We must propose nothing but what is honest.

station upon mere necessity, because they find there is no coming down from it but headlong? These men would do well to fortify themselves against ill consequences, by such virtues and meditations as may make them less solicitous for the future. The surest expedient in this case is to bound our desires, and to leave nothing to fortune which we may keep in our own power. Neither will this course wholly compose us, but it shews, at worst, the end of our troubles.

It is a main point to take care that we propose nothing but what is hopeful and honest. For it will be equally troublesome to us, either not to succeed, or to be ashamed of the success. Wherefore, let us be sure not to admit any ill designs into our heart, that we may lift up pure hands to Heaven, and ask nothing which another shall be the loser by. Let us pray for a good mind, which is a wish to no man's injury. I will remember always that I am a man, and then consider, that if I am happy, it will not last always; if unhappy, I may be other if I please. I will carry my life in my hand, and deliver it up readily, when it shall be called for. I will have a care of being a slave to myself, for it is a perpetual, a shameful, and the heaviest of all servitudes, and this may be done by moderate desires. I will say to myself,-"What is it that I labour, sweat, and solicit for, when it is but very little that I want, and it will not be long that I shall need any thing?" He that would make a trial of the firmness of his mind, let him set certain days apart for the practice of his virtues. Let him mortify himself with fasting, coarse clothes, and hard lodging, and then say to himself,-"Is this the thing now that I was afraid of?" In a state of security a

It is easier to give than to take advice.

man may thus prepare himself against hazards, and in plenty fortify himself against want. If you will have a man resolute when he comes to the push, train him up to it beforehand. The soldier does duty in peace, that he may be in breath when he comes to battle. How many great and wise men have made experiment of their moderation by a practice of abstinence, to the highest degree of hunger and thirst, and convinced themselves, that a man may fill his belly without being beholden to fortune, which never denies any of us wherewith to satisfy our necessities, though she be never so angry. It is as easy to suffer it always, as to try it once, and it is no more than thousands of servants and poor people do every day of their lives. He that would live happily, must neither trust to good fortune, nor submit to bad; he must stand upon his guard against all assaults; he must stick to himself, without any dependence upon other people. Where the mind is tinctured with philosophy, there is no place for grief, anxiety, or superfluous vexations. It is prepossessed with virtue, to the neglect of fortune, which brings us to a degree of security not to be disturbed. It is easier to give counsel than to take it; and a common thing for one choleric man to condemn another. We may be sometimes earnest in advising, but not violent or tedious. Few words with gentleness and efficacy are best; the misery is, that the wise do not need counsel, and fools will not take it. A good man, it is true, delights in it; and it is a mark of folly and ill-nature, to hate reproof. To a friend I would be always frank and plain, and rather fail in the success than be wanting in the matter of faith and trust. There are some precepts that serve in common, both to

We must learn to master our vices.

the rich and poor, but they are too general; as-" Cure your avarice, and the work is done." It is one thing not to desire money, and another thing not to understand how to use it. In the choice of the persons we have to do withal, we should see that they be worth our while; in the choice of our business we are to consult nature, and follow our inclinations. He that gives sober advice to a witty droll, must look to have every thing turned into ridicule. "As if you philosophers," says Marcellinus," did not love your whores, and your guts, as well as other people:" and then he tells you of such and such that were taken in the manner. We are all sick, I must confess, and it is not for sick men to play the physicians; but it is yet lawful for a man in an hospital to discourse of the common condition and distempers of the place. He that should pretend to teach a madman how to speak, walk, and behave himself, were he not the madder man of the two? He that directs the pilot, makes him move the helm, order the sails so or so, and make the best of a scant wind after this or that manner; and so should we do in our counsels. Do not tell me what a man should do in health, or poverty, but shew me the way to be either sound or rich. Teach me to master my vices; for it is to no purpose, so long as I am under their government, to tell me what I must do when I am clear of it. In case of an avarice a little eased, a luxury moderated, a temerity restrained, a sluggish humour quickened, precepts will then help us forward, and tutor us how to behave ourselves. It is the first, and the main tie of a soldier, his military oath, which is an engagement upon him both of religion and honour. In like manner, he that pretends to a happy life, must first

A good conscience the test of a good life.

lay a foundation of virtue, as a bond upon him, to live and die true to that cause. We do not find felicity in the veins of the earth, where we dig for gold; nor in the bottom of the sea, where we fish for pearl; but in a pure and untainted mind, which, if it were not holy, were not fit to entertain the deity. He that would be truly happy must think his own lot best, and so live with men, as considering that God sees him, and so speak to God, as if men heard him.

NO FELICITY LIKE PEACE OF CONSCIENCE.

A GOOD Conscience is the testimony of a good life, and the reward of it. This is it that fortifies the mind against fortune, when a man has gotten the mastery of his passions, placed his treasure and his security within himself, learned to be content with his condition, and

that death is no evil in itself, but only the end of man He that has dedicated his mind to virtue, and to the good of human society, whereof he is a member, has consummated all that is either profitable or necessary for him to know, or do, toward the establishment of his peace. Every man has a judge and a witness within himself, of all the good and ill that he does, which inspires us with great thoughts, and administers to us wholesome counsels. We have a veneration for all the works of nature, the heads of rivers, and the springs of medicinal waters; the horrors of groves and of caves strike us with an impression of religion and worship. To see a man fearless in dangers, untainted with lusts, happy in adversity, composed in a tumult, and laughing at all those things which are generally either

A good conscience the greatest blessing in nature.

coveted or feared, all men must acknowledge, that this can be nothing else but a beam of divinity that influences a mortal body. And this is it that carries us to the disquisition of things divine and human; what the state of the world was before the distribution of the first matter into parts; what power it was that drew order out of that confusion, and gave laws both to the whole and every particle thereof; what that space is beyond the world, and whence proceed the several operations of nature. Shall any man see the glory and order of the universe, so many scattered parts and qualities wrought into one mass, such a medley of things, which are yet distinguished; the world enlightened, and the disorders of it so wonderfully regulated, and shall he not consider the author and disposer of all this, and whither we ourselves shall go, when our souls shall be delivered from the slavery of our flesh? The whole creation we see, conforms to the dictates of Providence, and follows God, both as a governor and as a guide. A great, a good, and a right mind, is a kind of divinity lodged in flesh, and may be the blessing of a slave, as well as of a prince; it came from heaven, and to heaven it must return; and it is a kind of heavenly felicity, which a pure and virtuous mind enjoys, in some degree, even upon earth: whereas temples of honour are but empty names, which probably owe their beginning either to ambition or to violence. I am strangely transported with the thoughts of eternity, nay, with the belief of it, for I have a profound veneration for the opinions of great men, especially when they promise things so much to my satisfaction-for they do pro