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where there are very few that make themselves confiderable Proficients in the Studies of the Place, who know they fhall arrive at great Eftates without them. This was not Florio's Cafe, he found that three hundred a Year was but a poor Eftate for Leontine and himself to live upon, fo that he studied without intermiffion till he gained a very good Insight into the Constitution and Laws of his Country,

His

I fhould have told my Reader, that whilft Florio lived at the House of his Fofter-father he was always an ac ceptable Gueft in the Family of Eudoxus, where he became acquainted with Leonilla from her Infancy. Acquaintance with her by degrees grew into Love, which in a Mind trained up in all the Sentiments of Honour and Virtue became a very uneafy Paffion. He defpaired of gaining an Heirefs of fo great a Fortune, and would rather have died than attempted it by any indirect Methods. Leonilla, who was a Woman of the greatest Beauty joined with the greatest Modefty, entertained at the fame time a fecret Paffion for Florio, but conducted her felf with fo much Prudence that she never gave him the least Intimation of it. Florio was now engaged in all thofe Arts and Improvements that are proper to raise a Man's private Fortune, and give him a Figure in his Country, but fecretly tormented with that Paffion which burns with the greatest Fury in a virtuous and noble. Heart, when he received a fudden Summons from Leontine to repair to him into the Country the next Day. For it feems Eudoxus was fo filled with the Report of his Son's Reputation, that he could no longer with-hold making himself known to him. The Morning after his Arrival at the Houfe of his fuppofed Father, Leontine told him that Eudoxus had fomething of great Importance to communicate to him; upon which the good Man embraced him, and wept. Florio was no fooner arrived at the great Houfe that stood in his Neighbourhood, but Eudoxus took hira by the Hand, after the firft Salutes were over, and conducted him into his Clofet. He there opened to him the whole Secret of his Parentage and Education, concluding after this manner: I have no other way left of acknowledging my Gratitude to Leone tine, than by marrying you to his Daughter. He shall not

Lofe

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Her Heart

lofe the Pleafurt of being your Father by the Discovery I
have made to you. Leonilla too fhall be ftill my Daugh
ter; her filial Piety, though misplaced, has been fo exem-
plary that it deferves the greatest Reward I can confer up-
on it. You shall have the Pleasure of seeing a great Eftate
fall to you, which you would have loft the Relish of had
you known your self born to it. Continue only to deferve
it in the fame manner you did before you were poffeffed of
it. I have left your Mother in the next Room.
yearns towards you. She is making the fame Discoveries
to Leonilla which I have made to your felf. Florio was
fo overwhelmed with this Profufion of Happiness, that
he was not able to make a Reply, but threw himfelf
down at his Father's Feet, and amidst a Flood of Tears,
kiffed and embraced his Knees, asking his Bleffing, and
expreffing in dumb Show thofe Sentiments of Love, Duty
and Gratitude that were too big for Utterance. To
conclude, the happy Pair were married, and half Eu-
doxus's Eftate fettled upon them. Leontine and Eudoxus
paffed the Remainder of their Lives together; and re-
ceived in the dutiful and affectionate Behaviour of Florio
and Leonilla the juft Recompence, as well as the natural
Effects, of that Care which they had bestowed upon them
in their Education,

L

N° 124.

A

Pieces.

Monday, July 23.

Μέγα βίβλιον, μέγα κακί.

MAN who publishes his Works in a Volume, has an infinite Advantage over one who communicates his Writings to the World in loofe Tracts and fingle

We do not expect to meet with any thing in a bulky Volume, till after fome heavy Preamble, and feveral Words of Courfe, to prepare the Reader for what follows: Nay, Authors have established it as a kind of Rule, That a Man ought to be dull fometimes; as the

moft

This

moft fevere Reader makes Allowances for many Refts and Nodding-places in a Voluminous Writer. gave Occafion to the famous Greek Proverb which I have chofen for my Motto, That a great Book is a great Evil.

