r here therefore, or nowhere, is what we are investigating. The one
dreads the burden, as too much for a pusillanimous soul and a weak
constitution; the other under takes, and carries it through. Either
virtue is an empty name, or the man who makes the experiment deservedly
claims the honor and the reward.

Those who mention nothing of their poverty before their lord, will gain
more than the importunate. There is a great difference between modestly
accepting, or seizing by violence But this was the principle and source
of every thing [which I alleged]. He who says, "My sister is without a
portion, my mother poor, and my estate neither salable nor sufficient
for my support," cries out [in effect], "Give me a morsel of bread:"
another whines, "And let the platter be carved out for me with half a
share of the bounty." But if the crow could have fed in silence, he
would have had better fare, and much less of quarreling and of envy.

A companion taken [by his lord] to Brundusium, or the pleasant
Surrentum, who complains of the ruggedness of the roads and the bitter
cold and rains, or laments that his chest is broken open and his
provisions stolen; resembles the well-known tricks of a harlot, weeping
frequently for her necklace, frequently for a garter forcibly taken from
her; so that at length no credit is given to her real griefs and losses.
Nor does he, who has been once ridiculed in the streets, care to lift up
a vagrant with a [pretended] broken leg; though abundant tears should
flow from him; though, swearing by holy Osiris, he says, "Believe me, I
do not impose upon you; O cruel, take up the lame." "Seek out for a
stranger," cries the hoarse neighborhood.

* * * * *

EPISTLE XVIII.

TO LOLLIUS.

_He treats at large upon the cultivation of the favor of great men; and
concludes with a few words concerning the acquirement of peace of mind_.

If I rightly know your temper, most ingenuous Lollius, you will beware
of imitating a flatterer, while you profess yourself a friend. As a
matron is unlike and of a different aspect from a strumpet, so will a
true friend differ from the toad-eater. There is an opposite vice to
this, rather the greater [of the two]; a clownish, inelegant, and
disagreeable bluntness, which would recommend itself by an unshaven face
and black teeth; while it desires to be termed pure freedom and true
sincerity. Virtue is the medium of the two vices; and equally