T.
Footnote 1:
No motto in the first issue.
return to footnote mark
ContentsContents, p.7
Qui mores hominun multorum vidit?Hor.
When I consider this great City in its several Quarters and Divisions, I look upon it as an Aggregate of various Nations distinguished from each other by their respective Customs, Manners and Interests. The Courts of two Countries do not so much differ from one another, as the Court and City in their peculiar Ways of Life and Conversation. In short, the Inhabitants of
St. James's
, notwithstanding they live under the same Laws, and speak the same Language, are a distinct People from those of
Cheapside
, who are likewise removed from those of the
Temple
on the one side, and those of
Smithfield
on the other, by several Climates and Degrees in their way of Thinking and Conversing together.
For this Reason, when any publick Affair is upon the Anvil, I love to hear the Reflections that arise upon it in the several Districts and Parishes of
London
and
Westminster
, and to ramble up and down a whole Day together, in order to make my self acquainted with the Opinions of my Ingenious Countrymen. By this means I know the Faces of all the principal Politicians within the Bills of Mortality; and as every Coffee-house has some particular Statesman belonging to it, who is the Mouth of the Street where he lives, I always take care to place my self near him, in order to know his Judgment on the present Posture of Affairs. The last Progress that I made with this Intention, was about three Months ago, when we had a current Report of the King of
France's
Death. As I foresaw this would produce a new Face of things in
Europe
, and many curious Speculations in our
British
Coffee-houses, I was very desirous to learn the Thoughts of our most eminent Politicians on that Occasion.
That I might begin as near the Fountain Head as possible, I first of all called in at
St James's,
where I found the whole outward Room in a Buzz of Politics. The Speculations were but very indifferent towards the Door, but grew finer as you advanced to the upper end of the Room, and were so very much improved by a Knot of Theorists, who sat in the inner Room, within the Steams of the Coffee-Pot, that I there heard the whole
Spanish
Monarchy disposed of, and all the Line of
Bourbon
provided for in less than a Quarter of an Hour.
I afterwards called in at
Giles's
, where I saw a Board of
French
Gentlemen sitting upon the Life and Death of their
Grand Monarque
. Those among them who had espoused the
Whig
Interest, very positively affirmed, that he departed this Life about a Week since, and therefore proceeded without any further Delay to the Release of their Friends on the
Gallies
, and to their own Re-establishment; but finding they could not agree among themselves, I proceeded on my intended Progress.
Upon my Arrival at
Jenny Man's
, I saw an alerte young Fellow that cocked his Hat upon a Friend of his who entered just at the same time with my self, and accosted him after the following Manner.
Well, Jack, the old Prig is dead at last. Sharp's the Word. Now or never, Boy. Up to the Walls of Paris directly.
With several other deep Reflections of the same Nature.
I met with very little Variation in the Politics between
Charing-Cross
and
Covent-Garden
. And upon my going into
Wills
I found their Discourse was gone off from the Death of the French King to that of
Monsieur Boileau, Racine, Corneile,
and several other Poets, whom they regretted on this Occasion, as Persons who would have obliged the World with very noble Elegies on the Death of so great a Prince, and so eminent a Patron of Learning.
At a Coffee-house near the
Temple
, I found a couple of young Gentlemen engaged very smartly in a Dispute on the Succession to the
Spanish
Monarchy. One of them seemed to have been retained as Advocate for the
Duke of Anjou
, the other for his
Imperial Majesty
. They were both for regulating the Title to that Kingdom by the Statute Laws of England; but finding them going out of my Depth, I passed forward to
Paul's Church-Yard,
where I listen'd with great Attention to a learned Man, who gave the Company an Account of the deplorable State of
France
during the Minority of the deceased King. I then turned on my right Hand into
Fish-street
, where the chief Politician of that Quarter, upon hearing the News, (after having taken a Pipe of Tobacco, and ruminated for some time) If, says he, the King of
France
is certainly dead, we shall have Plenty of Mackerell this Season; our Fishery will not be disturbed by Privateers, as it has been for these ten Years past. He afterwards considered how the Death of this great Man would affect our Pilchards, and by several other Remarks infused a general Joy into his whole Audience.
I afterwards entered a By Coffee-house that stood at the upper end of a narrow Lane, where I met with a Nonjuror, engaged very warmly with a Laceman who was the great Support of a neighbouring Conventicle. The Matter in Debate was, whether the late
French
King was most like
Augustus Cæsar,
or
Nero
. The Controversie was carried on with great Heat on both Sides, and as each of them looked upon me very frequently during the Course of their Debate, I was under some Apprehension that they would appeal to me, and therefore laid down my Penny at the Bar, and made the best of my way to
Cheapside
.
