您的位置 : 首页 > 英文著作
Essay(s) by Samuel Johnson
Rambler 149 [Benefits not always entitled to gratitude]
Samuel Johnson
下载:Essay(s) by Samuel Johnson.txt
本书全文检索:
       No. 149. Tuesday, August 20, 1751.
       Quod non sit Pylades hoc tempore, non sit Orestes,
       Miraris? Pylades, Marce, bibebat idem.
       Nec melior panis, turdusve dabatur Oresti:
       Sed par, atque eadem coena duobus erat.--
       Te Cadmea Tyrus, me pinguis Gallia vestit:
       Vis te purpureum, Marce, sagatus amem?
       Ut praestem Pyladen, aliquis mihi praestet Orestem.
       Hoc non fit verbis, Marce: ut ameris, ama.
       MART. Lib. vi. Ep. xi.
       You wonder now that no man sees
       Such friends as those of ancient Greece.
       Here lay the point--Orestes' meat
       Was just the same his friend did eat;
       Nor can it yet be found, his wine
       Was better, Pylades, than thine.
       In home-spun russet, I am drest,
       Your cloth is always of the best;
       But, honest Marcus, if you please
       To chuse me for your Pylades,
       Remember, words alone are vain;
       Love--if you would be lov'd again.
       F. LEWIS.
       TO THE RAMBLER.
       SIR,
       No depravity of the mind has been more frequently or justly censured than ingratitude. There is indeed sufficient reason for looking on those that can return evil for good, and repay kindness and assistance with hatred or neglect, as corrupted beyond the common degrees of wickedness; nor will he, who has once been clearly detected in acts of injury to his benefactor, deserve to be numbered among social beings; he has endeavoured to destroy confidence, to intercept sympathy, and to turn every man's attention wholly on himself.
       There is always danger lest the honest abhorrence of a crime should raise the passions with too much violence against the man to whom it is imputed. In proportion as guilt is more enormous, it ought to be ascertained by stronger evidence. The charge against ingratitude is very general; almost every man can tell what favours he has conferred upon insensibility, and how much happiness he has bestowed without return; but perhaps, if these patrons and protectors were confronted with any whom they boast of having befriended, it would often appear that they consulted only their pleasure or vanity, and repaid themselves their petty donatives by gratifications of insolence and indulgence of contempt.
       It has happened that much of my time has been passed in a dependent state, and consequently I have received many favours in the opinion of those at whose expense I have been maintained; yet I do not feel in my heart any burning gratitude or tumultuous affection; and, as I would not willingly suppose myself less susceptible of virtuous passions than the rest of mankind, I shall lay the history of my life before you, that you may, by your judgment of my conduct, either reform, or confirm, my present sentiments. My father was the second son of a very ancient and wealthy family. He married a lady of equal birth, whose fortune, joined to his own, might have supported his posterity in honour; but being gay and ambitious, he prevailed on his friends to procure him a post, which gave him an opportunity of displaying his elegance and politeness. My mother was equally pleased with splendour, and equally careless of expense; they both justified their profusion to themselves, by endeavouring to believe it necessary to the extension of their acquaintance, and improvement of their interest; and whenever any place became vacant, they expected to be repaid. In the midst of these hopes my father was snatched away by an apoplexy; and my mother, who had no pleasure but in dress, equipage, assemblies, and compliments, finding that she could live no longer in her accustomed rank, sunk into dejection, and in two years wore out her life with envy and discontent.
       I was sent with a sister, one year younger than myself, to the elder brother of my father. We were not yet capable of observing how much fortune influences affection, but flattered ourselves on the road with the tenderness and regard with which we should be treated by our uncle. Our reception was rather frigid than malignant; we were introduced to our young cousins, and for the first month more frequently consoled than upbraided; but in a short time we found our prattle repressed, our dress neglected, our endearments unregarded, and our requests referred to the housekeeper.
