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MISCELLANEOUS.

ON FLATTERY.

(Continued from p. 220),

THE second position which this essay was intended to maintain is this, that men are often much pleased, and therefore may be much injured, by flattery, even when they know it to be such.

It will be expedient particularly to explain this position. Nothing, it will be allowed, is more common, and, in many cases, nothing can be more correct, than to suppose that a flatterer is dangerous, only because he is not known to be a flatterer; that when his motives are unmasked, his power is gone; that the language of adulation can be ensnaring only while it is mistaken for the language of sincerity. But it seems likely that adulation has often subtilty enough to ensnare, even after it is detected, and that men may be not only gratified, but in a sense deceived, by what they, at the very moment, know to be merely mouth-honour.

It will be necessary to keep in view, that we assert the flattery to operate even at the very time when it is known to be such. In a looser sense, it very frequently happens, that we are seduced by flattery, of which we are aware. The art of the sycophant may be so consummate as to steal away from us our prejudices against him, and, in spite of our suspicions, to persuade us that he is no sycophant. But here, we cannot properly be said to be seduced by what we know to be flattery. We knew it, but have forgot - it; we believed it, but have now suffered ourselves to be convinced of the contrary.

There are other cases also, in which we may be inaccurately said to be pleased with obvious flattery; but which I do not here consider, because the pleasure in those

cases does not arise from the flattery, that is, from the gratification of vanity, but from collateral causes. An elderly bachelor, who sits all day wrapped in flannels, and counts an annual income of £10,000 Leeward-Island currency, is watched with the most assiduous care by a legacy-hunting cousin. He perhaps perfectly understands the language of all this behaviour, and is aware that the flattery is in fact paid to his hogsheads of sugar and puncheons of rum; but he finds this interested attendant a very convenient tool, and delights in him as he delights in his cloth shoes and gouty chair. He accepts the pretended love for the sake of the real obedience.

Farther, it is conceivable that a vain man may be pleased with a compliment which he knows to be insincere, as he is pleased with building castles in the air, in which he imagines himself to be a king or a Newton. He is aware, in both cases, of the delusion; but finds it so pleasing to associate the idea of self with the idea of any sort of superiority, that he chuses knowingly to indulge the dream. I cannot pretend that I believe this to be a common case, and therefore have merely stated it as "conceivable."

Many other cases may be feigned, in which we shall be pleased with evident flattery, not as flattery, but for some collateral reason; but these have no reference to the position here maintained, that our vanity may be really gratified by compliments, which we at the same time know to be no deeper than the lip. I do not mean to deny, that the natural tendency of detected flattery is to disgust us; but simply to affirm, that this disgust may sometimes be conquered by a feeling of pleasure and complacency. Perhaps this cannot directly be proved, but the observer

of common life will probably not find it very difficult to discover examples of the principle; not to say, that we may possibly trace it in ourselves.

Suppose, for instance, a humble farmer to wait upon his landlord, and to be admitted to the breakfastparlour. He soon enters upon a round of coarse compliments to his host, and particularly to his honour's bairns' who surround the table. His honour' easily sees through the thin disguise; he knows that his honest friend wishes for a renewal of his lease on easy terms; but yet he wears a smile of complacency. Characters, noted for smooth speeches, always make their way through society better than those who, under the appearance of bluntness, are known to conceal the most warm philanthropy.

An eastern tyrant is always surrounded with the most slavish obedience, and the most extravagant adulation, and he is always pleased with both. A good reason can be given why he should be pleased with the obedience, as it is a source of solid comfort to him; but the adulation is not attended with the same benefit, and therefore must be pleasing in itself. Yet a man of understanding cannot fail to be convinced of its insincerity.

The sycophants of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, actually licked up his spittle, declaring it to be sweeter than nectar or ambrosia. After every allowance for the intentional extravagance of this hyperbole, it seems likely that these men really professed to find extraordinary pleasure in this surprising piece of obsequiousness; and Dionysius could hardly believe them to be sincere; yet Dionysius was undoubtedly pleased.

If these illustrations shall be admitted to make it probable, that men may be flattered by what they know to be flattery, it is a curious question, whence does their delusion in this case arise? And if any natural account can be given of it, the fact CHRIST. OESERV. No. 53.

itself may be the more readily believed. There are two reasons which may perhaps be assigned for this phenomenon, although I am not sure, that they altogether explain it; but I will state them as they occurred to me.