I here gazed upon the Signs for some time before I found one to my Purpose. The first Object I met in the Coffeeroom was a Person who expressed a great Grief for the Death of the
French
King; but upon his explaining himself, I found his Sorrow did not arise from the Loss of the Monarch, but for his having sold out of the Bank about three Days before he heard the News of it: Upon which a Haberdasher, who was the Oracle of the Coffee-house, and had his Circle of Admirers about him, called several to witness that he had declared his Opinion above a Week before, that the
French
King was certainly dead; to which he added, that considering the late Advices we had received from France, it was impossible that it could be otherwise. As he was laying these together, and dictating to his Hearers with great Authority, there came in a Gentleman from
Garraway's
, who told us that there were several Letters from
France
just come in, with Advice that the King was in good Health, and was gone out a Hunting the very Morning the Post came away: Upon which the Haberdasher stole off his Hat that hung upon a wooden Pegg by him, and retired to his Shop with great Confusion.
This
Intelligence put a Stop to my Travels, which I had prosecuted with
much
1
Satisfaction; not being a little pleased to hear so many different Opinions upon so great an Event, and to observe how naturally upon such a Piece of News every one is apt to consider it with a Regard to his own particular Interest and Advantage.
L.
Footnote 1:
great
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ContentsContents, p.7
—Non omnia possumus omnes.Virg.1
Nature does nothing in vain:
the Creator of the Universe
has appointed every thing to a certain Use and Purpose, and determin'd it to a settled Course and Sphere of Action, from which, if it in the least deviates, it becomes unfit to answer those Ends for which it was designed. In like manner it is in the Dispositions of Society, the civil Œconomy is formed in a Chain as well as the natural; and in either Case the Breach but of one Link puts the Whole into some Disorder. It is, I think, pretty plain, that most of the Absurdity and Ridicule we meet with in the World, is generally owing to the impertinent Affectation of excelling in Characters Men are not fit for, and for which Nature never designed them.
Every Man has one or more Qualities which may make him useful both to himself and others: Nature never fails of pointing them out, and while the Infant continues under her Guardianship, she brings him on in this Way; and then offers her self for a Guide in what remains of the Journey; if he proceeds in that Course, he can hardly miscarry: Nature makes good her Engagements; for as she never promises what she is not able to perform, so she never fails of performing what she promises. But the Misfortune is, Men despise what they may be Masters of, and affect what they are not fit for; they reckon themselves already possessed of what their Genius inclined them to, and so bend all their Ambition to excel in what is out of their Reach: Thus they destroy the Use of their natural Talents, in the same manner as covetous Men do their Quiet and Repose; they can enjoy no Satisfaction in what they have, because of the absurd Inclination they are possessed with for what they have not.
Cleanthes
had good Sense, a great Memory, and a Constitution capable of the closest Application: In a Word, there was no Profession in which
Cleanthes
might not have made a very good Figure; but this won't satisfie him, he takes up an unaccountable Fondness for the Character of a fine Gentleman; all his Thoughts are bent upon this: instead of attending a Dissection, frequenting the Courts of Justice, or studying the Fathers,
Cleanthes
reads Plays, dances, dresses, and spends his Time in drawing-rooms; instead of being a good Lawyer, Divine, or Physician,
Cleanthes
is a downright Coxcomb, and will remain to all that knew him a contemptible Example of Talents misapplied. It is to this Affectation the World owes its whole Race of Coxcombs: Nature in her whole Drama never drew such a Part: she has sometimes made a Fool, but a Coxcomb is always of a Man's own making, by applying his Talents otherwise than Nature designed, who ever bears an high Resentment for being put out of her Course, and never fails of taking her Revenge on those that do so. Opposing her Tendency in the Application of a Man's Parts, has the same Success as declining from her Course in the Production of Vegetables; by the Assistance of Art and an hot Bed, we may possibly extort an unwilling Plant, or an untimely Sallad; but how weak, how tasteless and insipid? Just as insipid as the Poetry of
Valerio
:
Valerio
had an universal Character, was genteel, had Learning, thought justly, spoke correctly; 'twas believed there was nothing in which
Valerio
did not excel; and 'twas so far true, that there was but one;
Valerio
had no Genius for Poetry, yet he's resolved to be a Poet; he writes Verses, and takes great Pains to convince the Town, that
Valerio
is not that extraordinary Person he was taken for.
