her eat the less at Dinneâ— She adds she 's troubled a nights with broken Slumâ—â—rs he bids her never lye a Bed by day She asks how her grossness may be prevented the Oracle replies she ought to rise before noon and now and then make use of her Legs a little She declares that Wine disagrees with her the Oracle bids her drink Water That she has a bad digestion he tells her she must go into a Diet. My sight says she fails Use Spectacles says Aesculapius I grow weak I am't half so strong and healthy as I have been You grow old says the God But how says she shall I cure this Languishing Why you must dye like your Grandfather and Grandmother if youâ—ll get rid onâ—t quickly What advice dost thou give me thou Son of Apollo crys Irene Is this the mighty Skill which men praise and worship you for What hast thou told me rare or mysterious Did not I know thus much before The God answers Why did you not put it in practice then without coming so far out of your way to seek me and shortning your days by a tedious Voyage to no purpose * Let us think when we are sighing for the loss of our past youth which will no more return Dotage will come then we shall regret the age of our full strength which we now enjoy and don 't enough esteem * Inquietude fear and dejection cannot keep Death far from us yet I question if excessive laughter becomes men who are mortal * What there is in Death uncertain is a little sweeten'd by what there is certain There 's something indefinite in time which looks like infinite and is thence called Eternity * We hope to grow old and we fear old age that is we are willing to live and afraid to dye * One had better give way to Nature and fear Death than be always striving against it arming our selves with Reasons and be our own Slaves that we may not fear it * If some men dyâ—d and others did not Death would indeed be a terrible affliction * A long Sickness seems to be placâ—d between Life and Death that Death itself may be a comfort to those who dye and those who survive them * To speak liâ—e Men Death is in one thing very good It puts an end to old age The Death which prevents Dotage comes more seasonable than that which ends it * The regret men have for the time they have ill spent does not always induce them to spend what remains better * Life is a kind of Sleep old men sleep longest They never begin to wake but when they are to dye If then they run over the whole course of their lives year by year they find frequently neither Vertues nor commendable actions enough to distinguish them one from another They confound their different ages They see nothing sufficiently remarkable to measure the time they have livâ—d by They have had confus'd Dreams without any form or coherence However they fancy like those who awake that they have slept a long while * There are but three events which happen to Mankind Birth Life and Death They know nothing of their Birth suffer Death and forget Life * There is a time which precedes Reason when we live like other Animals by instinct of which we can't trace the least footsteps There 's a second time when Reason discovers itself when 't is form'd and might act if it were not obscur'd and almost extinguisht by the vices of Constitution and a Chain of Passions which succeed one another and lead to the third and last age Reason then is in its force and might bring forth but 't is soon lessen'd and weaken'd by years sickness and sorrow render'd useless by the disorder of the Machine which is now declining yet these years imperfect as they are make the Life of a Man * Children are haughty disdainful cholerick envious inquisitive self-interested lazy light fearful intemperate lyers dissemblers laugh easily and are soon pleas'd have immoderate joys and afflictions on the least subjects would not have ill done 'em but love to do ill In this they are men long before they are one and twenty * Children think not of what 's past nor whatâ—s to come but rejoyce o're the present time which few of us do * There seems to be but one character of Childhood The Manners at that age is in all much the same and it must be with a very nice observation that you can perceive a difference It augments with Reason because with it the Passions and Vices increase which make men so unlike one another and so contrary to themselves * Children have in their childhood what old men lose Imagination and Memory which are very useful to them in their little sports and amusements by these helps they repeat what they have heard and mimick what they see done By these they work after others or invent themselves a thousand little things to divert themâ— Make Feasts and entertain themselves with good chear are transported into Inchanted Palaces and Castles have rich equipages and a train of followers lead Armies give Battel and rejoyce in the pleasure of Victory talk of Kings and greatest Princes are themselves Kings have Subjects possess Treasures which they make of Leaves Boughs Shells or Sand and what they are ignorant of in the following part of their lives They know at this Age how to be arbiters of their fortune and masters of their own happiness * There are no exterior vices or bodily defects which are not perceiv'd by Children They strike 'em at first sight and they know how to express 'em in agreeable words Men could not be more happy in their terms but when they become men they are loaded in their turn with the same imperfections and are themselves mock'd * 'T is the only care of Children to find out their Masters weakness and the weakness of those to whom they must be subject when they have found it they get above 'em and usurp an Ascendant over them which they never part with for what depriv'd them of their Superiority will keep them from recovering it * Idleness Negligence and Laziness Vices so natural to Children are not to be seen in 'em while they are at play They are then lively heedful exact lovers of rule and order never pardon one another the least faults Begin again several times if but one thing is wanting Certain presages that they may hereafter neglect their duty but will forget nothing that can promote their pleasure * To Children Gardens Houses Furniture Men and Beasts appear great To Men the things of the world and I dare say for the same reason because they are little * Children begin among themselves with a popular state where every one is master and what is very natural can't agree so long before they go on to a Monarchy One of 'em distinguishes himself from the rest either by a greater vivacity strength or a more exact knowledge
