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THE BELLY HAS NO EARS.

of mind, and is the characteristic of a sophist;

It is difficult to speak to the belly, because it and when a spirit of envy leads a man to try to rival what is inimitable, it is perfectly ridicu

has no ears.

STRIKING A WIFE.

He used to say that the man who struck his wife or his son laid hands on what was most sacred.

So Ephesians (v. 33)" Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

WHEN POVERTY IS DISHONORABLE.

For poverty is not dishonorable in itself, but only when it arises from idleness, intemperance, extravagance, and folly.

JUSTICE VERY UNCOMMON.

Among men, valor and prudence are seldom met with, and of all human excellences justice is still

more uncommon.

So Genesis (xvii. 3?)—“ And Abraham said, Peradventure ten shall be found there. And the Lord said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake."

FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT.

lous.

PEACE AND WAR.

They recollect with pleasure the saying, "That it was not the sound of the trumpet, but the crowing of the cock, that awoke sleepers in time of peace."

LOVE OF BRICK AND MORTAR.

He used to say, "That those who were fond of building would soon ruin themselves without the assistance of enemies."

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

For we observe that political economy, when it refers merely to inanimate objects, is employed for the paltry purposes of gain; but when it treats of human beings, it rises to a higher branch of the laws of nature.

BETTER TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF RELIGION, BY ADHERING TO RECEIVED OPINIONS.

For he considered that novelty causes the imagination to add much to objects of terror, while things really fearful lose their effect by famili-ion, from a regard to ancient and received opinarity.

GOOD AND EVIL ACTIONS.

To do an evil action is base; to do a good action, without incurring danger, is common enough; but it is the part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risks everything.

CUSTOMS DEPENDING ON NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. But it is evident that customs, which depend on national institutions, must more speedily make an impression on the habits and lives of the mass of a community, than the profligacy and vices of individuals have the power of corrupting a whole nation. For when the whole is diseased, the parts cannot escape; whereas, if the disorder is only in some particular part, it may be amended by those who have not yet caught the infection.

HOW FAR A PAINTER OUGHT TO REPRESENT

BLEMISHES.

For as in the case of painters who have undertaken to give us a beautiful and graceful figure, which may have some slight blemishes, we do not wish them to pass over such blemishes altogether, nor yet to mark them too prominently. The one would spoil the beauty, and the other destroy the likeness of the picture.

RESULTS OF PROSPERITY AND ADVERSITY.

For there is nothing more difficult to direct than a man on whom fortune smiles; nothing more easily managed, when the clouds of adversity overwhelm him.

WORD-CATCHERS.

For my own part, I cannot help saying that I think all envy and jealousy respecting the style of expression which others employ betrays littleness

It is more fitting to err on the side of religions, than to err through obstinacy and presumption.

RECURRENCE OF THE SAME EVENTS.

It is not at all surprising that Fortune, being ever changeable, should, in the course of numberless ages, often hit on events perfectly similar. For if there be no limit to the number of events that happen, Fortune can have no difficulty in furnishing herself with parallels in this abundance of matter; whereas, if their number be limited, there must necessarily be a return of the same occurrences when the whole cycle has been gone through.

TRUE HONOR.

True honor leaves no room for hesitation and doubt.

TIME DESTROYS THE STRONGEST THING.

In fact, perseverance is all-powerful; by it time, in its advances, undermines and is able to destroy the strongest things on earth; being the best friend and ally to those who use properly the opportunities that it presents, and the worst enemy to those who are rushing into action before it summons them.

DIFFERENT CONDUCT OF MEN IN PROSPERITY AND ADVERSITY.

Prosperity inspires an elevation of mind even in the mean-spirited, so that they show a certain degree of high-mindedness and chivalry in the lofty position in which fortune has placed them; but the man who possesses real fortitude and magnanimity will show it by the dignity of his behavior under losses, and in the most adverse fortune.

MAN NEITHER SAVAGE NOR UNSOCIAL BY NATURE.

Being convinced that man is neither by birth nor by disposition a savage, nor of unsocial habits, but only becomes so by indulging in vices contrary to his nature; yet even in this case, he may be improved by change of abode, and by a different mode of life, as beasts, that are naturally wild, lay aside their fury when they have been properly

trained.