1. A man, who perceives himself to be flattered, naturally presumes that the flatterer would not altogether praise him for imaginary excellencies; and he therefore instantly gives himself credit for deserving to be complimented, though not perhaps with so high a compliment as he has received. In this there is evidently some reason, as most compliments, however extravagant, are founded on truth. No degree of vanity, for instance, could induce a dwarf to receive, without indignation, a compliment upon his " gigantic size." As a flatterer, therefore, generally contents himself with exaggerating some excellence really possessed by the object of his bounty, men claim the right of appropriating to themselves a part of the commendation bestowed upon them even by the most notorious proficients in the art of adulation ; and the more profuse the adulation, the more do they take the liberty of appropriating.

Still, though it is likely that we actually possess a degree of that excellence, on the possession of which we are congratulated, still we deceive ourselves in estimating that degree. If we are assailed by evident flattery, we know that we must reduce something of the eulogy, before it will fit us; but the quantity of the reduction is left to our own conjecture, and self-love will very seldom reduce enough. any rate, even if we reduce to the proper point, we attach too great a value to what remains; we dwell upon it, cherish the idea of it, and become self important; and this, let us recollect, is as truly vanity, as it is vanity to plume ourselves on qualities which do not pertain to us.

At

It may be remarked here, that it is not always necessary for a flatterer Pp

to consider what good qualities we really possess ; he may be satisfied with knowing what we think we possess. "If he be a cunning flatterer (says Lord Bacon), he will follow the arch-flatterer, which is a man's self; and wherein a man thinketh best of himself, therein the flatterer will uphold him most." Unhappily, Lord Bacon understood this art but too well; and to shew how excellently he could put in practice his own rule, we have only to read his monstrous and ridiculous compliments to poor Queen Elizabeth on her personal beauty, of which she had about as little as she gave herself credit for possessing much. I transcribe the passage literally, only giving the extracts from Virgil out of a translation.

"For the beauty and many graces of her presence, what colours are fine enough for such a portraiture? Let no light poet be used for such a description, but the chastest and the royalest:

"Of her gait;

philosophers that ever wielded a pen, to one of the greatest and most ill-favoured sovereigns that ever sat upon a throne!

I would, on the whole, then submit, that the gratification which is sometimes felt at hearing what is perceived to be flattery, arises partly from the cause I have mentioned. But this cannot be always the cause; it will not account, for instance, for the alacrity with which Dionysius imbibed that odious piece of adulation that has been before mentioned. Dionysius could not possibly believe any part of this adulation to be founded in fact; for how could even the most absolute and most intoxicated tyrant ever approximate to the supposition, that his royal glands had really the power of secreting nectar?

2. The second cause seems to me to be, that men are flattered with what they know to be flattery, be cause they are pleased with finding that they are thought worth flattery. Unless the flatterer is plainly actuat

And her majestic port confess'd the ed by a malus animus, unless he is

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flattering them with an evident view to expose them to the derision

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some danger, they presume that he is really doing them homage in one sense, though not exactly in the sense in which he professes to do it. Who would waste compliments on those upon whose favour he did not set some value? This supposition, it is plain, turns the particular flattery into what we have before called constructive flattery; the par

That with celestial charms divinely ticular compliment is in itself worthglow'd.'

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less, but it is considered as an index of general respect on the part of the flatterer. It operates, therefore, ex

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structive flattery to operate.

It has already been once or twice Her waving locks immortal odours remarked that obsequiousness, even

shed,

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when perceived to arise from inte rested motives, may yet be pleasing, because it is a convenient tool. But we may now observe, that, though this is true, yet the pleasure will very rarely stop at this point. There is

something very captivating in the idea of being worshipped, even though the incense be not that of the heart; the object of it will be apt to say with the tyrant, "They are welcome to hate me, if they will only be afraid of me," and will exult in conscious superiority.

