the laws and the example of the great Monarch of the Univerfe, binding alike the Prince and Peasant, indispenfibly require of thofe in whofe hands is its adminiftration,to promote in eveBy inftance the greateft poffible good of its fubjects.

If

Creation and the government of it is perfe&; because he, who adminifters it, is a Being of infinite wifdom, goodness and power. Deflitute of either of these attributes, or were they not abfolutely balanced and equal to their end, the governor and the government would be imperfect. Hence it may joftly be inferred, that thofe, who govern their fellow mortals, to govern them with fitnefs, muft poffefs not only power to pursue the best measures, but wisdom to difcover, and goodness to lead to them. the Prince be poffeffed of a fufficiency of power, and without it government of no kind can exift, and be deftitute of either wifdom or goodness, he is unqualified for his office. If he be ig norant, though he be good, the indifcretion of his measures may involve himfelf and his kingdora in ruin. If he be not ignorant, yet, fhould he be a bad man, with his knowledge and his power, the happiness of the fubje mufl yield to his intereft or his ambition. From thefe oblervations it is plain, that the Prince, or thofe, who adminifter a government, must have, united in them, wildom, goodnefs and power, in order to effect the happiness of the fubject, the great and only proper object of civil fociety. When a fufficiency of thefe is poffeffed both in kind and degree, the government, of what fpecies foever it may be, is then in its utmoft ftate of perfection.

Civil power naturally divides itself, into three diftinct branches, the legifs lative, judicial and executive. Thefe, three branches, in a state of nature, reft fovereignly in the individual. In a Rate of civil fociety, they are in most inflances furrendered into the hands of the government, whose Arength isever in a ratio to the individual's lofs of his natural fovereign-. ty and independence. In all govern ments, therefore,, there must be some

where a fupréme, legislative, jadicial and executive authority. The differ ent manner in which this fupreme authority is placed, and the different tenures by which it is held, conftitutes all the variety in the forms of civil governments, that have ever made, or can make their appearance upon the theatre of the world. When this power refts in the hands of one man, independently of the people, it is called monarchy, when in a few an arif-* tocracy, when in the citizens at large, united by the focial compact, it is flyled a democracy.

Urit me Glyceræ nitor Splendentis Pario marmore putius: Urit grata Protervitas,

Et Vultus nimium lubricus aspici.

THERE is nothing in

Hor.

more impofe upon themfelves, than in matters of Love. No fooner has this paffion kindled in any great degree in the heart, but the eyes of reafon are put out,a cloud hangs upon the intellect, and darkness invades the whole foul: The lover immediately apprehends-things in a different manner from all the reft of the world. He enjoys a thousand delights, and fuffers a thousand inquietudes which have no original but in his own imagination; and his life glides away rather like a vifionary exiftence than a reality. The fair charmer of his affections is no longer a mortal; nor can he perfuade himself that the lovely form is flesh and blood, but a refined compofition of an ætherial and angelical nature. It would be an unpardonable crime in him, to conjecture that her eyes were any other than two funs, which can, as the power that governs them, pleafes, either give the day, or leave the hemifphere to perpetual night and horror; either fmile ferenely as a fummer morning; or raife a tempeft in every faculty of his mind. He affures himself the fyrens warble in her voice; the graces move in her fteps; the zephyrs flutter upon her fan; her air is fomething more than humane; and her features are at leeft Aufhed with divinity. In short,

from the moment a man commences lover, he refigns his underftanding, and farts up a knight-arrant; while his miftrefs at once loofes the won,an in the goddess.

It is my defign in this paper, to reduce the men to their reafon, and the ladies to their proper species. In order to compafs my intention, I fall fhow fome of the ill confequences of this way of thinking and acting, in regard both to the male and female world.

So long as a man indulges thefe idle dreams, it incapacitates him for all happiness, except a few imaginary pleafures, which are unfatisfyingin their nature, and fleeting in their duration. His mind is in a continual mutation; and every little accident will Batter his expectations, or. quench his hopes; inflame his defires or roufe his jealou fy. If his fair fimiles upon another, it fets him a low'ring with envy and refentment; and nothing will more effectually fting his brains, than a pinch of his miйrefs's fnuff offered to his rival. Does the give her hand to any one else? his own hand trembles ; if the accepts a nofe-gay from his antagonist, the perfume immediately takes away his breath; and whenever the peaks kindly to his friend, a fudden filence feizes his tongue, and his ears deafen with faintnefs. Befides; this amorous difpofition is a great error in the politics of the man, as it puts him upon doing these things which have a dire& tendency to deAroy his fchemes. It gives him a fawning behaviour, and makes him a&t beneath the dignity which would otherwise recommend him. Indeed, to a woman of difcretion, and a geneTous temper, this would be very far from creating any difefteem of the gentleman who addreffes her; fince it is only the refpect he has for her, that forbids him to act before her with his ufual freedom. But as there are few women of that character, fo it flands as a maxim, That the more the lover allows, the more the mistress® will affume.

