on, without the
accession of outward things; so present things, and the present time, will
not afford aliment enough, or fuel for this humour, without the addition
of the morrow.

"Boast not thyself of to-morrow." No man's present possession satisfies
him, without the addition of hope and expectation for the future, and
herein the poverty of man's spirit appears, and the emptiness of all
things we enjoy here, that our present revenue, as it were, will not
content the heart. The present possession fills not up the vacuities of
the heart, without the supply of our imaginations, by taking so much in
upon the head of the morrow, to speak so. As one prodigal and riotous
waster, who cannot be served with his yearly income, but takes so much on
upon his estate, upon the next year's income, before it come, begins to
spend upon it, before it come itself, and then, when it comes, it cannot
suffice itself, so the insatiable and indigent heart of man cannot subsist
and feed its joy in complacency upon the whole world, if it were presently
in its possession, without some accession of hopes and expectations for
the time to come. Therefore the soul, as it were, anticipates and
forestalls the morrow, and borrows so much present joy and boasting upon
the head of it, which when it comes itself, perhaps it will not fill the
hand of the reaper, let be(278) pay for that debt of gloriation that was
taken on upon its name, or compense the expectation which was in it, see
Job xi. 18, 20, viii. 13. Hope is like a man's house to him, but to many
it is no better than a spider's web. We have then a clear demonstration of
the madness and folly of men, who hang so much upon things without, and
suffer themselves to be moulded and modelled in their affections,
according to the variety of external accidents. First of all, consider the
independence of all things upon us and our choice; there is nothing more
unreasonable than to stir our passions upon that which falls not under our
deliberation, as the most part of things to come are. What shall be
to-morrow, what shall come of my estate, of my places; what event my
projects and designs shall have,--this is not in my hand, these depend upon
other men's wills, purposes, and actions, which are not in my power, and
therefore, either to boast of glory upon that which depends upon the
concurrence of so many causes unsubordinate to me, or to be vexed and
disquieted upon the fore-apprehension of that which is no