Before her steps walketh prudence, and virtue attendeth at her right hand. Her eyes speaketh softness and love; but discretion with a sceptre sitteth on her brow. The tongue of the licentious is dumb in her presence, the awe of her virtue keepeth him silent. When scandal is busy, and the fame of her neighbour is tossed from tongue to tongue; if charity and good nature open not her mouth, the finger of silence resteth on her lip. Her breast is the mansion of goodness and therefore she suspecteth no evil in others. Happy were the man that should make her his wife happy the child that shall call her mother. The prudence of her management is an honour to her husband, and he heareth her praise with a secret delight. She informeth the minds of her children with wisdom: she fashioneth their manners from the example of her own goodness. The word of her mouth is the law of their youth, the motion of her eye commandeth her obedience. She speaketh, and her servants fly; she pointeth, and the thing is done; for the law of love is in their hearts, and her kindness addeth wings to their feet. In prosperity she is not puffed up; in adversity she healeth the wounds of fortune with patience. The troubles of her husband are aleviated by her counsels, and sweetened by her endearments: he putteth his heart in her bosom, and receiveth comfort. Happy is the man that hath made her his wife; happy the child that calleth her mother. ordinance of God; take unto thyself a wife, and become a faithful member of society. But examine with care, and fix not suddenly. On thy present choice depends thy future happiness. If much of her time is destroyed in dress and adornments; if she is enamoured with her own beauty; and delighteth in her own praise; if she laugheth much, and talketh loud: if her foot abideth not in her father's house, and her eyes with boldness rove on the faces of men: though her beauty were as the sun in the firmament of heaven, turn thy face from her charms, turn thy feet from her paths, and suffer not thy soul to be ensnared by the allurements of imagination. But when thou findest sensibility of heart, joined with softness of manners; an accomplished mind, with a form agreeable to thy fancy; take her home to thy house, she is worthy to be thy friend, thy companion in life, the wife of thy bosom. O cherish her as a blessing sent thee from heaven. Let the kindness of thy be haviour endear thee to her heart. She is the mistress of thy house: treat her therefore with respect, that thy servants may obey her. Oppose not her inclinations without cause; she is the partner of thy cares, make her also the companion of thy pleasures. Reprove her faults with gentleness; exact not her obedience with rigour. Trust thy secrets in her breast; her counsels are sincere, thou shalt not be deceived. Be faithful to her bed; for she is the mother of thy children. When pain and sickness assault her, let thy tenderness soothe her affliction; a look from thee of pity and love shall alleviate her grief, or mitigate her pain, and be of more avail than ten physicians. Consider the tenderness of her sex, the delicacy of her frame; and be not severe to her weakness, but remember thine own imperfections. $ 255. FATHER. Consider thou art a parent, the im portance of thy trust: the being thou hast produced, it is thy duty to support. Upon thee also it dependeth, whether the child of thy bosom shall be a blessing or a curse to thyself; an useful or a worth CONSANGUINITY, or NATURAL less member to the community. RELATIONS. Prepare him early with instruction, and season his mind with the maxims of truth. Watch the bent of his inclination, set him right in his youth, and let no evil habit gain strength with his years. So shall he rise like a cedar on the mountains his head shall be seen above the trees of the forest. A wicked son is a reproach to his father; but he that doth right is an honour to his grey hairs. The soil is thine own, let it not want cultivation; the seed which thou sowest, that also shalt thou reap. Teach him obedience, and he shall bless thee; teach him modesty, and he shall not be ashamed. Teach him gratitude, and he shall receive benefits; teach him charity, and he shall gain love. Teach him temperance, and he shall have health; teach him prudence, and fortune shall attend him. Teach him justice, and he shall be honoured by the world; teach him sincerity, and his own heart shall not reproach him, Teach him diligence, and his wealth shall increase; teach him benevolence, and his mind shall be exalted. Teach him sciences, and his life shall be useful; teach him religion, and his death PROVIDENCE; or the accidental Dif shall be happy. ferences in MEN. 258. WISE and IGNORANT. The gifts of the understanding are the treasures of God; and he appointeth to every one his portion, in what measure seemeth good unto himself. hath he enlightened thy mind with the knowledge of truth? Communicate it to the ignorant, for their instruction; communicate it to the wise, for thine own improvement. Hath he endued thee with wisdom? True wisdom is less presuming than changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, folly. The wise man doubteth often, and and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance. The pride of emptiness is an abomination; and to talk much is the foolishness of folly. Nevertheless, it is the part of wisdom to bear with patience their impertinence, and to pity their absurdity, Yet be not puffed up with thine own conceit, neither boast of superior understanding; the clearest human knowledge is but blindness and folly. The wise man