and great Anxieties; but fees it in quite another Light; his Griefs are Momentary, and his Joys Immortal. Reflection upon Death is not a gloomy and fad Thought of refigning every Thing that he delights in, but it is a fhort Night followed by an endless Day. What I would here contend for is, that the more Virtuous the Man is, the nearer he will naturally be to the Character of Genteel and Agreeable. A Man whofe Fortune is Plentiful, fhews an Eafe in his Countenance, and Confidence in his Behaviour, which he that is under Wants and Difficulties cannot affume. It is thus with the State of the Mind; he that governs his Thoughts with the everlasting Rules of Reafon and Senfe,muft have fome. thing fo inexpreffibly Graceful in his Words and Actions, that every Circumftance muft become him. The Change of Perfons or Things around him do not at all alter his Situation, but he looks difinterested in the Occurrences with which others are diftracted, because the greatest Purpose of his Life is to maintain an Indifference both to it and all its Enjoyments. In a word, to be a Fine Gentleman, is to be a Generous and a Brave Man. What can make a Man fo much in conftant good Humour and Shine, as we call it, than to be Supported by what can never fail him, and to believe that whatever happens to him was the best thing that could poffibly befal him, or else he on whom it depends would not have permitted it to have befallen him at all? R N 76. Monday, May 28. Ut tu Fortunam, fic nos te, Celfe, feremus. T Hor, HERE is nothing fo common, as to find a Man whom in the general Obfervation of his Carriage you take to be of an uniform Temper, fubject to fuch unaccountable Stars of Humour and Paffion, that he is as much unlike himself, and differs as much from the Man you at first thought him, as any two diftinct Perfons can differ from each other. This proceeds from the Want of forming fome Law of Life to our felves, or fixing fome Notion of things in general, which may affect us in fuch Manner as to create proper Habits both in our Minds N 4 and and Bodies. The Negligence of this, leaves us expofed not only to an unbecoming Levity in our ufual Converfation, but alfo to the fame Inftability in our Friendships, Interests, and Alliances. A Man who is but a mere Spectator of what paffes around him, and not engaged in Commerces of any Confideration, is but an ill Judge of the fecret Motions of the Heart of Man, and by what Degrees it is actuated to make fuch vifible Alterations in the fame Perfon: But at the fame Time, when a Man is no way concerned in the Effect of fuch Inconfiftences in the Behaviour of Men of the World, the Speculation must be in the utmost Degree both diverting and inftructive; yet to enjoy fuch Obfervations in the highest Relifh, he ought to be placed in a Poft of Direction, and have the dealing of their Fortunes to them. I have therefore been wonderfully diverted with some Pieces of fecret Hiftory, which an Antiquary, my very good Friend, lent me as a Curiofity. They are Memoirs.of the private Life of Pharamond of France. Pharamond, fays my Author, was a Prince of infinite Humanity and Generofity, and at the fame time the most pleasant and facetious Companion of his Time. He had a peculiar Tafte in him (which would have been unlucky in any Prince but himself,) he thought there could be no exquifite Pleasure inConverfation but among Equals ;and would pleasantly bewail himself that he always lived in a Crowd,but was the only Man in France that never could get into Company. This Turn of Mind made him delight in Midnight Ram'bles, attended only with one Perfon of his Bedchamber He would in thefe Excurfions get acquainted with Men (whofe Temper he had a Mind to try) and recommend them privately to the particular Obfervation of his firft Minifter. He generally found himself neglected by his new Acquaintance as foon as they had Hopes of growing great; and used on fuch Occafions to remark, That it was a great Injuftice to tax Princes of forgetting themselves in their high Fortunes, when there were fo few that could with Conftancy bear the Favour of their very Creatures. My Author in thefe loose Hints has one Paffage that gives us a very lively Idea of the uncommon Genius of Pharamond. He met with one Man whom he had put to all the ufual Proofs he made of thofe he had a Mind to know throughly, and found him for his Purpose: In Difcourfe < ८ : with him one Day, he gave him Opportunity of faying how much would fatisfie all his Wishes. The Prince immediately revealed himself, doubled the Sum, and spoke to him in this Manner." Sir, You have twice what you defired, by the "Favour of Pharamond; but look to it that you are fatisfied "with it, for 'tis the last you shall ever receive. Ifrom this Mo"ment confider you as mine; and to make you truly fɔ, I give you my Royal Word you shall never be greater or less than you are at prefent. Answer me not, (concluded the Prince fmiling) but enjoy the Fortune I have put you in, which "is above my own Condition; for you have hereafter no"thing to hope or to fear. k 66 HIS Majefty having thus well chofen and bought a Friend and Companion, he enjoyed alternately all the Pleafures of an agreeable private Man and a great and powerful Monarch: He gave himself, with his Companion, the Name of the merry Tyrant; for he punished his Courtiers for their Infolence and Folly, not by any Act of publick Disfavour, but by humorously practifing upon their Imaginations. If he obferved a Man