some people should say will the Characters never be finisht shall we never see any thing else from this Author On one side several men of good sense told me the matter is solid useful pleasant inexhaustible live a long while and treat on 't without interruption as long as you live What can you do better The follies of Mankind will every year furnish you with a Volume While others with a great deal of reason made me apprehend the capriciousness of the multitude and the levity of the people with whom however I have good cause to be content These were always suggesting to me that for these 30 years past few have read with any other intent than for the sake of readingâ— and that to amuse the world there should be Chapters and a new Titleâ— that this humour of indifference had fill'd the Shops and stockt the Age with Piles of dull and tedious Books without stile or meaning rules or order contrary to decency or manners written in haste read with precipitation and taking a while only for their Novelty They added further if I could not enlarge a sensible Book I had best sit quiet and do nothingâ— I in some measure took both their Advices as opposite as they seem to be and observ'd a medium which disagrees with neither I don't pretend to have added any new Remarks to those which already had doubled the bulk of the first Edition of my Book but that the publick might not be oblig'd to read over what was done before to come at what has been added since and that they may immediately find out what they would only read I have taken care to distinguish the 2d augmentation by a greater mark and the first by a less as well to shew the progress of my Characters as to guide the Reader in the choice he might be willing to make And lest they should be afraid I shall never have done with these additions I add to all my exactness the sincere promise to venture on nothing more of this kind If any one accuses me with breaking my word by adding in the sixth Edition a few remarks I confess ingenuously I had not the power to suppress ' em He may perceive by mingling what was new with what was old without any mark of distinction I did not so much endeavour to entertain the world with novelties as to deliver down to posterity a Book of Manners more pure regular and compleat To conclude what I have written are not design'd for Maxims those are like Laws in Morality and I have neither Genius nor Authority sufficient to qualifie me for a Legislator I know well enough I have offended against the customs of Maxims which are deliver'd in short and concise terms like the manner of Oracles Some of my remarks are of this kind others are more extended We think things differently one from another and we express 'em in a turn altogether as differentâ— By a Sentence an Argument a Metaphor or some other Figure a Parallel a simple Comparison by one continuâ—d in all parts or in a single passage by a Description or a Picture from whence proceeds the length or shortness of my Reflexions Those who write Maxims would be thought infallible on the contrary I allow any body to say of me my Remarks are not always good provided he will himself make better OF Polite Learning WE are come too late after above seven thousand years that there have been men and men have thought to say any thing which has not been said already The finâ—st and most beautiful thoughts concerning manners are carry'd away before us and we can do nothing now but glean after the Ancients and the most ingenious of the Moderns * We must only endeavour to think and speak justly our selves without aiming to bring others over to our taste and sentimentâ— We shall find that too great an enterprize * To make a Book is like making a Pendulum a Man must have Experience as well as Wit to succeed in it A certain Magistrate arriving by his merit to the first dignities of the Gown thought himself qualifyâ—d for every thing He printed a Treatise of Morality and publish'd himself a Coxcomb * T is not so easie to raise a reputation by a compleat work as to make an indifferent one valu'd by a reputation already acquir'd * A Satire or a Libel when 't is handed privately from one to another with strict charge of secrecy if 't is but mean in it self passes for wonderful the printing it would ruin its râ—putation * Take away from most of our Moral Essays the Advertisement to the Reader the Epistle Dedicatory the Preface the Table and the Commendatory Verses there will seldom be enough left to deserve the name of a Book * Several things are insupportable if they are but indifferent as Poetry Music Painting and Public Speeches 'T is the worst punishment in the world to hear a dull Declamation deliver'd with Pomp and Solemnity and bad Verses rehears'd with the Emphasis of a wretched Poet. * Some Poets in their Dramatic pieces are fond of big Words and â—ounding Verses which seem strong elevated and sublime The people stare gape and hear 'em greedily They are transported at what they fancy is rare and where they understand leaâ—t are sure to aâ—mire mostâ— They scarce allow themselves time to breathe and are loth to be interrupted by Claps or Applauses When I was young I imagin'd these places were clear and intelligible to the Author the Pit Boxes and Galleries that the Actors understood 'em and that I was in the wrong to know nothing of the matter after much attention But I am now undeceiv'd * There never was seen any piece excellent in its kind that was the joint labour of several men Homer writ his Iliads Virgil his Eneidsâ— Livy his Decades and Cicero his Orations * As there is in Nature so there is in â—rt a point of Perfection He who is sensible of it and is toucht with it has a good taste He who is not sensible of it but is wavering has a vicious taste Since then there is a good and a bad taste we may with reason dispute the difference * Every one has more fire than judgment or rather there are few men of Wit who are good Criticks The Lives of Heroes have enrich'd History and History has adorn'd the Actions of Heroes And thus 't is difficult to tell who are most indebted the Historians to those who furnish'd 'em with such noble materials or the Great Men to their Historians * 'T is a sorry commendation that is made up of a heap of Epithetes 't is actions and the manner of relating 'em which speak a mans praise * The chief Art of an Author consists in making good definitions good pictures Moses Homer Plato Virgil and Horace excel other Writers mostly in their Expressions and Images Truth is the best guide to make a man write forcibly naturally and delicately * We
familiar Letters and Conversation a great delicacy or rather is not Wit and Delicacy the Sublime of those Works where they make the Perfection What is this Sublime and in what does it consist Synonyma's are several Dictions or Phrases that signifie the same thing An Antithesis is the opposition of two Truths which give light to each other A Metaphor or comparison borrows from a Strange thing the natural and sensible Image of a True one An Hyperbole expresses things above Truth to reclaim the mind that it may the better understand it The Sublime paints nothing but the Truth only in a noble subject it paints it all entire in its causes and effects 'T is the Expression or Image most worthy the dignity of the Truth it treats of Little Wits cannot find the simple Expression and use Synonyma's Young Men are dazled with the Lustre of an Antithesis and generally make use of ' em True Wits who would be exact in their images are for Metaphors and Comparisons Quick Wits full of fire and vast imagination carry themselves above Rules or Justice and are never satisfyâ—d without an Hyperbole As for the Sublime 't is only in the greatest Genius's the highest Elevation they can attain * Every one who would write purely should put himself in the place of his Readers examine his own work as a thing that is new to him which he never read before where he is not at all concern'd and the Author must submit to the Critick He should not suppose another Man will understand his Writings because he understands 'em himself but forasmuch as they are in themselves really intelligible An Author should not only endeavour to make himself understood he must strive to inform us of such things as deserve it He ought 't is true to have pure Language and a chast Expression but they ought also to express lively noble and solid thoughts full of good Sense and sound Reason He prostitutes Chastity and Clearness of Stile who wastes it on some frivolous puerile dull and common subject having neither Spirit Fire nor Novelty Where the Reader may perhaps easily find out the meaning of the Author but he is much more certain to be tir'd with his productions If we aim to be profound in certain Writings if we affect a polite Turn and sometimes too much Delicacy 't is meerly for the good opinion we have of our Readers * We have this disadvantage in reading Books written by Men of Party and Cabal We seldom meet with the Truth in 'em Actions are there disguisâ—d the reasons of both sides are not alledg'd with all their force nor with an entire exactness He who has the greatest patience must read abundance of hard injurious reflexions on the gravest men with whom the Writer has some personal quarrel about a point of Doctrine or matter of Controversie These Books are particular in this that they deserve not the prodigious Sale they find at their first appearance nor the profound Oblivion that attends 'em afterwards When the fury and division of these Authors cease they are forgotten like an Almanack out of date 'T is the Glory and Merit of some men to write well and of others not to write at all * For this last twenty years we have been regular in our Writings We have faithfully observ'd Construction and enricht our Language with new Words thrown off the yoke of Latinism and reduc'd our stile to a pure French phrase We have almost found again the numbers which Malherbe and Balzaâ— hit upon first and so many Authors after 'em suffer'd to be lost We have in short brought into our discourses all the order and clearness they are capable of and this will insensibly lead us at last to add Wit * There are some Artists and skilful men whose Genius is as vast as the Art or Science they profess They restore with Interest by their Contrivance and Invention what they borrow from its Principals They frequently break through the rules of Art to ennoble it and thwart the common roads if they don't conduct 'em to what is great and extraordinary They go alone they leave their company a long way behind whilst they are by themselves mounting high and penetrating far into the secrets of their profession Embolden'd by their success and encourag'd by the advantages they draw from their irregularity Whilst men of ordinary soft and moderate parts as they can never reach 'em so they never admire 'em they can't comprehend and much less imitate ' em They live peaceably within the compass of their own sphere aiming at a certain point which makes the bounds of their insight and capacity They go no farther because they see nothing beyond it They are at best but the first of a second Class and excellent in mediocrity * I may venture to call certain Wits Inferiour or Subaltern they seem as if they were born only to collect register and raise Magazines out of the productions of other Geniusâ—s They are Plagiaries Translators or Compilers They ne're think but tell you what other