N° 194..

Thursday, July 6, 1710.

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Militat omnis amans.

OVID. Amor. El, 9. ver, 1

The toils of love require a warrior's art,

And every lover plays the foldier's part. R. WYNNE,

From my own Apartment, July 5.

Was this morning reading the tenth Canto in the fourth book of Spenfer, in which Sir Scudamore tėlates the progrefs of his courtship to Amoret under a very beautiful Allegory, which is one of the most natural and anmixed of any in that moft excellent Author. 1 fhall tranfprofe it, to ufe Mr. Bayes's term, for the benefit of many English Lovers, who have, by frequent Letters, defired me to lay down fome rules for the conduct of their virtuous amours; and fhall only premife, that by the Shield of Love is meant a generous, conftant paffion for the perfon beloved.

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When the fame, fays he, of this celebrated Beauty firft flew abroad, I went in pursuit of her to the Temple of Love. This temple, continues he, bore the name of the goddess Venus, and was feated in a moft fruitful island, walled by Nature against all invaders. There was a fingle bridge that led into the ifland, and before it a caftle garrifoned by twenty knights. Near the caftle was an open plain, and in the midst of it a pillar, on which was hung the Shield of Love; and underneath it, in letters of gold, was this infcription :

Happy the man who well can ufe his blifs
Whose ever be the shield, fair Amoret be his.

My heart panted upon reading the infcription, I firuck apon the fhield with my fpear. Immediately iffued forth a knight well mounted, and completely armed, who, without

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without fpeaking, ran fiercely at me. I received him as well as I could, and by good fortune threw him out of the faddle. I encountered the whole twenty fuccefvely, and, leaving them all extended on the plain, carried off the fhield in token of victory. Having thus vanquifhed my rivals, I paffed on without impediment, until I came to the utmoft gate of the bridge, which I found 'locked and barred. I knocked and called; but could get no answer. At laft I faw one on the other fide of the gate, who flood peeping through a fmall crevice. This was the porter; he had a double face refembling a Janus, and was continually looking about him, as if he mistrusted fome fudden danger. His name, as I af terwards learned, was Doubt. Overagainst him fat Delay, who entertained paffengers with fome idle story, while they loft fuch opportunities as were never to be recovered. As foon as the porter faw my fhield, he opened the gate; but upon my entering, Delay caught hold of me, and would fain have made me listen to her fooleries. However, I fhook her off, and paffed forward, until I came to the fecond gate, "6 The Gate of Good Defert," which always flood wide open, but in the porch was an hideous giant, that ftopped the entrance; his name was Danger. Many warriors of good reputation, not able to bear the fternnefs of his look, went back again. Cowards fled at the first fight of him; except fome few, who, watching their opportunity, flipt by him unobserved. I prepared to affault him; but upon the first fight of my fhield, he immediately gave way. Looking back upon him, I found his hinder parts much more deformed and terrible than his face; Hatred, Murder, Treafon, Envy, and Detraction, lying in ambush behind him, to fall upon the heedless and

unwary.

I now entered the "Ifland of Love," which appeared in all the beauties of Art and Nature, and feasted every fenfe with the most agreeable objects. Amidft a pleafing variety of walks and alleys, fhady feats, and flowery banks, funny hills, and gloomy valleys, were thousands of Lovers fitting, or walking together in pairs, and fing ing hymns to the deity of the place.

I could not forbear envying this happy people, who were already in poffeffion of all they could defire. While 1 went forward to the temple, the ftructure was beautiful beyond imagination. The gate ftood open. In the entrance fat a most amiable woman, whofe name was Concord.

On either fide of her ftood two young men, both ftrongly armed, as if afraid of each other. As I afterwards learned, they were both her fons, but begotten of her by two different fathers; their names Love and Hatred.

The Lady fo well tempered and reconciled them both, that the forced them to join hands; though I could not but obferve, that Hatred turned afide his face, as not able to endure the fight of his younger brother.

I at length entered the inmoft temple, the roof of which was raised upon an hundred marble pillars, decked with crowns, chains, and garlands. The ground was ftrewed with flowers. An hundred altars, at each of which stood a virgin prieftefs clothed in white, blazed all at once with the facrifice of Lovers, who were perpetually fending their vows to heaven in clouds of in

cenfe.

