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care "Not to neglect, but to ftir up the

gift of God which is in him," 1 Tim. iv. 14. 2 Tim. i. 6. Because it was given him to be improved; and not only the 2bufe, but the neglect of it must be hereafter accounted for. Witnefs the doom of that unprofitable fervant "who laid "up his fingle pound in a napkin," Luke xix. 20, 24. And of him who went and "hid his talent in the earth," Mat. xxv. 25,-30.

It is certainly a fign of great self-ignorance, for a man to venture out of his depth, or attempt any thing he wants opportunity or capacity to accomplish. And therefore wife man will confider with himfelf before he undertakes any thing of confequence, whether he hath abilities to carry him through it, and whether the iffue of it is like to be for his credit; left he fink under the weight he lays upon himfelf, and incur the juft cenfure of rafhness, presumption, and folly. See Luke xiv. 28,-32.

It is no uncommon thing for fome who

Bucca

excel

Nofcenda eft menfura tuæ, fpectandaque rebus

In fummis, minimis,

Juv. Sat, 11.

verfate

excel in one thing to imagine they may excel in every thing; and, not content with that fhare of merit which every one allows them, are still catching at that which doth not belong to them. Why fhould a good orator affect to be a poet? Why muft a celebrated divine fet up for a politician? or a ftatefman affect the philofopher? or a mechanic, the scholar? or a wife man labour to be thought a wit? This is a weakness that flows from selfignorance, and is incident to the greatest men. Nature feldom forms an univerfal genius, but deals out her favours in the prefent ftate with a parfimonious hand.Many a man by this foible hath weakened a well-established reputation *.

verfate diu quid ferre recufant

Quid valeant humeri.

CHAP.

Hor. de Art. Poet. "He that takes up a burden that is too heavy for «him, is in a fair way to break his back."

Άνθρωπε, πρώτον επισκέψαι, οποίον έσι τα πράγμα είναι και την σέκουλα φυσιν.καταμαθε, ει δύνασαι βασάσαι. Ερίλ. Encbir, cap. 36.

"In every bufinefs, confider, firft, what it is you "are about; and then, your own ability, whether it be fufficient to carry you through it."

-non omnia poffumus omnes. Virg.

Cæcilius, a famous rhetorician of Sicily, who lived in the time of Augustus, and writ a treatise on the

Sublime

CHAP. VI.

We must be well acquainted with our Inabilities, and thofe Things in which we are naturally deficient, as well as thofe in which we excel.

V. "WE muft, in order to a thorough << felf-acquaintance, not only "confider our talents and proper abilities, "but have an eye to our frailties and deficiences; that we may know where our "weakness, as well as our firength lies.” -Otherwife, like Samfon, we may run ourfelves into infinite temptations and troubles.

Every man hath a weak fide. Every wife man knows where it is, and will be fure to keep a double guard there.

There is fome wifdom in concealing a

weakness.

Sublime (which is cenfured by Longinus in the be ginning of his), was a man of a hafty and enterprifing fpirit, and very apt to overshoot himfelf on all occafions; and, particularly, ventured far out of his depth in his Comparison of Demofthenes and Cicero. Whereupon Plutarch makes this fage and candid remark: If (faith he) it was a thing obvious and ea "fy for every man to know himself, poffibly that "faying, yowls eurov, had not paffed for a divine "oracle." Plut. Liv. Vol. vii. pag. 347.

weakness. This cannot be done, till it be first known; nor can it be known with. out a good degree of felf-acquaintance.

It is ftrange to obferve what pains fome men are at to expose themselves; to fignalize their own folly; and to fet out to the moft public view those things which they ought to be ashamed to think fhould ever enter into their character. But so it is; fome men feem to be afhamed of thofe things which fhould be their glory, whilst others "glory in their fhame," Phil. iii. 19.

The greatest weakness in a man is to publish his weakneffes, and to appear fond to have them known. But vanity will of ten prompt a man to this, who, unacquainted with the measure of his capacities, attempts things out of his power, and beyond his reach, whereby he makes the world acquainted with two things to his disadvantage, which they were igno rant of before, viz. his deficiency, and his Self-ignorance in appearing so blind to it.

It is ill judged (though very common) to be lefs afhamed of a want of temper, than understanding. For it is no real difhonour or fault in a man to have but a small ability of mand, provided he hath not the vanity to fet up for a genius, (which E would

would be as ridiculous, as for a man of small strength and ftature of body to fet up for a champion), because this is what he cannot help. But a man may in a good measure correct the fault of his natural temper, if he be well acquainted with it, and duly watchful over it. And therefore to betray a prevailing weakness of temper, or an ungoverned paffion, diminishes a man's reputation much more than to discover a weakness of judgment or understanding.-But what is moft difhonourable of all is, for a man at once to discover a great genius and an ungoverned mind; because that ftrength of reason and understanding he is matter of, gives him a great advantage for the government of his paffions; and therefore his fuffering himself notwithstanding to be governed by them fhows, that he hath too much neglected or mifapplied his natural talent, and willingly fubmited to the tyranny of those lufts and paffions, over which nature had furnished him with abilities to have fecured an eafy conqueft.

A wife man hath his foibles as well as a fool. But the difference between them is, that the foibles of the one are known to himfelf, and concealed from the world; the foibles of the other are known to the

world,

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