THE WORD OF THE GOOD IS WEIGHTY.

Since a mere word or a simple nod from the good and virtuous possesses more weight than the prepared speeches of other men.

DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN THE SAME MAN.

It is indeed difficult, but, I believe, not impossible, for the same man to be rough and gentle, as some wines are both sweet and sour; and then

THE NOBLE MINDED ADDS DIGNITY TO EVERY again, some men, who have all the appearance of

ACT.

The generous mind adds dignity To every act, and nothing misbecomes it.

DEAD MEN DO NOT BITE.

Dead men do not bite.

A STRAW SHOWS HOW THE WIND SETS.

Nor is it always in the most distinguished actions that a man's worth or malicious temper may be most easily discovered; but very often an action of small note, a short expression, or a jest, shall point out a man's real character more clearly than the greatest sieges or the most important battles.

RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION.

So true it is that, though disbelief in religion and contempt of things divine be a great evil, yet superstition is a still greater.

THE GOOD MAN IN ADVERSITY.

When the good and upright are depressed by Fortune, the only real power she exercises over them is that she brings unjust aspersions and slanders upon their character, instead of the honor and esteem in which they ought to be held; and in this way she diminishes the trust which the world ought to have in their virtue.

A PEOPLE IN ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES.

It is believed by some that when the affairs of a state are prosperous, the people, elated by their power and success, treat good ministers with the greater insolence; but this is a mistake. For misfortunes always irritate their tempers and annoy them; they take fire at trifles, and cannot bear to hear the smallest reproach. He who reproves their faults seems to make them the cause of their own misfortunes, and spirited language is regarded as an insult. And as honey causes wounds and ulcerated sores to smart, so it often happens that expostulation, however full of sense and truth it may be, provokes and alienates those in distress, unless gentleness and tact be shown in its application.

A PEOPLE IN ADVERSITY.

An eye in a state of inflammation avoids all bright and glaring colors, and loves to rest on what is dark and shady. In the same way a state, when fortune frowns, becomes timid and fearful, not being able to bear the voice of truth, though it is, above all things, necessary and salutary. Wherefore, it is no easy task to govern such a people; for, if the man who tells them the truth falls the first victim, he who flatters them at last perishes with them.

a gentle and kind manner, are worrying and unbearable by those who have to do with them.

WHAT IS GAINED WITH LABOR IS KEPT LONGEST. It is usually the case that those who have sharp and ready wits possess weak memories, while that which is acquired with labor and perseverance is always retained longest; for every hardgained acquisition of knowledge is a sort of annealing upon the mind.

A MAN REQUIRES TO BE BELOVED AS WELL AS

ESTEEMED IF HE IS TO HAVE INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS.

There is no real desire to imitate virtue, except the person who sets the example be beloved as well as esteemed. Those who praise the good without loving them, only pay respect to their name, admiring their virtuous life without caring to follow their example.

THE HONEST STATESMAN.

The honest and upright statesman pays no regard to the popular voice except with this view, that the confidence it procures him may facilitate his designs, and crown them with success.

THE BEST NOT WITHOUT IMPERFECTIONS.

Pitying the weakness of human nature, which, not even in dispositions that are best formed to virtue, can produce excellence without some taint of imperfection.

MONEY THE SINEWS OF BUSINESS.

He who first called money the sinews of business seems more particularly to have had regard to the affairs of war.

CHARACTER OF WEAK MEN.

His weakness increased his timidity, as is common with men of weak understandings, and he began to place his safety in jealousy and suspicion.

THE SACRIFICE OF TIME.

Antiphon said that the sacrifice of time was the most costly of all sacrifices.

OUR FORTUNE DEPENDS ON OUR OWN EXERTIONS,

But virtue, like a strong and hardy plant, takes root in any place where it finds an ingenuous nature, and a mind that loves labor. Wherefore, if we do not reach that high position which we desire, we ought not to ascribe it to the obscurity of the place where we were born, but to our own little selves.

KNOW THYSELF.

But perhaps the precept "Know thyself" would not be considered divine, if every man could easily reduce it to practice.

