WE had not yet dismiss’d the Waterman, when Eugenius chancing to express a Curiosity, to know what a Clock it was, when we had freshly begun to Angle at our new Station; as Lindamor and the rest drew their VVatches to satisfie his Question, so the Boat-man took out of his Pocket a little Sun-Dyal, furnished with an excited Needle to direct how to Set it, such Dyals being used among Mariners, not only to show them the hour of the Day, but to inform them from what quarter the VVind blows; upon the sight of this Dyal, my natural Curiosity invited me, after it had told me the hour, to try whether the Magnetick Needle were well touched, by drawing a little Penknife out of a pair of Twises I then chanc’d to have about me, and approaching it to the North point of the Needle, which according to the known custom of such Needles, readily followed it, or rested over against it, which way soever I turned the Penknife, or whereabout soever I held it still; Eusebius seeing me give my self this Diversion, came up to me to be a sharer in my sight, which no Familiarity can keep from being a VVonder: But after a while, he look’d upon it in a way that made me think it presented him somewhat else than the hour of the Day, or the corner of the VVind; and I was confirm’d in that thought, by seeing him apply to it the case of Lindamor’s VVatch, and then a Diamond-ring pluck’d from his own Finger, and in effect, he soon began to tell me; Me-thinks, Philaretus, this Needle may afford us a good direction in the choice of Companies: And that is a matter of such moment, that some Divines perhaps would question, whether or no the direction it gives Navigators to find the Poles, be of much greater Importance: For not only it has been truly observed, that the choice of ones Company does exceedingly discover whether a Man be Good, or Bad, VVise, or Foolish; but I shall venture to add, that it does very much contribute to make him what others say it declares him: For an assiduous Converse does insensibly dispose and fashion our Minds and Manners to a resemblance with those we delight to converse with, and there are few that have so much Resolution, as to disobey Customs and Fashions, especially when embraced by Persons that we love, and would be esteemed by, and from whose Opinions and Practices we can scarce dissent constantly without impressing a Dislike, that threatens to make them dislike us. For my part, (says Lindamor) I have always thought there is great difference betwixt keeping Company with some Men, and choosing to do so; For whilst we Live in this VVorld, we must often have to do with the Lovers of the VVorld: But though to be cast by the Exigencies of our Callings upon bad Company, be an Infelicity without being a Fault, yet certainly, to choose such Company, and prefer it before that of wise and good Men, is in a high Degree both the one and the other. And I confess, (continues he) I cannot think, that the proper use of Conversation is but to pass away our time, not to improve it.
You are certainly much in the right, (subjoyns Eusebius) for though too many of those that are now cried up for good Company, do either so disswade us from good and serious things, or so divert us from them, that ‘tis oftentimes counted a piece of Indiscretion to say any thing that may either inrich Men’s Understandings, or awaken their Consciences; yet I cannot but think, that Conversation may be, as well as ought to be, rescued from being an Instrument to promote Idleness and Vice; and, if Men were not wanting to themselves, I doubt not, it may be so ordered, that Conversation, which so often robs Men of their time, and so frequently of their Devotion, might be made a great Instrument of Piety, and Knowledge, and become no less Usefull than ‘tis wont to be Pleasant.
To make Companies (replies Lindamor) such as you think they may be, they must grow very different from what most commonly they are: For, not to speak of those loose and profane ones, where Virtue and Seriousness are openly derided, and any thing, how contrary soever to Piety, or right Reason, may be used, not only with tolleration, but applause, if Men can bring it out, I say not in Jest, (for they are seldome more in earnest) but neatly wrapt up in Raillery; even in those civiller sorts of Company, where Vice is not professedly maintained, you shall seldome, during a long stay, hear any thing that is really worth carrying away with you, or remembring when you are gone. And to Discourse of any thing that is Grave enough, either to exercise Men’s Intellects, or excite their Devotion, is counted a piece of Indiscretion, that is wont to be more carefully avoided than almost any thing that is really such; so, that even in such Companies, the Innocentest use that we are wont to make of our time, is, to lose it: And really, (continues Lindamor) when I consider how ensnaring the worser sort of Companies are, and how little, even those that do not openly defie Piety and Knowledge, are wont to cherish either of them; I begin to be reconciled to Hermites, who fly from such Conversations as are so apt to make Men either Vitious, or at least Idle into those Solitudes, where they are not like to be Tempted, either to renounce their Devotion, or to suppress it, to entertain idle Thoughts, or stifle good ones: Nor could I without much Scruple, as well as Impatience, allow my self to spend some part of my time in such kind of entertainments as many spend most of theirs in, were it not, that looking upon Civility as a Virtue, and Hospitality as in some cases a Duty, and upon both of them as things of good report, I can think those hours they make me spend, may be justly cast upon their account, and that the Ceremonious and Insignificant conversations whereto they oblige me, may be undergone upon some such account as that, on which serious Parents converse and oftentimes play with their Children; for, as though the things they do, are in themselves trivial, and useless, yet they may be justifiable Effects of a paternal care to still a Child, or keep him from harming himself; so the Duty of exercising of Civility makes me look upon as justifiable, though unpleasant, those Expressions of it, which, in themselves considered, I could not Reflect on without Indignation, and could not but think very much below any Man, whom Education has fitted for the exercise of Reason, or whom Religion has elevated to the hopes of Heaven.
