Chapter II: Part 2

Men are so simple, and yield so much to necessity, that he who will deceive may always find him that will lend himself to be deceived.

_Machiavelli._

244.

Obstinate silence implies either a mean opinion of ourselves, or a contempt for our company; and it is the more provoking, as others do not know to which of these causes to attribute it--whether humility or pride.

_Hazlitt._

245.

If thou desire not to be poor, desire not to be too rich. He is rich, not that possesses much, but he that covets no more; and he is poor, not that enjoys little, but he that wants too much. The contented mind wants nothing which it hath not; the covetous mind wants, not only what it hath not, but likewise what it hath.

_Quarles._

246.

Those noble men who falsehood dread
In wealth and glory ever grow,
As flames with greater brightness glow
With oil in ceaseless flow when fed.

But like to flames with water drenched,
Which, faintly flickering, die away,
So liars day by day decay,
Till all their lustre soon is quenched.

_Sanskrit._

247.

Watch over thy expenditure, for he who through vain glory spendeth uselessly what he hath on empty follies, will receive neither return nor praise from anyone.

_Firdausí._

248.

If thou art a man, speak not much about thine own manliness, for not every champion driveth the ball to the goal.

_Sa'dí._

249.

The potter forms what he pleases with soft clay, so a man accomplishes his works by his own act.

_Hitopadesa._

250.

No man of high and generous spirit is ever willing to indulge in flattery; the good may feel affection for others, but will not flatter them.

_Aristotle._

251.

An ass will with his long ears fray The flies that tickle him away; But man delights to have his ears Blown maggots in by flatterers.

_Butler._

252.

Books are pleasant, but if by being over-studious we impair our health and spoil our good humour, two of the best things we have, let us give it over. I, for my part, am one of those who think no fruit derived from them can recompense so great a loss.

_Montaigne._

253.

He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.

_Goethe._

254.

If with a stranger thou discourse, first learn, By strictest observation, to discern If he be wiser than thyself, if so, Be dumb, and rather choose by him to know; But if thyself perchance the wiser be, Then do thou speak, that he may learn by thee.

_Randolph._

255.

Being continually in people's sight, by the satiety which it creates, diminishes the reverence felt for great characters.

_Livy._

256.

There is a great difference between one who can feel ashamed before his own soul and one who is only ashamed before his fellow men.

_Talmud._

257.

By rousing himself, by earnestness, by restraint and control the wise man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.

_Dhammapada._

258.

The best way to make ourselves agreeable to others is by seeming to think them so. If we appear fully sensible of their good qualities they will not complain of the want of them in us.

_Hazlitt._

259.

To form a judgment intuitively is the privilege of few; authority and example lead the rest of the world. They see with the eyes of others, they hear with the ears of others. Therefore it is very easy to think as all the world now think; but to think as all the world will think thirty years hence is not in the power of every one.

_Schopenhauer._

260.

Poesy is a beauteous damsel, chaste, honourable, discreet, witty, retired, and who keeps herself within the limits of propriety. She is a friend of solitude; fountains entertain her, meadows console her, woods free her from ennui, flowers delight her; in short, she gives pleasure and instruction to all with whom she communicates.

_Cervantes._

261.

How can we learn to know ourselves? By reflection, never, but by our actions. Attempt to do your duty, and you will immediately find what is in you.

_Goethe._

262.

Man is supreme lord and master Of his own ruin and disaster, Controls his fate, but nothing less In ordering his own happiness: For all his care and providence Is too feeble a defence To render it secure and certain Against the injuries of Fortune; And oft, in spite of all his wit, Is lost by one unlucky hit, And ruined with a circumstance, And mere punctilio of a chance.

_Butler._

263.

There is nothing in this world which a resolute man, who exerts himself, cannot attain.

_Somadeva._

264.

Ere need be shown, some men will act, As trees may fruit without a flower; To some you speak with no result, As seeds may die, and yield no grain.

_Hindu Poetess._

265.

Seven things characterise the wise man, and seven the blockhead. The wise man speaks not before those who are his superiors, either in age or wisdom. He interrupts not others in the midst of their discourse. He replies not hastily. His questions are relevant to the subject, his answers, to the purpose. In delivering his sentiments he taketh the first in order first, the last, last. What he understands not he says, "I understand not." He acknowledges his error, and is open to conviction. The reverse of all this characterises the blockhead.

_Talmud._

266.

How absolute and omnipotent is the silence of the night! And yet the stillness seems almost audible. From all the measureless depths of air around us comes a half sound, a half whisper, as if we could hear the crumbling and falling away of the earth and all created things in the great miracle of nature--decay and reproduction--ever beginning, never ending--the gradual lapse and running of the sand in the great hour-glass of Time.

_Longfellow._

267.

What avails your wealth, if it makes you arrogant to the poor?

_Arabic._

268.

All confidence is dangerous unless it is complete; there are few circumstances in which it is not better either to hide all or to tell all.

_La Bruyère._

269.

It is well that there is no one without a fault, for he would not have a friend in the world: he would seem to belong to a different species.

_Hazlitt._

270.

The mind alike, Vigorous or weak, is capable of culture, But still bears fruit according to its nature. 'Tis not the teacher's skill that rears the scholar: The sparkling gem gives back the glorious radiance It drinks from other light, but the dull earth Absorbs the blaze, and yields no gleam again.

_Bhavabhúti._

271.

One man envies the success in life of another, and hates him in secret; nor is he willing to give him good advice when he is consulted, except it be by some wonderful effort of good feeling, and there are, alas, few such men in the world. A real friend, on the other hand, exults in his friend's happiness, rejoices in all his joys, and is ready to afford him the best advice.

