therewith We are here even as in a Vessel whose motion carries us whither it pleases nevertheless every one of us have one peculiar to our selves that is to say every man has his designes and his proper conduct And yet such as Fortune has not condemn'd to a retired life for to extinguish the lustre of their parts ought not to despair of their Enterprizes when they understand the nature of this Fabulous Deity to whom men attribute the absolute command over General and Particular Affairs For my part I look upon her as void of all Divinity as I esteem her destitute of all Power And although this Proposition seems Paradoxical it will be no difficult matter for me to prove it to be most conformable to Reason For the understanding of which we must know that among the efficient Causes some are determin'd which act necessarily others undetermin'd and accidental which may act or not act and which do not produce their effects but by the concurrence of some other The first are called necessary the last fortuitous or casual from hence were form'd in the imagination of Men those two grand Deities Desine fata Deûm flecti sperare precandum Virgil. the one of which had even power over the Gods themselves the other over humane Affairs viz. Destiny and Fortune So that I may say Fortune is nothing else but a concurrence of things not discerned by our judgement which happen contrary to our expectation or suppose it to be a second Cause it must necessarily depend from a first Fata regunt orbem cert â stant omnia lege Manil. which first being absolutely determin'd I conclude there is nothing in the World fortuitous or casual seeing all things that are brought to pass proceed from a necessary and determin'd Cause Upon this account let us accuse our own weakness which being not able to comprehend the cause of Events does term them accidental or casual With this pretext the greatest Wits have endeavoured to excuse their errours and the most renown'd Captains to comfort themselves for the loss of their Battels For the Historians describing the advantages of the ground of which they had made choice the exquisite order of their Armies their Retrenchments their Bodies of Reserve and all the other circumstances which denote the experience of brave Commanders then having spoken of their famous Exploits with astonishment at last do accuse malicious Fortune for their unhappy success which humane Wisdome knew not how to prevent But les us rather say that our knowledge is limited that our sight is very dim in the discovery of future things that certain bounds are prescrib'd to our Wisdome which it can never pass and as that has its Natural imperfections so the affairs of the World have their ordinary revolutions I do not intend by shewing that the Events of things are not accidental to render them so necessary that we should banish Prudence from the management of our concerns for I should conclude absurdly if I should affiâ—m that we ought with duli patience Nullum numen abeâ— si sit prudeâ—tia tecum Juvenal to expect every thing that should happen to us On the contrary I conceive that we are workers of our own Fortune and our good or bad Conduct is often the source of our good or evil without seeking a more remote cause I must confess that the most piercing Wits who seem to know things perfectly and to their very roots do not always see their own affairs prosper because they depend from many other different Causes which it is impossible by the force of our judgement to penetrate and forasmuch as we know nothing but by our Senses which deceive us every moment how can we judge truly of what will befal us and what certain consequences can we draw from such uncertain principles The Pyrrhonians had so bad an opinion of them that they taught that humane Sense was altogether uncapable of knowledge that we were not assured of any thing we saw with our eyes or heard with our cars that our Discourse and Reason which proceed only from the Idea's which external Objects presented to our Senses were nothing else but Errour and Illusion We must not therefore be amaz'd if Events deceive us seeing we know not their Principles and Causes yet we may reasonably say that although our Senses sometimes deceive us yet experience teaches us that they do not always so and the most ingenious and understanding persons being happily endow'd with an excellent disposition of Organs and an exact temperament of Body have brighter lights and a more distinct knowledge of Affairs than other men and consequently are the seldomest mistaken in their judgements and not so subject to those unexpected accidents which the Antients called Fortune This was that which in my Opinion caused the â—oet to say that they were happy Fâ—â—lix qui putâ—â—t rerâ—m cognoscere causas who could know the causes of things for indeed to know the causes is to know their Natures their Principles and their Motions from whence proceed the Events which can establish our good or our evil I profess with him that this happiness is beyond