But it may (says Eusebius) on the other side be represented, that since ‘tis scarce possible not to meet sometimes with Companies that are not of the best sort, we should look upon those Necessities, as calls of Providence, to improve those Opportunities for the advantage of them we are engaged to converse with; for Nature, as well as Christianity, teaches us, that we are not Born only for our selves, and therefore, as we ought often to converse with the best Men, to acquire Virtue and Knowledge, so we must sometimes converse with others, that we may impart them, and learn how much we are beholden to God’s Goodness, that has so much discriminated us from other Men; and though we do not find that our Conversation does immediately and visibly reform those we converse with, yet it will not presently follow, that it is altogether ineffectual on them: For, besides that the seeds of Virtue and Knowledge, as well as those of Plants, may long seem to lye dead, even in those Soils wherein they will afterwards Flourish and Fructifie, there may be at present a Good, though not a Conspicuous, Effect of your Discourse and Example. For when Men are hasting to Hell, he does them no small Service, that does so much as Retard their course, as Cordials, and other Medicines, may do good even to decrepid Old men, whom they cannot perfectly cure.
And trust me, Lindamor, ‘tis no such useless performance as you may think it, for a Man of known Piety and Parts, by conversing with the Children of this Generation, To dare to own Religion among those that dare to deride it; To keep alive and excite a witness for God and Good things in their Consciences; To let them see, and make them (at least inwardly) acknowledge, the Beauty of a pious, Industrious, and well-ordered course of Life; To convince them, that it is not for want of knowing the Vanities they dote on, that he despises them; To shew, that a Man, that denies himself their sinfull Jollities, can Live contented without them: And, (to dispatch) To manifest, by a real and visible Demonstration, that a virtuous and discreet Life is no unpracticable, no more than Melancholy thing, ev’n in Bad times, and among Bad men. And says, Eusebius, to me it seems very considerable, that our Saviour himself, the great Author of our Faith, and Exemplar of our Piety, did not choose an Anchorites, or a Monastique Life, but a sociable and an affable way of conversing with Mortals, not refusing Invitations, even from Publicans, or to Weddings, and by such winning Condescensions gained the Hearts, and thereby a Power to reform the Lives, of multitudes of those he vouchsaf’d to converse with.
Other considerations (pursues Eusebius) might be represented to the same purpose with these: But since I promised you something of Direction, I suppose you will expect I should tell you, not what I could say, but what I do think. I will tell you then in few words, that though I think it as well possible as fit for Men of radicated Virtue, and fine Parts, to make sometimes a good use of bad Company, especially when their lawfull occasions cast them into it; yet for others to be often engag’d in such Company, though it may be but an Infelicity, is a very great one; and to choose such Company, is, what is worse than an Unhappiness, a Fault: But generally speaking, I would distinguish three sorts of Companies; for there are some, that not only are unable to improve me, but are unwilling to be improved themselves; A second sort there is, that are as well ready to learn, as able to instruct: And there are others, that, though they are not Proficients enough to teach me things worth my Learning, are yet desirous to be taught by me, the little that I know, and they ignore. Now, as the Magnetick Needle we were looking on, and which affords us the Theam of this Discourse, if you should apply a Loadstone to it, would be most powerfully attracted by that, because it can receive fresh Virtue from it; and even, if you approach a piece of Steel to it, the Needle will, though not so studiously, apply it self to it, from which, though it receives no Magnetick virtue, it can impart some to it: But if you offer it the Silver case of your Watch, or the Gold that makes up your Ring, or the Diamonds that are set in it, none of all these, how Rich or Glittering soever, will at all move the Needle, which suffers them to stand by unregarded; So I shall with the most of Cheerfulness, and Application, seek the Company of those that are qualify’d, to impart to me the Virtue or the Knowledge they abound with: Nor shall I refuse to entertain a Society with those few, that being such small Proficients as to need to learn of me, are also forward to do so. But those that can neither teach me any thing that is Good, nor are disposed to let me teach it them, how great a shew soever they make, among those that make choice of their Companions by their Eyes; I may be cast-upon their Conversation, but shall very hardly choose it.
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