N° 55. Thursday, May 3. ---Intus, et in jecore ægro Nafcuntur Domini Perf. OST of the Trades, Profeffions, and ways of living among M mankind, take their original either from the love of pleasure, or the fear of want. The former, when it becomes too violent, degenerates into Luxury, and the latter into Avarice. As these two principles of action draw different ways, Perfius has given us a very humorous account of a young fellow who was rouzed out of his bed, in order to be fent upon a long voyage by Avarice, and afterwards overperfuaded and kept at home by Luxury. I fhall fet down at length the pleadings of these two imaginary persons, as they are in the original, with Mr. Dryden's Tranflation of them. Mane, piger, fertis : furge inquit Avaritia; eja Surge. Negas? inftat, Surge inquit. Non queo. Surge. Exhalet Exhalet vapida læfum pice feffilis obba? Quid petis? Ut nummi, quos hic quincunce modefto Vive memor lethi: fugit hora. Hoc quod loquor, inde eft. Whether alone, or in thy Harlot's lap, When thou would'st take a lazy morning's nap; At his command th' unwilling fluggard wakes. With thy own hands, from the tir'd Camel's back, 'Tis wholesome Sin: But Jove, thou fay'ft, will hear. Stark, ftaring mad, that thou would'ft tempt the Sea? On a brown George, with lowlie Swobbers fed; From a foul Jack, or greafie Maple cup? : } Say, Say, would't thou bear all this, to raise thy store, For, not to live at eafe, is not to live: Death stalks behind thee, and each flying hour When a Government flourishes in conquefts, and is fecure from foreign attacks, it naturally falls into all the pleasures of Luxury; and as these pleasures are very expenfive, they put those who are addicted to them upon raifing fresh fupplies of money, by all the methods of rapaciousness and corruption; fo that Avariee and Luxury very often become one complicated principle of action, in those whofe hearts are wholly fet upon eafe, magnificence and pleasure. The most elegant and correct of all the Latin Hiftorians obferves, that in his time, when the most formidable States of the world were fubdued by the Romans, the Republick funk into those two Vices of a quite different nature, Luxury and Avarice: and accordingly defcribes Catiline as one who coveted the wealth of other men, at the fame time that he fquandred away his own. This obfervation on the Commonwealth, when it was in its height of power and riches, holds good of all Governments that are fettled in a flate of ease and profperity. At fuch times men naturally endeavour to outshine one another in pomp and fplendor, and having no fears to alarm them from abroad, indulge themfelves in the enjoyment of all the pleasures they can get into their poffeffion; which naturally produces Avarice, and an immoderate purfuit after wealth and riches As I was humouring my felf in the fpeculation of these two great principles of action, I could not forbear throwing my thoughts into a little kind of Allegory or Fable, with which I fhall here prefent my reader. There were two very powerful Tyrants engaged in a perpetual war against each other: The name of the firft was Luxury, and of the fecond Avarice. The aim of each of them was no less than univerfal Monarchy over the hearts of mankind. Luxury had many Generals under him, who did him great fervice, as Pleafure, Mirth, Pomp, and Fashion. A varice was likewife very strong in his Officers, being faithfully ferved by Hunger, Hunger, Industry, Care and Watchfulness: he had likewise a Privy-Counfellor who was always at his elbow, and whifpering fomething or other in his ear: the name of this Privy-Counsellor was Poverty. As Avarice conducted himself by the counfels of Poverty, his antagonist was entirely guided by the dictates and advice of Plenty, who was his first Counfellor and Minister of State, that concerted all his measures for him, and never departed out of his fight. While these two great Rivals were thus contending for Empire, their Conquests were very various. Luxury got poffeffion of one heart, and Avarice of another. The Father of a family İy would often range himself under the banners of Avarice, and the Son under those of Luxury. The Wife and Husband would often declare themselves on the two different parties; nay, the fame person would very often fide with one in his youth, and revolt to the other in his old age. Indeed the wife men of the world stood Neuter: but alas! their numbers were not confiderable. At length, when these two Potentates had wearied themselves with waging war upon one another, they agreed upon an interview, at which neither of their Counsellors were to be prefent. It is faid that Luxury began the parly, and after having reprefented the endless state of war in which they were engaged, told his enemy, with a franknefs of heart which is natural to him, that he believed they two fhould be very good friends, were it not for the instigations of Poverty, that pernicious Counsellor, who made an ill use of his ear, and filled him with groundless apprehenfions and prejudices. To this Avarice replied, that he looked upon Plenty (the first Minifter of his antagonift) to be a much more destructive Counsellor than Poverty, for that he was perpetually fuggefting pleafures, banishing all the neceffary cautions against want, and confequently undermining those principles on which the Government of Avarice was founded. At laft, in order to an accommodation, they agreed upon this preliminary; that each of them fhould immediately dismiss his Privy-Counsellor. When things were thus far adjusted towards a peace, all other differences were foon accommodated, infomuch that for the future they refolved to live as good friends and confederates, and to fhare between them whatever conquefts were made on either fide. For this reafon, we now find Luxury and Avarice taking poffeffion of the fame heart, and dividing the fame perfon between them. To which I fhall only add, that fince the difcarding of the Counsellors above-mentioned, Avarice fupplies Luxury in the room of Plenty, as Luxury prompts Avarice in the place of Poverty. U u u VOL. II. Friday, No 56. Friday, May 4. Lucan. T Felices errore fuo------ HE Americans believe that all creatures have Souls, not only men and women, but brutes, vegetables, nay even the most inanimate things, as stocks and stones. They believe the fame of all the works of art, as of knives, boats, looking-glaffes: and that as any of these things perish, their Souls go into another world, which is inhabited by the Ghosts of men and women. For this reason they always place by the corpfe of their dead friend a bow and arrows, that he may make use of the Souls of them in the other world, as he did of their wooden bodies in this. How abfurd foever such an opinion as this may appear, our European Philofophers have maintained several notions altogether as improbable. Some of Plato's followers in particular, when they talk of the world of ideas, entertain us with fubftances and beings no less extravagant and chimerical. Many Ariftotelians have likewise spoken as unintelligibly of their fubftantial forms. I fhall only inftance Albertus Magnus, who in his differtation upon the loadstone obferving that fire will destroy its magnetick virtues, tells us that he took particular notice of one as it lay glowing amidst an heap of burning coals, and that he ceived a certain blue vapour to arise from it, which he believed might be the fubftantial Form, that is, in our Weft-Indian phrase, the Soul of the load-ftone. per There is a tradition among the Americans, that one of their countrymen defcended in a vision to the great repofitory of Souls, or, as we call it here, to the other world; and that upon his return he gave his friends a distinct account of every thing he faw among those regions of the dead. A friend of mine, whom I have formerly mentioned, prevailed upon one of the interpreters of the Indian Kings, to enquire of them, if poffible, what tradition they have among them of this matter: which, as well as he could learn by those many questions which he asked them at several times, was in fubftance as follows. The |