In the midft ftood the goddess herself upon an altar whofe fubftance was neither gold nor ftone, but infinitely more precious than either. About her neck flew numberlefs flocks of little Loves, Joys, and Graces; and all about her altar lay fcattered heaps of Lovers, complaining of the disdain, pride, or treachery of their miftreffes. One among the reft, no longer able to contain his griefs, broke out into the following prayer;

"Venus, Queen of grace and beauty, joy of gods and men, who with a fmile becalmeft the feas, and "reneweft all Nature; goddess, whom all the different fpecies in the univerfe obey with joy and pleasure, "grant I may at last obtain the object of

my vows. The impatient Lover pronounced this with great ve hemence; but I, in a foft murmur, befought the goddefs to lend me her affiftance. While I was thus praying, I chanced to caft my eye on a company of Ladies, who were affembled together in a corner of the temple waiting for the anthem.

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The foremost seemed fomething elder and of a more compofed countenance than the reft, who all appeared to be under her direction. Her name was Womanhood. On one fide of her fat Shamefacednefs, with blushes, rifing in her cheeks, and her eyes fixed on the ground: On the other was Chearfulness, with a fimiling look, that infused a secret pleasure into the hearts of all that faw her. With these fat Modefty, holding her hand on her heart: Courtesy, with a graceful afpect, and obliging behaviour: and the two fifters, who were always linked together, and resembled each other, Silence and Obedience.

Thus fat they all around in feemly rate,
And in the midst of them a goodly maid,
Ev'n in the lap of Womanhood there fate,
The which was all in lilly white array'd;
Where filver ftreams among the linen ftray'd,
Like to the morn, when firft her fhining face,
Hath to the gloomy world itself bewray'd.
That fame was faireft Amoret in place,

Shining with beauty's light, and heavenly virtue's grace.

As foon as I beheld the charming Amoret, my heart throbbed with hopes. I ftepped to her, and feized her hand; when Womanhood, immediately rifing up, fharply rebuked me for offering in fo rude a manner to lay hold on a virgin. I excufed myself as modeftly as I could, and at the fame time difplayed my fhield: upon which, as foon as the beheld the god emblazoned with his bow and fhafts, the was ftruck mute, and inftantly retired.

I ftill held faft fair Amoret; and turning my eyes towards the goddefs of the place, faw that the favoured my pretenfions with a fmile, which so emboldened me, that I carried off my prize.

The maid, fometimes with tears, fometimes with fmiles, intreated me to let her go: But I led her through the temple-gate, where the goddefs Concord, who had favoured my entrance, befriended my retreat.

This Allegory is fo natural, that it explains itself. The perfons in it are very artfully defcribed, and difposed in proper places. The pofts affigned to Doubt,

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Delay,

Delay, and Danger, are admirable. The gate of Good, Defert has fomething noble and inftructive in it. But above all, I am moft pleased with the beautiful groupe: of figures in the corner of the temple. Among these Womanhood is drawn like what the philofophers call an Univerfal Nature, and is attended with beautiful reprefentatives of all thofe virtues that are the ornaments of the female Sex, considered in its natural perfection and innocence.

N° 195.

TH

Saturday, July 8, 1710.

Grecian Coffee-houfe, July 7.

HE learned world are very much offended at many of my ratiocinations, and have but a very mean opinion of me as a politician. The reafon of this is, that fome erroneously conceive a talent for politics to confift in the regard to a man's own intereft; but I am of quite another mind, and think the first and effential quality towards being a statesman is to have a public fpirit. One of the Gentlemen, who are out of humour with me, imputes my falling into a way, wherein I am fo very aukward, to a barrennefs of invention; and has the charity to lay new matter before me for the future. He is at the bottom my friend; but is at a lofs to know whether I am a Fool or a Phyfician, and is pleased to expoftulate with me with relation to the latter. He falls heavy upon Licentiates, and feems to point more particularly at us who are not regularly of the faculty. But fince he has been fo civil to me, as to meddle only with, those who are employed no further than about mens lives, and not reflected upon me as of the aftrological fect, who concern ourselves about lives and fortunes alfo, I am not fo much hurt as to ftifle any part of his fond Letter.