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In Converfation boldneffe now bears sway.
But know that nothing can fo fool ifh be,
As empty boldneffe: therefore first affay
To ftuff thy mind with solid bravery;

Then march on gallant: get fubftantial worth,
Boldneffe gilds finely, and will fet it forth.

Be fweet to all. Is thy complexion fowr?
Then keep fuch company; make them thy allay:
Get a fharp wife, a fervant that will lowr.
A ftumbler ftumbles leaft in rugged way.

Command thy felf in chief. He lifes war knows,
Whom all his paffions follow as he goes.

Catch not at quarrels. He that dares not speak
Plainly and home, is coward of the two,
Think not thy fame at ev'ry twitch will break :
By great deeds fhew, that thou canst little do;
And do them not that fhall thy wisdom be;
And change thy temperance into bravery,

If that thy fame with ev'ry toy be pos'd,
'Tis a thin web, which poyfonous fancies make;
But the great fouldiers honour was compos'd
Of thicker ftuff, which would endure a shake.
Wisdom picks friends; civility plays the reft.
A toy fhunn'd cleanly paffeth with the best.

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Laugh not too much : the witty man laughs least : 25
For wit is news only to ignorance.

Leffe at thine own things laugh; left in the jeft
Thy person share, and the conceit advance.
Make not thy fport, abuses: for the fly
That feeds on dung, is coloured thereby.

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Pick out of mirth, like ftones out of thy ground,
Profaneneffe, filthineffe, abufiveneffe.

These are the fcum, with which coarfe wits abound:
The fine may fpare thefe well, yet not go lefs.
5 All things are big with jeft: nothing that's plain
But may be witty, if thou haft the vein.

Wit's an unruly engine, wildly ftriking
Sometimes a friend, fometimes the engineer.
Haft thou the knack? pamper it not with liking:
10 But if thou want it, buy it not too dear.
Many affecting wit beyond their power,
Have got to be a dear fool for an hour.

A fad wife valour is the brave complexion,-
That leads the van, and swallows up the cities.
The gigler is a milk-maid, whom infection
Or a fir'd beacon frighteth from his ditties.
Then he's the fport: the mirth then in him refts,
And the fad man is cock of all his jests.

Towards great perfons afe refpective boldness:
20 That temper gives them theirs, and yet doth take
Nothing from thine: in fervice, care or coldness
Doth ratably thy fortunes mar or make.

Feed no man in his fins: for adulation
Doth make thee parcel-devil in damnation...

25 Envy not greatness: for thou mak' thereby
Thy felf the worfe, and fo the distance greater.
Be not thine own wors: yet fuch jealoufie,
As hurts not others, but may make thee better,
Is a good fpur. Correct thy paffions spite;
30 Then may the beafts draw.thee to happy hight.
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When bafenefs is exalted, do not bate
The place its honour, for the perfons fake.
The fhrine is that which thou doft venerate;
And not the beaft, that bears it on his back.

I care not though the cloth of State should be
Not of rich arras, but mean tapestry.

Thy friend put in thy bofom: wear his eyes
Still in thy heart, that he may fee what's there.
If caufe require, thou art his facrifice;
Thy drops of bloud muft pay down all his fear:
But love is loft, the way of friendfhip's gone,
Though David had his Fonathan, Christ his John.

Yet be not furety, if thou be a father.
Love is a perfonal debt. I cannot give
My childrens right, nor ought he take it: rather
Both friends. fhould die, than hinder them to live.
Fathers first enter bonds to natures ends;
And are her fureties, e're they are a friends..

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If thou be fingle, all thy goods and ground
Submit to love; but yet not more than all.
Give,one eftate, as one life. None is bound
To work for two, who brought himself to thrall."
God made me one san; love makes me no more,
Till labour come, and make my weakness score..

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In thy difcourfe, if thou defire to please,
All fuch is courteous, ufeful, new, or witty.
Ufefulness comes by labour, wit by eafe;
Courtefie grows in court, news in the city.
Get a good flock of thefe, then draw the card:
That fuits him beft, of whom thy fpeech is heard. 30

Entice all neatly to what they know beft; For fo thou doft thy felf and him a pleasure : (But a proud ignorance will lofe his reft,

Rather than fhew his cards) fteal from his treasure s What to ask further. Doubts well rais'd do lock The speaker to thee, and preferve thy stock..

If thou be Mafer-gunner, fpend not all
That thou canft fpeak, at once; but husband it,
And give men turns of fpeech: do not forestall
10 By lavishners thine own and others wit,
As if thou mad'ft thy will. A civil guest
Will no more talk all, than eat all the feaft,

Be calm in arguing: for fiercenefs makes
Errour a fault, and truth difcourtefie.
15 Why fhould I feel another mans mistakes
More than his fickneffes or poverty?

In love I fhould: but anger is not love,
Nor wisdom neither: therefore gently move.

Calmness is great advantage: he that lets
20 Another chafe, may warm him at his fire,
Mark all his wandrings, and enjoy his frets;
As cunning fencers fuffer heat to tire.

Truth dwels not in the clouds: the bow that's there Doth often aim at, never hit the sphere.

Mark what another fays: for many are
Full of themfelves, and anfwer their own notion.
Take all into thee; then with equal care
Balance each dram of reafon, like a potion.
If truth be with thy friend, be with them both:
30 Share in the conqueft, and confefs a troth.

Beuseful where thou liveft, that they may
Both want and with thy pleating prefence ftill.
Kindness, good parts, great places are the way
To compals this. Find out mens wants and will,
And meet them there. All worldly joys go lefs
To that one joy of doing kindneffes.

Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high;
So fhalt thou humble and magnanimous be:
Sink not in fpirit, who aimeth at the sky,
Shoots higher much than he that means a tree.
A grain of glory mist with humbleness
Cures both a fever and lethargickness.

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Let thy mind ftill be bent, ftill plotting where,
And when, and how the bufinefs may be done.
Slackness breeds worms; but the fure traveller, 15.
Though he alights fometimes, ftill goeth on..
A&tive and ftirring fpirits live alone..
Write on the others, Here lies fuch an one.

Slight not the malleft loffe, whether it be
In love or honour: take account of all;
Shine like the fun in every corner: fee
Whether thy ftock of credit fwell, or fall.
Who fay, I care not, those I give for loft;
And to inftruct them, will not quit the coft.

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Scorn no mans love, though of a mean degree; 25; (Love is a prefent for a mighty king) Much lefs make any one thine enemy. uns deftroy, fo may a little fling. he cunning workman never doth refuse e meanest tool, that he may chance to use.

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