I.

this kind. Thus when he fays, 'tis better DIAL. to clap the extinguisher of honour upon our vital flame, rather than to let it burn blue, and lie agonizing in the focket till it goes out in no perfume; the greatness of the words, with the meannefs of the Image, makes it doubly abfurd. And here I cannot but take notice, that a mistaken greatness and fingularity of Style is apt to give their difcourfes a ridiculous turn, and expose such authors to be ridiculed in the graveft fubjects.

CLEAND. There is nothing fo ferious but a drolling humour may ridicule : And I suppose you will not condemn Virgil because he has been travestied.

EUDOX. Tho' any thing may be fo represented as to make a ridiculous figure, yet fome things there are, which of themfelves leave an odd Idea in the mind, and need not the help of a Droll, to be smiled at: which Ariftotle obferves to be a great fault, and that it happens when the words are much too mean, or too big for the notion, and subject in hand. Now whoever pretends to be particular in every fentence, and continually runs into unusual comparifons and metaphors, will fearce be able to manage, with all the moderation requifite to maintain the dignity of a fober difcourfe.

y Rhet. 1.3. c.7.

C 4

CLEAND.

DIAL.

I.

CLEAND. As hard as you think it in thofe methods of writing, not to flip into fome expreffions which may make one smile in a serious matter, yet what Callicrates has of that nature, rather ferves to enliven his difcourfe, than to impair its vigour. Methinks one must be strangely mifliking, not to admire the convincingness of his way of writing, where every word has a particular force, and the following is ftill a ftronger argument than the former. Every thing seems to carry with it a new conviction, and will make you affent to his opinion, though you smile at the expreffion.

EUDOX. Perhaps you do not fufficiently distinguish between the furprize and the conviction of his arguments. Upon reflection you will often find the fingularity of the turn is what you took for the folidity of a proof. He fays, he finds the fatisfaction of a Profpect, Mufick or Perfume is not thinner for being beaten. Though I never tried the experiment in a mortar, nor put 'em to the proof of a pestle, I wou'd not fwear the fame of his reafons. As when he tells us, if we wou'd only conquer our imagination, we might die eafier of a faggot than of a fever; and then proves it, becaufe 'tis better to have a fire kindled without than within us. I fear there is no need of putting fuch arguments to a beating,

beating, to make 'em thinner. However, DIAL. tho' this convinces me not, yet I am alto- I. gether of his opinion when he gravely affirms, that by running in the dark a man may happen to justle a poft. I agree with him too, 'tis more probable a man may bring all his limbs from his bed, than from a town-wall at a brisk attack. Philautus was certainly of this opinion, when he fear'd Tim, if he walk'd behind him, might take a bite at his legs; whereas having but one body, he defired to carry it all home, and to continue the experiment of how long a carcafs, well look'd to, might laft. But then again, this very thing makes me not wonder quite fo much as I fee Callicrates does, why men don't dance upon the battlements of houses, vault down the monument, and jump into a furnace for diverfion? Moreover he tells us, when difcourfing upon the value of life, that people are not fo apt to be too big to live, as too little to die; which tho' I fcarce can fay I clearly understand, yet I fuppofe, to use his terms, it is good husbandry to nurse up the vital flame as long as the matter will last. He may declare again if he pleases, that people are impofed upon by words and things ill join'd together; they will never believe his paradox, that a natural death is the most violent; nor will he perfuade 'em cafily to difcharge the last pulfe in the face of death to maintain the honour of our species,

be

DIAL. because a death-bed figure is an humbling I. fight, and a terrible rebuke to the dignity of humane nature.

CLEAND. Under favour, Sir, I doubt this method of culling out here and there a fentence, and then joining 'em into an odd fenfe, is not very fair dealing. Any difcourfe will feem abfurd if you take it to pieces and leave the connection behind. For, as your above-mention'd Tim quotes out of Leviathan, the general use of speech is to transfer our mental difcourfe into verbal, or the train of thoughts into a train of words. So that to interrupt the train of an author's words, is to falfify his fense: And at that rate you may make the closest reafoning feem very incoherent stuff.

EUDOX. I confess, Cleander, if you will give me leave to use your author's terms, the method has fometimes no creditable complexion: Yet in fome occafions there is no great reason to hope any better. When a Style feems to carry with it a perpetual air of afsurance, and runs in as high a tone as if we were to be commanded, rather than perfuaded into an affent; when the terms look like Apothegms, and are meer Sophifms; when the preface threatens to handle important points of morality with all the zeal and force the matter requires ; if ftill there is every now and then, fome

odd comparison or metaphor, fome remark- DIAL. able impropriety of expreffion and thought, I. the Author, not the Reader, must answer for the Burlefque. Your Author, Sir, obferves, that in violent wishes, the hurry of the purfuit makes but a shuffling pace, and Spoils the gracefulness of the motion. There is an impetuofity and hurry of Style which has much of the like effect. And when he obferved that fometimes a man cracks his confcience, as a horse does his wind by ftraining up hill, he might as well have reflected, that fometimes folidity of reason is loft by forcing it too high.

CLEAND. Let me beg of you, Sir, not quite fo faft. You begin to declaim fomewhat tragically upon the matter. You run on as if you had been prepared for a dif pute: I fancy you have been reading fome modern criticks, who have put you into this feverity of humour.

EUDOX. No, Sir. What I have faid, is no more than what the matter itself fuggefts, and might naturally occur to any one, without the leaft defign of criticism, or ill humour. However, that you may not think I am grown too exceptious; without arguing the cafe any farther, I will stand to this propofal: If you will take the pains to read over this book a fecond time, and

then tell me, if you do not like it worse;

I