis Gratia dictis.

Ovid..

EnglishModestGreeceRomeItalyEnglishmanItalianItalianRaphael's St. PaulAthensApostle

England

Latin laterum contentio,GreekAthensif they were so much affected by the bare reading of it, how much more they would have been alarmed, had they heard him actually throwing out such a Storm of Eloquence?

BritishEnglishBritishWestminster-Hallthe Thread of his Discourse

Contents

No. 408

Wednesday, June 18, 1712

Pope

Decet affectus animi neque se nimium erigere, nec subjacere serviliter.

Tull..

Mr. Spectator,

I have always been a very great Lover of your Speculations, as well in Regard to the Subject, as to your Manner of Treating it. Human Nature I always thought the most useful Object of human Reason, and to make the Consideration of it pleasant and entertaining, I always thought the best Employment of human Wit: Other Parts of Philosophy may perhaps make us wiser, but this not only answers that End, but makes us better too. Hence it was that the Oracle pronounced Socrates the wisest of all Men living, because he judiciously made Choice of human Nature for the Object of his Thoughts; an Enquiry into which as much exceeds all other Learning, as it is of more Consequence to adjust the true Nature and Measures of Right and Wrong, than to settle the Distance of the Planets, and compute the Times of their Circumvolutions.

One good Effect that will immediately arise from a near Observation of human Nature, is, that we shall cease to wonder at those Actions which Men are used to reckon wholly unaccountable; for as nothing is produced without a Cause, so by observing the Nature and Course of the Passions, we shall be able to trace every Action from its first Conception to its Death; We shall no more admire at the Proceedings of Catiline or Tiberius, when we know the one was actuated by a cruel Jealousie, the other by a furious Ambition; for the Actions of Men follow their Passions as naturally as Light does Heat, or as any other Effect flows from its Cause; Reason must be employed in adjusting the Passions, but they must ever remain the Principles of Action.

The strange and absurd Variety that is so apparent in Men's Actions, shews plainly they can never proceed immediately from Reason; so pure a Fountain emits no such troubled Waters: They must necessarily arise from the Passions, which are to the Mind as the Winds to a Ship, they only can move it, and they too often destroy it; if fair and gentle, they guide it into the Harbour; if contrary and furious, they overset it in the Waves: In the same manner is the Mind assisted or endangered by the Passions; Reason must then take the Place of Pilot, and can never fail of securing her Charge if she be not wanting to her self: The Strength of the Passions will never be accepted as an Excuse for complying with them, they were designed for Subjection, and if a Man suffers them to get the upper Hand, he then betrays the Liberty of his own Soul.

As Nature has framed the several Species of Beings as it were in a Chain, so Man seems to be placed as the middle Link between Angels and Brutes: Hence he participates both of Flesh and Spirit by an admirable Tie, which in him occasions perpetual War of Passions; and as a Man inclines to the angelick or brute Part of his Constitution, he is then denominated good or bad, virtuous or wicked; if Love, Mercy, and Good-nature prevail, they speak him of the Angel; if Hatred, Cruelty, and Envy predominate, they declare his Kindred to the Brute. Hence it was that some of the Ancients imagined, that as Men in this Life inclined more to the Angel or Brute, so after their Death they should transmigrate into the one or the other: and it would be no unpleasant Notion, to consider the several Species of Brutes, into which we may imagine that Tyrants, Misers, the Proud, Malicious, and Ill-natured might be changed.

As a Consequence of this Original, all Passions are in all Men, but all appear not in all; Constitution, Education, Custom of the Country, Reason, and the like Causes, may improve or abate the Strength of them, but still the Seeds remain, which are ever ready to sprout forth upon the least Encouragement. I have heard a Story of a good religious Man, who, having been bred with the Milk of a Goat, was very modest in Publick by a careful Reflection he made on his Actions, but he frequently had an Hour in Secret, wherein he had his Frisks and Capers; and if we had an Opportunity of examining the Retirement of the strictest Philosophers, no doubt but we should find perpetual Returns of those Passions they so artfully conceal from the Publick. I remember Matchiavel observes, that every State should entertain a perpetual jealousie of its Neighbours, that so it should never be unprovided when an Emergency happens[1]; in like manner should the Reason be perpetually on its Guard against the Passions, and never suffer them to carry on any Design that may be destructive of its Security; yet at the same Time it must be careful, that it don't so far break their Strength as to render them contemptible, and consequently it self unguarded.

The Understanding being of its self too slow and lazy to exert it self into Action, its necessary it should be put in Motion by the gentle Gales of the Passions, which may preserve it from stagnating and Corruption; for they are as necessary to the Health of the Mind, as the Circulation of the animal Spirits is to the Health of the Body; they keep it in Life, and Strength, and Vigour; nor is it possible for the Mind to perform its Offices without their Assistance: These Motions are given us with our Being, they are little Spirits that are born and dye with us; to some they are mild, easie, and gentle, to others wayward and unruly, yet never too strong for the Reins of Reason and the Guidance of Judgment.

We may generally observe a pretty nice Proportion between the Strength of Reason and Passion; the greatest Genius's have commonly the strongest Affections, as on the other hand, the weaker Understandings have generally the weaker Passions; and 'tis fit the Fury of the Coursers should not be too great for the Strength of the Charioteer. Young Men whose Passions are not a little unruly, give small Hopes of their ever being considerable; the Fire of Youth will of course abate, and is a Fault, if it be a Fault, that mends every Day; but surely unless a Man has Fire in Youth, he can hardly have Warmth in Old Age. We must therefore be very cautious, lest while we think to regulate the Passions, we should quite extinguish them, which is putting out the Light of the Soul: for to be without Passion, or to be hurried away with it, makes a Man equally blind. The extraordinary Severity used in most of our Schools has this fatal Effect, it breaks the Spring of the Mind, and most certainly destroys more good Genius's than it can possibly improve. And surely 'tis a mighty Mistake that the Passions should be so intirely subdued; for little Irregularities are sometimes not only to be borne with, but to be cultivated too, since they are frequently attended with the greatest Perfections. All great Geniuss have Faults mixed with their Virtues, and resemble the flaming Bush which has Thorns amongst Lights.

Since, therefore the Passions are the Principles of human Actions, we must endeavour to manage them so as to retain their Vigour, yet keep them under strict Command; we must govern them rather like free Subjects than Slaves, lest while we intend to make them obedient, they become abject, and unfit for those great Purposes to which they were designed. For my Part I must confess, I could never have any Regard to that Sect of Philosophers, who so much insisted upon an absolute Indifference and Vacancy from all Passion; for it seems to me a Thing very inconsistent for a Man to divest himself of Humanity, in order to acquire Tranquility of Mind, and to eradicate the very Principles of Action, because its possible they may produce ill Effects.

I am, Sir,

Your Affectionate Admirer,

T. B.

Footnote 1:The Prince

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Contents

No. 409

Thursday, June 19, 1712

Addison

Musæo contingere cuncta lepore.

Lucr..

GratianFine Taste,[1]

LivySallustTacitus

Cicero's

VirgilÆneas

RomeAugustusGreeceSocratesCorneille, Racine, Moliere, Boileau, la Fontaine, Bruyere, BossuDaciers

Longinus

EnglandGothicEssay upon Wit,

Footnote 1:Footnote 3No. 379cultismo

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Contents

No. 410

Friday, June 20, 1712

Tickell

Dum foris sunt, nihil videtur Mundius,

Nec magis compositum quidquam, nec magis elegans:

Quæ, cum amatore suo cum coenant, Liguriunt,

Harum videre ingluviem, sordes, inopiam:

Quam inhonestæ solæ sint domi, atque avidæ cibi,

Quo pacto ex Jure Hesterno panem atrum varent.

Nosse omnia hæc, salus est adolescentulis.

Tert.

Will. HoneycombRoger De CoverlyWillRoger De CoverlyRoger'sMadam the same at your ServiceYour Friend, Mr. Honeycomb, is a little surprized to see a Woman here alone and unattended; but I dismissed my Coach at the Gate, and tripped it down to my Council's Chambers, for Lawyer's Fees take up too much of a small disputed Joynture to admit any other Expence but meer Necessaries.HoneycombRoger'sHoneycombHoneycombRogerWill. Honeycomb

the Old Man's WishRogerWill. Honeycomb. Will Andrew Freeport

Madam,

I am not so meer a Country-Gentleman, but I can guess at the Law-Business you had at the Temple. If you would go down to the Country and leave off all your Vanities but your Singing, let me know at my Lodgings in Bow-street Covent-Garden, and you shall be encouraged by

Your humble Servant, Roger De Coverly.

Will. Honeycomb

Mr. Spectator,

Having seen a Translation of one of the Chapters in the Canticles into English Verse inserted among your late Papers, I have ventured to send you the 7th Chapter of the Proverbs in a poetical Dress. If you think it worthy appearing among your Speculations, it will be a sufficient Reward for the Trouble of

Your constant Reader,

A. B.

My Son, th' Instruction that my Words impart,

Grave on the Living Tablet of thy Heart;

And all the wholesome Precepts that I give,

Observe with strictest Reverence, and live.

Let all thy Homage be to Wisdom paid,

Seek her Protection and implore her Aid;

That she may keep thy Soul from Harm secure,

And turn thy Footsteps from the Harlot's Door,

Who with curs'd Charms lures the Unwary in,

And sooths with Flattery their Souls to Sin.

Once from my Window as I cast mine Eye

On those that pass'd in giddy Numbers by,

A Youth among the foolish Youths I spy'd,

Who took not sacred Wisdom for his Guide.

Just as the Sun withdrew his cooler Light,

And Evening soft led on the Shades of Night,

He stole in covert Twilight to his Fate,

And pass'd the Corner near the Harlot's Gate

When, lo, a Woman comes!—

Loose her Attire, and such her glaring Dress,

As aptly did the Harlot's Mind express:

Subtle she is, and practisd in the Arts,

By which the Wanton conquer heedless Hearts:

Stubborn and loud she is; she hates her Home,

Varying her Place and Form; she loves to roam;

Now she's within, now in the Street does stray;

Now at each Corner stands, and waits her Prey.

The Youth she seiz'd; and laying now aside

All Modesty, the Female's justest Pride,

She said, with an Embrace, Here at my House

Peace-offerings are, this Day I paid my Vows.

I therefore came abroad to meet my Dear,

And, Lo, in Happy Hour I find thee here.

My Chamber I've adornd, and o'er my Bed

Are cov'rings of the richest Tapstry spread,

With Linnen it is deck'd from Egypt brought,

And Carvings by the Curious Artist wrought,

It wants no Glad Perfume Arabia yields

In all her Citron Groves, and spicy Fields;

Here all her store of richest Odours meets,

Ill lay thee in a Wilderness of Sweets.

Whatever to the Sense can grateful be

I have collected there—I want but Thee.

My Husband's gone a Journey far away, }

Much Gold he took abroad, and long will stay, }

He nam'd for his return a distant Day. }

Upon her Tongue did such smooth Mischief dwell,

And from her Lips such welcome Flatt'ry fell,

Th' unguarded Youth, in Silken Fetters ty'd,

Resign'd his Reason, and with Ease comply'd.

Thus does the Ox to his own Slaughter go,

And thus is senseless of th' impending Blow.

Thus flies the simple Bird into the Snare,

That skilful Fowlers for his Life prepare.

But let my Sons attend, Attend may they

Whom Youthful Vigour may to Sin betray;

Let them false Charmers fly, and guard their Hearts

Against the wily Wanton's pleasing Arts,

With Care direct their Steps, nor turn astray,

To tread the Paths of her deceitful Way;

Lest they too late of Her fell Power complain,

And fall, where many mightier have been Slain.

Contents

No. 411

Saturday, June 21, 1712

Addison

Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante

Trita solo; juvat integros accedere fonteis;

Atque haurire:—

Lucr.

whichbefore our[1]s

HomerAristotle

Sir Francis BaconEssay upon Health

shall[2]

Footnote 1:present to the

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Essay on JealousyNo. 176No. 255No. 171OdeImaginationRhetoricExamination of the Style of Mr. Addison411412413414SpectatorPleasures of the Imagination

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 412

Monday, June 23, 1712

Addison

—Divisum sic breve fiet Opus.

Mart.

andplease[1]

Scit thalamo servare fidem, sanctasque veretur

Connubii leges, non illum in pectore candor

Sollicitat niveus; neque pravum accendit amorem

Splendida Lanugo, vel honesta in vertice crista,

Purpureusve nitor pennarum; ast agmina latè

Fœminea explorat cautus, maculasque requirit

Cognatas, paribusque interlita corpora guttis:

Ni faceret, pictis sylvam circum undique monstris

Confusam aspiceres vulgò, partusque biformes,

Et genus ambiguum, et Veneris monumenta nefandæ.

Hinc merula in nigro se oblectat nigra marito,

Hinc socium lasciva petit Philomela canorum,

Agnoscitque pares sonitus, hinc Noctua tetram

Canitiem alarum, et glaucos miratur ocellos.

Nempe sibi semper constat, crescitque quotannis

Lucida progenies, castos confessa parentes;

Dum virides inter saltus lucosque sonoros

Vere novo exultat, plumasque decora Juventus

Explicat ad solem, patriisque coloribus ardet[2]

Footnote 1:to please

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:noteNo. 411Scintillat solitisOstentat solitasExplicat ad solem.

return

Contents

No. 413

Tuesday, June 24, 1712

Addison

—Causa latet, vis est notissima—

Ovid.

Lock's Essay on Human Understanding

June 24, 1712.

Mr. Spectator,

I would not divert the Course of your Discourses, when you seem bent upon obliging the World with a train of Thinking, which, rightly attended to, may render the Life of every Man who reads it, more easy and happy for the future. The Pleasures of the Imagination are what bewilder Life, when Reason and Judgment do not interpose; It is therefore a worthy Action in you to look carefully into the Powers of Fancy, that other Men, from the Knowledge of them, may improve their Joys and allay their Griefs, by a just use of that Faculty: I say, Sir, I would not interrupt you in the progress of this Discourse; but if you will do me the Favour of inserting this Letter in your next Paper, you will do some Service to the Public, though not in so noble a way of Obliging, as that of improving their Minds. Allow me, Sir, to acquaint you with a Design (of which I am partly Author), though it tends to no greater a Good than that of getting Money. I should not hope for the Favour of a Philosopher in this Matter, if it were not attempted under all the Restrictions which you Sages put upon private Acquisitions.

The first Purpose which every good Man is to propose to himself, is the Service of his Prince and Country; after that is done, he cannot add to himself, but he must also be beneficial to them. This Scheme of Gain is not only consistent with that End, but has its very Being in Subordination to it; for no Man can be a Gainer here but at the same time he himself, or some other, must succeed in their Dealings with the Government. It is called the Multiplication Table, and is so far calculated for the immediate Service of Her Majesty, that the same Person who is fortunate in the Lottery of the State, may receive yet further Advantage in this Table. And I am sure nothing can be more pleasing to Her gracious Temper than to find out additional Methods of increasing their good Fortune who adventure anything in Her Service, or laying Occasions for others to become capable of serving their Country who are at present in too low Circumstances to exert themselves. The manner of executing the Design is, by giving out Receipts for half Guineas received, which shall entitle the fortunate Bearer to certain Sums in the Table, as is set forth at large in the Proposals Printed the 23rd instant. There is another Circumstance in this Design, which gives me hopes of your Favour to it, and that is what Tully advises, to wit, that the Benefit is made as diffusive as possible. Every one that has half a Guinea is put into a possibility, from that small Sum, to raise himself an easy Fortune; when these little parcels of Wealth are, as it were, thus thrown back again into the Redonation of Providence, we are to expect that some who live under Hardship or Obscurity, may be produced to the World in the Figure they deserve by this means. I doubt not but this last Argument will have Force with you, and I cannot add another to it, but what your Severity will, I fear, very little regard; which is, that

I am, Sir, Your greatest Admirer,

Richard Steele.

Contents

No. 414

Wednesday, June 25, 1712

Addison

—Alterius sic

Altera poscit opem res et conjurat amicè.

Hor.

Scriptorum chorus omnis amat nemus et fugit Urbes.

Hor.

Hic Secura quies, et nescia fallere vita,

Dives opum variarum; hic latis otia fundis,

Speluncæ, vivique lacus, hic frigida Tempe,

Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somni.

Virg.

EnglishFranceItaly

ChinaEuropeansBritishcannotmore[1]

Footnote 1:most

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 415

Thursday, June 26, 1712

Addison

Adde tot egregias urbes, operumque laborem.

Virg.

Eastern

Tower of Babel,Walls of Babylonhanging Gardens,Temple to Jupiter BelusBabylonian Observatory;SemiramisEuphratesareGrand[1]AsSemiramisthree[2]NorthernBitumenHoly WritBabel

EgyptPyramidsLabyrinth

Wall of ChinaEastern

wouldLysippus's[3]AlexanderthanMount AthosPhidias[4]

PantheonRomeGothick

FrenchMonsieur Freart's Parallel of the Ancient and Modern Architecture.I am observinga thing which, in my Opinion, is very curious, whence it proceeds, that in the same Quantity of Superficies, the one Manner seems great and magnificent, and the other poor and trifling; the Reason is fine and uncommon. I say then, that to introduce into Architecture this Grandeur of Manner, we ought so to proceed, that the Division of the Principal Members of the Order may consist but of few Parts, that they be all great and of a bold and ample Relievo, and Swelling; and that the Eye, beholding nothing little and mean, the Imagination may be more vigorously touched and affected with the Work that stands before it. For example; In a Cornice, if the Gola or Cynatium of the Corona, the Coping, the Modillions or Dentelli, make a noble Show by their graceful Projections, if we see none of that ordinary Confusion which is the Result of those little Cavities, Quarter Rounds of the Astragal and I know not how many other intermingled Particulars, which produce no Effect in great and massy Works, and which very unprofitably take up place to the Prejudice of the Principal Member, it is most certain that this Manner will appear Solemn and Great; as on the contrary, that it will have but a poor and mean Effect, where there is a Redundancy of those smaller Ornaments, which divide and scatter the Angles of the Sight into such a Multitude of Rays, so pressed together that the whole will appear but a Confusion.

ConcaveConvexChinabySirachLook upon the Rainbow and praise him that made it; very beautiful it is in its Brightness; it encompasses the Heavens with a glorious Circle, and the Hands of the most High[5] have bended it.

Footnote 1:Grounds

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:two

return

Footnote 3:Protogenes's

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:Almighty

return

Contents

No. 416

Friday, June 27, 1712

Addison

Quatenûs hoc simile est oculis, quod mente videmus.

Lucr.

AmericaSpaniards Emperor of Mexico

Butwhich[1]

Footnote 1:that

return to footnote mark

end of Volume 2.

The Spectator

in three volumes: volume 3

A New Edition

Reproducing the Original Text

Both as First Issued

and as Corrected by its Authors

with Introduction, Notes, and Index

edited by Henry Morley

1891

Table of Contents  /  Index

- Dedication of the Seventh Volume of The Spectator

- Dedication of the Eighth Volume of The Spectator

- No. 417 – Saturday, June 28, 1712 – Addison

- No. 418 – Monday, June 30, 1712 – Addison

- No. 419 – Tuesday, July 1, 1712 – Addison

- No. 420 – Wednesday, July 2, 1712 – Addison

- No. 421 – Thursday, July 3, 1712 – Addison

- No. 422 – Friday, July 4, 1712 – Steele

- No. 423 – Saturday, July 5, 1712 – Steele

- No. 424 – Monday, July 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 425 – Tuesday, July 8, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 426 – Wednesday, July 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 427 – Thursday, July 10, 1712 – Steele

- No. 428 – Friday, July 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 429 – Saturday, July 12, 1712 – Steele

- No. 430 – Monday, July 14, 1712 – Steele

- No. 431 – Tuesday, July 15, 1712 – Steele

- No. 432 – Wednesday, July 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 433 – Thursday, July 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 434 – Friday, July 18, 1712 – Addison

- No. 435 – Saturday, July 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 436 – Monday, July 21, 1712 – Steele

- No. 437 – Tuesday, July 22, 1712 –

- No. 438 – Wednesday, July 23, 1712 – Steele

- No. 439 – Thursday, July 24, 1712 – Addison

- No. 440 – Friday, July 25, 1712 – Addison

- No. 441 – Saturday, July 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 442 – Monday, July 28, 1712 – Steele

- No. 443 – Tuesday, July 29, 1712 – Steele

- No. 444 – Wednesday, July 30, 1712 – Steele

- No. 445 – Thursday, July 31, 1712 – Addison

- No. 446 – Friday, August 1, 1712 – Addison

- No. 447 – Saturday, August 2, 1712 – Addison

- No. 448 – Monday, August 4, 1712 – Steele

- No. 449 – Tuesday, August 5, 1712 – Steele

- No. 450 – Wednesday, August 6, 1712 – Steele

- No. 451 – Thursday, August 7, 1712 – Addison

- No. 452 – Friday, August 8, 1712 – Addison

- No. 453 – Saturday, August 9, 1712 – Addison

- No. 454 – Monday, August 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 455 – Tuesday, August 12, 1712 – Steele

- No. 456 – Wednesday, August 13, 1712 – Steele

- No. 457 – Thursday, August 14, 1712 – Addison

- No. 458 – Friday, August 15, 1712 – Addison

- No. 459 – Saturday, August 16, 1712 – Addison

- No. 460 – Monday, August 18, 1712 – Parnell

- No. 461 – Tuesday, August 19, 1712 – Steele

- No. 462 – Wednesday, August 20, 1712 – Steele

- No. 463 – Thursday, August 21, 1712 – Addison

- No. 464 – Friday, August 22, 1712 – Addison

- No. 465 – Saturday, August 23, 1712 – Addison

- No. 466 – Monday, August 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 467 – Tuesday, August 26, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 468 – Wednesday, August 27, 1712 – Steele

- No. 469 – Thursday, August 28, 1712 – Addison

- No. 470 – Friday, August 29, 1712 – Addison

- No. 471 – Saturday, August 30, 1712 – Addison

- No. 472 – Monday, September 1, 1712 – Steele

- No. 473 – Tuesday, September 2, 1712 – Steele

- No. 474 – Wednesday, September 3, 1712 – Steele

- No. 475 – Thursday, September 4, 1712 – Addison

- No. 476 – Friday, September 5, 1712 – Addison

- No. 477 – Saturday, September 6, 1712 – Addison

- No. 478 – Monday, September 8, 1712 – Steele

- No. 479 – Tuesday, September 9, 1712 – Steele

- No. 480 – Wednesday, September 10, 1712 – Steele

- No. 481 – Thursday, September 11, 1712 – Addison

- No. 482 – Friday, September 12, 1712 – Addison

- No. 483 – Saturday, September 13, 1712 – Addison

- No. 484 – Monday, September 15, 1712 – Steele

- No. 485 – Tuesday, September 16, 1712 – Steele

- No. 486 – Wednesday, September 17, 1712 – Steele

- No. 487 – Thursday, September 18, 1712 – Addison

- No. 488 – Friday, September 19, 1712 – Addison

- No. 489 – Saturday, September 20, 1712 – Addison

- No. 490 – Monday, September 22, 1712 – Steele

- No. 491 – Tuesday, September 22, 1712 – Steele

- No. 492 – Wednesday, September 24, 1712 – Steele

- No. 493 – Thursday, September 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 494 – Friday, September 26, 1712 – Addison

- No. 495 – Saturday, September 27, 1712 – Addison

- No. 496 – Monday, September 29, 1712 – Steele

- No. 497 – Tuesday, September 30, 1712 – Steele

- No. 498 – Wednesday, October 1, 1712 – Steele

- No. 499 – Thursday, October 2, 1712 – Addison

- No. 500 – Friday, October 3, 1712 – Addison

- No. 501 – Saturday, October 4, 1712 – Parnell

- No. 502 – Monday, October 6, 1712 – Steele

- No. 503 – Tuesday, October 7, 1712 – Steele

- No. 504 – Wednesday, October 8, 1712 – Steele

- No. 505 – Thursday, October 9, 1712 – Addison

- No. 506 – Friday, October 10, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 507 – Saturday, October 11, 1712 – Addison

- No. 508 – Monday, October 13, 1712 – Steele

- No. 509 – Tuesday, October 14, 1712 – Steele

- No. 510 – Wednesday, October 15, 1712 – Steele

- No. 511 – Thursday, October 16, 1712 – Addison

- No. 512 – Friday, October 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 513 – Saturday, October 18, 1712 – Addison

- No. 514 – Monday, October 20, 1712 – Steele

- No. 515 – Tuesday, October 21, 1712 – Steele

- No. 516 – Wednesday, October 22, 1712 – Steele

- No. 517 – Thursday, October 23, 1712 – Addison

- No. 518 – Friday, October 24, 1712 – Steele

- No. 519 – Saturday, October 25, 1712 – Addison

- No. 520 – Monday, October 27, 1712 – Francham

- No. 521 – Tuesday, October 28, 1712 – Steele

- No. 522 – Wednesday, October 29, 1712 – Steele

- No. 523 – Thursday, October 30, 1712 – Addison

- No. 524 – Friday, October 31, 1712 –

- No. 525 – Saturday, November 1, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 526 – Monday, November 3, 1712 – Steele

- No. 527 – Tuesday, November 4, 1712 –

- No. 528 – Wednesday, November 5, 1712 – Steele

- No. 529 – Thursday, November 6, 1712 – Addison

- No. 530 – Friday, November 7, 1712 – Addison

- No. 531 – Saturday, November 8, 1712 – Addison

- No. 532 – Monday, November 10, 1712 – Steele

- No. 533 – Tuesday, November 11, 1712 – Steele

- No. 534 – Wednesday, November 12, 1712 – Steele

- No. 535 – Thursday, November 13, 1712 – Addison

- No. 536 – Friday, November 14, 1712 – Addison

- No. 537 – Saturday, November 15, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 538 – Monday, November 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 539 – Tuesday, November 18, 1712 – Budgell

- No. 540 – Wednesday, November 19, 1712 – Steele

- No. 541 – Thursday, November 20, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 542 – Friday, November 21, 1712 – Addison

- No. 543 – Saturday, November 22, 1712 – Addison

- No. 544 – Monday, November 24, 1712 – Steele

- No. 545 – Tuesday, November 25, 1712 – Steele

- No. 546 – Wednesday, November 26, 1712 – Steele

- No. 547 – Thursday, November 27, 1712 – Addison

- No. 548 – Friday, November 28, 1712 –

- No. 549 – Saturday, November 29, 1712 – Addison

- No. 550 – Monday, December 1, 1712 – Addison

- No. 551 – Tuesday, December 2, 1712 –

- No. 552 – Wednesday, December 3, 1712 – Steele

- No. 553 – Thursday, December 4, 1712 – Addison

- No. 554 – Friday, December 5, 1712 – Hughes

- No. 555 – Thursday, December 17, 1712 – Addison

- No. 556 – Friday, June 18, 1714 – Addison

- No. 557 – Monday, June 21, 1714 – Addison

- No. 558 – Wednesday, June 23, 1714 – Addison

- No. 559 – Friday, June 25, 1714 – Addison

- No. 560 – Monday, June 28, 1714 – Addison

- No. 561 – Wednesday, June 30, 1714 – Addison

- No. 562 – Friday, July 2, 1714 – Addison

- No. 563 – Monday, July 5, 1714 –

- No. 564 – Wednesday, July 7, 1714 –

- No. 565 – Friday, July 9, 1714 – Addison

- No. 566 – Monday, July 12, 1714 –

- No. 567 – Wednesday, July 14, 1714 – Addison

- No. 568 – Friday, July 16, 1714 – Addison

- No. 569 – Monday, July 19, 1714 – Addison

- No. 570 – Wednesday, July 21, 1714 –

- No. 571 – Friday, July 23, 1714 – Addison

- No. 572 – Monday, July 26, 1714 – Pearce

- No. 573 – Wednesday, July 28, 1714 –

- No. 574 – Friday, July 30, 1714 – Addison

- No. 575 – Monday, August 2, 1714 – Addison

- No. 576 – Wednesday, August 4, 1714 – Addison

- No. 577 – Friday, August 6, 1714 –

- No. 578 – Monday, August 9, 1714 –

- No. 579 – Wednesday, August 11, 1714 – Addison

- No. 580 – Friday, August 13, 1714 – Addison

- No. 581 – Monday, August 16, 1714 – Addison

- No. 582 – Wednesday, August 18, 1714 –

- No. 583 – Friday, August 20, 1714 – Addison

- No. 584 – Monday, August 23, 1714 – Addison

- No. 585 – Wdnesday, August 25, 1714 – Addison

- No. 586 – Friday, August 27, 1714 – Byrom

- No. 587 – Monday, August 30, 1714 – Byrom

- No. 588 – Wednesday, September 1, 1714 – Grove

- No. 589 – Friday, September 3, 1714 –

- No. 590 – Monday, September 6, 1714 – Addison

- No. 591 – Wednesday, September 8, 1714 – Budgell

- No. 592 – Friday, September 10, 1714 – Addison

- No. 593 – Monday, September 13, 1714 – Byrom

- No. 594 – Wednesday, September 15, 1714 –

- No. 595 – Friday, September 17, 1714 –

- No. 596 – Monday, September 20, 1714 –

- No. 597 – Wednesday, September 22, 1714 – Byrom

- No. 598 – Friday, September 24, 1714 – Addison

- No. 599 – Monday, September 27, 1714 –

- No. 600 – Wednesday, September 29, 1714 – Addison

- No. 601 – Friday, October 1, 1714 – Grove

- No. 602 – Monday, October 4, 1714 – Budgell

- No. 603 – Wednesday, October 6, 1714 – Byrom

- No. 604 – Friday, October 8, 1714 –

- No. 605 – Monday, October 11, 1714 – Budgell

- No. 606 – Wednesday, October 13, 1714 –

- No. 607 – Friday, October 15, 1714 –

- No. 608 – Monday, October 18, 1714 – Addison

- No. 609 – Wdnesday, October 20, 1714 –

- No. 610 – Friday, October 22, 1714 –

- No. 611 – Monday, October 25, 1714 –

- No. 612 – Wednesday, October 27, 1714 –

- No. 613 – Friday, October 29, 1714 –

- No. 614 – Monday, November 1, 1714 –

- No. 615 – Wednesday, November 3, 1714 –

- No. 616 – Friday, November 5, 1714 –

- No. 617 – Monday, November 8, 1714 –

- No. 618 – Wednesday, November 10, 1714 –

- No. 619 – Friday, November 12, 1714 –

- No. 620 – Monday, November 15, 1714 – Tickell

- No. 621 – Wednesday, November 17, 1714 –

- No. 622 – Friday, November 19, 1714 –

- No. 623 – Monday, November 22, 1714 – Addison

- No. 624 – Wednesday, November 24, 1714 –

- No. 625 – Friday, November 26, 1714 –

- No. 626 – Monday, November 29, 1714 – Grove

- No. 627 – Wednesday, December 1, 1714 –

- No. 628 – Friday, December 3, 1714 –

- No. 629 – Monday, December 6, 1714 –

- No. 630 – Wednesday, December 8, 1714 –

- No. 631 – Friday, December 10, 1714 –

- No. 632 – Monday, December 13, 1714 –

- No. 633 – Wednesday, December 15, 1714 –

- No. 634 – Friday, December 17, 1714 –

- No. 635 – Monday, December 20, 1714 – Grove

List of Original Advertisements Included

- Companion Volumes

- Multiplication Table

- Ladies' Boarding-School

Advertisement

Contents

No. 417

Saturday, June 28, 1712

Addison

Quem tu Melpomene semel

Nascentem placido lumine videris,

Non illum labor Isthmius

Clarabit pugilem, non equus impiger, &c.

Sed quæ Tibur aquæ fertile perfluunt,

Et Spissæ nemorum comæ

Fingent Æolio carmine nobilem.

Hor.

maynumberless[1]Cartesian

wellwhich[2]

HomerVirgilOvidIliadÆneidMetamorphoses

HomerVirgilElysiumHomer'sVirgil'sJupiterIliadÆneid

Dixit et avertens roseâ cervice refulsit:

Ambrosiæque comæ; divinum vertice odorem

Spiravere: Pedes vestis defluxit ad imos:

Et vera incessu patuit Dea—

Homer'sVirgil

—lumenque juventæ

Purpureum, et lætos oculis afflavit honores.

HomerHoraceIliadOdysseyHomerVirgilÆneidGeorgics

OvidMetamorphosesMetamorphoses

MiltonParadise LostÆneidIliadEnglishPandæmoniumAdamEve

Footnote 1:a Thousand

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Contents

Advertisement

Whereas the Proposal called the Multiplication Table

is under an Information from the Attorney General,

in Humble Submission and Duty to her Majesty

the said Undertaking is laid down, and Attendance is this Day given ...

in order to repay such Sums

as have been paid into the said Table without Deduction.

Contents

No. 418

Monday, June 30, 1712

Addison

—ferat et rubus asper amomum.

Virg.

compares

comparingMilton's

thatwhich[1]

—Informe cadaver

Protrahitur, nequeunt expleri corda tuendo

Terribiles oculos: vultum, villosaque satis

Pectora semiferi, atque extinctos faucibus ignes.

Virg.

suchwho[2]

Meanders

Footnote 1:that

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Contents

No. 419

Tuesday, July 1, 1712

Addison

—mentis gratissimus Error.

Hor.

Drydenthe Fairy Way of Writing

Sylvis deducti caveant, me Judice, Fauni

Ne velut innati triviis ac pœne forenses

Aut nimium teneris juvenentur versibus

Hor.

BaysRehearsal

England

EnglishEnglish

EnglishShakespear

OvidVirgilMiltonSpencer

Contents

No. 420

Wednesday, July 2, 1712

Addison

Quocunque volunt mentem Auditoris agunto.

Hor.

Livy

ÆtherSaturnÆther

morewhich[1]hundredwhich[2]

Footnote 1:that

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:that

return

Contents

No. 421

Thursday, July 3, 1712

Addison

Ignotis errare locis, ignota videre

Flumina gaudebat; studio minuente laborem.

Ovid.

greatbeautiful

Cartesians

Eumenidum veluti demens videt Agmina Pentheus,

Et solem geminum, et duplices se ostendere Thebas.

Aut Agamemnonius scenis agitatus Orestes,

Armatam facibus matrem et serpentibus atris

Cum videt, ultricesque sedent in limine Diræ.

Vir.

Babylon

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper I

The Perfection of our Sight above our other Senses. The Pleasures of the Imagination arise originally from Sight. The Pleasures of the Imagination divided under two Heads. The Pleasures of the Imagination in some Respects equal to those of the Understanding. The Extent of the Pleasures of the Imagination. The Advantages a Man receives from a Relish of these Pleasures. In what Respect they are preferable to those of the Understanding.

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper II

Three Sources of all the Pleasures of the Imagination, in our Survey of outward Objects. How what is Great pleases the Imagination. How what is New pleases the Imagination. How what is Beautiful in our own Species, pleases the Imagination. How what is Beautiful in general pleases the Imagination. What other Accidental Causes may contribute to the heightening of these Pleasures.

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper III

Why the Necessary Cause of our being pleased with what is Great, New, or Beautiful, unknown. Why the Final Cause more known and more useful. The Final Cause of our being pleased with what is Great. The Final Cause of our being pleased with what is New. The Final Cause of our being pleased with what is Beautiful in our own Species. The Final Cause of our being pleased with what is Beautiful in general.

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper IV

The Works of Nature more pleasant to the Imagination than those of Art. The Works of Nature still more pleasant, the more they resemble those of Art. The Works of Art more pleasant, the more they resemble those of Nature. Our English Plantations and Gardens considered in the foregoing Light.

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper V

Of Architecture as it affects the Imagination. Greatness in Architecture relates either to the Bulk or to the Manner. Greatness of Bulk in the Ancient Oriental Buildings. The ancient Accounts of these Buildings confirm'd,

1. From the Advantages, for raising such Works, in the first Ages of the World and in the Eastern Climates:

1. From several of them which are still extant.

Instances how
Greatness of Manner affects the Imagination. A French Author's Observation on this Subject. Why Concave and Convex Figures give a Greatness of Manner to Works of Architecture. Every thing that pleases the Imagination in Architecture is either Great, Beautiful, or New.

[Vol. 2 link]

Paper VI

The Secondary Pleasures of the Imagination. The several Sources of these Pleasures (Statuary, Painting, Description and Musick) compared together. The Final Cause of our receiving Pleasure from these several Sources. Of Descriptions in particular. The Power of Words over the Imagination. Why one Reader more pleased with Descriptions than another.

Paper VII

How a whole Set of Ideas Hang together, &c. A Natural Cause assigned for it. How to perfect the Imagination of a Writer. Who among the Ancient Poets had this Faculty in its greatest Perfection. Homer excelled in Imagining what is Great; Virgil in Imagining what is Beautiful; Ovid in imagining what is New. Our own Country-man Milton very perfect in all three respects.

Paper VIII

Why any thing that is unpleasant to behold, pleases the Imagination when well described. Why the Imagination receives a more Exquisite Pleasure from the Description of what is Great, New, or Beautiful. The Pleasure still heightned, if—what is described raises Passion in the Mind. Disagreeable Passions pleasing when raised by apt Descriptions. Why Terror and Grief are pleasing to the Mind when excited by Descriptions. A particular Advantage the Writers in Poetry and Fiction have to please the Imagination. What Liberties are allowed them.

Paper IX

Of that kind of Poetry which Mr. Dryden calls the Fairy Way of Writing. How a Poet should be Qualified for it. The Pleasures of the Imagination that arise from it. In this respect why the Moderns excell the Ancients. Why the English excell the Moderns. Who the Best among the English. Of Emblematical Persons.

Paper X

What Authors please the Imagination who have nothing to do with Fiction. How History pleases the Imagination. How the Authors of the new Philosophy please the Imagination. The Bounds and Defects of the Imagination. Whether these Defects are Essential to the Imagination.

Paper XI

How those please the Imagination who treat of Subjects abstracted from Matter, by Allusions taken from it. What Allusions most pleasing to the Imagination. Great Writers how Faulty in this Respect. Of the Art of Imagining in General. The Imagination capable of Pain as well as Pleasure. In what Degree the Imagination is capable either of Pain or Pleasure.

Contents

No. 422

Friday, July 4, 1712

Steele

Hæc scripsi non otii abundantia sed amoris erga te.

Tull. Epis.

Enemy

CallisthenesCallisthenesCallisthenes

AcetusCallisthenesAcetusCallisthenes

Acetus

Minutius

Fortius

Congreve's Doris

Peculiar therefore is her Way,

Whether by Nature taught,

I shall not undertake to say,

Or by experience bought;

For who o'er Night obtain'd her Grace,

She can next Day disown,

And stare upon the strange Man's Face,

As one she ne'er had known,

So well she can the Truth disguise,

Such artful Wonder frame,

The Lover or distrusts his Eyes,

Or thinks 'twas all a Dream.

Some censure this as lewd or low,

Who are to Bounty blind;

For to forget what we bestow,

Bespeaks a noble Mind.

Contents

No. 423

Satday, July 5, 1712

Steele

—Nuper Idoneus.

Hor.

Gloriana

DamonStrephonStrephonDamonDamonGlorianaGlorianaSirSirGlorianaDamonDamonStrephonStrephonDamonDamonStrephonStrephonDamon

I am, Madam,

Your most Obedient Servant.

StrephonDamonWith Speed

'All goes well; she is very angry at me, and I dare say hates me in earnest. It is a good time to Visit.

Yours.'

Strephon'sDamon'sGlorianaStrephon

N. B. I have many other Secrets which concern the Empire of Love, but I consider that while I alarm my Women, I instruct my Men

Contents

No. 424

Monday, July 7, 1712

Steele

Est Ulubris, animus si te non deficit—

Hor.

London, June 24.

Mr. Spectator,

'A man who has it in his Power to chuse his own Company, would certainly be much to blame should he not, to the best of his Judgment, take such as are of a Temper most suitable to his own; and where that Choice is wanting, or where a Man is mistaken in his Choice, and yet under a Necessity of continuing in the same Company, it will certainly be to his Interest to carry himself as easily as possible.

'In this I am sensible I do but repeat what has been said a thousand times, at which however I think no Body has any Title to take Exception, but they who never failed to put this in Practice—Not to use any longer Preface, this being the Season of the Year in which great Numbers of all sorts of People retire from this Place of Business and Pleasure to Country Solitude, I think it not improper to advise them to take with them as great a Stock of Good-humour as they can; for tho' a Country-Life is described as the most pleasant of all others, and though it may in Truth be so, yet it is so only to those who know how to enjoy Leisure and Retirement.

'As for those who can't live without the constant helps of Business or Company, let them consider, that in the Country there is no Exchange, there are no Play-houses, no Variety of Coffee-houses, nor many of those other Amusements which serve here as so many Reliefs from the repeated Occurrences in their own Families; but that there the greatest Part of their Time must be spent within themselves, and consequently it behoves them to consider how agreeable it will be to them before they leave this dear Town.

'I remember, Mr. SPECTATOR, we were very well entertained last Year, with the Advices you gave us from Sir Roger's Country Seat; which I the rather mention, because 'tis almost impossible not to live pleasantly, where the Master of a Family is such a one as you there describe your Friend, who cannot therefore (I mean as to his domestick Character) be too often recommended to the Imitation of others. How amiable is that Affability and Benevolence with which he treats his Neighbours, and every one, even the meanest of his own Family! And yet how seldom imitated? instead of which we commonly meet with ill-natured Expostulations, Noise, and Chidings—And this I hinted, because the Humour and Disposition of the Head, is what chiefly influences all the other Parts of a Family.

'An Agreement and kind Correspondence between Friends and Acquaintance, is the greatest Pleasure of Life. This is an undoubted Truth, and yet any Man who judges from the Practice of the World, will be almost persuaded to believe the contrary; for how can we suppose People should be so industrious to make themselves uneasie? What can engage them to entertain and foment Jealousies of one another upon every the least Occasion? Yet so it is, there are People who (as it should seem) delight in being troublesome and vexatious, who (as Tully speaks) Mira sunt alacritate ad litigandum, Have a certain Chearfulness in wrangling. And thus it happens, that there are very few Families in which there are not Feuds and Animosities, tho' 'tis every one's Interest, there more particularly, to avoid 'em, because there (as I would willingly hope) no one gives another Uneasiness, without feeling some share of it—But I am gone beyond what I designed, and had almost forgot what I chiefly proposed; which was, barely to tell you, how hardly we who pass most of our Time in Town dispense with a long Vacation in the Country, how uneasie we grow to our selves and to one another when our Conversation is confined, insomuch that by Michaelmas 'tis odds but we come to downright squabbling, and make as free with one another to our Faces, as we do with the rest of the World behind their Backs. After I have told you this, I am to deSir e that you would now and then give us a Lesson of Good-humour, a Family-Piece; which, since we are all very fond of you, I hope may have some Influence upon us—

'After these plain Observations give me leave to give you an Hint of what a Set of Company of my Acquaintance, who are now gone into the Country, and have the Use of an absent Nobleman's Seat, have settled among themselves, to avoid the Inconveniencies above mentioned. They are a Collection of ten or twelve, of the same good Inclination towards each other, but of very different Talents and Inclinations: From hence they hope, that the Variety of their Tempers will only create Variety of Pleasures. But as there always will arise, among the same People, either for want of Diversity of Objects, or the like Causes, a certain Satiety, which may grow into ill Humour or Discontent, there is a large Wing of the House which they design to employ in the Nature of an Infirmary. Whoever says a peevish thing, or acts any thing which betrays a Sowerness or Indisposition to Company, is immediately to be conveyed to his Chambers in the Infirmary; from whence he is not to be relieved, till by his Manner of Submission, and the Sentiments expressed in his Petition for that Purpose, he appears to the Majority of the Company to be again fit for Society. You are to understand, that all ill-natured Words or uneasie Gestures are sufficient Cause for Banishment; speaking impatiently to Servants, making a Man repeat what he says, or any thing that betrays Inattention or Dishumour, are also criminal without Reprieve: But it is provided, that whoever observes the ill-natured Fit coming upon himself, and voluntarily retires, shall be received at his return from the Infirmary with the highest Marks of Esteem. By these and other wholesome Methods it is expected that if they cannot cure one another, yet at least they have taken Care that the ill Humour of one shall not be troublesome to the rest of the Company. There are many other Rules which the Society have established for the Preservation of their Ease and Tranquility, the Effects of which, with the Incidents that arise among them, shall be communicated to you from Time to Time for the publick Good, by,

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

R. O.

Contents

No. 425

Tuesday, July 8, 1712

Budgell

Frigora mitescunt Zephyris, Ver proterit Æstas

Interitura, simul

Pomifer Autumnus fruges effuderit, et mox

Bruma recurrit iners

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'There is hardly any thing gives me a more sensible Delight, than the Enjoyment of a cool still Evening after the Uneasiness of a hot sultry Day. Such a one I passed not long ago, which made me rejoice when the Hour as come for the Sun to set, that I might enjoy the Freshness of the Evening in my Garden, which then affords me the pleasantest Hours I pass in the whole Four and twenty. I immediately rose from my Couch, and went down into it. You descend at first by twelve Stone Steps into a large Square divided into four Grass-plots, in each of which is a Statue of white Marble. This is separated from a large Parterre by a low Wall, and from thence, thro' a Pair of Iron Gates, you are led into a long broad Walk of the finest Turf, set on each Side with tall Yews, and on either Hand bordered by a Canal, which on the Right divides the Walk from a Wilderness parted into Variety of Allies and Arbours, and on the Left from a kind of Amphitheatre, which is the Receptacle of a great Number of Oranges and Myrtles. The Moon shone bright, and seemed then most agreeably to supply the Place of the Sun, obliging me with as much Light as was necessary to discover a thousand pleasing Objects, and at the same time divested of all Power of Heat. The Reflection of it in the Water, the Fanning of the Wind rustling on the Leaves, the Singing of the Thrush and Nightingale, and the Coolness of the Walks, all conspired to make me lay aside all displeasing Thoughts, and brought me into such a Tranquility of Mind, as is I believe the next Happiness to that of hereafter. In this sweet Retirement I naturally fell into the Repetition of some Lines out of a Poem of Milton's, which he entitles Il Penseroso, the Ideas of which were exquisitely suited to my present Wandrings of Thought.

Sweet Bird! that shun'st the Noise of Folly,

Most musical! most melancholy!

Thee Chauntress, oft the Woods among,

I wooe to hear thy Evening Song:

And missing thee, I walk unseen

On the dry smooth-shaven Green,

To behold the wandring Moon,

Riding near her highest Noon,

Like one that hath been led astray,

Thro' the Heavn's wide pathless Way,

And oft, as if her Head she bow'd,

Stooping thro' a fleecy Cloud.

Then let some strange mysterious Dream

Wave with his Wings in airy Stream,

Of lively Portraiture displaid,

Softly on my Eyelids laid;

And as I wake, sweet Musick breathe

Above, about, or underneath,

Sent by Spirits to Mortals Good,

Or th' unseen Genius of the Wood.

I reflected then upon the sweet Vicissitudes of Night and Day, on the charming Disposition of the Seasons, and their Return again in a perpetual Circle; and oh! said I, that I could from these my declining Years return again to my first Spring of Youth and Vigour; but that, alas! is impossible: All that remains within my Power, is to soften the Inconveniences I feel, with an easie contented Mind, and the Enjoyment of such Delights as this Solitude affords me. In this Thought I sate me down on a Bank of Flowers and dropt into a Slumber, which whether it were the Effect of Fumes and Vapours, or my present Thoughts, I know not; but methought the Genius of the Garden stood before me, and introduced into the Walk where I lay this Drama and different Scenes of the Revolution of the Year, which whilst I then saw, even in my Dream, I resolved to write down, and send to the SPECTATOR. The first Person whom I saw advancing towards me was a Youth of a most beautiful Air and Shape, tho' he seemed not yet arrived at that exact Proportion and Symmetry of Parts which a little more time would have given him; but however, there was such a Bloom in his Countenance, such Satisfaction and Joy, that I thought it the most deSir able Form that I had ever seen. He was cloathed in a flowing Mantle of green Silk, interwoven with Flowers: He had a Chaplet of Roses on his Head, and a Narcissus in his Hand; Primroses and Violets sprang up under his Feet, and all Nature was cheer'd at his Approach. Flora was on one Hand and Vertumnus on the other in a Robe of changeable Silk. After this I was surprized to see the Moon-beams reflected with a sudden Glare from Armour, and to see a Man compleatly armed advancing with his Sword drawn. I was soon informed by the Genius it was Mars, who had long usurp'd a Place among the Attendants of the Spring. He made Way for a softer Appearance, it was Venus, without any Ornament but her own Beauties, not so much as her own Cestus, with which she had incompass'd a Globe, which she held in her right Hand, and in her left she had a Sceptre of Gold. After her followed the Graces with their Arms intwined within one another, their Girdles were loosed, and they moved to the Sound of soft Musick, striking the Ground alternately with their Feet: Then came up the three Months which belong to this Season. As March advanced towards me, there was methought in his Look a louring Roughness, which ill befitted a Month which was ranked in so soft a Season; but as he came forwards his Features became insensibly more mild and gentle: He smooth'd his Brow, and looked with so sweet a Countenance that I could not but lament his Departure, though he made way for April. He appeared in the greatest Gaiety imaginable, and had a thousand Pleasures to attend him: His Look was frequently clouded, but immediately return'd to its first Composure, and remained fixed in a Smile. Then came May attended by Cupid, with his Bow strung, and in a Posture to let fly an Arrow: As he passed by methought I heard a confused Noise of soft Complaints, gentle Ecstacies, and tender Sighs of Lovers; Vows of Constancy, and as many Complainings of Perfidiousness; all which the Winds wafted away as soon as they had reached my Hearing. After these I saw a Man advance in the full Prime and Vigour of his Age, his Complexion was sanguine and ruddy, his Hair black, and fell down in beautiful Ringlets not beneath his Shoulders, a Mantle of Hair-colour'd Silk hung loosely upon him: He advanced with a hasty Step after the Spring, and sought out the Shade and cool Fountains which plaid in the Garden. He was particularly well pleased when a Troop of Zephyrs fanned him with their Wings: He had two Companions who walked on each Side that made him appear the most agreeable, the one was Aurora with Fingers of Roses, and her Feet dewy, attired in grey: The other was Vesper in a Robe of Azure beset with Drops of Gold, whose Breath he caught whilst it passed over a Bundle of Honey-Suckles and Tuberoses which he held in his Hand. Pan and Ceres followed them with four Reapers, who danced a Morrice to the Sound of Oaten Pipes and Cymbals. Then came the Attendant Months. June retained still some small Likeness of the Spring; but the other two seemed to step with a less vigorous Tread, especially August, who seem'd almost to faint whilst for half the Steps he took the Dog-Star levelled his Rays full at his Head: They passed on and made Way for a Person that seemed to bend a little under the Weight of Years; his Beard and Hair, which were full grown, were composed of an equal Number of black and grey; he wore a Robe which he had girt round him of a yellowish Cast, not unlike the Colour of fallen Leaves, which he walked upon. I thought he hardly made Amends for expelling the foregoing Scene by the large Quantity of Fruits which he bore in his Hands. Plenty walked by his Side with an healthy fresh Countenance, pouring out from an Horn all the various Product of the Year. Pomona followed with a Glass of Cyder in her Hand, with Bacchus in a Chariot drawn by Tygers, accompanied by a whole Troop of Satyrs, Fauns, and Sylvans. September, who came next, seem'd in his Looks to promise a new Spring, and wore the Livery of those Months. The succeeding Month was all soiled with the Juice of Grapes, as if he had just come from the Wine-Press. November, though he was in this Division, yet, by the many Stops he made seemed rather inclined to the Winter, which followed close at his Heels. He advanced in the Shape of an old Man in the Extremity of Age: The Hair he had was so very white it seem'd a real Snow; his Eyes were red and piercing, and his Beard hung with a great Quantity of Icicles: He was wrapt up in Furrs, but yet so pinched with Excess of Cold that his Limbs were all contracted and his Body bent to the Ground, so that he could not have supported himself had it not been for Comus the God of Revels, and Necessity the Mother of Fate, who sustained him on each side. The Shape and Mantle of Comus was one of the things that most surprized me; as he advanced towards me, his Countenance seemed the most deSir able I had ever seen: On the fore Part of his Mantle was pictured Joy, Delight, and Satisfaction, with a thousand Emblems of Merriment, and Jests with Faces looking two Ways at once; but as he passed from me I was amazed at a Shape so little correspondent to his Face: His Head was bald, and all the rest of his Limbs appeared old and deformed. On the hinder Part of his Mantle was represented Murder with dishevelled Hair and a Dagger all bloody, Anger in a Robe of Scarlet, and Suspicion squinting with both Eyes; but above all the most conspicuous was the Battel of the Lapithæ and the Centaurs. I detested so hideous a Shape, and turned my Eyes upon Saturn, who was stealing away behind him with a Scythe in one Hand, and an Hour-glass in t'other unobserved. Behind Necessity was Vesta the Goddess of Fire with a Lamp which was perpetually supply'd with Oyl; and whose Flame was eternal. She cheered the rugged Brow of Necessity, and warmed her so far as almost to make her assume the Features and Likeness of Choice. December, January, and February, passed on after the rest all in Furrs; there was little Distinction to be made amongst them, and they were only more or less displeasing as they discovered more or less Haste towards the grateful Return of Spring.

Contents

No. 426

Wednesday, July 9, 1712

Steele

—Quid non mortalia Pectora cogis

Auri sacra fames—

Virg.

ValentinesGermanyBasilius ValentinusAlexandrinusBasiliusAlexandrinusAlexandrinusAlexandrinusAlexandrinusBasiliusAlexandrinus

BasiliusAlexandrinusBasiliusAlexandrinusAlexandrinusRenatus

Alexandrinus

RenatusBasiliusthe Smaragdine Table ofIt is trueand far removed from all Colour of Deceit, That which is Inferior is like that which is Superior, by which are acquired and perfected all the Miracles of a certain Work. The Father is the Sun, the Mother the Moon: the Wind is the Womb, the Earth is the Nurse of it, and Mother of all Perfection. All this must be received with Modesty and Wisdom.RenatusAlexandrinusGermanBasilius

AlexandrinusButRenatus[1]

Footnote 1:Sea and Land Travels through Persia to the East Indies,Currus Triumphalis AntimoniiL'Azoth des Philosophes, avec les 12 Clefs de PhilosophieTestament de Basile Valentine

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Contents

No. 427

Thursday, July 10, 1712

Steele

Quartum a rerum turpitudine abes, tantum Te a verborum libertate sejungas.

Tull.

Good Madam spare me, who am none of your Match; I speak Ill of no Body, and it is a new Thing to me to be spoken ill of.After all her Airs, he has heard some Story or other, and the Match is broke offPut to the Horses.PersianAlexanderSir , you are paid to fight againstand not to rail at him

Ciceroone[1]There are many who have particular Engagements to the Prosecutor: There are many who are known to have ill-will to him for whom I appear; there are many who are naturally addicted to Defamation, and envious of any Good to any Man, who may have contributed to spread Reports of this kind: For nothing is so swift as Scandal, nothing is more easily sent abroad, nothing received with more Welcome, nothing diffuses it self so universally. I shall not deSir e, that if any Report to our Disadvantage has any Ground for it, you would overlook or extenuate it: But if there be any thing advanced without a Person who can say whence he had it, or which is attested by one who forgot who told him it, or who had it from one of so little Consideration that he did not then think it worth his Notice, all such Testimonies as these, I know, you will think too slight to have any Credit against the Innocence and Honour of your Fellow-CitizenWarwickshireBluemantleBluemantle's

BluemantleBluemantle

Footnote 1:Orat. pro Cu. Plancio.

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Contents

No. 428

Friday, July 11, 1712

Steele

Occupet extremum Scabies—

Hor.

LondonChange-Alleyare[1]whichhorrible[2]

wouldthe[3]

Footnote 1:Sir

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:horrid

return

Footnote 3:that

return

Contents

No. 429

Saturday, July 12, 1712

Steele

—Populumque falsis dedocet uti

Vocibus—

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Since I gave an Account of an agreeable Set of Company which were gone down into the Country, I have received Advices from thence, that the Institution of an Infirmary for those who should be out of Humour, has had very good Effects. My Letters mention particular Circumstances of two or three Persons, who had the good Sense to retire of their own Accord, and notified that they were withdrawn, with the Reasons of it, to the Company, in their respective Memorials.

The Memorial of Mrs. Mary Dainty, Spinster,

Humbly Sheweth,

That conscious of her own want of Merit, accompanied with a Vanity of being admired, she had gone into Exile of her own accord.

She is sensible, that a vain Person is the most insufferable Creature living in a well-bred Assembly.

That she deSir ed, before she appeared in publick again, she might have Assurances, that tho' she might be thought handsome, there might not more Address or Compliment be paid to her, than to the rest of the Company.

That she conceived it a kind of Superiority, that one Person should take upon him to commend another.

Lastly, That she went into the Infirmary, to avoid a particular Person who took upon him to profess an Admiration of her.

She therefore prayed, that to applaud out of due place, might be declar'd an Offence, and punished in the same Manner with Detraction, in that the latter did but report Persons defective, and the former made them so.

All which is submitted, &c.

There appeared a Delicacy and Sincerity in this Memorial very uncommon, but my Friend informs me, that the Allegations of it were groundless, insomuch that this Declaration of an Aversion to being praised, was understood to be no other than a secret Trap to purchase it, for which Reason it lies still on the Table unanswered.

The humble Memorial of the Lady Lydia Loller, Sheweth,

That the Lady Lydia is a Woman of Quality; married to a private Gentleman.

That she finds her self neither well nor ill.

That her Husband is a Clown.

That Lady Lydia cannot see Company. That she deSir es the Infirmary may be her Apartment during her stay in the Country.

That they would please to make merry with their Equals.

That Mr. Loller might stay with them if he thought fit.

It was immediately resolved, that Lady Lydia was still at London.

The humble Memorial of Thomas Sudden, Esq., of the Inner-Temple, Sheweth,

That Mr. Sudden is conscious that he is too much given to Argumentation.

That he talks loud.

That he is apt to think all things matter of Debate.

That he stayed behind in Westminster-Hall, when the late Shake of the Roof happened, only because a Council of the other Side asserted it was coming down.

That he cannot for his Life consent to any thing.

That he stays in the Infirmary to forget himself.

That as soon as he has forgot himself, he will wait on the Company.

His Indisposition was allowed to be sufficient to require a Cessation from Company.

The Memorial of Frank Jolly, Sheweth,

That he hath put himself into the Infirmary, in regard he is sensible of a certain rustick Mirth which renders him unfit for polite Conversation.

That he intends to prepare himself by Abstinence and thin Diet to be one of the Company.

That at present he comes into a Room as if he were an Express from Abroad.

That he has chosen an Apartment with a matted Anti-Chamber, to practise Motion without being heard.

That he bows, talks, drinks, eats, and helps himself before a Glass, to learn to act with Moderation.

That by reason of his luxuriant Health he is oppressive to Persons of composed Behaviour.

That he is endeavouring to forget the Word Pshaw, Pshaw.

That he is also weaning himself from his Cane.

That when he has learnt to live without his said Cane, he will wait on the Company, &c.

...

The Memorial of John Rhubarb, Esq.,

Sheweth,

That your Petitioner has retired to the Infirmary, but that he is in perfect good Health, except that he has by long Use. and for want of Discourse, contracted an Habit of Complaint that he is sick.

That he wants for nothing under the Sun, but what to say, and therefore has fallen into this unhappy Malady of complaining that he is sick.

That this Custom of his makes him, by his own Confession, fit only for the Infirmary, and therefore he has not waited for being sentenced to it.

That he is conscious there is nothing more improper than such a Complaint in good Company, in that they must pity, whether they think the Lamenter ill or not; and that the Complainant must make a silly Figure, whether he is pitied or not.

Your Petitioner humbly prays, that he may have Time to know how he does, and he will make his Appearance.

The Valetudinarian was likewise easily excused; and this Society being resolved not only to make it their Business to pass their Time agreeably for the present Season, but also to commence such Habits in themselves as may be of Use in their future Conduct in general, are very ready to give into a fancied or real Incapacity to join with their Measures, in order to have no Humourist, proud Man, impertinent or sufficient ellow, break in upon their Happiness. Great Evils seldom happen to disturb Company; but Indulgence in Particularities of Humour, is the Seed of making half our Time hang in Suspence, or waste away under real Discomposures.

Among other Things it is carefully provided that there may not be disagreeable Familiarities. No one is to appear in the publick Rooms undressed, or enter abruptly into each other's Apartment without intimation. Every one has hitherto been so careful in his Behaviour, that there has but one Offender in ten Days Time been sent into the Infirmary, and that was for throwing away his Cards at Whist.

He has offered his Submission in the following Terms.

The humble Petition of Jeoffry Hotspur, Esq.,

Sheweth,

Though the Petitioner swore, stamped, and threw down his Cards, he has all imaginable Respect for the Ladies, and the whole Company.

That he humbly deSir es it may be considered in the Case of Gaming, there are many Motives which provoke to Disorder.

That the DeSir e of Gain, and the DeSir e of Victory, are both thwarted in Losing.

That all Conversations in the World have indulged Human Infirmity in this Case.

Your Petitioner therefore most humbly prays, that he may be restored to the Company, and he hopes to bear ill Fortune with a good Grace for the future, and to demean himself so as to be no more than chearful when he wins, than grave when he loses.

Contents

No. 430

Monday, July 14, 1712

Steele

Quære peregrinum vicinia rauca reclamat.

Hor.

Sir ,

As you are Spectator-General, you may with Authority censure whatsoever looks ill, and is offensive to the Sight; the worst Nusance of which kind, methinks, is the scandalous Appearance of Poor in all Parts of this wealthy City. Such miserable Objects affect the compassionate Beholder with dismal Ideas, discompose the Chearfulness of his Mind, and deprive him of the Pleasure that he might otherwise take in surveying the Grandeur of our Metropolis. Who can without Remorse see a disabled Sailor, the Purveyor of our Luxury, destitute of Necessaries? Who can behold an honest Soldier, that bravely withstood the Enemy, prostrate and in Want amongst his Friends? It were endless to mention all the Variety of Wretchedness, and the numberless Poor, that not only singly, but in Companies, implore your Charity. Spectacles of this Nature every where occur; and it is unaccountable, that amongst the many lamentable Cries that infest this Town, your Comptroller-General should not take notice of the most shocking, viz. those of the Needy and Afflicted. I can't but think he wav'd it meerly out of good Breeding, chusing rather to stifle his Resentment, than upbraid his Countrymen with Inhumanity; however, let not Charity be sacrificed to Popularity, and if his Ears were deaf to their Complaints, let not your Eyes overlook their Persons. There are, I know, many Impostors among them. Lameness and Blindness are certainly very often acted; but can those that have their Sight and Limbs, employ them better than in knowing whether they are counterfeited or not? I know not which of the two misapplies his Senses most, he who pretends himself blind to move Compassion, or he who beholds a miserable Object without pitying it. But in order to remove such Impediments, I wish, Mr. SPECTATOR, you would give us a Discourse upon Beggars, that we may not pass by true Objects of Charity, or give to Impostors. I looked out of my Window the other Morning earlier than ordinary, and saw a blind Beggar, an Hour before the Passage he stands in is frequented, with a Needle and Thread, thriftily mending his Stockings: My Astonishment was still greater, when I beheld a lame Fellow, whose Legs were too big to walk within an Hour after, bring him a Pot of Ale. I will not mention the Shakings, Distortions, and Convulsions which many of them practise to gain an Alms; but sure I am, they ought to be taken Care of in this Condition, either by the Beadle or the Magistrate. They, it seems, relieve their Posts according to their Talents. There is the Voice of an old Woman never begins to beg 'till nine in the Evening, and then she is destitute of Lodging, turned out for want of Rent, and has the same ill Fortune every Night in the Year. You should employ an Officer to hear the Distress of each Beggar that is constant at a particular Place, who is ever in the same Tone, and succeeds because his Audience is continually changing, tho' he does not alter his Lamentation. If we have nothing else for our Money, let us have more Invention to be cheated with. All which is submitted to your Spectatorial Vigilance: and I am,

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant.

Sir ,

I was last Sunday highly transported at our Parish-Church; the Gentleman in the Pulpit pleaded movingly in Behalf of the poor Children, and they for themselves much more forcibly by singing an Hymn; And I had the Happiness to be a Contributor to this little religious Institution of Innocents, and am sure I never disposed of Money more to my Satisfaction and Advantage. The inward Joy I find in my self, and the Good-will I bear to Mankind, make me heartily wish those pious Works may be encouraged, that the present Promoters may reap the Delight, and Posterity the Benefit of them. But whilst we are building this beautiful Edifice, let not the old Ruins remain in View to sully the Prospect: Whilst we are cultivating and improving this young hopeful Offspring, let not the ancient and helpless Creatures be shamefully neglected. The Crowds of Poor, or pretended Poor, in every Place, are a great Reproach to us, and eclipse the Glory of all other Charity. It is the utmost Reproach to Society, that there should be a poor Man unrelieved, or a poor Rogue unpunished. I hope you will think no Part of Human Life out of your Consideration, but will, at your Leisure, give us the History of Plenty and Want, and the natural Gradations towards them, calculated for the Cities of London and Westminster.

I am, Sir ,

Your most Humble Servant,

T. D.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I beg you would be pleased to take Notice of a very great Indecency, which is extreamly common, though, I think, never yet under your Censure. It is, Sir , the strange Freedoms some ill-bred married People take in Company: The unseasonable Fondness of some Husbands, and the ill-timed Tenderness of some Wives. They talk and act, as if Modesty was only fit for Maids and Batchelors, and that too before both. I was once, Mr. SPECTATOR, where the Fault I speak of was so very flagrant, that (being, you must know, a very bashful Fellow, and several young Ladies in the Room) I protest I was quite out of Countenance. Lucina, it seems, was breeding, and she did nothing but entertain the Company with a Discourse upon the Difficulty of Reckoning to a Day, and said she knew those who were certain to an Hour; then fell a laughing at a silly unexperienced Creature, who was a Month above her Time. Upon her Husband's coming in, she put several Questions to him; which he not caring to resolve, Well, cries Lucina, I shall have 'em all at Night—But lest I should seem guilty of the very Fault I write against, I shall only intreat Mr. Spectator to correct such Misdemeanors;

For higher of the Genial Bed by far,

And with mysterious Reverence, I deem.[1]

I am, Sir ,

Your humble Servant,

T. Meanwell.

Footnote 1:Paradise Lost

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Contents

No. 431

Tuesday, July 15, 1712

Steele

Quid Dulcius hominum generi a Natura datum est quam sui cuique liberi?

Tull.

What is there in Nature so dear as a Man's own Children to him?

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I am now entring into my One and Twentieth Year, and do not know that I had one Day's thorough Satisfaction since I came to Years of any Reflection, till the Time they say others lose their Liberty, the Day of my Marriage. I am Son to a Gentleman of a very great Estate, who resolv'd to keep me out of the Vices of the Age; and in order to it never let me see any Thing that he thought could give me the least Pleasure. At ten Years old I was put to a Grammar-School, where my Master received Orders every Post to use me very severely, and have no regard to my having a great Estate. At Fifteen I was removed to the University, where I liv'd, out of my Father's great Discretion, in scandalous Poverty and Want, till I was big enough to be married, and I was sent for to see the Lady who sends you the Underwritten. When we were put together, we both considered that we could not be worse than we were in taking one another, out of a DeSir e of Liberty entered into Wedlock. My Father says I am now a Man, and may speak to him like another Gentleman.

I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

Richard Rentfree.

Mr. SPEC.

I grew tall and wild at my Mother's, who is a gay Widow, and did not care for shewing me 'till about two Years and a half ago; at which time my Guardian Uncle sent me to a Boarding-School, with Orders to contradict me in nothing, for I had been misused enough already. I had not been there above a Month, when being in the Kitchin, I saw some Oatmeal on the Dresser; I put two or three Corns in my Mouth, liked it, stole a Handful, went into my Chamber, chewed it, and for two Months after never failed taking Toll of every Pennyworth of Oatmeal that came into the House: But one Day playing with a Tobacco-pipe between my Teeth, it happened to break in my Mouth, and the spitting out the Pieces left such a delicious Roughness on my Tongue, that I could not be satisfied 'till I had champed up the remaining Part of the Pipe. I forsook the Oatmeal, and stuck to the Pipes three Months, in which Time I had dispensed with thirty seven foul Pipes, all to the Boles; They belonged to an old Gentleman, Father to my Governess—He lock'd up the clean ones. I left off eating of Pipes, and fell to licking of Chalk. I was soon tired of this; I then nibbled all the red Wax of our last Ball-Tickets, and three Weeks after the black Wax from the Burying-Tickets of the old Gentleman. Two Months after this I liv'd upon Thunder-bolts, a certain long, round bluish Stone, which I found among the Gravel in our Garden. I was wonderfully delighted with this; but Thunder-bolts growing scarce, I fasten'd Tooth and Nail upon our Garden-Wall, which I stuck to almost a Twelvemonth, and had in that time peeled and devoured half a Foot towards our Neighbour's Yard. I now thought my self the happiest Creature in the World, and I believe in my Conscience, I had eaten quite through, had I had it in my Chamber; but now I became lazy, and unwilling to stir, and was obliged to seek Food nearer Home. I then took a strange Hankering to Coals; I fell to scranching 'em, and had already consumed, I am certain, as much as would have dressed my Wedding Dinner, when my Uncle came for me Home. He was in the Parlour with my Governess when I was called down. I went in, fell on my Knees, for he made me call him Father; and when I expected the Blessing I asked, the good Gentleman, in a Surprize, turns himself to my Governess, and asks, Whether this (pointing to me) was his Daughter? This (added he) is the very Picture of Death. My Child was a plump-fac'd, hale, fresh-coloured Girl; but this looks as if she was half-starved, a mere Skeleton. My Governess, who is really a good Woman, assured my Father I had wanted for nothing; and withal told him I was continually eating some Trash or other, and that I was almost eaten up with the Green-sickness, her Orders being never to cross me. But this magnified but little with my Father, who presently, in a kind of Pett, paying for my Board, took me home with him. I had not been long at home, but one Sunday at Church (I shall never forget it) I saw a young neighbouring Gentleman that pleased me hugely; I liked him of all Men I ever saw in my Life, and began to wish I could be as pleasing to him. The very next Day he came, with his Father, a visiting to our House: We were left alone together, with Directions on both Sides to be in Love with one another, and in three Weeks time we were married. I regained my former Health and Complexion, and am now as happy as the Day is long. Now, Mr. SPEC., I deSir e you would find out some Name for these craving Damsels, whether dignified or distinguished under some or all of the following Denominations, (to wit) Trash-eaters, Oatmeal-chewers, Pipe-champers, Chalk-lickers, Wax-nibbles, Coal-Scranchers, Wall-peelers, or Gravel-diggers: And, good Sir , do your utmost endeavour to prevent (by exposing) this unaccountable Folly, so prevailing among the young ones of our Sex, who may not meet with such sudden good Luck as,

Sir ,

Your constant Reader,

and very humble Servant,

Sabina Green,

Now Sabina Rentfree.

Contents

No. 432

Wednesday, July 16, 1712

Steele

Inter-strepit anser olores.

Virg.

Oxford, July 14.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

According to a late Invitation in one of your Papers to every Man who pleases to write, I have sent you the following short Dissertation against the Vice of being prejudiced.

Your most humble Servant.

Man is a sociable Creature, and a Lover of Glory; whence it is that when several Persons are united in the same Society, they are studious to lessen the Reputation of others, in order to raise their own. The Wise are content to guide the Springs in Silence, and rejoice in Secret at their regular Progress: To prate and triumph is the Part allotted to the Trifling and Superficial: The Geese were providentially ordained to save the Capitol. Hence it is, that the Invention of Marks and Devices to distinguish Parties, is owing to the Beaux and Belles of this Island. Hats moulded into different Cocks and Pinches, have long bid mutual Defiance; Patches have been set against Patches in Battel-aray; Stocks have risen or fallen in Proportion to Head-Dresses; and Peace or War been expected, as the White or the Red Hood hath prevailed. These are the Standard-Bearers in our contending Armies, the Dwarfs and Squires who carry the Impresses of the Giants or Knights, not born to fight themselves, but to prepare the Way for the ensuing Combat.

It is Matter of Wonder to reflect how far Men of weak Understanding and strong Fancy are hurried by their Prejudices, even to the believing that the whole Body of the adverse Party are a Band of Villains and Dæmons. Foreigners complain, that the English are the proudest Nation under Heaven. Perhaps they too have their Share; but be that as it will, general Charges against Bodies of Men is the Fault I am writing against. It must be own'd, to our Shame, that our common People, and most who have not travelled, have an irrational Contempt for the Language, Dress, Customs, and even the Shape and Minds of other Nations. Some Men otherwise of Sense, have wondered that a great Genius should spring out of Ireland; and think you mad in affirming, that fine Odes have been written in Lapland.

This Spirit of Rivalship, which heretofore reigned in the Two Universities, is extinct, and almost over betwixt College and College: In Parishes and Schools the Thirst of Glory still obtains. At the Seasons of Football and Cock-fighting, these little Republicks reassume their national Hatred to each other. My Tenant in the Country is verily perswaded, that the Parish of the Enemy hath not one honest Man in it.

I always hated Satyrs against Woman, and Satyrs against Man; I am apt to suspect a Stranger who laughs at the Religion of The Faculty; My Spleen rises at a dull Rogue, who is severe upon Mayors and Aldermen; and was never better pleased than with a Piece of Justice executed upon the Body of a Templer, who was very arch upon Parsons.

The Necessities of Mankind require various Employments; and whoever excels in his Province is worthy of Praise. All Men are not educated after the same Manner, nor have all the same Talents. Those who are deficient deserve our Compassion, and have a Title to our Assistance. All cannot be bred in the same Place; but in all Places there arise, at different Times, such Persons as do Honour to their Society, which may raise Envy in little Souls, but are admired and cherished by generous Spirits.

It is certainly a great Happiness to be educated in Societies of great and eminent Men. Their Instructions and Examples are of extraordinary Advantage. It is highly proper to instill such a Reverence of the governing Persons, and Concern for the Honour of the Place, as may spur the growing Members to worthy Pursuits and honest Emulation: But to swell young Minds with vain Thoughts of the Dignity of their own Brotherhood, by debasing and villifying all others, doth them a real Injury. By this means I have found that their Efforts have become languid, and their Prattle irksome, as thinking it sufficient Praise that they are Children of so illustrious and ample a Family. I should think it a surer as well as more generous Method, to set before the Eyes of Youth such Persons as have made a noble Progress in Fraternities less talk'd of; which seems tacitly to reproach their Sloth, who loll so heavily in the Seats of mighty Improvement: Active Spirits hereby would enlarge their Notions, whereas by a servile Imitation of one, or perhaps two, admired Men in their own Body, they can only gain a secondary and derivative kind of Fame. These Copiers of Men, like those of Authors or Painters, run into Affectations of some Oddness, which perhaps was not disagreeable in the Original, but sits ungracefully on the narrow-soul'd Transcriber.

By such early Corrections of Vanity, while Boys are growing into Men, they will gradually learn not to censure superficially; but imbibe those Principles of general Kindness and Humanity, which alone can make them easie to themselves, and beloved by others.

Reflections of this nature have expunged all Prejudices out of my Heart, insomuch that, tho' I am a firm Protestant, I hope to see the Pope and Cardinals without violent Emotions; and tho' I am naturally grave, I expect to meet good Company at Paris.

I am, Sir ,

Your obedient Servant.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I find you are a general Undertaker, and have by your Correspondents or self an Insight into most things: which makes me apply my self to you at present in the sorest Calamity that ever befel Man. My Wife has taken something ill of me, and has not spoke one Word, good or bad, to me, or any Body in the Family, since Friday was Seven-night. What must a Man do in that Case? Your Advice would be a great Obligation to,

Sir , Your most humble Servant,

Ralph Thimbleton.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

When you want a Trifle to fill up a Paper, in inserting this you will lay an Obligation on

Your humble Servant,

Olivio.

July 15th, 1712.

Dear Olivia,

It is but this Moment I have had the Happiness of knowing to whom I am obliged for the Present I received the second of April. I am heartily sorry it did not come to Hand the Day before; for I can't but think it very hard upon People to lose their Jest, that offer at one but once a Year. I congratulate my self however upon the Earnest given me of something further intended in my Favour, for I am told, that the Man who is thought worthy by a Lady to make a Fool of, stands fair enough in her Opinion to become one Day her Husband. Till such time as I have the Honour of being sworn, I take Leave to subscribe my self,

Dear Olivia, Your Fool Elect,

Nicodemuncio.

Contents

No. 433

Thursday, July 17, 1712

Addison

Perlege Mæonio cantatas carmine Ranas,

Et frontem nugis solvere disce meis.

Mart.

One

Amazons

the Tallthe Stockythe Gruff

Contents

No. 434

Friday, July 18, 1712

Addison

Quales Threiciæ cùm flumina Thermodoontis

Pulsant, et pictis bellantur Amazones armis:

Seu circum Hippolyten, seu cùm se Martia curru

Penthesilea refert, magnoque ululante tumultu

Fæminea exultant lunatis agmina peltis.

Virg.

Lunar

Contents

No. 435

Saturday, July 19, 1712

Addison

Nec duo sunt at forma duplex, nec fæmina dici

Nec puer ut possint, neutrumque et utrumque videntur.

Ovid.

Sir Roger De Coverly'sSirwhether that wasYes, Sir whether Sir Roger De Coverly was a married ManNo, Madam

Juvenal'sPortiaLucretiaRoman

Hyde Park

FranceEuropeCaligulaRomanFrenchBritish

Contents

No. 436

Monday, July 21, 1712

Steele

Verso pollice vulgi

Quemlibet occidunt Populariter.

Juv.

WednesdayBritonsnamelyHockley in the Hole[1]

I James Miller, Serjeant, (lately come from the Frontiers of Portugal) Master of the noble Science of Defence, hearing in most Places where I have been of the great Fame of Timothy Buck of London, Master of the said Science, do invite him to meet me, and exercise at the several Weapons following, viz.

Back-Sword

Single Falchon

Sword and Dagger

Case of Falchons

Sword and Buckler

Quarter Staff

James MillerTimothy BuckTimothy BuckJames MillernotMillerParkesCoventry[2]

I Timothy Buck of Clare-Market, Master of the Noble Science of Defence, hearing he did fight Mr. Parkes of Coventry, will not fail (God Willing) to meet this fair Inviter at the Time and Place appointed, deSir ing a clear Stage and no Favour.

Vivat Regina.

GreeksRomansElizabeth PrestonAmarillisISerjeant, who have travelled Parts abroad, and came last from the Frontiers offor the Love ofdo assert, That the saidIwho have stay'd induring all the War in Foreign Parts, for the Sake ofdo deny thatis so fair as the saidSusanna PageSirJames Miller

Spectators

James MillerMillerMiller

Miller

SpectatorsTimothy BuckI could methinks beSecond, but I had rather havefor mineMillerBuckBuckMillerBuckBuckMillerMiller'sBuckMillerMillerMillerBuckGormanBuck

BuckMillerBuck

Tully speaksCrudele Gladiatorum spectaculum et inhumanum nonnullis videri solet; et haud scio annon ita sit ut nunc fit; cum vero sontes ferro depugnabant, auribus fortasse multa, oculis quidem nulla, poterat esse fortior contra dolorem et mortem disciplina. The Shows of Gladiators may be thought barbarous and inhumane, and I know not but it is so as it is now practised; but in those Times when only Criminals were Combatants, the Ear perhaps might receive many better Instructions, but it is impossible that any thing which affects our Eyes, should fortifie us so well against Pain and Death. [3]

Footnote 1:Footnote 2No. 31

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

'To the memory of Mr. John Sparkes, a native of this city; he was a man of a mild disposition, a gladiator by profession, who, after having fought 350 battles in the principal parts of Europe with honour and applause, at length quitted the stage, sheathed his sword, and, with Christian resignation, submitted to the grand victor in the 52nd year of his age.

Anno salutis humanæ, 1733.'

return

Footnote 3:De Tolerando Dolore

return

Contents

No. 437

Tuesday, July 22, 1712

Tune impune hæc facias? Tune hic homines adolescentulos

Imperitos rerum, eductos libere, in fraudem illicis?

Sollicitando, et pollicitando eorum animos lactas?

Ac meritricios amores nuptiis conglutinas?

Ter. And.

FavillaSemproniaSemproniaSemproniaFavilla'sFavillaSemproniaMadamyou know there is no making Children who know they have Estates attend their Books.

Sempronia,SemproniaOh! my Dear, you will know better.

Sempronia,

Mr. Spectator,

'I am entirely of your Opinion with Relation to the Equestrian Females, who affect both the Masculine and Feminine Air at the same time; and cannot forbear making a Presentment against another Order of them who grow very numerous and powerful; and since our Language is not very capable of good compound Words, I must be contented to call them only the Naked Shouldered. These Beauties are not contented to make Lovers where-ever they appear, but they must make Rivals at the same time. Were you to see Gatty walk the Park at high Mall, you would expect those who followed her and those who met her could immediately draw their Swords for her. I hope, Sir , you will provide for the future, that Women may stick to their Faces for doing any future Mischief and not allow any but direct Traders in Beauty to expose more than the fore Part of the Neck, unless you please to allow this After-Game to those who are very defective in the Charms of the Countenance. I can say, to my Sorrow, the present Practice is very unfair, when to look back is Death; and it may be said of our Beauties, as a great Poet did of Bullets,

They kill and wound like Parthians as they fly.

I submit this to your Animadversion; and am, for the little while I have left,

Your humble Servant, the languishing Philanthus.

P. S. Suppose you mended my Letter, and made a Simile about the Porcupine, but I submit that also.

Contents

No. 438

Wednesday, July 23, 1712

Steele

—Animum rege qui nisi paret

Imperat—

Hor.

One[1]SyncropiusThat BlockheadGentlemen, I ask your Pardon, but Servants now a-daysWhy, what the Devil! Why don't you take Care to give Orders in these things?Syncropius

Nat LeeAlexander

Away, begon, and give a Whirlwind Room,

Or I will blow you up like Dust! Avaunt;

Madness but meanly represents my Toil.

Eternal Discord!

Fury! Revenge! Disdain and Indignation!

Tear my swoln Breast, make way for Fire and Tempest.

My Brain is burst, Debate and Reason quench'd;

The Storm is up, and my hot bleeding Heart

Splits with the Rack, while Passions, like the Wind,

Rise up to Heav'n, and put out all the Stars.

That is so like you, You are a fine Fellow, Thou art the quickest Head-pieceFrenchSir , you know I have long asked you to send me back the first Volume of French Sermons I formerly lent you; Sirthen, Sir , here is the other Volume, I'll send you home that, and please to pay for bothYes, Sir , but it is you have lost the first Volume, and to be short I will be Paid. SirYes, Sir , I'll bear when I must, but I have not lost now, for I say you have it and shall pay me.Sir , there is in this Case no need of bearing, for you have the Book.SirWas ever any thing like this?Sir

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 439

Thursday, July 24, 1712

Addison

Hi narrata ferunt alio: mensuraque ficti

Crescit; et auditis aliquid novus adjicit auctor.

Ovid.

Ovid describes[1]

Ovid'sCautionCurse not the King, no not in thy Thought, and Curse not the Rich in thy Bedchamber: For a Bird of the Air shall carry the Voice, and that which hath Wings shall tell the matter.[2]

Italian

AlexanderCæsarDionysiusSicilyDionysius'ssamethe[3]CæsarAlexanderthatpassed[4]

drawnClarendon

'He had not that Application and Submission, and Reverence for the Queen, as might have been expected from his Wisdom and Breeding; and often crossed her Pretences and DeSir es with more Rudeness than was natural to him. Yet he was impertinently sollicitous to know what her Majesty said of him in private, and what Resentments she had towards him. And when by some Confidents, who had their Ends upon him from those Offices, he was informed of some bitter Expressions fallen from her Majesty, he was so exceedingly afflicted and tormented with the Sense of it, that sometimes by passionate Complaints and Representations to the King; sometimes by more dutiful Addresses and Expostulations with the Queen, in bewailing his Misfortune; he frequently exposed himself, and left his Condition worse than it was before, and the Eclaircisment commonly ended in the Discovery of the Persons from whom he had received his most secret Intelligence.'[5]

Footnote 1:Metamorphoses

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Footnote 2:Eccl

return

Footnote 3:this

return

Footnote 4:passes

return

Footnote 5:

return

Contents

No. 440

Friday, July 25, 1712

Addison

Vivere si rectè nescis, discede peritis.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'We are glad to find that you approve the Establishment which we have here made for the retrieving of good Manners and agreeable Conversation, and shall use our best Endeavours so to improve our selves in this our Summer Retirement, that we may next Winter serve as Patterns to the Town. But to the end that this our Institution may be no less Advantageous to the Publick than to our selves, we shall communicate to you one Week of our Proceedings, deSir ing you at the same time, if you see any thing faulty in them, to favour us with your Admonitions. For you must know, Sir , that it has been proposed among us to chuse you for our Visitor, to which I must further add, that one of the College having declared last Week, he did not like the Spectator of the Day, and not being able to assign any just Reasons for such his Dislike, he was sent to the Infirmary Nemine Contradicente.

'On Monday the Assembly was in very good Humour, having received some Recruits of French Claret that Morning: when unluckily, towards the middle of the Dinner, one of the Company swore at his Servant in a very rough manner, for having put too much Water in his Wine. Upon which the President of the Day, who is always the Mouth of the Company, after having convinced him of the Impertinence of his Passion, and the Insult it had made upon the Company, ordered his Man to take him from the Table and convey him to the Infirmary. There was but one more sent away that Day; this was a Gentleman who is reckoned by some Persons one of the greatest Wits, and by others one of the greatest Boobies about Town. This you will say is a strange Character, but what makes it stranger yet, it is a very true one, for he is perpetually the Reverse of himself, being always merry or dull to Excess. We brought him hither to divert us, which he did very well upon the Road, having lavished away as much Wit and Laughter upon the Hackney Coachman as might have served him during his whole Stay here, had it been duly managed. He had been lumpish for two or three Days, but was so far connived at, in hopes of Recovery, that we dispatched one of the briskest Fellows among the Brotherhood into the Infirmary, for having told him at Table he was not merry. But our President observing that he indulged himself in this long Fit of Stupidity, and construing it as a Contempt of the College, ordered him to retire into the Place prepared for such Companions. He was no sooner got into it, but his Wit and Mirth returned upon him in so violent a manner, that he shook the whole Infirmary with the Noise of it, and had so good an Effect upon the rest of the Patients, that he brought them all out to Dinner with him the next Day.

'On Tuesday we were no sooner sat down, but one of the Company complained that his Head aked; upon which another asked him, in an insolent manner, what he did there then; this insensibly grew into some warm Words; so that the President, in order to keep the Peace, gave directions to take them both from the Table, and lodge them in the Infirmary. Not long after, another of the Company telling us, he knew by a Pain in his Shoulder that we should have some Rain, the President ordered him to be removed, and placed as a Weather-glass in the Apartment above mentioned.

'On Wednesday a Gentleman having received a Letter written in a Woman's Hand, and changing Colour twice or thrice as he read it, deSir ed leave to retire into the Infirmary. The President consented, but denied him the Use of Pen, Ink and Paper, till such time as he had slept upon it. One of the Company being seated at the lower end of the Table, and discovering his secret Discontent by finding fault with every Dish that was served up, and refusing to Laugh at any thing that was said, the President told him, that he found he was in an uneasie Seat, and deSir ed him to accommodate himself better in the Infirmary. After Dinner a very honest Fellow chancing to let a Punn fall from him, his Neighbour cryed out, to the Infirmary; at the same time pretending to be Sick at it, as having the same Natural Antipathy to a Punn, which some have to a Cat. This produced a long Debate. Upon the whole, the Punnster was Acquitted and his Neighbour sent off.

'On Thursday there was but one Delinquent. This was a Gentleman of strong Voice, but weak Understanding. He had unluckily engaged himself in a Dispute with a Man of excellent Sense, but of a modest Elocution. The Man of Heat replied to every Answer of his Antagonist with a louder Note than ordinary, and only raised his Voice when he should have enforced his Argument. Finding himself at length driven to an Absurdity, he still reasoned in a more clamorous and confused manner, and to make the greater Impression upon his Hearers, concluded with a loud Thump upon the Table. The President immediately ordered him to be carried off, and dieted with Water-gruel, till such time as he should be sufficiently weakened for Conversation.

'On Friday there passed very little remarkable, saving only, that several Petitions were read of the Persons in Custody, deSir ing to be released from their Confinement, and vouching for one another's good Behaviour for the future.

'On Saturday we received many Excuses from Persons who had found themselves in an unsociable Temper, and had voluntarily shut themselves up. The Infirmary was indeed never so full as on this Day, which I was at some loss to account for, till upon my going Abroad I observed that it was an Easterly Wind. The Retirement of most of my Friends has given me Opportunity and Leisure of writing you this Letter, which I must not conclude without assuring you, that all the Members of our College, as well those who are under Confinement, as those who are at Liberty, are your very humble Servants, tho' none more than, &c.'

Contents

No. 441

Saturday, July 26, 1712

Addison

Si fractus illabatur orbis

Impavidum ferient ruinæ.

Hor.

hishishis

He will not fail those who put their Trust in him.

WhenSeparation[1]theProgress[2]

Davidtwenty third PsalmPastoralthe[3]

I

The Lord my Pasture shall prepare,

And feed me with a Shepherd's Care;

His Presence shall my Wants supply,

And guard me with a watchful Eye;

My Noon-day Walks he shall attend,

And all my Mid-night Hours defend.

II

When in the sultry Glebe I faint,

Or on the thirsty Mountain pant;

To fertile Vales, and dewy Meads

My weary wand'ring Steps he leads;

Where peaceful Rivers, soft and slow,

Amid the verdant Landskip flow.

III

Tho' in the Paths of Death I tread,

With gloomy Horrors overspread,

My steadfast Heart shall fear no Ill,

For thou, O Lord, art with me still;

Thy friendly Crook shall give me Aid,

And guide me through the dreadful Shade.

IV

Tho' in a bare and rugged Way,

Through devious lonely Wilds I stray,

Thy Bounty shall my Pains beguile;

The barren Wilderness shall smile,

With sudden Greens and Herbage crown'd,

And Streams shall murmur all around.

Footnote 1:Dissolution

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Footnote 2:text

return

Footnote 3:

return

Contents

No. 442

Monday, July 28, 1712

Steele

—Scribimus Indocti Doctique—

Hor.

SpectatorSpectatorsSpectatorSpectators

SpectatorsSpectator

Sir

Thepropos'd for the present Exercise of the Adventurers to write Spectatorsis Moneyon which Subject all Persons are deSir ed to send their Thoughts within Ten Days after the Date hereof.

Contents

No. 443

Tuesday, July 29, 1712

Steele

Sublatam ex oculis Quærimus invidi.

Hor.

Camillia to the Spectator.

Venice, July 10, N. S.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I Take it extreamly ill, that you do not reckon conspicuous Persons of your Nation are within your Cognizance, tho' out of the Dominions of Great Britain. I little thought in the green Years of my Life, that I should ever call it an Happiness to be out of dear England; but as I grew to Woman, I found my self less acceptable in Proportion to the Encrease of my Merit. Their Ears in Italy are so differently formed from the Make of yours in England, that I never come upon the Stage, but a general Satisfaction appears in every Countenance of the whole People. When I dwell upon a Note, I behold all the Men accompanying me with Heads enclining and falling of their Persons on one Side, as dying away with me. The Women too do Justice to my Merit, and no ill-natur'd worthless Creature cries, The vain Thing, when I am rapt up in the Performance of my Part, and sensibly touched with the Effect my Voice has upon all who hear me. I live here distinguished as one whom Nature has been liberal to in a graceful Person, an exalted Mein, and Heavenly Voice. These Particularities in this strange Country, are Arguments for Respect and Generosity to her who is possessed of them. The Italians see a thousand Beauties I am sensible I have no Pretence to, and abundantly make up to me the Injustice I received in my own Country, of disallowing me what I really had. The Humour of Hissing, which you have among you, I do not know any thing of; and their Applauses are uttered in Sighs, and bearing a Part at the Cadences of Voice with the Persons who are performing. I am often put in Mind of those complaisant Lines of my own Countryman[1], when he is calling all his Faculties together to hear Arabella;

Let all be hush'd, each softest Motion cease,

Be ev'ry loud tumultuous Thought at Peace;

And ev'ry ruder Gasp of Breath

Be calm, as in the Arms of Death:

And thou, most fickle, most uneasie Part,

Thou restless Wanderer, my Heart,

Be still; gently, ah! gently leave,

Thou busie, idle Thing, to heave.

Stir not a Pulse: and let my Blood,

That turbulent, unruly Flood,

Be softly staid;

Let me be all but my Attention dead.

'The whole City of Venice is as still when I am singing, as this Polite Hearer was to Mrs. Hunt. But when they break that Silence, did you know the Pleasure I am in, when every Man utters his Applause, by calling me aloud the Dear Creature, the Angel, the Venus; What Attitude she moves with!—Hush, she sings again! We have no boistrous Wits who dare disturb an Audience, and break the publick Peace meerly to shew they dare. Mr. SPECTATOR, I write this to you thus in Haste, to tell you I am so very much at ease here, that I know nothing but Joy; and I will not return, but leave you in England to hiss all Merit of your own Growth off the Stage. I know, Sir , you were always my Admirer, and therefore I am yours,

Camilla[2].

P. S. I am ten times better dressed than ever I was in England.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The Project in yours of the 11th Instant, of furthering the Correspondence and Knowledge of that considerable Part of Mankind, the Trading World, cannot but be highly commendable. Good Lectures to young Traders may have very good Effects on their Conduct: but beware you propagate no false Notions of Trade; let none of your Correspondents impose on the World, by putting forth base Methods in a good Light, and glazing them over with improper Terms. I would have no Means of Profit set for Copies to others, but such as are laudable in themselves. Let not Noise be called Industry, nor Impudence Courage. Let not good Fortune be imposed on the World for good Management, nor Poverty be called Folly; impute not always Bankruptcy to Extravagance, nor an Estate to Foresight; Niggardliness is not good Husbandry, nor Generosity Profusion.

'Honestus is a well-meaning and judicious Trader, hath substantial Goods, and trades with his own Stock; husbands his Money to the best Advantage, without taking all Advantages of the Necessities of his Workmen, or grinding the Face of the Poor. Fortunatus is stocked with Ignorance, and consequently with Self-Opinion; the Quality of his Goods cannot but be suitable to that of his Judgment. Honestus pleases discerning People, and keeps their Custom by good Usage; makes modest Profit by modest Means, to the decent Support of his Family: Whilst Fortunatus blustering always, pushes on, promising much, and performing little, with Obsequiousness offensive to People of Sense; strikes at all, catches much the greater Part; raises a considerable Fortune by Imposition on others, to the Disencouragement and Ruin of those who trade in the same Way.

'I give here but loose Hints, and beg you to be very circumspect in the Province you have now undertaken: If you perform it successfully, it will be a very great Good; for nothing is more wanting, than that Mechanick Industry were set forth with the Freedom and Greatness of Mind which ought always to accompany a Man of a liberal Education.

Your humble Servant,

R. C.

From my Shop under the Royal-Exchange, July 14.

July 24, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Notwithstanding the repeated Censures that your Spectatorial Wisdom has passed upon People more remarkable for Impudence than Wit, there are yet some remaining, who pass with the giddy Part of Mankind for sufficient Sharers of the latter, who have nothing but the former Qualification to recommend them. Another timely Animadversion is absolutely necessary; be pleased therefore once for all to let these Gentlemen know, that there is neither Mirth nor Good Humour in hooting a young Fellow out of Countenance; nor that it will ever constitute a Wit, to conclude a tart Piece of Buffoonry with a what makes you blush? Pray please to inform them again, That to speak what they know is shocking, proceeds from ill Nature, and a Sterility of Brain; especially when the Subject will not admit of Raillery, and their Discourse has no Pretension to Satyr but what is in their Design to disoblige. I should be very glad too if you would take Notice, that a daily Repetition of the same over-bearing Insolence is yet more insupportable, and a Confirmation of very extraordinary Dulness. The sudden Publication of this, may have an Effect upon a notorious Offender of this Kind, whose Reformation would redound very much to the Satisfaction and Quiet of

Your most humble Servant,

F. B.[3]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Footnote 3No. 22

return

Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 444

Wednesday, July 30, 1712

Steele

Parturiunt montes.

Hor.[1]

Frenchcome

In Russel-Court, over-against the Cannon-Ball, at the Surgeon's Arms in Drury-Lane, is lately come from his Travels a Surgeon who has practised Surgery and Physick both by Sea and Land these twenty four Years. He (by the Blessing) cures the Yellow Jaundice, Green Sickness, Scurvy, Dropsy, Surfeits, long Sea Voyages, Campains, and Womens Miscarriages, Lying-Inn, &c. as some People that has been lame these thirty Years can testifie; in short, he cureth all Diseases incident to Men, Women, or Children[2].

The Doctor is lately come from his TravelspractisedGreen Sickness, long Sea Voyages, Campains, and Lying-InnSea Voyages and CampainsRainy, Dry, Wetthat has been thirty Years lame.Mouse-AlleyWapping,wouldborn[3]Charles Ingoltson,HarpBarbican,LatinMorestill? What a prodigious Scholar is this Man!Eight to Twelve, and from Two till Six, he attends for the good of the Publick to bleed for Three Pence.

Footnote 1:

Dignum tanto feret hic promissor hiatu

Hor.

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:both

return

Contents

No. 445

Thursday, July 31, 1712

Addison

Tanti non es ais. Sapis, Luperce.

Mart.

but[1]EuropeThe Fall of the Leaf.

Baxter'sThe last Words of Mr.More last Words of Mr.

Sir

Great-Britain

Footnote 1:Index Librorum ProhibitorumBook of Martyrs Sir

'the most learned labours of our ancient and best divines must now be corrected and defaced with a deleatur by the supercilious pen of my Lord's young chaplain, fit, perhaps, for the technical arts, but unfit to hold the chair of Divinity.'

Victorious Reign of King Edward the Third

'I have perused this Book, and conceive it very worthy to be published. Io. Coke, Knight, Principal Secretary of State, Whitehall, 17 of November, 1634.'

History of Henry VII.

'Perlegi historicum hoc poema, dignumque judico quod Typis mandetur. Tho. Wykes R. P. Episc. Lond. Chapell. Domest.'

the Weekly NewesSirConstitutional History of England

'political discussion was silenced by the licenser, the Star Chamber, the dungeon, the pillory, mutilation, and branding.'

AreopagiticaDefence of the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing

'Authors and printers of obnoxious works,' says Sir E. May, citing cases in notes, were hung, 'quartered, and mutilated, exposed in the pillory and flogged, or fined and imprisoned, according to the temper of their judges: their productions were burned by the common hangman. Freedom of opinion was under interdict: even news could not be published without license... James II. and his infamous judges carried the Licensing Act into effect with barbarous severity. But the Revolution brought indulgence even to the Jacobite Press; and when the Commons, in 1695, refused to renew the Licensing Act, a censorship of the press was for ever renounced by the law of England.'

SpectatorSpectator.

'Do you know,' wrote Swift to Stella five days after the date of this Spectator paper, 'Do you know that all Grub street is dead and gone last week? No more ghosts or murders now for love or money... Every single half sheet pays a halfpenny to the Queen. The Observator is fallen; the Medleys are jumbled together with the Flying Post; the Examiner is deadly sick; the Spectator keeps up and doubles its price; I know not how long it will last.'

Spectator.No. 488

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Contents

No. 446

Friday, August 1, 1712

Addison

Quid deceat, quid non; quò Virtus, quò ferat Error.

Hor.

EnglishGreeksRomans

EnglishAthenian

AthenianRomanSocratesCicero

RomanFloraliaCatoMartial

Nosces jocosæ dulce cum sacrum Floræ,

Festosque lusus, et licentiam vulgi,

Cur in Theatrum Cato severe venisti?

An ideo tantum veneras, ut exires?

Why dost thou come, great Censor of the Age,

To see the loose Diversions of the Stage?

With awful Countenance and Brow severe,

What in the Name of Goodness dost thou here?

See the mixt Crowd! how Giddy, Lewd and Vain!

Didst thou come in but to go out again?

GreeksRomansEnglishTerenceScipioLeliusQuorumDoggetEnglish

English Stage

Stage MoralityEnglishDon Quixote

Contents

No. 447

Saturday, August 2, 1712

Addison

PlotStaffordshire[1]

Sir Francis Baconhave[2]VirgilCicero

thePythagoras[3]Optimum vitæ genus eligito, nam consuetudo faciet jucundissimum

The GodsHesiod[4]have placed Labour before Virtue, the Way to her is at first rough and difficult, but grows more smooth and easier the further you advance in ither Ways are Ways of Pleasantness, and that all her Paths are Peace

naturallyin[5]particularTillotsonSherlockScott[6]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

The paths of Virtue must be reached by toil,

Arduous and long, and on a rugged soil,

Thorny the gate, but when the top you gain,

Fair is the future and the prospect plain.

Works and DaysCooke's Translation

return

Footnote 5:in the

return

Footnote 6:Christian Life,

return

Contents

No. 448

Monday, August 4, 1712

Steele

Fœdius hoc aliquid quandoque audebis.

Juv.

Jack SippetSirPhocionMethinksI am now fixing my Eyes upon a Cypress Tree, it has all the Pomp and Beauty imaginable in its Branches, Leaves, and Height, but alas it bears no Fruit.

Sir Andrew Freeport

Sir

Will. TrapJack StintInner-TempleStintTrapTrapStint'sTrapStintTrapTrapTempleStint

Mr. Stint,

You have gained a slight Satisfaction at the Expence of doing a very heinous Crime. At the Price of a faithful Friend you have obtained an inconstant Mistress. I rejoice in this Expedient I have thought of to break my Mind to you, and tell you, You are a base Fellow, by a Means which does not expose you to the Affront except you deserve it. I know, Sir , as criminal as you are, you have still Shame enough to avenge yourself against the Hardiness of any one that should publickly tell you of it. I therefore, who have received so many secret Hurts from you, shall take Satisfaction with Safety to my self. I call you Base, and you must bear it, or acknowledge it; I triumph over you that you cannot come at me; nor do I think it dishonourable to come in Armour to assault him, who was in Ambuscade when he wounded me. What need more be said to convince you of being guilty of the basest Practice imaginable, than that it is such as has made you liable to be treated after this Manner, while you your self cannot in your own Conscience but allow the Justice of the Upbraidings of Your Injured Friend, Ralph Trap.

Contents

No. 449

Tuesday, August 5, 1712

Addison

—Tibi scriptus, Matrona, libellus—

Mart.

Fidelia

FideliaFideliaSirFidelia

FideliaFideliaIt is true, Madam, there is to be sure very great Satisfactions to be expected in the Commerce of a Man of Honour, whom one tenderly loves; but I find so much Satisfaction in the Reflection, how much I mitigate a good Man's Pains, whose Welfare depends upon my Assiduity about him, that I wittingly exclude the loose Gratifications of Passion for the solid Reflections of Duty. I know not whether any Man's Wife would be allow'd, and (what I still more fear) I know not whether I, a Wife, should be willing to be as officious as I am at present about my ParentFidelia

Fidelia

FideliaFidelia

Fidelia

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I was the other Day at the Bear-Garden, in hopes to have seen your short Face; but not being so fortunate, I must tell you by way of Letter, That there is a Mystery among the Gladiators which has escaped your Spectatorial Penetration. For being in a Box at an Ale-house, near that renowned Seat of Honour above-mentioned, I over-heard two Masters of the Science agreeing to quarrel on the next Opportunity. This was to happen in the Company of a Set of the Fraternity of Basket-Hilts, who were to meet that Evening. When this was settled, one asked the other, Will you give Cuts or receive? the other answered, Receive. It was replied, Are you a passionate Man? No, provided you cut no more nor no deeper than we agree. I thought it my Duty to acquaint you with this, that the People may not pay their Money for Fighting, and be cheated.

Your Humble Servant,

Scabbard Rusty.

Contents

No. 450

Wednesday, August 6, 1712

Steele

—Quærenda pecunia primum

Virtus post nummos.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

All Men, through different Paths, make at the same common thing, Money; and it is to her we owe the Politician, the Merchant, and the Lawyer; nay, to be free with you, I believe to that also we are beholden for our Spectator. I am apt to think, that could we look into our own Hearts, we should see Money ingraved in them in more lively and moving Characters than Self-Preservation; for who can reflect upon the Merchant hoisting Sail in a doubtful Pursuit of her, and all Mankind sacrificing their Quiet to her, but must perceive that the Characters of Self-Preservation (which were doubtless originally the brightest) are sullied, if not wholly defaced; and that those of Money (which at first was only valuable as a Mean to Security) are of late so brightened, that the Characters of Self-Preservation, like a less Light set by a greater, are become almost imperceptible? Thus has Money got the upper Hand of what all Mankind formerly thought most dear, viz. Security; and I wish I could say she had here put a Stop to her Victories; but, alas! common Honesty fell a Sacrifice to her. This is the Way Scholastick Men talk of the greatest Good in the World; but I, a Tradesman, shall give you another Account of this Matter in the plain Narrative of my own Life. I think it proper, in the first Place, to acquaint my Readers, that since my setting out in the World, which was in the Year 1660, I never wanted Money; having begun with an indifferent good Stock in the Tobacco-Trade, to which I was bred; and by the continual Successes, it has pleased Providence to bless my Endeavours with, am at last arrived at what they call a Plumb[1]. To uphold my Discourse in the Manner of your Wits or Philosophers, by speaking fine things, or drawing Inferences, as they pretend, from the Nature of the Subject, I account it vain; having never found any thing in the Writings of such Men, that did not favour more of the Invention of the Brain, or what is styled Speculation, than of sound Judgment or profitable Observation. I will readily grant indeed, that there is what the Wits call Natural in their Talk; which is the utmost those curious Authors can assume to themselves, and is indeed all they endeavour at, for they are but lamentable Teachers. And, what, I pray, is Natural? That which is pleasing and easie: And what are Pleasing and Easie? Forsooth, a new Thought or Conceit dressed up in smooth quaint Language, to make you smile and wag your Head, as being what you never imagined before, and yet wonder why you had not; meer frothy Amusements! fit only for Boys or silly Women to be caught with.

'It is not my present Intention to instruct my Readers in the Methods of acquiring Riches; that may be the Work of another Essay; but to exhibit the real and solid Advantages I have found by them in my long and manifold Experience; nor yet all the Advantages of so worthy and valuable a Blessing, (for who does not know or imagine the Comforts of being warm or living at Ease? And that Power and Preheminence are their inseperable Attendants?) But only to instance the great Supports they afford us under the severest Calamities and Misfortunes; to shew that the Love of them is a special Antidote against Immorality and Vice, and that the same does likewise naturally dispose Men to Actions of Piety and Devotion: All which I can make out by my own Experience, who think my self no ways particular from the rest of Mankind, nor better nor worse by Nature than generally other Men are.

'In the Year 1665, when the Sickness was, I lost by it my Wife and two Children, which were all my Stock. Probably I might have had more, considering I was married between 4 and 5 Years; but finding her to be a teeming Woman, I was careful, as having then little above a Brace of thousand Pounds, to carry on my Trade and maintain a Family with. I loved them as usually Men do their Wives and Children, and therefore could not resist the first Impulses of Nature on so wounding a Loss; but I quickly roused my self, and found Means to alleviate, and at last conquer my Affliction, by reflecting how that she and her Children having been no great Expence to me, the best Part of her Fortune was still left; that my Charge being reduced to my self, a Journeyman, and a Maid, I might live far cheaper than before; and that being now a childless Widower, I might perhaps marry a no less deserving Woman, and with a much better Fortune than she brought, which was but £800. And to convince my Readers that such Considerations as these were proper and apt to produce such an Effect, I remember it was the constant Observation at that deplorable Time, when so many Hundreds were swept away daily, that the Rich ever bore the Loss of their Families and Relations far better than the Poor; the latter having little or nothing before-hand, and living from Hand to Mouth, placed the whole Comfort and Satisfaction of their Lives in their Wives and Children, and were therefore inconsolable.

'The following Year happened the Fire; at which Time, by good Providence, it was my Fortune to have converted the greatest Part of my Effects into ready Money, on the Prospect of an extraordinary Advantage which I was preparing to lay Hold on. This Calamity was very terrible and astonishing, the Fury of the Flames being such, that whole Streets, at several distant Places, were destroyed at one and the same Time, so that (as it is well known) almost all our Citizens were burnt out of what they had. But what did I then do? I did not stand gazing on the Ruins of our noble Metropolis; I did not shake my Head, wring my Hands, sigh, and shed Tears; I consider'd with my self what could this avail; I fell a plodding what Advantages might be made of the ready Cash I had, and immediately bethought my self what wonderful Pennyworths might be bought of the Goods, that were saved out of the Fire. In short, with about £2000 and a little Credit, I bought as much Tobacco as rais'd my Estate to the Value of £10000 I then looked on the Ashes of our City, and, the Misery of its late Inhabitants, as an Effect of the just Wrath and Indignation of Heaven towards a sinful and perverse People.

'After this I married again, and that Wife dying, I took another; but both proved to be idle Baggages: the first gave me a great deal of Plague and Vexation by her Extravagancies, and I became one of the Bywords of the City. I knew it would be to no manner of Purpose to go about to curb the Fancies and Inclinations of Women, which fly out the more for being restrained; but what I could I did. I watched her narrowly, and by good Luck found her in the Embraces (for which I had two Witnesses with me) of a wealthy Spark of the Court-end of the Town; of whom I recovered 15000 Pounds, which made me Amends for what she had idly squanderd, and put a Silence to all my Neighbours, taking off my Reproach by the Gain they saw I had by it. The last died about two Years after I married her, in Labour of three Children. I conjecture they were begotten by a Country Kinsman of hers, whom, at her Recommendation, I took into my Family, and gave Wages to as a Journeyman. What this Creature expended in Delicacies and high Diet with her Kinsman (as well as I could compute by the Poulterers, Fishmongers, and Grocers Bills) amounted in the said two Years to one hundred eighty six Pounds, four Shillings, and five Pence Half-penny. The fine Apparel, Bracelets, Lockets, and Treats, &c. of the other, according to the best Calculation, came in three Years and about three Quarters to Seven hundred forty four Pounds, seven Shillings and nine Pence. After this I resolv'd never to marry more, and found I had been a Gainer by my Marriages, and the Damages granted me for the Abuses of my Bed, (all Charges deducted) eight thousand three hundred Pounds within a Trifle.

'I come now to shew the good Effects of the Love of Money on the Lives of Men towards rendring them honest, sober, and religious. When I was a young Man, I had a Mind to make the best of my Wits, and over-reached a Country Chap in a Parcel of unsound Goods; to whom, upon his upbraiding, and threatning to expose me for it, I returned the Equivalent of his Loss; and upon his good Advice, wherein he clearly demonstrated the Folly of such Artifices, which can never end but in Shame, and the Ruin of all Correspondence, I never after transgressed. Can your Courtiers, who take Bribes, or your Lawyers or Physicians in their Practice, or even the Divines who intermeddle in worldly Affairs, boast of making but one Slip in their Lives, and of such a thorough and lasting Reformation? Since my coming into the World I do not remember I was ever overtaken in Drink, save nine times, one at the Christening of my first Child, thrice at our City Feasts, and five times at driving of Bargains. My Reformation I can attribute to nothing so much as the Love and Esteem of Money, for I found my self to be extravagant in my Drink, and apt to turn Projector, and make rash Bargains. As for Women, I never knew any, except my Wives: For my Reader must know, and it is what he may confide in as an excellent Recipe, That the Love of Business and Money is the greatest Mortifier of inordinate DeSir es imaginable, as employing the Mind continually in the careful Oversight of what one has, in the eager Quest after more, in looking after the Negligences and Deceits of Servants, in the due Entring and Stating of Accounts, in hunting after Chaps, and in the exact Knowledge of the State of Markets; which Things whoever thoroughly attends, will find enough and enough to employ his Thoughts on every Moment of the Day; So that I cannot call to Mind, that in all the Time I was a Husband, which, off and on, was about twelve Years, I ever once thought of my Wives but in Bed. And, lastly, for Religion, I have ever been a constant Churchman, both Forenoons and Afternoons on Sundays, never forgetting to be thankful for any Gain or Advantage I had had that Day; and on Saturday Nights, upon casting up my Accounts, I always was grateful for the Sum of my Week's Profits, and at Christmas for that of the whole Year. It is true, perhaps, that my Devotion has not been the most fervent; which, I think, ought to be imputed to the Evenness and Sedateness of my Temper, which never would admit of any Impetuosities of any Sort: And I can remember that in my Youth and Prime of Manhood, when my Blood ran brisker, I took greater Pleasure in Religious Exercises than at present, or many Years past, and that my Devotion sensibly declined as Age, which is dull and unwieldly, came upon me.

'I have, I hope, here proved, that the Love of Money prevents all Immorality and Vice; which if you will not allow, you must, that the Pursuit of it obliges Men to the same Kind of Life as they would follow if they were really virtuous: Which is all I have to say at present, only recommending to you, that you would think of it, and turn ready Wit into ready Money as fast as you can. I conclude,

Your Servant,

Ephraim Weed.'

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 451

Thursday, August 7, 1712

Addison

—Jam sævus apertam

In rabiem cæpit verti jocus, et per honestas

Ire minax impunè domos—

to oblige every Person that writes a Book, or a Paper, to swear himself the Author of it, and enter down in a publick Register his Name and Place of Abode

CiceroBillingsgateBritish

ValentinianValensBayle

I cannot imagine, that a Man who disperses a Libel is less deSir ous of doing Mischief than the Author himself. But what shall we say of the Pleasure which a Man takes in the reading of a Defamatory Libel? Is it not an heinous Sin in the Sight of God? We must distinguish in this Point. This Pleasure is either an agreeable Sensation we are afflicted with, when we meet with a witty Thought which is well expressed, or it is a Joy which we conceive from the Dishonour of the Person who is defamed. I will say nothing to the first of these Cases; for perhaps some would think that my Morality is not severe enough, if I should affirm that a Man is not Master of those agreeable Sensations, any more than of those occasioned by Sugar or Honey, when they touch his Tongue; but as to the second, every one will own that Pleasure to be a heinous Sin. The Pleasure in the first Case is of no Continuance; it prevents our Reason and Reflection, and may be immediately followed by a secret Grief, to see our Neighbour's Honour blasted. If it does not cease immediately, it is a Sign that we are not displeased with the Ill-nature of the Satyrist, but are glad to see him defame his Enemy by all kinds of Stories; and then we deserve the Punishment to which the Writer of the Libel is subject. I shall here add the Words of a Modern Author. St. Gregory upon excommunicating those Writers who had dishonoured Castorius, does not except those who read their Works; because, says he, if Calumnies have always been the delight of the Hearers, and a gratification of those Persons who have no other Advantage over honest Men, is not he who takes Pleasure in reading them as guilty as he who composed them? It is an uncontested Maxim, that they who approve an Action would certainly do it if they could; that is, if some Reason of Self-love did not hinder them. There is no difference, says Cicero, between advising a Crime, and approving it when committed. The Roman Law confirmed this Maxim, having subjected the Approvers and Authors of this Evil to the same Penalty. We may therefore conclude, that those who are pleased with reading Defamatory Libels, so far as to approve the Authors and Dispersers of them, are as guilty as if they had composed them: for if they do not write such Libels themselves, it is because they have not the Talent of Writing, or because they will run no hazard[1].

Footnote 1:Dissertation upon Defamatory Libels.

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Contents

No. 452

Friday, August 8, 1712

Addison

Est natura Hominum Novitatis avida.

Plin. apud Lill.

