_Of the_ WORLD.
It is from the Shortness of Thought, that Men imagine there is any great
Variety in the World.
Time hath thrown a Vail upon the Faults of former Ages, or else we should
see the same Deformities we condemn in the present Times.
When a Man looketh upon the Rules that are made, he will think there can
be no Faults in the World; and when he looketh upon the Faults, there are
so many he will be tempted to think there are no Rules.
They are not to be reconciled, otherwise than by concluding that which is
called _Frailty_ is the incurable _Nature_ of Mankind.
A Man that understandeth the World must be weary of it; and a Man who doth
not, for that Reason ought not to be pleased with it.
The Uncertainty of what is to come, is suck a dark Cloud, that neither
Reason nor Religion can quite break through it; and the Condition of
Mankind is to be weary of what we do know, and afraid of what we do not.
The World is beholden to _generous Mistakes_ for the greatest Part of the
Good that is done in it.
Our _Vices_ and _Virtues_ couple with one another, and get Children that
resemble both their Parents.
If a Man can hardly inquire into a Thing he undervalueth, how can a Man
of good Sense take pains to understand the World?
To understand the World, and to like it, are two things not easily to be
reconciled.
That which is called an _Able Man_ is a great Over-valuer of the World,
and all that belongeth to it.
All that can be said of him is, that he maketh the best of the General
Mistake.
It is the Fools and the Knaves that make the Wheels of the World turn.
_They_ are _the World_; those few who have Sense or Honesty sneak up and
down single, but never go in Herds.
To be too much _troubled_ is a worse way of over-valuing the World than
the being too much _pleased_.
A Man that steps aside from the World, and hath leisure to observe it
without Interest or Design, thinks all Mankind as mad as they think him,
for not agreeing with them in their Mistakes.
_Of_ AMBITION.
The serious Folly of wise Men in _over-valuing the World_, is as
contemptible as any thing they think fit to censure.
The first Mistake belonging to Business is the going into it.
Men make it such a Point of Honour to be fit for Business, that they
forget to examine whether Business is fit for a Man of Sense.
There is Reason to think the most celebrated Philosophers would have been
Bunglers at Business; but the Reason is because they despised it.
It is not a Reproach but a Compliment to Learning, to say, that _Great
Scholars_ are less fit for Business; since the truth is, Business is so
much a lower thing than Learning, that a Man used to the last cannot
easily bring his Stomach down to the first.
The Government of the World is a great thing; but it is a very coarse one
too, compared with the Fineness of Speculative Knowledge.
The Dependance of a great Man upon a greater, is a Subjection that lower
Men cannot easily comprehend.
Ambition hath no Mean, it is either upon _all four_ or upon _Tiptoes_.
Nothing can be humbler than Ambition, when it is so disposed.
Popularity is a Crime from the Moment it is sought; it is only a Virtue
where Men have it whether they will or no.
It is generally an Appeal to the People from the Sentence given by Men of
Sense against them.
It is stepping very low to get very high.
Men by Habit make irregular Stretches of Power, without discerning the
Consequence and Extent of them.
Eagerness is apt to overlook Consequences, it is loth to be stopt in its
Career; for when Men are in great haste, they see only in a straight Line.
_Of_ CUNNING _and_ KNAVERY.
Cunning is so apt to grow into Knavery, that an honest Man will avoid the
Temptation of it. But Men in this Age are half bribed by the Ambition of
circumventing, without any other encouragements. So proud of the
Character of being _able_ Men, that they do not care to have their
Dexterity confined.
In this Age, when it is said of a Man, He knows _how to live_, it may be
imply'd he is not very honest.
An honest Man must lose so many Occasions of Getting, that the World will
hardly allow him the Character of an Able one.
There is however more _Wit_ requisite to be an honest Man, than there is
to be a Knave.
The most necessary thing in the World, and yet the least usual, is to
reflect that those we deal with, may know how to be as arrant Knaves as
ourselves.
The Eagerness of a Knave maketh him often as catchable, as Ignorance
maketh a Fool.
No Man is so much a Fool as not to have Wit enough sometimes to be a
Knave; nor any so cunning a Knave, as not to have the Weakness sometimes
to play the Fool.
The Mixture of Fool and Knave, maketh up the parti-coloured Creatures that
make all the Bustle in the World.
There is not so pleasant a Quarry, as a Knave taken in a Net of his own
making.
A Knave leaneth sometimes _so hard_ upon his Impudence, that it breaketh
and lets him fall.
Knavery is in such _perpetual Motion_, that it hath not always Leisure to
look to its own Steps; 'tis like sliding upon Scates, no Motion so smooth
or swift, but none gives so terrible a _Fall_.
A Knave loveth _Self_ so heartily, that he is apt to overstrain it: by
never thinking he can get enough, he gets so much less. His thought is
like Wine that fretteth with too much fermenting.
The Knaves in every Government are a kind of Corporation; and though they
fall out with one another, like all Beasts of Prey, yet upon occasion they
unite to support the common Cause.
It cannot be said to be such a Corporation as the Bank of _England_, but
they are a numerous and formidable Body, scarce to be resisted; but the
Point is, they can never rely upon one another.
