ing him in his sick bed, he bewailed the misfortune that he should not hear a discourse from him: But you may,' answered Possidonius: and immediately entered into the point of stoical philosophy, which says pain is not an evil. During the discourse, upon every puncture he felt from his distemper, he smiled and cried out, Pain, Pain, be as impertinent and troublesome as you please, I shall never own thou art an evil.' 66 MR. SPECTATOR, "HAVING seen in several of your papers a concern for the honour of the clergy, and their doing every thing as becomes their character, and particularly performing the public service with a due zeal and devotion; I am the more encouraged to lay before them, by your means, several expressions used by some of them in their prayers before sermon, which I am not well satisfied in. As their giving some titles and epithets to great men, which are indeed due to them in their several ranks and stations, but not properly used, I think, in our prayers. Is it not contradiction to say, illustrious, right reverend, and right honourable poor sinners? These distinctions are suited only to our state here, and have no place in heaven: we see they are omitted in the Liturgy: which, I think, the clergy should take for their pattern in their own forms of devotion *. There is another expression which I * In the original publication of this paper in folio, there was the following passage, left out when the papers were printed in volumes in 1712. [Another expression which I take to be improper, is this, the whole race of mankind,' when they pray for all men; for race signifies lineage or descent; and if the race of mankind may be used for the present generation, though, I think, not very fitly, the whole race takes in all from the beginning to the end of the world. I don't would not mention, but that I have heard it several times before a learned congregation, to bring in the last petition of the prayer in these words, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but this once;' as if there was no difference between Abraham's interceding for Sodom, for which he had no warrant, as we can find, and our asking those things which we are required to pray for; they would therefore have much more reason to fear his anger if they did not make such petitions to him. There is another pretty fancy. When a young man has a mind to let us know who gave him his scarf, he speaks a parenthesis to the Almighty. Bless, as I am in duty bound to pray, the right honourable the countess;' is not that as much as to say, 'Bless her, for thou knowest I am her chaplain ?" "Your humble servant, T "J. O." remember to have met with that expression, in their sense, any where but in the old version of Psalm xiv. which those men, I suppose, have but little esteem for. And some, when they have prayed for all schools and nurseries of good learning and true religion, especially the two universities, add these words, Grant that from them, and all other places dedicated to thy worship and service, may come forth such persons,' &c. But what do they mean by all other places? It seems to me, that this is either a tautology, as being the same with all schools and nurseries before expressed, or else it runs too far; for there are several places dedicated to the divine service, which cannot properly be intended here.] Spectator in folio. SPECTATOR. No. 313. THURSDAY, FEB. 28, 1711-12. Exigite ut mores teneros ceu pollice ducat, JUV. SAT. vii. 237. Bid him besides his daily pains employ, CH. DRYDEN. I SHALL give the following letter no other recommendation than by telling my readers that it comes from the same hand with that of last Thursday. 66 SIR, "I SEND you, according to my promise, some further thoughts on the education of youth, in which I intended to discuss that famous question, 'Whether the education at a public school, or under a private tutor, is to be preferred?' 66 As some of the greatest men in most ages have been of very different opinions in this matter, I shall give a short account of what I think best urged on both sides, and afterwards leave every may be person to determine for himself. "It is certain from Suetonius, that the Romans thought the education of their children a business properly belonging to the parents themselves; and Plutarch, in the Life of Marcus Cato, tells us, that as soon as his son was capable of learning, Cato would suffer no body to teach him but himself, though he had a servant named Chilo, who was an excellent grammarian, and who taught a great many other youths. upon me than my parts, though none of the weakest, could endure; and used me barbarously for not performing impossibilities. The latter was of quite another temper; and a boy who would run upon his errands, wash his coffee-pot, or ring the bell, might have as little conversation with any of the classics as he thought fit. I have known a lad at this place excused his exercise for assisting the cook-maid; and remember a neighbouring gentleman's son was among us five years, most of which time he was employed in airing and watering our master's gray pad. I scorned to compound for my faults by doing any of these elegant offices, and was accordingly the best scholar, and the worst used of any boy in the school. "I shall conclude this discourse with an advantage mentioned by Quintilian, as accompanying a public way of education, which I have not yet taken notice of; namely, that we very often contract such friendships at school, as are a service to us all the following parts of our lives. "I shall give you, under this head, a story very well known to several persons, and which you may depend upon as real truth. 66 * Every one, who is acquainted with Westminsterschool, knows that there is a curtain which used to be drawn across the room, to separate the upper school from the lower. A youth happened, by some mischance, to tear the above-mentioned curtain. The severity of the master was too well known for the criminal to expect any pardon for such a fault; so that the boy, who was of a meek temper, was terrified to death at the thoughts of his appearance, when his friend, who sat next to him, bade him be of good cheer, for that he would take the fault on himself. He kept his word 'accordingly. As soon as they were grown up to be men, the civil war broke out, in which our two friends took the opposite sides; one of them followed the parliament, the other the royal party. "As their tempers were different, the youth who had torn the curtain endeavoured to raise himself on the civil list, and the other who had borne the blame of it, on the military. The first succeeded so well, that he was in a short time made a judge under the Protector. The other was engaged in the unhappy enterprise of Penruddock and Groves in the West. I suppose, Sir, I need not acquaint you with the event of that undertaking. Every one knows that the royal party was routed, and all the heads of them, among whom was the curtain champion, imprisoned at Exeter. It happened to be his friend's lot at that time to go the western circuit. The trial of the rebels, as they were then called, was very short, and nothing now remained but to pass sentence on them; when the judge hearing the name of his old friend, and observing his face more attentively, which he had not seen for many years, asked him if he was not formerly a Westminsterscholar? By the answer, he was soon convinced that it was his former generous friend; and, without saying any thing more at that time, made the best of his way to London, where, employing all his power and interest with the Protector, he saved his friend from the fate of his unhappy associates. "The gentleman whose life was thus preserved by the gratitude of his school-fellow, was afterwards the father of a son, whom he lived to see promoted in the church, and who still deservedly fills one of the highest stations in it *." X * The gentleman here alluded to was Colonel Wake, father to Dr. Wake, bishop of Lincoln, and afterwards archbishop |