The Politician.

“A politician should (as I have read)

Be furnish’d in the first place with a head.”

One of our old writers gives it as his opinion, that “there are onlie two subjects which are worthie the studie of a wise man,” i.e. religion and politics. For the first, it does not come under inquiry¹ in this print — but certain it is, that too sedulously² studying the second, has frequently involved its votaries³ in many most tedious and unprofitable disputes, and been the source of much evil to many well-meaning and honest men. Under this class comes the Quidnunc here pourtrayed; it is said to be intended for a Mr. Tibson, laceman, in the Strand⁴, who paid more attention to the affairs of Europe, than to those of his own shop. He is represented in a style somewhat similar to that in which Schalcken painted William the third — holding a candle in his right hand, and eagerly inspecting the Gazetteer⁵ of the day. Deeply interested in the intelligence it contains, concerning the flames that rage on the Continent, he is totally insensible of domestic danger, and regardless of a flame, which, ascending⁶ to his hat —

“Threatens destruction to his three-tail’d wig⁷.”

From the tie-wig, stockings, high-quartered shoes, and sword, I should suppose it was painted about the year 1730, when street robberies were so frequent in the metropolis⁸, that it was customary for men in trade to wear swords, not to preserve their religion and liberty from foreign invasion, but to defend their own pockets from “domestic collectors.”

The original sketch⁹ Hogarth presented to his friend Forrest; it was etched by Sherwin, and published in 1775.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 sedulously   

ad.孜孜不倦地

参考例句：

• In this view they were sedulously abetted by their mother, aunts and other elderly female relatives. 在这方面，他们得到了他们的母亲，婶婶以及其它年长的女亲戚们孜孜不倦的怂恿。
• The clerk laid the two sheets of paper alongside and sedulously compared their contents. 那职员把两张纸并排放在前面，仔细比较。

3 votaries   

n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女

参考例句：

4 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

5 gazetteer   

n.地名索引

参考例句：

• Any atlas,containing many pages of maps,normally includes an index,called a gazetteer.任何载有多幅地图的地图集，一般都附有一份地名索引。
• The entire "Geographia" is the first atlas and gazetteer.全部《地理学》可说是第一本地图集和地名辞典。

6 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

7 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

8 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

9 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。