The speaker Author:William Enfield Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: BOOK I, SELECT SENTENCES. CHAPTER I. To be ever active in laudable pursuits, is the distinguishing characteristic of a man of merit. There is a heroi... more »c innocence, as well as a heroic courage. There is a mean in all things. Even virtue itself has its stated limits, which not being strictly observed, it ceases to be virtue. It is wiser to prevent a quarrel beforehand than to revenge it afterward. It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly. No revenge is more heroic than that which torments envy, by doing good. The discretion of .a man deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. Money, like manure, does no good till it is spread. There is no real use of riches, except in the distribution: the rest is all conceit. A wise man will desire no more than what he may get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and live upon contentedly. A contented mind, and a good conscience, will make a man happy in all conditions. He knows not how to fear who dares to die. There is but one way of fortifying the soul against all gloomy presages and terrors of mind; and that is, by securing to ourselves the friendship and protection of that Being, who disposes of events, and governs futurity. Philosophy is then only valuable, when it serves for the law of life, and not for the ostentation of science. CHAPTER II. Without a friend the world is but a wilderness. A man may have a thousand intimate acquaintances, and not a friend among them all. If you have one friend, think yourself happy. When once you profess yourself a friend, endeavour to be always such. He can never have any true friends that will be often changing them. Prosperity gains friends, and adversity tries them. Nothing more engages the affect...« less