OF ADVERSITY

Ø  Seneca, the stoic philosopher and writer of declamatory tragedies with revenge as the central theme.

Ø  Stoics, the followers of Zeno known as abstemiousness and indifference to pain.

Ø  A man who can suppress his natural self works a miracle.

Ø  Adversity bring out the best in him and teaches him to meet difficulty with a calm and cheerful face.

Ø  Heathen means non-christian or non-believer.

Ø  Hercules- mythical strong man.

Ø  Prometheus (who stole fire from heaven) stands for human nature chained by the devil.

Ø  Hercules (who rescued Prometheus) stands for the determination of a Christian to rescue human nature from the Devil.

Ø  The gold pod stands for flesh, the infirm vehicle given by God to man to face the world.

Ø  The vast sea stands for the tumultuous and perilous food of difficulties a man has to face.

Ø  The afflictions of Job-refers God put Job, the virtuous prophet, on trial for fourteen years. Job succeeded, however, and God awarded him prosperity.

Ø  Bacon opines that Adversity with the comfort of future prosperity is better than prosperity with the fear of future adversity.

Ø  Bright work of embroidery on a dark piece of cloth looks more pleasant to the eye than dark work on a bright piece of cloth.

Ø  Adversity is the dark piece of cloth and prosperity, the bright.

Ø  A noble  and virtuous man becomes all the more virtuous and noble while he finds himself in adversity.

Ø  A precious, sweet-smelling substance like civet gives a stronger scent when it is burnt or crushed.