Vanity

Weep not therefore at the calamities of the human state; rather laugh at its follies. In the hands of the man addicted to vanity, life is but the shadow of a dream.

The hero, the most renowned of human characters, what is he but the bubble of this weakness? The public is unstable and ungrateful; why should the man of wisdom endanger himself for fools?

The man who neglecteth his present concerns to resolve how he will behave when greater, feedeth himself with wind, while his bread is eaten by another.

Act as becometh thee in thy present station and in more exalted ones thy face shall not be ashamed.

What blindeth the eye, or what hideth the heart of a man from himself, like vanity? Lo! when thou seest not thyself, then others discover thee most plainly.

As the tulip is gaudy without smell, conspicuous without use, so is the man who setteth himself up on high and hath no merit.

The heart of the vain is troubled while it seemeth content; his cares are greater than his pleasures.

His solicitudes cannot rest with his bones; the grave is not deep enough to hide it; he extendeth his thoughts beyond his being; he bespeaketh praise to be paid when he is gone; but whoso promiseth it deceiveth him.

As the man who engageth his wife to remain in widowhood that she disturb not his Soul, so is he who expecteth that praise shall reach his ears beneath the earth, or cherish his heart in its shroud.

Do well while thou livest, but regard not what is said of it. Content thyself with deserving praise, and thy posterity shall rejoice in hearing it.

As the butterfly who seeth not her own colours, as the jessamine which feeleth not the scent it casteth around it, so is the man who appeareth gay and biddeth others take notice of it.

To what purpose, saith he, is my vesture of gold, to what end are my tables filled with dainties, if no eye gaze upon them or if the world know it not? Give thy raiment to the naked and thy food unto the hungry; so shalt thou be praised and feel that thou deservest it.

Why bestowest thou on every man the flattery of unmeaning words? Thou knowest when returned thee, thou regardest it not. He knoweth he lieth unto thee; yet he knoweth thou wilt thank him for it. Speak in sincerity and thou shalt hear with instruction.

The vain delighteth to speak of himself; but he seeth not that others like not to hear him.

If he has done anything worthy of praise, if he possesseth that which is worthy of admiration, his joy is to proclaim it, his pride is to hear it reported. The desire of such a man defeateth itself. Men say not, "Behold he hath done it"; or, "See he possesseth it"; but "Mark how proud he is of it!"

The heart of man cannot attend at once to many things. He who fixeth his Soul on show, loseth reality. He pursueth bubbles which break in their flight, while he treads to earth what would do him honour.

Inconstancy

Thou art from the womb of thy mother various and wavering; from the loins of thy father inheritest thou instability: how then shalt thou be firm?

Those who gave the a body furnished it with weakness; but He who gave thee Soul armed thee with resolution. Employ it, and thou art wise; be wise and thou art happy.

Let him who doth well beware how he boasteth of it; for rarely is it of his own will.

Is it not the event of an impulse from without, born of uncertainty, enforced by accident, dependent on somewhat else? To these, then, and to accident, is due the praise.

Beware of irresolution in the intent of thine actions, beware of instability in the execution; so shalt thou triumph over two great failings of thy nature.

What reproacheth reason more than to act contrarieties? What can suppress the tendencies to these but firmness of mind?

The inconstant feeleth that he changeth, but he knoweth not why; he seeth that he escapeth from himself but he perceiveth not how. Be thou incapable of change in that which is right, and men will rely upon thee.

Establish unto thyself principles of action, and see that thou ever act according to them.

First know that thy principles are just, and then be thou inflexible in the path of them.

So shall thy apssions have no rule over thee; so shall thy constancy ensure unto thee the good thou possessest, and drive from the door misfortune. Anxiety and disappointment shall be strangers to thy gates.

Suspect not evil in anyone until thou seest it; when thou seest it, forget not to forgive.

How should his actions be right who hath no rule of life? Nothing can be just which proceedeth not from within.

