of money in his will, for an epitaph to be made upon him. Colas eft mort de maladie Tu veux que j'en pleure le fort It expofes perfectly well the filly vanity of a fellow, who, though he had never done any thing to be fpoken of in his life time, wanted to have fomething faid of him after his death. I will give you, into the bargain, a very good English epitaph, upon a virtuous and beauti ul young lady: Underneath this ftone doth lie, As much virtue as could die ; Which when alive, did vigour give, Adieu! Work hard; for your day of trial draws ear. I LETTER XXXVII. Attention...Perfpicuity...Diftruft of Profeffions. Dublin Castle, March the 10th AM very glad you went to hear a trial in the Court of King's Bench, and ftill more fo, that you made the proper animadverfions upon the inattention of many of the people in the court. As you obferved, very well, the indecency of that inattention, I am fure you will never be guilty of any thing like it yourself. There is no furer fign in the world of a little, weak mind, than inattention. Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well; and nothing can be done well without attention. It is the fure anfwer of a fool, when him about any thing that was faid or done, where he was prefent, that, Truly he did not mind it.--And why did not the fool mind it? What had he elfe to da you afk there, but to mind what was doing? A man of fenfe fees, hears, and retains every thing that paffes where he is. I defire I may never hear you talk of not minding, nor complain, as moft fools do, of a treacherous memory. Mind not only what people fay, but how they fay it; and, if you have any fagacity, you may difcover more truth by your eyes than by your ears. People can fay what they will, but they cannot look juft as they will; and their looks frequently difcover what their words are calculated to conceal. Obferve, therefore, people's looks carefully, when they fpeak, not only to you, but to each other. I have often gueffed, by people's faces, what they were faying, though I Could not hear one word they faid. The moft material knowledge of all, I mean the knowledge of the world, is never to be acquired without great attention; and I know many old people, who, though they have lived long in the world, are but children ftill as to the knowledge of it, from their levity and inattention. Certain forms, which all people comply with, and certain arts, which all people aim at, hide, in fome degree, the truth, and give a general exterior refemblance to almoft every body. Attention and fagacity muft fee through that veil, and discover the natural character. You are of an age, now, to reflect, to obferve and compare eharacters, and to arm yourself against the common arts, at leaft, of the world. If a man, with whom you are but barely acquainted, to whom you have made no offers, nor given any marks of friendship, makes you, on a fudden, ftrong profeffions of his, receive them with civility, but do not repay them with confidence; he eertainly means to deceive you; for one man does not fall in love with another at fight. If a man ufes ftrong proteftations or oaths, to make you believe a thing, which is of itfelf fo likely and probable that the bare faying of it would be fufficient, depend upon it he lies, and is highly interested in making you believe it; of lfe he would not take fo much pains.-Adieu! DEAR BOY, LETTER XXXVIII. Learning... Good-Breeding, &c. Dublin, March the 238. I AM glad you are fenfible the book I mentioned re quires more than one new edition before it can be correct; but, as you promife to co-operate with me, I am in great hopes of publishing a pretty good edition of it in five or fix years time. I must have the text very correct, and the character very fair; both which muft be chiefly your care: as for the notes, which I fancy you will defire fhould be bank-notes, I believe I muft provide them; which I am very willing to do, if the book deferves them. you You call upon me for the partiality of an author to his own works; but take this along with you, that the worst authors are always the most partial to their own works; but a good author is the fevereft critic of his own compofitions; therefore, as I hope that, in this cafe, I am a good author, I can tell you, I fhall always be correcting, and never think my work perfect enough. To leave allegory, which fhould never be long (and it may be this has been too long) I tell you very ferioufly, that I both expect and require a great deal from you; and if you fhould difappoint me, I would not advise you to expect much from me. I afk nothing of but what is entirely in your own power, to be an honeft, a learned, and a well-bred man. As for the firft, I cannot, I will not doubt it: I think you know already the infamy, the horrors, and the misfortunes, that always attend a difhoneft and dishonourable man. As to learning, that is wholly in your own power; application will bring it about; and you must have it. Good-breeding is the natural refult of common fenfe and common obfervation. Common fenfe points out civility, and obfervation teaches you the manner of it, which makes it good-breeding. To tell you the truth, I do not know any thing you fail in fo much as in this laft: and a very great failing it is.. Though you have not yet feen enough of the world to be well-bred, you have sense enough to know what it is to be civil; but I cannot fay that you endeavour much to be fo. It is with difficulty that you bring yourself to do the common offices of civility, which thould always feem willing and natural. Good night, Sir ! LETTER XXXIX. The Female Sex....Not to attack Bodies of People. DEAR BOY. BEFORE it is very April the 5th. DEFORE it is very long, I am of opinion, that you will both think and fpeak more favourably of women than you do now. You feem to think, that, from Eve downwards, they have done a great deal of mischief. As for that lady, I give her up to you; but, fince her time, hiftory will inform you, that men have done much more mischief in the world than women; and, to fay the truth, I would not advise you to truft either, more than is abfolutely neceffary. But this I will advife you to, which is, never to attack whole bodies of any kind ; for, befides that all general rules have their exceptions, you unneceffarily make yourself a great number of enemies, by attacking a corps collectively. Among women, as among men, there are good as well as bad; and, it may be, full as many, or more good, than among men. This rule holds as to wyers, foldiers, parfons, courtiers, citizens, &c. They are all men, fubject to the fame paffions and fentiments, differing only in the manner, according to their feveral educations; and it would be as imprudent as unjuft to attack any of them by the lump. Individuals forgive fometimes; but bodies and focieties never do. Many young people think it very genteel and witty to abufe the clergy; in which they are extremely mistaken. All general reflections, upon nations and focieties, are the trite, thread-bare jokes of those who set up for wit without having any, and fo have recourfe to commonplace. Judge of individuals from your own knew ledge of them, and not from their fex, profeffion, or denomination. Though at my return, which I hope will be very foon, I fhall not find your feet lengthened, I hope I shall find your head a good deal fo, and then I fhall not much mind your feet. In two or three months after my return, you and I fhall part for fome time: you muft go to read men, as well as books, of all languages and nations. Obfervation and reflection will then be very neceffary for you. We will talk this matter over fully when we meet; which, I hope, will be in the laft week of this month; till when, I have the happinefs of being Your moft faithful parent. LETTER XL. Directions in Travelling....Swijs Cantons. DEAR BOY, Bath, September the 29th RECEIVED by the last mail your letter of the 23d. from Heidelberg; and am very well pleafed to find that you inform yourfelf of the particulars of the feveral places you go through. You do mighty right to fee the curiofities in thofe feveral places; fuch as the golden bull at Frankfort, the tun at Heidelberg, &c. Other travellers fee them and talk of then-it is very proper to fee them too but remember, that fecing is the leaft material object of travelling, hearing and knowing are the effential points. Therefore pray let your inquiries be chiefly directed to the knowledge of the conftitution and particular cuftoms of the places at which you refide, or through which you pafs. Whom they belong to, by what right and tenure, and fince when; in whom the fupreme authority is lodged; and by what magiftrates, and in what manner, the civil and the criminal juftise is adminiftered. It is likewife neceffary to get as much acquaintance as you can, in order to obferve the characters and manners of the people; for though human-nature is in truth the fame through the whole human fpecies, yet it is fo differently modified |