So Shakespeare ("Merchant of Venice," act iii. sc. 4) says:- | brought him up, his masters, and teachers, even "For in companions That do converse and waste the time together, THE POPULACE. There is no sagacity, no penetration, no powers of discrimination, no perseverance in the common people: the wise have always regarded their acts rather to be endured than to be praised. BALLOT. The voting tablet is pleasing to the people, which holds up to view the countenance, while it conceals the intentions, and gives a man liberty to do what he wishes, but to promise what is asked of him. FILIAL AFFECTION. The dutifulness of children is the foundation of all the virtues. SLANDER. There is nothing which wings its flight so swiftly as calumny, nothing which is uttered with more ease; nothing is listened to with more readiness, nothing dispersed more widely. Shakespeare ("Cymbeline," act iii. sc. 4) says:- Whose edge is sharper than the sword; whose tongue All corners of the world; kings, queens, and states, So Psalm xxxiv. 13:— "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." A CANDIDATE. Virtue, honesty, uprightress are the qualities that are required in a candidate, not fluency of language, nor knowledge of arts and sciences. VIRTUE. In the approach to virtue there are many steps. So Ephesians iv. 13:-"Ti we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." RULES FOR LIFE. The illustrious and noble ought to place before them certain rules and regulations, not less for their hours of leisure and relaxation than for those of business. GRATITUDE. the very dumb place where he has been nourished and taught? CHANGE OF OPINIONS ALLOWABLE. I have learnt, seen and read, that the following are the proper principles for the guidance of man: -Ancient records and the annals of literature. both of this state and of others, have handed it down to us as the words of the wise and noble, that the same opinions and sentiments are not invariably to be supported by the same individuals, but that they ought to adopt those which may be required by the circumstances of the times, the | position in which the state is placed, and according as the peace and agreement of parties may require. HATRED. Let them hate, provided they fear. AN ABYSS OF EVILS. An abyss and gulf of evils. SECRET ENMITY. There is nothing more difficult to guard against than what is concealed under the pretence of duty. For when you have one, who is your openly declared enemy, you may easily avoid his attacks by caution: while a hidden ill not only exists but overwhelms you, before you are able to foresee it or examine into its existence. UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. It is uncertain how long the life of each of us will be INTEGRITY. There is no cause for glorying in being upright, where no one has the power or is trying to corrupt you. A TRAITOR. No wise man ever thought that a traitor ought to be trusted. PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF. When a man takes upon himself to correct the manners of his neighbor, and to reprove his faults, who will forgive him if he has deviated in the slightest degree from the precise line of his duty? So Matthew xviii. 33:-"Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him." THE UNCERTAINTY OF CROPS. All the results of agriculture are dependent not so much on reason and diligence, as on those most A grateful mind is not only the greatest of vir- uncertain of all things, winds and weather. tues, but the parent of all the other virtues. GRATITUDE TO BE FELT FOR EARLY TEACHING. Who of us is there liberally brought up, who does not gratefully remember those who have FINDING FAULT WITH OTHERS. Everything that thou reprovest in another, thou must above all take care that thou art not thyself guilty of. So Luke xix. 46:-" My house is the house of prayer; but be considered raillery. ye have made it a den of thieves." SECRET ENMITIES. SOWING WILD OATS. Secret enmities are more to be feared than open. when their youthful passions had cooled down, HIS OWN CONFESSION CONDEMNS HIM. He must be convicted by his own confession. FRIENDS AND ENEMIES. There have been many most illustrious men, who displayed in mature age the most exalted virtues. THE APPETITES. The appetites of the belly and the throat are so Let friends perish, provided our enemies are de- far from diminishing in men by time that they go stroyed along with them. MASTER AND SLAVE. He, who should be the master, sometimes takes the place of the slave; he, who should be the slave, becomes the master. THE RESULT OF A PLAN. Men usually judge of the prudence of a plan by the result, and are very apt to say that the successful man has had much forethought, and the unsuccessful shown great want of it. LIBERTY. What is so much beloved by the people as liberty, which you see not only to be greedily sought after by men, but also by beasts, and to be preferred to all things? MANNERS. Men's characters and habits are not influenced so much by the peculiarities of family and race as by the physical features of their native land and their mode of life-things, by which we are supported and by which we live. PROSPERITY. An individual in a private station, unless he be endued with great wisdom, cannot confine himself in due bounds if he reach high fortune and wealth. THE SOUL. Therefore, for many other reasons, the souls of the good appear to me to be divine and eternal; but chiefly on this