the Ancients would afford them We who are now Modern shall be Ancient in a few days then the History of our times will make Posterity relish the selling of places of Honour or Trust that is to say that no man can have the power to protect Innocence to punish Guilt and of doing Justice to all the world except he buys it with ready Money just as he does his Farm It will also reconcile them to the gawdy splendour of the heads of factious parties a sort of men treated with the last contempt amongst the Hebrews and Greeks They 'll hear of the Capital City of a Great Kingdom which hath neither Publick places Baths Fountains Amphitheatres Galleries Porticues nor Publick Walks which was notwithstanding a prodigious City of some persons whose life is spent in going from one House to another Ladies who keep neither Shops nor Inns yet have their Houses open for those that will pay for their admission there you may have Cards and Dice or play at what sort of Game you please you may eat in these Houses and they are fit for all sort of Commerce They 'll be inform'd that some pass up and down the Street only to seem to be in haste there is no familiarity or conversation there but all is confused and as it were an alarm of the noise of Coachesâ— which to avoid one must run into the middle of the Street as fast as if he wâ—re running a Race They 'll believe without wonder that the Inhabitants go to Church visit the Ladies and Friends with offensive arms and that there is no person but carries at his side wherewith at one push to murder another Now if our posterity astonisht at Customs so strange and different from theirs should therefore dislike our Memoirs our Poetry our Comedy and Satyrs might not we complain that by this false delicacy they deprive themselves of the reading such excellent Works so elaborate and so regular and of the knowledge of the most glorious Nation that ever yet adorn'd History Having then the same tender regard for the Books of the Ancients which we our selves hope for from posterity being perswaded no Uses or Customs continue in all ages but vary with the times and that we are too remote from those that are past and too near those now in vogue to be at that due distance that is requisite to make a just observation of either Nor will that which we call the politeness of our Manners nor the Decorum of our Customs â—or our State and Magnificence afford us morâ— advantage over the Athâ—nians plain way of living than against that of the first Men great by themselves and independant on a thousand exteriour things which afterwards weâ—e invented perhaps to supply that true Grandeur which is now no more Nature shews itself in them in all its purity and dignity and was not yet in the least suâ—lâ—ed by Vanity Luxury and foolish Ambition No man was honoured but on account of his Strength or Virtue none were enriched by Places or Pensions but by their Land and Flocks their Children and Servants their food was wholesome and natural the Fruits of the Earth and the Milk of their Beasts their Raiment plain and uniform made of their Wool and Fleeces their pleasures innocent a great Crop the marriage of their Children a good understanding with their Neighbours peace in their Family Nothing can be more opposite to our Manners than all these things but the distance of time makes us relish them as the distance of place occasions us to receive all that the different relations or Books of Travels inform us of remote places and strange Countrys They tell us of one Religion one Policy one way of feeding habiting building and making War there was no part of manners that they were ignorant of those that approach nearest ours affect us those that are more distant fill us with admiration but all amuse us less surprized at the barbarity of Manners and Customes of People so remote which instruct and at the same time please us by their Novelty it suffices us that those concerning whom we have the account are Siamites Chinese Negroes or Abyssines Now those whose Manners Theophrastus paints were Athenians and we are French and if we add to the diversity of Place and Climate the long interval of time and considering that this Book was wrote the last year of the CXV Olympiad three hundred and fourteen years before the Christian Era and also that it is above two thousand years since the People of Athens lived of whom he draws the Picture we may admire to know our selves there our friends our enemies those whom we live with and that being di-distant from each other so many ages the resemblance should be so great In short Mens Souls and Passions change not they are yet the same still as they were and as they are described by Theophrastus Vain Dissemblers Flatterers Selfish Impudent Importunate Distrustful Backbiters Quarrelsome and Superstitioâ—s It s true Athens was a free City it was the center of the Republick its Citizens were â—qual one with another they walked by themselves and on foot in a neat peaceable and spacious City going into the Shops and Markets to buy what necessaries they wanted