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giving him a long leeture on natural philofophy. After this is concluded, 
Dame Nature liltens to his complaints, and, to confole him, gives him a 
handfome woman, named Moderation, for a wife, and difmitfes him with 
a chapter of good counfels on the duties of married life. The general 
moral intended to be inculcated appears to be that the retirement of 
domeitic happinefs is to be preferred to the vain and heartlets turmoils of 
aotive life in all its phafes. It will be feen that the kind of allegory 
which fubfequently produced the " Pilgrim's Progrels," had already made 
its appearance in rnediaeval literature. 
Another of the celebrated fatiritts of the fcholaitic ages was named 
Alanus de Infnlis, or Alan of Lille, becaufe he is underltood to have been 
born at Lille in Flanders. He occupied the chair of theology for many 
years in the univertity of Paris with great dittinetion, and his learning was 
fo extenflve that he gained the name of doeior univerfalis, the univerfal 
doctor. In one of his books, which is an imitation of that favourite book 
in the middle ages "Boethius de Confolatione Philofophiae," Dame Nature, 
in the place of Philofophy--not, as in John de Hauteville, as the referee, 
but as the complainant-is introduced bitterly lamenting over the deep 
depravity of the thirteenth century, efpecially difplayed in the prevalence 
of vices of a revolting char-aoter. This work, which, like Boethius, coniifis 
of alternate chapters in verfe and profe, is entitled " De Planctu Naturae," 
the lamentation of nature. Iwill not, however, go on here to give a 
lift of the graver fatirical writers, but we will proceed to another clats of 
fatirilts which fprang up among the mediaeval fcholars, more remarkable 
and more peculiar in their charaeter-I mean peculiar to the middle ages. 
The fatires of the time {how us that the itudents in the univerfities 
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, who enjoyed a great amount 
of independence from authority, were generally wild and riotous, and, 
among the vatt number of youths who then devoted themfelves to a 
fcholallic life, we can have no doubt that the habit of diliipation became 
permanent. Among thefe wild ftudents there exified, probably, far more 
wit and fatirical talent than among their Pteadier and more laborious 
brethren, and this wit, and the manner in which it was difplayed, made 
its poH'e{Tors welcome guetts at the luxurious tables of the higher and 
Y richer