The new prophefying Seel, I made mention of above, pretend, it feems, among many other Miracles, to have had a moil fignal one, acled premeditately, and with warning, be- fore many hundreds of People, who actually give Teftimony to the Truth of it. But I wou'd only afk, Whether there were prefent, among thofe hundreds, any one Perfon, who having never been of their Sect, or addicted to their Way, will give the fame Teftimony with them? I mud not be contented to afk, Whether fuch a one had been wholly free of that particular Enthufiafm? but Whether, be- fore that time, he was efteem'd of fo found a Judgment, and clear a Head, as to be wholly free of Melancholy, and in all likelihood inca- pable of all Enthufiafm befides? For other- wife, the Panick may have been caught; the Evidence of the Senfes loft, as in a Dream; and Concerning ENTHUSIASM. 45 and the Imagination fo inflam'd, as in a mo- ment to have burnt up every Particle of Judg- ment and Reafon. The combuftible Matters lie prepar'd within, and ready to take fire at a Spark; but chiefly in a* Multitude feiz'd with the fame Spirit. No wonder if the Blaze rifes fo of a fudden; when innumerable Eyes glow with the Paffion, and heaving Breads are labouring with Infpiration: when not the Afpect only, but the very Breath and Exha- lations of Men are infectious, and the infpiring Difeafe imparts it-felf by infenfible Tranfpi- ration. I am not a Divine good enough to refolve what Spirit that was which prove! fo catching among the antient Prophets, that even the profane f Saul was taken by it. But I learn from holy Scripture, that there was the f eyil, as well as the good Spirit of Prophecy. And I find by prefent Experience, as well as by all Hiflorys, Sacred and Profane, that the Operation of this Spirit is every where the fame, as to the bodily Organs.
A Gentleman who has writ lately in de- fence of reviv'd Prophecy, and has fmce fallen himfelf into the prophetick Extafys, tells us, 41 That the antient Prophets had the Spirit of L *VOL. III. p. 66. in the Notes, t See 1 Kings ch. xxii. ver. 20, 8cc. 2 Chren. ch. xvlii. ver. ig, 8cc.
D4 " God " God upon them under Extajy, with divers " ftrange Geftures of Body denominating them tc Madmen, (or Enthufiafts)asappearsevidently, 11 fay she, in the Inftances of Balaam, Saul, tc David, Ezekiel, Daniel, &c" And he proceeds tojuftify this by the Practice of the Apoilolick Times, and by the Regulation which the * ApofUe himfelf applies to thefe feemingly irregular Gifts, fo frequent and ordinary (as our Author pretends) in the primitive Church, on the hrft rife and fpreading of Chriflianity. But I leave it to him to make the Refemblance as well as he can between his own and the Apoilolick way. I only know, that the Symp- toms he defcribes, and which himfelf (poor Gentleman!) labours under, are as Heathenifh as he can poffibly pretend them to be Chrjftian. And when I faw him lately under an Agitation (as they call it) uttering Prophecy in a pom- pous Latin Style, of which out of his Extafy, it feems, he is wholly incapable; it brought into my mind the Latin Poet's Defcription of the Sibyl, whofe Agonys were fo perfeclly like thefe.
f — r — Subito non vultus, non color units, Non comptce manfere comae; Jed pectus anhelum, Et rabie fera cordatument; major que videri * i Cor. ch. xiv. f Virg, iEn. lib. 6.
Nee Concerning ENTHUSIASM. 47 Nee mortale fonans: afflata ejl Numine quando Jam propiore Dei And again prefently after: Immanis in antro Bacchatur Fates, magnum Ji peflore pojfit Excufffje Deum: tanto magis Ille fatigat Os iabidum, jera cor da domans, Fingitque Pre men do.
