Front matter (continued 2)

It appears, that in Imagination, Invention, Jollity and gay Humour, Johnson had little Power; But Shakespear unlimited Dominion. The first was cautious and strict, not daring to sally beyond the Bounds of Regularity. The other bold and impetuous, rejoicing like a Giant to run his Course, through all the Mountains and Wilds of Nature and Fancy.

It requires an almost painful Attention to mark the Propriety and Accuracy of Johnson, and your Satisfaction arises from Reflection and Comparison; But the Fire and Invention of Shakespear in an Instant are shot into your Soul, and enlighten and chear the most indolent Mind with their own Spirit and Lustre.--Upon the whole, Johnson's Compositions are like finished Cabinets, where every Part is wrought up with the most excellent Skill and Exactness;--Shakespear's like magnificent Castles, not perfectly finished or regular, but adorn'd with such bold and magnificent Designs, as at once delight and astonish you with their Beauty and Grandeur.

Raillery is a genteel poignant Attack of a Person upon any slight Foibles, Oddities, or Embarrassments of his, in which he is tender, or may be supposed to be tender, and unwilling to come to a free Explanation.

Satire is a witty and severe Attack of mischievous Habits or Vices;

Ridicule is a free Attack of any Motly Composition, wherein a real or affected Excellence and Defect both jointly appear, glaring together, and mocking each other, in the same Subject.

Hence the Aim of Raillery, is to please you, by some little Embarrassment of a Person; Of Satire, to scourge Vice, and to deliver it up to your just Detestation; And of Ridicule, to set an Object in a mean ludicrous Light, so as to expose it to your Derision and Contempt.

It appears therefore that Raillery and Ridicule differ in several Circumstances.

1. Raillery can only be employ'd in relation to Persons, but Ridicule may be employ'd in what relates either to Persons, or other Objects.

2. Raillery is us'd only upon slight Subjects, where no real Abilities or Merit are questioned, in order to avoid degrading the Person you attack, or rendering him contemptible; Whereas Ridicule observes no such Decency, but endeavours really to degrade the Person attack'd, and to render him contemptible.

3. Raillery may be pointed at a whimsical Circumstance, only because a Person is known to be tender upon it; and your Pleasure will arise from the Embarrassment he suffers, in being put to an Explanation;--Thus a young Gentleman may be rallied upon his Passion for a Lady;--At the same Time there may be no Ground for Ridicule in this Circumstance, as it may no way deserve your Derision or Contempt.

4. As it thus appears that there are Subjects of Raillery, into which Ridicule cannot justly be admitted; So there are Subjects of Ridicule, wherein your Derision and Contempt are so strongly excited, that they are too gross for Raillery;--As a person tossed in a Blanket; or the unfortunate Attack which another has made upon a Windmill.

5. In short, Raillery, if the Adventures it is turn'd upon are too gross and luscious, becomes Ridicule; And therefore, in Comparison together, Raillery appears like Wine of a thin Body, and delicate poignant Flavour; Ridicule, like a Wine which is fuller, and more rich, and luscious.

Quixote is a Character, wherein Humour and Ridicule are finely interwoven;--It is not a Subject of Satire, as the Knight is free from all Badness of Heart, and Immorality; Nor properly of Raillery, his Adventures in general being too gross and disastrous;-- The Humour appears, in the Representation of a Person in real Life, fancying himself to be, under the most solemn Obligations to attempt hardy Atchievements; and upon this Whimsy immediately pursuing the most romantic Adventures, with great Gravity, Importance, and Self-sufficiency; To heighten your Mirth, the hardy Atchievements to be accomplish'd by this Hero, are wittily contrasted by his own meagre weak Figure, and the desperate Unfierceness of his Steed Rozinante;--The Ridicule appears in the strange Absurdity of the Attempts, upon which the Knight chuses to exercise his Prowess; Its Poignancy is highly quicken'd, and consequently the Pleasure it gives you, by his miserable Disasters, and the doleful Mortifications of all his Importance and Dignity;--But here, after the Knight, by diverting you in this manner, has brought himself down to the lowest Mark, he rises again and forces your Esteem, by his excellent Sense, Learning and Judgment, upon any Subjects which are not ally'd to his Errantry; These continually act for the Advancement of his Character; And with such Supports and Abilities he always obtains your ready Attention, and never becomes heavy or tedious.

