/Mf-f 
 
 
 
 I I Q 3 
 
THE 
 
 MODERN ART OF LOVE 
 
 OR, T h 
 
 CONGRESS of CYTHERA, 
 
 Price Half a Crown fewed "] 
 

THE 
 
 MODERN ART: OF LOFE-, 
 
 O R, 
 
 THE CONGRESS 
 
 O F 
 
 C Y T H E R A. 
 
 Tranflated from the Italian of 
 
 6 O U N T ALGAROTTI. 
 
 CALAMO LUDIMUS. 
 
 A NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 PRINTED for G. K E A R S4- E 
 No 46, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1783. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 CT HIS little tracJ was firjl publijhtd 
 about the year 1744. It was in- 
 tended by its author as a portrait of the 
 manners, fentiments and prattice of the 
 three mojl learned and polite nations of 
 Europe, viz. England, France and Italy^ 
 in affairs of love and gallantry. A vein 
 cf delicate and concealed fatire, in the 
 manner of Horace, runs throughout the 
 work -, and the author bas y in a pleafing 
 Jlile of irony, expofed the peculiar fol- 
 lies and abfurdities of the three nations., 
 He paints in lively colours the exceffive 
 refinement, fentimental delicacy and ro- 
 mantic turn of thought cf the Italian 
 lovers ; the vanity, inconftancy and levity 
 of the French ; and the earneft, fedaie, 
 philofophical difpofition of the Englifo. 
 This pi 1 ure, from the moment when itfirjl 
 
 M 9117 
 
appeared in public, gave univerfal fatif- 
 fattion ; particularly to fuch as, having 
 travelled through the different countries, 
 Were confcious of its exatt conformity to 
 nature. It went through no lefs than 
 feven editions in the courfe of a very 
 few years ; to every one of which the 
 Count made additions and embellifhments, 
 GS well in the matter itfelf, as in the lan- 
 guage. The lajl edition was printed, 
 together with the rejl of the author's 
 works in 1765, at Leghorn-, from which 
 the prefent tranjlation is taken. 
 
 It would be a piece of injuftice to our 
 author, not to infert the approbation of 
 Jo diftinguijhed a genius, as the late Mr. 
 Voltaire, who in one of his letters to the 
 Count, express himfelf in the following 
 terms, and feems in his exprejjion to have 
 had an eye to the Jitte and manner of the 
 
 work 
 
:work he was fpeaklng of: J'ai Iu et 
 relu, et je relirai encore votre Congres,, 
 que les graces orit di&e elles-memes, 
 
 :& que vous avez ecrit avec une plume 
 
 .tiree des ailes de 1'amour. 
 
Tlis Day is Pulllfied, 
 A Third Edition, Price Two Shillings, 
 
 To which is now added, TEN PRECEPTS, which 
 WILLIAM LORD BURLEIGH, LORD HIGH 
 TREASURER of ENGLAND, gave his fecond fon, 
 ROBERT CECIL, afterwards EARL of SALIS- 
 BURY, 
 
 THE ART OF PLEASING, 
 
 In FOURTEEN LETTERS from the EARL of 
 CHESTERFIELD to his NEPHEW, the prefent 
 LORD. 
 
 Printed for Faulder, Debrett, Egerton, Keariley, 
 Flexney, Bew, and SewelJ. 
 
 fr*? 3 " Thefe Letters are the genuine productions of 
 the late Earl of Chefterfield, written to the prefent pof- 
 fefTbr of his Titles, while under the 'tuition of an un- 
 fortunate Divine. His Lordfhip has fufFered nothing to 
 efcape his pen detrimental to the interefts of Society. 
 We can, without hefitation, recommend this work to 
 cur readers." See the European Magazine for Fe- 
 bruary 178-3. 
 
 <%* " Thefe Letters were written from Bath. They 
 are certainly free from thofe glaring immoralities which 
 difgraced his Lordship's Letters to his fon." See the 
 Gentleman's Magazine for February 1-783. 
 
 j^H-f- " Thefe Letters appear to be the genu'ne writ- 
 ings of the celebrated Earl of Chefterfield ; they dif- 
 cover a great knowledge of the world, and are expreffed 
 with a happy elegance." See the laft Engliih Review 
 for February 1783. 
 
 |!jj See aifo the Critical Review for the fame month. 
 We arc obliged to refer to it, as it is too long a cha 
 rac'tcr.to be inferred here. 
 
( vii ) 
 
 INSTRUCTION, united with AMUSEMENT. 
 
 The following Selections are confefTedly the mail en- 
 tertaining and interefting collection, for youth of both 
 iexes, in the Engliih language j and are all printed uni- 
 form in ten por.ket Volumes 5 each of which ma/ be 
 had fingly for half a crown, or the whole for one pound 
 five (hillings. 
 
 As that great luminary Dr. JOHNSON rrrongly recom- 
 mends, in the fourth volume of his Rambler, felect- 
 Jng the bsft thoughts of our beft writers, it is rather 
 fingular that this truly refpeclable author's advice has 
 not been adopted before. 
 
 The Volumes now Publifhed, are 
 The BEAUTIES of 
 
 SHAKESPEARE, 
 
 MILTON, 
 
 THOMPSON, 
 
 YOUNG, 
 
 POPE, 
 
 JOHNSON, 
 
 GOLDSMITH, 
 
 swi r, 
 
 STERNE, 
 WATTS, 
 
 AND 
 
 FIELDING. 
 
 With the Lives of each Author, and their Heads 
 neatly engraved by TROTTER. 
 
 The Beauties of MILTON, THOMSON, and YOUNG, 
 are all contained in one Volume. 
 
 Every lopfe and indelicate exprefiion is carefully omit- 
 ted in SWIFT and STERNE 
 
 The Monthly Review, in fpeaking of the Beauties of 
 JOHNSON, fays, We heartily wiih this feledion 
 <c fuocefs amDrig Youth, for wlrjfe improvement, par- 
 " ticuiarly in fchools, it feems principally intended." 
 
 Though 
 
( 
 
 v 
 
 Though the whole collection has been publi/hed but-- 
 a 1 fhort period, moft of them have gone through feve- 
 ral editions, and been introduced into the principal 
 fchools in and about London. 
 
 Printed for George Kearfiey, at No. 46, Fleet-ftreet. 
 
 %* As thefe BEAUTIES are fo generally read at 
 home, there can be no doubt but they will' be as well 1 
 received abroad 5 particularly in the Eafl and Weft-In- 
 dies. Thofe who buy them for exportation, will have 
 a proper allowance. 
 
 TUB' 
 
"THE 
 
 CONGRESS 
 
 O F 
 
 C Y T H E R A. 
 
 the beginning of the pre- 
 fent century, the fineft countries in 
 Europe had for fome time lamented 
 the abfence of the GOD OF LOVE. He 
 was no longer feen by mortals, empty* 
 ing his quiver from the radiant eyes 
 of a beauty; and lovers breathed out 
 their fighs merely in compliance with 
 cuftom, or in remembrance of their 
 paft fufferings. All nature was in a 
 ftate of languor, as many yet living 
 B may 
 
.-TJ'a$ *yJs,Vf ^fafcmbe,!:, arid various were 
 the reafons that' were aligned by man- 
 kind for fo extraordinary a change. 
 Several perfons imagined, that "to ve 
 had concealed himfdf, fome where or 
 other, in order to play off fome little 
 wanton trick of vengeance; others, 
 that he had clofed his eyes at a dra- 
 matic reprefentation, or an academic 
 folemnity, and had not yet awakened 
 from his flumber. It was fuppofed by 
 one, that the God was bufily employed 
 in fomenting difcord in the cabinets of 
 princes; by another, that his whole 
 'attention was engrofled in furnifhing 
 matter for a madrigal or an eclogue. 
 Thofe, who were moft given to fpe- 
 culation, maintained, that he had re- 
 tired from the world with another 
 PSYCHE, and lay by her fide intoxi- 
 cated with that delicious nedlar, a 
 
 few 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 few drops of which he mixes in the 
 cup of mortals. 
 
 But how often are the judgments of 
 mankind erroneous, particularly, whea 
 urged by an impious curiofity, they 
 feek to unveil the myfteries of fuperior 
 beings ! Not a thirft of revenge, nor 
 the foft embraces of Somnus, not the 
 lofty palace, nor the humble cottage, 
 nor in fhort any amorous intrigue, kept 
 LOVE concealed from the eyes of his 
 votaries. A ftate affair had entirely 
 occupied the thoughts and the foul of 
 the Deity, and had detained him for 
 fome days on the ifland of Cythera, in 
 the midft of that fea which rolls its 
 waves between the Crimea and the 
 Cretan cliffs. For fome time back a 
 very important conteft had arifen be- 
 tween certain of the European nations, 
 B 2 the- 
 
( 4 } 
 
 the decifion of which refted folely with 
 the God of LOVE, and was involved 
 in almofl infuperable difficulties. That 
 countenance, which ufed to beam joy 
 and delight throughout the world, was 
 obfcured as it were by a cloud, whilft 
 the God went all alone, ruminating 
 within himfelf, and wrapt in the moft 
 profound meditation. That ifland had 
 never beheld him fo thoughtful, not 
 even when he retired with his mother 
 to inveftigate the rife of the Roman 
 empire, nor fo much afflicted, when he 
 took refuge in her bofom, after being 
 flung by the winged ferpent of ANA- 
 CREONT. Various were the judgments 
 which the Gcd revolved in his mind; 
 now leaning to one, and now to ano- 
 ther; and then rejecting them all on 
 more mature confideration. He at 
 length refolved to convoke his coun- 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 cil, and to have the affair debated there^ 
 before he came to any determination 
 refpe&ing it ; a meafure that he adopts 
 .very feldom, in cafes only of the ut- 
 moft extremity. 
 
 He accordingly called forth HOPE* 
 an amiable deity, who with a coun- 
 tenance ever placid and engaging, 
 breathes life and fpirits into the moft 
 miferable of human beings, and car- 
 ries always a little veffel filled with a 
 favoury manna, a food adapted to all 
 palates, and a panacaea for every evil. 
 He next fummoned COURAGE, whofe 
 chara&er is a mixture of petulance and 
 complaifance, who pleafes the fair 
 when he appears the moft to offend 
 them, who never fuffers an opportunity 
 to efcape him, and at that moment 
 held in his hand a tuft of hair plucked 
 
 from 
 
( 6 } 
 
 from the forehead of FORTUNE. This 
 delightful refidence of LOVE was not 
 contaminated by the prefence of JEA-T 
 kousY; who feeds on fufpicion and 
 poifons every joy ; a forrowful deity, 
 well deferving the fate (he is condemn 
 ned to, ,of preying on herfelf, together 
 with ENVY, in the dark anddifmal re- 
 gions of Cocytus. The God then did 
 not fummon JEALOUSY, though fo fre- 
 quently the attendant of LOVE amongft 
 unhappy mortals. Nor was it necef- 
 fary for him to call forth PLEASURE, 
 his infeparable companion, a goddefs 
 remarkable for her rofy lips, which, 
 appear a little tumid, and for teeth 
 white as the pureft ivory. Small is 
 her forehead, her eyes of the darkeft 
 brown, and of the fame colour her 
 hair; which in part tied behind in a 
 beautiful knot^ and partly flowing;. 
 
 carelefsly 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 -carelefsly down her left fhoulder, ; dif- 
 'fufes all around an odoriferous fra- 
 grance. Her attire was neat without 
 - any artificial embellifhment, and fo 
 thin as not to cover all the beauty of 
 v her figure. Her waift was encircled 
 by the -zone of VENWS. She neither 
 difplayed the glare of necklaces nor 
 diamonds, and had only on her finger 
 a ftone, on which was engraved by a 
 Grecian artift, a JULIUS CJESAR and 
 an ARISTIPPUS. Thefe were the privy 
 counfellors of LOVE ; and his inferior 
 minifters were thofe little fportive 
 GENII, who prefide over elegant fefti- 
 vity and Attic mirth. 
 
 The council being afTembled, LOVE 
 opened the bufmefs with that inex- 
 preflible grace which he throws into 
 every word and gefture. Among the 
 
 different 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 different parts of the world, he affirm- 
 ed, that he had ever been poflefled of 
 a juft predilection for Europe; that 
 Afia had teemed with abfurd fyftems, 
 America had fent forth the moft dread- 
 ful fcourges, and that both abounded 
 with riches, fo deftrulive to every 
 amorous enjoyment : that Africa, for- 
 merly the center of courtefy and po- 
 litenefs, was at prefent rather the refi- 
 dence of beafts than of men ; that Eu- 
 rope, happy in the genius of its inha- 
 bitants and the temperature of its cli- 
 mate, had been in every age the feat of 
 beauty, gallantry, and valour. In thofe 
 happy days, continued the God, when 
 {he repofed under the wings of the Ro- 
 man Eagle, the fame was her govern- 
 ment, the fame her language, and 
 throughout (he rendered an uniform 
 homage to my aufpices. The fame fa- 
 
 crifices 
 

 C 9 ) 
 
 crifices that were made to LOVE in the 
 capital were obferved in the plains of 
 Arcadia, and in the forefts of Germany, 
 were the fame in Spain as in the remote 
 Thule. But at prefent the various na- 
 tions of Europe differ as much in their 
 maxims and practice in love, as in their 
 language, their forms of government, 
 and their method of living. One na- 
 tion makes the fentiments of the heart 
 mere objects of the underftanding 5 ano- 
 ther will have them conform to the ca$ 
 price of cuftom, and a third confounds 
 with fenfual pleafure the moft refined 
 enjoyments of the tender paffion. Every 
 one condemns rigoroufly the opinion of 
 its neighbour, and holds forth its own 
 as the only rule of conduct.. Reje6t- 
 ing all . other writers, they coniider 
 their own as the only dailies in the 
 affairs of love, and drive to cover their 
 C envious 
 
envious hatred of their opponents with 
 the veil of affected zeal for the true 
 worftiip. This new war, adds the De- 
 ity, is raifed againft me by that bab- 
 feling and fuperficial trifler, REASON ; 
 whom I have fo often overcome and 
 cxpofed to ridicule, and who has been, 
 from time immemorial, my moft impla- 
 cable enemy. Confcious that fhe can- 
 not convert mankind from their allegi- 
 ance, notwithftanding all flie preaches 
 *f the tyranny of my government, and 
 <*f the little fweet -there is in love in 
 proportion to the bitters, of its tran- 
 fitory pleafures and lafting difquiet ; 
 confcious, that with all thefe trite ar- 
 guments fhe cannot utterly fubvert my 
 empire, fhe has refolved to difturb its 
 tranquillity as much as pofiible, and to 
 throw every thing into confufion and 
 diforder : in which purpofefhe has but 
 
 tco 
 
r ) 
 
 too fatally fucceeded, by ftarting fpe- 
 culative queftions with regard to forms, 
 by raifing difputes and fomenting quar- 
 rels between my principal votaries, in- 
 finitely more inveterate than the con- 
 tefts among her own pedants and phi- 
 lofophers. Now, faid the God, though 
 the empire of Love dreads neither hu- 
 man force nor cunning, though it refts 
 on a bafis of a far different duration 
 from that of worldly thrones, yet have 
 I heard, that factions and divifions are" 
 productive of the moft dreadful cala- 
 mities in a ftate; and that the principal 
 merit of a fovereign confifts in main* 
 taining unanimity and harmony among 
 his fubjecls. He concluded, that his 
 intention was, in convoking this coun- 
 cil, to confider what fteps fhould be 
 taken to confound for ever the machi- 
 nations of Reafon, and to reconcile 
 C 2 the 
 
( 12 j 
 
 the contending parties within his own 
 empire, whence the more ferious evils 
 now impending would be obviated, and 
 the conftitution of government, as far 
 as thepreient divifion of Europe would 
 admit, brought back to thofe principles- 
 from which it had deviated too much; 
 ft> that his empire {hould be free from 
 all difcord, except thofe foft and ami- 
 able contefts, which conduce fo much 
 to increafe thehappinefs of his faithful 
 fubjedls. 
 
 The God had in the courfe of his- 
 harangue more than once made a paufe 
 to recover breath : for it is his cuftom 
 to exprefs himfelf in broken accents ; 
 and the beft part of his eloquence is 
 frequently couched in an expreflive 
 filencc., 
 
 Th 
 
The council being apprized of the 
 intention of the God of Love, differ- 
 ent members held forth different ideas 
 on the fubjeL Some were for ap- 
 plying temporary, others decifive, re- 
 medies. Several were of opinion, that 
 it was not a matter of any great im- 
 portance, and did not require fo much 
 of their attention. Others, who could 
 not think of any better method of pro- 
 ceeding, propofed,. not without giving 
 fome offence to the Deity, that an em- 
 baffy fhould be fent to confult the 
 Oracle of Araiathontum or of Gnidos. 
 The debate was drawn out into a con- 
 fiderable length, and was now and; 
 then interrupted by the intemperate 
 mirth of the little fportive deities ; by 
 the fallies of COURAGE, w.ho frequent- 
 ly hummed a flanza or two of a fon- 
 netj by the impatient temper itfelf 
 
 of 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 of LOVE, and by the confufed noife 
 which they made in fpeaking all to- 
 getheir 
 
 All at length gave way to the opi- 
 nion of PLEASURE ; who maintained, 
 that it was impracticable to apply a 
 remedy, without being thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the origin of the evil. 
 That for this purpofe a Gongrefs fhould 
 be affembled at Cythera, compofed of 
 the reprefentatives of the different na- 
 tions, when this matter,- which was 
 juftly the caufe of fo much uneafinefs 
 to the God, might be minutely in- 
 vefti gated and di feu fled ; moreover, 
 that it would be fuificient ta hear the 
 arguments of thofe among the Euro- 
 pean ftates, who were the principals 
 in the conteft, and whofe modes and 
 cuftoms were the moft difcordant with 
 
 each 
 
each other, and ferved as a model to 
 the other nations : that women were 
 better calculated than men for fuch 
 an embaffy, having a more profound 
 knowledge of the niyfteries of Love : 
 that by thefe embafladrefles the differ- 
 ent fyftems, which gave rife to fo much 
 animofity, fhould be unfolded, and that 
 all this fhould be done in the prefence 
 of the God ; who would afterwards 
 fuggeft what he thought moft condu-* 
 cive to the good of his empire and that 
 of the world. 
 
 The judgment of PLEASURE being 
 aflented to, thofe winged deities, whom 
 we may call the little loves, were im- 
 mediately charged with the commiffion 
 of announcing to mankind the refolu- 
 tion of the God. The gayeft of them, 
 flew directly to Paris, where he had 
 
 often, 
 
often teen prefe-nt at thofe entertain- 
 ments, in which brifk Champaign in- 
 fpires the guefts with pleafing Tallies 
 of wit, and lively anecdotes. Ano- 
 ther, not quite fo volatile, fet off for 
 England, and was near lofing himfelf 
 in the midft of the crowd and frnoke of 
 London. And one of the nimbleft, 
 who partook of the gaiety of the one, 
 and the fedatexlifpofition of the other, 
 directed his courfe to Italy; which he 
 would in a fliort time have over-run, 
 had not his attention been now and 
 then engaged, and his flight retarded, 
 by the beauties of the country. 
 
 As foon as the arrival of thefe mef- 
 fengers was made public, and the com- 
 mifiions with which they were charged, 
 what lady did not afpire to the honour 
 of being elected embaffadrcfs to Cy- 
 
 thera ? 
 
t -17 ) 
 
 thera ? and what means were they 
 not ready to employ towards fo de- 
 firable an end ? None were omitted 
 on this occafion : ftudied fpeeches, af- 
 fefted looks, outward panegyric, and 
 private detraction, promifes made that 
 were never intended to be kept; in 
 fhort, all manner of artifices and in- 
 trigues. 
 
 In France the eyes of all were turn* 
 cd on Madame de Jafy ; and with rea~ 
 fon. For (he was noted above all 
 others for her (kill in adjufting the ce- 
 remonies of an entertainment, and for 
 her tafte in drefs ; as well as for re- 
 gulating the due proportions between 
 the one and the other. She was in a 
 fingular manner pofleffed of that fpe- 
 cies of wit, for which this lively na- 
 tion is diftinguifhed : and was befides^ 
 D remark- 
 
t 18 
 
 remarkable for her art in difplaying 
 the conquefts which fhe made frona 
 time to time, in cafe any new lover 
 fliould be too much given to difcie- 
 tion. 
 
 After fome little conteft, they agreed 
 in England to elecl: my Lady Gravely^ 
 a woman of letters and found judg- 
 ment; not to mention her graceful 
 carriage when preflding at the tea- 
 table, her dexterity in the management 
 of the fan, and her fkill in introducing 
 a cough on the proper occafion. 
 
 In Italy there was a prodigious deal 
 of buftle and intrigue. The people 
 of fafhion were there divided into two 
 parties, incenfed to the laft extremity 
 againft each other. One was entirely 
 le,voted to foreign and modern cuf- 
 
flams, and took a pride not only ii> 
 afluming the air, but in fpeaking the 
 language alfo of ftrangers. The other 
 party would have every thing Italian, 
 with an exception only to the fafliioa 
 of drefs, and in language and fenti- 
 ment rigoroufly infifted on fupporting 
 the priftine glory of their country. In 
 fine, after a long altercation, Heaven 
 decreed the triumph to the moft wor- 
 thy; and the choice fell upon Ladf 
 Beatrice, (killed in the amorous doc- 
 trines of the antient writers, in the 
 fcience of feeding her lovers upon air, 
 and chearing them now and then with 
 a prefent of decayed flowers and faded 
 ribbands. 
 
 The three ladies then, who were 
 charged with this important embafTy,, 
 took their departure. The London. 
 
( so ) 
 
 Gazette fcarcely took notice of the 
 voyage of Lady Gravely. In Paris 
 the abfence of Madame Jafy did not 
 in the leaft diminifh the gaiety of the 
 inhabitants. In Italy, the prefs teem- 
 ed with fonnets, celebrating the de- 
 parture of Lady Beatrice. The fields 
 were faid to be defert, the flowers to 
 wither upon their ftalks, the face of 
 nature to be involved in darknefs, and 
 Jovers to be without a fingle ray to 
 guide them in the difficult and dubious 
 path of life. 
 
 Beautiful was the appearance of the 
 ifland on that day when the three 
 ladies arrived at Cythera. It never 
 looked fo gay and delightful, except 
 perhaps when firft vifited by Venus, 
 The fky beamed with an unufual 
 fplendourj and a gentle breeze, im- 
 pregnated 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 pregnated with the fcent of the flowers 
 and herbs of that happy foil, curled 
 the fhining furfaceof the waves. The 
 little doves, that are fo fond of neftling 
 on the ifland, never poured out fuch 
 tender complaints ; the thoughts of 
 every animal were given up to Love; 
 the prefence of the Deity was more 
 immediately perceived, and deprived 
 the fair of the means of refitting an 
 enterprizing lover. The wings of the 
 temple, which fituate on a gentle emi- 
 nence commands a pleafant profpeft 
 of the fea and the country, were beau- 
 tifully ornamented with feftoons, and 
 filled with fpeclators. 
 
 Lady Gravely was drefled in a robe 
 of filver-coloured tabby, fitted clofely 
 to her fhape, with full and fliort fleeves ; 
 a very fine apron> and her head-drefs J 
 
 rifing 
 
rifing in the form of a pyramid. Shs 
 was accompanied by her brother, a 
 youth,, who during the voyage was al- 
 moft continually occupied in reading. 
 to himfelf Gordon's Tacitus* and- 
 Spon's Journey through Greece ; and 
 wifhed above all things, before they 
 anchored at Cythera, to vifit the pro- 
 montory of A&ium, and the ruins of- 
 Nicopolis.. 
 
 Madame de Jafy had fuch a profu- 
 fion of rouge upon her face, as to ex- 
 cite the wonder of the inhabitants of. 
 Cythera: {he diffufed, wherever ihe 
 went, the agreeable fcent of lavender 
 and other perfumes. Her open Andrian, 
 which was of a ftraw colour and em- 
 broidered with filver, together with* 
 her fiiort petticoat, concealed only in 
 part one of the beft turned legs, that 
 
 had 
 
t S3 ) 
 
 had been feen in France fmce the days 
 of the fair Gabrielle. By her fide were 
 three or four beaux. She leaned on 
 the arm of one, fmiled on another, 
 and nodded to a third ; whilft they 
 amufed themfelves as they went along^ 
 with the fteps of the cotillon and the 
 minuet de la cour. As the beauties of 
 the place opened upon their view, they 
 recalled to their mind Bagnolet and 
 Marli : and the inhabitants of Cy- 
 thera appeared to them mere ftrangers 
 in their own iflancL 
 
 The hoop of Lady Beatrice was con- 
 fiderably wider than that of Madame 
 de Jafy. Her lofty head-drefs was in- 
 terwoven with fine ribbands, and her 
 hair ftudded with diamonds and other 
 precious ftones. Yet fhe owed more 
 vto her natural beauty, than to all thefe 
 
 .artificial 
 
artificial embellifliments. A long train 
 of Cicijbsl paid their court to her; 
 fome walking before and others be- 
 hind, and all envying the happinefs 
 of him whom fhe honoured with her 
 band. Among thefe ftalked along an 
 old beau of feventy, nicely trimmed 
 and fcented, holding in one hand a lit- 
 tle Indian cane, and in the other a 
 pair of gloves, which the lady had gra* 
 cioufly entrufted to his charge. 
 
 Now matters were fo adjufted, that 
 the three ladies arrived at the temple 
 juft as LOVE had entered, together with 
 his attendants. He had already fixed 
 himfelf in the midft on a throne of 
 gold, caft by Myron ; which in fplen- 
 dour far exceeded the workmanmip of 
 Praxiteles. The ladies did not for- 
 get in making their obeifance to the , 
 
 God 
 
( 25 } 
 
 God, to caft their eyes aflcaunt upon 
 one another. Each had in an inftant 
 marked every defeat or peculiarity in 
 the drefs, the carriage, and the perfon 
 of her rival ; and after faluting each 
 other with mutual complaifance, as far 
 as could be judged from outward ap- 
 pearances, they waited in filent expec- 
 tation the pleafure of the God. The 
 men, whofe curiofity had induced 
 them to follow the ladies, were then 
 ordered out of the temple, and ufhered 
 into a hall contiguous to it; which 
 refounded with the moft enchanting 
 mufic, and dlfplayed on its walls, in 
 all 'the grandeur of Paul Veronefe, the 
 grace of Raphael, and the magic co- 
 lours of Titian, the TRIUMPH OF 
 LOVE. 
 
 E Scarcely 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 Scarcely had the men left the tem- 
 ple, when the ladies were directed to 
 place themfelves oppofite the God, on 
 three voluptuous fofas, which had been 
 there provided for them. PLEASURE 
 then, cafting a gracious look upon 
 them, obferved, that though war and 
 difcord might fubfift between nations, 
 in regard to objects of ambition, a 
 paffion which owes its birth merely 
 to the caprice of men, yet that all 
 fliould cordially agree in their fyftems 
 of love; a fentiment infufed by na- 
 ture into the breaft of all mankind, 
 the bond of union, and foul of the 
 whole univerfe. That it was the de- 
 lire of the God to reftore peace unto 
 the world ; and that they flaould co- 
 operate to their utmoft in fo momen- 
 tous an undertaking, by expounding 
 faithfully the various opinions which 
 
 gave 
 
gave rife to fuch divifions in Europe, 
 and afterwards attend with refigna- 
 tion to the judgment of the Deity. 
 That from the authority of him who 
 had convoked the Congrefs, it was to 
 be prefumed, that it would not termi- 
 nate fo unprofitably as many others ; 
 and that one might clearly difcern from 
 the air and manners of the ladies, who 
 were fent as embafladrefles to the Con- 
 grefs, that the inhabitants of England, 
 of France, and of Italy, had in their 
 choice been directed by judgment, as 
 well as actuated by a high regard for 
 their honour, 
 
 Thefe words caufed an agitation in 
 the breafts of the ladies, not inferior 
 to that which the three goddefTes felt 
 on Mount Ida. Here indeed the con- 
 teft was not for the palm of beauty, 
 E 2 but 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 but which ihould difplay the moft wit 
 and ingenuity ; which being more im- 
 mediately our own, place ladies, who 
 are diftinguifhed for fuch accom- 
 pliftiments, far above thofe who are 
 the moft remarkable for their perfonal 
 attractions. Befides, to the abilities 
 of thefe ladies were confided the in- 
 tereft and the glory of the moft re- 
 fined among the European nations. 
 
 In order to prevent all difpute, con- 
 cerning which fhould be allowed the 
 privilege of fpeaking firft, three lots, 
 on which the names of the ladies were 
 feverally written, were by PLEASURE 
 thrown into an urn. This being fha-kea 
 by one of the little Ipves, another put 
 in his hand, and firft drew out the 
 name of Lady Gravely, then that of 
 
 Madame 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 Madame Jafy ; that of Lady Beatrice 
 remained at the bottom. Lady Gravely 
 therefore, after a few moments paufe 
 for recollection, began her harangue 
 in the following manner : 
 
 " The fubjecl: of my difcourfe will, 
 " I fear, be unworthy fuch an audi- 
 " ence, O Deity, who governeft with 
 " an unbounded fway in every part of 
 " the world, except perhaps in our 
 " ifland : An ifland truly unhappy ! 
 " Not fo much becaufe removed at a 
 cc diftance from the enlivening rays of 
 " the fun, as becaufe it appears to be 
 " quite infenfible to the foft influence 
 4 . c of Love. Unknown to us is that 
 " agreeable fociety between the fexes, 
 " unknown that deference for the opi- 
 44 nions, that complaifance for the in- 
 u clinations of the fair fex, fenti- 
 
 " meats 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 sc ments congenial to cur nature?* 
 " and afterwards refined by that art, 
 cc which is regulated and guided by 
 <c felf-love. If gallantry is the true 
 <c thermometer whence to judge of the 
 <c politenefs of a nation, I know not 
 c< what pretenfions ours can have to 
 " it. This I know to my forrow, that 
 " a great part of the year we are con- 
 " fined to the country, by the fide of 
 <c afilentand indifferent hufband ; and 
 " are continually obliged to undergo 
 cc the torture of Mezentius, who con- 
 <c demned the living to a miferable 
 cc conjunction with dead bodies. And 
 44 even in the midft of London, what 
 cc other confolation have we, but to 
 <4 be tantalized by the mere fight of 
 <c men ? They favour us indeed with 
 <c their prefence foi; afhort time in the 
 c< evening 5 but no fooner is the tea* 
 
 " equipage 
 
<c equipage removed, than they betake 
 " themfelves to their political difqui- 
 <c fitions over the bottle, whilft we are 
 4C obliged to have recourfe to a game 
 < at Whift, or to pafs a confiderable 
 4C part of the night looking at one 
 46 another, in fullen filence, acrofs a 
 4 c table. Whilft the ladies are pining 
 4C away in fecret defires, the men are 
 44 bufily employed in fettling the af- 
 44 fairs of the public ; whilft we are 
 4C meditating the conqueft of a heart, 
 " they are ruminating the downfal of 
 " a minifter. New fubjels of debate 
 " are inceflantly ftarted, refpefting the 
 44 increafe of commerce, the balance 
 4 * of power, the empire of the ocean : 
 44 and even the appearance of Lady 
 
 " C try itfelf, has not the power 
 
 <c to afluage this political tempeft. 
 
 " Neither 
 
( 3* ) 
 
 * 4 Neither is our condition more en- 
 "iviable at meals ; where it is our pe- 
 44 culiar province to do the honours of 
 44 the table. There our hufbands, 
 44 whilft they are eating the meat we 
 44 ferve them with, are no lefs intent 
 44 in chewing over their political in- 
 44 digeftion. 
 
 44 Every one who has the fmalleft 
 " acquaintance with our ifland, knows 
 44 that of all the winds, thofe blow- 
 44 ing from the Eaftern quarter are 
 44 the moft unfavourable. This wind 
 * 4 chiefly predominates through the 
 * 4 gloomy month of November, and 
 4C \vhiift it obfcures the atmofphere, 
 44 .ilieds its baneful influence upon the 
 4C mind, and brings along with it the 
 44 fpleen, the moft intolerable of evils. 
 44 This unpropitious breeze renders an 
 
 " Englifh- 
 
( 33 J 
 
 cc Englifhman filent and fallen, as if 
 ** he were at enmity with himfelf, in- 
 <c acceilible to others, and ifolated as 
 * c his own native country. 
 
 <c Alas ! great Deity, if we may 
 cc judge from the air of the people, 
 4< this wind continually blows in our 
 " ifland. It attends us in our morn- 
 * 4 ing rides in the Park, and paffes 
 t the evening with us at Vauxhall, 
 <c in thofe delightful gardens which 
 " prefent fo lively a picture of Cy- 
 " thera. What can I fay more ? This 
 4C liftleflhefs may be obferved even in 
 * c our balls and aflemblies ; where the 
 44 feet of our partners give fymptoms 
 " of gaiety, the countenance of for- 
 <c row : the one feems to difown the 
 <4 enjoyment of the other. 
 
 F Of 
 
i 
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 * 
 
 44 Of what fervice is it to our ifland, 
 44 that by means of induftry and com- 
 44 merce we have acquired a {hare in 
 44 the riches of the Indies, if the finer 
 4: arts, and exterior accornpli.Oiments, 
 44 of the -more polifhed nations in Eu- 
 44 rope cannot be tranfplanted and 
 44 naturalized amongft us ? What im- 
 44 ports it, that another Jafon, after 
 " making the circuit of the globe, has 
 44 brought back a fecond fleece of 
 44 gold along with him, if a Thefeus 
 k * 5 is wanting, to tranfport from the 
 4C neighbouring continent that which 
 44 we are infinitely more in need of? 
 44 Of what ufe, in ihort, to our men 
 44 to be adepts in the language of. a 
 * 4 Tully and a Demofthenes, and to 
 & emulate them, in their own, if they 
 44 are mute when there is moft occa- 
 4C fion for their eloquence r :The Eng- 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 "'Jifli indeed have expounded to other 
 
 * 
 
 " nations the ceconomy of the human 
 " body, the anatomy of the foul that 
 " refides in it, the figure and dirhen- 
 " fions of the earth which we inhabit, 
 " the track of the planets, nay of the 
 " comets themfelves, which they have 
 " demonftrated to take their courfe, as 
 "well as our own planet, round the 
 " "fame central fun : Yet are they im- 
 4< 'merged in the molt projfound igno- 
 <c ranee of that fcience which is of 
 "*all the moft deferving of their en- 
 <c quiries; and feem to be infenfible 
 " that Love is the only bond of union, 
 " the fole delight our imperfecl ftate 
 <c is capable of enjoying ; the delicious 
 <c 'cordial, which heaven mixes in the 
 " cup of life, to entice mortals to 
 * c "f\vallow the bitter potion, 
 
 F 2 " For 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 " For thefe evils we are in a great 
 <c meafure indebted to our ftatefmen and 
 ** philofophers, the avowed enemies 
 4C of gallantry and politenefs. They 
 " never ceafe preaching to our young 
 * 4 men, that too much attachment to 
 " the fair is a mark of effeminacy; 
 " that aufterity of manners is the 
 <c Palladium of our liberties, and the 
 " guardian of our conftitution : that 
 " it is unbecoming an Englishman, to 
 " have a heart fufceptible of feelings, 
 " that have not in them a tincture of 
 * c the Roman. Whence it happens, that 
 <c fuch of our youth, as may in their 
 " travels have acquired fome degree of 
 " foreign polifh, are careful, on their 
 " return to London, to wafh it off in 
 " the Streights of Dover, leftitfliould 
 " be confidered as a blemifh in their 
 <6 native country. So that this fero- 
 
 " city 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 <c city of manners, for which we have 
 " been fo long notorious, is daily 
 " gaining ground and fpreading itfelf 
 " wider among us. 
 
 " Should even any of our youth 
 " fo far forget themfelves, as to 
 " play the gallant with us at a rout 
 " or at an afiembly, we fhould be 
 <c fimple indeed to confide in their 
 " proteftations. Every tender idea 
 " foon vanifhes out of their minds ; 
 4C no fooner has love made a foft im- 
 <c prefiion on them, than it is worn 
 <c off again; and thefe admirers of "a 
 cc d av g anc ^ extinguifli in the arms 
 * c of Pyrrha, the flame that has been 
 " lighted in their breafts by the charms 
 of Sulpicia." 
 
Here her ladyfhip could not over- 
 come her confufion ; and after making 
 a fmall paufe, during which fhe had 
 lecourfe to a little phial of Engljfh 
 falts, which ihe kept in her pocket^ 
 thus refumed her harangue : 
 
 "Alas! thatlfhould be conftrain- 
 * 4 ed to mention a circumftance which 
 <c I would much rather pafs over in 
 * c filence, but that it interferes fo im- 
 <c mediately with the honour and the 
 4C prerogative of fo great a Deity ! 
 <c A large pile of building in the ca- 
 44 pital, formerly the refidence of edi- 
 <c fication and piety, is at prefent the 
 4C receptacle of a fet of abandoned 
 44 women, who carry on the-moft in- 
 44 famous traffic of thy favours; and 
 <4 in the midft of tumults and Bac- 
 44 chanalian excefles, prophane thy 
 
 44 facred 
 
c facred myfferies with all manner oF 
 c fcandal. There our young nobi- 
 ** lity, deferting every fafliionable cir- 
 " cle, pafs the- nigfit in revelry and' 
 " riot, and drfhk with fophifticated 
 <c wines the very poifohof love. The ' 
 <c next morning they are feen fcarcely 
 * c able to ftand, pale, disfigured, arid 
 <c with marks upon their faces of the ' ; 
 " laft night's excefles. To juftify ' 
 " their conduft^ and to exalt their ' 
 <c prowefs, they pervert paflages of 
 44 Cato, turn a brothel-houfe into, a 
 64 temple, and quote verfes from their 
 
 v * 4 favourite poet, Horace, which are 
 * c enough to Ihock the ears of any per- 
 <c " fon poffefled of the fmalleft traces 
 ic ' of modefty. Nothing now remains 
 * c but to fee thefe infamous women 
 44 united into a republic, for which a 
 
 v ** c > code of laws has been already framed 
 
 by 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 ** by a new Plato, and to behold upon 
 <c the piazzas the marble ftatues of 
 cc the Floras and the Phrynes, as hap- 
 * pened in Rome and in Greece, when 
 4< vice and diflblution had mounted 
 V to their meridian. 
 
 " It were to be wifhed, that the 
 cc dreadful effects of thefe nocturnal 
 c< orgies would have recalled to the 
 ct true worfhip thofe who have been 
 cc fo often martyrs of the falfe. We 
 " had flattered ourfelves with the 
 <c hopes of feeing thofe return into 
 " the right path, who had deviated 
 * c from it, and at the fame time af- 
 46 ford an example to deter others. 
 <c But to what ingenuity do not man- 
 * 6 kind arrive in mifchief ! They have 
 " found means to pafs fecure through 
 " the midft of dangers, like Pallas 
 
 " covered 
 
( 4* ) 
 
 cc covered with her Egis through the 
 " throng of the battle ; and the con- 
 * c fequence of impunity is, that they 
 " are the further fixed and confirmed 
 <c in their tranfgreffions. 
 
 " How often have I heard our old 
 <c ladies talk of the happy days of, 
 <c Charles the Second ! The kingdom 
 <c was at that time powerful within 
 <c itfelf, and formidable to foreign na* 
 <c tions ; the true dodtrines of love 
 cc were then pra&ifed, as well as un- 
 " derftood among us. The laft years 
 44 of Queen Anne's reign witnefied the 
 <c decline of gallantry, together with 
 " that of the empire. The exploits 
 cc of a Maryborough are now only 
 ic to be met with in hiftory ; and the 
 " Rape of the Lock, at prefent, ferves 
 " only for a picture of the elegant 
 Gr c< manners 
 
manners f former times, like the 
 defcriptions of the golden age a- 
 mong other nations. 
 
 " When, alas ! will order fprrng 
 out of the prefent chaos, and the 
 rays of light break through thofe 
 heavy clouds, with which our at- 
 mofphere is overloaded ? When, O 
 Deity ! v/ill thy foft attractions ex- 
 tend themfelves to us, and be felt in 
 our clime as in other parts of the 
 globe ? ^Look with an eye of com- 
 miferation upon the ignorance and 
 fupinenefs of my countrymen, in 
 an affair which is of all the mofl 
 important. Difcharge thy thunder- 
 bolts, and fink to the bottomlefs 
 abyfs thofe guilty women, who dare 
 to commit fo fcandalous a~ profa- 
 nation of thy myfteries, and caufe 
 
 " fuch 
 
( 43 > 
 
 c * Rich infinite mifchiefs in the worH. 
 " Or, rather, employ thy fafcinating 
 " and irrefiftible influence, toenlight- 
 " en the minds, and foften the hearts, 
 " of men ; eftablifh thy temple among, 
 " us, and infpire us with ideas more 
 " fuitable to the happinefs of civil fo- 
 <c ciety. Then indeed may England 
 " be reckoned among the number of 
 <c the fortunate iflands. But if our 
 <c men perfift in their difobedience to 
 44 thy laws; if they continue to prids 
 <c themfelves on an obftinate attach^- 
 cc ment to their error, and a fullen fe- 
 <c paration from the reft of mankind ; 
 " let them, feel the effects of thy juf- 
 44 tice, and the weight of thy indig- 
 " nation : and remember, that to tern- 
 " porize with their fubjeds, is the 
 " part only of thofe, who cannot ex- 
 *' acT: obedience." 
 
 G 2 Here 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 Here her ladyfhip put an end to her 
 difcourfe, and probably fome tears 
 would have marked the conclufion of 
 it, had not the dignity peculiar to the 
 Englifh females prevented her from 
 giving vent to them. Immediately 
 Madame Jafyi to whom the minutes- 
 feemed hours while Lady Gravely was 
 fpeaking, arofe, and after making a 
 fide curtfey, and feigning an effort 
 to overcome an affe&ed difficulty of 
 utterance, began her harangue in the 
 following manner : 
 
 <6 I have ever thought myfelf much 
 <c indebted to fortune for giving 
 " me birth in fo delightful a coun- 
 4< try as France : but now that I 
 " have heard the juft complaints of 
 " her ladyfhip, I congratulate myfelf 
 46 more than ever on my happy lot. 
 
 " I per- 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 * e I perceive, moft accomplifhed Deity-,. 
 * c that for us thou haft kept in ftore 
 <c thy choiceft darts ; and haft mark- 
 <c ed us out as thy chofen people. Nor 
 tc for any other purpofe, am I con- 
 " vinced r haft thou here convoked the 
 cc flower of Europe, but to decide in 
 <c the moft folemn manner, that the 
 44 form of worfhip which we profefs 
 " towards thy divinity, is r together 
 <c with our language and our fafhions 5 
 * e henceforward to ferve as a model 
 " to all other nations* 
 
 " Yet permit me to obferve, that 
 <c we are not entirely undeferving of 
 " that predilection which thou art 
 <c pleafed to demonftr;.:^ for us. In 
 <c what language are the annals of 
 " Love better written than in our's ? 
 ic To thee have we dedicated our 
 
 theatre, 
 
C 4* ) 
 
 cc theatre, the fchool of every elegaat 
 u refinement. By means of our wri- 
 " ters are thy praifes proclaimed ta 
 (C the moft diftant regions, and by, 
 " them are the bounds of thy empire. 
 " extended. I (hall fay nothing, 
 '* of our evening entertainments, at 
 " which thou art fo much delighted 
 c * to prefide, and which are fo pecur 
 " liarly adapted to fwell the pride of 
 tc thy triumphs. 
 
 <c Among us, O Deity ! every irk- 
 c< fome conftraint in love is banifh- 
 * 4 ed, as ceremonious formalities have 
 " long been difcarded from fafhion^ 
 " able circles. Thefe reflraints we 
 <c leave to foreigners, and to fuch 
 cc among our provincial gentry, as 
 " ftill read Ca/andra and Aflrca. I 
 <c may even aiTert, that life can be 
 
 4< enjoyed 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 '** enjoyed only in Paris ; out of Paris? 
 * 4 it can be conlidered but as a mere 
 * 4 exigence. 
 
 44 A pleafant fight it muft have 
 ^ been, to behold thofe happy cou- 
 44 pies, who, fome time fince, ufed 
 44 to amufe themfelves with dialogues 
 44 and conversations, protracted to 
 44 fuch a degree as to be abfolutely 
 44 difgufting. Thanks to their refine- 
 " ment, they were, conftantly engaged 
 44 in difputes ; and attended fo much 
 44 to punctilio, that the. flighted mat- 
 44 ter gave rife to perpetual jealoufies 
 4; and expoftulations ; fuch as were 
 " adapted only to thofe Gothick 
 44 times, when, we are told, lovers 
 " had their own peculiar parliament, 
 ^ as well as their courts of juftice, 
 t<54 TJie chains, the prifons, and the 
 
 -meta- 
 
( 48 } 
 
 * c metaphorical deaths of lovers, the 
 ** war between fentiment and reafon, 
 <c are the rank and exploded expref- 
 *' fions of amorous metaphyfics. This 
 cc is far different from the language of 
 * c the heart ; nor in this tone didft 
 " thou heretofore dilate the tender 
 xc and mellifluous verfes of Tibullus. 
 
 cc What ! are we to involve this 
 <c pleafing art in difficulties, at a 
 <e time when the myfteries of the moft 
 <c abftrufe fciences are unfolded to 
 <e our view; when the fame hand that 
 <4 ftrikes the lyre manages the com- 
 <c pafs ; when a Newton, or a Des 
 <c Cartes, gives leftures in philofo- 
 44 phy at the toilet of a Marchionefs ? 
 
 <c What an abfurdity to attempt the 
 * c analyfis of the heart, minutely to 
 
 * c Weigh 
 
**' weigh the qualities of thofe who are 
 
 " endowed with the art of pleafing, 
 
 " and to cohfider the pafllon of love 
 
 4C as the daughter of reflection ! Fools 
 
 " that they are, to facrifice a prefent 
 
 tc good for a future contingency, and 
 
 " to confume in thinking the hours 
 
 sc that were given us for enjoyment ! 
 
 "They know not that friendfliip is 
 
 " of a flow and gradual, love natu- 
 
 " rally of a fubitaneous growth; that 
 
 <c there is a fympathy between fouls, 
 
 " which inftantaneoufly draws them 
 
 "together, by a kind of invincible 
 
 44 charm, which can neither be ex- 
 
 " p.lained nor comprehended. 
 
 <c What lady, however a fiave to 
 
 c< the prejudice of ancient cuftoms, 
 
 ** would not change her fyftem, after 
 
 1C .being twice or thrice at Paris, in 
 
 II <c company 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 44 company with a man of Fafhion ? 
 " Equally the favorite of Mars and 
 44 of Venus, Martin and Scheffing 
 44 have vied in enriching him with 
 44 their talents. The Graces and Mar- 
 44 eel have taught him the motion of 
 46 his body; Crebillon and the Mufes 
 4C have prefided over his mental ac- 
 44 complifhments. Inventor of new 
 44 modes, as well as new expreflions, 
 44 witty in his conceits, poignant in 
 44 his raillery on the follies of others ; 
 44 he is the arbiter of feftivity, the 
 44 foul of focial mirth. Declare, O 
 44 Deity, how long can we withftand 
 44 fuch a man, with the moft fixed 
 " refolution, with the mod mature 
 44 reflection, if thou, O Love! art 
 4< praclifed in thy own fcience? 
 
 " I need 
 
( 5* ) 
 
 w I need not obferve, that the ef- 
 c feels of our condefcenfion fhould 
 44 be a reward tendered to merit, and 
 * 4 not a tribute paid to perfecution. 
 
 4C It fhould be our aim to yield as 
 44 foon as poflible, and to haften a 
 4C conceflion that leads to felicity. 
 44 Thou knoweft well, O Deity ! thofe 
 <c temples, which people of gallantry 
 <c and refinement have erected to thy 
 " worfhip, in the environs of Paris, 
 " far removed from the noife, and ie- 
 <c eluded from the profane infpe&ion, 
 " of the vulgar. To decorate thefe 
 <c temples have they exhaufted the art 
 " of Europe, and the luxury of Afia* 
 cc In the gardens that furround them 
 44 are thy thickets, thy retreats, thy 
 46 fofas, and thy altars. The fair, 
 44 after they have enlivened the Thu- 
 H 2 " illeries 
 
** illerics and the opera with their 
 44 prefence, and at thofe places re- 
 4C ceived the homage of the public, 
 44 refort hither, accompanied by myf- 
 44 terious filence and covered with 
 44 the veil of night, to pay homage 
 44 in their turn to thee, and to offer 
 44 up to thee their facrifices in fecret. 
 44 Pleafure prefides in this retirement, 
 44 and plans, varies, and regulates 
 4C every thing, fo as to promote to 
 44 the utmoft thy worfliip, and to ren- 
 * 4 der it acceptable and delightful to 
 " thy votaries. Daily art thou crown- 
 -" ed with chaplets of frefli rofes, with 
 <c which neither thorn nor briar is in- 
 " ter woven. 
 
 " I am aware that our lovers are 
 i none of the moft difcreet ; and are 
 * c apt to think thofe enjoyments in- 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 4<c fipid, which are not depofited ih 
 46 the breaft of ten or a dozen feledt 
 * 6 friends: a flight tranfgreflion, caufed 
 *' by the unbounded greatnefs of their 
 " paffion, and for which, after all, 
 " we are indebted to ourfelves. Now 
 4 we muft not be fevere in condemn- 
 <( ing a fault in our lovers, for which 
 " ourfeives are not exempt from cen- 
 *< fure. 
 
 " As For that people, who can nei- 
 <c ther endure flavery nor enjoy free- 
 " dom, who are ever agitated like the 
 " fea that furrounds them, what real 
 44 joy can they tafte in what they call 
 " pleafure.) fince the heart is not per- 
 64 mitted to participate in a (bare of 
 * 4 it? And what delight can thofe 
 **' fanciful and over-refined beings, on 
 ^ c the other fide of the Alps, receive 
 
 ** c from 
 
C 54 ) 
 
 ** from it, if they fufFer themfelves to 
 <c be continually tormented by that 
 <c abominable paflion, which contami- 
 " nates every fweet with bitters, and 
 cc gives love the form and features of 
 <c averfion. With us, who are bora 
 <c in the center of politenefs and right 
 <c reafon, love is a delicate commerce 
 " between fouls, founded equally on 
 <c the attractions of the mind and the 
 " perfon ; a perpetual fource of defires 
 " and of pleafures. 
 
 41 Thefe enjoyments are never cloy- 
 ic ed by fatiety, as we are fmcere enough 
 cc to declare the term, as well as the 
 " commencement, of every foft fen- 
 4< fat ion. No paifion can take fuch 
 <c root as to laft for ever in the human 
 44 breaft, and the brifker the flame, it 
 C4 is always the lefs durable, Yet our 
 
 " incon- 
 
( 55 ) 
 
 <c inconftancy does not render us the 
 " lefs obedient to thy laws. Forages 
 44 have the banks of the Seine been 
 " fruitful in Paladins. Fafhion, which 
 " has the fovereign power among us, 
 " exalts at her difcretion to the firft 
 tc honours, now one man and now 
 " another; and, wherever he appears, 
 " he commands the applaufe ? and en- 
 " gages the affe&ion of all. So that 
 " the variety and novelty of the ob- 
 " jecls, which every day offers to our 
 " view, add frefli fuel to the flame al- 
 " ready kindled in our bofoms. That 
 " tirefome and difguftful fenfation, 
 <e which is the confequence of uni- 
 c< formity, is unknown among us. 
 <c The vulgar indeed impute to too 
 <c much levity, thefe trifling revolu- 
 " tions in our thoughts and inclins- 
 <c tions 5 but far otherwife are they 
 
 46 confidered 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 c confidered by perfons of difcern- 
 44 ment. And thou in particular, O 
 44 Deity! wilt hold us faithful fol*- 
 44 lowers of thy will, fince the for- 
 44 mation of every new connexion is 
 44 a freih tribute of adoration, and a 
 44 renewal of homage. 
 
 4C The gallant and accomplifhed 
 " OVID, who well deferved the ho- 
 44 nour of being a native of our coun- 
 " tr 7> gained fome little infight into 
 44 the true art of love. Such a know- 
 44 ledge of the human heart, fuch a 
 4C refinement of ideas, is here and 
 44 there difcoverable in his writings, 
 * 4 as muft place him at the head of 
 44 the moft elegant writers of anti- 
 <c quity : He merited the privilege of 
 44 giving law to his age and nation. 
 44 But it was referved for the prefent 
 44 age, and our nation, to bring this 
 
 44 art 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 ^ art to the zenith of its perfection, 
 tfc to reconcile the fentiments of the 
 cc heart and the underftanding, and to 
 cc render the pailion more fafhionable, 
 " more refined, and more amiable. 
 " Like able hufbandmen, we have 
 " lopped off from the plant every in- 
 tc fected or ufelefs (hoot, preferving 
 <c only thofe branches which render 
 " it beautiful and fertile, which pro- 
 " duce at the fame time both fruit 
 ' and flowers. 
 
 " It is thou r O Love ! thatdoftin- 
 " fptre us, who for a long time back 
 * c haft, together with Minerva and 
 ." Apollo, fixed thy refidence at Paris. 
 <c Nor canft thou demonftrate more ef- 
 <c feclually thy regard for theuniverfal 
 44 good, than by obliging every nation 
 <fc tt> tender obedience to the rales 
 I which- 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 " which thou haft dictated to us, by 
 " civilizing and polifhing all man- 
 " kind with the introduction of our 
 " laws and cuftoms : fo that our arts 
 4C may find their way into thofe re- 
 * c mote regions, where our arms may 
 " not yet have penetrated ; and that,. 
 " together with them, that form of 
 <c government may be eftablifhed, with 
 " which thou art bed pleafed to exer- 
 " cife thy dominion over the hearts 
 " of men." 
 
 When Madame yafy^ who feemed 
 perfe&ly fecure of carrying the votes 
 of the aflembly, had done fpeaking,, 
 Lady Beatrice arofe, and with a fedate 
 afpecT:, and the air of a matron, began 
 her harangue as follows ; 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 " Long did I remain in penfive in- 
 * c certitude, O Deity ! who with thy 
 * 4 foft and benign influence doftcherifli, 
 <c govern, and preferve mankind, which 
 <c I fhould think greater, the honour 
 <c of being chofen embaffadrefs from 
 <c Italy to this ifland, or the import- 
 " ance of the commiUion which I was 
 <c entrufted to execute. If, on the 
 " one hand, the fplendour of the cf- 
 f< fice incited me to undertake it, on 
 <c the other, a confcioufnefs of my 
 " want of ability urged me to decline 
 " it. As the waves of the ocean, when 
 " impelled by different winds, advance 
 <c and recede alternately, fo did my 
 <c mind fluctuate from one fide to ano- 
 " ther, as if it were agitated by fome 
 4C internal tempefh After being long 
 " actuated by various impulfe, I at 
 <fi length determined to decline a charge 
 I 2 " to 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 * c to which an abler perfon than rny- 
 " felf might be found incompetent: 
 " when a thought occurred to me, by 
 *< which every doubt was banifhed, 
 xc that having to maintain the juft 
 " rights of Love before the God him- 
 " felf, I fhould enter into his pre- 
 " fence in full confidence, that he, 
 " who can at his pleafure make the 
 " ruflic pipe equal the melodious 
 " cithern, wo,uld grant to my earneft 
 xc entreaty eloquence fui table to the 
 4< importance of the occafion. 
 
 * c It is along time, O Deity, (whe- 
 " ther it may be imputed to our own 
 4t perverfenefs, or to the anger of hea- 
 tc ven) fmce an infinity of abufes have 
 " crept into the practice of love ; and 
 " though there may flill be found 
 * c champions and fupporters of thy le- 
 
 4< gitimate 
 
<c . gitimate worfliip, neverthelefs it is 
 
 " much to be feared, that they will 
 
 " in time be hurried away with the 
 
 " general current, fo prone is the 
 
 " mind of man to evil, fo apt are we 
 
 <c to bend to the influence of bad ex- 
 
 " ample! 
 
 44 Now the evil cuftoms -fo elo- 
 44 quently lamented by her lactyfhip, 
 cc and the maxims fo ingenioufly ex- 
 <c pounded by the laft fpeaker, point 
 4< out the fource of every mifchief, 
 <c In one place thy temple is deferted, 
 <c in another it is profaned ; here the 
 " ceremonies of love refemble the wor- 
 <c fhip of the Egyptians, who ufed to 
 " facrifice to the moft filthy animals; 
 " there it is fimilar to that of the 
 <c Greeks, who confufed things divine 
 44 and human, giving to men the di- 
 
 44 vine 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 <c vine attributes, and reprefenting 
 
 cc gods with human frailties. As to 
 
 " the diforders, which are faid to pre- 
 
 <c vail in England, and which in part 
 
 cc have glided even among us, the 
 
 4C flighte'ft ray of reafon, piercing 
 
 u through the obfcurity of error, 
 
 " would ferve to conduct them back 
 
 " to the right path. But it will not 
 
 ic be found fo eafy an undertaking to 
 
 cc extirpate the corrupt maxims of 
 
 " the French, which in a fhort time 
 
 " have taken root in our foil with 
 
 " incredible facility. Over the thref* 
 
 " hold of their fchool is written, 
 
 ' <c PLEASURE WITHOUT PAIN. The 
 
 <c entrance of it is fpacious, and eafy 
 
 <c of accefs; within, the appearance 
 
 <c is beautiful and enchanting; the 
 
 <c palaces of Armida and Alcina ne- 
 
 " ver prefented to the fight fuch de- 
 
 " lightful 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 44 lightful objects. We are not then 
 44 to wonder at the confluence of peo- 
 " pie from all quarters, who, eager 
 44 after fruition of perfect happinefs, 
 4; fuffer themfelves to be caught in fo 
 " enticing a fnare. But, alas! how 
 44 can any reafonable perfon form an 
 44 idea of enjoying pleafure without 
 44 any mixture of pain, if it be allowed, 
 " as it is moft certainly true, that no 
 44 quality is known but by its oppo- 
 44 fite, with which it has a neceffary 
 44 connexion ? Thus, how can we 
 44 know the tranfport afforded by the 
 44 prefence of a beloved objefr,, with- 
 44 out having felt the torment of fe- 
 44 paration ? An author of great re- 
 44 putation has remarked, that the 
 44 more perfect the object, the greater 
 44 the pain, as well as the pleafure, 
 " that we receive from it. 
 
 44 Thefb 
 
C 6 4 ) 
 
 cc Thefe innovators, who prefume 
 " to reform the laws of love, do not 
 " perceive, that to banifli its folici- 
 " tude and fighs, would be the fame 
 <c thing as to banifli its pleafure and 
 c< its enjoyments. Who confiders the 
 " end and intention of loving, will 
 cc find, that its pain is fweet, that the 
 tc fighs and tears of lovers are not un- 
 cc grateful. Well are thofe acquaint- 
 " ed with it, O Deity, to whom thou 
 ic hafl given wings to foar aloft, and 
 " approach the fummits of tranfport, 
 <c where the foul is cherifiied with a 
 " perpetual fupply frefh of delights, 
 c; with food that is never followed 
 " by faticty. From the conftella- 
 tc tion of our nativity, or perhaps 
 <c from the third heaven, may be tra- 
 *' ced that vivid fire which blazes out 
 " whenever fouls meet below, which 
 
 44 had 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 <c had already been united above, be- 
 " fore they were clogged with the 
 <c earthy load of body. Thus we 
 cc feek in love nothing more than a 
 <c re-union with the beloved object, a 
 cc return to our original ftate of hap- 
 cc pinefs. The enamoured fouls reci- 
 cc procally dart to each other rays from 
 " the fame ftar, by which they are 
 <c both vivified : and thofe who are the 
 " mod enlightened fix their eyes with 
 " admiration on the mortal beauty,. 
 " merely as an image of the celeflial. 
 
 <c Thefe truths divulged to mankind 
 u many ages fmce by the divine Plato,. 
 " were refcued from a long oblivion by 
 " thofe princes of poetry, Dante and 
 " Petrarch; the firft of whom, both in 
 u profe and verfe, made his flame for 
 " Bice blaze throughout Italy ; the . 
 K other, 
 
"( 66 i) 
 
 ~ c{ other, after celebrating the praifes of 
 cc his Laura for above twenty years 
 cc when alive, lamented her for no lefs 
 "" a term when dead. Thofe two ge- 
 <c niufes may be con fide red as mafters 
 " in the art, and their fupremacy is ac- 
 cc knowledged by every perfon of tafte. 
 tc By their fide two may be placed the 
 cc gentle Bembo, who in his Afolani has 
 <c prefented thofe, who venture tonavi- 
 <c gate the tempeftuous fea of love, with 
 jc a compafs to direfl their courfe, and 
 "guide their vefTel in fafety. Thefe 
 <c poets, O Deity, were infpired by thee 
 cc in the detection of falfe fyftems, and 
 " the propagation of thy true and 
 u genuine doctrines. They banifhed 
 <c from fociety that fpurious paiKon, 
 <c which, originating in idienefs and 
 <c fenfuality, v T as adapted on]y to the 
 Ai grovelling ideas of the vulgar; and 
 " fuhiUtuteci 
 
*i c fubftituted in its place that refined 
 c< affe&ion, which has for its object 
 * c the immortal part, congenial in its- 
 <c effence with the fuprerne architect, 
 " without any regard to the frail and 
 <c peri (h able incurnb ranee of the body. 
 <c From virtue, which is ever immu- 
 46 table and conftant, and not from 
 <c fafhion, which like a Proteus daily 
 * c changes its exterior, do our paflions 
 " derive their fource 3 and by virtue 
 cc are they ftrengthened, nouriihed and 
 4C augmented ; of which a proof is giv-' 
 <c en in the conihincy, fidelity and dif-' 
 ** iritereftednefs of our lovers. Whence 
 << our affections are not frail and tern- ' 
 <c porary, but fo fixed and laftingj that' 
 44 nothing but death itfclf can diffolve" 
 ct the union* 
 
 K a 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 44 Perhaps I fhould not fay, before 
 * 4 perfons guilty of fuch profane prao 
 <4 tices, that our lovers have eyes only 
 44 for us, that they live and breathe 
 44 for us, and refer to us the me- 
 444 rit of their moft brilliant actions : 
 44 that they never harbour a thought 
 44 repugnant to our virtue, and are fa- 
 44 tisfied with a fmile, as a full reward 
 44 for fifteen year's courtlhip : that by 
 44 a privilege peculiar to our amorous 
 * 4 inftitutions, we can enlift under our 
 44 banners thofe who to the vigour of 
 44 youth join the folidity of age, as 
 44 well as thofe who, more advanced in 
 44 years, have fouls lefsfhackled by the 
 4C corporeal incumbrance, and more at 
 44 liberty to mount and foar aloft into 
 44 the heavens. But what cannot be 
 44 repeated too often, and what all the 
 44 world muft acknowledge, is the ho- 
 
 4C nour 
 
44 nour and renown acquired by wo- 
 44 men, who have been happy in vir- 
 44 tuous and faithful adorers* In fad:, 
 44 the names of thofe fortunate women, 
 44 who in times paft have been cele- 
 44 brated by chafte poets, are ftill ex- 
 44 alted upon the wings of fame, and 
 44 will ever be held in veneration by 
 44 people of letters and diftin&ion : 
 44 their eyes, though fhut for fuch a 
 4< length of time, ftill fparkle with 
 ec their former luftre. Whereas grief 
 " and ignominy, contempt and fcan- 
 <c dal, are the bitter fruits of that mean 
 " and difhonourable paffion, which 
 " makes man a flave to brutal fenfua^ 
 <4 lity ; a paflion that betrays us into 
 4C all manner of vices, that is cherifhed 
 44 only in the bofom of the empty and 
 44 fuperficial, and is deftrudlive to the 
 44 nobleft of the human faculties. 
 
