No I 379. Thursday, May 15. Scire tuum nihil eft nifi te stire hoc fciat alter. Perf Have often wondered at that ill natur'd Pofition which has been fometimes maintained in the Schools, and is compriz'd in an old Latin Verfe, namely, that A Man's Knowledge is worth nothing, if he communicates what he knows to any one befides. There is certainly no more fenfible Pleasure to a good-natur'd Man, than if he can by any means gratify or inform the Mind of another. I might add, that this Virtue naturally carries its own Reward along with it, fince it is almost impossible it mould be exercifed without the Improvement of the Perfon who practifes it. The reading of Books, and the daily Occur rences of Life, are continually furniching us with Matter for Thought and Reflection. It is extremely natural for us to defire to fee fuch our Thoughts put into the Dress of Words, without which indeed we can fcarce have a clear and diftin&t Idea of them our felves: When they are thus clothed in Expreffions, nothing fo truly news us whether they are just or false, as thofe Effects which they produce in the Minds of others. I am apt to flatter my felf, that in the Courfe of thelo my Speculations, I have treated of feveral Subjects, and laid down many fuch Rules for the Conduct of a Man's Life, which my Readers were either wholly ignorant of before, or which at least those few who were acquainted with them, looked upon as fo many Secrets they had found out for the Conduct of themselves, but were refolved never to have made publick. I am the more confirmed in this Opinion from my ha ving received feveral Letters, wherein I am cenfur'd for having proftitured Learning to the Embraces of the Vulgar, and made her, as one of my Correfpondents plafes it, a common 1 common Strumpet: I am charged by another with laying open the Arcana, or Secrets of Prudence, to the Eyes of every Reader. THE narrow Spirit which appears in the Letters of there my Correfpondents is the tefs furprizing, as it has fhewn it felf in all Ages: There is still extant an Epile written by Alexander the Great to his Turor ftotle, upon that Philofopher's publishing fonte part of his Writings; in which the Prince complains of his having made known to all the World, thofe Secrets in Learning which he had before communicated to him in private Lectures; concluding, That he had Father excel the rest of Munkind în Knowledge than in Power. LUISA de Pill, a Lady of great Learning, and ·Counters of Aranda, was in like manner angry with the famous Granian, úpon his publishing his Treatife of the Difcretos wherein the fancted that he had laid open thore Maxims to common Readers, which ought only to have been referved for the Knowledge of the Great. THESE Objections are thought by many of fo much weight, that they often défend the above-mention'd Authors, by affirming they have affected fuch an Obfcurity in their Style and Manner of Writing, that tho' every one may read their Works, there will be but very few who can comprehend their Meaning. PERSIUS, the Latin Satirift, affected Obfcurity for another Reafon; with which however Mr. Cowley is fo offended, that writing to one of his Friends, You, fays He, tell me, that you do not know whether Perfus be à good Poet or no, because you cannot understand him; for which very Reafon I affirm that he is not fo. HOWEVER, this Art of writing unintelligibly has been very much improved, and fellow'd by feveral of the Moderns, who obferving the general Inclination of Mankind to dive into a Secret, and the Reputation many have acquired by concealing their Meaning under obleute Terms and Phrases, refolve, that they may be ftill more abftruse, to write without any Meaning at all. This Art, as it is st prefent practifed by many eminent Authors, confilts in throwing fo many Words ae å venture into different Pe M.3 riods, riods, and leaving the curious Reader to find out the Meaning of them. THE Egyptians, who made ufe of Hieroglyphicks to fignify feveral things, expreffed a Man who confined his Knowledge and Difcoveries altogether within himself, by the Figure of a Dark-Lanthorn closed on all fides, which, tho' it was illuminated within, afforded no manner of Light or Advantage to fuch as stood by it, For my own part, as I fhall from time to time communicate to the Publick whatever Discoveries I happen to make, I should much rather be compared to an ordinary Lamp, which confumes and wastes it felf for the benefit of every Paffenger. Ifhall conclude this Paper with the Story of Roficrucius's Sepulchre. I fuppofe I need not inform my Readers that this Man was the Founder of the Roficrufian Sect, and that his Difciples ftill pretend to new Difcoveries, which they are never to communicate to the rest of Mankind. A certain Perfon having occafion to dig fomewhat deep in the Ground where this Philofopher lay inter'd, met with a small Door having a Wall on each fide of it. His Curiofity, and the Hopes of finding some hidden Treafure, foon prompted him to force open the Door. He was immediately furpriz'd by a fudden Blaze of Light, and discovered a very fair Vault: At the upper end of it was a Statue of a Man in Armour fitting by a Table, and leaning on his Left Arm. He held a Truncheon in his Right Hand, and had a Lamp burning before him. The Man had no fooner fet one Foot within the Vault, than the Statue erecting it self from its leaning Posture, stood bolt upright; and upon the Fellow's advancing another Step, lifted up the Truncheon in his Right Hand. The Man ftill ventur❜d a third Step, when the Statue with a furious Blow broke the Lamp into a thousand Pieces, and left his Gueft in a fudden Darkness. UPON the report of this Adventure, the Country People foon came with Lights to the Sepulchre, and difcovered that the Statue, which was made of Brafs, was nothing more than a Piece of Clock-work; that the Floor of the the Vault was all loose, and underlaid with several Springs, which, upon any Man's entring, naturally produced that which had happen'd. ROSICRUCIUS, fay his Difciples, made use of this Method, to fhew the World that he had re-invented the ever-burning Lamps of the Ancients, tho' he was refolv'd no one should reap any Advantage from the Discovery. X N° 380. Friday, May 16. SIR, T Rivalem patienter habe Ovid. Thursday, May 8.1712. HE Character you have in the World of being the Lady's Philofopher, and the pretty Advice I have feen you give to others in your Papers, make me addrefs my felf to you in this abrupt manner, and do defire your Opinion what in this Age a Woman · may call a Lover. I have lately had a Gentleman that I ⚫ thought made Pretenfions to me, infomuch that moft of my Friends took notice of it and thought we were really married; which I did not take much pains to undeceive them, and efpecially a young Gentlewoman of my ⚫ particular Acquaintance which was then in the Country. She coming to Town, and feeing our Intimacy fo great, fhe gave her felf the liberty of taking me to task concerning it I ingenuously told her we were not married, • but I did not know what might be the Event. She foon < got acquainted with the Gentleman, and was pleased to take upon her to examine him about it. Now whether a new Face had made a greater Conqueft than the old, • I'll leave you to judge: But I am inform'd that he ut terly deny'd all Pretenfions to Courtship, but withal profefs'd a fincere Friendship for me; but whether Marriages are propos'd by way of Friendship or not, is what • I defire to know, and what I may really call a Lover. There are so many who talk in a Language fit only for ⚫ that Character, and yet guard themselves against speaking ⚫ in direct Terms to the point, that it is impoffible to deftinguish between Courtship and Converfation. I hope you will do me justice both upon my Lover and my Friend, if they provoke me further: In the mean time I carry it with fo equal a Behaviour, that the Nymph and the Swain too are mightily at a lofs; each believes I, who know them both well, think my felf revenged in ⚫ their Love to one another, which creates an irreconcile. able Jealoufy. If all comes right again, you shall hear ⚫ further from, Mr. SPECTATOR, • have had a good effect on fome that have read them: But ⚫ will |