luxury many and various pleasures; ambition, purple, applause, and power and all that power can do. Vice ever tempts you with fome reward; but know, you must live free and difinterested. There is fcarce time enough in a whole age, to fubdue, and bring under the yoke, vices, that are grown proud and stubborn with too long liberty; much less can we expect to do this, if we permit the little time we have to be interrupted: daily vigilance and application fcarce fuffice to bring any one thing to perfection.

If you would attend to me, Lucilius, meditate on this; be this your exercife; calmly to receive death; nay, if neceffity required, to court it. There is little or no difference, whether Death comes to us or we go to him (b). Persuade yourself, that it is but an idle opinion of the most ignorant, that, bella res eft, mori fuâ morte, it is right and fair for a man to die the death allotted him (c). Think moreover that no one dies, but when his time is come: when you die, you have had the time you could properly call your own (d); what you leave behind you, belongs to another perfon.

(6) Undoubtedly, Death, confidered as Death, is the fame, come when, or from what hand it will. But the means or manner of it, with regard to a rational agent, admit of a wide difference; especially among Christians; as there is scarce one in the whole train of virtues, but what is rejected and destroyed by the horrid cuftom of fuicide; as, Fortitude, Conftancy, Patience, a trust in God, &c. (c) Suetonius fpeaking of those who murdered Cæfar in the capitol, obferves that, Nemo amplius triennio fupervixit, neque fua morte defunctus eft, No one furvived him more than three years or died a natural death. As to the fentence here exhibited, though Seneca, fpeaking as a Stoic, feems to condemn this opinion, I doubt not but that every Chriftian, learned or unlearned, will approve of it. And 'tis notorious that Seneca contradicts himself in nothing more than in this point.

(d) No one is a proper judge of what is here called his own time. The time indeed that a man hath cut off by laying violent hands on himself, is not his own; for he is gone, and now hath nothing to do with it: but neither was it his own, fo as to difpofe of it at his pleasure, or to abridge himself of it; for it belonged to his family, to his king, to his God. See the Notes on the following Epiftle See alfo Epp. 16. 24. 34. 41. 44. 51. 94. 98.

VOL. I.

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EPISTLE

AT laft, Lucilius, I have been to see your Pompeii: where fomething or other reminded me of my youthful days: and fo affected me, as to make me fancy myself as young and active as ever; at least to think that few years had paffed fince that happy time.-We fail, my Lucilius, along the coast of life, and as in the fea, our Virgil fays,

-Terræq; urbefq; recedunt, we foon lofe fight of land;—

fo in the rapid flow of time, we first lose sight of childhood, then of youth, then of middle age, on the confines of both, and then the better years of old age; and at last the common end of mankind begins to fhew itself.

And do we think this a terrible rock? we are arrant fools if we do: it is rather a defirable haven (a), than to be dreaded; into which if any one is carried in his younger years, he has no more reason to complain, than he that hath made a swift voyage; for one veffel, you know, is made the sport of gentle winds, and is detained, 'till it is quite tired with the tedioufnefs of an idle calm: another by a smart and conftant gale is carried along impetuoufly to the end of its voyage: the fame happens to us in life: fome are violently hurried thither, where even the most tardy must come at last: others are quite macerated and wafted away with length of days, fo as to make life by no means defirable; for it is not a good thing merely to live, but to live well and happily (b): therefore a wife man will take care to live well, and as he ought to live, not concerning himself with the length of time: he will confider where he is to live, with whom, in what manner, and to what purpose, regardless, I fay, of how long. If many troubles afflict him and destroy his peace, be defires to be gone (c): and not only in the last extremities, but as foon as ever Fortune begins to be fufpected by him; he will con

fult

fult with himself, whether it were not better for him to die: he thinks it of no great moment to him, from what hand he accepts the fatal ftroke; nor that it can be any detriment to him, whether fooner or later. He cannot be any great lofer who has but a drop to lofe: it is of no great importance to die foon, or to die late, but to die well or ill: now to die well, is to escape the perils of an evil life: and therefore I think it too effeminately spoken by the Rhodian, who, when he was caft into prison by a tyrant, and there kept encaged like a wild beast, faid to a person that perfuaded him to ftarve himself, Omnia homini dum vivit, fperanda funt, while there is life there is hope (d). However true this maxim may be, I cannot think life is to be purchased at any rate: fome things, however great, however certain, are not what I fhould defire to obtain, at the expence of confeffing myself weak and faint-hearted. Muft I think that Fortune can do every thing for him who lives, rather than that she hath no power over him who knows how to die? Yet, I must own that, in fome cafes, though certain death were instant, and a man knew his destined punishment, he ought not to accelerate it by his own presumption (e). It is folly to die for fear of death. Is the executioner coming? wait for him: why do you prevent him? why would you take upon you the adminiftration of another's cruelty? do you envy him, or spare him, the disagreeable office? Socrates might eafily have ended his life by abstaining from any nourishment, rather than have died by poifon; yet he lived thirty days in prison, and in expectation of death: not because he prefumed that every thing would be done that could be done to fave him; or that he had any hopes in being respited; but in dutiful fubmiffion to the laws, and to give his friends the enjoyment of his converfation to the laft. Nothing could be more abfurd than to fuppofe that he defpifed death, and yet was afraid of poison.

