and consider the contents as his own paternal counsels. At that time, I did neither the one nor the other; however, I am now making ample amends for former neglect. The magistrate, the statesman, the lawyer, the man of the world, the orator and the philosopher will find delight and instruction in these volumes. I can say no more; and what I have now said will add them to your library, if it does not already possess them. It has been observed that unless the natural powers of the human mind be exci by the prospect of some excellence which can only be attained with labour and difficulty, it is too apt to be diverted by every trifling impression, or to be lulled into a culpable indifference. To present before the imagination examples of unsullied virtue or extraordinary talents has therefore been recommended by reason and by the sanction of experience, as the most efficacious method of leading the unprincipled from vice and exciting the indolent to activity. But those who have thus attempted to place before the world objects, which might stimulate or allure, have frequently been seduced by enthusiasm to ascribe to their heroes attainments above the reach of the human capacity, or virtues which no man could hope to imitate, whatever might be the elevation of his mind, or the purity of his heart. That class of biography, which describes the progress of an individual with respect to the general learning, or refinement of the age in which he lived, as it precludes in some measure the facility of deception, and displays the comparative claim which its hero has upon the applause of posterity seems to be the most generally usefu! The respective merits of Homer, of Alfred and of Bacon must in some measure be judged of by comparing their attainments with those of their contemporaries, while the political histories of Charles and of George serve to cast a light upon the virtues and blemishes of Milton and Chesterfield. The subject of the following sketch, whether we consider his eminence as a statesman, his connection with the literary characters of his country, or the importance of the era in which he flourished is worthy of the attention of the biographer. The history of his life, if properly executed, might afford a more perfect view than has yet appeared of the literature and manners of France from the time of Boileau to that of Voltaire. The talents of a Roscoe might not be unworthily employed in recommending a narrative sufficiently extraordinary to stimulate the inactive without being too elevated to extinguish emulation, and which might possess much of the novelty of fiction, with all the credibility of truth. Henri François D'Aguesseau was born at Limoges the 27th November, 1688. His father, H. D'Aguesseau, counseller of state, sketched the outlines of the education of his son, and first awakened his mind to observation and inquiry, by allowing him to visit the curiosities of Languedoc in the company of his tutors, who endeavoured in their journies to promote the literary advancement of their pupil by pointing out to him, in the poets of antiquity those descriptions, which were applicable to the scenes he visited. The attention and ability of their pupil sufficiently rewarded their assiduity. His study of the writers of ancient and modern times was so intense and his perception so acute that before the 20th year of his age, the Greek, the Latin, the Arabic, the Hebrew, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Italian, and the English languages were familiar to him. Yet his knowledge of these tongues was not gained with unwillingness, but was owing to the pleasure which he took in the study of their rudiments, a study which he often declared to be no contemptible amuseut. But this familiarity with the languages however extraordinary it may appear was equalled by his knowledge of philosophy and the mathematics. His taste for poetry and his talent for criticism were so great that they procured him the friendship of Boileau and Racine. He was acquainted more intimately than any of his contep aries with the constitution of his country, the nature of its commerce and the intricacy of its laws. He studied the legislative policy of the Greeks and Romans, examined the governments of the neighbouring states, and inquired into the principles of feudal slavery. With these qualifications he became successively the advocate, the attorney general, and the chancellor of France, and executed the duties of those important offices with equal fidelity and wisdom, with the approbation of his sovereign and with the suffrage of the people. Notwithstanding the multiplicity of his employments, he never dismissed a cause without having examined it with minuteness and accuracy. His sagacity and his vigilance were displayed in various plans for the regulation of the hospitals and the relief of the poor. His judicial knowledge was so remarkable that before he had reached the summit of his honours, the senators of France consulted him in private that their public conduct might be regulated by his advice, and his harangues were considered as the most accurate standards of judicial elocution. Yet amid his power and his honours, when perplexed by a variety of intricate employments, he never allowed the fatigues of his office or of study to induce him to neglect the duties of humanity and benevolence. His justice to his country was tempered by mildness to the criminal. His hand was always stretched out to the assistance of the unfortunate, and, as he selected with judgment, he gave with delicacy. He had thus, for 27 years, continued in his situation, uncontaminated by the vices of a court, when the regent, with that caprice which frequently attends the ruler of a nation, deprived him of the seals. That knowledge and those acquirements which qualified him to shine in the cabinet enabled him to fill up the vacuity of solitude. He dedicated a portion of his time and his learning to the purposes of studying the sacred writings in the original, and re-examining the opinions of the sages of the law upon the constitution of his country. But these, which would have occupied the lives of many men, were to him but secondary pursuits: the cultivation of music, of poetry, of chemistry, and of botany likewise divided his attention. His knowledge of science was so extensive, and his love of study so ardent that what were to others the cause of anxiety and labour were to him the principal sources of delight. Among those men to whom no intricacy is perplexing he may justly be distinguished; for he surely must have been possessed of no mean acuteness of perception, who, when wearied by exercise, or overpowered by lassitude, could fly to a treatise of Algebra for relaxation and amusement. Yet, notwithstanding the variety and depth of his inquiries, it does not appear that he neglected the duties of domestic life. He instructed his children in the rudiments of the sciences, and endeavoured with perpetual solicitude to instil into their minds the principles of virtue while he regulated his pecuniary affairs with regularity and prudence. Nor was he distinguished by any of those disgusting singularities which are generally supposed to be the concomitants of genius, but to all the erudition of a scholar he united the urbanity of the gentleman. He continued in solitude, with some intervals of public duty, till the year 1737, when he was reinstated in his office, without his solicitation, or rather without his consent, and executed his duty with his former ability and virtue. He now applied more particularly the fruits of his solitary studies to the interest of his country, and formed by his own meditation a code of jurisprudence which will remain while regulated society shall exist a monument of versatility of talent, and energy of thought. But the moment was approaching in which his learning or his genius would be useless. His infirmities increasing, in the 82d year of his life he retired from his public employments, after having held the dignity of chancellor of France for 34 years, without reproach and without an enemy. Shortly after, his weakness becoming insupportable he prepared to meet the stroke of Death with piety and calmness. During his illness, a book was placed upon his pillow, in reading which he expired. That this extraordinary man was exempted from the frailties and vices of human nature it would be ridiculous to imagine; but that his moral character was exemplary may be reasonably believed, since those who opposed his measures with the greatest vehemence acknowledged his virtue. If we consider his attention to literature and the propriety of his domestic conduct while employed in the highest offices of state, we shall be obliged to rank him in the number of those men who have preserved their integrity amid the corruptions of a court, and who have shown that a statesman may benefit his country and rise to eminence, without the assistance of intrigue or wickedness. Although his abilities were employed in situations to which few can aspire, yet his ar dour in the pursuit of knowledge and the constancy of his perseverance may be imitated, not only by men who are born to add to the splendour of a throne, but by those who are doomed to languish in comparative obscurity. As it is my earnest desire to diversify as much as is possible. the contents of these little papers, I now take my leave of the chancellor of France, to greet once more the favourite of Macenas. I am solicitous that Horace, who is, indeed, the amicus omnium Lorarum, should be familiar to every polite reader. But I am persuaded, from certain peculiarities in his dialect and demeanour, that his manner is strange to many, who like myself, would be, as the pure Philadelphians say, right glad of an intimate acquaintance with an illustrious stranger, provided they could clamber easily over the bars of Indolence, or break, with the strength of a Samson, the shackles of Timidity. Such, as are unwilling to encounter difficulty, I am afraid to terrify with the horrors of Horace's Latin. They, who are willing to be delighted in the most summary way, will be sufficiently pleased with Pope's imitations. He, who cares not a stiver for the measures of the original may be amused with the ensuing bold paraphrases for which we are indebted to a wag, who, without audacity, calls himself Horace in London. BOOK II. ODE XI. Quid bellicosus, &c. TO HARRY ESQR. Cease, cease, my dear Harry, to trouble your brain, Our youth, like a rainbow, soon loses its charms, The Spring and its roses soon bend to the blast, |