lying, and slandering: to keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity: not to covet nor desire other men's goods, but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call me." No. 36.] DISCRETION. [MONDAY. THERE are many more shining qualities in the mind of man, but there is none so useful as discretion; it is this which gives a value to all the rest, which sets them at work in their proper times and places, and turns them to the advantage of the person who is possessed of them. Without it, learning is pedanty, and wit impertinence; nay virtue itself looks like weakness. Discretion, not only shows itself in words, but in all the circumstances of action; and is like an under agent of Providence, to guide and direct us in the ordinary charms of life. Be neither simple nor subtle. To-morrow, is a period no where to be found In all the hoary registers of time, [TUESDAY. Wisdom disclaims the word, nor holds society arrest the present moments; For though their flight be silent, and their path Trackless as the wing'd couriers of the air, They post to heav'n, and there record thy folly. No. 38.] TO-DAY. [WEDNESDAY. stay the present moment Imprint the marks of wisdom on its wings. 'Tis of more worth than kingdoms! far more precious Than all the crimson treasures of life's fountain. The good old patriarch upon record, No. 39.] DRUNKENNESS. [THURSDAY. -A DRUNKEN man is a greater monster than any that is to be found among all the creatures which God has made; as, indeed, there is scarcely any character which appears more despicable and defamed in the eyes of all reasonable persons than that of a drunkard. Eschines commending Philip, king of Macedon, for a jovial man, that would drink freely, Demosthenes answered, "That this was a good quality in a spunge, but not in a man." It is very common that events arise from a debauch which are fatal, and always such as are disagreeable. Wine raises the imagination, but depresses the judgment. No. 40.] PRODIGALITY. [FRIDAY. WE admire no man for enjoying all bodily pleasures to the full; this may create him envy, but not esteem. Such pleasures, while they flatter a man, sting him to death. Let pleasures be ever so innocent, the excess is always criminal. What are the fruits of luxury, sensuality, and intemperance? Disease preying upon your vitals; at the same time that your morals are vitiated, your whole frame is enervated. What are the fruits of waste, profusion, and extravagance? Want, poverty, and a train of consequences, no less fatal to your fortune than the other to your health. Without economy, how large soever an estate is, there will still be a deficiency. No. 41.] ABSTINENCE. [SATURDAY. To set the mind above the appetites is the end of abstinence; which one of the fathers observes to be, not a virtue, but the ground-work of a virtue. By forbearing to do what may innocently be done, we may add hourly new vigour to reso lution, and secure the power of resistance when pleasure or interest shall lend their charms to guilt. The temperate man's pleasures are durable, because they are regular; and all his life is calm and serene, because it is innocent. No. 42.] [SUNDAY. THE PETITIONS OF THE LORD'S PRAYER. WE desire our Lord God, our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness, to send his grace unto us, and to all people, that we may worship him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought to do. And we pray unto God, that he will send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies; and that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins; and that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers, ghostly and bodily, and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death. And this we trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore we say, Amen, so be it. No. 43.] ERROR. [MONDAY. It is incumbent on every man who consults his own dignity, to retract his error as soon as he dis covers it, without fearing any censure, so much as that of his own mind. As justice requires that all injuries should be repaired, it is the duty of him who has seduced others by bad practices, or false notions, to endeavour that such as have adopted his errors should know his retraction, and that those who have learned vice by his example, should by his example be taught amendment. The man who can be charged with fewest failings, either with respect to abilities or virtues, are generally most ready to allow them. No. 44.] PRIDE. [TUESDAY. THERE is no affection of the mind so much blended in human nature, and wrought into our very constitution, as pride. It appears under a multitude of disguises, and breaks out into ten thousand different symptoms. Every one feels it in himself, and yet wonders to see it in his neighbour. Man is a sinful, an ignorant, and a miserable being, and these three reasons why he should not be proud, are, notwithstanding, the reasons why he is so. To be proud of virtue is to poison yourself with the antidote; to be proud of knowledge is to be blind in the light; to be proud of authority is to make your rise your downfall. The best way to humble a proud man is to take no notice of him. Civility is always safe. |