—Omnem, quae nunc obducta tuentiMortales hebetat visus tibi, et humida circumCaligat, nubem eripiam.VIRG., AEn. ii. 604. The cloud, which, intercepting the clear light,Hangs o’er thy eyes, and blunts thy mortal sight,I will remove. When I was at Grand Cairo, I picked up several Oriental manuscripts, which I have still by me. Among others I met […]

–Cui mens divinior, atque osMagna sonaturum des nominis hujus honorem.HOR., Sat. i. 4, 43. On him confer the poet’s sacred name,Whose lofty voice declares the heavenly flame. There is no character more frequently given to a writer than that of being a genius. I have heard many a little sonneteer called a fine genius. There […]

Illa; Quis et me, inquit, miseram et te perdidit, Orpheu?—Jamque vale: feror ingenti circumdata nocte,Invalidasque tibi tendens, heu! non tua, palmas.VIRG., Georg., iv. 494. Then thus the bride: “What fury seiz’d on thee,Unhappy man! to lose thyself and me?–And now farewell! involv’d in shades of night,For ever I am ravish’d from thy sight:In vain I […]

Part One. —Spatio breviSpem longam reseces: dum loquimur, fugerit invidaAEtas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. HOR., Od. i. 11, 6. Thy lengthen’d hope with prudence bound,Proportion’d to the flying hour:While thus we talk in careless ease,Our envious minutes wing their flight;Then swift the fleeting pleasure seize,Nor trust to-morrow’s doubtful light. FRANCIS. We all of […]

Romulus, et Liber pater, et cum Castore Pollux,Post ingentia facta, deorum in templa recepti;Dum terras hominumque colunt genus, aspera bellaComponunt, agros assignant, oppida condunt;Ploravere suis non respondere favoremSperatum meritis. HOR., Epist. ii. 1, 5. MITATED. Edward and Henry, now the boast of fame,And virtuous Alfred, a more sacred name,After a life of generous toils endured,The […]

Est brevitate opus, ut currat sententia, HOR., Sat. i. 10, 9. Let brevity despatch the rapid thought. I have somewhere read of an eminent person who used in his private offices of devotion to give thanks to Heaven that he was born a Frenchman: for my own part I look upon it as a peculiar […]

— Animum pictura pascit inani. VIRG., AEn. i. 464. And with the shadowy picture feeds his mind. When the weather hinders me from taking my diversions without-doors, I frequently make a little party, with two or three select friends, to visit anything curious that may be seen under cover. My principal entertainments of this nature […]

I was yesterday morning walking with Sir Roger before his house, a country-fellow brought him a huge fish, which, he told him, Mr. William Wimble had caught that very morning; and that he presented it, with his service to him, and intended to come and dine with him. At the same time he delivered a […]

I am always very well pleased with a country Sunday, and think, if keeping holy the seventh day were only a human institution, it would be the best method that could have been thought of for the polishing and civilizing of mankind. It is certain the country people would soon degenerate into a kind of […]

–Remove fera monstra, tuaequeSaxificos vultus, quaecunque ea, tolle Medusae.OVID, Met. v. 216. Hence with those monstrous features, and, O! spareThat Gorgon’s look, and petrifying stare. POPE. In a late paper, I mentioned the project of an ingenious author for the erecting of several handicraft prizes to be contended for by our British artisans, and the […]

Si fractus illabatur orbis,Impavidum ferient ruinae. –HOR., Car. iii. 3, 7. Should the whole frame of nature round him break,In ruin and confusion hurled,He, unconcerned, would hear the mighty crack,And stand secure amidst a falling world. ANON. Man, considered in himself, is a very helpless and a very wretched being. He is subject every moment […]

Having often received an invitation from my friend Sir Roger de Coverley to pass away a month with him in the country, I last week accompanied him thither, and am settled with him for some time at his country-house, where I intend to form several of my ensuing Speculations. Sir Roger, who is very well […]

Part One. Sic vita erat: facile omnes perferre ac pati:Cum quibus erat cunque una, his sese dedere,Eorum obsequi studiis: advorsus nemini;Nunquam praeponens se aliis. Ita facillimeSine invidia invenias laudem.– TER., Andr., Act i. se. 1. His manner of life was this: to bear with everybody’s humours; to comply with the inclinations and pursuits of those […]

A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart; his next, to escape the censures of the world. If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it […]

No. 315Saturday, March 1, 1712. Addison. Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit. Hor. Horace advises a Poet to consider thoroughly the Nature and Force of his Genius. [1] Milton seems to have known perfectly well, wherein his Strength lay, and has therefore chosen a Subject entirely conformable to those Talents, of which he […]

No. 317.Tuesday, March 4, 1712. Addison. –fruges consumere nati. Hor. Augustus, a few Moments before his Death, asked his Friends who stood about him, if they thought he had acted his Part well; and upon receiving such an Answer as was due to his extraordinary Merit, Let me then, says he, go off the Stage […]

No. 321Saturday, March 8, 1712. Addison. Nec satis est pulchra esse poemata, dulcia sunto. Hor. Those, who know how many Volumes have been written on the Poems of Homer and Virgil, will easily pardon the Length of my Discourse upon Milton. The Paradise Lost is looked upon, by the best Judges, as the greatest Production, […]

No. 323Tuesday, March 11, 1712. Addison. Modo Vir, modo Foemina. [1] Virg. The journal with which I presented my Reader on Tuesday last, has brought me in several Letters, with Accounts of many private Lives cast into that Form. I have the Rakes Journal, the Sots Journal, the Whoremasters Journal, and among several others a […]

No. 329Tuesday, March 18, 1712. Addison. Ire tamen restat, Numa quo devenit et Ancus. Hor. My friend Sir ROGER DE COVERLEY told me tother Night, that he had been reading my Paper upon Westminster Abby, in which, says he, there are a great many ingenious Fancies. He told me at the same time, that he […]

No. 328Monday, March 17, 1712. Addison. Nullum me a labore reclinat otium. Hor. Mr. SPECTATOR, As I believe this is the first Complaint that ever was made to you of this nature, so you are the first Person I ever could prevail upon my self to lay it before. When I tell you I have […]

