said he,' was like a man who resolves to regulate his 'time by a certain watch; but will not inquire whether 'or not the watch is correct.' This is characteristic, not of a man only, but of a great multitude.

CLXX.

MEDIOCRITY.

GREAT talents are not requisite for the affairs of life; and genius, in certain spheres and situations, is an incumbrance rather than a help. Grotius* attributed the stability of the Venetian oligarchy to their dulness and mediocrity; and Montesquieu says†, that if a mediocrity be established by commerce, a state may last for many ages; but that a grandeur of power, established by the same means, must be of a comparatively short duration; because it attracts the eyes of other states, and shows the road to similar results.

CLXXI.

HOW SOME PERSONS ARE SWAYED.

SOME are governed in their habits and judgments by custom; some by education and association; some by the influence of novelty; some by the power of fashion; some by emulation; some by the love of opposition; some by a desire of singularity; and all by self-love and prejudice of one kind or another. As to prejudices, -they are like well-cemented Roman citadels, which have been, in all ages, more difficult to destroy than they had been to erect.

*Polit. Maxims, c. iv., 16.

+ Spirit of Laws.

CLXXII.

WHO GAIN POPULARITY BY COURTESY.

MONTESQUIEU gives the origin of politeness:- It arises,' says he, from a desire of distinguishing our'selves. It is pride that renders us polite :-we feel a 'pleasing vanity in being remarked for a behaviour 'that shows, in some measure, we are not meanly born; and that we have not been bred up with those who, in all ages, have been considered as the dregs of the 'people.'

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Studied politeness is the art of accommodating ourselves to men's humours;-an art that succeeds wonderfully nine times out of ten; but in the tenth a silent contempt is engendered, which, without his perception, ruins a man by degrees.

Ætius, in regard to the barbarians of the west, obtained great influence by consulting their prejudices, and soothing their passions. Such, too, was the policy of Valerius; a general,' says Livy, than whom no one was more familiar with soldiers.' He entered into all their services, whether of swiftness or of strength; lost as graciously and as good-humouredly as he won; scorned to enter the lists with no one; nor was he less regardful of other men's liberties than he was of his own dignity.

The cheapest and most effective mode of gaining popularity is the adoption of a courteous manner: not, however, so much so in monarchies as in republics. Plutarch confesses, that Cato the Censor had but little

weight in the administration; and this principally owing to the hauteur and unpopularity of his manners. Polished courtesy is like a magnet, doubly pointed. Most great men have been distinguished by it. Let us enumerate a few:-Cyrus, Alexander, Scipio, Cæsar, Titus, Marcus Aurelius, Theodosius, Constantine, Julian, Alfred, and Henry V. The last was so great an adept in conciliating enemies, and in attracting friends, that, when exercising the functions of king of France, the French are said to have almost forgot they were ruled by an enemy.

The arts of popularity are well described by Richard the Second, in reference to Henry the Fifth's father, when he made his entry into London; and the advantage of courteous manners in a republic were wisely laid down by Giovanni de' Medici to his two sons, a few hours before he died. Consult Shakspeare in the first instance*, and Machiavelli in the second †.

One of the first fortunes for a man in authority is a mild and dignified suavity of manner. There is nothing to compare with it in the art of winning the suffrages of men. Even benefits are inferior to it in effect: for benefits-sometimes!-engender dislike; kindness of manner never does.

Richard II.

+ Hist. Flor. b. v.

CLXXIII.

WHOSE FIRST THOUGHTS ARE BEST.

COLLATED and compared the present editions of Thomson's Seasons, with the originals; marking, with an agreeable solicitude, those passages in which the present editions are inferior to the first, and those in which they are superior.

Johnson says the first edition is better than the later ones. I cannot say, however, that I felt any justice in this remark; the later editions being, in my estimation, greatly superior to the first.

With some, second thoughts are always best; with others, no thoughts are equal to the first.

CLXXIV.

WHO PRACTISE DELAYS TO GAIN TIME.

Or this M. de Bordeux accused Cromwell. 'Although in all his negotiations,' said he, in a letter to Cardinal Mazarin*, ' his chiefest object be not to do, or ' conclude any business; yet he offers an apparent probity by uniting demands in such a manner, that one cannot separate or finish any one of the agitated questions, but with the resolution of them all, to practise 'the delays, and to reserve by such remises some fa'vourable conjunctures of time.'

In the common transactions of life, to gain time even

* Thurloe's State Papers, vol. iv. fol. 3.

for apparently small things is, occasionally, of great moment; but men often sacrifice too much in gaining this time; dreading too largely the probable event; and thereby letting

'Enterprizes of great pith and moment

Turn aside, and lose the name of action.'

To gain time in sorrow is of the first importance. We ought, therefore, to gain it with all industry; sometimes by being present at the representation of a drama; sometimes by reading a work of history, travel, or romance; sometimes by a walk in the streets or fields; sometimes-any how!

CLXXV.

THREE ILLUSTRATIVE INSTANCES OF PROMOTION.

THE first I shall adduce, will be illustrative of a military despotism; the second of a civil despotism; the third of a contest for monarchical power.

The Duke of Abrantes being at Toulon, Buonaparte, in the heat of the battle against the English, who had attacked the town, inquired for a corporal who could write. One instantly stept forward and wrote a dispatch. At the moment of finishing, a ball fell, and scattered some earth on the C paper. Well,' exclaimed the corporal, I shall have no need of sand.' This striking remark recommended him to Buonaparte, who, subsequently, made him governor-general of Illyria and Duke of Abrantes.

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The Marquis de Varenne derived his title in a manner somewhat different. He was cook to the