untractable to his Inferiors, he would find an Opportunity to take fome favourable Notice of him, and render him infupportable. He knew all his own Looks, Words and Actions had their Interpretations; and his Friend Monfieur Eucrate (for fo he was called) having a great Soul without Ambition, he could communicate all his Thoughts to him, and fear no artful Ufe would be made of that Freedom. It was no fmall Delight when they were in private to reflect upon all which had paffed in publick. PHARAMOND would often, to fatisfie a vain Fool of Power in his Country, talk to him in a full Court, and with one Whisper make him despife all his old Friends and Acquaintance. He was come to that Knowledge of Men by long Obfervation, that he would profefs altering the whole Mafs of Blood in some Tempers, by thrice fpeaking to them. As Fortune was in his Power, he gave hirnfelf conftant Entertainment in managing the mere Followers of it with the Treatment they deferved. He would by a skilful Caft of his Eye and half a Smile, make two Fellows who hated, embrace and fall upon each other's Neck with as much Eagernefs, as if they followed their real Inclinations, and intended to stifle one another, When N°77. he was in high good Humour, he would lay the Scene with Eucrate, and on a publick Night exercise the Paffions of his whole Court. He was pleafed to fee an haughty Beauty watch the Looks of the Man fhe had long defpised, from Obfervation of his being taken Notice of by Pharamond; and the Lover conceive higher Hopes, than to follow the Woman he was dying for the Day before. In a Court, where Men fpeak Affection in the ftrongeft Terms, and Dislike in the fainteft, it was a comical Mixture of Incidents to fee Difguises thrown afide in one Cafe and encreafed on the other, according as Favour or Difgrace attended the refpective objects of Mens Approbation or Difefteem. Pharamond in his Mirth upon the Meannefs of Mankind ufed to fay, As he could take away a Man's Five Senses, he could give him an Hundred. The Man in Difgrace fhall immediately lefe all his natural Endowments, and he that 'finds Favour have the Attributes of an Angel. He would carry it fo far as to fay, It should not be only fo in the Opinion of the lower Part of his Court, but the Men themfelves fhall think thus meanly or greatly of themfelves,as they are out or in the good Graces of a Court. A Monarch who had Wit and Humour like Pharamond, must have Pleafures which no Man elfe can ever have Opportunity of enjoying. He gave Fortune to none but those whom he knew could receive it without Tranfport: He made a noble and generous Use of his Obfervations; and did not regard his Minifters as they were agreeable to himfelf, but as they were useful to his Kingdom: By this Means the King appeared in every Officer of State; and no Man had a Participation of the Power, who had not a Similitude of the Virtue of Pharamond. N° 77. Tuesday, May 29. Non convivere licet, nes Urbe tota MY R Mart. Y Friend WILL. HONEYCOMB is one of thofe Sort of Men who are very often abfent in Converfation, and what the French call a raveur and a diftrait. A little before our Club-time last Night we were walking walking together in Somerfet Garden, where WILL. had picked up a finall Pebble of fo odd a Make, that he said he would prefent it to a Friend of his, an eminent Virtuofo. After we had walked fome time, I made a full ftop with my Face towards the Weft, which WILL. knowing to be my ufual Method of asking what's a Clock, in an Afternoon, immediately pulled out his Watch, and told me we had feven Minutes good. We took a turn or two more, when, to my great Surprize, I faw him fquirr away his Watch a confiderable way into the Thames, and with Sedateness in his Looks put up the Pebble, he had before found, in his Fob. As I have naturally an Averfion to much Speaking, and do not love to be the Meffenger of ill News, efpecially when it comes too late to be useful, I left him to be convinced of his Mistake in due time, and continued my Walk, reflecting on thefe little Abfences and Distractions in Mankind, and refolving to make them the Subject of a future Speculation. great I was the more confirmed in my Defign, when I confidered that they were very often Blemishes in the Characters of Men of excellent Sense; and helped to keep up the Reputation of that Latin Proverb, which Mr. Dryden has Tranflated in the following Lines: Great Wit to Madness fure is near ally'd, And thin Partitions do their Bounds divide. My Reader does, I hope, perceive, that I diftinguish a Man who is Abfent, because he thinks of fomething elfe, from one who is Abfent, because he thinks of nothing at all: The latter is too innocent a Creature to be taken notice of; but the Distractions of the former may, I believe, be generally accounted for from one of these Reasons. EITHER their Minds are wholly fixed on fome particular Science, which is often the Cafe of Mathematicians and other learned Men; or are wholly taken up with fome Violent Paffion, fuch as Anger, Fear, or Love, which ties the Mind to fome diftant Object; or, laftly, thefe Diftractions proceed from a certain Vivacity and Fickleness in a Man's Temper, which while it raifes up infinite Numbers of Ideas in the Mind, is continually pufhing it on, without allowing it to reft on any particular Image. Nothing therefore is more unnatural than the Thoughts and Conceptions of fuch a Man, which are feldom occafioned either by the Company he is in, or any of thofe Objects |