238 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [XXIIL. 32. 
must use to dissemble those abilities which are notorious 
in him, to give colour that his true wants are but in- 
dustries and dissimulations. For confidence, it is the last 
but the surest remedy; namely, to depress and seem to 
despise whatsoever a man cannot attain; observing the 
good principle of the merchants, who endeavour to raise 
the price of their own commodities, and to beat down the 
price of others. But there is a confidence that passeth 
this other; which is to face out a man’s own defects, 
in seeming to conceive that he is best in those things 
wherein he is failing; and, to help that again, to seem on 
the other side that he hath least opinion of himself in 
those things wherein he is best: like as we shall see it 
commonly in poets, that if they show their verses, and you 
except to any, they will say Zhat thai line cost them more 
labour than any of the rest; and presently will seem to 
disable and suspect rather some other line, which they 
know well enough to be the best in the number. But above 
all, in this righting and helping of a man’s self in his own 
carriage, he must take heed he show not himself dis- 
mantled and exposed to scorn and injury, by too much 
dulceness, goodness, and facility of nature; but show 
some sparkles of liberty, spirit, and edge. Which kind 
of fortified carriage, with a ready rescussing of a man’s 
self from scorns, is sometimes of necessity imposed upon 
men by somewhat in their person or fortune; but it ever 
succeedeth with good felicity, 
33- Another precept of this knowledge is by all possible 
endeavour to frame the mind to be pliant and obedient 
to occasion; for nothing hindereth men’s fortunes so 
much as this: /dem manebat, neque idem decebat, men are 
where they were, when occasions turn: and therefore 
to Cato, whom Livy maketh such an architect of fortune, 
v he 
