N° 22 .
THE GUARDIAN .
129
Thus happy was the firſt race,of men, but
rude withal, and uncultivated. För before they could make any confiderable progreſs in arts and ſciences, the tranquillity of the rural life was de ſtroyed by turbulent and ambitious fpirits; who, having built cities, raiſed armies, and ſtudied po licies of ſtate, made vaffals of the defenceleſs ſhep
herds, and rendered that which was before eaſy and unreſtrained, a mean , laborious, miſerable condition . Hence, if we conſider the paſtoral pe
riod before learning, we ſhall find it unpoliſhed. The uſe that I would make of this ſhort review
of the country life ſhall be this. An author that would amuſe himſelf by writing paſtorals, ſhould
form in his fancy a rural ſcene of perfect eaſe and tranquillity, where innocence, fimplicity, and joy abound. It is not enough that he writes about the country ; he muſt give us what is agreeable in that ſcene, and hide what is wretched. It is
indeed commonly affirmed that truth well paint
ed will certainly pleaſe the imagination ; but it is ſometimes convenient not to diſcover the whole
truth, but that part which only is delightful. We muft ſometimes ſhow only half an image to the fancy ; which if we diſplay in a lively manner, the mind is ſo dexteroully deluded, that it doth
not readily perceive that the other half is con cealed. Thus in writing paſtorals, let the tranquil lity of that life appearfull and plain, but hidethe meanneſs of it ; repreſent its fimplicity as clear as you pleaſe, but cover its miſery. I would not herebybe ſo underſtood, as if Ithought nothing that is irkſome or unpleaſant ſhould have a place in theſe writings ; I only mean that this ſtate of Vol . I.
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