Knaves go chain'd to one another like Slaves in the Gallies, and cannot
easily untie themselves from their Company. Their Promises and Honour
indeed do not hinder them, but other intangling Circumstances keep 'em
from breaking loose.
If Knaves had not foolish Memories, they would never trust one another so
often as they do.
Present Interest, like present Love, maketh all other Friendship look cold
to it, but it faileth in the holding.
When one Knave betrayeth another, the one is not to be blamed, nor the
other to be pitied.
When they complain of one another as if they were honest Men, they ought
to be laugh'd at as if they were Fools.
There are some Cunning-men who yet can scarce be called Rational
Creatures; yet they are often more successful than Men of Sense, because
those they have to deal with are upon a looser Guard; and their Simplicity
maketh their Knavery unsuspected.
There is no such thing as a venial Sin against Morality, no such thing as
a small Knavery: He that carries a small Crime easily, will carry it on
when it grows to be an Ox. But the little Knaves are the greater of the
two, because they have less the Excuse of Temptation.
Knavery is so humble, and Merit so proud, that the latter is thrown down
because it cannot stoop.
_Of_ FOLLY _and_ FOOLS.
There are five Orders of Fools, as of Building: 1. The Blockhead, 2.
Coxcomb, 3. Vain Blockhead, 4. Grave Coxcomb, and 5. The Half-witted
Fellow; this last is of the Composite Order.
The Follies of grave Men have the Precedence of all others, a ridiculous
Dignity, that gives them a Right to be laughed at in the first place.
As the masculine Wit is the strongest, so the masculine Impertinence is
the greatest.
The Consequence of a Half-Wit is a Half-Will, there is not Strength enough
in the Thought to carry it to the End.
A Fool is naturally recommended to our Kindness by setting us off by the
Comparison. Men are grateful to Fools for giving them the Pleasure of
contemning them.
But Folly hath a long Tail that is not seen at first: for every single
Folly hath a Root, out of which more are ready to sprout; and a Fool hath
so unlimited a Power of mistaking, that a Man of Sense can never
comprehend to what degree it may extend.
There are some Fools so low, that they are preferred when they are laught
at. Their being named putteth them in the List of Men, which is more than
belongeth to them.
One should no more laugh at a contemptible Fool, than at a dead Fly.
The Dissimulation of a Fool should come within the Statute of Stabbing. It
giveth no Warning.
A Fool will be rude from the Moment he is allowed to be familiar; he can
make no other use of Freedom than to be unmannerly.
Weak Men are apt to be _cruel_, because they stick at nothing that may
repair the ill Effect of their Mistakes.
Folly is often more cruel in the Consequence, than Malice can be in the
Intent.
Many a Man is murthered by the well-meant Mistakes of his unthinking
Friends.
A weak Friend, if he will be kind, ought to go no farther than Wishes; if
he proffereth either to say, or to do, it is dangerous.
A Man had as good go to Bed to a Razor, as to be intimate with a foolish
Friend.
Mistaken Kindness is little less dangerous than premeditated Malice.
A Man hath not the Relief of being angry at the Blows of a mistaken
Friend.
A busy Fool is fitter to be shut up than a downright Madman.
A Man that hath only Wit enough not to do Hurt, committeth a Sin if he
aimeth at doing Good.
His passive Understanding must not pretend to be active.
It is a Sin against Nature for such a Man to be meddling.
It is hard to find a Blockhead so wise as to be upon the Defensive; he
will be sallying, and then he is sure to be ill used.
If a dull Fool can make a Vow and keep it, never to speak his own Sense,
or do his own Business, he may pass a great while for a rational Creature.
A Blockhead is as ridiculous when he talketh, as a Goose is when it
flieth.
The grating a Gridiron is not a worse Noise, than the jingling of Words is
to a Man of Sense.
It is Ill-manners to silence a Fool, and Cruelty to let him go on.
Most Men make little other use of their Speech than to give evidence
against their own Understanding.
A great Talker may be a Man of Sense, but he cannot be one, who will
venture to rely upon him.
There is so much Danger in Talking, that a Man strictly wise can hardly be
called a sociable Creature.
The great Expence of Words is laid out in _setting ourselves out_, or
_deceiving_ others; to _convince_ them requireth but a few.
Many Words are always either suspicious or ridiculous.
A Fool hath no Dialogue within himself, the first Thought carrieth him
without the Reply of a second.
A Fool will admire or like nothing that he understands, a Man of Sense
nothing but what he understands.
Wise Men gain, and poor Men live, by the Superfluities of Fools.
Till Follies become ruinous, the World is better with than it would be
without them.
A Fool is angry that he is the Food of a Knave, forgetting that it is the
End of his Creation.
_Of_ HOPE.
Hope is a kind Cheat; in the Minute of our Disappointment we are angry,
but upon the whole matter there is no Pleasure without it.
It is so much a pleasanter thing than Truth to the greatest Part of the
World, that it hath all their Kindness, the other only hath their Respect.
Hope is generally a wrong Guide, though it is very good Company by the
way. It brusheth through Hedge and Ditch till it cometh to a great Leap,
and there it is apt to fall and break its Bones.
