upon a footing of equality with the reft; and, confequently, every one claims, and very justly, every mark of civility and good-breeding. Eafe is allowed, but careleffness and negligence are ftrictly forbidden. If a man accofts you, and talks to you ever fo dully or frivoloufly, it is worse than rudenefs, it is brutality, to fhew him, by a manifeft inattention to what he fays, that you think him a fool or a blockhead, and not worth hearing. It is much more fo with regard to women; who, of whatever rank they are, are entitled, in confideration of their fex, not only to an attentive, but an officious good-breeding from men.

The third fort of good-breeding is local, and is variously modified, in not only different countries, but in different towns of the fame country. But it must be founded upon the two former forts; they are the matter; in which, in this cafe, Fashion and Custom only give the different shapes and impreffions. Whoever has the two first forts, will eafily acquire this third fort of good-breeding, which depends fingly upon attention and obfervation. It is properly the polifh, the luftre, the laft finishing stroke of good-breeding. A man of sense, therefore, carefully attends to the local manners of the respective places where he is, and takes for his models. those persons whom he observes to be at the head of the fashion and good-breeding. He watches how they addrefs themselves to their fuperiors, how they accoft their equals, and how they treat their inferiors; and lets none of those little niceties escape him, which are to good-breeding what the laft delicate and masterly touches are to a good picture; and which the vulgar have no notion of, but by which good judges diftinguish the master. He attends even to their air, drefs, and motions, and imitates them liberally, and not fervilely; he copies but does not mimic. These perfonal graces are of very great confequence. They anticipate the fentiments, before merit engages the understanding; they captivate the heart, and give rife, I believe, to the extravagant notions of Charms and Philters. Their

effects

effects were so surprising, that they were reckoned fupernatural.

In fhort, as it is neceffary to poffefs learning, honour, and virtue, to gain the esteem and admiration of mankind, fo politeness and good-breeding are equally neceffary to render us agreeable in conversation and common life.

Great talents are above the generality of the world; who neither poffefs them themselves, nor are competent judges of them in others: but all are judges of the leffer talents, fuch as civility, affability, and an agreeable address and manner; because they feel the good effects of them, as making fociety easy and agreeable.

Be affured that the profoundeft learning, without good-breeding, is unwelcome and tirefome pedantry; that a man who is not perfectly well-bred, is unfit for good company and unwelcome in it; and that a man who is not well-bred, is full as unfit for business as for company.

Make, then, good-breeding the great object of your thoughts and actions. Obferve carefully the behaviour and manners of those who are distinguished by their good-breeding; imitate, nay, endeavour to excel, that you may at leaft reach them, and be convinced that good-breeding is, to all worldly qualifications, what charity is to all Chriftian virtues. Obferve how it adorns merit, and how often it covers the want of it.

Dignity of Manners.

A certain dignity of manners is abfolutely neceffary to make even the most valuable character either refpected or refpectable in the world.

Horse-play, romping, frequent and loud fits of laughter, jokes, waggery, and indifcriminate familiarity, will fink both merit and knowledge into a degree of contempt. They compofe at moft a merry fellow, and a merry fellow was never yet a refpectable man. Indifcriminate

criminate familiarity either offends your fuperiors, or elfe dubs you their dependent, and led captive. It gives your inferiors juft, but troublesome and improper claims of equality. A joker is near akin to a buffoon; and neither of them is the leaft related to wit. Whoever is admitted or fought for, in company, upon any other account than that of his merit and manners, is never respected there, but only made ufe of. We will have fuch-a-one, for he fings prettily; we will invite fuch-aone to a ball, for he dances well; we will have fucha-one at supper, for he is always joking and laughing; we will ask another, because he plays deep at all games, or because he can drink a great deal. Thefe are all vilifying diftinctions, and mortifying references, and exclude all ideas of esteem and regard. Whoever is bad (as it is called) in company, for the fake of any one thing fingly, is fingly that thing, and will never be confidered in any other light; and confequently never refpected, let his merits be what they will.

