543. Heaven’s gate is narrow and minute,[29] It cannot be perceived by foolish men, Blinded by vain illusions of the world. E’en the clear-sighted, who discern the way And seek to enter, find the portal barred And hard to be unlocked. Its massive bolts Are pride and passion, avarice and lust. _Mahābhārata._ [29] Cf. Matt. VII, 14. 544. Eschew that friend, if thou art wise, who consorts with thy enemies. _Sa’dī._ 545. Who can tell Men’s hearts? The purest comprehend Such contradictions, and can blend The force to bear, the power to feel, The tender bud, the tempered steel. _Hindu Drama._ 546. Whosoever hath not knowledge, and benevolence, and piety knoweth nothing of reality, and dwelleth only in semblance. _Sa’dī._ 547. If thou shouldst find thy friend in the wrong reprove him secretly, but in the presence of company praise him. _Arabic._ 548. Modesty is attended with profit, arrogance brings on destruction. _Chinese._ 549. The greatest hatred, like the greatest virtue and the worst dogs, is quiet. _Richter._ 550. Is a preface exquisitely written? No literary morsel is more delicious. Is the author inveterately dull? It is a kind of preparatory information, which may be very useful. It argues a deficiency of taste to turn over an elaborate preface unread: for it is the attar of the author’s roses, every drop distilled at an immense cost. It is the reason of the reasoning, and the folly of the foolish. _Isaac D’Israeli._ 551. Vulgar prejudices are those which arise out of accident, ignorance, or authority; natural prejudices are those which arise out of the constitution of the human mind itself. _Hazlitt._ 552. Lament not Fortune’s mutability, And seize her fickle favours ere they flee; If others never mourned departed bliss, How should a turn of Fortune come to thee? _Omar Khayyām._ 553. Harsh reproof is like a violent storm, soon washed down the channel; but friendly admonitions, like a small shower, pierce deep, and bring forth better reformation. _R. Chamberlain._ 554. There are braying men in the world as well as braying asses; for what’s loud and senseless talking, huffing, and swearing any other than a more fashionable way of braying? _L’Estrange._ 555.