It would be well if Hopes carried Men only to the top of the Hill, without
throwing them afterwards down the Precipice.
The Hopes of a Fool are blind Guides, those of a Man of Sense doubt often
of their Way.
Men should do with their Hopes as they do with tame Fowl, cut their Wings
that they may not fly over the Wall.
A _hoping_ Fool hath such terrible Falls, that his Brains are turned,
though not cured by them.
The _Hopes_ of a Fool are Bullets he throws into the Air, that fall down
again and break his Skull.
There can be no entire Disappointment to a wise Man, because he maketh it
a Cause of succeeding another time. A Fool is so unreasonably raised by
his _Hopes_, that he is half dead by a Disappointment: his mistaken Fancy
draweth him so high, that when he falleth, he is sure to break his Bones.
_Of_ ANGER.
Anger is a better Sign of the Heart than of the Head; it is a breaking out
of the Disease of Honesty. Just Anger may be as dangerous as it could be
if there was no Provocation to it; for a Knave is not so nice a Casuist
but that he will ruin, if he can, any Man that blameth him.
Where Ill-nature is not predominant, Anger will be short-breathed, it
cannot hold out a long Course. Hatred can be tired and cloyed as well as
Love: for our Spirits, like our Limbs, are tired with being long in one
Posture.
There is a Dignity in Good-sense that is offended and defaced by Anger.
Anger is never without an Argument, but seldom with a good one.
Anger raiseth Invention but it overheateth the Oven.
Anger, like Drink, raiseth a great deal of unmannerly Wit.
True Wit must come by Drops; Anger throweth it out in a Stream, and then
it is not likely to be of the best kind.
Ill Language punisheth Anger by drawing a Contempt upon it.
_Of_ APOLOGIES.
It is a dangerous Task to answer Objections, because they are helped by
the Malice of Mankind.
A bold Accusation doth at first draw such a general Attention, that it
gets the World on its side.
To a Man who hath a mind to find a Fault, an Excuse generally giveth
farther hold.
Explaining is generally half confessing.
Innocence hath a very short Style.
When a Jealousy of any kind is once raised, it is as often provoked as
cured by any Arguments, let them be never so reasonable.
When Laziness letteth things alone, it is a Disease; but when Skill doth
it, it is a Vertue.
Malice may help a Fool to aggravate, but there must be _Skill_ to know how
to extenuate.
To lessen an Object that at the first Sight giveth Offence, requireth a
dexterous Hand: There must be Strength as well as Skill to take off the
Weight of the first Impression.
When a Man is very unfortunate, it looketh like a saucy thing in him to
justify himself.
A Man must stoop sometimes to his ill Star, but he must never lie down to
it.
The Vindications Men make of themselves to _Posterity_ would hardly be
supported by Good-Sense, if they were not of some Advantage to their own
Families.
The defending an ill Thing is more criminal than the doing it, because it
wanteth the Excuse of its not being premeditated.
An Advocate for Injustice is like a Bawd that is worse than her Client who
committeth the Sin.
There is hardly any Man so strict as not to vary a little from Truth when
he is to make an Excuse.
Not telling all the Truth is hiding it, and that is comforting or abetting
a Lye.
A long Vindication is seldom a skilful one.
_Long_ doth at least imply _Doubtful_ in such a Case.
A Fool should avoid the making an Excuse, as much as the committing a
Fault; for a Fool's Excuse is always a second Fault: and whenever he will
undertake either to hide or mend a thing, he proclaimeth and spoileth it.
_Of_ MALICE _and_ ENVY.
Malice is a greater Magnifying-Glass than Kindness.
Malice is of a low Stature, but it hath very long Arms. It often reacheth
into the next World, Death itself is not a Bar to it.
Malice, like Lust, when it is at the Height, doth not know Shame.
If it did not sometimes cut itself with its own Edge, it would destroy the
World.
Malice can mistake by being _keen_ as well as by being _dull_.
When Malice groweth _critical_, it loseth its Credit.
It must go under the Disguise of Plainness, or else it is exposed.
Anger may have some Excuse for being blind, but Malice none: for Malice
hath time to look before it.
When Malice is overgrown, it cometh to be the highest degree of
Impertinence. For that reason, it must not be fed and pampered, which is
apt to make it play the fool. But where it is wise and steady, there is no
Precaution, that can be quite Proof against it.
Ill-will is seldom cured on a sudden, it must go off by degrees, by
insensible Transpiration.
Malice may be sometimes out of Breath, Envy never. A Man may make Peace
with Hatred, but never with Envy.
No Passion is better heard by our will, than that of Envy: No Passion is
admitted to have Audience with less Exception.
Envy taketh the Shape of _Flattery_, and that maketh Men hug it so close,
that they cannot part with it.
The sure way to be commended is to get into a Condition of being pitied.
For Envy will not give its leave to commend a Man, till he is miserable.
A Man is undone, when Envy will not vouchsafe to look upon him.
Yet after all, Envy doth Virtue as much good as hurt, by provoking it to
appear. Nay, it forcibly draweth out, and inviteth Virtue, by giving it a
Mind to be revenged of it.
_Of_ VANITY.
The World is nothing but Vanity cut out into several Shapes.
