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virtuous man fhall as a bleffing meet with a Friend who is as virtuous as himself. There is another faying in the fame author, which would have been very much admired in an heathen writer: "Forfake not an old Friend, for the "new is not comparable to him: a new Friend "is as new wine; when it is old thou fhalt drink "it with pleasure *." With what strength of allufion, and force of thought, has he defcribed the breaches and violations of Friendship? "Whoso casteth a ftone at the birds frayeth "them away; and he that upbraideth his Friend, "breaketh Friendship. Though thou drawest a "fword at a Friend, yet defpair not, for there may be a returning to favour. If thou haft opened thy mouth against thy Friend fear not, "for there may be a reconciliation; except for upbraiding, or pride, or disclofing of fecrets, "or a treacherous wound; for, for these things every Friend will depart +." We may obferve in this and feveral other precepts in this author, those little familiar inftances and illuftrations which are fo much admired in the moral writings of Horace and Epictetus. There are very beautiful inftances of this nature in the following paffages, which are likewife written. upon the fame fubject: "Whofo discovereth "fecrets, lofeth his credit, and fhall never find "a Friend to his mind. Love thy Friend, and be "faithful unto him; but if thou bewrayeft his "fecrets, follow no more after him: for as a man hath destroyed his enemy, so hast thou

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Ecclus ix. 10. + Ibid. 20, 21, 22.

"loft

"loft the love of thy Friend; as one that letteth "a bird go out of his hand, fo haft thou let thy Friend go, and fhalt not get him again: follow "after him no more, for he is too far off; he is

as a roe escaped out of the fnare. As for a "wound it may be bound up, and after reviling "there may be a reconciliation; but he that bewrayeth fecrets, is without hope*.'

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Among the feveral qualifications of a good Friend, this wife man has very justly fingled out conftancy and faithfulness as the principal: to thefe, others have added virtue, knowledge, difcretion, equality in age and fortune, and as Cicero calls it, Morum comitas, a pleasantness of temper. If I were to give my opinion upon fuch an exhausted subject, I should join to these other qualifications a certain equability or evennefs of behaviour. A man often contracts a Friendship with one whom perhaps he does not find out till after a year's converfation; when on a fudden fome latent ill-humour breaks out upon him, which he never difcovered or fufpected at his first entering into an intimacy with him. There are feveral perfons who in fome certain periods of their lives are inexpreffibly agreeable, and in others as odious and deteftable. Martial has given us a very pretty picture of one of this fpecies, in the following epigram:

Difficilis, facilis, jucundus, acerbus es idem,
Nec tecum poffum vivere, nec fine te.

* Ecclus xxvii. 16, & feqq.

EPIG. xlvii. 12.

In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow,
Thou'rt fuch a touchy, tefty, pleasant fellow;
Haft fo much wit, and mirth, and spleen about
thee,

There is no living with thee, nor without thee.

It is very unlucky for a man to be entangled in a friendship with one, who by these changes and viciffitudes of humour is fometimes amiable, and fometimes odious: and as moft men are at fome times in an admirable frame and difpofition of mind, it should be one of the greatest tasks of wisdom to keep ourselves well when we are so, and never to go out of that which is the agreeable part of our character.. C*.

By ADDISON, dated it seems from Chelsea. See final Note to N° 7, and N° 121, on Capital LETTERS.

*. At the Theatre Royal, Drury - Lane, May 15, a Comedy called The Fortune Hunters, or Two Fools well met." Y. Wealthy, Mr. Wilks; Maria, Mrs. Oldfield; Sir W. Wealthy, Mr. Bullock; Tom Wealthy, Mr. Mills; Mr. Spruce, Mr. Norris; Mr. Shamtown, Mr. Pack; Littlegad, Mr. Bowman; Lady Sly, Mrs. Powell; Sophia, Mrs. Cox; and Mrs. Spruce, by Mrs. Bicknell. SPECT. in folio.

*. May 17. "The Scornful Lady," for the benefit of Mr. Bickerstaff; and on Friday May 18, the Tragedy of CEDIPUS. Edipus by Mr. Powell; Adraftus by Mr. Booth; Creon by Mr. Keene; Hæmon by Mr. Mills'; Terefias by Mr. Boman; Phorbas by Mr. Hufband; Ægeon by Mr. Cory; Ghoft by Mr. Elrington; the Four Citizens by Mr. Lee, Mr. Norris, Mr. Bullock, and Mr. Peck ; Jocafta by Mrs. Knight; Euridice by Mrs. Bradshaw.Note, The tickets given out for the ROVER will be taken for this Play. Ibidem. N° 68.

VOL. I.

Dd

N° 69.

N° 69. Saturday, May 19, 1711.

Hic fegetes, illic veniunt feliciùs uvæ:
Arborei fætus alibi, atque injuffa virefcunt
Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,
India mittit ebur, molles fua thura Sabai!
At Chalybes nudi ferrum, virofaque Pontus.
Caftorea, Eliadum palmas Epirus equarum?
Continuo has leges, æternaque fadera certis
Impofuit natura locis

VIRG. Georg. i. 54.

This ground with Bacchus, that with Ceres fuits;
That other loads the trees with happy fruits;
A fourth with grafs, unbidden, decks the ground:
Thus Tmolus is with yellow faffron crown'd;
India black ebon and white iv'ry bears;
And foft Idume weeps her od❜rous tears:
Thus Pontus fends her beaver ftones from far;
And naked Spaniards temper fteel for war:
Epirus for th' Elean chariot breeds
(In hopes of palms) a race of running steeds.
This is th' original contract; these the laws
Impos'd by nature, and by nature's cause.

TH

DRYDEN.

HERE is no place in the town which I fo much love to frequent as the Royal Exchange. It gives me a fecret fatisfaction, and in fome measure gratifies my vanity, as I am an Englishman, to fee fo rich an affembly of countrymen and foreigners, confulting together upon the private business of mankind, and making this metropolis a kind of emporium for the

whole

whole earth. I must confefs I look upon highchange to be a great council, in which all confiderable nations have their reprefentatives. Factors in the trading world are what ambaffadors are in the politic world; they negotiate affairs, conclude treaties, and maintain a good correfpondence between thofe wealthy focieties of men that are divided from one another by feas and oceans, or live on the different extremities of a continent. I have often been pleafed to hear difputes adjufted between an inhabitant of Japan, and an alderman of London, or to see a fubject of the Great Mogul entering into a league with one of the Czar of Mufcovy. I am infinitely delighted in mixing with these feveral minifters of commerce, as they are diftinguished by their different walks and different languages. Sometimes I am juftled among a body of Armenians; fometimes I am loft in a crowd of Jews; and fometimes make one in a groupe of Dutchmen. I am a Dane, Swede, or Frenchman at different times; or rather fancy myself like the old philofopher, who upon being asked what countryman he was replied, that he was a citizen of the world.

Though I very frequently vifit this busy multitude of people, I am known to nobody there but my friend Sir ANDREW, who often fmiles upon me as he fees me bustling in the crowd,. but at the fame time connives at my prefence without taking further notice of me. There is indeed a merchant of Egypt, who just knows me by fight, having formerly remitted me fome Dd 2

money

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