• me. If, faid fhe, my dear loves me as much as . I love him, he will never be tired of my company. This declaration was followed by my being denied to all my acquaintance; and it very foon came to that pass, that to give an answer at the door before my face, the fervants would ask her whether I was within or not; and fhe would answer No, with great fondnefs, and tell me I was a good dear. I will not enumerate more little circum'ftances to give you a livelier fenfe of my condi

tion; but tell you in general, that from fuch steps as these at first, I now live the life of a prifoner of 'ftate; my letters are opened, and I have not the ufe of pen, ink and paper, but in her presence. I never go abroad, except fhe fometimes takes me with her in her coach to take the air, if it may be called fo, when we drive, as we generally do ⚫ with the glaffes up. I have overheard my fervants • lament my condition, but they dare not bring me meffages without her knowledge, because they 'doubt my resolution to ftand by them. In the midft of this infipid way of life, an old acquaintance of mine, Tom Meggot, who is a favourite ' with her, and allowed to vifit me in her company ⚫ because he fings prettily, has roufed me to rebel, ⚫ and conveyed his intelligence to me in the following manner. My wife is a great pretender to mufick, and very ignorant of it; but far gone in the Italian tafte. Tom goes to Armstrong the famous fine writer of mufick, and defires him to < put this fentence of Tully in the fcale of an Italian air, and write it out for my fpoufe from him, An ille mihi liber cui mulier imperat? Cui leges imponit, præfcribit, jubet, vetat, quod videtur? Qui • nihil imperanti negare, nihil recufare audet? Pofcit? dandum eft. Vocat? veniendum. Ejicit? abeundum. Minitatur? extimifcendum. 'Does he live like a Gentleman who is commanded by a woman? He to whom he gives law, grants and denies what • The

She pleafes? who can neither deny her any thing she afks, or refufe to do any thing he commands?

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To be thort, my wife was extremely pleafed with it; faid the Italian was the only language for mufick; and admired how wonderfully tender the fentiment was, and how pretty the accent is of that language, with the reft that is faid by rote on that occafion. Mr. Megget is fent to fing this air, which he performs with mighty applaufe; and my wife is in ecftafy on the occafion, and glad to find, by my being fo much pleased, that was at last come into the notion of the Italian • for, said she, it grows upon one when one once comes to know a little of the language; and pray, Mr. Meggot, fing again thofe notes, Nihil imperanti negare, nihil recufare. You may believe I was not a little delighted with my friend Tom's expedient to alarm me, and in obedience to his fummons I give all this ftory thus at large; and I am refolved, when this appears in the Spectator, to declare for myfelf. The manner of the infurrection I contrive by your means, which fhall be no other than that Tom Mcggot, who is at our tea-table every morning, fhall read it to us; and • if my dear can take the hint, and fay not one word, but let this be the beginning of a new life without farther explanation, it is very well; for as foon as the Spectator is read out, I shall with་ out more ado call for the coach, name the hour ' when I thall be at home, if I come at all; if E do not, they may go to dinner. If my spouse only fwells and fays nothing, Tom and I go out together, and all is well, as I faid before; but if fhe begins to command or expoftulate, you fhall, in my next to you, receive a full account of her refiftance and fubmiffion; for fubmit the dear thing muft to, SIR,

VOL. II.

Your moft obedient humble fervant, ANTHONY FREEMAN. · P. S.

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P. S. I hope I need not tell you that I defire this may be in your very next.'

No 213. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3.

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Mens fibi confcia reti. VIRG. Æn. i. ver. 608.
A good intention.

IT is the great art and fecret of Christianity, if I may ufe that phrase, to manage our actions to the best advantage, and direct them in fuch a manner, that every thing we do may turn to account at that great day, when every thing we have done will be fet before us.

In order to give this confideration its full weight, we may cast all our actions under the divifion of fuch as are in themselves either good, evil, or indifferent. If we divide our intentions after the fame manner, and confider them with regard to our actions, we may difcover that great art and fecret of religion which I have here mentioned.

A good intention joined to a good action, gives it its proper force and efficacy; joined to an etil action, extenuates its malignity, and in fome cafes may take it wholly away; and joined to an indifferent action turns it into a virtue, and makes it meritorious as far as human actions can be so.

In the next place, to confider in the fame manner the influence of an evil intention upon our actions. An evil intention perverts the best of actions, and makes them in reality what the fathers with a witty kind of zeal have termed the virtues of the heathen world, fo many fhining fins. It deftroys the innocence, of an indifferent action, and gives an evil action all poffible blacknefs and horfor, or, in the emphatical language of facred writ, makes fin exceeding finful.

If, in the last place, we confider the nature of an indifferent intention, we fhall find that it deftroys the merit of a good action; abates, but never takes away, the malignity of an evil action; and leaves an indifferent action in its natural ftate of indifference.

It is therefore of unfpeakable advantage to poffefs our minds with an habitual good intention, and to aim all our thoughts, words, and actions, at fome laudable end, whether it be the glory of our Maker, the good of mankind, or the benefit of Cour own fouls.

This is a fort of thrift or good-husbandry in moral life, which does not throw away any fingle action, but makes every one go as far as it can. It multiplies the means of falvation, increafes the number of our virtues, and diminishes that of our vices.

There is fomething very devout, though not folid, in Acofta's anfwer to Limberch, who objects to him the multiplicity of ceremonies in the Jewish religion, as wafhings, dreffes, meats, purgations, and the like. The reply which the Jew makes upon this occafion is, to the best of my remembrance, as follows: There are not duties enough (fays he in the effential parts of the law for a zealous and active obedience. Time, place, and perfon are requifite, before you have an opportunity of putting a moral virtue into practice. We have therefore, fays he, enlarged the fphere of our duty, and made many things, which are in themfelves indifferent, a part of our religion, that we may have more occafions of fhewing our love to God, and in all the circumftances of life be doing fomething to please him.'

Monfieur St. Euremont has endeavoured to palliate the fuperftitions of the Roman-catholick religion with the fame kind of apology, where he pretends to confider the different fpirit of the Papifts

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and

and the Calvinifts, as to the great points wherein they difagree. He tells us, that the former are actuated by love, and the other by fear; and that in their expreffions of duty and devotion toward's the Supreme Being, the former feem' particularly careful to do every thing which may poflibly please him, and the other to abftam from every thing which may poffibly difpleafe him.

But notwithstanding this plaufible reafon, with which both the Jew and the Roman-catholick would excufe their refpective fuperftitions, it is certain there is fomething in them very pernicious to mankind, and deftructive to religion; becaufe the injunction of fuperfluous ceremonies makes fuch actions duties, as were before indifferent, and by that means renders religion more burdenfome and difficult than it is in its own nature, betrays many into fins of omiffion, which they could not otherwife be guilty of, and fixes the minds of the vulgar to the fhadowy uneffential points, inftead of the more weighty and more important matters of the law.

This zealous and active obedience however takes place in the great point we are recommending; for, if, inftead of preferibing to ourselves indifferent actions as duties, we apply a good intention to all our most indifferent actions, we make our very exiftence one continued act of obedience, we turn our diverfions and amufements to our eternal advantage, and are pleafing him (whom we are made to pleafe) in all the circumftanees and occurrences of life.

It is this excellent frame of mind, this holy offici oufnefs (if I may be allowed to call it fuch) which is recommended to us by the apoftle in that uncommon precept, wherein he directs us to propofe to ourselves the glory of our Creator in all our most Indifferent actions, whether we eat or drink, or whatfoever we do.

A perfon