Dignity of manners is not only as different from pride, as true courage is from bluftering, or true wit from joking, but it is abfolutely inconsistent with it; for nothing vilifies or degrades more than pride. The pretenfions of the poor man are oftener treated with fneer and contempt, than with indignation; as we offer ridiculously too little to a tradesman, who afks ridiculously too much for his goods: but we do not haggle with one who only asks a juft and reasonable price.

Abject flattery and indifcriminate affentation degrade, as much as indifcriminate contradiction and noify debate difguft. But a modeft affertion of one's own opinion, and a complaifant acquiefcence to other people's, preferve dignity.

Vulgar, low expreffions, awkward motions and addrefs, vilify, as they imply either a very low turn of mind, or low education and low company.

Frivolous curiofity about trifles, and a laborious attention to little objects, which neither require nor deferve a moment's thought, lower a man; who from

thence

thence is thought, (and not unjustly) incapable of greater matters. Cardinal de Reta very fagacioufly marked our Cardinal Chigi for a little mind, from the moment that he told him he had wrote three years with the fame pen, and that it was an excellent good one ftill.

A certain degree of exterior ferioufnefs in looks and motions, gives dignity, without excluding wit and decent cheerfulness, which are always ferious themselves. A conftant fmirk upon the face, and a whiffling activity of the body, are ftrong indications of futility. Whoever is in a hurry, fhews that the thing he is about is too big for him. Hafte and hurry are very different things.

To conclude: A man who has patiently been kicked, may as well pretend to courage, as a man, blafted by vices and crimes, may to dignity of any kind. But an exterior decency and dignity of manners, will even keep fuch a man longer from finking, than otherwise he would be. Of fuch confequence is decorum, even though affected and put on.

Lying.

NOTHING is more criminal, mean, or ridiculous than lying. It is the production either of malice, or cowardice, or vanity; but it generally miffes of its aim in every one of these views; for lies are always detected fooner or later. If we advance a malicious lie, in order to affect any man's fortune or character, we may, indeed, injure him for fome time; but we fhall certainly be the greatest fufferers in the end: for, as foon as we are detected, we are blasted for the infamous attempt: and whatever is faid afterwards to the difadvantage of that perfon, however true, paffes for calumny. To lie, or to equivocate, (which is the fame thing) to excufe ourselves for what we have faid or done, and to avoid the danger of the fhame that we apprehend from it, we discover our fear as well as our falfehood; and only in

crease

crease instead of avoiding, the danger and the fhame; we fhew ourselves to be the lowest and meaneft of mankind, and are fure to be always treated as fuch. If we have the misfortune to be in the wrong, there is fomething noble in frankly owning it; it is the only way of atoning for it, and the only way to be forgiven. To remove a prefent danger by equivocating, evading, or huffling, is fomething fo defpicable, and betrays fo much fear, that whoever practises them deferves to be chaftifed.

There are people who indulge themselves in another fort of lying, which they reckon innocent, and which in one fenfe is fo, for it hurts nobody but themselves. This fort of lying is the fpurious offspring of Vanity, begotten upon Folly: thefe people deal in the marvellous; they have feen fome things that never exifted; they have feen other things which they never really fary, though they did exift, only because they were thought worth feeing has any thing remarkable been faid or done in any place, or in any company, they immediately prefent and declare themselves eye or ear witnefs of it. They have done feats themselves, unattempted, or at leaft unperformed, by others. They are always the heroes of their own fables; and think that they gain confideration, or at leaft prefent attention, by it. Whereas, in truth, all that they get is ridicule and contempt, not without a good degree of diftrust: for one muft naturally conclude, that he who will tell any lie from idle vanity, will not fcruple to tell a greater for interest. Had I really feen any thing fo very extraordinary as to be almoft incredible, I would keep it to myself, rather than by telling it, give any one body room to doubt for one minute of my veracity.

Nothing but truth can carry us through the world, with either our confcience or our honour unwounded. It is not only our duty, but our intereft; as a proof of which, it may be observed, that the greatest fools are the greateft liars. We may fafely judge of a man's truth by his degree of understanding.

Gentleness