82. The virtuoso's account of his rarities 83. The virtuoso's curiosity justified 84. A young lady's impatience of control 85. The mischiefs of total idleness 87. The reasons why advice is generally ineffectual 88. A criticism on Milton's versification. Elisions 89. The luxury of vain imagination go. The pauses in English poetry adjusted 95. The history of Pertinax the sceptick 96. Truth, falsehood, and fiction, an allegory 97. Advice to unmarried ladies 98. The necessity of cultivating politeness 103. The prevalence of curiosity. The character of 115. The sequel of Hymenaus's courtship 116. The young trader's attempt at politeness 117. The advantages of living in a garret - 123. The young trader turned gentleman 131. Desire of gain the general passion 132. The difficulty of educating a young nobleman 133. The miseries of a beauty defaced - THE RAMBLER. NUMB. 71. TUESDAY, November 20, 1750. Vivere quod propero pauper, nec inutilis annis True, Sir, to live I haste, your pardon give, MART. For tell me, who makes haste enough to live? F. LEWIS. MANY words and sentences are so frequently heard in the mouths of men, that a superficial observer is inclined to believe, that they must contain some primary principle, some great rule of action, which it is proper always to have present to the attention, and by which the use of every hour is to be adjusted. Yet, if we consider the conduct of those sententious philosophers, it will often be found that they repeat these aphorisms, merely because they have somewhere heard them, because they have nothing else to say, or because they think veneration gained by such appearances of wisdom, but that no ideas are annexed to the words, VOL. II. and B and that, according to the old blunder of the followers of Aristotle, their souls are mere pipes or organs, which transmit sounds, but do not understand them. Of this kind is the well-known and well-attested position, that life is short, which may be heard among mankind by an attentive auditor, many times a day, but which never yet within my reach of observation left any impression upon the mind; and perhaps, if my readers will turn their thoughts back upon their old friends, they will find it difficult to call a single man to remembrance, who appeared to know that life was short till he was about to lose it. It is observable that Horace, in his account of the characters of men as they are diversified by the various influence of time, remarks, that the old man is dilator, spe longus, given to procrastination, and in clined to extend his hopes to a great distance. So far are we generally from thinking what we often say of the shortness of life, that at the time when it is necessarily shortest, we form projects which we delay to execute, indulge such expectations as nothing but a long train of events can gratify, and suffer those passions to gain upon us which are only excusable in the prime of life. These reflections were lately excited in my mind, by an evening's conversation with my friend Prospero, who, at the age of fifty-five, has bought an estate, and is now contriving to dispose and cultivate it with uncommon elegance. His great pleasure is to walk among stately trees, and lie musing in the heat of noon under their shade; he is therefore maturely considering how he shall dispose his walks and |
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