No. 601. bation. Perhaps the entire Cure of this ill Quality is no more poffible, than of fome Diftempers that defcend by Inheritance. However, a great deal may be done by a Courfe of Beneficence obftinately perfifted in ; this, if any thing, being a likely way of establishing a moral Habit, which fhall be fomewhat of a Counterpoife to the Force of Mechanifm. Only it muft be remembred, that we do not intermit, upon any Pretence whatfoever, the Cuftom of doing Good, in regard if there be the leaft Ceffation. Nature will watch the Opportunity to return, and in a fhort time to recover the Ground it was fo long in quitting: For there is this Difference between mental Habits, and fuch as have their Foundation in the Body; that these last are in their Nature more forcible and violent, and, to gain upon us, need only not to be opposed; whereas the former must be continually reinforced with fresh Supplies, or they will languish and die away. And this fuggefts the Reafon why good Habits, in general, require longer time for their Settlement than bad; and yet are fooner difplaced; the Reason is, that vicious Habits (as Drunkennefs for Inftance) produce a Change in the Body, which the others not doing must be maintained the fame way they are acquired, by the mere Dint of Industry, Refolution, and Vigilance. ANOTHER Thing which fufpends the Operations of Benevolence, is the Love of the World; proceeding from a falfe Notion Men have taken up, that an abundance of the World is an effential Ingredient into the Happiness of Life. Worldly Things are of fuch a Quality as to leffen upon dividing, fo that the more Partners there are, the less must fall to every Man's private Share. The Confequence of this is, that they Took upon one another with an evil Eye, each imagining all the reft to be embarked in an Intereft, that cannot take Place but to his Prejudice. Hence are thofe eager Competitions for Wealth or Power; hence one Man's Succefs becomes another's Difappointment; and, like Pretenders to the fame Miftrefs, they can feldom have common Charity for their Rivals. Not that they are naturally difpofed to quarrel and fall out, but 'tis 'tis natural for a Man to prefer himself to all others, and to fecure his own Intereft first. If that which Men efteem their Happiness were like the Light, the fame fufficient and unconfined Good, whether Ten Thoufand enjoy the Benefit of it, or but One, we fhould fee Mens Good-will and kind Endeavours, would be as univerfal. Homo qui Erranti comiter monftrat Viam, But, unluckily, Mankind agree in making Choice of Objects, which inevitably engage them in perpetual Differences. Learn therefore, like a wife Man, the true Eftimate of Things. Defire not more of the World than is neceffary to accommodate you in pafling through it; look upon every Thing beyond, not as ufelefs only, but burthenfome. Place not your Quiet in Things which you cannot have without putting others befide them, and thereby making them your Enemies; and which, when attained, will give you more Trouble to keep, than Satisfaction in the Enjoyment. Virtue is a Good of a nobler kind; it grows by Communication, and so little resembles earthly Riches, that the more Hands it is lodged in, the greater is every Man's particular Stock. So, by propagating and mingling their Fires, not only all the Lights of a Branch together caft a more extenfive Brightness, but each fingle Light burns with a stronger Flame. And lastly, take this along with you, that if Wealth be an Inftrument of Pleafure, the greatest Pleasure it can put into your Power, is that of doing Good. 'Tis worth confidering, that the Organs of Senfe act within a narrow Compafs, and the Appetites will foon fay they have enough: Which of the two therefore is the happier Man? He, who confining all his Regard to the Gratification of his own Appetites, is capable but of fhort Fits of Pleasure? Or the Man, who reckoning himself a Sharer in the Satisfactions of others, efpecially thofe which come to them by his Means, enarges the Sphere of his Happiness? H 5 Tax THE laft Enemy to Benevolence I fhall mention is Uneafinefs of any Kind. A guilty, or a discontented Mind, a Mind ruffled by ill Fortune, difconcerted by its own Paffions, fowered by Neglect, or fretting at Difappointments, hath not Leifure to attend to the Neceffity or Reasonableness of a Kindness defired, nor a Tafle for thofe Pleafures which wait on Beneficence, which demand a calm and unpolluted Heart to relish them. The moft miferable of all Beings is the moft envious; as, on the other Hand, the moft communicative is the happieft. And if you are in fearch of the Seat of perfect Love and Friendship, you will not find it till you come to the Region of the Bleffed, where Happiness, like a refreshing Stream flows from Heart to Heart in an endlefs Circulation, and is preferved fweet and untainted by the Motion. 