980 Suffer not thy felf to be impofed upon by the Air, and fenfible Impreffion of Men: but retire within thy felf, and hearken to the Voice of thy inward, plain, and distinct Reason.

981 If thou avoideft Society too much, thou wilt be thought either poor-fpirited or proud, or fantastick, or furly, or melancholy, or else a brute Beaft; for all thofe fly the Company of Men.

982 Confider what Opinion other Men have of thee; and in what Matter they will willingly hear thee, and give Credit to thee; and in no wife meddle with any other Matter in their Company.

983 Be not angry with thy Servant too long, left he think thee ill-natur'd; nor too foon, left he conceive thee pettish; nor too often, left he count thee humourfome.

984 If thou wouldeft converse profitably, thou muft endeavour to be amongst thofe, that either may be made better, or else may make thee bet

ter.

985 If any speak ill of thee, flee home to thy own Conscience, and examine thy Heart: If thou beeft guilty, 'tis a juft Correction; if not guilty, 'cis a fair Inftruction.

986 If thou expecteft Death as a Friend, prepare to entertain it; if as an Enemy, prepare to overcome it. Death hath no Advantage, but where it comes a Stranger.

987 If thou wouldest study to Advantage, keep a peaceful Soul within a temperate Body. Fulnefs of Humours, and Turbulency of Spirits, distract the Thoughts, and difable Judgment.

988 In all thy Actions, remember God fees thee; and in all his Dealings with thee, labour to fee him. That will make thee fear him; this will make thee love him.

989 Poetry

989 Poetry is a sweet and pleafant Honey. I advife thee only to tafte it with the Tip of thy Finger, and not to live upon it: if thou do'ft, it will diforder thy Head, and give thee dangerous Vertigo's.

990 I would not have thee ftudy merely for Study's fake: No, infinite Thinking, that defigns no other Advantage but thy own private Satisfaction, is but a fort of ingenious Idleness.

991 Learn in Profperity to be filent, and not tranfported: In Adverfity to be patient, and not dejected: In neither to be much altered: In both to be philofophically affected.

992 Let nothing in this World tempt thee to wrong thy Conscience: So wilt thou keep peace at home; which will be a fweet Refuge to thee in a Day of Trouble.

993 Engage not willingly in fuch a Courfe of Life, as Nature hath made thee unfit for. Nothing can be more miserable, and more inconfiftent with Tranquillity than that: It's fwimming against the Stream.

994 Though the World be wicked, yet persevere thou in Well-doing, even among, and to wicked Men. 'Twas the greatest Commendation of Lot, that he could lead a good Life even in Sodom.

995 Whenever thou defigneft any thing, first take a Measure of thy felf, and compare thy Force with thy Undertaking: For it is Thameful, and vexes a Man, not to go through with his Work.

996 Deny thy felf leffer Matters; that fo when the greater come, they may not have the Disadvantage of Uncouthnefs and perfect Strangeness to enhance their Difficulty.

997 To divert at any time a troublesome Fancy, 'tis but to run to thy Books: they presently fix thee to them, and drive the other out of thy Thoughts. They always receive thee with the fame Kindness.

998 Make not War upon the Hypocrites and Flatterers; thou wilt have too many Enemies to encounter; and mayft be more affured of their Hatred, than of their Amendment.

999 Let the Exercife of thy Wits be always proper for thy Age, and never too much above it: And fo by Practice and Ufe in lighter Arguments, they will grow up at laft to excel in the most weighty.

1000 In thy Judgment and Esteem of Men, conftantly prefer the good Temper of their Minds, and Honefty of their Actions, above all the Excellencies of their Eloquence or Knowledge.

1001 Haunt not too much thy Friend's Houfe, for fear he wax weary of thy often coming: Neither be too long abfent, for that may cause Sufpicion that thou artgrown cool, which may turn to a Strange-nefs, and by degrees to a Diflike.

1002 With the Ireful, it's not best to be importunate to crave Pardon, nor to labour in fhewing them their Miftake; but to request that Revenge may be deferred.

1003 If thou defireft Eafe, in the first place take care of the Ease of thy Mind; for that will make all other Sufferings eafy: But nothing can fupport a Man whofe Mind is wounded.

1004 Be not over troublefome, and over pref fing, to inform thy felf of fuch things as thou doft not know; for it may prejudice the Opinion Men have of thy Parts and Intelligence.

1005 If

1005 If thou fhouldest chance to quarrel, do not fay all the Evil thou knowest of him thou art fallen out with; but do it in fuch a manner as to leave room for an Accommodation.

1006 When any one is ill spoken of for fome bad Actions laid to his Charge; if it be as probable he hath not done it, as that he hath, then Charity obliges thee to believe the best.

1007 Let no Pleasure tempt thee, no Profit alTure thee, no Ambition corrupt thee, no Example fway thee, no Perfuafion move thee, to do any thing which thou knowest to be Evil.

1008 Alway retain an inflexible Honefty and Truth. When that comes to be known, 'twill give thee a Reputation in the World, and bring thee into Bufinefs and Employment: and that is the way to thrive.

1009 Recollect often what Thoughts, Purposes, Temper of Mind and Spirit were upon thee, wher thy Afflictions were upon thee, or thy Deliverances freshly given to thee.

1010 Think with thy felf, when a Temptation preffeth; would I commit this Crime, if the Firmnefs of my Health, and the Thread of my Life were to be broken off the next Hour?

1011 Ufe thy felf to this Thought: If I have but enough for my felf and Family, I am Steward only for my felf: If I have more, I am but a Steward of that Abundance for others.

1012 Make thy felf thy great Study; and learn to estimate and value thy felf juftly. He that knoweth not what is fit for one in his Circumftances, will never be able to maintain a due Esteem.

1013 'Tis not good to be always feigning; 'tis fometimes dangerous. Thou wilt have much ado

to

to keep the Vizard always on. And if it be once pulled off, thou'lt look moft defpicably.

1014 If thou fufpecteft thy Adversary hath a Plot against thees let thy firft Care be to inject a Delay to it, till thou hast time to fearch into it, to difperfe or defeat it more effectually.

1015 If thou inviteft any to thy Houfe, fhew thy felf fweet and kind, and with a clear Face. It's a Sin against Hospitality, to open thy Doors and fhut thy Countenance.

1016 If thou wouldest retain any in thy Company, deceive the Time with harmless Mirth and Entertainment; which may draw their Attention from being much awake to obferve how late it

is.

1017 If thou falleft upon Men, when their Thoughts are abroad in their Pleafures, they cannot come home to themfelves foon enough to ftand upon their Guard, and make Refistance.

1018 Be not too greedy and hafty in begging of Favours; for thou thus ravishest that, which would have come with confent at the Seafon intended. It's like the plucking off a Courtesy in the Bud before it be ripe.

1019 Be not too confident of the Service of fuch as have an Intereft of their own going, as well as thine: they will, like the Hawk, eat the Fowl themselves, which they fhould take for their Mafter.

1020 In Expences, if thou beeft fluent in one kind, be fparing in another. Confider what is best to lay thy Money out upon: And keep one hand fhut, while the other is open.

1021 Suffer not thy felf to be too much poffeffed by what thou haft. The fafter thou art glewed to any thing, the more Pain thou wilt have when thou shalt be rent from it.

1022 IF