ing to their Standing, and the Date of their Commence

ment.

But this to me appears no fatisfactory Way of deciding a Point of fuch Importance. And to fpeak freely, it is but drawing a Skin over a Wound, and giving it a Face of Soundness, when there lies Filth and Purulence within, which will another Time break out with more Pain and greater Danger.

The Time is approaching, when it will be proper once more to bring this Affair upon the Carpet; and I am humbly of Opinion, that the Point is of fuch ConSequence, that it ought not to fubfide, as it has done of late; it fhould neither reft upon that flight Baffle it receiv'd at its firft Appearance in Publick, nor be hush'd up in Silence, under the Pretence of any private Accommodation, which the Parties concern'd have fince come to, for the Sake of Civility and good Manners in Company.

I am one of those who love Peace upon a good Foun dation, and do, for that Reafon, no lefs admire Truth, upon which alone a lafting Peace can be founded. And as I am qualify'd to introduce this Matter at the next Meeting of our Univerfity, and fully determin'd to do fo, I thought it reafonable to give this friendly Notice to all Parties, that they ftudy the Point, and make themfelves Masters of it, and give it fo thorough a Canvaf fing in what Manner they think fit, as to leave no room for Exception and Wrangling when the Question comes to be folemnly debated in that Affembly.

But, before I come to the Merits of the Caufe itself, you must give me Leave to make one Obfervation in the Way, concerning the Importance of Precedence in general, which may prove of fingular Ufe to Mankind, who are for the most part unappris'd of it.

As I remember, there fell a very rash Expreffion from a certain Gentleman (with whom it is not usual to be fo unguarded) who appear'd an Advocate for Phyficians, when the Motion was first made to thrust them

from

from their Place. He was pleased to call it a Womanish Debate, If I took him right; but, as much a Friend as I am to his Perfon and Caufe, I will not follow him in that Opinion, and will farther fay, the Expreffion was mean, and beneath the Dignity of his Character. There is an unkind Reflection couch'd in it upon a Sex, by which much of the Decencies of Life and little Morals are fupported: And it does not agree with that Taste of Gallantry which he is thought to have, and is very confiftent with his Profeffion; and is even ungrateful in a Man of that Faculty, which is more in Favour with the Ladies, than any other except Divinity.

But not to infift upon this, I can't think, as that Expreffion implies, that the Matter is at all beneath the Confideration of the greatest and most learned of Men: On the contrary, I think the Question was well mov'd; and fince it has been moved, every one fhould endeavour to find on which Side of the Argument the Advantage lies; and I wonder that in this Interval of Parliament and Bufinefs (the ufual Vacation of this Kingdom) fomething has not been offer'd before this Time for the quieting Mens Minds. It is a Difference amongst his Majefty's Subjects, which it becomes every healing Spirit to compofe, and is a Duty both of Religion and Loyalty.

I would afk, Is Precedence, or Distinction of Place of no Moment amongst Men? Are Women only concern'd in it? Does Society owe Nothing of Conveniency to it? Is it indifferent, whether a Man fits at a Lady's Elbow or her pert Chaplain's? near a Soop at the Head of the Table, or Beef at the Bottom? Is there no Advantage in the first Plate, or the earliest Compliment of the Glafs, or the refpect of Waiters, or in ruling the Books at a Quarter-Seffions, and being honoured with the Cushion in the Face of one's Country? Is it of no Confequence to be in the Eye of the Government, and does not Precedence contribute to that at a Tholfel Entertainment? What are Academical Degrees fo dearly purchas'd

for,

for, but PLACE; and can a Profeffor answer it to his Truft or Intereft to difparage Precedence? For what other Reafon in Nature, but Precedence, did a great Man of my Acquaintance, lately become a double GrandCompounder for his Degree, and another undeceive Mankind, or rather deceive Women, and suffer himself to be pronounc'd a venerable Man in fpite of his youthful Looks? Shall not the folemn Doctor------in his Chariot take Place of plain Mr: in his, and have the, Heels of him in Preferment, according to the Start he has in Precedence.

Give me Leave to fay, that the Notion of the Infignificancy of Place has been of infinite Prejudice to many worthy Men, and of as great Advantage to others, who have jufter Thoughts of it. While Dignity finks with its own Weight, the Scum of Mankind will naturally rife above it.