To these you are to add the perfect good Breeding and Civility of the Knight upon every Occasion; which are some Kind of Merit in his Favour, and entitle him to Respect, by the Rules of common Gentility and Decency; At the same time his Courage, his Honour, Generosity, and Humanity, are conspicuous in every Act and Attempt; The Foibles which he possesses, besides giving you exquisite Pleasure, are wholly inspir'd by these worthy Principles; Nor is there any thing base, or detestable, in all his Temper or Conduct; It was from hence that the Duke and the Dutchess were extremely delighted with his Visit at their Castle; And you yourself, if he existed in real Life, would be fond of his Company at your own Table; which proves him, upon the whole, to be an amiable Character;--It is therefore no wonder that Signior Don Quixote of la Mancha has been so courteously receiv'd in every Country of Europe.

Thus delightfully wrought, as this History is, with Humour and Ridicule, yet Cervantes, still fearful of tiring you with too much of the Errantry, has introduc'd the most charming Variety of other Adventures; --All along in the pacific Intervals, you are inform'd of the private Occurrences between the Knight and his 'Squire; And from these, where it is least to be expected, you are surpriz'd with the most high and delicious Repast;-- Nothing can be more pregnant with Mirth, than the Opposition continually working between the grave Solemnity and Dignity of Quixote, and the arch Ribaldry and Meanness of Sancho; And the Contrast can never be sufficiently admir'd, between the excellent fine Sense of the One, and the dangerous common Sense of the Other.

It is here that the Genius and Power of Cervantes is most admirably shewn; He was G the greatest Master that ever appear'd, in finely opposing, and contrasting his Characters. It is from hence that you feel a Poignancy and Relish in his Writings, which is not to be met with in any others; The natural Reflexions and Debates of Quixote and Sancho would have been barren, insipid, and trite, under other Management; But Cervantes, by his excellent Skill in the Contrast, has from these drawn a Regale, which for high, quick, racy Flavour, and Spirit, has yet never been equall'd.

It may here be enquir'd, What Species of Composition or Character is the most pleasurable, and mirthful, in all Nature?-- In Falstaff, you have Humour embelish'd with Wit; In Quixote, Humour made poignant with Ridicule; And it is certain that Humour must always be the Ground-work of such Subjects, no Oddities in inanimate Objects being capable of interesting our Passions so strongly, as the Foibles of Persons in real Life;--The chief Substance of Johnson's Compositions is Humour and Satire; upon which Plan, as hath been already observ'd, he is oblig'd to demolish, and render detestable, his own Characters;-- Humour and Raillery are also capable of furnishing a Repast of quick Relish and Flavour; In written Compositions, the Attack of the Raillery, as well as the Reception of it, may be happily conducted, which in other accidental Encounters are liable to Hazard; All Peevishness or Offence is thus easily avoided, and the Character attack'd is sav'd from being really contemptible;--But then indeed the Pleasure you are to receive generally depends upon the Confusion of the Person attack'd, without there being in reason a sufficient Cause for this Confusion;--It is for want of this just Foundation, that the Pleasure arising from Raillery is apt to come forth with less Freedom, Fulness, and Conviction, though with more Delicacy, than that which is derived from Wit, or Ridicule;--However, Humour and Raillery united together, when the Raillery is founded upon some real Embarrassment in the Circumstance, as well as in the Confusion of the Person attack'd, will furnish a very high Entertainment; which has Pretensions to rival either Humour and Wit, or Humour and Ridicule.

To give an Instance of Humour and Raillery, I shall insert Horace's famous Description of his Embarrassment with an impertinent Fellow. This indeed is entitl'd, in almost all the Editions of Horace, a Satire, but very improperly, as the Subject is not Vice or Immorality;

The Intention of Horace in this Piece, is to expose an impertinent Fellow, and to give a ludicrous Detail of his own Embarrassment; Your Pleasure arises from the View which he gives you of his own Mortification, whereby he lays himself fairly open to your Raillery; This is the more poignant, and quick, from the real Distress which you see he endur'd, in this odd Attack; At the same Time the particular Turn of the Fellow, who chose in this Manner to pin himself upon another, is a very odd Species of impertinent Humour.--This Piece, as it stands, irresistibly forces your Mirth, and shakes you with Laughter; But to a Person of Discernment, it is chiefly at Horace's Expence; Who in receiving and enduring such insolent Treatment, appears in a Light too low and ridiculous, though he has thought fit himself to exhibit the Scene again for the Diversion of the Public;

The

was an absolute Insult; And very unfit to be related by the Person who suffer'd it, as a Matter of Merriment;--Besides this Tameness of Horace, the Impudence of the Fellow is excessively nauseous and disgusting at the Bottom, though the whole carries a Froth of Raillery and Humour upon the Surface.

