his vocation who
devotes his mental energy to a pursuit foreign to it, for, in such a
case, success in what we love is failure in what we neglect.

Among men, you must either speak what is agreeable to their humor, or
what is consistent with truth and good morals. Make it a general rule of
conduct neither to flatter virtue nor exasperate folly: by flattering
virtue, you can not confirm it; by exasperating folly, you can not
reform it. Submit, however, to no compromise with truth, but, when it
allows, accommodate yourself with honest courtesy to the prepossessions
of others.

In your whole behavior to mankind, conduct yourself with fairness and
integrity. If an action is well received, you will have the credit it
deserves; if it is not well received, you will have the approval of your
own mind. The approval of a good conscience is preferable to the
applause of the world.

Form no resolution, and engage in no undertaking, which you can not
invoke Heaven to sanction. A good man prays the Almighty to be
propitious to his virtuous plans: if his petition is denied, he knows it
is denied in mercy, and he is resigned; if it is granted, he is
grateful, and enjoys the blessings with moderation. A wicked man, in his
iniquitous plans, either fails or succeeds: if he fails, disappointment
is embittered by self-reproach; if he succeeds, success is without
pleasure, for, when he looks around, he sees no smile of congratulation.

[From Fraser's Magazine.]

TALLEYRAND.[17]

"Celebrated people," said Napoleon, when speaking of Necker, "lose on a
close view:" a remark not substantially different from that of the Duke
of Marlborough, that "no man was a hero to his _valet de chambre_."
Proximity, like familiarity, "breeds contempt;" and the proper cure for
the illusions of distance is nearness. Few objects in nature, whether
living or dead, can stand the application of that test, which is as
fatal to the pretensions of men as of mountains: while it is notorious
that the judgments of history are seldom in accordance with the
decisions of contemporaries or friends. Human greatness resembles
physical magnitude in this, that its proportions are more or less
affected by surrounding influences, which must be removed before its
real dimensions can be ascertained. It is, in fact, one of the
fluctuating quantities of social arithmetic, and to fix its precise
amount is now, and ever has been, one of the most difficult enterprises
in w