Courage to be brow-beaten or elbow'd out of his honeft Ambition. I have faid often, Modesty must be an A&t of the Will, and yet it always implies Self Denial: For if a Man has an ardent Defire to do what is laudable for him to perform, and, from an unmanly Bafhfulness, fhrinks away, and lets his Merit languish in Silence, he ought not to be angry at the World that a more unskilful Actor fucceeds in his Part, because he has not Confidence to come upon the Stage himself. The Generofity my Correfpondent mentions of Pliny, cannot be enough applauded. To cherish the Dawn of Merit, and haften its Maturity, was a Work worthv a noble Roman and a liberal Scholar. That Concern which is defcribed in the Letter, is to all the World the greatest Charm imaginable: but then the modeft Man must proceed, and fhew a latent Refolution in himself; for the Admiration of his Modefty arifes from the Manifeftation of his Merit. I must confefs we live in an Age wherein a few empty Blufterers carry away the Praife of Speaking, while aCrowd of Fellows over-flock'd with Knowledge are run down by them: I fay over-stock'd, because they certainly are fo as to their Service of Mankind,if from their very Store they raise to themfelves Ideas of Refpect, and Greatness of the Occafion, and I know not what, to difable themfelves from explaining their Thoughts. I muft confefs, when I have feen Charles Frankair rife up with a commanding Mien, and Torrent of handfome Words, talk a Mile off the Purpofe, and drive down twenty bashful Boobies of ten times his Senfe, who at the fame time were envying his Impudence and defpifing hisUnderstanding, it has been matter of great Mirth to me; but it foon ended in a fecret Lamentation, that the Fountains of every thing praife-worthy in thefe Realms, the Univerfities, fhould be fo muddled with a falfe Sense of this Virtue, as to produce Men capable of being fo abused. I will be bold to fay, that it is a ridiculous Education which does not qualify aMan to make his beft Appearance before the greatest Man and the finest Woman to whom he can address himself. Were this judiciously corrected in the Nurferies of Learning, pert Coxcombs would know their Diftance: But we must bear with this falfe Modefty in our young Nobility and Gentry, till they ceafe at Oxford and Cambridge to grow dumb in the Study of Eloquence. T VOL. VII. C

Tuesday,

No. 485. Tuesday, September 16.

Nihil tam firmum eft, cui periculum non fit, etiam ab InQuint. Curt.

valido.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

M

Y Lord Clarendon has obferved, That few Men have done more harm than those who have been thought to be able to do leaft; and there cannot be a greater Error, than to believe a Man whom we fee qualified with too mean Parts to do good, to be therefore incapable of doing hurt. There is a Supply of Malice, of • Pride, of Industry, and even of Folly, in the Weakeft, when he fets his Heart upon it, that makes a ftrange · Progrefs in Mifchief. What may feem to the Reader the greatest Paradox in the Reflection of the Hiftorian, ⚫ is, I fuppofe, that Folly, which is generally thought incapable of contriving or executing any Defign, fhould be fo formidable to thofe whom it exerts itself to mo⚫ left. But this will appear very plain, if we remember that Solomon fays, It is as a Sport to a Fool to do mischief; and that he might the more emphatically exprefs the ⚫ calamitous Circumftances of him who falls under the Difpleasure of this wanton Perfon, the fame Author adds further, That a Stone is heavy, and the Sand weighty but a Fool's Wrath is heavier than them both. It is impoffible to fupprefs my own Illuftration upon this Matter, which is, That as the Man of Sagacity beftirs himself to diftrefs his Enemy by Methods probable and reducible to Reafon, fo the fame Reason ⚫ will fortify his Enemy to elude the fe his regular Efforts; but your Fool projects, acts and concludes with fuch notable Inconfiftence, that no regular Courfe of Thought can evade or counterplot his prodigious Machinations. My Frontifpiece, I believe, may be extended to imply, That feveral of our Misfortunes arife from Things, as well as Perfons, that feem of very little ⚫ confequence.

confequence. Into what tragical Extravagancies does Shakespear hurry Othello upon the lofs of an Handkerchief only ? and what Barbarities does Defdemona fuffer ⚫ from a flight Inadvertency in regard to this fatal Trifle ? • If the Schemes of all enterprizing Spirits were to be carefully examined, fome intervening Accident, not confide⚫rable enough to occafion any Debate upon, or give 'em any apprehenfion of ill Confequence from it, will be "found to be the occafion of their ill Succefs, rather than any Error in Points of Moment and Difficulty, which na⚫turally engag'd their matureft Deliberations. If you go to the Levee of any great Man, you will obferve him ⚫ exceeding gracious to feveral very infignificant Fellows; and this upon this Maxim, That the Neglect of any • Person must arife from the mean Opinion you have of his Capacity to do you any Service or Prejudice; and that this calling his fufficiency in question, must give ' him Inclination, and where this is, there never wants Strength or Opportunity to anoy you. There is no body fo weak of Invention, that can't aggravate or make ⚫ fome little Stories to vilify his Enemy; and there are very few but have good Inclinations to hear 'em, and ''tis infinite Pleasure to the Majority of Mankind to le'vel a Perfon fuperior to his Neighbours. Befides, in all matters of Controversy that Party which has the great'eft Abilities labours under this Prejudice, that he will ' certainly be fuppofed, upon account of his Abilities; to have done an Injury, when perhaps he has received 6 one. It would be tedious to enumerate the Strokes that 'Nations and particular Friends have suffer'd from • Perfons very contemptible.

