to smooth the paths of life, to terrify opposition, and fortify tranquillity; but to what end shall we be the darlings of mankind, when we can no longer receive any benefits from their favour? It is more reasonable to wish for reputation, while it may yet be enjoyed, as Anacreon calls upon his companions to give him for present use the wine and garlands which they purpose to bestow upon his tomb.-Johnson. CCC. Silence! coeval with eternity; Thou wert, ere Nature's self began to be; "Twas one vast nothing all, and all slept fast in thee. * * * The tongue mov'd gently first, and speech was low, Lost in the maze of woods he turns again, And seeks a surer state, and courts thy gentle reign. Pope-in imitation of the Earl of Rochester. СССІ. There is no benefit so large but malignity will still lessen it: none so narrow which a good interpretation will not enlarge. No man can ever be grateful that views a benefit on the wrong side; or takes a good office by the wrong handle. The avaricious man is naturally ungrateful, for he never thinks he has enough; but without considering what he has, only minds what he covets. Some pretend want of power to make a competent_re. turn, and you shall find in others a kind of graceless modesty, that makes a man ashamed of requiting an obligation, because it is a confession that he has received one.-Seneca. CCCII. When I myself had twice or thrice made a resolute resistance unto anger, the like befell me that did the Thebans; who having once foiled the Lacedemonians (who before that time had held themselves invincible) never after lost so much as one battle which they fought against them.-Plutarch. CCCIII. Opiniators naturally differ From other men; as wooden legs are stiffer CCCIV. Butler. It is said by modern philosophers, that not only the great globes of matter are thinly scattered through the universe, but the hardest bodies are so porous, that if all matter were compressed to perfect solidity, it might be contained in a cube of a few feet. In like manner, if all the employment of life were crowded into the time which it really occupied, perhaps a few weeks, days, or hours, would be sufficient for its accomplishment, so far as the mind was engaged in the performance. For such is the inequality of our corporeal to our intellectual faculties, that we contrive in minutes what we execute in years, and the soul often stands an idle spectator of the labour of the hands and expedition of the feet.-Johnson. CCCV. All controversies that can never end, had better per haps never begin. The best is to take words as they are most commonly spoke and meant, like coin, as it most currently passes, without raising scruples upon the weight of the alloy, unless the cheat or the defect be gross and evident. Sir W. Temple. CCCVI. People seldom improve, when they have no other model but themselves to copy after.-Goldsmith. CCCVII. Let honesty and industry be thy constant companions; and, Spend one penny less than thy clear gains. Then shall thy hide-bound pocket soon begin to thrive: and will never again cry with the empty belly-ache; neither will creditors insult thee, nor want oppress, nor hunger bite, nor nakedness freeze thee. The whole hemisphere will shine brighter, and pleasure spring up in every corner of thy heart. Now, therefore, embrace these rules and be happy. Banish the bleak winds of sorrow from thy mind, and live independent. Then shalt thou be a man, and not hide thy face at the approach of the rich, nor suffer the pain of feeling little when the sons of fortune walk at thy right hand: for independency, whether with little or much, is good fortune, and places thee on even ground with the proudest of the golden fleece. Oh, then, be wise, and let industry walk with thee in the morning, and attend thee until thou reachest the evening hour for rest. Let honesty be as the breath of thy soul, and never forget to have a penny, when all' thy expenses are enumerated and paid: then shalt thou reach the point of happiness, and independence shall be thy shield and buckler, thy helmet and crown; then shall thy soul walk upright, nor stoop to the silken wretch because he hath riches, nor pocket an abuse because the hand which offers it wears a ring set with diamonds.Franklin. CCCVIII. To men addicted to delights, business is an interruption; to such as are cold to delights, business is an entertainment. For which reason it was said to one who commended a dull man for his application, No thanks to him; if he had no business, he would have nothing to do.'-Steele. CCCIX. 6 We are sometimes apt to wonder, to see those people proud who have done the meanest things; whereas a consciousness of having done poor things, and a shame of hearing it, often makes the composition we call pride.Pope. CCCX. The truth is, like your coat of arms, Hath tired you, and you seek a cell to rest in To a melancholy lord.—Shirley. CCCXI. Some people take more care to hide their wisdom than their folly.-Swift. CCCXII. The true gentleman finds no more favour from his schoolmaster, than his schoolmaster finds diligence in him, whose rod respects persons no more than bullets are partiall in a battel.-Fuller. CCCXIII. To give and to lose is nothing; but to lose and to give still, is the part of a great mind.-Seneca. CCCXIV. To make a fine gentleman several trades are required, but chiefly a barber: you have undoubtedly heard of the Jewish champion, whose strength lay in his hair: one would think that the English were for placing all wisdom there. To appear wise nothing more is requisite here, than for a man to borrow hair from the heads of all his neighbours, and clap it like a bush upon his own: the distributors of law and physic stick on such quantities, that it is almost impossible, even in idea, to distinguish between the head and hair.-Goldsmith. CCCXV. Cunning has only private selfish aims, and sticks at nothing which may make them succeed. Discretion has large and extended views, and, like a well-formed eye, commands a whole horizon: cunning is a kind of shortsightedness, that discovers the minutest objects which are near at hand, but is not able to discern things at a distance. Discretion, the more it is discovered, gives a greater authority to the person who possesses it: cunning, when it is once detected, loses its force, and makes a man incapable of bringing about even those events which he might have done, had he passed only for a plain man. Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life: cunning is a kind of instinct, that only looks out after our immediate interest and welfare. Discretion is only found in men of strong sense and good understandings: cunning is often to be met with in brutes themselves, and in persons who are but the fewest removes from them. In short, cunning is only the mimic of discretion, and may pass upon weak men, in the same manner as vivacity is often mistaken for wit, and gravity for wisdom.-Addison. CCCXVI. As the most forward bud Even so by love the young and tender wit CCCXVII. Shakspeare. He that does good to another man, does also good to himself; not only in the consequence, but in the very act of doing it; for the conscience of well-doing is an ample reward.-Seneca. CCCXVIII. In love, the state which fills the heart with a degree of solicitude next that of an author: it has been held a maxim, that success is most easily obtained by indirect and unperceived approaches; he who too soon professes himself a lover, raises obstacles to his own wishes, and those whom disappointments have taught experience, endeavour to conceal their passion till they believe their mistress wishes for the discovery. The same method, if it were practicable to writers, would save many complaints of the severity of the age, and the caprices of criticism. If a man could glide imperceptibly into the favour of the public, and only proclaim his pretensions to literary honours when he is sure of not being rejected, he might commence author with better hopes, as his |