On the contrary, Drufus Libo, a young man, as filly, as he was noble by birth, expecting greater things than any man could expect in that age, or he in any; when he was brought from the fenate in a litter very fick (or pretending to be fo) with no great attendance, (for all his friends and fervants had uncharitably forfaken him, not now as an accufed

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accused person, but as one condemned, and already dead in law) began to afk counfel, whether he should wait for death, or haften it himself; Scribonia his aunt, (the widow of Auguftus) a woman of great fedateness and gravity, thereupon faid to him, what pleafure can you have in the enjoy ment of a life not your own? Drufus took the hint, and dispatched himfelf; and I think not without reafon (f). For if he that is to die within three or four days, at the pleafure of an enemy, chufes to live out the time, it cannot properly be called his own. We cannot however abfolutely declare in all cafes alike, when any external power threatens certain death, whether it is to be anticipated, or waited for :. for much may be faid on both fides: for if on one hand death is to be attended with any grievous torture; and on the other it is fimple and eafy, why should not this be preferred? As I would chuse a ship to fail in, or a houfe to live in; so would I the most tolerable death, when about to die.

Moreover, though life is not the better, the longer it is; yet furely death the longer it is, is fo much the worse. We ought in nothing to be more obfequious to the mind, than in death: let a man indulge it with whatever death it is pleased to chufe; let him rufh on, according to the impulse within, and break his chains (g). In the affairs of life, let him ftudy the approbation of others, but in death let him please himself (b). It is ridiculous for a man to trouble himself with the following reflexions; fome one will fay, I have been too rash; I have acted cowardly; fuch a death would have shewed a more generous and noble Spirit (i). But would you accept of the advice that is in your power to put in execution, and with which fame or cenfure have no concern, (at least that you will be fenfible of); let this be your principal view, to take yourself out of the power of Fortune as speedily as you can; otherwife there will be those who may difapprove and condemn the fact (k): you will find even among the profeffors of wisdom, (the Peripatetics or followers of Ariftotle's philofophy) those who deny, that upon any account a man is at liberty to lay violent hands on himself; who judge it a most heinous crime; and folemnly affert, that it is the duty of every one to wait the time appointed by Nature. "Ile that fays this, feems not

to

to know that he hath barred up, against himself, the way to liberty: the eternal law hath done nothing better than that it hath given us but one way of entrance into life, but many ways of going out of it (/): must I wait for either the cruelty of a disease, or of man, when I have it in my power to escape from the greatest torments, and fet myfelf free from all adverfity? This is one reason why we should not complain of life, it detains no one against their will (m): human affairs are in such a happy fituation, that no one need be wretched but by choice. Do you like to be wretched? Live (n). Do you like it not? It is in your power to return from whence you came. To eafe the pain of the head, you fcruple not to bleed a vein; now there is no need of a much greater wound to reach the heart; you may open to yourself a way to liberty by a fingle bodkin (0).

What is it then that makes us cowards and afraid to die? It is because no one reflects that he must leave this earthly tenement fome time or other. Hence fondness for the place, cuftom, and imtimacy, detain us here like fome old cottagers, in fpite of injuries. Would you be free in opposition to the body? Dwell therein as if always about to depart: fuppofe with yourself that you must one day forego this fellowship; and you will with greater courage break it off when neceffity requires; but how fhould he ever reflect on his end, who defires to know no end, and lives as if all things were to last for ever?

There is no meditation so neceffary as frequent thoughts on our latter end. The thoughts employ'd upon other subjects may prove vain and fuperfluous. Is our mind prepared against the stroke of poverty? It happens not; our riches have not yet taken wing. Have we armed ourfelves fo, as to defpife all pain? The continued happiness of a found and healthful body, never puts us to the trial. Have we prevailed upon ourselves, patiently to fuffer any loss whatever, particularly the lofs of a dear friend or relation? Fortune hath been fo kind to us, as still to preserve alive all whom we particularly love and respect. But as the day of death will certainly come, in this alone our meditation cannot be vain or useless.

Nor