ParisBrusselsHagueEurope;

disappointedand[1]

CheapsideEnglishmanDanubeBorysthenes

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You must have observed, that Men who frequent Coffee-houses, and delight in News, are pleased with every thing that is Matter of Fact, so it be what they have not heard before. A Victory, or a Defeat, are equally agreeable to them. The shutting of a Cardinal's Mouth pleases them one Post, and the opening of it another. They are glad to hear the French Court is removed to Marli, and are afterwards as much delighted with its Return to Versailles. They read the Advertisements with the same Curiosity as the Articles of publick News; and are as pleased to hear of a Pye-bald Horse that is stray'd out of a Field near Islington, as of a whole Troop that has been engaged in any Foreign Adventure. In short, they have a Relish for every thing that is News, let the matter of it be what it will; or to speak more properly, they are Men of a Voracious Appetite, but no Taste. Now, Sir , since the great Fountain of News, I mean the War, is very near being dried up; and since these Gentlemen have contracted such an inextinguishable Thirst after it; I have taken their Case and my own into Consideration, and have thought of a Project which may turn to the Advantage of us both. I have Thoughts of publishing a daily Paper, which shall comprehend in it all the most remarkable Occurences in every little Town, Village and Hamlet, that lye within ten Miles of London, or in other Words, within the Verge of the Penny-Post. I have pitched upon this Scene of Intelligence for two Reasons; first, because the Carriage of Letters will be very cheap; and secondly, because I may receive them every Day. By this means my Readers will have their News fresh and fresh, and many worthy Citizens who cannot Sleep with any Satisfaction at present, for want of being informed how the World goes, may go to Bed contentedly, it being my Design to put out my Paper every Night at nine-a-Clock precisely. I have already established Correspondences in these several Places, and received very good Intelligence.

By my last Advices from Knights-bridge I hear that a Horse was clapped into the Pound on the third Instant, and that he was not released when the Letters came away.

We are informed from Pankridge[2] that a dozen Weddings were lately celebrated in the Mother Church of that Place, but are referred to their next Letters for the Names of the Parties concerned.

Letters from Brompton advise. That the Widow Bligh had received several Visits from John Milldew, which affords great matter of Speculation in those Parts.

By a Fisherman which lately touched at Hammersmith, there is Advice from Putney, that a certain Person well known in that Place, is like to lose his Election for Church-warden; but this being Boat-news, we cannot give entire Credit to it.

Letters from Paddington bring little more, than that William Squeak, the Sow-gelder, passed through that Place the 5th Instant.

They advise from Fulham, that things remained there in the same State they were. They had Intelligence, just as the Letters came away, of a Tub of excellent Ale just set abroach at Parson's Green; but this wanted Confirmation.

I have here, Sir , given you a Specimen of the News with which I intend to entertain the Town, and which, when drawn up regularly in the Form of a News Paper, will, I doubt not, be very acceptable to many of those Publick-spirited Readers, who take more delight in acquainting themselves with other People's Business than their own. I hope a Paper of this kind, which lets us know what is done near home, may be more useful to us, than those which are filled with Advices from Zug and Bender, and make some amends for that Dearth of Intelligence, which we may justly apprehend from times of Peace. If I find that you receive this Project favourably, I will shortly trouble you with one or two more; and in the mean time am, most worthy Sir , with all due Respect,

Your most Obedient,

and most Humble Servant.

Footnote 1:or

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Pancras

return

Contents

No. 453

Saturday, August 9, 1712

Addison

Non usitatâ nec tenui ferar

Pennâ—

Hor.

PlutarchDiana

JewsGreeksRomans

shallin Print[1]

I

When all thy Mercies, O my God,

My rising Soul surveys;

Transported with the View, I'm lost

In Wonder, Love, and Praise:

II

O how shall Words with equal Warmth

The Gratitude declare

That glows within my ravish'd Heart?

But thou canst read it there.

III

Thy Providence my Life sustain'd,

And all my Wants redrest,

When in the silent Womb I lay,

And hung upon the Breast.

IV

To all my weak Complaints and Cries,

Thy Mercy lent an Ear,

Ere yet my feeble Thoughts had learnt

To form themselves in Pray'r.

V

Unnumbered Comforts to my Soul

Thy tender Care bestow'd,

Before my infant Heart conceiv'd

From whom those Comforts flow'd.

VI

When in the slippery Paths of Youth

With heedless Steps I ran,

Thine Arm unseen convey'd me safe

And led me up to Man.

VII

Through hidden Dangers, Toils, and Deaths,

It gently clear'd my Way,

And through the pleasing Snares of Vice,

More to be fear'd than they.

VIII

When worn with Sickness oft hast thou

With Health renew'd my Face,

And when in Sins and Sorrows sunk

Revived my Soul with Grace.

IX

Thy bounteous Hand with worldly Bliss

Has made my Cup run o'er,

And in a kind and faithful Friend

Has doubled all my Store.

X

Ten thousand thousand precious Gifts

My Daily Thanks employ,

Nor is the least a chearful Heart,

That tastes those Gifts with Joy.

XI

Through every Period of my Life

Thy Goodness I'll pursue;

And after Death in distant Worlds

The Glorious Theme renew.

XII

When Nature fails, and Day and Night

Divide thy Works no more,

My Ever-grateful Heart, O Lord,

Thy Mercy shall adore.

XIII

Through all Eternity to Thee

A joyful Song I'll raise,

For oh! Eternity's too short

To utter all thy Praise.

Footnote 1:By himself.

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 454

Monday, August 11, 1712

Steele

Sine me, Vacivum tempus ne quod dem mihi Laboris.

Ter. Heau.

RichmondLondon

LondonWestminster

LondonThamesCovent-GardenStocks Market

Strand-BridgeNine-ElmsCuffeSarah SewellCovent-GardenStrand-BridgeDark-HouseEveCovent-GardenVainlovesBlindman's-BuffLong-AcreJames'sJames-StreetKing-StreetMartin's-LaneNewport-StreetLong-Acre

Warwick StreetSturdyRichmondExchangeLondonExchangeTo look at youWhat Nonsense is all the Hurry of this World to those who are above it?

Robin'sCovent-GardenWill'sPast Two of Clock

Contents

No. 455

Tuesday, August 12, 1712

Steele

—Ergo Apis Matinæ

More modoque

Grata Carpentis thyma per laborem

Plurimum—

Mr. SPECTATOR,

As I walked t'other Day in a fine Garden, and observed the great Variety of Improvements in Plants and Flowers beyond what they otherwise would have been, I was naturally led into a Reflection upon the Advantages of Education, or Moral Culture; how many good Qualities in the Mind are lost, for want of the like due Care in nursing and skilfully managing them, how many Virtues are choaked, by the Multitude of Weeds which are suffered to grow among them; how excellent Parts are often starved and useless, by being planted in a wrong Soil; and how very seldom do these Moral Seeds produce the noble Fruits which might be expected from them, by a Neglect of proper Manuring, necessary Pruning, and an artful Management of our tender Inclinations and first Spring of Life: These obvious Speculations made me at length conclude, that there is a sort of vegetable Principle in the Mind of every Man when he comes into the World. In Infants the Seeds lie buried and undiscovered, till after a while they sprout forth in a kind of rational Leaves, which are Words; and in due Season the Flowers begin to appear in Variety of beautiful Colours, and all the gay Pictures of youthful Fancy and Imagination; at last the Fruit knits and is formed, which is green, perhaps, first, and soure, unpleasant to the Taste, and not fit to be gathered; till ripened by due Care and Application, it discovers itself in all the noble Productions of Philosophy, Mathematicks, close Reasoning, and handsome Argumentation: And these Fruits, when they arrive at a just Maturity, and are of a good Kind, afford the most vigorous Nourishment to the Minds of Men. I reflected further on the intellectual Leaves beforementioned, and found almost as great a Variety among them as in the vegetable World. I could easily observe the smooth shining Italian Leaves; the nimble French Aspen always in Motion; the Greek and Latin Evergreens, the Spanish Myrtle, the English Oak, the Scotch Thistle, the Irish Shambrogue, the prickly German and Dutch Holly, the Polish and Russian Nettle, besides a vast Number of Exoticks imported from Asia, Africk, and America. I saw several barren Plants, which bore only Leaves, without any Hopes of Flower or Fruit: The Leaves of some were fragrant and well-shaped, of others ill-scented and irregular. I wonder'd at a Set of old whimsical Botanists, who spent their whole Lives in the Contemplation of some withered Ægyptian, Coptick, Armenian, or Chinese Leaves, while others made it their Business to collect in voluminous Herbals all the several Leaves of some one Tree. The Flowers afforded a most diverting Entertainment, in a wonderful Variety of Figures, Colours and Scents; however, most of them withered soon, or at best are but Annuals. Some professed Florists make them their constant Study and Employment, and despise all Fruit; and now and then a few fanciful People spend all their Time in the Cultivation of a single Tulip, or a Carnation: But the most agreeable Amusement seems to be the well chusing, mixing, and binding together these Flowers, in pleasing Nosegays to present to Ladies. The Scent of Italian Flowers is observed, like their other Perfume, to be too strong, and to hurt the Brain; that of the French with glaring, gaudy Colours, yet faint and languid; German and Northern Flowers have little or no Smell, or sometimes an unpleasant one. The Antients had a Secret to give a lasting Beauty, Colour, and Sweetness to some of their choice Flowers, which flourish to this Day, and which few of the Moderns can effect. These are becoming enough and agreeable in their Season, and do often handsomely adorn an Entertainment, but an Over-fondness of them seems to be a Disease. It rarely happens to find a Plant vigorous enough, to have (like an Orange-Tree) at once beautiful shining Leaves, fragrant Flowers, and delicious nourishing Fruit.

Sir , Yours, &c.

August 6, 1712.

Dear SPEC,

You have given us in your Spectator of Saturday last, a very excellent Discourse upon the Force of Custom, and its wonderful Efficacy in making every thing pleasant to us. I cannot deny but that I received above Two penny-worth of Instruction from your Paper, and in the general was very well pleased with it; but I am, without a Compliment, sincerely troubled that I cannot exactly be of your Opinion, That it makes every thing pleasing to us. In short, I have the Honour to be yoked to a young Lady, who is, in plain English, for her Standing, a very eminent Scold. She began to break her Mind very freely both to me and to her Servants about two Months after our Nuptials; and tho' I have been accustomed to this Humour of hers this three Years, yet, I do not know what's the Matter with me, but I am no more delighted with it than I was at the very first. I have advised with her Relations about her, and they all tell me that her Mother and her Grandmother before her were both taken much after the same Manner; so that since it runs in the Blood, I have but small Hopes of her Recovery. I should be glad to have a little of your Advice in this Matter: I would not willingly trouble you to contrive how it may be a Pleasure to me; if you will but put me in a Way that I may bear it with Indifference, I shall rest satisfied.

Dear SPEC, Your very humble Servant.

P. S. I must do the poor Girl the Justice to let you know, that this Match was none of her own chusing, (or indeed of mine either;) in Consideration of which I avoid giving her the least Provocation; and indeed we live better together than usually Folks do who hated one another when they were first joined: To evade the Sin against Parents, or at least to extenuate it, my Dear rails at my Father and Mother, and I curse hers for making the Match.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I like the Theme you lately gave out extremely, and should be as glad to handle it as any Man living: But I find myself no better qualified to write about Money, than about my Wife; for, to tell you a Secret which I deSir e may go no further, I am Master of neither of those Subjects.

Yours,

Pill Garlick.

Aug. 8, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I deSir e you would print this in Italick, so as it may be generally taken Notice of. It is designed only to admonish all Persons, who speak either at the Bar, Pulpit, or any publick Assembly whatsoever, how they discover their Ignorance in the Use of Similes. There are in the Pulpit it self, as well as other Places, such gross Abuses in this Kind, that I give this Warning to all I know, I shall bring them for the Future before your Spectatorial Authority. On Sunday last, one, who shall be nameless, reproving several of his Congregation for standing at Prayers, was pleased to say, One would think, like the Elephant, you had no Knees. Now I my self saw an Elephant in Bartholomew-Fair kneel down to take on his Back the ingenious Mr. William Penkethman.

Your most humble Servant.

Contents

No. 456

Wednesday, August 13, 1712

Steele

De quo libelli in celeberrimis locis proponuntur

Huic ne perire quidem tacite conceditur.

Tull.

OtwayVenice Preserv'darePierreFaffeir[1]

I pass'd this very Moment by thy Doors,

And found them guarded by a Troop of Villains:

The Sons of publick Rapine were destroying.

They told me, by the Sentence of the Law,

They had Commission to seize all thy Fortune:

Nay more, Priuli's cruel Hand had sign'd it.

Here stood a Ruffian with a horrid Face,

Lording it o'er a Pile of massy Plate,

Tumbled into a Heap for publick Sale.

There was another making villanous Jests

At thy Undoing: He had ta'en Possession

Of all thy ancient most domestick Ornaments:

Rich Hangings intermix'd and wrought with Gold;

The very Bed, which on thy Wedding Night

Received thee to the Arms of Belvedira,

The Scene of all thy Joys, was violated

By the coarse Hands of filthy Dungeon Villains,

And thrown amongst the common Lumber.

Sir ,

It is in vain to multiply Words and make Apologies for what is never to be defended by the best Advocate in the World, the Guilt of being Unfortunate. All that a Man in my Condition can do or say, will be received with Prejudice by the Generality of Mankind, but I hope not with you: You have been a great Instrument in helping me to get what I have lost, and I know (for that Reason, as well as Kindness to me) you cannot but be in pain to see me undone. To shew you I am not a Man incapable of bearing Calamity, I will, though a poor Man, lay aside the Distinction between us, and talk with the Frankness we did when we were nearer to an Equality: As all I do will be received with Prejudice, all you do will be looked upon with Partiality. What I deSir e of you, is, that you, who are courted by all, would smile upon me who am shunned by all. Let that Grace and Favour which your Fortune throws upon you, be turned to make up the Coldness and Indifference that is used towards me. All good and generous Men will have an Eye of Kindness for me for my own Sake, and the rest of the World will regard me for yours. There is an happy Contagion in Riches, as well as a destructive one in Poverty; the Rich can make rich without parting with any of their Store, and the Conversation of the Poor makes Men poor, though they borrow nothing of them. How this is to be accounted for I know not? but Men's Estimation follows us according to the Company we keep. If you are what you were to me, you can go a great Way towards my Recovery; if you are not, my good Fortune, if ever it returns, will return by slower Approaches.

I am Sir ,

Your Affectionate Friend,

and Humble Servant.

Dear Tom,

I am very glad to hear that you have Heart enough to begin the World a second Time. I assure you, I do not think your numerous Family at all diminished (in the Gifts of Nature for which I have ever so much admired them) by what has so lately happened to you. I shall not only countenance your Affairs with my Appearance for you, but shall accommodate you with a considerable Sum at common Interest for three Years. You know I could make more of it; but I have so great a Love for you that I can wave Opportunities of Gain to help you: For I do not care whether they say of me after I am dead, that I had an hundred or fifty thousand Pounds more than I wanted when I was living.

Your obliged humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 457

Thursday, August 14, 1712

Addison

—Multa et præclara minantis.

Hor.

Sir ,

The kind Reception you gave my last Friday's Letter, in which I broached my Project of a News-Paper, encourages me to lay before you two or three more; for, you must know, Sir , that we look upon you to be the Lowndes of the learned World, and cannot think any Scheme practicable or rational before you have approved of it, tho' all the Money we raise by it is on our own Funds, and for our private Use.

I have often thought that a News-Letter of Whispers, written every Post, and sent about the Kingdom, after the same Manner as that of Mr. Dyer, Mr. Dawkes, or any other Epistolary Historian, might be highly gratifying to the Publick, as well as beneficial to the Author. By Whispers I mean those Pieces of News which are communicated as Secrets, and which bring a double Pleasure to the Hearer; first, as they are private History, and in the next place as they have always in them a Dash of Scandal. These are the two chief Qualifications in an Article of News, which[1] recommend it, in a more than ordinary Manner, to the Ears of the Curious. Sickness of Persons in high Posts, Twilight Visits paid and received by Ministers of State, Clandestine Courtships and Marriages, Secret Amours, Losses at Play, Applications for Places, with their respective Successes or Repulses, are the Materials in which I chiefly intend to deal. I have two Persons, that are each of them the Representative of a Species, who are to furnish me with those Whispers which I intend to convey to my Correspondents. The first of these is Peter Hush, descended from the ancient Family of the Hushes. The other is the old Lady Blast, who has a very numerous Tribe of Daughters in the two great Cities of London and Westminster. Peter Hush has a whispering Hole in most of the great Coffee-houses about Town. If you are alone with him in a wide Room, he carries you up into a Corner of it, and speaks in your Ear. I have seen Peter seat himself in a Company of seven or eight Persons, whom he never saw before in his Life; and after having looked about to see there was no one that overheard him, has communicated to them in a low Voice, and under the Seal of Secrecy, the Death of a great Man in the Country, who was perhaps a Fox-hunting the very Moment this Account was given[2] of him. If upon your entring into a Coffee-house you see a Circle of Heads bending over the Table, and lying close by one another, it is ten to one but my Friend Peter is among them. I have known Peter publishing the Whisper of the Day by eight a-Clock in the Morning at Garraway's, by twelve at Will's, and before two at the Smyrna. When Peter has thus effectually launched a Secret, I have been very well pleased to hear People whispering it to one another at second Hand, and spreading it about as their own; for you must know, Sir , the great Incentive to Whispering is the Ambition which every one has of being thought in the Secret, and being look'd upon as a Man who has Access to greater People than one would imagine. After having given you this Account of Peter Hush, I proceed to that virtuous Lady, the old Lady Blast, who is to communicate to me the private Transactions of the Crimp Table, with all the Arcana of the Fair Sex. The Lady Blast, you must understand, has such a particular Malignity in her Whisper, that it blights like an Easterly Wind, and withers every Reputation that it breathes upon. She has a particular Knack at making private Weddings, and last Winter married above five Women of Quality to their Footmen. Her Whisper can make an innocent young Woman big with Child, or fill an healthful young Fellow with Distempers that are not to be named. She can turn a Visit into an Intrigue, and a distant Salute into an Assignation. She can beggar the Wealthy, and degrade the Noble. In short, she can whisper Men Base or Foolish, Jealous or Ill-natured, or, if Occasion requires, can tell you the Slips of their Great Grandmothers, and traduce the Memory of honest Coachmen that have been in their Graves above these hundred Years. By these and the like Helps, I question not but I shall furnish out a very handsome News-Letter. If you approve my Project, I shall begin to whisper by the very next Post, and question not but every one of my Customers will be very well pleased with me, when he considers that every Piece of News I send him is a Word in his Ear, and lets him into a Secret.

Having given you a Sketch of this Project, I shall, in the next Place, suggest to you another for a Monthly Pamphlet, which I shall likewise submit to your Spectatorial Wisdom. I need not tell you, Sir , that there are several Authors in France, Germany, and Holland, as well as in our own Country, who publish every Month, what they call An Account of the Works of the Learned, in which they give us an Abstract of all such Books as are printed in any Part of Europe. Now, Sir , it is my Design to publish every Month, An Account of the Works of the Unlearned. Several late Productions of my own Countrymen, who many of them make a very eminent Figure in the Illiterate World, Encourage me in this Undertaking. I may, in this Work, possibly make a Review of several Pieces which have appeared in the Foreign Accounts above-mentioned, tho' they ought not to have been taken Notice of in Works which bear such a Title. I may, likewise, take into Consideration, such Pieces as appear, from time to time, under the Names of those Gentlemen who Compliment one another, in Publick Assemblies, by the Title of the Learned Gentlemen. Our Party-Authors will also afford me a great Variety of Subjects, not to mention Editors, Commentators, and others, who are often Men of no Learning, or, what is as bad, of no Knowledge. I shall not enlarge upon this Hint; but if you think any thing can be made of it, I shall set about it with all the Pains and Application that so useful a Work deserves.

I am ever,

Most Worthy Sir , &c.

Footnote 1:that

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:giving

return

Contents

No. 458

Friday, August 15, 1712

Addison

—Pudor malus—

Hor.

BrutusPlutarchthe Person has had but an ill Education, who has not been taught to deny any thing

butXenophanes[1]I confessthat I am exceeding timorous, for I dare not do any ill thing

EnglandEnglishEnglishman

from our Neighbours[2]

[3]

Footnote 1:Xenophon

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:the Nations that lie about us.

return

Footnote 3:

return

Contents

No. 459

Saturday, August 16, 1712

Addison

—quicquid dignum sapiente bonoque est.

Hor.

FaithMorality

- First: Because the greatest Part of Morality (as I have stated the Notion of it,) is of a fixt Eternal Nature, and will endure when Faith shall fail, and be lost in Conviction.

- Secondly: Because a Person may be qualified to do greater Good to Mankind, and become more beneficial to the World, by Morality, without Faith, than by Faith without Morality.

- Thirdly: Because Morality gives a greater Perfection to human Nature, by quieting the Mind, moderating the Passions, and advancing the Happiness of every Man in his private Capacity.

- Fourthly: Because the Rule of Morality is much more certain than that of Faith, all the Civilized Nations of the World agreeing in the great Points of Morality, as much as they differ in those of Faith.

- Fifthly: Because Infidelity is not of so malignant a Nature as Immorality; or to put the same Reason in another Light, because it is generally owned, there may be Salvation for a virtuous Infidel, (particularly in the Case of Invincible Ignorance) but none for a vicious Believer.

- Sixthly: Because Faith seems to draw its principal, if not all its Excellency, from the Influence it has upon Morality; as we shall see more at large, if we consider wherein consists the Excellency of Faith, or the Belief of Revealed Religion; and this I think is,

- First: In explaining and carrying to greater Heights, several Points of Morality.

- Secondly: In furnishing new and stronger Motives to enforce the Practice of Morality.

- Thirdly: In giving us more amiable Ideas of the Supreme Being, more endearing Notions of one another, and a truer State of our selves, both in regard to the Grandeur and Vileness of our Natures.

- Fourthly: By shewing us the Blackness and Deformity of Vice, which in the Christian System is so very great, that he who is possessed of all Perfection and the Sovereign Judge of it, is represented by several of our Divines as hating Sin to the same Degree that he loves the Sacred Person who was made the Propitiation of it.

- Fifthly: In being the ordinary and prescribed Method of making Morality effectual to Salvation.

- First: That we should be particularly cautious of making any thing an Article of Faith, which does not contribute to the Confirmation or Improvement of Morality.

- Secondly: That no Article of Faith can be true and authentick, which weakens or subverts the practical part of Religion, or what I have hitherto called Morality.

- Thirdly: That the greatest Friend of Morality, or Natural Religion, cannot possibly apprehend any Danger from embracing Christianity, as it is preserved pure and uncorrupt in the Doctrines of our National Church.

But[1]We have just enough Religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love, one another.

Footnote 1:the richest and noblest wines make the sharpest vinegar;

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 460

Monday, August 18, 1712

Parnell[1]

—Decipimur Specie Recti—

Hor.

Paradise of Fools

ErrorOpinionErrourOpinion

Opinion

ErrourTruth:Vanity

Corinthian

HonourOstentationGallantryVanityVenusCupidSelf-ConceitFlatteryAffectationFashionSelf-ConceitFlatteryAffectationFashion

OpinionErrourSelf-ConceitVanityScornPovertyVanitySelf-ConceitFlatteryPlain-dealingAffectationEnvySlanderFashionIll-Manners

FollyBroken CreditTrouble, Shame, Infamy, ScornPovertyVanityCupidGracesPlain-dealingErrourEsteemVanity

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I write to you to deSir e, that you would again touch upon a certain Enormity, which is chiefly in Use among the Politer and better-bred Part of Mankind; I mean the Ceremonies, Bows, Courtsies, Whisperings, Smiles, Winks, Nods, with other familiar Arts of Salutation, which take up in our Churches so much Time, that might be better employed, and which seem so utterly inconsistent with the Duty and true Intent of our entering into those Religious Assemblies. The Resemblance which this bears to our indeed proper Behaviour in Theatres, may be some Instance of its Incongruity in the above-mentioned Places. In Roman Catholick Churches and Chappels abroad, I my self have observed, more than once, Persons of the first Quality, of the nearest Relation, and intimatest Acquaintance passing by one another unknowing as it were and unknown, and with so little Notices of each other, that it looked like having their Minds more suitably and more solemnly engaged; at least it was an Acknowledgment that they ought to have been so. I have been told the same even of the Mahometans, with relation to the Propriety of their Demeanour in the Conventions of their erroneous Worship: And I cannot but think either of them sufficient and laudable Patterns for our Imitation in this Particular.

'I cannot help upon this Occasion remarking on the excellent Memories of those Devotionists, who upon returning from Church shall give a particular Account how two or three hundred People were dressed; a Thing, by reason of its Variety, so difficult to be digested and fixed in the Head, that 'tis a Miracle to me how two poor Hours of Divine Service can be Time sufficient for so elaborate an undertaking, the Duty of the Place too being jointly and, no doubt, oft pathetically performed along with it. Where it is said in Sacred Wit, that the Woman ought to have a Covering on her Head, because of the Angels[2] that last Word is by some thought to be metaphorically used, and to signify young Men. Allowing this Interpretation to be right, the Text may not appear to be wholly foreign to our present Purpose.

'When you are in a Disposition proper for writing on such a Subject, I earnestly recommend this to you, and am,

Sir ,

Your very humble Servant.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Corinthians

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Contents

No. 461

Tuesday, August 19, 1712

Steele

—Non Ego credulus illis—

Virg.

Saturday'sEulogiums

For the SPECTATOR.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You very much promote the Interests of Virtue, while you reform the Taste of a Prophane Age, and persuade us to be entertained with Divine Poems, while we are distinguished by so many thousand Humours, and split into so many different Sects and Parties; yet Persons of every Party, Sect, and Humour are fond of conforming their Taste to yours. You can transfuse your own Relish of a Poem into all your Readers, according to their Capacity to receive; and when you recommend the pious Passion that reigns in the Verse, we seem to feel the Devotion, and grow proud and pleas'd inwardly, that we have Souls capable of relishing what the Spectator approves.

'Upon reading the Hymns that you have published in some late Papers, I had a Mind to try Yesterday whether I could write one. The 114th Psalm appears to me an admirable Ode, and I began to turn it into our Language. As I was describing the Journey of Israel from Egypt, and added the Divine Presence amongst them, I perceived a Beauty in the Psalm which was entirely new to me, and which I was going to lose; and that is, that the Poet utterly conceals the Presence of God in the Beginning of it, and rather lets a Possessive Pronoun go without a Substantive, than he will so much as mention any thing of Divinity there. Judah was his Sanctuary, and Israel his Dominion or Kingdom. The Reason now seems evident, and this Conduct necessary: For if God had appeared before, there could be no wonder why the Mountains should leap and the Sea retire; therefore that this Convulsion of Nature may be brought in with due Surprise, his Name is not mentioned till afterward, and then with a very agreeable Turn of Thought God is introduced at once in all his Majesty. This is what I have attempted to imitate in a Translation without Paraphrase, and to preserve what I could of the Spirit of the sacred Author.

'If the following Essay be not too incorrigible, bestow upon it a few Brightnings from your Genius, that I may learn how to write better, or to write no more.

Your daily Admirer, and humble Servant[1], &c.

I

When Israel, freed from Pharaoh's Hand,

Left the proud Tyrant and his Land,

The Tribes with chearful Homage own

Their King, and Judah was his Throne.

II

Across the Deep their Journey lay,

The Deep divides to make them Way;

The Streams of Jordan saw, and fed

With backward Current to their Head.

III

The Mountains shook like frighted Sheep,

Like Lambs the little Hillocks leap;

Not Sinai on her Base could stand,

Conscious of Sovereign Power at hand.

IV

What Power could make the Deep divide?

Make Jordan backward roll his Tide?

Why did ye leap, ye little Hills?

And whence the Fright that Sinai feels?

V

Let every Mountain, every Flood

Retire, and know th' approaching God,

The King of Israel: See him here;

Tremble thou Earth, adore and fear.

VI

He thunders, and all Nature mourns:

The Rock to standing Pools he turns;

Flints spring with Fountains at his Word,

And Fires and Seas confess their Lord.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

There are those who take the Advantage of your putting an Half-penny Value upon your self above the rest of our daily Writers, to defame you in publick Conversation, and strive to make you unpopular upon the Account of this said Half-penny. But if I were you, I would insist upon that small Acknowledgment for the superior Merit of yours, as being a Work of Invention. Give me Leave therefore to do you Justice, and say in your Behalf what you cannot your self, which is, That your Writings have made Learning a more necessary Part of good Breeding than it was before you appeared: That Modesty is become fashionable, and Impudence stands in need of some Wit, since you have put them both in their proper Lights. Prophaneness, Lewdness, and Debauchery are not now Qualifications, and a Man may be a very fine Gentleman, tho' he is neither a Keeper nor an Infidel.

I would have you tell the Town the Story of the Sybills, if they deny giving you Two-Pence. Let them know, that those sacred Papers were valued at the same Rate after two Thirds of them were destroyed, as when there was the whole Set. There are so many of us who will give you your own Price, that you may acquaint your Non-Conformist Readers, That they shall not have it, except they come in within such a Day, under Three-pence. I don't know, but you might bring in the Date Obolum Belisario with a good Grace. The Witlings come in Clusters to two or three Coffee-houses which have left you off, and I hope you will make us, who fine to your Wit, merry with their Characters who stand out against it.

I am your most humble Servant.

P. S. I have lately got the ingenious Authors of Blacking for Shoes, Powder for colouring the Hair, Pomatum for the Hands, Cosmetick for the Face, to be your constant Customers; so that your Advertisements will as much adorn the outward Man, as your Paper does the inward[2].

Footnote 1:114th PsalmSirSirSirDivine and Moral Songs HymnsPsalmsHoræ LyricæSpectatorPoems chiefly of the Lyric kind, in Three Books, sacred, I. to Devotion and Piety. II. To Virtue, Honour, and Friendship. III. To the Memory of the Dead,

De la foy d'un Chrétien les mystères terribles

D'ornemens egayéz ne sont point susceptibles;

'And if I seized those hours of leisure, wherein my soul was in a more sprightly frame, to entertain them or myself with a divine or moral song, I hope I shall find an easy pardon.'

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Footnote 2:Spectator

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No. 462

Wednesday, August 20, 1712

Steele

Nil ego prætulerem Jucundo sanus amico.

Hor.

DacinthusAfter all he is a very pleasant Fellow. DacinthusBut after all he is very pleasant Company. DacinthusFor he is a very pleasant Fellow.England

Mr. Spectator,

'There is no one Passion which all Mankind so naturally give into as Pride, nor any other Passion which appears in such different Disguises: It is to be found in all Habits and all Complexions. Is it not a Question, whether it does more Harm or Good in the World? And if there be not such a Thing as what we may call a virtuous and laudable Pride?

'It is this Passion alone, when misapplyed, that lays us so open to Flatterers; and he who can agreeably condescend to sooth our Humour or Temper, finds always an open Avenue to our Soul; especially if the Flatterer happen to be our Superior.

'One might give many Instances of this in a late English Monarch, under the Title of, The Gayeties of King Charles II. This Prince was by Nature extreamly familiar, of very easie Access, and much delighted to see and be seen; and this happy Temper, which in the highest Degree gratified his Peoples Vanity, did him more Service with his loving Subjects than all his other Virtues, tho' it must be confessed he had many. He delighted, tho' a mighty King, to give and take a Jest, as they say; and a Prince of this fortunate Disposition, who were inclined to make an ill Use of his Power, may have any thing of his People, be it never so much to their Prejudice. But this good King made generally a very innocent Use, as to the Publick, of this ensnaring Temper; for, 'tis well known, he pursued Pleasure more than Ambition: He seemed to glory in being the first Man at Cock-matches, Horse-races, Balls, and Plays; he appeared highly delighted on those Occasions, and never failed to warm and gladden the Heart of every Spectator. He more than once dined with his good Citizens of London on their Lord-Mayor's Day, and did so the Year that Sir Robert Viner was Mayor. Sir Robert was a very loyal Man, and, if you will allow the Expression, very fond of his Sovereign; but what with the Joy he felt at Heart for the Honour done him by his Prince, and thro' the Warmth he was in with continual toasting Healths to the Royal Family, his Lordship grew a little fond of his Majesty, and entered into a Familiarity not altogether so graceful in so publick a Place. The King understood very well how to extricate himself on all kinds of Difficulties, and with an Hint to the Company to avoid Ceremony, stole off and made towards his Coach, which stood ready for him in Guild-Hall Yard: But the Mayor liked his Company so well, and was grown so intimate, that he pursued him hastily, and catching him fast by the Hand, cryed out with a vehement Oath and Accent, Sir , You shall stay and take t'other Bottle. The airy Monarch looked kindly at him over his Shoulder, and with a Smile and graceful Air, (for I saw him at the Time, and do now) repeated this Line of the old Song;

He that's drunk is as great as a King.

and immediately turned[1] back and complied with his Landlord.

I give you this Story, Mr. SPECTATOR, because, as I said, I saw the Passage; and I assure you it's very true, and yet no common one; and when I tell you the Sequel, you will say I have yet a better Reason for't. This very Mayor afterwards erected a Statue of his merry Monarch in Stocks-Market[2], and did the Crown many and great Services; and it was owing to this Humour of the King, that his Family had so great a Fortune shut up in the Exchequer of their pleasant Sovereign. The many good-natured Condescensions of this Prince are vulgarly known: and it is excellently said of him by a great Hand which writ his Character, That he was not a King a Quarter of an Hour together in his whole Reign[3]. He would receive Visits even from Fools and half Mad-men, and at Times I have met with People who have Boxed, fought at Back-sword, and taken Poison before King Charles II. In a Word, he was so pleasant a Man, that no one could be sorrowful under his Government. This made him capable of baffling, with the greatest Ease imaginable, all Suggestions of Jealousie, and the People could not entertain Notions of any thing terrible in him, whom they saw every way agreeable. This Scrap of the familiar Part of that Prince's History I thought fit to send you, in compliance to the Request you lately made to your Correspondents.

I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant.

Footnote 1:return'd

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Footnote 2:Sir

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No. 463

Thursday, August 21, 1712

Addison

Omnia quæ sensu volvuntur vota diurno

Pectore sopito reddit amica quies.

Venator defessa toro cùm membra reponit

Mens tamen ad sylvas et sua lustra redit.

Judicibus lites, aurigis somnia currus,

Vanaque nocturnis meta cavetur equis.

Me quoque Musarum studium sub nocte silenti

Artibus assuetis sollicitare solet.

Claud.

Homer'sJupiterHectorAchillesVirgilTurnusÆneasBabylonMiltonhave[1]

Th' Eternal to prevent such horrid fray

Hung forth in Heav'n his golden Scales, yet seen

Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion Sign,

Wherein all things created first he weigh'd,

The pendulous round Earth with ballanc'd Air

In counterpoise, now ponders all events,

Battels and Realms; in these he puts two weights

The sequel each of parting and of fight,

The latter quick up flew, and kickt the Beam:

Which Gabriel spying, thus bespake the Fiend.

Satan, I know thy Strength, and thou know'st mine,

Neither our own, but giv'n; what folly then

To boast what Arms can do, since thine no more

Than Heav'n permits; nor mine, though doubled now

To trample thee as mire: For proof look up,

And read thy Lot in yon celestial Sign

Where thou art weigh'd, and shewn how light, how weak,

If thou resist. The Fiend look'd up, and knew

His mounted Scale aloft; nor more, but fled

Murm'ring, and with him fled the Shades of Night.

flew up and kickt the Beam

Eternity

Vanity

In the Dialect of MenCalamitiesIn the Language of the GodsBlessings

Scotch

EnglishFrenchGreekLatinSpectatorsSirSirTEKEL

Footnote 1: Paradise Lost

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No. 464

Friday, August 22, 1712

Addison

Auream quisquis mediocritatem

Diligit, tutus caret obsoleti

Sordibus tecti, caret invidendâ

Sobrius aulâ.

Hor.

GreekLatinTheognisVice is covered by Wealth, and Virtue by PovertyAmong Men there are some who have their Vices concealed by Wealth, and others who have their Virtues concealed by Poverty.There was a little City, and a few Men within it; and there came a great King against it, and besieged it, and built great Bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor Wise Man, and he, by his Wisdom, delivered the City; yet no Man remembered that same poor Man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than Strength; nevertheless, the poor Man's Wisdom is despised, and his Words are not heard.[1]

CowleyIt is hard for a Man to keep a steady Eye upon Truth, who is always in a Battel or a Triumph.

AgurHolyTwo things have I required of thee, deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me Vanity and Lies; give me neither Poverty, nor Riches; feed me with Food convenient for me. Lest I be full and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.[2]

fill[3]AristophanesGreek

ChremylusSirApolloPlutusPlutusJupiterChremylusChremylusPovertyGreecePovertySirChremylusPlutusÆsculapiusrecoveredwas[4]towardsMen[5]MercuryJupiterChremylusPlutusJupiterAthenians

Footnote 1:Eccl

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Footnote 2:Proverbs

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:were

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Footnote :Man

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Contents

No. 465

Saturday, August 23, 1712

Addison

Quâ ratione queas traducere leniter ævum:

Ne te semper inops agitet vexetque cupido;

Ne pavor et rerum mediocriter utilium Spes.

Hor.

Saturday'sthewhich[1]LatimerEnglandMary

we are easie to believe what we wish

everygive[2]to[3]AristotlePsalmistThe Heavens declare the Glory of God: And the Firmament showeth his handy-work. One Day telleth another: And one Night certifieth another. There is neither Speech nor Language: But their Voices are heard among them. Their Sound is gone out into all Lands: And their Words into the Ends of the World.[4][5]

I

The Spacious Firmament on high

With all the blue Etherial Sky,

And spangled Heav'ns, a Shining Frame,

Their great Original proclaim:

Th' unwearied Sun, from Day to Day,

Does his Creator's Pow'r display,

And publishes to every Land

The Work of an Almighty Hand.

II

Soon as the Evening Shades prevail,

The Moon takes up the wondrous Tale,

And nightly to the listning Earth

Repeats the Story of her Birth:

Whilst all the Stars that round her burn,

And all the Planets in their turn,

Confirm the Tidings as they rowl,

And spread the Truth from Pole to Pole.

III

What though, in solemn Silence, all

Move round the dark terrestrial Ball?

What tho' nor real Voice nor Sound

Amid their radiant Orbs be found?

In Reason's Ear they all rejoice,

And utter forth a glorious Voice,

For ever singing, as they shine,

'The Hand that made us is Divine?'

Footnote 1:that

return

Footnote 2:give us

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Footnote 3:in

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Footnote 4:

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 466

Monday, August 25, 1712

Steele

—Vera incessu patuit Dea.

Virg.

ÆneasVirgilSirBeautythat[1]aDancers[2]SpectatorsSpectatorsPrince

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I am a Widower with but one Daughter; she was by Nature much inclined to be a Romp, and I had no way of educating her, but commanding a young Woman, whom I entertained to take Care of her, to be very watchful in her Care and Attendance about her. I am a Man of Business, and obliged to be much abroad. The Neighbours have told me, that in my Absence our Maid has let in the Spruce Servants in the Neighbourhood to Junketings, while my Girl play'd and romped even in the Street. To tell you the plain Truth, I catched her once, at eleven Years old, at Chuck-Farthing among the Boys. This put me upon new Thoughts about my Child, and I determined to place her at a Boarding-School, and at the same Time gave a very discreet young Gentlewoman her Maintenance at the same Place and Rate, to be her Companion. I took little Notice of my Girl from Time to Time, but saw her now and then in good Health, out of Harm's way, and was satisfied. But by much Importunity I was lately prevailed with to go to one of their Balls. I cannot express to you the anxiety my silly Heart was in, when I saw my Romp, now fifteen, taken out: I never felt the pangs of a Father upon me so strongly in my whole Life before; and I could not have suffered more, had my whole Fortune been at Stake. My Girl came on with the most becoming Modesty I had ever seen, and casting a respectful Eye, as if she feared me more than all the Audience, I gave a Nod, which, I think, gave her all the Spirit she assumed upon it, but she rose properly to that Dignity of Aspect. My Romp, now the most graceful Person of her Sex, assumed a Majesty which commanded the highest Respect; and when she turned to me, and saw my Face in Rapture, she fell into the prettiest Smile, and I saw in all her Motion that she exulted in her Father's Satisfaction. You, Mr. SPECTATOR, will, better than I can tell you, imagine to yourself all the different Beauties and Changes of Aspect in an accomplished young Woman, setting forth all her Beauties with a Design to please no one so much as her Father. My Girl's Lover can never know half the Satisfaction that I did in her that Day. I could not possibly have imagined, that so great Improvement could have been wrought by an Art that I always held in it self ridiculous and contemptible. There is, I am convinced, no Method like this, to give young Women a Sense of their own Value and Dignity; and I am sure there can be none so expeditious to communicate that Value to others. As for the flippant insipidly Gay and wantonly Forward, whom you behold among Dancers, that Carriage is more to be attributed to the perverse Genius of the Performers, than imputed to the Art it self. For my Part, my Child has danced her self into my Esteem, and I have as great an Honour for her as ever I had for her Mother, from whom she derived those latent good Qualities which appeared in her Countenance when she was dancing; for my Girl, tho' I say it my self, shewed in one Quarter of an Hour the innate Principles of a modest Virgin, a tender Wife, a generous Friend, a kind Mother, and an indulgent Mistress. I'll strain hard but I will purchase for her an Husband suitable to her Merit. I am your Convert in the Admiration of what I thought you jested when you recommended; and if you please to be at my House on Thursday next, I make a Ball for my Daughter, and you shall see her Dance, or, if you will do her that Honour, dance with her. I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

Philipater.

Weaver

MariamneMariamne

Chloe

Footnote 1:6667334370376

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Footnote 2:Dancing

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No. 467

Tuesday, August 26, 1712

John Hughes?

Quodcunque meæ poterunt Audere Camænæ

Seu Tibi par poterunt, seu, quod spes abnuit ultra;

Sive minus; certeque canent minus; omne vovemus

Hoc tibi; ne tanto careat mihi nomine Charta.

Tibull. ad Messalam.

andTullyPlinyRoman[1]CæsarSirAndManilius[2]

Manilius

ManiliusOnePindarTheron[3]

Swear, that Theron sure has sworn,

No one near him should be Poor.

Swear, that none e'er had such a graceful Art,

Fortune's Free-Gifts as freely to impart,

With an unenvious Hand, and an unbounded Heart.

AtticusManiliusRaphael

HeBussy d'Amboise[4]

AristippusSir

Footnote 1:pro Marcello

'Why might we not as well once more hear a speech from Cicero? There is no doubt that Ligarius is a bad man and an enemy.'

'he was,' says Plutarch, 'so affected that his body trembled, and some of the papers he held dropped from his hands, and thus he was overpowered, and acquitted Ligarius.'

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Contents

No. 468

Wednesday, August 27, 1712

Steele

Erat Homo ingeniosus, acutus, acer, et qui plurimum et salis haberet et fellis, nec candoris minus.

Plin. Epist.

ImportanceDick Eastcourt[1]EastcourtEastcourt'sEnglandHamlet

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a Fellow of infinite Jest, of most excellent Fancy; he hath born me on his Back a thousand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is now, my Gorge rises at it. Here hung those Lips that I have kiss'd I know not how oft. Where be your Gibes now, your Gambols, your Songs, your Flashes of Merriment, that were wont to set the Table on a Roar: No one now to mock your own Jeerings: quite Chop-fallen. Now get you to my Lady's Chamber, and tell her, Let her paint an Inch thick, to this Favour she must come. Make her laugh at that.

Eastcourt

aBulfinchNorthern Lass[2]AirPounceTender Husband[3]

Eastcourt

Sirwishgo on—.[4]

Footnote 1:Footnote 1No. 264.

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Footnote 2:

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:

go on—

It is a felicity his Friends may rejoice in, that he had his Senses, and used them as he ought to do, in his last Moments. It is remarkable that his Judgment was in its calm Perfection to the utmost Article, for when his Wife out of her fondness, deSir ed she might send for a certain illiterate Humourist (whom he had accompanied in a thousand mirthful Moments, and whose Insolence makes Fools think he assumes from conscious Merit) he answered, 'Do what you please, but he won't come near me.' Let poor Eastcourt's Negligence about this Message convince the unwary of a triumphant Empiric's Ignorance and Inhumanity.

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No. 469

Thursday, August 28, 1712

Addison

Detrahere aliquid altieri, et hominem hominis incommodo suum augere commodum, magis est contra naturam, quam mors, quam paupertas, quam dolor, quam cætera quæ possunt aut corpori accidere, aut rebus externis.

Tull.

shortOccasions for all the Good-natured Offices of[1]

Footnote 1:Opportunities of exercising his

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Contents

No. 470

Friday, August 29, 1712

Addison

Turpe est difficiles babere nugas,

Et stultus est labor ineptiarum.

Mart.

LatinetacLatin

thisSong[1]

My Love was fickle once and changing,

Nor e'er would settle in my Heart;

From Beauty still to Beauty ranging,

In ev'ry Face I found a Dart.

'Twas first a charming Shape enslav'd me,

An Eye then gave the fatal Stroke;

'Till by her Wit Corinna sav'd me,

And all my former Fetters broke.

But now a long and lasting Anguish

For Belvidera I endure;

Hourly I Sigh and hourly Languish,

Nor hope to find the wonted Cure.

For here the false unconstant Lover,

After a thousand Beauties shown,

Does new surprizing Charms discover,

And finds Variety in One.

Various Readings.

And changingand&Cotton

Nor e'er wouldAldusever wouldSynæresis

IbidIn my HeartScaligeron my Heart

I found a DartVaticanIitIT

The fatal StrokeScioppius, Salmasiusthea

Till by her Withis Wityourtheir WitCorinnaher

A long and lasting AnguishGermana lasting Passion

ForI endureBelvideraPelvidera; PelvisPelvidera

Hourly I sigh and hourly languishhourlydailynightly

The wonted CureStevenswanted Cure

After a thousand BeautiesHundred BeautiesThousandHundred

And finds Variety in onein two

Footnote 1:Song, which by the way is a beautiful Descant upon a single Thought, like the Compositions of the best Ancient Lyrick Poets, I say we will suppose this Song

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No. 471

Saturday, August 30, 1712

Addison

Time present

pastis to come

We should hope for every thing that is goodLinus, because there is nothing which may not be hoped for, and nothing but what the Gods are able to give us[1]

HopeCæsarHope

Pandora'sPandora:Hope

dying

this

I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right Hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my Heart is glad, and my Glory rejoiceth: my Flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see Corruption. Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life: in thy Presence is Fullness of Joy, at thy right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore[2].

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Psal

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No. 472

Monday, September 1, 1712

Steele

—Voluptas

Solamenque mali—

Virg.

Sir William Read

Mr. Basil Plenty,

Sir ,

You have the Gout and Stone, with Sixty thousand Pound Sterling; I have the Gout and Stone, not worth one Farthing; I shall pray for you, and deSir e you would pay the Bearer Twenty Shillings for Value received from,

Sir ,

Your humble Servant,

Lazarus Hopeful.

Cripple-Gate,

Aug. 29, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Ruminating lately on your admirable Discourses on the Pleasures of the Imagination, I began to consider to which of our Senses we are obliged for the greatest and most important Share of those Pleasures; and I soon concluded that it was to the Sight: That is the Sovereign of the Senses, and Mother of all the Arts and Sciences, that have refined the Rudeness of the uncultivated Mind to a Politeness that distinguishes the fine Spirits from the barbarous Goût of the great Vulgar and the small. The Sight is the obliging Benefactress, that bestows on us the most transporting Sensations that we have from the various and wonderful Products of Nature. To the Sight we owe the amazing Discoveries of the Height, Magnitude, and Motion of the Planets; their several Revolutions about their common Centre of Light, Heat, and Motion, the Sun. The Sight travels yet farther to the fixed Stars, and furnishes the Understanding with solid Reasons to prove, that each of them is a Sun moving on its own Axis in the Centre of its own Vortex or Turbillion, and performing the same Offices to its dependant Planets, that our glorious Sun does to this. But the Enquiries of the Sight will not be stopped here, but make their Progress through the immense Expanse to the Milky Way, and there divide the blended Fires of the Galaxy into infinite and different Worlds, made up of distinct Suns, and their peculiar Equipages of Planets, till unable to pursue this Track any farther, it deputes the Imagination to go on to new Discoveries, till it fill the unbounded Space with endless Worlds.

The Sight informs the Statuary's Chizel with Power to give Breath to lifeless Brass and Marble, and the Painter's Pencil to swell the flat Canvas with moving Figures actuated by imaginary Souls. Musick indeed may plead another Original, since Jubal, by the different Falls of his Hammer on the Anvil, discovered by the Ear the first rude Musick that pleasd the Antediluvian Fathers; but then the Sight has not only reduced those wilder Sounds into artful Order and Harmony, but conveys that Harmony to the most distant Parts of the World without the Help of Sound. To the Sight we owe not only all the Discoveries of Philosophy, but all the Divine Imagery of Poetry that transports the intelligent Reader of Homer, Milton, and Virgil.

As the Sight has polished the World, so does it supply us with the most grateful and lasting Pleasure. Let Love, let Friendship, paternal Affection, filial Piety, and conjugal Duty, declare the Joys the Sight bestows on a Meeting after Absence. But it would be endless to enumerate all the Pleasures and Advantages of Sight; every one that has it, every Hour he makes use of it, finds them, feels them, enjoys them.

Thus as our greatest Pleasures and Knowledge are derived from the Sight, so has Providence been more curious in the Formation of its Seat, the Eye, than of the Organs of the other Senses. That stupendous Machine is compos'd in a wonderful Manner of Muscles, Membranes, and Humours. Its Motions are admirably directed by the Muscles; the Perspicuity of the Humours transmit the Rays of Light; the Rays are regularly refracted by their Figure, the black Lining of the Sclerotes effectually prevents their being confounded by Reflection. It is wonderful indeed to consider how many Objects the Eye is fitted to take in at once, and successively in an Instant, and at the same time to make a Judgment of their Position, Figure, or Colour. It watches against our Dangers, guides our Steps, and lets in all the visible Objects, whose Beauty and Variety instruct and delight.

The Pleasures and Advantages of Sight being so great, the Loss must be very grievous; of which Milton, from Experience, gives the most sensible Idea, both in the third Book of his Paradise Lost, and in his Sampson Agonistes.

To Light in the former.

—Thee I revisit safe,

And feel thy sovereign vital Lamp; but thou

Revisit'st not these Eyes, that roul in vain

To find thy piercing Ray, but find no Dawn.

And a little after,

Seasons return, but not to me returns

Day, or the sweet Approach of Ev'n and Morn,

Or Sight of vernal Bloom, or Summer's Rose,

Or Flocks or Herds, or human Face divine;

But Cloud instead, and ever-during Dark

Surround me: From the chearful Ways of Men

Cut off, and for the Book of Knowledge fair,

Presented—with an universal Blank

Of Nature's Works, to me expung'd and raz'd,

And Wisdom at one Entrance quite shut out.

Again, in Sampson Agonistes.

—But Chief of all,

O Loss of Sight! of thee I most complain;

Blind among Enemies! O worse than Chains,

Dungeon, or Beggary, or decrepid Age!

Light, the prime Work of God, to me extinct,

And all her various Objects of Delight

Annull'd—

—Still as a Fool,

In Power of others, never in my own,

Scarce half I seem to live, dead more than Half:

O dark! dark! dark! amid the Blaze of Noon:

Irrecoverably dark, total Eclipse,

Without all Hopes of Day!

The Enjoyment of Sight then being so great a Blessing, and the Loss of it so terrible an Evil, how excellent and valuable is the Skill of that Artist which can restore the former, and redress the latter? My frequent Perusal of the Advertisements in the publick News-Papers (generally the most agreeable Entertainment they afford) has presented me with many and various Benefits of this kind done to my Countrymen by that skilful Artist Dr. Grant, Her Majesty's Oculist Extraordinary, whose happy Hand has brought and restored to Sight several Hundreds in less than Four Years. Many have received Sight by his Means, who came blind from their Mother's Womb, as in the famous Instance of Jones of Newington[1]. I my self have been cured by him of a Weakness in my Eyes next to Blindness, and am ready to believe any thing that is reported of his Ability this way; and know that many, who could not purchase his Assistance with Money, have enjoy'd it from his Charity. But a List of Particulars would swell my Letter beyond its Bounds, what I have said being sufficient to comfort those who are in the like Distress, since they may conceive Hopes of being no longer miserable in this Kind, while there is yet alive so able an Oculist as Dr. Grant.

I am the Spectator's humble Servant,

Philanthropus

Footnote 1:A Full and True Account of a Miraculous Cure of a young Man in Newington, &c,

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No. 473

Tuesday, September 2, 1712

Steele

Quid? si quis vultu torvo ferus et pede nudo

Exiguæque togæ simulet textore Catonem;

Virtutemne repræsentet moresque Catonis?

Hor.

To the SPECTATOR.

Sir ,

I am now in the Country, and employ most of my Time in reading, or thinking upon what I have read. Your paper comes constantly down to me, and it affects me so much, that I find my Thoughts run into your Way; and I recommend to you a Subject upon which you have not yet touched, and that is the Satisfaction some Men seem to take in their Imperfections, I think one may call it glorying in their Insufficiency; a certain great Author is of Opinion it is the contrary to Envy, tho perhaps it may proceed from it. Nothing is so common, as to hear Men of this Sort, speaking of themselves, add to their own Merit (as they think) by impairing it, in praising themselves for their Defects, freely allowing they commit some few frivolous Errors, in order to be esteemed persons of uncommon Talents and great Qualifications. They are generally professing an injudicious Neglect of Dancing, Fencing and Riding, as also an unjust Contempt for Travelling and the Modern Languages; as for their Part (say they) they never valued or troubled their Head about them. This panegyrical Satyr on themselves certainly is worthy of your Animadversion. I have known one of these Gentlemen think himself obliged to forget the Day of an Appointment, and sometimes even that you spoke to him; and when you see em, they hope youll pardon 'em, for they have the worst Memory in the World. One of em started up tother Day in some Confusion, and said, Now I think on't, I'm to meet Mr. Mortmain the Attorney about some Business, but whether it is to Day or to Morrow, faith, I can't tell. Now to my certain Knowledge he knew his Time to a Moment, and was there accordingly. These forgetful Persons have, to heighten their Crime, generally the best Memories of any People, as I have found out by their remembring sometimes through Inadvertency. Two or three of em that I know can say most of our modern Tragedies by Heart. I asked a Gentleman the other Day that is famous for a Good Carver, (at which Acquisition he is out of Countenance, imagining it may detract from some of his more essential Qualifications) to help me to something that was near him; but he excused himself, and blushing told me, Of all things he could never carve in his Life; though it can be proved upon him, that he cuts up, disjoints, and uncases with incomparable Dexterity. I would not be understood as if I thought it laudable for a Man of Quality and Fortune to rival the Aquisitions of Artificers, and endeavour to excel in little handy Qualities; No, I argue only against being ashamed at what is really Praiseworthy. As these Pretences to Ingenuity shew themselves several Ways, you'll often see a Man of this Temper ashamed to be clean, and setting up for Wit only from Negligence in his Habit. Now I am upon this Head, I can't help observing also upon a very different Folly proceeding from the same Cause. As these above-mentioned arise from affecting an Equality with Men of greater Talents from having the same Faults, there are others who would come at a Parallel with those above them, by possessing little Advantages which they want. I heard a young Man not long ago, who has sense, comfort himself in his Ignorance of Greek, Hebrew, and the Orientals: At the same Time that he published his Aversion to those Languages, he said that the Knowledge of 'em was rather a Diminution than an Advancement of a Man's Character: tho' at the same Time I know he languishes and repines he is not Master of them himself. Whenever I take any of these fine Persons, thus detracting from what they don't understand, I tell them I will complain to you, and say I am sure you will not allow it an Exception against a thing, that he who contemns it is an Ignorant in it.

I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

S. P.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I am a Man of a very good Estate, and am honourably in Love. I hope you will allow, when the ultimate Purpose is honest, there may be, without Trespass against Innocence, some Toying by the Way. People of Condition are perhaps too distant and formal on those Occasions; but, however that is, I am to confess to you, that I have writ some Verses to atone for my Offence. You profess'd Authors are a little severe upon us, who write like Gentlemen: But if you are a Friend to Love, you will insert my Poem. You cannot imagine how much Service it will do me with my Fair one, as well as Reputation with all my Friends, to have something of mine in the Spectator. My Crime was, that I snatch'd a Kiss, and my Poetical Excuse as follows:

I

Belinda, see from yonder Flowers

The Bee flies loaded to its Cell;

Can you perceive what it devours?

Are they impar'd in Show or Smell?

II

So, tho' I robb'd you of a Kiss,

Sweeter than their Ambrosial Dew;

Why are you angry at my Bliss?

Has it at all impoverish'd you?

III

'Tis by this Cunning I contrive,

In spight of your unkind Reserve,

To keep my famish'd Love alive,

Which you inhumanly would starve.

I am, Sir ,

Your humble Servant,

Timothy Stanza.

Aug. 23, 1712.

Sir ,

Having a little Time upon my Hands, I could not think of bestowing it better, than in writing an Epistle to the SPECTATOR, which I now do, and am,

Sir , Your humble Servant,

BOB SHORT.

P. S. If you approve of my Style, I am likely enough to become your Correspondent. I deSir e your Opinion of it. I design it for that Way of Writing called by the Judicious the Familiar.

Contents

Dedication of the Seventh Volume of The Spectator

To Mr Methuen[1].

Sir

BritishEnglandPortugal

SavoyEngland

Sir

Richard

Footnote 1:SirSpectator

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Contents

No. 474

Wednesday, September 3, 1712

Steele

Asperitas agrestis et inconcinna.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Being of the Number of those that have lately retired from the Center of Business and Pleasure, my Uneasiness in the Country where I am, arises rather from the Society than the Solitude of it. To be obliged to receive and return Visits from and to a Circle of Neighbours, who through Diversity of Age or Inclinations, can neither be entertaining or serviceable to us, is a vile Loss of Time, and a Slavery from which a Man should deliver himself, if possible: For why must I lose the remaining part of my Life, because they have thrown away the former Part of theirs? It is to me an insupportable Affliction, to be tormented with the Narrations of a Set of People, who are warm in their Expressions of the quick Relish of that Pleasure which their Dogs and Horses have a more delicate Taste of. I do also in my Heart detest and abhor that damnable Doctrine and Position of the Necessity of a Bumper, though to one's own Toast; for though 'tis pretended that these deep Politicians are used only to inspire Gaiety, they certainly drown that Chearfulness which would survive a moderate Circulation. If at these Meetings it were left to every Stranger either to fill his Glass according to his own Inclination, or to make his Retreat when he finds he has been sufficiently obedient to that of others, these Entertainments would be governed with more good Sense, and consequently with more good Breeding, than at present they are. Indeed where any of the Guests are known to measure their Fame or Pleasure by their Glass, proper Exhortations might be used to these to push their Fortunes in this sort of Reputation; but where 'tis unseasonably insisted on to a modest Stranger, this Drench may be said to be swallowed with the same Necessity, as if it had been tendered in the Horn[1] for that purpose, with this aggravating Circumstance, that it distresses the Entertainer's Guest in the same degree as it relieves his Horses.

To attend without Impatience an Account of five-barr'd Gates, double Ditches, and Precipices, and to survey the Orator with deSir ing Eyes, is to me extremely difficult, but absolutely necessary, to be upon tolerable Terms with him: but then the occasional Burstings out into Laughter, is of all other Accomplishments the most requisite. I confess at present I have not that command of these Convulsions, as is necessary to be good Company; therefore I beg you would publish this Letter, and let me be known all at once for a queer Fellow, and avoided. It is monstrous to me, that we, who are given to Reading and calm Conversation, should ever be visited by these Roarers: But they think they themselves, as Neighbours, may come into our Rooms with the same Right, that they and their Dogs hunt in our Grounds.

Your Institution of Clubs I have always admir'd, in which you constantly endeavoured the Union of the metaphorically Defunct, that is such as are neither serviceable to the Busy and Enterprizing part of Mankind, nor entertaining to the Retir'd and Speculative. There should certainly therefore in each County be established a Club of the Persons whose Conversations I have described, who for their own private, as also the publick Emolument, should exclude, and be excluded all other Society. Their Attire should be the same with their Huntsmen's, and none should be admitted into this green Conversation-Piece, except he had broke his Collar-bone thrice. A broken Rib or two might also admit a Man without the least Opposition. The President must necessarily have broken his Neck, and have been taken up dead once or twice: For the more Maims this Brotherhood shall have met with, the easier will their Conversation flow and keep up; and when any one of these vigorous Invalids had finished his Narration of the Collar-bone, this naturally would introduce the History of the Ribs. Besides, the different Circumstances of their Falls and Fractures would help to prolong and diversify their Relations. There should also be another Club of such Men, who have not succeeded so well in maiming themselves, but are however in the constant Pursuit of these Accomplishments. I would by no means be suspected by what I have said to traduce in general the Body of Fox-hunters; for whilst I look upon a reasonable Creature full-speed after a Pack of Dogs, by way of Pleasure, and not of Business, I shall always make honourable mention of it.

But the most irksome Conversation of all others I have met with in the Neighbourhood, has been among two or three of your Travellers, who have overlooked Men and Manners, and have passed through Franceand Italywith the same Observation that the Carriers and Stage-Coachmen do through Great-Britain;that is, their Stops and Stages have been regulated according to the Liquor they have met with in their Passage. They indeed remember the Names of abundance of Places, with the particular Fineries of certain Churches: But their distinguishing Mark is certain Prettinesses of Foreign Languages, the Meaning of which they could have better express'd in their own. The Entertainment of these fine Observers, Shakespearhas described to consist

In talking of the Alps and Appennines,

The Pyrenean, and the River Po.[2]

and then concludes with a Sigh,

Now this is worshipful Society!

I would not be thought in all this to hate such honest Creatures as Dogs; I am only unhappy that I cannot partake in their Diversions. But I love them so well, as Dogs, that I often go with my Pockets stuffed with Bread to dispense my Favours, or make my way through them at Neighbours' Houses. There is in particular a young Hound of great Expectation, Vivacity, and Enterprize, that attends my Flights where-ever he spies me. This Creature observes my Countenance, and behaves himself accordingly. His Mirth, his Frolick, and Joy upon the Sight of me has been observed, and I have been gravely deSir ed not to encourage him so much, for it spoils his Parts; but I think he shews them sufficiently in the several Boundings, Friskings, and Scourings, when he makes his Court to me: But I foresee in a little time he and I must keep Company with one another only, for we are fit for no other in these Parts. Having informd you how I do pass my time in the Country where I am, I must proceed to tell you how I would pass it, had I such a Fortune as would put me above the Observance of Ceremony and Custom.

My Scheme of a Country Life then should be as follows. As I am happy in three or four very agreeable Friends, these I would constantly have with me; and the Freedom we took with one another at School and the University, we would maintain and exert upon all Occasions with great Courage. There should be certain Hours of the Day to be employ'd in Reading, during which time it should be impossible for any one of us to enter the other's Chamber, unless by Storm. After this we would communicate the Trash or Treasure we had met with, with our own Reflections upon the Matter; the Justness of which we would controvert with good-humour'd Warmth, and never spare one another out of the complaisant Spirit of Conversation, which makes others affirm and deny the same matter in a quarter of an Hour. If any of the Neighbouring Gentlemen, not of our Turn, should take it in their heads to visit me, I should look upon these Persons in the same degree Enemies to my particular state of Happiness, as ever the French were to that of the Publick, and I would be at an annual Expence in Spies to observe their Motions. Whenever I should be surprized with a Visit, as I hate Drinking. I would be brisk in swilling Bumpers, upon this Maxim, That it is better to trouble others with my Impertinence, than to be troubled my self with theirs. The Necessity of an Infirmary makes me resolve to fall into that Project; and as we should be but Five, the Terrors of an involuntary Separation, which our Number cannot so well admit of, would make us exert our selves, in opposition to all the particulars mentioned in your Institution of that equitable Confinement. This my way of Life I know would subject me to the Imputation of a morose, covetous and singular Fellow. These and all other hard words, with all manner of insipid Jests, and all other Reproach, would be matter of Mirth to me and my Friends: Besides, I would destroy the Application of the Epithets Morose and Covetous, by a yearly Relief of my undeservedly necessitous Neighbours, and by treating my Friends and Domesticks with an Humanity that should express the Obligation to lie rather on my side; and for the word Singular, I was always of opinion every Man must be so, to be what one would deSir e him.

Your very humble Servant,

J. R.[3]

Mr. SPECTATOR,

About two Years ago I was called upon by the younger part of a Country Family, by my Mother's side related to me, to visit Mr. Campbell, the dumb Man[4]; for they told me that that was chiefly what brought them to Town, having heard Wonders of him in Essex. I, who always wanted Faith in Matters of that kind, was not easily prevailed on to go; but lest they should take it ill, I went with them; when to my surprize, Mr. Campbell related all their past Life, (in short, had he not been prevented, such a Discovery would have come out, as would have ruined the next design of their coming to Town, viz. buying Wedding-Cloaths.) Our Names—though he never heard of us before—and we endeavoured to conceal—were as familiar to him as to our selves. To be sure, Mr. SPECTATOR, he is a very learned and wise Man. Being impatient to know my Fortune, having paid my respects in a Family-Jacobus, he told me (after his manner) among several other things, that in a Year and nine Months I should fall ill of a new Fever, be given over by my Physicians, but should with much difficulty recover: That the first time I took the Air afterwards, I should be address'd to by a young Gentleman of a plentiful Fortune, good Sense, and a generous Spirit. Mr. SPECTATOR, he is the purest Man in the World, for all he said is come to pass, and I am the happiest She in Kent. I have been in quest of Mr. Campbell these three Months, and cannot find him out. Now hearing you are a dumb Man too, I thought you might correspond, and be able to tell me something; for I think my self highly oblig'd to make his Fortune, as he has mine. 'Tis very possible your Worship, who has Spies all over this Town, can inform me how to send to him: If you can, I Beseech you be as speedy as possible, and you will highly oblige

Your constant Reader and Admirer,

Dulcibella Thankley.

OrderedGolden-LionHalf-MoonDrury-Lane

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2: King John

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Footnote 3:

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Footnote 4:Footnote 4No. 323

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Contents

No. 475

Thursday, September 4, 1712

Addison

—Quæ res in se neque Consilium neque modum

Habet ullum, eam consilio regere non potes.

Tert.

SirHipparchusPhilanderPhilanderCeliaSirLeonillaLeonillaCeliaCongé d'elire

MelissaTom Townly

Will. HoneycombBetty SingleWill

Mr. SPECTATOR, Now, Sir , the thing is this: Mr. Shapely is the prettiest Gentleman about Town. He is very tall, but not too tall neither. He dances like a Angel. His Mouth is made I don't know how, but 'tis the prettiest that I ever saw in my Life. He is always laughing, for he has an infinite deal of Wit. If you did but see how he rolls his Stockins! He has a thousand pretty Fancies, and I am sure, if you saw him, you would like him. He is a very good Scholar, and can talk Latin as fast as English. I wish you could but see him dance. Now you must understand poor Mr. Shapely has no Estate; but how can he help that, you know? And yet my Friends are so unreasonable as to be always teazing me about him, because he has no Estate: but I am sure he has that that is better than an Estate; for he is a Good-natured, Ingenious, Modest, Civil, Tall, Well-bred, Handsome Man, and I am obliged to him for his Civilities ever since I saw him. I forgot to tell you that he has black Eyes, and looks upon me now and then as if he had tears in them. And yet my Friends are so unreasonable, that they would have me be uncivil to him. I have a good Portion which they cannot hinder me of, and I shall be fourteen on the 29th Day of August next, and am therefore willing to settle in the World as soon as I can, and so is Mr. Shapely. But every body I advise with here is poor Mr. Shapely's Enemy. I deSir e therefore you will give me your Advice, for I know you are a wise Man; and if you advise me well, I am resolved to follow it. I heartily wish you could see him dance, and am,

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

B. D.

He loves your Spectators mightily.

Contents

No. 476

Friday, September 5, 1712

Addison

—lucidus Ordo—

Hor.

EssaysSenecaMontaigneTullyAristotle

everyit[1]

toa barren Superfluity of Words;[2]

Tom PuzzleTomTomPuzzleDowayDenainPuzzleTomWill DryWillTom'sWhat then? We allow all this to be true, but what is it to our present Purpose?TomDry'sSirDryPuzzle

Footnote 1:its

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Footnote 2:

Hourly his learn'd Impertinence affords

A barren Superfinity of Words.

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Contents

No. 477

Saturday, September 6, 1712

Addison

—An me ludit amabilis

Insania? audire et videor pios

Errare per lucos, amœnæ

Quos et aquæ subeunt et auræ.

Hor.

Sir ,

Having lately read your Essay on the Pleasures of the Imagination, I was so taken with your Thoughts upon some of our English Gardens, that I cannot forbear troubling you with a Letter upon that Subject. I am one, you must know, who am looked upon as an Humorist in Gardening. I have several Acres about my House, which I call my Garden, and which a skilful Gardener would not know what to call. It is a Confusion of Kitchin and Parterre, Orchard and Flower-Garden, which lie so mixt and interwoven with one another, that if a Foreigner who had seen nothing of our Country should be convey'd into my Garden at his first landing, he would look upon it as a natural Wilderness, and one of the uncultivated Parts of our Country. My Flowers grow up in several Parts of the Garden in the greatest Luxuriancy and Profusion. I am so far from being fond of any particular one, by reason of its Rarity, that if I meet with any one in a Field which pleases me, I give it a place in my Garden. By this means, when a Stranger walks with me, he is surprized to see several large Spots of Ground cover'd with ten thousand different Colours, and has often singled out Flowers that he might have met with under a common Hedge, in a Field, or in a Meadow, as some of the greatest Beauties of the Place. The only Method I observe in this Particular, is to range in the same Quarter the Products of the same Season, that they may make their Appearance together, and compose a Picture of the greatest Variety. There is the same Irregularity in my Plantations, which run into as great a Wildness as their Natures will permit. I take in none that do not naturally rejoice in the Soil, and am pleased when I am walking in a Labyrinth of my own raising, not to know whether the next Tree I shall meet with is an Apple or an Oak, an Elm or a Pear-Tree. My Kitchin has likewise its particular Quarters assigned it; for besides the wholesome Luxury which that Place abounds with, I have always thought a Kitchin-Garden a more pleasant Sight than the finest Orangery, or artificial Greenhouse. I love to see everything in its Perfection, and am more pleased to survey my Rows of Coleworts and Cabbages, with a thousand nameless Pot-herbs, springing up in their full Fragrancy and Verdure, than to see the tender Plants of Foreign Countries kept alive by artificial Heats, or withering in an Air and Soil that are not adapted to them. I must not omit, that there is a Fountain rising in the upper part of my Garden, which forms a little wandring Rill, and administers to the Pleasure as well as the Plenty of the Place. I have so conducted it, that it visits most of my Plantations; and have taken particular Care to let it run in the same manner as it would do in an open Field, so that it generally passes through Banks of Violets and Primroses, Plats of Willow, or other Plants, that seem to be of its own producing. There is another Circumstance in which I am very particular, or, as my Neighbours call me, very whimsical: As my Garden invites into it all the Birds of the Country, by offering them the Conveniency of Springs and Shades, Solitude and Shelter, I do not suffer any one to destroy their Nests in the Spring, or drive them from their usual Haunts in Fruit-time. I value my Garden more for being full of Blackbirds than Cherries, and very frankly give them Fruit for their Songs. By this means I have always the Musick of the Season in its Perfection, and am highly delighted to see the Jay or the Thrush hopping about my Walks, and shooting before my Eye across the several little Glades and Alleys that I pass thro'. I think there are as many kinds of Gardening as of Poetry: Your Makers of Parterres and Flower-Gardens, are Epigrammatists and Sonneteers in this Art: Contrivers of Bowers and Grotto's, Treillages and Cascades, are Romance Writers. Wise and London are our heroick Poets; and if, as a Critick, I may single out any Passage of their Works to commend, I shall take notice of that Part in the upper Garden at Kensington, which was at first nothing but a Gravel-Pit. It must have been a fine Genius for Gardening, that could have thought of forming such an unsightly Hollow into so beautiful an Area, and to have hit the Eye with so uncommon and agreeable a Scene as that which it is now wrought into. To give this particular Spot of Ground the greater Effect, they have made a very pleasing Contrast; for as on one side of the Walk you see this hollow Basin, with its several little Plantations lying so conveniently under the Eye of the Beholder; on the other side of it there appears a seeming Mount, made up of Trees rising one higher than another in proportion as they approach the Center. A Spectator, who has not heard this Account of it, would think this Circular Mount was not only a real one, but that it had been actually scooped out of that hollow Space which I have before mention'd. I never yet met with any one who had walked in this Garden, who was not struck with that Part of it which I have here mention'd. As for my self, you will find, by the Account which I have already given you, that my Compositions in Gardening are altogether after the Pindarick Manner, and run into the beautiful Wildness of Nature, without affecting the nicer Elegancies of Art. What I am now going to mention, will, perhaps, deserve your Attention more than any thing I have yet said. I find that in the Discourse which I spoke of at the Beginning of my Letter, you are against filling an English Garden with Ever-Greens; and indeed I am so far of your Opinion, that I can by no means think the Verdure of an Ever-Green comparable to that which shoots out annually, and clothes our Trees in the Summer-Season. But I have often wonder'd that those who are like my self, and love to live in Gardens, have never thought of contriving a Winter Garden, which would consist of such Trees only as never cast their Leaves. We have very often little Snatches of Sunshine and fair Weather in the most uncomfortable Parts of the Year; and have frequently several Days in November and January that are as agreeable as any in the finest Months. At such times, therefore, I think there could not be a greater Pleasure, than to walk in such a Winter-Garden as I have proposed. In the Summer-Season the whole Country blooms, and is a kind of Garden, for which reason we are not so sensible of those Beauties that at this time may be every where met with; but when Nature is in her Desolation, and presents us with nothing but bleak and barren Prospects, there is something unspeakably chearful in a Spot of Ground which is covered with Trees that smile amidst all the Rigours of Winter, and give us a View of the most gay Season in the midst of that which is the most dead and melancholy. I have so far indulged my self in this Thought, that I have set apart a whole Acre of Ground for the executing of it. The Walls are covered with Ivy instead of Vines. The Laurel, the Hornbeam, and the Holly, with many other Trees and Plants of the same nature, grow so thick in it, that you cannot imagine a more lively Scene. The glowing Redness of the Berries, with which they are hung at this time, vies with the Verdure of their Leaves, and are apt to inspire the Heart of the Beholder with that vernal Delight which you have somewhere taken notice of in your former papers[1]. It is very pleasant, at the same time, to see the several kinds of Birds retiring into this little Green Spot, and enjoying themselves among the Branches and Foliage, when my great Garden, which I have before mention'd to you, does not afford a single Leaf for their Shelter.

You must know, Sir , that I look upon the Pleasure which we take in a Garden, as one of the most innocent Delights in Human Life. A Garden was the Habitation of our first Parents before the Fall. It is naturally apt to fill the Mind with Calmness and Tranquillity, and to lay all its turbulent Passions at rest. It gives us a great insight into the Contrivance and Wisdom of Providence, and suggests innumerable Subjects for Meditation. I cannot but think the very Complacency and Satisfaction which a Man takes in these Works of Nature, to be a laudable, if not a virtuous Habit of Mind. For all which Reasons I hope you will pardon the Length of my present Letter. I am,

Footnote 1:No. 393.

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Contents

No. 478

Monday, September 8, 1712

Steele

—Usus

Quem penes Arbitrium est, et Jus et Norma—

Mr. SPECTATOR,

It happened lately, that a Friend of mine, who had many things to buy for his Family, would oblige me to walk with him to the Shops. He was very nice in his way, and fond of having every thing shewn, which at first made me very uneasy; but as his Humour still continu'd, the things which I had been staring at along with him, began to fill my Head, and led me into a Set of amusing Thoughts concerning them.

I fancied it must be very surprizing to any one who enters into a detail of Fashions, to consider how far the Vanity of Mankind has laid it self out in Dress, what a prodigious number of People it maintains, and what a Circulation of Money it occasions. Providence in this Case makes use of the Folly which we will not give up, and it becomes instrumental to the Support of those who are willing to labour. Hence it is that Fringe-Makers, Lace-Men, Tire-Women, and a number of other Trades, which would be useless in a simple State of Nature, draw their Subsistence; tho' it is seldom seen that such as these are extremely rich, because their original Fault of being founded upon Vanity, keeps them poor by the light Inconstancy of its Nature. The Variableness of Fashion turns the Stream of Business which flows from it now into one Channel, and anon into another; so that different Sets of People sink or flourish in their turns by it.

From the Shops we retir'd to the Tavern, where I found my Friend express so much satisfaction for the Bargains he had made, that my moral Reflections, (if I had told them) might have pass'd for a Reproof; so I chose rather to fall in with him, and let the Discourse run upon the use of Fashions.

Here we remembred how much Man is govern'd by his Senses, how lively he is struck by the Objects which appear to him in an agreeable manner, how much Clothes contribute to make us agreeable Objects, and how much we owe it to our selves that we should appear so.

We considered Man as belonging to Societies; Societies as form'd of different Ranks; and different Ranks distinguished by Habits, that all proper Duty or Respect might attend their Appearance.

We took notice of several Advantages which are met with in the Occurrences of Conversation. How the bashful Man has been sometimes so rais'd, as to express himself with an Air of Freedom, when he imagines that his Habit introduces him to Company with a becoming Manner: And again, how a Fool in fine Clothes shall be suddenly heard with Attention, till he has betray'd himself; whereas a Man of Sense appearing with a Dress of Negligence, shall be but coldly received, till he be proved by Time, and established in a Character. Such things as these we cou'd recollect to have happen'd to our knowledge so very often, that we concluded the Author had his Reasons, who advises his Son to go in Dress rather above his Fortune than under it.

At last the Subject seem'd so considerable, that it was proposed to have a Repository built for Fashions, as there are Chambers for Medals and other Rarities. The Building may be shap'd as that which stands among the Pyramids, in the Form of a Woman's Head. This may be rais'd upon Pillars, whose Ornaments shall bear a just relation to the Design. Thus there may be an Imitation of Fringe carv'd in the Base, a sort of Appearance of Lace in the Frieze, and a Representation of curling Locks, with Bows of Ribband sloping over them, may fill up the Work of the Cornish. The Inside may be divided into two Apartments appropriated to each Sex. The Apartments may be fill'd with Shelves, on which Boxes are to stand as regularly as Books in a Library. These are to have Folding-Doors, which being open'd, you are to behold a Baby dressed out in some Fashion which has flourish'd, and standing upon a Pedestal, where the time of its Reign is mark'd down. For its further Regulation, let it be order'd, that every one who invents a Fashion shall bring in his Box, whose Front he may at pleasure have either work'd or painted with some amorous or gay Device, that, like Books with gilded Leaves and Covers, it may the sooner draw the Eyes of the Beholders. And to the end that these may be preserv'd with all due Care, let there be a Keeper appointed, who shall be a Gentleman qualify'd with a competent Knowledge in Clothes; so that by this means the Place, will be a comfortable Support for some Beau who has spent his Estate in dressing.

The Reasons offer'd by which we expected to gain the Approbation of the Publick, were as follows.

First, That every one who is considerable enough to be a Mode, and has any Imperfection of Nature or Chance, which it is possible to hide by the Advantage of Clothes, may, by coming to this Repository, be furnish'd her self, and furnish all who are under the same Misfortune, with the most agreeable Manner of concealing it; and that on the other side, every one who has any Beauty in Face or Shape, may also be furnished with the most agreeable Manner of shewing it.

Secondly, That whereas some of our young Gentlemen who travel, give us great reason to suspect that they only go abroad to make or improve a Fancy for Dress, a Project of this nature may be a means to keep them at home, which is in effect the keeping of so much Money in the Kingdom. And perhaps the Balance of Fashion in Europe, which now leans upon the side of France, may be so alter'd for the future, that it may become as common with Frenchmen to come to England for their finishing Stroke of Breeding, as it has been for Englishmen to go to France for it.

Thirdly, Whereas several great Scholars, who might have been otherwise useful to the World, have spent their time in studying to describe the Dresses of the Ancients from dark Hints, which they are fain to interpret and support with much Learning, it will from henceforth happen, that they shall be freed from the Trouble, and the World from useless Volumes. This Project will be a Registry, to which Posterity may have recourse, for the clearing such obscure Passages as tend that way in Authors; and therefore we shall not for the future submit our selves to the Learning of Etymology, which might persuade the Age to come, that the Farthingal was worn for Cheapness, or the Furbeloe for Warmth.

Fourthly, Whereas they who are old themselves, have often a way of railing at the Extravagance of Youth, and the whole Age in which their Children live; it is hoped that this ill Humour will be much suppress'd, when we can have recourse to the Fashions of their Times, produce them in our Vindication, and be able to shew that it might have been as expensive in Queen Elizabeth's time only to wash and quill a Ruff, as it is now to buy Cravats or Neck-Handkerchiefs.

We deSir e also to have it taken Notice of, That because we would shew a particular respect to Foreigners, which may induce them to perfect their Breeding here in a Knowledge which is very proper for pretty Gentlemen, we have conceived the Motto for the House in the Learned Language. There is to be a Picture over the Door, with a Looking-Glass and a Dressing-Chair in the Middle of it: Then on one side are to be seen, above one another, Patch-Boxes, Pin-Cushions, and little Bottles; on the other, Powder Baggs, Puffs, Combs and Brushes; beyond these, Swords with fine Knots, whose Points are hidden, and Fans almost closed, with the Handles downward, are to stand out interchangeably from the Sides till they meet at the Top, and form a Semicircle over the rest of the Figures: Beneath all, the Writing is to run in this pretty sounding Manner:

Adeste, O quotquot sunt, Veneres, Gratiæ, Cupidines[1],

En vobis adsunt in promptu

Faces, Vincula, Spicula,

Hinc eligite, sumite, regite.

I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

A. B.

Sir

N. B. The Place of the Physician to this Society, according to the last mentioned Qualification, is already engag'd.

Footnote 1:

All ye Venuses, Graces, and Cupids, attend:

See prepared to your hands

Darts, torches, and bands:

Your weapons here choose, and your empire extend.

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Contents

No. 479

Tuesday, September 9, 1712

Steele

—Dare Jure maritis.

Hor.

SirSirTom TrustyOnWill Sparkishsqualing[1]

As[2]SocratesHeThat they who learn to keep a good Seat on horseback, mount the least managable they can get, and when they have master'd them, they are sure never to be discomposed on the Backs of Steeds less restive.[3]My dear Friend, you are beholden tothat I bear so well your flying out in a Dispute.My Hen clacks very much, but she brings me Chickens. They that live in a trading Street, are not disturbed at the Passage of Carts.

How happy will this make my Wife and Children?But, all this while my Wife and Children are safe

Footnote 1:squalwing

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:de Legibus et Dounsuetudinibus Anglia

quædam sunt sub virga, ut uxores, &c.

return

Footnote 3:Symposium

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Contents

No. 480

Wednesday, September 10, 1712

Steele

Responsare cupidinibus, contemnere honores,

Fortis, et in seipso totus teres, atque rotundus.

Hor.

mighty PharamondFranceEucrate[1]Pharamond

Monsieur Chezluy to Pharamond.

Dread Sir ,

I have from your own Hand (enclosed under the Cover of Mr. Eucrate of your Majesty's Bed-Chamber) a Letter which invites me to Court. I understand this great Honour to be done me out of Respect and Inclination to me, rather than Regard to your own Service: For which Reason I beg leave to lay before your Majesty my Reasons for declining to depart from Home; and will not doubt but, as your Motive in deSir ing my Attendance was to make me an happier Man, when you think that will not be effected by my Remove, you will permit me to stay where I am. Those who have an Ambition to appear in Courts, have ever an Opinion that their Persons or their Talents are particularly formed for the Service or Ornament of that Place; or else are hurried by downright DeSir e of Gain, or what they call Honour, or take upon themselves whatever the Generosity of their Master can give them Opportunities to grasp at. But your Goodness shall not be thus imposed upon by me: I will therefore confess to you, that frequent Solitude, and long Conversation with such who know no Arts which polish Life, have made me the plainest Creature in your Dominions. Those less Capacities of moving with a good Grace, bearing a ready Affability to all around me, and acting with ease before many, have quite left me. I am come to that, with regard to my Person, that I consider it only as a Machine I am obliged to take Care of, in order to enjoy my Soul in its Faculties with Alacrity; well remembering, that this Habitation of Clay will in a few years be a meaner Piece of Earth than any Utensil about my House. When this is, as it really is, the most frequent Reflection I have, you will easily imagine how well I should become a Drawing-Room: Add to this, What shall a Man without DeSir es do about the generous Pharamond? Monsieur Eucrate has hinted to me, that you have thoughts of distinguishing me with Titles. As for my self, in the Temper of my present Mind, Appellations of Honour would but embarrass Discourse, and new Behaviour towards me perplex me in every Habitude of Life. I am also to acknowledge to you, that my Children, of whom your Majesty condescended to enquire, are all of them mean, both in their Persons and Genius. The Estate my eldest Son is Heir to, is more than he can enjoy with a good Grace. My Self-love will not carry me so far, as to impose upon Mankind the Advancement of Persons (merely for their being related to me) into high Distinctions, who ought for their own Sakes, as well as that of the Publick, to affect Obscurity. I wish, my generous Prince, as it is in your power to give Honours and Offices, it were also to give Talents suitable to them: Were it so, the noble Pharamond would reward the Zeal of my Youth with Abilities to do him Service in my Age.

'Those who accept of Favour without Merit, support themselves in it at the Expence of your Majesty. Give me Leave to tell you, Sir , this is the Reason that we in the Country hear so often repeated the Word Prerogative. That Part of your Law which is reserved in your self for the readier Service and Good of the Publick, slight Men are eternally buzzing in our Ears to cover their own Follies and Miscarriages. It would be an Addition to the high Favour you have done me, if you would let Eucrate send me word how often, and in what Cases you allow a Constable to insist upon the Prerogative. From the highest to the lowest Officer in your Dominions, something of their own Carriage they would exempt from Examination under the Shelter of the Word Prerogative. I would fain, most noble Pharamond, see one of your Officers assert your Prerogative by good and gracious Actions. When is it used to help the Afflicted, to rescue the Innocent, to comfort the Stranger? Uncommon Methods, apparently undertaken to attain worthy Ends, would never make Power invidious. You see, Sir , I talk to you with the Freedom your noble Nature approves, in all whom you admit to your Conversation.

'But, to return to your Majesty's Letter, I humbly conceive, that all Distinctions are useful to Men, only as they are to act in Publick; and it would be a romantick Madness, for a Man to be a Lord in his Closet. Nothing can be honourable to a Man apart from the World, but the Reflection upon worthy Actions; and he that places Honour in a Consciousness of Well-doing, will have but little Relish for any outward Homage that is paid him, since what gives him distinction to himself, cannot come within the Observation of his Beholders. Thus all the Words of Lordship, Honour, and Grace, are only Repetitions to a Man that the King has order'd him to be called so; but no Evidences that there is any thing in himself that would give the Man who applies to him those Ideas, without the Creation of his Master.

'I have, most noble Pharamond, all Honours and all Titles in your own Approbation; I triumph in them as they are your Gift, I refuse them as they are to give me the Observation of others. Indulge me, my Noble Master, in this Chastity of Renown; let me know my self in the Favour of Pharamond; and look down upon the Applause of the People.

I am,

in all Duty and Loyally,

Your Majesty's most obedient

Subject and Servant,

Jean Chezluy.

Sir ,

'I need not tell you with what Disadvantages Men of low Fortunes and great Modesty come into the World; what wrong Measures their Diffidence of themselves, and Fear of offending, often obliges them to take; and what a Pity it is that their greatest Virtues and Qualities, that should soonest recommend them, are the main Obstacle in the way of their Preferment.

'This, Sir , is my Case; I was bred at a Country-School, where I learned Latin and Greek. The Misfortunes of my Family forced me up to Town, where a Profession of the politer sort has protected me against Infamy and Want. I am now Clerk to a Lawyer, and, in times of Vacancy and Recess from Business, have made my self Master of Italian and French; and tho' the Progress I have made in my Business has gain'd me Reputation enough for one of my standing, yet my Mind suggests to me every day, that it is not upon that Foundation I am to build my Fortune.

'The Person I have my present Dependance upon, has it in his Nature, as well as in his Power, to advance me, by recommending me to a Gentleman that is going beyond Sea in a publick Employment. I know the printing this Letter would point me out to those I want Confidence to speak to, and I hope it is not in your Power to refuse making any Body happy.

September 9, 1712.

Yours, &c.

M. D.[2]

Footnote 1:768497

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 481

Thursday, September 11, 1712

Addison

—Uti non

Compositus melius cum Bitho Bacchius, in jus

Acres procurrunt—

Hor.

Itsomething[1]amSouthern's[2]SampsonThe Man must have his Mare againnothingRechterenMesnagerEurope[3]

UtrechtSuisse CantonsIfu[4] What-d'ye-call-him's

WiseacreFranceEuropeuMesnager'sRectrum

thisbegan[5]the

FrenchMesnager'sMesnager'sFranceDutchHis

AustriaGallickFrenchWest-IndiesFrenchuMesnager

RechterenMesnagerRechterenuMesnagerMesnager

Footnote 1:sometimes

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:The Fatal Marriage, or the Innocent Adultery

return

Footnote 3:

'Tell me,' he said, 'of the conquests of Alexander. He had no Dutch deputies in his army.'

'it was deSir able to retard the Conferences, and this dispute gave a plausible reason.'

Memoires de Torcy

return

Footnote 4:Monsieur

return

Footnote 5:begun

return

Contents

No. 482

Friday, September 12, 1712

Addison

Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant.

Lucr.

Tuesday'sHenpeck'dCheapsideSirSocratesXantippeBenjamin BambooTuesday'sBractonTom DapperwitTomPurgatory

EuterpeSalickXantippe

Mr. SPECTATOR,

You have given us a lively Picture of that kind of Husband who comes under the Denomination of the Hen-peck'd; but I do not remember that you have ever touched upon one that is of the quite different Character, and who, in several Places of England, goes by the Name of a Cot-Quean. I have the Misfortune to be joined for Life with one of this Character, who in reality is more a Woman than I am[1]. He was bred up under the Tuition of a tender Mother, till she had made him as good a House-wife as her self. He could preserve Apricots, and make Gellies, before he had been two Years out of the Nursery. He was never suffered to go abroad, for fear of catching Cold: when he should have been hunting down a Buck, he was by his Mother's Side learning how to Season it, or put it in Crust; and was making Paper-Boats with his Sisters, at an Age when other young Gentlemen are crossing the Seas, or travelling into Foreign Countries. He has the whitest Hand that you ever saw in your Life, and raises Paste better than any Woman in England. These Qualifications make him a sad Husband: He is perpetually in the Kitchin, and has a thousand Squabbles with the Cook-maid. He is better acquainted with the Milk-Score, than his Steward's Accounts. I fret to Death when I hear him find fault with a Dish that is not dressed to his liking, and instructing his Friends that dine with him in the best Pickle for a Walnut, or Sauce for an Haunch of Venison. With all this, he is a very good-natured Husband, and never fell out with me in his Life but once, upon the over-roasting of a Dish of Wild-Fowl: At the same time I must own I would rather he was a Man of a rough Temper, that would treat me harshly sometimes, than of such an effeminate busy Nature in a Province that does not belong to him. Since you have given us the Character of a Wife who wears the Breeches, pray say something of a Husband that wears the Petticoat. Why should not a Female Character be as ridiculous in a Man, as a Male Character in one of our Sex?

I am, &c.

Footnote 1:my self.

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Contents

No. 483

Saturday, September 13, 1712

Addison

Nec Deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus

Inciderit—

Hor.

PunishmentsJudgments

Nemesis

HerodotusPlutarchIndeedSuccess[1]EnglishWilliam the Conqueror'sNew ForestIsraelJudah

VirtueDiagoras[2]AthenianDiagorasDiagoras

BitonClitobusGreekLatinJuno

Footnote 1:Successes

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Footnote 2:de Natura Deorum.

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Contents

No. 484

Monday, September 15, 1712

Steele

Neque cuiquam tam statim clarum ingenium est, ut possit emergere; nisi illi materia, occasio, fautor etiam, commendatorque contingat.

Plin. Epist.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Of all the young Fellows who are in their Progress thro' any Profession, none seem to have so good a Title to the Protection of the Men of Eminence in it as the modest Man; not so much because his Modesty is a certain Indication of his Merit, as because 'tis a certain Obstacle to the producing of it. Now, as of all Professions this Virtue is thought to be more particularly unnecessary in that of the Law than in any other, I shall only apply my self to the Relief of such who follow this Profession with this Disadvantage. What aggravates the matter is, that those Persons who, the better to prepare themselves for this Study, have made some Progress in others, have, by addicting themselves to Letters, encreased their natural Modesty, and consequently heighten'd the Obstruction to this sort of Preferment; so that every one of these may emphatically be said to be such a one as laboureth and taketh pains, and is still the more behind. It may be a Matter worth discussing then, Why that which made a Youth so amiable to the Ancients, should make him appear so ridiculous to the Moderns? and, Why in our days there should be Neglect, and even Oppression of young Beginners, instead of that Protection which was the Pride of theirs? In the Profession spoken of, 'tis obvious to every one whose Attendance is required at Westminster-Hall, with what Difficulty a Youth of any Modesty has been permitted to make an Observation, that could in no wise detract from the Merit of his Elders, and is absolutely necessary for the advancing his own. I have often seen one of these not only molested in his Utterance of something very pertinent, but even plunder'd of his Question, and by a strong Serjeant shoulder'd out of his Rank, which he has recover'd with much Difficulty and Confusion. Now as great part of the Business of this Profession might be dispatched by one that perhaps

—Abest virtute diserti

Messalæ, nec scit quantum Causellius Aulus—

Hor.

so I can't conceive the Injustice done to the Publick, if the Men of Reputation in this Calling would introduce such of the young ones into Business, whose Application to this Study will let them into the Secrets of it, as much as their Modesty will hinder them from the Practice: I say, it would be laying an everlasting Obligation upon a young Man, to be introduc'd at first only as a Mute, till by this Countenance, and a Resolution to support the good Opinion conceiv'd of him in his Betters, his Complexion shall be so well settled, that the Litigious of this Island may be secure of his obstreperous Aid. If I might be indulged to speak in the Style of a Lawyer, I would say, That any one about thirty years of Age, might make a common Motion to the Court with as much Elegance and Propriety as the most aged Advocates in the Hall.

I can't advance the Merit of Modesty by any Argument of my own so powerfully, as by enquiring into the Sentiments the greatest among the Ancients of different Ages entertain'd upon this Virtue. If we go back to the Days of Solomon, we shall find Favour a necessary Consequence to a shame-fac'd Man. Pliny, the greatest Lawyer and most Elegant Writer of the Age he lived in, in several of his Epistles is very sollicitous in recommending to the Publick some young Men of his own Profession, and very often undertakes to become an Advocate, upon condition that some one of these his Favourites might be joined with him, in order to produce the Merit of such, whose Modesty otherwise would have suppressed it. It may seem very marvellous to a saucy Modern, that Multum sanguinis, multum verecundiæ, multum sollicitudinis in ore; to have the Face first full of Blood, then the Countenance dashed with Modesty, and then the whole Aspect as of one dying with Fear, when a Man begins to speak; should be esteem'd by Pliny the necessary Qualifications of a fine Speaker[1]. Shakespear has also express'd himself in the same favourable Strain of Modesty, when he says,

—In the Modesty of fearful Duty

I read as much as from the rattling Tongue

Of saucy and audacious Eloquence—[2]

Now since these Authors have profess'd themselves for the Modest Man, even in the utmost Confusions of Speech and Countenance, why should an intrepid Utterance and a resolute Vociferation thunder so successfully in our Courts of Justice? And why should that Confidence of Speech and Behaviour, which seems to acknowledge no Superior, and to defy all Contradiction, prevail over that Deference and Resignation with which the Modest Man implores that favourable Opinion which the other seems to command?

As the Case at present stands, the best Consolation that I can administer to those who cannot get into that Stroke of Business (as the Phrase is) which they deserve, is to reckon every particular Acquisition of Knowledge in this Study as a real Increase of their Fortune; and fully to believe, that one day this imaginary Gain will certainly be made out by one more substantial. I wish you would talk to us a little on this Head, you would oblige,

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant.

SirPlinyRomanCharles FrankairOxfordCambridge

Footnote 1:

'Etenim, nescio quo pacto, magis in studiis homines timor quam fiducia decet.'

'I don't know how it is, but in brain-work mistrust better becomes men than self-confidence.'

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Footnote 2:Midsummer Night's Dream

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Contents

No. 485

Tuesday, September 16, 1712

Steele

Nihil tam firmum est, cui periculum non sit, etiam ab Invalido.

Quint. Curt.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'My Lord Clarendon has observed, That few Men have done more harm than those who have been thought to be able to do least; and there cannot be a greater Error, than to believe a Man whom we see qualified with too mean Parts to do good, to be therefore incapable of doing hurt. There is a Supply of Malice, of Pride, of Industry, and even of Folly, in the Weakest, when he sets his heart upon it, that makes a strange progress in Mischief[1]. What may seem to the Reader the greatest Paradox in the Reflection of the Historian, is, I suppose, that Folly, which is generally thought incapable of contriving or executing any Design, should be so formidable to those whom it exerts it self to molest. But this will appear very plain, if we remember that Solomon says, It is as Sport to a Fool to do mischief; and that he might the more emphatically express the calamitous Circumstances of him who falls under the displeasure of this wanton Person, the same Author adds further, That a Stone is heavy, and the Sand weighty, but a Fool's Wrath is heavier than them both. It is impossible to suppress my own Illustration upon this Matter, which is, That as the Man of Sagacity bestirs himself to distress his Enemy by Methods probable and reducible to Reason, so the same Reason will fortify his Enemy to elude these his regular Efforts; but your Fool projects, acts, and concludes with such notable Inconsistence, that no regular Course of Thought can evade or counterplot his prodigious Machinations. My Frontispiece, I believe, may be extended to imply, That several of our Misfortunes arise from Things, as well as Persons, that seem of very little consequence. Into what tragical Extravagancies does Shakespear hurry Othello upon the loss of an Handkerchief only? and what Barbarities does Desdemona suffer from a slight Inadvertency in regard to this fatal Trifle? If the Schemes of all enterprizing Spirits were to be carefully examined, some intervening Accident, not considerable enough to occasion any Debate upon, or give 'em any apprehension of ill Consequence from it, will be found to be the occasion of their ill Success, rather than any Error in Points of Moment and Difficulty, which naturally engag'd their maturest Deliberations. If you go to the Levée of any great Man, you will observe him exceeding gracious to several very insignificant Fellows; and this upon this Maxim, That the Neglect of any Person must arise from the mean Opinion you have of his Capacity to do you any Service or Prejudice; and that this calling his Sufficiency in question, must give him Inclination, and where this is, there never wants Strength or Opportunity to annoy you. There is no body so weak of Invention, that can't aggravate or make some little Stories to vilify his Enemy; and there are very few but have good Inclinations to hear 'em, and 'tis infinite Pleasure to the Majority of Mankind to level a Person superior to his Neighbours. Besides, in all matter of Controversy, that Party which has the greatest Abilities labours under this Prejudice, that he will certainly be supposed, upon Account of his Abilities, to have done an Injury, when perhaps he has received one. It would be tedious to enumerate the Strokes that Nations and particular Friends have suffer'd from Persons very contemptible.

I Think Henry IV. of France, so formidable to his Neighbours, could no more be secur'd against the resolute Villany of Ravillac, than Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, could be against that of Felton. And there is no incens'd Person so destitute, but can provide himself with a Knife or a Pistol, if he finds stomach to apply them. That Things and Persons of no moment should give such powerful Revolutions to the progress of those of the greatest, seems a providential Disposition to baffle and abate the Pride of human Sufficiency; as also to engage the Humanity and Benevolence of Superiors to all below 'em, by letting them into this Secret, that the Stronger depends upon the Weaker.

I am, Sir ,

Your very humble Servant.

Temple, Paper-Buildings.

Dear Sir ,

'I received a Letter from you some time ago, which I should have answered sooner, had you informed me in yours to what part of this Island I might have directed my Impertinence; but having been let into the Knowledge of that Matter, this handsome Excuse is no longer serviceable. My Neighbour Prettyman shall be the Subject of this Letter; who falling in with the Spectator's Doctrine concerning the Month of May, began from that Season to dedicate himself to the Service of the Fair in the following Manner. I observed at the Beginning of the Month he bought him a new Night-gown, either side to be worn outwards, both equally gorgeous and attractive; but till the End of the Month I did not enter so fully into the knowledge of his Contrivance, as the Use of that Garment has since suggested to me. Now you must know that all new Clothes raise and warm the Bearer's Imagination into a Conceit of his being a much finer Gentleman than he was before, banishing all Sobriety and Reflection, and giving him up to Gallantry and Amour. Inflam'd therefore with this way of thinking, and full of the Spirit of the Month of May, did this merciless Youth resolve upon the Business of Captivating. At first he confin'd himself to his Room only, now and then appearing at his Window in his Night-gown, and practising that easy Posture which expresses the very Top and Dignity of Languishment. It was pleasant to see him diversify his Loveliness, sometimes obliging the Passengers only with a Side-Face, with a Book in his Hand; sometimes being so generous as to expose the whole in the fulness of its Beauty; at the other times, by a judicious throwing back of his Perriwig, he would throw in his Ears. You know he is that Sort of Person which the Mob call a handsome jolly Man; which Appearance can't miss of Captives in this part of the Town. Being emboldened by daily Success, he leaves his Room with a Resolution to extend his Conquests; and I have apprehended him in his Night-gown smiting in all Parts of this Neighbourhood.

This I, being of an amorous Complection, saw with Indignation, and had Thoughts of purchasing a Wig in these Parts; into which, being at a greater Distance from the Earth, I might have thrown a very liberal Mixture of white Horse-hair, which would make a fairer, and consequently a handsomer Appearance, while my Situation would secure me against any Discoveries. But the Passion to the handsome Gentleman seems to be so fixed to that part of the Building, that it will be extremely difficult to divert it to mine; so that I am resolved to stand boldly to the Complection of my own Eye-brow, and prepare me an immense Black Wig of the same sort of Structure with that of my Rival. Now, tho' by this I shall not, perhaps, lessen the number of the Admirers of his Complection, I shall have a fair Chance to divide the Passengers by the irresistible Force of mine.

I expect sudden Dispatches from you, with Advice of the Family you are in now, how to deport my self upon this so delicate a Conjuncture; with some comfortable Resolutions in favour of the handsome black Man against the handsome fair one.

I am, Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

C.

N. B. He who writ this, is a black Man two Pair of Stairs; the Gentleman of whom he writes, is fair, and one Pair of Stairs.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I only say, that it is impossible for me to say how much I am

Yours,

Robin Shorter.

P. S. 'I shall think it a little hard, if you do not take as much notice of this Epistle, as you have of the ingenious Mr. Short's. I am not afraid to let the World see which is the Deeper Man of the two.

Footnote 1:History of the Rebellion

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Contents

Advertisement

London, September 15.

Whereas a young Woman on horseback,

in an Equestrian Habit on the 13th Instant in the Evening,

met the Spectator within a Mile and an half of this Town,

and flying in the Face of Justice,

pull'd off her Hat, in which there was a Feather,

with the Mein and Air of a young Officer,

saying at the same time,

Your Servant Mr. SPEC. or Words to that Purpose;

This is to give Notice,

that if any Person can discover the Name,

and Place of Abode of the said Offender,

so as she can be brought to Justice,

the Informant shall have all fitting Encouragement.

No. 486

Wednesday, September 17, 1712

Steele

—Audire est operæ pretium procedere recte

Qui mechis non vultis—

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'There are very many of my Acquaintance Followers of Socrates, with more particular regard to that part of his Philosophy which we, among, our selves, call his Domesticks; under which Denomination, or Title, we include all the Conjugal Joys and Sufferings. We have indeed, with very great Pleasure, observed the Honour you do the whole Fraternity of the Hen-peck'd, in placing that illustrious Man at our Head, and it does in a very great measure baffle the Raillery of pert Rogues, who have no advantage above us, but in that they are single. But when you look about into the Crowd of Mankind, you will find the Fair Sex reigns with greater Tyranny over Lovers than Husbands. You shall hardly meet one in a thousand who is wholly exempt from their Dominion, and those that are so, are capable of no Taste of Life, and breathe and walk about the Earth as Insignificants. But I am going to deSir e your further Favour in behalf of our harmless Brotherhood, and hope you will shew in a true light the un-married Hen-peck'd, as well as you have done Justice to us, who submit to the Conduct of our Wives. I am very particularly acquainted with one who is under entire Submission to a kind Girl, as he calls her; and tho' he knows I have been Witness both to the ill Usage he has received from her, and his Inability to resist her Tyranny, he still pretends to make a Jest of me for a little more than ordinary Obsequiousness to my Spouse. No longer than Tuesday last he took me with him to visit his Mistress; and he having, it seems, been a little in Disgrace before, thought by bringing me with him she would constrain herself, and insensibly fall into general Discourse with him; and so he might break the Ice, and save himself all the ordinary Compunctions and Mortifications she used to make him suffer before she would be reconciled after any Act of Rebellion on his Part. When we came into the Room, we were received with the utmost Coldness; and when he presented me as Mr. Such-a-one, his very good Friend, she just had Patience to suffer my Salutation; but when he himself, with a very gay Air, offered to follow me, she gave him a thundering Box on the Ear, called him pitiful poor-spirited Wretch, how durst he see her Face? His Wig and Hat fell on different Parts of the Floor. She seized the Wig too soon for him to recover it, and kicking it down Stairs, threw herself into an opposite Room, pulling the Door after her with a Force, that you would have thought the Hinges would have given Way. We went down, you must think, with no very good Countenances; and as we sneaked off, and were driving home together, he confessed to me, that her Anger was thus highly raised, because he did not think fit to fight a Gentleman who had said she was what she was; but, says he, a kind Letter or two, or fifty pieces, will put her in Humour again. I asked him why he did not part with her; he answered, he loved her with all the Tenderness imaginable, and she had too many Charms to be abandoned for a little Quickness of Spirit. Thus does this illegitimate Hen-pecked over-look the Hussy's having no Regard to his very Life and Fame, in putting him upon an infamous Dispute about her Reputation; yet has he the Confidence to laugh at me, because I obey my poor Dear in keeping out of Harm's Way, and not staying too late from my own Family, to pass through the Hazards of a Town full of Ranters and Debauchees. You that are a Philosopher should urge in our behalf, that when we bear with a froward Woman, our Patience is preserved, in consideration that a breach with her might be a Dishonour to Children who are descended from us, and whose Concern makes us tolerate a thousand Frailties, for fear they should redound Dishonour upon the Innocent. This and the like Circumstances, which carry with them the most valuable Regards of human Life, may be mentioned for our long Suffering; but in the case of Gallants, they swallow ill Usage from one to whom they have no Obligation, but from a base Passion, which it is mean to indulge, and which it would be glorious to overcome.

'These Sort of Fellows are very numerous, and some have been conspicuously such, without Shame; nay they have carried on the Jest in the very Article of Death, and, to the Diminution of the Wealth and Happiness of their Families, in bar of those honourably near to them, have left immense Wealth to their Paramours. What is this but being a Cully in the Grave! Sure this is being Hen-peck'd with a Vengeance! But without dwelling upon these less frequent Instances of eminent Cullyism, what is there so common as to hear a Fellow curse his Fate that he cannot get rid of a Passion to a Jilt, and quote an Half-Line out of a Miscellany Poem to prove his Weakness is natural? If they will go on thus, I have nothing to say to it: But then let them not pretend to be free all this while, and laugh at us poor married Patients.

'I have known one Wench in this Town carry an haughty Dominion over her Lovers so well, that she has at the same time been kept by a Sea-Captain in the Straits, a Merchant in the City, a Country Gentleman in Hampshire, and had all her Correspondences managed by one she kept for her own Uses. This happy Man (as the Phrase is) used to write very punctually every Post, Letters for the Mistress to transcribe. He would sit in his Night-Gown and Slippers, and be as grave giving an Account, only changing Names, that there was nothing in those idle Reports they had heard of such a Scoundrel as one of the other Lovers was; and how could he think she could condescend so low, after such a fine Gentleman as each of them? For the same Epistle said the same thing to and of every one of them. And so Mr. Secretary and his Lady went to Bed with great Order.

'To be short, Mr. SPECTATOR, we Husbands shall never make the Figure we ought in the Imaginations of young Men growing up in the World, except you can bring it about that a Man of the Town shall be as infamous a Character as a Woman of the Town. But of all that I have met in my time, commend me to Betty Duall: She is the Wife of a Sailor, and the kept Mistress of a Man of Quality; she dwells with the latter during the Sea-faring of the former. The Husband asks no Questions, sees his Apartments furnished with Riches not his, when he comes into Port, and the Lover is as joyful as a Man arrived at his Haven when the other puts to Sea. Betty is the most eminently victorious of any of her Sex, and ought to stand recorded the only Woman of the Age in which she lives, who has possessed at the same time two Abused, and two Contented...

Contents

No. 487

Thursday, September 18, 1712

Addison

—Cum prostrata sopore

Urget membra quies, et mem sine pondere ludit—

Petr.

shallReligio Medici[1]

We are somewhat more than our selves in our Sleeps, and the Slumber of the Body seems to be but the Waking of the Soul. It is the Litigation of Sense, but the Liberty of Reason; and our waking Conceptions do not match the Fancies of our Sleeps. At my Nativity my Ascendant was the watery Sign of Scorpius: I was born in the Planetary Hour of Saturn, and I think I have a piece of that leaden Planet in me. I am no way facetious, nor disposed for the Mirth and Galliardize of Company; yet in one Dream I can compose a whole Comedy, behold the Action, apprehend the Jests, and laugh my self awake at the Conceits thereof. Were my Memory as faithful as my Reason is then fruitful, I would never study but in my Dreams; and this time also would I chuse for my Devotions: but our grosser Memories have then so little hold of our abstracted Understandings, that they forget the Story, and can only relate to our awaked Souls a confused and broken Tale of that that has passed—Thus it is observed that Men sometimes, upon the Hour of their Departure, do speak and reason above themselves; for then the Soul beginning to be freed from the Ligaments of the Body, begins to reason like her self, and to discourse in a strain above Mortality.

—Semperque relinqui

Sola sili, semper longam incomitata videtur

Ire viam—

Virg.

mindPlutarchHeraclitus, That all Men whilst they are awake are in one common World; but that each of them, when he is asleep, is in a World of his own.[2]

omitTertullian[3]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:On Superstition

But to the superstitious man there is no common world, for neither does he use right reason when awake, nor is he freed, when sleeping, from his perturbations.

return

Footnote 3:On the Soul,

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Contents

No. 488

Friday, September 19, 1712

Addison

Quanti emptæ? parvi. Quanti ergo? octo assibus. Eheu!

Hor.

T. W.SpectatorEugeniusviz. Price Two-PenceSirPhilomedesSpectator

SpectatorSpectatorSirSpectatorLætitiaSir

Spectator

Spectators

Spectator

Sir ,

'Having heard the following Epigram very much commended, I wonder that it has not yet had a place in any of your Papers: I think the Suffrage of our Poet Laureat should not be overlooked, which shews the Opinion he entertains of your Paper, whether the Notion he proceeds upon be true or false. I make bold to convey it to you, not knowing if it has yet come to your Hands.

Sir ,

'Having heard the following Epigram very much commended, I wonder that it has not yet had a place in any of your Papers: I think the Suffrage of our Poet Laureat should not be overlooked, which shews the Opinion he entertains of your Paper, whether the Notion he proceeds upon be true or false. I make bold to convey it to you, not knowing if it has yet come to your Hands.

On the SPECTATOR.

By Mr. Tate[1].

--Aliusque et idem

Nasceris—

Hor.

'When first the Tatler to a Mute was turn'd,

Great Britain for her Censor's Silence mourn'd.

Robb'd of his sprightly Beams, she wept the Night,

'Till the Spectator rose, and blaz'd as bright.

So the first Man the Sun's first Setting view'd,

And sigh'd, till circling Day his Joys renew'd;

Yet doubtful how that second Sun to name,

Whether a bright Successor, or the same.

So we: but now from this Suspense are freed,

Since all agree, who both with Judgment read,

'Tis the same Sun, and does himself succeed.'

Footnote 1:Absalom and Achithophel,Spectator

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Contents

No. 489

Saturday, September 20, 1712

Addison

Sir ,

Upon reading your Essay concerning the Pleasures of the Imagination, I find, among the three Sources of those Pleasures which you have discovered, that Greatness is one. This has suggested to me the reason why, of all Objects that I have ever seen, there is none which affects my Imagination so much as the Sea or Ocean. I cannot see the Heavings of this prodigious Bulk of Waters, even in a Calm, without a very pleasing Astonishment; but when it is worked up in a Tempest, so that the Horizon on every side is nothing but foaming Billows and floating Mountains, it is impossible to describe the agreeable Horrour that rises from such a Prospect. A troubled Ocean, to a Man who sails upon it, is, I think, the biggest Object that he can see in motion, and consequently gives his Imagination one of the highest kinds of Pleasure that can arise from Greatness. I must confess, it is impossible for me to survey this World of fluid Matter, without thinking on the Hand that first poured it out, and made a proper Channel for its Reception. Such an Object naturally raises in my Thoughts the Idea of an Almighty Being, and convinces me of his Existence as much as a metaphysical Demonstration. The Imagination prompts the Understanding, and by the Greatness of the sensible Object, produces in it the Idea of a Being who is neither circumscribed by Time nor Space.

As I have made several Voyages upon the Sea, I have often been tossed in Storms, and on that occasion have frequently reflected on the Descriptions of them in ancient Poets. I remember Longinus highly recommends one in Homer, because the Poet has not amused himself with little Fancies upon the occasion, as Authors of an inferiour Genius, whom he mentions, had done, but because he has gathered together those Circumstances which are the most apt to terrify the Imagination, and which really happen in the raging of a Tempest[1]. It is for the same reason, that I prefer the following Description of a Ship in a Storm, which the Psalmist has made, before any other I have ever met with.

They that go down to the Sea in Ships, that do Business in great Waters: These see the Works of the Lord, and his Wonders in the Deep. For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy Wind, which lifteth up the Waters thereof. They mount up to the Heaven, they go down again to the Depths, their Soul is melted because of Trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken Man, and are at their Wits End. Then they cry unto the Lord in their Trouble, and he bringeth them out of their Distresses. He maketh the Storm a Calm, so that the Waves thereof are still. Then they are glad because they be quiet, so he bringeth them unto their deSir ed Haven.[2]

By the way, how much more comfortable, as well as rational, is this System of the Psalmist, than the Pagan Scheme in Virgil, and other Poets, where one Deity is represented as raising a Storm, and another as laying it? Were we only to consider the Sublime in this Piece of Poetry, what can be nobler than the Idea it gives us of the Supreme Being thus raising the Tumult among the Elements, and recovering them out of their Confusion; thus troubling and becalming Nature?

Great Painters do not only give us Landskips of Gardens, Groves, and Meadows, but very often employ their Pencils upon Sea-Pieces: I could wish you would follow their Example. If this small Sketch may deserve a Place among your Works, I shall accompany it with a divine Ode, made by a Gentleman[3] upon the Conclusion of his Travels.

I

r1c2

I

How are thy Servants blest, O Lord!

How sure is their Defence!

Eternal Wisdom is their Guide,

Their Help Omnipotence.

II

In foreign Realms, and Lands remote,

Supported by thy Care,

Thro' burning Climes I pass'd unhurt,

And breath'd in tainted Air.

III

Thy Mercy sweeten'd ev'ry Soil,

Made ev'ry Region please;

The hoary Alpine Hills it warm'd,

And smooth'd the Tyrrhene Seas:

IV

Think, O my Soul, devoutly think,

How with affrighted Eyes

Thou saw'st the wide extended Deep

In all its Horrors rise!

V

Confusion dwelt in ev'ry Face,

And Fear in ev'ry Heart;

When Waves on Waves, and Gulphs in Gulphs,

O'ercame the Pilot's Art.

VI

Yet then from all my Griefs, O Lord,

Thy Mercy set me free,

Whilst in the Confidence of Pray'r

My Soul took hold on thee;

VII

For tho' in dreadful Whirles we hung

High on the broken Wave,

I knew thou wert not slow to Hear,

Nor impotent to Save.

VIII

The Storm was laid, the Winds retir'd,

Obedient to thy Will;

The Sea that roar'd at thy Command,

At thy Command was still.

IX

In midst of Dangers, Fears and Death,

Thy Goodness I'll adore,

And praise Thee for Thy Mercies past;

And humbly hope for more.

