Page:The Emperor Marcus Antoninus - His Conversation with Himself.djvu/266

86 must be Broken, and my Atomes all Disbanded in a little time. But if there is a Providence, and the latter part of the Disjunction holds good, then I Adore the Great Governour of the World, and am easie in the prospect of Protection.

XI. When you happen to be rufled a little, and thrown off your Temper by any cross Accident, retire immediately into your Reason; And don't move out of Rule any longer than needs must: For the sooner you recover a False Step, the more you will be Master of your Practice.

XII. Put the case, you had a Mother in Law, and a Mother at the same time, tho' you would pay a regard to the First, your Converse I conceive would be mostly with the Latter. Let the Court and Philosophy, represent these two Relations to you; apply frequently to this last, and set up your stand with her. For 'tis a Life of Virtue, and Philosophy, which makes you, and your Courtiers, tolerable to each other.

XIII. To check the pleasure of Luxury, we should in our Fancy at least, take away the Garnishing of the Dishes, the value the Cook sets upon them, and give them Names less tempting then ordinary. For the purpose, we may say, this is but the Carkass of