Which is the very Style of our experiene'd Author. tl For the infpir'd (fays he) undergo lt a Probation, wherein the Spirit, by frequent " Agitations, forms the Organs, ordinarily for 41 a Month or two before Utterance^ The Roman Hiflorian, fpeaking of a moft horrible Enthufiafm which broke out in Rome long before his days, defcribes this Spirit of Prophecy; Viros velut mente capta, cum pacta- iione fanatic a corporis vaticinari. Li v. 30. The deteftable things which are further related of thefe Enthufiafts, I wou'd not willingly tran- fcribe: but the Senate's mild Decree in fo ex- ecrable a Cafe, I can't omit copying; being fatisfy'd, that tho your Lordlniphas read it be- fore now, you can read it again and again with admiration: In reliquum deinde (fays LivyJ S. C. cautum eft, &c. Si quis tale facr urn folenne et neceffarium rium rium duceret, nee fine Religione et Piaculo fe id omittere poffe; apud Prcelorem Urbanum prqfitere- lur: Prcetor Senalum confuleret. Si eipermij/um ef- fet, cum in Scnatu centum non minus efjent, ita id facrum facer et; dumne plus quinque Jacrificio inte- reffent,,neu qua pecunia communis, neu quis Ma- gifier facrorum, aut Sacerdos efjet.
So neceffary it is to give way to this Dif- temper of Enthifiafm, that even that Philofo- pher who bent the whole Force of his Philo- fophy againft Superftition, appears to have left room for vifionary Fancy, and to have indi- rectly tolerated Enthufiafm. For it is hard to imagine, that one who had fo little religious Faith as Epicurus, fhou'd have fo vulgar a Credulity, as to believe thofe accounts of Armys and Caftles in the Air, and fuch vifi- onary Phenomena. Yet he allows them; and then thinks to folve 'em by his Effluvia, and Aerial Looking- glaffes, and I know not what other fluff: which his Latin Poet, however, fets off beautifully, as he does all.
*■ ■Rcrurn Simulacra vagari Multa, modis multis, in cunflas undique parteis Tenuia, qua facile inter Je junguntur in auns, Obvia Concerning ENTHUSIASM. 49 Obvia cum veniunt, ut aranea bracleaque auri Centauros itaque, et Scyllarum Membra videmus, Ccrbcrcafque canumfacies,Jimulacraque eorum Quorum morte obit a tellus ampleflitur ojja: Ornne genus quoniam pajjim finulacra feruntur, Partim jponte jua qucejiunt acre in ipjo; Partim quae variis ab rebus cumque recedunt.
« Twas a fign thisPhilofopher believ'cl there was a good Stock of Vifionary Spirit originally in Human Nature. He was fo fatisfy'd that Men were incline! to fee Vifions, that rather than they fhou'd go without, he chofe to make 'em to their hand. Notwithftanding he deny'd the Principles of Religion to be * natural, he was fore'd tacitly to allow there was a wondrous Difpofition in Mankind towards Jupernatural Objects; and that if thefe Ideas were vain, they were yet in a manner innate, or fuch as Men were really born to, and cou'd hardly by any means avoid. From which Concedion, a Divine, methinks, might raife a good Argument againft him, for the Truth as well as the Ujefulnefs of Religion. But fo it is: whether the Matter of Apparition be true 5o A LETTER true or falfe, the Symptoms are the fame, and the Paffion of equal force in the Perfon who is Vifion-flruck. The Lymphatici of the Latins were the Nymphcl pti ol the Greeks. They were Perfons faid to have feen fome Species of Di- vinity, as either fome rural Deity, or Nymph; which threw them into fuch Tranfports as overcame their Reafon. The Extafys exprefs d themfelves outwardly in Quakings, Tremb- lings, TofTmgs of the Head and Limbs, Agita- tions, and (as Livy calls them) Fanatical Throws or Convulfions, extemporary Prayer, Prophe- cy, Singing, and the like. All Nations have their Lymphaticks of fome kind or another; and all Churches, Heathen as well as Chrif- tian, have had their Complaints againft Fa- naticifm.
