But such fault-finders pass over in silence the fact that this is the true manner of knowing the Artificer of such great and marvellous things, and that this is the true way in which to love so great an Inventor! For great love proceeds from the perfect knowledge of the thing loved; and if you do not know it you can love it but little or not at all; and if you love it for the gain which you anticipate obtaining from it and not for its supreme virtue, you are like the dog which wags its tail and shows signs of joy, leaping towards him who can give him a bone. But if you knew the virtue of a man you would love him more--if that virtue was in its place. [Sidenote: Prayer] 103. I obey Thee, Lord, first for the love which in reason I ought to bear Thee; secondly because Thou {39} hast the power to shorten or prolong the lives of men. 104. Thou, O God, dost sell us all good things at the price of labour. 105. And many make a trade deceiving the foolish multitude, and if no one comes to unmask their deceits, they punish it. 106. Pharisees,--that is to say, holy friars. 107. Nothing can be written by means of new researches. [Sidenote: Patience] 108. Patience serves against insults as clothes do against the cold; since if you multiply your clothes as the cold increases, the cold cannot hurt you. Similarly, let thy patience increase under great offences, and they will not be able to hurt your feelings. [Sidenote: Advice to a Speaker] 109. Words which do not satisfy the ear of the listener will always weary or annoy him; and you will often see signs of this in such listeners in their frequent yawns. Therefore, you who speak before men whose good opinion you seek, when you {40} observe such signs of vexation, shorten your speech or vary your argument; and if you do otherwise, then instead of the favour you seek you will incur hate and hostility. And if you would see what gives pleasure to a man speak to him on various themes, and when you see him intent, without yawning, or contracting his brow, or performing other actions, then be certain that the matter of which you are speaking is such as affords him pleasure. [Sidenote: Advice] 110. Here is a thing which the more it is needed the more it is rejected: and this is advice, which is unwillingly heeded by those who most need it, that is to say, by the ignorant.