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The best and noblest conquest is that of a man's own reason over his passions and follies.

Religion hath true lasting joys; weigh
all, and so

If any thing have more, or such, let
heaven go.

Whatever good thou dost, give God the
praise,

Who both the power and will first gave
to thee.

§ 152. Old Italian Proverbs.

He who serves God hath the best master in the world. Where God is, there nothing is wanting. No man is greater in truth than he is in God's esteem. He hath a good judgment who doth not rely on his own. Wealth is not his who gets it, but his who enjoys it. He who converses with nobody, is either a brute or an angel. Go not over the water where you cannot see the bottom. He who lives disorderly one year, doth not enjoy himself for five years after. Friendships are cheap, when they are to be bought with pulling off your hat. Speak well of your friend, of your enemy neither well nor ill. The friendship of a great man is a lion at the next door. The money you refuse will never do you good. A beggar's wallet is a mile to the bottom. I once had, is a poor man. There are a great many asses without long cars. An iron anvil should have a hammer of feathers. He keeps his road well enough who gets rid of bad company. You are in debt, and run in farther; if you are not a liar yet, you will be one. The best throw upon the dice is to throw them away. 'Tis horribly dangerous to sleep near the gates of hell. He who thinks to cheat another, cheats himself most. Giving is going a fishing. Too much prosperity makes most men fools. Dead men open the eyes of the living. No man's head aches while he comforts another. Bold and shameless men are masters of half the world. Every one hath enough to do to govern himself well. He who is an ass, and takes himself to be a stag, when he comes to leap the ditch finds his mistake. Praise doth a wise man good, but a fool harm. No sooner is the law made but an evasion of it is found out. He who gives fair words, feeds you with an empty spoon. Three things cost dear; the caresses of a dog, the love of a miss, and the invitation of an host. Hunger never fails of a good cook. A man is valued as he makes himself valuable. Three littles

make a rich man on a sudden; little wit, little shame, and little honesty. He who hath good health is a rich man, and doth not know it. Give a wise man a hint, and he will do the business well enough. A bad agreement is better than a good law-suit. The best watering is that which comes from heaven. When your neighbour's house is on fire, carry water to your own. Spare diet and no trouble keep a man in good health. He that will have no trouble in this world must not be born in it. The maid is such as she is bred, and tow as it is spun. He that would believe he hath a great many friends, must try but few of them. Love bemires young men, and drowns the old. Once in every ten years, every man needs his neighbour. Aristotle saith, When you can have any good thing take it; and Plato saith, if you do not take it, you are a great coxcomb. From an ass you can get nothing but kicks and stench. Either say nothing of the absent, or speak like a friend. One man forewarned (or apprised of a thing) is worth two. He is truly happy who can make others happy too. A fair woman without virtue is like palled wine. Tell a woman she is wondrous fair, and she will soon turn fool. Paint and patches give offence to the husband, hopes to her gallant. He that would be well spoken of himself, must not speak ill of others. Ile that doth the kindness hath the noblest pleasure of the two. Ile who doth a kindness to a good man, doth a greater to himself. A man's hat in his hand never did him harm. One cap or hat more or less, and one quire of paper in a year, cost but little, and will make you many friends. He who blames grandees endangers his head, and he who praises them must tell many a lie. A wise man goes not on board without due provision. Keep your mouth shut, and your eyes open. He who will stop every man's mouth must have a great deal of meal. Wise men have their mouth in their hearts, fools their hearts in their mouth. Shew not to all the bottom either of your purse or of your mind. I heard one say so, is half a lie. Lies have very short legs. One lie draws ten more after it. Ксер company with good men and you'll increase their number. He is a good man who is good for himself, but he is good indeed who is so for others too. When you meet with a virtuous man, draw his picture. He who keeps good men company may very well bear their charges,

He

He begins to grow bad who takes himself to be a good man. He is far from a good man who strives not to grow better. Keep good men company, and fall not out with the bad. He who throws away his estate with his hands, goes afterwards to pick it up on his feet. "Tis a bad house that hath not an old man in it. To crow well and scrape ill is the devil's trade. Be ready with your hat, but slow with your purse. A burthen which one chuses is not felt. The dearer such a thing is the better pennyworth for me. Suppers kill more than the greatest doctor ever cured. All the wit in the world is not in one head. Let us do what we can and ought, and let God do his pleasure. "Tis better to be condemned by the college of physicians than by one judge. Skill and assurance are an invincible couple. The, fool kneels to the distaff. Knowing is worth nothing, unless we do the good we know. A man is half known when you see him, when you hear him speak you know him all out. Write down the advice of him who loves you, though you like it not at present. Be slow to give advice, ready to do any service. Both anger and haste hinder good counsel. Give neither counsel nor salt till you are asked for it. The fool never thinks higher than the top of his house. A courtier is a slave in a golden chain. A little kitchen makes a large house. Have money, and you will find kindred enough. He that lends his money hath a double loss. Of money, wit, and virtue, believe one-fourth part of what you hear men say. Money is his servant who knows how to use it as he should, his master who doth not. 'Tis better to give one shilling than to lend twenty. Wise distrust is the parent of security. Mercy or goodness alone makes us like to God. So much only is mine, as I either use myself or give for God's sake. He who is about to speak evil of another, let him first well consider himself. Speak not of me unless you know me well; think of yourself ere aught of me you tell. One day of a wise man is worth the whole life of a fool. What you give shines still, what you eat smells ill next day. Asking costs no great matter. A woman that loves to be at the window is like a bunch of grapes in the highway. A woman and a glass are never out of danger. A woman and a cherry are painted for their own harm. The best furniture in the house is a virtuous wo

