The Middle Condition of Life most desirable.
_THERE is a beautiful Saying in Theognis,
Vice is covered by Wealth, and Virtue by Po|verty; or, to give it in the verbal Translation, Among Men there are some who have their Vices
Maxims, observations, and reflections: moral, political, and divine. By Mr. Addison.
About this Item
- Title
- Maxims, observations, and reflections: moral, political, and divine. By Mr. Addison.
- Author
- Addison, Joseph, 1672-1719.
- Publication
- London :: printed for E. Curll,
- 1719-20.
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- Cite this Item
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"Maxims, observations, and reflections: moral, political, and divine. By Mr. Addison." In the digital collection Eighteenth Century Collections Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/004856157.0001.000. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 21, 2025.
Pages
Page 139
concealed by Wealth, and others who have their Virtues concealed by Poverty.
Every Man's Observation will supply him with Instances of rich Men, who have several Faults and Defects that are overlooked, if not entirely hidden, by means of their Riches; and I think we cannot find a more natural Description of a poor Man, whose Merits are lost in his Poverty, than that in the Words of the Wise Man:
There was a little City, and few Men within it; and there came a great King against it, and besieged it, and built great Bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise Man, and he by his Wisdom deliver'd the City; yet no Man remembered that same poor Man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than Strength; nevertheless, the poor Man's Wisdom is de|spised, and his Words are not heard.
The middle Condition seems to be the most advantageously situated for the gaining of Wisdom. Poverty turns our Thoughts too much upon the supplying of our Wants, and Riches upon enjoy|ing our Superfluities; and as Cowley has said in another Case,
it is hard for a Man to keep a steady Eye upon Truth, who is always in a Battle or a Triumph.
Page 140
If we regard Poverty and Wealth, as they are apt to produce Virtues or Vi|ces in the Mind of Man, one may ob|serve that there is a Set of each of these growing out of Poverty, quite different from that which rises out of Wealth. Humility and Patience, Industry and Temperance, are very often the good Qualities of a poor Man. Humanity and good Nature, Magnanimity, and a Sense of Honour, are as often the Qua|lifications of the Rich. On the contra|ry, Poverty is apt to betray a Man into Envy, Riches into Arrogance. Poverty is too often attended with Fraud, vici|ous Compliance, repining Murmurs, and Discontent. Riches expose a Man to Pride and Luxury, a foolish Elation of Heart, and too great a Fondness for the present World. In short, the mid|dle Condition is most eligible to the Man who would improve himself in Virtue; as I have before shewn, it is the most advantageous for the gaining of Know|ledge.