ublic grandeur_ requires they should be looked over.

Nothing is so violent as anger in its first emotions, it takes the
faculties by surprize, and rushes upon the soul like an impetuous
torrent, bearing down all before it: its strength, however, is owing
to its suddenness; for being raised by some new and unexpected
accident or provocation, reason has no warning of its approach, and
consequently is off her guard, and without any immediate power of
acting: the sweetest, and most gentle disposition, is not always a
sufficient defence for the mind, against the attacks of this furious
passion, and may be hurried by it to deeds the most opposite to its
own nature; but then as it is fierce, it is transient also; should its
force continue, it would lose its name, and be no longer anger, but
revenge; which, though the worst and most fiend-like propensity of a
vicious inclination, is sometimes excited by circumstances, that seem
in a great measure to alleviate the blackness of it:--repeated and
unprovoked insults, friendship and love abused, injuries in our
person, our fortune, or reputation, will sour the softest temper, and
are apt to make us imagine it is an injustice to our selves, not to
retaliate in kind, the ill treatment we receive. Religion, indeed,
forbids us to take our own parts thus far, and philosophy teaches,
that it is nobler to forgive, than punish wrongs; but every one is not
so happy as to have either of these helps; and I do not find but those
who boast both of them in the most superlative degree, stand in need
of something more, to enable them to restrain this prevailing impulse;
and that it is not so much to the precepts they receive from others,
as to some dictates from within, that many people are indebted for the
reputation of patience and forbearance.

It is the peculiar providence of Heaven, as I took notice in the
beginning of this work, that the more ignoble passions of human
nature, are, generally speaking, opposites, and by that means serve as
a curb to bridle the inordinancy of each other; so that, though _one
alone_ would be pernicious to society, and render the person possessed
of it obnoxious to the world, _many_ will prevent the hurt, and make
the man himself tolerable.

The adventure I am now going to relate, will prove that Natura had the
greatest excitements, and the greatest justification both for wrath
and revenge that could possibly be offered to any one man: yet did
another passio