It is the advice of the wise man, 'Dwell at home,' or, with yourself;
and though there are very few that do this, yet it is surprising that
the greatest part of mankind cannot be prevailed upon, at least to
visit themselves sometimes; but, according to the saying of the wise
Solomon, _The eyes of the fool are in the ends of the earth_.
A reflecting mind, says an ancient writer, is the spring and
source of every good thing. ('_Omnis boni principium intellectus
cogitabundus._') It is at once the disgrace and the misery of men,
that they live without fore-thought. Suppose yourself fronting a
mirror. Now what the objects behind you are to their images at the
same apparent distance before you, such is Reflection to Fore-thought.
As a man without Fore-thought scarcely deserves the name of a man, so
Fore-thought without Reflection is but a metaphorical phrase for the
_instinct_ of a beast.