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celestial bodies, and looks upon all obfervations as trifling, except fuch as relate to the different afpects of the planets. A logician, full of the perplexing jargon of the fchools, is delighted with a fophifm artfully propofed. Yet the chymift, the aftronomer, and the logician, tho' they differ in every thing elfe, perfectly agree in beholding each other with the eyes of fcorn and contempt. Were we to regulate our judgment by their opinions of one another, learning would no longer be looked upon as defirable and praife-worthy.

The uncertainty of history is equal to that of philofophy; thofe that have made it their particular ftudy, have declared that hiftory undergoes the fame fate with meat in a kitchen. Every nation dreffes it according to its peculiar tafte; fo that the fame thing is ferved up in as many different ragouts as there are countries in the world, and every man is beft pleafed with that to which his palate has been accuftomed. It is the opinion of many perfons of difcernment, that a man must be very weak to think of coming to the knowledge of what has paffed by the ftudy of hiftory: we muft content ourselves, fay they, with knowing what fuch and fuch authors have faid concerning events; and we should not expect to meet with the hiftory of facts, but the hiftory of narratives and opinions.

Of all forts of knowledge, the moft contemptible is that of languages; yet there is none of which men are more vain. The vulgar, indeed, admire fuch as are poffeffed of it, and it feems probable that it is because they are more fully

convinced of their ignorance in this refpect than any other.

To conclude, the futility of human fciences appears from nothing more ftrongly than from that dif guft by which the eagerness for knowledge is often fucceeded, and which has made many eminent men look with indifference or diflike upon what they had purfued with the utmost ardour in the early part of their lives. It was this, no doubt, that induced the celebrated Huet, archbishop of Avranche, to compofe his treatise upon the uncertainty of the sciences, and that forced from the celebrated Fenelon an acknowledgment, that in his youth he was too folicitous about acquiring knowledge, and in his old age began to doubt of every thing. Man fhould never expect fatisfaction of mind in his enquiries into nature, fince, as foon as one difficulty is furmounted, many others fprout up in its place, and his curiofity encreases with his acquirements. The vulture that preyed upon the liver of Prometheus, which grew again as foon as it was devoured, seems to be a juft emblem of that curiofity which conftantly torments the minds of those who are engaged in learned purfuits, and renders their condition much less defirable than that of thofe who are fatisfied with their ignorance. Knowledge is a godlike. attribute, but in this world will never conftitute the happiness of a human mind, fince, as the ingenious Dr. Parnell expreffes it,

The reft it feeks, in feeking dies, And doubts instead of knowledge rife.

Philofophical REFLECTIONS upon DEATH.

GENTLEMEN,

THE

To the Authors of the BRITISH MAGAZINE.

HE following Reflections arofe from the perufal of A Moral Contem plation on Death, in your Magazine of November laft. Your inferting them in your agreeable mifcellany will much oblige feveral of your readers, particularly

Othing can be more certain

so much as called in queftion. The example of all who have gone before us is a convincing proof, and amounts even to a demonftration.

Though most men look upon the laft moment of life as fomething dreadful, they comfort themselves, however, by the notion of its being at a great distance; and the uncertainty of death, which ought to render it terrible, is by felf-love converted into matter of confolation in this fatal neceffity.

The equality to which death reduces all men, would be fufficient to curb the vanity of the great, would they but take the trouble to reflect upon fo melancholy a fubject. This equality is fo exact, that it may juftly be compared to that which fubfifts between men at the time of their birth. These two extreams have an effential connexion with each other; we are born to die, and death, according to Seneca, refembles a fecond birth. There cannot be a more gloomy and difmal idea than that of death. A man must raife himself greatly above nature in order to furmount the dread of it, and the terrors it produces are not to be wondered at.

