humblest efforts they play upon the different meanings of words: when they take a flight more worthy of their talents, they elicit a noble sentiment or striking image, from a common observation, occurrence, or maxim: thus they discover and communicate unexpected, yet just analogies of things, and they show the most extensive exercise of their powers, by a ready command over the most brilliant figures of rhetoric-they illustrate their ideas by a simile, adorn them with the colours of a metaphor, or elevate them by an hyperbole.

These characteristics appear to be common to all men of wit: but he whose wit is tempered with judgment, and refined by benevolence and decorum, directs it against proper objects alone. When he indulges in the frolic of ridicule, or the asperity of satire, his delight is to make folly contemptible, and vice odious. He differs, therefore, as widely as possible in the application of his talents, from the authors of those pernicious works of various kinds, which, to the disgrace of our English literature, are frequently issued from the press; and which, to the no less disgrace of English curiosity, meet with too welcome and too general a perusal. He never lurks in ambush to throw the poisoned dart at the innocent and unoffending; never assails public or private characters with unmerited satire ; nor does he take pleasure to increase the discontent and inflame the passions of the vulgar.He does not play the part of the buffoon, the democrat, or the scoffing infidel, to gratify the

malevolence and excite the laughter of the licentious, the lawless, and the profane.

The bon mots, or colloquial sallies of such men of wit as have been described, vary according to different occasions: some are solid as well as bright; some are sharp, but not rough; some are keen, but not malignant; some are humourous, without vulgarity; and all are pointed, without asperity. They are calculated to excite, not the merriment of the multitude, but the surprise, admiration, and pleasure of the refined part of society. They ought not to be fleeting and transient, as the sounds that originally conveyed them to the ear; they ought not to be regarded as fire-works, which attract notice by their brilliancy, and afford no more than a momentary pleasure. They deserve, on the contrary, to be considered as diamonds, that are solid and durable as well as brilliant; and, like diamonds, they ought to be preserved with care, and displayed to advantage; that they may give pleasure to mankind through successive ages, and may perpetuate some degree at least of that admiration which was expressed by those who had the pleasure to hear them first pronounced.

By the ancient Greeks and Romans the branches of knowledge which give the moderns so many advantages were comparatively little cultivated,and of course there was not such scope for the extensive range of the imagination over so many subjects as are familiar to the moderns. But if the current of the thoughts of the ancients was comparatively narrow, it was clear, deep,

66

and rapid; what they wanted in variety, they made up by energy; their sallies in conversation were like their onsets in battle, prompt, ardent, and effectual at once to settle the point. To them belonged thoughts that breathe, and words that burn," the "acer spiritus, ac vis," the energy divine of the soul: their apothegms were the maxims of heroes and philosophers, and they contain the essence of wisdom and of greatness of mind.

The Spartans were famed for the caustic spirit, the keenness, and the conciseness of their speeches. But a style approaching the laconic, has in all ages, and in all countries, marked the conversation of acute and profound thinkers.

The apothegms or bon mots of the ancients and moderns possess different kinds of excellence, and are found to be adapted to the different states of civilization, refinement, and taste. The ancients addressed the judgment, the moderns appeal more to the imagination: the former spoke with a view to action, the latter to produce surprise: the aim of the former was to appear, and to be, heroic and noble; that of the latter, to gain the character of being agreeable, and to raise a laugh: the former were more sententious, grave, and deep; the latter are more facetious, gay, and superficial :-and yet, in justice to both ancients and moderns, this contrast should be closed with a concession honourable to both parties; for in the works of the ancients may be found many striking sallies of wit, and among the moderns many profound maxims

of wisdom. Instances not a few to confirm this observation will occur in the following pages.

PROFESSOR PORSON has been heard to say, and his remark will be found upon examination to be perfectly just, "that many of the most admired jokes, in our popular jest-books, may be found in the works of Athenæus, Plutarch, and other ancient writers." It is not, however, easy to trace the origin of a bon-mot, with certainty; and many an one, like an illegitimate child, may be attributed to a wrong father. It is highly probable that similar situations may have produced similar thoughts in minds of equal capacity and strength; and the authors of them, although remote from each other, both with respect to time as well as place, may have been equally original in the conception of similar thoughts. Cases, however, differ very materially with respect to the probabilities of originality. When Hans de Veil, a Cambridge scholar, wrote his epigram on the age of Miss Fowle, he might possibly recollect the keen remark of Cicero upon a similar occasion; but it is ridiculous to suppose, that John, the great duke of Marlborough, who was singularly illiterate, quoted the admirable repartee of Ariston, the Spartan king, to his Athenian captives, when he made a no less admirable reply to his prisoner marshal Tallard.*

The interest which such a compilation as the following is capable of exciting, it is presumed,

*See vol. i. No, 400.

may be heightened by authenticating as many bon mots as possible, by referring them to their original speakers. For surely the case is much the same with respect to wit, as it is with respect to painting:-we may be pleased with a good portrait, because it is well executed; we are better pleased, when we are told it was painted by some distinguished artist; and we are most gratified of all when we are certain it is the likeness of some eminent person.

Still, however, sallies of wit that are anonymous may have very strong claims to our notice and approbation. They may be considered as so many foundlings thrown upon the world: their origin is obscure; their parents are unascertained, though they may have no cause to be ashamed of them; and they deserve to be admitted and reared in a safe and lasting asylum, that they may survive for the benefit and ornament of the public at large.

Forthese reasons the following work is divided into two parts.

The first part contains Bon Mots, the authors of which are ascertained, placed under the names of their respective authors.

The second part contains Bon Mots that are chiefly anonymous.

These parts are added an Appendix, containing Remarks on Punning and Select Puns, &c.illustrative, like the preceding articles, of national a and individual characters.

Indulgence is requested for some articles in this