comparison but it is not to be found but in the imagination and ought to be rather the Object of our desires than of our hopes I have no designe to draw the pourtraict of an infallible man I know there was never any such and if I had such a thought I should my self be guilty of that errour from which I endeavour to keep others It is sufficient to represent one not of the weakest who by his own experience can give us some Precepts whereby to serm the happiness of our life without depending absolutely on the capriciousness of that Fortune to whom the Wisest men would never owe any thing CHAP. II. That Persons of Quality ought to seek their fortune at Court EVery man hunts after Honour and Wealth these are the two grand Wheels upon which the whole world is moved these are the two Springs of our disquiet these are the two Ignes fatui which lead us so often out of our way We propound to our selves this Honour and this Wealth as the aim and end of our hopes we engage our selves in the pursuit of them with the greatest vigour not considering that the ways to arrive at our ends are full of trouble and uncertainty that they require every minute of our time and our whole life is almost spent in Care and Toil when we begin to reap the Fruit of our labours There are two causes of this disorder the one is that our designes are too extravagant the other that we carry them on indiscreetly The first default touches certain Wits whose Presumption blinds their Judgement who framing in themselves a false Idea of their own worth even as so many Ixion's never embrace any thing but the empty Clouds I esteem this sort of people better qualiâ—'d for the Colledge of Madmen than for
which attends the society of Friends and the diversion of an honest Oeconomy CHAP. IV. The speediest way is to insinuate himself into the Pleasures of the Prince THe other way of advancing a man's Fortune by applying himself to the person of the Prince is to contribute to his divertisements which is indeed the most casie and the most infallible the great secret is to render himself agreeable to use complaisance and be diligent and very expert in those Exercises in which he chiefly delights which ought to be manag'd with such discretion that no opportunitie must be omitted of giving him all the advantage at them and never to maintain any thing obstinately against him It is likewise a prudent part in a Courtier to loose sometimes at Play on purpose to put his Master in a good humour For to command is such an innate quality in Princes that they cannot permit without regret that any person should out do them These precepts are also more necessary to be observed in conversation which ought always to be with respect and if there be an occasion of contending that it be done in such terms as propound our Opinion only not establish it The most gallant things loose their lustre when spoken unseasonably and men are not easily convinc'd of any thing by others disputing too imperiously there is nothing so frequently used and therefore requires our greatest circumspection Every man is satisfi'd of his own Sense and Understanding and it is this which makes us so outragious against those who pretend to have more than our selves Truly there is nothing more irksome than to give car to those people who have seen every thing who understand every thing and who have done every thing A Gallant and an accomplisht person ought not to relate his own deeds he that cannot forbear doing it passes ordinarily for ridiculous and is accounted but a lyer if we have performed worthy actions Laus in ore proprio sordescit Proverb it does not become us to publish them he is ever an impertinent Orator who makes his own Panegyrique I will not advise one to flatter the Prince Flattery is so base a thing that it is unworthy of a person of Honour but I do very well approve that we should entertain him with some obliging discourse and praise that in which he most delights and which he best understands In doing which the air of the Action contributes extreamly to the insinuating us into his favour Indeed the Respect that is due to his Person obliges us to banish our ill humour from his presence There are I know not what spirits in our eyes which imprint their qualities on those that behold us If we are dull we inspire Melancholy if we are brisk we seem to rejoyce those with whom we converse Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos Virg. The Ancients were so perswaded of the force of these Rayes that they would never suffer old and deformed Women to come neer their Children And my Lord Bacon assures us that a passionate Lover does very much advance his affairs Oculi sunt in amore duces Ovid. when he can stedfastly gaze upon the eyes of his Mistris because says he certain enflamed Spirits proceeding from his to her eyes do communicate to them this invisible Poyson which diffusing it self in the Mass of bloud is convey'd to the heart it self This may be proved by an Effect obvious to all persons We can scarce refrain