X

My Life, if thou preserv'st my Life,

Thy Sacrifice shall be;

And Death, if Death must be my Doom,

Shall join my Soul to thee.

[4]

Footnote 1:On the SublimeIliad

He bursts upon them all:

Bursts as a wave that from the cloud impends,

And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends;

White are the decks with foam; the winds aloud

Howl o'er the masts, and sing through every shroud:

Pale, trembling, tir'd, the sailors freeze with fears,

And instant death on every wave appears.

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Psalm

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

Advertisement

The Author of the Spectator having received the Pastoral Hymn in his 441st Paper, set to Musick by one of the most Eminent Composers of our own Country and by a Foreigner, who has not put his name to his ingenious Letter, thinks himself obliged to return his thanks to those Gentlemen for the Honour they have done him.

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Contents

No. 490

Monday, September 22, 1712

Steele

Domus et placens Uxor.

Hor.

WifeEnglandSirSir

UxanderViramiraViramiraUxanderCervantesSancho PanaRozinanteDulcinea

DictamnusMoriaUxanderViramiraDictamnusMoria

TullyaboveMartial[1]CleopatraWill. HoneycombFrenchEnglishLatin

When my bright Consort, now nor Wife nor Maid,

Asham'd and wanton, of Embrace afraid,

Fled to the Streams, the Streams my Fair betray'd;

To my fond Eyes she all transparent stood,

She blush'd, I smil'd at the slight covering Flood.

Thus thro' the Glass the Lovely Lilly glows,

Thus thro' the ambient Gem shines forth the Rose.

I saw new Charms, and plung'd to seize my Store,

Kisses I snatch'd, the Waves prevented more.

Consortbya[2]Spencer speaksPlace[3]

Hard is the Doubt, and difficult to deem,

When all three kinds of Love together meet,

And to dispart the Heart with Power extreme,

Whether shall weigh the Ballance down; to wit,

The dear Affection unto Kindred sweet,

Or raging Fire of Love to Womenkind,

Or Zeal of Friends combin'd by Virtues meet.

But, of them all, the Band of virtuous Mind

Methinks the gentle Heart should most assured bind.

For natural Affection soon doth cease,

And quenched is with Cupid's greater Flame;

But faithful Friendship doth them both suppress,

And them with mastering Discipline does tame,

Through Thoughts aspiring to eternal Fame.

For as the Soul doth rule the Earthly Mass,

And all the Service of the Body frame;

So Love of Soul doth Love of Body pass,

No less than perfect Gold surmounts the meanest Brass.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:an

return

Footnote 3:its Place

return

Contents

No. 491

Tuesday, September 23, 1712

Steele

Digna satis fortuna revisit.

Virg.

This[1]

CharlesBurgundyThe BoldFranceClaudius RhynsaultGermanZealandRhynsaultZealandRhynsaultSapphiraPaul DanveltRhynsaultRhynsaultDanveltSirDanveltRhynsaultIf you will save your Husband, you must give me an account of all you know without Prevarication; for every body is satisfied he was too fond of you to be able to hide from you the Names of the rest of the Conspirators, or any other Particulars whatsoeverSirDanveltSapphira

SapphiraSirRhynsaultRhynsault.

Behold, O mightya Wretch weary of Life, though it has always been spent with Innocence and Virtue. It is not in your power to redress my Injuries, but it is to avenge them. And if the Protection of the Distress'd, and the Punishment of Oppressors, is a Task worthy a Prince, I bring the Duke ofample matter for doing Honour to his own great Name, and wiping Infamy off of mine.

RhynsaultSapphiraDo you know that Lady? RhynsaultRhynsault, Thus far have you done as constrain'd by my Authority: I shall not be satisfied of your kind Usage of her, without you sign a Gift of your whole Estate to her after your DeceaseRhynsault

Footnote 1:Bayle's Dictionary

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Contents

No. 492

Wednesday, September 24, 1712

Steele

Quicquid est boni moris Levitate extinguiter.

Sen.

Tunbridge, Sept. 18.

Dear Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am a young Woman of Eighteen Years of Age, and, I do assure you, a Maid of unspotted Reputation, founded upon a very careful Carriage in all my Looks, Words and Actions. At the same time I must own to you, that it is with much constraint to Flesh and Blood that my Behaviour is so strictly irreproachable; for I am naturally addicted to Mirth, to Gaiety, to a Free Air, to Motion and Gadding. Now what gives me a great deal of Anxiety, and is some Discouragement in the Pursuit of Virtue, is, that the young Women who run into greater Freedoms with the Men are more taken Notice of than I am. The Men are such unthinking Sots, that they do not prefer her who restrains all her Passions and Affections and keeps much within the Bounds of what is lawful, to her who goes to the utmost Verge of Innocence, and parlies at the very Brink of Vice, whether she shall be a Wife or a Mistress. But I must appeal to your Spectatorial Wisdom, who, I find, have passed very much of your Time in the Study of Woman, whether this is not a most unreasonable Proceeding. I have read somewhere, that Hobbes of Malmesbury asserts, that continent Persons have more of what they contain, than those who give a loose to their DeSir es. According to this Rule, let there be equal Age, equal Wit, and equal Good-Humour, in the Woman of Prudence, and her of Liberty; what Stores has he to expect, who takes the former? What Refuse must he be contented with, who chuses the latter? Well, but I sate down to write to you to vent my Indignation against several pert Creatures who are address'd to and courted in this Place, while poor I, and two or three like me, are wholly unregarded.

Every one of these affect gaining the Hearts of your Sex: This is generally attempted by a particular manner of carrying themselves with Familiarity. Glycera has a dancing Walk, and keeps Time in her ordinary Gate. Chloe, her Sister, who is unwilling to interrupt her Conquests, comes into the Room before her with a familiar Run. Dulcissa takes Advantage of the Approach of the Winter, and has introduc'd a very pretty Shiver; closing up her Shoulders, and shrinking as she moves. All that are in this Mode carry their Fans between both Hands before them. Dulcissa herself, who is Author of this Air, adds the pretty Run to it; and has also, when she is in very good Humour, a taking Familiarity in throwing herself into the lowest Seat in the Room, and letting her hoop'd Petticoats fall with a lucky Decency about her. I know she practices this way of sitting down in her Chamber; and indeed she does it as well as you may have seen an Actress fall down dead in a Tragedy. Not the least Indecency in her Posture. If you have observ'd what pretty Carcasses are carry'd off at the end of a Verse at the Theatre, it will give you a Notion how Dulcissa plumps into a Chair. Here's a little Country Girl that's very cunning, that makes her use of being young and unbred, and outdoes the Insnarers, who are almost twice her Age. The Air that she takes is to come into Company after a Walk, and is very successfully out of Breath upon occasion. Her Mother is in the Secret, and calls her Romp, and then looks round to see what young Men stare at her.

It would take up more than can come into one of your Papers, to enumerate all the particular Airs of the younger Company in this Place. But I cannot omit Dulceorella, whose manner is the most indolent imaginable, but still as watchful of Conquest as the busiest Virgin among us. She has a peculiar Art of staring at a young Fellow, till she sees she has got him, and inflam'd him by so much Observation. When she sees she has him, and he begins to toss his Head upon it, she is immediately short-sighted, and labours to observe what he is at a distance with her Eyes half shut. Thus the Captive, that thought her first struck, is to make very near Approaches, or be wholly disregarded. This Artifice has done more Execution than all the ogling of the rest of the Women here, with the utmost Variety of half Glances, attentive Heedlessnesses, childish Inadvertencies, haughty Contempts, or artificial Oversights. After I have said thus much of Ladies among us who fight thus regularly, I am to complain to you of a Set of Familiar Romps, who have broken thro' all common Rules, and have thought of a very effectual way of shewing more Charms than all of us. These, Mr. SPECTATOR, are the Swingers. You are to know these careless pretty Creatures are very Innocents again; and it is to be no matter what they do, for 'tis all harmless Freedom. They get on Ropes, as you must have seen the Children, and are swung by their Men Visitants. The Jest is, that Mr. such a one can name the Colour of Mrs. Such-a-one's Stockings; and she tells him, he is a lying Thief, so he is, and full of Roguery; and she'll lay a Wager, and her Sister shall tell the Truth if he says right, and he can't tell what Colour her Garters are of. In this Diversion there are very many pretty Shrieks, not so much for fear of falling, as that their Petticoats shou'd untye: For there is a great care had to avoid Improprieties; and the Lover who swings the Lady, is to tye her Clothes very close with his Hatband, before she admits him to throw up her Heels.

'Now, Mr. SPECTATOR, except you can note these Wantonnesses in their Beginnings, and bring us sober Girls into Observation, there is no help for it, we must swim with the Tide; the Coquets are too powerful a Party for us. To look into the Merit of a regular and well-behav'd Woman, is a slow thing. A loose trivial Song gains the Affections, when a wise Homily is not attended to. There is no other way but to make war upon them, or we must go over to them. As for my Part, I will shew all the World it is not for want of Charms that I stand so long unasked; and if you do not take measures for the immediate Redress of us Rigids, as the Fellows call us, I can move with a speaking Mien, can look significantly, can lisp, can trip, can loll, can start, can blush, can rage, can weep, if I must do it, and can be frighted as agreeably as any She in England. All which is humbly submitted to your Spectatorial Consideration with all Humility, by

Your most humble Servant,

Matilda Mohair.

Contents

No. 493

Thursday, September 25, 1712

Steele

Qualem commendes etiam atque etiam adspice, ne mox

Incutiant aliena tibi peccata pudorem.

Hor.

The Bearer hereof is so uneasie to me, that it will be an Act of Charity in you to take him off my Hands; whether you prefer him or not, it is all one, for I have no manner of Kindness for him, or Obligation to him or his; and do what you please as to that.

West-IndiesEnglandEngland

Jack ToperTempleJack

Sir ,

'Thomas that lived with me was turned away because he was too good for me. You know I live in Taverns; he is an orderly sober Rascal, and thinks much to sleep in an Entry till two in a Morning. He told me one day when he was dressing me, that he wondered I was not dead before now, since I went to Dinner in the Evening, and went to Supper at two in the Morning. We were coming down Essex-street one Night a little flustrated, and I was giving him the Word to alarm the Watch; he had the Impudence to tell me it was against the Law. You that are married, and live one Day after another the same Way, and so on the whole Week, I dare say will like him, and he will be glad to have his Meat in due Season. The Fellow is certainly very Honest. My Service to your Lady.

Yours, J. T.

Jack

HoraceClaudius NerotheHorace[1]

To Claudius Nero.

Sir ,

'Septimus, who waits upon you with this, is very well acquainted with the place you are pleased to allow me in your Friendship. For when he beseeches me to recommend him to your Notice, in such a manner as to be received by you, who are delicate in the choice of your Friends and Domesticks, he knows our Intimacy, and understands my Ability to serve him better than I do myself. I have defended my self against his Ambition to be yours, as long as I possibly could; but fearing the Imputation of hiding my Power in you out of mean and selfish Considerations, I am at last prevailed upon to give you this Trouble. Thus, to avoid the Appearance of a greater Fault, I have put on this Confidence. If you can forgive this Transgression of Modesty in behalf of a Friend, receive this Gentleman into your Interests and Friendship, and take it from me that he is an honest and brave Man.

Footnote 1:Epistles

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Contents

No. 494

Friday, September 26, 1712

Addison

Ægritudinem laudare, unam rem maximè detestabilem, quorum est tandem Philosophorum?

Cic.

EnglandGentleman[1]which[2]LatinGreekLatinGreekWhether he was prepared for Death?

SombriusSombrius

MosesPromise

An[3]PlutarchPlutarch

Footnote 1:Tatler

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:On Superstition

return

Contents

No. 495

Saturday, September 27, 1712

Addison

Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus

Nigræ feraci frondis in Algido,

Per damna, per cades, ab ipso

Ducit opes animumque ferro.

Hor.

Jews

JewsCanaan

RomanTurkeyRabbins

EastChinaEuropeAfrickWest-IndiesPrester-John'sAmerica

Promise

JewsMessiah

JewsPromise

JewsSybils

Contents

No. 496

Monday, September 29, 1712

Steele

Gnatum pariter uti his decuit aut etiam amplius,

Quod illa ætas magis ad hæc utenda idonea est.

Terent. Heaut. A. 1. Sc. 1.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Those Ancients who were the most accurate in their Remarks on the Genius and Temper of Mankind, by considering the various Bent and Scope of our Actions throughout the Progress of Life, have with great Exactness allotted Inclinations and Objects of DeSir e particular to every Stage, according to the different Circumstances of our Conversation and Fortune, thro' the several Periods of it. Hence they were disposed easily to excuse those Excesses which might possibly arise from a too eager Pursuit of the Affections more immediately proper to each State: They indulged the Levity of Childhood with Tenderness, overlooked the Gayety of Youth with Good-nature, tempered the forward Ambition and Impatience of ripen'd Manhood with Discretion, and kindly imputed the tenacious Avarice of old Men to their want of relish for any other Enjoyment. Such Allowances as these were no less advantageous to common Society than obliging to particular Persons; for by maintaining a Decency and Regularity in the Course of Life, they supported the Dignity of human Nature, which then suffers the greatest Violence when the Order of things is inverted; and in nothing is it more remarkably vilify'd and ridiculous, than when Feebleness preposterously attempts to adorn it self with that outward Pomp and Lustre, which serve only to set off the Bloom of Youth with better advantage. I was insensibly carried into Reflections of this nature, by just now meeting Paulino (who is in his Climacterick) bedeck'd with the utmost Splendour of Dress and Equipage, and giving an unbounded Loose to all manner of Pleasure, whilst his only Son is debarr'd all innocent Diversion, and may be seen frequently solacing himself in the Mall with no other Attendance than one antiquated Servant of his Father's for a Companion and Director.

'It is a monstrous want of Reflection, that a Man cannot consider, that when he cannot resign the Pleasures of Life in his Decay of Appetite and Inclination to them, his Son must have a much uneasier Task to resist the Impetuosity of growing DeSir es. The Skill therefore should, methinks, be to let a Son want no lawful Diversion, in proportion to his future Fortune, and the Figure he is to make in the World. The first Step towards Virtue that I have observed in young Men of Condition that have run into Excesses, has been that they had a regard to their Quality and Reputation in the Management of their Vices. Narrowness in their Circumstances has made many Youths, to supply themselves as Debauchees, commence Cheats and Rascals. The Father who allows his Son to his utmost ability avoids this latter Evil, which as to the World is much greater than the former. But the contrary Practice has prevail'd so much among some Men, that I have known them deny them what was merely necessary for Education suitable to their Quality. Poor young Antonio is a lamentable Instance of ill Conduct in this kind. The young Man did not want natural Talents; but the Father of him was a Coxcomb, who affected being a fine Gentleman so unmercifully, that he could not endure in his sight, or the frequent mention of one, who was his Son, growing into Manhood, and thrusting him out of the gay World. I have often thought the Father took a secret Pleasure in reflecting that when that fine House and Seat came into the next hands, it would revive his Memory, as a Person who knew how to enjoy them, from Observation of the Rusticity and Ignorance of his Successor. Certain it is that a Man may, if he will, let his Heart close to the having no regard to any thing but his dear self, even with exclusion of his very Children. I recommend this Subject to your Consideration, and am,

Sir , Your most humble Servant,

T. B.

London, Sept. 26, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am just come from Tunbridge, and have since my return read Mrs. Matilda Mohair's Letter to you: She pretends to make a mighty Story about the Diversion of Swinging in that Place. What was done, was only among Relations; and no Man swung any Woman who was not second Cousin at farthest. She is pleased to say, care was taken that the Gallants tied the Ladies Legs before they were wafted into the Air. Since she is so spiteful, I'll tell you the plain Truth; there was no such Nicety observed, since we were all, as I just now told you, near Relations; but Mrs. Mohair her self has been swung there, and she invents all this Malice, because it was observed she has crooked Legs, of which I was an Eye-Witness.

Your humble Servant,

Rachel Shoestring.

Tunbridge, Sept. 26, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'We have just now read your Paper, containing Mrs. Mohair's Letter. It is an Invention of her own from one end to the other; and I deSir e you would print the enclosed Letter by it self, and shorten it so as to come within the Compass of your Half-Sheet. She is the most malicious Minx in the World, for all she looks so innocent. Don't leave out that Part about her being in love with her Father's Butler, which makes her shun Men; for that is the truest of it all.

Your humble Servant,

Sarah Trice.

P. S. 'She has crooked Legs.'

Tunbridge, Sept. 26, 1712. Mr. SPECTATOR,

'All that Mrs. Mohair is so vexed at against the good Company of this Place, is, that we all know she has crooked Legs. This is certainly true. I don't care for putting my Name, because one would not be in the Power of the Creature.

Your humble Servant unknown.

Tunbridge, Sept. 26, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'That insufferable Prude Mrs. Mohair, who has told such Stories of the Company here, is with Child, for all her nice Airs and her crooked Legs. Pray be sure to put her in for both those two Things, and you'll oblige every Body here, especially

Your humble Servant,

Alice Bluegarter.'

Contents

No. 497

Thursday, September 30, 1712

Steele

an Halt

SebastianPortugal

When Leo X.RomeRome[1]Sir

Do not be surprized, most holy Father, at seeing, instead of a Coxcomb to laugh at, your old Friend who has taken this way of Access to admonish you of your own Folly. Can any thing shew your Holiness how unworthily you treat Mankind, more than my being put upon this Difficulty to speak with you? It is a degree of Folly to delight to see it in others, and it is the greatest Insolence imaginable to rejoice in the Disgrace of human Nature. It is a criminal Humility in a Person of your Holiness's Understanding, to believe you cannot excel but in the Conversation of Half-wits, Humorists, Coxcombs, and Buffoons. If your Holiness has a mind to be diverted like a rational Man, you have a great opportunity for it, in disrobing all the Impertinents you have favour'd, of all their Riches and Trappings at once, and bestowing them on the Humble, the Virtuous, and the Meek. If your Holiness is not concerned for the sake of Virtue and Religion, be pleased to reflect, that for the sake of your own Safety it is not proper to be so very much in jest. When the Pope is thus merry, the People will in time begin to think many things, which they have hitherto beheld with great Veneration, are in themselves Objects of Scorn and Derision. If they once get a Trick of knowing how to laugh, your Holiness's saying this Sentence in one Night-Cap and t'other with the other, the change of your Slippers, bringing you your Staff in the midst of a Prayer, then stripping you of one Vest and clapping on a second during divine Service, will be found out to have nothing in it. Consider, Sir , that at this rate a Head will be reckoned never the wiser for being Bald; and the ignorant will be apt to say, that going bare-foot does not at all help on in the way to Heaven. The red Cap and the Coul will fall under the same Contempt; and the Vulgar will tell us to our Faces that we shall have no Authority over them, but from the Force of our Arguments, and the Sanctity of our Lives.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 498

Wednesday, October 1, 1712

Steele

—Frustra retinacula tendens

Fertur equis Auriga, neque audit currus habenas.

To the SPECTATOR-GENERAL of Great Britain.

From the farther end of the Widow's Coffee-house in Devereaux Court, Monday Evening, twenty eight Minutes and a Half past Six.

Dear Dumb,

'In short, to use no further Preface, if I should tell you that I have seen a Hackney-Coachman, when he has come to set down his Fare, which has consisted of two or three very fine Ladies, hand them out, and salute every one of them with an Air of Familiarity, without giving the least Offence, you would perhaps think me guilty of a Gasconade. But to clear my self from that Imputation, and to explain this Matter to you, I assure you that there are many Illustrious Youths within this City, who frequently recreate themselves by driving of a Hackney-Coach: But those whom, above all others, I would recommend to you, are the young Gentlemen belonging to our Inns of Court. We have, I think, about a dozen Coachmen, who have Chambers here in the Temple; and as it is reasonable to believe others will follow their Example, we may perhaps in time (if it shall be thought convenient) be drove to Westminster by our own Fraternity, allowing every fifth Person to apply his Meditations in this way, which is but a modest Computation, as the Humour is now likely to take. It is to be hop'd likewise, that there are in the other Nurseries of the Law to be found a proportionable number of these hopeful Plants, springing up to the everlasting Renown of their native Country. Of how long standing this Humour has been, I know not; the first time I had any particular Reason to take notice of it, was about this time twelvemonth, when being upon Hampstead-Heath with some of these studious young Men, who went thither purely for the Sake of Contemplation, nothing would serve them but I must go thro' a Course of this Philosophy too; and being ever willing to embelish my self with any commendable Qualification, it was not long e'er they persuaded me into the Coach-box; nor indeed much longer, before I underwent the Fate of my Brother Phaeton, for having drove about fifty Paces with pretty good Success, through my own natural Sagacity, together with the good Instructions of my Tutors, who, to give them their due, were on all Hands encouraging and assisting me in this laudable Undertaking; I say, Sir , having drove about fifty Paces with pretty good Success, I must needs be exercising the Lash, which the Horses resented so ill from my Hands, that they gave a sudden Start, and thereby pitched me directly upon my Head, as I very well remembered about Half an Hour afterwards, which not only deprived me of all the Knowledge I had gain'd for fifty Yards before, but had like to have broken my Neck into the Bargain. After such a severe Reprimand, you may imagine I was not very easily prevail'd with to make a second Attempt; and indeed, upon mature Deliberation, the whole Science seem'd, at least to me, to be surrounded with so many Difficulties, that notwithstanding the unknown Advantages which might have accrued to me thereby, I gave over all Hopes of attaining it; and I believe had never thought of it more, but that my Memory has been lately refreshed by seeing some of these ingenious Gentlemen ply in the open Streets, one of which I saw receive so suitable a Reward of his Labours, that tho' I know you are no Friend to Story-telling, yet I must beg leave to trouble you with this at large.

'About a fortnight since, as I was diverting my self with a pennyworth of Walnuts at the Temple-Gate, a lively young Fellow in a Fustian Jacket shot by me, beckon'd a Coach, and told the Coachman he wanted to go as far as Chelsey: They agreed upon the Price, and this young Gentleman mounts the Coach-box; the Fellow staring at him, deSir 'd to know if he should not drive till they were out of Town? No, no, replied he: He was then going to climb up to him, but received another Check, and was then ordered to get into the Coach, or behind it, for that he wanted no Instructors; but be sure you Dog you, says he, don't you bilk me. The Fellow thereupon surrender'd his Whip, scratch'd his Head, and crept into the Coach. Having my self occasion to go into the Strand about the same Time, we started both together; but the Street being very full of Coaches, and he not so able a Coachman as perhaps he imagined himself, I had soon got a little Way before him; often, however, having the curiosity to cast my Eye back upon him, to observe how he behaved himself in this high Station; which he did with great Composure till he came to the Pass, which is a Military Term the Brothers of the Whip have given the Strait at St. Clement's Church: when he was arrived near this Place, where are always Coaches in waiting, the Coachmen began to suck up the Muscles of their Cheeks, and to tip the Wink upon each other, as if they had some Roguery in their Heads, which I was immediately convinced of; for he no sooner came within Reach, but the first of them with his Whip took the exact Dimension of his Shoulders, which he very ingeniously call'd Endorsing; and indeed I must say, that every one of them took due Care to endorse him as he came thro' their Hands. He seem'd at first a little uneasy under the Operation, and was going in all haste to take the Numbers of their Coaches; but at length by the Mediation of the worthy Gentleman in the Coach, his Wrath was asswaged, and he prevail'd upon to pursue his Journey; tho' indeed I thought they had clapt such a Spoke in his Wheel, as had disabled him from being a Coachman for that Day at least: For I am only mistaken, Mr. Spec. if some of these Endorsements were not wrote in so strong a Hand, that they are still legible. Upon my enquiring the Reason of this unusual Salutation, they told me, that it was a Custom among them, whenever they saw a Brother tottering or unstable in his Post, to lend him a hand in order to settle him again therein: For my part I thought their Allegations but reasonable, and so march'd off. Besides our Coachmen, we abound in divers other Sorts of ingenious robust Youth, who, I hope, will not take it ill if I refer giving you an account of their several Recreations to another Opportunity. In the mean time, if you would but bestow a little of your wholesome Advice upon our Coachmen, it might perhaps be a Reprieve to some of their Necks. As I understand you have several Inspectors under you, if you would but send one amongst us here in the Temple, I am persuaded he would not want Employment. But I leave this to your own Consideration, and am,

'Sir , Your very humble Servant,

'Moses Greenbag.

'P. S. I have heard our Criticks in the Coffee-houses hereabout talk mightily of the Unity of Time and Place: According to my Notion of the Matter, I have endeavoured at something like it in the Beginning of my Epistle. I deSir e to be inform'd a little as to that Particular. In my next I design to give you some account of excellent Watermen, who are bred to the Law, and far outdo the Land-Students above-mentioned.'

Contents

No. 499

Thursday, October 2, 1712

Addison

—Nimis uncis

Naribus indulges—

Pers.

Will. HoneycombSpectator

Dear SPEC.

'I was, about two Nights ago, in Company with very agreeable young People of both Sexes, where talking of some of your Papers which are written on Conjugal Love, there arose a Dispute among us, whether there were not more bad Husbands in the World than bad Wives. A Gentleman, who was Advocate for the Ladies, took this occasion to tell us the story of a famous Siege in Germany, which I have since found related in my Historical Dictionary, after the following manner. When the Emperor Conrade the Third had besieged Guelphus, Duke of Bavaria, in the City of Hensberg, the Women finding that the Town could not possibly hold out long, petitioned the Emperor that they might depart out of it, with so much as each of them could carry. The Emperor knowing they could not convey away many of their Effects, granted them their Petition; When the Women, to his great Surprize, came out of the Place with every one her Husband upon her back. The Emperor was so moved at the sight, that he burst into Tears, and after having very much extolled the Women for their conjugal Affection, gave the Men to their Wives, and received the Duke into his Favour.

'The Ladies did not a little triumph at this Story, asking us at the same time, whether in our Consciences we believed that the Men of any Town in Great Britain would, upon the same Offer, and at the same Conjuncture, have loaden themselves with their Wives; or rather, whether they would not have been glad of such an opportunity to get rid of them? To this my very good Friend Tom Dapperwit, who took upon him to be the Mouth of our Sex, replied, that they would be very much to blame if they would not do the same good Office for the Women, considering that their Strength would be greater, and their Burdens lighter. As we were amusing our selves with Discourses of this nature, in order to pass away the Evening, which now begins to grow tedious, we fell into that laudable and primitive Diversion of Questions and Commands. I was no sooner vested with the regal Authority, but I enjoined all the Ladies, under pain of my Displeasure, to tell the Company ingenuously, in case they had been in the Siege abovementioned, and had the same Offers made them as the good Women of that Place, what every one of them would have brought off with her, and have thought most worth the saving? There were several merry Answers made to my Question, which entertained us till Bed-time. This filled my Mind with such a huddle of Ideas, that upon my going to sleep, I fell into the following Dream.

'I saw a Town of this Island, which shall be nameless, invested on every side, and the Inhabitants of it so straitned as to cry for Quarter. The General refused any other Terms than those granted to the abovementioned Town of Hensberg, namely, that the married Women might come out with what they could bring along with them. Immediately the City-Gates flew open, and a Female Procession appeared. Multitudes of the Sex following one another in a row, and staggering under their respective Burdens. I took my Stand upon an Eminence in the Enemies Camp, which was appointed for the general Rendezvous of these Female Carriers, being very deSir ous to look into their several Ladings. The first of them had a huge Sack upon her Shoulders, which she set down with great Care: Upon the opening of it, when I expected to have seen her Husband shot out of it, I found it was filled with China-Ware. The next appeared in a more decent Figure, carrying a handsome young Fellow upon her Back: I could not forbear commending the young Woman for her Conjugal Affection, when to my great Surprize, I found that she had left the good Man at home, and brought away her Gallant. I saw the third, at some distance, with a little withered Face peeping over her Shoulder, whom I could not suspect for any but her Spouse, till upon her setting him down I heard her call him dear Pugg, and found him to be her Favourite Monkey. A fourth brought a huge Bale of Cards along with her; and the fifth a Bolonia Lap-Dog; for her Husband, it seems, being a very Burly Man, she thought it would be less trouble for her to bring away little Cupid. The next was the Wife of a rich Usurer, loaden with a Bag of Gold; she told us that her Spouse was very old, and by the course of Nature could not expect to live long; and that to shew her tender regards for him, she had saved that which the poor Man loved better than his Life. The next came towards us with her Son upon her Back, who, we were told, was the greatest Rake in the Place, but so much the Mother's Darling, that she left her Husband behind with a large Family of hopeful Sons and Daughters, for the sake of this Graceless Youth.

'It would be endless to mention the several Persons, with their several Loads that appeared to me in this strange Vision. All the Place about me was covered with packs of Ribbands, Brocades, Embroidery, and Ten thousand other Materials, sufficient to have furnished a whole Street of Toy-shops. One of the Women, having an Husband who was none of the heaviest, was bringing him off upon her Shoulders, at the same time that she carried a great bundle of Flanders-lace under her Arm; but finding herself so overloaden, that she could not save both of them, she dropp'd the good Man, and brought away the Bundle. In short, I found but one Husband among this great Mountain of Baggage, who was a lively Cobler, that kick'd and spurr'd all the while his Wife was carrying him on, and, as it was said, had scarce passed a Day in his Life without giving her the Discipline of the Strap.

'I cannot conclude my Letter, Dear Spec., without telling thee one very odd Whim in this my Dream, I saw, methoughts, a dozen Women employed in bringing off one Man; I could not guess who it should be, till upon his nearer approach I discover'd thy short Phiz. The Women all declared that it was for the sake of thy Works, and not thy Person, that they brought thee off, and that it was on condition that thou should'st continue the Spectator. If thou thinkest this Dream will make a tolerable one, it is at thy Service, from,

'Dear Spec.

'Thine, Sleeping and Waking,

'Will. Honeycomb.'

Willcannot[1]

Footnote 1:

LONDON: Printed for S. Buckley and J. Tonson: And Sold by A. Baldwin in Warwick-Lane. But an announcement at the head of the advertisement sets forth that Advertisements for this Paper continue to be taken in by S. Buckley at the Dolphin in Little-Britain, J. Tonson at Shakespear's Head in the Strand, C. Lillie at the Corner of Beauford Buildings, and A. Baldwin in Warwick-Lane.

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Contents

No. 500

Friday, October 3, 1712

Addison

—Huc natas adjice septem,

Et totidem juvenes, et mox generosque nurusque.

Quærite nunc, habeat quam nostra superbia causam.

Ov. Met.

Sir ,

'You who are so well acquainted with the Story of Socrates, must have read how, upon his making a Discourse concerning Love, he pressed his Point with so much Success, that all the Batchelors in his Audience took a Resolution to Marry by the first Opportunity, and that all the married Men immediately took Horse and galloped home to their Wives. I am apt to think your Discourses, in which you have drawn so many agreeable Pictures of Marriage, have had a very good Effect this way in England. We are obliged to you, at least for having taken off that Senseless Ridicule, which for many Years the Witlings of the Town have turned upon their Fathers and Mothers. For my own part, I was born in Wedlock, and I don't care who knows it; For which Reason, among many others, I should look upon my self as a most insufferable Coxcomb, did I endeavour to maintain that Cuckoldom was inseparable from Marriage, or to make use of Husband and Wife as Terms of Reproach. Nay, Sir , I will go one step further, and declare to you before the whole World, that I am a married Man, and at the same time I have so much Assurance as not to be ashamed of what I have done.

'Among the several Pleasures that accompany this state of Life, and which you have described in your former Papers, there are two you have not taken Notice of, and which are seldom cast into the Account, by those who write on this Subject. You must have observed, in your Speculations on Human Nature, that nothing is more gratifying to the Mind of Man than Power or Dominion; and this I think my self amply possessed of, as I am the Father of a Family. I am perpetually taken up in giving out Orders, in prescribing Duties, in hearing Parties, in administring Justice, and in distributing Rewards and Punishments. To speak in the Language of the Centurion, I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my Servant, Do This, and he doth it. In short, Sir , I look upon my Family as a Patriarchal Sovereignty, in which I am my self both King and Priest. All great Governments are nothing else but Clusters of these little private Royalties, and therefore I consider the Masters of Families as small Deputy-Governors presiding over the several little Parcels and Divisions of their Fellow Subjects. As I take great pleasure in the Administration of my Government in particular, so I look upon my self not only as a more useful, but as a much greater and happier Man than any Batchelor in England of my[1] Rank and Condition.

'There is another accidental Advantage in Marriage, which has likewise fallen to my share, I mean the having a Multitude of Children. These I cannot but regard as very great Blessings. When I see my little Troop before me, I rejoice in the Additions which I have made to my Species, to my Country, and to my Religion, in having produced such a Number of reasonable Creatures, Citizens, and Christians. I am pleased to see my self thus perpetuated; and as there is no Production comparable to that of a human Creature, I am more proud of having been the Occasion of ten such glorious Productions, than if I had built a hundred Pyramids at my own Expence, or published as many Volumes of the finest Wit and Learning. In what a beautiful Light has the Holy Scripture represented Abdon, one of the Judges of Israel, who had forty Sons and thirty Grandsons, that rode on Threescore and Ten Ass-Colts, according to the Magnificence of the Eastern Countries? How must the Heart of the old Man rejoice, when he saw such a beautiful Procession of his own Descendants, such a numerous Cavalcade of his own raising? For my own part, I can sit in my Parlour with great content, when I take a review of half a dozen of my little Boys mounting upon Hobby-Horses, and of as many little Girls tutoring their Babies, each of them endeavouring to excel the rest, and to do something that may gain my Favour and Approbation. I cannot question but he who has blessed me with so many Children, will assist my Endeavours in providing for them. There is one thing I am able to give each of them, which is a virtuous Education. I think it is Sir Francis Bacon's Observation, that in a numerous Family of Children the eldest is often spoiled by the Prospect of an Estate, and the youngest by being the Darling of the Parent; but that some one or other in the middle, who has not perhaps been regarded, has made his way in the World, and over-topped the rest. It is my Business to implant in every one of my Children the same Seeds of Industry, and the same honest Principles. By this Means I think I have a fair Chance, that one or other of them may grow considerable in some or other way of Life, whether it be in the Army, or in the Fleet, in Trade, or any of the three learned Professions; for you must know, Sir , that from long Experience and Observation, I am persuaded of what seems a Paradox to most of those with whom I converse, namely, That a Man who has many Children, and gives them a good Education, is more likely to raise a Family, than he who has but one, notwithstanding he leaves him his whole Estate. For this reason I cannot forbear amusing my self with finding out a General, an Admiral, or an Alderman of London, a Divine, a Physician, or a Lawyer, among my little People who are now perhaps in Petticoats; and when I see the Motherly Airs of my little Daughters when they are playing with their Puppets, I cannot but flatter my self that their Husbands and Children will be happy in the Possession of such Wives and Mothers.

'If you are a Father, you will not perhaps think this Letter impertinent: but if you are a single Man, you will not know the Meaning of it, and probably throw it into the Fire: Whatever you determine of it, you may assure yourself that it comes from one who is

'Your most humble Servant, and Well-wisher,

'Philogamus.'

Footnote 1:my own

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Contents

No. 501

Saturday, October 4, 1712

Parnell

Durum: sed levius sit patientiâ

Quicquid corrigere est nefas.

Hor.

CCCCLXth Paper O.

Sir

TearsMisfortunePatienceSirSighs

Patience

Grotto of GriefDoleful BeingDejectionPalenessCareAnguishTroublesVulturesPatience

Pity

Gleams of AmusementSighs

ComfortPatiencePatienceComfortComfort

Contents

No. 502

Monday, October 6, 1712

Steele

Melius, pejus, prosit, obsit, nil vident nisi quod lubent.

Ter.

RomanTerenceSelf-TormentorI am a Man, and cannot help feeling any Sorrow that can arrive at ManCovent-GardenheardElizabeth[1]Terence'scould

When I came to the House, said he, an old Woman opened the Door, and I followed her in, because I could by entring upon them unawares better observe what was your Mistress's ordinary manner of spending her Time, the only way of judging any one's Inclinations and Genius. I found her at her Needle in a sort of second Mourning, which she wore for an Aunt she had lately lost. She had nothing on but what shewed she dressed only for herself. Her Hair hung negligently about her Shoulders. She had none of the Arts with which others use to set themselves off, but had that Negligence of Person which is remarkable in those who are careful of their Minds—Then she had a Maid who was at work near her, that was a Slattern, because her Mistress was careless; which I take to be another Argument of your security in her; for the Go-betweens of Women of Intrigue are rewarded too well to be dirty. When you were named, I told her you deSir ed to see her, she threw down her Work for Joy, covered her Face, and decently hid her Tears[2]

Sabines

thisCountry-Wake[3]Dogget'sHobGloucestershireHob'sHob'sPenkethmanBullockDicky

Footnote 1:

'believed, that if a Man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation'?

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Heautontimoroumenos

return

Footnote 2:the Country WakeFloraHob in the Well

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Contents

No. 503

Tuesday, October 7, 1712

Steele

Deleo omnes dehinc ex animo Mulieres.

Ter.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You have often mention'd with great Vehemence and Indignation the Misbehaviour of People at Church; but I am at present to talk to you on that Subject, and complain to you of one, whom at the same time I know not what to accuse of, except it be looking too well there, and diverting the Eyes of the Congregation to that one Object. However I have this to say, that she might have stay'd at her own Parish, and not come to perplex those who are otherwise intent upon their Duty.

'Last Sunday was Seven-night I went into a Church not far from London-Bridge; but I wish I had been contented to go to my own Parish, I am sure it had been better for me: I say, I went to Church thither, and got into a Pew very near the Pulpit. I had hardly been accommodated with a Seat, before there entered into the Isle a young Lady in the very Bloom of Youth and Beauty, and dressed in the most elegant manner imaginable. Her Form was such, that it engaged the Eyes of the whole Congregation in an Instant, and mine among the rest. Tho' we were all thus fixed upon her, she was not in the least out of Countenance, or under the least Disorder, tho' unattended by any one, and not seeming to know particularly where to place her self. However, she had not in the least a confident Aspect, but moved on with the most graceful Modesty, every one making Way till she came to a Seat just over-against that in which I was placed. The Deputy of the Ward sat in that Pew, and she stood opposite to him; and at a Glance into the Seat, tho' she did not appear the least acquainted with the Gentleman, was let in, with a Confusion that spoke much Admiration at the Novelty of the Thing. The Service immediately began, and she compos'd her self for it with an Air of so much Goodness and Sweetness, that the Confession which she uttered so as to be heard where I sat, appeared an Act of Humiliation more than she had Occasion for. The Truth is, her Beauty had something so innocent, and yet so sublime, that we all gazed upon her like a Phantom. None of the Pictures which we behold of the best Italian Painters, have any thing like the Spirit which appeared in her Countenance, at the different Sentiments expressed in the several Parts of Divine Service: That Gratitude and Joy at a Thanksgiving, that Lowliness and Sorrow at the Prayers for the Sick and Distressed, that Triumph at the Passages which gave Instances of divine Mercy, which appeared respectively in her Aspect, will be in my Memory to my last Hour. I protest to you, Sir , she suspended the Devotion of every one around her; and the Ease she did every thing with, soon dispersed the churlish Dislike and Hesitation in approving what is excellent, too frequent amongst us, to a general Attention and Entertainment in observing her Behaviour. All the while that we were gazing at her, she took Notice of no Object about her, but had an Art of seeming awkwardly attentive, whatever else her Eyes were accidentally thrown upon. One Thing indeed was particular, she stood the whole Service, and never kneeled or sat; I do not question but that was to shew her self with the greater Advantage, and set forth to better Grace her Hands and Arms, lifted up with the most ardent Devotion, and her Bosom, the fairest Observation; while she, you must think, knew nothing of the Concern she gave others, any other than as an Example of Devotion, that threw her self out, without regard to Dress or Garment, all Contrition, and loose of all Worldly Regards, in Ecstasy of Devotion. Well, now the Organ was to play a Voluntary, and she was so skilful in Musick, and so touched with it, that she kept time not only with some Motion of her Head, but also with a different Air in her Countenance. When the Musick was strong and bold, she look'd exalted, but serious; when lively and airy, she was smiling and gracious; when the Notes were more soft and languishing, she was kind and full of Pity. When she had now made it visible to the whole Congregation, by her Motion and Ear, that she could dance, and she wanted now only to inform us that she could sing too, when the Psalm was given out, her Voice was distinguished above all the rest, or rather People did not exert their own in order to hear her. Never was any heard so sweet and so strong. The Organist observed it, and he thought fit to play to her only, and she swelled every Note; when she found she had thrown us all out, and had the last Verse to herself in such a manner as the whole Congregation was intent upon her, in the same manner as we see in the Cathedrals, they are on the Person who sings alone the Anthem. Well, it came at last to the Sermon, and our young Lady would not lose her Part in that neither; for she fixed her Eye upon the Preacher, and as he said any thing she approved, with one of Charles Mathers's fine Tablets she set down the Sentence, at once shewing her fine Hand, the Gold-Pen, her Readiness in Writing, and her Judgment in chusing what to write. To sum up what I intend by this long and particular Account, I mean to appeal to you, whether it is reasonable that such a Creature as this shall come from a jaunty Part of the Town, and give herself such violent Airs, to the disturbance of an innocent and inoffensive Congregation, with her Sublimities. The Fact, I assure you, was as I have related; but I had like to have forgot another very considerable Particular. As soon as Church was done, she immediately stepp'd out of her Pew, and fell into the finest pitty-pat Air, forsooth, wonderfully out of Countenance, tossing her Head up and down as she swam along the Body of the Church. I, with several others of the Inhabitants, follow'd her out, and saw her hold up her Fan to an Hackney-Coach at a Distance, who immediately came up to her, and she whipp'd into it with great Nimbleness, pull'd the Door with a bowing Mein, as if she had been used to a better Glass. She said aloud, You know where to go, and drove off. By this time the best of the Congregation was at the Church-Door, and I could hear some say, A very fine Lady; others, I'll warrant ye, she's no better than she should be; and one very wise old Lady said, She ought to have been taken up. Mr. SPECTATOR, I think this Matter lies wholly before you: for the Offence does not come under any Law, tho' it is apparent this Creature came among us only to give herself Airs, and enjoy her full Swing in being admir'd. I deSir e you would print this, that she may be confin'd to her own Parish; for I can assure you there is no attending any thing else in a Place where she is a Novelty. She has been talked of among us ever since under the Name of the Phantom: But I would advise her to come no more; for there is so strong a Party made by the Women against her, that she must expect they will not be excell'd a second time in so outrageous a manner, without doing her some Insult. Young Women, who assume after this rate, and affect exposing themselves to view in Congregations at t'other end of the Town, are not so mischievous, because they are rivall'd by more of the same Ambition, who will not let the rest of the Company be particular: But in the Name of the whole Congregation where I was, I deSir e you to keep these agreeable Disturbances out of the City, where Sobriety of Manners is still preserv'd, and all glaring and ostentatious Behaviour, even in things laudable, discountenanced. I wish you may never see the Phantom, and am,'

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

Ralph Wonder.

Contents

No. 504

Wednesday, October 8, 1712

Steele

Lepus tute es, et pulpamentum quæris.

Ter.

Latincan dealbredbredGrains

Biters

Biter[1]Biter

BitingBitingBitingBiteYorkshireTuesdayBite, there was nothing in all this

BiteBiterNewgateJack-CatchBite, I am to be hang'd in Chains.

Footnote 1:No. 47

'I'll teach you a way to outwit Mrs. Johnson; it is a new fashioned way of being witty, and they call it a Bite. You must ask a bantering question, or tell some lie in a serious manner, then she will answer, or speak as if you were in earnest, and then cry you, "Madam, there's a Bite." I would not have you undervalue this, for it is the constant amusement in Court, and every where else among the great people; and I let you know it, in order to have it among you, and to teach you a new refinement.'

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Contents

No. 505

Thursday, October 9, 1712

Addison

Non habeo denique nauci Marsum Augurem,

Non vicanos Aruspices, non de circo Astrologos,

Non Isiacos Conjectores, non Interpletes somnium:

Non enim sunt ii aut scientiâ, aut arte Divini,

Sed superstitiosi vates, impudentesque harioli,

Aut inertes, aut insani, aut quibus egestas imperat:

Qui sui questus causa fictas suscitant sententias,

Qui sibi semitam non sapiunt, alteri monstrant viam,

Quibus divitias pollicentur, ab iis drachmam petunt;

De divitiis deducant drachmam, reddant cœtera.

Ennius.

CiceroRoman

Great-BritainLondonWestminster

Philomathhaving[1]

Moor-Fields, Oct. 4, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Having long consider'd whether there be any Trade wanting in this great City, after having survey'd very attentively all kinds of Ranks and Professions, I do not find in any Quarter of the Town an Oneirocritick, or, in plain English, an Interpreter of Dreams. For want of so useful a Person, there are several good People who are very much puzled in this Particular, and dream a whole Year together without being ever the wiser for it. I hope I am pretty well qualify'd for this Office, having studied by Candlelight all the Rules of Art which have been laid down upon this Subject. My great Uncle by my Wife's Side was a Scotch Highlander, and second-sighted. I have four Fingers and two Thumbs upon one Hand, and was born on the longest Night of the Year. My Christian and Sir -Name begin and end with the same Letters. I am lodg'd in Moorfields, in a House that for these fifty years has been always tenanted by a Conjurer.

'If you had been in Company, so much as my self, with ordinary Women of the Town, you must know that there are many of them who every day in their Lives, upon seeing or hearing of any thing that is unexpected, cry, My Dream is out; and cannot go to sleep in quiet the next night, till something or other has happen'd which has expounded the Visions of the preceding one. There are others who are in very great pain for not being able to recover the Circumstances of a Dream, that made strong Impressions upon them while it lasted. In short, Sir , there are many whose waking Thoughts are wholly employ'd on their sleeping ones. For the benefit therefore of this curious and inquisitive Part of my Fellow-Subjects, I shall in the first place tell those Persons what they dreamt of, who fancy they never dream at all. In the next place, I shall make out any Dream, upon hearing a single Circumstance of it; and in the last place, shall expound to them the good or bad Fortune which such Dreams portend. If they do not presage good luck, I shall deSir e nothing for my Pains; not questioning at the same time that those who consult me will be so reasonable as to afford me a moderate Share out of any considerable Estate, Profit or Emolument which I shall thus discover to them. I interpret to the Poor for nothing, on condition that their Names may be inserted in Publick Advertisements, to attest the Truth of such my Interpretations. As for People of Quality or others, who are indisposed, and do not care to come in Person, I can interpret their Dreams by seeing their Water. I set aside one Day in the Week for Lovers; and interpret by the great for any Gentlewoman who is turned of Sixty, after the rate of half a Crown per Week, with the usual Allowances for good Luck. I have several Rooms and Apartments fitted up, at reasonable rates, for such as have not Conveniences for dreaming at their own Houses.

Titus Trophonius.

N. B. I am not dumb.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 506

Friday, October 10, 1712

Budgell

Candida perpetuo reside, concordia, lecto,

Tamque pari semper sit Venus æqua jugo.

Diligat illa, senem quondam: Sed et ipsa marito,

Tunc quoque cum fuerit, non videatur anus.

Mart.

WealthLove

Dressbut[1]FrenchFranceEnglish

Sir

LætitiaErastusLætitiaErastusErastusLætitiaErastusLætitiaErastusErastusLætitiaErastus

ErastusLætitiaI have lately laid out some Mony in PaintingsErastus; I bought thatandpurely uponJudgment; it cost me three-score Guineas, and I was this morning offer'd a[2] hundred for itLætitiaErastus

FlavillaTom TawdryTomTomJames's, White'sFlavillaFlavillaTomMy Dear, I must tell you, you talk most confoundedly silly. FlavillaLætitiaFlavilla

X

Footnote 1:FuneralGrief à la Mode

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Footnote 2:an

return

Contents

No. 507

Saturday, October 11, 1712

Addison

Defendit numerus, junctæque umbone Phalanges.

Juv.

Plato'sTruth is his Body, and Light his ShadowTruthVirtuePlato

LieParty-lyingnay

onemany

When PompeySirIt is necessary for meto Sail, but it is not necessary for me to Live[1]He would not tell a Lie, tho' he were sure to gain Heaven by itHe would not tell a Lie, if he were sure to gain Hell by it

Footnote 1:Life

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Contents

No. 508

Monday, October 13, 1712

Steele

Omnes autem et habentur et dicuntur Tyranni, qui potestate sunt perpetua, in ea Civitate quæ libertate usa est.

Corn. Nepos.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'In former Ages all Pretensions to Dominion have been supported and submitted to, either upon Account of Inheritance, Conquest or Election; and all such Persons who have taken upon 'em any Soveraignty over their Fellow-Creatures upon any other Account, have been always called Tyrants, not so much because they were guilty of any particular Barbarities, as because every Attempt to such a Superiority was in its Nature tyrannical. But there is another sort of Potentates, who may with greater Propriety be call'd Tyrants, than those last mention'd, both as they assume a despotick Dominion over those as free as themselves, and as they support it by Acts of notable Oppression and Injustice; and these are the Rulers in all Clubs and Meetings. In other Governments, the Punishments of some have been alleviated by the Reward of others; but what makes the Reign of these Potentates so particularly grievous, is, that they are exquisite in punishing their Subjects, at the same time they have it not in their power to reward 'em. That the Reader may the better comprehend the Nature of these Monarchs, as well as the miserable State of those that are their Vassals, I shall give an Account of the King of the Company I am fallen into, whom for his particular Tyranny I shall call Dionysius; as also of the Seeds that sprung up to this odd sort of Empire.

'Upon all Meetings at Taverns, 'tis necessary some one of the Company should take it upon him to get all things in such order and readiness, as may contribute as much as possible to the Felicity of the Convention; such as hastening the Fire, getting a sufficient number of Candles, tasting the Wine with a judicious Smack, fixing the Supper, and being brisk for the Dispatch of it. Know then, that Dionysius went thro' these Offices with an Air that seem'd to express a Satisfaction rather in serving the Publick, than in gratifying any particular Inclination of his own. We thought him a Person of an exquisite Palate, and therefore by consent beseeched him to be always our Proveditor; which Post, after he had handsomely denied, he could do no otherwise than accept. At first he made no other use of his Power, than in recommending such and such things to the Company, ever allowing these Points to be disputable; insomuch that I have often carried the Debate for Partridge, when his Majesty has given Intimation of the high Relish of Duck, but at the same time has chearfully submitted, and devour'd his Partridge with most gracious Resignation. This Submission on his side naturally produc'd the like on ours; of which he in a little time made such barbarous Advantage, as in all those Matters, which before seem'd indifferent to him, to issue out certain Edicts as uncontroulable and unalterable as the Laws of the Medes and Persians. He is by turns outragious, peevish, froward and jovial. He thinks it our Duty for the little Offices, as Proveditor, that in Return all Conversation is to be interrupted or promoted by his Inclination for or against the present Humour of the Company. We feel, at present, in the utmost Extremity, the Insolence of Office; however, I being naturally warm, ventur'd to oppose him in a Dispute about a Haunch of Venison. I was altogether for roasting, but Dionysius declar'd himself for boiling with so much Prowess and Resolution, that the Cook thought it necessary to consult his own Safety rather than the Luxury of my Proposition. With the same Authority that he orders what we shall eat and drink, he also commands us where to do it, and we change our Taverns according as he suspects any Treasonable Practices in the settling the Bill by the Master, or sees any bold Rebellion in point of Attendance by the Waiters. Another Reason for changing the Seat of Empire, I conceive to be the Pride he takes in the Promulgation of our Slavery, tho' we pay our Club for our Entertainments even in these Palaces of our grand Monarch. When he has a mind to take the Air, a Party of us are commanded out by way of Life-Guard, and we march under as great Restrictions as they do. If we meet a neighbouring King, we give or keep the Way according as we are outnumber'd or not; and if the Train of each is equal in number, rather than give Battle, the Superiority is soon adjusted by a Desertion from one of 'em.

'Now, the Expulsion of these unjust Rulers out of all Societies, would gain a Man as everlasting a Reputation, as either of the Brutus's got from their Endeavours to extirpate Tyranny from among the Romans. I confess my self to be in a Conspiracy against the Usurper of our Club; and to shew my Reading, as well as my merciful Disposition, shall allow him till the Ides of March to dethrone himself. If he seems to affect Empire till that time, and does not gradually recede from the Incursions he has made upon our Liberties, he shall find a Dinner dress'd which he has no Hand in, and shall be treated with an Order, Magnificence and Luxury as shall break his proud Heart; at the same time that he shall be convinc'd in his Stomach he was unfit for his Post, and a more mild and skilful Prince receive the Acclamations of the People, and be set up in his Room: but, as Milton says,

—These Thoughts

Full Counsel must mature. Peace is despair'd,

And who can think Submission? War, then War

Open, or understood, must be resolved.[1]

'I am, Sir , Your most obedient humble Servant.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am a young Woman at a Gentleman's Seat in the Country, who is a particular Friend of my Father's, and came hither to pass away a Month or two with his Daughters. I have been entertained with the utmost Civility by the whole Family, and nothing has been omitted which can make my Stay easy and agreeable on the Part of the Family; but there is a Gentleman here, a Visitant as I am, whose Behaviour has given me great Uneasinesses. When I first arrived here, he used me with the utmost Complaisance; but, forsooth, that was not with regard to my Sex, and since he has no Designs upon me, he does not know why he should distinguish me from a Man in things indifferent. He is, you must know, one of those familiar Coxcombs, who have observed some well-bred Men with a good Grace converse with Women, and say no fine things, but yet treat them with that sort of Respect which flows from the Heart and the Understanding, but is exerted in no Professions or Compliments. This Puppy, to imitate this Excellence, or avoid the contrary Fault of being troublesome in Complaisance, takes upon him to try his Talent upon me, insomuch that he contradicts me upon all Occasions, and one day told me I lied. If I had stuck him with my Bodkin, and behaved my self like a Man, since he won't treat me as a Woman, I had, I think, served him right. I wish, Sir , you would please to give him some Maxims of Behaviour in these Points, and resolve me if all Maids are not in point of Conversation to be treated by all Batchelors as their Mistresses? if not so, are they not to be used as gently as their Sisters? Is it sufferable, that the Fop of whom I complain should say, as he would rather have such a-one without a Groat, than me with the Indies? What right has any Man to make Suppositions of things not in his Power, and then declare his Will to the dislike of one that has never offended him? I assure you these are things worthy your Consideration, and I hope we shall have your Thoughts upon them. I am, tho' a Woman justly offended, ready to forgive all this, because I have no Remedy but leaving very agreeable Company sooner than I deSir e. This also is an heinous Aggravation of his Offence, that he is inflicting Banishment upon me. Your printing this Letter may perhaps be an Admonition to reform him: As soon as it appears I will write my Name at the End of it, and lay it in his Way; the making which just Reprimand, I hope you will put in the Power of,

Sir ,

Your constant Reader,

and humble Servant.

Footnote 1:Paradise Lost,

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Contents

No. 509

Tuesday, October 14, 1712

Steele

Hominis frugi et temperantis functus officium.

Ter.

Virgil, Horace, Tully, Seneca, Plutarch

Broadstreet, Oct. 10, 1712.

Mr. WILLIAM SPECTATOR,

Sir ,

'I accuse you of many Discourses on the Subject of Money, which you have heretofore promis'd the Publick, but have not discharg'd your self thereof. But, forasmuch as you seem to depend upon Advice from others what to do in that Point, have sate down to write you the Needful upon that Subject. But, before I enter thereupon, I shall take this Opportunity to observe to you, that the thriving frugal Man shews it in every Part of his Expence, Dress, Servants, and House; and I must in the first place, complain to you, as SPECTATOR, that in these Particulars there is at this Time, throughout the City of London, a lamentable Change from that Simplicity of Manners, which is the true Source of Wealth and Prosperity. I just now said, the Man of Thrift shews Regularity in every thing; but you may, perhaps, laugh that I take Notice of such a Particular as I am going to do, for an Instance that this City is declining, if their antient œconomy is not restor'd. The Thing which gives me this Prospect, and so much Offence, is the Neglect of the Royal-Exchange, I mean the Edifice so called, and the Walks appertaining thereunto. The Royal-Exchange is a Fabrick that well deserves to be so called, as well to express that our Monarch's highest Glory and Advantage consists in being the Patrons of Trade, as that it is commodious for Business, and an Instance of the Grandeur both of Prince and People. But alas! at present it hardly seems to be set apart for any such Use or Purpose. Instead of the Assembly of honourable Merchants, substantial Tradesmen, and knowing Masters of Ships; the Mumpers, the Halt, the Blind, and the Lame; your Venders of Trash, Apples, Plumbs; your Ragamuffins, Rakeshames, and Wenches, have justled the greater Number of the former out of that Place. Thus it is, especially on the Evening-Change; so that what with the Din of Squalings, Oaths and Cries of Beggars, Men of the greatest Consequence in our City absent themselves from the Place. This Particular, by the way, is of evil Consequence; for if the Change be no Place for Men of the highest Credit to frequent, it will not be a Disgrace to those of less Abilities to absent. I remember the time when Rascally Company were kept out, and the unlucky Boys with Toys and Balls were whipped away by a Beadle. I have seen this done indeed of late, but then it has been only to chase the Lads from Chuck, that the Beadle might seize their Copper.

I must repeat the Abomination, that the Walnut Trade is carry'd on by old Women within the Walks, which makes the Place impassable by reason of Shells and Trash. The Benches around are so filthy, that no one can sit down, yet the Beadles and Officers have the Impudence at Christmas to ask for their Box, though they deserve the Strapado. I do not think it impertinent to have mentioned this, because it speaks a neglect in the Domestick Care of the City, and the Domestick is the truest Picture of a Man every where else.

But I designed to speak on the Business of Money and Advancement of Gain. The Man proper for this, speaking in the general, is of a sedate, plain, good Understanding, not apt to go out of his way, but so behaving himself at home, that Business may come to him. Sir William Turner, that valuable Citizen, has left behind him a most excellent Rule, and couched it in very few Words, suited to the meanest Capacity. He would say, Keep your Shop and your Shop will keep you. It must be confessed, that if a Man of a great Genius could add Steadiness to his Vivacities, or substitute slower Men of Fidelity to transact the methodical part of his Affairs, such a one would outstrip the rest of the World: But Business and Trade is not to be managed by the same Heads which write Poetry, and make Plans for the Conduct of Life in general. So tho' we are at this day beholden to the late witty and inventive Duke of Buckingham for the whole Trade and Manufacture of Glass, yet I suppose there is no one will aver, that, were his Grace yet living, they would not rather deal with my diligent Friend and Neighbour, Mr. Gumley, for any Goods to be prepared and delivered on such a Day, than he would with that illustrious Mechanick abovementioned.

'No, no, Mr. SPECTATOR, you Wits must not pretend to be rich; and it is possible the Reason may be, in some Measure, because you despise, or at least you do not value it enough to let it take up your chief Attention; which the Trader must do, or lose his Credit, which is to him what Honour, Reputation, Fame, or Glory is to other sort of Men.

'I shall not speak to the Point of Cash it self, till I see how you approve of these my Maxims in general: But, I think, a Speculation upon Many a Little makes a Mickle, A Penny sav'd is a Penny got, Penny wise and Pound foolish, It is Need that makes the old Wife trot, would be very useful to the World, and if you treated them with Knowledge would be useful to your self, for it would make Demands for your Paper among those who have no Notion of it at present. But of these Matters more hereafter. If you did this, as you excel many Writers of the present Age for Politeness, so you would outgo the Author of the true Strops of Razors for Use.

'I shall conclude this Discourse with an Explanation of a Proverb, which by vulgar Errour is taken and used when a Man is reduced to an Extremity, whereas the Propriety of the Maxim is to use it when you would say, there is Plenty, but you must make such a Choice, as not to hurt another who is to come after you.

'Mr. Tobias Hobson, from whom we have the Expression, was a very honourable Man, for I shall ever call the Man so who gets an Estate honestly. Mr. Tobias Hobson was a Carrier, and being a Man of great Abilities and Invention, and one that saw where there might good Profit arise, though the duller Men overlooked it; this ingenious Man was the first in this Island who let out Hackney-Horses. He lived in Cambridge, and observing that the Scholars rid hard, his manner was to keep a large Stable of Horses, with Boots, Bridles, and Whips to furnish the Gentlemen at once, without going from College to College to borrow, as they have done since the Death of this worthy Man: I say, Mr. Hobson kept a Stable of forty good Cattle, always ready and fit for travelling; but when a Man came for a Horse, he was led into the Stable, where there was great Choice, but he obliged him to take the Horse which stood next to the Stable-Door; so that every Customer was alike well served according to his Chance, and every Horse ridden with the same Justice: From whence it became a Proverb, when what ought to be your Election was forced upon you, to say, Hobson's Choice. This memorable Man stands drawn in Fresco at an Inn (which he used) in Bishopsgate-street, with an hundred Pound Bag under his Arm, with this Inscription upon the said Bag,

The fruitful Mother of an Hundred more.

'Whatever Tradesman will try the Experiment, and begin the day after you publish this my Discourse to treat his Customers all alike, and all reasonably and honestly, I will ensure him the same Success.

I am, Sir ,

Your loving Friend,

Hezekiah Thrift

Contents

No. 510

Wednesday, October 15, 1712

Steele

—Si sapis

Neque præterquam quas ipse amor molestias

Habet addas; et illas, quas habet, recte feras.

Ter.

wasa[1]Gerrard-streetSir Walter RawleighHis[2]

What Means did the Devil find out, or what Instruments did his own Subtlety present him, as fittest and aptest to work his Mischief by? Even the unquiet Vanity of the Woman; so as by Adam's hearkening to the Voice of his Wife, contrary to the express Commandment of the living God, Mankind by that her Incantation became the subject of Labour, Sorrow, and Death; the Woman being given to Man for a Comforter and Companion, but not for a Counsellor. It is also to be noted by whom the Woman was tempted; even by the most ugly and unworthy of all Beasts, into whom the Devil entered and persuaded. Secondly, What was the Motive of her Disobedience? Even a deSir e to know what was most unfitting her Knowledge; an Affection which has ever since remained in all the Posterity of her Sex. Thirdly, What was it that moved the Man to yield to her Persuasions; even the same Cause which hath moved all Men since to the like Consent, namely, an Unwillingness to grieve her or make her sad, lest she should pine, and be overcome with Sorrow. But if Adam in the state of Perfection, and Solomon the Son of David, God's chosen Servant, and himself a Man endued with the greatest Wisdom, did both of them disobey their Creator by the Persuasion and for the Love they bare to a Woman, it is not so wonderful as lamentable, that other Men in succeeding Ages have been allured to so many inconvenient and wicked Practices by the Persuasion of their Wives, or other beloved Darlings, who cover over and shadow many malicious Purposes with a counterfeit Passion of dissimulate Sorrow and Unquietness.

FulviaCuriusJohnson's CatilineSir

SirSirYou do not love me if you deny me this

Footnote 1:an

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Footnote 2:History of the World

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Contents

No. 511

Thursday, October 16, 1712

Addison

Quis non invenit turbâ quod amaret in illâ?

Ovid.

Dear SPEC.

'Finding that my last Letter took, I do intend to continue my epistolary Correspondence with thee, on those dear confounded Creatures, Women. Thou knowest, all the little Learning I am Master of is upon that Subject; I never looked in a Book, but for their sakes. I have lately met with two pure Stories for a Spectator, which I am sure will please mightily, if they pass through thy Hands. The first of them I found by chance in a English Book called Herodotus, that lay in my Friend Dapperwit's Window, as I visited him one Morning. It luckily opened in the Place where I met with the following Account. He tells us that it was the Manner among the Persians to have several Fairs in the Kingdom, at which all the young unmarried Women were annually exposed to Sale. The Men who wanted Wives came hither to provide themselves: Every Woman was given to the highest Bidder, and the Mony which she fetched laid aside for the publick Use, to be employed as thou shalt hear by and by. By this means the richest People had the Choice of the Market, and culled out all the most extraordinary Beauties. As soon as the Fair was thus picked, the Refuse was to be distributed among the Poor, and among those who could not go to the Price of a Beauty Several of these married the Agreeables, without paying a Farthing for them, unless somebody chanced to think it worth his while to bid for them, in which Case the best Bidder was always the Purchaser. But now you must know, Spec. it happened in Persia as it does in our own Country, that there were as many ugly Women, as Beauties or Agreeables; so that by Consequence, after the Magistrates had put off a great many, there were still a great many that stuck upon their Hands. In order therefore to clear the Market, the Money which the Beauties had sold for, was disposed of among the Ugly; so that a poor Man, who could not afford to have a Beauty for his Wife, was forced to take up with a Fortune; the greatest Portion being always given to the most Deformed. To this the Author adds, that every poor Man was forced to live kindly with his Wife, or in case he repented of his Bargain, to return her Portion with her to the next publick Sale.

What I would recommend to thee on this Occasion is, to establish such an imaginary Fair in Great Britain: Thou couldst make it very pleasant, by matching Women of Quality with Coblers and Carmen, or describing Titles and Garters leading off in great Ceremony Shop-keepers and Farmers Daughters. Tho' to tell thee the Truth, I am confoundedly afraid that as the love of Mony prevails in our Island more than it did in Persia, we should find that some of our greatest Men would chuse out the Portions, and rival one another for the richest Piece of Deformity; and that on the contrary, the Toasts and Belles would be bought up by extravagant Heirs, Gamesters and Spendthrifts. Thou couldst make very pretty Reflections upon this Occasion in Honour of the Persian Politicks, who took care, by such Marriages, to beautify the upper part of the Species, and to make the greatest Persons in the Government the most graceful. But this I shall leave to thy judicious Pen.

'I have another Story to tell thee, which I likewise met with in a Book. It seems the General of the Tartars, after having laid siege to a strong Town in China, and taken it by Storm, would set to Sale all the Women that were found in it. Accordingly, he put each of them into a Sack, and after having thoroughly considered the Value of the Woman who was inclosed, marked the Price that was demanded for her upon the Sack. There were a great Confluence of Chapmen, that resorted from every Part, with a Design to purchase, which they were to do unsight unseen. The Book mentions a Merchant in particular, who observing one of the Sacks to be marked pretty high, bargained for it, and carried it off with him to his House. As he was resting with it upon a half-way Bridge, he was resolved to take a Survey of his Purchase: Upon opening the Sack, a little old Woman popped her Head out of it; at which the Adventurer was in so great a Rage, that he was going to shoot her out into the River. The old Lady, however, begged him first of all to hear her Story, by which he learned that she was sister to a great Mandarin, who would infallibly make the Fortune of his Brother-in-Law as soon as he should know to whose Lot she fell. Upon which the Merchant again tied her up in his Sack, and carried her to his House, where she proved an excellent Wife, and procured him all the Riches from her Brother that she had promised him.

'I fancy, if I was disposed to dream a second time, I could make a tolerable Vision upon this Plan. I would suppose all the unmarried Women in London and Westminster brought to Market in Sacks, with their respective Prices on each Sack. The first Sack that is sold is marked with five thousand Pound: Upon the opening of it, I find it filled with an admirable Housewife, of an agreeable Countenance: The Purchaser, upon hearing her good Qualities, pays down her Price very chearfully. The second I would open, should be a five hundred Pound Sack: The Lady in it, to our surprize, has the Face and Person of a Toast: As we are wondering how she came to be set at so low a Price, we hear that she would have been valued at ten thousand Pound, but that the Publick had made those Abatements for her being a Scold. I would afterwards find some beautiful, modest, and discreet Woman, that should be the top of the Market; and perhaps discover half a dozen Romps tyed up together in the same Sack, at one hundred Pound an Head. The Prude and the Coquet should be valued at the same Price, tho' the first should go off the better of the two. I fancy thou wouldst like such a Vision, had I time to finish it; because, to talk in thy own way, there is a Moral in it. Whatever thou may'st think of it, pr'ythee do not make any of thy queer Apologies for this Letter, as thou didst for my last. The Women love a gay lively Fellow, and are never angry at the Railleries of one who is their known Admirer. I am always bitter upon them, but well with them.

Thine,

Honeycomb.

Contents

No. 512

Friday, October 17, 1712

Addison

Lectorem delectando pariterque monendo.

Hor.

Fable

ForAbsalomAchitophel[1]English

thereTurkish

MahmoudPersianI would fain knowwhat those two Owls are saying to one another; listen to their Discourse, and give me an account of itSir I have heard part of their Conversation, but dare not tell you what it isYou must know thenthat one of these Owls has a Son, and the other a Daughter, between whom they are now upon a Treaty of Marriage. The Father of the Son said to the Father of the Daughter, in my hearing, Brother, I consent to this Marriage, provided you will settle upon your Daughter fifty ruined Villages for her Portion. To which the Father of the Daughter replied, Instead of fifty I will give her five hundred, if you please. God grant a long Life to Sultanwhilst he reigns over us, we shall never want ruined Villages

[2]

Democritus

Footnote 1:AbsalomAchitophel

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Footnote 2: Pilpay's Fables.

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Contents

No. 513

Saturday, October 18, 1712

Addison

—Afflata est numine quando

Jam propiore Dei—

Virg.

Thought in Sickness

Sir ,

'The Indisposition which has long hung upon me, is at last grown to such a[1] Head, that it must quickly make an End of me, or of it self. You may imagine, that whilst I am in this bad state of Health, there are none of your Works which I read with greater Pleasure than your Saturday's Papers. I should be very glad if I could furnish you with any Hints for that Day's Entertainment. Were I able to dress up several Thoughts of a serious nature, which have made great Impressions on my Mind during a long Fit of Sickness, they might not be an improper Entertainment for that Occasion.

'Among all the Reflections which usually rise in the Mind of a sick Man, who has Time and Inclination to consider his approaching End, there is none more natural than that of his going to appear Naked and Unbodied before Him who made him. When a Man considers, that as soon as the vital Union is dissolved, he shall see that Supreme Being, whom he now contemplates at a Distance, and only in his Works; or, to speak more philosophically, when by some Faculty in the Soul he shall apprehend the Divine Being, and be more sensible of his Presence, than we are now of the Presence of any Object which the Eye beholds, a Man must be lost in Carelessness and Stupidity, who is not alarmed at such a Thought. Dr. Sherlock, in his excellent Treatise upon Death, has represented, in very strong and lively Colours, the State of the Soul in its first Separation from the Body, with regard to that invisible World which every where surrounds us, tho' we are not able to discover it through this grosser World of Matter, which is accommodated to our Senses in this Life. His Words are as follow.

That Death, which is our leaving this World, is nothing else but our putting off these Bodies, teaches us, that it is only our Union to these Bodies, which intercepts the sight of the other World: The other World is not at such a distance from us, as we may imagine; the Throne of God indeed is at a great remove from this Earth, above the third Heavens, where he displays his Glory to those blessed Spirits which encompass his Throne; but as soon as we step out of these Bodies, we step into the other World, which is not so properly another World, (for there is the same Heaven and Earth still) as a new state of Life. To live in these Bodies is to live in this World; to live out of them is to remove into the next: For while our Souls are confined to these Bodies, and can look only thro' these material Casements, nothing but what is material can affect us; nay, nothing but what is so gross, that it can reflect Light, and convey the Shapes and Colours of Things with it to the Eye: So that though within this visible World, there be a more glorious Scene of Things than what appears to us, we perceive nothing at all of it; for this Veil of Flesh parts the visible and invisible World: But when we put off these Bodies, there are new and surprizing Wonders present themselves to our Views; when these material Spectacles are taken off, the Soul, with its own naked Eyes, sees what was invisible before: And then we are in the other World, when we can see it, and converse with it: Thus St. Paul tell us, That when we are at home in the Body, we are absent from the Lord; but when we are absent from the Body, we are present with the Lord, 2 Cor. 5. 6, 8. And methinks this is enough to cure us of our Fondness for these Bodies, unless we think it more deSir able to be confined to a Prison, and to look through a Grate all our Lives, which gives us but a very narrow prospect, and that none of the best neither, than to be set at liberty to view all the Glories of the World. What would we give now for the least Glimpse of that invisible World, which the first step we take out of these Bodies will present us with? There are such things as Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive: Death opens our Eyes, enlarges our Prospect, presents us with a new and more glorious World, which we can never see while we are shut up in Flesh; which should make us as willing to part with this Veil, as to take the Film off of our Eyes, which hinders our Sight.

'As a thinking Man cannot but be very much affected with the Idea of his appearing in the presence of that Being whom none can see and live; he must be much more affected when he considers that this Being whom he appears before, will examine all the Actions of his past Life, and reward or punish him accordingly. I must confess that I think there is no Scheme of Religion, besides that of Christianity, which can possibly support the most virtuous Person under this Thought. Let a Man's Innocence be what it will, let his Virtues rise to the highest pitch of Perfection attainable in this Life, there will be still in him so many secret Sins, so many human Frailties, so many Offences of Ignorance, Passion and Prejudice, so many unguarded Words and Thoughts, and in short, so many Defects in his best Actions, that, without the Advantages of such an Expiation and Atonement as Christianity has revealed to us, it is impossible that he should be cleared before his Sovereign Judge, or that he should be able to stand in his Sight. Our Holy Religion suggests to us the only Means whereby our Guilt may be taken away, and our imperfect Obedience accepted.

'It is this Series of Thought that I have endeavoured to express in the following Hymn, which I have composed during this my Sickness.

I

When rising from the Bed of Death,

O'erwhelm'd with Guilt and Fear,

I see my Maker, Face to Face,

O how shall I appear!

II

If yet, while Pardon may be found,

And Mercy may be sought,

My Heart with inward Horrour shrinks,

And trembles at the Thought;

III

When thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclos'd

In Majesty severe,

And sit in Judgment on my Soul,

O how shall I appear!

IV

But thou hast told the troubled Mind,

Who does her Sins lament,

The timely Tribute of her Tears

Shall endless Woe prevent.

V

Then see the Sorrows of my Heart,

Ere yet it be too late;

And hear my Saviour's dying Groans,

To give those Sorrows Weight.

VI

For never shall my Soul despair

Her Pardon to procure,

Who knows thine only Son has dy'd

To make her Pardon sure.

'There is a noble Hymn in French, which Monsieur Bayle has celebrated for a very fine one, and which the famous Author of the Art of Speaking calls an Admirable one, that turns upon a Thought of the same Nature. If I could have done it Justice in English, I would have sent it you translated; it was written by Monsieur Des Barreaux; who had been one of the greatest Wits and Libertines in France, but in his last Years was as remarkable a Penitent[2].

Grand Dieu, tes jugemens sont remplis d'equité;

Toûjours tu prens plaiSir à nous tre propice:

Mais j'ai tant fait de mal, que jamais ta bonté

Ne me pardonnera sans choquer ta Justice.

Ouy, mon Dieu, la grandeur de mon impieté

Ne laisse à ton pouvoir que le choix du suplice:

Ton interest s' oppose a ma felicité;

Et ta clemence meme attend que je perisse.

Contente ton deSir puis qu'il t'est glorieux;

Offense toy des pleurs qui coulent de mes yeux;

Tonne, frappe, il est temps, rens moi guerre pour guerre.

J'adore en perissant la raison qui t'aigrit:

Mais dessus quel endroit tombera ton tonnerre,

Qui ne soit tout convert du sang de Jesus Christ.

'If these Thoughts may be serviceable to you, I deSir e you would place them in a proper Light, and am ever, with great Sincerity,'

Sir , Yours, &c.

Footnote 1:an

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 514[1]

Monday, October 20, 1712

Steele

Me Parnassi deserta per ardua, dulcis

Raptat Amor; juvat ire jugis qua nulla priorum

Castaliam molle divertitur Orbita Clivo.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I came home a little later than usual the other Night, and not finding my self inclined to sleep, I took up Virgil to divert me till I should be more disposed to Rest. He is the Author whom I always chuse on such Occasions, no one writing in so divine, so harmonious, nor so equal a Strain, which leaves the Mind composed, and softened into an agreeable Melancholy; the Temper in which, of all others, I chuse to close the Day. The Passages I turned to were those beautiful Raptures in his Georgicks, where he professes himself entirely given up to the Muses, and smit with the Love of Poetry, passionately wishing to be transported to the cool Shades and Retirements of the Mountain Hæmus. I clos'd the Book and went to Bed. What I had just before been reading made so strong an Impression on my Mind, that Fancy seemed almost to fulfil to me the Wish of Virgil, in presenting to me the following Vision.

'Methought I was on a sudden plac'd in the Plains of Boeotia, where at the end of the Horizon I saw the Mountain Parnassus rising before me. The Prospect was of so large an Extent, that I had long wander'd about to find a Path which should directly lead me to it, had I not seen at some distance a Grove of Trees, which in a Plain that had nothing else remarkable enough in it to fix my Sight, immediately determined me to go thither. When I arrived at it, I found it parted out into a great Number of Walks and Alleys, which often widened into beautiful Openings, as Circles or Ovals, set round with Yews and Cypresses, with Niches, Grotto's, and Caves placed on the Sides, encompassed with Ivy. There was no Sound to be heard in the whole Place, but only that of a gentle Breeze passing over the Leaves of the Forest, every thing beside was buried in a profound Silence. I was captivated with the Beauty and Retirement of the Place, and never so much, before that Hour, was pleased with the Enjoyment of my self. I indulged the Humour, and suffered my self to wander without Choice or Design. At length, at the end of a Range of Trees, I saw three Figures seated on a Bank of Moss, with a silent Brook creeping at their Feet. I ador'd them as the tutelar Divinities of the Place, and stood still to take a particular View of each of them. The Middlemost, whose Name was Solitude, sat with her Arms across each other, and seemed rather pensive and wholly taken up with her own Thoughts, than any ways grieved or displeased. The only Companions which she admitted into that Retirement, was the Goddess Silence, who sat on her right Hand with her Finger on her Mouth, and on her left Contemplation, with her Eyes fixed upon the Heavens. Before her lay a celestial Globe, with several Schemes of Mathematical Theorems. She prevented my Speech with the greatest Affability in the World: Fear not, said she, I know your Request before you speak it; you would be led to the Mountain of the Muses; the only way to it lies thro' this Place, and no one is so often employ'd in conducting Persons thither as my self. When she had thus spoken, she rose from her Seat, and I immediately placed my self under her Direction; but whilst I passed through the Grove, I could not help enquiring of her who were the Persons admitted into that sweet Retirement. Surely, said I, there can nothing enter here but Virtue and virtuous Thoughts: The whole Wood seems design'd for the Reception and Reward of such Persons as have spent their Lives according to the Dictates of their Conscience and the Commands of the Gods. You imagine right, said she; assure your self this Place was at first designed for no other: Such it continued to be in the Reign of Saturn, when none entered here but holy Priests, Deliverers of their Country from Oppression and Tyranny, who repos'd themselves here after their Labours, and those whom the Study and Love of Wisdom had fitted for divine Conversation. But now it is become no less dangerous than it was before deSir able: Vice has learned so to mimick Virtue, that it often creeps in hither under its Disguise. See there! just before you, Revenge stalking by, habited in the Robe of Honour. Observe not far from him Ambition standing alone; if you ask him his Name, he will tell you it is Emulation or Glory. But the most frequent Intruder we have is Lust, who succeeds now the Deity to whom in better Days this Grove was entirely devoted. Virtuous Love, with Hymen, and the Graces attending him, once reign'd over this happy Place; a whole Train of Virtues waited on him, and no dishonourable Thought durst presume for Admittance: But now! how is the whole Prospect changed? and how seldom renewed by some few who dare despise sordid Wealth, and imagine themselves fit Companions for so charming a Divinity?

'The Goddess had no sooner said thus, but we were arriv'd at the utmost Boundaries of the Wood, which lay contiguous to a Plain that ended at the Foot of the Mountain. Here I kept close to my Guide, being sollicited by several Phantomes, who assured me they would shew me a nearer Way to the Mountain of the Muses. Among the rest Vanity was extremely importunate, having deluded infinite Numbers, whom I saw wandering at the Foot of the Hill. I turned away from this despicable Troop with Disdain, and addressing my self to my Guide, told her, that as I had some Hopes I should be able to reach up part of the Ascent, so I despaired of having Strength enough to attain the Plain on the Top. But being informed by her that it was impossible to stand upon the Sides, and that if I did not proceed onwards, I should irrecoverably fall down to the lowest Verge, I resolved to hazard any Labour and Hardship in the Attempt: So great a deSir e had I of enjoying the Satisfaction I hoped to meet with at the End of my Enterprize!

'There were two Paths, which led up by different Ways to the Summit of the Mountain; the one was guarded by the Genius which presides over the Moment of our Births. He had it in charge to examine the several Pretensions of those who deSir ed a Pass that Way, but to admit none excepting those only on whom Melpomene had look'd with a propitious Eye at the Hour of their Nativity. The other Way was guarded by Diligence, to whom many of those Persons apply'd who had met with a Denial the other Way; but he was so tedious in granting their Request, and indeed after Admittance the Way was so very intricate and laborious, that many after they had made some Progress, chose rather to return back than proceed, and very few persisted so long as to arrive at the End they proposed. Besides these two Paths, which at length severally led to the Top of the Mountain, there was a third made up of these two, which a little after the Entrance joined in one. This carried those happy Few, whose good Fortune it was to find it, directly to the Throne of Apollo. I don't know whether I should even now have had the Resolution to have demanded Entrance at either of these Doors, had I not seen a Peasant-like Man (followed by a numerous and lovely Train of Youths of both Sexes) insist upon Entrance for all whom he led up. He put me in mind of the Country Clown who is painted in the Map for leading Prince Eugene over the Alps. He had a Bundle of Papers in his Hand, and producing several, which he said, were given to him by Hands which he knew Apollo would allow as Passes; among which, methoughts, I saw some of my own Writing; the whole Assembly was admitted, and gave, by their Presence, a new Beauty and Pleasure to these happy Mansions. I found the Man did not pretend to enter himself, but served as a kind of Forester in the Lawns to direct Passengers, who by their own Merit, or Instructions he procured for them, had Virtue enough to travel that way. I looked very attentively upon this kind homely Benefactor, and forgive me, Mr. SPECTATOR, if I own to you I took him for your self. We were no sooner entered, but we were sprinkled three times with the Water of the Fountain Aganippe, which had Power to deliver us from all Harms, but only Envy, which reached even to the End of our Journey. We had not proceeded far in the middle Path when we arrived at the Summit of the Hill, where there immediately appeared to us two Figures, which extremely engaged my Attention: the one was a young Nymph in the Prime of her Youth and Beauty; she had Wings on her Shoulders and Feet, and was able to transport herself to the most distant Regions in the smallest Space of Time. She was continually varying her Dress, sometimes into the most natural and becoming Habits in the World, and at others into the most wild and freakish Garb that can be imagined. There stood by her a Man full-aged, and of great Gravity, who corrected her Inconsistences, by shewing them in his Mirror, and still flung her affected and unbecoming Ornaments down the Mountain, which fell in the Plain below, and were gathered up and wore with great Satisfaction by those that inhabited it. The Name of the Nymph was Fancy, the Daughter of Liberty, the most beautiful of all the Mountain-Nymphs. The other was Judgment, the Off-spring of Time, and the only Child he acknowledged to be his. A Youth, who sat upon a Throne just between them, was their genuine Offspring; his Name was Wit, and his Seat was composed of the Works of the most celebrated Authors. I could not but see with a secret Joy, that though the Greeks and Romans made the Majority, yet our own Countrymen were the next both in Number and Dignity. I was now at Liberty to take a full Prospect of that delightful Region. I was inspired with new Vigour and Life, and saw every thing in nobler and more pleasing Views than before; I breathed a purer Æther in a Sky which was a continued Azure, gilded with perpetual Sunshine. The two Summits of the Mountain rose on each Side, and formed in the midst a most delicious Vale, the Habitation of the Muses, and of such as had composed Works worthy of Immortality. Apollo was seated upon a Throne of Gold, and for a Canopy an aged Laurel spread its Boughs and its Shade over his Head. His Bow and Quiver lay at his Feet. He held his Harp in his Hand, whilst the Muses round about him celebrated with Hymns his Victory over the Serpent Python, and sometimes sung in softer Notes the Loves of Leucothoe and Daphnis. Homer, Virgil, and Milton were seated the next to them. Behind were a great Number of others, among whom I was surprized to see some in the Habit of Laplanders, who, notwithstanding the Uncouthness of their Dress, had lately obtained a Place upon the Mountain. I saw Pindar walking all alone, no one daring to accost him, till Cowley join'd himself to him; but growing weary of one who almost walked him out of breath, he left him for Horace and Anacreon, with whom he seemed infinitely delighted.

'A little further I saw another Groupe of Figures; I made up to them, and found it was Socrates dictating to Xenophon, and the Spirit of Plato; but most of all, Musoeus had the greatest Audience about him. I was at too great a Distance to hear what he said, or to discover the Faces of his Hearers; only I thought I now perceived Virgil, who had joined them, and stood in a Posture full of Admiration at the Harmony of his Words.

'Lastly, At the very Brink of the Hill I saw Boccalini sending Dispatches to the World below of what happened upon Parnassus; but I perceived he did it without leave of the Muses, and by stealth, and was unwilling to have them revised by Apollo. I could now from this Height and serene Sky behold the infinite Cares and Anxieties with which Mortals below sought out their way through the Maze of Life. I saw the Path of Virtue lie strait before them, whilst Interest, or some malicious Demon, still hurry'd them out of the Way. I was at once touched with Pleasure at my own Happiness, and Compassion at the sight of their inextricable Errors. Here the two contending Passions rose so high, that they were inconsistent with the sweet Repose I enjoy'd, and awaking with a sudden start, the only Consolation I could admit of for my Loss, was the Hopes that this Relation of my Dream will not displease you.'[2]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

A Letter written October 14, dated Middle Temple, has been overlooked, by reason it was not directed to the Spectator at the usual Places; and the Letter of the 18th, dated from the same Place, is groundless, the Author of the Paper of Friday last not having ever seen the Letter of the 14th. In all circumstances except the Place of Birth of the Person to whom the Letters were written, the Writer of them is misinformed.

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No. 515

Tuesday, October 21, 1712

Steele

Pudet me et miseret qui harum mores contabat mihi

Monuisse frustra—

Ter.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am obliged to you for printing the Account I lately sent you of a Coquet who disturbed a sober Congregation in the City of London. That Intelligence ended at her taking Coach, and bidding the Driver go where he knew. I could not leave her so, but dogged her, as hard as she drove, to Paul's Church-Yard, where there was a Stop of Coaches attending Company coming out of the Cathedral. This gave me opportunity to hold up a Crown to her Coachman, who gave me the Signal, that he would hurry on, and make no Haste, as you know the Way is when they favour a Chase. By his many kind Blunders, driving against other Coaches, and slipping off some of his Tackle, I could keep up with him, and lodged my fine Lady in the Parish of St. James's. As I guessed when I first saw her at Church, her Business is to win Hearts and throw 'em away, regarding nothing but the Triumph. I have had the Happiness, by tracing her through all with whom I heard she was acquainted, to find one who was intimate with a Friend of mine, and to be introduced to her Notice. I have made so good use of my Time, as to procure from that Intimate of hers one of her Letters, which she writ to her when in the Country. This Epistle of her own may serve to alarm the World against her in ordinary Life, as mine, I hope, did those, who shall behold her at Church. The Letter was written last Winter to the Lady who gave it me; and I doubt not but you will find it the Soul of an happy self-loving Dame, that takes all the Admiration she can meet with, and returns none of it in Love to her Admirers.'

Dear Jenny,

"I am glad to find you are likely to be dispos'd of in Marriage so much to your Approbation as you tell me. You say you are afraid only of me, for I shall laugh at your Spouse's Airs. I beg of you not to fear it, for I am too nice a Discerner to laugh at any, but whom most other People think fine Fellows; so that your Dear may bring you hither as soon as his Horses are in Case enough to appear in Town, and you be very safe against any Raillery you may apprehend from me; for I am surrounded with Coxcombs of my own making, who are all ridiculous in a manner: your Good-man, I presume, can't exert himself. As Men who cannot raise their Fortunes, and are uneasy under the Incapacity of shining in Courts, rail at Ambition; so do awkard[1] and insipid Women, who cannot warm the Hearts and charm the Eyes of Men, rail at Affectation: But she that has the Joy of seeing a Man's Heart leap into his Eyes at beholding her, is in no Pain for want of Esteem among a Crew of that Part of her own Sex, who have no Spirit but that of Envy, and no Language but that of Malice. I do not in this, I hope, express my self insensible of the Merit of Leodacia, who lowers her Beauty to all but her Husband, and never spreads her Charms but to gladden him who has a Right in them: I say, I do Honour to those who can be Coquets, and are not such; but I despise all who would be so, and in Despair of arriving at it themselves, hate and vilify all those who can. But, be that as it will, in Answer to your DeSir e of knowing my History: One of my chief present Pleasures is in Country-Dances: and, in Obedience to me, as well as the Pleasure of coming up to me with a good Grace, shewing themselves in their Address to others in my Presence, and the like Opportunities, they are all Proficients that Way: And I had the Happiness of being the other Night where we made six Couple, and every Woman's Partner a profess'd Lover of mine. The wildest Imagination cannot form to it self on any Occasion, higher Delight than I acknowledge my self to have been in all that Evening. I chose out of my Admirers a Set of Men who most love me, and gave them Partners of such of my own Sex who most envy'd me.

"My way is, when any Man who is my Admirer pretends to give himself Airs of Merit, as at this Time a certain Gentleman you know did, to mortify him by favouring in his Presence the most insignificant Creature I can find. At this Ball I was led into the Company by pretty Mr. Fanfly, who, you know, is the most obsequious, well-shaped, well-bred Woman's Man in Town. I at first Entrance declared him my Partner if I danced at all; which put the whole Assembly into a Grin, as forming no Terrours from such a Rival. But we had not been long in the Room, before I overheard the meritorious Gentleman above-mention'd say with an Oath, There is no Raillery in the Thing, she certainly loves the Puppy. My Gentleman, when we were dancing, took an Occasion to be very soft in his Oglings upon a Lady he danced with, and whom he knew of all Women I love most to outshine. The Contest began who should plague the other most. I, who do not care a Farthing for him, had no hard Task to out-vex him. I made Fanfly, with a very little Encouragement, cut Capers Coupee, and then sink with all the Air and Tenderness imaginable. When he perform'd this, I observed the Gentleman you know of fall into the same way, and imitate as well as he could the despised Fanfly. I cannot well give you, who are so grave a Country Lady, the Idea of the Joy we have when we see a stubborn Heart breaking, or a Man of Sense turning Fool for our sakes; but this happened to our Friend, and I expect his Attendance whenever I go to Church, to Court, to the Play, or the Park. This is a Sacrifice due to us Women of Genius, who have the Eloquence of Beauty, an easie Mein. I mean by an easie Mein, one which can be on Occasion easily affected: For I must tell you, dear Jenny, I hold one Maxim, which is an uncommon one, to wit, That our greatest Charms are owing to Affectation. 'Tis to That that our Arms can lodge so quietly just over our Hips, and the Fan can play without any Force or Motion but just of the Wrist. 'Tis to Affectation we owe the pensive Attention of Deidamia at a Tragedy, the scornful Approbation of Dulciamara at a Comedy, and the lowly Aspect of Lanquicelsa at a Sermon.

"To tell you the plain Truth, I know no Pleasure but in being admir'd, and have yet never failed of attaining the Approbation of the Man whose Regard I had a Mind to. You see all the Men who make a Figure in the World (as wise a Look as they are pleased to put upon the Matter) are moved by the same Vanity as I am. What is there in Ambition, but to make other People's Wills depend upon yours? This indeed is not to be aim'd at by one who has a Genius no higher than to think of being a very good Housewife in a Country Gentleman's Family. The Care of Poultrey and Piggs are great Enemies to the Countenance: The vacant Look of a fine Lady is not to be preserved, if she admits any thing to take up her Thoughts but her own dear Person. But I interrupt you too long from your Cares, and my self from my Conquests."

I am, Madam, Your most humble Servant.

'Give me leave, Mr. SPECTATOR, to add her Friend's Answer to this Epistle, who is a very discreet ingenious Woman.'

Dear Gatty,

"I take your Raillery in very good Part, and am obliged to you for the free Air with which you speak of your own Gayeties. But this is but a barren superficial Pleasure; indeed[2], Gatty, we are made for Man, and in serious Sadness I must tell you, whether you yourself know it or no, all these Gallantries tend to no other End but to be a Wife and Mother as fast as you can."

I am, Madam, Your most humble[3] Servant.

Footnote 1:awkardaukward

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Footnote 2:for indeed,

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Footnote 3:obedient

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Contents

No. 516

Wednesday, October 22, 1712

Steele

Immortale odium et nunquam sanabile vulnus.

Inde furor vulgo, quod Numina vicinorum

Odit uterque locus, quum solos credit habendos

Esse Deos quos ipse colat.

Juv.

Christians

RomeIrish

The Christian HeroWilliam

'There were not ever, before the Entrance of the Christian Name into the World, Men who have maintained a more renowned Carriage, than the two great Rivals who possess the full Fame of the present Age, and will be the Theme and Examination of the future. They are exactly form'd by Nature for those Ends to which Heaven seems to have sent them amongst us: Both animated with a restless DeSir e of Glory, but pursue it by different Means, and with different Motives. To one it consists in an extensive undisputed Empire over his Subjects, to the other in their rational and voluntary Obedience: One's Happiness is founded in their want of Power, the other's in their want of DeSir e to oppose him. The one enjoys the Summit of Fortune with the Luxury of a Persian, the other with the Moderation of a Spartan: One is made to oppress, the other to relieve the Oppressed: The one is satisfy'd with the Pomp and Ostentation of Power to prefer and debase his Inferiours, the other delighted only with the Cause and Foundation of it to cherish and protect 'em. To one therefore Religion is but a convenient Disguise, to the other a vigorous Motive of Action.

'For without such Ties of real and solid Honour, there is no way of forming a Monarch, but after the Machiavillian Scheme, by which a Prince must ever seem to have all Virtues, but really to be Master of none, but is to be liberal, merciful and just, only as they serve his Interests; while, with the noble Art of Hypocrisy, Empire would be to be extended, and new Conquests be made by new Devices, by which prompt Address his Creatures might insensibly give Law in the Business of Life, by leading Men in the Entertainment of it[1].

'Thus when Words and Show are apt to pass for the substantial things they are only to express, there would need no more to enslave a Country but to adorn a Court; for while every Man's Vanity makes him believe himself capable of becoming Luxury, Enjoyments are a ready Bait for Sufferings, and the Hopes of Preferment Invitations to Servitude; which Slavery would be colour'd with all the Agreements, as they call it, imaginable. The noblest Arts and Artists, the finest Pens and most elegant Minds, jointly employ'd to set it off, with the various Embellishments of sumptuous Entertainments, charming Assemblies, and polished Discourses; and those apostate Abilities of Men, the adored Monarch might profusely and skilfully encourage, while they flatter his Virtue, and gild his Vice at so high a rate, that he, without Scorn of the one, or Love of the other, would alternately and occasionally use both: So that his Bounty should support him in his Rapines, his Mercy in his Cruelties.

'Nor is it to give things a more severe Look than is natural, to suppose such must be the Consequences of a Prince's having no other Pursuit than that of his own Glory; for, if we consider an Infant born into the World, and beholding it self the mightiest thing in it, it self the present Admiration and future Prospect of a fawning People, who profess themselves great or mean, according to the Figure he is to make amongst them, what Fancy would not be debauched to believe they were but what they professed themselves, his mere Creatures, and use them as such by purchasing with their Lives a boundless Renown, which he, for want of a more just Prospect, would place in the Number of his Slaves, and the Extent of his Territories? Such undoubtedly would be the tragical Effects of a Prince's living with no Religion, which are not to be surpassed but by his having a false one.

'If Ambition were spirited with Zeal, what would follow, but that his People should be converted into an Army, whose Swords can make Right in Power, and solve Controversy in Belief? And if Men should be stiff-neck'd to the Doctrine of that visible Church, let them be contented with an Oar and a Chain, in the midst of Stripes and Anguish, to contemplate on him, whose Yoke is easy, and whose Burthen is light.

'With a Tyranny begun on his own Subjects, and Indignation that others draw their Breath independent of his Frown or Smile, why should he not proceed to the Seizure of the World? And if nothing but the Thirst of Sway were the Motive of his Actions, why should Treaties be other than mere Words, or solemn national Compacts be any thing but an Halt in the March of that Army, who are never to lay down their Arms, till all Men are reduc'd to the necessity of hanging their Lives on his wayward Will; who might supinely, and at leisure, expiate his own Sins by other Mens Sufferings, while he daily meditates new Slaughter, and new Conquest?

'For mere Man, when giddy with unbridled Power, is an insatiate Idol, not to be appeased with Myriads offer'd to his Pride, which may be puffed up by the Adulation of a base and prostrate World, into an Opinion that he is something more than human, by being something less: And, alas, what is there that mortal Man will not believe of himself, when complimented with the Attributes of God? Can he then conceive Thoughts of a Power as Omnipresent as his! But should there be such a Foe of Mankind now upon Earth, have our Sins so far provoked Heaven, that we are left utterly naked to his Fury? Is there no Power, no Leader, no Genius, that can conduct and animate us to our Death or our Defence? Yes; our great God never gave one to feign by his Permission, but he gave to another also to reign by his Grace.

'All the Circumstances of the illustrious Life of our Prince, seem to have conspired to make him the Check and Bridle of Tyranny; for his Mind has been strengthened and confirmed by one continual Struggle, and Heaven has educated him by Adversity to a quick Sense of the Distresses and Miseries of Mankind, which he was born to redress: In just scorn of the trivial Glories and light Ostentations of Power, that glorious Instrument of Providence moves, like that, in a steddy, calm, and silent Course, independent either of Applause or Calumny; which renders him, if not in a political, yet in a moral, a philosophick, an heroick, and a Christian Sense, an absolute Monarch; who satisfy'd with this unchangeable, just, and ample Glory, must needs turn all his Regards from himself to the Service of others; for he begins his Enterprize with his own Share in the Success of them; for Integrity bears in it self its Reward, nor can that which depends not on Event ever know Disappointment.

'With the undoubted Character of a glorious Captain, and (what he much more values than the most splendid Titles) that of a sincere and honest Man, he is the Hope and Stay of Europe, an universal Good not to be engrossed by us only, for distant Potentates implore his Friendship, and injur'd Empires court his Assistance. He rules the World, not by an Invasion of the People of the Earth, but the Address of its Princes; and if that World should be again rous'd from the Repose which his prevailing Arms had given it, why should we not hope that there is an Almighty, by whose Influence the terrible Enemy that thinks himself prepar'd for Battel, may find he is but ripe for Destruction? and that there may be in the Womb of Time great Incidents, which may make the Catastrophe of a prosperous Life as unfortunate as the particular Scenes of it were successful? For there does not want a skilful Eye and resolute Arm to observe and grasp the Occasion: A Prince, who from[2]

—Fuit Ilium et ingens

Gloria—

Virg.

Footnote 1:Christian Hero

'... the Entertainment of it, and making their great Monarch the Fountain of all that's delicate and refined, and his Court the Model for Opinions in Pleasure, as well as the Pattern in Dress; which might prevail so far upon an undiscerning world as (to accomplish it or its approaching Slavery) to make it receive a superfluous Babble for an Universal Language.'

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Footnote 2:Fuit Ilium

'A Prince who from just Notion of his Duty to that Being to whom he must be accountable, has in the Service of his Fellow Creatures a noble Contempt of Pleasures, and Patience of Labours, to whom 'tis Hereditary to be the Guardian and Asserter of the native Rights and Liberties of Mankind;'

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No. 517

Thursday, October 23, 1712

Addison

Heu Pietas! heu prisca Fides!

Virg.

ToSir Roger De Coverly is dead.[1]Sir Andrew FreeportSir Roger'sSentry

Honoured Sir ,

'Knowing that you was my old Master's good Friend, I could not forbear sending you the melancholy News of his Death, which has afflicted the whole Country, as well as his poor Servants, who loved him, I may say, better than we did our Lives. I am afraid he caught his Death the last County Sessions, where he would go to see Justice done to a poor Widow Woman, and her Fatherless Children, that had been wronged by a neighbouring Gentleman; for you know, Sir , my good Master was always the poor Man's Friend. Upon his coming home, the first Complaint he made was, that he had lost his Roast-Beef Stomach, not being able to touch a Sir loin, which was served up according to Custom; and you know he used to take great Delight in it. From that time forward he grew worse and worse, but still kept a good Heart to the last. Indeed we were once in great Hope[2] of his Recovery, upon a kind Message that was sent him from the Widow Lady whom he had made love to the Forty last Years of his Life; but this only proved a Light'ning before Death. He has bequeathed to this Lady, as a token of his Love, a great Pearl Necklace, and a Couple of Silver Bracelets set with Jewels, which belonged to my good old Lady his Mother: He has bequeathed the fine white Gelding, that he used to ride a hunting upon, to his Chaplain, because he thought he would be kind to him, and has left you all his Books. He has, moreover, bequeathed to the Chaplain a very pretty Tenement with good Lands about it. It being a very cold Day when he made his Will, he left for Mourning, to every Man in the Parish, a great Frize-Coat, and to every Woman a black Riding-hood. It was a most moving Sight to see him take leave of his poor Servants, commending us all for our Fidelity, whilst we were not able to speak a Word for weeping. As we most of us are grown Gray-headed in our Dear Master's Service, he has left us Pensions and Legacies, which we may live very comfortably upon, the remaining part of our Days.

He has bequeath'd a great deal more in Charity, which is not yet come to my Knowledge, and it is peremptorily said in the Parish, that he has left Mony to build a Steeple to the Church; for he was heard to say some time ago, that if he lived two Years longer, Coverly Church should have a Steeple to it. The Chaplain tells every body that he made a very good End, and never speaks of him without Tears. He was buried according to his own Directions, among the Family of the Coverly's, on the Left Hand of his Father Sir Arthur. The Coffin was carried by Six of his Tenants, and the Pall held up by Six of the Quorum: The whole Parish follow'd the Corps with heavy Hearts, and in their Mourning Suits, the Men in Frize, and the Women in Riding-Hoods. Captain Sentry, my Master's Nephew, has taken Possession of the Hall-House, and the whole Estate. When my old Master saw him a little before his Death, he shook him by the Hand, and wished him Joy of the Estate which was falling to him, deSir ing him only to make good Use of it, and to pay the several Legacies, and the Gifts of Charity which he told him he had left as Quitrents upon the Estate. The Captain truly seems a courteous Man, though he says but little. He makes much of those whom my Master loved, and shews great Kindness to the old House-dog, that you know my poor Master was so fond of. It would have gone to your Heart to have heard the Moans the dumb Creature made on the Day of my Master's Death. He has ne'er joyed himself since; no more has any of us. 'Twas the melancholiest Day for the poor People that ever happened in Worcestershire. This being all from,

Honoured Sir ,

Your most Sorrowful Servant,

Edward Biscuit.

P. S. 'My Master deSir ed, some Weeks before he died, that a Book which comes up to you by the Carrier should be given to Sir Andrew Freeport, in his Name.'

Sir AndrewSir Roger'sSir AndrewSir RogerSir AndrewSentry

Footnote 1:BeeSir

'Mr. Addison was so fond of this character that a little before he laid down the Spectator (foreseeing that some nimble gentleman would catch up his pen the moment he quitted it) he said to an intimate friend, with a certain warmth in his expression which he was not often guilty of, By God, I'll kill Sir Roger, that nobody else may murder him.'

SpectatorSpectatorSirSpectator's

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Footnote 2:Hopes

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Contents

No. 518

Friday, October 24, 1712

Steele[1]

—Miserum est alienæ incumbere famæ,

Ne collapsa ruant subductis tecta columnis.

Juv.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

It is with inexpressible Sorrow that I hear of the Death of good Sir Roger, and do heartily condole with you upon so melancholy an Occasion. I think you ought to have blacken'd the Edges of a Paper which brought us so ill News, and to have had it stamped likewise in Black. It is expected of you that you should write his Epitaph, and, if possible, fill his Place in the Club with as worthy and diverting a Member. I question not but you will receive many Recommendations from the publick of such as will appear Candidates for that Post.

Since I am talking of Death, and have mentioned an Epitaph, I must tell you, Sir , that I have made discovery of a Church-Yard in which I believe you might spend an Afternoon, with great Pleasure to your self and to the Publick: It. belongs to the Church of Stebon-Heath, commonly called Stepney. Whether or no it be that the People of that Parish have a particular Genius for an Epitaph, or that there be some Poet among them who undertakes that Work by the Great, I can't tell; but there are more remarkable Inscriptions in that place than in any other I have met with, and I may say without Vanity, that there is not a Gentleman in England better read in Tomb-stones than my self, my Studies having laid very much in Church-yards. I shall beg leave to send you a Couple of Epitaphs, for a Sample of those I have just now mentioned. They are written in a different manner; the first being in the diffused and luxuriant, the second in the close contracted Style. The first has much of the Simple and Pathetick; the second is something Light, but Nervous. The first is thus:

Here Thomas Sapper lyes interred. Ah why!

Born in New England, did in London dye;

Was the third Son of Eight, begot upon

His Mother Martha by his Father John.

Much favoured by his Prince he 'gan to be,

But nipt by Death at th' Age of Twenty Three.

Fatal to him was that we Small-pox name,

By which his Mother and two Brethren came

Also to breathe their last nine Years before,

And now have left their Father to deplore

The loss of all his Children, with his Wife,

Who was the Joy and Comfort of his Life.

The Second is as follows:

Here lies the body of Daniel Saul,

Spittle-fields weaver, and that's all.

'I will not dismiss you, whilst I am upon this Subject, without sending a short Epitaph which I once met with, though I cannot possibly recollect the Place. The Thought of it is serious, and in my Opinion, the finest that I ever met with upon this Occasion. You know, Sir , it is usual, after having told us the Name of the Person who lies interr'd to lanch out into his Praises. This Epitaph takes a quite contrary Turn, having been made by the Person himself some time before his Death.

Hic jacet R. C. in expectatione diei supremi. Qualis erat dies iste indicabit.[2]

Here lieth R. C. in expectation of the last Day. What sort of a Man he was, that Day will discover.

I am, Sir , &c.

TheCambridge[3]

Sir ,

'Having lately read among your Speculations, an Essay upon Phisiognomy, I cannot but think that if you made a Visit to this ancient University, you might receive very considerable Lights upon that Subject, there being scarce a young Fellow in it who does not give certain Indications of his particular Humour and Disposition conformable to the Rules of that Art. In Courts and Cities every body lays a Constraint upon his Countenance, and endeavours to look like the rest of the World; but the Youth of this Place, having not yet formed themselves by Conversation, and the Knowledge of the World, give their Limbs and Features their full Play.

'As you have considered Human Nature in all its Lights, you must be extremely well apprized, that there is a very close Correspondence between the outward and the inward Man; that scarce the least Dawning, the least Parturiency towards a Thought can be stirring in the Mind of Man, without producing a suitable Revolution in his Exteriors, which will easily discover it self to an Adept in the Theory of the Phiz. Hence it is, that the intrinsick Worth and Merit of a Son of Alma Mater is ordinarily calculated from the Cast of his Visage, the Contour of his Person, the Mechanism of his Dress, the Disposition of his Limbs, the Manner of his Gate and Air, with a number of Circumstances of equal Consequence and Information: The Practitioners in this Art often make use of a Gentleman's Eyes to give 'em Light into the Posture of his Brains; take a Handle from his Nose, to judge of the Size of his Intellects; and interpret the over-much Visibility and Pertness of one Ear, as an infallible mark of Reprobation, and a Sign the Owner of so saucy a Member fears neither God nor Man. In conformity to this Scheme, a contracted Brow, a lumpish down-cast Look, a sober sedate Pace, with both Hands dangling quiet and steddy in Lines exactly parallel to each Lateral Pocket of the Galligaskins, is Logick, Metaphysicks and Mathematicks in Perfection. So likewise the Belles Lettres are typified by a Saunter in the Gate; a Fall of one Wing of the Peruke backward, an Insertion of one Hand in the Fobb, and a negligent Swing of the other, with a Pinch of right and fine Barcelona between Finger and Thumb, a due Quantity of the same upon the upper Lip, and a Noddle-Case loaden with Pulvil. Again, a grave solemn stalking Pace is Heroick Poetry, and Politicks; an Unequal one, a Genius for the Ode, and the modern Ballad: and an open Breast, with an audacious Display of the Holland Shirt, is construed a fatal Tendency to the Art Military.

'I might be much larger upon these Hints, but I know whom I write to. If you can graft any Speculation upon them, or turn them to the Advantage of the Persons concerned in them, you will do a Work very becoming the British Spectator, and oblige'

Your very Humble Servant,

Tom. Tweer.

Footnote 1:No. 396

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Footnote 2:

Aperiet Deus tumulos et educet nos de sepulchris

Qualis eram, dies isti hæc cum venerit, scies.

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Footnote 3:

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Contents

No. 519

Saturday, October 25, 1712

Addison

Inde Hominum pecudumque genus, vitæque volantum,

Et quæ marmoreo fert Monstra sub æquore pontus.

Virg.

ThePlurality of Worlds[1]peopling

isPerceptive[2]

specified

ConsequenceLock

That there should be more Species of intelligent Creatures above us, than there are of sensible and material below us, is probable to me from hence; That in all the visible corporeal World, we see no Chasms, or no Gaps. All quite down from us, the descent is by easy steps, and a continued Series of things, that in each remove differ very little one from the other. There are Fishes that have Wings, and are not Strangers to the airy Region: and there are some Birds, that are Inhabitants of the Water; whose Blood is cold as Fishes, and their Flesh so like in taste, that the Scrupulous are allowed them on Fish-days. There are Animals so near of kin both to Birds and Beasts, that they are in the middle between both: Amphibious Animals link the Terrestrial and Aquatick together; Seals live at Land and at Sea, and Porpoises have the warm Blood and Entrails of a Hog; not to mention what is confidently reported of Mermaids or Sea-Men. There are some Brutes, that seem to have as much Knowledge and Reason, as some that are called Men; and the Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms are so nearly join'd, that if you will take the lowest of one, and the highest of the other, there will scarce be perceived any great difference between them: and so on till we come to the lowest and the most inorganical parts of Matter, we shall find every where that the several Species are linked together, and differ but in almost insensible degrees. And when we consider the infinite Power and Wisdom of the Maker, we have reason to think that it is suitable to the magnificent Harmony of the Universe, and the great Design and infinite Goodness of the Architect, that the Species of Creatures should also, by gentle degrees, ascend upward from us towards his infinite Perfection, as we see they gradually descend from us downwards: Which if it be probable, we have reason then to be persuaded, that there are far more Species of Creatures above us, than there are beneath; we being in degrees of Perfection much more remote from the infinite Being of God, than we are from the lowest State of Being, and that which approaches nearest to nothing. And yet of all those distinct Species, we have no clear distinct Ideas[3].

nexus utriusque MundimayCorruption, thou art my Father, and to the Worm, thou art my Mother and my Sister[4]

Footnote 1:Entretiens sur la Pluralité des Mondes

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Footnote 2:Preceptive

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Footnote 3:Essay concerning Human Understanding

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Footnote 4:Job

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Contents

No. 520

Monday, October 27, 1712

Francham[1]

Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus

Tant chari capitis!

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The just Value you have expressed for the Matrimonial State, is the Reason that I now venture to write to you, without Fear of being ridiculous; and confess to you, that though it is three Months since I lost a very agreeable Woman, who was my Wife, my Sorrow is still fresh; and I am often, in the midst of Company, upon any Circumstance that revives her Memory, with a Reflection what she would say or do on such an Occasion: I say, upon any Occurrence of that Nature, which I can give you a Sense of, though I cannot express it wholly, I am all over Softness, and am obliged to retire, and give Way to a few Sighs and Tears, before I can be easy. I cannot but recommend the Subject of Male Widowhood to you, and beg of you to touch upon it by the first Opportunity. To those who have not lived like Husbands during the Lives of their Spouses, this would be a tasteless Jumble of Words; but to such (of whom there are not a few) who have enjoyed that State with the Sentiments proper for it, you will have every Line, which hits the Sorrow, attended with a Tear of Pity and Consolation. For I know not by what Goodness of Providence it is, that every Gush of Passion is a step towards the Relief of it; and there is a certain Comfort in the very Act of Sorrowing, which, I suppose, arises from a secret Consciousness in the Mind, that the Affliction it is under flows from a virtuous Cause. My Concern is not indeed so outragious as at the first Transport; for I think it has subsided rather into a soberer State of Mind, than any actual Perturbation of Spirit. There might be Rules formed for Men's Behaviour on this great Incident, to bring them from that Misfortune into the Condition I am at present; which is, I think, that my Sorrow has converted all Roughness of Temper into Meekness, Good-nature, and Complacency: But indeed, when in a serious and lonely Hour I present my departed Consort to my Imagination, with that Air of Perswasion in her Countenance when I have been in Passion, that sweet Affability when I have been in good Humour, that tender Compassion when I have had any thing which gave me Uneasiness; I confess to you I am inconsolable, and my Eyes gush with Grief as if I had seen her but just then expire. In this Condition I am broken in upon by a charming young Woman, my Daughter, who is the Picture of what her Mother was on her Wedding-Day. The good Girl strives to comfort me; but how shall I let you know that all the Comfort she gives me is to make my Tears flow more easily? The Child knows she quickens my Sorrows, and rejoices my Heart at the same Time. Oh, ye Learned! tell me by what Word to speak a Motion of the Soul, for which there is no name. When she kneels and bids me be comforted, she is my Child; when I take her in my Arms, and bid her say no more, she is my very Wife, and is the very Comforter I lament the Loss of. I banish her the Room, and weep aloud that I have lost her Mother, and that I have her.

'Mr. SPECTATOR, I wish it were possible for you to have a Sense of these pleasing Perplexities; you might communicate to the guilty part of Mankind, that they are incapable of the Happiness which is in the very Sorrows of the Virtuous.

'But pray spare me a little longer; give me Leave to tell you the Manner of her Death. She took leave of all her Family, and bore the vain Application of Medicines with the greatest Patience imaginable. When the Physician told her she must certainly die, she deSir ed, as well as she could, that all who were present, except my self, might depart the Room. She said she had nothing to say, for she was resigned, and I knew all she knew that concerned us in this World; but she deSir ed to be alone, that in the presence of God only she might, without Interruption, do her last Duty to me, of thanking me for all my Kindness to her; adding, that she hoped in my last Moments I should feel the same Comfort for my Goodness to her, as she did in that she had acquitted herself with Honour, Truth and Virtue to me.

'I curb my self, and will not tell you that this Kindness cut my Heart in twain, when I expected an Accusation for some passionate Starts of mine, in some Parts of our Time together, to say nothing, but thank me for the Good, if there was any Good suitable to her own Excellence! All that I had ever said to her, all the Circumstances of Sorrow and Joy between us, crowded upon my Mind in the same Instant; and when immediately after I saw the Pangs of Death come upon that dear Body which I had often embraced with Transport, when I saw those cherishing Eyes begin to be ghastly, and their last Struggle to be to fix themselves on me, how did I lose all patience? She expired in my Arms, and in my Distraction I thought I saw her Bosom still heave. There was certainly Life yet still left; I cried she just now spoke to me: But alas! I grew giddy, and all things moved about me from the Distemper of my own Head; for the best of Women was breathless, and gone for ever.

'Now the Doctrine I would, methinks, have you raise from this Account I have given you is, That there is a certain Equanimity in those who are good and just, which runs into their very Sorrow, and disappoints the Force of it. Though they must pass through Afflictions in common with all who are in human Nature, yet their conscious Integrity shall undermine their Affliction; nay, that very Affliction shall add Force to their Integrity, from a Reflection of the Use of Virtue in the Hour of Affliction. I sat down with a Design to put you upon giving us Rules how to overcome such Griefs as these, but I should rather advise you to teach Men to be capable of them.

'You Men of Letters have what you call the fine Taste in their Apprehensions of what is properly done or said: There is something like this deeply grafted in the Soul of him who is honest and faithful in all his Thoughts and Actions. Every thing which is false, vicious or unworthy, is despicable to him, though all the World should approve it. At the same time he has the most lively Sensibility in all Enjoyments and Sufferings which it is proper for him to have, where any Duty of Life is concerned. To want Sorrow when you in Decency and Truth should be afflicted, is, I should think, a greater Instance of a Man's being a Blockhead, than not to know the Beauty of any Passage in Virgil. You have not yet observed, Mr. SPECTATOR, that the fine Gentlemen of this Age set up for Hardness of Heart, and Humanity has very little share in their Pretences. He is a brave Fellow who is always ready to kill a Man he hates, but he does not stand in the same Degree of Esteem who laments for the Woman he loves. I should fancy you might work up a thousand pretty Thoughts, by reflecting upon the Persons most susceptible of the sort of Sorrow I have spoken of; and I dare say you will find upon Examination, that they are the wisest and the bravest of Mankind who are most capable of it.

