Stack lAnnex B 11385 m 1732 v.l O 9 **, jgjffm HBfl I A * ,. * '*> V IB Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN 1; I VOL. I. A Letter concerning ENTHUSIASM. Senfus Communis ; an EfTay on the Freedom of Wi T and HUMOUR. Soliloquy, or Advice to an Au T H o R. VOL. II. An Inquiry concerning VIRTUE and MERIT. The MORALISTS; a Philofophical Rhapfody. VOL. III. MISCELLANEOUS REFLECTIONS on the faid Treatifes, and other critical Subjects. A Notion of the Hiflorical Draught, or Tablature of the Judgment of HERCULES. With a Letter concerning DESIGN. VOLUME I. A Letter concerning ENTHUSIASM. Sen/its Communh ; an Eflay on the Freedom of WIT and HUM ou R. Soliloquy, or Advice to an AUTHOR. Printed in the Year M.DCC.XXXII. A 4 Ill StacK PREFACE. IF the Author of thefe united fraffs had been any Friend to PREFACES, he won A proba~ bly have made his Entrance after that manner j in one or other of the Five tTreatifes formerly publffid apart. But as to all Prefatory or Dedicatory tDifeourfe, he has told us Vis Mind fuffiriently, in that Treattfe which he calls SOLILOQ.UY. Being fatif- fy'd however, that there are many Terfons iv PREFACE. Terjbns who ejleem thefe Introduc- tory Pieces as 'very ejfential in the Conjlitution of a Work $ he has thought Jit, in behalf of his honejl Printer, to fubjlitute thefe Lines under the Title of A PREFACE3 and to declare, " jThat (according to his bejt Judg- " ment and Authority) thefe fre- cc fents ought to pafi, and be receivd, cc conftru'a 1 , and taken, as Jatisfac- cc tory in full, for all 'Preliminary " Compojition, Dedication, direct or " indirect Application for Favour to a the < Pub/ick, or to any private " ^Patron, or Party c whatfee e ver : " Nothing to the contrary appearing " to him, from the Jide of Truth, " or Reafon." Witnefs his Hand, this Fifth Day of December, 1710. A.A.C.A.KA.^E. C.M.D.C.L.X.XJ, TREATISE I. V I Z. A LETTER CONCERNING ENTHUSIASM, T O My Lord Sommers. Ridentcm dicer e Verum Quid vetat? Hor. Sat. i. Printed firft in the Year M.DCC.VIII. LETTER, &c MY LORD, Sept. 1707. NO W, you are returned to and before the Seafon comes which mufl engage you in the weightier Matters of State ; if you care to be entertain'd a-while with a fort of idle Thoughts, fuch as pretend on- ly to Amufement, and have no relation to Bufinefs or Affairs, you may caft your Eye {lightly on what you have before you ; and if there be any thing inviting, you may read it over at your leifure. IT 4 A LETTER Sect, i. IT has been an eftablim'd Cuftom for Poets, at the entrance of their Work, to addrefs themfelves to fome Mufe : and this Practice of the Antients has gain'd fo much Repute, that even in our days we find it al- moft conftantly imitated. I cannot but fan- fy however, that this Imitation, which paf- fes fo currently with other Judgments, mull at fome time or other have ftuck a little with your Lordfhip ; who is us'd to examine Things by a better Standard than that of Fafhion or the common Tafte. You muft certainly have obferv'd our Poets under a remarkable Conftraint, when oblig'd to af- fume this Character : and you have won- der'd, perhaps, why that Air of Enthufiafm, which fits fo gracefully with an Antient, fhou'd be fo fpiritlefs and aukard in a Mo- dern. But as to this Doubt, your Lordfhip wou'd have foon refolv'd your-felf : and it cou'd only ferve to bring a-crofs you a Re- flection you have often made, on many oc- cafions befides ; That 'Truth is the moft pow- erful thing in the World^ (ince even Fiction * it-felf muft be govern'd by it, and can only pleafe by its refemblance. The Appearance of Reality is neceflary to make any Paflion agreeably reprefented : and to be able to move others, we muft firft be mov'd our- felves, or at leaft feem to be fo, upon fome probable Grounds. Now what pombility * Infra, p. 141, 8cc. and VO L III. f. itfo, &C. is concerning ENTHUSIASM. j is there that a Modern, who is known never Sect. I. to have worfhip'd APOLLO, or own'd any fuch Deity as the Mufes, {hou'd perfuade us to enter into his pretended Devotion, and move us by his feign'd Zeal in a Religion out of date ? But as for the Antients, 'tis known they deriv'd.both their Religion and Polity from the Mujes Art. How natural therefore muft it have appear'd in any, but efpecially a Poet of thofe times, to addrefs himfelf in Raptures of Devotion to thofe acknowledg'd Patronefles of Wit and Sci- ence ? Here the Poet might with probabili- ty feign an Extafy, tho he really felt none: and fuppoling it to have been mere Affecta- tion, it wou'd look however like fomething natural, and cou'd not fail of pleafmg. BUT perhaps, my Lord, there was a further Myftery in the cafe. Men, your Lordfhip knows, are wonderfully happy in a Faculty of deceiving themfelves, when- ever they fet heartily about it : and a very fmall Foundation of any Paffion will ferve us, not only to act it well, but even to work our-felves into it beyond our own reach. Thus, by a little Affectation in Love-Matters, and with the help of a Ro- mance or Novel, a Boy of Fifteen, or a grave Man of Fifty, may be fure to grow a very natural Coxcomb, and feel the Belle Pajjlon in good earneft. A Man of tole- rable Good-Nature, who happens to be a little 6 A LETTER Sect, i. little piqu'd, may, by improving his Re- fentment, become a very Fury for Re- venge. Even a good Chriftian, who wou'd needs be over-good, and thinks he can ne- ver believe enough, may, by a fmall Incli- nation well improv'd, extend his Faith fo largely, as to comprehend in it not only all Scriptural and Traditional Miracles, but a folid Syftem of Old-Wives Storys. Were it needful, I cou'd put your Lordfhip in mind of an Eminent, Learned, and truly Chriftian Prelate you once knew, who cou'd have given you a full account of his Belief in Fairys. And this, methinks, may ferve to make appear, how far an antient Poet's Faith might pombly have been rais'd, to- gether with his Imagination. BUT we Chriftians, who have fuch ample Faith our-felves, will allow nothing to poor Heathens. They muft be Infidels in every fenfe. We will not allow 'em to believe fo much as their own Religion; which we cry is too abfurd to have been credited by any befides the mere Vulgar. But if a Reverend Chriftian Prelate may be fo great a Volunteer in Faith, as beyond the ordinary Prefcription of the Catholick Church, to believe in Fairys ; why may not a Heathen Poet, in the ordinary way of his Religion, be allow'd to believe in Mufes? For thefe, your Lordfhip knows, were fo many Divine Perfons in the Heathen Creed, and concerning ENTHUSIASM. and were eflential in their Syftem of Theo-SecT. i< logy. The Goddeffes had their Temples and Worfhip, the fame as the other Deitys : And to drfbelieve the Holy Nine, or their APOLLO, was the fame as to deny JOVE himfelf ; and muft have been efteem'd e- qually profane and atheiftical by the gene- rality of fober Men. Now what a mighty advantage muft it have been to an antient Poet to be thus orthodox, and by the help of his Education, and a Good-will into the bargain, to work himfelf up to the Belief of a Divine Prefence and Heavenly Infpi- ration ? It was never furely the bulinefs of Poets in thofe days to call Revelation in queftion, when it evidently made fo well for their Art. On the contrary, they cou'd hot fail to animate their Faith as much as poffible ; when by a fmgle Act of it, well inforc'd, they cou'd raife themfelves into fuch Angelical Company* How much the Imagination of fuch a Prefence muft exalt a Genius, we may ob- ferve merely from the Influence which an ordinary Prefence has over Men. Our mo- dern Wits are more or lefs rais'd by the Opinion they have of their Company, and the Idea they form to themfelves of the Perfons to whom they make their Addref- fes. A common Aclor of the Stage will inform us how much a full Audience of the Better Sort exalts him above the common Vol. i* B pitch, 8 Sect, i. pitch. And you, my Lord, who are the nobleft After, and of the nobleft Partjf- fign'd to any Mortal on this earthly Stage, when you are ading for Liberty and Man- kind-, does not the publick Prefence, that of your Friends, and the Well-wifhers to your Caufe, add fomething to your Thought and Genius ? Or is that Sublime of Rea- fon, and that Power of Eloquence, which you difcover in publick, no more than what you are equally Mafter of, in pri- vate ; and can command at any time, alone, or with indifferent Company, or in any eafy or cool hour ? This indeed were more Godlike; but ordinary Humanity, I think, reaches not fo high. FOR my own part, my Lord, I have really fo much need of fome considerable Prefence or Company to raife my Thoughts on any occafion, that when alone, I muft endeavour by ftrength of Fancy to fupply this want; and in default of a Muje, muft inquire out fome Great Man of a more than ordinary Genius, whofe imagin'd Prefence may infpire me with more than what I feel at ordinary hours. And thus, my Lord, have I chofen to addrefs my-felf to your Lordfhip ; tho without fubfcribing my Name : allowing you as a Stranger, the full liberty of reading no more than what you may have a fanfy for; but referving to my-felf the privilege of imagining you read concerning ENTHUSIASM. read all, with particular notice, as a Friend, Seel. 4J and one whom I may juftifiably treat with the Intimacy and Freedom which follows. SECT. II. ,']*]': IF the knowing well how to expofe any Infirmity or Vice were a fufficient Secu- rity for the Virtue which is contrary, how excellent an Age might we be prefum'd to live in! Never was there in .our Nation a time known, when Folly and Extrava- gance of every kind were more fharply infpecled, or more wittily ridicul'd. And one might hope at leaft from this good Symptom, that our Age was in no de- clining ftate ; fince whatever our Diftem- pers are, we ftand fo well affected to our Remedys. To bear the being told of Faults, is in private Perfons the befl token of Amendment. 'Tis feldom that a Pub- lick is thus difpos'd. For where Jealoufy of State, or the ill Lives of the Great Peo- ple, or any other Caufe is powerful enough to reftrain the Freedom of Cenfure in any part, it in effect deftroys the Benefit of it in the whole. There can be no impartial and free Cenfure of Manners where any peculiar Cuftom or National Opinion is fet apart, and not only exempted from Criti- cifm, but even flatter'd with the higheft rt. 'Tis only in a free Nation, fuch as >urs, that Impofture has no Privilege ; and B 2 that 10 Sect. 2. that neither the Credit of a Court, the Power of a Nobility, nor the Awefulncfs of a Church can give her Protection, or hin- der Tier from being arraign'd in every Shape and Appearance. 'Tis true, this Liberty may feem to. run too far. We may per- ( haps be faid to make ill ufe of it. So every one will fay, when he himfelf is touch'd, and his Opinion freely examin'd. But who mall be Judg of what may be freely examin'd, and what may not ? Where Liberty may be us'd; and where it may not ? What Remedy {hall we prefcribe to this in general ? Can there be a better than from that Liberty it-felf which is com- plain'd of ? If Men are vicious, petulant or abulive ; the Magiftrate may correct them : But if they reafon ill, 'tis Reafon itill muft teach 'em to do better. Juftnefs of Thought and Style, Refinement in Man- ners, good Breeding, and Politenefs of e- very kind, can come only from the Trial and Experience of what is beft. Let but the Search go freely on, and the right Meafure of every thing will foon be found. Whatever Humour has got the ftart, if it be unnatural, it cannot hold ; and the Ri- dicule, if ill plac'd at firft, will certainly fall at laft where it deferves. I HAVE often wonder'd to fee Men of Senfe fo mightily alarm'd at the approach of any thing like Ridicule on certain Sub- jects 5 concerning ENTHUSIASM. 1 1 jects; as if they miftrufted their own Judg-Sect, 2. ment. For what Ridicule can lie againft *~*~y~^ Reafon ? Or how can any one of the lean: Juilnefs of Thought endure a Ridicule wrong plac'd ? Nothing is more ridiculous than this it-felf. The Vulgar, indeed, may fwallow any fordid Jeft, any mere Drollery or Buffoonery ; but it muft he a finer and truer Wit which takes with the Men of Senfe and Breeding. How comes it to pafs then, that we appear fuch Cowards in rea- foning, and are fo afraid to ftand the Teft of Ridicule ? O ! fay we, the Subjects are too grave. Perhaps fo : but let us fee firft whether they are really grave or no : for in the manner we may conceive 'em, they may peradventure be very grave and weighty in our Imagination -, but very ridiculous and impertinent in their own na- ture. Gravity is of the very ElTence of Impofture. It does not only make us mif- take other things, but is apt perpetually almoft to miftake it-felf. For even in com- mon Behaviour, how hard is it for the grave Character to keep long out of the limits of the formal one ? We can never be too grave, if we can be affur'd we are really what we fuppofe. And we can never too much honour or revere any thing for grave ; if we are affur'd the Thing is grave, as we apprehend it. The main Point is to know always true Gravity from t/je falfe ; and this can only be, by carrying the Rule B 3 con- \^ ^LETTER Seel. 2.conftantly with us, and freely applying it not only to the Things about us, but to our-felves. For if unhappily we lofe the Meafure in our-felves, we {hall foon lofe it in every thing befides. Now what Rule or Meafure is there in the World, except in the considering of the real Temper of Things, to find which are truly ferious, and which ridiculous ? And how can this be done, unlefs by * applying the Ridicule , to fee whether it will bear ? But if we fear to apply this Rule in any thing, what Secu- rity can we have againfl the Impofture of Formality in all things ? We have allow'd our-felves to be Formalifls in one Point ; and the fame Formality may rule us as it pleafes in all other. *T i s not in every Difpofition that we are capacitated to judg of things. We mult be- forehand judg of our own Temper, and ac- cordingly of other things which fall under our Judgment. But we muft never more pretend to judg of things, or of our own Temper in judging them, when we have given up our preliminary Right of Judg- ment, and under a prefumption of Gravity, have allow'd our-felves to be mod ridicu- lous, and to admire profoundly the moft ri- diculous things in nature, at leaft for ought we know. For having refolv'd never tq try, we can never be fure. * Infra, pag. 61, 74. concerning ENTHUSIASM. ij Sett. 2. fc *-Ridiculum acn Fortius Gf melius magnas plerumqiie fecat res. This, my Lord, I may fafely aver, is fo true in it-felf, and fo well known for Truth by the cunning Formalifts of the Age, that they can better bear to have their Impof- tures rail'd at, with all the Bitternefs and Vehemence imaginable, than to have them touch'd ever fo gently in this other way. They know very well, that as Modes and Famions, fo Opinions^ tho ever fo ridicu- lous, are kept up by Solemnity : and that thofe formal Notions which grew up pro- bably in an ill Mood, and have been con- ceiv'd in fober Sadnefs, are never to be re- mov'd but in a fober kind of Chearfulnefs, and by a more eafy and pleafant way of Thought. There is a Melancholy which accompanys all Enthufiafm. Be it Love or Religion (for there are Enthufiafms in both) nothing can put a flop to the growing mif- chief of either, till the Melancholy be re- mov'd, and the Mind at liberty to hear what can be faid againft the Ridiculoufnefs of an Extreme in either way. I T was heretofore the Wifdom of fome wife Nations, to let People be Fools as much as they pleas'd, and never to puniih * Hor. Sat. 10. B 4 feri- , 4 A LETTER Sect. 2.ferioufly what deferv'd only to be laugh'd at, and was, after all, beft cur'd by that innocent Remedy. There are certain Hu- mours in Mankind, which of necemty muft have vent, The Human Mind and Body are both of 'em naturally fubject to Commotions : and as there are ftrange Fer- ments in the Blood, which in many Bodys occafion an extraordinary Difcharge ; fo in Reafon too, there are heterogeneous Par- ticles which muft be thrown off by Fer- mentation. Shou'd Phyficians endeavour abfolutely to allay thofe Ferments of the Body, and ftrike in the Humours which difcover themfelves in fuch Eruptions, they might, inftead of making a Cure, bid fair perhaps to raife a Plague, and turn a Spring-Ague or an Autumn-Surfeit into an epidemical malignant Fever. They are certainly as ill Phyficians in the Body-Poli- tick, who wou'd needs be tampering with thefe mental Eruptions j and under the fpecious pretence of healing this Itch of SuperfVkion, and faving Souls from the Con- tagion of Enthufiafm, mou^d fet all Nature in an uproar, and turn a few innocent Car- buncles into an Inflammation and mortal Gangrene. WE read * in Hiftory that PAN, when he accompany'd BACCHUS in an Expedi- tion to the Indies, found means to ftrike a * Polyaeni Strateg. lib. i . c. z. Terror concerning ENTHUSIASM. 15 Terror thro' a Hoft of Enemys, by the Sect 2.- help of a fmall Company, whofe Clamors he manag'd to good advantage among the echoing Rocks and Caverns of a woody Vale. The hoarfe bellowing of the Caves, join'd to the hideous afpecl: of fuch dark and defart Places, rais'd fuch a Horror in the Enemy, that in this ftate their Imagination help'd 'em to hear Voices, and doubtlefs to fee Forms too, which were more than Hu- man : whilft the Uncertainty of what they fear'd made their Fear yet greater, and fpread it fader by implicit Looks than any Narration cou'd convey it. And this was what in after-times Men call'd a Panick. The Story indeed .gives a good Hint of the nature of this Paffion, which can hardly be without fome mixture of Enthufiafm, and Horrors of a fuperftitious kind. ONE may with good reafon call every Paffion Panick which is rais'd in a * Mul- titude, and convey'd by Afpect, or as it were by Contact or Sympathy. Thus po- pular Fury may be call'd Panick, when the Rage of the People, as we have fome times known, has put them beyond themfelves ; efpecially where * Religion has had to do. And in this ftate their very Looks are in- fectious. The Fury flies from Face to Face : and the Difeafe is no fooner feen than caught. They who in a better Situa- * Infra, p. 45. and VOL. III. p. 66. in the Notes. tion 16 A LETTER Sect. 2. tion of Mind have beheld a Multitude under the power of this Paflion, have own'd that they faw in the Countenances of Men fomething more ghaftly and terrible than at other times is exprefs'd on the moft paffionate occafion. Such force has * So- ciety in ill, as well as in good Pamons : and fo much ftronger any Affection is for being focial and communicative. THUS, my Lord, there are many Pa- nicks in Mankind, befides merely that of Fear. And thus is Religion alfo Panick ; when Enthufiafm of any kind gets up j as oft, on melancholy occafions, it will. For Vapours naturally rife ; and in bad times efpecially, when the Spirits of Men are low, as either in publick Calamitys, or during the Unwholefomnefs of Air or Diet, or when Convulfions happen in Nature, Storms, Earthquakes, or other amazing Prodigys : at this feafon the Panick muft needs run high, and the Magiftrate of neceflity give way to it. For to apply a lei ious Remedy, and bring the Sword, or Fafces, as a Cure, muft make the Cafe more melancholy, and increafe the very Caufe of the Diftemper. To forbid Mens natural Fears, and to en- deavour the over-powering them by other Fears, muft needs be a moft unnatural Me- * Infra, p. no, &c. and VOL. II. /. 100, 106, &c. 1 27, &c. thod. concerning ENTHUSIASM. thod. The Magiftrate, if he be any Artift, Sect. 2. fhou'd have a gentler hand ; and inflead of Caufticks, Incifions, and Amputations, fhou'd be ufing the fofteft Balms; and with a kind Sympathy entering into the Concern of the People, and taking, as it were, their Paffion upon him, fhou'd, when he has footh'd and fatisfy'd it, endeavour, by chearful ways, to divert and heal it. THIS was antient Policy : and hence (as a notable * Author of our Nation ex- prefies it) 'tis necelTary a People fhou'd have a Publick Leading in Religion. For to deny the Magiftrate a Worfhip, or take away a National Church, is as mere En- thufiafm as the Notion which fets up Per- fecution. For why fhou'd there not be publick Walks, as well as private Gardens ? Why not publick Librarys, as well as pri- vate Education and Home-Tutors ? But to prefcribe bounds to Fancy and Speculation, to regulate Mens Apprehenfions and reli- gious Beliefs or Fears, to fupprefs by Vio- lence the natural Paffion of Enthufiafm, or to endeavour to afcertain it, or reduce it to one Species, or bring it under any one Mo- dification, is in truth no better Senfe, nor deferves a better Character, than what the f- Comedian declares of the like Project in the Affair of Love * H A R R i N c T o N. f Ter. Eun. Aft. i. Sf. i. Nihilo i8 A LETTER Nlhilo plus agas Ji des operam ut cum ratione infanias* NOT only the Vifionarys and Enthu- fiafts of all kinds were tolerated, your Lordmip knows, by the Antients; but on the other fide, Philofophy had as free a courfe, and was permitted as a Ballance a- gainft Superflition. And whilft fome Sects, fuch as the Pythagorean and latter Plato- nick, join'd in with the Superftition and En- thufiafm of the Times ; the E,pmirean y the Academick) and others, were allow'd to ufe all the Force of Wit and Raillery againft it. And thus matters were happily bal- lanc'd ; Reafon had fair Play ; Learning and Science flourifh'd. Wonderful was the Har- mony and Temper which arofe from all thefe Contrarietys. Thus Superflition and Enthufiafm were mildly treated ; and being let alone, they never rag'd to that degree as to occafion Bloodfhed, Wars, Perfecu- tions and Devaluations in the World. But a new fort of Policy, which extends it-felf to another World, and confiders the future Lives and Happinefs of Men rather than the prefent, has made us leap the Bounds of natural Humanity j and out of a fuperna- tural Charity, has taught us the way of plaguing one another moft devoutly. It has rais'd an * Antipathy which no tem- poral Intereft cou'd ever do j and entail'd * VOL. ill. /. 