Cri. — But thofe things plainly follow from their principles, and are to be admitted for the genuine doctrine of the feci:, exprefled, perhaps, with more freedom and perfpicuity, than might be thought prudent by thofe, who would manage the public, or not offend weak brethren.
Euph. — And pray, is there not need of caution, a rebel, or incendiary, being characters, that many men have a prejudice againft?
Lys. — Weak people, of all ranks, have a world of abfurd prejudices.
Euph, — But the better fort, fuch as ftatefmen and legiflators; do you think, they have not the fame indifpofition towards admitting your principles?
Lys. — Perhaps they may; but the reafon is plain.
Cri. — This puts me in mind of that ingenious Philofopher, the gamefter, Glaucusy who ufed to fay, that ftatefmen and lawgivers may keep a ftir about right and wrong, juft and unjuft, but that, in truth, property, of every kind, had fo often patted from the right owners, by fraud and violence, that it was now to be confidered as lying on the common, and, with equal right, belonged to every one that could feize it.
Euph. — What are we to think then of laws and regulations, relating to right and wrong, crimes and duties?
Lys. — They ferve to bind weak minds, and keep the vulgar in awe: But no fconer doth a true genius arife, but he breaks his way to greatnefs, through all the tram- K mels of duty, confidence, religion, law; to all which he fiieweth himfelf infinitely fuperior.
IX. Euph.— You are, it feems, for bringing about a thorough reformation.
Lys. — As to what is commonly called the reformation, I could never fee how, or wherein the world was the better for it. It is much the fame as popery, with this difference, that it is the more prude-like and difagreeable thing of the two. A noted writer of ours makes it too great a compliment, when he computes the benefit of hoopedpetticoats to be nearly equal to that of reformation. Thorough reformation is thorough liberty. Leave nature at full freedom to work her own way, and all will be well. This is what we aim at, and nothing fliort of this can come up to our principles. Crito, who is a zealous proteftant, hearing thefe words, could not refrain. The worft effecl: of the reformation, faid he, was the refcuing wicked men from a darknefs which kept them in awe. This, as it hath proved, was holding out light to robbers and murderers. Light, in itfelf, is good, and the fame light which fhews a man the folly of fuperftition, might fhew him the truth of religion, and the madnefs of atheifm. But to make ufe of light, only to fee the evils on one fide, and never to fee, but to run blindly upon the worfe extreme; tKis is to make the bed of things produce evil, in the fame fenfe that you prove the worft of things to produce good, to wit, accidentally or indirectly: And by the fame method of arguing, you may prove, that even difeafes are ufeful: but whatever benefit feems to accrue to the public, either from difeafe of mind or body, is not their genuine offspring, and may be obtained without them. Lxficles was a little difconcerted by the affirmative air of Crito; but after a fliort paufe, replied brifkly, that to contemplate the public good was not every one's talent. True, faid EuphranoT) I queftion whether every one can frame a no- [Dial.IL] MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. 75 tion of the public good, much lefs judge of the means to promote it.
X. But you, Lyftcles, who are mailer of this fubje<ft, will be pleafed to inform me, whether the public good of a nation doth not imply the particular good of its individuals?
Lys. — It doth.
Euph. — And doth not the good or happinefs of a man confifl, in having both foul and body found and in good condition, enjoying thofe things, which their refpe&ive natures require, and free from thofe things which are odious or hurtful to them.
Lys. — I do not deny all this to be true.
Euph. — Now it would feem worth while to confider, whether the regular decent life of a virtuous man may not as much conduce to this end, as the mad fallies of intemperance and debauchery.
Lys. — I will acknowledge, that a nation may merely fubfift, or be kept alive, but it is impoffible it mould flourilh without the aid of vice. To produce a quick circulation of traffic and wealth in a ftate, there mull be exorbitant and irregular motions in the appetites and paffions.
