XX. TAKE heed of affecting always to shine in company above the rest, and to display the riches of your own understanding or your oratory, as though you would render yourself admirable to all that are present. This is seldom well taken in polite company; much less should you use such forms of speech as should insinuate the ignorance or dulness of those with whom you converse.

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XXI. THOUGH should not affect to flourish in a copious harangue and diffusive style in company, yet neither should you rudely interrupt and reproach him that happens to use it but when he has done speaking, reduce his sentiments into a more contracted form, not with a shew of correcting, but as one who is doubtful whether you hit upon his true sense or not. Thus matters may be brought more easily from a wild confusion into a single point, questions may be sooner determined, and difficulties more readily re

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XXII. BE not so ready to charge ignorance, prejudice, and mistake upon others, as you are to suspect yourself of it and in order to shew how free you are from prejudices, learn to bear contradiction with patience: let it be easy to you to hear your own opinion strongly opposed, especially in matters which are doubtful and disputable amongst men of sobriety and virtue. Give a patient hearing to arguments on all sides, otherwise you give the company occasion to suspect that it is not the evidence of truth has led you into this opinion, but some lazy anticipation of judgement, some beloved presumption, some long and rash possession of a party-scheme, in which you desire to rest undisturbed. If your assent has been established upon just and sufficient grounds, why should you be afraid to let the truth be put to the trial of argument?

XXIII. BANISH utterly out of all conversation, and especially out of all learned and intellectual conference, every thing that tends to provoke passion, or raise a fire in the blood. Let no sharp language, no noisy exclamation, no sarcasms, or biting jests, be heard among you; no perverse

or invidious consequences be drawn from each other's opinions, and imputed to the person; let there be no wilful perversion of another's meaning; no sudden seizure of a lapsed syllable to play upon it, nor any abused construction of an innocent mistake: suffer not your tongue to insult a modest opponent that begins to yield; let there be no crowing and triumph, even where there is evident victory on your side. All these things are enemies to friendship, and the ruin of free conversation. The impartial search of truth requires all calmness and serenity, all temper and candour: mutual instruction can never be attained in the midst of passion, pride, and clamour, unless we suppose in the midst of such a scene there is a loud and penetrating lecture read by both sides on the folly and shameful infirmities of human nature.

XXIV. WHENSOEVER, therefore, any unhappy word shall arise in company that might give you a reasonable disgust, quash the rising resentment, be it ever so just, and command your soul and your tongue into silence, lest you cancel the hopes of all improvement for that hour, and transform the learned conversation into the mean and vulgar form of reproaches and railing. The man who begins to break the peace in such a society will fall under the shame and conviction of such a silent reproof, if he has any thing inge. nuous about him. If this should not be sufficient, let a grave admonition, or a soft and gentle turn of wit, with an air of pleasantry, give the warm disputer an occasion to stop the progress of his indecent fire, if not to retract the indecency, and quench the flame.

XXV. INURE yourself to a candid and obliging manner in all your conversation, and acquire the art of pleasing address, even when you teach as well as when you learn, and when you oppose, as well as when you assert or prove. This degree of politeness is not to be attained without a diligent attention to such kind of directions as are here laid down, and a frequent exercise and practice of them.

XXVI. IF you would know what sort of companions

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you should select for the cultivation and advantage of the mind, the general rule is, choose such as, by their brightness of parts, and their diligence in study, or by their superior advancement in learning, or peculiar excellency in any art, science or accomplishment, divine or human, may be capable of administering to your improvement; and be sure to maintain and keep some due regard to their moral character always, lest, while you wander in quest of intellectual gain, you fall into the contagion of irreligion and vice. No wise man would venture into a house infected with the plague, in order to see the finest collections of any virtuoso in Europe.

XXVII. Nor is it every sober person of your acquaintance, no, nor every man of. bright parts, or rich in learning, that is fit to engage in free conversation for the inquiry after truth. Let a person have ever so illustrious talents, yet he is not a proper associate for such a purpose, if he lie under any of the following infirmities.