_Herodotus._

272.

This body is a tent which for a space Does the pure soul with kingly presence grace; When he departs, comes the tent-pitcher, Death, Strikes it, and moves to a new halting-place.

_Omar Khayyám._

273.

Speak but little, and that little only when thy own purposes require it. Heaven has given thee two ears but only one tongue, which means: listen to two things, but be not the first to propose one.

_Háfiz._

274.

The natural hostility of beasts is laid aside when flying from pursuers; so also when danger is impending the enmity of rivals is ended.

_Bháravi._

275.

He who toils with pain will eat with pleasure.

_Chinese._

276.

A day of fortune is like a harvest-day, we must be busy when the corn is ripe.

_Goethe._

277.

The fame of good men's actions seldom goes beyond their own doors, but their evil deeds are carried a thousand miles' distance.

_Chinese._

278.

A subtle-witted man is like an arrow, which, rending little surface, enters deeply, but they whose minds are dull resemble stones dashing with clumsy force, but never piercing.

_Mágha._

279.

It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in, and flighty, rushing wheresoever it listeth: a tamed mind brings blessings.

_Dhammapada._

280.

The man who every sacred science knows, Yet has not strength to keep in check the foes That rise within him, mars his Fortune's fame, And brings her by his feebleness to shame.

_Bháravi._

281.

What a rich man gives and what he consumes, that is his real worth.

_Hitopadesa._

282.

He who does not think too much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines.

_Goethe._

283.

It is a kind of policy in these days to prefix a fantastical title to a book which is to be sold; for as larks come down to a day-net, many vain readers will tarry and stand gazing, like silly passengers, at an antic picture in a painter's shop that will not look at a judicious piece.

_Burton._

284.

With many readers brilliancy of style passes for affluence of thought: they mistake buttercups in the grass for immeasurable gold mines under the ground.

_Longfellow._

285.

The doctrine that enters only into the ear is like the repast one takes in a dream.

_Chinese._

286.

Adorn thy mind with knowledge, for knowledge maketh thy worth.

_Firdausí._

287.

Men hail the rising sun with glee, They love his setting glow to see, But fail to mark that every day In fragments bears their life away.

All Nature's face delight to view, As changing seasons come anew; None sees how each revolving year Abridges swiftly man's career.

_Ramáyána._

288.

The good man shuns evil and follows good; he keeps secret that which ought to be hidden; he makes his virtues manifest to all; he does not forsake one in adversity; he gives in season: such are the marks of a worthy friend.

_Bhartrihari._

289.

No one hath come into the world for a continuance save him who leaveth behind him a good name.[11]

_Sa'dí._

[11] Cf. 29.

290.

Gross ignorance produces a dogmatic spirit. He who knows nothing thinks he can teach others what he has himself just been learning. He who knows much scarcely believes that what he is saying is unknown to others, and consequently speaks with more hesitation.

_La Bruyère._

291.

When you see a man elated with pride, glorying in his riches and high descent, rising even above fortune, look out for his speedy punishment; for he is only raised the higher that he may fall with a heavier crash.

_Menander._

292.

The ridiculous is produced by any defect that is unattended by pain, or fatal consequences; thus, an ugly and deformed countenance does not fail to cause laughter, if it is not occasioned by pain.

_Aristotle._

293.

Happy the man who early learns the difference between his wishes and his powers.

_Goethe._

294.

There is nothing more pitiable in the world than an irresolute man vacillating between two feelings, who would willingly unite the two, and who does not perceive that nothing can unite them.

_Goethe._

295.

Beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance, or like a sharp sword: neither doth the one burn nor the other wound him that comes not too near them.

_Cervantes._

296.

We are more sociable and get on better with people by the heart than the intellect.

_La Bruyère._

297.

A good man may fall, but he falls like a ball [and rebounds]; the ignoble man falls like a lump of clay.

_Bhartrihari._

298.

Do not anxiously expect what is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past.

_Chinese._

299.

The way to subject all things to thyself is to subject thyself to reason; thou shalt govern many if reason govern thee. Wouldst thou be a monarch of a little world, command thyself.

_Quarles._

300.

If our inward griefs were written on our brows, how many who are envied now would be pitied. It would seem that they had their deadliest foe in their own breast, and their whole happiness would be reduced to mere seeming.

_Metastasio._

301.

There are many who talk on from ignorance rather than from knowledge, and who find the former an inexhaustible fund of conversation.

_Hazlitt._

302.

Whoever brings cheerfulness to his work, and is ever active, dashes through the world's labours.

_Tieck._

303.

Grossness is not difficult to define: it is obtrusive and objectionable pleasantry.

_Theophrastus._

304.

Do not consider any vice as trivial, and therefore practise it; do not consider any virtue as unimportant, and therefore neglect it.

_Chinese._

305.

To bad as well as good, to all, A generous man compassion shows; On earth no mortal lives, he knows, Who does not oft through weakness fall.

_Rámáyana._

306.

The good extend their loving care
To men, however mean or vile;
E'en base Chándálas'[12] dwellings share
Th' impartial sunbeam's silver smile.

_Hitopadesa._

[12] Chándálas, or Pariahs, are the lowest, or of no caste.

307.

Let a man accept with confidence valuable knowledge even from a person of low degree, good instruction regarding duty even from a humble man, and a jewel of a wife even from an ignoble family.

_Manu._

308.

We cannot too soon convince ourselves how easily we may be dispensed with in the world. What important personages we imagine ourselves to be! We think that we alone are the life of the circle in which we move; in our absence, we fancy that life, existence, breath will come to a general pause, and, alas, the gap which we leave is scarcely perceptible, so quickly is it filled again; nay, it is often the place, if not of something better, at least for something more agreeable.

