Every Man is to provide against Fraud and Treachery, where the Person
he deals with may be the Better for’t. _Fore-warn’d, Fore-arm’d._ ’Tis
not Safe to Joyn Interests with Strangers, upon such Terms, as to lay
our selves at Mercy. In All Offices of Christian Charity, and of Prudent
Conversation, People should have a Strict Regard to the Humour and
Character of the Persons they deal withal; to the Degrees and Measures
of Things; and to the Consequences upon the Whole Matter, in case of
the Worst. It is not Every Man’s Talent to distinguish aright upon All
the Necessities of Affairs of This Nature. That is to say, how far our
Prudence, may Warrant our Charity, and how far our Charity may Comport
with our Prudence. ’Tis dangerous on the One hand to pass the Rules of
Discretion; and it is Inhumane on the Other, not to Acquit our selves
in All the Functions of Tenderness, and Good Nature; for Piety and
Wisdom are Both Wrapt up in the Question. The very same Good Office
may be a Vertue toward One Man, and a Folly toward Another. One may
Justifie the running of a Risque, in Favour of a Man of Integrity and
Good Fame: But where there is an Habitual Ingratitude on the One side,
and a Considerable Hazzard on the Other, there’s No Trusting. I shall
not need to Enlarge upon This Topique, in a World that makes Good the
Allegory by so many Instances of Daily Practice and Conversation. How
many Fresh Examples may we find in our Own Memory, of Men that after
All the Obligations Imaginable, and in Contradiction to all the Tyes of
Honour, Justice, and Hospitality have serv’d their Masters, Patrons, and
Benefactors, as the _Hedge-Hog_ serv’d the _Snake_ here!