NUMBER.

LXXXIV. On natural and acquired tafte:

Virgil's Eneid confidered; a paffage compared with one in Claudian. Ben Jonfon's opinion of Shakespear: The fituation of a more modern poet defcribed LXXXV. Advice to a man of landed property: Habits of life and expence in England particularized. A fort view of the learned profeffions: An irregular poem addressed to popularity

233

LXXXVI. Remarks upon the characters of
Falstaff and his group

2.42

LXXXVII. Witty fayings of feveral antients.
Of Laberius and Publius Syrus,
Roman actors: A prologue of the
former, fpoken in the theatre be-
fore Julius Cæfar

LXXXVIII. Comparative review of Rowe's
Fair Penitent with the Fatal

Dowry of Maffinger

LXXXIX. The fame continued

PAGE.

XC. Conclufion of the review
XCI. Vifit to the house of a deceased

friend; fome account of his death;

223

251

263

272

282

circumstances

NUMBER.

PAGE,

circumftances attending the death of Antitheüs, the disbeliever 302 XCII. Anecdotes of Jack Gayless XCIII. Author explains the motives of his work and concludes the third vo

311

lume

323

THE

THE

OBSERVE R.

N LXI.

Primum Graius homo mortales tollere contra
Eft oculos aufuscinos

A (LUCRETIUS.) ·

At length a mighty man of Greece began
Taffert the natural liberty of man.

(CREECH.)

TH

HERE are fo many young men of fortune and spirit in this kingdom, who, without the trouble of reforting to the founder of their philofophy, or giving themfelves any concern about the Graius home in my motto, have neverthelefs fallen upon a practice fo confentaneous to the doctrines, which he laid down by fyftem, that VOL. III, Β

I much

I much question if any of his profest scholars ever did him greater credit, fince the time he first ftruck out the popular project of driving all religion out of the world, and introducing pleasure and voluptuoufnefs in its ftead.

"We tread religion under foot and rise
"With self-created glory to the skies.”

So far from meaning to oppofe myself to fuch a host of gay and happy mortals, I wish to gain a merit with them by adding to their stock of pleasures, and fuggesting some hints of enjoyments, which may be new to them; a difcovery which they: well know was confidered by the kings of Perfia, (who practised their philofophy in very antient times) as a fervice of fuch importance to all the feet, (who had even then worn out most of their old pleasures) that a very confiderable reward was offered to the inventor

of any new one. How the ftock at prefent ftands with our modern voluptuaries I cannot pretend to fay but I fufpect from certain fymptoms, which have fallen under my obfervation, that it is nearly run out with fome amongst of

them; to fuch in particular I fatter myfelf my difcoveries will prove of value, and I have for

their use compofed the following meditation, which I have put together in the form of a foli loquy, falving it step by step as regularly as any propofition in Euclid, and I will boldly vouch it to be as mathematically true. If there is any one poftulatum in the whole, which the trueft voluptuary will not admit to be orthodox Epicurifm, I will confent to give up my system for nonsense and myself for an impoftor; I condition only with the pupil of pleasure, that whilst he reads he will reflect, that he will deal candidly with the truth, and that he will once in his life permit a certain faculty called reason, which I hope he is poffeffed of, to come into use upon this occafion; a faculty, which, though he may not hitherto have employed it, is yet capable of fupplying him with more true and lasting pleafures, than any his philosophy can furnish.

翼

I now recommend him to the following meditation, which I have entitled

"THE VOLUPTUARY'S SOLILOQUY. "I FIND myself in poffeffion of an eftate, "which has devolved upon me without any pains of my own: I have youth and health to.. "enjoy it, and I am determined fo to do: Pleafure is my object, and I must therefore fo "contrive as to make that object lafting and B 2 "fatisfactory: