truth and ingenuity has any lafting good effect, even upon a man's fortune and intereft.

"Truth and reality have all the advantages of ap. pearances, and many more. If the fhew of any thing, be good for any thing, I am fure fincerity is better: For why does any man diffemble, or feem to be that which he is not, but becaufe he thinks it good to have fuch a quality as he pretends to? For to counterfeit and diflemble, is to put on the appearance of fome real excellency. Now the best way in the world for a man to feem to be any thing, is really to be what he would feem to be. Befides that it is many times as troublesome to make good the pretence of a good quality as to have it; and if a man have it not, it is ten to one but he is difcovered to want it, and then all his pains and labour to feem to have it, is loft. There is fomething unnatural in painting, which a skilful eye will eafily discern from native beauty and complexion.

"It is hard to perfonate and act a part long; for where truth is not at the bottom, nature will always be endeavouring to return, and will peep out and betray herself one time or other. Therefore if any man think it convenient to fecm good, let him be fo indeed, and then his goodnefs will appear to every body's fatisfaction ; fo that upon all accounts fincerity is true wifdom. Particularly as to the affairs of this world, integrity hath many advantages over all the fine and artificial ways of diffimulation and deceit; it is much the plainer and eafier, much the fafer and more fecure way of dealing in the world; it has leis of trouble and difficulty, of entanglement and perplexity, of danger and hazard in it; it is the fhorteft and nearest way to our end, carrying us thither in a straight line, and will hold out and laft longeft. The arts of deceit and cunning do continually grow weaker and less effectual and ferviceable to them that use them; whereas integrity gains ftrength by use, and the more and longer any man practifed it, the greater fervice it does him, by confirming his reputation, and encouraging thofe with whom he hath to do, to repofe the

greatest trust and confidence in him, which is an unfpeakable advantage in the bufinefs and affairs of life.

"Truth is always confiftent with itself, and needs nothing to help it out; it is always near at hand, and fits upon our lips, and is ready to drop out before we are aware; whereas a lye is troublefome, and fets a man's invention upon the rack, and one trick needs a great many more to make it good. It is like building upon a falfe foundation, which continually ftands in need of props to fhore it up, and proves at last more chargeable, than to have railed a fubftantial building at firft upon a true and folid foundation; for fincerity is firm and fubftantial, and there is nothing hollow and unfound in it, and becaufe it is plain and open, fears no difcovery; of which the crafty man is always in danger, and when he thinks he walks in the dark, all his pretences are fo tranfparent, that he who runs may read them; he is the laft man who finds himself to be found out, and whilft he takes it for granted that he makes fools of others, he renders himself ridiculous.

"Add to all this, that fincerity is the most compendious wisdom, and an excellet inftrument for the ipcedy difpatch of bufinefs; it creates confidence in thofe we have to deal with, faves the labour of many inquiries, and brings things to an ifiue in few words. It is like travelling in a plain beaten road, which commonly brings a man fooner to his journey's end than bye-ways, in which men often lofe themfelves.

In a

word, whatfoever convenience may be thought to be in falfhood and diffimulation, it is foon over; but the inconvenience of it is perpetual, because it brings a man under an everlafling jealoufy and fufpicion, fo that he is not believed when he fpeaks truth, nor trusted when he perhaps means honeftly. When a man has once forfeited the reputation of his integrity, he is fet faft, and nothing will then ferve his turn, neither truth nor falfhood.

"And I have often thought, that God hath in his great wifdom hid from men of falic and dishonest

minds the wonderful advantage of truth and integrity to the profperity even of our worldly affairs; there men are fo blinded by their covetouinefs and ambition, that they cannot look beyond a prefent advantage, nor forbear to feize upon it, though by ways ever fo indirect; they cannot fee fo far as to the remoteft confequences of a steady integrity, and the vast benefit and advantage which it will bring a man at laft. Were but this fort of men wife and clear fighted enough to difcern this, they would be honeft out of very knavery, not out of any love to honesty and virtue, but with a crafty defign to promote and advance more effectually their own interefts; and therefore the juftice of the Divine Providence hath hid thist trueft point of wisdom from their eyes, that bad men might not be upon equal terms with the just and right, and ferve their own wicked designs by honest and lawful means.

