Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση
[blocks in formation]

Let me play the fool

the track of its agency shall exceed human sight and calculation.

Anecdote. The duke of Orleans, on being appointed regent of France, insisted on the power of pardoning: “I have no objection," said he, "to have my hands tied from doing harm; but I will have them free to do good."

Truth. Truth will ever be unpalatable to those, who are determined not to relinquish error, but can never give offence to the honest and well-meaning: for the plain-dealing remonstrances of a friend-differ as widely from the rancor of an enemy, as the friendly probe of a surgeon-from the dagger of an assassin.

Varieties. 1. Envy is blind to all good; and the ruling passion of the envious is, to detract from the virtues of others. 2. A good person will have no desire to influence others, any farther than they can see that his course is right. 3. Good fortune, however long continued, is no pledge of future secu

With mirth and laughter; so let the wrinkles come, rity. 4. Cases often occur, when a prudent
And let my liver rather heat with wine,
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
Why should a man, whose blood is warm within,
Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?
Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaundice,
By being peevish? I tell thee what, Antonio,
(I love thee, and it is my love that speaks,)
There are a sort of men, whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond,
And do a willful stillness entertain,
With purpose to be drest in opinion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,
As, who should say, I am Sir Oracle,

And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!
I'll tell thee more of this another time;
But fish not with this melancholy bait,
For this fool's gudgeon, this opinion.
Come, good Lorenzo, fare-ye-well a while,
I'll end my exhortation after dinner.

and dignified confession, or acknowledgment
of error, gives to the person making it, a de-
cided advantage over his adversary. 5. Agi-
tation is to the moral and mental world,
what storms are to the physical world; what
winds are to the ocean, what exercise is to
the body. 6. Truth can never die; she is
immortal, like her Author. 7. There are a
great many fools in the world: he who would
avoid seeing one, must lock himself up alone,
and break his looking glass. 8. What we
do ourselves—is generally more satisfactori
ly done, than what is done by others. 9. Such
is the state of the world, at present, that
whoever wishes to purchase anything, must
beware. 10. The opposite of the heavenly vir-
tues and principles, are the principles of hell.
A fool, a fool, I met a fool i'th'forest,
A motley fool, a miserable tarlet;
As I do live by food, I met a fool,
Who laid him down, and bask'd him in the sun,
And rail'd on lady Fortune in good terms;
In good set terms, and yet a motley fool;
Good morrow, fool, quoth I; No, sir, quoth he,
Call me not fool, till heav'n hath sent me fortune;
And then he drew a dial from his poak,
And looking on it, with lack-lustre eye,
Says, very wisely, It is ten o'clock;
Thus may we see, quoth he, how the world wags:
"Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven,
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale. When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer,
That fools should be so deep contemplative:
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!

487. Miscellaneous. 1. It is impossi-
ble, to estimate, even an inconsiderable
effort to promote right education. 2. It is
said, that a stone, thrown into the sea, agi-
tates every drop of water in that vast ex-
panse; so it may be, in regard to the influ-
ence we exert on the minds of the young. 3.
Who can tell, what may be the effect of a sin-
gle good principle, deeply fixed in the mind;
a single pure and virtuous association strong-
ly riveted, or a single happy turn given to the
thoughts and affections of youth? It may
spread a salutary and sacred influence over
the whole life, and thro' the whole mass of the
child's character. Nay more; as the charac-
ter of others, who are to come after him, may,
and probably will depend much on his, the im-
pulse we give cannot cease in him, who first
received it, it will go down from one generation
to another, widening and deepening, and
reaching forth with various modifications, till | A worthy fool! motley's the only wear.

[graphic]

490. WEE PING is the expression, or manifestation, of sorrow, grief, anguish or joy, by out-cry, or by shedding tears; a lamentation, be wailing, bemoaning: we may weep each other's woe, or weep tears of joy; so may the rich groves weep odorous gum and balm; there is weeping amber,

WEEPING.

Historians. We find but few historians of all ages, who have been dilgent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method, to take on trust, what they distribute to the public; by which means, a falsehood, once received from a famed writer, becomes traditional to posterity.

Anecdote. Washington and his Mother. Young George was about to go to sea, as a midshipman; every thing was arranged, the vessel lay out opposite his father's house, the little boat had come on shore to take him off, and his whole heart was bent on going. After his trunk had been carried down to the boat, he went to bid his mother farewell, and he saw the tear bursting from her eye. How

and weeping grounds: crying-is an audible ex-ever, she said nothing to him; but he saw that pression, accompanied, or not, with tears; but weeping always indicates the shedding of tears; and, when called forth by the sorrows of others, especially, it is an infirmity of which no man

would be destitute.

491. Whither shall I return? Wretch that I am! to what place shall I betake my. self! Shall I go to the capital? Alas! it is overflow'd with my brother's blood! or, shall I return to my house? yet there, I behold my mother-plunged in misery, weeping and despairing. 2. I am robbed! I am ruined! O my money! my guineas! my support! my all is gone! Oh! who has robbed me? who has got my money? where is the thief? A thousand guineas of gold! hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo! 3. I cannot speak-and I could wish you would not oblige me,-it is the only service I ever refused you: and tho' I cannot give a reason why I could not speak, yet I hope you will excuse me without reason. Had it pleased heaven

To try me with affliction; had it rained
All kinds of sores and shames on my bare head;
Steeped me in poverty to the very lips;
Given to captivity, me and my utmost hopes;
I should have found in some part of my soul
A drop of patience; but, alas! to make me
A fixed figure, for the hand of scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at-
Oh-

I am not prone to weeping, as our sex
Commonly are; the want of which vain dew,
Perchance shall dry your pities; but I have
That honorable grief lodged here, which burns
Worse than tears drown.

[blocks in formation]

his mother would be distressed if he went, and perhaps never be happy again. He just turned round to the servant and said, “Go and tell them to fetch my trunk back; I will not go away, to break my mother's heart." His mother was struck with his decision, and she said to him, "George, God has promised to bless the children, that honor their parents, and I believe he will bless you.

Varieties. 1. Timotheus an ancient teacher of oratory, always demanded a double fee from those pupils, who had been taught by others; for, in this case, he had not only to plant, but to root out. 2. He, that shortens the road to knowledge, lengthens life. 3. Never buy, or read bad books; for they are the worst of thieves; because they rob you of your money, your time, and your principles. 4. Theocracy—is a government by God himself; as, the government of the Jews; democracy is a government of the people. 5. Without the intenseness and passion of study, nothing great ever was, or ever will be accomplished. 6. Who can tell where each of the natural families begins, or where it ends? 7. To overcome a bad habit, one must be conscious of it; as well as know how to accomplish the object. 8. The best defenders of liberty do not generally vociferate loudly in its praise. 9. Domestic feuds can be appeased only by mutual kindness and forbearance. 10. Volumes of arguments avail nothing against resolute determination; for convince a man against his will, and he is of the same opinion still.

When William wrote his lady, to declare,
That he was wedded to a fairer fair,
Poor Lucy shrieked, “to life, to all adieu ;”
She tore the letter,-and her raven hair,
She beat her bosom, and the post-boy too;
Then wildly to the window flew,
And threw herself-into a chair.
All is silent-'twas my fancy!
Still as the breathless interval between
The flash and thunder.

Who never fasts, no banquet e'er enjoys.
Who never toils or watches, hever sleeps.

[graphic]

Shoots o'er his features, as the sudden gust
Crisps the reluctant lake, that lay so calm
Beneath the mountain shadow; or the blast
Ruffles the autumn leaves, that, drooping, cling
Faintly, and motionless to their lov'd boughs.
What avails [pain,
Valor or strength, though matchless, quelled with
Which all subdues, and makes remiss the hands
Of mightiest? Sense of pleasure we may well
Spare out of life, perhaps, and not repine;
But live content, which is the calmest life;
But pain is perfect misery, the worst
Of evils! and, excessive, overturns
All patience.

