speech in Parliament, relative to a tax of twopence
in the pound, upon some commodity or other, quote those two heroes as examples of what we ought to do and suffer for our country. [Same date.]
Injudicious Learning.—I have known these
absurdities carried so far by people of injudicious
learning, that I should not be surprised if some of
them were to propose, while we were at war with
the Gauls, that a number of geese should be kept in
the Tower, upon account of the infinite advantage
which Rome received, in a parallel case, from a
certain number of geese in the Capitol. This way
of reasoning and this way of speaking will always
form a poor politician and a puerile declaimer.
[Same date.]
How "to Wear" Learning.—Wear your learning
like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not
pull it out and strike it, merely to show that you
have one. If you are asked what o'clock it is, tell
it, but do not proclaim it hourly and unasked, like
the watchman. [Same date.]
The Graces.—A thousand little things, not separately
to be defined, conspire to form these graces,
this je ne sais quoi that always pleases. A pretty
person, genteel motions, a proper degree of dress,