the Strength of their Minds doth not long outlive the Strength of their Bodies, but decays gradually till they become again Children; their Teeth fall, and their Tongues faulter, and they are once more Infants, and are now confin'd to their Beds, as they were at first to their Cradles. This is the laft Stage of Life; and here they demand all that Care and Compaffion, and Tenderness at your Hands, when they are juft going out of the World, which you called for at theirs when you first came into it.

IF

LESSON II.

The Folly of PRIDE,

F there be any thing which makes human Nature appear ridiculous to Beings of fuperior Faculties, it must be Pride. They know fo well the Vanity of thofe imaginary Perfections that fwell the Heart of Man, and of thofe little fupernumerary Advantages, whether in Birth, Fortune, or Title, which one Man enjoys above another, that it must certainly very much aftonifh, if it does not very much divert them, when they fee a Mortal puffed up, and valuing himself above his Neighbours on any of thefe Accounts, at the fame time that he is obnoxious to all the common Calamities of the Species. To fet this Thought in its true Light, we will fancy, if you please, that yonder Mole-hill is inhabited by reafonable Creatures, and that every Pifmire (his Shape and Way of Life excepted) is endowed with human Paffions. How should we fmile to hear one give us an Account of the Pedigrees, Diftinctions, and Titles that reign among them !-Obferve how the whole Swarm divides and makes way for the Pifmire that paffes through them! You must understand he is an Emmet of Quality, and has better Blood in his Veins than any Pifmire in the Mole-hill. Don't you fee how fenfible he is of it, how flow he marches forward, how the whole Rabble of Ants keep their Distance? -Here you may observe one placed upon a little Eminence, and looking down on a long Row of Labourers. He is the richeft Infect on this Side the Hillock, he has a Walk of half a Yard in Length, and a quarter of an Inch in Breadth; he keeps a hundred menial Servants, and has at least fifteen Barly-corns in his Granary. He is now chiding and beslaving

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the Emmet that ftands before him, and who, for all that we can difcover, is as good an Emmet as himself.

But here comes an Infect of Figure! Don't you take notice of a little white Straw that he carries in his Mouth? That Straw, you must understand, he would not part with for the longest Tract about the Mole-hill; did you but know what he has undergone to purchase it! See, the Ants of all Qualities and Conditions fwarm about him; fhould this Straw drop out of his Mouth, you would fee all this numerous Circle of Attendants follow the next that took it up, and leave the difcarded Infect, or run over his Back to come at his Succeffor.-If now you have a mind to fee all the Ladies of the Mole-hill, obferve firft the Pifmire that liftens to the Emmet on her Left Hand, at the fame time that the feems to turn her Head away from him. He tells this poor Infect that she is a Goddefs,that her Eyes are brighter than the Sun, that Life and Death are at her Difpofal. She believes him, and gives herself a thousand little Airs upon it.Mark the Vanity of the Pifmire on your Left Hand! the can fcarce crawl with Age, but you must know the values herself upon her Birth, and if you mind, fpurns at every one that comes within her Reach. The little nimble Coquette that is running along by the Side of her is a Wit; fhe has broke many a Pifmire's Heart; do but obferve what a Drove of Lovers are running after her. We will here finish the imaginary Scene; but first of all, to draw the Parallel clofer, will fuppofe, if you pleafe, that Death comes down upon the Mole-hill in the Shape of a Cock-Sparrow, who picks up without Diftinction, the Pifmire of Quality and his Flatterers, the Pifmire of Subftance and his Day-Labourers, the White Straw Officer and his Sycophants, with all the Goddeffes, Wits and Beauties of the Molehill.

May we not imagine, that Beings of fuperior Natures and Perfections regard all the Inftances of Pride and Vanity among our own Species in the fame kind of View, when they take a Survey of thofe who inhabit the Earth? Or, in the Language of an ingenious French Poet, thofe Pifmires that people this Heap of Dirt, which human Vanity has divided into Climates and Regions?

LESSON

SOCIE

LESSON III.

On CONVERSATION.

mutual ComOCIETY fubfifts amongst Men by a munication of their Thoughts to each other. Words, Looks, Gefture, and different Tones of Voice, are the Means of that Communication. I fpeak, and in an Inftant my Ideas and Sentiments are communicated to the Perfon who hears me; my whole Soul in a manner paffes into his. This Communication of my Thoughts, is again the Occafion of others in him, which he communicates to me in his turn. Hence arifes one of the most lively of our Pleasures; by this means too we enlarge our Knowledge, and this reciprocal Commerce is the principal Source of our intellectual Wealth.

more

The first Rule with regard to Converfation, is to obferve all the Laws of Politenefs in it. This Rule is of all others the most indifpenfable. It is not in every one's Power perhaps to have fine Parts, fay witty Things, or tell a Story agreeably; but every Man may be polite, if he pleases, at leaft to a certain Degree. Politeness has infinitely Power to make a Perfon be loved, and his Company fought after, than the moft extraordinary Parts or Attainments he can be Mafter of. Thefe fcârce ever fail of exciting Envy, and Envy has always fome Ill-will in it. If you would be efteemed, make yourself be loved; we always efteem the Perfon we love more than he deferves, and the Perfon we do not love, as little as ever we can; nay, we do all we can to defpife him, and commonly fucceed in it.