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"Indeed, if a man were only to deal in the world for a day, and should never have occafion to converse more with mankind, never more need their good opinor good word, it were then no great matter (fpeaking as to the concernments of this world) if a man fpent his reputation all at once, and ventured it at one. throw But if he is to continue in the world, and would have the advantage of converfation whilft he is in it, let him make ufe of truth and fincerity in all his words and actions; for nothing but this will laft and hold out to the end; all other arts will fail, but truth and integrity will carry a man through, and bear him out to the laft."

SFECTATOR, Vol. IV. No. 552.

FAME.

THE foul, confidered abftractedly from its paflions,

is of a remifs and fedentary nature, flow in its refolves, and languishing in its execution. The ufe therefore of the paffions is to ftir it up, and to put it upon action, to awaken the understanding, to enforce the will,

and to make the whole man more vigorous and attentive in the profecution of his defigns. As this is the end of the paffions in general, fo it is particularly of ambition, which pushes the foul to fuch actions as are apt to procure honor and reputation to the actor. But if we carry our reflections higher, we may difcover farther ends of Proviac. e in implanting this paffion

in mankind.

It was neceffary for the world, that arts fhould be invented and improved, books written and tranfmitted to pofterity, nations conquered and civilized: Now fince the proper and genuine motives to these and the like great actions, would only influence virtuous minds; there would be but fmall improvements in the world, were there not fome common principle of action working equally with all men. And fuch a principle is ambition or a defire of fame, by which great endowments are not fuffered to lie idle and ufelefs to the public, and many vicious men, over-reached, as it were, and engaged contrary to their natural inclinations in a glorious and laudable course of action. For. we may farther obferve, that men of the greateft abilities are moft fired with ambition: And that, on the contrary, mean and narrow minds are the leaft actuated by it; whether it be that a man's fenfe of his own incapacities makes him defpair of coming at fame, or that he has not enough range of thought to look out for any good which does not more immediately relate to his intereff.or convenience, or that Providence, in the very frame of his foul, would not fubject him to fuch a paffion as would be ufelefs to the world, and a torment to himself.

Were not this defire of fame very strong, the difficulty of obtaining it, and the danger of lofing it when obtained, would be fufficient to deter a man from so vain a pursuit.

How few are there who are furnished with abilities fufficient to recommend their actions to the admiration of the world, and to diftinguish themselves from the reft of mankind! Providence for the most part fets us upon a level, and obferves a kind of proportion in its

difpenfations towards us. If it renders us perfect in one accomplishment, it generally leaves us defective in another, and feems careful rather of preferving every perfon from being mean and deficient in his qualifications, than of making any fingle one eminent or extraordinary.

And among thofe who are the most richly endowed by nature, and accomplished by their own induftry, how few are there whofe virtues are not obfcured by the ignorance, prejudice, or envy of their beholders. Some men cannot difcern between a noble and a mean action. Others are apt to attribute them to fome false end or intention; and others purpofely mifrepresent or put a wrong interpretation on them.

But the more to enforce this confideration, we may obferve, that thofe are generally most unfuccefsful in their pursuit after fame, who are moft defirous of obtaining it. It is Saluft's remark upon Cato, that the lefs he coveted glory the more he acquired it.

Men take an ill-natured pleafure in croffing our inclinations, and difappointing us in what our hearts are moft fet upon. When therefore they have difcovered the paffionate defire of fame in the ambitious man (as no temper of mind is more apt to fhew itfelf) they become fparing and reverfed in their commendations, they envy him the fatisfaction of an applause, and look on their praises rather as a kindnefs done to his perfon, than as a tribute paid to his merit. Others who are free from this natural perverfenefs of temper grow wary in their praises of one who fets too great a value on them, left they fhould raife him too high in his own imagination, and by confequence remove him to a greater distance from themfelves..

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But farther, this defire of fame naturally betrays the ambitious man into fuch indecencies as are a leffening to his reputation. He is ftill afraid left any of his actions fhould be thrown away in private, left his deferts fhould be concealed from the notice of the world, or receive any difadvantage from the reports which others make of them. This often fets him on empty boasts and oftentations of himself, and betrays him in