highest posts of honour and fortune. A neighbouring nation may at this time furnish us with a very remarkable inftance of this kind; but I fhall conclude this head with the hiftory of Athenais, which is a very fignal example to my present purpose.

The emperor Theodofius being about the age of one and twenty, and defigning to take a wife, defired his fifter Pulcheria and his friend Paulinus to fearch his whole empire for a woman of the most exquifite beauty and highest accomplishments. In the midft of this fearch, Athenais, a Grecian virgin, accidentally offered herfelf. Her father, who was an eminent philofopher of Athens, and had bred her up in all the learning of that place, at his death left her but a very small portion, in which also the suffered great hardships from the injuftice of her two brothers. This forced her upon a journey to Conftantinople, where he had a relation who reprefented her cafe to Pulcheria in order to obtain fome redress from the emperor. By this means that religious princefs became acquainted with Athenais, whom the found the most beautiful woman of her age, and educated under a long courfe of philofophy in the strictest virtue, and most unfpotted innocence. Pulcheria was charmed with her converfation, and immediately made her reports to the emperor her brother Theodofius. The character fhe gave made fuch an impreffion on him, that he defired his fifter to bring her away immediately to the lodgings of his friend Paulinus, where he found her beauty and her converfation beyond the highest idea he had framed of them. His friend Paulinus converted her to chriftianity, and gave her the name of Eudofia; after which the emperor publickly efpoufed her, and enjoyed all the happiness in his marriage which he promifed himself from fuch a virtuous and learned bride. She not only forgave the injuries which her two brothers had done her, but raised them to great honour's; and by feveral works of learning, as well as by an exemplary life, made herself fo dear to the whole empire, that the had many ftatues erected to her memory, and is celebrated by the fathers of the church as the ornament of her fex.

OR CALUM NY.

WE

[Spect. No. 594.]

ERE all the vexations of life put together, we fhould find that a great part of them proceed from thofe calumnies and reproaches which we spread abroad concerning one another.

There is fcarce a man living who is not, in fome degree, guilty of this offence; though, at the fame time, however we treat one another, it must be confeffed, that we all consent in speaking ill of the perfons who are notorious for this practice. It generally takes its rife either from an ill-will to mankind, a private inclination to make ourselves esteemed, an oftentation of wit, a vanity of being thought in the fecrets of the world, or from a defire of gratifying any of these difpofitions of mind in those perfons with whom we converse.

The publisher of fcandal is more or lefs odious to mankind, and criminal in himself, as he is influenced by any one or more of the foregoing motives. But whatever may be the occafion of fpreading thefe falfe reports, he ought to confider, that the effect of them is equally prejudicial and pernicious to the perfon at whom they are aimed. The injury is the fame, though the principle from whence it proceeds may be different.

As every one looks upon himself with too much indulgence, when he paffes a judgment on his own thoughts or actions, and as very few would be thought guilty of this abominable proceeding, which is fo univerfally practifed, and at the fame time fo univerfally blamed, I fhall lay down three rules by which I would have a man examine and search into his own heart, before he ftands acquitted to himself of that evil difpofition of mind which I am here mentioning.

First of all, Let him confider whether he does not take delight in hearing the faults of others.

Secondly, Whether he is not too apt to believe fuch little blackening accounts, and more inclined to be credulous on the uncharitable than on the good-natured fide. Thirdly, Whether he is not ready to fpread and propagate fuch reports as tend to the difreputation of

another.

Thefe

These are the several steps by which this vice proceeds, and grows up into flander and defamation.

In the first place, a man who takes delight in hearing the faults of others, fhews fufficiently that he has a true relish of fcandal, and confequently, the feeds of this vice within him. If his mind is gratified with hearing reproaches which are caft on others, he will find the fame pleasure in relating them, and be the more apt to do it, as he will naturally imagine every one he converies with is delighted in the fame manner with himself. A man fhould endeavour therefore to wear out of his mind this criminal curiofity, which is perpetually heightened and enflamed by listening to fuch ftories as tend to the difreputation of others.

In the fecond place, à man should confult his own heart, whether he be not apt to believe fuch little blackening accounts, and more inclined to be credulous on the uncharitable, than on the good-natured fide.