One wou'd think the antients imagin'd this Difeafe had fome relation to that which they call'd Hydrophoby. Whether the antient Lym- phaticks had any way like that of biting, to communicate the Rage of their Diftemper, I can't fo pofitively determine. But certain Fa- naticks there have been fmce the time of the Antients, who have had a mofl profperous Fa- culty of communicating the Appetite of the Teeth. For fince firfl the fnappifh Spirit got up in Religion, all Seels have been at it, as the faying is, Tooth and Nail; and are never better Concerning ENTHUSIASM. 51 better pleas'd, than in worrying one another without mercy.
So far indeed the innocent kind of Fana- ticifm extends it-felf, that when the Party is flruck by the Apparition, there follows always an Itch of imparting it, and kindling the fame Fire in other Breads. For thus Poets are Fa- naticks too. And thus Horace either is, or feigns himfelf Lymphatick, and (hews what an Effect the Vifion of the Nymphs and Bac- chus had on him.
* Bucchum in remotis carmina rupibus Vidi docentem, credite pojleri, XT MP PI A Sque difcentes Eva! recenti mens trepidat metu, Plenoque Bacchi peflore turbidum t I TMPHATUR as Heinfius reads.
No Poet (as I venturd to fay at firft to your Lordfhip) can do any thing great in his own way, without the Imagination or Suppofition of a Divine Prefence, which may raife him to t So again, Sat. 5. vex. gj. Gnalia Lymphis Iratis Exjlmfla: Where Horace wittily treats the People of Gnatia as Lymphaticks and En- thufiafls, for believing a Miracle of their Priefts: Credat Juddus Apella. Hor. ibid. SeeHEiNsius and Torrensius; and the Quotation in the following Notes, vvo t«» Hv^uv, 8cc.
fome fome degree of this PafTion we are fpeaking of. Even the cold Lucretius * makes ufe of Infpiration, when he writes againft it; and is forc'd to raife anApparation of Nature, in a Divine Form, to animate and conducl him in his very Work of degrading Nature, and de- fpoiling her of all her feeming Wifdom and Divinity.
f Alma Venus, call Jubter labentia figna Quce mare navigerum, quce terras frugiferentcis Concelebras ■ Quce quoniam rerum naluram fola gubemas, Nee fine te quidquam dias in luminis or as Exoritur, ne que Jit latum neque amabile quidquam: Te fociam Jludeo fcribundis verjibus ejje, Qitos Ego de rerum natura pangere conor Memmiadae nqflro.
SECT. VII.
TH E only thing, my Lord, I wou'd infer from all this, is, that Enthusiasm is wonderfully powerful and extenfive; that it is a matter of nice Judgment, and the harder! thing in the world to know fully and diftinctly: fince even^Atheifm is not exempt from it. For, as fome have well remark'd, there have been En- Concerning ENTHUSIASM 53 -Entliufiajlkal Jthei/is. Nor can Divine I nfpi ra- tion, by its outward Marks, be eafily diflin- guifh'd from it. For Infpiration is a real feel- ing of the Divine Prefence, and Enthufiafm a jalfe one.. But the Paffion they raife is much alike. For when the Mind is taken up in Vi- rion, and fixes its view either on any real Ob- ject, or mere Specter of Divinity; when it fees, or thinks it fees any thing prodigious, and more than human; its Horror, Delight, Confufion, Fear, Admiration, or whatever Paffion belongs to it, or is uppermoft on this occafion, will have fomething vaft, immane, and (as Painters fay) beyond Life. And this is what gave occa- fion to the name of Fanatic ij m, as it was us'd by the Antients in its original Senfe, for an Appa- rition tranfporting the Mind.
