side, eating those roots and herbs which he had planted and cultivated himself in his own field. Seneca tells it thus: Fabricius ad focum cœnat illas ipsas radices, quas, in agro repurgando, triumphalis Senex vulsit. Scipio, after a victory he had obtained in Spain, found among the prisoners a young Princess of extreme beauty, who, he was informed, 'was soon to have been married to a man of quality of that country. He ordered her to be entertained and attended with the same care and respect, as if she had been in her father's house; and, as soon as he could find her lover, he gave her to him, and added to her portion the money that her father had brought for her ransom. Valerius Maximus says, Eximia forma virginem accersitis parentibus, et sponso inviolatam tradidit, et Juvenis, et Calebs, et Victor. This was a most glorious example of moderation, continence, and generosity, which gained him the hearts of all the people of Spain; and made them say, as Livy tells us, Venisse Diis simillimum juvenem, vincentem omnia, cum armis, tum benignitate, ac beneficiis. Such are the rewards that always crown virtue; and such the characters that you should imitate, if you would be a great and a good man, which is the only way to be a happy one! Adieu. DEAR BOY, LETTER XXXVI. Monday. I was very sorry that Mr. Maittaire did not give me such an account of you, yesterday, as I wished and expected. He takes so much pains to teach you, that he well deserves from you the returns of care and attention. Besides, pray consider, now that you VOL. I. K have justly got the reputation of knowing much more than other boys of your age do, how shameful it would be for you to lose it; and to let other boys, that are now behind you, get before you. If you would but have attention, you have quickness enough to conceive, and memory enough to retain; but, without attention, while you are learning, all the time you employ at your book is thrown away; and your shame will be the greater, if you should be ignorant, when you had such opportunities of learning. An ignorant man is insignificant and contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to live, and that is all. There is a very pretty French Epigram, upon the death of such an ignorant, insignificant fellow, the sting of which is, that all that can be said of him is, that he was once alive, and that he is now dead. This is the Epigram, which you may get by heart: Colas est mort de maladie, Take care not to deserve the name of Colas; which I shall certainly give you, if you do not learn well: and then that name will get about, and every body will call you Colas; which will be much worse than Frisky. You are now reading Mr. Rollin's ancient History: pray remember to have your maps by you, when you read it, and desire Monsieur Pelnote to show you, in the maps, all the places you read of. Adieu. DEAR BOY, LETTER XXXVII. Saturday. SINCE you choose the name of Polyglot, I hope you will take care to deserve it; which you can only do by care and application. I confess the names of Frisky, and Colas, are not quite so honourable; but then, remember too, that there cannot be a stronger ridicule, than to call a man by an honourable name, when he is known not to deserve it. For example; it would be a manifest irony to call a very ugly fellow an Adonis (who, you know, was so handsome, that Venus herself fell in love with him), or to call a cowardly fellow an Alexander, or an ignorant fellow, Polyglot; for every body would discover the sneer: and Mr. Pope observes very truly, that "Praise undeserved is satire in disguise." Next to the doing of things that deserve to be written, there is nothing that gets a man more credit, or gives him more pleasure, than to write things that deserve to be read. The younger Pliny (for there were two Plinys, the uncle and the nephew), expresses it thus: "Equidem beatos puto, quibus Deorum munere datum est, aut facere scribenda, aut legenda scribere; beatissimos verò quibus utrumque." Pray mind your Greek particularly; for to know Greek very well is to be really learned: there is no great credit in knowing Latin, for every body knows it; and it is only a shame not to know it. Besides that, you will understand Latin a great deal the better for understanding Greek very well; a great number of Latin words, especially the technical words, being derived from the Greek. Technical words mean such particular words as relate to any τεχνικός, art or science; from the Greek word τέχνη, which signifies Art, and TEXIKOS, which signifies Artificial. Thus, a Dictionary, that explains the terms of art, is called a Lexicon Technicum, or a Technical Dictionary. Adieu. LETTER XXXVIII. absence. DEAR BOY, Longford, June the 9th, 1740. I WRITE to you now, in the supposition that you continue to deserve my attention, as much as you did when I left London; and that Mr. Maittaire would commend you as much now, as he did the last time he was with me; for otherwise you know very well, that I should not concern myself about you. Take care, therefore, that, when I come to town, I may not find myself mistaken in the good opinion I entertained of you in my I hope you have got the linnets and bullfinches you so much wanted; and I recommend the bullfinches to your imitation Bullfinches, you must know, have no natural note of their own, and never sing, unless taught; but will learn tunes better than any other birds. This they do by attention and memory; and you may observe, that, while they are taught, they listen with great care, and never jump about and kick their heels. Now I really think it would be a great shame for you to be outdone by your own bullfinch. I take it for granted, that, by your late care and attention, you are now perfect in Latin verses; and that you may at present be called, what Horace desired to be called, Romanæ fidicen Lyre. Your Greek too, I dare say, keeps pace with your Latin; and you have all your paradigms ad unguem. You cannot imagine what alterations and improvements I expect to find every day, now that you are more than Octennis. And, at this age, non progredi would be regredi, which would be very shameful. Adieu! Do not write to me; for I shall be in no settled place to receive letters, while I am in the country. DEAR BOY, LETTER XXXIX. London, June the 25th, 1740. As I know you love reading, I send you this book for your amusement, and not by way of task or study. It is an Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Dictionary; in which you may find almost every thing you can desire to know, whether ancient or modern. As Historical, it gives you the history of all remarkable persons and things; as Chronological, it tells you the time when those persons lived, and when those things were done; and as Geographical, it describes the situation of countries and cities. For example; would you know who Aristides the Just was, you will find there, that he was of Athens; that his distinguished honesty and integrity acquired him the name of Just; the most glorious appellation a man can have. You will likewise find, that he commanded the Athenian army, at the battle of Platæa, where Mardonius, the Persian General, was defeated, and his army, of three hundred thousand men, utterly destroyed; and that, for all these virtues, he was banished Athens by the Ostracism. You will then (it may be) be curious to know what the Ostracism is. If you look for it, you will find that the Athenians, being very jealous of their liberties, which they thought were the most in danger from those whose |