 44 How 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 64 How uncertain, alas ! and change- 
 C4 able are the affairs of men ! ever lia- 
 44 ble to vicifEtude they feem particu- 
 44 larly to have that tendency, when 
 44 being arrived at the fummit of per- 
 44 fe&ion, one would fuppofe them 
 44 more permanent and certain. Italy 
 44 may be truly faid to have experienced 
 44 in the golden age of Bembo the hap- 
 44 py influence of a benign planet. 
 44 The mufes had then fixed their refi- 
 4(4 dence, and all the fine arts flourished 
 44 among us : in the footfteps of Pe- 
 44 trarch followed a band of poets in-' 
 44 fpired by love, amongft whom fuch 
 44 harmony of ideas fubfifledj as well 
 44 as fuch congruity of expreflion, that" 
 44 their feveral poems would be imagin- 
 44 ed the effufions of the fame heart, the ' 
 ^ coir pofition of the fame pen. Then 
 * 4 did our atrnofphere blaze with the 
 
 " efful- 
 
ifc effulgence of thofe bright conftelh- 
 <c tions, the Colonnas, the ^u'lrlnl^ and 
 c< the Gambaras, whofe rival beauties 
 cc never difturbed the harmony of their 
 " minds, nor gave rife to animofity or 
 " jealous altercation. The princes of 
 " Italy then vied with each other in 
 " the inftitution of academies, and 
 * c feminaries of genius, in which con- 
 " verfations were held and lectures de- 
 4< livered on the fcience of love ; there 
 4C refinement and elegance prefided over 
 " thofe learned difputations, which 
 <c had for their fole objel the difco- 
 * c very of truth. Capricious fortune 
 " foon envied our happinefs, and the 
 **' following age witnefled the deftruc- 
 <c tion of this fcience, together with 
 " the decay of poetry and mufic. And 
 c< this doubtlefs mud be imputed to 
 *** the fault of the ladies 5 who fol- 
 
 " lowing 
 
C 72 ) 
 
 * c lowing no longer the examples of 
 " the Lauras and the Byces, caufed 
 " that deviation in the poets of their 
 66 time, when they abandoned the foot- 
 c fteps of Petrarch and Dante. But 
 cc why fhould I recall to mind the ca- 
 '** lamities of paft ages, when thofe of 
 cc the prefent afford but too much fubject 
 cc for the moft pungent grief, for the 
 <c moft forrowful reflexion. The iky 
 * c never loured with a more unfavour- 
 Cfc able and threatening afpecl: upon 
 "" Italy, when hordes of barbarians 
 " poured forth from the northern and 
 " eaftern hives to overwhelm it, than 
 t now that it is afflicted, torn and dif- 
 " tracked by the outrageous difTentions 
 <c among its own children. "Without 
 4 * refpecl:, without reverence for things 
 " heretofore held in the moft profound 
 ** veneration, they would, if they had 
 
 " the 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 <c the power as they have the inclina- 
 <c tion, pervert or abolifli entirely all 
 ** our ancient cuftoms. They want to 
 " introduce terms, and modes of ex- 
 <c preffion totally unknown to the ele- 
 " gant writers of the thirteenth cen- 
 " tury, which may be called the gold- 
 " en age of Italy. As to their man - 
 cc ner of living and of paying their 
 " courtfhip to the fair, they wifh to 
 44 adopt pradices and cuftoms entirely 
 " difFerent from thofe that were efta- 
 " blifhed in the brilliant court, which 
 <c was held atUrbin, between the Fo- 
 " glia and the Metauro, by the valiant 
 cc knights of Montefeltro. So that a 
 " very confiderable part of my coun- 
 ce trymen, enflaved by foreign habits, 
 * 4 fecm to be afharned to acknowledge 
 6C themfelves natives of that delight- 
 " ful country, which is feparated by 
 L the 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 cc the Apennines and bounded by the 
 ec Alps and the ocean, which has been 
 " for ages back the refidence of the 
 " mufes, which .has civilized the 
 " world, and formerly impofed upon 
 " all the other nations its laws, its 
 cc cuftoms, its arts, and its language. 
 
 cc Deign then, O Deity, to ftrength- 
 " en and confirm the virtue of thy fol- 
 
 4t lowers, that the true Italian cuf- 
 <c toms may be once more recalled 
 " into Italy, and thy worfhip re-efta- 
 * c biiflied on its firft principles ; reftore 
 4C to their former authority the anci- 
 <c ent mailers, and above all Plato, 
 <c whofe wifdom defervedly gained him 
 " the title of Divine, and with whom 
 " it was faid with juftice to be better 
 to err, than to think rightly with 
 
 -"all the reft of mankind. Then will 
 
 " every 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 G< every nation be fenfible of the pu~ 
 cc rity of thy flame ; which firft kin- 
 44 died in our native conftellation, is 
 " fanned and kept alive on earth witli 
 44 fio;hs breathed by chaftity, is tern- 
 44 pered by tears of delight j an4 rs 
 44 not fed with the grofs fuel of the- 
 " Englifli, nor extinguifhed by every 
 <4 trifling breeze, like that of the 
 46 French. For no other reafon do 
 u thefe famous nations continue plun- 
 44 ged in ignorance and error, than be- 
 cc caufe, feduced by the fictitious re 
 " femblance of truth, they take the (ha- 
 cc dow for the fubftance; becaufe they 
 44 have never felt the tranfports pro- 
 44 ceeding from that pure and refined 
 44 habit of mind, which is infufed in- 
 <c to our fouls by the Eternal Goodj, 
 <4 and is alone defervin^; of the name 
 
 C3 
 
 44 of love 5 a paffion which, taking its 
 L 2 4C rife 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 cc rife from terreftrial, mounts to the 
 " contemplation of celeftial obje&s, 
 < and friws the certain track to hea- 
 " ven and to faappinefs." 
 
 Here Lady Beatrice concluded her 
 harangue, during which fhe had more 
 than once made ufe of her fan to con- 
 ceal a laugh, not without much ad~lion 
 and contortion of body. Madame Jafy 
 and Lady Gravely remained in the 
 fame attitude as when they had done 
 fpeaking. 
 
 Love then from his throne made a 
 fignal with his right hand; the mean- 
 ing cf which was comprehended by the 
 whole affembly. The three ladies, 
 who by this time had rifen up, retired 
 in confequence to a proper diftance: 
 when two little loves threw upon an 
 
 altar 
 
( 77 ) 
 
 altar a few grains of that choice gum 
 diftilled from the Cytherean trees, 
 which rifing in a thick vapour, filled 
 the temple with a moflr delicious odour, 
 and concealed the God from the fight 
 of the ladies. 
 
 Now the council awaited in filence 
 the award of the Deity. He obferved, 
 that the plan fuggefted by PLEASURE 
 had proved by the iffue to be the moft 
 expedient; for that thefe embafladref- 
 fes had clearly and faithfully expound- 
 ed the ftate of his affairs in the differ- 
 ent parts of Europe; by which they 
 found that a prodigious diverfity pre- 
 vailed in the fentiments and opinions 
 of the people, who inhabit that fine 
 quarter of the world. And though 
 every nation looked forward to the felf- 
 faine end, the final fcope as well of 
 
 the 
 
( 73 ) 
 
 the operations of the vulgar, as of the 
 fpeculations of the wife, pleafure ; yet 
 that thefe followed one method, thofe 
 another ; and that all had erred more 
 or- lefs in the means which they put in; 
 practice to obtain it. That they can 
 comprehend little or nothing of the 
 nature of true happinefs, who, with 
 their thoughts entirely bent on politics, 
 and commerce, imagine that it is venal 
 and may be purchafed with gold : 
 whereas, love can be bartered for no- 
 thing but for itfelf. That thofe, again, 
 who are perpetually roaming without 
 ifitermiffion from one pleafure to ano- 
 ther, rather wifh to appear happy than 
 to be fo in reality, and by their eager- 
 nefs to tafte of fo many delights, lofe in 
 facl: the enjoyment of all. That they 
 alfo are far from knowing the nature of 
 true happinefs, whofubftitutereafoning; 
 
 in 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 in the place of fenfibility ; for the qui- 
 ver of love is filled with darts, not 
 with fyllogifms. That mankind had 
 fallen into thefe errors, by giving 
 ear to the fophifms of Reafon, the 
 enemy of their happinefs and the dif- 
 turber of. their repofe; and by neglect- 
 ing to follow the dictates of nature, 
 that univerfal and unerring guide. 
 That PLEASURE fhould confummate 
 the work, which fhe had fo happily 
 begun. That .fhe fhould replace be- 
 fore the eyes of men thofe rules on 
 which the true art of love is founded, 
 and fo imprefs them on their minds,, 
 that every difpute and altercation 
 fet afide, as all agree in the end .pro- 
 pofed, they fhould be no lefs unani- 
 mous in the means profecuted to at- 
 tain it y and that in the purfuit of love 
 . all fhould arrive together at the wifh- 
 
 ed 
 
cd for term of felicity. That the in- 
 fluence of Pleafure could not fail to 
 enfnare the hearts of men, and to lead 
 them at her difcretion ; (he, to whom 
 all the fubtleties of reafon are oppofed 
 in vain, who can ftrew the moft inhof- 
 pitable path with flowers, and unite 
 things the moft difcordant and oppofitc 
 to each other. 
 
 The \vhole cou-ncil afiented to the 
 opinion of the God. PLEASURE then, 
 firft directed the ladies to return to 
 their feats ; which done, {he ordered 
 HOPE and COURAGE to introduce into 
 the temple the gentlemen who had been 
 excluded prior to the debate. Matters 
 being thus adjufted, fhc placed herfelf 
 at the foot of the throne of LOVE, and 
 thence began her harangue to the af- 
 jfembly. Her words charmed the ear 
 
 with 
 
with a flow of melody, and in her ac- 
 tion was confpicuous that foft and be- 
 witching grace, for which Ionia was 
 noted in former ages. 
 
 Happy and accompliflied ladies, 
 whom LOVE has chofen his inftruments 
 to eftablifh peace and concord in the 
 world, and you no lefs happy and va- 
 liant men, whom the God has deigned 
 to admit into his prefence, liften with 
 attention to his infpirations, and de- 
 pofit them in your breafts, that you 
 may hereafter be enabled to promulgate 
 his will among your different nations. 
 
 Love is a kind of warfare, in which 
 every lover engages in order to make a 
 conqueft of the heart of his miftrefs; 
 and (he, perhaps, in her turn, has the 
 fame views upon the liberty of her 
 M gallant : 
 
gallant : both move under the enfign 
 of the God, and co-operate towards 
 extending his authority and his empire. 
 "But from what has been no lefs agree- 
 ably, than faithfully expounded, one 
 may perceive that many and grievous 
 mifchiefs have taken place in the war- 
 like operations of Love. In certain 
 parts of Europe this war is no longer 
 kindled by the dcfire of fame ; nothing 
 is to be feen but licentioufnefs and tu- 
 mult: good order and regulation, with- 
 out which nothing can fubfift in its 
 proper ftate, are entirely banifhed from 
 it. Where difcipline is ftill retained, 
 it is either with too great a degree of 
 relaxation or of rigour. Here, through 
 too much levity, they think of accom- 
 plifhing every thing in a moment, and 
 .undertake an hundred expeditions at 
 .a time $ there, the fault runs into the 
 
 ther 
 
other extreme, and flow to execute*, 
 they confume the time in ufelefs de- 
 liberations : fo that it is much to be 
 apprehended, that the armies of Iov 
 may either become ufelefs through the 
 number of invalids, or that they may 
 be on the point of perifhing through 
 want, or the unfubftantial quality of 
 their diet. Now thefe are the regula- 
 tions, which the God will have obferv- 
 ed in every part of Europe : whence 
 his empire may regain that profperity 
 and unanimity, which the want of 
 obedience to his laws, and the various 
 principles of feh, fecm in thefe lalter 
 ages to have almoft entirely annihi- 
 lated. 
 
 It is not granted you^ mortals, to chufe 
 
 the objecl of your adoration. Love will 
 
 point it out to you, when you leait ex- 
 
 M 2 
 
pecT: it ; and it will be impoflible for 
 you to refift his impulfe. The move- 
 ment of the beloved fair one is more 
 enchanting than that of the Graces,, 
 her voice is fweeter than harmony it- 
 felf ; file unites the beauty of Venus 
 to the majefty of Juno, and, in fliort, 
 is all perfection from the moment that 
 flie pleafes you. All that you are 
 allowed to chufe, are the means of 
 engaging her. If fhe piques herfelf 
 on her wit, you muft call her another 
 Melanite; if on her learning, the 
 tenth mufe. Though flie fhould be 
 half blind, you muft never lofe an op- 
 portunity of extolling the beauty o 
 her eyes: for fe If- love exifted before 
 LOVE himfelf. On the other hand, 
 when in her prefence find fault with 
 the voice of Cloe, the teeth of Lefbia. 
 
 She 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 She will imagine that you commend IQ 
 her what you cenfure in another. 
 
 You muft profefs the higheft valwe 
 for every thing belonging to your mif- 
 trefs : and muft extend your regard 
 even to her lap-dog, whofe very bark- 
 ing you muft think extreme! ypleafant, 
 and whofe beauty, you muft allow, no 
 painter can equal. His inftindh've fa- 
 gacity you muft extol beyond that of 
 the famous dog, who, as we are in- 
 formed, ufed to bark only at thieves, 
 and (hewed his complaifance equally 
 t;o his miftrefs and to her lover. 
 
 Thofe are ill-advifed indeed, who 
 take it into their heads to thwart their 
 miftrefles. Whatever pleafes her fhould 
 be pleafing to you. Learn to play the 
 Have,, in order to become the tyrant. 
 
 The 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 The fcience of drefs is neceflarjr 
 for fuch ladies, as wifh to have admi- 
 rers ; a fcience peculiar to the female 
 world, of which the precepts were 
 given, not long fince, by a genius 
 worthy of being created matter of the 
 wardrobe of Cythera. I know not 
 whether he was infpired by Momusor 
 Minerva, when he laid it down as a 
 maxim, that the drefs of handfome 
 and majeftic women fliould referable 
 an Epic poem, fhould be noble and ; 
 modeft, without any mixture of mo* 
 dern tinfel or meretricious ornament: 
 that pretty women might in their drefs 
 imitate the flight of the ode, the- 
 fprucenefs of the madrigal, and the 
 qualities of 'other leiTer poems : that 
 thofe, who are merely fhowy or ftrik- 
 ing in their appearance, (hould not in 
 fublimity exceed the epigram, the fole 
 
 merit: 
 
fcnerk of which con fifts in its point: 
 that ugly women fhould confine them- 
 felves to fimple profe ; and that elegy 
 -points out the drefs proper for the old. 
 Thefe are the poetical habits, which 
 he ailigns to the ladies. The men 
 have no occafion to be fo attentive to 
 their drefs. A certain degree of negli- 
 gence beft becomes them. Is not Mars 
 a foldier ? Was not Adonis an huntf- 
 man ? 
 
 Men (hould aim rather to excel in 
 mental, than in pcrfonal accomplifli- 
 merits. The art of Apollo is faid to 
 have done wonders in Love, However 
 <this may be,, if you wifh to gain favour 
 in the eyes of a fine woman, do not 
 imitate in your poetical compofitions 
 the melancholy ditties of paft times; 
 tut confine yourfelf to thofe, which 
 
 are 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 are moil agreeable to the tafte of the 
 prefent age. 
 
 Above all, flrive to amufe your mif- 
 trefs with pleafant tales and witty 
 anecdotes. Endeavour to render your- 
 felf amiable, if you wifil to be loved; 
 exert yourfelf to pleafe, if your aim is 
 to perfuade. He knov/s but little of 
 the nature of love, who talks with his 
 fair one on no other fubject. The 
 great point is, to become neceflary to 
 her entertainment. She cannot then, 
 when alone, do otherwife than have 
 her thoughts employed upon you ; 
 and provided fhe does but think of 
 you, it is no matter what her thoughts 
 are. 
 
 When you are convinced, that fhe 
 cannot do without you, invent fome 
 
 pretext 
 
pretext for abfenting yourfelf from her 
 for a fliort time ; and affure her, that 
 nothing could be more unpleafmg to 
 you, that nothing could be more un- 
 fortunate than this cruel feparation. 
 The amorous flame is fanned by a 
 fhort abfence; but it is extinguifhed 
 by a long one. You fhould alto now 
 and then fuggeft, that fhe is not the 
 only woman in the world, whom you 
 think amiable ; and that it is not im- 
 pollible, but your heart might be fuf- 
 ceptible of a tender attachment to 
 ibme other beauty. Find out the me- 
 thod of irritating her gently; arid 
 contrive to make her felf-love co-ope- 
 rate with your affection. Put in prac- 
 tice with women all their own arti- 
 fices. 
 
 N What 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 What advantage may not often fee 
 derived from letter-writing ? Letters 
 ferve admirably to fpare a maiden's 
 blu/h, and to convey ideas too indeli- 
 c\;te for the ear. As for your fubjeci, 
 you may write about any thing ihe has 
 clone, or any thing fhe has faid 5 or for 
 want of that, you may write about 
 nothing. A lover can never be at a 
 lofs for matter, and a thoufand op- 
 portunities will occur for writing. 
 Should ftie fend word to you, that 
 fhe does not approve of tfuch imper- 
 tinence, and that you had beft look 
 out for other women, to whom this 
 foolery may be .acceptable, take it in 
 good part, .and never write the lefs 
 for it. But be careful that your let- 
 ters are not ftiff or affehrd : they 
 fhould be infpired by love, and dic- 
 tated by the graces. Studied epiftles, 
 
 made 
 
r 9* ) 
 
 made up of long and rounded periods, 
 are fit only for ladies, who expert to 
 have love declared to them with all 
 the formality of ancient times, whom 
 you muft lay fiege to in form, begin- 
 ning your approaches at a proper dif- 
 tance, and carrying them on for the 
 fpace of a century. Let your arms 
 be adapted to the enemy you have to 
 engage : and keep this maxim deep- 
 ly rooted in your mind, that fhe, 
 who refifts ever fo firmly the attack 
 to-day, may nevertheJefs be conftrain- 
 ed to capitulate to-morrow ; and that 
 he is but an unfkilful lover, who 
 iofes courage at the firft repulfe, and 
 abandons an enterprize on the firft 
 appearance of an obftacle. A mo- 
 ment has often got the better of a ten 
 year's refinance : you remember the 
 N 2 grot to 
 
( 9* ) 
 
 grotto of Dido, as well as the caves 
 of Latmos. 
 
 I knew a gallant, who to gain a vir- 
 tuous beauty of this kind, had re- 
 courfe to the lady's maid. This wo- 
 man, faid he, is intrufted with her 
 moft fecret concerns ; (he is her pri- 
 vy-counfellor at the toilet, knows 
 all her foibles, and is well acquaint- 
 ed with the means by which fhe may 
 be conquered. You can rarely find a 
 woman, who is a Lucretia before her 
 chamber-maid. To her then he ap- 
 plied himfelf, and feduloufly endea- 
 voured to gain her good will. He 
 fucceeded ; and found her a faithful 
 friend and advocate with the miftrefs. 
 Cunning, difcreet, and dextrous, fhe 
 ferved him for a guide, and quickly 
 put him in poffeflion of the citadel. 
 
 But 
 
( 93 ) 
 
 But what arms can you employ,, 
 what arts put in practice, againft 
 thofe women, who feign fentiments 
 which they are perfect ftrangers to ; 
 who have no delight, but that of 
 increafing the number of their admi- 
 rers ? Leave them a prey to their own 
 vanity, and reft aflured that Love, 
 whofe laws they tranfgrefs, and whofe 
 empire they feek to ufurp, will find 
 means to punifh them. You will fee 
 them become the fcorn and laughing 
 ftock of the public, when they give 
 themfelves the airs of youth, after 
 their hairs are grey, and vainly aim 
 at conquefts, after they have loft the 
 charms to effect them. You will 
 fee them, like old tyrants, at war 
 with themfelves, neither fit for action 
 and fociety, nor able to endure repofe 
 and folitude. 
 
 Similar 
 
Similar to thefe females, there is 
 a fct of men, who pretend to be in 
 love with every beautiful object that 
 prefects itfelf : while they are in fidt 
 incapable of feeling a real attachment 
 to any. Thefe men (hine above the 
 reft of their fex, and become fafliion- 
 able, either by fome new refinement 
 in drefs, fome improvement m hair- 
 drefling, or fome curious jargon, of 
 their own invention. Let women be- 
 ware of fuch infignificant characters : 
 let them not imagine that capricious 
 cuftom is to have that defpotic fway 
 on earth, that deftiny has above, to 
 which the Gods themfelves are fub- 
 jeft > nor let them think cf warming 
 themfelves at the blaze of an artifi- 
 cial phofphorus, which, however it 
 may {hine and fparkle, is incapable 
 of giving heat. 
 
 The 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 The moft propitious feafon for love, 
 is when youth give themfelves up to 
 mirth and feftivity; which have the 
 fame effect on the heart as fpring has 
 upon the earth. Philenus took it in 
 his head to make love to Lefbia, juft 
 after file had feen Aflerie with a new- 
 fafhioned damafk. Judge whether this 
 was a proper occaiion, and you may 
 cafily divine the refult of his addref- 
 fes. There is, however, no rule fo 
 univerfal, as not to admit of an excep- 
 tion. There was a dame in Ephefus, 
 who liftened to the addrefles of a fol- 
 dier on her hufband's tomb : and 
 Phillis gave her hand to Arceus the 
 very day on which (he loft her lap- 
 
 But what place more fui table to 
 *open your heart, and unfold your 
 
 whole 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 whole pafiion to your miftrefs, than at 
 an aflembly or a mafquerade ? There, 
 under the protection of the mafk and 
 the domino, you may boldly exprefs 
 fentiments, which for a length of 
 time perhaps you have fhut up with- 
 in your bofom. Love takes a parti- 
 cular delight in thefe concealments. 
 How often has he not caufed Jupiter 
 to difguife himfelf? and what variety 
 of forms does he not aflume to hide 
 himfelf from mankind ? 
 
 - If you pay your addrefles to a 
 beauty, you may be well affured of 
 many rivals ; but, if you are wife, 
 you will diflemble your knowledge of 
 any. Happy man, fhould your rival 
 fpeak ill of you in prefence of your 
 miftrefs; but happier flill, fhould he 
 
 venture 
 
( 97 ) 
 
 venture fo far, as to forbid her to 
 fee you. 
 
 Leave to the gloom of politicians, 
 and the pride of monarchs, fufpicion, 
 fear, and never-ending quarrels. Jea- 
 loufy fhould feldom gain admittance 
 into the breaft of lovers, and their 
 wars fhould be trivial and of fhort du- 
 ration. Gentle bickerings ferve to 
 blow the flame of love, and make it 
 burn the brighter ; and thofe little 
 burfts of anger, which generally ori- 
 ginate from a mere nothing, are for 
 the moft part productive of a thoufand 
 endearments. But woe to them who 
 fuffer themfelves to be hurried away 
 by that horrid paflion, the daughter of 
 apprehenfion, who looks afkaunt with 
 an hundred eyes, and makes a perfoa 
 appear odious in the eyes of the be- 
 O lov~> 
 
loved object. Befides, the jealous tafte 
 as little of the pleafures of love,, as the 
 fick do of the enjoyments of life. 
 
 In company you muft always be- 
 have with the molt profound refpet 
 and deference towards your miftrefs : 
 but we cannot fuppofe that there will 
 always be a third perfon prefent. 
 When you are alone with her, and in 
 the midft of half-uttered words and 
 broken accents, you difcover the work- 
 ing of her paffion,. by the carnation 
 hue overfpreading her cheek, and her 
 languifhing eye caft tenderly upon 
 you, then are you to make the befr. of 
 the opportunity : and remember, that 
 the fair are not apt to be offended at 
 the forwardnefs of their lovers. Too 
 much refpect would then ruin you for 
 ever. 
 
 There 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 There are many marks by which 
 you may judge of the progrefs you 
 make in her heart. She will addrefs 
 herfelf to you on every trifling occa- 
 fion,; (he will require a moft minute 
 relation of what befals you, and will 
 afterwards repeat it herfelf; fhe will 
 fometimes lead you to the explanation 
 of thofe tender emotions which fhe 
 has excited in your bofom ; fhe will 
 often pretend to fly from you, but her 
 flight will be only intended to give 
 you an occafion to purfue her. 
 
 You muft not defpair if matters 
 fhould not fucceed immediately to your 
 \vifhes ; if there fhould bs fome impe- 
 diment between the grain and the hand 
 of the reaper. On the contrary, thank 
 your happy ftars. How many are there 
 not in Europe, who extol to the fkies 
 O 2 the 
 
the felicity of the Sultan, a prince, 
 who exercifes a defpotic authority, not 
 only throughout his own dominions, 
 but alfo in the empire of love ? Be- 
 fore him ftand the flower of the Ori- 
 ental beauties, flaves of his will, and 
 obedient to his nod. When he deigns 
 to honour one of them with a fmile, 
 fhe fcarcely dares to look up on his 
 majeftic countenance, but remains fi- 
 lent as night to receive his orders, 
 prompt as lightning to obey them. 
 They think his happinefs complete 
 and comparable to that of the God, 
 who has nothing elfe to do, but to 
 fee, to defire, and to enjoy. But he 
 is truly to be lamented whofe defires 
 have been ftimulated by no impedi- 
 ment, who has never tailed of the 
 pleafing bitters of love ; who has not 
 enjoyed a good acquired with difficulty, 
 
 and 
 
and poffeffed by means of inmate ex- 
 ertion and addrefs, an enjoyment ren- 
 dered more exquifite by thefe very 
 difficulties and impediments. 
 
 Who knows not, that it is of lit- 
 tle ufe to conquer, if we have it not 
 in our power, to take the advantage 
 of the vi&ory ? Let not a woman 
 think, however beautiful, that her 
 lover has eyes for her alone, and is 
 blind to every other female. Let 
 Thyrfis contemplate the capricious 
 humour of Myrtale, the affeflation 
 of Corifca, and they will ferve to in- 
 creafe his affe&ion for Caritea. Let 
 him abfent hirafelf for a (hort time; 
 and he will behold her again with 
 redoubled attra6lions. Pleafures are 
 like flowers : as the latter fade and 
 wither when kept too long, fo do the 
 
 former 
 
{ 192 ) 
 
 rcrrser pall and, difguft when pro- 
 longed beyond due limits. And you, 
 O lovers, think not of retraining 
 the will or inclinations of your mif- 
 trefs. Tyranny is the caufe of re- 
 bellion. Keep the reins flack, and 
 govern her in fuch manner, that 
 fhe may not feel herfclf under the 
 dominion of a mafter. .Allow her 
 now and then to be a little whim- 
 fical ; and confider, that thefe capri- 
 ces are the embellifhments of beauty 
 and wit, the prefervation of fenti- 
 mentj and the feafoning of love. Let 
 your concefiions and regards be mu- 
 tual ; and impofe on her no other 
 laws, but fuch as may render her fub- 
 jection the more agreeable, and your 
 authority the more lafting. 
 
 In fine, by tempering the vivacity of 
 the French with the fcdatenefs of the 
 
 Italians, 
 
Italians, and by refining and foften-- 
 ing the harfh humour of the Engliflv 
 may LOVE grant to his fubje&s, to 
 live long and happily together ; and- 
 may he add to the days of happy lov- 
 ers, thofe which he lops off from the 
 lives of the unfortunate. 
 
 If thefe regulations be obferved by 
 the men, the ladies will, doubtlefs, have 
 reafon to rejoice. They fliould endea- 
 vour too, as far as pofHble, to efrabliili 
 them throughout Europe: thefe, by 
 ftriving to gain over the affections of 
 the men, entering, if need require it y 
 into their political debates, and oppo- 
 fmg to the fpeeches of their rigid ftatef- 
 men r and to the diffoiute conduct of 
 their young gallants, the all-perfuafive 
 eloquence and irrefiftible attractions 
 of the female graces : thofe,, by con- 
 cealing 
 
cealing their defires, the more effetu- 
 ally to ralfe them in the breafts of 
 others, by refifting the attack a little 
 longer, and not giving up the victory 
 too cheaply to their conqueror: and the 
 others, by ceafing to require that their 
 admirers fliould be contented with a 
 finile, as a reward for the attention 
 r.nd afliduities of half a century, and 
 fhould declare that they are fo happy 
 and contented under their torments,, 
 as not even fo much as to wifh for 
 relief; that they freeze in the month 
 of July, or burn in the midftof win- 
 ter ; with other miraculous abfurdi~ 
 tie,s of the like nature. 
 
 Whence it may arrive, that in Eng- 
 land an Alcibiades may become as fre- 
 quent a chara&er as a Themiftocles ; 
 whence that nation of philofophers^ 
 
 who 
 
who are fo fond of tracing the tracks 
 of the planets, will be no lefs de- 
 lighted to follow the fteps of Love, in 
 the path to fupreme felicity. Thus in 
 France thofe gallant Sybarites, who 
 deferve to have their brows crowned 
 with the laurel no kfs than the 
 myrtle, may learn the better to fea- 
 fon their pleafures ; and may be 
 brought to revolt againft the tyran- 
 ny of cuftom, which will have a 
 pafnon to be entirely out of date, that 
 has been of more than three weeks 
 continuance. Thus the Italians will 
 be freed from formality and reftraint, 
 and from that abfurd fyftem of nurfing 
 a pafTion for above thirty years, before 
 they think it ripe enough for enjoy- 
 ment. The fent-imental treatifes of 
 amorous metaphyfics will be thrown 
 upon the ihelf, together with the ro- 
 P mantic 
 
( ro6 ) 
 
 mantic {lories of chivalry; the evapo- 
 rations of the Platonic fyftem will be 
 bottled up, and fent to the mufeum of 
 Love ; where they may be depofited by 
 the fide of that beautiful chryflaliza- 
 tion of tears, which is carefully pre- 
 ferved there, and is fa id to have fallen 
 from the eyes of the Ephefian matron. 
 
 In faft, the true philofophy of Love 
 is to be found only in the fchool of 
 Ovid ; a poet, whole verfes are re- 
 peated by every nation, and were in- 
 fpired by the very God, whofe rites of 
 .\vorfhip they eftablifh. This poet has 
 laid down minute precepts drawn from 
 living examples, from the practice of 
 that hero whofe prov/efs was no lefs 
 eminent in the field of Mars than in 
 that of Venus, who .conquered and at 
 .the fame time civilized the Gauls, who 
 
 cnade 
 
made Cleopatra as well as Ptolemy fen- 
 fible of his afcendancy, and merited 
 the honours of triumph, and the fu- 
 premacy of the dichitorfhip no iefs in 
 Rome than in Cythera. Now who 
 among you would not willingly fub- 
 fcribe to the authority of that great 
 man, worthy of being perpetual legif- 
 lator to the world, the coufm of the 
 God, Caius Julius Caefar ? 
 
 With the effulgence of fo confpi- 
 cuous a ftar to guide them, lovers 
 cannot poiEbly deviate from the courfe, 
 that leads to the haven of fecurity and 
 happinefs. Thus will the delights of 
 Love be rendered more lafting and 
 more exquifite ; and mortals will be 
 allowed to tafle of that delicious 
 neclar, poured out to the immortal 
 Gods by the ever blooming Hebe. 
 
 P 2 Here 
 
Here PLEASURE put an end to hsr 
 difcourfe ; when the whole afiembly 
 turned their eyes towards the God 
 of Love, who vouch fafed a gentle nod 
 of approbation. He next caft a gra- 
 cious fmile upon the ladies, which 
 filled the bread: of every one prefent 
 with an inexprefiible tranfport. The 
 God then fuddenly difappeared, and 
 left the ifland, to re- animate the 
 world with his prefence, and to dif- 
 pel the languor occafloned by fo long 
 a privation of it. 
 
