Virtue can never be suppressed.

tue, whose seat is upon the top of it. He that masters avarice, and is truly good, stands firm against ambition, he looks upon his last hour, not as a punishment, but as the equity of a common fate; he that subdues his carnal lusts, shall easily keep himself untainted with any other: so that reason does not encounter this or that vice by itself, but beats down all at a blow. What does he care for ignominy, that only values himself upon conscience and not opinion? Socrates looked a scandalous death in the face with the same constancy that he had before practised towards the thirty tyrants: his virtue consecrated the very dungeon: as Cato's repulse was Cato's honour, and the reproach of the government. He that is wise, will take delight even in an ill opinion that is well gotten; it is ostentation, not virtue, when a man will have his good deeds published; and, it is not enough to be just, where there is honour to be gotten, but to continue so, in defiance of infamy and danger.

But virtue cannot lie hid, for the time will come that shall raise it again (even after it is buried), and deliver it from the malignity of the age that oppressed it. Immortal glory is the shadow of it, and keeps it company, whether we will or no; but sometimes the shadow goes before the substance, and other whiles it follows it, and the later it comes, the larger it is, when envy itself

Some virtues require the reins, others the spur.

shall have given way to it. It was a long time that Democritus was taken for a madman, and before Socrates had any esteem in the world. How long was it before Cato could be understood? nay, he was affronted, contemned and rejected, and people never knew the value of him until they had lost him. The integrity and courage of mad Rutilius had been forgotten, but for his sufferings. I speak of those that fortune has made famous for their persecutions: and there are others also that the world never took notice of until they were dead; as Epicurus and Metrodorus, that were almost wholly unknown, even in the place where they lived. Now, as the body is to be kept in upon the down-hill, and forced upwards, so there are some virtues that require the rein, and others the spur. In liberality, temperance, gentleness of nature, we are to check ourselves, for fear of falling; but in patience, resolution, and perseverance, where we are to mount the hill, we stand in need of encouragement. Upon this division of the matter, I had rather steer the smoother course, than pass through the experiments of sweat and blood: I know it is my duty to be content in all conditions, but yet, if it were at my election, I would choose the fairest. When a man comes once to stand in need of fortune, his life is anxious, suspicious, timorous, dependent upon every moment, and in fear of all accidents. How can

A good man happy within himself.

suffer is ac

He that is

that man resign himself to God, or bear his lot, whatever it be, without murmuring, and chearfully submit to Providence, that shrinks at every motion of pleasure, or pain? It is virtue alone that raises us above griefs, hopes, fears, and chances, and makes us not only patient, but willing, as knowing that whatever we cording to the decree of heaven. overcome with pleasure (so contemptible and weak an enemy), what will become of him when he comes to grapple with dangers, necessities, torments, death, and the dissolution of nature itself? wealth, honour, and favour, may come upon a man by chance, nay, they may be cast upon him without so much as looking after them; but virtue is the work of industry and labour; and certainly it is worth the while to purchase that good which brings all others along with it. A good man is happy within himself, and independent upon fortune, kind to his friend, temperate to his enemy, religiously just, indefatigably laborious, and he discharges all duties with a constancy and congruity of actions.

PHILOSOPHY IS THE GUIDE OF LIFE.

Ir it be true, that the understanding and the will are the two eminent faculties of the reasonable soul, it follows necessarily, that wisdom and virtue (which are the best improvements of these

Philosophy---moral,

two faculties), must be the perfection also of our reasonable being, and, consequently, the undeniable foundation of a happy life. There is not any duty to which Providence has not annexed a blessing, nor any institution of heaven, which, even in this life, we may not be the better for; not any temptation, either of fortune, or appetite, that is not subject to our reason; nor any passion, or affliction, for which virtue has not provided a remedy. So that it is our own fault if we either hope for any thing; which two affections are the root of all our miseries. From this general prospect of the foundation of our tranquillity, we shall pass by degrees to a particular consideration of the means by which it may be procured, and of the impediments that obstruct it; beginning with that philosophy which principally regards our manners, and instructs us in the measures of a virtuous and quiet life.

Philosophy is divided into moral, natural, and rational. The first concerns our manners, the second searches the works of nature, and the third furnishes us with propriety of words and arguments, and the faculty of distinguishing, that we may not be imposed upon with tricks and fallacies. The causes of things fall under natural philosophy, 'arguments under rational, and actions under moral. Moral philosophy is again divided into matter of justice, which arises from the estimation

Natural, and rational.

of things and of men; and into affections and actions; and a failing in any one of these disorders all the rest. For what does it profit us to know the true value of things, if we be transported by our passions? or, to master our appetites, without understanding the when, the what, the how, and other circumstances of our proceedings? For it is one thing to know the rate and dignity of things, and another to know the little nicks and springs of acting. Natural philosophy is conversant about things corporeal and incorporeal, the disquisition of causes and effects, and the contemplation of the cause of causes. Rational philosophy is divided into logic and rhetoric; the one looks after words, sense, and order; the other treats barely of words, and the significations of them. Socrates places all philosophy in morals; and wisdom, in the distinguishing of good and evil. It is the art and law of life, and it teaches us what to do in all cases; and, like good marksmen, to hit the white at any distance. The force of it is incredible, for it gives us, in the weakness of a man, the security of a spirit: in sickness, it is as good as a remedy to us; for whatsoever eases the mind, is profitable also to the body. The physician may prescribe diet and exercise, and accommodate his rule and medicine to the disease, but it is philosophy that must bring us to a contempt of death, which is the remedy of all dis