Euph. — The more people a nation contains, and the happier thofe people are, the more that nation may be faid to flourim. I think we are agreed in this point.
Lys.— We are.
Euph. — You allow then, that riches are not an ultimate end, but mould only be confidered as the means to procure happinefs.
Lys. — I do.
Euph. — It feems, that means cannot be of ufe without our knowing the end, and how to apply them to it.
Lys. — It feems fo.
Euph. — Will it not follow, that in order to make a nation flourim, it is not fufiicient to make it wealthy, without knowing the true £nd and happinefs of mankind, and how to apply wealth towards attaining that end? In proportion as thefe points are known and praclifed, I think the nation mould be likely to flourifh. But for a people; who neither know nor practife them, to gain riches, feems to me the fame advantage that it would be for a fick man to come at plenty of meat and drink, which he could not ufe but to his hurt, Lys. — This is mere fophiftry ♦, it is arguing without perfuading. Look into common life *, examine the purfuits of men; have a due refpect for the confent of the world •, and you will foon be convinced, that riches alone are fufficient to make a nation flourifhing and happy. Give them riches, and they will make themfelves happy, without that political invention, that trick of ftatefmen and Philofophers, called virtue.
XI. Euph. — Virtue then, in your account, is a trick of ftatefmen. Lys. — It is.
Euph. — Why then do your fagacious feci betray and divulge that trick or fecret ftate, which wife men have judged neceflary for the good government of the world I Lyficles hefitating, Crito made anfwer, that he prefumed it was becaufe their feet, being wifer than all other wife men, difdained to fee the world governed by wrong maxims, and would fet all things on a right bottom.
Euph. — Thus much is certain: If we look into all inftitutions of government, and the political writings of fuch as have heretofore paffed for wife men, we mall find a great regard for virtue.
Lys.' — You {hall find a ftrong tincture of prejudice. But, as I faid before, confult the multitude, if you would find nature and truth.
Euph. — But among country gentlemen, and farmers, and the better fort of tradefmen, is not virtue a reputable thing?
Lys. — You pick up authorities among men of law life and vile education.
Euph. — Perhaps we ought to pay a decent refpecl to the authority of Minute Philofophers.
Lys. — And I would fain know, whofe authority mould be more confidered, than that of thofe gentlemen, who are alone above prejudice, and think for themfelves.
Euph. — -How doth it appear, that you are the only unprejudiced part of mankind? may not a Minute Philofopher, as well as another man, be prejudiced in favor of the leaders of his feci:? May not an atheiftical education prejudice towards atheifm? what Ihould hinder a man's being prejudiced againft religion, as well as for it? or can you affign any reafon, why an attachment to pleafure, intereft, vice or vanity, may not be fuppofed to prejudice men againft virtue?
Lys. — This is pleafant. What! Suppofe thofe very men influenced by prejudice, who are always difputing againft it, whofe conftant aim it is to detect and demolifh prejudices of all kinds! except their own, replied Crttoy for you muft pardon me, if I cannot help thinking they have fome fmall prejudice, though not in favor of virtue.
XII. I obferve, Lyftcles, that you allowed to Ettphratier, the greater number of happy people are in a ftate, the more that ftate may be faid to flourifti: It follows therefore, That fuch methods as multiply inhabitants are good, and fuch as dirtiinilh them are bad for the public.