59, 60, &c. 80, 8 1, &c. upon concerning ENTHUSIASM. upon us a mutual Hatred to all Eternity. Sect. 2. And now Uniformity in Opinion (a hope- r ful Project !) is look'd on as the only Ex- pedient againft this Evil. The facing of Souls is now the heroick Paffion of exalted Spirits ; and is become in a manner the chief Care of the Magiftrate, and the very End of Government it-felf. I F Magiftracy mou'd vouchfafe to inter- pofe thus much in other Sciences, I am afraid we fhou'd have as bad Logick, as bad Mathematicks, and in every kind as bad Philofophy, as we often have Divinity, in Countrys where a precife Orthodoxy is fettled by Law. 'Tis a hard matter for a Government to fettle Wit. If it does but keep us fober and honeft, 'tis likely we mall have as much Ability in our fpiritual as in our temporal Affairs : and if we can but be trufted, we mail have Wit enough to fave our-felves, when no Prejudice lies in the way. But if Honefty and Wit be infufficient for this faving Work, 'tis in vain for the Magiftrate to meddle with it : iince if he be ever fo virtuous or wife, he may be as foon miftaken as another Man. I am fure the only way to fave Mens Senfe, or preferve Wit at all in the World, is to give Liberty to Wit. Now Wit can never have its Liberty, where the Freedom of Raillery is taken away : For againft ferious Extravagances and fplene- tick io A LETTER Sedt. 2. tick Humours there is no other Remedy than this. WE have indeed full power over all o- ther Modifications of Spleen. We may treat other Enthufiafms as we pleafe. We may ridicule Love, or Gallantry, or K night-Er- rantry to the utmoft; and we find, that in thefe latter days of Wit, the Humour of this kind, which was once fo prevalent, is pretty well declin'd. The Crufades, the refcuing of Holy Lands, and fuch devout Gallantrys are in lefs requeft than former- ly : But if fomething of this militant Re- ligion, fomething of this Soul-refcuing Spi- rit, and Saint-Errantry prevails ftill, we need not wonder, when we confider in how folemn a manner we treat this Diftemper, and how prepofteroufly we go about to cure Enthufiafm* I CAN hardly forbear fanfying, that if we had a fort of Inquifition, or formal Court of Judicature, with grave Officers and Judges, ere&ed to reftrain Poetical Licence, and in general to fupprefs that Fancy and Humour of Verfification ; but in particular that moft extravagant Paffion of Love, as it is fet out by Poets, in its Heathenim Drefs of VENUS'S and Cu- p i D s : if the Poets, as Ringleaders and Teachers of this Herefy, were, under grievous Penaltys, forbid to enchant the People concerning ENTHUSIASM. it People by their vein of Rhyming ; and if Sett, the People, on the other fide, were, un- der proportionable Penaltys, forbid to hearken to any fuch Charm, or lend their Attention to any Love-Tale, fo much as in a Play, a Novel, or a Ballad ; we might perhaps fee a new Arcadia arifing out of this heavy Perfecution : Old People and Young would be feiz'd with a verfifying Spirit : We mou'd have Field-Conventicles of Lovers and Poets : Forefts wou'd be fill'd with romantick Shepherds and Shep- herdefles ; and Rocks refound with E- choes of Hymns and Praifes offer'd to the Powers of Love. We might indeed have a fair Chance, by this Management, to bring back the whole Train* of Heathen Gods, and fet our cold Northern Ifland burning with as many Altars to VENUS and APOLLO, as were formerly in Cyprus, De/os, or any of thofe warmer Grecian Climates. SECT. III. ; BU T, my Lord, you may perhaps won- der, that having been drawn into fuch a ierious Subject as Religion, I mou'd for- get my felf fo far as to give way to Rail- lery and Humour. I muft own, my Lord, 'tis not merely thro' Chance that this has happen'd. To fay truth, I hardly care fo much as to think on this Subject, much i lefs 14 A LETTER Se as venerable and wile a Face as it carry 'd, had neither Senfe nor Meaning in it. This however I am perfuaded of, that nothing befide ill Humour can give us dreadful or ill Thoughts of a Supreme Manager. No- thing can perfuade us of Sullennefs or Sournefs in fuch a Being> befide the actual fore-feeling of fomewhat of this kind with- in our-felves : and if we are afraid of bring- ing good Humour into Religion, or think- ing with Freedom and Pleafantnefs on fuch a Subject as GOD; 'tis becaufe we con- ceive the Subject fo like our-felves, and can hardly have a Notion of Majejly and Greatnefs, without Statelinefs and Morofe* nefs accompanying it. THIS, however, is the juft Reverfe of that Character, which we own to be moft divinely Good) when we fee it, as we foine- times do, in Men of higheft Power among us. If they pafs for truly Good, we dare treat them freely, and are fure they will Vol. i. C not 2 4 A LETTER Sett. 3. not be difpleas'd with this Liberty. They are doubly Gainers by this Goodnefs of theirs. For the more they are fearch'd into, and familiarly examin'd, the more their Worth appears ; and the Difcoverer, charm'd with his Succefs, efteems and loves more than ever, when he has prov'd this additional Bounty in his Superior, and re- flets on that Candor and Generofity he has experienc'd. Your Lordfhip knows more perhaps of this Myftery than any- one. How elfe fhou'd you have been fo belov'd in Power, and out of Power fo ad- her'd to, and ir.il! more belov'd ? THANK Heaven ! there are even in our own Age fome fuch Examples. In former Ages there have been many fuch. We have known mighty Princes, and even Emperors of the World, who cou'd bear unconcernedly, not only the free Cenfure of their Actions, but the moft fpiteful Re- proaches and Calumnys, even to their faces. Some perhaps may wifh there had never been fuch Examples found in Hea- thens-, but more efpecially, that the occa- fion had never been given by Chriftians. 'Twas more the Misfortune indeed of Mankind in general, than of Chriftians in particular, that fome of the earlier Roman Emperors were fuch Monfters of Tyran- ny, and began a Perfecution, not on reli- gious Men merely, but on all who were fufpe&ed concerning ENTHUSIASM. ay fufpe&ed of Worth or Virtue. What cou'd Sect. 3 have been a higher Honour or Advantage to Chriftianity, than to be perfecuted by a NERO? But better Princes, who came after, were perfuaded to remit thefe fevere Courfes. 'Tis true, the Magiftrate might poffibly have been furpriz'd with the new- nefs of a Notion, which he might pretend^ perhaps, did not only deftroy the Sacred- nefs of his Power, but treated him and all Men as profane, impious, and damn'd, who enter'd not into certain particular Modes of Wormip ; of which there had been for- merly fo many thoufand inftituted, all of 'em compatible and fociable till that time. However, fuch was the Wifdom of fome fucceeding Miniftrys, that the Edge of Perfecution was much abated ; and even that * Prince, who was efteem'd the great- eft Enemy of the Chriftian Seel:, and who himfelf had been educated in it, was a great Reftrainer of Perfecution, and wou'd allow of nothing further than a Refump* tion of Church-Lands and publick Schools, without any attempt on the Goods or Per- fons even of thofe who branded the State- Religion, and made a Merit of affronting the publick Wormip. 'T i s well we have the Authority of a facred Author in our Religion, to affure us, * Sec VOL. III. p. 87, 88, 89. in the Notes. C 2 that ^6 A LETTER Sect. 3. that the Spirit of * Love and Humanity is tx^T^ above that of Martyrs. Other wife, one might be a little fcandaliz'd, perhaps, at the Hiftory of many of our primitive Con- feflbrs and Martyrs, even according to our own accounts. There is hardly now in the World fo good a Chriftian (if this be indeed the Mark of a good one) who, if he happen'd to live at Conftantinople, or elfewhere under the Protection of the ^urkSy would think it fitting or decent to give any Difturbance to their Mo/gue- Wormip. And as good Proteftants, my Lord, as you and I are, we mou'd confider him as little better than a rank Enthufiaft, who, out of hatred to the Romim Idola- try, mou'd, in time of high Mafs (where Mafs perhaps was by Law eftablim'd) in- terrupt the Prieft with Clamors, or fall foul on his Images and Relicks. THERE are fome, it feems, of our good Brethren, the French Proteftants, lately come among us, who are mightily taken with this Primitive ' way. They have let a-foot the Spirit of Martyrdom to a wonder in their own Country j and they long to be trying it here, if we will give 'em leave, and afford 'em the Occa- lion : that is to fay, if we will only do 'em the favour to hang or imprifon 'em $ if we * i Cor. ch. xiii. ver. 3. will concerning ENTHUSIASM. 27 will only be fo obliging as to break their Sect. 3. Bones for 'em, after their Country-famion, blow up their Zeal, and ftir a-frefh the Coals of Perfecution. But no fuch Grace can they hitherto obtain of us. So hard- hearted we are, that notwithflanding their own Mob are willing to beftow kind Blows upon 'em, and fairly ftone 'em now and then in the open Street -, tho the Priefts of their own Nation wou'd gladly give 'em their defir'd Difcipline, and are earneft to light their probationary Fires for 'em ; we Engli/h Men, who are Mailers in our own Country, will not fuffer the Enthu- fiafts to be thus us'd. Nor can we be fup- pos'd to act thus in envy to their Phenix- Sect, which it feems has rifen out of the Flames, and wou'd willingly grow to be a new Church by the fame manner of Pro- pagation as the old-one, whofe Seed was truly faid to be from the Blood of the Martyrs. BUT how barbarous ftill, and more than heathenifhly cruel, are we tolerating Englijh Men ! For, not contented to deny theie prophefying Enthuliafls the Honour of a Perfecution, we have deliver'd 'em over to the cruelleft Contempt in the World. I am told, for certain, that they are at * this very time the Subject of a * Viz. Anno 1707. C 3 choice a8 ^LETTER Sect. 3, choice Droll or Puppet- Show at "Barflemy- Fair. There, doubtlefs, their ftrange Voices and involuntary Agitations are admirably well acted, by the Motion of Wires, and Infpiration of Pipes. For the Bodys of the Prophets, in their State of Prophecy, being not in their own power, but (as they fay themfelves) mere paffive Organs, actuated by an exterior Force, have nothing natural, or refembling real Life, in any of their Sounds or Motions : fo that how aukardly foever a Puppet- Show may imitate other Actions, it muft needs reprefent this Paffion to the Life. And whilft Bart'/emy-Fair is in pofleffion of this Privilege, I dare ftand Security to our National Church, that no Sect of En- thufiafts, no new Venders of Prophecy or Miracles, mall ever get the ftart, or put her to the trouble of trying her Strength with 'em, in any Cafe. HAPPY it was for us, that when Po- pery had got pofleffion, Smithfield was us'd in a more tragical way. Many of our firft Reformers, 'tis fear'd, were little better than Enthufiafts : and God knows whe- ther a Warmth of this kind did not confi- derably help us in throwing off that fpiri- tual Tyranny. So that had not the Priefts, as is ufual, prefer'd the love of Blood to all other Paffions, they might in a merrier way, perhaps, have evaded the greateft 2 Force concerning ENTHUSIASM. 29 Force of our reforming Spirit. I never Sect. 3, heard that the antient Heathens were fo f well advis'd in their ill Purpofe of fup- prefling the Chriftian Religion in its firft Rife, as to make ufe, at any time, of this Bart'/emy-Fair Method. But this I am per- fuaded of, that had the Truth of the Gof- pel been any way furmountable, they wou'd have bid much fairer for the filen- cing it, if they had chofen to bring our primitive Founders upon the Stage in a pleafanter way than that of Bear-Skins and Pitch-Barrels. THE yews were naturally a very * clou- dy People, and wou'd endure little Rail- lery in any thing ; much lefs in what be- long'd to any religious Doctrines or Opi- nions. Religion was look'd upon with a fullen Eye ; and Hanging was the only Remedy they cou'd prefcribe for any thing which look'd like fetting up a new Revela- tion. The fovereiga Argument was, Cru- cify, Crucify. But with all their Malice and Inveteracy to our Saviour, and his Apoftles after him, had they but taken the Fancy to act fuch Puppet-Shows in his Contempt, as at this hour the Papifts are acting in his Honour j I am apt to think * Our Author having been cenfur'd for this and fome fol- lowing Paflages concerning the Jews, the Reader is referr'd to the Notes and Citations in VOL. III. p. 53, 4, 5, 6. And, ibid. 1 1 5, 1 16, &c. See alfo below, p. 282, 283. C 4 they 30 ^LETTER Sect. 3. they might pofiibly have done our Re- ligion more harm, than by all their other ways of Severity. I BELIEVE our great and learned Apo- ftle found * lefs Advantage from the eafy Treatment of his Athenian Antagonifts, than from the furly and curft Spirit of the moft perfecuting Jewijh Citys. He made lefs Improvement of the Candor and Ci- vility of his Roman Judges, than of the Zeal of the Synagogue, and Vehemence of his National Priefts. Tho when I con- fider this Apoftle as appearing either be- fore the witty Athenians, or before a Ro- man Court of Judicature, in the Prefence of their great Men and Ladys, and fee how handfomly he accommodates himfelf to the Apprehenfions and Temper of thofe politer People : I do not find that he de- clines the way of Wit or good Humour; but, without fufpicion of his Caufe, is willing generoufly to commit it to this Proof, and try it againft the Sharpnefs of any Ridicule which might be offer'd. BUT tho the Jews were never pleas'd to try their Wit or Malice this way againft * What Advantage he made of his Sufferings, and how pa- thetically his Bonds and Stripes were fet to view, and often pleaded by him, to raife his Character, and advance the Inte- reft of" Chrlftianity, any one who reads his Epiftles, and is well acquainted with, his Manner and Style, may eafily obferve. our concerning ENTHUSIASM. our Saviour or his Apoftles ; the irreligious Sect. 3. part of the Heathens had try'd it long before againft the beft Doctrines^ and beft Characters of Men which had ever arifen amongft 'em. Nor did this prove in the end an Injury, but on the contrary the higheft Advantage to thofe very Charac- ters and Doctrines, which, having flood the Proof, were found fo folid and juft. The divinefl Man who had ever appear'd in the Heathen World, was in the height of witty Times, and by the wittiefl of all Poets, moft abominably ridicul'd, in a whole Comedy writ and acted on purpofe. But fo far was this from finking his Re- putation, or fupprefling his Philofophy, that they each increas'd the more for it ; and he apparently grew to be more the Envy of other Teachers. He was not on- ly contented to be ridicul'd j but, that he might help the Poet as much as poffible, he prefented himfelf openly in the Thea- ter j that his real Figure (which was no advantageous one) might be compar'd with that which the witty Poet had brought as his Reprefentative on the Stage. Such was his good Humour! Nor cou'd there be in the World a greater Teftimony of the invincible Goodnefs of the Man, or a greater Demonflration, that there was no Impofture either in his Character or Opi- nions. For that Impofture fhou'd dare fuftain the Encounter of a grave Enemy, is no 3 z A LETTER Sect. 4. no wonder. A folemn Attack, fhe knows, is not of fuch danger to her. There is nothing {he abhors or dreads like Pleafant- nefs and good Humour. SECT. IV. , ^ IN SHORT, my Lord, the melancholy way of treating Religion is that which, according to my apprehenfion, renders it fo tragical, and is the occafion of its act- ing in reality fuch difmal Tragedys in the World. And my Notion is, that provi- ded we treat Religion with good Man- ners, we can never ufe too much good Hu- mour, or examine it with too much Free- dom and Familiarity. For, if it be genuine and fincerc, it will not only ftand the Proof, but thrive and gain advantage from hence : if it be fpurious, or mix'd with any Impofture, it will be detected and expos'd. THE melancholy way in which we have been taught Religion, makes us unapt to think of it in good Humour. 'Tis in Adverfity chiefly, or in ill Health, under Affliction, or Difturbance of Mind, or Dif- compofure of Temper, that we have re- courfe to it. Tho in reality we are never fo unfit to think of it as at fuch a heavy and dark hour. We can never be fit to contemplate any thing above us, when we concerning ENTHUSIASM. we arc in no condition to look into our- Sect 4. felves, and calmly examine the Temper our own Mind and Paffions. For then it is we fee Wrath, and Fury, and Revenge, and Terrors in the DEITY; when we are full of Difturbances and Fears within, and have, by Sufferance and Anxiety, loft fb much of the natural Calm and Eafinefs of our Temper. WE muft not only be in ordinary good Humour, but in the beft of Humours, and in the fweeteft, kindeft Difpofition of our Lives, to underftand well what true Goodnejs is, and what thofe Attri- butes imply, which we afcribe with fuch Applaufe and Honour to the D E i T v. We fhall then be able to fee beft, whether thofe Forms of Juftice, thofe Degrees of Punimment, that Temper of Refentment, and thofe Meafures of Offence and Indig- nation, which we vulgarly fuppofe in G o D, are futable to thofe original Ideas of Good- nejs 3 which the fame Divine Being, or Nature under him, has implanted in us, and which we muft neceffarily prefuppofe, in order to give him Praife or Honour in any kind. This, my Lord, is the Secu- rity againft all Superftition : To remem- ber, that there is nothing in GOD but what is God-like; and that He is either not at all t or truly and perfectly Good. But when we are afraid to ufe our Reafon freely, 34 4 LETTER Sect. 4. freely, even on that very Queftion, " Whe- ther He really be, or not ;" we then actually prefume him bad, and flatly con- tradict that pretended Character of Good- nefs and Greatnefs ; whilft we difcover this Miftruft of his Temper, and fear his Anger and Refentment, in the cafe of this Free- dom of INOJJIRY. WE have a notable Inftance of this Free- dom in one of our facred Authors. As patient as JOB is faid to be, it cannot be denied that he makes bold enough with GOD, and takes his Providence roundly to tafk. His Friends, indeed, plead hard with him, and ufe all Arguments, right or wrong, to patch up Objections, and fet the Affairs of Pi evidence upon an equal foot. They make a merit of faying all the Good they can of GOD, at the very ftretch of their Reafon, and fometimes quite beyond it. But this, in J o B'S opinion, is * flattering G o D, accepting of Go D'S Per/on, and even mocking him. And no wonder. For, what merit can there be in believing GOD, or his Providence, upon frivolous and weak grounds ? What Virtue in afluming an Opinion contrary to the appearance of Things, and reiblving to hear nothing which may be faid againft it ? Excellent Character of the GOD of Truth ! that he fhou'd be offended at us, for having refus'd * Chap. xiii. ver. 7, 8, 9, & 10. to concerning ENTHUSIASM. to put the lye upon our Underftend ings, Sect. 4. as much as in us lay ; and be fatisfy'd with us for having believ'd at a venture, and againft our Reafon, what might have been the greateft Falfhood in the world, for any thing we cou'd bring as a Proof or Evi- dence to the contrary ! IT is impoflible that any befides an ill- natur'd Man can wim againft the Being of a G o D : for this is wiming againft the Pub- lick, and even againft one's private Good too, if rightly underftood. But if a Man has not any fuch Ill-will to ftifle his Belief, he muft have furely an unhappy Opinion of GOD, and believe him not fo good by far as he knows Himfelf to be, if he imagines that an impartial Ufe of his Reafon, in any matter of Speculation whatfoever, can make him run any rifk Hereafter ; and that a mean Denial of his Reafon, and an AJf ela- tion of Belief in any Point too hard for his Underftanding, can intitle him to any Favour in another World. This is being Sycophants in Religion, mere Parafites of Devotion. 