_Goethe._

309.

The friendships formed between good and evil men differ. The friendship of the good, at first faint like the morning light, continually increases; the friendship of the evil at the very beginning is like the light of midday, and dies away like the light of evening.[13]

_Bhartrihari._

[13] In many parts of the East there is practically no
twilight.

310.

A hundred long leagues is no distance for him who would quench the thirst of covetousness; but a contented mind has no solicitude for grasping wealth.

_Hitopadesa._

311.

The noble-minded dedicate themselves to the promotion of the happiness of others--even of those who injure them. True happiness consists in making happy.

_Bháravi._

312.

A benefit given to the good is like characters engraven on a stone; a benefit given to the evil is like a line drawn on water.

_Buddhist._

313.

The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry if he falls asleep.

_Bháravi._

314.

All love, at first, like generous wine, Ferments and frets until 'tis fine; But when 'tis settled on the lee, And from th' impurer matter free, Becomes the richer still the older, And proves the pleasanter the colder.

_Butler._

315.

Safe in thy breast close lock up thy intents, For he that knows thy purpose best prevents.

_Randolph._

316.

Frugality should ever be practised, but not excessive parsimony.

_Hitopadesa._

317.

He who receives a favour must retain a recollection of it for all time to come; but he who confers should at once forget it, if he is not to show a sordid and ungenerous spirit. To remind a man of a kindness conferred on him, and to talk of it, is little different from a reproach.

_Demosthenes._

318.

Pride not thyself on thy religious works, Give to the poor, but talk not of thy gifts: By pride religious merit melts away, The merit of thy alms, by ostentation.

_Manu._

319.

The empty beds of rivers fill again; Trees leafless now renew their vernal bloom; Returning moons their lustrous phase resume; But man a second youth expects in vain.[14]

_Somadeva._

[14] Cf. Job, XIV, 7.

320.

Shall He to thee His aid refuse Who clothes the swan in dazzling white, Who robes in green the parrot bright, The peacocks decks in rainbow hues?[15]

_Hitopadesa._

[15] Cf. Matt. VI, 25, 26.

321.

A bad man is as much pleased as a good man is distressed to speak ill of others.

_Mahábhárata._

322.

Every bird has its decoy, and every man is led and misled in his own peculiar way.

_Goethe._

323.

There is such a grateful tickling in the mind of man in being commended that even when we know the praises which are bestowed on us are not our due, we are not angry with the author's insincerity.

_Feltham._

324.

Too much to lament a misery is the next way to draw on a remediless mischief.

_R. Chamberlain._

325.

There is no remembrance which time doth not obliterate, nor pain which death doth not put an end to.

_Cervantes._

326.

Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future, without fear, and with a manly heart.

_Longfellow._

327.

Plans that are wise and prudent in themselves are rendered vain when the execution of them is carried on negligently and with imprudence.

_Guicciardini._

328.

Every man stamps his value on himself. The price we challenge for ourselves is given us. Man is made great or little by his own will.

_Schiller._

329.

Hath any wronged thee, be bravely revenged. Slight it, and the work's begun; forgive it, and 'tis finished. He is below himself that is not above an injury.

_Quarles._

330.

As gold is tried by the furnace, and the baser metal shown, so the hollow-hearted friend is known by adversity.

_Metastasio._

331.

The rose does not bloom without thorns. True, but would that the thorns did not outlive the rose.

_Richter._

332.

Truth from the mouth of an honest man and severity from a good-natured man have a double effect.

_Hazlitt._

333.

Most virgins marry, just as nuns The same thing the same way renounce; Before they've wit to understand The bold attempt, they take in hand; Or, having stayed and lost their tides, Are out of season grown for brides.

_Butler._

334.

The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove.

_Johnson._

335.

In all things, to serve from the lowest station upwards is necessary. To restrict yourself to a trade is best. For the narrow mind, whatever he attempts is still a trade; for the higher, an art; and the highest in doing one thing does all, or, to speak less paradoxically, in the one thing which he does rightly he sees the likeness of all that is done rightly.

_Goethe._

336.

Misanthropy ariseth from a man trusting another without having sufficient knowledge of his character, and, thinking him to be truthful, sincere, and honourable, finds a little afterwards that he is wicked, faithless, and then he meets with another of the same character. When a man experiences this often, and more particularly from those whom he considered his most dear and best friends, at last, having frequently made a slip, he hates the whole world, and thinks that there is nothing sound at all in any of them.

_Plato._

337.

Pleasure, most often delusive, may be born of delusion. Pleasure, herself a sorceress, may pitch her tents on enchanted ground. But happiness (or, to use a more accurate and comprehensive term, solid well-being) can be built on virtue alone, and must of necessity have truth for its foundation.

_Coleridge._

338.

Entangled in a hundred worldly snares, Self-seeking men, by ignorance deluded, Strive by unrighteous means to pile up riches. Then, in their self-complacency, they say, "This acquisition I have made to-day, That will I gain to-morrow, so much pelf Is hoarded up already, so much more Remains that I have yet to treasure up. This enemy I have destroyed, him also, And others in their turn, I will despatch. I am a lord; I will enjoy myself; I'm wealthy, noble, strong, successful, happy; I'm absolutely perfect; no one else In all the world can be compared to me. Now will I offer up a sacrifice, Give gifts with lavish hand, and be triumphant." Such men, befooled by endless vain conceits, Caught in the meshes of the world's illusion, Immersed in sensuality, descend Down to the foulest hell of unclean spirits.[16]

_Mahábhárata._

[16] Cf. Luke, XII, 17-20; see also 291.

