(3) First, therefore, in this, as in all things which are practical
we ought to cast up our account, what is in our power, and what not;
for the one may be dealt with by way of alteration, but the other by
way of application only. The husbandman cannot command neither the
nature of the earth nor the seasons of the weather; no more can the
physician the constitution of the patient nor the variety of
accidents. So in the culture and cure of the mind of man, two
things are without our command: points of Nature, and points of
fortune. For to the basis of the one, and the conditions of the
other, our work is limited and tied. In these things, therefore, it
is left unto us to proceed by application
"Vincenda est omnis fertuna ferendo:"
and so likewise,
"Vincenda est omnis Natura ferendo."
But when that we speak of suffering, we do not speak of a dull and
neglected suffering, but of a wise and industrious suffering, which
draweth and contriveth use and advantage out of that which seemeth
adverse and contrary; which is that properly which we call
accommodating or applying.
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