Can you oblige any Man of Honour and Virtue ? Do it immediately. Can you visit a fick Friend? Will it revive him to see you enter, and fufpend your own Ease and Pleasure to comfort his Weakness, and hear the Impertinencies of a Wretch in pain? Don't ftay to take Coach, but be gone. Your Miftrefs will bring Sorrow, and your Bottle Madness: Go to neither

Such

Virtues and Diversions as these are mentioned because they occur to all Men. But every Man is fufficiently convinced, that to fufpend the Ufe of the prefent Moment, and refolve better for the future only, is an unpardonable Folly: What I attempted to confider, was the Mischief of fetting fuch a Value upon what is past, as to think we have done enough. Let a Man have filled all the Offices of Life with the highest Dignity till yefterday, and begin to live only to himself to-day, he muft expect he will in the Effects upon his Reputation be confidered as the Man who died yesterday. The Man who diftinguishes himself from the reft, itands in a prefs of People; thofe before him intercept his Progrefs, and those behind him, if he does not urge on, will tread him down. Cæfar, of whom it was faid, that he thought nothing done while there was any thing left for him to do, went on in performing the greateit Exploits, without affuming to himself a Privilege of taking Reft upon the Foundation of the Merit of his former Actions. It was the manner of that glorious Captain to write down what Scenes he paffed through, but it was rather to keep his Affairs in Method, and capable of a clear Review in cafe they should be examined by others, than that he built a Renown upon any thing that was paft. I fhall produce two Fragments of his to demonftrate, that it was his Rule of Life to fupport himself rather by what he fhould perform, than what he had done already. In the Tablet which he wore about him the fame Year in which he obtained the Battle of Pharfalia, there were found thefe loose Notes for his own Conduct: It is fuppofed, by the Circumftances they alluded to, that they might be fet down the Evening of the fame Night.

MY Part is now but begun, and my Glory must ⚫ be fuftained by the Ufe I make of this Victory; otherK 2

· wife

wife my Lofs will be greater than that of Pompey. Our perfonal Reputation will rife or fall as we hear ⚫ our respective Fortunes. All my private Enemies among the Prifoners fhall be fpared. I will forget this, in • order to obtain such another Day. Trebutius is afhamed ⚫ to fee me: I will go to his Tent, and be reconciled in private. Give all the Men of Honour, who take part with me, the Terms I offered before the Battle. Let them owe this to their Friends who have been long in my Interefts. Power is weakened by the full Ufe of it, but extended by Moderation. Galbinius is proud, and will be fervile in his present Fortune; let him wait. Send for Stertinius: He is modeft, and his • .Virtue is worth gaining. I have cooled my Heart ⚫ with Reflexion, and am fit to rejoice with the Army to-morrow. He is a popular General who can expose • himself like a private Man during a Battle; but he is more popular who can rejoice but like a private Man after a Victory.

WHAT is particularly proper for the Example of all who pretend to Industry in the purfuit of Honour and Virtue, is, that this Hero was more than ordinarily folicitous about his Reputation, when a Common Mind would have thought it felf in Security, and given it felf a loofe to Joy and Triumph. But though this is a very great Inftance of his Temper, I muft confefs I am more taken with his Reflexions when he retired to his Closet in fome Disturbance upon the repeated ill Omens of Calphurnia's Dream the Night before his Death. The literal Tranflation of that Fragment shall conclude this Paper.

BE it fo then. If I am to die to-morrow, that is what I am to do to-morrow: It will not be then, because I am willing it fhould be then; nor shall I efcape it, because I am unwilling. It is in the Gods when, but in my felf how I fhall die. If Calphurnia's • Dreams are Fumes of Indigeftion, how fhall I behold the Day after to-morrow? If they are from the Gods, their Admonition is not to prepare me to escape from their Decree,-but to meet it. I have lived to a Fulness ⚫of Days and of Glory: what is there that Cæfar has not • done with as much Honour as ancient Heroes? Gafar has not yet died; Cæfar is prepared to die.

T

Saturday,

N°

1

375 Saturday, May 10.

Non poffidentem multa vocaveris
Rectè beatum: rectiùs occupat
Nomen beati, qui Deorum
Muneribus fapienter uti,

Duramque callet Pauperiem pati,
Pejufque Letho flagitium timet.

Hor.

Have more than once had occafion to mention a noble Saying of Seneca the Philofopher, That a virtuous Perfon ftruggling with Misfortunes, and rifing above them, is an Object on which the Gods themselves may look down with Delight. I fhall therefore fet before my Reader a Scene of this kind of Distress in private Life, for the Speculation of this Day.

