To call out for the hand of ...

To call out for the hand of the enemy is a rather extreme measure, yet a better one, I think, than to remain in continual fever over an accident that has no remedy. But since all the precautions that a man can take are full of uneasiness and uncertainty, it is better to prepare with fine assurance for the worst that can happen, and derive some consolation from the fact that we are not sure that it will happen.
To call out for the hand of the enemy is a rather extreme measure, yet a better one, I think, than to remain in continual fever over an accident that has no remedy. But since all the precautions that a man can take are full of uneasiness and uncertainty, it is better to prepare with fine assurance for the worst that can happen, and derive some consolation from the fact that we are not sure that it will happen.

Quotes from the same author

I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself. I will be rich by myself, and not by borrowing.
If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love.
The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.
The most unhappy and frail creatures are men and yet they are the proudest.
It is much more easy to accuse the one sex than to excuse the other.