Such a credulity is very vicious in itfelf, and generally arifes from a man's conscioufnefs of his own fecret corruptions. It is a pretty faying of Thales, that falsehood is just as far diftant from truth, as the ears are from the eyes. By which he would intimate, that a wife man fhould not eafily give credit to the reports of actions which he has not seen. I fhall, under this head, mention two or three remarkable rules to be observed by the members of the celebrated Abbey de la Trape, as they are published in a little French book.

The fathers are there ordered, never to give an ear to any accounts of bafe and criminal actions; to turn off all fuch difcourfe if poffible; but in cafe they hear any thing of this nature fo well attefted that they cannot difbelieve it, they are then to fuppofe, that the criminal action may have proceeded from a good intention in him who is guilty of it. This is, perhaps, carrying charity to an extravagance, but it is certainly much more laudable, than to fuppofe, as the ill-natured part of the world does, that indifferent, and even good actions, proceed from bad principles and wrong intentions.

Ia

In the third place, a man fhould examine his heart, whether he does not find in it a fecret inclination to propagate fuch reports, as tend to the difreputation of

another.

When the disease of the mind, which I have hitherto been fpeaking of, arifes to this degree of malignity, it difcovers itself in its worst fymptoms, and is in danger of becoming incurable. I need not therefore infift upon the guilt in this laft particular, which every one cannot but difapprove, who is not void of humanity, or even common difcretion. I fhall only add, that whatever pleasure any man may take in fpreading whispers of this nature, he will find an infinitely greater fatis-. faction in conquering the temptation he is under, by letting the fecret die within his own breast.

The active and fpeculative Parts of Mankind compared. [Guardian, No. 130.]

A

S the greatest part of mankind are more affected by things which strike the fenfes, than by excellencies that. are to be difcerned by reafon and thought, they form very erroneous judgments, when they compare the one with the other. An eminent inftance of this is, that vulgar notion, that men addicted to contemplation are lefs ufeful members of fociety than thofe of a different courfe of life. The bufinefs therefore of my prefent paper fhall be to compare the diftinct merits of the fpeculative and the active parts of mankind.

The advantages arifing from the labours of generals and politicians are confined to narrow tracts of the earth; and while they promote the intereft of their own country, they leffen or obftruct that of other nations. Whereas the light and knowledge that fpring from fpeculation are not limited to any fingle fpot, but equally diffused to the benefit of the whole globe. Befides, for the most part, the renown only of men of action is tranfmitted to diftant pofterity, their great exploits either

dying with themfelves, or foon after them; whereas fpeculative men continue to deserve well of the world thousands of years after they have left it. Their merits are propagated with their fame which is due to them, but a free gift to those whofe beneficence has not outlived their persons,

What benefit do we receive from the renowned deeds of Cafar or Alexander, that we should make them the conftant themes of our praife? while the name of Pythagoras is more fparingly celebrated, though it be to him that we are indebted for our trade and riches. This may feem ftrange to a vulgar reader, but the following reflection will make it plain. That philofopher invented the forty-feventh propofition of the first book of Euclid, which is the foundation of trigonometry, and confequently of navigation, upon which the commerce of Great Britain depends.

The mathematicks are fo useful and ornamental to human life, that the ingenious Sir William Temple acknowledges in fome part of his writings, all thofe advantages which diftinguish polite nations from barbarians to be derived from them. But as thefe fciences cultivate the exterior parts of life, there are others of a more excellent nature, that endue the heart with rudiments of virtue, and by opening our profpects, and awakening our hopes, produce generous emotions and fublime fentiments in the foul.

The divine fages of antiquity, who, by tranfmitting down to us their fpeculations upon good and evil, upon providence, and the dignity and duration of thinking beings, have imprinted an idea of moral excellence on the minds of men, are most eminent benefactors to human nature; and, however overlooked in the loud and thoughtless applaufes that are every day beftowed on the flaughterers and difturbers of mankind, yet they will never want the esteem and approbation of the wife and virtuous.

This apology in behalf of the fpeculative part of mankind, who make ufeful truth the end of their being, and its acquifition the bufinefs as well as entertainment of their lives, feems not improper, in order to rectify

the