e of the only means which I had left, to shew the
world that true honour and uninterested respect which I have always
paid you. I would say somewhat, if it were possible which might
distinguish that veneration I have for you, from the flatteries of
those who adore your fortune. But the eminence of your condition, in
this particular, is my unhappiness; for it renders whatever I would
say suspected. Professions of service, submissions, and attendance,
are the practice of all men to the great; and commonly they, who have
the least sincerity, perform them best; as they, who are least engaged
in love, have their tongues the freest to counterfeit a passion. For
my own part, I never could shake off the rustic bashfulness which
hangs upon my nature; but, valuing myself at as little as I am worth,
have been afraid to render even the common duties of respect to those
who are in power. The ceremonious visits, which are generally paid on
such occasions, are not my talent. They may be real even in courtiers,
but they appear with such a face of interest, that a modest man would
think himself in danger of having his sincerity mistaken for his
design. My congratulations keep their distance, and pass no farther
than my heart. There it is that I have all the joy imaginable, when I
see true worth rewarded, and virtue uppermost in the world.

If, therefore, there were one to whom I had the honour to be known;
and to know him so perfectly, that I could say, without flattery, he
had all the depth of understanding that was requisite in an able
statesman, and all that honesty which commonly is wanting; that he was
brave without vanity, and knowing without positiveness; that he was
loyal to his prince, and a lover of his country; that his principles
were full of moderation, and all his counsels such as tended to heal,
and not to widen, the breaches of the nation: that in all his
conversation there appeared a native candour, and a desire of doing
good in all his actions: if such an one, whom I have described, were
at the helm; if he had risen by his merits, and were chosen out in the
necessity and pressures of affairs, to remedy our confusions by the
seasonableness of his advice, and to put a stop to our ruin, when we
were just rolling downward to the precipice; I should then
congratulate the age in which I live, for the common safety; I should
not despair of the republic, though Hannibal were at the gates; I
should send up my vows for the succe