Old ATHENIAN MERCURIES. Intermix'd with many CASES In DIVINITY, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, MATHEMATICKS, LOVE, POETRY, Never before Publish'd. To which is added, An Alphabetical INDEX for the speedy finding of any QUESTIONS. By a Member of the ATHENIAN SOCIETY. V O L. III.[John Dunton The Third Edition. LONDON: inted for J. and J. KNAPTON, A. BETTES WORTH, W. MEARS, F. FAYRAM, J. OSBORN and T. LONGMAN, W. INNYS, and C. RIVINGTON. M.DCC.XXVIII. THE ATHENIAN ORACLE. Queft W Hether the Au thors of the Athenian Oracle are not Ba chelers, they Speak fo obligingly of the Fair Sex? Anfw. If they are not Bachelors, they are (or wou'd be thought) Gentlemen, and all who pretend to that Name, as well as all civiliz'd Mankind, have ever treated Women with that Refpe&t and Tenderness which their Beauty, or at least their Sex, deserve. Nay, we may go yet further, and not only affirm, that the fierceft Nations, and moft barbarous of Cannibals, have acknowledg'd and practis'd this Piece of good Breeding, but even the Beafts themselves teach it us, were there any Fear of forgetting it, as well as many other good Leffons : And indeed, there YOL. III. feems to be Reafon as well as Inclination and Custom, to authorize fuch a Practice. We owe the Happiness of Society, the Defence of Nations, the best Riches of Kingdoms, which confit in the Multitude of Inhabitants: Nay, even the Continuance of the World, which without them, cou'd live, at furtheft, no longer than the next Age, to that Sex whom we are fo willing to oblige. Nor are we much concern'd at the Cenfures we may poffibly meet with for this Piece of Justice, from fome Men, whole Acquaintance among that Sex have perhaps been of fuch a Character, that they think they may be allow'd to rail at all the Sex, becaufe fome of 'em have given 'em fo much Reafon for't. Q. A Perfon having lov'd a Lady fome time, and made publick Profeffion of it, till be found bimfelf lov'd again; after which, finding bis Paffion decay, and bis Eficem wholly vanish, whether is be not oblig'a by the Laws of Generofity and Justice, rather to make known his Change as bandfomly as he can, than to marry, and run the Hazard of making both miferable? A. The very Suppofition argues great Weakness, if not Falfhood. If the Gentleman has not seen another Lady whom he loves better, and therefore forfakes his former Mistress; yet 'tis certain, if he has, as the Question fuppofes, for fome time made a Profeffion of Love, he might in that time, before he had engaged the Lady's Affections, have discover'd whether there were any thing in her Perfon or Behaviour cou'd make him ceafe to love her: However, be it real Imperfections in her, or be it only Fickleness in him, when things are once reduced to that país, that he can Love no longer, of two Evils he ought to choofe the lefs, and rather make her only unhappy for a little while, till the forgets or wears it out, than make 'em both for one of their Life-times fo miferable, as in fuch a Condition they would certainly be. And if he has not a handfomer Way to discover fuch his Change to the Lady, let him but fhew her this Question in our Athenian Oracle, and if he ben't extreamly dull, 'twill effectually do it. Q. Whether the Papers lately publish'd, entituled, An Auction of young Ladies, be not very dif ingenuous and ridiculous; and if fo, what fort of Punishment ought to be inflicted on the Authors of fuch impertinent and reflective Difingenuity? A. We have received feveral Letters to this effect, chiefly as we believe (and as some of the Letters fuggeft) because we have heretofore treated that Fair Sex with all the Tenderness and Candour we poffibly could, and therefore it was fuppofed that in fuch a critical Juncture, our Pen could not be idle in their Defence could we ever be partial Advocates, we have now the greatest Temptation, but we have no need of undue Methods, to vindicate those whofe virtuous foft Tempers can even smile a Calumny into an Encomium. But to the Question, we cannot but in Juftice return our Anfwer in the Affirmative; and we may venture to make the Auctioneers themselves their own Judges upon this Dilemna; either they had a particular Defign to abufe fuch and fuch Ladies, or they bad not If the first, We have done, and fhan't intrude upon the Magistrate's Prerogative: If the laft, the fofteft Construction we can make it bear, is, a Writing at random, for any one that had a mind to apply it to themfelves; and in this Cafe the Folly is but a little more charitable, as 'tis more pardonable to fence with the Air and Distances, rather than to ftigmatize particular Perfons with indelible Sarcafms, fuch perhaps as only can be buried in the Abused's Grave : But But if the worst Construction fhould be put on the Matter, there's but little Scandal in the Reflections of fuch Perfons, who while they pretend to fet a Value upon other Perfons For tunes and Qualities, do in the fame Paper, fell their own best Qualities for one Poor Penny. 'Tis a Teaguigh Sort of Witticism, to difpofe of what's another Body's, without his Confent. The Strife of these three generous Auctioneers, does a little refemble the Qualities of the late Irish Regiment in Smithfield for fuch and fuch a Houfe, when all the Right they had was found in Air and Fancy. The Difference lies in this, that the Pen had the lefs Courage of the two, which like fome lit tle Sneaking Town Beau, that Town-Beau, has ftabb'd fome Body in the Dark, fculks invifibly into a Corner. Is it not a pittiful Cowardice to publish to all the World, what we dare not own to a little Part of it? I thought none but Silvia's Bul- / ying Satyrift could be stockt with fuch Abuses; but we find more o' th' Breed, who, no doubt to keep up their Title, will themselves bid like Buyers for Number 1, 3, and 4. (See the fecond Paper, entituled, A Continuation of a Catalogue of Ladies, &c.) fit Matches for fuch Authors, being known and recommended by themfelves. This perhaps with the Hot Services they have already met with by fuch Cattle (which 'tis fuppos'd has made them rage thus) may be Punishment enough to reclaim them from further Auctioneering. VOL. III. Q. What's the Reafen, when Women prove bad, they are commonly worse than Men? A. The Rarity of Examples make them more remarkable : As for Inftance, a Cut-Finger is fuppofed to be hit oftner than another, because the other be. ing well, no Notice is taken when they are hit: So that I am willing to conclude the Querift in a wrong Suppofition; but if it be a Truth, perhaps the Imperfection of a Woman's Nature may fooneft yield to a total Cancellation of the Obligations of Humanity and Natural Religion. Within these few Days, a Swarm of Bees lit upon the Crown and Scepter in Cheapfide, no Body knows from whence they came : Pray what Conftruction do you make of it, and whether it may portend something to come? A. I fhould be very loth to incur the Title of Superftitious, having already condemn'd it, or I cou'd tell you, that Bees were alWays efteem'd by the Ancients to be Hieroglyphicks of Wealth; and accordingly for that Reason, throughout the World at this Time, retain the Epithet of Laboricus. I might also add, that London, the fam'd Metropolis of England, has her felf affum'd the Characteristical Hieroglyphick of Wealth, viz. A Bee-hive, as is to be feen amongst the Ruins that are engrav'd round about the Pedestal of the Monument. I am alfo inform'd, not long fince, there was another Swarm of Bees that lighted upon a Sign-Poft in Cheapfide, within three Doors of this: As alfo, that upon Whitfunday laft, an Eagle (the B 2 King |