Astion, and not in the Impressions of the Sences ; so 'tis not what they Feel, but what they Doe, which makes Mankind either Happy, or Miserable. [1]
XVII. 'Tis all one to a Stone whether 'tis thrown upwards, or downwards ; The mounting, or sinking of the Motion, does not make the Thing, one jot the better, or the worse. [2]
XVIII. Examine the size of Peoples Sense and the Condition of their Understandings, and you'l never be fond of Popularity, or afraid of Censure.
XIX. All things are in a perpetual Flux, and a sort of Consumption ; you your self are so, and the whole World keeps you Company.
XX. Don't disturb your self about the Irregularities of other People, but let every bodies Fault lye at their own Doors.
XXI. The intermission of Action, and a stop in Appetite, and Thought, are a kind of Death upon the Faculties for the present, and yet there is no harm in't. Go on now to the different Periods of Life : And here you'l find Infancy, Youth, Manhood , and Old-age treading upon the Heels of each other, and the First as it were cut down, and dispatch'd by the latter. And where lies the Damage , and Terror of all this? Proceed to your