'Tis ufmg G o D as the crafty * Beggars ufe thofe they addrefs to, when they are ignorant of their Quality. The Novices amongft 'em may innocently come out, perhaps, with a Good Sir, or a Good Forfooth! But with the old Stagers, no matter whom they meet in a Coach, 'tis * VOL. III. p. 125,6,7,8. always A LETTER Sect. 4. always Good your Honour I or Good your l/ r YX) Lordfhip ! or your Lady/hip ! For if there fhou'd be really a Lord in the cafe, we fhou'd be undone (fay they) for want of giving the Title : but if the Party fhou'd be no Lord, there wou'd be no Offence; it wou'd not be ill taken. AND thus it is in Religion. We are highly concern'd how to beg right-, and think all depends upon hitting the Title, and making a good Guefs. 'Tis the moft beggarly Refuge imaginable, which is fo mightily cry'd up, and ftands as a great Maxim with many able Men ; " That they " fhou'd ftrive to have Faith, and believe " to the utmoft : becaufe if, after all, there " be nothing in the matter, there will be < no harm in being thus deceiv'd; but if " there be any thing, it will be fatal for " them not to have believ'd to the full." But they are fo far miftaken, that whilft they have this Thought, 'tis certain they can never believe either to their Satisfac- tion and Happinefs in this World, or with any advantage of Recommendation to another. For befides that our Reafon, which knows the Cheat, will never reft thorowly fatisfy'd 'on fuch a Bottom, but turn us often a-drift, and tofs us in a Sea of Doubt and Perplexity ; we cannot but actually grow worje in our Religion, and entertain a worfe Opinion ftill of a Supreme DEITY, concerning ENTHUSIASM. 37 DEITY, whilft our Belief is founded on Sect. 4. fo injurious a Thought of him. T o love the Publick, to ftudy univer- fal Good, and to promote the Intereft of the whole World, as far as lies within our power, is furely the Height of Goodnefs, and makes that Temper which we call Divine. In this Temper, my Lord, (for furely you (hou'd know it well) 'tis natu- ral for us to wifh that others fhou'd par- take with us, by being convinc'd of the Sincerity of our Example. 'Tis natural for us to wim our Merit fhou'd be known; particularly, if it be our fortune to have ferv'd a Nation as a good Minifter ; or as fome Prince, or Father of a Country, to have render'd happy a confiderable Part of Mankind under our Care. But if it hap- pen'd, that of this number there fhou'd be fome fo ignorantly bred, and of fo re- mote a Province, as to have lain out of the hearing of our Name and Actions ; or hearing of 'em, fhou'd be fo puzzl'd with odd and contrary Storys told up and down concerning us, that they knew not what to think, whether there were really in the World any fuch Perfon as our-felf : Shou'd we not, in good truth, be ridiculous to take offence at this ? And mou'd we not pafs for extravagantly morofe and ill- humour'd, if inftead of treating the mat- ter in Raillery, we fhou'd think in earneft of A LETTER Seel. .of revenging our-fehes on the offending Partys, who, out of their ruftick Igno- rance, ill Judgment, or Incredulity, had detracted from our Renown ? How (hall we fay then? Does it really deferve Praife, to be thus concern'd about it ? Is the doing Good for Glory's fake, fo divine a thing ? or, Is it not diviner, to do Good even where it may be thought inglo- rious, even to the Ingrateful, and to thofe who are wholly infenfible of the Good they receive ? How comes it then, that what is fo divine in us, fhou'd lofe its Cha- racter in the Divine Being ? And that ac- cording as the DE i T Y is reprefented to us, he fhou'd more refemble the weak, * wo- manifh, and impotent part of our Nature, than the generous, manly, and divine ? SECT. V. ON E wou'd think, my Lord, it were in reality no hard thing to know our own WeaknefTes at firfl fight, and diftinguifh the Features of human Frailty, with which we are fo well acquainted. One wou'd think it were eafy to under- ftand, that Provocation and Offence, An- ger, Revenge, Jealoufy in point of Ho- nour or Power, Love of Fame, Glory, and the like, belong only to limited Be- * Infra, p. 33 1 . And VOL. III. /. 306. ings, concerning ENTHUSIASM. ings, and are neceflarily excluded a Being Sedt. 5. which is perfect and univerfal. But if we have never fettled with our-felves any Notion of what is morally excellent ; or if we cannot truft to that Realbn which tells us, that nothing befide what is fo, can have place in the D E i T y ; we can nei- ther truft to any thing which others relate of him, or which he himfelf reveals to us. We muft be fatisfy'd before-hand, that he is good, and cannot deceive us. Without this, there can be no real religious Faith, or Confidence. Now, if there be really fomething previous to Revelation, fome antecedent Demonftration of Reafon, to afTure us that GOD w, and withal, that he is fo good as not to deceive us; the fame Reafon, if we will truft to it, will demonftrate to us, that GOD is fo good as to exceed the very beft of us in Good- nefs. And after this manner we can have no Dread or Sufpicion to render us uneafy : for it is Malice only, and not Goodnefs, which can make us afraid. THERE is an odd way of reafoning, but in certain Diftempers of Mind very fovereign to thofe who can apply it ; and it is this : " There can be no Malice " but where Interefts are oppos'd. A " univerfal Being can have no Intereft " oppofite ; and therefore can have no " Malice." If there be a general Mind, Vol. i. D ic 4 o A LETTER Se&. 5. it can have no particular Intereft : But the general Good, or Good of the Whole, and its own private Good, muft of ne- ceflity be one and the fame. It can in- tend nothing befides, nor aim at any thing beyond, nor be provok'd to any thing contrary. So that we have only to confider, whether there be really fuch a thing as a Mind which has relation to the Whole, or not. For if unhappily there be no Mind, we may comfort our felves, however, that Nature has no Malice : If there be really a MIND, we may reft fatisfy'd, that it is the bejl-naturd one in the World. The laft Cafe, one wou'd ima- gine, mou'd be the moft comfortable ; and the Notion of a common Parent lefs frightful than that of forlorn Nature, and a fatherlefs World. Tho, as Religion itands amongft us, there are many good People who wou'd have lefs Fear in being thus expos'd ; and wou'd be eafier, per- haps, in their Minds, if they were aflur'd they had only mere Chance to truft to. For no body trembles to think there mou'd be no God j but rather that there Jhou'd be one. This however wou'd be other- wife, if Deity were thought as kindly of as Humanity ; and we cou'd be per- fuaded to believe, that if there really Xvas a G o D, the higheft Goodnefs muft of neceflity belong to him, without any of thofe concerning ENTHUSIASM. 41 thofe * Defers of Paffion, thofe Mean- Sect. 5. nefles and Imperfections which we ac- knowledg fuch in our-felves, which as good Men we endeavour all we can to be fu- perior to, and which we find we every day conquer as we grow better. METHINKS, my Lord, it wou'd be well for us, if before -f- we afcended into the higher Regions of Divinity, we wou'd vouchfafe to defcend a little into our- ffhes, and beftow fome poor Thoughts upon plain honeft Morals. When we had once look'd into our-felves, and diftin- guim'd well the nature of our own Af- fections, we fhou'd probably be fitter Judges of the Divinenefs of a Character, and difcern better what Affections were futable or unfutable to a perfect Being. We might then underftand how to !ov? and praife^ when we had acquir'd fome confident Notion of what was laudable or lovely. Otherwife we might chance to do GOD little Honour, when we intended him the moft. For 'tis hard to imagine what Honour can arife to the DEITY * For my own part, fays honeft PLUTARCH, I had ra- ther Men fhou'd fay of me, " That there neither is, nor ever " was fuch a one as PLUTARCH ;" than they mould lay, *' There was a PLUTARCH, an unileddy, changeable, ea- " fily provokable, and revengeful Man ; "Aj/9?/ar(gh at- * C&1&, UftV^oA-,ev^6fM'Z?foj Ofjtjy, fWJt*oAU'srl3>-> &C." Plutarch, de Superititione. See VOL. 111. p. 127. f Vol. IIJ. p. 37. and 202, 203. in the Notes. D 2 from 4* A LETTER Sect. 5. from the Praifes of Creatures, who are ' ^ 'N, unable to difcern what is pr (life-worthy or excellent in their own kind. IF a Mufician were cry'd up to the Skies by a certain Set of People who had no Ear in Mufick, he wou'd furely be put to the blufh ; and cou'd hardly, with a good Countenance, accept the Benevo- lence of his Auditors, till they had ac- quir'd a more competent Apprehenfion of him, and cou'd by their own Senfes find out fomething really good in his Perfor- mance. Till this were brought about, there wou'd be little Glory in the cafe; and the Mufician, tho ever fo vain, wou'd have little reafon to be contented. TH EY who affect Praife the moft, had rather not be taken notice of, than be im- pertinently applauded. .1 know not how it comes about, that H E who is ever faid to do Good the moft difintereftedly, fhou'd be thought deiirous of being prais'd fo iavifhly, snd be fuppos'd to fet fo high a Rate upon fo cheap and low a Thing, as ignorant Commendation and forced . 116, 117. D 4 "of A LETTER Se&. 6." of Body denominating them Madmen, " (or Enthuiiafts) as appears evidently, "fays he, in the Inftances of BALAAM, " SAUL, DAVID, EZEKIEL, DANIE L, " &c." And he proceeds to juftify this by the Practice of the Apoftolick Times, and by the Regulation which the * Apoftle himfelf applies to thefe feemingly irregu- lar Gifts, fo frequent and ordinary (as our Author pretends) in the primitive Church, on the firft rife and fpreading of Chriftianity. But I leave it to him to make the Refem- blance as well as he can between his own and the Apoftolick way. I only know, that the Symptoms he defcribes, and which himfelf (poor Gentleman !) labours under, are as Heatkenijh as he can poflibly pre- tend them to be Chrijiian. And when I faw him lately under an Agitation (as they call it) uttering Prophecy in a pompous Latin Style, of which, out of his Extafy, it feems, he is wholly incapable ; it brought into my mind the Latin Poet's Defcription of the SIBYL, whofe Agony s were fo per- fectly like thefe. *| Stibitb non vidtus, non color units, Non ccmptce manfere coma ; fed peffus an- helum, Mt rabie fera cor da tument ; majorque u/ deri * i Cor. ch. xiv. f Virg. ^En. lib. 6. Nec concerning ENTHUSIASM. 47 Nee mortale fonans : afflata eft Numine Seft. 6. quando yam propiore Dei And again prefently after: Immanis in antro Bacchatur Vates^ magnum fi peffiore pojfit Excuflifle Deum : tanto magis Hie fatigat Os rabidum, fera cor da domans, F i N G i T- QJJE PREMENDO. Which is the very Style of our experienc'd Author. " For the Infpir'd (Jays he) un- *"' dergo a Probation, wherein the Spirit, * f by frequent Agitations, forms the Organs^ " ordinarily for a Month or two before * ( Utterance." THE Roman Hiftorian, fpeaking of a moft horrible Enthufiafm which broke out in ROME long before his days, defcribes this Spirit of Prophecy j Tiros No Poet (as I ventur'd to fay at firft to your Lordfhip) can do any thing great in his own way, without the Imagination or Suppofition of a Divine Prefence, which may raife him to fome degree of this Paf- fion we are fpeaking of. Even the cold * Od. 19. lib. 2. \ So again, Sat. 5. ver. 97. Gnatla Lymphts Iratts ex- Jlrutta : where Ho RACE wittily treats the People of Gnatia as Lympbaticks and Enthufiaits, for believing a Miracle of their Priefts : Credat Judteus Apella. Hor. ibid. See HEINSIUS and TORRENTIUS ; and the Quotation in the following Notes, WTTO TWV Nt/^w^ &c. LUCRE- 5 z ^LETTER Seft. 7. LUCRETIUS * makes ufe of Infpiration, when he writes againft it j and is forc'd to raife an Apparition of Nature, in a Di- vine Form, to animate and conduct him in his very Work of degrading Nature, and defpoiling her of all her feeming Wifdom and Divinity. J- Alma VENUS, cceli fubter labentia Jigna Qua mare navigerum, qua terras frugi- ferenteis Concelebras (nas, Qu> &c. Phasdr. Ki Tf irib.fltx,vt *X wjrc TXTVV Qofipw civ 0ij re aval ^ 'ILyfan^MV' Meno. 54 A LETTER !WJ Set 7. was the Spirit he allotted to Heroes y Statef- j men y Poets, Orators, Muficians, and even Philofophers themfelves. Nor can we, of our own accord, forbear afcribing to a * no- ble ENTHUSIASM, whatever is greatly perform'd by any of T^hefe. So that al- moft all of us know fome thing of this Principle. But to know it as we mou'd do, and difcern it in its feveral kinds, both in our-felves, and others ; this is the great Work, and by this means alone we can hope to avoid Delufion. For to judg the Spirits whether they are of God, we mufl antecedently judg our own Spirit ; whether it be of Reafon and found Senfe ; whether it be fit to judg at all, by being fedate, cool, and impartial ; free of every biamng Pamon, every giddy Vapor, or melancholy Fume. This is the firft Knowledg and previous Judgment : " To underfland our- " jehes, and know what Spirit we are of" Afterwards we may judg the Spirit in others, confider what their perfonal Merit is, and TlVl Ef^CTOe t. Apol. In particular as to Philofophers, PLUTARCH tells us, 'twas the Complaint of fome of the four old Romans, when Learning firit came to them from Greece, that their Youth grew Enthifjiajlick with Philofophy. Fcr ipeaking of one of the Philoiophers of the Athenian Embaffy, he fays, *Eftffa : 30, 33 34> 37- prove concerning ENTHUSIASM. prove the Validity of their Teftimony by Sett. 7. the Solidity of their Brain. By this means we may prepare our-felves with fome An-* tidote againft Enthufiafm. And this is what I have dar'd affirm is beft perform'd by keeping to GOOD HUMOUR. For otherwife the Remedy it-felf may turn to the Difeafe. AND now, my Lord, having, after all, in fome meafure juftify'd ENTHUSIASM, and own'd the Word j if I appear extrava- gant, in addreffing to you after the manner I have done, you muft allow me to plead an Impulfe. You muft fuppofe me (as with truth you may) moft paffionately your's ; and with that Kindnefs which is natural to you on other occafions, you muft tolerate your Enthujiaftick Friend, who, excepting only in the cafe of this over-forward Zeal^ muft ever appear, with the higheft Refpeft, Tour Lord/trip's, &c. Vol. i. E TRE A- JX J TREATISE II. VIZ. Senfus Communis : A N E S SAY ON THE FREEDOM O F #7Tand HUMOUR. In a LETTER to a Friend. Hac urget Lupus, hac Cams Hor. Sat. 2. Lib. 2. Printed firft in the Year M.DCC.IX. E "_- * T rt /v .1 I f u ' i t L nl .'JOa.M PART I. 1H A V E been considering (my Friend !) what your Fancy was, to exprefs fuch a furprize as you did the other ^day, when I happen'd to fpeak to, you in commendation of Raillery. Was it poflible you fhou'd fuppofe me fo grave a Man, as to diflike all Converfation ef Vol. i. [E] this; <5o An ESSAY on the Freedom Part i. this kind? Or were you afraid I fliou'd not fland the trial, if you put me to it, by making the experiment in my own Cafe ? I M u s T confefs, you had reafon enough for your Caution j if you cou'd imagine me at the bottom fo true a Zealot^ as not to bear the lead Raillery on my own Opinions. 'Tis the Cafe, I know, with many. Whatever they think grave or fo- lemn, they fuppofe muft never be treated out of a grave and folemn way: Tho what Another thinks fo, they can be con- tented to treat otherwife ; and are forward to try the Edge of Ridicule againil any Opinions befides their own. THE Queftion is, Whether this be fair or no ? and, Whether it be not juft and reafonable, to make as free with our own Opinions, as with thofe of other People % For to be fparing in this cafe, may be look'd upon as a piece of Selfifhnefs. We may be charg'd perhaps with wilful Igno- rance and blind Idolatry, for having taken Opinions upon Truft, and confecrated in our-felves certain /^/-Notions, which we will never fuffer to be unveil'd, or feen in open light. They may perhaps be Monfters, and not Divinitys, or Sacred Truths, which are kept thus choicely, in fome dark Corner of our Minds: The Spefters may impofe on us, whilft we re- fufe of Wit and Humour. 61 fufe to turn 'em every way, and view their Sect, I. Shapes and Complexions in every light. For that which can be (hewn only in a cer- tain Light, is queftionable. Truth, 'tis fuppos'd, may bear all Lights : and one of thofe principal Lights or natural Mediums, by which Things are to be view'd, in or- der to a thorow Recognition, is Ridicule it-felf, or that Manner of Proof by which we difcern whatever is liable to juft Rail- lery in any Subject. So much, at leaft, is allow'd by All, who at any time appeal to this Criterion. The graveft Gentlemen, even in the graveft Subjects, are fuppos'd to acknowledg this : and can have no Right, 'tis thought, to deny others the Freedom of this Appeal ; whilft they are free to cenfure like other Men, and in their graveft Arguments make no fcruple to afk, Is it not Ridiculous ? O F this Affair, therefore, I defign you fhou'd know fully what my Sentiments are. And by this means you will be able to judg of me ; whether I was fincere the other day in the Defence of Raillery, and can continue ftill to plead for thofe inge- nious Friends of ours, who are often cen- fur'd for their Humour of this kind, and for the Freedom they take in fuch an airy way of Converfation and Writing. [E 2] SECT, 6^ An ESSAY on the Fret Horn Part i. SECT. II. IN G O O D earneft, when one" eortfiders what ule is fometimes made of this Species of Wit, and to what an excefs it has rifen of late, in fome Characters of the Age ; one may be ftartled a little, and in doubt, what to think of the Practice, or whither this rallying Humour will at length Carry us. It has pafs'd from the Men of Pleafure to the Men of Bufmefs. Politi- cians have been infected with it : and the grave Affairs of State have been treated with an Air of Irony and Banter. The ableft Negotiators have been known the notableft Buffoom : the moft celebrated Au- thors, the greateil Matters of Burlefque. THERE is indeed a kind of defenfive Raillery (if I may fo call it) which I am willing enough to allow in Affairs of what- ever kind ; when the Spirit of Curiofity wou'd force a Difcovery of more Truth than can conveniently be told. For we can never do more Injury to Truth, than by difcovering too much of it, on fome occafions. 'Tis the fame with Under- ftandings as with Eyes : To fuch a cer- tain Size and Make jufl fo much Light is . neceflary, and no more. Whatever is be- yond, brings Darknefs and Confufion. 'Tis of Wit and Humour: 6} Sett. 2. 'Tis real Humanity and Kindriefs, to hide ftrong Truths from tender Eyes. And to do this by a pleafant Amufemeht is eafier and civiller, than by a harfh De- nial, or remarkable Referve. But to go about induftrioufly to confound Men, in a myfterious manner, and to make ad- vantage ' or draw pleafure from that Per- plexity they are thrown into, by fuch un- certain Talk; is as unhandfom in a way of Raillery, as when done with the great- eft Serioufnefs, or in the moft folemn way of Deceit. It may be neceflary, as well now as heretofore, for wife Men to fpeak in Parables, and with a double Meaning, that the Enemy may be amus'd, and they only who have Ears to hear, may hear. But 'tis certainly a mean, impotent, and dull fort of Wit, which amufes all alike, and leaves the moft fenfible Man, and even a Friend, equally in doubt, and at a lofs to underftand what one's real Mind is, up- on any Subject. THIS is that grofs fort of Raillery, which is fo offenfive in good Company. And indeed there is as much difference between one fort and another, as betweeri Fair-dealing and Hypocrify ; or between the genteeleft Wit, and the moft fcurrilous Buffoonery. But by Freedom of Conver- &tion this illiberal kind of Wit will lofe E 3 its 4 -An E s $ A Y on the Freedom Part I. its Credit. For Wit is its own Remedy. Liberty and Commerce bring it to its true Standard. The only danger is, the laying an Embargo. The fame thing happens here, as in the Cafe, of Trade. Impoiitions and Reilrictions reduce it to a low Ebb: Nothing is fo advantageous to it as a 'Free-Port. WE have feen in our own time the Decline and Ruin of a falfe fort of Wit, which fo much delighted our Anceftors, that their Poems and Plays, as well as Sermons, were full of it. All Humour had fomething of the Quibble. The very Language of the Court was Punning. But 'tis now banim'd the Town, and all good Company : There are only tome few Footfteps of it in the Country ; and it feems at laft confin'd to the Nurferys of Youth, as the chief Entertainment of Pe- dants and their Pupils. And thus in o^- ther refpefts Wit will mend upon our hands, and Humour will refine it-felf j if we take care not to tamper with it, and bring it under Constraint, by fevere Ufage and rigorous Prefcriptions. AH Politenefs is owing to Liberty. We polifh one ano-r ther, and rub off our Corners and rough Sides by a fort of amicable Collifion. To reftrain this, is inevitably to bring a Ruft upon Mens Underftandings. 'Tis a de- g of jpivjlity, Good Breeding, and even of Wit and Humour. 