Death ftalks behind thee, and each flying Hour WHEN a Government flourishes in Conquefts, and is fecure from foreign Attacks, it naturally falls into all the Pleasures of Luxury; and as thefe Pleasures are very expenfive, they put those who are addicted to them upon railing fresh Supplies of Mony, by all the Methods of Rapacioufnefs and Corruption; fo that Avarice and Luxury very often become one complicated Principle of Action, in those whofe Hearts are wholly fet upon Eafe, Magnificence and Pleasure. The moft Elegant and Correct of all the Latin Hiftorians obferves, that in his time, when the most formidable States of the World were fubdued by the Romans, the Republick funk into those two Vices of a quite different Nature, Luxury and Avarice: And accordingly defcribes Catiline as one who coveted the Wealth of other Men, at the fame time that he fquander'd away his own. This Obfervation on the Commonwealth, when it was in its height of Power and Riches, holds good of all Governments that are fettled in a State of Eafe and Profperity. At fuch times Men naturally endeavour to outfhine one another in Pomp and Splendor, and having no Fears to alarm them from abroad, indulge themselves in the Enjoyment of all the Pleasures they can get into their Poffeffion; which naturally produces Avariçe, and an immoderate Purfuit after Wealth and Riches. AS I was humouring my felf in the Speculation of thefe two great Principles of Action, I could not forbear throwing my Thoughts into a little kind of Allegory or Fable, with which I shall here prefent my Reader. THERE were two very powerful Tyrants engaged in a perpetual War against each other: The Name of the firft was Luxury, and of the fecond Avarice. The Aim of each of them was no less than Univerfal Monarchy over the Hearts of Mankind. Luxury had many Generals under him, who did him great Service, as Pleasure, Mirth, Pomp, and Fashion. Avarice was likewife very strong in his Officers, being faithfully ferved by Hunger, Industry, Care Care and Watchfulness: He had likewife a Privy-Counfellor who was always at his Elbow, and whifpering fomething or other in his Ear: the Name of this PrivyCounfellor was Poverty. As Avarice conducted himself by the Counfels of Poverty, his Antagonist was entirely guided by the Dictates and Advice of Plenty, who was his firft Counsellor and Minister of State, that concerted all his Measures for him, and never departed out of his Sight. While these two great Rivals were thus contending for Empire, their Conquefts were very various. Luxury got Poffeflion of one Heart, and Avarice of another. The Father of a Family would often range himself under the Banners of Avarice, and the Son under thofe of Luxury. The Wife and Husband would often declare themselves on the two different Parties; nay, the fame Person would very often fide with one in his Youth, and revolt to the other in his old Age. Indeed the Wife Men of the World food Neuter; but alas! their Numbers were not confiderable. At length, when these two Potentates had wearied themselves with waging War upon one another, they agreed upon an Interview, at which neither of their Counfellors were to be prefent. It is faid that Luxury began the Parly, and after having reprefented the endless State of War in which they were engaged, told his Enemy, with a Frankness of Heart which is natural to him, that he believed they two fhould be very good Friends, were it not for the Inftigations of Poverty, that pernicious Counsellor, who made an illufe of his Ear, and filled him with groundlefs Apprehenfions and Prejudices. To this Avarice replied, that he looked upon Plenty (the firft Minifter of his Antagonist) to be a much more deftructive Counsellor than Poverty, for that he was perpetually fuggesting Pleafures, banishing all the neceffary Cautions against Want, and confequently undermining thofe Principles on which the Government of Avarice was founded. At last, in order to an Accommodation, they agreed upon this Preliminary; That each of them fhould immediately difmifs his Privy-Counsellor. When things were thus far adjusted towards a Peace, all other Differences were foon accommodated, infomuch that for the future they refolved to live as good Friends and Confederates, and to share between them whatever Conquefts were made on either fide. For this Reason, we now find Luxury and Avarice taking Poffeffion of the fame Heart, and dividing the fame Perfon between them. To which I fhall only add, that fince the difcarding of the Counsellors above mentioned, Avarice fupplies Luxury in the room of Plenty, as Luxury prompts Avarice in the Place of Poverty. C N° 56.0 Friday, May 4. Felices errore fuo. Lucan. T HE Americans believe that all Creatures have Souls, not only Men and Women, but Brutes, Vegetables, nay even the most inanimate things, as Stocks and Stones. They believe the fame of all the Works of Art, as of Knives, Boats, Looking-glasses : And that as any of these things perish, their Souls go into another World, which is inhabited by the Ghofts of Men and Women. For this Reason they always place by the Corpfe of their dead Friend a Bow and Arrows, that he may make use of the Souls of them in the other World, as he did of their wooden Bodies in this. How abfurd foever fuch an Opinion as this may appear, our European Philofophers have maintained feveral