themselves Court emulation did not in the least incline them to leave this common way of Life they kept their Slaves for the Baths for their Repasts for their Domestick service and for travelling they spent one part of their time in the publick places the Temples the Amphitheatres on the Bridge or under the Portico's and in the middle of a City of which they were equally Masters There the people met together to deliberate of the publick affairs there they treated with Strangers In other places the Philosophers sometimes delivered their Doctrine sometimes conversed with their Scâ—olaâ—s These places were at the same time the Scene of pleasure and business there was some thing in their manners which was plain and popular which I acknowledge little resembles ours yet notwithstanding what such men as the Athenians in general and what City like Athens what Laws what Policy what Valour what Discipline what perfection in all Arts and Sciences nay what Politeness in their common Conversation and Language Theophrastus the same Theophrastus of whom so great things have been said this agreeable Talker this man that expresses himself Divinely was known to be a Foreigner and called so by an ignorant Woman of whom he bought Herbs in the Market who knew by a sort of Atticks nicety which he wanted which the Romans afterwards called Urbanity that he was no Atheniaâ— and Cicero relates that this great man was amazed that having lived to old Age in Athens and being so perfect a Master of the Attick Language and having habituated himself to the accent so many years that yet he could not do that which the common people naturally and without any difficulty do But if we read in this Treatise the Characters of
true he omits saying A Man of my Quality though he passes for such And there are none who borrow Money of him or eat at his Table which is very delicate that dare dispute it His Seat is stately the out-side is entirely Dorick There is no Gate but a Portico and the People are at a loss whether 't is a private House or a Temple He is Lord Paramount of all the Precinct His Neighbours envy him and would gladly see his fall and his Wives Diamond Necklace makes the Ladies his Enemies Every thing agrees in him he acts like himself in the Grandeur he has acquired and whatever Obligations he lies under by obtaining it he resolves never to discharge them Did not his feeble old Father die twenty Years ago before any mention was made of Periander How can he endure those odious Registers which declare Mens Qualities and frequently make the Widow or the Heir asham'd and blush at their Pretences Would he hide 'em from the Eyes of a Jealous Malicious Clear-sighted Town at the expence of a thousand People who will be absolute in their Precedence at all Funerals and Publick Processions Or would he have us make his Father a Nobleman while he is himself but a Master * How many Men are like those Trees which being already tall and well grown are transplanted into Gardens where they surprize those who see 'em in fine places without perceiving them in the time of their growth and without knowing either their beginning or advances * If some Dead men were to rise up again and see their Arms born their Lands Castles ancient Seats and Titles possest by those very persons wko were once their Tenants what opinion cou'd they have of our Age * Nothing makes us better comprehend what little things God thinks he bestows on Mankind when he suffers 'em to abound in Riches Gold Settlements Stations and other advantages than the dispensations he makes of them and the sort of men who are best provided * If you enter into a Kitchin where they have turned it into Art and Method to flatter the Taste and eat above what is necessary If you were to examine the Particulars of all the Dishes which are prepared for you at a Feast If you observe how many hands they go through or what different Forms they pâ—ss before they become exquisite Meats and arrive at that Neatâ—ess and Elegance which charm your Eyes puzzle your Choice and force you to taste all If you were to see at once all the Variety that comes to a well-spread Table how would you be disgusted and offended If you go behind the Scenes and number the Weights the Wheels the Ropes which make the Flights and Machines at the Theatre If you consider how many Men are employed in the Execution of their Motions how they stretch their Arms and extend their Nerves You would exclaim Are these the Springsâ— the Movements of so fine a Shew which seems animated and acted only by itself You would cry out What Efforts what Violence and not enquire much into the Fortune of the Actors * This Youth so fresh so flourishing and healthy is Lord of an Abby and ten other Benefices they bring him in all together one hundred and twenty thousand Livres a year which are paid him constantly in Gold There are elsewhere One hundred and twenty Indigent Families who have no Fire to warm 'em in the Winter no Cloaths to cover their Nakedness nor Bread to eat their Poverty is extream and shameful Where then is the Division Does not this clearly demonstrate a Futurity * Chrysippus a new and the first Nobleman of his Race wish'd thirty years ago for two thousand Livres a year and this he â—aid should content him this bounded his Desires this was the top of his Ambition he spake in this manner and there are many who râ—member it Some time after he rose high enough I know not by what means to give as much for a Portion to his Daughter as he desired for himself during his Life a like sum is counted in his Coffers for each of his Children and he has many to be provided for This is only something for the present there are more good things to be expected at his Death He is still alive advanced to a great Age and employs the rest of his time in labouring to be richer * Let Ergastus alone and he will demand a Right over every thing that dwells in the Water or marches on dry Land he knows how to convert Reeds Rushes and Nettles into Gold he hears all Advices and proposes every thing he hears The Prince gives nothing to any one but at his Expence parts with no Favours but what are his due he has an insatiable Hunger to have and to hold * Have nothing to do with Criton who never regards any Person 's Interest when his own is to be promoted The Snare is always ready for those who deal with him If you have a desire for his Lands or what else is his he will impose on you extravagant Conditions There is no fair Dealing or Composition to be expected from a Man so full of his own Interest Avoid him he will certainly be too hard for you * Brontin they say retires and locks himself up eight hours a day with the Saints they have their Meditations and he has his * The People have very often the pleasure of a Tragedy and see on the Theatre of the World the most odious infamous and mischievous Actors come to wretched ends * If we divide the Lives of the S.T.P. in two parts the first is lively and active busied in afflicting the People The second bordering on Death is spent in detecting and destroying one another * The Man who has made your Fortune and several more has not been able to maintain his own or secure his Wife and Children's after his Death and though you are well inform'd of the Misery of their Condition you have no thoughts of sweetning it at least you have no time for it being too much concerned in building and keeping a good House of your own yet in Gratitude you keep your Benefactor 's Picture which from the Closet is removed to the Antichamber and thence without any respect into the Wardrobe * There is a Hardness of Temper and another of Estate and Condition from whence as much as from the firstâ— we learn to be inflexible to the Miseries of others I may say without Injustice to the Misfortunes of our Family A good Treasurer weeps not for his Friends his Wife or his Children * Fly Retire You are not far enough How say you I am under the other Tropick get under the Pole in the other Hemisphere Mount to the Stars if possible and you may be in safety Look down you will discover a Man covetous inexorable and insatiable who will sacrifice every thing he meets in his way whatever it costs his Neighbours to provide for himself enlarge his Fortunes and
good a grace as Augustus us'd to foot it to the Capitol The Pewter and Brass in those days shone on their Shelves and Cupboards the Copper and Iron in their Chimnies whilst the Silver and Gold lay safe in their Coffers Women were then serv'd by Women they had such to do their Offices even in their Kitchens The fine Names of Governor and Governante were unknown to our Forefathers they knew to whom the Children of great Princes were confided but they divided the service of their Domesticks with their Children and were content to be themselves their immediate Tutors Every thing they did agreed with their circumstances their Expences were proportion'd to their Receipt their Liveries their Equipages their Houshold Goods their Tables their City and Country Houses were all measur'd by their Revenues and their Condition They had however those outward distinctions amongst themselves that 't was easy to distinguish the Wife of an Attorny from that of a Judge and a Plebeian or Valet from a Gentleman They were less studious to spend or enlarge their Patrimony than to keep it they left it entire to their Heirs and past from a moderate Life to a peaceable Death there was no complaint then 'T is a hard Age. The Misery is great Money is scarce They had less than we have and yet they had enough Richer by their OEconomy and Modesty than their Revenues or Demesnes To conclude in former days they observ'd this Maxim that what is Splendor Sumptuousness and Magnificence in people of quality is in private men Extravagance Folly and Impertinence Of the Court. 'T IS in one sense the most honourable Reproach we can lay on any Man to say he knows not the Court for there is scarce a Vertue which we do not imply by giving him that Character * A Man who frequents the Court is master of his Gestures his Looks and Complexion he is profound and inpenetrable He dissembles when he does ill Offices smiles on his Enemies puts a constraint on his Natural Disposition disguises his Passions acts against his Inclinations speaks against his Opinion And after all this great Refinedness is nothing more than the Vice we call Falshood which is sometimes as unprofitable even for a Courtier as Openness Sincerity and Vertue * The Court is like certain Colours which change their kind and seem of different sorts according to the Lights they are expos'd in * The Man who leaves the Court for a minute renounces it for ever The Courtier who saw him in the Morning must see him at Nigâ—â— to know him the next Day or in short to be known himself * A Man must be content to seem little at Court and let him be never so vain t is impossible to prevent it but his comfort is the evil is common to all and the great ones themselves are but little when they appear there * The Court appears afar off to the Country as an admirable thing but if we approach it its Beauties diminish like a fair Prospect which we view at too little a distance * 'T would be difficult for a great many Persons to pass their Lives in an Anti-chamber a Court-yard or a Stair-case * The Court cannot give a Man content but it hinders him from â—inding it elsewhere * 'T is fit a Gentleman should make a trial of the Court but he will discover as soon as he enters there that he is in a new World which is wholly unknown to him Where Politeness and Vice divide the Government and where Good and Evil are equally useful for his Advancement * The