A Critical Essay on Characteristic-Writings Part 2

[K: Ibid. fere.]

An absent Man often acts out of the Way of common Life, when the Fit of Absence is upon him; but that this Fit should dwell upon a Man, so long as it does upon Mr. _de la Bruyere_'s[L] _Menalcas_ I confess, pa.s.ses my Belief.--_Menalcas_ rises in the Morning; and from that Time till he goes to Bed again, he never recovers from his Fit of Absence: The Distractions of his Mind admit of no Cessation or Interruption: His whole Life is a continued Series of the greatest Follies.

_Menalcas_ is really never _Menalcas_; he has no lucid Intervals; he is always another Man.

[L: C. de l'Homme.]

If we consult the Operations of our Soul, to discover the proper Causes of what is call'd _Absence of Mind_, we shall perceive that the Powers of it are sometimes contracted within themselves by a Multiplicity of Thought: In these Cases the inward Exercise of the Soul makes it unable to attend to any outward Object. But at other Times the Soul wanders from itself; and in these Cases the Soul being conversant about remote Objects, cannot immediately recover itself, so as to reflect duly on those which are present. So that this Absence of the Mind must proceed, either from a Fulness and Intention of Thought, or from a Want of Reflexion. If it proceeds from a Fulness of Thought, I say 'tis impossible for the Mind to keep bent so long, as that of _Menalcas_ does: It must necessarily have some Relaxations. If it proceeds from a Want of Reflexion, it must be confess'd, that he who can live so many Hours without reflecting, must be either wholly stupid, or some Degrees below the Species of Mankind.

But what makes the Character of _Menalcas_ still more ridiculous and unnatural is, that he is stupid and sensible at the same Time.--_Menalcas_ is in the Drawing-Room at Court; and walking very majestically under a Branch of Candlestics; his Wig is caught up by one of them, and hangs dangling in the Air. All the Courtiers fall a laughing.--_Menalcas_ unluckily loses his Feeling, but still retains the Use of his Ears. He is insensible that his Wig is taken off his Head; but yet is so happy as to hear the loud Mirth of the Courtiers, and has still so much good Humour left as to join in Company with them.--_Menalcas_ plays at Backgammon.--He calls for a Gla.s.s of Water; 'tis his Turn to throw; he has the Box in one Hand and the Gla.s.s in the other; and being extremely dry, and unwilling to lose Time, he swallows down both the Dice and almost the Box, and at the same Time throws the Gla.s.s of Water into the Tables.--If this is not to overstrain the Bow, to carry Things to an unnatural Excess and Extravagance, and to make no Distinction between Absence of Mind and Insensibility, or downright Folly, I confess, I know not what is. _Mr.

de la Bruyere_ should have consider'd, that a Man, who has lost his Feeling, is not, in that Respect, a proper Subject for Ridicule, and that 'tis no Jest to take away a Man's Senses. Extravagances of this Nature are no Beauties in any Kind of Writing, much less in Characteristics. In Performances of this Kind there must be Spirit and Strength, but especially there must be Justice. The real Images of Life must be represented, or the Probabilities of Nature must strictly be observ'd.

[M] _Respicere exemplar vitae morumque jubebo Doctum imitatorem, & vivas hinc ducere voces._

These are the likeliest Copies, which are drawn By the Original of human Life.

Ld. _Roscommon_.

[M: Horat. in Art. Poet. _v._ 317, &c.]

The Strokes which compose a Character must be bold, but not extravagant. Nature must not be distorted, to excite either Ridicule or Admiration. Reason must hold the Reins of the Imagination: Judgment must direct the Fancy; otherwise we shall be apt to miscarry, and connect inconsistent Ideas, at the very Time, when we think we hit the Point of Humour to the Life.

The only Thing that can be said to excuse Mr. _de la Bruyere_ on this Head, is what the Abbot _Fleury_ has alledg'd to his Praise; namely, [N]that his Characters are sometimes loaded, on purpose that they might not too nearly resemble the Persons design'd.

[N: On trouve dans ses Characteres une severe Critique, des Expressions vives, des Tours ingenieux, des Peintures quelquefois chargees expres, pour ne les pas faire trop ressemblantes.

_Discours p.r.o.nonce dans l'Academie Francaise._ 1696.]

'Tis very dangerous, I confess, to make free with the Characters of particular Persons; for there are some Men in the World, who, tho'

they are not asham'd of the Impropriety of their own

Manners, yet are they easily offended at the public Notice which is taken of 'em. But tho' Mr. _de la Bruyere_ might have very good prudential Reasons for not making his Characters too particular, yet those Reasons cannot be urg'd, as a just Plea for his transgressing the Bounds of Characteristic-Justice, by making his Images unnatural.

