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The worst Eftate of Man is that in which he lofes the Knowledge and Government of himself: And 'tis faid, amongst other Things upon this Subject, that as Muft or Wort, fermenting in a Veffel, drives up every Thing that is at the Bottom to the Top, fo Wine makes thofe who drink it intemperately blab out the greatest Secrets to another :

Tu fapientium

Curas, et arcanum jocofo,
Confilium retegis Lyao*.

i. e.

The fecret Cares and Counfels of the Wife
Are known, when you to Bacchus facrifice.

Jofephus tells us, that he wormed out a Secret from an Ambassador whom his Enemies had fent to him, by making him drunk. Nevertheless, Auguftus having imparted his moft fecret Affairs in Confidence to Lucius Pifo, who con-, quered Thrace, was never mistaken in him †, no more than Tiberius was in Coffus, to whom he intrusted all his Designs, tho' we know they were fo much given to Wine, that both were often forced to be carried drunk out of the Senate ||.

Hefterno inflatum venas de more Lyco ††.

i. e.

Their Veins, according to Custom, being filled by Yefterday's Debauch.

And the Design to affaffinate Cæfar was as fafely communicated to Cimber, though he was often drunk, as it was to Caffius, who drank nothing but Water: And, upon this, Cimber once faid, merrily, Shall I, who cannot bear Wine, bear with a Tyrant ** ?

German Soldiers,

We see our Germans, when drunk as the though fuch bard Devil, remember their Poft, the Word for Drinkers, not ea- the Day, and their Rank. fily conquered.

Nec

*Horat. lib. iii. Od. 21. v. 14, &c.

+ Senec. Ep. 83.

Id. ibid.

tt Virg. Eclog. 6. v. 15..

** Sen. Ep. 83. The Words in Seneca are, Ego quemquam feram qui vinum ferre non poffum? But he has fpoiled Cimber's Jeft for not having had the Courage to give Cefar the Name of Tyrant, as Montaigne does, 3

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Nec facilis vittoria de madidis et Blæfis, atque mero titubantibus +:

i. e.

Nor is a Victory easily obtain'd

O'er Men fo drunk, they scarce can speak or stand.

I could never have believed there had been in the World fuch profound Drunkenness, even to a Degree Instances and of Suffocation and Death, if I had not read Inconveniencies what follows in Hiftory, viz. That, Attalus of profound Drunkennefs having, to put a flagrant Affront upon him, invited to Supper that Paufanias, who took the fame Occafion afterwards to kill Philip of Macedon, (a King whose excellent Qualities bore Teftimony to the Education which he had received in the House and Company of Epaminondas) he made him drink to fuch a Pitch, that he was fo void of Senfe as to abandon his fine Perfon, like the Body of a common Hedge-whore, to the Mule-keepers and Servants of the meaneft Office in the Houfe. And I have been farther told by a Lady, whom I highly honour and esteem, that, near Bourdeaux, towards Caftres, where he lives, a Country-woman, a Widow of chafte Repute, perceiving in herself the first Symptoms of Pregnancy, faid to her Neighbours, that, if he had a Hufband, fhe fhould think herself with Child: But the Caufe of this Sufpicion increafing more and more every Day, so that at length there was a manifest Proof of it, the poor Woman was fain to have it published in her Parish Church, that whoever was conscious he had done the Deed, and would freely confefs it, fhe promised to forgive him, and not only fo, but, if he liked the Motion, to marry him. Upon this a young Fellow that used to do Husbandry-work for her in the Field, encouraged by this Publication, declared he found her, upon a certain Holiday, when fhe had been too free with her Bottle, fo faft afleep on the Hearth, by her Fire-fide, and in so indecent a Pofture, that he made Use of her Body without waking her; and they live together Man and Wife.

*

'Tis

Montaigne, in order to illuftrate this remarkable Fact, has made Ufe of thefe Lines, which, however, have a different Meaning in Juvenal.

† Juv. Sat. xv. v. 47, 48.

'Tis certain, that the ancient Writers have Drunkenness not much declaimed not declaimed very much againft this Vice; against by the nay, the Writings of many Philofophers speak Ancients. of it very tenderly; and even among the Stoics there are some of the Sect who advise People fometimes to give themselves the Liberty of a hearty Carouse to chear up the Soul:

Hoc quoque virtutum quondam certamine magnum
Socratem palmam promeruiffe ferunt *.

i. e..

And Socrates, they fay, in Days of Yore,

From toping Blades the Palm of Drinking bore.

That Cenfor and Corrector of others, Cato, lies under the Reproach of having been alfo a hard Drinker.

Narratur et prifci Catonis

Sæpe mero caluiffe virtus +..

And 'tis faid of old Cato, whofe Virtue did fhine,
That he often did warm it with generous Wine.