       The forms of decency were now violated, and every day produced new insults. We were soon brought to the necessity of receding from our imagined equality with our cousins, to whom we sunk into humble companions without choice or influence, expected only to echo their opinions, facilitate their desires, and accompany their rambles. It was unfortunate that our early introduction into polite company, and habitual knowledge of the arts of civility, had given us such an appearance of superiority to the awkward bashfulness of our relations, as naturally drew respect and preference from every stranger; and my aunt was forced to assert the dignity of her own children, while they were sculking in corners for fear of notice, and hanging down their heads in silent confusion, by relating the indiscretion of our father, displaying her own kindness, lamenting the misery of birth without estate, and declaring her anxiety for our future provision, and the expedients which she had formed to secure us from those follies or crimes, to which the conjunction of pride and want often gives occasion. In a short time care was taken to prevent such vexatious mistakes; we were told, that fine clothes would only fill our heads with false expectations, and our dress was therefore accommodated to our fortune.
       Childhood is not easily dejected or mortified. We felt no lasting pain from insolence or neglect; but finding that we were favoured and commended by all whose interest did not prompt them to discountenance us, preserved our vivacity and spirit to years of greater sensibility. It then became irksome and disgusting to live without any principle of action but the will of another, and we often met privately in the garden to lament our condition, and to ease our hearts with mutual narratives of caprice, peevishness, and affront.
       There are innumerable modes of insult and tokens of contempt, for which it is not easy to find a name, which vanish to nothing in an attempt to describe them, and yet may, by continual repetition, make day pass after day in sorrow and in terrour. Phrases of cursory compliment and established salutation may, by a different modulation of the voice, or cast of the countenance, convey contrary meanings, and be changed from indications of respect to expressions of scorn. The dependant who cultivates delicacy in himself, very little consults his own tranquillity. My unhappy vigilance is every moment discovering some petulance of accent, or arrogance of mien, some vehemence of interrogation, or quickness of reply, that recals my poverty to my mind, and which I feel more acutely, as I know not how to resent it.
       You are not, however, to imagine, that I think myself discharged from the duties of gratitude, only because my relations do not adjust their looks, or tune their voices to my expectation. The insolence of benefaction terminates not in negative rudeness or obliquities of insult. I am often told in express terms of the miseries from which charity has snatched me, while multitudes are suffered by relations equally near to devolve upon the parish; and have more than once heard it numbered among other favours, that I am admitted to the same table with my cousins.
       That I sit at the first table I must acknowledge, but I sit there only that I may feel the stings of inferiority. My inquiries are neglected, my opinion is overborne, my assertions are controverted, and, as insolence always propagates itself, the servants overlook me, in imitation of their master; if I call modestly, I am not heard; if loudly, my usurpation of authority is checked by a general frown. I am often obliged to look uninvited upon delicacies, and sometimes desired to rise upon very slight pretences.
       The incivilities to which I am exposed would give me less pain, were they not aggravated by the tears of my sister, whom the young ladies are hourly tormenting with every art of feminine persecution. As it is said of the supreme magistrate of Venice, that he is a prince in one place and a slave in another, my sister is a servant to her cousins in their apartments, and a companion only at the table. Her wit and beauty drew so much regard away from them, that they never suffer her to appear with them in any place where they solicit notice, or expect admiration; and when they are visited by neighbouring ladies and pass their hours in domestick amusements, she is sometimes called to fill a vacancy, insulted with contemptuous freedoms, and dismissed to her needle, when her place is supplied. The heir has of late, by the instigation of his sisters, begun to harass her with clownish jocularity; he seems inclined to make his first rude essays of waggery upon her; and by the connivance, if not encouragement, of his father, treats her with such licentious brutality, as I cannot bear, though I cannot punish it.
       I beg to be informed, Mr. Rambler, how much we can be supposed to owe to beneficence, exerted on terms like these? to beneficence which pollutes its gifts with contumely, and may be truly said to pander to pride? I would willingly be told, whether insolence does not reward its own liberalities, and whether he that exacts servility can, with justice, at the same time, expect affection?
       I am, Sir, &c.
       HYPERDULUS.
       [The end]
       Samuel Johnson's essay: Rambler 149
用户中心

本站图书检索

本书目录

Account Of A Book Entitled An Historical And Critical Enquiry
An Account Of An Attempt To Ascertain The Longitude
Account Of The Harleian Library
Adventurer 034 [No. 34: Folly of extravagance. The story of Misargyrus]
Adventurer 039 [No. 39: On sleep]
Adventurer 041 [No. 41: Sequel of the story of Misargyrus]
Adventurer 045 [No. 45: The difficulty of forming confederacies]
Adventurer 050 [No. 50: On lying]
Adventurer 053 [No. 53: Misargyrus' account of his companions in the Fleet]
Adventurer 058 [No. 58: Presumption of modern criticism censured...]