(1.) If he be exceedingly reserved, and hath either no inclination to discourse, or no tolerable capacity of speech and language for the communication of his sentiments.

(2.) If he be haughty and proud of his knowledge, imperious in his airs, and is always fond of imposing his sentiments on all the company.

(3.) If he be positive and dogmatical in his own opinions, and will dispute to the end; if he will resist the brightest evidence of truth rather than suffer himself to be overcome, or yield to the plainest and strongest reasonings.

(4.) If he be one who always affects to outshine all the company, and delights to hear himself talk or flourish upon a subject, and make long harangues, while the rest must be all silent and attentive.

(5.) If he be a person of a whiffling and unsteady turn of mind, who cannot keep close to a point of controversy, but wanders from it perpetually, and is always solicitous to say something, whether it be pertinent to the question

or not.

(6.) If he be fretful and peevish, and given to resentment upon all occasions; if he knows not how to bear contradiction, or is a ready to take things in a wrong sense; if he is swift to feel a supposed offence, or to imagine himself affronted, and then break out into a sudden passion, or retain silent and sullen wrath.

(7.) If he affect wit on all occasions, and is full of his conceits and puns, quirks or quibbles, jests and repartees; these may agreeably entertain and animate an hour of mirth, but they have no place in the search after truth.

(8.) If he carry always about him a sort of craft, and cunning, and disguise, and act rather like a spy than a friend. Have care of such a one as will make an ill use of freedom in conversation, and immediately charge heresy upon you, when you happen to differ from those sentiments which authority or custom has established.

In short, you should avoid the man in such select conversation, who practises any thing that is unbecoming the character of a sincere, free, and open searcher after truth.

Now, though you may pay all the relative duties of life to persons of these unhappy qualifications, and treat them with decency and love, so far as religion and humanity oblige you, yet take care of entering into a free debate on matters of truth or falsehood in their company, and especially about the principles of religion. I confess, if a person of such a temper happens to judge and talk well on such a subject, you may hear him with attention, and derive what profit you can from his discourse; but he is by no means to be chosen for a free conference in matters of inquiry and knowledge.

XXVIII. WHILE I would persuade you to beware of such persons, and abstain from too much freedom of discourse amongst them, it is very natural to infer, that you should watch against the working of these evil qualities in your own breast, if you happen to be tainted with any of them yourself. Men of learning and ingenuity will justly

avoid your acquaintance, when they find such an unhappy and unsociable temper prevailing in you.

XXIX. To conclude: when you retire from company, then converse with yourself in solitude, and inquire what you have learnt for the improvement of your understanding, or for the rectifying your inclination, for the increase of your virtues, or the meliorating your conduct and behaviour in any future parts of life. If you have seen some of your company candid, modest, humble in their manner, wise and sagacious, just and pious in their sentiments, polite and graceful, as well as clear and strong in their expression, and universally acceptable and lovely in their behaviour, endeavour to impress the idea of all these upon your memory, and treasure them up for your imitation.

XXX. If the laws of reason, decency, and civility have not been well observed amongst your associates, take notice of those defects for your own improvement: and from every occurrence of this kind, remark something to imitate or to avoid, in elegant, polite, and useful conversation. Perhaps you will find that some persons present have really displeased the company by an excessive, and too visible an affectation to please, i. e. by giving loose to servile flattery, or promiscuous praise; while others were as ready to oppose and contradict every thing that was said. Some have deserved just censure for a morose and affected taciturnity, and others have been anxious and careful lest their silence should be interpreted a want of sense, and therefore they have ventured to make speeches, though they had nothing to say which was worth hearing. Perhaps you will observe that one was ingenious in his thoughts and bright in his language, but he was, so top full of himself, that he let it spill on all the company; that he spoke well indeed, but that he spoke too long, and did not allow equal time or liberty to his associates. You will remark that another was full charged to let out his words before his friend had done speaking, or impatient of the least opposition to any thing he said. You will remember that some persons have talked

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