men have thought And as the good choice of thoughts proceeds from Invention having none of their own they are seldom just in their Collections but choose rather to make 'em large than excellent They know nothing of what they learn and learn what the rest of the World are unwilling to know a vain and useless Science neither agreeable or profitable in commerce or conversation Like false Money it has no currency for we are at once surpriz'd with these Coxcombs reading and tir'd with their company and writings However the Great ones and the Vulgar mistake 'em for men of Learning but Wise men know very well what they are and rank 'em with the Pedants * Criticism is commonly a Trade not a Science it requireâ— more Health than Wit more Labour than Capacity and Habit than Genius If a person pretends to it who has less discernment than reading he will be at a loss where to exercise himself and corrupt his own judgment as well as his Readers * I advise an Author born only to Copy who in extream Modesty works after another Man to chuse for his patterns such Writings as are full of Wit Imagination and even good Learning If he does not understand his Originals he may at least come at 'em and read ' em He ought on the contrary to avoid as he would Destruction any desire to imitate those who write by humour who speak from their hearts which inspires 'em with figures and terms and draw if I may say it from their very Entrails what they express on their paper These are dangerous Models and will infallibly make him write meanly dully and ridiculously Besides I should laugh at a Man who would seriously endeavour to speak in my tone of voice or be like me in the face * A Man born a Christian and a Frenchman is confin'd in Satire Some Subjects are forbidden him by the greatness of their quality others
performance before he has begun the Sermon time they sleep and only wake to applaud him There are none who so warmly engage in behalf of an Author His works are Read â—ither in the leisure of a retirement or in the silence of a Closet There are not publick meetings to cry him up no party zealous to prefer him to all his Rivals and to advance him to the Prelacy His Book how excellent soever it may be is read but with an intention to find it indifferent Every leaf is folded down and convast 'T is not like sounds lost in the Air and forgotten what is printed remains so Sometimes 't is expected a month or two before it comes out with an impatience to damn it The greatest pleasure that some find in it is to Criticize on it 'T is a Vexation to 'em to meet with passages in every Page which ought to please nay often they are afraid of being diverted and quit a Book only because 't is good Every body do's not pretend to be a Preacher The Phrases Figures Memory and Gown of a Divine are things all people are not fond of appropriating to themselves whereas every one imagines that he thinks well and that he can express himself still better than he thinks which makes him less favourable to one that thinks and writes as well as himself In a word the Parson is advanc'd to a Bishoprick sooner than the most judicious Writer is to a small Priory New Favours still are heap'd on him while the more deserving Author is content to take up with his refuse * If it happens that the wicked hate and persecute you good men advise you to humble your self before God and to watch against the Vanity which may arise in you from having displeas'd people of that Character so when some certain men subject to exclaim against all things as indifferent disapprove your works or your discourse whether spoken at the Bar or in the Pulpit humble your self for you can't be expos'd to a greater temptation to pride * A Preacher methinks ought in every one of his Sermons to make choice of one principal truth whether it be to move terror or to yield instruction and to handle that alone largely and fully omitting all those foreign divisions and subdivisions which are so intricate and perplext I wou'd not have him presuppose a thing that 's really falâ—e which is that great Men understand the Religion they profess and so be afraid to instruct persons of their Wit and Breeding in their Catechism let him employ the long time he 's a composing a set formal discourse in making himself master of his subject that so the turn and expression may of course flow easily from him Let him after some necessary preparation yield himself up to his own Genius and to the emotions with which a great subject will inspire him Let him spare that prodigious expence of memory which looks more like reciting for a Wager that any thing else and which destroys all graceful action Let him on the contrary by a noble Enthusiasm dart conviction into their Souls and alarm their Consciences Let him in fine touch the Hearts of his hearers with another fear than that of seeing him make some blunder or mistake in his Sermon * Let not him who is not yet arriv'd to that perfection as to forget himself in the dispensation of the holy word Let him not I say be discourag'd by the austere rules that are prescrib'd him as if they robb'd him of the means of shewing his Wit and of attaining to the Honours to which he aspires What greater or more noble Talent can there be than to preach like an Apostle or which deserves a Bishoprick better Was Feneton unworthy of that Dignity or was it possible he shou'd have avoided his Princes choice if it had not been for another choice of his own OF The Wits of the Age. HAve they who value themselves so much upon the title of Wits have they I say wit enough to perceive that they are only call'd so by Irony What greater want of wisdom can there be than to be doubtful of the principle of ones own being life sence knowledge and of what will be the end of them What can more lessen any man than his questioning whither his Soul is not material like a Stone or a Worm or subject to corruption like the vilest Creatures And is it not a much more real and a nobler sort of wit that raises our minds to the Idea of a being superiour to all others by whom and for whom all things were made who is perfect and pure who never had a beginning nor will never have an end of whom our Soul is the image nay of whom if I may so speak it makes a part being Spiritual and Immortal * A tractable and a foolish Mind are both susceptible of impressions but good impressions are the lot of the one and ill ones of the other That is the first suffers himself to be persuaded and then sticks to his persuasion the other is conceited and corrupted So that the tractable mind admits of true Religion the foolish of a false one or of none at all Now the modish Wit either has no Religion at all or has one of his own invention Therefore a Wit and a Fool are muâ—h the same thâ—ng * By a worldly earthly or brutish man I mean one whose heart and mind is wholly fix'd on this small part of the Universe he is plac'd in the Earth One who sets a value upon nothing nor loves any thing beyond it Whose narrow soul is as much confin'd as that spot of ground he calls his Estate The extent of which is easily measur'd the acres are all number'd and the utmost bounds are limited 'T is no wonder that such one who leans as it were on an Atome should stumble at the first step in his search after Truth That with so short a sight he should not reach beyond the Heavens and the Stars to behold God himself That not being able to perceive the excellence of what is Spiritual or the dignity of the Soul he should feel as little how difficult it is to satisfie its appetites How much the whole world is insufficient for it How indispencably this makes it want an all perfect being which is God And how absolutely it needs a Religion to find out that God and to be assur'd of his reality And any one on the contrary may soon be perswaded that incredulity and indifferency is but natural to such a man That he will make use of God and Religion as a piece of Policy only that is as far as it may give a fair outside or keep in some order the things relating to his worldly concerns which alone in his opinion deserve to have any thoughts bestow'd on them * Some men by travelling give the last stroke to the corrupting of their Judgment and their Manners and extinguish wholly that spark of Religion they had
Lauzun whose Amours with Mademoiselle de Montpenâ—â—er made so great a noise in the World He was several yeaâ—s close Prisoner in the Cittadel of Pignerol and afterwards sent into Ireland to command the French Forces under the late King James 200. 30. Theophilus The Bishop of Autuâ— 201. 26. A Person of Quality The late King James 203. 4. Antiphon Mr de la Feuillade 204â— 24. Of Hannibal Caesar c. The Author characterizes certain Noblemen who assume the names of Gods and Demigods 213. 13. Theognis The late Archbishop of Paris Francis de Harlay 214. 7. Pamphilus The Marquis of Dangeau 223. 12. Demophilus The Abbot of St. Helen who was dissatisfied with the Ministers of State 224. 20. Basilidius Councellour Aubray 225. 26. That such a Prince c. The Duke of Savoy 27. A second The King of Spain 29. A third The present King of England 239. 23. A good Monarch The King of France 245. 12. Menalcas The Count de Brancas Chevalier d' Honneur to the Queen Mother 165. 32. A man dy'd at Paris c. The late Prince of Conde 276. 20 Some men Mr de Feuillade 277. 24. 'T is easier for some men c. The late Archbishop of Paris Francis de Harlay 278. 5. Some men c. The Cardinal de Bouillon and the Bishop of Noyon 12. Others begin their lives c. The Counts of Guiche and Bussy Rabutin 284. 1. Phidippus The Abbot Dance 15. Gnathon The Marquis de Sable 285. 20. Cliton Ms D' Olonne and du Broussin 298. 11. Adrastus Mr. Derbarreau 308. 9. Antisthene Mr de la Bruyere Author of this Book 16. Berylle The Abbot Rubec 27. A Lacâ—uey is made c. Mr Berrier who had been a Footman 31. One enriches himself Benoist 32. The Mountebank Barbereau the Empirick 309. 28. If the Ambassadors c. Those of Siam 310. 28. When the Bishop c. Cardinal le Camus 314. 12. Gravity too much affected The first President of the Parliament of Paris 320. 24. There is a thing c. Mr de la Fontaine 32. Another is foolish timerous c. Mr Corneille Senior 321. 24. Theodas Mr Santeuil de St Victor one of the best Latin Poets alive 322. 15. Such an one c. Mr Peletier de Soucy and his Brother the Minister of State 325. 5. Socrates The Author speaks of himself and of his Book in the three following Paragraphs 328. 23. What surprizing success c. Theâ— late Chancellor of France Mr Le Tellier 357. 12. When a Courtier becomes humble The Duke of Beauvilliers President of the Kings Councel and Governour to the Duke of Burgundy 369. 4. Some men c. Mr de L'Anglois de Rieux 372. 20. A Brisk Jolly Priest Mr Hameau Curate of S. Pauls 386. 8. Titius Monsieu Hennequin 389. 13. Hermippus Mr Dasserville 397. 15. Till such time c. Mr Le Tourneâ—r deceas'd some years ago 398. 4. Apostolick Man Father Seraphin a Capuchin 401. 7. The man must have some Wit The Abbot Bavyn and others 402. 13. A soft Effeminate Morality The Abbot Flechier Bishop of Nismes 26. The Heroick Virtue The Abbot Roquerre Nephew to the Bishop of Authun 405. 24. A man starts up c. Pontier Author of the Cabinet of Princes ERRATA 〈◊〉 183. l. â— for at â—iburs read the Tyber l. 3. for with 〈…〉 there for the blank l. 19. r. Hurâ—n â— and for 〈…〉 l. 20. r Iroquois p. 231. l. 16. dele not p. 265. 