Ex Libris
C. K. OGDEN
l
( ;
fenretf.
ifee, Ty Verw k Bood.Peutoy.
AS IT PROCEEDS FROM
THE DISPOSITION AND HABIT,
THE PASSION OF LOVE,
AND
THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION.
DRAWN CHIEFLY FROM
THE CELEBRATED WORK
INTITLED
Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy ;
AND IN WHICH THE
KINDS, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND CURES
OF
THIS ENGLISH MALADY
" are traced from within
" Its inmost centre to its outmost skin.'
Can'stthou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And, with some sweet oblivious antidote,
Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart ?"
SHAKESPEARE, Macbeth, Aft V. Scene II L
LONDON:
Pr'nttid tj T. Maidtn, Shtrbturni-Lant,
For Vernor and Hood, J. Cuthell, J. Walker, J. Sewell,
Lackington, Allen, & Co. Ogilvy & Son, J. Nunn,
W. Otridge & Son, & R. La.
1801.
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAP. I. Introduction I
CHAP. II. The Definition, Affettion, Matter
and Species of Melancholy 14.
CHAP. HI. Of the Caufes of Melancholy . 30
CHAP. IV. The Conferences of Melancholy 164
CHAP. V. The Cure of Melancholy .... 173
CHAP. VI. Of Love Melancholy 223
CHAP. VII. Of Religious Melancholy . . 376
a 2
1066579 ''
1 HE author of the celebrated work
intitled " THE ANATOMY ofMELAN-
" CHOLY," has, in its feveral divifions,
refpeftively (hewn, that an inordinate
purfuit of the common pleafures of life,
an unreflrained indulgence of the af-
fections of the heart, and a miftaken
notion of our duties towards God, be-
come, when carried to excefs, not only
the bane of virtue, and, of courfe, the
deftruftion of earthly happinefs, but
the principal caufes of that preterna-
tural fermentation of the brain, which
in time breaks down the mental beam,
and precipitates the unhappy fufferers
into the gulphs of melancholy, madnefs,
a 3 or
x \'i PREFACE.
or defpair. He has not, however, left
the patients to linger under thefe mala-
dies without hope of relief, but, while
he traces the feveral caufes from which
they flow, has, like a kind phyfician,
pointed out the means by which they
may be prevented or cured ; by mew-
ing that the pleafures of life, to be
truly enjoyed, rnufl be guided by TEM-
PERANCE ; that the affeclions of the
heart, to produce felicity, mufl fpring
from A CHASTE MIND; and that the
adoration of God, to warrant a hope
of eternal happinefs, mufl be the ef-
fluence of CHRISTIAN PIETY. " It is
" certainly of the higheft importance,"
fays a celebrated moralift, " that, in
" the common concerns of life, the
+j *s
" mind mould maintain its fovereignty
" over its own motions and affections,
" which
PREEACE. Vll
" which tend, in general, to impair the
w health of the body, to deftroy the
" vigour of the foul, to cad clouds of
" the thickeft darknefs over the judg-
" ment and underftanding, and to
" wreft them violently from the prin-
" ciples of reafon and the paths of
" duty ; that the paffion of Love fhould
" be fo wifely managed and mode-
" rated by the powers of reafon, as
" not to fix itfelf upon an improper
" object, procure bafe or unworthy
" fuel for its flame, prevent, in its
" enjoyments, the difcharge of other
"duties, or degenerate into difquie-
" tude or difeafe; and that, among
" the opinions which it highly con-
" cerns all perfons to fettle and em-
" brace, the chief are thofe which
" relate to the adoration of THE AL-
" MIGHTY;
PREFACE.
w MIGHTY ; the pra6lice of the true
et Religion being the only foundation
" of that fweet tranquillity, and ac-
" quiefence of mind, which MAN in-
" wardly enjoys ; and the very fence
" and bulwark of that probity which
" he is bound to exercife towards his
" fellow creatures." Thefe are the doc-
trines which it feems the object of
" The Anatomy of Melancholy" to in-
culcate: but the author, in perform-
ing this tafk, having, to a certain de-
gree, fo overwhelmed the ftrong fenfe,
pointed wit, happy illuftrations, bold
metaphors, and humorous obferva-
tions, which his work contains, with
long, though ingenious digreffions,
multitudes of quotations, frequent re-
petitions, and other extraneous or fu-
perabundant matter, as to render the
regular
PREFACE. ix
regular perufal of it laborious and fa-
tiguing, it was conceived that a felec-
tion of its principal parts might be
made to form not only an entertain-
ing, but an inftru&ive volume. In at-
tempting, however, to carry this idea
into effect, it was found, to ufe the
author's own exprefiion, " impoffible
" to bring fo large a veffel into fo fmall
" a creek," without in forne degree
changing its form, as well as reducing
its fize, and leaving much of its very
excellent materials behind. To recon-
ftrucl: a new work with old materials,
is always difficult, and frequently dan-
gerous : the attempt, however, has
been made in the following pages ;
but with what fuccefs the public muft
determine. The volume, compared
with its great original, is a mere boat,
formed
X PREFACE.
formed with a few planks, taken here
and there from the body of its parent
veflel, differently rigged and orna-
mented, and accommodated rather for
parties of pleafure than purpofes of
bufinefs ; but fo trimmed, it is hoped,
as to be capable of {hewing to its paf-
fengers, the fuperior pleafures that are
to be experienced on the calm and
unruffled furface of a virtuous life;
while it exhibits to their view, the
terrifying clangers of that turbulent
ocean which, agitated by the ftorms of
Paflion, and the winds of Vice, dames
with rude and raging violence along
its furrounding mores. The volume,
in (hort, to drop the metaphor, is in-
tended to convince youth of both
fexes, that a life abandoned to an in-
temperate purfuit of pleafure, how-
ever
PREFACE. xi
ever pleafmg it may at firft appear,
deftroys the fenfe of rational enjoy-
ment, deadens the faculties of the
mind, weakens the functions of the
body, corrupts both the moral and
intellectual fyftem, creates a difguft-
ing apathy and langour, and ends at
laft in Habitual Melancholy: That
the romantic attachment of the fexes,
which is denominated Heroic Love>
indangers the interefts of virtue, de-
ftroys thofe fentiments on which alone
THE CONJUGAL UNION can be fafely
formed ; leads at firfl: to difappoint-
ment and vexation, and ends at laft in
certain mifery: and that ATHEISM,
IDOLATRY, SUPERSTITION, INFIDE-
LITY, and every other erroneous fpe-
cies of devotion, beguile their follow-
ers into the deepeft fnares of vice,
afflia
Xli PREFACE.
afflict their fouls with all the horrors
a wounded confcience can infpire, and
at laft fink them into the lowed abyfs
of defpair. But while it defcribes the
poifons, it adminiflers the antidotes,
by (hewing, not auflerely, but in a
lively and pleafant manner, that health
of body, and perfect ferenity of mind,
may, amidfl all the pleafures, and un-
der all the adverfities and viciflitudes
of life, be completely preferved by a
life devoted to the practice of REAL
VIRTUE and TRUE RELIGION.
MELANCHOLY;
AS IT PROCEEDS FROM
HABIT LOVE RELIGION.
AND
CURES-
CHAPTER THE FIRST.
INTRODUCTION.
MELANCHOLY proceeds either from tht
difpofition or the habit. The fpecies of
melancholy which proceeds from the difpofition^
is merely a temporary depreffion of the fpirits^
which goes and comes upon every fmall occafion
of forrow, ficknefs, need, fear, grief, care, dif-
content, trouble, paffion, or other perturbation
of the mind, and caufes fuch a degree of anguifli
or vexation, as diminifhes or deftroys the
common fenfations of pleafure. In this imper-
fect acceptation of the term, a perfon who is in
any degree ill difpofed, dull, fad, four, folitary,
mopifli, or otherwife moved or dejected, is faid
to be MELANCHOLY i and, indeed, from this
fpecies of the difeafe no human creature is en-
B tirely
2 INTRODUCTION.
tirety free : there is no one fo well compofed, fo
wife, fo happy, fo generous, fo godly, fo divine,
or even fo unfeeling, as not to be occafionally
caft down by the petty cares, or greater vexa-
tions of life. Difcontent is the chara&eriftic of
humanity; the condition upon which we are per-
mitted to hold our frail and feverifh beings ; and
denotes the imperfe&ion of our mortal ftate.
" Man that is born of a woman," fays the pa-
tient and pious Job, " is of fhort continuance,
" and full of trouble." The mild and peaceful
Socrates^* whofe outward demeanour no ad-
verfity
* This great and extraordinary man was born at Alofece, a
Tillage near Athens, in the fourth year of the feventy-faventh
Olympiad, His father, Sopbronicus, was a mafon ; and his mo-
ther, Pbanareta, a midwife ; but, by the generous affiftance of
Crito, a wealthy Athenian, and his own wonderful powers of
mind, he foon emerged from the obfcurity of his origin, and
became equally great both in ARTS and in ARMS. It was not,
indeed, until he was fixty years of age> that he was called from
the labours of war, and the ftudics of philofophy, to ferve his
country in any civil office, when he was chofeu to reprefent his
own diftridt in the council of Five Hundred 5 but after ferving
the ftate with the higheft honour, and mod inflexible inte-
grity, he was condemned by the artifices of MiKttts, Lycon, and
other factious leaders of the oppofite party,, to die by poifon i
and it is impoffible, as Cicero has jullly obferved, to read th
ftory of his death without fhedding a profufion of tears. In the
midft of domeltic vexation and public diforder, this amiable
ehilofopher and excellent man retained fuch unruffled ferenity,
that he was never feen cither to leave his own houfc, or to re-
turn
INTRODUCTION. 3
verfity could difturb, who, amidft a multitude of
miferies, ftill preferved the fame ferenity of coun-
tenance, was, as his difciple Plato informs us,
greatly fubjet to this melancholy difpofition:
and ^uintus Metellus^ the celebrated Roman fe-
nator and conful, though wife, virtuous, rich,
highly honoured, beloved by a beautiful wife,
blefled in a happy offspring, furrounded with
troops of friends, and in every refpedl illuftri-
oufly fortunate, had his fhare of forrows, and
frequently felt the pangs of this tranfitory dif-
eafe. * It is, indeed, a doom from which no
B 2 man
turn home with an unfettled countenance. In acquiring this
entire dominion over his pa/lions and appetites, he had the
greater merit, as it was not effected without a violent ftruggle
againft his natural propenfities; for he admitted that he was by his
natural difpofition prone to vice. He eftimated the value of know-
ledge by its utility ; and recommended the fciences only fo far
as they admit of a practical application to the purpofes of human
life. His great object, in all his difcourfes, was to lead men
to an acquaintance with themfelves ; to convince them of their
follies and vices ; to infpire them with the love of virtue ; and
to furnifli them with ufeful moral instruction. He was (fays
Cicero} the firft who called down philofophy from heaven to
earth, and introduced her into the public walks and domeftic
retirements of men, that flie might inftruct them concerning life
and manners. He died acknowledging with his laft breath ...is
conviction of the immortality of the foul, and a fearful hope
of a happy exiftence after death.
* This obfervation cannot be intended of Quintus Metellus
Celer, the confidential friend of Cicero, and Prator during hia
confulate ;
4 INTRODUCTION.
man is permitted to fet himfeJf free: of the truth
of which the ftory of Polycrates, the tyrant of Sa-
mos, is a remarkable inftance. This vain and ava-
ricious man, to interrupt and bring into balance
the continued courfe of his good fortune, threw the
deareft and moft precious jewel he had into the
fea, believing that by this voluntary fearch of
unhappinefs, he fhould fubdue and defeat the or-
dinary viciffitudes of fortune ; but (he, to ridicule
his folly, reftored it to him again fhortly after,
by caufing him to find it in the mouth of a fifh,
which he took while he was angling ; and by
thus thwarting his impious expectation, rendered
him unhappy. Mifery is the lot of man : there
is nothing fo profperous and pleafant, but it has
fome bitternefs mixed with it. As the rofe tree
is compofed of the fweeteft flowers, and the
fharpeft
confulate; for this Metellus was married to Clodia, the lifter of
Clodiut, a profligate abandoned woman, who, inftead of beftowing
her fondnefs on her hnfband, gave it indifcriminately to almoft
every admirer of her beauty ; and, after thus difhonouring the
nuptial bed, at length put an end to her hufband's life by poifon.
It is more applicable to Qulntui CtfcUiut Mttellus, called Numidicus,
'he Roman general, in the war againft jfugurtba. " To aft ill
" in any circumftances," faid he, " is the eft'edl of a corrupt
<4 heart ; to aft well when there is nothing to fear, is the merit
" of a common man j but to aft well when a man expofes him-
" felf to the greateft hazards, is peculiar to the truly virtuous."
He was banifhed from his country by the faftions of Marius ;
but was foon recalled by that fpirit of patriotifm, which never
entirely deferts ftatefmen of true dignity and real virtue.
INTRODUCTION. 5
lharpeft thorns ; as the heavens are fometimes
fair, and fometimes overcaft, alternately tem-
peftuous and ferene, fo is the life of man inter-
mingled with hopes and fears, with joys and
forrows, with pleafures and with pains; Invicem
cedunt dolor et voluptas. " The heart," fays
Solomon^* " even in the midft of laughter, is
" forrowful ; and the end of mirth is heavinefs."
Even in the midft of all our feafting and jollity,
there is grief and difcontent. f
. for (till fome bitter thought deftroys
Our fancied mirth, and poifons all our joys.J
The world produces for every pint of honey,
a gallon of gall ; for every dram of pleafure, a
pound of pain ; for every inch of mirth, an ell of
moan ; and as the ivy twines around the oak, fo
does mifery and misfortune encompafs the happi-
nefs of man. Felicity, pure and unalloyed feli-
B 3 city,
* Prov. xlv. 13.
f St. Auftin on 4ift Pfalm.
J _ quoniam medio de fonte leporum,
Surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipfis floribus angat,
LVCKETIUS, Lib. 4. %. 1124.
And which Dryden has finely translated,
" For in the fountain where the fweets are fought,
" Some bitter bubbles up, and poifons all the draught."
6 INTRODUCTION.
city, is not a plant of earthly growth ;* her gar-
dens are the fides. Misfortune, to convince us of
its power, lies in wait to annoy us every hour of
our lives. The condition of human nature refem-
bles a table chequered with compartments of black
and white : potentates and people have their rife
and fall; cities and families their trines and fex-
tiles, their quartiles and oppofitions. Man is
not placed on earth as the fun, the moon, the
ftars, and all the heavenly hofts, are placed on
high, to run their courfes, from age to age, with
unerring conftancy, and undeviating rectitude ;
but is fubjecl to infirmities, miferies, interrup-
tions ; liable to be tofled and tumbled up and
down, to be carried about with every veering
wind, and to be difquieted and annoyed upon
every light occafion. It is this fenfe of our fitu-
ation, and of the danger to which we are expofed
both from ourfelves and others, that caufes all
our woe; and he who does not know this, fays
the
* There is, I grant, a triumph of the pulfe,
A dance of fpirits, a mere froth of joy,
Our thoughtlefs agitation's idle child,
That mantles high, that fparkles and expires,
Leaving the foul more vapid than before}
An animal ovation ! fuch as holds
No commerce with our reafon, but fubfifts
On juices, thro' the well-ton'd tubes well ftrain'd j
A nice machine! fcarce ever tun'd aright,
And when it jars the firens fing no more.
INTRODUCTION. J
the learned Gallobelgicus, and is not prepared to
fuffer or refift his afflictions like a good foldier of
Chrift, is not. fit to live.* It is certainly in
our power to bury all adverfity, as it were, in
oblivion, and to call our profperity to mind with
pleafure and delight; and " it is the hufbandman
who laboureth," fays St. Paul, " that will be the
" firft partaker of the fruits." But man, vain, weak
man, inftead of embracing the wife counfel of
this eloquent divine, and counteracting the ef-
fe&s of difcontent and mifery, by the exertions of
reafon, inftead of arming himfelf with patience
and magnanimity, gives way to his paflions, makes
no oppofition to the dejection which is feizing
on his foul, indulges the growing difpofition to
melancholy, fuffers his mind to be overcome by
its effects, and, by voluntarily fubje&ing himfelf
to its influence, precipitates himfelf into a laby-
rinth of cares, until the difpofition to melancholy
becomes an habitual&itezk. "A finglediftillation,"
fays Seneca , u not yet grown into a cuftom, pro-
B 4 " duces
* " To judge," fays an elegant writer, " concerning the
eonduft of others, and to indulge obfervatious on the inftability
of human enjoyments, may aflift in the difcipline of our own
minds ; but to allow reflections of this kind to become habitual,
and to freftde In our fouls, is to counteract the good intention of
nature : in order, therefore, to anticipate a dijpofition fo very
painful to ourfelves, and fo difagreeable to others, we ought to
learn, before we engage in the commerce of the world, what we
may expert from fociety and from every individual.
8 INTRODUCTION.
" duces a cough ; but if it be long continued, and
" inveterate, it caufes a confwnption of the lungs \
" for many effe&s continued create a difeafe."
So the indulgence of melancholy difpofitions,
according to the intention or remiflion of the hu-
mour which gives them birth, and in proportion
as the mind is well or ill enabled to refift their
progrefs, deftroys the health and happinefs of
man. A diftreffing event which to one kind of
temper would be no more than a fleabiting,
will to another caufe infufferable pain j and
what one, by philofophic moderation, and well-
compofed carriage, is happily enabled to over-
come, a fccond, efpecially if in habits of folitude
and idlenefs, is unhappily no ways enabled to
endure ; but, upon every petty occafion of mif-
conceived abufe, injury, grief, difgrace, or other
vexation, yields fo far to his wounded feelings,
that his complexion alters, his digeftion is im-
peded, his fleep interrupted, his fpirits fubdued,
his heart opprefled, and his whole frame fo mif-
affecled, that he finks, overwhelmed with mifery,
into profound defpair. Asamanwhenhe isonceim-
prifoned for debt, finds that every creditor imme-
diately brings his action againft him, and joins to
keep him in ruinous captivity; fo when any dif-
content ferioufly feizes on the human mind, all
other perturbations inftantly fet upon it ; and
then like a lame dog, or a broken-winged goofe,
the unhappy patient droops and pines away, and
is
INTRODUCTION, 9
is brought at laft to the ill habit or malady of
melancholy itfelf.* Philofophers make eight de-
grees of heat and eight degrees of cold ; but we
might make eighty-eight degrees of melancholy,
according as the parts are diverfly affe&ed, or
the patient is more or lefs plunged, or has waded
deeper into this infernal gulph. But all thefe me-
lancholy fits, however pleafmg or difpleafing,
weak or violent, controulable or tyrannizing,
they may at firft be to thofe whom they feize on
for a time, are but improperly denominated me-
lancholy, becaufe they do not continue, but come
and go as the objects vary by which they are in-
duced. Pain and uneafmefs give rife to this dif-
order, and change its appearance and complexion,
according as the fources from which it flows is
either gentle and languifhing, or imbittered with
rancour and animofhy : but let the mufe defcribe
its fweetor four effe&s as images of joy or grief
prefentthemfelves alternately to the patient's mind.
When
* "The beafts," fays MONTAIGNE, " fhew us plainly
how much our difeafes are owing to the perturbations of our
minds. We are told that the inhabitants of Brazil die merely
of old age, owing to the ferenity and tranquillity of the air in
which they live ; but I afcribe it rather to the ferenity and tran-
quillity of their fouls, which are free from all paflion, thought,
or laborious and unpleafant employment. As great enmities
fpring from great friendfhips, and mortal diftempers from vigo-
rous health, fo do the moft furprizing and the wildeft phrenfies
from the high and lively agitations of our fouls.
10 INTRODUCTION.
When I go mufmg all alone,
Thinking of divers things foreknown ;
When I build caftles in the air,
Void of forrow, void of care,
Pleafing myfelf with phanfoms fweet,
The time, methinks, runs very fleet.
All my joys to this are folly ;
Naught fo fweet as MELANCHOLY.
-When I lie waking all alone,
Recounting all the ills I've done,
My thoughts on me then tyrannize,
Fear and forrow me furprize ;
Whether I tarry ftill, or go,
The time, methinks, moves very flow :
All my griefs to this are jolly ;
Naught fo fad as MELANCHOLY.
When to myfelf I talk and fmile,
And time, with pleafing thoughts, beguile,
By brawling brook, or hedge-row green,
' Unheard, unfought for, and unfeen,
A thoufand joys my mind poflefs,
And crown my foul with happinefs.
All my joys befides are folly ;
None fo fweet as MELANCHOLY.
When I lie, fit, or walk alone,
And figh aloud with grievous moan,
In fome dark grove, or difmal den,
With difcontents and furies, then
A thoufand miferies at once
My heavy heart and foul enfconce ;
All my griefs to this are jolly ;
None fo four as MELANCHOLY.
Methinks
INTRODUCTION. II
Methinks I hear, methinks I fee,
Sweet mufick's wond'rous minftrelfy ;
Towns, palaces, and cities fine :
Now here, then there, the world is mine;
Rare beauties, gallant ladies mine,
Whate'er is lovely or divine.
All other joys to this are folly;
None fo fweet as MELANCHOLY.
But when methinks I hear, and fee,
Ghofts, goblins, fiends ; my phantafie
Prefents a thoufand ugly fliapes,
Headlefs bears, black men, and apes :
Doleful outcries, dreadful fights,
My fad and difmal foul affrights.
All my griefs to this are jolly ;
None fo damn'd as MELANCHOLY.
Methinks I court, methinks I kifs,
With glowing warmth, my fair miftrefs ;
blefled days ! O fweet content I
In paradife my hours are fpent :
Still may fuch thoughts my fancy move,
And fill my ardent foul with love.
All my joys to this are folly,
Naught fo fweet as MELANCHOLY.
But when I feel love's various frights,
Deep fighs, fad tears, and fleeplefs nights,
My jealous fits, my cruel fate !
1 then repent, but 'tis too late :
No torment is fo bad as love,
So bitter to my foul can prove :
All my griefs to this are jolly ;
Naught fo harfli as MELANCHOLY.
Friends
12 INTRODUCTIONS
Friends and companions, get ye gone,
*Tis my define to be alone ;
Ne'er well, but when my thoughts and I
Do domineer in privacy.
No gem, no treafure like to this ;
'Tis my delight, my crown, my blifs :
All my joys to this are folly ;
Naught fo fweet as MELANCHOLY.
'Tis my fole plague to be alone ;
I am a beaft, a monfter grown ;
I fhun all light and company,
I find them now my mifery :
The fcene is chang'd, my joys are gone j
Fears, difcontents, and forrows come :
All my griefs to this are jolly;
Naught fo fierce as MELANCHOLY.
I'll not change life with any king ;
I ravim'd am ; can the world bring
More joy than ftill to laugh and fniile,
And time in pleafant toys beguile ?
Do not, O do not, trouble me,
So fweet content I feel and fee :
All my joys to this are folly ;
None fo divine as MELANCHOLY,
I'll change my ftate with any wretch,
Thou can'ft from gaol or dunghill fetch :
My pain's paft cure, another hell :
I cannot in this torment dwell.
Now defperate, I hate my life ;
And feek a halter or a knife :
AH my griefs to this are jolly ;
Naught fo damn'd as MELANCHOLY,
But
INTRODUCTION. IJ
But the melancholy of which we intend to
treat in the following pages, is not merely the
tranjitory dejeflion of fpirits above-mentioned,
but a permanent and habitual diforder of the in-
tellect, morbus font icus out chronlcus j a noifome,
chronic, or continuate difeafe ; a fettled humour,
not errant, but fixed and grown into an inve-
terate habit. It is, in fhort, that
" Dull melancholy,
Whofe droffy thoughts drying the feeble brain,
Corrupts the fenfe, deludes the intellect,
And in the foul's fair table falfely graves
Whole fquadrons of fantaftical chimeras."
14 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
CHAPTER THE SECOND.
THE DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY.
MELANCHOLY derives its name from
the Greek word MsXav^oA/*, QUASI,
MXa;va:^oX>j, which fignifies that black choler
which corrodes the conftitution of the patient
during the prevalency of the difeafe. The de-
fcriptions, notations, and definitions which are
given of it, are many and various ; and it is even
doubted whether it be a caufe or an effect j an
original diforder, or only a fymptom of fome
other complaint.
Fracajlorius, in hisfecond book "of Intellect,"
calls thofe melancholy " whom abundance of
" that fame depraved humour of black choler has
" fo mifaffected, that they become mad, and
" doat in moft things, or in all belonging to
" ele&ion, will, or other manifeft operations
" of the underftanding :" and others, as Galen y *
* Claudius Galenus was born at Pergamus in the year of our
Lord 131. His father was a celebrated architect, and fpared no
pains in the education of his fon j but medicine was his favourite
ftudyj
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 1$
ellusy Ruffus*^ /Etius^\ H-er cities de Sax*
onia, Fufchius^ Arnoldus Breviarus y Guia-
nerius,\ Paulus^q Halyabbas^ Aretaus,** Man*
tanus^\\ and other celebrated writers upon this
fubjeft, defcribe it to be " a bad and peevifh
" difeafe,
ftudy ; and he attained fo profound a knowledge of this art, that
his contemporaries attributed his fu-ccefs to the power of magic;
but Nature and the works of Hippocrates were his beft inftru&ors,
After having gained great reputation under the reigns of the
Aitonines, Marcus Aurelius, and other Emperors, he died in the
place of his nativity in the year 210.
* Ruffus was a phyfician at Ephefus, and attained a high degree
of reputation under the Emperor Trajan. His works, which are
frequently cited by Suidas, were published at London in 1716,
in quarto.
J- Mum lived very near the end of the fifth or in the begin-
ning of the fixth century.
J Leonard Tufcb, or Fufcbhis, was born at Wembdingen t in
Sai/aria, in 1051, and died in 1566.
Arnold of filleneui/e, a phyfician of the thirteenth century,
|| Jobn Guianerius was born at Anternacb in the year 1487,
and was afterwards appointed phyfician to Francis the Firft. He
died in the year 1574.
^f Francis Paul, a phyfician of the academies of Montpellitr
and Marfeilles, was born at St. Cbamas in Pro-vence, and died in
177, at the age of forty-three years.
** Aret&us of Cappadocia, a Grecian phyfician, ofthefe&of
Pneumaticks, lived under Julius Cafar or Trajan.
|"j- John Baptift Montanus, of Verona, was born in the year
1498, and died on the 6th of May, 1551. He was efteemed a
iecond Galen, and enjoyed the double advantage of being the
irft poet and the firft phyfician of his age.
16 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
" difeafe, which makes men degenerate into
" beaftsj" " a privation or infection of the
" middle cell of the head " " a depravation of
" the principal function by means of black cko-
" ler~" " a commotion of the mind, or per-
" petual anguifh of the foul, fattened on one
" thing, without an ague or fever j having for
" its ordinary companion fear and fadnefs, with-
11 out any apparent occafion." It is faid to be
a dotage, to fhew that fome one principal faculty,
as the imagination, or the reafon, is corrupted,
as it is with all melancholy perfons : it is faid
to be an anguijb of the principal parts of the mind,
with a view to diftinguifh it from cramp, palfy,
and fuch difeafes as affet the outward fenfe and
motion of the body : it is faid to be a depravation
of the principal functions, in order to diftinguifh
it from fatuity and madnefs, in which thofe func-
tions are rather abolifhed than depraved : it is
faid to be unaccompanied by ague or fever, becaufe
the humour is moft part cold, dry, and contrary
to putrefaction j and which diftinguifhes it from
thofe diforders which 'are called phrenfies : and it
is faid to be attended with vain fears and ground-
lefs forrows, in order to differ it from madnefs, and
from the effe&s of the ordinary paffions of fear and
fbrrow, which are the true chara&eriftics and in-
feparable companions of moft, though not of all,
melancholy men ; for there are fome who can freely
fmile
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. IJ
fmile and lauQ-h. while others are free both from
O *
grief and apprehenfion, in -the very crifis of the
complaint.
The ^principal part affected by this difeafe is
faid by fome writers to be THE HEART; becaufe
that is the region from whence the paflions of fear
and forrow generally arife: but Laurentius^ Hip-
pocrates, Galen^ and moft of the Arabian writers,
with greater reafon contend, that, as melancholy
is a fpecies of dotage, THE BRAIN muft, either by
confent, or effence, be firft affected, as being a
fimilar part : not, indeed, in its ventricles, or by
any obftruction in them, for then it would be
apoplexy ^ or epilepfy ; but by a cold, dry diflem-
perature of its very fubftance, which, when
overheated, produces madnefs ; and when ren-
dered too cold and dry, engenders melancholy.
JMtntaltus, however, infifts, that not only the
heart, but the whole frame and contexture of
the body, is in general affected by this difeafe;
not originally, but fympathetically, by reafon of
the intimate connection which almoft every part
holds with the brain ; for thefe parts do, by the
law of nature, fympathize, and have a fellow-^
feeling with each other : and indeed, as the ma-
lady is originally induced by a difordered ima-
gination, and the powers of the imagination
are fubject to, and controuled by, the confti-
C tution
l8 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
tution of the body, it follows that the brain, as
the feat of REASON, muft needs be the part that
is firft mifaffedted ; and then the heart, as the
feat of AFFECTION. This queftion has been
copioufly difcufled by Cappivaccius and Mer-
curialis,* who agree in the opinion, that the
fubjedl is the inner brain, from whence it is by
fympathy communicated to the heart, and other
inferior parts, which are greatly affedted when
the difeafe comes by confent, and proceeds from
any diforder in the ftomach, liver, fpleen, py-
lorus, or meferaick veins ; for the human frame
is fo fearfully and wonderfully conftrudted, fo cu-
rioufly wrought, framed in fuch nice proportions,
and united with fuch admirable art and harmony,
as Ludovtcus Vives^ in his Fable of Man, has
elegantly
* Jerome Mercurialis, a celebrated phyfician, frequently called
the Efculapius of his age, was born at For//, in the year 1530,
and died on the J3th of November, 1596. Padua, Bologna, and
flfa, were the principal places in which he praclifed ; and he
excelled as much in giving falutary advice to thofe who were
vrell, as in giving perfedl health to thofe who were ill. His grate-
ful countrymen erected a ftatue in honour of his memory.
j- John Louis fives, born at Valencia, in Spain, in the year
JT4J2, taught the belles lettres at Lou-vain with fuch great applaufe,
that he was invited to England to teach Queen Mary the Latin
tongue. He was confined fix months in prifon by Henry the
Eighth, for having expreffed his difapprobation of the King's
(divorce from Queen Catherine. He died at Bruges, on the 6th
of May, 1540. Erafmus, Btidifus, and f:vts t pafled for the
moft
2
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 19
elegantly (hewn, that, like a clock, or other
piece of mechanifm, if one wheel be amifs, all
the reft are affected, and the whole fabric dif-
ordered. Many doubts, however, have been en-
tertained, as to what property of the brain it is,
whether it be the imagination, or the reafon
alone, or both together, that firft feels this de-
praved affection. Galen^ Mtius^ Altomarus, and
Sruely are of opinion, that the defect firft feizes
on the imagination only; but Montaltus con-
futes this theory, and illuftrates a contrary doc-
trine, by the examples of a man whofe mind was
fo deranged by this difeafe, that he thought him-
felf a fliell-fifh ; and of a monk, who would not
be perfuaded but that he was damned ; for in
thefe inftances, the reafon^ as well as the ima-
gination^ muft have been defective, or the mind
would have been ftill competent to correct the
errors, and detect the fallacy of fuch extrava-
gant conceptions ; and to this opinion, Avicenna^
Areteeus^Gorgonius^Guianerius^ and moft writers,
fubfcribe. Certain it is, that the imagination is
hurt and mifaffe&ed : and I coincide with Alber-
tinus Bottonus^ a celebrated doctor of Padua^
that
moft learned men of the age, and formed a kind of triumvirate in
literature ; but fives was very inferior to Erafmus in wit, and to
Eudtem in learning. His ftile, though pure, is hard and dry,
and his obfervations are frequently rather bold than true j but,
aotwithftat'jng thefe defefts, he pofleffed confiderable merit.
C2
20 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
that the difeafe firft affe&s the imagination, and
afterwards, as it becomes more or lefs inveterate,
or is of longer or fhorter duration, depraves the
reafon : and there is no doubt, as Hercules de
Saxonia juftly concludes, that not only faith,
opinion, and difcourfe, but the feat of reafon it-
felf, may be materially injured, by the continued
effects of a difeafed imagination.*
The inhabitants of climates where the ex-
tremes of heat and cold prevail j thofe who pof-
fefs
* The diftinft off ces of the Reafon and the Imagination has
been elegantly defcribed by DR. AKENSIDE in the following
lines :
. For of all
The inhabitants of earth, to man alone
Creative Wifdom gave to lift his eye
To TR u T H'S eternal treafures j thence to frame
The facredlaws of action and of will,
Difceming juftice from unequal deeds,
And temperance from folly. But beyond
This energy of truth, whofe dictates bind
Aflenting REASON, the benignant Sire,
To deck the honour'd paths of juft and good,
Has added bright IMAGINATION'S rays;
Where Virtue rifing from the awful depth
Of Truth's myfterious bofom, doth forfake
The unadorn'd condition of her birth ;
And drefs'd by FANCY in ten thoufand hues,
AfTumes a various feature, to attract,
With charms refponfive to each gazer's eye,
The- hearts of men. ..
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 21
icfs a fwarthy, or high fanguine complexion ;
who have hot hearts, moift brains, dry livers,
and cold ftomachs ; who are difcontented, paf-
fionate, and peevifh, and are of a middle age;
are moft liable to be affe&ed with this com-
plaint, which certainly prevails more among
men than women : but none of any complexion,
condition, fex, or age, even the moft merry
and the moft pleafant, the 'lighteft heart, the
freeft mind, none, excepting only fools and
ftoics, who are never troubled with any paf-
jfion or affection, but, like Anacreorfs grafshop-
per, \\vefinefanguine et dolore^* are exempt from
C 3 this
* The grafshopper, as appears from Milan, was formerly
efteemed facred to the mufes ; and, from the exility of its nature,
a kind of rural deity, deriving its nouriihment not from the
grofs productions of the earth, but from the dews of heaven*
Dumque tbymo fafcentur apes, dum rcreclcadte, fays VIRGIL, in
his fifth Eclogue : " Bees feed on thyme, and grafshoppers on
dew;" and were fuppofed, like the deities of HOMER, to be
free from blood. The Ode of ANACREON on this mufical infect,
as THEOCRITUS terms it, has been thus tranflated :
Thee, fweet grafshopper, we call
Happieft of infefts all,
Who from fpray to fpray can'ft fkip,
And the dew of morning fip.
Little fips infpire to fmg,
Then thou art happy as a king.
All whatever thou can'ft fee,
ibs and flowers, belong to thee ;
All
22 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
this melancholy catalogue; and indeed, as Rafis
juftly obferves, " the fined wits, and moft ge-
" nerous fpirits, are, before others, moft obnox-
" ious to it ;" " for they are," fays Montaigne^
u ruined by their own ftrength and vivacity.
" Great wits to madmen nearly are ally'd,
' And thin partitions do their bounds divide."
THE MATTER OF MELANCHOLY has been
a fubjeft of much controverfy among the learned ;
and neither Galen^ nor any of the old writers,
have fufficiently explained what this humour is,
whence
All the various feafons yield,
All the produce of the field.
Thou, quite innocent of harm,
Lov'ft the farmer and the farm.
Singing fweet when fummer's near,
Thou to all mankind art dear j
Dear to all the tuneful Nine,
Seated round the throne divine ;
Dear to Phoebus, God of Day j
He infpires thy mighty lay ;
And with voice melodious bleft,
And in vivid colours dreft,
Thou from fpoil of time art free \
Age can never injure thee.
Wifeft daughter of the earth !
Fond of fong, and full of mirth ;
Free from fleih, exempt from pains,
No blood riots in thy veins.
To the bleft I equal thee,
Little demi-deity.
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 23
Whence it proceeds, or how it is engendered.
Montanus^ in his Confutations, and Arculanus,
contrary to the opinion of Paracelfus^ who wholly
rejects and derides the divifion of four humours
and complexions, hold melancholy to be material,
and immaterial ; that the material, or natural me-
lancholy, proceeds from one of the four humours
of which the blood is compofed ; and that the
immaterial, or unnatural, which Galen and Her-
cules de Saxonia fay, refides in the fpirits alone,
proceeds from " a hot, cold, dry, moift diftem-
" perature ; which, without matter, alters the
" fubftance of the brain, and changes its func-
ct tions." This material melancholy is either
fimple or mixed, offending in quantity or qua-
lity ; varying according to the place on which
it fettles in the brain, the fpleen, the meferaick
veins, the heart, or the itomach ; and differing
according to the mixture of thofe natural hu-
mours among themfelves, or according as the
four unnatural or aduft humours are diverfely
tempered and intermixed. In a body that is cold
and dry, if the natural melancholy abound to a
greater degree than the body is enabled to bear,
the body muft unavoidably be diftempered, and
impregnated with difeafe; fo if a body be de-
praved, whether the depravity arife from me-
lancholy engendered from aduft choler, or from
blood, the like effects will be produced. There
is
C 4
24 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
is fome difference of opinion whether this me-
lancholy matter may be engendered of all the
four humours. Galen, Vale fins, Menardus, Fuf-
chius, Montaltus, and Montanus, affert that it
may be engendered of three alone, excluding
flegm or pltuita ; but Hercules de Saxonia, Car-
dan^ Guianerius, and Laurentius, hold that it
may be engendered of flegm etfi raro contingat,
though it feldom come to pafs ; and Melanff, in
his book De Anima, and Chapter of Humours,
fays, that he was an eye-witnefs of it, and calls
it ajjininam ; a dull and fwinifh melancholy.
But Wecker fays, from melancholy aduft arifes
one kind ; from choler another, which is moft
brutifh ; from flegm another, which is dull ;
and from Hood another, which is the beft. Of
thefe, fome are cold and dry ; others, hot and
dry ; according as their mixtures are more or
lefs intenfe or remitted: and, indeed, Rodericus
a Fans clearly demonstrates, that {chores, and all
ferous matters, when thickened to a certain de-
gree, become fiegm ; that flegm degenerates
; into c holer ; and that choler adujl becomes <zru-
ginofa melancholia; as the pureft wine, when
greatly putrified, makes the fharpeft vinegar.
When this humour, therefore, is fharp, it pro-
duces troublefome thoughts, and direful dreams ;
if cold, it is the caufe of dotage, fatuity, and
fottifhnefs j and if intehfely hot, it fires the
brain,
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 25
brain, and produces raving madnefs. The co-
lour alfo of this mixture varies in proportion to
its degrees of heat and cpldnefs, as a burning
coal, when it is hot, (nines ; and when it is cold,
looks black. This diverfity of the matter of me-
lancholy produces a diverfity of effe&s; for if it
be within the body without being putrefied, it
caufes black jaundice ; if putrefied, a quartan
ague ; if it peers through the fkin, leprofy ; and
if it trouble the mind, it produces, according to
its intermixtures, the feveral fpecies of madnefs
and of melancholy.
THE SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY, therefore,
muft be as various as the modes of its matter are
diverfe and confufed. This variety has occa-
Jioned both the old and new writers upon this
fubjet to confound madnefs with melancholy,
and to treat them as the fame difeafe, differing
from each other only in extent and degree, as the
humour is intenfe or remitted. Some make
only two diftindi fpecies of melancholy; but
others acknowledge a multitude of kinds, and
leave them, as jEtius^ in his Tetrabilos', has
done, totally undefined. Avicenna^ Arculanus^
Rajis, and Montanus^ fay, that if natural me-
lancholy be aduft, it forms one fpecies ; if of the
blood, another fpecies; and if compofed of chder^
a third, diftinft and different from the firft : and,
indeed,
26 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
indeed, there are almoft as many different opi-
nions upon this fubjedl:, as there are different
men who have written on it. Hercules de Sax-
cnia reduces the fpecies to two only, material and
immaterial ; the one arifing from an affe&ion of
the fpirits only j and the other from the humours
and the fpirits combined : but Savonarola infifts
that the fpecies are infinite. But what thefe men
fpeak offpeciesy I think ought to be underftood
offymptoms ; and, in this fenfe, Gorrbeus^ in his
medicinal definitions, acknowledges they may
be infinite; but infifts that they may be reduced
to three kinds, by reafon of their refpeclive feats
in the head^ the body^ and the hypocondries ; and
this threefold divifion, which is now generally
adopted, is approved by Hippocrates. But be-
fides thefe three fpecies of head melancholy^ cor-
poreal melancholy , and hypocondriacal melancholy^
to all of which we have given the name of HA-
BITUAL MELANCHOLY, there are two others,
denominated LOVE MELANCHOLY, and RELI-
GIOUS MELANCHOLY ; the firft proceeding from
an improper indulgence of that powerful and uni-
verfal pafiion ; and the fecond from an erroneous
conception of that mofr, facred of all human duties,
a reverence towards God and his holy religion.
It is thefe three fpecies of melancholy that I
now propofe to anatsmife, and treat of through all
their
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 27
their caufes, confequences, and cures, together
and apart, that every man, who is in any mea-
fure affe&ed with this ENGLISH MALADY, may
know how to examine it in himfelf, and apply
the remedies.
It muft, however, be confefled, that it is ex-
tremely difficult to diftinguifh thefe three fpecies
from each other, and to defcribe their feveral
caufes, fymptoms, and cures, inafmuch as they
are fo intermixed with other difeafes, are fo fre-
quently confounded together, and have fo clofe
an affinity with each other, that they can fcarcely
be feparated by the moft experienced, or dif-
cerned by the moft accurate phyfician. Melan-
choly frequently exifts as a difeafe together with
the vertigo, ftone, gravel, caninus appetitus y
jaundice, and ague : and Paulus Regotine t a great
doctor in his time, who was confulted on the
cafe of a melancholy patient, was fo confounded
with a confulion of fymptoms, that he knew not
to what fpecies to refer it: and Trlncavellius^
FallopiuSy and Francanzanus^ famous doctors in
Italy , being feparately confulted in the cafe of
the melancholy Duke ofCkves, gave all of them,
at the fame time, three different opinions on the
fubject. It appears, in the works of Reinerus
Solinander^ that he and Dr. Brande both agreed
that a patient's difeafe was bypochondriacal me-
28 DEFINITION, AFFECTION, MATTER,
lancholy^ while Dr. Matholdus infifted it was
aftbma, and nothing elfe : and in the cafe of a
Polilh Count, Cafar Claudinus was of opinion,
that he laboured under the head melancholy and
the bodily melancholy at the fame time. The
three kinds, indeed, may exift in the fame fub-
je&femeletjimuly or in fucceffion. The feveral
fpecies of melancholy feem to be with phyficians
what the pure forms of governments are with po-
liticians j each diftinft kind, the monarchic,
the ariftocratic, and the democratic, are moft
admirable in theory ; but in practice, as Poly-
bius truly obferves, they will never be found in-
dependent and unmixed j * as might be inftanced
in
* " The great and tedious debates," fays a fenfible Frenck
writer of the old political fchool, " about the beft form of foci.
ety, are only proper for the exercife of wit ; and have their being
only in agitation and controverfy. A new form of government
might be of fome value in a new world ; but ours is a world
ready made to our hands, and in which each diftindr. form is
blended by cuftom. We do not, like Pyrrbo and Cadmus, make
the world j and by whatever authority it is we aflert the pri-
vilege of fetting it to rights, and giving it a new form of go-
vernment, it is impoffible to twift it from its wonted bent, with-
out breaking all its parts. In truth and reality, the beft and
moft excellent government for every nation, is that under which
it is maintained j and its form and efiential convenience depends
upon cuftom. We are apt to be difpleafed at the prefent con-
dition ; but I do neverthelefs maintain, that, to defire any other
form of government than that which is already eitablifhed, is
both
AND SPECIES OF MELANCHOLY. 2g
in the ancient governments of Rome and Lacede-
mon^ and in the modern governments of Ger-
many and England: and therefore, it is in like
manner of little confequence what phyficians fay
of diftinftfpecies of difeafes in their mootings and
fpeculations, fmce, in their patients' bodies, the
difeafes are generally intire and mixed.
both VICE and FOLLY. When any thing Is out of its proper
place, it may be propped ; and the alterations and corruptions na-
tural to all things, obviated fo as to prevent their being carried
too far from their origin and principles j but to undertake to caft
anew fo great a mafs, and to change the foundation of fo vaft a
b ilding as every government is, is reforming particular defects
by an univerfal confufion, and like curing a diforder by death."
3O , OF THE CAUSES
CHAPTER THE THIRD.
OF THE CAUSES OF MELANCHOLY.
GALEN obferves, that " it is in vain to
fpeak of cures, or think of remedies, un-
til the caufes of a difeafe have been traced and
confidered j" and, indeed, common experience
proves fo generally, that thofe cures muft be
lame, imperfeft, and to no purpofe, wherein
the fources of the difeafe have not been firft
fearched, that Fernellus calls it pritno arils cu~
ratlvee^ and fays, it is impoflible, without this
knowledge, to cure or prevent any manner of
difeafe.* Empiricks may by chance afford a
patient temporary relief ; but, from their igno-
rance of caufes, cannot thoroughly eradicate the
complaint. Sublata caufd tollitur effeffus. It is
only by removing the caufe, that the effecl is
to be vanquished. To difcern, however, the pri-
mary caufes of the difeafe of 'melancholy , to fhew
of what they confift, and, amidft fuch a number
of varying and frequently anomalous indications,
to trace them to the fpring from whence they
flow, is certainly a tafk of almoft infurmountable
difficulty ;
* Rerum cognofcere caufas, medicis imprimis necefiarium, fine
qua nee inoibum curare, nee prxcavere licet.
OF MELANCHOLY. 31
difficulty j* and happy is he who can perform it
right, f
Caufes may be confidered as either general
or fpecial, ; General caufes are natural or fuper-
natural. r Supernatural caufes are thofe which
fpring from God and his angels, or, by his per-
miffion, from the devil and his minifters; for
the Almighty fometimes vifits the fonsofmen
with this direful difeafe, as a punifhment for their
manifold fins and wickednefs, of which the holy
fcriptures furnifh us with many inftances, in
the characters of Gehazi^ J Jehoram^ David, \\
Saul,
* Tanta enim morbi varietas ac differentia ut non facile dig-
nofcatur, unde initium morbus fumpferit. Melanelius e Galeno.
f- Montaigne, after commenting very pleafantly on the abfur-
dity of pretending, amidft fuch an infinite number of indications,
to difcern the true Jtgn of every difeafe, relates the celebrated
fable from yEfop of the phyfician, who, having bought an Ethi-
opian Have, endeavoured to fearch for the true cauje of the black-
nefs of his complexion, and havmg perfuaded himfelf that it
was merely accidental, and owing to the ill ufage he had received
frdm his former mafters, put him under a preparatory courfe of
medicine, and then bathed and drenched him for a long time
with cold water, in order to reftore him to his true complexion 5
but the poor fellow retained his fable hue, and loft, irrecoverably,
his health. But Montaigne entertained great prejudices againil
the ufeful fcience of medicine.
J 2, Reg. v. 27. a Chron, xxi. 15.
(I i Par. xxi. Pfalm xliv. i. Pfalm xxxviii. X.
32 OF T!-IE CAUSES
Saul* and Nebuchadnezzar \\ but it more fre-
quently proceeds from thofe natural caufes which
are inbred with us, as CONSANGUINITY and
OLD AGE; and more frequently ftill from thofe
fpecial caufes, or outward adventitious -circum-
ftances, which happen to us fubfequent .to our
birth, and efpecially from our inattention to, and
abufeof, thtjix non-naturals; of, i. Diet; 2. Re-
tention and Evacuation; 3, Air; 4. Exercife ;
5. Sleep; and 6. Perturbation of the Mind; fo
much fpoken of among phyficians, as the prin-
cipal caufes of this difeafe. Hippocrates^ there-
fore, would have a phyfician take fpecial notice
whether the difeafe come from a divine fuper-
natural caufe, or whether it follows the courfe of
nature; for, according to Paracelfus^ the fpi-
ritual difeafe (for fo he calls that kind of melan-
choly which proceeds from fupernatural caufes),
muft be fpiritually cured, and not otherwife ;
ordinary means in fuch cafes being of no avail :
Non eft reluftandum cum Deo. Hercules^ the
monfter-taming hero, fubdued every antagonift
in the Olympic games, even Jupiter himfelf,
when he wreftled with him in the human form ;
but
* i Sam. xvi. 14. f Daniel v. x x i.
J Lib. cap. 5. prog. But fee Fran. Valefius, de Sacr. Philof.
cap. 8. Fernelius Libri de abditls rerum caufis ; and J. Csefar
Claudinus Rofpons med. 12. refp. how this opinion of Hippo-
crates is to be underftood.
OF MELANCHOLY. 33
but when the god revealed himfelf, and reaflumed
celeftial power, Hercules declined the conflict,
and retired from the vain ftrife againft the power
of the fupreme. The Almighty can make the
proudeft fpirits ftoop, and cry out with Julian
the Apoftate, Vicijii Galiltso. Ordinary means
in fuch cafes will not avail. The wound, like
that which was inflicted by the fpear of Achilles^
can only be healed by the hand that gave it.
Phyficians and phyfic, in fuch cafes, are equally
ineffectual : man muft fubmit to the almighty
hand of God, bow down before him, and implore
his mercy.*
I mall, therefore, examine into thofe caufes
only which are within the reach of human power
to mitigate or remove.
CONSANGUINITY is that general or partial
temperature which we derive from our parents,
and which Ferneltus calls prater-natural ;f it
being an hereditary difeafe ; for the temperature
of the parents is in general conferred upon the
children j who are inheritors, not only of their
parents' lands, but of their infirmities alfo.
Where, therefore, the coriftitution of the ori-
D ginal
* I Peter v. 6. f Lib. i. cap. 2.
34 OF THE CAUSES
ginal flock is corrupt, that of its offspring muft
needs be corrupt alfo.* The concurrent opi-
nion of Paracelju^\ Crato^% Bruno Seldelius^
Montaltus, || and Hippocrates^ confirm this fact;
and Foreftusjt* in his medicinal obfervations,
illuftrates this point with feveral examples of pa-
tients who have laboured under hereditary melan-
choly, which, wherever it prevails, flicks to
the family, and follows it from generation to
generation, ff Its defcent is neither certain nor
regular ; for it frequently pafles by the father,
and fixes on the fon, or takes every other, and
fometimes every third in lineal defcent. The
young children of aged parents feldom poffefs a
ftrong and healthy temperament, and are there-
fore extremely fubjec-t to this difeafe; and foolifh,
weak, giddy, angry, peevifh, and difcontented
women, generally produce a progeny like unto
themfelves. The mind and difpofition of the
mother, indeed, are, it is well known, ftrongly
ftamped on the character of the child j and every
degree
* Roger Bacon.
\ Ex pituitofis pituitofi ; ex bilioiis biliofi ; ex lienofis et me-
lancholicis melancholic!. De Morb. Amentium, To. iv. Tr. i,
J Epift. to Monavius, 174. De Morbo incurab.
|| Cap. ii. ^[ Ibid. ** Lib. x. Obferv. 15.
f"J- See alfo Rodericus a Fonfeca, Tom. i. Conful. 69. and
Lodovicus Mercatus, a Spaoifli Phyikian, Tom. ii. Ljb. 5.
OF MELANCHOLY. 35
degree of grief, fear, apprehenfion, or alarm,
which fhe may, during pregnancy, unfortunately
feel, endangers its temperature, and fows the
feeds of this hideous difeafe ; of which Baptt/fa
Parta y * among many other inftances, gives a
memorable example of one Thomas Nickell^ born
in the city of Brandenburg^ in the year 1551,
who, all the days of his life, went reeling and
daggering, as if he were falling to the ground,
owing to his mother, while pregnant with him,
having feen a drunken man reeling through the
ftreets, and likely to fall. To which we may
add, the inftance of the girl that was brought
from the neighbourhood of Pifa, and prefented
to the king of Bohemia, with hair upon her
ikin refembling that of a camel, which is faid to
have been occafioned by an alarm which her
mother received on feeing that animal during
her pregnancy. To be well born^ is among the
higheft felicities of human nature ; and it would
be happy for the fpecies, if fuch perfons only as
are found both in body and mind were fuffered
to marry. Some countries were formerly fo
chary in .this behalf, as to deftroy every child
that v/as crooked or deformed, either in body
or mind, in order to preferve, as a national be-
nefit, the common' flock from degeneration ; and
D 2 though
Phyfiog. Califtis, L. v. C. 2.
36 OF THE CAUSES
though this law was fevere in the extreme, and
not to be tolerated in Chriftian countries, the
prevention of hereditary difeafe is a fubjedt of no
fmall public importance, and ought to be attended
to by thofe whofe power is conferred for the
purpofe of promoting the health and happinefs of
mankind.*
OLD AGE, as it diminishes the energies of
the mind, and increafes the aduft humours of the
*
body, is an unavoidable caufe of melancholy ; but,
by care and management, this fpecies of the
difeafe may be confiderably delayed, and greatly
mitigated, though it cannot be entirely removed.
" Dotage," fays Arljlotle^ " is the familiar com-
* l panionofage, which regularly engenders in
*' its progrefsafuperabundance of black choler :"
and, indeed, we are told by the Royal Pfalmift,
that after feventy years all is trouble and forrow.
This truth is ftrongly confirmed in the characters
pf thofe perfons who, having been engaged in
high employments, in extenfive concerns, in
fituations of great command, or in bufinefs where
many fervants were to be overlooked, have re-
figned their refpedive engagements ex abrupto ;
efpecially in the memorable inftance of Charles
the
* The danger here mentioned is faid to be one reafon why
marriages within the degrees of confanguinity are interdicted,
OF MELANCHOLY. 37
the Fifth, who refigned the government of Spain
to his fon Philip.* All perfons, after a certain
period,
* The refignatlon of Charles the Fifth filled all Europe with
aftonifliment ; and gave rife, both among his contemporaries^
and among the hiftorians of that period, to various conjectures,
concerning the motives which determined a prince, whofe ruling
paflion had been uniformly the love of power, at the age of
fifty-fix, when objects of ambition continue to operate with full
force upon the mind, and are purfued with the greateft ardour,
to take arefolution fo fingular and unexpedted. But while many
authors have imputed "it to motives fo frivolous and fantaftical
as can hardly be fuppofed to influence any reafonable mind ; while
others have imagined it to be the refult of fome profound fcheme
of policy, hiftorlans more intelligent, and better informed, nei-
ther afcribe it to caprice, nor fearch for myfterious fecrets of
ftate, when fimple and obvious caufcs will fully account for the
Emperor's conduct. Charles had been attacked early in life with
the gout, and, notwithftanding all the precautions of the moft
Jkilful phyficians, the violence of the diftemper increafed as he
advanced in age ; and the fits became every year more frequent,
as well as more fevere. Not only was the vigour of his conftitu-
tion broken, but the faculties of his mind were impaired by the
excruciating torments which he endured* During the continu-
ance of the fits, he was altogether incapable of applying to bu-
finefs ; and even when they began to abate, as it was only at
intervals that he could attend to what was ferious, he gave up a
great part of his time to trifling and even childifh occupations,
which ferved to amufe or relieve his mind, enfeebled and worn
out with excefs of pain. Under thefe circumftances of a prema-
ture old age, the functions of government far exceeded his
ilrength j and having thus grown old before his time, he wifely
judged it to be more decent to conceal his infirmities in fome
folitude, than to expofe them any longer to the public eye. But
he had no relifh for attainments of any kind, and he funk by de-
grees into the deepeft melancholy.
38 OF THE CAUSES
period, become melancholy, doting, and fcarcely
able to manage their affairs, through the common
infirmities incident to age : filled with aches,
forrows, cares, and griefs, they frequently carle
as they fit, mutter to themfelves, and become
covetous, fufpicious, wayward, angry, wafpifh,
and difpleafed with every thing around them;
or elfe felf-willed, fuperftitious, felf-conceited,
braggers, and admirers of themfelves. Thefe
infirmities, fo incident to old age, are generally
moft eminent in old women, and in fuch as are
poor and folitary : and, indeed, all thofe extra-
ordinary powers which old witches were fup-
pofed to exercife, and pretended to poffefs ; fuch
as bewitching cattle to death, riding in the air
upon a coulftaffe, flying out of the chimney top,
transforming themfelves into the various lhapes
of cats and other animals, tranfporting their bo-
dies, fuddenly and fecretly, from place to place,
becoming u Pofters ore the fea and land," meeU
ing on the dreary heath, and dancing in a ring,
and other " fupernatural folicitings'* of the like
kind, are all afcribed to the corrupted fancy,
which is engendered by that morbid, atrabilious
melancholy matter, attendant upon moping mi-
fery and rheumed age.*
EATJN'G
* Thus the angel Michael, describing to Adam, among othe*
confequences of his fall, the condition of old age, fays,
but
OF MELANCHOLY. 39
EATING and DRINKING. Diet, the firft of
the fix non-naturals before-mentioned, confifts in
meat and drink, and caufes melancholy in pro-
portion as it offends i'n quantity, quality, or the
like. Food improperly taken, not only produces
original difeafes, but affords thofe that are already
engendered both matter and fuftenance ; for nei-
ther unwholefome air, nor the moft violent per-
turbation, or any other caufe, can work its ef-
fect, except its operation be affifted by a pre-dif-
pofition of the humours ; fo that, let the father of
difeafe be what it may, INTEMPERANCE is cer-
tainly its mother ; and from this fource not only
melancholy, but moft other diftempers, generally
arife. Galen, Jfaac the Jew, Halyabbas, Avi-
cenna, four Arabian, and many other phyficians,
both Englifh and foreign, have written copious
treatifes on this particular fubjec~r, ; and as their
works are not generally found in modern li-
braries, I will briefly defcribe what kinds of
food are in the opinions of thefe writers moft
likely
but then thou muft outlive
" Thy youth, thy ftrength, thy beauty, which will change
" To wither'd, weak, and grey ; thy fenfes then
' Obtufe, all tafte of pleafure muft forego,
" To what thou haft ; and for the air of youth,
" Hopeful and cheerful, in thy blood will reign
" A melancholy damp of cold and dry
" To weigh thy fpirits down."
D 4
4<D OF THE CAUSES
likely to effect an alteration of the fyftem, and
to engender this, melancholy humour. Beef is
a ftrong and hearty meat, good for fuch as are
found and healthy, but very unfit for fuch as
lead a refty life, and are any ways dejected, or
of a dry complexion. Pork is in its nature more
nutritive than any other fpecies of animal food ;
but it is noxla dellcath to fuch as have full ha-
bits, or queafey ftomachs ; and its too frequent
ufe is likely to generate not only a melancholy
difpofition, but a quartan ague. Goats' flefh is
bad ; for the goat is a filthy beaft, and ramifh ;
and therefore will breed rank and filthy hu-
mours ; but the kid, when young and tender, is
light and excellent eating. The flefh of the hart
and red deer has an evil name, as a ftrong, coarfe-
grained meat, yielding a grofs and heavy nutri-
ment, like that of horfe flefh ; and, though
the Tartars and Chinefe eat of it, as in Spain
they do of young foals, as a choice and dainty
difh, it is in general condemned; forall venifon,
however highly it may be efteemed with us, ef-
peciaHy in our folemn feafts, (for there are more
parks in England than in all Europe befides,)
certainly begets bad blood, and ought to be fpa-
ringly ufed. * The flefh of hare, alfo, is a me-
lancholy meat; for it is hard of digeftion, breeds-
the incubus^ and caufes fearful dreams. It is,
like venifon, condemned by the phyficians* jury ;
and
OF MELANCHOLY. 4!
and although Mizaldiis, and fome others fay,
thefe are merry meats^ this is only per accident ;
and on account of the excellent fport the animals
afford in hunting, and of the mirth and good
company they promote while eaten, as Martial
teftifies in his Epigram to Gall'ia. But young
rabbits are by all approved. Milk, and all that
milk produces, as butter, cheefe, curds, with
the exception only of affes milk and whey, in-
creafe melancholy. Of fowl, peacock, pigeon,
and all the fenny tribe, as ducks, geefe, fwans,
hearnes, cranes, coots, didappers, water-hens,
teal, curleus, and fheldrakes, are forbidden ; fpr
though they are fine in feathers, and pleafant to
the palate, although, like hypocrites, they have
gay outfides, and feducing taftes, they are trea-
cherous to the health, and deceitfully dangerous.
Of fifties, the whole fpecies are condemned, ef-
pecially tench, lamprey, craw-fifti, and fuch as
breed in muddy waters. The Carthufian friars,
therefore, who live moftly upon fi(h, are more
fubjel to melancholy than any other religious
order 5 and Forreftus exemplifies it with -an in-
ftance of one Bufcodnefe^ a Carthufian friar, in
high health, and of a ruddy complexion, who,
by eating chiefly, and perhaps enormoufly, of
this aquatic food, foon loft the rofes from his
cheeks, and became at length fallow, lean, and
melancholy. Of herbs, gourds, cucumbers, cole-
worts ,
42 OF THE CAUSES
worts, melons, and efpecially cabbage, are dif-
allowed; for they uniformly fend up heavy va-
pours to the brain : and Horace calls thofe fup-
pers which confift of herbs, ccenasfine fangulne.
Of roots, parfnips and potatoes are highly ap-
proved ; but onions, garlick, fcallions, carrots,
and raddifhes, are flatulent, and dangerous. Of
fruits, grapes, figs, and apples, are to be pre-
ferred ; but every thing farrinaceous, as peas,
beans, and all manner of pulfe, are abfolutely
forbid ; and that which Pythagoras fo earneftly
recommended to his fcholars of old, Afabis alftl-
nete, may be for ever applied to melancholy
perfons. Spices caufe hot and head melancholy,
and are for that caufe forbidden by our phyficians
to fuch as are inclined to this malady ; and to
thefe may be added all things that are fharp, four,
lufcious, or over fweet ; as oil, vinegar, verjuice,
muftard, fait, and faked meats; for they are
great procurers of this difeafe; and therefore the
Egyptian priefts abftained from fait even fo much
as in their bread, in order, fays Codronchus^
that their fouls might be free from perturbations.
WINE is frequently the fole caufe of this difeafe,
efpecially if it be immoderately ufed ; and Guia
neriits relates a ftory of two Dutchmen, whom
he entertained in his own houfe, who drank fo
much wine, that in the fhort fpace of a month,
they both became fo melancholy, that the one
could
OF MELANCHOLY. 43
could do nothing but fmg, and the other figh.
A cup of generous wine, however, to thofe
whofe minds are ftill or motionlefs, is, in my
opinion, excellent phyfic. Cyder and perry are
both cold and windy drinks, and for that caufe
to be avoided. Beer, if it be over new, or over
ftale, if it be over ftrong, or not fod, if it fmell
of the cafk, or be four, is moft unwholefome:
but this drink, by being better brewed in 'Eng-
land than in Germany, and mixed with the bop,
which rarefies it, renders it more fubtle, and
gives it a fpecific virtue again-ft melancholy ; it is
lefs exceptionable here than it is about Dantzick^
Spruce^ Hamburghy Leipjic^ and other parts of
Germany^ where they ufe that thick black Bo-
hemian beer, which an old poet calls Stygia
monftrum conforms paludi\ a monftrous drink,
like the river Styx ; for
" As nothing goes in so thick,
And nothing comes out so thin,
It must follow of course,
That no thing can be worse,
As the dregs are all left within."*
All impure, thick, and ill-coloured waters fhould
be particularly avoided ; for, according to Galen y
the/
nil fpLTius ilia
" Dum bibitur, nil clarius eft dum mingitur, unde
" Conftat, quod multas faces in corpore linquat."
44 OF THE CAUSES
they produce agues, dropfies, pleurifies, and all
the fplenetic and melancholy paflions ; and it is
well known that water has a powerful operation
and effecl: ; for the waters of Ajlracan breed
worms in thofe who tafte them ; the waters of the
river Axius, now called Perdur't^ the faireft river
in Macedonia^ make the cattle who drink of
them black ; as thofe of the Aleacman, now
called Peleca, another ftream in TheJJ'aly, turn
cattle moft part white ; and Bodine fuppofes the
fluttering of fome families in Aquatania^ about
Labden^ to proceed from the fame caufe. To
this catalogue of noxious fimples we may add an
infinite number of compounds, artificial made
difhes, of which our cooks afford us as great a
variety, as taylors do famions in our apparel.
Simple diet, fays Pliny,* is beft ; for many dimes
bring many difeafes ; and ' rich fauces are worfe
than even heaping feveral meats upon each other.
But there is not fo much harm proceeding
from the fubftance and quality of the food itfelf,
as from the intemperate and unfeafonable ufe of
it. Plures crapula quam gladius. The omni-
vorantla ct bomicida gula, the all-devouring and
murderous
Lib. ii. c. 52. See alfo Avicen, 31. dec. 2. c. Nihil de-
terius quam fi tempus jufto longius comedendo protrahatur et
varia ciborum geneia conjunganturj inde morborum fcaturigo,
^uas ex repugnantia humorum oritur.
OF MELANCHOLY. 45
murderous gut, deftroys greater numbers than
the fword. GLUTTONY, indeed, is the fource
of all our infirmities, and the fountain of all our
difeafes. As a lamp is choaked by a fuperabun-
dance of oil, a fire extinguiftied by excefs of
fuel, fo is the natural heat of the body deftroyed
by intemperate diet. Pernitiofa fentina eft abdomen
infaturabile : An infatiable ftomach is a perni-
cious fink. Mercurialis eloquently infifts, that
gluttony is a peculiar caufe of this difeafe ; and
his opinion is confirmed not only by Hippocrates^
Solinander^ Crato, and other writers upon this
fubje&, but by the common obfervation and expe-
rience of mankind.* The more impurely bodies
are
* Milton, when he Introduces the angel Michael giving di-
rections to our firft parents, by what means they might purfue
health, fays, there is,
if thou well obferve
The rule of not too much, by temperance taught
In what thou eat'fb and drink'ft, feekingfrom thence
Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight,
Till many years over thy head return :
So may'ft thou live, 'till, like ripe fruit, thou drop
Into thy mother's lap, or be with eafe
Gather'd, not harihly pluck'd ; in death mature. '
So alfo, in defcribing to him the various modes by which man
\vould injure health, and extinguifh life :
Of death, many are the ways that lead
To his grim cave j all difmal j yet to fenfe
v More
46 OF THE CAUSES
are fed, the more the fyftem will be corrupted;
and yet, notwithftanding all the deftruHon which
follow from gluttony and inebriety, fee how we
luxuriate and rage in all the wantonnefs of this
deftru&ive vice, ^uam portentofisccente: What
prodigious fuppers ! >ui dum invitant ad ccenam,
efferunt ad fepulcbrum ; what Fagos, Epicures,
Afetios, Heliogables, our times afford ! Lucul-
lus' ghoft ftill walks, and every man defires to
fup in Apollo: ./Efop's coftly difh is ordinarily
ferved up :
This is a common vice, though all things here
Are sold, and sold unconscionably dear.