No. 327Saturday, March 15, 1712. Addison. Major rerum mihi nascitur ordo. Virg. We were told in the foregoing Book how the evil Spirit practised upon Eve as she lay asleep, in order to inspire her with Thoughts of Vanity, Pride, and Ambition. The Author, who shews a wonderful Art throughout his whole Poem, in preparing […]

No. 333Saturday, March 22, 1712. Addison. –vocat in Certamina Divos. Virg. We are now entering upon the Sixth Book of Paradise Lost, in which the Poet describes the Battel of Angels; having raised his Readers Expectation, and prepared him for it by several Passages in the preceding Books. I omitted quoting these Passages in my […]

No. 335Tuesday, March 25, 1712. Addison. Respicere exemplar vitae morumque jubebo Doctum imitatorem, et veras hinc ducere voces. Hor. My Friend Sir ROGER DE COVERLEY, when we last met together at the Club, told me, that he had a great mind to see the new Tragedy [1] with me, assuring me at the same time, […]

No. 339Saturday, March 29, 1712. Addison [–Ut his exordia primisOmnia, et ipse tener Mundi concreverit orbis.Tum durare solum et discludere Nerea pontoCoeperit, et rerum pauliatim sumere formas. Virg. [1]] Longinus has observed, [2] that there may be a Loftiness in Sentiments, where there is no Passion, and brings Instances out of ancient Authors to support […]

No. 338Friday, March 28, 1712. [–Nil fuit unquam Tam dispar sibi. Hor. [1]] I find the Tragedy of the Distrest Mother is publish’d today: The Author of the Prologue, I suppose, pleads an old Excuse I have read somewhere, of being dull with Design; and the Gentleman who writ the Epilogue [2] has, to my […]

No. 343Thursday, April 3, 1712. Addison. –Errat et illincHuc venit, hinc illuc, et quoslibet occupat artusSpiritus: eque feris humana in corpora transit,Inque feras noster– Pythag. ap. Ov. Will. Honeycomb, who loves to shew upon occasion all the little Learning he has picked up, told us yesterday at the Club, that he thought there might be […]

No. 345Saturday, April 5, 1712. Addison. Sanctius his animal, mentisque capacius altae Deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in coetera posset, Natus homo est. Ov. Met. The Accounts which Raphael gives of the Battel of Angels, and the Creation of the World, have in them those Qualifications which the Criticks judge requisite to an Episode. They […]

No. 351Saturday, April 12, 1712. Addison. In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit. Virg. If we look into the three great Heroick Poems which have appeared in the World, we may observe that they are built upon very slight Foundations. Homer lived near 300 Years after the Trojan War; and, as the writing of History was […]

No. 349Thursday, April 10, 1712. Addison. Quos ille timorumMaximus haud urget lethi metus: inde ruendiIn ferrum mens prona viris, animaeque capacesMortis. Lucan. I am very much pleased with a Consolatory Letter of Phalaris, to one who had lost a Son that was a young Man of great Merit. The Thought with which he comforts the […]

No. 357Saturday, April 19, 1712. Addison. [Quis talia fando Temperet a lachrymis? Virg.] [1] The Tenth Book of Paradise Lost has a greater variety of Persons in it than any other in the whole Poem. The Author upon the winding up of his Action introduces all those who had any Concern in it, and shews […]

No. 355Thursday, April 17, 1712. Addison. Non ego mordaci distrinxi carmine [quenquam. Ovid. [1]] I have been very often tempted to write Invectives upon those who have detracted from my Works, or spoken in derogation of my Person; but I look upon it as a particular Happiness, that I have always hindred my Resentments from […]

No. 363Saturday, April 26, 1712. Addison. ‘–Crudelis ubique Luctus, ubique pavor, et plurima Mortis Imago.’ Virg. Milton has shewn a wonderful Art in describing that variety of Passions which arise in our first Parents upon the Breach of the Commandment that had been given them. We see them gradually passing from the Triumph of their […]

No. 361Thursday, April 24, 1712. Addison. Tartaream intendit vocem, qua protinus omnis Contremuit domus– Virg. I have lately received the following Letter from a Country Gentleman. Mr. SPECTATOR, The Night before I left London I went to see a Play, called The Humorous Lieutenant. [1] Upon the Rising of the Curtain I was very much […]

No. 367Thursday, May 1, 1712. Addison. ‘–Periturae parcite chartae.’ Juv. I have often pleased my self with considering the two kinds of Benefits which accrue to the Publick from these my Speculations, and which, were I to speak after the manner of Logicians, I would distinguish into the Material and the Formal. By the latter […]

No. 369Saturday, May 3, 1712. Addison. ‘Segnius irritant animos demissa per auresQuam quae sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus–‘ Hor. Milton, after having represented in Vision the History of Mankind to the first great Period of Nature, dispatches the remaining part of it in Narration. He has devised a very handsome Reason for the Angels proceeding with […]

No. 377Tuesday, May 13, 1712. Addison. ‘Quid quisque vitet, nunquam homini satis Cautum est in horas–‘ Hor. Love was the Mother of Poetry, and still produces, among the most ignorant and barbarous, a thousand imaginary Distresses and Poetical Complaints. It makes a Footman talk like Oroondates, and converts a brutal Rustick into a gentle Swain. […]

No. 375Saturday, May 10, 1712. Hughes. ‘Non possidentem multa vocaverisRecte beatum: rectius occupatNomen beati, qui DeorumMuneribus sapienter uti,Duramque callet Pauperiem pati,Pejusque Letho flagitium timet.’ Hor. I have more than once had occasion to mention a noble Saying of Seneca the Philosopher, That a virtuous Person struggling with Misfortunes, and rising above them, is an Object […]

No. 383Tuesday, May 20, 1712. Addison. ‘Criminibus debent Hortos–‘ Hor. As I was sitting in my Chamber, and thinking on a Subject for my next Spectator, I heard two or three irregular Bounces at my Landlady’s Door, and upon the opening of it, a loud chearful Voice enquiring whether the Philosopher was at Home. The […]

