few that have this virtue in its full latitude when they are men. I should not say this in a nation so naturally brave as ours is, did I think that true fortitude required nothing but courage in the field, and a contempt of life in the face of an enemy. This, I confess, is not the least part of it, nor can be denied the laurels and honours always justly due to the valour of those who venture their lives for their country.

But yet this is not all. Dangers attack us in other places besides the field of battle, and though death be the king of terrors, yet pain, disgrace, and poverty have frightful looks, able to discompose most men whom they seem ready to seize on; and there are those who contemn some of these, and yet are heartily frighted with the other. True fortitude is prepared for dangers of all kinds, and unmoved whatsoever evil it be that threatens. I do not mean unmoved with any fear at all. Where danger shows itself, apprehension cannot, without stupidity, be wanting; where danger is, sense of danger should be; and so much fear should keep us awake, and excite our attention, industry, and vigour, but not disturb the calm use of our reason, nor hinder the execution of what that dictates.

The first step to get this noble and manly steadiness is what I have above mentioned-carefully to keep children from frights of all kinds when they are young. Let not any fearful apprehensions be talked into them, nor terrible objects surprise them. This often so shatters and discomposes the spirits that

they never recover it again; but during their whole life, upon the first suggestion or appearance of any terrifying idea, are scattered and confounded, the body is enervated and the mind disturbed, and the man scarce himself, or capable of any composed or rational action. Instances of such who in a weak, timorous mind have borne, all their whole lives through, the effects of a fright when they were young are everywhere to be seen, and therefore as much as may be to be prevented.

The next thing is, by gentle degrees, to accustom children to those things they are too much afraid of. But here great caution is to be used that you do not make too much haste, nor attempt this cure too early, for fear lest you increase the mischief instead of remedying it. Little ones in arms may be easily kept out of the way of terrifying objects, and till they can talk and understand what is said to them, are scarce capable of that reasoning and discourse which should be used to let them know there is no harm in those frightful objects which we would make them familiar with, and do, to that purpose, by gentle degrees, bring nearer and nearer to them. But yet if it should happen that infants should have taken offence at anything which cannot be easily kept out of their way, and that they show marks of terror as often as it comes in sight, all the allays of fright, by diverting their thoughts or mixing pleasant and agreeable appearances with it, must be used till it be grown familiar and inoffensive to them.

The only thing we naturally are afraid of is pain or loss of pleasure; and because these are not annexed to any shape, colour, or size of visible objects, we are frighted with none of them till either we have felt pain from them, or have notions put into us that they will do us harm. The pleasant brightness and lustre of flame and fire so delights children that at first they always desire to be handling of it; but when constant experience has convinced them, by the exquisite pain it has put them to, how cruel and unmerciful it is, they are afraid to touch it, and carefully avoid it. This being the ground of fear, 'tis not hard to find whence it arises, and how it is to be cured in all mistaken objects of terror. And when the mind is confirmed against them, and has got a mastery over itself and its usual fears in lighter occasions, it is good preparation to meet more real dangers.

Your child shrieks and runs away at the sight of a frog; let another catch it and lay it down at a good distance from him. At first accustom him to look upon it, and when he can do that, then to come nearer to it and see it leap without emotion, then to touch it lightly when it is held fast in another's hand, and so on till he can come to handle it as confidently as a butterfly or a sparrow. By the same way any other vain terrors may be removed, if care be taken that you go not too fast, and push not the child on to a new degree of assurance till he be thoroughly confirmed in the former. And thus the young soldier is to be trained on to the warfare of life, wherein care

is to be taken that more things be not represented as dangerous than really are so, and then that whatever you observe him to be more frighted at than he should, you be sure to lead him on to by insensible degrees, till he, at last quitting his fears, masters the difficulty and comes off with applause. Successes of this kind, often repeated, will make him find that evils are not always so certain or so great as our fears represent them, and that the way to avoid them is not to run away, or be discomposed, dejected, and deterred by fear, where either our credit or duty requires us to go on.

LOCKE.

39. ON HIS BLINDNESS.

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,-
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or His own gifts.

Who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.”

MILTON.

40. A ROMAN VICTORY.

When Tigranes showed on the top of Mount Taurus, and they might plainly see his whole army from the city, and himself also might easily discern Lucullus's army that besieged Tigranocerta, the barbarous people that were within the city were so glad of this sight that they made wonderful shouts of joy and great clapping of hands, threatening the Romans from their walls, and showing them the army of the Armenians.

Lucullus in the meantime sat in council to consider what was to be done; wherein some were of opinion that he should raise his siege, and go with his whole army undivided against Tigranes. But others liked not that he should leave so great a number of enemies at his back, neither that he should raise his siege. Lucullus made them answer that neither of them did counsel him well, but both together did counsel him right. Whereupon he divided his army, and left Murena at the siege of Tigranocerta with six thousand men; and he with four-and-twenty cohorts (in the which were not above ten thousand armed footmen) and all his horsemen, with a thousand bowmen and slingers or thereabouts, went towards Tigranes, and camped in a goodly broad field by the river's side.

The Romans seemed but a handful to Tigranes's camp, so that for a while Tigranes's parasites made but a May game of them to sport withal. For some mocked them to scorn, others drew lots and played away their part of the spoils, as if they had already