of the soul considered. ^8i

Cato rectify our prejudices (/)! a virtuous oldage, such as the Censor himself describes it,is the loveliest spectacle in human things.The virtuous old man has attained what ailmen desire (m ); and in the way that all menshould desire it: he is past the (helves anddangers of life (?r), which the young mustencounter {fatally perhaps) ; he rides secure-ly in the port (0); and shall, instead of beingextinguished for ever, be safely landed in anew country; unless we can suppose that ra-tional beings are to be abandoned at last, bya Being himself infinitely rational: which ifWe could affirm, there is nothing that wemight not deny. In short, a philosophical

(l) A qua [naturd] non verijimlle eft, cum ctztera: par-ies œtatis bene descriptx sunt, extremum aftum, tanquamab inerti poeta> ejse negleftum. Ibid. If we put downGod for Nature here, no reason can be stronger, norany thing more true.

(m) At ejl eo meliore conditions [finex] qudm adokscens tc um id quod sperat ille , hie jam consccutus ejl. Ilk vult&u vivere , hie diu vixit.

(n) 0 prxclarutn munus œtatis , ft qu'tdem id aufert d*u>bis, quod ejl in adolesceniia vitiosjsmum.

( 0 ) Shicc mihi quidem tarn jucunda ejl, ut quo propius°d mortem accedam, quasi terram videre videar , aliquan-dbque in portum ex lengd navigatione ejse venturus.

youth