Cyrus, that King of fuch Renown, amongst other com mendable Qualities for which he claimed a Preference before his Brother Artaxerxes, urged this Excellency, that he could drink a great deal more than his Brother ||. And in Nations the best regulated, and the most civilised, this Trial of Skill in Drinking was very much in Use. I have heard Sylvius, an eminent Physician of Paris, fay, that, lest the digeftive Faculties of the Stomach fhould grow weak, 'tis good, once a Month, to invigorate them by this Excefs, and to ftimulate them, that they may not be benumbed: And they write, that the Perfians ufed to confult about their most important Affairs after being well warmed with Wine.

My Taste and Conftitution are greater Enemies to this Drunkenness a Vice than my Reafon; for, befides that I eaVice not fo bad fily fubmit my Belief to the Opinions of the as fome others. Ancients, I think it, indeed, an unmanly and a stupid

* Corn. Gall. Eleg. 1. v. 47. + Horat. lib. iii. Od. 21. v. 11, 12.. Plutarch, in the Life of Artaxerxes, C. 2.

a ftupid Vice, but not fo wicked and mischievous as the other Vices, which do almost directly tend to the Bane of public Society. And, though we cannot please ourselves with the Thought that it is of no Expence to us, yet I believe that this Vice fits lighter upon the Conscience than others; befides that, it is of no difficult Preparation, nor hard to be found, a Confideration not to be defpifed. A Man who was advanced both in Dignity and Age, among three principal Advantages which he Delicacy in faid remained to him in Life, reckoned this Wine to be a for one; and where would a Man wifh to find voided, and it more justly than amongst the natural Ad- why. vantages? But he did not take it in a right Light; for Delicacy and a Curiofity in the Choice of Wines is to be avoided. If nothing will please you but Drinking of the richest Wine, you oblige yourself to the Mortification of drinking that which is not fo; your Taste must be more indifferent and free, fo nice a Palate will never qualify you for a good Toper. The Germans drink almost of all Wines alike with Pleafure: Their End is not fo much to tafte as to fwallow; and, indeed, they have their Pleasure cheaper than others, fince they have their Wine in much more Plenty, and nearer at Hand.

The Ancients Spent whole Nights in Drinking. Whether we

are ever the

better for be ing more warg in that Refpect.

In the next Place, to drink as the French do, at two Meals only, and then with Moderation, is to be too fparing of the Favours of the God of Wine; there is more Time and Conftancy required than that comes to. The Ancients spent whole Nights at this Exercise, and often all the next Day; and therefore their fet Meals were, to be fure, more plentiful, and more fubftantial. I have seen a great Lord, in my Time, a Perfonage in great Employments, and very fuccessful, who, without fetting himself to it, but only in the common Course of his Meals, drank not much less than five Bottles of Wine at a Time, and, at his going away, appeared but too fober and wary, to our Coft. The Pleafure which we chufe to prefer, for our Life, ought to take up more of its Time: We should, like Shop-boys and Working-men, refufe no Opportunity of Drinking, but always wifh for it.

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It looks as if, the longer we live, the lefs we drink; and that the Breakfasts, Repafts, Caroufals, and Collations I used to fee at our Houses, when I was a Boy, were more frequent and common then than now. Are we a Jot the farther advanced towards an Amendment? Truly no. But, perhaps, we are more addicted to the Sports of Venus than our Anceftors were: They are two Exercises that thwart and hinder one another in their Vigour; as Intemperance has taken off the Edge of our Appetite on the one Hand, Sobriety ferves, on the other, to render us more fpruce and more keen for the Exercife of Love.

What strange Stories have I heard my Father tell of the The Defcrip- Chastity of the Age wherein he lived! He was tion and Cha- well qualified to fpeak of the Subject, being racter of Mon- formed, both by Art and Nature, for an Actaigne's Faquaintance with the Ladies. He spoke little, ther. but well, ever mixing his Language with fome Ornament borrowed from Authors moft in Ufe, efpecially the Spanish, and, amongst the Spanish, from the Book intitled Marcus Aurelius, which was familiar to him. In his Behaviour he was humble and very modeft, with an engaging Gravity, and was particularly nice as to Neatness and Decency, both in his Perfon and Cloaths, whether on Foot or on Horfeback. He was wonderfully punctual in keeping his Word, and both his Confcience and Religion, in general, inclined rather to Superftition than to the other Extreme. For a little Man, he was vigorous, straight, and well-proportioned; had a pleafing Countenance, inclining to a brown Complexion, and was adroit and perfect in all the noble Exercifes. I have even feen Canes filled with Lead, with which, 'tis faid, he exercifed his Arms, in order to fit himself for throwing the Bar,

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Mery Cafaubon, who mentions this Book, in a fhort Advertisement prefixed to his English Tranflation of the genuine Work of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, tells us this Book was writ originally in Spanish, and tranflated into Italian, French, English, &c. The Author, he adds, would fain have his • Work pafs for a faithful Tranflation of the Treatife of Marcus Aurelius, but there is nothing, in the whole Book, which fhews that the learned Spaniard, who compofed it, had feen the Treatife of this wife Emperor.' This Spaniard is Guevara, who does not deserve the Title of Learned, which is here given him by Mery Cafaubon. The Reader may fee the Character of his Wit and Works, in Bayle's Dictionary, under the Title of Guevara.

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