387 its greatest height under his administration; that Pride fhould be defeated, Avarice return baffled and ashamed; his hoards inviolable: that the uprightness of his manners, his extenfive foul and vaft capacity, should make his à name, which the race of favourites for time immemorial fhould think it their glory to be called by: whereas history had not hitherto delivered down one, but where the parallel would be in fome parts an injustice to his character; as if unbounded power and folid virtue had been irreconcileable until met in Agrippa.

But, my beloved daughter, that virtue we cannot corrupt, may yet be eclipfed; we will cause distrust and impatiency to enter into the minds of his party; they shall fear what they ought to reverence: thofe prodigious qualifications that diftinguish Agrippa, may be turned against him; whilft his very foes admire his abilities, we will make his friends mifcall his wifdom, cunning. Although he be inceffantly working for the good of the empire, they shall be hoodwinked to thofe advantages. Neither new feas explored, nor countries discovered and fubdued; the heavy debts of the empire difcharged, credit reftored, peace brought home to their dwelling; trade fecure and flourishing; fhall overcome thofe fufpicions and bad impreffions we will make upon the people. Your faction, vigilant and bold, fhall difperfe falfe reports; Antony's zeal muft languish; let him attempt no farther for the good of the cmpire, but his own: thofe two demons that haunt you fhall be appeased; Revenge be fatiated; offer upon his altars, and fupplicate the goddess of Difcord, that the may difappear from among you, and more effectually poffefs your enemies.

N° 50.

Thursday, July 26. 1711.

Sed nos immenfum fpatiis confecimus æquor,

Et jam tempus equum fumantia folvere colla.

N

Ow that I have completed the number of my papers, and, for the space of a year, done my country

what

what fervice lay in the power of an honeft, although con cealed pen; I shall take my leave of the town, with particular thanks for its favour; and fome acknowledgment to the Medley, for fo conftantly explaining what he thought my meaning in any dark allufions or allegories; and retire myfelf from the fatigue of politics and state-reflections, until fome more urgent occafion again call forth my endeavours.

It is very difficult, in an interested world, for any one to be thought free from thofe views that influence others; there are so few perfons content to facrifice their own good to that of the public, that I do not wonder to have a wrong interpretation put upon my labours; and myself, although entirely otherwife, accufed as directing them to fome mercenary end; and full of the defire of making my fortune, by application to the prevailing party: but let fuch who are my accufers remember, that this paper was begun while yet the late miniftry were at the helm, and nothing but their mismanagement to prognosticate their lofs of power.

one.

To thofe who have complained, that my writings were not always equal, the fpirit the fame, or the matter fo entertaining; let fuch begin to confider, my business was to inftruct; I would not defcend to divert: I was neither a Plautus, nor a Moliere; I did not fo much as pretend to vit, much less buffoonery: I went not in purfuit of a laugh, but confined myself to one subject, and that a very serious How extreme difficult it is to fucceed often upon the like topic, I leave to the confideration of the judicious; who know how hard it is to vary the fame difcourfe, and admit of frequent repetition, without being cloyed; with which I have no reason to tax my readers; fince the printer telleth me, the fale of my paper is not at all diminish ed; or its reputation fallen; which, I must confefs, were temptation enough for me to continue it, if I had mercenary views, or were not the end I propofed already anfwered; which maketh me chufe, although perhaps not quite fo civilly, to rife myself, and leave my guefts-with an appetite for more, rather than stay till they should call to take away.

And, notwithstanding the charge that hath fo often

been

389 been brought against me, with an intent to wound great men through my fide; of my being a contemptible hireling, and a little mercenary fellow without probity or principles; one whose actions were directed by others, from whence the machine talked and moved, as conducted by higher hands I folemnly declare, I am ftill as much unknown to the leaders of our own party, as to the others; and very likely to remain fo, as long as I please myself; not withftanding the wife remarks of the Obfervator, and the gueffes made by the judicious Medley.

:

Among the many pretenders in this town, you can hardly produce me one, who will not undertake to difcover and point out the difference of style, and manner of thinking, peculiar to the feveral men of wit: this pamphlet is certainly from fuch a hand; they know his manner perfectly: that paper of verfes is infallibly of fuch a poet, no man in England could write it but he; and this fometimes even upon the firft effay of an author. I, among the reft, used to determine formerly at the fame rate, but fhall be more cautious for the future; having feen the world and myself fo often and fo wretchedly mistaken. How many fathers has this paper of mine been afcribed to! Among all the men of wit, who are in the intereft of the prefent miniftry, I know not one who hath efcaed fome report or fufpicion of being the author. The Medley hath guessed round; and from his skill in that part of learning, called dog's logic, thought he would infallibly hit upon it at last. Thus he hath done what he would have us think is an injury to several innocent perfons ; and if the Examiner be a ftupid, false, and flanderous paper, as he weekly affirms; I think he is bound in confcience and common justice, to repair the injury he hath done to the reputation of thofe worthy perfons he hath falfely intitled it to; and who have never given him the leaft provocation for any fuch calumny.