Court is like a Marble Structure I mean 't is compos'd of Men very hard but very polite * A great many Pâ—â—ple go to Court only to come back again and at their return to be taken notice of by the Nobility of their Province or the Bishop of the Diocess * The Embroiderers and Confeâ—â—ioners wou'd be superfluous if we were modest and temperate Courts would be Deâ—arts and Kings left alone if we were void of Vanity and Interest Men are willing to be Slaves at Court to Lord it in the Country It seems as if they delivered out there by the Great that proud stately and commanding Air which our Rulers retail in their Provinces They do exactly what they see done before them and are the True Apes of Royalty * There is nothing disorders a Courtier more than the presence of his Prince We can then scarce know him by his Features his Looks alter and he appears perfectly contemptible The prouder and the haughtier he is the more he is mortify'd because he is at the greater loss whilst a civil and modest Man supports himself very well having nothing to reform * The Air of the Court is contagious it takes at V .... as the Norman Accent prevails at Râ—â—â—n and Falaise we find it amongst the Farriers Controllers and Excisemen A Man with a very little share of Wit may make a great progress towards obtaining it But one of an elevated Genius and solid Worth does nâ—t esteem this sort oâ— Accomplishment â—o nâ—â—â—â—â—ary as to employ much time in studying it however to be in the fashion he gets it without reflection or putting himself to any pains towards acquiring it * N .... arrives at Court with a great noise turns the People aside forces 'em to make way pats some strikes others and tells his name but they take breath awhile and at last oblige him to enter with the Croud * There are at Court the Apparitions of bold and adventurous Men of a free and familiar Character which they discover themselves assuring you their Cunning is preferable to all others and are trusted on their own Affirmations In the mean while they make their advantage of the publick Error or the Love which Men have for Novelty They break through the Croud get up to the ear of the Prince with whom the Courtier sees 'em talking and is glad to be seen himself being for this so useful to the great ones that they are allow'd or at least sufferâ—d without Molestation In a short time they disappear at once rich and out of favour and the Men who just came from being deceiv'd by them are ready to be deceiv'd by others * Here you will see some Men who as they pass by you give you a light Salute stretch out their Shoulders and thrust out their Breasts like Women ask you a Question and look another way speak in a high toneâ— and think themselves above every one in theiâ— presence They stop and the Company come about them They are the Presidents of thâ— Circle have all the Discourse persisting in their ridiculous and counterfeit Stateliness till there comes by a great Officer whose presence throws 'em quickly down from their affected Elevation and reduces 'em to their Native Condition which is less wretched * Courts cannot subsist without a certain sort of Courtiers such as can flatter are complaisant insinuating and devoted to the Ladies
measure woâ—â—d be more vain if they had a better opinion of those who praise them * The Great believe themselves to be the only compleat persons and will but seldom allow a right Judgment Ability or Delicacy in any of a meaner rank they seize on the riches of the mind as things due to their Birth 'T is however a gross error in 'em to nourish such false prejudices the best thoughts the best discourses the best writings and perhaps the nicest conduct do not always come from them They have large Houses and a long train of Ancestors this must not be disputed with â—em * Have you Wit Quality Civility a good taste and discernment shall I believe prejudice and flattery which so boldly proclaim your merit No Sir I suspect and refuse to hear ' em I 'le not be dazled with the Air of Quality and Dignity which set you above all words actions and writings which make you seem so insensible of applause that we can't fasten the least Encomium on you from whence I draw a more natural conclusion that you are fiery rich and in reputation How can one describe you Antiphon We cannot approach you but as we do the flames at a certain distance To discover what you are to make a sound and rational judgment of you we must confront you with your Companions your confident your most peculiar friend with whom you laugh and who laughs louder than your self Davus in short I know very well and that should be enough to give me your Character * There are some who did they know their inferiours and themselves they would be asham'd to be above ' em * If there are few excellent Orators are there many that would understand ' em If there are not enough good Writers where are those who know how to read We are always complaining of the small number of persons qualifyâ—d to counsel Kings and assist them in the administration of their affairs But if at last these able and intelligent men are born if they act according to their knowledge are they belov'd or esteem'd as much as they deserve are they commended for what they think and do for their Country They live that 's all and 't is thought sufficient they are censured if they miscarry and envy'd when they prosper Let us then blame the people whom indeed â—twould be ridiculous to excuse The Great look on their discontent and jealousy as inevitable things for this reason they matter not their opinions but even reckon it a rule in Politicks to neglect them The common people hate one another for the injury they reciprocally do themselves the Great are odious to them for the ill they do and the good they do not they think 'em responsible