〈…〉 waking r. watching p. 272. l. 12. for she r. be THE CHARACTERS OR Manners of the Age. I Borrow'd the subject matter of this Book from the Publick and I now restore it what it lent me Indeed having finish'd the whold Work with the utmost regard to truth that I was capable of 't is but just I should make it this restitution The world may view here the Picture I have drawn of it from Nature and if I have hit on any defects which it agrees with me to be such it may at leisure correct them This is what a man ought chiefly to propose to himself in writing tho he can't always be sure of success However as longâ— as men distaste Vice so little as they do we should never give over reproaching them They would perhaps be worse were it not for censure and reproof which makes writing and preaching of absolute necessity The Orator and Writer can't stifle the Joy they feel when they are applauded but they ought to blush in themselves if they aim at nothing more than praise by their discourses or writings Besides that the most certain and least equivocal approbation is the change of Manners in their Readers or Hearers we should neither write nor speak but for Instruction yet we may lawfully rejoyce if we at the same time please those to whom we address and by this means make the truths we should advance the more insinuating and the better receiv'd when any thoughts or reflections slide into a Book which have neither fire nor turn or vivacity agreeable to the rest tho they seem at first to be set there for variety to divert our minds and render them more attentive on what is to follow but otherwise are not proper sensible or accommodated to the capacity of the people whom we must by no means neglect both the Reader and Author ought to condemn ' emâ— This is one rule which I desire every one to remember There 's another which my particular Interest obliges me to request may not be forgot that is always to have my Title in view and to think as often as this Book is read that I describe the Characters or Manners of the Age for though I frequently take 'em from the Court of France and men of my own Nation â—et they cannot be confinâ—d to any one Court or Country without losing a great deal of the compass and usefulness of my Book and destroying the design of the work which is to paint Mankind in general as the reasons of every Chapter and the connexion which insensibly the reflections that compose them have one with another plainly demonstrate After this so necessary a precaution the consequences of which 't is easie enough for any body to penetrate I must protest against all chagrin complaint all malicious interpretation prejudice and scandal Men must know how to read and hold their Tongues or say nothing more or less than they have really read but this caution will not sometimes be sufficient unless the Readers are willing themselves to judge favourably Without these conditions which an exact and scrupulous Author is in the right to require of some people as the only Recompence of his Labour I question whether he ought to continue writing if he prefers his private satisfaction to the publick good and a zeal for promoting Truth I confess about the year 1690 I was divided between an impatience to give my Book another Figure and a better form by new Characters and a fear lest
Ideas he scarcely finds time to pronounce the sacred Oracles He is elevated by his Character above humane Judgments and leaves it for common Souls to value a common and uniform Life being answerable for his inconstancy to none but his particular friends who have resolvâ—d to Idolize him for this reason They only know how to judge or think They only know how to write and 't is only in Them a duty As for other Pieces however receiv'd in the World or universally lik'd by Men of Honour and Worth he is so far from approving 'em that he never condescends to read 'em and is incapable of being corrected by this Picture which will not be so happy as to reach him * Theocrines is very well acquainted with what is trivial and unprofitable He is less profound than methodical He is the Abstract of Disdain and seems continually laughing in himself at such as he thinks despise him By chance I once read him something of mine he heard it out with impatience he cry'd presently is it done And then talkt of his own But what said he of yours say you I have told you already Sir he talkt of his Own * The most accomplisht piece which the Age has produc'd would fail under the hands of the Criticks and Censurers if the Author would hearken to their Objections and allow 'em to throw out what is not to their satisfaction * Experience tells us if there are ten persons who would blot a thought or an expression out of a Book there are a like number who would oppose it These will alledge for what would you suppress that thought 't is new fine and handsomely exprest Those on the contrary affirm it should be omitted at least they would have given it another turn In your work says one there is a term exceeding witty it points out your meaning very naturally Methinks says another that word is too bold and yet does not signifie so much as you would have it 'T is the same word and the same line these Criticks differ so much about and yet they are all Judges or pass for such amongst their Acquaintance What then shall an Author do but follow the advice of those who approve it * A serious Author is not oblig'd to trouble his Head with all the extravagant Banters and bad Jests which are thrown on him or to be concern'd at the impertinent Constructions which a sort of Men may make on some pasages of his Writings neither ought he to give himself the trouble to suppress ' em He is convinc'd that if a Man is never so exact in his manner of writing the dull Railery and wretched Buffooniry of certain worthless People are unavoidable since they make use of the best things only to turn 'em into ridicule * There is a prodigious difference between a Fine piece and one that 's Regular and Perfect I question if there is any thing to be found in the last kind it being less difficult for a rare Genius to hit upon the Great and Sublime than to avoid all Errors The Cid at its first appearance was universally admir'd It liv'd in spite of Policy or Power which attempted in vain to destroy it The Wits who were otherwise divided in their sentiments united in favour of this Tragedy The Persons of Quality and the common People agreed to keep it in their memory they were beforehand with the Actors in rehearsing it at the Theatre The Cid in short is one of the â—inest Poems which can be made and one of the best Critiques which ever was written on any Subject is that on the Cid * Capys sets up for a Judge of Stile and fancys he writes like Bouhours or Rabutin he opposes himself to the Voice of the People and says all alone Damis is not a good Author however Damis gives way to the Multitude and affirms ingenuously with the publick that Capys is a dull Writer * â—Tis the business of a News-monger to inform us when a Book is to be publisht for whom 't is printed for Cramoisy or for whom else in what Character how bound and what Paper how many of 'em are gone off and at what Sign the Bookseller lives This is his Duty 't is foolish in him to pretend to be a Critick The highest reach of a News-monger is an empty Reasoning on Policy and vain Conjectures on the publick Management Boevius lies down at night in great Tranquility at some false News which dies before morning and he is oblig'd to abandon it assoon as he awakes * The Philosopher wastes his Life in observing Men and exposing Foppery and Vice he gives his thoughts no other turn than what serves to set a Truth he has found out in a proper Light that it may make the Impression he designs He has little of the Vanity of an Author and yet some Readers think they do very well by him if they say with a Magisterial Air They have read his Book and there is some Sense in it But he returns them their Praises having other ends than bare Applause in his Sweating so much and breaking his Rest he has higher Aims and acts by a more elevated Policyâ— he requires from Mankind a greater and more extraordinary Success than Commendation or even Rewards He expects Amendment and Reformation * A Fool reads a Book and understands nothing in it a Little Wit reads it and is presently master of all without exception a Man of Sense sometimes does not comprehend it entirely he distinguishes what is clear from what is obscure whilst the Beaux Esprits will have those passages dark which are not and can't understand what is really intelligible * An Author indeavours in vain to make himself admir'd by his productions A fool may sometimes admire himâ— but then he is a fool And a Man of Sense has in him the Seeds of all Truth and Opinions nothing is new to him He admires little it being his Province chiefly to approve * I question if 't is possible to find in Letters of Wit a better manner more agreeableness and a finer Stile than we see in Balzac's and Voiture's â—Tis true they are void of those sentiments which have since taken amongst us and were invented by the Ladies That Sex excels ours in this kind of writing Those Expressions and Graces flow from 'em which are in us the effect of tedious Labour and troublesome Enquiry They are happy in their terms and place them so justly that every one presently lights upon their meaning As familiar as they are yet they have the Charm of Novelty and seem only design'd for the use they put 'em to They only can express a whole sentence in a single word and render a delicate thought in a turn altogether as delicate We find in all their Letters an inimitable connexion continuâ—d thro the whole very naturally and always bounded by good senâ—e If the Ladies were more correct I might affirm that they have producâ—d
