ably lowered, and mixed with the baser alloy of a jealous and worldly minded prudence. 5. You must learn to do hard, if not unjust things; and as for the nice embarrassments of a delicate and ingenuous spirit, it is necessary for you to get rid of them as fast as possible. You must shut your heart against the Muses, and be content to feed your understanding with plain household truths. 6. In short, you must not attempt to enlarge your ideas, or polish your taste, or refine your sentiments; but must keep on in one beaten track, without turning aside, either to the right hand or to the left." But I cannot submit to drudgery like this-I feel a spirit above it." It is well; be above it then; only do not repine that you are not rich. 7. Is knowledge the pearl of price? That, too, may be purchased--by steady application, and long solitary hours of study and reflection.--Bestow these, and you shall be learned. "But," says the man of letters, "what a hardship it is, that many an illiterate fellow, who cannot construe the motto of the arms on his coach, shall raise a fortune and make a figure, while I have little more than the common conveniencies of life!" 8. Was it in order to raise a fortune, that you consumed the sprightly hours of youth in study and retirement? Was it to be rich, that you grew pale over the midnight lamp, and distilled the sweetness from the Greek and Roman spring? You have then mistaken your path, and ill employed your industry. 9. "What reward have I then for all my labors ?" What reward! a large, comprehensive soul, well purged from vulgar fears, and perturbations, and prejudices; able to comprehend and interpret the works of man-of God. A rich, flourishing, cultivated mind, pregnant with inexhaustible stores of entertainment and reflection. A perpetual spring of fresh ideas, and the conscious dignity of superior intelligence. Good Heaven! and what reward can you ask besides? 10. "But is it not some reproach upon the Economy of Providence, that such a one, who is a mean, dirty fellow, should have amassed wealth enough to buy half a nation!" Not in the least. He made himself a mean dirty fellow for that very end. He has paid his health, his conscience, his liberty, for it; and will you envy his bargain? Will you hang your head and blush in his presence, because he outshines you in equipage and show? 11. Lift up your brow, with a noble confidence, and say to yourself, "I have not these things, it is true; but it is because 1 have not sought, because I have not desired them; it is because I possess something better; I have chosen my lot; I am content and satisfied." 12. You are a modest man-you love quiet and independence, and have a delicacy and reserve in your temper, which renders it impossible for you to elbow your way in the world, and be the herald of your own merits. Be content, then, with a modest retirement, with the esteem of your intimate friends, with the praises of a blameless heart, and a delicate, ingenuous spirit; but resign the splendid distinctions of the world to those who can better scramble for them. 13. The man whose tender sensibility of conscience and strict regard to the rules of morality, makes him scrupulous and fearful of offending, is often heard to complain of the disadvantages under which he lies, in every path of honor and profit."Could I but get over some nice points, and conform to the practice and opinion of those about me, I might stand as fair a chance as others for dignities and preferment." 14. And why can you not? What hinders you from discarding this troublesome scrupulosity of yours which stands so grievously in your way? If it be a small thing to enjoy a healthful mind, sound at the very core, that does not shrink from the keenest inspection; inward freedom from remorse and perturbation; unsullied whiteness and simplicity of manners; if you think these advantages an inadequate recompense for what you resign, dismiss your scruples this instant, and be a slave merchant, a director-or what you please. LESSON XCI. On the Beauties of the Psalms.-HORNE. 1. GREATNESS confers no exemption from the cares and sorrows of life: its share of them frequently bears a melancholy proportion to its exaltation. This the monarch* of Israel experienced. He sought in piety, that peace which he could not find in empire: and alleviated the disquietudes of state, with the exercises of devotion. His invaluable Psalms convey those comforts to others, which they afforded to himself. 2. Composed upon particular occasions, yet designed for general use; delivered out as services for Israelites under the Law, yet no less adapted to the circumstances of Christians under the Gospel; they present religion to us in the most engaging dress; communicating truths which philosophy could * King David never investigate, in a style which poetry can never equal, while history is made the vehicle of prophecy, and creation lends all its charms to paint the glories of redemption. 3. Calculated alike to profit and to please, they inform the understanding, elevate the affections, and entertain the imagination. Indited under the influence of HIM, to whom all hearts are known, and all events foreknown, they suit mankind in all situations; grateful as the manna which descended from above, and conformed itself to every palate. : 4. The fairest productions of human wit, after a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their fragrancy but these unfading plants of Paradise become, as we are accustomed to them, still more and more beautiful; their bloom appears to be daily heightened; fresh odors are emitted, and new sweets extracted from them. He who has once tasted their excellencies, will desire to taste them again; and he who tastes them oftenest, will relish them best. 5. And now, could the author flatter himself, that any one would take half the pleasure in reading his work, which he has taken in writing it, he would not fear the loss of his labor. The employment detached him from the bustle and hurry or life, the din of politics, and the noise of folly. Vanity and vexation flew away for a season: care and disquietude came not near his dwelling. He arose, fresh as the morning, to lis task; the silence of the night invited him to pursue it; and he can truly say, that food and rest were not preferred before it. 6. Every psalm improved infinitely upon his acquaintance with it, and no one gave him uneasiness but the last: for then he grieved that his work was done. Happier hours than those which have been spent in these meditations on the songs of Sion, he never expects to see in this world. Very pleasantly did they pass; they moved smoothly and swiftly along for when thus engaged, he counted no time. They are gone, but they have left a relish and a fragrance upon the mind; and the remembrance of them is sweet. LESSON XCII. Two Voices from the Grave.-KARAMSIN. 1. How frightful the grave! how deserted and drear! Second Voice. 2. How peaceful the grave! its quiet how deep! Its zephyrs breathe calmly, and soft 13 its sleep, And flowrets perfume it with ether. First Voice. 3. There riots the blood-crested worm on the dead, And the yellow skull serves the foul toad for a bed, And snakes in its nettle weeds hiss. Second Voice. 4. How lovely, how sweet the repose of the tomb ! No tempests are there ;-but the nightingales come, And sing their sweet chorus of bliss. First Voice. 5. The ravens of night flap their wings o'er the grave; 'Tis the vulture's abode ;-'tis the wolf's dreary cave, Where they tear up the dead with their fangs. Second Voice. . 6. There the cony,* at evening, disports with his love, Or rests on the sod; while the turtlest above, Repose on the bough that o'erhangs. First Voice. 7. There darkness and dampness, with poisonous breath, And loathsome decay, fill the dwelling of death; The trees are all barren and bare. Second Voice. 8. O! soft are the breezes that play round the tomb, First Voice. 9. The pilgrim who reaches this valley of tears, Would fain hurry by; and with trembling and fears. He is launched on the wreck-covered river. Second Voice. 10. Here the traveller, worn with life's pilgrimage dreary, Lays down his rude staff, like one that is weary, And sweetly reposes for ever. * Cony, a rabbit. Turtles, turtle-doves. LESSON XCII. The Battle of Linden,* CAMPBELL. 1. ON Linden, when the sun was low, 2. But Linden saw another sight, 3. By torch and trumpet fast array'd, 4. Then shook the hills with thunder riv'n, 5. And redder yet those fires shall glow, 6. 'Tis morn, but scarce yon lurid sun Shout in their sulphurous canopy. 7. The combat deepens. On, ye brave, 8. Few, few shall part where many meet! Shall be a soldier's sepulchre. Hohenlinden, a town in Austria, famous for the defeat of the Austri ans, December 31, 1800, by the French under Moreau. + Pronounced Mu'-nick, a city 20 miles west of Hohenlinden. |