I am,

Sir ,

Your most humble Servant,

F. J.

Norwich,

7∞ Octobris,

1712.

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No. 521

Tuesday, October 28, 1712

Steele

Vera redit facies, dissimulata perit.

P. Arb.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I have been for many Years loud in this Assertion, That there are very few that can see or hear, I mean that can report what they have seen or heard; and this thro' Incapacity or Prejudice, one of which disables almost every Man who talks to you from representing things as he ought. For which Reason I am come to a Resolution of believing nothing I hear; and I contemn the Men given to Narration under the Appellation of a Matter of Fact Man: And according to me, a Matter of Fact Man is one whose Life and Conversation is spent in the Report of what is not Matter of Fact.

I remember when Prince Eugene was here, there was no knowing his Height or Figure, till you, Mr. SPECTATOR, gave the Publick Satisfaction in that Matter. In Relations, the Force of the Expression lies very often more in the Look, the Tone of Voice, or the Gesture, than the Words themselves; which being repeated in any other Manner by the Undiscerning, bear a very different Interpretation from their original Meaning. I must confess, I formerly have turn'd this Humour of mine to very good Account; for whenever I heard any Narration utter'd with extraordinary vehemence, and grounded upon considerable Authority, I was always ready to lay any Wager that it was not so. Indeed I never pretended to be so rash, as to fix the Matter in any particular Way in Opposition to theirs; but as there are a hundred Ways of any thing happening, besides that it has happen'd, I only controverted its falling out in that one Manner as they settled it, and left it to the Ninety nine other Ways, and consequently had more Probability of Success. I had arrived at a particular skill in warming a Man so far in his Narration, as to make him throw in a little of the Marvelous, and then, if he has much Fire, the next Degree is the Impossible. Now this is always the Time for fixing the Wager. But this requires the nicest Management, otherwise very probably the Dispute may arise to the old Determination by Battle. In these Conceits I have been very fortunate, and have won some Wagers of those who have professedly valued themselves upon Intelligence, and have put themselves to great Charge and Expence to be misinformed considerably sooner than the Rest of the World.

Having got a comfortable Sum by this my Opposition to publick Report, I have brought my self now to so great a Perfection in Inattention, more especially to Party Relations, that at the same time I seem with greedy Ears to devour up the Discourse, I certainly don't know one Word of it, but pursue my own Course of Thought, whether upon Business or Amusement, with much Tranquility: I say Inattention, because a late Act of Parliament has secur'd all Party-Lyars from the Penalty of a Wager[1], and consequently made it unprofitable to attend them. However, good Breeding obliges a Man to maintain the Figure of the keenest Attention, the true Posture of which in a Coffee-house I take to consist in leaning over a Table, with the Edge of it pressing hard upon your Stomach; for the more Pain the Narration is received with, the more gracious is your bending over: Besides that the Narrator thinks you forget your Pain by the Pleasure of hearing him.

Fort Knock has occasioned several very perplexed and inelegant Heats and Animosities; and there was one t'other day in a Coffee-house where I was, that took upon him to clear that Business to me, for he said he was there. I knew him to be that sort of Man that had not strength of Capacity to be inform'd of any thing that depended merely upon his being an Eye-Witness, and therefore was fully satisfied he could give me no Information, for the very same Reason he believed he could, for he was there. However, I heard him with the same Greediness as Shakespear describes in the following Lines:

I saw a Smith stand on his Hammer, thus,

With open Mouth swallowing a Taylor's News.

I confess of late I have not been so much amazed at the Declaimers in Coffee-houses as I formerly was, being satisfied that they expect to be rewarded for their Vociferations. Of these Liars there are two Sorts. The Genius of the first consists in much Impudence and a strong Memory; the others have added to these Qualifications a good Understanding and smooth Language. These therefore have only certain Heads, which they are as eloquent upon as they can, and may be call'd Embellishers; the others repeat only what they hear from others as literally as their Parts or Zeal will permit, and are called Reciters. Here was a Fellow in Town some Years ago, who used to divert himself by telling a Lie at Charing-Cross in the Morning at eight of the Clock, and then following it through all Parts of the Town till eight at Night; at which time he came to a Club of his Friends, and diverted them with an Account what Censure it had at Will's in Covent-Garden, how dangerous it was believed to be at Child's, and what Inference they drew from it with Relation to Stocks at Jonathan's. I have had the Honour to travel with this Gentleman I speak of in Search of one of his Falshoods; and have been present when they have described the very Man they have spoken to, as him who first reported it, tall or short, black or fair, a Gentleman or a Raggamuffin, according as they liked the Intelligence. I have heard one of our ingenious Writers of News say, that when he has had a Customer come with an Advertisement of an Apprentice or a Wife run away, he has deSir ed the Advertiser to compose himself a little, before he dictated the Description of the Offender: For when a Person is put into a publick Paper by a Man who is angry with him, the real Description of such Person is hid in the Deformity with which the angry Man described him; therefore this Fellow always made his Customers describe him as he would the Day before he offended, or else he was sure he would never find him out. These and many other Hints I could suggest to you for the Elucidation of all Fictions; but I leave it to your own Sagacity to improve or neglect this Speculation.

I am, Sir ,

Your most obedient,

Humble Servant.

to theNumber 502

N. B. There are in the Play of theofwhich is allowed a most excellent Comedy, several Incidents which would draw Tears from any Man of Sense, and not one which would move his Laughter.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 522

Wednesday, October 29, 1712

Steele

—Adjuro nunquam eam me deserturum,

Non, si capiundos mihi sciam esse inimicos omneis homines.

Hanc mihi expetivi, contigit: conveniunt mores: valeant

Qui inter nos dissidium volunt: hanc, nisi mors,

Mi adimet nemo.

Ter.

SirThesea[1]

LysanderWill Thrash

Madam,

My Counsel[2] has perused the Inventory of your Estate, and consider'd what Estate you have, which it seems is only yours, and to the Male-Heirs of your Body; but, in Default of such Issue, to the right Heirs of your Uncle Edward for ever. Thus, Madam, I am advis'd you cannot (the Remainder not being in you) dock the Entail; by which means my Estate, which is Fee-Simple, will come by the Settlement propos'd to your Children begotten by me, whether they are Males or Females; but my Children begotten upon you will not inherit your Lands, except I beget a Son. Now, Madam, since things are so, you are a Woman of that Prudence, and understand the World so well, as not to expect I should give you more than you can give me.

I am, Madam,

(with great Respect)

Your most obedient humble Servant, T. W.

Madam,

I have given in my Estate to your Counsel[3], and deSir ed my own Lawyer to insist upon no Terms which your Friends can propose for your certain Ease and Advantage: For indeed I have no notion of making Difficulties of presenting you with what cannot make me happy without you.

I am, Madam,

Your most devoted humble Servant, B. T.

EdwardFairB. T.

Footnote 1:an

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Footnote 2:Council

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Footnote 3:Council

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No. 523

Thursday, October 30, 1712

Addison

—Nunc augur Apollo,

Nunc Lyciæ sortes, nunc et Jove missus ab ipso

Interpres Divûm fert horrida jussa per auras.

Scilicet is superis labor—

Virg.

thisPope[1]on the Prospect of Peacewellthis[2]

Ovid's MetamorphosisVenusHelenApolloPolyphemeJupitersJunos

Philips

VirgilHomerEugeneMarsBellonade VillarsBacchusApollo

PhœbusMercuryMinervaNeptuneSirJupiter

Footnote 1:Rape of the Lock,Rape of the Lock,

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No. 524

Friday, October 31, 1712

[1]

Nos populo damus—

Sen.

Epictetus

Never tell thy Dreams, says that Philosopher, for tho' thou thy self may'st take a Pleasure in telling thy Dream, another will take no Pleasure in hearing it.

ScotlandJohn Bunyan

Sir ,

'I was last Sunday in the Evening led into a serious Reflection on the Reasonableness of Virtue, and great Folly of Vice, from an excellent Sermon I had heard that Afternoon in my Parish-Church. Among other Observations, the Preacher shew'd us that the Temptations which the Tempter propos'd, were all on a Supposition, that we are either Madmen or Fools, or with an Intention to render us such; that in no other Affair we would suffer ourselves to be thus imposed upon, in a Case so plainly and clearly against our visible Interest. His illustrations and Arguments carried so much Persuasion and Conviction with them, that they remained a considerable while fresh, and working in my Memory; till at last the Mind, fatigued with Thought, gave way to the forcible Oppressions of Slumber and Sleep, whilst Fancy, unwilling yet to drop the Subject, presented me with the following Vision.

'Methought I was just awoke out of a Sleep, that I could never remember the beginning of; the Place where I found my self to be, was a wide and spacious Plain, full of People that wandered up and down through several beaten Paths, whereof some few were strait, and in direct lines, but most of them winding and turning like a Labyrinth; but yet it appear'd to me afterwards, that these last all met in one Issue, so that many that seemed to steer quite contrary Courses, did at length meet and face one another, to the no little Amazement of many of them.

'In the midst of the Plain there was a great Fountain: They called it the Spring of Self-Love; out of it issued two Rivulets to the Eastward and Westward, the Name of the first was Heavenly-Wisdom, its Water was wonderfully clear, but of a yet more wonderful Effect; the other's Name was Worldly-Wisdom, its Water was thick, and yet far from dormant or stagnating, for it was in a continual violent Agitation; which kept the Travellers whom I shall mention by and by, from being sensible of the Foulness and Thickness of the Water; which had this Effect, that it intoxicated those who drunk it, and made 'em mistake every Object that lay before them: both Rivulets were parted near their Springs into so many others, as there were strait and crooked Paths, which they attended all along to their respective Issues.

'I observ'd from the several Paths many now and then diverting, to refresh and otherwise qualify themselves for their Journey, to the respective Rivulets that ran near them; they contracted a very observable Courage and Steadiness in what they were about, by drinking these Waters. At the end of the Perspective of every strait Path, all which did end in one Issue and Point, appeared a high Pillar, all of Diamond, casting Rays as bright as those of the Sun into the Paths; which Rays had also certain sympathizing and alluring Virtues in them, so that whosoever had made some considerable progress in his Journey onwards towards the Pillar, by the repeated impression of these Rays upon him, was wrought into an habitual Inclination and Conversion of his Sight towards it, so that it grew at last in a matter natural to him to look and gaze upon it, whereby he was kept steddy in the strait Paths, which alone led to that radiant Body, the beholding of which was now grown a Gratification to his Nature.

'At the Issue of the crooked Paths there was a great black Tower, out of the Centre of which streamed a long Succession of Flames, which did rise even above the Clouds; it gave a very great Light to the whole Plain, which did sometimes outshine the Light, and opprest the Beams of the Adamantine Pillar; tho' by the Observation I made afterwards, it appeared that it was not for any Diminution of Light, but that this lay in the Travellers, who would sometimes step out of the strait Paths, where they lost the full Prospect of the Radiant Pillar, and saw it but side-ways: but the great Light from the black Tower, which was somewhat particularly scorching to them, would generally light and hasten them to their proper Climate again.

'Round about the black Tower there were, methoughts, many thousands of huge mis-shapen ugly Monsters; these had great Nets, which they were perpetually plying and casting towards the crooked Paths, and they would now and then catch up those that were nearest to them: these they took up streight, and whirled over the Walls into the flaming Tower, and they were no more seen nor heard of.

'They would sometimes cast their Nets towards the right Paths to catch the Stragglers, whose Eyes for want of frequent drinking at the Brook that ran by them grew dim, whereby they lost their way; these would sometimes very narrowly miss being catched away, but I could not hear whether any of these had ever been so unfortunate, that had been before very hearty in the strait Paths.

'I considered all these strange Sights with great Attention, till at last I was interrupted by a Cluster of the Travellers in the crooked Paths, who came up to me, bid me go along with them, and presently fell to singing and dancing; they took me by the Hand, and so carried me away along with them. After I had follow'd them a considerable while, I perceiv'd I had lost the black Tower of Light, at which I greatly wonder'd; but as I looked and gazed round about me, and saw nothing, I begun to fancy my first Vision had been but a Dream, and there was no such thing in reality: but then I consider'd, that if I could fancy to see what was not, I might as well have an Illusion wrought on me at present, and not see what was really before me. I was very much confirmed in this Thought, by the Effect I then just observ'd the Water of Worldly-Wisdom had upon me; for as I had drunk a little of it again, I felt a very sensible Effect in my Head; methought it distracted and disorder'd all there: this made me stop of a sudden, suspecting some Charm or Inchantment. As I was casting about within my self what I should do, and whom to apply to in this Case; I spy'd at some distance off me a Man beckning, and making signs to me to come over to him. I cry'd to him, I did not know the Way. He then called to me audibly, to step at least out of the Path I was in; for if I staid there any longer I was in danger to be catched in a great Net that was just hanging over me, and ready to catch me up; that he wonder'd I was so blind, or so distracted, as not to see so imminent and visible a Danger; assuring me, that as soon as I was out of that Way, he would come to me to lead me into a more secure Path. This I did, and he brought me his Palm full of the Water of Heavenly-Wisdom, which was of very great use to me, for my Eyes were streight cleared, and I saw the great black Tower just before me; but the great Net which I spy'd so near me, cast me in such a Terror, that I ran back as far as I could in one Breath, without looking behind me: then my Benefactor thus bespoke me, You have made the wonderful'st Escape in the World, the Water you used to drink is of a bewitching Nature, you would else have been mightily shocked at the Deformities and Meanness of the Place; for beside the Set of blind Fools, in whose Company you was, you may now observe many others who are only bewitched after another no less dangerous manner. Look a little that way, there goes a Crowd of Passengers, they have indeed so good a Head, as not to suffer themselves to be blinded by this bewitching Water; the black Tower is not vanished out of their sight, they see it whenever they look up to it; but see how they go side-ways, and with their Eyes downwards, as if they were mad, that they may thus rush into the Net, without being beforehand troubled at the Thought of so miserable a Destruction. Their Wills are so perverse, and their Hearts so fond of the Pleasures of the Place, that rather than forgo them they will run all Hazards, and venture upon all the Miseries and Woes before them.

'See there that other Company, tho' they should drink none of the bewitching Water, yet they take a Course bewitching and deluding; see how they chuse the crookedest Paths, whereby they have often the black Tower behind them, and sometimes see the radiant Column side-ways, which gives them some weak Glimpse of it. These Fools content themselves with that, not knowing whether any other have any more of its Influence and Light than themselves: this Road is called that of Superstition or Human Invention; they grossly over-look that which the Rules and Laws of the Place prescribe to them, and contrive some other Scheme and Set of Directions and Prescriptions for themselves, which they hope will serve their turn. He shewed me many other kind of Fools, which put me quite out of humour with the Place. At last he carried me to the right Paths, where I found true and solid Pleasure, which entertained me all the way, till we came in closer sight of the Pillar, where the Satisfaction increased to that measure that my Faculties were not able to contain it; in the straining of them I was violently waked, not a little grieved at the vanishing of so pleasing a Dream.

Glascow, Sept. 29.

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Contents

No. 525

Saturday, November 1, 1712

John Hughes

frequentDoctors-Commons

thatridiculous[1]

Sober ManSpiritless FellowGood-NatureFolly

A Knight ErrantDon Quixot, without a Mistress, is like a Tree without LeavesSacharissa

Conjugal Love

NarcissaBenevolusBenevolusSir

PlinyHispullashallConjugal Love

Pliny to Hispulla[2].

'As I remember the great Affection which was between you and your excellent Brother, and know you love his Daughter as your own, so as not only to express the Tenderness of the best of Aunts, but even to supply that of the best of Fathers; I am sure it will be a pleasure to you to hear that she proves worthy of her Father, worthy of you, and of your Ancestors. Her Ingenuity is admirable; her Frugality extraordinary. She loves me, the surest Pledge of her Virtue; and adds to this a wonderful Disposition to Learning, which she has acquir'd from her Affection to me. She reads my Writings, studies them, and even gets them by heart. You'd smile to see the Concern she is in when I have a Cause to plead, and the Joy she shews when it is over. She finds means to have the first News brought her of the Success I meet with in Court, how I am heard, and what Decree is made. If I recite any thing in publick, she cannot refrain from placing her self privately in some Corner to hear, where with the utmost delight she feasts upon my Applauses. Sometimes she sings my Verses, and accompanies them with the Lute, without any Master, except Love, the best of Instructors. From these Instances I take the most certain Omens of our perpetual and encreasing Happiness; since our Affection is not founded on my Youth and Person, which must gradually decay, but she is in love with the immortal Part of me, my Glory and Reputation. Nor indeed could less be expected from one who had the Happiness to receive her Education from you, who in your House was accustomed to every thing that was virtuous and decent, and even began to love me by your Recommendation. For, as you had always the greatest Respect for my Mother, you were pleased from my Infancy to form me, to commend me, and kindly to presage I should be one day what my Wife fancies I am. Accept therefore our united Thanks; mine, that you have bestowed her on me, and hers, that you have given me to her, as a mutual Grant of Joy and Felicity.'

Footnote 1:scandalous

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Footnote 2:

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No. 526

Monday, November 3, 1712

Steele

—Fortius utere Loris.

Ovid.

LondonWestminsterJohn Sly

To the SPECTATOR-GENERAL of Great Britain.

'I grant it does look a little familiar, but I must call you

Dear Dumb,

'Being got again to the farther End of the Widow's Coffeehouse, I shall from hence give you some account of the Behaviour of our Hackney-Coachmen since my last. These indefatigable Gentlemen, without the least Design, I dare say, of Self-Interest or Advantage to themselves, do still ply as Volunteers Day and Night for the Good of their Country. I will not trouble you with enumerating many Particulars, but I must by no means omit to inform you of an Infant about six foot high, and between twenty and thirty Years of Age, who was seen in the Arms of a Hackney Coach-man driving by Will's Coffee-house in Covent-Garden, between the Hours of four and five in the Afternoon of that very Day, wherein you publish'd a Memorial against them. This impudent young Cur, tho' he could not sit in a Coach-box without holding, yet would he venture his Neck to bid defiance to your Spectatorial Authority, or to any thing that you countenanced. Who he was I know not, but I heard this Relation this Morning from a Gentleman who was an Eye-Witness of this his Impudence; and I was willing to take the first opportunity to inform you of him, as holding it extremely requisite that you should nip him in the Bud. But I am my self most concerned for my Fellow-Templers, Fellow-Students, and Fellow-Labourers in the Law, I mean such of them as are dignified and distinguish'd under the Denomination of Hackney-Coachmen. Such aspiring Minds have these ambitious young Men, that they cannot enjoy themselves out of a Coach-Box. It is however an unspeakable Comfort to me, that I can now tell you, that some of them are grown so bashful as to study only in the Nighttime, or in the Country. The other Night I spied one of our young Gentlemen very diligent at his Lucubrations in Fleet-Street; and by the way, I should be under some concern, lest this hard Student should one time or other crack his Brain with studying, but that I am in hopes Nature has taken care to fortify him in proportion to the great Undertakings he was design'd for. Another of my Fellow-Templers, on Thursday last, was getting up into his Study at the Bottom of Grays-Inn-Lane, in order, I suppose, to contemplate in the fresh Air. Now, Sir , my Request is, that the great Modesty of these two Gentlemen may be recorded as a Pattern to the rest; and if you would but give them two or three Touches with your own Pen, tho' you might not perhaps prevail with them to desist entirely from their Meditations, yet I doubt not but you would at least preserve them from being publick Spectacles of Folly in our Streets. I say, two or three Touches with your own Pen; for I have really observed, Mr. Spec, that those Spectators which are so prettily laced down the sides with little c's, how instructive soever they may be, do not carry with them that Authority as the others. I do again therefore deSir e, that for the sake of their dear Necks, you will bestow one Penful of your own Ink upon them. I know you are loth to expose them; and it is, I must confess, a thousand Pities that any young Gentleman, who is come of honest Parents, should be brought to publick Shame: And indeed I should be glad to have them handled a little tenderly at the first; but if fair means will not prevail, there is then no other Way to reclaim them, but by making use of some wholesome Severities; and I think it is better that a Dozen or two of such good-for-nothing Fellows should be made Examples of, than that the Reputation of some Hundreds of as hopeful young Gentlemen as my self should suffer thro' their Folly. It is not, however, for me to direct you what to do; but, in short, if our Coachmen will drive on this Trade, the very first of them that I do find meditating in the Street, I shall make Bold to take the Number of his Chambers, together with a Note of his Name, and dispatch them to you, that you may chastise him at your own Discretion.

I am, Dear Spec.

For ever Yours,

Moses Greenbag,

Esq., if you please.

P. S. 'Tom Hammercloth, one of our Coachmen, is now pleading at the Bar at the other end of the Room, but has a little too much Vehemence, and throws out his Arms too much to take his Audience with a good Grace.

To my Loving and Well-belovedHaberdasher of Hats and Tobacconist, between the Cities ofandLondonWestminsterWestminsterLondonDevereux-CourtWestminsterExchange

The

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No. 527

Tuesday, November 4, 1712

Facile invenies, et pejorem, et pejus moratam,

Meliorem neque tu reperes, neque sol videt.

Plautus in Sticho.

callCephalusProcris[1]

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Tis now almost three months since I was in Town about some Business; and the Hurry of it being over, took Coach one Afternoon, and drove to see a Relation, who married about six Years ago a wealthy Citizen. I found her at home, but her Husband gone to the Exchange, and expected back within an Hour at the farthest. After the usual Salutations of Kindness, and a hundred Questions about Friends in the Country, we sat down to Piquet, played two or three Games, and drank Tea. I should have told you that this was my second time of seeing her since Marriage, but before she lived at the same Town where I went to School; so that the Plea of a Relation, added to the Innocence of my Youth, prevailed upon her good Humour to indulge me in a Freedom of Conversation as often, and oftner, than the strict Discipline of the School would allow of. You may easily imagine after such an Acquaintance we might be exceeding merry without any Offence, as in calling to mind how many Inventions I had been put to in deluding the Master, how many Hands forged for Excuses, how many times been sick in perfect Health; for I was then never sick but at School, and only then because out of her Company. We had whiled away three Hours after this manner, when I found it past Five; and not expecting her Husband would return till late, rose up, told her I should go early next Morning for the Country: She kindly answered she was afraid it would be long before she saw me again; so I took my leave and parted. Now, Sir , I had not been got home a Fortnight, when I received a Letter from a Neighbour of theirs, that ever since that fatal Afternoon the Lady had been most inhumanly treated, and the Husband publickly stormed that he was made a Member of too numerous a Society. He had, it seems, listened most of the time my Cousin and I were together. As jealous Ears always hear double, so he heard enough to make him mad; and as jealous Eyes always see thro' Magnifying Glasses, so he was certain it could not be I whom he had seen, a beardless Stripling, but fancied he saw a gay Gentleman of the Temple, ten Years older than my self; and for that reason, I presume, durst not come in, nor take any Notice when I went out. He is perpetually asking his Wife if she does not think the time long (as she said she should) till she see her Cousin again. Pray, Sir , what can be done in this Case? I have writ to him to assure him I was at his House all that afternoon expecting to see him: His Answer is, 'tis only a Trick of hers, and that he neither can nor will believe me. The parting Kiss I find mightily nettles him, and confirms him in all his Errors. Ben. Johnson, as I remember, makes a Foreigner in one of his Comedies, admire the desperate Valour of the bold English, who let out their Wives to all Encounters. The general Custom of Salutation should Excuse the Favour done me, or you should lay down Rules when such Distinctions are to be given or omitted. You cannot imagine, Sir , how troubled I am for this unhappy Lady's Misfortune; and beg you would insert this Letter, that the Husband may reflect upon this Accident coolly. It is no small Matter, the Ease of a virtuous Woman for her whole Life: I know she will conform to any Regularities (tho' more strict than the common Rules of our Country require) to which his particular Temper shall incline him to oblige her. This Accident puts me in mind how generously Pisistratus the Athenian Tyrant behaved himself on a like Occasion, when he was instigated by his Wife to put to death a young Gentleman, because being passionately fond of his Daughter, he kissed her in publick as he met her in the Street; What (says he) shall we do to those who are our Enemies, if we do thus to those who are our Friends? I will not trouble you much longer, but am exceedingly concern'd lest this Accident may cause a virtuous Lady to lead a miserable Life with a Husband, who has no Grounds for his Jealousy but what I have faithfully related, and ought to be reckon'd none. 'Tis to be fear'd too, if at last he sees his Mistake, yet People will be as slow and unwilling in disbelieving Scandal as they are quick and forward in believing it. I shall endeavour to enliven this plain honest Letter, with Ovid's Relation about Cybele's Image. The Ship wherein it was aboard was stranded at the mouth of the Tyber, and the Men were unable to move it, till Claudia, a Virgin, but suspected of Unchastity, by a slight Pull hawled it in. The Story is told in the fourth Book of the Fasti.

Parent of Gods, began the weeping Fair,

Reward or punish, but oh! hear my Pray'r.

If Lewdness e'er defil'd my Virgin Bloom,

From Heav'n with Justice I receive my Doom;

But if my Honour yet has known no Stain,

Thou, Goddess, thou my Innocence maintain;

Thou, whom the nicest Rules of Goodness sway'd,

Vouchsafe to follow an unblemish'd Maid.

She spoke, and touch'd the Cord with glad Surprize,

(The truth was witness'd by ten thousand Eyes)

The pitying Goddess easily comply'd,

Follow'd in triumph, and adorn'd her Guide;

While Claudia, blushing still far past Disgrace,

March'd silent on with a slow solemn Pace:

Nor yet from some was all Distrust remov'd,

Tho' Heav'n such Virtue by such Wonders prov'd.

I am, Sir ,

Your very humble Servant,

Philagnotes.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You will oblige a languishing Lover, if you will please to print the enclosed Verses in your next Paper. If you remember the Metamorphosis, you know Procris, the fond Wife of Cephalus, is said to have made her Husband, who delighted in the Sports of the Wood, a Present of an unerring Javelin. In process of time he was so much in the Forest, that his Lady suspected he was pursuing some Nymph, under the pretence of following a Chace more innocent. Under this Suspicion she hid herself among the Trees, to observe his Motions. While she lay conceal'd, her Husband, tired with the Labour of Hunting, came within her hearing. As he was fainting with Heat, he cried out, Aura veni; Oh charming Air approach.

'The unfortunate Wife, taking the Word Air to be the name of a Woman, began to move among the Bushes; and the Husband believing it a Deer, threw his Javelin and kill'd her. This History painted on a Fan, which I presented to a Lady, gave occasion to my growing poetical.

Come gentle Air! th' Æolian Shepherd said,

While Procris panted in the secret Shade;

Come gentle Air! the fairer Delia cries,

While at her Feet her Swain expiring lies.

Lo the glad Gales o'er all her Beauties stray,

Breathe on her Lips, and in her Bosom play.

In Delia's Hand this Toy is fatal found,

Nor did that fabled Dart more surely wound.

Both Gifts destructive to the Givers prove,

Alike both Lovers fall by those they love:

Yet guiltless too this bright Destroyer lives,

At random wounds, nor knows the Wound she gives.

She views the Story with attentive Eyes,

And pities Procris, while her Lover dies.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 528

Wednesday, November 5, 1712

Steele

Dum potuit solite gemitum virtute repressit.

Ovid.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I who now write to you, am a Woman loaded with Injuries, and the Aggravation of my Misfortune is, that they are such which are overlooked by the Generality of Mankind, and tho' the most afflicting imaginable, not regarded as such in the general Sense of the World. I have hid my Vexation from all Mankind; but have now taken Pen, Ink, and Paper, and am resolv'd to unbosom my self to you, and lay before you what grieves me and all the Sex. You have very often mentioned particular Hardships done to this or that Lady; but, methinks, you have not in any one Speculation directly pointed at the partial Freedom Men take, the unreasonable Confinement Women are obliged to, in the only Circumstance in which we are necessarily to have a Commerce with them, that of Love. The Case of Celibacy is the great Evil of our Nation; and the Indulgence of the vicious Conduct of Men in that State, with the Ridicule to which Women are exposed, though ever so virtuous, if long unmarried, is the Root of the greatest Irregularities of this Nation. To shew you, Sir , that tho' you never have given us the Catalogue of a Lady's Library as you promised, we read good Books of our own chusing, I shall insert on this occasion a Paragraph or two out of Echard's Roman History. In the 44th Page of the second Volume the Author observes, that Augustus, upon his Return to Rome at the end of a War, received Complaints that too great a Number of the young Men of Quality were unmarried. The Emperor thereupon assembled the whole Equestrian Order; and having separated the Married from the Single, did particular Honours to the former, but he told the latter, that is to say, Mr. SPECTATOR, he told the Batchelors,

"That their Lives and Actions had been so peculiar, that he knew not by what Name to call 'em; not by that of Men, for they performed nothing that was manly; not by that of Citizens, for the City might perish notwithstanding their Care; nor by that of Romans, for they designed to extirpate the Roman Name."

Then proceeding to shew his tender Care and hearty Affection for his People, he further told them,

"That their Course of Life was of such pernicious Consequence to the Glory and Grandeur of the Roman Nation, that he could not chuse but tell them, that all other Crimes put together could not equalize theirs: For they were guilty of Murder, in not suffering those to be born which should proceed from them; of Impiety, in causing the Names and Honours of their Ancestors to cease; and of Sacrilege, in destroying their Kind, which proceeded from the immortal Gods, and Human Nature, the principal thing consecrated to 'em: Therefore in this Respect they dissolved the Government, in disobeying its Laws; betrayed their Country, by making it barren and waste; nay and demolished their City, in depriving it of Inhabitants. And he was sensible that all this proceeded not from any kind of Virtue or Abstinence, but from a Looseness and Wantonness, which ought never to be encouraged in any Civil Government."

There are no Particulars dwelt upon that let us into the Conduct of these young Worthies, whom this great Emperor treated with so much Justice and Indignation; but any one who observes what passes in this Town, may very well frame to himself a Notion of their Riots and Debaucheries all Night, and their apparent Preparations for them all Day. It is not to be doubted but these Romans never passed any of their Time innocently but when they were asleep, and never slept but when they were weary and heavy with Excesses, and slept only to prepare themselves for the Repetition of them. If you did your Duty as a SPECTATOR, you would carefully examine into the Number of Births, Marriages, and Burials; and when you had deducted out of your Deaths all such as went out of the World without marrying, then cast up the number of both Sexes born within such a Term of Years last past, you might from the single People departed make some useful Inferences or Guesses how many there are left unmarried, and raise some useful Scheme for the Amendment of the Age in that particular. I have not Patience to proceed gravely on this abominable Libertinism; for I cannot but reflect, as I am writing to you, upon a certain lascivious Manner which all our young Gentlemen use in publick, and examine our Eyes with a Petulancy in their own, which is a downright Affront to Modesty. A disdainful Look on such an Occasion is return'd with a Countenance rebuked, but by averting their Eyes from the Woman of Honour and Decency to some flippant Creature, who will, as the Phrase is, be kinder. I must set down things as they come into my Head, without standing upon Order. Ten thousand to one but the gay Gentleman who stared, at the same time is an House-keeper; for you must know they have got into a Humour of late of being very regular in their Sins, and a young Fellow shall keep his four Maids and three Footmen with the greatest Gravity imaginable. There are no less than six of these venerable House-keepers of my Acquaintance. This Humour among young Men of Condition is imitated by all the World below them, and a general Dissolution of Manners arises from the one Source of Libertinism, without Shame or Reprehension in the Male Youth. It is from this one Fountain that so many Beautiful helpless young Women are sacrific'd and given up to Lewdness, Shame, Poverty and Disease. It is to this also that so many excellent young Women, who might be Patterns of conjugal Affection and Parents of a worthy Race, pine under unhappy Passions for such as have not Attention enough to observe, or Virtue enough to prefer them to their common Wenches. Now, Mr. SPECTATOR, I must be free to own to you, that I my self suffer a tasteless insipid Being, from a Consideration I have for a Man who would not, as he has said in my hearing, resign his Liberty, as he calls it, for all the Beauty and Wealth the whole Sex is possessed of. Such Calamities as these would not happen, if it could possibly be brought about, that by fining Batchelors as Papists Convict, or the like, they were distinguished to their disadvantage from the rest of the World, who fall in with the Measures of Civil Society. Lest you should think I speak this as being, according to the senseless rude Phrase, a malicious old Maid, I shall acquaint you I am a Woman of Condition not now three and twenty, and have had Proposals from at least ten different Men, and the greater Number of them have upon the Upshot refused me. Something or other is always amiss when the Lover takes to some new Wench: A Settlement is easily excepted against; and there is very little Recourse to avoid the vicious Part of our Youth, but throwing one's self away upon some lifeless Blockhead, who tho' he is without Vice, is also without Virtue. Now-a-days we must be contented if we can get Creatures which are not bad, good are not to be expected. Mr. SPECTATOR, I sat near you the other Day, and think I did not displease you Spectatorial Eyesight; which I shall be a better Judge of when I see whether you take notice of these Evils your own way, or print this Memorial dictated from the disdainful heavy Heart of,

Sir ,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

Rachael Welladay.

Contents

No. 529

Thursday, November 6, 1712

Addison

Singula quæque locum teneant sortita decenter.

Hor.

FolioQuartoQuartoOctavoTwenty FoursFolioDuo-decimo

OctavoGreat BritainOctavo'sFolio

the Present State of England

Once a King, and always a King

AristotlePasDryden

Contents

No. 530

Friday, November 7, 1712

Addison

Sic visum Veneri; cui placet impares

Formas atque animos sub juga ahenea

Sævo mittere cum joco.

Hor.

Congreve's Old Batchelor[1]Hymen

Will HoneycombTemplerWill,WillDear Spec.My Worthy FriendWilliam HoneycombtheWill Honeycombabove[2]

Will

My Worthy Friend,

I question not but you, and the rest of my Acquaintance, wonder that I, who have lived in the Smoak and Gallantries of the Town for thirty Years together, should all on a sudden grow fond of a Country Life. Had not my Dog of a[3] Steward run away as he did, without making up his Accounts, I had still been immersed in Sin and Sea-Coal. But since my late forced Visit to my Estate, I am so pleased with it, that I am resolved to live and die upon it. I am every Day abroad among my Acres, and can scarce forbear filling my Letter with Breezes, Shades, Flowers, Meadows, and purling Streams. The Simplicity of Manners, which I have heard you so often speak of, and which appears here in Perfection, charms me wonderfully. As an Instance of it, I must acquaint you, and by your means the whole Club, that I have lately married one of my Tenants Daughters. She is born of honest Parents, and though she has no Portion, she has a great deal of Virtue. The natural Sweetness and Innocence of her Behaviour, the Freshness of her Complection, the unaffected Turn of her Shape and Person, shot me through and through every time I saw her, and did more Execution upon me in Grogram, than the greatest Beauty in Town or Court had ever done in Brocade. In short, she is such an one as promises me a good Heir to my Estate; and if by her means I cannot leave to my Children what are falsely called the Gifts of Birth; high Titles and Alliances: I hope to convey to them the more real and valuable Gifts of Birth; strong Bodies, and Healthy Constitutions. As for your fine Women, I need not tell thee that I know them. I have had my share in their Graces, but no more of that. It shall be my Business hereafter to live the Life of an honest Man, and to act as becomes the Master of a Family. I question not but I shall draw upon me the Raillery of the Town, and be treated to the Tune of the Marriage-Hater match'd; but I am prepared for it. I have been as witty upon others in my time. To tell thee truly, I saw such a Tribe of Fashionable young fluttering Coxcombs shot up, that I did not think my Post of an homme de ruelle any longer tenable. I felt a certain Stiffness in my Limbs, which entirely destroyed that Jauntyness of Air I was once Master of. Besides, for I may now confess my Age to thee, I have been eight and forty above these Twelve Years. Since my Retirement into the Country will make a Vacancy in the Club, I could wish you would fill up my Place with my Friend Tom Dapperwit. He has an infinite deal of Fire, and knows the Town. For my own part, as I have said before, I shall endeavour to live hereafter suitable to a Man in my Station, as a prudent Head of a Family, a good Husband, a careful Father (when it shall so happen) and as

Your most Sincere Friend,

and Humble Servant,

William Honeycomb.

Footnote 1:Old BatchelorSpectator

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Footnote 2:about

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Footnote 3:the

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Contents

No. 531

Saturday, November 8, 1712

Addison

Qui mare et terras variisque mundum

Temperat horis:

Unde nil majus generatur ipso,

Nec viget quicquam simile aut secundum.

Hor.

beingDionysiusSirSir[1]

WeWe

produceLocke'sEssay on Human Understanding.

If we examine the Idea we have of the incomprehensible Supreme Being, we shall find, that we come by it the same way; and that the complex Ideas we have both of God and separate Spirits, are made up of the simple Ideas we receive from Reflection: e. g. having from what we experiment in our selves, got the Ideas of Existence and Duration, of Knowledge and Power, of Pleasure and Happiness, and of several other Qualities and Powers, which it is better to have, than to be without; when we would frame an Idea the most suitable we can to the Supreme Being, we enlarge every one of these with our Idea of Infinity; and so putting them together, make our Complex Idea of God.[2]

ThisKindDegreeconceiving[3]There is no end of his Greatness

theSir ach

By his Word all things consist. We may speak much, and yet come short: wherefore in sum, he is all. How shall we be able to magnify him? For he is great above all his Works. The Lord is terrible and very great; and marvellous in his Power. When you glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for even yet will he far exceed. And when you exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for you can never go far enough. Who hath seen him, that he might tell us? And who can magnify him as he is? There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his Works.[4]

Sir

a[5]

'He had the profoundest Veneration for the Great God of Heaven and Earth that I have ever observed in any Person. The very Name of God was never mentioned by him without a Pause and a visible Stop in his Discourse; in which, one that knew him most particularly above twenty Years, has told me, that he was so exact, that he does not remember to have observed him once to fail in it.'

Jews

Footnote 1:De Naturâ Deorum.

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Footnote 2:Human Understanding

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Footnote 3:conceiving him.

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Footnote 4:Ecclus

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Footnote 5:

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Contents

No. 532

Monday, November 10, 1712

Steele

—Fungor vice cotis, acutum

Reddere quæ ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi.

Hor.

claim[1]TickellPopethe[2]Adrian

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I was the other day in Company with five or six Men of some Learning; where chancing to mention the famous Verses which the Emperor Adrian spoke on his Death-bed, they were all agreed that 'twas a Piece of Gayety unworthy that Prince in those Circumstances. I could not but dissent from this Opinion: Methinks it was by no means a gay, but a very serious Soliloquy to his Soul at the Point of his Departure: in which Sense I naturally took the Verses at my first reading them when I was very young, and before I knew what Interpretation the World generally put upon them:

'Animula vagula, blandula,

Hospes Comesque corporis,

Quæ nunc abibis in loca?

Pallidula, rigida, nudula,

Nec (ut soles) dabis Joca!

'Alas, my Soul! thou pleasing Companion of this Body, thou fleeting thing that art now deserting it! whither art thou flying? to what unknown Region? Thou art all trembling, fearful, and pensive. Now what is become of thy former Wit and Humour? thou shall jest and be gay no more.

'I confess I cannot apprehend where lies the Trifling in all this; 'tis the most natural and obvious Reflection imaginable to a dying Man: and if we consider the Emperor was a Heathen, that Doubt concerning the Future Fate of his Soul will seem so far from being the Effect of Want of Thought, that 'twas scarce reasonable he should think otherwise; not to mention that here is a plain Confession included of his Belief in its Immortality. The diminutive Epithets of Vagula, Blandula, and the rest, appear not to me as Expressions of Levity, but rather of Endearment and Concern; such as we find in Catullus, and the Authors of Hendeca-syllabi after him, where they are used to express the utmost Love and Tenderness for their Mistresses—If you think me right in my Notion of the last Words of Adrian, be pleased to insert this in the Spectator; if not, to suppress it.'[3]

I am, &c.

To the supposed Author of the Spectator.

In Courts licentious, and a shameless Stage,

How long the War shall Wit with Virtue wage?

Enchanted by this prostituted Fair,

Our Youth run headlong in the fatal Snare;

In height of Rapture clasp unheeded Pains,

And suck Pollution thro' their tingling Veins.

Thy spotless Thoughts unshock'd the Priest may hear,

And the pure Vestal in her Bosom wear.

To conscious Blushes and diminish'd Pride,

Thy Glass betrays what treach'rous Love would hide;

Nor harsh thy Precepts, but infused by stealth,

Please while they cure, and cheat us into Health.

Thy Works in Chloe's Toilet gain a part,

And with his Tailor share the the Fopling's Heart:

Lash'd in thy Satire, the penurious Cit

Laughs at himself, and finds no harm in Wit:

From Felon Gamesters the raw Squire is free,

And Britain owes her rescu'd Oaks to thee.

His Miss the frolick Viscount dreads to toast,

Or his third Cure the shallow Templar boast;

And the rash Fool who scorn'd the beaten Road,

Dares quake at Thunder, and confess his God.

The brainless Stripling,—who, expell'd to Town,

Damn'd the stiff College and pedantick Gown,

Aw'd by thy Name, is dumb, and thrice a Week

Spells uncouth Latin, and pretends to Greek.

A sauntring Tribe! such born to wide Estates,

With Yea and No in Senates hold Debates:

At length despis'd, each to his Fields retires,

First with the Dogs, and King amidst the Squires;

From Pert to Stupid sinks supinely down,

In Youth a Coxcomb, and in Age a Clown.

Such Readers scorned, thou wings't thy daring Flight

Above the Stars, and tread'st the Fields of Light;

Fame, Heav'n and Hell, are thy exalted Theme,

And Visions such as Jove himself might dream;

Man sunk to Slav'ry, tho' to Glory born,

Heaven's Pride when upright, and depraved his Scorn.

Such Hints alone could British Virgil lend,

And thou alone deserve from such a Friend:

A Debt so borrow'd, is illustrious Shame,

And Fame when shar'd with him is double Fame.

So flush'd with Sweets, by Beauty's Queen bestow'd,

With more than mortal Charms. Æneas glow'd.

Such genrous Strifes Eugene and Marlbro' try,

And as in Glory, so in Friendship vie.

Permit these Lines by Thee to live—nor blame

A Muse that pants and languishes for Fame;

That fears to sink when humbler Themes she sings,

Lost in the Mass of mean forgotten things.

Receiv'd by Thee, I prophesy my Rhymes

The Praise of Virgins in succeeding Times:

Mix'd with thy Works, their Life no Bounds shall see,

But stand protected, as inspir'd by thee.

So some weak Shoot, which else would poorly rise,

Jove's Tree adopts, and lifts him to the Skies;

Through the new Pupil fost'ring Juices flow,

Thrust forth the Gems, and give the Flow'rs to blow

Aloft; immortal reigns the Plant unknown,

With borrow'd Life, and Vigour not his own.[4]

To the Spectator-General.

Mr. John Sly humbly sheweth,

'That upon reading the Deputation given to the said Mr. John Sly, all Persons passing by his Observatory behaved themselves with the same Decorum, as if your Honour your self had been present.

That your said Officer is preparing, according to your Honour's secret Instructions, Hats for the several kind of Heads that make Figures in the Realms of Great Britain, with Cocks significant of their Powers and Faculties.

That your said Officer has taken due Notice of your Instructions and Admonitions concerning the Internals of the Head from the outward Form of the same. His Hats for Men of the Faculties of Law and Physick do but just turn up, to give a little Life to their Sagacity; his military Hats glare full in the Face; and he has prepared a familiar easy Cock for all good Companions between the above-mentioned Extreams. For this End he has consulted the most Learned of his Acquaintance for the true Form and Dimensions of the Lepidum Caput, and made a Hat fit for it.

Your said Officer does further represent, That the young Divines about Town are many of them got into the Cock Military, and deSir es your Instructions therein.

That the Town has been for several Days very well behaved; and further your said Officer saith not.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:The Temple of Fame.

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Footnote 3:Letters

Ah, fleeting spirit! wandering fire,

That long hast warm'd my tender breast,

Must thou no more this frame inspire?

No more a pleasing, cheerful guest?

Whither, ah, whither art thou flying,

To what dark, undiscovered shore?

Thou seem'st all trembling, shivering, dying,

And wit and humour are no more.

'I have read over your "Temple of Fame" twice; and cannot find anything amiss of weight enough to call a fault, but see in it a thousand thousand beauties. Mr. Addison shall see it to-morrow: after his perusal of it I will let you know his thoughts. I deSir e you would let me know whether you are at leisure or not? I have a design which I shall open a month or two hence, with the assistance of a few like yourself. If your thoughts are unengaged I shall explain myself further.'

GuardianSpectatorSpectator

'I shall be very ready and glad to contribute to any design that tends to the advantage of mankind, which, I am sure, all yours do. I wish I had but as much capacity as leisure, for I am perfectly idle (a sign I have not much capacity). If you will entertain the best opinion of me, be pleased to think me your friend. Assure Mr. Addison of my most faithful service; of every one's esteem he must be assured already.'

'I am sorry you published that notion about Adrian's verses as mine; had I imagined you would use my name, I should have expressed my sentiments with more modesty and diffidence. I only wrote to have your opinion, and not to publish my own, which I distrusted.'

'perhaps I should be much better pleased if I were told you called me "your little friend," than if you complimented me with the title of "a great genius," or "an eminent hand," as Jacob [Tonson] does all his authors.'

Spectator

'This is to deSir e of you that you would please to make an ode as of a cheerful dying spirit; that is to say, the Emperor Adrian's "animula vagula," put into two or three stanzas for music. If you will comply with this, and send me word so, you will very particularly oblige Richard Steele.'

Spectator

'I do not send you word I will do, but have already done the thing you deSir e of me,'

The Dying Christian To His Soul.

Vital spark of heavenly flame, &c.

SpectatorSpectatorGuardian

'You have it (as Cowley calls it) just warm from the brain. It came to me the first moment I waked this morning. Yet, you will see, it was not so absolutely inspiration, but that I had in my head not only the verses of Adrian, but the fine fragment of Sappho, &c.'

Songs and Poems,

When on my sick-bed I languish,

Full of sorrow, full of anguish,

Fainting, gasping, trembling, crying,

Panting, groaning, speechless, dying;

Methinks I hear some gentle spirit say,

"Be not fearful, come away!"

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 533

Tuesday, November 11, 1712

Steele

Immo duas dabo, inquit ille, una si parum est: Et si duarum pænitebit, addentur duæ.

Plaut.

To the SPECTATOR.

Sir ,

'You have often given us very excellent Discourses against that unnatural Custom of Parents, in forcing their Children to marry contrary to their Inclinations. My own Case, without further Preface, I will lay before you, and leave you to judge of it. My Father and Mother both being in declining Years, would fain see me, their eldest Son, as they call it settled. I am as much for that as they can be; but I must be settled, it seems, not according to my own, but their liking. Upon this account I am teaz'd every Day, because I have not yet fallen in love, in spite of Nature, with one of a neighbouring Gentleman's Daughters; for out of their abundant Generosity, they give me the choice of four. Jack, begins my Father, Mrs. Catherine is a fine Woman—Yes, Sir , but she is rather too old—She will make the more discreet Manager, Boy. Then my Mother plays her part. Is not Mrs. Betty exceeding fair? Yes, Madam, but she is of no Conversation; she has no Fire, no agreeable Vivacity; she neither speaks nor looks with Spirit. True, Son; but for those very Reasons, she will be an easy, soft, obliging, tractable Creature. After all, cries an old Aunt, (who belongs to the Class of those who read Plays with Spectacles on) what think you, Nephew, of proper Mrs. Dorothy? What do I think? why I think she cannot be above six foot two inches high. Well, well, you may banter as long as you please, but Height of Stature is commanding and majestick. Come, come, says a Cousin of mine in the Family, I'll fit him; Fidelia is yet behind—Pretty Miss Fiddy must please you—Oh! your very humble Servant, dear Cos. she is as much too young as her eldest Sister is too old. Is it so indeed, quoth she, good Mr. Pert? You who are but barely turned of twenty two, and Miss Fiddy in half a Year's time will be in her Teens, and she is capable of learning any thing. Then she will be so observant; she'll cry perhaps now and then, but never be angry. Thus they will think for me in this matter, wherein I am more particularly concerned than any Body else. If I name any Woman in the World, one of these Daughters has certainly the same Qualities. You see by these few Hints, Mr. SPECTATOR, what a comfortable Life I lead. To be still more open and free with you, I have been passionately fond of a young Lady (whom give me leave to call Miranda) now for these three Years. I have often urged the Matter home to my Parents with all the Submission of a Son, but the Impatience of a Lover. Pray, Sir , think of three Years; what inexpressible Scenes of Inquietude, what Variety of Misery must I have gone thro' in three long whole Years? Miranda's Fortune is equal to those I have mention'd; but her Relations are not Intimates with mine. Ah! there's the Rub. Miranda's Person, Wit, and Humour, are what the nicest Fancy could imagine; and though we know you to be so elegant a Judge of Beauty, yet there is none among all your various Characters of fine Women preferable to Miranda. In a Word, she is never guilty of doing any thing but one amiss, (if she can be thought to do amiss by me) in being as blind to my Faults, as she is to her own Perfections.

I am, Sir ,

Your very humble obedient Servant,

Dustererastus.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'When you spent so much time as you did lately in censuring the ambitious young Gentlemen who ride in Triumph through Town and Country in Coach-boxes, I wished you had employed those Moments in consideration of what passes sometimes within-side of those Vehicles. I am sure I suffered sufficiently by the Insolence and Ill-breeding of some Persons who travelled lately with me in a Stage-Coach out of Essex to London. I am sure, when you have heard what I have to say, you will think there are Persons under the Character of Gentlemen that are fit to be no where else but in the Coach-box. Sir , I am a young Woman of a sober and religious Education, and have preserved that Character; but on Monday was Fortnight it was my Misfortune to come to London. I was no sooner clapt in the Coach, but to my great Surprize, two Persons in the Habit of Gentlemen attack'd me with such indecent Discourse as I cannot repeat to you, so you may conclude not fit for me to hear. I had no relief but the Hopes of a speedy End of my short Journey. Sir , form to your self what a Persecution this must needs be to a virtuous and a chaste Mind; and in order to your proper handling such a Subject, fancy your Wife or Daughter, if you had any, in such Circumstances, and what Treatment you would think then due to such Dragoons. One of them was called a Captain, and entertained us with nothing but silly stupid Questions, or lewd Songs, all the way. Ready to burst with Shame and Indignation, I repined that Nature had not allowed us as easily to shut our Ears as our Eyes. But was not this a kind of Rape? Why should there be Accessaries in Ravishment any more than Murder? Why should not every Contributor to the Abuse of Chastity suffer Death? I am sure these shameless Hell-hounds deserved it highly. Can you exert your self better than on such an Occasion? If you do not do it effectually, I 'll read no more of your Papers. Has every impertinent Fellow a Privilege to torment me, who pay my Coach-hire as well as he? Sir , pray consider us in this respect as the weakest Sex, and have nothing to defend our selves; and I think it as Gentleman-like to challenge a Woman to fight, as to talk obscenely in her Company, especially when she has not power to stir. Pray let me tell you a Story which you can make fit for publick View. I knew a Gentleman, who having a very good Opinion of the Gentlemen of the Army, invited ten or twelve of them to sup with him; and at the same time invited two or three Friends, who were very severe against the Manners and Morals of Gentlemen of that Profession. It happened one of them brought two Captains of his Regiment newly come into the Army, who at first Onset engaged the Company with very lewd Healths and suitable Discourse. You may easily imagine the Confusion of the Entertainer, who finding some of his Friends very uneasy, deSir ed to tell them a Story of a great Man, one Mr, Locke (whom I find you frequently mention) that being invited to dine with the then Lords Hallifax, Anglesey, and Shaftsbury; immediately after Dinner, instead of Conversation, the Cards were called for, where the bad or good Success produced the usual Passions of Gaming. Mr. Locke retiring to a Window, and writing, my Lord Anglesey deSir ed to know what he was writing: Why, my Lords, answered he, I could not sleep last Night for the Pleasure and Improvement I expected from the Conversation of the greatest Men of the Age. This so sensibly stung them, that they gladly compounded to throw their Cards in the Fire if he would his Paper, and so a Conversation ensued fit for such Persons. This Story prest so hard upon the young Captains, together with the Concurrence of their superior Officers, that the young Fellows left the Company in Confusion. Sir , I know you hate long things; but if you like it, you may contract it, or how you will; but I think it has a Moral in it.

But, Sir , I am told you are a famous Mechanick as well as a Looker-on, and therefore humbly propose you would invent some Padlock, with full Power under your Hand and Seal, for all modest Persons, either Men or Women, to clap upon the Mouths of all such impertinent impudent Fellows: And I wish you would publish a Proclamation, that no modest Person who has a Value for her Countenance, and consequently would not be put out of it, presume to travel after such a Day without one of them in their Pockets. I fancy a smart Spectator upon this Subject would serve for such a Padlock; and that publick Notice may be given in your Paper where they may be had with Directions, Price 2 d. and that part of the Directions may be, when any Person presumes to be guilty of the above-mentioned Crime, the Party aggrieved may produce it to his Face, with a Request to read it to the Company. He must be very much hardened that could outface that Rebuke; and his further Punishment I leave you to prescribe.

Your humble Servant,

Penance Cruel.

[1]

Footnote 1:

This Day is Published,

a very neat Pocket Edition of the 3rd and 4th Volumes of the Spectator in 12∞. To which is added a compleat Index to the whole 4 volumes. Printed for S. Buckley at the Dolphin in Little Britain and J. Tonson at Shakespear's Head over against Catherine Street in the Strand.

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 534

Wednesday, November 12, 1712

Steele

—Rarus enim fermè sensus communis in illa Fortunâ—

Juv.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am a young Woman of Nineteen, the only Daughter of very wealthy Parents; and have my whole Life been used with a Tenderness which did me no great Service in my Education. I have perhaps an uncommon DeSir e for Knowledge of what is suitable to my Sex and Quality; but as far as I can remember, the whole Dispute about me has been, whether such a thing was proper for the Child to do, or not? Or whether such or such Food was the more wholsome for the young Lady to eat? This was ill for my Shape, that for my Complexion, and t'other for my Eyes. I am not extravagant when I tell you, I do not know that I have trod upon the very Earth since I was ten Years old: A Coach or Chair I am obliged to for all my Motions from one Place to another ever since I can remember. All who had to do to instruct me, have ever been bringing Stories of the notable things I have said and the Womanly manner of my behaving my self upon such and such an Occasion. This has been my State, till I came towards Years of Womanhood; and ever since I grew towards the Age of Fifteen, I have been abused after another Manner. Now, forsooth, I am so killing, no one can safely speak to me. Our House is frequented by Men of Sense, and I love to ask Questions when I fall into such Conversation; but I am cut short with something or other about my bright Eyes. There is, Sir , a Language particular for talking to Women in; and none but those of the very first good Breeding (who are very few, and who seldom come into my way) can speak to us without regard to our Sex. Among the generality of those they call Gentlemen, it is impossible for me to speak upon any subject whatsoever, without provoking somebody to say, Oh! to be sure fine Mrs. such-a-one must be very particularly acquainted with all that; all the World will contribute to her Entertainment and Information. Thus, Sir , I am so handsome, that I murder all who approach me; so wise, that I want no new Notices; and so well bred, that I am treated by all that know me like a Fool, for no one will answer as if I were their Friend or Companion. Pray, Sir , be pleased to take the part of us Beauties and Fortunes into your Consideration, and do not let us be thus flattered out of our Senses. I have got an Hussey of a Maid, who is most craftily given to this ill Quality. I was at first diverted with a certain Absurdity the Creature was guilty of in every thing she said: She is a Country Girl, and in the Dialect of the Shire she was born in, would tell me that every body reckon'd her Lady had the purest Red and White in the World: Then she would tell me, I was the most like one Sisly Dobson in their Town, who made the Miller make away with himself, and walk afterwards in the Corn-Field where they used to meet. With all this, this cunning Hussey can lay Letters in my way, and put a Billet in my Gloves, and then stand in it she knows nothing of it. I do not know, from my Birth to this Day, that I have been ever treated by any one as I ought; and if it were not for a few Books which I delight in, I should be at this Hour a Novice to all common Sense. Would it not be worth your while to lay down Rules for Behaviour in this Case, and tell People, that we Fair-ones expect honest plain Answers as well as other People? Why must I, good Sir , because I have a good Air, a fine Complexion, and am in the Bloom of my Years, be mis-led in all my Actions? and have the Notions of Good and Ill confounded in my Mind, for no other Offence, but because I have the Advantages of Beauty and Fortune? Indeed, Sir , what with the silly Homage which is paid to us by the sort of People I have above spoken of, and the utter Negligence which others have for us, the Conversation of us young Women of Condition is no other than what must expose us to Ignorance and Vanity, if not Vice. All this is humbly submitted to your Spectatorial Wisdom, by,

Sir , Your humble Servant,

Sharlot Wealthy.

Will's Coffee-house.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Pray, Sir , it will serve to fill up a Paper, if you put in this; which is only to ask, whether that Copy of Verses, which is a Paraphrase of Isaiah, in one of your Speculations, is not written by Mr. Pope? Then you get on another Line, by putting in, with proper Distances, as at the end of a Letter,

I am, Sir ,

Your humble Servant,

Abraham Dapperwit.

Pope's

I am, Sir ,

Your humble Servant

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I was a wealthy Grocer in the City, and as fortunate as diligent; but I was a single Man, and you know there are Women. One in particular came to my Shop, who I wished might, but was afraid never would, make a Grocer's Wife. I thought, however, to take an effectual Way of Courting, and sold to her at less Price than I bought, that I might buy at less Price than I sold. She, you may be sure, often came, and helped me to many Customers at the same Rate, fancying I was obliged to her. You must needs think this was a good living Trade, and my Riches must be vastly improved. In fine, I was nigh being declared Bankrupt, when I declared my self her Lover, and she herself married. I was just in a Condition to support my self, and am now in Hopes of growing rich by losing my Customers.

Yours,

Jeremy Comfit.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I am in the Condition of the Idol you was once pleased to mention, and Bar-keeper of a Coffee-house. I believe it is needless to tell you the Opportunities I must give, and the Importunities I suffer. But there is one Gentleman who besieges me as close as the French did Bouchain. His Gravity makes him work cautious, and his regular Approaches denote a good Engineer. You need not doubt of his Oratory, as he is a Lawyer; and especially since he has had so little Use of it at Westminster, he may spare the more for me.

What then can weak Woman do? I am willing to surrender, but he would have it at Discretion, and I with Discretion. In the mean time, whilst we parly, our several Interests are neglected. As his Siege grows stronger, my Tea grows weaker; and while he pleads at my Bar, none come to him for Counsel but in Forma Pauperis. Dear Mr. SPECTATOR, advise him not to insist upon hard Articles, nor by his irregular DeSir es contradict the well-meaning Lines of his Countenance. If we were agreed we might settle to something, as soon as we could determine where we should get most, by the Law, at the Coffee-house, or at Westminster.

Your humble Servant,

Lucinda Parly.

A Minuit from Mr. John Sly.

The World is pretty regular for about forty Rod East, and ten West of the Observatory of the said Mr. Sly; but he is credibly informed, that when they are got beyond the Pass into the Strand, or those who move City-ward are got within Temple-Bar, they are just as they were before. It is there-fore humbly proposed that Moving-Centries may be appointed all the busy Hours of the Day between the Exchange and Westminster, and report what passes to your Honour, or your subordinate Officers, from Time to Time.

Ordered

Sly

Contents

No. 535

Thursday, November 13, 1712

Addison

Spem longam reseces—

Hor.

Four Hundred and Seventy First Speculation

Horace

ofwhich are[1]

haveArabianFrenchGalland[2]

Persian

Alnaschar, says the Fable, was a very idle Fellow, that never would set his Hand to any Business during his Father's Life. When his Father died, he left him to the value of an hundred Drachmas in Persian Mony. Alnaschar, in order to make the best of it, laid it out in Glasses, Bottles, and the finest Earthen Ware. These he piled up in a large open Basket, and having made choice of a very little Shop, placed the Basket at his Feet, and leaned his Back upon the Wall, in Expectation of Customers. As he sat in this Posture with his Eyes upon the Basket, he fell into a most amusing Train of Thought, and was over-heard by one of his Neighbours, as he talked to himself in the following manner: This Basket, says he, cost me at the Wholesale Merchant's an Hundred Drachmas, which is all I have in the World. I shall quickly make two hundred of it, by selling it in Retail. These two hundred Drachmas will in a very little while rise to four Hundred, which of course will amount in time to four Thousand. Four Thousand Drachmas cannot fail of making Eight Thousand. As soon as by this means I am Master of Ten Thousand, I will lay aside my Trade of a Glass-Man, and turn Jeweller. I shall then deal in Diamonds, Pearls, and all sorts of rich Stones. When I have got together as much Wealth as I can well deSir e, I will make a Purchase of the finest House I can find, with Lands, Slaves, Eunuchs and Horses. I shall then begin to enjoy my self, and make a noise in the World. I will not, however, stop there, but still continue my Traffick, till I have got together an Hundred Thousand Drachmas. When I have thus made my self Master of an hundred thousand Drachmas, I shall naturally set my self on the foot of a Prince, and will demand the Grand Visier's Daughter in Marriage, after having represented to that Minister the Information which I have received of the Beauty, Wit, Discretion, and other high Qualities which his Daughter possesses. I will let him know at the same time, that it is my Intention to make him a Present of a thousand Pieces of Gold on our Marriage-Night. As soon as I have married the Grand Visier's Daughter, I'll buy her ten black Eunuchs, the youngest and best that can be got for Mony. I must afterwards make my Father-in-Law a Visit with a great Train and Equipage. And when I am placed at his Right-hand, which he will do of course, if it be only to Honour his Daughter, I will give him the thousand Pieces of Gold which I promised him, and afterwards, to his great Surprize, will present him another Purse of the same Value, with some short Speech; as, Sir , you see I am a Man of my Word: I always give more than I promise.

When I have brought the Princess to my House, I shall take particular care to breed in her a due Respect for me, before I give the Reins to Love and Dalliance. To this end I shall confine her to her own Apartment, make her a short Visit, and talk but little to her. Her Women will represent to me, that she is inconsolable by reason of my Unkindness, and beg me with Tears to caress her, and let her sit down by me; but I shall still remain inexorable, and will turn my Back upon her all the first Night. Her Mother will then come and bring her Daughter to me, as I am seated upon my Sofa. The Daughter, with Tears in her Eyes, will fling herself at my Feet, and beg of me to receive her into my Favour: Then will I, to imprint in her a thorough Veneration for my Person, draw up my Legs and spurn her from me with my Foot, in such a manner that she shall fall down several Paces from the Sofa.

Alnaschar was entirely swallowed up in this Chimerical Vision, and could not forbear acting with his Foot what he had in his Thoughts: So that unluckily striking his Basket of brittle Ware, which was the Foundation of all his Grandeur, he kicked his Glasses to a great distance from him into the Street, and broke them into ten thousand Pieces.

Footnote 1:that lie

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Footnote 2:Arabian Nights,

return

Contents

No. 536

Friday, November 14, 1712

Addison

O veræ Phrygiæ neque enim Phryges!

Virg.

To the ingenious SpectatorSir

London, Nov. 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You are always ready to receive any useful Hint or Proposal, and such, I believe, you will think one that may put you in a way to employ the most idle part of the Kingdom; I mean that part of Mankind who are known by the Name of the Womens-Men or Beaus, &c. Mr. SPECTATOR, you are sensible these pretty Gentlemen are not made for any Manly Imployments, and for want of Business are often as much in the Vapours as the Ladies. Now what I propose is this, that since Knotting is again in fashion, which has been found a very pretty Amusement, that you would recommend it to these Gentlemen as something that may make them useful to the Ladies they admire. And since 'tis not inconsistent with any Game, or other Diversion, for it may be done in the Playhouse, in their Coaches, at the Tea-Table, and, in short, in all Places where they come for the sake of the Ladies (except at Church, be pleased to forbid it there, to prevent Mistakes) it will be easily complied with. 'Tis beside an Imployment that allows, as we see by the Fair Sex, of many Graces, which will make the Beaus more readily come into it; it shews a white Hand and Diamond Ring to great advantage; it leaves the Eyes at full liberty to be employed as before, as also the Thoughts, and the Tongue. In short, it seems in every respect so proper, that 'tis needless to urge it further, by speaking of the Satisfaction these Male-Knotters will find, when they see their Work mixed up in a Fringe, and worn by the fair Lady for whom and with whom it was done. Truly, Mr. SPECTATOR, I cannot but be pleased I have hit upon something that these Gentlemen are capable of; for 'tis sad so considerable a part of the Kingdom (I mean for Numbers) should be of no manner of use. I shall not trouble you farther at this time, but only to say, that I am always your Reader, and generally your Admirer, C. B.

P. S. 'The sooner these fine Gentlemen are set to Work the better; there being at this time several fine Fringes that stay only for more Hands.'

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Since you have lately, to so good purpose, enlarged upon Conjugal Love, it's to be hoped you'll discourage every Practice that rather proceeds from a regard to Interest, than to Happiness. Now you cannot but observe, that most of our fine young Ladies readily fall in with the Direction of the graver sort, to retain in their Service, by some small Encouragement, as great a Number as they can of supernumerary and insignificant Fellows, which they use like Whifflers, and commonly call Shoeing-Horns. These are never designed to know the length of the Foot, but only, when a good Offer comes, to whet and spur him up to the Point. Nay, 'tis the Opinion of that grave Lady, Madam Matchwell, that it's absolutely convenient for every prudent Family to have several of these Implements about the House, to clap on as Occasion serves, and that every Spark ought to produce a Certificate of his being a Shoeing-Horn, before he be admitted as a Shoe. A certain Lady, whom I could name, if it was necessary, has at present more Shoeing-Horns of all Sizes, Countries, and Colours, in her Service, than ever she had new Shoes in her Life. I have known a Woman make use of a Shoeing-Horn for several Years, and finding him unsuccessful in that Function, convert him at length into a Shoe. I am mistaken if your Friend Mr. William Honeycomb, was not a cast Shoeing-Horn before his late Marriage. As for my self, I must frankly declare to you, that I have been an errant Shoeing-Horn for above these twenty Years. I served my first Mistress in that Capacity above five of the Number, before she was shod. I confess, though she had many who made their Applications to her, I always thought my self the best Shoe in her Shop, and it was not till a Month before her Marriage that I discovered what I was. This had like to have broke my Heart, and raised such Suspicions in me, that I told the next I made Love to, upon receiving some unkind Usage from her, that I began to look upon my self as no more than her Shoeing-Horn. Upon which, my Dear, who was a Coquet in her Nature, told me I was Hypocondriacal, and that I might as well look upon my self to be an Egg or a Pipkin. But in a very short time after she gave me to know that I was not mistaken in my self. It would be tedious to recount to you the Life of an unfortunate Shoeing-Horn, or I might entertain you with a very long and melancholy Relation of my Sufferings. Upon the whole, I think, Sir , it would very well become a Man in your Post, to determine in what Cases a Woman may be allowed, with Honour, to make use of a Shoeing-Horn, as also to declare whether a Maid on this side Five and Twenty, or a Widow who has not been three Years in that State, may be granted such a Privilege, with other Difficulties which will naturally occur to you upon that Subject.

I am, Sir ,

With the most profound Veneration,

Yours, &c.

Contents

No. 537

Saturday, November 15, 1712

J. Hughes

To the SPECTATOR.

Sir ,

'It has been usual to remind Persons of Rank, on great Occasions in Life, of their Race and Quality, and to what Expectations they were born; that by considering what is worthy of them, they may be withdrawn from mean Pursuits, and encouraged to laudable Undertakings. This is turning Nobility into a Principle of Virtue, and making it productive of Merit, as it is understood to have been originally a Reward of it.

'It is for the like reason, I imagine, that you have in some of your Speculations asserted to your Readers the Dignity of Human Nature. But you cannot be insensible that this is a controverted Doctrine; there are Authors who consider Human Nature in a very different View, and Books of Maxims have been written to shew the Falsity of all Human Virtues. The Reflections which are made on this Subject usually take some Tincture from the Tempers and Characters of those that make them. Politicians can resolve the most shining Actions among Men into Artifice and Design; others, who are soured by Discontent, Repulses, or ill Usage, are apt to mistake their Spleen for Philosophy; Men of profligate Lives, and such as find themselves incapable of rising to any Distinction among their Fellow-Creatures, are for pulling down all Appearances of Merit, which seem to upbraid them: and Satirists describe nothing but Deformity. From all these Hands we have such Draughts of Mankind as are represented in those burlesque Pictures, which the Italians call Caracatura's; where the Art consists in preserving, amidst distorted Proportions and aggravated Features, some distinguishing Likeness of the Person, but in such a manner as to transform the most agreeable Beauty into the most odious Monster.

'It is very disingenuous to level the best of Mankind with the worst, and for the Faults of Particulars to degrade the whole Species. Such Methods tend not only to remove a Man's good Opinion of others, but to destroy that Reverence for himself, which is a great Guard of Innocence, and a Spring of Virtue.

'It is true indeed that there are surprizing Mixtures of Beauty and Deformity, of Wisdom and Folly, Virtue and Vice, in the Human Make; such a Disparity is found among Numbers of the same Kind, and every Individual, in some Instances, or at some Times, is so unequal to himself, that Man seems to be the most wavering and inconsistent Being in the whole Creation. So that the Question in Morality, concerning the Dignity of our Nature, may at first sight appear like some difficult Questions in Natural Philosophy, in which the Arguments on both Sides seem to be of equal Strength. But as I began with considering this Point as it relates to Action, I shall here borrow an admirable Reflection from Monsieur Pascal, which I think sets it in its proper Light.

'It is of dangerous Consequence, says he, to represent to Man how near he is to the Level of Beasts, without shewing him at the same time his Greatness. It is likewise dangerous to let him see his Greatness, without his Meanness. It is more dangerous yet to leave him ignorant of either; but very beneficial that he should be made sensible of both.[1]

Whatever Imperfections we may have in our Nature, it is the Business of Religion and Virtue to rectify them, as far as is consistent with our present State. In the mean time, it is no small Encouragement to generous Minds to consider that we shall put them all off with our Mortality. That sublime Manner of Salutation with which the Jews approached their Kings,

O King, live for ever!

may be addressed to the lowest and most despised Mortal among us, under all the Infirmities and Distresses with which we see him surrounded. And whoever believes the Immortality of the Soul, will not need a better Argument for the Dignity of his Nature, nor a stronger Incitement to Actions suitable to it.

'I am naturally led by this Reflection to a Subject I have already touched upon in a former Letter, and cannot without pleasure call to mind the Thoughts of Cicero to this purpose, in the close of his Book concerning Old Age. Every one who is acquainted with his Writings, will remember that the elder Cato is introduced in that Discourse as the Speaker, and Scipio and Lelius as his Auditors. This venerable Person is represented looking forward as it were from the Verge of extreme Old Age, into a future State, and rising into a Contemplation on the unperishable Part of his Nature, and its Existence after Death. I shall collect Part of his Discourse. And as you have formerly offered some Arguments for the Soul's Immortality, agreeable both to Reason and the Christian Doctrine, I believe your Readers will not be displeased to see how the same great Truth shines in the Pomp of Roman Eloquence.

"This, says Cato, my firm Persuasion, that since the human Soul exerts it self with so great Activity, since it has such a Remembrance of the Past, such a Concern for the Future, since it is enriched with so many Arts, Sciences and Discoveries, it is impossible but the Being which contains all these must be Immortal.

"The elder Cyrus, just before his Death, is represented by Xenophon speaking after this Manner."

'Think not, my dearest Children, that when I depart from you I shall be no more, but remember, that my Soul, even while I lived among you, was invisible to you; yet by my Actions you were sensible it existed in this Body. Believe it therefore existing still, though it be still unseen. How quickly would the Honours of illustrious Men perish after Death, if their Souls performed nothing to preserve their Fame? For my own part, I never could think that the Soul while in a mortal Body, lives, but when departed out of it, dies; or that its Consciousness is lost when it is discharged out of an unconscious Habitation. But when it is freed from all corporeal Alliance, then it truly exists. Further, since the Human Frame is broken by Death, tell us what becomes of its Parts? It is visible whither the Materials of other Beings are translated, namely to the Source from whence they had their Birth. The Soul alone, neither present nor departed, is the Object of our Eyes.'[2]

"Thus Cyrus. But to proceed. No one shall persuade me, Scipio, that your worthy Father, or your Grandfathers Paulus and Africanus, or Africanus his Father, or Uncle, or many other excellent Men whom I need not name, performed so many Actions to be remembered by Posterity, without being sensible that Futurity was their Right. And, if I may be allowed an old Man's Privilege, to speak of my self, do you think I would have endured the Fatigue of so many wearisome Days and Nights both at home and abroad, if I imagined that the same Boundary which is set to my Life must terminate my Glory? Were it not more deSir able to have worn out my days in Ease and Tranquility, free from Labour, and without Emulation? But I know not how, my Soul has always raised it self, and looked forward on Futurity, in this View and Expectation, that when it shall depart out of Life, it shall then live for ever; and if this were not true, that the Mind is immortal, the Souls of the most worthy would not, above all others, have the strongest Impulse to Glory.

"What besides this is the Cause that the wisest Men die with the greatest Æquanimity, the ignorant with the greatest Concern? Does it not seem that those Minds which have the most extensive Views, foresee they are removing to a happier Condition, which those of a narrower Sight do not perceive? I, for my part, am transported with the Hope of seeing your Ancestors, whom I have honoured and loved, and am earnestly deSir ous of meeting not only those excellent Persons whom I have known, but those too of whom I have heard and read, and of whom I myself have written: nor would I be detained from so pleasing a Journey. O happy Day, when I shall escape from this Croud, this Heap of Pollution, and be admitted to that Divine Assembly of exalted Spirits! When I shall go not only to those great Persons I have named, but to my Cato, my Son, than whom a better Man was never born, and whose Funeral Rites I my self performed, whereas he ought rather to have attended mine. Yet has not his Soul deserted me, but, seeming to cast back a Look on me, is gone before to those Habitations to which it was sensible I should follow him. And though I might appear to have born my Loss with Courage, I was not unaffected with it, but I comforted myself in the Assurance that it would not be long before we should meet again, and be divorced no more.

I am, Sir , &c."'

I question not but my Reader will be very much pleased to hear, that the Gentleman who has obliged the World with the foregoing Letter, and who was the Author of the [Volume 2 link: 210th] Speculation on the Immortality of the Soul, the [Volume 2 link: 375th on Virtue in Distress, the 525th on Conjugal Love, and two or three other very fine ones among those which are not lettered at the end, will soon publish a noble Poem, Intitledoccasioned by the Fragments of

Footnote 1:Pensées

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:Cyropædia

return

Contents

No. 538

Monday, November 17, 1712

Addison

—Ultra

Finem tendere opus.

Hor.

Graces

AntipathiesLondon

SirwhenPublick[1]

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The other Day, walking in Pancras Churchyard, I thought of your Paper wherein you mention Epitaphs, and am of opinion this has a Thought in it worth being communicated to your Readers.

Here Innocence and Beauty lies, whose Breath

Was snatch'd by early, not untimely Death.

Hence did she go, just as she did begin

Sorrow to know, before she knew to sin.

Death, that does Sin and Sorrow thus prevent,

Is the next Blessing to a Life well spent.

I am, Sir , Your Servant.

Footnote 1:Publick. I am, Sir , your Servant.

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 539

Tuesday, November 18, 1712

Budgell

Heteroclyta sunto.—Quæ Genus.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am a young Widow of a good Fortune and Family, and just come to Town; where I find I have Clusters of pretty Fellows come already to visit me, some dying with Hopes, others with Fears, tho' they never saw me. Now what I would beg of you, would be to know whether I may venture to use these pert Fellows with the same Freedom as I did my Country Acquaintance. I deSir e your Leave to use them as to me shall seem meet, without Imputation of a Jilt; for since I make Declaration that not one of them shall have me, I think I ought to be allowed the Liberty of insulting those who have the Vanity to believe it is in their power to make me break that Resolution. There are Schools for learning to use Foils, frequented by those who never design to fight; and this useless way of aiming at the Heart, without design to wound it on either side, is the Play with which I am resolved to divert my self: The Man who pretends to win, I shall use like him who comes into a Fencing-School to pick a Quarrel. I hope, upon this Foundation, you will give me the free use of the natural and artificial Force of my Eyes, Looks, and Gestures. As for verbal Promises, I will make none, but shall have no mercy on the conceited Interpreters of Glances and Motions. I am particularly skill'd in the downcast Eye, and the Recovery into a sudden full Aspect, and away again, as you may have seen sometimes practised by us Country Beauties beyond all that you have observed in Courts and Cities. Add to this, Sir , that I have a ruddy heedless Look, which covers Artifice the best of any thing. Tho' I can dance very well, I affect a tottering untaught way of walking, by which I appear an easy Prey and never exert my instructed Charms till I find I have engaged a Pursuer. Be pleased, Sir , to print this Letter; which will certainly begin the Chace of a rich Widow: The many Foldings, Escapes, Returns and Doublings which I make, I shall from time to time communicate to you, for the better Instruction of all Females who set up, like me, for reducing the present exorbitant Power and Insolence of Man.'

I am, Sir ,

Your faithful Correspondent,

Relicta Lovely.

Dear Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I depend upon your profess'd Respect for virtuous Love, for your immediate answering the Design of this Letter; which is no other than to lay before the World the Severity of certain Parents who deSir e to suspend the Marriage of a discreet young Woman of eighteen, three Years longer, for no other reason but that of her being too young to enter into that State. As to the consideration of Riches, my Circumstances are such, that I cannot be suspected to make my Addresses to her on such low Motives as Avarice or Ambition. If ever Innocence, Wit and Beauty, united their utmost Charms, they have in her. I wish you would expatiate a little on this Subject, and admonish her Parents that it may be from the very Imperfection of Human Nature it self, and not any personal Frailty of her or me, that our Inclinations baffled at present may alter; and while we are arguing with our selves to put off the Enjoyment of our present Passions, our Affections may change their Objects in the Operation. It is a very delicate Subject to talk upon; but if it were but hinted, I am in hopes it would give the Parties concern'd some Reflection that might expedite our Happiness. There is a Possibility, and I hope I may say it without Imputation of Immodesty to her I love with the highest Honour; I say, there is a Possibility this Delay may be as painful to her as it is to me. If it be as much, it must be more, by reason of the severe Rules the Sex are under in being denied even the Relief of Complaint. If you oblige me in this, and I succeed, I promise you a Place at my Wedding, and a Treatment suitable to your Spectatorial Dignity.'

Your most humble Servant,

Eustace.

Sir ,

'I Yesterday heard a young Gentleman, that look'd as if he was just come to the Town, and a Scarf, upon Evil-speaking; which Subject, you know, Archbishop Tillotson has so nobly handled in a Sermon in his Folio. As soon as ever he had named his Text, and had opened a little the Drift of his Discourse, I was in great hopes he had been one of Sir ROGER'S Chaplains. I have conceived so great an Idea of the charming Discourse above, that I should have thought one part of my Sabbath very well spent in hearing a Repetition of it. But alas! Mr. SPECTATOR, this Reverend Divine gave us his Grace's Sermon, and yet I don't know how; even I, that I am sure have read it at least twenty times, could not tell what to make of it, and was at a loss sometimes to guess what the Man aim'd at. He was so just indeed, as to give us all the Heads and the Sub-divisions of the Sermon; and farther I think there was not one beautiful Thought in it but what we had. But then, Sir , this Gentleman made so many pretty Additions; and he could never give us a Paragraph of the Sermon, but he introduced it with something which, methought, look'd more like a Design to shew his own Ingenuity, than to instruct the People. In short, he added and curtailed in such a manner that he vexed me; insomuch that I could not forbear thinking (what, I confess, I ought not to have thought of in so holy a Place) that this young Spark was as justly blameable as Bullock or Penkethman when they mend a noble Play of Shakespear or Johnson. Pray, Sir , take this into your Consideration; and if we must be entertained with the Works of any of those great Men, deSir e these Gentlemen to give them us as they find them, that so, when we read them to our Families at home, they may the better remember they have heard them at Church.'

Sir ,

Your humble Servant.

Contents

No. 540

Wednesday, November 19, 1712

Steele

—Non Deficit Alter—

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'There is no Part of your Writings which I have in more Esteem than your Criticism upon Milton. It is an honourable and candid Endeavour to set the Works of our Noble Writers in the graceful Light which they deserve. You will lose much of my kind Inclination towards you, if you do not attempt the Encomium of Spencer also, or at least indulge my Passion for that charming Author so far as to print the loose Hints I now give you on that Subject.

'Spencer's general Plan is the Representation of six Virtues, Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice and Courtesy, in six Legends by six Persons. The six Personages are supposed under proper Allegories suitable to their respective Characters, to do all that is necessary for the full Manifestation of the respective Virtues which they are to exert.

'These one might undertake to shew under the several Heads, are admirably drawn; no Images improper, and most surprizingly beautiful. The Red-cross Knight runs through the whole Steps of the Christian Life; Guyon does all that Temperance can possibly require; Britomartis (a Woman) observes the true Rules of unaffected Chastity; Arthegal is in every Respect of Life strictly and wisely just; Calidore is rightly courteous.

'In short, in Fairy-Land, where Knights Errant have a full Scope to range, and to do even what Ariosto's or Orlando's could not do in the World without breaking into Credibility, Spencer's Knights have, under those six Heads, given a full and a truly Poetical System of Christian, Public, and Low Life.

'His Legend of Friendship is more diffuse, and yet even there the Allegory is finely drawn, only the Heads various, one Knight could not there support all the Parts.

'To do honour to his Country, Prince Arthur is an Universal Hero; in Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, and Justice super-excellent. For the same Reason, and to compliment Queen Elizabeth, Gloriana, Queen of Fairies, whose Court was the Asylum of the Oppressed, represents that Glorious Queen. At her Commands all these Knights set forth, and only at her's the Red-cross Knight destroys the Dragon. Guyon overturns the Bower of Bliss, Arthegal (i. e. Justice) beats down Geryoneo (i. e. Phil. II. King of Spain) to rescue Belge (i. e. Holland) and he beats the Grantorto (the same Philip in another Light) to restore Irena (i. e. Peace to Europe.)

'Chastity being the first Female Virtue, Britomartis is a Britain; her Part is fine, though it requires Explication. His stile is very Poetical; no Puns, Affectations of Wit, forced Antitheses, or any of that low Tribe.

'His old Words are all true English, and numbers exquisite; and since of Words there is the Multa Renascentur, since they are all proper, such a Poem should not (any more than Milton's) subsist all of it of common ordinary Words. See Instances of Descriptions.

'Causeless Jealousy in Britomartis, V. 6, 14, in its Restlessness.

Like as a wayward Child whose sounder Sleep

Is broken with some fearful Dream's Affright,

With froward Will doth set himself to weep,

Ne can be stil'd for all his Nurse's Might,

But kicks, and squalls, and shrieks for fell Despight;

Now scratching her, and her loose Locks misusing,

Now seeking Darkness, and now seeking Light;

Then craving Suck, and then the Suck refusing:

Such was this Lady's Loves in her Love's fond accusing.

Curiosity occasioned by Jealousy, upon occasion of her Lover's Absence. Ibid, Stan. 8, 9.

Then as she looked long, at last she spy'd

One coming towards her with hasty Speed,

Well ween'd she then, e'er him she plain descry'd,

That it was one sent from her Love indeed;

Whereat her Heart was fill'd with Hope and Dread,

Ne would she stay till he in Place could come,

But ran to weet him forth to know his Tidings somme;

Even in the Door him meeting, she begun,

And where is he, thy Lord, and how far hence?

Declare at once; and hath he lost or won?

Care and his House are described thus, IV. 6, 33, 34, 35.

Not far away, not meet for any Guest,

They spy'd a little Cottage, like some poor Man's Nest.

34

There entring in, they found the Good-Man's self,

Full busily unto his Work ybent,

Who was so weel a wretched wearish Elf,

With hollow Eyes and raw-bone Cheeks forspent,

As if he had in Prison long been pent.

Full black and griesly did his Face appear,

Besmear'd with Smoke that nigh his Eye-sight blent,

With rugged Beard and Hoary shaggy Heare,

The which he never wont to comb, or comely shear.

35

Rude was his Garment and to Rags all rent,

Ne better had he, ne for better cared;

His blistred Hands amongst the Cinders brent,

And Fingers filthy, with long Nails prepared,

Right fit to rend the Food on which he fared.

His Name was Care; a Blacksmith by his Trade,

That neither Day nor Night from working spared,

But to small purpose Iron Wedges made:

These be unquiet Thoughts that careful Minds invade.

'Homer's Epithets were much admired by Antiquity: See what great Justness and Variety there is in these Epithets of the Trees in the Forest where the Red-cross Knight lost Truth, B. I. Cant. i. St. 8, 9.

The sailing Pine, the Cedar proud and tall,

The Vine-prop Elm, the Poplar never dry,

The Builder Oak, sole King of Forests all.

The Aspine good for Staves, the Cypress Funeral.

The Laurel, Meed of mighty Conquerors,

And Poets sage; the Fir that weepeth still,

The Willow worn of forlorn Paramours,

The Yew obedient to the Bender's Will.

The Birch for Shafts, the Sallow for the Mill;

The Myrrhe sweet bleeding in the bitter Wound,

The warlike Beech, the Ash for nothing ill,

The fruitful Olive, and the Plantane round,

The Carver Helm, the Maple seldom inward sound.

'I shall trouble you no more, but deSir e you to let me conclude with these Verses, though I think they have already been quoted by you; They are Directions to young Ladies opprest with Calumny. VI. 6, 14.

The best (said he) that I can you advise,

Is to avoid the Occasion of the Ill;

For when the Cause whence Evil doth arise

Removed is, the Effect surceaseth still.

Abstain from Pleasure, and restrain your Will,

Subdue DeSir e, and bridle loose Delight,

Use scanted Diet, and forbear your Fill,

Shun Secrecy, and talk in open Sight;

So shall you soon repair your present evil Plight.

Contents

No. 541

Thursday, November 20, 1712

John Hughes

Format enim Natura prius nos intus ad omnem

Fortunarum habitum; juvat, aut impellit ad iram,

Aut ad humum mærore gravi deducit et angit;

Post effert animi motus interprete Lingua.

Hor.

TemplarhasPronunciation and Action,[1]CiceroRostiusandDramatick[2]

de OratoreGracchus

Whither shall I turn? Wretch that I am! To what Place betake my self? Shall I go to the Capitol?—Alas! it is overflowed with my Brother's Blood. Or shall I retire to my House? Yet there I behold my Mother plung'd in Misery, weeping and despairing!

Tully

British StageRoman

King LearShakespear

—Death! Confusion!

Fiery!—what Quality?—why Gloster! Gloster!

I'd speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his Wife.

Are they informed of this? My Breath and Blood!

Fiery? the fiery Duke?—&c.

Wolsey

Farewel!—a long Farewel to all my Greatness!

This is the State of Man!—to-day he puts forth

The tender Leaves of Hopes; to-morrow Blossoms,

And bears his blushing Honours thick upon him,

The third Day comes a Frost, a killing Frost,

And when he thinks, good easie Man, full surely

His Greatness is a ripening, nips his Root,

And then he falls as I do.

AndromacheDistrest-Mother

I'll go, and in the Anguish of my Heart

Weep o'er my Child—If he must die, my Life

Is wrapt in his, I shall not long survive.

'Tis for his sake that I have suffer'd Life,

Groan'd in Captivity, and out-liv'd Hector.

Yes, my Astyanax, we'll go together!

Together to the Realms of Night we'll go;

There to thy ravish'd Eyes thy Sir e I'll show,

And point him out among the Shades below.

Lady MacbethDuncan

Alas! I am afraid they have awak'd,

And 'tis not done; th' Attempt, and not the Deed,

Confounds us—Hark!—I laid the Daggers ready,

He could not miss them. Had he not resembled

My Father as he slept, I had done it.

assumesSebastian[3]

Here satiate all your Fury:

Let Fortune empty her whole Quiver on me,

I have a Soul that like an ample Shield

Can take in all, and Verge enough for more.

dissolvesCaius Marius[4]

Lavinia! O there's Musick in the Name,

That softning me to infant Tenderness,

Makes my Heart spring, like the first Leaps of Life.

Hamlet

To be, or not to be?—that is the Question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the Mind to suffer

The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,

Or to take Arms against a Sea of Troubles,

And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep;

No more; and by a Sleep to say we end

The Heart-ach, and the thousand natural Shocks

That Flesh is Heir to; 'tis a Consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep—

To sleep; perchance to dream! Ay, there's the Rub.

For in that sleep of Death what Dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this Mortal Coil,

Must give us pause—There's the Respect

That makes Calamity of so long Life;

For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of Time,

Th' Oppressor's Wrongs, the proud Man's contumely,

The Pangs of despis'd Love, the Law's Delay,

The Insolence of Office, and the Spurns

That patient Merit of th' unworthy takes,

When he himself might his Quietus make

With a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardles bear,

To groan and sweat under a weary Life?

But that the Dread of something after Death,

The undiscover'd Country, from whose Bourn

No Traveller returns, puzzles the Will,

And makes us rather chuse those Ills we have,

Than fly to others that—we know not of.

TullyThe Orator's WeaponRomansRosciusTheophrastusabsent Actor

CiceroRomanRoman

pitchingGracchusModulationTully[5]

Leave the Pipe at home, but carry the Sense of this Custom with you.

Footnote 1:Action and Pronunciation

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Footnote 2:Dramatical

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:

return

Footnote 5:De Oratore.

return

Contents

No. 542

Friday, November 21, 1712

Addison

Et sibi præferri se gaudet.

Ovid.

SpectatorSpectatorValetudinarian;Nicholas HartSir John Envill;LondonSpectator

Sir

Sir ,

I was this Morning in a Company of your Well-wishers, when we read over, with great Satisfaction, Tully's Observations on Action adapted to the British Theatre: Though, by the way, we were very sorry to find that you have disposed of another Member of your Club. Poor Sir Roger is dead, and the worthy Clergyman dying. Captain Sentry has taken Possession of a fair Estate; Will. Honeycomb has married a Farmer's Daughter; and the Templar withdraws himself into the Business of his own Profession. What will all this end in? We are afraid it portends no Good to the Publick. Unless you very speedily fix a Day for the Election of new Members, we are under Apprehensions of losing the British Spectator. I hear of a Party of Ladies who intend to address you on this Subject, and question not, if you do not give us the Slip very suddenly, that you will receive Addresses from all Parts of the Kingdom to continue so useful a Work. Pray deliver us out of this Perplexity, and among the Multitude of your Readers you will particularly oblige

Your most Sincere Friend and Servant,

Philo-Spec.

Contents

No. 543

Saturday, November 22, 1712

Addison

—Facies non omnibus una

Nec diversa tamen—

Ov.

Galen

Sir Isaac Newton

DivisionsGroundsimilar

EyeWe may carry this Consideration yet further, if we reflect on the two Sexes in every living Species, with their Resemblances to each other, and those particular Distinctions that were necessary for the keeping up of this great World of Life.

forCreation[1]

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 544

Monday, November 24, 1712

Steele

Nunquam ita quisquam bene subducta ratione ad vitam fuit

Quia res, Ætas usus semper aliquid apportet novi

Aliquid moneat, ut illa, quæ te scire credas, nescias

Et, quæ tibi putaris prima, in experiundo ut repudies.

Ter.

Sentry

Coverley-Hall, Nov. 15, Worcestershire.

Sir ,

'I am come to the Succession of the Estate of my honoured Kinsman Sir Roger De Coverley; and I assure you I find it no easy Task to keep up the Figure of Master of the Fortune which was so handsomely enjoyed by that honest plain Man. I cannot (with respect to the great Obligations I have, be it spoken) reflect upon his Character, but I am confirmed in the Truth which I have, I think, heard spoken at the Club, to wit, That a Man of a warm and well-disposed Heart with a very small Capacity, is highly superior in human Society to him who with the greatest Talents is cold and languid in his Affections. But, alas! why do I make a difficulty in speaking of my worthy Ancestor's Failings? His little Absurdities and Incapacity for the Conversation of the politest Men are dead with him, and his greater Qualities are even now useful to him. I know not whether by naming those Disabilities I do not enhance his Merit, since he has left behind him a Reputation in his Country which would be worth the Pains of the wisest Man's whole Life to arrive at. By the way I must observe to you, that many of your Readers have mistook that Passage in your Writings, wherein Sir Roger is reported to have enquired into the private Character of the young Woman at the Tavern. I know you mentioned that Circumstance as an Instance of the Simplicity and Innocence of his Mind, which made him imagine it a very easy thing to reclaim one of those Criminals, and not as an Inclination in him to be guilty with her. The less discerning of your Readers cannot enter into that Delicacy of Description in the Character: But indeed my chief Business at this time is to represent to you my present State of Mind, and the Satisfactions I promise to my self in the Possession of my new Fortune. I have continued all Sir Roger's Servants, except such as it was a Relief to dismiss into little Beings within my Manor: Those who are in a List of the good Knight's own Hand to be taken care of by me, I have quartered upon such as have taken new Leases of me, and added so many Advantages during the Lives of the Persons so quartered, that it is the Interest of those whom they are joined with, to cherish and befriend them upon all Occasions. I find a considerable Sum of ready Money, which I am laying out among my Dependants at the common Interest, but with a Design to lend it according to their Merit, rather than according to their Ability. I shall lay a Tax upon such as I have highly obliged, to become Security to me for such of their own poor Youth, whether Male or Female, as want Help towards getting into some Being in the World. I hope I shall be able to manage my Affairs so, as to improve my Fortune every Year, by doing Acts of Kindness. I will lend my Money to the Use of none but indigent Men, secured by such as have ceased to be indigent by the Favour of my Family or my self. What makes this the more practicable, is, that if they will do any one Good with my Money, they are welcome to it upon their own Security: And I make no Exception against it, because the Persons who enter into the Obligations, do it for their own Family. I have laid out four thousand Pounds this way, and it is not to be imagined what a Crowd of People are obliged by it. In Cases where Sir Roger has recommended, I have lent Money to put out Children, with a Clause which makes void the Obligation, in case the Infant dies before he is out of his Apprenticeship; by which means the Kindred and Masters are extremely careful of breeding him to Industry, that he may repay it himself by his Labour, in three Years Journeywork after his Time is out, for the Use of his Securities. Opportunities of this kind are all that have occurred since I came to my Estate; but I assure you I will preserve a constant Disposition to catch at all the Occasions I can to promote the Good and Happiness of my Neighbourhood.

'But give me leave to lay before you a little Establishment which has grown out of my past Life, that I doubt not, will administer great Satisfaction to me in that Part of it, whatever that is, which is to come.

'There is a Prejudice in favour of the Way of Life to which a Man has been educated, which I know not whether it would not be faulty to overcome: It is like a Partiality to the Interest of one's own Country before that of any other Nation. It is from an Habit of Thinking, grown upon me from my Youth spent in Arms, that I have ever held Gentlemen, who have preserved Modesty, Good-nature, Justice, and Humanity in a Soldier's Life, to be the most valuable and worthy Persons of the human Race. To pass through imminent Dangers, suffer painful Watchings, frightful Alarms, and laborious Marches for the greater part of a Man's Time, and pass the rest in a Sobriety conformable to the Rules of the most virtuous civil Life, is a Merit too great to deserve the Treatment it usually meets with among the other part of the World. But I assure you, Sir , were there not very many who have this Worth, we could never have seen the glorious Events which we have in our Days. I need not say more to illustrate the Character of a Soldier, than to tell you he is the very contrary to him you observe loud, sawcy, and over-bearing in a red Coat about Town. But I was going to tell you, that in Honour of the Profession of Arms, I have set apart a certain Sum of Money for a Table for such Gentlemen as have served their Country in the Army, and will please from Time to Time to sojourn all, or any Part of the Year, at Coverley. Such of them as will do me that Honour, shall find Horses, Servants, and all things necessary for their Accommodation and Enjoyment of all the Conveniences of Life in a pleasant various Country. If Colonel Camperfelt be in Town, and his Abilities are not employ'd another way in the Service, there is no Man would be more welcome here. That Gentleman's thorough Knowledge in his Profession, together with the Simplicity of his Manners, and Goodness of his Heart, would induce others like him to honour my Abode; and I should be glad my Acquaintance would take themselves to be invited or not, as their Characters have an Affinity to his.

'I would have all my Friends know, that they need not fear (though I am become a Country Gentleman) I will trespass against their Temperance and Sobriety. No, Sir , I shall retain so much of the good Sentiments for the Conduct of Life, which we cultivated in each other at our Club, as to contemn all inordinate Pleasures: But particularly remember, with our beloved Tully, that the Delight in Food consists in DeSir e, not Satiety. They who most passionately pursue Pleasure, seldomest arrive at it. Now I am writing to a Philosopher, I cannot forbear mentioning the Satisfaction I took in the Passage I read Yesterday in the same Tully. A Nobleman of Athens made a Compliment to Plato the Morning after he had supped at his House, Your Entertainments do not only please when you give them, but also the Day after.

I am, My worthy Friend,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

William Sentry.

Contents

No. 545

Tuesday, November 25, 1712

Steele

Quin potius Pacem Æternam pactosque Hymenæos

Exercemus—

Virg.

ChinaRomeChineseRomanRomeChina

Copia di Littera del Re della China al Papa, interpretata dal Padre Segretario dell' India della Compagna di Giesu[1].

A Voi Benedetto sopra i benedetti PP, ed interpretatore grande de Pontifici e Pastore Xmo dispensatore dell' oglio de i Rè d' Europe Clemente XI.

'Il Favorite amico di Dio Gionata 7∞ Potentissimo sopra tutti i potentissimi della terra, Altissmo sopra tutti gl' Altissmi sotto il sole e la luna, che sede nella sede di smeraldo della China sopra cento scalini d'oro, ad interpretare la lingua di Dio a tutti i descendenti fedeli d'Abramo, che da la vita e la morte a cento quindici regni, ed a cento settante Isole, scrive con la penna dello Struzzo vergine, e manda salute ed accresimento di vecchiezza.

'Essendo arrivato il tempo in cui il fiore della reale nostro gioventu deve maturare i Frutti della nostra vecchiezza, e confortare con quell i desiderii dei populi nostri divoti, e propogare il seme di quella pianta che deve proteggerli, habbiamo Stabilito d'accompagnarci con una virgine eccelsa ed amorosa allattata alia mammella della leonessa forte e dell' Agnella mansueta. Percio essendo ci stato figurato sempre il vostro populo Europeo Romano par paese di donne invitte, i forte, e caste; allongiamo la nostra mano potente, a stringere una di loro, e questa sara una vostra nipote, o nipote di qualche altro gran Sacerdote Latino, che sia guardata dall' occhio dritto di Dio. Sara seminata in lei l'Autorita di Sarra, la Fedelta d'Esther, e la Sapienza di Abba; la vogliamo con l'occhio della colomba che guarda il cielo, e la terra e con la bocca dello Conchiglia che si pasce della ruggiada del matino. La sua eta non passi ducento corsi della Luna, la sua statura sia alta quanto la spicca dritta del grano verde, e la sua grossezza quanto un manipolo di grano secco. Noi la mandaremmo a vestire per li nostri mandatici Ambasciadori, e chi la conduranno a noi, e noi incontraremmo alla riva del fiume grande facendola salire su nostro cocchio. Ella potra adorare appresso di noi il suo Dio, con venti quatro altre vergini a sua ellezzione, e potra cantare con loro come la Tortora alla Primavera.

'Sodisfando O Padre e amico nostro questa nostro brama, sarete caggione di unire in perpetua amicitia cotesti vostri Regni d'Europa al nostro dominante Imperio, e si abbracciranno le vostri leggi come l'edera abbraccia la pianta, e noi medesemi Spargeremo del nostro seme reale in coteste Provinci, riscaldando i letti di vostri Principi con il fuoco amoroso delle nostre Amazoni, d'alcune delle quali i nostri mandatici Ambasciadori vi porteranno le Somiglianze depinte. Vi Confirmiamo di tenere in pace le due buone religiose famiglie delli Missionarii gli' Figlioli d'Ignazio, e li bianchi e neri figlioli di Dominico; il cui consiglio degl' uni e degl' altri ci serve di scorta nel nostro regimento e di lume ad interpretare le divine Legge come appuncto fa lume l'oglio che si getta in Mare. In tanto Alzandoci dal nostro Trono per Abbracciarvi, vi dichiariamo nostro congiunto e Confederato; ed ordiniamo che questo foglio sia segnato col nostro Segno Imperiale dalla nostra Citta, Capo del Mondo, il quinto giorno della terza lunatione l'anno quarto del nostro Imperio.

'Sigillo e un sole nelle cui faccia e anche quella della Luna ed intorno tra i Raggi vi sono traposte alcune Spade.

'Dico il Traduttore che secondo il Ceremonial di questo Lettere e recedentissimo specialmente Fessere scritto con la penna della Struzzo vergine con la quella non soglionsi scrivere quei Re che le pregiere a Dio e scrivendo a qualche altro Principe del Mondo, la maggior Finezza che usino, e scrivergli con la penna del Pavone.

A Letter from the Emperor of China to the Pope, interpreted by a Father Jesuit, Secretary to the Indies.

To you blessed above the Blessed, great Emperor of Bishops, and Pastor of Christians, Dispenser of the Oil of the Kings of Europe, Clement XI.

"The Favourite Friend of God Gionnata the VIIth, most Powerful above the most Powerful of the Earth, Highest above the Highest under the Sun and Moon, who sits on a Throne of Emerald of China, above 100 Steps of Gold, to interpret the Language of God to the faithful, and who gives Life and Death to 115 Kingdoms, and 170 Islands; he writes with the Quill of a Virgin Ostrich, and sends Health and Increase of old Age.

"Being arrived at the time of our Age, in which the Flower of our Royal Youth ought to ripen into Fruit towards old Age, to comfort therewith the DeSir e of our devoted People, and to propagate the Seed of that Plant which must protect them; We have determined to accompany our selves with an high Amorous Virgin, suckled at the Breast of a wild Lioness, and a meek Lamb; and imagining with our selves that your European Roman People is the Father of many unconquerable and chaste Ladies: We stretch out our powerful Arm to embrace one of them, and she shall be one of your Neices, or the Neice of some other great Latin Priest, the Darling of God's Right Eye. Let the Authority of Sarah be sown in her, the Fidelity of Esther, and the Wisdom of Abba. We would have her Eye like that of a Dove, which may look upon Heaven and Earth, with the Mouth of a Shell-Fish to feed upon the Dew of the Morning; Her Age must not exceed 200 Courses of the Moon; let her Stature be equal to that of an Ear of green Corn, and her Girth a Handful.

"We will send our Mandarine's Embassadors to clothe her, and to conduct her to us, and we will meet her on the Bank of the great River, making her to leap up into our Chariot. She may with us worship her own God; together with twenty four Virgins of her own chusing; and she may sing with them, as the Turtle in the Spring. You, O Father and Friend, complying with this our DeSir e, maybe an occasion of uniting in perpetual Friendship our high Empire with your European Kingdoms, and we may embrace your Laws, as the Ivy embraces the Tree; and we our selves may scatter our Royal Blood into your Provinces, warming the chief of your Princes with the amorous Fire of our Amazons, the resembling Pictures of some of which our said Mandarine's Embassadors shall convey to you.

"We exhort you to keep in Peace two good Religious Families of Missionaries, the black Sons of Ignatius, and the white and black Sons of Dominicus; that the Counsel, both of the one and the other, may serve as a Guide to us in our Government, and a Light to interpret the Divine Law, as the Oil cast into the Sea produces Light.

"To conclude, we rising up in our Throne to embrace you, we declare you our Ally and Confederate; and have ordered this Leaf to be sealed with our Imperial Signet, in our Royal City the Head of the World, the 8th Day of the third Lunation, and the 4th Year of our Reign."

RomeItalianLewisChineseOstrichIndianChinaRoman Catholic Religion

To the Spectator-General.

May it please your Honour,

'I have of late seen French Hats, of a prodigious Magnitude, pass by my Observatory.

John Sly.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 546

Wednesday, November 26, 1712

Steele

Omnia patefacienda ut ne quid omnino quod venditor norit, emptor ignoret.

Tull.

thatCibberFrench[1]OldfieldCibberSpectators

SpectatorsCornhillthatJohn Moreton[2]

English

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'My Heart is so swelled with grateful Sentiments on account of some Favours which I have lately received, that I must beg leave to give them Utterance amongst the Croud of other anonymous Correspondents; and writing, I hope, will be as great a Relief to my forced Silence, as it is to your natural Taciturnity—My generous Benefactor will not suffer me to speak to him in any Terms of Acknowledgment, but ever treats me as if he had the greatest Obligations, and uses me with a Distinction that is not to be expected from one so much my Superiour in Fortune, Years, and Understanding. He insinuates, as if I had a certain Right to his Favours from some Merit, which his particular Indulgence to me has discovered but that is only a beautiful Artifice to lessen the Pain an honest Mind feels in receiving Obligations, when there is no probability of returning them.

'A gift is doubled when accompanied with such a Delicacy of Address; but what to me gives it an inexpressible Value, is its coming from the Man I most esteem in the World. It pleases me indeed, as it is an Advantage and Addition to my Fortune; but when I consider it is an Instance of that good Man's Friendship, it overjoys, it transports me; I look on it with a Lover's Eye, and no longer regard the Gift, but the Hand that gave it. For my Friendship is so entirely void of any gainful Views, that it often gives me Pain to think it should have been chargeable to him; and I cannot at some melancholy Hours help doing his Generosity the Injury of fearing it should cool on this account, and that the last Favour might be a sort of Legacy of a departing Friendship.

'I Confess these Fears seem very groundless and unjust, but you must forgive them to the Apprehension of one possessed of a great Treasure, who is frighted at the most distant Shadow of Danger.

'Since I have thus far open'd my Heart to you, I will not conceal the secret Satisfaction I feel there of knowing the Goodness of my Friend will not be unrewarded. I am pleased with thinking the Providence of the Almighty hath sufficient Blessings in store for him, and will certainly discharge the Debt, though I am not made the happy Instrument of doing it.

'However, nothing in my power shall be wanting to shew my Gratitude; I will make it the Business of my Life to thank him, and shall esteem (next to him) those my best Friends, who give me greatest Assistance in this good Work. Printing this Letter would be some little Instance of my Gratitude; and your Favour herein will very much oblige

Your most humble Servant, &c.

W. C.

Nov. 24th.

Footnote 1:XimenaHeroic DaughterCidThe Crisis,

"Your Enemies therefore, thus knowing that your own consent had partly justified their insinuations, saved a great deal of their malice from being ridiculous, and fairly left you to apply to such your singular conduct what Mark Antony says of Octavius in the play:

'Fool that I was! upon my Eagle's wings

I bore this Wren, 'till I was tired with soaring,

And now, he mounts above me.'"

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:No. 248.Sir

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Contents

No. 547

Thursday, November 27, 1712

Addison

Si vulnus tibi monstratâ radice vel herbâ

Non fieret levius, fugeres radice vel herbâ

Proficiente nihil curarier—

Hor.

Sir ,

'I am often in a private Assembly of Wits of both Sexes, where we generally descant upon your Speculations, or upon the Subjects on which you have treated. We were last Tuesday talking of those two Volumes which you have lately published. Some were commending one of your Papers, and some another; and there was scarce a single Person in the Company that had not a favourite Speculation. Upon this a Man of Wit and Learning told us, he thought it would not be amiss if we paid the Spectator the same Compliment that is often made in our publick Prints to Sir William Read, Dr. Grant, Mr. Moor the Apothecary[1]; and other eminent Physicians, where it is usual for the Patients to publish the Cures which have been made upon them, and the several Distempers under which they laboured. The Proposal took, and the Lady where we visited having the two last Volumes in large Paper interleav'd for her own private use, ordered them to be brought down, and laid in the Window, whither every one in the Company retired, and writ down a particular Advertisement in the Style and Phrase of the like ingenious Compositions which we frequently meet with at the end of our News-Papers. When we had finish'd our Work, we read them with a great deal of Mirth at the Fire-side, and agreed, Nemine contradicente, to get them transcrib'd, and sent to the Spectator. The Gentleman who made the Proposal enter'd the following Advertisement before the Title-Page, after which the rest succeeded in order.

Remedium efficax et universum; or, An effectual Remedy adapted to all Capacities; shewing how any Person may Cure himself of Ill-Nature, Pride, Party-Spleen, or any other Distemper incident to the human System, with an easie way to know when the Infection is upon him. This Panacea is as innocent as Bread, agreeable to the Taste, and requires no Confinement. It has not its Equal in the Universe, as Abundance of the Nobility and Gentry throughout the Kingdom have experienced.

N. B. 'No Family ought to be without it.

Over the two Spectators on Jealousy, being the two first in the third Volume.

I William Crazy, aged Threescore and seven, having been for several Years afflicted with uneasie Doubts, Fears and Vapours, occasion'd by the Youth and Beauty of Mary my Wife, aged twenty five, do hereby for the Benefit of the Publick give Notice, that I have found great Relief from the two following Doses, having taken them two Mornings together with a Dish of Chocolate. Witness my Hand, &c.

For the Benefit of the Poor.

'In charity to such as are troubled with the Disease of Levée- Haunting, and are forced to seek their Bread every Morning at the Chamber Doors of great Men, I A. B. do testifie, that for many Years past I laboured under this fashionable Distemper, but was cured of it by a Remedy which I bought of Mrs. Baldwin, contain'd in an Half-Sheet of Paper, marked [Volume 1 link: No. 193]. where any one may be provided with the same Remedy at the price of a single Penny.

An infallible Cure for Hypocondriack Melancholys.

[Volume 1 links: No. 173. 184. 191.] [Volume 2 links: 203. 209. 221. 233. 235. 239. 245. 247. 251.]

Probatum est. Charles Easy.

'I Christopher Query having been troubled with a certain Distemper in my Tongue, which shewed it self in impertinent and superfluous Interrogatories, have not asked one unnecessary Question since my Perusal of the Prescription marked [Volume 2 link: No. 228.]

'The Britannick Beautifyer, being an Essay on Modesty, [Volume 2 link: No. 231. which gives such a delightful Blushing Colour to the Cheeks of those that are White or Pale, that it is not to be distinguished from a natural fine Complection, nor perceived to be artificial by the nearest Friend: Is nothing of Paint, or in the least hurtful. It renders the Face delightfully handsome; is not subject to be rubbed off, and cannot be parallelled by either Wash, Powder, Cosmetick, &c. It is certainly the best Beautifier in the World.

Martha Gloworm.

'I Samuel Self, of the Parish of St. James's, having a Constitution which naturally abounds with Acids, made use of a Paper of Directions marked [Volume 1 link: No. No. 177.] recommending a healthful Exercise called Good-Nature, and have found it a most excellent Sweetner of the Blood.

'Whereas I, Elizabeth Rainbow, was troubled with that Distemper in my Head, which about a Year ago was pretty Epidemical among the Ladies, and discover'd it self in the Colour of their Hoods, having made use of the Doctor's Cephalick Tincture, which he exhibited to the Publick in one of his last Year's Papers, I recover'd in a very few Days.

'I George Gloom have for a long time been troubled with the Spleen, and being advis'd by my Friends to put my self into a Course of Steele, did for that end make use of Remedies convey'd to me several Mornings, in short Letters, from the Hands of the invisible Doctor. They were marked at the bottom Nathaniel Henroost, Alice Threadneedle, Rebecca Nettletop, Tom. Loveless, Mary Meanwell, Thomas Smoaky, Anthony Freeman, Tom Meggot, Rustick Sprightly, &c. which have had so good an Effect upon me, that I now find my self chearful, lightsome and easie; and therefore do recommend them to all such as labour under the same Distemper.

Footnote 1:SirTatler

'couching cataracts, taking off all sorts of wens, curing wry necks and hair lips without blemish, though never so deformed.'

'The Lady Read, in Durham Yard, in the Strand, having obtained a peculiar method of couching cataracts and curing all diseases of the eyes, by Sir William Read's method and medicines, and having had above 15 years' experience ... Note. Sir William Read has left only with his lady the true receipt of his Styptich Water,' &c., &c.

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Contents

No. 548

Friday, November 28, 1712

[1]

—Vitiis nemo sine nascitur, optimus illo

Qui minimis urgetur—

Hor.

Nov. 27, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I have read this Day's Paper with a great deal of Pleasure, and could send you an Account of several Elixirs and Antidotes in your third Volume, which your Correspondents have not taken Notice of in their Advertisements; and at the same time must own to you, that I have seldom seen a Shop furnished with such a Variety of Medicaments, and in which there are fewer Soporifics. The several Vehicles you have invented for conveying your unacceptable Truths to us, are what I most particularly admire, as I am afraid they are Secrets which will die with you. I do not find that any of your Critical Essays are taken Notice of in this Paper, notwithstanding I look upon them to be excellent Cleansers of the Brain, and could venture to superscribe them with an Advertisement which I have lately seen in one of our News-Papers, wherein there is an Account given of a Sovereign Remedy for restoring the Taste of all such Persons whose Palates have been vitiated by Distempers, unwholesome Food, or any the like Occasions. But to let fall the Allusion, notwithstanding your Criticisms, and particularly the Candour which you have discovered in them, are not the least taking Part of your Works, I find your Opinion concerning Poetical Justice, as it is expressed in the first Part of your [Volume 1 link: Fortieth Spectator], is controverted by some eminent Criticks; and as you now seem, to our great Grief of Heart, to be winding up your Bottoms, I hoped you would have enlarged a little upon that Subject. It is indeed but a single Paragraph in your Works, and I believe those who have read it with the same Attention I have done, will think there is nothing to be objected against it. I have however drawn up some additional Arguments to strengthen the Opinion which you have there delivered, having endeavoured to go to the Bottom of that Matter, which you may either publish or suppress as you think fit.

'Horace in my Motto says, that all Men are vicious, and that they differ from one another, only as they are more or less so. Boileau has given the same Account of our Wisdom, as Horace has of our Virtue.

Tous les homines sont fous, et, malgré tous leurs soins,

Ne different entre eux, que du plus et du moins.

'All Men, says he, are Fools, and, in spite of their Endeavours to the contrary, differ from one another only as they are more or less so.

'Two or three of the old Greek Poets have given the same turn to a Sentence which describes the Happiness of Man in this Life;

'That Man is most happy who is the least miserable.

'It will not perhaps be unentertaining to the Polite Reader to observe how these three beautiful Sentences are formed upon different Subjects by the same way of thinking; but I shall return to the first of them.

'Our Goodness being of a comparative, and not an absolute nature, there is none who in strictness can be called a Virtuous Man. Every one has in him a natural Alloy, tho' one may be fuller of Dross than another: For this reason I cannot think it right to introduce a perfect or a faultless Man upon the Stage; not only because such a Character is improper to move Compassion, but because there is no such a thing in Nature. This might probably be one Reason why the SPECTATOR in one of his Papers took notice of that late invented Term called Poetical Justice, and the wrong Notions into which it has led some Tragick Writers. The most perfect Man has Vices enough to draw down Punishments upon his Head, and to justify Providence in regard to any Miseries that may befal him. For this reason I cannot think, but that the Instruction and Moral are much finer, where a Man who is virtuous in the main of his Character falls into Distress, and sinks under the Blows of Fortune at the End of a Tragedy, than when he is represented as Happy and Triumphant. Such an Example corrects the Insolence of Human Nature, softens the Mind of the Beholder with Sentiments of Pity and Compassion, comforts him under his own private Affliction, and teaches him not to judge Mens Virtues by their Successes. I cannot think of one real Hero in all Antiquity so far raised above Human Infirmities, that he might not be very naturally represented in a Tragedy as plunged in Misfortunes and Calamities. The Poet may still find out some prevailing Passion or Indiscretion in his Character, and shew it in such a Manner, as will sufficiently acquit the Gods of any Injustice in his Sufferings. For as Horace observes in my Text, the best Man is faulty, tho' not in so great a degree as those whom we generally call vicious Men.

