the hearts of virtuous persons, to which the regard of their own private interest would never have betrayed them.

4

If this party-spirit has so ill an effect on our morals, it has likewise a very great one upon our 5 judgments. We often hear a poor insipid paper or pamphlet cried up, and sometimes a noble piece depreciated, by those who are of a different principle from the author. One who is actuated by this spirit, is almost under an incapacity of discerning 10 either real blemishes or beauties. A man of merit in a different principle,2 is like an object seen in two different mediums, that appears crooked or broken, however straight and entire it may be in itself. For this reason there is scarce a person of 15 any figure in England, who does not go by two contrary characters,3 as opposite to one another as light and darkness. Knowledge and learning suffer in a particular manner from this strange prejudice, which at present prevails amongst all ranks and de- 20 grees in the British nation. As men formerly became eminent in learned societies by their parts and acquisitions, they now distinguish themselves by the warmth and violence with which they espouse their respective parties. Books are valued upon the like 25 considerations: an abusive scurrilous style passes. for satire, and a dull scheme of party notions is called fine writing.

4

There is one piece of sophistry practised by both sides, and that is the taking any scandalous story 30

5

2 1711, principle, like an object seen in two different mediums, appears.

3 1711, two characters altogether different, and as opposite.

4

1711, in a very particular.

Б

1711, every scandalous story.

that has been ever whispered or invented of a private man, for a known undoubted truth, and raising suitable speculations upon it. Calumnies that have been never proved, or have been often refuted, are 5 the ordinary postulatums of these infamous scribblers, upon which they proceed as upon first principles granted by all men, though in their hearts they know they are false, or at best very doubtful. When they have laid these foundations of scurrility, Io it is no wonder that their superstructure is every way answerable to them. If this shameless practice of the present age endures much longer, praise and reproach will cease to be motives of action in good

15

men.

There are certain periods of time in all governments when this inhuman spirit prevails. Italy was long torn in pieces by the Guelfes and Gibellines, and France by those who were for and against the League: but it is very unhappy for a man to be born 20 in such a stormy and tempestuous season. It is the restless ambition of artful men that thus breaks a people into factions, and draws several well-meaning persons to their interest by a specious concern for their country. How many honest minds are 25 filled with uncharitable and barbarous notions, out of their zeal for the public good? What cruelties and outrages would they not commit against men of an adverse party, whom they would honour and esteem, if instead of considering them as they are 30 represented, they knew them as they are? Thus are persons of the greatest probity seduced into shameful errors and prejudices, and made bad men 6 1711, well-meaning people,

even by that noblest of principles, the love of their country. I cannot here forbear mentioning the famous Spanish proverb, "If there were neither fools nor knaves in the world, all people would be of one mind."

5

For my own part, I could heartily wish that all honest men would enter into an association, for the support of one another against the endeavours of those whom they ought to look upon as their common enemies, whatsoever side they may belong to. 10 Were there such an honest body of neutral forces," we should never see the worst of men in great figures of life, because they are useful to a party; nor the best unregarded, because they are above practising those methods which would be grateful 15 to their faction. We should then single every criminal out of the herd, and hunt him down, however formidable and overgrown he might appear: on the contrary, we should shelter distressed innocence, and defend virtue, however beset with contempt or 20 ridicule, envy or defamation. In short, we should not any longer regard our fellow-subjects as Whigs and Tories, but should make the man of merit our friend, and the villain our enemy.

No. 135. SATURDAY, AUGUST 4. [1711.]

Est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia.—HOR.

I HAVE Somewhere read of an eminent person, 25 who used in his private offices of devotion to give thanks to heaven that he was born a Frenchman:

7

1711, honest neutral body of forces.

8

1711, Whigs or Tories.

for my own part I look upon it as a peculiar blessing that I was born an Englishman. Among many other reasons, I think myself very happy in my country, as the language of it is wonderfully 5 adapted to a man who1 is sparing of his words, and an enemy to loquacity.

As I have frequently reflected on my good fortune in this particular, I shall communicate to the public my speculations upon the English tongue, 10 not doubting but they will be acceptable to all my curious readers.

The English delight in silence more than any other European nation, if the remarks which are made on us by foreigners are true. Our discourse 15 is not kept up in conversation, but falls into more pauses and intervals than in our neighbouring countries; as it is observed, that the matter of our writings is thrown much closer together, and lies in a narrower compass than is usual in the works of for20 eign authors: for, to favour our natural taciturnity, when we are obliged to utter our thoughts, we do it in the shortest way we are able, and give as quick a birth to our conceptions as possible.

This humour shows itself in several remarks that 25 we may make upon the English language. As first of all by its abounding in monosyllables, which gives us an opportunity of delivering our thoughts in few sounds. This indeed takes off from the elegance of our tongue, but at the same time expresses 3o our ideas in the readiest manner, and consequently answers the first design of speech better than the multitude of syllables, which 2 make the words of

3

other languages more tuneable and sonorous. The sounds of our English words are commonly like those of string music, short and transient, which rise and perish upon a single touch; those of other languages are like the notes of wind instruments, 5 sweet and swelling, and lengthened out into variety of modulation.

In the next place we may observe, that where the words are not monosyllables, we often make them so, as much as lies in our power, by our rapidity of 10 pronunciation; as it generally happens in most of our long words which are derived from the Latin, where we contract the length of the syllables that gives them a grave and solemn air in their own language, to make them more proper for dispatch, and 15 more comfortable to the genius of our tongue. This we may find in a multitude of words, as "liberty," conspiracy," "theatre," orator," etc.

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99 66

The same natural aversion to loquacity has of late years made a very considerable alteration in our 20 language, by closing in one syllable the termination of our preterperfect tense, as in the words "drown'd," "walk'd," "arriv'd," for "drowned,"

66

66 walked," arrived," which has very much disfigured the tongue, and turned a tenth part of our 25 smoothest words into so many clusters of consonants. This is the more remarkable, because the want of vowels in our language has been the general complaint of our politest authors, who nevertheless are the men that have made these retrenchments, 30 and consequently very much increased our former scarcity.