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money in thy purse will ever be in fashion, and no man is esteemed for gay garments, but by fools and women.

SIR WALTER RALECH.

PRIDE ariseth from an over valuation of a man's self, or a want of a due sense of his dependency upon almighty God. And though all pride be an extreme foolish distemper of the mind, yet some kind of pride is far more unreasonable and vain than other, namely, that kind of pride that ariseth from such objects that are less valuable in themselves, or less his own that grows proud of them.

It is a foolish thing for a man to be proud of the endowments of his mind, as wit, memory, judgment, prudence, policy, learning, nay, of a man's goodness, virtue, justice, temperance, integrity; for though these be most a man's own, yet he hath them by the bounty and goodness of that God to whom he owes his being. What hast thou, which thou hast not received? These are matters indeed to stir up the gratitude to the giver of them, but not sufficient grounds to make thee proud. Again, though the things themselves be excellent, and more thine own than any other outward thing, yet thou art but a temporary owner of them; a violent fever, or a fit of the palsy, or apoplexy, may rob thee of all these endowments, and thou mayest possibly overlive thy wit, thy parts, thy learning; and if thou es

capest these concussions, yet if thou live to old. age (a thing that naturally all men desire) that will abate, if not wholly antiquate thy wit, learning, parts; and it is a foolish thing for a man to be proud of that which he is not sure to keep while he lives, and must lose at last, in a great measure, when he dies, even by reason of that very pride which accompanies them here.

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Again, that very pride which accompanies those excellent parts and habits, is the very thing that either spoils, or very much debaseth and disparageth them, both in the sight of God and man; it is like the dead fly in the confection, the worm at the bottom of the gourd, that taints and withers these excellencies, and renders them either contemptible, or, at least, much less valuable. The more a man values himself for those things, the less he is valued by others, and it is a thousand to one that this foolish vain humour of pride mingles some odd, fanciful, ridiculous, or unsavory ingredient in the actions or deportments of such men, though of eminent parts and abilities: so that they receive more reproach or censure by their pride, than they receive applause by their parts: for as God resists the proud, so doth mankind also, and their very pride gives their adversaries advantage.

And as pride of parts and habits of the mind is a foolish thing; so pride of bodily endowments is yet more foolish and vain; because it is raised upon a thing of baser alloy than the former; such as are

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beauty, stature, strength, agility; for though these are a man's own, yet they are things that are not only subject to more casualties than the former, but they are but of an inferior nature.

Again, yet more vain and foolish is that pride that is raised upon things that are either purely adventitious, or foreign, or in the mere power of other men; as pride of wealth, of honour, of applause, of successes in actions, of titles, gay clothes, many attendants, great equipage, precedency, and such little accessions; and yet it is admirable to behold the vanity of the generality of mankind in this respect: there is scarce a man to be found abroad in the world, who has not some elation of mind upon the account of these and the like petty, vain, inconsiderable advantages; in all professions, as well ecclesiastical as secular, in all ranks and degrees of men, from the courtier to the page and foot-boy; in all ages, as well old as young, almost every person hath some hobby-horse or other, wherein he prides himself.

SIR MATTHEW HALE.

Consider what it is thou pridest thyself in, and examine well the nature of the things themselves, how little and inconsiderable they are, or at least how uncertain and unstable they are: every age, every complexion, every condition and circumstance of life commonly afford to inconsiderate souls, some little temptation to pride and vanity;

which yet if men did well weigh and consider, they would appear to be but little bubbles, that would quickly break and vanish.

Thou hast fine clothes, and this makes children, and young men, and young women proud, even to admiration; but thou art not half so fine and gay as the peacock, ostrich, or parrot; nor is thy bravery so much thine own as their's is, but it is borrowed from the silkworm, the golden mines, the industry of the embroiderer, weaver, tailor, and it is no part of thyself. And hast thou the patience to suffer thyself to be abused into this childish, pitiful, foolish pride?

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Thou hast, it may be, wealth, store of money, but how much of it is of use to thee? which thou spendest is gone; that which thou keepest is as insignificant as so much dirt or clay; only thy care about it makes thy life the more uneasy: besides, the more thou hast, the more thou art the mark of other men's rapine, envy, and spoil. It is a thousand to one thou carriest not thy wealth to thy grave; or, if thou dost, thou canst not carry it farther, but leave it, it may be, to a fool or prodigal. And why art thou proud of that which is of no great use to thee whilst thou hast it, and commonly the faster thou thinkest to hold it, the sooner it is lost, like him that gripes Calicè sand in his fist.

Thou hast honour, esteem; thou art deceived, thou hast it not, he hath it that gives it to thee, and which he may detain from thee at pleasure.

The respect, and honour, and esteem, thou hast, depends upon the pleasure of him that gives it. Again, how little and feeble a thing is honour, esteem, and reputation? A false calumny, well and confidently broached, is able, many times, to give it an irrecoverable shock. The displeasure of the prince, or a greater man than thyself, makes thy sun set in a cloud; and a popular jealousy, imputation, or misrepresentation, in a moment dasheth the applause, glory, honour, and esteem that a man hath been building up twenty or thirty years. And how vain a thing is it to be proud of the breath, either of a prince or people, which is their's to recal every moment? But suppose it were as fixed and stable a reputation and honour as a rock of marble or adamant, and that it were the best kind of honour imaginable, namely, the result of thy virtue and merit; yet still it is but a shadow; a reflection of that virtue or worth, which, if thou art proud of, thou embasest and degradest into vanity and ostentation; and canst thou think it reasonable to be proud of the shadow, where thou oughtest not to be proud of that worth that causeth it?

Again, thou hast power, art in great place and authority; but thou art mistaken in this; the power thou hast is not inherent in thyself: one of the meanest of those, whom, it may be, thou oppressest, is inherently as powerful as thee, and could, it may be, overmatch thee in strength, wit, or policy; but the power thou hast is (next under

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