Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: INTRODUCCION. bHAT I may begin with the fame brevity folio 3. that I purpofe to go on with, I fhall onely obferv here by way of introduction that there are two forts or claffes of men who I am to be underftood to fpeak of under the denomination of gentlemen: 1. The born Gentleman, 2. The bred Gentleman. The complete gentleman I am to fpeak of will take them in both; and neither of them, fmgly and ab- ftraftedly confidred, will (land alone in the clafs of a compleat gentleman without fome thing that may be faid to comprehend both. The born gentleman is a valuable man if bred up as a gentleman ought to be, that is, educated in learning and manners fuitable to his birth. This I mud infift on as a preliminary, that I may not be cenfur'd and condemn'd unread, and bring upon me a clamour from the numerous party of old women (whether male or female), idolaters who worfhip efcutcheons and trophyes, and rate men and families by the blazonry oftheir houfes, exclufiv of learning or virtue, and of all perfonall merit. On the other hand, the fon of a mean perfon furnifh'd from Heaven with an originall fund of wealth, wit, fence, courage, virtue, and good humour, and fet apart by a liberall education for the fervice of his country; that diftinguifhes himfelf by the greateft and beft actions; is made acceptable and agreeable to all men by a life of glory and true fame; that hath the naturall beauties of his mind embellifh'd and fet off with a vaft fund of learning and accquir'd knowleg; that has a clear head, a generous heart, a polite behaviour and, in a word, fhevvs himfelf to be an accomplifh'd gentleman in every requifite article, that of birth and blood excepted: I muft be allowd to admit fuch a perfon into the rank of a gentleman, and to fugged that he bein...