13.  Mr. Triplett, who is a woman’s man, seemed to hear me, with patience enough, commend the qualities of his mind; he never heard, indeed, but that he was a very honest man, and no fool; but for a fine gentleman, he must ask pardon.  Upon no other foundation than this, Mr. Triplett took occasion to give the gentleman’s pedigree, by what methods some part of the estate was acquired, how much it was beholden to a marriage for the present circumstances of it:  after all, he could see nothing but a common man in his person, his breeding or under-Standing.

14.  Thus, Mr. Spectator, this impertinent humour of diminishing every one who is produced in conversation to their advantage, runs through the world; and I am, I confess, so fearful of the force of ill tongues, that I have begged of all those who are my well-wishers, never to commend me, for it will but bring my frailties into examination, and I had rather be unobserved, than conspicuous for disputed perfections.

15.  I am confident a thousand young people, who would have been ornaments to society, have, from fear of scandal, never dared to exert themselves in the polite arts of life.—­Their lives have passed away in an odious rusticity, in spite of great advantages of person, genius and fortune.

16.  There is a vicious terror of being blamed in some well-inclined people, and a wicked pleasure in suppressing them in others; both which I recommend to your spectatorial wisdom to animadvert upon:  and if you can be successful in it, I need not say how much you will deserve of the town; but new toasts will owe to you their beauty, and new wits their fame.

17.  Truth and reality have all the advantages of appearance, and many more.  If the show of any thing be good for any thing, I am sure sincerity is better:  for why does any man dissemble, or seem to be that which he is not, but because he thinks it good to have such a quality as he pretends to? for to counterfeit and dissemble, is to put on the appearance of some real excellency.

18.  Now the best way in the world for a man to seem to be any thing, is really to be what he would seem to be.  Besides that, it is many times as troublesome to make good the pretence of a good quality, as to have it; and if a man have it not, it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it, and then all his pains and labour to seem to have it, is lost.  There is something unnatural in painting, which a skilful eye will easily discern from native beauty and complexion.

19.  It is hard to personate and act a part long; for where truth is not at the bosom; nature will always be endeavouring to return, and will peep out and betray herself one time or other.  Therefore, if any man think it convenient to seem good, let him be so indeed, and then his goodness will appear to every body’s satisfaction; so that upon all accounts sincerity is true wisdom.

20.  Particularly as to the affairs of this world, integrity hath many advantages over all the fine and artificial ways of dissimulation and deceit; it is much the plainer and easier, much the safer and more secure way of dealing in the world; it has less of trouble and difficulty, of entanglement and perplexity, of danger and hazard in it:  it is the shortest and nearest way to our end, carrying us thither in a straight line, and will hold out and last longest.