And one would think no body need be told, that the irrength of a ftate confifts more in the number and fort of people, than in any thing elfe. But in proportion as vice and luxury, thofe public blcflings encouraged by this Minute Philofcphy, prevail among us, fewer are difpofed to marry, too many being diverted by pleafure, difabled by difeafe, or frightened by expenfe. Nor doth vice only thin a nation, but alfo debafeth it by a puny degenerate race. I might add, that it is ruinous to our manufactures; both as it makes labor dear, and thereby enables our more frugal neighbors to underfel us: and alfo, as it diverts the lower fort of people from honed callings to wicked projects. If thefe, and fuch confiderations, were taken into the account, I believe it would be evident to any man in his fenfes, that the imaginary benefits of vice bear no proportion to the folid real woes that attend it. Lyjicles, upon this, {hook his head, and fmiled at Critoy without vouchfafing any other anfwer. After which, addreffing himfelf to Euphranor, there cannot, faid he, be a ftronger inflance of prejudice, than that a man fhould at this time of day preferve a reverence for that idol, virtue, a thing fo effectually expofed and exploded by the mod knowing men of the age, who have fhewn, that man is a mere engine, played upon and driven about by fenfible objects: and that moral virtue is only a name, a notion, a chimera, an enthufiafm, or at beft a fafhion, uncertain and changeable, like all other falhions.* Euph.— -What do you think, Lyjicles, of health? doth it depend on fancy and caprice, or is it fomething real in the bodily compofition of a man?
Lys. — Health is fomething real, which refults from the right conftitution and temperature of the organs, and the fluids circulating through them.
Euph. — This, you fay, is health of body.
Lys. — It is.
Euph. — And may we not fuppofe an healthy conftitution of foul, when the notions are right, the judgments true, the will regular, the paflions and appetites dire£l-*ed to their proper objects, and confined within due bounds? This, in regard to the foul, feems what health is to the body. And the man, whofe mind is fo conftituted, * In morals, there is no greater certainty, than in fafhions. Fable of the Bees, Part the Firft, p. 379.
[Dial. II.] MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. 7p is he not properly called virtuous? And to produce this healthy difpofition in the minds of his countrymen, fhould not every good man employ his endeavors? If thefe things have any appearance of truth, as to me they feem to have, it will not then be fo clear a point, that virtue is a mere whim, or fafhion, as you are pleafed to reprefent it: I muft own, fomething unexpectedly, after what had been difcourfed in laft evening's conference, which, if you would call to mind, it might perhaps fave both of us fome trouble.
Lys. — Would you know the truth, Euphranor.? I muft own, I have quite forgot all your difcourfe about virtue, duty, and all fuch points, which, being of an airy, notional nature, are apt to vanifh, and leave no trace on a mind accuftomed only to receive impreffion from realities.
XIII. Having heard thefe words, Euphranor looked at Crito and me, and faid fmiling, I have miflaken my part: it was mine to learn, and his to inftrucl:. Then addreffing himfelf to Lyjtcles, Deal faithfully, faid he, and let me know whether the public benefit of vice be, in truth, that which makes you plead for it?
Lys. — I love to fpeak frankly what I think. Know then, that private intereft is the nrft and principal confideration with philofophers of our feci;. Now, of all interefts, pleafure is that which hath the ftrongeft charms, and no pleafures like thofe which are heightened and enlivened by licence. Herein confifts the peculiar excellency of our principles, that they (hew people how to ferve their country by diverting themfelves, caufing the two ftreams of public fpirit and felf-love to unite and run in the fame channel. I have told you already, that I admit a nation might fubfifh by the rules of virtue. But give me leave to fay, it will barely fubfift in a dull, joylefs, infipid ftate j whereas, the fprightly exceffes of vice infpire men with joy. ' And where particulars rejoice, the public, which is made up of particulars, muft do fo too: that is, the public muft be happy. This I take to be an irrefragable argument. But, to give you its full force, and make it as plain as poffible, I will trace things from their original. Happinefs is the end tp which created beings naturally tend, but we find that all animals, whether men or brutes, do naturally and principally purfue real pleafure of fenfe; whicli is therefore to be thought their fupreme good, their true end and happinefs. It is for this men live -, and, whoever underftands life, muft allow that man to enjoy the top and flower of it, who hath a quick fenfe of pleafure, and withal, fpirit, flrill, and fortune, fufncient to gratify every appetite, and every tafte. Niggards and fools will envy or traduce fuch a one, becaufe they cannot equal him. Hence, all that fober trifling, in diiparagement of what every one would be mafter of if he could, a full freedom and unlimited fcope of pleafure.
