gain of time as to iterate often the state of the question; for it chaseth away many a frivolous speech as it is coming forth. Long and curious speeches are as fit for dispatch as a robe or mantle with a long train is for a race. Prefaces, and passages,' and excusations, and other speeches of reference to the person, are great wastes of time; and though they seem to proceed of 3 modesty, they are bravery. Yet beware of being too material when there is any impediment or obstruction in men's wills; for pre-occupation of mind ever requireth preface of speech, like a fomentation to make the unguent enter.

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5

Above all things, order and distribution, and singling out of parts, is the life of dispatch, so as the distribution be not too subtle ; for he that doth not divide will never enter well into business, and he that divideth too much will never come out of it clearly. To chuse time is to save time; and an unseasonable motion is but beating the air. There be three parts of business-the preparation, the debate, or examination, and the perfection, whereof, if you look for dispatch, let the middle only be the work of many, and the first and last the work of few. The proceeding upon somewhat conceived in writing doth for the most part facilitate dispatch; for though it should be wholly rejected, yet that negative is more pregnant of direction than an indefinite, as ashes are more generative than dust.

1 Passages. Introductory approaches.

2 Excusations.

Brown.

' And with his pointed dart

Explores the nearest passage to her heart.'

Excuses; apologies. The punishment of his excusations.'—

3 Of. From. I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you.'-1 Cor. xi. 23. 'A blow whose violence grew not of fury, not of strength; or of strength proceeding of fury.'-Sidney.

4 Bravery. Boasting. For a bravery upon this occasion of power they crowned their new king in Dublin.'-Bacon.

5 Material. Full of matter.

"A material fool.'-Shakespere.

His speech even charmed his cares,

So order'd, so material.'-Chapman's version of the 24th Iliad.

ANNOTATIONS.

'To chuse time is to

'Time is the measure of business.' save time, and unseasonable motion is but beating the air?'

Some persons are what is called 'slow and sure;' sure, that is, in cases that will admit of leisurely deliberation; though they require so much time for forming a right judgment, and devising right plans, that in cases where promptitude is called for, they utterly fail. Buonaparte used to say, that one of the principal requisites for a general, was, an accurate calculation of time; for if your adversary can bring a powerful force to attack a certain post ten minutes sooner than you can bring up a sufficient supporting force, you are beaten, even though all the rest of your plans be never so good.

So also, if you are overtaken by an inundation, ten minutes spent in deciding on the best road for escaping, may make escape impossible.

Some again, are admirable at a bright thought—a shrewd guess-an ingenious scheme hit off on the spur of the moment, but, either will not give themselves time for quiet deliberation in cases where there is no hurry, or cannot deliberate to good purpose. They can shoot flying, but cannot take deliberate aim.

And some again there are who delay and deliberate, when promptitude is essential, and make up for this by taking a hasty step when they have plenty of time before them; or they are bold first, and prudent afterwards; first administering the strong dose, and then, when the step cannot be re-called, carefully examining the patient's tongue and pulse.

It is worth remarking, that many persons are of such a disposition as to be nearly incapable of remaining in doubt on any point that is not wholly uninteresting to them. They speedily make up their minds on each question, and come to some conclusion, whether there are any good grounds for it or not. And judging-as men are apt to do, in all matters-of others, from themselves, they usually discredit the most solemn assurances of any one who professes to be in a state of doubt on some question; taking for granted that if you do not adopt their opinion, you must be of the opposite.

Others again there are, who are capable of remaining in doubt as long as the reasons on each side seem exactly balanced; but not otherwise. Such a person, as soon as he perceives any -the smallest-preponderance of probability on one side of a question, can no more refrain from deciding immediately, and with full conviction, on that side, than he could continue to stand, after having lost his equilibrium, in a slanting position, like the famous tower at Pisa. And he will, accordingly, be disposed to consider an acknowledgment that there are somewhat the stronger reasons on one side, as equivalent to a confident decision.

The tendency to such an error is the greater, from the circumstance, that there are so many cases, in practice, wherein it is essentially necessary to come to a practical decision, even where there are no sufficient grounds for feeling fully convinced that it is the right one. A traveller may be in doubt, and may have no means of deciding, with just confidence, which of two roads he ought to take; while yet he must, at a venture, take one of them. And the like happens in numberless transactions of ordinary life, in which we are obliged practically to make up our minds at once to take one course or another, even where there are no sufficient grounds for a full conviction of the understanding.

The infirmities above mentioned are those of ordinary minds. A smaller number of persons, among whom, however, are to be found a larger proportion of the intelligent, are prone to the opposite extreme; that of not deciding, as long as there are reasons to be found on both sides, even though there may be a clear and strong preponderance on the one, and even though the case may be such as to call for a practical decision. As the one description of men rush hastily to a conclusion, and trouble themselves little about premises, so, the other carefully examine premises, and care too little for conclusions. The one decide without inquiring, the other inquire without deciding.

'Beware of being too material.'

On this point I take the liberty of quoting a passage from the Elements of Rhetoric:

'It is remarked by anatomists that the nutritive quality is

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not the only requisite in food,-that a certain degree of distension of the stomach is required to enable it to act with its full powers, and that it is for this reason hay or straw must be given to horses as well as corn, in order to supply the necessary bulk. Something analogous to this takes place with respect to the generality of minds,-which are incapable of thoroughly digesting and assimilating what is presented to them in a very small compass. Many a one is capable of deriving that instruction from a moderate-sized volume, which he could not receive from a very small pamphlet, even more perspicuously written, and containing everything that is to the purpose. It is necessary that the attention should be detained for a certain time on the subject; and persons of unphilosophical mind, though they can attend to what they read or hear, are unapt to dwell upon it in the way of subsequent meditation.'

'True dispatch is a rich thing?'

Such a

It is a rare and admirable thing when a man is able both to discern which cases admit, and which not, of calm deliberation; and also to be able to meet both in a suitable manner. character is most graphically described by Thucydides in his account of Themistocles; who, according to him, was second to none in forming his plans on cautious inquiry and calm reflection, when circumstances allowed him, and yet excelled most men in hitting off some device to meet some sudden emergency: [αυτοσχεδιάζειν τα δέοντα.]

If you cannot find a counsellor who combines these two kinds of qualification (which is a thing not to be calculated on), you should seek for some of each sort; one, to devise and mature measures that will admit of delay; and another, to make prompt guesses, and suggest sudden expedients. A bow, such as is approved by our modern toxophilites, must be backed-that is, made of two slips of wood glued together: one a very elastic, but somewhat brittle wood; the other much less elastic, but very tough. The one gives the requisite spring, the other keeps it from breaking. If you have two such counsellors as are here spoken of, you are provided with a backed bow.

And if you yourself are of one of the two above-mentioned characters the slow-hound or the grey-hound—you should

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especially provide yourself with an adviser of the opposite class : one to give you warning of dangers and obstacles, and to caution you against precipitate decisions, if that be your tendency; or one to make guesses, and suggest expedients, if you are one of the slow and sure.

Those who are clever [in the proper sense-i.e. quick] are apt to be so proud of it as to disdain taking time for cautious inquiry and deliberation; and those of the opposite class are perhaps no less likely to pride themselves on their cautious wisdom. But these latter will often, in practice, obtain this advantage over those they are opposed to-that they will defeat them without direct opposition, by merely asking for postponement and reconsideration, in cases where (as Bacon expresses it) 'not to decide, is to decide.' If you defer sowing a field till the seedtime is past, you have decided against sowing it. If you carry the motion that a Bill be read a second time this day six months, you have thrown it out.