'If such a strict Poetical Justice, as some Gentlemen insist upon, was to be observed in this Art, there is no manner of Reason why it should not extend to Heroick Poetry, as well as Tragedy. But we find it so little observed in Homer, that his Achilles is placed in the greatest point of Glory and Success, though his Character is Morally Vicious, and only Poetically Good, if I may use the Phrase of our modern Criticks. The Æneid is filled with Innocent, unhappy Persons. Nisus and Eurialus, Lausus and Pallas come all to unfortunate Ends. The Poet takes Notice in particular, that in the Sacking of Troy, Ripheus fell, who was the most just Man among the Trojans.

—Cadit et Ripheus justissimus unus,

Qui fuit in Teucris et servantissimus Æqui:

Dijs aliter visum est—

'And that Pantheus could neither be preserved by his transcendent Piety, nor by the holy Fillets of Apollo, whose Priest he was.

—nec Te tua plurima Pantheu

Labentem pietas, nec Apollinis infula texit.

(Æn. 1. 2.)

'I might here mention the Practice of ancient Tragick Poets, both Greek and Latin; but as this Particular is touched upon in the Paper above-mentioned, I shall pass it over in Silence. I could produce Passages out of Aristotle in favour of my Opinion, and if in one Place he says that an absolutely Virtuous Man should not be represented as unhappy, this does not justifie any one who shall think fit to bring in an absolutely virtuous Man upon the Stage. Those who are acquainted with that Author's Way of Writing, know very well, that to take the whole extent of his Subject into his Divisions of it, he often makes use of such Cases as are imaginary, and not reducible to Practice: He himself declares that such Tragedies as ended unhappily bore away the Prize in Theatrical Contentions, from those which ended happily; and for the [Volume 1 link: Fortieth Speculation], which I am now considering, as it has given Reasons why these are more apt to please an Audience, so it only proves that these are generally preferable to the other, tho' at the same time it affirms that many excellent Tragedies have and may be written in both kinds.

'I shall conclude with observing, that though the Spectator above-mentioned is so far against the Rule of Poetical Justice, as to affirm, that good Men may meet with an unhappy Catastrophe in Tragedy, it does not say that ill Men may go off unpunished. The Reason for this Distinction is very plain, namely, because the best of Men are vicious enough to justify Providence for any Misfortunes and Afflictions which may befal them, but there are many Men so criminal that they can have no Claim or Pretence to Happiness. The best of Men may deserve Punishment, but the worst of Men cannot deserve Happiness.'

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 549

Saturday, November 29, 1712

Addison

Quamvis digressu veteris confusus amici,

Laudo tamen—

Juv.

HoraceSir Andrew FreeportSir Andrew

Sir Andrew

Good Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Notwithstanding my Friends at the Club have always rallied me, when I have talked of retiring from Business, and repeated to me one of my own Sayings, That a Merchant has never enough till he has got a little more; I can now inform you, that there is one in the World who thinks he has enough, and is determined to pass the Remainder of his Life in the Enjoyment of what he has. You know me so well, that I need not tell you, I mean, by the Enjoyment of my Possessions, the making of them useful to the Publick. As the greatest part of my Estate has been hitherto of an unsteady and volatile nature, either tost upon Seas or fluctuating in Funds; it is now fixed and settled in Substantial Acres and Tenements. I have removed it from the Uncertainty of Stocks, Winds and Waves, and disposed of it in a considerable Purchase. This will give me great Opportunity of being charitable in my way, that is, in setting my poor Neighbours to Work, and giving them a comfortable Subsistence out of their own Industry. My Gardens, my Fish-ponds, my Arable and Pasture Grounds shall be my several Hospitals, or rather Work-houses, in which I propose to maintain a great many indigent Persons, who are now starving in my Neighbourhood. I have got a fine Spread of improveable Lands, and in my own Thoughts am already plowing up some of them, fencing others; planting Woods, and draining Marshes. In fine, as I have my share in the Surface of this Island, I am resolved to make it as beautiful a Spot as any in her Majesty's Dominions; at least there is not an Inch of it which shall not be cultivated to the best Advantage, and do its utmost for its Owner. As in my Mercantile Employment I so disposed of my Affairs, that from whatever Corner of the Compass the Wind blew, it was bringing home one or other of my Ships; I hope, as a Husbandman, to contrive it so, that not a Shower of Rain, or a Glimpse of Sunshine, shall fall upon my Estate without bettering some part of it, and contributing to the Products of the Season. You know it has been hitherto my Opinion of Life, that it is thrown away when it is not some way useful to others. But when I am riding out by my self, in the fresh Air on the open Heath that lies by my House, I find several other Thoughts growing up in me. I am now of opinion that a Man of my Age may find Business enough on himself, by setting his Mind in order, preparing it for another World, and reconciling it to the Thoughts of Death. I must therefore acquaint you, that besides those usual Methods of Charity, of which I have before spoken, I am at this very Instant finding out a convenient Place where I may build an Alms-house, which I intend to endow very handsomely, for a Dozen superannuated Husbandmen. It will be a great pleasure to me to say my Prayers twice a-day with Men of my own Years[1], who all of them, as well as my self, may have their Thoughts taken up how they shall die, rather than how they shall live. I remember an excellent Saying that I learned at School, Finis coronat opus. You know best whether it be in Virgil or in Horace, it is my business to apply it. If your Affairs will permit you to take the Country Air with me sometimes, you shall find an Apartment fitted up for you, and shall be every day entertained with Beef or Mutton of my own feeding; Fish out of my own Ponds; and Fruit out of my own Gardens. You shall have free Egress and Regress about my House, without having any Questions asked you, and in a Word such an hearty Welcome as you may expect from

Your most sincere Friend

and humble Servant,

Andrew Freeport.

Footnote 1:Age

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Contents

No. 550

Monday, December 1, 1712

Addison

Quid dignum tanto feret hic promissor Hiatu?

Hor.

tappSir Roger'sOctoberWill. Honeycombe.HoneycombeSir Y. Z.AfricanSir Andrew FreeportFenny Man'sSentry'sPaul's

LondonWestminsterLady-day

King of Clubs

my Mouth openedPythagorasnotGreat Britainthe Spectator's Mouth is to be opened on the twenty-fifth ofnext[1]

Footnote 1:GuardianSpectator

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Contents

No. 551

Tuesday, December 2, 1712

Sic Honor et Nomen divinis vatibus atque

Carminibus venit.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

When Men of worthy and excelling Genius's have obliged the World with beautiful and instructive Writings, it is in the nature of Gratitude that Praise should be returned them, as one proper consequent Reward of their Performances. Nor has Mankind ever been so degenerately sunk, but they have made this Return, and even when they have not been wrought up by the generous Endeavour so as to receive the Advantages designed by it. This Praise, which arises first in the Mouth of particular Persons, spreads and lasts according to the Merit of Authors; and when it thus meets with a full Success changes its Denomination, and is called Fame. They who have happily arrived at this, are, even while they live, enflamed by the Acknowledgments of others, and spurred on to new Undertakings for the Benefit of Mankind, notwithstanding the Detraction which some abject Tempers would cast upon them: But when they decease, their Characters being freed from the Shadow which Envy laid them under, begin to shine out with greater Splendour; their Spirits survive in their Works; they are admitted into the highest Companies, and they continue pleasing and instructing Posterity from Age to Age. Some of the best gain a Character, by being able to shew that they are no Strangers to them; and others obtain a new Warmth to labour for the Happiness and Ease of Mankind, from a Reflection upon those Honours which are paid to their Memories.

The Thought of this took me up as I turned over those Epigrams which are the Remains of several of the Wits of Greece, and perceived many dedicated to the Fame of those who had excelled in beautiful poetick Performances. Wherefore, in pursuance to my Thought, I concluded to do something along with them to bring their Praises into a new Light and Language, for the Encouragement of those whose modest Tempers may be deterr'd by the Fear of Envy or Detraction from fair Attempts, to which their Parts might render them equal. You will perceive them as they follow to be conceived in the form of Epitaphs, a sort of Writing which is wholly set apart for a short pointed Method of Praise.

On Orpheus, written by Antipater.

No longer, Orpheus, shall thy sacred Strains

Lead Stones, and Trees, and Beasts along the Plains;

No longer sooth the boistrous Wind to sleep,

Or still the Billows of the raging Deep:

For thou art gone, the Muses mourn'd thy Fall

In solemn Strains, thy Mother most of all.

Ye Mortals, idly for your Sons ye moan,

If thus a Goddess could not save her own.

Observe here, that if we take the Fable for granted, as it was believed to be in that Age when the Epigram was written, the Turn appears to have Piety to the Gods, and a resigning Spirit in its Application. But if we consider the Point with respect to our present Knowledge, it will be less esteem'd; though the Author himself, because he believ'd it, may still be more valued than any one who should now write with a Point of the same Nature.

On Homer, by Alpheus of Mytilene.

Still in our Ears Andromache complains,

And still in sight the Fate of Troy remains;

Still Ajax fights, still Hector's dragg'd along,

Such strange Enchantment dwells in Homer's Song;

Whose Birth cou'd more than one poor Realm adorn,

For all the World is proud that he was born.

The Thought in the first part of this is natural, and depending upon the Force of Poesy: In the latter part it looks as if it would aim at the History of seven Towns contending for the Honour of Homer's Birth-place; but when you expect to meet with that common Story, the Poet slides by, and raises the whole World for a kind of Arbiter, which is to end the Contention amongst its several Parts.

On Anacreon by Antipater.

This Tomb be thine, Anacreon; all around

Let Ivy wreath, let Flourets deck the Ground,

And from its Earth, enrich'd with such a Prize,

Let Wells of Milk and Streams of Wine arise:

So will thine Ashes yet a Pleasure know,

If any Pleasure reach the Shades below.

The Poet here written upon, is an easy gay Author, and he who writes upon him has filled his own Head with the Character of his Subject. He seems to love his Theme so much, that he thinks of nothing but pleasing him as if he were still alive, by entering into his Libertine Spirit; so that the Humour is easy and gay, resembling Anacreon in its Air, raised by such Images, and pointed with such a Turn as he might have used. I give it a place here, because the Author may have design'd it for his Honour; and I take an Opportunity from it to advise others, that when they would praise, they cautiously avoid every looser Qualification, and fix only where there is a real Foundation in Merit.

On Euripides, by Ion.

Divine Euripides, this Tomb we see

So fair, is not a Monument for thee,

So much as thou for it, since all will own

Thy Name and lasting Praise adorns the Stone.

The Thought here is fine, but its Fault is, that it is general, that it may belong to any great Man, because it points out no particular Character. It would be better, if when we light upon such a Turn, we join it with something that circumscribes and bounds it to the Qualities of our Subject. He who gives his Praise in gross, will often appear either to have been a Stranger to those he writes upon, or not to have found any thing in them which is Praise-worthy.

On Sophocles, by Simonides.

Winde, gentle Ever-green, to form a Shade

Around the Tomb where Sophocles is laid;

Sweet Ivy winde thy Boughs, and intertwine

With blushing Roses and the clustring Vine:

Thus will thy lasting Leaves, with Beauties hung,

Prove grateful Emblems of the Lays he sung;

Whose Soul, exalted like a God of Wit,

Among the Muses and the Graces writ.

This Epigram I have open'd more than any of the former: The Thought towards the latter End seemed closer couched, so as to require an Explication. I fancied the Poet aimed at the Picture which is generally made of Apollo and the Muses, he sitting with his Harp in the Middle, and they around him. This look'd beautiful to my Thought, and because the Image arose before me out of the Words of the Original as I was reading it, I venture to explain them so.

On Menander, the Author unnamed.

The very Bees, O sweet Menander, hung

To taste the Muses Spring upon thy Tongue;

The very Graces made the Scenes you writ

Their happy Point of fine Expression hit.

Thus still you live, you make your Athens shine,

And raise its Glory to the Skies in thine.

This Epigram has a respect to the Character of its Subject; for Menander writ remarkably with a Justness and Purity of Language. It has also told the Country he was born in, without either a set or a hidden Manner, while it twists together the Glory of the Poet and his Nation, so as to make the Nation depend upon his for an Encrease of its own.

I will offer no more Instances at present, to shew that they who deserve Praise have it returned them from different Ages. Let these which have been laid down, shew Men that Envy will not always prevail. And to the End that Writers may more successfully enliven the Endeavours of one another, let them consider, in some such Manner as I have attempted, what may be the justest Spirit and Art of Praise. It is indeed very hard to come up to it. Our Praise is trifling when it depends upon Fable; it is false when it depends upon wrong Qualifications; it means nothing when it is general; it is extreamly difficult to hit when we propose to raise Characters high, while we keep to them justly. I shall end this with transcribing that excellent Epitaph of Mr. Cowley, wherein, with a kind of grave and philosophick Humour, he very beautifully speaks of himself (withdrawn from the World, and dead to all the Interests of it) as of a Man really deceased. At the same time it is an Instruction how to leave the Publick with a good Grace.

Epitaphium Vivi Authoris.

Hic, O Viator, sub Lare parvulo

Couleius hic est conditus, hic jacet

Defunctus Humani Laboris

Sorte, supervacuaque Vita,

Non Indecora pauperie nitens,

Et non inerti Nobilis Otio,

Vanoque dilectis popello

Divitiis animosus hostis.

Possis ut illum dicere mortuum

En Terra jam nunc Quantula sufficit?

Exempta sit Curis, Viator,

Terra sit illa lævis, precare.

Hic sparge Flores, sparge breves Rosas,

Nam Vita gaudet Mortua Floribus,

Herbisque Odoratis Corona

Vatis adhuc Cinerem Calentem.

[The Publication of these Criticisms having procured me the following Letter from a very ingenious Gentleman, I cannot forbear inserting it in the Volume, though it did not come soon enough to have a place in any of my single Papers.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Having read over in your Paper, No. 551. some of the Epigrams made by the Grecian Wits, in commendation of their celebrated Poets, I could not forbear sending you another, out of the same Collection; which I take to be as great a Compliment to Homer, as any that has yet been paid him.

Who first transcribed the famous Trojan War,

And wise Ulysses' Acts, O Jove, make known:

For since 'tis certain, Thine those Poems are,

No more let Homer boast they are his own.

If you think it worthy of a Place in your Speculations, for ought I know (by that means) it may in time be printed as often in English, as it has already been in Greek, I am (like the rest of the World)

Sir ,

Your great Admirer,

G. R.

4th Dec.

The Reader may observe that the Beauty of this Epigram is different from that of any in the foregoing. An Irony is look'd upon as the finest Palliative of Praise; and very often conveys the noblest Panegyrick under the Appearance of Satire. Homer is here seemingly accused and treated as a Plagiary; but what is drawn up in the form of an Accusation is certainly, as my Correspondent observes, the greatest Compliment that could have been paid to that Divine Poet.

Dear Mr. SPECTATOR,

I am a Gentleman of a pretty good Fortune, and of a Temper impatient of any thing which I think an Injury; however I always quarrelled according to Law, and instead of attacking my Adversary by the dangerous Method of Sword and Pistol, I made my Assaults by that more secure one of Writ or Warrant. I cannot help telling you, that either by the Justice of my Causes, or the Superiority of my Counsel, I have been generally successful; and to my great Satisfaction I can say it, that by three Actions of Slander, and half a dozen Trespasses, I have for several Years enjoy'd a perfect Tranquility in my Reputation and Estate. By these means also I have been made known to the Judges, the Serjeants of our Circuit are my intimate Friends, and the Ornamental Counsel pay a very profound Respect to one who has made so great a Figure in the Law. Affairs of Consequence having brought me to Town, I had the Curiosity t'other day to visit Westminster-Hall; and having placed my self in one of the Courts, expected to be most agreeably entertained. After the Court and Counsel were, with due Ceremony, seated, up stands a learned Gentleman, and began, When this Matter was last stirr'd before your Lordship: The next humbly moved to quash an Indictment; another complain'd that his Adversary had snapp'd a Judgment; the next informed the Court that his Client was stripp'd of his Possession; another begg'd Leave to acquaint his Lordship, that they had been saddled with Costs. At last up got a grave Serjeant, and told us his Client had been hung up a whole Term by a Writ of Error. At this I could bear it no longer, but came hither, and resolv'd to apply my self to your Honour to interpose with these Gentlemen, that they would leave off such low and unnatural Expressions: For surely tho' the Lawyers subscribe to hideous French and false Latin, yet they should let their Clients have a little decent and proper English for their Money. What Man that has a Value for a good Name would like to have it said in a publick Court, that Mr. such-a-one was stripp'd, saddled or hung up? This being what has escaped your Spectatorial Observation, be pleas'd to correct such an illiberal Cant among profess'd Speakers, and you'll infinitely oblige

Your humble Servant,

Philonicus.

Joe's Coffee-house, Novemb. 28.

Contents

No. 552

Wednesday, December 3, 1712

Steele

—Quæ prægravat artes

Infra se positas extinctus amabitur idem.

Hor.

naturallyPeter Motteux[1]ChinaIndian

SirSir

Renatus Harris, Organ-BuilderPaul'sBritish

John Rowley

In the Celestial Globe,

'Care shall be taken that the fixed Stars be placed according to their true Longitude and Latitude, from the many and correct Observations of Hevelius, Cassini, Mr. Flamsteed, Reg. Astronomer, Dr. Halley Savilian Professor of Geometry in Oxon; and from whatever else can be procured to render the Globe more exact, instructive, and useful.

'That all the Constellations be drawn in a curious, new, and particular manner; each Star in so just, distinct, and conspicuous a Proportion, that its true Magnitude may be readily known by bare Inspection, according to the different Light and Sizes of the Stars. That the Track or Way of such Comets as have been well observ'd, but not hitherto expressed in any Globe, be carefully delineated in this.

In the Terrestrial Globe. 'That by reason the Descriptions formerly made, both in the English and[2] Dutch great Globes, are erroneous, Asia, Africa, and America, be drawn in a Manner wholly new; by which means it is to be noted, that the Undertakers will be obliged to alter the Latitude of some Places in 10 Degrees, the Longitude of others in 20 Degrees: besides which great and necessary Alterations, there be many remarkable Countries, Cities, Towns, Rivers, and Lakes, omitted in other Globes, inserted here according to the best Discoveries made by our late Navigators. Lastly, That the Course of the Trade-Winds, the Monsoons, and other Winds periodically shifting between the Tropicks, be visibly express'd.

'Now in Regard that this Undertaking is of so universal Use, as the Advancement of the most necessary Parts of the Mathematicks, as well as tending to the Honour of the British Nation, and that the Charge of carrying it on is very expensive; it is deSir ed that all Gentlemen who are willing to promote so great a Work, will be pleased to subscribe on the following Conditions.

1. The Undertakers engage to furnish each Subscriber with a Celestial and Terrestrial Globe, each of 30 Inches Diameter, in all Respects curiously adorned, the Stars gilded, the Capital Cities plainly distinguished, the Frames, Meridians, Horizons, Hour Circles and Indexes so exactly finished up, and accurately divided, that a Pair of these Globes will really appear in the Judgment of any disinterested and intelligent Person, worth Fifteen Pounds more than will be demanded for them by the Undertakers.

1. Whosoever will be pleas'd to subscribe, and pay Twenty Five Pounds in the Manner following for a Pair of these Globes, either for their own Use, or to present them to any College in the Universities, or any publick Library or School, shall have his Coat of Arms, Name, Title, Seat, or Place of Residence, &c., inserted in some convenient Place of the Globe.

1. That every Subscriber do at first pay down the Sum of Ten Pounds, and Fifteen Pounds more upon the delivery of each Pair of Globes perfectly fitted up. And that the said Globes be deliver'd within Twelve Months after the Number of Thirty Subscribers be compleated; and that the Subscribers be served with Globes in the Order in which they subscribed.

1. That a Pair of these Globes shall not hereafter to be sold to any Person but the Subscribers under Thirty Pounds.

1. That if there be not thirty Subscribers within four Months after the first of December, 1712, the Money paid shall be return'd on Demand by Mr. John Warner Gold-smith near Temple-Bar, who shall receive and pay the same according to the above-mention'd Articles.

Footnote 1:Footnote 1No. 288

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Footnote 2:or

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Contents

No. 553

Thursday, December 4, 1712

Addison

Nec lusisse pudet, sed non incidere ludum.

Hor.

Mondayopening my MouthStationer's-Hall

Great BritainBerwick upon TweedSpectator's

O.

Oxford, Nov. 25.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'In spight of your Invincible Silence you have found out a Method of being the most agreeable Companion in the World: That kind of Conversation which you hold with the Town, has the good Fortune of being always pleasing to the Men of Taste and Leisure, and never offensive to those of Hurry and Business. You are never heard, but at what Horace calls dextro tempore, and have the Happiness to observe the politick Rule, which the same discerning Author gave his Friend, when he enjoin'd him to deliver his Book to Augustus.

Si validus, si lætus erit, si denique poscet.

You never begin to talk, but when People are deSir ous to hear you; and I defy any one to be out of humour till you leave off. But I am led unawares into Reflections, foreign to the original Design of this Epistle; which was to let you know, that some unfeigned Admirers of your inimitable Papers, who could, without any Flattery, greet you with the Salutation used to the Eastern Monarchs, viz. O Spec, live for ever, have lately been under the same Apprehensions, with Mr. Philo-Spec; that the haste you have made to dispatch your best Friends portends no long Duration to your own short Visage. We could not, indeed, find any just Grounds for Complaint in the Method you took to dissolve that venerable Body: No, the World was not worthy of your Divine. Will. Honeycomb could not, with any Reputation, live single any longer. It was high time for the Templar to turn himself to Coke: And Sir Roger's dying was the wisest thing he ever did in his Life. It was, however, matter of great Grief to us, to think that we were in danger of losing so Elegant and Valuable an Entertainment. And we could not, without Sorrow, reflect that we were likely to have nothing to interrupt our Sips in a Morning, and to suspend our Coffee in mid-air, between our Lips and Right Ear, but the ordinary Trash of News-Papers. We resolved, therefore, not to part with you so. But since, to make use of your own Allusion, the Cherries began now to crowd the Market, and their Season was almost over, we consulted our future Enjoyments, and endeavoured to make the exquisite Pleasure that delicious Fruit gave our Taste as lasting as we could, and by drying them protract their stay beyond its natural Date. We own that thus they have not a Flavour equal to that of their juicy Bloom; but yet, under this Disadvantage, they pique the Palate, and become a Salver better than any other Fruit at its first Appearance. To speak plain, there are a Number of us who have begun your Works afresh, and meet two Nights in the Week in order to give you a Rehearing. We never come together without drinking your Health, and as seldom part without general Expressions of Thanks to you for our Night's Improvement. This we conceive to be a more useful Institution than any other Club whatever, not excepting even that of ugly Faces. We have one manifest Advantage over that renowned Society, with respect to Mr. Spectator's Company. For though they may brag, that you sometimes make your personal Appearance amongst them, it is impossible they should ever get a Word from you. Whereas you are with us the Reverse of what Phædria would have his Mistress be in his Rival's Company, Present in your Absence. We make you talk as much and as long as we please; and let me tell you, you seldom hold your Tongue for the whole Evening. I promise my self you will look with an Eye of Favour upon a Meeting which owes its Original to a mutual Emulation among its Members, who shall shew the most profound Respect for your Paper; not but we have a very great Value for your Person: and I dare say you can no where find four more sincere Admirers, and humble Servants, than T. F., G. S., J. T., E. T.

Contents

No. 554

Friday, December 5, 1712

John Hughes

—tentanda Via est, quâ me quoque possim

Tollere humo, Victorque virûm volitare per Ora.

Virg.

TullyAn Ode to the Creator of the World, occasioned by the Fragments of

Frenchno Man ever pushed his Capacity as far as it was able to extend

Sir Francis BaconVerulam.

Boyle

onThird[1]though a wise Man seek to find out the Works of God from the Beginning to the End, yet shall he not be able to do it

Leonardo da VinciItalianTuscany. It is certainMichael AngeloRaphaelAddaMilanFranceFrancis the FirstLeonardo

Indians

RomansCicerosoLucceius[2]ofHonour[3]even to exceed the Bounds of TruthPlinyI must confesssaysthat nothing employs my Thoughts more than the DeSir e I have of perpetuating my Name; which in my Opinion is a Design worthy of a Man, at least of such a one, who being conscious of no Guilt, is not afraid to be remember'd by Posterity[4]

every one is capable of excelling in something

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:Epist. ad Diversos

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Footnote 3:  Glory

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Footnote 4:

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Contents

No. 555

Saturday, December 6, 1712

Steele

—Respue quod non es—

Pers.

SpectatorSpectatorThou dost but beat the Case of

SpectatorCLIOTatlers.Tender Husbandthe MonumentTender HusbandEngland

Distressed Mother

Henry MartynPopeHughsCareyNew-CollegeOxfordTickellQueen'sParnelleEusdenTrinityCambridge.Sir Andrew Freeport

Spectators£20.

I am,

My Good-natured Reader,

Your most Obedient,

Most Obliged Humble Servant,

Vos valete et plaudite[1]

The following Letter[2]

Dec. 4, 1712.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The Academy of Painting, lately established in London, having done you and themselves the Honour to chuse you one of their Directors; that Noble and Lovely Art, which before was entitled to your Regards, as a Spectator, has an additional Claim to you, and you seem to be under a double Obligation to take some Care of her Interests.

'The Honour of our Country is also concerned in the matter I am going to lay before you: we (and perhaps other Nations as well as we) have a National false Humility as well as a National Vain-Glory; and tho' we boast our selves to excel all the World in things wherein we are out-done abroad, in other things we attribute to others a Superiority which we our selves possess. This is what is done, particularly, in the Art of Portrait or Face-Painting.

'Painting is an Art of a vast Extent, too great by much for any mortal Man to be in full possession of, in all its Parts; 'tis enough if any one succeed in painting Faces, History, Battels, Landscapes, Sea-Pieces, Fruit, Flowers, or Drolls, &c. Nay, no Man ever was excellent in all the Branches (tho' many[3] in Number) of these several Arts, for a distinct Art I take upon me to call every one of those several Kinds of Painting.

'And as one Man may be a good Landscape-Painter, but unable to paint a Face or a History tollerably well, and so of the rest; one Nation may excel in some kinds of Painting, and other kinds may thrive better in other Climates.

'Italy may have the Preference of all other Nations for History-Painting; Holland for Drolls, and a neat finished Manner of Working; France, for Gay, Janty, Fluttering Pictures; and England for Portraits: but to give the Honour of every one of these kinds of Painting to any one of those Nations on account of their Excellence in any of these parts of it, is like adjudging the Prize of Heroick, Dramatick, Lyrick or Burlesque Poetry, to him who has done well in any one of them.

'Where there are the greatest Genius's, and most Helps and Encouragements, 'tis reasonable to suppose an Art will arrive to the greatest Perfection: By this Rule let us consider our own Country with respect to Face-Painting. No Nation in the World delights so much in having their own, or Friends, or Relations Pictures; whether from their National Good-Nature, or having a love to Painting, and not being encouraged in the great Article of Religious Pictures, which the Purity of our Worship refuses the free use of, or from whatever other Cause. Our Helps are not inferior to those of any other People, but rather they are greater; for what the Antique Statues and Bas-reliefs which Italy enjoys are to the History-Painters, the Beautiful and noble Faces with which England is confessed to abound, are to Face-Painters; and besides we have the greatest number of the Works of the best Masters in that kind of any People, not without a competent number of those of the most excellent in every other part of Painting. And for Encouragement, the Wealth and Generosity of the English Nation affords that in such a degree, as Artists have no reason to complain.

'And accordingly in Fact, Face-Painting is no where so well performed as in England: I know not whether it has lain in your way to observe it, but I have, and pretend to be a tolerable Judge. I have seen what is done abroad, and can assure you, that the Honour of that Branch of Painting is justly due to us. I appeal to the judicious Observers for the Truth of what I assert. If Foreigners have oftentimes or even for the most part excelled our Natives, it ought to be imputed to the Advantages they have met with here, join'd to their own Ingenuity and Industry; nor has any one Nation distinguished themselves so as to raise an Argument in favour of their Country: but it is to be observed, that neither French nor Italians, nor any one of either Nation, notwithstanding all our Prejudices in their favour have, or ever had, for any considerable time, any Character among us as Face-Painters.

'This Honour is due to our own Country; and has been so for near an Age: So that instead of going to Italy, or elsewhere, one that designs for Portrait-Painting ought to study in England. Hither such should come from Holland, France, Italy, Germany, &c. as he that intends to practice any other kind of Painting, should go to those Parts where 'tis in greatest Perfection. 'Tis said the Blessed Virgin descended from Heaven, to sit to St Luke; I dare venture to affirm, that if she should deSir e another Madonna to be painted by the Life, she would come to England; and am of opinion that your present President, Sir Godfrey Kneller, from his Improvement since he arrived in this Kingdom, would perform that Office better than any Foreigner living. I am, with all possible Respect,

Sir

Your most Humble, and

Most Obedient Servant, &c.

The ingenious Letters sign'd thewith several others, were received, but came too late

Postscript.

hadSpectatorInce of Grey's-Inn[4]

R. Steele

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:  Give me leave before I conclude to insert a Letter which

return

Footnote 3:  few

return

Footnote 4:

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Contents

Dedication of the Eighth Volume of The Spectator

ToWilliam Honeycomb Esq.[1].

Spectator

Sir

Waller

Quorum

Honeycomb

Sir ,

Your most Faithful,

Humble Servant,

The SPECTATOR.

Theto the

In the Six hundred and thirty secondthe Reader will find an Account of the Rise of this Eighth and Last Volume.

I have not been able to prevail upon the several Gentlemen who were concerned in this Work to let me acquaint the World with their Names.

Perhaps it will be unnecessary to inform the Reader, that no other Papers, which have appeared under the Title of

Footnote 1:Spectator

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Contents

No. 556

Friday, June 18, 1714

Addison[1]

Monday, WednesdayFriday.

Qualis ubi in lucem coluber, mala gramina, pastus,

Frigida sub terra tumidum quem bruma tegebat;

Nunc positis novus exuviis, nitidusque juventa,

Lubrica convolvit sublato pectore terga

Arduus ad solem, et linguis micat ore trisulcis.

Virg.

Croesus

MallFrenchmen.

Button'sChilde'sEnglishmanExaminerFrench

—Nil fuit unquam

Tam dispar sibi—

JewJonathan's

Englishman

Sir

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 557

From Friday, June 18, to Monday, June 21, 1714

Addison

Quippe domum timet ambiguam, Tyriosque bilingues.

Virg.

There is nothing, says Plato, so delightful, as the hearing or the speaking of Truth

CatoPlutarch.CatoCato

ThisBritish[1]

'The old English Plainness and Sincerity, that generous Integrity of Nature, and Honesty of Disposition, which always argues true Greatness of Mind, and is usually accompanied with undaunted Courage and Resolution, is in a great Measure lost among us.

'The Dialect of Conversation is now-a-days so swelled with Vanity and Compliment, and so surfeited (as I may say) of Expressions of Kindness and Respect, that if a Man that lived an Age or two ago should return into the World again, he would really want a Dictionary to help him to understand his own Language, and to know the true intrinsick Value of the Phrase in Fashion; and would hardly, at first, believe at what a low Rate the highest Strains and Expressions of Kindness imaginable do commonly pass in current Payment; and when he should come to understand it, it would be a great while before he could bring himself with a good Countenance and a good Conscience, to converse with Men upon equal Terms and in their own Way.'

saidCharlesBantam[2]England.

Master,

'The People, where I now am, have Tongues further from their Hearts than from London to Bantam, and thou knowest the Inhabitants of one of these Places does not know what is done in the other. They call thee and thy Subjects Barbarians, because we speak what we mean; and account themselves a civilized People, because they speak one thing and mean another: Truth they call Barbarity, and Falsehood Politeness. Upon my first landing, one who was sent from the King of this Place to meet me told me, That he was extremely sorry for the Storm I had met with just before my Arrival. I was troubled to hear him grieve and afflict himself upon my Account; but in less than a Quarter of an Hour he smiled, and was as merry as if nothing had happened. Another who came with him told me by my Interpreter, He should be glad to do me any Service that lay in his Power. Upon which I deSir 'd him to carry one of my Portmantaus for me, but instead of serving me according to his Promise, he laughed, and bid another do it. I lodged, the first Week, at the House of one, who deSir ed me to think my self at home, and to consider his House as my own. Accordingly, I the next Morning began to knock down one of the Walls of it, in order to let in the fresh Air, and had packed up some of the Houshold-Goods, of which I intended to have made thee a Present: But the false Varlet no sooner saw me falling to Work, but he sent Word to deSir e me to give over, for that he would have no such Doings in his House. I had not been long in this Nation, before I was told by one, for whom I had asked a certain Favour from the Chief of the King's Servants, whom they here call the Lord-Treasurer, That I had eternally obliged him. I was so surpriz'd at his Gratitude, that I could not forbear saying, What Service is there which one Man can do for another, that can oblige him to all Eternity! However I only asked him, for my Reward, that he would lend me his eldest Daughter during my Stay in this Country; but I quickly found that he was as treacherous as the rest of his Countrymen.

'At my first going to Court, one of the great Men almost put me out of Countenance, by asking ten thousand Pardons of me for only treading by Accident upon my Toe. They call this kind of Lye a Compliment; for when they are Civil to a great Man, they tell him Untruths, for which thou wouldst order any of thy Officers of State to receive a hundred Blows upon his Foot. I do not know how I shall negociate any thing with this People, since there is so little Credit to be given to 'em. When I go to see the King's Scribe, I am generally told that he is not at home, tho' perhaps I saw him go into his House almost the very Moment before. Thou wouldest fancy that the whole Nation are Physicians, for the first Question they always ask me, is, how I do: I have this Question put to me above a hundred times a Day. Nay, they are not only thus inquisitive after my Health, but wish it in a more solemn Manner, with a full Glass in their Hands, every time I sit with them at Table, tho' at the same time they would perswade me to drink their Liquors in such Quantities as I have found by Experience will make me sick. They often pretend to pray for thy Health also in the same Manner; but I have more Reason to expect it from the Goodness of thy Constitution, than the Sincerity of their Wishes. May thy Slave escape in Safety from this doubled-tongued Race of Men, and live to lay himself once more at thy Feet in thy Royal City of Bantam.'

Footnote 1:Works

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 558

Wednesday, June 23, 1714

Addison

Qui fit, Mæcenas, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem

Seu ratio dederit, seu fors objecerit, illa

Contentus vivat: laudet diversa sequentes?

O Fortunati mercatores, gravis annis

Miles ait, multo jam fractus membra labore!

Contra mercator, navim jactantibus austris,

Militia est potior. Quid enim? concurritur? horæ

Momenta cita mors venit, aut victoria læta.

Agricolam laudat juris legumque peritus,

Sub galli cantum consultor ubi ostia pulsat.

Ille, datis vadibus, qui rure extractus in urbem est,

Solos felices viventes clamat in urbe.

Cætera de genere hoc (adeo sunt multa) loquacem

Delassare valent Fabium. Ne te morer, audi

Quo rem deducam. Si quis Deus, en ego dicat,

Jam faciam quod vultis: eris tu, qui modo miles,

Mercator: tu consultus modo, rusticus. Hinc vos,

Vos hinc mutatis discedite partibus. Eja,

Quid statis? Nolint. Atque licet esse beatis.

Hor.

SocratesHorace

Jupiter

Fancy.

PhantomeSpectator

Contents

No. 559

Friday, June 25, 1714

Addison

Quid causæ est, meritò quin illis Jupiter ambas

Iratus buccas inflet: neque se fore posthac

Tam facilem dicat, votis ut præbeat aurem?

Hor.

Jupiter

Fancy

JupiterJupiter:Patience.

Contents

No. 560

Monday, June 28, 1714

Addison

—Verba intermissa retentat.

Ov. Met.

dumbTiresiasGreeceLondonWestminster.

From my Cell, June 24, 1714.

Sir ,

'Being informed that you have lately got the Use of your Tongue, I have some Thoughts of following your Example, that I may be a Fortune-teller properly speaking. I am grown weary of my Taciturnity, and having served my Country many Years under the Title of the dumb Doctor, I shall now prophesie by Word of Mouth, and (as Mr. Lee says of the Magpie, who you know was a great Fortune-teller among the Ancients) chatter Futurity. I have hitherto chosen to receive Questions and return Answers in Writing, that I might avoid the Tediousness and Trouble of Debates, my Querists being generally of a Humour to think, that they have never Predictions enough for their Mony. In short, Sir , my Case has been something like that of those discreet Animals the Monkeys, who, as the Indians tell us, can speak if they would, but purposely avoid it that they may not be made to work. I have hitherto gained a Livelyhood by holding my Tongue, but shall now open my Mouth in order to fill it. If I appear a little Word-bound in my first Solutions and Responses, I hope it will not be imputed to any Want of Foresight, but to the long Disuse of Speech. I doubt not by this Invention to have all my former Customers over again, for if I have promised any of them Lovers or Husbands, Riches or good Luck, it is my Design to confirm to them vivâ voce, what I have already given them under my Hand. If you will honour me with a Visit, I will compliment you with the first opening of my Mouth, and if you please you may make an entertaining Dialogue out of the Conversation of two dumb Men. Excuse this Trouble, worthy Sir , from one who has been a long time

Your Silent Admirer,

Cornelius Agrippa.'

Billet-doux

June 23, 1714.

Dear Mr. Prate-apace,

'I am a Member of a Female Society who call ourselves the Chit-Chat Club, and am ordered by the whole Sisterhood, to congratulate you upon the Use of your Tongue. We have all of us a mighty Mind to hear you talk, and if you will take your Place among us for an Evening, we have unanimously agreed to allow you one Minute in ten, without Interruption.

I am, Sir ,

Your Humble Servant,

S. T.

P. S. 'You may find us at my Lady Betty Clack's, who will leave Orders with her Porter, that if an elderly Gentleman, with a short Face, enquires for her, he shall be admitted and no Questions asked.

Oxford, June 25, 1714.

Sir ,

'We are here wonderfully pleased with the Opening of your Mouth, and very frequently open ours in Approbation of your Design; especially since we find you are resolved to preserve your Taciturnity as to all Party Matters. We do not question but you are as great an Orator as Sir Hudibras, of whom the Poet sweetly sings,

—He could not ope

His Mouth, but out there flew a Trope.

'If you will send us down the Half-dozen well-turned Periods, that produced such dismal Effects in your Muscles, we will deposite them near an old Manuscript of Tully's Orations, among the Archives of the University; for we all agree with you, that there is not a more remarkable Accident recorded in History, since that which happened to the Son of Croesus, nay, I believe you might have gone higher, and have added Balaam's Ass. We are impatient to see more of your Productions, and expect what Words will next fall from you, with as much attention as those, who were set to watch the speaking Head which Friar Bacon formerly erected in this Place.

We are,

Worthy Sir ,

Your most humble Servants,

B. R. T. D., &c.

Honest Spec.

Middle-Temple, June 24.

'I am very glad to hear that thou beginnest to prate; and find, by thy Yesterday's Vision, thou art so used to it, that thou canst not forbear talking in thy Sleep. Let me only advise thee to speak like other Men, for I am afraid thou wilt be very Queer, if thou dost not intend to use the Phrases in Fashion, as thou callest them in thy Second Paper. Hast thou a Mind to pass for a Bantamite, or to make us all Quakers? I do assure thee, Dear Spec, I am not Polished out of my Veracity, when I subscribe my self

Thy Constant Admirer,

and humble Servant,

Frank Townly.

Contents

No. 561

Wednesday, June 30, 1714

Addison

—Paulatim abolere Sichæum

Incipit, et vivo tentat prævertere amore

Jampridem resides animos desuetaque corda.

Virg.

Sir ,

'I am a tall, broad-shoulder'd, impudent, black Fellow, and, as I thought, every way qualified for a rich Widow: But, after having tried my Fortune for above three Years together, I have not been able to get one single Relict in the Mind. My first Attacks were generally successful, but always broke off as soon as they came to the Word Settlement. Though I have not improved my Fortune this way, I have my Experience, and have learnt several Secrets which may be of use to those unhappy Gentlemen, who are commonly distinguished by the Name of Widow-hunters, and who do not know that this Tribe of Women are, generally speaking, as much upon the Catch as themselves. I shall here communicate to you the Mysteries of a certain Female Cabal of this Order, who call themselves the Widow-Club. This Club consists of nine experienced Dames, who take their Places once a Week round a large oval Table.

1. Mrs. President is a Person who has disposed of six Husbands, and is now determined to take a seventh; being of Opinion that there is as much Vertue in the Touch of a seventh Husband as of a seventh Son. Her Comrades are as follow.

1. Mrs. Snapp, who has four Jointures, by four different Bed-fellows, of four different Shires. She is at present upon the Point of Marriage with a Middlesex Man, and is said to have an Ambition of extending her Possessions through all the Counties in England on this Side the Trent.

1. Mrs. Medlar, who after two Husbands and a Gallant, is now wedded to an old Gentleman of Sixty. Upon her making her Report to the Club after a Weeks Cohabitation, she is still allowed to sit as a Widow, and accordingly takes her Place at the Board.

1. The Widow Quick, married within a Fortnight after the Death of her last Husband. Her Weeds have served her thrice, and are still as good as new.

1. Lady Catherine Swallow. She was a Widow at Eighteen, and has since buried a second Husband and two Coachmen.

1. The Lady Waddle. She was married in the 15th Year of her Age to Sir Simon Waddle, Knight, aged Threescore and Twelve, by whom she had Twinns nine Months after his Decease. In the 55th Year of her Age she was married to James Spindle, Esq.; a Youth of One and Twenty, who did not out-live the Honey-Moon.

1. Deborah Conquest. The Case of this Lady is something particular. She is the Relict of Sir Sampson Conquest, some time Justice of the Quorum. Sir Sampson was seven Foot high, and two Foot in Breadth from the Tip of one Shoulder to the other. He had married three Wives, who all of them died in Child-bed. This terrified the whole Sex, who none of them durst venture on Sir Sampson. At length Mrs. Deborah undertook him, and gave so good an Account of him, that in three Years time she very fairly laid him out, and measured his Length upon the Ground. This Exploit has gained her so great a Reputation in the Club, that they have added Sir Sampson's three Victories to hers, and give her the Merit of a fourth Widowhood; and she takes her Place accordingly.

1. The Widow Wildfire, Relict of Mr. John Wildfire, Fox-hunter, who broke his Neck over a six Bar Gate. She took his Death so much to Heart, that it was thought it would have put an End to her Life, had she not diverted her Sorrows by receiving the Addresses of a Gentleman in the Neighbourhood, who made Love to her in the second Month of her Widowhood. This Gentleman was discarded in a Fortnight for the sake of a young Templar, who had the Possession of her for six Weeks after, till he was beaten out by a broken Officer, who likewise gave up his Place to a Gentleman at Court. The Courtier was as short-liv'd a Favourite as his Predecessors, but had the Pleasure to see himself succeeded by a long Series of Lovers, who followed the Widow Wildfire to the 37th Year of her Age, at which time there ensued a Cessation of ten Years, when John Felt, Haberdasher, took it in his Head to be in love with her, and it is thought will very suddenly carry her off.

1. The last is pretty Mrs. Runnet, who broke her first Husband's Heart before she was Sixteen, at which Time she was entred of the Club, but soon after left it, upon Account of a Second, whom she made so quick a Dispatch of, that she returned to her Seat in less than a Twelvemonth. This young Matron is looked upon as the most rising Member of the Society, and will probably be in the President's Chair before she dies.

'These Ladies, upon their first Institution, resolved to give the Pictures of their deceased Husbands to the Club-Room, but two of them bringing in their Dead at full Length, they cover'd all the Walls; Upon which they came to a second Resolution, that every Matron should give her own Picture, and set it round with her Husbands in Miniature.

As they have most of them the Misfortune to be troubled with the Cholick, they have a noble Celler of Cordials and strong Waters. When they grow Maudlin, they are very apt to commemorate their former Partners with a Tear. But ask them which of their Husbands they Condole, they are not able to tell you, and discover plainly that they do not Weep so much for the Loss of a Husband, as for the want of One.

'The principal Rule, by which the whole Society are to govern themselves is this, To cry up the Pleasures of a single Life upon all Occasions, in order to deter the rest of their Sex from Marriage, and engross the whole Male World to themselves.

'They are obliged, when any one makes Love to a Member of the Society, to communicate his Name, at which Time the whole Assembly sit upon his Reputation, Person, Fortune, and good Humour; and if they find him qualified for a Sister of the Club, they lay their Heads together how to make him sure. By this Means they are acquainted with all the Widow-hunters about Town, who often afford them great Diversion. There is an honest Irish Gentleman, it seems, who knows nothing of this Society, but at different times has made Love to the whole Club.

Their Conversation often turns upon their former Husbands, and it is very diverting to hear them relate their several Arts and Stratagems, with which they amused the Jealous, pacified the Chokrick, or wheedled the Good-natured Man, till at last, to use the Club Phrase, They sent him out of the House with his Heels foremost.

The Politicks, which are most cultivated by this Society of She-Machiavils, relate chiefly to these two Points: How to treat a Lover, and How to manage a Husband. As for the first Set of Artifices, they are too numerous to come within the Compass of your Paper, and shall therefore be reserved for a Second Letter.

The Management of a Husband is built upon the following Doctrines, which are Universally assented to by the whole Club. Not to give him his Head at first. Not to allow him too great Freedoms and Familiarities. Not to be treated by him like a raw Girl, but as a Woman that knows the World. Not to Lessen anything of her former Figure. To celebrate the Generosity, or any other Vertue, of a deceased Husband, which she would recommend to his Successor. To turn away all his old Friends and Servants, that she may have the Dear Man to her self. To make him disinherit the undutiful Children of any former Wife. Never to be thoroughly convinced of his Affection, till he has made over to her all his Goods and Chattels.

'After so long a Letter, I am, without more Ceremony,

Your Humble Servant, &c.

Contents

No. 562

Friday, July 2, 1714

Addison

—Præsens, absens ut sies.

Ter.

It is a hard and nice Subject for a Man to speak of himself,[1]it grates his own Heart to say anything of Disparagement, and the Reader's Ears to hear any thing of Praise from him.

Vanity.

Tully

'Does he think, says Brutus, that his Consulship deserves more Applause than my putting Cæsar to Death, because I am not perpetually talking of the Ides of March, as he is of the Nones of December?'

March, BrutusCaesarCiceroCatalineDecember

Port-RoyalFranceEgotism

Wolsey, Ego et Rex meus, I and my KingMontagneGasconVirgilJulius CæsarMontagneScaliger

La grande fadaise de Montague, qui a escrit, qu'il aimoit mieux le vin blanc—que diable a-t-on a faire de scavoir ce qu'il aime? For my Part, says Montague, I am a great Lover of your White Wines—What the Devil signifies it to the Publick, says Scaliger, whether he is a Lover of White Wines or of Red Wines?

—Id populus curat scilicet.

JackTerence, Tuumne, obsecro te, hoc dictum erat? vetus credidiOxfordCambridge

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 563

Monday, July 5, 1714

—Magni nominis Umbra—

Lucan.

Sir ,

'I am descended from the Ancient Family of the Blanks, a Name well known among all Men of Business. It is always read in those little white Spaces of Writing which want to be filled up, and which for that Reason are called blank Spaces, as of right appertaining to our Family: For I consider my self as the Lord of a Mannor, who lays his Claim to all Wastes or Spots of Ground that are unappropriated. I am a near Kinsman to John a Styles and John a Nokes; and they, I am told, came in with the Conquerour. I am mentioned oftner in both Houses of Parliament than any other Person in Great Britain. My Name is written, or more properly speaking, not written, thus,                . I am one that can turn my Hand to every thing, and appear under any Shape whatsoever. I can make my self Man, Woman, or Child. I am sometimes metamorphosed into a Year of our Lord, a Day of the Month, or an Hour of the Day. I very often represent a Sum of Mony, and am generally the first Subsidy that is granted to the Crown. I have now and then supplied the Place of several Thousands of Land Soldiers, and have as frequently been employed in the Sea Service.

'Now, Sir , my Complaint is this, that I am only made use of to serve a Turn, being always discarded as soon as a proper Person is found out to fill up my Place.

'If you have ever been in the Play-house before the Curtain rises, you see most of the Front Boxes filled with Men of my Family, who forthwith turn out and resign their Stations upon the Appearance of those for whom they are retained.

'But the most illustrious Branch of the Blanks are those who are planted in high Posts, till such time as Persons of greater Consequence can be found out to supply them. One of these Blanks is equally qualified for all Offices; he can serve in time of Need for a Soldier, a Politician, a Lawyer, or what you please. I have known in my Time many a Brother Blank that has been born under a lucky Planet, heap up great Riches, and swell into a Man of Figure and Importance, before the Grandees of his Party could agree among themselves which of them should step into his Place. Nay, I have known a Blank continue so long in one of these vacant Posts, (for such it is to be reckoned all the Time a Blank is in it) that he has grown too formidable and dangerous to be removed.

'But to return to my self, since I am so very commodious a Person, and so very necessary in all well-regulated Governments, I deSir e you will take my Case into Consideration, that I may be no longer made a Tool of, and only employed to stop a Gap. Such Usage, without a Pun, makes me look very blank. For all which Reasons I humbly recommend my self to your Protection, and am

Your most obedient Servant,

'Blank.

'P. S. I herewith send you a Paper, drawn up by a Country Attorney employed by two Gentlemen, whose Names he was not acquainted with, and who did not think fit to let him into the Secret which they were transacting. I heard him call it a Blank Instrument, and read it after the following Manner. You may see by this single Instance of what Use I am to the busy World.

'I T. Blank, Esq., of Blank Town, in the County of Blank, do own my self indebted in the Sum of Blank, to Goodman Blank, for the Service he did me in procuring for me the Goods following, Blank: And I do hereby promise the said Blank to pay unto him the said Sum of Blank, on the Blank Day of the Month of Blank next ensuing, under the Penalty and Forfeiture of Blank.

Good Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am married to a very honest Gentleman that is exceedingly good-natured, and at the same time very cholerick. There is no standing before him when he is in a Passion; but as soon as it is over he is the best-humour'd Creature in the World. When he is angry, he breaks all my China-Ware that chances to lie in his Way, and the next Morning sends me in twice as much as he broke the Day before. I may positively say, that he has broke me a Child's Fortune since we were first marry'd together.

'As soon as he begins to fret, down goes every thing that is within Reach of his Cane. I once prevailed upon him never to carry a Stick in his Hand, but this saved me nothing; for upon seeing me do something that did not please him, he kicked down a great Jarr, that cost him above Ten Pound but the Week before. I then laid the Fragments together in a Heap, and gave him his Cane again, deSir ing him that if he chanced to be in Anger, he would spend his Passion upon the China that was broke to his Hand: But the very next Day upon my giving a wrong Message to one of the Servants, he flew into such a Rage, that he swept down a Dozen Tea-Dishes, which, to my Misfortune, stood very convenient for a Side-Blow.

I then removed all my China into a Room which he never frequents; but I got nothing by this neither, for my Looking-Glasses immediately went to Rack.

'In short, Sir , whenever he is in a Passion he is angry at every thing that is brittle; and if on such Occasions he had nothing to vent his Rage upon, I do not know whether my Bones would be in Safety. Let me beg of you, Sir , to let me know whether there be any Cure for this unaccountable Distemper; or if not, that you will be pleased to publish this Letter: For my Husband having a great Veneration for your Writings, will by that means know you do not approve of his Conduct. I am,

Your most humble Servant, &c.

Contents

No. 564

Wednesday, July 7, 1714

—Adsit

Regula, peccatis quæ pœnas irroget æquas:

Ne Scutica dignum horribili sectere flagello.

Hor.

Xenophon'sCyrusCyrusPantheaAbradatasAraspasPersianCyrusPantheaCyrus

Oh I am convinced that I hare two Souls. Love has taught me this Piece of Philosophy. If I had but one Soul, it could not at the same time pant after Virtue and Vice, wish and abhor the same thing. It is certain therefore we have two Souls: When the good Soul rules, I undertake noble and virtuous Actions; but when the bad Soul predominates, I am forced to do Evil. All I can say at present is, that I find my good Soul, encouraged by your Presence, has got the Better of my bad.

EnglandIt is better suffering a Mischief than an Inconvenience

SpartanPlutarch

SpartaThebansIsadasPhœbidasSirPlutarch

SpartansEphori

Contents

No. 565

Friday, July 9, 1714

Addison

—Deum namque ire per omnes

Terrasque, tractusque maris, cœlumque profundum.

Virg.

ÆtherGalaxyMilton

David

When I consider the Heavens the Work of thy Fingers, the Moon and the Stars which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou regardest him!

BlankHuygenius

Sir Isaac NewtonSensoriumSensoriolaSensoriums

O that I knew where I might find him! says Job. Behold I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he does work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.

Contents

No. 566

Monday, July 12, 1714

Militia Species Amor est.

Ovid.

Sir

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Tho' it may look somewhat perverse amidst the Arts of Peace, to talk too much of War, it is but Gratitude to pay the last Office to its Manes, since even Peace it self is, in some Measure, obliged to it for its Being.

'You have, in your former Papers, always recommended the Accomplished to the Favour of the Fair; and, I hope, you will allow me to represent some Part of a Military Life not altogether unnecessary to the forming a Gentleman. I need not tell you that in France, whose Fashions we have been formerly so fond of, almost every one derives his Pretences to Merit from the Sword; and that a Man has scarce the Face to make his Court to a Lady, without some Credentials from the Service to recommend him. As the Profession is very ancient, we have Reason to think some of the greatest Men, among the old Romans, derived many of their Virtues from it, their Commanders being frequently, in other Respects, some of the most shining Characters of the Age.

'The Army not only gives a Man Opportunities of exercising those two great Virtues Patience and Courage, but often produces them in Minds where they had scarce any Footing before. I must add, that it is one of the best Schools in the World to receive a general Notion of Mankind in, and a certain Freedom of Behaviour, which is not so easily acquired in any other Place. At the same Time I must own, that some Military Airs are pretty extraordinary, and that a Man who goes into the Army a Coxcomb will come out of it a Sort of Publick Nuisance: But a Man of Sense, or one who before had not been sufficiently used to a mixed Conversation, generally takes the true Turn. The Court has in all Ages been allowed to be the Standard of Good-breeding; and I believe there is not a juster Observation in Monsieur Rochefoucault, than that

A Man who has been bred up wholly to Business, can never get the Air of a Courtier at Court, but will immediately catch it in the Camp.

The Reason of this most certainly is, that the very Essence of Good-Breeding and Politeness consists in several Niceties, which are so minute that they escape his Observation, and he falls short of the Original he would copy after; but when he sees the same Things charged and aggravated to a Fault, he no sooner endeavours to come up to the Pattern which is set before him, than, though he stops somewhat short of that, he naturally rests where in reality he ought. I was two or three Days ago, mightily pleased with the Observation of an humourous Gentleman upon one of his Friends, who was in other Respects every way an accomplished Person, That he wanted nothing but a Dash of the Coxcomb in him; by which he understood a little of that Alertness and Unconcern in the common Actions of Life, which is usually so visible among Gentlemen of the Army, and which a Campaign or two would infallibly have given him.

'You will easily guess, Sir , by this my Panegyrick upon a Military Education, that I am my self a Soldier, and indeed I am so; I remember, within three Years after I had been in the Army, I was ordered into the Country a Recruiting. I had very particular Success in this Part of the Service, and was over and above assured, at my going away, that I might have taken a young Lady, who was the most considerable Fortune in the County, along with me. I preferred the Pursuit of Fame at that time to all other Considerations, and tho' I was not absolutely bent on a Wooden Leg, resolved at least to get a Scar or two for the good of Europe. I have at present as much as I deSir e of this Sort of Honour, and if you could recommend me effectually, should be well enough contented to pass the Remainder of my Days in the Arms of some dear kind Creature, and upon a pretty Estate in the Country: This, as I take it, would be following the Example of Lucius Cincinnatus, the old Roman Dictator, who at the End of a War left the Camp to follow the Plow. I am, Sir , with all imaginable Respect,

Your most Obedient,

Humble Servant,

Will. Warly.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I am an Half-pay Officer, and am at present with a Friend in the Country. Here is a rich Widow in the Neighbourhood, who has made Fools of all the Fox-hunters within fifty Miles of her. She declares she intends to marry, but has not yet been asked by the Man she could like. She usually admits her humble Admirers to an Audience or two, but, after she has once given them Denial will never see them more. I am assured by a Female Relation, that I shall have fair Play at her; but as my whole Success Depends on my first Approaches, I deSir e your Advice, whether I had best Storm or proceed by way of Sap.

I am, Sir , Yours, &c.

'P. S. I had forgot to tell you, that I have already carried one of her Outworks, that is, secured her Maid.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I have assisted in several Sieges in the Low-Countries, and being still willing to employ my Talents, as a Soldier and Engineer, lay down this Morning at Seven a Clock before the Door of an obstinate Female, who had for some time refused me Admittance. I made a Lodgment in an outer Parlour about Twelve: The Enemy retired to her Bed-Chamber, yet I still pursued, and about two a-Clock this Afternoon she thought fit to Capitulate. Her Demands are indeed somewhat high, in Relation to the Settlement of her Fortune. But being in Possession of the House, I intend to insist upon Carte-Blanche, and am in hopes, by keeping off all other Pretenders for the Space of twenty four Hours, to starve her into a Compliance. I beg your speedy Advice, and am,

Sir , Yours, Peter Push.

From my Camp in Red-Lion Square, Saturday 4, in the Afternoon.

Contents

No. 567

Wednesday, July 14, 1714

Addison

—Inceptus clamor frustratur hiantes.

Virg.

heMhTr[1]

theFaction, Frenchman, Papist, Plunderer,Purchaser[2]Scribler, Lier, Rogue, Rascal, Knave,Villain

T—m Br—wn

fourEngl—shm—ncertain Princecertain PrelateBritishQ—p—t—sEnglish

Great Britain

SyncopistsEnglish

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:  Reader.

return

Contents

No. 568

Friday, July 16, 1714

Addison

—Dum recitas, incipit esse Tuus—

Mart.

Royal Exchange

Theis very witty to-Day;

Ay,more witty than wise I am afraid.

This fellow,can't for his Life keep out of Politicks. Do you see how he abuses four great Men here?

Asterisks,do you call them? they are all of them Stars. He might as well have put Garters to 'em. Then pray do but mind the two or three next Lines? Ch—rch and P—dd-ing in the same Sentence! Our Clergy are very much beholden to him.

SirSpectator

you find he is very cautious of giving Offence, and has therefore put two Dashes into his Pudding.

A Fig for his Dash,In his next Sentence he gives a plain Innuendo, that our Posterity will be in a sweet P—ckle. What does the Fool mean by his Pickle? Why does not he write it at length, if he means honestly?

I have read over the whole Sentence,but I look upon the Parenthesis in the Belly of it to be the most dangerous Part, and as full of Insinuations as it can hold.

But who,is my Lady Q—p—t—s?

Ay, Answer that if you can, Sir ,I do assure you,were I my LadyI would sue him forWhat is the World come to? Must every Body be allowed to—?

SpectatorQ—p—t—s'but howeverhe has made a little Amends for it in his next Sentence, where he leaves a blank Space without so much as a Consonant to direct us? I meanafter those Wordsafter which ensues a Chasm, that in my Opinion looks modest enough.

Sir you may easily know his Meaning by his Gaping; I suppose he designs his Chasm, as you call it, for an Hole to creep out at, but I believe it will hardly serve his Turn. Who can endure to see the great Officers of State, theandtreated after so scurrilous a Manner?

I can't for my Lifeimagine who they are the Spectator means?

No!Your humble Servant, Sir !

Overwise

the whole Duty of Man

Contents

No. 569

Monday, July 19, 1714

Addison

Reges dicuntur multis urgere culullis

Et torquere mero, quem perspexisse laborent,

An sit amicitia dignus—

Hor.

AnacharsisCorinthWill. FunnellWest SaxonWill. Funnell

Bonosus

Put less Water in your Wine, says the Philosopher, and you'll quickly make her soQui ebrium ludificat ladit absentem; He who jests upon a Man that is Drunk, injures the Absent.

Contents

No. 570

Wednesday, July 21, 1714

—Nugaque canora—

Hor.

Cætera de genere hoc adeo sunt multa, loquacem

Delassare valent Fabium—

was[1] to treat him with a Whistle;For you must know, Gentlemen, that I whistle the best of any Man in SirItalianMusical PipesSappho

Temple-BarCharles MathersCovent-Garden.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

No. 571

Friday, July 23, 1714

Addison

—Cœlum quid querimus ultra?

Luc.

of[1]

Sir ,

In your Paper of Friday the 9th Instant, you had Occasion to consider the Ubiquity of the Godhead, and at the same time, to shew, that as he is present to every thing, he cannot but be attentive to every thing, and privy to all the Modes and Parts of its Existence; or, in other Words, that his Omniscience and Omnipresence are coexistent, and run together through the whole Infinitude of Space. This Consideration might furnish us with many Incentives to Devotion and Motives to Morality, but as this Subject has been handled by several excellent Writers, I shall consider it in a Light wherein I have not seen it placed by others.

- First, How disconsolate is the Condition of an intellectual Being who is thus present with his Maker, but at the same time receives no extraordinary Benefit or Advantage from this his Presence!

- Secondly, How deplorable is the Condition of an intellectual Being, who feels no other Effects from this his Presence but such as proceed from Divine Wrath and Indignation!

- Thirdly, How happy is the Condition of that intellectual Being, who is sensible of his Maker's Presence from the secret Effects of his Mercy and Loving-kindness!

First, How disconsolate is the Condition of an intellectual Being, who is thus present with his Maker, but at the same time receives no extraordinary Benefit or Advantage from this his Presence!

Every Particle of Matter is actuated by this Almighty Being which passes through it. The Heavens and the Earth, the Stars and Planets, move and gravitate by Vertue of this great Principle within them. All the dead Parts of Nature are invigorated by the Presence of their Creator, and made capable of exerting their respective Qualities. The several Instincts, in the brute Creation, do likewise operate and work towards the several Ends which are agreeable to them, by this Divine Energy. Man only, who does not co-operate with this holy Spirit, and is unattentive to his Presence, receives none of those Advantages from it, which are perfective of his Nature, and necessary to his Well-being. The Divinity is with him, and in him, and everywhere about him, but of no Advantage to him. It is the same thing to a Man without Religion, as if there were no God in the World. It is indeed impossible for an infinite Being to remove himself from any of his Creatures, but tho' he cannot withdraw his Essence from us, which would argue an Imperfection in him, he can withdraw from us all the Joys and Consolations of it. His Presence may perhaps be necessary to support us in our Existence; but he may leave this our Existence to it self, with regard to its Happiness or Misery. For, in this Sense, he may cast us away from his Presence, and take his holy Spirit from us. This single Consideration one would think sufficient to make us open our Hearts to all those Infusions of Joy and Gladness which are so near at Hand, and ready to be poured in upon us; especially when we consider,

Secondly, The deplorable Condition of an intellectual Being who feels no other Effects from his Maker's Presence, but such as proceed from Divine Wrath and Indignation!

We may assure our selves, that the great Author of Nature will not always be as one who is indifferent to any of his Creatures. Those who will not feel him in his Love, will be sure at length to feel him in his Displeasure. And how dreadful is the Condition of that Creature, who is only sensible of the Being of his Creator by what he suffers from him! He is as essentially present in Hell as in Heaven, but the Inhabitants of those accursed Places behold him only in his Wrath, and shrink within the Flames to conceal themselves from him. It is not in the Power of Imagination to conceive the fearful Effects of Omnipotence incensed.

But I shall only consider the Wretchedness of an intellectual Being, who, in this Life, lies under the Displeasure of him, that at all Times and in all Places is intimately united with him. He is able to disquiet the Soul, and vex it in all its Faculties. He can hinder any of the greatest Comforts of Life from refreshing us, and give an Edge to every one of its slightest Calamities. Who then can bear the Thought of being an Out-cast from his Presence, that is, from the Comforts of it, or of feeling it only in its Terrors? How pathetick is that Expostulation of Job, when, for the Tryal of his Patience, he was made to look upon himself in this deplorable Condition!

Why hast thou set me as a Mark against thee, so that I am become a Burthen to my self?

But, Thirdly, how happy is the Condition of that intellectual Being, who is sensible of his Maker's Presence from the secret Effects of his Mercy and Loving-kindness.

The Blessed in Heaven behold him Face to Face; that is, are as sensible of his Presence as we are of the Presence of any Person whom we look upon with our Eyes. There is doubtless a Faculty in Spirits, by which they apprehend one another, as our Senses do material Objects; and there is no Question but our Souls, when they are disembodied, or placed in glorified Bodies, will by this Faculty, in whatever Part of Space they reside, be always sensible of the Divine Presence. We, who have this Veil of Flesh standing between us and the World of Spirits, must be Content to know that the Spirit of God is present with us, by the Effects which he produces in us. Our outward Senses are too gross to apprehend him; we may however taste and see how gracious he is, by his Influence upon our Minds, by those Virtuous Thoughts which he awakens in us, by those secret Comforts and Refreshments which he conveys into our Souls, and by those ravishing Joys and inward Satisfactions, which are perpetually springing up, and diffusing themselves among all the Thoughts of good Men. He is lodged in our very Essence, and is as a Soul within the Soul, to irradiate its Understanding, rectifie its Will, purifie its Passions, and enliven all the Powers of Man. How happy therefore is an intellectual Being, who, by Prayer and Meditation, by Virtue and good Works, opens this Communication between God and his own Soul! Tho' the whole Creation frowns upon him, and all Nature looks black about him, he has his Light and Support within him, that are able to cheer his Mind, and bear him up in the Midst of all those Horrors which encompass him. He knows that his Helper is at Hand, and is always nearer to him than any thing else can be, which is capable of annoying or terrifying him. In the Midst of Calumny or Contempt, he attends to that Being who whispers better things within his Soul, and whom he looks upon as his Defender, his Glory, and the Lifter up of his Head. In his deepest Solitude and Retirement, he knows that he is in Company with the greatest of Beings; and perceives within himself such real Sensations of his Presence, as are more delightful than any thing that can be met with in the Conversation of his Creatures. Even in the Hour of Death, he considers the Pains of his Dissolution to be nothing else but the breaking down of that Partition, which stands betwixt his Soul, and the Sight of that Being, who is always present with him, and is about to manifest it self to him in Fullness of Joy.

If we would be thus Happy, and thus Sensible of our Maker's Presence, from the secret Effects of his Mercy and Goodness, we must keep such a Watch over all our Thoughts, that, in the Language of the Scripture, his Soul may have Pleasure in us. We must take care not to grieve his Holy Spirit, and endeavour to make the Meditations of our Hearts always acceptable in his Sight, that he may delight thus to reside and dwell in us. The Light of Nature could direct Seneca to this Doctrine, in a very remarkable Passage among his Epistles:

Sacer inest in nobis spiritus bonorum malorumque custos, et Observator, et quemadmodum nos illum tractamus, ita et ille nos.[2]

There is a Holy Spirit residing in us, who watches and observes both Good and Evil Men, and will treat us after the same Manner that we treat him. But I shall conclude this Discourse with those more emphatical Words in Divine Revelation,

If a Man love me, he will keep my Word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our Abode with him.[3]

Footnote 1:565580590628

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Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:John

return

Contents

No. 572

Monday, July 26, 1714

Z. Pearce[1]

—Quod medicorum est

Promittant medici—

Hor.

SirHomer's MachaonVirgil's JapisGalensAndrew

Great-BritainHammersmithSpectatorsHammersmith

EasternHerodotusare infallible, and never fail of Success

WestminsterAnodine Fotus, English

Go, says he, send the Knave about his Business: Was his Method as infallible as he pretends, he would long before now have been in his Coach and Six.

viz.with God's BlessingVirgil's JapisÆneasEnglishDryden's

Prop'd on his Lance the pensive Heroe stood,

And heard, and saw unmov'd, the Mourning Crowd.

The fam'd Physician tucks his Robes around,

With ready Hands, and hastens to the Wound.

With gentle Touches he performs his Part,

This Way and that, solliciting the Dart,

And exercises all his Heavenly Art.

All softning Simples, known of Sov'reign Use,

He presses out, and pours their noble Juice;

These first infus'd, to lenifie the Pain,

He tugs with Pincers, but he tugs in vain.

Then to the Patron of his Art he pray'd;

The Patron of his Art refus'd his Aid.

But now the Goddess Mother, mov'd with Grief,

And pierc'd with Pity, hastens her Relief.

A Branch of Healing Dittany she brought,

Which in the Cretan Fields with Care she sought;

Rough is the Stem, which woolly Leaves surround;

The Leafs with Flow'rs, the Flow'rs with Purple crown'd:

Well known to-wounded Goats; a sure Relief

To draw the pointed Steel, and ease the Grief.

This Venus brings, in Clouds involv'd; and brews

Th' extracted Liquor with Ambrosian Dews,

And od'rous Panacee: Unseen she stands,

Temp'ring the Mixture with her heav'nly Hands:

And pours it in a Bowl, already crown'd

With Juice of medc'nal Herbs, prepared to bathe the Wound.

The Leech, unknowing of superior Art,

Which aids the Cure, with this foments the Part;

And in a Moment ceas'd the raging Smart.

Stanched is the Blood, and in the bottom stands:

The Steel, but scarcely touched with tender Hands,

Moves up, and follows of its own Accord;

And Health and Vigour are at once restor'd.

Japis first perceiv'd the closing Wound;

And first the Footsteps of a God he found.

Arms, Arms! he cries, the Sword and Shield prepare,

And send the willing Chief, renew'd to War.

This is no mortal Work, no cure of mine,

Nor Art's effect, but done by Hands Divine.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 573

Wednesday, July 28, 1714

—Castigata remordent—

Juv.

Smart Sir ,

'You are pleased to be very merry, as you imagine, with us Widows: And you seem to ground your Satyr on our receiving Consolation so soon after the Death of our Dears, and the Number we are pleased to admit for our Companions; but you never reflect what Husbands we have buried, and how short a Sorrow the Loss of them was capable of occasioning. For my own Part, Mrs. President as you call me, my First Husband I was marry'd to at Fourteen, by my Uncle and Guardian (as I afterwards discovered) by way of Sale, for the Third part of my Fortune. This Fellow looked upon me as a meer Child, he might breed up after his own Fancy; if he kissed my Chamber-Maid before my Face, I was supposed so ignorant, how could I think there was any Hurt in it? When he came home Roaring Drunk at five in the Morning, 'twas the Custom of all Men that live in the World. I was not to see a Penny of Money, for, poor Thing, how could I manage it? He took a handsome Cousin of his into the House, (as he said) to be my Housekeeper, and to govern my Servants; for how should I know how to rule a Family? and while she had what Money she pleased, which was but reasonable for the Trouble she was at for my Good, I was not to be so censorious as to dislike Familiarity and Kindness between near Relations. I was too great a Coward to contend, but not so ignorant a Child to be thus imposed upon. I resented his Contempt as I ought to do, and as most poor passive blinded Wives do, 'till it pleased Heaven to take away my Tyrant, who left me free Possession of my own Land, and a large Jointure. My Youth and Money brought me many Lovers, and several endeavoured to establish an Interest in my Heart while my Husband was in his last Sickness; the Honourable Edward Waitfort was one of the first who addressed to me, advised to it by a Cousin of his that was my intimate Friend, and knew to a Penny what I was worth. Mr. Waitfort is a very agreeable Man, and every Body would like him as well as he does himself, if they did not plainly see that his Esteem and Love is all taken up, and by such an Object, as 'tis impossible to get the better of. I mean himself. He made no doubt of marrying me within Four or Five Months, and begun to proceed with such an assured easie Air, that piqued my Pride not to banish him; quite contrary, out of pure Malice, I heard his first Declaration with so much innocent Surprize, and blushed so prettily, I perceived it touched his very Heart, and he thought me the best-natured Silly poor thing on Earth. When a Man has such a Notion of a Woman, he loves her better than he thinks he does. I was overjoy'd to be thus revenged on him, for designing on my Fortune; and finding it was in my Power to make his Heart ake, I resolved to compleat my Conquest, and entertain'd several other Pretenders. The first Impression of my undesigning Innocence was so strong in his Head, he attributed all my Followers to the inevitable Force of my Charms, and from several Blushes and side Glances, concluded himself the Favourite; and when I used him like a Dog for my Diversion, he thought it was all Prudence and Fear, and pitied the Violence I did my own Inclinations to comply with my Friends, when I marry'd Sir Nicholas Fribble of Sixty Years of Age. You know, Sir , the Case of Mrs. Medlar, I hope you would not have had me cry out my Eyes for such a Husband. I shed Tears enough for my Widowhood a Week after my Marriage, and when he was put in his Grave, reckoning he had been two Years dead, and my self a Widow of that Standing, I married three Weeks afterwards John Sturdy, Esq., his next Heir. I had indeed some Thoughts of taking Mr. Waitfort, but I found he could stay, and besides he thought it indecent to ask me to marry again 'till my Year was out, so privately resolving him for my Fourth, I took Mr. Sturdy for the present. Would you believe it, Sir , Mr. Sturdy was just Five and Twenty, about Six Foot high, and the stoutest Fox-hunter in the Country, and I believe I wished ten thousand times for my old Fribble again; he was following his Dogs all the Day, and all the Night keeping them up at Table with him and his Companions: however I think my self obliged to them for leading him a Chase in which he broke his Neck. Mr. Waitfort began his Addresses anew, and I verily believe I had married him now, but there was a young Officer in the Guards, that had debauched two or three of my Acquaintance, and I could not forbear being a little vain of his Courtship. Mr. Waitfort heard of it, and read me such an insolent Lecture upon the Conduct of Women, I married the Officer that very Day, out of pure Spight to him. Half an Hour after I was married I received a Penitential Letter from the Honourable Mr. Edward Waitfort, in which he begged Pardon for his Passion, as proceeding from the Violence of his Love: I triumphed when I read it, and could not help, out of the Pride of my Heart, shewing it to my new Spouse: and we were very merry together upon it. Alas! my Mirth lasted a short time; my young Husband was very much in Debt when I marry'd him, and his first Action afterwards was to set up a gilt Chariot and Six, in fine Trappings before and behind. I had married so hastily, I had not the Prudence to reserve my Estate in my own Hands; my ready Money was lost in two Nights at the Groom Porter's; and my Diamond Necklace, which was stole I did not know how, I met in the Street upon Jenny Wheadle's Neck. My Plate vanished Piece by Piece, and I had been reduced to downright Pewter, if my Officer had not been deliciously killed in a Duel, by a Fellow that had cheated him of Five Hundred Pounds, and afterwards, at his own Request, satisfy'd him and me too, by running him through the Body. Mr. Waitfort was still in Love, and told me so again; and to prevent all Fears of ill Usage, he deSir 'd me to reserve every thing in my own Hands: But now my Acquaintance begun to wish me Joy of his Constancy, my Charms were declining, and I could not resist the Delight I took in shewing the young Flirts about Town, it was yet in my Power to give Pain to a Man of Sense: This, and some private Hopes he would hang himself, and what a Glory would it be for me, and how I should be envy'd, made me accept of being third Wife to my Lord Friday. I proposed from my Rank and his Estate, to live in all the Joys of Pride, but how was I mistaken? he was neither extravagant, nor ill-natured, nor debauched? I suffered however more with him than with all my others. He was splenatick. I was forced to sit whole Days hearkening to his imaginary Ails; it was impossible to tell what would please him; what he liked when the Sun shined, made him sick when it rained; he had no Distemper, but lived in constant Fear of them all: my good Genius dictated to me to bring him acquainted with Doctor Gruel; from that Day he was always contented, because he had Names for all his Complaints; the good Doctor furnished him with Reasons for all his Pains, and Prescriptions for every Fancy that troubled him; in hot Weather he lived upon Juleps, and let Blood to prevent Fevers; when it grew cloudy he generally apprehended a Consumption; to shorten the History of this wretched Part of my Life, he ruined a good Constitution by endeavouring to mend it, and took several Medicines, which ended in taking the grand Remedy, which cured both him and me of all our Uneasinesses. After his Death, I did not expect to hear any more of Mr. Waitfort, I knew he had renounced me to all his Friends, and been very witty upon my Choice, which he affected to talk of with great Indifferency; I gave over thinking of him, being told that he was engaged with a pretty Woman and a great Fortune; it vexed me a little, but not enough to make me neglect the Advice of my Cousin Wishwell, that came to see me the Day my Lord went into the Country with Russel; she told me experimentally, nothing put an unfaithful Lover and a dear Husband so soon out of ones Head, as a new one; and, at the same time, propos'd to me a Kinsman of hers; You understand enough of the World (said she) to know Money is the most valuable Consideration; he is very rich, and I am sure cannot live long; he has a Cough that must carry him off soon. I knew afterwards she had given the self-same Character of me to him; but however I was so much persuaded by her, I hastned on the Match, for fear he should die before the time came; he had the same Fears, and was so pressing, I married him in a Fortnight, resolving to keep it private a Fortnight longer. During this Fortnight Mr. Waitfort came to make me a Visit; he told me he had waited on me sooner, but had that Respect for me, he would not interrupt me in the first Day of my Affliction for my dead Lord; that as soon as he heard I was at Liberty to make another Choice, he had broke off a Match very advantageous for his Fortune, just upon the Point of Conclusion, and was forty times more in Love with me than ever. I never received more Pleasure in my Life than from this Declaration, but I composed my Face to a grave Air, and said the News of his Engagement had touched me to the Heart, that in a rash jealous Fit, I had married a Man I could never have thought on if I had not lost all hopes of him. Good-natured Mr. Waitfort had like to have dropped down dead at hearing this, but went from me with such an Air as plainly shewed me he laid all the Blame upon himself, and hated those Friends that had advised him to the Fatal Application; he seemed as much touched by my Misfortune as his own, for he had not the least Doubt I was still passionately in Love with him. The Truth of the Story is, my new Husband gave me Reason to repent I had not staid for him; he had married me for my Money, and I soon found he loved Money to Distraction; there was nothing he would not do to get it, nothing he would not suffer to preserve it; the smallest Expence keep him awake whole Nights, and when he paid a Bill, 'twas with as many Sighs, and after as many Delays, as a Man that endures the Loss of a Limb. I heard nothing but Reproofs for Extravagancy whatever I did. I saw very well that he would have starved me, but for losing my Jointures; and he suffered Agonies between the Grief of seeing me have so good a Stomach, and the Fear that if he made me fast, it might prejudice my Health. I did not doubt he would have broke my Heart, if I did not break his, which was allowed by the Law of Self-defence. The Way was very easy. I resolved to spend as much Money as I could, and before he was aware of the Stroke, appeared before him in a two thousand Pound Diamond Necklace; he said nothing, but went quietly to his Chamber, and, as it is thought, composed himself with a Dose of Opium. I behaved my self so well upon the Occasion, that to this Day I believe he died of an Apoplexy. Mr. Waitfort was resolved not to be too late this time, and I heard from him in two Days. I am almost out of my Weed at this present Writing, and am very doubtful whether I'll marry him or no. I do not think of a Seventh, for the ridiculous Reason you mention, but out of pure Morality that I think so much Constancy should be rewarded, tho' I may not do it after all perhaps. I do not believe all the unreasonable Malice of Mankind can give a Pretence why I should have been constant to the Memory of any of the Deceased, or have spent much time in grieving for so insolent, insignificant, negligent, extravagant, splenatick, or covetous Husband; my first insulted me, my second was nothing to me, my third disgusted me, the fourth would have ruined me, the fifth tormented me, and the sixth would have starved me. If the other Ladies you name would thus give in their Husbands Pictures at length, you would see they have had as little Reason as my self to lose their Hours in weeping and wailing.

Contents

No. 574

Friday, July 30, 1714

Addison

Non possidentem multa vocaveris Rectè Beatum, recliùs occupat Nomen Beati, qui Deorum Muneribus sapienter uti Duramque callet pauperiem pati.

Hor.

Rosicrusianthe great SecretContent.

Sir

AristippusWhyI have three Farms still, and you have but one; so that I ought rather to be afflicted for you, than you for me.SirPittacusLydiaContent is natural WealthSocratesLuxury is artificial Poverty.SirBionThat no Man has so much Care, as he who endeavours after the most Happiness.

DutchmanLegNeck.Every one,has his Calamity, and he is a happy Man that has no greater than thisHammondFell.

SchemeAugustus It is for that very Reason,that I grieve.

Sir

Contents

No. 575

Monday, August 2, 1714

Addison

—Nec merti esse locum—

Virg.

Fatheryou are in a very miserable Condition if there is not another World. True, Son,but what is thy Condition if there is?

Contents

No. 576

Wednesday, August 4, 1714

Addison

Nitor in adversum; nec me, qui coetera, vincit

Impetus; et rapido contrarius euchor Orbi.

Ovid.

Sir

Sirsociable

EnglandHomerGreekEnglishHussars.Bedlam

Fontinell'sThe Ambitious and the Covetousare Madmen to all Intents and Purposes, as much as those who are shut up in dark Rooms; but they have the good Luck to have Numbers on their Side; whereas the Frenzy of one who is given up for a Lunatick, is a Frenzy

Contents

No. 577

Friday, August 6, 1714

—Hoc tolerabile, si non

Et furere incipias—

Juv.

Sir ,

'You have so lately decryed that Custom, too much in use among most People, of making themselves the Subjects of their Writings and Conversation, that I had some difficulty to perswade my self to give you this Trouble, till I had considered that tho' I should speak in the First Person, yet I could not be justly charged with Vanity, since I shall not add my Name; as also, because what I shall write will not, to say the best, redound to my Praise; but is only designed to remove a Prejudice conceived against me, as I hope, with very little Foundation. My short History is this.

I have lived for some Years last past altogether in London, till about a Month ago an Acquaintance of mine, for whom I have done some small Services in Town, invited me to pass part of the Summer with him at his House in the Country. I accepted his Invitation, and found a very hearty Welcome. My Friend, an honest plain Man, not being qualified to pass away his Time without the Reliefs of Business, has grafted the Farmer upon the Gentleman, and brought himself to submit even to the servile Parts of that Employment, such as inspecting his Plough, and the like. This necessarily takes up some of his Hours every Day; and as I have no Relish for such Diversions, I used at these Times to retire either to my Chamber, or a shady Walk near the House, and entertain my self with some agreeable Author. Now you must know, Mr. SPECTATOR, that when I read, especially if it be Poetry, it is very usual with me, when I meet with any Passage or Expression which strikes me much, to pronounce it aloud, with that Tone of the Voice which I think agreeable to the Sentiments there expressed; and to this I generally add some Motion or Action of the Body. It was not long before I was observed by some of the Family in one of these heroick Fits, who thereupon received Impressions very much to my Disadvantage. This however I did not soon discover, nor should have done probably, had it not been for the following Accident. I had one Day shut my self up in my Chamber, and was very deeply engaged in the Second Book of Milton's Paradise Lost. I walked to and fro with the Book in my Hand, and, to speak the Truth, I fear I made no little Noise; when presently coming to the following Lines,

—On a sudden open fly,

With impetuous Recoil and jarring Sound,

Th' infernal Doors, and on their Hinges grate

Harsh Thunder, &c.

'I in great Transport threw open the Door of my Chamber, and found the greatest Part of the Family standing on the Out-side in a very great Consternation. I was in no less Confusion, and begged Pardon for having disturbed them; addressing my self particularly to comfort one of the Children, who received an unlucky fall in this Action, whilst he was too intently surveying my Meditations through the Key-hole. To be short, after this Adventure I easily observed that great Part of the Family, especially the Women and Children, looked upon me with some Apprehensions of Fear; and my Friend himself, tho' he still continued his Civilities to me, did not seem altogether easie: I took Notice, that the Butler was never after this Accident ordered to leave the Bottle upon the Table after Dinner. Add to this, that I frequently overheard the Servants mention me by the Name of the crazed Gentleman, the Gentleman a little touched, the mad Londoner, and the like. This made me think it high Time for me to shift my Quarters, which I resolved to do the first handsome Opportunity; and was confirmed in this Resolution by a young Lady in the Neighbourhood who frequently visited us, and who one Day, after having heard all the fine Things I was able to say, was pleased with a scornful Smile to bid me go to sleep.

'The first Minute I got to my Lodgings in Town I set Pen to Paper to deSir e your Opinion, whether, upon the Evidence before you, I am mad or not. I can bring Certificates that I behave my self soberly before Company, and I hope there is at least some Merit in withdrawing to be mad. Look you, Sir , I am contented to be esteemed a little touched, as they phrase it, but should be sorry to be madder than my Neighbours; therefore, pray let me be as much in my Senses as you can afford. I know I could bring your self as an Instance of a Man who has confessed talking to himself; but yours is a particular Case, and cannot justify me, who have not kept Silence any Part of my Life. What if I should own my self in Love? You know Lovers are always allowed the Comfort of Soliloquy.—But I will say no more upon this Subject, because I have long since observed, the ready Way to be thought Mad is to contend that you are not so; as we generally conclude that Man drunk, who takes Pains to be thought sober. I will therefore leave my self to your Determination; but am the more deSir ous to be thought in my Senses, that it may be no Discredit to you when I assure you that I have always been very much

Your Admirer.

P.S. If I must be mad, I deSir e the young Lady may believe it is for her.

The humble Petition of John a Nokes and John a Stiles, Sheweth.

'That your Petitioners have had Causes depending in Westminster-Hall above five hundred Years, and that we despair of ever seeing them brought to an Issue: That your Petitioners have not been involved in these Law Suits, out of any litigious Temper of their own, but by the Instigation of contentious Persons; that the young Lawyers in our Inns of Court are continually setting us together by the Ears, and think they do us no Hurt, because they plead for us without a Fee; That many of the Gentlemen of the Robe have no other Clients in the World besides us two; That when they have nothing else to do, they make us Plaintiffs and Defendants, tho' they were never retained by either of us; That they traduce, condemn, or acquit us, without any manner of Regard to our Reputations and good Names in the World. Your Petitioners therefore (being thereunto encouraged by the favourable Reception which you lately gave to our Kinsman Blank) do humbly pray, that you will put an End to the Controversies which have been so long depending between us your said Petitioners, and that our Enmity may not endure from Generation to Generation; it being our Resolution to live hereafter as it becometh Men of peaceable Dispositions.

And your Petitioners (as in Duty bound) shall ever Pray, &c.

Contents

No. 578

Monday, August 9, 1714

—Eque feris humana in corpora transit,

Inque feras Noster—

Ovid.

personal Identity.

LockPersonNoah'sThamesThamesSelfSelfMy selfSelfSelf

Persian TalesPhilips

FadlallahBin-OrtocMouselZemroudeDervis

FadlallahDervisSir

DervisFadlallahIndiesIt was in this Placethat I contracted an Acquaintance with an oldwho was skilled in the most hidden Powers of Nature: He died within my Arms, and with his parting Breath communicated to me one of the most valuable of his Secrets, on Condition I should never reveal it to any ManNo Sir Dervisit is somewhat more wonderful than that; it is the Power of re-animating a dead Body, by flinging my own Soul into it

DervisDervisDervisBrachmanDervis

DervisMouselFadlallah

ZemroudeFadlallahDervis

Fadlallah

Zemroude

Zemroude

DervisWell MadamI will exert the utmost of my Art to please you. Your Nightingale shall again revive every Morning and serenade you as beforeZemroude

Spectator

Zemroude

DervisDervisFadlallah

Contents

No. 579

Wednesday, August 11, 1714

Addison

—Odora canum vis—

Virg.

CharlesErratumThou shalt not commit AdulteryThou shalt commit AdulteryLaudStar-Chamber.

ÆtnaVulcanVulcan

VulcanDianaVenusSicilySyracuseSicilianLove me love my DogSyracuseLilybeum

Great BritainJusticeHonour

Contents

No. 580

Friday, August 13, 1714

Addison

—Si verbo audacia detur,

Non metuam magni dixisse palatia Coeli.

Ovid. Met.

Sir ,

'I considered in my two last Letters[1] that awful and tremendous Subject, the Ubiquity or Omnipresence of the Divine Being. I have shewn that he is equally present in all Places throughout the whole Extent of infinite Space.

'This Doctrine is so agreeable to Reason, that we meet with it in the Writings of the enlightened Heathens, as I might show at large, were it not already done by other Hands. But tho' the Deity be thus essentially present through all the Immensity of Space, there is one Part of it in which he discovers himself in a most transcendent and visible Glory. This is that Place which is marked out in Scripture under the different Appellations of Paradise, the third Heaven, the Throne of God, and the Habitation of his Glory. It is here where the glorified Body of our Saviour resides, and where all the celestial Hierarchies, and the innumerable Hosts of Angels, are represented as perpetually surrounding the Seat of God with Hallelujahs and Hymns of Praise. This is that Presence of God which some of the Divines call his Glorious, and others his Majestatick Presence. He is indeed as essentially present in all other Places as in this, but it is here where he resides in a sensible Magnificence, and in the midst of those Splendors which can affect the Imagination of created Beings.

'It is very remarkable that this Opinion of God Almighty's Presence in Heaven, whether discovered by the Light of Nature, or by a general Tradition from our first Parents, prevails among all the Nations of the World, whatsoever different Notions they entertain of the Godhead. If you look into Homer, that is, the most ancient of the Greek Writers, you see the supreme Powers seated in the Heavens, and encompassed with inferior Deities, among whom the Muses are represented as singing incessantly about his Throne. Who does not here see the main Strokes and Outlines of this great Truth we are speaking of? The same Doctrine is shadowed out in many other Heathen Authors, tho' at the same time, like several other revealed Truths, dashed and adulterated with a mixture of Fables and human Inventions. But to pass over the Notions of the Greeks and Romans, those more enlightened Parts of the Pagan World, we find there is scarce a People among the late discovered Nations who are not trained up in an Opinion, that Heaven is the Habitation of the Divinity whom they worship.

As in Solomon's Temple there was the Sanctum Sanctorum, in which a visible Glory appeared among the Figures of the Cherubims, and into which none but the High Priest himself was permitted to enter, after having made an Atonement for the Sins of the People; so if we consider the whole Creation as one great Temple, there is in it this Holy of Holies, into which the High-Priest of our Salvation entered, and took his Place among Angels and Archangels, after having made a Propitiation for the Sins of Mankind.

'With how much Skill must the Throne of God be erected? With what glorious Designs is that Habitation beautified, which is contrived and built by him who inspired Hyram with Wisdom? How great must be the Majesty of that Place, where the whole Art of Creation has been employed, and where God has chosen to show himself in the most magnificent manner? What must be the Architecture of Infinite Power under the Direction of Infinite Wisdom? A Spirit cannot but be transported, after an ineffable manner, with the sight of those Objects, which were made to affect him by that Being who knows the inward Frame of a Soul, and how to please and ravish it in all its most secret Powers and Faculties. It is to this Majestic Presence of God, we may apply those beautiful Expressions in holy Writ: Behold even to the Moon, and it shineth not; yea the Stars are not pure in his sight. The Light of the Sun, and all the Glories of the World in which we live, are but as weak and sickly Glimmerings, or rather Darkness itself, in Comparison of those Splendors which encompass the Throne of God.

'As the Glory of this Place is transcendent beyond Imagination, so probably is the Extent of it. There is Light behind Light, and Glory within Glory. How far that Space may reach, in which God thus appears in perfect Majesty, we cannot possibly conceive. Tho' it is not infinite, it may be indefinite; and though not immeasurable in its self, it may be so with regard to any created Eye or Imagination. If he has made these lower Regions of Matter so inconceivably wide and magnificent for the Habitation of mortal and perishable Beings, how great may we suppose the Courts of his House to be, where he makes his Residence in a more especial manner, and displays himself in the Fulness of his Glory, among an innumerable Company of Angels, and Spirits of just Men made perfect?

'This is certain, that our Imaginations cannot be raised too high, when we think on a Place where Omnipotence and Omniscience have so signally exerted themselves, because that they are able to produce a Scene infinitely more great and glorious than what we are able to imagine. It is not impossible but at the Consummation of all Things, these outward Apartments of Nature, which are now suited to those Beings who inhabit them, may be taken in and added to that glorious Place of which I am here speaking; and by that means made a proper Habitation for Beings who are exempt from Mortality, and cleared of their Imperfections: For so the Scripture seems to intimate when it speaks of new Heavens and of a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness.

'I have only considered this Glorious Place, with Regard to the Sight and Imagination, though it is highly probable that our other Senses may here likewise enjoy their highest Gratifications. There is nothing which more ravishes and transports the Soul, than Harmony; and we have great Reason to believe, from the Descriptions of this Place in Holy Scripture, that this is one of the Entertainments of it. And if the Soul of Man can be so wonderfully affected with those Strains of Musick, which Human Art is capable of producing, how much more will it be raised and elevated by those, in which is exerted the whole Power of Harmony! The Senses are Faculties of the Human Soul, though they cannot be employed, during this our vital Union, without proper Instruments in the Body. Why therefore should we exclude the Satisfaction of these Faculties, which we find by Experience are Inlets of great Pleasure to the Soul, from among those Entertainments which are to make up our Happiness hereafter? Why should we suppose that our Hearing and Seeing will not be gratify'd with those Objects which are most agreeable to them, and which they cannot meet with in these lower Regions of Nature; Objects, which neither Eye hath seen, nor Ear heard, nor can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive? I knew a Man in Christ (says St Paul, speaking of himself) above fourteen Years ago (whether in the Body, I cannot tell, or whether out of the Body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) such a one caught up to the third Heaven. And I knew such a Man, (whether in the Body, or out of the Body, I cannot tell: God knoweth,) how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable Words, which it is not possible for a Man to utter. By this is meant, that what he heard was so infinitely different from any thing which he had heard in this World, that it was impossible to express it in such Words as might convey a Notion of it to his Hearers.

'It is very natural for us to take Delight in Enquiries concerning any Foreign Country, where we are some Time or other to make our Abode; and as we all hope to be admitted into this Glorious Place, it is both a laudable and useful Curiosity, to get what Informations we can of it, whilst we make Use of Revelation for our Guide. When these everlasting Doors shall be open to us, we may be sure that the Pleasures and Beauties of this Place will infinitely transcend our present Hopes and Expectations, and that the glorious Appearance of the Throne of God, will rise infinitely beyond whatever we are able to conceive of it. We might here entertain our selves with many other Speculations on this Subject, from those several Hints which we find of it in the Holy Scriptures; as whether there may not be different Mansions and Apartments of Glory, to Beings of different Natures; whether as they excel one another in Perfection, they are not admitted nearer to the Throne of the Almighty, and enjoy greater Manifestations of his Presence; whether there are not solemn Times and Occasions, when all the Multitude of Heaven celebrate the Presence of their Maker in more extraordinary Forms of Praise and Adoration; as Adam, though he had continued in a State of Innocence, would, in the Opinion of our Divines, have kept Holy the Sabbath-Day, in a more particular Manner than any other of the Seven. These, and the like Speculations, we may very innocently indulge, so long as we make use of them to inspire us with a DeSir e of becoming Inhabitants of this delightful Place.

'I have in this, and in two foregoing Letters, treated on the most serious Subject that can employ the Mind of Man, the Omnipresence of the Deity; a Subject which, if possible, should never depart from our Meditations. We have considered the Divine Being, as he inhabits Infinitude, as he dwells among his Work, as he is present to the Mind of Man, and as he discovers himself in a more glorious Manner among the Regions of the Blest. Such a Consideration should be kept awake in us at all Times, and in all Places, and possess our Minds with a perpetual Awe and Reverence. It should be interwoven with all our Thoughts and Perceptions, and become one with the Consciousness of our own Being. It is not to be reflected on in the Coldness of Philosophy, but ought to sink us into the lowest Prostration before him, who is so astonishingly Great, Wonderful, and Holy.'

Footnote 1:565571590628

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Contents

No. 581

Monday, August 16, 1714

Addison

Sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt mala plura

Quæ legis.

Mart.

Van Nath

Philadelphus

G.

Kitty

Tom NimbleSirFill Bumper

Grace Grumble

P. S. granted.

Sarah Loveit, refused.

A. S.

Aristippus

Woodstock

Tom TurnoverLondonWestminster.

W. F

JulyLover

Philanthropos

Constantius

Lincoln

Arethusa

Celia

Harriot

Sampson Bentstaff

CollidanDrigelling.

Spectatorial

Litterati

Brother Spec.

'While you are surveying every Object that falls in your way, I am wholly taken up with one. Had that Sage, who demanded what Beauty was, lived to see the dear Angel I love, he would not have asked such a Question. Had another seen her, he would himself have loved the Person in whom Heaven has made Virtue visible; and were you your self to be in her ompany, you could never, with all your Loquacity, say enough of her good Humour and Sense. I send you the Outlines of a Picture, which I can no more finish than I can sufficiently admire the dear Original. I am

Your most Affectionate Brother,

Constantio Spec.

Good Mr. Pert,

'I will allow you nothing till you resolve me the following Question. Pray what's the Reason that while you only talk now upon Wednesdays, Fridays, and Mondays, you pretend to be a greater Tatler, than when you spoke every Day as you formerly used to do? If this be your plunging out of your Taciturnity, pray let the Length of your Speeches compensate for the Scarceness of them.

I am,

Good Mr. Pert,

Your Admirer, if you will be long enough for Me,

Contents

No. 582

Wednesday, August 18, 1714

—Tenet insanabile multos

Scribendi Cacœthes—

Juv.

GalenHippocratesLondon DispensaryJuvenalCacœthes

EnglishItch of Writing.CacœthesBritishof[1]Tarantula

DiogenesCourage, Lads, I see Land

William Ramsey's

The Absence of the Sun is not the Cause of Night, forasmuch as his Light is so great that it may illuminate the Earth all over at once as clear as broad Day, but there are tenebrificous and dark Stars, by whose Influence Night is brought on, and which do ray out Darkness and Obscurity upon the Earth, as the Sun does Light.

British

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 583

Friday, August 20, 1714

Addison

Ipse thymum pinosque ferens de montibus altis,

Tecta serat latè circum, cui talia Curæ:

Ipse labore manum duro terat, ipse feraces

Figat humo plantas, et amicos irriget Imbres.

Virg.

Adam

EnglishGoliah, I will give thee to the Fowls of the Air, and to the Beasts of the Field.

Planting.EnglandEnglandCyrusAsia.Aristotle

England.We are always doingsomething for Posterity, but I would fain see Posterity do something for us.

you may trace him:

EpicurusHomer, VirgilHoraceVirgil

China

Contents

No. 584

Monday, August 23, 1714

Addison

Hec gelidi fontes, hic mollia prata, Lycori,

Hic Nemus, hic toto tecum consumerer ævo.

Virg.

HilpaZilpahCohuCainHarpathShalumHarpathTirzahChinaShalumChineseTirzahHarpathShalum

CohuHilpaHarpathShalumTirzah

HarpathHilpaShalumHilpaShalum

HarpathHarpathShalum

HilpaShalumHarpath

ShalumHilpaHarpathShalum

ShalumHilpaShalum

ChineseShalumHilpa

ShalumHilpa

Shalum, Master of Mount Tirzah, to Hilpa, Mistress of the Vallies.

In the 788th Year of the Creation.

'What have I not suffered, O thou Daughter of Zilpah, since thou gavest thy self away in Marriage to my Rival? I grew weary of the Light of the Sun, and have been ever since covering my self with Woods and Forests. These threescore and ten Years have I bewailed the Loss of thee on the Tops of Mount Tirzah, and soothed my Melancholy among a thousand gloomy Shades of my own raising. My Dwellings are at present as the Garden of God; every Part of them is filled with Fruits, and Flowers, and Fountains. The whole Mountain is perfumed for thy Reception. Come up into it, O my Beloved, and let us People this Spot of the new World with a beautiful Race of Mortals; let us multiply exceedingly among these delightful Shades, and fill every Quarter of them with Sons and Daughters. Remember, O thou Daughter of Zilpah, that the Age of Man is but a thousand Years; that Beauty is the Admiration but of a few Centuries. It flourishes as a Mountain Oak, or as a Cedar on the Top of Tirzah, which in three or four hundred Years will fade away, and never be thought of by Posterity, unless a young Wood springs from its Roots. Think well on this, and remember thy Neighbour in the Mountains.

Billet-doux

Contents

No. 585

Wednesday, August 25, 1714

Addison

Ipsi lætitia voces ad sidera jactant

Intonsi montes: ipsæ jam carmina rupes,

Ipsæ sonant arbusta—

Virg.

The Sequel of the Story ofand

Hilpa,

Hilpa, Mistress of the Vallies, to Shalum, Master of Mount Tirzah.

In the 789th Year of the Creation.

'What have I to do with thee, O Shalum? Thou praisest Hilpa's Beauty, but art thou not secretly enamoured with the Verdure of her Meadows? Art thou not more affected with the Prospect of her green Vallies, than thou wouldest be with the Sight of her Person? The Lowings of my Herds, and the Bleatings of my Flocks, make a pleasant Eccho in thy Mountains, and sound sweetly in thy Ears. What tho' I am delighted with the Wavings of thy Forests, and those Breezes of Perfumes which flow from the Top of Tirzah: Are these like the Riches of the Valley?

'I know thee, O Shalum; thou art more wise and happy than any of the Sons of Men. Thy Dwellings are among the Cedars; thou searchest out the Diversity of Soils, thou understandest the Influences of the Stars, and markest the Change of Seasons. Can a Woman appear lovely in the Eyes of such a one? Disquiet me not, O Shalum; let me alone, that I may enjoy those goodly Possessions which are fallen to my Lot. Win me not by thy enticing Words. May thy Trees increase and multiply; mayest thou add Wood to Wood, and Shade to Shade; but tempt not Hilpa to destroy thy Solitude, and make thy Retirement populous.

ChineseShalumShalumShalum

MishpachShalumHilpaMishpachSaturnTirzah

ShalumMishpachMishpachMishpachShalumShalumMishpachZilpah'sShalum

Contents

No. 586

Friday, August 27, 1714

John Byrom[1]

—Quæ in vita usurpant homines, cogitant, curant, vident, Quæque agunt vigilantes, agitantque, ea cuique in somno accidunt.

Cic. de Div.

Sir ,

'It was a good Piece of Advice which Pythagoras gave to his Scholars, That every Night before they slept they should examine what they had been a doing that Day, and so discover what Actions were worthy of Pursuit to-morrow, and what little Vices were to be prevented from slipping unawares into a Habit. If I might second the Philosopher's Advice, it should be mine, That in a Morning before my Scholar rose, he should consider what he had been about that Night, and with the same Strictness, as if the Condition he has believed himself to be in, was real. Such a Scrutiny into the Actions of his Fancy must be of considerable Advantage, for this Reason, because the Circumstances which a Man imagines himself in during Sleep, are generally such as entirely favour his Inclinations good or bad, and give him imaginary Opportunities of pursuing them to the utmost; so that his Temper will lye fairly open to his View, while he considers how it is moved when free from those Constraints which the Accidents of real Life put it under. Dreams are certainly the Result of our waking Thoughts, and our daily Hopes and Fears are what give the Mind such nimble Relishes of Pleasure, and such severe Touches of Pain, in its Midnight Rambles. A Man that murders his Enemy, or deserts his Friend in a Dream, had need to guard his Temper against Revenge and Ingratitude, and take heed that he be not tempted to do a vile thing in the Pursuit of false, or the Neglect of true Honour. For my Part, I seldom receive a Benefit, but in a Night or two's Time I make most noble Returns for it; which tho' my Benefactor is not a whit the better for, yet it pleases me to think that it was from a Principle of Gratitude in me, that my Mind was susceptible of such generous Transport while I thought my self repaying the Kindness of my Friend: And I have often been ready to beg Pardon, instead of returning an Injury, after considering, that when the Offender was in my Power I had carried my Resentments much too far.

'I think it has been observed in the Course of your Papers, how much one's Happiness or Misery may depend upon the Imagination: Of which Truth those strange Workings of Fancy in Sleep are no inconsiderable Instances; so that not only the Advantage a Man has of making Discoveries of himself, but a Regard to his own Ease or Disquiet, may induce him to accept of my Advice. Such as are willing to comply with it, I shall put into a way of doing it with pleasure, by observing only one Maxim which I shall give them, viz. To go to Bed with a Mind entirely free from Passion, and a Body clear of the least Intemperance.

'They indeed who can sink into Sleep with their Thoughts less calm or innocent than they should be, do but plunge themselves into Scenes of Guilt and Misery; or they who are willing to purchase any Midnight Disquietudes for the Satisfaction of a full Meal, or a Skin full of Wine; these I have nothing to say to, as not knowing how to invite them to Reflections full of Shame and Horror: But those that will observe this Rule, I promise them they shall awake into Health and Cheerfulness, and be capable of recounting with Delight those glorious Moments wherein the Mind has been indulging it self in such Luxury of Thought, such noble Hurry of Imagination. Suppose a Man's going supperless to Bed should introduce him to the Table of some great Prince or other, where he shall be entertained with the noblest Marks of Honour and Plenty, and do so much Business after, that he shall rise with as good a Stomach to his Breakfast as if he had fasted all Night long; or suppose he should see his dearest Friends remain all Night in great Distresses, which he could instantly have disengaged them from, could he have been content to have gone to Bed without t'other Bottle: Believe me, these Effects of Fancy are no contemptible Consequences of commanding or indulging one's Appetite.

'I forbear recommending my Advice upon many other Accounts, till I hear how you and your Readers relish what I have already said, among whom if there be any that may pretend it is useless to them, because they never dream at all, there may be others, perhaps, who do little else all Day long. Were every one as sensible as I am what happens to him in his Sleep, it would be no Dispute whether we past so considerable a Portion of our Time in the Condition of Stocks and Stones, or whether the Soul were not perpetually at Work upon the Principle of Thought. However, 'tis an honest Endeavour of mine to perswade my Countrymen to reap some Advantage from so many unregarded Hours, and as such you will encourage it.

'I shall conclude with giving you a Sketch or two of my Way of proceeding.

'If I have any Business of consequence to do to-morrow, I am scarce dropt asleep to-night but I am in the midst of it, and when awake I consider the whole Procession of the Affair, and get the Advantage of the next Day's Experience before the Sun has risen upon it.

'There is scarce a great Post but what I have some Time or other been in; but my Behaviour while I was Master of a College, pleases me so well, that whenever there is a Province of that Nature vacant, I intend to step in as soon as I can.

'I have done many Things that would not pass Examination, when I have had the Art of Flying, or being invisible; for which Reason I am glad I am not possessed of those extra-ordinary Qualities.

'Lastly, Mr. SPECTATOR, I have been a great Correspondent of yours, and have read many of my Letters in your Paper which I never wrote you. If you have a Mind I should really be so, I have got a Parcel of Visions and other Miscellanies in my Noctuary, which I shall send you to enrich your Paper with on proper Occasions.

I am, &c.

John Shadow.

Oxford, Aug. 20.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 587

Monday, August 30, 1714

John Byrom

—Intus, et in Cute novi—

Pers.

Sir

'I was the other Day reading the Life of Mahomet. Among many other Extravagancies, I find it recorded of that Impostor, that in the fourth Year of his Age the Angel Gabriel caught him up, while he was among his Play-fellows, and, carrying him aside, cut open his Breast, plucked out his Heart, and wrung out of it that black Drop of Blood, in which, say the Turkish Divines, is contained the Fomes Peccati, so that he was free from Sin ever after. I immediately said to my self, tho' this Story be a Fiction, a very good Moral may be drawn from it, would every Man but apply it to himself, and endeavour to squeeze out of his Heart whatever Sins or ill Qualities he finds in it.

'While my Mind was wholly taken up with this Contemplation, I insensibly fell into a most pleasing Slumber, when methought two Porters entered my Chamber, carrying a large Chest between them. After having set it down in the middle of the Room they departed. I immediately endeavour'd to open what was sent me, when a Shape, like that in which we paint our Angels, appeared before me, and forbad me. Enclosed, said he, are the Hearts of several of your Friends and Acquaintance; but before you can be qualified to see and animadvert on the Failings of others, you must be pure your self; whereupon he drew out his Incision Knife, cut me open, took out my Heart, and began to squeeze it. I was in a great Confusion, to see how many things, which I had always cherished as Virtues, issued out of my Heart on this Occasion. In short, after it had been thoroughly squeezed, it looked like an empty Bladder, when the Phantome, breathing a fresh Particle of Divine Air into it, restored it safe to its former Repository: and having sewed me up, we began to examine the Chest.

'The Hearts were all enclosed in transparent Phials, and preserved in a Liquor which looked like Spirits of Wine. The first which I cast my Eye upon, I was afraid would have broke the Glass which contained it. It shot up and down, with incredible Swiftness, thro' the Liquor in which it swam, and very frequently bounced against the Side of the Phial. The Fomes, or Spot in the Middle of it, was not large, but of a red fiery Colour, and seemed to be the Cause of these violent Agitations. That, says my Instructor, is the Heart of Tom. Dread-Nought, who behaved himself well in the late Wars, but has for these Ten Years last past been aiming at some Post of Honour to no Purpose. He is lately retired into the Country, where, quite choaked up with Spleen and Choler, he rails at better Men than himself, and will be for ever uneasie, because it is impossible he should think his Merit sufficiently rewarded. The next Heart that I examined was remarkable for its Smallness; it lay still at the Bottom of the Phial, and I could hardly perceive that it beat at all. The Fomes was quite black, and had almost diffused it self over the whole Heart. This, says my Interpreter, is the Heart of Dick Gloomy, who never thirsted after any thing but Money. Notwithstanding all his Endeavours, he is still poor. This has flung him into a most deplorable State of Melancholy and Despair. He is a Composition of Envy and Idleness, hates Mankind, but gives them their Revenge by being more uneasie to himself, than to any one else.

'The Phial I looked upon next contained a large fair Heart, which beat very strongly. The Fomes or Spot in it was exceeding small; but I could not help observing, that which way soever I turned the Phial it always appeared uppermost and in the strongest Point of Light. The Heart you are examining, says my Companion, belongs to Will. Worthy. He has, indeed, a most noble Soul, and is possessed of a thousand good Qualities. The Speck which you discover is Vanity.

'Here, says the Angel, is the Heart of Freelove, your intimate Friend. Freelove and I, said I, are at present very cold to one another, and I do not care for looking on the Heart of a Man, which I fear is overcast with Rancour. My Teacher commanded me to look upon it; I did so, and to my unspeakable Surprize, found that a small swelling Spot, which I at first took to be Ill-Will towards me, was only Passion, and that upon my nearer Inspection it wholly disappeared; upon which the Phantome told me Freelove was one of the best-natured Men alive.

'This, says my Teacher, is a Female Heart of your Acquaintance. I found the Fomes in it of the largest Size, and of a hundred different Colours, which were still varying every Moment. Upon my asking to whom it belonged, I was informed that it was the Heart of Coquetilla.

'I set it down, and drew out another, in which I took the Fomes at first Sight to be very small, but was amazed to find, that as I looked stedfastly upon it, it grew still larger. It was the Heart of Melissa, a noted Prude who lives the next Door to me.

'I show you this, says the Phantome, because it is indeed a Rarity, and you have the Happiness to know the Person to whom it belongs. He then put into my Hands a large Chrystal Glass, that enclosed an Heart, in which, though I examined it with the utmost Nicety, I could not perceive any Blemish. I made no Scruple to affirm that it must be the Heart of Seraphina, and was glad, but not surprized, to find that it was so. She is, indeed, continued my Guide, the Ornament, as well as the Envy, of her Sex; at these last Words, he pointed to the Hearts of several of her Female Acquaintance which lay in different Phials, and had very large Spots in them, all of a deep Blue. You are not to wonder, says he, that you see no Spot in an Heart, whose Innocence has been Proof against all the Corruptions of a depraved Age. If it has any Blemish, it is too small to be discovered by Human Eyes.

'I laid it down, and took up the Hearts of other Females, in all of which the Fomes ran in several Veins, which were twisted together, and made a very perplexed Figure. I asked the Meaning of it, and was told it represented Deceit.

'I should have been glad to have examined the Hearts of several of my Acquaintance, whom I knew to be particularly addicted to Drinking, Gaming, Intreaguing, &c., but my Interpreter told me I must let that alone till another Opportunity, and flung down the Cover of the Chest with so much violence, as immediately awoke me.

Contents

No. 588

Wednesday, September 1, 1714

H. Grove[1]

Dicitis, omnis in Imbecillitate est et Gratia, et Caritas.

Cicero de Nat. Deor. L.

Beneficence

Hobs

'That from the Similitudes of Thoughts and Passions of one Man to the Thoughts and Passions of another, whosoever looks into himself and considers what he doth when he thinks, hopes, fears, &c., and upon what Grounds; he shall hereby read and know what are the Thoughts and Passions of all other Men upon the like Occasions.'

Hobs

Sir

Sir

Cicero

Footnote 1:Essay on the Terms of Christian CommunionDiscourse on Saving FaithEssay on the Soul's Immortality588601626635Spectator.

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Contents

No. 589

Friday, September 3, 1714

Persequitur scelus ille suum: labefactaque tandem

Ictibus innumeris adductaque funibus arbor

Corruit.

Ovid.

Sir ,

'I am so great an Admirer of Trees, that the Spot of Ground I have chosen to build a small Seat upon, in the Country, is almost in the midst of a large Wood. I was obliged, much against my Will, to cut down several Trees, that I might have any such thing as a Walk in my Gardens; but then I have taken Care to leave the Space, between every Walk, as much a Wood as I found it. The Moment you turn either to the Right or Left, you are in a Forest, where Nature presents you with a much more beautiful Scene than could have been raised by Art.

'Instead of Tulips or Carnations, I can shew you Oakes in my Gardens of four hundred Years standing, and a Knot of Elms that might shelter a Troop of Horse from the Rain.

'It is not without the utmost Indignation, that I observe several prodigal young Heirs in the Neighbourhood, felling down the most glorious Monuments of their Ancestors Industry, and ruining, in a Day, the Product of Ages.

'I am mightily pleased with your Discourse upon Planting, which put me upon looking into my Books to give you some Account of the Veneration the Ancients had for Trees. There is an old Tradition, that Abraham planted a Cypress, a Pine, and a Cedar, and that these three incorporated into one Tree, which was cut down for the building of the Temple of Solomon.

'Isidorus, who lived in the Reign of Constantius, assures us, that he saw, even in his Time, that famous Oak in the Plains of Mambré, under which Abraham is reported to have dwelt, and adds, that the People looked upon it with a great Veneration, and preserved it as a Sacred Tree.

'The Heathens still went farther, and regarded it as the highest Piece of Sacrilege to injure certain Trees which they took to be protected by some Deity. The Story of Erisicthon, the Grove of Dodona, and that at Delphi, are all Instances of this Kind.

'If we consider the Machine in Virgil, so much blamed by several Criticks, in this Light, we shall hardly think it too violent.

'Æneas, when he built his Fleet, in order to sail for Italy, was obliged to cut down the Grove on Mount Ida, which however he durst not do till he had obtained leave from Cybele, to whom it was dedicated. The Goddess could not but think her self obliged to protect these Ships, which were made of Consecrated Timber, after a very extraordinary Manner, and therefore deSir ed Jupiter, that they might not be obnoxious to the Power of Waves or Winds. Jupiter would not grant this, but promised her, that as many as came safe to Italy should be transformed into Goddesses of the Sea; which the Poet tells us was accordingly executed.

And now at length the number'd Hours were come,

Prefix'd by Fate's irrevocable Doom,

When the great Mother of the Gods was free

To save her Ships, and finish Jove's Decree.

First, from the Quarter of the Morn, there sprung

A Light that sign'd the Heavens, and shot along:

Then from a Cloud, fring'd round with Golden Fires,

Were Timbrels heard, and Berecynthian Quires:

And last a Voice, with more than Mortal Sounds,

Both Hosts in Arms oppos'd, with equal Horror wounds.

O Trojan Race, your needless Aid forbear;

And know my Ships are my peculiar Care.

With greater Ease the bold Rutulian may,

With hissing Brands, attempt to burn the Sea,

Than singe my sacred Pines. But you my Charge,

Loos'd from your crooked Anchors launch at large,

Exalted each a Nymph: Forsake the Sand,

And swim the Seas, at Cybele's Command.

No sooner had the Goddess ceas'd to speak,

When lo, th' obedient Ships their Haulsers break;

And, strange to tell, like Dolphins in the Main,

They plunge their Prows, and dive, and spring again:

As many beauteous Maids the Billows sweep,

As rode before tall Vessels on the Deep.

(Dryden's Virg.)

