Roger L'Estrange

“ Here we live, says one of 'em, at the Mercy of Men, Dogs, Eagles, and I know not how many Other Creatures and Vermine, that Prey upon us at Pleasure; Perpetually in Frights, Perpetually in Danger; And therefore I am absolutely of Opinion that we had Better Die once for All, than live at This rate in a Continual Dread that's Worse than Death it self. ”

“ It may seem to be a kind of a Malicious Satisfaction, that One Man derives from the Misfortunes of Another. But the Philosophy of This Reflexion stands upon Another Ground; for Our Comfort does not Arise from Other peoples being Miserable, but from This Inference upon the Ballance, That we suffer only the Lot of Humane Nature: And as we are Happy or Miserable, compar'd with Others, So Other People are Miserable or Happy Compar'd with Us: By which Justice of Providence, we come to be Convinc'd of the Sin, and the Mistake of our Ingratitude. ”

“ Since so it is, that Nature Provides for the Necessities of All Creatures, and for the Well Being of Every One in it's kind: And since it is not in the Power of any Creature to make it self Other than what by Providence it was Design'd to be; what a Madness is it to Wish our selves Other than what we Are, and what we Must continue to Be: Since the Thing is Bounded, and the Whole Matter Pre-Determin'd. Every Atome of the Creation has its Place Assign'd: Every Creature has its Proper Figure, and there is No Disputing with Him that Made it so. ”

“ What would not a man give to be Eas'd of the Gout or the Stone? Or supposing an Incurable Poverty on the One Hand, and an Incurable Malady on the Other, Why should not the Poor Man think himself Happier in his Rags, than the Other in his Purple? ”

“ In All These Cases, we fancy our selves much more Miserable than we Are, for want of taking a True Estimate of Things. We fly into Transports without Reason, and Judge of the Happiness, or Calamity, of Humane Life, by False Lights. ”