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second company, the third heresy. A doctor and a clown know more than a doctor alone. Hard upon hard never makes a good wall. The example of good men is visible philosophy. One ill example spoils many good laws. Every thing may be, except a ditch without a bank. He who throws a stone against God, it falls upon his own head. He who plays me one trick shall not play me a second. Do what you ought, and let what will come on it. By making a fault you may learn to do better. The first faults are theirs who commit them, all the following are his who doth not punish them. He who would be ill served, let him keep good store of servants. To do good still make no delay; for life and time slide fast away. away. A little time will serve to do ill. He who would have trouble in this life, let him get either a ship or a wife. He who will take no pains will never build a house three stories high. The best of the game is, to do one's business and talk little of it. The Italian is wise before he undertakes a thing, the German while he is doing it, and the Frenchman when it is over. In prosperity we need moderation, in adversity patience. Prosperous men sacrifice not, i. e. they forget God. Great prosperity and modesty seldom go together. Women, wine, and horses, are ware men are often deceived in. Give your friend a fig, and your enemy a peach. He who hath no children doth not know what love means. Ile who spins hath one shirt, he who spins not hath two. He who considers the end, restrains all evil inclinations. He who hath the longest sword is always thought to be in the right. There lies no appeal from the decision of fortune, Lucky men need no counsel. Three things only are well done in haste; flying from the plague, escaping quarrels, and catching fleas. 'Tis better it should be said, Here he ran away, than Here he was slain. The sword from heaven above falls not down in haste. The best thing in gaming is, that it be but little used. Play, women, and wine, make a man laugh till he dies of it. Play or gaming hath the devil at the bottom. The devil goes shares in gaming. He who doth not rise early never does a good day's work. He who hath good health is young, and he is rich who owes nothing. If young men had wit, and old men strength enough, every thing might be well done. He who will have no judge but himself, condemns himself. Learning is folly unless a good

judgment

judgment hath the management of it. Every man loves justice at another man's house; nobody cares for it at his own. He who keeps company with great men is the last at the table, and the first at any toil or danger. Every one hath his cricket in his head, and makes it sing as he pleases. In the conclusion, even sorrows with bread are good. When war begins, hell gates are set open. He that hath nothing knows nothing, and he that hath nothing is nobody. He who hath more hath more care, still desires more, and enjoys less. At a dangerous passage give the precedency. The sickness of the body may prove the health of the soul. Working in your calling is half praying. An ill book is the worst of thieves. The wise hand doth not all which the foolish tongue saith. Let not your tongue say what your head may pay for. The best armour is to keep out of gunshot. The good woman doth not say will you have this but gives it you. That is a good misfortune which comes alone. He who doth no ill hath nothing to fear. No ill befalls us but what may be for our good. He that would be master of his own must not be bound for another. Eat after your own fashion, clothe yourself as others do. A fat physician but a lean monk. Make yourself all honey and the flies will eat you up. Marry a wife, and buy a horse from your neighbour. He is master of the world who despiseth it; a slave who values it. This world is a cage of fools. He who hath most patience best enjoys the world. If veal (or mutton) could fly, no wild fowl could come near it. He is unhappy who wishes to die; but more so he who fears it. The more you think of dying, the better you will live. He who oft thinks on death provides for the next life. Nature, time, and patience, are the three great physicians. When the ship is sunk every man knows how she might have been saved. Poverty is the worst guard for chastity. Affairs like salt-fish ought to lie a good while a soaking. He who knows nothing is confident in every thing. He who lives as he should, has all that he needs. By doing nothing, men learn to do ill. The best revenge is to prevent the injury. Keep yourself from the occasion, and God will keep you from the sins it leads to. One eye of the master sees more than four eyes of his servant, He who doth the injury never forgives the injured man. Extravagant offers are a kind of denial. Vice is set off with the shadow or resemblance of virtue. The