Great Talents for Converfation require to be accompanied with great Politenefs; he who eclipfes others owes them great Civilities; and whatever a miftaken Vanity may tell us, it is better to please in Converfation than to shine in it.

Another general Rule in Converfation is, to conform yourfelf to the Tafte, Character, and prefent Humour of the Perfons you converfe with. This Rule is a Confequence of the foregoing; Politenefs dictates it, but it requires a large Fund of Good-nature and Complaifance to obferve it; not but that a Perfon muft follow his Talent in Converfation; do not force Nature, no one ever did it with Succefs. If you have not a Talent for Humour, or Raillery, or Story-telling, never attempt them. Contain yourfelf alfo

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within the Bounds of what you know, and never talk upon Things you are ignorant of, unless it be with a View to inform yourself. A Perfon cannot fail in the Obfervance of this Rule without making himfelf ridiculous; and yet how often do we see it tranfgreffed! Some who on War or Politics could talk very well, will be perpetually haranguing on Works of Genius and the Belles Lettres; others who are capable of Reasoning, and would make a Figure in grave Difcourfe, will yet conftantly aim at Humour and Pleafantry, tho' with the worft Grace imaginable. Hence it is, that we fee a Man of Merit fometimes appear like a Coxcomb, and hear a Man of Genius talk like a Fool.

Avoid Difputes as much as poffible. In order to appear eafy and well-bred in Converfation, you may affure yourself it requires more Wit, as well as more Good-humour, to improve, than to contradict the Notions of another; but if you are at any time obliged to enter on an Argument, give your Reasons with the utmoft Coolnefs and Modefty, two Things which fcarce ever fail of making an Impreffion on the Hearers. Befides, if you are neither dogmatical, nor fhew either by your Actions or Words that you are full of yourself, all will the more heartily rejoice at your Victory; nay, fhould you be pinch'd in your Argument; you may make your Retreat with a very good Grace; you were never pofitive, and are now glad to be better inform'd. This has made fome approve the Socratical Way of Reafoning, where while you fcarce affirm any thing, you can hardly be caught in an Abfurdity; and tho' poffibly you are endeavouring to bring over another to your Opinion, which is firmly fixed, you feem only to defire Information from him.

In order to keep that Temper which is fo difficult, and yet fo neceflary to preferve, you may pleafe to confider, that nothing can be more unjuft or ridiculous, than to be angry with another, because he is not of your Opinion. The Intereft, Education, and Means by which Men attain their Knowledge, are fo very different, that it is impoffible they fhould all think alike, and he has at leaft as much Reason to be angry with you, as you with him. Sometimes, to keep yourfelf cool, it may be of Service to afk yourself fairly, what might have been your Opinion, had you all the Biafles of Education and Intereft your Adverfary may poffibly have? But if you contend for the Honour of Victory alone, you may lay down this as an infallible Maxim, that you cannot make a more falfe Step, or give your Antagonist a greater Advantage over you, than by falling into a Paffion.

When

When an Argument is over, how many weighty Reasons does a Man recollect, which his Heat and Violence made him utterly forget?

It is yet more abfurd to be angry with a Man because he does not apprehend the Force of your Reasons, or give weak ones of his own. If you argue for Reputation, this makes your Victory the eafier; he is certainly in all Respects an Object of your Pity, rather than Anger; and if he cannot comprehend what you do, you ought to thank Nature for her Favours, who has given you so much the clearer Understanding.

You may please to add this Confideration, that among your Equals no one values your Anger, which only preys upon its Mafter; and perhaps you may find it not very confiftent either with Prudence or your Éafe, to punish yourself whenever you meet with a Fool or a Knave.

Laftly, if you purpose to yourself the true End of Argument, which is Information, it may be a seasonable Check to your Paffion; for if you search purely after Truth, 'twill be almost indifferent to you where you find it. I cannot in this Place omit an Obfervation which I have often made, namely, that nothing procures a Man more Efteem and lefs Envy from the whole Company, than if he chufes the Part of Moderator, without engaging directly on either Side in a Difpute. This gives him the Character of impartial, furnishes him with an Opportunity of fifting Things to the Bottom, of fhewing his Judgment, and of fometimes making handfome Compliments to each of the contending Parties. I fhall close this Subject with giving you one Caution: When you have gained a Victory, do not push it too far; 'tis fufficient to let the Company and your Adversary fee 'tis in your Power, but that you are too generous to make use of it.

LESSON IV.

On the fame Subject.

we

HE Faculty of interchanging our Thoughts with one another, or what we exprefs by the Word Converfation, has always been reprefented by moral Writers, as one of the nobleft Privileges of Reafon, and which more particularly fets Mankind above the Brute Part of the Creation.

Though