The world

may so come in a man's way, he cannot choose but falute it; he must heed, though, not to go a whoring after it. by any lawful vocation, or just neceffity happen to be married to it, I can only give th St. Paul's advice. Brethren, the time is f it remains, that they, that have wives, be as tho they bad none. But I would that all men were e as I myself [c.]

In all cafes, they must be fure, that they mundum ducere, and not mundo nubere. Th must retain the fuperiority and headship over happy are they, who can get out of the fig of this deceitful beauty, that they may not led fo much as into temptation; who have n only quitted the metropolis, but can abfta from ever seeing the next market town of the country.

CLAUDIAN'S Old Man of Verona.

De fene Veronenfi, qui fuburbium nunquam egreffus

eft.

"FELIX, qui patriis ævum tranfegit in agris,

Ipfa domus puerum quem videt, ipfa fenem: "Qui baculo nitens, in qua reptavit arena, "Unius numeret fecula longa cafæ.

[c] 1 Cor. vii. 29. 7.

“Illum non vario traxit fortuna tumultu, "Nec bibit ignotas mobilis hofpes aquas. "Non freta mercator tremuit, non claffica miles: "Non rauci lites pertulit ille fori. "Indocilis rerum, vicinæ nefcius urbis

66

Adfpectu fruitur liberiore poli.

Frugibus alternis, non Confule, computat annum: "Autumnum pomis, ver fibi flore notat. "Idem condit ager Soles, idemque reducit, "Metiturque fuo rufticus orbe diem.

Ingentem meminit parvo qui germine quercum,
Equævumque videt confenuiffe nemus.

"Proxima cui nigris Verona remotior Indis,

Benacumque putat litora rubra lacum. "Sed tamen indomitæ vires, firmifque lacertis "Etas robuftum tertia cernit ævum. "Erret, & extremos alter fcrutetur Iberos "Plus habet hic vitæ, plus habet ille viæ."

;

Happy the man, who his whole time doth bound
Within th' inclosure of his little ground.
Happy the man, whom the fame humble place
(Th' hereditary cottage of his race)

From his firft rifing infancy has known,
And by degrees fees gently bending down,.
With natural propenfion, to that earth.
Which both preferv'd his life, and gave him birth.
Him no falfe diftant lights, by fortune fet,
Could ever into foolish wand'rings get.
He never dangers either faw, or fear'd :
The dreadful ftorms at fea he never heard.
He never heard the shrill alarms of war,
Or the worse noises of the lawyers bar.
No change of confuls marks to him the year,
The change of seasons is his calendar.

The cold and heat, winter and fummer fhows, Autumn by fruits, and fpring by flow'rs he knows. He measures time by land-marks, and has found For the whole day the dial of his ground.

A neighbouring wood, born with himself, he fees,
And loves his old contemporary trees.

He has only heard of near Verona's name,
And knows it, like the Indies, but by fame.
Does with a like concernment notice take
Of the Red-fea, and of Benacus' lake.
Thus health and ftrength he to a third age enjoys,
And fees a long pofterity of boys.

About the fpacious world let others roam,'
The voyage, life, is longeft made at home.

IX. The

IX.

The Shortness of Life and Uncertainty of Riches.

IF you should fee a man, who were to cross

from Dover to Calais, run about very busy

and folicitous, and trouble himself many weeks. before in making provifions for his voyage, would you commend him for a cautious and discreet perfon, or laugh at him for a timorous and impertinent coxcomb? A man, who is exceffive in his pains and diligence, and who confumes the greatest part of his time in furnishing the remainder with all conveniencies and even fuperfluities, is to angels and wife men no less ridiculous; he does as little confider the shortness of his paffage, that he might proportion his cares accordingly. It is, alas, fo narrow a freight betwixt the womb and the grave, that it might be called the Pas de Vie, as well as that the Pas de Calais.

We are all pupos, (as Pindar calls us,) creatures of a day, and therefore our Saviour bounds. our defires to that little space; as if it were very probable that every day fhould be our laft, we are taught to demand even bread for no longer a time. The fun ought not to fet upon our covetousness, no more than upon our anger; but,

a's

as to God Almighty a thousand years are as one day, fo in direct oppofition, one day to the covetous man is as a thousand years; "tam brevi fortis jaculatur ævo multa," fo far he shoots beyond his butt: one would think, he were of the opinion of the Millenaries, and hoped for fo long a reign upon earth. The patriarchs before the flood, who enjoyed almost such a life, made, we are sure, less stores for the maintaining of it; they, who lived nine hundred years, scarcely provided for a few days; we, who live but a few days, provide at least for nine hundred years. What a ftrange alteration is this of human life and manners! and yet we fee an imitation of it in every man's particular experience, for e begin not the cares of life, till it be half spent, and still increase them, as that decreases.

What is there among the actions of beasts fo illogical and repugnant to reason? When they do any thing, which feems to proceed from that which we call reason, we difdain to allow them that perfection, and attribute it only to a natural instinct and are not we fools, too, by the fame kind of inftin&? If we could but learn to number our days (as we are taught to pray that we might) we should adjust much better our other accounts; but, whilft we never confider an end of them, it is no wonder if our cares for them be without end, too. Horace advises Horace advises very wifely, and in excellent good words,

-Spatio