The deareft cates are ever thought the beft ; and
it is no extraordinary thing for an epicure to fpend
thirty pounds upon a {ingle dim, and as many
thoufand crowns upon a fingle dinner. Mully~
Hametj King of Fez and Morocco, gave an im-
menfe fum for only the fauce to a capon. In
ancient Rome, indeed,
a lavish
More terrible at the entrance
Some, as thou faweft, by violent ftroke /hall die ;
By fire, blood, famine; by INTEMPERANCE more,
In meats an,i drinks, which on the earth fliall bring
Difeafes dire, of which a monftrous crew
Before thee fiull appear.
OF MELANCHOLY. 47
a lavish slave
Six thousand pieces for a barbel gave :
For his own gut he bought the stately fish,
And spent his fortune on a single dish.
Do scales and fins bear price to this excess?
He might have bought th'e fisherman for less;
Or in Apulia, had he bargain'd well,
He might have bought a manor with the meal I
But that is nothing in our times, for every
thing that is cheap is fcorned; and, as Seneca
obferves, " the glorious light of nature is loathed
at our meals, and banifhed from our prefence,
only becaufe it comes free, and at no expence."
The wit of modern times directs all its rays ad
gulam', and the only inducement to ftudy, is
crudito luxu, to pleafe the palate, and to fatisfy
the gut.
" Invite a lord to dine, and let him have
The nicest dish his appetite can crave;
Still if it be on oaken table set,
His lordship will grow fick, and cannot eat.
Something's amiss ; he knows not what to think ;
Either your venison's rank, or sauces (link.
Order some other table to be brought,
Something at great expcnce, and talent-wrought,
Beneath whose orb large yawning panthers lie,
Carv'd in rich pedestals of ivory ;
He finds no more of that offensive smell ;
The meat recovers, and my lord grows well.
Aw
48 OF THE CAUSES
An ivory table is a certain whet ;
You would not think how heartily he'll eat,
As if new vigour to his teeth were sent,
By sympathy from those of th' elephant."
A cook, as Livy informs us, was in ancient
days confidered as a bafe knave ; but he is now
a great man, in high requeft, a companion for
a prince, and the rival of a gentleman; and his
fkill now ranked among the fineft arts, and moft
noble fciences ; but, venter Deus^ he ftill wears
his brains in his belly, and his guts in his head.
This favour'd artist ev'ry fancy tries,
To make, in various figures, dishes rise ;
While dirty scullions, with their greasy fists,
Dive, in luxurious sauces, to their wrists.
What immoderate drinking makes up the
mefs! Gluttons and drunkards flock in fhoals to
every tavern, as if they were, fruges confumere
7/<7f/, like Offellius Bibulus^ that famous Roman
parafite, born to no other end than to eat and
drink ; or as if they were fo many cafks made
only to hold wine : and yet 'thefe are brave men :
Silenus Ebrlus was no braver. To drink, is now
the fafhion of the times, an honour ; and he is
accounted no gentleman, but a very milk-fop, a
clown of no bringing up, a fellow unfit for com-
pany, who will not drink until he can no longer
tend.
OF MELANCriOLY. 4$
frand. He who plays it ofF the beft is your only
gallant; and it is now fo far from being a dif-
paragement to ftagger through the ftreets, that
reeling fets a man upon his legs, firmly eftablifb.es
his character for uprightnefs, and gives him high
renown; as in like cafe, Epidtcus told Thefprid,
his fellow-fervant, in Plantus^ tc Mdipol facintis
imprsbum;" to which the other replied, " jJt
jam alii fee ere idem, erit 'till ilia res honorL" It
is now no fault) there are fo many high exam-
ples to bear one out. It is brave to have
a brain ftrong enough to carry liquor well;
for the fole contention in company is who
can drink moft, and fox his fellow the fooneft.
To be merry together in an alehoufe or tavern,
is the fole felicity, the chief comfort, the fum-
mum bonum of our tradefmen : they will labour
hard all day long to be drunk at night; and>
as St. Ambrofe fays, will fpend totius anni
labores in a tipling feaft ; convert day into
night, roufing the night owl with their noife,
and rife when fober- minded men are going to
reft.
. .. they drink and sing the night away
*' 'Till rising dawn, and snore out all the day."
'tS) the Sybarite^ never once faw the fun
rife or fet during a courfe of twenty years.
E Thefe
50 OF THE CAUSES
Thcfe Centaurs and Lapitha,* thefe tofs-pots,
and drain-bowls, invent new tricks in eating and
drinking, and have faufages, anchovies, tobacco,
caviare, pickled oyfters, herrings, fumadoes, and
other provocatives, to whet their appetites, that
they may wet their lips, and be enabled, by carry-
ing their drink the better, to rival the prowefs of
the brewer's horfe,whocan carry more liquor than
the beft of them. They make foolifh laws, con-
tra bibendi fallaciaS) and boaft of their loyalty to
the toaft-mafter, juftifying their wickednefs by
the reafoning of that French Lucian^ the well-
known Rabelais^ that drunkennefs is better for
the body than phyfic, becaufe there are more
old drunkards than old phyfieians, and many
other
* The Centaun, who are fald to have fpning from Chiron, the
fon of Saturn, were a race of men inhabiting the mountainous
parts of Tbeffaly ; and, from their difpofition to drink, and being
always on horfeback, were fuppofed to be half man, half tea/}.
The Laphba were the regular fubjefts of Piritbcus, the King of
that country. On the marriage of his daughter Deldamia, he
invited the Centaurs, to whom he was nearly allied, to the
nuptial feaft ; but they drinking to excefs, became infolent, and
offered violence to the women. This enraging the Lapitbte,
they fought immediate revenge ; the battle fo celebrated in hea-
then hiftory enfucd ; and the race of Centaurs were driven, by
the afliftance of Tbefeus, from their country. Or, as Dr. Young
has continued this fable, the brute ran aivay with the man ; thereby
/hewing, " that beings of an origin truly celeftial, may debafe
' their nature, forfeit their character, and fink themfelves, by
" iicentiewfnefs, into perfect beafts,"
OF MELANCHOLY. 51
other fuch frothy arguments. ISlot to drink is
an unpardonable offence. There is as much va-
lour expected in feafting as in fighting, as fome
of our city captains, carpet knights, and trencher-
men, induftrioufly prove, until they wilfully
pervert the good temperature of their bodies,
{rifle the wit which God has blefled them with,
ftrangle nature, and degenerate into beafts.
For when the wine's quick force has pierc'd the brain,
And push'd the raging heat thro' ev'ry vein,
The members all grow dull, the reason weak j
Nor can the tongue its usual accents speak :
The eye-balls swim ; the legs forget their gait,
And bend beneath the body's cumbrous weight.
Unmanly quarrels, and loud noise, deface
The pow'rs of reason, and usurp their place :
Oft times with vi'lent fits the patient falls*,
As if with thunder struck, or foams and bawls;
Talks madly, shakes, moves here and there, breathes
short,
Extends and tires his limbs with antic sport,
While the rank venom, scatter'd thro' the whole,
Destroys the noblest functions of his soul.
But an obfervance of ftricl abftinence would
perhaps put mod men out of Commons } and, as
there is no rule fo general as not to admit of
fome exception, fo upon the prefent fubjecT: we
find, that cuftom in fome meafure detracts from
the injuries which are ftated to arife from the
E 2 nature
52 OF THE CAUSES
nature of food, and its intemperate or unfeafbil-
able ufe ; for fuch things as perfons have been
long accuftomed to, however pernicious they
may be in themfelves, become, from ufe, lefs
offenfive, and lofe a portion of their dangerous
effects: it might, indeed, otherwife, be faid,
qul medic's vivit mifere vivit-y that it would be
miferable to live according to the ftricl rules of
phyfic. Nature itfelf is changed by cuftom.
Jiufbandmen, and thofe who are ufed to labori-
ous lives, eat, with eager appetites, fat and
rufty bacon, coarfe fait meats, black bread, and
hard cheefe, O dura me/Jorum ilia! which the
fons of indolence would rejedt with fcorn. Cuftom
is all in all, and makes that which would be
pernicious to fome, delightful to others. Tra-
vellers frequently experience this in a high de-
gree. The ftrange meats of foreign countries
caufe great alterations and diftempers in their
conftitutions, until ufe and cuftom mitigate
their effects, and make all good again. Mitb-
ridates, by frequent ufe, was, to the aftonifh-
ment of Pliny^ able to endure poifon : but it is
certain, as Curtius records the ftory, that the
young female who was fent to Alexander by-
King Par us, had been fed on poifon from her
earlieft infancy. Tbeopkraftus fpeaks of a ftiep-
herd who could eat hellebore in fubftance; and
it is well known that the Turks eat opium by a
dram
OF MELANCHOLY. 53
dram at once, but which we dare not take in
grains.* Cardan concludes out of Galen^ and
on the authority of Hippocrates himfelf, that un-
lefs the cuftom be very bad, it is advifeable for
all perfons to adhere to that which they have
been ufed to, be it diet, bathing, exercife, or
any thing elfe; for cuftom, like an infmuating
fchool-miftrefs, filently and gradually eftablifaes
her authority over us, and then immediately un-
mafks, and becomes a furious and unconquerable
tyrant; and therefore, fays Montaigne^ " I give
" credit to the account of Plato's Cures, in his
<c Republic, and to the cuftom of the phyiicians^
" who fo often refign the reaibns of their art to
" its authority." The food alfo which the pa-
late delights in, and highly relifhes, may occa-
fionally be taken, although in its nature it be
productive of melancholy difpofition ; for the fto-
mach readily digefts, and willingly entertains,
fuch meats as it loves beft. Some, for inftance,
from a fort of fecret antipathy, cannot endure
even the fmell of cheefe, or the fight of a roafted
duck, which to others are moft delightful food.
Neceflity, poverty, want, and hunger, alfo fre-
quently compel men many times to eat things
which they would in other fituations loath and
E 3 abhor;
* Gareius ab Horto writes of one whom he faw at Goa, in the
Eaft Indies, that took ten drams o opium in three clays, and
ytt conjitko lofuebatur, fpoke underftandingly.
54 OF THE CAUSES
abhor; and nature, fhifting and accommodating
herfelf to the occafion, mitigates and leflens the
bad effe&s of thofe viands, which, under fuch
circumstances, fhe is compelled to endure. But
to thofe who are wealthy, live plenteoufly, at
eafe, and can choofe for themfelves, the viands
before-mentioned, as being productive of melan-
choly^ muft be taken at their peril. Let them
remember the obfervation of Plato, who, having
reproved a boy for playing continually with dice,
the child faid, " You blame me for a trifle "
to which the philofopher wifely replied, " A bad
tuftcm, my boy^ is nrt fuch a trifle as youfeem to
tb'ink it."
AIR being taken into our bodies byrefpira-
tion, and mixing itfelfwith the minuteft parts
of the corporeal fyftem, is a caufe of great mo-
ment in producing or avoiding not. only melan-
choly, but almoft every other fpecies of difeafe.
Hot, dry," thick, fuliginous, cloudy, bluftering,
impure, or foggy air, thickens the blood, cor-
rupts the humours, dejects the fpirits, and im-
pedes the actions of the heart.* The fpirits
rife
* " Impurus aer fpiritus dejicit, infe&o corde gignit mor-
bus." Paulus, Lib. i. c. 49. " Sanguinemclenfat, et humores,
Fernelius." P. i. c. 13. " Ex acre ambiente contrahitur humor
melancholius." Jobertus Lib. de quartana. " Calidus et fic-
cus, frigidus et ficcus, paludinofus craflus." Mor.taltus, c. xi.
OF MELANCHOLY. 55
rife and fall in proportion as the air in which we
breathe is good or bad ; and the humours of the
body are greatly influenced by the light or heavy
ftate of the animal fpirits.* Bodine f has evi-
dently fhewn, that melancholy is moft preva-
lent in hot countries, and therefore in almoft all
the great cities of Spain, Africa, and dfia Minor ^
there are public receptacles for perfons afflicted
with this difeafe:J This, however, muftbeun-
derftood of thofe places where an intenfe heat
prevails, as in Cyprus, Malta, Apulia, and the
Holy Land-, where, at certain feafons of the
year, the furface of the foil is nothing but duft,
the rivers being dried up, the air fcorching, and
the earth fo highly inflamed, that many pious
pilgrims travelling barefoot, for devotion fake,
from Joppa to Jerufalem, upon the burning fands,
are often feized with melancholy and madnefs.
But even under the equator, where the climate
is temperate, the air wholefome, and the whole
country a paradife of pleafure, the leaves wear-
ing an eternal green, and the fhowers con-
E 4 veying
* Quails ae'r, tails fpiritus ; et cujufmodi fpiritus, humores.
f- In his fifth book De Repub. cap. i. 5. of his Method of
Hiftory.
J See alfo Leo Afer, Lib. 3, de Fefla U;be, and the works
of Ortelius and Zuinger ; and Gordonius } Lib. med. part ii.
c. 19. fays, " Intellige, quod in calidis regionibus frequenter
accidit mania } ni frigidis autem tarde."
56 OF THE CAUSES
veying the tnoft refrefhing coolne r s, many me-
lancholy minds are frequently found.* Hercules
de Saxoma, a profeflbr in Venice, affigns the
heat of the climate as a caufe why fo many Ve-
netian women are melancholy :f and Alontanus
fays, that the melancholy Jew who was under
his care originally engendered the difeafe by
expofing himfelf too frequently to the viciffitudes
of heat and cold. J At the rich and populous
town of Aden, in Arabia Felix, the heat is fo
intenfe, that the markets are held in the middle
of the night to avoid its pernicious effects ; and
a fimilar practice prevails for the like reafon in
many parts of the Mogul empire; but particular-
ly in the ifle of Ormus, near the gulph of Perfia^
where the inhabitants of all defcriptions, like
cattle in a pafture, to avoid its heat, and the
noxious fumes which the fun exhales from its
fulphureous foil, are obliged to ftand immerfed
to the chin in water the greater part of the
clay. The hardieft conflitutions are incapable
of refitting the effects of fuch a climate. Amatus,
Lufitanus relates a ftory of a young and beau-
tiful female, of only thirteen years of age, the
daughter
* Acofta, Lib.H.
J- Quod diu fub fole degant : They tarry too long in the fun,
J gr.od tarn multum expofuit fe calori et frigori.
\\. is to refra& the fun beams that the Turks wear great
turbans,
7
OF MELANCHOLY. $7
daughter of one Vincent, a currier, who, to
make her hair of a fine auburn hue, warned it in
the middle of the day, in the month of July,
and expofed it to the fun, by which means me;
created fo violent an inflammation in her head,
that (he became immediately melancholy, and
afterwards ran furioufly mad. Extremes of all
kinds are dangerous, and exceflive cold is almoft
as pernicious as exceflive heat. The inhabitants
of the Northern climates are, for this caufe, ge-
nerally of a dull, heavy, and melancholy difpo-
fition. The moft pernicious air, however, is
that which is thick, cloudy, mifty, and foggy ;
fuch as arifes from fens, as Romney Marjb, the
hundreds of EJfex, the fens in Lincolnjhire^
moors, lakes, dunghills, drains, and finks. The
town of Alexandria, in the Mediterranean, ,the
haven of St. John de Ulloa in New Spain, the
cities of .,tockholm in Sweden, Regium in Italy,
Salisbury, Hull, and Lynn, in England, are un-
healthy fituations. They may be convenient for
the purpoies of navigation and trade, but they
are unwholefome. Old Rome has defcended from
her hills into the valley; and moft new cities
are now built on plains, to enjoy fuch advantages
as rivers, creeks, and havens afford, for the pur-
pofes of commerce. There are, indeed, fome
Authors who have contended that a thick and
fmoaky atmofphere is not unfriendly to health ;
and
58 OF THE CAUSES
and the condition of the inhabitants of the city
of Pifa in Tufcany, fituated on the river Arno^
in a low but fertile plain, at a fmall diflance
from the fea, is produced as an example : but let
the fcites of cities, built for fuch purpofes, be as
they may, how can thofe nations be excufed,
whofe capitals being erected on delightful fitua-
tions, in a fine air, and amidft all that nature
can produce to charm the eye, and pleafe the
mind, fuffer the inhabitants, from a nafty, flut-
tifh, immured, and fordid manner of life, to be
choaked up and putrefied, as in Conftantinople it-
felf, and many other cities in Turkey^ where
carrion is permitted to lie in the ftreets, and
every fort of uncleanlinefs prevails ? an impu-
tation from which the noble city of Madrid^ the
feat of royalty, where the air is excellent, and
the fituation fine, has not efcaped. The com-
mon feelings of every man will cqnvince him,
if he will attend to them, of the fuperior advan-
tages health derives from a pure and temperate
atmofphere; for while troubled, tempeftuous,
foul, rough, and impetuous weather prevails,
while the days are cloudy, and the nights damp,
the mind becomes tetrick, fad, peevifh, angry,
dull, and melancholy: but while the weftern
gales blow calmly o'er our heads, and the fun
Ihines mildly from the fkies, all nature looks
alert and cheerful.
" Thus
OF MELANCHOLY. $
" Thus when the changeful temper of the skies
' The rare condenses, the dense rarefies,
" New motions on the alter'd air impress'd,
* New images and passions fill the breast:
" Then the glad birds in tender concert join ;
*' Then croaks th' exulting rook, and sport the
" lusty kine."*
Weather works on all in different degrees, but
moft on thofe who are difpofed to melancholy.
The devil himfelf feems to take the opportunity
of foul and tempeftuous weather to agitate our
fpirits, and vex our fouls ; for as the fea waves,
fo are the fpirits and humours in our bodies tofled
with tempeftuous winds and ftorms.
EXERCISE, if opportunely ufed, contributes
greatly to the prefervation of health ; but if it be
unfeafonable, violent, or exceffive, it is ex-
tremely prejudicial. " Over exercife and wea-
rinefs," fays Fernelius, " confumes the fpirits,
" refrigerates the body, ftirs up the humours,
" and enrages fuch of them as nature would
<c ( otherwife have conco&ed and expelled; there-
" by caufing them diverfely to affect and trouble
" both the body and the mind." So alfo, if ex-
ercife be unfeafonably ufed, as upon a full fto-
mach, or where the body is full of crudities, it
is
# Virgil's Georg. Book. i. line 490*
6O OF THE CAUSES
is equally detrimental; for it corrupts the food,
carries the juices, yet rawandundigefted, into the
veins, and there putrifies, and confounds the ani-
mal fpirits. Grata particularly protefts againft
all fuch exercife after eating, as being the greateft
enemy to conco&ion; and therefore it is not
without good reafon that Salvianus, Jacchinus,
Mercurialis^ Arcubanus, and many other cele-
brated phyficians, fet down immoderate and un-
feafonable exercife as a moft forcible caufe of
melancholy.
IDLENESS, which is the oppofite extreme to
immoderate exercife, is the badge of gentry, the
bane of body and mind, the nurfe of naughti-
nefs, the ftep-mother of difcipline, the chief au-
thor of all mifchief, one of the feven deadly fins,
the cufhion upon which the devil chiefly repofes,
and. a great caufe not only of melancholy, but
of many other difeafes: for the mind is naturally
active; and if it be not occupied about fome ho-
neft bufinefs, it rufhes into mifchief, or finks
into melancholy. As immoderate exercife of-
fends on the one fide, fo doth an idle life on the
other. Idlenefs, as Rafis and Montaltus affirm,
begets melancholy more than any other difpo-
fition : and Plutarch fays, that it is not only
the fole caufe of the ficknefs of the foul, but that
nothing begets it fooner, encreafes it more, or
2 continues
OP MELANCHOLY. 6l
continues it fo long. Melancholy is certainly a
familiar difeafe to all idle perfons; an infepa-
rable companion to fuch a* five indolent and lux-
urious lives. Any pleafant company, difcourfe, bu-
finefs, fport, recreation, or amufement, fufpend
<c the pains and penalties of idler.efs :" but the
moment thefe engagements ceafe, the mind is
again affli&ed with the torments of this difeafe.
The lazy, lolling race of men are always mifera-
ble and uneafy. SENECA well fay?, Malo
mi hi male quam milliter ejfe : I had rather be
fick than idle. This difpofition is either of
body or of mind. Idlenefs of body is the
improper interniiffionofneceffary exercife, which
caufes crudities, ob,ftrutStions, excrementitious
humours, quenches the natural heat, dulls the
fpirits, and . renders the mind unfit for em-
ployment. As ground that is unfilled runs
to weeds, fo indolence produces nothing but
grofs humours*. A horfe unexercifed, and a
hawk unflown, contract difeafes from which, if
left at their natural liberty, they would be en-
tirely free. An idle dog will be- mangy; and
how can an idle perfon expect to efcape ? But
mental idlenefs is infinitely more prejudicial than,
idlenefs of body: wit without employment is a
difeafe, Mrugo animi^ rubigo ingenii : the ruft
* Negleftis urenda filex innafcitur agris. Hor. Lib. i. Sat. 3.
62 OF THE CAUSES
of the foul, a plague, a very hell itfelf : maxi-
mum anlm'i nocumentum. u As in a ftanding pool,'*
fays Seneca^ u worm: and filthy creepers increafe,
44 fo do evil and corrupt thoughts in the mind
<c of an idle perfon." The whole foul is con-
taminated by it. As in a commonwealth that
has no common enemy to contend with, civil
wars generally enfue, and the members of it
rage againft each other, fo is this body natural,
when it is idle, macerated and vexed with cares,
griefs, falfe fears, difcontents, fufpicions, and reft-
lefs anxiety, for want of proper employment. Vul-
ture like, it preys upon the bowels of its victims,
and allows them no refpite from their fufferings.
For he's the Tityus here, that lies opprest
With idleness, or whom fierce cares molest:
These are the eagles that still tear his breast.
Idle perfons, whatever be their age, fex, or con-
dition, however rich, well allied, or fortunate, can
never be well either in body or mind. Wearied,
vexed, loathing, weeping, fighing, grieving, and
fufpe&ing, they are continually offended with
the world and its concerns, and difgufted with
every object in it. Their lives are painful to
themfelves, and burthenfome to others; for their
bodies are doomed to endure the miferies of ill
health, and their minds to be tortured by every
fooiifh fancy. This is the true caufe why the
rich
OF MELANCHOLY. 63
rich and great generally labour under this dif-
eafe ; for idlenefs is an appendix to nobility, who,
counting bufmefs a difgrace, fantion every whim
in fearch of, and fpend all their time in, diffi-
pated pleafures, idle fports and ufelefs recreations:
and
Their conduct, like a fick man's dreams,
Is form'd of vanity and whims.
Pharaoh reafoned philofophically on the fub-
jecl of this difeafe: for when the children of
Ifrael, for want of fufficient employment, re-
quefted, with murmuring and difcontent, per-
miffion to offer up their facrifices in the defart,
he commanded the tafk-mafter to double the
portion of their daily duty, conceiving that as
the caufe of their difcontent proceeded from their
want of employment, their murmurings might
be appeafed by additional labour. " Ye ftiall
< no more, faid the king, give the people ftraw
<l to make bricks; let them gather it for thetn-
" felves: but the tale of the bricks which they
" did make heretofore, fhall not in aught be
c< dimiriimed ; for they are idle, and therefore it
" is they cry, Let us go and facrifice to our
" God." Otiofus animus nefcit quid volet: An
idle perfon knows not when he is well, what he
would have, or whither he would go ; and being
tired with every thing, difpleafed with every
thing,
64- OF THE CAUSES
thing, and every way weary of his exiftence^'
he falls by degrees into the deeped melan-
choly.
SOLITUDE, nimia folltudo, too much folita*
rinefs is cozen german to idlenefs, and a princi-
pal caufe of melancholy. It is either enforced
or voluntary. ENFORCED SOLITUDE is that
which is obferved by ftudents, monks, friars,
and anchorites, who, by their order and courfe
of life, muft abandon all fociety, and betake them-
fclves to privacy and retirement. Hale and
Hofpinian well term it, Otio fuper/titiofo fecluji}
fuch as are the Cartbujians^ who, by the rules of
their order, eat no fiefh, keep perpetual filence,
and never go abroad*. Under this head alfo may
be ranged fuch as live in prifons or in defer t
places^
" Far from the busy hum of men."
Like thofe country gentlemen who inhabit lonely
and fequeftered houfes; for they are obliged to
live without company, or to exceed their in-
comes by hofpitably entertaining all who can be
induced to vifit them ; except, indeed, they
chufe to hold converfation and keep company
with their fervants and hinds, or fuch as are un-
equal to them in birth, inferior to them in for-
tune, and of a. contrary temper and difpofition ;
or
OF MELANCHOLY. 65
or elfe, as their only refource from folitude, fly,
as many country gentlemen do, to the neigh-
bouring alehoufe, and there fpend their time
with vulgar fellows in unlawful difports and
diffolute courfes. There are others who are
caft upon this rock for want of means to enjoy
fociety: there are others who feek it from a
ftrong fenfe of fome impending or fuffered infir-
mity or difgrace : and there are others who are
induced to feek it from the natural timidity and
bafhfulnefs of their temper ; or as the means of
avoiding that rudenefs of behaviour which they
are in danger of meeting with in the world, and
which the delicacy of their feelings, and too ex-
quifite fenfibility, render them unable to endure.
Nullum folum Infelici grat ius folitudine , ubl nullus
fit qul mifcriam exprobret. From whatever caufe,
however, this fpecies of folitarinefs may arife,
it is conducive to a melancholy difpofition : but
fuch effects are moft likely to be produced on
the minds of thofe who have previoufly pafled
their time in the focial pleafures and lively re-
creations of good company, and are, upon fome
fudden emergency or event, compelled to refign
the happinefs of domeftic life, or the more vivid
joys of popular entertainments, for the cold
comforts of a country cottage, where they are
abridged of their ufual liberty, and debarred from
the company of their ordinary- affbciates. But
F it
66 OF THE CAfJSES
it is VOLUNTARY SOLITUDE which is moft
likely to engender this difeafe, and to lead the
mind, like a Siren, a moeing-horn, or a Sphinx, by
fedu<5tive paths, and imperceptible degrees, into
this irrevocable gulph. Pifo calls this difpo-
fition the primary caufe of melancholy ; for the
higheft delight perfons thus tainted can enjoy, is
to be abfent from all fociety, to lie whole days
in bed, to feclude themfel ves in their chambers from
the fight of mankind, to faunter alone through
fome fequeftered grove, 'amidft the mazes of fome
entangled wood, or on the margin of a rufhy
brook, in filent but pleafmg meditation on fuch
fubje&s as moft affect their minds: atnabilh
infania et mentis gratijjimus error: a moft in-
comparable delight it is fo to melancholize, to
build fancied caftles in the air, to go fmiling to
themfelves, to a6l without controul or obfer-
vation an infinite variety of parts, and to realize
in Fancy's maze the fubjecl: of their imaginations,
parr, prefent, and to come. So delightful are
thefe toys at firft, that they follow them day
after day, and night after night, with unexhaufted
pleafure, conceiving from the powerful impref-
fion they feel, that they are the very characters
which their thoughts reprefent to their diftem-
pered but pregnant minds. No object can in-
duce them to abandon, or prevent them from
enjoying, the delufive pleafures which their
vain
Ofr MELANCHOLY. 67
vam conceits afford; but fufpending their or-
dinary tafks, avoiding all fublunary concerns,
relinquifhing even the pleafures of ftudy, and
neglecting every other employment, thefe phan-
taftical and bewitching thoughts fo covertly, fo
feelingly, fo urgently, fo continually fet upon,
creep in, infmuate, poflefs, overcome, diftrar,
and detain them, that they furrender themfelves
entirely to their influence, and wander every
where mufing and melancholizing, like one con-
ducted in fad filence by the fairy hand of Puck y
that merry wanderer of the night, or Oberon, the;
king of fhadows, over the enchanted heath,
winding and unwinding themfelves as fo many
clocks, and ftill pleafing their deluded minds.
unsettled they remove,
As pleasure calls, from verdant grove to grove
Or stretch' d on flowery meads at ease they lie;
And hear the silver rills run bubbling by.
But, alas ! at laft the fcene is fuddenly changed
by fome bad event ; and being habituated to vain
folitude and fanciful meditation, and unable to
endure the delights of rational fociety, they can
ruminate on nothing but harm and diftafteful fub-
jefts. Fear, forrow, fufpicion, difcontent, care,
and wearinefs of life, furprife them in a moment,
and they can think of nothing elfe. No fooner
do their eyes open than this infernal plague of
F 2 MELANCHOLY
68 OF THE CAUSES
MELANCHOLY feizes on its prey, terrifies their
fouls by reprefenting the moil difmal objedls to
their minds, which now no means, no labour,
no perfuafion, will enable them to avoid.
. " The fatal dart
< Sticks in their. fides, and rankles in the heart:"
and they find it impoffible to extract the {haft,
or to extricate themfelves from the dreadful
mifery into which they have been plunged by
the indulgence of their pleafing but pernicious
perturbations.
*' The gates of hell are open night and day;
" Smooth the descent, and easy is th'e way :
*' But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
" In this the task and mighty labor lies."
Serious contemplation, induced by that fpecies
of folitude fo highly recommended by the fathers
of the church, may unqueftionably, as Petrarch
obferves, create an earthly paradife, a heaven
on earth, if it be rightly ufed : good for the
body, and better for the foul. Of this effect,
the piety, the innocence, and the virtue, which
accompanied the retirement of the Emperor Dio-
clefian^ and of Simulus, the courtier and com-
panion of Adrian^ are remarkable inftances.
Vatia folus felt vivere^ was the obfervation of
the Romans when they commended the advan-
tages of rural retirement : u It is fat'ia alone
who
OF MELANCHOLY. 6<J
who knows how to live :" and certainly many
excellent philofophers, as Democritus, Cleanthus,
Pliny, Cicero, and Jovius, have advantageoufly
fequeftered themfelves from the contentions of a
tumultuous world. Our zealous innovators,
therefore, were perhaps ill advifed, when they
fubverted and flung down all abbies and re-
ligious houfes without diftinction. The grofs
abufes, and greater inconveniencies, that prevail-
ed in thofe retreats, might have been amended and
reformed; and fome of thofe fair buildings, and
everlafting monuments of the piety of our fore-
fathers, rendered favourable to that religious
devotion they were originally erected to pro-
mote. Some few monafteries and collegiate cells
might have been well fpared from the general
wreck, and their revenues employed in fupport-
ing thofe who choofe to retire from the cares and
troubles, the vices and vexations, of a difaftrous
world. Some perfons who are unfit, and others
who are unwilling, to hold the nuptial torch,
together with many more, whom ficknefs, for-
row, or other misfortunes, may have difquali-
fied from entering on the ftage of active life with
any probability of fuccefs, might, in the tempe-
rance and quietude of thofe holy retreats, have been
comfortably fupported ; and while they mingled
the ftudy of ufeful fcience with the practice of
virtue and religion, have become ornaments to
F 3 human
70 OF THE CAUSES
human nature, and recommended themfelves both
to God and man. Characters of this defcription
are never lefs folitary than when they are alone,
or more bufy than when they feem to be moft
idle*. It is reported by Plato^ in his dialogue de
amore^ that Socrates ', during his continuance in the
army, and while he encamped on an extenfive
plain, was obferved by his officers to fall fuddenly
into fo profound a meditation that he continued rapt
and muling from morning until evening, with-
out ever waking from his reverie. The officers,
in admiration of his philofophic character and
exalted mind, placed a canopy over his head,
and filently watched him throughout the night ;
but he ftill remained in the fame pofture, pen-
five and immoveable, until the fun opened its
beams on the enfuing day, when he railed his
eyes to heaven, and faluung with reverential
awe and humble adoration the glorious luminary,
he departed with quietude and compofure to his
tent, and iflued his orders for the buhnefs of
the day. The fubjeb which during this long
interval engaged the contemplation of this great
man
* An obfervation which Cicero, in his Offices, put into the
jnouth of Scipio Afrkanus: " Nunquam minus folus quam cum
folus; nunquam minus otiofus quam cum effet otiofus." To
which we may add the anfwer the poet made to the hufbandman
in />/>, that objefted idlenefs to him, namely, " That he w.ai
never fo idle as in his company."
OF MELANCHOLY. J I
man is not known ; nor is it eafy to be conceived
how he could bring his mind to endure fuch a
long-continued train of intenfe thought. It was,
however, a fatigue which few, if any, modern
philofophers would be able, or perhaps willing,
to fuftain. But Seneca obferves, that a wife
man is never fo bufy as when he filently contem-
plates the greatnefs of God and the beauty of
his works; or withdraws from fociety for the
purpofe of performing fome important fervice to
the reft of mankind : for he that is well em-
ployed in fuch ftudies, though he may feem to
do nothing at all, does greater things than any
other, in affairs both human and divine. There
are, however, fome men who are bufy in idle-
nefs, and make the leifure of peace not only
more troublefome, but even more wicked than
the bufmefs of war. Homo folus ant Deus^ out
dtsmon : " A man alone is faid to be either a
faint or a devil:" and on fuch characters folitude
always produces its worft effects j for they fre-
quently degenerate from the nature of men, and
loathing even the idea of fociety, become a fpecies
of mifanthropic beafts and monfters, ugly to be-
hold by others, and hateful to themfelves. They
are veryTimons and Nebuchadnezzar* ; to whom
we may apply the obfervations made by Mercu-
rialls to his melancholy patient: " Nature may
** juftly complain of you, for {he gave you
F 4 " both
72 OF THE CAUSES
* c both a healthy body and a vigorous mind,
" which you have not only contemned and re-
<c jecled, but polluted and overthrown ; and by
" fuch mifconduft have proved yourfelf a traitor
* c to God, an enemy to Nature, a deftroyer of
" yourfelf, and a malefactor to the world. You
" have wilfully caft yourfelf away; .and by
" giving way to, inftead of refifting, your vain
"cogitations, have become the efficient caufe
" of your own mifery and deftruction."
SLEEP, Nature's foft nurfe, cannot, according
to the received opinion, be immoderately taken in
this difeafe; but in that phlegmatic, fwinifh, cold,
and fluggard melancholy, of which Melanftbon
fpeaks, it may certainly do more harm than good ;
for, as Fuchfms fays of thofe who fleep like dor-
mice, it dulls the fpirits, deftroys the fenfes, fills
the head full of grofs humours, produces diftilla-
tions, and caufes excrementitious matter in the
brain. Sleeping in the day-time upon a full
fbomach, after eating hard meats, or when the
body is ill compofed to reft, certainly produces
frightful dreams, incubus, night walking, cry-
ing out, and prepares the body, as Ratzius ob-
ferves, " for many perilous difeafes." On the
contrary, waking overmuch is both a fymptom
and an ordinary caufe of this difeafe; for it cor-
rupts the temperature of the brain, and changes
the
OF MELANCHOLY. 73
the natural heat of the body. Crato^ Hllde-
Jbeim, Jacchinus^ and many others, therefore,
juftly conceive this over-much waking to be a
principal caufe of melancholy,
If enquiry be made which of all the foregoing
caufes is the moft malignant in its effects, an
anfwer is furnimed by the obfervation which
the Gymnofophift made to Alexander, when he
ordered him to pronounce fentence on his com-
panions ; that every one of them is worfe than the
ether *.
But
* Alexander, in his expedition againft Saibas, took ten of the
moft. acute and concife Gymnofophijls, who had principally infti-
gatcd the revolt, and propounded to them fucceffively nine
queftions ; declaring that he who firft anfwered wrong, of
which anfwer the oldeft fhould be judge, fhould be firft put to
death, and after him all the reft. The queftions and anfwers
were, ift, " Which are moft numerous, the living or the
dead ?" A. " The living ; for the dead no longer exift."
edly, " Whether the earth or the fea produces tke largeft ani-
mals?" A. " The earth; for the fea is part of it." 3dly,
" Which is the craftieft of all animals?" A. " That with
which man is not yet acquainted." 4thly, " What was your
reafon for perfuading Sabbat to revolt?" A. " Bccaufe'I wifh-
ed him either to live or die with honour." 5thly, " Which is
the oldeft, day or night?" A. " The day, by one day."
6thly, " What are the beft means for a man to make himfelf
beloved?" A. " Not to make himfelf feared." 7thly, "How
may a man become a god?" A. " By doing what is impofli-
ble for man to do." Stilly, " Which is ftrongeft, life or
death ?"
74 OF THE CAUSES
But thofe caufes which arife from THE
PASSIONS, and which we fhall now proceed to
confider, are far more malignant in their nature,
and grievous in their effects, than all the reft.
THE PASSIONS are denominated by Piccolo-
mineus, il fuhnen perturbationumj* or the thunder
and lightning of the foul ; from their producing
fach violent and fpeedy effects upon the human
frame, as frequently to fubvert the good eftate
and temperature both of body and mind ; for, as
the body by its bad humours troubles the fpirits
and works upon the mind, by fending grofs hu-
mours into the brain, fo per confequens the dif-
turbance of the foul, and its faculties, works
upon the body through the medium of its paf-
fions. " If the body," fays Democritus *, in
Plutarch^ " fhould in this behalf bring an action
againft the foul, the foul would certainly be caft
and
death?" A. " Life; becaufe it bears fo many evils." 9thly,
'* How long is it good for a man to live?" A. " As long a$
fee does not prefer death to life." Alexander then turning to the
judge, ordered him to give fentence. " In my opinion," faid the
venerable philofopher, " they have all anfwered one worfe than
another." " If this is thy judgment," faid Alexander, " thou
fiialt die firft," " No," replied the philosopher, " not except
you chufe to break your word : for you declared that the man
who anfwered worft fhould firft fuffer." The king- loaded them
with prefents, and difmiffed them.
* L.ib. de fanitat. tuend.
OF MELANCHOLY. 7|
and convi&ed, for permitting the body to fuffer,
by her fupine negligence, fuch grofs inconve-
niencies ; for the foul having an unquestionable
authority and controul over the body, ought to
ufe ir= authority as an inftrument for effecting its
own purpoles, as a fmith ufes his hammer in
moulding materials into fuch forms as he pleafes."
The Stoics * fay that a wife man fhould be
anaS-n^ free from ail paflion or perturbation
whatibever, as Cato and Socrates are reputed to
have been f. But this is an airy and unfounded
notion ; for common experience evinces that no
mortal can totally exempt himfelf from thefe
vibrations of the heart and mind ; and, indeed,
as Lemnhis obferves, that which is free from
paffion cannot be mortal, but muft be either more
or lefs than man^. The paflions are natives of
the human bread, and their corruptions and dif-
cordances have been increafed by the accumu-
lating vices of fucceeding generations ; for how-
ever they may be occafionally moderated and
fubdued by the happy effects of a good education,
the precepts of found philofophy, and the divine
influence of religion, they predominate in gene-
ral
* Lepfius Phyfiol. Stoic. Picolomineus Grad. 1. c. 32.
+ Seneca Epift. 104. Elian, lib. i. c. 6.
J Lemnius De occult, nat. mir. 1. i. c. 16. Nemo mortali-
um qui affe&ibus non ducatur: qui nonmovetur, aut faxutn,
aut Deus eft.
76 OF THE CAUSES
ral with fuch unreftrained and irrefiftible vio-
lence, that, like a raging torrent overflowing
its banks, and bearing down all before it, they
overwhelm the foul, and deftroy not only the
faculties of the mind, but change, in their courfe,
the very temperature of the body. Ludovicus
Fives compares them to the winds and waves,
which, when light and favourable, drive us
gently over a calm fea to our deftined harbour ;
but if high and adverfe, tofs us tempeftuoufly
through a troubled ocean to fome hoftile and
unfriendly fliore. As the mind works upon the
body through the medium of the paffions, fo the
paflions produce their effect through the medium
of the imagination *. The original fountain,
therefore, of all human grievances of this de-
fcription is lesfa imaginatio^ as Dr. Navarra
juftly obferved, on being confulted by Mont anus
on the cafe of a melancholy Jew ; for the difor-
der of the imagination communicates itfelf to the
heart, and caufes a diftemperature of the fpiritsand
humours to fuch a degree as to occafion melan-
choly; the mind being a foil much more favour-
able to the impregnation of this complaint, and
more
* See upon this fubjeft Agrippa Occult. Philof. lib. n.
c. 63. Cardan, lib. 14. Lemnius, lib. i. c. 12. Suacer Met.
difput. 18. left. i. article 23. T. Bright, in his Treatife on
Melancholy, cap. 12; and Wright the Jefuit's Book on the
Paffiojas of the .Mind.
OF MELANCHOLY. 77
more fertile and prolific in its effects, than the
body.
The common mifconceptions of perfons la-
bouring under this difeafe, fuch as their being
kings, lords, cocks, bears, apes, owls, and ob-
jects of a more fantaftical kind, are juftly attri-
buted by lyierus * to this fource. One day,
while Alexander had {tripped himfelf to play at
ball, the perfons who were playing with him
obferved a man fitting in profound and melancho-
ly filence on his throne, drefled in the royal
robes, with the diadem upon his head, and the
fceptre in his hand ; and when they demanded
who he was, he feemed to difdain giving them
an anfwer; but being further queftioned, he at
length wakened as it were from his reverie, and
replied, " My name is Dionyfius; I am a native
" of Mejfene : upon a criminal procefs againft
ct me, I left that place, and embarked for Baby-
11 Ion, where I was kept a long time- in chains j
" but this day the god Seraph appeared to
" me, broke my chains, conduced me hither,
" and ordered me to reaffume in dignified- filence
" my royalty and crown." And many other
inftances of the like fort might be given.
The
* Occult Philof. lib. v. cap. 64.
78 OF THE CAUSES
The force of imagination indeed is fo great j
that, as Ludovicus Fives relates, a Jew in France,
who had come by chance fafely over a ter-
ribly dangerous pafiage, by means of a very
narrow plank that lay over a precipice, on per-
ceiving the next day the danger he had efcaped,
fell down, and inftantly expired. It is by working
on the imagination of patients, that empirics often-
times perform fuch extraordinary cures ; as in
thofe common inftances of the cure of the tooth-
ach, ague, gout, and hydrophobia, by means of pre-
tended fpells, words, tractors, characters, and
charms. Strong conceit is a kind of mental
rudder which REASON fhould hold for the pur-
pofe of fleering the mind into its right courfe ;
but reafon too frequently fuffers itfelf to be car-
ried away by the ftrong gales of a corrupt and
vitiated fancy, and by the violence of thofe per-
turbations which unreftrained paffions create.
Philofophy and religion are certainly the beft
antidotes to thefe intellectual difturbances, and,
by their operation^ if timely adminiftered, all
the exorbitant defires of the mind, and every
unruly and extravagant paflion of the heartj
might be moderated and reftrained within their
proper bounds ; but men, alas ! inftead of apply-
ing thefe falutary medicines to abate the rage,
and recover the temper, of their vitiated imagina-
tions, cherifh the difeafe in their bofoms until
2 their
OF MELANCHOLY. 79
their increafing appetites, like the hounds of
Acieson, tear into pieces the foul they were in-
tended to enliven and protect.
The paflions and perturbations which affect
the fancy, and diftraft the imagination, are di-
vided by the Thomifts into the fix which covet,
and the five which invade ; by Arljlotle, into
thofe which give pleafure or pain ; by Plato 3
into thofe which engender love or hatred ; by
Ludovicus fives, into good and bad j by Si.
Barnard, into thofe which excite hope or fear;
to which others add, thofe which create joy or
forrow : but Wright, the Jefuit, diftributes them
into thofe which arife from the irafcible and concu-
pifcible inclinations.
SORROW may be included in the catalogue of
irafcible paflions productive of melancholy ; for
it is not only the infeparable companion, but
both the caufe and effect of this difeafe. Sor-
row and melancholy move as it were in a circle,
and reciprocally at upon and produce each other.
This affection is defcribed by 5V. Chryfoftom^
in his feventeenth Epiftle to Olympia, to be " a
u cruel torture of the foul ; a poifonous worm,
u which continually gnaws upon the heart,
" and confumes both the body and the mind ; a
" perpetual executioner, working in night and
" darknefsj
So OF THE CAUSES
41 darknefs ; a battle that has no end ; and the
" eagle which, as poets feign, was perpetually
" plucking at the vitals of Prometheus *."
Every perturbation, fays the royal preacher, is
a mifery; but grief is a cruel tormentf. In
ancient Rome, when a dictator was created, all
inferior magiftracies ceafed; and when exceflive
grief feizes on the foul, all other pafHons imme-
diately vanifh. Eleonora, the mournful dutchefs,
in our Englifli Ovid\, well defcribes the effecl:
of this perturbation, in her lamentation over her
noble hufband Humphrey Duke of Gloucefter :
" Saw'st thou those eyes, in whose sweet cheerful
look
." Duke Humphrey once such joy and pleasure took ;
" Sorrow hath so despoil'd them of all grace,
" Thou couldst not say, this was my Elnor's face.
David roared in the difquietude of his heart;
his foul melted away for very heavincfs ; and he
became like a bottle in the fmoke. Crato gives an
extraordinary
* Dr. Johnfon fays, '' Sorrow properly is that {late of trie
mind in which our defires are fixed upon the part, without
looking forward to the future; an inceflant wifh that fomething
was otherwife than it has been; a tormenting and harrafiing
want of fome enjoyment or pofleflion which we have loft, and
' which no endeavours can poflibly regain."
t Ecclef. xxv. 15, 16. J Mich. Drayton, in his Her. Ep.
^ Pfalms xxxviii. viii. ; 119. 4. 38.
OF MELANCHOLY* Si
extraordinary inftance of a patient whofe mind
was weighed down by the blacked melancholy
merely from his having indulged immoderate
forrow *. And Montanus furnifhes another in-
ftance of the like kind, in the cafe of a noble
matron, whofe forrow gained fuch firm poflef-
fion of her mind that the confequent melancho-
ly could never be removed. It was the violence
of forrow that transformed Hecuba into a dog,
and Nlobe into ftone.
Widow'd and childless, lamentable state f
A doleful sight among the dead she sat;
Harden'd with woes, a statue of despair;
To every breath of wind unmov'd her hair ;
Her cheeks still reddening, but their colour deadj
Faded her eye, and set within her head.
No more her pliant tongue its motion keeps,
But lies congeal'd within her frozen lips.
Stagnate and dull within her purple veins,
Its current stopp'd, the lifeless blood remains.
Her feet their usual offices refuse ;
Her arms and neck their graceful gestures lose;
Action and life from every part are gone,
And ev'n her entrails turn'd to solid stone:
Yet still she weeps, and, whirl'd by stormy winds,
Borne through the air, her native country finds;
There fix'd she stands upon a bleaky hill;
There yet her marble cheeks fresh tears distill.
G Thefe
* Mzrore maceror, iriarce f co & confe^cfco mifer, ofla
pllis fum mifera macritudine.
$2 OF THE CAUSES
Thefe lines well exprefs that dumb, deaf, me-
lancholy ftupidity which benumbs all our fa-
culties, when opprefled by accidents which we
are not able to bear : and, indeed, the operation
of grief, if it be exceffive, muft fo overwhelm the
foul as to deprive it of the liberty of its func-
tions.
Melanfthon obferves, that forrow draws a
black blood from thefpleen, and diffufes it round
the heart in fuch a manner as to extinguifh the
fpirits, and occafions thofe terrible hypochondri-
cal convulfions to which perfons who have fur-
rendered themfelves to habitual fadnefs are fo
frequently fubjecvt. But the kind of forrow moft
likely to produce thefe mifchievous effects, is
that which is fdent and inactive j for
Complaining oft gives respite to our grief;
From hence the wretched Progne sought relief;
Hence the Pcgantian chief his fate deplores,
And vents his sorrows to the Lemnian shores :
In vain by secrecy we would assuage
Our cares; conceal'd, they gather tenfold rage.
FEAR is coufin-german, or rather fifter, to
Sorrow, her fidus Achates, conftant companion ;
chief afliftant, and principal agent in. procuring
this mifchief. What Virgil fays of the Harpies
may be truly applied to thefe twin deftroyers :
Monfters
OF MELANCHOLY. 83
Monsters more fierce offended heaven ne'er sent,
From hell's abyss, for human punishment.
This foul fiend was held in fo much awe by
the Lacedemonians^ that they worshipped it under
the title of Angerona Dea ; and their augurs
yearly facrificing at its fhrine in the temple of
Folupia, endeavoured to deprecate its wrath,
and to induce her to banifh from the bofoms of
the people all cares, anguifti, and vexation,
during the fucceeding year. The Epborl of
Sparta eredled a temple to Fear near their tri-
bunal, to ftrike awe into thofe who approach-
ed it. TbefeuS) before he engaged the Amazon^
in obedience to the command of an oracle, facri-
ficed to Fear, that his troops might not be feized
with ,it. Alexander performed the fame cere-
mony before the battle of Arbela. Virgil places
Fear at the entrance of hell; and Ovid in the
retinue of Tijiphone^ one of the furies. The
lamentable effe&s of this difqualifying pertur-
bation are very fenfibly felt by thofe who are
compelled to fpeak before public affemblies, or
in the prefence of the wife and great, as both
Cicero and Demojlhenes have very candidly con-
fefled; for it impedes utterance, confufes the
ideas, deftroys the memory *, and confounds the
G 2 judgment.
* -Timor inducit frigus, corclis palpitationem, vocis defec*
turn, atque pallorem. Agrippa, lib. t, c. 63.
84 OF THE CAUSES
judgment. Lucian^ to illuftrate its effects, in-
troduces "Jupiter Tragasdus^ when he was about
to make a fpeech to the reft of the gods, as to-
tally unable to utter a fyllable, until he was
prompted by the herald Mercury. It frequent-
ly confounds the brighteft and ftrongeft facul-
ties of the human mind ; hinders the moft ho-
nourable attempts; difcourages the efforts of
genius; aggravates calamity; and keeps thofe
who are under its influence in continual fufpence
and increafing alarm, depreffing every hope of
their minds, and rend-ering fad and heavy every
feeling of their hearts. There is no paflion that
fooner dethrones the judgment from its natural
ieat :
, Mistrust of good success hath done the deed :
Oh! hateful error, Melancholy's child.
And Sbakefpear has declared that
Ovir fears are traitors,
Which make us lose the thing we wish
To gain, by dread of the event.
There is, in fhort, no rack or torture fo
truly painful. Nulla ut miferia major quam metus. y
fays Fives truly; for there is certainly no greater
mifery. It leads the imagination into its moft
dreadful abyfs, and tyrannifes over the fancy
more than all other affe&ions ; for what the
mind fears it fancies it perceives; and the ideas
rf
OF MELANCHOLY. 85
of ghofts, goblins, Hags, fpe&res, devils, and
every thing that imports calamity and diftrefs,
prefent themfelves fo ftrongly to the mind, as
to overwhelm it with horrors, which, if not
diffipated by timely remedies, will in the end
embitter life with miferable melancholy.
SHAME and DISGRACE caufemoft violent and
bitter pangs, and frequently plunge the moft ge-
nerous minds into the deepeft defpair; for there
are men, as Cicero obferves, who are able to neglect
the tumults of the world, to abandon the fields
of glory, to contemn pleafure, and endure grief,
who are alarmed even at the appearance of in-
famy, and are utterly unable to endure even un-
deferved obloquy or reproach. A fenfe of fhame
operates fo powerfully on every liberal and inge-
nuous mind, that it frequently caufes the tor-
tured fufferer to deftroy his life. Art/loth,
afhamed of being not able to underftand the
motion of Euripus*, put a period to his exift-
ence: Homer was overwhelmed by this dif-
treffing perturbation, becaufe he was unable to
unfold the fHherman's riddlef : Sophocles was
unable to furvive the difgrace he felt on his
G 3 favourite
* Cselius Rodiginus antiquar. lee. lib. 29. cap. 8,
t, Quod pifcatoris aenigma folvere non pofftt.
86 OF THE CAUSES
favourite tragedy being hifled off the ftagcj:
Lncretia ftabbed herfelf, and fo did Cleopatra, to
avoid the infamy of being exhibited as a public
fpe&acle of triumph and difhonour* : Apollonius
Rhodius forfook his country and his friends, and
devoted himfelf to exile, merely becaufe he had
mis-recued one of his poemsf . A fenfe of fliame
drove Ajax mad on the arms of Achilles being
adjudged to Ufyffes. Hojlratits^ the friar, was
fo mortified by the book which Reuclin wrote
againft him, under the name of Epift. obfcurorum
virorum^ that for (hame and grief he made away
with himfelf : And Anthony^ the triumvir, on
being conquered by his colleague, fat for three
days in melancholy folitude on the forecaftle of
his fhip, and then deftroyed himfelf: So power-
fully does this acute feeling play its part
among other pafiions and perturbations of the
human mind. There are, indeed, many bafe,
impudent, brazen - faced, unfeeling rogues,
whofe countenances never betray their guilt, who
fet all fenfe of fhame at defiance, whofe inflex-
ible features no obloquy can move, who deride
all
^ Valer. Max. lib. 9, cap. 12. Ob Tragoedeum explofam,
mortem fibi gladio conlcivit.
- * Cum vidit in triumphum fe fervari, caufa ejus ignominiaj
vitandje mortem fibi confcivit.
+ Cum male recitaffet Argonautica ob pudorem exulavit.
Jovius in elogiis.
OF MELANCHOLY. 87
all modefty, and laugh at difgrace; who, though
perjured, ftigmatized, and fentenced as convidted
rogues, thieves, or traitors, to lofe their ears, be
whipped, branded, tailed, pointed at, and hifled,
like Bal/io, the bawd in PlautuSj glory in their
fhame. The times unhappily produce many
fuch fhamelefs characters, who, like Therjites,
(< clamour in the throng,
" Loquacious, loud, and turbulent of tongue,
" Aw'd by no fhame, by no respect controul'd,
" In scandal busy, in reproaches bold ;"
and who may be truly faid to poflefs <c a wall of
brafs ;" but of a different kind from that which
Horace recommends, when he fays-
Be this thy fort and brazen wall,
To be in virtue bed of all ;
To have a conscience clear within,
Nor colour at the change of fin*.
Modefty is the brighteft badge of merit; and
every ingenuous man, jealous of his reputation,
feels a deep and deadly wound inflicted by the
fhafts of calumny and difgrace. Life and for-
tune are no confiderations with him when placed
in competition with the lofs of character. The
leaft
* Hor. Epift, i ft.
88 OP THE CAUSES
leaft blot upon his honour, the fhadow even of
difgrace pafling over his fair name, and obfcuring
only for a time the brightnefs of his renown,
renders him deje&ed and mi: .rable.
ENVY and MALICE are links of this chain
of perturbations; for envy gnaws the human
heart until it drowns the mind in melancholy :
And Horace well obferves
That ftern Sicilian tyrants ne'er could find
A greater torment than an envious mind.
" As a moth gnaws a garment, fo" fays St.
Chryfo/fom, " does envy confume the heait of
" man." Its malignant and fcowling eye no
fooner beholds another rich, thrwi: j, and prof-
perous, than its heait heaves with throes of tor-
turing anguifh. Superior worth and virtue are
rankling daggers in its beating breaft. An en-
vious man, like thofe who fell from Luc'iarCs
rock of honour, will injure himfelf rather than
not do a mifchief to his happier neighbour; as
the character in Efop willingly lofl one eye that
his fellow-creature might lofe both: like the
rich man in ^ulntillan* he will poifon the
fweeteft flowers in his garden to. deprive the
neighbouring bees of their honey. Malice is the
joy
* Declam. 13.
OF MELANCHOLY. 89
joy of his life, calumny the language of his
tongue, and his fole delight another's ruin.
The temporary gratification of pleafure forms
fome excufe for the committal of other fins ; but
envy admits of no excufe or palliation. Glut-
tony may be fatisfied, Anger appeafed, and
Hatred fubdued; but Envy is a ftubborn weed of
the mind, which even the culture of philofophy
can feldom fubdue. It is, however, a difeafe in-
cident to our very nature*. Saul and Davld\ y
Cain and Abel\^ felt its influence: Rachel envied
the happineis of her fifter ; and the brethren of
Jofeph were urged by this vice to fell him to
the company of IJbmaelites^ who came from
Gilead, with fpices, in their way to Egypt\\.
Habbakuk repined at others good. Domltian^
jealous that a private man fhould be fo much
glorified, fpited Agricola for his worth ; and
Cecinna was envied by his fellowrcitizens be-
caufe he was more richly adorned. Women
are not entirely free from this infirmity: they
feel the paflions of love and hatred always in
extreams, and cannot endure a rival either in
finery or affe&ion, but, like Agrippina, if they
fee a neighbour richer in drefs, neater in attir-e,
more
* Infitam mortalibus a natura rccentem aliorem fslicitatcm
asgris oculis intueri. Tacitus, lib. 2.
f Pfalm 37. \ Gcr.efis. ^ Gen. 30. jj Gen. 37.
90 OF THE CAUSES
more blefled with beauty, or more ardently ad-
mired, rage inflames their minds, and envy fills
their hearts*, as Tacitus informs us was the cafe
with the Roman ladies with refpeft to Solonina y
the wife of Cecinna^ with whom they were much
offended, merely bec^ufe me had a finer horfe
and more fplendid furnituref. Myrfine, an
Athenian lady, was murdered by her jealous
rivals, becaufe me excelled them in beauty J ;
and our fair country-women, in their various
aflemblies and fafhionable coteries, feel, if they
would candidly confefs it, no very pleafing fenfa-
tions at the fight of a rival beauty, nor exprefs
any very fincere approbation of her fuperiority
either in drefs or charms, of which every vil-
lage yields abundant examples.
EMULATION, HATRED, FACTION, and
REVENGE, fpring as feral branches from the
baneful root of Envy, and become, ferree animee^
the faws of the foul; or, as Valerius defcribes
them,
* Ant. Guianerius lib. 2, cap. 8, vim. M. Aurclii fcemina vici
nam elegantius fe veftitam vidcns, leamae inftar in virum infur-
git, &c.
t Quod infigni equo Sc oftro veheretur, quanquam nullius
cum injuria, ornatum ilium tanquam Ixfas gravabantur.
^ Quod pulchritudine omnes excelleret, puellae indignatae
occiderunt. Conftantine Agricult. lib. ii. cap. 7.
OF MELANCHOLY. 9*
them, confternationis pleni affettus^ affections
full of defperate amazement. There is, indeed,
no perturbation more frequent, no paffion more
common, than EMULATION.
A potter emulates a potter,
One smith envies another :
A beggar emulates a beggar,
A singing man his brother*.
Every fociety, corporation, and private family,
is full of it ; for it takes hold of all defcriptions
ofperfons, from THE PRINCE to THE PLOUGH-
MAN: even goflips are infected with it: and
there is fcarcely a company of three, without
there being fome Tiding, faction, and emulation
between two of them; or fome jarring, private
grudge, or heart-burning, amongft them all.
Scarcely two private gentlemen can live near
each other in the country, except they be re-
lated by blood or marriage, but there is fome
emulation betwixt them, their wives, children,
friends, followers, or fervants : fome contention
about wealth, quality, precedency, or other
matter of the like nature ; in the indulgence of
which, like the frog in the fable, who burft itfelf
in
HZSIOD.
92 OF THE CAUSES
in attempting to fwell into the fize of the ox,
they confume their fortunes, and increafe their
animofities, until they are broken and undone.
Scarcely, indeed, can two great fcholars be con-
temporaries, without falling foul of each other,
and their refpe&ive adherents, with the bittereft
inve&ives. Thefe obfervations, however, muft
not be applied to that GENEROUS EMULATION
which generally prevails among the liberal-
minded ftudents of the arts and fciences ; an
emulation that becomes the whetftone of wit,
and the nurfe of valor. The glory of Miltiades
was not the envy, but an incentive to the ambi-
tion of Tbemiftocles ; as the trophies of Achilles
moved the foul of Alexander, The mind that is
not fired by the example of great exploits and
noble actions, muft indeed be fluggifh and inert.
The defire of excellence^ when its objedl is great
and virtuous, deferves the higheft praife, and
produces the greateft good; but when trifling or
vicious, it is only productive of mifery and pain.
Henry the Eighth^ of England^ and Francis the
Firjl, of France^ foolifhly fquandered immenfe
fums of money in their celebrated interview in
the plains of Ardes ; and many weak and vain
courtiers of each kingdom, outvying each other
in expence and fplendor, exhaufted their fortunes,
and died in contempt. The jealous minds of
Adrian and Nero caufed them to put all their
equals
OF MELANCHOLY. 93
equals to the fword : and it was this paffion that
caufed Dionyjius the tyrant to banifh Plato the
philofopher, and Philoxenus the poet, from his
dominions, left, by their fuperior excellence,
they fhould eclipfe his glory. The fame in-
fernal fpirit caufed the exile of Coriolanus, the
confinement of Camillus^ and the murder of Sclplo.
When Richard the Flrft of England was a fellow-
foldier with Philip of France at the fiege of
Acon^ in the Holy Land, the Englifli monarch
fo far furpafled his jealous contemporary in vir-
tue and in valor, that the indignant foul of
Philip fought every occafion to create a quarrel ;
and at length, burfting into open defiance, he
recked his revenge, by invading the territories of
his more generous rival, with virulent, immortal,
and fnake-hung enmity. The libels, calumnies,
inve&ives, bitter taunts, perfecutions, wars, and
bloodfhed, which the paflions of jealoufy, hatred,
and revenge create, may be inftanced in the
Guelf and Gibelline fa&ion in Italy \ that of
Adurni and Fregofi in Genoa; that of Orleans
and Burgundy in France ; and that of York and
Lancafter in England. " A plague on both
" your houfes !" exclaimed Mercutlo^ when he
fell a victim to the jealous animofity that pre-
vailed between the Montagues and the Capulets.
And indeed this paffion rages with inveterate
violence not only among individuals and families,
but
94 OF T H E CAUSES
but even among populous cities, as Carthage and
Corinth fatally experienced.
Forbear, rafh men ! the guilt of fhedding blood ;
And to each other give what he deserves.
Love, with affe6tion's warmer fires, the good ;
And pity him who from fair Virtue swerves.
ANGER, which is defcribed to be " a fhort-
" lived madnefs*," carries the fpirits outward,
and, by difturbing the body, and agitating the
mind, induces melancholy by means of the for-
row, difappointment, and repentance it con-
ftantly creates. It is faid to be one of the three
moft violent paffions of the human breaft: and
Bafil^ in his homily de Ira^ juftly calls it " the
" .worft of demons, the great darkener of the
" underftanding, and the moft corroding cancer
cc of the foul :" for, as Horace obferves,
" Nor the God of wine,
" Nor Pythian Phasbus from his inmoft fhrine,
" Nor Dindymene, nor her priefts poflTeft,
" Can with their sounding cymbals (hake the breafl
" Like furious Anger."
The effects of madnefs and anger are, indeed,
the fame : the eyes of the unhappy fufferer, in
both
* Ira furor brevis eft. Hor. lib. i, ep. 2.
OF MELANCHOLY. 9$
both cafes, ftare wildly, and almoft ftart from
their fpheres : his teeth gnafh together, his
tongue faulters, his complexion becomes livid,
and his whole frame diftorted. And, according
to Hippocrates^ the moft dangerous maladies are
thofe which disfigure the countenance. O, ye
fair!
Let no rude paflions in your looks find place;
For fury will deform the fineft face.
It swells the lips, and blackens all the veins,
While in the eye a gorgon horror reigns*.
The victim of this dangerous paflion is fre-
quently unconfcious of its influence at the time
it prevails. Plutarch ordered his difobedient
flave to be ftripped and whipped in his prefence
with extreme feverity. The flave, while he
was undergoing the punimment, remonftrated
with his mafter, telling him that he was acting
unlike the phuofopher he pretended to be; for
that he had not only declaimed againft the in-
decency of anger, but had- compofed a work to
expofe its dangers, and that his conduct upon
the prefent occafion was in contradiction to his
writings. To which Plutarch calmly replied,
" How, ruffian, by what doft thou judge that I
" am
* " Ora tument ira, fevvefcunt fanguine venae,
" Lumina Gorgomo ixvius angue micant."
OVID, dc Arte, b. iii.
96 OF THE CAU3ES
<c am now angry? Does either my face, my
" colour, my voice, or my fpeech, give any ma-
" nifeftation of my being moved ? Do my
" eyes look fierce, is my countenance difturbed,
" are my threats dreadful? Do 1 redden, do I
l foam ? Does any word efcape from my lips
" of which I ought to repent ? Do I ftart ?
<c Do I tremble with wrath ? For thofe, I tell
*' thee, are the true figns of anger." And turn-
ing to the fellow who was whipping the flave,
" Lay on," faid he, " until this gentleman and
" I have fettled this difputed point of philofo-
" phy." This was however very unlike the
conduct of Tarentinusy who, on his returning
home from the wars, and finding every thing
in the greateft diforder, from the negligence of
his fervant, " Go," faid he to the offender,
" by the gods, if I was not angry, I would
" drub you well." All vices are lefs dangerous
the more they are {hewn, and moft pernicious
when they lurk under a diflembled temper.
Montanus had a melancholy Jew under his
care, whofe difeafe he afcribes entirely to the in-
dulgence of this hideous paffion. Anger over-
threw the mind of Ajax:. and Charles the Sixth
of France indulged this paffion againft the Duke
of Brittany to fuch an extreme, that he at firft
loft all appetite for food, and inclination to fleep ;
and at length, about the calends of July, 1392,
2 while
OF MELANCHOLY. 97
while he was riding on horfeback, was feizei
with a mad and moody melancholy, which af-
flicled hiur uu.-t'ng the remainder of his days.
"There is no ftronger proof of a found and
healthy mind, than the not being tranfported to
anger by any accident : the clouds and the tem-
pefts are formed below, while all above is quiet
and ferene. Quietude and ferenity, indeed, are the
chara&erifticks of a brave man, who fupprefles
all provocations, and lives within himfelf,modefr,
venerable, and compofed. But anger is a tur-
bulent humour, which, devoid of every fenfe of
fliame, and of all regard to order, meafure, or
good manners, tranfports a man into mifbecoming
violence with his tongue, his hands, and every
part of his body ; and, fparing neither friend nor
foe, tears all to pieces ; diffolves the bond of
mutual fociety ; and tramples on all the laws of
hofpitality. The mifchiefs, however, which
the indulgence of this furious paffion produces
on the minds of individuals are not its Worft
effects ; for hence come flaughtersj poifons,
wars and defolations, the razing and burning
of cities, the unpeopling of nations, the turning
populous countries into idle deferts, public maf-
facres, regicides, and the fubverfion of king-
doms. Nulla peftis humano generl pluris Jletit.