The Truth is, that this Piece, as it stands, would have properly proceeded from another Person, who had intended to expose the Impertinence and Impudence of the Fellow, and freely to rally poor Horace, with some Mixture of Ridicule, upon his unfortunate Embarrassment; upon this Basis it will appear with Propriety; Without which all Compositions of Wit, or Humour, or Taste, tho' at first they may pleasurably strike the Fancy or Sight, are at last disgusting to the Judgment.

Having here occasionally offer'd some Remarks upon this Composition, as it now stands, it may be proper to point out the Manner in which the Humour and Raillery of such an Embarrassment, might have been carried to the highest Pitch; And the Description of it have been given by Horace himself, without any Diminution of his own Gentility or Importance;-- Imagine then that he had been join'd in his Walk by a weak, ignorant Person, of Good-nature, and the utmost Civility; one who fancy'd himself possessed of the greatest Talents, and fully persuaded that he gave all he convers'd with a particular Pleasure;--Upon such an Attack, no Resentment or Anger could have been decently shewn by Horace, As the Person thus pestering him, was all the while intending the highest Compliment; And must therefore be received, and attended to, with perfect Complaisance; The Humour of this Person would have been very entertaining, in the strange Conceit which he held of his own Abilities, and of the paticular Pleasure he was granting to Horace, in condescending to give him so much of his Company; In these Sentiments he should regard all Horace's Excuses, Endeavours, and Struggles to be gone, as Expressions of his Sense of the Honour done him; which should be an Argument with this Person for obstinately persisting to honour him still further; All the while he must be supported by some real Importance belonging to him, attended with good Breeding, and strengthened by such occasional Instances of Sense, as may secure him from being trampled upon, or becoming absolutely contemptible; In such an Adventure the Mortification, and Distress of Horace, would be excessively whimsical and severe; especially as he would be depriv'd of all Succour and Relief; being in Decency oblig'd, not only to suppress all Anger or Uneasiness, but, what is exquisitely quick, to receive this whole Treatment with the utmost Complacency; An Embarrassment of this sort, finely described, would have yielded the greatest Pleasure to the Reader, and carried the Raillery upon Horace, without hurting or degrading him, to the highest Degree of Poignancy; And from hence may be conceiv'd, what delightful Entertainments are capable of being drawn from Humour and Raillery.

It is also easy to apprehend, that the several Subjects of Wit, Humour, Raillery, Satire, and Ridicule, appear not only singly upon many Occasions, or two of them combined together, but are also frequently united in other Combinations, which are more complicate; An Instance of the Union together of Humour, Raillery, and Ridicule, I remember to have read somewhere in Voiture's Letters; He is in Spain, and upon the Point of proceeding from thence to some other Place in an English Vessel; After he has written this Account of himself to a Lady at Paris, he proceeds in his Letter to this Purpose;

"You may perhaps apprehend, that I shall be in some Danger this Voyage, of falling into the Hands of a Barbary Corsair; But to relieve you from all such Fears, I shall beg Leave to tell you, what my honest Captain has inform'd me himself, for my own Satisfaction; He suspected, it seems, that I might have some Uneasiness upon this Head; and has therefore privately assured me, that I have no need to be afraid of being taken with him; for that whenever it is likely to come to this, he will infallibly blow up the Ship with his own Hands;--After this, I presume, you will be perfectly easy, that I am in no Danger of going to Sallee;"

This is exquisitely rich; The brave and odd Fancy of the English Captain, in finding out for himself, and privately communicating to Voiture, this Method of Security from Slavery, abounds with the highest Humour; At the same time the honest Tar, as a Projecter, is excessively open to Ridicule, for his Scheme to blow them all up, in order to prevent their being taken Prisoners; There is besides these, H a very full Raillery, which Voiture here opens upon himself; For as this Adventure, which he is going to be engaged in, has been attended, as yet, with no Mischief; nor is certain to be so, the whole is to be consider'd, at present, as only a slight Scrape; especially as he exhibits it in this manner himself, and invites you to make it the Object of your Pleasure, and Raillery;--It may also be observ'd, that the Humour in this Subject, which flows from the Captain, is adorn'd with a very peculiar, and pleasing Propriety; As it is not barely a Whim, or the Result of an odd Sourness or queer Pride, but the Effect of his Courage, and of that Freedom from all Terror at Death, which is perfectly amiable in his Character.