a smoother style a more ingenâ—â—us more expressive and more convincing way of arguing adorn'd with greater vigour of expression and more natural graces than most of those modern books which aâ—e read with applause and give the greatest reputation to their authors With what satisfaction if they had any love for Religion wou'd they see it explain'd and its truth believ'd and asserted by men who were masters of so much wit ingenuity and activity of judgment Especially since any one who will but observe the vastness of their knowledge the depth of their penetration the true grounds of their Philosophy their unweary'd diligence and their capacity in unfolding holy Mysteries the reasonableness of their inferences the nobleness of their expressions the purity of their principles and morals cannot compare for example any author to St. Austin but Plato or Cicero * Man being born a lyar cannot relish the plainness and simplicity of truth He is altogether for pomp and ornament Truth is not his own 'T is made as it were to his hands and descends to him from heaven with all its perfections But self-conceited man is fond of nothing but his own productions of fables and inventions Observe the generality of men they will invent a tale they 'll add to it and load it with a thousand silly and incredible particularities And even the wisest of them are not altogether exempt from doing thus sometimes their pride and vanity drawâ— 'em in to disguise the truth and to make a story pass current they will often set it off with false circumstances If an accident happens now in your neighbourhood and as it were under your eye you may hear it related by a hundred persons a hundred different ways and whoever comes after them will make a new story of it How then shall we believe the relation of things that were done so many ages before this What relyance shall we have upon the gravest of Historians and what must become of History was Caesar murder'd in the Senate was there ever such one as Caesar you laugh at the impertinence of such questions Such doubts and inferences you think not worth your answer And indeed I can't but commend you for doing so But should I suppose that the book which gives us an account of Caesar is not a profane History that it was not writ by a man who is given to lying that is was not found by chance and promiscuously amongst other manuscripts of which some are true and others more doubtful That on the contrary it was inspir'd by God That it bears the marks of Holiness and Divinity that it hath been kept for above these two thousand years by an innumerable â—ociety of men who all this while would not allow the least alteration to be made in it and have made a part of their Religion to preserve it in all its purity nay that these men are by their own principles indispencably oblig'd to believe all the transactions contain'd in that Hisâ—ory where Caesar and all his greatness is mention'd Own it Lucilius wou'd you then question whether there ever was such a man as Caesar * All sorts of Musick are not fit for the praises of God and become not the Sanctuary As all kinds of Philosophy are not fit for the discoursing worthily of his Godhead his Power the principles of his Operations or his holy Mysteries The more abstracted and notional the more vain and useless it is in explaining these things which require no more than a sound judgment to be understood to a certain pitch and which cannot be explain'd at all beyond it To pretend to give an exact account of the Essence of God of his Perfections and if I dare to speak of his Actions is indeed more than the ancient Philosophers than the Apostles themselves or the first Teachers of the Gospel ever did But the choice of such a task is less prudent than theirs Such pretenders may dig long and dig deep but will never be the nearer to the Springs of truth If they once set aside the words Goodness Mercy Justice and Omnipotence which are apt to form in our minds so lovely and so majestick an idea of Divinity let them afterwards strain their Imaginations â—ever so much they will find nothing but dry barren and nonsensical expressions to make use of They must admit of wide and empty notions must be singular in their fancies or at least must attain to a sort of ingenious subtilty which by degrees will make them lose their Religion as fast as they improve in the knowledge of their own new Metaphysicks * What excesses will not men be transported to by their zeal for Religion which yet they are as far from believing as they are from practicing * That same Religion which men will defend so zealously and with so much heat and animosity against those who are of a quite different perswasion is incroach'd upon by themselves who fond of their own peculiar notions add or diminish from it in their minds a thousand things sometimes most material according as it suits best with their conveniencies And having thus wholly alter'd the frame of it remain stedfast and unmoveable in these their perswasions So that one may say with the vulgar of a Nation that it hath but one manner of Worship and one Religion but properly speaking it really hath many and almost every individual man in it hath one of â—is own * If Religion be nothing but a respectful fear of God what shall we think of those who dare affront him in his representatives on earth Kings and Princes â— Were we assur'd that the secret intent of the Ambassadors who came lately from Siam was to perswade the most Christian King to renounce Christianity to admit their Priests in his Kingdom to creep into Houses in order to allure by their discourses our Wives our Children and our selves into the principles of their Religion to suffer them to build Temples amongst us for the worshipping their Golden Images with what scorn and derision should we hear the relation of such a ridiculous enterprize Yet we think little of sailing a thousand leagues through the vast Ocean in order to bring over to Christianity the Kingdoms of India Siam China or Iapan that is with an intent which in the eyes of all these Nations is full as ridiculous and impertinent And they protect our Priests and other Religious men they give attention sometimes to their discourses they suffer them to build Churches and to perform all the Duties of their Mission From whence proceeds such a temper both in them and us Would not one think it came from that secret impulse which truth generally carries along with it * 'T is not becoming for all men to set up for hospitality as to have all the common beggars of the Parish daily crouding at their door and not to suffer one to go home empty But what man is there who is not sensible of the more secret wants
should do by Stile as we have done by Architecture banish entirely the Gothick order which the Barbarians introduc'd in their Palaces and Temples and recall the Dorick Ionick and Corinthian Let what we see in the Ruines of ancient Rome and old Greece shine in our Porticoes and Peristils and become Modern Since we cannot arrive to perfection or if possible surpass the Ancients in Building or Writing but by imitating them How many Ages were lost in Ignorance before men could come back to the taste of the Ancients in the Arts and Sciences or recover at last the Simple and the Natural We nourish our selves by the Ancients and ingenious Moderns we draw from 'em as much as we can and at their expence in the end become Authors Then we quickly think we can walk alone and without help We oppose our benefactors and treat 'em like those Children who grown pert and strong with the Milk they have suckt turn themselves against their Nurses 'T is the practice of a Modern Wit to prove the Ancients inferiour to us by two ways Reason and Example He takes the Reason from his particular Opinion and the Example from his Writings He confesses the Ancients as unequal and incorrect as they are have a great many good lines he cites them and they appear so fine that they ruine his Criticisms Some learned Men declare in favour of the Ancients against the Moderns But we are afraid they judge in their own Cause and so many of their Works are made after the Model of Antiquity that we except against their Authority * An Author should be fond of reading his Works to those who know how to correct and esteem â—em He that will not be corrected nor advis'd in his Writings is a Pedâ—nt An Author ought to receive with equal Modesty the Praises and the Criticisms which are past on his productions * Amongst all the different expressions which can render any one of our thoughts there is but one good we are not always so fortunate as to hit upon 't in writing or speaking However 't is true that it exists That all the rest are weak and will not satisfie a man of sense who would make himself understood A good Author who writes with care when he meets with the Expression he has searcht after for some time without knowing it finds it at last the most simple and the most natural and fancies it ought to have presented it self to him at first without search or enquiry Those who write by Humour are frequently subject to revise their Works and give 'em new touches And as their Humours are never fix'd but vary on every slight occasion they quickly spoil their Writings by new expressions and terms which they like better than the former * The same true sense which makes an Author write a great many good things tells him that there are not enough to deserve reading A Man of little sense is ravish'd with himself and thinks his Writings divine a Man of good sense is harder to be pleas'd and would only be reasonable * One says Aristus engagâ—d me to read my Book to Zoilus I read it he was satisfy'd and before he had leisure to dislike it he commended it coldly in my presence since that he takes no notice onâ—t nor says a word in its favour however I excuse him I desire no more of an Author and even pity him the hearing so many fine things which were not his own making Such as by their circumstances are free from the Jealousies of an Author have other cares and passions to distract 'em and make 'em cold towards another Man's conceptions 'T is difficult to find a person whose fortune and good humour put him in a condition to taste all the pleasure a compleat piâ—ce can give him * The pleasure of Criticising takes away the pleasure of being sensibly charm'd with very fine productions * Many Men who perceive the Beauâ—ies of a Manuscript when they hear it read will not declare themselves in its favour till they see what success it has in the world when 't is printed and what Character the Ingenious give it They will not hazard their Votes before its Fortune is made and they are carry'd away with the Croud or engagâ—d by the Multitude Then they are very forward to publish how early they were in their approbation and how glad they are to find the World is of their opinion These men lose a fair opportunity to convince us they are persons of capacity and insight that they make a true judgment and distinguish an excellent thing from one that is good A fine piece falls into their hands the Authors first work before he has got a name or they are yet prepossest in his behalf he has not endeavour'd to make his court to the great men by flattering their Writings neither is it requirâ—d that they should proclaim to please some man of Quality or Topping Wit who has declar'd himself in its favour This is a Master-piece Humane Wit never went so far We will judge of no bodies opinion but in proportion to what thoughts he has of this Book Extravagant and offensive expressions which smell of the Pension or the Abbey and are injurious to what is really commendable Why did they not profess it by themselves when they might have been alone in their praises why did they not then commend it 'T is true at last they cry aloud â—tis an admirable Book when the whole Kingdom has approvâ—d it when foreigners as well as their own Counâ—rymen are fond of it when 't is printed all over Europe translated into all Languages in short when â—tis too late and the Author is not oblig'd to â—em for their Applauses * Some of 'em read a Book collect certain lines which they don't understand and rob 'em of their value by what they put in of their own yet these lines so broken and disguis'd that they are indeed their proper stile and thoughts they expose to censure maintain 'em to be bad and as they cite 'em the World readily agree with them But the passage they pretend to quote is never the worse for their Injustice * Well says one what 's your opinion of Hermedorus's Book That â—tis bad replys Anthimus That 't is bad What dâ— ye mean Sir That 't is bad continues he at least it deserves not the Character people give it Have you read it No says Anthimus but Fulvia and Melania have condemn'd it without reading and I am a Friend to Fulvia and Melania * Arsenes from the Altitudes of his Understanding contemplates Mankind and at the distance from whence he beholds them seems affrighted at their Littleness He is commended exalted and mounted to the Skies by certain persons who have reciprocally covenanted to admire one another Contented with his own Merit he fancies he has as much Wit as he wants and more than he ever will have Thus employâ—d by his high thoughts and full of sublime