The inconstant hath no peace in his Soul; neither can any be at ease whom he concerneth himself with.

His life is unequal; his motions are irregular; his reason changeth with the weather.

Today he loveth thee, tomorrow thou art detested by him; and why? himself knoweth not wherefore he loved, or wherefore he now hateth.

Today he is the tyrant, tomorrow thy servant is less humble; and why? he who is arrogant without power will be servile when there is no subjection.

Today he is profuse, tomorrow he grudgeth unto his mouth that which it should eat. Thus it is with him who knoweth not moderation.

Who shall say of the chameleon, He is black, when the moment after, the verdure of the grass overspreadeth him?

Who shall say of the innocent, He is joyful, when his next breath shall be spent in sighing?

What is the life of such a man but the phantom of a dream? In the morning he riseth happy, at noon he is on the rack; this hour he is a god, the next below a worm; one moment he laugheth, the next he weepeth; he now willeth, in an instant he willeth not, and in another he knoweth not whether he willeth or no.

Yet neither ease nor pain have fixed themselves on him; neither is he waxed greater, or become less; neither has he had cause for laughter, nor reason for his sorrow; therefore shall none of them abide with him.

The happiness of the inconstant is as a palace built on the surface of the land; the blowing of the wind carrieth away its foundation; what wonder then that it falleth?

But what exalted form is this, that hitherward directs its even, its uninterrupted course? whose foot is on the earth, whose head above the clouds? He is the constant being!

On his brow sitteth majesty; steadiness is in his port; and in his heart reigneth tranquility.

Though obstacles appear in the way, he deigneth not to look down upon them; though heaven and earth oppose his passage, he proceedeth.

The mountains sink beneath his tread; the waters of the ocean are dried up under the sole of his foot.

The tiger throweth herself across his way in vain; the spots of the leopard glow against him unregarded.

He marcheth through the embattled legions; with his hand he putteth aside the terrors of death.

Storms roar against his shoulders, but are not able to shake them; the thunder bursteth over his head in vain; the lightning serveth but to show the glories of his countenance.

His name is resolution!

He cometh from the utmost part of the earth; he seeth happiness afar off before him; his eye discovereth her temple beyond the limits of the pole.

He walketh up to it, he entereth boldly, and he remaineth there for ever.

Establish thine heart, O man! in that which is right; and then know the greatest of human praise is to be immutable.

Weakness

Wherein art thou most weak? In that wherein thou seemest most strong; in that wherein thou most gloriest; even in possessing the things which thou hast; in using the good that is about thee.

Are not thy wishes also frail? or knowest thou even what it is thou wouldst wish? When thou hast obtained what most thou soughtest after, behold it contenteth thee not.

Wherefore loseth the pleasure that is before thee its relish? and why appeareth that which is yet to come the sweeter? because thou art wearied with the good of this, because thou knowest not the evil of that which is not with thee. Know that to be content is to be happy.

Couldst thou choose for thyself, would thy Creator lay before thee all that thy heart could ask for? would happiness then remain with thee? or would joy dwell always in thy gates?

Alas! thy weakness forbiddeth it; thine infirmity declareth against it. Variety is to thee in the place of pleasure; but that which permanently delighteth must be permanent. When it is gone, thou repentest the loss of it; though, while it was with thee, thou despisedst it.

That which succeedeth it hath no more pleasure for thee; and thou afterwards quarrelest with thyself for preferring it: behold, the only circumstance in which thou errest not!

Is there anything in which thy weakness appeareth more than in desiring things? it is in the possessing, and in the using them.

Good things cease to be good in our wrong enjoyment of them. What nature meant pure sweets, are then sources of bitterness to us; from such delights arise pain, from such joys, sorrow.

Be right in enjoyment, and it shall remain in thy possession; let thy joy be founded on reason, and to its end shall sorrow be a stranger.