6j even Charity it-felf, under pretence of main-Sett. 3, taining it. v^p*-' SECT. III. TO defcribe true Raillery wou'd be as hard a matter, and perhaps as little to the purpofe, as to define Good Breeding. None can underftand the Speculation, be- fides thofe who have the Practice. Yet every-one thinks himfelf well-bred: and the formalleft Pedant imagines he can railly with a good Grace and Humour. I have known fome of thofe grave Gentlemen undertake to correct an Author for de- fending the Ufe of Raillery, who at the fame time have upon every turn made ufe of that Weapon, tho they were naturally fo very aukard at it. And this I believe may be obferv'd in the Cafe of many Zea- lots, who have taken upon 'em to anfwer our modern Free- Writers. The Tragical Gentlemen, with the grim Afpect and Mein of true Inquifitors, have but an ill Grace when they vouchfafe to quit their Aufterity, and be jocofe and .pleafant with an Adverfary, whom they wou'd chufe to treat in a very different manner. For to do 'em Juftice, had they their Wills, I doubt not but their Conduct and Mein wou'd be pretty much of a-piece. They wou'd, in all probability, foon quit their Farce, and make a thorow Tragedy. But 4 at 66 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part I. at prefent there is nothing fo ridiculous as / this J A N u s-Face of Writers, who with one Countenance force a Smile, and with another mow nothing bcfide Rage and Fu- ry. Having entered the Lifts, and agreed to the fair Laws of Combat by Wit and Ar- gument, they have no fooner prov'd their Weapon, than you hear 'em crying aloud for help, and delivering over to the Secu~ lar Arm. THERE can't be a more prepofterous Sight than an Executioner and a Merry- ANDREW acting their Part upon the fame Stage. Yet I am perfuaded any-one will find this to be the real Picture of certain modern Zealots in their Controverfial Wri- tings. They are no more Matters of Gra^ vity, than they are. of Good Humour. The firft always runs into harm Severity, and the latter into an aukard Buffoonery. And thus between Anger and Pleafure, Zeal and Drollery, their Writing has much fuch a Grace as the Play of humourfom Children, who, at the fame inflant, are both peevifh and wanton, and can laugh, and cry almoil: in one and the fame breath, How agreeable fuch Writings are like to prove, and of what effect towards the winning over or convincing thofe who are fuppos'd to be in Error, I need not go about to explain, Nor can J wonder, on this of Wit and Humour. this account, to hear thofe publick La- Sect. 3 mentations of Zealots, that whilft Books of their Adverfarys are fo current, their Anfwers to 'em can hardly make their way into the World, or be taken the leaft notice of. Pedantry and Bigotry are Mill-ftones able to fink the beft Book, which carries the leaft part of their dead weight. The Temper of the Pedagogue futes not with the Age. And the World, however it may be taught ', will not be tu- tor'd. If a Philofopher fpeaks, Men hear him willingly, while he keeps to his Phi- lofophy. So is a Chriftian heard, while he keeps to his profefs'd Charity and Meeknefs. In a Gentleman we allow of Pleafantry and Raillery, as being manag'd always with good Breeding, and never grofs or clownim. But if a mere Scho- laftick, intrenching upon all thefe Cha- racters, and writing as it were by Starts and Rebounds from one of thefe to ano- ther, appears upon the whole as little able to keep the Temper of Chriftianity, as to ufe the Reafon of a Philofopher, or the Raillery of a Man of Breeding ; what wonder is it, if the monftrous Product of fuch a jumbled Brain be ridiculous to the World ? <-j &Wtfrh0oo4&r*r t/it&^.cgaii*- IF you think (my Friend!) that by this Defcription I have done wrong to thefe Zealot- Writers in religious Contro- verfy ; 8 Part i.verfy ; read only a few Pages in any one of 'em, (even where the Conteft is not Abroad* but within their own Pale} an4 then pronounce. , m. i-yjM oH -jo- J>h W 5fb o i v<, S E C T. IV. BU T new that I have faid thus much concerning Authors and Writings, you fhall hear my Thoughts, as you have defir'd, upon the Subject of Conver/ation, and particularly a late One of a free kind, which you remember I was prefent at, with fome Friends of yours, whom you fanfy'd I fhou'd in great Gravity have condemn'd. >'! < ft* CF 1 'TWAS, I muft own, a very diverting one, and perhaps not the lefs fo, for end- ing as abruptly as it did, and in fuch a iort of Confufion, as almoft brought to nothing whatever had been advanc'd in the Difcourie before. Some Particulars of this Converfation may not perhaps be fo proper to commit to Paper. 'Tis enough that I put you in mind of the Conver-r fation in I general. A great many fine Schemes, 'tis true, were deftroy'd j many grave Reafonings overturn'd : but this be- ing done without offence to the Partys concern'd, and with improvement to the . good Humour of the Company, it fet the Appetite the keener to fuch Converfations. And of Wit and Humour. And I am perfuaded, that had Reafon her- eft. 4. felf been to judg of her own Intereft, wou'd have thought me receiv'd more ad- vantage in the main from that eafy and fa- miliar way, than from the ufual ftiff Adhe- rence to a particular Opinion. BUT perhaps you may flill be in the fame humour of not believing me in ear- neft. You may continue to tell me, I affect to be paradoxical, in commending a Converfation as advantageous to Reafon, which ended in fuch a total Uncertainty of what Reafon had feemingly fo well eftablifh'd. To this I anfwer, That according to the Notion I have of Reafon, neither the written Treatifes of the Learned, nor the fet Difcourfes of the Eloquent, are able of themfelves to teach the ufe of it. 'Tis the Habit alone of Reafoning, which can make a Reafoner. And Men can never be better invited to the Habit, than when they find Pleafure in it. A Freedom of Raillery, a Liberty in decent Language to queflion every thing, and an Allowance of unravelling or refuting any Argument, without offence to the Arguer, are the pnly Terms which can render fuch fpecu- lative Conventions any way agreeable. For to fay truth, they have been render'd burdenfom to Mankind by the Strictnefs of 70 Part i. of the Laws prefcfib'd to 'em, and by tha prevailing Pedantry and Bigotry of thole who reign in 'em, and aflume to themselves to be Diclators in thefe Provinces. * SEMPER ego Auditor tantum ! is a$ natural a Cafe of Complaint in Divinity, in Morals, and in Philofophy, as it was of old, the SatiriJFs, in Poetry. Vtdjjitude is * mighty Law of Difcourfe, and mighti- ly long'd for by Mankind. In matter of Reafon, more is done in a minute or two, by way of Queftion and Reply, than by a continued Difcourfe of whole Hours. Ora- tions are fit only to move the Paflions : And the Power of Declamation is to ter- rify, exalt, ravim, or delight, rather than fatisfy or inftrudl. A free Conference is a clofe Fight. The other way> in compari* ion to it, is merely a Brandifhing, or Beat~ ing the Air. To be obftrudted therefore and manacled in Conferences, and to be confin'd to hear Orations on certain Sub* jects, muft needs give us a Diftafte, and render the Subje&s fo manag'd, as difagree- able as the Managers. Men had rather reafon upon Trifles, fo they may reafon freely, and without the Impofition of Au~ thority, than on the uiefulleft and befl Subjects in the world, where they are held under a Reflraint and Fear. * Juv. Sat. j. NOR of Wit a nd Humour. ' : liiSi; NOR is it a wonder that Men are nerally fuch faint Reafoners, and care fb little to argue ftrictly on any trivial Sub- ject in Company ; when they dare fo little exert their Reafon in greater matters, and are forc'd to argue lamely, where they have need of the greateft Activity and Strength. The fame thing therefore hap- pens here as in ftrong and healthy Bo* dys, which are debar'd their natural Ex* ercife, and confin'd in a narrow Space. They are forc'd to ufe odd Geftures and Contortions. They have a fort of Action, and move ftill, tho with the worft Grace imaginable. For the animal Spirits in fuch found and active Limbs cannot lie dead, or without Employment, And thus the natural free Spirits of ingenious. Men, if imprifon'd and controul'd, will find out other ways of Motion to relieve thero- felves in their Conftraint : and whether k be in Burlefque, Minwckry or Buffoonery, they will be glad at any rate to vent themfelves, and be reveng'd on their Con.- Jlrainers. I F Men are forbid to fpeak their mjnda feriouJly on certain. Subjects, they wiJL da k ironically. If they aja forbid ta fpeak at all upon, fuch Subjects,, qr if they find it really dangerous: to do la; they will then redouble their Bifguife* involve themr 3 felvcs 71 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part i.felves in Myfterioufnefs, and talk fo as i/V^> hardly to be underftood, or at leaf! not plainly interpreted, by thofe who are dif- pos'd to do 'em a mifchief. And thus Raillery is brought more in fafhion, and runs into an Extreme. 'Tis the perfecu- ting Spirit has rais'd the bantering one : And want of Liberty may account for want of a true Politenefs, and for the Cor- ruption or wrong Ufe of Pleafantry and Humour. .-v>na?' v \. r ; r - r* ' ' I F in this refpect we ftrain the juft rriea- fure of what we call Urbanity, and are apt fometimes to take a Buffooning Ruftick Air, we may thank the ridiculous Solem- nity and four Humour of our Pedagogues : or . rather, they may thank themfelves, if they in particular meet with the heavieft of this kind of Treatment. For it will na- turally fall heavieft, where the Conftraint has been the fevereft. The greater the Weight is, the bitterer will be the Satir. The higher the Slavery, the more exquiiite the Buffoonery. THAT this, is really fo, may appear by looking on thofe Countrys where the fpiritual Tyranny is higheft. For the greateft of Buffoons are the ITALIANS: and in their Writings, in their freer fort of Conventions, on their Theatres, and in their Streets, Buffoonery and Burlefque are of Wit and Humour. are in the higheft vogue. 'Tis the on- Sett ly manner in which the poor cramp'd Wretches can difcharge a free Thought. We muft yield to 'em the Superiority in this fort of Wit. For what wonder is ic if wej who have more of Liberty, have lefs Dexterity in that egregious way of Raillery and Ridicule ? T of this SECT. V. IS for this reafon, I verily believe, that the Antients difcover fo little Spirit, and that there is hardly fuch a thing found as mere Burlefque in any Authors of the politer Ages. The man- ner indeed in which they treated the very graveft Subjects, was fomewhat different from that of our days. Their Treatifes were generally in a free and familiar Style. They chofe to give us the Reprefentation of real Difcourfe and Converfe, by treat- ing their Subjects in the way of * Dialogue and free Debate. The Scene was common- ly laid at Table, or in the publick Walks or Meeting-places j and the ufual Wit and Humour of their real Difcourfes appear'd in thofe of their own compofing. And this was fair. For without Wit and Hu- mour, Reafon can hardly have its proof, or be diftinguim'd. The Magifterial Voice * See the following Treatifc, viz. Solileqay, Part I. Sett. 3. and 74" Part I. and high Strain of the Pedagogue, com- ands Reverence and Awe. 'Tis of ad- mirable ufe to keep Underftandings at a dip tance, and out of reach. The other Man- ner, on the contrary, gives the faireft hold, and fuffers an Antagonist to ufe his full Strength hand to hand, upon even ground* *Tis not to be imagin'd what advan- tage the Reader has, when he can thus cope with his Author, who is willing to come on a fair Stage with him, and ex- change the Tragick Bufkin for an eaiier and more natural Gate and Habit. Gri- mace and Tone are mighty Helps to Im- pofture. And many a formal Piece of Sophiftry holds proof under a fevere Brow, which wou'd not pafs under an eafy one. 'Twas the Saying of * an antient Sage, < That Humour was the only Tefl of Gra- " vity > and Gravity, of Humour. For ^ a Subject which wou'd not bear Raillery, " was fufpicious ; and a Jeft which wou'd " not bear a ferious Examination, was cer- . tainly falfe Wit." f n& ifW ["iPLi >>rf i h-~! r- BUT fome Gentlemen there are fo full of the Spirit of Bigotry, and falfe Zeal, that when they hear Principles exarnin'd, Sciences and Arts inquired into, and Mat- * GOUOIAS LEONTINUS, fpuefAnl}. Rhetor, lib. 3. (ap. 18. TWK f/r etrvMv i Rifum Sc- riii aij'cxttre. ters of Wit and Humour. ters of Importance treated with this frank- Sect. 5. nefs of Humour, they imagine prefently ^^v^ that all Profeffions muft fall to the ground, all Eftablifhments come to ruin, and no- thing orderly or decent be left ftanding in the world. They fear, or pretend to fear, that Religion it-felf will be endanger'd by this free way 5 and are therefore as much alarm'd at this Liberty in private Conver- fation, and under prudent Management, as if it were grofly us'd in publick Com- pany, or before the folemnefl ArTembly. But the Cafe, as I apprehend it, is far dif- ferent. For you are to remember (my Friend !) that I am writing to you in de- fence only of the Liberty of the Club, and of that fort of Freedom which is taken amongfl Gentlemen and Friends, who know one another perfectly well. And that 'tis natural for me to defend Liberty with this reftriction, you may infer from the very Notion I have of Liberty it-felf. 'T i s furely a Violation of the Freedom of publick AfTemblys, for any one to take the Chair, who is neither call'd nor invited to it. To ftart Queftions, or manage De- bates, which offend the publiek Ear, is to be wanting in that Refpect which is due to common Society. Such Subjects fhou'd either not be treated at all in publick, or in fuch a manner as to occafion no Scandal or Ptflurbance, The Publick is not, on any / Vol. i. F account, 7 6 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part i. account, to be laugh'd at, to its face; or fo reprehended for its Pollys, as to make it think it-felf contemn'd. And what is con- trary to good Breeding, is in this refpect as contrary to Liberty. It belongs to Men of flavifh Principles, to affect a Superiori- ty over the Vulgar, and to defpife toe Mul- titude. The Lovers of Mankind refpect and honour Conventions and Societys of Men. And in mix'd Company, and Pla- ces where Men are met promifcuoufly on account of Diverfion or Affairs, 'tis an Impofition and Hardfhip to force 'em to hear what they diflike, and to treat of Matters in a Dialed!;, which many who are prefent have perhaps been never us'd to. 'Tis a breach of the Harmony of pub* lick Converfation, to take things in fuch a Key, as is above the common Reach, puts others to lilence, and robs them of their Privilege of Turn. But as to private Society, and what pafles in felect Compa- nys, where Friends meet knowingly, and with that very defign of exercifing their Wit, and looking freely into all Subjects; I fee no pretence for any one to be of- fended at the way of Raillery and Humour, which is the very Life of fuch Converfa- tions; the only thing which makes good Company, and frees it from the Formality of Bufinefs, and the Tutorage and Dogma- ticalnefs of the Schools. r of Wit and Humour 1 . 77 Sect. 6. SECT*. VI. TO return therefore to our Argument. If the befl of our modern Converfa- tions are apt to run chiefly upon Trifles ; if rational Difcourfes (efpecially thofe of a deeper Speculation) have loft their cre- dit, and are in difgrace becaufe of their formality, there is reafon for more allow- ance in the way of Humour and Gaiety. An ealier Method of treating thefe Sub- jects, will make 'em more agreeable and fa- miliar. To difpute about 'em, will be the fame as about other Matters. They need not fpoil good Company, or take from the Eafe or Pleafure of a polite Converfation. And the oftner thefe Converfations are re- riew'd, the better will be their Effect. We {hall grow better Reafoners, by rea- foning pleafantly, and at our eafe ; taking Up, or laying down thefe Subjects, as we fanfy. So that, upon the whole, I muft own to you, 1 cannot be fcandaliz'd at the Raillery you took notice of, nor at the Effect it had upon our Company. The Humour was agreeable, and the pleafant Confufion which the Converfatioh ended in, is at this time as pleafant to me upon Reflection ; when I confider, that inftead of being difcourag'd from refuming the Debate, we Were fo much the readier to meet again at any time, and difpute upon F 2 the 78 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part i. the fame Subjects, even with more cafe and fatisfaction than before. \ ." *^-* i w ." WE had been a long while entertain'd, you know, upon the Subject of Morality and Religion. And amidft the different Opinions ftarted and maintain'd by feve- ral of the Partys with great Life and In- genuity ; one or other wou'd every now and then take the liberty to appeal to COMMON SENSE. Every-one allow'd the Appeal, and was willing to ftand the trial. No-one but was affur'd Common Senfe wou'd juftify him. But when IfTue was join'd, and the Caufe examin'd at the Bar, there cou'd be no Judgment given. The Partys however were not lefs for- ward in renewing their Appeal, on the very next occafion which prefented. No- one wou'd offer to call the Authority of the Court in queftion ; till a Gentleman, whofe good Understanding was never yet brought in doubt, defir'd the Company, very gravely, that they wou'd tell him 'what Common Senfe was. . . j " IF by the word Senfe we were to " underftand Opinion and Judgment, and " by the word common the Generality or and miftook perhaps a Man of Sobriety and Senfe for one of thofe ridicu- lous Mummers ? THERE was a time when Men were accountable only for their Actions and Behaviour. Their Opinions were left to themfelves. They had liberty to differ in thefe, as in their Faces. Every one took the Air and Look which was natural to him. But in procefs of time, it was thought decent to mend Mens Countenances, and render their intellectual Complexions uni- form and of a fort. Thus the Magiftrate became a Dreffer^ and in his turn was drej's4 84 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part z.drefsd too, as he deferv'd ; when he had given up his Power to a new Order of Tire-Men. But tho in this extraordinary conjuncture 'twas agreed that there was only one certain and true Drefs, one Jingle peculiar Air y to which it was neceffary all People fhou'd conform ; yet the mifery was, that neither the Magiftrate nor the 2/r*- Men themfelves, cou'd refolve, which of the various Modes was the exatf true-one. Imagine now, what the Effect of this muft needs be ; when Men became perfecuted thus on every fide about their Air and Feature, and were put to their fhifts how to adjuft and compofe their Mein y accord- ing to the right Mode ; when a thoufand Models, a thoufand Patterns of Drefs were current, and alter'd every now and then, upon occafion, according to Fajhion and the Humour of the Times. Tudg whether / o Mens Countenances were not like to grow conftrain'd, and the natural Vifage of Man- kind, by this Habit, diftorted, convuls'd, and render'd hardly knowable. BUT as unnatural or artificial as the general Face of Things may have been render'd by this unhappy Care of Drefs > and Over-Tendernefs for the Safety of Complexions ; we muft not therefore ima- gine that all Faces are alike befmear'd or plaifter'd. All is not Fucus, or mere Var- niih. Nor is the Face of Truth lefs fair of Wit and Humour. 