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Let us remember that justice must also be siring that life of tranquillity which I have been observed even to inferiors.

TRUE HONORABLE DEALING.

describing, have retired from public affairs, and devoted themselves to the pleasures of private life. These have had the same object in view as

In honorable dealing we must consider what we men in high rank-namely, that they should stand intended, not what we said.

HYPOCRISY.

In acts of wickedness there is nothing greater than that of those who, when they deceive, so manage that they seem to be virtuous and upright

men.

FALSE GENEROSITY.

in need of nothing, be the slave of no one, enjoy perfect liberty; the peculiar characteristic of which kind of life is, that a man lives according to his own will and pleasure. Wherefore, since those desirous of power have this in common with those lovers of retirement whom I have described, the one think they are able to obtain it by the possession of great wealth, and the other by being content with their own small competency. The

garded, but the life of the inactive is easier, safer, less burdensome and annoying to others, whereas those, who devote themselves to public life and the management of great affairs, are more advantageous to mankind, and rise to greater glory and honor.

For many men act recklessly and without judg-idea of neither of these is to be altogether disrement, conferring favors upon all, incited to it by a sudden impetuosity of mind: the kindnesses of these men are not to be regarded in the same light or of the same value as those which are conferred with judgment and deliberation. But in the conferring and requiting of a favor, if other things be equal, it is the duty of a man to assist where it is most required. The very opposite of this often takes place, for men assist those from whom they hope to receive in return, even though they do not require it.

REASON AND SPEECH.

It is reason and speech that unite men to each other; nor is there anything else in which we differ so entirely from the brute creation.

MARRIAGE THE CLOSEST BOND OF SOCIETY.

The first bond of society is the marriage tie: the next our children; then the whole family of our house, and all things in common.

So Genesis ii. 24 :

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh."

FATHERLAND.

But, when thou considerest everything carefully and thoughtfully, of all societies, none is of more importance, none more dear than that which unites us with the commonwealth. Our parents, children, relations, and neighbors are dear, but our fatherland embraces the whole round of these endearments; in defence of which, who would not dare to die if only he could assist it?

POPULARITY.

The man who is of the highest spirit and most influenced by the desire of glory, is most easily excited to the commission of injustice. Such a position is indeed of a slippery character, for there is scarcely to be found a man who, when he has undertaken labors and undergone dangers, does not look to glory as their reward.

TO DESPISE RICHES.

Nothing is a greater proof of a narrow and grovelling disposition than to be fond of riches, while nothing is more noble and exalted than to despise money, if thou hast it not; and if thou hast it, to employ it in acts of beneficence and liberality.

So Hebrews xiii. 16:

"But to do good and communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

IN ALL AFFAIRS THERE SHOULD BE DILLIGENT

PREPARATION.

In all affairs before thou undertakest them, a diligent preparation should be made.

WISE ADMINISTRATION.

An army abroad is of little use unless there is prudent conduct in affairs at home.

WAR ONLY TO BE MADE TO SECURE PEACE. Let war be so carried on that no other object may seem to be in view except the acquisition of peace.

FORESIGHT.

Though the one is a proof of a high spirit, the other is that of a lofty intellect to anticipate by forethought coming events, and to come to a conclusion somewhat beforehand what may possibly happen in either case, and what ought to be done in that event, and not to be obliged sometimes to say, "I had never thought it." These are the acts of a powerful and sagacious mind, one who trusts in his own prudence and schemes.

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We ought particularly to determine what kind of characters we wish to be, and what is to be the course of our life which is a matter of great diffi

It shows a weak mind not to bear adversity and culty. For in early youth, when the judgment is prosperity with moderation.

AFFABILITY IN HIGH FORTUNE.

weak, every one selects the kind of life which he prefers; therefore he is fixed in a certain definite course before he is able to judge which is best for

Rightly do those teach who admonish us that him.

458

FEW CAN DECIDE THE MODE OF THEIR FUTURE
LIFE.

