actions of men, and wept continually. Democritus did the same, and laughed incessantly. The mind may be brought to a due degree of firmness and tranquillity by contemplating the benefits which we enjoy ; by remembering that joy cannot be lasting and sorrow cannot be permanent; by estimating charitably the conduct of our fellow creatures; by acting with integrity; and then, if misfortunes come upon us, we may refer to our principles and our motives as a source of consolation; by moderating our joy that it may be more permanent, and by lessening our sorrow that it may not be oppressive. CHAP. VI. ON FORTITUDE AND TIMIDITY. THE term fortitude signifies strength of mind; and this may be active or passive. The former may be courage, valour, bravery, or boldness; the latter firmness, endurance, or patience. Active fortitude is the entering into one danger, or the braving of one evil for the purpose of avoiding another; passive is the suffering of disadvantage for the cause of honour, virtue, or piety. The extreme, or the intemperate degree is rashness and obstinacy. Firmness, or strength of mind, is not stupidity or unconsciousness. "Fortitude," observes Dr.Beattie, "consists in being not insensible to evil, but superior to it." There are many kinds of active and passive fortitude to these I shall allude. Patience implies the bearing of ignominy and pain without complaining. During the trial of Charles I., one of his fanatical persecutors spat in his face the king, without betraying any uneasiness at this indignity, took out his handkerchief, and calmly wiped away the insult. When Sir Isaac Newton was suffering his last illness, the pain of his body was so extreme, that the perspiration was forced out from his forehead in drops through a double nightcap, and yet he did not complain. Firmness of this kind can be produced only by a mighty energy; but the disadvantage is lessened, and a feeling of satisfaction is produced, when a man bears his afflictions magnanimously. Complaining or grieving generally increases the evil; it fills the mind with ideas and recollections of an unpleasing kind, and thus, a person who is surrounded even by blessings might make himself uneasy. A man laments because he is afflicted; and if he have any notions of duty or propriety, he will grieve because he laments. The sound of his querulous voice disturbs him, and the despondency of his thoughts darkens his mental view. But patience or firmness occasions an exhilarating feeling. A man contends and conquers; and, like a victor, he exults. Patience diminishes pain, and increases pleasure; complaining aggravates the evil, and condemns the person in his own sight, in the opinion of others, and in the view of the Almighty. Sometimes patience is partial: there is a certain portion of ill-will which flows out some way; and thus, on one occasion, it is directed towards our fellow creatures, while we are apparently resigned to the Almighty; and, on another occasion, we murmur at the dispensations of Providence, while we are good-humoured with our fellow men. Thus we change the object, and fancy we have freed ourselves from its influence. How often does a person, who had been accustomed to think harshly of the Supreme Being, become more humble and resigned! But the cause is not destroyed; the disorder breaks out in another part; he becomes more pettish with his servants and friends. There is, in human actions, a sort of see-saw conduct; an equality of force or energy; a balance of influence; and many of the alterations that occur, arise from operating in another direction, rather than in another manner. We can only judge of an increase of patience when it becomes evident at all times and on all occasions. It is difficult to plough up the mental soil, to remove the weeds, to sow the seeds, and rear the plants of virtue; but the advantage is more than equal to the labour. Jaumee the Persian said, "Patience is bitter, but it produces sweet fruit." Possidonius, when he was visited by Pompey, was grievously afflicted with the gout; but he discoursed on the excellency of virtue; and, when his agony was most excessive, he exclaimed, "O pain, I will never allow thee to be an evil!" Thomas Campanella, a Dominican friar of Naples, was cruelly persecuted on a charge of heresy; he was imprisoned for twenty-seven years, and during that period he was put on the rack seven times, and tortured twenty-four hours on each occasion. By the capability, however, which he had acquired of mastering himself, he bore his tortures with the greatest tranquillity. In the "Maccabees,” there is an account of seven brethren and their mother, with Eleazar a scribe, who, for the sake of religion, endured the greatest tortures magnanimously. When Ignatius was placed in the amphitheatre at Rome, and the lions had been let loose, and were walking towards him, he stood in perfect calmness, and exclaimed, "I shall now, as corn, - – be ground between the teeth of these ferocious beasts; but I shall become bread for my heavenly Master." And when St. Lawrence was roasting in the flames, he cried out, "This side is done enough, turn me on the other side." Gambold, in his tragedy of Ignatius, speaking of the heroism of the early Christians, says, "The women now think of no ornaments True courage bears a person up under a load of misery. "Fortiter ille facit, qui miser esse potest." Socrates was forewarned of his death for a month, and yet he continued firm. Canus Julius was condemned to die by Caligula, but he was not executed for ten days: during this time he passed his hours. in cheerfulness and tranquillity. In all these cases, there was an evil to be endured; and, as timidity would have been disgraceful and useless, firmness may be deemed noble and praiseworthy. By practice, and the influence of reason, the Stoics made themselves almost indifferent to bodily suffering. Pain is a natural feeling; every man is liable to its influence. If the body be injured, and the mind be unaffected, it must be owing to the mastery of the latter over the former; or it must arise from inattention; because the mind was engrossed in some other matter. A man, therefore, who has been engaged in a struggle, has sometimes been unconscious that he was wounded. A person will, on some occasions, stand or sit in an uneasy posture, and thus strain or tire the body, without |