 Wisdom in the Possession of an affluent Fortune, as any
Beggar in the Streets; or may enjoy a handsome Wife or a hearty Friend, and
still remain as wise as any sour Popish Recluse, who buries all his social
Faculties, and starves his Belly while he well lashes his Back.
    To say Truth, the wisest Man is the likeliest to possess all worldly
Blessings in an eminent Degree: For as that Moderation which Wisdom prescribes
is the surest Way to useful Wealth; so can it alone qualify us to taste many
Pleasures. The wise Man gratifies every Appetite and every Passion, while the
Fool sacrifices all the rest to pall and satiate one.
    It may be objected, that very wise Men have been notoriously avaricious. I
answer, not wise in that Instance. It may likewise be said, that the wisest Men
have been in their Youth, immoderately fond of Pleasure. I answer, they were not
wise then.
    Wisdom, in short, whose Lessons have been represented as so hard to learn by
those who never were at her School, only teaches us to extend a simple Maxim
universally known and followed even in the lowest Life, a little farther than
that Life carries it. And this is not to buy at too dear a Price.
    Now, whoever takes this Maxim abroad with him into the grand Market of the
World, and constantly applies it to Honours, to Riches, to Pleasures, and to
every other Commodity which that Market affords, is, I will venture to affirm, a
wise Man; and must be so acknowledged in the worldly Sense of the Word: For he
makes the best of Bargains, since in Reality he purchases every Thing at the
Price only of a little Trouble, and carries home all the good Things I have
mentioned, while he keeps his Health, his Innocence, and his Reputation, the
common Prices which are paid for them by others, entire and to himself.
    From this Moderation, likewise, he learns two other Lessons, which complete
his Character. First, never to be intoxicated when he hath made the best
Bargain, nor dejected when the Market is empty, or when its Commodities are too
dear for his Purchase.
    But I must remember on what Subject I am writing, and not trespass too far
on the Patience of a good-natured Critic. Here therefore I put an End to the
Chapter.
 

                                   Chapter IV

                       Containing sundry curious Matters.
 
As soon as Mr. Allworthy returned home, he took Mr. Blifil apart, and after some
Preface, communicated to him the Proposal which had been made by Mr. Western,
and,