Men often _mistake_ themselves, but they never _forget_ themselves.
A Man must not so entirely fall out with Vanity, as not to take its
Assistance in the doing great Things.
Vanity is like some Men who are very useful, if they are kept under; and
else not to be endured.
A little Vanity may be allowed in a Man's Train, but it must not sit down
at Table with him.
Without some Share of it, Mens Talents would be buried like Ore in a Mine
unwrought.
Men would be less eager to gain Knowledge, if they did not hope to set
themselves out by it.
It sheweth the Narrowness of our Nature, that a Man that intendeth any one
thing extreamly, hath not Thought enough lest for any thing else.
Our Pride maketh us over-value our Stock of Thought, so as to trade much
beyond what it is able to make good.
Many aspire to learn what they can never comprehend, as others pretend to
teach what they themselves do not know.
The Vanity of teaching often tempteth a Man to forget he is a Blockhead.
Self-conceit driveth away the suspecting how scurvily others think of us.
Vanity cannot be a Friend to Truth, because it is restrained by it; and
Vanity is so impatiently desirous of shewing itself, that it cannot bear
the being crossed.
There is a Degree of Vanity that recommendeth; if it goeth further, it
exposeth.
So much as to stir the Blood to do commendable Things, but not so much as
to possess the Brain, and turn it round.
There are as many that are blown up by the Wind of Vanity, as are carried
away by the Stream of Interest.
Every body hath not Wit enough to Act out of Interest, but every body hath
little enough to do it out of Vanity.
Some Mens Heads are as easily blown away as their Hats.
If the commending others well, did not recommend ourselves, there would be
few Panegyricks.
Mens Vanity will often dispose them to be commended into very troublesome
Employments.
The desiring to be remember'd when we are dead, is to so little purpose,
that it is fit Men should, as they generally are, be disappointed in it.
Nevertheless, the desire of leaving a good Name behind us is so
honourable to ourselves, and so useful to the World, that good Sense must
not be heard against it.
Heraldry is one of those foolish Things that may yet be too much despised.
The Contempt of Scutcheons is as much a Disease in this Age, as the
over-valuing them was in former Times.
There is a good Use to be made of the most contemptible Things, and an ill
one of those that are the most valuable.
_Of_ MONEY.
If Men considered how many Things there are that Riches cannot buy, they
would not be so fond of them.
The Things to be bought with Money, are such as least deserve the giving a
Price for them.
Wit and Money are so apt to be abused, that Men generally make a shift to
be the worse for them.
Money in a Fool's Hand exposeth him worse than a pyed Coat.
Money hath too great a Preference given to it by States, as well as by
particular Men.
Men are more the Sinews of War than Money.
The third part of an Army must be destroyed, before a good one can be made
out of it.
They who are of opinion that Money will do every thing, may very well be
suspected to do every thing for Money.
_False_ LEARNING.
A little Learning _misleadeth_, and a great deal often _stupifieth_ the
Understanding.
Great Reading without applying it, is like Corn _heaped_ that is not
_stirred_, it groweth musty.
A learned Coxcomb dyeth his Mistakes in so much a deeper Colour: A wrong
kind of Learning serveth only to embroider his Errors.
A Man that hath read without judgment, is like a Gun charged with
Goose-shot, let loose upon the Company.
He is only well furnished with Materials to expose himself, and to mortify
those he liveth with.
The reading of the greatest Scholars, if put into a Limbeck, might be
distilled into a small quantity of _Essence_.
The Reading of most Men, is like a Wardrobe of old Cloaths that are seldom
used.
Weak Men are the worse for the good Sense they read in Books, because it
furnisheth them only with more Matter to mistake.
_Of_ COMPANY.
Men that cannot entertain themselves want somebody, though they care for
nobody.
An impertinent Fellow is never in the right, but in his being weary of
_himself_.
By that time Men are fit for Company, they see the Objections to it.
The Company of a Fool is dangerous as well as tedious.
It is flattering some Men to endure them.
Present Punishment attendeth the Fault.
A _following_ Wit will be welcome in most Companies; A _leading_ one lieth
too heavy for Envy to bear.
Out-doing is so near reproaching, that it will generally be thought very
ill Company.
Any thing that shineth doth in some measure tarnish every thing that
standeth next to it.
Keeping much Company generally endeth in playing the Fool or the Knave
with them.
_Of_ FRIENDSHIP.
Friendship cometh oftener by Chance than by Choice, which maketh it
generally so uncertain.
It is a Mistake to say a Friend can be bought.
A Man may buy a good Turn, but he cannot buy the Heart that doth it.
Friendship cannot live with Ceremony, nor without Civility.
There must be a nice Diet observed to keep Friendship from falling sick;
nay, there is more Skill necessary to keep a Friend, than there is to
reclaim an Enemy.
Those Friends who are above Interest are seldom above jealousy.
It is a Misfortune for a Man not to have a Friend in the World, but for
that reason he shall have no Enemy.
In the Commerce of the World, Men struggle little less with their Friends,
than they do with their Enemies.
_Esteem_ ought to be the ground of _Kindness_, and yet there are no
Friends that seldomer meet.
