TRAVEL IN HOLLAND.--On me dit, Monsieur! que vous vous disposez à
voyager, et que vous débutez par la Hollande. De sorte j’ai crû de mon
devoir, de vous souhaiter un bon voyage, et des vents favorables. Vous
aurez la bonté, j’espère, de me faire part de votre arrivée à la Haye;
et si après cela, dans le cours de vos voyages, vous faites quelques
remarques curieuses, vous voudrez bien me les communiquer.
La Hollande, où vous allez, est de beaucoup la plus belle, et la
plus riche des Sept Provinces-Unies, qui, toutes ensemble, forment
la République. Les autres sont celles de Gueldres, Zélande, Frise,
Utrecht, Groningue, et Over-Yssel. Les Sept Provinces composent, ce
qu’on appelle les Etats Généraux des Provinces-Unies, et font une
République très-puissante, et très-considérable.[16]
_Translation._--I am informed, sir, that you are about to travel, and
that you will start with Holland. Therefore I have thought it my duty
to wish you a pleasant journey and favorable winds. You will, I am
sure, be so good as to acquaint me with your arrival at The Hague; and
afterward, if in your travels you should observe anything curious, will
you let me know?
Holland, where you are going, is by far the finest and richest of the
seven united provinces, which together form the Republic. The other
provinces are Guelderland, Zealand, Friesland, Utrecht, Groningen, and
Overyssel; these seven provinces form what is called the States-General
of the United Provinces, etc.[17]
TRUE DECENCY.--One of the most important points of life is decency;
which is to do what is proper, and where it is proper; for many
things are proper at one time, and in one place, that are extremely
improper in another; for example, it is very proper and decent that
you should play some part of the day; but you must feel that it would
be very improper and indecent if you were to fly your kite, or play at
nine-pins while you are with Mr. Maittaire.[18] It is very proper and
decent to dance well; but then you must dance only at balls and places
of entertainment; for you would be reckoned a fool if you were to dance
at church or at a funeral. I hope, by these examples, you understand
the meaning of the word _decency_, which in French is _bienséance_;
in Latin, _decorum_; and in Greek, πρέπον. Cicero says of
it, _Sic hoc decorum quod elucet in vitâ, movet approbationem earum
quibuscum vivatur, ordine et constantiâ, et moderatione dictorum omnium
atque factorum_: by which you see how necessary decency is to gain
the approbation of mankind. And, as I am sure you desire to gain Mr.
Maittaire’s approbation, without which you will never have mine, I
dare say you will mind and give attention to whatever he says to you,
and behave yourself seriously and decently while you are with him;
afterward play, run, and jump as much as ever you please. [_July 24,
1739._]
THE ART OF SPEAKING.--You cannot but be convinced that a man who speaks
and writes with elegance and grace; who makes choice of good words,
and adorns and embellishes the subject upon which he either speaks or
writes, will persuade better, and succeed more easily in obtaining what
he wishes, than a man who does not explain himself clearly; speaks
his language ill; or makes use of low and vulgar expressions; and who
has neither grace nor elegance in anything that he says. Now it is by
rhetoric that the art of speaking eloquently is taught; and, though I
cannot think of grounding you in it as yet, I would wish, however, to
give you an idea of it suitable to your age.[19]
The first thing you should attend to is, to speak whatever language
you do speak, in its greatest purity, and according to the rules of
grammar; for we must never offend against grammar, nor make use of
words which are not really words. This is not all; for not to speak
ill, is not sufficient; we must speak well; and the best method of
attaining to that, is to read the best authors with attention; and to
observe how people of fashion speak, and those who express themselves
best; for shopkeepers, common people, footmen, and maid-servants all
speak ill. [_Bath, Oct. 17, 1739._]
ORATORY.--The business of oratory is to persuade people; and you easily
feel that to please people is a great step toward persuading them. You
must, then, consequently, be sensible how advantageous it is for a
man, who speaks in public, whether it be in Parliament, in the pulpit,
or at the bar (that is, in the courts of law), to please his hearers so
much as to gain their attention: which he can never do without the help
of oratory. It is not enough to speak the language he speaks in its
utmost purity, and according to the rules of grammar; but he must speak
it elegantly; that is, he must choose the best and most expressive
words, and put them in the best order. He should likewise adorn what he
says by proper metaphors, similes, and other figures of rhetoric; and
he should enliven it, if he can, by quick and sprightly turns of wit.
[_November, 1739._]
THE FOLLY OF IGNORANCE.--An ignorant man is insignificant and
contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to
live, and that is all. There is a very pretty French epigram upon the
death of such an ignorant, insignificant fellow, the sting of which is,
that all that can be said of him is, that he was once alive, and that
he is now dead. This is the epigram, which you may get by heart:
“Colas est mort de maladie,
Tu veux que j’en pleure le sort,
Que diable veux-tu que j’en dis?
Colas vivoit. Colas est mort.”
Take care not to deserve the name of Colas,[20] which I shall certainly
give you, if you do not learn well. [_No date._]
_Philippus Chesterfield parvulo suo Philippo Stanhope_, S. P. D.
PERGRATA mihi fuit epistola tua, quam nuper accepi, eleganter enim
scripta erat, et polliceris te summam operam daturum, ut veras laudes
meritò adipisci possis. Sed ut planè dicam; valde suspicor te, in ea
scribenda, optimum et eruditissimum adjutorem habuisse; quo duce et
auspice, nec elegantia, nec doctrina, nec quicquid prorsus est dignum
sapiente bonoque, unquam tibi deesse poterit. Illum ergo ut quam
diligenter colas, te etiam atque etiam rogo; et quo magis eum omni
officio, amore, et obsequio persequeris, eo magis te me studiosum, et
observantem existimabo.[21]
A STUDY IN VERSE.--To use your ear a little to English verse, and to
make you attend to the sense, too, I have transposed the words of the
following lines; which I would have you put in their proper order, and
send me in your next:
“Life consider cheat a when ’tis all I
Hope the fool’d deceit men yet with favor
Repay will to-morrow trust on think and
Falser former day to-morrow’s than the
Worse lies blest be shall when and we says it
Hope new some possess’d cuts off with we what.”
[This is curious, and truly no bad way of teaching a child the
structure of verse. The citation, a fine one, is from Dryden:
“When I consider life, ’tis all a cheat,
Yet fool’d with hope men favor the deceit.”