'The common Opinion concerning the Nymphs, whom the Ancients called Hamadryads, is more to the Honour of Trees than any thing yet mentioned. It was thought the Fate of these Nymphs had so near a Dependance on some Trees, more especially Oaks, that they lived and died together. For this Reason they were extremely grateful to such Persons who preserved those Trees with which their Being subsisted. Apollonius tells us a very remarkable Story to this Purpose, with which I shall conclude my Letter.

'A certain Man, called Rhœcus, observing an old Oak ready to fall, and being moved with a sort of Compassion towards the Tree, ordered his Servants to pour in fresh Earth at the Roots of it, and set it upright. The Hamadryad or Nymph who must necessarily have perished with the Tree, appeared to him the next Day, and after having returned him her Thanks, told him, she was ready to grant whatever he should ask. As she was extreamly Beautiful, Rhœcus deSir ed he might be entertained as her Lover. The Hamadryad, not much displeased with the Request, promis'd to give him a Meeting, but commanded him for some Days to abstain from the Embraces of all other Women, adding that she would send a Bee to him, to let him know when he was to be Happy. Rhœcus was, it seems, too much addicted to Gaming, and happened to be in a Run of ill Luck when the faithful Bee came buzzing about him; so that instead of minding his kind Invitation, he had like to have killed him for his Pains. The Hamadryad was so provoked at her own Disappointment, and the ill Usage of her Messenger, that she deprived Rhœcus of the Use of his Limbs. However, says the Story, he was not so much a Criple, but he made a shift to cut down the Tree, and consequently to fell his Mistress.

Contents

No. 590

Monday, September 6, 1714

Addison

—Assiduo labuntur tempora motu

Non secus ac flumen. Neque enim consistere flumen,

Nec levis hora potest: sed ut unda, impellitur unda,

Urgeturque prior venienti, urgetque priorem,

Tempora sic fugiunt pariter, pariterque sequuntur;

Et nova sunt semper. Nam quod fuit ante, relictum est;

Fitque quod haud fuerat: momentaque cuncta novantur.

Ov. Met.

The following Discourse comes from the same Hand with the Essays upon Infinitude.[1]

EnglishÆternitas a Parte anteÆternitas a Parte post

has been

First

Secondly

Thirdly

FourthlyThe Ancient of Days

Punctum stansInfinite Instance;Cowley

Nothing is there to come, and nothing past,

But an Eternal Now does always last.

AlphaOmega

I am that I amMosesSirPharaohI am

Footnote 1:565571580628

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Contents

No. 591

Wednesday, September 8, 1714

Budgell

—Tenerorum lusor amorum—

Ovid.

no[1]

Love Casuist;

- How great the Contraction of the Fingers must be before it amounts to a Squeeze by the Hand.

- What can be properly termed an absolute Denial from a Maid, and what from a Widow.

- What Advances a Lover may presume to make, after having received a Patt upon his Shoulder from his Mistress's Fan.

- Whether a Lady, at the first Interview, may allow an Humble Servant to kiss her Hand.

- How far it may be permitted to caress the Maid in order to succeed with the Mistress.

- What Constructions a Man may put upon a Smile, and in what Cases a Frown goes for nothing.

- On what Occasions a sheepish Look may do Service, &c.

- 'There are more Calamities in the World arising from Love than from Hatred.

- Love is the Daughter of Idleness, but the Mother of Disquietude.

- Men of grave Natures (says Sir Francis Bacon) are the most constant; for the same Reason Men should be more constant than Women.

- The Gay Part of Mankind is most amorous, the Serious most loving.

- A Coquet often loses her Reputation, whilst she preserves her Virtue.

- A Prude often preserves her Reputation when she has lost her Virtue.

- Love refines a Man's Behaviour, but makes a Woman's ridiculous.

- Love is generally accompanied with Good-will in the Young, Interest in the Middle-aged, and a Passion too gross to Name in the Old.

- The Endeavours to revive a decaying Passion generally extinguish the Remains of it.

- A Woman who from being a Slattern becomes over-neat, or from being over-neat becomes a Slattern, is most certainly in Love.

TheCorinna.

Conceal, fond Man, conceal the mighty Smart,

Nor tell Corinna she has fir'd thy Heart.

In vain would'st thou complain, in vain pretend

To ask a Pity which she must not lend.

She's too much thy Superior to comply,

And too too fair to let thy Passion dye.

Languish in Secret, and with dumb Surprize

Drink the resistless Glances of her Eyes.

At awful Distance entertain thy Grief,

Be still in Pain, but never ask Relief.

Ne'er tempt her Scorn of thy consuming State;

Be any way undone, but fly her Hate.

Thou must submit to see thy Charmer bless

Some happier Youth that shall admire her less;

Who in that lovely Form, that Heavenly Mind,

Shall miss ten thousand Beauties thou could'st find;

Who with low Fancy shall approach her Charms,

While half enjoy'd she sinks into his Arms.

She knows not, must not know, thy nobler Fire,

Whom she, and whom the Muses do inspire;

Her Image only shall thy Breast employ,

And fill thy captiv'd Soul with Shades of joy;

Direct thy Dreams by Night, thy Thoughts by Day;

And never, never, from thy Bosom stray[2].

Footnote 1:602605614623625

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Footnote 2:

return

Contents

No. 592

Friday, September 10, 1714

Addison

—Studium sine divite Vena—

Hor.

was[1]SalmoneusTempest.Rimer's EdgarLear

not to please

AristotleLonginusGreeksHoraceQuintilianRomansBoileauDacierFrench

MomusNoxSomnusMomus1st2dly

ItaliansGusto Grande

Terence

Quorum æmulari exoptat negligentiam

Potiùs, quàm istorum obscuram diligentiam.

Southsecundum artemShakespearShakespearPyrrhus'sPlinyApollo

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 593

Monday, September 13, 1714

Byrom

Quale per incertam Lunam sub luce maligna

Est iter in Sylvis:—

Virg.

Shadow

'Since we have so little Time to spare, that none of it may be lost, I see no Reason why we should neglect to examine those imaginary Scenes we are presented with in Sleep, only because they have less Reality in them than our waking Meditations. A Traveller would bring his Judgment in Question who should despise the Directions of his Map for want of real Roads in it, because here stands a Dott instead of a Town, or a Cypher instead of a City, and it must be a long Day's Journey to travel thro' two or three Inches. Fancy in Dreams gives us much such another Landskip of Life as that does of Countries, and tho' its Appearances may seem strangely jumbled together, we may often observe such Traces and Footsteps of noble Thoughts, as, if carefully pursued, might lead us into a proper Path of Action. There is so much Rapture and Extasie in our fancied Bliss, and something so dismal and shocking in our fancied Misery, that tho' the Inactivity of the Body has given Occasion for calling Sleep the Image of Death, the Briskness of the Fancy affords us a strong Intimation of something within us that can never die.

'I have wondered, that Alexander the Great, who came into the World sufficiently dreamt of by his Parents, and had himself a tolerable Knack at dreaming, should often say, that

Sleep was one thing which made him sensible he was Mortal.

I who have not such Fields of Action in the Daytime to divert my Attention from this Matter, plainly perceive, that in those Operations of the Mind, while the Body is at rest, there is a certain Vastness of Conception very suitable to the Capacity, and demonstrative of the Force of that Divine Part in our Composition which will last for ever. Neither do I much doubt but had we a true Account of the Wonders the Hero last mentioned performed in his Sleep, his conquering this little Globe would hardly be worth mentioning. I may affirm, without Vanity, that when I compare several Actions in Quintus Curtius with some others in my own Noctuary, I appear the greater Hero of the two.

I shall close this Subject with observing, that while we are awake we are at Liberty to fix our Thoughts on what we please, but in Sleep we have not the Command of them. The Ideas which strike the Fancy, arise in us without our Choice, either from the Occurrences of the Day past, the Temper we lye down in, or it may be the Direction of some superior Being.

It is certain the Imagination may be so differently affected in Sleep, that our Actions of the Day might be either rewarded or punished with a little Age of Happiness or Misery. St. Austin was of Opinion, that if in Paradise there was the same Vicissitude of sleeping and waking as in the present World, the Dreams of its Inhabitants would be very happy.

And so far at present our Dreams are in our Power, that they are generally conformable to our waking Thoughts, so that it is not impossible to convey our selves to a Consort of Musick, the Conversation of Distant Friends, or any other Entertainment which has been before lodged in the Mind.

My Readers, by applying these Hints will find the Necessity of making a good Day of it, if they heartily wish themselves a good Night.

I have often consider'd Marcia's Prayer, and Lucius's Account of Cato, in this Light.

Marc.

O ye immortal Powers, that guard the Just,

Watch round his Couch, and soften his Repose,

Banish his Sorrows, and becalm his Soul

With easie Dreams; remember all his Virtues;

And shew Mankind that Goodness is your Care.

Luc.

Sweet are the Slumbers of the virtuous Man!

O Marcia, I have seen thy Godlike Father:

Some Pow'r invisible supports his Soul,

And bears it up in all its wonted Greatness.

A kind refreshing Sleep is fall'n upon him:

I saw him stretcht at Ease, his Fancy lost

In pleasing Dreams; as I drew near his Couch,

He smil'd, and cry'd, Cæsar, thou canst not hurt me.

ShadowVirgil

Contents

No. 594

Wednesday, September 15, 1714

—Absentem qui rodit amicum,

Qui non defendit, alio culpante; solutos

Qui captat risus hominum, famamque dicacis,

Fingere qui non visa potest, commissa tacere

Qui nequit, hic niger est: hunc tu Romane caveto.

Hor.

Sir

- First of all, Let him consider whether he does not take Delight in hearing the Faults of others.

- Secondly, Whether he is not too apt to believe such little blackning Accounts, and more inclined to be credulous on the uncharitable than on the good-natured Side.

- Thirdly, Whether he is not ready to spread and propagate such Reports as tend to the Disreputation of another. These are the several Steps by which this Vice proceeds, and grows up into Slander and Defamation.

thewhich[1]

believe

ItThales, Falshood is just as far distant from Truth, as the Ears are from the Eyes.[2]shallde la TrapeFrench[3]

Footnote 1:  that

return

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:Description de l'Abbaye de la Trappe

return

Contents

No. 595

Friday, September 17, 1714

—Non ut placidis cœant immitia, non ut Serpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni—

Hor.

Mixture of inconsistent Metaphors,

Libyan

The heavy Lashesthat have dropped from your PenGall dropping from a Penbeing lashed in a Satyr,

World

Sir ,

'After the many heavy Lashes that have fallen from your Pen, you may justly expect in return all the Load that my Ink can lay upon your Shoulders. You have Quartered all the foul Language upon me, that could be raked out of the Air of Billingsgate, without knowing who I am, or whether I deserved to be Cupped and Scarified at this rate. I tell you once for all, turn your Eyes where you please, you shall never Smell me out. Do you think that the Panicks, which you sow about the Parish, will ever build a Monument to your Glory? No, Sir , you may Fight these Battles as long as you will, but when you come to Ballance the Account you will find that you have been Fishing in troubled Waters, and that an Ignis fatuus hath bewildered you, and that indeed you have built upon a sandy Foundation, and brought your Hogs to a fair Market.

I am, Sir ,

Yours, &c.

Contents

No. 596

Monday, September 20, 1714

Molle meum levibus Cor est violabile Telis.

Ovid.

Sir ,

'I am fully convinced that there is not upon Earth a more impertinent Creature than an importunate Lover: We are daily complaining of the Severity of our Fate, to People who are wholly unconcerned in it; and hourly improving a Passion, which we would persuade the World is the Torment of our Lives. Notwithstanding this Reflection, Sir , I cannot forbear acquainting you with my own Case. You must know then, Sir , that even from my Childhood, the most prevailing Inclination I could perceive in my self, was a strong DeSir e to be in Favour with the Fair Sex. I am at present in the one and twentieth Year of my Age, and should have made Choice of a She Bed-fellow many Years since, had not my Father, who has a pretty good Estate of his own getting, and passes in the World for a prudent Man, being pleased to lay it down as a Maxim, That nothing spoils a young Fellow's Fortune so much as marrying early; and that no Man ought to think of Wedlock 'till six and twenty. Knowing his Sentiments upon this Head, I thought it in vain to apply my self to Women of Condition, who expect Settlements; so that all my Amours have hitherto been with Ladies who had no Fortunes: But I know not how to give you so good an Idea of me, as by laying before you the History of my Life.

'I can very well remember, that at my School-mistresses, whenever we broke up, I was always for joining my self with the Miss who Lay in, and was constantly one of the first to make a Party in the Play of Husband and Wife. This Passion for being well with the Females still increased as I advanced in Years. At the Dancing-School I contracted so many Quarrels by struggling with my Fellow-Scholars for the Partner I liked best, that upon a Ball Night, before our Mothers made their Appearance, I was usually up to the Nose in Blood. My Father, like a discreet Man, soon removed me from this Stage of Softness to a School of Discipline, where I learnt Latin and Greek. I underwent several Severities in this Place, 'till it was thought convenient to send me to the University; though, to confess the Truth, I should not have arrived so early at that Seat of Learning, but from the Discovery of an Intrigue between me and my Master's House-Keeper; upon whom I had employed my Rhetorick so effectually, that, though she was a very elderly Lady, I had almost brought her to consent to marry me. Upon my Arrival at Oxford, I found Logick so dry, that, instead of giving Attention to the Dead, I soon fell to addressing the Living. My first Amour was with a pretty Girl whom I shall call Parthenope: Her Mother sold Ale by the Town-Wall. Being often caught there by the Proctor, I was forced at last, that my Mistress's Reputation might receive no Blemish, to confess my Addresses were honourable. Upon this I was immediately sent Home; but Parthenope soon after marrying a Shoe-maker, I was again suffered to return. My next Affair was with my Taylor's Daughter, who deserted me for the sake of a young Barber. Upon my complaining to one of my particular Friends of this Misfortune, the cruel Wagg made a meer Jest of my Calamity, and asked me with a Smile, Where the Needle should turn but to the Pole?[1] After this I was deeply in Love with a Milliner, and at last with my Bed-maker, upon which I was sent away, or in the University Phrase, Rusticated for ever.

'Upon my coming home, I settled to my Studies so heartily, and contracted so great a Reservedness by being kept from the Company I most affected, that my Father thought he might venture me at the Temple.

'Within a Week after my Arrival I began to shine again, and became enamour'd with a mighty pretty Creature, who had every thing but Mony to recommend her. Having frequent Opportunities of uttering all the soft things which an Heart formed for Love could inspire me with, I soon gained her Consent to treat of Marriage; but unfortunately for us all, in the Absence of my Charmer I usually talked the same Language to her elder Sister, who is also very pretty. Now I assure you, Mr. SPECTATOR, this did not proceed from any real Affection I had conceived for her; but being a perfect Stranger to the Conversation of Men, and strongly addicted to associate with the Women, I knew no other Language but that of Love. I should however be very much obliged to you, if you could free me from the Perplexity I am at present in. I have sent Word to my old Gentleman in the Country, that I am desperately in Love with the younger Sister! and her Father, who knew no better, poor Man! acquainted him by the same Post, that I had for some time made my Addresses to the Elder. Upon this old Testy sends me up Word, that he has heard so much of my Exploits, that he intends immediately to order me to the South-Sea. Sir , I have occasionally talked so much of dying, that I begin to think there is not much in it; and if the old Squire persists in his Design, I do hereby give him Notice that I am providing my self with proper Instruments for the Destruction of despairing Lovers; let him therefore look to it, and consider that by his Obstinacy he may himself lose the Son of his Strength, the World an hopeful Lawyer, my Mistress a passionate Lover, and you, Mr. SPECTATOR,

Your constant Admirer,

Jeremy Lovemore.

Middle-Temple,

Sept. 18.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 597

Wednesday, September 22, 1714

Byrom

—Metis sine Pondere ludit—

Petr.

Shadow's

GladioGladioSir

Indies.Shadow's

New River

SirEuropeConstantinople:

A[1]old Shoes

Macedonian

Fritilla'sSunday

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 598

Friday, September 24, 1714

Addison

Jamne igitur laudas, quod de sapientibus alter

Ridebat, quoties a limine moverat unum

Protuleratque pedem: flebat contrarius alter?

Juv.

Baxter

Elizabeth'sBe serious.

ItalianTrophonius'sEurope.

PausaniasTrophonius's

Contents

No. 599

Monday, September 27, 1714

—Ubique

Luctus, ubique pavor—

Virg.

Trophonius.Merry-AndrewSirSirFrenchGreat-BritainBritishEnglish.DutchKelder

AlexanderTimonAthensFuneral.

Middle-TempleQuaker.Free-thinkers

TrophoniusSpectators

Contents

No. 600

Wednesday, September 29, 1714

Addison

—Solemque suum, sua sidera norunt—

Virg.

wasAfrick.[1]SirSirSirTillotson

and[2]

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 601

Friday, October 1, 1714

Henry Grove

The[1]

Homo qui Erranti comiter monstrat Viam,

Quasi Lumen de suo Lumine accendat, facit,

Nihilominus ipsi luceat, cum illi accenderit.

Sir

Sir

Footnote 1:588.

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Contents

No. 602

Monday, October 4, 1714

Budgell

—Facit hoc illos Hyacinthos—

Juv.

Sir ,

'In order to execute the Office of Love-Casuist to Great Britain, with which I take my self to be invested by your Paper of September 8[1], I shall make some further Observations upon the two Sexes in general, beginning with that which always ought to have the upper Hand. After having observed with much Curiosity the Accomplishments which are apt to captivate female Hearts, I find that there is no Person so irresistable as one who is a Man of Importance, provided it be in Matters of no Consequence. One who makes himself talked of, tho' it be for the particular Cock of his Hat, or for prating aloud in the Boxes at a Play, is in a fair way of being a Favourite. I have known a young Fellow make his Fortune by knocking down a Constable; and may venture to say, tho' it may seem a Paradox, that many a Fair One has died by a Duel in which both the Combatants have survived.

About three Winters ago I took Notice of a young Lady at the Theatre, who convceived of a Passion for a notorious Rake that headed a Party of Cat-calls; and am credibly informed, that the Emperor of the Mohocks married a rich Widow within three Weeks after having rendered himself formidable in the Cities of London and Westminster. Scowring and breaking Windows have done frequent Execution upon the Sex; but there is no Sett of these Male Charmers who make their way more successfully, than those who have gained themselves a Name for Intrigue, and have ruined the greatest Number of Reputations. There is a strange Curiosity in the female World to be acquainted with the dear Man who has been loved by others, and to know what it is that makes him so agreeable. His Reputation does more than half his Business. Every one that is ambitious of being a Woman of Fashion, looks out for Opportunities of being in his Company; so that to use the old Proverb, When his Name is up he may lie a-Bed.

'I was very sensible of the great Advantage of being a Man of Importance upon these Occasions on the Day of the King's Entry, when I was seated in a Balcony behind a Cluster of very pretty Country Ladies, who had one of these showy Gentlemen in the midst of them. The first Trick I caught him at was bowing to several Persons of Quality whom he did not know; nay, he had the Impudence to hem at a Blue Garter who had a finer Equipage than ordinary, and seemed a little concerned at the Impertinent Huzzas of the Mob, that hindered his Friend from taking Notice of him. There was indeed one who pull'd off his Hat to him, and upon the Ladies asking who it was, he told them, it was a Foreign Minister that he had been very merry with the Night before; whereas in Truth, it was the City Common Hunt.

'He was never at a Loss when he was asked any Person's Name, tho' he seldom knew any one under a Peer. He found Dukes and Earls among the Aldermen, very good-natured Fellows among the Privy-Counsellors, with two or three agreeable old Rakes among the Bishops and Judges.

'In short, I collected from his whole Discourse, that he was acquainted with every Body, and knew no Body. At the same Time, I am mistaken if he did not that Day make more Advances in the Affections of his Mistress, who sat near him, than he could have done in half a Year's Courtship.

'Ovid has finely touched this Method of making Love, which I shall here give my Reader in Mr. Dryden's Translation.

(Page the Eleventh.)

Thus Love in Theatres did first improve,

And Theatres are still the Scene of Love:

Nor shun the Chariots, and the Coursers Race;

The Circus is no inconvenient Place.

Nor Need is there of talking on the Hand,

Nor Nods, nor Sighs, which Lovers understand;

But boldly next the Fair your Seat provide,

Close as you can to hers, and Side by Side:

Pleas'd or unpleas'd, no Matter; crowding sit;

For so the Laws of publick Shows permit.

Then find Occasion to begin Discourse,

Enquire whose Chariot this, and whose that Horse;

To whatsoever Side she is inclin'd,

Suit all your Inclinations to her Mind;

Like what she likes, from thence your Court begin,

And whom she favours, wish that he may win.

(Again, Page the Sixteenth.)

O when will come the Day, by Heav'n design'd,

When thou, the best and fairest of Mankind,

Drawn by white Horses, shall in Triumph ride,

With conquer'd Slaves attending on thy Side;

Slaves, that no longer can be safe in flight,

O glorious Object! O surprizing Sight!

O Day of publick Joy, too good to end in Night!

On such a Day, if thou, and next to thee

Some Beauty sits, the Spectacle to see;

If she enquire the Names of conquer'd Kings,

Of Mountains, Rivers, and their hidden Springs;

Answer to all thou knowest; and, if Need be,

Of Things unknown seem to speak knowingly:

This is Euphrates, crown'd with Reeds; and there

Flows the swift Tigris, with his Sea-green hair,

Invent new Names of Things unknown before;

Call this Armenia, that, the Caspian Shore:

Call this a Mede, and that a Parthian Youth;

Talk probably; no Matter for the Truth.

Footnote 1:591

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Contents

No. 603

Wednesday, October 6, 1714

Byrom

Ducite ab Urbe Domum, mea Carmina, ducite Daphnim.

Virg.

from[1]

I

My Time, O ye Muses, was happily spent,

When Phebe went with me wherever I went;

Ten thousand sweet Pleasures I felt in my Breast:

Sure never fond Shepherd like Colin was blest!

But now she is gone, and has left me behind,

What a marvellous Change on a sudden I find?

When things were as fine as could possibly be,

I thought 'twas the Spring; but alas! it was she.

II

With such a Companion, to tend a few Sheep,

To rise up and play, or to lye down and sleep:

I was so good-humour'd, so chearful and gay,

My Heart was as light as a Feather all Day.

But now I so cross and so peevish am grown;

So strangely uneasie as ever was known.

My Fair one is gone, and my Joys are all drown'd,

And my Heart—I am sure it weighs more than a Pound.

III

The Fountain that wont to run sweetly along,

And dance to soft Murmurs the Pebbles among,

Thou know'st, little Cupid, if Phebe was there,

'Twas Pleasure to look at, 'twas Musick to hear:

But now she is absent, I walk by its Side,

And still as it murmurs do nothing but chide,

Must you be so chearful, while I go in Pain?

Peace there with your Bubbling, and hear me complain.

IV

When my Lambkins around me would oftentimes play,

And when Phebe and I were as joyful as they,

How pleasant their Sporting, how happy the Time,

When Spring, Love and Beauty were all in their Prime?

But now in their Frolicks when by me they pass,

I fling at their Fleeces an handful of Grass;

Be still then, I cry, for it makes me quite mad,

To see you so merry, while I am so sad.

V

My Dog I was ever well pleased to see

Come wagging his Tail to my Fair one and me;

And Phebe was pleas'd too, and to my Dog said,

Come hither, poor Fellow; and patted his Head.

But now, when he's fawning, I with a sour Look

Cry, Sir rah; and give him a Blow with my Crook:

And I'll give him another; for why should not Tray

Be as dull as his Master, when Phebe's away?

VI

When walking with Phebe, what Sights have I seen?

How fair was the Flower, how fresh was the Green?

What a lovely appearance the Trees and the Shade,

The Corn-fields and Hedges, and ev'ry thing made?

But now she has left me, tho' all are still there,

They none of 'em now so delightful appear:

'Twas nought but the Magick, I find, of her Eyes,

Made so many beautiful Prospects arise.

VII

Sweet Musick went with us both all the Wood thro',

The Lark, Linnet, Throstle, and Nightingale too;

Winds over us whisper'd, Flocks by us did bleat,

And chirp went the Grasshopper under our Feet.

But now she is absent, tho' still they sing on,

The Woods are but lonely, the Melody's gone:

Her Voice in the Consort, as now I have found,

Gave ev'ry thing else its agreeable Sound.

VIII

Rose, what is become of thy delicate Hue?

And where is the Violet's beautiful Blue?

Does ought of its Sweetness the Blossom beguile,

That Meadow, those Dasies, why do they not smile?

Ah! Rivals, I see what it was that you drest

And made your selves fine for; a Place in her Breast:

You put on your Colours to pleasure her Eye,

To be pluckt by her Hand, on her Bosom to die.

IX

How slowly Time creeps, till my Phebe return!

While amidst the soft Zephyr's cold Breezes I burn;

Methinks if I knew whereabouts he would tread,

I could breathe on his Wings, and 'twould melt down the Lead.

Fly swifter, ye Minutes, bring hither my Dear,

And rest so much longer for't when she is here.

Ah Colin! old Time is full of Delay,

Nor will budge one Foot faster for all thou canst say.

X

Will no pitying Power that hears me complain,

Or cure my Disquiet, or soften my Pain?

To be cur'd, thou must, Colin, thy Passion remove;

But what Swain is so silly to live without Love?

No, Deity, bid the dear Nymph to return,

For ne'er was poor Shepherd so sadly forlorn.

Ah! What shall I do? I shall die with Despair;

Take heed, all ye Swains, how ye love one so fair.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 604

Friday, October 8, 1714

Tu ne quæsieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi,

Finem Dii dederint, Leuconoe; nec Babylonios

Tentaris numeros—

Hor.

Sir

LaplandScotlandAsia

Grand Cairo

Sir Roger Will Honeycomb

N. B.

Contents

No. 605

Monday, October 11, 1714

Budgell

Exuerint sylvestrem animum, cultuque frequenti

In quascunque voces artes, haud tarda sequentur.

Virg.

Casuist

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Finding that you have Entertained an useful Person in your Service in quality of Love-Casuist[1], I apply my self to you, under a very great Difficulty, that hath for some Months perplexed me. I have a Couple of humble Servants, one of which I have no Aversion to; the other I think of very kindly. The first hath the Reputation of a Man of good Sense, and is one of those People that your Sex are apt to Value. My Spark is reckoned a Coxcomb among the Men, but is a Favourite of the Ladies. If I marry the Man of Worth, as they call him, I shall oblige my Parents and improve my Fortune; but with my dear Beau I promise my self Happiness, altho' not a Jointure. Now I would ask you, whether I should consent to lead my Life with a Man that I have only no Objection to, or with him against whom all Objections to me appear frivolous. I am determined to follow the Casuist's Advice, and I dare say he will not put me upon so serious a thing as Matrimony, contrary to my Inclination.'

I am, &c.

Fanny Fickle.

P.S. 'I forgot to tell you, that the pretty Gentleman is the most complaisant Creature in the World, and is always of my Mind; but the other, forsooth, fancies he hath as much Wit as my self, slights my Lap-Dog, and hath the Insolence to contradict me when he thinks I am not in the Right. About half an Hour ago, he maintained to my Face, that a Patch always implies a Pimple.'

If she marries first, Love will come after.

FickleGreekOxfordBarbarian.CoquettesLondon.

Sir

Fickle

Edgar

BritishWinchesterElfrida.

Footnote 1:591602614623625

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Contents

No. 606

Wednesday, October 13, 1714

—longum cantu solata laborem

Arguto Conjux percurrit pectine Telas.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I have a couple of Nieces under my Direction, who so often run gadding abroad, that I don't know where to have them. Their Dress, their Tea, and their Visits take up all their Time, and they go to Bed as tired with doing nothing, as I am after quilting a whole Under-Petticoat. The only time they are not idle, is while they read your Spectators; which being dedicated to the Interests of Virtue, I deSir e you to recommend the long neglected Art of Needle-work. Those Hours which in this Age are thrown away in Dress, Play, Visits, and the like, were employ'd, in my time, in writing out Receipts, or working Beds, Chairs, and Hangings for the Family. For my Part, I have ply'd my Needle these fifty Years, and by my good Will would never have it out of my Hand. It grieves my Heart to see a couple of proud idle Flirts sipping their Tea, for a whole Afternoon, in a Room hung round with the Industry of their Great Grandmother. Pray, Sir , take the laudable Mystery of Embroidery into your serious Consideration, and as you have a great deal of the Virtue of the last Age in you, continue your Endeavours to reform the present.'

I am, &c.

thatEngland[1]

WhigTorySophroniaBlenheimFrenchmen

Great Britain

1. That no young Virgin whatsoever be allow'd to receive the Addresses of her first Lover, but in a Suit of her own Embroidering.

1. That before every fresh Servant, she be oblig'd to appear with a new Stomacher at the least.

1. That no one be actually married, till she hath the Child-bed Pillows, &c. ready Stitched, as likewise the Mantle for the Boy quite finished.

Great Britain

GrecianHomerPenelopeUlyssesLaertesHomer

Sweet Hope she gave to every Youth apart,

With well-taught Looks, and a deceitful Heart:

A Web she wove of many a slender Twine,

Of curious Texture, and perplext Design;

My Youths, she cry'd, my Lord but newly dead,

Forbear a while to court my widow'd Bed,

'Till I have wov'n, as solemn Vows require,

This Web, a Shrowd for poor Ulysses' Sir e.

His Limbs, when Fate the Hero's Soul demands,

Shall claim this Labour of his Daughter's Hands:

Lest all the Dames of Greece my Name despise,

While the great King without a Covering lies.

Thus she. Nor did my Friends mistrust the Guile.

All Day she sped the long laborious Toil:

But when the burning Lamps supply'd the Sun,

Each Night unravell'd what the Day begun.

Three live-long Summers did the Fraud prevail.

The Fourth her Maidens told th' amazing Tale.

These Eyes beheld, as close I took my Stand,

The backward Labours of her faithless Hand:

'Till watch'd at length, and press'd on every Side,

Her Task she ended, and commenc'd a Bride.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

No. 607

Friday, October 15, 1714

Dicite Iö Pæan, et Iö bis dicite Pæan:

Decidit in casses præda petita meos.

Ovid.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Having in your Paper of Monday last published my Report on the Case of Mrs. Fanny Fickle, wherein I have taken Notice, that Love comes after Marriage; I hope your Readers are satisfied of this Truth, that as Love generally produces Matrimony, so it often happens that Matrimony produces Love.

'It perhaps requires more Virtues to make a good Husband or Wife, than what go the finishing any the most shining Character whatsoever.

'Discretion seems absolutely necessary, and accordingly we find that the best Husbands have been most famous for their Wisdom. Homer, who hath drawn a perfect Pattern of a prudent Man, to make it the more compleat, hath celebrated him for the just Returns of Fidelity and Truth to his Penelope; insomuch that he refused the Caresses of a Goddess for her sake, and to use the Expression of the best of Pagan Authors, vetulam suam prætulit Immortalitati, his old Woman was dearer to him than Immortality.

'Virtue is the next necessary Qualification for this domestick Character, as it naturally produces Constancy and mutual Esteem. Thus Brutus and Porcia were more remarkable for Virtue and Affection than any others of the Age in which they lived.

'Good-Nature is a third necessary Ingredient in the Marriage-State, without which it would inevitably sower upon a thousand Occasions. When Greatness of Mind is joined with this amiable Quality, it attracts the Admiration and Esteem of all who behold it. Thus Cæsar, not more remarkable for his Fortune and Valour than for his Humanity, stole into the Hearts of the Roman People, when breaking through the Custom, he pronounced an Oration at the Funeral of his first and best beloved Wife.

'Good-Nature is insufficient, unless it be steady and uniform, and accompanied with an Evenness of Temper, which is, above all things, to be preserved in this Friendship contracted for Life. A Man must be easie within himself, before he can be so to his other self. Socrates, and Marcus Aurelius, are Instances of Men, who, by the Strength of Philosophy, having entirely composed their Minds, and subdued their Passions, are celebrated for good Husbands, notwithstanding the first was yoked with Xantippe, and the other with Faustina. If the wedded Pair would but habituate themselves for the first Year to bear with one another's Faults, the Difficulty would be pretty well conquer'd. This mutual Sweetness of Temper and Complacency, was finely recommended in the Nuptial Ceremonies among the Heathens, who, when they sacrificed to Juno at that Solemnity, always tore out the Gaul from the Entrails of the Victim, and cast it behind the Altar.

'I shall conclude this Letter with a Passage out of Dr. Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire, not only as it will serve to fill up your present Paper; but if I find my self in the Humour, may give Rise to another; I having by me an old Register, belonging to the Place here under-mentioned.'

Sir Philip de Somervile held the Manors of Whichenovre, Scirescot, Ridware, Netherton, and Cowlee, all in Com. Stafford, of the Earls of Lancaster, by this memorable Service. The said Sir Philip shall find, maintain, and sustain, one Bacon Flitch, hanging in his Hall at Whichenovre ready arrayed all times of the Year, but in Lent, to be given to every Man or Woman married, after the Day and the Year of their Marriage be past, in Form following.

Whensoever that any one such before named will come to enquire for the Bacon, in their own Person, they shall come to the Bailiff, or to the Porter of the Lordship of Whichenovre, and shall say to them in the manner as ensueth;

'Bayliff, or Porter, I doo you to know, that I am come for my self, to demand one Bacon Flyke hanging in the Hall of the Lord of Whichenovre, after the Form thereunto belonging.'

After which Relation, the Bayliff or Porter shall assign a Day to him, upon Promise by his Faith to return, and with him to bring Twain of his Neighbours. And in the mean Time the said Bailiff shall take with him Twain of the Freeholders of the Lordship of Whichenovre, and they three shall go to the Manor of Rudlow, belonging to Robert Knightleye, and there shall summon the aforesaid Knightleye, or his Bayliff, commanding him to be ready at Whichenovre the Day appointed, at Prime of Day, with his Carriage, that is to say, a Horse and a Saddle, a Sack and a Pryke, for to convey the said Bacon and Corn a Journey out of the County of Stafford, at his Costages. And then the said Bailiff shall, with the said Freeholders, summon all the Tenants of the said Manor, to be ready at the Day appointed, at Whichenovre, for to do and perform the Services which they owe to the Bacon. And at the Day assigned, all such as owe Services to the Bacon, shall be ready at the Gate of the Manor of Whichenovre, from the Sun-rising to Noon, attending and awaiting for the coming of him who fetcheth the Bacon. And when he is come, there shall be delivered to him and his Fellows, Chapelets; and to all those which shall be there, to do their Services due to the Bacon. And they shall lead the said Demandant with Trumps and Tabours, and other manner of Minstrels to the Hall-Door, where he shall find the Lord of Whichenovre, or his Steward, ready to deliver the Bacon in this Manner.

He shall enquire of him, which demandeth the Bacon, if he have brought twain of his Neighbours with him: Which must answer, They be here ready. And then the Steward shall cause these two Neighbours to swear, if the said Demandant be a wedded Man, or have been a Man wedded; and if since his Marriage one Year and a Day be past; and if he be a Free-man, or a Villain. And if his said Neighbours make Oath, that he hath for him all these three Points rehearsed; then shall the Bacon be taken down and brought to the Hall-Door, and shall there be laid upon one half Quarter of Wheat, and upon one other of Rye. And he that demandeth the Bacon shall kneel upon his Knee, and shall hold his right Hand upon a Book, which Book shall be laid upon the Bacon and the Corn, and shall make Oath in this manner.

'Here ye, Sir Philip de Somervile, Lord of Whichenovre, mayntener and gyver of this Baconne: That I A sithe I Wedded B my Wife, and sithe I had hyr in my kepyng, and at my Wylle, by a Year and a Day after our Marriage, I would not have chaunged for none other; farer ne fowler; richer, ne pourer; ne for none other descended of greater Lynage; slepyng ne wakyng, at noo tyme. And if the seyd B were sole and I sole I would take her to be my Wife before all the Wymen of the Worlde, of what condiciones soever they be: good or evylle, as help me God ond his Seyntes, and this Flesh and all Fleshes.'

And his Neighbours shall make Oath, that they trust verily he hath said truly. And if it be found by his Neighbours before-named that he be a Free-man, there shall be delivered to him half a Quarter of Wheat and a Cheese; and if he be a Villain, he shall have half a Quarter of Rye without Cheese. And then shall Knightleye the Lord of Rudlow be called for, to carry all these Things tofore rehearsed; and the said Corn shall be laid on one Horse and the Bacon above it: and he to whom the Bacon appertaineth shall ascend upon his Horse; and shall take the Cheese before him if he have a Horse. And if he have none, the Lord of Whichenovre shall cause him to have one Horse and Saddle, to such time as he be past his Lordship: and so shall they depart the Manor of Whichenovre with the Corn and the Bacon, tofore him that hath won it, with Trumpets, Tabourets, and other manner of Minstrelsie. And all the Free Tenants of Whichenovre shall Conduct him to be passed the Lordship of Whichenovre. And then shall they all return; except him, to whom appertained to make the Carriage and Journey without the County of Stafford, at the Costs of his Lord of Whichenovre.

Contents

No. 608

Monday, October 18, 1714

Addison[1]

—Perjuria ridet Amantum—

Ovid.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'According to my Promise, I herewith transmit to you a List of several Persons, who from time to time demanded the Flitch of Bacon of Sir Philip de Somervile and his Descendants; as it is preserved in an ancient Manuscript under the Title of The Register of Whichenovre-Hall, and of the Bacon Flitch there maintained.

'In the Beginning of this Record is recited the Law or Institution in Form, as it is already printed in your last Paper: To which are added Two By-Laws, as a Comment upon the General Law, the Substance whereof is, that the Wife shall take the same Oath as the Husband, mutatis mutandis; and that the Judges shall, as they think meet, interrogate or cross-examine the Witnesses. After this proceeds the Register in Manner following.

'Aubry de Falstaff, Son of Sir John Falstaff, Kt. with Dame Maude his Wife, were the first that demanded the Bacon, he having bribed twain of his Father's Companions to swear falsly in his Behoof whereby he gained the Flitch: But he and his said Wife falling immediately into a Dispute how the said Bacon should be dressed, it was by Order of the Judges taken from him, and hung up again in the Hall.

'Alison the Wife of Stephen Freckle, brought her said Husband along with her, and set forth the good Conditions and Behaviour of her Consort, adding withal that she doubted not but he was ready to attest the like of her, his Wife; whereupon he, the said Stephen, shaking his Head, she turned short upon him, and gave him a Box on the Ear.

'Philip de Waverland, having laid his Hand upon the Book, when the Clause, Were I sole and she sole, was rehearsed, found a secret Compunction rising in his Mind, and stole it off again.

'Richard de Loveless, who was a Courtier, and a very wellbred Man, being observed to hesitate at the Words after our Marriage, was thereupon required to explain himself. He reply'd, by talking very largely of his exact Complaisance while he was a Lover; and alledg'd, that he had not in the least disobliged his Wife for a Year and a Day before Marriage, which he hoped was the same Thing.

'Rejected.

'Joceline Jolly, Esq., making it appear by unquestionable Testimony, That he and his Wife had presented full and entire Affection for the Space of the first Month, commonly called the Honey-Moon; he had in Consideration thereof one Rasher bestowed upon him.

'After this, says the Record, many Years passed over before any Demandant appeared at Whichenovre-Hall; insomuch that one would have thought that the whole Country were turned Jews, so little was their Affection to the Flitch of Bacon.

'The next Couple enrolled had like to have carried it, if one of the Witnesses had not deposed, That dining on a Sunday with the Demandant, whose Wife had sate below the Squire's Lady at Church, she the said Wife dropped some Expressions, as if she thought her Husband deserved to be knighted; to which he returned a passionate Pish! The Judges taking the Premises into Consideration, declared the aforesaid Behaviour to imply an unwarrantable Ambition in the Wife, and Anger in the Husband.

'It is recorded as a sufficient Disqualification of a certain Wife, that speaking of her Husband, she said, God forgive him.

'It is likewise remarkable, that a Couple were rejected upon the Deposition of one of their Neighbours, that the Lady had once told her Husband, that it was her Duty to obey; to which he replied, Oh! my Dear, you are never in the wrong.

'The violent Passion of one Lady for her Lap-Dog; the turning away of the old House-Maid by another; a Tavern-Bill torn by the Wife, and a Taylor's by the Husband; a Quarrel about the Kissing-Crust; spoiling of Dinners, and coming in late of Nights; are so many several Articles which occasioned the Reprobation of some Scores of Demandants, whose Names are recorded in the aforesaid Register.

'Without enumerating other particular Persons, I shall content my self with observing, that the Sentence pronounced against one Gervase Poacher is, that he might have had Bacon to his Eggs, if he had not heretofore scolded his Wife when they were over boiled. And the Deposition against Dorothy Dolittle runs in these Words; That she had so far usuped the Dominion of the Coalfire, (the Stirring whereof her Husband claimed to himself) that by her good Will she never would suffer the Poker out of her Hand.

'I find but two Couples, in this first Century, that were successful: The first, was a Sea-Captain and his Wife, who since the Day of their Marriage, had not seen one another till the Day of the Claim. The Second, was an honest Pair in the Neighbourhood; The Husband was a Man of plain good Sense, and a peaceable Temper; the Woman was dumb.'

Footnote 1:Bibliographer's ManualNo. 623

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Contents

No. 609

Wednesday, October 20, 1714

—Farrago libelli—

Juv.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I have for some Time deSir ed to appear in your Paper, and have therefore chosen a Day[1] to steal into the SPECTATOR, when I take it for granted you will not have many spare Minutes for Speculations of your own. As I was the other Day walking with an honest Country-Gentleman, he very often was expressing his Astonishment to see the Town so mightily crowded with Doctors of Divinity: Upon which I told him he was very much mistaken if he took all those Gentlemen he saw in Scarfs to be Persons of that Dignity; for, that a young Divine, after his first Degree in the University, usually comes hither only to show himself; and on that Occasion is apt to think he is but half equipp'd with a Gown and Cassock for his publick Appearance, if he hath not the additional Ornament of a Scarf of the first Magnitude to intitle him to the Appellation of Doctor from his Landlady and the Boy at Childs. Now since I know that this Piece of Garniture is looked upon as a Mark of Vanity or Affectation, as it is made use of among some of the little spruce Adventurers of the Town, I should be glad if you would give it a Place among those Extravagancies you have justly exposed in several of your Papers: being very well assured that the main Body of the Clergy, both in the Country and the Universities, who are almost to a Man untainted with it, would be very well pleased to see this Venerable Foppery well exposed. When my Patron did me the Honour to take me into his Family, (for I must own my self of this Order) he was pleased to say he took me as a Friend and Companion; and whether he looked upon the Scarf like the Lace and Shoulder-knot of a Footman, as a Badge of Servitude and Dependance, I do not know, but he was so kind as to leave my wearing of it to my own Discretion; and not having any just Title to it from my Degrees, I am content to be without the Ornament. The Privileges of our Nobility to keep a certain Number of Chaplains are undisputed, though perhaps not one in ten of those reverend Gentlemen have any Relation to the noble Families their Scarfs belong to; the Right generally of creating all Chaplains except the Domestick, where there is one, being nothing more than the Perquisite of a Steward's Place, who, if he happens to out-live any considerable Number of his noble Masters, shall probably, at one and the same Time, have fifty Chaplains, all in their proper Accoutrements, of his own Creation; though perhaps there hath been neither Grace nor Prayer said in the Family since the Introduction of the first Coronet.'

I am, &c.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I wish you would write a Philosophical Paper about Natural Antipathies, with a Word or two concerning the Strength of Imagination. I can give you a List upon the first Notice, of a Rational China Cup, of an Egg that walks upon two Legs, and a Quart Pot that sings like a Nightingale. There is in my Neighbourhood a very pretty prattling Shoulder of Veal, that squawls out at the Sight of a Knife. Then as for Natural Antipathies, I know a General Officer who was never conquered but by a smother'd Rabbit; and a Wife that domineers over her Husband by the Help of a Breast of Mutton. A Story that relates to my self on this Subject may be thought not unentertaining, especially when I assure you that it is literally true. I had long made Love to a Lady, in the Possession of whom I am now the happiest of Mankind, whose Hand I shou'd have gained with much Difficulty without the Assistance of a Cat. You must know then, that my most dangerous Rival had so strong an Aversion to this Species, that he infallibly swooned away at the Sight of that harmless Creature. My Friend Mrs. Lucy, her Maid, having a greater Respect for me and my Purse than she had for my Rival, always took Care to pin the Tail of a Cat under the Gown of her Mistress, whenever she knew of his coming; which had such an Effect, that every Time he entred the Room, he looked more like one of the Figures in Mrs. Salmon's Wax-work, than a deSir able Lover. In short, he grew Sick of her Company; which the young Lady taking Notice of, (who no more knew why, than he did) she sent me a Challenge to meet her in Lincoln's-Inn Chappel, which I joyfully accepted, and have (amongst other Pleasures) the Satisfaction of being praised by her for my Stratagem, I am, &c.'

From the Hoop.

Tom. Nimble.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The Virgins of Great Britain are very much oblig'd to you for putting them upon such tedious Drudgeries in Needlework as were fit only for the Hilpa's and the Nilpa's that lived before the Flood. Here's a stir indeed with your Histories in Embroidery, your Groves with Shades of Silk and Streams of Mohair! I would have you to know, that I hope to kill a hundred Lovers before the best Housewife in England can stitch out a Battel, and do not fear but to provide Boys and Girls much faster than your Disciples can embroider them. I love Birds and Beasts as well as you, but am content to fancy them when they are really made. What do you think of Gilt Leather for Furniture? There's your pretty Hangings for a Chamber[2]; and what is more, our own Country is the only Place in Europe where Work of that kind is tolerably done. Without minding your musty Lessons: I am this Minute going to Paul's Church-Yard to bespeak a Skreen and a Set of Hangings; and am resolved to encourage the Manufacture of my Country.'

Yours,

Cleora.

Footnote 1:

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

No. 610

Friday, October 22, 1714

Sic, cum transierint mei

Nullo cum strepitu dies,

Plebeius moriar senex.

Illi mors gravis incubat,

Qui, notus nimis omnibus,

Ignotus moritur sibi.

Seneca.

JewsCæsarAlexanderJews

NothingLonginuscan be Great, the Contempt of which is GreatSirVirgilRome

Sir

GygesLydianGygesAglaüsGygesAglaüs

Cowley's

Thus Aglaüs (a Man unknown to Men,

But the Gods knew, and therefore lov'd him then)

Thus liv'd obscurely then without a Name,

Aglaüs, now consign'd t' eternal Fame.

For Gyges, the rich King, wicked and great,

Presum'd at wise Apollo's Delphick Seat,

Presum'd to ask, Oh thou, the whole World's Eye,

See'st thou a Man that happier is than I?

The God, who scorned to flatter Man, reply'd,

Aglaüs happier is. But Gyges cry'd,

In a proud Rage, Who can that Aglaüs be?

We've heard as yet of no such King as he.

And true it was, through the whole Earth around,

No King of such a Name was to be found.

Is some old Hero of that Name alive,

Who his high Race does from the Gods derive?

Is it some mighty Gen'ral, that has done

Wonders in Fight, and God-like Honours won?

Is it some Man of endless Wealth? said he:

None, none of these; who can this Aglaüs be?

After long Search, and vain Enquiries past,

In an obscure Arcadian Vale at last,

(Th' Arcadian Life has always shady been)

Near Sopho's Town (which he but once had seen)

This Aglaüs, who Monarchs Envy drew,

Whose Happiness the Gods stood Witness to,

This mighty Aglaüs was lab'ring found,

With his own Hands, in his own little Ground.

So, gracious God, (if it may lawful be,

Among those foolish Gods to mention thee)

So let me act, on such a private Stage,

The last dull Scenes of my declining Age;

After long Toils and Voyages in vain,

This quiet Port let my toss'd Vessel gain;

Of heav'nly Rest, this Earnest to me lend,

Let my Life sleep, and learn to love her End.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 611

Monday, October 25, 1714

Perfide! sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens

Caucasus, Hircanæque admórunt ubera tigres.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I flatter my self, you will not only pity, but, if possible, redress a Misfortune my self and several others of my Sex lie under. I hope you will not be offended, nor think I mean by this to justifie my own imprudent Conduct, or expect You should. No! I am sensible how severely, in some of your former Papers, you have reproved Persons guilty of the like Mismanagements. I was scarce Sixteen, and, I may say without Vanity, Handsome, when courted by a false perjured Man; who, upon Promise of Marriage, rendered me the most unhappy of Women. After he had deluded me from my Parents, who were People of very good Fashion, in less than three Months he left me. My Parents would not see, nor hear from me; and had it not been for a Servant, who had lived in our Family, I must certainly have perished for want of Bread. However, it pleased Providence, in a very short time, to alter my miserable Condition. A Gentleman saw me, liked me, and married me. My Parents were reconciled; and I might be as happy in the Change of my Condition, as I was before miserable, but for some things, that you shall know, which are insupportable to me; and I am sure you have so much Honour and Compassion as to let those Persons know, in some of your Papers, how much they are in the wrong. I have been married near five Years, and do not know that in all that time I ever went abroad without my Husband's Leave and Approbation. I am obliged, through the Importunities of several of my Relations, to go abroad oftner than suits my Temper. Then it is, I labour under insupportable Agonies. That Man, or rather Monster, haunts every Place I go to. Base Villain! By reason I will not admit his nauseous wicked Visits and Appointments, he strives all the ways he can to ruin me. He left me destitute of Friend or Money, nor ever thought me worth enquiring after, till he unfortunately happened to see me in a Front Box, sparkling with Jewels. Then his Passion returned. Then the Hypocrite pretended to be a Penitent. Then he practised all those Arts that helped before to undo me. I am not to be deceived a second time by him. I hate and abhor his odious Passion; and, as he plainly perceives it, either out of Spight or Diversion, he makes it his Business to expose me. I never fail seeing him in all publick Company, where he is always most industriously spightful. He hath, in short, told all his Acquaintance of our unhappy Affair, they tell theirs; so that it is no Secret among his Companions, which are numerous. They, to whom he tells it, think they have a Title to be very familiar. If they bow to me, and I out of good Manners return it, then I am pester'd with Freedoms that are no ways agreeable to my self or Company. If I turn my Eyes from them, or seem displeased, they sower upon it, and whisper the next Person; he his next; 'till I have at last the Eyes of the whole Company upon me. Nay, they report abominable Falshoods, under that mistaken Notion, She that will grant Favours to one Man, will to a hundred. I beg you will let those who are guilty, know, how ungenerous this way of Proceeding is. I am sure he will know himself the Person aim'd at, and perhaps put a stop to the Insolence of others. Cursed is the Fate of unhappy Women! that Men may boast and glory in those things that we must think of with Shame and Horror! You have the Art of making such odious Customs appear detestable. For my Sake, and I am sure, for the Sake of several others, who dare not own it, but, like me, lie under the same Misfortunes, make it as infamous for a Man to boast of Favours, or expose our Sex, as it is to take the Lie or a Box on the Ear, and not resent it.'

Your Constant Reader,

and Admirer,

Lesbia.

P. S. 'I am the more Impatient under this Misfortune, having receiv'd fresh Provocation, last Wednesday, in the Abbey.'

Lesbia

Coward.

Lesbia

Spanish

EnglishMadrid

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 612

Wednesday, October 27, 1714

Murranum hic atavos et avorum antiqua sonantem

Nomina per regesque actum genus omne Latinos,

Præcipitem scopulo, atque ingentis turbine saxi

Excutit, effunditque solo.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Were the Genealogy of every Family preserved, there would probably be no Man valued or despis'd on Account of his Birth. There is scarce a Beggar in the Streets, who would not find himself lineally descended from some great Man; nor any one of the highest Title, who would not discover several base and indigent Persons among his Ancestors. It would be a pleasant Entertainment to see one Pedigree of Men appear together, under the same Characters they bore when they acted their respective Parts among the Living. Suppose therefore a Gentleman, full of his illustrious Family, should, in the same manner as Virgil makes Æneas look over his Descendants, see the whole Line of his Progenitors pass in a Review before his Eyes, and with how many varying Passions would he behold Shepherds and Soldiers, Statesmen and Artificers, Princes and Beggars, walk in the Procession of five thousand Years! How would his Heart sink or flutter at the several Sports of Fortune in a Scene so diversified with Rags and Purple, Handicraft Tools and Scepters, Ensigns of Dignity and Emblems of Disgrace; and how would his Fears and Apprehensions, his Transports and Mortifications, succeed one another, as the Line of his Genealogy appear'd bright or obscure?

'In most of the Pedigrees hung up in old Mansion Houses, you are sure to find the first in the Catalogue a great Statesman, or a Soldier with an honourable Commission. The Honest Artificer that begot him, and all his frugal Ancestors before him, are torn off from the Top of the Register; and you are not left to imagine, that the noble Founder of the Family ever had a Father. Were we to trace many boasted Lines farther backwards, we should lose them in a Mob of Tradesmen, or a Crowd of Rusticks, without hope of seeing them emerge again: Not unlike the old Appian Way, which after having run many Miles in Length, loses it self in a Bog.

'I lately made a Visit to an old Country Gentleman, who is very far gone in this sort of Family Madness. I found him in his Study perusing an old Register of his Family, which he had just then discover'd, as it was branched out in the Form of a Tree, upon a Skin of Parchment. Having the Honour to have some of his Blood in my Veins, he permitted me to cast my Eye over the Boughs of this venerable Plant; and asked my Advice in the Reforming of some of the superfluous Branches.

'We passed slightly over three or four of our immediate Fore-fathers, whom we knew by Tradition, but were soon stopped by an Alderman of London, who, I perceived, made my Kinsman's Heart go pit-a-pat. His Confusion increased when he found the Alderman's Father to be a Grasier; but he recovered his Fright upon seeing Justice of the Quorum at the end of his Titles. Things went on pretty well, as we threw our Eyes occasionally over the Tree, when unfortunately he perceived a Merchant-Tailor perched on a Bough, who was said greatly to have encreased the Estate; he was just a going to cut him off, if he had not seen Gent. after the Name of his Son; who was recorded to have mortgaged one of the Manors his honest Father had purchased. A Weaver, who was burnt for his Religion in the Reign of Queen Mary, was pruned away without Mercy; as was likewise a Yeoman, who died of a Fall from his own Cart. But great was our Triumph in one of the Blood who was beheaded for High-Treason; which nevertheless was not a little allayed by another of our Ancestors, who was hanged for stealing Sheep. The Expectations of my good Cousin were wonderfully raised by a Match into the Family of a Knight, but unfortunately for us this Branch proved Barren: On the other hand Margery the Milk-maid being twined round a Bough, it flourished out into so many Shoots, and bent with so much Fruit, that the old Gentleman was quite out of Countenance. To comfort me, under this Disgrace, he singled out a Branch ten times more fruitful than the other, which, he told me, he valued more than any in the Tree, and bad me be of good Comfort. This enormous Bough was a Graft out of a Welsh Heiress, with so many Ap's upon it that it might have made a little Grove by it self. From the Trunk of the Pedigree, which was chiefly composed of Labourers and Shepherds, arose a huge Sprout of Farmers; this was branched out into Yeomen; and ended in a Sheriff of the County, who was Knighted for his good Service to the Crown, in bringing up an Address. Several of the Names that seemed to disparage the Family, being looked upon as Mistakes, were lopped off as rotten or withered; as, on the contrary, no small Number appearing without any Titles, my Cousin, to supply the Defects of the Manuscript, added Esq; at the End of each of them.

'This Tree so pruned, dressed, and cultivated, was, within few Days, transplanted into a large Sheet of Vellum and placed in the great Hall, where it attracts the Veneration of his Tenants every Sunday Morning, while they wait till his Worship is ready to go to Church; wondering that a Man who had so many Fathers before him, should not be made a Knight[1], or at least a Justice of the Peace.'

Footnote 1:  Lord,

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Contents, p. 8

No. 613

Friday, October 29, 1714

—Studiis florentem ignobilis oti—

Virg.

Spectator

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'I was mightily pleased with your Speculation of Friday. Your Sentiments are Noble, and the whole worked up in such a manner, as cannot but strike upon every Reader. But give me leave to make this Remark: That while you write so Pathetically on Contentment, and a retired Life, you sooth the Passion of Melancholy, and depress the Mind from Actions truly Glorious. Titles and Honours are the Reward of Virtue: We therefore ought to be affected with them: And tho' light Minds are too much puffed up with exterior Pomp, yet I cannot see why it is not as truly Philosophical, to admire the glowing Ruby, or the sparkling Green of an Emerald, as the fainter and less permanent Beauties of a Rose or a Myrtle. If there are Men of extraordinary Capacities who lye concealed from the World, I should impute it to them as a Blot in their Character, did not I believe it owing to the Meanness of their Fortune rather than of their Spirit. Cowley, who tells the Story of Aglaüs with so much Pleasure, was no Stranger to Courts, nor insensible of Praise.

What shall I do to be for ever known,

And make the Age to come my own?

was the Result of a laudable Ambition. It was not till after frequent Disappointments, that he termed himself the Melancholy Cowley; and he praised Solitude, when he despair'd of shining in a Court. The Soul of Man is an active Principle. He therefore, who withdraws himself from the Scene before he has play'd his Part, ought to be hissed off the Stage, and cannot be deemed Virtuous, because he refuses to answer his End. I must own I am fired with an honest Ambition to imitate every illustrious Example. The Battles of Blenheim and Ramillies have more than once made me wish my self a Soldier. And when I have seen those Actions so nobly celebrated by our Poets, I have secretly aspir'd to be one of that distinguished Class. But in vain I wish, in vain I pant with the DeSir e of Action. I am chained down in Obscurity, and the only Pleasure I can take is in seeing so many brighter Genius's join their friendly Lights, to add to the Splendor of the Throne. Farewel then dear Spec, and believe me to be with great Emulation, and no Envy,'

Your profess'd Admirer,

Will. Hopeless.

Middle-Temple, October 26, 1714.

Sir ,

'Tho' you have formerly made Eloquence the Subject of one or more of your Papers, I do not remember that you ever consider'd it as possessed by a Set of People, who are so far from making Quintilian's Rules their Practice, that, I dare say for them, they never heard of such an Author, and yet are no less Masters of it than Tully or Demosthenes among the Ancients, or whom you please amongst the Moderns. The Persons I am speaking of are our common Beggars about this Town; and that what I say is true, I appeal to any Man who has a Heart one Degree softer than a Stone. As for my part, who don't pretend to more Humanity than my Neighbours, I have oftentimes gone from my Chambers with Money in my Pocket, and returned to them not only Pennyless, but destitute of a Farthing, without bestowing of it any other way than on these seeming Objects of Pity. In short, I have seen more Eloquence in a Look from one of these despicable Creatures, than in the Eye of the fairest She I ever saw, yet no one is a greater Admirer of that Sex than my self. What I have to deSir e of you is, to lay down some Directions in order to guard against these powerful Orators, or else I know nothing to the contrary but I must my self be forced to leave the Profession of the Law, and endeavour to get the Qualifications necessary to that more profitable one of Begging. But in which soever of these two Capacities I shine, I shall always deSir e to be your constant Reader, and ever will be'

Your most humble Servant,

J. B.

Sir ,

'Upon Reading a Spectator last Week, where Mrs. Fanny Fickle submitted the Choice of a Lover for Life to your decisive Determination, and imagining I might claim the Favour of your Advice in an Affair of the like, but much more difficult Nature, I called for Pen and Ink, in order to draw the Characters of Seven Humble Servants, whom I have equally encouraged for some time. But alas! while I was reflecting on the agreeable Subject, and contriving an advantageous Description of the dear Person I was most inclined to favour, I happened to look into my Glass. The sight of the Small-Pox, out of which I am just recovered, tormented me at once with the loss of my captivating Arts and my Captives. The Confusion I was in, on this unhappy, unseasonable Discovery, is inexpressible. Believe me, Sir , I was so taken up with the Thoughts of your fair Correspondent's Case, and so intent on my own Design, that I fancied myself as Triumphant in my Conquests as ever.

'Now, Sir , finding I was incapacitated to Amuse my self on that pleasing Subject, I resolved to apply my self to you, or your Casuistical Agent, for Advice in my present Circumstances. I am sensible the Tincture of my Skin, and the Regularity of my Features, which the Malice of my late Illness has altered, are irrecoverable; yet don't despair, but that Loss, by your Assistance, may in some measure be reparable, if you'll please to propose a way for the Recovery of one only of my Fugitives.

'One of them is in a more particular Manner beholden to me than the rest; he for some private Reasons being deSir ous to be a Lover incognito, always addressed me with Billet-Doux, which I was so careful of in my Sickness, that I secured the Key of my Love-Magazine under my Head, and hearing a noise of opening a Lock in my Chamber, indangered my Life by getting out of Bed, to prevent, if it had been attempted, the Discovery of that Amour.

'I have formerly made use of all those Artifices, which our Sex daily practises over yours, to draw, as it were undesignedly, the eyes of a whole Congregation to my Pew; I have taken a Pride in the number of Admirers at my Afternoon Levée; but am now quite another Creature. I think, could I regain the attractive Influence I once had, if I had a Legion of Suitors, I should never be ambitious of Entertaining more than one. I have almost contracted an Antipathy to the trifling Discourses of Impertinent Lovers, though I must needs own, I have thought it very odd of late, to hear Gentlemen, instead of their usual Complacencies, fall into Disputes before me of Politicks, or else weary me with the tedious Repetition of how thankful I ought to be, and satisfied with my Recovery out of so dangerous a Distemper: This, though I am very sensible of the Blessing, yet I cannot but dislike, because such Advice from them rather seems to Insult than Comfort me, and reminds me too much of what I was; which melancholy Consideration I cannot yet perfectly surmount, but hope your Sentiments on this Head will make it supportable.

'To shew you what a Value I have for your Dictates, these are to certify the Persons concern'd, that unless one of them returns to his Colours, (if I may so call them now) before the Winter is over, I'll voluntarily confine my self to a Retirement, where I'll punish them all with my Needle. I'll be reveng'd on them by deciphering them on a Carpet, humbly begging Admittance, my self scornfully refusing it: If you disapprove of this, as favouring too much of Malice, be pleased to acquaint me with a Draught you like better, and it shall be faithfully performed'

By the Unfortunate

Monimia.

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No. 614

Monday, November 1, 1714

Si mihi non animo fixum, immotumque sederet,

Ne cui me vinclo vellem sociare jugali,

Postquam primus amor deceptam morte fefellit;

Si non pertæsum thalami, tedæque fuisset:

Huic uni forsan potui succumbere culpæ.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'Having, in some former Papers, taken Care of the two States of Virginity and Marriage, and being willing that all People should be served in their Turn; I this Day drew out my Drawer of Widows, where I met with several Cases, to each whereof I have returned satisfactory Answers by the Post. The Cases are as follow:

'Q. Whether Amoret be bound by a Promise of Marriage to Philander, made during her Husband's Life?

'Q. Whether Sempronia, having faithfully given a Promise to two several Persons during the last Sickness of her Husband, is not thereby left at Liberty to chase which of them she pleases, or to reject them both for the sake of a new Lover?

'Cleora asks me, Whether she be obliged to continue single, according to a Vow made to her Husband at the time of his presenting her with a Diamond Necklace; she being informed by a very pretty young Fellow of a good Conscience, that such Vows are in their Nature sinful?

'Another enquires, Whether she hath not the Right of Widowhood, to dispose of her self to a Gentleman of great Merit, who presses very hard; her Husband being irrecoverably gone in a Consumption?

'An unreasonable Creature hath the Confidence to ask, Whether it be proper for her to marry a Man who is younger than her eldest Son?

'A scrupulous well-spoken Matron, who gives me a great many good Words, only doubts, Whether she is not obliged in Conscience to shut up her two marriageable Daughters, till such time as she hath comfortably disposed of her self?

'Sophronia, who seems by her Phrase and Spelling to be a Person of Condition, sets forth, That whereas she hath a great Estate, and is but a Woman, she deSir es to be informed, whether she would not do prudently to marry Camillus, a very idle tall young Fellow, who hath no Fortune of his own, and consequently hath nothing else to do but to manage hers.'

AndromacheEnglishPhilips.

ArtemisiaMausoleum

findCowell's

Atandin the County ofif a Customary Tenant die, the Widow shall have what the Law calls herin all his Copy-hold Landsthat isbut if she commit Incontinency, she forfeits her Estate: Yet if she will come into the Court riding backward upon a Black Ram, with his Tail in her Hand, and say the Words following, the Steward is bound by the Custom to re-admit her to her[1]

Here I am,

Riding upon a Black Ram,

Like a Whore as I am;

And, for my Crincum Crancum,

Have lost my Bincum Bancum;

And, for my Tail's Game,

Have done this worldly Shame;

Therefore, I pray you Mr. Steward, let me have my Land again.

TorreDevonshireWest.

Berkshire

Footnote 1:

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Contents

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No. 615

Wednesday, November 3, 1714

—Qui Deorum

Muneribus sapienter uti,

Duramque callet pauperiem pati,

Pejusque letho flagitium timet:

Non ille pro caris amicis

Aut patriâ timidus perire.

Hor.

O! Nox, quam longa es, quæ facis una Senem.

sublimelyEgyptiansApocryphalWisdomSolomon.

'For when unrighteous Men thought to oppress the holy Nation; they being shut up in their Houses, the Prisoners of Darkness, and fetter'd with the Bonds of a long Night, lay here exiled from the eternal Providence. For while they supposed to lye hid in their secret Sins, they were scattered under a dark Veil of Forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with strange Apparitions—For Wickedness, condemned by her own Witness, is very timorous, and being oppressed with Conscience, always forecasteth grievous things. For Fear is nothing else but a betraying of the Succours which Reason offereth—For the whole World shined with clear Light, and none were hindered in their Labour. Over them only was spread a heavy Night, an Image of that Darkness which should afterwards receive them; but yet were they unto themselves more grievous than the Darkness.'[1]

ofHorace

The Man resolved and steady to his Trust,

Inflexible to Ill, and obstinately just,

May the rude Rabble's Insolence despise,

Their senseless Clamours and tumultuous Cries;

The Tyrant's Fierceness he beguiles,

And the stern Brow, and the harsh Voice defies,

And with superior Greatness smiles.

Not the rough Whirlwind, that deforms

Adria's black Gulf, and vexes it with Storms,

The stubborn Virtue of his Soul can move;

Not the Red Arm of angry Jove,

That flings the Thunder from the Sky,

And gives it Rage to roar, and Strength to fly.

Should the whole Frame of Nature round him break,

In Ruin and Confusion hurl'd,

He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty Crack,

And Stand secure amidst a falling World.[2]

First

Footnote 1:passim.

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Footnote 2:Od.

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No. 616

Friday, November 5, 1714

Qui bellus homo est, Cotta, pusillus homo est.

Martial.

CiceroCant.

Dear Jack, (Past two a Clock and a frosty Morning.)[1]

I have just left the Right Worshipful and his Myrmidons about a Sneaker of Five Gallons. The whole Magistracy was pretty well disguised before I gave 'em the Slip. Our Friend the Alderman was half Seas over before the Bonfire was out. We had with us the Attorney, and two or three other bright Fellows. The Doctor plays least in Sight.

At Nine a Clock in the Evening we set Fire to the Whore of Babylon. The Devil acted his Part to a Miracle. He has made his Fortune by it. We equip'd the young Dog with a Tester a-piece. Honest old Brown of England was very drunk, and showed his Loyalty to the Tune of a hundred Rockets. The Mob drank the King's Health, on their Marrow-bones, in Mother Day's Double. They whip'd us half a dozen Hogsheads. Poor Tom Tyler had like to have been demolished with the End of a Sky-Rocket, that fell upon the Bridge of his Nose as he was drinking the King's Health, and spoiled his Tip. The Mob were very loyal 'till about Midnight, when they grew a little mutinous for more Liquor. They had like to have dumfounded the Justice; but his Clerk came in to his Assistance, and took them all down in Black and White.

When I had been huzza'd out of my Seven Senses, I made a Visit to the Women, who were guzzling very comfortably. Mrs. Mayoress clip'd the King's English. Clack was the Word.

I forgot to tell thee, that every one of the Posse had his Hat cocked with a Distich: The Senators sent us down a Cargo of Ribbon and Metre for the Occasion.

Sir Richard to shew his Zeal for the Protestant Religion, is at the Expence of a Tar-Barrel and a Ball. I peeped into the Knight's great Hall, and saw a very pretty Bevy of Spinsters. My dear Relict was amongst them, and ambled in a Country-Dance as notably as the best of 'em.

May all his Majesty's liege Subjects love him as well as his good People of this his ancient Borough. Adieu.

Footnote 1:  (Two in the Morning is the Word, old Boy.)

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No. 617

Monday, November 8, 1714

Torva Mimalloneis implerunt cornua bombis,

Et raptum vitulo caput ablatura superbo

Bassaris, et lyncem Mænas flexura corymbis,

Evion ingeminat reparabilis adsonat Echo.

Persius.

last Spectator.

Dear Chum,

'It is now the third Watch of the Night, the greatest Part of which I have spent round a capacious Bowl of China, filled with the choicest Products of both the Indies. I was placed at a quadrangular Table, diametrically opposite to the Mace-bearer. The Visage of that venerable Herald was, according to Custom, most gloriously illuminated on this joyful occasion. The Mayor and Aldermen, those Pillars of our Constitution, began to totter; and if any one at the Board could have so far articulated, as to have demanded intelligibly a Reinforcement of Liquor, the whole Assembly had been by this time extended under the Table.

'The Celebration of this Night's Solemnity was opened by the Obstreperous Joy of Drummers, who, with their Parchment Thunder, gave a signal for the Appearance of the Mob under their several Classes and Denominations. They were quickly joined by the melodious Clank of Marrow-bone and Cleaver, whilst a Chorus of Bells filled up the Consort. A Pyramid of Stack-Faggots cheared the Hearts of the Populace with the Promise of a Blaze: The Guns had no sooner uttered the Prologue, but the Heavens were brightned with artificial Meteors, and Stars of our own making; and all the High-street lighted up from one End to another, with a Galaxy of Candles. We collected a Largess for the Multitude, who tippled Eleemosynary till they grew exceeding Vociferous. There was a Paste-board Pontiff with a little swarthy Dæmon at his Elbow, who, by his diabolical Whispers and Insinuations tempted his Holiness into the Fire, and then left him to shift for himself. The Mobile were very sarcastick with their Clubs, and gave the old Gentleman several Thumps upon his triple Head-piece. Tom Tyler's Phiz is something damaged by the Fall of a Rocket, which hath almost spoiled the Gnomon of his Countenance. The Mirth of the Commons grew so very outragious, that it found Work for our Friend of the Quorum, who, by the help of his Amanuensis, took down all their Names and their Crimes, with a Design to produce his Manuscript at the next Quarter-Sessions, &c. &c. &c.

'I shall subjoin to the foregoing Piece of a Letter, the following Copy of Verses translated from an Italian Poet, who was the Cleveland of his Age, and had Multitudes of Admirers. The Subject is an Accident that happened under the Reign of Pope Leo, when a Firework, that had been prepared upon the Castle of St. Angelo, begun to play before its Time, being kindled by a Flash of Lightning. The Author hath written his Poem[1] in the same kind of Style, as that I have already exemplified in Prose. Every Line in it is a Riddle, and the Reader must be forced to consider it twice or thrice, before he will know that the Cynick's Tenement is a Tub, and Bacchus his Cast-coat a Hogs-head, &c.

'Twas Night, and Heav'n, a Cyclops, all the Day,

An Argus now did countless Eyes display;

In ev'ry Window Rome her Joy declares,

All bright, and studded with terrestrial Stars.

A blazing Chain of Lights her Roofs entwines.

And round her Neck the mingled Lustre shines,

The Cynick's rowling Tenement conspires,

With Bacchus his Cast-coat, to feed the Fires.

The Pile, still big with undiscover'd Shows,

The Tuscan Pile did last its Freight disclose,

Where the proud Tops of Rome's new Ætna rise,

Whence Giants sally, and invade the Skies.

Whilst now the Multitude expect the Time,

And their tir'd Eyes the lofty Mountain climb,

A thousand Iron Mouths their Voices try,

And thunder out a dreadful Harmony;

In treble Notes the small Artill'ry plays,

The deep-mouth'd Cannon bellows in the Bass.

The lab'ring Pile now heaves; and having giv'n

Proofs of its Travail sighs in Flames to Heav'n.

The Clouds invelop'd Heav'n from Human Sight,

Quench'd every Star, and put out ev'ry Light;

Now Real Thunder grumbles in the Skies,

And in disdainful Murmurs Rome defies;

Nor doth its answer'd Challenge Rome decline;

But whilst both Parties in full Consort join,

While Heav'n and Earth in Rival Peals resound,

The doubtful Cracks the Hearer's Sense confound;

Whether the Claps of Thunderbolts they hear,

Or else the Burst of Canon wounds their Ear;

Whether Clouds raged by struggling Metals rent,

Or struggling Clouds in Roman Metals pent.

But O, my Muse, the whole Adventure tell,

As ev'ry Accident in order fell.

Tall Groves of Trees the Hadrian Tow'r surround,

Fictitious Trees with Paper Garlands crown'd,

These know no Spring, but when their Bodies sprout

In Fire, and shoot their gilded Blossoms out;

When blazing Leaves appear above their Head,

And into branching Flames their Bodies spread.

Whilst real Thunder splits the Firmament,

And Heav'n's whole Roof in one vast Cleft is rent,

The three-fork'd Tongue amidst the Rupture lolls,

Then drops and on the Airy Turret falls.

The Trees now kindle, and the Garland burns,

And thousand Thunderbolts for one returns.

Brigades of burning Archers upward fly,

Bright Spears and shining Spear-men mount on high,

Flash in the Clouds, and glitter in the Sky.

A Seven-fold Shield of Spheres doth Heav'n defend,

And back again the blunted Weapons send;

Unwillingly they fall, and dropping down,

Pour out their Souls, their sulph'rous Souls, and groan.

With Joy, great Sir , we viewed this pompous Show,

While Heaven, that sate Spectator still 'till now,

It self turn'd Actor, proud to Pleasure you.

And so 'tis fit, when Leo's fires appear,

That Heav'n it self should turn an Engineer;

That Heav'n it self should all its Wonders show,

And Orbs above consent with Orbs below.

Footnote 1:Prolusions.

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No. 618

Wednesday, November 10, 1714

—Neque enim concludere versum

Dixeris esse satis: neque siquis scribat, uti nos,

Sermoni propiora, putes hunc esse Poetam.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

You having, in your two last Spectators, given the Town a couple of Remarkable Letters, in very different Styles: I take this Opportunity to offer to you some Remarks upon the Epistolary way of writing in Verse. This is a Species of Poetry by it self; and has not so much as been hinted at in any of the Arts of Poetry, that have ever fallen into my Hands: Neither has it in any Age, or any Nation, been so much cultivated, as the other several Kinds of Poesie. A Man of Genius may, if he pleases, write Letters in Verse upon all manner of Subjects, that are capable of being embellished with Wit and Language, and may render them new and agreeable by giving the proper Turn to them. But in speaking, at present, of Epistolary Poetry, I would be understood to mean only such Writings in this Kind, as have been in Use amongst the Ancients, and have been copied from them by some Moderns. These may be reduced into two Classes: In the one I shall range Love-Letters, Letters of Friendship, and Letters upon mournful Occasions: In the other I shall place such Epistles in Verse, as may properly be called Familiar, Critical, and Moral; to which may be added Letters of Mirth and Humour. Ovid for the first, and Horace for the Latter, are the best Originals we have left.

'He that is ambitious of succeeding in the Ovidian way, should first examine his Heart well, and feel whether his Passions (especially those of the gentler Kind) play easie, since it is not his Wit, but the Delicacy and Tenderness of his Sentiments, that will affect his Readers. His Versification likewise should be soft, and all his Numbers flowing and querulous.

'The Qualifications requisite for writing Epistles, after the Model given us by Horace, are of a quite different Nature. He that would excel in this kind must have a good Fund of strong Masculine Sense: To this there must be joined a thorough Knowledge of Mankind, together with an Insight into the Business, and the prevailing Humours of the Age. Our Author must have his Mind well seasoned with the finest Precepts of Morality, and be filled with nice Reflections upon the bright and the dark sides of human Life: He must be a Master of refined Raillery, and understand the Delicacies, as well as the Absurdities of Conversation. He must have a lively Turn of Wit, with an easie and concise manner of Expression; Every thing he says, must be in a free and disengaged manner. He must be guilty of nothing that betrays the Air of a Recluse, but appear a Man of the World throughout. His Illustrations, his Comparisons, and the greatest part of his Images must be drawn from common Life. Strokes of Satyr and Criticism, as well as Panegyrick, judiciously thrown in (and as it were by the by) give a wonderful Life and Ornament to Compositions of this kind. But let our Poet, while he writes Epistles, though never so familiar, still remember that he writes in Verse, and must for that reason have a more than ordinary care not to fall into Prose, and a vulgar Diction, excepting where the Nature and Humour of the Thing does necessarily require it. In this Point Horace hath been thought by some Criticks to be sometimes careless, as well as too negligent of his Versification; of which he seems to have been sensible himself.

'All I have to add is, that both these Manners of Writing may be made as entertaining, in their Way, as any other Species of Poetry, if undertaken by Persons duly qualify'd; and the latter sort may be managed so as to become in a peculiar manner Instructive. I am, &ct.'

HoraceAugustus.Incognito

Eusden

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No. 619

Friday, November 12, 1714

—dura

Exerce imperia, et ramos compesce fluentes.

Virg.

wouldSecret History[1]

CharissaCornhillSirReferred to the Dumb Man for an Answer.

J. C.Sir

October

Censor of small Wares.

T. C.&c.the Society of Reformers.

returned to the Author.

OxfordSirLatinNonumque prematur in annum.

I resolve not to raise Animosities amongst the Clergy.

Is not the Lady she writes against reckoned Handsome?

SirTom TrueloveSir

SwedenThat I believe he is alive.

DapperwitWhat is that long Story of the Cuckoldom to me?

SirMonimia'sThe Faithful

Charles Cocksurevery reasonable—Rejected.

PhilanderSirPostponed.

SirS. R.under the Sun

P. S. SirNot to be printed entire.

Footnote 1:TatlerSpectator

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No. 620

Monday, November 15, 1714

Tickell

Hic Vir, hic est, tibi quem promitti sæpius audis.

Virg.

The Prospect of Peace

The Royal Progress.

When Brunswick first appear'd, each honest Heart,

Intent on Verse, disdain'd the Rules of Art;

For him the Songsters, in unmeasur'd Odes,

Debas'dand dethron'd the Gods,

In Golden Chains the Kings ofled,

Or rent the Turban from theHead.

One, in old Fables, and theStrain,

Withandwafts him o'er the Main;

Another draws fiercein Arms,

And fills th' Infernal Region with Alarms;

A Third awakes someto foretel

Each future Triumph from his dreary Cell.

Exploded Fancies! that in vain deceive,

While the Mind nauseates what she can't believe.

My Muse th' expected[1] Hero shall pursue

From Clime to Clime, and keep him still in View;

His shining March describe in faithful Lays,

Content to paint him, nor presume to praise;

Their Charms, if Charms they have, the Truth supplies,

And from the Theme unlabour'd Beauties rise.

By longing Nations for the Throne design'd,

And call'd to guard the Rights of Human-kind;

With secret Grief his God-like Soul repines,

AndCrown with joyless Lustre shines,

While Prayers and Tears his destin'd Progress stay,

And Crowds of Mourners choak their Sovereign's Way.

Not so he march'd, when Hostile Squadrons stood

In Scenes of Death, and fir'd his generous Blood;

When his hot Courser paw'd th'Plain,

And adverse Legions stood the Shock in vain.

His Frontiers past, theBounds he views,

And cross the level Fields his March pursues.

Here pleas'd the Land of Freedom to survey,

He greatly scorns the Thirst of boundless Sway.

O'er the thin Soil, with silent Joy he spies

Transplanted Woods, and borrow'd Verdure rise;

Where every Meadow won with Toil and Blood,

From haughty Tyrants, and the raging Flood,

With Fruits and Flowers the careful Hind supplies,

And cloathes the Marshes in a rich Disguise.

Such Wealth for frugal Hands doth Heaven decree,

And such thy Gifts, Celestial Liberty!

Through stately Towns, and many a fertile Plain,

The Pomp advances to the neighbouring Main.

Whole Nations crowd around with joyful Cries,

And view the Heroe with insatiate Eyes.

InTowers he waits, 'till Eastern Gales

Propitious rise to swell theSails.

Hither the Fame ofMonarch brings

The Vows and Friendships of the neighb'ring Kings;

Mature in Wisdom, his extensive Mind

Takes in the blended Int'rests of Mankind,

The World's great Patriot. Calm thy anxious Breast,

Secure in himtake thy Rest;

Henceforth thy Kingdoms shall remain confined

By Rocks or Streams, the Mounds which Heav'n design'd:

Thetheir new-made Monarch shall restrain,

Nor shall thy Hillsrise in vain

But see! toIsle the Squadrons stand,

And leave the sinking Towers, and lessening Land,

The Royal Bark bounds o'er the floating Plain,

Breaks thro' the Billows, and divides the Main,

O'er the vast Deep, Great Monarch, dart thine Eyes,

A watry Prospect bounded by the Skies:

Ten thousand Vessels, from ten thousand Shores,

Bring Gums and Gold, and eitherStores:

Behold the Tributes hastening to thy Throne,

And see the wide Horizon all thy own.

Still is it thine; tho' now the cheerful Crew

HailCliffs, just whitening to the View.

Before the Wind with swelling Sails they ride,

Tillreceives them in his opening Tide.

The Monarch hears the thundering Peals around,

From trembling Woods and ecchoing Hills rebound,

Nor misses yet, amid the deafening Train,

The Roarings of the hoarse-resounding Main.

As in the Flood he sails, from either Side

He views his Kingdom in its rural Pride;

A various Scene the wide-spread Landskip yields,

O'er rich Enclosures and luxuriant Fields:

A lowing Herd each fertile Pasture fills,

And distant Flocks stray o'er a thousand Hills.

Fairhid in Woods, with new Delight,

(Shade above Shade) now rises to the Sight:

His Woods ordain'd to visit every Shore,

And guard the Island which they graced before.

The Sun now rowling down the Western Way,

A Blaze of Fires renews the fading Day;

Unnumbered Barks the Regal Barge infold,

Brightening the Twilight with its beamy Gold;

Less thick the finny Shoals, a countless Fry,

Before the Whale or kingly Dolphin fly.

In one vast Shout he seeks the crowded Strand,

And in a Peal of Thunder gains the Land.

Welcome, great Stranger, to our longing Eyes,

Oh! King deSir 'd, adoptedcries.

For thee the East breath'd out a prosperous Breeze,

Bright were the Suns, and gently swell'd the Seas.

Thy Presence did each doubtful Heart compose,

And Factions wonder'd that they once were Foes;

That joyful Day they lost each Hostile Name,

The same their Aspect, and their Voice the same.

So two fair Twins, whose Features were design'd

At one soft Moment in the Mother's Mind,

Show each the other with reflected Grace,

And the same Beauties bloom in either Face;

The puzzled Strangers which is which enquire,

Delusion grateful to the smiling Sir e.

From that fair Hill, where hoary Sages boast

To name the Stars, and count the heavenly Host,

By the next Dawn doth greatrise,

Proud Town! the noblest Scene beneath the Skies.

O'erher thousand Spires their Lustre shed,

And a vast Navy hides his ample Bed,

A floating Forest. From the distant Strand

A Line of Golden Carrs strikes o'er the Land

Peers in Pomp and rich Array,

Before their King, triumphant, lead the Way.

Far as the Eye can reach, the gawdy Train,

A bright Procession, shines along the Plain.

So haply through the Heav'n's wide pathless Ways

A Comet draws a long-extended Blaze;

From East to West burns through[2] th' ethereal Frame,

And half Heav'n's Convex glitters with the Flame.

Now to the Regal Towers securely brought,

He plansGlories in his Thought;

Resumes the delegated Pow'r he gave,

Rewards the Faithful and restores the Brave.

Whom shall the Muse from out the shining Throng

Select to heighten and adorn her Song?

Thee,To thy capacious Mind,

O Man approved, isWealth consigned.

Her Coin (whilefought) debas'd and rude,

By Thee in Beauty and in Truth renew'd,

An Arduous Work! again thy Charge we see,

And thy own Care once more returns to Thee.

O! form'd in every Scene to awe and please,

Mix Wit with Pomp, and Dignity with Ease:

Tho' call'd to shine aloft, thou wilt not scorn

To smile on Arts thy self did once adorn:

For this thy Name succeeding Time shall praise,

And envy less thy Garter, than thy Bays.

The Muse, if fir'd with thy enlivening Beams,

Perhaps shall aim at more exalted Themes,

Record our Monarch in a nobler Strain,

And sing the opening Wonders of his Reign;

Bright Carolinas heavenly Beauties trace,

Her valiant Consortand his blooming Race.

A Train of Kings their fruitful Love supplies,

A glorious Scene tos ravish'd Eyes;

Who sees by Brunswicks Hand her Sceptre sway'd,

And through his Line from Age to Age convey'd.

Footnote 1:  artless Muse the

return

Footnote 2:  he burns

return

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 621

Wednesday, November 17, 1714

—postquam se lumine puro

Implevit, stellasque vagas miratur et Astra

Fixa Polis, vidit quanta sub nocte jaceret

Nostra dies, risitque sui ludibria—

Lucan.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The common Topicks against the Pride of Man which are laboured by florid and declamatory Writers, are taken from the Baseness of his Original, the Imperfections of his Nature, or the short Duration of those Goods in which he makes his Boast. Though it be true that we can have nothing in us that ought to raise our Vanity, yet a Consciousness of our own Merit may be sometimes laudable. The Folly therefore lyes here: We are apt to pride our selves in worthless, or perhaps shameful Things; and, on the other hand, count that disgraceful which is our truest Glory.

'Hence it is, that the Lovers of Praise take wrong Measures to attain it. Would a vain Man consult his own Heart, he would find that if others knew his Weaknesses as well as he himself doth, he could not have the Impudence to expect the publick Esteem. Pride therefore flows from want of Reflection, and Ignorance of our selves. Knowledge and Humility come upon us together.

'The proper way to make an Estimate of our selves, is to consider seriously what it is we value or despise in others. A Man who boasts of the Goods of Fortune, a gay Dress or a new Title, is generally the Mark of Ridicule. We ought therefore not to admire in our selves, what we are so ready to laugh at in other Men.

'Much less can we with Reason pride our selves in those things, which at some time of our Life we shall certainly despise. And yet, if we will give our selves the Trouble of looking backward and forward on the several Changes, which we have already undergone and hereafter must try, we shall find that the greater Degrees of our Knowledge and Wisdom, serve only to shew us our own Imperfections.

'As we rise from Childhood to Youth, we look with Contempt on the Toys and Trifles which our Hearts have hitherto been set upon. When, we advance to Manhood, we are held wise in proportion to our Shame and Regret for the Rashness and Extravagance of Youth. Old Age fills us with mortifying Reflections upon a Life, mis-spent in the Pursuit of anxious Wealth or uncertain Honour. Agreeable to this Gradation of Thought in this Life, it may be reasonably supposed, that in a future State, the Wisdom, the Experience, and the Maxims of old Age, will be looked upon by a separate Spirit in much the same Light, as an ancient Man now sees the little Follies and Toyings of Infants. The Pomps, the Honours, the Policies, and Arts of mortal Men, will be thought as trifling as Hobby-Horses, Mock Battles, or any other Sports that now employ all the Cunning, and Strength, and Ambition of rational Beings from four Years old to nine or ten.

'If the Notion of a gradual Rise in Beings, from the meanest to the most High, be not a vain Imagination, it is not improbable that an Angel looks down upon a Man, as a Man doth upon a Creature which approaches the nearest to the rational Nature. By the same Rule (if I may indulge my Fancy in this Particular) a superior Brute looks with a kind of Pride on one of an inferior Species. If they could reflect, we might imagine from the Gestures of some of them, that they think themselves the Sovereigns of the World, and that all things were made for them. Such a Thought would not be more absurd in Brute Creatures, than one which Men are apt to entertain, namely, That all the Stars in the Firmament were created only to please their Eyes and amuse their Imaginations. Mr. Dryden, in his Fable of the Cock and the Fox, makes a Speech for his Hero the Cock, which is a pretty Instance for this Purpose,

Then turning, said to Partlet, See, my Dear,

How lavish Nature hath adorn'd the Year;

How the pale Primrose and the Violet spring,

And Birds essay their Throats, disus'd to sing:

All these are ours, and I with Pleasure see

Man strutting on two Legs, and aping me.

'What I would observe from the Whole is this, That we ought to value our selves upon those Things only which superior Beings think valuable, since that is the only way for us not to sink in our own Esteem hereafter.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 622

Friday, November 19, 1714

—Fallentis Semita Vitæ.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'In a former Speculation you have observed, that true Greatness doth not consist in that Pomp and Noise wherein the Generality of Mankind are apt to place it. You have there taken Notice, that Virtue in Obscurity often appears more illustrious in the Eye of superior Beings, than all that passes for Grandeur and Magnificence among Men.

When we look back upon the History of those who have born the Parts of Kings, Statesmen, or Commanders, they appear to us stripped of those out-side Ornaments that dazzled their Contemporaries; and we regard their Persons as great or little, in Proportion to the Eminence of their Virtues or Vices. The wise Sayings, generous Sentiments, or disinterested Conduct of a Philosopher under mean Circumstances of Life, set him higher in our Esteem than the mighty Potentates of the Earth, when we view them both through the long Prospect of many Ages. Were the Memoirs of an obscure Man, who lived up to the Dignity of his Nature, and according to the Rules of Virtue, to be laid before us, we should find nothing in such a Character which might not set him on a Level with Men of the highest Stations. The following Extract out of the private Papers of an honest Country-Gentleman will set this Matter in a clear Light. Your Reader will perhaps conceive a greater Idea of him from these Actions done in Secret, and without a Witness, than of those which have drawn upon them the Admiration of Multitudes.

Memoirs.

"In my 22d Year I found a violent Affection for my Cousin Charles's Wife growing upon me, wherein I was in danger of succeeding, if I had not upon that Account begun my Travels into foreign Countries.

"A little after my Return into England, at a private Meeting with my Uncle Francis, I refused the Offer of his Estate, and prevailed upon him not to disinherit his Son Ned.

"Mem. Never to tell this to Ned, lest he should think hardly of his deceased Father; though he continues to speak ill of me for this very Reason.

"Prevented a scandalous Law-suit betwixt my Nephew Harry and his Mother, by allowing her under-hand, out of my own Pocket, so much Money yearly as the Dispute was about.

"Procured a Benefice for a young Divine, who is Sister's Son to the good Man who was my Tutor, and hath been dead Twenty Years.

"Gave Ten Pounds to poor Mrs.—, my Friend H—'s Widow.

"Mem. To retrench one Dish at my Table, till I have fetched it up again.

"Mem. To repair my House and finish my Gardens in order to employ poor People after Harvest time.

"Ordered John to let out Goodman D—'s Sheep that were pounded, by Night: but not to let his Fellow-Servants know it.

"Prevailed upon M. T. Esq., not to take the Law of the Farmer's Son for shooting a Partridge, and to give him his Gun again.

"Paid the Apothecary for curing an old Woman that confessed her self a Witch.

"Gave away my favourite Dog for biting a Beggar.

"Made the Minister of the Parish and a Whig Justice of one Mind, by putting them upon explaining their Notions to one another.

"Mem, To turn off Peter for shooting a Doe while she was eating Acorns out of his Hand.

"When my Neighbour John, who hath often injured me, comes to make his Request to Morrow:

"Mem. I have forgiven him.

"Laid up my Chariot and sold my Horses, to relieve the Poor in a Scarcity of Corn.

"In the same Year remitted to my Tenants a Fifth Part of their Rents.

"As I was airing to-day, I fell into a Thought that warmed my Heart, and shall, I hope, be the better for it as long as I live.

"Mem. To charge my Son in private to erect no Monument for me; but not to put this in my last Will.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 623

Monday, November 22, 1714

Addison[1]

Sed mihi vel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat,

Vel pater omnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras,

Pallentes umbras Erebi noctemque profundam,

Ante, pudor, quam te violem aut tua jura resolvam.

Ille meos, primos qui me sibi junxit, amores

Abstulit: ille habeat secum, servetque sepulchro.

Virg.

amLove-Casuist[2]

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You may remember, that I lately transmitted to you an Account of an ancient Custom, in the Manors of East and West-Enborne, in the County of Berks, and elsewhere. If a Customary Tenant die, the Widow shall have what the Law calls her Free-Bench in all his Copyhold Lands, dum sola et casta fuerit, that is, while she lives single and chaste; but if she commits Incontinency, she forfeits her Estate; Yet if she will come into the Court riding backward upon a Black Ram, with his Tail in her Hand, and say the Words following, the Steward is bound by the Custom to re-admit her to her Free-Bench.

Here I am,

Riding upon a Black Ram,

Like a Whore as I am;

And, for my Crincum Crancum,

Have lost my Bincum Bancum;

And, for my Tail's Game,

Have done this worldly Shame;

Therefore, I pray you Mr. Steward, let me have my Land again.

'After having informed you that my Lord Coke observes, that this is the most frail and slippery Tenure of any in England, I shall tell you, since the Writing of that Letter, I have, according to my Promise, been at great Pains in searching out the Records of the Black Ram; and have at last met with the Proceedings of the Court-Baron, held in that Behalf, for the Space of a whole Day. The Record saith, that a strict Inquisition having been made into the Right of the Tenants to their several Estates, by a crafty old Steward, he found that many of the Lands of the Manor were, by default of the several Widows, forfeited to the Lord, and accordingly would have enter'd on the Premises: Upon which the good Women demanded the Benefit of the Ram. The Steward, after having perused their several Pleas, adjourn'd the Court to Barnaby-bright[3], that they might have Day enough before them.

'The Court being set, and filled with a great Concourse of People, who came from all Parts to see the Solemnity, the first who entered was the Widow Frontly, who had made her Appearance in the last Year's Cavalcade. The Register observes, that finding it an easy Pad-Ram, and foreseeing she might have further Occasion for it, she purchased it of the Steward.

'Mrs. Sarah Dainty, Relict of Mr. John Dainty, (who was the greatest Prude in the Parish) came next in the Procession. She at first made some Difficulty of taking the Tail in her Hand; and was observed in pronouncing the Form of Penance, to soften the two most emphatical Words into Clincum Clancum: But the Steward took care to make her speak plain English before he would let her have her Land again.

'The third Widow that was brought to this worldly Shame, being mounted upon a vicious Ram, had the Misfortune to be thrown by him; upon which she hoped to be excused from going thro' the rest of the Ceremony: But the Steward being well versed in the Law, observed very wisely upon this Occasion, that the breaking of the Rope does not hinder the Execution of the Criminal.

'The fourth Lady upon Record was the Widow Ogle, a famous Coquette, who had kept half a Score young Fellows off and on for the Space of two Years; but having been more kind to her Carter John, she was introduced with the Huzza's of all her Lovers about her.

'Mrs. Sable appearing in her Weeds, which were very new and fresh, and of the same Colour with her whimsical Palfrey, made a very decent Figure in the Solemnity.

'Another, who had been summoned to make her Appearance, was excused by the Steward, as well knowing in his Heart, that the good Squire himself had qualified her for the Ram.

'Mrs. Quick having nothing to object against the Indictment, pleaded her Belly. But it was remembred that she made the same Excuse the Year before. Upon which the Steward observ'd, that she might so contrive it, as never to do the Service of the Manor.

'The Widow Fidget being cited into Court, insisted that she had done no more since the Death of her Husband, than what she used to do in his Life-time; and withal deSir 'd Mr. Steward to consider his own Wife's Case, if he should chance to die before her.

'The next in order was a Dowager of a very corpulent Make, who would have been excused as not finding any Ram that was able to carry her; upon which the Steward commuted her Punishment, and ordered her to make her Entry upon a black Ox.

'The Widow Maskwell, a Woman who had long lived with a most unblemished Character, having turned off her old Chamber-maid in a Pet, was by that revengeful Creature brought in upon the black Ram Nine times the same Day.

'Several Widows of the Neighbourhood, being brought upon their Tryal, they shewed that they did not hold of the Manor, and were discharged accordingly.

'A pretty young Creature who closed the Procession, came ambling in, with so bewitching an Air, that the Steward was observ'd to cast a Sheep's Eye upon her, and married her within a Month after the Death of his Wife.

'N. B. Mrs. Touchwood appeared, according to Summons, but had nothing laid to her Charge; having liv'd irreproachably since the Decease of her Husband, who left her a Widow in the Sixty-ninth Year of her Age.'

I am, Sir , &c.

Footnote 1:noteNo. 608

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:591602605614625

return

Footnote 3:

return

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 624

Wednesday, November 24, 1714

Audire, atque togam jubeo componere, quisquis

Ambitione mala, aut argenti pallet amore

Quisquis luxuria—

Hor.

Dr. Tillotson, Fools at largePlatoLabour is preferable to Idleness, as Brightness to Rust.

FirstChristianPaul'sIn journeying often; in Perils of Water, in Perils of Robbers, in Perils among false Brethren. In Weariness and Painfulness, in Watchings often, in Hunger and Thirst, in Fastings often,lay up to himself Treasures in Heavenprovide such Possessions, as fear neither Arms, nor Men, norhimself.

Woolsey's

'Had I served God, with the same Application, wherewith I served my King, he would not have forsaken me in my old Age.'

serving his King

Thirdly

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 625

Friday, November 26, 1714

—amores

A tenero meditatur Ungui—

Hor.

Love Casuist

Sir ,

'I was Thirteen the Ninth of November last, and must now begin to think of settling my self in the World, and so I would humbly beg your Advice, what I must do with Mr. Fondle, who makes his Addresses to me. He is a very pretty Man, and hath the blackest Eyes and whitest Teeth you ever saw. Though he is but a younger Brother, he dresses like a Man of Quality, and no Body comes into a Room like him. I know he hath refused great Offers, and if he cannot Marry me, he will never have any Body else. But my Father hath forbid him the House, because he sent me a Copy of Verses; for he is one of the greatest Wits in Town. My eldest Sister, who, with her good Will, would call me Miss as long as I live, must be married before me, they say. She tells them, that Mr. Fondle makes a Fool of me, and will spoil the Child, as she calls me, like a confident thing as she is. In short, I am resolved to marry Mr. Fondle, if it be but to spite her. But because I would do nothing that is imprudent, I beg of you to give me your Answers to some Questions I will write down, and deSir e you to get them printed in the SPECTATOR, and I do not doubt but you will give such Advice, as, I am sure, I shall follow.

'When Mr. Fondle looks upon me for half an Hour together, and calls me Angel, is he not in Love?

Answer, No.

'May not I be certain he will be a kind Husband, that has promised me half my Portion in Pin-money, and to keep me a Coach and Six in the Bargain.

No.

'Whether I, who have been acquainted with him this whole Year almost, am not a better Judge of his Merit, than my Father and Mother, who never heard him talk, but at Table?

No.

'Whether I am not old enough to chuse for my self?

No.

'Whether it would not have been rude in me to refuse a Lock of his Hair?

No.

'Shou'd not I be a very barbarous Creature, if I did not pity a Man that is always Sighing for my Sake?

No.

'Whether you would not advise me to run away with the poor Man?

No.

'Whether you do not think, that if I won't have him, he won't drown himself?

No.

What shall I say to him the next time he asks me if I will marry him?

No.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I wonder that in the present Situation of Affairs, you can take Pleasure in writing any thing but News; for, in a Word, who minds any thing else? The Pleasure of increasing in Knowledge, and learning something new every Hour of Life, is the noblest Entertainment of a Rational Creature. I have a very good Ear for a Secret, and am naturally of a communicative Temper; by which Means I am capable of doing you great Services in this way. In order to make my self useful, I am early in the Antichamber, where I thrust my Head into the thick of the Press, and catch the News, at the opening of the Door, while it is warm. Sometimes I stand by the Beef-Eaters, and take the Buz as it passes by me. At other times I lay my Ear close to the Wall, and suck in many a valuable Whisper, as it runs in a streight Line from Corner to Corner. When I am weary with standing, I repair to one of the neighbouring Coffee-houses, where I sit sometimes for a whole Day, and have the News as it comes from Court fresh and fresh. In short, Sir , I spare no Pains to know how the World goes. A Piece of News loses its Flavour when it hath been an Hour in the Air. I love, if I may so speak, to have it fresh from the Tree; and to convey it to my Friends before it is faded. Accordingly my Expences in Coach-hire make no small Article; which you may believe, when I assure you, that I post away from Coffee-house to Coffee-house, and forestall the Evening-Post by two Hours. There is a certain Gentleman who hath given me the slip twice or thrice, and hath been beforehand with me at Child's. But I have play'd him a Trick. I have purchas'd a pair of the best Coach-horses I could buy for Money, and now let him out-strip me if he can. Once more, Mr. SPECTATOR, let me advise you to deal in News. You may depend upon my Assistance. But I must break off abruptly, for I have twenty Letters to write.

Yours in haste,

Tho. Quid-nunc.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 626

Monday, November 29, 1714

Henry Grove

—Dulcique animos novitate tenebo—

Ov. Met. 1. I.

have[1]

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'When I have seen young Puss playing her wanton Gambols, and with a thousand antick Shapes express her own Gayety at the same time that she moved mine, while the old Grannum hath sat by with a most exemplary Gravity, unmov'd at all that past; it hath made me reflect what should be the occasion of Humours so opposite in two Creatures, between whom there was no visible Difference but that of Age; and I have been able to resolve it into nothing else but the Force of Novelty.

'In every Species of Creatures, those who have been least Time in the World, appear best pleased with their Condition: For, besides that to a new Comer the World hath a Freshness on it that strikes the Sense after a most agreeable Manner, Being it self, unattended with any great Variety of Enjoyments, excites a Sensation of Pleasure. But as Age advances, every thing seems to wither, the Senses are disgusted with their old Entertainments, and Existence turns flat and insipid. We may see this exemplified in Mankind: The Child, let him be free from Pain, and gratified in his Change of Toys, is diverted with the smallest Trifle. Nothing disturbs the Mirth of the Boy, but a little Punishment or Confinement. The Youth must have more violent Pleasures to employ his Time; the Man loves the Hurry of an active Life, devoted to the Pursuits of Wealth or Ambition; and Lastly, old Age, having lost its Capacity for these Avocations, becomes its own insupportable Burthen. This Variety may in part be accounted for by the Vivacity and Decay of the Faculties; but I believe is chiefly owing to this, That the longer we have been in Possession of Being, the less sensible is the Gust we have of it; and the more it requires of adventitious Amusements to relieve us from the Satiety and Weariness it brings along with it.

'And as Novelty is of a very powerful, so of a most extensive influence. Moralists have long since observed it to be the Source of Admiration, which lessens in proportion to our Familiarity with Objects, and upon a thorough Acquaintance is utterly extinguished. But I think it hath not been so commonly remarked, that all the other Passions depend considerably on the same Circumstance. What is it but Novelty that awakens DeSir e, enhances Delight, kindles Anger, provokes Envy, inspires Horror? To this Cause we must ascribe it, that Love languishes with Fruition, and Friendship it self is recommended by Intervals of Absence: Hence Monsters, by use, are beheld without loathing, and the most enchanting Beauty without Rapture. That Emotion of the Spirits in which Passion consists, is usually the Effect of Surprize, and as long as it continues, heightens the agreeable or disagreeable Qualities of its Object; but as this Emotion ceases (and it ceases with the Novelty) things appear in another Light, and affects us even less than might be expected from their proper Energy, for having moved us too much before.

'It may not be an useless Enquiry how far the Love of Novelty is the unavoidable Growth of Nature, and in what Respects it is peculiarly adapted to the present State. To me it seems impossible, that a reasonable Creature should rest absolutely satisfied in any Acquisitions whatever, without endeavouring farther; for after its highest Improvements, the Mind hath an Idea of an Infinity of things still behind worth knowing, to the Knowledge of which therefore it cannot be indifferent; as by climbing up a Hill in the midst of a wide Plain, a Man hath his Prospect enlarged, and, together with that, the Bounds of his DeSir es. Upon this Account, I cannot think he detracts from the State of the Blessed, who conceives them to be perpetually employed in fresh Searches into Nature, and to Eternity advancing into the fathomless Depths of the Divine Perfections. In this Thought there is nothing but what doth Honour to these glorified Spirits; provided still it be remembred, that their DeSir e of more proceeds not from their disrelishing what they possess; and the Pleasure of a new Enjoyment is not with them measured by its Novelty (which is a thing merely foreign and accidental) but by its real intrinsick Value. After an Acquaintance of many thousand Years with the Works of God, the Beauty and Magnificence of the Creation fills them with the same pleasing Wonder and profound Awe, which Adam felt himself seized with as he first opened his Eyes upon this glorious Scene. Truth captivates with unborrowed Charms, and whatever hath once given Satisfaction will always do it: In all which they have manifestly the Advantage of us, who are so much govern'd by sickly and changeable Appetites, that we can with the greatest Coldness behold the stupendous Displays of Omnipotence, and be in Transports at the puny Essays of humane Skill; throw aside Speculations of the sublimest Nature and vastest Importance into some obscure Corner of the Mind, to make Room for new Notions of no Consequence at all; are even tired of Health, because not enlivened with alternate Pain, and prefer the first Reading of an indifferent Author, to the second or third Perusal of one whose Merit and Reputation are established.

Our being thus formed serves many useful Purposes in the present State. It contributes not a little to the Advancement of Learning; for, as Cicero takes Notice, That which makes Men willing to undergo the Fatigues of Philosophical Disquisitions, is not so much the Greatness of Objects as their Novelty. It is not enough that there is Field and Game for the Chace, and that the Understanding is prompted with a restless Thirst of Knowledge, effectually to rouse the Soul, sunk into the State of Sloth and Indolence; it is also necessary that there be an uncommon Pleasure annexed to the first Appearance of Truth in the Mind. This Pleasure being exquisite for the Time it lasts, but transient, it hereby comes to pass that the Mind grows into an Indifference to its former Notions, and passes on after new Discoveries, in hope of repeating the Delight. It is with Knowledge as with Wealth, the Pleasure of which lies more in making endless Additions, than in taking a Review of our old Store. There are some Inconveniencies that follow this Temper, if not guarded against, particularly this, that through a too great Eagerness of something new we are many times impatient of staying long enough upon a Question that requires some time to resolve it, or, which is worse, perswade our selves that we are Masters of the Subject before we are so, only to be at the Liberty of going upon a fresh Scent; in Mr. Lock's Words, We see a little, presume a great deal, and so jump to the Conclusion.

'A farther Advantage of our Inclination for Novelty, as at present circumstantiated, is, that it annihilates all the boasted Distinctions among Mankind. Look not up with Envy to those above thee. Sounding Titles, stately Buildings, fine Gardens, gilded Chariots, rich Equipages, what are they? They dazzle every one but the Possessor: To him that is accustomed to them they are cheap and regardless Things: They supply him not with brighter Images, or more sublime Satisfactions than the plain Man may have, whose small Estate will just enable him to support the Charge of a simple unencumbered Life. He enters heedless into his Rooms of State, as you or I do under our poor Sheds. The noble Paintings and costly Furniture are lost on him; he sees them not: As how can it be otherwise, when by Custom, a Fabrick infinitely more grand and finish'd, that of the Universe, stands unobserved by the Inhabitants, and the everlasting Lamps of Heaven are lighted up in vain, for any Notice that Mortals take of them? Thanks to indulgent Nature, which not only placed her Children originally upon a Level, but still, by the Strength of this Principle, in a great Measure preserves it, in spite of all the Care of a Man, to introduce artificial Distinctions.

'To add no more, Is not this Fondness for Novelty, which makes us out of Conceit with all we already have, a convincing Proof of a future State? Either Man was made in vain, or this is not the only World he was made for: For there cannot be a greater Instance of Vanity, than that to which Man is liable, to be deluded from the Cradle to the Grave with fleeting Shadows of Happiness. His Pleasures, and those not considerable neither, die in the Possession, and fresh Enjoyments do not rise fast enough to fill up half his Life with Satisfaction. When I see Persons sick of themselves any longer than they are called away by something that is of Force to chain down the present Thought; when I see them hurry from Country to Town, and then from the Town back again into the Country, continually shifting Postures, and placing Life in all the different Lights they can think of; Surely, say I to my self, Life is vain, and the Man beyond Expression stupid or prejudic'd, who from the Vanity of Life cannot gather, He is designed for Immortality.

Footnote 1:Meditations, &c.

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Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 627

Wednesday, December 1, 1714

Tantum inter densas umbrosa cacumine fagos

Assidue veniebat; ibi hæc incondita solus

Montibus et Sylvis studio jactabat inani.

Virg.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'A Friend of mine died of a Feaver last Week, which he caught by walking too late in a dewy Evening amongst his Reapers. I must inform you that his greatest Pleasure was in Husbandry and Gardening. He had some Humours which seemed inconsistent with that good Sense he was otherwise Master of. His Uneasiness in the Company of Women was very remarkable in a Man of such perfect Good-breeding, and his avoiding one particular Walk in his Garden, where he had used to pass the greatest Part of his Time, raised abundance of idle Conjectures in the Village where he lived. Upon looking over his Papers we found out the Reason, which he never intimated to his nearest Friends. He was, it seems, a passionate Lover in his Youth, of which a large Parcel of Letters he left behind him are a Witness. I send you a Copy of the last he ever wrote upon that Subject, by which you will find that he concealed the true Name of his Mistress under that of Zelinda.

A long Month's Absence would be insupportable to me, if the Business I am employed in were not for the Service of my Zelinda, and of such a Nature as to place her every Moment in my Mind. I have furnished the House exactly according to your Fancy, or, if you please, my own; for I have long since learned to like nothing but what you do. The Apartment designed for your Use is so exact a Copy of that which you live in, that I often think my self in your House when I step into it, but sigh when I find it without its proper Inhabitant. You will have the most delicious Prospect from your Closet-window that England affords: I am sure I should think it so, if the Landskip that shows such Variety did not at the same time suggest to me the Greatness of the Space that lies between us.

The Gardens are laid out very beautifully; I have dressed up every Hedge in Woodbines, sprinkled Bowers and Arbours in every Corner, and made a little Paradise round me; yet I am still like the first Man in his Solitude, but half blest without a Partner in my Happiness. I have directed one Walk to be made for two Persons, where I promise ten thousand Satisfactions to my self in your Conversation. I already take my Evening's Turn in it, and have worn a Path upon the Edge of this little Alley, while I soothed my self with the Thought of your walking by my Side. I have held many imaginary Discourses with you in this Retirement; and when I have been weary have sat down with you in the midst of a Row of Jessamines. The many Expressions of Joy and Rapture I use in these silent Conversations have made me for some Time the Talk of the Parish; but a neighbouring young Fellow, who makes Love to the Farmer's Daughter, hath found me out, and made my Case known to the whole Neighbourhood.

In planting of the Fruit-Trees I have not forgot the Peach you are so fond of. I have made a Walk of Elms along the River Side, and intend to sow all the Place about it with Cowslips, which I hope you will like as well as that I have heard you talk of by your Father's House in the Country.

Oh! Zelinda, What a Scheme of Delight have I drawn up in my Imagination! What Day-Dreams do I indulge my self in! When will the Six Weeks be at an End, that lye between me and my promised Happiness?

How could you break off so abruptly in your last, and tell me you must go and dress for the Play? If you loved as I do, you would find no more Company in a Crowd, than I have in my Solitude. I am, &c.

'On the Back of this Letter is written, in the Hand of the Deceased, the following Piece of History.

Mem. Having waited a whole Week for an Answer to this Letter, I hurried to Town, where I found the Perfidious Creature married to my Rival. I will bear it as becomes a Man, and endeavour to find out Happiness for my self in that Retirement, which I had prepared in vain for a false ungrateful Woman.

I am, &c.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 628

Friday, December 3, 1714

Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis avum.

Hor.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'There are none of your Speculations which please me more than those upon Infinitude and Eternity[1]. You have already considered that Part of Eternity which is past, and I wish you would give us your Thoughts upon that which is to come.

'Your Readers will perhaps receive greater Pleasure from this View of Eternity than the former, since we have every one of us a Concern in that which is to come: Whereas a Speculation on that which is past is rather curious than useful.

'Besides, we can easily conceive it possible for successive Duration never to have an End; tho', as you have justly observed, that Eternity which never had a Beginning is altogether incomprehensible; That is, we can conceive an Eternal Duration which may be, though we cannot an Eternal Duration which hath been; or, if I may use the Philosophical Terms, we may apprehend a Potential though not an Actual Eternity.

'This Notion of a future Eternity, which is natural to the Mind of Man, is an unanswerable Argument that he is a Being designed for it; especially if we consider that he is capable of being Virtuous or Vicious here; that he hath Faculties improvable to all Eternity, and by a proper or wrong Employment of them, may be happy or miserable throughout that infinite Duration. Our Idea indeed of this Eternity is not of an adequate or fixed Nature, but is perpetually growing and enlarging itself toward the Object, which is too big for human Comprehension. As we are now in the Beginnings of Existence, so shall we always appear to our selves as if we were for ever entring upon it. After a Million or two of Centuries, some considerable Things, already past, may slip out of our Memory; which, if it be not strengthened in a wonderful Manner, may possibly forget that ever there was a Sun or Planets. And yet, notwithstanding the long Race that we shall then have run, we shall still imagine ourselves just starting from the Goal, and find no Proportion between that Space which we know had a Beginning, and what we are sure will never have an End.

'But I shall leave this Subject to your Management, and question not but you will throw it into such Lights as shall at once improve and entertain your Reader.

'I have enclos'd sent you a Translation[2] of the Speech of Cato on this Occasion, which hath accidentally fallen into my Hands, and which for Conciseness, Purity, and Elegance of Phrase, cannot be sufficiently admired.

Act V. Scen. I.

Cato solus &c.

Sic, sic se habere rem necesse prorsus est,

Ratione vincis, do lubens manus, Plato.

Quid enim dedisset, Quæ dedit frustra nihil,

Æternitatis insitam cupidinem

Natura? Quorsum hæc dulcis Expectatio;

Vitæque non explenda melioris sitis?

Quid vult sibi aliud iste redeundi in nihil

Horror, sub imis quemque agens precordiis?

Cur territa in se refugit anima, cur tremit

Attonita, quoties, morte ne pereat, timet?

Particula nempe est cuique nascenti indita

Divinior; quæ corpus incolens agit;

Hominique succinit, Tua est Æternitas,

Æternitas! O lubricum nimis aspici,

Mixtumque dulci Gaudium formidine?

Quæ demigrabitur alia hinc in corpora?

Quæ Terra mox incognita? Quis orbis novus

Manet incolendus? Quanta erit mutatio?

Hæc intuenti spatia mihi quaquà patent

Immensa: Sed caliginosa nox premit;

Nec luce clarâ vult videri singula.

Figendus hic pes; certa sunt hæc hactenus:

Si quod gubernet Numen Humanum genus,

(At, quod gubernet, esse clamant omnia)

Virtute non gaudere certè non potest:

Nec esse non Beata, quâ gaudet, potest.

Sed quâ Beata sede? Quove in tempore?

Hæc quanta quanta terra, tola est Cæsaris.

Quid dubius hæret animus usque adeo? Brevi

Hic nodum hic omnem expediet. Arma en induor

Ensi manum admovens,

In utramque partem facta; quæque vim inferant,

Et quæ propulsent! Dextera intentat necem;

Vitam sinistra: Vulnus hæc dabit manus;

Altera medelam vulneris: Hic ad exitum

Deducet, ictu simplici; hæc vetant mori.

Secura ridet anima mucronis minas,

Ensesque strictos, interire nescia.

Extinguet ætas sidera diuturnior:

Ætate languens ipse Sol, obscurius

Emittet Orbi consenescenti jubar:

Natura et ipsa sentiet quondam vices

Ætatis, annis ipsa deficiet gravis:

At tibi juventus, at tibi immortalitas,

Tibi parta Divûm est vita. Periment mutuis

Elementa sese, et interibunt ictibus:

Tu permanebis sola semper integra,

Tu cuncta rerum quassa, cuncta naufraga,

Jam portu in ipso tuta, contemplabere.

Compage rupta, corruent in se invicem,

Orbesque fractis ingerentur orbibus;

Illæsa tu sedebis extra Fragmina.

