William Penn. (1644–1718). Fruits of Solitude.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| Part I |
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| Patience |
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| 396. Patience is a Virtue every where; but it shines with great Lustre in the Men of Government. | 1 |
| 397. Some are so Proud or Testy, they won’t hear what they should redress. | 2 |
| 398. Others so weak, they sink or burst under the weight of their Office, though they can lightly run away with the Salary of it. | 3 |
| 399. Business can never be well done, that is not well understood: Which cannot be without Patience. | 4 |
| 400. It is Cruelty indeed not to give the Unhappy an Hearing, whom we ought to help: But it is the top of Oppression to Browbeat the humble and modest Miserable, when they seek Relief. | 5 |
| 401. Some, it is true, are unreasonable in their Desires and Hopes: But then we should inform, not rail at and reject them. | 6 |
| 402. It is therefore as great an Instance of Wisdom as a Man in Business can give, to be Patient under the Impertinencies and Contradictions that attend it. | 7 |
| 403. Method goes far to prevent Trouble in Business: For it makes the Task easy, hinders Confusion, saves abundance of Time, and instructs those that have Business depending, both what to do and what to hope. | 8 |
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