many blows and buffets that he never forgot their hoftilities to his dying day.

There is a way of managing an argument not much unlike the former, which is made ufe of by states and communities, when they draw up a hundred thousand difputants on each fide, and convince one another by dint of fword. A certain grand monarch was so sensible of his ftrength in this way of reafoning, that he writ upon his great guns---Ratio ultima Regum, " The Logic "of Kings;" but, God be thanked, he is now pretty well baffled at his own weapons. When one has to do with a philofopher of this kind, one fhould remember the old gentleman's faying, who had been engaged in an argument with one of the Roman emperors. Upon his friend's telling him, that he wondered he would give up the queftion, when he had vifibly the better of the dif pute; "I am never afhamed," fays he, "to be confuted by one who is mafter of fifty legions."

I fhall but juft mention another kind of reafoning, which may be called arguing by poll; and another which is of equal force, in which wagers are made ufe of as arguments, according to the celebrated line in Hudibras.

But the most notable way of managing a controverfy, is that which we may call arguing by torture. This is a method of reafoning which has been made ufe of with the poor refugees, and which was fo fashionable in our country during the reign of queen Mary, that in a paffage of an author quoted by monfieur Bayle, it is faid the price of wood was raifed in England, by reafon of the executions that were made in Smithfield. Thefe difputants convince their adverfaries with a Sorites, commonly called a pile of faggots. The rack is alfo a kind of fyllogifin which has been used with good effect, and has made multitudes of converts. Men were formerly difputed out of their doubts, reconciled to truth by force of reafon, and won over to opinions by the candour, fenfe, and ingenuity of thofe who had the right on their fide; but this method of conviction operated too flowly. Pain was found to be much more enlightening than reafon. Every fcruple was looked upon as obftinacy, and not to be removed but by feveral engines invented for that purpose. In a word, the application of

whips, racks, gibbets, gallies, dungeons, fire and faggot, in a difpute, may be looked upon as popish refinements upon the old heathen logic.

There is another way of reafoning which feldom fails, though it be of a quite different nature to that I have laft mentioned. I mean, convincing a man by ready money, or as it is ordinarily called, bribing a man to an opinion. This method has often proved fuccefsful, when all the others have been made ufe of to no purpose. A man who is furnished with arguments from the mint, will convince his antagonist much fooner than one who draws them from reafon and philofophy. Gold is a wonderful clearer of the understanding; it diffipates every doubt and fcruple in an inftant; accommodates itfelf to the meaneft capacities; filences the loud and clamorous, and brings over the moft obftinate and inflexible. Philip of Macedon was a man of moft invincible reafon this way. He refuted by it all the wifdom of Athens, confounded their statefmen, struck their orators dumb, and at length argued them out of all their liberties.

Having here touched upon the feveral methods of difputing, as they have prevailed in different ages of the world, I fhall very fuddenly give my reader an account of the whole art of cavilling; which shall be a full and fatisfactory answer to all fuch papers and pamphlets as have yet appeared against the SPECTATOR.

N° 240.

་

Wednesday, December 5.

C.

Aliter non fit, avite, liber. MART. Ep. 17. lib. 1. Of fuch materials, fir, are books compos'd.

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Mr. SPECTATOR,.

AM of one of the moft genteel trades in the city, and underftard thus much of liberal education, as to have an ardent ambition of being useful to 'mankind, and to think that the chief end of being as to this life. I had these good impreffions given me

