This
happens not till they have spent too much of their time to apply to any
profession which might better fit their talents, and till such talents
as they have are so far discredited as to be but of small service to
them. For (what is the hardest case imaginable) the reputation of a man
generally depends upon the first steps he makes in the world; and people
will establish their opinion of us from what we do at that season when
we have least judgment to direct us.
On the other hand, a good poet no sooner communicates his works with the
same desire of information, but it is imagined he is a vain young
creature given up to the ambition of fame; when perhaps the poor man is
all the while trembling with the fear of being ridiculous. If he is made
to hope he may please the world, he falls under very unlucky
circumstances: for, from the moment he prints, he must expect to hear no
more truth than if he were a prince, or a beauty. If he has not very
good sense (and indeed there are twenty men of wit for one man of
sense), his living thus in a course of flattery may put him in no small
danger of becoming a coxcomb: if he has, he will consequently have so
much diffidence as not to reap any great satisfaction from his praise;
since, if it be given to his face, it can scarce be distinguished from
flattery, and if in his absence, it is hard to be certain of it.
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