If this method of amour is difadvantageous to the men, it is no lefs fo to the ladies themselves. It puts them upon a thousand little tricks,

that are indeed very ridiculous. If a lover is fo fimple as to compliment his miftrefs into a Deity, the prefently convinces him of the prefumption of the mortal, who dares approach her without a due veneration: And it fhould feem ftrange, that after he has adored her as a divine,he fhould wonder at her inhumanity. When he tells her, her eyes are killing, he takes care to prove his words for him: And as foon as ever he begs in a moft humble manner, that at leaft fhe would let him enjoy a compaffionate look, or her unkindness will certainly break a heart already wounded; the inftantly frowns upon him, and with great tranquility fets about the experiment. It' frequently happens that the cringing of the man, renders the woman too imperious to be born with. A man of a philofophical conftitution, when he fees his miftrefs thus haughty and contemptuous, afferts his liberty,and leaves the nymph to look out for another of a more fervile fpirit, to wear the chains of her tyranny and triumph. I once knew a gentleman who made court to a woman, in this modern polite manner, which had no very defirable conclufion. Madam,fays, he, "it is my higheft ambition to become your flave." Who can blame her if upon this the managed with fuitable authority? She bridled up her head, and with a commanding accent, ordered him upon his knees to afk pardon for his unfufferable arrogance; when upon his fmiling, the arose in great wrath, called him infolent Jacka-napes, and beat him out of doors, with a broom flick.

This kind of addreffing the ladies has a very ill effect upon their marri ages, inasmuch as it often influences them to a wrong choice. The man tenderness for a dear creature, cannot who has his heart overflowing with Carefs her with that gallantryand blandifhment he is mafter of to another. Let his air be ever fo fine, her presence awes him; let his eloquence be ever fo flowing, at her appearance he is fi lenced. But, on the contrary, a man who loves but indifferently, can maintain all his graces, and by that means is able to carry an undifcerning wo.

man from her most paffionate admir

er.

To conclude: This romantic way. of loving is very prejudicial to the lady, because it is impoflible for any: woman to answer the idea that such a lover forms about her. For so long as he fancies her an inhabitant of the elyfium, and the remains a daughter of Eve, the object and the conception will be inadequate, And when the. lover perceives the angel thus fok into womanhood; his furprife will equal his diappointment.

I might have used many arguments of a more serious turn, and thown that to place our chief happ nefs in a creature, is a mental idolatry inconfiftent with religion: But I have chofen motives drawn from moral reafons, as more fuited to the nature of my paper.

A.

To the Printers of the BOSTON MAGAZINE.

UPON

PON reading one of the pieces in your last number I determined with myfelf to commence author, and furnifh fomething to fill up your useful publication. But when I came to put my design in execution, I found myfelf entirely at a lofs for a fubject, with which I might entertain your readers. This being the cale with me, I pulled off my fpectacles, rofe from my elbow chair, put on my gloves, cock'd up my hat, and walked abroad in pursuit of a subject upon which to write. I have feveral times lately made ufe of this expedient, but without any the leaf fuccefs. I have to no purpose roved from freet to freet, frequented my barber's shop,or ftep'd into fome public house, and and mixed with every circle, to pick up materials for the entertainment of your readers. It is not eafy to reckon up what a variety of methods I have taken to accomplish my design; how many tea tables I have vifited, or companies I have been in. Nay, day or two ago, after having spent the morning in fruitless labour of this kind, I came home at noon, went into my chamber, locked my door, and budt a pyramid of chairs, tables and jo.at-lools against it, and then un

a

dreffed, and very flity flipt into bed, in order to fall into a vifion that might entertain myself, and fill a column or two in your Magazine. These and innumerable other contrivances I put . in 'execution, but all without any effe&, fo that I was not without thoughts of writing a fpeculation upon nothing, fince I could not find any thing to write upon. While I was in the midft of this quandary, I receiv ed the following letter from a gentleman, who, though he had a great. nvind to write to me; feems to be în the fame condition with myself, and is as much puzzled to furnish out matter for his epiftle. As there appears to be a pleasant vein of humour running through the whole, and a fcheme of very useful inventions in it, I take leave to tranfmit it.

