sions of the body, and external actions, and is directly opposed to curiosity, to boldness, to indecency. Every man hath in his own life sins enough, in his own mind trouble enough, in his own fortune evils enough, and in performance of his offices failings more than enough, to entertain his own inquiry: so that curiosity after the affairs of others cannot be without envy and an evil mind. What is it to me if my neighbor's grandfather were a Syrian, or his grandmother illegitimate, or that another is indebted five thousand pounds, or whether his wife be expensive? But commonly curious persons, or (as the Apostle's phrase is) busy-bodies, are not solicitous or inquisitive into the beauty and order of a wellgoverned family, or after the virtues of an excellent person; but if there be anything for which men keep locks, and bars, and porters, things that blush to see the light, and either are shameful in manners, or private in nature, these things are their care and their business. But if great things will satisfy our inquiry, the courses of the sun and moon, the spots in their faces, the firmament of heaven and the supposed orbs, the ebbing and flowing of the sea, are work enough for us: or, if this be not, let him tell me whether the number of the stars be even or odd, and when they began to be so; since some ages have discovered new stars which the former knew not, but might have seen, if they had been where they are now fixed. If these be too troublesome, search lower, and tell me why this turf this year brings forth a daisy, and the next year a plantain; why the apple bears his seed in his heart, and wheat bears it in his head let him tell why a graft taking nourishment from a crab-stock shall have a fruit more noble than its nurse and parent: let him say why the best of oil is at the top, the best of wine in the middle, and the best of honey at the bottom, otherwise than it is in some liquors that are thinner, and in some that are thicker. But these things are not such as please busybodies; they must feed upon tragedies, and stories of misfortunes and crimes. Therefore Plutarch rarely well compares curious and inquisitive ears to the execrable gates of cities, out of which only malefactors and hangmen, and tragedies pass, nothing that is chaste or holy. Curiosity is the direct incontinency of the spirit.. Knock therefore at the door before you enter upon your neighbor's privacy; and remember that there is no difference between entering into his house and looking into it. Jeremy Taylor. "Her countenance had a mean and false, or at least dubious expression. Yet her greatest fault was a curiosity which threatened to become perfidy." I. RELATIONS TO THE BODY. - PERSONS. THREE RELATIONS. EVERY Man has three Relations to acquit himself in : His Body helps to make one, the Deity another, and his Neighbors a third. Antoninus. Worship the Gods, says Antoninus, and protect mankind. This Life is short, and all the Advantage you can get by it, is the Opportunities you have of Adoring Those Above, and doing Good to Those Below you. Ib. Place signifies nothing; Virtue and Philosophy will thrive everywhere, provided you mind your Business. Never run into a Hole and shun Company. Let the World have the Benefit of a Good Example, and look upon an honest Man. Ib. A man has work enough, says Antoninus, to make himself tolerable to himself. How much are we all enslaved by enemies, that seem too trivial for the energy of Conscience to rise in its awfulness and slay! Petty weaknesses, and loose habits, |