feeleth his imperfections, and is humbled; he laboureth in vain for his own approbation: but the fool peepeth in the shallow stream of his own mind, and is pleased with the pebbles which he sees at the bottom: he bringeth them up and sheweth them as pearls; and with the applause of his brethren delighteth he himself. He boasteth attainments in things that are of no worth; but where it is a shame to be ignorant, there he hath no understanding. Even in the paths of wisdom he toileth after folly; and shame and disappointment are the reward of his labour. But the wise man cultivates his mind with knowledge: the improvement of arts is his delight, and their utility to the public crowneth him with honour. Nevertheless the attainment of virtue he accounteth as the highest learning: and the science of happiness is the study of his life. $ 259, RICH and Poor. The man to whom God hath given riches, and blessed with a mind to employ them aright, is peculiarly favoured, and highly distinguished. He looketh on his wealth with pleasure, because it affordeth him the means to do good. He seeketh out objects of compassion: he enquireth into their wants; he relieveth with judgment, and without ostentation. He assisteth and rewardeth merit: he encourageth ingenuity, and liberally promoteth every useful design. He carrieth on great works: his country is enriched, and the labourer is employed: he formeth new schemes, and the arts receive improvement. He considereth the superfluities of his table as belonging to the poor of his neighbourhood, and he defraudeth them not. The benevolence of his mind is not checked by his fortune; he rejoiceth therefore in riches, and his joy is blameless. But woe unto him that heapeth up wealth in abundance, and rejoiceth alone in the possession thereof: That grindeth the face of the poor, and considereth not the sweat of their brows, He thriveth on oppression without feeling; the ruin of his brother disturbeth him not. The tears of the orphan he drinketh as milk; the cries of the widow are music to his ear. His heart is hardened with the love of wealth; no grief nor distress can make. impression upon it. But the curse of iniquity pursueth him: he liveth in continual fear; the anxiety of his mind, and the rapacious desires of his own soul, take vengeance upon him for the calamities he has brought upon others. O what are the miseries of poverty, in comparison with the gnawings of this man's heart! Let the poor man comfort himself, yea, rejoice; for he hath many reasons. He sitteth down to his morsel in peace; his table is not crowded with flatterers and devourers. He is not embarrassed with a train of dependants, nor teased with the clamours of solicitation. Debarred from the dainties of the rich, he escapeth also their diseases. The bread that he eateth, is it not sweet to his taste? the water he drinketh, is it not pleasant to his thirst? yea, far more delicious than the richest draughts of the luxurious. His labour preserveth his health, and procureth him a repose, to which the downy bed of sloth is a stranger. He limiteth his desires with humility, and the calm of contentment is sweeter to his soul than all the acquirements of wealth and grandeur. Let not the rich therefore presume on his riches, nor the poor in his poverty yield to his despondence; for the providence of God dispenseth happiness to them both. f 260. MASTERS and SERVANTS. Repine not, O man, at the state of servitude: it is the appointment of God, and hath many advantages; it removeth thee from the cares and solicitudes of life. The honour of a servant is his fidelity; his highest virtues are submission and obedience. Be patient therefore under the reproofs of thy master; and when he rebuketh thee answer not again. The silence of thy resignation shall not be forgotten. Be studious of his interests, be diligent in his affairs, and faithful to the trust which he reposeth in thee. Thy time and thy labour belong unto him. Defraud him not thereof, for he payeth thee for them. And thou who art a master, be just to thy servant, if thou expectest from him fidelity; fidelity; and reasonable in thy commands, if thou expectest a ready obedience. The spirit of a man is in him; severity and rigour may create fear, but can never command his love. Mix kindness with reproof, and reason with authority; so shall thy admonitions take place in his heart, and his duty shall become his pleasure. He shall serve thee faithfully from the motive of gratitude; he shall obey thee cheerfully from the principle of love: and fail not thou, in return, to give his diligence and fidelity their proper reward. 261. MAGISTRATES and SUBJECTS. O thou, favourite of heaven, whom the sons of men, thy equals, have agreed to raise to sovereign power, and set as a ruler over themselves; consider the ends and importance of their trust, far more than the dignity and height of thy station. Thou art clothed in purple, and seated on a throne: the crown of majesty in vesteth thy temples; the sceptre of power is placed in thy hand: but not for thyself were these ensigns given; not meant for thine own, but the good of thy kingdom. The glory of a king is the welfare of his people; his power and dominion resteth on the hearts of his subjects. The mind of a great prince is exalted with the grandeur of his situation: he revolveth high things, and searcheth for business worthy of his power. He calleth together the wise men of his kingdom, he consulteth amongst them with freedom, and heareth the opinions of them all. all these he honoureth with his favours, or rewardeth with his bounty. He smileth on