Something there will be of Extravagance and Fury, when the Ideas or Images receiv'd are too big for the narrow human VefTel to contain. So that Infpiration may be juflly call'd Divine Enthusiasm: For the Word it-felf fig- nines Divine Prefence, and was made ufe of by the Philofopher whom the earlier! Chriitian Fa- thers calld Divine, to exprefs whatever was fublime in human Paffions * This was the Spirit Spirit he allotted to Heroes, State/men, Poets* Orators, Muficians, and even Philofophers them- felves. Nor can we, of our own accord, for- bear afcribing to a * noble Enthusiasm, what- ever is greatly perform'd by any of Theje. So that almoft all of us know fomething of this Principle. But to know it as we fhou'd do, and difcern it in its feveral kinds, both in our- felves, and others; this is the great Work, and by this means alone we can hope to avoid De- lufion. For to judge the Spirits whether they are of God, we muft antecedently judge our own Spi- rit; whether it be of Reafon and found Senfe; whether it be fit to judge at all, by being fedate cool, and impartial; free of every byafling Paf- fion, every giddy Vapor, or melancholy Fume. This is the firft Knowledge and previous Judg- ment: " To underftand our -felves, and know '■' what Spirit we are of." Afterwards we may judge the Spirit in others, confider what their perfonal Merit is, and prove the Validity of Elvuv av dv Xj <me^ iuv luowruv h o\'\ycj t^to on a aaplec znoioav, dxxd. (pvcrst T*u >£) 'En9acr»a^oi/7e5 wWeo 01 §to^aLv\ei<; ttj ^ijcr^a^o;. Apol. In particular as to Philof.p/iers, Plutarch tells us, 'twas the Complaint of fome of the four old Romans, when Learning came to them from Greece, that the Youth grew Enthufiajlick with Philofophy. For fpeaking of one of the Philofophers of the Athenian Embaffy, he fays, "Egwra $&w IvtSeGXvuts toJj ceo*; tup' « tcov a.7\Kut qSovuv k^ ttixr^i&ui 'wnriaovlis 'Ei/Qacnwcr* 'mg) QiXorofiatr. Plut. in vit. Cat. Major.
* Of this Paffion, in the nobler and higher fenfe, fee more, VO I. II. P- 75' 76, 393, 394, &c. and VOL. III. p. 30, 33, 34, 37.
their Concerning EJVTHU SIA S M. 55 their Teflimony by the Solidity of their Brain. By this means we may prepare our-felves with fome Antidote againfl. Enthufiafm. And this is what I have dar'd affirm is belt perform'd by keeping to Good Humour. For otherwife the Remedy it-felf may turn to the Difeafe.
And now, my Lord, having, after all, in fome meafure juftify'd Enthusiasm, and own'd the Word; if I appear extravagant, in addrefling to you after the manner I have done, you mufl allow me to plead an Impulfe. You mufl; fup- pofe me (as with truth you may) moil paffio- nately yours; and with thatKindnefs which is natural to you on other occafions, you mufl tolerate your Enlhifiajlick Friend, who, except- ing only in the cafe of this over-forward Ajal, mufl ever appear, with the highefl: Refpecl:, My Lord, Tour LordJIiip's, fac.
?>*Si SECT. I.
I HAVE been confidering (my Friend!) what your Fancy was, to exprefs fuch a furprize as you did the other day, when I hap- pen'd to fpeak to you in commendation of Raillery, Was it poffible you fhou'd fuppofe me fo grave a Man, as to diflike all Conver- Vol. I. [E] fation fation of this kind? Or were you afraid I fhou'd not (land the trial, if you put me to it, by making the experiment in my own Cafe?
I Must confefs, youhadreafon enough for your Caution; if you cou'd imagine me at the bottom fo true a Zjalot, as not to bear the lead Raillery on my own Opinions. 'Tis the Cafe, I know, with Many. Whatever they think grave or folemn, they fuppofe mufl ne- ver be treated out of a grave and folemn way: Tho what Another thinks fo, they can be con- tented to treat otherwife; and are forward to try the Edge of Ridicule againfl any Opinions befides their own.