Euph. — Let me fee whether I underftand you. Pleafure of fenfe, you fay, is the chief pleafure.
Lys. — I do.
Euph. — And this would be crampt and diminished by virtue.
Lys.- — It would.
Euph.- — Tell me, Lyftcles, is pleafure then at the height when the appetites are fatisfied?
Lys. — There is then only an indolence, the lively fenfe of pleafure being paft.
Euph. — It muft feem, therefore, that the appetites muft be always craving to preferve pleafure alive.
Lys. — That is our fenfe of the matter.
Euph. — The Greek philofopher, therefore, was in the right, who confidered the body of a man of pleafure as a leaky veffel, always filling, and never full.
Lys. — Yea may divert yourfelf with allegories, if you pleafe. But all the while ours is literally the true tafte of nature. Look throughout the univerfe, and you fhall find birds and fillies, beafts and infers, all kinds of animals, with which the creation fwarms, conftantly engaged, by inftin&, in the purfuk of fenfible pleafure. And fhallman alone be the grave fool, who thwarts, and crofTes, and fubdues his appetites, while his fellow creatures do all mod joyfully and freely indulge them?
Euph. — How! Lyficles! I thought, that being governed by the fenfes, appetites, and paffions, was the mod grievous flavery: and that the proper bufinefs of freethinkers, or philofophers, had been to fet men free from the power of ambition, avarice, and fenfuality.
Lys. — You miftake the point. We make men relifh the world, attentive to their interefts, lively and luxurious in their pleafures, without fear or reftraint either from God or man. We defpife thofe preaching writers, who ufed to difturb or cramp the pleafures and amufements of human life. We hold, that a wife man, who meddles with bufinefs, doth it altogether for his intereft, and refers his intereft to his pleafure. With us it is a maxim, that a man mould feize the moments as they fly. Without love, • and wine, and play, and late hours, we hold life not to be worth living. I grant, indeed, that there is fomething grofs and ill-bred in the vices of mean men, which the genteel philofopher abhors.
Cri.— But to cheat, whore, betray, get drunk; do all thefe things decently, this is true wifdom and elegance of tafte.
XIV. Eurn. — To me, who have been ufed to another way of thinking, this new philofophy feems difficult to digefl. I mult therefore beg leave to examine its principles, with the fame freedom that you do t&ofe other feels.
Lys. — Agreed.
Euph.' — You fay, if I miftake not, that a wife man purfues only his private intereft, and that this confifts in fenfual pleafure; for proof whereof, you appeal to nature. Is not this what you advance?
Lys. — It is.
Euph. — You conclude, therefore, that as other animals are guided by natural inftinct, man too ought to follow the dictates of fenfe and appetite.
Lys. — I do.
Euph. — But in this, do you not argue as if man had only fenfe and appetite for his guides, on which fuppofition there might be truth in what you fay? But what if he hath intellect, reafon, a higher inftincl:, and a nobler life? If this be the cafe, and you, being man, live like a brute, is it not the way to be defrauded of your true happinefs? to be mortified and difappointed? Confider mod forts of brutes: you fhall, perhaps, find them have a greater (hare of fenfual happinefs than man.
Lys. — To our forrow, we do. This hath made feveral gentlemen of our feci: envy brutes, and lament the lot of human kind.
Cri. — It was a confideration of this fort, which infpired Erotylus with the laudable ambition of wifhing himfelf a fnaii, upon hearing of certain particularities difcovered in that animal by a modern virtuofo.
Euph. — Tell me, Lyficlcs, if you had an inexhauftible fund of gold and filver, mould you envy another for having a little more copper than you?
Lys. — I fhould not.
Euph. — Are not reafon, imagination, and fenfe, faculties differing in kind, and in rank higher one than another?
Lys. — I do not deny it.
