City, and I wish there never may. But I fhould be very forry, that any of them should be fo weak, as to imitate a* Court-Chaplain in ENGLAND, Who preached against the Beggar's Opera; which will probably do more Good, than a thousand Sermons of fo ftupid, fo injudicious, and fo prostitute a Di

vine.

In this happy Performance of Mr. GAY's, all the Characters are juft, and none of them carried beyond Nature, or hardly beyond Practice. It dif covers the whole Syftem of that Common Wealth, or that Imperium in Imperio of Iniquity, eftablished among us, by which neither our Lives nor our Properties are fecure, either in the High-ways, or in publick Affemblies, or even in our own Houses. It fhews the miferable Lives and the conftant Fate of those abandoned Wretches: For how little they fell their Lives and Souls; betrayed by their Whores, their Comrades, and the Receivers and Purchafers of those Thefts and Robberies. This Comedy contains likewise a Satyr, which, without enquiring whether it affects the prefent Age, may poffibly be ufeful in Times to come. I mean, where the Author takes the Occafion of comparing those common Robbers of the Publick, and their feveral Stratagems of betraying, undermining and hanging each other, to the feveral Arts of Politicians in Times of Corruption.

THIS Comedy likewife expofeth with great Juftice, that unnatural Tafte for Italian Mufick among us, which is wholly unfuitable to our Nor

* Dr. Herring, Chaplain to the Society at Lincoln's-Inn.

VOL. I

T

thern

thern Climate, and the Genius of the People, whereby we are over-run with Italian-Effeminacy, and Italian Nonfenfe. An old Gentleman faid to me, that many Years ago, when the Practice of an unnatural Vice grew frequent in London, and many were profecuted for it, he was fure it would be the Fore-runner of Italian Opera's and Singers; and then we should have nothing but Stabbing or Poisoning, to make us perfe&t Italians.

UPON the whole, I deliver my Judgment, That nothing but fervile Attachment to a Party, Affectation of Singularity, lamentable Dullness, mistaken Zeal, or ftudied Hypocrify, can have the leait reafonable Objection against this excellent moral Performance of the Celebrated Mr. GAY.

THE

THE

INTELLIGENCER.

NUMBER V.

Written in the Year 1728.

HERE is no Talent fo ufeful towards rifing in the World, or which puts Men more out of the Reach of Fortune, than that Quality generally poffeffed by the dulleft Sort of Men, in common Speech called Difcretion; a Species of lower Prudence, by the Affiftance of which, People of the meaneft Intellectuals, without any o ther Qualification, pafs through the World in great Tranquility, and with univerfal good Treatment, neither giving nor taking Offence. Courts are feldom unprovided of Perfons under this Character; on whom, if they happen to be of great Quality, moft Employments, even the greateft, naturally fall, when Competitors will not agree; and in fuch Promotions, no body rejoices or grieves. The Truth of this I could prove by feveral Inftances, within

my own Memory, (for 1 fay nothing of present Times.)

AND, indeed, as Regularity and Forms are of great Ufe in carrying on the Bufinefs of the World, fo it is very convenient, that Perfons endued with this Kind of Difcretion, fhould have the Share which is proper to their Talents, in the Condu& of Affairs; but, by no Means, meddle in Matters which require Genius, Learning, ftrong Comprehenfion, Quickness of Conception, Magnanimity, Generofity, Sagacity, or any other fuperior Gift of human Minds. Because, this Sort of Difcretion, is usually attended with a strong Defire of Money, and few Scruples about the Way of obtaining it; with fervile Flattery and Submiffion; with a Want of all publick Spirit or Principle; with a perpetual wrong Judgment, when the Owners come into Power and high Place, how to difpofe of Favour and Preferment; having no Measure for Merit and Virtue in others, but thofe very Steps by which themselves afcended; nor the leaft Intention of doing Good, or Hurt to the Publick; farther, than either one or t'other, is likely to be fubfervient to their own Security, or Interest. Thus, being void of all Friendship and Enmity, they never complain or find Fault with the Times; and indeed never have Reason.

MEN of eminent Parts and Abilities, as well as Virtues, do fometimes rife in Courts, fometimes in the Law, and fometimes even in the Church, Such were the Lord Bacon, the Earl of Strafford, Archbishop Laud in the Reign of King Charles I. and others in our own Times, whom I shall not name. But these, and many more, under different Princes, and in different Kingdoms, were disgraced, or banished,

nifhed, or fuffered Death, merely in Envy to their Virtues and fuperior Genius, which emboldened them in great Exigencies and Diftreffes of State, (wanting a reasonable Infufion of this Aldermanly Discretion) to attempt the Service of their Prince and Country, out of the common Forms.

THIS evil Fortune, which generally attends extraordinary Men in the Management of great Affairs, hath been imputed to divers Causes, that need not be here fet down, when so obvious a One occurs; if what a certain Writer obferves, be true; that when a great Genius appears in the World, the Dunces are all in Confederacy against him. And, if this be his Fate, when he employs his Talents wholly in his Clofet, without interfering with any Man's Ambition, or Avarice; what must he expec when he ventures out to feek for Preferment in a Court, but universal Oppofition, when he is mounting the Ladder, and every Hand ready to turn him off, when he is at the Top? And in this Point, Fortune generally acts directly contrary to Nature; for in Nature we find, that Bodies full of Life and Spirit mount eafily, and are hard to fall; whereas heavy Bodies are hard to rife, and come down with greater Velocity, in Proportion to their Weight: But we find Fortune every Day acting just the Reverse of this.

THIS Talent of Difcretion, as I have defcribed it in its several Adjuncts and Circumstances, is no where fo ferviceable as to the Clergy; to whofe Preferment nothing is fo fatal as the Character of

* Vide the Author's Thoughts on various Subjects,

Wit,