making a facrifice of all their acquaintance and relations, furnished out a very decent execution.

Having thus taken my refolutions to march on boldly in the cause of virtue and good fenfe, and to annoy their adverfaries in whatever degree or rank of men they may be found; I fhall be deaf for the future to all the remonftrances that shall be made to me on this account. If Punch grows extravagant, I fhall reprimand him very freely. If the Stage becomes a nurfery of folly and impertinence, I fhall not be afraid to animadvert upon it. In fhort, if I meet with any thing in city, court, or country, that shocks modefty or good manners, I fhall use my utmost endeavours to make an example of it. I must however, intreat every particular perfon, who does me the honour to be reader of this Paper, never to think himself, or any one of his friends or enemies, aimed at in what is faid: for I promise him, never to draw a faulty character which does not fit at least a thousand people; or to publish a fingle Paper, that is not written in the fpirit of benevolence, and with a love to mankind.

C*.

By ADDISON, dated it feems from Chelsea. See final Note to N° 7, on ADDISON's Signatures C, L, I, O; N°221, and Notes on Cabalistical LETTERS, &c.

** An Advertisement, dated May 10, 1711, announced about this time the fale of feveral acres in the Levels of HAVERING and DAGGENHAM, decreed to be fold by her majefty's commiffioners of fewers for non-payment of taxes affeffed for repair of a breach in the Level of DAGGENHAM, very likely now to be made up. The words in Italics are the very words of the Advertisement. See Capt. John PERRY'S "Account of Stopping DAGGENHAM Breach," a very curi"ous but scarce book, 8vo. 1721. [Printed for B. Tooke.]

0 4

N° 35.

N°35. Tuesday, April 10, 1711.

Rifu inepto res ineptior nulla eft.

Nothing fo foolish as the laugh of fools.

A

MONG 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 excel. It is not an imagination that teems with monfters, an head that is filled with extravagant conceptions, which is capable of furnishing the world with diverfions of this nature; and yet if we look into the productions of feveral writers, who fet up for men of Humour, what wild irregular fancies, what unnatural distortions of thought do we meet with? If they speak nonfenfe, they believe they are talking Humour; and when they have drawn together a scheme of abfurd, inconfiftent ideas, they are not able to read it over to themselves without laughing. Thefe poor gentlemen endeavour to gain themfelves the reputation of Wits and Humourifts, by fuch monftrous conceits as almoft qualify them for Bedlam; not confidering that Humour fhould always lie under the check of reafon, and that it requires the direction of the niceft judgment, by fo much the more as it indulges itself in the most boundless freedoms. There is a kind of nature that is to be obferved in this fort of compofitions, as well

as

as in all other; and a certain regularity of thought which must difcover the writer to be a man of fenfe, at the fame time that he appears altogether given up to caprice. For my part, when I read the delirious mirth of an unskilful author, I cannot be fo barbarous as to divert myself with it, but am rather apt to pity the man, than laugh at any thing he writes.

The deceafed Mr. Shadwell, who had himfelf a deal of the talent which I am treatgreat ing of, reprefents an empty rake, in one of his plays, as very much surprised to hear one say that breaking of windows was not Humour; and queftion not but feveral English readers will be as much startled to hear me affirm, that many of those raving incoherent pieces, which are often spread among us, under odd chimerical titles, are rather the offsprings of a diftempered brain than works of Humour.

It is indeed much eafier to defcribe what is not Humour, than what is; and very difficult to define it otherwife, than as Cowley has done wit, by negatives, Were I to give my own notions of it, I would deliver them after Plato's manner, in a kind of allegory, and by fuppofing Humour to be a perfon, deduce to him all his qualifications, according to the following genealogy. TRUTH was the founder of the family, and the father of GOOD SENSE. GOOD SENSE was the father of WIT, who married a lady of collateral line called MIRTH, by whom he had iffue HUMOUR. HUMOUR therefore being the youngest of this illuftrious family, and defcended

from

from parents of fuch different difpofitions, is very various and unequal in his temper; fometimes you fee him putting on grave looks and a folemn habit, fometimes airy in his behaviour and fantastic in his drefs: infomuch that at different times he appears as ferious as a Judge, and as jocular as a Merry-Andrew. But as he has a great deal of the mother in his conftitution, whatever mood he is in, he never fails to make his company laugh.

But fince there is an impoftor abroad, who takes upon him the name of this young gentleman, and would willingly pafs for him in the world; to the end that well-meaning perfons may not be impofed upon by cheats, I would defire my readers, when they meet with this pretender, to look into his parentage, and to examine him ftrictly, whether or no he be remotely allied to TRUTH, and lineally defcended from GOOD SENSE; if not, they may conclude him a counterfeit. They may likewise distinguish him by a loud and exceffive laughter, in which he feldom gets his company to join with him, For as TRUE HUMOUR generally looks ferious, while every body laughs about him; FALSE HUMOUR is alway laughing, whilft every body about him looks ferious. I fhall only add, if he has not in him a mixture of both parents, that is, if he would pafs for the offspring of WIT without MIRTH, or MIRTH without WIT, you may conclude him to be altogether fpurious and a cheat.

The impoftor of whom I am speaking, de

fcends

fcends originally from FALSHOOD, who was the mother of NONSENSE, who was brought to bed of a fon called FRENZY, who married one of the daughters of FOLLY, commonly known by the name of LAUGHTER, on whom he begot that monftrous infant of which I have been here fpeaking. I fhall fet down at length the genealogical table of FALSE HUMOUR, and, at the fame time, place under it the genealogy of TRUE HUMOUR, that the reader may at one view behold their different pedigrees and relations,

FALSHOOD.

NONSENSE.

FRENZY.-LAUGHTER,

FALSE HUMOUR.

TRUTH.

GOOD SENSE.
WIT.MIRTH,
HUMOUR.

I might extend the allegory, by mentioning feveral of the children of FALSE HUMOUR, who are more in number than the fands of the fea, and might in particular enumerate the many fons and daughters which he has begot in this ifland. But as this would be a very invidious task, I shall only obferve in general, that FALSE HUMOUR differs from the TRUE, as a monkey does from a man.

First of all, He is exceedingly given to little apish tricks and buffooneries.

Secondly, He so much delights in mimicry,

that