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an evil. I am but too fenfible, that the invifible fprings of the machine, though the foul be of divine origin, unite it to the body. When the foul feels any anxiety or inquietude, the body confumes away, and partakes of its pain if the body be attacked with diseases, the foul is no longer capable of pleasure; but languifhes, and bears its fhare of mifery.

Nothing can be more erroneous than the opinion of the vulgar concerning evil. Man fuffers no real evil but bodily pain: exile, obfcure birth, contempt, and oppreffion, are all imaginary evils.

All the philofophers of antiquity have, in vain, used their utmost endeavours to explain the nature of death. One has exerted himself to prove, that fouls are for ever paff ing from one body to another: a fecond, in order to fecure men from the dread of divine vengeance, af

fures us, that there is no life after this, and that the foul perifhes with the body. The greatest of these philofophers maintains, that the form of beings changes alone; and that matter, for ever infinite, active, and compleat, conftantly circulates in the univerfe.

Plato, and other antient philofophers, are of opinion, that a juft fentence prepares great enjoyments for us in the Elyfian Fields, or great fufferings in Tartarus. This opinion the antients might embrace through a motive of felf-love, as it freed them from the dread of anni hilation; but Chriftians, who have obtained the fulleft affurance of a future ftate, fhould look forward to it in all their afflictions, as the hopes of a happy immortality are more than fufficient to counterballance all temporary fufferings.

The HISTORY of PHILOCLES and PANT HEA.

To the Authors of the BRITISH MAGAZINE.

GENTLEMEN,

THE

HE celebrated duke de la Rochfoucault has difcovered, in his moral Reflections, a profound knowledge of the human heart; but none of his maxims appear to me to be more just than the following:

"Abfence may extinguish weak paffions; but it adds new force to the ftrong; juft as the wind which puts out a little fire, makes a great one burn with double fury."

The juftnefs of this obfervation will appear evidently from the following ftory, the truth of which I can vouch for, and the probability

of which nobody will call in queftion.

Philocles, a young gentleman of a confiderable fortune, and remarkable for his perfonal beauty, was distinguished from most of his age and condition by a fingular turn of character. He looked upon love as a paflion fo dangerous, that he formed a refolution to fhun every woman that had infpired him with a growing paffion. It was cuftomary with him to argue in this manner: Pleasure refembles fire; at a certain diftance it warms us; but we cannot make a near approach without being burned.

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Philocles, having made this determination, behaved in fuch a man. ner to the ladies, that he foon acquired the reputation of a Daffodil, as he did not appear to give any preference to one above another. However, as his indifference was owing to principle, and not conftitution, it did not long continue. It foon gave way to the prevailing charms of Florinda; and Philocles, unknown to himself, behaved to her often in fuch a particular manner, as drew upon her the envy of moft of her female acquaintance, and was to her a matter of the highest triumph. Her joy, however, was foon turned into forrow, when she was informed that Philocles was gone to France, thinking the air of Paris might have efficacy enough to cure him of his love; an opinion in which he was not deceived.

Philocles, after a few months refidence in that gay place, which feems to be confecrated to pleasure, and feveral intrigues with ladies of fashion, whofe fentiments agreed exactly with his, and who confidered love as a tranfient amufement, which should never be carried to a serious attachment; returned to England, and heard, with the utmost indifference, that Florinda had in his abfence been married to a peer. This intelligence did not difplease him, as he was now fecure from her reproaches.

Philocles, with a heart intirely difengaged, refumed his former courfe of life, and gave himself up intirely to pleasure and diffipation. But foon a first-rate beauty effected what one of an inferior order could not do. Panthea, the luftre of whofe eyes could be equalled by nothing but the gracefulness and

majefty of her perfon, foon excited emotions in the breaft of Philocles, which, though much stronger than thofe which he had felt before, so far bore a resemblance to them, that he could eafily perceive the traces of his former paffion, and therefore refolved to be upon his guard.

He, however, could not immediately refolve to deprive himfelf of the pleasure of seeing and converfing with Panthea, and every new interview contributed to add new fuel to the flame of love, with which his heart now glowed, which throbbed in all his veins. Each time he faw Panthea appeared to him the first; and it is highly probable he would have intirely forgot his refolution, had it not been for a weakness which no man is intirely free from. He could not ftand the ridicule of his circle of acquaintance, before whom he had often declared his intentions, and boasted of his refolution to act in confequence. Falfe fhame had as much influence over Philocles as over most

men.

He immediately refolved to abfent himself, and accordingly went to Venice. But the image of his dear Panthea could not fo easily be effaced from his mind. Her idea haunted him both day and night; and this, with the fenfe of his own weakness, in facrificing real happinefs to the opinion of men unworthy of his efteem, had fuch an effect on him, that he was seized with a violent fever. His life was almost defpaired of; and it is probable he would not have recovered, had not a refolution which he inftantly formed to return to England, and the hope of feeing his beloved Panthea again, contributed more to reftore

his health than all the affiftance of his phyficians.