" There is no plague," fays Seneca^ " that has
" done mankind fo much harm." The fubje&s cf
H h
8 OF THE CAUSES
hiftory are, in general, little more than thofc
enormities which a band of hair-brains have com-
mitted in their rage. We may certainly, there-
fore, put this paflion into our catalogue of caufes
producing this difeafe, and pray that " From all
" blindnefs of heart, from pride, vain-glory, and
" hypocrify j from envy, hatred, malice, anger,
" all fuch peftiferous perturbations, Good Lord
deliver us*."
CARE,
* The ill effefts and Barbarity of anger fannot be more ftrong-
ly painted than they are in the ftory of Pifo, as told by Seneca,
in his admirable effay on the dangers of this paflion. A foldier
and his comrade had had leave of abfence ; and the foldier re
turned to the camp precifely at the appointed hour, but without
his companion. Pifo conceiving that he had murdered him,
condemned the foldier to die, and ordered a centurion to fee the
fentence immediately executed ; but while the axe was lifted to
perform this office, the comrade, to the joy of the whole field,
fuddenly burft through the furrounding ranks, and cried to the
executioner to hold his hand. The two foldiers embraced each
Other with the livelieft joy, and moft cordial congratulations }
and the executioner conceiving that this happy event would af-
ford the fame fatisfa&ion to Pifo, that it had afforded to every
fpeftator, conducted them immediately to the tent of the gene-
ral : but, alas! his former fury, which had not yet fubfided,
became now redoubled; and, in the madnefs of his paffion, h
mounted the tribunal, and fentenced all three to death. The fol-
dier becaufe he had been once condemned ; the comrade, be-
caufe, by his abfence, he had been the caufe of that condemnation ;
and the centurion, becaufe he had difobeyed the order of his
fuperior. ' An ingenious piece of inhumanity," fayt Seneca,
to
OF MELANCHOLY. 99
CARE, corroding Care, and every other fpe-
cies of anxiety that molefts the fpirits, and preys
upon the mind, may be well ranked in the fame
row with thofe irafcible paffions which fo great-
ly contribute to the production of melancholy ;
for while the epithets cruel, bitter, biting, gnaw-
ing, pale, tetrick, and intolerable, by which
the malignant qualities of Care are ufually de-
fcribed, its common etymology, Cura quafi cor
urO) evinces its deftru&ive ravage, on the heart.
Cares, indeed, both in kind and degree, are as
innumerable as the fands of the fri fhore : and
F> g
the fable which Hyginus has fo $T > afantly con-
ftru&ed on this fubjeft, {hews that man is
their proper prey. " Care (fays he) croffing a
dangerous brook, collected a mafs of the dirty
flime which deformed its banks, and moulded it
into the image of an earthly being, which Jupi-
ter ^ on paffing by foon afterwards, touched with
etherial fire, and warmed ; nto animation ; but,
being at a lofs what name to give this new pro-
duction, and difputing to whom of right it be-
longed, the matter was referred to the arbitra-
ment of Saturn^ who decreed that his name
ihould be MAN, Homo ab humo y from the dirt
H 2 Of
" to contrive how to make three criminals where effe&ually
" there was none." He was afhamed of what he had done in
his anger, and plunged himfelf into deeper guilt to conceal his
Ihame.
100 OF THE CAUSES
of which he had been made ; that Care fhould
entirely poflefs his mind while living; that
TelluSj or the earth, fhould receive his body
when dead; and that Jupiter fhould difpofe of
his celeftial eflence according to his difcrction.
Thus was man made the property of CARE from
his original formation ; and Difcontent, the off-
fpring of Care, has ever fmcc been his infepara-
ble companion." The reflection alone, that we
are born to unavoidable mifery during our earthly
ftate of exiftence, is fufficient to diflatisfy the
mind, to macerate the body, and make us weary
of a life in ^hich Mifery and Misfortune " mark
us for their own."
When man first leaves the dark abode of night,
Breaks from his mother's womb, and views the
light,
The tender cries with which the air he fills,
Are a sure presage of his coming ills.
And even when he has waked from his fwad-
dling imprifonment, and no longer lies " mew-
ling and puking in his nurfe's arms ;" when
Young with sanguine cheer, and streamers gay,
He cuts his cable, launches through the world,
And fondly dreams each wind and star his friend;
Amidst a multitude of artful hands,
He's ruin's sure perquise and lawful prize.
The
OF MELANCHOLY. 101
The ocean of a&ive life prefents to his aftonifhed
view a wide fcene of dark ftorms and dreadful
tempefts, through which his frail bark muft
make its way to the diftant port of temporary
eafe. The voyage from the cradle to the grave
is dreary and difaftrous. Blind at its commence-
ment, difappointment mocks his labours through
the middle of it, and grief aflails him at its end.
Retrofpe&ion on his own conduct only exhibits
a black catalogue of his innumerable errors ; and
if he looks through the feveral conditions of life,
he fees nothing but new caufes of forrow and
difcontent. In the markets there are brawlings
and contention : at the court, nothing but kna-
very and deceit: at home, connubial mifery and
parental woes. The melancholy chain of un-
eafmefs and grief runs through every department
of life, and binds man, infolent in profperity,
dejected in adverfity, in every fituation foolifti,
and ever feeking fomething, which, when pof-
fefled, he abhors, and cafts away, to a miferable,
though fhort, exiftence.
'Twixt hope and fear, twixt care and strife,
Belabours through a tedious life.
The world, in fhort, is a labyrinth of errors,
'* den of thieves and cheaters, a puddle of en-
H 3 creafmg
102 OF THE CAUSES
creafmg filth, an adverfe ocean, in which, if
w.e fortunately efcape the jaws of Scylla, we are
fare to fall into thofe of Charybdis :
Incldit In Scyllam cupiens *vltare Cbarybdint.
There are, indeed, fome few of the inhabi-
tants of this dim and murky fpot who are con-
ceived to be happy on account of their vaft
riches, fplendid poflefiions, fair names, and high
alliances j but afk themfelves, and you will hear
them declare, that of all others they are the
moft miferable and unhappy. " A new and ele-
gant ihoe (fays Gracinus] may pleafe the eyes of
every obferver, but it is the wearer alone who
knows where and how lharply it pinches." To,
think well of every other man's condition, and
to diflike our own, is one of the misfortunes of
human nature.
" Pleas'd with each others lot, our own we hate*."
The Greeks boaft of Socrates, Phocion, and
Arift'ides ; the Pfophidians, of Aglaus \ and the
Romans, of Cato r of Curius, and Fabricius^ for
their great fortitude, government of their paf-
fions, and contempt of the world; but none of
them tailed unalloyed felicity. Content dwells
not
* " Cui placet alterius, fua nimirum eft odio fors.
HOR. Lib. i- Ep. 14.
OF MELANCHOLY. 103
not amongft the fons of men ; but, as Solomon
truly fays, " All is vanity and vexation of
fpirit." Were any favoured individual blefled
with Sampfon's hair, MHO'S ftrength, Scander-
beg's arm, Solomon's wifdom, Abfalorrfs beauty,
Cr&fus's wealth, Cafar's valor, Alexander's
fpirit, Cicero's eloquence, Gyges ring, Perfeus*
Pegafus, Gorgon's head, and Neftor's years, he
would not be content :
For while in heaps his ample wealth ascends,
" He is not of his wish possessed;
*' There's something wanting still to make him
blessed."
Fortune, indeed, is but. a fickle goddefs, and
leaves thofe fooneft whom fhe feems to favour
moft. The rich and magnificent Xerxes^ who
had marched vi&orioufly with innumerable ar-
mies, was obliged to fhift for himfelf in a poor
cock-boat j and was, at length, bound in iron
chains, like Bajazet the Turk, and made a
footftool for a tyrannizing conqueror to triumph
over. The bittereft calamities, as POLYBIUS
obferves, generally follow the moft renowned
actions. But, homo h wini desman, A man in
profperity denies others every pleafure which he
enjoys himfelf. Seated at his table, and lolling
in the foft luxury of his eafy chair, he forgets
the tried and hungry fervant, who ftands unea-
H 4 fily
104 OF THE CAUSES
fi!y and tantaiifed behind him, to adminifter in
filence to his enjoyments. Revelling in the
profufion of his wealth, fated with all the deli-
cacies the moft lufcious banquet can afford, and
charmed by founds of fweeteft melody, he -for-
gets that many a poor, hungry, ftarved crea-
ture, is pining in the ftreets, full of pain and
grief, fick, ill, and weary, in want even of a
morfel to afluage his appetite, and almoft with-
out a rag to conceal his nakeunefs. He loaths
and fcorns his inferiors, hates or emulates his
equals, and, with a lowering and malignant eye,
envies, while he attempts to degrade, his more
virtuous fuperiors. But if this picture of " proud
m n, drefled in a little brief authority," be not
fufficient to prove the extent of human mifery,
let us feparately examine every ftate and condi-
tion of life. Kings and princes, monarchs and
magiftrates, appear to be the moft happy; but
infpe& them clofely, and you will find that of
all others they are the moft opprefled with cares.
Client mihi regent dabis^ fays Chryfoftom^ non
curls plenum ? Sovereignty is a tempeft of the
foul ; and the darknefs of its afflictions outweighs
the fplendors of its crown, and the number of its
rays. Splendorem tltulo fed cruciatumanimo. The
title mines with deceitful brightnefs, while the
anxieties created by its office crucify the foul.
Rich men are, generally fpeaking, in a fimilar
predicament ;
OF MELANCHOLY. 105
predicament ; their wealth is like a child's rat-
tle, which pleafes for a moment, and is enjoyed
no more ; but fools perceive not the pain they
feel, and the miferies they endure. The middle
ranks of life, like fo many afies, are born to pafs
their time for nought but provender. Of the loweft.
clafs we (hall fpeak hereafter. Every particular
profeflion is, in the opinion of the world, inca-
pable of affording perfect content. A lawyer is
confidered as a fordid wrangler ; a phyfician, an
infpeclor of filth and naftinefs *; a philofo-
pher, a madman ; an alchyrm'ft, a beggar f ; a
poet, a hungry jack} a fchoolmafter, a drudge;
a hufbandman, an emmit ; a tradefman, a liar;
a taylor, a thief; a ferving man, a flave; a foldier,
a butcher; a courtier, a parafite ; and a fmith, a
fellow that never has the pot one moment from
his nofe. Like the man who could not find a tree
throughout the wood on which he could hang
himfelf with any pleafure, fo no man can find a
ftate of life capable of affording perfect fatif-
fadion.
While thus around the foul winds blow,
Our earth-born cares more bitter grow ;
Sweet
* Stercus et urina, medicorii fercula prima.
+ As appears by the following definition of this fuppofed
art, in the form of a charade. Alchymy is Ars fine arte cujus
priacipium eft mentiri, medium laborare, et finis mendicare.
J06 OF THE CAUSES
Sweet Hope the tortur'd bosom flies ;
The heart, deep sunk, desponding dies :
The mind, with rays no longer bright,
Sinks down, and sets in endless night.
The PASSIONS and DESIRES, like the two
twifts of a rope, mutually mix one with the
other, and twine inextricably round the heart;
producing good, if moderately indulged; but
certain deftru&ion, if fuffered to become inordi-
nate. Defire is truly faid to have no reft; to be
infinite in its views ; and endlefs in its opera*
tions. St. Auft'm compares it to a wheel that is
continually revolving with increafed rapidity,
and producing from its vortex an offspring more
various and innumerable " than the gay motes
that people the fun-beams :" and it certainly ex-
tends itfelf to every object, great and fmall,
which either art or nature has prefented to the
eye of man. To defcribe all the branches of
this perturbed family would be impoflible. I
fhall therefore confine myfelf to thofe which, in
the opinions of Guianerius^ Fernelius^ Plater,
and others, are moft likely to produce the difeafe
of melancholy; as Firft, that appetite for power,
which is called AMBITION : Secondly, that de-
fire of gain which is called COVETOUSNESS :
Thirdly, that pride, felf-love, and vain-glory,
which reaches after FAME : and, Fourthly, that
defire of fuperior knowledge which induces an
excefs
OF MELANCHOLY. 107
excefs of STUDY j referring the univerfal PAS-
SION of LOVE to a feparate and diftind confider*
ation.
AMBITION, that high and glorious paffion
which makes fuch havoc among the fons of men,
arifes from a proud defire of honour and diftinc-
tion ; and when ^he fplendid trappings in which
it is ufually caparifoned are removed, will be
found to confift of the mean materials of envy,
pride, and covetoufnefs. It is defcribed by dif-
ferent authors, as a gallant madnefs, a pleafant
poifon, a hidden plague, a fecret poifon, a cauftic
of the foul, the moth of holinefs, the mother of
hypocrify., and, by crucifying and difquieting all
it takes hold of, the caufe of melancholy and
madnefs. Seneca, indeed, calls it rem follcltam^
t'tmidam^ vanam t et ventofam; a felicitous, fear-
ful, vain, and windy thing ; becaufe thofe who,
like Syftpkus^ roll the reftlefs ftone of ambition,
are, in general, doubtful, apprehenfive, fufpici-
ous, in perpetual agony, cogging, colleaguing,
embracing, capping, cringing, applauding, flat-
tering, fleering, vifiting, and waiting at men's
doors with aflumed affability, counterfeit ho-
nefty, and mean humuity : and, in truth, every
honourable and exalted fentiment, every princi-
ple of real virtue, and all the honeft claims of
independence, are facrificed to obtain the objects
which
I08 OF THE CAUSES
which induce this guilty paffion ; for if the fervility
above defcribed be not competent to its purpofes,
no means, however bafe, will be left untried to
attain them. It is aftonifhing to obferve the
abjeft flavery and vicious proftitution to which
this defcription of characters fubjecl: themfelves';
what pains they take, how they run, ride, caft,
plot, counterplot, proteft, fwear, vow, and pro-
mife; what labours they undergo ; howobfequi-
ous and affable they are ; how popular and
courteous ; how they grin and fleer upon every
man they meet ; with what feafting and inviting
they pafs their days ; and how they fatigue
themfelves, and fpend their fortunes, to obtain,
pofleffion of that which they would be much
happier and honefter without : with what
waking nights, painful hours, anxious minds, and
bitternefs of thought, they confume their time
and end their days. The mind, in fhort, of an
ambitious man is never fatisfied ; his foul is har-
raffed with unceafing anxieties, and his heart
harrowed up by increafing difquietude. Such
difpofitions are infatiable ; nihll aliud nlfi impert-
umfpirant ; their thoughts, actions, and endea-
vours, are all for fovereignty ! Like dogs in a
wheel, birds in a cage, or fquirrels in a chain,
they ftill climb and climb, with great labour,
and inceffant anxiety, but never reach the top.
Their gratifications, indeed, like thofe of L.
Sforza r
OF MELANCHOLY.
tend invariably to their own un-
doing, and the ruin of thofe who embark in
their caufe. A knight would be firft a baronet,
then a lord, then a vifcount, then an earl, then
a duke, and then a king j as Pyrrhus is faid to
have firft defired Greece , then Afia^ then Africa^
and then the whole world. But, like the frog
in the fable, they fwell with defires until they
burft, and fall down with Sejanus^ ad Gemonias
fcalas, breaking their own necks, and involving
all around them in ruin* and defolation. This
intenfe and eager paflion is not unlike the ar-
dour of that which Evangelus, the piper, in
Lucian^ poflefled, who blew his pipe fo long,
that he fell down dead. The ambition of Cesfar
and Alexander were two fires or torrents t0 ra-
vage the world by feveral ways.
As flames among the lofty woods are thrown
On different CJes, and far by winds are blown ;
As laurels crackle in the sputtering fire,
While frighted sylvans from their fhades retire;
Or as two neighbouring torrents fall from high,
Rapid they run, the foamy waters fry,
They roll to sea with unrefifted force,
And down the rocks precipitate their course ;
Not with less rage ambitious heroes take
Their different ways ; nor less deftruftion make.
Neither of them could enjoy the empire of the
world
110 OF THE CAUSES
world in eafe and peace. The feat of ambition^
in fliort, is the fuburbs of hell.
For, oh! the curse of wifhing to be great,
Dazzled with Hope, we cannot see the cheat.
When wild AMBITION in the heart we find,
Farewell content, and quiet of the mind ;
For glittering clouds we leave the solid fhore^
And wonted happiness returns no more.
COVETOUSNESS is a great fource of melan-
choly. It is that greed inefs in getting, that te
nacity in keeping, and that fordidity in fpend-
ing, which characterize this mean and abject
perturbation, that render men unjuft to their God,
unkind to their fellow-creatures, and unhappy in
themfelves. " The defire of money," fays St.
Timothy , " is the root of all evil ; and thofe who
(l luft after it, pierce themfelves through with
ce many forrows." Hippocrates^ in his epiftle
to Craterva y an herbalift, advifes him to cut
up, among other herbs, the weed of covetoufnefs
by the roots, without leaving, if it be poflible,
even a fpray behind ; for that, by effecting this,
he ftiould not only be enabled the more eafily
and effectually to cure the difeafes of his patients*
bodies, but to eradicate entirely the moft per-
nicious diforders of their minds. Covetoufnefs,
indeed, is the very pattern, image, and epitome
of all melancholy i the great fountain of human
miferies,
OF MELANCHOLY. lit
miferiesj and the muddied ftream of care and
woe.
To either India see the merchant fly,
Scar'd by the spectre of pale Poverty !
See him with pain of body, pangs of soul,
Burn thro' the tropic, freeze beneath the pole.
There are, indeed, certain worldly-minded men,
of the terres filii breed, who conceive that covet-
ous characters muft neceflarily be happy, be-
caufe there is more pleafure in acquiring wealth
than in fpending it, and becaufe, according to
the problem of Bias, the getting of money is a
purfuit in which men are never fatigued. What
is it, they afk, that makes the poor man endure
a long and laborious life, carry almoft intolera-
ble burdens, fubmit to the hardeft fare, undergo
the moft grievous offices with the greateft pa-
tience, rife early, and lie down late, if there
be not an extraordinary delight in the pur-
fuit and acquifition of riches ? What makes the
merchant, who has no need, fatis fuperque domlj
to range around the world, braving the hard-
fliips of every climate, but that his pleafures are
fuperior to his pains. Such obfervations may at
firft view appear plaufible, popular, and ftrong;
but let thofe who entertain this conceit, refledt
but
112 OF THE CAUSES
but a moment without prejudice and partiality,
and they will foon be convinced to the contrary.
At Athens liv'd a wight in days of yore;
Though miserably rich, he wifh'd for more ;
But of intrepid spirit to despise
Th' abufive crowd : Rail on, rail on, he cries,
While in my own opinion fully bleft,
I count my money, and enjoy my cheft.
But St. Chryfofldm truly obferves, that it is one
thing to be rich, and another to be covetous.
Rich men may certainly, by a proper ufe of
their wealth, render not only themfelves, but all
around them comfortable and happy.
Wealth in the gross is death ; but life, diffus'd ;
As poison heals, in juft proportion us'd :
In heaps, like ambergris, a ftink it lies;
But well dispers'd, is incense to the fkies.
But covetous men are fools, miferable wretches,
dizzards, mad-men, who live by themfelves,
fine arte fruendi, in perpetual flavery, fear, fuf-
picion, forrow, difcontent, with more of gall
than honey in their enjoyments, who are rather
poj/ejjed by their money than poflefibrs of it;
mancipati pecuniis, bound prentices to their pro-
perty ; and, fervi divitiarum, mean flaves and
drudges to their fubftance. Like Ptolemy, the
fovereign,
OF MELANCHOLY.
fovereign of Cyprus, who preferred his gold to
his liberty, they are only kings in fancy, but
in reality are miferable vaflals. Such men, like
Acbab, becaufe he could not poflefs himfelf of
NalotWs vineyard, are always dejected and me-
lancholy, troubled in abundance, and forrowful
in plenty. Aujlin^ therefore, defines covetouf-
nefs to be a difhoneft and infatiable thirft of gain,
an earthly hell, which devours all, and yet
never hath enough ; a bottomlefs pit, an endlefs
mifery, In quern fcopulum avaritits cadaverofifenes
ut plurimum impingunt. A covetous man is the
continual vi&im of fufpicion, fear, and diftruft ;
his wife, his children, and his fervants, he con-
fiders as fo many thieves lying in wait to feize
the firft favourable opportunity to rob him of
his gold ; and he banifhes every friend left he
fhould beg, borrow, or purloin his treafures.
Valerius mentions an inftance of a mifer who,
during a famine, fold a moufe for ten pounds,
and died himfelf of hunger. Euclio^ in the Au->
lularla of Plautus^ commands Staphyla^ his
wife, to make all the doors faft, and put out the
fire, left fome acquaintance, on pafling by, and
feeing the light, fhould call in, and ruin him
by fuffering its vapours to efcape any longer
through the chimney. This is not an imagi-
nary but a real picture of all covetous men,
who, while
I With
114 OF THE CAUSES
With false weights their servants' guts they chtfaf,
Will pinch their own to cover the deceit;
Keep a ftale cruft 'till it looks blue, and think
Their meat not fit for eating 'till it ftink ;
The leaft remains of which they mince and dress
With art again, to make another mess;
Adding a leek, whose every ftring is told,
For fear some pilfering hand mould make too bold;
And with a mark diftincl: seal up each difti
Of thrice-boil'd beans and putrid summer fifh.
But to what end these sordid ways of gain?
It mews a manifefl unsettled brain.
Living to suffer a low ftarving fate,
In hopes of dying in a wealthy (late ;
For as their ftruttting bags with money rise,
The love of gain is of an equal fize.
Kind fortune does the poor man better bless,
Who, though he has it not, defires it less,
i
Cyrus was a prince of extraordinary liberality,
and beflowed his riches upon the deferving no-
bles of his court, with a bounty even furpaffing
the generous feelings of his heart. The weal-
thy but miferable Crcefus reproached the mo-
narch for his munificence, and fhewed him, by
a calculation, to what an immenfe fum his gifts
would have amounted, if they had been lucra-
tively employed. The prince, to convince the
fordid ufurer of his miftake, pretended to his
nobles, that his treafury was exhaufted, and re-
quefted- of them to raife him, for a particular
expedition,
OF MELANCHOLY.
expedition, a fum far exceeding that which
they had conjointly received. The grateful
nobles laid their whole fortunes immediately at
his feet. " You fee," exclaimed Cyrus to the
aftonimed mifer, " with what a fmall depofit I
" have gained the inellimable treafure of nume-
lc rous friends; and how much more fervice-
" able my wealth, thus employed, has proved,
<c than it could have been, had I laid it out in
" mercenary means. The real and fincere af-
<c fe&ion of my friends is more valuable to me
" than all my money, however great, could
" have been while locked in chefts, or employ-
<c ed at ufurious intereft, which muft have ex-
*' pofed me, as the fame conduct does every other
<c man, to the hatned and contempt of every
" virtuous mind." This is the true ufe of riches.
Non ejje cupidum pecunia ejl ; not to be covetous
is wealth ; and a confidence in other men's vir-
tue is no light evidence of our own.
o
THE LOVE OF GAMING, the moft baneful and
deftru&ive of all the various paflions by which
the happinefs of man has ever been afiailed, is
the offspring of AVARICE. How many poor,
diftrefled, miferable wretches may be feen in
almoft every path and ftreet begging for alms,
\vho are well defcended, and have formerly
pofleffed flourifhing eftates ! but now, alas !
I 2 ragged,
Il6 OF THE CAUSES
ragged, tattered, ftarving, and lingering out a
painful life in difcontent and forrow, all from
coveting inordinately the pofleflion of extraordi-
nary wealth, or purfuing intemperately expenfive
pleafures. It is, indeed, the common end of
fenfual epicures, and of all thofe who feek to
gratify their too vehement defires. Luctan has
well defcribed the fate of fuch men's proceedings
in his piclure of Opulentia^ whofe refidence he
reprefents to be on a lofty mountain, the fummit
of which her fond votaries are eagerly endeavour-
ing to reach. While their money lafts, they
are conducted on their way over flowery meads
by the fairy hands of Dalliance and Pleafure;
but when Fortune fails, their treacherous con-
ductors revile them for their vain attempt, and
thrufting them down headlong into the vale
of Tears, expofe them to the torments of
fhame, mifery, reproach, and defpair. It is the
common fate of prodigals, and of all the fol-
lowers of fuch vain delights. But the ordinary
.rocks upon which fuch men do impinge and pre-
cipitate themfelves, are cards, dice, horfe?,
hawks, and hounds. The fortunes, indeed, of
fome men are confumed by mad phantaftical
buildings; by making galleries, cloifters, ter-
races, walks, orchards, gardens, pools, rillets,
bowers, and fuch like places of pleafure, inutiles
? t as Xcrtophon calls them, which, however
2 delightful
OF MELANCHOLY. llf
delightful they may be in themfelves, ornamen-
tal to the place where they are made, or be-
fitting the dignity and fortune of the proprietor,
are frequently the caufes of his ruin : and Forejlus
gives an inftance of a man, who, having con-
fumed his fortune in erecting a fuperb but un-
profitable building, of which he could after-
wards make no advantage, became miferablc
and melancholy for the remainder of his days.
If noble Att'icus make plenteous feafts,
And with luxuriant chambers please his guefts,
His wealth and quality support the treat;
In him it is not luxury, but ftate :
But when poor Rutllus spends all he's worth,
In hopes of setting one good dinner forth,
'Tis downright madness ; for what greater jefts
Than begging gluttons, or than beggars' feafts !
Horfes, hawks, and hounds, alfo, when trained
for the mad and expenfive fport of hunting, de-
ftroy the fortunes of their poflefTors, and over~
throw the fpirits they were intended, when ufed
as moderate recreations, to enliven and fupport.
An injudicious huntfman, like Afieon, is devour-
ed by his own dogs. A phyfician of Milan ,
who was famous for the cure of infanity, had a
pit of water in his houfe, called the waters of
infancy, into which he plunged hjs patients,
fome up to the knees, others to the middle,
and others to the chin, in proportion as
I 3 they
Il8 OF THE CAUSES
they were more or lefs affected with this dire
difeafe. While one of them, who was almoft
recovered, was ftanding one day at the door of
the doctor's houfe, he obferved a fportfman ride
by, finely mounted, with a hawk on his hand, fur-
rounded by a pack of fpaniels and other attend-
ants j and afking the occafion of all this parade,
was told that it was to kill game. " Game !"
exclaimed the patient ; " and pray how much
" more may all the game be worth which you
cc kill, in any one year, than the expences of this
" fuite." The fportfman replied, that his dogs,
his horfes, his hawks, his hounds, and other
accompaniments, might, perhaps, be iooo/. a
year ; but that the game he killed was fcarcely
worth as many fhillings. " Ride away !" cries
the aftonifhed patient with great anxiety, " ride
" away with all poflible fpeed, if you value
" your life." l < But why ?" replied the fportf-
man, " where is the danger?" " Danger!" re-
joined the patient ; " why if the doctor here
44 fhould fee you, and know all this, he would cer-
* l tainly plunge you over head and ears for ever
<c in the waters of infanity." Sports and gaming,
indeed, whether purfued from a defire of gain
or. love of pleafure, are as ruinous to the temper
and difpofition of the party addicted to them, as
they are to his fame and fortune. Leo the
y who, from his violent fondnefs for the
fports
OF MELANCHOLY. > ll<)
fports of the field, acquired the" appellation of
tc The Hunting Pope," frequently abandoned
his capital, amidft the greateft emergencies of
public affairs, and retired to his feat at O/iia,
in fearch of rural diverfion, where, if his fport
was fpoiled, or his game not good, he became
fo impatient, that he would revile his noble
companions with the bittereft ta&iits, and moft
fcurrilous invectives; but if his fport was good,
and uninterrupted, he would, with unfpeakable
bounty and munificence, reward all his fellow-
hunters, and gratify the wifhes of every fuitor.
This is, indeed, the common humour of all
gamefters, who, whilft they win, are always
jovial, merry, good-natured, and free ; but, on
the contrary, if they lofe even the fmalleft
trifle, a fingle hit at backgammon, or a dealing at
cards for two-pence a game, are fo cholerick
and tefty, that they frequently break into vio-
lent paflions, utter the moft impious oaths, and
horrid imprecations, and become fo mad that no
man dare to fpeak to them. But, alas ! they
have in general, efpecially if their flakes be large
and excellive, more occafion to regret their win-
ning than lofing j for, as Seneca truly obferves,
their gains are not inunera fortune, fed infidia ;
not Fortune's gifts, but Misfortune's baits, to
lead them on to their common cataftrophe, beg-
gary and ruin. Ut pejtis vitam, fie adimit a lea
I 4 pecuniam \
I2O OF THE CAUSES
fecuniam; as the plague deftroys men's lives, fa
gaming ruins their fortunes.
Alea Scylla vorax, species certifltma furti ;
Non contenta bonis animum quoque perfida mergit,
Fceda, furax, infamis, iners, furiosa, ruina.
The fall of fuch men is not intitled to the com-
mon confolations which the feelings of humani-
ty, in other cafes of diftrefs, uniformly afford ;
but deferve, as they were of old, rather to be
publicly expofed and biffed out of every honeft
fociety, than pitied and relieved. At Padua, in
Italy, there is a ftone near the fenate houfe,
called The Stone of Turpitude, on which game-
fters and fpendthrifts are expofed to public igno-
jniny: and in Tufcany and Boetia, fuch dan-
gerous infolvents were brought into the mar-
ket-place cloathed in the fkins of bears, with
empty purfes in their extended paws, where they
fat all day, circumjlante plebe, amidft the re-
proaches of the populace, tortured by a fenfe of
infamy and the (hafts of ridicule.
Many there are of the same well-bred kind,
Whom their despairing creditors may find
Burking in fhambles; where, with borrow'd coin,
They buy choice meats, and in cheap plenty dine.
SELF-
OF MELANCHOLY.
SELF-LOVE, ctecus amor fui y PRIDE, and
VAIN-GLORY, which St. Chryfoflom calls the
devil's three great nets, are main caufes of me-
lancholy. The paffion of Self-love is of all
human perturbations the moft powerful and in-
fidious. Thofe whofe bofoms are perfe&Iy
free from the oppreflions of grief, infenfible of
anger, void of fear, exempt from avarice, unde-
voted to any fond fancy, impervious to the fhafts
of love, and ftrangers to the joys of wine, may-
be captivated and overcome by this pleafing
humour, this gently-whifpering Syren, this de-
lightful charm, but moft irrefragable paflion.
It glides fo fweetly into the mind, fo foftly lulls
the fenfes, plays fo pleafingly around the heart,
and ravifhes the foul with fuch a variety of en^
dearing charms, that thofe whom it aflails fel-
dom perceive their danger until they are paft all
cure. The heart, yielding to its kind influence,
filently dilates, and expanding all its fibres, wil-
lingly receives and cherifhes in its deepeft re-
cefles this cordial poifon. The more pregnant
it is with mifchief, the more grateful it appears.
Flattery and adulation, however grofs or infin-
cere, are always received by it with fond delight,
Pliny, indeed, in his epiftle to Maxlmus, candidly
confefles that he could not exprefs the charm he
felt when he heard himfelf commended. The
coarfe
122 OF THE CAUSES
coarfe and fulfome daubings of a parafite, even
though the perfon to whom he addrefles his falfe
encomiums be confcious that he falls as fhort of
the attributed virtues as a moufe is inferior to
an elephant, always convey an inward fatisfac-
tion; and although the blufh of modefty, or the
frown of anger, may fometimes be raifed by a
bold extravagance of praife, the offence is re-
membered with filent gratitude, and the offen-
der forgiven with becoming mercy. The fub-
tic poifon fteals infenfibly into the heart, and
rifes in baleful vapours to the breaft, until the
whole body is affected with the tympany of felf-
conceit : and the bloated patient, filled, by this
" fallax fuavitas" and " blandtis d&monj' with
the maggot oftentation, thanks God, like the
Pharifee in the Gofpel, " that he is not as other
" men are ; extortioners, unjuft, and adulterers ;
" or even as this publican."
Nothing so monstrous can be even feigned,
But with belief and joy is entertained.
This mifchief arifes from the over-weening
conceit which every man entertains of his own
great parts and extraordinary worth; for which,
Narcijjiis like r he applauds, flatters, and acu
mires himfelf, and thinks all the world >'s of the;
fame
OF MELANCHOLY. 123
fame opinion ; and as deformed women eafily
give credit to thofe who tell them they are fair,
fo men are too credulous in their own favour, and
willing to exalt, and over highly prize, their own
chara&ers, while they vilify and degrade thofe
of other men. Everyman believes himfelf to
, be made of a more pure and precious metal than
any of his fellow-creatures. De meliore luto
fmxit pracordia Titan. " I once knew," fays
Erafmus, " fo arrogant a man, that he thought
himfelf inferior to no man living; who, like
Calijthenesj the philofopher, was fo infolent that
he neither held dlexander's a&s, or any other
fubjecl:, worthy of his pen." Philofophers are
glorious creatures, the venal flaves of rumour,
fame, and popular opinion, who, Chough they
affet a contempt of glory, put their names in the
front of their works. The beft authors, indeed,
Trebellius Pollio, Pliny, Cicero, Ovid, and
Horace, furnifh abundant proofs "of this pre-
pofterous vanity, conceit, and felf-approbation, in
the proud ft rains and foolifh flames of which they
are fo frequently guilty; and perhaps the ob-
fervation of Cicero to Atticus, that there never
was a great orator or true poet, who thought
any other orator or poet better than himfelf, is
univerfally true: but in the opinion of all wife
men, fuc^ puffing humours are perfectly ridicu-
lous,
124 OF THE CAUSES
lous, and leflen the characters they arc in-
tended to raife.
The company of Cynlcks, monks, anchorites,
and philofophers, who feemingly defpife the
charms of praife, and the fplendours of glory,
who affect
'* To war against their own affections,
" And the huge army of the world's desire,'*
and think themfelves free from the bad effects
of a love of adulation, are a clafs of characters
directly oppofite to thofe above defcribed; but
they are more proud and vain-glorious than thofe
whofe example they pretend to fhun : Sape homo
de vanes glorits contemptu^ vanius gloriatur.
When men who are enabled to array themfelves
in clothes of gold, wander with melancholy and
dejected humility, outwardly cloathed in a fheep's
ruflet, they may be fairly fufpected of being in-
wardly fwoln with arrogance and felf-conceit.
The precept of rviSi o-sauiov, Know yourfelf^ may
be fairly recommended to both thefe defcriptions
of character; and perhaps the writings of So-
crates are the beft to inform them of its real
value ; for he, by the ftudy of it, acquired fuch
a contempt of himfelf, as to be reckoned the
only perfon that was worthy to be c; M -vJ a wife
man :
OF MELANCHOLY. . 125
man : and whoever, fays Montaigne, fhall know
himfelf in the fame manner, may boldly be his own
trumpeter, and liften with lefs danger to para-
fites and flatterers, who, with immoderate praife,
bombaft epithets, glozing titles, and falfe eulo-
giums, fo bedaub, applaud, and gild over many
a filly undeferving man, that they drive him
quite out of his wits.
'< O youl whom Vanity's light bark conveys
*'. On Fame's mad voyage by the wind of Praise,
* With what a fhifting gale your course you plyl
For ever sunk too low, or borne too high.
" Who pants for glory, finds but (hort repose;
4< A breath revives him, or a breath o'erthrows."
EXCESSIVE STUDY, induced by that love of
learning which frequently fattens on the minds of
fcholars, leads inevitably to that lofty madnefs, of
flip-fhod melancholy, which isfaid to be one of the
five principal plagues that afflict continual medita-
tion; and indeed Arculanus and Levinus Lemnius
confider/?^'z/tfz vehemens asthe greateft caufe of this
difeafe. Fufchius and Hercules de Saxonia fpeakof a
particular fury, that is raifed and conjured up by in-
tenfe reading*. Certain it is, that great fcholarsf,
who
* Pcculiaris furor, qui ex literis fit. Nihil magis auget, ac
afTidua ftudia, & profunda: cogitationes.
i Mr.//w/Cj in his life of the celebrated Italian poet Ttffi, gives
the
126 OF THE CAUSES
who have generally the fineft wits, although
they are not always the wifeft men, are, of all
others,
the following anecdote on this fubjeft : " At Sifaccio, near
Naples, MANSO had an opportunity of examining the fingular
effects of TASSO'S melancholy, and often difputed with him.
concerning a familiar fpirit which he pretended communed with
him. MANSO endeavoured in vain- to perfuade his friend that
the whole was the illufion of a diilurbed imagination ; for the
latter was ftrenuous in maintaining the reality of what he afferted,
and, to convince MANSO, defired him to be prefent at one of
the myflerious converfations. MAXSO had the complaitance to
meet him the next day, and while they Were engaged in dif-
courfe, on a fudden he obferved that TASSO kept his eyes fixed
on a window, and remained in a manner immoveable : he called
him by his name, but received no anfwer. At laft TASSO cried
out, " There is the friendly Jfririt that is come to converfe with me.
" L)ok! and you. will be convinced of the truth of all I have faid."
MANSO heard him with furprize. He looked, but faw nothing,
except the fun-beams darting through the window : he caft his
eyes all over the room, but could perceive nothing; and was
jufl going to afk where the pretended fpirit was, when he heard
TASSO fpeak with great earneftnefs, fometimes putting queftion*
to the fpirit, fometimes giving anfwers; delivering the whole in
fuch a pleafing manner, and in fuch elevated expreflions, that he
liftened with admiration, and had not the leaft inclination to
interrupt him. At lafl. the uncommon converfation ended with
the departure of the fpirit, as appeared by TASSO'S words, who,
turning to MANSO, afked him if his doubts were removed.
MANSO was more amazed than ever: he fcarce knew what to
think of his friend's lituation, and waved any further conver-
fation on the fubjeft." And Dr. Crichton, in his inquiry into
the nature and origin of mental derangement, gives feveral cafes
of the like kind, on the effeft of melancholy produced by in-
Unfe ftudy.
OF MELANCHOLY. 12J
ethers, moft fubje<5l tomadnefs : the epithets, in-
deed, offevere, fad, dry, tetrick, which are gene-
rally applied to perfons of ftudious difpofitions,
evince its dangerous effects upon the human frame.
PartritiuSj in his " Inftitution of Princes,'*
cautions their preceptors againft making them
great ftudents; for ftudy, as Macbiavel holds,
weakens their bodies, enervates their minds,
damps their fpirits, and abates their courage.
A certain Goth was fo well convinced, that ex-
cellent fcbolars never make foldlers^ that, when
he invaded Greece, inftead of burning all the de-
pofitories of Grecian literature, which he had once
commanded to be done, he reverfed the order, and
" left them that plague to confume their vigour,
" and deftroy their martial fpirit." So dif-
advantageous to exertion is this difpofition fup-
pofed to be, that Cornutus was prevented from
Succeeding to the throne of his father, becaufe
he was fo much addicted to learning and the
mufes. And certain it is that intenfe ftudy, by
overpowering the faculties of the mind, and di-
miniming the animal fpirits, produces a ftrong
tendency to melancholy. The life of a con-
firmed ftudent is fedentary, folitary, free from
bodily exercife, and totally unufed to thofe or-
dinary fports which others fo fondly follow, and
which contribute fo highly to health and hap-
pinefs. ForeJJui mentions a young divine of
OF THE CAUSES
Louvatn, whofe brain was fo affected by fever?
application to the fcience of theology, that he
imagined he had a bible in his head. A me-
O
chanic looks to his tools ; a painter wafhes his
pencils; a fmith mends his hammer, anvil, or
forge; and a hufbandman Iharpens his plough-
fhare ; but fcholars totally neglect thofe inftru-
ments, the brain and fpirits, by means of which
they daily range through the regions of fcience
and the wilds of nature. Like carelefs and un-
fkilful archers, they bend the bow until it breaks.
In almoft every other purfuit, diligence and in-
duftry are fure of being rewarded with fuccefs ;
but in the beloved purfuits of literature, the moft
unremitted induftry, though it may fometimes
exalt a ftudent's fame, is never favourable to his
fortune, and always deftru&ive of his health.
Every thing is facrificed to the enjoyment of
this delightful though laborious occupation.
Saturn and Mercury, the patrons of learning,
are both dry planets; and Origanus obferves,
that it is no wonder the Mercurial ifts are poor,
fmce their patron Mercury was himfelf a beggar.
The deftinies of old put poverty upon the cele-
tial herald as a punifhment ; and ever fmce thofe
GemeUi y or twin-born brats, POETRY and PO-
VERTY, have been infeparable companions.
Their tutelary deity is enabled to furnilh them
With the riches of knowledge, but not of money.
Poverty
OF MELANCHOLY. I2g
Poverty creates vexation; and vexation, combined
with the anxious and miremitted exercife of the
brain, exhaufts the animal fpirits, extinguifhes
the natural heat of the body, and prevents the
functions from performing their proper offices.
This is the reafon why ftudents are fo frequent-
ly troubled with gout, catarrhs, rhumes, cachexia,
bradypepfia, bad eyes, ftone, cholic, crudities^
oppilations, vertigoes, confumptions, and all that
train of difeales which follow fedentaryand cogi-
tative habits. Of their immoderate pains and
extraordinary labours, the works of the great
ToftatuS) of Thomas Aquinas^ of St. Aujl'in^ of
Hierom, and many thoufands befides, might be
produced as examples] for
" He who defires this wifh'd-for goal to gain,
" Mud sweat and freeze before he can attain."
Stneca confefles that he never fpent a day in
idlenefs, but kept himfelf awake night after
night, tired and {lumbering, to his continual tafk.
Ciceroy in his fine oration for the poet Archias^
boafts, that whilft others loitered, and took their
pleafures, he was continually at his ftudies.
AndThibetBenchorat employed himfelf inceflantly
for more than forty years to difcover the motion
of the eighth fphere ! The works of Hildijheim^
Trincavellius t Mont anus ^ Garcius^ Mercurials,
K and
1^0 OF THE CAUSES
and Profper Calenius, contain many cafes of
fcholars who have neglected all worldly affairs,
and by intenfe ftudy became melancholy and
mad, for which the unpitying world gave them
very little credit or commendation. But if you
fhould, from the abfurdity and folly of fuch pro-
ceedings, doubt the fact, you may go to Bedlam
and fatisfy your fenfes. Thofe, indeed, who are
fortunate enough to preferve their wits, become,
in the opinion of the world, little better than
mad men, becaufe in footh they are unable t
ride a horfe with fpirit, to earve dexteroufly at
table, to cringe, to make congees, and to " kifs
" away their hands in courtefies," which every
fop and common fwafher can do. Their perfonal
appearance, to fay the truth, is in general ex-
tremely aukward, odd, and fingular.
** The man who, ftretch'd on Ids' calm retreat,
r< To books and ftudy gives seven years compleat;
*' See firew'd with learned duft, his night-cap on,
" He walks an objeft new beneath the sun!
' The boys flock round him, and the people ftare *
*' So ftiff, so mute ! some ftatue, you would swear,.
" Stepp'd from its pedeftal to take the air.**
Thomas Aquinas flipping one evening with
Lewis , King of France, fuddenly knocked his
fill upon the table, (his wits, I fuppofe, were a
wool-gathering, and his head bufied about other
matterSj,)
2.
OF MELANCHOLY. ' 13!
matters,) and exclaimed, Conclufum eft contra
Mamchaos ! But who can defcribe his confufion,
when he recolle&ed the abfurdity into which
this abfence of mind had fo ridiculoufly betrayed
him! Fitruvius alfo relates, that drchtmedes
having fuddenly difcovered the means of know-
ing how much gold was mingled with the filver
of king Hieron's crown, ran naked from the
bath, and cried, " ^x*," I have found : and,
indeed, this profound philofopher was commonly
fo intent upon his ftudies, that when the foldiers,
who had taken the town by ftorm, were rifling
his houfe, he never perceived what was doing
about him. Minds fo abftracted, poffefs fo lit-
tle knowledge of the common affairs and tranf-
adions of life, that Paglar en/is conceived his
farming bailiff had cozened him, when he heard
him fay that his fow had produced eleven pigs,
but his afs only one foal. Ignorant, however, as
fuch characters muft be in worldly affairs, and
aukward as they are in their manners, they are
in general fincere, harmlefs, upright, honefr,
innocent, and plain dealing ; and as they neglect
their fortunes, ruin their healths, and endanger
their lives, for the common benefit and advan-
tage of mankind, ought to be highly refpecled,
and carefully provided for, by a generous public.
With them,,
K 2 "As
132 OF THE CAUSES
te As in the.gates and in the jaws of hell,
" Diftreffing cares and sullen sorrows dwell,
" And pale diseases, and repining age,
" With Fear, and Famine's unrefiftless rage."
If, indeed, they had nothing to trouble them but
the forrowful reflection that their lives are likely
to be thus rounded with mifery, it would be
fufficient to make them melancholy. But they
cannot avoid the painful and alarming recollec-
tion, that in this race for literary fame, " many
" are called, but few chofenj" and that the
high diirin&ion which accompanies the charac-
ter of a real fcholar, depends more upon nature
than art : all are not equally capable and docile ;
ex omnl ligno non ft Mercurius. Kings may
create majors, knights, barons, and other officers,
but cannot make fcholars, philofophers, artifts,
orators, and poets. But, alas ! with all the
genius and labour it requires to reach this
deiired goal, where, when it is attained, is the
fcholar to feek preferment ? His fate in this
refpe& is more miferable than all he has before
endured. Perhaps, when his higher faculties de-
cline,
" At lad his ftammering age, in suburb schools,
" Shall-toil in teaching boys their grammar rules."
Kor fo many fine fcholars are degradingly em-
ployed, Perhaps he may be forced to read lec-
tures*
OF MELANCHOLY. 133
tures, or accept a curacy with Faulkner's
wages of ten pounds a year and a dinner on
Sunday ; wearing out his time, like his mafter's
afs, for nought but his provender ; and fubjel
to the humour of his patron, or parifhioners, who
cry Hofanna one day, and Crucify him the next,
when, ferving-man like, he muft feek out for
another fituation, with only his old torn tat-
tered caffock to his back, as an enfign of his infe-
licity. If, as it befel Eupbormio, he become a
trencher chaplain in fome great man's family,
he may perchance, after an irkfome fervice of
many years, procure fome fmall living, on con-
dition of his marrying a poor relation, or a caft-
off favourite, of his benefactor, to have and to
hold to him, for better or worfe, during the term
of his natural life. But if, before this happy pe-
riod arrives, he happens unintentionally to affront
his good patron, or lady-miftrefs,
" He's seiz'd immediately, by his commands,
" And dragg'd, like Cacus, with Herculean hands,
" From his offended fight."
Socrates, fitting with Phtsdrus under a plane-
tree on the beautiful banks of the river Ifeus,
and obferving a number of grafhoppers .jumping
and chirping round him, told his fair companion,
that thefe poor but lively animals, were once
fcholars, and being obliged, in their original
ftate, to live without food, to fing in fummer,
K 3 an d
134 OF THE CAUSES
and to pine in winter, Jupiter transformed them,
as moil fuitable to their circumftances, into graf-
hoppers; thofe animals being enabled by their
nature to live without food, and to fupportthem-
felves by the dews from heaven. Alas !
" Is this the fate of ftudy? to grow pale,
" And miss the pleasures of a glorious meal ?
" For this in rags accoutred are they seen,
" And made the May-game of the public spleen?
To fay the truth, it is but too often the fate of
fcholars to be fervile and poor. Many of them are
driven to hard fhifts, and turn from gramoppers
into humble bees, from humble bees into wafps,
and from wafps into parafites, making the Mules
their mules to fatisfy their hunger-ftarved paun-
ches, and get a meal's meat: their abilities
and knowledge only ferving them to curfe their
fooleries with better grace. They have ftore
of gold, without knowing how to turn it to ad-
vantage j and, like the innocent Indians, are
drained of their riches without receiving a
fuitable reward. " There came," fays Petro-
niuSj u by chance into my company, a fellow
not very fpruce in his appearance, and conceiv-
ing, from that circumftance alone, that he was a
fcholar, I afked him in what particular depart-
ment of literature he had indulged his genius,
to
OF MELANCHOLY. 135
to which he replied, "Poetry ;" faying, on my in-
quiring why he was fo ragged, that this kind of
learning never made any man rich, for that a
poet was a character not likely to efteem, or to
be efteemed by, rich men.
" To ftudy's claim if wealth her aid refuse,
" What hope, alas ! can cheer the friendless muse ?
< Scorn's favourite theme, insulted while oppress'd,
" Her fate a proverb, and her fighs a jeft :
" Hooted as mad by all the vulgar crew,
Oft, through despair, (he proves the scoft'too true;
*' Or sorrow leads her to some lonely cell,
' Where pining want and hopeless anguifh dwell :
" There flow her tears, unpitied and unknown,
" While scarce an echo murmurs to her moan :
' More wretched (till perchance her offspring go,
*' To the dire dungeon's scene of guilt and woe j
" Where, longimmers'd in melancholy gloom,
" They fink unpitied to the welcome tomb."
But the fcholars of modern times, perceiving
how unpropitious the ftudy of poetry, and other
elegant and fublime fciences, generally prove to
the acquifition of wealth, now fordidly apply
their minds to the more gainful employments of
law, phyfic, and divinity. The profpecl: of lucre
is now the only ftimulus to learning ; and he
is the deepeft arithmetician, who can count the
greateft number of fees ; the trueft geometrician,
who can meafure out the largeft fortune ; the
K 4 moft
136 OF THE CAUSES
moft perfeft aftrologer, who can beft turn the
rife and fall of others' ftars to his own advantage j
theableft optician, who can moft reflect uponhim-
felf the beneficial beams of great men's favours ;
the moft ingenious mechanic, who can raife him-
felf to the higheft point of preferment ; and the
founded theologian, who can preach himfelf into
an excellent living; leaving the higher regions of
thefciences almoft unpeopled, and only acquiring
fuch a fuperficial knowledge of them as may be fuf-
ficient for light toying and table converfation ; or
enable them, by means of a voluble tongue, a
frrong voice, a pleafing tone, a fteady counte-
nance, and fome trivial polythean gleanings
from the rich harvefts of other men, to make a
fair {hew, and impofe themfelves on the world
as truly learned and ripe good fcholars.
BAD NURSING is a caufe from which melan-
choly is not unfrequently derived. The ftream
always partakes of the nature of the fountain ;
and a bad nurfe may be the means of taint-
ing the moft healthy child with a difpolition
to this malady. The hair of a goat that is nou-
rifhed by a ewe will be as foft as wool ; but the
wool of a flieep fuckled by a fhe goat will be as
wirey as hair : and Giraldus Cambrenfis gives
an account of a fow that, having been acciden-
tally nourifhed by a brach, miraculoufly hunted
all
c
OF MELANCHOLY. 137
all manner of deer, as well or rather better than
an ordinary hound. Pbavortmn fhews moft
clearly that the deformity, difhonefty, impudence
and cruelty of the nurfe will to a certain degree
be communicated to the child me fofters : for
the milk contains the feeds not only of the dif-
eafes of the body, but of the difpofitions of the
mind. The mad and inhuman cruelties of Ca-
ligula are imputed, by Dion^ the hiftorian, to the
circumftance of his nurfe having anointed her
bofom with blood while he fucked her milk;
and certain it is, that fuch a difpofltion' could not
have been derived from either of his parents.
Aulus GeliuS) Beda^ Francifcus Barbanjs, and
Guivarra^ produce many inftances of the like
kind : and Cato is faid to have made the children
of his fervants take occafional nourimment from
the bofom of his wife, as a certain means of fe-
curing to him their fidelity and affection. Mar-
cus Aurellus was fo ftrongly imprefled with the
truth of this theory, that he anxioufly recom-
mended every mother, of what condition in life
foever me might be, to fuckle her own children :
and a queen of France was fo precife upon this
fubject, that when, during her abfence, a ftrange
nurfe only once fuckled her child, me forced the
infant to eject the milk. If, however, a mother
be peevifh, drunken, wafpifti, choleric, crazed,
unfound, or otherwife unfit or unequal to per-
/ form
138 OF THE CAUSES
form this affectionate and important office, a
proper nurfe, found and healthy both in body and
in mind, ought to be preferred ; for Nutrices hi-
terdum matribus funt meliores.
BAD EDUCATION alfo may be a caufe of me-
lancholy; for a child who efcapes the dangers
of THE NURSERY may fall into thofe of THE
SCHOOL. The formation of the human charac-
ter almoft entirely depends on education; but
the extreme rigour of fchoolmafters and tyranniz-
ing preceptors, who are always threatening, chid-
ing, brawling, whipping, or ftriking their pupils,
deftroys their intellectual vigour, fubdues their
animal fpirits, dejedls their hearts, and fows the
feeds of this baneful difeafe. The human mind
revolts and fickens at the idea of compulfion ;
Jofes its natural tone and vigour by inceflant
conftraint ; and becomes, by repeating fufferings
of this kind, downcaft and melancholy. Thofe
impatient, hair-brained, imperious pedagogues,
ar'idi magijlrl.^ as Fabius calls them, Ajaces fa-
gelllferl^ are in this refpedr, worfe than hangmen
and executioners. Beza complains of a rigorous
fchoolmafter at Paris, whofe unceafing vocife-
ration and cruel difcipline fo fickened his mind,
and alienated his heart from all enjoyment, that,
after pafling many months in melancholyjJiftrefs,
he refolved to put a period to his exiftence ;
but
OF MELANCHOLY. 139
but that fortunately, as he was going to a con-
venient place for the purpofe of committing this
rafh aft, he met his uncle, who liftened to his
complaint, and removing his apprehenfion of
future feverity, by taking him from the domini-
on of this noify flogger, and keeping him under
his own roof, reftored him in time to his right
mind. And Trincavellius had a patient only
nineteen years of age, whofe mind had funk into
extreme melancholy, ob nimium ftudium^ tarwtli
ft prteceptoris minas^ by reafon of over ftudy,
and his tutor's threats. But it is faid, that " He
" who /pares the rod fpoils his child-" and cer-
tainly exceffive lenity and indulgence is of the
two extremes more mifchievous than harfhnefs
and feverity. The affection of a too tender fa-
ther and fond mother, like Efop's ape, frequent-
ly proves the ruin of their offspring, pampering
up their bodies to the utter undoing of their
minds. " They love them fo foolifhly," fays
Cardan, " that they rather feem to hate them,
bringing them up not to virtue, but to vice ;
not to learning, but to riot ; not to fober life and
converfation, but to all forts of pleafure and licen-
tious behaviour." There is, upon this important
fubject, a happy mean which fhould be attentively
obferved both by parents and preceptors. The
nurture and education of children is a matter of
the greateft difficulty and importance in human
fcience ;
140 OF THE CAUSES
fcience ; and the fuccefs depends greatly on
the choice of proper preceptors. Plutarch^ in
his treatife on Education, gives a fpecial charge
to all parents, not to commit their children to
fuch as are indifcreet, paffionate, light and giddy-
headed ; for the authority of thofe who teach is
very often a detriment to thofe who defire to
learn. A tutor, fays Montaigne^ fhould not be
continually thundering inftrudtion into the ears
of his pupil as if he were pouring it through a
funnel, but, after having put the lad, like a
young horfe, on a trot, before him, to obferve his
paces, and fee what he is able to perform, fhould,
according to the extent of his capacity, induce
him to tafte, to diftinguifh, and to find out things
for himfelf ; fometimes opening the way, at other
times leaving it for him to open ; and by abating
or increafmg his own pace, accomodate his pre-
cepts to the capacity of his pupil.
TERROR, or that fpecies of alarm and appre-
henfion, which is imprefTed ftrongly and forcibly
upon the mind by horrible objects or dreadful
founds, produces a fiercer and more grievous
kind of melancholy than can be communicated
by any other modification of FEAR. Felix
Plater and Hercules de Saxonia^ fpeaking from
their own obfervations, fay, that this horrible
difeafe (for fo they term it) arifing ab agitation?
fpirituttm.
OF MELANCHOLY. 14!
fbirituum, from the agitation, motion, contrac-
tion, and dilatation of the fpirits, and not from
any diftemperature of humours, imprints itfelf fo
ftrongly on the brain, that if the whole mafs of
the blood were extracted from the body, the pa-
tient could not be effectually relieved*.
For when the mind with violent terror fhakes,
Of that difturbance too the soul partakes ;
Cold sweats bedew the limbs, the face looks pale,
The tongue begins to falter, speech to fail,
The ears are fill'd with noise, the eyes grow dim,
And deadly fhakings seize on every limb.
The alarm and terror created by the dreadful
maffacre at Lyons, in the year 1572, during the
reign of Charles the Nintb^ was fo great, that
many of the inhabitants, merely from the effect
of the fright, run mad, and others died quite me-
lancholyf. A number of young children, at
Bafil,
* Terror et metus maxime ex improvifo accedentes ita ani-
mum commovent, ut fpirltus nunquam recuperent, graviorem-
que MELANCHOLI AM terror facit, quam quse ab interna caufa
fit. Imprefliotam fortis in fpiritibus humoribufque cerebri, ut
extrafla tota fanguinea maffa, segre exprimatur, et hasc horrenda
fpecies MELANCHOLI.* frequenter oblata mihi, omnes exercens,
viros, juvenes, fenes. Plater lib. 3. Non ab intemperie, fed
agitatione, dilatatione, contraftione, motu fpirituum. Her. de
Sax. cap. 7.
+ Quarta pars comment, dc ftatu religionis in Gallia fub Ca.
rolo. 1572.
142 OF THE CAUSES
Bafil, went, in the fpring of the year, to gather
flowers in a meadow, on one fide of which, at
fome diftance from the end of the town, a male-
fa&or had been recently hung in chains ; and
while they were all gazing at it very ftedfaftly,
fome one threw a ftone at the gibbet, which hit-
ting the body, and making it ftir, alarmed them
to fuch a degree that they all ran terrified away;
but one, whofe pace was flower than the reft,
looking unfortunately behind her, and conceiv-
ing from the motion of the carcafe that it was
flying after her, was fo fhocked by the idea, that
Ihe uttered the moft dreadful fcreams, became
frightfully convulfed, loft her appetite, was
unable to take any reft, and in a fhort time
died of melancholy*. At Bologne^ in Italy, in
the year 1504, a violent earthquake happened
in the dead of the night, which ftiaking the
whole city to its foundations, fo terrified the in-
habitants, that many of them continued in a
ftate of the moft woeful deje&ion during the re-
mainder of their lives ; particularly one Fulca
Argelanus\, a man of ftrong nerves and great
courage, who was fo grievoufly affected, that
after continuing for many years deeply melan-
choly, he at laft run mad, and killed himfelf.
ArthemedoruS) the grammarian, loft his wits by
the
* A cafe related by Felix Plater.
f Related by Beroaldus, ihe man's matter.
OF MELANCHOLY. 143
the unexpected fight of a crocodile ; as did Oref-
tes at the fight of the furies ; and Themifon^ the
phyfician,, fell into an hydrophobia on feeing a
patient in the tortures of that difeafe*.
SCOFFS, CALUMNIES and JESTS are frequent.
ly the caufes of melancholy. It is faid that " a blow
" with A wORDftri&es deeper than a blow with
" A SWORD;" and certainly there are many
men whofe feelings are more galled by a calum-
* The following ftory of the effefts of terror is related upon
the authority of a French author, by Mr. Andrews, in his vo-
lume of anecdotes. While Charles Guftavus, the fucceffor of
Chrijlina, queen of Sweden, was befieging Prague, a boor of moft
extraordinary vifage defired admittance into the royal tent, and
offered, by way of amufing the king, to devour a whole hogof one
hundred weight in his prefence. The celebrated old General
Konigfmarc was at this time (landing by the king's fide, and,
though a foldier of great courage, being tainted in fome degrea
with fuperftition, hinted to his royal mafter, that the peafant
ought to be burnt for a forcerer. " Sir," faid the fellow, highly
irritated by the obfervation, " if your majefty will but make
*' that old gentleman take off 'ais fword and his fpurs, I will
" eat him immediately, before I begin the hog." The generali
brave as he was, was fo terrified at this tremendous threat, which
was accompanied by the moft hideous and preternatural expan-
fion of the frightful peasant's jaws, that he immediately turned
round, ran out of the tent, and never flopped until he had fecured
himfelf in his quarters, where he continued a long time melan-
choly and defponding, before he could relieve himfelf from the
ffeft of his panic.
144 OF THE CAUSES
ny, a bitter jeft, a libel, a pafquil, a fquib, a
fatire, or an epigram, than by any misfortune
whatfoever. Aretine^ whofe feverity procured him
the appellation of thefcourge of kings , was pen-
fioned both by Charles the Fifth and Francis the
Firft) to procure his favour 5 but thefe benevolen-
ces, inftead of filencing his fatires, only rendered
them more cutting and fevere, and raifed his
arrogance to fo high a pitch, that he publifli-
ed a medal with the infcription of " // dlvlna
Aretino" on one fide, and on the other his own
effigy feated on a throne, receiving the homage
of fubmiflive princes : but his epitaph perhaps
will beft defcribe his profligate character ;
Time, that deftroys the proudeft men,
Has plac'd within this earthy bed
The scoffing Aretine, whose pen
Defam'd the living and the dead.
His bitter taunts, his jefts severe,
Virtue and innocence annoy'd ;
E'en Glory's palm, and Pity's tear,
His black and rancorous tongue deftroy'd.
The King of kings, who sits on high,
And rules at will this nether sphere,
Escap'd not his foul blasphemy :
For oft he cried, " No God is there."
Ancient fame was not without a Lucian and a
Petronius ;
OF MELANCHOLY. 145
Petroniits ; nor will modern Europe ever want a
Rabelais, a Euphormio, or a Boccalini, the ape,
as this latter was called, of the fplenetick and
worthlefs Aretine. Adrian the Sixth, among
many other illuftrious characters, was fo vexed
and mortified by the various fatires which were
occafionally infcribect on the celebrated ftatue of
Pafquln, near the Urfmo palace at Rome, that he
ordered this vehicle of epigrammatic wit to be
thrown from its pedeftalj and burned, and itsafhes
caft into the Tiber j but this renowned piece of
ftatuary was happily faved from deftrudion by the
fagacity of Lodovicus Suefanus, the facete compa-
nion of the offended pope. " The afhes oiPaf-
quin," obferved Suefanus, " will not only be
turned into frogs by the mud of Tiber, and croak
more virulently than before j but the poets being
genus irritabile, a race of animals naturally prone
to raillery and flander, will yearly aflemble, and
celebrate the obfequies of their beloved patron,
by mangling the character of him who caufed his
deft ruction :" and his holinefs, upon this hint,
though he could not quiet his feelings, fupprefled
his paflion, and countermanded his orders, In the
true fpirit of this idea, Plato and Socrates ad-
vifed all their friends, who valued their characters,
to ftand in awe of poets, as a fet of terrible fel-
lows, who could praife and cenfureasthey thought
L' fit.
146 OF THE CAUSES
fit.* Hlnc quam fit calamus favior enfe patef.
The complaint of Davui^ that his foul was full
of the mockery of the wealthy, and the fpite-
fulnefs of the proudf, difcovers the anguifh
which
these men, replete with mocks,
Full of comparisons and wounding flouts,
are capable of inflicting. They poflefs, indeed, in
general, fo petulant a fpleen, that they cannot
fpeak but they muft bite, and had rather facri-
fice their beft friend than lofe a bitter jeft.
If they may have their jeft, they never care
At whose expence ; nor friend nor patron spare r
And if they once th' ill-natur'd paper ftain,
Rejoice to hear the crowd repeat the (train.
They take, in fhort, to ufethe language ofSka&e-
fpear, " as large a charter as the winds to blow
on whom they pleafe ; " and friends, neuters, ene-
mies, without diftin&ion, are the objects of their
cruel fport, and lie within the mercy of their wit.
They
t( Bruise them with scorn, confound them with a flout,
*' Cut them to pieces with their keen conceits."
They
* Qui exiftimationem curant, poetas verearitur, quia magnum,
vim habcnt ad laudandum et vituperandum. Plato de legibus,
lib, 13.
I Pfalm cxxiij.
OF MELANCHOLY* 147
They muft facrifice, at leaft once a day, to
the god of laughter, or they grow melancholy
themfelves ; but in performing their rites, they
care not who they grind, or how they mifufe
others, fo as they exhilarate their own minds*.
Their wit and genius, indeed, extend no further
than to fport with more honourable feelings, to
emit a frothy kind of humour, to break a puny
pun or a licentious jeft; for in every other kind
of converfation they are dry, barren, ftraminious,
dull, and heavy; and, indeed,
-" The influence
*' Of a gibing spirit is begot of that loose grace
"* Which fliallow laughing hearers give to fools:
" A jeft's prosperity lies in the ear
" Of him that hears it; never in the tongue
*' Of him that makes it.
Leo the Tenth was a character of this un-
amiable caft, and his higheft delight in making ex
ftolidisftult'iffunos^ et maxime ridiculos^ exjlitltis in-
fanos; foft fellows, ftark noddies. A vain and indif-
ferent fiddler of Parma, named Tar afc omit s, was
fo cajoled by him and his coadjutor Bibiena, that
L 2 he
* " There cannot," fays Lord Shaftefbury, in his eflay on the
freedom of wit and humour, " be a, more prepofterous fighf
" than an executioner ?nct a m(r+y-<indreu afting their parts on' the
" fame ftage."
148 OF THE CAUSES
be fancied himfelf the fineft mufician of Italy ;
and, by their tricks, was induced to fet fooliih
fongs to ridiculous mufic, to adopt and publifh
abfurd precepts on the art of fmging, to tie his
elbow to a poft, that he might improve the
fweep and motion of his bow-arm ; and at
length they caufed him to pull down the beau-
tiful and highly polifhed wainfcot which adorn-
ed his rooms, under an idea that his fine voice
might be more happily reverberated from the
thick and plaiftered walls. In like manner they.
poffefTed one BarabaUius^ of Cajeta^ with an idea
that he was a greater poet than Petrarch ; and
induced him not only to offer himfelf as a can-
didate for the laureatfhip, but to give an invitation
to a large company to attend his inftalment ;
where, when fome of his real friends endeavour-
ed to convince him of his folly, the poor fellow's
brain was fo ftrongly poflefTed, that he accufed
them in great anger of envying his honour and
profperity. Jovius y who has written the hiftory
of thefe tranfa&ions, exprefles a wonder that a
venerable, grave man, of fixty years of age,
fhould have been fo impofed upon ; but who is
able to refift a combination of eccentric talents,
exerted under the fpecious garb of friendship
and admiration ? The perpetrators of fuch ridi-
culous mifchief might, by the fame means, be
expofed to the fame ridicule and abfurdity.