The celebrated Montagne has justly obferved, that the idea of our approaching diffolution is rendered

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ftill more dreadful by the circumcountenances of a whole family overcaft with forrow, the tears of an afflicted wife, and the lamentations of all who happen to be prefent in the chamber of a fick perfon, difpirited and weakened by the violence of his difeafe; befides many other ceremonies fufficient of themselves to ftrike terror into the mind of a man who feels his natural powers fail, and whofe dread is aggravated by uncertainty concerning his future ftate. The dying fhould, if poffible, be freed from fuch dreadful ideas, and the apparatus of death, which is a punifhment more grievous than death itself, fhould be referved for criminals alone.

We are informed by travellers, that a certain barbarous people celebrated the deaths of their grandees by rejoicings, and indulged the dying with all the pleasures they were capable of enjoying. This cuftom has nothing barbarous in it, though it must be allowed to be inconfiftent with the precepts of our religion.

How great anguish muft that man feel, who, in the prime of life, and poffeffed of confiderable wealth, finds himfelf on a fudden attacked by a difeafe, which muft unavoidably end by his death. His affliction muft doubtless be extreme, for the happy feldom remember that they

fhall

fhall one day cease to be fo. Let the Stoic philofophers fay what they will, a wife man who has seriously confidered death, cannot help fearing it; and we seldom see a man of fpirit and refolution put an end to his life. No character is in higher efteem than that of a man of courage. A man who voluntarily expofes himfelf to the greatest dangers, and braves them with intrepidity, appears to defpife death; and this contempt of death is doubtless fome. thing admirable: this, however, is common in the prefent age, and has been so in ages paft. Innumerable perfons celebrated in hiftory, and many of whom it makes no mention, have diftinguifhed themfelves by illuftrious actions of this kind.

courage, than of avarice and an inordinate defire of glory. They are not fo properly brave, as selfinterested and ambitious and it is evident that they are in reality, void of the refolution and intrepidity. which they fo much value themselves upon, fince death, which they braved through ambition in the field, appears fo terrible to them when it comes divested of the glory or emoluments which attend it, To die muft indeed be dreadful, fince even men of acknowledged valour fear it in certain circum.. ftances: it is not therefore easy to determine in what light death should be confidered by men. We should, however, fometimes reflect upon it as a thing certain, and perhaps not far off. We ought to live and act like beings who are fure of dying: and without entering into the dif

Can then magnanimity, which is one of the most shining virtues, be fo common? There muft cer-cuffion of thofe mysterious questions tainly be some reason for this paradox, and it seems highly probable that felf-love hides this reafon from mankind. Certain it is, that interest and ambition induce many to force dangers; and their pretended contempt of death is in them lefs frequently an effect of virtue and

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which revelation alone can refolve, we should in misfortunes confole ourselves with the hopes of death, which will terminate them fooner or later; and in profperity we should moderate our transports by thinking on death, which will bring us to a level with the wretched.

Addreffed to the Authors of the BRITISH MAGAZINE.

Need not inform perfons of your fagacity and penetration, that there are grievances and vexations which, though confiderable in themfelves, never meet with compaffion from the bulk of mankind, becaufe common experience does not fuggeft an idea of them. Such are the croffes and difappointments which

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them. I fhall confine myself to those which none but authors are obnoxious to most of which are, in my opinion, owing to that fatal revolution whereby writing is converted to a mechanic trade; and bookfellers, instead of the great, become the patrons and paymafters of men of genius. To pafs by the tendency of this connexion between authors and tradefmen to bring literature into contempt, can any thing more cramp and deprefs true genius, than to write under the direction of one whofe learning does not extend beyond the multiplication-table and the London Eveningpost? Here I muft, however, make an exception in favour of fuch bookfellers and printers as have diftinguished themselves by their literary talents: these I honour, and fhall always look upon as gentlemen, though they have the misfortune of keeping fhop. Some fuch I have known, of so truly poetical a genius, that they fufficiently refute the maxim of Cicero ;

Nibil ingenuum poteft habere officina.