In every Kind of Writing there is something of an establish'd Nature which is essential to it. To deviate from this, is to deviate from Nature it self. Mr. _de la Bruyere_ is not the only _French_ Man who is guilty in this Point. Others of his Country-Men have committed much the same Fault in Pastoral and Comedy. Out of a vain Affectation of saying something very extraordinary and remarkable, they have departed from the nature of Things: They have given to the Simplicity of the Country, the Airs of the Town and Court, introduced upon the Stage Buffoonry and Farce instead of Humour; and by misrepresenting the real Manners of Men, they have turn'd Nature into Grimace.

The main Beauty of _Characteristic-Writings_ consists in a certain Life and Spirit, which the Writer ought to endeavour to keep up, by all the Arts which he is Master of. Nothing will contribute to this more, than the Observance of a strict Unity in the very Conception of a Character: For Characters are Descriptions of Persons and Things, as they are such: And, as [O]Mr. _Budgell_ has very judiciously observ'd, "If the Reader is diverted in the midst of a Character, and his Attention call'd off to any thing foreign to it, the lively Impression it shou'd have made is quite broken, and it loses more than half its Force." But if this Doctrine be applied to the Practice of Mr. _de la Bruyere_, it will find him Guilty. He sometimes runs his Characters to so great a Length, and mixes in 'em so many Particulars and unnecessary Circ.u.mstances, that they justly deserve the Name, rather of Histories than Characters.--Such is the [P]Article concerning _Emira_. 'Tis an artful Description of a Woman's Vanity, in pretending to be insensible to the Power of Love, merely because she has never been exposed to the Charms of a lovely Person; and there is nothing in this Character, but what is agreeable to Nature, and carried on with a great deal of Humour. But the many Particulars which Mr. _de la Bruyere_ has drawn into the Composition of it, and which, in Truth, are not essential to the main Design, have quite chang'd the Nature of the Character, and converted it into a History, or rather a little Romance.--'Tis true, Histories are Pictures as well as Characters; but yet there will ever be as wide a Difference between 'em, as there is between a Picture at full Length, and one in Miniature.

[O: Preface to _Theophrastus_.]

[P: C. des Femmes. ad fin.]

The [Q]Characters of _Giton_ and _Phebon_ are humorous enough. And they are allow'd to be kept within the just Bounds of Probability. But Mr. _de la Bruyere_ has heap'd up so many Particulars and unnecessary Circ.u.mstances, which do not convey any new Ideas, that the Characters grow languid and tedious.--_Giton_ is respected; every thing that he says or does is approved of. _Phebon_ is despis'd; no Notice is taken of what he says or does. The Reason of this Difference is not so mysterious, but that it may be told in less than two or three Pages.

_Giton_ is rich, and _Phebon_ is poor.

[Q: C. id. ibid. fere.]

Sometimes there is such a Confusion in Mr. _de la Bruyere's_ Designs, that one cannot easily discover whether he intended to draw the Character of a particular Person, or to make a Picture of some prevailing Vice, or only a moral Reflexion.--Such is the [R]Article of _Zen.o.bia_. Was it design'd for the Character of _Zen.o.bia_? But 'tis rather a Description of the Magnificence, and beautiful Situation of the Palace, which she was then building. Or was it design'd to censure and lash the Publicans of the Age, for the Extortions which they practis'd, and the immense Riches which they ama.s.s'd by Fraud and Oppression? But this Satir comes in only by the by, and in a very jejune Manner. Or lastly, was it intended only for a moral Reflexion on the sudden Revolutions and Vicissitudes of Fortune? But the Length of this Article is inconsistent with the nature of a Reflexion; and if any thing like this was intended, it must come in as the ?p??????, the Moral of the Fable; which will make the Contents of this Article, still more different from the nature of a Character, than any thing that has yet been mentioned.

[R: C. des Biers de Fortune. sub fin.]

'Tis not enough that a Character be drawn conformable to that Existence which it really has, or probably may have in Nature: It must further be cloath'd in proper Sentiments, and express'd in a simple and natural Style. But Mr. _de la Bruyere_, consider'd as a Writer of Characters, is too affected in his way of Thinking, and too artificial in the Turn of his Expressions.

The previous Apology which he made for himself in this Point, is so far from the Purpose, that nothing is more so.