Thefe
OF MELANCHOLY. 149
Thofe who ftudy this fpecies of wit and hu-
mour, may perhaps excufe the practice, by con-
tending, that it can do no harm where the party
is weak enough not to difcover the deceit ; and
that may in fome degree be true ; for what the
mind does not fee, the heart cannot feel ; but if
the fufferer mould difcover it, no quiet can be
adminiftered to his tortured foul ; and ought in-
jury to be committed merely on the poflibility
that it may efcape detection; or a man rendered
ridiculous in the eyes of others, becaufe he has
not fenfe to difcover it himfelf ? Leviter volant
graviter vulnerant. Perfonal jefts may fly light-
ly, but the wounds they make are fore and deep,
efpecially if they proceed from the tongue or
the lips of a prefumed friend. The fhooting
of bitter words, as David well exprefled it,
pierces like arrows, and cuts like a two-edged
fword, leaving behind it an incurable wound*.
Many men indeed, efpecially thofe who are cho-
leric, fufpicious, and impatient of injuries, are
fo moped and deje&ed by this kind of treatment,
and meditate fo continually on it, that they fink,
.with aggravated pain, into the deepeft melan-
choly. The authors of fuch ferious mifchief,
perhaps, only mean, in the hour of mirth and
merriment, to exercife what they call harmlefs
L 3 pleafantry,
* Pfalm Ixiv. and Jeremiah xv Hi,
150 OF THE CAUSES
pleafantry, and fret the feelings of their com-
panion, holding it optimum aliena frul infania^ an
excellent thing to enjoy another man's diftrefs :
But volat irrevocqbile verbum, the offenfive word
cannot be recalled ; and it is not only cruel, but
impious, to bait a friend with foul derifion; for
it is declared by the Pfalmift, that he who puts
a reproach upon his neighbour, fhall not abide
in the tabernacle of the Lord, nor dwell upon
his holy hill*. Wit and raillery are weapons
which require great fkill and dexterity to wield
without doing even unintentional mifchief. La-
dijlaus the Second, King of Poland^ being be-
nighted in hunting, and forced to take up his
abode in a poor cottage on the borders of a
foreft, on feeling the hardnefs of his bed, ob-
ferved jeeringly to his companion, the earl of
Shrine , that his lordfhip's wife was much better
acqommodated by the abbot. The earl, ftung
by the infmuation, replied, Et tua c urn Dabeffb ;
And your's with DabeJJ'us^ a young courtier for
whom the queen was fuppofed to entertain an
affection. But this reply rooted itfelf fo deeply
in the mind of the king, that he never recovered
his ufual fpirits, but became quite melancholy ;
3nd, when the caufe of his dejection reached the
queen's ears, the earl, for this rafh repartee, was
put
* Pfalm xv.
OF MELANCHOLY. 151
put to death*. Tiberius^ \vho withheld the
legacy which his predeceflbr Augujim bequeath-
ed to the Roman people, on obfervinga man whif-
pering in the ear of a corpfe, and inquiring of
him the reafon of it, was informed, that he was
only defiring the departed foul to acquaint Au-
gujlus that the Roman people were yet unpaid :
but the feelings of the emperor were fo griev-
oufly hurt by this bitter farcafm,that he ordered the
offender, with unmanly feverity, to be imme-
diately (lain ; telling him, as he expired, that he
might now carry the information to Augujlus him-
felf. Thofe who are difpofed to be facetious and
jocular, fhould keep within the limits of becoming
mirth, and be careful not to indulge this gay and
frolickfome delight at the expence of another's
happinefs, but fhould particularly reftrain it in the
prefence of thofe who are any way inclined to
this ferious malady; for "a heavy heart bears
" not a nimble tongue." Hilares oderunt hila-
rum, trijlemque jocoft : There is no joking with a
difcontented mind. The advice of Caftllio^ Pon-
tanus, and Galateus^ which will be willingly
followed by every good man, is
*' Play with me, but hurt me not :
'* Jeft with me, but fhame me not."
L 4 Courteoufnefs,
* Related by Martin Cromerus, in the fixth book of his
Hiftory of Poland.
OF THE CAUSES
Courteoufnefs, gentlenefs, urbanity, politenefs,
or whatever it is that the word Comitas exprefles,
is a virtue which lies between the two extremes
of rufticity and fcurrility, as affability lies be-
tween flattery and contention; and wit and hu-
mour fhould not only be kept within thefe boun-
daries, but fhould be accompanied with that
a/SXfltCW, or innocency^ which hurts no man,
and abhors all offer of injury*. No man is per-
mitted to aft
" Like the bold ribald, whose licentious jeft
" Pollutes his banquet, and iqsults hisgueft."
A fault, a vice, a crime, or even an imperfec-
tion, cannot, either by the laws of good man-
ners or humanity, be made the fubjecl: of jeft, or
even noticed in the prefence of the offender,
To upbraid and hit a man in the teeth with mis-
fortunes, of whatever kind they may be, is un-
generous, indecent, unbecoming, cruel, and un-
pardonable. A man of thorough good breeding,
whatever elfe he may be, will never do a rude
or brutal action. But thefe obfervations do not
apply to thofe whofe profefled object is to lafh
the vices of a corrupt and degenerate age; but to
thofe private characters who are difpofed to rail,
feoff,
* Quas nemini nocet,pmncm injuriz oblationem abhorren;.
OF MELANCHOLY. 153
feoff, jeft with, and pefter others by name, if ab-
fent, or perfonally, if prefent. All wit and hu-
mour, however excellent it may be in itfelf,
which in the fmalleft degree wounds the feelings
of another, is coarfe unfeeling horfe-play; and
no perfon who poflefles either piety, grace, or
good manners, will ufe fuch jefts as are mor-
dentes et aculeati^ bitter, biting, poifoned, inju-
rious, or which in any way leave a fting behind
them.
Set not thy foot to make the blind to fall,
Nor wilfully offend thy weaker brother;
Nor wound the dead with thy tongue's bitter gall;
Neither rejoice thou in the fall of other.
Loss OF LIBERTY, whether by fervitude or
imprifonment, is the fource of fuch fevere afflic-
tion, that few can endure it patiently, although
they be accommodated with every thing that
comfort can require, or even luxury can beftow ;
fumptuous houfes, airy walks, extenfive gardens,
delicious bowers, and good fare ; for the very
idea of living aliena quadra^ at another man's
table and command, tortures in the extreme every
fpirited and liberal mind. Cuftom, indeed, will
fometimes change the very nature of the fpe-
cies ; but even the females of Italy and Tur-
who are mewed and locked up from the
joys
154- P F THE CAUSES
joys of life and liberty, by the keys of jealoufy
and defpotifm, cannot, amidft all the fplendours of
the feraglio, or the indulgences of their duennas^
be perfectly happy. The idea of reftraint is
vexatious and tormenting to the human mind;
and a life confined to any precife and particular
boundary, ftill pafling round and round in the
fame circle, like a dog in a wheel, or a horfe in a
mill, without novelty or change, is fo odioufly
adverfe to all the feelings of nature, that it can
only be endured in melancholy fufferance. If
then a life confined to one fpot, however enlarged
and accommodating it may be, is fo intolerable,
to live in ftricl: confinement, or abject flavery,
muft, as Hermolaus told Alexander, be worfe
than death; as indeed the tongues of thofe thirty
thoufand Indian flaves who are yearly condemned
to work, like mould warps, under ground, in the
gold and filver mines of Potofi in Peru, and of
thofe innumerable wretches who are condemned
to the gallies, or the inquifition in Spain, would
loudly proclaim, were they permitted to fpeak, or
their voices could be heard.
One plung'd in mines, forgets a sun was made ;
Whilst others, deathless as their haughty lord,
Are hammer'd to the galling oar for life,
And plow the winter's wave, and reap despair.
Robert, Duke of Normandy, being clofely confined
by
OF MELANCHQLY. 155
by his youngeft brother, Henry the Flrft^ pined
3.way in unextinguifhable grief and gloomy
melancholy. The royal captive, Jugurtha^
whofe courage in the field was unequalled, had
pot fortitude fufficient to endure the flavifh tri-
umph in which he was drawn through the capi-
tol, at the wheels of the chariot of his infulting
conqueror Marius^ but died in melancholy and
defpair at the end of the fixth day of his captivity.
The Bijhop of Salijbury^ in the reign of King
Stephen^ was fo tainted by the idea of imprifon-
ment, and the calamities which attend it, that
he refufed all nourifhment, and lingered a long
time between the fear of death and the torments
of life, unwilling to live, but unable to die. A
Lacedemonian boy, who was taken prifoner by
Antigonus, was fold as a flave ; but on being or-
dered by his imperious purchafer to fome painful
dufy, replied, " fhall a Lacedemonian be a flave
where liberty is within his reach ?" and imme-
diately threw himfelf from the point of an adja-
cent rock, and plunged into the fea.
POVERTY is univerfally abhorred, as the moft
dreadful enemy of human happinefs. Every
other fpecies of mifery may be eafily forgot, be-
caufe it is not always forced upon our regard;
but in all the intercourfes of worldly fociety, indi-
gence is accounted odious, vile, and bafej ex-
pofed
156 Op THE CAUSES
pofed to calamity, negledt, infult j reduced not
unfrequently even to hunger andnakednefs ; and
always accompanied by the deepeft gloom and
melancholy. The mind and body fuffer together ;
its miferies bring no alleviations ; for it is a ftate
in which every virtue is obfcured, and in which
no conduct, however excellent, can avoid reproach.
From no affliction are the poor exempt ;
They think each eye surveys them with contempt.
Unmanly poverty subdues the heart,
Cankers each wound, and fharpens every dart.
From the fangs of this dreaded fiend all men fly
with terror and affright ; leaving no haven,
coaft or creek unfearched ; diving to the bottom
of the fea, penetrating into the bowels of the
earth, pafling through the zones, enduring the
extremes of heat and cold, turning parafites and
Haves, forfaking God, and even defpifing his holy
religion, to releafe themfelves from this grievous
calamity.
Poison'd by thee, whose venom can destroy
Each generous thought, they know no future joy,
But heaping wealth for this they will forego
Peace, honour, safety, every good below.
All happinefs, in fhort, feems to ebb and flow
in proportion as men are more or lefs removed,
by
OF MELANCHOLY. 157
by accumulated riches, from the terrors of po-
verty, and its attendant difgrace: for in the
world's efteem, wealth ennobles every charac-
ter, by whatever means it may be acquired;
and the moft unprincipled villain, if he be rich
and bountiful, will be honoured, admired, adored,
reverenced, highly magnified, and gather many
friends.
" For virtue, glory, beauty, all divine
" And human powers, IMMORTAL GOLD! are thine:
" And he who piles the finning heap, fhall rise
<{ Brave, noble, honourable, juft, and wise."
The rich Florentine, John de Mcdlcis^ was fo
fenfible of the power of riches, that, when on
his dying bed, calling before him his fons, Cofmo
and I^orenzo^ to give them his bleffing, he ex-
claimed, " My mind is at reft at this awful
moment, when I reflect that I fhall leave you,
my children, in the pofieffion of good health and
abundant riches." This power, indeed, is not
only the effecT: of real wealth liberally beftowed,
but is frequently acquired by thofe who have
the art of difplaying its enfigns, and putting on
its femblance. Coin, well counterfeited, pafles
a long while current before it is detected ; and
outward fplendour, well managed, may, for
fame time, procure to fome Faftidfottf Bt'iJ&, or
158 OF TfcE CAUSES
Sir Petronel Flajh^ all the fubferviency and At-
tention that is beftowed on real riches. But, on
the contrary, a man evidently poor in purfe, is
always concluded to be poor in fpirit ; and al-
though he be honeft, wife, learned, well deferv-
ing, noble by birth, and of exceeding good parts,
he is contemned, neglected, forfaken, confi-
dered a low flave, a vile drudge, an odious fellow,
a common eye-fore, fcarcely fit to be made a
foot-flool; and, like the people of Africa^ who,
as Leo Afer obferves, are bafe by nature, no
more to be efteemed than a dog. A poor man
can have no learning, no knowledge, no civi-
lity, fcarcely common fenfe ; and if he fpeaks,
" What a babbler he is !" Dante^ whofe works
have rendered his fame immortal, was once igno-
minicufly excluded from company on account
of his poverty : Teretius was placed at the
Jower end of Cecilius's table, merely becaufe he
was poorly drefled : and Terence^ the celebrated
Roman poet, was, in his adverfity, left and aban-
doned by his former illuftrious friends and ad-
mirers, Scipia, Ltelius, and Fucius^ and fuffered
to die in melancholy diftrefs on a foreign more.
Rats, indeed, inftin&ivelyquitthe nobleft manfion
when it is about to fall. But the moft grievous
confequence of poverty is, that it expofes the un-
happy fufferer to the keeneft-fhafts of ridicule from
a contemptuous and unfeeling world ; and a poor
man is frequently forced to endure the jefts,
taunts,
OF ME.LANCHOLY. 159
taunts, flouts, and blows of his fuperiors, to
get a meal's meat ; or to fubmit to their ever
varying humours, to avoid thofe dreadful alterna-
tives, thieving or ftarving. Human fortitude is
unable to fuftain fuch fevere conflicts ; and the
children of poverty are invariably the children of
difcontent, and the victims of melancholy.
Fore/lus^ in his medicinal obfervations, relates a
memorable example of two brothers of Lovain^
who being by accident left deftitute of the means
of fupport, became melancholy, and, in the an-
guifh of their difcontent, by mutual ftabs died in
each others arms.
i* What cannot Want ? the beft fhe will expose,
c And sink e'en Virtue in her train of woes :
*' She fills with navies, hofts, and loud alarms,
" The sea, the land, and fhakes the world with armsl"
The very apprehenfion of poverty, indeed, is
frequently fo alarming as to produce the fame
effect; for Aplcius, the celebrated Roman epi-
cure, finding, on examining his affairs, that he
had only 100,000 crowns left, deftroyed his life
by poifon for fear of being famimed: and the
once rich and powerful Bijhop of Soli/bury^ on
being defpoiled of his property by King Stephen^
and reduced to a ftate of indigence, ran immedi-
ately mad with grief and vexation. Aufomus
relate 1 ?,
l6o OF THE CAUSES
relates, in a neat epigram, a ftory of a melancbo^
ly man, who, on going into a wood, with in-
tention to hang himfelf, in order to get rid of
the miferies of poverty, fortunately found a large
bag of money concealed at the foot of the tree,
which had fuch an effect upon his fpirits, that he
flung away the rope, and went dancing merrily
home, with the treafure under his arm, quite cur-
ed of his melancholy : but the man who had
wifhed to fecrete it, on coming to the fpot, and
finding it gone, fell into fuch a fudden defpon-
dency, that he hanged himfelf with the very rope
which the fortunate finder of his treafure had flung
away.
" Want, and incurable Disease, fell pair!
*' On the hopeless mind remorseless seize
" At once ; and seek a refuge in the grave."
THE DEATH OE A FRIEND unavoidably
caufes the deepeft affliction ; for true friendfhip
is our laft and only comfort under every misfor-
tune, and the greateft folace amidft the miferies
of life. The temporary ab fence of thofe whom
we love and efteem, cafts a forrowful gloom,
over the mind, and gives a painful uneafinefs to
the heart. Montanus mentions an inftance of a
lively country girl, whofefenfibility was fo affe&-
ed on leav ing her native place, and quitting the lov-
ed companions of her youth", that her fpirits fub-
2 fided,
OF MELANCHOLY. l6l
fided, and funk her into an irrecoverable melan-
choly for the remainder of her days. The ab-
fence of that beft of friends, a real hufband,
muft be feverely afflicting to every fond and
faithful wife; and during this diftreffing interval
Her tearful eyes are ftrangers to repose ;
In bitter grief fhe fighs and vents her woes;
Lies on his couch, bedews it with her tears j
In fancy sees her absent lord, and hears
His charming voice (till sounding in her ears.
If a fhort and temporary abfence of friends can
work fuch violent effects, DEATH, which caufes
an eternal feparation, muft inflict the bittereft
of pangs: Then
The soul loaths the day* and fickens at the fky,
And longs in bitterness of soul to die.
Stroza Filing the elegant Italian poet, in his
Epicedium^ bewails the death of his. fond father
with an excefs of forrow : and ^ulntlUan^ in
lamenting the lofs of his wife and children,
fhews how fuperiour the genuine feelings of
the heart are to all the rules of rhetoric in the
eloquence of diftrefs. <c What affectionate fa-
" ther could ever pardon my infenfibility fhould
" 1 be capable to purfue my ftudies? Whatpa-
" rent will not deteft me, ihould I now find any
M " other
l62 OF THE CAUSES
11 other employment for my tongue, than to
" accufe the gods of fuffering me to live, after
" depriving me of all that was near and dear
" to my foul ? Can I think that Providence
" watches over mortals ? Witnefs, my mifery,
" it does not : and yet in what am I to blame,
" but that I yet live?" Even Alexander^ whofe
trade was death, on lofing his beloved Hepbe/tion,
lay toiling in the bitternefs of his grief for three
days on the cold earth, refufing all fuftenance
or fleep, and calling on the Fates to deftroy him,
that his foul might be united in death, as it had
been through life, with that of his departed
friend : and with fimilar excefs did Adrian^ the
emperor, lament the death of his friend Antinous ;
and Aujlln^ his mother Monica: to which might
be added many other inftances of a like kind,
from the works of the later phyficians. " From
" the day," fays Montaigne^ " that I had the
<{ misfortune to lofe my friend, I pined and lan-
<c guifhed ; the pleafures of the world, inftead
" of comforting me, doubled my affliction. I
<c was fo accuftomed to be his fecond part at all
" times and places, that I felt my better half
" was taken away. There was no ation or
" imagination in which I did not mifs him ;
" for as he furpafled me in virtue, and every
" other accomplishment, fo alfo did he in the
" duties of friendfhip."
Now
OF MELANCHOLY.
Now he, alas! is snatch'd away,
Whereforcj ah! wherefore fhould I flay ?
My bliss is fled ; no longer whole,
And but poflfeffing half my soul,
Chearful to Pluto's dark abode,
With him 1*11 tread the dreary road;
Nor fell Chimera's breath of fire,
Nor hundred handed Gyas dire,
Shall ever tear my friend from me,
So Juftice and the Fates decree.
164 THE CONSEQUENCES
CHAPTER THE FOURTH.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF MELANCHOLY.
r I ''HE CONSEQUENCES which the difeafe of
* melancholy produces, are the fymptoms and
prognoftics, or, in other terms, the effetts which
follow from the caufes already defcribed. Parr-
hajtusj the celebrated Grecian painter, purchafed,
among thofe Olynthian captives which Philip
of Mace don brought home to fell, a ftrong, ath-
letic, but extreme old man, and put him to the
moft violent agonies that the fevereft tortures
could inflict, in order, by the writhings and con-
tortions 'of his body, the better to exprefs the
pains and paffions of THE PROMETHEUS which
he was then about to paint : but the effe&s and
confequences of a melancholy habit are fo ftrongly
delineated upon both the body and the mind,
that no fuch ingenious, but inhuman, cruelty is
neceflary to defcribe the fymptoms of this tor-
turing difeafe. The herb tortocolla is faid to
produce the different effects of laughing, crying,
fleeping, dancing, finging, howling, and drink-
ing, on different conftitutions ; and in like man-
ner the various caufes which produce inelancho-
2 ly,
OF MELANCHOLY. 165
Iy, work in different habits innumerable and op-
pofite fymptoms ; but various and complicated as
they are, they may be aptly defcribed in fuch as
affeft THE BODY, and fuch as affe<t THE MIND.
The confequences of thisdifeafe, upon the body,
are leannefs, a withered fkin, hollow eyes, a
wrinkled forehead, a dejected vifage, harfh fea-
tures, cholicy complaints, emulations, finging in
the ears, twinkling of the eyes, vertigo in the
head, a palpitation of the heart, a faultering
fpeech, laughing, grinning, fleering, murmur-
ing, blufhing, trembling, foliloquy, fobbing,
fwooning, a depraved and indifferent appetite, bad
djgeftion, a flow and timid pulfe, except it be of
the carotldes, which is very ftrong ; varying, as
Struthius clearly proves, according to the ftrength
and violence of the difeafe; but the principal
confequences is an eternal reftleflhefs, watching,
and indifpofition to fleep. Trincavelius mentions
an inftance of a melancholy man, who never
clofed his eyes for fifty days : The mother of
Hercules de Saxonia^ who laboured for many
years under this difeafe, declared moft folemnly,
that, during the period of feven months, fhe
was a total ftranger to the bleffings of repofe :
and Skenkius produces inftances of patients who
have never flept for two years ; and yet received
no vifible injury from fo long a privation of reft.
M 3 Tir'4
l66 THE CONSEQUENCES
Tir'd Nature's sweet reftorer, balmy deep !
He, like the world, his ready vifit pays
Where fortune smiles; the wretched he forsakes
Swift on his downy pinions flies from woe,
And lights on lids unsullied with a tear.
The confequences of this difeafe on the mind,
are fear, forrow, fufpicion, jealoufy, inconftancy,
petulancy, bafhfulnefs, a love of folitude, and a
hatred of life.
FEAR is almoft the firft, arid certainly the
moft general, confequence of a melancholy dif-
pofition ; but the apprehenfions it excites are
always without any real caufe, or apparent foun-
dation. Like an unftaunched hound, the mind
runs away with a wrong fcent, without perceiv-
ing itfelf to be at fault j as in thofe cafes where
the patients conceive the canopy of heaven is fall-
ing upon their heads ; that their bodies are frames
of glafs about to receive a fracture j that the
earth is about to fmk under their feet ; that they
are kings, cardinals, perfons appointed to fave
the world, and many other of the like nature,
more or lefs extravagant, in proportion to the
jftrength and defcription of the difeafe,
SORROW, a caufelefs forrow, is another in-
feparable companion of melancholy. The un-
happy
OF MELANCHOLY. 167
happy fufferers, penfive, weeping, .and dejected,
look as if they had newly come from the Tropho-
nian cave ; or as if the vulture which is faid to
have preyed inceflantly on the vitals of Titius^
was continually gnawing at their hearts. Terri-
ble dreams difturb their ftiort repofe ; and no fooner
are their eyes open, than the heavieft fighs ef-
cape from their lips. Smiles, indeed, and fits of
laughter, will fometimes intervene; but they
only fink from their fhort-lived mirth into deeper
fadnefs and defpondency.
SUSPICION and JEALOUSY are among the
mental aberrations of this difeafe. A melancholy
perfon always conceives himfelf neglected, and
applies every whifper or jeft which he happens
to hear to his own difad vantage; mifconftrues
every word that is uttered; puts the worft in-
terpretation on all that is faid; and conceives all
around him are forming plans to circumvent
and cover him with difgrace. Montanus men-
tions the cafe of a melancholy Jew, who
was fo wafpifli and fufpicious, that no man,
'however cautious, could continue inoffenfively
in his company : and thefe unhappy conceits
generally ftrike deep root into their difordered
minds.
M 4 INCONSTANCY
|68 THE CONSEQUENCES
INCONSTANCY is another chara&eriftic con-
fequence of this difeafe: alternately eafy and
reftlefs, refolute and wavering, obftinate and
yielding, prodigal and covetous, conftant and
fickle, pleafed and difpleafed, animated and de-
jected,
" From their coarse mixture of terreftrial parts,
c Defire and fear by turns pofless their hearts,
te And grief and joy ; nor can the inconftant mind,
" In the dark dungeon of Disease confin'd,
" AfTert its native fkies."
A PASSIONATE DISPOSITION is alfo a frequent
confequence of melancholy, ^uicquid volunt valdl
volunt j whatever melancholy perfons defire, they
expect immediately to obtain ; and the leaft de-
lay or difappointment renders themauftere, furly,
dull and mad. Tothisobfervation, however, there
are many exceptions ; for melancholy frequently
engenders the fineft conceits, gives a deep reach
and excellent apprehenfion to the mind, and ren-
ders it judicious, wife, and witty ; but the
thoughts it engenders are, in general, antic and
phantaftical, l/elut tegri fomnia^ vante fingiwtur
ieS) like a fick man's dreams.
BASHFULNESS is another confequence of a
melancholy difpofition, which is the reafon why
perfons thus afflided feldom vifit any, except
their
OF MELANCHOLY. 169
their very intimate and familiar friends ; and even
' then they frequently fit wholly filent, or enter into
converfation with feeming pain and reluctance.
Frambefarius, a French phyfician, had two fuch
patients, omnino taclturnos, whom no provocation
could prevail upon to fpeak : and Rodericus a
Fonfeca gives an inftance of a melancholy young
man, of only feven and twenty years of age,
who was fo extremely bafhful that he could
neither eat nor fleep if any perfon was prefent.
The mind, in thefe cafes, feems confcious of its
debility, and afliamed to expofe its defective
powers.
LOVE OF SOLITUDE is the firft fymptom and
higheft enjoyment of a melancholy mind. The
fears and forrows which fill the melancholy bo-
foms of thefe poor fufferers drive them from all
the lively enjoyments of focial life. The ftrong
fenfe they entertain of the inadequacy of their
powers to endure the company, or fupport the
converfation, of other men, without becoming ob-
jects of laughter and derifion, fubdues all the
energies of their fouls.
While by this dire disease their souls are toss'd,
Their heavenly spirits lie extinct and loft;
Nor fteal one glance, before their bodies die,
From this dark dungeon to their native fky.
Like BELLEROPHON, they wander through the
deepeft
THE CONSEQUENCES
deepeft glooms and moft fequeftered vales, fad,
folitary, and dejedled ; avoiding the fight of their
fellow creatures, and averfe even from their beft
and moft familiar friends. The firft fymptoms by
which the citizens of Abdera difcovered the me-
lancholy of Democritusj were, his forfaking the
city, wandering, in the day, on the green banks
of the neighbouring brooks, and fleeping at nights
in dark groves or hollow trees. The Egyptians,
in their hieroglyphics, exprefs a melancholy
man by a hare fitting in her form, as being the
moft timid and folitary of all animals.
A TEDIUM VITJE, or wearinefs of life, fuc-
ceeds. Incapable of relifhing any of the plea-
fures or amufements of the world, uneafy and
reftlefs in every fituation, difpleafed with every
occurrence, and anxious to pull the crawling
ferpent from their hearts, they call one moment
upon death to relieve them from their miferies,
and the next fly from his feared embrace : tm
willing to die, and yet unable to live,
i
Until the increafing wound such pangs create,
That their own hands prevent the ftroke of fate.
The poifoned bowl of So$rates y the dagger of
the halter of Timon^ the knife of Cata y
and
OF MELANCHOLY. 1JI
and the fword of Nero, are the fell inftruments
which fate bequeaths to their difordered fouls.
MELANCHOLY difclofes its fymptoms accord-
ing to the fentiments and paflions of the minds it
affe&s. An ambitious man fancies himfelf a
lord, ftatefman, minifter, king, emperor, or
monarch, and pleafes his mind with the vain
hopes of even future preferment. Elinora Me-
liorina, a melancholy but afpiring lady of
Mantua^ conceived fhe was married to a king,
and would kneel down and addrefs her hufband
as if he were on his throne; and if fhe found
by chance a bit of glafs on a dung-hill, or in the
ftreet, fhe would fay it was a jewel fent to her
by her lord and hufband. The mind of a co-
vetous man fees nothing but his re or fpe, and
looks at the moft valuable objects with an eye
of hope^ or with the fond conceit that they are
already his own. A love-fick brain adores, in
romantic ftrains, the lovely idol of his heart,
" And in the fhape of Corin, fits all day
*' Playing on pipes of corn, and verfing love
*' To amorous Phillida ;"
or fighs in real mifery at her fancied frowns.
And a fcholar's mind evaporates in the fumes
of imaginary praife and literary diftin$ion t
172 THE CONSEQUENCES, &C.
RhaJtSy the Arabian, divides the fymptoms of
melancholy into three degrees : Firft, fa If a cogi-
tatio, fuch as confift in falfe conceits and idle
thoughts: fecondly, falfo cogitata loqui^ where
the patient foliloquifes and utters his conceits
to himfelf; and thirdly, when the patient puts
his conceits into practice. But it is impofiible
to fpeak fufficiently upon this fubjedl: ; for to
attempt a defcription of a phantajiical conceit^
a corrupt imagination^ or a vain thought^ would
be like the artift, in Aufonius^ who attempted to
paint an echa. Certain it is, however, that
there is nothing fo vain, abfurd, ridiculous,
extravagant, impoflible, incredible, chimerical,
prodigious, or ftrange, which a melancholy
man will not really fear, feign, fufpe&, and
imagine: and what Ludovicus Fives faid in jeft,
of a filly country fellow that killed his afs for
drinking up the moon, ut lunam mundo rederef^
we may truly fay of him in earneft. The
tower of Babel never yielded fuch confufion of
tongues as the chaos of melancholy does variety
of fymptoms; for there is in every fpecies of
melancholy Jimilitudo dijjimilis ; as in men's faces,
a difagreeing likenefs ftill : and as in a river
we fwim in the fame place, though not in the
fame identical water, fo this difeafe yields a con-
tinued fucceflion pf different fymptoms.
CHAPTER
THE CURE OF MELANCHOLY. 173
CHAPTER THE FIFTH.
THS CURE OF MELANCHOLY.
MELANCHOLY is faid to be the inex-
orable parent of every mental difeafe;
but Paracelfus ridicules the idea of its being in-
curable ; and certain it is, that this dreadful
malady, even in its moft affliting ftages, feldom
caufes immediate death ; except, indeed, by the
ungoverned hand of the miferable fufFerer.
Montanus^ however, is of opinion, that to what-
ever extent the patient may be relieved, fome
dregs and veftiges, the veteris veftigia flammtz^
will ftill remain, and accompany him to his
grave ; and unqueftionably it is a difeafe much
more eafy to be prevented than entirely cured.
" To adminifter to a mind diseased,
" Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
' Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
cc And with some sweet oblivious antidote
" Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous fluff
" Which weighs upon the heart,
is certainly a talk furrounded with difficulties
feemingly
174 THE CURE OF
feemingly infurmountable ; but when we ferioufly
confider the afliftance that may be derived from
him who turns " the mourning of thofe that
" truft in him into joy and gladnefs*," the
frowns of defpair will be converted into the
fmiles of hope, and the idea of difficulty will
vanifti in proportion to our faith in the Al-
mighty.
. " For the Almighty Power above
" With ease can save each obje6t of his love :
' Wide as his will extends his bounteous grace,
" Nor lofl in time, nor circumscrib'd by place."
God hath " created medicines of the earth,"
and appointed phyficians, by their art and in-
duftry, to prepare and apply thefe treafures to
the ufe of man ; and therefore, a Jove prlnclpium^
before we begin with medicines we mould ufe
prayer,f and continue, not one without the other,
but both together; for otherwife, as the prophet
Jeremiah denounced of the children of Egypt^
<c in vain we mail ufe medicine or fue for
health." The efficacy of prayer, indeed, in this
complaint, is acknowledged not only by Hippo-
crate^ Galen^ and Hyperius^ but by every other
rational and good phyfician, many of whom,
efpecially Mejjul and Crito, concluded their con-
fultations
* Ecclefiafticus.
f " Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and fupplication, with thankfgiving, let your requefts be made
known unto God." Phil. iv. 6.
MELANCHOLY. 175
fultations with a folemn addrefs to the Deity,
imploring him to deliver their unhappy brother
from the perils of his diftrefs.
Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpora sano.
THE PHYSICIAN, who is manus Det^ and to
whom God hath given knowledge that he
might be glorified in all his wondrous works,
ought next to be fought ; for " with fuch agents
" God doth heal men and take away their pains."
A wife and honeft phyfician will not adminifter
medicine except in cafes of abfolute neceffity;
but will try the effect of diet, and the vis medica-
tr'ix natures, before he proceeds to exhibit the
potency of his art ; and when this neceffity
arifes, will addrefs his prefcriptions, not, Harpy-
like, to the draining of his patient's purfe, but to
the fpeedy expulfion of his difeafe ; and not Ir-
rhare felentem morbum^ as Heurnlus complains,
ftir up, in hopes of pay, a filent difeafe, which,
by good council, or the rectification of the non-
naturals, might be eafily cured*. Above all, he
will endeavour to obtain, by every means in his
power, the good opinion and confidence of his
patient ; for Galen is of opinion, that the confi-
dence
* Quod faspe evenit cum non fit neceflitas. Frufta fatigant
limediis jegros, qui viftus ratione curari poflunt. Heurnius, 1$.
8, cap, x.
176 THE CURE OF
dence of the patient fometimes contributes to the
cure of melancholy, as much as the phyfician's
phyfic j and Paracelfus informs us, that Hippo-
crates was as much indebted, for the furprifing
cures he performed, to the high conceit his pa-
tients entertained of his honour and ability, as
to his knowledge of medicine. Melancholy is
a diforder of the mind, to the cure or alleviation
of which, nothing is more efTential than the kind
offices and converfation of a real friend.
THE PATIENT muft alfo call forth, with re-
folution and fortitude, all the poffible powers of
his mind in aid of his phyfician ; for although it
will be highly to his advantage to rely with im-
plicit confidence uporithe fkill of thofe whom he
may confult, he may do much for himfelf, and,
like the waggoner in Efop^ by fetting his fhoul-
der to the wheel, greatly relieve his diftrefs. An
unreferved difclofure of the moft minute circum-
ftances of his cafe, is an indifpenfable obligation ;
for by fuffering, like a cowardly citizen, who
neglects to arm until the enemy is at its gates,
his bafhfulnefs or indifference to conceal any of
its fymptoms, he will not only protract his cure,
but poffibly produce incalculable mifchief. It is,
however, the common fault of all melancholy
perfons rather to over-ftate their afflictions than
to conceal them. Obedience alfo to the direc-
tions
MELANCHOLY. 1/7
tlons of his phyfician, and a fteady perfeverance
in the courfe he {hall prefcribe, is another necef-
fary duty on the part of the patient ; and parti-
cularly to cherifh a confidence in his ability, and
not fly, upon every trifling diflike, from one
phyfician to another, or to try too haftily a va-
riety of remedies. But, above all, let him be
careful to avoid experiments upon himfelf, by
adopting unapproved remedies, recommended to
him by unauthorifed books, or ignorant friends ;
for that which in the very fame diforder may be
highly beneficial to one patient, may be ex-
tremely detrimental and deftrudlive to another,
as the following fable from Camcrarius will illuf-
trate. An afs, laden with wool, and a mule,
laden with fait, were travelling together through
the ford of a river. The water wetting the
package of the mule, and melting the fait, re-
lieved the animal from the weight of its burden,
which being obferved by the afs, he, at the next
river they parted through, wetted bis package,
in hopes of finding the fame relief; but the
water, inftead of lighting his load, made the wood
more heavy, and prefled him to death by its in-
creafed weight. Medical works, fays Penottus^
are filled with prefcriptions which appear to the
eye of an injudicious reader like excellent re-
medies, but when taken prove fatal poifons; and
he inftances the cafe of John Baptljla^ a Nea-
N politan
iy8 THE CURE OP
politan nobleman, who accidentally reading
medical pamphlet in praife of hellebore, was in-
duced, on his own judgment, to try its effects ;
but taking zdram inftead of zfcruple^ was under
the neceflity of fending for FaSfrwkr^ the phyfi-
cian, to fave his life.
THE REMEDIES by which the alleviation or
cure of melancholy, even if it have paiTed its me-
ridian, can be rnoft rationally expected, are the
rectification of the fix non-naturals already men-
tioned ; for as the neglect and abufe of them
chiefly promote the difeafe, fo a proper ufe of
them is moft likely to afford relief; but if thefe
diattticks fail, recourfe muft then. necefTarily be
had to medicine.
DIET, A/a/IuT^, vifltes; or living, properly fo>
Cftlled, confifts, as we have before obferved, in
meat and drink. Thofe meats which are tender,
moift, and eafy of digeftion, are moft falutary j
as kids, rabbits, chickens, veal, mutton, par-
tridge, pheafant, quail, and all mountain birds.
The lean of fat meat is beft ; and all broths, pot-
tages, and other fpoon meats, efpeciaUy cock-broth,
mixed with borage, lettuce, and fuch wholefome
herbs, are excellently good. The Arabians recom-
mend brains as a fine antidote to melancholy ;.
but this opinion is oppofed by Laurentius, and
2 many
MELANCHOLY. 179
many other phyficians. Eggs are faid to be
highly nutritive; and butter, oil, fugar, and
honey, under certain reftri&ions, are allowed.
Galen excepts to mutton ; but, without quef-
tion, he means that rammy mutton which is
bred in Turkey and Afia Minor, where the fheep
have great flefliy tails of eight and forty pounds-
weight. Bread made of good wheaten flour,
pure, well purged from the bran, and kneaded
with rain-water, is of itfelf " the ftaff of life.'*
The thinneft beer, and lighteft wines, are, of all
liquors, the beft, except fine pure water, fweet
to the fm'ell, and like air to the fight, fuch as is
foon hot, and foon cold. But all fpices, and four
fauces, muft be never, or very fparingly, ufed.
The fifh of gravelly bottomed ftreams are far pre-
ferable to thofe that inhabit muddy pools, but they
are greatly inferior to the tenants of the fea. Of
fruits, the fweeteft are the beft, particularly the
juice of the pomegranate ; and of herbs, borage,
bugles, endive, fennel, annifeed, and balm, are to
be preferred. The ufe of rofe-water, if it be
fweet, and well diftilled, is particularly fervice-
able in the cure of this difeafe. But, in diet,
the principal thing to be avoided, is repletion and
inanition. Melancholy men have, in general,
good appetites and bad digeftions ; and nothing
fooner poifons both the body and mind, than to
. N2 eat
i8o
eat and Ingurgitate beyond all meafure, as many
of them do.
Thus when, alas ! men come to die
Of dropsy, jaundice, ffone, and gout;
When the black reckoning draws high,
And life before the bottle's out ;
When long-drawn Time's upon the tilt,
Few sands and minutes left to run,
When all our part gone years are spilt,
And the great work is left undone ;
When reftless conscience knocks within,
And in despair begins to bawl,
Death, like the drawer, then fteps in,
And cries, I'm ready at your call.
Temperance indeed is a bridle of gold; and he
whoufes it rightly, is more like a god than a man :
but the Englifh, who are the moft fubjeft, of all
other people, to this dreadful malady, are, in
general, very liberal and excellent feeders. Crato
advifes his patients to eat only twice a day, and
never without an appetite, or upon a full fto-
mach : and Profper Calenus prefcribed this very
rule to Cardinal Ceeftus^ who laboured long under
this difeafe. Failing and feafting in extremes
are equally pernicious, and beft reflrained by
tailing only of one dim of plain food, and never
eating until hunger requires to be fatisfied.
Men think it a great glory to have their tables
daily
MELANCHOLY. l8l
daily furnifhed with variety of meats ; but the
phyfician pulls every gueft by the ear, and tells
him, that nothing can be more prejudicial to
his health than fuch variety and plenty. Cornaro
preferved a feeble conftitution to an extreme old
age by means of diet only.
Unerring Nature learn to follow close,
For quantum sufficit is her juft dose.
" Sufficient" clogs no wheels, and tires no horse,
Yet brifldy drives the blood around its course ;
And hourly to its waftes adds new supplies,
In due proportion to what's spent and dies :
While surfeiting corrupts the purple gore,
And robs kind Nature of her long-liv'd ftore;
Tears from the body its supporting soul,
Qiute unprepar'd to reach its deftin'd goal ;
While long with temperance it might safely dwell,
Until, like fruit quite ripe, it flips its fliell.
AIR. As a long-winked hawk, when he is
firft whiftled off the fift, mounts aloft, and for
his pleafure fetches many a circuit in the fky,
ftill foaring higher and higher, till he comes to
his full pitch, and in the end, when the game
is fprung, comes down amain, and ftoops upon a
fudden ; fo a melancholy mind, when it feels the
virtues of the enlivening air, freely expatiates,
and exercifes itfelf for recreation, roving awhile
and wandering delighted over the ample fields,
until it defcends to its dull and earthy elements
N 3 again.
THE CURE OF
again. Fine air is unqueftionably the beft anti-
dote to melancholy. The Egyptians, who live
jn a clear and healthy temperature, are the live*
Jieft, merrieft people on the face of the earth.
The inhabitants of the Orcades are faid to be
free from all infirmity, both of body and of
mind, by reafon of the fharp and purifying air
they receive from the fea*. But the Boeotians,
from the fogs in which they are involved, are,
of all nations, the moft dull and heavy. The
airy hills of Perigord in France are the feats of
vivacity and health ; but the fog-filled marfhes
of Guienne are hofpitals of dejection and difeafe,
He, therefore, who wifhes either to recover or
enjoy the invaluable bleffings of health, and
particularly he who is difpofed to be melancholy,
fhould frequently wafh his hands and face, fhift
his clothing, have clean linen, and be comfort-
ably attired; for^fordes vitiant, naftinefs defiles
a man, and dejects his fpirits j but, above all, he
fhould fhift the place of his refidence, and always
chufe, at each remove, a dry and airy eminence.
Cyrusj by living feven months at Babylon^ three
at Susa, and two at Ecbatana^ enjoyed the plea-
fures of a perpetual fpring. When Cicero^ Pompey^
and other illuftrious Romans, went to fee Lucullus
at his rural villa near the fea, they praifed its
light
? Hetar Boethius' Hiftory of Scotland, and Cardan de rer yar.
MELANCHOLY. 183
light and open galleries, as well-fuited to enjoy
the breezes of the fpring, but very ill calculated
to exclude the winter winds. " True," replied
LuculluS) " but I poflefs at leaft the wit of the
crane, and always change my fituation with the
ieal'on." The Bijhop of Exeter is faid to have
had a different houfe, fuited, in its fite and fafhion,
to every month of the year. Vallies certainly
abound with the beft foil, but they unfortunately
yield, in general, the worft air ; and therefore
thole who are obliged to live, for profit-fake, in
low, foggy fituations, fhould correct its bad qua-
lities by good fires. Sutton Coldfield^ in War-
wickfhire, ftands, as Camden obferves, loco in-
grato et Jlerili ; but it is blefled with excellent
air, and productive of all manner of pleafures.
A clear air cheers up the fpirits, and exhilarates
the mind ; but a thick, black, mifty, and tem-
peftuous atmofphere, contrails the powers both
of body and of mind, and overthrows, in time,
the ftrongeft health. A good profpedt alone
will relieve melancholy. In (hort, change of
air, and variety of pleafing objects, are the beft
remedies for this infirmity ; and Lcelius a fonts
JEgubinus^ that great doctor, in his confultation
upon melancholy, fays, that, although there are
many things by which a patient may be helped,
change of air is that which does the moft good,
and is in general moft likely to effect a cure.
N 4 BATHING,
184 THE CURE OF
BATHING, either in natural or artificial baths,
is of great ufe in this malady, and yields, as
many phyficians, particularly JEtlus, Galen^
RhafiS) and Montanus, contend, as fpeedy a re-
medy as any other phyfic whatfoever. Crato
and Fufchius recommend baths medicated with
camomile, violets, arid borage. Laurentius^ and
others, fpeak of milk baths *, the body after-
wards to be anointed with oil of bitter almonds ;
and fome prefcribe a bath in which rams' heads,
and other ingredients of the like kind, have been
previoufly boiled. The richnefs and expence of
the Roman baths are well known, which is, in
fome degree, a proof of their utility, efpecially
in warm climates. But the Porrefian baths^ the
baths of dquaria, the waters of Apona, the
fprings of St. Hckn^ the Chalderinian baths, and
all thofe which are naturally impregnated with
brafs, iron, allum, fulphur, although greatly fu-
perior to any artificial baths of the like nature,
ought to be warily frequented by melancholy
perfons. Of the efficacy of cold baths in the
cure of this complaint, many phyficians have
exprefled their doubts ; but Cardan commends
bathing in frefh rivers and cold waters, and ad-
vifing
* In Rome, fays the author, rich women frequently bathed in
rnilk; and, in fome inftances, each bath was compofed of the
pjuduce of at Icaft five hundred fhe affcs.
MELANCHOLY. 185
vifing all thofe who wifh to live long to ufe it,
fays, that it agrees with all ages and complexions,
particularly in fultry climates.
EXERCISE, both mental and corporeal, when
duly regulated, and difcreetly taken, highly
contributes not only to the reftoration and efta-
blimment of general health, but to the preven-
tion and expulfion of this particular difeafe.
The heavens themfelves are in conftant motion ;
the fun rifes and fets, the moon increafes and de-
creafes, the ftars and planets have their regular
revolutions, the air is agitated by winds, the
waters ebb and flow, and man alfo fhould ever be
in action. Employment, which Galen calls
" Nature's phyfician," is indeed fo eflential to
human happinefs, that Indolence is juftly confi-
dered as the mother of mifery. Hieron advifes
Rujiicus the monk never to let the devil find
him idle ; and Mahomet was fo convinced of the
utility of this advice, that, when ambafladors
from the yet unconquered provinces were ad-
mitted into his prefence, they found him engaged
in carving wooden fpoons *. The fitted time
for
* Domitian buficd himfclf in catching flies ; the great Augustus
ufed to play with ntits among children; Alexander Scierus excr-
cifed himfelf in playing with little dogs and young pigs ; and
Adrian was fo enamoured with dogs and horfes, that he bcftowed
on them monuments and tombs. Xtnephon advifes a perfon ra-
ther to play at tables, to throw dice, to make even a jefter of
himfelf, though he might be fa* better employed, than to do
l86 THE CURE OF
for exercife is before meals, when the body is
empty, particularly in a morning, after the pores
have been cleared by ablution from the perfpira-
tion of fleep, and the body relieved from its reple-
tion ; but it fliould be rather ad ruborem than ad
Judorem ; for Hippocrates is of opinion, that if
exercife produce more than a gentle inclination to
perfpire, it may be dangerous. Galen therefore
recommends the ludum parves p'tla^ or toffing the
Jittle ball, either with the hand or racket, (a
game which is faid to have been invented by Aga-
Tiellay a fair maid of Carcyra, for the ufe and
entertainment of Naufica, the daughter of king
Alcinous^ as the moft beneficial, becaufe it gently
exercifes every part of the body. There arc
indeed many other fports and recreations, as
hunting and hawking, which Camden calls ki-
fares venandi labores^ becaufe they invigorate the
body, and enliven the mind ; fowling, an ex-
ercife ftrongly recommended by Tycho Brahe,
the celebrated aftronomer ; fifhing, which,
though Plutarch * calls it a filthy, bafe, illiberal
employment, having in it neither wit nor per-
fpicacity, is certainly an agreeable diverfion,
and healthy exercife ; for if the angler catch no
fifh, he enjoys a rural walk, fine air, plea-
fcnt fliades, the melodious harmony of birds,
and
# |n his book d Soler. AnimaJ.
MELANCHOLY. 187
and the pleafures of the fweetly purling ftream, on
which he fees fwans, herons, ducks, water-horns,
coots, and other fowl, fporting with their brood,
which may be better fuited to his conftitution,
and more delightful to his mind, than the cry of
the hounds, or the echo of the horn. Racing,
by which many gentlemen gallop out their for-
tunes ; bowling, ringing, coits, hurling, cum
multis allls qu<e nunc prefcribere longum eft,
But the moft pleafant of all outward paftimes is
that of a pleafant excurfion j a merry journey,
with fome good companions, to vifit friends, fee
cities, caftles, towns, and countries.
To see the pleasant fields, the crystal fountains,
And take the gentle air upon the mountains.
The general remedy for uneafmefs is change of
place. St. Bernard^ in the beautiful defcription
he has given of his own monaftery, fays, *' A
melancholy mind feeks the pleafures of fome ver^
dant bank ; enjoys, when the dog-ftar rages, the
luxury of a fhady bower ; comforts his mifery by
a view of the various objedts which a fine prof-
pel prefents to his nature-loving eye, and
ftills the agitation of his foul by the fweet har-
mony of the furrounding groves." Dloclefian^
the emperor, during his melancholy fit, was fo
pleafed with rural recreations, that he refigned
the fceptre for the fpade, and turned gardener.
If
l88 THE CURE OF
Jf my teftimony of the delights of rural life be
of any worth, I can truly fay I am vere Satur-
nus; no man ever took more delight in fprings,
woods, groves, gardens, walks, fifti-ponds and
rivers ; and I found every change of fcene highly
favourable to the cure of melancholy, not only
as it induced exercife, but as it prefented new
and ftriking obje&s to my enraptured view.
The mind of Telemachus^ though dejected by
the idea of having loft his father, was ravifhed
with delight at the fight of the magnificent pa-
lace of Menelaus* To view the pageantry of
coronation, fplendid nuptials, the public recep-
tion of a prince pr ambaflador ; or to fee two kings
fight in fingle combat, as Porus and Alexander^
Canute and Edmund Ironfide, Scanderbeg and
Ferat BaJ/a the Turk, raifes the mind from its
lethargy, and gives new action to its dormant
powers. The mind and body muft be continu-
ally in exercife ; and therefore dancing, fmging,
mafking, mumming, however feverely they may
be cenfured by the Catos of the age, are, if op-
portunely and foberly ufed, extremely beneficial
in the cure of this difeafe. Mel'ms eft fodere
quam f altar e^ fays tff. Auftln ; and Tully infifts,
Nemo fa/tat fobrius : but thefe are the obferva-
tions of men to whom age and infirmities had
rendered all youthful paftimes unpleafant and
difagreeable. Let the world, I fay, have their
may-games,
MELANCHOLY.
may-games, wakes, whitfunales ; their dancings
and concerts ; their puppet-ftiews, hobby-horfes,
tabors, bagpipes, balls, barley-breaks, and what-
ever fports and recreations pleafe them beft,
provided they be followed with discretion.
What I aim at is, that fuch as are fratti ani-
mis, troubled in mind, fhould relieve and refrefh
themfelves by thefe difports, but not make them
the entire bufinefs and fole occupation of their
lives. Philip, duke of Burgundy, at the nup-
tials of Elenora^ fifter to the king of Portugal^
in the depth of winter, at Bruges in Flanders^
being fatigued by the famenefs of the entertain-
ments, and prevented by the inclemency of the
feafon, from enjoying the diverfions of the field,
to r^-eve his mind from the melancholy into
which it was finking, walked in difguife with
his courtiers, during the night, through the
ftreets of the town ; and accidentally finding a
country fellow quite drunk, and fnoring on a
bulk, ordered him to be quickly conveyed to
the palace, where dreflmg him in the higheft
fafhion of the times, he placed fervants round him
to watch the moment of his waking, and perfuade
him that he was a great lord. The duke, by the
laughter and good humour which the drollery of
the fellow occafioned, completely recovered his
good fpirits ; and the fubject of it, after being again
intoxicated and laid afleep by the good cheer he
was
190 THE CURE OP
was iupplied with, was at length conveyed, in his
own clothing, to the bulk from which he had
been taken. Many fuch tricks are put in prac-
tice by great men, to exhilarate themfelves and
others, and while they are harmlefs, they are
not unufeful jefts. But among the exercifes or
recreations of the mind within doors, there is
none fo general, fo aptly to be applied to all forts
of men, or fo fit and proper to expel idlenefs and
melancholy, as that of
READING, which, as Cicero^ in his celebrated
oration for the poet Arcbias^ truly obferves,
*' employs us in youth, amufes us in old age,
<l graces and embellifh.es profperity, flickers and
" fupports adverfity, makes us delightful at
" home and eafy abroad, foftens {lumber, fhort-
" ens fatigue, and enlivens retirement." No
perfon can be fo wholly overcome with idlenefs,
or involved in the labyrinth of worldly cares,
troubles, and difcontents, who will not find his
mind, if he has any, much lightened by read-
ing. To moft men, indeed, ftudy affords an ex-
traordinary delight. The childifh bauble of
wealth is in no way comparable to it. It affords
a fweetnefs equal to that of the cup of Circe ;
and fo bewitches the mind that has once fattened
on its charms, that it is fafcinated by its power.
Julius Scaliger was fo much affe&ed with poetry,
that he pathetically excraimed, that he would
rather
MELANCHOLY^
rather be the author of Lucan^ and of the ninth
ode of Horace^ than emperor of Germany : and
Nicholas Gerbeliusy that good old man, was fo
ravifhed by the reftoration of a few Greek au-
thors, that he exclaimed, Arabibus, atque Indls
omnibus erimus ditiores, Ariftotle is more known
than Alexander^ for we have a bare relation of
Alexander's deeds ; but Arijiotle, tottts vivit in
monumentis. " If I were not a king," faid
James the Firft y on feeing the Bodleian library,
" I would be an univerfity man." So fweet is
the delight of ftudy f Heinfins^ the Leydeit
librarian, fays, " I no fooner come into the li-
** brary than 1 bolt the door, and exclude luft,
" ambition, avarice, and all fuch vices, whofe
*' nurfe is Idlenefs, the mother of Ignorance,
" and Melancholy herfelf ; and, in the very lap
" of eternity, amongft fo many divine fouls, I
" take my feat with fo lofty a fpirit and fweet
" content, that I pity all thofe rich and great
44 men who are unacquainted with this happi-
41 nefs." Whoever, therefore, is over-run with
folitarinefs, or carried away with pleafing me-
lancholy and vain conceits, for want of employ-
ment, cannot prefcribe to himfelf a better re-
medy than this of ftudy, provided the malady
does not proceed from thrs fource. But of all
reading, as a cure for this complaint, that of the
Holy Scriptures is the beft.
SLEEP,
THE CURE Of
SLEEP, by expelling cares, and pacifying the
mind, is particularly ferviceable in the cure of
melancholy ; and muft not only be procured at
proper intervals, but protracted, if poilible, be-
yond its ordinary duration. Crato is of opinion
that feven or eight hours is a competent time for
a melancholy man to reft. He who wimes to
tafte the fweets of fleep, muft go to bed, ammo
fecurOy guieto, et libero, with a fecure and com-
pofed mind, in a quiet place ; for to lie in bed,
as fome do, and not fleep night after night, giving
aflent to pleafmg conceits and vain imaginations,
is extremely pernicious. All violent perturba-
tions of the mind muft, in fome fort, be qualified
before we can look for foft repofe. The quie-
tude and fecurity of rural retirement greatly en-
courage this compofure of the mind. Ficinut
recommends the concord of fweet founds to the
ear of a patient, previous to the ufual hours of
reft, as a certain means of procuring undifturbed
and pleafmg repofe ; others the reading of fome
amufing tale ; and others, to have a bafon o wa-
ter gently dropping its contents near the bed-
fide. But perhaps a good draught of mufcadine,
with a toaft and nutmeg, may prove as efficacious
a remedy againft that difinclination to fleep, and
thofe fearful and troublefome dreams with which
melancholy men are molefted, as any that can
be prefcribed ; always including, however, the
two
MELANCHOLY: 193
two indifpenfable requisites for this purpofe, a
dear confcience^ and a light fupper. When Pto-
lemy, king of Egypt, had fucceffively pofed the
eighteen interpreters, he afked the nineteenth
what was neceflary to procure quiet reft ? to
which the fage replied ; " Honeft actions by day^
and religious meditations by night." The moft
certain cure, indeed, of this complaint, is that
which is effected by rectifying the paflions and
perturbations of the mind ; for a quiet mind is the
true voluptas or fummum bonum of Epicureans ;
the higheft bleffing man can enjoy : and Galen y
the common mafter, from whofe fountain all
fubfequent phyficians fetch their water, relates,
that he has cured many patients of this in^-
firmity, by the right fettling alone of their
minds k
Music is one, and not the leaft powerful, of
thofe many means which philofophers and phyfi-
cians have prefcribed to exhilarate a forrowful
heart, and to divert thofe intenfe cares which
accompany this complaint. Musica eft mentis
medicina mceftte ; a roaring-meg a gain/I melan-
choly : it rears and revives the languifhing foul ;
affets not only the ears, but the very arteries ;
awakens the dormant powers, raifes the animal
fpirits, and renders the moft dull, fevere, and
forrowful mind, ere& and nimble. The effe&
O of
THE CURE or
of mufic upon the human foul is wonderful :
Atbeneeus calls it a matchlefs and inexhauftible
treafure ; and CaJJlodorus fays, it will not only
expel the fevered grief, foften the mod violent
hatred, mitigate the fharpeft fpleen, but exte-
nuate fear and fury, appeafe cruelty, abate heavi-
nefs, and bring the mind to quietude and reft.
The harps of Orpheus^ Amphion y and Arion^
charmed all nature with their powers : even
Things inanimate have moved,
And, as with living souls, have been inform'd
By magic numbers and persuasive sounds.
Mufic, divine mufic, befides the excellent powers
it poflefles of expelling many other difeafes, is a
fovereign remedy againft defpair and melan-
choly, and will drive even THE DEVIL himfelf
away. Canus y a mufician at Rhodes, when Apol-
hnius inquired what he could effect by means of
his pipe, told him that he could make a melan-
choly man merry, a merry man mad, a lover
more enamoured, and a religious man more de-
vout* " Ifmenias the. Theban, Chiron the Cen-
taur, Clinias and Empedocles^ are faid to have
cured not only melancholy, but many other dif-
eafes, by the power of mufic alone. Timothetts^
the muiical fon of TJjyrfander^ performed har-
monic wonders in the court of Alexander : and
we have the authority of Holy Writ, that the
harp
MELANCHOLY. IQ5
harp of David refreshed the mind, and drove
away the evil fpirit from thebofom of king Saul*.
There is no mirth without mufic. A table,
as Epicletus truly obferves, without mufic is
little better than a manger ; for mufic at meals
is like a carbuncle fet in gold, or the fignet of
an emerald highly burnimed. But if the com-
plaint, as it fometimes happens, proceed from
this caufe ; if the patient be fome light inamo-
rato, who capers in conceit of the excellency of
his own talents, or breathes foft fighs in ibnnets
to his miftrefs, mufic is moft pernicious, and,
like a fpur to a free horfe, will drive him blind,
or force his fpeed until he break his wind j for to
thofe whofe minds are mufically bent, the concord
of fweet founds operates like a charm, and will
make fuch a patient fo mad, that the found of jigs
and hornpipes will ring eternally in his ears. It is
on this account, poffibly, that Plato withholds
mufic and wine from all young men, ne ignis
addatur tgni, left, they being for the moft part
amorous, one fire mould increafe another. Many
men, indeed, become melancholy by hearing
mufic, but it is a melancholy of the moft pleaf-
ing kind j and therefore to fuch as are forrowful
or dejedled, it is highly beneficial ; but to others,
fays Plutarch^ Musica magis dementat quam vi-
O 2 num ;
* i Sam. xvi. ,
ig6 THE CURE OF
num ; making fome men as mad as tigers.
Like the horn of Ajhlpbus in Ariofto, or the
golden wand of Mercury in Homer, it works
different effe&s on different conftitutions, 4 and
well authorifes the aflcrtion of Theopbra/lus,
that mufic makes and mitigates many maladies.
and MERRY COMPANY are the com-
panions of mufic in the cure of melancholy.
The merrier the heart the longer the life. Mirth
is one of the three Salernitan Do&ors ; Dr. Mer-
ryman, Dr. Diet, and Dr. fillet ; which cures
all difeaTes *. Magninus, indeed, holds a merry
companion to be better than mufic., and as ufeful
to a melancholy mind as" an eafy carriage and
pleafant road are to a weary traveller. A7/ ego
ccntulerim jucundo fanus amlco. The nepenthe
of Homer, the bowl of Helenits, and the girdle
of Venus, are only types of livelinefs, mirth,
and good humour, which, when rightly under-
ftood, and feafonably applied, will difpel the
dulleft care, and brighten the moft afflicted heart.
Mirth, therefore, is faid to be the principal en-
gine by which phyficians batter down the walls
of melancholy. Duke ejl defipere in loco. And
Beftedifftts
* Spiritus temperat. calorem exr itat, naturalem virtutem cor-
roborat, juvenile corpus diu ier\-at, vitani prorogat, ingeniura
acuit, et hominum negotiis quibus libet aptiorsm reddit. Schola
Salern.
MELANCHOLY. 197
Benediftus fiftorius Faventinus^ in his empirics^
fays, that to hear mufic, to fee dancing, mafking
and mummery, to chat with a droll companion,
and frequent the company of fair and lively fe-
males, are the fureft antidotes to this complaint.
Beauty alone is a powerful charm and fovereign
remedy againft all melancholy fits. It is fome-
times wife for the graveft characters to play the
fool. The folemn Sacrat.es would be merry by
fits, fing, dance, drink, and ride a cock-horfe
with his children :
Equitare in arundine longa.
So did Sclplo and Lcelius :
For sourer Scipio, once in arms approv'd,
And Ltelius, for his milder wisdom lov'd,
Could from the noisy world enjoy retreat,
And laugh at all the busy farce of state,
Employ the vacant hour in mirth and jest,
Until their herbs, or frugal feast, were dress'd.
I {hall therefore adopt the recommendation of
Hefflis to every melancholy man :
Utere convivis, non tristibus titere amicis,
Qups uugse et risus, et joca salsa juvant.
Ctefias mentions a monarch of Perfia, who had
one hundred and fifty virgins attending at his
table, to play, fing, and dance, by turns ; and it
is well known that the Greek fidtion of THE
O 3 NINE
198 THE CURE OF
NINE MUSES arofe from the cuftom, of a king in
Egypt, of keeping nine of the faireft beauties of
CircaiHa, to enliven his fpirits with their mufic
and converfation. It was the advice of the
prophet Tirefias to Menippus^ who travelled all
the world over, even down to hell itfelf, in
fearch of content, to be merry and wife. To
exhilarate the heart has been the practice of every
age and country as the beft means of preferving
life. Every good phyfician rings this remedy in
his patient's ears ; and Marftlius Ficinus thus
concludes an Epiftle to Bernard Caniftanus^ and
other friends : " Live merrily, O my friends,
free from cares and grief : again and again, I
exhort you to be merry ; and if any thing
trouble your hearts, or vex your fouls, caft it
off with contempt. This T enjoin you npt only
as a divine, but as a phyfician j for without mirth,
phyfic is of no force."
Every leisure hour employ,
In mirth, in revelry, and joy :
Laugh and sing, and dance and play f
Drive corroding care away :
Join the gay and festive train,
And make old age grow young again.
But the mifchief is, that many men, knowing
that merry company is the only medicine againft
melancholy, fpend all their days among good fel-
Jqws in a tavern or alehoufe, drinking venenum
pro
MELANCHOLY. 199
pro vino, like To many malt-worms, men-fifhes,
water-fnakes, or frogs in a puddle, and become
mere fungufes and cafks :
A, friendly gang! each equal to the best,
Where all, who can, have liberty to jest.
One flaggon walks the round, that none should think
They either change or stint him of his drink :
And lest exception may for place be found,
Their stools are all alike, their table round.
Like Timocreon of Rhodes , Multa bibens^ et multa
varans, they drown their wits in wine, confume
their fortunes, lofe their time, weaken their tem-
peratures, contrail difeafes, and completely ruin
their conftitutions. In their endeavours to avoid
the Scylla of dejection, they plunge into the Cha-
rybclis of drunkennefs, and ufe that mirth which
was intended for their help to their undoing.
They had better endure the miferies of melan-
choly than convert themfelves into beafts and
beggars, and make that good company, which
properly ufed is a fovereign remedy for all kinds
of difcontent, their fole mifery and perdition.
The fociety- which a wife man will keep is that
Where every guest may drink, and fill
As much or little as he will ;
Exempted from the Bedlam rules
Of roaring prodigals and fools j
Mixing in the full but friendly bowl,
The feast of reason and the flow of soul.
O 4 FRIENPSHJP,
203 THE CURE OP
FRIENDSHIP, indeed, when it is rational and
fober, as well as lively and pleafant, is of all
other remedies the moft powerful and effica-
cious in the cure of this difeafe. The attach-
ments of mere mirth are but the fhadows of that
true friendfhip, of which the fincere affections of
the heart are the fubftance. How powerful is
the charm of a difcreet and dear friend ! Ills
regit ditlis animcs, et temperat Iras. What may
he not eltecl ? Porphyrius, the philofopher, in
his life of Plotlnus, relates, that, having funk
into difcoment and melancholy, by a long conti-
nued anguifh of mind, he determined to deftroy
a life which he was no longer able to endure ;
but that his dear friend Plotinus accidentally meet-
ing him as he was proceeding to perpetrate the
fatal mifchief, and perceiving, by his diffracted
afpecl, that all was not well within, he urged
him with fuch foft affection and tender concern
to difclofe the troubles of his mind, that he
overcame his refolution, pacified his dilordered
feelings, reconciled him to himfelf, and making
him aihamed of ever having entertained fo vile
a notion as that of felf-murder, redeemed him,
e faucibus erebi^ from the jaws of hell itfelf.
A true friend- will obferve the looks, the gef-
tures, the motions, and all the abberrations, of
the patient, and afford him the timely affiftance
of falutary counfel and kind advice. Symptoms
which
MELANCHOLY. 201
which efcape the fight of vulgar eyes, will, to
a tender and affectionate mind, anxious for the
fafety of a friend, be eafily perceptible; and no
pains will be fpared to prevent the farther pro-
grefs of the complaint. When L&lius, in the
prefence of the Roman confuls, who, after they
had condemned Tiberius Gracchus^ profecuted
all thofe who had held a correfpondence with
him, afked Cains Blofius, the intimate friend of
Gracchus^ what he would have done for him :
Blofius replied ; " every thing." " How !" ex-
claimed L<zlius, " every thing ! Suppofe then he
had commanded you to fet fire to our temples."
" He would never," faid Blofius^ " have laid fuch
" a command on me." " But what if he had,"
continued Ltelius. " Why, if he had," replied
this fmcere friend, " I would have obeyed him."
Falfe friendfhip, like the ivy, decays, and ruins
the walls it embraces ; but true friendfhip gives
new life and animation to the object it fupports;
forming the moft pleafing remedy againft, not
only melancholy, but every grievance and dif-
content : For,
DISCONTENTS and GRIEVANCES are the lot
of man: our whole life, as Apuleius well ob-
ferves, is a Glucuplcron^ a bitter-fweet-paflion, a
mixture of pleafure and of pain, from which no
man can hope to go free : but 35 this condition
is
2O2 THE CURE OF
is common to all, no one man fhould be more
difquieted than another.
He who defires but neighbours' fare,
Will for no ftorm or tempeft care.
Affliction is, perhaps, neceflary to the recti-
tude of our worldly ftate. An expert feaman is
tried in a tempeft, a runner in a race, a captain
in a battle, a valiant man in adverfity, and a
Chriftian by temptation and mifery. As thrafh-
ing feparates the corn from the chaff, fo does af-
flidtion purify virtue. Mifery is neceflary to
the attainment of true happinefs. Whatever is
neceffary^ as Cicero aflerts, on the authority of an
ancient poet, cannot be grievous. The evils that
a man is born to endure, he ought to bear with-
out repining; remembering, that ficklenefs is the
chara&eriftic of fortune ; that forrows furmounted
fweeten life; and that the higheft human attain-
ment is a contented mind.