85 and beautiful, for all the counterfeit Vizards Sect, i. which have been put upon her. We muft remember the C&nivaJ, and what the Occafion has been of this wild Concourfe and Medley ; who were the Inftitutors of it; and to what purpofe Men were thus fet a-work and amus'd. We may laugh fufficiently at the original Cheat; and, if pity will fuffer us, may make our-felves di- verfion enough with the Folly and Madnefs of thofe who are thus caught, and practis'd on, by thefe Impoftures. But we muft re- member withal our ETHIOPIAN, and be- ware, left by taking plain Nature for a Vi- zard, we become more ridiculous than the People whom we ridicule. Now if a Jeft or Ridicule thus ftrain'd, be capable of leading the Judgment fo far aftray ; 'tis probable that an Excefs of Fear or Horror may work the fame Effect. HAD it been your fortune (my Friend !) to have liv'd in ASIA at the time when the * MAGI by an egregious Impofture got pofleflion of the Empire ; no doubc you wou'd have had a deteftation of the Act: And perhaps the very Perfons of the Men might have grown fo odious to you, that after all the Cheats and Abufes they had committed, you might have feen 'em difpatch'd with as relentlefs an eye as our later European Anceftors faw the * VOL. III. P. 48,49. De- 86 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 2-Deftruc~lion of a like politick Body of Con- ers, the Knights Templars-, who were almoft become an Over-Match for the civil Sovereign. Your Indignation perhaps might have carry'd you to propofe the razing all Monuments and Memorials of thefe Ma- gicians. You might have refolv'd not to leave fo much as their Houfes ftanding. But if it had happen'd that thefe Magi- cians, in the time of their Dominion, had made any Collection of Books, or com- pil'd any themfelves, in which they had treated of Philofophy, or Morals, or any other Science, or Part of Learning ; wou'd you have carry 'd your Refentment fo far as to have extirpated thefe alfo, and con- demn'd every Opinion or Doctrine they had efpous'd, for no other reafon than merely becaufe they had efpous'd it ? Hardly a SCYTHIAN, aTARTAR, or a GOTH, wou'd act or reafon fo abfurdly. Much lefs wou'd you (my Friend !) have carry'd on this MAGOPHONY, or Prieft-Maffa- cre, with fuch a barbarous Zeal. For, in good earneft, to deftroy a Philofophy in ha- tred to a Man, implies as errant a Tartar- Notion, as to deftroy or murder a Man in order to plunder him of his Wit, and get the inheritance of his Underftanding. I MUST confefs indeed, that had all the Inftitutions, Statutes, and Regulations of this antient Hierarchy, refembled the funda- of Wit and Humour* 87 fundamental * one, of the Order it-felf, Sect. i. they might with a great deal of Juftice have been fupprefs'd : For one can't with- out fome abhorrence read that Law of theirs 5 f- Nam Magus ex Mafre & Gnato gig- natur oportet. BUT the Conjurers (as we'll rather fup- pofe) having confider'd that they ought in their Principle to appear as fair as poffible to the World, the better to conceal their Praffice t found it highly for their Intereft to efpoufe fome excellent moral Rules, and eftablifh the very beft Maxims of this kind. They thought it for their advantage per- haps, on their firft fetting out, to recom- mend the greatefl Purity of Religion, the greateft Integrity of Life and Manners. They may perhaps too, in general, have preach'd up Charity and Good-will. They may have fet to view the faireft Face of human Nature ; and, together with their By-Laws, and political IniHtutions, have interwove the honefteft Morals and beft Doctrine in the World. How therefore fhou'd we have behav'd our-felves in this Affair ? How fhou'd we it "Meiyoiy j*fxo An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 2. that after his Death we might be delivered v^v^ from the occafion of thefe Terrors. He did his utmoft to mew us, " That both " in Religion and Morals we were im- " pos'd on by our Governors ; that there " was nothing which by Nature inclined " us either way ; nothing which natural- " ly drew us to the Love of what was " without, or beyond * our-fehes :" Tho the Love of fuch great Truths and fove- reign Maxims as he imagin'd thefe to be, made him the moft laborious of all Men in compofing Syftems of this kind for our Ufe ; and forc'd him, notwithftanding his natural Fear, to run continually the higheft rifk of being a Martyr for our Delive- rance. ; ',*V'C-v (tf ; . b'-Mj ,,-vfijrt .01 GIVE me leave therefore (my Friend !) on this occafion, to prevent your Seriouf- nefs, and affure you, that there is no fuch mighty Danger as we are apt to imagine from thefe fierce Profecutors of Superfti- tion, who are fo jealous of every religious or moral Principle. Whatever Savages they may appear in Philofophy, they are in their common Capacity as Civil Perfons, as one can wim. Their free communicating of their Principles may witnefs for them. 'Tis the height of Sociablenefs to be thus friendly and communicative. VOL. II. /. 80. of Wit and Humour. pi Seft. I. I F the Principles, indeed, were con- ceal'd from us, and made a Myftery, they might become confiderable. Things are often made fo, by being kept as Secrets of a Seel or Party ; and nothing helps this jnore than the Antipathy and Sbynefs of a contrary Party. If we fall prefently in- to Horrors, and Confternation, upon the hearing Maxims which are thought poi- fonous ; we are in no difpofition to ufe that familiar and eafy part of Reafon, which is the beft Antidote. The only Poifon to Reafon, is Paffion. For falfe Reafon- ing is foon redreis'd, where Paffion is re- mov'd. But if the very hearing certain Proportions of Philofophy be fufficient to move our Paffion j 'tis plain, the Poifon has already gain'd on us, and we are effec- tually prevented in the ufe of our reafon- ing Faculty. WERE it not for the Prejudices of this kind j what mou'd hinder us from diverting our-felves with the Fancy of one of thefe modern Reformers we have been fpeaking of ? What mou'd we fay to one of thefe Anti-zealots, who, in the Zeal of fuch a cool Philofophy, mou'd aflure us faithfully, " That we were the " moft miftaken Men in the world, to " imagine there was any fuch thing as " natural Faith or Juftice ? for that it Vol. i. G " was An ESSAY on tie .Part 2." was only Force and Power which con- " ftituted Right. That there was no <{ fuch thing in reality as Virtue j no Prin- " ciple of Order in things above, or be- " low ; no fecret Charm or Force of Nar- " ture, by which every-one was made c to operate willingly or unwillingly to- " wards publick Good, and punifh'd " and tormented if he did otherwife." Is not this the very Charm it-felf ? Is not the Gentleman at this inftant un- der the power of it ? " Sir ! The " Philofophy you have condefcended to " reveal to us, is moft extraordinary. " We are beholden to you for your In- " flruction. But, pray, whence is this " Zeal in our behalf? What are We to You ? Are You our Father ? Or if You " were, why this Concern for Us ? Is " there then fuch a thing as natural Af- r our Fortune, or our Se&, &c. > " And ioo An E s s A T on the Freedom Part 2. or EmbarafTments here on Earth, as may obftruct his way thither, or retard him in the careful Talk of working out his own Salvation. If neverthelefs any Portion of Reward be referv'd hereafter for the ge- nerous Part of a Patriot, or that of a thorow Friend ; this is ftill behind the Cur- tain, and happily conceal'd from us ; that we may be the more deferving of it, when it comes. * And I think I have reafon to be confident, that the " word Friend (fpeaking of human Intercourft) is no other- " ways us'd in the Gofpels, or Epiilles, or Afts of the " Apoftles." And afterwards, " Chriilian Ci.arity (fays " he) is Friendfhip to all the World; and when Fritnd- " fhips were the nobleft things in the World, Charity was " little, like the Sun drawn in at a Chink, or his Beams " drawn into the Center of a Burning-glafs : But Chriftian " Charity is Friendfhip expanded like the Face of the Sun, " when it mounts above the Eattern Hills." In reality the good Bifhop draws all his Notions as well as Examples of private Friendfhip from the Heathen World, or from the Times preceding Chriftianity. And after citing a Greek Author, he immediately adds : " Of fuch immortal, ab- " ftrafted, pure Friendfhips, indeed there is no great plenty ; " but they who are the fame to their Friend Afwryfev, when he is in another Country, or in another World, are fit to preferve the facred Fire for eternal Sacrifices, and to perpetuate the Memory of thofe exemplary Friendmips of the beft Men, which have fill'd the World with Hiftory and Wonder: for in no other fenfe but this can it be true, that Friendfhips are pure Loves, re- garding to do good more than to receive it. He that is a Friend after Death, hopes not for a Recompence from his Friend, and makes no bargain either for Fame or Love ; but is rewarded with the Confcience and Satif- faftion of doing bravely." IT of Wit and Humour. 101 ^ Sect 3. I T appears indeed under the Jewi/h Di- penfation, that each of thefe Virtues had their illuftrious Examples, and were in fome manner recommended to us as ho- nourable, and worthy our Imitation. Even SAUL himfelf, as ill a Prince as he is re- prefented, appears both living and dying to have been refpected and prais'd for the Love he bore his native Country. And the Love which was fo remarkable between his Son and his Succeflbr, gives us a noble View of a difinterefted Friendfhip, at leaft on one fide. But the heroick Virtue of thefe Perfons had only the common Re- ward of Praife attributed to it, and cou'd not claim a future Recompence under a Religion which taught no future State, nor exhibited any Rewards or Punimments, be- fides fuch as were Temporal, and had re- fpedl to the written Law. AND thus the Jews as well as Heathens were left to their Philofophy, to be in- flru&ed in the fublime part of Virtue, and induc'd by Reafon to that which was never injoin'd 'em by Command. No Premium or Penalty being inforc'd in thefe Cafes, the difinterefted Part fubfifted, the Virtue was a free Choice, and the Magnanimity of the Act was left intire. He who wou'd be generous, had the Means. He who wou'd frankly ferve his Friend, or Coun- try. Toi .An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 2. try, at the * expence even of his Life, might do it on fair terms. -fDuLCE ET DE- CORUM EST was his fole Reafon. 'Twas Inviting and Becoming. 'Twas Good and Honeft. And that this is ftill a good Rea- fon, and according to Common Senfe, I will endeavour to fatisfy you. For I mou'd think my-felf very ridiculous to be angry with any-one for thinking me difhoneft ; if I cou'd give no account of my Honefty, nor mew upon what Principle I differ'd from J a Knave. * Peradventure, fays the holy Apoftle, for a good Man tme f^Ti ci/j'dToJVjfAftj' tvaifetyxjkf" This, I am perfua- ded, is the Sen/us Communis or HORACE, Sat. 3. lib. i. which has been unobferv'd, as far as I can learn, by any of his Commentators : it being remarkable withal, that in this early Satir of HORACE, before his latter days, and when his Philofophy as yet inclin'd to the lefs rigid Aflertors of Virtue, he puts this Expreffion (as may be feen by the whole Satir taken together) into the Mouth of a Crifpinus, or fome ridiculous Mimick of that fevere Philofophy, to which the Coinage of the word KomroifyuwVif properly belong'd. For of Wit and, Humour. 105 Court fuch as that of R o ME, even under Seel. a TIBERIUS or a NERO. But for Hu- inanity or Senfe of Publick Good, and the common Interejl of Mankind, 'twas no fuch deep Satir to queftion whether this was properly the Spirit of a Court. 'Twas diffi- cult to apprehend what Community fubfifted among Courtiers ; or what Publick be- tween an abiolute Prince and his Slave- Subjects. And for real Society > there cou'd For fo the Poet again (Sat. 4. to which the KotVQVMpoffvvn feems to have relation, is of a different meaning. But they will confider withal how "mall the diftindion was in that Phi- lofophy, between the viroM-[if, and the vulgar aLifffajiii how generally Paffion was by thofe Philosophers brought un- der the Head of Opinion. And when they ccnfider, befides this, the very Formation of the word Kotvovon/MffvvH upon the Model of the other femaliz'd Virtues, the EvyvufMffvvt), ^.tttptyevvti, A/&2/07U m. &c. they will no longer helitate on this Interpretation - The R-adei may perhaps by this Note fee better why tne Latin Title of Senfus Communis has been given to this fecond Treatife. He may obferve, withal, how the fame Poet JUVENAL ufes the word Senfus, in Sat. 1 5 . H#c noflri part optima Senfus, be Part 3. be none between fuch as had no other Senfe than that of private Good. OUR Poet therefore feems not fo im- moderate in his Cenfure j if we confider it is the Heart, rather than the Head, he takes to task : when reflecting on a Court-Edu- cation, he thinks it unapt to raife any Affec- tion towards a Country -, and looks upon young Princes, and Lords, as the young Mofters of the World ; who being indulg'd in all their Paflions, and train'd up in all manner of Licentioufnefs, have that tho- row Contempt and Difregard of Mankind, which Mankind in a manner deferves, where Arbitrary Power is permitted, and a Tyranny ador'd. * Htec fatis ad Juvenem, quern nobis fama fuperbum fyadit, & infatum, plenumque Nerone propinquo. A PUBLICK Spirit can come only from a fociai Feeling or Senfe of Partmrftip with human Kind. Now there are none fo far from being Partners in this Senfe, or Sharers in this common Ajf'eflion, as they who fcarcely know an Equal, nor confider themfelves as fubjecl: to any Law of Pel- low/hip or Community. And thus Morality and good Government go together. There * Juv. Sat. 8. IS of Wit and Humour. 1 07 is no real Love of Virtue, without the Sect. I. knowledg of Publick Good. And where abfolute Power is, there is no P u B n c K. THEY who live under a Tyranny, and have learnt to admire its Power as Sacred and Divine, are debauch'd as much in their Religion, as in their Morals. Puhlick Good y according to their apprehenlion, is as little the Meafure or Rule of Government in the Univerfe, as in the State. They have fcarce a Notion of what is good or juft, other than as mere Will and Power have determin'd. Omnipotence, they think, wou'd hardly be it-felf, were it not at liberty to * difpenfe with the Laws of Equity, and change at pleafure the Standard of moral Rectitude. BUT notwithftanding the Prejudices and Corruptions of this kind, 'tis plain there is fomething {till of a publick Principle, even where it is moft perverted and de- prefs'd. The worft of Magiftracys, the mere Defpotick kind, can mew fufficienc Jnftances of Zeal and Affection towards it, Where no other Government is known, it feldom fails of having that Allegiance and Duty paid it, which is owing to a better Form. The Eaftern Countryg, and many barbarous Nations, have been and {till are Examples of this kind. The perfonal Love they bear their Prince, however fevere - . 2 98. Vol. i. H cowards io8 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3. towards them, may (hew, how natural an v>*V x - / Affection there is towards Government and Order among Mankind. If Men have really no publick Parent, no Magiftrate in common to cherim and protect 'em, they will ftill imagine they have fuch a one ; and, like new-born Creatures who have never feen their Dam, will fanfy one for themfelves, and apply (as by Nature prompted) to fome like Form, for Favour and Protection. In the room of a true Fofter-Fatber, and Chief, they will take after a falje one ; and in the room of a le- gal Government and juft Prince, obey e- ven a tyrant, and endure a whole Lineage and Succeffion of fuch. As for us BRITONS, thank Heaven, we have a better Senfe of Government deliver'd to us from our Anceftors. We have the Notion of A PUBLICK, and A CONSTITUTION j how a Legiflative, and how an Executive is model'd. We underftand Weight and Meafure in this kind, and can reafon juflly on the Balance of Power and Property. The Maxims we draw from hence, are as evident as thofe in Mathematicks. Our increafing Know- ledg mews us every day, more and more, what COMMON SENSE is in Politicks: And this muft of neceffity lead us to underftand. a like Senfe in Morals j which is the Foundation. 'Tis of Wit and Humour. 109 Sed. I. "Ti s ridiculous to fay, there is any Obli- gation on Man to act fociably, or honeft- ly, in a form'd Government ; and not in that which is commonly call'd * the State of Nature. For, to fpeak in the famiona- ble Language of our modern Philofophy; " Society being founded on a Compact -, " the Surrender made of every Man's " private unlimited Right, into the hands " of the Majority, or fuch as the Majo- < rity fhou'd appoint, was of free Choice, " and by a Promife." Now the Promije it-felf was made in the State of Nature : And that which cou'd make a Promije ob- ligatory in the State of Nature, muft make all other Acts of Humanity as much our real Duty, and natural Part. Thus Faith, yuftice^ Honefty, and Virtue, muft have been as early as the State of Nature, or they cou'd never have been at all. The Civil Union, or Confederacy, cou'd never make Right or Wrong j if they fubfifled not be- fore. He who was free to any Villany be- fore his Contract, will, and ought to make as free with his Contract, when he thinks fit. The Natural Knave has the fame rea- fon to be a Civil one ; and may difpenfe with his politick Capacity as oft as he fees occafion : 'Tis only his Word ftands in his way. -A Man is oblig'd to keep his Word. Why ? Becaufe he has given his * VOL. II. ^.306,310, &c. H 2 Word iio An ESSAY on the Freedom Part ^.Word to keep it. Is not this a nota- vXW- bi e Account of the Original of moral Juf- tice, and the Rife of Civil Government and Allegiance 1 SECT. II. ^ BU T to pafs by thefe Cavils of a Phi- lofophy, which fpeaks fo much of Nature with fo little meaning ; we may with juftice furely place it as a Principle, " That if any thing be natural, in any " Creature, or any Kind ; 'tis that which " is prefervative of the Kind it-felf, and " conducing to its Welfare and Support/' Jf in original and pure Nature, it be wrong to break a Promife, or be treacherous ; 'tis as truly 'wrong to be in any refpect inhu- man, or any way wanting in our natural part towards human Kind. If Eating and Drinking be natural, Herding is fo too. If any Appetite or Senje be natural, the Senfe of Felloivfliip is the fame. If there be any thing of Nature in that Affection which is between the Sexes, the Affection is cer- tainly as natural towards the confequent Offspring ; and fo again between the Off- fpring themfelves, as Kindred and Com- panions, bred under the fame Difcipline and Oeconomy. And thus a Clan or Tribe is gradually form'd ; a Publick is recog- niz'd ( : and befides the Pleafure found in focial Entertainment, Language, and Dif- courfe, of Wit and Humour. 1 1 1 courfe, there is fo apparent a Neceffity for Sect. 2. continuing this good Correfpondency and Union, that to have no Senfe or Feeling of this kind, no Love of Country, Community, or any thing in common, wou'd be the fame as to be infenfible even of the plaineft Means of Sejf-Prefirvation, and moft ne- ceflary Condition of Self-Enjoyment. How the Wit of Man (hou'd fo puzzle this Caufe, as to make Civil Government and Society appear a kind of Invention, and Creature of Art, I know not. For my own part, methinks, this herding Prin- ciple, and officiating Inclination, is feen fo natural and ftrong in moft Men, that one might readily affirm, 'twas even from the Violence of this Paffion that fo much Dif- order arofe in the general Society of Man- kind. UNIVERSAL Good, or the Intereft of the World in general, is a kind of remote philofophical Object. That greater Com- munity falls not eafily under the Eye. Nor is a National Intereft, or that of a whole People, or Body Politick, fo readily appre- hended. In lefs Partys, Men may be in- timately converfant and acquainted with one another. They can there better tafte Society, and enjoy the common Good and Intereft of a more contracted Publick. They view the whole Compafs and Extent H 3 of iiz An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3. of their Community; and fee, and know particularly whom they ferve, and to what end they ajjbciate and conjpire. All Men have naturally their ihare of this combining Principle : and they who are of the fpright- lieil and moil active Facultys, have ib large a mare of it, that unlefs it be happily di- rected by. right Reafon, it can never find Exercife for it-felf in fo remote a Sphere as that of the Body Politick at large. For here perhaps the thoufandth part of thofe whofe Intereils are concern'd, are fcarce fo much as known by fight. No vifible Band is form'd ; no ilrict Alliance : but the Con- junction is made with different Perfons, Or- ders, and Ranks of Men j not feniibly, but in Idea ; according to that general View or Notion of a State or Commonwealth. o v- : -ii',^ 31! THUS the focial Aim is diilurb'd, for want of certain Scope. The clofe Sympa- thy and confpiring Virtue is apt to lofe it- felf, for want of Direction, in fo wide a Field. Nor is the Paflion any-where fo flrongly felt, or vigoroufly exerted, as in actual Con/piracy or War \ in which the higheft Genius's are often known .the for- warded to employ themfelves. For the moil generous Spirits are the moil combi- ning. They delight moil to move in Con~ cert ; and feel (if I may fo fay) in the ftrongeil manner, the force of the confede- rating Charm, 'Tis of Wit and Humour. 1 1 3 Sett. 2. *T i s ftrange to imagine that War, which of all things appears the moft fa- vage, {hou'd be the Paffion of the moft heroick Spirits. But 'tis in War that the Knot of Fellow/hip is clofeft drawn. 'Tis in War that mutual Succour is moft given, mutual Danger run, and common AjfeStlon moft exerted and employ 'd. For Heroifm and Philanthropy are almoft one and the fame. Yet by a fmall mif-guidance of the Affeclion, a Lover of Mankind becomes a Ravager: A Hero and Deliverer becomes an OpprefTor and Deftroyer. HENCE other Divifions amongft Men. Hence, in the way of Peace and Civil Government, that Love of Party, and Sub- divifion by Cabal. For Sedition is a kind of cantomzing already begun within the State. To cantomze is natural ; when the Society grows vaft and bulky : And power- ful States have found other Advantages in fending Colonys abroad, than merely that of having Elbow-room at home, or ex- tending their Dominion into diftant Coun- trys. Vaft Empires are in many refpetfts unnatural : but particularly in this, That be they ever fo well conftituted, the Affairs of many muft, in fuch Governments, turn upon a very few ; and the Relation be lefs fenfible, and in a manner loft, between the Magiftrate and People, in a Body fo un- H 4 wieldy 114 4n Ess AT on the Freedom Part 3.wieldy in its Limbs, and whofe Members lie fo remote from one another, and diftant from the Head. 