N° CCCCXXXIX, THURSDAY, JULY 24. HI NARRATA FERUNT ALIO: MENSURAQUE FICTI SOME TELL WHAT THEY HAVE HEARD, OR TALES DEVISE; VID defcribes the palace of Fame the universe, and perforated with fo many windows and avenues as gave her the fight of every thing that was done in the heavens, in the earth, and in the fea. The ftructure of it was contrived in fo admirable a manner, that it echoed every word which was fpoken in the whole compass of nature; fo that the palace,' fays the poet, was always filled with a confufed hubbub of low dying founds, the voices being almoft fpent and worn ⚫ out before they arrived at this general ⚫ rendezvous of speeches and whispers.' I confider courts with the fame regard to the governments which they fuperintend, as Ovid's palace of Fame with regard to the univerfe. The eyes of a watchful minister run through the whole people. There is fearce a murmur or complaint that does not reach his ears. They have news-gatherers and intelligencers diftributed into their feveral walks and quarters, who bring in their respective quotas, and make them acquainted with the difcourfe and converfation of the whole kingdom or commonwealth where they are employed. The wifeft of kings, alluding to these invifible and unfufpected fpies, who are planted by kings and rulers over their fellow-citizens, as well as to thofe voluntary informers, that are buzzing about the ears of a great man, and making their court by fuch fecret methods of intelligence, has given us a very prudent caution Curfe not the king, no not in thy thought, and curfe not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air fhall carry the voice, and that which hath wings thall tell the matter.' As it is abfolutely neceffary for rulers to make ufe of other people's eyes and ears, they fhould take particular care to do it in fuch a manner, that it may not bear too hard on the perfon whofe life and converfation are inquired into. A calling as that of a fpy, is not very much to be relied upon. He can have no great ties of honour, or checks of confcience, to restrain him in those covert evidences, where the perfon accused has no opportunity of vindicating himfelf. He will be more induftrious to carry that which is grateful than that which is true. There will be no occafion for him if he does not hear and see things worth discovery; fo that he naturally inflames every word and circumftance, aggravates what is faulty, perverts what is good, and mifrepresents what is indifferent. Nor is it to be. doubted but that fuch ignominious wretches let their private paffions into thefe their clandeftine informations, and often wreak their particular spite and malice against the perfon whom they are set to watch. It is a pleasant scene enough, which an Italian author describes between a spy and a cardinal who employed him. The cardinal is reprefented as minuting down every thing that is told to him. The fpy begins with a low voice~' Such an one, the advocate, whispered to one of his friends, within my hearing, that your eminence was a very great poltroon;' and after having given his patron time to take it down, adds, that another cailed him a mercenary raícal in a public converfation. The cardinal replies- Very well, and bids him go on. The spy proceeds, and loads him with reports of the fame nature, till the cardinal rifes in great wrath, calls him an impudent fcoundrel, and kicks him out of the room. It is obferved of great and heroic minds, that they have not only fhewn a particular difregard to those unmerited reproaches which have been cast upon them, but have been altogether free from that impertinent curiofity of enquiring after them, or the poor revenge 5 S 2 of 874 THE SPECTATOR. of refenting them. The hiftories of made it a kind of a whiffering place, A man, who in ordinary life is very I great a ftrefs upon any prefent fpeeches and opinions. Praife and obloquy proceed very frequently out of the fame mouth, upon the fame perfon, and upon will fometimes bestow commendations, the fame occafion. A generous enemy as the dearest friend cannot fometimes refrain from speaking il. The man who is indifferent in either of thefe refpects, gives his opinion at random, and praifes or difapproves as he finds himfelf in humour. I fhall conclude this effay with part of a character which is finely drawn by the Earl of Clarendon, in the first book of his history, and which gives us the lively picture of a great man teazing him. felf with an abfurd curiosity. 6 He had not that application and fubmiflion, and reverence for the queen, as might have been expected from his wifdom and breeding; and often croffed her pretences and delires with more rudeness than was natural to him. Yet he was impertinently folicitous to 'know what her majetty faid of him in private, and what refentments he had towards him. And when by feme upon confidents, who had their ends him from thofe offices, he was a formed of fome bitter expreffions fallen from her majefty, he was fo exceedingly afflicted and tormented with the fenfe of it, that fometimes by paffionate complaints and reprefentations, to the king fometimes by more du'tiful addreffes and expoftulations with the queen in bewailing his misfortune; he frequently expofed himself, and left his condition worfe than it was before, and the eclairciffement, commonly ended in the difcovery of the perfons from whom he had received his moft fecret intelligence.' N° CCCCXL. FRIDAY, JULY 25: VIVERE SI