each day as if it were our whole life,--_singulas dies singulas vitas
puta_: let us make it as agreeable as possible, it is the only real
time we have.

Only those evils which are sure to come at a definite date have
any right to disturb us; and how few there are which fulfill this
description. For evils are of two kinds; either they are possible
only, at most probable; or they are inevitable. Even in the case of
evils which are sure to happen, the time at which they will happen is
uncertain. A man who is always preparing for either class of evil will
not have a moment of peace left him. So, if we are not to lose all
comfort in life through the fear of evils, some of which are uncertain
in themselves, and others, in the time at which they will occur, we
should look upon the one kind as never likely to happen, and the other
as not likely to happen very soon.

Now, the less our peace of mind is disturbed by fear, the more likely
it is to be agitated by desire and expectation. This is the true
meaning of that song of Goethe's which is such a favorite with
everyone: _Ich hab' mein' Sach' auf nichts gestellt_. It is only
after a man has got rid of all pretension, and taken refuge in mere
unembellished existence, that he is able to attain that peace of mind
which is the foundation of human happiness. Peace of mind! that is
something essential to any enjoyment of the present moment; and unless
its separate moments are enjoyed, there is an end of life's happiness
as a whole. We should always collect that _To-day_ comes only once,
and never returns. We fancy that it will come again to-morrow; but
_To-morrow_ is another day, which, in its turn, comes once only.
We are apt to forget that every day is an integral, and therefore
irreplaceable portion of life, and to look upon life as though it