ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die. 5 For God doth know

that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

32. Partiality of Authors.

"Have you read my key to the Romans?"-said Dr. TAYLOR, of Norwich, to Mr. NEWTON." I have turned it over."-" You have turned it over? And is this the treatment a book must meet with, which has 5 cost me many years of hard study? Must I be told, at last, that you have turned it over,' and then thrown it aside? You ought to have read it carefully and weighed deliberately what comes forward on so serious a subject.' "-"Hold! You have cut me out full employment, 10 if my life were to be as long as Methuselah's. I have somewhat else to do in the short day allotted me, than to read whatever any one may think it his duty to write. When I read, I wish to read to good purpose; there are some books, which contradict on the very face 15 of them what appear to me to be first principles. You surely will not say I am bound to read such books. If a man tells me he has a very elaborate argument to prove that two and two make five, I, have something else to do than to attend to this argument. If I find

and

20 the first mouthful of meat which I take from a finelooking joint on my table is tainted, I need not eat through it to be convinced 1 ought to send it away."

[blocks in formation]

I ASKED an aged man, a man of cares,

Cecil.

Wrinkled, and curved, and white with hoary hairs;
'Time is the warp of life," he said, "Oh, tell

[ocr errors]

The young, the fair, the gay, to weave it well!"

5 I asked the ancient, venerable dead,

Sages who wrote, and warriors who bled;
From the cold grave a hollow murmur flowed,
"Time sowed the seed we reap in this abode."
I asked a dying sinner, ere the tide

10 Of life had left his veins: "Time!" he replied;
"I've lost it!" Ah, the treasure! and he died.
I asked the golden sun, and silver spheres,
Those bright chronometers of days and years:
They answered, "Time is but a meteor glare!"
15 And bade us for eternity prepare.

I asked the Seasons, in their annual round,
Which beautify, or desolate the ground;
And they replied, (no oracle more wise,)

""Tis Folly's blank, and Wisdom's highest prize!" 20 I asked a spirit lost; but oh, the shriek

That pierced my soul! I shudder while I speak!
It cried, "A particle, a speck, a mite
Of endless years, duration infinite !"—
Of things inanimate, my dial I

25 Consulted, and it made me this reply:→
"Time is the season fair of living well,
The path of glory, or the path of hell."
I asked my Bible; and methinks it said,
"Time is the present hour,-the past is fled;
30 Live! live to-day! to-morrow never yet
On any human being rose or set."

I asked old Father Time himself, at last,
But in a moment he flew swiftly past :
His chariot was a cloud, the viewless wind

35 His noiseless steeds, which left no trace behind.

I asked the mighty angel, who shall stand,
One foot on sea, and one on solid land;
"By heavens," he cried, "I swear the mystery's o'er :
Time was," he cried, "but time shall be no more!"
Marsden.

[blocks in formation]

RUTH, i.-14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again. And Orphah kissed her mother-in-law; But Ruth clave unto her. 15 And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law. 16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. 18 When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20 And she said unto them, call me not Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naoini, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Alnighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barely-harvest.

35. Influence of education, constitution, and circumstances in forming character.

He has seen but little of life, who does not discern every where the effects of education on men's opinions and habits of thinking. Two children bring out of the nursery that, which displays itself throughout their 5 lives. And who is the man that can rise above his dis

pensation, and can say, "You have been teaching me

nonsense?"

As to constitution-look at Martin Luther: we may see the man every day: his eyes, and nose, and mouth 10 attest his character. Look at Melancthon: he is like a snail with his couple of horns; he puts out his horns and feels-and feels-and feels. No education could have rendered these two men alike. Their difference began in the womb. Luther dashes in saying his things; Melanc15 thon must go round about-he must consider what the Greek says, and what the Syriac says. Some men are born minute men-lexicographers-of a German character they will hunt through libraries to rectify a syllable. Other men are born keen as a razor; they have 20 a sharp, severe, strong acumen; they cut every thing to pieces their minds are like a case of instruments; touch which you will it wounds; they crucify a modest man. Such men should aim at a right knowledge of character. If they attained this, they would find out 25 the sin that easily besets them. The greater the capacity of such men, the greater their cruelty. They ought to blunt their instruments. They ought to keep them in a case. Other men are ambitious-fond of power: pride and power give a velocity to their motions. Oth30 ers are born with a quiet, retiring mind. Some are naturally fierce, and others naturally mild, and placable, Men often take to themselves great credit for what they owe entirely to nature. If we would judge rightly, we should see that narrowness of expansion of mind, 35 niggardliness or generosity, delicacy or boldness, have less of merit or demerit than we commonly assign to them.

Circumstances, also are not sufficiently taken into the account, when we estimate character. For exam40 ple-we generally censure the Reformers and Puritans as dogmatical, morose, systematic men. But it is easier to walk on a road, than to form that road. Other men labored, and we have entered into their labors. In a fine day, I can walk abroad; but in a rough and stormy 45 day, I should find it another thing to turn coachman and dare all weathers. These men had to bear the bur

[ocr errors]

er.

den and heat of the day they had to fight against hard times they had to stand up against learning and powTheir times were not like ours: a man may now 50 think what he will, and nobody cares what he thinks. A man of that school was of course, stiff, rigid, unyielding. Tuckney was such a man: Whichcot was for smoothing things, and walked abroad. We see circumstances operating in many other ways. A minister un55 married, and the same man married, are very different men. A minister in a small parish, and the same man in a large sphere where his sides are spurred and goaded, are very different men. A minister on tenter-hooks -harassed-schooled, and the same man nursed-cher60 ished-put into a hot-house, are very different men. Some of us are hot house plants. We grow tall: better not stronger. Talents are among the circumstances which form the diversity of character. A man of talents feels his own powers, and throws himself into 65 that line which he can pursue with most success. Saurin felt that he could flourish-lighten -thunder-enchant like a magician. Every one should seriously consider, how far his talents and turn of mind and circumstances divert him out of the right road. Cecil.

[blocks in formation]

not

2 SAM. Xviii.-19 Then said Ahimaaz the Son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies. 20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day; but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead. 21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. 22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howso

ever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab

said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? 23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him. Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi. 24 And David sat between the two gates; and the watchman went up

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »