galing at his expence; but in the midst of this foliloquy, an officer of juftice entered the house, and, in the form of legal citation, fummoned Almamoulin tỏ appear before the emperor. The guests stood awhile aghaft, then stole imperceptibly away, and he was led off without a fingle voice to witnefs his integrity. He now found one of his moft frequent vifitants accufing him of treafon, in hopes of fharing his confiscation; yet, unpatronized and unfupported, he cleared himself by the openness of innocence, and the confiftence of truth; he was difmiffed with honour, and his accufer perifhed in prifon.

Almamoulin now perceived with how little reafon he had hoped for juftice or fidelity from those who live only to gratify their fenses; and, being now weary with vain experiments upon life and fruitless researches after felicity, he had recourse to a fage, who, after spending his youth in travel and observation, had retired from all human cares, to a small habitation on the banks of Oxus, where he conversed only with fuch as folicited his counfel. "Brother,” said the philofopher, "thou haft fuffered thy reason "to be deluded by idle hopes, and fallacious ap"pearances. Having long looked with defire upon "riches, thou hadst taught thyself to think them

more valuable than nature defigned them, and to "expect from them, what experience has now taught "thee, that they cannot give. That they do not "confer wisdom, thou mayeft be convinced, by con

fidering at how dear a price they tempted thee, upon thy first entrance into the world, to purchase "the empty found of vulgar acclamation. That "they cannot beftow fortitude or magnanimity, that

"man

"man may be certain, who stood trembling at Aftra

can, before a being not naturally superior to him"self. That they will not fupply unexhausted plea"fure, the recollection of forfaken palaces, and ne"glected gardens, will eafily inform thee. That they rarely purchase friends, thou didst foon dif

cover, when thou wert left to ftand thy trial un"countenanced and alone. Yet think not riches. " useless; there are purposes, to which a wife man "may be delighted to apply them; they may, by a "rational diftribution to thofe who want them, eafe "the pains of helpless disease, still the throbs of rest"lefs anxiety, relieve innocence from oppreffion, and " raise imbecility to cheerfulness and vigour. This "they will enable thee to perform, and this will "afford the only happiness ordained for our prefent "ftate, the confidence of divine favour, and the "hope of future rewards."

NUMB. 121. TUESDAY, May 14, 1751.

O imitatores, fervum pecus!

Away, ye imitators, fervile herd!

HOR.

ELPHINSTON.

HAVE been informed by a letter, from one of the universities, that among the youth from whom the next fwarm of reasoners is to learn philofophy, and the next flight of beauties to hear elegies and fonnets, there are many, who, instead of endeavouring by books and meditation to form their own opinions, content themselves with the fecondary knowledge, which a convenient bench in a coffeehoufe can fupply; and, without any examination or diftinction, adopt the criticisms and remarks, which happen to drop from thofe, who have risen, by merit or fortune, to reputation and authority.

Thefe humble retailers of knowledge my correfpondent ftigmatizes with the name of Echoes; and feems defirous that they should be made ashamed of lazy fubmiffion, and animated to attempts after new discoveries, and original fentiments.

It is very natural for young men to be vehement, acrimonious, and fevere. For, as they feldom comprehend at once all the confequences of a position, or perceive the difficulties by which cooler and more experienced reasoners are restrained from confidence, they form their conclufions with great precipitance. Seeing nothing that can darken or embarrass the question, they expect to find their own opinion univerfally

verfally prevalent and are inclined to impute uncertainty and hesitation to want of honesty, rather than of knowledge. I may perhaps, therefore, be reproached by my lively correfpondent, when it fhall be found, that I have no inclination to perfecute thefe collectors of fortuitous knowledge with the feverity required; yet, as I am now too old to be much pained by hafty cenfure, I fhall not be afraid of taking into protection those whom I think condemned without a fufficient knowledge of their cause.

He that adopts the fentiments of another, whom he has reason to believe wifer than himself, is only to be blamed when he claims the honours which are not due but to the author, and endeavours to deceive the world into praise and veneration; for, to learn, is the proper business of youth; and whether we increase our knowledge by books or by conversation, we are equally indebted to foreign affift

ance.

The greater part of students are not born with abilities to construct systems, or advance knowledge; nor can have any hope beyond that of becoming intelligent hearers in the schools of art, of being able to comprehend what others difcover, and to remember what others teach. Even those to whom Providence hath allotted greater ftrength of understanding, can expect only to improve a fingle science. In every other part of learning, they must be content to follow opinions, which they are not able to examine; and, even in that which they claim as peculiarly their own, can feldom add more than fome small particle of knowledge, to the hereditary stock devolved

VOL, VI.

Υ

devolved to them from ancient times, the collective labour of a thousand intellects.

In fcience, which, being fixed and limited, admits of no other variety than fuch as arifes from new methods of diftribution, or new arts of illuftration, the neceffity of following the traces of our predeceffors is indifputably evident; but there appears no reason, why imagination should be fubject to the fame restraint. It might be conceived, that of thofe who profefs to forfake the narrow paths of truth every one may deviate towards a different point, fince though rectitude is uniform and fixed, obliquity may be infinitely diverfified. The roads of fcience are narrow, fo that they who travel them, muft either follow or meet one another; but in the boundless regions of poffibility, which fiction claims for her dominion, there are furely a thoufand receffes unexplored, a thousand flowers unplucked, a thousand fountains unexhaufted, combinations of imagery yet unobferved, and races of ideal inhabitants not hitherto defcribed.

Yet, whatever hope may perfuade, or reason evince, experience can boaft of very few additions to ancient fable. The wars of Troy, and the travels of Ulyffes, have furnished almost all fucceeding poets with incidents, characters, and fentiments. The Romans are confeffed to have attempted little more than to difplay in their own tongue the inventions of the Greeks. There is, in all their writings, fuch a perpetual recurrence of allufions to the tales of the fabulous age, that they must be confeffed often to want that power of giving pleasure which

novelty

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