And not a virtue in the bosom lives

That gives such ready pay as patience gives; That pure submission to the ruling mind, Fixed, but not forced; obedient, but not blind; The will of heaven to make her own she tries, Or makes her own to heaven a sacrifice. The dream of the injured patient mind, That smiles at the wrongs of men, Is found in the bruised and wounded rind Of the cinnamon, sweetest then! Anecdote. The Philosopher Outdone. A learned philosopher, being in his study, a little girl came for some fire. Says the doctor, "But you have nothing to take it in ;" and as he was going to fetch something, the girl, taking some cold ashes in one hand, put the live coals on with the other. The astonished sage threw down his books, saying, "With all my learning, I should never have found out that expedient."

Soon shall thy arm, unconquered steam! afar Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car; Or, on wide-waving wings expanded, bear The flying chariot-through the fields of air. The brave-do never shun the light; Just are their thoughts, and open are their tempers; Truly, without disquiet, they love, or hate; Still are they found-in the fair face of day; And heaven-and men-are judges of their actions.

Proverbs. 1. The true economy of everything is to gather up the fragments of time, as well as of materials. 2. The earlier children are taught to be useful, the better; not only for themselves, but for all others. 3. Consider that day as lost, in which something has not been done for the benefit of others, as well as for yourself. 4. False pride, or foolish ambition, should never induce us to live beyond our income. 5. To associate with influential and genteel people, with an appearance of equality, has its advantages; especially, where there are sons or daughters just entering on the stage of action; but, like all other external advantages, they have their proper price, and may be bought too dearly; "never pay too much for the whistle," 6. Never let the cheapness of an article tempt you to purchase it, if you do not really need it; for nothing is cheap, that we do not want. 7. Vanity and pride must yield to the dictates of honesty and prudence.

Miscellaneous. Great Britain-has dotted over the surface of the globe, with her possessions and military posts; and her morning drum-beat, following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circle the earth daily, with one unbroken strain of the martial airs of England. The steam-engine is on the rivers, and the boatman may rest upon his oars; it is in the highways, and begins to exert itself along the courses of land-conveyances; it is at the bottom of mines, a thousand feet below the surface of the earth; it is in the mill and in the workshop of the traders; it rows, it pumps, it excavates, it ploughs, it carries, it draws, it lifts, it hammers, it spins, it weaves, it prints; and seems to say to artisans, Leave your manual labor, give over your bodily toil, use your skill and reason to direct my power, and I will bear toil, with no muscle to grow weary, no nerve to relax, no breast to feel faintness.

Cease, mourners; cease complaint and weep no
Your friends are not dead, but gone before; [more;
Advanced a stage or two-upon the road,
Which you must travel in the steps they trode.
True valor, friends, on virtue founded strong,
Meets all events alike.

Preach patience to the sea, when jarring winds,
Throw up the swelling billow to the sky;
And if your reason mitigate her fury,
My soul will be as calm.
Contention, like a horse,

Full of high feeding, madly hath broken loose,

And bears down all before him.

The day shall come, that great avenging day,
When Troy's proud glories in the dust shall lay.
Send thy arrows forth,

Strike! strike the tyrants, and avenge my tears.
Slander, that worst of poisons, ever finds
An easy entrance to ignoble minds.
Other sins-only speak,-murder-shrieks out.
The element of water-moistens the earth;
But blood-flies upward, and bedews the heavens

493. Bodily, or mental, signifies a high degree of pain, which may appropriately be called AGONY, or ANGUISH; the agony is a severe and permanent pain; the anguish an overwhelming pain: a pang-is a sharp pain, and generally of short continuance: the pangs of conscience frequently trouble the person who is not hardened in guilt;

and the pangs o disappointed love are among the severest to be borne: "What pangs the tender breast of Dido tear!" COMPLAINING-(as when one is under violent pain,) distorts the features, almost closes the eyes; sometimes raises them wistfully; opens the mouth, gnashes the teeth, draws up the upper lip, draws down the head upon the breast, and contracts the whole body: the arms are violently bent at the elbows, and the fists clenched, the voice is uttered in groans, lamentations, and sometimes in violent screams: extreme torture producing fainting and death.