Kindness is apt to be as _afraid_ of Esteem, as that is to be _ashamed_ of
Kindness.
Our Kindness is greatest to those that will do what we would have them, in
which our Esteem cannot always go along.
Miscellaneous Thoughts AND REFLECTIONS.
[Sidenote: _Of Advice and Correction._]
The Rule _of doing as we would be done by_, is never less observed than it
is in telling others their Faults. But Men intend more to shew others that
they are free from the Fault, than to dissuade them from committing it.
They are so pleased with the prudent Shape of an Adviser, that it raiseth
the value they have of themselves, whilst they are about it.
Certainly, to give Advice to a Friend, either asked or unasked, is so far
from a Fault, that it is a Duty; but if a Man love to give Advice, it is
a sure sign that he himself wanteth it.
A Man whilst he is advising putteth his Understanding upon Tiptoes, and is
unwilling to bring it down again.
A weak Man had rather _be thought_ to know, than _know_, and that maketh
him so impatient to be told of a Mistake.
He who will not be the better for other Mens Faults, hath no cure left for
his own.
But he that can probe himself to cure his own Faults, will seldom need
either the Surgery of his Friends or of his Enemies.
[Sidenote: _Of Alterations._]
In a corrupted Age the putting the World in order would breed Confusion.
A rooted Disease must be _stroaked away_, rather than _kicked away_.
As soon as Men have Understanding enough to find a Fault, they have enough
to see the danger of mending it.
Desiring to have any thing mended, is venturing to have it spoiled: To
know when to let Things alone, is a high pitch of good Sense. But a Fool
hath an Eagerness, like a Monkey in a Glass Shop, to break every thing in
the handling.
_Curing_ and _Mending_ are generally meer Words of Art not to be relied
upon. They are set out in Bills, but the _Mountebanks_ only get by them.
[Sidenote: _Bashfulness._]
Great Bashfulness is oftener an Effect of Pride than of Modesty.
Modesty is oftner mistaken than any other Virtue.
[Sidenote: _Boldness._]
Wise Venturing is the most commendable Part of human Prudence.
It is the upper Story of Prudence, whereas perpetual Caution is a kind of
under-ground Wisdom that doth not care to see the Light.
It is best for great Men to shoot over, and for lesser Men to shoot short.
[Sidenote: _Borrowers of Opinions._]
Men who borrow their Opinions can never repay their Debts.
They are Beggars by Nature, and can therefore never get a Stock to grow
rich upon.
A Man who hath not a distinguishing Head, is safest by not minding what
any body sayeth.
He had better trust to his own Opinion, than spoil another Man's for want
of apprehending it.
[Sidenote: _Candour._]
It is some kind of Scandal not to bear with the Faults of an honest Man.
It is not loving Honesty enough to allow it distinguishing Privileges.
There are some decent Faults which may pretend to be in the lower Rank of
Virtues; and surely where Honour or Gratitude are the Motives, Censure
must be a good deal silenced.
[Sidenote: _Of Caution and Suspicion._]
Men must be saved in this World by their Want of Faith.
A Man that getteth Care into his Thoughts, cannot properly be said to
trade without a Stock.
Care and right Thought will produce Crops all the Year without staying for
the Seasons.
A Man is to go about his own Business as if he had not a Friend in the
World to help him in it.
He that relieth upon himself will be oppressed by others with Offers of
their Service.
All are apt to shrink from those that lean upon them.
If Men would think how often their own Words are thrown at their Heads,
they would less often let them go out of their Mouths.
Mens Words are Bullets that their Enemies take up and make use of against
them.
A Man watches himself best when others watch him too.
It is as necessary for us to suppress our Reason when it offendeth, as our
Mistakes when they expose us.
In an unreasonable Age, a Man's Reason let loose would undo him.
A wise Man will do with his Reason as a Miser doth with his Money, hoard
it, but be very sparing in the Expence of it.
A Man that should call every thing by its right Name, would hardly pass
the Streets without being knock'd down as a common Enemy.
A Man cannot be more in the Wrong than to own without Distinction the
being in the Right.
When a Man is very kind or very angry, there is no sure Guard but Silence
upon that Subject.
A Man's Understanding is easily shoved out of its Place by warm Thoughts
of any kind.
We are not so much Masters of our Heat as to have enough to warm our
Thoughts, and not so much as to set them on fire.
A great Enemy is a great Object that inviteth Precaution, which maketh him
less dangerous than a mean one.
An old Man concludeth from his knowing Mankind, that they know him too,
and that maketh him very wary.
On the other hand, it must be allowed, that a Man's being deceived by
Knaves hath often this ill Effect, that it maketh him too jealous of
honest Men.
The Mind, like the Body, is subject to be hurt by every thing it taketh
for a Remedy.
There are some such very great Foreseers, that they grow into the Vanity
of pretending to see where nothing is to be seen.
He that will see at too great a distance, will sometimes mistake a Bush
for a Horse: The Prospect of a wise Man will be bounded.
A Man may so overdo it in looking too far before him, that he may stumble
the more for it.
And, to conclude, He that leaveth nothing to Chance will do few things
ill, but he will do very few things.