The Oueftion is, Whether this be fair or no? and, Whether it be not juit and reafon- able, to make as free with our own- Opinions, as with thole of other People? For to be fpa- ring in this cafe, may be look'd upon as a piece of Selfifhnefs. We may be charg'd perhaps with wilful Ignorance and blind Idolatry, for having taken Opinions upon Truft, and confe- crated in our-felves certain //^/-Notions, which we will never fuffer to be unveild, or feen in open light. They may perhaps be Mon- gers, and not Divinitys, or Sacred Truths, which are kept thus choicely, in fome dark Corner of our Minds: The Speclers may im~ pofe of WIT and HUMOU R. 61 pofe on us, whilfl we refufe to turn 'em every way, and view their Shapes and Complexions in every light. For that which can be (hewn only in a certain Light is questionable. Truth, 'tis fuppos'd, may bear all Lights: and one of thofe principal Lights or natural Me- diums, by which Things are to be view'd, in order to a thorow Recognition, is Ridicule it- felf, or that Manner of Proof by which we difcern whatever is liable to juft Raillery in any Subject. So much, at leafl, is allow'cl by All, who at any time appeal to this Criterion. The graven" Gentlemen, even in the gravefl Subjects, are fuppos'd to acknowledge this: and can have no Right, 'tis thought, to deny others the Freedom of this Appeal; whilfl they are free to cenfure like other Men, and in their gravefl Arguments make no fcruple to afk, Is it not Ridiculous?
O f this Affair, therefore, I defignyou fhou'd know fully what my Sentiments are. And by this means you will be able to judge of me; whether I was fmcere the other day in the Defence of Raillery, and can continue jflill to plead for thofe ingenious Friends of ours, who are often cenfur'd for their Humour of this kind, and for the Freedom they take in fuch an airy way of Converfation and Writing.
% % SECT. II.
IN GOOD earned, when one conftders what ufe is fometimes made of this Species of Wit, and to what an excefs it has rifen of late, in fome Characters of the Age; one may be nartled a little, and in doubt, what to think of the Practice, or whither this rallying Hu- mour will at length carry us. It has pafs'd from the Men of Pleafure to the Men of Bufi- nefs. Politicians have been infected with it: and the grave Affairs of State have been treat- ed with an Air of Irony and Banter. The ablefl Negotiators have been known the notableft Bujjoons: the moll celebrated Authors, the greateft Mailers of Burlefque.
There is indeed a kind of defenfive Raillery (if I may fo call it) which I am willing enough to allow in Affairs of whatever kind; when the Spirit of Curiofity wou'd force a Difcovery of more Truth than can conveniently be told. For we can never do more Injury to Truth, than by difcovering too much of it, on fome occafions. Tis the fame with Underftandings as with Eyes: To fuch a certain Size and Make jufl fo much Light is neceffary, and no more. Whatever is beyond, brings Darknefs and Confufion.
Tis TREATISE II.
Senfus Communis: A N ESSAY ON THE FREEDOM O F W / T and HUMOUR.
In a LETTER to a Friend.
-Hac urget Lupus, hac canis — Printed firft in the Year M.DCC.IX.
E2 'Tis real Humanity and Kindnefs, to hide ftrong Truths from tender Eyes. And to do this by a pleafant Amufement, is eafier and civiller, than by a harm Denial, or Remark- able Referve. But to go about induftrioufly to confound Men, in amyflerious manner, and to make advantage or draw pleafurefrom that Perplexity they are thrown into, by fuch un- certain Talk; is as unhandfom in a way of Raillery, as when done with the greatefl Seri- oufnefs,, or in the mofl folemn way of Deceit. It may be neceffary, as well now as heretofore, for wife Men to fpeak in Parables, and with a double Meaning, that the Enemy may be a- mus'd, and they only who have Ears to hear, may hear. But 'tis certainly a mean, impotent, and dull fort of Wit, which amufes all alike, and leaves the molt fenfible Man, and even a Friend, equally in doubt, and at a lofs to un- derfland what one's real Mind is, upon any Subject.
This is that grofs fort of Raillery, which is fo offenfive in good Company. And indeed there is as much difference between one fort and another, as between Fair-dealing and Hypo- crify; or between the genteelefl. Wit, and the mofl fcurrilous Buffoonery. But by Freedom of Converfation this liberal kind of Wit will E 3 lofe 64 An E S S AY on the Freedom lofe its Credit. For Wit is its own Remedy. Liberty and Commerce bring it to its true Standard. The only danger is, the laying an Embargo. The fame thing happens here, as in the Cafe of Trade. Impofitions and Re- ftriclions reduce it to a low Ebb: Nothing is fo advantageous to it as a Free Port.
