zling and blundering through folecifms, barbarisms, and vulgarifms; mifplacing even their bad words, and inverting all method? Does not this prejudice you against their matter, be it what it will; nay, even against their perfons? I am fure it does me. On the other hand, do you not feel yourself inclined, prepoffeed, nay, even engaged in favour of those who ad

drels

you in the direct contrary manner? The effects of a correct and adorned ftyle, of method and perfpicuity, are incredible towards perfuafion; they often fupply the want of reafon and argument; but, when ufed in the fupport of reafon and argument, they are irrefiftible. If you have the leaft defect in your elocu tion, take the utmost care and pains to correct it. Do not neglect your style, whatever language you speak in, or whomfoever you fpeak to, were it your footman. Seek always for the best words and the happieft expreflions you can find. Do not content yourfelf with being barely understood; but adorn your thoughts, and drefs them as you would your perfon; which, however well proportioned it might be, it would be very improper and indecent to exhibit naked, or even worfe dreffed than people of your fort are.

year ago.

I have fent you, in a packet which your Leipfig ac quaintance, Duval, fends to his correfpondent at Rome, Lord Bolingbroke's book †, which he published about I defire that you will read it over and over again, with particular attention to the style, and to all thofe beauties of oratory with which it is adorned. Till I read that book, I confefs I did not know all the extent and powers of the English language. Lord Bolingbroke has both a tongue and a pen to perfuade; his manner of fpeaking in private converfation is full as elegant as his writings; whatever fubject he either fpeaks or writes upon, he adorns it with the most splendid eloquence--not a ftudied or laboured eloquence, but fuch a flowing happinefs diction, which (from care perhaps at firft) is become fo habitual to him, that even his most familiar conversation, if taken down in

Letters on the spiritof patriotifm, on the idea of a patriet king T

writing, would bear the prefs, without the leaft correction either as to method or ftyle. If his conduct had been equal to all his natural and acquired talents, he would moft juftly have merited the epithet of allaccomplished.

But he has been a moft. mortifying inftance of the violence of human paflions, and of the weakness of the most exalted human reafon. His virtues and his vices, his reafon and his paffions, did not blend themselves by a gradation of tints, but formed a fhining and fudden

contrast.

Here the darkeft, there the most splendid colours, and both rendered more fhining from their proximity. Impetuofity, excefs, and almoft extravagancy, characterised not only his paffions, but even his fenfes. His youth was distinguished by all the tumult and ftorm of pleasures, in which he mott licentioufly triumphed, difdaining all decorum.. His fine imagination has often been heated, and exhaufted with his body, in cele brating and deifying the prostitute of the night; and his convivial joys were pufhed to all the extravagancy of frantic Bacchanals. Thofe palions were interupted but by a stronger, ambition. The former impaired both his conftitution and his character, but the latter deftroyed both his fortune and his reputation.

He las noble and generous fentiments, rather than fixed reflected principles of good-nature and friendfhip; but they are more violent than lafting, and suddenly and often varied to their oppofite extremes, with regard even to the fame perfons. He receives the common attentions of civility as obligations, which he returns with intereft; and refents with paffion the little inadvertencies of human nature, which he repays with intereft too. Even a difference of opinion upon a philofophical subject, would provoke, and prove him no practical philofopher, at least.

Notwithstanding the diffipation of his youth, and the tumultuous agitation of his middle age, he has an infinite fund of various knowledge, which, from the clearest and quickest conception, and happieft memory that ever man was bleffed with, he always carries

about him. It is his pocket-money, and he never has occafion to draw upon a book for any fum. He excels more particularly in hiftory, as his hiftorical works plainly prove. The relative political and commercial interefts of every country in Europe, particularly of his own, are better known to him than, perhaps, to any man in it; but how fteadily he has purfued the latter, in his public conduct, his enemies, of all parties and denominations, tell with joy.

He engaged young, and diftinguifhed himself in bufinefs; and his penetration was almost intuition. I am old enough to have heard him fpeak in parliament. And I remember, that, though prejudiced against him by party, I felt all the force and charms of his eloquence. Like Belial, in Milton," he made the worfe appear the better caufe." All the internal and ex ternal advantages and talents of an orator are undoubtedly his. Figure, voice, elocution, knowledge; and, above all, the pureft and moft florid diction, with the jufteft metaphors, and happiest images, had raised him to the poft of fecretary at war, at four-and-twenty years old an age at which others are hardly thought fit for the fmalleft employments.

