N° 183. Saturday, September 29.

F

διψούδια πολλὰ λέγειν ετύμοισιν ὁμοῖα, δρω δ' εὖτ ̓ ἐθέλωμεν, ἀληθέα μυθήσας. Hel

า

ABLES were the firft Pieces of Wit that made their Appearance in the World, and have been still highly valued, not only in Times of the greatest Simplicity, but among the most polite Ages of Mankind. Fotham's Fable of the Trees is the oldeft that is extant, and as beautiful as any which have been made fince that Time. Nathan's Fable of the poor Man and his Lamb is likewife more ancient than any that is extant, befides the above-mentioned, and had fo good an Effect, as to convey Inftruction to the Ear of a King without offending it, and to bring the Man after God's own Heart to a right Senfe of his Guilt and his Duty. We find fop in the most diftant Ages of Greece; and if we look into the very Beginnings of the Common-wealth of Rome, we fee a Mutiny among the Common People appeafed by a Fable of the Belly and the Limbs, which was indeed very proper to gain the Attention of the incensed Rabble, at a Time when perhaps they would have torn to Pieces any Man who had preached the fame Doctrine to them in an open and direct Manner. As Fables took their Birth in the very Infancy of Learning, they never flourished more than when Learning was at its greateft Height. To juftify this Affertion, I fhall put my Reader in Mind of Horace, the greateft Wit and Critick in the Auguftan Age; and of Boileau, the moft correct Poet among the Moderns: Not to mention la Fontaine, who by this Way of Writing is come more into Vogue than any Author of our Times.

THE Fables I have here mentioned are raised altogether upon Brutes and Vegetables, with fome of our own Species mixt among them, when the Moral hath

fo required. But befides this Kind of Fable, there is another in which the Actors are Paffions, Virtues, Vices, and other imaginary Perfons of the like Nature. Some of the Ancient Criticks will have it, that the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer are Fables of this Nature; and that the several Names of Gods and Heroes are nothing else but the Affections of the Mind in a vifible Shape and Character. Thus they tell us, that Achilles, in the first Iliad, reprefents Anger, or the Irafcible part of Human Nature. That upon drawing his Sword against his Superior in a full Affembly, Pallas is only another Name for Reason, which checks and advises him upon that Occafion; and at her first Appearance touches him upon the Head, that part of the Man being looked upon as the Seat of Reafon. And thus of the reft of the Poem. As for the Odyffey, I think it is plain that Horace confidered it as one of thefe Allegorical Fables, by the Moral which he has given us of feveral Parts of it. The greatest Italian Wits have applied themselves to the Writing of this latter Kind of Fables: As Spencer's FairyQueen is one continued Series of them from the Beginning to the End of that admirable Work. If we look into the finest Profe-Authors of Antiquity, fuch as Cicero, Plato, Xenophon, and many others, we fhall find that this was likewife their Favourite Kind of Fable. I fhall only further obferve upon it, that the first of this Sort that made any confiderable Figure in the World, was that of Hercules meeting with Pleafure and Virtue; which was invented by Prodicus, who lived before Socrates, and in the firft Dawnings of Philofophy. He used to travel through Greece by vertue of this Fable, which procured him a kind Reception in all the Market Towns, where he never failed telling it as foon as he had gathered an Audience about him.

AFTER this fhort Preface, which I have made up of fuch Materials as my Memory does at prefent fuggeft to me, before I prefent my Reader with a Fable of this Kind, which I defign as the Entertainment of the prefent Paper, I muft in a few Words open the Occasion of it.

IN the Account which Plato gives us of the Converfation and Behaviour of Socrates, the Morning he was to die, he tells the following Circumstance.

WHEN Socrates his Fetters were knocked off (as was ufual to be done on the Day that the condemned Perfon was to be executed) being feated in the midst of his Difciples, and laying one of his Legs over the other, in a very unconcerned Pofture, he began to rub it where it had been galled by the Iron; and whether it was to shew the Indifference with which he entertained the Thoughts of his approaching Death, or (after his ufual Manner) to take every Occafion of Philofophizing upon fome useful Subject, he obferved the Pleasure of that Senfation which now arose in thofe very Parts of his Leg, that just before had been fo much pained by the Fetter. Upon this he reflected on the Nature of Pleasure and Pain in general, and how conftantly they fucceed one another. To this he added, That if a Man of good Genius for a Fable, were to represent the Nature of Pleasure and Pain in that Way of Writing, he would probably join them together after fuch a manner, that it would be impoffible for the one to come into any Place without being followed by the other.