< from the handsome behaviour of a learned, generous, and wealthy man towards me, when I first began the ⚫ world. Some diffatisfactions between me and my pa· rents made me enter into it with lefs relifh of bufinefs than I ought; and to turn off this uneafinefs I gave myself to criminal pleasures, fome exceffes, and a general loose conduct. I know not what the excellent man above-mentioned faw in me, but he defcended from the fuperiority of his wisdom and merit, to throw himself frequently into my company. This made me foon hope that I had fomething in me worth cultivating, and his converfation made me fenfible of fatisfactions in a regular way, which I had never be'fore imagined. When he was grown familiar with me, he opened himfelf like a good angel, and told me, he had long laboured to ripen me into a prepa ration to receive his friendship and advice, both which I should daily command, and the ufe of any part of his fortune, to apply the measures he fhould propose to me, for the improvement of my own. I affure you, 'I cannot recollect the goodness and confufion of the good man when he spoke to this purpose to me, without melting into tears; but in a word, fir, I must haften to tell you, that my heart burns with gratitude towards him, and he is fo happy a man, that it can never be in my power to return him his favours in kind, but I am fure I have made him the most agree⚫able fatisfaction I could poffibly, in being ready to ferve others to my utmost ability, as far as is confiftent with the prudence he prefcribes to me. Dear Mr. SPECTATOR, I do not owe to him only the good-will and efteem of my own relations, who are people of diftinction, the prefent eafe and plenty of my circumftances, but also the government of my passions, and regulation of my defires. I doubt not, fir, but in your imagination fuch virtues as thefe of my worthy friend, bear as great a figure as actions which are more glittering in the common eftimation. What I would ask of you, is to give us a whole SPECTATOR upon heroic • virtue in common life, which may incite men to the fame generous inclinations, as have by this admirable perfon been shewn to, and raised in,

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Sir, your moft humble fervant.'

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Mr. SPECTATOR,

I AM a country gentleman, of a good plentiful eftate, and live as the reft of my neighbours with great hofpitality. I have been ever reckoned among the ladies the beft company in the world, and have accefs as a fort of favourite. I never came in public but I faluted them, though in great affemblies, all around, where it was feen how genteelly I avoided hampering my fpurs in their petticoats, while I moved amongit them; and on the other de how prettily they curtfied and received me, ftanding in proper rows, and advancing as faft as they faw their elders, or their betters, difpatched by me. But fo it is, Mr. SPECT ATOR, that all our good-breeding is of late loft by the unhappy arrival of a courtier, or town gentleman, who came lately among us: this perfon wherever he came into a room made a profound bow, and fell back, then recovered with a foft air, and made a bow to the next, and fo to one or two more, and then took the cross. of the room, by paffing by them in a continued bow until he arrived at the perfon he thought proper particularly to entertain. This he did with fo good a grace and affurance, that it is taken for the prefent fafhion; and there is no young gentlewoman within feveral miles of this place has been kifféd ever since his first appearance among us. We country gentlemen cannot begin again and learn thefe fine and referved airs; and our converfation is at a ftand, until we have your judgment for or against kifling, by way of civility or falutation; which is impatiently expected by your friends. of both fexes, but by none fo much as

Your humble fervant,

Mr. SPECTATOR,

• RUSTIC SPRIGHTLY."

Dec. 3, 1711.

I WAS the other night at Philafter, where I expected to hear your famous trunk-maker, but was unhappily difappointed of his company, and faw another perfon who had the like ambition to distinguish himfelf in a noify manner, partly by vociferation or talking, loud, and partly by his bodily agility. This was a very

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lufty fellow, but withal a fort of beau, who. getting into one of the fide-boxes on the ftage before the curtain drew, was difpofed to fhew the whole audience his activity by leaping over the fpikes; he paffed from thence to one of the entering doors, where he took fnuff with a tolerable good grace, difplayed his fine clothes, made two or three feint paffes at the curtain "with his cane, then faced about and appeared at the other door: here he affected to furvey the whole ⚫ house, bowed and smiled at random, and then shewed his teeth, which were fome of them indeed very white: ' after this he retired behind the curtain, and obliged us "with several views of his perfon from every opening.

During the time of acting, he appeared frequently in the prince's apartment, made one at the huntingmatch, and was very forward in the rebellion. If there were no injunctions to the contrary, yet this practice must be confeffed to diminish the pleasure of the audience, and for that reafon prefumptuous and unwarrantable: but fince her majefty's late command has made it criminal, you have authority to take no⚫tice of it.

T.

No 241.

Sir, your humble fervant,
CHARLES EASY."

Thursday, December 6.

-Semperque relinqui

Sola fibi, femper longam incomitata videtur

Ire viam.

VIRG. Æn. 4. ver. 466.

She feems alone

DRYDEN.

To wander in her fleep thro' ways unknown,

Guidélefs and dark.

Mr. S.P E CTATOR,

THOUGH you have confidered virtuous. love

in moft of its diftreffes, I do not remember that you have given us any differtation upon the abferce of lovers, or laid down any methods how they fhould: