Excerpt from Essays (qopnture, that God himself, notwithstanding all his infinite power and right over us, permits us to enjoy it, and that too after a forfeiture made by the Rebellion of Adam. He takes so much care for the entire preservation of it to us, that he suffers neither his Providence nor Eter, nal Decree to break or infringe it. Now for our Time, the same God to whom we are buttenams/atzwill for the whole, requires but the seventh part to be paid to him as a small quit/rent in acknow, ledgement of his Title. It is man only that has the impudence to demand our whole time, though he neither gave it, nor can restore it, nor is able to pay any considerable value for the least part of it. This Birth/right of mankind above all other Creatures, some are forced by hunger to sell, like Esau, for Bread and Broth; but the greatest part of men make such a Bargain for the delivery up of themselves, as Thamet did with Judah, instead of a Kid, the necessary Provis/ 2ions of human life, they are contented to do it for Rings and Bracelets. The great dealers in this World may be div, ided into the Ambitious, the Covetous, and the Voluptuous, and that all these men sell themselves to be slaves, though to the vulgar it may seem a Stoical Paradox, will appear to the wise so plain and obvious that they will scarce think it deserves the labour of Argumentaz tion. Let us first consider the Ambi, tious, and those both in their progress to Greatness, and after the attaining of it. There is nothing truer than what Salust says, Dominationis in alios ser, vitium suum Mercedem dant, They are content to pay so great a price as their own Servitude, to purchase the domi, nation over others. The first thing they must resolve to sacrifice, is their whole time, they must never stop, nor ever turn aside whilst in the race of Glory, no not like Atlanta for Golden Apples. Neither indeed can a man stop himselfif he would when he's in this Career. Fertur equis Auriga, neque audit Cur, rus habenas. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.