He is not fenfible of his own want of ftrength, when he knows that his helper is Almighty. In fhort, the perfon who has a firm trust on the Supreme Being is powerful in his power, wife by his wisdom, happy by his happiness. He reaps the benefit of every Divine Attribute, and loses his own infufficiency in the fulness of infinite perfection.

To make our lives more eafy to us, we are commanded to put our trust in him, who is thus able to relieve and fuccour us; the Divine Goodness having made fuch a reliance a duty, notwithflanding we should have been miferable had it been forbidden us.

Among feveral motives, which might be made ufe of to recommend this duty to us, I fhall only take notice of thofe that follow.

The first and ftrongeft is, that we are promised, He will not fail thofe who put their trust in him.

But without confidering the fupernatural bleffing which accompanies this duty, we may obferve that it has a natural tendency to its own reward, or in other words, that this firm truft and confidence in the great Difpofer of all things, contributes very much to the getting clear of any affliction, or to the bearing it man. fully. A perfon who believes he has his fuccour at hand, and that he acts in the fight of his friend, often exerts himself beyond his abilities, and does wonders that are not to be matched by one who is not animated with fuch a confidence of fuccefs. I could produce inftances, from hiftory, of generals, who, out of a belief that they were under the protection of fome invifible affiftant, did not only encourage their foldiers to do their utmost, but: have acted themselves beyond what they would have done, had they not been infpired by fuch a belief. I might in the fame manner fhew how fuch a truft in the affittance of an Almighty Being, naturally produces patienc, hope, chearfulness, and all other difpofitions of mind that alleviate thofe calamities which we are not able to remove.

The practice of this virtue adminifters great comfort to the mind of man in times of poverty and affliction, but most of all in the hour of death. When the foul is hovering in the last moments of its feparation, when it

is juft entring on another ftate of exiftence, to converfe with fcenes, and objects, and companions that are altogether new, what can fupport her under fuch tremblings of thought, fuch fear, fuch anxiety, fuch apprehenfions, but the cafting of all her cares upon. him who firit gave her being, who has conducted her through one ftage of it, and will be always with her to guide and comfort her in her progrefs through eternity?

David has very beautifully reprefented this fteady. reliance on God Almighty in his twenty-third Pfalm, which is a kind of a paftoral hymn, and filled with those allufions which are usual in that kind of writing. As the poetry is very exquifite, I fhall prefent my reader with the following tranflation of it.

I.

The Lord my pafture fhall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care:
His prefence hall my wants. Supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight-hours defend.

II.

When in the fultry glebe I faint,.
Or
Or on the thirsty mountain pant;.
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary wand'ring fleps he leads;
Where peaceful rivers, Joft and flow
Amid the verdant landskip flow.

III.

Tho' in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My fedfaft heart fall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me ftill;
Thy friendly crook fhall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade..

IV.

Tho' in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious lonely wilds I ftray.

Thy

Thy bounty fhall my pains beguile:
The barren wilderness fall fmile,

With fudden greens and herbage crown'd,
And ftreams fhall murmur all around.

Monday, July 28.

N° 442

Scribimus indocti doctique

Hor. Ep. 1. 1. 2. v. 117

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Thofe who cannot write, and those who can, All rhime, and scrawl, and scribble to a man.

POPE.

Do not know whether I enough explained myself to the world, when I invited all men to be assistant to me in this my work of fpeculation; for I have not yet acquainted my readers, that befides the letters and valuable hints I have from time to time received from my correfpondents, I have by me feveral curious and extraordinary papers fent with a defign (as no one will doubt when they are published) that they may be printed intire, and without any alteration, by way of Spectator. I must acknowledge alfo, that I myself being the first projector of the paper, thought I had a right to make them my own, by dreffing them in my own stile, by leaving out what would not appear like mine, and by adding whatever might be proper to adapt them to the character and genius of my paper, with which it was almoft impoffible thefe could exactly correfpond, it being certain that hardly two men think alike, and therefore fo many men fo many Spectators. Befides, I muft own my weaknefs for glory is fuch, that if I confulted that only, I might be fo far fwayed by it, as almost to wish that no one could write a Spectator befides myfelf; nor can I deny, but upon the firft perufal of thofe papers, I felt fome fecret inclinations of ill-willtowards the perfons who wrote them. This was the impreffion I had upon the first reading them; but upon a late review (more for the fake of entertainment than use); regarding

