2. It is the character of thy being, the prerogative of thy nature; in thy breast alone, it resideth; without thee, there is nothing of it. And behold, what is its source, but thine own passions?
3. He who gave thee these, gave thee also reason to subdue them; exert it, and thou shall trample them under thy feet!
4. Thine entrance into the world, is it not shameful? Thy destruction, is it not glorious-- Lo! men adorn the instruments of death with gold and gems and wear them above their garments.
5. He who begetteth a man, hideth his face; but he who killeth a thousand is honored.
6. Know thou, notwithstanding, that in this is error. Custom cannot alter the nature of truth, neither can the opinion of man destroy justice; the glory and the shame are misplaced.
7. There is but one way for a man to be produced; there are a thousand by which he may be destroyed.
8. There is no praise or honor to him who giveth being to another; but triumphs and empire are the rewards of murder.
9. Yet he who hath many children, hath many blessings; and he who hath taken away the life of another, shall not enjoy his own.
10. While the savage curseth the birth of his son, and blesseth the death of his father, doth he not call himself a monster?
11. The greatest of all human ills is sorrow; too much of this thou art born into; add not unto it by thy own perverseness.
12. Grief is natural to thee, and is always about thee; pleasure is a stranger and visiteth thee by times; use well thy reason, and sorrow will be cast behind thee; be prudent, and the visits of joy shall remain long with thee.
13. Every part of thy frame is capable of sorrow, but few and narrow are the paths that lead to delight.
14. Pleasures can be admitted only simply, but pains rush in a thousand at a time.
15. As the blaze of straw fadeth as soon as it is kindeled, so passeth away the brightness of joy, and thou knoweth not what become of it.
16. Sorrow is frequent, pleasure is rare; pain cometh of itself; delight must be purchased; grief is unmixed, but joy wanteth not its alloy of biterness.
17. As the soundest health is less percieved than the lightest malady, so the highest joy toucheth us less deep than the smallest sorrow.
18. We are in love with anguish; we often fly from pleasure; when we purchase it, costeth it not more than it is worth?
19. Reflection is the business of man; sense of his state is his first duty; but who remembereth himself a boy? Is it not in mercy, then, that sorrow is allotted unto us?
20. Man forseeth the evil that is to come; he remembereth it when it is past; he considereth not that the thought of affliction woundeth deeper than the affliction itself. Think not of thy pain, but when it is upon thee, and thou shalt avoid what most hurt thee.
21. He who weepeth before he needeth, weepeth more than he needeth; and why, but that he loveth weeping?
22. The stag weepeth not till the spear is lifted against him; nor do the tears of the beaver fall, till the hound is ready to sieze him; man anticipateth death by the apprehension of it: and the fear is greater misery than the event itself.
23. Be always prepared to give an account of thine action; and the best death is that which is least premeditated.