Suspicion is rather a Virtue than a Fault, as long as it doth like a Dog
that _watcheth_, and doth _not bite_.
A wise Man, in trusting another, must not rely upon his _Promise_ against
his _Nature_.
Early Suspicion is often an Injury, and late Suspicion is always a Folly.
A wise Man will keep his Suspicions muzzled, but he will keep them awake.
There can no Rules be given to Suspicion, no more than to Love.
Suspicion taketh Root, and beareth Fruit, from the moment it is planted.
Suspicion seldom wanteth Food to keep it up in Health and Vigour. It
feedeth upon every thing it seeth, and is not curious in its Diet.
Suspicion doth not grow up to an Injury till it breaketh out.
When our Suspicion of another Man is once discovered by him, there ought
to be an end of all further Commerce.
He that is never suspected, is either very much esteemed, or very much
despised.
A Man's _Interest_ is not a sufficient Ground to suspect him, if his
_Nature_ doth not concur in it.
A weak Man hath less Suspicion than a wise one, but when he hath it, he is
less easily cured.
The Remedies as often increase the Disease, as they do allay it; and a
Fool valueth himself upon suspecting at a venture.
[Sidenote: _Cheats._]
Many Men _swallow_ the being cheated, but no Man could ever endure to
_chew_ it.
Few Men would be deceived, if their Conceit of themselves did not help the
Skill of those that go about it.
[Sidenote: _Complaint._]
Complaining is a Contempt upon ones self:
It is an ill Sign both of a Man's Head and of his Heart.
A Man throweth himself down whilst he complaineth; and when a Man throweth
himself down, no body careth to take him up again.
[Sidenote: _Content._]
Content layeth Pleasure, nay Virtue, in a Slumber, with few and faint
Intermissions.
It is to the Mind, like Moss to a Tree, it bindeth it up so as to stop its
Growth.
[Sidenote: _Converts._]
The Impudence of a Bawd is Modestly, compared with that of a Convert.
A Convert hath so much to do to gain Credit, that a Man is to think well
before he changeth.
[Sidenote: _Desires._]
Men generally state their Wants by their Fancy, and not by their Reason.
The poor young Children are whipt and beaten by the old ones, who are much
more inexcusably impertinent.
Not having things, is a more proper Expression for a Man of Sense than his
wanting them.
Where Sense is wanting, every thing is wanting.
A Man of Sense can hardly want, but for his Friends and Children that have
none.
Most Men let their Wishes run away with them.
They have no mind to stop them in their Career, the Motion is so pleasing.
To desire what belongeth to another Man is Misprision of Robbery.
Men are commanded not to covet, because when they do they are very apt to
take.
[Sidenote: _Difficulty._]
A Difficulty raiseth the Spirits of a great Man, he hath a mind to wrestle
with it, and give it a Fall.
A Man's Mind must be very low, if the Difficulty doth not make a part of
his Pleasure.
The Pride of Compassing may more than compare with the Pleasure of
Enjoying.
[Sidenote: _Dissembling._]
Nothing so ridiculous as a false Philosopher, and nothing so rare as a
true one.
Men take more pains to hide than to mend themselves.
[Sidenote: _Dreams._]
Mens Pride, as well as their Weakness, disposeth them to rely upon Dreams,
from their thinking themselves of such Importance as to have Warning of
what is to befal them.
The Enquiry into a Dream is another Dream.
[Sidenote: _Drunkenness._]
It is a piece of Arrogance to dare to be drunk, because a Man sheweth
himself without a Vail.
[Sidenote: _Experience._]
The best way to suppose what may come, is to remember what is past.
The best Qualification of a Prophet is to have a good Memory.
Experience maketh more Prophets than Revelation.
The Knowledge that is got without Pains, is kept without Pleasure.
The Struggling for Knowledge hath a Pleasure in it like that of Wrestling
with a fine Woman.
[Sidenote: _Extremes._]
Extremity is always ill, that which is good cannot live a Moment with it.
Any body that is Fool enough will be safe in the World, and any body that
can be Knave enough will be rich in it.
The generality of the World falleth into an insufficient _Mean_ that
exposeth them more than an _Extreme_ on either Side.
[Sidenote: _Faculties of the Mind._]
Though Memory and Invention are not upon good Terms, yet when the first is
loaded, the other is stifled.
The Memory hath Claws by which it holdeth fast; but it hath no Wings, like
the Invention, to enable it to fly.
Some Mens Memory is like a Box, where a Man should mingle his Jewels with
his old Shoes.
There ought to be a great Difference between the Memory and the Stomach;
the last is to admit every thing, the former should have the Faculty of
Rejecting.
It is a nice Mean between letting the Thought languish for want of
Exercise, and tiring it by giving it too much.
A Man may dwell so long upon a Thought, that it may take him Prisoner.
The hardest thing in the World is to give the Thoughts due Liberty, and
yet retain them in due Discipline.
They are Libertines that are apt to abuse Freedom, and do not well know
how to bear Restraint.
A Man that excels in any one thing has a kind of arbitrary Power over all
that hear him upon that Subject, and no Man's Life is too short to know
any one thing perfectly.
The modern Wit is rather to set Men out, than to make them of any Use.
