that ought to be refused Admiffion, and fent packing as foon as may be. Why fo I beseech you: Because 'tis a rough uncourtly Perception, 'tis unfriendly to Nature, it has an ugly Sting in't, and 'tis oftentimes hard to deal with it handfomely. Very well! And is not this Confeflion a plain yielding of the Caufe? Can there be a fuller Defcription of an Evil than this amounts to? For to fay that Pain is rugged and raking upon the Touch, that 'tis Nature's Averfion, and that we have much ado to manage it, is in earnest to make a very bad thing on't. And which is worst of all, the Confeffion is true; but then People should not pretend to maintain an impracticable Poft, nor give Senfe and Experience the Lye.

To pretend there's nothing Good, but what's juft and honourable, nor any thing Evil, but what's bafe and unworthy, is a noble way of Talking: And I fhould believe it too, if I found that none but Knaves,Cowards, and Libertines, felt any Pain. This fwaggering of the Stoicks puts me in mind of Poffidonius, one of that Sect; this Philofopher hap'pen'd to be extremely afflicted with the Gout, when Pompey the Great did him the Honour of aVifit at Rhodes; now tho'

Pompey

Pompey defired him to forbear difcourfing, upon the Score of his ill Health; yet he was fo much a Gentleman, as not to disappoint fo great a Perfon: He entertains that General therefore цроп the Argument before us, and lying on the Couch, harangues upon the Stoical fide of the Queftion. And when he was moft pinch'd and worried by the Fit, he would frequently break off, and fay, Nibil agis, dolor; quamvis fis moleftus, nunquam te effe confitebor malum. Gout, you'll not carry your Point, for tho' you are impertinent and trouble fome, I'll ne'er own you to be an ill thing while I have Breath to draw. Now this Rhodomontade is but a ridiculous piece of Vanity, 'tis little better than flourishing the Colours with his Back to the Enemy, and crying Quarter with an Air of Confidence. If the Pain was not fomewhat too big for him, why did he take notice of it so unfeafonably? Why was he fo uncourtly as to make a Halt in his Lecture, before Pompey the Great? To give fuch broad Signs of Uneafinefs, and confefs the Diftemper troublesome, and yet to deny it to be an ill Accident, is mere Foppery and Canting.

It must be granted then, that Pain is a great Incumbrance upon Happiness,

but

but that 'tis the worst thing that can happen to us is by no means to be af ferted: An ill Action is a much more formidable Misfortune. We ought to fuffer the utmost Extremity of Hardship rather than furrender our Innocence, defert our Station, or do any thing unbecoming the Dignity of our Nature. And when we are fet upon with any Tryals of this kind, we thould take Care not to give way to any mean Compliance, nor be over-born with the Terror of the Object; not to murmur against Providence, fly out into Impatience, or dif cover our felves overcome. To fummon in our Spirits, and look Danger in the Face, is the best way to ward off the Blow, and break the Force of Violence. Courage is a fort of Armour to the Mind, and keeps an unwelcome Impreffion from driving fo deep into Perception: He that stands bold and strong, is not fo eafily puth'd down. However, when the Enemy ftrikes hard, and a Man has a great deal to grapple with, fomething will be felt in fpite of all the Bravery imaginable. And here it must be faid, that to bear Pain decently, is a good fign of inward Strength, and a handfome proof of a great Mind. Such a Person is well prepar'd to maintain his

4

Reafon,

Reafon, and act up to his Sentiments. He is fortified against Outrage and Tyranny; and if he throws up his Honesty, and refigns to his Eafe, and his Intereft, he is the more unpardonable. Indeed moft People may have Courage if they will but awaken their Spirits, and exert themselves. The Scandal of Misbehaviour, and the danger of a cowardly Compliance, is fufficient, when well thought on, to fright us into Refolution: Audaces cogimur effe metu.

Thus a Woman mentioned by Eusebius, who was going to renounce her Faith, and facrifice to Idols, was fo affected with the Sight of a Martyr burning at the Stake, that the recovered her Fortitude, own'd her Chriftianity, and mov'd for Execution; wifely confidering that 'twas much more eligible to burn a few Minutes with a good Conscience, than for ever with a bad one. To be plain; there's no Guard for Honour or Confcience, unless the Mind is well steel'd, and harden'd to a Temper of Endurance. Unless a Man can reconcile himself to Suffering, and keep his Spirits above Water, 'tis in vain to pretend to Principles: Where Fear has the Afcendant all Virtue grows precarious, and is ready to furrender at Dif

cretion,

cretion. For inftance, how can a Man pretend to prudence that toffes like a Bull in a Net under his Pain; gives way to the Exceffes of Clamour and Defpair, and rages or laments to no purpofe? What Juftice can you expect from that Person that prefers his Eafe to his Honefty? Fright him with a troublesome Confinement, fhew him but an Ax, or a Halter; and he will defert his Friend, betray his Truft, and go any other Lengths of Meannefs, and Treachery. In fhort, he that can't ftand the Shock of Pain, and part with his Limbs, or his Life upon occafion, can never be firm in his Duty, nor true to his Engagements.

I grant 'tis no eafie Task to come up to this pitch of Fortitude: However, the force of Custom and Principle, Vigour of Thought, and Nobleness of Refolution, will go a great way in the Matter.

Thus Tully tells us, that the Spartan Boys when they were lafh'd at the Altar till their Bowels were laid bare, and fometimes till they were quite dif patch'd, would never fo much as groan, or whimper. After this we need not wonder at what he reports of those that play'd Prizes at the Olympick Games, that when they had their Sides batter'd,

and