No. 250. Monday, December 17. Difce docendus adhuc, quæ cenfet amiculus, ut fi HOR. ep. 17. 1. I. v. 3. Tet hear what thy unfkilful friend can fay, Mr SPECTATOR, You CREECH. OU fee the nature of my request by the Latin motto which I addrefs to you. I am very fenfible I ought not to ufe many words to you, who are one of but few; but the following piece, as it relates to fpeculation in propriety of speech, being a curiofity in its kind, begs your patience. It was found in a poetical vir'tuolo's closet among his rarities, and fince the feveral treatifes of thumbs, ears, and nofes, have obliged the world, this of eyes is at your fervice. THE first eye of confequence (under the invifible Author of all) is the vifible luminary of the universe. This glorious fpectator is faid never to open his eyes at his rifing in a morning, without having a whole kingdom of adorers in Perfian filk waiting at his levee. Millions of creatures derive their fight from this original, who, ⚫ befides his being the great director of optics, is the surest teft whether eyes be of the fame fpecies with that of an eagle or that of an owl; the one he emboldens with a manly affurance to look, speak, act or plead before the faces of a numerous affembly; the other he dazzles out of countenance into a fheepish dejectedness. The funproof eye dares lead up a dance in a full court; and without blinking at the luftre of beauty, can distribute of proper complaifance to a room crouded with company, each of which deferves particular regard; an eye while the other sneaks from converfation, like a fearful← debtor, who never dares to look out, but when he can fee nobody, and nobody him. THE next inftance of optics is the famous Argus, who (to fpeak the language of Cambridge) was one of an hundred; and, being used as a spy in the affairs of jealoufy, was obliged to have all his eyes about him. We have no account of the particular colours, cafts and turns of this body of eyes; but as he was pimp for his miftrefs Juno, it is probable he ufed all the modern leers, fly glances, and other ocular activities to serve his purpofe. Some look upon him as the then king at arms to the heathenifh deities; and make no more of his eyes than as fo many fpangles of his herald's coat. THE next upon the optic lift is old Janus, who stood in a double-fighted capacity, like a perfon placed betwixt two oppofite looking-glaffes, and fo took a fort of retrospective caft at one view. Copies of this double-faced way are not yet out fashion with many profeffions, and the ingenious artifts pretend to keep up this fpecies by double-headed canes and fpoons; but there is no mark of this faculty, except in the emblematical way of a wife general having an eye to both front and rear, or a pious man taking a review and profpect of his past and future ftate at the fame time. I MUST Own, that the names, colours, qualities, and turns of eyes vary almost in every head; for, not to mention the common appellations of the black, the blue, the white, the grey, and the like; the most remarkable are those that borrow their titles from animals, by virtue of fome particular quality of refemblance they bear to the eyes of the refpective creatures; as that of a greedy rapacious aspect takes its name from the cat, that of a fharp piercing nature from the hawk, thofe of an amo" rous roguifh look derive their title even from the sheep, and we fay fuch an one has a fheep's eye, not fo much to denote the innocence as the fimple flynefs of the caft: nor is this metaphorical inoculation a modern invention, for we find Homer taking the freedom to place the eye of an ox, a bull, or cow in one of his principal goddef fes, by that frequent expreffion of Βοώπις Βοώπις πότνια "Ηρη The ox ey'd venerable Juno. Now, as to the peculiar qualities of the eye, that fine part of our conftitution feems as much the receptacle and feat of our paffions, appetites, and inclinations as the 'mind itself; at least it is as the outward portal to intro'duce them to the house within; or rather the common thorough-fare to let our affections pafs in and out; love, anger, pride, and avarice, all vifibly move in thofe little • orbs I know a young lady that cannot see a certain gentleman pafs by, without fhewing a fecret defire of feeing him again by a dance in her eye-balls; nay, fhe cannot, for the heart of her, help looking halfa ftreet's length after any man in a gay drefs. You cannot behold a covet. ous fpirit walk by a goldfinith's fhop, without cafting a wifhful eye at the heaps upon the counter. Does not a haughty perfon fhew the temper of his foul in the fupercilious rowl of his eye? and how frequently in the height of paffion does that moving picture in our head ftart and ftare, gather a redness and quick flashes of lightning, and make all its humours fparkle with fire, as Virgil fine • ly describes it, Ardentis ab ore Scintillæ abfiftunt.: oculis micat acribus ignis. Eneid. 