of their little sports and laws some differ from him and then they form an absolute Government which is guided only by pleasure * Who doubts but Children conceive judge and reason to the purpose If 't is on small things Consider they are Children and without much experience If in bad phrases 't is less their fault than their Parents and Masters * It balks the minds of Children to punish them for Crimes they have not really committed or to be severe with them for light offences They know exactly and better than any one what they deserve and deserve what they fear they know when they are chastisâ—d If 't is with or without reason and unjust sufferings do 'em more harm than Impunity * No Man lives long enough to profit himself by his faults he is committing 'em during the whole course of his life and as much as he can do at last is to dye corrected Nothing pleases a man more than to know he has avoided a foolish action * Men are loath to confess their faults They hide them or change their quality 't is this gives the Director an advantage over the Confessor * Blockheads faults are sometimes so odd and so difficult to foresee that wise men are at a loss to know how they could commit 'em and fools only can be profited by them * A spirit of party and faction sets the Great men and the Mob on an equal foot * Vanity and Decency make us do the same things in the same manner which we should do by inclination and duty A man dy'd at Paris of a Fever which he got by waking with his Wife whom he hated * All men in their hearts covet esteem yet are loath any one should discover they are willing to be esteem'd Thus men pass for Vertuous that they may draw some other advantages from it besides Vertue itself I would say Esteem and Praise This should no longer be thought Vertue but a love for Praise and Esteem and Vanity Men are very vain Creatures and of all things hate to be thought so * A vain man finds his account in speaking good or evil of himself a modest man never talks of himself We canâ—t better comprâ—hend the ridiculousness of Vanity and what a scandalous Vice 't is than by observing how much 't is afraid to be seen and how it often hides itself under the appearance of Modesty False Modesty is the most cunning sort of Vanity By this a man never appears what he is on the contrary raises a reputation by the Vertue quite opposite to the Vice which forms his Character This is a Lye false Glory is the Rock of Vanity it tempts men to acquire esteem by things which they indeed possess but are frivolous and not fit for a man to value himself on this is an Error * Men speak of themselves in such a manner that if they grant they are sometimes guilty of a few little faults or have some small defects these very faults and defects imply fine Talents and great Qualifications Thus they complain of a bad memory well enough contented otherwise in their good sense and judgment forgive people when they reproach them for being distracted or whimsical imagining it the sign of Wit acknowledge they are awkard and can do nothing with their hands comforting themselves in the loss of these little qualities for those of their Minds and the gifts of their Souls which every one allow them Talk of their negligence in phrases which denote their disinterest and their being void of ambition They are not asham'd of being Slovens which shews only that they are heedless about little things and seems to suppose in them an application for things solid and essential A Souldier affects to say 't was too much rashness and curiosity ingag'd him in the Trenches or at such a dangerous post without being on duty or commanded there And adds that the General chid him for 't Thus a good hand and a solid genius born with all the prudence which other men endeavour in vain to acquire who has strengthen'd the temper of his mind by great experience whom the number weight variety difficulty and importance of affairs employ without incumbering who by his large insight and penetration makes himself masteâ— of all events who very far from consulting the notions and reflections written on Government and Politicks is perhaps one of those sublime Souls born to rule others and from whose examples those rules were made who is led aside by the great things he does from the pleasant and agreeable things he might read and needs only to turn over his own life and actions a man thus form'd may say safely without doing himself any prejudice that he knows nothing of Books and never reads * Men would sometimes hide their imperfections or lessen the opinion we have of 'em by confessing them freely A Blockhead laughs and says I am a very ignorant fellow A man above threescore says Iâ—m old and doating And one in want that he is wretched poor * There is either no such thing as Modesty or 't is confounded with something in it self quite different If we take it for an interior sentiment which makes a man seem mean in his own eyes this is a supernatural Vertue and we call it Humility Man naturally thinks proudly and haughtily of himself and thinks thus of no body but himself Modesty only tends to qualifie this disposition 't is an exteriour Vertue which governs our eyes conduct words tone and obliges a man to act with others to outward appearance as if is was not true that he counted them for nothing * The world is full of people who making by custom and outward appearance a comparison of themselves with others always decide in favour of their own merit and act accordingly * You say men must be modest All persons well born say the same in return then do you take care that such as give way by their modesty may not be too much tyranniz'd over and that when they bend they be not broken to pieces Thus some say people should be modest in their Dress Men of merit desire nothing more But the world are for Ornament We give it them They are covetous of superfluity and we shew it Some value others for their fine Linnen or rich silks and we cannot always refuse esteem even on these terms There are some places where a full or a thin Sword-knot will get or hinder a man admittance * Vanity and the great value we have for our selves make us imagin that others carry it very proudly towards us which is sometimes true and often false A modest man has not this kind of delicacy * As we ought to deny our selves the vanity of thinking others regard us with so much curiosity and esteem that they are always talking of our Merit and in our commendation So we should have so much confidence in our selves that we should not fancy when any whisper 't is to speak
thought indifferently before their promotion * A Princes favour neither excludes nor includes merit * 'T is to be admir'd that with all the Pride which puffs us up and the vast opinion we have of our own judgment we neglect to make use of it when we speak of other peoples merit the common vogue popular favour or the Princes fancy bear us down like a torrent we extol what is praisâ—d more than what deserves it * I doubt whether any thing is approv'd and prais'd with so much difficulty as what deserves most to be prais'd and approvâ—d And if vertue Merit Beauty Good Actions and the best Writings have a more natural and sure effect than Envy Jealousie or Antipathy 't is not of a Saint that a Hypocrite speaks well of but of a brother Hypocrite if a handsom Woman allows anothers beauty you may rationally conclude she excels in what she approves or if a Poet praise anothers Verses 't is an even wager they are slight and frivolous * Men have much ado to like one another they have but a weak inclination to approve reciprocally of the actions conduct thoughts and expressions of others nothing pleases nothing contents they put in ballance to what others either recite speak or write what they should have done in such a conjuncture what they think or have written upon such a subject and are so full of their own Ideas that they have no room for anothers * The generality of men are so inclin'd to irregularity and trifling and the world is so full of examples either pernicious or ridiculous that I should be apt to believe Singularity could it keep its bounds would come very near to right reason and a just conduct We must do like other men a dangerous Maxim and for the most part signifies we must do ill if you speak not of things purely exteriour and of no consequence but what depends on Custome Fashion or Decency * If men were not more like Bears and Panthers than Men if they were more equitable if they were just to themselves and others what would become of Law and the prodigious flourishes are made on it where would you find the Plaintiff and Defendant and all that you call Justice to what would even they be reducâ—d who owe all their livelihood and grandeur to the Authority that they have given the Laws If men were honest and impartial whither would the quarrels of the Schools and Bar vanish If they were temperate chaste and moderate the unintelligible jargon of the Physicians that Golden Mine of woâ—ds to the Practitioner as profitable as 't is to â—em would then be useless O Lawyers Doctors and Apothecaries what a fall would you have could we all become wise How many great men in the different exercises of Peace and â—ar ought we to have lost to what point of refin'd perfection are several Arts and Sciences brought which ought not to be necessary and were introduc'd into the world only as remedies to those evils to which Malice gave the Original How many things are there since Varro of which Varro was ignorant what will no less knowledge than that of Plato and Socrates suffice us To hear praise and dispraise on a Sermon a piece of Musick or a Picture and upon the very same subject to be entertain'd with quite opposite sentiments is what makes me freely conclude we may safely publish any thing good or bad for the good pleases some the bad others and the worst has its admirers * The Phaenix of Poetry Chantantes rose out of his ashes and in one and the same day saw both the dissolution and resurrection of his Reputation and that same infallible Judge who is ever so obstinate I mean the Publick changed upon his account and either did deceive or was deceived He that should now say Quinaut is an ill Poet would speak almost as bad as he that formerly said he was a good one * Chapelain was rich Corneille was not La Pucelle and Rodogune merited each a different fate so it has always been a question why in this or that profession one has made his fortune and another mist for this mankind must enquire the reason of their capriciousness which in the pressing conjuncture of their affairs either of their pleasure health or life makes them often leave the best and chuse the worst * The condition of a Comedian was infamous amongst the Romans but with the Greeks honourable what is our opinion Why we think of them like the Romans and live with them like the Greeks * T was sufficient for Bathyllus to be a universal Mimic to be courted by the Roman Ladies for Rhius to Dance on the Theatre or for Rosciâ—s and Terines to Sing in a Chorus to engage a crowd of Lovers Vanity and Impudence follow'd by too strong a desire made the Romans lose the gust there is in secrecy in their pleasures they were fond of acting their loves upon the publick Stage they had no jealousie of