Some Men have acted Courage who had it not; but no Man can act Wit, if
Nature doth not teach him his Part. True Wit is always revenged upon any
false Pretender that meddleth with it.
Wit is the only thing that Men are willing to think they can ever have
enough of.
There is a happy Pitch of Ignorance that a Man of Sense might pray for.
A Man that hath true Wit will have Honour too, not only to adorn, but to
support it.
[Sidenote: _Families._]
The building up a Family is a Manufacture very little above the building a
House of Cards.
Time and Accidents are sure to furnish a Blast to blow it down.
No House wanteth new Tiling so often as a Family wants Repairing.
The Desire of having Children is as much the Effect of Vanity as of
Good-nature.
We think our Children a Part of ourselves, though as they grow up they
might very well undeceive us.
Men love their Children, not because they are promising Plants, but
because they are theirs.
They cannot discredit the Plant, without disparaging the Soil out of which
it came.
Pride in this, as in many other things, is often mistaken for Love.
As Children make a Man poor in one Sense, so in another they inforce Care,
and that begetteth Riches.
Love is presently out of Breath when it is to go up Hill, from the
Children to the Parents.
[Sidenote: _Fear._]
'Tis good to have Men in Awe, but dangerous to have them afraid of us.
The Mean is so nice, that the hitting upon it is oftner the Effect of
Chance than of Skill.
A Degree of Fear sharpeneth, the Excess of it stupifieth.
It is as scandalous not to fear at some times, as it can be to be afraid
at others.
[Sidenote: _Flattery._]
Folly begets Want, and Want Flattery; so that Flattery, with all its Wit,
is the Grandchild of Folly.
Were it not for Bunglers in the manner of doing it, hardly any Man would
ever find out he was laughed at.
And yet, generally speaking, a Trowel is a more effectual Instrument than
a Pencil for Flattery.
Men generally do so love the Taste of Flattery, their Stomach can never be
overcharged with it.
There is a Right Reverend Flattery that hath the Precedence of all other
Kinds of it.
This Mitred Flattery is of all others the most exalted. It ever groweth in
proportion, and keepeth pace with Power. There is a noble Stroke of it in
the Articles sent to Princess _Mary_ from _Henry_ VIII. "Such is his
Majesty's _Gracious and Divine Nature_--shewing _Mercy_ to such as
_repentantly cry and call_ for the same."
[Sidenote: _Forgetfulness._]
Forgetting is oftner an Aggravation than an Excuse.
The Memory will seldom be unmannerly but where it is unkind.
[Sidenote: _Good-manners._]
There needeth little Care to _polish_ the Understanding; if true Means
were used to _strengthen_ it, it will polish itself.
Good-manners is such a Part of Good-sense, that they cannot be divided;
but that which a Fool calleth Good-breeding is the most unmannerly thing
in the World.
Right Good-manners require so much Sense, that there is hardly any such
thing in the World.
[Sidenote: _Good-nature._]
Good-nature is rather acted than practised in the World.
Good-nature to others is an inseparable Part of Justice.
[Sidenote: _Good-will._]
Good-will, like Grace, floweth where it listeth.
Men mean so very well to themselves, that they forget to mean well to any
body else.
[Sidenote: _Heat._]
Good-sense will allow of some intermitting Fevers, but then the Fit must
be short.
[Sidenote: _Honesty._]
He that can be quite indifferent when he seeth another Man injured, hath a
lukewarm Honesty that a wise Man will not depend upon.
He that is not concerned when he seeth an ill thing done to another, will
not be very eager to do a good one himself.
[Sidenote: _Hypocrisy._]
There is so much Wit necessary to make a skilful Hypocrite, that the
Faculty is fallen amongst Bunglers, who make it ridiculous.
[Sidenote: _Injury._]
An Injury may more properly be said to be postponed, than to be forgiven.
The Memory of it is never so subdued, but that it hath always Life in it.
The Memory of an Enemy admitteth no decay but Age.
Could we know what Men are most apt to remember, we might know what they
are most apt to do.
It is a general Fault that we dislike Men only for the Injuries they do to
us, and not for those they do to Mankind. Yet it will be hard to give a
good Reason why a Man who hath done a deliberate Injury to one, will not
do it to another.
The Memory and the Conscience never did, nor never will agree about
forgiving Injuries.
Nature is Second to the Memory, and Religion to the Conscience.
When the Seconds fight, the latter is generally disarmed.
[Sidenote: _Integrity._]
A Man in a corrupted Age must make a Secret of his Integrity, or else he
will be looked upon as a common Enemy.
He must engage his Friends not to speak of it; for he setteth himself for
a Mark to be ill used.
[Sidenote: _Justice._]
As far as keeping distance is a sign of Respect, Mankind hath a great deal
for Justice.
They make up in Ceremony what they want in Good-will to it.
Where the Generality are Offenders, Justice cometh to be Cruelty.
[Sidenote: _To Love, and be in Love different._]
To Love, and to be in Love with any thing, are Things as differing, as
good Sense and Impertinence.
When we once go beyond bare liking, we are in danger of parting with
Good-Sense; and it is not easy for Good-Sense to get so far as liking.