'Tis in fuch Bodys as thefe that ftrong Factions are apteft to engender. The aflb- ciating Spirits, for want of Exercife, form new Movements, and feek a narrower Sphere of Activity, when they want Action in a greater. Thus we have Wheels within Wheels. And in fome National Conftitu- tions, notwithstanding the Abfurdity in Po- liticks, we have one Empire within another. Nothing is fo delightful as to incorporate. Diftinftions of many kinds are invented. Religious Society* are form'd. Orders are erected j and their Interefts efpous'd, and ferv'd, with the utmoft Zeal and Paffion. Founders and Patrons of this fort are never wanting. Wonders are perform'd, in this wrong focial Spirit, by thofe Mem- bers of feparate Societys. And the offici- ating Genius of Man is never better prov'd, than in thofe very Societys, which are form'd in oppofition to the general one of Mankind, and to the real Intereft of the State. I N (hort, the very Spirit of Fatfion, for the greateft part, feems to be no other than the Abufe or Irregularity of that Jo- cial Love, and common Affettion^ which is natural to Mankind. For the Oppofite of of Wit an 3 Humour:. 1 1 ? of Sotiablenefs is Selfijhnefs. And of all Sect. 3, Characters, the thorow-felfifh one is the WY^-' leaft forward in taking Party. The Men of this fort are, in this refpect, true Men of Moderation. They are fecure of their Temper; and poflefs themfelves too well, to be in danger of entering warmly into any Caufe, or engaging deeply with any Side or Faction. SECT. III. YOU have heard It (my Friend!) as a common Saying, that Interefl go- verns the World. But, I believe, whoever looks narrowly into the Affairs of it, will find, that Paffion, Humour, Caprice, Zeal, Fatfion, and a thoufand other Springs, which are counter to Self -Inter eft, have as confiderable a part in the Movements of this Machine. There are more Wheels and Count er-PoiJes in this Engine than are eafily imagin'd. 'Tis of too complex a kind, to fall under one fimple View, or be explain'd thus briefly in a word or two. The Stu- diers of this Mechanifm muffc have a very partial Eye, to overlook all other Motions befides thofe of the lowefl and narrowefl compafs. 'Tis hard, that in the Plan or Defcription of this Clock-work, no Wheel or Balance fhou'd be allow'd on the fide of the better and more enlarg'd Affections ; that nothing fhou'd be underflood to be x done 1 1 6 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3. done in Kindnefs, or Gene rojlty ; nothing in ix-V^ 1 pure Good-Nature or Friend/hip^ or thro* any facial or natural Affection of any kind : when, perhaps, the main Springs of this Machine will be found to be either thefe ve- ry natural AffecJions themfelves, or a com- pound kind deriv'd from them, and retain- ing more than one half of their Nature. BUT here (my Friend !) you muft not expert that I fhou'd draw you up a formal * Scheme of the Pajfiom, or pretend to {hew you their Genealogy and Relation ; how they are interwoven with one another, or interfere with our Happinefs and Intereft. 'Twou'd be out of the Genius and Com- pafs of fuch a Letter as this, to frame a jufl Plan or Model-, by which you might, with an accurate View, obferve what Proportion the friendly and natural Affeflions feem to bear in this Order of Architecture. ' . ;_ .'.ysV^j MODERN Projectors, I know, wou'd willingly rid their hands of thefe natural Materials ; and wou'd fain build after a more uniform way. They wou'd new- frame the human Heart -, and have a mighty fancy to reduce all its Motions, Balances and Weights, to that one Prin- ciple and Foundation of a cool and deli- berate Selfifonefs. Men, it feems, are un- * See the fourth Treatife, viz. Inquiry concerning Virtue: VOL. II. willing of Wit and Humour. 1 1 7 willing to think they can be fo outwitted, Se<5l. 3. and impos'd on by Nature, as to be made to ferve her Purpofes, rather than their own. They are afham'd to be drawn thus out of themfehes, and forc'd from what they efteem their true Inter eft. THERE has been in all times a fort of narrow-minded Philofophers, who have thought to fet this Difference to rights, by conquering Nature in themfelves. A primi- tive Father and Founder among thefe, faw well this Power of * Nature, and under- flood it fo far, that he earneftly exhorted his Followers neither to beget Children, nor ferve their Country. There was no dealing with Nature, it feems, while thefe alluring Objects ftood in the way. Rela- tions^ Friends, Countrymen, Laws, Politick Conjlitutions, the Beauty of Order and Go- vernment, and the Interefl of Society and Mankind, were Objects which, he well faw, wou'd naturally raife a flronger Affec- tion than any which was grounded upon the narrow bottom of mere SELF. His Advice, therefore, not to marry, nor en- gage at all in the Publick, was wife, and futable to his Defign. There was no way to be truly a Difciple of this Philofophy, but to leave Family, Friends, Country, and Society, to cleave to it. And, in * Supra, pag. 49. And VOL. II. So. VOL. III. 32, 35, fcfc. good ti8 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3. good earned, who wou'd not, if it were l^VNj Happinefs to do fo ? The Philofopher, however, was kind, in telling us his Thought. 'Twas a Token of his fatherly Love of Mankind. * 7# Pater, G? rerum Inventor ! Tu f atria nobis Suppeditas pracepta ! BUT the Revivers of this Philofophy in latter Days, appear to be of a lower Genius. They feem to have underftood lefs of this force of Nature, and thought to alter the Thing, by fhifting a Name. They wou'd fo explain all the focial Pa- iions, and natural Affections, as to denomi- nate 'em of -f- the felfifh kind. Thus Civi- lity, Hofpitality, Humanity towards Stran- gers or People in diftrefs, is only a more deliberate Selfijhnefs. An honeft Heart is only a more cunning one : and Honefty and Good-Nature, a more deliberate, or better- regulated Self-Love. The Love of Kindred, Children and Poilerity, is purely Love of Self, and of one's own immediate Blood : As if, by this Reckoning, all Mankind were not included ; All being of one Blood, and join'd by Inter-Marriages and Allian- ces ; as they have been tranfplanted in Co- lonys, and mix'd one with another. And * Lucret. lib. 3. f Supra, p. 88. And VOL. II. p. 320. thus of Wit and Humour. 1 1 p thus Love of one's Country, and Love ofSeft. 3 Mankind, muft alfo be Self-Love. Magna- nimity and Courage, no doubt, are Modifi- cations of this univerfal Self-Love ! For * Courage (fays our modern Philofopher) is conftant Anger. And all Men (fays -f- a witty Poet) ivou'd be Cowards if they durft* THAT the Poet, and the Philofopher both, were Cowards, may be yielded per- haps without difpute. They may have fpoken the beft of their Knowledg. But for true Courage, it has fo little to do with Anger, that there lies always the ftrongeft Suspicion againft it, where this Paffion is higheft. The true Courage is the cool and calm. The braveft of Men have the leaft of a brutal bullying Infolence -, and in the very time of Danger are found the mod ferene, pleafant, and free. Rage, we know, can make a Coward forget himfelf and fight. But what is done in Fury or Anger, can never be plac'd to the account of Courage. Were it otherwife, Womankind might claim to be \hzjlouteft Sex : for their. Hatred and Anger have ever been allow'd the flrongeft and moft lafting. * Sudden Courage (fays Mr. H o B B E s, Lev. chap. 6.) is Anger. Therefore Courage confider'd as conilant, and be- longing to a Character, muft, in his account, be defin'd eonjlant Anger, or Anger conftantly returning. j- Lord ROCHESTER. Satir againjl Man. OTHER 1 1 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3. OTHER Authors there have been of a yet inferior kind : a fort of * Diftributers and petty Retailers of this Wit j who have run Changes, and Divifions, without end, upon this Article of S elf-Love. You have the very fame Thought fpun out a hundred ways, and drawn into Motto's, and Devifes, to fet forth this Riddle ; That " act as difintereftedly or generoufly as " you pleafe, Self ftill is at the bottom, " and nothing elfe." Now if thefe Gen- tlemen, who delight fo much in the Play of Words, but are cautious how they grap- ple clofely with Definitions, wou'd tell us only what -f- Self-IntereJi was, and deter- mine Happinefs and Good, there wou'd be an end of this enigmatical Wit. For in this we mou'd all agree, that Happinefs was to be purfu'd, and in fact was always fought after : but whether found in fol- lowing Nature, and giving way to common Affection ; or in fuppreffing it, and turn- ing every Paffion towards private Advan- * The Trend Tranflator fuppofes with good reafon, That our Author, in this Pafiage, had an eye to thole Sentences, or Maxims, which pafs under the name of the Duke D E LA ROCHEFOUCAULT. He has added, withal, the Ceniure of this kind of Wit, and of thefe Maxims in parti- cular, by feme Authors of the lame Nation. The Pallages are too long to iniert here : tho they are otherwile very juft and entertaining. That which he has cited of old MON- TAIGNE, is from the firft Chapter of his fecond Efiay. f VOL. II. p. 22, 23, &c. 78, 79, 80, &c. 87, &c. 139, 140, &c. tage, of Wit and Humour. 1 2 1 tage, a narrow Se/f-End, or the Preferva- Sect. 3. tion of mere Life -, this wou'd be the mat- ter in debate between us. The Queftion wou'd not be, " Who lov'd himfelf, or Jjr) infra, pag. 333, &c. in the Notes, thefc of Wit and Humour. i a thefe Arts are comprehended in Univerfity- Seel. 4. Learning, 'tis well. But as fome Univer- fitys in the World are now model'd, they feem not fo very effectual to thefe Purpofes, nor fo fortunate in preparing for a right Practice of the World, or a juft Knowledg of Men and Things. Had you been tho- row-pac'd in the Et hicks or Politicks of the Schools, I fhou'd never have thought of writing a word to you upon Common Senfe y or the Love of Mankind. I ihou'd not have cited * the Poet's Dulce & Deco- rum. Nor, if I had made a Character for you, as he for his noble Friend, fhou'd I have crown'd it with his f- Non ilk pro cans Amicis, Aut Patrid timidus perlre. OUR Philofophy now-a-days runs after the manner of that able Sophifter, who fa id, J " Skin for Skin : All that a Man has " will he give for bis Life" 'Tis ortho- dox Divinity, as well as found Philofophy, with fome Men, to rate Life by the Num- ber and Exquiiirenefs of the pleafing Sen- fations. Thefe they conftantly fet in oppo- fition to dry Virtue and Honefty. And upon this foot, they think it proper to call all Men Fools, who wou'd hazard a Life, or part with any of thefe pleafing Senfatiom j * Sup. />,?. 102. j Hor. Lib. 4. Od 9. ^1 Job, ch. ii. ver. 4. Vol. i. I except ii4 An S s A Y on the Freedom Part 3. except on the condition of being repaid " in the fame Coin, and with good Intereft into the bargain. Thus, it feems, we are to learn Virtue by Ufury ; and inhance the Value of Life, and of the Pleafures of Senfe, in order to be wife, and to live well* BUT you (my Friend !) are ftubborn in this Point : and inftead of being brought to think mournfully of Death, or to repine at the Lofs of what you may fomeimes ha- zard by your Honefty, you can laugh at fuch Maxims as thefe ; and divert your-felf with the improv'd Selfimnefs, and philofo- phical Cowardice of thefe fafhionable Mora- lifts. You will not be taught to value Life at their rate, or degrade HONESTY as they do, who make it only a Name. You are perfuaded there is fomething more in the Thing than Fa/hion or Applaufe ; that WORTH and MERIT are fubftantial, and no way variable by Fancy or Will; and that HONOUR is as much it-felf, when acting by it-Jelf\ and unjeen^ as when Jeen, and applauded by all the World. SHOU'D one, who had the Counte- nance of a Gentleman, alk me " Why " I wou'd avoid being nafty, when no- " body was prefent?" In the firft place I (hou'd be fully fatisfy'd that he himfelf was a very nafty Gentleman who cou'd afk this Queftion; and that it wou'd be 3 a of Wit and, Humour. 1 2 y a hard matter for me to make him ever Sect. 4. conceive what true Cleanlinejs was. How- ever, I might, notwithftanding this, be contented to give him a flight Anfwer, and fay, " 'Twas becaufe I had a Nofe." Shou'd he trouble me further, and afk again, " What if I had a Cold ? Or " what if naturally I had no fuch nice < e Smell ?" I might anfwer perhaps, " That I car'd as little to fee my-felf " nafty, as that others {hou'd fee me in " that condition." But what if ic were in the dark ? Why even then, tho I had neither Nofe, nor Eyes, my Senfe of the matter wou'd ftill be the fame ; my Nature wou'd rife at the Thought of what was fordid : or if it did not, I {hou'd have a wretched Na- ture indeed, and hate tny-J'elf for a Bead. Honour niy-felf I never cou'd j whilft I had no better a fenfe of what, in reality, I ow'd my-felf, and what became me, as a human Creature. MUCH in the fame manner have I heard it afk'd, Why floud a Man be hone ft in the dark? What a Man muft be to a(k this Queftion, I won't fay. But for thofe who have no better a Reafon for being hcneft than the fear of a Gibbet or a 'Jail ; I (hou'd not, I confefs, much co- vet their Company, or Acquaintance. And if any Guardian of mine who had kept I 2 his \z6 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 3.hisTruft, and given me back my Eftate when I came of Age, had been difcover'd to have a<5ted thus, thro' Fear only of what might happen to him 5 I fhou'd for my own part, undoubtedly, continue civil and refpe&ful to him : but for my Opinion of his Worth, it wou'd be fuch as the PY- THIAN God had of his Votary, who de- voutly feard him, and therefore reftor'd to a Friend what had been depofited in his hands. * Reddidit ergo metu, non moribus j G? tamen omnem Vocem adyti dignam templo, veramque probavit, Extinftus tot a pariter cum prole domo%. I KNOW very well that many Services to the Publick are done merely for the fake of a Gratuity ; and that Informers in par- ticular are to be taken care of, and fome- times made Penjioners of State. But I muft beg pardon for the particular Thoughts I may have of thefe Gentlemens Merit 3 and fhall never beflow my Efteeni on any other than the voluntary Difcoverers of Villany, and hearty Profecutors of their Country's Intereft. And in this refpecl, I know nothing greater or nobler than the undertaking and managing fome impor* * Juv. Sat. 13. tant of Wit and Humour. '127 tant Accufation; by which fome high Cri-Sect. 4. minal of State, or fome form'd Body Confpirators againft the Publick, may be arraign'd and brought to Punifhment, thro' the honeft Zeal and publick Affection of a private Man. I K N o w too, that the mere Vulgar of Mankind often {land in need of fuch a rec- tifying Object as the Gallows, before their Eyes. Yet I have no 1 belief, that any Man of a liberal Education, or common Honefty, ever needed to have recourfe to this Idea in his Mind, the better to reftrain him from playing the Knave. And if A SAINT had no other Virtue than what was rais'd in him by the fame Objects of Reward and Punifhment, in a more dif- tant State ; I know not whofe Love or Efleem he might gain befides : but for my own part, I fhou'd never think him wor- thy of mine. Nee furtum fed, nee fugl, Ji mlhi dicat Servus : Habes pretium> loris non ureris, aio. Non hominem occidi : Non pafces in cruce corvos. Sum bonus G? frugi : Renuit^ negat atque Sabellus. Hor. Efijl. 16, PART ti8 An Ess AT on the Freedom Part 4. SECT I. BY this time (my Friend !) you may poffibly, I hope, be fatisfy'd, that as I am in earneft in defending Raillery, fo I can be fober too in the Ufe of it. 'Tis in reality a ferious Study, to learn to temper and regulate that Humour which Nature has given us, as a more leni- tive Remedy againft Vice, and a kind of Specifick againft Superftition and melan- choly Delufion. There is a great difference between feeking how to raife a Laugh from every thing j and feeking, in every thing, what juftly may be laugh'd at. For .no- thing is ridiculous except what is deform'd : Nor is any thing proof againft Raillery, except what is handfom and juft. And therefore 'tis the hardeft thing in the World, to deny fair HONESTY the ufe of this Weapon, which can never bear an Edge againft her-felf, and bears againft every thing contrary, IF of Wit and Humour, Sett. I, IF the very Italian Buffoons were to give us the Rule in thefe cafes, we fhou'd learn by them, that in their loweft and moft fcurrilous way of Wit, there was nothing fo fuccefsfully to be play'd upon, as the Pa- fions of Cowardice and Avarice, One may defy the World to turn real Bravery or Generofity into Ridicule. A Glutton or mere Senfualift is as ridiculous as the other two Characters. Nor can an unaffected temperance be made the Subject of Con- tempt to any betides the groffeft and moft contemptible of Mankind. Now thefe three Ingredients make up a virtuous Character : as the contrary three a vicious one. How therefore can we pombly make a Jeft of Honefly ? To laugh both ways, is nonfen- iical. And if the Ridicule lie againft Sof- tijhnefsy Avarice, and Cowardice ; you fee the Confequence. A Man muffc be foundly ridiculous, who, with all the Wit imagina- ble, wou'd go about to ridicule Wifdom, or laugh at Honefly, or Good Manners. A MAN of thorow * Good-Breeding, whatever elfe he be, is incapable of do- ing a rude or brutal Action. He never deliberates in this cafe, or confiders of the matter by prudential Rules of Self-Intereft and Advantage. He acts from his Na- ture, in a manner neceflarily, and with-? * VOL. III. p. 161, 162. I 4 out 1 30 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 4. out Reflection : and if he did not, it were impoffible for him to anfwer his Character, or be found that truly well-bred Man, on every occafion. 'Tis the fame with the honeft Man. He can't deliberate in the Cafe of a plain Villany. A Plum is no Temptation to him. He likes and loves himfelf too well, to change Hearts with one of thofe corrupt Mifcreants, who a- mongft 'em gave that name to a round Sum of Mony gain'd by Rapine and Plun- der of the Commonwealth. He who wou'd enjoy a Freedom of Mind, and be truly PoJjeJJor of himfelf, muft be above the thought of flooping to what is villanous or bale. He, on the other fide, who has a Heart to ftoop, muft necefTarily quit the thought of Manlinefs, Refolution, Friend- flip, Merit) and a Character with himfelf find others : But to affect thefe Enjoyments and Advantages, together with the Privi- leges of a licentious Principle ; to pretend to enjoy Society, and a free Mind, in company with a knavi/h Heart, is as ri- diculous as the way of Children, who eat their Cake, and afterwards cry for it. When Men begin to deliberate about Dif- honefty, and finding it go lefs againft their Stomach, afk (lily, " Why they fhou'd " flick at a good Piece of Knavery, for a " good Sum ?" They fhou'd be told, as Children, that tfhey carit eat their Cake, (tnd have it, WEN of Wit and Humour. 1^1 Sect. i. WHEN Men, indeed, are become ac- compli/tid Knaves, they are paft crying for their Cake. They know themfefoes, and are known by Mankind. 'Tis not thefe who are fo much envy'd or admir'd. The moderate Kind are the more taking with us. Yet had we Senfe, we mould confider 'tis in reality the thorow profligate Knave, the very compleat unnatural Villain alone, who can any way bid for Happinefs with the honeft Man. True Intereft is wholly on one fide, or the other. All between is * In- confiftency, Irrefolution, Remorfe, Vexa- tion, and an Ague-Fit : from hot to cold -, from one Paffion to another quite con- trary ; a perpetual Difcord of Life j and an alternate Difquiet and Self-diflike. The only Reft or Repofe muft be thro' one, determin'd, confiderate Reiblution : which when once taken, muft be courageouily kept ; and the Paffions and Affections brought under obedience to it ; the Tem- per fteel'd and harden'd to the Mind ; the Difpofition to the Judgment. Both muft agree ; elfe all muft be Difturbance and Confufion. So that to think with one's felf, in good earneft, " Why may not * Our Author's French Tranflator cites, on this occafion, very aptly thofe Veries of" HORACE, Sat. 7. Lib. 2. -Quanto ctnftantior idem In fit Us, tanto levius mifcr, ac prior illy 'i jam ctmtento, jam laxo fune .labor at. one (C t jl An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 4." one do this little Vilkny, or commit " this one Treachery, and but for once ;'* is the moft ridiculous Imagination in the world, and contrary to COMMON SENSE. For a common honeft Man, whilft left to himfelf, and undifturb'd by Philofophy and fubtle Reafonings about his Intereft, gives no other Anfwer to the thought of Vil- lany, than that he cant poj/ibly find in his heart to fet about it, or conquer the natu- ral Averfion he has to it. And this is na- tural and juJL THE truth is j as Notions ft and now in the world, with refpedt to Morals, Ho^ nefly is like to gain little by Philofophy, or deep Speculations of any kind. In the main, 'tis beft to ftick to Common Senfe t and go no further. Mens firft Thoughts, in this matter, are generally better than their fecond : their natural Notions better than thofe refin'd by Study, or Confulta- tion with Ca/iiifts. According to common Speech, as well as common Senfe, Honejly is the beft Policy : But according to refin'd Senfe, the only well-advis'd Perfons, as to this World, are errant Knaves; and they alone are thought to ferve themfelves, xvho ferve their Pafiions, and indulge their loofeft Appetites and Defires. Such, it feems, are the Wife^ and fuch the Wifdom of this World! of Wk and Humour. 