The mention of poetry awakens all my grief afresh. You must understand, gentlemen, that I was born a poet: this, I think, I may fay without vanity; yet, when I commenced author, I received the fame anfwer from every bookfeller to whom I offered my fervice in the poetical way. "Poetry does not fell, Sir," was the tune with them all. I was, therefore obliged to check my poetical fire, and bring myself down to politicks and criticifm. The former of these fubjects was always my averfion; the latter, indeed, in some meafure fuited my tafte; for every poet is a critick of

confequence: and yet, in the dif charge of my critical function, I have been expofed to many mortifications. I have feen my Remarks attacked in public, and in private, without daring to justify my own judgment. I have often been obliged to fay what I knew to be falfe, in order to promote the fale of a book in which my publisher was concerned; and fometimes to recant what I was convinced was true, for fear fome rival critick should retaliate. Thus did I, at the age of twenty-five, meet with the fame difgrace which the great Galileo underwent at fourfcore, when he was compelled by the Inquifition to retract his opinion concerning the earth's motion.

Another grievance, of which, like Monf. Bayle, I must say, animus meninisse horret, is that practice of bookfellers, who, among other invasions of the prerogative of us authors, affume a right to dub a book with a title of their own invention. Would you think it, gentlemen, I have wrote, God knows how many, choice performances, to which a puppy of a publisher has prefixed fuch titles and mottoes, that I have been quite afhamed, upon feeing them in print. This is not all: these fellows fometimes carry their infolence fo far, as to presume to alter words and expreffions in what a gentleman has taken the utmost care to polish and bring to perfection. This is an abuse altogether infupportable; and this, with the reft, has often tempted me to bid adieu to the painful preheminence of inftructing mankind: but ftill I write on, having a fecret impulfe which tells me, that I was born to bring about a reformation in the

Re

Republic of Letters, and to introduce into this my native country that univerfal tafte spoken of by Monf. de Voltaire; whom, by the bye, I resemble in every refpect, except being poffeffed of an ample fortune but this circumftance I look upon as a trifle, fince the true poet is (to use the words of an eminent poet) fupremely bleft in his Mufe, and, like the true adept, enjoys all things, without having any thing.

You cannot but be fenfible, gentlemen, that a reformation in literature was never more neceffary than at the present juncture, when

PE

wit is fold by the yard, and a journeyman-author paid like a journeyman-taylor. I fhall do my best to promote any measure that may contribute to bring this about, and reftore a golden age in the learned. world, not inferior to the brilliant reign of queen Anne, which was rendered illuftrious by the never-tobe too much admired Pope, Swift, Addifon, Rowe, Congreve, Steel, Prior, cum multis aliis.

Gentlemen, I have the honour of fubfcribing myself your most obedient humble fervant and reader, Vinegar-yard, Ap. 14, 1761.

JOHN TRIPLET.

REFLECTIONS on PROVIDENCE.

Erhaps there has not been a fubject more univerfally treated of, and lefs understood, than the Providence of God, and his fuperintendance over the creation. It has been the theme of philofophers and poets ever fince they knew to write, or even to think, as being an inquiry which highly concerned men, and defervedly engaged their attention. But whatever noble ideas the more ancient writers might entertain of the being and attributes of God in general, it is certain their notions of his providence were too contracted, and must contradict the reafon and obfervation of him who could carry his researches into the general laws of nature, and take the whole fyftem of the world at once into his view. How fondly did they receive, and how tenaciously did they retain, the opinion of rewards and punishments, happinefs and mifery, purfuing the heel of the just and unjust, even in this life; and this, notwithftanding common

experience frequently extorted from them plaintive confeffions of the contrary; and thus were they obliged to mufter up all the reafon they were mafters of, in fupport of what that experience would not countenance. But their arguments in defence of this (as well as all other errors) will by no means ftand the teft of a strict examination; which plainly expofes to view the weak foundations on which they ftood. To inftance, in one of the moft plaufible; "If the providence of God (fays Simplicius) takes care of the whole creation, it neceffarily extends to the parts of it alfo; for if they are neglected, the whole will fall to ruin." This argument, at firft fight, feems to have fome fhew of reafon in it, as well as ingenuity; but it ferves rather to amufe the inattentive than fatisfy the curious: for a little reflection will inform us, that the fame confined notions which fuggested their ideas of Providence, conducted Sim

plicius

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