Not only the understanding, the taste, the temper of a people, but the fpirit alfo, will be greatly improved by learning politics of the Greeks and Romans. No man of feeling ever yet read Livy without learning to deteft flavery, and to glow with a love and emulation of public virtue. The Greek and Roman spirit cannot be too much encouraged by those who have a juft idea of the dignity of a true Englishman, and defire to maintain it. And let it be remembered, that the Athenians, in their most glorious periods, were as much attached to politics and news as Britons ever were; but that they preferved, amidft the warmest contests, a refined taste and delicate paffion for the politeft learning, and the profoundest philofophy. No. CXXV. ON BUFFOONERY IN CON VERSATION. I T is fweet, fays the agreeable poet of Venufium, to lay afide our wildom, and to indulge, on a proper occafion, a fpecies of temporary folly. He, indeed, must be outrageoufly fevere, who would prohibit any pleafing mode of paffing our leifure hours, while it is confiftent with innocence, and the nature of a being eminently diftinguished by the fine faculties of reason, fancy, memory, and reflection. Charming is the focial hour when folidity of judgment is enlivened by brilliancy of wit, and the lively fallies of imagination by a fweet interchange of penfive gravity. Eafe, freedom, and the unftudied effufion of the fentiments which naturally arife in cultivated minds, form a very delightful recreation; and difiifs the mind to its ferious employments with new alacrity. Thofe among the antients, who were moft celebrated for their wisdom, were remarkable for a cheerful and equable gaiety, and often diverted themfelves, in their intervals of feverer meditation, with jefts and drollery. Who more cheerful than the gentle Socrates? Who more delighted with a joke than the dignified Cicero? But, at the fame time, few were equally capable of maintaining a legitimate conversation in all its gravity and elegance. The converfations of Socrates, preferved by his eloquent difciples, breathe a wifdom approaching to divine; and Cicero's book, de Oratore, is one of the noblest monuments of polished urbanity, as are many of his philofophical pieces of fpeculative wisdom. But there prevails, at prefent, a tafte for low and noify mirth, which totally precludes all delicacy of fentiment, all exercife of reafon and invention, and almoft degrades us to the level of thofe ludicrous animals, whom nature has rendered fo wonderfully expert in the art of mimickry. Many perfons, who imagine themfelves remarkably endowed with humour, and the power of delighting whatever company they deign to blefs with their prefence, are apt to give their tongues a licence to wander without the reins of judg ment, to affect uncommon expreffions, attitudes, grimaces, and modes of addrefs and behaviour; and to imagine, that oddity is humour, eccentricity wit, downright nonfenfe prodigioufly droll, and rudeness infinitely entertaining. If the company are as foolish as the pretended wit; or, indeed, if they are very polite and good-natured, they feldom refufe the eafy tribute of a laugh, either real or affected; and the joker, animated by his fancied encouragement, proceeds in his extravagant fallies, till his affumed folly approaches very nearly to real idiotifm. In the mean time, as he draws the attention of the company on himself, and engroffes all the time and talk, he not only lowers himself, but prevents others from rifing; relaxes the tone of his own mind, and, of all around, to a ftate of imbecility, and at once prevents the opportunity and the power of uttering a fingle idea worth remembrance. Noife and laughter are but meagre food for the mind; and however pleased people may appear, they commonly retire from the company in which thefe have formed the only entertainment, with an unfatisfied and uneafy vacuity, with difguft and difagreeable reflection. It very often happens that these facetious gentlemen rely upon more expeditious methods of becoming prodigiously entertaining than any thing which requires I 2 utterance. utterance. They enter a room, and fit down gravely, with their wigs on one fide, or with the back part of it over their forehead. They take great delight in the practical joke; and if they can pick your pocket of your handkerchief, fmut your face, draw your chair from under you, or make you a fool, as they call it, they confider themselves as other Yoricks, and as fellows of infinite humour, endowed with peculiar talents for fetting the table on a roar. It might, indeed, be faid with truth, that they literally make fools of themfelves, and appear ambitious of fupplying that order which was once very common, but is now either a little out of fashion, or introduced in difguife; I mean the order of profeffed and hireling fools for the amufement of the nobility. It has indeed been jocularly faid, that many of the nobility in the prefent age, execute the office in their own perfons to fave expence. Now, though there were nothing criminal in buffoonery, yet as it tends, when too long continued, to weaken the faculties of the mind, to exclude all attention to any thing ferious, o diveft converfation of its power of affording improvement as well as pleafure, it is certainly to be wished that it were, in fome measure, reftrained. I fay reftrained only; for I do not know any just reafon why any method of innocently amufing the mind, during a fhort interval of inaction, fhould be utterly forbidden. Man is an animal that delights in variety; mirth and mimickry, jeft and jollity, quips and cranks and ranton wiles, and Laughter bolding both his fides, are certainly no lefs allowable as the means of relaxation, than cards, backgammon, billiards, and the bottle. He is wife who requires moderation in all these indulgences; but he who inveighs against any of them in the grofs, and without exception, has taken a false eftimate of human nature, and is not to be confidered as a moralist, but as a declaimer. If any one rule will admit of univerfal application, it is that which directs us to observe the golden mean. I could never admire the wifdom of certain felfelected legiflators of graceful behaviour, who feem to forbid us to laugh, with much greater ftrictness than they would have prohibited the violation of the decalogue. Το To be remarkable for laughing, is not only ungraceful, but a fign of folly. But God has diftinguished man by the power of rifibility, and there is no reafon why he fhould not exercife it on proper occafions; and, perhaps, there would be no occafion more proper, than when a difciplined fop fhews by his behaviour, that he prefers the varnish of external grace to honour and to honesty. Wit, it has been faid, does not naturally excite laughter. But this obfervation, though true in part, is not univerfally true; for wit, united with humour, poffeffes fuch a command of the rifible muscles, that he must be a ftoic, or a very ill-natured man, who is able to refift the impulfe. I fhould, indeed, have no favourable opinion of that man's heart or difpofition, who could be prefent at a truly comic fcene without laying afide his feverity, and fhaking his fides with as much glee as the ingenious child of nature. And if it is a weakness not to be able to refrain from laughter at a ludicrous object, it is a weakness others the moft pardonable; and it is furely better to be weak than malignant. But, in truth, the weakness confifts only in laughing immoderately or frequently without an adequate object. In every convivial meeting of elegant and polished company, the Muses and the Graces thould be of the party. The first honours and attention fhould be paid to them; but let not Comus and Jocus be forbiddento follow in their train, and under their command. The entertainment will be thus heightened and varied, and good fenfe and decorum derive new luftre from good-humour. We would, indeed, reftrain that exceflive and rude mirth which originates in levity and folly, and becomes what is called buffoonery; but far be it from us to banish that sprightlinefs which naturally refults from the gaiety of innocence. Joy, while we are bleffed with health and eafe, and what the ftoics call EUROIA, or the well flowing of the fream of life,. is gratitude and obedience. No.. No. CXXVI. ON THE STYLE OF XENOPHON AND PLATO. WR RITERS, who have difplayed any of that uniform peculiarity in their ftyle which renders it eafily imitable, however popular they may become at their first appearance by gratifying the paffion for novelty, are by no means the most perfect writers; but are to be claffed with thofe artifts of the pencil, whom the painters diftinguish by the appellation of Mannerists. Simplicity of diction, as it is one of the moft engaging beauties, is alfo one of the moft difficult to imitate. It exhibits no prominency of feature, but difplays one whole, properly embellifhed with a thoufand little graces, no one of which obtrudes itself in fuch a manner as to deftroy the appearance of a perfect fymmetry. In this fpecies of excellence Xenophon is confeffedly a model. He has been called the Attic Muse and the Attic Bee. It has been faid, that the Mufes would exprefs themselves in his language, that his ftyle is fweeter than honey, that the Graces themfelves appear to have af fifted in its formation; but though all this power is juftly due, yet it would be difficult to point out any one beauty which recurs fo often in the fame form, as to characterife his compofition. But the numerous writers who have imitated the Rambler, or the Adventurer, are difcovered in their affectation, before the reader has perufed a fingle page. The very peculiar manner of thofe excellent performances, has been eafily imitated by inferior writers, and more eafily caricatured. Addifon is fimple and natural, and, confequently, has not often been mimicked with equal fuccefs. Indeed, the nearer we approach to the manner of Addison, the more agreeable is our ftyle; but, I believe, none ever admired the ftyle of the Rambler, but in the hands of its original author. The fatyrical writer of Lexiphanes eafily rendered it ridiculous |