13 Seft. AN ordinary Man talking of a vile ^^v Action, in a way of Common Senfe, fays naturally and heartily, " He wou'd not c< be guilty of fuch a thing for the whole " World." But fpeculative Men find great Modifications in the cafe ; many ways of Evafion ; many Remedys ; many Allevia- tions. A good Gift rightly apply'dj a right Method of fuing out a Pardon ; good Almf- Houfes, and charitable Foundations creeled for right Worfhippers ; and a good Zeal fhewn for the right Belief, may fufficiently atone for one wrong Pra&ice j efpecially when it is fuch as raifes a Man to a con- fiderable power (as they fay) of doing good, and lerving the true CauJ'e. MANY a good Eftate, many a high Station has been gain'd upon fuch a bottom as this. Some Crowns too may have been purchas'd on thefe terms : and fome great * Emperors (if I miftake not) there have been of old, who were much affifted by thefe or the like Principles ; and in return w r ere not ingrateful to the Caufe and Par- ty which had affifted 'em. The Forgers of fuch Morals have been amply endow'd : and the World has paid roundly for its Philofophy j fince the original plain Prin- ciples of Humanity, and the fimple honeft * VOL. III. p. 78, 79, 50> 91. Precepts 154 -An E s s A T on the Freedom Part 4. Precepts of Peace and mutual Love, have, by a fort of fpiritual Chymifts, been fo fub- li mated, as to become the higheft Corro- fives j and paffing thro' their Limbecks, have yielded the ftrongeft Spirit of mutual Hatred and malignant Perfecution. SECT. II. ^V.'v JM BUT our Humours (my Friend!) in- cline us not to melancholy Reflections. Let the folemn Reprovers of Vice proceed in the manner moft futable to their Ge- nius and Character. I am ready to con- gratulate with 'em on the Succefs of their Labours, in that authoritative way which is allow'd 'em. I know not, in the mean while, why others may not be allow'd to ridicule Folly, and recommend Wifdom and Virtue (if poffibly they can) in a way of Pleafantry and Mirth. I know not why Poets, or fuch as write chiefly for the Entertainment of themfelves and others, may not be allow'd this Privilege. And if it be the Complaint of our ftanding Reformers, that they are not heard fo well by the Gentlemen of Fa/hion ; if they exclaim againft thofe airy Wits who fly to Ridicule as a Protection, and make fuc- cefsful Sallys from that Quarter j why fhou'd it be deny'd one, who is only a Volunteer in this Caufe, to engage the Ad- veriary on his own terms, and expofe himfelf of Wit find Humour* 1 5 y himfelf willingly to fuch Attacks, on the Sect. 2. fingle condition of being allow'd fair Play in the fame kind ? B Y Gentlemen of Fajhion, I underftand thofe to whom a natural good Genius, or the Force of good Education, has given a Senfe of what is naturally graceful and be- coming. Some by mere Nature, others by Art and Practice, are Mafters of an Ear in Mufick, an Eye in Painting, a Fancy in the ordinary things of Ornament and Grace, a Judgment in Proportions of all kinds, and a general good Tafte in moft of thofe Subjects which make the Amufement and Delight of the ingenious People of the World. Let fuch Gentlemen as thefe be as extravagant as they pleafe, or as irregular in their Morals ; they muft at the fame time difcover their Inconfiftency, live at variance with themfelves, and in contradiction to that Principle, on which they ground their higheft Pleafure and Entertainment. OF all other Beautys which Virtuofos purfue, Poets celebrate, Muficians fing, and Architects or Artifts, of whatever kind, defcribe or form ; the moft delightful, the moft engaging and pathetick, is that which is drawn from real Life, and from the Paj- fans. Nothing affects the Heart like that which is purely from it-felf^ and of its own nature ; fuch as the Beauty of Sentiments^ the An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 4. the Grace of Actions, the Turn of Charac- ters, and the Proportions and Features of a human Mind. This Leflbn of Philofo- phy, even a Romance, a Poem, or a Play may teach us ; whilft the fabulous Author leads us with fuch pleafure thro' the Laby- rinth of the Affections, and interefts us, whether we will or no, in the Paflions of his Heroes and Heroines : -Angit, Irritaty mulcet y falfis terroribus implef, Ut Magus.. LET Poets, or the Men of Harmony, deny, if they can, this Force of Nature, or withftand this moral MagicL They, for their parts, carry a double portion of this Charm about 'em. For in the firft place, the very Paflion which infpires 'em, is it- felf the Love of Numbers, Decency and Proportion ; and this too, not in a narrow fenfe, or after a felfifl) way, (for who of them compofes for hitnfelff) but in a friendly focial View ; for the Pleafure and Good of others j even down to Poileruy, and future Ages. And in the next place, 'tis evident in thefe Performers, that their chief Theme and SubjecT:, that which railes their Genius the mofl, and by which they fo effectually move others, is purely Man- ners, and the moral Part. For this is the t Hor. Efift. i. lib. z. Effect, Wit and Humour. 1 37 EfFeft, and this the Beauty of their Art; Sea. 2. " in vocal Meafures of Syllables, and " Sounds, to exprefs the Harmony and " Numbers of an inward kind; and repre- " fent the Beautys of a human Soul, by " proper Foils, and Contrarietys, which " ferve as Graces in this Limning, and " render this Mufick of the Pafiions more " powerful and enchanting." THE Admirers of Beauty in the Fair Sex wou'd laugh, perhaps, to hear of a moral Part in their Amours. Yet, what a ftir is made about a Heart ! What curious fearch of Sentiments, and tender Thoughts ! What praifes of a Humour, a Senfe, a je- ne-fcai-quoi of Wit, and all thofe Graces of a Mind which thele Virtuofo-Lovers delight to celebrate ! Let them fettle this matter among themfelves ; and regulate, as they think fit, the Proportions which thefe different Beautys hold one to ano- ther: They muft allow ftill, there is a Beauty of the Mind-, and fuch as is efTen- tial in the Cafe. Why elfe is the very Air of Fooli/hnefs enough to cloy a Lover, at fir ft fight ? Why does an Idiot-Look and Manner deftroy the ErFecl of all thofe outward Charms, and rob the Fair-One of her Power ; tho regularly arm'd, in all the Exactnefs of Features and Complexion ? We may imagine what we pleafe of a fub- ftantial folid part of Beauty : but were the Subject An ESSAY on the Freectom Part 4. Subject to be well criticized, we ftiou'd find, perhaps, that what we mod admir'd, even in the turn of out-ward Features, was only a myfterious Expreflion, and a kind of Sha- dow of fomething inward in the Temper : and that when we were ftruck with a ma- jeftick Air, a fprightly Look, an Amazon bold Grace, or a contrary foft and gentle one ; 'twas chiefly the Fancy of thefe Cha- racters or Qualitys which wrought on us: our Imagination being bufy'd in forming beauteous Shapes and Images of this ratio- nal kind, which entertain'd the Mind, and held it in admiration j whilft other Paffions of a lower Species were employ'd another way. The preliminary Addrefles, the De- clarations, the Explanations, Confidences, Clearings j the Dependence on fomething mutual, fomething felt by way of return ; the Spes anlmi credula mutui : all thefe be- come neceffary Ingredients in the Affair of Love, and are authentically eftablifh'd by the Men of Elegance and Art in this way of Paffion. NOR can the Men of cooler Paffions, and more deliberate Purfuits, withfland the Force of Beauty^ in other Subjects. Eve- ry-one is a Firtuofo, of a higher or lower degree : Every-one purfues a GRACE, and courts a * VENUS of one kind or ano- ther. The Venujlum^ the Honcftum, the * Infra, pag. 337. Decorum of Wit and Humour. ijp Decorum of Things, will force its way. Sect. 2 They who refufe to give it fcope in the n bier Subjects of a rational and moral kind, will find its Prevalency elfewhere, in an '' inferior Order of Things. They who overlook the main Springs of Action, and defpife the Thought of Numbers and Pro- portion in a Life at large^ will in the mean Particulars of it, be no lefs taken up, and engag'd ; as either in the Study of common Arts, or in the Care and Culture of mere mechanick Beautys. The Models of Hou- fes, Buildings, and their accompanying Or- naments j the Plans of Gardens, and their Compartments j the ordering of Walks, Plantations, Avenues ; and a thoufand o- ther Symmetrys, will fucceed in the room of that happier and higher Symmetry and Order of a Mind. The -f Species of Fair, Noble^ Handfom, will difcover it-felf on a thoufand Occafions, and in a thoufand Sub- jects. The Specter ftill will haunt us, in fome fhape or other : and when driven from our cool Thoughts, and frighted from the Clofet, will meet us even at Court ^ and fill our Heads with Dreams of Grandure, Titles, Honours, and a falfe Magnificence and Beauty ; to which we are ready to fa- crifice our higheft Pleafure and Eafe j and for the fake of which, we become the merefl Drudges, and moil abject Slaves. * VOL. in. *. i 73 . f VOL. III. p. 33. 182 1 86. Vol. i. K THE 140 An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 4. THE Men of Pleafure, who feem the greateft Contemners of this philofophical Beauty, are forc'd often to confefs her Gharms. They can as heartily as others commend Honefly ; and are as much ftruck with the Beauty of a generous Part. They admire the Thing it-felf, tho not the Means. And, if poffible, they wou'd fo order it, as to make Probity and Luxury agree. But the Rules of Harmony will not permit it. The Diflbnancys are too ftrong. However, the Attempts of this kind are not unpleafant to obferve. For tho fome of the voluptuous are found for- did Pleaders for Bafenefs and Corruption of every fort : yet others, more generous, endeavour to keep meafures with Ho- nefly ; and understanding Pleafure better, are for bringing it under fome. Rule. They condemn 'this manner : they praife the other. " So far was right : but further, u wrong. Such a Cafe was allowable : " but fuch a one not to be admitted." They introduce a Juftice, and an Order in their Pleafures. They wou'd bring Reajon to be of their Party, account in fome man- ner for their Lives, and form themfelves to fome kind of Confonancy, and Agree- ment : Or mou'd they find this impractica- ble on certain terms, they wou'd chufe to facrifice their own Pleafures to thofe which arife from a generous Behaviour, a Regu- larity of Wit and Humour. 141 larky of Conduct, and a Conliftency of Seel. 2. Life and Manners : * Et vera mimerojque modofque edifcere "uitce. OTHER Occafions will put us upon this Thought : but chiefly a flrong View of Me- rit > in a generous Char after ^ oppos'd to fome deteftably vile one. Hence it is that among Poets, the Satirifts feldom fail in doing Juftice to VIRTUE. Nor are any of the nobler Poets falfe to this Caufe. Even modern Wits, whofe Turn is all towards Gallantry and Pleafure, when bare-fac'd Villany ftands in their way, and brings the contrary Species in view, can ling in paffio- nate flrains the Praifes of plain Honefty. WHEN we are highly Friends with the World, fuccefsful with the Fair, and prof- perous in the poffefTion of other Beautys ; we may perchance, as is ufual, defpife this fober Miftrefs. But when we fee, in the iflue, what Riot and Excefs naturally pro- duce in the World ; when we find that by Luxury's means, and for the fervice of vile Interests, Knaves are advanc'd above us, and the -f- vileft of Men prefer'd before the honefteft j we then behold VIRTUE in a new Light, and by the afiiftance of * Hor. Epijf. 2. lib. 2. I VOL. in. p. 303, 309. K 2 fuch An ESSAY on the Freedom Part 4.fuch a Foil, can difcern the Beauty of Ho* <-/^W nefty, and the reality of thofe Charms, which before we underftood not to be ei- ther natural or powerful. SECT. III. AN D thus, after all, the moft natural Beauty in the World is Honejly^ and moral Truth. For all Beauty is TRUTH. True Features make the Beauty of a Face ; and true Proportions the Beauty of Archi- tecture ; as true Meafures that of Harmo- ny and Mufick. In Poetry, which is all Fable, Truth ftill is the Perfection. And whoever is Scholar enough to read the antient Philofopher^ or his * modern Co- pifts, upon the nature of a Dramatick and Epick Poem, will eafily underfland -f- this account of Truth. A PAINTER, if he has any Genius, understands the Truth and Unity of De- iign j and knows he is even then unnatu- ral, when he follows Nature too clofe, and ftridly copys Life. For his Art al- lows him not to bring All Nature into his The French Tranflator, no doubt, has juftly hit our Au- thor's Thought, by naming in his Margin the excellent Bo s- s u du Poeme Epique ; who in that admirable Comment and Explanation of ARISTOTLE, has perhaps not only fhewn himfelf the greateft of the French Criticks, but prefented the World with a View of antient Literature and juft Writing, beyond any other Modern of whatever Nation. f VOL. III. /. 1 80, 181, 182, 183, 260, &c. Piece, of Wit and Humour. 14^ Piece, but a Part only. However, hisSecft. 3. Piece, if it be beautiful, and carrys 'Truth, Lx"VNJ muft be a Whole, by it-felf, compleat, in- dependent, and withal as great and com- prehenlive as he can make it. So that Particulars, on this occafion, muft yield to the general Defign ; and all things be fub- fervient to that which is principal : in order to form a certain Eafinefs of Sight ; a Timple, clear, and * united View, which wou'd be broken and difturb'd by the ILx- preffion of any thing peculiar or diftindt. Now * The TO 'Evffvvovrlov , as the great Matter of Arts calls it, in his Poeticks, ch. 23. but particularly cb. 7. where he fliews, " That the 70 KstAof, the Beautiful, or the Sublime, " in thefe above-iaention'd Arts, is from the Expreffion of " Greatnefs with Order: that is to fay, exhibiting the Principal or Main of what is defign'd, in the very largcft Proportions in which it is capable of being view'd. For when it is gigantick, 'tis in a manner out of fight, and can be no way comprehended in that ftmple and united View. As, on the contrary, when a Piece is of the Miniature-kind ; when it runs into the Detail, and nice Delineation of every little Particular ; 'tis, as it were, inviiible, for the fame reafon ; becaufe the fummary Beauty, the WHOLE it-fclf, cannot be comprehended in that ONE united View ; which is broken and loft by the neceffary attraction of the Eye to every Imall and fubordinate Part. In a poetick Syftem, the fame regard muft be had to the Memory, as in Painting to the Eye. The Dramatick kind is confin'd within the convenient; and proper time of a Speftacle. The Epick is left mote at large. Each Work, however, muft aim at Vaftnefs, and be as great, and of as long duration as poffible ; but fo as to be comprehended, as to the main of it, by one eafy Glance or Retrofpect of Memory. And this the Philofopher calls, accordingly, the TT> 'Ewpuftorsi^oi''-" I cannot better tranflate the Paflage than as J nave done in thefe explanatory Lines. For befides what relates to mere K 3 Art, 144 iho7o$K>Tt$t>v )i) f'TntJk.toTifoi' Tlcitwe ITO/KAS - 7W jyi9&Aa, in my turn. If contrariwife I am rail'd at, I can laugh ftill, as before ; and with frefh advantage to my Caufe. For tho, in reality, there cou'd be no- thing lefs a laughing matter, than the pro- vok'd Rage, Ill-will, and Fury of certain zealous Gentlemen, were they arm'd as lately they have been known ; yet as the Magiftrate has fince taken care to pare their Talons, there is nothing very terri- ble in their Encounter. On the contrary, there is fomething comical in the cafe. It brings to one's mind the Fancy of thofe Grotefque Figures, and Dragon -Faces, which are feen often in the Frontifpiece, and on the Corner-Stones of r old Build- ings. They feem plac'd there, as the De~ fenders and Supporters of the Edifice ; but with all their Grimace, are as harmlefs to People i jo An ESSAY, &c. Part 4. People without, as they are ufelefs to the Building within. Great Efforts of Anger to little purpofe, ferve for Pleafantry and Farce. Exceeding Fiercenefs, with perfect Inability and Impotence, makes the higheft Ridicule. I am, Pear Friend, Affectionately Your's, T R E A- TREATISE III. VIZ. SOLILOQUT: O R, ADVICE T O A N AUTHOR -Nee ^E quafiveris extra. Perf. Sat. i, Printed firft in the Year M.DCC.X. Vol. i. ADVICE, PART I. SECT. I. I HAVE often thought how ill-na- tur'd a Maxim it was, which, on ma- ny occafions, I have heard from Peo- ple of good underftanding j " That, and give Inftruclion ; they may now perhaps, as well as formerly, be efteem'd, with juf- tice, the beft and moft honourable among Authors. MEAN while: " If dictating and pre- " A R E we to go therefore to the Stage ct for Edification ? Muft we learn our " Catechifm from the Poets ? And, like " the Players, fpeak aloud, what we de- & fus.it urbes. J o 'Tis remafrkable in all great Wits, that they have own'd this Practice of ours, and generally defcrib'd themfelves as a People liable to fufficient Ridicule, for their great Loquacity by themfelves, and their profound Taciturnity in Company. Not only the Poet and Philofopher, but the Orator himfelf was wont to have re- courfe to our Method. And the Prince of this latter Tribe may be prov'd to have been a great Frequenter of the Woods and River-Banks j where he confum'd a- bundance of his Breath, fuffer'd his Fancy to evaporate, and reduc'd the vehemence both of his Spirit and Voice. If other Authors find nothing which invites 'em to thefe Receffes, 'tis becaufe their Genius is not of force enough : Or tho it be, their Character, they may imagine, will hardly bear 'em out. For to be furpriz'd in the odd Actions, Geftures, or Tones, which are proper to fuch Afceticks t I muft own wou'd be an ill Adventure for a Man of the World. But with Poets and Philofophers 'tis a known Cafe : *' Hor. Epljl. 2. lib. 2. L 2 Aut , iSt ADVICE to an AutKot. Part V * Aut infanit Homo, aut verfus factf- COMPOSING and Raving muft necefla- rily, we fee, bear a refemblance. And for thofe Compofers who deal in Syftems,. and airy Speculations, they have vulgarly pafs'd for a fort of Profe-Poets. Their fecret Practice and Habit has been as frequently noted : . f- Murmur a cum fecum & rabiofa filen- tia rodunt. Both thefe forts are happily indulg'd in this Method of Evacuation. They are thought to act naturally, and in their pro- per way, when they aflume thefe odd Manners. But of other Authors 'tis ex- pected they fhou'd be better bred. They are oblig'd to preferve a more converli- ble Habit j which is no fmall misfor- tune to 'em. For if their Meditation and Refvery be obftructed by the fear of a nonconforming Mein in Converfation, they may happen to be fo much the worfe Au- thors for being finer Gentlemen. Their Fervency of Imagination may pombly be as ftrong as either the Philofopher's or the Poet's. But being deny'd an equal Bene- fit of Difcharge, and with-held from the wholefom manner of Relief in private 3 * Hor. Sat. 7. lib. 2. f Pcrf. Sat. 3. 3 'tis tfr.au Author 'tis no wonder if they appear with fo much Sect, r. Froth and Scum in publick. 'Tis obfervable, that the Writers of MEMOIRS anc} ESSAYS are chiefly fubr ject to this frothy Diflemper. Nor can it be doubted that thi& is the true Reafon why thefe Gentlemen entertain the World fo lavifhly with what relates to themfehes. For having had no opportunity of private^ ly converting with themfelves, or exercir- ng their own Genius, fo as to make Acr quaintance with it, or prove its Strength ; they immediately fall to work in a wrong place, and exhibit on the Stage of the World that Pra5lice Y which they fhou'd have kept to themfelves ; if they defign'd that either they, or the World, fhou'd be the better for their Morality s. Who in- deed can endure to hear an Empirick talk of his own Conftitution, how he governs and manages it, what Diet agrees beft with it, and what his Practice is with himfelf? The Proverb, ho doubt, is very juft, Phy- faian cure thy-felf< Yet methinks one fhou'd have but an ill time, to be prefent ^t thefe bodily Operations. Nor is the Reader in truth any better entertain'd, when he is oblig'd to affift at the experi- mental Difcuflions of his praclifing Au- thor, who all the while is in reality doing no better, than taking his Phyfick in pub- lick. L 3 FOR ADVICE to 1 an Authotf. Part I. 