RECTE NESCIS, DISCEDE PERITIS. HOR. EP. II. L. 2. v. 213. LEARN TO LIVE WELL, OR FAIRLY MAKE YOUR WILL. Have already given my reader an account of a fet of merry fellows who are paffing their fummer together in the country, being provided with a great house, where there is not only a convenient apartment for every particu POPE. lar perfon, but a large infirmary for the reception of fuch of them as are any way indifpofed or out of humour. Having lately received a letter from the fecretary of this fociety, by order of the whole their fraternity, which acquaints me with their behaviour during the last week, I fhall here make a prefent of it to the public. MR. SPECTATOR, WE are glad to find that you approve the establishment which we have here made for the retrieving of goodmanners and agreeable converfation, and fhall use our bett endeavours fo to improve our felves in this our fummer retirement, that we may next winter ferve as patterns to the town. But to the end that this our inftitution may be no less advantageous to the public than to ourfelves, we shall communicate to you one week of our proceedings, dearing you at the fame time, if you fee any thing faulty in them, to favour us with your admonitions. For you must know, Sir, that it has been propofed amongst us to choose you for our vifitor; to which I muft further add, that one of the college having declared last week, he did not like the Spectator of the day, and not being able to affign any juft reafons for fuch a diflike, he was fent to the infirmary, nemine contradicente. On Monday the affembly was in very good humour, having received fome recruits of French claret that morning: when unluckily, towards the middle of the dinner, one of the company fwore at his fervant in a very rough manner, for having put too much water in his wine. Upon which the prefident of the day, who is always the mouth of the company, after having convinced him of the impertinence of his paffion, and the infult he had made upon the company, ordered his man to take him from the table and convey him to the infirmary. There was but one more fent away that day, this was a gentleman who is reckoned by fome perfons ne of the greatest wits, and by others one of the greatelt boobies, about town. This you will fay is a ftrange character; but what makes it ftranger yet, is a very true one, for he is perpetually the reverfe of himself, being always merry or dull to excefs. We brought him hither to divert us, which he did very well upon the road, having lavished away as much wit and laughter upon the hackneycoachman as might have ferved him during his whole itay here, had it been duly managed. He had been lumpish for two or three days, but was fo far connived at, in hopes of recovery, that we dispatched one of the brifkeft fellows among the brotherhood into the infir mary, for having told him at table he was not merry. But our prefident obferving that he indulged himself in this long fit of ftupidity, and contruing is as a contempt of the college, ordered him to retire into the place prepared for fuch companions. He was no fooner got into it, but his wit and mirth re turned upon him in fo violent a manner, that he fhook the whole infirmary with the noife of it, and had fo good an ef. fect upon the rest of the patients, that he brought them all out to dinner with him the next day. On Tuesday we were no fooner fat down, but one of the company complained that his head aked; upon which another asked him in an infolent man ner, what he did there then: this infen fibly grew into fome warm words; so that the prefident, in order to keep the peace, gave directions to take them both from the table, and lodge them in the infirmary. Not long after, another of the company telling us, he knew by a pain in his fhoulder that we should have fome rain, the prefident ordered him to be removed, and placed as a weather-glafs in the apartment above-mentioned. On Wednesday a gentleman having received a letter written in a woman's hand, and changing colour twice or thrice as he read it, defired leave to re tire into the infirmary. The prefident confented, but denied him the use of pen, ink, and paper, till fuch time as he had flept upon it. One of the company being feated at the lower end of the table, and difcovering his fecret difcontent by finding fault with every difh that was ferved up, and refusing to laugh at any thing that was faid, the prefident told him, that he found he was in an uneafy feat, and defired him to accommodate himself better in the infirmary. After dinner a very honest fellow chanced to let a pun fail from him; his neighbour cried out To the in'firmary;' at the fame time pretending to be fick at it, as having the fame na tural antipathy to a pun, which fome have to a cat. This produced a long debate. Upon the whole, the punter was acquitted, and his neighbour sent off. On Thursday there was but one delinquent. This was a gentleman of ftrong voice, but weak understanding. He He had unluckily engaged himfelf in a difpute with a man of excellent fenfe, but of a modeft elocution. The man of heat replied to every anfwer of his antagonist with a louder note than ordi. nary, and only raised his voice when he fhould have enforced his argument. Finding himself at length driven to an abfurdity, he still reasoned in a more clamorous and confufed manner, and to make the greater impreffion upon his hearers, concluded with a loud thump upon the table. The prefident