fay, wears the Picture of his Mind in his Countenance; and one Man's Eyes are Spectacles to his who looks at him to read his Heart. But tho' that Way of raising an Opinion of those we behold in Publick is very fallacious, certain it is, that thofe, who by their Words and Actions take as much upon themselves, as they can but barely demand in the ftrict Scrutiny of their Deferts, will find their Account leffen every Day. A modeft Man preferves his Character, as a frugal Man does his Fortune; if either of them live to the Height of either, one will find Loffes,' the other Errors, which he has not Stock by him to make up. It were therefore a juft Rule, to keep your Defires, your Words and Actions, within the Regard you obferve your Friends have for you; and never, if it were in a Man's Power, to take as much as he poffibly might either in Preferment or Reputation. My Walks have lately been among the merchantile Part of the World; and one gets Phrafes naturally from those with whom one converses: I fay then, he that in his Air, his Treatment of others, or an habitual Arrogance to himself, gives himself Credit for the leaft Article of more Wit, Wisdom, Goodness, or Valour than he can poffibly produce if he is called upon, will find the World break in upon him, and confider him as one who has cheated them of all the Efteem they had before allowed him. This brings Commiffion of Bankrupcy upon him; and he that might have gone on to his Life's End in a profperous Way, by aiming at more than he fhould, is no longer Proprietor of what he really had before, but his Pretenfions fare as all Things do which are torn instead of being divided. THERE is no one living would deny Cinna the Applaufe of an agreeable and facetious Wit; or could poffibly pretend that there is not fomething inimitably unforced and diverting in his Manner of delivering all his Sentiments in Converfation, if he were able to conceal the ftrong Defire of Applaufe which he betrays in every Syllable he utters. But they who converfe with him, fee that all the Civilities they could do to him, or the kind Things they could fay to him, would fall fhort of what he expects; and therefore instead of fhewing hm VOL. III. H he the Efteem they have for his Merit, their Reflections turn only upon that they obferve he has of it himself. IF you go among the Women, and behold Gloriana trip into a Room with that theatrical Oftentation of her Charms, Mirtilla with that foft Regularity in her Motion, Chloe with fuch an indifferent Familiarity, Corinna with fuch a fond Approach, and Roxana with fuch a Demand of Refpect in the great Gravity of her Entrance; you find all the Sex who understand themselves and act naturally, wait only for their Abfence, to tell you that all these Ladies would impofe themselves upon you; and each of them carry in their Behaviour a Consciousness of so much more than they fhould pretend to, that they lose what would otherwise be given them. I remember the laft Time I faw Mackbeth, I was wonderfully taken with the Skill of the Poet, în making the Murderer form Fears to himself from the Moderation of the Prince whofe Life he was going to take away. He fays of the King, He bore his Faculties fo meekly; and juftly inferred from thence, That all divine and humane Power would join to avenge his Death, who had made fuch an abftinent Ufe of Dominion. All that is in a Man's Power to do to advance his own Pomp and Glory, and forbears, is fo much laid up against the Day of Diftrefs; and Pity will always be his Portion in Adverfity, who acted with Gentleness in Profperity. THE great Officer who foregoes the Advantages he might take to himself, and renounces all prudential Regards to his own Perfon in Danger, has fo far the Merit of a Volunteer; and all his Honours and Glories are unenvied, for fharing the common Fate with the fame Frankness as they do who have no fuch endearing Circumstances to part with. But if there were no such Confiderations as the good Effect which Self-Denial has upon the Senfe of other Men towards us, it is of all Qualities the most defirable for the agreeable Disposition in which it places our own Minds. I cannot tell what better to fay of it, than that it is the very Contrary of Ambition; and that Modefty allays all thofe Paffions and Inquietudes to which that Vice expofes us. He that is moderate in his Wifhes from Reason and Choice, and not not refigned from Sournefs, Diftafte, or Difappointment, doubles all the Pleasures of his Life. The Air, the Seafon, a Sun-fhiny Day, or a fair Profpect, are Inftances of Happiness, and that which he enjoys in common with all the World, (by his Exemption from the Enchantments by which all the World are bewitched) are to him uncommon Benefits and new Acquifitions. Health is not eaten up with Care, nor Pleasure interrupted by En vy. It is not