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respect than felicity. This defect some men have implanted 

 in them by nature, as being in themselves stiff, knotty, and 

 unfit for bending; but in others it is acquired by custom, 

 which is a second nature, or from an opinion, which easily 

 steals into men s minds, that they should never change the 

 method of acting they had once found good and prosperous. 

 Thus Machiavel prudently observes of Fabius Maximus, 

 44 That he would obstinately retain his old inveterate custom 

 of delaying and protracting the war, when now the nature 

 was changed and required brisker measures.&quot; 89 In others 

 again, the same defect proceeds from want of judgment, 

 when men do not seasonably distinguish the periods of 

 things and actions, but alter too late, after the opportunity 

 is slipped. And something of this kind Demosthenes rep 

 rehended in the Athenians, when he said, &quot;They were like 

 rustics in a fencing school, who always, after a blow, guard 

 the part that was hit, and not before. &quot; 90 And lastly, this 

 defect in others, because they are unwilling that the labor 

 they have taken in the way once entered should be lost, and 

 know not how to sound a retreat, but rather trust they shall 

 conquer occasions by perseverance. But this obstinacy and 

 restiveness of the mind, from whatever root it proceeds, is 

 highly prejudicial to business and men s private fortunes: 

 on the contrary, nothing is more politic than to make the 

 wheels of the mind concentric with the wheels of fortune, 

 and capable of turning together with them. And thus much 

 of the two summary or collective precepts for advancing 

 one s fortune. 



The scattered precepts for rising in life are numerous: 

 we shall single out a few by way of example. The first is, 

 that the builder of his fortune properly use and apply his 

 rule, that is, accustom his mind to measure and estimate the 

 price and value of things, as they conduce more or less to 

 his particular fortune and ends, and this with diligence, not 

 by halves. It is surprising, yet very true, that many have 



89 Discorso sopra Liv. 90 Philippic i. 



