"judges on the fubject of the ftocks; that for his tr part he did not pretend to be well acquainted with "the principles on which they were established, but "had always heard them reckoned pernicious to trade, uncertain in their produce, and unfolid in their "foundation; and that he had been advised by three "judges, his most intimate friends, never to venture "his money in the funds, but to put it out upon "land fecurity, till he could light upon an estate in "his own country." It might be expected, that upon thefe glimpses of latent dignity, we should all have began to look round us with veneration; and have behaved like the princes of romance, when the enchantment that difguifes them is diffolved, and they difcover the dignity of each other: yet it happened, that none of these hints made much impreffion on the company; every one was apparently fufpected of endeavouring to impofe false appearances upon the reft; all continued their haughtiness in hopes to enforce their claims; and all grew every hour more fullen, becaufe they found their representations of themfelves without effect. Thus we travelled on four days with malevolence perpetually increafing, and without any endeavour but to outvie cach other in fupercilioufnefs and neglect; and when any two of us could feparate ourfelves for a moment, we vented our indignation at the faucinefs of the reft. At length the journey was at an end; and time and chance, that ftrip off all difguifes, have difcovered that the intimate of lords and dukes is a nobleman's butler, who has furnifhed a fhop with the money he has faved; the man who deals fo largely in the funds, is a clerk of a broker in 'Change-alley; the lady who fo carefully concealed her quality, keeps a cook-fhop behind the Exchange; and the young man, who is fo happy in the friendship of the judges, engroffes and tranfcribes for bread in a garret of the Temple. Of one of the women only I could make no difadvantageous detection, because fhe had affumed no character, but accommodated herself to the fscene before her, without any struggle for diftinction or fuperiority. I could not forbear to reflect on the folly of practifing a fraud, which, as the event fhewed, had been already practifed too often to fucceed, and by the fuccefs of which no advantage could have been obtained; of affuming a character, which was to end with the day; and of claiming upon falfe pretences honours which muft perifh with the breath that paid them. But, Mr. Adventurer, let not thofe who laugh at me and my companions, think this folly confined to a ftage-coach. Every man in the journey of life takes the fame advantage of the ignorance of his fellowtravellers, difguifes himfelf in counterfeited merit, and hears thofe praises with complacency which his confcience reproaches him for accepting. Every man deceives himself, while he thinks he is deceiving others; and forgets that the time is at hand when every illufion fhall ceafe, when fictitious excellence shall be torn away, and all must be fhowr to all in their real estate. I am, SIR, Your humble fervant, VIATOR. NUMB. 85. TUESDAY, August 28, 1753. IT Qui cupit optatam curfu contingere metam, Multa tulit fecitque puer. HOR. The youth, who hopes th' Olympick prize to gain, FRANCIS. Tis obferved by Bacon, that "reading makes a "full man, converfation a ready man, and writing an exact man.” As Bacon attained to degrees of knowledge scarcely ever reached by any other man, the directions which he gives for study have certainly a juft claim to our regard; for who can teach an art with so great authority, as he that has practifed it with undifputed fuccefs? Under the protection of fo great a name, I shall, therefore, venture to inculcate to my ingenious contemporaries, the neceffity of reading, the fitnefs of confulting other understandings than their own, and of confidering the fentiments and opinions of those who, however neglected in the pieient age, had in their own times, and many of them a long time afterwards, fuch reputation for knowledge and accuteness, as will scarcely ever be attained by thofe that defpifse them. An opinion has of late been, I know not how, propagated among us, that libraries are filled only with ufeless lumber; that men of parts ftand in need of no affiftance; 03 affiftance; and that to spend life in poring upon books, is only to imbibe prejudices, to obftruct and embarrafs the powers of nature, to cultivate memory at the expence of judgment, and to bury reafon under a chaos of indigested learning. Such is the talk of many who think themselves wife, and of fome who are thought wife by others; of whom part probably believe their own tenets, and part may be justly fufpected of endeavouring to fhelter their ignorance in multitudes, and of wishing to destroy that reputation which they have no hopes to fhare. It will, I believe, be found invariably true, that learning was never decried by any learned man; and what credit can be given to thofe, who venture to condemn that which they do not know? If reafon has the power ascribed to it by its advocates, if fo much is to be difcovered by attention and meditation, it is hard to believe, that fo many millions, equally participating of the bounties of nature with ourfelves, have been for ages upon ages meditating in vain; if the wits of the prefent time expect the regard of pofterity, which will then inherit the reafon which is now thought fuperior to instruction, furely they may allow themselves to be inftructed by the reafon of former generations. When, therefore, an author declares, that he has been able to learn nothing from the writings of his predeceffors, and fuch a declaration has been lately made, nothing but a degree of arrogance unpardonable in the greateft human understanding, can hinder him from perceiving that he is raising prejudices against his own performance; for with what hopes of fuccefs can he attempt that in which greater abilities abilities have hitherto mifcarried? or with what peculiar force does he fuppofe himfelf invigorated, that difficulties hitherto invincible fhould give way before him. Of those whom Providence has qualified to make any additions to human knowledge, the number is extremely fmall; and what can be added by each fingle mind, even of this fuperior clafs, is very little: the greatest part of mankind muft owe all their knowledge, and all muft owe far the larger part of it, to the information of others. To understand the works of celebrated authors, to comprehend their fyftems, and retain their reafonings, is a tafk more than equal to common intellects; and he is by no means to be accounted ufelefs or idle, who has stored his mind with acquired knowledge, and can detail it occafionally to others who have lefs leifure or weaker abilities, Perfius has justly obferved, that knowledge is nothing to him who is not known by others to poffefs it: to the scholar himself it is nothing with refpect either to honour or advantage, for the world cannot reward thofe qualities which are concealed from it; with refpect to others it is nothing, because it affords no help to ignorance or error. It is with juftice, therefore, that in an accomplished character, Horace unites juft fentiments with the power of expreffing them; and he that has once accumulated learning, is next to confider, how he fhall moft widely diffuse and moft agreeably impart it. A ready man is made by converfation. He that buries himself among his manufcripts" befprent," |