Page:Plutarch - Moralia, translator Holland, 1911.djvu/91

Rh of their own wit; increase their sorrow and grief, with moaning them and lamenting with them for company; set on work and exasperate their inbred naughtiness and lewd disposition; their illiberal mind and covetous nature; their diffidence and distrustfulness of others; their base and servile timidity, making them always worse, and apt to conceive ill; more fearful, jealous and suspicious, by the means of some new accusations, false surmises and conjectural suggestions, which they be ready to put into their heads. For evermore it getteth closely into some vicious passion and affection of the mind, and there lurketh; the same it nourisheth and feedeth fat, but anon it appeareth like a botch, rising eftsoons upon the corrupt, diseased or inflamed parts of the soul. Art thou angry with one? punish him (saith he): Hast thou a mind to a thing? buy it, and make no more ado: Art thou never so little afraid? let us fly and be gone: Suspectest thou this or that? believe it confidently (saith he).

But if peradventure, be can hardly be seen and discovered about these passions, for that they be so mighty and violent that oftentimes they chase and expel all use of reason, he will give some vantage to be sooner taken in others that be not so strong and vehement, where we shall find him always the same and like himself. For say a man do suspect that he hath taken a surfeit, either by over-liberal feeding or drinking heady wine, and upon that occasion make some doubt to bathe his body, or to eat presently again and lay gorge upon gorge (as they say): A true friend will advise him to forbear and abstain; he will admonish him to take heed to himself and look to his health: In comes a flatterer, and he will draw him to the bain in all haste; he will bid him to call for some novelty or other to be set upon the board, willing him to fall fresh to it again, and not to punish his body and do himself injury by fasting and refusing his meat and drink: Also if he see him not disposed to take a journey by land or voyage by sea, or to go about any enterprise, whatsoever it be, slowly and with an ill will, he will say unto him; either that there is no such great need, or the time is not so convenient, but it may be put off to a farther day, or it will serve the turn well enough to send others about it.

Now if it fall out so, that he having made promise to some familiar friend either to lend or let him have the use of some money, or to give him it freely, do change his mind and repent of his promise; but yet be somewhat abashed and ashamed thus to break his word; the flatterer by and by will put himself