If Men would be content to graft upon Nature, and assist her Operations, what mighty Effects might we expect?
Tully
would not stand so much alone in Oratory,
Virgil
in Poetry, or
Cæsar
in War. To build upon Nature, is laying the Foundation upon a Rock; every thing disposes its self into Order as it were of Course, and the whole Work is half done as soon as undertaken.
Cicero's
Genius inclined him to Oratory,
Virgil's
to follow the Train of the Muses; they piously obeyed the Admonition, and were rewarded. Had
Virgil
attended the Bar, his modest and ingenious Virtue would surely have made but a very indifferent Figure; and
Tully's
declamatory Inclination would have been as useless in Poetry. Nature, if left to her self, leads us on in the best Course, but will do nothing by Compulsion and Constraint; and if we are not satisfied to go her Way, we are always the greatest Sufferers by it.
Wherever Nature designs a Production, she always disposes Seeds proper for it, which are as absolutely necessary to the Formation of any moral or intellectual Excellence, as they are to the Being and Growth of Plants; and I know not by what Fate and Folly it is, that Men are taught not to reckon him equally absurd that will write Verses in Spite of Nature, with that Gardener that should undertake to raise a Jonquil or Tulip without the Help of their respective Seeds.
As there is no Good or bad Quality that does not affect both Sexes, so it is not to be imagined but the fair Sex must have suffered by an Affectation of this Nature, at least as much as the other: The ill Effect of it is in none so conspicuous as in the two opposite Characters of
Cælia
and
Iras
;
Cælia
has all the Charms of Person, together with an abundant Sweetness of Nature, but wants Wit, and has a very ill Voice;
Iras
is ugly and ungenteel, but has Wit and good Sense: If
Cælia
would be silent, her Beholders would adore her; if
Iras
would talk, her Hearers would admire her; but
Cælia's
Tongue runs incessantly, while
Iras
gives her self silent Airs and soft Languors; so that 'tis difficult to persuade one's self that
Cælia
has Beauty and
Iras
Wit: Each neglects her own Excellence, and is ambitious of the other's Character;
Iras
would be thought to have as much Beauty as
Cælia
, and
Cælia
as much Wit as
Iras
.
The great Misfortune of this Affectation is, that Men not only lose a good Quality, but also contract a bad one: They not only are unfit for what they were designed, but they assign themselves to what they are not fit for; and instead of making a very good Figure one Way, make a very ridiculous one another. If
Semanthe
would have been satisfied with her natural Complexion, she might still have been celebrated by the Name of
the Olive Beauty
; but
Semanthe
has taken up an Affectation to White and Red, and is now distinguished by the Character of
the Lady that paints so well.
In a word, could the World be reformed to the Obedience of that famed Dictate,
Follow Nature
, which the Oracle of Delphos pronounced to Cicero when he consulted what Course of Studies he should pursue, we should see almost every Man as eminent in his proper Sphere as
Tully
was in his, and should in a very short time find Impertinence and Affectation banished from among the Women, and Coxcombs and false Characters from among the Men. For my Part, I could never consider this preposterous Repugnancy to Nature any otherwise, than not only as the greatest Folly, but also one of the most heinous Crimes, since it is
a direct Opposition to the Disposition of Providence
, and (as
Tully
expresses it) like the Sin of the Giants,
an actual Rebellion against Heaven.
Z.
Footnote 1:
Continuo has leges æternaque fœdera certisImposuit natura locis.
Virg.
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ContentsContents, p.7
Greek: Oi dè panaemérioi molpàe theòn hiláskonto, Kalòn aeídontes paiáeona kouroi Achaiôn, Mélpontes Ekáergon. Ho dè phréna térpet akoúôn. Hom.
I am very sorry to find, by the Opera Bills for this Day, that we are likely to lose the greatest Performer in Dramatick Musick that is now living, or that perhaps ever appeared upon a Stage. I
need
not acquaint my Reader, that I am speaking of
Signior Nicolini.
1
The Town is highly obliged to that Excellent Artist, for having shewn us the
Italian
Musick in its Perfection, as well as for that generous Approbation he lately gave to an Opera of our own Country, in which the Composer endeavoured to do Justice to the Beauty of the Words, by following that Noble Example, which has been set him by the greatest Foreign Masters in that Art.
I could heartily wish there was the same Application and Endeavours to cultivate and improve our Church-Musick, as have been lately bestowed on that of the Stage. Our Composers have one very great Incitement to it: They are sure to meet with Excellent Words, and, at the same time, a wonderful Variety of them. There is no Passion that is not finely expressed in those parts of the inspired Writings, which are proper for Divine Songs and Anthems.
