I ragguagli di Parnasso, or, Advertisements from Parnassus in two centuries : with the politick touch-stone / written originally in Italian by that famous Roman Trajano Bocalini ; and now put into English by the Right Honourable Henry, Earl of Monmouth.

The LXXXIX. ADVERTISEMENT.

A Literato presents Apollo with an Oration made by him in praise of the present Age: Which is laid aside byish Majesty, as not grounded upon any truth.

SOme few daies since a famous Literato presented Apollo with an eloquent Oration composed by him in praise of the present age, wherein he clearly shewed how much of latter times goodness, godli∣ness, and all sorts of vertue are increased in the world, and concluded, that from such excellent beginnings, mankind might securely hope, that that happy. Golden Age so cry'd up by the Poets, was now very nigh at hand. This Literato and his Oration found but cold acceptance at Apollo's hands; and being asked whether he had so well considered the Age which he had so highly praised, as he ought to have done, and with what spectacles he had viewed and contemplated it, he answered, that he had not only viewed the Courts of a great many famous Princes, the most accurately that he could, but had travailed over the greatest part of Europe, in all which Courts and Countries he had diligently obser∣ved the lives of those who commanded in chief, and their fashions who obeyed, and that he had observed nothing in them which was not highly to be praised; and that then in passing his judgement upon all the particulars of the present Age, which appeared to him to deserve praise, he, not aiding himself by any spectacles, made only use of the eyes of his judgement, which he thought were not dim sighted.

Apollo reply'd, That surely he had written that his Oration in the dark, for that the true state of the present age, the true intimate intentions of those that govern in it, and the real meanings of those that live in it, could not be seen, no not by Linceus's eyes, unless a man did put the purest Politick Spectacles upon his nose, whereby he might see the truth of passions, which lay deeply hid in the breasts of modern men; who were so mysterious in all their proceedings, as their inward mea∣nings appeared least outwardly. Which being said, Apollo caused a pair of excellent spectacles to be given to that Literato, which were lately made in Tacitus his Forge, and bad him view the present age through them, and then tell him whether it appeared to be the same which he had so exalted in his Oration. The other obey'd, and after having well contemplated and considered the Age through those specta∣cles; Sir, said he, That which I now see wi•…•…h these spectacles, is not the age wherein we now live, but a world full of ostentation, and outward appearance, with very little substance of true vertue, where an infinite number of men are lined with feigned simplicity, clad with the false Alchumy of appearing goodness; but full fraught with cosenage, tricks, and plots, where nothing is more studied, then how to over-reach ones companion, and to hurl his neighbour into the hell of wicked en∣terprises, by false pretence of sanctified meanings. I see a world full of

Interest, in which I cannot discern charity, and candid love between the Father and the Son; and by these miraculous spectacles I plainly see, that the World is nothing but a large Shop, where all things un∣der the Moon are bought and sold; so as the true meaning of men that live therein, is meer gain, and how to heap up monies; and in fine, the world is so ugly, as it is hateful to me to keep these spectacles on my nose; for certainly mankind might be truely termed miserable, if our present age, which I have deservedly praised in my Oration, were in any the least degree like this which I behold. Truely, said Apollo, the world which you now have seen with these politickspectacles, is the ve∣ry same which you glory so much in having praised, where those who will pass their judgement without making use of these penetrating spe∣ctacles, are like those unfortunate wretches, who putting their hands in∣to a hole to find a Creafish, pluck out a Toad.