Richard Mead, the friend of
Bentley and of Newton, and a physician and physiologist of high repute
in his day); he had but just scratched him, and that scarce skin-deep.
As to the "droll foible" of Dr. Mead, which he had made merry with,
"it was not first reported (even to the few who can understand the
hint) by me, but known before by every chambermaid and footman within
the bills of mortality"--a somewhat daring assertion, one would
imagine, considering what the droll foible was; and Dr. Mead,
continues Sterne, great man as he was, had, after all, not fared worse
than "a man of twice his wisdom"--to wit Solomon, of whom the same
remark had been made, that "they were both great men, and, like all
mortal men, had each their ruling passion."
The mixture of banter and sound reasoning in this reply is, no doubt,
very skilful. But, unfortunately, neither the reasoning nor the
banter happens to meet the case of this particular defiance of the
"De mortuis" maxim, and as a serious defence against a serious charge
(which was what the occasion required) Sterne's answer is altogether
futile. For the plea of "the good of the living," upon which, after
all, the whole defence, considered seriously, rests, was quite
inapplicable as an excuse for the incriminated passage.
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69