shadow of a lord is an hat or cap for a fool. Large trees give more shade than fruit. True love and honour go always together. He who would please every body in all he doth, troubles himself and contents nobody. Happy is the man who doth all the good he talks of. That is best or finest which is most fit or seasonable. He is a good orator who prevails with himself. One pair of ears will drain dry an hundred tongues. A great deal of pride obscures, or blemishes, a thousand good qualities. He who hath gold hath fear, who hath none hath sorrow. An Arcadian ass, who is laden with gold, and eats but straw. The hare catched the lion in a net of gold. Obstinacy is the worst the most incurable of all sins. Lawyers' gowns are lined with the wilfulness of their clients. Idleness is the mother of vice, the stepmother to all virtues. He who is employed is tempted by one devil; he who is idle by an hundred. An idle man is a bolster for the devil. Idleness buries a man alive. He that makes a good war hath a good peace. He who troubles not himself with other men's business gets peace and ease thereby. Where peace is, there God is or dwells. The world without peace is the soldier's pay. Arms carry peace along with them. A little in peace and quiet is my heart's wish. He bears with others, and saith nothing who would live in peace. One father is sufficient to govern an hundred children, and an hundred children are not sufficient to govern one father. The master is the eye of the house. The first service a bad child doth his father, is to make him a fool; and the next is to make him mad. A rich country and a bad road. A good lawyer is a bad neigh bour. 1le who pays wellis master of every body's purse. Another man's bread costs very dear. Have you bread and wine? sing and be merry. If there is but little bread, keep it in your hand; if but a little wine drink often; if but a little bed, go to bed early and clap yourself down in the middle. "Tis good keeping his clothes who goes to swim. A man's own opinion is never in the wrong. Ile who speaks little, needs but half so much brains as another man. He who knows most commonly speaks least. Few men take bis advice who talks a great deal. He that is going to speak ill of another, let him consider himself well and he will hold his peace. Eating little, and speaking little, can never do a man hurt. A civil answer to a rude speech costs not much and is worth a great deal.

Speaking

Speaking without thinking, is shooting without taking aim. He doth not lose his labour who counts every word he, speaks. One mild word quenches more heat than a whole bucket of water. Use good words to put off your rotten apples. Give every man good words, but keep your purse-strings close. Fine words will not keep a cat from starving He that hath no patience, hath nothing at all. No patience, no true wisdom. Make one bargain with other men, but make four with yourself. There is no fool to a learned fool. The first degree of folly is to think one's self wise; the next to tell others so; the third to despise all counsel. If wise men play the fool, they do it with a vengeance. One fool in one house is enough in all conscience. He is not a thorough wise man who cannot play the fool on a just occasion. A wise man doth that at the first which a fool must do at the last. Men's years and their faults are always more than they are willing to own. Men's sins and their debts are more than they take them to be. Punishment though lame overtakes the sinner at the last. He considers ill, that considers not on both sides. Think much and often, speak little and write less. Consider well, Who you are, What you do, Whence you came, and Whither you are to go. Keep your thoughts to yourself, let your mien be free and open. Drink wine with pears, and water after figs. When the pear is ripe, it must fall of course. He that parts with what he ought, loses nothing by the shift. Forgive every man's faults except your own. To forgive injuries is a noble and God-like revenge. "Tis a mark of great proficiency, to bear easily the failings of other men. Fond love of a man's self shews that he doth not know himself. That which a man likes well is half done. He who is used to do kindnesses, always finds them when he stands in need. A wise lawyer never goes to law himself. A sluggard takes an hundred steps, because he would not take one in due time. When you are all agreed upon the time, quoth the curate, I will make it rain. I will do what I can, and a little less, that I may hold out the better. Trust some few, but beware of all men. He who knows but little presently outs with it. He that doth not mind small things will never get a great deal. John Dolittle was the son of Good-wife Spin-little.