Act V. Scen. I

Cato alone &c.

It must be so—Plato, thou reason'st well—

Else whence this pleasing Hope, this fond DeSir e,

This Longing after Immortality?

Or whence this secret Dread, and inward Horror,

Of falling into Nought? Why shrinks the Soul

Back on her self, and startles at Destruction?

'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;

'Tis Heaven it self, that points out an Hereafter,

And intimates Eternity to Man.

Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful, Thought!

Through what Variety of untry'd Being,

Through what new Scenes and Changes must we pass!

The wide, th' unbounded Prospect, lyes before me;

But Shadows, Clouds, and Darkness rest upon it.

Here will I hold. If there's a Pow'r above us,

(And that there is all Nature cries aloud

Through all her Works) He must delight in Virtue;

And that which he delights in, must be happy.

But when! or where!—This World was made for Cæsar.

I'm weary of Conjectures—This must end 'em.

Laying his Hand on his Sword.

Thus am I doubly arm'd: my Death and Life,

My Bane and Antidote are both before me.

This in a Moment brings me to an End;

But This informs me I shall never die.

The Soul, secur'd in her Existence, smiles

At the drawn Dagger, and defies its Point.

The Stars shall fade away, the Sun himself

Grow dim with Age, and Nature sink in Years;

But thou shalt flourish in immortal Youth,

Unhurt amidst the War of Elements,

The Wrecks of Matter and the Crush of Worlds.

Footnote 1:565571580590

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Footnote 2:

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Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 629

Monday, December 6, 1714

Experiar quid concedatur in illos,

Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis atque Latinâ.

Juv.

SirYou see what a Man suffers for sticking to his Principles.

Charles

Charles'sSir

Henry's

Oliver Cromwell

B. B.SirSir T. W.Roundhead.

CharlesCharlesSir

GallantryGentleman-like

The Petition of E. H. Esq., humbly Sheweth,

'That your Petitioner's Father's Brother's Uncle, Colonel W. H. lost the Third Finger of his Left Hand at Edge-hill Fight.

'That your Petitioner, notwithstanding the Smallness of his Fortune, (he being a younger Brother) always kept Hospitality, and drank Confusion to the Roundheads in half a Score Bumpers every Sunday in the Year, as several honest Gentlemen (whose Names are underwritten) are ready to testifie.

'That your Petitioner is remarkable in his Country for having dared to treat Sir P. P. a cursed Sequestrator, and three Members of the Assembly of Divines, with Brawn and Minced Pies upon New Year's Day.

'That your said humble Petitioner hath been five times imprisoned in five several County-Goals, for having been a Ring-leader in five different Riots; into which his Zeal for the Royal Cause hurried him, when men of greater Estates had not the Courage to rise.

'That he, the said E. H. hath had six Duels and four and twenty Boxing-Matches in Defence of his Majesty's Title; and that he received such a Blow upon the Head at a Bonfire in Stratford upon Avon, as he hath been never the better for from that Day to this.

'That your Petitioner hath been so far from improving his Fortune, in the late damnable Times, that he verily believes, and hath good Reason to imagine, that if he had been Master of an Estate, he had infallibly been plundered and sequestred.

'Your Petitioner, in Consideration of his said Merits and Sufferings, humbly requests that he may have the Place of Receiver of the Taxes, Collector of the Customs, Clerk of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, or whatsoever else he shall be thought qualified for.

And your Petitioner shall ever Pray, &c.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 630

Wednesday, December 8, 1714

—Favete linguis—

Hor.

Oxford, November 22.

Sir ,

'If you would be so kind to me, as to suspend that Satisfaction, which the Learned World must receive in reading one of your Speculations, by publishing this Endeavour, you will very much oblige and improve one, who has the Boldness to hope, that he may be admitted into the number of your Correspondents.

'I have often wondered to hear Men of good Sense and good Nature profess a Dislike to Musick, when, at the same time, they do not scruple to own, that it has the most agreeable and improving Influences over their Minds: It seems to me an unhappy Contradiction, that those Persons should have an Indifference for an Art, which raises in them such a Variety of sublime Pleasures.

'However, though some few, by their own or the unreasonable Prejudices of others, may be led into a Distaste for those Musical Societies which are erected merely for Entertainment, yet sure I may venture to say, that no one can have the least Reason for Disaffection to that solemn kind of Melody which consists of the Praises of our Creator.

'You have, I presume, already prevented me in an Argument upon this Occasion (which some Divines have successfully advanced upon a much greater) that Musical Sacrifice and Adoration has claimed a Place in the Laws and Customs of the most different Nations; As the Grecians and Romans of the Prophane, the Jews and Christians of the Sacred World did as unanimously agree in this, as they disagreed in all other Parts of their œconomy.

'I know there are not wanting some who are of Opinion that the pompous kind of Musick which is in Use in foreign Churches is the most excellent, as it most affects our Senses. But I am swayed by my Judgment to the Modesty which is observed in the musical Part of our Devotions. Methinks there is something very laudable in the Custom of a Voluntary before the first Lesson; by this we are supposed to be prepared for the Admission of those Divine Truths, which we are shortly to receive. We are then to cast all worldly Regards from off our Hearts, all Tumults within are then becalmed, and there should be nothing near the Soul but Peace and Tranquility. So that in this short Office of Praise, the Man is raised above himself, and is almost lost already amidst the Joys of Futurity.

'I have heard some nice Observers frequently commend the Policy of our Church in this Particular, that it leads us on by such easie and regular Methods, that we are perfectly deceived into Piety. When the Spirits begin to languish (as they too often do) with a constant Series of Petitions, she takes care to allow them a pious Respite, and relieves them with the Raptures of an Anthem. Nor can we doubt that the sublimest Poetry, softened in the most moving Strains of Musick, can ever fail of humbling or exalting the Soul to any Pitch of Devotion. Who can hear the Terrors of the Lord of Hosts described in the most expressive Melody, without being awed into a Veneration? or who can hear the kind and endearing Attributes of a merciful Father, and not be softened into Love towards him!

'As the rising and sinking of the Passions, the casting soft or noble Hints into the Soul, is the natural Privilege of Musick in general, so more particularly of that kind which is employed at the Altar. Those Impressions which it leaves upon the Spirits are more deep and lasting, as the Grounds from which it receives its Authority are founded more upon Reason. It diffuses a Calmness all around us, it makes us drop all those vain or immodest Thoughts which would be an hindrance to us in the Performance of that great Duty of Thanksgiving[1], which, as we are informed by our Almighty Benefactor, is the most acceptable Return which can be made for those infinite Stores of Blessings which he daily condescends to pour down upon his Creatures. When we make Use of this pathetical Method of addressing our selves to him, we can scarce contain from Raptures! The Heart is warmed with a Sublimity of Goodness. We are all Piety and all Love!

'How do the Blessed Spirits rejoice and wonder to behold unthinking Man prostrating his Soul to his dread Sovereign in such a Warmth of Piety as they themselves might not be ashamed of!

'I shall close these Reflections with a Passage taken out of the Third Book of Milton's Paradise Lost, where those harmonious Beings are thus nobly described.

Then Crown'd again, their Gold'n Harps they took,

Harps ever tun'd, that glittering by their side

Like Quivers hung, and with Preamble sweet

Of Charming Symphony they introduce

The Sacred Song, and waken Raptures high;

No one exempt, no Voice but well could join

Melodious part, such Concord is in Heav'n

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'The Town cannot be unacquainted, that in divers Parts of it there are vociferous Setts of Men who are called Rattling Clubs; but what shocks me most is, they have now the Front to invade the Church and institute these Societies there, as a Clan of them have in late times done, to such a degree of Insolence, as has given the Partition where they reside in a Church near one of the City Gates, the Denomination of the Rattling Pew. These gay Fellows, from humble Lay Professions, set up for Criticks without any Tincture of Letters or Reading, and have the Vanity to think they can lay hold of something from the Parson, which may be formed into Ridicule.

'It is needless to observe, that the Gentlemen who every Sunday have the hard Province of Instructing these Wretches in a way they are in no present Disposition to take, have a fixt Character for Learning and Eloquence, not to be tainted by the weak Efforts of this Contemptible Part of their Audiences. Whether the Pulpit is taken by these Gentlemen, or any Strangers their Friends, the way of the Club is this: If any Sentiments are delivered too Sublime for their Conception; if any uncommon Topick is entered on, or one in use new modified with the finest Judgment and Dexterity; or any controverted Point be never so elegantly handled; In short whatever surpasses the narrow Limits of their Theology, or is not suited to their Taste, they are all immediately upon their Watch, fixing their Eyes upon each other, with as much Warmth as our Gladiators of Hockley in the Hole, and waiting like them for a Hit; if one touches, all take Fire, and their Noddles instantly meet in the Centre of the Pew; then, as by beat of Drum, with exact Discipline, they rear up into a full length of Stature, and with odd Looks and Gesticulations confer together in so loud and clamorous a manner, continued to the close of the Discourse, and during the After-Psalm, as is not to be silenced but by the Bells. Nor does this suffice them, without aiming to propagate their Noise through all the Church, by Signals given to the adjoyning Seats, where others designed for this Fraternity are sometimes placed upon Tryal to receive them.

'The Folly as well as Rudeness of this Practice is in nothing more conspicuous than this, that all that follows in the Sermon is lost; for whenever our Sparks take alarm, they blaze out and grow so Tumultuous that no After-Explanation can avail, it being impossible for themselves or any near them to give an Account thereof. If any thing really Novel is advanced, how averse soever it may be to their way of thinking, to say nothing of Duty, Men of less Levity than these would be led by a natural Curiosity to hear the whole.

'Laughter, where things Sacred are transacted, is far less pardonable than Whining at a Conventicle; the last has at least a Semblance of Grace, and where the Affectation is unseen may possibly imprint wholesome Lessons on the Sincere; but the first has no Excuse, breaking through all the Rules of Order and Decency, and manifesting a Remissness of Mind in those important Matters, which require the strictest Composure and Steadiness of Thought; A Proof of the greatest Folly in the World.

'I shall not here enter upon the Veneration due to the Sanctity of the Place, the Reverence owing to the Minister, or the Respect that so great an Assembly as a whole Parish may justly claim. I shall only tell them, that as the Spanish Cobler, to reclaim a profligate Son, bid him have some regard to the Dignity of his Family, so they as Gentlemen (for we Citizens assume to be such one Day in a Week) are bound for the future to Repent of, and Abstain from, the gross Abuses here mentioned, whereof they have been Guilty in Contempt of Heaven and Earth, and contrary to the Laws in this Case made and provided.

I am, Sir ,

Your very humble Servant,

R. M.

Footnote 1:

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Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 631

Friday, December 10, 1714

—Simplex Munditiis—

Hor.

which[1]Spanish

CleanlinessHalf-VirtuesAristotle

FirstHottentotEnglish

JewishMahometanDeuteronomy

Mahometan

DerviseMecca.Dervise

Footnote 1:Tatler

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Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 632

Monday, December 13, 1714

—Explebo numerum, reddarque tenebris—

Virg.

This noble Principle,Frenchloves to amuse it self on the most trifling Occasions. You may see a profound Philosopherwalk for an Hour together in his Chamber, and industriously treading, at every Step, upon every other Board in the Flooring.thinkGregorio Leti[1]HomerGreekHerodotusMuses

EpicVirgilMiltonCowleyDavideisÆneid

Spectators

Spectator's

Dublin, Nov. 30, 1714.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

'You lately recommended to your Female Readers, the good old Custom of their Grandmothers, who used to lay out a great Part of their Time in Needle-work: I entirely agree with you in your Sentiments, and think it would not be of less Advantage to themselves, and their Posterity, than to the Reputation of many of their good Neighbours, if they past many of those Hours in this innocent Entertainment, which are lost at the Tea-Table. I would, however, humbly offer to your Consideration, the Case of the Poetical Ladies; who, though they may be willing to take any Advice given them by the SPECTATOR, yet can't so easily quit their Pen and Ink, as you may imagine. Pray allow them, at least now and then, to indulge themselves in other Amusements of Fancy, when they are tired with stooping to their Tapestry. There is a very particular kind of Work, which of late several Ladies here in our Kingdom are very fond of, which seems very well adapted to a Poetical Genius: It is the making of Grotto's. I know a Lady who has a very Beautiful one, composed by her self, nor is there one Shell in it not stuck up by her own Hands. I here send you a Poem to the fair Architect, which I would not offer to herself, till I knew whether this Method of a Lady's passing her Time were approved of by the British SPECTATOR, which, with the Poem, I submit to your Censure, who am,

Your Constant Reader, and Humble Servant,

A. B.

To Mrs. — on her Grotto.

A Grotto so compleat, with such Design,

What Hands, Calypso, cou'd have form'd but Thine?

Each chequer'd Pebble, and each shining Shell,

So well proportion'd, and dispos'd so well,

Surprizing Lustre from thy Thought receive,

Assuming Beauties more than Nature gave.

To Her their various Shapes, and glossy Hue,

Their curious Symmetry they owe to You.

Not fam'd Amphion's Lute,—whose powerful Call

Made Willing Stones dance to the Theban Wall,

In more harmonious Ranks cou'd make them fall.

Not Ev'ning Cloud a brighter Arch can show,

Nor richer Colours paint the heav'nly Bow.

Where can unpolished Nature boast a Piece,

In all her Mossie Cells exact as This?

At the gay parti-color'd Scene—we start,

For Chance too regular, too rude for Art,

Charmed with the sight, my ravish'd Breast is fir'd

With Hints like those which ancient Bards inspir'd;

All the feign'd Tales by Superstition told,

All the bright Train of fabled Nymphs of Old,

Th' enthusiastick Muse believes are true,

Thinks the Spot sacred, and its Genius You.

Lost in wild Rapture, wou'd she fain disclose,

How by degrees the pleasing Wonder rose:

Industrious in a faithful Verse to trace

The various Beauties of the lovely Place;

And while she keeps the glowing Work in View,

Thro' ev'ry Maze thy Artful Hand pursue.

Oh were I equal to the bold Design,

Or cou'd I boast such happy Art as Thine!

That cou'd rude Shells in such sweet Order place,

Give common Objects such uncommon Grace!

Like them my well-chose Words in ev'ry Line,

As sweetly temper'd should as sweetly shine.

So just a Fancy shou'd my Numbers warm,

Like the gay Piece shou'd the Description charm.

Then with superior Strength my Voice I'd raise,

The echoing Grotto shou'd approve my Lays,

Pleas'd to reflect the well-sung Founder's Praise.

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 633

Wednesday, December 15, 1714

Z. Pearce

Omnia profecto, cum se à cœlestibus rebus referet ad humanas, excelsius magnificentiusque et dicet et sentiet.

Cicer.

Cambridge, Dec. 12.

'It was a very common Enquiry among the Ancients why the Number of excellent Orators, under all the Encouragements the most flourishing States could give them, fell so far short of the Number of those who excelled in all other Sciences. A Friend of mine used merrily to apply to this Case an Observation of Herodotus, who says, That the most useful Animals are the most fruitful in their Generation; whereas the Species of those Beasts that are fierce and mischievous to Mankind are but scarcely continued. The Historian instances in a Hare, which always either breeds or brings forth; and a Lioness, which brings forth but once, and then loses all Power of Conception. But, leaving my Friend to his Mirth, I am of Opinion, that in these latter Ages we have greater Cause of Complaint than the Ancients had. And since that solemn Festival is approaching, which calls for all the Power of Oratory, and which affords as noble a Subject for the Pulpit as any Revelation has taught us, the Design of this Paper shall be to show, that our Moderns have greater Advantages towards true and solid Eloquence, than any which the celebrated Speakers of Antiquity enjoy'd.

'The first great and substantial Difference is, that their Common-Places, in which almost the whole Force of Amplification consists, were drawn from the Profit or Honesty of the Action, as they regarded only this present State of Duration. But Christianity, as it exalts Morality to a greater Perfection, as it brings the Consideration of another Life into the Question, as it proposes Rewards and Punishments of a higher Nature, and a longer Continuance, is more adapted to affect the Minds of the Audience, naturally inclined to pursue what it imagines its greatest Interest and Concern. If Pericles, as Historians report, could shake the firmest Resolutions of his Hearers, and set the Passions of all Greece in a Ferment, when the present Welfare of his Country, or the Fear of hostile Invasions, was the Subject: What may be expected from that Orator, who warns his Audience against those Evils which have no Remedy, when once undergone, either from Prudence or Time? As much greater as the Evils in a future State are than these at present, so much are the Motives to Persuasion under Christianity greater than those which meer moral Considerations could supply us with. But what I now mention relates only to the Power of moving the Affections. There is another Part of Eloquence, which is indeed its Master-piece; I mean the Marvellous or Sublime. In this the Christian Orator has the Advantage beyond Contradiction. Our Ideas are so infinitely enlarged by Revelation, the Eye of Reason has so wide a Prospect into Eternity, the Notions of a Deity are so worthy and refined, and the Accounts we have of a State of Happiness or Misery so clear and evident, that the Contemplation of such Objects will give our Discourse a noble Vigour, an invincible Force, beyond the Power of any human Consideration. Tully requires in his Perfect Orator some Skill in the Nature of Heavenly Bodies, because, says he, his Mind will become more extensive and unconfined; and when he descends to treat of human Affairs, he will both think and write in a more exalted and magnificent Manner. For the same Reason that excellent Master would have recommended the Study of those great and glorious Mysteries which Revelation has discovered to us; to which the noblest Parts of this System of the World are as much inferiour, as the Creature is less excellent than its Creator. The wisest and most knowing among the Heathens had very poor and imperfect Notions of a future State. They had indeed some uncertain Hopes, either received by Tradition, or, gathered by Reason, that the Existence of virtuous Men would not be determined by the Separation of Soul and Body: But they either disbelieved a future State of Punishment and Misery, or upon the same Account that Apelles painted Antigonus with one Side only towards the Spectator, that the Loss of his Eye might not cast a Blemish upon the whole Piece; so these represented the Condition of Man in its fairest View, and endeavoured to conceal what they thought was a Deformity to human Nature. I have often observed, that whenever the abovementioned Orator in his Philosophical Discourses is led by his Argument to the Mention of Immortality, he seems like one awaked out of Sleep, rous'd and alarm'd with the Dignity of the Subject, he stretches his Imagination to conceive something uncommon, and with the greatness of his Thoughts, casts, as it were, a Glory round the Sentence; Uncertain and unsettled as he was, he seems fired with the Contemplation of it. And nothing but such a Glorious Prospect could have forced so great a Lover of Truth, as he was, to declare his Resolution never to part with his Persuasion of Immortality, though it should be proved to be an erroneous one. But had he lived to see all that Christianity has brought to Light, how would he have lavished out all the Force of Eloquence in those noblest Contemplations which humane Nature is capable of, the Resurrection and the Judgment that follows it? How had his Breast glowed with Pleasure, when the whole Compass of Futurity lay open and exposed to his View? How would his Imagination have hurried him on in the Pursuit of the Mysteries of the Incarnation? How would he have enter'd, with the Force of Lightning, into the Affections of his Hearers, and fixed their Attention, in spite of all the Opposition of corrupt Nature, upon those glorious Themes which his Eloquence hath painted in such lively and lasting Colours?

'This Advantage Christians have; and it was with no small Pleasure I lately met with a Fragment of Longinus, which is preserv'd, as a Testimony of that Critick's Judgment, at the Beginning of a Manuscript of the New Testament in the Vatican Library. After that Author has number'd up the most celebrated Orators among the Grecians, he says, Add to these Paul of Tarsus, the Patron of an Opinion not yet fully proved. As a Heathen, he condemns the Christian Religion; and, as an impartial Critick, he judges in Favour of the Promoter and Preacher of it. To me it seems, that the latter Part of his Judgment adds great Weight to his Opinion of St. Paul's Abilities, since, under all the Prejudice of Opinions directly opposite, he is constrained to acknowledge the Merit of that Apostle. And, no doubt, such as Longinus describes St. Paul, such he appeared to the Inhabitants of those Countries which he visited and blessed with those Doctrines was divinely commissioned to preach. Sacred Story gives us, in one Circumstance, a convincing Proof of his Eloquence, when the Men of Lystra called him Mercury, because he was the chief Speaker, and would have paid Divine Worship to him, as to the God who invented and presided over Eloquence. This one Account of our Apostle sets his Character, consider'd as an Orator only, above all the celebrated Relations of the Skill and Influence of Demosthenes and his Contemporaries. Their Power in Speaking was admired, but still it was thought human: Their Eloquence warmed and ravished the Hearers, but still it was thought the Voice of Man, not the Voice of God. What Advantage then had St. Paul above those of Greece, or Rome? I confess I can ascribe this Excellence to nothing but the Power of the Doctrines he delivered, which may have still the same Influence on the Hearers; which have still the Power, when preached by a skilful Orator, to make us break out in the same Expressions, as the Disciples who met our Saviour in their Way to Emmaus, made use of; Did not our Hearts burn within us, when he talked to us by the Way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? I may be thought bold in my Judgment by some; but I must affirm, That no one Orator has left us so visible Marks and Footsteps of his Eloquence as our Apostle. It may perhaps be wondered at, that in his Reasonings upon Idolatry at Athens, where Eloquence was born and flourished, he confines himself to strict Argument only; but my Reader may remember what many Authors of the best Credit have assured us, That all Attempts upon the Affections and Strokes of Oratory were expressly forbidden, by the Laws of that Country, in Courts of Judicature. His want of Eloquence therefore here, was the Effect of his exact Conformity to the Laws. But his Discourse on the Resurrection to the Corinthians, his Harangue before Agrippa upon his own Conversion and the Necessity of that of others, are truly Great, and may serve as full Examples to those excellent Rules for the Sublime, which the best of Criticks has left us. The Sum of all this Discourse is, That our Clergy have no farther to look for an Example of the Perfection they may arrive at, than to St. Paul's Harangues; that when he, under the Want of several Advantages of Nature (as he himself tells us) was heard, admired, and made a Standard to succeeding Ages by the best Judge of a different Persuasion in Religion, I say our Clergy may learn, That, however instructive their Sermons are, they are capable of receiving a great Addition; which St. Paul has given them a noble Example of, and the Christian Religion has furnished them with certain Means of attaining to.'

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 634

Friday, December 17, 1714

LonginusHomerCiceroHomer

Sir

GreeksRomans

Julian's CæsarsRomanAlexanderAlexanderJulius CæsarAugustus CæsarTrajanMarcus AureliusConstantineMercuryAlexanderJulius CæsarAugustusTrajanAlexanderMarcus Aureliusit had always been his Care to imitate the GodsMarcus Aurelius

Jupiter

Our Happiness in this World proceeds from the Suppression of our DeSir es, but in the next World from the Gratification of them.

Contents

Contents, p. 8

No. 635

Monday, December 20, 1714

Henry Grove

Sentio Te sedem Hominum ac Domum contemplarique si tibi parva (ut est) ita videtur, hæc cœlestia semper Spectato; illa humana contemnito.

Cicero Somn. Scip.

NoveltySpectator:Platonick

Sir

Sir Isaac Newton,Spectator

Contents

Contents, p. 8

end of Volume 3.

The Spectator

in three volumes: translations and index

for:

- Spectator Volume 1 (Nos. 1-202)

- Spectator Volume 2 (Nos. 203-416)

- Spectator Volume 3 (Nos 417-635).

A New Edition

Reproducing the Original Text

Both as First Issued

and as Corrected by its Authors

with Introduction, Notes, and Index

edited by Henry Morley

1891

Index

- Additional Notes to theSpectator series

- Translations of the Mottos to the Spectator series

- Some Advertisements from the Original Numbers of the Spectator series

- Index

Additional Notes

to No. 123

No. 123Spectator.

'Dear Sir,

'Being very well pleased with this day's Spectator I cannot forbear sending you one of them, and desiring your opinion of the story in it. When you have a son I shall be glad to be his Leontine, as my circumstances will probably be like his. I have within this twelvemonth lost a place of £200 per ann., an estate in the Indies of £14,000, and what is worse than all the rest, my mistress. Hear this, and wonder at my philosophy. I find they are going to take away my Irish place from me too: to which I must add, that I have just resigned my fellowship, and that stocks sink every day. If you have any hints or subjects, pray send me up a paper full. I long to talk an evening with you. I believe I shall not go for Ireland this summer, and perhaps would pass a month with you if I knew where. Lady Bellasis is very much your humble servant. Dick Steele and I often remember you.'

I am, Dear Sir, Yours eternally.

To Nos. 453, 461, and 465.

Retrospective Review

'Captain Thompson was a very incorrect and injudicious editor of Marvell's works. A very contemptible charge of plagiarism is also preferred by the editor against Addison for the insertion of three hymns in the Spectator, Nos. 453, 461, and 465; no proof whatever is vouchsafed that they belong to Marvell, and the hymn inserted in the Spectator, No. 461, "When Israel freed from Pharaoh's land," is now known to be the noble composition of Dr. Watts.'

Gentleman's MagazineDivine Psalms and Hymns

'Where I have used three or four lines together of any author I have acknowledged it in the notes.'

453465Spectator.Spectator

Contents

Translations of the Mottos

No.

Source

Translation

Vol.

1

1

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 143.

One with a flash begins, and ends in smoke;

Another out of smoke brings glorious light,

And (without raising expectation high)

Surprises us with dazzling miracles.

(Roscommon)

2

Juv.

Sat. vii. 167.

Six more, at least, join their consenting voice.

3

Luc.

1. iv. 959.

—What studies please, what most delight,

And fill men's thoughts, they dream them o'er at night.

(Creech)

4

Hor.

2 Sat. vi. 58.

One of uncommon silence and reserve.

5

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 5.

Admitted to the sight, would you not laugh?

6

Juv.

Sat. xiii. 54.

'Twas impious then (so much was age revered)

For youth to keep their seats when an old man appear'd.

7

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 208.

Visions and magic spells can you despise,

And laugh at witches, ghosts, and prodigies?

8

Virg.

Æn. i. 415.

They march obscure, for Venus kindly shrouds

With mists their persons, and involves in clouds.

(Dryden)

9

Juv.

Sat. xv. 163.

Tiger with tiger, bear with bear, you'll find

In leagues offensive and defensive join'd.

(Tate)

10

Virg.

Georg. i. 201.

So the boat's brawny crew the current stem,

And, slow advancing, struggle with the stream:

But if they slack their hands, or cease to strive,

Then down the flood with headlong haste they drive.

(Dryden)

11

Juv.

Sat. ii. 63.

The doves are censured, while the crows are spared.

12

Pers.

Sat. v. 92.

I root th' old woman from thy trembling heart.

13

Mart.

Were you a lion, how would you behave?

14

Ovid

Met. iv. 590.

Wretch that thou art! put off this monstrous shape.

15

Ovid

Ars Am. i. 159.

Light minds are pleased with trifles.

16

Hor.

1 Ep. i. ii.

What right, what true, what fit we justly call,

Let this be all my care—for this is all.

(Pope)

17

Juv.

x. 191.

—A visage rough,

Deform'd, unfeatured.

18

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 187.

But now our nobles too are fops and vain,

Neglect the sense, but love the painted scene.

(Creech)

19

Hor.

1 Sat. iv. 17.

Thank Heaven, that made me of an humble mind;

To action little, less to words inclined!

20

Hom.

Thou dog in forehead.

(Pope)

21

Hor.

1 Ep. v. 28.

There's room enough, and each may bring his friend.

(Creech)

22

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 5.

—Whatever contradicts my sense

I hate to see, and never can believe.

(Roscommon)

23

Virg.

Æn. ix. 420.

Fierce Volscens foams with rage, and gazing round,

Descry'd not him who gave the fatal wound;

Nor knew to fix revenge.

(Dryden)

24

Hor.

1 Sat. ix. 3.

Comes up a fop (I knew him but by fame),

And seized my hand, and call'd me by name—

—My dear!—how dost?

25

Virg.

Æn. xii. 46.

And sickens by the very means of health.

26

Hor.

1 Od. iv. 13.

With equal foot, rich friend, impartial fate

Knocks at the cottage and the palace gate:

Life's span forbids thee to extend thy cares,

And stretch thy hopes beyond thy years:

Night soon will seize, and you must quickly go

To storied ghosts, and Pluto's house below.

27

Hor.

1 Ep. i 20.

imitated

Long as to him, who works for debt, the day;

Long as the night to her, whose love's away;

Long as the year's dull circle seems to run

When the brisk minor pants for twenty-one:

So slow th' unprofitable moments roll,

That lock up all the functions of my soul;

That keep me from myself, and still delay

Life's instant business to a future day:

That task, which as we follow, or despise,

The eldest is a fool, the youngest wise:

Which done, the poorest can no wants endure,

And which not done, the richest must be poor.

28

Hor.

2 Od. x. 19.

Nor does Apollo always bend his bow.

29

Hor.

1 Sat. x. 23.

Both tongues united, sweeter sounds produce,

Like Chian mixed with Palernian juice.

30

Hor.

1 Ep. vi. 65.

If nothing, as Mimnermus strives to prove,

Can e'er be pleasant without mirth and love,

Then live in mirth and love, thy sports pursue.

(Creech)

31

Virg.

Æn. vi. 266.

What I have heard, permit me to relate.

32

Hor.

1 Sat. v. 64.

He wants no tragic vizor to increase

His natural deformity of face.

33

Hor.

1 Od. xxx. 5.

The graces with their zones unloosed;

The nymphs, with beauties all exposed

From every spring, and every plain;

Thy powerful, hot, and winged boy;

And youth, that's dull without thy joy;

And Mercury, compose thy train.

(Creech)

34

Juv.

Sat. xv. 159.

From spotted skins the leopard does refrain.

(Tate)

35

Catull.

Carm. 39

in Enat.

Nothing so foolish as the laugh of fools.

36

Virg.

Æn. iii. 583.

Things the most out of nature we endure.

37

Virg.

Æn. vii. 805.

Unbred to spinning, in the loom unskill'd.

(Dryden)

38

Mart.

One would not please too much.

39

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 102.

imitated

Much do I suffer, much, to keep in peace

This jealous, waspish, wrong-headed rhyming race.

(Pope)

40

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 208.

imitated

Yet lest you think I rally more than teach,

Or praise, malignant, arts I cannot reach,

Let me for once presume t' instruct the times,

To know the poet from the man of rhymes;

'Tis he, who gives my breast a thousand pains,

Can make me feel each passion that he feigns;

Enrage, compose, with more than magic art,

With pity, and with terror, tear my heart;

And snatch me o'er the earth, or through the air,

To Thebes, to Athens, when he will, and where.

(Pope)

41

Ovid.

Met. i. 654.

So found, is worse than lost.

(Addison)

42

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 202.

imitated

Loud as the wolves on Orca's stormy steep,

Howl to the roarings of the northern deep:

Such is the shout, the long applauding note,

At Quin's high plume, or Oldfield's petticoat:

Or when from court a birth-day suit bestow'd

Sinks the last actor in the tawdry load.

Booth enters—hark! the universal peal!—

But has he spoken?—Not a syllable—

What shook the stage, and made the people stare?

Cato's long wig, flower'd gown, and lacker'd chair.

(Pope)

43

Virg.

Æn. vi. 854.

Be these thy arts; to bid contention cease,

Chain up stern wars, and give the nations peace;

O'er subject lands extend thy gentle sway,

And teach with iron rod the haughty to obey.

44

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 123.

Now hear what every auditor expects.

(Roscommon)

45

Juv.

Sat. iii. 100

The nation is a company of players.

46

Ovid

Met. 1 i. ver. 9.

The jarring seeds of ill-concerted things.

47

Mart.

Laugh, if you are wise.

48

Ovid

Met. xiv. 652.

Through various shapes he often finds access.

49

Mart.

Men and manners I describe.

50

Jun.

Sat. xix. 321

Good taste and nature always speak the same.

51

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 127.

He from the taste obscene reclaims our youth.

(Pope)

52

Virg.

Æn. i. 78.

To crown thy worth, she shall be ever thine,

And make thee father of a beauteous line.

53

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 359.

Homer himself hath been observed to nod.

(Roscommon)

54

Hor.

1 Ep. xi. 28.

Laborious idleness our powers employs.

55

Pers.

Sat. v. 129

Our passions play the tyrants in our breasts.

56

Lucan.

i. 454.

Happy in their mistake.

57

Juv.

Sat. vi. 251

What sense of shame in woman's breast can lie,

Inured to arms, and her own sex to fly?

58

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 361.

Poems like pictures are.

59

Seneca

Busy about nothing.

60

Pers.

Sat. iii. 85

Is it for this you gain those meagre looks,

And sacrifice your dinner to your books?

61

Pers.

Sat. v. 19

'Tis not indeed my talent to engage

In lofty trifles, or to swell my page

With wind and noise.

(Dryden)

62

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 309.

Sound judgment is the ground of writing well.

(Roscommon)

63

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. i.

If in a picture, Piso, you should see

A handsome woman with a fish's tail,

Or a man's head upon a horse's neck,

Or limbs of beasts, of the most different kinds,

Cover'd with feathers of all sorts of birds;

Would you not laugh, and think the painter mad?

Trust me that book is as ridiculous,

Whose incoherent style, like sick men's dreams,

Varies all shapes, and mixes all extremes.

(Roscommon)

64

Juv.

Sat. iii. 183

The face of wealth in poverty we wear.

65

Hor.

1 Sat. x. 90.

Demetrius and Tigellius, know your place;

Go hence, and whine among the school-boy race.

66

Hor.

1 Od. vi. 21.

Behold a ripe and melting maid

Bound 'prentice to the wanton trade:

Ionian artists, at a mighty price,

Instruct her in the mysteries of vice,

What nets to spread, where subtle baits to lay;

And with an early hand they form the temper'd clay.

(Roscommon)

67

Sallust.

Too fine a dancer for a virtuous woman.

68

Ovid

Met. i. 355

We two are a multitude.

69

Virg.

Georg. i. 54

This ground with Bacchus, that with Ceres suits;

That other loads the trees with happy fruits,

A fourth with grass, unbidden, decks the ground:

Thus Tmolus is with yellow saffron crown'd;

India black ebon and white iv'ry bears;

And soft Idume weeps her od'rous tears:

Thus Pontus sends her beaver stones from far:

And naked Spaniards temper steel for war:

Epirus for th' Elean chariot breeds

(In hopes of palms) a race of running steeds.

This is th' original contract; these the laws

Imposed by nature, and by nature's cause.

(Dryden)

70

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 63.

Sometimes the vulgar see and judge aright.

71

Ovid

Epist. iv. 10

Love bade me write.

72

Virg.

Georg. iv. 208

Th' immortal line in sure succession reigns,

The fortune of the family remains,

And grandsires' grandsons the long list contains.

(Dryden)

73

Virg.

Æn. i. 328.

O Goddess! for no less you seem.

74

Virg.

Æn. iv. 88.

The works unfinish'd and neglected lie.

75

Hor.

1 Ep. xvii. 23.

All fortune fitted Aristippus well.

(Creech)

76

Hor.

1 Ep. viii. 17.

As you your fortune bear, we will bear you.

(Creech)

77

Mart.

Epig. i. 87

What correspondence can I hold with you,

Who are so near, and yet so distant too?

78

Could we but call so great a genius ours!

79

Hor.

1 Ep. xvi. 52.

The good, for virtue's sake, abhor to sin.

(Creech)

80

Hor.

1 Ep. ix. 27.

Those that beyond sea go, will sadly find,

They change their climate only, not their mind.

(Creech)

81

Stat.

Theb. ii. 128.

As when the tigress hears the hunter's din,

Dark angry spots distain her glossy skin.

82

Juv.

Sat iii. 33

His fortunes ruin'd, and himself a slave.

83

Virg.

Æn. i. 464.

And with the shadowy picture feeds his mind.

84

Virg.

Æn. ii. 6.

Who can such woes relate, without a tear,

As stern Ulysses must have wept to hear?

85

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 319.

—When the sentiments and manners please,

And all the characters are wrought with ease,

Your tale, though void of beauty, force, and art,

More strongly shall delight, and warm the heart;

Than where a lifeless pomp of verse appears,

And with sonorous trifles charms our ears.

(Francis)

86

Ovid

Met. ii. 447

How in the looks does conscious guilt appear!

(Addison)

87

Virg.

Ecl. ii. 17

Trust not too much to an enchanting face.

(Dryden)

88

Virg.

Ecl. iii. 16

What will not masters do, when servants thus presume?

89

Pers.

Sat. v. 64

Pers.

From thee both old and young with profit learn

The bounds of good and evil to discern.

Corn.

Unhappy he, who does this work adjourn,

And to to-morrow would the search delay:

His lazy morrow will be like to-day.

Pers.

But is one day of ease too much to borrow?

Corn.

Yes, sure; for yesterday was once to-morrow:

That yesterday is gone, and nothing gain'd;

And all thy fruitless days will thus be drain'd,

For thou hast more to-morrows yet to ask,

And wilt be ever to begin thy task;

Who, like the hindmost chariot-wheels, are curst,

Still to be near, but ne'er to reach the first.

(Dryden)

90

Virg.

Georg. iii. 90

In all the rage of impotent desire,

They feel a quenchless flame, a fruitless fire.

91

Virg.

Georg. iii. 244

—They rush into the flame;

For love is lord of all, and is in all the same.

(Dryden)

92

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 61.

imitated

—What would you have me do,

When out of twenty I can please not two?—

One likes the pheasant's wing, and one the leg;

The vulgar boil, the learned roast an egg;

Hard task, to hit the palate of such guests.

(Pope)

93

Hor.

1 Od. xi. 6.

Thy lengthen'd hopes with prudence bound

Proportion'd to the flying hour:

While thus we talk in careless ease,

The envious moments wing their flight;

Instant the fleeting pleasure seize,

Nor trust to-morrow's doubtful light.

(Francis)

94

Mart.

Epig. xxiii. 10

The present joys of life we doubly taste,

By looking back with pleasure to the past.

95

Seneca

Trag.

Light sorrows loose the tongue, but great enchain.

(P.)

96

Hor.

2 Sat. vii. 2.

—The faithful servant, and the true.

97

Virg.

Æn. vi. 436.

They prodigally threw their lives away.

98

Juv.

Sat. vi. 500

So studiously their persons they adorn.

99

Hor.

1 Sat. vi. 63.

You know to fix the bounds of right and wrong.

100

Hor.

1 Sat. v. 44.

The greatest blessing is a pleasant friend.

101

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 5.

Edward and Henry, now the boast of fame,

And virtuous Alfred, a more sacred name,

After a life of generous toils endured,

The Gaul subdued, or property secured,

Ambition humbled, mighty cities storm'd,

Or laws established, and the world reform'd:

Closed their long glories with a sigh to find

Th' unwilling gratitude of base mankind.

(Pope)

102

Phædr.

Fab. xiv. 3.

The mind ought sometimes to be diverted, that it may return the better to thinking.

103

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 240.

Such all might hope to imitate with ease:

Yet while they strive the same success to gain,

Should find their labour and their hopes are vain.

(Francis)

104

Virg.

Æn. i. 316.

With such array Harpalyce bestrode

Her Thracian courser.

(Dryden)

105

Ter.

Andr. Act i. Sc. I.

I take to be a principal rule of life, not to be too much addicted to any one thing.

Too much of anything is good for nothing.

(Eng. Prov.)

106

Hor.

1 Od. xvii. 14.

Here plenty's liberal horn shall pour

Of fruits for thee a copious show'r,

Rich honours of the quiet plain.

107

Phædr.

Epilog. i. 2.

The Athenians erected a large statue to Æsop, and placed him, though a slave, on a lasting pedestal: to show that the way to honour lies open indifferently to all.

108

Phædr.

Fab. v. 2.

Out of breath to no purpose, and very busy about nothing.

109

Hor.

2 Sat. ii. 3.

Of plain good sense, untutor'd in the schools.

110

Virg.

Æn. ii. 755.

All things are full of Horror and affright,

And dreadful ev'n the silence of the night.

(Dryden)

111

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 45.

To search for truth in academic groves.

112

Pythag.

First, in obedience to thy country's rites,

Worship th' immortal gods.

113

Virg.

Æn. iv. 4.

Her looks were deep imprinted in his heart.

114

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 24.

—The dread of nothing more

Than to be thought necessitous and poor.

(Pooly)

115

Juv.

Sat. x. 356

Pray for a sound mind in a sound body.

116

Virg.

Georg. iii. 43

The echoing hills and chiding hounds invite.

117

Virg.

Ecl. viii. 108

With voluntary dreams they cheat their minds.

118

Virg.

Æn. iv. 73.

—The fatal dart

Sticks in his side, and rankles in his heart.

(Dryden)

119

Virg.

Ecl. i. 20

The city men call Rome, unskilful clown,

I thought resembled this our humble town.

(Warton)

120

Virg.

Georg. i. 415

—I deem their breasts inspired

With a divine sagacity—

121

Virg.

Ecl. iii. 66

—All things are full of Jove.

122

Publ. Syr.

Frag.

An agreeable companion upon the road is as good as a coach.

123

Hor.

4 Od. iv. 33.

Yet the best blood by learning is refined,

And virtue arms the solid mind;

Whilst vice will stain the noblest race,

And the paternal stamp efface.

(Oldisworth)

124

A great book is a great evil.

125

Virg.

Æn. vi. 832.

This thirst of kindred blood, my sons, detest,

Nor turn your force against your country's breast.

(Dryden)

126

Virg.

Æn. x. 108.

Rutulians, Trojans, are the same to me.

(Dryden)

127

Pers.

Sat. i. 1

How much of emptiness we find in things!

128

Lucan.

i. 98.

—Harmonious discord.

129

Pers.

Sat. v. 71

Thou, like the hindmost chariot-wheels, art curst,

Still to be near, but ne'er to be the first.

(Dryden)

130

Virg.

Æn. vii. 748.

A plundering race, still eager to invade,

On spoil they live, and make of theft a trade.

131

Virg.

Ecl. x. 63

Once more, ye woods, adieu.

132

Tull.

That man may be called impertinent, who considers not the circumstances of time, or engrosses the conversation, or makes himself the subject of his discourse, or pays no regard to the company he is in.

133

Hor.

1 Od. xxiv. 1.

Such was his worth, our loss is such,

We cannot love too well, or grieve too much.

(Oldisworth)

134

Ovid

Met. i. 521

And am the great physician call'd below.

(Dryden)

135

Hor.

1 Sat. x. 9.

Let brevity dispatch the rapid thought.

136

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 112.

A greater liar Parthia never bred.

137

Tull.

Epist.

Even slaves were always at liberty to fear, rejoice, and grieve at their own, rather than another's, pleasure.

138

Tull.

He uses unnecessary proofs in an indisputable point.

139

Tull.

True glory takes root, and even spreads; all false pretences, like flowers, fall to the ground; nor can any counterfeit last long.

140

Virg.

Æn. iv. 285.

This way and that the anxious mind is torn.

141

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 187.

Taste, that eternal wanderer, that flies

From head to ears, and now from ears to eyes.

(Pope)

142

Hor.

1 Od. xiii. 12.

Whom love's unbroken bond unites.

143

Martial

Epig. lxx. 6

For life is only life, when blest with health.

144

Ter.

Eun. Act iii. Sc. 5.

You shall see how nice a judge of beauty I am.

145

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 29.

Their folly pleads the privilege of wealth.

146

Tull.

No man was ever great without some degree of inspiration.

147

Tull.

Good delivery is a graceful management of the voice, countenance, and gesture.

148

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 212.

Better one thorn pluck'd out, than all remain.

149

Cæcil.

apud Tull.

Who has it in her power to make men mad,

Or wise, or sick, or well: and who can choose

The object of her appetite at pleasure.

150

Juv.

Sat. iii. 152

What is the scorn of every wealthy fool,

And wit in rags is turn'd to ridicule.

(Dryden)

151

Tull.

de Fin.

Where pleasure prevails, all the greatest virtues will lose their power.

152

Hom.

Il. 6, v. 146.

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found.

(Pope)

153

Tull.

de Senect.

Life, as well as all other things, hath its bounds assigned by nature; and its conclusion, like the last act of a play, is old age, the fatigue of which we ought to shun, especially when our appetites are fully satisfied.

154

Juv.

Sat. ii. 83

No man e'er reach'd the heights of vice at first.

(Tate)

155

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 451.

These things which now seem frivolous and slight,

Will prove of serious consequence.

(Roscommon)

156

Hor.

2 Od. viii. 5.

—But thou,

When once thou hast broke some tender vow,

All perjured, dost more charming grow!

157

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 187.

imitated

—That directing power,

Who forms the genius in the natal hour:

That God of nature, who, within us still,

Inclines our action, not constrains our will.

(Pope)

158

Martial

xiii. 2.

We know these things to be mere trifles.

159

Virg.

Æn. ii. 604.

The cloud, which, intercepting the clear light,

Hangs o'er thy eyes, and blunts thy mortal sight,

I will remove—

160

Hor.

1 Sat. iv. 43.

On him confer the Poet's sacred name,

Whose lofty voice declares the heavenly flame.

161

Virg.

Georg. ii. 527

Himself, in rustic pomp, on holydays,

To rural powers a just oblation pays;

And on the green his careless limbs displays:

The hearth is in the midst: the herdsmen, round

The cheerful fire, provoke his health in goblets crown'd.

He calls on Bacchus, and propounds the prize,

The groom his fellow-groom at buts defies,

And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes:

Or, stript for wrestling, smears his limbs with oil,

And watches with a trip his foe to foil.

Such was the life the frugal Sabines led;

So Remus and his brother king were bred,

From whom th' austere Etrurian virtue rose;

And this rude life our homely fathers chose;

Old Rome from such a race derived her birth,

The seat of empire, and the conquer'd earth.

(Dryden)

162

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 126.

Keep one consistent plan from end to end.

163

Enn.

apud Tullium

Say, will you thank me if I bring you rest,

And ease the torture of your troubled breast?

164

Virg.

iv. Georg. 494

Then thus the bride: What fury seized on thee,

Unhappy man! to lose thyself and me?

And now farewell! involved in shades of night,

For ever I am ravish'd from thy sight:

In vain I reach my feeble hands to join

In sweet embraces, ah! no longer thine.

(Dryden)

165

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 48.

—If you would unheard-of things express,

Invent new words; we can indulge a muse,

Until the licence rise to an abuse.

(Creech)

166

Ovid

Met. xv. 871.

—Which nor dreads the rage

Of tempests, fire, or war, or wasting age.

(Welsted)

167

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 128.

imitated

There lived in Primo Georgii (they record)

A worthy member, no small fool, a lord;

Who, though the house was up, delighted sate,

Heard, noted, answer'd as in full debate;

In all but this, a man of sober life,

Fond of his friend, and civil to his wife;

Not quite a madman, though a pasty fell,

And much too wise to walk into a well.

Him the damn'd doctor and his friends immured;

They bled, they cupp'd, they purged, in short they cured,

Whereat the gentleman began to stare—

'My friends!' he cry'd: 'pox take you for your care!

That from a patriot of distinguish'd note,

Have bled and purged me to a simple vote.

(Pope)

168

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 128.

Forms the soft bosom with the gentlest art.

(Pope)

169

Ter.

Andr. Act i. Sc. 1.

His manner of life was this: to bear with everybody's humours; to comply with the inclinations and pursuits of those he conversed with; to contradict nobody; never to assume a superiority over others. This is the ready way to gain applause without exciting envy.

170

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 1.

In love are all these ills: suspicions, quarrels,

Wrongs, reconcilements, war, and peace again.

(Coleman)

171

Ovid

Met. vii. 826

Love is a credulous passion.

172

Plato

apud Tull.

As knowledge, without justice, ought to be called cunning, rather than wisdom; so a mind prepared to meet danger, if excited by its own eagerness, and not the public good, deserves the name of audacity, rather than that of fortitude.

173

Ovid

Met. v. 215.

Hence with those monstrous features, and, O! spare

That Gorgon's look and petrifying stare.

(P.)

174

Virg.

Ecl. vii. 69

The whole debate in memory I retain,

When Thyrsis argued warmly, but in vain.

(P.)

175

Ovid

Rem. Am. v. 625.

To save your house from neighb'ring fire is hard.

(Tate)

176

Lucr.

iv. 1155.

A little, pretty, witty, charming she!

177

Juv.

Sat. xv. 140

Who can all sense of others' ills escape,

Is but a brute, at best, in human shape.

(Tate)

178

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 133.

Civil to his wife.

(Pope)

179

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 341.

Old age is only fond of moral truth,

Lectures too grave disgust aspiring youth;

But he who blends instruction with delight,

Wins every reader, nor in vain shall write.

(P.)

180

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 14.

The monarch's folly makes the people rue.

(P.)

181

Virg.

Æn. ii. 145.

Moved by these tears, we pity and protect.

182

Juv.

Sat. vi. 180

The bitter overbalances the sweet.

183

Hom.

Sometimes fair truth in fiction we disguise;

Sometimes present her naked to men's eyes.

(Pope)

184

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 360.

—Who labours long may be allowed sleep.

185

Virg.

Æn. i. 15.

And dwells such fury in celestial breasts?

186

Hor.

3 Od. i. 38.

High Heaven itself our impious rage assails.

(P.)

187

Hor.

1 Od. v. 2.

Ah wretched they! whom Pyrrha's smile

And unsuspected arts beguile.

(Duncome)

188

Tull.

It gives me pleasure to be praised by you, whom all men praise.

189

Virg.

Æn. x. 824.

An image of paternal tenderness.

190

Hor.

2 Od. viii. 18.

A slavery to former times unknown.

191

—Deluding vision of the night.

(Pope)

192

Ter.

Andr. Act i. Sc. 1.

—All the world

With one accord said all good things, and praised

My happy fortunes, who possess a son

So good, so liberally disposed.

(Colman)

193

Virg.

Georg. ii. 461

His lordship's palace view, whose portals proud

Each morning vomit forth a cringing crowd.

(Warton, &c.)

194

Hor.

1 Od. xiii. 4.

With jealous pangs my bosom swells.

195

Hesiod

Fools not to know that half exceeds the whole,

How blest the sparing meal and temperate bowl!

196

Hor.

1 Ep. xi. 30.

True happiness is to no place confined,

But still is found in a contented mind.

197

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 15.

On trifles some are earnestly absurd;

You'll think the world depends on every word.

What! is not every mortal free to speak?

I'll give my reasons, though I break my neck!

And what's the question? If it shines or rains;

Whether 'tis twelve or fifteen miles to Staines.

(Pitt)

198

Hor.

4 Od. iv. 50.

We, like 'weak hinds,' the brinded wolf provoke,

And when retreat is victory,

Rush on, though sure to die.

(Oldisworth)

199

Ovid

Ep. iv. 10

Love bade me write.

200

Virg.

Æn. vi. 823.

The noblest motive is the public good.

201

Incerti Autoris

apud Aul. Gell.

A man should be religious, not superstitious.

202

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 25.

Tho' ten times worse themselves, you'll frequent view

Those who with keenest rage will censure you.

(P.)

Vol.

2

203

Ovid

Met. ii. 38

Illustrious parent! if I yet may claim

The name of son, O rescue me from shame;

My mother's truth confirm; all doubt remove

By tender pledges of a father's love.

204

Hor.

1 Od. xix. 7.

Her face too dazzling for the sight,

Her winning coyness fires my soul,

I feel a strange delight.

205

Hor.

Ars Poet. 205

Deluded by a seeming excellence.

206

Hor.

3 Od. xvi. 21.

They that do much themselves deny,

Receive more blessings from the sky.

(Creech)

207

Juv.

Sat. x. 1

Look round the habitable world, how few Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue? How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice, Prompts the fond wish, or lifts the suppliant voice. (Dryden, Johnson &c.)

208

Ovid

Ars Am. 1. i. 99.

To be themselves a spectacle they come.

209

Simonides

Of earthly goods, the best is a good wife;

A bad, the bitterest curse of human life.

210

Cic.

Tusc. Quæst.

There is, I know not how, in minds a certain presage, as it were, of a future existence; this has the deepest root, and is most discoverable, in the greatest geniuses and most exalted souls.

211

Phædr.

1. 1. Prol.

Let it be remembered that we sport in fabled stories.

212

Hor.

2 Sat. vii. 92.

—Loose thy neck from this ignoble chain,

And boldly say thou'rt free.

(Creech)

213

Virg.

Æn. i. 608.

A good intention.

214

Juv.

3 Sat. 124

A long dependence in an hour is lost.

(Dryden)

215

Ovid

de Ponto II. ix. 47.

Ingenuous arts, where they an entrance find,

Soften the manners, and subdue the mind.

216

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 1.

Oh brave! oh excellent! if you maintain it!

But if you try, and can't go through with spirit,

And finding you can't bear it, uninvited,

Your peace unmade, all of your own accord,

You come and swear you love, and can't endure it,

Good night! all's over! ruin'd! and undone!

She'll jilt you, when she sees you in her power.

(Colman)

217

Juv.

Sat. vi. 326

Then unrestrain'd by rules of decency,

Th' assembled females raise a general cry.

218

Hor.

Ep. xvii. Ep. xvii.

—Have a care

Of whom you talk, to whom, and what, and where.

(Pooley)

219

Ovid

Met. xiii. 141

These I scarce call our own.

220

Virg.

Æn. xii. 228.

A thousand rumours spreads.

221

Hor.

3 Sat. I. 1. v. 6.

From eggs, which first are set upon the board,

To apples ripe, with which it last is stored.

222

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 183.

Why, of two brothers, one his pleasure loves,

Prefers his sports to Herod's fragrant groves.

(Creech)

223

Phædr.

iii. i. 5.

O sweet soul! how good must you have been heretofore, when your remains are so delicious!

224

Hor.

1 Sat. vi. 23.

Chain'd to her shining car, Fame draws along

With equal whirl the great and vulgar throng.

225

Juv.

Sat. x. 365

Prudence supplies the want of every good.

226

Hor.

A picture is a poem without words.

227

Theocritus

Wretch that I am! ah, whither shall I go?

Will you not hear me, nor regard my woe?

I'll strip, and throw me from yon rock so high,

Where Olpis sits to watch the scaly fry.

Should I be drown'd, or 'scape with life away,

If cured of love, you, tyrant, would be gay.

228

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 69.

Th' inquisitive will blab; from such refrain:

Their leaky ears no secret can retain.

(Shard)

229

Hor.

4 Od. ix. 4.

Nor Sappho's amorous flames decay;

Her living songs preserve their charming art,

Her verse still breathes the passions of her heart.

(Francis)

230

Tull.

Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow-creatures.

231

Mart.

viii. 78.

O modesty! O piety!

232

Sallust

Bel. Cat.

By bestowing nothing he acquired glory.

233

Virg.

Ecl. x. v. 60

As if by these my sufferings I could ease;

Or by my pains the god of love appease.

(Dryden)

234

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 41.

I wish this error in your friendship reign'd.

(Creech)

235

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 81

Awes the tumultuous noises of the pit.

(Roscommon)

236

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 398

With laws connubial tyrants to restrain.

237

Seneca

in Oedip.

They that are dim of sight see truth by halves.

238

Pers.

Sat. iv. 50

No more to flattering crowds thine ear incline,

Eager to drink the praise which is not thine.

(Brewster)

239

Virg.

Æn. vi. 86.

—Wars, horrid wars!

(Dryden)

240

Mart.

Ep. i. 17

Of such materials, Sir, are books composed.

241

Virg.

Æn. iv. 466.

All sad she seems, forsaken, and alone;

And left to wander wide through paths unknown.

(P.)

242

Hor.

2 Ep. i 168

To write on vulgar themes, is thought an easy task.

243

Tull.

Offic.

You see, my son Marcus, virtue as if it were embodied, which if it could be made the object of sight, would (as Plato says) excite in us a wonderful love of wisdom.

244

Hor.

2 Sat. vii. 101.

A judge of painting you, a connoisseur.

245

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 338

Fictions, to please, should wear the face of truth.

246

No amorous hero ever gave thee birth,

Nor ever tender goddess brought thee forth:

Some rugged rock's hard entrails gave thee form,

And raging seas produced thee in a storm:

A soul well suiting thy tempestuous kind,

So rough thy manners, so untamed thy mind.

(Pope)

247

Hesiod

Their untired lips a wordy torrent pour.

248

Tull.

Off. i. 16.

It is a principal point of duty, to assist another most when he stands most in need of assistance.'

249

Frag. Vet. Poet.

Mirth out of season is a grievous ill.

250

Hor.

1 Ep. xvii. 3.

Yet hear what an unskilful friend can say:

As if a blind man should direct your way;

So I myself, though wanting to be taught,

May yet impart a hint that's worth your thought.

251

Virg.

Æn. vi. 625.

—A hundred mouths, a hundred tongues,

And throats of brass inspired with iron lungs.

(Dryden)

252

Virg.

Æn. ii. 570.

Exploring every place with curious eyes.

253

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 76.

I feel my honest indignation rise,

When with affected air a coxcomb cries,

The work I own has elegance and ease,

But sure no modern should presume to please.

254

Frag. Vet. Poet.

Virtuous love is honourable, but lust increaseth sorrow.

255

Hor.

1 Ep. lib. 1. ver. 36.

imitated

Know there are rhymes, which (fresh and fresh apply'd)

Will cure the arrant'st puppy of his pride.

(Pope)

256

Hesiod

Fame is an ill you may with ease obtain,

A sad oppression, to be borne with pain.

257

Stobæus

No slumber seals the eye of Providence,

Present to every action we commence.

258

Divide and rule.

259

Tull.

What is becoming is honourable, and what is honourable is becoming.

260

Hor.

3 Ep. ii. 55.

Years following years steal something every day,

At last they steal us from ourselves away.

(Pope)

261

Frag. Vet. Poet.,

Wedlock's an ill men eagerly embrace.

262

Ovid

Trist. ii. 566.

adapted

My paper flows from no satiric vein,

Contains no poison, and conveys no pain.

263

Trebonius

apud Tull.

I am glad that he whom I must have loved from duty, whatever he had been, is such a one as I can love from inclination.

264

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 103.

adapted

In public walks let who will shine or stray,

I'll silent steal through life in my own way.

265

Ovid

de Art. Am. iii. 7.

But some exclaim: What frenzy rules your mind?

Would you increase the craft of womankind?

Teach them new wiles and arts? As well you may

Instruct a snake to bite, or wolf to prey.

(Congreve)

266

Ter.

Eun. Act v. Sc. 4.

This I conceive to be my master-piece, that I have discovered how unexperienced youth may detect the artifices of bad women, and by knowing them early, detest them for ever.

267

Propert.

El. 34, lib. 2, ver. 95.

Give place, ye Roman and ye Grecian wits.

268

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 29.

—unfit

For lively sallies of corporeal wit.

(Creech)

269

Ovid

Ars Am. i. 241.

Most rare is now our old simplicity.

(Dryden)

270

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 262.

For what's derided by the censuring crowd,

Is thought on more than what is just and good.

(Dryden)

There is a lust in man no power can tame,

Of loudly publishing his neighbour's shame;

On eagle's wings invidious scandals fly,

While virtuous actions are but born, and die.

(E. of Corke)

Sooner we learn, and seldomer forget,

What critics scorn, than what they highly rate.

(Hughes's Letters, vol. ii p 222.)

271

Virg.

Æn. iv. 701.

Drawing a thousand colours from the light.

(Dryden)

272

Virg.

Æn. i. 345.

Great is the injury, and long the tale.

273

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 156

Note well the manners.

274

Hor.

1 Sat. ii. 37.

All you who think the city ne'er can thrive

Till every cuckold-maker's flay'd alive,

Attend.

(Pope)

275

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 300

A head, no hellebore can cure.

276

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 42.

Misconduct screen'd behind a specious name.

277

Ovid

Met. lib. iv. ver. 428.

Receive instruction from an enemy.

278

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 250.

I rather choose a low and creeping style.

279

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 316

He knows what best befits each character.

280

Hor.

1 Ep. xvii. 35.

To please the great is not the smallest praise.

(Creech)

281

Virg.

Æn. iv. 64.

Anxious the reeking entrails he consults.

282

Virg.

Æn. viii. 580.

Hopes and fears in equal balance laid.

(Dryden)

283

Pers.

Prolog. ver. 10

Necessity is the mother of invention.

(English Proverbs)

284

Virg.

Ecl. vii. 17

Their mirth to share, I bid my business wait.

285

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 227

But then they did not wrong themselves so much,

To make a god, a hero, or a king,

(Stript of his golden crown, and purple robe)

Descend to a mechanic dialect;

Nor (to avoid such meanness) soaring high,

With empty sound, and airy notions fly.

(Roscommon)

286

Tacit.

Ann. I. xiv. c. 21.

Specious names are lent to cover vices.

287

Menand.

Dear native land, how do the good and wise

Thy happy clime and countless blessings prize!

288

Hor.

1 Ep. vi. 10.

Both fear alike.

289

Hor.

1 Od. iv. 15.

Life's span forbids us to extend our cares,

And stretch our hopes beyond our years.

(Creech)

290

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 97

Forgets his swelling and gigantic words.

(Roscommon)

291

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 351

But in a poem elegantly writ,

I will not quarrel with a slight mistake,

Such as our nature's frailty may excuse.

(Roscommon)

292

Tibul.

4 Eleg. ii. 8.

Whate'er she does, where'er her steps she bends,

Grace on each action silently attends.

293

Frag. Vet. Poet.

The prudent still have fortune on their side.

294

Tull.

ad Herennium

The man who is always fortunate cannot easily have much reverence for virtue.

295

Juv.

Sat. vi. 361

But womankind, that never knows a mean,

Down to the dregs their sinking fortunes drain:

Hourly they give, and spend, and waste, and wear,

And think no pleasure can be bought too dear.

(Dryden)

296

Hor.

1 Ep. xix. 42.

Add weight to trifles.

297

Hor.

1 Sat. vi. 66.

As perfect beauties somewhere have a mole.

(Creech)

298

Virg.

Æn. iv. 373.

Honour is nowhere safe.

299

Juv.

Sat. vi. 166

Some country girl, scarce to a curtsey bred,

Would I much rather than Cornelia wed;

If supercilious, haughty, proud, and vain,

She brought her father's triumphs in her train.

Away with all your Carthaginian state;

Let vanquish'd Hannibal without-doors wait,

Too burly and too big to pass my narrow gate.

(Dryden)

300

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 5.

—Another failing of the mind,

Greater than this, of quite a different kind.

(Pooley)

301

Hor.

4 Od. xiii. 26.

That all may laugh to see that glaring light,

Which lately shone so fierce and bright,

End in a stink at last, and vanish into night.

(Anon.)

302

Virg.

Æn. v. 343.

Becoming sorrows, and a virtuous mind

More lovely in a beauteous form enshrined.

303

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 363

—Some choose the clearest light,

And boldly challenge the most piercing eye.'

(Roscommon)

304

Virg.

Æn. iv. 2.

A latent fire preys on his feverish veins.

305

Virg.

Æn. ii. 521.

These times want other aids.

(Dryden)

306

Juv.

Sat. vi. 177

What beauty, or what chastity, can bear

So great a price, if stately and severe

She still insults?

(Dryden)

307

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 39

—Often try what weight you can support,

And what your shoulders are too weak to bear.

(Roscommon)

308

Hor.

5 Od. lib. ii. ver. 15.

—Lalage will soon proclaim

Her love, nor blush to own her flame.

(Creech)

309

Virg.

Æn. vi. ver. 264.

Ye realms, yet unreveal'd to human sight,

Ye gods, who rule the regions of the night,

Ye gliding ghosts, permit me to relate

The mystic wonders of your silent state.

(Dryden)

310

Virg.

Æn. i. 77.

I'll tie the indissoluble marriage-knot.

311

Juv.

Sat. vi. 137

He sighs, adores, and courts her ev'ry hour:

Who wou'd not do as much for such a dower?

(Dryden)

312

Tull.

What duty, what praise, or what honour will he think worth enduring bodily pain for, who has persuaded himself that pain is the chief evil? Nay, to what ignominy, to what baseness will he not stoop, to avoid pain, if he has determined it to be the chief evil?

313

Juv.

Sat. vii. 237

Bid him besides his daily pains employ,

To form the tender manners of the boy,

And work him, like a waxen babe, with art,

To perfect symmetry in ev'ry part.

314

Hor.

1 Od. xxiii, II.

Attend thy mother's heels no more,

Now grown mature for man, and ripe for joy.

(Creech)

315

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 191

Never presume to make a god appear,

But for a business worthy of a god.

(Roscommon)

316

Virg.

Ecl. i. 28

Freedom, which came at length, though slow to come.

(Dryden)

317

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 27.

—Born to drink and eat.

(Creech)

318

Virg.

Ecl. viii. 63

With different talents form'd, we variously excel.

319

Hor.

1 Ep. i. 90.

Say while they change on thus, what chains can bind

These varying forms, this Proteus of the mind?

(Francis)

320

Ovid

Met. vi. 428

Nor Hymen nor the Graces here preside,

Nor Juno to befriend the blooming bride;

But fiends with fun'ral brands the process led,

And furies waited at the genial bed.

(Croxal)

321

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 99

'Tis not enough a poem's finely writ;

It must affect and captivate the soul.

322

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 110

Grief wrings her soul, and bends it down to earth.

(Francis)

323

Virg.

Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman.

324

Pers.

Sat. ii. 61

O souls, in whom no heavenly fire is found,

Flat minds, and ever grovelling on the ground!

(Dryden)

325

Ovid

Metam. iii. 432

from the fable of Narcissus

What could, fond youth, this helpless passion move?

What kindled in thee this unpitied love?

Thy own warm blush within the water glows;

With thee the colour'd shadow comes and goes;

Its empty being on thyself relies;

Step thou aside, and the frail charmer dies.

(Addison)

326

Hor.

Lib. iii. Od. xvi. 1.

Of watchful dogs an odious ward

Right well one hapless virgin guard,

When in a tower of brass immured,

By mighty bars of steel secured,

Although by mortal rake-hells lewd

With all their midnight arts pursued,

Had not—

(Francis) vol. ii p. 77

(adapted)

Be to her faults a little blind,

Be to her virtues very kind,

And clap your padlock on her mind.

(Padlock)

327

Virg.

Æn. vii. 48.

A larger scene of action is display'd.

(Dryden)

328

Petr. Arb.

Delighted with unaffected plainness.

328b

Hor.

Epod. xvii. 24

Day chases night, and night the day,

But no relief to me convey.

(Duncome)

329

Hor.

1 Ep. vi. 27.

With Ancus, and with Numa, kings of Rome,

We must descend into the silent tomb.

330

Juv.

Sat. xiv. 48

To youth the greatest reverence is due.

331

Pers.

Sat. ii. 28

Holds out his foolish beard for thee to pluck.

332

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 29.

He cannot bear the raillery of the age.

(Creech)

333

Virg.

He calls embattled deities to arms.

334

Cic.

de Gestu.

You would have each of us be a kind of Roscius in his way; and you have said that fastidious men are not so much pleased with what is right, as disgusted at what is wrong.

335

Hor.

Ars Poet. 327

Keep Nature's great original in view,

And thence the living images pursue.

(Francis)

336

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 80.

imitated

One tragic sentence if I dare deride,

Which Betterton's grave action dignified,

Or well-mouth'd Booth with emphasis proclaims

(Tho' but, perhaps, a muster-roll of names),

How will our fathers rise up in a rage,

And swear, all shame is lost in George's age!

You'd think no fools disgraced the former reign,

Did not some grave examples yet remain,

Who scorn a lad should teach his father skill,

And, having once been wrong, will be so still.

(Pope)

337

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 63.

The jockey trains the young and tender horse,

While yet soft-mouth'd, and breeds him to the course.'

(Creech)

338

Hor.

1 Ep. iii. 18.

Made up of nought but inconsistencies.

339

Virg.

Ecl. vi. 33

He sung the secret seeds of nature's frame,

How seas, and earth, and air, and active flame,

Fell through the mighty void, and in their fall,

Were blindly gather'd in this goodly ball.

The tender soil then stiff'ning by degrees,

Shut from the bounded earth the bounding seas,

The earth and ocean various forms disclose,

And a new sun to the new world arose.

(Dryden)

340

Virg.

Æn. iv. 10.

What chief is this that visits us from far,

Whose gallant mien bespeaks him train'd to war?

341

Virg.

Æn. i. 206.

Resume your courage and dismiss your fear.

(Dryden)

342

Tull.

Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency, in giving them no offence.

343

Ovid

Metam. xv. 165

—All things are but alter'd; nothing dies;

And here and there th' unbody'd spirit flies,

By time, or force, or sickness dispossess'd,

And lodges, where it lights, in man or beast.

(Dryden)

344

Juv.

Sat. xi. 11

Such, whose sole bliss is eating; who can give

But that one brutal reason why they live?

(Congreve)

345

Ovid

Metam. i. 76

A creature of a more exalted kind

Was wanting yet, and then was man design'd;

Conscious of thought, of more capacious breast,

For empire form'd and fit to rule the rest.

(Dryden)

346

Tull.

I esteem a habit of benignity greatly preferable to munificence. The former is peculiar to great and distinguished persons; the latter belongs to flatterers of the people, who tickle the levity of the multitude with a kind of pleasure.

347

Lucan

lib. i. 8

What blind, detested fury, could afford

Such horrid licence to the barb'rous sword!

348

Hor.

2 Sat. iii. 13.

To shun detraction, would'st thou virtue fly?

349

Lucan

i. 454.

Thrice happy they beneath their northern skies,

Who that worst fear, the fear of death, despise!

Hence they no cares for this frail being feel,

But rush undaunted on the pointed steel,

Provoke approaching fate, and bravely scorn

To spare that life which must so soon return.

(Rowe)

350

Tull.

That elevation of mind which is displayed in dangers, if it wants justice, and fights for its own conveniency, is vicious.

351

Virg.

Æn. xii. 59.

On thee the fortunes of our house depend.

352

Tull.

If we be made for honesty, either it is solely to be sought, or certainly to be estimated much more highly than all other things.

353

Virg.

Georg. iv. 6

Though low the subject, it deserves our pains.

354

Juv.

Sat. vi. 168

heir signal virtues hardly can be borne,

Dash'd as they are with supercilious scorn.

355

Ovid

Trist. ii. 563.

I ne'er in gall dipp'd my envenom'd pen,

Nor branded the bold front of shameless men.

356

Juv.

Sat. x. 349

—The gods will grant

What their unerring wisdom sees they want;

In goodness, as in greatness, they excel;

Ah! that we loved ourselves but half as well!

(Dryden)

357

Virg.

Æn. ii. 6.

Who can relate such woes without a tear?

358

Hor.

4 Od. xii. 1. ult.

'Tis joyous folly that unbends the mind.

(Francis)

359

Virg.

Ecl. ii. 63

Lions the wolves, and wolves the kids pursue,

The kids sweet thyme,—and still I follow you

(Warton)

360

Hor.

1 Ep. xvii. 43.

The man who all his wants conceals,

Gains more than he who all his wants reveals.

(Duncome)

361

Virg.

Æn. vii. 514.

The blast Tartarean spreads its notes around;

The house astonish'd trembles at the sound.

362

Hor.

1 Ep. xix. 6.

He praises wine; and we conclude from thence,

He liked his glass on his own evidence.

363

Virg.

Æn. ii. 368.

All parts resound with tumults, plaints, and fears,

And grisly Death in sundry shapes appears.

(Dryden)

364

Hor.

1 Ep. xi. 29.

Anxious through seas and land to search for rest,

Is but laborious idleness at best.

(Francis)

365

Virg.

Georg. iii. 272

But most in spring: the kindly spring inspires

Reviving heat, and kindles genial fires.

adapted

Flush'd by the spirit of the genial year,

Be greatly cautious of your sliding hearts.

(Thompson's Spring, 160 &c.)

366

Hor.

1 Od. xxii. 17.

Set me where on some pathless plain

The swarthy Africans complain,

To see the chariot of the sun

So near the scorching country run:

The burning zone, the frozen isles,

Shall hear me sing of Celia's smiles;

All cold, but in her breast, I will despise,

And dare all heat, but that of Celia's eyes.

(Roscommon)

367

Juv.

Sat. i. 18

In mercy spare us, when we do our best

To make as much waste paper as the rest.

368

Eurip.

apud Tull.

When first an infant draws the vital air,

Officious grief should welcome him to care:

But joy should life's concluding scene attend,

And mirth be kept to grace a dying friend.

369

Hor.

Ars Poet. 180

What we hear moves less than what we see.

(Roscommon)

370

Shakspeare

—All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

371

Juv.

Sat. x. 28

And shall the sage your approbation win,

Whose laughing features wore a constant grin?

372

Ovid

Met. i. 759

To hear an open slander is a curse;

But not to find an answer is a worse.

(Dryden)

373

Juv.

Sat. xiv. 109

Vice oft is hid in Virtue's fair disguise,

And in her borrow'd form escapes inquiring eyes.

374

Lucan

ii. 57.

He reckon'd not the past, while aught remain'd

Great to be done, or mighty to be gain'd.

(Rowe)

375

Hor.

4 Od. ix. 45.

We barbarously call them blest,

Who are of largest tenements possest,

While swelling coffers break their owner's rest.

More truly happy those who can

Govern that little empire, man;

Who spend their treasure freely, as 'twas given

By the large bounty of indulgent Heaven;

Who, in a fix'd unalterable state,

Smile at the doubtful tide of Fate,

And scorn alike her friendship and her hate.

Who poison less than falsehood fear,

Loath to purchase life so dear.

(Stepney)

376

Pers.

Sat. vi. 11.

From the Pythagorean peacock.

377

Hor.

2 Od. xiii. 13.

What each should fly, is seldom known;

We unprovided, are undone.

(Creech)

378

Virg.

Ecl. ix. 48

Mature in years, to ready honours move.

(Dryden)

379

Pers.

Sat. i. 27

—Science is not science till reveal'd.

(Dryden)

380

Ovid

Ars Am. ii. 538.

With patience bear a rival in thy love.

381

Hor.

2 Od. iii. 1.

Be calm, my Dellius, and serene,

However fortune change the scene,

In thy most dejected state,

Sink not underneath the weight;

Nor yet, when happy days begin,

And the full tide comes rolling in.

Let a fierce, unruly, joy,

The settled quiet of thy mind destroy.

(Anon.)

382

Tull.

The accused confesses his guilt.

383

Juv.

Sat. i. 75

A beauteous garden, but by vice maintain'd.

384

[no motto. html Ed.]

385

Ovid.

1 Trist. iii 66.

Breasts that with sympathizing ardour glow'd,

And holy friendship, such as Theseus vow'd.

386

[motto, but translation missing. html Ed.]

387

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 102.

What calms the breast, and makes the mind serene.

388

Virg.

Georg. ii. 174

For thee I dare unlock the sacred spring,

And arts disclosed by ancient sages sing.

389

Hor.

Their pious sires a better lesson taught.

390

Tull.

It is not by blushing, but by not doing what is unbecoming, that we ought to guard against the imputation of impudence.

391

Pers.

Sat. ii. v. 3.

Thou know'st to join

No bribe unhallow'd to a prayer of thine;

Thine, which can ev'ry ear's full test abide,

Nor need be mutter'd to the gods aside!

No, thou aloud may'st thy petitions trust!

Thou need'st not whisper; other great ones must;

For few, my friend, few dare like thee be plain,

And prayer's low artifice at shrines disdain.

Few from their pious mumblings dare depart,

And make profession of their inmost heart.

Keep me, indulgent Heaven, through life sincere,

Keep my mind sound, my reputation clear.

These wishes they can speak, and we can hear.

Thus far their wants are audibly exprest;

Then sinks the voice, and muttering groans the rest:

'Hear, hear at length, good Hercules, my vow!

O chink some pot of gold beneath my plough!

Could I, O could I, to my ravish'd eyes,

See my rich uncle's pompous funeral rise;

Or could I once my ward's cold corpse attend,

Then all were mine!'

392

Petr.

By fable's aid ungovern'd fancy soars,

And claims the ministry of heavenly powers.

393

Virg.

Georg. i. 412

Unusual sweetness purer joys inspires.

394

Tull.

It is obvious to see that these things are very acceptable to children, young women, and servants, and to such as most resemble servants; but they can by no means meet with the approbation of people of thought and consideration.

395

Ovid

Rem. Amor. 10

'Tis reason now, 'twas appetite before.

396

[motto, but translation missing. html Ed.]

397

Ovid

Metam. xiii. 228

Her grief inspired her then with eloquence.

398

Hor.

2 Sat. iii. 271.

You'd be a fool

With art and wisdom, and be mad by rule.

(Creech)

399

Pers.

Sat. iv. 23

None, none descends into himself to find

The secret imperfections of his mind.

(Dryden)

400

Virg.

Ecl. iii. 93

There's a snake in the grass.

(English Proverbs)

401

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 1.

It is the capricious state of love to be attended with injuries, suspicions, enmities, truces, quarrelling, and reconcilement.

402

Hor.

Ars Poet. 181

Sent by the Spectator to himself.

403

Hor.

Ars Poet. 142

Of many men he saw the manners.

404

Virg.

Ecl. viii. 63

With different talents form'd, we variously excel.

405

Hom.

With hymns divine the joyous banquet ends;

The paæans lengthen'd till the sun descends:

The Greeks restored, the grateful notes prolong;

Apollo listens, and approves the song.

(Pope)

406

Tull.

These studies nourish youth; delight old age; are the ornament of prosperity, the solacement and the refuge of adversity; they are delectable at home, and not burdensome abroad, they gladden us at nights, and on our journeys, and in the country.

407

Ovid

Met. xiii. 127

Eloquent words a graceful manner want.

408

Tull.

de Finibus.

The affections of the heart ought not to be too much indulged, nor servilely depressed.

409

Lucr.

i. 933.

To grace each subject with enlivening wit.

410

Ter.

Eun. Act v. Sc. 4.

When they are abroad, nothing so clean and nicely dressed, and when at supper with a gallant, they do but piddle, and pick the choicest bits: but to see their nastiness and poverty at home, their gluttony, and how they devour black crusts dipped in yesterday's broth, is a perfect antidote against wenching.

411

Lucr.

i. 925.

In wild unclear'd, to Muses a retreat,

O'er ground untrod before, I devious roam,

And deep enamour'd into latent springs

Presume to peep at coy virgin Naiads.

412

Mart.

Ep. iv. 14

The work, divided aptly, shorter grows.

413

Ovid

Met. ix. 207

The cause is secret, but the effect is known.

(Addison)

414

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 410

But mutually they need each other's help.

(Roscommon)

415

Virg.

Georg. ii. 155

Witness our cities of illustrious name,

Their costly labour, and stupendous frame.

(Dryden)

416

Lucr.

ix. 754.

So far as what we see with our minds, bears similitude to what we see with our eyes.

Vol.

3.

title,

text

417

Hor.

4 Od. iii. 1.

He on whose birth the lyric queen

Of numbers smiled, shall never grace

The Isthmian gauntlet, or be seen

First in the famed Olympic race.

But him the streams that warbling flow

Rich Tibur's fertile meads along,

And shady groves, his haunts shall know

The master of th' Æolian song.

(Atterbury)

418

Virg.

Ecl. iii. 89

The ragged thorn shall bear the fragrant rose.

419

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 140.

The sweet delusion of a raptured mind.

420

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 100

And raise men's passions to what height they will.

421

Ovid

Met. vi. 294

He sought fresh fountains in a foreign soil;

The pleasure lessen'd the attending toil.

(Addison)

422

Tull.

Epist.

I have written this, not out of the abundance of leisure, but of my affection towards you.

423

Hor.

3 Od. xxvi. 1.

Once fit myself.

424

Hor.

1 Ep. xi. 30.

'Tis not the place disgust or pleasure brings:

From our own mind our satisfaction springs.

425

Hor.

4 Od. vii. 9.

The cold grows soft with western gales,

The summer over spring prevails,

But yields to autumn's fruitful rain,

As this to winter storms and hails;

Each loss the hasting moon repairs again.

(Sir. W. Temple)

426

Virg.

Æn. iii. 56.

O cursed hunger of pernicious gold!

What bands of faith can impious lucre hold.

(Dryden)

427

Tull.

We should be as careful of our words as our actions; and as far from speaking as from doing ill.

428

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 417

The devil take the hindmost.

(English Proverbs)

429

Hor.

2 Od. ii. 19.

From cheats of words the crowd she brings

To real estimates of things.

(Creech)

430

Hor.

1 Ep. xvii. 62.

—The crowd replies,

Go seek a stranger to believe thy lies.

(Creech)

431

Tull.

What is there in nature so dear to man as his own children?

432

Virg.

Ecl. ix. 36

He gabbles like a goose amidst the swan-like quire.

(Dryden)

433

Mart.

Epig. xiv. 183

To banish anxious thought and quiet pain,

Read Homer's frogs, or my more trifling strain.

434

Virg.

Æn. xi. 659.

So march'd the Thracian Amazons of old

When Thermedon with bloody billows roll'd;

Such troops as these in shining arms were seen,

When Theseus met in fight their maiden queen;

Such to the field Penthesilea led,

From the fierce virgin when the Grecians fled.

With such return'd triumphant from the war,

Her maids with cries attend the lofty car;

They clash with manly force their moony shields;

With female shouts resound the Phrygian fields.

(Dryden)

435

Ovid

Met. iv. 378

Both bodies in a single body mix,

A single body with a double sex.

(Addison)

436

Juv.

Sat. iii. 36

With thumbs bent back, they popularly kill.

(Dryden)

437

Ter.

And. Act v. Sc. 4.

Shall you escape with impunity; you who lay snares for young men of a liberal education, but unacquainted with the world, and by force of importunity and promises draw them in to marry harlots?

438

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 62.

—Curb thy soul,

And check thy rage, which must be ruled or rule.

(Creech)

439

Ovid

Metam. xii. 57

Some tell what they have heard, or tales devise;

Each fiction still improved with added lies.

440

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 213.

Learn to live well, or fairly make your will.

(Pope)

441

Hor.

3 Od. iii. 7.

Should the whole frame of nature round him break,

In ruin and confusion hurl'd,

He, unconcern'd, would hear the mighty crack,

And stand secure amidst a falling world.

(Anon.)

442

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 117.

—Those who cannot write, and those who can,

All rhyme, and scrawl, and scribble to a man.

(Pope)

443

Hor.

3 Od. xxiv. 32.

Snatch'd from our sight, we eagerly pursue, And fondly would recall her to our view.

444

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 139

The mountain labours.

445

Mart.

Epig. i. 118.

You say, Lupercus, what I write

I'n't worth so much: you're in the right.

446

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 308

What fit, what not; what excellent, or ill.

(Roscommon)

447

Long exercise, my friend, inures the mind;

And what we once disliked we pleasing find.

448

Juv.

Sat. ii. 82

In time to greater baseness you proceed.

449

Mart.

iii. 68.

A book the chastest matron may peruse.

450

Hor.

1 Ep. i. 53.

—Get money, money still,

And then let virtue follow, if she will.

(Pope)

451

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 149.

—Times corrupt and nature ill-inclined

Produced the point that left the sting behind;

Till, friend with friend, and families at strife,

Triumphant malice raged through private life.

(Pope)

452

Pliny

apud Lillium

Human nature is fond of novelty.

453

Hor.

2 Od. xx. i.

No weak, no common wing shall bear

My rising body through the air.

(Creech)

454

Ter.

Heaut. Act i. Sc. 1.

Give me leave to allow myself no respite from labour.

455

Hor.

4 Od. ii. 27.

—My timorous Muse

Unambitious tracts pursues;

Does with weak unballast wings,

About the mossy brooks and springs.

Like the laborious bee,

For little drops of honey fly,

And there with humble sweets contents her Industry.

(Cowley)

456

Tull.

The man whose conduct is publicly arraigned, is not suffered even to be undone quietly.

457

Hor.

2 Sat. iii. 9.

Seeming to promise something wondrous great.

458

Hor.

False modesty.

459

Hor.

1 Ep. iv. 5.

—Whate'er befits the wise and good

(Creech)

460

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 25

Deluded by a seeming excellence.

(Roscommon)

461

Virg.

Ecl. ix. 34

But I discern their flatt'ry from their praise.

(Dryden)

462

Hor.

1 Sat. v. 44.

Nothing so grateful as a pleasant friend.

463

Claud.

In sleep, when fancy is let loose to play,

Our dreams repeat the wishes of the day.

Though farther toil his tired limbs refuse.

The dreaming hunter still the chace pursues,

The judge abed dispenses still the laws,

And sleeps again o'er the unfinish'd cause.

The dozing racer hears his chariot roll,

Smacks the vain whip, and shuns the fancied goal.

Me too the Muses, in the silent night,

With wonted chimes of jingling verse delight.

464

Hor.

2 Od. x. 5.

The golden mean, as she's too nice to dwell

Among the ruins of a filthy cell,

So is her modesty withal as great,

To baulk the envy of a princely seat.

(Norris)

465

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 97.

How you may glide with gentle ease

Adown the current of your days;

Nor vex'd by mean and low desires,

Nor warm'd by wild ambitious fires;

By hope alarm'd, depress'd by fear,

For things but little worth your care.

(Francis)

466

Virg.

Æn. i. 409.

And by her graceful walk the queen of love is known.

(Dryden)

467

Tibull.

ad Messalam

1 Eleg. iv. 24.

Whate'er my Muse adventurous dares indite,

Whether the niceness of thy piercing sight

Applaud my lays, or censure what I write,

To thee I sing, and hope to borrow fame,

By adding to my page Messala's name.

468

Pliny

Epist.

He was an ingenious, pleasant fellow, and one who had a great deal of wit and satire, with an equal share of good humour.

469

Tull.

To detract anything from another, and for one man to multiply his own conveniences by the inconveniences of another, is more against nature than death, than poverty, than pain, and the other things which can befall the body, or external circumstances.

470

Mart.

2 Epig. lxxxvi.

'Tis folly only, and defect of sense,

Turns trifles into things of consequence.

471

Eurip.

The wise with hope support the pains of life.

472

Virg.

Æn. iii. 660.

This only solace his hard fortune sends.

(Dryden)

473

Hor.

1 Ep. xix. 12.

Suppose a man the coarsest gown should wear,

No shoes, his forehead rough, his look severe,

And ape great Cato in his form and dress;

Must be his virtues and his mind express?

(Creech)

474

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 6.

Rude, rustic, and inelegant.

475

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 1.

The thing that in itself has neither measure nor consideration, counsel cannot rule.

476

Hor.

Ars Poet. 41

Method gives light.

477

Hor.

3 Od. iv. 5.

—Does airy fancy cheat

My mind well pleased with the deceit?

I seem to hear, I seem to move,

And wander through the happy grove,

Where smooth springs flow, and murm'ring breeze,

Wantons through the waving trees.

(Creech)

478

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 72

Fashion, sole arbitress of dress.

479

Hor.

Ars Poet. 398

To regulate the matrimonial life.

480

Hor.

2 Sat. vii. 85.

He, Sir, is proof to grandeur, pride, or pelf,

And, greater still, he's master of himself:

Not to and fro, by fears and factions hurl'd,

But loose to all the interests of the world;

And while the world turns round, entire and whole,

He keeps the sacred tenor of his soul.

(Pitt)

481

Hor.

Sat. 1 vii. 19.

Who shall decide when doctors disagree,

And soundest casuists doubt like you and me?

(Pope)

482

Lucr.

iii. 11.

As from the sweetest flower the lab'ring bee

Extracts her precious sweets.

483

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 191

Never presume to make a god appear,

But for a business worthy of a god.

(Roscommon)

484

Plin.

Epist.

Nor has any one so bright a genius as to become illustrious instantaneously, unless it fortunately meets with occasion and employment, with patronage too, and commendation.

485

Quin. Curt.

1. vii. c. 8.

The strongest things are not so well established as to be out of danger from the weakest.

486

Hor.

1 Sat. ii. 37.

imitated

All you who think the city ne'er can thrive,

Till ev'ry cuckold-maker's flay'd alive,

Attend—

(Pope)

487

Petr.

While sleep oppresses the tired limbs, the mind

Plays without weight, and wantons unconfined.

488

Hor.

2 Sat. iii. 156.

What doth it cost? Not much, upon my word.

How much, pray? Why, Two-pence. Two-pence, O Lord!

(Creech)

489

Hom.

The mighty force of ocean's troubled flood.

490

Hor.

2 Od. xiv. 21.

Thy house and pleasing wife.

(Creech)

491

Virg.

Æn. iii. 318.

A just reverse of fortune on him waits.

492

Seneca

Levity of behaviour is the bane of all that is good and virtuous.

493

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 76.

Commend not, till a man is throughly known:

A rascal praised, you make his faults your own.

(Anon.)

494

Cicero

What kind of philosophy is it to extol melancholy, the most detestable thing in nature?

495

Hor.

4 Od. iv. 57.

—Like an oak on some cold mountain brow,

At every wound they sprout and grow:

The axe and sword new vigour give,

And by their ruins they revive.

(Anon.)

496

Terent.

Heaut. Act i. Sc. 1.

Your son ought to have shared in these things, because youth is best suited to the enjoyment of them.

497

Menander

A cunning old fox this!

498

Virg.

Georg. i. 514

Nor reins, nor curbs, nor cries, the horses fear,

But force along the trembling charioteer.

(Dryden)

499

Pers.

Sat. i. 40

—You drive the jest too far.

(Dryden)

500

Ovid

Met. vi. 182

Seven are my daughters of a form divine,

With seven fair sons, an indefective line.

Go, fools, consider this, and ask the cause

From which my pride its strong presumption draws.

(Croxal)

501

Hor.

1 Od. xxiv. 19.

'Tis hard: but when we needs must bear,

Enduring patience makes the burden light.

(Creech)

502

Ter.

Heaut. Act iv. Sc. 1.

Better or worse, profitable or disadvantageous, they see nothing but what they list.

503

Ter.

Eun. Act ii. Sc. 3.

From henceforward I blot out of my thoughts all memory of womankind.

504

Ter.

Eun. Act iii. Sc. 1.

You are a hare yourself, and want dainties, forsooth.

505

Ennius

Augurs and soothsayers, astrologers,

Diviners, and interpreters of dreams,

I ne'er consult, and heartily despise:

Vain their pretence to more than human skill:

For gain, imaginary schemes they draw;

Wand'rers themselves, they guide another's steps;

And for poor sixpence promise countless wealth.

Let them, if they expect to be believed,

Deduct the sixpence, and bestow the rest.

506

Mart.

4 Epig. xiii. 7.

Perpetual harmony their bed attend,

And Venus still the well-match'd pair befriend!

May she, when time has sunk him into years,

Love her old man, and cherish his white hairs;

Nor he perceive her charms through age decay,

But think each happy sun his bridal day!

507

Juv.

2 Sat. 46

Preserved from shame by numbers on our side.

508

Corn. Nepos.

in Milt. c. 8

For all those are accounted and denominated tyrants, who exercise a perpetual power in that state which was before free.

509

Ter.

Heaut. Act iii. Sc. 3.

Discharging the part of a good economist.

510

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 1.

If you are wise, add not to the troubles which attend the passion of love, and bear patiently those which are inseparable from it.

511

Ovid

Ars Am. i. 175

—Who could fail to find,

In such a crowd a mistress to his mind?

512

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 344

Mixing together profit and delight.

513

Virg.

Æn. vi. 50.

When all the god came rushing on her soul.

(Dryden)

514

Virg.

Georg. iii. 291

But the commanding Muse my chariot guides,

Which o'er the dubious cliff securely rides:

And pleased I am no beaten road to take,

But first the way to new discov'ries make.

(Dryden)

515

Ter.

Heaut. Act ii. Sc. 3.

I am ashamed and grieved, that I neglected his advice, who gave me the character of these creatures.

516

Juv.

Sat xv. 34

—A grutch, time out of mind, begun,

And mutually bequeath'd from sire to son:

Religious spite and pious spleen bred first,

The quarrel which so long the bigots nurst:

Each calls the other's god a senseless stock:

His own divine.

(Tate)

517

Virg.

Æn. vi. 878.

Mirror of ancient faith!

Undaunted worth! Inviolable truth!

(Dryden)

518

Juv.

Sat. viii. 76

'Tis poor relying on another's fame,

For, take the pillars but away, and all

The superstructure must in ruins fall.

(Stepney)

519

Virg.

Æn. vi. 728.

Hence men and beasts the breath of life obtain,

And birds of air, and monsters of the main.

(Dryden)

520

Hor.

1 Od. xxiv. 1.

And who can grieve too much? What time shall end

Our mourning for so dear a friend?

(Creech)

521

P. Arb.

The real face returns, the counterfeit is lost.

522

Ter.

Andr. Act iv. Sc. 2.

I swear never to forsake her; no, though I were sure to make all men my enemies. Her I desired; her I have obtained; our humours agree. Perish all those who would separate us! Death alone shall deprive me of her!

523

Virg.

Æn. iv. 376.

Now Lycian lots, and now the Delian god,

Now Hermes is employ'd from Jove's abode,

To warn him hence, as if the peaceful state

Of heavenly powers were touch'd with human fate!

(Dryden)

524

Sen.

As the world leads, we follow.

525

Eurip.

That love alone, which virtue's laws control, Deserves reception in the human soul.

526

Ovid

Met. ii. 127

Keep a stiff rein.

(Addison)

527

Plautus

in Stichor.

You will easily find a worse woman; a better the sun never shone upon.

528

Ovid

Met. ix. 165

With wonted fortitude she bore the smart,

And not a groan confess'd her burning heart.

(Gay)

529

Hor.

Ars Poet. 92

Let everything have its due place.

(Roscommon)

530

Hor.

1 Od. xxxiii. 10.

Thus Venus sports; the rich, the base,

Unlike in fortune and in face,

To disagreeing love provokes;

When cruelly jocose,

She ties the fatal noose,

And binds unequals to the brazen yokes.

(Creech)

531

Hor.

1 Od. xii. 15.

Who guides below, and rules above,

The great Disposer, and the mighty King:

Than he none greater, like him none

That can be, is, or was;

Supreme he singly fills the throne.

(Creech)

532

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 304

I play the whetstone; useless, and unfit

To cut myself, I sharpen other's wit.

(Creech)

533

Plaut.

Nay, says he, if one is too little, I will give you two;

And if two will not satisfy you, I will add two more.

534

Juv.

Sat. viii. 73

—We seldom find

Much sense with an exalted fortune join'd.

(Stepney)

535

Hor.

1 Od. xi. 7.

Cut short vain hope.

536

Virg.

Æn. ix. 617.

O! less than women in the shapes of men.

537

Acts xvii. 28

For we are his offspring.

538

Hor.

2 Sat. i. 1.

To launch beyond all bounds.

539

Quæ Genus

Be they heteroclites.

540

Virg.

Æn. vi. 143.

A second is not wanting.

541

Hor.

Ars Poet. v. 108

For nature forms and softens us within,

And writes our fortune's changes in our face:

Pleasure enchants, impetuous rage transports,

And grief dejects, and wrings the tortured soul:

And these are all interpreted by speech.

(Roscommon)

542

Ovid

Met. ii. 430

He heard,

Well pleased, himself before himself preferred.

(Addison)

543

Ovid

Met. ii. 12

Similar, though not the same.

544

Ter.

Adelph. Act v. Sc. 4.

No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience; insomuch that we find ourselves really ignorant of what we thought we understood, and see cause to reject what we fancied our truest interest.

545

Virg.

Æn. iv. 99.

Let us in bonds of lasting peace unite, And celebrate the hymeneal rite.

546

Tull.

Everything should be fairly told, that the buyer may not be ignorant of anything which the seller knows.

547

Hor.

2 Ep. ii. 149.

Suppose you had a wound, and one that show'd

An herb, which you apply'd, but found no good;

Would you be fond of this, increase your pain,

And use the fruitless remedy again?

(Creech)

548

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 68.

There's none but has some fault, and he's the best,

Most virtuous he, that's spotted with the least.

(Creech)

549

Juv.

Sat. iii. 1

Tho' grieved at the departure of my friend,

His purpose of retiring I commend.

550

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 138

In what will all this ostentation end?

(Roscommon

551

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 400

So ancient is the pedigree of verse,

And so divine a poet's function.

(Roscommon)

552

Hor.

2 Ep. i. 13.

For those are hated that excel the rest,

Although, when dead, they are beloved and blest.

(Creech)

553

Hor.

1 Ep. xiv. 35.

Once to be wild is no such foul disgrace,

But 'tis so still to run the frantic race.

(Creech)

554

Virg.

Georg. iii. 9

New ways I must attempt, my grovelling name

To raise aloft, and wing my flight to fame.

(Dryden)

555

Pers.

Sat. iv. 51

Lay the fictitious character aside.

556

Virg.

Æn. ii. 471.

So shines, renew'd in youth, the crested snake,

Who slept the winter in a thorny brake;

And, casting off his slough when spring returns,

Now looks aloft, and with new glory burns:

Restored with pois'nous herbs, his ardent sides

Reflect the sun, and raised on spires he rides;

High o'er the grass hissing he rolls along,

And brandishes by fits his forky tongue.

(Dryden)

557

Virg.

Æn. i. 665.

He fears the ambiguous race, and Tyrians double-tongued.

558

Hor.

1 Sat. i. 1.

Whence is't, Mæcenas, that so few approve

The state they're placed in, and incline to rove;

Whether against their will by fate imposed,

Or by consent and prudent choice espoused?

Happy the merchant! the old soldier cries,

Broke with fatigues and warlike enterprise.

The merchant, when the dreaded hurricane

Tosses his wealthy cargo on the main,

Applauds the wars and toils of a campaign:

There an engagement soon decides your doom,

Bravely to die, or come victorious home.

The lawyer vows the farmer's life is best,

When at the dawn the clients break his rest.

The farmer, having put in bail t' appear,

And forced to town, cries they are happiest there:

With thousands more of this inconstant race,

Would tire e'en Fabius to relate each case.

Not to detain you longer, pray attend,

The issue of all this: Should Jove descend,

And grant to every man his rash demand,

To run his lengths with a neglectful hand;

First, grant the harass'd warrior a release,

Bid him to trade, and try the faithless seas,

To purchase treasure and declining ease:

Next, call the pleader from his learned strife,

To the calm blessings of a country life:

And with these separate demands dismiss

Each suppliant to enjoy the promised bliss:

Don't you believe they'd run? Not one will move,

Though proffer'd to be happy from above.

(Horneck)

559

Hor.

1 Sat. i. 20.

Were it not just that Jove, provoked to heat,

Should drive these triflers from the hallow'd seat,

And unrelenting stand when they entreat?

(Horneck)

560

Ovid

Met. i. 747

He tries his tongue, his silence softly breaks.

(Dryden)

561

Virg.

Æn. i. 724.

But he

Works in the pliant bosom of the fair,

And moulds her heart anew, and blots her former care.

The dead is to the living love resign'd,

And all Æneas enters in her mind.

(Dryden)

562

Ter.

Eun. Act i. Sc. 2.

Be present as if absent.

563

Lucan

i. 135.

The shadow of a mighty name.

564

Hor.

1 Sat. iii. 117.

Let rules be fix'd that may our rage contain,

And punish faults with a proportion'd pain,

And do not flay him who deserves alone

A whipping for the fault that he hath done.

(Creech)

565

Virg.

Georg. iv. 221

For God the whole created mass inspires.

Through heaven and earth, and ocean's depths: he throws

His influence round, and kindles as he goes.

(Dryden)

566

Ovid

Ars Am. ii. 233

Love is a kind of warfare.

567

Virg.

Æn. vi. 493.

The weak voice deceives their gasping throats.

(Dryden)

568

Mart.

Epig. i. 39

Reciting makes it thine.

569

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 434

Wise were the kings who never chose a friend,

Till with full cups they had unmask'd his soul,

And seen the bottom of his deepest thoughts.

(Roscommon)

570

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 322

Chiming trifles.

(Roscommon)

571

Luc.

What seek we beyond heaven?

572

Hor.

1 Ep. ii. 115.

Physicians only boast the healing art.

573

Juv.

Sat. ii. 35

Chastised, the accusation they retort.

574

Hor.

4 Od. ix. 45.

Believe not those that lands possess,

And shining heaps of useless ore,

The only lords of happiness;

But rather those that know

For what kind fates bestow,

And have the heart to use the store

That have the generous skill to bear

The hated weight of poverty.

(Creech)

575

Virg.

Georg. iv. 223

No room is left for death.

(Dryden)

576

Ovid

Met. ii. 72

I steer against their motions, nor am I

Borne back by all the current of the sky.

(Addison)

577

Juv.

Sat. vi. 613

This might be borne with, if you did not rave.

578

Ovid

Met. xv. 167

Th' unbodied spirit flies

And lodges where it lights in man or beast.

(Dryden)

579

Virg.

Æn. iv. 132.

Sagacious hounds.

580

Ovid

Met. i. 175

This place, the brightest mansion of the sky,

I'll call the palace of the Deity.

(Dryden)

581

Mart.

Epig. i. 17.

Some good, more bad, some neither one nor t'other.

582

Juv.

Sat. vii. 51

The curse of writing is an endless itch.

(Ch. Dryden)

583

Virg.

Georg. iv. 112

With his own hand the guardian of the bees,

For slips of pines may search the mountain trees,

And with wild thyme and sav'ry plant the plain,

Till his hard horny fingers ache with pain;

And deck with fruitful trees the fields around,

And with refreshing waters drench the ground.

(Dryden)

584

Virg.

Ecl. x. 42

Come see what pleasures in our plains abound;

The woods, the fountains, and the flow'ry ground:

Here I could live, and love, and die with only you.

(Dryden)

585

Virg.

Ecl. v. 68

The mountain-tops unshorn, the rocks rejoice;

The lowly shrubs partake of human voice.

(Dryden)

586

Cic.

de Div.

The things which employ men's waking thoughts and actions recur to their imaginations in sleep.

587

Pers.

Sat. iii. 30

I know thee to thy bottom; from within

Thy shallow centre to the utmost skin.

(Dryden)

588

Cicero

You pretend that all kindness and benevolence is founded in weakness.

589

Ovid

Met. viii. 774

The impious axe he plies, loud strokes resound:

Till dragg'd with ropes, and fell'd with many a wound,

The loosen'd tree comes rushing to the ground.

590

Ovid

Met. xv. 179

E'en times are in perpetual flux, and run,

Like rivers from their fountains, rolling on.

For time, no more than streams, is at a stay;

The flying hour is ever on her way:

And as the fountains still supply their store,

The wave behind impels the wave before;

Thus in successive course the minutes run,

And urge their predecessor minutes on.

Still moving, ever new; for former things

Are laid aside, like abdicated kings;

And every moment alters what is done,

And innovates some act, till then unknown.

(Dryden)

591

Ovid

Trist. 3 El. li. 73.

Love the soft subject of his sportive Muse.

592

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 409

Art without a vein.

(Roscommon)

593

Virg.

Æn. vi. 270.

Thus wander travellers in woods by night,

By the moon's doubtful and malignant light.

(Dryden)

594

Hor.

1 Sat. iv. 81.

He that shall rail against his absent friends,

Or hears them scandalized, and not defends;

Sports with their fame, and speaks whate'er he can,

And only to be thought a witty man;

Tells tales, and brings his friends in disesteem;

That man's a knave; be sure beware of him.

(Creech)

595

Hor.

Ars Poet. ver. 12

Nature, and the common laws of sense,

Forbid to reconcile antipathies;

Or make a snake engender with a dove,

And hungry tigers court the tender lambs.

(Roscommon)

596

Ovid

Ep. xv. 79

Cupid's light darts my tender bosom move.

(Pope)

597

Petr.

The mind uncumber'd plays.

598

Juv.

Sat. x. 28

Will ye not now the pair of sages praise,

Who the same end pursued by several ways?

One pity'd, one condemn'd, the woful times;

One laugh'd at follies, one lamented crimes.

(Dryden)

599

Virg.

Æn. ii. 369.

All parts resound with tumults, plaints, and fears.

(Dryden)

600

Virg.

Æn. vi. 641

Stars of their own, and their own suns they know.

(Dryden)

601

Antonin.

lib. 9.

Man is naturally a beneficent creature.

602

Juv.

Sat. vi. 110

This makes them hyacinths.

603

Virg.

Ecl. viii. 68

Restore, my charms,

My lingering Daphnis to my longing arms.

(Dryden)

604

Hor.

1 Od. xi. 1.

Ah, do not strive too much to know,

My dear Leuconoe,

What the kind gods design to do

With me and thee.

(Creech)

605

Virg.

Georg. ii. 51

They change their savage mind,

Their wildness lose, and, quitting nature's part,

Obey the rules and discipline of art.

(Dryden)

606

Virg.

Georg. i. 293

Mean time at home

The good wife singing plies the various loom.

607

Ovid

Ars Amor. i. 1

Now Iö Pæan sing, now wreaths prepare,

And with repeated Iös fill the air;

The prey is fallen in my successful toils.

(Anon.)

608

Ovid

Ars Amor. i. 633

Forgiving with a smile

The perjuries that easy maids beguile.

(Dryden)

609

Juv.

Sat. i. 86

The miscellaneous subjects of my book.

610

Seneca

Thus, when my fleeting days, at last,

Unheeded, silently, are past,

Calmly I shall resign my breath,

In life unknown, forgot in death:

While he, o'ertaken unprepared,

Finds death an evil to be fear'd,

Who dies, to others too much known,

A stranger to himself alone.

611

Virg.

Æn. iv. 366.

Perfidious man! thy parent was a rock,

And fierce Hyrcanian tigers gave thee suck.

612

Virg.

Æn. xii. 529.

Murranus, boasting of his blood, that springs

From a long royal race of Latin kings,

Is by the Trojan from his chariot thrown,

Crush'd with the weight of an unwieldy stone.

(Dryden)

613

Virg.

Georg. iv. 564

Affecting studies of less noisy praise.

(Dryden)

614

Virg.

Æn. iv. 15.

Were I not resolved against the yoke

Of hapless marriage; never to be cursed

With second love, so fatal was the first,

To this one error I might yield again.

(Dryden)

615

Hor.

4 Od. ix. 47.

Who spend their treasure freely, as 'twas given

By the large bounty of indulgent Heaven:

Who in a fixt unalterable state

Smile at the doubtful tide of fate,

And scorn alike her friendship and her hate:

Who poison less than falsehood fear,

Loath to purchase life so dear;

But kindly for their friend embrace cold death,

And seal their country's love with their departing breath.

(Stepney)

616

Mart.

Epig. i. 10.

A pretty fellow is but half a man.

617

Pers.

Sat. i. 99

Their crooked horns the Mimallonian crew

With blasts inspired; and Rassaris, who slew

The scornful calf, with sword advanced on high,

Made from his neck his haughty head to fly.

And Mænas, when, with ivy-bridles bound,

She led the spotted lynx, then Evion rang around,

Evion from woods and floods repeating Echo's sound.

(Dryden)

618

Hor.

1 Sat. iv. 40.

'Tis not enough the measured feet to close:

Nor will you give a poet's name to those

Whose humble verse, like mine, approaches prose.

619

Virg.

Georg. ii. 369

Exert a rigorous sway,

And lop the too luxuriant boughs away.

620

Virg.

Æn. vi. 791.

Behold the promised chief!

621

Lucan

ix. 11.

Now to the blest abode, with wonder fill'd,

The sun and moving planets he beheld;

Then, looking down on the sun's feeble ray,

Survey'd our dusky, faint, imperfect day,

And under what a cloud of night we lay.

(Rowe)

622

Hor.

1 Ep. xviii. 103.

A safe private quiet, which betrays

Itself to ease, and cheats away the days.

(Pooley)

623

Virg.

Æn. iv. 24.

But first let yawning earth a passage rend,

And let me thro' the dark abyss descend:

First let avenging Jove, with flames from high.

Drive down this body to the nether sky,

Condemn'd with ghosts in endless night to lie;

Before I break the plighted faith I gave;

No: he who had my vows shall ever have;

For whom I loved on earth, I worship in the grave.

(Dryden)

624

Hor.

2 Sat. iii. 77.

Sit still, and hear, those whom proud thoughts do swell,

Those that look pale by loving coin too well;

Whom luxury corrupts.

(Creech)

625

Hor.

3 Od. vi. 23.

Love, from her tender years, her thoughts employ'd.

626

Ovid

Met. i. 1

With sweet novelty your taste I'll please.

(Eusden)

627

Virg.

Ecl. ii. 3

He underneath the beechen shade, alone.

Thus to the woods and mountains made his moan.

(Dryden)

628

Mor.

1 Ep. ii. 43.

It rolls, and rolls, and will for ever roll.

629

Juv.

1 Sat. i. 170.

Since none the living dare implead,

Arraign them in the persons of the dead.

(Dryden)

630

Hor.

3 Od. i. 2.

With mute attention wait.

631

Hor.

1 Od. v. 5.

Elegant by cleanliness

632

Virg.

Æn. vi. 545.

The number I'll complete,

Then to obscurity well pleased retreat.

633

Cicero

The contemplation of celestial things will make a man both speak and think more sublimely and magnificently when he descends to human affairs.

634

Soctrates

apud Xen.

The fewer our wants, the nearer we resemble the gods.

635

Cicero

Somn. Scip.

I perceive you contemplate the seat and habitation of men; which if it appears as little to you as it really is, fix your eyes perpetually upon heavenly objects, and despise earthly.

Contents

Some Advertisements from the Original Numbers of the Spectator

No. 1

- Dr. James Drake's Anthropologia Nova; or, a New System of Anatomy

- Sir William Petty's Political Arithmetic

- a translation of Bernard Lamy's Perspective made Easie

- The Compleat Geographer

- an Essay towards the Probable Solution of this Question, Where those birds do probably make their abode which are absent from our Climate at some certain Times and Seasons of the Year. By a Person of Learning.

- The second edition of The Origin and Institution of Civil Government Discussed, by the Rev. Benjamin Hoadly, M.A., Rector of St. Peter's poor (who did not become a Bishop until 1715)

- a third edition of The Works of the Right Rev. Ezekiel Hopkins, late Lord Bishop of Londonderry,

- and newly published, a Collection of Debates, Reports, Orders and Resolutions of the House of Commons, touching the right of Electing Members to serve in Parliament.

No. 239No. 10No. 25

No. 27

the following number

'There is a Parcel of extraordinary fine Bohee Tea to be sold at 26s. per Pound, at the Sign of the Barber's Pole, next door to the Brasier's Shop in Southampton Street in the Strand. N. B. The same is to be sold from 10 to 12 in the Morning and from 2 to 4 in the Afternoon.'

Next day

'Just Published, and Printed very Correctly, with a neat Elzevir Letter, in 12mo for the Pocket,

'Paradise Lost, a Poem in twelve Books, written by Mr. John Milton. The Ninth Edition, adorn'd with Sculptures. Printed for Jacob Tonson at Shakespear's Head over against Catherine Street in the Strand.'

'Right German Spaw-Waters at 13s. a dozen. Bohee 16, 20 and 24s. All Sorts of Green, the lowest at 10s. Chocolate all Nut 2s. 6d. and 3s. with sugar 1s. 8d. and 2s. The finest of Brazil Snuff at 35s. a Pound, another sort at 20s. Barcelona, Havana and Old Spanish Snuff, Sold by Wholesale with Encouragement to Retailers, by Robert Tate, at the Star in Bedford Court, Covent Garden.

'This Day is Published,

'A Poem to the Right Honourable Mr. Harley, wounded by Guiscard. Printed for Jacob Tonson, &c.' (No. 35.)

No. 40

'A large Collection of Manuscript Sermons preach'd by several of the most Eminent Divines, for some Years last past, are to be sold at the Bookseller's Warehouse in Exeter Change in the Strand.'

'This Day is publish'd,

'An Essay on Criticism. Printed for W. Lewis in Russell-street Covent Garden; and Sold by W. Taylor, at the Ship in Pater Noster Row; T. Osborn, in Grays-Inn near the Walks; J. Graves in St. James's-street; and J. Morphew near Stationers' Hall. Price 1s.'

'Concerning the Small-Pox.

'R. Stroughton, Apothecary, at the Unicorn in Southwark, having about Christmas last Published in the Postman, Tatler and Courant, a long Advertisement of his large Experience and great Success in curing the Small-Pox, even of the worst Kind and Circumstances, having had a Reputation for it almost 30 years, and can say than not 3 in 20 miscarry under his hands, doth now contract it; and only repeats, that he thinks he has attain'd to as great a Certainty therein (and the Measles which are near of Kin) as has been acquir'd in curing any one disease (an Intermitting Feaver with the Bark only excepted) which he conceives may at this time, when the Small-Pox so prevails, and is so mortal, justify his Publications, being pressed by several so to do, and hopes it may be for the Good of many: He has had many Patients since his last Publication and but One of all dy'd. He hath also Certificates from above 20 in a small time Cured, and of the worst sort. What is here offered is Truth and Matter of Fact; and he will, if desired, go with any one to the Persons themselves who have been Cured, many of whom are People of Value and Figure: 'Tis by a correct Management, more than a great deal of Physick, by which also the Face and Eyes are much secured; tho' one Secret he has (obtained only by Experience and which few or none know besides) that when they suddenly strike in very rarely fails of raising them again in a few Hours, when many other things, and proper too, have not answered. He does not desire, nor aim at the supplanting of any Physician or Apothecary concerned, but gives his assisting Advice if desired, and in such a way not Dishonourable or Injurious to either.'

'Angelick Snuff: The most noble Composition in the World, removing all manner of Disorders of the Head and all Swimming or Giddiness proceeding from Vapours, &c., also Drowsiness, Sleepiness and other lethargick Effects, perfectly curing Deafness to Admiration, and ill Humours or Soreness in the Eyes, &c., strength'ning them when weak, perfectly cures Catarrhs, or Defluxions of Rheum, and remedies the Tooth-ach instantly; is excellently beneficial in Apoplectick Fits and Falling-Sickness, and assuredly prevents those Distempers; corroborates the Brain, comforts the Nerves, and revives the Spirits. Its admirable Efficacy in all the above mention'd Diseases has been experienc'd above a Thousand times, and very justly causes it to be esteem'd the most beneficial Snuff in the World, being good for all sorts of Persons. Price 1s. a Paper with Directions. Sold only at Mr. Payn's Toyshop at the Angel and Crown in St Paul's Churchyard near Cheapside.'

'For Sale by the Candle,

'On Friday next, the 25th Instant, at Lloyd's Coffee-house in Lombard-Street at 4 a Clock in the Afternoon, only 1 Cask in a Lot, viz. 74 Buts, 22 Hogsheads and 3 quarter Casks of new Bene-Carlos Barcelona Wine, very deep, bright and strong, extraordinary good and ordinary, at £10. per. But, £5. per Hogshead and 25s. per Quarter Cask; neat, an entire Parcel, lately landed, now in Cellars on Galley Key (fronting the Thames) between the Coffeehouse and Tower Dock. To be tasted this Day the 23rd, and to Morrow the 24th Instant, from 7 a Clock to 1, and from 2 to 7, and all Friday till the Time of Sale. To be sold by Tho. Tomkins Broker in Seething-lane in Tower-street.'

'Loss of Memory or Forgetfulness, certainly Cured, By a grateful Electuary, peculiarly adapted for that End; it strikes at the Prime Cause (which few apprehend) of Forgetfulness, makes the Head clear and easie, the Spirits free, active and undisturb'd; corroborates and revives all the noble Faculties of the Soul, such as Thought, Judgment, Apprehension, Reason and Memory; which last in particular it so strengthens, as to render that Faculty exceeding quick and good beyond Imagination; thereby enabling those whose Memory was before almost totally lost, to remember the Minutest Circumstance of their Affairs, &c. to a wonder. Price 2s. 6d. a Pot. Sold only at Mr. Payne's at the Angel and Crown in St. Paul's Church Yard near Cheapside with Directions.'

An Entertainment of Musick, consisting of a Poem called The Passion of Sappho: Written by Mr. Harison. And the Feast of Alexander: Written by Mr. Dryden; as they are set to Musick by Mr. Thomas Clayton (Author of Arsinoe) will be performed at his House in York-Buildings to Morrow the 29th Instant: Beginning at 8 in the Evening. Tickets at 5s. each, may be had at Mr. Charles Lillie's, the Corner of Beauford-Buildings, and at Mr. Elliott's, at St. James's Coffee-house. No Money receiv'd, or Tickets given out at the House.

'This Poem is sold by Jacob Tonson, at Shakspear's Head over against Catherine-street in the Strand[1].

'Any Master or Composer, who has any Piece of Musick which he desires to bring in Publick, may have the same perform'd at Mr. Clayton's by his Performers; and be rewarded in the Manner as the Authors of Plays have Benefit Nights at the Play-house. The Letter subscribed A. A. May the 25, is received.' (No. 76.)