The rarest class is made up of those who, either from the possession of exalted genius, or furnished with excellent education and learning, or having both have been allowed time to make up their mind what course of life they would wish to embrace.

VIRTUOUS EXAMPLE OF A FATHER.

The best inheritance that a father can leave to his children, and which is superior to any patrimony, is the glory of his virtue and noble deeds; to disgrace which ought to be regarded as base and impious.

DUTIES OF CITIZENS.

DEGENERACY.

It is a disgraceful thing when the passers-by exclaim, "O ancient house! alas, how unlike is thy present master to thy former lord!"

A PALACE.

A man's dignity should be increased by his house, and yet not wholly sought from it; the master ought not to be ennobled by the house, but the house by the master.

QUICK TO SEE THE FAULTS OF OUR NEIGHBORS. For it happens that we are more quicksighted as to the faults of others than of our own.

PRUDENCE.

Prudence is the knowledge of things to be sought and to be avoided.

A private citizen ought to live on terms of equality with his fellow-citizens, neither cringing nor subservient, nor haughty nor insolent; he ought to be favorable to measures in the state which lead to peace and quietness, for such we consider to be the character of a virtuous and upright citi-d pursuits of literature ought to be deferred to

zen.

AN ALIEN.

A foreigner and an alien ought to attend to nothing but his own business, never to meddle with the affairs of others, and least of all to pry into the concerns of a foreign state.

OBSERVE CONSISTENCY OF CONDUCT.

Nothing is more becoming than in all our actions and in all of our deliberations to observe consistency of conduct.

BEAUTY AND DIGNITY.

IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL STUDIES.

Hence, it may be understood that the studies

the study of law, which relates to the interests of th human race, than which there ought to be nothing more important to man.

PUBLIC SPEAKING.

On this account it is more serviceable to the public to speak eloquently, provided it is with prudence, than to think ever so accurately, if it be destitute of eloquence; for thought terminates in itself, whereas eloquence embraces all those with whom we are united in the society of life.

THE LEARNED TEACH AFTER THEIR DEATH.

Learned men not only instruct and educate But, as there are two kinds of beauty, in the one those who are desirous to learn, during their life. of which is loveliness, in the other dignity; we and while they are present among us, but they ought to regard loveliness as the quality of woman, continue to do the same after death by the monudignity that of man. Therefore, let every ornaments of their learning which they leave behind ment unworthy of a man be removed from his person, and let him guard against any similar defect in his gestures and movements.

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Who does not know the influence that fortune exercises both upon our prosperity and adversity? For when we sail with her favoring breeze, we are carried forward to the wished-for port, and when she blows against us, we are in distress.

Sir Thomas Browne ("Religio Medici," c. 17, 18) expresses the same idea very beautifully:

"All cannot be happy at once; for because the glory of one state depends upon the ruin of another, there is a revolu tion and vicissitude of their greatness which must obey the

spring of that wheel not proved by intelligencies, but by the and the shortest road to glory, when a man acted hand of God, whereby all estates rise to their zenith and verso that he was such as he wished to be considered. tical points, according to their predestinated periods. For the lives not only of men but of commonweals, and the whole Whereas those are greatly mistaken who think world, run not upon an helix that still enlargeth, but on a cir- that they can obtain permanent glory by hypoc-* cle, where arising to their meridian, they decline in obscurity,risy, vain pretence, and disguised words and looks. and fall under the horizon again.

These must not therefore be named the effects of fortune, but in a relative way, and as we term the works of nature. It was the ignorance of man's reason that begat this very name, and by a careless term miscalled the providence of God; for there is no liberty for causes to operate in a loose and straggling way, nor any effect whatsoever but hath its warrant from some universal or superior cause. "Tis not a ridiculous devotion to say a prayer before a game at tables; for even in sortileges and matters of greatest uncertainty, there is a settled and pre-ordered course of effects. It is we that are blind, not fortune; because our eye is too dim to discover the mystery of her effects, we foolishly paint her blind, and hoodwink the providence of the Almighty. I cannot justify that contemptible proverb that fools only are fortunate; or that insolent paradox, that a wise man is out of the reach of fortune; much less those opprobrious epithets of poets, whore, bawd, and strumpet. Tis, I confess, the common fate of men of singular gifts of mind to be destitute of those of fortune; which doth not any way deject the spirit of wiser judgments, who thoroughly understand the justice of this proceeding, and being enriched with higher donatives, cast a more careless eye on these vulgar parts of felicity. It is a most unjust ambition to desire to engross the mercies of the Almighty, nor to be content with the goods of mind without a possession of those of body or fortune: and is an error worse than heresy to adore these complimental and circumstantial pieces of felicity, and undervalue those perfections and essential points of happiness wherein we resemble our Maker." Simonides of Ceos (Fr. 36, S.) thus expresses himself:--"For the life of man is unstable; having nothing certain, it is moved here and there by accidents. Yet hope cheers the mind: no one knows what an hour may bring forth; God rules all the affairs of men, and often a boisterous storm overwhelms them in calamity."

FEAR.

Fear is a bad guardian of a thing that requires to last, while on the other hand, affection is faithful to the end.

So Galatians iii. 23:

"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed."

PLEASURES.

Pleasures, those alluring mistresses, divert the great majority of mankind from the path of virtue; and when the torch of affliction is applied they are terrified beyond measure. All men feel strongly life, death, riches, and poverty. As to those who, with a high and noble spirit, look on such things with an indifferent eye, men, whom a great and lofty object, when it is presented, draws and absorbs to itself, in such cases who can refrain from admiring the splendor and beauty of their high-principled conduct?

Euripides (Fr. Archel. 10) says:

"There is no one who seeks to live in pleasure that has reached fame: man must labor."

INCORRUPTIBILITY.

Men particularly admire him who is not to be influenced by money; for in whomsoever they see this quality strongly marked, they regard him as ore purified by fire.

HYPOCRISY AND TRUE POPULARITY.

True glory strikes its roots deep, and spreads them on all sides; everything false disappears quickly, like spring flowers, nor can anything, that is untrue, be of long duration.

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Now it was well said, whoever said it, "That he, who hath the loan of money has not repaid it;

Well did Socrates say, that this was the nearest and he, who has repaid it, has not the loan; but

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My son Marcus, Cato tells us that Publius Scipio, he who was called Africanus the Elder, used to say "that he was never less at leisure than when he was at leisure, nor less alone than when he was alone." A splendid saying, and worthy of a great and wise man, which shows that he used to deliberate on affairs in his leisure hours, and to converse with himself when he was alone, so that he never was idle, and sometimes did not require the society of others. Therefore the two things which cause ennui to others-namely, retirement and solitude-roused him.

Sir P. Sidney (“ Arcadia," b. i.) expresses the same idea:"They are never alone that are accompanied by noble thoughts."

DO GOOD UNTO ALL MEN.

It is more in accordance with nature to undergo the greatest labors and annoyances, for the sake, if it were possible, of preserving or assisting all nations.

EVERY ONE SHOULD BEAR HIS OWN BURDEN.

THE BUYER AND SELLER.

Everything should be disclosed, that the buyer may be ignorant of nothing which the seller knows. IGNORANCE Of another not to be PREYED ON. No one should act so as to take advantage of the ignorance of his neighbor.

MAN OF INTEGRITY.

For when they praise the faith, the honor, the goodness of a man, they say, "He is one with whom we may play at odd and even in the dark."

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ALL NATIONS HAVE AN IDEA OF A GOD.

Nature herself has imprinted on the minds of all the idea of a God. For what nation or race of men is there that has not, even without being

Every one should bear his own burden rather taught, some idea of a God? than abridge the comforts of others.

THE

ABANDONMENT OF THE COMMON GOOD. The desertion of the common interest is contrary to nature.

So Acts xvii. 23:

"Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

GOD IS ETERNAL.

For the same nature, which has given to us a knowledge of the gods, has imprinted on our

NOTHING EXPEDIENT WHICH IS NOT ALSO VIRTU- minds that they are eternal and happy.

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