n to accommodate himself to a world where all is relative and no
perfect state exists;--always looking misfortune in the face, and if
he cannot avoid it, meeting it with courage.

It should never be forgotten that misfortune, be it great or small, is
the element in which we live. But that is no reason why a man should
indulge in fretful complaints, and, like Beresford,[1] pull a long
face over the _Miseries of Human Life_,--and not a single hour is free
from them; or still less, call upon the Deity at every flea-bite--_in
pulicis morsu Deum invocare_. Our aim should be to look well about us,
to ward off misfortune by going to meet it, to attain such perfection
and refinement in averting the disagreeable things of life,--whether
they come from our fellow-men or from the physical world,--that, like
a clever fox, we may slip out of the way of every mishap, great or
small; remembering that a mishap is generally only our own awkwardness
in disguise.

[Footnote 1: _Translator's Note_.--Rev. James Beresford (1764-1840),
miscellaneous writer. The full title of this, his chief work, is "The
Miseries of Human Life; or the last groans of Timothy Testy and Samuel
Sensitive, with a few supplementary sighs from Mrs. Testy."]

The main reason why misfortune falls less heavily upon us, if we have
looked upon its occurrence as not impossible, and, as the saying is,
prepared ourselves for it, may be this: if, before this misfortune
comes, we have quietly thought over it as something which may or may
not happen, the whole of its extent and range is known to us, and we
can, at least, determine how far it will affect us; so that, if it
really arrives, it does not depress us unduly--its weight is not felt
to be greater than it actually is. But if no preparation has been
made to meet it, and it comes unexpectedly, the mind is in a state of
terror for the moment and unable to measure the full extent of the
calamity; it seems so far-reaching in its effects that the victim
might well think there was no limit to them; in any case, its range is
exaggerated. In the same way, darkness and uncertainty always increase
the sense of danger. And, of course, if we have thought over the
possibility of misfortune, we have also at the same time considered
the sources to which we shall look for help and consolation; or, at
any rate, we have accustomed ourselves to the idea of it.

There is nothing that better fits us to endure the misfortunes of
life with