We have feen in our own time the Decline and Ruin of a falfe fort of Wit, which fo much delighted our Anceftors, that their Poems and Plays, as well as Sermons, were full of it. All Humour had fomething otthe Quibble. The very Language of the Court was Punning. But 'tis now banifh'd the Town, and all good Company: There are only fome few Foot- fteps of it in the Country; and it feems at laft confin'd to the Nurferys of Youth, as the chief Entertainment of Pedants and their Pu- pils. And thus in other refpecls Wit will mend upon our hands, and Humour will refine it-felf; if we take care not to tamper with it, and bring it under Conflraint, by fevere Ufage and rigorous Prefcriptions. All Politenefs is owing to Liberty. We polifh one another, and rub off our Corners and rough Sides by a fort of amicable Collijwn. To reftrain this, is inevitably to bring a Ruft upon Mens Under- (landings. "Lis a deftroying of Civility, Good Breeding of WIT and HUMOUR. 6$ Breeding, and even Charity it-felf, under pre- tence of maintaining it.
.SECT. III.
TO defcribe true Raillery wou'd be as hard a matter, and perhaps as little to the purpofe, as to define Good Breeding. None can underfland the Speculation, befide thofe who have the Practice. Yet every-one thinks him- felf well-bred: and the formallefl Pedant ima- gines he can railly with a good Grace and Hu- mour. I have known fome of thofe grave Gentlemen undertake to correct an Author for defending the Ufe of Raillery, who at the fame time have upon every turn made ufe of that Weapon, tho they were naturally fo very aukard at it. And this I believe may be ob- ferv'd in the Cafe of many Zealots, who have taken upon 'em to anfwer our modern Free- Writers. The Tragical Gentlemen, with the grim Afpecl and Mein of true Inquifitors, have but an ill Grace when they vouchfafe to quit their Aufterity, and be jocofe and pleafant with an Adverfary, whom they wou'd chufe to treat in a very diiferent manner. For to do 'em juftice, had they their Wills, I doubt not but their Conducl and Mein wou'd be pretty much of a-piece. They wou'd, in all probability, foon quit their Farce, and make a thorow E 4 Tra- 66 An E S S AT on the Freedom Tragedy. But at prefent there is nothing fo ridiculous as this JANUS-Face of Writers, who with one Countenance force a Smile, and with another fhow nothing befide Rage and Fury. Having enterd the Lifts, and agreed to the fair Laws of Combat by Wit and Argument, they have nofoonerprovd their Weapon, than you hear em crying aloud for help, and deli- vering over to the Secular Arm.
There can't be a more prepofterous Sight than an Executioner and a Merry- An drew acling their Part upon the fame Stage. Yet I am perfuaded any-one will find this to be the real Piclure of certain modern Zealots in their Controversial Writings. They are no more Maf- ters of Gravity, than they are of Good Hu- mour. The firfl always runs into harm Se- verity, and the latter into an aukard Buffoon- ery. And thus between Anger and Pleafure, Zeal and Drollery, their Writing has much fuch a Grace as the Play of humourfom Chil- dren, who, at the fame inftant, are both pee- vifli and wanton, and can laugh and cry almoft in one and the fame breath.
How agreeable fuch Writings are like to prove, and of what effect towards the winning over or convincing thofe who are fuppos'd to be in Error, I need not go about to explain.