immediately ordered him to be carried off, and dieted with water-gruel, till fuch time as he should be fufficiently weakened for conversation. On Friday there paffed very little remarkable, faving only, that feveral petitions were read of the perfons in cuftody, defiring to be released from their M confinement, and vouching for one another's good behaviour for the fu ture. On Saturday we received many excufes from perfons who had found themfelves in an unfociable temper, and had voluntarily fhut themselves up. The infirmary was indeed never fo full as on this day, which I was at fome lofs to account for, till upon my going abroad I obferved that it was an easterly wind. The retirement of most of my friends has given me opportunity and leifure of writing you this letter, which I must not conclude without affuring you, that all the members of our college, as well those who are under confinement, as thofe who are at liberty, are your very humble fervants, though none more than, &c. C N° CCCCXLI. SATURDAY, JULY 26. SI FRACTUS ILLABATUR ORBIS, IMPAVIDUM FERIENT RUINE. HOR. OD. III. L. 3. V. 7. SHOULD THE WHOLE FRAME OF NATURE ROUND HIM BREAK, HE, UNCONCERN'D, WOULD HEAR THE MIGHTY CRACK, AN, confidered in himself, is a very helpless and a very wretched being. He is fubject every moment to the greateft calamities and misfortunes. He is befet with dangers on all fides, and may become unhappy by numberlefs cafualties, which he could not forefee, nor have prevented had he foreseen them. It is our comfort, while we are obnoxious to fo many accidents, that we are under the care of one who directs contingencies, and has in his hands the management of every thing that is capable of annoying or offending us; who knows the affiftance we stand in need of, and is always ready to bestow it on thofe who afk it of him. The natural homage which fuch a creature bears to fo infinitely wife and good a Being, is a firm reliance on him for the bleffings and conveniencies of life, and an habitual trust in him for deliverance out of all fuch dangers and difficulties as may befal us. ANOW. The man who always lives in this difpofition of mind, has not the fame dark and melancholy views of human nature, as he who confiders himself abAtractedly from this relation to the Supreme Being. At the fame time that he reflects upon his own weakness and imperfection, he comforts himself with the contemplation of thofe divine attributes, which are employed for his fafety and his welfare. He finds his want of forefight made up by the omniscience of him who is his fupport. He is not fenfible of his own want of strength, when he knows that his helper is Almighty. In fhort, the perfon who has a firm truft on the Supreme Being, is powerful in his power, wife by his wifdom, happy by his happinefs. He reaps the benefit of every divine attribute, and lofes his own infufficiency in the fulness of infinite perfection. To make our lives more eafy to us, we are commanded to put our truft in him, who is thus able to relieve and fuc cour Boar us; the divine goodnefs having made fuch a reliance a duty, notwithtanding we fhould have been miferable had it been forbidden us. Among feveral motives, which might be made use of to recommend this duty to us, I fhall only take notice of thofe that follow. The first and strongest is, that we are promised he will not fail those who put their trust in him. But without confidering the fupernatural bleffing which accompanies this duty, we may obferve that it has a natural tendency to it's own reward, or in other words, that this firm truft and confidence in the great Difpofer of all things contributes very much to the getting clear of any affliction, or to the bearing it manfully. A perfon who believes he has his fuccour at hand, and that he acts in the fight of his friend, often exerts himself beyond his abilities, and does wonders that are not to be matched by one who is not animated with fuch a confidence of fuccefs. I could produce inftances, from hiftory, of generals, who, out of a belief that they were under the protection of some invifible affiftant, did not only encou. rage their foldiers to do their utmost, but have acted themselves beyond what they would have done, had they not been infpired by fuch a belief, Í might in the fame manner fhew how fuch a truft in the affiftance of an Almighty Being, naturally produces patience, hope, chear. fulness, and all other difpofitions of mind that alleviate thofe calamities which we are not able to remove. The practice of this virtue adminifters great comfort to the mind of man in times of poverty and affliction, but moft of all in the hour of death. When the foul is hovering in the last moments of it's feparation, when it is juft entering on another state of existence, to converfe with fcenes, and objects, and compa nions that are altogether new, what can fupport her under fuch tremblings of thought, fuch fear, fuch anxiety, fuch apprehenfions, but the cafting of all her cares upon him who firft gave her being, who has conducted her through one ftage of it, and will be always with her to guide and comfort her in her progress through eternity? David has very beautifully reprefented this fteady reliance on God Almighty in his twenty-third pfalm, which is a kind of paftoral hymn, and filled with those allufions which are ufual in that kind of writing. As the poetry is very exquifite, I fhall prefent my reader with the following translation of it. |