He had a very handfome perfon, with a most engaging addrefs in his air and manners; he has all the dignity and good-breeding which a man of quality fhould or can have, and which fo few, in this country at leaft, really have.

Upon the whole of this extraordinary man, what can we fay, but alas, poor human-nature !

LETTER LXXXIV.

General Obfervations on Human Characters... Ambition and Avarice.. Cardinal Mazarin...Cardinal Richelieu, &c.

DEAR BOY,

THE

London, December the 19th,

HE knowledge of mankind is a very useful knowledge for every body; a molt neceffary one for you, who are defined to an active, public life. You w

have to do with all forts of characters; you fhould, therefore, know them thoroughly, in order to manage them ably. This knowledge is not to be gotten fyftematically; you must acquire it yourfelf, by your own obfervation and fagacity: I will give you fuch hints as I think may be useful land-marks in your intended progrefs.

I have often told you (and it is most true) that, with regard to mankind, we muft not draw general conclufions from certain particular principles, though, in the main, true ones. We must not fuppofe, that, because a man is a rational animal, he will therefore act ration ally; or because he has fuch or fuch a predominant paffion, that he will act invariably and confequentially in the purfuit of it. No: we are complicated ma chines; and though we have one main fpring, that gives motion to the whole, we have an infinity of little wheels, which, in their turns, retard, precipitate, and fometimes ftop that motion. Let us exemplify: I will fuppofe ambition to be (as it commonly is) the predominant paffion of a minister of state; and I will fuppof: that minister to be an able one. Will he, therefore, invariably pursue the object of that predominant pal fion? May I be fure that he will do fo and fo, because he ought? Nothing lefs. Sicknefs, or low fpirits, may damp this predominant paffion; humour and peevithnefs may triumph over it; inferior paffions may, times, furprise it, and prevail. Is this ambitious ftatelman amorous? Indifcreet and unguarded confidences, made in tender moments, to his wife or his mistress, may defeat all his fchemes. Is he avaricious? Some great lucrative object, fuddenly prefenting itself, may unravel all the work of his ambition. Is he paffionate? Contradiction and prevocation (fometimes, it may too, artfully intended) may extort rash and inconfider. ate expreffions, or actions, deftructive of his main ob ject. Is he vain, and open to flattery? An artful, flattering favourite may milead him; and even laziness may, at certain moments, make him neglect or omit the neceffary steps to that height at which he wants to arrive.

at

be,

:

There are two inconfiftent paffions, which, however, frequently accompany each other. I mean ambition and avarice: the latter is often the true caufe of the former; and then it is the predominant paffion. It feems to have been fo in Cardinal Mazarin; who did any thing, fubmitted to any thing, and forgave any thing for the fake of plunder. He loved and courted power like an ufurer, because it carried profit along with it. Whoever fhould have formed his opinion, or taken his measures, fingly from the ambitious part of Cardinal Mazarin's character, would have found himfelf often mistaken. Some, who had found this out, made their fortunes by letting him cheat them at play. On the contrary, cardinal Richelieu's prevailing paffion feems to have been ambition; and his immenfe riches, only the natural confequenees of that ambition gratifi ed and yet, I make no doubt, but that ambition had now and then its turn with the former, and avarice with the latter. Richelieu (by the way) is fo ftrong a proof of the inconfiftency of human nature, that I can.. not help obferving to you, that, while he abfolutely governed both his king and his country, and was, in a great degree, the arbiter of the fate of all Europe, he was more jealous of the great reputation of Corneille, than of the power of Spain; and more flattered with being thought (what he was not) the best poet, than with being thought (what he certainly was) the greatest ftatefman in Europe; and affairs ftood ftill, while he was concerting the criticifm upon the Cid Could one think this poffible, if one did not know it to be true? Though men are all of one compofition, the feveral ingredients are fo differently proportioned in each individual, that no two are exactly alike; and no one, at all times like himself. The ableft man will, fometimes, do weak things; the proudeft man, mean things; the honefteft man, ill things; and the wickedeft man, good ones. Study individuals, then; and if you take (as you ought to do) their outlines from their prevailing paffion, fufpend your last finishing ftrokes, till you have attended to, and discovered the operations of their inferior paffions, appetites, and humours. A man's