'Tis old Advice, if you have a Favour to request of any one, to obferve the fofteft Times of Addrefs, when the Soul, in a Flufh of good Humour, takes a Pleasure to fhew itfelf pleated. Perfons confcious of their own Integrity, fatisfied with themselves and their Condition, and full of Confidence in a Supreme Being, and the Hope of Immortality, furvey all about them. with a Flow of Good-will. As Trees which like their Soil, they fhoot out in Expreffions of Kindness, and bend beneath their own precious Loád, to the Hand of the Gatherer. Now if the Mind be not thus easy, 'tis an infallible Sign that it is not in its natural State: Place the Mind in its right Pofture, it will immediately difcover its innate Propenfion to Beneficence. Monday, No. 602. Monday, October 4. Facit hoc illos Hyacinthos. Juv. HE following Letter comes from a Gentleman, who, I find, is very diligent in making his Obfervations, which I think too material not to be communicated to the Publick. SIR, I N order to execute the Office of Love Cafuift to Great Britain, with which I take myfelf to be invefted by your Paper of September 8, I fhall make fome further Obfervations upon the two Sexes in ge neral, beginning with that which always ought to have the upper Hand. After having obferved with much Curiofity the Accomplishments which are apt to captivate female Hearts, I find that there is no Perfon fo irrefiflible as one who is a Man of Importance, provided it be in Matters of no Confequence. One who makes himself talked of, tho' it be for the particular Cock of his Hat, or for prating aloud in the Boxes at a Play, is in a fair way of being a Favourite. I have known a young Fellow make his Fortune by knocking down a Conflable; and may venture to fay, tho' it may feem a Paradox, that many a Fair One has died by a Duel in which both the Combatants have furvived. ABOUT three Winters ago I took Notice of a young Lady at the Theatre, who conceived a Paffion for a notorious Rake, that headed a Party of Catcalls; and am credibly informed, that the Emperor of the Mohocks married a rich Widow within three "Weeks after having rendered himfelf formidable in the Cities of London and Weftminfler. Scowring and breaking of Windows having done frequent Execution ་ upon the Sex; but there is no Set of these Male Charmers who make their way more fuccessfully, than ⚫ those who have gained themselves a Name for Intrigue, and have ruined the greateft Number of Reputations. There is a strange Curiofity in the female. World to be acquainted with the dear Man who has been loved by others, and to know what it is that makes him fo agreeable. His Reputation does more than half his Bufinefs. Every one that is ambitious of being a Woman of Fashion, looks out for Opportunities of being. in his Company; fo that to use the old Proverb, When his Name is up he may lye a-bed. I was very fenfible of the great Advantage of being a Man of Importance upon these Occafions on the Day of the King's Entry, when I was feated in a Balcony behind a Clufter of very pretty Country Ladies, who had one of these fhowy Gentlemen in the midst of them. The firft Trick I caught him at was bowing to feveral Perfons of Quality whom he did not know, nay, he had the Impudence to hem at a Blue Garter who had a finer Equipage than ordinary, and feemed a little concerned at the impertinent Huzzas of the Mob, that hindered his Friend from taking Notice of him. There was indeed one who pulled off his Hat to him, and upon the Ladies afking who it was, he told them it was a Foreign Minifter that he had been very merry with the Night before; whereas in Truth, it was the City Common Hunt. He was never at a Lofs when he was asked any Perfon's Name, tho' he feldom knew any one under a Peer. He found Dukes and Earls among the Aldermen, very good-natured Fellows among the Privycounsellors, with two or three agreeable old Rakes. mong the Bishops and Judges. s.a IN fhort, I collected from his whole Difcourse, that he was acquainted with every, Body, and knew no Body. At the fame Time, I am miftaken if he did not that Day make more Advances in the Affections of his Miftrefs, who fat near him, than he could have ⚫ done in half a Year's Courthig, 6 6 COVID |