To know how to be content with a little, is not a morsel for a fool's mouth. That is never to be called little, which a man thinks to be enough. Of two cowards, he hath the better who first finds the other out. The worst pig often gets the best pear. The devil turns his back when he finds the door shut against him. The wiser man yields to him who is more than his match. He who thinks he can do most is most mistaken. The wise discourses of a poor man go for nothing Poor folks have neither any kindred nor any friends. Good preachers give their hearers fruit, not flowers. Woe to those preachers who listen not to themselves. Ile who quakes for cold, either wants money to buy him cloaths, or wit to put them on. Poverty is a good hated by all men. He that would have a thing done quickly and well, must do it himself. He who knows most is the least presuming or confident. 'Tis more noble to make yourself great, than to be born so. The beginning of an amour (or gallantry) is fear, the middle sin, and the end sorrow or repentance. "The beginning only of a thing is hard, and costs dear. A fair promise catches the fool. He who is bound for another goes in at the wide end of the horn, and must come out at the narrow if he can. Promising is not with design to give, but to please fools. Give no great credit to a great promiser. Prosperity is the worst enemy men usually have. Proverbs bear age, and he who would do well may view himself in them as in a looking-glass. A proverb is the child of experience. He that makes no reckoning of a farthing, will not be worth an halfpenny. Avoid carefully the first ill or mischief, for that will breed an hundred more. Reason governs the wise man, and a cudgel the fool. Suffering is the monitor of fools, reason of wise men. If you would be as happy as any king, consider not the few that are before, but the many that come behind you. Our rcligion and our language we suck in with our milk. Love, knavery, and necessity, make men good orators. There is no fence against what comes from Heaven. Good husbandry is the first step towards riches. A stock once gotten, wealth grows -up of its own accord. Wealth hides many a great fault. Good ware was never dear, nor a miss ever worth the money she costs. The fool's estate is the first spent. Wealth is his that enjoys it, and the world is his

who

who scrambles for it. A father with very great wealth, and a son with no virtue at all. Little wealth, and little care and trouble. The Roman conquers by sitting still at home. Between robbing and restoring men commonly get thirty in the hundred. He is learned enough who knows how to live well. The more a man knows, the less credulous he is. There is no harm in desiring to be thought wise by others, but a great deal in a man's thinking himself to be so. Bare wages never made a servant rich. Losing much breeds bad blood. Health without any money is half sickness. When a man is tumbling down every saint lends a hand. He that unscasonably plays the wise man is a fool. He that pretends too much to wisdom is counted a fool. A wise man never sets his heart upon what he cannot have. A lewd batchelor makes a jealous husband. That crown is well spent which saves you ten. Love can do much, but scorn or disdain can do more. If you would have a thing kept secret, never tell it to any one; and if you would not have a thing known of you, never do it. Whatever you are going to do or say, think well first what may be the consequence of it. They are always selling wit to others who have the least of it for themselves. He that gains time gains a great point. Every ditch is full of after-wit. A little wit will serve a fortunate man. The favour of the court is like fair weather in winter. Neither take for a servant him whom you must entreat; nor a kinsman nor a friend, if you would have a good one. A man never loses by doing good offices to others. He that would be well served, \\ must know when to change his servants. Ignorance and prosperity make men bold and confident. He who employs one servant in any business, hath him all there who employs two, hath half a servant; who three hath never a one. Either a civil grant or a civil denial. When you have any business with a man give him title enough. The covetous man, is the bailiff, not the master, of his own estate. Trouble not your head about the weather or the government. Like with like looks well, and lasts long. All worldly joy is but a short-lived dream. That is a cursed pleasure that makes a man a fool. The soldier is well paid for doing mischief, A soldier, fire, and water, soon make room for themselves. A considering, careful man is half a conjuror. A

man would not be alone even in paradise. One nap finds out, or draws on another. Have good luck, and you may lie in bed. He that will maintain every thing must have his sword always ready drawn. That house is in an ill case where the distaff commands the sword. One sword keeps another in the scabbard. He that speaks ill of other men, burns his own tongue. He that is most liberal where he should be so, is the best husband. He is gainer enough who gives over a vain hope. A mighty hope is a mighty cheat. Hope is a pleasant kind of deceit. A man cannot leave his experience or wisdom to his heirs. Fools learn to live at their own cost, the wise at other men's. He is master of the whole world who hath no value for it. He who saith Woman, saith Wo to man. One enemy is too much for a man in a great post, aud an hundred friends are too few. Let us enjoy the present, we shall have trouble enough hereafter. Men toil and take pains in order to live easily at last. He that takes no care of himself, must not expect it from others. Industry makes a gallant man, and breaks ill fortune. Study, like a staff of cotton, beats without noise. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are a tempest and hail storm. If pride were a deadly disease how many would be now in their graves! He who cannot hold his peace, will never lie at ease. A fool will be always talking, right or wrong. In silence there is many a good morsel. Pray hold your peace, or you will make me fall asleep. The table, a secret thief, sends his master to the hospital. Begin your web and God will supply you with thread. Too much fear is an enemy to good deliberation. As soon as ever God hath a church built for him, the devil gets a tabernacle set up for himself. Time is a file that wears, and makes no noise. Nothing is so hard to bear well as prosperity. Patience, time, and money, set every thing to rights. The true art of making gold is to have a good estate, and to spend but little of it. Abate two thirds of all the reports you hear. A fair face, or a fine head, and very little brains in it. He who lives wickedly lives always in fear. A beautiful face is a pleasing traitor If three know it, all the world will know it too. Many hath too much, but noboby hath enough, An honest man bath half as much more brains as he needs, a knave hath not half enough. A wise man changes his mind when there is reason

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