PART XIII. E9 I C U R U S. 6^1

mitting and fuffering of wrong, can live in the fame fecurity and indifturbance as the Juft IVlan doth, becaufe ( as I faid,) he cannot aflbre him- felf that his Injuflice fhall never be brought to light : For Crimes, though they may be fecret, can never be fecure ; nor doth it avail an Of¬ fender to be concealed from others, while he can never be concealed from himfelf.
Truly, though his Offence were never- fo well concealed tor a time, yetitis very uncel^tain, whether it will continue fo concealed till hi death. For hrft, there is a jealoufie and fuf- picion,that follows upon ill actions • and again, there have been many who have detected them- felves,rome in Dreams, others in raving Fics,o- thersiii Drink, others through Incogitancy. S ' that a wicked Man, though he may for a tini: lie hid both from gods and men,(as they fay, ) yet he hath reafon to miftrufl that he will not be concealed for ever.
FJ|nceis it, that notwithftanding Injuflice is not an III in itfelf, becaufe what is reputed un juft in one place, may be Juft in another •, yet it is an 111 in refped of that fear, which, flinging the Confcience, creats in it a continual fufpi- don,that at fome time or other his unjufl deeds will come to the cars of the avengers of Unja- fticc,and fb he be called to a fevere account for them. Thus there is nothing that more condu- ceth as to fecurity, fo likewife to a quiet and pleafant life, than to live innocently, and upon no occafion to violate the common Covenants of Peace.
Wherefore fince the Juft and unjuft are in this oppofition, that the Juft, of all men, are the moft fee from Perturbations, What can be more profitable to thofe, than Juftice ? What more hurtful to thefe, than Injuflice ? For how can any anguifh of mind, folicitudes, dayly and nightly fears, be profitable to any man ?
juftice therefore being fo great a good, and injuflice abhor the other. And if at any time our mind leem to flagger, and we are in fufpence what to do, let us fix on fome grave good Man, and fuppofe him to be always prefent with us, that we may live and do all things as if he looked upon us.
By this means we fhall not only avoid the do¬ ing of any thing openly againft Juftice, butalfo of offending in fecret againft the Rules of Hon- efty. This good man will be to us in ftead of a Guardian orTutor,whom,becaiife we reverence, we fear to offend. Following this counfel there¬ fore, thus argue • If he were pefent, I would not do it; Why do I doit in his abfence ? He would find fault with it, becufe it. is Ill; Why do not I fhun ill,of my felf ? Thus,do all things, as if fome fuch perfon looked bn ; for if you in this manner reverence another, you will foon come to be reverenced y ourfelf.
C H A P. XXIX.
Of Beneficence^ G rathude, Pi6ty, Obfervance.
WE come next to the Virtues which w^e faid were allied to Jufticcjfor that they
have regard to other perfons ; and though they are not,( as Juftice is, ) preferibed by Laws and Covenants, yet they import, out of decency, a certain obligation like chat of Juftice. ’
1 he firft is Beneficence^ or the doing good to others, whereunto thofe are obliged, who are a- ble to allift or relieve others, either with their hand or purfe. If they deny the affiftencc of their hands, they are cenfured as barbarousjcrael, inhiim m; if that of their purfe, they are thought the fame, as alfo forbid, tenacious, covetous, and the like. But if they aflift others, they are accounted courteous, civil, kind ; as alfo liberal, nunificent, magnificent, &c. So that they are obliged for their own fakes to do good to o- chers/o far as may be without prodigality.
For thofe who praftife thisVirtue, procure to chemfelves good will, and ( what moft of all conduces to quiet living ) dearnefs or tender eftimation from others : They who ufe it not, illwill, and( what moft occafions troublefom life ) contempt and hatred. Take, heed there¬ fore you omit not to be beneficent, at leaft in fmall matters, that fo you lofe not the advan¬ tage of being accounted ready to gratific o- thers, even in great.
Not without reafon did I fay formerly. It is not only more honourable, but alfo more de¬ lightful to give than to receive a benefit; be¬ caufe, the giver thereby makes himfelf iuperior to the receiver, and reaps moreover the inte- reft of Thanks ; and there is not any thing that Joys a man more thanThanks, A beneficent per¬ fon is like a Fountain, which ifyou fhould fup- pofe it to have a reafonable Soul, what Joy would it not have at the fight of fo many Corn¬ fields, and Paftures, which flourifh and fmile as it were with plenty and verdure, and all by the diffufion of its ftreams upon them ?
The fecond is gratitude^ to which every man that receives a benefit is reciprosally obliged, unlefs he would incur thegfeateft hatred and ignominy. For Ingratitude' is worthily hateful to all men ; becaufe feeing nothing is more fui- table to nature, than to be propenfe to receive a goodjit is highly contrary to nature, not to be readily grateful towards the Author of that good.
Now fince no man is more gratefully affefted towards his Benefactors than the wife man, we may Juftly affirm, that only the wife man knows how to fulfil the duty of gratitude, becaufe he alone is ready upon all occafions to exprefs his thankfulnefs to his Friends, both prefent and abfent, even to thofe that are dead.
Others pay thanks only to prefent Friends, w'hen prefent, and this perhaps for their own farther ends, to encourage them to fome new favour; but how few are there, who gratefully commemorate their abfentBencfa£lorsi> Who re¬ quite the good they did them upon their Chil-, dren,or otherRelations ? How few who honour their memory after death ; who rejoyce not ra- ther5as if their obligations were cancelled? Who love thofe that were dear to them,refped them, and as far as in them lies, do good to them ?
The third is Piety ^ the moft facred fpecies of gratitude. It looks upon our parents in the firft place,to whom every man is more obliged than 'to all the World befides ; For to others he may ,
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E P I C U RU S.