The judicious reader cannot but observe how weak that cause must be, which the joint endeavours of their party have not been able to defend, against an unknown perfon, who hath had nothing but naked truth to oppose to whole armies of complicated falfehoods and malice: yet, fported by the goodness of the caufe, I have waded through

VOL. II.

K k

through feas of fcurrility, without being polluted by any of that filth they have inceffantly caft at me. I have nei ther mifreprefented perfons nor things; nay, out of tenderness have often forborn to fhew their weakest fide. I appeal to all impartial men, whether time hath not difcovered more abuses in the management of the late ministry, than the Examiner could expofe? The facts are now fo obvious and uncontroverted, that I prefume there is no need of a monitor to point out those things, to which every man is become capable of directing himself.

Of all the doubtful fteps that I have taken in the conduct of this defign; there is none for which I fo much blame myself, as firft defcending to take notice and talk to thofe wretched adverfaries that have weekly fought against me; it was putting myfelf upon a level with fuch whofe defigns and mine were entirely oppofite: I was fired by the love of my country, and that noble ardour which conducteth us through a thousand difficulties in the purfuit of justice: my attempt was to difcover abuses, theirs to conceal them; I purfued truth, they openly adhered to falfehood; my pen was valued for its fincerity, theirs defpifed for difingenuity; and yet I was fo weak to enter the lifts, merely to fatisfy thofe friends who became uneafy at their not being oppofed, and could not account for my neglect: a fault many have been guilty of, in confideration of others, although against a man's better fenfe and reafoning; as I could inftance in feveral things, and particularly in one example out of Plutarch; if the comparison may not be thought too great a prefumption: it is that of Pompey the Great, who ventured a battle with Cæfar, when it was not his intereft; merely because he was a man of that honour and modefty, he could not bear a reproach; neither would ke difoblige his friends; but broke his own measures, and forfook his prudent refolutions, to follow their vain hope and defire. How much more commendable was the conftancy of Phocion, who, when the Athenians urged him at an unfeafonable time to fall upon the enemy, peremptorily refufed; and being upbraided by them with cowardice and pufillanimity, told them, Gentlemen, we understand one another

another very well; you cannot make me valiant at this

time, nor I you wife!

:

But it is time to have done with fuch worthlefs combatants if I have not foiled them, I am certain they have not hurt me, any otherwife than in my own opinion, for attempting to engage them. I fhall conclude with obferving the beauty of that profpect which lieth before me, and for which I congratulate with all my country men; the fecurity to our religion and happy conftitution, under our most pious Queen, her excellent parliament; and able ministry; which to fpeak of, one by one, would be a volume, not a fheet. Methinks I behold the younger Cato in Mr St John *; all that love for kis country, that contempt of danger, and greatnefs of foul, of whom it was faid, It was not for honour or riches, nor rafhly, or by chance, that he engaged himself in the affairs of state; but he undertook the fervice of the public, as the proper bufinefs of an honest man; and therefore he thought himfelf obliged to be as diligent for the good of that, as a lee for the prefervation of her hive.

All

By our well-governed ftrength at home, we are now beginning to be truly formidable to our enemies abroad s France was never fo bufy in fearching expedients that may incline towards a peace; they find it is become their intereft to be fincere; nothing but the unexpected death of the Emperor, and that distracted fate of northern affairs, which at this time threateneth a breach in the confederacy; and the feeds of which. mifchief have been long fown, could prevent our finding the fpeedy effects of it. but those who are wilfully blind, and bigotted to a party, plainly fee the advantage of the change that hath been made; although confidering the circumftances of a tedious war, I am fo far willing to comply with fome gentlemen, as to admit there was a hazard in it, inafmuch as a civil war is worfe than any tyranny: from whence I take leave to hope, we shall not eafily repeat the danger; and fince all changes are not good, let us change no more.

* Secretary of State, created' Lord Viscount Bolingbroke.

The Examiners were written in defence of the new ad