 The three embaffadrefies wewt out 
 of the temple, revolving in their minds 
 the injun&loiis of PLEASURE. Lady 
 Gravely did not feem to have derived 
 much confolation from them ; Ma- 
 dame de Jafy appeared to have loft a 
 great part of her former gaiety j and 
 
 Lady 
 
Lady Beatrice continued perfectly ab- 
 forbed in contemplation. The gen- 
 tlemen in their train feemed extreme- 
 ly defirous of entering into conver- 
 fation concerning matters of fo much 
 confequence to the whole univerfe : 
 When inftantly a little Love ap- 
 proached and informed them, that ta- 
 bles were fpread for their refrefhment 
 under a tent of Perfian illk, at the 
 entrance of a little thicket at no great 
 diftance. Thither they bent their 
 fteps, and fat down together at a 
 board covered with the choiceft dain- 
 ties, which were prepared with all 
 the (kill of an Apicius. Joy and fef- 
 tivity prevailed throughout the com- 
 pany, and fo far got the better of 
 difputes and contefts, that all feemed 
 to be perfectly united in fentiment, 
 and to concur heartily in conform- 
 ing 
 
ing to the mandates of the God. What 
 confpired to increafe this joy and una- 
 nimity was, that the wine placed be- 
 fore the French was qualified with 
 water from the fountain of Vauclufe ; 
 the Italians were provided with a few 
 bottles of Champagne ; and fome drops 
 of an elixir, remarkable for its effi- 
 cacy in the cure of the politico-mania, 
 was mixed privately .with the claret of 
 the Englifh. 
 
 No fooner was the company rifen 
 from table, than one of the little loves 
 offered himfelf as a guide to conduct 
 them into the gardens of Cythera ; 
 which Flora and Pomona themfelves 
 had planted. Thefe gardens art con- 
 fpired with nature to render delight- 
 ful : fruitful vallies and pleafant emi- 
 nences, delicious parterres and green 
 
 refrefli* 
 
'refrefhing thickets on every fide, ftruck 
 the view: the fhadowed walks were 
 here and there ornamented with mini- 
 ature buildings, grottoes, and obelifks, 
 with groupes of marble figures, repre- 
 fenting Europa feated upon her bull, 
 the fwan reclining upon the breaft of 
 Leda, and other fimilar trophies of the 
 God. The earth teemed with flowers of 
 a thoufand variegated colours, and was 
 watered by a number of little murmur- 
 ing ftreams, which in one place con- 
 tracted themfelves into a canal, in ano- 
 ther extended themfelves into a lake; 
 
 .and thefe lakes were covered with fmall 
 barks, moft beautifully decorated, and 
 navigated by little fportive deities, 
 who made the waters refound, and the 
 
 -woods echo, with their infant fhouts. 
 
 The 
 
The gardens were inhabited by fyl- 
 nymphs and fwains, whom the 
 God himfelf had taught the art of love, 
 and to whom Venus had conferred the 
 gift of pleafing. All their diverfions 
 were feafoned by pleafure. They in- 
 troduced now and then in the midft 
 of their conversions, gentle whif- 
 pers, fly careffes, and other endearing 
 allurements ; they never concealed 
 themfelves, but to increafe the defire 
 of feeing beheld .; and, if ever they 
 clofed their eyes, it was but to open 
 them again with redoubled fplendour. 
 With them repulfes and delays ferved 
 but to augment reciprocal delight. 
 One would be puzzled to determine, 
 whether for this perpetual round of 
 pleafures they -were indebted to the , 
 bounty, or to the connivance of the 
 Goti.' 
 
 This 
 
This gay afTemblage of belles and 
 beaus, remaining a few days longer 
 with thefe happy fylvans, had an op- 
 portunity of feeing practifed what was 
 recommended to them in the temple; 
 and had the means of being the more 
 fully convinced, how much the wife 
 and provident regulations, eftablifhed 
 by LOVE in this folemn Congrefs y - 
 would conduce to the general good of 
 mankind. Their attachment to this 
 delicious fpot at length became fo great, , 
 that Lady Gravely no longer wifhed to 
 re-embark for London ; Madame de 
 Jafy had almoft forgot the charms of 
 Paris ; and Lady Beatrice began to have 
 her doubts, whether it was not to be 
 preferred even to the third heaven, and 
 to her native conftellation.- 
 
 T H r 
 
THE 
 
 JUDGMENT of LOVE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CONGRESS of CYTHERA, 
 
 O fooner did the CONGRESS of 
 CYTHERA appear in print, than, 
 notwithftanding the din of arms with 
 which the world refounded, all ranks 
 of people began to exprefs a prodigious 
 eagernefs to perufe it. And that mere- 
 ly to be informed of the judgment of 
 the God among fuch a variety of dif- 
 cordant opinions, and to know what 
 he required of his faithful votaries, 
 what he pointed out to them as the 
 path to amorous felicity. But it was 
 a matter of extreme difficulty -to get 
 fe much as a fight of the title page. ~ 
 Q. 2 The 
 
( n6 ) 
 
 The copies were diftributed amongft a 
 few perfons, and that by fpecial fa- 
 vour : whereas, they ought to have been 
 made public for the general good. It 
 was in vain to fend to the bookfellers ; 
 not a fingle copy was to be had there. 
 This people attributed to the habitual 
 cunning and artifice of Love, who is 
 fond of enhancing the value of his 
 gifts by the difficulty of obtaining 
 thern, and of covering every thing with 
 the veil of myftery. It was his defi^n, 
 faid they, to {how mankind, that it 
 requires no lefs afliduity to come at a 
 knowledge of his will, than to parti- 
 cipate in his favours. But when it fell 
 into the hands of certain judicious 
 critics, they clearly perceived that all 
 .this myftery proceeded merely from the 
 artifice, or rather from the evil con- 
 Science of the hiftorian : who, know- 
 ing 
 
t "7 ) 
 
 ing that he had reprefented fevera! 
 facts not exactly as they happened, 
 and given a colouring of his own to 
 others, had not the courage to face 
 the light : in which he refembled cer- 
 tain beauties, who chufe to afford but 
 a partial difplay of their charms, and 
 admit only a few friends and confi- 
 dents behind the curtain. 
 
 The ftory at length being published, 
 probably without the confent of the 
 author, its defects became notorious to 
 the whole world : and great complaints 
 were made throughout Europe of the 
 infidelity and .partiality of the hifto- 
 rian. Above all, the three ladies, who 
 acted fo confiderable a part, as embaf- 
 - fad rifles from England, France, and 
 Italy fo Cythera, took particular of- 
 ; fence at it. They, in the molt folemn 
 
 manner 
 
( "8 V 
 
 manner, protefted in various polite cir- 
 cles, that the book gave but a very 
 lame and mutilated account of their 
 refpeclive fpeeches ; and that they 
 could further teftify, a great part of 
 what the author puts in the mouth of 
 love to be erroneous., although them- 
 felves were not part of the audience : 
 thus, that a hiftory, which for its im- 
 portance (hould have been written with 
 a.moft fcrupulous regard to truth, was 
 a perfect tiffue of falfehoods and mif- 
 reprefentations. Thefe clamours were 
 fpread abroad to fuch a degree, at 
 length, as to reach the ear of the au- 
 thor, who had endeavoured, as much 
 as poflible, to keep himfelf concealed ; 
 and it was refo.^ved, to fend to Cythera, 
 and have him arraigned before the tri- 
 bunal of the God, that he might be 
 there decreed fuch punifhment as fhould 
 
 be 
 
( "9 ) 
 
 be judged proportionate ta the enor- 
 mity of his offence. 
 
 After many letters and a number of 
 difpatches had pafled between London^ 
 Paris, and Genoa, which gave rife to 
 infinite conjecture and fpeculation, 
 and kept the gazettes continually fulf 
 of falfe reports, it was determined to 
 fend to Cythera, Heroticus, a man 
 who had ever been a favourite of 
 Love, who had refided in various* 
 courts of Europe, and was welf 
 known to the three Ladies : nay, if 
 was even faid, that he had carried 
 on an amorous correfpondence with 
 them. He was befides, a man of ftricV 
 impartiality, and one, who, with- 
 out any perfonal enmity againft the 
 accufed, would be likely to main- 
 tain., 
 
( 120 ) 
 
 tain the caufe of truth with zeal and 
 inflexibility. 
 
 The time for his voyage was, 
 however, poftponed till the commence- 
 ment of the fpring ; when it is the 
 cuftom of Love, after having, pafled 
 the winter in the regulation of his 
 affairs in the different cities, to be- 
 take himfelf to Cythera in order to 
 refrefh himfelf with the vernal breeze?, . 
 and to indulge in a little rural re- 
 creation. On the firft of April, then, 
 Heroticus embarked at Naples on 
 board a neutral veflel : and though 
 he was favoured with a propitious 
 gale, yet was he confiderably retard- 
 ed by falling in with the Englifh 
 Admiral, who was at that time cruiz- 
 ing in the Mediterranean, and could 
 fcarcely comprehend, the meaning of: 
 
 a fhip;- 
 
f 
 
 a (hip deftined for Cythera without 
 lading, and charged only with a com- 
 million. to Love. 
 
 Heroticus at length anchored ofF 
 the ifland, and found it pretty con- 
 formable to the defcription in the 
 Oongrefs. After landing, his firft at- 
 tention was employed in looking a- 
 bout for thofe fountains and ftreams 
 of nectar, thofe trees Vv 7 ith leaves like 
 emeralds, and fruit the mere fight 
 or touch of which is fuilicient to re- 
 novate the human frame; all of which 
 he had read of in the claflic authors. 
 He was quickly conducted by a troop 
 of little ioves into the hall contigu- 
 ous to the temple : and here his eyes 
 were fixed with admiration on the 
 triumph of the God, which is paint- 
 ed on the walls, of it. As the hi/to- 
 R 
 
( 122 ) 
 
 rian has given no particular defcrip- 
 tion of this celebrated painting, we 
 fhall, for the fatisfadtion of our 
 readers, prefent them with what Pe- 
 trach fays of it : " On a car of 
 " fire, which is drawn by four cour- 
 " fers, white as the driven fnow, fits 
 <c a boy who feems to delight in ads 
 cc of cruelty. In his hand he holds 
 " a bow, and by his fide hang his 
 cc arrows, which neither helmet nor 
 " buckler can repel. He has no 
 * 6 other covering but two large wings, 
 " which fhine with a thoufand varie- 
 " gated colours. Around him lie in- 
 " numerable mortals ; fo me of whom 
 44 were flain, others taken in fight,, 
 " and fome dreadfully wounded by his 
 " darts " Nevertheless, the cruelty 
 of this youth is tempered by a v, on- 
 dcrful fweetnefs of afpecl; the wounds 
 
 he 
 
he infli&s are productive of pleafure 
 rather than pain, and the death, which 
 he deals to men, is but a renewal of 
 life. 
 
 Heroticus, when introduced into 
 the prefence of LOVE, addrefled him- 
 felf, doubtlefs, dire6tly to the Deity, 
 and the Deity deigned to anfwer him 
 in the fame manner. But as direct 
 orations are feldom to be met with, 
 t>ut in the writings of thofe, whofe 
 veracity is called in queftion ; where- 
 as thofe who are thought the moft 
 authentic, confine themfelves to the 
 oblique : we fhall adhere to this lat- 
 ter method. In a few words, then, 
 no fooner were the ceremonies, which 
 cuftom has confecrated In the recep- 
 tion of embafladors, difpatched, than 
 Heroticus reprefented to the God, 
 R 2 that 
 
.that the Congrefs held in Cythera, in- 
 ftead of being attended with the good 
 effects that might have been expected 
 from it, had been productive of no- 
 thing but debate and clamour : that this 
 -had happened through the fault of the 
 hiftorian, who was accufed of little or 
 no veracity in his narration ; nay, it 
 was laid that he had even ufed his ut- 
 inoft endeavours, as appears by divers 
 paiiages, to lead men into error, in af- 
 fairs of which the knowledge is of the 
 higheft importance to them: that he 
 had (hewn fo little regard for the ma- 
 jelly of truth, as to facrifice it with- 
 out fcruple to a witty conceit, or to 
 a fmart faying: that he would not, in 
 enumerating minutely all the different- 
 heads of accufation againft him, abufe 
 the patience of the God, after the ex- 
 ample of the hiftorian 3 who with un~ 
 
 prece- 
 
precedented abfurdity had confined a 
 wfnged deity to his feat, for the fpace 
 of three hours, liftening to long ha- 
 rangues : that it would fuffice to read 
 three letters, which the ladies, urged 
 by a juft indignation at the parts he 
 made them acl in the Congrefs, had 
 written to the accufed ; the originals 
 of which he fhould prefent to the God, 
 Chat they might be depofited, together 
 with their orations, in the 'archives of 
 the ifland : that the fpeech, which in 
 violation of truth, he had dared to 
 put into the mouth of LOVE, by no 
 means fell under the cognizance of 
 mortals; and that the judgment of it 
 refted folely with the Deity. 
 
 The letters were then read, which, 
 by fmgular good fortune, we have 
 been enabled to procure copies of; 
 
 and* 
 
and, as they may not be unaccept- 
 able to our readers, we {hall infert 
 them here, juft as they were written, 
 without any addition or alteration 
 whatever. 
 
 Letter of LADY GRAVELY to the bif- 
 tcriographer of the Congrefs. 
 
 MY letter {hall be very fliort and 
 fui table to the understanding of a lady, 
 whofe whole merit confifts in the dex- 
 trous management of her fan, and her 
 '{kill in coughing. I {hall fay nothing 
 to your long obfervations concerning 
 my drefs, and the gentleman, who 
 accompanied me ; if you did not ad- 
 mire them, why fliould you give your* 
 felf the trouble of faying fo much of 
 them ? Permit me to allure you, that 
 
 you 
 
( "7 ) 
 
 you make me fpeak of certain affairs.* 
 and lament certain grievances, which 
 to this moment I am an entire ftran- 
 ger to, though, by your account, my 
 thoughts are engaged on nothing elfe. 
 As to the p/hial of falts, which you: 
 make me apply occafionally to my 
 nofe, it is an Italian manufacture, 
 which in England would be counter- 
 feited av/kwardly enough. As to the 
 fentimental part,, our minds are nei- 
 ther fo gloomy, nor our cuftoms fo 
 barbarous, as you would reprefent 
 them. The fun does not lower with, 
 fuch a malignant afpecT: upon our 
 capital r nor are our hearts made of 
 fo rude a mould, as to render us un- 
 fufceptible of the tender paflion, in- 
 capable of tafting the balm of life. 
 The only effential difference between, 
 us and other nations in this particu- 
 
( 128 } 
 
 lar, is, that we are not fo fond of 
 difplaying our fentiments. In love 
 we do not think proper to expofe to 
 the profane eyes of the public, myf- 
 teries that fliould be kept moft pro- 
 foundly fecret. This humour of ours 
 may perhaps caufe foreigners to ima- 
 gine, that certain plants will not . 
 take root in our foil, merely becaufe 
 we confine them to beds, where they 
 are nourifhed by a concealed warmth*, 
 and yet do not, on that account, pro- 
 duce fruits lefs ripe and lefs exqui- 
 fite. Had you deigned to make a 
 longer flay in the mid ft of the fog 
 and fmoke of London, you would 
 have become more enlightened, at 
 leaft in this particular. At any rate, 
 you would have learnt to be more 
 accurate in your report of other peo- 
 ple's fpeeches, and to reprefent with 
 
 more 
 
more conformity to truth the ftate of 
 our affairs, private and public. 
 
 Letter of MADAME DE JASY to tht 
 fame. 
 