to him of any Confequence what this Man is famed for, or for what the other is preferred. He knows there is in such a Place an uninterrupted Walk; he can meet in fuch a Company an agreeable Conversation. He has no Emulation, he is no Man's Rival, but every Man's Well-wisher; can look at a profperous Man,. with a Pleasure in reflecting that he hopes he is as happy as himfelf; and has his Mind and his Fortune (as far as Prudence will allow) open to the Unhappy and to the Stranger. He LUCCEIUS has Learning, Wit, Humour, Eloquence, but no ambitious Profpects to purfue with thefe Advan tages; therefore to the ordinary World he is perhaps thought to want Spirit, but known among his Friends to have a Mind of the moft confummate Greatness. wants no Man's Admiration, is in no Need of Pomp. His Cloaths please him if they are fashionable and warm; his Companions are agreeable if they are civiland well-natured. There is with him no Occafion for Superfluity at Meals, for Jollity in Company, in a word, for any thing extraordinary to adminifter Delight to him. Want of Prejudice and Command of Appetite are the Companions which make his Journey of Life fo eafy, that he in all Places meets with more Wit, more good Cheer, and more good Humour than is neceffary to make him enjoy himself with Pleasure and Satisfaction. N° 207. Saturday, October 27. Omnibus in terris, que funt à Gadibus ufque Juv. N my laft Saturday's Paper I laid down fome Thoughts upon Devotion in general, and fhall here fhew what were the Notions of the moft refined Heathens on this Subject, as they are reprefented in Plato's Dialogue upon Prayer, entitled, Alcibiades the Second, which doubtless gave Occafion to Juvenal's tenth Satyr, and to the fecond Satyr of Perfius; as the laft of thefe Authors has almost tranfcribed the preceding Dialogue, entitled, Alcibiades the First, in his Fourth Satyr. THE Speakers in this Dialogue upon Prayer, are Soerates and Alcibiades; and the Subftance of it (when drawn together out of the Intricacies and Digreffions) as follows. SOCRATES meeting his Pupil Alcibiades, as he was going to his Devotions, and obferving his Eyes to be 'fixed upon the Earth with great Serioufnefs and Attention, tells him, that he had Reason to be thoughtful on that Occafion, fince it was poffible for a Man to bring down Evils upon himself by his own Prayers, and that those things which the Gods fend him in Anfwer to his Petitions might turn to his Deftruction: This, fays he, may not only happen when a Man prays for what he knows is mifchievous in its own Nature, as Oedipus implored the Gods to fow Diffention between his Sons; but when he prays for what he believes would be for his Good, and against what he believes would be to his Detriment. This the Philofopher fhews muft neceffarily happen among us, fince most Men are blinded with Igno Ignorance, Prejudice, or P. Tion, which hinder them from feeing fuch Things as a really beneficial to them. For an Inftance, he asks Alcibia Whether he would not be thoroughly pleafed if that God to whom he was going to addrefs himself, fhould promise to make him the Sovereign of the whole Earth? Alcibiades anfwers, That he fhould doubtless look upon fuch a Promife as the greatest Favour that could be bestowed upon him. Socrates then asks him, If after receiving this great Favour he would be content to lofe his Life? or if he would receive it though he was fure he fhould make an ill Use of it? To both which Questions Alcibiades anfwers in the Negative. Socrates then fhews him,. from the Examples of others, how thefe might very probably be the Effects of fuch a Bleffing. He then adds, That other reputed Pieces of good Fortune, as that of having a Son, or procuring the highest Post in a Government, are fubject to the like fatal Confequences; which nevertheless, fays he, Men ardently defire, and would not fail to pray for, if they thought their Prayers might be effectual for the obtaining of them. That all the HAVING established this great Point, moft apparent Bleffings in this Life are obnoxious to fuch dreadful Confequences, and that no Man knows what in its Events would prove to him a Bleffing or a Curfe, he teaches Alcibiades after what manner he ought to pray. IN the firft Place, he recommends to him, as the Model of his Devotion, a fhort Prayer, which a Greek Poet compofed for the Ufe of his Friends, in the following Words; O Jupiter, give us thofe Things which are good for us, whether they are fuch Things as we pray for, or fuch Things as we do not pray for; and remove from us those Things which are hurtful, though they are fuch Things as we pray for. ÍŇ the fecond Place, that his Difciple may ask fuch Things as are expedient for him, he fhews him, that it is abfolutely neceffary to apply himself to the Study of true Wisdom, and to the Knowledge of that which |