thyself envying another for his fortune or talent or achievement. If our secret ideals were always pure and high, we should rarely be envious of what others possess or do. Envy is an indication of moral littleness.

7. Base envy withers at another's joy,

And hates the excellence it cannot reach.

8. Envy, to which the ignoble mind's a slave, Is emulation in the learned or brave.

9. Envying is even worse than warring; since he that warreth, when the cause of the war is at an end, puts an end to his hatred also; but the grudger would never become a friend.

10. And the one shows an open kind of battle, the other a covert; and the one has often a reasonable cause to assign for the war, the other nothing else but madness.

11. To what then is one to compare a soul of this kind? To what viper? to what asp? to what cankerworm? to what scorpion?

12. For it is this that hath subverted the churches, this that hath gendered the heresies, this it was that armed a brother's hand, and made his right hand to be dipped in the blood of the righteous, and plucked away the laws of nature, and set open the gates for death.

13. Wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

14. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

15. When raging jealousy, with deadliest guile, Once gains the ear of Reason,-Reason falls.

THE AGONY

OF

SUSPICION

17.

16.

Trifles light as air,

Are, to the jealous, confirmation strong

As proofs of holy writ.

It is my nature's plague

To spy into abuse; and oft my jealousy
Shapes faults that are not.

18. Foul jealousy! that turnest love divine

19.

To joyless dread, and mak'st the loving heart With hateful thoughts to languish and to pine, And feed itself with self-consuming smart: Of all the passions in the mind, thou vilest art.

It

Must still be strangled in its birth, or time
Will soon conspire to make it strong enough

To overcome the truth.

20. Jealousy may be even more dangerous than anger, because its workings are more subtle, and it is apt to recur oftener, and to last for a longer time, until in the end it taints the whole life and thought, eating like a secret ulcer into the soul.

PRIDE IS A PROLIFIC SOURCE OF SIN

SYMPTOMS
OF

1. The affectation of imitating fashion-mongers, and bearing a port above one's rank, and to live like those that are a step above us, rather than those that are a step below us, are signs as significant of pride as the robes of a judge or a doctor are of their dignities and degrees.

PRIDE

2. Even the poor man who is proud braggeth outwardly, but beggeth inwardly; he is blown up, but not full.

3. A proud man is always hard to be pleased, because he hath too great expectations from others.

4. He looks for so much observance and respect, and to be humoured and honoured by all, that it is too hard a task for any man to please him that hath much to do with him, and hath any other trade to follow.

5. He that will please him must either have little to do with him, and come but seldom in his way, or else he must study the art of man-pleasing, compliment, and flattery, till he be ready to make it his trade and business, as nurses do to tend the sick.

6. The heart is a small thing, but desireth great matters. It is not sufficient for a kite's dinner, yet the whole world is not sufficient for it.

IT3 EFFECTS

7. Pride bringeth sufferings, and then maketh them seem intolerable. It makes the sinner more vex and gall his mind, with striving and impatient aggravating of his afflictions, than the suffering of itself would ever do.

8. Pride is the spring of malice and desire of revenge, and of rash anger and contention.

9. It makes men easily swell against anything that crosses them, because they have laid down this with themselves, that they deserve to be observed and respected, and not crossed at all; and when they find it otherwise, it kindles them to anger.

10. In the punishment of the proud there is no remedy, for the plant of wickedness hath taken root in him.

THE DIFFICULTY OF ERADICATING PRIDE

11. It is a wonder to see how this sin keepeth strength in persons that have long taken pains for their souls.

12. Let them but be touched in their interest or reputation, or seem to be slighted, or see another preferred before them, while they are neglected, and they boil with envy, malice, or discontent, and show that the heart of sin, even selfishness and pride, is yet alive, unbroken. 13. Pride is the defence, not only of itself, but of every other sin in the heart or life. For it hateth reproof and keepeth off the remedy; it hideth and extenuateth, and excuseth the sin, and thinketh well of that which should be hated.

14. A fault which humbles a man is of more use to him than a good action which puffs him up with pride.

THE REMEDY

15. If good men censure thee, be not too quick in concluding that thou art innocent and justifying thyself, lest they should prove right; but examine thyself with double diligence.

16. It is good that we be sometimes contradicted ; and that there be an evil or lessening conceit had of us; and this, though we do and intend well.

17. These things help often to the attaining of humility, and defend us from vainglory, for then we chiefly seek the inward witness, when outwardly we be contemned by men, and when there is no credit given

unto us.

18. The true way to be humble is not to stoop till thou art smaller than thyself, but to stand at thy real height against some higher nature that shall show thee what the real smallness of thy greatest greatness is.