ESSAYS, OR DISCOURSES, SELECTED FROM THE WORKS OF FEYJOO, AND TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH, BY JOHN BRETT, ESQ. VOLUME THE FIRST. LONDON, Printed for the TRANSLATOR: Sold by H. PAYNE, Pall-Mall; C. DILLY, in the Poultry; and T. EVANS, in the Strand. MDCCLXXX. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. Page 1 VIRTUE AND VICE. p. 27 EXALTED AND HUMBLE FORTUNE. p. 61 THE MOST REFINED POLICY. p. 107 THE MACHIAVELIANISM OF THE ANCIENTS. p. 161 AMBITION IN SOVEREIGNS. p. 221 THE VALUE OR SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE OF NOBILITY. WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE POWER OR INFLUENCE OF HIGH BLOOD. p. 257 THE SEMBLANCE OF VIRTUE; OR, VIRTUE IN APPEARANCE. p. 291 THE TRANSLATOR’s PREFACE. The Author of the following Discourses was a Spaniard, and a dignified clergyman of the Church of Rome, high in rank, and much respected as an ecclesiastic; but was not less esteemed for his candour and liberality of sentiment, than admired for his almost universal learning and extensive knowledge. The Translator has it not in his power to give so particular and satisfactory an account of this eminent man as he could wish; but the Reader will find in the Fourth Essay of the Second Volume, a summary one given of himself, in which he tells us where he was born, how he was educated, and where he passed the greatest part of his life; how he passed it, is pretty clear from his Writings, which manifest, that he must have employed a very large portion of it in study. When I first entered upon this undertaking, I had no thoughts of translating so many of the Author’s Essays as I was afterwards tempted to do; the subject matter of them, in which I found great pleasure, exciting me to proceed; and indeed, I was also flattered and encouraged to go on, by the expectation, that my labours in this respect, would afford agreeable amusement, and furnish useful instruction to many of my countrymen. After I had translated as many Essays, as I conjectured would make Four Volumes in Octavo, I thought it would be necessary to prefix to them, a more enlarged Preface, than that which appeared at the head of the first four; and as I have taken the liberty to omit some parts of those Essays which I have translated, I thought it would be right to say something, by way of assigning my reasons and motives for so doing; which are briefly these: That the parts left out, appeared to me, to be either confined, or applicable only to the affairs and prejudices of Spain; or else, that they were