12. v. 101. From his wide noftrils flies Afiery fiream, and fparkles from his eyes. DRYDEN. As for the various turns of eye fight, fuch as the voluntary or involuntary, the half or the whole leer, I fhall not enter into a very particular account of them; but let me obferve, that oblique vifion, when natural, was anciently the mark of bewitchery and magical fafcination, and to this day it is a malignant ill-look; but when it is forced and affected, it carries a wanton defign, and in play-houfes, and other public places, this ocular intimation is often an affignation for bad practices: but this irregularity in vifion, together with fuch enormities as tipping the wink, the circumfpective rowl, the fide-peep through a thin hood or fan, must be put in the class of heteroptics, as all wrong notions of religion are ranked • under under the general name of heterodox. All the pernicious 'applications of fight are more immediately under the direction of a SPECTATOR; and I hope you will arm. 6 your readers against the mischiefs which are daily done by killing eyes, in which you will highly oblige your wounded unknown friend, T. B. Mr SPECTATOR, You OU profeffed in feveral papers your particular endeavours in the province of SPECTATOR, to cor. rest the offences committed by ftarers, who disturb whole affemblies without any regard to time, place, or modefty. You complained also that a ftarer is not usually a 'perfon to be convinced by the reafon of the thing, nor fo eafily rebuked, as to amend by admonitions. I thought therefore fit to acquaint you with a convenient mechanical way, which may eafily prevent or correct ftaring, by an optical contrivance of new perspective glaffes, fhort and commodious like opera glaffes, fit for short fighted people as well as others, thefe glaffes make the objects appear either as they are seen by the naked eye,. " or more diftinct, though fomewhat lefs than life, or bigger and nearer. A perfon, may, by the help of this in vention, take a view of another, without the impertinence of staring; at the fame time it fhall not be poffible to know whom or what he is looking at. One may look towards his right or left hand, when he is fuppofed to look forwards; this is fet forth at large in the printed proposals for the fale of these glaffes, to be had at Mr Dillon's in Long Acre, next door to the White-Hart. Now Sir, as your Spectator has occafioned the publishing of this invention for the benefit of modeft fpectators, the inventor defires your admonitions concerning the decent ufe of it; and hopes, by your recommendation, that, for the future, beauty may be beheld without the torture and confufion which it fuffers from the infolence of ftarers. By this means you will relieve the innocent. from an infult which there is no law to punifh, tho' it is. a greater offence than many which are within the cog• nizance of justice. I am, SIR, Your most humble fervant, Abraham Spy. No 251. Tuesday, December 18. Linguæ centum funt, oraque centum VIRG. Æn..6. v. 625.. A hundred mouths, a hundred tongues, TH DRYDEN HERE is nothing which more aftonishes a foreigner and frights a country fquire, than the cries of Lon-, don. My good friend Sir ROGER often declares that he cannot get them out of his head, or go to fleep for them,. the first week that he is in town. On the contrary, WILL HONEYCOMB calls them the Ramage de la ville, and prefers them to the founds of larks and nightingales, with ait the mufic of the fields and woods. I have lately received a letterfrom fome very odd fellow upon this fubje&, which I fhall leave with my reader, without faying any thing farther of it. 6.. SIR, I AM a man out of all business, and would willingly turn my head to any thing for an honeft livelihood I have invented several projects for raifing many millions of money without burdening the fubject, but I cannot get the parliament to listen to me, who look upon me forfooth; as a crack, and a projector; fo that despairing to enrich either myfelf or my country by this public-fpiritedness, I would make fome proposals to you relating to a defign which I have very much at heart, and which may procure me a handfom fubfiftence, if you will be pleased to recommend it to the cities of London and Westminster. THE poft I would aim at, is to be comptroller-general of the London cries, which are at present under no manner of rules or difcipline. I think I am pretty well qualified for this place, as being a man of very strong lungs, of great infight into all the branches of our Bri tish trades and manufactures, and of a competent skil in mufic. 1 THE |