There is a certain Coldness and Indifference in the Phrases of our
European
Languages, when they are compared with the
Oriental
Forms of Speech: and it happens very luckily, that the
Hebrew
Idioms run into the
English
Tongue with a particular Grace and Beauty. Our Language has received innumerable Elegancies and Improvements, from that Infusion of
Hebraisms
, which are derived to it out of the Poetical Passages in
Holy Writ
. They give a Force and Energy to our Expressions, warm and animate our Language, and convey our Thoughts in more ardent and intense Phrases, than any that are to be met with in our own Tongue. There is something so pathetick in this kind of Diction, that it often sets the Mind in a Flame, and makes our Hearts burn within us. How cold and dead does a Prayer appear, that is composed in the most Elegant and Polite Forms of Speech, which are natural to our Tongue, when it is not heightened by that Solemnity of Phrase, which may be drawn from the Sacred Writings. It has been said by some of the Ancients, that if the Gods were to talk with Men, they would certainly speak in
Plato's
Style; but I think we may say, with Justice, that when Mortals converse with their Creator, they cannot do it in so proper a Style as in that of the
Holy Scriptures.
If any one would judge of the Beauties of Poetry that are to be met with in the Divine Writings, and examine how kindly the
Hebrew
Manners of Speech mix and incorporate with the
English
Language; after having perused the
Book of Psalms,
let him read a literal Translation of
Horace
or
Pindar
. He will find in these two last such an Absurdity and Confusion of Style, with such a Comparative Poverty of Imagination, as will make him very sensible of what I have been here advancing.
Since we have therefore such a Treasury of Words, so beautiful in themselves, and so proper for the Airs of Musick, I cannot but wonder that Persons of Distinction should give so little Attention and Encouragement to that Kind of Musick, which would have its Foundation in Reason, and which would improve our Virtue in proportion as it raised our Delight. The Passions that are excited by ordinary Compositions generally flow from such silly and absurd Occasions, that a Man is ashamed to reflect upon them seriously; but the Fear, the Love, the Sorrow, the Indignation that are awakened in the Mind by Hymns and Anthems, make the Heart better, and proceed from such Causes as are altogether reasonable and praise-worthy. Pleasure and Duty go hand in hand, and the greater our Satisfaction is, the greater is our Religion.
Musick among those who were styled the chosen People was a Religious Art. The
Songs of Sion
, which we have reason to believe were in high Repute among the Courts of the
Eastern
Monarchs, were nothing else but
Psalms
and Pieces of
Poetry
that adored or celebrated the Supreme Being. The greatest Conqueror in this Holy Nation, after the manner of the old
Grecian
Lyricks, did not only compose the Words of his Divine Odes, but generally set them to Musick himself: After which, his Works, tho' they were consecrated to the
Tabernacle
, became the National Entertainment, as well as the Devotion of his People.
The first Original of the Drama was a Religious Worship consisting only of a Chorus, which was nothing else but an Hymn to a Deity. As Luxury and Voluptuousness prevailed over Innocence and Religion, this Form of Worship degenerated into Tragedies; in which however the Chorus so far remembered its first Office, as to brand every thing that was vicious, and recommend every thing that was laudable, to intercede with Heaven for the Innocent, and to implore its Vengeance on the Criminal.
Homer
and
Hesiod
intimate to us how this Art should be applied, when they represent the Muses as surrounding
Jupiter
, and warbling their Hymns about his Throne. I might shew from innumerable Passages in Ancient Writers, not only that Vocal and Instrumental Musick were made use of in their Religious Worship, but that their most favourite Diversions were filled with Songs and Hymns to their respective Deities. Had we frequent Entertainments of this Nature among us, they would not a little purifie and exalt our Passions, give our Thoughts a proper Turn, and cherish those Divine Impulses in the Soul, which every one feels that has not stifled them by sensual and immoderate Pleasures.
Musick, when thus applied, raises noble Hints in the Mind of the Hearer, and fills it with great Conceptions. It strengthens Devotion, and advances Praise into Rapture. It lengthens out every Act of Worship, and produces more lasting and permanent Impressions in the Mind, than those which accompany any transient Form of Words that are uttered in the ordinary Method of Religious Worship.
O.
Footnote 1:
See note on p. 51, vol. i [Volume 1 links:
Footnote 1
of
No. 13
]. He took leave, June 14, in the Opera of