ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



a man to the full liberty of complaint, whereby he spends 

 his grief and eases his heart; for we conceive indignation 

 at human injuries, and either meditate revenge ourselves, or 

 implore and expect it from the Divine vengeance. Or if the 

 injury came from fortune itself, yet this leaves us to an 

 expostulation with the Divine Powers 



&quot;Atque Decs, atque astra, vocat crudelia mater.&quot; 24 



But if the evil be derived from ourselves, the stings of grief 

 strike inward, and stab and wound the mind the deeper. 



This color deceives 1. By hope, which is the greatest 

 antidote to evils; for it is commonly in our power to amend 

 our faults, but not our fortunes; whence Demosthenes said 

 frequently to the Athenians, &quot;What is worst for the past is 

 best for the future, since it happens by neglect and miscon 

 duct that your affairs are come to this low ebb. Had you, 

 indeed, acted your parts to the best, and yet matters should 

 thus have gone backward, there would be no hopes of 

 amendment; but as it has happened principally through 

 your own errors, if these are corrected, all may be re 

 covered. 1 25 So Epictetus, speaking of the degrees of the 

 mind s tranquillity, assigns the lowest place to such as ac 

 cuse others, a higher to those who accuse themselves, but 

 the highest to those who neither accuse themselves nor oth 

 ers. 2. By pride, which so cleaves to the mind that it will 

 scarce suffer men to acknowledge their errors; and to avoid 

 any such acknowledgment they are extremely patient under 

 those misfortunes which they bring upon themselves; for as, 

 when a fault is committed, and before it be known who did 

 it, a great stir and commotion is made; but if at length it 

 appears to be done by a son or a wife, the bustle is at an 

 end. And thus it happens when one must take a fault to 

 one s self. And hence we frequently see that women, when 

 they do anything against their friends consent, whatever 

 misfortune follows, they seldom complain, but set a good 

 face on it. 



24 Virg. Eel. v. 23. 25 Philip, i. 