Recollecting, [S]says he, that amongst the Writings ascrib'd to _Theophrastus_ by _Diogenes Laertius_, there is one which bears the t.i.tle of _Proverbs_, i.e. of loose unconnected Observations, and that the most considerable Book of Morality, that ever was made, bears that Name in the sacred Writings; we have been excited by such great Examples to imitate, according to our Capacity, a like Way of Writing concerning Manners.

--'Tis true, that in the Catalogue of _Theophrastus _ his Works, preserv'd by [T]_Diogenes Laertius_, there is one Book under the t.i.tle pe?? pa?????? concerning _Proverbs_: But that, probably, was nothing but a Collection of some of those short, remarkable, useful, pithy Sayings, which are of common Use in the World, and which every Nation has peculiar to it self. However, tho' we cannot exactly tell, what the Nature of that Performance was, because the Book is now lost, yet we are certain, on the other Hand, that the Design of _Solomon_ was not to write Characters, but to deliver some Maxims of Morality by way of Advice and Instruction. So that for a profess'd Writer of Characters, to take a Book of _Proverbs_ for a Model, is as inconsistent, as if any one, who intended to compose an Oration, shou'd form his Diction upon a Poem. _Proverbs_ consist of short Sentences, which contain in themselves a full and compleat Sense; and therefore they do not essentially require a strict Relation and Correspondence; but _Characteristic-Writings_ do require such a strict Relation and Correspondence. And Mr. _de la Bruyere_ is so faulty in this Point, that almost every where he has no visible Connexion. --_Characteristic-Writings_ ought, I own, to have a lively Turn, and a Laconic Air: but there is a wide Difference between using a concise Manner, and writing as many Aphorisms as Sentences.

[S: Discours sur _Theophraste_.]

[T: Lib. 5. Segm. 45.]

How far Mr. _de la Bruyere_ is defective as to Propriety of Style and Justness of Expression, I chuse to set down in the Words of one of his [V]Countrymen, a very judicious Writer, and a better Judge in this Matter than I pretend to be.

[V: Melanges de Vigneul Marville. _Edit. Rot._ T. 1. p. 336.]

Mr. _de la Bruyere_, qui n'a point de Style forme, ecrivant au hazard, employe des Expressions outrees en des Choses tres communes; & quand il en veut dire de plus relevees, il les affoiblit par des Expressions ba.s.ses, & fait ramper le fort avec le foible. Il tend sans relache a un sublime qu'il ne connoit pas, & qu'il met tantot dans les choses, tantot dans les Paroles, sans jamais attraper le Point d'Unite, qui concilie les Paroles avec les choses, en quoi consiste tout le Secret, & la Finesse de cette Art merveilleux.

--This is the Censure which an ingenious Author, under the feign'd Name of _Vigneul Marville_, has pa.s.s'd upon Mr. _de la Bruyere's_ Style. However, I think my self oblig'd in Justice to inform the Reader, that Mr. _Coste_, in his Defence of Mr. _de la Bruyere_, has endeavour'd to prove that this Censure is ill grounded. But I will not pretend to decide in a Case of this Nature. Matters relating to Style are the nicest Points in Learning: The greatest Men have grosly err'd on this Subject. I only declare my own Opinion on the Matter, that Mr.

_de la Bruyere_'s Style appears to me forc'd, affected, and improper for Characteristic Writings. Several ingenious _French_ Gentlemen, who have themselves writ with Applause in this Language, entertain the same Sentiments, and have ingenuously confess'd to me, that they could never read ten Pages together of Mr. _de la Bruyere_, without feeling such an Uneasiness and Pain, as arises from a continued Affectation and a perpetual Constraint. But the Reader is still left free. To form a right Judgment on Correctness is an easy Matter by the ordinary Rules of Grammar, but to do the same concerning the Turn and Air, and peculiar Beauties of Style, depends on a particular Taste: They are not capable of being prov'd to those who have not this Taste, but to those who have it, they are immediately made sensible by a bare pointing out.

The running t.i.tle which Mr. _de la Bruyere_ has given to his Book does, by no Means, square with the several Parts of it. With Relation to my present Purpose I observe, that, strictly speaking, this Performance is, but in Part, of the Characteristic-Kind. The Characters, which are interspers'd in it, being reducible to a very narrow Compa.s.s, and the main Body of it consisting of miscellaneous Reflexions. And these are not confin'd, as is pretended, only to the present Age, but extend themselves both to past and present Times. So that if Mr. _de la Bruyere_ had, with his View, chosen another t.i.tle for his Book, tho' it wou'd not have been so uncommon, yet wou'd it have been more proper than the present t.i.tle; and the Performance it self wou'd then, in some Measure, have less deserv'd Censure.