I have a pious Concern upon me for all the important Miftakes of Mankind, and this among the reft; as to which, I have obferved a frong Prejudice runs counter to the Nature of Things and the Principles of Truth and Reafon. Sure I am, Nature directs every Perfon and Thing to maintain its Situation, or rather not fo much to keep its own Place, as to afpire and difplace others. And the Reason is plain, because that is a Tendency to the uppermost Point, and an Approach to Perfection; and therefore contrary to common Opinions, I have ever thought there is Picty in Pride and Ambition, and that it is a Virtue to be æmulous and afpiring. And when I hear, as in my Time I have many, conceited Declamations against Pride, I fufpect it is with the Defign of a Monopoly, and to engross it; as I have known an ingenious School-Boy fpit in his Mefs of Porridge, not to abuse the good Creature but to fecure it all to himfelf. What is that Dominion fo early given to Mankind, but Superiority of Power and Place, and then to act up to it, is not Womanish, but Manly. And if that was a

Precept,

Precept, I will take upon me to fay, there is not one Point of Duty fo univerfally and exactly obferved.

And Society has fo great Confideration of Place, that we find wife Provifions made for the regulating of it, and for fettling the due Pre-eminence of all Degrees of Men, and an Office of Heraldry for that Purpose, which may be found in almoft every Houfe of Quality. I could go farther than this, but for this Reafon, that it is out of my Way, and none of my Bufinefs, to determine the Force of great Examples, and make Conclufions upon Scripture; and perhaps my Friend's beft Apology is, that the Bible is out of the Road of his Profeffion and Study; but I will fay thus much, that as I have obferv'd Divines to be fo far fcriptural in their Carriage, as to take the right Hand of Fellowship on all Occafions, and carry their Difputes about Place as high as any other fort of Men, fo their Practice (fuch is my Deference) is to me the best Glofs upon Duty, and my Conviction, and fhould be bis. And this plainly determines the Point against him, and fhews the Importance of Precedence; and then it will follow in Logick, that if taking Place be matter of Moment, to dispute about Place is not Womanish or trivial.

And this allow'd, I am inclin'd to believe, that upon this religious Principle all our late Promotions of Nobility have proceeded, and that fo many Gentlemen have procur❜d themselves Titles, not as fome have injuriously thought, that they might take Place of their Betters, but out of a Senfe of Duty; and while fome (alas! too many) ignorantly defpife them for their worthlefs Ambition, I regard them with another Eye, and honour them for their Piety, and Courage, and Confcience, and even Condefcention in being made Great; and do from my Heart pity fuch as cannot be greater, without being lefs. Indeed the Roll of our Nobility is at prefent very voluminous, but no matter for that. If there were more of them, fuch is the Ductility of my Refpects, I could, with a smaller Quantity of Efteem, do

Honour

Honour to them all. I make the fame Account of Nobility of all Dates, as I do of Books: I value the Old as usually more exact, and genuine, and useful, tho commonly unletter'd, and often loofe in the Bindings; and I value the New becaufe---- ---but the Notion is obvious, and I leave my Reader to purfue it. I was led into this Comparifon from the Curiofa Felicitas of thofe, whofe Way it is to paste their Arms and Titles of Honour on the Reverse of Title Pages, which fhews the Affinity of the two. My Love to the Nobility has made me fometimes feriously lament the great Damp must have fallen on Honour and laudable Ambition, had the Peerage Bill fucceeded in England; but I had this Confolation, that had the Sluice been fhut there, the Flood of Honour had rifen the higher here, and over-flow'd this my native Kingdom.

I could here, according to Cuftom, produce, in favour of this uncommon Pofition, many bright Authorities, and have now before me above a Score of Quotations, gather'd with infinite Labour from St. Chryfoftom, by his Index; but, to the Difcouragment of my Learning, the Greek Types are not ready, and will not be fet till the Twentieth of next Month, when the following Editions of this Work fhall be enrich'd with learned Languages, in great Variety. The Author of a late State-Sermon fhould have waited, as I do, rather than fuffer his Learning to look a Squint as it does, and make fo frightful a Figure from the Prefs. I am Master of the Stochastick Art, and by Virtue of that I divine, that thofe Greek Words in that Difcourfe have crept from the Margin into the Text, otherwife than the Author intended; and indeed some of those Greek Maggots are fo uneafy in and afham'd of their Place, that they feem to be upon the Crawl backwards.

I hope what has been offer'd will clear this Cafe of Confcience, and is fufficient to fhew any Man of Candor, and who loves and fearches after Truth as I do, the Importance of Place and Precedency amongst Men, that

the