He that makes himself a sheep will
find that the wolves are not all dead. He who lies on the ground must
expect to be trodden on. He who makes himself a mouse, the cats will eat
him. If you let your neighbors put the calf on your shoulders, they will
soon clap on the cow. We are to please our neighbor for his good to
edification, but this is quite another matter.
PATIENCE.
Patience is better than wisdom; an ounce of patience is worth a pound of
brains. All men praise patience, but few enough can practice it; it is a
medicine which Is good for all diseases, and therefore every old woman
recommends it; but it is not every garden that grows the herbs to make
it with. When one's flesh and bones are full of aches and pains, it is
as natural for us to murmur as for a horse to shake his head when the
flies tease him, or a wheel to rattle when a spoke is loose; but nature
should not be the rule with Christians, or what is their religion worth?
If a soldier fights no better than a plowboy, off with his red coat. We
expect more fruit from an apple-tree than from a thorn, and we have a
right to do so. The disciples of a patient Savior should be patient
themselves. Grin and bear it is the old-fashioned advice, but sing and
bear it is a great deal better. After all, we get very few cuts of the
whip, considering what bad cattle we are; and when we do smart a little,
it is soon over. Pain past is pleasure, and experience comes by it.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163