friends not very much verfed in the principles of tacticks or fortification; he therefore ftudied all the military writers both ancient and modern, and, in a fhort time, could tell how to have gained every remarkable battle that has been loft from the beginning of the world. He often fhewed at table how Alexander fhould have been checked in his conquefts, what was the fatal error at Pharfalia, how Charles of Sweden might have escaped his ruin at Pultowa, and Marlborough might have been made to repent his temerity at Blenheim. He entrenched armies upon paper fo that no fuperiority of numbers could force them, and modelled in clay many impregnable fortreffes, on which all the present arts of attack would be exhausted without effect. Polyphilus, in a fhort time, obtained a commiffion; but before he could rub off the folemnity of a scholar, and gain the true air of military vivacity, a war was declared, and forces fent to the continent. Here Polyphilus unhappily found that ftudy alone would not make a foldier; for being much accustomed to think, he let the fense of danger fink into his mind, and felt at the approach of any action, that terror which a fentence of death would have brought upon him. He faw that, inftead of conquering their fears, the endeavour of his gay friends was only to escape them; but his philofophy chained his mind to its object, and rather loaded him with fhackles than furnished him with arms. He, however, fuppreffed his mifery in filence, and paffed through the campaign with ho nour, nour, but found himself utterly unable to fupport another. He then had recourfe again to his books, and continued to range from one ftudy to another. As I usually vifit him once a month, and am admitted to him without previous notice, I have found him, within this last half year, decyphering the Chinese language, making a farce, collecting a vocabulary of the obfolete terms of the English law, writing an inquiry concerning the ancient Corinthian brafs, and forming a new fcheme of the variations of the needle. Thus is this powerful genius, which might have extended the sphere of any science, or benefited the world in any profeffion, diffipated in a boundless variety, without profit to others or himself. He makes fudden irruptions into the regions of knowledge, and fees all obftacles give way before him; but he never stays long enough to complete his conqueft, to establish laws, or bring away the spoils. Such is often the folly of men, whom nature has enabled to obtain fkill and knowledge, on terms fo eafy, that they have no fenfe of the value of the acquisition; they are qualified to make such speedy progrefs in learning, that they think themselves at liberty to loiter in the way, and by turning aside after every new object, lofe the race, like Atalanta, to flower competitors, who prefs diligently forward, and whose force is directed to a single point, I have often thought thofe happy that have been fixed, from the firft dawn of thought, in a determination to fome ftate of life, by the choice of one whofe authority may preclude caprice, and VOL. IV. K whofe whose influence may prejudice them in favour of his opinion. The general precept of confulting the genius is of little ufe, unless we are told, how the genius can be known. If it is to be difcovered only by experiment, life will be loft, before the refolution can be fixed; if any other indications are to be found, they may, perhaps, be very early difcerned. At least, if to miscarry in an attempt be a proof of having mistaken the direction of the genius, men appear not lefs frequently deceived with regard to themselves than to others; and therefore, no one has much reafon to complain that his life was planned out by his friends, or to be confident that he should have had either more honour or happinefs, by being abandoned to the chance of his own fancy. It was faid of the learned bifhop Sanderson, that when he was preparing his lectures, he hesitated fo much, and rejected fo often, that, at the time of reading, he was often forced to produce, not what was beft, but what happened to be at hand. This will be the ftate of every man, who, in the choice of his employment, balances all the arguments on every fide; the complication is fo intricate, the motives and objections fo numerous, there is so much play for the imagination, and fo much remains in the power of others, that reason is forced at laft to reft in neutrality, the decifion devolves into the hands of chance, and after a great part of life spent in inquiries which can never be refolved, the rest must often pafs in repenting the unneceffary delay, and can be useful to few other purposes than to warn others against the fame folly, and to to fhew, that of two ftates of life equally confiftent with religion and virtue, he who chufes earlieft chufes beft. NUMB. 20. SATURDAY, May 26, 1750. Ad populum phaleras, ego te intus, et in cute novi. PERSIUS. A Such pageantry be to the people shown; DRYDEN. MONG the numerous ftratagems, by which pride endeavours to recommend folly to regard, there is fcarcely one that meets with lefs fuccefs than affectation, or a perpetual disguise of the real character, by fictitious appearances; whether it be, that every man hates falfehood, from the natural congruity of truth to his faculties of reason, or that every man is jealous of the honour of his understanding, and thinks his difcernment confequentially called in queftion, whenever any thing is exhibited under a borrowed form. This averfion from all kinds of difguife, whatever be its caufe, is univerfally diffused, and inceffantly in action; nor is it neceffary, that to exafperate deteftation, or excite contempt, any intereft fhould be invaded, or any competition attempted; it is fufficient, that there is an intention to deceive, an intention K 2 intention which every heart fwells to oppofe, and every tongue is bufy to detect. This reflection was awakened in my mind by a very common practice among my correfpondents, of writing under characters which they cannot fupport, which are of no use to the explanation or enforcement of that which they defcribe or recommend; and which, therefore, fince they affume them only for the fake of displaying their abilities, I will advise them for the future to forbear, as laborious without advantage. It is almost a general ambition of thofe who favour me with their advice for the regulation of my conduct, or their contribution for the affistance of my understanding, to affect the ftyle and the names of ladies. And I cannot always withhold fome expreffion of anger, like Sir Hugh in the comedy, when I happen to find that a woman has a beard. I muft therefore warn the gentle Phyllis, that fhe fend me no more letters from the Horfe Guards; and require of Belinda, that she be content to refign her pretenfions to female elegance, till fhe has lived three weeks without hearing the politicks of Batfon's coffee-house. I must indulge myself in the liberty of observation, that there were fome allufions in Chloris's production, fufficient to fhew that Bracton and Plowden are her favourite authors; and that Euphelia has not been long enough at home, to wear out all the traces of the phrafeology, which she learned in the expedition to Carthagena. Among all my female friends, there was none who gave me more trouble to decypher her true character, than |