[Sidenote: _Lucre._]
When by habit a Man cometh to have a bargaining Soul, its Wings are cut,
so that it can never soar.
It bindeth Reason an Apprentice to Gain, and instead of a Director, maketh
it a Drudge.
[Sidenote: _Lying._]
The being kind to a Lyar, is abetting a Treason against Mankind.
A Man is to inform the first Magistrate, that he may be clap'd up.
Lies are embroidered with Promises and Excuses.
A known Lyar should be outlawed in a well ordered Government.
A Man that renounceth Truth, runneth away from his trial in the World.
The use of Talking is almost lost in the World by the habit of Lying.
A Man that doth not tell all the Truth, ought to be hanged for a Clipper.
Half the Truth is often as arrant a Lye, as can be made.
It is the more dexterous, but not the less criminal kind of Lying.
[Sidenote: _Names._]
Names to Men of Sense are no more than Fig-leaves; to the generality they
are thick Coverings that hide the Nature of Things from them.
Fools turn Good-Sense upon its Head, they take Names for Things, and
Things only for Names.
[Sidenote: _Partiality._]
It is a general Mistake to think the Men we like are good for every
thing, and those we do not, good for nothing.
[Sidenote: _Patience._]
A Man who is Master of Patience, is Master of every thing else.
He that can tell how to bear in the right Place, is Master of every body
he dealeth with.
[Sidenote: _Positiveness._]
Positive is the Perfection of Coxcomb, he is then come to his full Growth.
[Sidenote: _Prosperity._]
It sheweth Mens Nature, that when they are pampered in any kind, they are
very apt to play jadish Tricks.
One of the Tricks of any Creature that is wanton, is to kick what is next
them.
[Sidenote: _Quiet._]
Every thing that doth us good is so apt to do us hurt too, that it is a
strong Argument for Men to be quiet.
If Men would think more, they would act less.
The greatest Part of the Business of the World, is the Effect of not
thinking.
[Sidenote: _Reason and Passion._]
Most Men put their Reason out to Service to their Will.
The Master and the Man are perpetually falling out.
A third Man will hazard a beating, if he goes about to part them.
Nothing hath an uglier Look to us than Reason, when it is not of our side.
We quarrel so often with it, that it maketh us afraid to come near it.
A Man that doth not use his Reason, is a tame Beast; a Man that abuses it,
is a wild one.
[Sidenote: _Reputation._]
It is a self-flattering Contradiction, that wise Men despise the Opinion
of Fools, and yet are proud of having their Esteem.
[Sidenote: _Self-love._]
Self-love rightly defined, is far from being a Fault.
A Man that loveth himself right, will do every thing else right.
[Sidenote: _Shame._]
A Man who doth not think he is punished when he is blamed, is too much
hardened to be ever reformed.
The Court of Shame hath of late lost much of its Jurisdiction. It ought by
right both to judge in the first Instance, and to exclude all Appeals from
it.
Shame is a Disease of the last Age, this seemeth to be cured of it.
[Sidenote: _Singularity._]
Singularity may be good Sense at home, but it must not go much abroad.
It is a Commendation to be that which a crowd of mistaken Fools call
Singular.
There can hardly be a severer thing said to a Man in this Age, than that
he is like the rest of the World.
[Sidenote: _Slander._]
Slander would not stick, if it had not always something to lay hold of.
A Man who can allow himself the Liberty to slander, hath the World too
much at his Mercy.
But the Man that despiseth Slander deserveth it.
[Sidenote: _Speakers in Publick._]
Speakers in Publick should take more Pains to hold in their Invention than
to raise it.
Invention is apt to make such Sallies, that it cannot secure its Retreat.
He that will not make a Blot, will be pretty sure in his time to give a
Stroke.
A patient Hearer is a sure Speaker.
Men are angry when others do not hear them, yet they have more Reason to
be afraid when they do.
[Sidenote: _Time the loss of it._]
Mispending a Man's time is a kind of _self-homicide_, it is making Life to
be of no use.
[Sidenote: _Truth._]
Truth is not only stifled by Ignorance, but concealed out of Caution or
Interest; so if it had not a Root of Immortality, it must have been long
since extinguished.
[Sidenote: _Wisdom._]
The most useful Part of Wisdom is for a Man to give a good guess, what
others think of him.
It is a dangerous thing to guess partially, and a melancholy thing to
guess right.
Nothing would more contribute to make a Man wise, than to have always an
Enemy in his view.
A wise Man may have more Enemies than a weak one, but he will not so much
feel the weight of them. Indeed the being wise doth either make Men our
Friends, or discourage them from being our Enemies.
Wisdom is only a comparative Quality, it will not bear a single
Definition.
[Sidenote: _Youth._]
A Man hath too little Heat, or Wit, or Courage, if he hath not sometimes
more than he should.
Just enough of a good thing is always too little.
Long Life giveth more Marks to shoot at, and therefore old Men are less
well thought of, than those who have not been so long upon the Stage.
Other Mens Memories retain the ill, whilst the good Things done by an old
Man, easily slip out of them.
Old Men have in some degree their Reprisals upon younger, by making nicer
Observations upon them, by virtue of their Experience.
_FINIS._