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regarding them with another eye than I had done a firft (for by converting them as well as I could to myown ufe, I thought I had utterly disabled them from ever offending me again as Spectators) I found myself moved by a paffion very different from that of envy; fenfibly touched with pity, the foftest and most generous of all paffions, when I reflected what a cruel difappointment, the neglect of thofe papers muft needs have been to the writers who impatiently longed to fee them appear in print, and who, no doubt, triumphed to themselves in the hopes of having a share with me in the applaufe of the public; a pleasure fo great, that none but thofe who have experienced it can have a fenfe of it. In this manner of viewing thofe papers, I really found I had not done them juftice, there being fomething fo extremely natural and peculiarly good-in fome of them, that 1 will appeal to the world whether it was poffible to alter a word in them without doing them a manifest hurt and violence; and whether they can ever appear rightly, and as they ought, but in their own native drefs and colours. And therefore I think I fhould not only wrong them, but deprive the world of a confiderable fatisfaction, fhould I any longer delay the making them public.

After I have published a few of these Spectators, I doubt not but I shall find the fuccefs of them to equal, if not furpafs, that of the best of my own. An author

fhould take all methods to humble himself in the opinion he has of his own performances. When thefe papers appear to the world, I doubt not but they will be followed by many others; and I fhall not repine, though I myfelf fhall have left me but very few days to appear in public: But preferring the general weal and advantage to any confiderations of myself, I am refolved for the future to publifh any Spectator that deferves it, entire, and without any alteration; affuring the world (if there can be need of it) that it is none of mine; and if the authors think fit to fubfcribe their names, I will add them.

I think the best way of promoting this generous and ufeful defign, will be by giving out fubjects or themes of all kinds whatfeever, on which (with a preamble of

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the extraordinary benefit and advantage that may accrue. thereby to the public) I will invite all manner of perfons, whether fcholars, citizens, courtiers, gentlemen of the town or country, and all beaux, rakes, fmarts, prudes, coquettes, housewives, and all forts of wits, whether male or female, and however diftinguiflied, whether they be true wits, whole, or half wits, or whether arch, dry, natural, acquired, genuine, or deprav'd wits; and perfons of all forts of tempers and complexions, whether the fevere, the delightful, the impertinent, the agreeable, the thoughtful, bufy, or carelefs, the ferene or cloudy, jovial or melancholy, untowardly or eafy, the cold, temperate, or fanguine; and of what manners or difpofitions foever, whether the ambitious or humble-minded, the proud or pitiful, ingenious or bafe-minded, good or ill-natured, publicfpirited or felfifh; and under what fortune or circumstance foever, whether the contented or miferable, happy or unfortunate, high or low, rich or poor (whether fo through want of money, or defire of more) healthy or fickly, married or fingle; nay, whether tall or fhort, fat or lean; and of what trade, occupation, profeffion, ftation, country, faction, party, perfuafion, quality, age or condition foever, who have ever made thinking a part of their bufinefs or diverfion, and have any thing worthy to impart on thefe fubjects to the world according to their feveral and respective talents or genius's, and as the fubject given out hits their tempers, humours, or circumftances, or may be made profitable to the public by their particular knowledge or experience in the matter propofed, to do their utmoft on them by fuch a time, to the end they may receive the inexpreffible and irrefiflible pleasure of feeing their effay allowed of and relished by the reft of mankind.

I will not prepoffefs the reader with too great expecta. tion of the extraordinary advantages which must redound to the public by thefe effays, when the different thoughts. and obfervations of all forts of perfons according to their quality, age, fex, education, profeffions, humours, manners and conditions, &c. fhall be fet out by themselves in the clearest and most genuine light, and as they themfelves would wish to have them appear to the world.

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