Nor does Discretion only make a Man the Master of his own Parts, but of other Mens.  The discreet Man finds out the Talents of those he Converses with, and knows how to apply them to proper Uses.  Accordingly if we look into particular Communities and Divisions of Men, we may observe that it is the discreet Man, not the Witty, nor the Learned, nor the Brave, who guides the Conversation, and gives Measures to the Society.  A Man with great Talents, but void of Discretion, is like Polyphemus in the Fable, Strong and Blind, endued with an irresistible Force, which for want of Sight is of no Use to him.

Though a Man has all other Perfections, and wants Discretion, he will be of no great Consequence in the World; but if he has this single Talent in Perfection, and but a common Share of others, he may do what he pleases in his particular Station of Life.

At the same time that I think Discretion the most useful Talent a Man can be Master of, I look upon Cunning to be the Accomplishment of little, mean, ungenerous Minds.  Discretion points out the noblest Ends to us, and pursues the most proper and laudable Methods of attaining them:  Cunning has only private selfish Aims, and sticks at nothing which may make them succeed.  Discretion has large and extended Views, and, like a well-formed Eye, commands a whole Horizon:  Cunning is a Kind of Short-sightedness, that discovers the minutest Objects which are near at hand, but is not able to discern things at a distance.  Discretion, the more it is discovered, gives a greater Authority to the Person who possesses it:  Cunning, when it is once detected, loses its Force, and makes a Man incapable of bringing about even those Events which he might have done, had he passed only for a plain Man.  Discretion is the Perfection of Reason, and a Guide to us in all the Duties of Life; Cunning is a kind of Instinct, that only looks out after our immediate Interest and Welfare.  Discretion is only found in Men of strong Sense and good Understandings:  Cunning is often to be met with in Brutes themselves, and in Persons who are but the fewest Removes from them.  In short Cunning is only the Mimick of Discretion, and may pass upon weak Men, in the same manner as Vivacity is often mistaken for Wit, and Gravity for Wisdom.

The Cast of Mind which is natural to a discreet Man, makes him look forward into Futurity, and consider what will be his Condition Millions of Ages hence, as well as what it is at present.  He knows that the Misery or Happiness which are reserv’d for him in another World, lose nothing of their Reality by being placed at so great Distance from him.  The Objects do not appear little to him because they are remote.  He considers that those Pleasures and Pains which lie hid in Eternity, approach nearer to him every Moment, and will be present with him in their full Weight and Measure, as much as those Pains and Pleasures which he feels at this very Instant.  For this Reason he is careful to secure to himself