o shame and disgrace; while the
latter is found to be full of generous sentiment, and Heaven itself
seems to interfere to give him fortune and fame. In short, the direct
tendency of the far greater part of these books, is, to cause young
people to despise all those virtues, without the practice of which they
must be a curse to their parents, a burden to the community, and must,
except by mere accident, lead wretched lives. I do not recollect one
romance nor one play, in our language, which has not this tendency. How
is it possible for young princes to read the historical plays of the
punning and smutty Shakspeare, and not think, that to be drunkards,
blackguards, the companions of debauchees and robbers, is the suitable
beginning of a glorious reign?

312. There is, too, another most abominable principle that runs through
them all, namely, that there is in _high birth_, something of _superior
nature_, instinctive courage, honour, and talent. Who can look at the
two _royal youths_ in CYMBELINE, or at the _noble youth_ in DOUGLAS,
without detesting the base parasites who wrote those plays? Here are
youths, brought up by _shepherds_, never told of their origin, believing
themselves the sons of these humble parents, but discovering, when grown
up, the highest notions of valour and honour, and thirsting for military
renown, even while tending their reputed fathers' flocks and herds! And,
why this species of falsehood? To cheat the mass of the people; to keep
them in abject subjection; to make them quietly submit to despotic sway.
And the infamous authors are guilty of the cheat, because they are, in
one shape or another, paid by oppressors out of means squeezed from the
people. A _true_ picture would give us just the reverse; would show us
that '_high birth_' is the enemy of virtue, of valour, and of talent;
would show us, that with all their incalculable advantages, royal and
noble families have, only by mere accident, produced a great man; that,
in general, they have been amongst the most effeminate, unprincipled,
cowardly, stupid, and, at the very least, amongst the most useless
persons, considered as individuals, and not in connexion with the
prerogatives and powers bestowed on them solely by the law.

313. It is impossible for me, by any words that I can use, to express,
to the extent of my thoughts, the danger of suffering young people to
form their opinions from the writings of poets and romances. Nine times
out of t