AN eminent Citizen, who had lived in good Fashion and Credit, was by a Train of Accidents, and by an unavoidable Perplexity in his Affairs, reduced to a low Condition. There is a Modefty ufually attending faultless Poverty, which made him rather choose to reduce his Manner of Living to his present Circumftances, than folicite his Friends in order to fupport the Shew of an Estate when the Substance was gone. His Wife, who was a Woman of Sense and Virtue, behaved her self on this Occafion with uncommon Decency, and never appear'd fo amiable in his Eyes as now. Inftead of upbraiding him with the ample Fortune fhe had brought, or the many great Offers fhe had refused for his fake, the redoubled all the Instances of her Affection, while her Husband was continually pouring out his Heart to her in Complaints that he had ruined the beft Woman in the World. He fometimes came home at a time when she did not expect him, and furpris'd her in Tears, which she endeavour'd to conceal, and always put on an Air of Chearfulness to receive him. To leffen their Expence, their eldest Daughter, (whom I fhall call Amanda) was fent into the Country, to the House of

an honeft Farmer, who had married a Servant of the Fa mily. This young Woman was apprehenfive of the Ruin which was approaching, and had privately engaged a Friend in the Neighbourhood to give her an account of what paffed from time to time in her Father's Affairs. Amanda was in the Bloom of her Youth and Beauty, when the Lord of the Manor, who often called in at the Farmer's House as he follow'd his Country Sports, fell paffionately in love with her. He was a Man of great Generofity, but from a loofe Education had contracted a hearty Averfion to Marriage. He therefore entertained a Defign upon Amanda's Virtue, which at prefent he thought fit to keep private. The innocent Creature, who never fufpected his Intentions, was pleased with his Perfon; and having obferved his growing Paffion for her, hoped by fo advantageous a Match fhe might quickly be in a capacity of fupporting her impoverish'd Relations. One day as he call'd to fee her, he found her in Tears over a Letter fhe had just received from her Friend, which gave an account that her Father had lately been ftripped of every thing by an Execution. The Lover, who with fome difficulty found out the Cause of her Grief, took this occafion to make her a Propofal. It is impoffible to express Amanda's Confufion when she found his Pretenfions were not honourable. She was now deferted of all her Hopes, and had no power to fpeak; but rufhing from him in the utmoft Disturbance, locked her felf up in her Chamber. He immediately dispatched a Meffenger to her Father with the following Letter.

SIR,

I

Have heard of your Misfortune, and have offer'd your Daughter, if fhe will live with me, to fettle on her four hundred Pounds a year, and to lay down the Sum for which you are now diftreffed. I will be fo ingenuous as to tell you that I do not intend Marriage: But if you are wife, you will ufe your Authority with her not to be too nice, when fhe has an opportunity of faving you and your Family, and of making her ⚫ felf happy.

་

I am, &c.

THIS Letter came to the Hands of Amanda's Mother; the open'd and read it with great Surprise and Concern. She did not think it proper to explain her self to the Meffenger, but defiring him to call again the next Morning, he wrote to her Daughter as follows.

Dearest Child,

YOUR Father and I have just now received a Letter from a Gentleman who pretends Love to · you, with a Propofal that infults our Misfortunes, and would throw us to a lower degree of Mifery than any thing which is come upon us. How could this barbarous Man think that the tendereft of Parents would be tempted to fupply their Want by giving up the best of • Children to Infamy and Ruin? It is a mean and cruel ⚫ Artifice to make this Propofal at a time when he thinks our Neceffities muft compel us to any thing; but we ⚫ will not eat the Bread of Shame; and therefore we charge

thee not to think of us, but to avoid the Snare which is • laid for thy Virtue. Beware of pitying us: It is not fo ⚫ bad as you have perhaps been told. All things will yet be well, and I fhall write my Child better News.

· to

I have been interrupted. I know not how I was moved to fay things would mend. As I was going on I was startled by a Noise of one that knocked at the Door, and hath brought us an unexpected Supply of a • Debt which had long been owing. Oh! I will now tell thee all. It is fome Days I have lived almoft without Support, having convey'd what little Money I could raise your poor Father-Thou wilt weep to think where he is, yet be affured he will be foon at liberty. That • cruel Letter would have broke his heart, but I have con•cealed it from him. I have no Companion at present • befides little Fanny, who ftands watching my Looks as I write, and is crying for her Sifter: She fays fhe is fure you are not well, having discover'd that my present • Trouble is about you. But do not think I would thus repeat my Sorrows, to grieve thee: No, it is to intreat thee not to make them infupportable, by adding ⚫ what would be worse than all. Let us hear chearfully an • Affliction, which we have not brought on our felves, and remember there is a Power who can better deliver