truly barbarous, unworthy of human nature, and which included such
consequences as must destroy all society from the world.

Solon lamenting the death of a son, one told him, "You lament in
vain." "Therefore," said he, "I lament, because it is in vain."
This was a plain confession how imperfect all his philosophy was,
and that something was still wanting. He owned that all his wisdom
and morals were useless, and this upon one of the most frequent
accidents in life. How much better could he have learned to support
himself even from David, by his entire dependence upon God, and that
before our Saviour had advanced the notions of religion to the
height and perfection wherewith He hath instructed His disciples!

Plato himself, with all his refinements, placed happiness in wisdom,
health, good fortune, honour, and riches, and held that they who
enjoyed all these were perfectly happy; which opinion was indeed
unworthy its owner, leaving the wise and good man wholly at the
mercy of uncertain chance, and to be miserable without resource.

His scholar Aristotle fell more grossly into the same notion, and
plainly affirmed, "That virtue, without the goods of fortune, was
not sufficient for happiness, but that a wise man must be miserable
in poverty and sickness." Nay, Diogenes himself, from whose pride
and singularity one would have looked for other notions, delivered
it as his opinion, "That a poor old man was the most miserable thing
in life."

Zeno also and his followers fell into many absurdities, among which
nothing could be greater than that of maintaining all crimes to be
equal; which, instead of making vice hateful, rendered it as a thing