Adventurer 062 [No. 62: Misargyrus' account of his companions concluded]
Adventurer 067 [No. 67: On the trades of London]
Adventurer 069 [No. 69: Idle hope]
Adventurer 074 [No. 74: Apology for neglecting officious advice]
Adventurer 081 [No. 81: Incitement to enterprise and emulation]
Adventurer 084 [No. 84: Folly of false pretences to importance...]
Adventurer 085 [No. 85: Study, composition, and converse equally necessary...]
Adventurer 092 [No. 92: Criticism on the Pastorals of Virgil]
Adventurer 095 [No. 95: Apology for apparent plagiarism...]
Adventurer 099 [No. 99: Projectors injudiciously censured and applauded]
Adventurer 102 [Infelicities of retirement to men of business]
Adventurer 107 [Different opinions equally plausible]
Adventurer 108 [On the uncertainty of human things]
Adventurer 111 [The pleasures and advantages of industry]
Adventurer 115 [The itch of writing universal]
Adventurer 119 [The folly of creating artificial wants]
Adventurer 120 [The miseries of life]
Adventurer 126 [Solitude not eligible]
Adventurer 128 [Men differently employed unjustly censured by each other]
Adventurer 131 [Singularities censured]
Adventurer 137 [Writers not a useless generation]
Adventurer 138 [Their happiness and infelicity]
Advertisement To The Fourth Edition Of The English Dictionary
An Appeal To The Publick
Ascham
Barretier
Boerhaave
Browne
Burman
Cave
Cheynel
Considerations On The Case Of Dr. T[rapp]'s Sermons
Considerations On The Corn Laws
Considerations On The Plans Offered For The Construction Of Blackfriars Bridge
Controversy Between Crousaz And Warburton
Dedications
A Dissertation Upon The Greek Comedy, Translated From Brumoy
An Essay On Epitaphs
The False Alarm 1770
Father Paul Sarpi
Further Thoughts On Agriculture
General Conclusion To Brumoy's Greek Theatre
General Observations On The Plays Of Shakespeare
Idler 001 [No. 1: The Idler's character]
Idler 002 [No. 2: Invitation to correspondents]
Idler 003 [No. 3: Idler's reason for writing]
Idler 004 [No. 4: Charities and hospitals]
Idler 005 [No. 5: Proposal for a female army]
Idler 006 [No. 6: Lady's performance on horseback]
Idler 007 [No. 7: Scheme for news-writers]
Idler 008 [No. 8: Plan of military discipline]
Idler 009 [No. 9: Progress of idleness]
Idler 010 [No. 10: Political credulity]
Idler 011 [No. 11: Discourses on the weather]
Idler 012 [No. 12: Marriages, why advertised]
Idler 013 [No. 13: The imaginary housewife]
Idler 014 [No. 14: Robbery of time]
Idler 015 [No. 15: Treacle's complaint of his wife]
Idler 016 [No. 16: Drugget's retirement]
Idler 017 [No. 17: Expedients of idlers]
Idler 018 [No. 18: Drugget vindicated]
Idler 019 [No. 19: Whirler's character]
Idler 020 [No. 20: Capture of Louisbourg]
Idler 021 [No. 21: Linger's history of listlessness]
Idler 022 [No. 22: Imprisonment of debtors]
Idler 023 [No. 23: Uncertainty of friendship]
Idler 024 [No. 24: Man does not always think]
Idler 025 [No. 25: New actors on the stage]
Idler 026 [No. 26: Betty Broom's history]
