allowed time to work. So eminent
a king as Frederick the Great admitted it--_les ames privilegiees
rangent a l'egal des souverains_, as he said to his chamberlain, when
the latter expressed his surprise that Voltaire should have a seat
at the table reserved for kings and princes, whilst ministers and
generals were relegated to the chamberlain's.

Every one of these aristocracies is surrounded by a host of envious
persons. If you belong to one of them, they will be secretly
embittered against you; and unless they are restrained by fear, they
will always be anxious to let you understand that _you are no better
than they_. It is by their anxiety to let you know this, that they
betray how greatly they are conscious that the opposite is the truth.

The line of conduct to be pursued if you are exposed to envy, is to
keep the envious persons at a distance, and, as far as possible, avoid
all contact with them, so that there may be a wide gulf fixed between
you and them; if this cannot be done, to bear their attacks with the
greatest composure. In the latter case, the very thing that provokes
the attack will also neutralize it. This is what appears to be
generally done.

The members of one of these aristocracies usually get on very well
with those of another, and there is no call for envy between them,
because their several privileges effect an equipoise.

SECTION 11. Give mature and repeated consideration to any plan before
you proceed to carry it out; and even after you have thoroughly turned
it over in your mind, make some concession to the incompetency of
human judgment; for it may always happen that circumstances which
cannot be investigated or foreseen, will come in and upset the whole
of your calculation. This is a reflection that will always influence
the negative side of the balance--a kind of warning to refrain from
unnecessary action in matters of importance--_quieta non movere._ But
having once made up your mind and begun your work, you must let it
run its course and abide the result--not worry yourself by fresh
reflections on what is already accomplished, or by a renewal of your
scruples on the score of possible danger: free your mind from the
subject altogether, and refuse to go into it again, secure in the
thought that you gave it mature attention at the proper time. This is
the same advice as is given by an Italian proverb--_legala bene e poi
lascia la andare_--which Goethe has translated thus: See well to y