'TOY/ on g * ^ f ^^ * r j L; 4 " 1* J FOR this reafon, I hold it very indecent for any one to publjfh his Meditations, Oc- cafwnal Reflections, Solitary Thoughts, or other fuch Exercifes as come under the notion of \\\\s felf-difcourfing Practice. And the modeiieft Title I can conceive for fuch Works, wou'd be that of a certain Author, who call'd them his Crudity s. 'Tis "the Unhappinefs of thofe Wits, who con- ceive fuddenly, but without being able to go out their full time, that after many Mifcarriages and Abortions, they can bring nothing well-mapen or perfect into the World. They are not however the lefs fond of their Off-fpring, which in a manner they beget in publick. For fo publick-fpi- rited they are, that they can never afford themfelves the leaft tirne to think in pri- vate, for their own particular benefit and ufe. For this reafon, tho they are often 'retir'd, they are never by themfehes. The World is ever of the Party. They have their Author-Char after in view, and are al- ways confidering how this or that Thought wou'd ferve to compleat fome Set of Con- temptations^ or furnim out the Common- Place-Book, from whence thefe treafur'd -Riches are to flow in plenty on the ne- ceffitous World, BUT if our Candidates for Authorfhip happen to be of ih&^fqn&iffd kind; 'tis no not ADVICE to an Author. 165 not to be imagin'd how much farther ftillSecl:. i. their Charity is apt to extend. So exceed- ing great is their Indulgence and Tender- nefs for Mankind, that they are unwilling the leaft Sample of their devout Exerciie fhou'd be loft. Tho there are already fo many Formularys and Rituals appointed for this Species of Soliloquy ; they can al- low nothing to lie conceal'd, which pafles in this religious Commerce and way of Dialogue between them and their Soul. THESE may be term'd a fort of Pfeudo- Afceticks, who can have no real Converfe either with themfelves, or with Heaven j whilft they look thus a-fquint upon the World, and carry Titles and Editions along with 'em in their Meditations. And altho the Books of this fort, by a common "Idiom, are call'd good Books ; the Authors, for certain, are a forry Race : For reli- gious Cruditys are undoubtedly the worft of any. * A Saint- Author of all Men leaft values Politenefs. He fcorns to con- fine that Spirit, in which he writes, to Rules of Criticifm and profane Learning. Nor is he inclin'd in any refped: to play the Critick on himfelf, or regulate his Style or Language by the Standard of good Company, and People of the better fort. He is above the Coniideration of that * VOL. III. p. 239, 240, 241. in the Notes. L 4 which ADVICE ---to '-an Author. Part i. which in a narrow fenfe we call Manners. Nor is he apt to examine any other Faults than thofe which he calls Sins : Tho a Sin- ner againft Good-Breeding, and the Laws of Decency, will no more be efteem'd it good Author^ than will a Sinner againft Grammar, good Argument, or good Senfe. And if Moderation and Temper are not of the Party with a Writer j let his Caufe be ever fo good, I doubt whether he will be able to recommend it with great advantage to the World. ON this account, I wou'd principally recommend our Exercife of Self-ConverJe to all fuch Perfons as are addicted to write after the manner of holy Advifers; efpe- eially if they lie under an indifpenfible Ne- ceffity of being Talkers or Haranguers in the fame kind. For to difcharge frequent- ly and vehemently in publick, is a great hindrance to the way of private Exercife ; which confifts chiefly in Controul. Bur where, inftead of Controul, Debate or Argument, the chief Exercife of the Wit coniifts in uncontroulable Harangues and Reaibnings, which muft neither be quef- tion'd nor contradicted ; there is great danger, left the Party, thro' this Habit, ihou'd fuffer much by Cruditys, Indi- geftions, Choler, Bile, and' particularly by a certain Tumour or Flatulency^ which ren- ders him of all Men the leaft able to ap- ply ADVICE to an Author. \6j ply the wholefom Regimen of Self-Practice. Sect, f. 'Tis no wonder if fuch quaint Practitioners 1 grow to an enormous Size of Abfurdity> whilft they continue in the reverfe of that Practice, by which alone we correct the Redundancy of Humours, and chaftea the Exuberance of Conceit and Fancy. A REMARKABLE Inftance of the want of this fovereign Remedy may be drawn from our common great "Talkers, who en- grofs the greateft part of the Converfations of the World, and are the forwardeft to fpeak in publick Aflemblys. Many of thefe have a fprightly Genius, attended with a mighty Heat and Ebullition of Fan- cy. But 'tis a certain Obfervation in our Science, that they who are great Talkers in Company, have never been any Talkers by them/elves, nor us'd to thefe private Dif- cuffions of our home Regimen. For which reafon their Froth abounds. Nor can they difcharge any thing without fome mixture of it. But when they carry their Attempts beyond ordinary Difcourfe, and wou'd rife to the Capacity of Authors, the Cafe grows worfe with 'em. Their Page can carry none of the Advantages of their Perfon. They can no- way bring into Paper thofe Airs they give themferves in I>ifcourle. The Turns of Voice and Action, with which they fielp out many a lame Thought and incoherent Sentence, mufl; here be laid afide ; ADVICE to an Author. Part i.afide; and the Speech taken to pieces, compar'd together, and examin'd from head to foot. So that unlefs the Party has been us'd to play the Critick thorowly up- on himfelf, he will hardly be found proof againft the Criticifms of others. His Thoughts can never appear very correct; unlefs they have been us'd to found Cor- rection by themfelves, and been well form'd and difciplin'd before they are brought in- to the Field. 'Tis the hardeft thing in the world to be a good Thinker, without being a ftrong Self-Examiner, and thorow-pacd Dialogift, in this folitary way. -OiTM-ii; >') , s ilfij : . iO li 3 T-'nK" S E C T ' IL 5 BUT to bring our Cafe a little clofer ftill to Morals. I might perhaps very juftifiably take occafion here to enter into a fpacious Field of Learning, to mew the Antiquity of that Opinion, " That we " have each of us a Daemon, Genius, Angel, " or Guardian-Spirit, to whom we were himfelf his Wimes. Much lefs can he en- dure to carry on his Thought, as he ne- cefTarily muft, if he enters once thorow- ly into Himfelf, and proceeds by Interro- gatorys to form the Home-Acquaintance and Familiarity requir'd. For thus, after fbme ftruggle, we may fuppofe him to ac- cpil himfelf. " Tell me now, my * c honeft Heart! Am I really honeft, and " of fome worth? or do I only make a < fair {how, and am intrinfecally no bet- " ter than a Rafcal ? As good a Friend, " a Country-man, or a Relation, as I ap- " pear outwardly to the World, or as I " wou'd willingly perhaps think my-felf < l to be ; fhou'd I not in reality be glad " they were hang'd, any of them, or " broke their Necks, wno happen'd to " fland between Me and the leafl portion " of an Eftate ? Why not ? fince 'tis " my Inter eft. Shou'd I not be glad " therefore to help this matter forwards, " and promote my Intereft, if it lay fairly " in my power ? No doubt ; pro- u vided I were fure not to be punifh'd * for it. And what reafon has the " greatefl Rogue in Nature for not doing " thus ? The fame reafon, and no " other. Am I not then, at the bot- " torn, the fame as he ? The fame : " an arrant Villain; tho perhaps more *' a Coward, and not fo perfect in my " kind. ADVICE to an Author. 175 " or a Name? What elfe are thefe but " Scruples in my way ? Wherefore do I " thus bely my own Interejl, and by keep- " ing my-felf half Knave, approve my- " felf a thorow Fool?" THIS is a Language we can by no means endure to hold with our-felves ; whatever Raillery we may ufe with others. We may defend Villany, or cry up Folly, before the World : But to appear Fools, Mad-men, or Varlets, to our-fehes -, and prove it to our own faces, that we are really fuch, is infupportable. For fo true a Reverence has every- one for himfelf, when he comes clearly to appear before his clofe Companion, that he had rather profefs the vileft things of himfelf in open Company, than hear his Character private- ly from his own Mouth. So that we may readily from hence conclude, That the chief Intereft of Ambition, Avarice, Cor- ruption, and every fly infinuating Vice, is to prevent this Interview and Familiarity of Dilcourfe which is confequent upon clofe 1/4 ADVICE to an Author. Part i.clofe Retirement and inward Recefs. "Tis grand Artifice of Villany and Leudnefs, as well as of Superftition and Bigotry, to put us upon Terms of greater Diftance and Formality with our-felves, and evade our proving Method of S o L i L o QJJ Y. And for this reafon, how fpecious foever may be the Inftrudtion and Do&rine of Forma- lifts -, their very Manner it-felf is a fuffi- cient Blind, or Retnora in the way of Ho- nefly and good Senfe. I AM fenfible, that (hou'd my Reader be peradventure a Lover, after the more profound and folemn way of Love, he wou'd be apt to conclude, that he was no Stranger to our propos'd Method of Practice j being confcious to himfelf of having often made vigorous Excurfions in- to thofe folitary Regions above-mention'd ; where Soliloquy is upheld with moft ad- vantage. He may chance to remember how he has many times addrefs'd the Woods and Rocks in audible articulate Sounds, and feemingly expoftulated with himfelf in fuch a manner, as if he had really form'd the requifite Diftinffion, and had the Power to entertain himfelf in due form. But it is very apparent, that tho all were true we have here fuppos'd, it can no way reach the Cafe before us. For a pafTionate Lover, whatever Solitude he may affect, can never be truly by him- Jelf. ADVICE to an Author. Jelf. His Cafe is like the Authors who Sect. 2. has begun his Courtmip to the Publick, and is embark'd in an Intrigue which fufficient- ly amufes, and takes him out of himfelf Whatever he meditates alone, is interrupted ftill by the imagin'd Prefence of the Mif- trefs he purfues. Not a Thought, not an Expreffion, not a Sigh, which is purely for himfelf. All is appropriated, and all devoutly tender'd to the Object of his Paffion. Infomuch that there is nothing ever fo trivial or accidental of this kind, which he is not defirous fhou'd be witnefs'd by the Party, whofe Grace and Favour he follicits. 'T i s the fame Reafon which keeps the imaginary Saint, or Myjlick, from being capable of this Entertainment. Inftead of looking narrowly into his own Nature and Mind, that he may be no longer a Myfte- ry to himfelf, he is taken up with the Contemplation of other myfterious Na- tures, which he can never explain or com- prehend. He has the Specters of his Zeal before his Eyes ; and is as familiar with his Modes, EfTences, Perfonages, and Ex- hibitions of DEITY, as the Conjurer with his different Forms, Species, and Orders of G E N ii or D JE M o N s. So that we make no doubt to aflert, that not fo much as a reclufe Religionift, a Votary, or Her- mit, was ever truly by himfelf. And thus Vol. i. M fince Part i.fince neither Lover, Author, Myftick^ or Conjurer \ (who are the only Claimants) can truly or juftly be entitled to a Share in this Self-entertainment; it remains that the only Perfon intitled, is the Man of Senfe, the Sage y or Philojbpher. How- ever, fince of all other Characters we are generally the moft inclin'd to favour that of a Lover ; it may not, we hope, be im- pertinent, on this occafion, to recite the Story of an Amour. A VIRTUOUS young Prince of a heroick Soul, capable of Love and Friend- fhip, made war upon a Tyrant, who was in every refpeft his Reverfe. 'Twas the Happinefs of our Prince to be as great a Conqueror by his Clemency and Bounty, as by his Arms and military Virtue. Al- ready he had won over to his Party feve- ral Potentates and Princes, who before had been fubjedt to the Tyrant. Among thofe who adher'd ftill to the Enemy, there was a Prince, who having all the advantage of Perfon and Merit, had late- ly been made happy in the Pofleffion and mutual Love of the moft beautiful Prin- cefs in the world. It happen'd that the Occafions of the War call'd the new-mar- ry'd Prince to a diftance from his belov'd Princefs. He left her fecure, as he thought, in a ftrong Caftle, far within the ADVICE to an Author.^. 177 the Country : but in his abfence the Place Sect. 2. was taken by furprize, and the Princefs brought a Captive to the Quarters of our heroick Prince. THERE was in the Camp a young Nobleman, Favourite of the Prince ; one who had been educated with him, and was ftill treated by him with perfect Fa- miliarity. Him he immediately fent for, and with ftrict Injunctions committed the captive Princefs to his charge ; refolving me fhou'd be treated with that Refpect which was due to her high Rank and Me- rit. 'Twas the fame young Lord, who had difcover'd her difguis'd among the Prifoners, and learnt her Story ; the par- ticulars of which he now related to the Prince. He fpoke in extafy on this occa- fion j telling the Prince how beautiful me appear'd, even in the midft of Sorrow ; and tho difguis'd under the meanefl Ha- bit, yet how diftinguimable, by her Air and Manner, from every other Beauty of her Sex. But what appear'd ftrange to our young Nobleman, was, that the Prince, during this whole relation, dif- cover'd not the leaft Intention of feeing the Lady, or fatisfying that Curiofity, which feem'd fo natural on fuch an oc- cafion. He prefs'd him ; but without fuc- cefs. " Not fee her, Sir! (faid he, won- M 2 " dring) 178 ADVICE to an '-Author. Part i." dring) when (he is fo handfom, beyond ^/v~^ " what you have ever feen '" " F o R that very reafon, reply'd the " Prince, I wou'd the rather decline the " Interview. For {hou'd I, upon the bare " Report of her Beauty, be fo charm'd " as to make the firft Vifit at this urgent i , IJ ; "i J '.' : ' A i WE hope, however, that by our Me- thod of Practice, and the help of the grand Arcanum, which we have profefs'd to reveal, this Regimen or Difcipline of the Fancys ADVICE to an Author. 187 Fancys may not in the end prove fo fevere Sect. 2. or mortifying as is imagin'd. We hope alfo '-^v^^ that our Patient (for fuch we naturally fup- pofe our Reader) will confider duly with himfelf, that what he endures in this Ope- ration is for no inconfiderable End : fince 'tis to gain him a Will, and infure him a certain Refolution ; by which he mall know where to find himfelf ; be fure of his own Meaning and Defign j and as to all his De- fires, Opinions, and Inclinations, be war- ranted one and the fame Perfon to day as yeflerday, and to morrow as to day. THIS, perhaps, will be thought a Mira- cle by one who well confiders the Nature of Mankind, and the Growth, Variation, and Inflection of Appetite and Humour. For A p- PETITE, which is elder Brother to R E A- s o N, being the Lad of ftronger growth, is fure, on every Conteft, to take the advan- tage of drawing all to his own fide. And Will, fo highly boafted, is, at beft, merely a Top or Foot-Ball between thefe Youngfters, who prove very unfortunately match'd; till the youngeft, inftead of now and then a Kick or Lam beftow'd to little purpofe, forfakes the Ball or Top it-felf, and begins to lay about his elder Brother. 'Tis then that the Scene changes. For the elder, like an ar- rant Coward, upon this Treatment, pre- fently grows civil, and affords the younger as fair Play afterwards as he can delire. i AND ADVICE to an Author. Part i. AND here it is that our Sovereign Re- medy and Gymnaftick Method of S o L i- LOQJJY takes its rife: when by a certain powerful Figure of inward Rhetorick, the Mind apoflrophizes its own FANC YS, raifes 'em in their proper Shapes and Perfonages, and addrefles 'em familiarly, without the leaft Ceremony or Refped:. By this means it will foon happen, that Two form'd Partys will ered themfelves within. For the Imaginations or Fancys being thus roundly treated, are forc'd to declare them- felves, and take party. Thofe on the fide of the elder Brother APPETITE, are ftrangely fubtle and infmuating. They have always the Faculty to fpeak by Nods and Winks. By this practice they conceal half their meaning, and, like modern Politi- cians, pafs for deeply wife, and adorn them- felves with the fineft Pretext and moft fpe- cious Glofles imaginable ; till being con- fronted with their Fellows of a plainer Lan- guage and Expreflion, they are forc'd to quit their myfterious Manner, and difcover themfelves mere Sophifters and Impoftors^ who have not the leaft to do with the Party of R E A s o N and good Senje. ACCORDINGLY we might now pro- ceed to exhibit diftindly, and in due me- thod, the Form and Manner of this Pro- bation, or Exercife, as it regards all Men in ADVICE to an Author. in general. But the Cafe of Authors, in Sect. 2 particular, being, as we apprehend, the moft urgent ; we fhall apply our Rule in the firft place to thefe Gentlemen, whom it fo highly imports to know themfelves, and underftand the natural Strength and Powers, as well as the Weakness of a hu- man Mind. For without this Underftand- ing, the Hiftorians Judgment will be very defective ; the Politician's Views very nar- row, and chimerical ; and the Poet's Brain, however ftock'd with Fiction, will be but poorly furnifh'd ; as in the fequel we mall make appear. He who deals in Characters, muft of neceffity know his own ; or he will know nothing. And he who wou'd give the World a profitable Entertainment of this fort, ihou'd be fure to profit, firft, by himfelf. For in this fenfe, Wifdom as well as Charity may be honeftly faid to begin at home. There is no way of eftimating Manners, or apprizing the different Hu- mours, Fancys, Pajflons and Apprehenftons of others, without firft taking an Inventory of the fame kind of Goods within our- felves, and furveying our domeftick Fund. A little of this Home-Pr&&\ce will ferve to make great Difcoverys. lecum habita, & ndris quam fit tibi cur- ta fupdlex. Perf. Sat. 4. SECT. 190 ADVICE to an Author. Part i. ^^ /..'>; SECT. III. WH O E V E R has been an Obferver of Attion and Grace in human Bodys, mu ft of neceflity have difcover'd the great difference in this refpect between fuch Per- fons as have been taught by Nature only, and fuqh as by Reflection, and the aflif- tance of Art, have learnt to form thofe Motions, which on experience are found the eaiieft and moft natural. Of the for- mer kind are either thofe good Rujlicks, who have been bred remote from the form'd Societys of Men ; or thofe plain Artizans, and People of lower Rank, who living in Citys and Places of reforc, have been neceffitated however to follow mean Imployments, and wanted the Opportuni- ty and Means to form themfelves after the better Models. There are fome Perfons in- deed fo happily form'd by Nature her-felf, that with the greateft Simplicity or Rude- nefs of Education, they have ftill fomething of a natural Grace and Comelinefs in their Action : And there are others of a better Education, who by a wrong Aim and in- judicious Affectation of Grace, are of all People the fartheft remov'd from it. 'Tis undeniable however, that the Perfection of Grace and Comelinefs in Action and Behaviour, can be found only among the People of a liberal Education. And even among ADVICB to an Author. 191 among the graceful of this kind, thofe flill Sect. 3 are found the gracefulleft, who early in their Youth have learnt their Exercifes, and form'd their Motions under the beft Mafters. Now fuch as- thefe Mafters and their Leflbns are to a fine Gentleman^ fuch are Philojbphcrs, and Philofophy, to an Author. The Cafe is the fame in the fafkionable y and in the literate World. In the former of thefe 'tis remark'd, that by the help of good Company, and the force of Example merely, a decent Carriage is acquir'd, with fuch apt Motions and fuch a Freedom of Limbs, as on all ordinary occafions may enable the Party to demean himfelf like a Gentleman. But when upon further oc- cafion, trial is made in an extraordinary way ; when Exercifes of the genteeler kind are to be perform'd In publick, 'twill eafily appear who of the Pretenders have been form'd by Rudiments, and had Mafters in private; and who, on the other fide, have contented themfelves with bare Imitation, and learnt their Part cafually and by rote. The Parallel is eafily made on the fide of Writers. They have at lead as much need of learning the feveral Motions, Counter- > poifes and Balances of the Mind arid Paf- iions, as the other Students thofe of the Body and Limbs. Vol. i. N Scribendi ADVICE to an Author. Part i. * Scribendi re5ie y fafere eft & frincipium & fons y Rem tibi SOCRATIC^E poterunt often- dere CHARTS. THE Galanfy no doubt, may pen a Letter to his Miftrefs, as the Courtier may a Compliment to the Minifter, or the Mi- nifter to the Favourite above him, with- out going fuch vaft Depths into Learning or Philofophy. But for thefe privileg'd Gentlemen, tho they fet Fafhions and prefcribe Rules in other Cafes, they are no Controulers in the Commonwealth of Letters. Nor are they prefum'd to write to the Age, or for remote Pofterity. Their Works are not of a nature to intitle 'em to hold the Rank of Authors, or be * Ear. de Arts Poet. See even the diflblute P E T R o- N I u s's Judgment of a Writer. Artis Je