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THE SECOND BOOKS 211
compared to God as he will deeme himselfe wrong to
be depressed in the ranke of other creatures. So much
are we more jealous of our owne interest than of our
Creators. But we must tread this foolish vanitie under
foot, and boldly shake off and lively reject those fondridiculous
foundations whereon these false opinions
are built. So long as man shall be perswaded to have
meanes or power of himselfe, so long will he denie and
never acknowledge what he oweth unto his Master:
he shall alwaies (as the common saying is) make shift
with his owne: He must be stripped unto his shirt.
Let us consider some notable example of the effect
of Philosophic Possidonius having long time been
grieved with a painfull-lingring disease, which with
the smarting paine made him to wring his hands and
gnash his teeth, thought to scorne grief with exclayming
and crying out against it: ' Doe what thou list, yet
will I never say that thou art evill or paine.' He
feeleth the same passions that my lackey doth, but he
boasteth himselfe that at least he conteineth his tongue
under the lawes of his sect. Be succumbere non oportebat
verbis glortantem;¹ 'It was not for him to yeeld in
deeds, who had so braved it in words/ ArcesUas lying
sicke of the gowt, Carneades comming to visit him,
and seeing him to frowne, supposing he had been angrie,
was going away again, but he called him back, and
shewing him his feet and breast, said unto him, ' There
is nothing come from thence hither. This hath somewhat
a better garb;' for he feeleth himselfe grieved
with sicknesse, and would faine be rid of it, yet is
not his heart vanquished or weakned thereby, the other
stands upon his stifnesse (as I feare) more verball than
essentiall. And Dionysius Heracleotes being tormented
with a violent smarting in his eies, was at last perswaded
to quit these Stoicke resolutions.
Be it supposed that Learning and Knowledge should
worke those effects they speake of, that is, to blunt and
abate the sharpnesse of those accidents or mischances
that follow and attend us; doth she any more than
1 CIC. Tusc. Qu. 1. ii. c. 25.