account, because the soul of the on increasing. So Proverbs xiii. 25: "The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want." TRUTH. Oh! great is the power of truth, which is easily able to defend itself against the artful proceedings of men, their cunning, and subtlety, not less than against their treachery. So John vii. 25: "Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him." DESIRE OF PLEASURE. He was not accustomed to pleasures; which, when they are pent up for a long while and have been curbed and kept down in the early period of youth, sometimes burst forth suddenly and overthrow every obstacle. THE SEEDS IN YOUTH. The desires in the young, as in herbs, point out what will be the future virtues of the man, and what great crops are likely to reward his industry. OUR COUNTRY. Our country is the common parent of all. FOR WHAT PURPOSE WORDS WERE INVENTED. Because our intentions cannot be made out if we be silent, words have been invented not to be a curb, but to point them out. JUSTICE MUST NOT BE WARPED. The administration of justice ought neither to be warped by favor, nor broken through by the power of the noble, nor bought by money. THIS IS THE POINT OF MY ARGUMENT. This is the point of my defence. TAXES THE SINEWS OF THE STATE. We have always considered taxes to be the sinews of the state. FALSEHOOD. IMPUNITY. The hope of impunity is a very great inducement for a man to commit wrong. CONSCIENCE. Great is the power of conscience-great in both ways so that those should not fear who have done no wrong, and that those who have should always have punishment hanging before their eyes. SUSPICION. Men not only forget the mighty deeds which have been performed by their fellow-citizens, but even It is the act of a bad man to deceive by false-suspect them of the most nefarious designs. hood. THE COUNTENANCE. THE THOUGHTS ARE UNFETTERED. Our thoughts are free and contemplate whatever The whole countenance is a certain silent lan-they choose in a way that we really discern those guage of the mind. Shakespeare (" Pericles," act i. sc. 1) says:- THE BELLY. things which we think that we see. THE POWER OF GOD. Ye immortal gods (for I shall grant what is yours), it was you doubtless that then roused me to the desire of saving my country; it was you who turned me away from all other thoughts t Born for the gratification of his appetite and not the one idea of preserving the republic; it was you for the acquisition of glory and honor. GUILTY CONSCIENCE. It is a man's own dishonesty, his crimes, his wickedness, and barefaced assurance, that takes away from him soundness of mind; these are the furies, these the flames and firebrands of the wicked. So Job xv 20: "The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days." SIGNS OF A TRIFLING CHARACTER. They say that he is wisest to whom, whateve It is the sign of a trifling character to catch at is necessary for the success of a scheme, come fame that is got by silly reports. THE MURDERER. into his mind; that he is next who is ready t yield to the experience of others. In the case o folly, however, it is the very opposite: for he i They say that it is unlawful for one to live who less silly to whom nothing foolish comes into hi confesses that he has slain a man. So Romans xiii. 4: mind than he who yields to the unwise suggestion of another. "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword THE FURY OF THE PEOPLE LIKE THE BOISTEROUS in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." It is the duty of men of high rank to oppose the is the foundation of our liberty, this is the foun fickle disposition of the multitude. tain-head of all justice; in the laws are found the What is dishonestly got, vanishes in profligacy. Antiphanes (Fr. Com. Gr. p. 565, M.) says: "The gains of the wicked bring short-lived pleasure, but afterwards long-continued grief." Euripides (Fr., Erechth. 10) says: "For it is right to prize what is our own, rather than what has been acquired by robbery: for ill-gotten wealth is never stable." So Proverbs x. 2:— "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river." And Psalm i. 3:— "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteous- not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." ness delivereth from death." Being a mortal you have stumbled; in this mortal life it is a wonder, when a man has been happy throughout his life." And Spenser in the "Faerie Queen" (xii. 52) thus expresses himself: "For he was flesh (all flesh doth frailty breed!)" And Pope ("Essay on Criticism," pt. ii. 1. 526):— "To err is human, to forgive divine." A PENITENT. Change of conduct is the best refuge for a repentant sinner. LIFE NOT THE HIGHEST GOOD. The worst of all is to undergo the greatest disgrace from a desire of life. DEATH FOR ONE'S COUNTRY. O happy death, which, though we owe it to nature, it is noble to suffer in defence of our country. RESULT OF DEVOTION TO ONE PARTICULAR BUSI- Constant devotion to one particular line of business often proves superior to genius and art. CHANGE OF OPINION ALLOWABLE TO POLITI CIANS. I deem it no proof of inconsistency to regulate our opinions as we would do a ship and a ship's course on a voyage, according to the weather which And still more beautifully Burns ("Address to the Unco might be prevailing in the commonwealth. THE FOREHEAD. The forehead is the gate of the mind. EAT TO LIVE. Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat. |