339.

There needs no other charm, nor conjuror, To raise infernal spirits up, but Fear, That makes men pull their horns in, like a snail, That's both a prisoner to itself and jail; Draws more fantastic shapes than in the grains Of knotted wood, in some men's crazy brains, When all the cocks they think they are, and bulls, Are only in the insides of their skulls.

_Butler._

340.

He that rectifies a crooked stick bends it the contrary way, so must he that would reform a vice learn to affect its mere contrary, and in time he shall see the springing blossoms of a happy restoration.

_R. Chamberlain._

341.

The more weakness the more falsehood; strength goes straight: every cannon ball that has in it hollows and holes goes crooked.

_Richter._

342.

Learning dissipates many doubts, and causes things otherwise invisible to be seen, and is the eye of everyone who is not absolutely blind.

_Hitopadesa._

343.

Very distasteful is excessive fame
To the sour palate of the envious mind,
Who hears with grief his neighbours good by name,
And hates the fortune that he ne'er shall find.

_Pindar._

344.

A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this, that when the injury began on his part the kindness should begin on ours.

_Tillotson._

345.

Time, which gnaws and diminishes all things else, augments and increases benefits, because a noble action of liberality done to a man of reason doth grow continually by his generously thinking of it and remembering it.

_Rabelais._

346.

Were all thy fond endeavours vain
To chase away the sufferer's smart,
Still hover near, lest absence pain
His lonely heart.

For friendship's tones have kindlier power
Than odorous fruit, or nectared bowl,
To soothe, in sorrow's languid hour,
The sinking soul.

_Sa'dí._

347.

The faults of others are easily perceived, but those of oneself are difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbour's faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides as a cheat hides the false dice from the gamester.

_Dhammapada._

348.

Education and morals will be found almost the whole that goes to make a good man.

_Aristotle._

349.

Toil and pleasure, in their natures opposite, are yet linked together in a kind of necessary connection.

_Livy._

350.

Enjoy thou the prosperity of others, Although thyself unprosperous; noble men Take pleasure in their neighbours' happiness.

_Mahábhárata._

351.

Neither live with a bad man nor be at enmity with him; even as if you take hold of glowing charcoal it will burn you, if you take hold of cold charcoal it will soil you.

_Buddhist._

352.

In the sandal-tree are serpents, in the water lotus flowers, but crocodiles also; even virtues are marred by the vicious--in all enjoyments there is something which impairs our happiness.

_Hitopadesa._

353.

There is no pleasure of life sprouting like a tree from one root but there is some pain joined to it; and again nature brings good out of evil.

_Menander._

354.

The manner of giving shows the character of the giver more than the gift itself. There is a princely manner of giving and accepting.

_Lavater._

355.

Perfect ignorance is quiet, perfect knowledge is quiet; not so the transition from the former to the latter.

_Carlyle._

356.

Superstition is the religion of feeble minds; and they must be tolerated in an admixture of it in some trifling or enthusiastic shape or other; else you will deprive weak minds of a resource found necessary to the strongest.

_Burke._

357.

Fair words without good deeds to a man in misery are like a saddle of gold clapped upon a galled horse.

_Chamberlain._

358.

There is a rabble among the gentry as well as the commonalty; a sort of plebeian heads whose fancy moves with the same wheel as these men--in the same level with mechanics, though their fortunes do sometimes gild their infirmities and their purses compound for their follies.

_Sir Thomas Browne._

359.

It is a common remark that men talk most who think least; just as frogs cease their quacking when a light is brought to the water-side.

_Richter._

360.

Our time is like our money; when we change a guinea the shillings escape as things of small account; when we break a day by idleness in the morning, the rest of the hours lose their importance in our eyes.

_Sir Walter Scott._

361.

Vociferation and calmness of character seldom meet in the same person.

_Lavater._

362.

Wit and wisdom differ. Wit is upon the sudden turn, wisdom is in bringing about ends.

_Selden._

363.

Real and solid happiness springs from moderation.

_Goethe._

364.

In all the world there is no vice Less prone t'excess than avarice; It neither cares for food nor clothing: Nature's content with little, that with nothing.

_Butler._

365.

Beside the streamlet seated, mark how life glides on: That sign, how swift each moment goes, to me's enough. Behold this world's delights, and view its various pains: If not to you, the joy it shows to me's enough.

_Háfiz._

366.

The lake no longer water holds-- Off fly the fowls, the lilies stay: If friends are friends when wealth is gone, The lily's constancy they share.

_Hindu Poetess._

367.

Let us be well persuaded that everyone of us possesses happiness in proportion to his virtue and wisdom, and according as he acts in obedience to their suggestion.

_Aristotle._

368.

All property which comes to hand by means of violence, or infamy, or baseness, however large it may be, is tainted and unblest. On the other hand, whatever is obtained by honest profit, small though it be, brings a blessing with it.[17]

_Akhlak-i-Jalálí._

[17] See 44.

369.

We should know mankind better if we were not so anxious to resemble one another.

_Goethe._

370.

Root out the love of self, as you might the autumn lotus with your hand.

_Buddhist._

371.

Whoever has the seed of virtue and honour implanted in his breast will drop a sympathising tear on the woes of his neighbour.

_Nakhshabí._

372.

Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee pain: this is the sum of duty.[18]

_Mahábhárata._

[18] Cf. Matt. VII, 12.

373.

A bad man, though raised to honour, always returns to his natural course, as a dog's tail, though warmed by the fire and rubbed with oil, retains its form.[19]

_Hitopadesa._

[19] Cf. Arab proverb: "A dog's tail never can be made
straight."