Whether this is the 150th or 151ft letter, which I have begun with af-, ferting I did not know what to write, is not my present bufines to deter-. mine; but I affure you, fir, that a man must be confiderably wifer than your humble fervant, who can tellhow I shall fill up this prefent epifile. As for my other letters, the methods I have taken to eke them out, have been very pleasant and various, and, perhaps, it may not be unentertaining, for me to give you an account of

fome of them.

1

I

Once I wrote to a friend in a flyle fo very perplexed and unintelligible, that I am apt to question whether he has found out the meaning of it to this day. And indeed, to confefs a fecret, if he has, he has done more than I could do myself. In short, I wrote the letter in this manner. found I had not one thought in my mind, which was in any measure fuitable for my, defign, to fupply which defect, I took Johnson's Dicti quary, from which I felected as many well founding words, as I thought would go to fill up a letter of fome confiderable length.

Being thus prepared, my next care was to procure as many and's and the's and of's, and wherefore's, and fuch other little particles as would ferve to connect them into fentences.

When

When I had got all things into this readiness, I made a certain inftrument of a goofe quill, by which I fpread them upon paper, with fuch art and dexter ty, that I may be bold to fay few men could have gone be yond me. It is impoffible for you to form any idea to yourself what kind of creature my letter was. Never was a Delphian oracle more intricate and myfterious; when at the fame time the language was rich and founding, the ftyle flowing and eafy, and the periods full,mufical and round. When I had finished it, you may imagine how I applauded myfelf in my own mind, as being an author fo profound and obfcure as to have but one rival in all antiquity: I mean, the Philofopher who wrote fo fubtilly,as to crack his brains by ftudying to understand his own works.

Another time, when I perceived a fmall vacancy in my intellett, I filled up a letter with the projection of se. veral engines, very useful and advan-i tage sus for thofe unhappy gentlemen who are troubled with the itch of fcribbling, but laboured under the fame emptinefs and fterility with myfelf. Some of these inventions, for the mutual emolument of myself and thefe my fellow-labourers, I fhall communicate to you in a few words.

First, I thought it would be very convenient to have an INTELLECTUAL WINDMILL, which might from time to time, prepare proper thoughts as I might have occafion for them, and let them fall into my filver inkpot. In the next place, I contrived a machine which I called an alphabetical SIEVE. This SIEVE, I intended fhould, upon its being fhaken over a clean fheet of white paper, drop out vowels and confonants, in fuch a manner as handfomely to cover it with monofyllables, fpondees, dactyls and whole fentences. I had alfo thoughts of making me a poetical WHIRLIGIGG, which I intended fhould fpin out verfes of all fizes and dimenfions. Over the top of this curious machine, I should have hung a fine ring of bells, which upon the rotation of a certain wheel, fhould have fruck rhymes as faft as the wheel twifted lines to tag them to. The motion of this wheel proceeded from

a certain living creature which I had by the Roficrucian art conveyed into * it. Though fome envious perfons please to call it by the diminutive title of a moufe fquirrel. I might add a great number of other invertions which I have found cut, in order to benefit fuch worthy gentlemen as myfelf, who, as I told you, are peftered with an impotent defire of becoming authors. But I shall at prefent take my leave and fubfcribe, venerable fir, your moft obedient fervant,

JOHN CROTCHET.

I wifh the author of the above letter, had hit upon one projection more, and contrived fomething in the nature of an ADDENDA SCREW, which, might serve to make any additions to a piece which however was finished before. An inftrument of this kind would be of fervice to many of us fcribblers.

Difquifition on Time. (Continued from page 89 ) ROM this non exiftence of time

FRO

thus eftablished, many conclusons will arife both ufeful and entertaining; from whence perhaps new lights may be thrown on feveral fpeculations, religious and metaphyfical, whofe outlines I fhall juft venture to trace, and leave them to be filled up by abler pens.

ift. If time be no more than the fucceffion of ideas, and actions, however these may be accelerated or retarded, Time will be just the fame ; that is, neither longer nor fhorter,, provided the fame ideas, and actions, fucceed one another, as far, I mean,' as it relates to beings fo thinking and acting. For inftance, were the earth and all the celeftial bodies, to perform the fame revolutions in one day, which they now perform in a whole. year, and were all the ideas, actions and lives of mankind haftened on the fame proportion, the period of our lives would not be in the leaft fhortened; but that day would be exactly equal to the prefent year: If in the pace of feventy eighty of thefe days a man was born, educated, and grown up, had exercised a profeffion, had feen his children come to maturity, his grand children fucceed

them,