NO BEAST MORE SAVAGE THAN MAN.

There is no beast more savage than man, when he is possessed of power equal to his passion.

POWER TESTS A MAN'S CHARACTER.

It is an observation no less just than common, that there is no stronger test of a man's real character than power and authority, exciting, as they do, every passion, and discovering every latent vice.

POPULAR GOVERNMENT.

His intention was to keep the democracy within bounds, which cannot be properly called a government, but, as Plato terms it, a warehouse of governments.

THE VAIN AND CONCEITED.

It is the admirer of himself, and not the admirer of virtue, that thinks himself superior to others.

CAUSE OF MISFORTUNES IN A FAMILY.

Unless the foundations of a family be properly prepared and laid, those who are sprung from it must necessarily be unfortunate.

THE EVIL DEEDS OF PARENTS WEIGH DOWN THE CHILDREN.

There is no one, however high-spirited he may be, that does not quail when he thinks of the evil deeds of his parents.

NATURE, LEARNING, AND TRAINING. Nature without learning is like a blind man; learning without nature is like the maimed; practice without both these is incomplete. As in agriculture a good soil is first sought for, then a skilful husbandman, and then good seed; in the same way nature corresponds to the soil; the teacher to the husbandman; precepts and instruc tion to the seed.

MOTHERS OUGHT TO SUCKLE THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

In my opinion mothers ought to bring up and suckle their own children; for they bring them up with greater affection and with greater anxiety, as loving them from the heart, and, so to speak, every inch of them. But the love of a nurse is spurious and counterfeit, as loving them only for hire.

TEACHERS MUST BE OF BLAMELESS LIVES.

THE EYE OF THE MASTER FATTENS THE HORSE.

In this place we may very properly insert the saying of the groom, who maintained that there was nothing which served to fatten a horse so much as the eye of its master.

TO FIND FAULT WITH A SPEECH IS EASY. For to find fault with a speech is not difficultnay, it is very easy; but to put anything better in its place is a work of great labor.

THE TALKATIVE.

The talkative listen to no one, for they are ever speaking. And the first evil that attends those who know not to be silent is, that they hear nothing.

MAN.

For man is a plant, not fixed in the earth, nor immovable, but heavenly, whose head, rising as it were from a root upwards, is turned towards heaven.

GOD.

I am all that was, is, and will be.

So Psalms (cii. 27)--" But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end."

EVIL SPIRITS.

As among men so also among spirits there are differences of goodness.

ETERNAL FIRE.

Deep doors open towards hell, and rivers of fire are seen.

So Matthew (xxv. 41)-" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

WHO INJURES THEE?

It is not God that injures thee, but thyself. So Deuteronomy (iv. 31)—“God will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee."

GOD IS ETERNAL.

"I am all that was, and is, and will be." This was an inscription on a temple at Saïs.

So Revelation (i. 8)-"The Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come, the almighty."

GOD EVERYWHERE PRESENT.

He who fears the government of the gods as being gloomy and inexorable, whither will he go, whither will he flee? What land or what sea will he find without God? Into what part of the earth wilt thou descend and hide thyself, O unhappy wretch! where thou canst escape from God?

So Psalms (cxxxix. 7-10)—“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, bedwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

hold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and

Teachers ought to be sought who are of blame-up less lives, not liable to be found fault with, and distinguished for learning; for the source and root of a virtuous and honorable life is to be found in good training. And as husbandmen underprop plants, so good teachers, by their precepts and training, support the young, that their morals may spring up in a right and proper way.

A THOUSAND YEARS AS ONE DAY.

To the gods the whole span of man's life is as nothing; the same as if a culprit is tortured or hung in the evening and not in the morning.

So Psalms (xc. 4)-"For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night."

THE RELEASE OF THE SOUL.

was formed under the eye of Philopomen; and at the funeral of that general he carried the urn which contained his ashes, B.C. 182. In the war which arose between the Romans and Perseus, When the souls set free go to the unseen, invisi-king of Macedon, the opinion of Polybius and his ble, unfelt, and pure region, God is their leader father Lycortas was, that the Achæans should oband king, as they depend upon him, looking on serve a strict neutrality; but they were overruled, him without ever being satisfied, and striving after and the Achæans were implicated in the ruin of a beauty which cannot be expressed or described. Perseus. The Romans demanded a thousand of the So Psalms (xxxvi. 9)—"In thy light shall we see light." principal citizens as hostages, and among these was Polybius, who was allowed to remain in Rome, where he resided for sixteen years, from B.C. 167 to B.C. 151. He became the intimate friend and instructor of Scipio the younger, at that time, only eighteen years of age. At last, through the influence of Scipio and Cato, the Senate was prevailed upon to allow the Achæan exiles to return

ONLY ONE GOD.

To the one Mind that arranges the whole universe, and one Providence set over all, and to the helping Powers that are ordained to all, different honors and names are given by different people through legal enactments.

So Psalms (xlvi. 10)—“I will be exalted among the heathen, to their country. His principal work was entitled

I will be exalted in the earth."

FALSE SWEARING.

"General History," though it refers more particularly to a space of fifty-three years, from B.C. 220 to B.C. 168, from the commencement of the second He who deceives by an oath, acknowledges that Punic war, where the historian Timous and Araho fears his enemy, but despises God. tus of Sicyon had stopped, to the defeat of Perseus, So Matthew (v. 33)—“Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but king of Macedon, by the Romans. shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths."

REST FROM WORK.

In all kinds of attendance and of escorting the priests' heralds went before throughout the city, ordering men to keep the festival and to cease from work.

So Exodus (xxiii. 12)—“Six days shalt thou do thy work, and on the seventh thou shalt rest."

MEN ARE BAD THROUGH IGNORANCE OF WHAT
IS GOOD.

KNOWLEDGE OF PAST EVENTS.

Since the knowledge of what has gone before affords the best instruccion for the direction and guidance of human life.

HISTORY.

History furnishes the only proper discipline to educate and train the minds of those who wish to take part in public affairs; and the unfortunate events which it hands down for our instruction contain the wisest and most convincing lessons for enabling us to bear our own calamities with dig

Most men are wicked, because they have never known or tried the enjoyment of virtuous con-nity and courage. duct.

So Ephesians (iv. 18)—“ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts."

BAD MEN ARE SLAVES.

All bad men are slaves.

So John (viii. 34)-"Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin; " and 2 Corinthians (iii. 17)—" Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

EVIL COUNSEL.

Evil counsel is swift in its march.

So Romans (xvi. 18)—" By good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple;" and Wisdom of Solomon (iv. 12) "For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest."

TRUTHFULNESS OF THE HISTORIAN.

It is right for a good man to love his friends and his country, and to hate the enemies of both. But when a man takes upon him to write history, he must throw aside all such feelings, and be prepared, on many occasions, to extol even an enemy when his conduct deserves applause; nor should he hesitate to censure his dearest and most esteemed friends, whenever their deeds call for condemnation. For as an animal, if it be deprived of sight, is wholly useless; so if we eliminate but an idle tale. Now, if we pay a proper regard truth from history, what remains will be nothing to truth, we shall not hesitate to stigmatize our friends on some occasions, and to praise our enemies; but it may even be necessary to commend and condemn the same persons, as different circumstances may require; since it is not to be supposed that those who are engaged in great transactions shall always be pursuing false or mistaken views; nor yet is it probable that their conduct BORN PROBABLY ABOUT B.C. 204-DIED B.C. can at all times be free from error. A historian, therefore, in all that he relates, should take care POLYBIUS, a celebrated Greek historian, was to be guided in his judgment by the genuine the son of Lycortas, a native of Megalopolis, in and real circumstances of every action, without Arcadia, who succeeded Philopomen in the chief reference to those who may have been engaged direction of the Achæan League. His character in it.

POLYBIUS.

122.

WISE COUNSEL IS BETTER THAN STRENGTH.

We may also remark, in this event, the truth of that saying of Euripides, "that one wise counsel is better than the strength of many."

bodies of men attacked by corrupt and ulcerous humors, which cannot easily be got rid of, but that the minds of men are equally subject to strange disorders. In the case of ulcerated sores, the very medicines which you apply often only tend to irri

TWO SOURCES FROM WHICH MAN MAY DERIVE AD- tate and inflame, quickening the progress of the

VANTAGE.

disease; yet, on the other hand, if the disease be

For as there are only two sources from which | neglected and left to its own course, it infects all any real advantage can be reaped-our own mis- the neighboring parts, and proceeds till the whole fortunes, and those that have befallen others—and body becomes unsound. So it is with the mind; as the former of these, though it may be the more when certain dark and malignant passions get posbeneficial, is, at all events, more painful and an- session of it, they render men more savage than noying, it will always be the part of wisdom to the beasts themselves. To men in this state, if prefer the latter, which will alone enable us at all you show mercy and kindness, suspecting it to be times to perceive what is fit and useful without in-fraud and artifice, they become more suspicious curring hazard or anxiety. Hence may be seen the real value of history, which teaches us how we may direct our life, in every event that may happen, upon the truest and most approved models, without being exposed to the dangers and annoyances of other men.

IMPORTANT SERVICES EXCITE ILL-WILL.

Great and illustrious deeds are very apt to excite feelings of ill-will and spite, which, though a native of the country, if he be supported by a host of friends and relations, may perhaps be able to get the better of, yet foreigners generally sink under such attacks, and are ruined by them.

ART OF A GOOD GENERAL.

For the part of a consummate general is not only to see the way leading to victory, but also when he must give up all hopes of victory.

CHARACTER OF MERCENARIES.

than before, and regard you with still stronger feelings of aversion. But if you oppose their furious proceedings, there is no crime too horrible for them to perpetrate. They exult and glory in their impieties, and by degrees get rid of every feeling and affection that embellish human nature. There is no doubt but that these disorders chiefly arise from a bad education and evil communications, though there are many other causes which may sometimes assist to bring them on, among which none is so likely to be effectual as the insolent conduct and rapacity of public governors.

BALANCE OF POWER IN THE WORLD.

Nor ought we ever to allow any growing power to acquire such a degree of strength as to be able to tear from us, without resistance, our natural, undisputed rights.

DO NOT CALCULATE ON THE FUTURE.

A circumstance which happened to the Etolians ought to convince us that we ought not to speculate on the future as if it were already past, nor build expectations on events which may eventually turn out very differently from what they seemed at first to promise; but in all human affairs, and especially in those that relate to war, to leave always some room to fortune and to accidents which cannot be foreseen.

The Carthaginians were in the habit of forming their armies of mercenaries drawn together from different countries; if they did so for the purpose of preventing conspiracies, and of making the soldiers more completely under the control of their generals, they may seem perhaps, in this respect, not to have acted foolishly, for troops of this sort cannot easily unite together in factious counsels. But when we take another view of the question, the wisdom of the proceeding may be doubted, if CALAMITIES ARISING FROM FORTUNE AND OURwe consider the difficulty there is to instruct, soften, and subdue the minds of an army so brought together when rage has seized them, and when hatred and resentment have taken root among them, and sedition is actually begun. In such circumstances, they are no longer men, but beasts of prey. Their fury cannot be restricted within the ordinary bounds of human wickedness or violence, but breaks out into deeds the most terrible and

monstrous that are to be found in nature.

CIVIL WAR.

Now were they thoroughly convinced that civil dissensions were much more to be dreaded than a war carried on in a foreign country against a foreign enemy.

MINDS OF MEN LIABLE TO MALIGNANT DISEASES. Whoever meditates on these horrible cruelties will not fail to be satisfied that not only are the

SELVES CONTRASTED.

For when man falls into any of those calamities to which human nature is subject, and which could not be guarded against by any care or foresight, the fault is justly attributed to fortune, or some enemy; but when our troubles arise from our foolish and indiscreet conduct, the blame can be imputed only to ourselves. And as unmerited misfortune usually excites the pity of mankind, while it induces them to participate in and aid us in our distresses; so, on the other hand, a clear and eviall who regard it in a proper light. dent folly calls for the censure and reproaches of

A ROMAN CITIZEN.

But among the Romans, O queen, it is one of their noblest customs to demand public reparation for private wrongs, and at all times to insist on redress for the injuries done to their subjects.

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