the Amphitheatre nor of sharing the charms of their Mistresses with the multitude their satisfaction lay in shewing they lov'd not the Beauty or the good Actress but the Actress * Nothing discovers better what disposition men have to Knowledge and Learning and how profitable they are esteem'd to the Publick than the price which is set on them and the Idea they have formâ—d of those who have taken the pains to improve them there is no Art so mechanic nor so mean that has not a quicker and surer way to Riches the Comedian lolling in his Coach bespatters the very face of Corneille walking afoot with many people Knowledge and Pedantry are synonimous Often when the Rich man speaks the man of Learning must be silent listen and applaud at least if he would not pass for nothing but Learned * There is a sort of Courage to be used amongst men of some humours to support the scandal of being Learned you find there an establisht opinion against knowledge they know not the world say they nor how to live neither have they any genius for society and so despoil'd they retuâ—n them to their Books Ignorance is an easie condition and costs but little pains and let us take the Ignorant one with another they form such a numerous party in Court City and Country that the Learned can't bear head against them if they alledge in their favour the names of Estree Harley Bossuet Seguier Montausier Wardes Chevreuse Novion Lâ— Moignon Scudery Pelisson and of many other persons equally learned and polite nay if you dare cite the great names of Chartres Conde Bourbon Maine Vandome as Princes that knew how to joyn the highest knowledge to the Grecian niceness and Roman civility they 'll not fail to tell you these are singular examplesâ— if then you have recourse to solid reasons alas they are too feeble to stand against the publick vote however it seems just that they should be somewhat more wary in giving a decisive judgment
and let them take the pains only to question whether that mind that has made so great a progress in knowledge as to be capable of thinking judging speaking and writing well could not if it gave itself the trouble be when it pleasâ—d Polite A man with a little trouble may perfectly refine his manners but there 's much more requir'd to polite his mind * Such a one is Learned says the Politician he is therefore no man of business Iâ—d not trust him with the management of my Wardrope and heâ—s to be sure in the right Ossat Ximenes Richelieu were learned were they men of ability did they pass for good Ministers He understands Greek says the Rich man he 's a Philosopher at that rate an Athenian Fruiterer was a Philosopher for he understood Greek what whimsey what contradiction is this to the wise and judicious Antonin who says that the people would then be happy when the Emperor philosophied or a Philosopher came to the Empire Languages are no more than the keys of the Sciences He that despises the one slights the other 't is of no Importance whither the Languages are antient or modern dead or living but whither they are barbarous or polite whither the Books they afford us are good or bad Suppose the French should meet with the fortune of the Greek and Roman Tongues some Ages after it ceasâ—d to be commonly spoken shou'd he be thought a pedant that would then read Moliere or La Fontaine * If I talk of Euripilus you say he 's a Wit you also call him a Carpenter that lays a Floor and he that builds a Wall a Bricklayer but I would ask you where does this Trades-man follow his Trade what Sign has his Shop and by what marks shall we know him what are his Tools a Hatchet or a Chissel where does he finish his Work where does he expose it to Sale An Artificer pretends to be an Artificer Does Euripilus set up for a Wit If he does he 's a Coxcomb a vile Mechanick wretch who has neither Wit nor any thing that 's agreeable and is uncapable of a serious thought but if he pretends to nothing I 'le take him for a wise and ingenious Man Why therefore should you call this Pedant or that ill Poet a polite Man do you believe of your self that you have no Genius or if you have any thing it fine and agreeable and shou'd a man call you a Wit wou'd you not take it for an affront however I 'le give you leave to call Euripilus so let the Irony pass upon Fools and Men of no Judgment as Ignorant wretches pride themselves in those defects which they find in others and cannot discover in themselves Speak no more to me of Pen Ink or Paper no more of Style Printeâ— or the Press do not venture to tell me Antisthene you write well continue it what shall we never see a piece of yours in Folio treat of all the Vertues and Vices in one work well pursu'd methodical and they should add without end or order I renounce every thing that looks like a Book the sight of a Cat throws Berylla into a swoon and a Book me am I better Fed or finer Cloath'd has my Chamber a pleasing Situation and do I enjoy my ease after having been expos'd to Sale these twenty Years you say I have a great Name and much Glory say rather I 'm stockt with unprofitable wind have I one grain of that Metal that produces all things the old Practitioner reimburses himself for those charges which he never expendedâ— and has for his Son-in-Law a Count or a Judge a Lacquey is made a Commissioner and in a little time becomes richer than his Master then soon tir'd of his mean Character by Money becomes a Knight one inriches himself by a Puppet-show another by selling of water the Mountebank foots it to Town with his Wallet at his back not able to defray his Charges but goes from thence in his Coach and Six Mercury is Mercury and nothing more and when they can't pay you for your meditation and invention they give you favour and distinction not to speak but of lawful gains you pay a Gardner for his Skill and the Workman for his time and labour do you pay an Author for his thoughts and writing if his Sense is good do you pay him largely does he inrich or ennoble himself by thinking or writing well Men most be cloath'd and shav'd have Houses that must have doors to shut close but do they want any Instruction â—twere a Folly Simplicity and Weakness continues Antisthenes to set up again for an Author or Philosopher could I have a profitable Imployment which would enable me to lend my Friend and give to those that can ne're return to write for sport or idleness as Tyterus play'd or whistl'd upon his Flute this or nothing I would write on these terms and easily give way to the violence of those who throtel me crying out will you write they should then read for the Title of my new Book of things Beautiful and Good of Truth of Ideas of first Principles by Antisthene the Fishmonger * If the Ambassadors of Foreign Princes were Apes who had learnt to walk on their hind Legs and to make themselves understood by Interpreters we could not have a greater surprize than what the justness of the Answers of such as are sent us and the ingenuity which sometimes appears in their discourse give us the opinion of our Country joyn'd to the Pride of our Nation makes us forget that reason belongs to all Climates and reasonable thoughts to all places where there are men we don't love to be so treated by those we call Barbarians if amongst us their is any Barbarity 't is in being frighted to hear other People reason like us All Strangers are not Barbarians nor are our Country men all Civiliz'd in like manner all the Country is not Pasture nor all the City Polite there is in Europe a certain place part of a Sea Province in a great Kingdom whose Husbandmen are soft and insinuating and their Burgesses and Magistrates rude and of an hereditary rusticity * With a Language so pure such nicety of Habit Manners so cultivated such good Laws and white complections we are Barbarians to some sort of People * If we should talk of the Eastern People how they ordinarily drink a Liquor that takes the head makes them mad and forces them to vomit we should be apt to say 't is Barbarous * When the Bishop comes no more to Court lives retir'd is no more to be seen with Women Plays not makes not one at Feasts and Shews is no man of Cabal nor has the Spirit of Intrigue but is always in his Diocess where he makes his continual residence and thinks of nothing but Instructing his People by discourse and edifying them by his Example consumes his Riches in Charity and his Body in Pennance and is an Imitator both of the
that is rare and yet in fashion The Florist has a Garden at his Country-house where he spends his time from Sâ—n-rising to Sun-setting you 'd think him planted there that he had taken root in the midst of his Tulips and at his Solitaire he rubs his hands he stares stoops down and looks nearer at it he never saw it look so fine before heâ—s in an extasie of Joy he leaves that for the Orientale then goes to the Veuve from thence to the Drap d'â—r so to the Agath at last returns to his Solitaire where he tires himself sits down and foâ—gets his Dinner observes all its particuâ—ar excellencies its fine pod delicate top he contemplates and admires but is not â—ouchâ—d â—ith the thoughts of God and Nature he goes no farther than the Root of his Tulip which he won't part with for a Thousand Crowns tho he 'll give it you for nothing when the Tulips are out and the Cornation comes in This reasonable Creature that has a Soul a divine Worship and Religion returns tired and famisht but infinitâ—ly pleas'd with his Journey he has seen a parcel of Tulips Talk to another of the Farmer 's wealth of a plentiful Harvest or a good Vintage he is only nice in Fruit he understands not a word you say discourse him of Figs and Meâ—ons tell him that the Pear-Trees breaks with their weight of Fruit this year that there are abundance of Peaches this is all out of his way he is curious in nothing but Plumbs talk to him of them he makes you no answer he is only fond of a certain species of them too and laughs at all others he leads you to the Tree and artificially gathers this exquisite Plumb divides it gives you one half keeps the other himself how delicious is this says he Taste it Is it not divine the whole World canâ—t match it at this his nose swells and 't is with a great deal of pains that he veils his joy and vanity under an appearance of modesty O! exquisite man never enough to be prais'd and admired a man to be talkt of in all Ages Methinks I see his mein and shape while he liv'd I remember the features of this great man who only amongst mortals was the happy possessor of such a Plumb Visit a third and he talks of his curious acquaintance but especially of Diognetes I admire him says he and understand him less than ever do you imagin he endeavours to instruct himself by his Medals that he esteems them the speaking evidences of past transactions or sixt unquestionable monuments of antient History Nothing less perhaps you 'll guess that all the pains he takes to recover an Head proceeds from the pleasure he enjoys in seeing an uninterrupted series of the Emperours 't is yet less Diognetes knows nicely all parts of a Medal he has a Case full except one place 't is this vacuity is so uneasy to him and truly and literally to â—iâ—â— this he spends his Estate and Life Will you see my Prints adds Democedes and presently he draws them out and shews them you there you fiâ—d one that is neither fineâ—y Printed neatly Graved or well Designed and therefore noâ— worth the pâ—â—seâ—ving he found it hanging up in the