No. 381Saturday, May 17, 1712. Addison. ‘AEquam memento rebus in arduis, Servare mentem, non secus in bonis Ab insolenti temperatam Laetitia, moriture Deli.’ Hor. I have always preferred Chearfulness to Mirth. The latter, I consider as an Act, the former as an Habit of the Mind. Mirth is short and transient. Chearfulness fixed and permanent. […]

No. 387 [1]Saturday, May 24, 1712. Addison. ‘Quid pure tranquillet–‘ Hor. In my last Saturday’s Paper I spoke of Chearfulness as it is a Moral Habit of the Mind, and accordingly mentioned such moral Motives as are apt to cherish and keep alive this happy Temper in the Soul of Man: I shall now consider […]

No. 391Thursday, May 29, 1712. Addison. ‘–Non tu prece poscis emaci,Qua nisi seductis nequeas committere Divis:At bona pars procerum tacita libabit acerra.Haud cuivis promptum est, murmurque humilesque susurrosTollere de Templis; et aperto vivere voto.Mens bona, fama, fides, haec clare, et ut audiat hospes.Illa sibi introrsum, et sub lingua immurmurat: O siEbullit patrui praeclarum funus! Et […]

No. 388Monday, May 26, 1712. Barr? [1] ‘–Tibi res antiquae Laudis et Artis Ingredior; sanctos ausus recludere Fontes.’ Virg. Mr. SPECTATOR, It is my Custom, when I read your Papers, to read over the Quotations in the Authors from whence you take them: As you mentiond a Passage lately out of the second Chapter of […]

No. 393Saturday, May 31, 1712. Addison. ‘Nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine laeti.’ Virg. Looking over the Letters that have been sent me, I chanced to find the following one, which I received about two years ago from an ingenious Friend, who was then in Denmark. Copenhagen, May 1, 1710. Dear Sir, The Spring with you […]

No. 399Saturday, June 7, 1712. Addison. ‘Ut nemo in sese tentat descendere!’ Pers. Hypocrisie, at the fashionable End of the Town, is very different from Hypocrisie in the City. The modish Hypocrite endeavours to appear more vicious than he really is, the other kind of Hypocrite more virtuous. The former is afraid of every thing […]

No. 397Thursday, June 5, 1712. Addison. ‘–Dolor ipse disertum Fecerat–‘ Ovid. As the Stoick Philosophers discard all Passions in general, they will not allow a Wise Man so much as to pity the Afflictions of another. If thou seest thy Friend in Trouble, says Epictetus, thou mayst put on a Look of Sorrow, and condole […]

No. 396Wednesday, June 4, 1712. Henley. ‘Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferio, Baralipton.’ To Mr. SPECTATOR. [1] From St. John’s College Cambridge, Feb. 3, 1712. SIR, The Monopoly of Punns in this University has been an immemorial Privilege of the Johnians; and we can’t help resenting the late Invasion of our ancient Right as to that Particular, […]

No. 403Thursday, June 12, 1712. Addison. ‘Qui mores hominun multorum vidit?’ Hor. When I consider this great City in its several Quarters and Divisions, I look upon it as an Aggregate of various Nations distinguished from each other by their respective Customs, Manners and Interests. The Courts of two Countries do not so much differ […]

No. 371. Tuesday, May 6, 1712. Addison. ‘Jamne igitur laudas quod se sapientibus unus Ridebat?’ Juv. I shall communicate to my Reader the following Letter for the Entertainment of this Day. Sir, You know very well that our Nation is more famous for that sort of Men who are called Whims and Humourists, than any […]

No. 407Tuesday, June 17, 1712. Addison. ‘–abest facundis Gratia dictis.’ Ovid. Most Foreign Writers who have given any Character of the English Nation, whatever Vices they ascribe to it, allow in general, that the People are naturally Modest. It proceeds perhaps from this our National Virtue, that our Orators are observed to make use of […]

No. 405Saturday, June 14, 1712. Addison. [Greek:Oi de panaemerioi molpae theon hilaskonto,Kalon aeidontes paiaeona kouroi Achaion,Melpontes Ekaergon. Ho de phrena terpet akouon.] Hom. I am very sorry to find, by the Opera Bills for this Day, that we are likely to lose the greatest Performer in Dramatick Musick that is now living, or that perhaps […]

No. 413Tuesday, June 24, 1712. Addison. ‘–Causa latet, vis est notissima–‘ Ovid. Though in Yesterday’s Paper we considered how every thing that is Great, New, or Beautiful, is apt to affect the Imagination with Pleasure, we must own that it is impossible for us to assign the necessary Cause of this Pleasure, because we know […]

No. 412Monday, June 23, 1712. Addison. ‘–Divisum sic breve fiet Opus.’ Mart. I shall first consider those Pleasures of the Imagination, which arise from the actual View and Survey of outward Objects: And these, I think, all proceed from the Sight of what is Great, Uncommon, or Beautiful. There may, indeed, be something so terrible […]

No. 411Saturday, June 21, 1712. Addison. ‘Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius anteTrita solo; juvat integros accedere fonteis;Atque haurire:–‘ Lucr. Our Sight is the most perfect and most delightful of all our Senses. It fills the Mind with the largest Variety of Ideas, converses with its Objects at the greatest Distance, and continues the longest in […]

No. 410Friday, June 20, 1712. Tickell. ‘Dum foris sunt, nihil videtur Mundius,Nec magis compositum quidquam, nec magis elegans:Quae, cum amatore suo cum coenant, Liguriunt,Harum videre ingluviem, sordes, inopiam:Quam inhonestae solae sint domi, atque avidae cibi,Quo pacto ex Jure Hesterno panem atrum varent.Nosse omnia haec, salus est adolescentulis.’ Ter. WILL. HONEYCOMB, who disguises his present Decay […]

No. 409Thursday, June 19, 1712. Addison. ‘Musaeo contingere cuncta lepore.’ Lucr. Gratian very often recommends the Fine Taste, [1] as the utmost Perfection of an accomplished Man. As this Word arises very often in Conversation, I shall endeavour to give some Account of it, and to lay down Rules how we may know whether we […]

