s, or a piece of cloth set on
the tenters, till it is quite spoiled and good for nothing. If he be an
orator that speaks _distincte et ornate_, though not _apte_, he delivers
his circumstances with the same mature deliberation that one that drinks
with a gusto swallows his wine, as if he were loth to part with it
sooner than he must of necessity; or a gamester that pulls the cards
that are dealt him one by one, to enjoy the pleasure more distinctly of
seeing what game he has in his hand. He takes so much pleasure to hear
himself speak, that he does not perceive with what uneasiness other men
endure him, though they express it ever so plainly; for he is so
diverted with his own entertainment of himself, that he is not at
leisure to take notice of any else. He is a siren to himself, and has no
way to escape shipwreck but by having his mouth stopped instead of his
ears. He plays with his tongue as a cat does with her tail, and is
transported with the delight he gives himself of his own making. He
understands no happiness like that of having an opportunity to show his
abilities in public, and will venture to break his neck to show the
activity of his eloquence; for the tongue is not only the worst part of
a bad servant, but of an ill master that does not know how to govern it;
for then it is like Guzman's wife, very headstrong and not sure of foot.

A DISPUTANT

Is a holder of arguments, and wagers too, when he cannot make them good.
He takes naturally to controversy, like fishes in India that are said to
have worms in their heads and swim always against the stream. The
greatest mastery of his art consists in turning and winding the state of
the question, by which means he can easily defeat whatsoever has been
said by his adversary, though excellently to the purpose, like a bowler
that knocks away the jack when he sees another man's bowl lie nearer to
it than his own. Another of his faculties is with a multitude of words
to render what he says so difficult to be recollected that his adversary
may not easily know what he means, and consequently not understand what
to answer, to which he secretly reserves an advantage to reply by
interpreting what he said before otherwise than he at first intended it,
according as he finds it serve his purpose to evade whatsoever shall be
objected. Next to this, to pretend not to understand, or misinterpret
what his antagonist says, though plain enough, only to divert him from
the purpos