There are four good mothers, of whom are often born four unhappy daughters: truth begets hatred, prosperity pride, security danger, and familiarity contempt.

When a man draws himself into a narrow compass, Fortune has the least mark at him.

The soul is always busy; and if it be not exercised about serious affairs, will spend its activity upon trifles.

No man has a thorough taste of prosperity to whom adversity never happened.

The Dutch have a good proverb, "Thefts never enrich; alms never impoverish; prayers hinder no work."

There are none that fall so unpitied as those who have raised themselves upon the spoils of the public.

He that follows nature is never out of his way. Nature is sometimes subdued, but seldom extinguished.

Civility is a kind of charm that attracts the love of all men; and too much is better than to show too little.

He hath made a good progress in business that hath thought well of it beforehand. Some do first and think afterwards.

It is better to suffer without a cause than that there should be cause for our suffering.

It is difficult for a man to have sense, and be a knave; a true and solid genius conducts to order, truth, and virtue.

If a man cannot find ease within himself, it is to little purpose to seek it anywhere else.

The way to live easy is to mind our own business, and leave others to take care of theirs.

Do not return the temper of ill-natured people upon themselves, or treat them as they do the rest of mankind.

When people treat you ill, and show their spite, and slander you, enter into their little souls, go to the bottom of them, search their understandings, and you will soon see that nothing they may think or say of you need give you one troublesome thought.

If any man, with opprobrious language, charge you with crimes you know nothing of, you ought to inquire into the causes or reasons of such false accusations; whereby you may learn to take heed for the future, lest you should unwarily commit those offences which are unjustly imputed to you.

If any one speak evil of you, flee home to your own conscience, and examine your heart; if you be guilty,

it is a just correction; if not guilty, it is a fair instruction; make use of both; so shall you distil honey out of gall, and out of an open enemy make a secret friend.

It is sometimes a hard matter to be certain whether you have received ill usage or not; for men's actions oftentimes look worse than they are; and we must be thoroughly informed of a great many things before we can rightly judge.

It is not things, but men's opinions of things, that disturb them. Things do not touch the mind, but stand quietly without; the vexation comes from within, from our suspicions only.

Nothing can be a greater instance of wisdom and humanity than for a man to bear silently and quietly the follies and revilings of an enemy, taking as much care not to provoke him as he would to sail safely by a dangerous rock.

Let us carefully observe those good qualities wherein our enemies excel us, and endeavour to excel them by avoiding what is faulty and imitating what is excellent in them.

If any one can convince me that I am wrong in any point of sentiment or practice, I will alter it with all my heart; for it is truth I seek, and that can hurt

nobody. It is only persisting in error or ignorance

that can hurt us.

Remember that true fortitude surmounts all difficulties; and that you cannot pass into the temple of honour but through that of virtue.

We can make choice of our meats, why not of our words too? We can examine what goes into the mouths, and why not what comes out of them as well? For the latter is more dangerous in a family than the former in the stomach.

Learn not to judge too rashly of any one, either in respect to good or evil, for both are dangerous.

THE

SELF-KNOWLEDGE.

HE greatest punishment of an injury is the con

viction of having done it, and no man suffers more than he that is turned over to the pain of repentance.

Knowledge will soon become folly, when good sense ceases to be its guardian.

It is for young men to gather knowledge, and for old men to use it; and assure yourself that no man gives a fairer account of his time than he that makes it his daily study to make himself better.

It is not so very difficult for men to know themselves, if they took but the proper pains to inquire into themselves; but they are more solicitous to be thought what they should be, than really careful to be what they ought to be.