374.

The man who cannot blush, and who has no feelings of fear, has reached the acme of impudence.

_Menander._

375.

It is the usual consolation of the envious, if they cannot maintain their superiority, to represent those by whom they are surpassed as inferior to some one else.

_Plutarch._

376.

Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is bound in the chain of wishing for ever.

_Seneca._

377.

I do remember stopping by the way, To watch a potter thumping his wet clay; And with its all-obliterated tongue It murmured, "Gently, brother, gently, pray!"

_Omar Khayyám._

378.

If you only knew the evils which others suffer, you would willingly submit to those which you now bear.

_Philemon._

379.

Children form a bond of union than which the human heart finds none more enduring.

_Livy._

380.

The sweetest pleasures soonest cloy, And its best flavour temperance gives to joy.

_Juvenal._

381.

To our own sorrows serious heed we give, But for another's we soon cease to grieve.

_Pindar._

382.

Can anything be more absurd than that the nearer we are to our journey's end, we should lay in the more provision for it?

_Cicero._

383.

Set about whatever you intend to do; the beginning is half the battle.

_Ausonius._

384.

All smatterers are more brisk and pert Than those who understand an art; As little sparkles shine more bright Than glowing coals that gave them light.

_Butler._

385.

No prince, how great soever, begets his predecessors, and the noblest rivers are not navigable to the fountain.

_A. Marvell._

386.

The guilty man may escape, but he cannot be sure of doing so.

_Epicurus._

387.

In everything you will find annoyances, but you ought to consider whether the advantages do not predominate.

_Menander._

388.

Dreams in general take their rise from those incidents which have most occupied the thoughts during the day.

_Herodotus._

389.

Sleeping, we image what awake we wish; Dogs dream of bones, and fishermen of fish.[20]

_Theocritus._

[20] Cf. Arab proverb: "The dream of the cat is always about
mice."

390.

A man who does not endeavour to _seem_ more than he is will generally be thought nothing of. We habitually make such large deductions for pretence and imposture that no real merit will stand against them. It is necessary to set off our good qualities with a certain air of plausibility and self-importance, as some attention to fashion is necessary.

_Hazlitt._

391.

There is nothing more beautiful than cheerfulness in an old face, and among country people it is always a sign of a well-regulated life.

_Richter._

392.

From things which have been obtained after having been long desired men almost never derive the pleasure and delight which they had anticipated.

_Guicciardini._

393.

Seest thou good days? Prepare for evil times. No summer but hath its winter. He never reaped comfort in adversity that sowed not in prosperity.

_Quarles._

394.

Every man knows his own but not others' defects and miseries; and 'tis the nature of all men still to reflect upon themselves their own misfortunes, not to examine or consider other men's, not to confer themselves with others; to recount their own miseries but not their good gifts, fortunes, benefits which they have, to ruminate on their adversity, but not once to think on their prosperity, not what they have but what they want.

_Burton._

395.

Some people, you would think, are made up of nothing but title and genealogy; the stamp of dignity defaces in them the very character of humanity, and transports them to such a degree of haughtiness that they reckon it below them to exercise good nature or good manners.

_L'Estrange._

396.

He alone is poor who does not possess knowledge.

_Talmud._

397.

It is not enough to know; we must apply what we know. It is not enough to will; we must also act.

_Goethe._

398.

Words of blame from those who are hostile to a great man cannot injure him. The moon is not hurt when barked at by a dog.

_Arabic._

399.

The value of three things is justly appreciated by all classes of men: youth, by the old; health, by the diseased; and wealth, by the needy.

_Omar Khayyám._

400.

As one might nurse a tiny flame, The able and far-seeing man, E'en with the smallest capital, Can raise himself to wealth.

_Buddhist._

401.

By a husband wealth is accumulated; by a wife is its preservation.

_Burmese._

402.

It is very hard for the mind to disengage itself from a subject on which it has been long employed. The thoughts will be rising of themselves from time to time, though we have given them no encouragement, as the tossings and fluctuations of the sea continue several hours after the winds are laid.

_Addison._

403.

Hypocrisy will serve as well To propagate a church as zeal; As persecution and promotion Do equally advance devotion: So round white stones will serve, they say, As well as eggs, to make hens lay.

_Butler._

404.

Man differs from other animals particularly in this, that he is imitative, and acquires his rudiments of knowledge in this way; besides, the delight in imitation is universal.

_Aristotle._

405.

The hooting fowler seldom takes much game. When a man has a project in his mind, digested and fixed by consideration, it is wise to keep it secret till the time that his designs arrive at their despatch and perfection. He is unwise who brags much either of what he will do or what he shall have, for if what he speaks of fall not out accordingly, instead of applause, a mock and scorn will follow him.

_Feltham._

406.

What is the most profitable? Fellowship with the good. What is the worst thing in the world? The society of evil men. What is the greatest loss? Failure in one's duty. Where is the greatest peace? In truth and righteousness. Who is the hero? The man who subdues his senses. Who is the best beloved? The faithful wife. What is wealth? Knowledge. What is the most perfect happiness? Staying at home.

_Bhartrihari._

407.

If a man says that it is right to give every one his due, and therefore thinks within his own mind that injury is due from a just man to his enemies but kindness to his friends, he was not wise who said so, for he spoke not the truth, for in no case has it appeared to be just to injure any one.[21]

_Plato._

[21] Cf. Matt. V, 43, 44.

408.

Faith is like love, it cannot be forced. Therefore it is a dangerous operation if an attempt be made to introduce or bind it by state regulations; for, as the attempt to force love begets hatred, so also to compel religious belief produces rank unbelief.

