CONTENTS Idleness an anxious and miserable state The folly of annual retreats into the country The meanness and mischief of indiscriminate dedication The necessity of literary courage Original characters to be found in the country. The cha- 22 Old men in danger of falling into pupilage. The conduct of Thrasybulus The mischiefs of following a patron Praise universally desired. The failings of eminent men The impotence of wealth. The visit of Serotinus to the Favours not easily gained by the poor The marriage of Hymenæus and Tranquilla Labour necessary to excellence "The history of Misella debauched by her relation Misella's description of the life of a prostitute 165 The mischiefs of unbounded raillery. History of Dica- The majority are wicked Directions to autous attacked by eritics. The various de- grees of critical perspicacity An account of a club of antiquaries Many advantages not to be enjoyed together The study of life not to be neglected for the sake of books 254 The subject of essays often suggested by chance. The mischiefs of falsehood. The character of Turpicula 298 Human opinions mutable. The hopes of youth fallacious 334 The history of a legacy-hunter 339 The pleasures of life to be sought in prospects of futurity. The history of ten days of Seged, emperor of Ethiopia The art of living at the cost of others |