for their poverty and obscurity * The Great scorn to have the same God or Religion with the people or to be called Peter Iohn and Iames names only fit for Tradesmen and Labourers Let us avoid say they having any thing in common with the Multitude let us affect on the contrary any distinction that may separate us from them let the Mob appropriate to 'em the twelve Apostles their Disciples and the Martyrs like to like let them with pleasure spend every year such a particular day which each celebrates as his Festival For us let us have recourse to prophane names and baptize our Children under those of Hannibal Caesar and Pompey They were indeed great men under that of Lucretia an illustrious Roman Lady under those of Rinaldo Rugero or Olivier They wear Palladins and Romance cannot shew more wonderful Heroes under those of Hector Achillis or Hercules all Demi-gods under even those of Phoebus and Diana and what should hinder us from calling 'em Iupiter or Mercury Venus or Adonis * While the Great neglect to know any thing not only of the inteâ—est of their Prince and publick affairs but of their own private concerns while they are ignorant of the OEconomy and Government of a Family and value themselves on this ignoranceâ— they are impoverisht and ruin'd by their Servants while they are contented to be Cullies to their Stewards to be always eating and drinking while they sit idly at Thais's or Phyrnia's talking of Dogs and Horses to tell how many Stages there are between Paris and Besancon or Phillipsburg The Citizens instruct themselves in every thing that belongs to their Country study the art of Government become subtile and politick know the strength and weakness of a State think of advancing and placing themselves are plac'd and advanc'd become powerful and ease their Prince of part of the publick cares The Great who disdain'd respect them and think themselves happy if they can be accepted for their Sons-in-law * If I compare the two most opposite conditions of men together I mean the Great with the people the last appear content if they have but necessaries and the former unquiet and poor with superfluities The mean person can do no harm the Great would do no good and is capable of the contrary the mean exercise themselves only about things profitable the other on what is pernicious Here rusticity and freedom are ingenuously discover'd There a malign and corrupted disposition is hid under an Air of politeness if the people have no Wit the Great have no Souls These have a good bottom and no outside those have nothing but outside and a simple superficies Were I to chuse who I would be for without further weighing the matter it should be the people * As profound as the Great at Court are and whatever art they have to appear what they are not and not to appear what they are they cant't hide their malice and extream inclination to laugh at anothers expence and to render that ridiculous which is not really so These fine Talents are discovered in them at first sight admirable without doubt to puzzle a bubble and make a fool of one who was no better before But yet more proper to take away from them the pleasure they might receive by a man of Wit who knows how to turn and wind himself a thousand agreeable and pleasant ways if the dangerous Character of a Courtier does not engage him to be too reserv'd They oppose him with their Gravity which he is forc'd to dissemble and does it so well that the Rallyers as ill disposed as they are can find no pretence to laugh at him * A lazy life abundance and the calm of a great prosperity are the reasons why Princes of all others take delight in laughing at a Dwarf a Monkey a Natural or a wretched Tale Men less happy never laugh but to the purpose * At first it seemsâ— that what â— pleasant to a Princeâ— would not be so to others but we are deceived Princesâ— like men think of themselves follow their own Taste Passions and Conveniency this is natural * One would think 't was the first rule of such as are in office power or societies to give such as depend on
and suspicions difficulties and obstacles He 's fully perswaded that patience and a happy conjuncture will influence their Minds and accomplish his desired ends He feigns a secret Interest to break off the Negotiation tho' he passionately desires its continuance On the contrary tho' he has strict Orders to use his last endeavours to break it off yet he thinks the best way to effect it is to press its continuation After a very great Success he 's very stiff or veâ—y easie according as 't is advantageous or prejudicial and if by a vast prudence he can foresee any thing advantageous to the State he follows it close temporizes and manages himself according to the hopes fears and necessities of his Master He takes his Measures from Time Place and Occasion his own strength or weakness the Genius of the Nations he Treats with and the particular Temper and Character of their Ministeâ—s all his Maxims Designs and most refin'd Politicks tend only to prevent being deceiv'd and not to deceive others * The Character of the French Nation requires gravity in their Soveraign * 'T is one of the Misfortunes of a Prince to be over-burthen'd with secrets the diâ—covery of which would prove dangerous â—ut he 's happy if he can meet with a faithful Confident to discharge himself * A Prince wants only a private Life to compleat his happiness a loss that nothing can render supportable but the charms of Friendship and the fidelity of his Friends * A Monarch that deservedly fills a Throne finds it extreamly pleasant to debase himself sometimes to leave the Theatre quit the Buskins and Act a more familiar Part with a Confident * Nothing conduces more to the Honour of a Prince than the Modesty of his Favourite * No Ties of Friendship or Consanguinity affect