M

CLIX.

EN. -Men are Stoics in their early years, Epicureans in their latter; social in youth, selfish in old age.

In early life they believe all men honest, till they know them to be knaves, in late life they believe all to be knaves, till they know them to be honest. Thus, somehow or other, men pass, in the course of living, from one of those extremes to the other; and from having thought too well of human nature at first, think at last, perhaps, too ill of it.— Sylva.

CLXX.

ATE. -Fate is nothing but a series of events, considered as necessarily following in some certain order, or of which it has always been true that they would be, in their determinate times and places.-Woollaston.

CLXXI.

ABIT.-Frequent repetitions in every thing introduce HABIT; and habit in its effects is assimilated to instinct. Fortunately it is common to every thing we practise, without conception. Its incalculable advantages are equally the property of the unlearned and the learned, of the mere peasant and the accomplished scholar. Habit is, as it were, instantaneous in its operations; but the introduction of habit is frequently slow and difficult. Facilities are the result of much practice, and may have been acquired by much application and labour; although, after perfection is attained, we may forget the slow stages of gradual improvement, and censure those who are not so expert as ourselves.- Cogan.

CLXXII.

ALSEHOOD.-If falsehood had, like truth, but one face

only, we should be upon better terms; for we should then take the contrary to what the liar says for certain truth; but the reverse of truth hath a hundred figures, and a field indefinite, without bound or limit.-Montaigne.

CLXXIII.

UNISHMENT OF DEATH FOR MURDER.-The ends of

punishment are three: to redress the injured, to reform the offender, and to deter others. Now,

neither the murdered nor his representatives can receive any redress from the death of the offender; and with regard to the other two ends, I think it will appear, upon a close inspection, that there are many continued punishments, without having recourse to barbarities, that would be far more efficacious. We cannot be too cautious in depriving our fellow-creatures of that which God alone can give, and which it seems to me, he alone has the right to take away.-Hooper.

CLXXIV.

SEFUL EMPLOYMENT.-Would it not employ a beau prettily enough, if, instead of eternally playing with a snuff-box, he spent some part of his time in making one? Such a method as this would very much conduce to the public emolument, by making every man living good for something; for there would then be no one member of human society but would have some little pretension for some degree in it.-Steele.

CLXXV.

OLITICAL JUSTICE.-We are obliged to act, so far as

our power reacheth, towards the good of the whole

community. And he who doth not perform the part assigned him towards advancing the benefit of the whole, in proportion to his opportunities and abilities, is not only an useless, but a very mischievous member of the public; because he takes his share of the profit, and yet leaves his share of the burthen to be borne by others, which is the true principal cause of most miseries and misfortunes in life.-Swift.

CLXXVI.

REATMENT OF CRIMINALS.-The way to intimidate

vice, is not to render punishment common, but formidable; it is our study to prevent crimes; we send the refractory to places of solitude, where they are attended by those who endeavour to bring them to repentance, who operate by degrees on their hardened hearts, and gradually display the refined charms of virtue, to whose attractions the most depraved of mortals are not insensible. Does the physician, at the first attack of a violent fever, abandon his patient? Why, therefore, should we desert the guilty, who may yet be recovered? There are few hearts so corrupted, as not to be restored by perseverance.-Mercier.