that I see him to be strong and to prevail.  He is weaker by every recruit to his banner.  Is not a man better than a town?  Ask nothing of men, and in the endless mutation, thou only firm column must presently appear the upholder of all that surrounds thee.  He who knows that power is inborn, that he is weak because he has looked for good out of him and elsewhere, and so perceiving, throws himself unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, stands in the erect position, commands his limbs, works miracles; just as a man who stands on his feet is stronger than a man who stands on his head.

So use all that is called Fortune.[277] Most men gamble with her, and gain all, and lose all, as her wheel rolls.  But do thou leave as unlawful these winnings, and deal with Cause and Effect, the chancelors of God.  In the Will work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance, and shalt sit hereafter out of fear from her rotations.  A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick, or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you.  Do not believe it.  Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.  Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

FRIENDSHIP.[278]

1.  We have a great deal more kindness than is ever spoken.  Barring all the selfishness that chills like east winds the world, the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether.  How many persons we meet in houses, whom we scarcely speak to, whom yet we honor, and who honor us!  How many we see in the street, or sit with in church, whom, though silently, we warmly rejoice to be with!  Read the language of these wandering eyebeams.  The heart knoweth.

2.  The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration.  In poetry, and in common speech, the emotions of benevolence and complacency which are felt toward others, are likened to the material effects of fire; so swift, or much more swift, more active, more cheering are these fine inward irradiations.  From the highest degree of passionate love, to the lowest degree of good will, they make the sweetness of life.

3.  Our intellectual and active powers increase with our affection.  The scholar sits down to write, and all his years of meditation do not furnish him with one good thought or happy expression; but it is necessary to write a letter to a friend, and, forthwith, troops of gentle thoughts invest themselves, on every hand, with chosen words.  See in any house where virtue and self-respect abide, the palpitation which the approach of a stranger causes.  A commended stranger is expected and announced, and an uneasiness between pleasure and pain invades all the hearts of a household.  His arrival almost brings fear to the good hearts that would welcome him.  The house