A NOBLEMAN.
A nobleman is a mark of honour, where the eye of wisdom in the
observation of desert sees the fruit of grace. He is the orient pearl
that reason polisheth for the beauty of nature, and the diamond spark
where divine grace gives virtue honour. He is the notebook of moral
discipline, where the conceit of care may find the true courtier. He is
the nurse of hospitality, the relief of necessity, the love of charity,
and the life of bounty. He is learning's grace and valour's fame,
wisdom's fruit and kindness' love. He is the true falcon that feeds on
no carrion, the true horse that will be no hackney, the true dolphin
that fears not the whale, and the true man of God that fears not the
devil. In sum, he is the darling of nature in reason's philosophy, the
loadstar of light in love's astronomy, the ravishing sweet in the music
of honour, and the golden number in grace's arithmetic.
AN UNNOBLE MAN.
An unnoble man is the grief of reason, when the title of honour is put
upon the subject of disgrace; when either the imperfection of wit or the
folly of will shows an unfitness in nature for the virtue of
advancement. He is the eye of baseness and spirit of grossness, and in
the demean of rudeness the scorn of nobleness. He is a suspicion of a
right generation in the nature of his disposition, and a miserable
plague to a feminine patience. Wisdom knows him not, learning bred him
not, virtue loves him not, and honour fits him not. Prodigality or
avarice are the notes of his inclination, and folly or mischief are the
fruits of his invention.
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