spending a tear with those that weep and we cannot look stedfastly on Red or Blear-eyes Dum speclant oculi laesos laeduntur ipsi Muâ—taqâ—e corporibus transitionenocent Ovid. Amor l. 2. without resenting some pain or at least some alteration both these Effects proceeding from no other cause but the emission of Rays If it be true that eyes which look upon us with anger inspire an aversion into us why should I not conclude that they may inspire an affection if they look upon us with love Nature has made some men amiable these are happy and have nothing more to do but let her act freely But if she has made us melancholick let us correct her imperfections by habituating our selves to mirth and gayety and by keeping a continual guard we shall at last wholly prevail against them Socrates consented to him that judged of his manners by his Physiognomy viz. that he was naturally inclin'd to debauchery but the Precepts of Philosophy had made him vertuous Above all let the Courtier endeavour to perswade his Master that he loves his Person better than his Dignity Curtius says of the two grand Favourites Craterus and Ephaestion that the one loved the King the other Alexander The love which men have for us is a snare wherein the whole World is catch'd and even when a person has no qualities to recommend him if by his perseverance and continual application he makes us believe that he loves us and is wholly at our service Ut amêris ama we can hardly deny him our affection This Compassion extends it self even to Beasts In Holland I saw a Mastiff make his fortune This poor Dog singled out the late Prince of Orange in the midst of his Army before Maestricht and notwithstanding that the Guards often beat him away yet he always return'd to the door of the Tent and when he saw the Prince come out this Animal leapt for joy faun'd upon him and followed him At last the Prince in stead of being offended esteem'd this kindness worthy of acceptance and made much of him giving a charge to one of his Servants to take care of him and afterwards permitted him to come always into his Chamber and lie at his Beds-feet However we ought to take great heed not to become importunate by our addresses the highest point of wisdome is to nick the time But above all a Gentleman who is well in the favour of his Master ought never to pretend to understand those Affairs which the Prince would keep private There is nothing which so soon creates hatred of him and consequently his ruine No man can endure that any one should pry into his secrets without his consent Confidence is inconsistent with constraint Forasmuch as our Soul is born free and seeing she has nothing but the disposing of our Will which is really hers independant of all other Power whatsoever she is jealous of her secrets and must not be forced to reveal them by the indiscretion of our Friends It is common civility not to approach neer them that read Letters or discourse privately Davilt This indiscretion succeeded very ill with one of the Duke of Anjou's Gentlemen the Dake having with confidence imparted to him Charles the IX's designe of extirpating the Hugonots on St. Bartholomew's day this Gentleman discoursing in private with the King hapned to mention this Secret His Majesty very much surpriz'd to see it discovered dissembled his anger and supposing that the Queen-Mother was the
with little remorse yet they are enraged when once discovered The reason is that we naturally love Glory which is as essential to our Soul as motion this is the cause that we can never loose it without extreme regret Thus we see that contempt does not less torment us than our transgressions From hence I conclude that it is more secure and more easie to advance our Fortunes by a real than by a feigned Honesty the first produces of it self and without constraint the effects we desire the latter is ever accompani'd with disquiet and hazards Vertue has this property that it permits us to enjoy a tranquillity of minde which defends us against those Fears Mens palpitat assiduo flagitiosa metu Pictorius Conscia mens recti famae miâ—daciaâ—idet Ovid. to which the wicked are continually exposed One who has a true sense of our Religion does not fear being branded with the ignominy of an impious man his minde is not perplext with that multiplicity of insupportable Arguments which serve only to confound the Intellect For to solve all these objections we need only call to minde that Reason alone is so blinde that it does not know it self and so extravagant that it is only fit to form clumera's to desturb its own repose Without dissembling I finde that Faith is not less useful to the peace of our Minde than necessary to our Salvation When we are sufficiently satisfiâ—d thereof it delivers us out of many perplexities We have then nothing more to do but to follow it to arrive at Happiness for as it assures us of the rewards of the other Life it shows us the way to deserve them If we take it rightly Devotion contains nothing contrary to Gentility but it must be practis'd with judgement as all other things should be The habit of a Capuchin would not fit well on a Courtier Our Piety ought to be real and unfeigned and herein consists the highest perfection when we do not adjust it to our Profession it becomes indiscreet We may lawfully carry the Chalice with rich and embroydred habits for to be chast and continent it is not requisite to shun the Societie of Ladies of Quality their approbation contributes often to our good Fortune and I conceive it necessary for an Accomplisht person to enjoy their Conversation 't is from them we learn a good Deportment they inspire into us a desire of rendering our selves complaisant to all people and by consequence guide us in the path to Vertue A Courtier becomes ridiculous when he avoids the divertisements of which the wâ—â—le Court approves 't is a strange means of advancing his fortune to go hear a Sermon when the Prince goes to a Play And I suppose he makes his addresses very ill to retire himself to his Chamber when the Court is at a Ball where his good meen and his gentile behaviour might gain him both advantage and esteem One that is thus superstitiously scrupulous ought to quit his pretensions to a Fortune It is a duty incumbent on him either to conform himself to the Manners of the Court or not to come at it He must think that he is made for the Court and not the Court for him if he finds it inconsistant with his Piety Exeat aulâ qui volâ—t esse pius Pers he should change his designe the Cloister is undoubtedly more proper for the practise of his Austerities To be a good Religious man of any Order it is necessary to observe exactly its Rule and Contututions and to be a good Courtier the same consequence teaches us to live after the mode of the Court. As all Professions have their different ends so likewise there are divers ways to arrive at them what is advantageous in the one is often prejudicial in the other An Officer of an Army would be very ill obey'd if he should command his his Souldiers in the same tone that a Fanatick says his Prayers Would not also a man in holy Orders be thought as ridiculous to entertain a Lady with gallantry as a Courtier if he should attempt to make exhortations to her We have occasion of making use of our judgement in all the actions of this life Devotion may have its excess as well as other things Vertue is never extravagant and undetermin'd as being perfect it derives its Rules from Mediocrity and to take it rightly it is Mediocrity it self Sunt certi deaiqâ—e fines Quos ultrâ— citraque nequit consistere rectum Avarice and Prodigality are two vicious extremes Liberality the Medium is a Vertue Cowardise Rashness are two Vices which a Gentleman should always avoid and Valour is a Vertue which he should always embrace From hence we may infer that it is as impossible to be a Courtier in a Cloister as a Monk in the Court And to live here conformably to its Maximes we ought to love our friends with Fidelity and repulse our enemies with Discretion and Courage 'T is in this case a Courtier ought to serve himself prudently both of his head and his hands to do himself Justice as exactly as he does it to others to resent Injuries as well as Courtesies never to wander out of the path of Equity to lend his ear to Advice and to give himself leisure to consider thereof We meet with so few disinteress'd Counsellours that it always behoves us to examine their Propositions A wise man takes not fire at first touch like Powder he understands too well the nature of his Passions to consult of any thing with them but notwithstanding his Reason banishes them from his Counsel yet it recals them usefully at Execution Men deliberate in cold bloud to fight a good Duel but a little commotion is requisite to perform it advantageously â—rascimini nolite peocare The Psalmist allows us Anger provided it be not accompani'd with sin I believe he intends the same likewise of the other Passions Nature is better directed than to produce any thing that is bad but we bunâ—lers pervert her Works by the sottish use we make thereof CHAP. XII Of the Wisdom and Oeconomy of a young Courtier THis default although very common seems more in use among Men of the Sword than of any other Profession I know not whether it is from Custom or Necessity that we allow them more liberty than others For my part I do not disapprove of a Young man's showing himself somewhat brisk provided he be not arrogant and imperious The Wisdome which does every thing by compass which affects a censorious Gravity which has always a frowning brow and which speaks not but in monosillables like Kablais's Gray Fryar is not in my Opinion that which becomes a man of the Court This wisdom I say ought not to have so much left her as her nails wherewith she might scratch and offend her Friends but should always appear both agreeable and debonaire and above all suitable to the years of him who possesses her For that of
of every thing concerning the Artillery to accompany the General Officers when they go to take a view of the places they designe to attaque or the Pass through which the Army must march to apply himself seriously to the study of Geometry and Fortification joyning the Theory with the Practice and to serve himself advantageously of all these Autfuit aut veniet nihil est presentis in illâ Morsque minus paâ—â— quà m mora mortis habet he must accustom himself to think that Death is not an evil that it meets as infallibly with the Cowards as the Valiant and that it is but a moment which terminates our fears aswel as our hopes When he shall be advanced to the Charge of a Captain he ought to look upon that but as one degree to ascend to that of a Master of the Camp and resolve to go as far as Worth and Valour can lead a Gentleman but he must ground his hopes upon the knowledge which he hath acquired and which can render him worthy of so great a Fortune Ignorance hinders often a Souldier from propounding to himself any considerable employ he must understand the function of a Captain before he can justly wish to be one When we perceive our own forces Seasit vim qâ—â—que saam our Soul has a certain vigorous quality which causes us to embrace the means of arriving at our ends It assumes a fierceness by which she surmounts all the difficulties which â—ecur she Arms her self with a resolution which causes her equally to despise the opposition both of Toils and Perils for without doubt by resolving stedfastly on that which we undertake we make a mighty progress in difficult matters and re-unite 〈◊〉 powers of our mindes by which they are also rendred fertil in inventions From hence proceeds that holdness accompanied with a confidence of succeeding well in our designes which wise men esteem so necessary and which Religion it self dâ—mands for the making of Miracles It is upon this sure Foundation that Pâ—mpey the Great said By knocking with his Foot he would make Souldiers spring out of the Earth And Caesar not regarding the most violent ragings of the Sea and Winds animated his Pilot by telling him that he had Caesar and his Fortune aboard Boldness and Resolution are necessary in a Martial man the one confronts and seeks dangers the other is not dejected by any bad accidents that persecute it Aâ—daces Fortuâ—a juvat tiâ—â—dâ—â—q â—epelâ—â— Great men have all been adventurous Alexander enterprized the Conquest of the World with 30000 men Caesar with 40000 took the City of Alesia belonging to the Gauls defended by 80000 Combatants and succoured by 200000 Souldiers of the same Nation Edward discomfited an Army of 40000 French with 7000 English and took King John Prisoner And King Gustavus Adolphus in our days made a descent into Pomerain with 8000 Swedes to fight against all the Forces of the Empire These mighty Successes are not always the effects of Fortune the Vertue of those who make the Enterprizes hath often the greatest share in them And it is very apparent that they are grounded upon some reason For as great men penetrate more profoundly into the Causes â—f things so they discover more clearly the possibility of their effects which were enveloped under contrary appearances From these prodigious examples we may descend to these particular Reasonings and affirm that a Gentleman after he has acquired the Sciences necessary for his profession ought continually to aspire to great Employs and to have more Zeal to deserve them than care to preserve his Life If he fixes his eyes upon them as the end of his hopes he cannot live without obtaining them of Fortune and will not wax old in the Army without an honourable Charge because his courage sollicites him to Enterprize not valuing the dangers and other obstacles that oppose themselves to his designes CHAP. V. That the Fortune of a Gentleman depends on the good or bad choice which he makes of a Master IF the Peace be so universal that he cannot get any Military employ and if the necessity of his affairs or his Passion of advancing his Fortune causes him to abandon his home and get himself a Service it is not to be doubted but his happiness will depend from the choice which he shall make of a Master To attend on a Lord who is not capable of advancing our Fortune is the same as to embark our selves in a leaky Vessel And to discern this we must endeavour to understand his Interest and Abilities for I may assert that if he be destitute of an Employment and has no good parts he is not proper to render a Gentleman happy We reason idly and sottishly to perswade our selves that he being rich will recompense us Never any Ingenious man built his Fortune upon the Purse of his Master If he be a Great Lord his Quality obliges him to great Expences and consequently puts him in a very bad condition of making such considerable Presents as may enrich a Gentleman and if he be not rich we can expect no benefit in his service Liberality is a Saint which has no Altars in the World and the greatest part of Noblemen have less knowledge of her than private Gentlemen The Respect which is given them from their Infancy perswades them that every thing is created for them they receive services as debâ—s that are paid them and not as gifts that are presented them they believe that their Bread has the faculty of making all those slaves that eat thereof they exact a Reverence as insupportable to those that render it as it is unjustly rendred to them that receive it and the quality of a Domestick makes them frequently forget the Merits of such as serve them Neither are they contented themselves to treat them without any respect but they force them sometimes to give respect to other persons much inferiour both in Merit and Extraction to them who have nothing recommendable but Wealth which exempts them from living in subjection Their Masters will permit these to sit down and be covered whilst they must stand behind them with their hats off One can hardly distinguish them in this posture from Valets de Chambre and they are sometimes abus'd like Villains It is very hard for a poor Gentleman to undergo all these grievous disasters Subjection is an evil which draws on a thousand others after it and therefore I do not admire that it should be so inconsistent with Worth and Vertue The Romans fought Six hundred years to win their liberty and the Switzers and Hollanders have hazarded all to regain theirs I esteem it the Soveraign good of this life when Fortune suffers us to enjoy it without want or ambition From hence I conclude that we ought never to engage it but with a probability of reassuming it one day with great advantage after having faithfully served CHAP. VI. That he ought to establish his esteem
in the minde of his Master before he enters into his service and how he should bring that to pass IT is very difficult that such a designe should prosper without the assistance of our Friends forasmuch as our Worth ought to be known before our Person it being always advantageous to make our selves to be desired 'T is through this fair gate we should make our entry into Great Families and 't is in this that our Friends can render us good Offices if they make a beautiful draught of our Extraction and Qualifications It is a vanity to have Worth and want an Address to gain the Râ—putation thereof Hidden Vertues are Treasures which enrich no-body therefore to make a beneficial discovery thereof we must procure the friendship of those who have the greatest Authority in the Provinces where we would settle our selves Among the Nobility there are ever some wise and more ingenious than others Among the Clergy some more learned who pretend to instruct the rest And in Cities are Officers of good repute and credit when once we are known to them and they have thought us worthy of their approbation without doubt they will give a good Character of us to such as know us not Their Testimonies and Reports will make us pass for what we are and in a little time will extend our Reputation through the whole Province The Multitude Ducimur ut nervis alienis mobile lignum which examines nothing consents presently to those who have the greatest Vogue among them and seeing our Esteem is formed by the number and we have no other opportunity of manifesting our Parts in publick Prudence commands us to make use of these Trumpets to spread abroad our good Qualifications Thus the minds of men being possest with a great opinion of our Worth a Great Lord who understands his own Interests believes himself as much obliged to entertain us as we are to serve him Another Reason is that every one considers himself in the first place and that both Glory and Profit will redound to him by being attended by an Ingenious person and especially if he has great Employments forasmuch as being obliged to give out many Commissions which depend on his Ministry he takes pleasure to entrust them with understanding persons who can give a good account thereof so that there happens a certain connexion between the Master and Servant which frequently produces Friendship in the one and Profit for the other If we acquit our selves worthily of an ordinary Employ they are easily enclin'd to bestow a better upon us Employments are linkt one to another our Sufficiencie and Conduct turn the Wheel which raises them in our favour and we become rich without impoverishing our Masters Their services resemble Flambo's which give light to many without diminishing any thing of their heat or brightness Our Fidelity and Affection joyn'd to the acknowledgement of the favours which they have procured us make them rejoyce at our prosperity they look upon it as one of their fairest Productions without desisting from giving us some means of encreasing it forasmuch as it contributes to their Glory without putting them to any expence or charge Experience teaches us that there is no person absolutely dis-interested and the most generous are never to that degree as to do good out of the consideration of Vertue alone Thus Wise men for the obtaining of a Courtesie finde out some way to interess their Benefactors in their own concern The very Country-men who follow the light of Nature only perceiving themselves equally destitute of Abilities and Merits have their recourse to presents Placatur bouis Jupiter ipse datis Ovid. thereby to render themselves acceptable to those of whose help they stand in need they know by experience that gifts excite Charity and if I may with permission speak it the Prayers both for the Living for the Dead would not be so frequent if our bounty did not engage those that make them By this Discourse we see that there are none but the services which we render to Lords of great Charges that can be advantageous to us and all others are uncapable of promoting our Interest The time we spend with them serves only to bring us to an unhappy Old Age Dat libera cuique Fata Deus propriisque fluunt mortalia causis Borb full of inconveniencies and afflictions If we fall into this fault let us accuse our own folly and indiscretion and not complain of Fortune If we had discretion enough to penetrate into Causes we might prognosticate their Effects and should not aim at any thing above that which they can naturally produce CHAP. VII Whether it be better to serve a very understanding Master or one of no great wit THere are some popular errours which have gained such Authority by the number of those that follow them that the wisest men finde it very difficult to unwinde themselves out of them If a particular person consults his Friends about the choice of a Master they will inform him that an ingenious person as I suppose he is would be happy to get into the service of a Prince or a great Lord very rich and of little Wit that he would infallibly posess himself of his Inclinations that he would become Master of his affairs as also of his Conduct that the whole house would have dependance on him that he would have the disposal of his Wealth and his Authority and that at last he should want onely the Name and the Arms of his Master to entitle himself the absolute Patron of the Family I consess that this proposition at first glance seems to be very probable but let us examine it strictly and neerer at hand and we shall gather from thence far different consequences There is nothing so opposite to a man of understanding as an ignorant person and consequently more inconsistant the property of a soft man is to cashire or to fear one that is more ingenious than himself This being supposed I see no Friendship that can be made between two Subjects so disagreeing But if it happens through the secret operation of some sympathy that this Lord has an inclination for such a person and this incomprehensible Passion of the Soul renders him Master of his Heart and confident of his Secrets it will not continue long before he remembers himself that he lives as under a Guardian and the jealousie of his Superiority will make him change his sentiments the lights of his Counsellour dazie rather than enlighten him his Reasons over-set him not perswade him his Merit becomes a burthen to him and his Esteem displeases him he imagines that men attribute to his attendant the good success of his affairs and so will make him responsible for the events of his Counsels but if they have happy ends he willingly attributes them to himself if unhappy he lays the whole fault on the other's ill conduct This Employ is too troublesome for the benefit thereof and
Extraction and trample Gallantry under their Feet they must as the younger Brothers of Bretagne let their Nobility ly dormant and not be too inquisitive or curious to inform themselves of the Extraction or parts of their Masters from whom they expect their advancement Poverty is a Monster which is to be vanquisht with all sorts of Weapons it is dangerous to suffer her to be too long engaged with Generosity if that should triumph over her it would but obtain a Victory full of regret and Melancholy let them then keep this sotrish glory silent which holds the Reigns so straight that they cannot troop to a Man whom Fortune has raised let them rather think that they have an advantage by approaching to him let them consider that a Diamond does not loose its value when it is set in Steel and that the Sun as glorious as it is sometimes suffers Eclipses let them also take a great care not to confound Glory and Vanity together the one is the recompence of Vertue the other is an effect of our Folly If Nature has made one a Gentleman and if the Laws of his Country or some other mishap has rendred him poor let him thank Heaven for his Extraction and endeavour to remedy the unhappiness of his Fortune let him know that Life without Wealth is a tedious and insupportable affliction that the yoak of Poverty is heavier than that of a Treasurer and that if he be ingenious he may become as great a Lord as his Master Then he shall revive his Quality and from obscure and hidden as it was in the Country he shall render it glorious and Triumphing in the midst of the Better sort let him not fear the reproach of having been Clerk or Commissioner when they shall see him seated in the Privy Council Ut quisque Fortunâ utitur ita praeceliet atque exindè sapere illum dicimus His Birth will wipe out all the blemishes of his Servitude 'T is not in the War only that men mount to higher Offices from the Inferiour The Law and the Treasury have also their degrees through which he must pass for to render himself capable of the greater Employs The Art is to behave himself discreetly and the greatest happiness is to arrive at them by the way of Honour Prudence and Honesty CHAP. XXI Whether the Rules of Prudence are sufficient to render us happy BUt in conclusion do all these Observations which follow so exactly the Rules of Reason and the Maximes of Experience infallibly produce the effects at which we aim Will our Honesty and Sufficiency once known to the World stop the mouths of the Envious and frustrate the Machinations of our Enemies Will the Princes whom we have served do us that Justice which our Services have merited at their hands And will the tedious Travels wherein we have withered the Flower of our Age be recompenced with that good Fortune which was the motive of our cares and the object of our Hopes Will our Prudence in the choice of our Masters our Foresight in our Enterprizes and our Conduct in our Actions render our Life happy either by the pleasing Charms of Liberty to which our acquired Wealth shall restore us or by the sweetness of our Servitude continued under a Master who will love us as his Children and treat us as his Friends At last are there any Precepts in Morality sufficient to defend us against bad Fortune and to Espouse us to Prosperity The Question is good and worthy of the curiosity of an accomplisht person It you conâ—uâ—t with Philosophy she will tell you that she knows not the future and that the Knowledge of things pre-supposes their formal existence If you demand it of Experience she will inform you that the same cause may produce different effects that she has seen such variety of things that she knows nothing certain but uncertainty it self And if you ask Reason she will answer you that she concerns her self onely to instruct men and not to regulate the events of things Those who guide Travellers cannot assure them that they shall not meet with Thieves that their Horses shall neither stumble nor fall that the Winds shall be favourable and the Weather fair Their Function is to shew them the best and directest way but not to secure them from the insults of Robbers or the injuries of the Weather Humane Prudence has too weak a sight to penetrate into general and particular Causes notwithstanding they are all determined and admit of nothing that is Fortuitous yet their infinite number surpasses our knowledge and capacity Poor Aeschylus whom the Stars threatned with a fall that should crush him to death under its weight got but little by living in the open Fields having no other Canopy but Heaven an Eagle kill'd him by a great Tortoise which it let fall upon the Bald Head of this unhappy Philosopher Men will say that this was an effect of his bad Fortune if they follow Vulgar opinions but if they examine the thing better they will judge quite otherwise Aeschylus had reason to leave the abode of covered places seeing he knew that a House or a Tree might sooner fall upon his Head than the Heavens of which he had made choice for a Covering These neighbouring Causes offered themselves to his Sense his Reason found out a probable remedy to prevent them but he did not divâ—ne that an Eagle should mistake his Bald Pate for a Stone upon which she would let fall a Tortoise to break the Shell that she might feed on the Animal which it encloâ—ed The one and the other made a determined action Aeschylus's end was to avoid the fall of Houses and Trees the Eagle's to break the Shell of the Tortoise the Accident which happened proceeded from the ignorance of Aeschylus who foresaw not the flight of the Eagle and from the mistake of the Eagle which took the Head of the Philosopher for a Rock The Pyrronians banisht all cares and Prudence from the Conduct of Man's Life they believed that they ought not to turn out of the Road when they met either a Cart or a Horse because they were perswaded that every thing was determined that the causes necessarily produced their effects and that our Knowledge uncertain as it is was not capable of discovering them for to avoid them Moreover they thought they should offend Providence by presuming to prevent or alter her Eternal Decrees But alas how weak is our Reason in every thing and how difficult is it to establish one sound opinion These poor people were not sensible that their Principles destroyed themselves when they neither affirmed nor judged of any thing and that their Philosophy was founded upon a manifest contradiction They would affirm nothing and yet the foundation of their Science was an affirmative viz. All things are uncertain to our knowledge and consequently there 's no Science in the Mindes of men To this may be answered If all things are uncertain there