With respect to court-flattery, indeed, some distinctions are to be made. The evident and open extravagance of the titles usually conferred on the Turkish and other eastern monarchs, cannot fairly perhaps be brought as an instance of such flattery as pleases, though understood to be flattery. Such titles as King of the Universe, Shadow of God, and others equally absurd and equally blasphemous, being habitual appellations, are generally, I should suppose, construed to mean nothing more than absolute power. They are annexed to the name of the Sovereign, as the jewels are annexed to his diadem, and a canopy to his throne. They can hardly therefore be supposed to indicate an intention of deceiving on the part of those who use them, and who mean them to be translated according to their standard sense. But in a more extended view, it must be owned, that all the state and ceremony which surround a tyrant may be called flattery; and all who contribute, by either speech or actions, to Support them, may be regarded in the light of parties to deliberate deception and in this case, if we suppose the general intention to be perceived by a sagacious despot, the case will undoubtedly come under the rule which I am here endeavouring to maintain.

Yet after all, there is, in despotic courts, an infinite quantity of particular adulation; which delights a weak monarch, because he believes it; and delights a sensible one, because he sees it to be extorted, and swells with the idea of conquest. Juvenal introduces a fisherman making a present of a huge turbot to Domitian, and assuring the Emperor that the fish

was destined for him by heaven, and (as he says) that "it was, of itself, determined to be caught." Ipse capi voluit. "What could be more palpable (proceeds the poet) than this compliment? Yet the Emperor's crest rose; for nothing, however flattering, can be said of absolute power, which absolute power will not believe." This is certainly a fine sentiment; but it is exemplified only in the case of weak monarchs. Had the fisherman been addressing Julius Cæsar, probably his crest also would have risen; but it would not have been because he believed the assertion. In truth, it cannot but be observed that all those habitual titles of impious adulation which we have mentioned were once new; and that when new, they came under the denomination of particular flattery; and though probably perceived to be such, were yet encouraged.

It will, however, be a mistake to imagine that this subject belongs only to courts and kings. It belongs to ourselves; because it shews the amazing skill of the human heart in the science of self-deception. Whether I am correct, let the reader judge; but I cannot help thinking, that there is hardly one of us who has not, on some occasion or other, exemplified in his own person one or both of the two principles which have been described as making obvious flattery grateful to the palate. There is much, far too much, flattery in common life; and almost every man must have, at some time or other, perceived himself to be the object of it. He has, perhaps, in these cases, been disgusted; but has not disgust silently given way to a feeling of satisfaction? Possibly he congratulated himself on the temper with which he bore so great an insult; while, in reality, he was pleased, because he thought it only an apparent insult: thus doubly deceiving himself, when he imagined himself to be most undeceived, and finding in the lowest deep a lower deep

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dor, and joy. But the person ap pointed to superintend my education, endeavoured to persuade me, that the wide expanse below was obscured by vapour and exhalation. I heard, however, his lectures with incredulous contempt, and attributed my preceptor's unaccountable insensibility to defective vision. Had he told me, that the prospect was indeed illuminated by the full blaze of the solar effulgence, but that an impalpable cloud might dissolve at once the magic vision; had he apprized me, that the innumerable

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. objects discernible from the emi

SIR,

ALTHOUGH the general title prefixed to the following papers may be censured as arbitrary and indeterminate, and inapplicable to many of the subjects brought under discussion, I have been compelled, in this instance, to sacrifice distinctness to brevity. The World As It Is, is selected from a correspondence preserved with some interest in my domestic archives; and in transcribing the enclosed extracts, their original form has been retained, omitting however several passages of a private or local character.

Should the principles advanced and illustrated in Arthur's Letters accord with those of the Christian Observer, I plead for their admission into your miscellaneous department, and, am, SIR,

Yours, &c.

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nence I then occupied acquired an unreal interest from their distance and consequent indistinctness: had he forwarned me, that when I should descend into the plain, and examine those objects nearly, the greater part would surprise and disappoint me, or even create disgust by their homeliness and offensive qualities, But he commenced at the wrong he had gained a more attentive ear. point: he contradicted the evidence of my senses: he never laboured to exercise and inform my understanding; never taught his pupil to anticipate futurity, nor elevated his mental sight above the horizon that bounded the subjacent prospect to regions far above, beyond the situation of that source of material light which the glory of its Creator "darkens with excessive brightness." * * * * * * The interval between my leaving the university and entering upon my present profession was passed at the country residence of a gentleman, whose intelligence and mildness of manners persuaded me to forget that he was one of those whom the generality of his neighbours pitied and almost neglected, as perverted by the wild notions of what they denominated a too severe religion. Mr. M. was indeed my maternal uncle; and the veneration I bore to the memory of my mother taught me to regard him with an appropriate degree of affection. Yet I evidently saw, he commiserated my practical con

that

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