’Tis a High Point of Prudence for any Man to be Content with his Lot. For
’tis Forty to One that he that Changes his Condition, out of a Present
Impatience and Dissatisfaction, when he has try’d a New one, Wishes for
his Old One again: and Briefly, the more we shift, the Worse Commonly we
are. This Arises from the Inconstancy of our Minds, and One Prayer does
but make way for Another. Those People, in fine, that are Destin’d to
Drudgery, may well Change their Masters, but never their Condition.
He that finds himself in any Distress, either of Carcass, or of Fortune,
should do well to Deliberate upon the Matter, before he Prayes for, or
Resolves upon a Change. As for Example now, what is it that Troubles me?
Is there any Help for’t or no? What do I want? Is it Matter of Necessity
or Superfluity? Where am I to look for’t? How shall I come at it? _&c._
Now All our Grievances are either of Body or of Mind, or (in
Complication) of Both, and either the Remedy is in our Own Power, or it
is not. There are some Things that we cannot do for our selves, without
the Help of Others: There are some Things again, that Other People Cannot
do for Us, nor are they any way else to be done but by Our selves. In
the One Case we are to seek abroad for Relief, and in the Other, Whoever
Consults his Reason, and his Duty, will find a Certain Cure at Home: So
that it goes a Great way in the Philosophy of Humane Life, to Understand
the Just Measures of what we are Able to do, and what we are Oblidg’d to
do, in Distinction from the Contrary; for Otherwise we shall spend our
Days with _Æsop_’s Ass, in Hunting after Happiness where it is not to
be found, without ever looking for’t where it is. ’Tis allow’d us, to
be sensible of Broken Limbs, and Diseased Bodies: And Common Prudence
sends us to Surgeons and Physicians, to Piece, and Patch them up again.
But in These Cases, we Examine the Why, the What, and the How of Things,
and Propose Means Accommodate to the End. ’Tis Natural to be Mov’d with
Pain, and as Natural to Seek Relief; And it is well done at Last, to do
That which Nature bids us do; But for Imaginary Evils, Every Man may be
his Own Doctor. They are Bred in our Affections, and we may Ease our
selves. If the Question had been a Spavin, or a Gall’d Back, and the
_Ass_ had Petition’d to _Jupiter_ for Another _Farryer_, it might have
been a very Reasonable Request. Now if he had but Pitch’d upon such or
such a Particular Master, it might have done well enough too: But to
grow Weary of One Master, or of One Condition, and then to be presently
Wishing in General Terms for Another: This is only an Inconsiderate
Ejaculation thrown off at Random, without either Aim or Reason. Upon the
Whole Matter, it is but laying our own Faults at the Door of Nature and
Providence, while we Impute the Infirmities of our Minds to the Hardship
of our Lot.
To proceed according to the Distribution of my Matter; it is much with
Us in This Case, as it was with the Man that fell from his Horse and
could not get up again. He was sure he was Hurt, he said, but could not
tell Where. That is to say, _first_ our Grievances are Fantastical where
they are not Corporal. _2ly._ It is Another Error in us, that in All our
Fantastical Disappointments, we have Recourse to Fantastical Remedies.
_3ly._ Providence has Allotted Every Man a Competency for his State and
Business. All beyond it is Superfluous, and there will be Grumbling
without End, if we come to reckon upon’t, that we want This or That,
because we Have it Not, instead of Acknowledging that we have This or
That, and that we want Nothing. These Things duly Weigh’d, what can be
more Providential then the Blessing of having an _Antidote_ within our
selves against all the Strokes of Fortune! That is to say, in the Worst
of Extremeties, we have yet the Comfort left us of Constancy, Patience,
and Resignation.
’Tis not for a Wise and an Honest Man, to stand Expostulating with the
Nature of Things. As for Instance, Why should not I be This or That, or
be so or so, as well as He or T’other? But I should rather say to my self
after This manner: Am not I the Creature of an Almighty Power; and is
it not the same Power and Wisdom that Made and Order’d the World, that
has assign’d me this Place, Rank or Station, in’t? This Body, This Soul,
This every Thing? What I am, I must be, and there’s no Contending with
Invincible Necessity; No Disputing with an Incomprehensible Wisdom: To
say Nothing of the Impiety of Appealing from an Inexplicable Goodness. If
I can Mend my Condition by any Warrantable Industry and Virtue, the Way
is Fair and Open; And That’s a Priviledge that Every Reasonable Creature
has in his Commission: But without Fixing upon some Certain Scope, and
Prescribing Just and Honourable Ways to’t, there’s Nothing to be done.
’Tis a Wicked Thing to Repine; and ’tis as Bootless, and Uneasy too;
for One Restless Thought, Begets, and Punishes Another. We are not so
Miserable in our Own Wants, as in what Others Enjoy: And then our Levity
is as Great a Plague to us as our Envy, so that we need Nothing more
then we have, but Thankfulness, and Submission, to make us Happy. It was
not the Ground of the _Asses_ Complaint, that it was Worse with _Him_
then with _Other Asses_; but because he was an _Ass_: And he was not so
Sick of his _Master_, as of his _Work_. His Fortune was well enough for
such an _Animal_, so long as he kept himself within his Proper Sphere
and Bus’ness: But if the Stones in the Wall will be taking upon them to
Reproche the Builder; and if Nothing will please People unless they be
Greater than Nature ever Intended them; What can they Expect, but the
_Asses_ Round of Vexatious Changes, and Experiments; and at last, when
they have made Themselves Weary and Ridiculous, e’en glad to set up their
Rest upon the very Spot where they Started.