I have indeed heard of heedless, inconsiderate Writers,
that without any Malice have sacrificed the Reputation
of their Friends and Acquaintance to a certain Levity
of Temper, and a silly Ambition of distinguishing
themselves by a Spirit of Raillery and Satyr:
As if it were not infinitely more honourable to be
a Good-natured Man than a Wit. Where there is
this little petulant Humour in an Author, he is often
very mischievous without designing to be so.
For which Reason I always lay it down as a Rule, that
an indiscreet Man is more hurtful than an ill-natured
one; for as the former will only attack his Enemies,
and those he wishes ill to, the other injures indifferently
both Friends and Foes. I cannot forbear, on this
occasion, transcribing a Fable out of Sir Roger
l’Estrange, [7] which accidentally lies before
me.
’A company of Waggish Boys were
watching of Frogs at the side of a Pond, and still
as any of ’em put up their Heads, they’d
be pelting them down again with Stones. Children
(says one of the Frogs), you never consider that
though this may be Play to you, ‘tis Death to
us.’
As this Week is in a manner set apart and dedicated
to Serious Thoughts, [8] I shall indulge my self in
such Speculations as may not be altogether unsuitable
to the Season; and in the mean time, as the settling
in our selves a Charitable Frame of Mind is a Work
very proper for the Time, I have in this Paper endeavoured
to expose that particular Breach of Charity which
has been generally over-looked by Divines, because
they are but few who can be guilty of it.
[Footnote 1: At the top of this paper in a 12mo
copy of the Spectator, published in 17l2, and
annotated by a contemporary Spanish merchant, is written,
‘The character of Dr Swift.’ This
proves that the writer of the note had an ill opinion
of Dr Swift and a weak sense of the purport of what
he read. Swift, of course, understood what he
read. At this time he was fretting under the
sense of a chill in friendship between himself and
Addison, but was enjoying his Spectators.
A week before this date, on the 16th of March, he
wrote,
’Have you seen the ‘Spectators’
yet, a paper that comes out every day? It is
written by Mr. Steele, who seems to have gathered new
life and have a new fund of wit; it is in the same
nature as his ‘Tatlers’, and they have
all of them had something pretty. I believe
Addison and he club.’
Then he adds a complaint of the chill in their friendship.
A month after the date of this paper Swift wrote in
his journal,
’The ‘Spectator’ is
written by Steele with Addison’s help; ’tis
often very pretty.’
Later in the year, in June and September, he records
dinner and supper with his friends of old time, and
says of Addison,
‘I yet know no man half so agreeable
to me as he is.’]