Tho' Mr. _de la Bruyere's_ Work is not perfect in that Kind, in which it is pretended to excel, it must nevertheless be confess'd, that it has many Beauties and Excellencies. To deny this, wou'd be an Affront to the Judgment of the Gentlemen of the _French_ Academy: But yet our Complaisance ought not, cannot go so far, as to prejudice our own Judgment. We cannot think, as [X]some of 'em did, that Mr. _de la Bruyere_ has excell'd _Theophrastus_, the great Original which he propos'd to himself. Mr. _de la Bruyere_ had a more modest Opinion of himself: He wou'd have been proud of the t.i.tle of _little Theophrastus_. And in Truth, it deserves no small Share of Praise, to come up to _Theophrastus_ in any Degree of Comparison.--If then Mr.

_de la Bruyere_ has committed some Faults, 'tis nothing but what others have done, both before and since him: But if he has, as I have already allow'd him to have, some considerable Beauties; 'tis more than a great many other Authors have, tho' of greater Bulk: And these Excellencies ought in Justice to be admitted as some Excuse for those Defects.

[X: Discours de l'Abbe Fleury deja cite.]

SECT. V.

Theophrastus has not only prevented, but he has also out-done the Moderns in _Characteristic-Writings_. Yet Mr. _de la Rochefoucault_ had an extraordinary Genius. He seems to be the only one, amongst all the Moderns, who was equal to so great a Work. He had studied Man in himself; and, in a small Collection of moral Reflexions, he has laid open the various Forms and Folds of that Heart, which by Nature is deceitful above all Things. He has given us, as it were, the Characters of all Mankind, by discovering those secret Springs of Self Love, which are the Source of all our _Actions_.--Self Love is born with us; and this great Author has shewn, that there is no Principle in human Nature so secret, so deceitful: 'Tis so Hypocritical, that it frequently imposes on it self, by taking the Appearances of Virtue for Virtue it self. It borrows all the Disguises of Art: It appears in a thousand Forms, and in a thousand Shapes; but yet the Principle of Error is still the same.

[Y] ---- _Velut Silvis ubi pa.s.sim Palantes Error certo de Tramite pellit, Ille sinistrorsum, hic dextrorsum abit: unus utrique Error, sed variis illudit Partibus._

As Men that lose their Ways in Woods, divide, Some go on this, and some on t'other Side.

The Error is the same, all miss the Road, Altho' in different Quarters of the Wood.

Mr. _Creech_.

[Y: Horat. Lib. 2. Sat. 3. v. 48, _&c_.]

'Tis true Mr. _de la Rochefoucault_'s Design was too general, and his Piece cannot properly be reckoned among _Characteristic-Writings_. But tho' he did not professedly write Characters, yet this Work shews that he was very able to do it; and it may be of very great Service to those, who wou'd attempt any thing in this Kind.

I have often wonder'd that no _English_ Writer has ever professedly attempted a Performance in the Characteristic-Way. I mean, such a profess'd Performance, as wou'd extend it self to the different Conditions of Men, and describe the various Ends which they propose to themselves in Life; as wou'd take in the chief Branches of Morality and Behaviour, and, in some Measure, make a compleat Work: For as to loose Attempts and Sketches in this Kind, there are many Years since we had some; the most considerable of which, I mean of those that bear the t.i.tle of Characters, are printed together with Sir _Thomas Overbury_'s Wife. These are said to have been written, partly by that unfortunate Knight, and partly by some of his Friends. And if the Editor had not taken Care to give us this Notice, yet still that great Disparity which appears but too visibly in them, wou'd manifestly prove that they were compos'd by very different Hands.--There are, I confess, many good Things to be met with in these Characters, but they are very far from making a compleat Work: And really this was not intended. Besides, nothing can possibly be more contrary to the Nature of _Characteristic-Writings_, than the corrupted Taste which prevail'd in the Age. A continued Affectation of far-fetch'd and quaint Simile's, which runs thro' almost all these Characters, makes 'em appear like so many Pieces of mere Grotesque; and the Reader must not expect to find Persons describ'd as they really are, but rather according to what they are thought to be like.

This Censure may be thought hard; but yet it leaves Room for some Exceptions: And that I may do Justice to Merit, where it is really due, I shall here set down one of those Characters, which seem'd to me to be exquisite in its Kind. And this I shall the rather do, because the Book it self is not in every body's Hands. The Image is taken from low Life; 'tis a beautiful Description of Nature in its greatest Simplicity, and 'tis the more beautiful because 'tis natural.

A fayre and happy MILKE MAID.