Thoughts, Moral and Divine, Upon Various Subjects (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ply to, in all our misfortunes; we bring into the world a poor needy, uncertain life, fhort at the beft; all the imaginations of the wife have been bulled to find out the ways how to revive it with pleafure, or relieve it with counfel; how to compofe it with eafe, and fettle it with fafety; to fome of thefe ends have been employed the inftructions of Lawgivers, the reafonings of Philofophers, the inventions of Poets, the pains of the labouring, and the extravagancies of the Voluptuous; all the world is at work perpetually a- bout nothing elfe, but only that our poor mortal lives mould pafs the eafier and the happier that little time we poflefs them; or elfe end the better when we lofe them; upon this occafion riches came to be coveted, honour to be efteem'd, friendfhip and love to be pur- lued, and virtues themlelves to be admired in the world. It is the part of a wife and well educated man, as not to be tranfported beyond him- fclf with any profperous events; fo, when thefcene of fortune changeth, to obferveftill the comelinefs and decency of his morals; for it is the bufinefs of a man, either to prevent an evil that threatens him, or, when it is come, to qualify and alleviate its malignity; or put on a mafculine brave ipirit, and fo refolve to endure it; for there are four ways that prudence concerns herfelf about any thing that is good; iheis either induftri- ous to acquire, or careful to preferve; fhecither augments or ufeth it well: Thefe are the meafures of prudence, and confequently thofe of all other virtues, by which we ought to fquare ourfelves in either fortune. For no man lives, who always happy is. And the Author qfNiGHT Thoughts obferves, Not prudtnte can defend, or virtue fave; Difeafe invades the chafteft Temperance; And punifliment the guiltlefs; and...