There is no Mystery in telling us that a _Widow_ may be Prevail’d upon
to Think of a _Second Husband_; but the Weight of this Emblem lies upon
Those Cases where there Occur a Thousand Scruples, and Difficulties,
that may startle People at first, and yet in the Conclusion, prove but
a _Nine Days Wonder_. The Foolery of the _Widow_ and the _Green Ass_,
shews pleasantly enough, how easy a Matter it is for a Bold Face, a Good
Assurance, and a Reasonable Stock of Wit and Address, to put Common Fame
it self out of Countenance; and it is a Part of Prudence beside, not to
sink under the Impression of an Ill Report: Provided there be Integrity
and Innocence to Support That Firmness of Mind. A Wise Man will not make
his Happiness Precarious: He looks to his Conscience, and leaves the
World to take its Course. ’Tis the Novelty, not the Quality of Things,
that sets People a Gaping and a Gazing at them: But when they come once
to be Familiar, the Wonder goes off, and Men return to their Wits again.
The Main Consideration is This, whether the Matter in Question be Good or
Evil; honourable or Dishonourable; Not according to a Vulgar Estimate,
but in the Genuine Truth, and Nature of it. ’Tis Foolish either to Fear,
or to Mind what the People say of a Man, in Cases where he stands or
falls to his Own Conscience.