No. 1Thursday, March 1, 1711. Addison. ‘Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucemCogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat.’ Hor. I have observed, that a Reader seldom peruses a Book with Pleasure ’till he knows whether the Writer of it be a black or a fair Man, of a mild or cholerick Disposition, Married […]

No. 416Friday, June 27, 1712. Addison. ‘Quatenus hoc simile est oculis, quod mente videmus.’ Lucr. I at first divided the Pleasures of the Imagination, into such as arise from Objects that are actually before our Eyes, or that once entered in at our Eyes, and are afterwards called up into the Mind either barely by […]

No. 415Thursday, June 26, 1712. Addison. ‘Adde tot egregias urbes, operumque laborem.’ Virg. Having already shewn how the Fancy is affected by the Works of Nature, and afterwards considered in general both the Works of Nature and of Art, how they mutually assist and compleat each other, in forming such Scenes and Prospects as are […]

No. 414Wednesday, June 25, 1712. Addison. –Alterius sic Altera poscit opem res et conjurat amice. Hor. If we consider the Works of Nature and Art, as they are qualified to entertain the Imagination, we shall find the last very defective, in Comparison of the former; for though they may sometimes appear as Beautiful or Strange, […]

No. 5Tuesday, March 6, 1711. Addison. ‘Spectatum admissi risum teneatis?’ Hor. An Opera may be allowed to be extravagantly lavish in its Decorations, as its only Design is to gratify the Senses, and keep up an indolent Attention in the Audience. Common Sense however requires that there should be nothing in the Scenes and Machines […]

No. 3Saturday, March 3, 1711. Addison. ‘Quoi quisque fere studio devinctus adhaeret:Aut quibus in rebus multum sumus ante morati:Atque in qua ratione fuit contenta magis mens;In somnis eadem plerumque videmur obire.’ Lucr. L. 4. In one of my late Rambles, or rather Speculations, I looked into the great Hall where the Bank [1] is kept, […]

No. 9Saturday, March 10, 1711. Addison. Tigris agit rabida cum tigride pacemPerpetuam, saevis inter se convenit ursis. Juv. Man is said to be a Sociable Animal, and, as an Instance of it, we may observe, that we take all Occasions and Pretences of forming ourselves into those little Nocturnal Assemblies, which are commonly known by […]

No. 8Friday, March 9, 1711. Addison. ‘At Venus obscuro gradientes aere sepsit,Et multo Nebulae circum Dea fudit amictu,Cernere ne quis eos …’ Virg. I shall here communicate to the World a couple of Letters, which I believe will give the Reader as good an Entertainment as any that I am able to furnish [him [1]] […]

No. 7Thursday, March 8, 1711. Addison. ‘Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, Sagas,Nocturnos lemures, portentaque Thessala rides?’ Hor. Going Yesterday to Dine with an old Acquaintance, I had the Misfortune to find his whole Family very much dejected. Upon asking him the Occasion of it, he told me that his Wife had dreamt a strange Dream the […]

No. 13Thursday, March 15, 1711. Addison. ‘Dic mi hi si fueris tu leo qualis eris?’ Mart. There is nothing that of late Years has afforded Matter of greater Amusement to the Town than Signior Nicolini’s Combat with a Lion in the Hay-Market [1] which has been very often exhibited to the general Satisfaction of most […]

No. 12Wednesday, March 14, 1711. Addison. … Veteres avias tibi de pulmone revello. Per. At my coming to London, it was some time before I could settle my self in a House to my likeing. I was forced to quit my first Lodgings, by reason of an officious Land-lady, that would be asking every Morning […]

No. 10Monday, March 12, 1711. Addison. ‘Non aliter quam qui adverso vix flumine lembumRemigiis subigit: si brachia forte remisit,Atque illum in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni.’ Virg. It is with much Satisfaction that I hear this great City inquiring Day by Day after these my Papers, and receiving my Morning Lectures with a becoming Seriousness […]

No. 18Wednesday, March 21, 1711. Addison. Equitis quoque jam migravit ab aure voluptas Omnis ad incertos oculos et gaudia vana. Hor. It is my Design in this Paper to deliver down to Posterity a faithful Account of the Italian Opera, and of the gradual Progress which it has made upon the English Stage: For there […]

No. 16Monday, March 19. Addison. Quid verum atque decens curo et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum. Hor. I have receiv’d a Letter, desiring me to be very satyrical upon the little Muff that is now in Fashion; another informs me of a Pair of silver Garters buckled below the Knee, that have been lately […]

No. 15Saturday, March 17, 1711. Addison. ‘Parva leves capiunt animos …’ Ovid. When I was in France, I used to gaze with great Astonishment at the Splendid Equipages and Party-coloured Habits, of that Fantastick Nation. I was one Day in particular contemplating a Lady that sate in a Coach adorned with gilded Cupids, and finely […]

No. 21Saturday, March 24, 1711. [1] Addison. ‘Locus est et phiribus Umbris.’ Hor. I am sometimes very much troubled, when I reflect upon the three great Professions of Divinity, Law, and Physick; how they are each of them over-burdened with Practitioners, and filled with Multitudes of Ingenious Gentlemen that starve one another. We may divide […]

No. 26Friday, March 30, 1711. Addison. ‘Pallida mors aquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres, O beate Sexti, Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam. Jam te premet nox, fabulaeque manes, Et domus exilis Plutonia.’ Hor. When I am in a serious Humour, I very often walk by my self in Westminster Abbey; where […]

No. 25Thursday, March 29, 1711. Addison. … AEgrescitque medendo. Vir. The following Letter will explain it self, and needs no Apology. SIR, ‘I am one of that sickly Tribe who are commonly known by the Name of Valetudinarians, and do confess to you, that I first contracted this ill Habit of Body, or rather of […]

No. 23Tuesday, March 27, 1711 [1] Addison. Savit atrox Volscens, nec teli conspicit usquam Auctorem nec quo se ardens immittere possit. Vir. There is nothing that more betrays a base, ungenerous Spirit, than the giving of secret Stabs to a Man’s Reputation. Lampoons and Satyrs, that are written with Wit and Spirit, are like poison’d […]

