Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 16.djvu/63

Rh the stories of many succeeding kings; which makes me hope I shall not be altogether blamed for sometimes disappointing the reader in a point wherein I could wish to be the most exact.

As to his person, he is described to be of middle stature; his body strong-set and fleshy; his hair black; his eyes large; his countenance amiable, and very pleasant, especially when he was merry. He was temperate in meat and drink, and a hater of effeminacy; a vice or folly much complained of in his time, especially that circumstance of long artificial hair, which he forbad upon severe penalties. His three principal virtues were prudence, valour, and eloquence. These were counterbalanced by three great vices; avarice, cruelty, and lust; of which the first is proved by the frequency of his taxes; the second, by his treatment of duke Robert; and the last, was notorious. But the proof of his virtues does not depend on single instances, manifesting themselves through the whole course of a long reign, which was hardly attended by any misfortune that prudence, justice, or valour could prevent. He came to the crown at a ripe age, when he had passed thirty years; having learned, in his private life, to struggle with hardships, whereof he had his share, from the capriciousness and injustice of both his brothers; and by observing their failures, he had learned to avoid them in himself; being steady and uniform in his whole conduct, which were qualities they both seemed chiefly to want. This likewise made him so very tenacious as he was observed to be in his love and hatred. He was a strict observer of justice, which he seems never to have violated, but in that particular case, which political casuists are pleased to dispense with, where Rh