I THINK Henry IV of France, fo formidable to his Neighbours, could no more be fecur'd against the re⚫ folute Villany of Ravillac, thanVilliers, Duke of Buckingham, could be against that of Felton. And there is no incens'd Perfon fo deftitute, but can provide himself ' with a Knife or a Pistol, if he finds ftomach to apply 'them. That Things and Perfons of no moment should give fuch powerful Revolutions to the progrefs of those ' of the greatest, seems a Providential Difpofition to baf'fle and abate the Pride of human Sufficiency; as alfo to engage the Humanity and Benevolence of Superiors to

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'all below 'em, by letting them into this Secret, that the Stronger depends upon the Weaker.

Dear Sir,

Iam, Sir, your very humble Servant.

Temple, Paper-Buildings. I RECEIVED ALetter from you fome time ago, which I should have anfwered fooner, had you informed me in yours to what Part of this Island I might have directed my Impertinence; but having been let into the Knowledge of that Matter, this handsom Excufe is no longer ferviceable. My Neighbour Prettyman fhall be the Subject of this Letter; who falling in with the SPECTATOR'S Doctrine concerning the Month of May, began from that Seafon to dedicate himself to the • Service of the Fair in the following manner. I observ'd at the begining of the Month he bought him a new Night-gown, either fide to be worn outwards, both equally gorgeous and attractive; but till the end of the • Month I did not enter fo fully into the knowledge of his Contrivance, as the ufe of that Garment has fince fuggefted to me. Now you must know that all new Clothes raife and warm the Bearer's Imagination into <a Conceit of his being a much finer Gentleman than he was before, banishing all Sobriety and Reflection, and giving him up toGallantry and Amour. Inflam'd there⚫fore with this way of thinking, and full of the Spirit of the Month of May, did this merciless Youth refolve upon the Bufinefs of Captivating. At first he confin'd himfelf to his Room only, now and then appearing at ⚫ his Window in his Night-gown, and practifing that eafy Pofture which expreffes the very Top and Dignity of Languishment. It was pleasant to fee him diverfify his Loveliness, fometimes obliging the Paffengers only with a Side-Face, with a Book in his Hand; fometimes being fo generous as to expofe the whole in the the fulness of its Beauty; at other times, by a judicious throwing back his Perriwig, he would throw in his Ears. You know he is that fort of Perfon which the • Mob call a handfome jolly Man; which Appearance can't mifs of Captives in this part of the Town. Being emboldened by daily Succefs, he leaves his Room with Refolution to extend his Conquests; and I have ap ⚫ prehended

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prehended him in his Night-gown fmiting in all parts of this Neighbourhood.

THIS I, being of an amorous Complexion, faw with Indignation, and had Thoughts of purchafing a • Wig in these Parts, into which, being at a greater Dis ftance from the Earth, I might have thrown a very liberal Mixture of white Horfe-hair, which would make a fairer, and confequently a handfomer Appearance, while my Situation would fecure me against any Dif ⚫coveries. But the Paffion to the handsome Gentleman feems to be fo fixed to that Part of the Building, that it may be extremely difficult to divert it to mine; fo that I am refolved to ftand boldly to the Complexion of my own Eye-brow, and prepare me an immense black Wig of the fame Sort of Structure with that of my Rival. Now, tho' by this I fhall not, perhaps, leffen the Number of the Admirers of his Complexion, I shall have a fair Chance to divide the Paffengers by the irresistible Force of mine.

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I expect fudden Dispatches from you, with Advice of the Family you are in now, how to deport myself upon this fo delicate a Conjuncture; with fome comfortable Refolutions in favour of the handsome black ⚫ Man against the handfome fair one.

I am, SIR,

Your moft Humble Servant,

C

N. B. He who writ this, is a black Man two Pair f Stairs; the Gentleman of whom he writes, is fair, and one Pair of Stairs.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I

Only fay, that it is impoffible for me to say how much I am

Yours,

Robin Shorter.

P. S. I fhall think it a little hard, if you do not ⚫ take as much notice of this Epistle, as you have of the ingenious Mr. Short's. I am not afraid to let the World fee which is the Deeper Man of the two.

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ADVER