The will of Nature is to be learned from matters in which we ourselves are not concerned. For instance, when a boy breaks a cup, if it be another man’s, you are ready enough to say, Accidents will happen. Know then, that when your own is broken it behoves you to be as though it were another man’s. And apply this method even to greater things. When a neighbor’s wife or child dies, who is there that will not say, It is the lot of humanity. But when your own wife or child is dead, then it is straightway, Alas! wretched that I am! But you ought to remember how you felt when you heard of another in the same plight.