The Rambler [By S. Johnson and Others].

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: they mifs the way; and many, becaufe they leave it by choice, and, inllead of preffing onward with a fteady pace, delight themfelves with momentary deviations, turn afide to pluck every flower, and repofe in every fhade. There is nothing more fatal to a man whofe bufinefs is to think, than to have learned the art of regaling his mind with thofe airy gratifications. Other vices or follies are reftrained by fear, reformed by admonition, or rejected by the con- viction which the comparifon of our own con- duet with that of others, may in time produce. But this invifible riot of the mind, this fecret prodigality of being, is fecure from detection, and fearlefs of reproach. The dreamer retires to his apartments, fhuts out the cares and interruptions of mankind, and abandons himfelf to his own fancy j new worlds rife up before him, one image is lucceeded by another, and a long fucceffion of delights dances round him. He is at laf t called back to life by nature, or by cuftom; and enters pee- vifli into fociety, becaufe he cannot model it to his own will. He returns from his idle excurfions with the peevifhnefs, though not with the knowledge, of a ftudent; and haftens again to the fame felicity, with the eagernefs of a man bent upon the advancement of fome favourite fcience. The infatuation ftrengthens by degrees; and, like the poi- Jon of opiates, weakens his powers, without any external fymptoms of malignity. It happens indeed, that thefe hypocrites of learning are in time detected, and convinced, by difgr.ce and difappointment, of the difference between the La labour chapter{Section 4labour of thought, and the fport of mufing. But this difcovery is often not made til! it is too late to recover the time that has been fooled away. A thoufand accidents may indeed awaken thefc ...