But, ah! how rare's the thankful breast,
How few will own they have been bless'd,
Or at life's close depart contented
With the rich feast that life presented !
Difcontent generally proceeds from defects,
either of BODY, of MIND, or of FORTUNE,
the fenfe of which aggravates the feelings, and,
by
MELANCHOLY. 203
by wounding the natural pride of the heart,
renders it dejcfted and melancholy.
BODILY DEFECTS, however, are generally
counterbalanced by extraordinary perfections of
mind. The fingle eye of Hannibal, and the
total blindnefs of Timoleon, Tercfius, Democrltus^
and Homer, were more than compenfated by the
divine rays which filled their minds. The ban-
dy-legged sEfep-, the hairy and deformed Socrates^
the emaciated Seneca, the blear-eyed Horace^
the limping Loyola, the crooked-backed Galba^
and the lubberly djax, out-mone their con-
temporaries, in art, in wifdom, in valor, and
in greatnefs. Virtue is of no particular form
or ftation : The fineft outlines of the human
frame are frequently rilled up with the dulleft
wits. A little diamond, well poliflied, is al-
ways of greater value than a rocky mountain,
whatever may be its fize and extent.
SICKNESS and DISEASE are alfo in weak
minds the fources of melancholy ; but that which
is painful to the body may be profitable to the
foul. Sicknefs, the mother of rnodefty, puts
us in mind, of our mortality, and while we
drive on heedlefsly in the full career of worldly
pomp and jollity, kindly pulls us by the ear,
and brings us to a proper fenfe of our duty.
PLINY calls it the foundation and corner flone
of
204 THE CURE OF
of true philofophy ; and, indeed, if we were only
to practife in health what we promife inficknefs,
we fhould in general be completely happy. It is the
bright day of health that brings forth the adder
of uneafmefs ; for what fick man was ever covet-
ous, ambitious, envious, crue], or malicious?
BASENESS OF BIRTH alfo fometimes afflicts
a delicate and nicely feeling mind ; but of all
vanities and fopperies, the vanity of high birth
is the greateft. True nobility is derived from
virtue, not from birth. Titles, indeed, may
be purchafed ; but virtue is the only coin that
makes the bargain valid. Birth in China cannot
confer nobility; for there honourable diftin&ion
can only be obtained by real worth. A man who
leaves a noble pofterity, is certainly entitled to
higher refpedr, than he who only boafts of noble
anceftors. The great Catherbeius^ fultan of
Egypt and Syrla^ was originally a common flave ;
but his extraordinary worth, valor, and man-
hood, procured him to be elected emperor of the
Mamalukes. Caftruccius Cajlrucanus was a poor
orphan child, who was found lying in a field, ex-
pofed to the extreme of mifery ; but his virtue
raifed him to the throne of Senes. And hiflory
furnimes innumerable inftances of the like kind.
Why, therefore, (hould any man think bafenefs
of birth a reproach ? Who thinks Cicero lefs re-
fpectable
MELANCHOLY. 20$
fpe&able for having been a plebeian, dgathocles
Jefs glorious for having been a potter's fon, or
Marius lefs great for havhV been a plough-boy
* O /
at Arpinum? E tenul cafa faspe vir magnus exit\
many a great man comes out of a low cottage.
What rational man thinks the better of the kings
of Denmark, becaufe they derive their pedigree
from UlfO) who was the fon of a bear ? Let no
proud terra filing or vain upftart, be offended by
thefe examples ; but recollect, that it is virtue
alone that can ennoble greatnefs ; and that nothing
is fo intolerable as a fortunate fool, or fo deteft-
able as exalted wickednefs. The nobility of
many of our modern gentry confifts of the parch-
ment by which their title is conferred j but how
much better is it to be born of mean parentage,
and to excel in moral worth and noble actions,
than to be degeneres Neoptolemi^ as many great
men are, who are only valued for their riches ?
POVERTY alfo is accounted, in the world's
efteem, the greateft mifery that can befal a man ;
but if properly confidered, it will afford no real
caufe of difcontent. Riches, like the rains from
heaven, fall on perfons of every defcription,
whether good or bad yfed bonls in lonum^ they
are only valuable to thofe who would be con-
tented without them ; for to thofe who would
not, they only convey pride, infolence, luft,
riot.
2O6 THE CURE OF
riot, intemperance, ambition, cares, fears, fu-
picions, troubles, anger, and every other difeafe,
both of body and of mind.
No crime, disease, or vice, is now unknown,
Since POVERTY, the god of Virtue, 's gone;
Pride, laziness, and all luxurious arts,
Pour like a deluge in from foreign parts,
Since gold obscene and silver found the way
Our plain and honest manners to betray.
Rich men, whofe only objects are to gratify the
mean and fordid pafiion of avarice, are like
painted walls, fair without, but rotten within.
The higher they foar, the greater are the dangers
to which they are expofed; for mifery aflails
riches, as lightning does the higheft towers: or
as a tree that is heavy laden with fruit breaks its
own boughs, fo do riches deftroy the virtue of
their pofleflbr. But,
The man, within the golden mean,
Who can his boldest wish contain,
Serenely views the ruin'd cell,
Where sordid Want and Sorrow dwell ;
And, in himself securely great,
Declines an envied room of state.
Worldly wealth, indeed, is the Devil's bait;
and thofe whofe minds feed upon riches, recede,
in general, from real happinefs, in proportion
as their ftores increafe ; as the moon when (he
is
MELANCHOLY. 207
is fulleft of light isfartheft from the lun. Tbeodoret^
therefore, juftly exhorts his readers, as often as
they fhall fee a man abounding in wealth, qui
gemmis bibit et ferrano dormit in ojlro^ and naught
with all, not to call him happy, but to efteem
him unfortunate, becaufe he has thereby fo many
inducements and temptations to live unjuftly;
and, on the other fide, to confider a virtuous
man, though poor, as far from being miferable.
*Tis not in wealth to give true joys :
Him purest happiness attends,
Who heaven's distinguish'd gifts employs
With wisdom, to the noblest ends.
SENECA calls the happinefs of wealth Urac-
teata felicitaS) tin-foiled happinefs; and infelix
felicitasj an unhappy felicity. A poor man drinks
out of a wooden difh, and eats his hearty meal
with a wooden fpoon ; a rich man with languid
appetite, picks his dainties with a filver fork
from plates of gold; but inauro bibitur venenum;
the one drinks in health and happinefs from his
pottered jug, the other difeafe and poifon from
his jewelled cup.
Were it not better to inquire
How Nature bounds each impotent desire,
What she with ease resigns, or wants with pain,
And then divide the solid from the vain ?
Say,
2C>8 THE CURE OP
Say, should your jaws with thirst severely bum,
Would you a cleanly earthen pitcher spurn ?
Should hunger on your gnawing entrails seize,
Would turbot only or a capon please?
Poverty, indeed, is well defcribed by the holy
fathers of the church, and the fineft orators of an-
tiquity, as the way to heaven, as the miftrefs or
true philofophy, the mother of religion, the
fitter of innocency, and the handmaid of fobriety
and virtue. Qfortunatos y nitnium bonaji fua no-
rint. The rich, it is true, cover their floors
with marble, their roofs with gold, their por-
ticoes with ftatues, and their chambers with
coftly furniture, and curious paintings; but
what is all this to true happinefs ? The happier
poor live and breathe under a glorious fky, the
auguft canopy of nature ; enjoy the brightnefs
of the ftars, the daily radiance of the fun, the
nightly lightnefs of the moon, the harmony of
the groves, and all that bounteous nature pre-
fents to the hands of honeft induftry and calm
content, which far furpafs all the enjoyments
that art and opulentia can give.
Like the first mortals, blest is he,
From debts, and mortgages, and business free ;
With his own team who ploughs the soil,
Which grateful once confess'd his father's toil.
Nature
MELANCHOLY. 20Q
Nature is content with bread and water; and
he that can reft fatisfied with what nature re-
quires, may contend with Jupiter himfelf for
happinefs.
If you, my Iccius, to whose hands
The fruits of his Sicilian lands
Agrippa trusts, use well your gain,
What more can yqu from Jove obtain?
Hence with complaints 1 can he be poor
Who all things needful may secure ?
Whatever is beyond this moderation, fays
Mandarenfis^ is not ufeful, but troublefome : and
he that is hot fatisfied with a little, will never
have enough. " O ye Gods !" exclaimed So-
crates^ as he patted through a fair, " what a
" number of things are there here which I do
" not want!" Strength^ both of body and mind,
is the offspring of Temperance; and Temperance
is the offspring of Want, man's beft phyfician,
and chiefeft friend. VIRTUE, when fhe firft
defcended from heaven to blefs mankind, being
fcorned by the rich, abandoned by the wicked,
ridiculed by courtiers, hated by money-loving
men, and thruft out of every door, wandered to
the humble cottage of her fifter POVERTY,
where fhe was cherifhed with the warmeft affec-
tion, and with whom alone fhe ftill refides. All
true happinefs, fay the Holy Scriptures, is in a
P low
2IO THE CURE OP
low cftatc. A man's fortune, like his garment,
if it fit him well, is not lefs ufeful for being
made of homely materials. A rich man may be
decorated with the titles of Lord, Patron, Ba-
ron, Earl, and poflefs many fine houfes ; but he
who is poor has the greater happinefs.
While with the rich the passing day
In fruitless wishes wears away;
Ah ! rural scenes, his heart repeats,
How I enjoy your bless'd retreats !
Where, while with Nature's views I pleastr
My fancy, or recline at ease,
In sweet oblivion lose the strife
And all the cares of splendid life.
The mifery which is fuppofed to follow po-
verty, arifes not from want, but from peevifhnefs
and difcontent. A mind once fatisfied, if, alas !
a mind can be fatisfied upon this fubjeft, is
happy ; for he who is thoroughly wet in a bath,
cannot be more wet if he be flung into the fea.
The mind is all ; for if a man had all the world,
or a folid mafs of gold as big as the world, he
. could not have more than enough. True plenty
confifts in not defiring, rather than in pofleffing,
riches ; the contempt of which confers more real
glory than the pofleifion. Even by thofe who
are miferably poor it fhould be recollected, that
" mifery is Virtue's whetftone ;" that ts the poor
41 flaall not always be forgotten j that the Lord is
'* a refuge
MELANCHOLY. 211
u a refuge to the opprefled, and a defence in the
" time of trouble ; and that he who fows in tears,
" ftiall reap in joys." A lowering morning may
turn to a fair afternoon ; nube folet pulsa candidus
ire dies. When Zeno^ the philofopher, loft all his
goods in a fhipwreck, he exclaimed, " Fortune
may take away my means, but cannot touch my
mind." Alexander fent a hundred talents of gold
to Phocton of Athens^ for a prefent, becaufe he
heard he was a good man ; but Phocion returned
the gold, with a requeft that he might be per-
mitted to continue a good man ftill. So the The-
ban Crates flung, of his own accord, his money
into the fea, exclaiming, Ab'ite nummi, ego vos
mergam, ne mergar^ a vobis : and (hall Chriftians
become forrowful for the want of wealth, when
Stoics and Epicures could contemn it fo eafily ?
O, man ! let thy fortune be what it will, it is
thy mind alone that makes thee poor or rich,
happy or miferable.
He who enjoys th' untroubled breast,
With Virtue's tranquil wisdom bless'd
With hope the gloomy hour can Cheer,
And temper happiness with fear.
If God the winter's horrors bring,
He soon restores the genial spring.
Then let us not of fate complain,
For soon shall change the gloomy scene.
P 2 SERVITUDE,
212 THE CURE OF
SERVITUDE, Loss OF LIBERTY, and L\ipp,r*
SONMENT, are not fuch miferies as they are, in
general, conceived to be. Alexander was the
{lave of fear ; Cafer, of pride ; Vefyafian^ of his
money; and Heliogabalus^ of his gut. Lovers
alfo are the flaves of beauty ; and ilatefmen of
ambition ; and yet are fo contented with their
conditions, that they hug their chains with rap s
turous delight. To fet them free would render
them difcontented and miserable. A contented
citizen of Milan, who had never pafled beyond
its walls during the courfe of fixty years, being
ordered by the governor not to ftir beyond its
gates, became immediately miferable, and felt
fo powerful an inclination to do that which he
had fo long contentedly negleded, that, on his
application for a releafe from this reftraint being
refufed, he became quite melancholy, and at laft
died of grief. The pains of imprifonment alfo,
like thole of fervitude, are more in conception
than in reality. We are all prifoners. What is
life, but the prifon of the foul ? To fome men
the wide feas are but narrow ditches, and the
world itfelf too limited for their defires: to roam
from eaft to weft, from north to fouth, is their
fole delight j and when they have put a girdle
round the globe, are difcontented, becaufe they
cannot travel to the moon. But Demojlbena
was of a contrary temper : inftead of indulging
this
MELANCHOLY. 213
this vagrant difpofition, he fliaved his beard, to
prevent the poflibility of his being tempted to go
abroad. It is the idea of being confined, that
caufes the mifery of imprifonment ; for it is fome-
times accompanied by the higheft advantages. It
was a confinement occafioned by ficknefs and dif-
eafe, that firft caufed Ptolemy, the Egyptian
king, to become the difciple of the celebrated
Strata, and induced him to give his mind wholly
to the elegant delights of literature and rational
contemplation: a confinement which, in its ul-
timate effects, produced that noble edifice the
Alexandrian library, and caufed it to be furnifhed
with forty thoufand volumes. Boethius never
wrote fo elegantly, as while he was aprifoner;
and many men have, in the privacy of imprifon-
ment, produced works that have immortalized
their own characters, and transmitted their names
with honorable renown to the lateft pofterity."
The eloquent epiftles of St. Paul were chiefly
dictated while he was under conftraint; and Jofepb
acquired greater credit during his imprifonment,
than when he was the lord of Pharoah's houfe, and
mafter of the riches of Egypt. Neither can BA-
NISHMENT, when properly confidered, be called
a grievance : patria eft ubicunque bene eft. It is no
difparagement to be exiled. To figh after home;
to be difcontented on being fent to a place, to
which many go for pleafure ; to prefer, as bafe
P 3 Icelanders
214 T^E CURE OF
Icelanders and Norwegians do, their own ragged
rocks to the fruitful plains of Greece and Italy, is
equally childifh and irrational. Happinefs is not
confined to any particular fpot, but may be found
by wifdom and virtue in every climate under hea-
ven ; for wherever a man deferves a friend, which
is the higheft happinefs on earth, there he will
find one. Thofe land-leapers, Alexander, Ccefar^
Trajan, and Adrian, who, continually baniftir
ing themfelves from one place to another, now
in the eaft, now in the weft, and never at home,
and Columbus, Fafquez de Gama, Drake, Ca-
vendijh, and many others, got all their honours
by voluntary expeditions. But if it be faid, that
baniihment is compulibry, it muft be recollected,
that it may be highly advantageous j and that,
as Tully, Ariftides, Themijlocles^ Tbefeus, Cod-
rus, and many other great and deferving men,
have experienced this fate, it is not in itfelf
really difgraceful.
THE DEATH of a friend is certainly an event
of a very grievous and affliding nature; but
ought we, in a life fo tranfitory and full of perils,
to fix our affections fo firmly even on deferving
objects, as to render our forrows for their lofs fo
poignant as to injure health, and deftroy all fu-
ture happinefs ? One of the chief benefits of vir-
tue, is the contempt of death ; an advantage
which
MELANCHOLY. 215
which accommodates human life with a foft and
eafy tranquillity, and gives us a pure and amiable
tafte of it; without which, every other pleafure
is extint. Death is inevitable, and, like the rock
of Tantalus^ hangs continually over our heads,
ready to fall.
Though great thy wealth, renown'd thy birth,
Nor birth nor opulence can s'ave,
The pooreft, humblest child of earth
From the relentless yawning grave.
The death of a good and virtuous man ought
to be contemplated as the termination of trouble;
a kind releafe from worldly mifery : but, though
all that live muft die, we cannot contemplate its
approach without alarm and apprehenfion for
burfelves, and the fevereft forrow and lamenta-
tion for our friends. Some degree of dread and
forrow is, perhaps, unavoidable* :
But to persevere
In obstinate condolement, is a course
Of impious stubbornness, unmanly grief;
It shews a will most incorrect to heaven,
A heart unsatisfied, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd;
* Epicletus fays upon the fubjeft of Death, " If you love a
pot, remember that it is but a pot, and then you will be lefs
troubled when it happens to be broken ;" and fo when your
wife, child, or friend dies, remember they were mortal, an<J
that remembrance will alleviate your Sorrows.
P 4 For
2l6 THE CURE OF
For what we know must be, and is as common
As any the most vulgar thing to sense.
Why should we in our peevish opposition
Take it to heart?
Mpurnthe sad loss, but mourn not unappeas'd ;
'Gainst sovereign power 'tis impious to contend j
Ev'ndeep regret shall yield, by patience eas'd,
And learn to bear what we despair to mend.
Socrates, while in the agonies of death,
perceiving that his friends, Appollodorus and
Crito, with fome others, were weeping over
him, afked them what they meant by being for-
rowful on fo joyful an occafion. Tully grieved
for a moment over the cold remains of his de-
ceafed daughter, the beloved Tulliola ; but reflec-
tion and philofophy immediately drying his tears,
and enabling him to triumph over his forrows,
he rejoiced more in the idea of her being re-
ceived into the felicities of heaven, than he
had before grieved at her departure from the
miferies of the earth. If the mere doctrines of
philofophy could fo fortify the mind of a heathen,
under fuch a misfortune, what will not the
divine ' influence of our holy RELIGION be
able to effect on the mind of a Chriftian ? It
was in the fpirit with which Cicero viewed this
dreaded event, that Lodovicus Cortefius, an able
and opulent advocate of Padua, ordered his fon,
upon pain of forfeiting his patrimony, inftead.
MELANCHOLY.
of attending his funeral with black mourners,
to provide twelve virgins clad in green to bear
him to his grave, and as many minftrels to
chant hallelujahs for his approaching felicity.
The Thracians alfo, when a child was born,
wept in apprehenfive forrow: but when an
adult was buried, they rejoiced in feafting and
in mirth. The death of Etoneus^ a noble
young Greek, being lamented by his friends
with exceflive forrow, Pindarus^ the poet,
thus addrefled them : " Quiet your minds,
* c ye weeping friends; for the fate of this la-
" mented youth, is not fo miferable as you feern
'* to apprehend ; he is not condemned either to
" the Styx or to Acheron^ but, gloriofus et fenii
" expers beros^ lives immortal in the Elyfian
* c Fields, enjoying that happinefs which the
" greateft kings fo earneftly feek, and wearing
<c the garland of felicity, which we all fo
*' anxiouily hope to obtain."
REPULSE and DISGRACE do not of themfelves
convey any imputation againft the moral charac-
ter of the fufferer, and therefore ought not to
caufe difcontent in the mind of a man of good un-
derftanding. A bafe, impudent, illiterate, unwor-
thy and inefficient man is not unfrequently pre-
ferred, where a man of the ftri&eft honefty,
the greateft learning, and higheft merit is re-
jected. Corrupt intereft, or blind partiality,
2 frequently
2l8 THE CURE OF
frequently beftow favours upon vice and folly,
to which wifdom and virtue are alone entitled.
The race is not always given to the fwift, nor
the battle to the ftrong. A fat prebend, in a
certain cathedral church, in Moronia Feltx y hav-
ing become void by the fudden death of the pre-
bendary, the bifhop, who had the difpofal of the
vacant ftall, was aflailed, almoft before the body
was cold, by a multitude of candidates, for the
preferment. The pretenfions of the firft were
founded on the intereft of many powerful friends,
who were determined to outbid at leaft their lefs
opulent rivals : the fecond candidate was the bi-
fhop's own chaplain, who was fure he fhould
fucceed, from the high opinion he conceived his
patron entertained of his abilities and character :
the third pofiefled all the advantages that ufually
accompany noble birth, and relied with confi-
dence on the influence of his great connexions:
the fourtnL had recently publifhed many curious
and ufeful^jfcoveries in the art of chemiftry,
which he flattered himfelf would outy/eigh the
merits of his competitors : the only merit of the
fifth, was that of being an honeft and laborious
parifh prieft, who had for many years been atten-
tive to the high duties of his humble ftation, and
whofe pious and exemplary character was ftrong-
ly certified by his whole flock : the fixth was the
diftrefTed fon of the deceafed prebendary, who
had
MELANCHOLY.
had left a widow, with a numerous family, with-
out having been able to difcharge the whole of
the debt to the bifhop, by which it was faid the
office had been obtained: to the feventh, the bi
fhop had repeatedly promifed the next place that
fhould happen to be in his gift: the eighth -had
only the recommendation of many friends, who
loved him for his good humour, and pitied the
diftrefs in which he had been involved by ex-*
pences in behalf of the church : the ninth had
married a female friend of the bifhop, who ex-
erted all her interefl with his lordfhip in favour
of her hufband : the tenth was a foreign eccle-
fiaftic, who had been converted by the bifhop :
the eleventh offered to exchange another prebend
of equal value : and the twelfth was an excellent
fcholar, who lived retired at the univerfity,
without friends, and almoft unknown to the
good diocefan : but it was to him that the bifhop,
pf his own mere motion, and after, much per-
plexity, prefented the prebend : But what reafon
had the repulfed candidates to be offended with
his choice, or to be difcontented at their own
difappointments ?
As to INJURIES, it has, indeed, been faid, that
the putting up with one injury is only a means
of provoking another} but this notion is not only
erroneous, but pregnant with mifchief. " Sup-'
pofe,"
220 THE CURE OP
pofe," fays Socrates^ " an afs fhould kick me,
would it be right or becoming in me to kick
him again?" And when his friends, on perceiv-
ing the outrages and abufe he fubmitted to from
Xantippe^ endeavoured to ftimulate him to re-
venge, he wifely replied ; " No, gentlemen, I (hall
not, by quarrelling with my wife, furnifh you
with fport and laughter, and enable you to ftand
by and cry, while you clap your hands, c Now
Socrates!'-- Now Xantippe /' as men do dogs
when they fight, to animate them more fiercely
in the combat." Following the advice of falfe
or foolifh friends, to refent thofe petty injuries
which patience and wife mediation might happily
compofe, is frequently the caufe of great vexation
and difqui.etude. " Recompcnfe to no man evil
" for evil, but overcome evil with good, and
* c as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all
<c men ; for if thine enemy hunger,, and thou feed
'* him; if he thirft, and thou giveft him drink j
" thou fhalt, in fo doing, heap coals of fire on
" his head : therefore avenge not yourfelves,
" but rather give place unto wrath ; for venge-
" ance is mine, faith the Lord." Submiilion in
fuch contefts is victory. Durum et durum non
faciunt murum\ two refractory fpirits will never
agree; and obfequio vinces^ one muft ftoop to
conquer. Soft words pacify wrath, and over-
come the fierceft fpirits. Humility and wi/lom
always
IviFLANCHOLY. Ill
always triumph over pride and folly. Juftice,
by means of mildnefs and humility, inflids art
the head of the guilty the punifhment which was
intended for the injured party, as Haman was
hanged on the very gibbet he had provided for
the deftru&ion of Mordecai. To fhun provoca-
tion, let it be remembered, that the littleft fly
has a fpleen, and the fmalleft bee a fting; and.
therefore to live quietly ourfelves, we muft do
no wrong to others. It is as much the nature
of a wicked man to do an injury, as it is the
duty of a wife and honeft man to bear it; for he
who cannot bear injuries, witnefles againft him-
felf that he is no good man. Thefe obfervations
will alib apply with equal force to feoffs, flan-
ders, contumelies, obloquies, defamations, de-
tractions, pafquillings, libels, and the like. A
wife citizen of Athens, who had a fcolding wife,
whenever fhe bawled, played upon his drum,
and by that means drowning her noife, rendered
it of no effect, drljtophanes attempted to ridi-
cule the character of Socrates on the ftage; but
the philofopher attended the reprefentation, andj
wifely laughing at the attempt, defeated, by his
eafe and unconcern, the whole effect of the ma-
lice which the poet had levelled againft him.
Anger and revenge, indeed, are their own pu-
nifhment, as Praxiteles experienced, when, paf-
fionately dafhing on the floor the mirror which
reflefted
222 THE CURE OF MELANCHOLY.
reflected the deformities of his face, he beheld
his difpleafing features multiplied in every frag-
ment of the glafs. A fteady, ere&, compofed
and temperate conduit, always defeats the in-
tended effects of malice and ill-nature.
There are many other grievances which haj>
pen to mortals in this life, from friends, wives^
children, fervants, matters, companions, neigh-
bours, and ourfelves, to the cure of which the
following rules will greatly contribute ; u Re-
compence evil with good : do nothing through
contention or vain glory; but every thing with
meeknefs of mind, and love for one another."
But if the rectifications of the fix non naturals
already mentioned, will not effect the cure of
melancholy, the patient muft then have recourfe
to Pharmaceutics^ or that kind of phyfic which
cures by medicines; for which we muft refer him
to the advice of his apothecary and phyfician,
obferving only that he is moft likely to fucceed
in removing this difeafe,
Who strives, with anxious heart and pious care,
" The sense of every evil to repair ;
And, by his reason, learns a wise disdain
Of gloomy melancholy and mental pain.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 22$
CHAPTER THE SIXTH.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
LOVE is a delectation of THE HEART, oc-
cafioned by fome apparently good, amiable,
and fair object, the favor or poflelHon of which,
THE MIND ardently wifhes to win, and feeks to
enjoy. Of this pafiion there are two fpecies,
nuptial and heroic. NUPTIAL LOVE is the warm,
but fmcere, and fteady affe&ion of a virtuous
heart, feeking its happinefs in that high and
honourable union which was appointed by God
in Paradife.
For those who spurn not Hymen's powers^
But seek for bliss within his bowers,
By sweet experience know,
Thai MARRIAGE, rightly understood^
Gives to the tender and the good
A PARADISE below.
This fpecies of love captivates the foul by
fuch irrefiftible powers, is furrounded by fuch an
aflemblage of perfuafive charms, comes recom-
mended by fuch rational and fatisfactory mo-
tives, and is capable, of filling the bofom with
fuch
224 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
fuch tranfcendent and refined delight, that nO
man, who has not a gourd for his head, or a
pippin for his heart, can avoid it. It is the true
Promethean fire, which heaven, in its kindnefs
to the Tons of man, has fuffered to animate the
human breaft, and lead it to felicity.
This is the love that ties the nuptial knot,
Dictates to friendship its most binding laws,
And with chaste vows does what is bound confirm : .
Thrice happy they when love like this, from heaven,
Gains an ascendent o'er their virtuous minds.
No cord or cable can draw fo forcibly, or bind
fo faft, as this charming paflion can do with only
a rBfegle thread ; for when formed on juft and ra-
tional principles, it poflefTes the virtues of the
adamant, and leads to an inexhauftible fource of
increafing pleafure. It renders the union perfect
and complete. The huiband fways his willing
confort by virtue of his fuperior underftandingand
knowledge in the affairs of life ; but fhe again
commands his heart by the influence of her
charms : he is her kind protector, and fhe his
only joy and conftant comfort. They are not
only of one flefh, but of one mind. Geryon
like, they have one heart in two bodies. She
is, as Plutarch fays, a beautiful mirror, to re-
flect her hufband's face and temper j for if he be
pleafant, fhe will be merry j when he laughs,
flie
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY, 225
fhe Will fmile ; and when he is fad> her heart will
participate in his forrow, and eafe him of half
his pain. As the bride faluted the bridegroom
of old, in Rome^ fhe continually exclaims, " Ubl
tu CAIUS, ego femper CAIA;" " Be you ftill
CAIUS, and I will for ever be your CAIA." It
is, indeed, a happy ftate, as Solomon obferves,
" when the fountain is blefTed, and the hufband
rejoices with the wife of his youth j when fhe
is to him as the loving hind, and the pleafant
roe ; and he is always ravifhed with her love."
There is, under fuch circumftances, fomething
in woman beyond all human delight. She pof-
fefles a magnetic virtue, a quality that charms,
a fecret attraction, and moft irrefiftible power.
No earthly happinefs can be compared to that
which refults from the pofleflion of a fweet and
virtuous wife.
O come, ye chaste and fair, come, old and young,
Whose minds are willing, and whose hearts are pure,
Drink deep of happiness, drink health and peace
From the sweet fountain of connubial love ;
and, like Seneca with his Paulina, Abraham
with Sarah^ Orpheus with Eurydlce y Arria with
Ptstus, Artemnlfia with Maufoleus, and Rube-
nlus Celer with his lovely Ennea t live in unin-
terrupted felicity and increafing happinefs.
226 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Happy, thrice happy, they whose blameless joys,
Spring from the unbroken union of the heart :
No inurmurings vex, no strife annoys,
But their last day alone shall part.
But the heroic pajjlon^ which fo frequently
caufes MELANCHOLY, and is improperly digni-
fied with the honourable appellation of LOVE, is
an irrational and inordinately violent attach-
ment, which difgraces or difdains the happy
union of marriage ; a wandering, furious, ex-
travagant, and domineering defire ; of a cha-
racter and difpofition direftly oppofite to that
which forms the bafis of conjugal delight ; and
deftru6tive of all true happinefs.
The man is blest, and sweetly runs his life,
When gentle Virtue ties the nuptial band ;
But he whom only Lov e heroic joins,
Wretched abroad must prove, and curs'd at home.
For, as a fenfible and elegant poet has well ob-
fervedj
Love various minds does variously inspiro;
It stirs in gentle bosoms gentle fire,
tike that of incense on the ALTAR laid :
But raging flames tempestuous souls invade
With fire, which every windy passion blows :
With pride it mounts, or with revenge it glows.
I am, indeed, almoft afraid to relate the difak
trous conferences which this violent paffion has
produced.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 22J
produced. Improbe amor quid non mortalla pettora
cog'it? Alexis, in Atben<zus, defcribes it as a
monfter of nature, wit, and art, which tortures
the body, and crucifies the foul, with melan-
choly in this life, and configns its victims to ever-
Jaftino; torments in the world to come.
o
O you, who Beauty's vicious paths attend,
Paths which in Love's heroic mansion end ;
Learn from the muse what pains surround its throne, .
And think the miseries she describes your own.
There burning Fury heaven and earth defies,
And dumb Despair in icy fetters lies;
There black Suspicion bends his gloomy brow,
The unbless'd image of himself to view ;
And blind Belief, with all a lover's flame,
Sinks in those arms which clothe his head with shame.
There wan Dejection, wandering as he goes,
In silent torture vainly seeks repose ;
In musing bitterness, consumes the day,
And, lost in darkness, weeps the hours away.
There the gay train of Luxury advance,
To Lydian sounds adapting Circe's dance :
On every head the venal garland glows ;
In every hand the poison'd goblet flows :
The Syren views them with exulting eyes,
And laughs at bashful Virtue as she flies.
This fatal paffion fubverts kingdoms, overthrows
cities, deftroys towns, ruins families, corrupts the
human heart, and makes a mafTacre of the fpecies.
The roaring thunder, and the forked lightning,
O2 of
*>/
228 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
of the angry gods, wars, fires, and plagues,
have never done fuch mifchief to mankind as
this burning brutal paffion. Such is its power,
that its victims, confcious of their danger, fuffer
themfelves to be led to deftrution like an ox to
the {laughter. Well may it be called a mercilefs
and unfeeling tyrant, for it fpares neither fex
nor age. Omnja vincit amor. The wifdom of
Solomon was extinguifhed, the ftrength of Samp-
fon enervated, the piety of Lot's daughters de-
flroyed, the filial duty of Abfalom dried up, and
the brotherly love of Amman confumed, by its
ravaging and fatal flames. All laws, human
and divine, every moral precept, every pious
exhortation, all fear both of God and man,
fame, fortune, honour, health and virtue, are
frequently facrificed on the altar of this impla-
cable deity j nor can the fcorching beams of the
equinoctial, where the earth is parched, or the
extreme cold of the artic circle, where the very
feas are frozen, exceed or mitigate its fury. It
rages among all forts and conditions, but prevails
moft among thofe who are young, florid, nobly
descended, high fed, indolent, and luxurious.
But to enlarge on the power and effe&s of this
mighty paflion, would be to fet a candle in the
. fun
What
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 22Q
What hares on At bos, bees on Hybla feed,
Or berries on the tree of Pallas breed ;
What numerous shells the sandy shores afford,
With woes as great Heroic Low is stor'd.
Arnoldus Villano'vanus^ in his treatife on Heroic
Love^ defines it to be an infatiable defire : Ra/is
calls it a melancholy paffion ; Cicero, a furious
difeafe of the mind; and Plato^ the height of
madnefs itfelf. It is, in fliort, that vulture,
which in hell was night and day gnawing the
heart of Titius, who was heroically enamoured
with Latona. This infatiate paffion refides, like
every other caufe of melancholy, rather in the
brain than in the heart, by reafon of the corrupt
imagination, miftaken judgment, and falfe prin-
ciples from which it originally proceeds ; although
the heart, the liver, the brain, and the blood,
are all afterwards affe&ed by the difeafe.
Do not, Heroic Lovers, who oft drink
Of Circe's poison'd cup, and down the stream
Of soothing pleasure all resistless flow
Enervate, deem unworthy of your wish
CONNUBIAL LOVE. While ye restless seek
The phantom PLEASURE, where INDULGENCE plays
Her midnight gambols, o'er unstable paths
Ye heedless wander : as she points the way
Through her enchanting maze, the illusive form
Conceals destruction. While with eager hope,
And mad impatience, in a fond embrace
CL3 Ye
230 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Ye grasp her, panting ; lo ! the sorceress darts
Her latent venom through your tortur'd nerves.
Then wakes REMORSE ; and, on her fatal throne,
With woes surrounded, fell DISEASE displays
Her snaky crest, and o'er your guilty heads
Shakes all her honors *.
The native throne of true and honourable love
is in the centre of the human heart; but this
heroic pajjlon is feated in a corrupted fancy and
difordered brain. The one lifts the foul to hea-
ven,
* The different effefts and confequences of Love, when
farmed on virtuous or vicious principles, or between that which
we now call Nuptial and Heroic Love, are very poetically defcribecl
in the following verfes, by Anthony Whijiler ) Efq.
Let Wisdom boast her mighty power,
With Passion still at strife,
Yet LOVE is sure the sovereign flower,
The sweet perfume of life ;
The happy breeze, that swells the sail,
When quite becalm'd we lie ;
The drop that will the heart regale,
And fparkle in the eye ;
The sun that wakes us to delight,
And drives the {hades away;
The dream that cheers our dreary night,
And makes a brighter day.
But if, alas ! it wrongly seize,
The case is twice as bad :
This flow'r, fun, drop ; this dream and breeze t
Will drive the sufferer MAD.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 231
ven, the other finks it into hell ; the one is the
root of all mifchief, the other the parent of all
good. The one, which is reprefented to have
fprung from the ocean, is as various and raging
in the human breaft as the fea itfelf ; but the other,
which is the golden chain that was let down
from heaven to bind congenial fouls in celeftial
happinefs, is mild, placid, and difcreet.
If divine Plato's words be right,
Two Loves on earth there are;
The one a heaven-discover'd light,
To bless the auspicious pair :
The other is of earth-form'd mould,
Flying on Fancy's wing,
Dishonest, wanton, uncontroul'd,
And fraught with Misery's sting*.
But the miferies and misfortunes, which are
likely to attend this difeafe of love, cannot, per.
Q 4
* Love is a mixed paflion, founded, on the one hand, on*
the natural defire of the fexes; and, on the other hand, on de-
fines which, although not fo ungovernable as this, are more
lading in kind, and purer in their objeft : they are commonly
called fentlments of the heart. The union of the fexes is the wprk
of nature, and is a law which all men, in common with all
animals, obey : the union of mind is not only peculiar to men,
but is not even general among mankind; for it appears to be the
offspring of civilization and culture : by the firft mentioned de-
fire, the great object of animal life is completed; by the f&
cond, the Jfchere of happinefs is increafed and promoted. ;
CXJCHTON on Mental Derangement,
232 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
haps, be better defcribed than by fhewing the
wicked and malevolent character of its author
CUPID, as given by his mother fanus, in the Ian-,
guage of the poet Mofchus.
His skin is not white, but the colour of flame 5
His eyes are most cruel, his heart is the same :
His delicate lips with persuasion are hung;
But, ah ! how they differ, his mind and his tongue !
His voice, sweet as honey ; but nought can controul,
Whene'er he's provok'd, his implacable soul.
He never speaks truth; full of fraud is the boy;
Deep woe is his pastime, and sorrow his joy.
His head is embellish'd with bright curling hair ;
He has confident looks, and an insolent air.
Though his hands are but little, yet darts he can fling
To the regions below, and their terrible king.
His body quite naked to view isreveal'd ;
But he covers his mind, and his thoughts are conceal'd.
Like a bird light of feather, the branches among,
He skips here and there to the old and the young :
From the men to the maids on a sudden he strays,
And, hid in their hearts, on their vitals he preys.
The bow which he carries is little and light :
On the nave is an arrow wi r'd ready for flight ;
A short little arrow, yet swiftly it flies
Through regions of aethers, and pierces the skies.
A quiver of gold on his moulders is bound,
Stor'd with darts, that alike friends and enemieswound^
Ev'n I, his own mother, in vain strive to shun
His arrows so tell and so cruel my son.
His torch is but small, yet so ardent its ray,
It scorches the sun, and extinguifhes.day.
GOODNESS
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
GOODNESS is the faireft fpring and pureft
fountain of conjugal affection ; and from this fource
flow all thofe graces which fo eminently adorn
female beauty, whether of perfon or of mind.
Beauty, indeed, {nines with fuch vivid luftre,
that it caufes immediate admiration by reafon of
its fplendour ; but the fair object cannot hope to
be beloved, until the mind of the admirer is fa-
tisfied of her goodnefs ; for the ideas of good and
fair cannot eafily be feparated. As amber at~
tradts a ftraw, fo does beauty admiration, which
only lafts while the warmth continues : but vir-
tue, wifdom, goodnefs, and real worth, like the
loadftone, never lofe their power. Thefe are
the true graces, which, as Homer feigns, are
linked and tied hand in hand, becaufe it is by
their influence that human hearts are fo firmly
united to each other.
Hail! bright VIRTUE, hail ! without thee what are all
fife's gayeft trappings; what the fleeting show
Of youth or charms, which fora moment spread
Their visionary bloom, but withering die,
Nor leave remembrance of their fancied worth !
O ! how adorn'd in heaven's all-glorious pomp
Fair Virtue comes, and in her radiant train
Ten thousand beauties wait. Behold she comes
To fill the soul with never-ceasing joy !
Attend her voice, sweet as the solemn sounds
Of cherubs, when they strike their golden harps
Symphonious. Hence, ye fond ddusive dreams
Of
434 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Of fleeting pleasure! She the he,art distends
With more enduring bliss : these charms will blpom
When time shall cease ; e'en Beauty's self by these
More lovely seems, she looks with added grace,
And smiles seraphic. Whate'er adorns
The female breast, whatc'er can move the soul
With fervent rapture, every winning grace,
All mild endearment, tenderness and love,
Is taught by VIRTUE, and by her alone.
,The heroic pajjlon of love is engendered by
LUXURY and IDLENESS, (the effe<Sls of which we
have already defcribedj by SIGHT, by BEAUTY,
by DRESS, and other blandifhments of the like
frivolous and exterior kind.
SIGHT is, of all other fenfes, the firft Hep to
this unruly pafiion ; for it is the channel through
which the rays of beauty, and the graces of de-
meanour, firft make their way towards the heart.
Love is a natural inbred affection of the hu-
man heart, which feels the want of a companion
to render its happinefs complete ; but fight is the
means by which the fair object is firft pointed
out. As a view of pomp infpires ambition j as
the fight of gold engenders covetoufnefs ; fo does
the fight of a beautiful woman beget love. A
boy, who had from his infancy been brought up
in the deep receffes of a foreft, by a venerable
9m
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 235
and pious hermit, faw by chance, when he had
attained manhood, two lovely females, who had
wandered in their walks within view of the fe-
queftered cell. He inquired earneftly, and with
anxious emotion, of the old man, what crea-
tures they were. The hermit told him they
were fairies ; but, on his afking him fome time
afterwards, what was the pleafanteft object he
had ever feen, he readily replied, with a heart-felt
figh, Oh, father, the two fairies whom we
lately faw in the purlieu of the wood.
- Thus when the rustic swain
Saw sleeping Beauty on the grassy bank,
Reclin'd at ease, and careless beaming round
Jler charms attractive, while upon her face
Play'd all the laughing loves, surpriz'd he gaz'd,
And felt a thousand transports shoot along
His shivering nerves; felt his unfeeling heart,
Unus'd to pant, with soft emotion heave,
And while he trembling view'd, began to love.
S) indeed, derives love from fight, tyus
QUASI ofxa-is; and the eyes are certainly its fecret
orators, and firft harbingers. Scaliger calls them
Cupid's arrows ; Tibullus^ the torches of defire-:
and, as the bafililk is faid to kill afar off by fight,
fo do the fexes inveigle and deftroy each other by
(he mutual glances of enamoured eyes. The
Thracian.
236 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Thracian Rodopbe was fo eloquent in the exer-
cife of this dumb rhetoric, that fhe bewitched
every one fhe looked at. But the love which is
difclofed by the chafte and downcaft looks of vir-
gin modefty and virtuous feelings, is of a very
different defcription from that which is an-
nounced by the rolling eye of wantonnefs and
vice; for it is not the eye itfelf, but the wan-
dering, adulterous, wanton, rolling, and lafci-
vious eye, that produces the pernicious effects of
this heroic madnefs. dpuleius y in the elegant and
pleafant interlude of" The Judgment of Paris,"
has given very appropriate and chara&eriftic
manners to the refpe&ive candidates for the gol-
den apple: "Juno appears in all the majefty of
the queen of heaven ; Minerva with the becom-
ing gravity of wifdom; but Fenus^ the pa-
tronefs of heroic love, is introduced amidfl the
foul-fubduing founds of mufic, fmiling with cap-
tivating grace, and rolling her eyes as fhe dances
wantonly along, to exprefs the charm by which
{he expe&ed to gain the prize. How different
from the mild, modeft, and downcast eyes of the
Virgin Mary, which Baradius Gerfon and Bona-
-venture affure us were the type of chaftity itfelfj
and a perfect Antidote to heroic love !
BEAUTY, indeed, that divine, powerful, foul-
ravifhing, and captivating beauty, which, as
Tatius
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 237
Tatius obferves, is more piercing than the fharp-
eft dart, is the moft delightful and enchanting
object of the human vifion. It is the deity on
whofe altar love makes its conftant facrifice.
Every heart acknowledges its power, and every
imperfection lies concealed within its blaze. It
fubdues whatever it approaches : but the love it
kindles is, as we are told in holy writ, " like
unto a devouring fire." When Conftantinople
was facked by the Turks, the beautiful Irene
fell into the hands of Mahomet ; but her charms
made a captive of her conqueror, and infpired
his foul with a paflion fo violent and ungovern-
able, as to caufe their ruin ; and many more in-
ftances of the fatal effe&s which it produces,
have been furnifhed by hiftory, and difplayed by
the tragic poets of every age and country. The
powers of female beauty almoft captivate the
gods themfelves. Barbarians ftand in awe of a
fine woman ; and by a beautiful afpe& the fierce-
eft fpirit is pacified.
-Since first the vital spark
Awak'd the human breast, and man arose
To conscious being, the fair female form
Dazzled his eye, and thro' his panting breast
Shot Beauty's ray.
Menelaus^ on the taking of Troy t ran raging
and furious, with his drawn fword, to the apart-
2 ment
238 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
ment of the unfortunate but beautiful
intending, with his own hands, to deftroy the
life of her who had been the fole caufe of the
war ; but when he faw her face, the weapon
dropped from his hands; and, conquered by her
divine beauty, he threw himfelf at her feet.
Naught under Heaven so strongly doth allure
The sense of man, and all his mind possess,
As Beauty's lovely bait, which doth procure
Great warriors erst their rigour to suppress.
Even mighty hands forget their manliness,
Driv'n by the power of a heart-burning eye,
And lapp'd in flowers of a golden tress,
That can with melting pleasure mollify
Their harden'd hearts, inured to cruelty.
HyperideS) the orator, when Phryne^ his client,
was accufed at Athens for the irregularities of
her conduct, ufed no other argument in her de-
fence, than to open her upper garment, and dif-
clofe her beautiful bofom to the admiration of her
judges, which, with her graceful perfon, and
captivating manners, procured her acquittal. O
noble piece of juftice! But who would not rather
lofe even the office of juftice itfelf, than give
judgment againft the majefty of beauty ! Beafts
themfelves are moved by it j for when Sinalda^
a queen of moft extraordinary beauty, was con-
demned by her cruel conqueror to be trodden to
death by horfes, the animals, as if confcious of
the
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 239
the crime of deftroying fuch fuperior charms,
ftoocl motionlefs, and refufed to perform the
office.
I
All Nature's sons before the radiant throne
Of Beauty kneel. What ever warms the breast
With noble purpose, what informs the heart
To melt, and moulds it into social man,
Is Beauty's power. From her, poetic heat
Derives new fire ; and, taught by her, oft paints
The visionary scene, and touches all
The springs of passion! Her's each win-ng grace,
Each comely gesture her's. E'n frozen Age,
Bending to earth beneath the weight of years,
With wrinkled front, and venerable hair,
Melts at her fair approach ; he feels warm blood
Run through his withered veins ; erect he lifts
His hoary head, and on his aged brow
Unusual gladness smiles.
The tranfcendent power of beauty muft, in-
deed, be admitted by all who have not cold
hearts and muddy underftandings ; for,
Her's is the boast unrivalled to enslave,
The great, the wise, the witty, and the brave.
But every virtuous and chafte character will
prudently prevent it from gaining fuch an em-
pire over the heart, as to engender, by its in-
fluence, that ferinus infanus amor^ that wild and
romantic paflion, which is denominated Heroic
Lave.
Beauty
240 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY*
Beauty was sent from Heaven,
The lovely mistress of Truth and Good
In this dark world : for TRUTH and GOOD are one j
And Beauty dwells in them, and they in her,
With like participation. Wherefore then,
O Sons of Earth ! would you dissolve the tie ?
Or wherefore, with a rash impetuous aim,
Seek those heroic joys, with which the hand
Of lavish Fancy paints each flattering scene,
Where Beauty seems to dwell, nor once inquire
Where is the sanction of eternal truth,
Or where the seal of undeceitful good,
To save your search from folly! Wanting these,
Lo! BEAUTY withers in your void embrace,
And with the glittering of an idiot's toy
Fond Fancy mocks your vows.
DRESS increafes this heroic difeafe, by height-
ening the charms of beauty ; and when the greatly
potent allurements of a fine face, fparlcling eyes,
a white neck, coral lips, and rofe coloured
cheeks, are aflifted by glittering attire, cfi-
fhevelled looks, loofely flowing garments,
fhape-embracing zones, elegant attitudes, and
bewitching glances, the dangers can only be
refifted by the double fhield of WISDOM and
VIRTUE. Drefs, indeed, when nicely difplayed,
will transform a Hecuba into a Helen^ and make
the verieft dowdy fhine forth in all the fplendor
of feeming beauty.
The
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 24!
The toothless Egle seems a pretty one,
Set out witli new bought teeth of Indian bone;
And foul Lycboris, blacker than a berry,
Herself admires, now finer than a cherry.
Gomefius^ a Florentine gentleman, was by this
means deceived in a wife. Radiantly fet out
with rings, jewels^ lawns, fcarfs, laces, gold, and
every gaudy device^ he imagine^ having never
feen her but by torch light, that (he was a per-
fect goddefs j but when, after the wedding folem-
nities, he viewed her the enfuing morning without
her tires, in a clear day, me appeared fo hor-
ribly deformed, lean, yellow, and fhrivelled, that
he could not endure to look on her. Like an
Egyptian temple, fhe was fair without, but rot-
ten within. Elegant fimplicity is the decoration
which beft exhibits nature's modeft charms.
Loofe and gaudy attire are meretricious orna-
ments, to conceal defects of nature, and to in-
ihare the minds of inexperienced beholders ; for
why do women array themfelves in fuch fan-
taftical dreffes, and quaint devices, with gold,
with filver, with coronets, with pendants, brace-
lets, ear-rings, chains, guales, rings, pins,
fpangles, embroideries, madows, rebatoes, verft-
colour ribbands, feathers, fans, mafks, furs, la-
ces, tiffanies, ruffs, falls, calls, cuffs, 'damafks,
velvets, taflels, golden cloth, filver tiffue, pre-
cious ftones, ftars, flowers, birds, beafts, fifties,
R qrifped
242 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
crifped locks, wigs, painted faces, pins, bod-
kins, fetting-fticks, cork, whalebone, fweet
odours, and whatfoever elfe Africa^ Afia^ and
America, fea, land, art, and induftry can pro-
duce, flaying their faces to procure the frefher
complexion of a new fkin, and ufmg more time
in dreffing than Qsfar took in marflialling his
army, but that, like cunning falconers, they
wiih to fpread falfe lures to catch unwary larks j
and- lead, by their gaudy baits, and meretricious
charms, the minds of inexperienced youths into
the traps of Heroic Love ?
-Loveliness
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament ;
But is when unadorn'd, adorn'd the moft.
*' Let them," fays the good and pious
paint their eyes with tints of chaftity, in-
fert into their ears the word of God, tie the
yoke of Chrift around their necks, and adorn
their whole perfons with the filk of fanclity,
and the damafk of devotion ; let them adopt that
chafte and fimple, that neat and elegant ftyle of
drefs, which fo advantageouflydifplaysthe charms
of real beauty, inftead of thofe prepofterous
fafhions, and fantaftical draperies of drefs, which,
while they conceal fome few defects of perfon,
expofe fo many defects of mind, and facrifice to
eftentatious finery, all thofe mild, amiable and
modeft
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 243
modeft virtues, by which the female character
is fo pleafingly adorned."
Ah ! why so fantastic and vain?
What charms can the toilet supply >
Why so studious admirers to gain f
Need BEAUTY lay traps for th.e eye ?
Oh 1 cannot their hearts be at rest,
Unless they're exceedingly fair ?
For Beauty to be so high dress'd,
Is surely superfluous care.
Embarrass'd with baubles and toys,
They appear so enormously fine,
That dress all its purpose destroys,
By shewing their art and design.
O think how sweet Beauty beguiles,
How alluring the innocent eye ;
What sweetness in natural smiles,
What charms in simplicity lie!
Cornelia^ the juftly celebrated Roman matron,
the mother of the Gracchi^ and daughter of
Sciplo Jtfricanus, being accidentally in company
with one of thefe May-day ladies, whofe jewelled
garments were her only pride, and the fole fubjecT:
of her converfation, the high dreffed dame, difplay-
ing her finery, challenged the virtuous matron
to produce, if poflible, a finer robe, or a richer
drefs. The amiable Cornelia pitied, but amufed
R 2 her
244 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
her vain and infulting companion, until her
children returned from fchool, when {he pre-
fented them to her as the richeft jewels an af-
fectionate mother would wifh to poffefs; and by
this happy thought evinced her fuperior merit,
and mortified the malicious vanity of her be-
dizened competitor. But exceflive drefs becomes
ftill more ridiculous when ufed to conceal the
ravages of time. Emonez^ an old woman of
Chios > thinking, by the finery of her drefs, to
acquire the beauty which time and nature had
deprived her of, went to Arcefilaus the philofo-
pher, and afked him whether it was polfible for
a wife man to be in love. " Yea, verily," re-
plied he ; " but not with an artificial and coun-
terfeit beauty, like thine." But thefe reproofs
have not reftrained the practice.
All drive away despair;
And those who in their youth were scarce thought fair,
In spite of age, experience, and decays,
Set up for charming in their fading days ;
Snuff their dim eyes to give a parting blow
To the soft heart of some observing beau.
The fondnefs for exceffive finery, however, is
not fo derogatory to the refinement and delicacy,
which, particularly in drefs and fentiment, ought
to diftinguifh the female character, as the
adoption of thofe, fafhions, by which young
and
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 245
and old now expofe their naked arms, elbows,
fhoulders, necks, bofoms, and themfelves to
every beholder! " The charieft maid," fays
Sbakefpear^ " is prodigal enough, if (he unmafk
" her beauties to the moon." Ariofto^ after de-
fcribing the elegant drefs of the beautiful Alclna^
by which no more of her matchlefs charms were
permitted to be feen than the ftri&eft innocence
and modefty allow, concludes,
Not Argus' self her other charms cou'd spy,
So closely veil'd from every longing eye ;
Yet may we judge the graces she reyeal'd,
Snrpass'd not those her modest garb conceal'd,
Which strove in vain from Fancy's eye to hide
Each angel charm, that seem'd to Heaven allied.
There needs, indeed, no cryer, as Frederlcus
Matenefius obferves, to go before thofe who are
lonely drejfid to tell us what they mean, for it
is as fure a token to a young gallant as an ivy-
bum over the door of a tavern is to a debauchee.
The converfation and behaviour of fuch females
are, in general, as loofe and meretricious as
their drefs.
There's language in their eyes, their cheeks, their lips j
Their feet speak loud, and wantonness looks out
At every joint and motion of their bodies.
These fair encounterers are so glib of tongue,
pive such a courting welcome ere they come,
R 3 So
246 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY*
So wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts
To every observer, that I set them down
For sluttish spoils of opportunity,
And daughters of the game.
The girl who on Beauty depends for support,
Must call every art to her aid ;
The bosom display'd, and the petticoat short,
Are samples she gives of her trade.
But learn not, ye fair ones, to copy her air,
Nor venture too much to reveal ;
Our fancies will paint what you cover with care,
And double each charm you conceal.
But to the charms of beauty, and the foreign
aid of meretricious ornament, thefe gay feducers
add, wreathed fmiles, nods, becks, fignificant
geftures, gentle conferences, warm embraces, ten-
der dalliance, finging, dancing, mufic, and other
artificial allurements, in order to fteal away the
heart from the dominion of REASON, and in-
fpire it with this heroic pajjion.
SMILES, when they flow from the genuine
feelings of a chafte heart and happy mind, are
certainly the higheft decorations of female love-
linefs and beauty : they befpeak the benevolence,
the contentment, and the virtue of the foul.
Smiles
From Reason flow, and are of Love the food.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 247
It was the fweet fmiles of Galla that firft van-
quimed the heart of Faujlus the (hep herd.
" The pleafmg gentle fmile of Hero" fays Mu-
feuS) " made every heart leap from its fphere ;"
and " Ifmene" fays Petroniu$ y " fmiled with
fuch a lovely innocence that I could not but ad-
mire her."
Such Smiles as these ean ne'er sweet Peace destroy',
The lovely children of Content and Joy.
Smiles, indeed, are powerful orators, and may cpn-
vey, though in filence, matters of great fignification
to the heart. But they may alfo lead a lover into
a fool's paradife ; for there are many who, if they
do but fee a fair maid laugh, or fhew a pleafant
countenance, immediately fancy it a favour be-
ftowed peculiarly on themfelves, A fmile is un-
queftionably a moft feducingand attractive grace.
The breaft of Horace was as much captivated
by the charming fmiles of the beautiful Lalage,
as by the vivacity and wit of her converfation.
And Ovid informs us, that the fex are fo con-
fcious of the powers of this dimpled deity, that
they ftudy fmiles as the moft efficacious inftru-
ments in the art of love, Thefe inftruments, how-
ever, may ftill be innocently ufed ; it is only the har-
lot fmiles of mifchief and deceit, againft which we
now inveigh 5 thofe baleful, counterfeit, contrived,
^ffected fmiles and counter-fmiles, which, while
R 4 they
248 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
they tend only to inveigle and deceive, convert
the noble and fublime paffion of love into a mean
and fubtle art, into a mutual intercourfe of jug-
gling and intrigue.
Those Smiles accurst, which hide the worst designs,
Which with blithe eye me woos him to be blest,
While round her arms she Love's black serpent twines,
And hurls it hissing at his youthful breast.
GESTURES alfo, when eafy, elegant, and mo-
deft, are proper and allowable accompaniments
of beauty, and tend greatly to the perfection of
the female character : for what can be more re-
commendatory than an elegant attitude, an eafy
gait, a graceful courtefy, and an affable faluta-
tion: but when women, like the daughters of
Stan, " are haughty, and walk forth with out-
" ftretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and
tc mincing as they go, and making a tinkling
'" with their feet j" it fhews that thefe geftures
are mere fpringes to catch unwary woodcocks,
and that they are ufed as artful delufions, un-
worthy of a virtuous mind. Such characters
Are empty of all good, wherein consists
Woman' domestic honour and chief praise ;
Bred only and completed to the taste
Of lustful appetence, to sing, to dance,
To dressy to troll the tongue, and roll the eye.
CONFERENCE
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 249
CONFERENCE alfo, that" pleafing intercourse
of foul with foul," when confined to modeft,
rational and inftru&ive converfation, ftrengthens
the bonds of friendfhip, and opens the faireft
avenues to nuptial love : but when difcourfe is
romantic and inflaming,
When each soft whispers in the others ear,
Some secret sweet to tell, and sweet to hear,
it diforders the imagination, and, inftead of en-
gendering a pure affection of the heart, leads the
mind into all the extravagancies of the Heroic
Paflion. It was the frequent conferences which
the learned Abelard held with the lovely Elolfa y
upon the fubject of Heroic Love y that at length
inflamed their minds with thofe extravagant fen-
timents, and unhallowed defires, which termi-
nated in their mutual ruin. A pleafing fpeech,
uttered in a foft endearing tone of voice, is of
itfelf fufficient to captivate the heart ; but when
afllfted by the arts of eloquence, the Syrens them-
felves are not more dangerous.
Sweet words the people and the senate move ;
But the chief end of eloquence is love.
It was Jaforfs difcourfe as much as his beauty
that vanquifhed the virtue of Medea ; and this
was the engine by which the unhappy Shore fub-
dued the heart of Edward the Fourth.
But
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
But oh! ye fair, although with fervent sighs
Your plaintive lovers kneel, and vent their souls
In softly swelling strains, let not these charms
Dilate your tender hearts.
The opportunities, indeed, of conference are
fo dangerous, that weak and unfufpe&ing maids
are frequently deluded by young, petti vanted,
trim-bearded, and fwaggering fellows, mere
(harpers to get a fortune, who have no other
merit than having learned the tricks of courtefy,
and the fafhionable accomplimments of the day.
Youths, who, full of subtle qualities,
Loving, and well compos'd with gifts of nature,
Flowing, and swelling o'er with arts and exercise,
Can heel the high la volt, and sweeten talk ;
Can play at subtle games ; and in each grace
Still keep a lurking, dumb, discursive devil,
That tempts most cunningly.
For conference may certainly be carried on
without the ufe of words, not only by the arts
above defcribed, but by the ftill more powerful
allurements of tender glances, gentle fighs, and
fafcinating fmiles, as the elegant Mufaus has
exemplified in the loves of Leander and Hero^
Her beauties fix'd him in a wild amaze ;
Love made him bold, and not afraid to gaze ;
With step ambiguous, and affected air,
The youth advancing, fac'd the charming fair:
Each
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 251
ach amorous glance he cast, tho' formed by art ;
Yet sometimes spoke the language of his heart:
With nods and becks, he kept the nymph in play,
And tried all wiles to steal her soul away.
Soon as she saw the fraud ful youth beguil'd,
Fair He ro, conscious of her beauty, smil'd;
Oft in her veil conceal'd her glowing face,
Sweetly vermilion'd with a rosy grace;
Yet all in vain, to hide her passion tries,
She owns it with her love-consenting eyes.
And JEneas Sitvius informs us that Eurialus
and Lucretia were fo mutually enamoured by
the tendernefs of their mutual glances, and un-
derftood each other fo well before ever they had
any conference, that when he afked her good
will with his eye, flie d'ldjfuffragari, give con-
fent with a pleafant look. But this species of
conference is certainly lefs perilous, than when
two lovers have an opportunity of liftening to
each other's fweet and honied fentences : for if
fuch dumb (hows, figns, and mere obfcure fig-
nifications of love, can fo move, what fhall they
not do, who have full liberty to fing, to dance,
to kifs, to coll, and to ufe all manner of con-
ference ? A memorable ftory of the bewitching
charms of conference is related by Petrarch of
Charles the G'seat. The heart of this ex-
traordinary man was fo enamoured by the fe-
flu&ive converfation of a young female of very
mean
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
mean condition, that he, for many years to-
gether, delighted wholly in her company, to the
great grief and indignation of his friends and
followers; and when death deprived him of her
charms, he embraced her lifelefs corpfe as
Apollo did the laurel for his Daphne ; caufed her
coffin, with the body richly embalmed, and de-
corated with jewels, to be carried about with
him wherefoever he went, and bewailed his lofs
with unceafmg lamentation; until a venerable
bifliop, commiferating the fituation of his unhappy
fovereign, in confequence of his fervent prayers
to the Almighty, pretended to have been fuperna-
turally informed that the true caufe of this romantic
paffion was ftill concealed under the tongue of the
deceafed : and upon reforting to the coffin, which
the biihop had previoufly prepared, a fmall ring,
of curious workmanfhip, was taken from her
mouth, and prefented to the emperor as the charm
by which his affections had been mifled : but
although this contrivance abated, in fome degree,
the extravagance of his love, Charles became
from that hour fo dejected and melancholy, that
he foon afterwards refigned his fceptre, and en-
terin^ into his retirement at Ache* endeavoured
& *
to confole his afflicted mind, u,Jl death put a
period to his unworthy forrows. Conference,
with its opportunities of time and place, is, indeed,
2 (q
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 253
fo powerful an incentive, that it is almoft im-
poflible for two young folks, equal in years, to
live together, and not be in love, efpecially in
the houfes of the great and opulent, where thofe
inmates are generally idle, fare well, live at eafe,
and cannot tell how otherwife to'pafs their time;
for youth is made of very combuftible materials,
and, like naptha itfelf, apt to kindle and take
fire from the fmalleft fpark. Thetis^ the mother
of the ftern jfchilles, alarmed at the deftiny
which the oracle had pronounced, of his being
flain at the fiege of Troy^ fent him in conceal-
ment to the court of Lycomedes^ king of Scyros,
in order to avoid his joining in fo perilous an
enterprize ; but this affording him daily oppor-
tunities of familiar conference with the royal
children, his heart became fo deeply enamoured
by the charms of the lovely Detdamia, that he
facrificed for a time all the glories of war to the
fedu&ions of heroic love.
A Kiss may certainly be innocent; as is the
kifs of friendlhip, the kifs of fan&ity, the kifs
of ceremony, the veftal kifs of virgin modefly,
the kifs of kind endearment, and the Jcifs of
virtuous love; but the meretricious and he-
roic kifs, which we now condemn, is, as
Xenophon obferves, more infectious than the
poifoa
254- OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
poifon of the fpider, and more deftru&ive than
the bite of the rattle-fnake. It is true,
The gilliflower and rose are not so sweet,
As sugar'd kisses are when lovers meet:
but delightful, pleafant, and ambrofial, as they
may be, fuch as Dante gave to Jupiter^
fweeter even than netar, they leave a danger-
ous and deftru&ive impreflion behind, The
author of the life of John the Monk^ who was a
man of fingular continency, and moft auftere
life, has illuftrated the fatality of this allure-
ment, by a ftory, that the Devil, in the ihape of
a beautiful female, went one night to the cell of
this virtuous hermit, and praying the fhelter of
his humble roof from the approaching ftorm,
thanked him, by her falutations, with fo warm a
fervor, that his virtue was overcome. But when
he attempted to difclofe the paffion fhe had in-
fpired, the fiend affumed its native fhape, and
while me vanimedinto air, laughed him to fcorn,
and left him overwhelmed in all the agoniz-
ing horrors of remorfe and fhame. The ftory,
however untrue it may be, furnifhes an im-
portant leflbn to the youthful mind, by teaching,
that to refift danger, it is neceflary, even in the
moft averfe and fand-tified fouls, to avoid tempta-
tion. Of this danger, the virtuous Julian was
fo
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 255
fo fenfible, that he wore a long hirfute goatifli
beard, fit to make ropes with, in order, as he
confefled, to prevent him from kifllng*
.
DALLIANCE, in its original meaning, fignifies
conjugal Conversation, or an interchange of endear-
ing fentiments j and in this fenfe, it is fo far from
being unfriendly to human happinefs, that it
tends in the higheft degree to promote it.
ADAM, the goodliest man of men since born
His sons, the fairest of her daughters EVE,
Under a tuft of shade, that on a green
Stood whispering soft, by a fresh fountain side
They sat them down ; and, after no more toil
Of their sweet gardening labour than suffic'd
To recommend cool zephyr, and made ease
More easy, wholesome thirst and appetite
More grateful, to their supper fruits they fell j
Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles
Wanted, nor youthful Dalliance, as beseems
Fair couple, link'd in happy NUPTIAL LEAGUE.
How different is this defcription of the calm
and gentle dalliance which beguiled the happy
leifure of our firft parents, antecedent to that
difaftrous fall which brought " Death into the
world, and all our woe," from that turbulent
and uneafy intercourfe which patted between
thofe Heroic Lovers, Angelica and Medoro !
The
25& OF LOVE MELANCHOLY*
The damsel, never absent from his sight,
Hung on her lover with untam'd delight ;
For ever round him glu'd her twining arms,
And clasp'd his neck, and kindled at his charms.
Music, particularly of the vocal kind, is alfo
a ftrong allurement to, and moft powerful pro-
moter of, the Heroic Paffion. " Mufic," fays
Cleopatra^ " is the food of thofe who trade in
love." It was her fweet voice, more than any
other of her enticements, that enchanted the
heart of Anthony , caufed him to think the world
well loft when put in competition with her
charms, and transformed the triple pillar of the
ftate into a ftrumpet's fool.
The song was death, but made destruction please.
jJrtJlronica y Onantbi, and Agatbocleia^ the
celebrated Samian Syrens, led kings in triumph
by the powers of their delightful Atones ; and
Petronius obferves, that Lais fung fo fweetly,
that me charmed the air, and enchanted the
fenfes of all who heard her. The wife and
temperate UlyJJes was forced to bind himfelf to
the maft of his veffel, the better to refift the
danger to which he was expofed by the fongs of
the Syrens :
Celestial Music warbled from their tongue,
And thus the sweet deluders tun'd the song :
O
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 257
O stay, oh pride of Greece ! Ulysses! Stay!
O cease thy course, and listen to our lay!
Blest is the man ordaiu'd our voice to hear ;
The song instructs the soul, and charms the ear.
Approach! thy soul shall into raptures rise !
Approach! and learn new wisdom front the wise!
While -hus the charmers warbled o'er the main,
His soul took wing to meet the heavenly strain !
He gave the sign, and struggled to be free,
But his brave crew row'd swift along the sea,
Added new pow'rs, nor ftopp'd their rapid way,
Till dying off the distant sounds decay ;
Then scudding swiftly from the dangerous ground,
The deafen'd ear unlock'd, the chains unbound.
But it is only the Syren fongs, or fuch as are
lafcivienlium delitia^ that are thus pregnant with
mifchief; for nothing fo much enlivens and
adorns the fair face of virtue, as the chafte
touches of fweet and modeft harmony.
Let not, sweet maid, th' heroic throng,
Rude rufliing forth in loose desire,
Thy virgin dance, or graceful song,
Pollute with Lyric raptures dire.
O fair, O chaste, thy echoing shade
Let no heroic sounds invade ;
Nor let thy strings one accent move,
Except what earth's untroubled ear
Midst all her social tribes may hear,
And heaven's unerring throne approve.
S DANCING
258 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
DANCING is a pleafant recreation, if in-
dulged with fobriety and modefty ; but if tem-
peftively ufed, it becomes a furious motive to
unchafte defire and unlawful love". Mufic and
dancing, indeed, are the chief branches of fe-
male education ; and are thought of fuch high
importance, as to be taught in preference to
the Lord's Prayer and the ten Commandments ;
parents in general conceiving that thofe accom-
pliftiments are the only means by which their
daughters are likely to gain rich and opulent
hufbands. Cupid was eertainly a great dancer ;
for it is faid, that as he was capering at the feaft
of Hymen, he overturned a nec^ared bowl upon
a milk-white rofe, and made that queen of
flowers for ever after red. So alfo during the
rape of Europa, while the lovers were driven by
the zephyrs from Phoenicia to Crete, over a calm
fea, preceded by Neptune and Ampbitrite in their
chariot, with the Tritons dancing round them,
and the fea-nymphs, half naked, keeping time on
dolphins backs, by finging Hymeneals, Cupid was
nimbly dancing round his mother Fenus, who
attended in her (hell, ftrewing rofes on the
happy pair. A perfect knowledge of thefe de-
lightful accomplifhments is certainly among
the moft enticing baits of female beauty. Thais
inveigled Lamprius in a dance. Herodias, by this
means, fo enchanted the mind of Herod y that
he
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 259
he bound himfelf by an oath to give her
whatever fhe fhould afk; and, to perform his
promife, deftroyed St. John the "Baptift, and
prefented her, as fhe had requefted, with his
head in a charger. Arlette, the fair maid of
Falais, conquered the heart of the Duke of Nor-
mandy, as {he was dancing in fantaftic mazes on
the green. Owen Tudor won the affe&ion of
Queen Catherine in a dance. And Spenfippas, a
noble gallant, as Arijhneetus relates, feeing by
accident the young and beautiful Panareta dan-
cing, became fo enamoured with her, that he
could think of nothing but Panareta. " Who
" would not admire her !" exclaimed he. " Who
" that fhould fee her dance, as I did, would not
" love her? O admirable, O divine Panareta! I
" have feen old and new Rome, many fair cities,
" and many fine women, but never any like to
<c Panareta! O how fhe danced, how fhe tripped,
" how fhe turned ; with what a grace ! Happy is
" the man that enjoys Panareta ! O moft in-
" comparable Panareta I'' 1 Lucian obferyes, that
dancing is the beft and pleafanteft thing that be-
longs to mortal men, and truly calls it a lawful
recreation, a healthy exercife, an honeft difport,
and an elegant delight, which cheers the mind,
invigorates the body, delights all obfervers,
teaches many comely geftures, and equally af-
fefts the eyes, the ears, and the foul itfelf. The
virtuous Plato, in his Commonwealth, advifes
S 2 the
260 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
the inftitution of dancing-fchools, that "young,
perfons may meet, be acquainted, fee each other, -
and be feen." " Let them take their pleafures
then," fays Apuleius of old : " let young men and
maids, flourifhing in their age, fair and lovely to
behold, well attired, and of comely carriage,
dance Grecian galliards, and, as their dances
require, keep their time, now turning, now
tracing, now apart, now all together, now a
courtefy, then a caper, &c. for it is a pleafant
fight to fee thofe pretty limbs and fwimming
figures." Our graveft counfellors, and greateft
fenators, fometimes dance. Even David danced
before the ark of the Lord with all his might :
and Mirlan^ the prophetefs, and the fifter of
Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the
women went out after her with timbrels and
dances. Dancing, however, when improperly
ufed, is a circle of which the Devil himfelf is
the centre. I fay, therefore, of this, as of all
other honeft recreations, they are like fire, good
and bad, as they are properly or improperly
ufed.
NOVELS, ROMANCES, PLAYS, and other
amatory writings of the like kind, are not un-
frequently the caufes which pre-difpofethe hearts,
efpecially of inexperienced females, to Heroic
Love. It was the dangers which refult from
thefe
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 2&I
thefe fources, that induced Ariftotle to exhort
youth not to frequent the theatres, or liften to
licentious tales ; and made the Romans place
their temple of Venus beyond the walls of the
city. The mifchiefs, indeed, which thofe old
romances Amadis de Gaul y Palmarin de Ollva y
the Knights of the Sun^ the lafcivious difcourfes
publifhed by Helena's waiting woman Ajiyanaffa^
dretinis Dialogues, and thofe light traces of
Arijlides Mllefiu^ found by the Perfians in Craf-
fus's army among the fpoils, occaflon, are well
known; for there can be no ftronger engines
in the production of Heroic Love, than the
reading of fuch compofitions. At Abdera, in
Thrace, the fpeclators were fo moved by hearing
Euripides' s tragedy of Andromeda reprefented,
particularly on hearing the pathetic fpeech of
PerfiuS) " O, Cupid! prince of gods and men!"
that every foul ? for a great while after, fpoke
pure iambics^ and continued to rave on this en-
chanting fpeech, " O Cupid! prince of gods and
men !" As carmen, boys, and apprentices, with
us, when a new fong is publifhed, go finging
the tune continually in the ftreets, fo the
inhabitants of Abdera a&ed the part of the pa-
thetic Per/ius, and every tongue exclaimed,
" O, Cupid!" in every ftreet, " O, Cupid!"
in every houfe, " O, Cupid*! prince of gods
a>id men !" which they pronounced with all the
S 3 emphafis
262 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
emphafis of real feeling, and were fo rapturoufly
pofTefled by the ideas it conveyed, that they
could not, for a long time, forget or drive it out
Of their minds; but, " O, Cupid! prince of
gods and men!" was ever in their mouths.
PRAISES, PROMISES, and PROTESTATIONS)
are conftantly ufed in exciting the Heroic Paflion.
O while ye glory in your youthful prime,
And yield attention to the syren voice
Of PRAISE ; in that soft season, when the breast
A strange enchantment feels; when Pleasure pants
In every vein, and sparkles in the eyes
Superfluous Health ; then guard your rebel hearts
Against seducing Love.
a great mafter of this art, acknow-
ledges that heroic lovers, the more effectually
to obtain their ends, will fwear, lie, promife,
proteft, forge, counterfeit, bribe, brag, flatter,
and diflemble on all fides. And Ovid, a flill
greater mafter of this heroic art, ftrongly ad-
yifes thofe
Who desire to keep their fair one's hearts,
To mix sweet FLATTERY with all their arts;
With frequent raptures on her beauties gaze,
And make her form the subject of their praise.
Purple commend, when she's in purple dress'd;
In scarlet, swear in scarlet she looks best.
Array'd
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 263
Array 'd in gold, her graceful mien adore ;
If crape she wears what can become her more !
When dress'd in colours, praise a colour'd dress :
Her hair, or curl'd, or comb'd, commend no less:
Singing, her voice, dancing, her air admire :
Complain when she leaves off, and still defire.
And as to PROMISES, alfo, the fame great matter
in the art of love, while he recommends the
practice, acknowledges its impropriety.
With promis'd gifts her easy mind bewitch,
For ev'n the poor in Promise may be rich.
Vain hopes awhile her appetite will stay;
'Tis a deceitful, but commodious way.
Write then, and in thy letters, as I said,
Let her with mighty Promises be fed.
Cydippe by a letter was betray'd,
Writ on an apple to the unwary maid ;
She read herself into a marriage vow ;
And every cheat in Love the gods allow.
The fex are ferioufly warned againft liftening
to thofe faithlefs vows and PROTESTATIONS
fo frequently made by Heroic Lovers, by the
elegant and divine Ariojlo.
The youth who pants to gain the amorous prize,
Forgets that heaven, with all-discerning eyes,
Surveys the secret heart; and when Desire
Has, in possession, quench'd its short-liv'd fire,
The devious winds aside each promise bear,
And scatter all his solemn vows in air !
S 4 Warn'd
$,64. OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Warn'd by the muse's voice, with cautious ear
The well-feign'd plaints and seeming sorrows hear!
Reflect, ye gentle dames, that much they know,
Who gain experience from another's woe.
Ah! fly the dangerous train, whose looks disclose
The flowery bloom that early youth bestows;
Where each warm passion bursts with sudden blaze,
Which soon again, like stubble fir'd, decays.
The advice, indeed, of the Lucretia of Are-
tine, " Si vis arnica fru'i^ promitte^ finge, jura,
perjura, jaffa^ fimula^ mentlre" is frequently
pra&ifed with fuccefs by all Heroic Lovers.
But though they
Swear by Cupid's strongest bow,
By his best arrow with the golden head ;
By the simplicity of Venus' doves ;
By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves ;
And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage queen,
When the false Trojan under sail was seen ;
By all the vows that ever man hath broke,
In number more than any woman spoke ;
let all chafte and prudent maids give no credit to
their words ; for
'Tis not the many oaths that make the truth,
But the plain single vow.
When lovers fwear, it is faid that Venus laughs ;
and that 'Jupiter^ fmiling at the deceit, forgives
the perjury.
But from the bosom of the British fair,
Where Truth alone should dwell, fly base Deceit,
Nor stain with perfidy the sacred shrine.
PRESENTS,
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 265
PRESENTS, BRIBES, TOKENS, GIFTS, and
fuch like feats,
Are often brought to aid the lover's tale,
Where oaths, and lies, and protestations fail.
As ^Jupiter corrupted the virtue of Donate by a
golden fhower, and Liber overcame the reluc-
tance of Ariadne by a jewelled crown, fo thefe
heroic lovers, when nothing elfe will win the
favour of their miftreffes, rain chequins, florins,
crowns, angels, and all manner of treafures
into their laps. " I had a fuitor," fays Lu-
cretia, " who, when he came to my houfe,
flung gold and filver about as if it had been
chaff." The effecl: of thefe allurements are
finely defcribed by Shakefpear in the perfon of
EgeitS) an Athenian nobleman, who complains
to Tbefeus, the Duke of Athens, that Lyfander
had witched the bofom of his daughter Hermia.
41 Thou, thou, Lysandtr, thou hast given her rbimes,
" And interchang'd love-tokens with my child :
44 Thou hast by moon-light at her window sung,
' With feigning voice, verses of feigning lovej
' And stolen the impression of her fantasie
*' With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
44 Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats; messenger*
*' Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth.
?' With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's
" heart."
But
266 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
But TEARS are the laft refuge of heroic
lovers :
Tears in abundance ever wait their will,
To be squeez'd out, and overflow their eyes,
Just as occasion serves
Arid to tears, fays Balthazar Caftllh^ they will
add fuch heavy fobs, fiery fighs, forrowful coun-
tenances, pale afpe&s, and dejected looks, that
a novice will be inclined to believe, that they
are really ready to die for the fake of her they
affect to love. The allurement of tears, how-
ever, is more frequently ufed by women than
by men ; for they can fo weep, continues Caf-
iilio, " that one would think their very hearts
<c were diflblved, and ftreaming through their
* eyes." Thus it was that Lucretia wept in
the bofom of her lover when he came to town,
and perfuaded him that her tears were fried for
joy of his return.
Uberibus semper lachrymis, semperque paratis
In statione sua, atque expectantibus illara,
Quo jubeat manare modo.
What cannot art attain ! Many with ease
Have learn'd to weep, both when and how they please.
Of the efficacy of tears in the arts of love,
Ovid was fo completely convinced, that he ad-
yifes his pupils to implore their miftrefles,
With
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 267
With tears their warm desires to grant,
For tears will pierce a heart of adamant ;
And if they cannot weep, to rub the eye,
Or wet the lids, and seem at least to cry.
When Venus loft her fon Cupld^ fhe fent a
cryer about to bid every one that met him take
heed of his tears.
O you who perchance may the fugitive find,
Secure fast his hands, and with manacles bind.
Shew the rogue no compassion ; tho' oft he appears
To weep, they are all hypocritical tears.
With caution conduct him, nor let him beguile
Your vigilant care with a treacherous smile.
Perhaps he'll say sobbing, " No mischief I know:
Here, take all my arrows, my darts and my bow."
Ah! beware, touch them not ; deceitful his aim:
His darts and his arrows are all tipp'd with flame.
But whatever may be the effect of thefe
feigned feelings, there can be no dcVjbt that the
tears which fpring from the genuine fenfibility
of the heart are irrefiftibly eloquent.
Eve silently a gentle tear let fall
From either eye, and wip'd them with her hair:
Two other precious drops, that ready stood
teach in their chrystal sluice, HE 'ere they fell
Kiss'd as the gracious sign of sweet remorse
And pious awe, that fear'd to have offended.
When all other engines fail, fo that heroic
lovers can proceed no further of themfelves,
they
268 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
they fly even to procurers, pandars, magical phil-
ters, receipts, and, rather than fail, even to the
Devil himfelf.
Flectere si nequeunt superos, acheronta movebunt.
BAWDS, indeed, under the characters of nur-
fes, old women, letter-carriers, feeming beg-
gars, waiting-maids, friars, confeflbrs, are
fo numerous and unfufpe&ed, and fuch tricks
and fubtleties are pra&ifed by means of occult
notes, ftenography, polygraphy, nuntius ani-
matus, magnetic converfations, and other devices
of the like kind, that the jealoufy of Juno, the
caution of Danaee, or the eyes of Argus, are
fcarcely able to prevent their fuccefs. Thofe
white Devils, who are always prating goffip
tales to their intended victims, of the partiality
of this gay clerk or that young monk, pierce into
the clofeft recefles, and pollute the holieft fanc-
tuaries, in order to way-lay weak and filly no-
vices; and when they have them once within
their clutches, their artful promifes, fedu&ive
fuggeftions, rich gifts, alluring tokens, and
other incantations, become the mefhes of nets
from which even the chafte Lucretia would
fcarcely be able to efcape. Thefe arts form the
fleep-procuring wand of Hermes, by which he
fealed the hundred eyes of Argus, and ftole from
his care the lovely /<?. This is the limed ftick
by
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 269
by which the wings of virtue are folded in the
fnares of vice. How many youths and virgins
have been inveigled by thofe Eumenides and their
affbciates ! There is no monaftery fo clofe, no
houfe fo private, no prifon fo well kept, but
thefe fatyrions and pefts of fociety, will, in
fome fhape or other, contrive to be admitted.
The mufe of Ovid has not fung more various
transformations than they are capable of prac-
tifmg; and, Proteus like, they wander day and
night, in all forms and difguifes, feeking whom
they may deftroy. But let the employers of
thefe harpies beware ; for while like Sannio, in
the ddelpbi of Terence^ they rail againft the
injuftice of others, they will, like Doric, fell
the vidim of their arts to the next beft bid-
der.
LOVE POTIONS, PHILTERS, and other fpells
of the like nature, although they have no
power to enforce affe&ion, and certainly do not
exift in reality, are fometimes pretendedly ex-
ercifed by thefe forcerers in love, in order to
work upon the credulity of ignorant and inex-
perienced youth. On this idea it is that Shake-
fpear makes the father of the gentle Defde-
mona exclaim againft Othello for ftealing her
affeftions :
" O, thou
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
O, thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed ray
daughter?
Damn'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted her :
For I'll refer me to all things of sense, *
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy,
So opposite to marriage, that she shunn'd
The wealthy curled darlings of the nation,
Would ever, to incur the general mock,
Have run from guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou : to fear, not to delight.
Judge me the world, if 'tis not gross in sense,
That thou has practis'd on her with foul charms,
Abus'd her delicate youth with drugs and minerals s
That weaken Virtue.-
Thus alfo it was faid, that a Thefialian female
had, by fpells and medicines, bewitched the royal
foul of Philip^ and induced him to dote upon
her with all the extravagance of heroic lovej
but when his queen Olympia beheld the match-
lefs beauty and extraordinary endowments, both
of perfon and of mind, which her more youth-
ful rival poflefled, (he confefled the fuperior
potency of her charms, and acknowledged that
thefe were the philters, the conjuration, and the
mighty magic, which had won her hufband's
heart, exclaiming, in the language of Henry the
Second to fair Rofamond,
One accent from thy lips the blood more warms
Than all their Philters, Exorcisms and Charms,
2 Cleopatra
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 271
Cleopatra is faid to have ufed thefe arts to
captivate the heart of Anthony ; and Eufebius
reports the fame thing of the poet Lucretius :
but the Lucretia of Aretlne difcovers the real
witchcraft which is fuppofed to refide in " The
enchanted girdle of Venus" when fhe tells us,
that fhe could perform greater wonders on the
human heart, by the dexterous management of
her perfonal charms, than all the philofophers,
aftrologers, alchymifts, necromancers, forcerers,
and witches, of the known or unknown world,
could by their cunningeft practices effecT:.
What strange enchanters in our times abound,
What strange enchantresses alike are found,
Who changing features with deceitful art,
Of either sex entrap the unwary heart t
Nor do they work these wonders on the mind
By influence of the stars, or sprights confin'd ;
But with dissimulation, fraud, and lies,
They bind it with indissoluble ties,
Until by Fortune's favours they obtain
The ring of fair Angelica* , and gain
Sufficient
* The ring of Angelica, was the present made to her by her
father Ga/aphron, fovereign of Cathay, when he fent her with
her brother Argalia, and their gigantic attendants, to the court
of Charlemain. It poflefled fuc.h wonderful efficacy, that being
conveyed into the mouth, it made the perfon invifible ; and
being worn on the finger, had the power to fruftrate all en-
chantments. The incidents to which this embafly gave rife,
furniflied Ariojlo with the fubjefts of his Orlando Furiofo and
Orlando Innamorato,
272 OF LOVE MELANCHC Y.
Sufficient powers of Reason to display
These foul disguises to the face of day.
THE SYMPTOMS of heroic love are either of
body or of mind. Thofe of the body are an ema-
ciated form, a pale complexion, a withered af-
pet, a dry fkin, hollow eyes, vacant and dejected
looks, palpitations of the heart, inceflant tears,
heavy fighs, reftleflhefs, lofs of appetite, dif-
tradlion of mind, and deep melancholy ; or, as the
lovely Rofalind defcribes them to Orlando^ tc A
lean cheek, a blue eye, an unquestioning fpirit,
a neglected beard, ungartered hofe, unbanded
bonnet, unbuttoned fleeves, with {hoes untied,
and every thing demonftrating carelefs defo-
lation." It is, indeed, as Solomon truly ob-
ferves, impoffible to carry a raging fire within
the bofom, and not be confumed by its flames.
-Love's impoison'd dart
With deepest wounds afflicts the bleeding heart:
Then from the lover's eyes, the shower releas'd,
Stains his pale cheeks, and wanders down his breast :
Deeply he groans, and staggering with his woes,
On the lone bed his listless body throws ;
But rests no more than if in wilds forlorn,
Stretch'd on the naked rock or pointed thorn;
Unceasing still he weeps, unceasing mourns j
Alike to him the night or day returns.
Cities and towns he shuns; in woods he lies,
His bed the earth ; his canopy, the skies:
Love burns his heart, its fire new progress makes,
While round the flame his fanning wings he shakes.
Amidft
OP LOVE MELANCHOLY. 273
Amidft thefe raging perturbations, the pulfe and
the countenance of the miferable fufferer give
the moft certain figns of the exiftence of the dif-
eafe. Of the truth of this obfervation, and of
the art which the phyfician is compelled to ex-
ercife, there cannot be a ftronger inftance than
that which is furnifhed by Plutarch in the cafe
of Antiockus and Stratonice. The young and
lovely Stratonice was the daughter of Demetrius^
who poflefled himfelf of Babylon^ where Seleucus^
the father of Antiocbus^ by Apama^ a Perlian
lady, was then king; but the fortune of war
enabling Seleucus to regain this portion of his
dominions, he fought to reftrain the future ani-
moftties of war by the gentle influence of love^
and for this purpofe fent, by Philo^ propofals of
marriage to Stratonice. A connection with Se-
leucus was highly favourable to the future views
of Demetrius^ and the union, amidft unufual
fplendor, was celebrated at Oropus^ with the
confent and approbation of Stratonice, who was
conveyed by Seleucus in great pomp to Antioch^
where fhe continued for fome time to reign with
unceafing happinefs over the affe&ions of her
hufband, by whom fhe had two children. But
during this interval, the heart of young Antiochus^
who refided at the court of his father, became
violently enamoured with her charms. His vir-
tuous mind was deeply fenfible of the iu -pro-
T priety
274 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
priety of his feelings, and he made the greateft
efforts to check the progrefs of his paffion. But
the fentirnents of prudence are feldom able to
controul the fenfibilities of love, and he foon
found that all his exertions were vain. The
conflict, however, though it deftroyed his health,
was unable to fubdue his virtue ; and, reflecting
that his defires were of fo extravagant a kind,
that it was impoflible they fliould ever be fatif-
fied, he refolved, in defpair of being relieved by
the fuccours of reafon, to put a gradual period to
his life. For this parpofe, the apparent ficknefs
under which he laboured, furniflied him with
an excufe for abftaining from all food ; arid he
carried his intention fo rigidly into effe&, that he
foon reached the doors of death. The celebrated
phyfician Erafijlratus was ordered to attend the
dying prince; and this fkilful obferver foon dif-
covered that his diftemper was love \ but it was
difficult to conjecture who was the objedt of his
fecret paffion. Erafijlratus, in order to find it
out, fpent whole days in the chamber of his un-
happy patient ; and when ever any female en-
tered it, he marked with the clofeft attention,
not only his pulfe, his eyes, his countenance,
but all thofe parts of the body which fympathize
with the paflions of the foul. Obferving at
laft, that his patient, when other females en-
tered, was entirely unaffe&ed, but that when
Stratonice
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 275
Stratonice appeared, as fhe frequently did, either
with Seleucus or alone, he fhewed all thofe
fymptoms which Sappho has fo finely defcribed;
the faultering voice, the burning blufh, the lan-
guid eye, the fudden perforation, the tumul-
tuous pulfe, and when the paffion overcame
his fpirits, a mortal palenefs; the phyfician
concluded^ from thefe tokens, that Stratonice
was the object of his love; and, from his re-*
fufing to make the leaft confeffion on the fub-
je6t, that he intended to carry the fecret with
him to the grave. Having thus difcovered the
caufe of the complaint, his only hopes of effecT:-
ing a cure depended on its being made known ;
but it was impodible to communicate a matter
of fuch extreme delicacy direclly to Selettcus,
Relying, however, on the very tender and af-
fectionate concern which the king had invariably
difcovered for the fafety of his fon, he' ventured
one day to tell Seleucus^ that Ihe fole caufe of
the diforder of Antiocbus was love ; but a love
for which there was no remedy. " How!"
faid the aftonifhed king; c f Love for which there
" is no remedy !" " Certainly fo," replied Erafif-
tratus : " for he is in love with my wife."
" What ! Erajijiratus /" exclaimed the affec-
tionate father; " and will you, who are my
" friend, refufe to give up your wife to my fon,
" when you admit that your refufal will oo
T 2 cafion
27& OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
" cafion the death of a child on whom I dote
" with fuch extreme fondnefs ?" " Why," re-
plied ErafiftraniSi " would you, who are his
" father, if he were in love with Strata-nice,
" yield her to his arms." " Oh," rejoined the
king, " I would give up my kingdom, fo that I
" could keep Antiochus. Oh, how happy fhould
" I be, if either God or man would remove his
" affections, and fix them on my queen !" The
king pronounced thefe words with fo much emo-
tion, and amidft fuch a profufion of tears, that
Erajiftratus took him by the hand, faying,
" Then there is no need of Erafijlratus to
*' cure your fon : Stratonice is the object of his
*' love; and you, who are a father, a hufband,
" and a king, will be his beft phyfician."
Stratonice fubmitted with amiable reluctance to
the neceffity of her fituation. A full aflembly
of the people was fummoned, in which Seleucus^
after declaring that it was his will and pleafure
that dntiochus fhould intermarry with Stratonice^
exhorted, in an elegant fpeech, his now recovered
fon to accept freely of her hand, and not to make
his refufal the only acl: of filial difobedience he
had ever committed during his life. The youth
yielded to the acclamations of the aflembly; and
Hymen foon after confirmed the happinefs of the
royal .pair, with whom Seleucus divided his
realm, and ordered them to be proclaimed king
and
OP LOVE MELANCHOLY. 277
and queen of the upper provinces. Panaceas
difcovered, by fimilar fymptoms, the fecret af-
fection of Calicks ; and Galen the hidden fond-
nefs which yujla, the wife of Boethius^ enter-
tertained for Pylades^ the comedian. The ex-
iftence, indeed, of this pulfus amatorlus is de-
nied by Valefius ; but Avicenna., Gordonius^ and
particularly Strutbius y t\\e Polonian, in the fifth
book of his Dofirine of Pulfes^ very clearly
prove, both by reafoning and fa&s, that this,
and all other powerful paflions, may be refpec-
tively difcovered by the countenance and the
pulfe, of which Strutkius gives a very extraordi-
nary inftance in the cafe of a lady, who was
deeply enamoured, but who, to ufe the words of
Sbakefpear^
f ; Never told her love ;
But let concealment, like a rose in the bud,
Feed on her damafk cheek ; who pin'd in thought,
And,. with a green and yellow melancholy,
Sat, like Patience on a monument,
Smiling at Grief.
Jafon and Medea, when they firft faw each
other, were deprived of the powers of fpeech.
The fight of Thais made the youthful Phnedrea
tremble; and Eujlatius makes it a fymptom of
the lovely Ifmenes' heroic love, that whenever
flie chanced to meet the objed: of her affection,
T 3 her
278 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
her countenance was fuffufed by the maiden blufh
of modefty and delight. But the beft founded
conjectures are thofe which refult from the con-
duel of thefe heroic lovers when in each other's
company ; for they cannot reftrain their fond
fpeeches, amorous glances, fignificant geftures,
gentle fqueezes, and other actions of the like
kind, although they are as foreign from the be-
haviour of modeft affection, as they are from good
breeding; but will be ftill pawing and kiffing,
like Stratoches, the phyfician, upon his wedding-
day, who could not eat his meat for kiffing
the bride ; but, in troth, muft have firft a word,
then a kifs ; then another word, and then a kifs ;
then an idle fpeech, and then a kifs ; and fo
pn, until
Kisses told by hundreds o'er!
Thousands told by thousands more!
Millions, countless millions ; then
Told by millions o'er again !
Countless, as the drops that glide
In the ocean's billowy tide ;
Countless, as yon orbs of light,
Spangled o'er the vault of night.
While his cheeks with crimson glow'd,
He with ceaseless love bestow'd
On her lips, of gentle swell,
Where all the loves and graces dwell.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 279
The indecent familiarities which thefe heroes
and heroines take with each other, are finely de-
fcribed by Shakefpear^ in the language of
Leontes^ in the Winter's Tale, when, on Ca-
milla's endeavouring to perfuade him of the
fidelity of Hermione, and that his jealoufy of
Polixenes was unfounded, he exclaims,
Is whispering nothing ?
Is leaning cheek to cheek ? is meeting noses?
Kissing with inside lips ? stopping the career
Of laughter with a sigh ? (a note infallible
Of breaking honesty) horsing foot on foot?
Skulking in corners ? wishing clocks more swift ?
Hours, minutes ? noon, midnight ? and all eyes blind
With pin and web, buttheir's; their's only,
That would unseen be wicked ? Is this nothing ?
Why then the world and all that's in't is nothing ;
The covering fky is nothing, and Bohemia nothing I
The creed, indeed, which has been formed
for themby their high prieft and preceptor Ovid ;
but for which he is faid to have loft the good
opinion of Augujlus, and to have been banifhed
from Rome ; feems as if it were framed to juftify
the wildeft mifcondur. :
Let age the forms of decency debate,
And Virtue's rules by their cold morals state;
Their ebbing joys give leisure to inquire,
' And blame the heroic flights which youth inspire :
T 4 As
280 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
As nature summons, so we kindly go ;
For sprightly youths no bounds in love should know,
Should feel no check of guilt, and fear no ill :
LOVERS and GODS act all things at their will.
LOVE and BACCHUS, as Jntiphemes the comedian
obferved of old, are, indeed, the two moft li-
centious deities of THE PANTHEON, the effe&s
of which can neither be controlled or concealed,
and therefore ought moft cautioufly to be avoided,
or indulged under the ftrongeft curbs and re-
ftraints which the utmoft exertions of REASON
can pofiibly impofe. But the expedition of this
violent love outruns the paufer REASON. Such, in
fhort, is the power of the wanton god, that, if
his fond votaries have no opportunity, when in
each other's company, to confer, to dally, to be
* { paddling palms, and pinching fingers;" to
tc , hold up their nebs," and " muzzle each other
" with their lips," ftill their eyes will difcourfe,
pierce through fpace, become the winged mef-
fengers of their hearts, and tell each other how
they love; ftill will they be " making pradlifed
" fmiles as in a looking glafs;" ftill will they
gaze with fuch a pregnancy of thought, as if
each would fteal the other's face, and hide them
in their bofoms. A lover's eyes, it is faid, will
gaze an eagle blind; and they can no more re-
ftrain their mutual glances, than the needle can
jivoid the influence of the pole ; for Ubi amor ibl
occulus.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 28 1
cfculus. Thefe fymptoms are fo general, and fo
prominent, that he who does not obferve them,
muft have " an eye-glafs thicker than a cuck-
" hold's horn." Even, if abfent, their very feet
Jbetray the fecret of their hearts ; for they feek
each other's company with unwearied induftry
and impatient delight, walk to and fro before
each other's door, wait under each other's win-
dow; watch every opportunity to view the ob-
ject of their love, and hover, moth-like, with
blind anxiety round the flame that leads them to
deftru&ion.
But the mental fymptoms of heroic love are
more numerous than thofe of the body ; and,
like the fummer flies, the Sphinx's wings, or the
bow of 7m, are of all colours, fair, foul, and
full of variation. The Spanifh inquifition, in
ftiort, cannot inflict a greater number of tor-
ments than the bitter paflion and unquenchable
fire of heroic love ; for from this fource, fays
St. Auftin^ proceed biting cares, perturbations,
pallions, forrows, fufpicions, difcontents, con-
tentions, difcords, wars, treacheries, enmities,
and cruelty ; and to this black catalogue Terence^
in his Eunuch, has added fymptoms ftill more
dire, of which, indeed, the works of every-
poet are replete. But among thefe various
and violent paffions, FEAR and SORROW may
juftly
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
juftly challenge the chief place. Lucid inter-
vals, pleafant gales, and fudden alterations, in-
deed, fometimes attend on this difeafe ; as when
a miftrefs fmiles, or a lover's looks are kind; but
even under thefe happy circumftances, the feel-
ings are carried to fo painful an excefs, that
they would willingly fuffer inftant death, left,
by living longer, ficknefs or forrow fhould
abate or contaminate the fullnefs of their joys.
The love-fhaked Othello , on his return from
Cyprus to the arms of his then beloved and un-
fufpe&ed Defdemona, exclaims, in the fulnefs of
his felicity,
If it were now to die,
'Twere now to be most happy ; for I fear
My soul hath her content so absolute,
That not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate.
Another heroic lover, indeed, denies that even
fate has power to deftroy his momentary blifs ;
for when the holy friar, about to join the
hand of Rcmeo to the heart of Juliet^ exclaims
with prophetic piety,
" >lay heaven so smile upon this holy act,
That after hours with sorrow chide us not j"
the youthful lover, whofe mind teemed only
with romantic notions of his approaching hap-
pinefs, profanely replies ;
Come
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 283
Come what sorrow can ;
It cannot countervail th' exchange of joy
That one short minute gives me in her sight.
Do thou but close our hands with holy words,
Then love-devouring death do what he dare!
The calm, unimpaffioned, and refle&ing mind,
however, of the holy father, entertained differ-
ent thoughts; and, after well expreffing the
nature and dangerous confequences of heroic
love, he exhorts his intemperate pupil to obferve
that moderation which is moft likely to infure
his arrival at the wifhed~for bowers of connubial
happinefs and domeftic peace ;
These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die ; like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume : The sweetest honey
Js loathsome ii its own deliciousness,
And in the tasi^ confounds the appetite :
Therefore love moderately ; long love does so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
An heroic lover, indeed, receives life and joy
from the fmiles of his beloved miftrefs ; but death
and torments from her frowns. NarciJJus like,
while the feafon is fair, he appears gay and
glorious; but when the enlivening fun with-
draws its rays, all his joys fink down, and die
for want of nurture. The fair and lovely ob-
ject is ? when fhe fmiles, the cheering planet
whofe
284 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
whofe beams irradiate his breaft: flie is the
primum mobile of all his actions ; the an'ima in-
formans, that inspires him with life; the happy
gale that gives motion to that windmill his
brain, which otherwife would be inert and
motionlefs. Animated by her breath, fhe keeps
the keys of his life : his fortune ebbs and flows
as fhe is pleafed to fmile or frown ; and a favour-
able or unfavourable afpect renders him either
happy or miferable. Overwhelmed by his ro-
mantic paffion, he cannot think, or talk, or
dream of any thing but the adored object: fhe is
his Cynofure ; his Hefperus and Pefper ; his morn-
ing and eveningy?0r ; his Lama^ VlSsrlna^ Co-
Jumbina^ Flavia^ Flaminia^ Ccelia, Delia ; his
life, his foul, his heart, eyes, ears, and every
thing : his thoughts are full of her ; fleeping or
waking, fhe is always in his mind, and her
blefled name the continual theme of his tongue.
It were better a metropolitan city were facked,
a royal army overcome, an invincible armada
funk, and that twenty thoufand kings mould
perifh, than her little finger mould ache. Like
the love-entranced Califto, his foul is foufed,
imparadifed, and imprifoned in the heart of his
lovely and tranfcendent Melebea ; and her fweet
face, eyes, actions, geftures, hands, feet, fpeech,
length, breadth, heighth, depth, and the reft of
her dimenfions, fo eagerly, earneftly, and violently
% furveyed.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 285
fufveyed, meafured, and taken by the aftrolabe
of his heated fancy and inflamed imagination,
that if prefent, he is mad with happinefs ; and
abfent, he thinks he fees her in reality, and ex-
tending his arms, embraces, like another Ixion,
a cloud inftead of a "Juno : for the impreflion of
her beauty continues fixed in his mind : and as a
man, who has been bitten by a mad dog, fancies
he fees dogs in his meat, dogs in his difh, and
dogs in his drink, fo the heroic lover fees the
form of his miftrefs in all he looks at. But, alas!
if he be capable of feeling fuch an extravagance
f joy, when his paffion is cherifhed and ap-
proved, what bitter torments muft he feel when
it is difcouraged or repulfed !
Bitter indeed ; for sad experience shows,
That love repuls'd exceeds all other woes.
From his sad brow the wonted cheer is fled,
Low on his breast declines his drooping head ;
Nor can he find, while grief each sense o'erbears,
Voice for his plaints, or moisture for his te-ars.
Impatient Sorrow seeks its way to force,
But with too eager haste retards its course.
Each thought augments his wounds' deep-rankling
smart,
And sudden coldness freezes round his heart.
While, miserable fate ! the godlike light
Of reason sinks eclips'd in endless night.
A young nobleman of Babylon^ having con
ceived a violent paffion for the daughter of his
king,
286 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
king, prefumed to difclofe his love to the fair
object by which it had been infpired; but me,
inftead of favouring his flame, rejected his ad-
dreffes, and informed her father of his arrogance
and prefumption. The fovereign, irritated by
the henioufnefs of the crime, fummoned his
courtiers to devife fome more than ordinary tor-
ment to be inflicted on the offender; but the
fage Apolhnius^ well acquainted with the tex-
ture of the human heart, informed his majefty,
that human ingenuity could not invent any tor-
ture fo fevere as that of difappointed love ; and
advifed the king to leave the young delinquent
to his own fenfations, as the crueleft punilhment
that could be inflicted on his wounded heart :
and fuch a paflion certainly creates a perpetual
warfare in the breaft, and lights up a fire which
burns with a more confuming and inextinguifh-
able flame, than the volcanoes of Hecla^ Etna y
or fofuvius.
For he, alas ! moft wretched muft we call,
Whom lovely looks and sparkling eyes enthrall ;
Where beauty serves but as a treacherous blind,
To hide in vice, and catch a lover's mind.
He seeks to fly, but, like a wounded hart,
Where'er he goes he bears the fatal dart :
He blushes for himself, he feels his shame,
But knows no cure for his devouring flame.
Plato
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 287
Plato relates that Empedocles^ the philofopher,
being prefent when the body of an heroic lover,
who had fallen a vi&im to his paffion, was
anatomifed, found that his heart was burned,
his liver fmoky, his lungs parched, and all his
entrails roafted by the vehemency of its flames.
Cupid) indeed, was always defcribed by the old
Grecian painters with the thunderbolts of Jupiter
in his hands, to fignify that love ftrikes with
more effect than livid lightning itfelf. A mo-
dern writer of amorous emblems, has alfo re-
prefented the fury of this paffion by a pot hang-
ing over the fire, and Cupid blowing the coals ;
for as heat turns water into vapour, ib does love
dry up the radical moifture of the heart. We
may therefore fay with CajliliO) that the begin-
ing, the middle, and the end of love, is nothing
but forrow, vexation, and agony ; and that to
be fqualid, ugly, miferable, folitary, difcon-
tented, dejected, to wifh for death, to complain,
rave, and be peevifh, are the certain figns and
ordinary fymptoms of heroic love.
But every thing is facrificed on the altar of
this imperious paffion. Gobrias^ an officer of
rank in the Grecian army, who had acquired an
unbounded fame for his courage as a foldier, and
for his extraordinary integrity and virtue as a
man; no fooner beheld the lovely Rodanthe^ a
virtuous
288 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.-
virtuous female, who had become his captive
by the chance of war, than he fell on his knees
before Myjlilus^ the general, and, with the elo-
quence of tears and vows, implored him by the
fervices he had performed, by the wounds he had
received, and by whatever elfe was dear to him,
that he would yield the blooming virgin to his
arms, as his fole reward and only {hare of all the
rich and numerous fpoils the recent victory had
placed at his difpofal; but Myftilus^ glorioufly
preferring the claims of virgin innocence to the
intemperate defires of heroic love, rejected his
fuit, and took the afflicted and trembling captive
under his own protection ; and ultimately de-
feated the villainous and treacherous expedients
which the difappointed, and until that period
virtuous, Gobrias exercifed to accomplifh his de-
fires. The elegant and learned Abelard^ the
moft enlightened philofopher and accomplifhed
fcholar of his age, violated the confidence of his
patron, furrendered his fame as a teacher, and
renounced his honour as a man, to indulge the
guilty paffion with which the charming Eloife
had infpired his bofom. " O Harpedona" ex-
claimed Parthems, on making a fimilar facrifice,
41 farewell honour, honefty, friends, and for-
" tune, for thy fweet fake." Jupiter himfelf,
as Seneca truly obferves, cannot at the fame
time poflefs heroic love and godlike wifdom.
The
Ofr LOVE MELANCHOLY.
The moft ftaid, difcreet, grave, and virtuous
men, in ftiort, commit, under the influence of
this powerful paffion, the grofleft abfurdities,
nnd moft unpardonable indecorums, as might be
inftanced in the characters of Sampfon^ Davld y
Solomon^ Hercules^ and even Socrates himfelf.
It transformed Apuleius into an afs, Lycaon into
a wolf, Tercus into a lapwing, Calijto into a
bear, and Elpenor into a fwine : for what elfe can
the pen of poetry be conceived to have fhadowed
Under thefe ingenious fictions, than that a mari
once involved in this intemperate and raging
pailion, completely changes his nature, and be-
comes no better than a beaft.
The Go.ds themselves,
Humbling their deities to love, have taken
The shapes of beasts upon them. JUPITER
Became a bull, and bellowed : the green NEPTUNE,
A ram, and bleated : and the fire-robed God,
Golden APOLLO, a poor humble swain.
BLINDNESS is a fymptom of heroic love.
However ugly, deformed, ill-favoured, wrink-
led, pimpled, pale, tanned, tallow-faced, plat-
ter-faced, crooked, bald, goggle-eyed, bloated
like a fqueezed cat, fparrow-mouthed, hooked-
nofed, foxed-nofed, jutting-nofed, gubber-tumed,
beetle-browedjWelm-beardedjBavarian-chinned,
crane-necked, crooked-backed, fplay-footed, long-
U eared,
290 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
eared, viragoed, fat- fufti-legged 7 trufied, or fneafc*
ed, the miftrefs of an heroic lover may be, he ftiil
admires her, as an angel of confummate beauty and
peerlefs perfection ; and neither Venus, Panthea,
Cleopatra, Tanaqail, Marianne, or even Mary
of Burgundy, can match her wondrous charms.
The fiiver-footed Thetis, the cryftal-ancled
Hebe, the rofy-cheeked Aurora, the fnowy-
bofomed Juno, are not to be compared with their
paragons of lovelinefsj and though Minerva
was wife, and Venus fair, their charming dainty
is far more fair and wife.
Heroic lovers, led by blind deairr,
Imagine charms, and then those charms admire :
Viewing their idols with a partial eye 5
No faults they have, as they no faults can spy.
The sallow skin is for the snow-white put;
And fancy makes a slattern of a slut.
If cat-eyed, then a Pallas is their love ;
If freckled, she's a party-colour'd dove ;
If stammering, oh what grace in lisping lies !
If silent, she must then, of course, be wise :
If shrill, and with a voice to drown a choir,
Oh, then she's keen, fharp-witted, full of fire :
If lean, consumptive, and with coughs decay'd,
How beautiful is then a slender maid !
Ev'n blobber lips but pout for tender kisses ;
For no defect deforms these blind-lov'd misses.
Heroic
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 29!
Heroic lovers are, certainly, in general, of
this defcription ; and, in their minds, the queen
of their defires is a perfect phoenix. The highefl
eulogies, the fineft metaphors, the moft hyper-
bolical companions, the moft glorious names
that language can afford, are beftowed on them 5
they are whatever is pleafant^ amiable, fvveet,
grateful, and delicious: all the bombaft epithets,
and pathetical adjuncts, of incomparably fair,
curioufly neat, divinely fweet j all the pretty
diminutives of bird, moufe, lamb, pufs, pigeon,
pigfney, kid, honey, love, dove, chicken, life,
light, jewel, glory, delight, darling,
My more than heavenly goddess, and such names
As loving knights apply to lovely dames,
are ufed to exprefs their ridiculous fondnefs and
foolifh love*
Petrarch relates a ftory of an heroic lover,
who being defperately enamoured with a goddefs
that had but one eye, was fent abroad by his
friends, and forced to travel for feveral years
through foreign countries, in order to abate the
fury of his amatory difeafe. On his retuin home,
he one day accidentally met the charmer for
whofe fake he had been fo long exiled ; and look-
ing in her face, afked her by what mifchance it
was that, during his abfence, fhe had loft her
U 2 eye,
OF LCTVE MELANCHOLY.
eye. ft O, no," replied the fair feducef, " 1
" have loft no eye fince I faw you laft ; but it
" feems that you have now found your's." The
youth was amazed, and exclaiming, in the lan-
guage of Fabius^ " How impoffible is it for a
11 lover to judge of beauty !" retired abaftied by
a fenfe of his former folly, ftupidity, and blind-
nefs. There was no cruelty in quitting the girl
fo abruptly ; for a woman could never have en-
tertained the leaft affection for a man who had
fuffered her fo grofsly to deceive him. The
judgment of Perfius upon this fubjecl is perfedly
correct, when, after Phaedra had told him that
he had banifhed his heroic love from his breaft^
and refolved to quit his miftrefs,
lt Well hast thou freed thyself," his friend replies r
" Go, thank the gods, and offer sacrifice."
But," says the youth, " if we unkindly part,
*' Will not the poor fond creature break her heart?"
" Weak foot !"' replies the friend, "-by blindness led :
' She break her heart! Shell sooner break/*) 1 head."
But the flavery to which heroic lovers fub-
mit, is a greater proof of their folly than even
their bljndnefs. An heroic lover, fays Cajllllo^ is
Amator amices manciplum^ the drudge, prifoner,
and bond-man of his miftrefs. He compofes
himfelf wholly to her affe&ions ; makes himfelf
a lackey to pleafe her; fubmits all his cares,
thought?
0* LOVE MELANCHOLY. 2<i)3
thoughts and a&ions to her commandment; and
conftantly becomes her moft devoted, obfequious
and debafed fervant and vaflal ; enduring a ty-
ranny more defpotic and capricious than any
eaftern fovereign has dared to exercife, and from
which it is almoft impoffible he fhould ever be
fet free ; for the chains of this enflaving paflion,
once firmly rooted, are firmer than adamant,"
and more durable than fteel. " What capti-
" vity," exclaims Cicero^ " can be more cruel
** and fevere than that of an heroic lover? and
" how can he be free, over whom a vain and
" unfeeling miftrefs continues to domineer."
Befides the laborious flavery of dreffing to pleafe
her varying fancy, he muft conftantly attend
wherever Ihe goes ; run along the ftreets by
her doors and windows to catch glances from
her eyes ; take all opportunities of feeing her ;
and turn himfelf into as many fhapes as ever
yupiter himfelf afTumed. " If I did but let
" my glove fall by chance," fays Aretine > $ Lu-
cretia^ " I had one of my fuitors, nay two or
M three at once, ready to ftoop, take it up, kifs
" it, and deliver it to me with refpeftful obedi-
" ence ; if I was difpofed to walk, all of them were
** ready to offer me their arms; and if the warmth
w of the feafon made refremment neceffary, all
^ ran to provide for me fruits of the choiceft
w flavour." This is, perhaps, the eafieft and
U 3 moft
3*94 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
moft pleafant part of their flavifh labour; for
no hunter toils with more fatigue to take his
game, no foldier undergoes more riik and hard,
{hip to fack a city, than an heroic lover to gain
the favour of his miftrefs.
His soul is so infettered to her love,
That she may make, unmake, do what she list,
Even as her appetite shall play the god
With his weak functions.
Per feus of old fought with a fea monfter for the
fake of Andromeda. The tutelary Saint of Eng-
land^ the famed St. George^ expofed his perfon,
in terrible combat, to the anger of an exafperated
dragon, to deliver from his claws the lovely
daughter of the fovereign of Sabea. Thero^ the
Theffalian, bit off his own thumb, provocans
rivalem ad hoc emulandum, to provoke his rival
to emulate the glorious aft. The miftrefs of
Galeatus of Mantua^ probably with a view to
try in jeft what her lover was really difpofed to
do for her fake, bid him, if his profeflions for
her were fincere, to leap into the Po', and the
amorous fool immediately leaped headlong from
the bridge, and was drowned. Another in-
ftance of the like kind is related of a lover at
Ficinum^ whofe miftrefs defired him to hang
himfelf. The Sir Lancelots^ and other knights-
errant of the prefent day, will, I conceive, adven-
ture
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 295
ture as much to gain a lady's favour as the
Squire of Dames, the Knight of the Sun^ the
renowned Sir Bevis, or that ftill more renowned
knight Orlando^
Whose bosom, long with am'rous passion fir'd,
The love of fair Angelica desir'd ;
And though the flower of arms, and wisdom's boast,
By foolish love his manly senses lost.
The abfurdities and dangers into which this
wild paflion leads its votaries, are, indeed, ex-
traordinary. Sigifmunda, the daughter of Tan-
cred, prince of Salerna, on the death of her
beloved Guifcardus, a&ually eat his heart ; and
Artemefia caufed the bones of her deceafed huf-
band to be pulverized, that ftie might drink them
occafionally in her wine. Such an extravagant
affectation of fondnefs excites our indignation ;
while the lefler follies, which almoft invariably
attend this heroic paflion, move our laughter and
contempt. Liften to the ludicrous rant of Pki-
loftratus in praife of his miftrefs. " O happy
" ground on which fhe treads; how happy
" fhould I be if fhe would tread upon me ! The
" rivulets, as {he approaches them, ceafe their
" murmurs to gaze upon her charms, and
*' birds fmg round her as if fhe were the morn.
*' The fields all laugh, the pleasant vallies burn,
<* And all their grasses into flow'rets turn.
U 4 " But
296 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
" But oh! {he is fairer than the flowerets,
<c and brighter than the fun. The tutelary
<e deities of the town follow her {reps in admi-
cc ration of her beauties; and when {he fails
" upon the feas, the rivers, like fo many fmall
<c boats, crowd around her. My heart is quite
'* diflplved, melfed, bruifed to powder, by her
<c heavenly charms, and become like a fala-
? l mander in the fire by the flames of love.'*
Ovid wiflies that he were a flea, a gnat, a ring,
and Catullus , that he were a fparrow, for the
fake of their miftrefTes ; but Anacreon excels, in
this refpe6l, every other heroic lover, when he
exclaims, in addreffing his miftrefs,
Would Heaven, indulgent to my vow,
The happy change I wifli allow,
Thy envied mirror I would be,
That thou might'ft always gaze on me j
And could my naked heart appear,
Thou'dst see thyself; for thou art there :
Or was I made thy folding e ve/l,
That thou mightst clasp me to thy breast j
Or turned into a fount, to lave
Thy charming beauties in my wave!
Thy bosom-cinfture I would grow,
To warm those little hills of snow;
Thy ointment, in rich fragrant stream?
To wander o'er thy beauteous limbs ;
Thy chain of shining pearl, to deck
And close embrace thy graceful neck ;
A very
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 297
A very sandal I would be
To tread on, if trod on by thee :
The lover in Caleagninus^ indeed, who wrote
the following epitaph on the tomb of his de-
ceafed darling, feems to have exceeded Anacreon
in extravagance :
Quincia obiit, sed non Quincia sola obiit;
Quincia obiit, sed cum Qiiincia et ipse obii j
Risus obit, obit gratia, lusus obit,
Nee mea nunc anima in pectore, at in tumulo est.
Quincia, my dear, is dead, but not alone;
For I am dead, and with her I am gone:
Sweet smiles, mirth, graces, all with her do rest 5
And my soul too ; for 'tis not in my breast.
But this heroic paffion, amidft all its various
follies and abfurdities, fometimes produces the
beneficial effedts of making fools wife, bafe
minds generous, cowards courageous, clowns
courteous, flovens neat, churls merciful, lazy
drones nimble, and dumb dogs eloquent. The
charms of the lovely Galatea humanized the
bofom of the fierce and cruel Polypbeme. He
examined his face in the ftream, combed his
jrueful locks with a rake, grew more exacT: and
fttxdious in his drefs, and difcovered the firft fign
of being in love, by endeavouring at a more
than ufual care to pleafe. It was the love of
Ariadne that made Thefeus fo adventurous : it
Medea's beauty that gave victory to Jafon :
and
298 F LOVE MELANCHOLY,
and Plato is of opinion, that Mars owed all his
valor to his fondnefs for Mentis. An heroic lover is
aftiamed of appearing mglorious in the eyes of
his miftrefs. PufilJanimity itfelf is frequently
converted by this heroic paffion into a divine
temper and courageous fpirit. The bafeft clown
will fight as fiercely in defence of his miftrefs as
Blandtwor and Paridel, of romantic fame, are
faid to have fought for the lovely Florimel : his
mind is a fire; his foul is all mettle; his breaft
armour of proof ; he is more than man; he is im-
proved beyond himfelf ; and addrefling his mif-
trefs in all the fervor of his pafiion, he exclaims,
in the language of fin ancient hero of the like
defcription,
Alack! there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords : look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.
The valor of an army of fuch lovers would
beat down all oppofition, and conquer the whole
world, unlefs, indeed, it was oppofed to another
.army of the like defcription. Sir Waiter Many, in
the reign of Edward the Third, ftuck round with
ladies' favours, fought with the fpirit of a dra-
gon ; and the conqueft of Granada by Ferdinand
of Spain, is faid to have been facilitated by-
queen Ifabela and herladies being prefent at the
fiege. Love not only infpires the heart with
the
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
the moft enthufiaftic ardour, but frequently
polifhes the manners, and gives activity to the
dulleft motions of the foul.
Love is not always of a vicious kind,
But oft to virtuous acts inflames the mind j
Awakes the sleepy vigour of the soul,
And brushing o'er adds motion to the pool.
Love, studious how to please, improves our parts
With polish'd manners, and adorns with arts :
Love first invented verse, and form'd the rhime,
The motion measur'd, harmoniz'd the chime j
To liberal arts enlarg'd the narrow-sou I'd,
Soften'd the fierce, and made the coward bold.
Boccace relates, to this effedr, the ftory of
Cymon and Ipbigenia. Cymon^ the fon of the
governor of Cyprus^ poflefled an uncommon
beauty of perfon, but was fo ftupid and defective
in the qualities of the mind, fo heavy, dull and
degenerate, that his father, having endeavoured
in vain by all the arts of education to reform
him, fent him to a poor cottage in a fequeftered
part of the country, where, being thought unfit
for every other employment, he followed, almoft
in the character of a common clown, the ufual
avocations of hufbandry. Sauntering alone, accord-
ing to his ufual cuftom, by the fide of a wood, he
one day efpied a lovely female, named Iphigenia^
the daughter of a burgomafter of Cyprus , faft a-
fleep in a fequeftered thicket on the borders of a
brook,
330. OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
brook, in which fhe had juft been bathing. A
freshened bloom glowed upon her charming
cheeks, the beauties of which were heightened by
the pofture in which fhe lay, while her white
robe, which only loofely covered her, left
her fnowy neck, and part of her gently rifing
bofom, expofed to his view. The young clown,
aftonifhed at the fight of fo much beauty, ftood
for fome time leaning on his ftaff, transfixed and
confounded by the powers of her charms ; but
this foul-fubduing object at length infpired his
heart with emotions to which he had ever
before been a ftranger, and filled his breaft with
fuch tranfporting delight, that his latent facul-
ties awakened from their lethargy, and con-
vinced him of the high energies of which he
was poflefled. Grofsly material as his mind had
been formed by the hand of nature, he imme-
diately difcovered that the object of his delighted
fenfes was the moft excellent of her kind j and
when fhe awakened from her repofe, and retired
from her grafly couch, the fweet infection had
feized fo thoroughly on all his frame, that he
followed her in filence -and timidity to the city,
and made his paffion known. His father, on
hearing of his affection, feconded the fuit ;
and love fo completely transformed his cha-
racter, that his friends could fcarcely believe
Jie was the fame perfon : he became lively, gay,
and.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 30!
find courteous; rode with 'uncommon grace and
courage ; cultivated the fine arts with' unex-
ampled fuccefs; acquired great fkill in fencing,
mufic and dancing; excelled in the tafte of his
drefs and the politenefs of his manners; and, in
fhort, infpired by his paffion for Iphigenia^ be-
came the moft perfect and accomplifhed gentle-
man in the ifland of Cyprus. Improvements
like thefe are certainly among the fymptoms of
heroic love; for a lover, however rude and
clownifh he may be, will, for a certain time at
leaft, become fpruce and cleanly, A fhip is not
fo long a rigging, as a young girl is in trimming
herfelf up againft the arrival of her fweetheart.
No painter's (hop, no flowery meadow, no grace-
ful afpecT: in the ftorehoufe of nature, is com-
parable to a novifeta^ or Venetian virgin who is
drafting for a hufband.
With anxious care the fair one's critic eye
Scans o'er her dress, nor lets a fault slip by ;
Each rebel hair must be reduc'd to place
With tedious (kill, and tortur'd into grace;
Her maid must o'er and o' - the pins dispose,
Till into modish folds the drapery flows ;
And the whole frame is fitted to express
The charms of beauty in its nakedness.
Claudia^ in his fcrutiny of Benedli y to difcover
whether the charms of Beatrice had touched
his 'heart, fays, " If he be not in love with
2 " fome
362 OF LOTS MELANCHOLY*
11 feme woman, there is no believing old ftgm ;
" for he brufhes his hat every morning, and
" what fhould that bode?" And upon being
afked, whether any man had feen him at the
barber's, replies, " No ; but the barber's man
^' has been feen with him, and he looks younger
" than he did by the lofs of a beard ; and rubs
* c himfelf with civet : Can you not fmell him out
* 4 by that ? But the greateft note of it is h is
" MELANCHOLY." Hair-dreflers and taylors,
indeed, may be confidered as Graces in league
with Cupid; for all lovers are anxious to trick
themfelves out } to be fpruce in their apparel ;
to have their locks neatly combed, and curioufly
curled; to adorn their ftioes with elegant ties,
their points with becoming gaities ; to be u point
* { device in all their accoutrements ;" to appear,
as it were, in print ; in fhort, to walk in print,
to eat in print, to drink in print, and to be mad
in print.
But,, among the fymptoms of heroic love,
we muft not forget ballad-making and poetry j
for lovers are always either making or finging
amorous fongs and ditties, to blazon the charms,
and catch the hearts, of thofe they love. The
immortal Shakefpear gives ample teftimony how
conftantly poetry is the fymptom of heroic Jove.
The aged Egeus^ in his endeavours to account
for
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 303
for the . fondnefs which his daughter Hermia en-
tertained for Lyfander^ accuies him of having
" given her rhimes." The young Orlando^
breathing his love-fick fighs for the lively Ro-
falind) on entering the foreft of Arden, " hangs
" odes upon hawthorns, and elegies on brambles,"
to deify the name of Rofalind^ and exclaims,
Hang there, my verse, in witness of my love.
O, Rosalind, these trees shall be my books,
And in their barks my thoughts I'll character,
That every eye which in this forest looks,
Shall see thy virtue witness'd every where.
Run, run, Orlando, carve on every tree,
The fair, the chaste, the inexpressive she.
The witty and enamoured Biron, a very " beadle
to an amorous figh," calls the dwarf Dan Cupid,
" regent of love rhimes," and " lord of folded
* l arms ;" while Armado, the fantaftic lover
of Jacquenetta, exclaims, " affift me fome ex-
*' temporal god of rhime, for I am fure I ftiall
turn fonneteer." Age will fometimes dote in this
way, as well as youth ; for the heat of love
warms the coldeft heart, diflblves the ice of
years, and makes every lover poetical.
Do not, sweet Marian, ray age disdain ;
For thou canst make an old man young again.
An
304 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
An old Englifh author relates a ftory, that cri
Chriftmas eve, in the year 1012, at Colewitz,
in Saxony^ while the prieft was laying mafs iri
the church, a company of young men were fing-
ing in the church-yard glees and love fongs,
6f their own compofing, in praife of their mif-
trefTes, which fo annoyed the preacher, that he
commanded them to be filentj but the wild
pleafures refulting from their lyric incantations
were not fo be interrupted by the aufterity
of the preacher, and the young lovers con-
tinued to chant their compofitions with fuch in-
creafing ardour, that the indignant preacher,
angered into bitternefs by their contempt of his
command, folemnly invoked the tutelary faint
of the church to punifh their contemptuous dif-
obedience, by obliging them to continue fmging
and dancing, without interruption, until that day
twelvemonth. St. Magnus liftened to the invo-
cation of his prieft, and thefe verfe-making he-
roes, it is faid, were bound by fo potent a fpell,
that they continued finging and dancing, without
refreshment or wearinefs, until the end of the year,
when they were abfolved from the lively charm
by the holy prayers of Herebertus^ the archbifhop
of Colen. The mind, indeed, when invoked
by heroic love, feldom pays much attention to
religion, and frequently offends its holy precepts.
Poetry and mufic, in ftiort, are the handmaids
of
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 305
of love, from whofe copious fountains flow al-
moft all our feafts, mafks, mummings, ban-
quets, merry-meetings, attelans, jigs, fefcinnes,
plays, elegies, odes, love-ftrains, and poems.
The theatrical exhibitions which Danaus^ the
fon of Belusy inftituted at Argos^ to celebrate
the nuptials of his daughter, were the origin of
the drama. Poetry, painting, mufic, and moft
of the fine arts and fciences, fays Partritiusj
were firft invented, " ex amoris beneficio^ for
41 the enjoyments of love j" and the fketch which
the enamoured daughter of Deburiades^ the Sy-
cionlan^ took of the perfon of her lover, with
charcoal, as the candle gave his fhadow on the
wall, was the origin of portrait painting. Poetry,
indeed, can fcarcely fix on any other fubjedls
than thofe which love infpires : the Mufes fol-
low in the train of Cupid^ and make his darts
more keen. The pens of heroic lovers are
faid to be made of feathers plucked from Cu-
pid's wing ; and the burden of every lyric fong
fupports the conceit. Every Italian^ of any emi-
nence or fortune, has a favorite miftrefs on
whom he pours out praifingly all the rapturous
feelings of his heart ; and it is this fond devo-
tion to the purfuits of love, that has given Italy
the pre-eminence in poetry, painting, and mu-
fic. The filthieft clowns, indeed mere hog-
rubbers, Menalcas and Corldon^ qui foetant de
X Jlercore
306 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Jhrcore equino, when the delightful ne&ar of
love has once touched their lips, feel their
fouls infpired with poetry ; for poetry, as the fol-
lowing paftoral epiftle will evince, is the natural
language of love :
Thou honey-suckle of the hawthorn hedge,
Vouchsafe in Cupid's cup my heart to pledge :
My heart's dear blood, sweet Cis, is thy carouse,
Worth all the ale in Gammer Gubbin's house.
I say no more ; affairs call me away ;
My father's horse for provender doth stay.
Be thou the lady Cresset light to me,
Sir Trolly Lolly I will prove to thee.
Written in haste ; farewell my cowslip sweet ;
Pray let's a Sunday at the alehouse meet.
This powerful paffion, in fhort, will melt the
foul of the fterneft Stoic, and warm the freezing
heart of cold philofophy : even Arlftippus^ Apol-
lidoruS) and Antiphanes^ have employed their
.pens in. writing love fongs in their miftrefies'
praife :
For poetry the coldest heart will warm,
And make the coldest bosom own its charm.
E'en where the noxious cup or philter fails,
The potent spell of mystic verse prevails *.
Thefe
* Shakefpear, however, obfcrves, that " thefe fellows of
" infinite tongue, that can rhyme themfelves into ladies' favors,
*' always reajvn themfelves out again."
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 307
1* HESE fymptoms, while they difclofe the ap-
proach or exiftence of the difeafe, prognofticate
the moft fatal confequences. Neither health of
body, nor happinefs of mind, can much longer be
expected. The fiend, when it has once com-
pletely grafped its prey, becomes inexorably in-
fatiate in its fury: for although the blandifli-
ments of heroic love at firft appear fweeter than
the honeycomb, and fmoother than oil, they be-
come in their progrefs bitterer than wormwood,
and (harper than a two-edged fword ; and at laft
lead their unhappy victims through the valley of
mifery and madnefs into the gulph of death.
Most by their favorite's cruel falsehoods die,
And prone on earth the hapless victims lie :
But tho' their spirits' freed from mortal chains,
They are doom'd in Hell to rove with endless painSj
A wretched warning here on earth to prove
The certain dangers of heroic love.
But amidft the long and various catalogue of
tormenting confequences which attend on this
difeafe, there is no one, perhaps, more certain
than that of JEALOUSY j for as that pure and
virtuous affection of the heart, which confti-
tutes the bafis of connubial love^ is free from all
fufpicion, the violent and uncontrolled deiires,
on which the heroic pajjion is founded, are in-
variably involved in thofe doubts and fears by
which this hell-born fpirit is engendered.
X 2 JEALOUSY
308 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
JEALOUSY is defined by Benedetto Varclri to
be, " a coroding fufpicion lurking in the heart
" of every heroic lover, left the object of his
" defires fhould be enamoured of another ;" for
an heroic lover, like an heroic king, will rather
lofe his life than endure the idea of having a
rival near his throne. The mufe of Propertius
fings in a correfpondent drain :
Stab me with sword, or poison strong
Give me to work my bane ;
So thou court not my Uss, so thou
From mistress mine refrain.
Command myself, my body, purse,
As thine own goods take allj
And as my ever dearest friend
I shall thee ever call :
But spare my love ; to have alone
Her to myself I crave :
Nay, JOVE himself I'll not endure
My rival for to have.
The warmer climates of Italy and Spain, the
ancient regions of romantic love, feem to be the
moft productive of this tormenting difeafe ; for
it is faid, that the number of jealous hufbands,
with which thofe countries abound, is even
greater than that of drunkards in Germany^ to-
bacconifts in Holland^ dancers in France^ or
mariners in England. Certain it is, that at
"Baden ^
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 309
Baden, where the fexes mingle freely with each
other in all the innocent intercourfes of life ;
in Freizland, where women freely falute thofe
whom they drink to or pledge; in Holland,
where the youths and virgins glide on the ice,
and even lodge together in the fame apartments,
with harmlefs familiarity; and in France , where
wives, upon very flight acquaintance, accompany
and vifit their admirers without the leaft imputa-
tion, the name of JEALOUSY is little known. The
Spanifh legate Mendoza, during his refidence in
England^ being in company where the caufes of
jealoufy happened to be the fubjecl: of converfa-
tion, condemned in ftrong terms the practice of
the fexes fitting together promifcuoufly at church,
as highly improper and indecent ; but Dr. Date,
the mafter of the requefts, very fairly replied,
that fuch a cuftom might perhaps be improper in
Spain, where the fexes could not approach each
other, even in thofe facred fan&uaries, without
profane thoughts and impure defires, but not in
England, where, inftead of precluding women
from the enjoyments of fociety, wives and
daughters are permitted to accompany their
friends to every place of public amufement, with-
out even a fufpicion of harm. The old diverb,
indeed, that England is a paradife for women,
and a hell for horfes, and Italy a paradife for
.horfes, but a hell for women, proves how dif-
X 3 ferent
3IO OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
ferent the two countries are in this refpecl:. Jt
muft, however, be confeffed, that Englljh fe-
males are, in Come degree, affe&ed by this
canker-worm of heroic love ; for, like all other
caufes of melancholy, it certainly operates more
frequently, though perhaps not more powerfully,
on the hearts of women than of men; for their
feelings being, in general, lefs influenced by
reafon than by fancy and imagination, and their
habits of life more folitary and retired, they are
more apt to engender diftempered fentiments in
their minds.
This mutiny in a lover's mind, however, may
be, and frequently is, ftirred up by other caufes
than thofe which feclufion may create.
OLD AGE is naturally jealous, efpecially
in the affairs of love, as Chaucer's Tale of
January and May very humoroufly proves.
An elderly gentleman, when he neglefts that
important rule in the laws of Hymen, " equality
of years," and prefumptuoufly unites himfelf
to a young and lively girl, may, notwith-
ftanding this particular impropriety, be a very
good and worthy character, as far as con-
cerns himfelf, yet Trebius y the Roman law-
yer, may make a queftion, an futtm cuique
tribuat ? which, if it be anfwered in the ne-
gative,
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 3*1
gattve, will remove all wonder that he fhould
be jealous; for unfortunately the very vigilance
and harfh ufage which his fufpicions, in fuch a
cafe, unavoidably create, are very apt to pro-
duce the misfortune they were ufed to prevent.
A fuffering wife cannot endure to have her
virtue fufpe&ecl without caufe ; and fuch a con-
duct only renders gallants more eager to attack,
and wives more forward to furrender.
EXCESSIVE FONDNESS is always accompanied
by a certain degre^ of jealoufy : for when a
wife, like the fond companion of the fage y/}-
cundo, upon his departure on a vifit of two
months to the court of AJlolpho^
Appears,
And, with a heaving breast and flowing tears,
Vows that his absence she shall ever mourn,
And never live to see his wish'd return,
Sighing, " Ah me! and must I then sustain
Such length of absence, such an age of pain!
Oh ! no, the grave will first my portion be ;
These fading eyes no more their lord shall see j
Then welcome death,"
her hufband is apt to fufpecl: her fincerity, and
to return, like 'Jocundo^ before he has reached the
.end of his journey. Such pretended affection is
more fweet, and yet more dangerous, than the
X 4 mandragorci
312 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
mandragora cup, with which the women of
Malabar are faid to feal their hufband's eyes,
when they wifh to receive his favored rivals,
ABSENCE is a frequent caufe of jealoufy.
Hippocrates, the phyfician, being obliged to
vifit Abdera, and other more remote cities in
Greece, defired his friend Dionyfius to watch
every motion of his wife until he returned ; for,
although {he was a woman of exemplary virtue,
and lived under the roof of her mother, he re-
col lefted the treacheries of Clytemnejlra, and
the fufpicions of Apollo, rather than the chaftity
of Lucretia, and the fidelity of Penelope,
which alone ought to have occupied his mind.
The fears of a wife.alfo are generally alarm-
ed by a lingering or delayed return of her
abfent hufband ; for, as Mlclo, in the Adelpbi of
Terence, obferves, " fhe cannot, under fuch cir-
" cumftances, avoid thinking that he is pafling
4< his time with fome rival beauty."
If he be absent long, his lady thinks,
He's gazing fondly on some pretty minx ;
Courting compliance with deceitful sighs,
While she, poor soul, sits sad at home, and cries.
A CONSCIOUSNESS OF DEFECT, whether of
perfon or of mind, is another caufe of jealoufy.
This was the firft idea that occurred to the noble,
gallant
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 313
gallant Moor, when the diabolical lago had
tainted his mind with unfounded fufpicions
againft the virtue of the lovely Defdemona.
" Haply, for I am black ;
And have not those soft parts of conversation
That chamberers have : or, for I am declin'd
Into the vale of years yet that's not much
She's gone ; I am abus'd ; and my relief
Must be to loath her."
The limping Vulcan was for this reafon fo
fufpicious of his wife's fidelity, that he forged
a pair of creeking fhoes, and made her wear
them, that he might hear by their noife which
way me travelled ; but Venus^ though beautiful,
was certainly no honefter than fhe mould be;
and whoever marries a woman, fays Barbaras^
merely becaufe me is fnow-fair, deferves no
better fate than Vulcan had with Venus^ or
Claudius with Meffalina.
CONSCIOUS INFIDELITY is another caufe of
jealoufy. Mala mens malus animus^ evil difpo-
litions caufe evil fufpicions. A man or woman
who has once been unfaithful, is always in
fear of the lex talionis, aird in conftant appre-
henfion of receiving the quid pro quo. Italy^
where a perfon can fcarcely rank as a gentleman,
who has not at the fame time both a wife and a
miftrefs, is the feat of jealous h;\ibands. It
would,
314 F LOVE MELANCHOLY,
would, indeed, have been lefs wonderful, under
fuch circumftances, to find it the feat of jealous
wives ; for it feems unpardonable on the part of
thefe Italian hufbands, that while they are violat-
ing the honour of other mens' wives, theyfhould
be fo extremely jealous of their Own. Such
hufbands fhould recoiled the words of Syraeides^
" teach her not an evil leflbn againft thyfelf,"
which, though the fault of one is no excufe for
the bad conduct of the other, might teach them
the ufeful leflbn, that " a good hufband makes a
** good wife."
PRESENTS BESTOWED by or on a wife, are
frequently the caufes of jealoufy. The em-
peror TheodofettSy while he was paying his ad-
drefles to the fair Eudoxia y prefented her with a
golden apple, as a token of his love, which (he,
many years afterwards, beftowed upon a young
gentleman of confiderable merit who attended
the court; but the emperor happening unfor-
tunately to difcover his gift in the poffeffion of
his fuppofed rival, immediately banimed him
from the empire, accufed the emprefs of hav-
ing dilhonoured his bed, and, notwithstanding
the ftrongeft teftimonies of her innocence, dif-
mifled her with indignation from his arms.
Seneca alfo relates a ftory to the fame effect.
A rich merchant, who was married to a beauti-
ful
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 315
ful and virtuous woman, found, on his return
from a voyage which he had been obliged to
make, that, during his ? ; fence, a young gak
lant had been endeavouring, in vain, to feduce
the affe&ions of his wife ; but on the lover dying
foon afterwards, and leaving her the bulk of his
fortune as a token of his love, the merchant's
fears became alarmed, and conceiving, from mer-
cenary notions, that as men feldom part with
rhoney without a recompence in value, his wife
muft have given an equivalent for the fortune
fhe had acquired, he turned her away on fufpicion
of infidelity. It is, perhaps, fair enough to
fuppofe, that when a monk is feen climbing by a
ladder at midnight into the chamber of a virgin
or a widow, it is not merely for the purpofe
of reading the pater nofter, adminiftering the
facrament, or taking her confeflion; but, with-
out any fuch good caufes of belief, it is certain
that the moft innocent attentions of a cafual
admirer are fufficient to ftir up the wilder! furies
of a jealous mind:
Trifles, light as air,
Are, to the jealous, confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ.
A jealous hufband hunts after every found,
liftens with trembling apprehenfton to every
that meets his ear, pries into' -ery corner,
amplifies
316 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
amplifies and mifmterprets every thing that is
faid or done, and applies all he hears or fees to
the fubjeft of his fears.
Like one upon a rock,
Environ'd with a wilderness of sea,
He marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave,
Expecting ever that some envious surge,
Will in its brinish bowels swallow him.
Watching the objecl: of his fufpicions with
more than the eyes of Argus^ he obferves on
whom fhe looks, and tortures all her actions,
however indifferent, into a criminal intent. The
fweet fmiles of innocence and complacency ; the
tender emotions of pity ; the approbations of good
nature; the mere condefcenfions of civiKty and
politenefs ; and even the flighteft attentions of
common courtefy, diftracl: him. A moufe cannot
ftir, or the wind blow againft the window, but
he fancies it is the favoured rival who has de-
ftroyed his peace, and is feeking to repeat his
invafions of his honour. The deareft friend,
or neareft kinfman, cannot vifit his houfe, with-
out immediately becoming the object of his fuf-
picions. The fervants are placed as centinels
to watch the conduct of each other; all to ob-
ferve and communicate to him the actions of
their unhappy miftrefs. The idea of fecurity is
loft in his hourly increafmg apprehenfions of
danger;
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
danger; no argument, however clear, can fatif-
fy or remove the prejudices of his mind; no
evidence, however cogent, can divert the mud-
died current of his thoughts: his whole foul is
involved in a vortex of diftra&ion. His fpeech
falters ; his countenance difcovers perplexity in
the extreme ; his geftures become diftorted ;
he ftarts at every paffing fhadow; fcowls with
an evil eye on all around him; walks here, now
there, with hurried fteps and folded arms :
And as his heart, all mad with misery,
Beats in the hollow prison of his breast,
He thumps it down again,
biting his blood-ftained lips ; rolling his ferocious
eyes, and ftudying what " art can make heavy or
" vengeance bitter," until breaking into curfes
loud and deep, uttering horrid groans, and vent-
ing intermingled fighs and tears, he rages into
fury, or finks into defpair ; and at length, in
fome paroxyfm of MADNESS, or of MELAN-
CHOLY, murders the innocent and lovely object,
whofe life and happinefs it was once his higheft
pride and pleafure to promote and fave. Dread-
ful ftate !
O JEALOUSY ! that every woe exceeds,
And soon to death the wretched sufferer leads ;
Thou canst with cruel falshood reason blind,
And burst the closest ties that hold makind I
The
3l8 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
The deep indented wounds made by this
hideous monfter, are faid to be incurable ; and,
indeed, if they be negle&ed in the earlieft
ftages, there are but few fufferers who can ever
hope again to enjoy the funfhine of the breaft.
REASON, if it can be induced to operate, is the
only power by which a recovery can poflibly be
effected. A moment's calm and difpaffionate
thought will convince a JEALOUS HUSBAND,
that the fancied infidelity of his wife only expofes
him to the derifion of a malicious and unfeeling
world, and that her real infidelity is a misfor-
tune, which, as he can not poflibly avoid, he
ought to endure with quietude and refignation.
Jealoufy without caufe, therefore, is ridiculous ;
and with it, lamentable; and furely every wife
man will endeavour to prevent his being either
laughed at or pitied; for who in reafon will not
avoid becoming
A fixed figure for the hand of scorn
To point his slowly moving finger at ?
Suppofing he has obferved the lightnefs of his
wife's character, how much better is it to dif-
femble the misfortune that cannot be avoided,
than to aggravate it by excefs of mifery.
He's truly valiant, who can wisely suffer
The worst that man can breathe, and make his wrongs
His
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 319
Hisoutsides: wear them like his raiment, carelessly,
And ne'er prefer his injuries to his heart
To bring it into danger.
Efpeciall'y, as in fuch a cafe he has frequently
the comfort of knowing that he is not without
a multitude of companions: for who is there
that can with certainty fay he is free from this
misfortune, or aflure himfelf that he has not
now a decorated brow, or may not hereafter
be in this particular predicament? It would,
indeed, be a grievous fituation if fuch a fufferer
flood alone, and was of all the noble herd the
only one who was compelled to bear the brunt,
and ftand at bay ;
" Butting, with antlers long and large, the pack
* Of yelping curs that press on every side."
But this being a common calamity, " a deftiny,"
as Othello fays, " unfhunable, like death," ought
not in reafon or in prudence to be taken fo fen-
fibly to heart. The frequency of the accident
ought to leflen the bitternefs of it. The man
whofe lack another's key will open, cannot
reafonably expecl: to keep his jewel unpurloined;
and if the lofer levy HUE AND CRY from town
to town to apprehend the thief, he only brings
a pojje round his heels to publifh his difgrace,
and circulate the tale. When the emperor Se-
ver us patted an edi& to punifli the crime of
adultery,
32O OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
adultery, there were no lefs, as Dion Nlcaus-
relates, than three thoufand cuckold-makers, or,
as Phi/o calls them, clippers of the legal coins,
brought into court in one day. The accufed in
fuch cafe might be punifhed, but it was the ac-
cufers who were expofed. Wife hufbands, there-
fore, keep the bitters as well as the fweets of
matrimony to themfelves :
The mysteries of love
Should be kept private as religious rites
From the unhallowed view of common eyes.
It may, however, be fairly afked, whether a
man ought, in prudence and good fenfe, fo to al
in fo unfortunate a fituation. Why not? The
vinculum matrimonii, alas ! is a gordian knot,
difficult to cut, and almoft impofftble to be un-
tied. A divorce, indeed, may diflblve the tie;
but this is a proceeding, even when extend-
ing only to a feparation from bed and board^
not favoured by THE LAW; and if it were, the
fex, Ji non cafie tamen caute y are, in managing
the bufmefs of intrigue, fo cautioufly cunning,
that, though the practices were commoner than
fimony, or more manifeft than the nofe on a
man's face, fufficient evidence of THE FACT
can feldom be acquired. The fearcher withers
and dies while he is in purfuit of fo obfcure a
proof. Befides, a gallant man, though he is
pitied
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 321
pitied for this misfortune, is not difefteemed.
Wife men, therefore, will order matters fo, that
their virtues may fmother fuch misfortunes, if
known to others; and if only to themfelves,
will make a virtue of neceflity, and fhrinking up
his horns into his {hell, keep, if poffible, a
quiet poiTeflion of it. u Sapientes portant cornua
" in pettore, Jlulti in fronte" fays, Nevifanus :
" Wife men bear their horns in their bofoms ; but
<c fool c wear them on their foreheads." The cu-
riofity, indeed, which many hufbands indulge,
of prying with eagles' eyes into the private con-
duct of their wives, is not only dangerous, but
abfurd: for " it is like," fays Montaigne, " in.
" quiring into a difeafe for which there is no
" medicine that does not inflame and make it
" worfe. It is to a very fine purpofe to open
" the curtain, and lift up the quilt, only to dif-
" cover our misfortunes, and to trumpet them
" on tragic fcaffolds ; and fuch misfortunes too,
*' as only fting us the more, the more they are
44 reported." Difcreet men will avoid this tor-
menting and unprofitable knowledge, and follow
the example of Rinalds^ who refufed to tafte
of the enchanted cup of MeliJ/a, by which he
was to difcover the chaftity or infidelity of his
wife; wifely chufing to remain in that happy
ignorance which fecures his tranquillity.
Y How
322 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
How oft have some, through jealousy, pursu'dj
Without a cause, the gentle and the good!
How oft secure their lives have others led,
Yet borne the branching honors of the head!
Weak and insensible's the jealous mind,
Which seeks for that it ne'er would wish to find,
As ADAM, when the fatal fruit he tried,
Which GOD himself had to his taste denied,
Jncurr'd what pains from disobedience flow,
And fell from highest bliss to deepest woe ;
So when a hufband with too curious eye
Into his wife's recluser deeds would pry,
He quits content, his folly to deplore,
And never shall his peace recover more.
Even if fome officious, pick-thank friend, tc fome
" bufy and iniinuating rogue, fome cogging,
* 4 cozening flave," to curry favour and get fome
office ; or if fome fiend, lago like, to gratify re-
venge, ftiould intorm a happy hufband of his
misfortu. and (hew him his rival in warm
entreaty with his wife, let him not " turn his
*' wit the feamy fide without, but fmell the
*' bufinefs with a fenfe as cold as is a dead
* c man's nofe j" not puddle his clear fpirit, but
reply as Pertinax, the emperor, did to the
fiddler, under the like circumftances ; " Peace,
f c you fool ! let him do his worft : I can fafely
*' truft the virtue of my wife even with him:'*
for if it cannot be diflembled in filence, it muft
be
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 323
be pafled over in a joke, as Guexerra advifes,
i)el joco excipies vel Jilentio eludes.
Though Etna's fires within your bosom glow,
Dissemble, and appear more cold than snow:
In spite of torture, still from tears refrain;
Laugh when you have most reason to complain.
Nor do 1 such severe commands impart,
At once to bid you tear her from your heart ;
But counterfeit : you'll prove, in the event,
The careless lover whom you represent.
A good fellow, whofe wife was brought to
bed in two months after the wedding day, im-
mediately bought fix cradles, as a fufficient flock
for the whole year, faying very calmly, that as
he fuppofed God intended to blefs him with a
child every other month, it was as well to make
provifion at once for the whole brood ; whence
it has become a proverb, that it is better to be a
buyer of cradle 'j, than a jealous hujband. Fair
means peradventure may do fomewhat : Obfe-
quio vinces aptius ipfe tuo. Men and women are
both in a predicament, in this behalf ; fo fooner
won, and better fatisfied. Dud volunt, non
cogi : though fhe be as arrant a fcold as Xan-
tippe, as cruel as Medea, as clamorous as He-
cuba, and as incontinent as MeJJ'alina, fhe may
by fuch means, if at all, be probably reformed.
Many patient grizeh, by obfequioufnefs in
Y 2 -this
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
this fituation, have reclaimed their wandering huf-
bands. The beft cure is effe&ed by fair means, an4
if that will not do, it muft be diflembled ; for if
a hufband take exceptions at every little thing his
wife does, neither the wifdom of Solomon, the
valour of Hercules, the learning of Homer, the
patience of Socrat:*, nor the vigilancy of Argus,
will ferve his turn. It is therefore a lefs mif-
(chief, as Nevifanus truly obferves, to difTemble,
and be cunarum emptor, a buyer of cradles,
than to be too folicitous upon this myfterious
fubjeci. A fenfible and humorous fellow being
informed, that a friend had done that for him
which every man defires to do for himfelf, fol-
lowed him one day in a great rage, with his
drawn fword j and having at length overtaken
him, immediately accufed him, amidft a furround-
ing multitude, of having committed adultery
with his wife. The offender very honeftly con-
fefled the fa. *' It is well, you villain," replied
the hufband, " that you have been fo candid as to
" confefs it j for if you had dared to deny it, I
<' would certainly have been the death of you.'*
But it is always better to acl the part of Cornelius
Tacitus than of Publius Cornutus, to contemn
the injury, and take no notice of it, than to
divulge one's own fhame, and to remain for ever
a cuckhold upon record. Henry the Second,
king of France, when a courtier confided to him
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 325
h'is fufpicion of the unchaftity of his wife, truly
told him that, " he who fears his wife's virtue,
or the Pope's curfe, can never have a merry
hour, or fleep a quiet night." Hufbands, there-
fore, will do well to avoid this tormenting fuf-
picion.
But as it is, in general, the light and airy con-
duel: of a wife that firft occafions fufpicions of her
character, fixing the affections on a virtuous and
proper object, will greatly contribute to avoid
the affli&ions of jealoufy. Rules of various kinds
have occafionally been prefcribed by Patntius^
Fonfeca, Neander, Shonbernerus, Guianerius, Cle-
ebulus, and other writers on this fubjeft: but
though they often differ from each other, and
fometimes from themfelves, they all concur in
exhorting the parties to proceed with timid, flow,
and cautious fteps to the great and ferious electron
of a wife; to take particular care that me be of
honeft and refpe&able parents ; and poffefs not
only equality of years, fufficiency of fortune,
congeniality of temper, uniformity of fentiment,
and mutuality of affe&ion, but, above all, a
combined fondnefs and reverence for VIRTUE
and RELIGION. If, fays Plutarch, a man ought
to eat, modium falls, a bumel of fait with ano-
ther before he choofes him for his friend, how
careful ihould he be in choofmg that fecond felf,
Y 3 a WIFE!
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
a WIFE! How folicitoufly fhould he obferve
her qualities and behaviour! and even when he
is allured of them, how cautious fhould he be,
not to prefer birth, fortune, beauty, before a
virtuous education, and a good condition ! The
youthful beauties of Italy foon procure hufbands ;
but thofe who have the misfortune to be ugly or
deformed, change their lovely names of Lucia^
Cynfbia^ Camcena, for the more homely appella-
tions of Dorothy^ Urfula^ and Bridget^ and put
themfelves, even at an early age, into the feclu-
fions of the nunnery, as if no women were fit
for marriage, but fuch as are eminently fair:
but this cuftom proceeds not only upon an er-
roneous but a cruel principle ; for ~the experience
of the more northern climates proves, that a
modeft, moral, well educated, and fenfible girl,
is frequently far preferable, as a wife, and makes
a man a more rational and comfortable compani-
on in his voyage through life, than her high-
afpiring, and more beautiful, but lefs worthy and
meritorious, fifter. The temple of Caffandroj
the celebrated Italian fanctuary for deformed
maids, is more likely to furnifh a good wife,
than the temple of Venus itfelf. Few will envy
a man the pofleflion of a character, whofe extra-
ordinary merits few are qualified to underftand
or to enjoy ; but all are candidates for the prize
of beauty ; and no man can be really happy in
the
OF LOVE MELANCHOtV. 327
the pofledion of that which every other man is
anxioufly endeavouring to take away.* A wo-
man who has little reafon to be vain of her per-
fonal charms is, in general, diffident in her man-
ners, decent in her attire, attached to her do-
fneftic duties, and in every way ftudious to make
home comfortable, her hufband happy, and her-
ferf refpeded : but beauty is generally blazing
forth in all the extravagancies of drefs and fa*
fhion, looking around for the accuftomed tribute
of adulation, ever going, like Dinah of old,
" to fee the daughters of the land/' and fre*
quently meeting with a Hevlte to defpoil her of
her charms; for a woman who is continually
wandering abroad, is confidered, like an. outly-
ing deer, to be a common prey. Of fuch a wife
every hufband muft be unavoidably jealous, and
of courfe miferable, until a contempt of her con-
duct and character has rendered him callous and
indifferent, " That woman is beft," fays Tbu-
cydideS) <c de quo mm >nus foras babetur fermo,
who is leaft talked of abroad ; for if fhe be a
noted reveller, gadder, finger, pranker or dan-
Y 4 cer,
* The mind of Don Quixote was perfeftly tranquil and fe-
fene, in believing that he was only in poffeflion of a barber's ta
fan ; but when his diftempered mind had converted this ufeful
article into a thing of fo great value and requeft as ^ambrino^s
helmet^ all the world, he thought, would perfecute him for the
purpofe of taking it away.
328 OF LOVE' MELANCHOLY.
cer, let him take heed. A wife, therefore, to
win the efteem and fecure the kindnefs of a huf-
band, muft not only be modeft, affable, good-
natured, frugal, fober, thrifty and circumfpecl:,
but above all, filent and dome/lie. A fondnefs
for home, and a difcreet exercife of that noble
organ the tongue, are faid, by an ancient writer,
to be the moft important excellencies of the fe-
male character. Phidias^ the celebrated painter at
Etis, painted Venus treading on the back of a
tortoife, to fignify how neceflary it is that beau-
ty fliould be filent and reclufe. An eminent
philofopher infifts that no woman fhould come
abroad more than three times in her whole life:
firft, to be baptized ; then to be married ; and
laftly, to be entombed. Extravagant, however,
as this idea is, and different as a prtfon is from
privacy^ it may fairly be fuppofed to intimate,
that the higheft honour of a virtuous female, is
a rational feclufion and retreat. As to
SILENCE, it is, indeed, at proper times, a
moft important virtue in a wife. A hufband is
not intitled to be provoking ; he ought to treat his
wife with the tendereft regard, and kindeft at-
tention; but if he fhould be difpofed to indulge
any fuppofed prerogative, or poflefs a furly and
impatient temper, he is more likely to be con-
quered by fubmiifion than refiftance. Gentle-
nefs
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 329
nefs and filence not unfrequently lead thofe ftub-
born hearts, Anger and Authority, by the noie,
and impofe upon them the collar of obedience,
and the muzz-le of reftraint ; while roughnefs and
refinance only provoke and heighten the fury
they are exercifed to fubdue. If a hufband
fwerve occafionally into intemperate violence, it
is " the falconer's gentle voice muft lure the
taflel back again :" The tongue of real love is
" filver fweet;" but " fierce contention croaks
till it is hoarfe, and begets the angry jar of foul
retort and aggravation."
Oh! blest with TEMPER, whose unclouded ray
Can make to-morrow cheerful as to day !
She who ne'er answers till a husband cools;
Or, if she rules him, never shews she rules;
Charms by accepting, by submitting sways,
Yet has her humour most when she obeys.
A noify female, who ufed to u bandy word
for word and frown for frown," complaining to
one of her neighbours of her hufband's intolera-
ble temper and impatience, was prefented with
a bottle of a certain liquid, and told that if fhe
would fill a giafs with it, and hold it continually
to her lips whenever her hufband was out of
humour, it would, from the qualities it poflefT-
ed, not only foften his paflion, and prevent its
return, but give her a decided fuperiority over
h,im.
330 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
him. The woman cordially thanked her neigh-
bour for fo valuable a prefent; and, upon apply-
ing this medicine whenever her hufband was an-
gry, according to the method prefcribed, foon
found that he was cured of the violence of which
{he had complained. She accordingly returned
with a grateful heart to her neighbour, to an-
nounce her fuccefs, and requefted Ihe would in-
form her of the ingredients of which this extra-
ordinary fpecific was compofed. " Compofed,''
replied her neighbour ; " why it is nothing but
fimple water, good woman, I aflure youj and
if you will always keep yourfelf as compofed as
you were while this water was at your lips, you
will have very little to fear from your hufband's
tongue; for it was your imprudent retorts that
increafed the violence of his paffion, but which
your filence will always be fufficient to fubdue."
This ftory, and perhaps fome other obferva-
tions which have been or may be made in the
courfe of the work, may feem to impute the ge-"
neral defeds in connubial felicity to the mifcon-
ducl: of the female fex; but every obfervation
that is applied to women, may, mutato nomine^
for the moft part, be alfo underftood of men*
A good fellow once befpoke of Pajfus^ the pain-
ter, the picture of a horfe, which he defired
might be reprefented as lying on its back
with
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 331
with its heels upwards ; but the artift, inftead
of fo doing, made the animal completely pafTant.
When the fellow came for the portrait, he was
of courfe violently angry, and fwore that the
pofture of the horfe was directly the reverfe of
what he had defired; but Paffus turning the
picture upfide down, and {hewing his employer
the horfe with his heels upwards, gave him com-
plete fatisfa&ion : So only reverfe the portraits
here drawn, and all will be right. It is, indeed,
but impartial juftice in all cafes of matrimonial
controverfy, to impute a certain fhare of blame
to both parties, and to exac-t mutual concef-
fions, which of courfe will give fuperiority of
merit to that party who firft fubmits ; for they
mutt be cautious not to turn the portrait on each
other. The matrons of Rome, who were fo
renowned for good management, that old Cato
told the fenate, " we Romans govern all the
world abroady but are ourfelves governed by
our wives at home," erected a temple to that
uiri placet Dea, and another to Venus verticordia
qucs maritos uxoribus reddebat benevolos, whither
man and wife, when any difference happened be-
twixt them, inftantly reforted, and by offering,
with mutual fubmiflion, a white heart without
gall, a facrifice for the reftoration of conjugal
peace, they appeafed, in general, the offended
deity.
The
331 OF LOVE MELANCHOtY.
The beft means, however, to avoid the mife-
ries and misfortunes of JEALOUSY, is to avoid
or eradicate heroic love, the fource from which
this malevolent paffion takes its varying and def-
trudtive courfe.
To CURE, eafe, alter, or expel the ftubborn
2nd unbridled paffion of Heroic Love, phyficians
have prefcribed a variety of rules, which, as I
do but light my candle at their torches, I {hall
endeavour to epitomize in my own way.
THE FIRST RULE is to attend to EXERCISE
and DIET j for it is an old and well known ob-
fervation, thatyfo? Cerere et Baccho frlget Venus ;
and as an idle, fedentary life, with liberal feed-
ing, are great caufes of the complaint, fo the
oppofite habits of labour, and continual bufmefs,
with a {lender and fparing diet, are the beft ami
moft ordinary means of its prevention and cure.
The deities Minerva^ Diana, Vejla^ and the
Mufes, or, in other words, Wifdom, Virtue,
Chaftity, and Wit, as they are never idle, are
never afteted with this difeafe.
If, therefore, you expect to find redress,
In the first place, take leave of idleness.
'Tis this that kindles first the fond desire;
J Tis this brings fuel to the amor?us fire.
Bar
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY, 333
Bar idleness, you ruin Cupid's game ;
You blunt his arrows, and you quench his flame.
Mind business, if your passion you'd destroy;
Secure is he who can himself employ.
The slothful he seeks out, and makes his prize j
But from the man of business quickly flies.
Guianerius, therefore, advifes thefe unhappy fuf-
ferers to wear hair-cloth next their (kins, to go
barefooted and barelegged in the coldeft weather,
to whip themfelves a little now and then, as
monks do j but, above all, to faft and pray ; not
on rich wines, and the daintieft viands, as many
of thofe tenter-bellies do, however they may
put on lenten faces, but to abftain totally from
every fort of fermented liquor and inflaming
food ; particularly wine, it being qnimes virus
et vltiorum fames *; for which caufe women
were anciently forbid to take it. Our Saviour
declares this diforder to be " a ferocious devil,
that cannot be caft out, except by prayer and
fafting ;" and it was by a ftricl: adherence to the
words of this divine oracle, that thofe celebrat-
ed anchorets, St. Paul, St. Hilary, St. Anthony^
and others, fubdued their defires, and made, to
ufe their own expreffion, " the ftubborn animal
leave ofF kicking.'' The earlier Brachmanni
alfo preferved their continence, by abftaining
from
* Nee minus erucas aptum eft. vitare salaces,
t quicquid Veneri corpora noftra parat.
334 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
from animal food, covering themfelves with the
fkins of wild beafts, and lying on the ground
covered, as the redfhanks do on madder. " Hun-
ger," fays St. Ambrofe, " is the friend of virtue,
and the enemy of vice:" a courfe of bread and
water muft neceflarily tend to quiet the moft
violent perturbations. " And if thefe means will
not produce the defired effect, the unhappy fuf-
ferer," fays Crates^ " has only one refource a
halter" This, however, muft be jocofely ta-
ken j for what,abftinence denies, may ftill be ef-
fected by the exertions of reafon, and the fervency
of prayer. If, however, the patient be much de-
je&ed, low in bodily ftrength, and finking under
defpair, through grief, and too fenfible a feeling
of his fituation, a cup of wine, and more exhi-
larating diet, may be fafely adminiftered ; for a
lover who has, as it were, through impatience,
reduced himfelf below the regular ftandard of
his health, muft, like a wandering traveller, be
called to his proper home by the allurements of
mirth, and the incitements of good cheer. Ab-
ftinence, indeed, muft not be carried to excefs ;
a temperate and regular diet is all that is requi-
red. The effervefcence of the paflion muft by
this means be foftened and allayed. But it is by
the voice of reafon alone that the complaint can
be ultimately cured. The Athenian women,
in their /blemn feafts called Tbefmefbtrie^ were
to
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 335
to abftain nine tlays from animal food, during
which time, as Milan relates, they had a cer-
tain herb, called hanea, in their beds, which
afluaged the ardent flames of love, and freed
them from the torments of that violent paflion.
The ancient Scythians are faid to have cured
themfelves by bleeding copioufly under the ears.
But it was the abftinenrs which thefe remedies
created that produced the effecT:. The fever
of love may certainly rage fo fiercely through
the veins of particular patients, as to make ve-
nefe&ion neceflary ; for bleeding, as Avlcenna
obferves, u amantes ne fint amentes^ prevents
lovers from becoming mad." But the fyrup of
hellebore , and fuch other medicines as have
power to alter the humours of the blood, and
are ufually prefcribed for all difeafes accom-
panied with black choler^ will produce the
fame effect : for love, when heroic, is nothing
more than a particular fpecies of madnefs, and
mutt be cured by fimilar means.
But different minds for different methods call ;
Nor what cures most, will have effect on all.
Ev'n that which makes another's flame expire,
Perhaps may prove but fuel to your fire.
THE SECOND RULE, in the cure of this
difeafe, is obftare prlncipils^ to withftand the
beginning of it; for he who will but refift at
firft,
336 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
firft, may eafily be a conqueror at laft. " When
a youth," fays the judicious Baltazar Cajlillo^
" obferves a beautiful woman, and perceives his
eyes pull this image of perfection to his bofom,
and convey it to his heart j when he feels the
influence of this new power throughout his
frame, and finds the fubtle fpirit, which fparkles
in her eyes, adding increafe of fuel to the fpread-
ing flame; he muft immediately recall the retir-
ing powers of reafon, fortify his heart againft the
furrounding danger, and fhut up every avenue of
his foul through which the envenomed fhaft of
love can penetrate." Ovid alfo, in his remedy
for this difeafe, prefcribes the fame advice *.
While the soft passion plays about the heart,
Before the tickling venom turns to smart,
Break then, for then you may, the treach'rous dart.
Tear up the seeds of the unrooted ill
While they are weak, and you have power to kill.
Beware delay : the tender bladed grain
Shot up to ftalk can ftand the wind and rain.
Check love's first symptoms, the weak foe surprize,
Who, once intrench'd, will all your arts despise.
Slip not one minute ; who defers to-day,
To-morrow will be hardened in delay.
The
* Ariofto alfo breathes the fame fentiments on this fubjeft :
Whoe'er his feet on Cupid's fnares (hall fet,
Muft feek t' efcape, en the entangling net
His wings has caught; for fage experience tel{s,
Jn love extreme, extreme of maduefs dwells,
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 337
The patient, perhaps, cannot more effectual-
ly follow thefe falutary admonitions, than by
trufting the fecret of his paflion to the bofom of
a confidential and judicious friend; for, qut ta-
citus ardet magis uritur, the more he conceals
his fufferings, the more they will increafe. But
by all means he mould immediately remove from
the prefence of the beloved and fafcinating ob-
ject ; for who can too clo/ely approach a fire^
and not be burned ? The dalliance^ tender looks,
foft fpeeches, amiable fmiles, fweet graces, and
bewitching touches, which the prefence of the
infpiringmaid prefents to the eye, the ear, and all
the quickened fenfes of the enamoured youth, are
fo many gilded poifons to his peace, and will
prove more fatal than the tongue of the ferpent,
or the eye of the bafilifk. Immediate abfence,
therefore, is the only means of checking in its
earlieft ftage the progrefs of this infmuating dif-
eafe ; or of attaining that oblivion by which it
can be ultimately cured ; for as a view of pomp
renews ambition, fo does the fight or recollection
of the adored objet revive the feelings of heroic
love. Ovid) in fpeaking of the patients he had
cured by his remedies for love, fays,
One who quite thr^n^h his course had gone,
By living near his .uistress was undone :
Rashly his strength, ere well confirm'd, he trlesj
Too weak to stand th' encounter of her ej-es,
Z She
09 LOVE MELANCHOLY.
She met, and conquer'd with a single view,
And all his fresh skin'd wounds gush'd forth anew.
To save your house from neighbouring fire is hard ;
Distance from danger is the surest guard.
Alexander, who thought it more glorious and
worthy of a king to conquer himfelf than to
fubdue his enemies, appears to have been ex-
tremely fenfible of the danger to which the fight
of Statira, and her beautiful daughters, might
have expofed the tranquillity of his heart, when,
being informed that they were among the cap-
tives taken in the tent of Darius, he not only
refufed to vifit them, but forbid every man to
fpeak of their beauty in his prefence ; for, fays
Plutarch, formofam videre periculcjij/imum; the
fight of beauty is greatly dangerous. Cyrus
alfo obferved the fame caution, from the like
apprehenfion of danger, with refpect to the
beautiful Panthga, the wife of the captive
Abradatus. And if further illuftration of the
dangers to which the fight of beauty may ex-
pofe the moft virtuous heart were required,
we might refer to the well known ftory of the
continence of Scipio.
THE THIRD RULE, asthebeft, thereadieft,
and the fureft way to avoid the dangers of pre-
fence, is loci mutatio, to fend the lovers feveral
ways, fo that they {hall have no opportunity of
feeing
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 339
feeing or hearing of each other again. For
this purpofe, poets, divines, philofophers, and
phyficians, particularly Savanarola^ Gordonius^
and Laurentius^ exclaim, in unifon, like hounds
in full cry, " Elongatio a patria" " Mutet
" patriam." " Diftrahatur ad longlnquas re~
" giones" Send him to travel; for as time
and patience wear away grief, and fire goes
out for want of fuel, fo travelling is an anti-
dote to love.
Travel all you, who find your fetters strong ;
Set out betimes, and let your route be long;
And how much more reluctant you proceed,
Compel your feet to so much greater speed.
Advance; let nothing interrupt your way,
Nor wind, nor weather, nor unlucky day ;
Nor reckon time, nor once look back on Rome,
But fly, and, Parthian like, by flight o'ercome.
Rebellious love, if he perceives you halt,
With greater fury will renew the assault ;
Half famish'd passion will more fiercely prey,
And all your labours past be thrown away.
These precepts may seem hard, and so they are ;
But for dear health, who wo'uld not hardship bear?
Ifteus^ a philofopher of AJJyrla, was in his
youth fo difTolutely devoted to this heroic paflion,
that his heart was never free ; but, by the op-
portunities of travelling, the admonitions of his
friends, and the exertions of his own found under-
Z 2 ftanding.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
Handing, he completely refcued himfelf from the
talons of the harpy, and became, as it were, a
new man. The parents of the celebrated poet
PropertiuSy fent him for the fame caufe, and
\vith the fame effeft, to Athens. Godefridus tells
a ftory, out of St. Ambrofe^ of a young man
who, after a long abfence, meeting with an old
fweetheart, on whom he had doated to diftra&ion,
fcarcely noticed her j on which fhe immediately
told him who fhe was. " I know," replied he,
<l that you are the fame woman who once fub-
<c dued my heart ; but I am now not the fame man
<c who was fo fubdued." It was immediate flight
alone that faved Eneas from the captivating
charms" of Dido. Heinfius inculcates this ad-
vice, in his epiftle to his friend Pnm'ierus^ in a
manner equally laconic and humorous. " Firft
" faft," fays he; "then tarry; thirdly, change
" your fituation; and fourthly, think of a hal-
" ter: for if change of place, continuance of
" time, and abfence, will not efface the im-
" preflions of love, death alone can remove
them."
THE FOURTH RULE is to divert the affec-
tions into another channel, and by a greater
perturbation to drive aws r the lefs. The total
lofs of property, or the fudden acceflion to fome
high and unexpected honor, has frequently abated,
and
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 34!
and fometimes cured, the extravagance of love,
as the violent convulfions of a hiccup have
been appeafed and driven away by momentary
alarm and furprize. St. Jerome^ in his epiftle
to RuJlicitS) the monk, relates a ftory of a young
Grecian, who, while he refided in one of the Egyp-
tian monafteries, was fo afflicted with this heroic
paffton, that neither abftinence, abfence, travel-
ing, or perfuafion, could effect his cure. The
abbot, however, at length concerted a fcheme
with one of the monks that produced the effect.
The monk feizing a proper opportunity and oc-
cafion, entered into a violent and feemingly
ferious quarrel with the youthful lover; fixed
the reproach of robbery upon his character;
openly defamed him before all the fraternity;
and procuring pretended witnefles of the imputed
fact, made a formal accufation to the abbot,
which he pledged himfelf to fupport. The
youth, confcious of his innocence, but unable to
difprove the charge, wept inceflantly for feveral
days in all the agonies of grief; but wnen the
diforder into which he had been thrown, had
been fuffered for fome time to prevail, the ab-
bot undertook his defence, and, after (hewing
his innocence from the improbabilities of the
charge, weaned him from his new, and thereby
Cured him of his old affliction,
Z A FIFTH
34-2 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
A FIFTH RULE is to drive out one pafllon
by another; and by turning or fubdividing the
ftream of affe&ion into different channels, to
exhauft or diminifh it ; as a great river, when
made to fupply a number of canals, runs low,
and is at laft emptied. The maxim of Clavum
(lavo repellere^ was in high repute with the
heathen philofophers, who maintained that
E'en as one heat another heat expels,
Or as one nail by strength drives out another;
So all remembrance of a former love
Is by a newer object quite forgotten.
It operates like poifon againft poifon, each being
made to counteract the other.
Pan sighs for Echo o'er the lawn ;
Sweet Echo loves the dancing Faian ;
The dancing Faiun fair Lyda charms :
As Echo Pan's soft bosom warms,
So for the Faivn sweet Echo burns ;
Thus, all inconflant in their turns,
Both fondly woo, are fondly woo'd,
Pursue, and are themselves pursu'd ;
And as the woo'd slight those that woo,
So those who slight are slighted too.
I loved, fays Tatius, the charming Amie, until
I faw the lovely Flortat, but when I beheld the
beauties of my Cynthia, I fighed for her alone,
until the rofeate Phil/is caught my view, whofe
charms
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 343
charms would have fubdued my foul, if the di-
vine Amaryllis had not faved me. Oh ! divine
Amaryllis ^ how enchanting fhe appeared, until I
faw the all-excelling Claris^ to whom my heart
continued fixed, until I faw another, and another,
and fo on, always liking her beft whom I faw
laft.
The figure of each former love was thaw'd,
And, like a waxen image 'gainst a fire,
Bore no impression of the thing it was.
Triton, the fea god, was a lover of this defcrip-
tion, as the complaints of his inconftancy ut-
tered by Leucotboe') Milane^ Galatea^ and other,
nymphs, demonftrate,
Each nymph by turns his wavering mind possess'd,
And reign'd the short-liv'd tyrant of his breast.
One Cupid is generally defcribed contending
with others for THE GARLAND OF LOVE; and
an heroic lover who fees a variety of beautiful
women, will feldom fix his affe&ion for any
length of time on one alone. The garland is
continually 'fhifting its fituation, and lofing
fome portion of its ftrength and beauty at each
remove. Ovid^ therefore, gives his pupils the
following advice upon th*;> fubjedt,
If to excess you find your passion rise,
I would at once two mistresses advise.
Z 4 Divided
344 OF 10VE MELANCHOLY.
Divided care will give your mind relief ;
What nourish'd one, may starve the twins of grief.
Large rivers drain'd in many streams grow dry :
Withdraw its fuel, and the flame will die.
What ship can safely with one anchor ride.
With several cables she can brave the tide.
Who can at once two passions entertain,
May free himself at will from either chain.
The young man mentioned by Lucian^ who,
being very defperately in love with a beautiful
woman, went by chance to the theatre, where
feeing other fair objects equally beautiful, im-
mediately recovered, and returned home as free
from his former perturbations, as if he had drunk
the waters of Lethe, in the cave of Trophonius^
proves the efficacy of Ovid's advice. u Home-
" keeping youths," fays Sbakefpear^ " have
" ever homely wits;" but a free and extenfive
commerce with THE WORLD, inculcates a de-
gree of good fenfe, which cures this romantic
folly. A moufe, fays a fabulift, w^s brought
up in a chefl, and being fed in plenty upon
cheefe, conceived there could not be a better
kind of food; but at length efcaping from his
circumfcribed condition, and feeding luxuriously
as he wandered through the clofets of the opu-
lent, on a rich variety of viands, he loft his
former appetite for cheefe, and forgot the
pleafures of his original cheft. Plato^ in his
feventh
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 345
feventh book de Legikus, tells a pleafant ftory
to the like effeft, of a city under ground, the
inhabitants of which being furnifhed through
certain apertures with fmali portions of light,
conceived it was impoflible there fhould be any
other place equally capable of affording them
pleafure and delight; but when fome of them
emerged from their fubterranean darknefs, and
beheld the beauties of the broad and glorious
day, although they were at firft uncomfortably
dazzeled by its fuperior light, they foon difdained
the fancied felicities of their dark abode, and
(deplored the miferies of their concealed friends :
For he wants wit, that wants resolved will
To learn his wit t' exchange the bad for better.
A SIXTH RULE is to follow the advice, good
' counfel, and timely perfuafion of friends. Many
are of opinion, that in this blind, licentious paf-
fion, counfel can do no good ; but without quef-
tion, good counfel and advice muft needs be of
great force, efpecially if it proceed from a wife,
fatherly, revered, difcreet perfon, of fome au-
thority, whofe favor, and good opinion, the
fufferer ftands in awe of, and refpefts. The
kind advice of a fenfible friend muft, upon all
occaftons, have a great effet. Gordonius, the
phyfician, attributes to it fo powerful an influ-
ence, that he recommends its application in the
earlieft
346 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
earlieft ftages of the difeafe, or, at leaft, after
the firft fury of the paifion has abated by time
or abfence ; and, indeed, it is quite as ufelefs to
offer advice while the bofom is raging with its
fires, as it would be to adminifter confolation to
affe&ionate parents, who had juft loft an only
and beloved child ; but the moment the rays of
reafon begin to dawn, a friendly and temperate
reprefentation of the miferable and ruinous con-
fcquences that are likely to enfue from an indul-
gence of the prevailing defire, and of the high
advantages which may refult from fupprefling
it, may certainly be attended with very benefi-
cial effects ; for what Seneca has faid of vice,
may, with equal truth, be faid of this heroic
paiHon : Sine magiftro difcltur^ vix fine magiftro
deferitur-y it is acquired without inftru&ion, but
cannot be unlearned without a tutor. The ju-
dicious expoftulations of a kind friend, there-
fore, {hewing the unhappy fufferer the lamenta-
ble confequences that are likely to enfue from
an indulgence of the difeafe, and which the
blindnefs and fury of his paffion prevents him
from obferving by his own reflection,
Although it cannot quench his love's hot fire,
May qualify the fire's extremest rage,
And keep it ftill within the bounds of reason.
The
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 347
The conteft, on the part of the pupil, may
be difficult, but the prize to be obtained is
great ; for the lofs and gain are no lefs than the
pleafures of paradife or the pains of hell.
The beloved object muft be either chafte or
unchafte. If unchafte, let the advifer recom-
mend to the idolater of fuch a deity, to read the
affecting letter which Eneas Sylvius has ad-
dreffed to his deluded friend Nicholas of War-
tburge, where he will find the baleful character
on which he has fixed his affection defcribed in
its true light and genuine colours. " A bitter
delight, a gilded poifon, a brilliant mifchief, a
fplendid but certain mifery ; the mercenary cor-
rupter of his youth, the fpoiler of his fortune,
the ruin of his honor, and, perhaps, the de-
ftroyer of his life." But if this eloquent epiftle
Ihould produce no effect, let him perufe the
candid, but melancholy, confeffion of the peni-
tent Lucretia^ the celebrated Roman courtezan,
in which he will find that anger, envy, pride,
facrilege, theft, (laughter, and every difgrace-
ful and pernicious vice, were born on the day
when woman firft commenced the trade of har-
lotry : that the miferable wretches who purfue
this deeply mired path, are more tyrannical than
an Eaftern defpot, more malignant than a can-
cerous difeafe, more malicious than a fatyr, and
more
348 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
more rapacious and unprincipled than the devil
himfelf; and that if, from the beginning of
time, there ever was a chara&er fcandaloufly
bad, from the loweft to the higheft degree,
mala^ pejor^ peffima^ it is that abandoned, pro-
fligate and miferable character which the world
fo miftakingly calls a woman of pleafure. " O
* l Antonia" exclaims this miferable magdalen,
" how many virtuous youths have I configned
" to infamy and ruinj The human eye fees and
<c admires the outward fymmetry of my fine and
" faultlefs perfon ; but it is the Great Searcher of
<c all Truth alone that can difcover and fuffi-
tc ciently deteft the deformity of my mind. My
* c body, fair as it may feem, is a corrupted mafs.
** I am, alas ! the very fink of fin, and the im-
** pure puddle of all iniquity." Let, I fay, the
young idolater read thefe confeflions, and medi.
fate on the conferences of fuch connections*
The object, however, of his illicit flame may
he already A WIFE; the wife, perhaps, of this
egregious lover's friend ! If fo, let his advifer re-
prefent to him that the crime of adultery is worfe
than that of whoredom ; that it is an offence equally
forbidden by the commandments of God, and the
laws of the land ; abominable in the fight of his
Creator; deeply injurious to the happinefs of
his fellow-creature ; unfriendly to his own wel-
fare
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 349
fare in this world, and deftru&ive to his felicity
in that which is to come ; that it is, to ufe the
words of Shakefpear^
Such an aft
That blurs the grace and blush of modesty;
Calls Virtue hypocrite ; takes off the rose
From the fair forehead of an innocent love,
And sets a blister there ; makes marriage vows
As false as dicers' oaths: O such a deed
As from the very body of contradlion plucks
The very soul, and sweet RELIGION makes
A rhapsody of words. That Heaven's face doth glow ;
And this solidity and compound mass
With tristful visage, as against the doom,
Is thought-sick at the aft.
But if the object of his boiling pafllon be yet
chafte and unmarried, let the ad viler call forth
all his eloquence, and {hew, in Nature's ftrongeft
language, the more than mortal crime of vio-
lating, with unhallowed hands, the fandtity of
the facred temple of virgin innocence, and un-
fpotted truth !
Suppofe, however, that his views are upright,
and that he means to lead the object of his eager
love in honorable bands to the altar of connu-
bial Hymen*, ftill there is matter for deep and
ferious consideration. It muft_not be concluded
that the love is not heroic^ becaufe the god of
2 warm
350 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
warm defire may pierce the hearts, and the holy
prieft may join the hands of the uniting pair.
To form the truly nuptial tie, REASON muft
rule, and PASSION wait upon its di&ates. The
affetion which leads the heart to fuch a union,
muft be temperate, pure, and holy j founded on
congeniality of difpofition, fimilarity of fend-
ment, competency of fortune, equality of years,
lincerity of difpofition, virtuous principles, con-
fent of parents, and approbation of friends : and
even thefe advantages will fcarcely be fufficient
to fecure a permanent felicity, unlefs a ferious
fenfe of RELIGION, and love of GOD, be the
bails of the union. Let, therefore, the advifer
admonifh his pupil, before he thinks of ap-
proaching the SACRED ALTAR, to weigh feri-
oufly what it is he is about to perform ; and im-
prefs ftrongly on his mind, that matrimony is
the moft important al of a man or woman's
life ; that it is a holy league and covenant, en-
tered into in the fight of GOD, typifying the
union between our Saviour and his church ; and
not an amorous enterprife, to be lightly under-
taken, at the inftigation of unruly appetite,
but to be reverently, difcreetly, and foberly
formed, in the fear and face of Almighty God :
a contract in which the parties folemnlypromife
to forfake all others; to help, comfort, love,
cherifh, and obey each other, in all the various
profperities
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 351
profperities and adverfities of life; and to live
faithfully together, like Abraham and Sarab 3
Ifaac and Rebecca^ a pattern of conjugal fidelity
and delight. Lovers, therefore, before they
fettle their affections with a view to matrimony,
even if they be equal in years, birth, fortune,
and other correfpondent qualities, fhould refleS
feriouflyon what they are aboutto undertake. At
the moment their mutual paffions are declared,
each may appear unexceptionably perfect in the
other's eyes ; but reafon and p, udence will ex-
hort them to poftpone their union until time and
opportunity has made them thoroughly acquaint-
ed with each other's character. Whatever caa
poflibly be difcovered after, fhould be mutually
difclofed before the day of marriage, and nothing
referved which can poflibly tend to the idea of
difappointment or deceit. It is owing to fome
defedl: not previously made known, that the
happinefs of thofe heroic matches, which are
urged on by vehement defires, and formed upon
a fhort and fuperficial acquaintance, fo frequent-
ly terminate with the honey moon of love.
But let it be fuppofed that the intended bride is
really as lovely in her perfon as (he appears to
be -n. the admiring eyes of her lover, or as an
elegant formanim fpettator could exprefs; that
nothing could be added or detracted to render
her more complsat > that, like Alitna, in the
language
352 0~ LOVE MELAN'CHdLl*,'
language of Ariofto, and the opinion of Dolce,
fhe is a perfect beauty ; he has yet to confider
whether, when time fhall rifle all the blooming
graces of this charming flower, he can ftill
remain contented with her temper and her mind.
In mort, lovers muft have opportunity to fee
each other angry, merry, laughing, weeping,
hot, cold, fick, fullen, drefied, undrefied, in
all attires, fcites, attitudes, geftures, and paf-
fions, before they can denote the ftamp and
character they reciprocally poffefs; or refolve,
with prudence, whether they are formed to
make each other happy. Leander fwam nightly
over the Hellefpont from Abydus, to converfe
with his beloved Hero^ the prieftefs of the
temple of Venus at Seftos; but being acciden-
tally furprifed by a ftorm, he was unable to refift
the turbulence of the waves, arid was drowned.
The inhabitants of Sejlos confecrated the illu-
mined Pharos of the temple to jfnteros^ and or-
dained that none but lovers who made a prudent
choice mould light up the flame ; but the temple,
it is faid, continued ever after involved in dark-
nefs. Notwithftanding, however, all the dif-
ficulties and dangers which furround this im-
portant election, BATCHELORS are continually
wifhing
Once 'ere they die to taste the blisful life .
Of a kind husband and a loving wife.
And
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 353
And every VESTAL VIRGIN crying Heigh-ho for
a hufband ! O blifsful marriage ! Oh moft happy
ftate ! But, alas ! when they have effe&ed it,
their ufual fate is like that of the fickle birds
in the emblem, who, while they were left at
liberty to fly in and out of their gaudy cage at
pleafure, were perfe&ly contented; but when
the door was clofed, and confinement had taken
place, pined into fullennefs, or beat themfelves
to death againft the wires of their .reftraint. War
and matrimony are noble things until they are
tried, but both require great courage, infinite
caution, and good management, to be continued
with pleafure. Dangerous, however, as pre-
mature marriage certainly is, if neither one, nor
all the rules before laid down, fhould be at-
tended with the defired effect of curing the
heat and extravagancy of heroic love^ recourfe
muft be had to the laft refuge, or
THE SEVENTH RULE, which is, to let the
parties have their will, and join their hands,
according to their wifhes and defires. A better
cure for this bitter malady, quam ut amanti
cedat amatum^ cannot be invented by Efculapius
himfelf. But, alas! although this ultimate pre-
fcription may lead to extinguim the virulence of
the complaint, it will not always infure the
happinefs of the complainant. And, indeed,
A a there
354 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY,
there are many obftacles by which the admi-
niftration of it may either totally, or for a
time, be prevented.
FIRST, To adminifter this remedy with any
hope of fuccefs, both the parties muft be of the
fame mind, which is not always the cafe. A
lover, particularly a female of delicate fenfibi-
lity, is fometimes, either from modefty, or a
fear of being repulfed, as unwilling to con-
fefs the fecret of her heart, as me is willing to
cherim the latent flame; as was the cafe with
the fair Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward the
Fourth^ with refpeft to Henry of Richmond r ,
who afterwards, by difcovering her affection,
and accepting of her hand, united the rival rofes
of York and Lancajler, and fupprefled, in the
arms of love *, the deadly feuds of war. And
many a modeft maiden is, perhaps, in a fimilar
predicament. But thofe who love, and have
addrefs enough to make their paflion known,
may not be beloved again ; for Cupid, that
mifchievous and malignant boy,
Two different (hafts from his rich quiver draws;
One to repel desire, and one to cause.
One
* Sec the empaflioned fpeech which is faid to have been made
by the Lady Elizabeth when Henry was proclaimed kin^,
Speed's Chronicle.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 355
One shaft is pointed with refulgent gold,
To bribe the love, and make the lover bold :
One blunt, and tipt with lead, whose base allay
Provokes disdain, and drives desire away.
And experience daily verifies the truth of
this conceit. The more Chorefus loved Callyr-
rhoe y the more he felt her increafmg hate. The
fair one is not always in a humour to be wooed ;
or, if pleafed with courtfhip, not in a humour
to be won. Coquetry and caprice, perhaps,
miflead her mind ; and her beating heart fecretly
denies the accents of her tongue : me declares
her determination not to marry, or at leaft not
yet j and, when continued importunities has
exhaufted her evafions, Ihe at laft informs her
lover that, though he is well intitled, by his
merits, to her choice, he is not the man with
whom me can be happy. But mere caprice,
and fentimental whim, are not the only impedi-
ments in forming the nuptial league; the want
of fufficient beauty, fortune, birth, and ftation,
on the part of the lovers, and the fuggeftions of
pride, or the workings of envy, on the part of
the beloved, are frequently the grounds on
which the heroic fair decline to give their
hands. A young lady of elevated notions, whofe
fortune and beauty are, or fancied to be, equal
to thofe which her mother, her lifter, or other
A a 2 well-
356 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
well-married female friends poflefledj expects,
of courfe, to make as good a match as either of
them, or as Matilda, or Dorinda, or Serephina,
or any other dame with founding name had
made, facrificing the ideas of domeftic comfort
to the oftentatious parade of public fhew. But
thefe high afpiring females, while they boggle
thus at every object, and ftrive fo eagerly to
poflefs the toy of grandeur, or detain the tongue of
adulation, lofe the chances upon which they fo
fondly reckon, and become the fcorn of thofe who
before hailed them with their love. There are alfo
many young men equally obftinate, tyrannical,
proud, infulting, deceitful, and over curious in
their choice: and thus it is that, by endeavouring
to gratify the VICES which in general form the
bafis of the heroic pajjlon, inftead of following
the fuggeftion of thofe VIRTUES on which
nuptial love can alone exift, lovers obftrudt the
union from which they expect fuch exalted hap-
pinefs ; and by improperly contemning others,
not only become contemned themfelves, but
are, at length, obliged to accept of offers far
inferior to thofe they have before rejected. Like
the proud mare, in Plutarch, who refufed to
draw with any but the greateft and the nobleft
horfes, until, in the courfe of time, perceiving,
by the reflection of the water into which (he went
to drink, that the flowing beauties of her creft
no
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 357
no longer remained, fhe fuffered herfelf to be
harnefled to an afs. Volat irrevocable tempus ;
fuch vain and foolifti women wander, in their
proud conceits r from a garden of rofes into a wafte
of thiftles; and, by negle&ing the proper time
to take the honey off the flowers, are at length
obliged to put up with the bitternefs of the weeds.
But to facrifice the faireft profpe&s of connubial
happinefs to the more glittering and ambitious
views of fplendor and riches, is a fault more
frequently attributable to the avarice and pride
of parents, than to the love of oftentation in
their children, as we fhall hereafter fhew. Some-
times, indeed, the affection of the perfon be-
loved is really and irrevocably fixed upon ano-
ther ; and this is the moft unconquerable and
difaftrous impediment to the enjoyments of he-
roic love. In fuch cafe, the only remedy the
difappointed lover can apply, is wifely and wari-
ly, by the means before mentioned, to unwind
the cords he has twifted around his heart, and,
by unfettling his affe&ions, to fet himfelf free ;
to bear it bravely out, with a kind of heroic
fcorn, as Turnus did when he refigned Lavlnia
to the arms of Eneas-) or elfe with a mild fare-
well, to let her go as the fox in the fable did
the grapes, when he perceived they were
out of his reach. But let us fuppofe a mutuus
an interchange of love and mutual affec-
A a 3 tion,
358 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
tion, and the parties to be reciprocally difpofed
to receive each other's hand, yet other ob-
ftacles may interpofe to prevent the union;
for,
SECONDLY, to adminifter the remedy of
marriage with proper effect, it is necefiary tq
have the confent of parents or guardians, from
whom objections refpecling difparity of birth or
fortune are more likely to arife than from heroic
lovers themfelves, who, in general, in forming
this connection, defpife thofe properties, which
the world confider wife and prudent. The laws
of ancient Rome, and, till lately, of modern
Italy and France^ difregarding the mutual af-
fection of the parties, the equality of their ages,
the extent of their fortunes, or the excellency of
their education, were fo ftrict in preferving the
nobility from degeneration, that the union of a
plebeian with a noble was abfolutely void. The
fame practice now prevails in Germany^ where a
jiobleman muft marry a noble woman, a baron
match with a baron's daughter, a knight with
the offspring of a knight, and gentlemen with
gentlewomen ; forting, as it were, their de-
grees and families, as Haters do their feveral
kind of flates. But why fhould the intercourfes
of happinefs be checked by fuch fevere reftraints,
and pride-formed cuftoms ?
Far
OF LOVE MELANCIJCaY. 359
Far other maxims forms our state ;
Where orders, mix'd of 'LOW and GREAT,
Compose th' harmonious frame.
Firm hath the mighty fabric stood,
And BRITAIN boasts her mingled blood
In many a deathless name.
The charms that softens manly grace,
The ray that beams in woman's face,
The sympathy of mind,
Denote (vvhate'er their various lot,
Whether A PALACE or A COT)
The mates by Heaven design'd.
The more rational and generous laws of
England^ indeed, impofe no reftraints upon the
freedom of marriage, but thofe which the pru-
dence of a parent may think proper to exercife,
in order to prevent the indifcretion of his infant
children ; for whoever has attained the age of
maturity, may follow, without controul, the in-
clination of their hearts.. The controul, how-
ever, which is thus given to parents and guar-
dians for the fafety, benefit and protection of
children, is fometimes exercifed with unpardon-
able rigour. The parties, if one be rich and the
other poor, are faid to be unequal ; and, durum*
pater , a covetous, hard-hearted father will, on
this account, frequently impede their union. Some-
times, indeed, when both the parents of the
loving couple are inordinately rich, confent is
refufed, or at leaft the match fufpended,
A a 4 While
360 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
While house for house, and grounds for ground;,
And mutual bliss in balanc'd pounds,
Each parent's thought employ :
Which, summed by Avarice's sordid rules,
Forms, in the notion of these fools,
Love's most substantial joy.
Confent, indeed, is Ibmetimes refufed, though
the parents be rich, merely from a miferly dif-
pofition, which old folks but too generally pof-
fefs, and which willingly fabricates any excufe,
rather than part with a fhilling from their
hoards, although it delay, or perhaps deftroy,
their childrens' happinefs. A confcious ftiame,
indeed, of not being able, upon fuch occafions,
to unlock the coffers of avarice, for the purpofe
of contributing the expected portion, will fome-
times induce an unnatural parent to refufe his
confent, even when the more generous parents of
the other party confent to poftpone its payment
until the death of the objecting father.
Their peevish age, their gloomy pride,
Their churlish avarice dare divide
Those links which powerful draw
To union dear congenial loves;
And blaming oft what God approves^
Make tyranny their law.
Parents of this defcription alfo, are but too apt
to force their children, by the threat of difm r
heritance, to facrifice the inclinations of their
hearts
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 361
hearts to the acquifition of fortune. Sons like
packhorfes, and daughters like empty boats,
muft, in fuch cafes, however difagreeable it may
be, carry whatever burdens their refpe&ive pa-
rents {hall pleafe -to impofe. ** In forming the
matrimonial contract," fays Plato, " affinity to
poor folks fhould never be avoided, nor connec-
tion with the rich too induftrioufly fought after;
for poverty and low parentage may be amply
eompenfated by the fuperior qualifications of
modefty, virtue, religion, and choice bringing
up." To facrifice every confideration to the
poffeffion of wealth, is not only ungenerous, but
unjuftj fomething (hould be given to love, to
wifdom, to beauty, and to virtue. Parents are
in fuch cafes the arbiters of their childrens' fate;
they fhould confider that love is of a nature not
to be eafily controlled ; that the union of con-
genial hearts is the work of heaven ; and that it
were better to hang a millftone round both par-
ties necks, and plunge them in the fea, than to
clog their unconfenting minds with the chains
of matrimony. Affection is free, and cannot be
commanded. v A fervant maid, having unfortu-
nately fallen in love with her miftrefs's minion,
her miftrefs, in a fit of jealoufy, dragged her by
the hair of her head along the floor, while the
poor girl juftly exclaimed, " O, madam, for-'
* c tune has made my body your fervant, but not
i my
362 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
<c my mind!" But parents, iniqui patres^ meafure
their childrens' affe&ions by their own, and be-
ing now cold and decrepid, paft all fuch youth-
ful conceits, they are difpofed to ftarve their
childrens' genius, ftifle nature in their young
bloods, and deprive them of the rightful pleafures
of love and matrimony, except the match can
be moulded into money. Let them, however,
confider the miferies which attend upon forced
marriages, and pity the quick and impatient feel-
ings of the youthful heart.
Free should the sons of freedom wed
The maid, by equal fondness led ;
Nor, heaping wealth on wealth,
Youth pine in age's withered arms,
Deformity polluting charms,
And sickness blasting health.
It was the opinion of Scyfacides, that " To
c< marry a daughter to a man of underftanding
" in due time, is the weightier}, matter a parent
<c can have to perform ;" and Lemnlus advifes
all fathers to confent to the firft eligible pro-
pofal, as one important means of preventing
the melancholy confequences of heroic love:
and unqueftionably thofe who refufe confent to
the marriage of minors from finifter or improper
motives, become refponfible for all the mifchiefs
and miferies that may enfue. For frequently,
if they refufe,
With
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. .363
With torch inverted Hymen stands,
While Furies wave their livid, braads,
With Horror and Dismay !
Soft Fity "drops the melting tear;
And lustful Satyrs* grinning-leeY,
Wait for their destin'd prey.
For NATURE will assert her claim :
1 Thine, rigid father, thine 'the blame,'
If injurd beauty stray:
Thou shouldst have heard the lover's voice, -
^pprov'd arjd sanctify 'd the choice,
Nor curs'd the bridal day. ff
Thofe of the (exes whofe age t of dilcretion en-
ables them to follow their own inclinations, may
do well to attend to ' Plautus, who ftrongly re-
commends rich men to marry poor wives, as
the moil certain means of acquiring content and
happinefs ; women, in general, being prefumptu-
ous in proportion to the fortunes they poflefs.
Eubulides laid his fortune at the feet of beauty,
and was happy. A fweet temper, a feeling
heart, an improved underftanding, a virtuous
difpofition, and a competent fhare of beauty,
are, indeed, qualifications in a female greatly
fuperior to any advantages the mere pofleftion of
money can procure. The virtuous Ruth^ who,
after the death of her hufband Mahlon^ to whom
flie had conducted herfelf with exemplary ten-
dernefs and affedtion, left her family, her friends,
and the place of her nativity, in the country of
364 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
Moaby in order that, by her youth and induftry,
/he might relieve the diftrefles of her aged
and forlorn mother-in-law Naomi y in Bethlehem-
Judab) where, endeavouring to gain a fcanty
pittance, by the labours of gleaning in the bar-
ley fields of the opulent Boaz^ her modeft vir-
tues and humble demeanor attra&ed the attention
of the mafter of the fields, who, hearing all
that fhe had done to aflift her old and im-
poveriflied parent, became enamored of her
merits, and wifely facrificing the pride of fta-
tion, and the pomp of riches, to the more
valuable enjoyments of domeftic comfort, and
conjugal felicity, made her his wife. At8enais t
the daughter of Leartius, the Athenian philo,-
fopher, poflefled fuch excellent endowments both
of perfon and of mind, that her father diftri-
buted his wealth among his other children, and
left her only her own merit for a dowry. To
procure her fubfiffence, her friends placed her
as a female attendant on Pukheria^ the em-
peror's fifter, at Conjiantlnople^ by whom fhe
was baptized under the name of Eudocia, and
introduced, as her favorite, to Theodofius himfelf :
but the modefty of her manners, and the hu-
mility of her ftation, inftead of obfcuring, dif-
played her merits fo advantageoufly, that they
foon attracted the attention of the emperor,
who, with his filler's approbation, afterwards
made
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 365
made her his wife, and placed her on his throne:
a noble example of the wife and proper ufe of
riches and power ! That the grace and virtue
of an amiable woman, and good wife, are fu-
perior to riches, was the language of the golden
age. Panjanias relates that Danaus, of Lace-
demonta^ having feveral daughters, on each of
whom he was enabled to beftow a handfome
fortune, inftcad of delaying their nuptials, as
other opulent parents were in the habit of doing,
in expedition of procuring them rich connec-
tions, fent for a number of worthy but un-
portioned youths, and defired each daughter to
choofe him fne likedbeft for her hufband ; a con-
duct which even in thofe times received the
higheft applaufe. But in this iron age of ours, we
refpec"l riches alone ; and a lovely girl, before
{he can become a wife, muft be in a condition
to purchafe a hufband. The love of money,
however, is not the only impediment to be met
with in palling from the bowers of LOVE to
the groves of HYMEN. Pride, vain-glory, and
ambition, are frequently as great obftacles to
connubial happinefs, as avarice itfelf. The only
daughter of a yeoman muft, to pleafe an am-
bitious parent, be united only to a fquire: a
fquire's daughter muft not marry any perfon in-
ferior to the fon of a baronet; and the daughter
of a knight muft become my lady^ or her grace t
by
366 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
by referring her richly portioned hand for fome
decayed baron or impoverifhed duke. Fathers,
by thus ftriving to do honour to their wealth,
undo the happinefs, and fometimes the honor, of
their children. But this difpofition will no't
authorife children, efpecially females, to ven-
ture, though of age, upon this important choice,
without their parents' approbation. " A woman/ 1
fays St. Ambrofe, in his eloquent commentary on
the efpoufals of Ifaac and Rebecca, " {hould
u give unto her parents the choice of a huf-
" band, left fhe be reported wanton and for-
" ward, by making it herfelf; for flie fliould
" rather feem to be defired by a man, than to
defire him herfelf."
THIRDLY, There is an opinion prevailing 1 ,
that only thofe who are rich, and amply able to
fuftain the cofts and charges of a matrimonial life,
fhould marry, left the world fhould be filled with
beggars ; but thofe who entertain fuch a notion,
are not only cruel to their fpecies, but enemies to
their country. The true riches and ftrength of
every country confift in its population ; and if
England had become plethoric with inhabitants,
it might increafe its ftrength by multiplying its
colonies. The greater part of the globe is yet
unpeopled ; and America, Africa, and Terra Auf-
tralis Incognita, might be ferved by fending them
our
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 367
our fupernumerary hands. The king of the if-
land of Maragan being told, that numbers of
monks, friars, nuns, and other characters
throughout Europe, lived in celibacy, treated the
information as an unfounded tale, conceiving it
impoflible that rational creatures fhould live
without wives. The wifeft legiflators have
ever framed their ordinances for the encourage-
ment of matrimony, and promotion of the holy
precept, " increafe and multiply j" giving rich
rewards, and extenfive privileges, to thofe who
have many children; and condemning, under hea-
vy penalties, all who, after a certain age, neglect
or refufe to marry. Boeiius obferves, that in
many countries a man who died unmarried was
accounted miferable, or at molt, like our modern
BACHELORS, infortunio felix, unhappy in their
imaginary happinefs.
FOURTHLY, There is another defcription of
characters, who, although they poflefs fufficient
wealth to fupport, in proper fplendor, all the
expences of a married life, are fo delicate and
fqueamifh upon the fubject, that they willingly
endure all the pains and penalties of heroic love,
in their vagrant and difhonorable connections,
rather than fubmit to try this fovereign remedy.
The emperor Theophilus was a character of this
defcription ; for, though his mother Euprofune^
to
368 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY*
to difentangle his heart from the chains of illrck
love, prefented, at once, to his view, in the great
chamber of his palace, all the faireft beauties of
the empire, that he might give the golden apple
to her he liked beft, he could not be induced to
make choice of a wife. Another refined and fen-
timental feel: refufe to marry, becaufe, in their
opinion, matrimony is only a matter of money; and
the freedom of nature ought not to be intrenched
or confined, by the manacles of property, to this
or that particular man or woman.
FIFTHLY, There is another fet of characters
who heroically love, admire, and follow women
all their lives, fponfi Penelopes^ who are never
happy, except they are in the company of thefe
charming idols, gazing with raptures on their
beauties, obferving all their geftures, dangling
after them, and dallying with them, but who
either fearfully dare not, or obftinately will not,
tafte the fweet joys of matrimonial life.
SIXTHLY, There are alfo men, efpecially of
the poorer fort, who are fo diftruftful of the
bounteous providence of the Almighty, that they
refrain from matrimony for fear of worldly care,
and its fuppofed attendants, woe, mifery, or, what
is worfe, of meeting with a vixen, fcold, flut,
or other annoying character, and without being
able
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 369
able to fhake her off again, and therefore, they
refolve, like Epamlnondas^ tollvefelus cum fola,
neither married nor (ingle; or abjure, like Hip~
) the company of women.
,
. SEVENTHLY, Some make a doubt, an uxor
liter ato fit ducenda^ whether a fcholar fhould'
marry, betaufe. there' is fome danger, if his wife
be fair, .that (he may bring ; him back : from his
grammar to his horn-book ; confound his fenfes
by her fcolding, if (he be crofs; or impede his
ftudies by her dalliance, 1 if flie be kind i for that
he cannot, as the great Brunoniaa doctor, Bero-
aldu$) once obferved, ' attend conjointly to his
works and to his wife. The'error, however, of
this notion is fully 'refuted by the folemn and
formal recantation of the do6lor himfelf. The
facl: is related by him in his commentaries on
the fixth book of 'Apuleius. " I lived," fays this
candid commentator, u a long timefingle, unable
to endure even the idea of a wife;" but, to ufe
his own words, " erraticus ac volattcus amator^
per tnultiplices amores difcurrebamj' which, in
the language of a modern poet, we may conftrue,
*' at large did rove
" Free and unfetter'd through the wilds of love."
" Nay, I railed againft the marriage rite; and
" in a public lecture on the fixth fatire of Juve-
B b " nat,
373 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
" wfl/j heaped together out of Seneca and Plu-
" tarch) all the fevereft ditferies I could find a-
" gainft the characters of women ; but I now
" recant with Ste/icborus y Palinodiam cano^ nee
" paenitet cenferi in or dine mar it or um ; I approve
" of marriage : I am glad that I am a married
" man: I am heartily glad I have a wife, fb
" fweet a wife, fo noble a wife, fo young, fo
" chafte a wife, fo loving a wife; and I do ex-
" hort and defire all other men, efpecially fcho-
" lars, to marry; that, as of old Martia did to
<l HtrtcnfiuS) Terentia to Tully, Calphurnia to
" Pliny^ and Prudenlilla to Apuleius, their wives
u may hold the lamp* to them while they read
" or write, as my dear Camilla now does to
" me" However averfe, therefore, men may
be to matrimony; however they may rail and
feoff agaiaft the character of a wife, to this com-
plexion, as Hamlet fays, " they muft come at laft."
Let him whip doubts read the fublime and elo-
quent treatifes oiBarbarus^ Lemnlus^ Godeffidus^
NevlfamiS) Tunjlal^^n^ Erafmu-$, in honor of the
fex, and they will foon be fatisfied, recant with
Beroaldus^ do penance for their former folly,
fmg a penitential fong, defire to be reconciled to
the deity of almighty love, go a pilgrimage to
his ihrine, facrifice upon his altar, and be as
willing
.
" legentibus et meditantibus candclas ct candelabum
tenuerunt.
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 371.
willing at laft to embrace marriage as the reft of
mankind. The love-contemning Valentine ex-
perienced this common fate ; and, when his
friend Protheus taunted him with being wearied
by a tale of love, he thus candidly confefled the
error of his heart :
Aye, Protbeus, but that life is alter'd now ;
me
With mighty tears, and daily, heart-sore sighs :
For in revenge of my contempt of love,
Love hath chas'd sleep from my inthralled eyes,
And made them watchers of mine own heart's sorrow.
6, gentle Protbeui, LOVE 's a mighty lord,
And hath so humbled me, that, I confess,
There is no woe to his correction,
Nor to his service no such JOY on earth.
I wifh, in fhort, to fee riot only all the noble
race of generous youth, but all the feverer families
of Jloicks and old batchelors^ fubmit their grave
beards and fupercilious looks to the gentle clippings
and compofing fmiles of a good-natured and cheer-
ful wife. For matrimony, the moft neceflary and
ufeful action of human fociety, is a perpetual
fountain of domeftic fweets. " Blefled is the
man," fays Solomon^ " that hath a virtuous wife;
for the number of his days fhall be double :" and
experience, upon this occafion, confirms the fay-
Bb 2 ing
372 OF LOVE MELANCHOLY.
ing of wifdom., A man unwived wanders through
the world, to and fro, mournful and dejected.
Woman,, charming woman, is the fole joy and
only true comfort of a man's life.
Our grandsire Adam, ere of E<ve possess'd,
Alone, and ev'n in Paradise unbless'd,
With mournful l.ook the. dismal scene survey'd,
And wandered m the solitary shad :
The .Maker saw, took' pity, and bestow'd
WOMAN, the last arid best received of God.
.
" A virtuous wife," fays'the great Lord Bacon,
" is to .young man, amjftrefs; to a middle-
aged man, a companion; , to an old man, a nurfe;
and at al} feafons, a friend." The world, amidft
all its fafcinating .deii'ghts, produces no pleafure
equal to that which ii good wife is capable of
affording. She is ftfll a kind comforter in the
pains of ficknefs, and in the pleafures of health;
no adverfity can feparate her from her beloved
and loving hufband ; fhe is ever ready to partici-
pate in his joys, and to fhare with him in his
forrows: joys, in fhort, renew wherever fhe ap-
pears, and MELANCHOLY flies from her ap-
proach. Admetus^ king of Tbejfaly^ when in the
agonies of death, was informed by the oracle,
that if he could procure another to die in his
ftead, he might ftill live: but, alas! his afflicted
parents, his deareft friends, his firmed follow-
ers,
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 373
ers, all reifufed to fubmit to the deftiny that was
to fave the life of a foh, a fovereign, and a
friend; and he was configned to his impending
diflblution, until the voice of fate was rumoured
in the ear of h is affectionate wife, who, ftill bloom-
ing with youth and beauty, cheerfully refigned
her life to fave that of her expiring hufband.
This is riot a fingular inftance of the fmcerity
of cdnjugal affection ; many inftances might be
quoted ; but one more, related by Fulgofus^ may
fuffice to fhow how powerfully a gctod and vir-
tuous wife can command the love and affection
of a hufband. A young countryman of the king-
dom of Naples^ following his plough near the
ftiores of the fea, obferving that his wife, who
was walking on the beach, had been fuddenly
carried away by Mauritanian pirates, ran preci-
pitately to the ocean, and inftantly plunging into
the waves, fwam fwiftly after the veffel, calling
on thofe aboard to return his beloved wife, or to
take him with them as her fellow prifoner, for
that he would rather be a galley-flave, and en-
dure the fevereft mifery, than be deprived of her
company. The Moors put about the Ihip, took the
difconfolate hufband on board, and, {truck with
fo extraordinary an inftance of conjugal conftan-
cy, related, on their arrival at Tunis, the whole
affair to the governor, whofe mind, ferocious as
it was upon other occafions, was fo affected by
Bb 3 the
374 OF LOV E MELANCHOLY.
the feelings of thefe faithful lovers, that he not
only gave them their liberty, but granted them
a perifion fufficient to maintain them in decent
independence for the remainder of their lives.
After inftances like thefe, no further evidence
can be required to prove the tranfcendent felicity
which a proper choice is capable of conferring
on the marrjage (late. I mall, therefore, con-
clude thefe obfervations on the cure of Lov?
Melancholy, by fincerely wifhing, that on next
Falentine's Day a univerfal BANNS might be
publicly proclaimed ; that every unmarried man
and maiden might at once make hands at the al-
tar of connubial love; and that God, of his in-p
finite goodnefs and mercy, might grant all WOR-
THY BACHELORS and VIRTUOUS SPINSTERS
faithful wives and loving hufbands: the hoft of
flymen finging
THE EPITHALAMIUM.
MAY every couple experience unceafing feli-
city, and increafing joy ; their choice be fortu-
nate, and their union happy: may they excel
in gifts of body and of mind; be equal in years,
in temper, in lovelinefs, and love: may the bride
be as fair as Helen^ and as chafte as Lucretia \
and the bridegroom as fond as Cbarlnus^ and
more
OF LOVE MELANCHOLY. 375
more conftant than the dove. May the Mufes fmg
and the Graces dance, not only on their wed-
ding-day, but throughout their lives. May the
links of their affection fo knit their hearts with
the unflipping knot of love, that no uneafmefs
or anger may ever befal them ; and every rifmg
fun hail the happy pair in the language of Theo-
critus :
Good morrow, master Bridegroom, mistress Bride;
Many fair lovely beams to you betide :
Let VENUS your fond mutual love insure,
And SATURN give you riches to endure :
Long may you sleep in one another's arms,
Inspiring sweet desire, and free from harms.
Bb 4
376 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH.
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
beauty, fplendor, and divine majefty
* of THE ALMIGHTY, are fo infinitely
great and confpicuous, fhihe with fuch admira-
ble but unfpeakable luftre throughout his works,
and fill the finite mind of man with fuch awful
reverence of his goodnefs and his power, that all
rational beings, whofe minds are untainted, and
whofe hearts are pure, croud around his throne
with pious gratitude and humble adoration. This
ardent love of God, which is the unavoidable
refult of reafon and reflection, is the origin of
RELIGION; and when properly exercifed, with
fincerity of devotion, and in holinefs of life,
leads its votaries, armdft all" the cares and vexa-
tions of a fafcinating world, through the paths
of VIRTUE, to the higheft bowers of terreftrial
blifs.
- But MAN, proud man,
Dre^s'd in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd,
His glassy essence,
inftead of following the dictates of found and
unpolluted reafon, mifraking his true road to
happinefs, and fuffering himfelf, like the centaur
Of
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 377
of PlatO) to be hurried away headlong by a tor-
rent of wild defires and corrupt .affections,
Like an angry ape,
Plays such phantastic tricks before high heav'n
As make the angels weep :
until^ falling into the vices of ATHEISM, or the
errors of IDOLATRY and SUPERSTITION, and
their attendant mifchiefs, he finks, by degrees,
under the increafing weight of a perturbed mind,
and guilty confcience, into all the horrors of
melancholy and defpair.
Perpetual anguish fills his impious breast,
Not stopp'd by business, nor compos'd by rest:
No music cheers him, and no feasts can please j
He sits like discontented DAMOCLES,
When by the sportive tyrant wisely shown
.The dangerous pleasures of a flatter'd throne.
Sleep quits his eyes : or, when with cares pppress'd,
His wearied mind sinks tir'd into rest,
Dire dreams invade : his injur'd GOD appears,
Arm'd with fork'd thunder, and awakes those fears
Which (hake his soul, and as they boldly press,
. Bring out his crimes, and force him to confess
The worm of conscience frets his recreant blood :
In every fit he feels the hand of God
And heav'n-born flame ; but drown'd in deep de-
spair,
He dares not offer one repenting prayer,
Nor vo.w one victim to preserve his breath ;
For
3/8 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
For how can HOPE with desperate guilt agree,
Or PEACE reside with dark impiety J
An ATHEIST, indeed, muft ultimately feel
the keeneft miferies ; for while, like the repro-
bate Barnadlne^ he " apprehends death no more
<c dreadfully than as a drunken fleep; equally
" carelefs, recklefs, and fearlefs, of what is
<c paft, prefent, and to come; infenfible of mor-
** tality, yet defpairingly mortal ;" he fquares
his life to the narrow limits of his mind, and ex-
hibits in his conduct a correfponding courfe of
felfifh profligacy and daring vice; and vice and
profligacy are always miferable. There are, in-
deed, thofe who openly deny the exiftence of
their Creator, and profefs a high fenfe of virtue,
a veneration for focial duty, and a difapprobation
of the felfim paflions, while they proclaim, in the
refinement of ralfe PHILOSOPHY, that the order
of the univerfe is owing to NATURE and
CHANCE : but as Mlnutius and Seneca well ob-
ferve, thefe curious reafoners do not underftand
the import of their own expreflions ; for as na-
ture is nothing more than the ordinary means by
which the ALMIGHTY difplays his power, and
chance the mere effect of his unrevealed will,
they admit, by attributing his works to thefe
fources, the very exiftence of that power which
they affect fo anxioufly to deny. There may
be
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 379
be fome eloquence, but there is certainly no
TRUTH in the writings of fuch men, who,
blinded by their love of learning, and their fond-
nefs for new opinions, exhibit, like Belleropbon^
their own condemnation, while they vainly
imagine they are conveying intelligence and
new light to mankind.
They think that CHANCE rules all, that NATURE
steers
The moving seasons, and turns round the years :
They run from shrine to shrine, and boldly swear,
But keep no faith, because they know no fear.
Others doubtlngly profefs religion ; and becaufe
a vaft variety of ftrange and fantaftic do&rines
have prevailed in the world, they infer that
every religion is equally falfe ; but this is reafon-
ing from the abufe of a thing againft the ufe of
it. Others cavil againft the Scripture itfelf,
becaufe they cannot reconcile to their contract-
ed notions, the ordinary difpenfations of PROVI-
DENCE in the diftribution of good and evil:
while others maintain that God is alligatus cau-
fis fccundis, fo tied to fecond caufes, to that in-
exorable NECESSITY, that he can alter nothing
he has once decreed. But thefe fceptics, while
they affet only to doubt, in fact, deny the ex-
jftence of GOD.
So
'380 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
So (huts the moping bird of night
Her feeble eyes against the light,
That glads the cheerful day ;
And when prevailing darkness reigns,
Through groves obscure, and dreary plains,
She wings her dubious way.
Others admit the exigence of the DEITY, a
future irate of rewards and punifhments, and
profefs the doctrines of Christianity, but are fo
attached to the pleafures of the world, that they
feem to have loft all fenfe of moral duty and
religious obligation, and give themfelves up fo
entirely to vice, that, in the language of St.
Paul-, " they work all manner of fin even with
.greedinefs." Infenfible of the charms of virtue,
and carelefs of the confequences of vice, -they
follow the dream of pleafure with lethargic
thoughtleflhefs, without once appearing to re-
t coller, that the day will at laft come, when
they muft give an account of all their actions
in the.prefence of the MOST HIGH. Others,
like Machiavely make religion the inftrument
of ambition, and while they outwardly admit its
importance, laugh at it inwardly as a mere
fyftem of prieftcraft ; accommodate their fenti-
ments and manners to the perfons with whom
they may happen to live; and, like the planet
Mercury , are good or bad, as they happen to
mix with good or bad focietyj who are Gen-
toos
OE -RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. ^8l
toos in Afia, Prefbyterians in Scotland, -Formal-,
ids at Penfyhania^ Papi-fts at Rome^ Mohamme*
dans r at Conjlantinople, Philofophiits in Germany,
Athcifts in France ^ and .Chriftians in England.,.
becoming all things to. all men, ;md, Proteus.
like, turning; themfelves. as the wind, of feif-inte-
/O .
reft changes-, into every ihape, for the mere
purpofe of -procuring fume temporary advantage:'
but whatever they publicly pretend, or feem to
'. * ; 4.
be, they fay in their hearts, with the fool,
"- There is no God." The fouls of fuch cha-
rafters are bitterer than galk -and blacker -than
ink, though their tongues are frnoother than oil..
Like that cunning difiemblerj.^/'^^//^//^'^/^//;,.
who is faid never to, have conceived . a good
though-t, nor to have expreffed a bad one,, they
never difclofe their real fentiments, and are, in
general, fo cautious and- correct in all their words
and actions, that they- appear like angels of
light : but while they appear free from all fac-
tion, avow their enmity to every fpecies of op-
preffion, declaim againft all forts of corruption,
decry the allurements of ambition, praife the
happinefs of virtue, lament the miferies of vice,
feem fincere and zealous in the prailice of reli-
gion, and appear in all refpe&s to be innocent,
fober, charitable, meel^, humble, plain-dealing,
upright, and honeft men, the great Searcher of
the human heart knows them to be arrant hypo-
crites.
3#2 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
crites. As it is fometimes with writers, Plus
fanftlmonltz in li hello quam h 'belli author e^ That
there is more holinefs in the book than in the
author, fo are they, in general, different from
that which they appear to be and exprefs. They
conftantly attend religious worfhip with enor-
mous bibles, read the works of St. Auftin and the
fathers, are feen in the congregation of every po-
pular preacher, and publicly fay their prayers,
while they are, in fadr, profefTed mifers, mere
gripers, inward atheifts ; Epicureans, who, with
Efau's hands, and JacGb's voice, pra&ife piety
all day, that they may reconcile incontinency
with better grace and confcience all night : they
are wolves in fheep's clothing ; fair and innocent
without, but foul and furious within.
Thefe feveral defcriptions of characters may
appear happy and fuccefsful in the eyes of the
world, but in their hearts they can find no eafe
or reft. Like /*/$, they embrace a phantom
inftead of a goddefs, and by their example mul-
tiply the race of Centaurs, but are at length
hurled by the powers of confcience into the Tar-
tarus of remorfe, and revolved without inter-
ruption on the rack of mifery; continuing de-
plorably gay, until they are irremediably undone.
For
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 383
For those who live in .sin, at length shall find
Guilt's angry hand press heavy on the mind:
Though bribes or favour may assert their cause,
Pronounce them guiltless, 'and elude the laws,
They're self-condemn'd'; theirown impartial thought
Wilhdamn, and conscience will record the fault.
IDOLATRY, repugnant as it is to the dictates
of found reafon, and the fpirit of true religion,
has been pratiled by the moft refined and pow-
erful nations of the earth ; who, with irreligious
piety, have worfhipped the fun, moon, ftars, an-
gels, animals, demons, and other works of God;
or ftatues, pictures, images, and other-works of
men. Of the abfurdity of thefe fyftems, there
can be no better teftimony than the confufed
multitude, the ridiculous names, the mean ac-
tions, and the wretched attributes of their idols.
The varieties of alters, idols, ftatues, images,
and places of worship, which were carved, cut,
and ere&ed by the Chinefe^ the Hindoos^ the
j the Arabians^ the Egyptians, the Phce-
sj the Grecians, and the Romans^ are in-
deed amazing. Hefiod^ in his work intitled
Theogon'iOy or Generation of the Gods, has fur-
nimed a catalogue of more than thirty thou-
fand heathen deities, of which number there
were no lefs, according to Varro, than three
hundred different Jupiter s. Thefe divinities
were of all ages, fexes, dimenfions, fhapes
ch arafters
384 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
chara&ers and defcriptions ; great, little, whole,
half, and mixed ; filled every place with their
prefence, and were ready upon every oc-
cafion, with their powers, to grant the prayers,
and propitiate the enterprizes, of their, vo-
taries. LareSy Lemures y Diofcuri^ Soleres^ and
ParaJlattSy reigned in multiplying abundance
through their refpec^ive fpheres; and the air, the
earth, the woods, the waters, the heavens, and
even hell itfelf, were crowded with aerial, tem-
poral, rural, aquatic, celeftial, and infernal
deities. The Romans^ indeed, who borrowed
their mythology chiefly from the Greeks^ were
not contented with the various hofts which they,
derived from their neighbours, but invented
feveral deities, particularly Cunla y the goddefs
of cradles, and Divcrra^ the deity of dirty
houfes, for themfelves. The Pantheon, in
fhort, was filled upon every feftival, as a toyfliop
is with children*' dolls againft the holidays; and,
indeed, the confecration of moft of their deities
originated, in general, on fome light and frivolous,
Qr bafe and fcandalous occafion. Sycrophanes^ the
Egyptian, erected a ftatue to the memory of his
deceafed fon, in a grove adjacent to his houfe j and
his fervants, to appeafe the vexation of their
matter, frequently decorated the image with
garlands of flowers, and continuing the cere-
mony at ftated intervals, with additional folem-
sities,
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 385
aides, this carved remfemblance of a fpoiled
child was at length converted into the tutelary
deity of domeftic peace. The lovely Flora y
a notorious harlot at Rome, haying accumulated
immenfe wealth, by carefully hoarding the
wages of her iniquity, appointed the common-
wealth her heir, and was, on her deceafe, not
only complimented with a ftatue, and an anni-
verfary feflival, but deified as the Goddefs of
Flowers^ and impioufly dignified with an altar
and a fhrine. The grotefque forms and ridiculous
accompaniments with which theie divinities were
frequently reprefented, were all that gave them
the appearance of not being human; for their
moral characters and difpofitions perfectly cor-
refponded with thofe of the Titan race, from
which they moftly fprung. Jupiter was cele-
brated for his debauchery ; Juno for irafcible
temper; Penus, the offspring of froth, for her
incontinency and adulteries ; and Mercury was fo
complete a thief, that he not only ftole the quiver
of Apollo^ the tools of Vulcan^ the ceftus of
Venus^ and the fceptre of jove y but would have
purloined even the thunderbolt itfelf, if it had
not been too hot for his fingers. Such divinities
could never obtain a proper veneration and
refpeft j and when Diagaras made a fire of the
wooden ftatue of Hercules^ to warm his pottage,
obferving, while the body crackled in the flames,
C c that
386. OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
that Hercules was- only Reforming his thirteenth
labour , he only fhowed a proper difdain of fo abfirrd
a fyftem. But the confequences of this fyftem
were as dark and fanguinary as the inftitution
itfelf was ridiculous and abfurd. The Mexicans
are faid to have yearly deftroyed fix thoufand
children, 'male and female; and even to have
cut-out the rtearts of men while yet living, to
propitiate the favour of thefr gods: and the
Tartars-^ upon the departure of their Great
Cham, are known to have committed a thou-
fand fellow creatures at once to the flames, as
the only means of rendering his journey prof-
perous and fecure. What multitudes of men,
women, children, oxen, fheep, goats, and other
animals, have even the more enlightened Ro-
mans facrificed on their abominable altars ! The
1 horfes, harts, hogs, lambs, and bulls,
: refpeHvely devoted, upon every trifling
occafion, to Apollo y Diana, Ceres, Proferpine,
and Neptune ; fox each deity had its peculiar
offering. It was a fyftem not lefs injurious to
the common intereft, than it was difgraceful to
the feelings of humanity. The Parthian fol-
diers fuffered themfelves to be cut to pieces-
while they quietly waited for the break of day,
becaufe their ftupid gods had declared it impious
to fight while darknefs prevailed. And the
Athenian navy was once deftroyed, becaufe the
augurs
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 38?
augurs held it ominous to fail while the moon
was in eclipfe. The credulity of idolatry is
indeed amazing. The wild boar which ravaged
the country, and deftroyed the inhabitants, of
/Etolia^ until the fword of Meleager extinguifhed
its life, was believed to have been fent by the
Goddefs of Chajllty to revenge 'the flights of
which Oeneus had been guilty to her facred
altar. Strange infatuation ! that fuch refined
and polifhed nations as the Greeks and Romans,
fhould believe that metal, wood, or ftone,
which, but for the workrnanftiip of their own
hands, muft have continued in their original
mafles, fhould, however curioufly carved, of
richly ornamented, be capable of hearing prayers,
or anfwering petitions. The aftonifhment, how-
ever, which fuch a conduct muft neceflarily ex-
cite in every rational mind, wiN in Ibme degree
abate, when it is recollected, how extenfively
it contributed to gratify the avarice of both the
artifts and the priefts 3 and to aflift the ambition
of defigning men.
SUPERSTITION, the baleful offspring of weak-
nefs and credulity, has produced ftill greater
mifchiefs to the happinefs of mr-tkind. Reve-
lation opened to the human mind a perfect know-
ledge of the true and only God ; diflblved,
wherever it was made known, the chains of
C c 2 idolatry \
388. Or RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
idolatry j and would have emancipated the Chrif-
tian world from every religious error, if its
doctrines had .been propagated, as they were
originally taught by CHRIST and his APOSTLES,
in the purity and fimplicity of THE GOSPEL.
But the fame caufes will always produce the
fame effects ; and a certain clafs of Hierophants^
to gratify the paffions of avarice and ambition,
have tarnifhed; its beauty, and deftroyed its in-
tegrity, .by introducing among the weak and
ignorant, a feries of obfervances very little in-
ferior, either in their principles or confequences,
to idolatry itfelf.
Th' APOSTLES ministry perform'd, and race well run,
Their doctrine and their story written left,
They died ; but in their room, as they forewarn'd,
Wolves did succeed for teachers, grievous wolves,
Who all the sacred mysteries of Heaven
To their own vile advantages did turn
Of lucre and ambition; and THE TRUTH,
With Superstition's and Tradition's taint,
Left only in THE HOLY SCRIPTURES pure.
The faints , indeed, of the church have fucceeded
to the divinities of the Pantheon j and St. James ,
St. George^ St. Francis^ St. Agnus^ the Lady
of LorettOy and the whole tribe of canonifed
{hades, by a mere change of names, are placed
in the feats of "Jupiter and his coadjutors. The
fame evil fpirit that mifled the minds of men to
the
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 389
the pra&ice of idolatry, ftill ftalks abroad in the
garb of fuperjlition, and difcovers itfelf by an
obftinate adherence to abfurd opinions, and
actions arifmg from mean and defective ideas of
the moral attributes of God. This evil ipirit forms
the third great fource of religious melancholy.
Crafty politicians, interefted priefts, deluded
hereticks, blind guides, ignorant impoftors,
and pfeudo prophets, have been the chief in-
ftruments of this mifchief. RELIGION, which
includes not only jttftice, but all the virtues, is
the beft prop, and only true fupport, of every
government; for without it men can never feel
how necefiary it is to obey. But it has unfor-
tunately been confidered by certain ftatefmen as
a mere human inftitution, a political contrivance,
the better to keep the multitude in awe, and with
this view has been interlarded with many vain
ceremonies and dreadful denunciations. The
priefts alfo, to extend their powers, and fupport
their afcendancy over the confciences of man-
kind, have impregnated this facred fountain of
truth with the deleterious poifons of fuperftition,
and fo polluted its fair and wholefome ftream
with their noxious intermixtures of confeffion,
fat is faction, election, reprobation, predeftination,
tranfubftantiation, grace, invocation of faints,
anethamas and excommunications, that thofe
who drink, inftead of feeling the cheerful hopes
Cc 3 it
390 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
it was defigned to cherifh, find themfelves op.
prefled with direful fears, and fink from dejection
into defpair. The very minifters, whofe pro-
vince it was to guard this treafure, and fecure it
from all debafement and alloy, have been the firft
to adulterate its purity, to diminifh its brightnefs,
to tarnifh its beauty, and deftroy its integrity,
The triple-headed Cerberus of Rome, the bull-
bellowing Pope, formerly played a principal part
in thefe tragic fcenes i and realifed the vifion of
St. Benedlfty that where there is one devil in a
market-place, there are always ten in a monaftery.
The enthuflafm of ignorant or impudent im-
poftors, by the fuperftitious nets and trappings
in which they invariably involve their unfounded
doctrines, have alfo mifled many weak minds
from the true flandard of the Chriftian faith. The
pride, love of Angularity, vain-glory, and mif-
directed zeal of heretics, fchifmatics, blind guides,
and falfe prophets, by their novel doctrines,
paradoxes, figments, and ridiculous crotchets,
have done confiderable mifchief to the ftudy and
practice of THE TRUE RELIGION. Simplicity
is the diftinguifning character i ft ic of Chriftianity j
but it has by their means been fo clouded with
the draperies of fuperftition, that its primary
elegance and fymmetry is almoft entirely defaced ;
its open and uniform principles rendered dark,
fecret, and r^yfterious; and its blithe and cheer-
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 39!
ful genius transformed into a foul and ugly
daemon; whofe influence, like that of the Try-
pbonian cave^ finks its victims into the lowed
abyfs of DESPAIR,; a confequence, indeed,
which muft ever ultimately refult from the
wickednefs of atheifm, the folly of idolatry, and
the weaknefs of fuperftition ; for the foul, under
fuch influences, is unable to attain that hope of
falvation in which all the happinefs of this life
ultimately refides. Evil in expectation occa-
fions fear; but when certain, inflicts defpair.
David himfelf complains that his idea of
God's judgments terrified his foul. This fpe-
cies of defpair, therefore, may be defcribed a
ficknefs of the foul, arifing from loft hope
of falvation, and it generally fucceeds a long-
continued interval of fear ; for, while evil
is only expe&ed, we fear; but when it is cer-
tain, we defpair. It is always oppofite to HOPE,
that fweet comforter of human afflidion. Not
that vain hope which many weak and fanciful
minds entertain, that Infomnium 'uigilantium^ or
waking dream, as Arijlotle calls it; but that
divine hope which proceeds from a confidence in
the mercies of God, through the mediation of
Jefus Chrift, and becomes the fureft anchor of
a floating foul. The principal agent and pro-
curer of this mifchief is the devil; for thofe
whom God forfakes, the devil, by his permif-
C c 4 fion,
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY,
fion, lays hold of; and the inftrument he in ge-
neral ufes for this purpofe, is the worm of con~
fcience, which is, indeed, only God's juft judg-
ment againft manifold fin and wickednefs, as in
the inftances of Judas^ Saul, and many others,
is fufficiently proved. Felix Plater, among
many other inftances, relates the cafe of a mer-
chant, who having hoarded a large parcel of
wheat in a time of public famine, was afterwards
fo troubled in his confcience, becaufe he had not
facrificed his avarice to the necedities of his fel-
low-creatures, by felling it fooner, or giving it
to the poor, that he thought he mould be
damned; and though a man of a cultivated mind,
and in other refpecls not difreputable, this idea
fixed itfelf fo powerfully in his mind, that he
funk at length into irrecoverable defpair. Con-
fcience, indeed, is a great ledger book, in which
all our offences are written and regiftered, and
which time reveals to the fenfe and feeling of
the offender. As the ftatue of "Juno, in that
holy city near the Euphrates, is faid to look
towards everyone who enters her temple, to ftare
them full in the face, to follow them continually
with her eye in all feats and places, fo does con-
fcience, after pleafant days, fortunate adventures,
and merry tales, fix upon and arreft the guilty.
A covetous man is never troubled in his mind
yhile he is counting his money, nor an adul-
terer
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 393
terer terrified while his miftrefs is in his arms ;
but, as was the cafe of the prodigal fon, who
had dainty fare, fweet viands, merry company,
and jovial entertainment, at firft, a cruel rec-
koning will come at laft. Satan, while fins are
committing, whifpers the offenders, that they
are light and trivial ; but when he has once got
them into his net, he aggravates them on every
fide, and accufes them f having committed un-
pardonable fins. At this dreadful moment every
fmall circumftance, which was before contemned,
amplifies itfelf, and rifes up in judgment againft
them, to torment their fouls. No tongue, in-
deed, can tell, no mind can conceive, the horrid
miferies that attend DESPAIR. Medicine will
alleviate almoft every kind of ficknefs, furgery
will aflift the moft inveterate fores, friendfhip
can relieve poverty, the hope of liberty make
imprifonment eafy, fame relieve the pains of
exile, and time wear away reproach; but what
medicine, furgery, wealth, favour, authority,
or time, can affuage or expel that Melan-
choly which a wounded confcience muft pro-
duce? The only chance of relief is in a ftri&
obfervance of the commandments of CHRIST;
for his mild and falutary dodlrines, if clofely con-
fulted, and properly obeyed, will fnatch the
moft reprobate finner, efaucibus erebi, from the
jaws
394 OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
jaws of hell itfelf. An adoption, therefore, of
THE TRUE RELIGION, and a riffid and confci-
i O
entious practice of its precepts, is the beft anti-
dote, and moft certain remedy, for religious me-
lancholy. Of what this religion, and its feveral
parts, confift, every catechifm affords ample in-
formation ; but will be found revealed at large
in the HOLY SCRIPTURES, and in the orthodox
writings of Perkins^ Grcenham, Hay-ward^
Bright^ Abernethy, Button^ Culmanus^ and other
divines of the eftablifhed church, The main
matter which terrifies and torments minds
labouring under the difeafe of religious melan-
choly, is the enormity of their offences, the in-
tolerable burthen of their fins, the deep appre-
henfion of God's heavy wrath and difpleafure,
and the forlorn idea of their hopelefs ftate; but
religion will foon teach thefe miferabie fufferers,
that there is no fin fo heinous that the Almighty
may not, by repentance and prayer, and of his
infinite goodnefs and mercy, through the inter-
cefiion of his only Son, be induced to pardon:
and what the LORD laid to Paul in his extre-
mity, " My grace is fufficient for thee, for my
tc power is made perfect through weaknefs,"
concerns every man in like cafe. His promifes
are made indefinitely to all believers; his good-
nefs is addreffed generally to all who are truly
penitent, who feek with contrite hearts to ob-
tain
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. 395
tain a remiflion of the.ir fins, who are really
grieved- by a refle&ion on their paft offences,
and who fincerely feek forgivenefs and reconci-
liation. " I came not," fays our Saviour, " to
call the righteous, but finners to repentance."
tc Come unto me all ye who are heavy laden,
and I will eafe you;" " for at what time foever
a Tinner fhall repent him of his fins from the
bottom of his heart, I will blot out all his
wickednefs from my remembrance, faith the
Lord :" " for the Lord is full of companion and
mercy, flow to anger, and of great kindnefs."
Patients of all defcriptions, by liftening to and
ftudying doctrines like thefe, of which the word
of God is full, may reftore their dejecled minds
to quietude and comfort, and, by amending
their future lives, rejecting their miferable at-
tachments to VICE, and adopting the practice
of VIRTUE, become regenerate and happy : for,
as the angel opened the iron gates to Peter t
Joofed his bands, brought him out of pri-
fon, and delivered him from bodily thraldom,
fo will PIETY and VIRTUE releafe their af-
fli&ed minds from the wickednefs, the weak-
nefs, and the errors of ATHEISM, IDOLATRY,
and SUPERSTITION; and reftore them to that
tranfcendent felicity, which every good mind
derives from theftudy and practice of THE TRUE
RELIGION,
These
OF RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY.
These purer thoughts, from gross alloys refin'd,
With heavenly raptures elevate the mind :
Not fram'd to raise a giddy, short-liv'd joy,
Whose false allurements, while they please, destroy;
But bliss resembling that of saints above,
Sprung from the vision of Almighty love :
Firm, solid bliss ; for ever great and new ;
The more 'tis known, the more admir'd as TRUE.
INDEX.
A
ABSENCE, when unneceffary, or long delayed,
infpires a lover's mind with jealoufy, 312; ab-
folutely neceffary to the conqueft of improper
love, 337.
Abftinence defcribed, 51, 52; its effects in fubduing
heroic love, 334.
Achilles, his love for Deidamia an inftance of the
dangers of conference, 253.
Aden in Arabia Felix, its intenfe heat, 56.
Adverjity, how borne by different tempers, 8.
Adultery, the impious and horrid nature of this
crime, 348, 349.
Affettions, thofe of the heart not eafily controlled,
361.
Air, under what circumftances it occafions melan-
choly, 54; its efficacy in removing it, 181.
Alexander, his grief on the death of Hepheflion,
162.
Ambition defcribed, 107; {he fiavery it occafions,
108; inftances of it, 109; how it fhews itfelf in
melancholy minds, 171.
Anacreon's addrefs to the grafshopper, 22; to his
miftrefs, 296.
Angelica,
398 INDEX.
Angelica, the power of her ring, 271, Note.
Anger induces melancholy by means of forrow.,
94; its confequences, 96, 98; how befl fub-
dued in a hufband, 330.
Antiochus and Stratonice, the (lory of their mai 1 -
riage, 273.
Aretine, his profligate character, 144.
Arijtophanes, his malice defeated by the good fenfe
of Sen-rates, 221.
Atkeifm, its character and confequences, 377, 378.
Avarice, a frequent impediment to nuptial happi-
nefs, 359.
B
Ballad-making. a fyrnptom of love, 302.
fianijkment, how to be confidered, 213.
Banns, a propofal that they fkould be univerfal,
374-
Batchelors always fighing for matrimo-ny, 352 ;
unhappy in the midft of their imaginary happi-
nefs, 367.
Bathing^ its utility, 184.
Bawds, their dangerous and deteflablc chara&ers,
268.
Beauty, its dangers, 227, 230, 233; its extraor-
dinary powers, 237, 238 ; its proper office,
240; the good policy of avoiding the fight of
it, 338; not to be preferred before merit, 351,
35 2 -
Birth,
I N D EX. 399
Birth, 'the importance of being well born, 35;
Bafenefs of, ought not to affiift the mind, 204 ;
its inequality ought not to impede the matrimo-
nial union, 358.
Bleeding, when neceffary, 335.
Blifidncfs a Symptom of heroic love, 289; an ex-
traordinary-inftance of it, 291.
Brachmans, how they preserved their continence
333> 334-
Brain t how affefted' by melancholy, 19; difficulty
of reftoring it when affefted, 173.
Bribe's, how employed in the affairs of love, 265.
Calumny, how it galls the feelings and dejefts the
mind, 143.
Caprice frequently ends in difappointment, 355.
Care defcribed, 99; its origin, 100; its preva-
lency, 101.
Cattfes muft be fearched before effefts can be re-
moved, 30; of melancholy fometimes fuperna-
tural, 31.
Cajfandra, a temple of that name in Italy for de-
formed maids, 326.
Centaurs defcribed, 50.
Charles the Fifth, the caufes of his melancholy,
37, Note; a ftory of his extraordinary fond-
nefs for a female favorite, 251.
Children
400 INDEX.
Children fometimes inherit melancholy, 34 ; fhould
not be reftrained from indulging their affections
when placed on proper objects, 362; but.ij is
their duty to confult their parents in all matters
relating to the choice of a hufband, 366.
ChoUr is the matter which caufes melancholy, 14 ;
the different kinds it produces, 26.
Chivalry, in {lances of the heroic ardour it infpires,
298.
Chrijlianity, its excellency and virtues, 394, 395.
Cities, how they ought to be fituated, 57,
Climate, how it conduces to melancholy, 20, 21.
Conference between the fexes, when rational, leads
to nuptial love ; but when romantic, dangerous,
249; inftances of its dangers, 250.
Confcience, a good one the beft compofer to reft,
193-
Confanguinity the caufe of melancholy, 33.
Contemplation, an inftance of its extraordinary
power in Socrates, 70.
Cooks, their confequence at prefent, 48.
Coquetry, its dangers in preventing marriage, 355.
Courteoufnefs fuperior to wit, 152.
Courtejans, their baleful characters defcribed, 347.
Covetoufncfs ,a great fource of melancholy, no;
inftances of its bad effects, 112; how it alters
the human character, 113; and discovers itfelf
in melancholy minds, 171; frequently impedes
matrimon'al happinefs, 359.
Cuckoldom, how to be borne, 319, 321.
Cupid,
INDEX. 401
Cupid, a poetical defcription of his perfon and
chara&er, 232; his treacherous difpofition, 267;
blowing coals, a type of the heat of love, 287 ;
the different Ihafts his quiver contains, 354.
Cymon and Iphigenia, the ftory of their love, 299,
300.
Cynics defcribed, 124.
D
Dalliance, its original meaning, 255; inftances of
it in Adam and Eve, and Angelica and Medoro
contrafted, 255, 256; dangerous in the firft
emotions of heroic love, 337.
Dancing, its influence in promoting love, 258 ;
inftances of its power, 259; its prevalence in
former times, 260.
Danglers defcribed, 36
Death, by depriving us of our friends, frequently
caufes melancholy. 160; how to be endured,
214.
Debauchees, their dangerous condition, 382.
Defers of body, howrecompenfed, 203; frequently
the caufes of jealoufy, 312.
Defpair when proceeding from religious fources,
39 1 -
Devil vifits John the Monk in the fhape of a beau-
tiful female, 254.
Diet, what fpecies caufes melancholy, 38; what
D d fpecics
402 INDEX.
fpecies relieves it, 178; when properly regu-
lated, a good remedy for heroic love, 332.
D if appointment the fevereft punifhment that can
he infli&ed on an heroic lover, 285, 286.
Dif content the chara&er of humanity, 2 ; inftances
of it, 102, 103, 105; how to be avoided, 201.
Difeafe, how to be endured, 203.
Dif grace, how it afc&s the mind, 85 ; how to b
conftdered, 217.
Divorce, the difficulty of obtaining it, 320.
Domejlic concord, a temple raifed to it at Rome*
33 1 -
Drama, its origin, 305.
Drefsy its powers of increafmg beauty, and prompt-
ing to heroic love, 240, 241; its feveral kinds,
241 ; how it ought to be ufed, 242 ; needlefs to
real beauty, 243 ; when improper, 244 ; its
effeft on female reputation When extravagant,
245 ; its nicety when a lady expefts her lover,
301 ; an alteration in it a (ymptom of love, 301,
302.
Drinking, its prevalence and bad effefts, 48.
Drunkards defcribed, 50.
.Education, when injudicious, frequently inftils a
melancholy difpofition, 135,
Empirics, their incapacity to afford radical re-
lief, 30.
Emv.lation t
INDEX. 403
Emulation, when well-founded, produces good
effefts, 92 ; when pernicious, 117.
Enchantment, its meaning when applied to the in-
fluence of female beauty, 271.
Englifh great feeders, 180; their laws refpefting
matrimony, 359.
Envy is a perturbation producing melancholy, 88.
Era/i/lratus, the phyfician, his method of difco-
vering the object of concealed love, 274, 275.
Exerdfe, in what cafes it caufes melancholy, 59 ;
and effefts its cure, 185 ; an excellent antidote
to heroic love, 332.
Extravagance, its abfurdity, efpecially in perfons
of fmall fortunes, 117.
Eye the firft inlet and quickeft harbinger of love,
234 ; difcovers by its appearance the fufferings
of concealed love, 272 ; its powers when fhar-
pened by love, 280.
Fable of wafhing the blackamoor white, 31, Note.
Family pride deftruftive of connubial happinefs,
355> 35 8 -
Fear a principal agent in producing melancholy,
82 ; how confidered by the ancients, 83; its
effefts on the mind, 84 ; when produced by
fudden alarm, 141, 142 ; one of the principal
fymptoms of approaching melancholy, 166;
particularly of k>ve melancholy, 281.
D d 2
4 o 4 INDEX.
Fondnejs, when exceflive, always infpires a cer-
tain degree of jealoufy, 311.
Fortune, its inconftancy, 6, 211.
Freedom of choice fhould be allowed in forming
the nuptial tye, 359.
Friends, the lofs of them productive of melan-
choly, 160; how the death of them ought to be
endured, 215; proper depofitaries for the fe-
crets of the heart, 337 ; their perfuafions may
have great effect in fubduing the violence of
heroic love, 345.
Friendjhip a powerful remedy, 200.
Gaming the offspring of avarice, 115; its perni-
cious effects, 116; particularly on the temper,
119.
Ge/lures, when elegant and modeft, highly adorn
the female character, 248 ; but when improper,
deteftable, 248.
Gifts, their effects in making love, 265.
Gluttony, its bad effects, 45.
Gobrias, his conduct towards Rodanthc, 287.
Goodnefs, its excellency in the female character,
2 33-
Government, obfervation on the contentions about
the beft forms of it, 28.
Gymnofophijls, their anfwers to Alexander" 1 * quef-
tions, 73, Note.
Habits,
INDEX. 405
H
Habits, the danger of indulging bad ones, 54.
Halter the laft remedy for ill-formed love, 340.
Hanea, an herb by which the Athenian women
damped the flames of heroic love, 335.
Happinefs, its uncertainty in this world, 5.
Hate, how ii caufes melancholy, 90.
Health deftroyed by melancholy, 165.
Heat, exceflive. productive of melancholy, 55957.
Heroic Love delcribed, 226 ; its mental fyrnptoms,
281 ; the vaft facrifices that are made on its
altar, 287 ; fometimes produces beneficial ef-
fects, 297 ; inftances, 298, 301 ; its beft cures,
332. &c. ; unfriendly, by the vices it engenders,
to nuptial lov'e, 356.
Heroic Lovers, their conduct to each other, 278,
279, their creed, 279; their behaviour when
abfent, 280 ; their ardency, 282 ; the extrava-
gancy of their feelings on beholding the fmiles
of their miftreffes, 283 ; their fufferings when
repulfed, 285, 286; a dead one diflected, 287;
inftances of their blindnefs, 290 ; their abfurd
declaration of fondnefs, 291 ; a ftory of one
whofe miflrefs had but one eye, 291 ; their ab-
ject fubmiflion to pleafe their miflreffes, 293;
the ardor with which they are infpired, 294 ;
the abfurdities they commit, 295; inftanced in
the addrefs of Anacreon, and the epitaph of
Quincia, 296, 297.
Dd 3 Horfes
406 INDEX.
Horfes frequently the ruin of their owners, 117.
Hunting, when inordinately followed, deftru&ive
both of fame and fortune, 117.
Hufoand, defcription of a jealous one, 315, 316;
ought not to pry too clofely into the conduft of
his wife, 322.
Hypocrites defer ibed, 380, 381.
I & J
Jdlentfs defcribed, 60; how it caufes melancholy,
61, 63 ; the mother of vice, 234; a great pro-
moter of heroic love, 332.
Idolatry, the abfurdities of this fyftem expofed. 383.
y, a fmptom of melancholy, 167 ; the moft
certain pro^noftic of htroic love, 307, denned,
308 ; the countries in which it generally pre-
vails, 308, 309; operates more powerfully on
wornm than on men, 310; its caufe, 31 1 , 331 ;
a defcription of a jealous hufband, 315, 316;
how he ought to endure his fufferings, 318;
quietude and concealment of its caufe the bed
cure, 324.
when fevere, give great affliction to certain
minds, 144; rer.dered fuccefsful more by the
hearer than the fpeaker, 147.
Imagination ) its efft&s when improperly indulged,
66 ; an inftance of a melancholy man imagining
himfelf to be Diony/ius, 77 ; fometimes caufes
death, 78.
Imprisonment,
INDEX. 407
Imprifonmtnt, its effefts on different minds, 153;
how it ought to be endured, 212.
Incon/lancy, a fymptom of melancholy, 169.
Injuries, wirh what temper they ought to be borne,
219, 220.
Intemperance) a principal caufe of melancholy, 39 ;
dHtroys more than the fword. 44 ; Milton's
defer! ption of its effe&s, 46, Note.
Infilelity. a confcioufneisof it, the caufe of jealoufy,
313 ; the wifeft way is to pafs it over in nlencc,
318.
InjlruElion how to be conveyed into the mind of a
pupil, 140.
Joy, iis improper indulgence defcribed, 6, Note.
K
Kijfes, what kinds arc innocent, 253, 254.
Lapitha? defcribed, 50.
Leo the Tenth, his charafter, 147.
Liberality more politic, as well as more pleafing,
tfyan covetoufnefs, 114.
Liberty, the lofs of it produces melancholy, 153 ;
how its lofs ought to be borne, 212.
Lov(, how it affefts melancholy perfons, 171 ^de-
fined, 223 ; divided into nuptial and heroic, 223;
Dd 4 its
4 o8 INDEX.
its violence, 226, 227, 228; its effects, 289;
the origin of the fine arts, 305 ; muft be vigor-
oufly oppofed to be effectually conquered, 336 ;
will not be contemned with impunity, 371.
Love Potions, the notion of their being ufed, 269.
Lovers, how they fhould conduct themfelves upon
peceivfng the firft impreffion, 345; how pre-
vious to marriage, 351.
Lucretia, the celebrated Roman courtefan, her
compunctions and miferies defcnbed, 347.
Luxury, its prevalence and dangers, 46 ; the parent
of heroic love, 234.
M
Madmen, frequently make^gtional obfervations,
117, 118.
Malice, the exercife of it productive of melan-
choly, 88.
Man, his perverfe difpofition, 7 ; when unfortu-
nate, aflailed by the^world, 8 ; the delicate ana-
tomy of his body and mind, 19.
Marriage, its blifsful {late, 223 ; itsmyfteries ought
to be concealed, 320; the importance of its be-
ing well confidcred, 349; its nature as a divine
and holy inftitution, 350; its fad effects when
improperly formed, 353 ; the laft remedy for
heroic love, 353 ; the impediments to this re-
medy, 35 i, 362 ; when forced, dreadful in ifs
confequences, 363; a clafs of perfons who are
aveife
INDEX. 409
averfe to it defcribed, 367 ; itshappmefs, 3695
the wjfh for it univerfal, 3"o; it is miferable
to be unmarried, 372 ; a wifh that all unmarried
fhould be married on the fame day, 374.
Melancholy, its definition, i, 14; how it becomes
habitual, 7; its degrees, 9; how affefted by
images of joy and grief, 9 ; a poetical defcrip-
tion of its effects on the mind; 10, 13; its af-
fection, matter, and fpecies, 14 to 29; diftin-
guifhed from other difcafes, 16 ; the parts it
affects, 17, 20 ; mod common in extreme cli-
mates, 20; and in fanguine habits, 21 ; its dif-
ferent kinds, 24; and fpecies, 25; itsfyroptoms
difficult to difcover, 27; its caufes, 30; as con-
fanguinity, 33; old age, 36; intemperance, 39;
bad air, 54; immoderate exercife, 59; indo-
lence, 60 ; continual folitude, 64 ; too much
fleep, 72 ; indulgence of the paflions, 74 ; ex-
ceffive forrow, 79; fear, 82; fhame and dif-
grace, 85; envy and malice, 88; emulation,
hatred, faction, and revenge, 90; anger, 94;
care, 99; ambition, 107; covetoufnefs, no;
love of gaming, 115; fports of other kinds, 118;
elf-love, pride and vain glory, 121 ; excefiive
ftudy, 125; bad nurfing, 136; bad education,
138; terror, 140; feoffs, calumnies and rude
jefts, 143; lofs of liberty, 153; poverty, 155;
the death of thofe we love, 160: the confequences
of melancholy, 164 ; its fymptoms.172 ; its cures,
173 ; when caufed by the paffion of love, 223 ;
particularly by the heroic paffion, 226 ; its fymp-
toms,
410 INDEX.
toms, 272; its prognoftics, 307 ; its cures, 352,
&c. when caufed by miftaken notions of reli-
gion, 376.
Metdlus, ptofperous but unhappy, 3 ; his noble
faying, 4, Note.
Mind, how affefted by melancholy, 19 ; how in-
jured by haifh treatment, 138.
Mirth and -meiry company antidotes to melan-
choly, 196, 198 ; bad when abufed, 199.
Mifery, the lot of man, 104 ; particularly of a dif-
appomted lover, 287.
Misfortunes of a certain kind ought to be concealed,
321.
Mockery injurious to the mind, 146.
Monajlerits, the ufeful purpofes to which they
might have been converted, 69.
Money matches, their impropriety, 360.
Montaigne, his fenfibility on parting with his
friends, 162.
Mofchus, his defcription of the character of Cupid,
232.
Mufcs, their origin, 197, 198.
Mufic a great relief to a melancholy mind, 193;
inftances of its good efL-cts, 194; when per-
nicious, 195 ; of the vocal kind a powerful
promoter of the heroic paffion, 256 ; inftan-
ces, 257.
N
accommodates herfelf to the exigency of
the occafion, 54.
Neapolitan
INDEX. 41l
Neapolitan Peafant^ the conjugal affeftion of one,
373-
Necejfity reconciles hurtful food to the habit, 53.
Won -Naturals, the abufe of the fix the principal
caufes of melancholy, 32.
Novels, the reading of them inftigates the heroic
paffion, 260 ; inftances of their bad confe-
quences, 261.
Nuptial Love defcribed, 224.
Nurftng, when bad, inftils a melancholy difpo-
fition, 136 ; inftances of it, 137.
O
Old Age a caufe of melancholy, 36 ; Milton's de-
fcription of it, 39, Note ; naturally jealous in
the affairs of love, 310; generally avaricious,
360.
Painting, its origin, 305.
Parental j on dnefs, an extraordinary inftance of it,
273 2 75-
Parents who are melancholy have melancholy
children, 34 ; their confent neceflary to the mar-
riage of their children, 358; but fuch confent
rnuft not be refufed from avaricious or tyran-
nical motives, 359, 361.
Parthenis, the facrifices he made for Harpedona,
288.
4 i2 INDEX.
PaJJiom, the importance of thefr being well re-
gulated, 9, Note ; in what manner they occafion
melancholy, 74 ; a defcription of thofe which
diftraft the mind, 79 ; and affeft the heart, 106.
Pafquin, a ftory refpefting his ftatue at Rome, 145.
Pajfus's pifture defcribed, 331.
Patient, how to conduct himfelf to obtain relief,
176.
Perturbation, the rule of driving away a greater by ^
a lefs, 340.
Phryne obtains the judgment of the Athenian court
by the difclofure of her beauties, 238.
Phyfidans, thofe who have written on the difeafe
of melancholy, 15; fhouhi find out the caufe
of melancholy before they attempt to adminifler
relief, 30; their duties in adminiflering to a
mind difcafed, 175.
Piety an effential ingredient in the attainment of
happinefs, 395.
Pifo's conduct refpe&ing a deferter, 98, Note.
Plato, his obfervation on the danger of bad habits,
54-
Plays, their dangerous effefts, 261.
Plutarch's conduft to a difobedient flave, 95.
Poets an irritable race, 145 ; capable of giving
fame to others, 145.
Poetry, a defcription of the effecl* which different
fituations produce on a melancholy mind, 10 to
13 ; of improper joy, 6, Note ; on thediftinft
offices of reafon and imagination, sto, Note ; ad-
drefs to a grafshopper, 2 1 , Note ; on old age, 39,
Note :
INDEX. 413
Note ; an epitaph on the celebrated poet Aretine,
144; on intemperance, 180, 181 ; on the dan-
gerous effects of beauty, 227 ; an exhortation to
heroic lovers, 229; on the difference between
heroic and connubial love, 230 ; a defcription
of the perfon and character of Cupid, 232 ; on
virtue, 233 ; on the powers of beauty, 239 ;
on the offices of beauty, 240 ; by Anacreon to
his miftrefs, 296 ; an epitaph by Caleaginus on
Quincia, 297; an addiction to it a fymptom of
love, 302 ; inftances, 303 , a ruftic love letter,
306; its powerful effects, 306.
Pclitcnefs gains more friends than wit, 152.
Polycrates, inftance of his impiety, 4.
Polyphcme foftened by his fondnefs for Galatea,
297.
Population ought to be encouraged, 367,
Potions, formerly thought to be ufed to procure
love, 269.
Poverty, a condition univerfally dreaded, and not
eafily endured, 155; how treated, 158; its ef-
fects on weak minds, 159 ; how to be confidered,
205 ; the happinefs that attends it, 207, 208;
the companion of virtue, 209 ; no objection
to marrying, 366, 368.
Praife, conftantly ufed to excite the heroic paffion,
262.
Prayer, its importance in the cure of melancholy,
174.
Prefents are often ufed to aid a lover's tale, 265 ;
when improperly ufed, the caufe of jealoufy,3i4.
Pride,
414 INDEX.
Pride, its confequences on the human mind, 121 ;
frequently prevents matrimonial connections,
355 ; defeats the end it is ufed to attain, 356 ;
and obftruftshappinefs, 365.
Promifes, one of the arts of love, 262.
Proteftations ufed deceitfully by heroic lover?, 262.
Prudery, the danger of it, 355.
Pulfe affords a certain means of difcovering hidden
love, 277.
Q
Quineia, rediculous epitaph on, by her heroic
lover, 297.
Quintilian, his forrow on the lofs of his children,
161.
R
Raillery, a dangerous and mifchievous weapon,
M3 153-
Reading, the moft agreeable of all amufement 8,190.
Reafon, how affecled by melancholy, 18; the pilot
of mind, 18.
Religion teaches refignation, 216 ; a ferious fenfe of
it, the bed bafis of the nuptial union, 350; the
true one defcribed, 376, 390; caufes of the falfe
ones that have prevailed, 377, 394 ; how the
true has been corrupted, 389 ; the practice of
the true the only cure for defpair, 394, 395.
Remedy ,
INDEX. 415
Remedy, the beft for the cure of melancholy is to
reftify the fix non-naturals, 178.
Reft/lance, absolutely neceffary in the earlieft ftages
of heroic love, 335.
Revenge, a deftru&ive perturbation, 93.
Riches, their importance in the opinion of the
world, 156; of a country confifts in its popu-
lation, 366.
Rich Men fhould marry poor wives, 363 ; inftances
of the happinefs rcfulting from this practice,
3 6 4-
Rodanthe faved from the furious love of Gobrias by
the virtue of Myftillus, 288.
Rodophe, her eloquence in the filent language of
love, 236.
Romances contribute to infpire heroic love, 261.
Roman Matrons, their addrefs in managing their
hufbands, 331.
Rofe Water an antidote to melancholy, 179.
Saints, the invocation of them the effect of fuper-
ftition, 388.
Saunterer, a melancholy one defcribe.d, 66.
Sceptics are at bottom mere atheifts, 379.
Scholars, their negligence, 128; Angularity of
character, 130; ignorance of the world, 131;
and ufual fate, 133, 136; how injured by harflj
treatment, 138 ; ought to marry, 360-
4 i6 INDEX.
Scoffs frequently dejeft delicate minds, 143.
Seduflion the worft crime that can be committed,
349-
Self-love is one of Satan's great nets, and a main
caufe of melancholy, 121; its infinuating nature,
122; and mifchiefs, 123.
Seleueus furrenders his wife to the arms of his fon,
2/3-
Shame productive of melancholy, 85.
Sight the principal inlet to heroic love, 234 ; its
danger in reviving the flame, 337.
Sights, when furprifing, relieve the mind, 188.
Silence, its importance in a wife to quell or quiet
the anger of a hufband, 328.
Slavery a iymptom of heroic love, 292.
Sleep, under what circumftances it induces melan-
choly, 72; or relieves it, 192.
Smiles, when chafte, greatly contribute to female
lovelinefs, 246 ; inftances of their influence on
the human heart, 247 ; when meretricious, are
dangerous in the extreme, 248.
Solitude the caufe of melancholy, if exceflive or
enforced, 64.
Socrates, his character, 2, Note ; his love of
mirth, 197 ; his calm and quiet temper, 220.
Sorrow, a paffion productive of melancholy, 79 ;
its extraordinary effefts, 81 ; fymptomatic of
melancholy, 166; particularly of love melan-
choly, 281.
Spendthrifts, how expofed in Italy, 120.
Spices productive of melancholy, 42, 179.
Story
INDEX. 417
Story of Polycrates and his ring, 4 ; of Charles the
Fifth's melancholy, 37, Note; of a phyfician
of Milan refpecling fportfmen, 117; of a child
and a gibbet, 142 ; of the effect of fear occa-
fioned by earthquakes, 142 ; of old General
Koningfmarc* 143, Note; of Pafquins ftatue,
145; of a mufician and a poet, 148; of the
king of Poland, 150 ; of two men, the one who
loft and the other who found a treafure, 160 ;
of an afs and a mule travelling through a river,
177 ; of the frolic of Philip of Burgundy, 189;
of the effefts of friendfhip, 200, 201 : of a can-
didate for a prebend, 218 ; of a hermit and his
pupil, 235 ; of the extraordinary fondnefs of
Charles the Fifth, 251, 252 ; of John the Monk
on the dangers of kiffing, 254 ; of Antiochus
and Stratonice, 273; of the King of Babylon's
daughter, 286; of Gobrias and Rodanthe, 288;
of an enraged miftrefs, 291 ; of three heroic
lovers being made to dance and ling inceffantly
for twelve months, 304 ; of a remedy to pacify
an angry hufband, 329; of a young monk who,
by an accufation of felony, was cured of love,
341 ; of a moufe who had feen the world, 344;
of a fubterranean city, 345 ; of the virtuous
Ruth, 363, 364; > of Danaus, the Lacedemonian,
365 ; of Theodofius and Eudocia, the Roman em-
prefs, 364; of the king of Thejfah, and the fincere
affelion of his wife, 372; of the conjugal
love of a Neapolitan peafant, 373.
Study, when exceffive, the caufe of melancholy,
125; its effe&s on the mind of Tajfb, 126, Note;
Ee the
418 INDEX.
the vanity it creates, 123; its bad effefts, 127;
its good effects, 190.
Superjlition, its cauies and baleful confequences,
387.
Supper, a light one conducive to reft, 193. '
Suspicion a fymptom of melancholy, 167 ; refpeft-
ing the infidelity of women how to be managed*
3 2 3-
Symptom. 1 ; of habitual melancholy, 164, 172 ; of
love melancholy, 272.
Tears, for what purpofe ufed by heroic lovers,
266; greatly eloquent when produced by ge-
nuine lenfibility, 267.
Tedium Vit<z, the effetfc of melancholy, 170.
Temper, the confequence of preferving it, 329.
Temperance, its importance in the prefcrvation of
health, 45 ; Milton's defcription of its effefts,
45, Note.
Terence'* obfervation refpefting anger, 96.
Terror one of the caufes of melancholy, 140.
Time not to be trifled with in forming the nuptial
union, 357.
Travel, the beft expedient a lover can adopt to
conquer his paflion, 339 ; an inftance of its
efficacy, 340, 344.
U
Unanimity of fentiment neceffary to marriage, 354.
Urbanity, its advantages over wit and raillery, 152.
Vain-
INDEX. 419
Vain-glory defcribed, 121.
Vanity, its confequences, 125.
Valour confifts in bearing fufferings lightly, 319.
Variety, its effects in curing heroic love, 342.
Viflual;, the feveral kinds moft likely to produce
melancholy, 40; or to relieve it, 179.
Virtue, its advantages, 233 ; the lofs of it in a
female productive of extreme mifery, 347.
W
Water, the kinds conducive to melancholy, ' 44.
Weather, how it afFefts health, 59.
Wife ought not to be lightly fufpefted, 322 ; rules
for the choice of a good one, 325; the choice
of one a matter of ferious confideration, 351;
capable of affording the higheft earthly happi-
nefs, 372; inftances of their fincere affeclion,
373-
Wine, when intemperately taken, a caufe of me-
lancholy, 42 ; its extraordinary effects on two
Dutchmen, 43 ; reafon why red wine gives a
ruddy completion, 43 ; with toaft and nutmeg,
a good narcotic, 192 ; a great fomenter of heroic
love, 333.
Wit, modern, indulged in eating and drinking, 47 ;
when keen, produces melancholy by wound-
ing the feelings of its objeft, 149, 151.
Witches.
4 2 INDEX.
, Witches, fuppofed ones always melancholy, 38.
Women have tears at will, 266; cannot love thofe
who are deceived by them, 292 ; enjoy a para-
dife in England, 309 ; the leaft beautiful fre-
quently make the beft wives, 326; their proper
fituation privacy and retirement, 327 ; how they
may beft fecure the affections of their hufbands,
328.
Woman of Pleafure, her horrid and miftaken cha-
racter, 348.
Youth, the danger of laying its affeclions under
improper reftraints, 362.
FINIS.
trtHU4 f>) T. Maiden
Lombard-Strut-
A 000184826 6