[two rules]
Is one, whoſe want of Money and want of
Wit have engaged him beyond his Abilities.
The little Knowledge he has of himſelf being
ſuitable to the little he has in his Profeſſion has
Made him believe himſelf fit for it. This double
Ignorance has made him ſet a Value upon him-
ſelf, as he that wants a great deal appears in a
better Condition, than he that wants a little.
This renders him confident, and fit for any
Undertaking, and ſometimes (ſuch is the con-
current Ignorance of the World) he proſpers
In it, but oftner miſcarries, and becomes ri-
diculous; yet this Advantage he has, that as
nothing can make him ſee his Error, ſo he is
fortified with his Ignorance, as barren and
rocky Places are by their Situation, and he will
rather believe that all Men want Judgment,
than himſelf. For as no Man is pleaſed, that
has an ill Opinion of himſelſ, Nature, that
finds out Remedies herſelf, and his own Eaſe
render him indefenſible of his Defects¬—From
hence he grows impudent; for as Men judge
by Compariſon, he knows as little what it is
To be defective, as what it is to be excellent.
Nothing renders Men modeſt, but a juſt Know-
ledge how to compare themſelves with others;
and where that is wanting, Impudence supplies
the Place of it: for there is no Vacuum in the
Minds of Men, and commonly, like other
Things in Nature, they ſwell more with Rare-
faction than Condenſation. The more Men
know of the World, the worſe Opinion they
have of it; and the more they underſtand of
Truth, they are better acquainted with the
Difficulties of it, and conſsequently are the leſs
confident in their Aſſertions, eſpecially in mat-
ters of Probability, which commonly is ſquint-
ey’d, and looks nine Ways at once. It is the
Office of a juſt Judge to hear both Parties, and
he that conſiders but the one Side of Things
can never make a juſt Judgment, though he
may by Chance a true one. Impudence is the
Baſtard of Ignorance, not only unlawfully,
but inceſtouſsly begotten by a Man upon his
own Underſtanding, and laid by himſelſ at
his own Door, a Monſter of unnatural Pro-
duction; for Shame is as much the Propriety
of human Nature (though overſeen by the
Philoſsophers) and perhaps more than Reaſon,
Laughing, or looking aſquint, by which they
diſtinguish Man from Beaſts; and the leſs
Men have of it, the nearer they approach to
the Nature of Brutes. Modeſty is but a noble
Jealouſy of Honour, and Impudence the Proſ-
titution of it; for he, whoſe Face is proof
againſt Infamy, muſt be as little ſenſible of
Glory. His Forehead, like a voluntary Cuck-
old’s is by his Horns made Proof againſt a
Bluſh. Nature made Man barefaced, and civil
Cuſtom has preſerved him ſo; but he that’s im-
pudent does wear a Vizard more ugly and de-
formed than Highway Thieves diſguiſe them-
ſelves with. Shame is the tender moral Con-
ſcience of good Men. When there is a Crack
In the Skull, Nature herſelf with a tough horny
Callus repairs the Breach; ſo a flaw’d Intellect is with a brawny Callus Face ſupplied. The
Face is the Dial of the Mind; and where they
Do not go together, ‘tis a Sign, that one or
Both are out of Order. He that is impudent
is like a Merchant, that trades upon his Cre-
dit without a Stock, and if his Debts were
known, would break immediately. The Inſide
of his Head is like the Outſide; and his Peruke
as naturally of his own Growth, as his Wit.
He paſſes in the World like a Piece of Counter-
feit Coin, looks well enough until he is rubbed
and worn with Uſe, and then his Copper Com-
plexion begins to appear, and nobody will take
Him, but by Owl-light.