Euph. — Their acls, therefore, differ in kind.
Lys. — They do.
Euph. — Confequently, the pleafures perfective of thofc a£U are alfo different.
Lys.- — They are.
Euph You admit, therefore, three forts of pleafure: pleafure of reafon, pleafure of imagination, and pleafure of fenfe.
Lys. — I do.
Euph. — And, as it is reafonable to think, the operation of the higheft and nobleft faculty to be attended with the higheit pleafure, may we not fuppofe the two former to be as gold or filver, and the latter only as copper? Whence it mould feem to follow, that man need not envy or imitate a brute.
Lys. — And neverthelefs there are very ingenious men who do. And furely every one may be allowed to know what he wants, and wherein his true happinefs confifts.
Euph. — Is it not plain, that different animals have different pleafures? Take a hog from his ditch or dunghill, lay him on a rich bed, treat him with fweetmeats, and mufic, and perfumes: All thefe things will be no entertainment to him. Do not a bird, a beaft, a fifh, amufe themfelves in various manners, infomuch that what is pleafing to one, may be death to another? Is it ever feen, that one of thefe animals quits its own element, or way of living, to adopt that of another? And (hall man quit his own nature to imitate a brute?
Lys. — But fenfe is not only natural to brutes; is it not alfo natural to man?
Euph. — It is, but with this difference; it maketh the whole of a brute's, but is the loweft part, or faculty, of a human foul. The nature of any thing is peculiarly that which doth diftinguifh it from other things, not what it hath in common with them. Do you allow this to be true?
Lys. — I do.
Euph.— And is not reafon that which makes the principal difference between man and other animals?
Lys. — It is.
&l MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. [Dial. II.]
Euph. — Reafon, therefore, being the principal part of our nature, whatever is molt reasonable, fhould feem mod natural to man. Mud we not, therefore, think rational pleafures more agreeable to human kind, than thofe of fenfe? Man and beaft, having different natures, feem to have different faculties, different enjoyments, and different forts of happinefs. You can eafily conceive, that the fort of life which makes the happinefs of a mole, or a bat, would be a very wretched one for an eagle, And may you not as well conceive, that the happinefs of a brute can never conftitute the true happinefs of a man? A bead, without reflection or remorfe, without forefight or appetite of immortality, without notion of vice or virtue, or order, or reafon, or knowledge! What motives, what grounds can there be for bringing down man, in whom are all thefe things, to a level with fuch a creature? What merit, what ambition, in the Minute Philosopher, to make fuch an animal a guide or rule for human life?
XV. Lys. — It is ftrange, Euphranor^ that one who admits freedom of thought, as you do, mould yet be fuch a flave to prejudice. You ftill talk of order and virtue, as of real things,, as "if our philofophers had never demonftrated, that they have no foundation in nature, and are only the effects of education. I know, faid Crito, how the Minute Philofophers are accuftomed to demonftrate this point. They confider the animal nature of man, or man fo far forth as he is animal: and it muft be owned that, confidered in that light, he hath no fehfe of duty, no notion of virtue. He, therefore, who fhould look for virtue among mere animals, or human kind, as fuch, would look in the wrong place. But that philosopher, who is attentive only to the animal part of his being, and raifeth his theories from the very dregs of our fpecies, may, probably, upon fecond thoughts, find himfelf miftaken.
Look you, Critof faid Lyfichs, my argument is with Euphranor, to whom addrefling his difeourfe, I obferve, faid he, that you ftand much upon the dignity of human nature. This thing of dignity is an old worn-out notion, which depends on other notions, old and ft ale and wornout, fuch as an immaterial fpirit, and a ray derived from the Divinity. But, in thefe days, men of fenie make a jeft of all this grandeur and dignity: and many there are, would gladly exchange their mare of it, for the repofe, and freedom, and fenfuality of a brute. But comparifons are odious: waving, therefore, all inquiry concerning the refpective excellencies of man and beaft, and whether it is beneath a man to follow or imitate brute animals, in judging of the chief good and conduct of life and manners, I fhall be content to appeal, to the authority of men themfelves, for the truth of my notions. Do but look abroad into the world, and afk the common run of men, whether pleafure of fenfe be not the only true, folid, fubftantial good of their kind?
Euph. — But might not the fame vulgar fort of men prefer a piece of fign-poft painting to one of Raphael's, or a Grub-Jlreet ballad to an ode of Horace? Is there not a real difference between good and bad writing?
Lys. — There is.
Euph. — And yet you will allow, there mult be a maturity and improvement of underftanding, to difcern this difference, which doth not make it, therefore, lefs real.
Lys. — I will.
Euph. — In the fame manner, what fhould hinder, but there may be, in nature, a true difference between vice and virtue, although it requires fome degree of reflection and judgment to obferve it? In order to know whether a thing be agreeable to the rational nature of man, it feems, one mould rather obferve and confult thofe who have mod employed, or improved their reafon.
Lys. — Well, I fhall not infift on confuking the com- 8(5 MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. [Dial. II] mon herd of mankind. From the ignorant and grofs vulgar, I might myfelf appeal, in many cafes, to men of rank and faihion.
Euph. — They are a fort of men, I have not the honor to know much of by my own obfervation. But I remember a remark of AriJlotle> who was himfelf a courtier, and knew them well. " Virtue, faith he, * and good fenfe, are not the property of high birth, or a great eftate. Nor, if they, who poflefs thefe advantages, wanting a tafte for rational pleafures, betake themfelves to thofe of fenfe -, ought we, therefore, to efteem them eligible, any more than we mould the toys and paftimes of children, becaufe they feem fo to them?" And indeed, one may be allowed to queftion, whether the trueft eftimate of things was to be expected from a mind intoxicated with luxury, and dazzled with the fplendor of high living.
Cumjlupet infants acies fulgoribus, & cum Acclinis falfis animus melior a recufat. HoR.
Crito, upon this, obferved, that he knew an Englijh nobleman, who, in the prime of life, profefleth a liberal art, and is the firft man of his profeflion in the world: and that he was very fure, he had more pleafure from the exercife of that elegant art, than from any fenfual enjoyment within the power of one of the largeft fortunes, and moft bountiful fpirits in Great-Britain, XVI. Lys. — But why need we have recourfe to the judgment of other men in fo plain a cafe? I appeal to your own breaft: confult that, and then fay, if fenfual pleafure be not the chief good of man.
Euph. — I, for my part, have often thought thofe pleafures, which are higheft in the efteem of fenfualifts, fo far from being the chiefeft good, that it feemed doubtful, upon the whole, whether they were any good at all, any more than the mere removal of pain. Are not our wants and appetites uneafy?
Lys. — They are.
Euph. — Doth not fenfual pleafure conlift in fatisfying them?
Lys. — It doth.
Euph. — But the cravings are tedious, the fatisfa&ion momentary. Is it not fo?
Lys. — It is, but what then?
Euph. — Why then, it mould feem, that fenfual pleafure is but a fhort deliverance from long pain. A long avenue of uneafinefs leads to a point of pleafure, which ends in difguft or remorfe.
Cri. — And he who purfues this ignis fatuus imagines himfelf a Philofopher and free-thinker.
Lys. — Pedants are governed by words and notions, while the wifer men of pleafure follow fa&, nature, and fenfe.
Cri. — But what if notional pleafures mould, in fact, prove the moll real and lading? Pure pleafures of reafon and imagination neither hurt the health, nor wafte the fortune, nor gall the confcience. By them, the mind is long entertained without loathing or fatiety. On the other hand, a notion, (which, with you, it feems, paffeth for nothing) often embitters the moll lively fenfual pleafures, which, at bottom, will be found alfo to depend upon notion, more than perhaps you imagine: it being a vulgar remark, that thofe things are more enjoyed by hope and foretafte of the foul, than by poffeflion. Thus much is yielded, that actual enjoyment is very ihort, and the alternative of appetite and difguft long, as well as uneafy. So that, upon the whole, it mould feem thofe gentlemen, who are called men of pleafure, from their eager purfuit of it, do in reality, with great expenfe of fortune, eafe, and health, purchafe pain.
Lys. — You may fpin out plaufible arguments, but will, after all, find it a difficult matter to convince me, that fo many ingenious men mould not be able to diftinguifh between things fo directly oppofite as pain and pleafure. How is it poffible to account for this?
Cri. — I believe a reafon may be afhgned for it, but to men of pleafure no truth is fo palitable as a fable. Jove once upon a time having ordered, that pleafure and pain mould be mixed, in equal proportions, in every dofe of human life, upon a complaint that fome men endeavored to feparate whathehad joined, and taking more than their (hare of the fweet, would leave all the four for others, commanded Mercury to put a flop to this evil, by fixing on each delinquent a pair of invifible fpe&acles, which fhould change the appearance of things, making pain look like pleafure, and pleafure like pain, labour like recreation, and recreation like labour. From that time, the men of pleafure are eternally miftaking and repenting.
Lys. — If your doctrine takes place, I would fain know what can be the advantage of a great fortune, which all mankind fo eagerly purfue?
Cri. — "It is a common faying with Eucrates, that a great fortune is an edged tool, which a hundred may come at, for o?ie who knows how to ufe it, fo much eafier is the art of getting, than that of fpending. What its advantage is, I will not fay, but I will venture to declare what it is not, I am fure that where abundance excludes want, and enjoyment prevents appetite, there is not the quickeft fenfe of thofe pleafures we have been fpeaking of: in which the footman hath often a greater (hare than his lord, who cannot enlarge his ftomach in proportion to his eftate.
XVII. Reafonabie and well-educated men, of all ranks, have, I believe, pretty much the fame amufements, notwithftanding the difference of their fortunes: but thofe who are particularly diftinguifhed, as men of pleafure, feem to poffefs it in a very fmall degree.
Euph. — I have heard, that among perfons of that character, a game of cards is efteemed a chief diverfion.
Lys. — Without cards, there could be no living for people of fafhion. It is the moft delightful way of palling an evening, when gentlemen and ladies are got together, who would otherwife he at a lofs what to fay or do with themfelves. But a pack of cards is fo engaging, that it doth not only employ them, when they are met, but ferves to draw them together. Quadrille gives them pleafure in profpeclr, during the dull hours of the day, they reflect on it with delight, and it furnifhes difcourfe when it is over.
Cri. — One would be apt to fufpett, thofe people of condition pafs their time but heavily, and are but little the better for their fortunes, whofe chief amufement is a thing in the power of every footman, who is as well qualified to receive pleafure from cards as a peer. I can eafily conceive that, when people of a certain turn are got together, they fhould prefer doing any thing to the ennui of their own converfation: but it is not eafy to conceive, that there is any great pleafure in this. What a cardtable can afford, requires neither parts nor fortune to judge of.
Lys. — Play is a ferious amufement, that comes to the relief of a man of pleafure, after the more lively and affecting enjoyments of fenfe. It kills time beyond any thing; and is a moft admirable anodyne to divert or prevent thought, which might, otherwife, prey upon the mind.
Cri. — I readily comprehend, that no man upon earth ought to prize anodynes for the fpleen, more than a man of fafhion and pleafure. An ancient fagc, fpeaking of one of that character, faith, he is made wretched by disappointments and appetites, lupcitai apotunchanony kai epithumon. And if this was true of the Greehsy who lived in the fun, and had no fuch fpirit, I am apt to think it is dill more fo of our modern Englifh, Something there is M 9o MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. [Dial. II.]