Idler 027 [No. 27: Power of habits]
Idler 028 [No. 28: Wedding-day. Grocer's wife. Chairman]
Idler 029 [No. 29: Betty Broom's history continued]
Idler 030 [No. 30: Corruption of news-writers]
Idler 031 [No. 31: Disguises of idleness. Sober's character]
Idler 032 [No. 32: On Sleep]
Idler 033 [No. 33: Journal of a fellow of a college]
Idler 034 [No. 34: Punch and conversation compared]
Idler 035 [No. 35: Auction-hunter described and ridiculed]
Idler 036 [No. 36: The terrific diction ridiculed]
Idler 037 [No. 37: Useful things easy of attainment]
Idler 038 [No. 38: Cruelty shown to debtors in prison]
Idler 039 [No. 39: The various uses of the bracelet]
Idler 040 [No. 40: The art of advertising exemplified]
Idler 041 [No. 41: Serious reflections on the death of a friend]
Idler 042 [No. 42: Perdita's complaint of her father]
Idler 043 [No. 43: Monitions on the flight of time]
Idler 044 [No. 44: The use of memory considered]
Idler 045 [No. 45: On painting. Portraits defended]
Idler 046 [No. 46: Molly Quick's complaint of her mistress]
Idler 047 [No. 47: Deborah Ginger's account of city-wits]
Idler 048 [No. 48: The bustle of idleness described and ridiculed]
Idler 049 [No. 49: Marvel's journey narrated]
Idler 050 [No. 50: Marvel's journey paralleled]
Idler 051 [No. 51: Domestick greatness unattainable]
Idler 052 [No. 52: Self-denial necessary]
Idler 053 [No. 53: Mischiefs of good company]
Idler 054 [No. 54: Mrs. Savecharges' complaint]
Idler 055 [No. 55: Authors' mortifications]
Idler 056 [No. 56: Virtuosos whimsical]
Idler 057 [No. 57: Character of Sophron]
Idler 058 [No. 58: Expectations of pleasure frustrated]
Idler 059 [No. 59: Books fall into neglect]
Idler 060 [No. 60: Minim the critic]
Idler 061 [No. 61: Minim the critic]
Idler 062 [No. 62: Hanger's account of the vanity of riches]
Idler 063 [No. 63: Progress of arts and language]
Idler 064 [No. 64: Ranger's complaint concluded]
Idler 065 [No. 65: Fate of posthumous works]
Idler 066 [No. 66: Loss of ancient writings]
Idler 067 [No. 67: Scholar's journal]
Idler 068 [No. 68: History of translation]
Idler 069 [No. 69: History of translation]
Idler 070 [No. 70: Hard words defended]
Idler 071 [No. 71: Dick Shifter's rural excursion ]
Idler 072 [No. 72: Regulation of memory]
Idler 073 [No. 73: Tranquil's use of riches]
Idler 074 [No. 74: Memory rarely deficient]
Idler 075 [No. 75: Gelaleddin of Bassora]
Idler 076 [No. 76: False criticisms on painting]
Idler 077 [No. 77: Easy writing]
Idler 078 [No. 78: Steady, Snug, Startle, Solid and Misty]
Idler 079 [No. 79: Grand style of painting]
Idler 080 [No. 80: Ladies' journey to London]
Idler 081 [No. 81: Indian's speech to his countrymen]
Idler 082 [No. 82: The true idea of beauty]
Idler 083 [No. 83: Scruple, Wormwood, Sturdy and Gentle]
Idler 084 [No. 84: Biography, how best performed]
Idler 085 [No. 85: Books multiplied by useless compilations]
Idler 086 [No. 86: Miss Heartless' want of a lodging]
Idler 087 [No. 87: Amazonian bravery revived]
Idler 088 [No. 88: What have ye done?]