ON the contrary, thofe who publish their Thoughts in diftinct Sheets, and as it were by Peace-meal, have none of these Advantages. We muft immediately fall into our Subject, and treat every Part of it in a lively Manner, or our Papers are thrown by as dull and infipid: Our Matter muft lie clofe together, and either be wholly new in it felf, or in the Turn it receives from our Expreffions. Were the Books of our beft Authors thus to be retailed to the Publick, and every Page fub mitted to the Tafte of forty or fifty thousand Readers, I am afraid we should complain of many flat Expreffions, trivial Obfervations, beaten Topicks, and common Thoughts, which go off very well in the Lump. At the fame time, notwithstanding fome Papers may be made up of broken Hints and irregular Sketches, it is often expected that every Sheet fhould be a kind of Treatife, and make out in Thought what it wants in Bulk: That a Point of Humour fhould be worked up in all its Parts; and a Subject touched upon in its moft effential Articles, without the Repetitions, Tautologies, and Enlargements that are indulged to longer Labours. The ordinary Writers of Morality prefcribe to their Readers after the Galenick Way; their Medicines are made up in large Quantities. An Effay Writer muft practife in the chymical Method, and give the Virtue of a full Draught in a few Drops. Were all Books reduced thus to their Quinteffence, many a bulky Author would make his Appearance in a Penny Paper: There would be scarce fuch a thing in Nature as a Folio: The Works of an Age would be contained on a few Shelves; not to mention Millions of Volumes, that would be utterly annihilated.

I cannot think that the Difficulty of furnishing out feparate Papers of this Nature, has hindered Authors from communicating their Thoughts to the World after fuch a Manner: Though I muft confefs I am amazed that the Prefs fhould be only made ufe of in this Way by NewsWriters, and the Zealots of Parties: as if it were not more

advantagious to Mankind, to be inftructed in Wisdom and Virtue, than in Politicks; and to be made good Fathers, Husbands, and Sons, than Counsellours and Statefmen. Had the Philofophers and great Men of Antiquity, who took fo much Pains in order to inftruct Mankind, and leave the World wifer and better than they found it; had they, I fay, been poffeffed of the Art of Printing, there is no Queftion but they would have made fuch an Advantage of it, in dealing out their Lectures to the Publick. Our common Prints would be of great Use were they thus calculated to diffuse good Senfe through the Bulk of a People, to clear up their Understandings, animate their Minds with Virtue, dif fipate the Sorrows of a heavy Heart, or unbend the Mind from its more fevere Employments with innocent Amusements. When Knowledge, instead of being bound up in Books, and kept in Libraries and Retirements, is thus obtruded upon the Publick; when it is canvaffed in every Affembly, and expofed upon every Table; I cannot forbear reflecting upon that Paffage in the Proverbs, Wisdom crieth without, She uttereth her Voice in the Streets; She cryeth in the chief Place of Concourfe, in the Openings of the Gates. In the City fhe uttereth her Words, faying, How long, ye fimple ones, will ye love Simplicity? and the Scorners delight in their Scorning? and Fools hate Knowledge?

THE many Letters which come to me from Perfons of the best Sense in both Sexes, (for I may pronounce their Characters from their way of Writing) do not a little encourage me in the Profecution of this my Undertaking: Befides that, my Bookfeller tells me, the Demand for these my Papers increases daily. It is at his Instance that I fhall continue my rural Speculations to the end of this Month; feveral having made up Separate Sets of them, as they have done before of those relating to Wit, to Operas, to Points of Morality, or Subjects of Humour.

I am not at all mortified, when fometimes I fee my Works thrown afide by men of no Tafte nor Learning. There is a kind of Heavinefs and Ignorance that hangs. upon the Minds of ordinary Men, which is too thick for

Knowledge

Knowledge to break through. Their Souls are not to be enlightened.

Nox atra cava circumvolat umbra.

To thefe I muft apply the Fable of the Mole. That after having confulted many Oculifts for the bettering of his Sight, was at laft provided with a good pair of Spectacles; but upon his endeavouring to make ufe of them, his Mother told him very prudently,

"That

Spectacles, though they might help the Eye of a "Man, could be of no ufe to a Mole." It is not therefore for the Benefit of Moles that I publish these my daily Effays.

But befides fuch as are Moles through Ignorance, there are others who are Moles through Envy. As it is faid in the Latin Proverb, " That one Man is a Wolf "to another," fo, generally fpeaking, one Author is a Mole to another Author. It is impoffible for them to discover Beauties in one another's Works; they have Eyes only for Spots and Blemishes: They can indeed fee the Light, as it is faid of the Animals which are their Namefakes, but the Idea of it is painful to them; they immediately fhut their Eyes upon it, and withdraw themselves into a wilful Obfcurity, I have already caught two or three of thefe dark undermining Vermin, and intend to make a String of them, in order to hang them up in one of my Papers, as an Example to all fuch voluntary Moles.

C

Tuesday,

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