There are other Combinations of Wit, Humour, Raillery, Satire, and Ridicule, where four of them, or all five, are united in one Subject;--Like various Notes in Music, sounding together, and jointly composing one exquisite Piece of Harmony;-- Or like different Rays of Light, shining together in one Rainbow: It is pleasant to divide these Combinations, and to view as with a Prism, the different Rays united in each; of which Humour, like the Red, is eminent for its superior Force and Excellence;-- When the Judgment is thus capable of parting, and easily assigning the several Quantities, and Proportions of each, it heightens our Pleasure, and gives us an absolute Command over the Subject; But they are often so intimately mix'd, and blended together, that it is difficult to separate them clearly, tho' they are all certainly felt in the same Piece;--Like the different Flavours of rich Fruits, which are inseparably mix'd, yet all perfectly tasted, in one Pine-Apple.

Raillery, and Satire, are extremely different;

1. Raillery, is a genteel poignant Attack of slight Foibles and Oddities; Satire a witty and severe Attack of mischievous Habits and Vices.

2. The Intention of Raillery, is to procure your Pleasure, by exposing the little Embarrassment of a Person; But the Intention of Satire, is to raise your Detestation, by exposing the real Deformity of his Vices.

3. If in Raillery the Sting be given too deep and severe, it will sink into Malice and Rudeness, And your Pleasure will not be justifiable; But Satire, the more deep and severe the Sting of it is, will be the more excellent; Its Intention being entirely to root out and destroy the Vice.

4. It is a just Maxim upon these Subjects, that in Raillery a good-natur'd Esteem ought always to appear, without any Resentment or Bitterness; In Satire a generous free Indignation, without any sneaking Fear or H2 Tenderness; It being a sort of partaking in the Guilt to keep any Terms with Vices.

It is from hence that Juvenal, as a Satirist, is greatly superior to Horace; But indeed many of the short Compositions of Horace, which are indiscriminately ranged together, under the general Name of Satires, are not properly such, but Pieces of Raillery or Ridicule.

As Raillery, in order to be decent, can only be exercised upon slight Misfortunes and Foibles, attended with no deep Mischief, nor with any Reproach upon real Merit, so it ought only to be used between Equals and Intimates; It being evidently a Liberty too great to be taken by an Inferior; and too inequitable to be taken by a Superior, as his Rank shields him from any Return.

Raillery is the most agreeable, when it is founded on a slight Embarrassment or Foible, which upon being unfolded, appears to have arisen from the real Merit, or from the Excess of any Virtue, in the Person attack'd.

But yet this Embarrassment must always be real, and attended with the Chagrin or Confusion of the rally'd Person, or capable of being fairly suppos'd to have been so; otherwise the Attack will be void of all Poignancy, and Pleasure to the Company; And evaporate either into indirect Flattery, or else into the Insipid.

Thus, to attack a fine Lady upon the Enemies she has made, by the mischievous Effects of her Beauty, will be properly genteel indirect Flattery--if it be well conducted,-- otherwise, the Insipid; But it cannot be deem'd Raillery; It being impossible to suppose the Lady really chagrin'd by such an imaginary Misfortune, or uneasy at any Explanation upon this Subject;

Raillery ought soon to be ended; For by long keeping the Person attack'd, even in a slight Pain, and continuing to dwell upon his Mis-adventures, you become rude and ill- natur'd;--Or if the Raillery be only turn'd upon an Embarrassment, arising from the Excess of Merit or Abilities, Yet if it be long confined upon the same Subject, the Person it is pointed at, will either suspect that your Aim is, to leave some Impression against him, or else that you are designing him a tedious dark Compliment; And accordingly he will either regard you with Hatred or Contempt;--Much less should a Person, who introduces himself as a Subject of Raillery, insist long upon it; For either he will be offensive in engrossing all Attention to himself; or if the Company are pleas'd, it must be by his Buffoonery.

The Difference between Satire, and Ridicule, has been already pointed out;--Satire being always concerned with the Vices of Persons;--Whereas Ridicule is justly employ'd, not upon the Vices, but the Foibles or Meannesses of Persons, And also upon the Improprieties of other Subjects; And is directed, not to raise your Detestation, but your Derision and Contempt;--It being evident that Immoralities and Vice are too detestable for Ridicule, and are therefore properly the Subject of Satire; Whereas Foibles and Meannesses are too harmless for Satire, and deserve only to be treated with Ridicule.