Nor of WIT and HUM OUR. 67 Nor can I wonder, on this account, to hear thofe publick Lamentations of Zealots, that whilft the Books of their Adverfarys are fo current, their Anfwers to 'em can hardly make their way into the World, or be taken the leafl notice of. Pedantry and Bigotry are Mill- nones able to fink the belt Book, which car- ries the lean part of their dead weight. The Temper of the Pedagogue futes not with the Age. And the World,. however it may be taught, will not be tutor d. If a Philofopher fpeaks, Men hear him willingly, while he keeps to his Philofophy. So is a Chriftian heard, while he keeps to his profefs'd Charity and Meeknefs. In a Gentleman we allow of Plea- fantry and Raillery, as being manag'd always with good Breeding, and never grofs or clown- ifh. But if a mere Scholaflick, intrenching upon all thefe Characters, and writing as it were by Starts and Rebounds from one of thefe to another, appears upon the whole as little able to keep the Temper of Chriftianity, as to ufe the Reafon of a Philofopher, or the Raillery of a Man of Breeding; what wonder is it, if the monftrous Producl of fuch a jum- bled Brain be ridiculous to the World?
If you think (my Friend!) that by this De- scription I have done wrong to thefe Zealot- Writers in religious Controverfy; read only a few 68 An ESSAY on the Freedom few Pages in any one of 'em (even where the Conteft is not Abroad, but within their own Pale) and then pronounce.
SECT IV.
BUT now that I have laid thus much con- cerning Authors and Writings, you (hall hear my Thoughts, as you have defir'd, upon the Subject of Converjation, and particularly a late One of a free kind, which you remember I was prefent at, with fome Friends of yours, whom you fancy 'd I fhou'd in great Gravity have condemn'd.
Twas, I mult own, a very diverting one, and perhaps not the lefs fo, for ending as abrupt- ly as it did, and in fuch a fort of Confufion, as almoft brought to nothing whatever had been advanc'd in the Difcourfe before. Some Particulars of this Converfation may not per- haps be fo proper to commit to Paper. Tis enough that I put you in mind of the Con- verfation in general. A great many line Schemes, 'tis true, were deftroy'd; many grave Reafonings overturn'd: but this being done without offence to the Partys concern d, and with improvement to the good Humour of the Company, it fet the Appetite the keener to fuch of WIT and HUMOUR. 69 fuch Converfations. And I am perfuaded, that had Reafon herfelf been to judge of her own Intereft, fhe wou'd have thought flie receiv'd more advantage in the main from that eafy and familiar way, than from the ufual ftiff Ad- herence to a particular Opinion.
But perhaps you may (till be in the fame humour of not believing me in earned. You may continue to tell me, I affect to be paiadox- ical, in commending a Converfation as advan- tage ous to Reafon, which ended in fuch a total Uncertainty of what Reafon had feemingly fo well eftablifh'd.
To this I anfwer, That according to the No- tion I have of Reafon, neither the written Trea- tifes of the Learned, nor the fet Difcourfes of the Eloquent, are able of themfelves to teach the ufe of it. 'Tis the Habit alone of Reafon- ing, which can make a Reafoner. And Men can never be better invited to the Habit, than when they find Pleafure in it. A Freedom of Raillery, a Liberty in decent Language to queftion every thing, and an Allowance of un- ravelling or refuting any Argument, without offence to the Arguer, are the only Terms which can render fuch fpeculative Converfati- ons anyway agreeable. For to fay tiuth, they have been render'd burdenlbm to Mankind by jo Aii E S S AY on the Freedom by the Striclnefs of the Laws prefcrib'd to em, and by the prevailing Pedantry and Bigotry of thofe who reign in em, and affume to them- felves to be Dictators in thefe Provinces.
* Semper ego Auditor tantuml is as natural a Cafe of Complaint in Divinity, in Morals, and in Philofophy, as it was of old, the Sati- ri/l's, in Poetry. Viciffitude is a mighty law of Difcourfe, and mightily longd for by Mankind. In matter of Reafon, more is done in a minute or two, by way of Queftion and Reply, than by a continu'd Difcourfe of whole Hours. Ora- tions are fit only to move the Paffions: And the Power of Declamation is to terrify, exalt, ravifh, or delight, rather than fatisfy or inftrucl. A free Conference is a clofe Fight. The other way, in comparifon to it, is merely a Brandifh- ing, or Beating the Air. To be obftrucled there- fore and manacled in Conferences, and to be confin'd to hear Orations on certain Subjects, muft needs give us a Diftafle, and render the Subjects fo manag'd, as difagreeable as the Ma- nagers. Men had rather reafon upon Trifles, fo they may reafon freely, and without the Im- pofition of Authority, than on the ufefulleft and belt Subjects in the world, wThere they are held under a Reftraint and Fear.