Hoâ—idays against the wall in the most publick places of the City he allows it to be ill Graved and worse Design'd but he assures you 't was done by an Italian of whom there 's little extant that 't is the only one in France of his hand he bought it very dear and would not part with it for a much better He goes on I labour under a sensible affliction which will oblige me to leave off troubling my self with Prints the rest of my Life I have all Calâ—t's Works except one Print indeed 't is so far from being the best that 't is the worst that ever he did but how shall I compleat my Sett I have hunted after this Print these twenty years and now I despair of ever getting it this is very hard Another Satyr is those who make long Voyages either through uneasiness or curiosity because they keep no Journal or furnish us with no Relations or Memoirs they go to see and don 't see any thing or at best forget what they have seen they desire only to remember new Roads and new Steeples to pass insignificant unknown Rivers they go out of their Country purely to return again they love to be absent that they may one day come from afar this Satyrist talks well and forces attention But when he adds that Books are more instructive than Travelling and gives me to understand that he he has a Library I desire to see it I visit this Gentleman he receives me into his House and at the bottom of the Stairs I am struck down with the scent of the Russia Leather that covers all his Books in vain he encourages me by telling me they are gilt on the Backs and Leaves that they are of the best Editions and by naming some of the best of them he tells me his Gallery is full of them except one place that is painted so like Books the fallacy is not to be discern'd he adds that he never reads and rarely sets foot in this Gallery and that he did it now to oblige me I thank him for his complaisance but wou'd as soon visit a Tan-Pit as his Library Some people by an intemperate desire of knowledge and an unwillingness to be ignorant of any thing are greedy of all sorts of Learning and masters of none they are fonder of knowing much than knowing well and had rather be superâ—icial smatterers in several Sciences than to dive profoundly into any one alone they every where meet with Masters to reclaim 'em they are bubbles to their own vain Curiosity and often by very painful efforts cannot extricate themselves from their gross Ignorance Others keep the Key of Knowledge but never enter themselves they spend their lives in Learning the Eastern and Northern Languages those of both Indies those of the two Poles nay that of the World in the Moon it self The most useless Idioms the most ridiculous and Magical Characters employ their Souls and excite their industry they are very angry with those who content themselves with their own Language or at most with the Greek and Latin These men read all the Historians and know nothing of History they run thro all Books but are not the wiser for any their defect is a barren ignorance of things and principles and indeed their best Collection their greatest Riches consist in abundance of words and phrases which they huddle together and load their Memory withal whilst their Souls are empty A Citizen loves building he builds himself a House so fine and noble that he 's asham'd to live in it and is unwilling to let it to a Nobleman or a States-man he retires into the Garret where he spends his life whilst the Walls and Boards are worn out
business to receive Visits to give out Orders and Commissions and at the same time to attend the Responses to chuse a Director and rely on him more than the Gospel itself to derive all his sanctity from the reputation of his Director to despise all those that he has a slender opinion of and scarce allow them to be in a state of Salvation to be fond of the word of God only from the mouth of his Director to prefer Mass of his celebration and the Sacraments from his hands before all others to make his spiritual Repast only Books of Devotion as if there were neither Gospels Epistles of the Apostles or Morals of the Fathers to read and talk a Jargon unknown to the first ages to be very exact to confess the sins of others and palliate his own to cry out of his sufferings and his patience to talk of his small progress in Gallantry as of a sin to be in a secret alliance with some persons against others to have no value for any but those of his own side and cabal and to suspect even Virtue herself to taste and relish prosperity and favour to wish no body well but himself never to assist merit to make piety subservient to his Ambition to go to heaven by the way of Fortune and Dignity this is now adays the greatest effort of Devotion * An Hyprocrite is one that will be an Atheist under a Ring that is so Hypocrites esteem nothing a crime but incontinence or to speak more exactly the reputation and appearance of it If Pherecides passes for one that is cured of his fondness for women and Pherenice for a chaste wife ' tâ—s enough for then let them play a destructive game to ruin their credit or to rejoice at the misfortunes of another and to advantage themselves by it to idolize the great and contemn the meaner sort to be intoxicated with their own merit to be dried up with envy to lye to calumniate to cabal to blacken this is their way would you that they should usurp a place amongst good men who with all their vices avoid pride and injustice * When a Courtier becomes humble is cured of pride and ambition when he ceases to raise his Fortune on the ruin of his Companions when he shall be just indulgent to his Vassals and pay his Creditors when he shall be neither Knave nor Calumniator when he shall leave off luxurious Feasting and unlawful Love when he shall pray otherwise than with his Lips and out of his Prince's presence when he shall not be morose and difficult of access to others when he shall have no austerity in his countenance or sowreness in his mein when he shall be no more negligent and contemplative when by his scrupulous application to business he shall render different affairs very compatible when he shall harass himself and be willing to bend his mind to vast cares and laborious imployments to those of the greatest consquence for the good of the state and people when his Character shall make me afraid to mention him in this place and his modesty prevent it If I do not name him yet when I think of him I shall say he is Religious or rather that he is a man given to the age for a model of sincere virtue and for the detection of the Hypocrite * Onuphrius has nothing for his Bed but a Coverlet of grey Serge but he lies upon Cotton and Down he is plainly but decently habited I would say he wears a slight Stuff in the Summer and a very good Cloath in the Winter he wears extraordinary fine Shirts but takes a great deal of care to hide them he does not brag of his course Garment his strict Discipline on the contrary he passes for what he is an Hypocrite and would pass for what he is not in the least a devout man 'T is true he makes us in a sort believe without telling us that he wears a course Under-garment and that he disciplines himself severely he has several Books that are indifferently disperst about his Chamber this is the Spiritual Combat that the Interiour Christian the other the Holy Year his other Books are under Lock and Key if he is going along the Streets and observes a man to whom 't is necessary he should seem devout down-cast Eyes a slow and modest Gate a devout Air are familiar to him he plays his part if he enters a Church he observes whose eyes are upon him and according to the discovery he makes he falls upon his knees and goes to prayer or else never thinks of kneeling or praying if he sees a good man or a man of anthority approach that obâ—serves him he not only prays but meditates too le ts drop tears and sighs but this good man is hardly gone but he is silent and can scarce be perceiv'd to breathe another time he goes to an holy place rushes thro the croud and chooses a place for his Devotion where all the world may see how he humbles himself if he perceives any Courtiers who laugh and talk in the Chapel louder than in the Anti-chamber he makes a greater noise than they on purpose to silence them and returns to his meditation which is always the comparison he makes between those persons and himself in which he finds his account of all things he avoids an empty Church where he may hear two Masses one after another a Sermon and Vespers only between God and himself without any other witness he loves that Parish and frequents the Churches where there is the greatest concourse for there he does not lose his labour he is observâ—d by the Congregation he chooses two or three days to fast in without any occasion towards the end of the Winter he has a Cough his Stomach is out of order he has the Vapours and a Fever he begs and presses with all the earnestness in the world to break Lent as soon as it is begun and it is granted him in complaisance If Onuphrius is named Abitrator amongst Relations or in a Family â—aâ—se he is for the strongest I would say the richest side and cannot be perswaded that he that has a plentiful Estate can ever be to blame If he finds a rich man which he can impose upon and make his advantage of he is his Parasite he never cajoles his Wife nor makes the least advances that way but rather flies her and will leave her a part of his Garment to be gone unless he is as sure of her as himself he never attempts to seduce or debauch her by his hypocritical Jargon He never talks because it is customary so to do but out of design which is always advantageous to him and is always silent where his discourse would render him very ridiculous He knows where to find Ladies moreâ— sociable and agreeable than his Friends Wife which he very seldom absents himself from unless it be to give occasion to a publick report that he retires from