The delights of love are ushered in by sighs, and they terminate in languishment and dejection if the object thou burnedst for nauseates with satiety; and no sooner hast thou possessed it but thou art weary of its presence.

Join esteem to thine admiration, unite friendship with thy love; so shalt thou find in the end content so absolute that it surpasseth rapture, tranquility more worth than ecstasy.

God hath given thee no good without its admixture of evil; but He hath given thee also the means of throwing off the evil from it.

As joy is not without its alloy of pain, so neither is sorrow without its portion of pleasure. Joy and grief, though unlike, are united. Our own choice only can give them to us uniquely.

Melancholy itself often giveth delight, and the extremity of joy is mingled with tears.

The best things in the hands of a fool may be turned to his destruction; and out of the worst the wise will find the means of good.

So blended is strength and weakness in the Soul and body, O man! that thou hast not strength either to be good or to be evil entirely. Rejoice that thou canst not excel in evil, and let the good that is within thy Soul content thee.

The virtues are allotted to various stations. Seek not after impossibilities, nor grieve that thou canst not possess them all.

Wouldst thou at once have the liberality of the rich, and the contentment of the poor? or shall the wife of thy bosom be despised because she showeth not the learning of the widow?

If thy father sink before thee in the divisions of the country, can at once thy justice destroy him and thy duty save his life?

If thou behold thy brother in the agonies of a slow death, is it not mercy to put a period to his life? and is it not also death to thus commit murder.

Truth is but one; thy doubts are of thine own raising. He who made virtues what they are, planted also in thee a knowledge of their pre-eminence. Act as Soul dictates to thee, and the end shall be always right.

On the Insufficiency of Knowledge

The statesman proclaimeth that he hath it; the ruler of the people claimeth the praise of it; but findeth the subject that he possesseth it?

Evil is not requisite to man; neither can vice be necessary to be tolerated; yet how many evils are permitted by the connivance of the laws? how many crimes committed by the decrees of the council?

But be wise, O ruler! and learn, O thou who art to command the nations! One crime authorised by thee is worse than the escape of ten from punishment.

When thy people are numerous, when thy sons increase about thy table; sendest thou them not out to slay the innocent, and to fall before the sword of him whom they have not offended?

It the object of thy desires demandeth the lives of a thousand, sayest thou not, I will have it? Surely thou forgettest that He who created thee, created also these! and their blood is as rich as thine, their Soul as thine also.

Sayest thou that justice cannot be executed without wrong? Surely, thine own words condemn thee.

Thou who flatterest with false hopes the criminal, that he may confess his guilt: art thou not unto him a criminal? or is thy guilt the less, because he cannot punish it?

When thou commandest to the torture him who is but suspected of ill, darest thou to remember that thou mayest wrack the innocent?

Is thy purpose answered by the event? is the Soul in thee satisfied with his confession? Pain will enforce him to say what is not, as easy as what is; and anguish hath caused innocence to accuse herself.

That thou mayst not kill him without cause, thou dost worse than kill him; that thou mayst prove if he be guilty, thou destroyest him innocent.

O blindness to all truth! O insufficiency of the wisdom of the wise! Know when thy judge shall bid thee account for this, thou shalt wish ten thousand guilty to have gone free, rather than one innocent then to stand forth against thee.

Insufficient as thou art to the maintenance of justice, how shalt thou arrive at the knowledge of truth? how shalt thou ascend to the footstep of her throne?

As the owl is blinded by the radiance of the sun, so shall the brightness of her countenance dazzle thee in thine approach.

If thou wouldst mount up unto her throne, first bow thyself at her footstool; if thou wouldst arrive at the knowledge of her, first inform thyself of thine own ignorance.

More worth is she than pearls, therefore seek her carefully; the emerald, and the sapphire, and the ruby, are as dirt beneath her feet; therefore pursue her manfully.

The way to her is labour; attention is the pilot that must conduct thee into her ports. But weary not on the way; for when thou art arrived at her, the toil shall be to thee for pleasure.

Say not unto thyself, Behold, truth breedeth hatred, and I will avoid it; dissimulation raiseth friends, and I will follow it. Are not the enemies made by truth better than the friends obtained by flattery?

Naturally doth man desire the truth; yet when it is before him he will not apprehend it; and if it force itself upon him, is he not offended at it? The fault is not in truth, for that is amiable, but the weakness of man beareth not its splendour.

Wouldst thou see thine insufficiency more plainly? view thyself as thy devotions! To what end was religion instituted, but to teach thee thine infirmities, to remind thee of thy weakness, to show thee that from heaven alone thou art to hope for good?

Doth it not remind thee that thy body is dust? doth it not tell it like unto ashes? And behold repentance: is it not built on frailty?

The shorter follies are the better: say not therefore to thyself, I will not play the fool by halves.

He that heareth his own faults with patience, shall reprove another with boldness.

He that giveth a denial with reason, shall suffer a repulse with moderation.

If thou art suspected, answer with freedom: whom should suspicion affright except the guilty?

The tender of heart is turned from his purpose by supplications, the proud is rendered more obstinate by entreaty. The sense of thine insufficiency commandeth thee to hear; but to be just, thou must hear without thy passions.

Misery

It is the character of thy body, the prerogative of thy flesh: in thy thoughts alone it resideth; without these there is nothing of it. And behold, what is its source, but thine own physical passions?

He who gave thee these, gave thee also Soul to subdue them; exert it, and thou shalt trample them under thy feet.

Thine entrance into the world, is it not sorrowful? thy destruction, is it not glorious? Lo, men adorn the instruments of death with gold and gems, and wear them above their garments.

She who begetteth man, hideth her face; but she who killeth a thousand, is honoured.

Know thou, not withstanding, that in this is error: Custom cannot alter the nature of truth; neither can the opinion of man destroy justice; the glory and shame are misplaced.

There is but one way for man to be created; there are a thousand by which he may be destroyed.

There is no praise, or honour, to him who giveth being to another; but triumphs and empire are the rewards of murder.

Yet he who hath many children hath as many blessings; and he who hath taken away the life of another shall not enjoy his own.

While the savage curseth the birth of his son, and blesseth the death of his father, doth he not call himself a monster?

Enough of evil is allotted unto man; but he maketh it more while he lamenteh it.

The greatest of all human ills is sorrow: too much of this thou art born unto; add not unto it by thine own perverseness.

Grief is natural to the mortal world, and is always about thee; pleasure is a guest, and visiteth thee but by thine invitation; use well thy mind, and sorrow shall be passed behind thee; be prudent, and the visits of joy shall remain long with thee.

Every part of thy body is capable of sorrow; but few and narrow are the paths that lead to delights that equal the joy of the Soul.

Pleasures can be admitted only singly; but pains rush in a thousand at a time.

As the blaze of straw fadeth as soon as it is kindled, so passeth away the brightness of joy, and thou knowest not what is become of it.

Sorrow is invited frequently, pleasure rarely; pain cometh of itself, delight must be purchased; grief is unmixed, but joy wanteth not its alloy of bitterness.

As the soundest health is less perceived than the lightest malady, so the highest joy toucheth us less deep than the smallest sorrow.

We are enslaved by anguish; we often fly from pleasure: when we purchase it, costeth it not more than it is worth?

Reflection is the business of man; a sense of his state is his first duty: but who remembereth himself in joy? Is it not in mercy, then, that sorrow is allotted unto us?

Man foreseeth the evil that is to come; he remembereth it when it is past: he considereth not that the thought of affliction woundeth deeper than the affliction itself. Think not of thy pain except when it is upon thee, and thou shalt avoid what most would hurt thee.

He who weepeth before he needeth, weepeth more than he needeth: and why? but that he loveth weeping.

The stag weepeth not until the spear is lifted up against him; nor do the tears of the beaver fall till the hounds are ready to seize him: man anticipateth death by the apprehension of it; and the fear is greater misery than the event itself.

Of Judgment

As the torrent that rolleth down the mountains destroyeth all that is borne away by it, so doth common opinion overwhelm reason in him who submitteth to it without saying, What is thy foundation?

See that what thou receivest as truth be not the shadow of it! What thou acknowledgest as convincing is often but plausible. Be firm, be constant, determine for thyself; so shalt thou be answerable only for thine own weakness.

Say not that the event proveth the wisdom of the action; remember man is not above the reach of accidents created by his will.

Condemn not the judgment of another because it differeth from thine own; may not even both be in error?

When thou esteemest a man for his titles and contemneth the stranger because he wanteth them, judgest thou not of the camel by his bridle? Think not thou art revenged of thine enemy when thou slayest him; thou puttest him beyond thy reach, thou givest him quiet, and thou takest from thyself all means of hurting him.

Was thy mother incontinent, and grieveth it thee to be told of it? Is frailty in thy wife, and art thou pained at the reproach of it? He who despiseth thee for it condemneth himself. Art thou answerable for the vices of another?

Disregard not a jewel because thou possessest it, neither enhance thou the value of a thing because it is another's; possession to the wise addeth to the price of it.

Honour not thy wife the less because she is in thy power, and despise him that said, "Wouldst thou love her less? Marry her!" What hath put her into thy power but her confidence in thy virtue? Shouldst thou love her less for being more obliged to her?

If thou wert just in thy courtship of her, though thou neglectest her while thou hast her, yet shall her loss be bitter to the Soul in thee.

He who thinketh another best only because he possesseth her, if he be not wiser than thee, at least he is more happy.

Weigh not the loss thy friend hath suffered by the tears he sheddeth for it: the greatest gifts are above these expressions of them.

Esteem not an action because it is done with noise and pomp; the noblest being is he that doth great things and is not moved in the doing of them.

Fame astonisheth the ear of him who heareth it; but tranquility rejoiceth the heart that is possessed of it.

Attribute not the good actions of another to bad causes: thou canst not know his heart, but the world will know by this that thine is full of envy.

There is not in hypocrisy more vice than folly; to be honest is as easy as to seem so.

Be more ready to acknowledge a benefit than to revenge an injury; so shalt thou have more benefits than injuries done unto thee.

Be more ready to love than to hate; so shalt thou be loved by more than hate thee.

Be willing to commend, and be slow to censure; so shall praise be upon thy virtues, and the eye of enmity shall be blind to thine imperfections.

When thou dost good, do it because it is good, not because men esteem it; when thou avoidest evil, fly because it is evil, not because men speak against it. Be honest for love of honesty, and thou shalt be uniformly so; he that doth it without principle is wavering.

Wish rather to be approved by the wise than to be applauded by him who hath no understanding: when they tell you of a fault, they suppose thou canst improve; the other, when he praiseth thee, thinketh thee like unto himself.

Accept not an office for which thou art not qualified, lest he who knoweth more of it despise thee.

Instruct not another in that wherein thou thyself art ignorant; when he seeth it, he will upbraid thee.

Expect not a friendship with him who hath injured thee: he who suffereth wrong may forgive it; but he who doth it will never be well with him.

Nevertheless, ingratitude is not in the Soul of man, neither is his anger unreconcilable; he hateth to be put in mind of a debt he cannot pay; he is ashamed in the presence of him whom he hath injured.

Repine not at the good of a stranger, neither rejoice thou in the evil that befalleth thine enemy: wishest thou that others should do thus by thee?

Wouldst thou enjoy the good-will of all men? Let thine own benevolence be universal. If thou obtainest it not by this, no other means could give it thee; and know, thou though hast it not, thou hast the greater pleasure of having merited it, and in thy future states and beings shalt thou witness the marvels of thine acts in this state.

Presumption

Presumption is the bane of reason; it is the nurse of error; yet it is congenial with reason in us.

Who is there that judgeth not either too highly of himself, or thinketh too meanly of others?

Our Creator escapeth not our presumption: how then shall we be safe from one another?

What is the origin of superstition? and whence ariseth false worship? From our presuming to analyse about what is above our reach, to comprehend what is incomprehensible but to the self within.

Limited and weak as our mortal understandings are, we employ not even their little forces as we ought. We soar not high enough in our approaches to God's greatness; we give not wing enough to our ideas when we enter into the adoration of divinity.

Man who fears to breathe a whisper against any earthly sovereign trembles not to arraign the dispensation of God; he forgetteth His majesty, and rejudgeth His judgments.

He who dareth not repeat the name of his prince without honour yet blusheth not to call that of his Creator to be witness to a lie.

He who would hear the sentence of the magistrate with silence yet dareth to plead with the Eternal; he attempteth to soothe Him with entreaties, to flatter Him with promises, to agree with Him upon conditions — nay, to rave and murmur at Him if his request is not granted.

Why art thou unpunished, O man! in thine impiety, but that this is not thy day of retribution?

Be not like unto those who fight with the thunder; nor dare thou deny thy Creator thy prayers because He chastiseth thee. Thy madness is on thine own head in this; thine impiety hurteth no one but thyself.

Why boasteth man that he is a favourite of his Maker, yet neglecteth to pay his thanks, his adoration, for it? How suiteth such a life with a belief so haughty?

Man, who is truly but a mote in the wide expanse, believeth the whole earth and heaven created for him; he thinketh the whole frame of nature hath interest in his well-being.

As the fool, while the images tremble on the bosom of the water, thinketh that trees, towns, and the wide horizon are dancing to do him pleasure; so man, while nature performs her destined course, believeth that all her motions are but to entertain his eye.

While he courteth the rays of the sun to warm him, he supposeth it made only to be of use to him; while he traceth the moon in her nightly path, he believeth she was created to do him pleasure.

Fool of thine own pride! be humble! know thou art not the cause why the world holdeth its course; for thee are not made the vicissitudes of summer and winter.

No change would follow if thy whole race existed not; thou art but one among millions that are blessed in it.

Exalt not thyself to the heavens; for, lo, the masters are above thee; nor disdain thy fellow-inhabitants of the earth for that they are beneath thee. Are they not the work of the same hand? and breathe the same Soul?

Thou who art happy by the goodness of thy Creator, how darest thou in wantonness put others of his creatures to torture? Beware that it return not upon thee in compensation.

Serve they not all the same Universal Master with thee? Hath He not appointed unto each its laws? Hath he not the care of their preservation? and darest thou to infringe it?

Set not thy judgment above that of all the earth; neither condemn as falsehood what agreeth not with thine own apprehension. Who gave thee the power of determining for others? or who took from the world the right of choice?

How many things have been rejected which are now received as truths? How many now received as truths shall in their turn be displaced? Of what, then, can man be certain?

Do the good that thou knowest, and happiness shall be unto thee. Labour is more thy business here than speculative thought.

Truth and falsehood, have they not the same appearance in what we understand not? What then but our Soul can determine between them?

We easily believe what is above our comprehension; or we are proud to pretend it, that it may appear we understand it. Is not this folly and arrogance?

Who is it that affirms most boldly? Who is it that holds his opinion most obstinately? Even he who hath most ignorance; for he also hath most pride.

Every man, when he layeth hold of an opinion, desireth to remain in it; but most of all he who hath most presumption. He contenteth not himself to betray his Soul into it; but he will impose it on others to believe in it also.

Say not that truth is established by years, or that in a multitude of believers there is certainty. One human proposition hath as much authority as another if reason maketh not the difference.