ever confiderable our own lofs is, yet with refpect to himself, it scarce deferves to be lamented that he arrived fo much earlier at the grave than his years and his health seemed to promise? For who, my friend, that has any experience of the world, would with to extend his duration to old age? What indeed is length of days, but to furvive all one's enjoy ments, and, perhaps, to furvive even one's very felf? I have fomewhere met with an ancient infcription founded upon this fentiment, which infinitely pleased me. It was fixed upon a bath, and contained an imprecation, in the following terms, against any one who fhould attempt to remove the building:

QVISQVIS. HOC. SVSTVLERIT.

AVT. IVSSERIT.

VLTIMVS. SYORVM. MORJATVR.

The thought is conceived with great delicacy and juftnefs; as there cannot, perhaps, be a fharper calamity to a ge nerous mind, than to fee itself stand fingle amidst the ruins of whatever rendered the world most defirable.

Inftances of the fort I am lamenting, while the impreffions remain freth upon the mind, are fufficient to damp the gayeft hopes, and chill the warmest am

bition. When one fees a perfon in the full bloom of life, thus deftroyed by one fudden blaft, one cannot but confider all the diftant schemes of mankind as the highest folly.

It is amazing indeed that a creature fuch as man, with fo many memorials around him of the fhortness of his duration, and who cannot enfure to himself even the next moment, fhould yet plan defigns which run far into futurity. The bufinefs however of life must be carried on, and it is neceffary for the purposes of human affairs, that mankind should refolutely act upon very precarious contingencies. Too much reflection, therefore, is as inconfiftent with the appointed measures of our ftation, as too little; and there cannot be a lefs defirable turn of mind, than one that is influenced by an over-refined philofophy.. At least it is by confiderations of this fort, that I endeavour to call off my thoughts from purfuing too earnestly thofe reafonings, which the occafion of this letter is apt to fuggeft. This ufe, however, one may justly make of the prefent accident, that whilst it contracts the circle of friendfhip, it should render it so much the more valuable to us who yet walk within it's limits. Adieu. I am, &c.

F the ingenious piece you communitouches of your pencil; I must acknow. ledge the truth to be, what you are inclined to fufpect, that my friendship has impofed upon my judgment. But though in the prefent inftance your delicacy feems far too refined, yet, in general, I muft agree with you, that works of the most permanent kind are not the effects of a lucky moment, nor ftruck out at a fingle heat. The best performances, indeed, have generally coft the most labour; and that eafe, which is fo effential to fine writing, has feldom been attained without re eated and severe corrections: Ludentis fpeciem dabit et torquebitur is a motto that may be applied, I believe, to molt fuccefsful authors of genius. With as much facility as the numbers of the natural Prior feem to have flowed from him, they were the

MAY 4, 1740.

refult (if I am not mifinformed) of much application: and a friend of mine, who undertook to transcribe one of the nobleft performances of the finest genius that this, or perhaps any age can boast, has often affured me, that there is not a fingle line, as it is now published, which stands in conformity with the original manufcript. The truth is, every fentiment has it's peculiar expreffion, and every word it's precife place, which do not always immediately prefent them felves, and generally demand frequent trials before they can be properly adjusted: not to mention the more important difficulties, which neceffarily occur in fettling the plan and regulating the higher parts which compofe the ftructure of a finished work.

Thofe, indeed, who know what pangs it coft even the most fertile genius to be delivered of a just and regular produc

tion, might be inclined, perhaps, to cry out with the most antient of authors Oh! that mine adverfary had written a book! A writer of refined tafte has the continual mortification to find him. felf incapable of taking entire poffeffion of that ideal beauty which warms and fills his imagination. His conceptions ftill rife above all the powers of his art, and he can, but faintly copy out thofe images of perfection which are impreffed upon his mind. Never was any thing,' fays Tully, more beau⚫tiful than the Venus of Apelles, or the Jove of Phidias; yet were they by ⚫ no means equal to thofe high notions ⚫ of beauty which animated the geniuses of thofe wonderful artists. In the fame manner, he obferves, the great mafters of oratory imaged to themselves a certain perfection of eloquence, which they could only contemplate in idea, but in vain attempted to draw out in expreffion. Perhaps no author ever perpetuated his reputation, who could write up to the full standard of his own judgment: and I am perfuaded that he, who upon a furvey of his compofitiens can with entire complacency pronounce them good, will hardly find the world join with him in the fame, favourable fen

tence.

The most judicious of all poets, the inimitable Virgil, used to refemble his productions to thofe of that animal who, agreeably to the notions of the antients, was fuppofed to bring her young into the world a mere rude and fhapelefs máfs: he was obliged to retouch them again and again, he acknowledged, before they acquired their proper form and beauty. Accordingly we are told, that after having spent eleven years in compofing his neid, he intended to have fet apart three more for the revifal of that glorious performance. But being prevented by his laft ficknefs from giving thole finishing touches which his ex

I

quifite judgment conceived to be ftill neceflary, he directed his friends Tucca and Varius to burn the noblest poem that ever appeared in the Roman language. In the fame fpirit of delicacy Mr. Dryden tells us, that had he taken more time in tranflating this author, he might poffibly have fucceeded better; but never, he affures us, could he have fucceeded fo well as to have fatisfied himself.

