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I believe you may have wondered at not hearing from me in so long time, and will, perhaps, be more surprized at the Reason I am going to give you.—In short, Sir, I am at length thoroughly convinced, that the utmost Perfection of human Wisdom is Silence;[1] and that when a Man hath learnt to hold his Tongue, he may be properly said to have arrived at the highest Pitch of Philosophy.
I am so very fond of this virtue, that I shall do a kind of violence to it (for Silence implies holding the Pen as well as the Tongue) to trumpet forth its Praises, seeing that, upon much deep Reflection, I am persuaded, if any Virtue hath had that universal Assent Wch Mr Lock seems to deny,[2] it must be allowed to be this.
Solomon, the wisest of Men, declares loudly in Commendation of this virtue. In the multitude of Words, says he, there wanteth not Sin: but he that refraineth his Lips is wise. again,—he that hath Knowledge spareth his words. and[3] again, Even a Fool, when he holdeth his Lips, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his Lips is esteemed a Man of Understanding.[4] and in several other Places throughout his Proverbs.
King David is so fond of Silence, that he applauds himself for abstaining even from good words; which, tho' it seems it was extremely troublesome to him, yet he was so resolute in his Perseverance in this virtue, that rather than
The Stoicks, the greatest, wisest and most virtuous of all the Sects of Heathen Philosophers,[6] had this virtue in such Estimation, that it is well known what a long Silence was necessary to qualify a Graduate in their Schools:[7] —whether these great Men imagined, as some have insinuated, that Wisdom, like good Ale, ripened and refined it self by being well corked, I will not decide; or whether they might not, with greater Justice observe, that Wisdom, like Air, being stopped in one place would naturally find a vent in another, and so, by keeping the Mouth close shut, infuse itself into the Muscles of the Face, and thereby create what we call a wise Look, a Quality ever held in great Esteem, and of singular good use in all Philosophical Societies.
Homer, a Poet of deep Penetration, to give his Reader a vast Idea of the wisdom of the Greeks, makes particular mention of the profound Silence in which their Army marched.
oὶ δ'αρ ισαν σιγη μενεα πνειονΤες Aχαιοι.[8]
But, indeed, such are the Honours which Antiquity hath conferred on this admirable Quality, that I may say, with Cicero, si velim omnia percurrere Dies deficeret;[9] I shall therefore confine my self, in the Residue of this Letter, to my own Country, which, I can with Pleasure observe to have been inferiour to no other in her Esteem of Silence.
To begin with our Philosophers,—The Spectator, whom the French call Le Socrate moderne,[10] was so perfect an Observer of Silence, that he assures us he seldom proceeded farther in Conversation than to a Monosyllable; that he had often, among Persons not thoroughly acquainted with him, passed by the name of the Dumb Man: to which I need not add the great Ceremony & Difficulty with which his Mouth was once publickly opened, as it is so
2dly, it is well remembered, that somewhat less than 100 years ago Silence had obtained so much Ground in our Religious Meetings, That the secret, silent Breathings of the Spirit diffused themselves all over the Nation, some notable Remains of which we have at this Day among the People called Quakers;—the Profoundness of whose silent Meetings I have often beheld with great Pleasure, nor can I help observing here the Insinuation of a certain reverend Dean, in a serious Essay of his, that true Christianity hath been put to Silence some time ago among us.[12]
But this Virtue blossoms no where so much as among the Politicians.—A certain ludicrous Poet, in a Piece called the Historical Register, wherein he introduced several Politicians on the Stage, gives this Character of Silence to the chief of them;[13] but I am afraid in so doing, he did not act very politickly for himself: for I have observed, that his Muse hath been silent ever since.
I have heard of a Coffee House Politician, who, by long Study and deep Attention to the Art of Politicks, hath contracted as great a Fondness for Silence as ever Don Quixotte had for Knight Errantry. It is reported of this whimsical Person, that he would bribe Persons to hold their Tongue. I have heard, that if any Fellow attempted to make a Noise in the Coffee House he was sure to have a Sum[14] of the old Gentleman, to procure his future Silence; which, they tell me, produced some comical Events.
As Mankind are generally apt, in their Opinions, to pay great Regard to the value the Person sets on himself, and to esteem the Beauty of Women and Wit of men in proportion to the Difficulty which attends their Enjoyment:
But if we search narrowly into these Characters, which the French call outrez, we may commonly discover in them Contradictions equal to their Absurdities: for this old Fellow, who had so violent an Antipathy to some Noises, had as great a Fondness for others. Thus he is said to have been a passionate Admirer of a Drum,[17] at the same time that he always fainted at the Sound of a Musquet; and his Antipathy to the human Organs, themselves, was not without some Particularity, and, indeed, seems to have been not so much to the Sounds as to the Ideas they conveyed: of which I have heard the following Instance: One of the Waiters at the Coffee-House, whom they called young Will, was so notorious a Babbler, that it was generally thought the old Gentleman abovesaid would have insisted on his being turned away; but what was their Surprize, when they beheld him clap young Will on the Back & tip him Sixpence, crying out, That's my good Boy, for tho' thou talkest more than any Body, no Man can accuse thee of having ever said any thing.
So much for this old Coffee-House Politician: but pray, Mr Common-Sense, will you be so good to inform us, who live at this Distance, whether any of this Gentleman's Successors are yet living; whether there reigns as great[18] Silence in the Coffee-Houses [sic] at present as this Gentleman maintaind in It as long as he lived.[19] There was a great Noise some time ago concerning Spanish Depradations, which we did not like.—I do assure you, Sir, as great an Enemy as I am to Noise, I should not be displeased at the Musick
But it is now time for me to relapse into my usual Silence, therefore, after having congratulated you on yr prudent speaking but once a Week, while the Gazeteer chatters every day, I shall, in a silent Manner, assure you, I am
Yr most humble Servt,
Mum Budget
[21]
Devon, 1 April, 1738.
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