238 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING. [XXIII. 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 That that 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 : Idem manebat, neque idem decebat, men are 

 where they were, when occasions turn: and therefore 

 to Cato, whom Livy maketh such an architect of fortune, 



