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  • July 1, 1797
  • Page 40
  • ESSAY ON THE WRITINGS OF LORD CHESTERFIELD.
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The Freemasons' Magazine, July 1, 1797: Page 40

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    Article ESSAY ON THE WRITINGS OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Essay On The Writings Of Lord Chesterfield.

yet this must not be . his principal object , after he has -quitted his Tjuerile studies . This , like the ceremonials of religion , should not be left undone : but their are other weightier matters , which it would be criminal to neglect , on account of politeness , or even to imagine in competition with it . To politeness , however , Chesterfield would sacrifice the most serious considerations : nor is it too strong to say , considering the gross immorality of his bookthat for the sake of

po-, lishing the body , he would absolutely annihilate the soul—sacrifice immortality to the art of pleasing for a moment , and sell his birthright in Heaven for a bow . In Chesterfield ' s Letters , can we separate this exterior air from internal depravity ? Can we disjoin corporeal crracefiilness from mental corruption ? If we could , the Letters , though frivolous and contemptiblemiht becomparativelyinnocent .. The

, g , , truth , however , is , that the Chesterfieldian politeness cannot exist without the ' voltosciolto , pensieri stretti *—the secret heart and thetransparent countenance—that it is connected , indeed , not only with dissimulation , but with the most abominable hypocrisy . If there be

an ) thing in the Letters like a recommendation of morality and religion , is noi the heart wounded on discovering that appearances only were intended ? Is not the assumption of relig ion set down as one of the proprieties of behaviour ; and is not the reality sneered at ? And is not vanity with Lord Chesterfield ( asit was always with the French ) the chief motive of every moral action ? All this is too plain , to be denied . Nor can it be dissembledthat Chesterfield recommends a

, scheme of intrigue , the most infamous—objecting only to common prostitutes , because they mig ht contaminate , the gentleman ; and approving of adultery as creditable in the world of fashion . But this adultery must be with a woman of fashion : whether married or unmatied , is of little consequence , provided the woman be a well-bred woman—a whore of quality with whom his son intrigues . Thus a

father , far advanced in life , addresses his poor inexperienced child . The truth is , that throughout his Letters , on every view of the subject , he considers vice only as discred table and avoidable , when debased by adventitious vulgarities . To commit a sin , in one way , is blackguardly : to commit it , in another , is gentlemanly . To cheat

or to lie , directl }' , is infamous : but to impose and deceive , by the deepest artifices and long-drawn falsehoods , is polite and politic . To be surprised in a momentary connection with ' . a strange woman who liattereth with her lips '—is a vice so extremely low and vulgar , as to admit of no extenuation : but to seduce by a train of circumvention a married woman of quality from the affections of her husband , is a token of manly spirit—an evidence of fine accomplishments and

address . " After all this , which I defy any one to disprove , can it be said in justice , that Johnson was too severe ? Would not every sensible and reli gious man applaud the revered moralist , for his noble indignation ?—But if Johnson ' s authority be disregarded , a greater than Johnson is here—attend to the Bishop of London—Liseu to Purteus—as pious as Johnson , and as polite as Chesterfield ! ' The maxims that ure now to enlighten and improve mankind ( says this eloquent

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1797-07-01, Page 40” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 12 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01071797/page/40/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
Untitled Article 3
LONDON: Article 3
PREFACE TO VOLUME THE NINTH. Article 5
THE SCIENTIFIC MAGAZINE, AND FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 7
TEMPERATE REFLECTIONS SUITED TO THE PRESENT TIME. Article 8
AN APOLOGY FOR THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF SHYLOCK. Article 10
MEMOIRS OF CHARLES MACKLIN, Article 15
ACCOUNT OF CADIZ. Article 18
REFERENCES TO THE PLATE. Article 22
MEMOIR OF WILLIAM MASON, A.M. Article 23
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. Article 25
HISTORY OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES FOR 1797. Article 26
ADDITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE GYPSIES. Article 29
ORIGIN OF DRINKING HEALTHS. Article 29
CEREMONIAL OF THE EXECUTION OFRICHARD PARKER, FOR MUTINY. Article 30
A BRIEF SYSTEM OF CONCHOLOGY. Article 34
ESSAY ON THE WRITINGS OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. Article 38
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERIES OF THE RIVER BAN, IN IRELAND. Article 41
THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. Article 42
THE INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY ON SOCIETY Article 44
NOTICE OF A MASONIC DESIDERATUM. Article 47
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 48
NOTICE. Article 49
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Article 50
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 56
POETRY. Article 58
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT. Article 62
HOUSE OF COMMONS. Article 63
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 68
DOMESTIC NEWS. Article 71
OBITUARY. Article 78
LIST OF BANKRUPTS. Article 81
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Essay On The Writings Of Lord Chesterfield.

yet this must not be . his principal object , after he has -quitted his Tjuerile studies . This , like the ceremonials of religion , should not be left undone : but their are other weightier matters , which it would be criminal to neglect , on account of politeness , or even to imagine in competition with it . To politeness , however , Chesterfield would sacrifice the most serious considerations : nor is it too strong to say , considering the gross immorality of his bookthat for the sake of

po-, lishing the body , he would absolutely annihilate the soul—sacrifice immortality to the art of pleasing for a moment , and sell his birthright in Heaven for a bow . In Chesterfield ' s Letters , can we separate this exterior air from internal depravity ? Can we disjoin corporeal crracefiilness from mental corruption ? If we could , the Letters , though frivolous and contemptiblemiht becomparativelyinnocent .. The

, g , , truth , however , is , that the Chesterfieldian politeness cannot exist without the ' voltosciolto , pensieri stretti *—the secret heart and thetransparent countenance—that it is connected , indeed , not only with dissimulation , but with the most abominable hypocrisy . If there be

an ) thing in the Letters like a recommendation of morality and religion , is noi the heart wounded on discovering that appearances only were intended ? Is not the assumption of relig ion set down as one of the proprieties of behaviour ; and is not the reality sneered at ? And is not vanity with Lord Chesterfield ( asit was always with the French ) the chief motive of every moral action ? All this is too plain , to be denied . Nor can it be dissembledthat Chesterfield recommends a

, scheme of intrigue , the most infamous—objecting only to common prostitutes , because they mig ht contaminate , the gentleman ; and approving of adultery as creditable in the world of fashion . But this adultery must be with a woman of fashion : whether married or unmatied , is of little consequence , provided the woman be a well-bred woman—a whore of quality with whom his son intrigues . Thus a

father , far advanced in life , addresses his poor inexperienced child . The truth is , that throughout his Letters , on every view of the subject , he considers vice only as discred table and avoidable , when debased by adventitious vulgarities . To commit a sin , in one way , is blackguardly : to commit it , in another , is gentlemanly . To cheat

or to lie , directl }' , is infamous : but to impose and deceive , by the deepest artifices and long-drawn falsehoods , is polite and politic . To be surprised in a momentary connection with ' . a strange woman who liattereth with her lips '—is a vice so extremely low and vulgar , as to admit of no extenuation : but to seduce by a train of circumvention a married woman of quality from the affections of her husband , is a token of manly spirit—an evidence of fine accomplishments and

address . " After all this , which I defy any one to disprove , can it be said in justice , that Johnson was too severe ? Would not every sensible and reli gious man applaud the revered moralist , for his noble indignation ?—But if Johnson ' s authority be disregarded , a greater than Johnson is here—attend to the Bishop of London—Liseu to Purteus—as pious as Johnson , and as polite as Chesterfield ! ' The maxims that ure now to enlighten and improve mankind ( says this eloquent

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