Notions altogether as improbable. Some of Plato's Followers in particular, when they talk of the World of Ideas, entertain us with Subftances and Beings no lefs extravagant and chymerical. Many Ariftotelians have likewife fpoken as unintelligibly of their fubftantial Forms. I fhall only inftance Albertus Magnus, who in his Differtation upon the Loadstone obferving that Fire will deftroy its magnetick Virtues, tells us that he took particular Notice of one as it lay glowing amidst an Heap of burning Coals, and that he perceived a certain blue Vapour to arife from it, which he believed might be the fubflantial Form, that is,, in our Weft-Indian Phrafe, the Soul of the Load-ftone. THERE is a Tradition among the Americans, that one of their Countrymen defcended in a Vifion to the great Repofitory of Souls, or, as we call it here, to the VOL. L K other other World; and that upon his Return he gave his Friends a diftinct Account of every thing he faw among thofe Regions of the Dead. A Friend of mine, whom I have formerly mentioned, prevailed upon one of the Interpreters of the Indian Kings, to enquire of them, if poffible, what Tradition they have among them of this Matter: Which, as well as he could learn by those many Questions which he asked thèm at several Times, was in Subftance as follows. THE Visionary, whofe Name was Marraton, after having travelled for a long Space under an hollow Mounrain, arrived at length on the Confines of this World of Spirits, but could not enter it by reason of a thick Forest made up of Bushes, Brambles, and pointed Thorns, fo perplexed and interwoven with one another, that it was impoffible to find a Paffage through it. Whilft he was looking about for fome Track or Path-way that might be worn in any Part of it, he faw an huge Lion couched under the Side of it, who kept his Eye upon him in the fame Pofture as when he watches for his Prey. The In dian immediately started back, whilft the Lion rofe with a Spring, and leaped towards him. Being wholly defti-. tute of all other Weapons, he ftooped down to take up an huge Stone in his Hand; but to his infinite Surprize grafped nothing, and found the fuppofed Stone to be only the Apparition of one. If he was difappointed on this Side, he was as much pleafed on the other, when he found the Lion, which had feized on his left Shoulder, had no Power to hurt him, and was only the Ghost of that ravenous Creature which it appeared to be. He no fooner got rid of his impotent Enemy, but he marched up to the Wood, and after having furveyed it for fome Time, endeavoured to prefs into one Part of it that was a little thinner than the reft; when again, to his great Surprize, he found the Bufhes made no Refiftance, but that he walked through Briars and Brambles with the fame Eafe as through the open Air; and, in fhort, that the whole Wood was nothing elfe but a Wood of Shades, He immediately concluded, that this huge Thicket of Thorns and Brakes was defigned as a kind of Fence or quick-fet Hedge to the Ghofts it inclofed; and that probably their foft Subftances might be torn by thefe fubtle Points and Prickles, which were too weak to make any Impreffions in Flesh and Blood. With this Thought he refolved to travel through this intricate Wood; when by Degrees he felt a Gale of Perfumes breathing upon him, that grew ftronger and fweeter in proportion as he advanced. He had not proceeded much further when he obferved the Thorns and Briars to end, and give Place to a thoufand beautiful green Trees covered with Bloffoms of the finest Scents and Colours, that formed a Wilderness of Sweets, and were a kind of Lining to thofe ragged Scenes which he had before paffed through. As he was coming out of this delightful Part of the Wood, and entering upon the Plains it inclofed, he faw feveral Horfemen rafhing by him, and a little while after heard the Cry of a Pack of Dogs. He had not liftned long before he saw the Apparition of a milk-white Steed, with a young Man on the Back of it, advancing upon full Stretch after the Souls of about an hundred Beagles that were hunting down the Ghoft of an Hare, which ran away before them with an unfpeakable Swiftnefs. As the Man on the Milkwhite Steed came by him, he looked upon him very attentively, and found him to be the young Prince Nicharagua, who died about half a Year before, and, by reason of his great Virtues, was at that Time lamented over all the Western Parts of America. HE had no fooner got out of the Wood, but he was entertained with fuch a Landskip of flowry Plains, green Meadows, running Streams, funny Hills, and fhady Vales, as were not to be reprefented by his own Expreffions, nor, as he said, by the Conceptions of others. This happy Region was peopled with innumerable Swarms of Spirits, who applied themfelves to Exercifes and Diversi ons according as their Fancies led them. Some of them were toffing the Figure of a Coit; others were pitching the Shadow of a Bar; others were breaking the Apparition of a Horfe; and Multitudes employing themfelves upon ingenious Handicrafts with the Souls of departed Utenfils, for that is the Name which in the Indian Language they give their Tools when they are burnt or broken. As he travelled through this delightful Scene, he was very often tempted to pluck the Flowers that rose every where about him in the greatest Variety and Pro K 2 |