_Schopenhauer._

409.

We are like vessels tossed on the bosom of the deep; our passions are the winds that sweep us impetuously forward; each pleasure is a rock; the whole life is a wide ocean. Reason is the pilot to guide us, but often allows itself to be led astray by the storms of pride.

_Metastasio._

410.

Empty is the house of a childless man; as empty is the mind of a bachelor; empty are all quarters of the world to an ignorant man; but poverty is total emptiness.

_Hitopadesa._

411.

The wicked have no stability, for they do not remain in consistency with themselves; they continue friends only for a short time, rejoicing in each other's wickedness.

_Aristotle._

412.

It is the natural disposition of all men to listen with pleasure to abuse and slander of their neighbour, and to hear with impatience those who utter praises of themselves.

_Demosthenes._

413.

A man ought not to return evil for evil, as many think, since at no time ought we to do an injury to our neighbour.[22]

_Plato._

[22] Cf. Rom. XII, 19; 1 Thess. V, 15.

414.

In all that belongs to man you cannot find a greater wonder than memory. What a treasury of all things! What a record! What a journal of all! As if provident Nature, because she would have man circumspect, had furnished him with an account-book, to carry always with him. Yet it neither burthens nor takes up room.

_Feltham._

415.

He who will not freely and sadly confess that he is _much_ a fool is _all_ a fool.

_Fuller._

416.

The man with hoary head is not revered as aged by the gods, but only he who has true knowledge; he, though young, is old.

_Manu._

417.

No fathers and mothers think their own children ugly, and this self-deceit is yet stronger with respect to the offspring of the mind.

_Cervantes._

418.

In thy apparel avoid singularity, profuseness, and gaudiness. Be not too early in the fashion, nor too late. Decency is half way between affectation and neglect. The body is the shell of the soul, apparel is the husk of that shell; the husk often tells you what the kernel is.

_Quarles._

419.

We have more faith in a well-written romance while we are reading it than in common history. The vividness of the representations in the one case more than counterbalances the mere knowledge of the truth of facts in the other.

_Hazlitt._

420.

It is easy to lose important opportunities, and difficult to regain them; therefore when they present themselves it is the more necessary to make every effort to retain them.

_Guicciardini._

421.

Among wonderful things is a sore-eyed man who is an oculist.

_Arabic._

422.

Gold gives the appearance of beauty even to ugliness; but everything becomes frightful with poverty.

_Boileau._

423.

When the scale of sensuality bears down that of reason, the baseness of our nature conducts us to most preposterous conclusions.

_R. Chamberlain._

424.

Idleness is a great enemy to mankind. There is no friend like energy, for, if you cultivate that, it will never fail.

_Bhartrihari._

425.

The greatest difficulties lie where we are not looking for them.

_Goethe._

426.

We must oblige everybody as much as we can; we have often need of assistance from those inferior to ourselves.

_La Fontaine._

427.

We magnify the wealthy man, though his parts be never so poor. The poor man we despise, be he never so well qualified. Gold is the coverlet of imperfections. It is the fool's curtain, which hides all his defects from the world.

_Feltham._

428.

There is nothing more operative than sedulity and diligence. A man would wonder at the mighty things which have been done by degrees and gentle augmentations. Diligence and moderation are the best steps whereby to climb to any excellence, nay, it is rare that there is any other other way.

_Feltham._

429.

In sooth, it is a shame to choose rather to be still borrowing in all places, from everybody, than to work and win.

_Rabelais._

430.

Behaviour is a mirror in which every one shows his image.

_Goethe._

431.

There is nothing more daring than ignorance.

_Menander._

432.

It is not easy to stop the fire when the water is at a distance; friends at hand are better than relations afar off.

_Chinese._

433.

The lustre of a virtuous character cannot be defaced, nor can the vices of a vicious man ever become lucid. A jewel preserves its lustre, though trodden in the mud, but a brass pot, though placed upon the head, is brass still.

_Panchatantra._

434.

Noble birth is an accident of fortune, noble actions characterise the great.

_Goldoni._

435.

Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought.

_Hazlitt._

436.

When anyone is modest, not after praise, but after censure, then he is really so.

_Richter._

437.

Experience has always shown, and reason shows, that affairs which depend on many seldom succeed.

_Guicciardini._

438.

Give not thy tongue too great a liberty, lest it take thee prisoner. A word unspoken is like thy sword in thy scabbard; if vented, the sword is in another's hand.[23] If thou desire to be held wise, be so wise as to hold thy tongue.

_Quarles._

[23] Cf. 221; also Metastasio:

Voce dal fuggita
Poi richiamar non vale;
Non si trattien lo strale
Quando dall' arco uscì.

[The word that once escapes the tongue cannot be
recalled; the arrow cannot be detained which has once
sped from the bow.]

439.

The old lose one of the greatest privileges of man, for they are no longer judged by their contemporaries.

_Goethe._

440.

When the man of a naturally good propensity has much wealth it injures his advancement in wisdom; when a worthless man has much wealth it increases his faults.

_Chinese._

441.

In youth a man is deluded by other ideas than those which delude him in middle life, and again in his decay he embraces other ideas.

_Mahábhárata._

442.

To consider, Is this man of our own or an alien? is a mark of little-minded persons; but the whole earth is of kin to the generous-hearted.[24]

_Panchatantra._

[24] Cf. Luke, X, 29, ff.

443.

Skill in advising others is easily attained by men; but to practise righteousness themselves is what only a few can succeed in doing.

_Hitopadesa._

444.

Hast thou not perfect excellence, 'tis best
To keep thy tongue in silence, for 'tis this
Which shames a man; as lightness does attest
The nut is empty, nor of value is.

_Sa'dí._

445.

Understand a man by his deeds and words; the impressions of others lead to false judgment.

_Talmud._

446.

A man of feeble character resembles a reed that bends with every gust of wind.

_Mágha._

447.

There is no fire like passion; there is no shark like hatred; there is no snare like folly; there is no torrent like greed.

_Dhammapada._

448.

Commit a sin twice, and it will not seem to thee a sin.

_Talmud._

449.

Liberality attended with mild language; learning without pride; valour united with mercy; wealth accompanied with a generous contempt of it--these four qualities are with difficulty acquired.

_Hitopadesa._

450.

Inquire about your neighbour before you build, and about your companions before you travel.

_Arabic._

451.

Though you may yourself abound in treasure, teach your son some handicraft; for a heavy purse of gold and silver may run to waste, but the purse of the artisan's industry can never get empty.

_Sa'dí._

452.

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.

_Plutarch._

453.

Rather skin a carcass for pay in the public streets than be idly dependent on charity.

_Talmud._

454.

Knowledge produces mildness of speech; mildness of speech, a good character; a good character, wealth; wealth, if virtuous actions attend it, happiness.

_Hitopadesa._

455.

O how wonderful is the human voice! It is indeed the organ of the soul. The intellect of man sits enshrined visibly upon his forehead and in his eye; and the heart of man is written upon his countenance. But the soul reveals itself in the voice only, as God revealed himself to the prophet in the still small voice, and in a voice from the Burning Bush. The soul of man is audible, not visible. A sound alone betrays the flowing of the eternal fountain invisible to man.

_Longfellow._

456.

Every gift, though small, is in reality great, if it be given with affection.[25]

_Philemon._

[25] See also 80.

457.

Good words, good deeds, and beautiful expressions A wise man ever culls from every quarter, E'en as a gleaner gathers ears of corn.

_Mahábhárata._

458.

In poverty and other misfortunes of life men think friends to be their only refuge. The young they keep out of mischief, to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.

_Aristotle._

459.

Heed not the flatterer's fulsome talk,
He from thee hopes some trifle to obtain;
Thou wilt, shouldst thou his wishes baulk,
Ten hundred times as much of censure gain.

_Sa'dí._

460.

By the fall of water-drops the pot is filled: such is the increase of riches, of knowledge, and of virtue.

_Hitopadesa._

461.

We deliberate about the parcels of life, but not about life itself, and so we arrive all unawares at its different epochs, and have the trouble of beginning all again. And so finally it is that we do not walk as men confidently towards death, but let death come suddenly upon us.

_Seneca._

462.

It is no very good symptom, either of nations or individuals, that they deal much in vaticination. Happy men are full of the present, for its bounty suffices them; and wise men also, for its duties engage them. Our grand business undoubtedly is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what clearly lies at hand.

_Carlyle._

463.

Law does not put the least restraint Upon our freedom, but maintain'st; Or, if it does, 'tis for our good, To give us freer latitude: For wholesome laws preserve us free, By stinting of our liberty.

_Butler._

464.

It is only necessary to grow old in order to become more indulgent. I see no fault committed that I have not been myself inclined to.

_Goethe._

465.

Even a blockhead may respect inspire, So long as he is suitably attired; A fool may gain esteem among the wise, So long as he has sense to hold his tongue.

_Hitopadesa._

466.

A wise man should never resolve upon anything, at least, never let the world know his resolution, for if he cannot reach that he is ashamed.[26]

_Selden._

[26] See 406.

467.

Men's minds are generally ingenious in palliating guilt in themselves.

_Livy._

468.

Prosperity is acquired by exertion, and there is no fruit for him who doth not exert himself: the fawns go not into the mouth of a sleeping lion.

_Hitopadesa._

469.

Wickedness, by whomsoever committed, is odious, but most of all in men of learning; for learning is the weapon with which Satan is combated, and when a man is made captive with arms in his hand his shame is more excessive.

_Sa'dí._

470.

He that will give himself to all manner of ways to get money may be rich; so he that lets fly all he knows or thinks may by chance be satirically witty. Honesty sometimes keeps a man from growing rich, and civility from being witty.

_Selden._

471.

Men are not rich or poor according to what they possess but to what they desire. The only rich man is he that with content enjoys a competence.

_R. Chamberlain._

472.

Poverty is not dishonourable in itself, but only when it arises from idleness, intemperance, extravagance, and folly.

_Plutarch._

473.

Do nothing rashly; want of circumspection is the chief cause of failure and disaster. Fortune, wise lover of the wise, selects him for her lord who ere he acts reflects.

_Bháravi._

474.

First think, and if thy thoughts approve thy will, Then speak, and after, what thou speak'st fulfil.

_Randolph._

475.

It cannot but be injurious to the human mind never to be called into effort: the habit of receiving pleasure without any exertion of thought, by the mere excitement of curiosity, and sensibility, may be justly ranked among the worst effects of habitual novel-reading.

_Coleridge._

476.

Patience is the chiefest fruit of study; a man that strives to make himself different from other men by much reading gains this chiefest good, that in all fortunes he hath something to entertain and comfort himself withal.

_Selden._

477.

Friendship throws a greater lustre on prosperity, while it lightens adversity by sharing in its griefs and troubles.

_Cicero._

478.

There is nothing more becoming a wise man than to make choice of friends, for by them thou shalt be judged what thou art. Let them therefore be wise and virtuous, and none of those that follow thee for gain; but make election rather of thy betters than thy inferiors; shunning always such as are poor and needy, for if thou givest twenty gifts and refuse to do the like but once, all that thou hast done will be lost, and such men will become thy mortal enemies.

_Sir W. Raleigh, to his Son._

479.

Learning is like Scanderbeg's sword, either good or bad according to him who hath it: an excellent weapon, if well used; otherwise, like a sharp razor in the hand of a child.

_R. Chamberlain._

480.

The greater part of mankind employ their first years to make their last miserable.

_La Bruyère._

481.

I hate the miser, whose unsocial breast Locks from the world his useless stores. Wealth by the bounteous only is enjoyed, Whose treasures, in diffusive good employed, The rich return of fame and friends procure, And 'gainst a sad reverse a safe retreat secure.

_Pindar._

482.

Wisdom alone is the true and unalloyed coin for which we ought to exchange all things, for this and with this everything is bought and sold--fortitude, temperance, and justice; in a word, true virtue subsists with wisdom.

_Plato._

483.

If thou intendest to do a good act, do it quickly, and then thou wilt excite gratitude; a favour if it be slow in being conferred causes ingratitude.

_Ausonius._

484.

'Tis those who reverence the old That are the men versed in the Faith; Worthy of praise while in this life, And happy in the life to come.

_Buddhist._

485.

Low-minded men are occupied solely with their own affairs, but noble-minded men take special interest in the affairs of others. The submarine fire drinks up the ocean, to fill its insatiable interior; the rain-cloud, that it may relieve the drought of the earth, burnt up by the hot season.

_Bhartrihari._

486.

Those men are wise who do not desire the unattainable, who do not love to mourn over what is lost, and are not overwhelmed by calamities.

_Mahábhárata._

487.

Let him take heart who does advance, even in the smallest degree.

_Plato._

488.

A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of a child.[27]

_Chinese._

[27] Cf. Pope, in his Epitaph on the poet Gay:

Of manners gentle, of affections mild;
In wit a man, simplicity, a child.

489.

If thou desirest ease in this life, keep thy secrets undisclosed, like the modest rosebud. Take warning from that lovely flower, which, by expanding its hitherto hidden beauties when in full bloom, gives its leaves and its happiness to the winds.

_Persian._

490.

A husband is the chief ornament of a wife, though she have no other ornament; but, though adorned, without a husband she has no ornaments.

_Hitopadesa._

491.

He who has more learning than goodness is like a tree with many branches and few roots, which the first wind throws down; whilst he whose works are greater than his knowledge is like a tree with many roots and fewer branches, which all the winds of heaven cannot uproot.

_Talmud._

492.

He that would build lastingly must lay his foundation low. The proud man, like the early shoots of a new-felled coppice, thrusts out full of sap, green in leaves, and fresh in colour, but bruises and breaks with every wind, is nipped with every little cold, and, being top-heavy, is wholly unfit for use. Whereas the humble man retains it in the root, can abide the winter's killing blast, the ruffling concussions of the wind, and can endure far more than that which appears so flourishing.

_Feltham._

493.

The man who has not anything to boast of but his illustrious ancestors is like a potato--the only good belonging to him is underground.

_Sir Thos. Overbury._

494.

When men will not be reasoned out of a vanity, they must be ridiculed out of it.

_L'Estrange._

495.

Women are ever in extremes, they are either better or worse than men.

_La Bruyère._

496.

An absent friend gives us friendly company when we are well assured of his happiness.

_Goethe._

497.

The man of worth is really great without being proud; the mean man is proud without being really great.

_Chinese._

498.

Liberality consists less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.

_La Bruyère._

499.

Outward perfection without inward goodness sets but the blacker dye on the mind's deformity.

_R. Chamberlain._

500.

As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so wise men falter not amidst blame or praise.

_Dhammapada._

501.

Of what avail is the praise or censure of the vulgar, who make a useless noise like a senseless crow in a forest?

_Mahábhárata._

502.

Hark! here the sound of lute so sweet, And there the voice of wailing loud; Here scholars grave in conclave meet, There howls the brawling drunken crowd; Here, charming maidens full of glee, There, tottering, withered dames we see. Such light! Such shade! I cannot tell, If here we live in heaven or hell.

_Bhartrihari._

503.

The every-day cares and duties which men call drudgery are the weights and counterpoises of the clock of Time, giving its pendulum a true vibration, and its hands a regular motion; and when they cease to hang upon the wheels, the pendulum no longer sways, the hands no longer move, the clock stands still.

_Longfellow._

504.

A man of little learning deems that little a great deal; a frog, never having seen the ocean, considers its well a great sea.

_Burmese._

505.

Trust not thy secret to a confidant, for he too will have his associates and friends; and it will spread abroad through the whole city, and men will call thee weak-headed.

_Firdausí._

506.

Labour like a man, and be ready in doing kindnesses. He is a good-for-nothing fellow who eateth by the toil of another's hand.

_Sa'dí._[28]

[28] See also 429, 453.

507.

Let every man sweep the snow from before his own doors, and not busy himself about the frost on his neighbour's tiles.

_Chinese._

508.

With knowledge, say, what other wealth Can vie, which neither thieves by stealth Can take, nor kinsmen make their prey, Which, lavished, never wastes away.

_Sanskrit._

509.

Women's wealth is beauty, learning, that of men.

_Burmese._

510.

Prosperity attends the lion-hearted man who exerts himself, while we say, destiny will ensure it. Laying aside destiny, show manly fortitude by thy own strength: if thou endeavour, and thy endeavours fail of success, what crime is there in failing?

_Hitopadesa._

511.

Spare not, nor spend too much, be this thy care, Spare but to spend, and only spend to spare. Who spends too much may want, and so complain; But he spends best that spares to spend again.

_Randolph._

512.