'To be Disposed of at a very reasonable Rate, a Compleat Riding Suit for a Lady, of Blue Camlet, well laced with Silver, being a Coat, Wastecoat, Petticoat, Hatt and Feather, never worn but twice; to be seen at Mr. Harford's at the Acorn in York-street, Covent-garden.'

'The Delightful Chymical Liquor, for the Breath, Teeth and Gums, which in a Moment makes the most Nauseous Breath smell delicately Fine and Charming, and in very little Time infallibly Cures, so that an offensive Breath will not return; It certainly makes the blackest and most foul Teeth perfectly White, Clean and Beautiful to a Miracle; Cures the Scurvy in the Gums, tho' never so inveterate, making the Flesh grow again, when almost Eaten away, and infallibly fastens loose Teeth to Admiration, even in Old People, who too often falsly think their Age to be the Occasion: In short, for delightful Perfuming, and quickly Curing an ill scented Breath, for presently making the blackest Teeth most excellently White, certainly fastening them when Loose, effectually preserving them from Rotting or Decaying, and assuredly Curing the Scurvy in the Gums, it has not its Equal in the Universe, as Abundance of the Nobility and Gentry throughout the kingdom have Experienced. Is sold at Mr. Payn's, a Toyshop at the Angel and Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard, near Cheapside, at 2s. 6d. a Bottle with Directions.'

'In Dean Street, Sohoe, is a very good House to be Lett, with a very good Garden, at Midsummer or Michaelmas; with Coachhouse and Stables or without. Inquire at Robin's Coffeehouses near St. Anne's Church.'

'This Day is Publish'd 'A Representation of the Present State of Religion, with regard to the late Excessive growth of Infidelity, Heresy, and Prophaneness: Unanimously agreed upon by a Committee of both Houses of Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, and afterwards pass'd in the lower House, but rejected by the upper House. Members of the Committee. The Bps. of Peterborough, Landaff, Bangor, St. Asaph, St. David's, Dr. Atterbury, Prol. Dr. Stanhope, Dr. Godolphin, Dr. Willis, Dr. Gastrel, Dr. Ashton, Dr. Smalridge, Dr. Altham, Dr. Sydel, Archdeacon of Bridcock. Printed for Jonah Bowyer at the Rose in Ludgate-street. Price 6s. At the same time will be Publish'd a Representation of the present State of Religion, &c., as drawn up by the Bishops, and sent down to the Lower House for their Approbation, Price 6d.'

'The Vapours in Women infallibly Cured in an Instant, so as never to return again, by an admirable Chymical Secret, a few drops of which takes off a Fit in a Moment, dispels Sadness, clears the Head, takes away all Swimming, Giddiness, Dimness of Sight, Flushings in the Face, &c., to a Miracle, and most certainly prevents the Vapours returning again; for by Rooting out the very cause, it perfectly Cures as Hundreds have experienc'd: It also strengthens the Stomach and Bowels, and causes Liveliness and settled Health. Is sold only at Mrs. Osborn's Toy-shop, at the Rose and Crown under St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street, at 2s. 6d. the Bottle, with Directions.' (No. 120.)

'An Admirable Confect, which assuredly Cures Stuttering or Stammering in Children or grown Persons, tho' never so bad, causing them to speak distinct and free, without any trouble or difficulty; it remedies all manner of Impediments in the Speech, or disorders of the Voice of any kind, proceeding from what cause soever, rendering those Persons capable of speaking easily, free and with a clear Voice, who before were not able to utter a Sentence without Hesitation; its stupendious Effects, in so quickly and infallibly curing Stuttering, Stammering, and all disorders of the Voice and difficulty in delivery of the Speech are really Wonderful. Price 2s. 6d. a Pot, with Directions. Sold only at Mr. Osborn's Toyshop at the Rose and Crown, under St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street.'

'The famous Bavarian Red Liquor:

Which gives such a delightful blushing Colour to the Cheeks of those that are White or Pale, that it is not to be distinguished from a natural fine Complexion, nor perceived to be artificial by the nearest Friend. Is nothing of Paint, or in the least hurtful, but good in many Cases to be taken inwardly. It renders the Face delightfully handsome and beautiful; is not subject to be rubb'd off like Paint, therefore cannot be discovered by the nearest friend. It is certainly the best Beautifier in the World.'

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Contents

Index

The figures refer to Numbers of Papers, Fn. adds references to [Foot]Notes.

- Spectator Volume 1: Nos. 1-202.

- Spectator Volume 2: Nos. 203-416.

- Spectator Volume 3: Nos. 417-635.

Wait

Back

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - UV - W - X - Y - Z

Abbey, Westminster

26, 329

Abel Drugger, Ben Jonson's

28 Fn. 5

Abigails (male) for ladies

45

Abracadabra

221 Fn. 3

Absence

in love

of mind

24, 241, 245

77

Abstinence

174, 195

Academy for Politics

305

Acasto, the agreeable man

386

Accounts, keeping

174

Acetur's raillery

422

Acosta's defence of Jewish ceremonies

213

Acrostics

60 Fn. 4

Act

of Deformity for the Ugly Club

of Uniformity, Toleration, Settlement

Stamp

17

3 Fns. 3, 4, 5

445 Fn. 1

Action

the, in an Epic poem

116, 292, 541, 588

267

Actions

174, 257

Admiration

73, 237, 256, 340, 413

Adrian, Emperor, Pope on his last lines

532

Adversity

237

Advertisements[1]

2 n., 31 Fn. 1, 46 Fn. 2, 65 Fn. 2, 141 Fn. 2, 156 Fn. 1, 291 Fn. 7, 294 Fn. 2, 332 Fn. 1, 358 Fn. 1, 370 Fn. 6, 462 n., 489 Fn. 4, 514 Fn. 2, 533 Fn. 1, 547 Fn. 1

Advice

to a daughter, George Savile, Lord Halifax's

34, 385, 475, 512

170

Æneid in rhyme

60

Æschylus, Prometheus Bound of

357 Fn. 5

Æsop

17 Fn. 2

Affectation

of vice, outlives the practice

35, 38, 150, 205, 284, 404, 408, 460, 515

318

Affection

449

Affliction

not uncharitably to be called a judgment

95, 163, 164, 501

483

Aganippe, the fountain

514

Age

6, 153, 260, 336

Aglaüs, the happy man

610

Agreeable, in conversation, the art of being

man

woman

386

280, 386

21

Alabaster, Dr.

221

Albacinda, the too fair and witty

144

Albertus Magnus

56 Fn. 1

Alexander the Great

project of an opera upon him

William, Earl of Stirling

32, 127, 337, 379

14

300 Fn. 1

Allegories

in Epics

55, 421, 501

357

Allusion

421

Almanza, battle of

7 Fn. 1

Alms

232

Alnaschar, the Persian glassman

535

Altar, poem in shape of an

58

Amanda rewarded

375

Amaryllis improved by good breeding

144

Amazons, the commonwealth of

433, 434

Ambition

27, 125, 156, 180, 188, 200, 219, 224, 255, 257, 570, 613, 624

Americans,

who used painting for writing

their opinion of departed souls, in a vision

416

56

Amoret the jilt reclaimed

401

Amorous Club

30

Amusements

93

Anacharsis, the Corinthian drunkard, a saying of

569

Anagram

58 Fn. 2, 60

Anatomy, speculations on

543

Ancestry

612

Ancients, the

61, 249, 358

Andromache

57

Angels

610

Anger

438

Animals, structure and instincts of

120, 121

Anna Bella on the conversation between men and women

53

Anne Boleyn's last letter to Henry VIII.

397

Anne, Queen

mourning for

384 Fn. 1

606

Annihilation

210

Anthony, Mark, his witty mirth

386

Antigonus painted by Apelles

633

Antimony, Basil Valentine on

94 Fn. 1

Antiochus in love with his mother-in-law

229

Antipathies

538, 609

Anti-starers appointed

20

Anxieties, unnecessary

615

Apes, some women considered as

244

Apollo,

his temple on the top of Leucate

his throne

233

514

Apollodorus, a fragment of

203

Apostle spoons

250

Apothecaries

195

Apparitions

Plato's opinion of

12, 110

90

Appearances

86, 87, 360

Appetites

120, 208, 260

Applause

188, 442, 610

April,

described

the first of

425

47

Arabian Nights

195, 535

Arable, Mrs., in a stage coach

132

Aranda, Countess of, displeased with Gratian

379

Araspas and Panthea, story of

564

Arcadia, Sidney's

37 Fn. 2

Archduke Charles

45 Fn. 1

Architecture

415

Aretino

23 Fn. 6

Arguments, management of

197, 239

Argus

250

Arietta, the agreeable

11

Aristas and Aspasia, the happy couple

128

Aristenætus, letters of

238

Aristippus, saying of, on contentment

574

Aristophanes

23 Fn. 2

Aristotle

39, 40 Fn. 1, 42, 86 Fn. 6, 166, 239, 267 Fns. 4, 5 & 9, 273 Fns. 1 & 12, 279 Fn. 1 285 Fn. 1 291 Fn. 2, 297 Fns. 3, 9 & 14, 315 Fn. 2

Arithmetic, political

200

Arm, the orator's weapon

541

Army,

losses in a campaign

wherein a good school

180

566

Arsinoe, the opera

18 Fn. 1

Art,

general design of

and taste

works of

of Criticism, Pope's

541

29

414

253

Artillery, Milton's

333

Artist and author compared

166

Asaph (Bishop of St.), preface to sermons

384 Fn. 1

Aspasia, an excellent woman

128

Ass, schoolman's case of the, applied

191, 196, 201

Assizes, county, described

122

Association of honest men proposed

126

Assurance, modest

75, 166, 185, 373

Astræa, D'Urfe's

37 Fn. 2

Astrop Spa

154 Fn. 3

Atheists

237, 381, 389, 483

Atlantis, the New

37 Fn. 2

Attention, the true posture of

521

Atticus,

his genius

as a friend

150

385

Audience at a play

13, 190, 502

August described

425

Augustus Cæsar

528, 585

Aurelia, a happy wife

15

Author

and readers

and artist

and author

on himself

for what to be admired

inconvenience of his signing his name to his works

of folios takes precedence

for the stage

1

166

124

4, 9

355

451

529

51

Avarice

55, 224, 624

Axe, poem in the shape of an

58

Babblers

218

Babes in the Wood

85

Babylon

415

Bachelors, an inquisition on

320

Bacon flitch at Whichenovre

607

Bacon, Lord

quoted

554

10, 19, 411, 447

Bags of money transformed

3

Balance, Jupiter's, in Homer and Virgil

463

Baldness

497

Ballads (old),

admiration of

Chevy Chace

Babes in the Wood

85, 502 Fn. 1

70, 74

85

Balloon

45 Fn. 3

Balzac

355

Bamboo, Benjamin, his philosophical use of a shrew

482

Bank of England

2 Fn. 1

Bankruptcy

428, 456

Bantam, the ambassador from, describes the English

557

Bantry Bay

383 Fn. 1

Barbadoes,

Ligon's History of

appeals from

11 Fn. 2

394

Barbarity

139

Bareface, his success with the ladies

156

Barn Elms

91

Barnes, Joshua

245

Bar, oratory of the English

407

Barnaby-bright

632

Barr, Mr.

388

Barreaux, Jacques Vallée, Seigneur des

513 Fn. 2

Barrow, Isaac

106 Fn. 4

Bashfulness natural to the English

148

Basil Valentine and his son, history of

426

Bastards

203

Bastile, a prisoner in the

116

Battles, descriptions of

428

Bawlers

148

Baxter

84, 445, 498

Bayle,

on libels

his dictionary

451

92 Fn. 2, 121 Fn. 1, 198 Fn. 1

Beagles

116 Fn. 1

Bear garden,

visited

how to improve the

436, 449

141

Beards

321 331

Beau

and Quaker

Beau's head dissected

631

255

Beaufort, Cardinal, Shakespeare's death of

210

Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady

270

Beauties

4, 33, 87, 144, 155

Beauty

33, 133, 302, 406, 412, 510

Beaver, the haberdasher and coffeehouse politician

49

Beef-steak Club

9 Fn. 2

Beggars

Sir A. Freeport on

430, 613

232

Behn, Aphra

22 Fn. 4, 51 Fn. 9

Beings,

scale of, considered

imaginary

519

419

Bel and the Dragon

28 Fn. 6

Bell Savage, etymology of

28

Belvidera, song upon, criticized

470

Beneficence

292, 588, 601

Bentley, Richard

165

Biblis, every woman's rival

187

Bill,

for preserving female fame

of mortality

326

289

Bion, saying of, on search for happiness

574

Birch, Dr. Thomas

364 Fn. 2

Birds

for the opera

better education of, by L. Tattle

how affected by colours

5

36, 121

412

Birthday, Queen Anne's

294

Biters

47, 504

Biton and Cleobis

483

Blackmore, Sir R.

6 Fn. 1, 339 Fn. 8, 543

Bland, Dr.

628

Blank, a letter from

563

Blank verse

39

Blast, Lady, her character

457

Bluemantle, Lady

427

Blushing

390

Boar killed by Mrs. Tofts in Armida

22 Fn. 3

Board-wages

88

Boccalini, Trajan

291 Fn. 6, 335, 514

Bodily exercises

161

Body, human, transcendent wisdom in construction of the

543

Boevey, Mrs. Catherine

113 Fn. 1

Boileau

47, 209, 279 Fn. 11

Boleyn, Anne, her letter to Henry VIII.

397

Bond, John

286 Fn. 1

Bonosus, a drunken Briton

569

Books

37, 93, 123, 124, 163, 166

Bossu, Réné le

279 Fn. 4, 291 Fn. 2

Bouhours, Dominique

62 Fn. 4

Boul, Mr., sale of his pictures

226

Bouts Rimés

60

Bow, English use of the

161

Boyle, Hon. Robert

94, 121, 531, 554

Bracton's law of Scolds

479 Fn. 2

Brady, Nicholas

168 Fn. 3

Breeding (good)

66, 119, 169

Bribery

239, 394

British

Ladies and Picts

Princes, Hon. E. Howard's

41

43 Fn. 7

Brome, Dr.

302

Brooke and Hellier

362 Fn. 5

Brown, Tom, his new method of writing

576

Brunetta and Phillis

80

Bruno, Giordano

389

Bruyère's character of an absent man

77 Fn. 2

Buck, Timothy, answers the challenge of James Miller

436

Buckingham,

Duke of, invention in glass

Sheffield, Duke of

Villiers, Duke of

509

253 Fn. 5, 462 Fn. 3

371

Budgell,

Eustace

Gilbert

67 Fn. 1, 517

Buffoonery

443

Bullock,

the Comedian

Gabriel, love letter of

36 Fn. 4, 44

324 Fn. 3, 328

Bully Dawson

2 Fn. 5

Bumpers in drinking

474

Burlesque

249, 616, 625

Burnet's

Theory of the Earth

Travels

38 Fn. 1, 143, 146

46 Fn. 4, 531

Bury Fair

154 Fn. 4

Business,

the man of

learned men most fit for

27

469

Bussy d'Amboise

467

Busy world, virtuous and vicious

624

Button-makers' petition

175 Fn. 2

Butts

47, 175

Byrom, John

586 Fn. 1, 603 Fn. 1

Cacœthes scribendi

582

Cælia, the pretty, advised to hold her tongue

404

Cæsar,

Julius

edition of his Commentaries

23 Fn. 3, 147, 169, 231, 224, 256, 374, 395

367

Cairo, Spectator at

1, 69

Calamities

312, 483, 558, 559

Calamy, Edward

106 Fn. 4

Caligula

16, 246

Callipædia, Claude Quillet's

23 Fn. 4

Callisthenes

422

Calprenède's romances

37 Fn. 2

Calumny

451, 594

Cambray, Fenelon, Archbishop of

69, 95

Cambridge Ugly Club

78

Camilla

Virgil's

the opera

15

18 Fn. 1, 22 Fn. 3,443

Camillus, behaviour of, to his son

263

Camisars, the

160

Camp, wherein a good school

566

Campbell, the dumb fortune-teller

323 Fn. 4, 474

Candour

382

Canidia, an old beauty

301

Cant

147

Capacities of children to be considered in their education

307

Caprice

191

Carbuncle, Dr., his dye

52

Care

who has most

man's chief

574

122

Caricatures

537

Carneades, his definition of Beauty

144

Cartesian theory of ideas

417

Cartoons, Raphael's

226, 244

Cases in love answered

591, 607, 614

Casimir, Liszinski, a Polish atheist, punishment of

389

Cassandra, romance of

37 Fn. 2

Cassius, Caius, temper of

157

Castle-builders

167

Cat

a contributor to harmony

old and young, speculations on

-call, a dissertation on the

361

626

361

Catiline

386

Cato

243, 255, 446, 557

Catullus, his lampoon of Cæsar

23 Fn. 3

Cave of Trophonius

598, 599

Celibacy

528

Celinda on female jealousy

178

Censor

of small wares

of marriages

-ship of the press

16

308

445 Fn. 1

Censure

101, 610

Ceremony

119

Chair, the mathematical

25

Chambermaids

366

Chancery

564

Chaplains

to persons of quality

Sir Roger de Coverley's chaplain

609

106

Chapman, George

467 Fn. 4

Chardin, Sir John

289 Fn. 4

Charity schools

294, 430

Charlemagne and his secretary, story of

181

Charles I., book of Psalms in a picture of

58

Charles II., his familiarities

78, 462

Charles II. of Spain

64 Fn. 2

Charles VI. of Germany

353 Fn. 3

Charles XII. of Sweden, his march to the Ukraine

43 Fn. 2

Chastity

99, 579

Chaucer

73

Cheerfulness

143, 381, 387

Chemists' jargon

426

Cherubim and Seraphim

600

Chevy Chace criticized

70, 74

Chezluy, Jean, excused to Pharamond his absence from court

480

Children

157, 246, 307, 426, 500

in the Wood, on the Ballad of the

85

Child's Coffee-house

1 Fn. 7

China women and the vapours

336

Chinese

60, 189, 414

Chit-chat Club

560

Chocolate

365

Chocolate-house

Cocoa Tree

White's

1 Fn. 11, 88 Fn. 2

Chremylus, story of, from Aristophanes

464

Christian religion

186, 213, 574

Christian Hero, Steele's

37, 356 Fns. 2-8, 516

Christmas

268

Chronograms

60 Fn. 7

Church

and puppet show

behaviour at

music

work

14

53, 242, 259, 460, 630

338

383

Churchyard, the country, on Sunday

112

Cibber, Colley

48 Fn. 2, 370, 546

Cicero

61, 68, 212, 404, 427, 436, 467 Fn. 1, 505, 531, 541, 554

Citizens, the opportunity of

346

City lovers

155

Clarendon, Earl of

349, 485 Fn. 1

Clarinda, an Idol

73

Clark, Mrs. Margaret, remnant of a love-letter to

342

Clarke, Dr. Samuel

367 Fn. 1

Classics, editors of the

470

Clavius, Christopher

307 Fn. 2

Clay, Stephen

133 Fn. 2

Clayton, Thomas, the composer

18 Fn. 1, 258 Fn. 2

Cleanliness

631

Cleanthe, a French lady, novel of

15

Cleanthes misapplies his talents

404

Clelia, Scudéri's

37 Fn. 2

Cleopatra

Caprenède's romance of

400

37 Fn. 2

Clergyman of the Spectator's Club

2, 34

Clergymen

21, 306, 609, 633

Clerks, parish, advice to

372

Cleveland, John

286 Fn. 1

Cliff, Nat., advertises for a lottery ticket

191

Clinch of Barnet

24 Fn. 2, 31

Clodpate, Justice, Cibber's

48

Cloe the idiot

466

Club Law

239

Clubs

the Amorous

Beef-steak

Chit-chat

Everlasting

Fox-hunters'

Fringe-glove

Hebdomadal

Hen-pecked

Kitcat

Lazy

Lawyers'

Mohock

Moving

October

Rattling

She Romp

Sighing

Spectator's

Club at Oxford for re-reading the Spectator

Street Clubs

Twopenny

Ugly

White's

Widows'

9, 474, 508

30

9 Fn. 2

560

72

474

30

43

474

9 Fn. 1

320

372

324

372

9 Fn. 3

630

217

30

1, 2, 34

553

9

9

17, 78

88 Fn. 2

561

Coachmen, Hackney, gentlemen as

515, 526

Coat, fine, when a livery

168

Cocoa-tree Chocolate-house

1 Fn. 11

Coffee-house

debates

idols

impertinents

liars

potentates at different hours

Child's

Grecian

Jonathan's

Lloyd's

Rainbow

St. James's

Serle's

Squire's

Will's

197, 476

155

87, 145

521

49

1 Fn. 7

1 Fn. 10

1 Fn. 13

46 Fn. 1

16 Fn. 1

1 Fn. 9, 24

49 Fn. 1

49 Fn. 1

1 Fn. 6, 49 Fn. 1

Collier, Jeremy

361 Fn. 3

Colours

412, 413, 416

Colours taken at Blenheim

136

Comedies

249, 446

Comet, Newton on the

101

Comfort

196, 501

Commode, the

98 Fn. 1

Commendation

348, 467

Commentaries, Cæsar's, Clarke's edition of

367

Commerce

21, 69

Commercial friendship

346

Commines, Philip de

491

Commodus, Emperor

127

Common Prayer, the Book of

147

Commonwealth of Amazons

433

Companions

424

Comparisons in Homer and Milton

303

Compassion

169, 397

Complaisance at courts

394

Compliments

103, 155

Comus, god of revels

425

Concave figure, its advantage in architecture

415

Condé, Prince of

86

Conecte, Thomas, his preaching against women's commodes

96 Fn. 4

Confidants

118

Confidence dangerous to ladies

395

Conformity, occasional

269

Congreve

40 Fn. 3, 189, 204, 443, 530

Conquest, Deborah, of the Widows' Club

561

Conquests, the vanity of

180

Conscience

188

Constancy in sufferings

237

Contemplation

514

Contempt

150

Content

163, 574

Conversation

53, 68, 100, 103, 119, 143, 409, 574

Copenhagen

393

Coquets

heart of one dissected

66, 172, 208, 390

Cordeliers, story of St. Francis

245

Cornaro, Lewis

195

Corneille

39 Fn. 4

Cornelii, family of the

192

Corruption

469

Cotqueans

482

Cottilus, his equanimity

143

Country dances

the Sir Roger de Coverley

67

106 Fn. 1

Country

life

Wake, the, a farce

wakes described

151, 161, 414, 424, 474, 583, 622

502

161

Courage

99, 152, 161, 350, 422

Court life

64, 76, 394, 403

Courtship

261

Coverley, Sir Roger de

2, 6, 34, 106-113, 115, 116, 118, 122, 125, 126, 130, 131, 174, 269, 295, 329, 331, 335, 359, 410, 424, 517

Covetousness

316

Cowardice

231, 611

Cowley

41, 62, 67, 81, 114, 123, 339, 551, 590, 610, 613

Cowper, Lord

38, 467

Crab, chaplain to the Ugly Club

78

Crambo

63

Crastin, Dick, challenges Tom Tulip

91

Crazy, a man thought so for reading Milton aloud

577

Creation

contemplation of

Milton's account of

Blackmore's poem on

393

339

339 Fn. 8, 543

Credit

3, 218, 320

Credulity in women

190

Cries of London

251

Critics

87, 291, 409, 592

Cross, Miss, half a tun less handsome than Madam Van Brisket

32

Cully-Mully-Puff

362

Cultismo

379 Fn. 3, 409

Cunning

225

Curiosity

237, 439

Custom

437, 455, 474

Cymon and Iphigenia

71

Cynæas reproves Pyrrhus

180

Cynthio and Flavia, broken courtship of

399

Cyrus

564

Czar Peter, compared with Louis XIV.

139

Dacier, André and Anna

291 Fn. 2, 297 Fn. 1

Dacinthus, a pleasant fellow

462

Dæmon, Plato's

214 Fn. 4

Daintry, Captain

570 Fn. 1

Dainty, Mrs. Mary, writes from the Infirmary

429

Dalton's Country Justice

92 Fn. 2

Damon, Strephon, and Gloriana

423

Dampier's Voyages

121

Dancing

66, 67, 296, 334, 370, 376, 466

Dangers past

418

Daphne's Chance Medley

33

Dapperwit, Tom

482, 530

Darkness, Egyptian

615

Day, several times of, in London life

454

Day-dream

167

Death

7, 25, 133, 152, 289, 349

Debt

82

Dedications

188

of Spectator to Lord Somers

to Lord Halifax

to Henry Boyle

to the Duke of Marlborough

to Thomas, Earl of Wharton

to Earl of Sunderland

to Paul Methuen

to Will. Honeycomb

Defamation

348, 427, 451

Definitions

373

Deformity

17, 87

Delicacy

104, 286, 292

Delight

essential to wit

vernal

62

393

Deluge, Whiston's Theory of the

396

Demetrius, a saying of

237

Demurrers, what women to be so called

89

Denham, Sir John

82 Fn. 2

Dennis, John

47 Fn. 2, 273 Fn. 5, 548 Fn. 1

Denying, sometimes a virtue

458

Dependence

181, 214, 282

Dervise Fadlallah, story of the

631

Descriptions, source of pleasure in

416, 418

Desire

191, 400

D'Estrades, negotiations of Count

92 Fn. 2

Detraction

256, 348, 355

Devotee described

354

Devotion

93, 163, 201, 207, 415

Diagoras, the atheist, in a storm

483 Fn. 2

Dial plate for absent lovers

241

Diana

453

Diet

195

Dieupart, Charles

258 Fn. 2

Diffidence

87

Dignitaries of the law

21

Dilatoriness

469

Diligence

514

Dionysius, a Club tyrant

508

Dionysius's ear

439

Disappointed love

163

Discontent

214

Discretion

225, 607

Dispensary, Garth's

476

Dissection

of a beau's head

of a coquette's heart

275

281

Dissenters

147, 259

Dissimulation

103

Distempers, each does best with his own

599

Distinction, desire of

219, 224

Distrest Mother, a tragedy, commended

290, 335, 338 Fn. 2

Diversions, over-indulgence in

447

Divorce

41

Doctor in Moorfields, contrivance of a

193

Dogget the comedian

235 Fn. 1, 370, 446, 502 Fn. 3

Doggrel

60

Dogs

116 Fn. 1, 474, 579

Doily stuffs cheap and genteel

283, 320

Domestic life

320, 455

Donne, his description of Eliz. Drury

41 Fn. 3

Dorigny's engravings of the Cartoons

226 Fn. 5

Doris, Congreve's character of

422

Dorset, Lord, collected old ballads

85

Doves in company

300

Drama, its original a worship

465

Drawcansir

16 Fn. 4

Dreams

of retirement

golden scales

seasons

Trophonius' Cave

167, 487, 505, 524, 586, 593, 597

425

403

425

599

Dress

69, 150, 360, 435

Drinking

189, 195, 205, 458, 474, 569

Drums in a marriage concert

364

Drury Lane Theatre

1 Fn. 12

Dry, Will., of clear head and few words

476

Dryden

5 Fn. 1, 32 Fn. 3, 33, 37 Fn. 2, 40 Fns. 2 & 4, 55, 58, 62, 71, 77, 85, 116, 141, 162, 177, 222, 223 Fn. 2, 267 Fn. 13, 297 Fn. 5, 341, 365, 512, 572, 589, 621

Du Bartas

58 Fn. 4

Duelling

84, 97, 99

Dugdale

21 Fn. 3

Dull fellows

43

Dullness, goddess of

63

Dumb conjurer, the

560

Dunces

17 Fn. 3

Dunlop, Alexander

524 Fn. 1

Duration, the idea of

94

D'Urfey, Thomas

37 Fn. 2

Dutch monuments for the dead

26

Dyer's News-letter

43 Fn. 6, 127

Earl of Essex, in a Tragedy

48 Fn. 1

Earth

why covered with green

why called a mother

387

246

Ease

196

East-Enborne, custom for widows

614, 623

Eating, drinking, and sleeping

317

Echo, false wit

59

Edgar, King, amour of

605

Editors of the classics

470

Education

53, 66, 108, 123, 157, 215, 224, 230, 313, 314, 337, 353, 376, 431, 445

Egg, the scholar's

58

Eginhart and the daughter of Charlemagne

181 Fn. 4

Egotism

562

Egyptian darkness

615

Electra of Sophocles

44

Elihu's speech to Job

336

Elizabeth, Queen

293

Eloquence

of St. Paul

of beggars

633

613

Embellishers

521

Emblematical persons

419

Emilia

302

Eminence, the tax on

101

Emperor of the Moon, Mrs. Behn's farce of the

22 Fn. 4

Emulation

432

Enborne, the custom for widows at

614, 623

Enemies

125, 399

England, advantages of being born in

135

English

the people

the language

135, 158, 387, 407, 419, 432, 435, 557

135, 163, 230, 405

Envy

19, 253

Epaminondas

133

Ephesian lady, the

11 Fn. 1, 198

Ephraim, the Quaker, and the officer, in a stage coach

132 Fn. 1

Epic poem, construction of an

267, 273, 291, 297, 315

Epictetus

53 Fn. 1, 219, 355, 397, 524

Epigram on Hecatissa

52

Epilogues

338 Fn. 2, 341

Epistles

poetical

recommendatory

618

493

Epitaph

by Ben Jonson

on Countess of Pembroke

on a charitable man

extravagant and modest epitaphs

33 Fn. 3

323

177 Fn. 7

26, 538, 539

Equanimity

137, 143, 196

Equestrian order of ladies

435, 437

Equipage

15, 144, 428

Equity, schools of

337

Erasmus

59, 239

Erratum in an edition of the Bible

579

Error

117, 460

Escalus, an old beau

318

Esquires

529

Essays

123, 476

Estates, acquisition of

222, 353

Estcourt, Richard

264 Fn. 1, 358, 370, 468

Eternity

159, 575, 590, 628

Ether, the fields of

420

Etherege, Sir George

2 Fn. 4, 44 Fn. 6, 51, 65 Fn. 1, 127

Eubulus at the coffee-house

49

Eucrate, the friend of King Pharamond

76, 84

Eucratia

144

Eudosia

7, 144

Eudoxus and Leontine, their friendship, and education of their children

123

Eugene, Prince

269 Fn. 1, 340 Fn. 2

Eugenius, his charity

177

Euphrates, the

415

Eusden, Lawrence

54, 78 Fn. 3, 87

Evergreens, feminine

395

Everlasting Club, the

72

Evremont, M. de St.

213, 349

Example

337

Excess

180

Exchange

the Royal

the new

69, 454

96 Fn. 2

Exchequer bills, Montagu's

3 Fn. 9

Exercise

115, 116, 161, 195

Extravagance

161, 222, 243

Eye, formation of the

472

Eyes

a dissertation on

their influence

250

19, 252

Fable

use of

of the Lion and Man

of the Children and Frogs

of Jupiter and the Countryman

of Pleasure and Pain

of a Drop of Water

of the Persian Glassman

183

11

23

25

183

293

535

Face

the epitome of man

a good one a letter of recommendation

each should be pleased with his own

541

221

559

Fadlallah, story of

578

Fairs, Persian, for selling women

511

Fairy writing

419

Faith

459, 465

False wit

25, 58, 60

Falsehood

63, 103, 156, 352

Falstaff

47

Fame

73, 139, 218, 255, 256, 257, 426, 439

Familiarities in society

429, 430

Family madness in pedigrees

612

Famine in France

180

Fan exercise

102

Fancy

411, 512, 558

Fashion

6, 64, 151, 175, 460, 478, 490

Father's love

490

Faults, secret, discovered

399

Faustina, empress

128

Fawners

304

Fear

25, 114, 152, 224, 471, 615

Feasts

195

Feeling, the sense of

411

Female

library proposed

oratory

rakes

virtues

domestic rule

game, preserving

37, 242

247

337

81

320

326

Fenelon

95

Festeau, the surgeon

368

Festivity of spirit

358

Feuille mort

265

Fiction

419

Fidelia, a good daughter

499

Fidelio transformed into a looking glass

392

Final causes

413

Fireworks at Rome, a poem on

617

Flattery

49, 238, 460, 621

Flavia and Cynthio

398

Flavia, rival to her mother

91

Flavilla, spoiled by marriage

437

Fleetwood, Dr. William

384 Fn. 1

Flesh painter out of place

41

Fletcher's

Pilgrim, on a scene in

humorous lieutenant

22 Fn. 6

266

Flora

425

Flourilles, Chevalier de

152 Fn. 2

Flutter, Sir Fopling, comedy of

65

Flying, letter on

462

Foible, Sir Geoffrey

190

Follies, our own, mistaken for worth

460

Fondness

449

Fontenelle

291 Fn. 2, 519, 576

Fools

47, 148, 485

Footman, a too sober

493

Fop

280

Fopling Flutter, Sir, Etherege's

65

Foppington, Cibber's Lord

48

Forehead, an orator's

231

Fortius, whose faults are overlooked

422

Fortunatus, the trader

433

Fortune

stealers

hunters

comedy of the

282, 293, 294, 312

211

326

22 Fn. 5

Fox-hunters

474

Francham, Mr., of Norwich

520

Francis, St.

245

Frankair, Charles, an envied and impudent speaker

484

Freart, M., on architecture

415

Freeman, Antony, his stratagem to escape from his wife's rule

213

Freeport, Sir Andrew

2, 34, 82, 126, 174, 232, 549

Free-thinkers

3, 9, 27, 39, 55, 62, 70, 77, 234, 599

Freher, Marquard

181 Fn. 4

French

poets

privateer, cruelty of a

102, 104, 435, 481

45

350

Fribbles

288

Friends

68, 346, 385, 399, 400, 490

Fringe-glove Club

30

Fritilla, dreams at church

597

Frogs and Boys, fable of the

23 Fn. 7

Frolic

358

Froth, Mr., on public affairs

43 Fn. 1

Frugality

107, 348, 467

Fuller's English worthies

221 Fn. 5

Funeral, the, Steele's comedy

51 Fn. 1

Funnel, Will., a toper

569

Futurity, man's weak desire to know

604

Galen

543

Gallantry

72, 142, 318

Gambols

41

Game, Female

326

Gaming

93, 140, 428, 447

Gaper, the, a Dutch sign

47

Gardens

5 Fn. 5, 414, 455, 477

Garth, Sir Samuel

249 Fn. 2, 273 Fn. 8

Gazers

263

Genealogy, a letter on

612

Generosity

107, 248, 346

Genius

160

Gentleman

75, 82

Geography of a jest

138

George I.

coronation

3 Fn. 8

609, 630

Georgics, Virgil's

417

Germanicus

238

Germany, politics of

43 Fn. 5, 45 Fn. 1

Gesture in oratory

407

Ghosts

on the stage

12, 419

36, 44

Gigglers in church

158

Gildon, Charles

267 Fn. 1

Gipsies, Sir Roger de Coverley and the

130

Giving and forgiving

189

Gladiators

436

Gladio's dream of knight errantry

597

Gladness

494

Glaphyra, story of

110

Globe, Burnet's funeral oration on the

146

Globes, proposal for a new pair of

552

Gloriana, advice concerning a design on

423

Glory

139, 172, 218, 238

Gluttony

195, 344

Goat's milk

408

God

7, 257, 381, 421, 441, 465, 489, 531, 543, 565, 571, 580, 634, 635

Gold clears understanding

239

Good breeding

119

Goodfellow, Robin, on rule of drinking

205

Good Friday paper, a

365

Good humour

infirmary for establishing

100

429, 437, 440

Good nature

23, 76, 169, 177, 196, 243, 607

Good sense

437

Goodwin, Dr. Thomas

494 Fn. 2

Goose and Watchman

376

Goosequill, William, clerk to Lawyers' Club

372

Gosling, George, advertises for lottery ticket

191

Gospel gossips

46

Gossiping

310

Goths

in poetry

in taste

62

409

Government, forms of

287

Gracchus's pitch-pipe

541

Grace at meals

458

Gracefulness in action

292

Graham, Mr., his picture sale

67

Grammar schools

353

Grand Cyrus, Scuderi's

37 Fn. 2

Grandeur and minuteness

420

Grandmother, Sir Roger de Coverley's great, great, great, had the best receipts for a hasty pudding and a white pot

109

Grant, Dr., the oculist

472, 547 Fn. 1

Gratian, Balthazar

293 Fn. 1, 379 Fn. 3

Gratification

454

Gratitude

453, 588

Gravitation

121

Great and good not alike in meaning

109

Great men

101, 196

Greatness

of mind

of objects

312

412, 413

Greaves, John

1 Fn. 4

Grecian Coffee-house

Fn. 10

Greeks

modern, who so called

189, 313

239, 245

Green, why the earth is covered with

387

Green-sickness

431

Grief, the grotto of

501

Grinning match

137

Grotto, verses on a

632

Grove, Rev. Henry

588 Fn. 1

Guardian, the

532 Fn.3 , 550 Fn. 1

Gumley, Mr., a diligent tradesman

509

Gyges and Aglaüs, tale of

610

Gymnosophists

337

Habits

197

Hadley, John

428

Halifax

Charles Montagu, Earl of

George Savile, Marquis of

3 Fn. 9, dedication

170 Fn. 1

Hamadryads

589

Hamlet

404

Handel

5 Fn. 2

Handkerchief in tragedy

44

Handsome people

144

Hangings, the men in the

22

Hanover succession

384

Happiness

15, 167, 575, 610

Hardness in parents

181

Hard words should be mispronounced by well-bred ladies

45

Harehounds

116 Fn. 1

Harper, Robert

480 Fn. 2

Harrington's Oceana

176 Fn. 1

Harris, Mr., proposes an organ for St. Paul's

552

Harrison, John

428 Fn. 1

Hart, Nicholas, the annual sleeper

184 Fn. 2

Hatred

125

Hats

187, 219

Hayn[2], Nicolino

258 Fn. 2

Haymarket Theatre

1 Fn. 12

Head-dress

98, 319

Health

411

Hearts, a vision of

587

Heathen

philosophy

notions of a future state

150

633

Heaven

447,465, 580, 590, 600

Hebrew idiom in English

405

Hecatissa and the Ugly Club

48

Heidegger, J. J.

14 Fn. 1, 31

Heirs and elder brothers

123

Hell, the Platonic

90

Henley, Anthony

494, 518 Fn. 1

Henpecked

husbands

bachelors

176, 179, 479

486

Herbert, George

58 Fn. 4

Heretics

185

Hermit, saying of a

575

Hero

what makes a

in tragedy

240, 312, 601

40

Herod and Mariamne, story of

171

Herodotus

483

Hesiod

200, 447

Heteropticks

250

Heywood, James

268 Fn. 1

Hilpa, an antediluvian princess, story of

584, 585

Hirst, James, his love-letter

71 Fn. 2

Historians

in conversation

420, 483

136

History

a study recommended to newsmongers

secret

133, 289, 420, 428

452

619

Hobbes

47 Fn. 1, 52, 249, 588

Hobson's choice

509

Hockley in the Hole

31 Fn. 2, 436 Fn. 1

Homer

70, 273, 357, 411, 417

Honest men, association of

126

Honestus, the trader

443

Honeycomb, Will.

2 Fn. 8, 4, 34, 41, 67, 77, 105, 131, 156, 265, 311, 325, 352, 359, 410, 475, 490, 511, 530, dedication

Honeycomb, Simon

154

Honour

99, 219

Horace

394

Howard, Hon. E., The British Princes

43 Fn. 7

Huarte, Juan

307 Fn. 1

Hudibras

17, 54, 59, 145

Hughes, John

66 Fn. 1, 104, 141, 220, 231, 232, 252, 306

Hummums, the

347 Fn. 1

Hunting

116 Fn. 1, 583

Hunt the squirrel, a country dance

67

Husbandman, funeral oration for a

583

Husbands

149, 178, 179, 236, 530, 561, 607

Hush note

228

Hush, Peter, the whisperer

457

Hyæna and spider

187

Hydaspes, the opera of

13 Fn. 1

Hymen, revengeful

530

Hymn

to the Virgin, a book in eight words

to Venus by Sappho

David's, on Providence

on gratitude

on the glories of heaven and earth

60

232

441

453

465

Hypocrisy

119, 243, 399, 458

Iambic verse

39

James, a country footman polished by love

71

Jane, Mrs., a pickthank

272

Japis's care of Æneas

572

Ibrahim XII., tragedy of

51 Fn. 8

Ichneumon fly

126

Ideas, association of

416

Identity

578

Idiots

47, 474

Idleness

316, 411, 624

Idolatry

211

Idols

73, 79, 87, 155, 534

Jealousy

170, 171, 178

Jest

138, 616

Jesuits

17 Fn. 3, 307, 545

Jews

213, 495, 531

Jezebels

175

Ignatus, a fine gentleman, as opposed to an atheist

75

Ignorance, when amiable

324

Jilt, a penitent

401

Jilts

187

Iliad, effect of reading the

417

Ill nature

23, 169, 185

Imaginary beings in poetry

357 Fns. 4 & 5, 419

Imagination, Essays on

411-421

Imitators

140

Imma, daughter of Charlemagne, story of

181

Immortality

110, 210, 537, 600, 633

Impertinent persons

148, 168, 432

Implex fables

297 Fn. 1

Impudence

2, 20, 231, 373, 390, 443

Incantations in Macbeth

141

Ince, Richard

555

Inclination and reason

447

Inconsistency

162, 50

Indian kings, the

50

Indifference in marriage

332

Indigo the merchant

136

Indiscretion

23

Indisposition

143

Indolence

100, 316, 320

Industry

116

Infidelity

186

Infirmary for establishing good humour

429, 437, 440, 474

Ingratitude

491

Ingoltson, Charles, quack doctor

444

Initial letters

2 Fn. 9, 567, 568

Inkle and Yarico

11

Innocence

34, 242

Inns of Court

49

Inquisition on maids and bachelors

320

Inquisitiveness

288

Insipid couple, an

522

Insolence

294

Instinct

120. 121, 181, 201, 519

Insults

150

Integrity

448, 557

Intemperance

195

Intentions

213, 257

Interest, worldly

185, 394

Invention

487

John a Nokes and John a Stiles, petition of

577

Johnson, the player

370

Jolly, Frank, memorial from the Infirmary

429

Jonathan's Coffee-house

1 Fn. 13

Jonson, Ben.

9, 28 Fn. 5, 33, 70

Joseph I., Emperor

43 Fn. 4, 45 Fn. 1, 353 Fn. 3

Josephus

110, 171

Journal

use of keeping a

of a deceased citizen for a week

of a lady

of three country maids

of the country Infirmary

317

317

323

332

440

Iras the witty

404

Irish widow-hunters

561

Irony

438

Iroquois chiefs in London

50

Irresolution

151, 162

Irus the rake

264

Isadas the Spartan

564

Italian

writers

opera and singers

5

1 Fn. 12, 5 Fn. 2, 13 Fn. 1, 18, 29, 258

Itch of writing

582

Judgment the offspring of time

514

Judgments

483, 548

Julian, Emperor

634

July and June described

425

Jupiter's distribution of calamities

558, 559

Justice

poetical

479, 564

40, 548

Juvenal

Dryden's

150, 209

37 Fn. 2

text

links

Kennet, Dr., on the origin of country wakes

161 Fn. 1

Kensington Gardens

477

Kimbow, Tom

24

King Lear

40

Kings, logic of

239

Kissing dances

67

Kitcat Club

9 Fn. 1

Kitchen music

570

Kitty, a jilt

187

Knaves

601

Knotting, as an employment for beaus

536

Knowledge

self

287, 379

399

Koran

94 Fn. 4

Labour

115, 161, 624

Lacedæmonians

67, 188, 207

Lackeys, The, of Ménager and Rechteren

481

Ladies

143, 435, 437, 607

Laertes, prodigal through shame of poverty

114

La Ferte, the dancing master

37 Fn. 2

Lætitia and Daphne, beauty and worth

33

Lampoons

16, 23, 35, 224

Lancashire Witches, the comedy

141

Language

English, effect of the war on the

European

brutal

165

405

400

Lapirius, generosity of

248

Lapland odes

366, 406

Larvati

32 Fn. 4

Lath, Squire, would give an estate for better legs

32

Latimer

465

Latin, effect of, on a country audience

221

Latinus, King, pressed for a soldier

22 Fn. 8, 53

Laughers at public places

168

Laughter

47, 52, 249, 494, 598, 630

Lawyers

21, 49, 456, 551

Lazy Club, the

323

Leaf, population of a

420

Learned, precedency among the

529

Learning

6, 105, 350, 353, 367, 469, 506

Leather, gilt, for furniture

609

Le Conte, Father

189 Fn. 4

Lee, Nathaniel

39 Fn. 6

Leo X.

497

Leonora's library

37, 163

Leontine and Eudoxus

123

Leopold I., Emperor

353 Fn. 3

Leti, Gregorio

632

Letters

Absence of lovers

241

Academy of Painting, from the

555

Ambassador of Bantam

557

Apology for a man of wit and pleasure

154

Author turned dealer

288

Bankrupt, from a, and answer

456

Bashfulness

231

Beauty, from a

87

Beauty destroyed by the small pox

306

Behaviour at church

236

Belinda to the shades

204

Benefactor

546

Blank, from a

563

Bowing and curtseying at church

460

Brook and Hellier's wine

362

Butts

175

Captain Sentry on the character of Sir Roger de Coverley, and on his own situation

544

Castle-builder, from a

167

Cat-calls

361

Censuring Spectator

158

Character of jilts

187

Chloë from her lover, with an account of his dreams

301

Choleric gentleman

563

Clergyman, to a

27

Coquette, from a

79

Coquette, and answer

254, 515

Cotquean

482

Country manners and conversation

474

Countryman to his mistress

324

Coverley, from Sir Roger de

264

Crazy man, from a supposed

577

Cries of London

251

Cruel Husbands

236

Dancing

334

Decay of the club

542

Demonstrations of grief

95

Detraction

348

Devotion, formal

79

Dumb Doctor

560

Education

330, 337, 353

Emperor of China to the Pope

545

Envil, Sir John, from, married to a lady of quality

299

Epilogues, against comic, to a Tragedy

338, 341

Epitaphs, on

518

Estcourt, from Dick

264

Eye, on the

252

Fair sex

298

Fan exercise

134

Fashion

66, 319

Father to his son

189

Female equestrians

104

Fortune-hunters

326

Fortune-stealers

311

Freeport, Sir Andrew, his retiring

549

Gardening

477

Greek

mottos

shopkeeper on his wife's Greek

271, 296

278

Hecatissa

48

Hen-pecked

husband, determined to be free

keepers

212

486

Hoop petticoat

127

Horace to Claudius Nero

493

Husband, to a

204

Husband likely to be ruined by his wife's accomplishments

328

Idler, from an

320

Idols

87

Impertinents

168

Jealous husband

527

Kissing

272

Lady insulted by her seducer—reflections on the subject

611

Languishing lover, from a

527

Law

480, 551

Leonora

163

Lillie, Chas., from

16

Lion, from a

136

Lottery ticket

242

Lover, from a

208

Lover's leap, on the

227

Mary Tuesday, from

24

Masquerades

8

Mercenary practice of men in the choice of wives

199

Modesty, on

484

Money, love of

450

Monkey, from a

343

Mother and son

263

Mottos

296

Naked shoulders

437

Natural son, from a

203

New-married couple, from a

364

Nose-pulling

268

Octavia complains of the ingratitude of her husband

322

Oxford correspondents

553

Parish-clerk on evergreens

284

Parthenia, from

140

Patching

268

Pert baggage, from a

560

Playhouse

36

Pliny to Hispulla

525

Poachers

168

Poetical justice

548

Poor and proud Jezebel

292

Powell, the Puppet-showman, commendation of

372

Prayers of clergymen before sermon

312

Prude, from a

364

Punning

396

Quaker

276

Rudeness

443

Rustic amusements

161

Scholar in love, from a

362

Seduction

208

Servants

202

Severity of schoolmasters

168

Sexton of St. Paul's, Covent Garden

14

Short face, Sophia in love with a

290

Silent lover, from a

304

Sly, Mr., on hats

532

Smallpox, lady marked with

613

Soldiers, from several

566

Spenser, merits of

540

Splenetic cured

134

Stage-coach, behaviour in a

242

Steele, from

274

Swinging

496

Talebearers

310

Templars turned Hackney-coachmen

498

Theatre, on the—on a musical scheme

258

Three thrifty ladies

332

Travelling

364

Ugly Club

52

Unhappy condition of women of the town

190

Untoward wife

194

Valetudinarian

25

Visiting

208

Wagerers and whistlers

145

Widow with two lovers, and answer

149

Widows' Club

573

Will. Honeycomb

131

Women's Men

158

Women taking snuff

344

Zelinda from her lover—his death

627

Letters, show temper of writers

283

Levées

193

Levity

234, 253

Liars

103, 167, 234

Libels

35, 451

Liberality

292, 346

Liberty

287

Library, female

37, 79, 92, 140

Liddy, Miss, reasons for differing in temper from her sister

396

Life

(domestic)

(human)

455

27, 93, 94, 143, 159, 202, 219, 222, 289, 317, 574, 575

Light

413

Ligon's History of Barbadoes

11 Fn. 2

Lillie, Charles

16, 46 Fn. 2, advertisement, 173 Fn. 3, 334 Fn. 1, 358

Lilly's Latin Grammar

221 Fn. 2

Lindamira allowed to paint

41

Lion, the, in the Haymarket

13 Fn. 1

Lipogrammatists

58 Fn. 1

Liszynski, a Polish atheist

389

Livy

409, 420

Lloyd's coffee-house

46 Fn. 1

Locke, John

37 Fn. 2, 62, 94, 121, 313, 373, 519, 557

Logic of kings

239

Loiterers

155

Loller, Lady, from the country infirmary

429

London

cries of

69, 200, 403

251

London and Wise, gardeners

5 Fn. 5, 477

Longings of Women

326

Longinus

229, 279 Fn. 6, 326, 339 Fns. 2-4, 489 Fn. 1, 633

Longitude

428 Fn. 1

Looking-glasses

325

Lorrain, Paul

338 Fn. 3

Lottery

191, 199

Love

casuist, the

4, 30, 47, 71, 118, 120, 142, 149, 161, 163, 199, 206, 241, 274, 304, 324, 325, 362, 366, 367, 376, 377, 397, 400, 475, 479, 506, 525, 561, 591, 596, 605, 607

591, 607, 614, 625

Love for Love, the comedy

189

Loveless, Biddy

196

Lovemore, Jeremy

596

Lovers' Leaps, the

225, 233

Loungers, the, at Cambridge

54

Loyola, Oldham's

17 Fn. 3

Lucceius, character of

206

Lucian

67, 283

Ludgate

82 Fn. 1

Lulli, Jean Baptiste

29 Fn. 3

Lute-string, advanced price of

21

Luxury

55, 195

Lying, party

507

Lysander, character of

522

Macbeth, incantation in

141

Machiavel

the she

406

561

Mademoiselle, the French Puppet

277

Magna Charta

2 Fn. 2

Mahomet's night journey

94 Fn. 4

Mahometans

85, 460, 631

Maids, inquisition on

320

Male

jilts

widows

birds

288

520

128

Malebranche

37 Fn. 2, 94 Fn. 3

Malvolio, a mixed character

238

Man

9, 115, 156, 162, 237, 238, 408, 441, 494, 519, 537, 564, 588, 624

Man of Mode, Etherege's

65

Manilius, in retirement

467

Mankind

444, 598

Manley, Mrs.

37 Fn. 2

Manner

292

Manuscript Note Book of Addison's

411 Fn. 2

Maple, Will

203

Maraton and Yaratilda

56

March, month of, described

425

Marcia's prayer in Cato

593

Marcus, son of Cicero

307

Mariamne

story of

466

171

Marius, Scipio's judgment of young

157

Marlborough, Duke of

26 Fn. 5, 139, dedication, 353 Fn. 3

Marriage

89, 113, 149, 181, 326, 254, 261, 268, 308, 322, 430, 479, 482, 490, 506, 522, 525, 533, 607

Martial

52, 446

Martyn, Henry

180 Fn. 1, 200, 232

Masquerades

8, 14 Fn. 1

Massacres

185

Master

a good

a bad

107

136, 201, 202

Mathematics

307

Mather, Charles, toyman

570

Matter

420, 519

Matter-of-fact man

521

Maundrell's Journey to Jerusalem

303 Fn. 2

May

dangerous to ladies

425

365, 395

Mazarine, Cardinal, and Quillet

23

Medals on the Spanish Armada

293

Mede's Clavis Apocalyptica

92 Fn. 2

Medicina Gymnastica, Fuller's

115 Fn. 2

Medlar, Mrs., of the Widows' Club

561

Memory

417, 471

Men

97, 145, 196, 264, 505, 510

Menagiana

60 Fn. 9

Ménager and Count Rechteren at Utrecht

481

Merab, with too much beauty and wit

144

Merchants

69, 174, 218, 428

Mercurialis Hieronymus

115 Fn. 3

Mercy

456

Merit

223, 340

Merry men

70

Messiah, Pope's

378

Metamorphoses, Ovid's

417

Metaphor

417, 421, 595

Methuen

Paul

treaty

dedication

43 Fn. 1, 140, 240, 417, 421, 425

Milton, Addison's papers on

267, 273, 279, 285, 291, 297, 303, 309, 315, 321, 327, 333, 339, 345, 351, 357, 363, 369, 417, 425, 463

Mimicry

416

Mind

455, 554

Minister of state, a watchful

439

Mint, arguments of the

239

Mirth

196, 358, 381

Mirza, Visions of

159

Mischief

564

Misers

624

Miseries

the mountain of

169

558, 559

Misfortune, a good man's struggle with, Seneca on

39 Fn. 1

Misfortunes, not to be called judgments

483

Mixt wit

62

Mode

6, 129, 145

Moderation

312

Modern writers

61, 249

Modest assurance

373

Modesty

6, 52, 154, 206, 231, 242, 296, 350, 354, 373, 390, 400, 435, 458, 484

Mohocks

324, 347

Moles

123

Molière

70

Moll Peatley, a dance

67 Fn. 3

Money

3, 422, 450, 456, 509

Monks

60

Monmouth, Duke of

2 Fn. 2

Monosyllables, English liking for

135

Monsters

412, 413, 418

Montague, Charles, Earl of Halifax

3 Fn. 9, dedication

Montgomery, Mr.

524

Monuments in Westminster Abbey

26

Montaigne

562

Moorfields

505

Moralists

196

Morality

446, 459, 465

More

Henry

Sir Thomas

86, 90 Fn. 1, 121

349

Moreton, Mr. John

546 Fn. 2

Mortality

bill of

289

377

Mosaic pavement

358 Fn. 1

Moses, tradition of

237

Mother

story of the Rival Mother

246

91

Motion in gods and mortals

369

Motteux, Peter

14 Fn. 1, 552

Motto

221

Mountebank

572

Mourning

64, 65, 575

Mouth, a padlock for the

533

Much cry but little wool

251

Mulberry Garden, the

96

Muley Moluc, last moments of

349

Muses, the mountain of the

514

Music

18, 29, 258, 278, 405, 416, 570, 630

Naked-shouldered females

437

Names of authors to their works

451

Natural History

22

Nature

153, 404, 408, 414, 588

Needlework

606, 609

Negroes

215

Neighbourhoods

49

Nemesis, an old maid who discovers judgments

483

Nero's nurse

246

Nettletop, Rebecca

190

New, the, in art

411, 412, 413, 415

Newberry, Mr., his rebus

59

New River

5

New Style

21 Fn. 1

News

425, 457, 625

Newton, Sir Isaac

37 Fn. 2, 543, 554, 565

Nicholas Hart, the sleeper

184

Nicodemuncio to Olivia, on being made an April fool

432

Nicolini, the singer

5, 13 Fn. 1, 235, 403

Night

425, 565, 582

Nightingale

383

Nigralia, a party lady, forced to patch on the wrong side

81

No, a word useful to women

625

Nobility

537

Northern hive, Sir W. Temple's

21 Fn. 4

Nose-pullers

268

Notable men

150

Novell, Lydia, complains of a rich lover

140

Novels

365

Novelty

412, 413, 626

November described

425

Numbering of houses

28 Fn. 2

Nutmeg of Delight, the

160

Oates, Titus

58 Fn. 4

Obedience to parents

189, 449

Obscurity

101, 406, 622

Obsequiousness

386

Ocean

489

October Club

9 Fn. 3

Ogilby, John

37 Fn. 2

Ogler, the Complete

46

Oldfield, Mrs.

546

Oldham's Loyola

17 Fn. 3

Old Style

21 Fn. 1

Olearius, travels of

426 Fn. 1

Omens, superstitious dread of

7

Omniamanta

144

Omnipotence

565

Omnipresence

572, 580

Oneirocritic

505

Opera

Italian

France

1 Fn. 12, 5 Fn. 2, 13 Fn. 1, 18, 29, 314

29 Fn. 4

Opinion, popular

460

Oratory

female

484, 633

247, 252

Orbicilla

390

Order

219

Orestilla, the great fortune

118

Oroondates, Statira to

199

Osborn's Advice to his Son

150

Ostentation

460

Otway

39 Fn. 7, 117, 456

Overdo, Justice, Ben Jonson's

48

Ovid

417, 439, 618

Oxford scholar at a coffee-house

46

Padlocks for the mouth

533

Pages in gentlemen's houses

214 Fn. 2

Painter's part in a tragedy

42

Painting

the art of

of the face

83, 129, 226, 555

41

Palmquist, Monsieur

43

Pamphilio, a good master

137

Pamphlets, defamatory

541

Pantheon

Penkethman's

at Rome

31 Fn. 3

415

Paradin, Guillaume

98 Fn. 3

Paradise of Fools

460

Paradise Lost, Addison's papers on

267, 273, 279, 285, 291, 297, 303, 309, 315, 321, 325, 327, 333, 339, 345, 354, 357, 363, 369

Parents

21, 150, 181, 189, 192, 235, 263, 313, 330, 449, 532, 539

Parish clerks, advice to

372

Parker, Richard

474 Fn. 3

Parnassus, Vision of

514

Parnell, Thomas

460 Fn. 1

Parricide, how punished in China

189

Parthenia, letter of, upon the ladies' library

140

Party

patches

57, 125, 126, 243, 399, 432, 507

81

Particles, English

18

Pascal

116 Fn. 3

Pasquinades

23 Fn. 5

Passion

of the fan

202, 438, 528

102

Passions, the

31, 71, 215, 224, 255, 408, 418, 564

Pastorals, Philips's

523

Patches

party use of

50

81

Patience

312, 501, 559

Patrons

214

Paul Lorrain

338

Paul, Saint

633

Paul's Cathedral, St., Indian kings on

50

Peace

negotiations

45

45 Fn. 1

Pearce, Zachary

572

Pedants

105, 286, 617

Pedigrees, vanity of

612

Peepers

53

Peevish fellow, a

438

Penkethman, W.

31 Fn. 3, 370 Fn. 5

Penruddock's rising in the West

313 Fn. 3

Penseroso, Il

425

Pentathlum

161

People, the wealth of a country

200

Pericles

81, 633

Perrault, Charles

279 Fn. 11, 303 Fn. 3

Perry, Mrs.

92 Fn. 1

Persecution, religious

459

Persian

education

soldier reproved

99, 189, 337

427

Persius

379

Peter the Great

compared with Louis XIV.

43 Fn. 2

139

Petronius

his story of the Ephesian lady

mood of, at death

11 Fn. 1

349

Petticoat

politicians

109, 127, 140

305

Petty, Sir William

200

Phædra and Hippolitus, a tragedy

18 Fn. 9

Pharamond

his edict against duelling

letter to

76 Fn. 1, 84 Fn. 1

97

480

Phidias

415

Philanthropy

177

Philantia, a votary

79

Philips, Ambrose

223 Fn. 2, 229, 290 Fn. 2, 338 Fn. 2, 400, 523, 578

Philopater on his daughter's dancing

466

Philosophers

195, 634

Philosophy

7, 10, 22, 175, 201, 393, 420

Phocion

133, 188, 448

Phœbe and Colin, a poem

603

Physic

195

Physicians

16, 21, 25, 234

Physiognomy

86, 206, 518

Pictures

67, 83, 107, 109, 226, 244, 248, 416, 418

Picts, what women are

41

Piety

201

Pindar

160, 467

Pindaric writing

58 Fn. 5

Pin money

295

Piper of Hamelin, the

5

Pisistratus

527

Pitchpipe

228

Pittacus, a saying of

574

Pity

208, 397, 418, 442, 588

Pix, Mary

51 Fn. 8

Places of trust

469, 629

Plain dealing

460

Planets

420

Planting

583, 589

Plato

23 Fn. 2, 86 Fn. 12, 90, 183, 211 Fn. 2, 237, 507, 624

Platonic love

400

Players

141, 370, 502, 529

Plays, modern

22, 592

Pleaders

197

Pleasant fellows

462

Pleasure

146, 151, 152, 183, 312, 424, 600, 624

Pleasures of Imagination, Essays on

411-421

Pliny

230, 467 Fn. 1, 484 Fn. 1, 525, 554

Plot, Robert

447 Fn. 1

Plutarch

125 Fn. 1, 180, 188, 229, 483, 494, 507

Poacher, request from a

168

Poetry

39, 40, 44, 51, 58, 220, 253, 314, 405, 417, 418, 419, 421

Poetical justice

40, 548

Polite imaginations

411

Politeness

119

Political arithmetic

200

Politicians

43, 305, 403, 556, 567, 568

Poll, a way of arguing

239

Polycarpus, beloved by all

280

Pompey

293

Pontignon, M.

90

Poor, the

200, 232 Fn. 3, 430

Pope, Alexander

his Essay on Criticism

an idea from

commended

his Pastorals

his Messiah

Letter and Verses

on Adrian's dying words

his Miscellany

65 Fn. 2

210 Fn. 1

253 Fn. 2

223 Fn. 2

378

527

532

523

Popular applause

188

Porta, Baptista della, on Physiognomy

86 Fn. 6

Posterity

101, 583

Postman, newspaper

1 Fn. 8

Pottière, Dominic, a French privateer

350

Poverty

150, 464

Powell, junior, his Puppet-show

14 Fn. 2, 31 Fn. 5, 372

Powell, George, the actor

31 Fn. 4, 40

Power, despotic

287

Praise

38, 73, 188, 238, 349, 467, 551

Prayer

207, 236, 312, 391

Precedence

119, 529

Précieuses, the

45 Fns. 2 & 4

Prediction, vulgar arts of

505

Preface to the Bishop of St. Asaph's Sermons

384

Prejudice

101, 263, 432

Prepossession

117

Prerogative

480

Presumption

187

Pride

33, 201, 394, 462

Prince, Mr., dances of

466

Princes, good and bad

139

Printing

166, 367, 582

Prior

141

Procrastination

151

Procrustes, bed of

58

Prodicus

183

Professions, the three learned

21

Projector of town entertainments, a

31

Promisers

448

Pronunciation

451

Prospects

411, 412, 418

Prosperity

237

Prosper, Will.

19, 20

Proverbs of Solomon, in verse

410

Providence

120, 237, 293, 441, 543

Prudence

293

Prudes at the play

208

Psalm

xxiii. translated

cxiv.

cxxxix.

singing in church

441

461

399

205

Psalmanazar, George

14 Advertisement Fn. 1

Pugg the Monkey, Adventures of

343

Pulvillios

63 Fn. 1

Punchinello

14

Punishments in school

157

Puns

61, 396, 454, 504

Puppet-show, Powell's

14 Fn. 2

Purcell, Henry

29 Fn. 3

Puzzle, Tom, in argument

476

Pyramids of Egypt

415

Pyrrhus, King

180

Pythagoras

447, 586

Quacks

444, 547 Fn. 1, 572

Quakers

396

Quality

34, 219

Queries in love

625

Quick, Mrs., of the Widows' Club

561

Quidnunc, Tom

625

Quillet, Claude

23 Fn. 4

Quintilian

168

Quir, Peter de, on Puns

396

Quixote, Don, patron of Sigher's Club

30

Rabelais

283

Racine

39 Fn. 4

Rack

239

Radcliffe, Dr. John

468 Fn. 4

Raillery

422

Rainbow

coffee-house

415

16 Fn. 1

Rakes

336, 576

Raleigh, Sir W.

510

Ramble from Richmond to the Exchange

454

Ramsey, Will., the astrologer, describes night

582

Rant

40

Rape of Proserpine, a French opera

29

Raphael

226, 244, 467

Rapin, Réné

44 Fn. 3, 291 Fn. 2

Rattling Club at church

630

Read, Sir Wm., oculist

472, 547 Fn. 1

Readers

1, 62, 93, 94, 179

Reason

6, 120, 408, 447

Rebus

59

Rechteren, Count, and M. Ménager

481 Fn. 3

Recitative

29

Reciters

521

Recluse, the

282

Recommendations, letters of, generally unjust and absurd

493

Recreations

258

Rehearsal, Buckingham's

3 Fn. 7

Religion

201, 213, 292, 356, 447, 459, 471, 483, 494, 574

Renatus Valentinus, story of

426

Rentfree, Sabina, letter on greensickness

431

Repository for fashions

487

Reproach

594

Reproof

382

Reputation

218, 467

Retirement

4, 27, 249, 425, 467, 549, 613

Revelation

600

Reveries

167

Revenge of a Spanish lady

611

Rhubarb, John, Esq., from the Infirmary

429

Rhyme, the Æneid in

60

Rhynsault, story of

491

Rich, Christopher

258 Fn. 1

Riches

140, 145, 150, 280, 282, 283, 294, 456, 464, 574

Richelieu, Cardinal

305

Ridicule

150, 249, 445, 446

Riding

dress of ladies

115

435

Rinaldo and Armida, opera of

5 Fn. 2, 14

Riot

180

Rival Mother, story of the

91

Rivers, Colonel

204 Fn. 3

Roarers

474

Robin the Porter at Will's Coffeehouse

398

Rochester, John Wilmot, Earl of

2 Fn. 3

Roman

ladies     education

understanding

81

313

502

Rope-dancing

141

Rosalinda

a Whig partizan

reformation of

the handsome, to the Ugly Club

81

87

87

Rosamond, Clayton's opera of

18 Fn. 1

Rosamond's Bower

281

Roscommon, Earl of

44 Fn. 4, 253 Fn. 4

Rose Tavern, the

2 Fn. 6

Rosicrucius, story of sepulchre of

379

Royal Exchange neglected

509

Royal Progress, Tickell's poem of the

620

Royal Society

121, 262 Fn. 4

Runnet, Mrs., of the Widows' club

561

Ruricola, his son and daughter

192

Rusticity

400

Rusty Scabbard, on the fighters at the Bear garden

449

Rycaut, Sir Paul

343

Rymer

267 Fn. 1

Sabine ladies

81

St. Evremond, Sieur de

33 Fn. 1

St. James's

Park

Coffee-house

109 Fn. 9, 1 Fn. 1

Sacheverell, Henry

57 Fn. 4

Salamanders, an Order of Ladies

198

Sallust

409

Salmon, Mrs., her waxwork

28 Fn. 4, 31 Fn. 1

Salutations

259, 270, 460

Sanctorius, the chair of

25 Fn. 2

Santer, Betty, letter from

140

Sapper, Thomas, his epitaph

518

Sappho

223, 229, 233

Sarasin, I. F.

60 Fn. 11

Satires

209, 256, 451, 473, 568

Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter, story from the

11 Fn. 1

Saudades

204

Saul, David, his epitaph

518

Saunter, Mrs., snuff-taker

344

Scale of being

519

Scaliger

562

Scandal

426, 427, 562

Scaramouch

283

Scarecrow the Beggar

6

Scarron, Paul

17 Fn. 1

Scarves, vanity of, in clergy

609

Scawen, Sir William

546 Fn. 2

Scheffer's Northern odes

366, 406

Scholar's egg

58

Schoolmasters

157, 168, 313

Schoolmen's case of the ass

191

Scipio

157

Scolds

479, 482

Scornful Lady, Comedy of the

270

Scott, Dr., on the Christian Life

447 Fn. 6

Scribblers

445, 582

Scudery

37 Fn. ?[3], 241

Scurlock, Miss, letters to, adapted to the praise of marriage

142

Sea

489

Seasons, dream of the

425

Second sight in Scotland

604

Segrais, his threefold distinction of readers

62 Fn. 7

Self-conceit

460

Self-denial

206, 248

Self-examination

399, 586

Self-love

17, 192, 238, 426, 588

Self-murder

231

Self-tormentor of Terence

521

Semanthe, who paints well

404

Semiramis

415

Sempronia

who admires the French

match-maker

45

437

Seneca

37, 39 Fn. 1, 77 Fn. 1, 93, 569

Sense

6, 172, 259, 519

Sentry, Captain

2 Fn. 7, 34, 152, 197, 350, 517

September described

425

Serle's Coffee-house

49 Fn. 1

Sermons

633

Servants

88, 96, 107, 137, 202

Settlement, Act of

3 Fn. 5

Seven

632

Severity in schools

408

Sexes

43, 156, 400

Sextant

428 Fn. 1

Sextus V., Pope

23

Shadows and realities

5

Shadwell

35 Fn. 2

Shakespeare

49, 54, 141, 168, 419, 562

Shalum and Hilpa, story of

584

Sheepishness

484

She-Machiavels

561

Sheffield, John, Duke of Buckingham

253 Fn. 4, 462 Fn. 3

Shepheard, Miss

92 Fn. 1, 140, 163

Shepherd, eminent for tossing eggs

160

Shepherd's pipe, poem in shape of a

58

Sherlock on Death

37 Fn. 2, 289, 447

She would if she could, a comedy

51

Ship in storm

489

Shoeing horns, men used as

536

Shoe-strings

150

Short face, the Spectator's

17, 48

Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, monument of

26 Fn. 6

Shows

193, 235, 271

Sickness, a thought in

513

Sidney, Sir Philip

70, 400

Sight

second

411, 472

604

Sighers' Club

30

Signs of houses

28 Fn. 2

Silence

the Spectator's

514

4, 12

Silk-worms, what women are

454

Similes

160, 421, 455

Simonides

209 Fn. 1

Sincerity

103, 352

Singing, verses on a lady's

433

Singularity

576

Sippet, Jack, who breaks appointments

448

Sir Martin Mar-all, Dryden's

5 Fn. 1

Skiomachia

115 Fn. 3

Slavery

287

Sleep

586, 593, 597

Sleeper, the annual

184

Slovens

150

Sly, haberdasher

187 Fn. 1, 526, 532, 534, 545

Smithfield bargain in marriage

304

Snap, Mrs., of the Widows' Club

561

Snape, Dr., charity sermon by

294

Snarlers

438

Snuff

344 Fn. 1

Snuff-box

138

Society

422

Socrates

23, 54, 67, 86, 133, 146, 183, 195, 207, 213, 239, 247, 408, 479, 486, 500, 558

Soho Square

2 Fn. 2

Soldiers

152, 544, 566

Solitude

4, 158, 264, 406, 425, 514

Solomon's Song, paraphrase of part of

388

Somers, Sir John

dedication

Song with notes

470

Songs of Sion

405

Sophocles, Electra of

44

Sorites in logic

239

Sorrow

95, 312, 397

Soul, the

56, 111, 116, 237, 413, 487, 600, 602

Sounds

416

Southerne

40 Fn. 2, 481

Space, infinite

564

Spanish Friar, Dryden's

267 Fn. 13

Spanish Succession, War of the

26 Fn. 5, 45 Fn. 1, 64 Fn. 2, 353 Fn. 3

Sparkes, John, of Coventry

436 Fn. 2

Sparkish, Will., a modern husband

479

Sparrows for the opera

5

Spartans

6, 307, 564

Speakers, loud

148

Spectator, the

his Club

himself

trade of the paper

stamp duty

Nahum Tate on the

1 Fn. 15

2, 34

1, 4, 12, 34

46 Fn. 2, 499 Fn. 1, 533 Fn. 1

455 Fn. 1

488

Speech, organs of

231

Spenser

390, 419, 540

Spies

202, 439

Spinamont on duels

84

Spirits

12, 110, 419

Spite in a beauty

156

Spleen

53, 588

Sprat, Dr. Thomas

114 Fn. 3

Spring

393, 423

Squeezing the hand

119

Squire's Coffee-house

39 Fn. 1

Squires

529

Staffordshire, Dr. Plot's Natural History of

447 Fn. 1

Stage, the

370, 440, 446

Stage-coach

in a

-men

131, 242, 513 474

Staincoat Hole, at Cambridge

397

Stamp Act

445 Fn. 1

Starch, political

305

Starers

20, 250

Stars, the

420, 565

Stationers

304, 579

Statira, a pattern for women

41

Statuary

416

Steele

censures a passage in his Funeral

love-letters

his paper omitted in the reprint

Cibber on his literary relation to Addison

51

142

328 Fn. 1

546 Fn. 1

Stepney, epitaphs at

518

Sternhold, Thomas

205 Fn. 4

Stint, Jack, and Will. Trap

448

Stock's Market

462

Stoics

243, 307

Stonesfield, the Roman pavement at

358 Fn. 1

Storm at sea

489

Strada

241, 617

Stratonica

229

Strife

197

Stripes for perverse wives

479

Strolling players

48

Stubbs, Rev. Philip

147 Fn. 1

Style, New and Old

21 Fn. 1

Subjects, value of, to a prince

200

Sublime in writing

117, 152, 592, 633

Sudden, Thomas, Esq., from the Infirmary

429

Sukey's adventure with Sir Roger and Will. Honeycomb

410

Syllogisms

239

Syrinx of Theocritus, the

58 Fn. 3

Summer in England

393

Sun, the

250, 412

Sunday in the country

112

Superiority

6, 202, 219

Superstition

7, 201, 213

Surgeon, Italian, advertisement of an

after No. 23

Surprise

62, 538

Susanna(h)[4], puppet-show of

14 Fn. 2

Swallow, Lady Catherine, of the Widows' Club

561

Swearing

233, 332, 371, 448, 531

Swift

23 Fn. 1, 50 Fn. 1, 226 Fn. 1, 265 Fn. 3, 324 Fn. 2 353 Fn. 1, 445 Fn. 1, 504 Fn. 1

Swingers at Tunbridge Wells

492

Sydenham, Dr. Thomas

25 Fn. 1

Sylvester, Joshua

58 Fn. 4

Sylvia, in choice of husband, hesitates between riches and merit

149

Symmetry

411, 632

Syncopists, modern

567

Syncopius the passionate

438

Syracusan prince, the jealous

579

Tale-bearers

19, 439

Talents

172

Tartars, a conceit of the

126

Taste

29, 140, 208, 379 Fn. 3, 409 Fn. 1, 447

Tate, Nahum

488

Tattle, Letitia, her trained birds

36

Tavern Tyrants

508

Tax on eminence

101

Tears

95

Temper

181, 424, 598

Temperance

195

Templar, the

2, 34

Temple, Sir W.

21 Fn. 4, 37 Fn. 2, 195 Fn. 4

Ten

221

Terence

170, 502

Terror

418

Terset, Harry, and his lady, indolent

100

Tetractys

221 Fn. 4

Thales quoted

594

Thames described

454

That, remonstrance of

80

Theatres

36, 40, 42, 44, 51, 65, 141 Fn. 2, 602

Themista, a confidant

118

Themistocles

311

Theocritus

58 Fn. 3

Theodosius and Constantia

164

Theognis quoted

464

Theon, Pindar's saying of

467

Theory of the Earth, Burnet's, quoted

146

Thersites

17 Fn. 2

Thimbleton, Ralph, his calamity

432

Thinking aloud

211

Thirst

22

Thornhill, Mr., his duel

84 Fn. 3

Thrash, Will, and his wife, insipid

522

Throne of God

580, 600

Thunder, stage

36, 44

Tickell

523 Fn. 1, 532

Tillotson

103 Fn. 1, 106 Fn. 4, 293, 352, 447, 600

Tilt Yard, Whitehall

109 Fn. 1

Time

83, 93, 316

Titian

292

Title-page, Antony, stationer

304

Titles

204, 219, 480

Tofts, Mrs.

18 Fn. 1, 22 Fn. 3

Toleration, Act of

3 Fn. 4

Tom Touchy

122

Tom Trusty

479

Tom the Tyrant, at the coffee-house

49

Tombs in Westminster Abbey

26

Tomtits in the Opera

5

Tonson, Jacob

9 Fn. 1

Tories

50, 58 Fn. 4

Torture

239, 418

Townly, Frank, letter of

560

Trade

2, 69, 109, 283, 443

Tragedy

39, 40, 42, 44, 279 Fn. 1

Tranquillity

196, 425

Transmigration of souls

211, 343, 408

Trap, Mr., letter to Mr. Stint

448

Travel

45, 93, 364, 474

Trees

414, 589

Triflers

432

Trojans, modern

239, 245

Trophonius, cave of

598, 599

Trott, Nell, waiter on the Ugly Club

17

Truby's, Widow, water

329

Truepenny, Jack, the good-natured

82

Trunkmaker, at the play

235

Trust in God

441

Trusty, Tom, a servant, account of

96

Truth

63, 103, 352, 507

Tryphiodorus

59

Tumbling

141

Tunbridge Wells

492, 496

Tuperty, Mrs., a flirt

202

Turner, Sir William

509

Tyrants

508

Vainlove family, the

454

Valentine, Basil

Currus Triumphalis

a legend of

94 Fn. 1

426 Fn. 1

Valerio resolves to be a poet

404

Valetudinarians

100, 143, 395

Vanini

389 Fn. 4

Vanity

16, 255, 380, 460, 514

Vapours in women

115

Variety

408, 600

Varillas, the cheerful

100

Venice Preserved, Otway's

39

Venus

127, 417, 425

Vernal delight

393

Versifying, artificial

220 Fn. 4

Vertot, the Abbé

349 Fn. 2

Ugly Club

17, 32, 48, 52, 78

Vice

137, 151, 243, 624

Victor, a genteel politician

150

Villacerse, death of Madame de

368

Villars, Abbé de

379 Fn. 4

Vinci, Leonardo da

554

Viner, Sir Robert, familiar with Charles II.

462 Fn. 2

Virgil

70, 90, 273, 351, 404, 417, 514, 610

Virtue

93, 104, 219, 240, 243, 248, 266, 394, 399, 520

Virtuoso, a female

242

Vision

of Calamities

of Credit

of Fame     Hearts

Mirza

Misery

Mountain of the Muses

Painters

Scales

Seasons

Vanity

Wit, true and false

558, 559

3

81

563

159

604

514

83

463

425

460

63

Visits

24, 45 Fn. 2, 208

Understanding

6, 420, 438

Uniformity, Act of

3 Fn. 3

Universe, the

420

Unlearned, proposal for publishing works of the

457

Vocifer, how he passed for a fine gentleman

75

Volumes, dignity of

124

Voluntaries at church

630

Votaries

79

Vowels

135

Uranius has composure of soul

143

Usurpers, tavern

508

Utrecht, the Peace Negotiation at

481 Fn. 3

Vulcan's dogs

579

Waddle, Lady, of the Widows' Club

561

Wagers

145, 521 Fn. 1

Wake, Colonel

313 Fn. 3

Wakes, country

161

Wall of China

415

Waller

148, 158, 224

Wall's Infant Baptism

92 Fn. 2

Want, fear of

114

War, the, in Queen Anne's reign

26 Fn. 5, 43 Fns. 1-5, 45 Fn. 1, 64 Fn. 2, 353 Fn. 3, 521 Fn. 1

War news, greed for

452

Wasps in public

300

Watchman and goose

376

Watts, Dr. Isaac

461 Fn. 1

Wax-work, Mrs. Salmon's, fifteen images burnt on Queen Elizabeth's birthday

262 Fn. 3

Way of the World, Congreve's

204

Wealth

469, 506, 601

Weaver on dancing

466

Wedlock

525

Weed, Ephraim

450

Weights showing true values

463

Wenham, Jane, the last condemned witch

117 Fn. 4

West Enborne in Berkshire, custom of

614

Westminster Abbey

26, 329

Westminster boy and colours taken at Blenheim

139

Wharton, Thomas, Earl of

dedication

Whichenovre in Staffordshire, custom of

607

Whigs

50, 58 Fn. 4

Whims

371

Whining

630

Whisperers

148, 168, 457

Whispering place of Dionysius

439

Whistling match

179

White, Moll, a witch

117, 268

Whittington and his Cat v. Rinaldo and Armida

14 Fn. 2, 31 Fn. 5

Who and Which, petition of

78

Widow, the perverse, Sir Roger's love for

113, 115, 118

Widows

male

311, 561, 573, 606, 614, 623

520

Wife

199, 479, 490, 525

Wigs

the lawyer's

319, 631 Fn. 1

407

Wildfire, widow, of the Widows' Club

561

Wilks the comedian

370

William III.

468 Fn. 4, 516

William, Sir Roger's huntsman

118

Willow Kate, Sir Roger's character of

118

Wills' Coffee-house

1 Fn. 6

Wimble, Will

108, 109, 126, 131, 268

Wine

140, 147, 181, 362 Fn. 5

Wings, verse in the form of

58

Winstanley's Water Theatre

168

Winter Gardens

477

Winter piece by Ambrose Philips

393

Wisdom

225

Wit, Addison's Essays on

58-63, 6, 23, 35 Fn. 2, 38, 140, 151, 169, 179, 220, 270, 416, 422, 514, 522

Wits

404, 509

Witchcraft

61, 117 Fn. 4, 268, 419

Wolsey

624

Woman's Man, the

57, 156

Women

a republic of

4, 10, 15, 33, 53, 57, 79, 81, 92, 95, 98, 104, 128, 154, 155, 156, 158, 159, 182, 208, 209, 243, 247, 252, 261, 265, 274, 320, 342, 343, 365, 390, 433, 486, 506, 510, 511, 606, 625

416

Words

373, 416

Works of art

414

World, the

27, 111, 387, 519

Worriers

304

Wortley, Hon. E.

71 Fn. 2

Writers

166, 379, 409, 417, 422, 568, 582

Wycherley's Plain Dealer

354 Fn. 2

Xenophon

169, 337, 354 Fn. 1, 537, 564

Ximena, Colley Cibber's

546

Yaratilda and Maraton, story of

56

Yarico, Inkle and, story of

11

Yawning, a Christmas game

179

Year, the, described

425

Youth

153

Zeal

57, 185, 399

Zelinda, perfidious

627

Zemboade, Queen, story of

578

Zimri, Dryden's character of

162

Zoilus

279 Fn. 10

Footnote 1:

return to footnote mark

Footnote 2:

return

Footnote 3:

return

Footnote 4:Spectator

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Table of Contents

The Spectator

The Spectator

original advertisement

Preface

Original Dedication

No. 1

Thursday, March 1, 1711

Addison

No. 2

Friday, March 2, 1711

Steele

No. 3

Thursday, March 1, 1711

Addison

No. 4

Monday, March 5, 1711

Steele

No. 5

Tuesday, March 6, 1711

Addison

No. 6

Wednesday, March 7, 1711

Steele

No. 7

Thursday, March 8, 1711

Addison

No. 8

Friday, March 9, 1711

Addison

No. 9

Saturday, March 10, 1711

Addison

No. 10

Monday, March 12, 1711

Addison

No. 11

Tuesday, March 13, 1711

Steele

No. 12

Wednesday, March 14, 1711

Addison

No. 13

Thursday, March 15, 1711

Addison

No. 14

Friday, March 16, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 15

Saturday, March 17, 1711

Addison

No. 16

Monday, March 19, 1711

Addison

No. 17

Tuesday, March 20, 1711

Steele

No. 18

Wednesday, March 21, 1711

Addison

No. 19

Thursday, March 22, 1711

Steele

No. 20

Friday, March 23, 1711

Steele

No. 21

Saturday, March 24, 17111

Addison

No. 22

Monday, March 26, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 23

Tuesday, March 27, 17111

Addison

No. 24

Wednesday, March 28, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 25

Thursday, March 29, 1711

Addison

No. 26

Friday, March 30, 1711

Addison

No. 27

Saturday, March 31, 1711

Steele

No. 28

Monday, April 2, 1711

Addison

No. 29

Tuesday, April 3, 1711

Addison

No. 30

Wednesday, April 4, 17111

Steele

No. 31

Thursday, April 5, 1711

Addison

No. 32

Friday, April 6, 1711

Steele

No. 33

Saturday, April 7, 1711

Steele

No. 34

Monday, April 9, 1711

Addison

No. 35

Tuesday, April 10, 1711

Addison

No. 36

Wednesday, April 11, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 37

Thursday, April 12, 1711

Addison

No. 38

Friday, April 13, 1711

Steele

No. 39

Saturday, April 14, 1711

Addison

No. 40

Monday, April 16, 1711

Addison

original advertisement

No. 41

Tuesday, April 17, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 42

Wednesday, April 18, 1711

Addison

No. 43

Thursday, April 19, 1711

Steele

No. 44

Friday, April 20, 1711

Addison

No. 45

Saturday, April 21, 1711

Addison

No. 46

Monday, April 23, 1711

Addison

No. 47

Tuesday, April 24, 1711

Addison

No. 48

Wednesday, April 25, 1711

Steele

No. 49

Thursday, April 26, 1711

Steele

No. 50

Friday, April 27, 17111

Addison

No. 51

Saturday, April 28, 1711

Steele

No. 52

Thursday, April 2, 1711

Addison

No. 53

Tuesday, May 1, 1711

Steele

No. 54

Wednesday, May 2, 1711

Steele

No. 55

Thursday, May 3, 1711

Addison

No. 56

Friday, May 4, 1711

Addison

No. 57

Saturday, May 5, 1711

Addison

No. 58

Monday, May 7, 1711

Addison

No. 59

Tuesday, May 8, 1711

Addison

No. 60

Wednesday, May 9, 1711

Addison

No. 61

Thursday, May 10, 1711

Addison

No. 62

Friday, May 11, 1711

Addison

No. 63

Saturday, May 12, 1711

Addison

No. 64

Monday, May 14, 1711

Steele

No. 65

Tuesday, May 15, 1711

Steele

No. 66

Wednesday, May 16, 1711

Steele

No. 67

Thursday, May 17, 1711

Budgell1

Postscript

No. 68

Friday, May 18, 1711

Addison

No. 69

Saturday, May 19, 1711

Addison

No. 70

Monday, May 21, 1711

Addison

No. 71

Tuesday, May 22, 1711

Steele

No. 72

Wednesday, May 23, 1711

Addison

No. 73

Thursday, May 24, 1711

Addison

No. 74

Friday, May 25, 1711

Addison

No. 75

Saturday, May 26, 1711

Steele

No. 76

Monday, May 28, 1711

Steele

No. 77

Tuesday, May 29, 1711

Budgell

No. 78

Wednesday, May 30, 1711

Steele

No. 79

Thursday, May 31, 1711

Steele

No. 80

Friday, June 1, 1711

Steele

Dedication to the Second Volume as Originally Issued

No. 81

Saturday, June 2, 1711

Addison

No. 82

Monday, June 4, 1711

Steele

No. 83

Tuesday, June 5, 1711

Addison

No. 84

Wednesday, June 6, 1711

Steele

No. 85

Thursday, June 7, 1711

Addison

No. 86

Friday, June 8, 1711

Addison

No. 87

Saturday, June 9, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 88

Monday, June 11, 1711

Steele

No. 89

Tuesday, June 12, 1711

Addison

No. 90

Wednesday, June 13, 1711

Addison

No. 91

Thursday, June 14, 1711

Steele

No. 92

Friday, June 15, 1711

Addison

No. 93

Saturday, June 16, 1711

Addison

No. 94

Monday, June 18, 1711

Addison

No. 95

Tuesday, June 19, 1711

Steele

No. 96

Wednesday, June 20, 1711

Steele

No. 97

Thursday, June 21, 1711

Steele

No. 98

Friday, June 22, 1711

Addison

No. 99

Saturday, June 23, 1711

Addison

No. 100

Monday, June 25, 1711

Steele

No. 101

Tuesday, June 26, 1711

Addison

No. 102

Wednesday, June 27, 1711

Addison

No. 103

Thursday, June 28, 1711

Steele

No. 104

Friday, June 29, 1711

Steele

No. 105

Saturday, June 30, 1711

Addison

No. 106

Monday, July 2, 1711

Addison

No. 107

Tuesday, July 3, 1711

Steele

No. 108

Wednesday, July 4, 1711

Addison

No. 109

Thursday, July 5, 1711

Steele

No. 110

Friday, July 6, 1711

Addison

No. 111

Saturday, July 7, 1711

Addison

No. 112

Monday, July 9, 1711

Addison

No. 113

Tuesday, July 10, 1711

Steele

No. 114

Wednesday, July 11, 1711

Steele

No. 115

Thursday, July 12, 1711

Addison

No. 116

Friday, July 13, 1711

Budgell

No. 117

Saturday, July 14, 1711

Addison

No. 118

Monday, July 16, 1711

Steele

No. 119

Tuesday, July 17, 1711

Addison

No. 120

Wednesday, July 18, 1711

Addison

No. 121

Thursday, July 19, 1711

Addison

No. 122

Friday, July 20, 1711

Addison

No. 123

Saturday, July 21, 1711

Addison

No. 124

Monday, July 23, 1711

Addison

No. 125

Tuesday, July 24, 1711

Addison

No. 126

Wednesday, July 25, 1711

Addison

No. 127

Thursday, July 26, 1711

Addison

No. 128

Friday, July 27, 1711

Addison

No. 129

Saturday, July 28, 1711

Addison

No. 130

Monday, July 30, 1711

Addison

No. 131

Tuesday, July 31, 1711

Addison

No. 132

Wednesday, August 1, 1711

Steel

No. 133

Thursday, August 2, 1711

Steele

No. 134

Friday, August 3, 1711

Steele

No. 135

Saturday, August 4, 1711

Addison

No. 136

Monday, August 6, 1711

Steele

No. 137

Tuesday, August 7, 1711

Steele

No. 138

Wednesday, August 8, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 139

Thursday, August 9, 1711

Steele

No. 140

Friday, August 10, 1711

Steele

No. 141

Saturday, August 11, 1711

Steele

No. 142

Monday, August 13, 1711

Steele

No. 143

Tuesday, August 14, 1711

Steele

No. 144

Wednesday, August 15, 1711

Steele

No. 145

Thursday, August 16, 1711

Steele

No. 146

Friday, August 17, 1711

Steele

No. 147

Saturday, August 18, 1711

Steele

No. 148

Monday, August 20, 1711

Steele

No. 149

Tuesday, August 21, 1711

Steele

No. 150

Wednesday, August 22, 1711

Budgell

No. 151

Thursday, August 23, 1711

Steele

No. 152

Friday, August 24, 1711

Steele

No. 153

Saturday, August 25, 1711

Steele

No. 154

Monday, August 27, 1711

Steele

No. 155 1

Tuesday, August 28, 1711

Steele

No. 156

Wednesday, August 29, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 157

Thursday, August 30, 1711

Steele

No. 158

Friday, August 31, 1711

Steele

No. 159

Saturday, September 1, 1711

Addison

No. 160

Monday, September 3, 1711

Addison

No. 161

Tuesday, September 4, 1711

Budgell

No. 162

Wednesday, September 5, 1711

Addison

No. 163

Thursday, September 6, 1711

Addison

No. 164

Friday, September 7, 1711

Addison

No. 165

Saturday, September 8, 1711

Addison

No. 166

Monday, September 10, 1711

Addison

No. 167

Tuesday, September 11, 1711

Steele

No. 168

Wednesday, September 12, 1711

Steele

No. 169

Thursday, September 13, 1711

Addison

original dedication

No. 170

Friday, September 14, 1711

Addison

No. 171

Saturday, September 15, 1711

Addison

No. 172

Monday, September 17, 1711

Steele

No. 173

Tuesday, September 18, 1711

Addison

No. 174

Wednesday, September 19, 1711

Steele

No. 175

Thursday, September 20, 1711

Budgell

No. 176

Friday, September 21, 1711

Steele

No. 177

Saturday, September 22, 1711

Addison

No. 178

Monday, September 24, 1711

Steele

No. 179

Tuesday, September 25, 1711

Addison

No. 180

Wednesday, September 26, 1711

Steele

No. 181

Thursday, September 27, 1711

Addison

No. 182

Friday, September 28, 1711

Steele

No. 183

Saturday, September 29, 1711

Addison

No. 184

Monday, October 1, 1711

Addison

No. 185

Tuesday, October 2, 1711

Addison

No. 186

Wednesday, October 3, 1711

Addison

No. 187

Thursday, October 4, 1711

Steele

original advertisement

No. 188

Friday, October 5, 1711

Steele

No. 189

Saturday, October 6, 1711

Addison

No. 190

Monday, October 8, 1711

Steele

No. 191

Tuesday, October 9, 1711

Addison

No. 192

Wednesday, October 10, 1711

Steele

No. 193

Thursday, October 11, 1711

Steele

No. 194

Friday, October 12, 1711

Steele

No. 195

Saturday, October 13, 1711

Addison

No. 196

Monday, October 15, 1711

Steele

No. 197

Tuesday, October 16, 1711

Budgell

No. 198

Wednesday, October 17, 1711

Addison

No. 199

Thursday, October 18, 1711

Steele

No. 200

Friday, October 19, 1711

Steele1

No. 201

Saturday, October 20, 1711

Addison

No. 202

Monday, October 22, 1711

Steele

The Spectator

No. 203

Tuesday, October 1, 1711

Addison

No. 204

Wednesday, October 24, 1711

Steele

No. 205

Thursday, October 25, 1711

Addison

No. 206

Friday, October 26, 1711

Steele

No. 207

Saturday, October 27, 1711

Addison

No. 208

Thursday, October 1, 1711

Addison

No. 209

Tuesday, October 30, 1711

Addison

No. 210

Wednesday, October 31, 1711

John Hughes

No. 211

Thursday, November 1, 1711

Addison

No. 212

Friday, November 2, 1711

Steele

No. 213

Saturday, November 3, 1711

Addison

No. 214

Monday, November 5, 1711

Steele

No. 215

Tuesday, November 6, 1711

Addison

No. 216

Wednesday, November 7, 1711

Steele

No. 217

Thursday, November 1, 1711

Budgell

No. 218

Friday, November 9, 1711

Steele

No. 219

Saturday, November 10, 1711

Addison

No. 220

Monday, November 12, 1711

Steele

No. 221

Tuesday, November 13, 1711

Addison

No. 222

Wednesday, November 14, 1711

Steele

No. 223

Thursday, November 15, 1711

Addison

No. 224

Friday, November 16, 1711

Hughes

No. 225

Saturday, November 17, 1711

Addison

No. 226

Monday, November 19, 17111

Steele

Advertisement

No. 227

Tuesday, November 20, 1711

Addison

No. 228

Wednesday, November 21, 1711

Steele

No. 229

Thursday, November 22, 1711

Addison

No. 230

Friday, November 23, 1711

Steele

No. 231

Saturday, November 24, 1711

Addison

No. 232

Monday, November 26, 1711

Hughes1

No. 233

Tuesday, November 27, 1711

Addison

No. 234

Wednesday, November 28, 1711

Steele

No. 235

Thursday, November 29, 1711

Addison

No. 236

Friday, November 30, 1711

Steele

No. 237

Saturday, December 1, 1711

Addison

No. 238

Monday, December 3, 1711

Steele

No. 239

Tuesday, December 4, 1711

Addison

No. 240

Wednesday, December 5, 1711

Steele

No. 241

Thursday, December 6, 1711

Addison

No. 242

Friday, December 7, 1711

Steele

No. 243

Saturday, December 8, 1711

Addison

No. 244

Monday, December 10, 1711

Steele

No. 245

Tuesday, December 11, 1711

Addison

No. 246

Wednesday, December 12, 1711

Steele

No. 247

Thursday, December 13, 1711

Addison

No. 248

Friday, December 14, 1711

Steele

No. 249

Saturday, December 15, 1711

Addison

No. 250

Monday, December 17, 1711

No. 251

Tuesday, December 18, 1711

Addison

Dedication of the Fourth Volume of The Spectator

No. 252

Wednesday, December 19, 1711

Steele

No. 253

Thursday, December 20, 1711

Addison

No. 254

Friday, December 21, 1711

Steele

No. 255

Saturday, December 22, 1711

Addison

No. 256

Monday, December 24, 1711

Addison

No. 257

Tuesday, December 25, 17111

Addison

No. 258

Wednesday, December 26, 1711

Steele

No. 259

Thursday, December 27, 1711

Steele

No. 260

Friday, December 28, 1711

Steele

No. 261

Saturday, December 29, 1711

Addison

No. 262

Monday, December 31, 1711

Steele

No. 263

Tuesday, January 1, 1712

Steele

No. 264

Wednesday, January 2, 1712

Steele

No. 265

Thursday, January 3, 1712

Addison

No. 266

Friday, January 4, 1712

Steele

No. 267

Saturday, January 5, 1712

Addison

No. 268

Monday, January 7, 1712

Steele

No. 269

Tuesday, January 8, 1712

Addison

No. 270

Wednesday, January 9, 1712

Steele

No. 271

Thursday, January 10, 1712

Addison

No. 272

Friday, January 11, 1712

Steele

Advertisement

No. 273

Saturday, January 12, 1712

Addison

No. 274

Monday, January 14, 1712

Steele

No. 275

Tuesday, January 15, 1712

Addison

No. 276

Wednesday, January 16, 1712

Steele

No. 277

Thursday, January 17, 1712

Budgell

No. 278

Friday, January 18, 1712

Steele

No. 279

Saturday, January 19, 1712

Addison

No. 280

Monday, January 21, 1712

Steele

No. 281

Tuesday, January 22, 1712

Addison

No. 282

Wednesday, January 23, 1712

Steele

No. 283

Thursday, January 24, 1712

Budgell

No. 284

Thursday, January 1, 1712

Addison

No. 285

Saturday, January 26, 1712

Addison

No. 286

Monday, January 28, 1712

Steele

No. 287

Tuesday, January 29, 1712

Addison

No. 288

Wednesday, January 30, 1712

Steele

No. 289

Thursday, January 31, 1712

Addison

No. 290

Friday, February 1, 1712

Steele

No. 291

Saturday, February 2, 1712

Addison

No. 292

Monday, February 4, 1712

Addison

No. 293

Tuesday, February 5, 1712

Addison

No. 294

Wednesday, February 6, 1712

Steele

No. 295

Thursday, February 7, 1712

Addison

No. 296

Friday, February 8, 1712

Steele

No. 297

Saturday, February 9, 1712

Addison

No. 298

Monday, February 11, 1712

Steele

No. 299

Tuesday, February 12, 1712

Addison

No. 300

Wednesday, February 13, 1712

Steele

No. 301

Thursday, February 14, 1712

Budgell

No. 302

Friday, February 15, 1712

Steele

No. 303

Saturday, February 16, 1712

Addison

No. 304

Monday, February 18, 1712

Steele

No. 305

Tuesday, February 19, 1712

Addison

No. 306

Wednesday, February 20, 1712

Steele

No. 307

Thursday, February 21, 1712

Budgell

No. 308

Friday, February 22, 1712

Steele

No. 309

Saturday, February 23, 1712

Addison

No. 310

Monday, February 25, 1712

Steele

No. 311

Tuesday, February 26, 1712

Addison

No. 312

Wednesday, February 27, 1712

Steele

No. 313

Thursday, February 28, 1712

Budgell

No. 314

Friday, February 29, 1712

Steele

Advertisement

No. 315

Saturday, March 1, 1712

Addison

No. 316

Monday, March 3, 1712

John Hughes

No. 317

Tuesday, March 4, 1712

Addison

No. 318

Wednesday, March 5, 1712

Steele

No. 319

Thursday, March 6, 1712

Budgell

No. 320

Friday, March 7, 1712

Steele

No. 3211

Saturday, March 8, 1712

Addison

Dedication of the Fifth Volume of The Spectator

No. 322

Monday, March 10, 1712

Steele

No. 323

Tuesday, March 11, 1712

Addison

No. 324

Wednesday, March 12, 1712

Steele

No. 325

Thursday, March 13, 1712

Budgell

No. 326

Friday, March 14, 1712

Steele

No. 327

Saturday, March 15, 1712

Addison

No. 3281

Monday, March 17, 1712

Steele

No. 328 (b)

Monday, March 17, 1712

Addison

No. 329

Tuesday, March 18, 1712

Addison

No. 330

Wednesday, March 19, 1712

Steele

No. 331

Thursday, March 20, 1712

Budgell

No. 332

Friday, March 21, 1712

Steele

No. 333

Saturday, March 22, 1712

Addison

No. 334

Monday, March 24, 1712

Steele

No. 335

Tuesday, March 25, 1712

Addison

No. 336

Wednesday, March 26, 1712

Steele

No. 337

Thursday, March 27, 1712

Budgell

No. 338

Friday, March 28, 1712

No. 339

Saturday, March 29, 1712

Addison

No. 340

Monday, March 31, 1712

Steele

No. 341

Tuesday, April 1, 1712

Budgell1

No. 342

Wednesday, April 2, 1712

Steele

No. 343

Thursday, April 3, 1712

Addison

No. 344

Friday, April 4, 1712

Steele

No. 345

Saturday, April 5, 1712

Addison

No. 346

Monday, April 7, 1712

Steele

No. 347

Tuesday, April 8, 1712

Budgell

No. 348

Wednesday, April 9, 1712

Steele

No. 349

Thursday, April 10, 1712

Addison

No. 350

Friday, April 11, 1712

Steele

No. 351

Saturday, April 12, 1712

Addison

No. 352

Monday, April 14, 1712

Steele

No. 353

Tuesday, April 15, 1712

Budgell

No. 354

Wednesday, April 16, 1712

Steele

No. 355

Thursday, April 17, 1712

Addison

No. 356

Friday1, April 18, 1712

Steele

No. 357

Saturday, April 19, 1712

Addison

No. 358

Monday, April 21, 1712

Steele

No. 359

Tuesday, April 22, 1712

Budgell

No. 360

Wednesday, April 23, 1712

Steele

No. 361

Thursday, April 24, 1712

Addison

No. 362

Friday, April 25, 1712

Steele

No. 363

Saturday, April 26, 1712

Addison

No. 364

Monday, April 28, 1712

Steele

No. 365

Tuesday, April 29, 1712

Budgell

No. 366

Wednesday, April 30, 1712

Steele

No. 367

Thursday, May 1, 1712

Addison

No. 368

Friday, May 2, 1712

Steele

No. 369

Saturday, May 3, 1712

Addison

No. 370

Monday, May 5, 1712

Steele

No. 371

Tuesday, May 6, 1712

Addison

No. 372

Wednesday, May 7, 1712

Steele

No. 373

Thursday, May 8, 1712

Budgell

No. 374

Friday, May 9, 1712

Steele

No. 375

Saturday, May 10, 1712

Hughes

No. 376

Monday, May 12, 1712

Steele

No. 377

Tuesday, May 13, 1712

Addison

No. 378

Wednesday, May 14, 1712

Pope

No. 379

Thursday, May 15, 1712

Budgell

No. 380

Friday, May 16, 1712

Steele

No. 381

Saturday, May 17, 1712

Addison

No. 382

Monday, May 19, 1712

Steele

No. 383

Tuesday, May 20, 1712

Addison

No. 384

Wednesday, May 21, 1712

Steele

No. 385

Thursday, May 22, 1712

Budgell

No. 386

Friday, May 23, 1712

Steele

No. 3871

Saturday, May 24, 1712

Addison

No. 388

Monday, May 26, 1712

Barr?1

No. 389

Tuesday, May 27, 1712

Budgell

No. 390

Wednesday, May 28, 1712

Steele

No. 391

Thursday, May 29, 1712

Addison

No. 392

Friday, May 30, 1712

Steele

No. 393

Saturday, May 31, 1712

Addison

No. 394

Monday, June 2, 1712

Steele

Dedication of the Sixth Volume of The Spectator

No. 395

Tuesday, June 3, 1712

Budgell

No. 396

Wednesday, June 4, 1712

Henley

No. 397

Thursday, June 5, 1712

Addison

No. 398

Friday, June 6, 1712

Steele

No. 399

Saturday, June 7, 1712

Addison

No. 400

Monday, June 9, 1712

Steele

No. 401

Tuesday, June 10, 1712

Budgell

No. 402

Wednesday, June 11, 1712

Steele

No. 403

Thursday, June 12, 1712

Addison

No. 404

Friday, June 13, 1712

Budgell

No. 405

Saturday, June 14, 1712

Addison

No. 406

Monday, June 16, 1712

Steele

No. 407

Tuesday, June 17, 1712

Addison

No. 408

Wednesday, June 18, 1712

Pope

No. 409

Thursday, June 19, 1712

Addison

No. 410

Friday, June 20, 1712

Tickell

No. 411

Saturday, June 21, 1712

Addison

No. 412

Monday, June 23, 1712

Addison

No. 413

Tuesday, June 24, 1712

Addison

No. 414

Wednesday, June 25, 1712

Addison

No. 415

Thursday, June 26, 1712

Addison

No. 416

Friday, June 27, 1712

Addison

The Spectator

Advertisement

No. 417

Saturday, June 28, 1712

Addison

Advertisement

No. 418

Monday, June 30, 1712

Addison

No. 419

Tuesday, July 1, 1712

Addison

No. 420

Wednesday, July 2, 1712

Addison

No. 421

Thursday, July 3, 1712

Addison

No. 422

Friday, July 4, 1712

Steele

No. 423

Satday, July 5, 1712

Steele

No. 424

Monday, July 7, 1712

Steele

No. 425

Tuesday, July 8, 1712

Budgell

No. 426

Wednesday, July 9, 1712

Steele

No. 427

Thursday, July 10, 1712

Steele

No. 428

Friday, July 11, 1712

Steele

No. 429

Saturday, July 12, 1712

Steele

No. 430

Monday, July 14, 1712

Steele

No. 431

Tuesday, July 15, 1712

Steele

No. 432

Wednesday, July 16, 1712

Steele

No. 433

Thursday, July 17, 1712

Addison

No. 434

Friday, July 18, 1712

Addison

No. 435

Saturday, July 19, 1712

Addison

No. 436

Monday, July 21, 1712

Steele

No. 437

Tuesday, July 22, 1712

No. 438

Wednesday, July 23, 1712

Steele

No. 439

Thursday, July 24, 1712

Addison

No. 440

Friday, July 25, 1712

Addison

No. 441

Saturday, July 26, 1712

Addison

No. 442

Monday, July 28, 1712

Steele

No. 443

Tuesday, July 29, 1712

Steele

No. 444

Wednesday, July 30, 1712

Steele

No. 445

Thursday, July 31, 1712

Addison

No. 446

Friday, August 1, 1712

Addison

No. 447

Saturday, August 2, 1712

Addison

No. 448

Monday, August 4, 1712

Steele

No. 449

Tuesday, August 5, 1712

Addison

No. 450

Wednesday, August 6, 1712

Steele

No. 451

Thursday, August 7, 1712

Addison

No. 452

Friday, August 8, 1712

Addison

No. 453

Saturday, August 9, 1712

Addison

No. 454

Monday, August 11, 1712

Steele

No. 455

Tuesday, August 12, 1712

Steele

No. 456

Wednesday, August 13, 1712

Steele

No. 457

Thursday, August 14, 1712

Addison

No. 458

Friday, August 15, 1712

Addison

No. 459

Saturday, August 16, 1712

Addison

No. 460

Monday, August 18, 1712

Parnell1

No. 461

Tuesday, August 19, 1712

Steele

No. 462

Wednesday, August 20, 1712

Steele

No. 463

Thursday, August 21, 1712

Addison

No. 464

Friday, August 22, 1712

Addison

No. 465

Saturday, August 23, 1712

Addison

No. 466

Monday, August 25, 1712

Steele

No. 467

Tuesday, August 26, 1712

John Hughes?

No. 468

Wednesday, August 27, 1712

Steele

No. 469

Thursday, August 28, 1712

Addison

No. 470

Friday, August 29, 1712

Addison

No. 471

Saturday, August 30, 1712

Addison

No. 472

Monday, September 1, 1712

Steele

No. 473

Tuesday, September 2, 1712

Steele

Dedication of the Seventh Volume of The Spectator

No. 474

Wednesday, September 3, 1712

Steele

No. 475

Thursday, September 4, 1712

Addison

No. 476

Friday, September 5, 1712

Addison

No. 477

Saturday, September 6, 1712

Addison

No. 478

Monday, September 8, 1712

Steele

No. 479

Tuesday, September 9, 1712

Steele

No. 480

Wednesday, September 10, 1712

Steele

No. 481

Thursday, September 11, 1712

Addison

No. 482

Friday, September 12, 1712

Addison

No. 483

Saturday, September 13, 1712

Addison

No. 484

Monday, September 15, 1712

Steele

No. 485

Tuesday, September 16, 1712

Steele

Advertisement

No. 486

Wednesday, September 17, 1712

Steele

No. 487

Thursday, September 18, 1712

Addison

No. 488

Friday, September 19, 1712

Addison

No. 489

Saturday, September 20, 1712

Addison

No. 490

Monday, September 22, 1712

Steele

No. 491

Tuesday, September 23, 1712

Steele

No. 492

Wednesday, September 24, 1712

Steele

No. 493

Thursday, September 25, 1712

Steele

No. 494

Friday, September 26, 1712

Addison

No. 495

Saturday, September 27, 1712

Addison

No. 496

Monday, September 29, 1712

Steele

No. 497

Thursday, September 30, 1712

Steele

No. 498

Wednesday, October 1, 1712

Steele

No. 499

Thursday, October 2, 1712

Addison

No. 500

Friday, October 3, 1712

Addison

No. 501

Saturday, October 4, 1712

Parnell

No. 502

Monday, October 6, 1712

Steele

No. 503

Tuesday, October 7, 1712

Steele

No. 504

Wednesday, October 8, 1712

Steele

No. 505

Thursday, October 9, 1712

Addison

No. 506

Friday, October 10, 1712

Budgell

No. 507

Saturday, October 11, 1712

Addison

No. 508

Monday, October 13, 1712

Steele

No. 509

Tuesday, October 14, 1712

Steele

No. 510

Wednesday, October 15, 1712

Steele

No. 511

Thursday, October 16, 1712

Addison

No. 512

Friday, October 17, 1712

Addison

No. 513

Saturday, October 18, 1712

Addison

No. 5141

Monday, October 20, 1712

Steele

No. 515

Tuesday, October 21, 1712

Steele

No. 516

Wednesday, October 22, 1712

Steele

No. 517

Thursday, October 23, 1712

Addison

No. 518

Friday, October 24, 1712

Steele1

No. 519

Saturday, October 25, 1712

Addison

No. 520

Monday, October 27, 1712

Francham1

No. 521

Tuesday, October 28, 1712

Steele

No. 522

Wednesday, October 29, 1712

Steele

No. 523

Thursday, October 30, 1712

Addison

No. 524

Friday, October 31, 1712

No. 525

Saturday, November 1, 1712

John Hughes

No. 526

Monday, November 3, 1712

Steele

No. 527

Tuesday, November 4, 1712

No. 528

Wednesday, November 5, 1712

Steele

No. 529

Thursday, November 6, 1712

Addison

No. 530

Friday, November 7, 1712

Addison

No. 531

Saturday, November 8, 1712

Addison

No. 532

Monday, November 10, 1712

Steele

No. 533

Tuesday, November 11, 1712

Steele

No. 534

Wednesday, November 12, 1712

Steele

No. 535

Thursday, November 13, 1712

Addison

No. 536

Friday, November 14, 1712

Addison

No. 537

Saturday, November 15, 1712

J. Hughes

No. 538

Monday, November 17, 1712

Addison

No. 539

Tuesday, November 18, 1712

Budgell

No. 540

Wednesday, November 19, 1712

Steele

No. 541

Thursday, November 20, 1712

John Hughes

No. 542

Friday, November 21, 1712

Addison

No. 543

Saturday, November 22, 1712

Addison

No. 544

Monday, November 24, 1712

Steele

No. 545

Tuesday, November 25, 1712

Steele

No. 546

Wednesday, November 26, 1712

Steele

No. 547

Thursday, November 27, 1712

Addison

No. 548

Friday, November 28, 1712

No. 549

Saturday, November 29, 1712

Addison

No. 550

Monday, December 1, 1712

Addison

No. 551

Tuesday, December 2, 1712

No. 552

Wednesday, December 3, 1712

Steele

No. 553

Thursday, December 4, 1712

Addison

No. 554

Friday, December 5, 1712

John Hughes

No. 555

Saturday, December 6, 1712

Steele

Dedication of the Eighth Volume of The Spectator

No. 556

Friday, June 18, 1714

Addison1

No. 557

From Friday, June 18, to Monday, June 21, 1714

Addison

No. 558

Wednesday, June 23, 1714

Addison

No. 559

Friday, June 25, 1714

Addison

No. 560

Monday, June 28, 1714

Addison

No. 561

Wednesday, June 30, 1714

Addison

No. 562

Friday, July 2, 1714

Addison

No. 563

Monday, July 5, 1714

No. 564

Wednesday, July 7, 1714

No. 565

Friday, July 9, 1714

Addison

No. 566

Monday, July 12, 1714

No. 567

Wednesday, July 14, 1714

Addison

No. 568

Friday, July 16, 1714

Addison

No. 569

Monday, July 19, 1714

Addison

No. 570

Wednesday, July 21, 1714

No. 571

Friday, July 23, 1714

Addison

No. 572

Monday, July 26, 1714

Z. Pearce1

No. 573

Wednesday, July 28, 1714

No. 574

Friday, July 30, 1714

Addison

No. 575

Monday, August 2, 1714

Addison

No. 576

Wednesday, August 4, 1714

Addison

No. 577

Friday, August 6, 1714

No. 578

Monday, August 9, 1714

No. 579

Wednesday, August 11, 1714

Addison

No. 580

Friday, August 13, 1714

Addison

No. 581

Monday, August 16, 1714

Addison

No. 582

Wednesday, August 18, 1714

No. 583

Friday, August 20, 1714

Addison

No. 584

Monday, August 23, 1714

Addison

No. 585

Wednesday, August 25, 1714

Addison

No. 586

Friday, August 27, 1714

John Byrom1

No. 587

Monday, August 30, 1714

John Byrom

No. 588

Wednesday, September 1, 1714

H. Grove1

No. 589

Friday, September 3, 1714

No. 590

Monday, September 6, 1714

Addison

No. 591

Wednesday, September 8, 1714

Budgell

No. 592

Friday, September 10, 1714

Addison

No. 593

Monday, September 13, 1714

Byrom

No. 594

Wednesday, September 15, 1714

No. 595

Friday, September 17, 1714

No. 596

Monday, September 20, 1714

No. 597

Wednesday, September 22, 1714

Byrom

No. 598

Friday, September 24, 1714

Addison

No. 599

Monday, September 27, 1714

No. 600

Wednesday, September 29, 1714

Addison

No. 601

Friday, October 1, 1714

Henry Grove

No. 602

Monday, October 4, 1714

Budgell

No. 603

Wednesday, October 6, 1714

Byrom

No. 604

Friday, October 8, 1714

No. 605

Monday, October 11, 1714

Budgell

No. 606

Wednesday, October 13, 1714

No. 607

Friday, October 15, 1714

No. 608

Monday, October 18, 1714

Addison1

No. 609

Wednesday, October 20, 1714

No. 610

Friday, October 22, 1714

No. 611

Monday, October 25, 1714

No. 612

Wednesday, October 27, 1714

No. 613

Friday, October 29, 1714

No. 614

Monday, November 1, 1714

No. 615

Wednesday, November 3, 1714

No. 616

Friday, November 5, 1714

No. 617

Monday, November 8, 1714

No. 618

Wednesday, November 10, 1714

No. 619

Friday, November 12, 1714

No. 620

Monday, November 15, 1714

Tickell

No. 621

Wednesday, November 17, 1714

No. 622

Friday, November 19, 1714

No. 623

Monday, November 22, 1714

Addison1

No. 624

Wednesday, November 24, 1714

No. 625

Friday, November 26, 1714

No. 626

Monday, November 29, 1714

Henry Grove

No. 627

Wednesday, December 1, 1714

No. 628

Friday, December 3, 1714

No. 629

Monday, December 6, 1714

No. 630

Wednesday, December 8, 1714

No. 631

Friday, December 10, 1714

No. 632

Monday, December 13, 1714

No. 633

Wednesday, December 15, 1714

Z. Pearce

No. 634

Friday, December 17, 1714

No. 635

Monday, December 20, 1714

Henry Grove

The Spectator

Additional Notes

to No. 123

To Nos. 453, 461, and 465.

Translations of the Mottos

Some Advertisements from the Original Numbers of the Spectator

Index

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE