Moral essays Author:Pierre Nicole 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: Oftke.NECESSlTt Of not truftingthe Conduct of ones Life r Chance, and of not grading it by the Rules of Fancy, AS foon as men come to a flatc of knowing wh... more »at they do, they betake themfelves to feveral Conditions and Callings, according either as their inclinations carry,or neceflity or want engage them. The caufes of their inclinations are various, and often very irrational, and that it is which produces that exotick variety of Conditions and Callings in the world; what for the moft part direds us to this kind of Life rather than another, is fo inconfiderable and trivial,that could we remember it, we Ihould bealha- med of our foolilh lightnefs. But But befides this variety of Callings, whereof each is but taken up by a certain number of People, there is a common one, a general Tradewhich all Men are oblig'd to profeft, and 'tis that,ojfbeing and liyiug like Men. Thjs Calling is of importance.infinitely above all the reft; ic comprehends and regulates them all. Qthers are good or evil, profitable or pfcrracibu according, as/they we, conformable or contrary to the devoirs of this common one. '.' i"-'K v/ 1 Jn general it may befaid, thatthefe Duties confift in living and dying as one ought. To live, is to travel towards Death. To dye, isto enter iutda Life thatfhaU never end. Life therefore is a Journey towards Death ; and Death,the entrance into a new, and everlafliing Life. Bat as this entrance'hath double Doors, one of which is that bf Death, lead ing to a ftate of eternal mifery the other of Life, placing us in eternal happi- nefs , k is evident, that to live well is to tread-the Pith that leads to this endlds happinefs y and to live ill, is to walk in that pthef,which brings us to an eternity of Mifery, ., - Ail the other differences, obfervabteifl the various tracts...« less