174. Misery.- Solomon and Job have best known and best spoken of
the misery of man; the former the most fortunate, and the latter the
most unfortunate of men; the former knowing the vanity of pleasures
from experience, the latter the reality of evils.

    175. We know ourselves so little that many think they are about to
die when they are well, and many think they are well when they are
near death, unconscious of approaching fever, or of the abscess
ready to form itself.

    176. Cromwell was about to ravage all Christendom; the royal
family was undone, and his own for ever established, save for a little
grain of sand which formed in his ureter. Rome herself was trembling
under him; but this small piece of gravel having formed there, he is
dead, his family cast down, all is peaceful, and the king is restored.

    177. Three hosts. Would he who had possessed the friendship of the
King of England, the King of Poland, and the Queen of Sweden, have
believed he would lack a refuge and shelter in the world?

    178. Macrobius: on the innocents slain by Herod.

    179. When Augustus learnt that Herod's own son was amongst the
infants under two years of age, whom he had caused to be slain, he
said that it was better to be Herod's pig than his son. Macrobius,
Saturnalia, ii. 4.

    180. The great and the humble have the same misfortunes, the
same griefs, the same passions; but the one is at the top of the
wheel, and the other near the centre, and so less disturbed by the
same revolutions.

    181. We are so unfortunate that we can only take pleasure in a
thing on condition of being annoyed if it turn out ill, as a
thousand things can do, and do every hour. He who should find the
secret of rejoicing in the good, without troubling himself with its
contrary evil, would have hit the mark. It is perpetual motion.

    182. Those who have always good hope in the midst of
misfortunes, and who are delighted with good luck, are suspected of
being very pleased with the ill success of the affair, if they are not
equally distressed by bad luck; and they are overjoyed to find these
pretexts of hope, in order to show that they are concerned and to
conceal by the joy which they feign to feel that which they have at
seeing the failure of the matter.

    183. We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put
something before us to prevent us seeing it.

                      SECTION III

            OF THE NECESSITY OF THE WAGER

    184. A letter to incite to the search after God.

    And then to make people seek Him among the philosophers, sceptics,
and dogmatists, who disquiet him who inquires of them.

    185. The conduct of God, who disposes all things kindly, is to put
religion into the mind by reason, and into the heart by grace. But
to will to put it into the mind and heart by force and threats is
not to put religion there, but terror; terorrem potius quam
religionem.*

    * "Terror which is more powerful than religion."

    186. Nisi terrerentur et non docerentur, improba quasi dominatio
videretur (St. Augustine, Epistle 48 or 49),* Contra Mendacium ad
Consentium.

    * "From fear that they are being led by terror, without
guidance, domination appears tyrannical."

    187. Order.- Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it is
true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not
contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it;
then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true;
finally, we must prove it is true.

    Venerable, because it has perfect knowledge of man; lovable
because it promises the true good.

    188. In every dialogue and discourse, we must be able to say to
those who take offence, "Of what do you complain?"

    189. To begin by pitying unbelievers; they are wretched enough
by their condition. We ought only to revile them where it is
beneficial; but this does them harm.

    190. To pity atheists who seek, for are they not unhappy enough?
To inveigh against those who make a boast of it.

    191. And will this one scoff at the other? Who ought to scoff? And
yet, the latter does not scoff at the other, but pities him.

    192. To reproach Milton with not being troubled, since God will
reproach him.

    193. Quid fiet hominibus qui minima contemnunt, majora non