In a word, Hortenfius, I agree with you, that there is nothing more difficult than to fill up the character of an au thor who proposes to raise a just and lafting admiration; who is not contented with thofe little tranfient flashes of applaufe which attend the ordinary race of writers, but confiders only how he may thine out to posterity; who extends his views beyond the prefent generation, and cultivates thofe productions which are to flourish in future ages. What Sir William Temple obferves of poetry, may be applied to every other work where tafte and imagination are concerned. It requires the greatest contraries to compofe it; a genius both penetrating and folid; an expreffion 'both strong and delicate. There mult be a great agitation of mind to invent, a great calm to judge and correct: there must be upon the fame tree, and at the fame time, both flower and fruit. But though, I know, you would not value yourself upon any performance, wherein thefe very oppofite and very fingular qualities were not confpicuous; yet I must remind you at the fame time, that when the file ceafes to polish, it must neceffarily weaken. You will remember therefore, that there is a medium between the immoderate caution of that orator, who was three olympiads in writing a fingle oration; and the extravagant expedition of that poet, whofe funeral pile was compofed of his own numberless productions. Adieu. I am, &c.

Write this while Cleora is angling by my fide, under the fhade of a spreading elm that hangs over the banks of our river. A nightingale, more harmonious even than Strada's, is ferenad ing us from a hawthorn bush which

MAY 28, 1739.

fmiles with all the gajety of youth and beauty; while Gentle gales, Fanning their odorif'rous wings, difpenfe Native perfumes, and whisper whencethey stole Thofe balmy fpoils. MILT.

Whilst I am thus enjoying the innocent luxury of this vernal delight, I look back upon those scenes of turbu. lence, wherein I was once engaged, with more than ordinary diftafte; and defpife myfelf for ever having entertained fo mean a thought as to be rich and great. One of our monarchs ufed to fay, That he looked upon those to be the happieft men in the nation, whofe fortune had placed them in the country, above a highconftable, and below the trouble of a juftice of peace. It is in a mediocrity of this happy kind that I here pafs my life: with a fortune far above the necef fity of engaging in the drudgery of bufinefs, and with defires much too humble to have any relish for the splendid baits of ambition.

You must not, however, imagine that I affect the Stoic, or pretend to have eradicated all my paffions: the fum of my philofophy amounts to no more than to cherish none but such as I may easily

and innocently gratify, and to banish all the reft as fo many bold intruders upon my repofe. I endeavour to practile the maxim of a French poet, by confidering every thing that is not with in my poffeffion, as not worth having.

Pour m'affarer le feul bien Tout ce que je n'ai pas, je le compte pour rien. Que l'on doit eftimer au monde,

Is it not poffible, Palemon, to reconcile you to these unafpiring sentiments, and to lower your flight to the humble level of genuine happiness? Let me at leaft prevail with you to fpare a day or two from the certamina divitiarum, (as Horace I think calls them) from those fplendid contests in which you are engaged, just to take a view of the fort of life we lead in the country. If there is any thing wanting to complete the happinefs I here find, it is that you are fo feldom a witness to it. Adieu. I ain, &c.

THE beauties of ftyle feem to be below

attention both of an author and a reader. I know not, therefore, whether I may venture to acknowledge, that among the numberless graces of your late performance, I particularly admired that ftrength and elegance with which you have enforced and adorned the noblest sentiments.

There was a time however (and it was a period of the trueft refinements) when an excellence of this kind was esteemed in the number of the politeft accomplishments; as it was the ambition of fome of the greatest names of antiquity to diftinguish themselves in the improvements of their native tongue. Julius Cæfar, who was not only the greatest hero, but the finest gentleman that ever, perhaps, appeared in the world, was defirous of adding this talent to his other most fhining endowments: and we are told he ftudied the language of his country with much application; as we are fure he poffeffed it in it's highest elegance. What a lofs, Euphronius, is it to the literary world, that the treatife which

JULY 3, 1744. he wrote upon this fubject, is perifhed with many work

age? But though we are deprived of the benefit of his obfervations, we are happily not without an inftance of their effects; and his own memoirs will ever remain as the best and brightest exemplar, not only of true genera!fhip, but of fine writing. He published them, indeed, only as materials for the use of those who should be difpofed to enlarge upon that remarkable period of the Roman ftory; yet the purity and gracefulnefs of his ftyle were fuch, that no judicious writer durft attempt to touch the fubject after him.

Having produced fo illustrious an inftance in favour of an art, for which I have ventured to admire you; it would be impertinent to add a fecond, were [ to cite a lefs authority than that of the immortal Tully. This noble author, in his dialogue concerning the celebrated Roman orators, frequently mentions it as a very high encomium, that they poffeffed the elegance of their native language; and introduces Brutus as declaring, that he should prefer the ho

nour