the arts, and they flourish; the sciences improve beneath the culture of his hand. He planteth new colonies, he buildeth strong ships, he openeth rivers for convenience, he formeth harbours for safety; his people abound in riches, and the strength of his kingdom encreaseth. With the learned and ingenious he delighteth himself; he kindleth in their breasts emulation, and the glory of his kingdom is exalted by their labours. He frameth his statutes with equity and wisdom; his subjects enjoy the fruits of their labour in security; and their happiness consists in the observance of the law. He foundeth his judgments on the principles of mercy; but in the punishment of offenders he is strict and impartial. The spirit of the merchant who extendeth his commerce; the skill of the farmer, who enricheth his lands; the ingenuity of the artist, the improvement of the scholar; His ears are open to the complaints of his subjects; he restraineth the hand of their oppressors, and delivereth them from their tyranny. His people therefore look up to him as a father, with reverence and love; they consider him as the guardian of all they enjoy. Their affection unto him begetteth in his breast a love of the public; the security of their happiness is the object of his care. " No murmurs against him arise in their hearts: the machinations of his enemies endanger not his estate. His subjects are faithful, and firm in his cause; they stand in his defence as a wall of brass; the army of a tyrant flieth before them as chaff before the wind. Security and peace bless the dwellings of his people; glory and strength encircle his throne for ever. The SOCIAL DUTIES. BENEVOLENCE. ₫ 262. When thou considerest thy wants, when thou beholdest thy imperfections, acknowledge his goodness, O son of humanity! who honoured thee with reason, endued thee with speech, and placed thee in society, to receive and confer reciprocal helps and mutual obligations. Thy food, thy clothing, thy convenience of habitation; thy protection from the injuries, thy enjoyments of the comforts and the pleasures of life: all these thou owest to the assistance of others, and couldest not enjoy but in the bands of society. It is thy duty therefore to be a friend to mankind, as it is thy interest that man should be friendly to thee. As As the rose breatheth sweetness from its own nature, so the heart of a benevolent man produceth good works. He enjoyeth the ease and tranquillity of his own breast, and rejoiceth in the happiness and prosperity of his neighbour. He openeth not his ear unto slander: the faults and the failings of men give a pain to his heart. His desire is to do good, and he searcheth out the occasions thereof: in removing the oppressions of another he relieveth himself. From the largeness of his mind, he comprehendeth in his wishes the happiness of all men and from the generosity of his heart, he endeavoureth to promote it. $263. JUSTICE. The peace of society dependeth on justice; the happiness of individuals, on the safe enjoyment of all their possessi ons. Keep the desires of thy heart, therefore, within the bounds of moderation; let the hand of justice lead them aright. Cast not an evil eye on the goods of thy neighbour; let whatever is his property be sacred from thy touch. Let no temptation allure thee, nor any provocation excite thee, to lift up thy hand to the hazard of his life. Defame him not in his character; bear no false witness against him. Corrupt not his servant to cheat or forsake him; and the wife of his bosom, O tempt not to sin. It will be a grief to his heart, which thou canst not relieve; an injury to his life, which no reparation can atone for. In thy dealings with men be impartial and just; and do unto them as thou wouldest they should do unto thee. Be faithful to thy trust, and deceive not the man who relieth upon thee; be assured it is less evil in the sight of God to steal, than to betray. Oppress not the poor, and defraud not of his hire the labouring man. When thou sellest for gain, hear the whisperings of conscience, and be satisfied with moderation; nor from the ignorance of the buyer make any advantage. Pay the debts which thou owest, for he who gave thee credit, relied upon thine honour; and to withhold from him hi, due, is both mean and unjust. Finally, O son of society! examine thy heart, call remembrance to thy aid; and if in any of these things thou findest thou hast transgressed, take sorrow and shame to thyself, and make speedy reparation to the utmost of thy power. 264. CHARITY: Happy is the man who hath sown in his breast the seeds of benevolence; the produce thereof shall be charity and love. From the fountain of his heart shall rise rivers of goodness; and the streams shali overflow for the benefit of mankind. He assisteth the poor in their trouble; he rejoiceth in furthering the prosperity of all men. He censureth not his neighbour, he believeth not the tales of envy and malevolence, neither repeated he their slanders. He forgiveth the injuries of men, he wipeth them from his remembrance; revenge and malice have no place in his heart. For evil he returneth not evil; he hatcth not even his enemies, but requiteth their injustice with friendly admonition. The griefs and anxieties of men excite his compassion; he endeavoureth to alleviate the weight of their misfortunes, and the pleasure of success rewardeth his labour. He calmeth the fury, he healeth the quarrels of angry men, and preventeth the mischiefs of strife and animosity. He promoteth in his neighbourhoo peace and good-will, and his name is repeated with praise and benediction. |