THE EPICUREAN AND STOIC. 
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before, until now ; and they were brought very prominently into 
notice at the time of the Cavaliers and Puritans under the reign 
of the Stuarts. At that time the name Puritan became a word of 
reproach, in consequence of the excesses and cant prevalent among 
the Puritans ; but it is high time that it should be restored to its 
original signification as a derivation from the word pure, meaning, 
as it ought to mean, one who leads a pure life. The most notable 
instance of the modern Puritan is found in the Society of Friends 
or Quakers, whose pure, quiet, and blameless theory of social life 
is not sufficiently appreciated. They, however, as well as all 
modern Puritans, are approaching neutral ground on the principle 
of compromise, and now indulge in the pleasures to be derived 
from all the fine arts — painting, music, &c. &c. — except dancing. 
The Man of Pleasure also is not the reckless, wanton debauchee 
that he was, but he approaches the Puritan in his moderation. 
The pursuit of pleasure itself, however, has its Stoics, distinct 
from the Puritan. Many sportsmen are very stoical for the sake 
of their sport ; and the jockey, though not a Puritan nor in pursuit 
of his own pleasure, must be, from the nature of his calling, a 
complete Stoic. The Man of Pleasure demands for the sake of his 
pleasures Stoicism if not Puritanism from others. His pleasures, 
unlike the pleasures or the happiness — words of two very different 
meanings— of the Puritan, require sacrifices from others. The 
consideration therefore of the rival merits of the two schools seems 
inevitably to lead to a conclusion favourable to the Puritan and 
against the Man of Pleasure. In view of the sacrifices made by 
so large a proportion of the population, and the misery and priva- 
tion endured by so great a majority in modern social life, it would 
seem that the severe Puritan, and not even the modern example of 
the prevailing tendency to compromise, will be the only possible 
Man of the Future. 
