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Article REMARKS ON THE MUTABILITY OF FORTUNE. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Remarks On The Mutability Of Fortune.
prospect of success , that he already considered himself as a complete master of the sea ; and he commanded it to be Avhipped with rods , for having the insolence to mutiny tempestuously against him . But , alas 1 he shamefully lost so many thousand men , and such a number of ships , that he thought himself very fortunate in escaping on board a small fishing bark . Alexander the Greatafter having conquered almost three quarters of
, the globe , wept because he had not another world to conquer . He retired to Babylon to pass the remainder of his days in luxury and voluptuousness , being then no more than thirty years of age : but he there terminated his life at the end of a few days ; and of all his conquests possessed onl y a grave of the length of about six feet . Polycratos , the tyrant of Samos , Was so fortunate that he never met
with any disgrace in the course of a long life , which induced him presumptuously to believe that he had chained fortune herself to the wheels of his car ; yet , he was at length driven from his throne , deprived of every thing , and by his own subjects fixed to a cross , where he finished his career by a most ignominious death . CroesusAVI IQ had amassed immense richesand Avas . hi ghly elated
, , with his prosperity , considered Solon as a fool , when he told him , " there was no happiness on this side the grave , " till he found himself tied to the funeral pile by order of Cyrus , after having lost his crOAvn , his dominions , and his treasures . Gustavus the Third of SAVeden , in the full vigour of life , meditated
a counter-revolution in France in 1792 : he hardly entertained a doubt , with the assistance of his allies , of restoring absolute power to the Gallic monarch ; but , before he commenced hostilities , one of his own officers put a period to his life in the midst of the jollity and splendor of a . masquerade . In a word , how many examples are there of the uncertain issue of the affairs of this worldTo-day we see a prince a throne—the
. . upon next losing his head oh '; a scaffold , as our own history and the history of France can evince . To-day we see a man condemned to the most horrid 'dungeon , iipOn the point of being sacrificed to his inveterate foes ; to-morrow on a throne , as in the person of Mathias Corvinus of Hungary : to-day we see a Belisarius , a general crowned with laurels , the favourite of the blind -goddessas well as of the emperor ;
to-mor-, row divested of his si ght , beggingalms at the gates of Rome . HOAV many men , from the meanest and most obscure extraction , have I seen end their lives in opulence and grandeur ; and how many more , born to riches , rank , and titles , close their lives in misery and want ? Others pursue a phantom , and grasp a shadow ; or , whilst their constant goal has been lory and renownthey have at length acquired
nog , thing but censure and disgrace : and some , quite indifferent about the smiles of fortune , have been caressed by her so far as to obtain the highest pinnacle of wealth and power . How many generous men have become misers ! how many misers perish for Avant of" the necessaries of life ! how many friends become open enemies ! and how many foes forget their enmity , and cherish those
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Remarks On The Mutability Of Fortune.
prospect of success , that he already considered himself as a complete master of the sea ; and he commanded it to be Avhipped with rods , for having the insolence to mutiny tempestuously against him . But , alas 1 he shamefully lost so many thousand men , and such a number of ships , that he thought himself very fortunate in escaping on board a small fishing bark . Alexander the Greatafter having conquered almost three quarters of
, the globe , wept because he had not another world to conquer . He retired to Babylon to pass the remainder of his days in luxury and voluptuousness , being then no more than thirty years of age : but he there terminated his life at the end of a few days ; and of all his conquests possessed onl y a grave of the length of about six feet . Polycratos , the tyrant of Samos , Was so fortunate that he never met
with any disgrace in the course of a long life , which induced him presumptuously to believe that he had chained fortune herself to the wheels of his car ; yet , he was at length driven from his throne , deprived of every thing , and by his own subjects fixed to a cross , where he finished his career by a most ignominious death . CroesusAVI IQ had amassed immense richesand Avas . hi ghly elated
, , with his prosperity , considered Solon as a fool , when he told him , " there was no happiness on this side the grave , " till he found himself tied to the funeral pile by order of Cyrus , after having lost his crOAvn , his dominions , and his treasures . Gustavus the Third of SAVeden , in the full vigour of life , meditated
a counter-revolution in France in 1792 : he hardly entertained a doubt , with the assistance of his allies , of restoring absolute power to the Gallic monarch ; but , before he commenced hostilities , one of his own officers put a period to his life in the midst of the jollity and splendor of a . masquerade . In a word , how many examples are there of the uncertain issue of the affairs of this worldTo-day we see a prince a throne—the
. . upon next losing his head oh '; a scaffold , as our own history and the history of France can evince . To-day we see a man condemned to the most horrid 'dungeon , iipOn the point of being sacrificed to his inveterate foes ; to-morrow on a throne , as in the person of Mathias Corvinus of Hungary : to-day we see a Belisarius , a general crowned with laurels , the favourite of the blind -goddessas well as of the emperor ;
to-mor-, row divested of his si ght , beggingalms at the gates of Rome . HOAV many men , from the meanest and most obscure extraction , have I seen end their lives in opulence and grandeur ; and how many more , born to riches , rank , and titles , close their lives in misery and want ? Others pursue a phantom , and grasp a shadow ; or , whilst their constant goal has been lory and renownthey have at length acquired
nog , thing but censure and disgrace : and some , quite indifferent about the smiles of fortune , have been caressed by her so far as to obtain the highest pinnacle of wealth and power . How many generous men have become misers ! how many misers perish for Avant of" the necessaries of life ! how many friends become open enemies ! and how many foes forget their enmity , and cherish those