No. 29Tuesday, April 3, 1711. Addison. … Sermo lingua concinnus utraque Suavior: ut Chio nota si commista Falerni est. Hor. There is nothing that [has] more startled our English Audience, than the Italian Recitativo at its first Entrance upon the Stage. People were wonderfully surprized to hear Generals singing the Word of Command, and Ladies […]

No. 28Monday, April 2, 1711. Addison. ‘… Neque semper arcumTendit Apollo.’ Hor. I shall here present my Reader with a Letter from a Projector, concerning a new Office which he thinks may very much contribute to the Embellishment of the City, and to the driving Barbarity out of our Streets. [I consider it as a […]

No. 34Monday, April 9, 1711. Addison. ‘… parcit Cognatis maculis similis fera …’ Juv. The Club of which I am a Member, is very luckily composed of such persons as are engaged in different Ways of Life, and disputed as it were out of the most conspicuous Classes of Mankind: By this Means I am […]

No. 31.Thursday, April 5, 1711. Addison. ‘Sit mihi fas audita loqui!’ Vir. Last Night, upon my going into a Coffee-House not far from the Hay-Market Theatre, I diverted my self for above half an Hour with overhearing the Discourse of one, who, by the Shabbiness of his Dress, the Extravagance of his Conceptions, and the […]

No. 37Thursday, April 12, 1711. Addison. … Non illa colo calathisve MinervaeFoemineas assueta manus … Virg. Some Months ago, my Friend Sir Roger, being in the Country, enclosed a Letter to me, directed to a certain Lady whom I shall here call by the Name of Leonora, and as it contained Matters of Consequence, desired […]

No. 035Tuesday, April 10, 1711. Addison. ‘Risu inepto res ineptior milla est.’ Mart. Among all kinds of Writing, there is none in which Authors are more apt to miscarry than in Works of Humour, as there is none in which they are more ambitious to excell. It is not an Imagination that teems with Monsters, […]

No. 41Tuesday, April 17, 1711. Steele. ‘Tu non inventa reperta es.’ Ovid Compassion for the Gentleman who writes the following Letter, should not prevail upon me to fall upon the Fair Sex, if it were not that I find they are frequently Fairer than they ought to be. Such Impostures are not to be tolerated […]

No. 40Monday, April 16, 1711. Addison. ‘Ac ne forte putes, me, que facere ipse recusem,Cum recte tractant alii, laudare maligne;Ille per extentum funem mihi fosse videturIre Poeta, meum qui pectus inaniter angit,Irritat, mulcet, falsis terroribus implet,Ut magus; et modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis.’ Hor. The English Writers of Tragedy are possessed with a Notion, […]

No. 39Saturday, April 14, 1711. Addison. ‘Multa fero, ut placem genus irritabile vatum, Cum scribo.’ Hor. As a perfect Tragedy is the Noblest Production of Human Nature, so it is capable of giving the Mind one of the most delightful and most improving Entertainments. A virtuous Man (says Seneca) struggling with Misfortunes, is such a […]

No 46Monday, April 23, 1711. Addison Non bene junctarum discordia semina rerum. Ovid. When I want Materials for this Paper, it is my Custom to go abroad in quest of Game; and when I meet any proper Subject, I take the first Opportunity of setting down an Hint of it upon Paper. At the same […]

No. 45Saturday, April 21, 1711. Addison. ‘Natio Comaeda est.’ Juv. There is nothing which I more desire than a safe and honourable Peace, [1] tho’ at the same time I am very apprehensive of many ill Consequences that may attend it. I do not mean in regard to our Politicks, but to our Manners. What […]

No. 44Friday, April 20, 1711. Addison. ‘Tu, quid ego et populus mecum desideret, audi.’ Hor. Among the several Artifices which are put in Practice by the Poets to fill the Minds of [an] [1] Audience with Terror, the first Place is due to Thunder and Lightning, which are often made use of at the Descending […]

No. 42Wednesday, April 18, 1711. Addison. Garganum inugire putes nemus aut mare Thuscum,Tanto cum strepitu ludi spectantur; et artes,Divitiaeque peregrina, quibus oblitus actorCum stetit in Scena, concurrit dextera laevae.Dixit adhuc aliquid? Nil sane. Quid placet ergo?Lana Tarentino violas imitata veneno. Hor. Aristotle [1] has observed, That ordinary Writers in Tragedy endeavour to raise Terror and […]

No. 50Friday, April 27, 1711. [1] ‘Nunquam aliud Natura, aliud Sapientia dixit.’ Juv. When the four Indian Kings were in this Country about a Twelvemonth ago, [2] I often mixed with the Rabble, and followed them a whole Day together, being wonderfully struck with the Sight of every thing that is new or uncommon. I […]

No. 47Tuesday, April 24, 1711. Addison. ‘Ride si sapis.’ Mart. Mr. Hobbs, in his Discourse of Human Nature, [1] which, in my humble Opinion, is much the best of all his Works, after some very curious Observations upon Laughter, concludes thus: ‘The Passion of Laughter is nothing else but sudden Glory arising from some sudden […]

No. 58Monday, May 7, 1711. Ut pictura poesis erit … Hor. Nothing is so much admired, and so little understood, as Wit. No Author that I know of has written professedly upon it; and as for those who make any Mention of it, they only treat on the Subject as it has accidentally fallen in […]

No. 57Saturday, May 5, 1711. ‘Quem praestare potest mulier galeata pudorem, Quae fugit a Sexu!’ Juv. When the Wife of Hector, in Homer’s Iliads, discourses with her Husband about the Battel in which he was going to engage, the Hero, desiring her to leave that Matter to his Care, bids her go to her Maids […]

No. 56Friday, May 4, 1711. ‘Felices errore suo …’ Lucan. The Americans believe that all Creatures have Souls, not only Men and Women, but Brutes, Vegetables, nay even the most inanimate things, as Stocks and Stones. They believe the same of all the Works of Art, as of Knives, Boats, Looking-glasses: And that as any […]

No. 55Thursday May 3, 1711. ‘… Intus, et in jecore aegro Nascuntur Domini …’ Pers. Most of the Trades, Professions, and Ways of Living among Mankind, take their Original either from the Love of Pleasure or the Fear of Want. The former, when it becomes too violent, degenerates into Luxury, and the latter into Avarice. […]

No. 62Friday, May 11, 1711. ‘Scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons.’ Hor. Mr. Lock has an admirable Reflexion upon the Difference of Wit and Judgment, whereby he endeavours to shew the Reason why they are not always the Talents of the same Person. His Words are as follows: And hence, perhaps, may be […]

No. 61Thursday, May 10, 1711. ‘Non equidem studeo, bullalis ut mihi nugis Pagina turgescal, dare pondus idonea fumo.’ Pers. There is no kind of false Wit which has been so recommended by the Practice of all Ages, as that which consists in a Jingle of Words, and is comprehended under the general Name of Punning. […]

No. 60Wednesday, May 9, 1711. ‘Hoc est quod palles? Cur quis non prandeat, Hoc est?’ Per. ‘Sat. 3.’ Several kinds of false Wit that vanished in the refined Ages of the World, discovered themselves again in the Times of Monkish Ignorance. As the Monks were the Masters of all that little Learning which was then […]

No. 59Tuesday, May 8, 1711. ‘Operose Nihil agunt.’ Seneca. There is nothing more certain than that every Man would be a Wit if he could, and notwithstanding Pedants of a pretended Depth and Solidity are apt to decry the Writings of a polite Author, as Flash and Froth, they all of them shew upon Occasion […]

No. 63Saturday, May 12, 1711. ‘Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam Jungere si velit et varias inducere plumas Undique collatis membris, ut turpiter atrum Desinat in piscem mulier formosa superne; Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici? Credite, Pisones, isti tabulae fore librum Persimilem, cujus, velut aegri somnia, vanae Finguntur species …’ Hor. It is very hard for […]

No. 70Monday, May 21, 1711. ‘Interdum vulgus rectum videt.’ Hor. When I travelled, I took a particular Delight in hearing the Songs and Fables that are come from Father to Son, and are most in Vogue among the common People of the Countries through which I passed; for it is impossible that any thing should […]

No. 69 Saturday, May 19, 1711. ‘Hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvae: Arborei foetus alibi, atque injussa virescunt Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores, India mittit ebur, molles sua thura Sabaei? At Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus Castorea, Eliadum palmas Epirus equarum? Continuo has leges aeternaque foedera certis Imposuit Natura locis …’ Virg. There […]

No. 068Friday, May 18, 1711. ‘Nos duo turba sumus …’ Ovid. One would think that the larger the Company is, in which we are engaged, the greater Variety of Thoughts and Subjects would be started in Discourse; but instead of this, we find that Conversation is never so much straightened and confined as in numerous […]

No. 74Friday, May 25, 1711. ‘… Pendent opera interrupta …’ Virg. In my last Monday’s Paper I gave some general Instances of those beautiful Strokes which please the Reader in the old Song of Chevey-Chase; I shall here, according to my Promise, be more particular, and shew that the Sentiments in that Ballad are extremely […]

No. 73 Thursday, May 24, 1711. ‘… O Dea certe!’ Virg. It is very strange to consider, that a Creature like Man, who is sensible of so many Weaknesses and Imperfections, should be actuated by a Love of Fame: That Vice and Ignorance, Imperfection and Misery should contend for Praise, and endeavour as much as […]

No. 72Wednesday, May 23, 1711. ‘… Genus immortale manet, multosque per annos Stat fortuna Domus, et avi numerantur avorum.’ Virg. Having already given my Reader an Account of several extraordinary Clubs both ancient and modern, I did not design to have troubled him with any more Narratives of this Nature; but I have lately received […]

No. 81Saturday, June 2, 1711 ‘Qualis ubi audito venantum murmure Tigris Horruit in maculas …’ Statins. About the Middle of last Winter I went to see an Opera at the Theatre in the Hay-Market, where I could not but take notice of two Parties of very fine Women, that had placed themselves in the opposite […]

No. 89Tuesday, June 12, 1711. ‘… Petite hinc juvenesque senesque Finem animo certum, miserisque viatica canis. Cras hoc fiet. Idem eras fiet. Quid? quasi magnum Nempe diem donas? sed cum lux altera venit, Jam cras hesternum consumpsimus; ecce aliud cras Egerit hos annos, et semper paulum erit ultra. Nam quamvis prope te, quamvis temone sub […]

No. 86Friday, June 8, 1711. ‘Heu quam difficile est crimen non prodere vultu!’ Ovid. There are several Arts which [all Men are [1]] in some measure [Masters [2]] of, without having been at the Pains of learning them. Every one that speaks or reasons is a Grammarian and a Logician, tho’ he may be wholly […]

No. 85Thursday, June 7, 1711. ‘Interdum speciosa locis, morataque recte Fabula nullius Veneris, sine pondere et Arte, Valdius oblectat populum, meliusque moratur, Quam versus inopes rerum, nugaeque canorae.’ Hor. It is the Custom of the Mahometans, if they see any printed or written Paper upon the Ground, to take it up and lay it aside […]

No. 092Friday, June 15, 1711. ‘… Convivae prope dissentire videntur, Poscentes vario multum diversa palato; Quid dem? Quid non dem?’ Hor. Looking over the late Packets of Letters which have been sent to me, I found the following one. [1] Mr. SPECTATOR, ‘Your Paper is a Part of my Tea-Equipage; and my Servant knows my […]

No. 090.Wednesday, June 13, 1711. ‘… Magnus sine viribus Ignis Incassum furit’ Virg. There is not, in my Opinion, a Consideration more effectual to extinguish inordinate Desires in the Soul of Man, than the Notions of Plato and his Followers [1] upon that Subject. They tell us, that every Passion which has been contracted by […]

No. 99Saturday, June 23, 1711. ‘… Turpi secernis Honestum.’ Hor. The Club, of which I have often declared my self a Member, were last Night engaged in a Discourse upon that which passes for the chief Point of Honour among Men and Women; and started a great many Hints upon the Subject, which I thought […]

No. 98Friday, June 22, 1711. ‘Tanta est quarendi cura decoris.’ Juv. There is not so variable a thing in Nature as a Lady’s Head-dress: Within my own Memory I have known it rise and fall above thirty Degrees. About ten Years ago it shot up to a very great Height, [1] insomuch that the Female […]

No. 102.Wednesday, June 27, 1711. ‘… Lusus animo debent aliquando dari, Ad cogitandum melior ut redeat sibi.’ Phaedr. I do not know whether to call the following Letter a Satyr upon Coquets, or a Representation of their several fantastical Accomplishments, or what other Title to give it; but as it is I shall communicate it […]

No. 111Saturday, July 7, 1711. ‘… Inter Silvas Academi quaerere Verum.’ Hor. The Course of my last Speculation led me insensibly into a Subject upon which I always meditate with great Delight, I mean the Immortality of the Soul. I was yesterday walking alone in one of my Friend’s Woods, and lost my self in […]

No. 110Friday, July 6, 1711. ‘Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent.’ Virg. At a little distance from Sir ROGER’S House, among the Ruins of an old Abby, there is a long Walk of aged Elms; which are shot up so very high, that when one passes under them, the Rooks and Crows that rest […]

No. 105.Saturday, June 30, 1711. ‘… Id arbitror Adprime in vita esse utile, ne quid nimis.’ Ter. And. My Friend WILL. HONEYCOMB values himself very much upon what he calls the Knowledge of Mankind, which has cost him many Disasters in his Youth; for WILL. reckons every Misfortune that he has met with among the […]

No. 119.Tuesday, July 17, 1711. ‘Urbem quam dicunt Romam, Melibaee, putavi Stultus ego huic nostrae similem …’ Virg. The first and most obvious Reflections which arise in a Man who changes the City for the Country, are upon the different Manners of the People whom he meets with in those two different Scenes of Life. […]

No. 117.Saturday, July 14, 1711. ‘… Ipsi sibi somnia fingunt.’ Virg. There are some Opinions in which a Man should stand Neuter, without engaging his Assent to one side or the other. Such a hovering Faith as this, which refuses to settle upon any Determination, is absolutely necessary to a Mind that is careful to […]

No. 115.Thursday, July 12, 1711. ‘… Ut sit Mens sana in Corpore sano.’ Juv. Bodily Labour is of two Kinds, either that which a Man submits to for his Livelihood, or that which he undergoes for his Pleasure. The latter of them generally changes the Name of Labour for that of Exercise, but differs only […]

No. 124.Monday, July 23, 1711. [Greek (transliterated): Mega Biblion, mega kakon.] A Man who publishes his Works in a Volume, has an infinite Advantage over one who communicates his Writings to the World in loose Tracts and single Pieces. We do not expect to meet with any thing in a bulky Volume, till after some […]

No. 123Saturday, July 21, 1711. ‘Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam, Rectique cultus pectora roborant: Utcunque defecere mores, Dedecorant bene nata culpae.’ Hor. As I was Yesterday taking the Air with my Friend Sir ROGER, we were met by a fresh-coloured ruddy young Man, who rid by us full speed, with a couple of Servants behind […]

No. 121Thursday, July 19, 1711. ‘… Jovis omnia plena.’ Virg. As I was walking this Morning in the great Yard that belongs to my Friend’s Country House, I was wonderfully pleased to see the different Workings of Instinct in a Hen followed by a Brood of Ducks. The Young, upon the sight of a Pond, […]

No. 120.Wednesday, July 18, 1711. ‘… Equidem credo, quia sit Divinitus illis Ingenium …’ Virg. My Friend Sir Roger is very often merry with me upon my passing so much of my Time among his Poultry: He has caught me twice or thrice looking after a Bird’s Nest, and several times sitting an Hour or […]

No. 128Friday, July 27, 1711. ‘… Concordia discors.’ Lucan. Women in their Nature are much more gay and joyous than Men; whether it be that their Blood is more refined, their Fibres more delicate, and their animal Spirits more light and volatile; or whether, as some have imagined, there may not be a kind of […]

No. 127Thursday, July 26, 1711. ‘Quantum est in rebus Inane?’ Pers. It is our Custom at Sir ROGER’S, upon the coming in of the Post, to sit about a Pot of Coffee, and hear the old Knight read Dyer’s Letter; which he does with his Spectacles upon his Nose, and in an audible Voice, smiling […]

No. 126Wednesday, July 25, 1711. ‘Tros Rutulusve fuat, nullo discrimine habebo.’ Virg. In my Yesterday’s Paper I proposed, that the honest Men of all Parties should enter into a kind of Association for the Defence of one another, and [the] Confusion of their common Enemies. As it is designed this neutral Body should act with […]

No. 125.Tuesday, July 24, 1711. ‘Ne pueri, ne tanta animis assuescite bella: Neu patriae validas in viscera vertite vires.’ Vir. My worthy Friend Sir ROGER, when we are talking of the Malice of Parties, very frequently tells us an Accident that happened to him when he was a School-boy, which was at a time when […]

No. 131Tuesday, July 31, 1711. ‘… Ipsae rursum concedite Sylvae.’ Virg. It is usual for a Man who loves Country Sports to preserve the Game in his own Grounds, and divert himself upon those that belong to his Neighbour. My Friend Sir ROGER generally goes two or three Miles from his House, and gets into […]

No. 130Monday, July 30, 1711. ‘… Semperque recentes Convectare juvat praedas, et vivere rapto.’ Virg. As I was Yesterday riding out in the Fields with my Friend Sir ROGER, we saw at a little Distance from us a Troop of Gypsies. Upon the first Discovery of them, my Friend was in some doubt whether he […]

No. 129Saturday, July 28, 1711. ‘Vertentem sese frustra sectabere canthum, Cum rota posterior curras et in axe secundo.’ Pers. Great Masters in Painting never care for drawing People in the Fashion; as very well knowing that the Headdress, or Periwig, that now prevails, and gives a Grace to their Portraitures at present, will make a […]

No. 162Wednesday, September 5, 1711 ‘… Servetur ad imum, Qualis ab incoepto processerit, et sibi constet.’ Hor. Nothing that is not a real Crime makes a Man appear so contemptible and little in the Eyes of the World as Inconstancy, especially when it regards Religion or Party. In either of these Cases, tho’ a Man […]

No. 160Monday, September 3, 1711. ‘… Cui mens divinior, atque os Magna sonaturum, des nominis hujus honorem.’ Hor. There is no Character more frequently given to a Writer, than that of being a Genius. I have heard many a little Sonneteer called a fine Genius. There is not an Heroick Scribler in the Nation, that […]

Saturday, Sept. 15, 1711. ‘Credula res amor est …’ Ovid. Met. Having in my Yesterday’s Paper discovered the Nature of Jealousie, and pointed out the Persons who are most subject to it, I must here apply my self to my fair Correspondents, who desire to live well with a Jealous Husband, and to ease his […]

Friday, September 14, 1711. ‘In amore haec omnia insunt vitia: injuriae,Suspiciones, inimicitiae, induciae,Bellum, pax rursum …’ Ter. Eun. Upon looking over the Letters of my female Correspondents, I find several from Women complaining of jealous Husbands, and at the same time protesting their own Innocence; and desiring my Advice on this Occasion. I shall therefore […]

No. 166. Monday, September 10, 1711. ‘… Quod nec Jovis ira, nec ignis,Nec poterit ferrum, nec edax abolere vetustas.’ Ovid. Aristotle tells us that the World is a Copy or Transcript of those Ideas which are in the Mind of the first Being, and that those Ideas, which are in the Mind of Man, are […]

No. 165. Saturday, September 8, 1711. ‘… Si forte necesse est,Fingere cinctutis non exaudita CethegisContinget: dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter.’ [1] Hor. I have often wished, that as in our Constitution there are several Persons whose Business it is to watch over our Laws, our Liberties and Commerce, certain Men might be set apart as Superintendants […]

Tuesday, September 25, 1711. ‘Centuriae seniorum agitant expertia frugis:Celsi praetereunt austera Poemata Rhamnes.Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci,Lectorem delectando, pariterque monendo …’ Hor. I may cast my Readers under two general Divisions, the Mercurial and the Saturnine. The first are the gay Part of my Disciples, who require Speculations of Wit and Humour; the […]

No. 163. Thursday, Sept. 6, 1711 ‘… Si quid ego adjuero, curamve levasso, Quae nunc te coquit, et versat sub pectore fixa, Ecquid erit pretii?’ Enn. ap. Tullium. Enquiries after Happiness, and Rules for attaining it, are not so necessary and useful to Mankind as the Arts of Consolation, and supporting [ones [1]] self under […]

Tuesday, October 2, 1711. ‘… Tantaene Animis coelestibus Irae?’ Virg. There is nothing in which Men more deceive themselves than in what the World calls Zeal. There are so many Passions which hide themselves under it, and so many Mischiefs arising from it, that some have gone so far as to say it would have […]

Monday, October 1, 1711. ‘… Opere in longo fas est obrepere somnum …’ Hor. When a Man has discovered a new Vein of Humour, it often carries him much further than he expected from it. My Correspondents take the Hint I give them, and pursue it into Speculations which I never thought of at my […]

Saturday, September 29, 1711. [Greek: “Idmen pseudea polla legein etymoisin homoia,Idmen d’ eut’ ethel_omen alaethea mythaesasthai”. Hesiod.] Fables were the first Pieces of Wit that made their Appearance in the World, and have been still highly valued, not only in Times of the greatest Simplicity, but among the most polite Ages of Mankind. Jotham’s Fable […]

Thursday, September 27, 1711. ‘His lacrymis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultro.’ Virg. I am more pleased with a Letter that is filled with Touches of Nature than of Wit. The following one is of this Kind. SIR, ‘Among all the Distresses which happen in Families, I do not remember that you have touched upon the […]

Saturday, October 6, 1711. ‘… Patriae pietatis imago.’ Virg. The following Letter being written to my Bookseller, upon a Subject of which I treated some time since, I shall publish it in this Paper, together with the Letter that was inclosed in it. Mr. Buckley, “Mr. SPECTATOR having of late descanted upon the Cruelty of […]

Wednesday, October 3, 1711. ‘Coelum ipsum petimus stultitia.’ Hor. Upon my Return to my Lodgings last Night I found a Letter from my worthy Friend the Clergyman, whom I have given some Account of in my former Papers. He tells me in it that he was particularly pleased with the latter Part of my Yesterday’s […]

Tuesday, October 9, 1711. [Greek: … oulon oneiron.] Some ludicrous Schoolmen have put the Case, that if an Ass were placed between two Bundles of Hay, which affected his Senses equally on each Side, and tempted him in the very same Degree, whether it would be possible for him to Eat of either. They generally […]

Saturday, October 13, 1711. [Greek: Naepioi oud’ isasin hos_o pleon haemisu pantos, Oud’ hoson en malachaete de asphodel_o meg honeiar.]. –Hes. There is a Story in the ‘Arabian Nights Tales’ [1] of a King who had long languished under an ill Habit of Body, and had taken abundance of Remedies to no purpose. At length, […]

Saturday, October 20, 1711. ‘Religentem esse oportet, Religiosum nefas.’ Incerti Autoris apud Aul. Gell. It is of the last Importance to season the Passions of a Child with Devotion, which seldom dies in a Mind that has received an early Tincture of it. Though it may seem extinguished for a while by the Cares of […]

Wednesday, October 17, 1711. ‘Cervae luporum praeda rapaciumSectamur ultro, quos opimusFallere et effugere est triumphus.’ Hor. There is a Species of Women, whom I shall distinguish by the Name of Salamanders. Now a Salamander is a kind of Heroine in Chastity, that treads upon Fire, and lives in the Midst of Flames without being hurt. […]