Oh, rid me of this torture, quickly there, My madam, with thy everlasting voice. The bells, in time of pestilence, ne'er made Like noise, or were in that perpetual motion. All my house, [breath: But now, streamed like a bath, with her thick A lawyer could not have been heard, nor scarce, Another woman, such hail of words she let fall. 2. What! the rogue who robb'd me? do hang him, drown him, burn him, flay him alive. 3. Hold your tongue, we don't want to hear your nonsense about eating; hold your tongue, and answer the questions, which the justice is going put to you, about the money I lost, and which I suppose you have

Hide not thy tears: weep boldly-and be proud
To give the flowing virtue manly way.
"Tis nature's mark, to know an honest heart by.
Shame on those breasts of stone, that cannot melt,
In soft adoption of another's sorrow!

O, who can hold a fire in his hand, By thinking on the frosty Caucasus? Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite, By a bare imagination of a feast? Or wallow naked in December snow, By thinking on fantastic summer's heat O, no! the apprehension of the good, Gives but the greater feeling to the worse: Fell sorrow's tooth doth never rankle more, Than when it bites, but lanceth not the sore. Anecdote. A rich Campanian lady, fond of pomp and show, being on a visit to Cornelia, the illustrious mother of the Gracchii, displayed her jewels and diamonds ostentatiously, and requested that Cornelia should show her jewels. Cornelia turned the conversation to another subject, till her sons should

return from the public schools; and when they had entered their mother's apartment, she, pointing to them, said to the lady, "These are my jewels; the only ornaments I admire."

Laconics. 1. If we complained less, and tried to encourage and help each other more, we should find all our duties more easily performed. 2. Happiness-consists in the delight of perform ing uses for the sake of uses: that is, doing good for the sake of good, instead of the love of reward, which is a selfish feeling: all selfish feelings pro duce unhappiness in the degree they are entertained. 3. If we would be happy, we must put away, as far as we can, those thoughts and feelings, that have reference to self alone, and cultivate the higher ones, that have reference to the good of others, as well as ourselves. 4. To do good, for the sake of delight in doing good, is a selfish motive; but to do good to others, for the sake of making them happy, and, in doing it, forget ourselves, is a heavenly motive. 5. If we would act from right motives, we must endeavor to put away every feeling, that is purely selfish; in doing which, every effort will give us strength, like the repeated efforts of a child, in learning to walk. 6. Parents should keep their children from every association that may tend to their injury, either in precept or practice. 7. Love is omnipo

[graphic]

Varieties. 1. That profusion of language, and poverty of thought, which is called being spontaneous, and original, is no proof of simplicity of heart, or freedom of understanding; there is more paper than gold, more words than ideas, in this "careless wealth." 2. Combined with goodness and truth, ORATORY is one of the most glorious distinctions of man; it is a power, that influences all: it elevates the affections and thoughts to enthusiasm; and animates us in joy, and soothes us in sorrow; instructs, guides, and persuades us. 3. To resolve a proposition into its simplest elements, we must reason a posteriori; by observing the relation of sequences, we are enabled to supply antecedents, involving the same relation; thus, amounting to the simplest state of a proposition.

What nothing earthly gives, or, can destroy,
The soul's calm sunshine. and the hearfelt joy,
IS VIRTUE's prize.

The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul, with hooks of steel.
Mind, can raise,
From its unseen conceptions, where they lie,
Bright in their mine, forms, hues, that look Eternity.
Is it the language of some other state,
Born of its memory? For what-can wake
The soul's strong instinct-of another world,
Like music?

Without good company, all dainties
Lose their true relish, and like painted grapes,
Are only seen, not tasted.

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »