No. 463. Scales and Weights: a Vision. Omnia quæ sensu volvuntur vota diurno, Vanaque nocturnis meta cavetur equis. Me quoque musarum studium sub nocte silenti Artibus assuetis sollicitare solet. CLAUD. In VI. Cons. Hon. In sleep, when fancy is let loose to play, Smacks the vain whip, and shuns the fancy'd goal. With wonted chimes of jingling verse delight. I was lately entertaining myself with comparing Homer's balance, in which Jupiter is represented as weighing the fates of Hector and Achilles, with a passage of Virgil, wherein that deity is introduced as weighing the fates of Turnus and Æneas". I then considered how the same way of thinking prevailed in the eastern parts of the world, as in those noble passages of scripture, wherein we are told that the great king of Babylon, the day before his death, had been weighed in the balance and been found wanting. In other places of the holy writings, the Al10 mighty is described as weighing the mountains in scales, making the weight for the winds, knowing the balancings of the clouds; and, in others, as weighing the actions of men, and laying their calamities together in a balance. Milton, as I have observed in a former paper, had an eye to several of those foregoing instances, in that beautiful description wherein he represents the archangel and the evil spirit as addressing themselves for the combat, but parted by the balance which appeared in the heavens, and weighed the consequences of such a battle. Th' Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray, AN ALLEGORY. Battles and realms: in these he put two weights, SATAN, I know thy strength, and thou know'st mine, To boast what arms can do? since thine no more And read thy lot in yon celestial sign, Where thou art weigh'd, and shewn how light, how weak, His mounted scale aloft; nor more; but fled Murm'ring, and with him fled the shades of night'. 417 These several amusing thoughts having taken possession of my mind some time before I went to sleep, and mingling themselves with my ordinary ideas, raised in my imagination a very odd kind of vision. I was, methought, replaced in my study, and seated in my elbow-chair, where I had indulged the foregoing speculations, with my lamp burning by me as usual. Whilst I was here meditating on several subjects of morality, and considering the nature of many virtues and vices, as materials for those discourses with which I daily entertain the public, I saw, 10 methought, a pair of golden scales hanging by a chain of the same metal over the table that stood before me; when, on a sudden, there were great heaps of weights thrown down on each side of them. I found, upon examining these weights, they shewed the value of every thing that is in esteem among men. I made an essay of them by putting the weight of wisdom in one scale, and that of riches in another; upon which the latter, to shew its comparative lightness, immediately flew up, and kick'd the beam. But, before I proceed, I must inform my reader, that these 20 weights did not exert their natural gravity, till they were laid in the golden balance, insomuch that I could not guess which was light or heavy, whilst I held them in my hand. This I found by several instances; for, upon my laying a weight in one of the scales, which was inscribed by the word Eternity, though I threw in that of time, prosperity, affliction, wealth, poverty, interest, success, with many other weights, which in my hand seemed very 1 Par. Lost, Book iv, ad fin. E e ponderous, they were not able to stir the opposite balance, nor could they have prevailed, though assisted with the weight of the sun, the stars, and the earth. Upon emptying the scales, I laid several titles and honours, with pomps, triumphs, and many weights of the like nature, in one of them, and seeing a little glittering weight lie by me, I threw it accidentally into the other scale, when, to my great surprise, it proved so exact a counterpoise, that it kept the balance in an equilibrium. This little glittering weight was inscribed upon the 10 edges of it with the word Vanity. I found there were several other weights which were equally heavy, and exact counterpoises to one another; a few of them I tried, as avarice and poverty, riches and content, with some others. There were likewise several weights that were of the same figure, and seemed to correspond with each other, but were entirely different when thrown into the scales; as religion and hypocrisy, pedantry and learning, wit and vivacity, superstition and devotion, gravity and wisdom, with many others. I observed one particular weight lettered on both sides, and, 20 upon applying myself to the reading of it I found on one side written, 'In the dialect of men,' and underneath it, CALAMITIES; on the other side was written, 'In the language of the gods,' and underneath BLESSINGS. I found the intrinsic value of this weight to be much greater than I imagined, for it overpowered health, wealth, good fortune, and many other weights, which were much more ponderous in my hand than the other. There is a saying among the Scots, that 'An ounce of mother wit is worth a pound of clergy:' I was sensible of the truth of this saying, when I saw the difference between the weight of 30 natural parts and that of learning. The observation which I made upon these two weights opened to me a new field of discoveries; for notwithstanding the weight of natural parts was much heavier than that of learning, I observed that it weighed an hundred times heavier than it did before, when I put learning into the same scale with it. I made the same observation upon faith and morality; for notwithstanding the latter out-weighed the former separately, it received a thousand times more additional weight from its conjunction with the former than what it had by itself. This odd phænomenon shewed itself in other 40 particulars, as in wit and judgment, philosophy and religion, justice and humanity, zeal and charity, depth of sense and perspicuity of style, with innumerable other particulars too long to be mentioned in this paper. As a dream seldom fails of dashing seriousness with impertinence, mirth with gravity, methought I made several other experiments of a more ludicrous nature: by one of which I found that an English octavo was very often heavier than a French folio; and by another, that an old Greek or Latin author weighed down a whole library of moderns. Seeing one of my 10 Spectators lying by me, I laid it into one of the scales, and flung a two-penny piece into the other: the reader will not inquire into the event, if he remembers the first trial which I have recorded in this paper". I afterwards threw both the sexes into the balance; but, as it is not for my interest to disoblige either of them, I shall desire to be excused from telling the result of this experiment. Having an opportunity of this nature in my hands, I could not forbear throwing into one scale the principles of a Tory, and into the other those of a Whig; but, as I have all along declared this to be a neutral paper, I shall likewise desire 20 to be silent under this head also, though, upon examining one of the weights, I saw the word TEKEL engraven on it in capital letters ". I made many other experiments, and, though I have not room for them all in this day's speculation, I may perhaps reserve them for another. I shall only add, that upon my awaking I was sorry to find my golden scales vanished, but resolved for the future to learn this lesson from them, Not to despise or value any things for their appearances, but to regulate my esteem and passions towards them according to their real and intrinsic value.-C. 30 Chremylus, who was an old and a good man, and withal exceeding poor, being desirous to leave some riches to his son, consults the oracle of Apollo upon the subject. The oracle bid him follow the first man he should see upon his going out of the temple. The person he chanced to see was to appearance an old sordid blind man, but, upon his following him from place to place, he at last found, by his own confession, that he was Plutus the god of riches, and that he was just come out of the house of a miser. Plutus further told him, that when he was a boy he used to declare, that as soon as he came to age he would distribute wealth to none but virtuous and just men; upon 10 which Jupiter, considering the pernicious consequences of such a resolution, took his sight away from him, and left him to stroll about the world in the blind condition wherein Chremylus beheld him. With much ado Chremylus prevailed upon him to go to his house; where he met an old woman in a tattered raiment, who had been his guest for many years, and whose name was Poverty. The old woman refusing to turn out so easily as he would have her, he threatened to banish her, not only from his own house, but out of all Greece, if she made any more words upon the matter. Poverty on this occasion pleads her cause very 20 notably, and represents to her old landlord, that should she be driven out of the country, all their trades, arts, and sciences, would be driven out with her; and that, if every one was rich, they would never be supplied with those pomps, ornaments, and conveniences of life which make riches desirable. She likewise represented to him the several advantages which she bestowed upon her votaries, in regard to their shape, their health and their activity, by preserving them from gouts, dropsies, unwieldliness and intemperance; but whatever she had to say for herself, she was at last forced to troop off. Chremylus immediately con30 sidered how he might restore Plutus to his sight; and in order to it, conveyed him to the temple of Æsculapius, who was famous for cures and miracles of this nature. By this means the deity recovered his eyes, and began to make a right use of them, by enriching every one that was distinguished by piety towards the gods, and justice towards men; and at the same time by taking away his gifts from the impious and undeserving. This produces several merry incidents, till, in the very last act, Mercury descends with great complaints from the gods, that, since the good men were grown rich, they had received no sacrifices; which is 40 confirmed by a priest of Jupiter, who enters with a remonstrance, |