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talents, intereft, or experience of fuch men, make them very often useful in all parties, and at all times. But whatever wealth and dignities they may arrive at, they ought to confider, that every one ftands as a blot in the annals of his country, who arrives at the temple of honour by any than through that of virtue.

other way

CHAP. V.

ON GOOD HUMOUR.

GUARDIAN.

GOOD humour may be defined a habit of being pleased ; a conftant and perpetual foftnefs of manners, easiness of approach, and fuavity of difpofition; like that which every man perceives in himself, when the first transports of new felicity have fubfided, and his thoughts are only kept in motion by a flow fucceffion of foft impulfes. Good humour is a state between gayety and unconcern; the act or emanation of a mind at leifure to regard the gratification of another.

Ir is imagined by many, that whenever they afpire to please, they are required to be merry, and to show the gladnefs of their fouls by flights and pleafantry, and bursts of laughter. But though these men may be for a time heard with applause and admiration, they feldom delight us long. We enjoy them a little, and then retire to eafiness and good humour, as the eye gazes awhile on eminences glittering with the fun, but foon turns aching away to verdure and to flowers.

GAYETY is to good humour as animal perfumes to vegetable fragrance; the one overpowers weak fpirits, and the other recreates and revives them. Gayety feldom fails to give some pain; the hearers either ftrain their faculties to accompany its towerings, or are left behind in envy and defpair. Good humour boats no faculties which every one does not believe in his power, and pleafes principally by not offending.

Ir is well known, that the most certain way to give any man pleasure, is to perfuade him that you receive pleasure from him, to encourage him to freedom and confidence, and to avoid any fuch appearance of fuperiority as may overbear and deprefs him. We fee many that, by this art only, spend their days in the midft of careffes, invitations, and civilities; and without any extraordinary qualities or attainments, are the univerfal favourites of both fexes, and certainly find a friend in every place. The darlings of the world will, indeed, be generally found fuch as excite neither jealousy nor fear; and are not confidered as candidates for any eminent degree of reputation, but content themselves with common accomplishments, and endeavour rather to folicit kindnefs than to raise esteem. Therefore in affemblies and places of refort it feldom fails to happen, that though at the entrance of fome particular perfon every face brightens with gladnefs, and every hand is extended in falutation, yet if you purfue him beyond the firft exchange of civilities, you will find him of very small importance, and only welcome to the company, as one by whom all conceive themfelves admired, and with whom any one is at liberty to amuse himself when he can find no other auditor or companion; as one with whom all are at ease, who will hear a jeft without criticism, and a narrative without contradiction; who laughs with every wit, and yields to every difputer.

THERE are many whofe vanity always inclines them to affociate with those from whom they have no reafon to fear mortification; and there are times in which the wife and the knowing are willing to receive praise without the labour of deferving it, in which the most elevated mind is willing to defcend, and the most active to be at reft. All therefore are at fome hour or another fond of companions whom they can entertain upon eafy terms, and who will relieve them from folitude, without condemning them to vigilance and cau-.

tion. We are most inclined to love when we have nothing to fear; and he that encourages us to please ourselves, will not be long without preference in our affection to those whofe learning holds us at the diftance of pupils, or whose wit calls all attention from us, and leaves us without importance and without regard.

Ir is remarked by prince Henry, when he fees Falstaff lying on the ground, "that he could have better fpared a better man." He was well acquainted with the vices and follies of him whom he lamented; but while his conviction compelled him to do juftice to fuperior qualities, his tendernefs ftill broke out at the remembrance of Falstaff, of the cheerful companion, the loud buffoon, with whom he had paffed his time in all the luxury of idleness, who had gladdened him with unenvied merriment, and whom he could at once enjoy and despise.

You may perhaps think this account of those who are diftinguished for their good humour, not very confiftent with the praises which I have bestowed upon it. But furely nothing can more evidently fhow the value of this quality, than that it recommends those who are deftitute of all other excellencies, and procures regard to the trifling, friendship › to the worthlefs, and affection to the dull.

Good humour is indeed generally degraded by the cha.. racters in which it is found; for being confidered as a cheap and vulgar quality, we find it often neglected by thofe that have excellencies of higher reputation and brighter fplendour, who perhaps imagine that they have fome right to gratify themselves at the expenfe of others, and are to demand compliance rather than to practise it. It is by fome unfortunate mistake, that almoft all those who have any claim to esteem or love, press their pretenfions with too little confideration of others. This mistake my own in tereft as well as my zeal for general happiness make me defirous to teftify; for I have a friend, who, because he

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knows his own fidelity and ufefulness, is never willing to fink into a companion; I have a wife whose beauty first fubdued me, and whofe wit confirmed her conquest; but whofe beauty now ferves no other purpose than to entitle her to tyranny, and whose wit is only used to justify perverfenefs.

SURELY nothing can be more unreasonable than to lofe the will to please, when we are confcious of the power, or fhow more cruelty than to choose any kind of influence before that of kindness. He that regards the welfare of others, should make his virtue approachable, that it may be loved and copied; and he that confiders the wants which every man feels, or will feel, of external affiftance, must rather wish to be furrounded by thofe that love him, than by thofe that admire his excellencies, or folicit his favours: for admiration ceafes with novelty, and intereft gains its end and retires. A man whofe great qualities want the ornament of fuperficial attractions, is like a naked mountain with mines of gold, which will be frequented only till the treasure is exhausted.

RAMBLER.

CHAP. VI.

ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD.

NOTHING

OTHING has fo much expofed men of learning to contempt and ridicule, as their ignorance of things which are known to all but themfelves. Those who have been taught to confider the institutions of the fchools as giving the last perfection to human abilities, are furp:ifed to fee men wrinkled with ftudy, yet wanting to be inftructed in the minute circumftances of propriety, or the neceffary forms of daily tranfaction; and quickly fhake off their reverence for modes of education, which they find to produce no ability above the rest of mankind.

Books,

Books, fays Bacon, can never teach the use of books. The ftudent must learn by commerce with mankind to reduce his fpeculations to practice, and accommodate his knowledge to the purposes of life.

Iris too common for those who have been bred to fcholaftic profeffions, and paffed much of their time in academies, where nothing but learning confers honours, to difre. gard every other qualification, and to imagine that they fhall find mankind ready to pay homage to their knowledge, and to crowd about them for inftruction. They therefore step out from their cells into the open world, with all the confidence of authority and dignity of importance; they look round about them at once with ignorance and fcorn on a race of beings to whom they are equally unknown and equally contemptible, but whose manners they muft imitate, and with whofe opinions they muft comply, if they defire to pass their time happily amongst them.

To leffen that difdain with which scholars are inclined to look on the common bufinefs of the world, and the unwillingness with which they condefcend to learn what is not to be found in any fyftem of philofophy, it may be neceffary to confider, that though admiration is excited by ab. ftruse researches, and remote difcoveries, yet pleasure is not given, nor affection conciliated, but by fofter accomplishments, and qualities more eafily communicable to those about us. He that can only converfe upon question, about which only a fmall part of mankind has knowledge fufficient to make them curious, must lose his days in unfocial filence, and live in the crowd of life without a companion. He that can only be useful on great occafions, may die without exerting his abilities, and ftand a helpless fpectator of a thousand vexations which fret away happiness, and which nothing is required to remove but a little dexterity of conduct and readinefs of expedients.

No degree of knowledge attainable by man is able to fet

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