第89章 LETTER LXII(2)

Never,from a mistaken economy,buy a thing you do not want,because it is cheap;or from a silly pride,because it is dear.Keep an account in a book of all that you receive,and of all that you pay;for no man who knows what he receives and what he pays ever runs out.I do not mean that you should keep an account of the shillings and half-crowns which you may spend in chair-hire,operas,etc.:they are unworthy of the time,and of the ink that they would consume;leave such minutia to dull,penny-wise fellows;but remember,in economy,as well as in every other part of life,to have the proper attention to proper objects,and the proper contempt for little ones.A strong mind sees things in their true proportions;a weak one views them through a magnifying medium,which,like the microscope,makes an elephant of a flea:magnifies all little objects,but cannot receive great ones.I have known many a man pass for a miser,by saving a penny and wrangling for twopence,who was undoing himself at the same time by living above his income,and not attending to essential articles which were above his 'portee'.The sure characteristic of a sound and strong mind,is to find in everything those certain bounds,'quos ultra citrave nequit consistere rectum'.These boundaries are marked out by a very fine line,which only good sense and attention can discover;it is much too fine for vulgar eyes.In manners,this line is good-breeding;beyond it,is troublesome ceremony;short of it,is unbecoming negligence and inattention.In morals,it divides ostentatious puritanism from criminal relaxation;in religion,superstition from impiety:and,in short,every virtue from its kindred vice or weakness.I think you have sense enough to discover the line;keep it always in your eye,and learn to walk upon it;rest upon Mr.

Harte,and he will poise you till you are able to go alone.By the way,there are fewer people who walk well upon that line,than upon the slack rope;and therefore a good performer shines so much the more.

Your friend Comte Pertingue,who constantly inquires after you,has written to Comte Salmour,the Governor of the Academy at Turin,to prepare a room for you there immediately after the Ascension:and has recommended you to him in a manner which I hope you will give him no reason to repent or be ashamed of.As Comte Salmour's son,now residing at The Hague,is my particular acquaintance,I shall have regular and authentic accounts of all that you do at Turin.

During your stay at Berlin,I expect that you should inform yourself thoroughly of the present state of the civil,military,and ecclesiastical government of the King of Prussia's dominions;particularly of the military,which is upon a better footing in that country than in any other in Europe.

You will attend at the reviews,see the troops exercised,and inquire into the numbers of troops and companies in the respective regiments of horse,foot,and dragoons;the numbers and titles of the commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the several troops and companies;and also take care to learn the technical military terms in the German language;for though you are not to be a military man,yet these military matters are so frequently the subject of conversation,that you will look very awkwardly if you are ignorant of them.Moreover,they are commonly the objects of negotiation,and,as such,fall within your future profession.

You must also inform yourself of the reformation which the King of Prussia has lately made in the law;by which he has both lessened the number,and shortened the duration of law-suits;a great work,and worthy of so great a prince!As he is indisputably the ablest prince in Europe,every part of his government deserves your most diligent inquiry,and your most serious attention.It must be owned that you set out well,as a young politician,by beginning at Berlin,and then going to Turin,where you will see the next ablest monarch to that of Prussia;so that,if you are capable of making political reflections,those two princes will furnish you with sufficient matter for them.

I would have you endeavor to get acquainted with Monsieur de Maupertuis,who is so eminently distinguished by all kinds of learning and merit,that one should be both sorry and ashamed of having been even a day in the same place with him,and not to have seen him.If you should have no other way of being introduced to him,I will send you a letter from hence.Monsieur Cagenoni,at Berlin,to whom I know you are recommended,is a very able man of business,thoroughly informed of every part of Europe;and his acquaintance,if you deserve and improve it as you should do,may be of great use to you.

Remember to take the best dancing-master at Berlin,more to teach you to sit,stand,and walk gracefully,than to dance finely.The Graces,the Graces;remember the Graces!Adieu!