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No. 564.  Wednesday, July 7, 1714.

  ’—­Adsit
  Regula, peccatis quae poenas irroget aequas: 
  Ne Scutica dignum horribili sectere flagello.’

  Hor.

It is the Work of a Philosopher to be every Day subduing his Passions, and laying aside his Prejudices.  I endeavour at least to look upon Men and their Actions only as an impartial Spectator, without any regard to them as they happen to advance or cross my own private Interest.  But while I am thus employed my self, I cannot help observing, how those about me suffer themselves to be blinded by Prejudice and Inclination, how readily they pronounce on every Man’s Character, which they can give in two Words, and make him either good for nothing, or qualified for every thing.  On the contrary, those who search thoroughly into humane Nature, will find it much more difficult to determine the Value of their Fellow-Creatures, and that Mens Characters are not thus to be given in general Words.  There is indeed no such thing as a Person entirely good or bad; Virtue and Vice are blended and mixed together, in a greater or less Proportion, in every one; and if you would search for some particular good Quality in its most eminent Degree of Perfection, you will often find it in a Mind, where it is darkned and eclipsed by an hundred other irregular Passions.

Men have either no Character at all, says a celebrated Author, or it is that of being inconsistent with themselves.  They find it easier to join Extremities, than to be uniform and of a Piece.  This is finely illustrated in Xenophon’s Life of Cyrus the Great.  That Author tells us, that Cyrus having taken a most beautiful Lady named Panthea, the Wife of Abradatas, committed her to the Custody of Araspas, a young Persian Nobleman, who had a little before maintain’d in Discourse, that a Mind truly virtuous was incapable of entertaining an unlawful Passion.  The young Gentleman had not long been in Possession of his fair Captive, when a Complaint was made to Cyrus, that he not only sollicited the Lady Panthea to receive him in the Room of her absent Husband, but that finding his Entreaties had no Effect, he was preparing to make use of Force. Cyrus, who loved the young Man, immediately sent for him, and in a gentle Manner representing to him his Fault, and putting him in Mind of his former Assertion, the unhappy Youth, confounded with a quick Sense of his Guilt and Shame, burst out into a Flood of Tears, and spoke as follows.

Oh Cyrus, I am convinced that I hare two Souls.  Love has taught me this Piece of Philosophy.  If I had but one Soul, it could not at the same time pant after Virtue and Vice, wish and abhor the same thing.  It is certain therefore we have two Souls:  When the good Soul rules, I undertake noble and virtuous Actions; but when the bad Soul predominates, I am forced to do Evil.  All I can say at present is, that I find my good Soul, encouraged by your Presence, has got the Better of my bad.