Juv. Sal, i.
Juv. Sal, i.
Nor Nor is it a wonder that Men are generally fuch faint Reafoners, and care fo little to argue ftriclly on any trivial Subject in Company; when they dare fo little exert their Reafon in greater matters, and are forc'd to argue lame- ly, where they have need of the greateft Acti- vity and Strength. The fame thing therefore happens here as in ftrong and healthy Bodys, which are debar'd their natural Exercife, and confin'd in a narrow Space. They are forc'd to ufe odd Geflures and Contortions. They have a fort of Aclion, and move fall, tho with the word Grace imaginable. For the animal Spirits in fuch found and active Limbs cannot lie dead, or without Employment. And thus the natural free Spirits of ingenious Men, if imprifon'd and controul'd, will find out other ways of Motion to relieve themfelves in their Conjiraint: and whether it be in Burlefque, Mi- mickry or Buffoonery, they will be glad at any rate to vent themfelves, and be reveng'd on their Conftrainers, I* Men are forbid to fpeak their minds fe- rioufly on certain Subjects, they will do it iro- nically. If they are forbid to fpeak at all up- on fuch Subjects, or if they find it really dan- gerous to do fo; they will then redouble their Difguife, involve themfelves in Myfterioufnefs, and and j2 An E S SAT on the Freedom and talk fo as hardly to be underftood, or at leaft not plainly interpreted, by thofe who are difpos'd to do 'em a mifchief. And thus Rail- lery is brought more in fafhion, and runs into an Extreme. 'Tis the perfecuting -Spirit has rais'd the bantering one: And want of Liberty may account for want of a true Politenefs, and for the Corruption or wrong Ufe of Pleaiantry and Humour.
If in this refpecl: we (train the juft meafure ofwThat we call Urbanity, and are apt fometimes to take a Buffooning Ruflick Air, we may thank the ridiculous Solemnity and four Humour of our Pedagogues: or rather, they may thank them- felves, if they in particular meet with the hea- vieft of this kind of Treatment. For it will na- turally fall heavieft, where the Conftraint has been the feverefl. The greater the Weight is, the bitterer will be the Satire. The higher the Slavery, the more exquifite the Buffoon- ery.
That this is really fo, may appear by look- ing on thofe Countrys where the fpiritual Ty- ranny is higher!. For the greater! of Buffoons are the Italians: and in their Writings, in their freer fort of Converfations, on their Thea- tres, and in their Streets, Buffoonery and Bur- lefque are in the highefl vogue. 'Tis the only manner manner of WIT and HUMOUR.?3 manner in which the poor cramp'd Wretches can difcharge a free Thought. We muft yield to 'em the Superiority in this fort of Wit. For what wonder is it if we, who have more of Liberty, have lefs Dexterity in that egregious way of Raillery and Ridicule?
SECT. V.
TIS for this reafon, I verily believe, that the Antients difcover fo little of this Spi- rit, and that there is hardly fuch a thing found as mere Burlefque in any Authors of the poli- ter Ages. The manner indeed in which they treated the very graveft Subjects, was fomewhat different from that of our days. Their Trea- tifes were generally in a free and familiar Style. They chofe to give us the Reprefentation of real Difcourfe and Converfe, by treating their Subjects in the way of* Dialogue and free De- bate. The Scene was commonly laid at Ta- ble, or in the publick Walks or Meeting- places; and theufualWit and Humour of their real Difcourfes appear'd in thofe of their own compofmg. And this was fair. For without Wit and Humour, Reafon can hardly have its proof, or be dininguifli'd. The Magifterial Voice and high Strain of the Pedagogue, com- '" See the following Treatife, viz. Soliloquy, Part I. Seel. 3.
mands