a Favourite tho' he 's crouded with Relations and Creatures they 've no place in his esteem he disengages himself and stands alone like a huge Colossus * Certainly the Favourite who has an exalted Genius and a strong Reason must be disorder'd and confounded at the sordid and base Flatteries and frivolous and impertinent Applications of those who make their Court to him and hang upon him like Slaves and Spaniels that stick so close to him he cannot get rid of them even by Scorn and Derision * You who are in great Posts Publick Ministers or Favourites give me leave to advise you Don't intrust the care of your Memory with your Progeny don't expect they 'll preserve the lustre of your Name great Titles fly away the Princes Favour vanishes Honours leave their Possesâ—ors Riches disperse themselves and Merit degenerates 'T is true you have Children worthy your selves and capable of maintaining the Character you leave them but can you promise to be as fortunate in your Grand-Children Won't you believe me Cast your Eyes for once on some Men whom you cannot look on without scorn and disdain they 're descended from the very Men great as you are which you succeed Be Vertuous and Affable and if you ask what more is necessary in answer I must tell you Vertue and Humanity command a lasting Fame and are independant on your Posterity by these your Name is sure to live as long as the Monarchy endures and when future Generations shall walk over the Ruins of your strongest Castles and noblest Edifices the Idea of your great Actions will still remain fresh in their Minds they 'll greedily collect your Medals and Pourtraicts This say â—hey is the Effigies of a Man that dar'd to speak to his Prince with force and freedom and was more afraid of injuring than displeasing him he endeavour'd to make him a generous and good Prince the Father of his Country and tender of his People The Person you see painted there with a bold Countenance an austere and majestick Aâ—r advances in Reputation faster than he did in Years the greatest Politicians allow him amongst their number his great design was to establish the Authority of the Prince and the Safety of the People by the suppression of the Nobility from which neither the oppositions of strong Parties Conspiracies Treasons the danger of Death nor his own infirmities were able to divert him and yet he had time enough to have attempted and begun a more noble Enterprize since pursu'd and accomplish'd by one of the best and greatest Princes in the World * The most specious and the least suspected Snare that ever was laid for great Men by their Servants or for Kings by their Ministers has been the Advice above all things to enrich themselves An admirable Maxim Counsel which is worth a Treasure a Mine of Gold or a Peru to those who have the Address to instil it into their Masters * That Nation is extream happy whose Prince chooses the very same Persons for his Confidents and Ministers whom they would have chosen themselves if the Choice had been in their power * The knowledge of the more particular Affairs and a diligent application to even the more Minute cares of the Commonwealth are essential to a good Government tho' too much neglected by Kings and their Ministers in these last Ages 'T is a knowledge we cannot too earnestly desire in the Prince that 's ignorant of it nor value too highly in him that 's throughly acquainted with it It contributes to the ease and pleasure of the Subjects that their Prince extends the Bounds of his Empire beyond his Enemies Territories that he makes their Soveraignties become Provinces of his Kingdom that he is Victorious in Sieges and Battels that the best fortified Camps and Bastions afford no security against him That the neighbouring Nations ask Aid of one another and enter into Leagues to defend themselves and put a stop to his Conquests That their Confederacies are vain that he 's continually advancing and still victorious that their last hopes are frustrated by such a vigorous Constitution of the State which will afford the Monarch the pleasure of seeing the young Princes his Grand-Children support and increase their Soveraignties in Reversion of seeing them lead an Army into the Field destroy the strongest Fortresses conquer new Estates and command old and experienc'd Officers rather by their Wisdom and Merit than by their high Quality and Royal Birth of seeing them tread in the steps of their Victorious Father imitating his Goodness Docility Justice Vigilance and Magnanimity In a word let my Soveraign be never so Successful let the prudent Management of his Ministers nay let his Personal Merits exalt him to the highest pitch of Glory let my Country be never so Powerful let it be the Terror of all the Neighbouring Nations what should I or any of my fellow Subjects be the better for all these things if I werâ— forc'd to Labour under the dismal and melancholy burden of Poverty and Oppression If while I were secur'd against the Sallies from without of a cruel Enemy I was expos'd within the Walls of our Cities to the Barbarity of a
their Reputation if they pretend to it why should not I scorn them It is an happy thing to be a Philosopher but a very unhappy thing to wear that Character to give him that stile is an affront till the suffrage of most men declare him so and in restoring to that August name its proper Idea you attribute to him all due esteem * There is a Philosophy which raises us above Ambition and Fortune that equals us to what shall I say places us above the Rich the Great and the Powerful that prompts us to contemn preferments and those that procure them that exempts us from the fatiguâ— of cringing petitioning and importunate solicitations and even prevents those excessive transports of Joy which are the usual companions of great promotions There is another Philosophy which disposes and subjects us to all these things for the sake of our Neighbours and Friends This is the better of the two * It will shorten and rid us of a thousand tedious discussions to take it for granted that some persons are not capable of talking well and to condemn all that they have do or will say * We only approve of others for the resemblance we imagin they bear to our selves and so it seems to esteem any one is to equal him to our selves * The same vices which are deformed and insupportable in others we don't feel in our selves they are not burthensom to us but seem to rest without weight as in their proper centers Such an one speaking of another draws a dismal Picture of him not in the least imagining that at the same time he is Painting himself There is nothing would make us correct our own faults so readily as to be able to observe them in others 't is at this just distance that they appear what they are and raise in us an indignation equal to their demerit Wise conduct turns upon two Centers the past and the future he that hath a faithful memory and a vast foresight is out of danger of censuring in others those faults he may have been guilty of himself or condemning an action which in a parallel case and in like circustances it will be impossible for him to avoid * The Souldier and the Politician like cunning Gamesters trust nothing to chanceâ— but they advise they prepare themselves and seem ready to determine they don't only know what the Fool and the Coward are ignorant of I mean to make use of the first opportunity but by their measures and precaution they know how to serve themselves of this or that accident or of several of them together If this happens they get by it if that comes to pass they also get by it and the same accident is advantageous several different ways These wise men ought to be commended for their good fortune as well as wise conduct and chance ought to be recompenc'd as vertue in them * I place nothing above a great Polititian but he that despises him and is more and more perswaded that the World does not deserve his thoughts * There is in the best Counsels something that displeases 't is not our own thought and therefore presumption and caprice furnish pretences enough to reject it at first sight and reflection only forces its reception * What surprizing success accompanies some Favourites during the whole course of their lives what better fortune could support them without interruption without the least disgrace They have the first Posts the Princes Ear vast Treasures a perfect Health and an easie Death but what a strange account have they to give for their past life for the Counsels they have given for those they have neglected to give or follow for the good deeds they have not done and on the contrary for the evil ones they have done either by themselves or others in a word for all their Prosperity We gain by our Death the praises of our Survivors frequently without any other merit than that of ceasing to be the same Elogies serve at present for Cato and Piso. The Report runs that Piso is dead 't is a a great loss he was a good Man and deserv'd a longer life he was an agreeable Man had Wit Resolution and Courage he was Generous and Trusty Add only that he 's dead * That we cry up those that distinguish themselves by their honesty disinterest and probity is not so much their Elogy as a disgrace to the rest of mankind * Such an one relieves the necessitous who neglects his own Family and leaves his Son a beggar another builds a new House tho' he has not paid for the Lead of that which was finishâ—d ten years before a third makes presents and largesses and ruins his Creditors I would fain know whether Pity Liberality and Magnificence can be the Vertues of an unjust Man or whether Humour and Vanity are not rather the causes of this Injustjce * Dispatch is an essential Circumstance of that Justice we owe to others to occasion attendance is unjust The first do well they do what they ought but to say of him that in all his management protracts time that he does well is to do very ill * 'T is said of a great Man who had two set meals a day and spent the rest of his time to cause digestion that he dyed of hunger to say that he is not rich or that his affairs are in ill Circumstances this is figurative it might be more literally said of his Creditors * The Honesty Respect and Politeness of those advanced in years give me a good opinion of what we call Antient time * 'T is an over-confidence in Parents to have too great Expectation from the good Education of their Children and a great Error to expect nothing and neglect it * Were it true what several affirm that Education doth not change the Soul and Constitution and that the alterations that it makes were not substantial but meerly superficial I would yet forbear saying that it would be unprofitable * He that speaks little is sure of advantage 't is presum'd he has Wit and if indeed he does not want it 't is presum'd he is Excellent * To think only of our selves and the present time is the source of Error in Politicks * The greatest misfortune next to that of being Convicted of a Crime is often that of being able to justify our selves such a proceeding discharges and acquits us tho we still remain Criminal in the mouths of the People * A Man is just to some practical rules of Religion we see him nicely observe them no Man commends or discommends him he is not thought of another reclaims after ten Years neglect of all Religious duties he is cried up and applauded for it every Mans judgment is free for my part I blame his long forgetfulness of his duty and think him happy in his Reformation * The Flatterer has too weak an opinion both of himself and others * Some persons are forgot in the distribution of Favours