other men, esteemed by the old, beloved by the young, and "the secret wish of many a female heart," he bore all his honours meekly, and with the veil of modesty tempered his brightness. Tempered! but such a softening rendered it more beautiful to the eye, more lovely to the soul, and redoubled its power by the gentleness with which he used it. Such was this "Plume of war, with early laurels crowned!" for, long before he attained to the age in which manhood is commonly perfected in mind as well as body, he had finished the life of a hero.

Famous in arms and in policy, Sir Philip Sidney had yet leisure for the muses: and it is from his several works, written in hours of relaxation, (and how noble must he have been whose pastimes may be the studies of men!) that I have selected the aphorisms which compose these volumes. He thought not of be

ing an author when he wrote; but just as the fancy struck him, poured forth his sentiments on any pieces of paper that fell in his way, and sent them in loose fragments to his sister, the Countess of Pembroke: for this amiable lady loved her brother so entirely, as to desire to have every copy, however minute, of his ever-graceful and truly "peerless" mind.— His thoughts, as they flowed from a source of as pure virtue as can belong to human nature, could not be different from their fountain: whether he spoke or wrote, whether carelessly or with premeditation, all that he sent forth must have expressed the nobleness of his character. He could not think a mean nor a wicked thing; much less utter one; and though he passed a heavy sentence on the negligence of his own compositions, none will find a fault with their morality. He, being intimate with such sentiments, could

hardly suppose them to be much better to others than often-told stories, which required more pains than he would take, to render them at all entertaining. Hence the perfection of his taste made him see great deficiencies, where few critics could discover a defect; and be dissatisfied with his language, while we are wrapt in admiration of the divine spirit that inculcates truth with so attractive a sweetness. As his heart was all virtue, so his soul was all poetry: poetical thoughts burst and bloom even over his gravest prose writings; and the ardour of his imagination carried his ideas of moral excellence to a height which might have been deemed chimerical, had not his life, as a son, a brother, a friend, a subject, and a commander, sufficiently exemplified, that there is no point of virtue beyond the reach of a persevering and heaven-directed mind. This man, who was the glory of his own age, and

is regarded by after-times as the pattern of all that is great and good, heroic and amiable, may shew to the young men of succeeding ge-nerations, that it is possible for the fine gentleman, to be united with the scholar, the hero, and the Christian!

What the Romans said of Titus, Englishmen might apply to Sir Philip Sidney; for whithersoever he went, he was "the love and delight of all men!" And the principles of this general charm, the ground-work of his eminent worth and engaging manners, may be found in the thoughts which enrich these volumes. Lightly as he accounted them, they are much better teachers of the mind, and fashioners of the behaviour; much better counsellors for a politician, and masters of courtesy, than all the Graces that ever spoke from the lips of Lord Chesterfield. Sir Philip Sidney's foundation is laid in truth, Lord

Chesterfield's in falsehood.

Sincerity and

courage make the soul of the one, hypocrisy and fear, the spirit of the other; the one stands erect in conscious dignity, the other cringes and bows with dastardly wiliness. A man of

honour would sooner see his children die "in cold obscurity," poor and unknown; than consent that any one of them should live, even in the very lap of greatness, by the principles which Lord Chesterfield taught his son. That such supposed wisdom is only a cheat, a most miserably mistaken calculation, and absurd estimation of things, Sir Philip Sidney not only affirms in his writings, but proves by

the conduct of his life.

It being more satisfactory to see the picture of a noble personage, than to hear him described; so fine a model of the manly character, as well as a transcript of the precepts by which it was formed, ought to be presented to