 IT gives me infinite uneafmefs, to 
 find myfelf obliged to be wanting 
 towards you in that politenefs, for 
 which we are noted throughout the 
 world. But you muft take the blame: 
 of it entirely upon yourfelf; it is yoii 
 who urge me to it, you feem evert 
 to wifh it : fo that nothing remains 
 for me, but to gratify your defire. 
 Then, let me tell you, Sir, that a 
 ftranger at Paris will ever be a ftranger 
 there, as any one may perceive, who 
 will be at the trouble of reading your 
 Congrefs. There is an original ble- 
 mifh in every foreigner, which all the 
 S water 
 

 
 water in the Seine could not wafli ofR 
 Who cannot difcern, by the fpeech 
 you put into my mouth, that you hear 
 the language of our polite nation with 
 the ear, and exprefs it in the ftile, of 
 an Italian ? Who would not imagine, 
 by what you make me utter, that the 
 affections of the French were inconfi- 
 derate and inconftant ? Whence could 
 you conceive fo ftrange an idea ? I 
 fhall fay nothing of that Methufalem 
 of paflions, fo agreeably defcribed by 
 the ingenious Fontenelle, which reck- 
 oned no lefs than five years exift- 
 ence : nor fliall I advert to our vo- 
 luminous romances, exact images of 
 real life. But I could produce an in- 
 ftance of an attachment, which lafted 
 above a week, as all Paris can teftify ^ 
 nay, I was even witnefs to one, that 
 continued a whole month, and feve- 
 
 jal 
 
: C 
 
 ral days of the following month. If 
 you fliould unfortunately 1 have experi- 
 enced the reverfe, we muft conclude 
 either that your good fortune was not 
 equal to your merit, or elfe that you. 
 
 did not think proper to fliew it off to 
 
 I 
 advantage : otherwife might you have 
 
 found, that we do not fall fhort of the 
 Italians in conftancy. Both for the 
 honour of my country and for my own 
 j uftification, I thought it neceffary to 
 write you thefe few lines ; and I hope 
 you will receive them in good part. F 
 have only to wifh, which I do moil 
 fincerely, that you may hereafter have 
 more fuccefs in your amours, and a 
 greater attachment to truth in your 
 relations. 
 
 3 2 tettef 
 
) 
 
 Letter of LADY BEATRICE to ih$ 
 
 fame. 
 
 HOW will it be pcmble for me to 
 exprefs the extreme vexation I felt, on 
 reading the difcourfe which you make 
 me hold in the Congrefs at Cythera? 
 in what words can I defer foe the tor- 
 tures of mind I underwent, at the 
 fcandalous reports and rumours that it 
 gave birth to ? Love, who is confcious 
 of our morr. occult defires, who with 
 a penetrating eye fees into the hidden 
 fecefles of the human bread:, knows 
 with what zeal and purity of inten- 
 tion I undertook to plead before him 
 h'is own caufe, and that of the better 
 part of Italy; of that part, which has 
 not yet been corrupted and led afiray 
 by new broached fyflems and modern 
 cuftoms ; I had almoft aid, by the bar- 
 
 barous 
 
t '-33 ') 
 
 tarous pra&ices of the nations on "tbs 
 other fide of the Alps. Who would 
 not conclude, on perufal of your ha- 
 rangue, (for mine I (hall never allow 
 it to have been) that with the mafk of 
 duplicity I meant to invalidate what I 
 pretended to eftablifh ? Who would 
 not fuppofe that I had purpofely de- 
 figned to repreient in the moft con- 
 temptible light what fiiould be always 
 confidered with a religious veneration; 
 to turn into ridicule that divine Pla- 
 tonic affeftion, which fouls of a fupc- 
 rior flamp have ever placed their fu- 
 preme delight in, and which has in- 
 Ipired the lays of our moft ingenious 
 bards ? Thence originates that unfa- 
 vourable judgment, commonly fup- 
 pofed to have been pafl"ed on the party, 
 which in every confideration deferred 
 to have gained the conteft. Now as 
 
 this 
 
{ '34 ) 
 
 offence has been the caufe of the 
 moft dreadful diforders and mifchiefs in 
 the world, fo a punifhment, more 
 fevere than any yet heard of, fcould 
 be contrived for the perfon, who has 
 dared to commit fo great an enormity. 
 As embafladrefs from Italy to the Con- 
 grefs, I think it a duty neceflarily in- 
 cumbent on me, to infift, that you de- 
 clare to the world, in the moft expli- 
 cit terms, that you are yourfelf the 
 inventor of the fpeech, which is fa 
 unjuftly attributed to me; and, for 
 the fatisfa&ion and conviction of the 
 prefent age, and of all others to the 
 lateft pofterity, that you acknowledge 
 it to be erroneous, fcandalous, and 
 counterfeit. This is a proceeding that 
 you fhould be urged to by the re- 
 proaches of your own confcience ; if 
 your breaft is not fo -hardened as to 
 
 te 
 
( '35 ) 
 
 be infenfible of its flings, no lefs 
 than by the dread of the Vengeance 
 of that God, who has often fnatched 
 the thunderbolt from the hands of 
 Jove himfelf, of that winged deity, 
 who laughs at the vain attempt of a 
 lame mortal to efcape him, and who 
 can with eafe arreft the fwifteft in 
 their flight. 
 
 When Heroticus had done read- 
 ing the letters from the three ladies^ 
 LOVE obferved, that he had already, 
 in various circles, heard feveral hea- 
 vy accufations preferred againft the 
 author of the Congrefs. Some charged 
 him with the crime of having con- 
 fined to a pocket volume, what would 
 furnifli ample matter for a quarto; 
 which would be more fuitable to the 
 dignity of the fubjedt, and to the 
 
 honour 
 
( '36 ) 
 
 honour of fo great a deity. Others 
 complained, that this little book was 
 replete with frrange metaphors, and 
 allufions to paffages of foreign au- 
 thors; which caufed much obfcurity 
 in the meaning. Others alledged, that 
 to reprefent the manners of different 
 nations, and to make them fpeak m 
 their own peculiar idiom, was a mat- 
 ter of extreme difficulty, and confe- 
 quently a rafli and vain undertaking : 
 others, that the ftile was too much 
 varniflied, certain expreilions too am- 
 biguous and indefinite, many pictures 
 unftnifhed, and the whole contrary 
 to the authority and the example of 
 the moft claflic Italian authors. Not- 
 with ftanding the weight of thefe ac- 
 cufations, LOVE agreed, that the 
 charges exhibited againft the author by 
 the ladies were much. more fcriou?,, as. 
 
 calling 
 
( '37 ) 
 
 calling in queftion his veracity ; a 
 quality fo effentially requifite in an 
 hiftorian : that whatever anfwer he 
 might have already fent to the ladies, 
 he fliould b inftantly required to 
 write an apology in the moft fub- 
 miilive terms, fuch as ftiould be beft 
 calculated to appeafe their indig- 
 nation, 
 
 Of Lady Gravely he fliould afk. 
 pardon for having made her hold an 
 harangue, during which flie muft have 
 coughed oftener than ufual, accuftom- 
 ed as (he is to fpeak but little ; and 
 alfo for having caufed her to drink 
 more than ordinary of her favorite 
 liquor, tea; which while it clears 
 the head, weakens the ftomach. He 
 fliould fend a formal and ample de- 
 claration, that in certain of her af- 
 T iertions 
 
( '38 } 
 
 fertions fhe knew not what fhe was 
 faying ; he fhould acknowledge her 
 in every refpect fit to infpire love, 
 and to calm the moft obftinate poli- 
 tical conteft; that her appearance 
 would be fuificient to attract the eyes, 
 to engrofs the whole attention of the 
 men, and to put an immediate flop to 
 their debates, though they were em- 
 ployed in the difcuflion of the value 
 and advantages of the Newfoundland 
 fifhery, or of that important queftion, 
 whether it was proper or not to truft 
 a Scotchman with the higheft poft in 
 the adminiftration ? That, in this 
 zpology, he fhould leave a blank for 
 the number of conquefts made by 
 her ladyfliip ; which fhe fhould af- 
 terwards fill up at her pleafure. Yet, 
 after all, that Lady Gravely was in 
 fame meafure indebted to the hiftorian, 
 
 for 
 
( '39 ) 
 
 for not having added, when fpeaking 
 of the little phial of faks, which (he 
 applied occafionally to her nofe, that 
 the large dofes (he frequently took of 
 it made her fneeze in fuch a manner, 
 as to render her difcourfe almoft un- 
 intelligible. 
 
 That he fhould, in the moft fub- 
 miflive manner, a(k pardon of Madame 
 de Jafy for having dared, though a 
 foreigner, to intrude himfelf into the 
 fuburbs of St. Germain, and ftill 
 more audaciouily into thofe fecret re- 
 cents, where felect companies enter- 
 tain each other with all the refine- 
 ment of French delicacy. That here- 
 after to be qualified to liften to the dif- 
 courfe of the people of fafliion in Pa- 
 ris, he fhould have his Italian ears 
 purged with fumigations of fentimental 
 T 2 comedies, 
 
( '4 ) 
 
 comedies, metaphyfical ballads, and 
 other compofitions agreeable to the cur- 
 rent tafte. That, moreover, he fliould 
 never again call in queftion the con- 
 ftancy of the French ; which can- 
 not be doubted after the ftriking in- 
 ftances produced by Madame de Jafy ; 
 and, the further to confirm his be- 
 lief in this particular, that he fhould 
 in future dedicate a great part of his 
 time to the ufeful ftudy of old ro- 
 mances. 
 
 That, in order to anfwer Lady Bea- 
 trice in a proper manner, it would 
 be neceflary for him to read three 
 times over the Fiametta and the Cor- 
 baccio : He fhould maturely weigh 
 the difficulty of comprehending the 
 myfterious fubtleties of Platonic love ; 
 which, after the moft induftrious ap- 
 plication, 
 
plication, but very few can form a 
 juftidea of, and that by the fpecial 
 favor of the God. It was not there- 
 fore to be wondered at, if he had 
 erred ever fo grofsly in fome parti- 
 culars : nor fhould thefs errors be 
 imputed fo much to evil intention, 
 as to ignorance; the unavoidable lot 
 of every human being. Humanum eft 
 errare^ ignofcere divinum* That, in 
 order the more effe&ually to obtain 
 her pardon, he fhould declare him- 
 felf ready to acknowledge whatever 
 Lady Beatrice might require of him; 
 to maintain, not only by word of 
 mouth but alfo by his pen, that 
 the honour and dignity of Italy is 
 principally interefted in avowing 
 Bembo as the model of gallants ; that 
 the court held by the valorous 
 'Knights of Montefekro, on a cor- 
 ner 
 
3ier of the rugged Alps, and that 
 of the Queen of Cyprus, rendered 
 fo famous by the Afolani, as much 
 furpaffed the moft fplendid of the 
 European courts, as the palace of a 
 king furpafles the cottage of a fhep- 
 herd, or as the lofty oak overtops 
 the fpreading willow. That he 
 {hould alfo declare himfelf ready to 
 avow, and to maintain it in the face 
 of any opponent, that the verfes of 
 Petrarch, and particularly thofe cited 
 by Lady Beatrice, far excel the moft 
 finifhed compoiltion of Bernard, or 
 the fongs of Metaftafio. That he 
 fhould likewife profefs the moft im- 
 plicit belief, that corporeal accom- 
 plimments are not in the fmalleft de- 
 gree confidered by Platonic lovers, 
 whatever may in general be imagined 
 to the contrary. That, if a prefe- 
 rence 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 rence is given to young eyes, it is 
 merely becaufe they reflect in a more 
 lively manner the effulgence of the 
 native conftellation : fo, in the fame 
 manner, the mouth of a young man 
 can repeat with more energy as 
 well as ' grace, the fine paffages of Pe- 
 trarch or Dante. And, if fometimes 
 confequences refult, that may appear 
 to be difcordant with the principles 
 of the intellectual fyftem, that it is 
 not the bufmefs of the profane vul- 
 gar to give their opinion on affairs 
 of fo fublime and fo intricate a na- 
 ture ; but that the judgment of them 
 fhould be left to a Platonic college, 
 compofed of the moft refpectable Ita- 
 lian matrons. 
 
 Such was the decifion of the God; 
 \yho further added 3 that the hiftorian 
 
 was 
 
C 144 1 
 
 was in fome meafure exeufable,. if 
 he had not been exact in every par- 
 ticular; he related of the empire 
 of Love that only which he knew; 
 but there are many things which a 
 man may hear and fee of it, and 
 which it will be knpoffible for him 
 to repeat or to remember : " for on 
 <c approaching the fummit of his 
 " defires, a lover's eyes are fo daz- 
 " zled and his underftanding fo be- 
 <c wildered as utterly to confound 
 44 and deftroy his recollection." 
 
 Finally the God affured Heroticus, 
 and charged him to affure the world, 
 that for the general good of man- 
 kind there fhould foon be publifhed 
 a faithful hiftory of the Congrefs ; 
 every page of which fhould be con- 
 fronted with the manufcript by a 
 
 pub- 
 
( 135 ) 
 
 public notary, and the whole con- 
 firmed by a folio volume of authentic 
 proofs, and original documents. 
 
 His commiflioi) being difcharged, 
 Heroticus expected to be invited by 
 one of the little Loves to a banquet, 
 where the porcelain of Saxony fhould 
 vie with the golden diflies engraved 
 by Germain, and where the moft ex- 
 quifite dainties fhould be prepared 
 with all the luxury of an Apicius. 
 But he could fee nothing of the 
 kind. He was not even allowed a 
 fight of one of thofe nymphs, by 
 whom thf gardens of Cythera were 
 faid to be inhabited. This, how- 
 ever, might be attributed to the heat 
 of the feafon, at the time he vifited 
 the ifland. 
 
 U Nothing 
 
Nothing then remained to be done 9 
 but to re -embark and fet fail for 
 Italy. This he proceeded to do with- 
 out delay ; and favoured by a fine 
 South -Eaft wind, which blew fo mo- 
 derately, as not to raife a very 
 high fea, he ftrove to gain the firft 
 Italian port, with the condemnation 
 of the hiftorian of the Congrefs. In 
 the courfe of the voyage he exprefled 
 a great defire to keep clear of the 
 Englifh Admiral, who in his paflage 
 to the ifland had given him fo much 
 trouble. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
Jttfl publijhect, 
 
 With a FRONTISPIECE, 
 (PRICE HALF A CROWN) 
 
 The FIFTH EDITION of 
 ADVICE TO THE OFFICERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRITISH ARMY. 
 
 Printed forK.EARsi.EY, RICHARDSON, BEW, FLEX- 
 NEY, and SEWEL* 
 
 K^ The laft Monthly Review for February 1783, 
 fpeaks in the following terms of this little volume, from 
 an infpeclion of the firft edition ; fmce which, various 
 improvements have been made, with four additional 
 chapters, and a humorous FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 " The author difclofes a rich vein of wit. His ad- 
 vice, though clothed in the lighter form of irony, 
 difcovers a folid and penetrating judgment 5 and while 
 he holds a mirror up, that reflects the true features 
 of vice and folly, he attempts to make ingenuous 
 fhame accomplish the work of rational conviction. 
 " It appears to be the \vifh of this truly ingenious 
 writer to contribute his part towards restoring the 
 credit of the army, by checking the ftili farther pro- 
 grefs of thofe abufes and irregularities that have of 
 late fo much fullied its honour, and diminiihed its 
 importance ; and by infpiring every officer with fen- 
 timent* worthy the character of Britilh foldiers." 
 
 *^* The Critical Review, Mr. Matty's Review, 
 the Britifh Magazine, the European Magazine, the Gen- 
 tleman's Magazine, and feveral other periodical publica- 
 tions, recommend this woik in the warmeft terms. 
 
 For 
 
For the Ufe of SCHOOLS and PRIVATE TUTORS. 
 
 Juft Published, a new Edition, Price 33* 6d. Bound 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 UPON 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY, 
 
 FRENCH AND ENGLISH; 
 
 Chiefly written by the late EARL of CHESTER. 
 . FIELD, to his Son PHILIP STANHOPE, Efq. 
 
 Including fhort Accounts of 
 
 The TROJANS, 
 
 ETHIOPIAN?, 
 
 EGYPTIANS, 
 
 ASSYRIANS, 
 
 MEDES, 
 PERSIANS, 
 
 GREEKS, and 
 
 ROMANS. 
 
 The MONTHLY REVIEW for JULY 1782, gives 
 
 the following Character of this Book : 
 
 <( The part of this. work written by Lord Chefterfield 
 needs no recommendation, The reft is felecled 
 from French authors, and tranflated with fuffi- 
 cient correctnefs and fidelity, to render the book a 
 ufeful manual to young perfons who are learning 
 the French language," ^ 
 
05396 
 
 //