Idler 089 [No. 89: Physical evil moral good]
Idler 090 [No. 90: Rhetorical action considered]
Idler 091 [No. 91: Sufficiency of the English language]
Idler 092 [No. 92: Nature of cunning]
Idler 093 [No. 93: Sam Softly's history]
Idler 094 [No. 94: Obstructions of learning]
Idler 095 [No. 95: Tim Wainscot's son a fine gentleman]
Idler 096 [No. 96: Hacho of Lapland]
Idler 097 [No. 97: Narratives of travellers considered]
Idler 098 [No. 98: Sophia Heedful]
Idler 099 [No. 99: Ortogrul of Basra]
Idler 100 [The good sort of woman]
Idler 101 [Omar's plan of life]
Idler 102 [Authors inattentive to themselves]
Idler 103 [Honour of the last]
An Introduction To The Political State Of Great Britain
Introduction To The Proceedings Of The Committee
Introduction To The World Displayed
King Of Prussia
Letter On Du Halde's History Of China
Letter On Fireworks
A Letter To The Reverend Mr. Douglas,occasioned By His Vindication Of Milton
Marmor Norfolciense
Morin
Observations On The State Of Affairs In 1756
Observations On The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Observations On The Treaty
On Lay Patronage In The Church Of Scotland
On Pulpit Censure
On School Chastisement
On The Bravery Of The English Common Soldiers
On The Importance Of Small Tracts
On Vitious Intromission
Opinions On Questions Of Law
The Patriot
The Plan Of An English Dictionary
Preface To An Essay On Milton's Use & Imitation Of Moderns In His Paradise Lost
Preface To Payne's New Tables Of Interest
Preface To Rolt's Dictionary
Preface To Shakespeare
Preface To The Artists' Catalogue For 1762
Preface To The English Dictionary
Preface To The Gentleman's Magazine, 1738
Preface To The Literary Magazine, 1756
Preface To The Octavo Edition Of The English Dictionary
Preface To The Preceptor, Containing A General Plan Of Education
Preface To The Translation Of Father Lobo's Voyage To Abyssinia
Preliminary Discourse To The London Chronicle
A Project For The Employment Of Authors
Proposals For Printing The Works Of Shakespeare
Proposals For Printing, By Subscription, Essays In Verse And Prose
Rambler 005 [No. 5]
Rambler 042 [The Misery Of A Modish Lady In Solitude]
Rambler 051 [The Employments Of A Housewife In The Country]
Rambler 060 [No. 60]
Rambler 106 [The vanity of an author's expectations]
Rambler 107 [Properantia's hopes of a year of confusion. Misery of prostitute]
Rambler 108 [Life sufficient to all purposes if well employed]
Rambler 109 [The education of a fop]
Rambler 110 [Repentance stated and explained]
Rambler 111 [Youth made unfortunate by its haste and eagerness]
Rambler 112 [Too much nicety not to be indulged]
Rambler 113 [History of Hymenaeus's courtship]
Rambler 114 [Necessity of proportioning punishments to crimes]
Rambler 115 [Sequel of Hymenaeus's courtship]
Rambler 116 [The young trader's attempt at politeness]
Rambler 117 [Advantages of living in a garret]
Rambler 118 [The narrowness of fame]
Rambler 119 [Tranquilla's account of her lovers, opposed to Hymenaeus]
Rambler 120 [History of Almamoulin the son of Nouradin]
Rambler 121 [The dangers of imitation...]
Rambler 122 [A criticism on the English historians]
Rambler 123 [The young trader turned gentleman]
Rambler 124 [The lady's misery in a summer retirement]
Rambler 125 [Difficulty of defining comedy...]
Rambler 126 [Universality of cowardice...]
Rambler 127 [Diligence too soon relaxed. Necessity of perseverance]
Rambler 128 [Anxiety universal. The unhappiness of a wit and a fine lady]
Rambler 129 [The folly of cowardice and inactivity]
Rambler 130 [The history of a beauty]
Rambler 131 [Desire of gain the general passion]
Rambler 132 [The difficulty of educating a young nobleman]
Rambler 133 [The miseries of a beauty defaced]
Rambler 134 [Idleness an anxious and miserable state]
Rambler 135 [The folly of annual retreats into the country]
Rambler 136 [Meanness and mischief of indiscriminate dedication]
Rambler 137 [The necessity of literary courage]
Rambler 138 [Original characters to be found in the country...]
Rambler 139 [A critical examination of Samson Agonistes]
Rambler 140 [The criticism continued]
Rambler 141 [Danger of attempting wit in conversation]
Rambler 142 [An account of squire Bluster]
Rambler 143 [The criterions of plagiarism]
Rambler 144 [Difficulty of raising reputation. Various species of detractors]
Rambler 145 [Petty writers not to be despised]
Rambler 146
Rambler 147 [The courtier's esteem of assurance]
Rambler 148 [The cruelty of parental tyranny]
Rambler 149 [Benefits not always entitled to gratitude]
Rambler 150 [Adversity useful to the acquisition of knowledge]
Rambler 151 [The climactericks of the mind]
Rambler 152 [Criticism on epistolary writings]
Rambler 153 [The treatment incurred by loss of fortune]
Rambler 154 [The inefficacy of genius without learning]
Rambler 155 [Usefulness of advice. Danger of habits]
Rambler 156 [Laws of writing not always indisputable]
Rambler 157 [The scholar's complaint of his own bashfulness]
Rambler 158 [Rules of writing drawn from examples...]
Rambler 159 [The nature and remedies of bashfulness]
Rambler 160 [Rules for the choice of associates]
Rambler 161 [The revolutions of a garret]
Rambler 162 [Old men in danger of falling into pupilage...]
Rambler 163 [The mischiefs of following a patron]
Rambler 164 [Praise universally desired...]
Rambler 165 [The impotence of wealth...]
Rambler 166 [Favour not easily gained by the poor]
Rambler 167 [The marriage of Hymenaeus and Tranquilla]
Rambler 168 [Poetry debased by mean expressions]
Rambler 169 [Labour necessary to excellence]
Rambler 170 [The history of Misella debauched by her relation]
Rambler 171 [Misella's description of the life of a prostitute]
Rambler 172 [The effect of sudden riches upon the manners]
Rambler 173 [Unreasonable fears of pedantry]
Rambler 174 [The mischiefs of unbounded raillery...]
Rambler 175 [The majority are wicked]
Rambler 176 [Directions to authors attacked by criticks...]
Rambler 177 [An account of a club of antiquaries]
Rambler 178 [Many advantages not to be enjoyed together]
Rambler 179 [The awkward merriment of a student]
Rambler 180 [The study of life not to be neglected for the sake of books]
Rambler 181 [The history of an adventurer in lotteries]
Rambler 182 [The history of Leviculus, the fortune-hunter]
Rambler 183 [The influence of envy and interest compared]
Rambler 184 [Subject of essays often suggested by chance]
Rambler 185 [Prohibition of revenge justifiable by reason...]
Rambler 186 [Anningait and Ajut; a Greenland history]
Rambler 187 [The history of Anningait and Ajut concluded]
Rambler 188 [Favour often gained with little assistance from understanding]
Rambler 189 [The mischiefs of falsehood...]
Rambler 190 [The history of Abouzaid, the son of Morad]
Rambler 191 [The busy life of a young lady]
Rambler 192 [Love unsuccessful without riches]
Rambler 193 [The author's art of praising himself]
Rambler 194 [A young nobleman's progress in politeness]
Rambler 195 [A young nobleman's introduction to the knowledge of the town]
Rambler 196 [Human opinions mutable. The hopes of youth fallacious]
Rambler 197 [The history of a legacy-hunter]
Rambler 198 [The legacy-hunter's history concluded]
Rambler 199 [The virtues of Rabbi Abraham's magnet]
Rambler 200 [Asper's complaint of insolence of Prospero...]
Rambler 201 [The importance of punctuality]
Rambler 202 [The different acceptations of poverty]
Rambler 203 [Pleasures of life to be sought in prospects of futurity]
Rambler 204 [Ten days of Seged, emperour of Ethiopia]
Rambler 205 [The history of Seged concluded]
Rambler 206 [The art of living at the cost of others]
Rambler 207 [The folly of continuing too long upon the stage]
Rambler 208 [The Rambler's reception. His design]
Reply To A Paper In The Gazetteer
Review Of A Free Enquiry Into The Nature And Origin Of Evil
Review Of A Journal Of Eight Days' Journey
Review Of An Essay On The Writings And Genius Of Pope
Review Of Four Letters From Sir Isaac Newton
Review Of Memoirs Of The Court Of Augustus
Review Of The Account Of The Conduct Of The Dutchess Of Marlborough
Review Of The History Of The Royal Society Of London
Sir Francis Drake
Some Thoughts On Agriculture, Both Ancient And Modern
Sydenham
Taxation No Tyranny
Thoughts On The Coronation Of His Majesty King George The Third
Thoughts On The Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands. 1771.
To The Catalogue Of The Harleian Library
Vindication Of The Licensers Of The Stage
The Vulture [Idler 22]