that dismal part of it the sending of Thieves and Murderers to the Gallows Who are those that are continualy solliciting our Magistrates that make such a stir before their doors and in their Halls Heirs at Law No! Their rights are fix'd of course They are none but Legatees who are jarring about the meaning of a word or a clause in a last Will or disinherited persons who find fault with a Testament that has been made leisurely after mature deliberation by a grave a wise and conscientious man and not without the help of good Counsel With a Deed in which a cunning Lawyer has display'd all his skill to make it firm and irrevocable and has omitted none of the cramp words and of the subtilities that are us'd by those of his profession A Deed which is sign'd by the Testator which is witnessâ—d with all the necessary formalities and which a Judge notwithstanding all this thinks fit to disanul and to make void * Titius is hearing of a last Will read with tears in his Eyes He is oppress'd with grief for the loss of a Friend by whose Death he is like to raise his fortune By one clause he makes him his Successor in a good office by another he bestows on him all his Tenements in the City by a third a fine seat in the Country and by a fourth he makes him master of a house richly furnish'd and seated in the best part of the Town with all its appurtenances His grief increases tears run down his Cheeks How is it possible he should refrain He is now one of his Majestys chief Officers he has his City and his Country-house his furniture is answerable He is to keep his Coach and a noble Table Was there ever an honester a better humour'd man than the deceased But hold Here is a sort of a Schedule belonging to this Will which must be read This Schedule gives Moevius all these things and sends Titius back to his Garret He has now neither honours nor money and must be contented to walk on foot as before Titius wipes off his tears 't is Moevius's business to weep * Does not the Law which forbids to kill include poisoning as well as stabbing drowning as well as burning private assaults as well as open violence and whatever may contribute to the destruction of men Did the Law which restrains Husbands and Wives from giving any thing one to another relate only to direct and immediate ways of giving Has it made no provision against those that are indirect Was it design'd for the introduction of Trustees Does it so much as tolerate such an evasion even when the dearest of Wives out-lives her Husband But does a man bequeath his Estate to a trusty friend as an acknowledgement of his friendship or is it not rather as a mark of his reliance upon him and of the confidence he has that he will make a good use of what he is entrusted with Will a man intrust his Estate to one whom he has the least ground to suspect will not restore it to the person it is really intended for Does he need a contract or an oath from him Must he so much as instruct him in what he is to do And does not every man feel within his breast what he may expect from another in such a case And if on the contrary the property of this Estate is fallen to this trusty friend why does he lose his reputation by keeping it What grounds does he give for a Satyr or Lampoon Would you comparâ— him to a Trustee that betrays his trust or to a Servant who robs his Master of a summ of Money he had sent by him to some other person I see no reason for it Where lies the shame of not performing a piece of generosity and of a man's keeping for his own use what is lawfully his How great is the perplexity how intolerable the burden that such a trust draws along with it If a man out of reverence to the Laws of his Country appropriates to himself such a deposite he can no longer be thought an honest man If out of respect for a deceas'd friend he acts according to his intentions and restores such a deposite to his Widow he must make use of deceitful practices and trangress the Law The Law then must differ strangely from the opinions of men Perhaps it may be and 't is not fit for me to tax either with an error * Typho finds a certain Nobleman with Horses Dogs and what not His protection makes him insolent He is what he pleases in his Country without the fear of punishment a murderer perjur'd and perfidious He burns and destroys his Neighbours and needs no Sanctuary The King is oblig'd at last to take upon himself the care of chastizing him * A Ragout a Fricacee and all the various names of your Dainties and Kick shaw's â—re words which should be new and unintelligible to us And if these are not fit to be so much as mention'd in time of Peace as serving only to promote luxury and gluttony how come they to be so well understood in time of War and publick calamities at the besieging of a Town the very night before a Battle Where do we find any mention made of Scipio's or of Marius's Table Do we read in any Book that Miltiades Epaminondas or Agesilaus were ever nice or costly in their Diet. I would have no man to commend a General for the goodness the neatness or the magnificence of his Table till he had so exhausted himself on the subject of a victory on the taking of a Town or some other great Action that he had nothing left to mention in his praise Nay I could be glad to see a General desirous to avoid such a commendation * Hermippus makes himself a slave to what he calls his little conveniencies All common practices all establish'd customs all fashions nay decency itself must fall a sacrifice to them He will find some in every thing A less makes room for a greater and not one is neglected of which the attainment is practicable He makes them his whole study and there is not a day but what produces some new contrivance of this kind He leaves it for others to have set Dinners and Suppers as for his part the very name of 'em is loathsome to him he eats when he is hungry and of such meats only that suits best with his Appetite He stands by at the making of his Bed what hand is so skilful or so happy as to make him sleep according to his mind He seldom goes abroad He loves to keep his Chamber where he is neither idle nor busie where in the garb of a man that has took Physick he does nothing and yet is continually employ'd Others like slaves must wait the leisure of a Smith or a Joyner according to their occasions As for him he keeps a File by him if any thing is to be smooth'd a Saw if it must be cut
left Meeting daily with new ways of Worship new Manners new Rites and Ceremonies they imitate those who wander about the shops before they have resolv'd what kind of stuff to buy Variety of choice disables them from choosing Each piece hath something which pleases their fancy yet unable to fix upon any they always come out without purchacing * The practice of Religion and Devotion is deferr`d by some till lewdness and impiety are profess'd by all It being then like the vulgar they will avoid following the crowd They are delighted with singularity in so serious and so important a subject They would only follow the mode in things of no moment and which have no consequence nay they have for ought I know already placâ—d a sort of undauntedness and bravery in running the risque of a future state The truth is a mans circumstances as well as his share of ingenuity and his private designs may be such that one would scorn to believe like the learned much more the ignorant * A man in health questions whether there is a God as he does whether Fornication be a sin If he 's sick and given over his Miss is laid aside and the dread of his Maker leaves no room for his doubts * Your modish Wits or Libertines should examin themselves thoroughly before they set up for such that at least and indeed according to their own principles they might dye as they have liv'd Or if they find their stock of wit is like to fail at the approaches of death that they might be contented to live as they must dye * A Jest in a dying man is very unseasonable If apply'd to certain subjects it is dreadful To bequeath to others matter of laughter at the expence of one 's own eternal happiness is extreamly dismal Let prejudice make you fancy what you please of a future state dying is still a most serious work which becomes constancy better than jest or raillery * There have been in all ages many of those learned and ingenious persons who embracing like Slaves the loose principles of some great men have groan'd under their yoak against the dictates of their own minds and consciences all their life time who never liv'd but for other men the humouring of whom one would think they had look'd upon to be the chief end of their Creation Who have been ashamed to be seen by them to work out their own Salvation and to appear outwardly such as they were perhaps within their hearts Who have run headlong into their own ruin out of weakness and complaisance Shall we then imagine that this world can bestow so much greatness and power on any mortal man as he shou'd deserve that his will his humour or his fancy shou'd be the rule of our belief and of our lives Nay that we shou'd be such Courtiers at our very deaths as to make such an exit not as we think is like to be safest for our own Souls but as we hope will be most pleasing to him * One would expect from those who act contrary to all the world besides and contradict such principles as are receiv'd by all that they knew more than other men that their reasons were plain and their arguments convincing * Shouâ—d a just chaste moderate and sober man affirm there is no God self-interest certainly wou'd have no hand in such an assertion But where is this man to be found * Shou'd a just chaste moderate and sober man affirm there is no God I wou'd think such an assertion was Impartial But where is this man to be found * Cou'd I but see that man who was really perswaded that there is no God I shou'd hear at least by what strange convincing arguments he had found it out * The impossibility I find my self under of proving there is no God is a demonstration to me that there is one * God condemns and punishes those who trespass against him And is the only Judge in this cause Which were contrary to reason but that his Being is the spring of all Justice and Truth That iâ— thaâ— he is God * Some secret Instinct whispers me that there is a God and it never does that there is none I need no further proof And arguments to me are needless I conclude from thence that he is and this conclusion is grounded in my nature I took up with this principle too readily from my childhood and my sticking close to it afterwards hath been too natural for me ever to have the least jealousie of any falshood in it Ay but there are some men who make a shift to forsake this principle I question whether there are or no. But if there be it argues that there are Monsters * There is no such thing as an Atheist Your Great men who we are most apt to susâ—pect of being given that way are too lazy to determine in their own minds whether there is a God or no. And they indulge that temper so far that they are utterly careless and indifferent upon this so weighty a matter as well as upon the nature of their own Souls and the consequences of true Religion They neither deny nor grant any of these things for they bestow no thoughts upon ' em * A Great man falls only in a swoon as we think but dyes in a moment Another in a Consumption sees death daily creeping upon him till he sinks under the weight of a lingering distemper These are dreadful but useless presidents These circumstances tho so remarkable and so opposite to each other are not taken notice of affect no body 〈◊〉 no more regarded than the fall of a 〈◊〉 or the fading of a Flower We are inquisitive only about their vacant imployments How such and such a place was dispos'd of and envy those that succeed ' em * Is there so much goodness fidelity and equity among men that we shou'd place such a confidence in them as not to desire at least that there was a God to whom we might appeal from their Injustice and who might protect us against their persecutions and treacheries * If the Wits find so much grandeur and sublimity in Religion that it dazles and confounds their understandings they deviate from their character and must acknowledge their own dulness and stupidity If on the other hand they are offended at the meanness and simplicity of it we must allow them to be Wits indeed and greater Wits than so many great men who have gone before them than the Leos the Bazils the Ieroms Austins and others who notwithstanding all their learning and their extraordinary wisdom glory'd in a compleat profession of Christianity * Some who never read the Fathers are frighted at their very names How dull how rough how insipid how pedantick do they fancy 'em in their discourses their expessions and their arguments But how wou'd these men wonder at the strangeness of such a notion if they perus'd their writings and found in 'em a more exaâ—â—â—â—â—quence