IT is poffible, that if Plato had thought it proper at fuch a Time to defcribe Socrates launching out into a Difcourfe which was not of a Piece with the Bufinefs of the Day, he would have enlarged upon this Hint, and have drawn it out into fome beautiful Allegory or Fable. But fince he has not done it, I fhall attempt to write one my felf in the Spirit of that Divine Author.

THERE were two Families which from the Begin ning of the World_were as oppofite to each other as Light and Darkness. The one of them lived in Heaven, and the ether in Hell. The youngest Defcendant of the first Family was Pleasure, who was the Daughter of Happiness, who was the Child of Virtue, who was the Offspirng of the Gods. Thefe, as I faid before, had their Habitation in Heaven. The youngest of the oppofite Family was Pain, who was the Son of Mifery, who was the Child of

Ꭰ s

Vice,

N® 183 Vice, who was the Offspring of the Furies. The Habitation of this Race of Beings was in Hell,

THE middle Station of Nature between these two oppofite Extreams was the Earth, which was inhabited by Creatures of a middle Kind, neither fo Virtuous as the one, nor fo Vicious as the other, but partaking of the good and bad Qualities of these two oppofite Families. Jupiter confidering that this Species, commonly called Man, was too virtuous to be miferable, and too vicious to be happy; that he might make a Ďiftinction between the Good and the Bad, ordered the two youngeft of the above-mentioned Families, Pleafure who was the Daughter of Happiness, and Pain who was the Son of Mifery, to meet one another upon this Part of Nature which lay in the half way between them, having promifed to fettle it upon. both, provided they could agree upon the Divifion of it, so as to fhare Mankind between them.

PLEASURE and Pain were no fooner met in their new Habitation, but they immediately agreed upon this Point, that Pleasure should take Poffeffion of the Virtuous, and Pain of the Vicious Part of that Species which was given up to them. But upon examining to which of them any Individual they met with. belonged, they found each of them had a Right to him; for that, contrary to what they had feen in their old Places of Refidence, there was no Perfon fo Vicious who had not fome Good. in him, nor any Perfon fo Virtuous who had not in him fome Evil. The Truth of it is, they generally found upon Search, that in the most vicious Man Pleasure might lay a Claim to an hundredth Part, and that in the most virtuous Man Pain might come in for at least two Thirds. This they faw would occafion endless Disputes between them, unless they could come to fome Accommodation. To this End there was a Marriage. propofed between them, and at length concluded: By this Means it is that we find Pleasure and Pain are fuch conftant Yoke-fellows, and that they either make Vifits together, or are never far afunder. If Pain comes into an Heart, he is quickly followed by Pleasure; and if Pleasure enters, you may be. fure Pain is not far off.

BUT notwithstanding this Marriage was very convenient for the two Parties, it did not feem to answer the Intention of Jupiter in fending them among Mankind. To remedy there

fore

fore this Inconvenience, it was ftipulated between them by Article, and confirm'd by the Confent of each Family, that notwithstanding they here poffeffed the Species indifferently; upon the Death of every fingle Perfon, if he was found to have in him a certain Proportion of Evil, he should be dispatched into h the infernal Regions by a Pafport from Pain, there to dwell with Mifery, Vice and the Furies. Or on the contrary, if he had in him a certain Proportion of Good, he should be dispatched into Heaven by a Pafport from Pleasure, there to dwell with Happiness, Virtue and the Gods.

L

W

Monday, October 1.

Opere in longo fas eft obrepere fomnum.

Hor.

'HEN a Man has difcovered a new Vein of Humour, it often carries him much further than he expected from it. My Correfpondents take the Hint I give them, and purfue it into Speculations which I never thought of at my firft ftarting it. This has been the Fate of my Paper on the Match of Grinning, which has already produced a fecond Paper on parallel Subjects, and brought me the following Letter by the laft Poft. I fhall not premife any thing to it further, than that it is built on Matter of Fact, and is as follows.

SIR,

YOU

OU have already obliged the World with a Dif courfe upon Grinning, and have fince pro'ceeded to Whistling, from whence you are at length come to Yawning; from this, I think, you may make a very natural Tranfition to Sleeping. I therefore re'commend to you for the Subject of a Paper the following Advertisement, which about two Months ago was given into every Body's Hands, and may be feen with

⚫ fome