The usual Artillery of Ridicule is Wit; whereby the Affinity or Coincidence of any Object with others, which are absurd and contemptible, is unexpectedly exhibited;--There is also another, very forcible, Manner in which Ridicule may act; And that is by employing Humour alone; Thus the Foible or Queerness of any Person will be most fully ridicul'd, by naturally dressing yourself, or any other Person in that Foible, and exerting its full Strength and Vigour.

The Politeness of a Subject is the Freedom of that Subject from all Indelicacy, Aukardness, and Roughness.

Good Breeding consists in a respectful Carriage to others, accompany'd with Ease and Politeness.

It appears from hence that Good Breeding and Politeness differ in this; that Good Breeding relates only to the Manners of Persons in their Commerce together; Whereas Politeness may relate also to Books, as well as to Persons, or to any Subjects of Taste and Ornament.

So that Politeness may subsist in a Subject, as in a Cornish, or Architrave, where good Breeding can't enter; But it is impossible for good Breeding to be offer'd without Politeness.

At the same time good Breeding is not to be understood, as merely the Politeness of Persons; But as Respect, tender'd with Politeness, in the Commerce between Persons.

It is easy to perceive, that good Breeding is a different Behaviour in different Countries, and in the same Countries at different Periods, according to the Manners which are us'd amongst polite Persons of those Places and Seasons.

In England the chief Point of it formerly was plac'd, in carrying a Respect in our Manners to all we convers'd with; whence every Omission of the slightest Ceremony, as it might be construed into a want of Respect, was particularly to be avoided; So that good Breeding became then a precise Observance and Exercise of all the Motions and Ceremonies, expressive of Respect, which might justly be paid so every Person; --This, as it is easy to imagine, requir'd much Nicety in the Adjustment upon many Occasions, and created immense Trouble and Constraint, and most ridiculous Embarrassments.

However, these Modes of good Breeding were not to be abolished, as it was impossible to dispense with the Respect annex'd to them, without some further Pretence than of their Inconvenience only; which no Person could decently urge, or admit in his own behalf, when it was his Province to pay any Ceremonies to another; In this Difficulty it was at last happily observ'd, for the Advantage of genteel Commerce and Society, that whatever gives Trouble, is inconsistent with Respect; Upon which Foundation, all Ceremonies which create Embarrassments or Trouble to either Side, are now justly exploded; And the Ease of each other is the Point most peculiarly consulted by well-bred Persons.

If this Attention to Ease was properly conducted, so that it might always appear to have Respect for its Motive; And only to act in Obedience to that, as the ruling Principle, it would then comprehend the just Plan of good Breeding; But as this was formerly encumber'd with Ceremonies and Embarrassments, so the modern good Breeding perhaps deviates too far into Negligence and Disregard;--A Fault more unpardonable than the former; As an Inconvenience, evidently proceeding from the Respect which is paid to us, may be easily excus'd; But a Freedom, which carries the Air of Neglect with it, gives a lasting Offence.

Beauty is the delightful Effect which arises from the joint Order, Proportion, and Harmony of all the Parts of an Object.

And to have a good Taste, is to have a just Relish of Beauty.

[CORBYN MORRIS] An / Essay / Towards Fixing the / True Standards / of / Wit, Humour, Raillery, / Satire, and Ridicule. / To which is Added, an / Analysis / Of the Characters of / An Humourist, Sir John Falstaff, Sir Roger / De Coverly, and Don Quixote. / Inscribed, to the Right Honorable / Robert Earl of Orford. / [rule] / By the Author of a / Letter from a By-Stander. / [rule] /--Jacta est Alea. / [double rule] / London: / Printed for J. Roberts, at the Oxford-Arms, in War- / wick-lane; and W. Bickerton, In the Temple-Ex- / change, near the Inner-Temple-Gate, Fleet-street. / M DCC XLIV. [Price 2 s.] / Collation: A, a-c, in fours; d in two; a-d, in fours; B-K in fours; L in two. A, title; verso blank; A²-d, dedication; d² erratum and advertisements; a-d⁴, Introduction; B-L², text. The first edition. A second edition was published in 1758. Colton Storm Clements Library

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MAY, 1947: Series I, No. 3--John Gay's The Present State of Wit; and a section on Wit from The English Theophrastus. With an Introduction by Donald Bond.

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