Upon his return to England, Panthea, who had taken offence at his inconftancy, for fome time declined feeing him; but being foon after informed that he was fallen dangerously ill, her paffion took the afcendant, and she went to fee him. Philocles was in a fhort time reftored to health, and owed his re

TH

Confiderations upon the Deaths of HE force of prejudice appears in nothing more strongly than in the encomiums which have been lavished upon Lucretia, for laying violent hands upon herself, and Virginius, for killing his own daughter. These actions seem to derive all their glory from the revolutions to which they gave rife, as the former occafioned the abolition of monarchy amongst the Romans, and the latter put an end to the arbitrary power of the Decemviri. But if we lay afide our prepoffeffions for antiquity, and examine these actions without prejudice, we cannot but acknowledge, that they are rather the effects of human weakness and obstinacy than of refolution and magnanimity. Lucretia, for fear of worldly cenfure, chofe rather to fubmit to the lewd defires of Tarquin, than have it thought that she had been stabbed in the embraces of a flave; which fufficiently proves, that all her boasted virtue was founded upon vanity, and too high a value for the opinion of mankind. The younger Pliny, with great reafon, prefers to this famed action that of a woman of low birth, whofe husband being feized with an incurable diforder, chofe rather to pe

covery intirely to Panthea's visits, which were very frequent.

Panthea, having thus difcovered her heart, made no longer any dif ficulty to admit the addreffes of Philocles;, and in a few months af terwards they were married. Philocles is now become an example of conftancy, and his attachment to Panthea is equal to the ardour of her affection for him.

LUCRETIA ana VIRGINIA.

rifh with him than survive him. The action of Arria is likewise much more noble, whofe husband, Pætus, being condemned to death, plunged a dagger in her breaft, and told him, with a dying voice, Patus, it is not painful." But the death of Lucretia gave rife to a revolution, and is therefore become illuftrious; tho', as St. Auguftine juftly obferves, it is only an inftance of the weakness of a woman, too folicitous about the opinion of the world.

Virginius, in killing his daughter to preferve her from falling a victim to the luft of the decemvir Claudius, was guilty of the highest rafhnefs; fince he might certainly have gained the people, already irritated against the tyrant, without embruing his hands in his own blood. This action may indeed be extenuated, as Virginius flew his daughter from a falle principle of honour, and did it to preferve her from what both he and the thought worse than death; namely, to preferve her from violation: but tho' it may in fome measure be excufed, it fhould not certainly be praifed or admired.

A Ge

A Genealogical Account of CAVENDISH, Duke of DEVONSHIRE.

TH

HIS name, taken from the lordship of Cavendish, or Caundish, in Suffolk, was affumed by one of the family of Gernon, whose ancestor came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and one of whose defcendants was earl of Chefter.

Geoffry de Gernon, of Moorehall in the Peak of Derby, was fucceeded by his fon Roger, of Grimfton-hall in Suffolk, who, in the reign of Edward II. married the daughter and heir of John Patton, lord of Cavendish, and his four fons affumed that furname. The eldest of thefe, John Cavendish, became lord chief juftice of the King's Bench in the reign of Edward III. maintained the fame office in that of Richard II. and was murdered by the mob in the market-place of Bury; the infurgents being the more exafperated against him, as his fon John Cavendifh, efquire of the body to king Richard II. was the perfon who difpatched Wat Tyler at Smithfield, after he had been wounded by Walworth, mayor of London §. Of this branch was William Cavendish, gen

tleman-ufher to cardinal Wolfey, whofe life he wrote. After the death of that prelate, he was taken into the fervice of Henry VIII. who appointed him treasurer of the chamber, knighted, and admitted him into his privy-council. In the fucceeding reign of Edward VI. he obtained a grant of divers manors and lands belonging to diffolved priories and abbies in Derbyshire, Nottinghamthire, Staffordshire, Dorfetfhire, Cornwal, Kent, and Effex; and made a vaft acquifition of fortune by marrying Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick in Derbyshire, widow of Robert Barley of Barley, whofe large eftate was fettled on her and her heirs. His eldeft fon Henry died without issue ; but William, his fecond fon, was in the year 1605 advanced by king James I. to the dignity of baron Cavendish of Hardwick, and in the year 1618 created earl of Devonfhire. He travelled, in his youth, under the tuition of the celebrated Thomas Hobbes, and distinguished himself above all his cotemporaries by his fplendour and munificence .

By

§ From Roger, the second son of this Roger, was defcended Thomas Cavendish, the celebrated navigator, whoje mother was Mary, daughter of Thomas lord Wentworth of Nettlested. This great feaman, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, passed through the Streights of Magellan into the South Sea, and was the fecond Englishman that circled the terraqueous globe.

+ His third jon, Sir Charles, of Webeck-abbey in Nottinghamshire, had a fon who was created duke of Newcafle; but the title expired with this nobleman's only fon Henry duke of Newcastle, who distinguished himself eminently by his liberality, courage, and loyalty to his royal mafter, king Charles 1. and when that prince's affairs were ruined, retired to the continent. He died at Welbeck in the ear 1691, leaving five daughters, his coheirs; namely, the lady Elizabeth,

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