ing that thou mayest bring wars to a successful | opposed to the rest of the world, and therefore result. Sloth never yet raised herself to the stars. with difficulty reaches the gods above, prone to Hasten on thy mighty deeds; black death impends insult and sickening at another's joys. over thee in the midst of thy labors. Thomson ("The Seasons "-"Spring," 1. 283) says:"Base envy withers at another's joy, THE JOYS OF LIFE. How many things God has formed for joyous purposes, and has distributed pleasures with a full right hand. SECOND BIRTH. A man cannot be born twice. So John iii. 4: "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" THE DWELLING OF VIRTUE. And hates that excellence it cannot reach." AMBITION. O blinded counsels of the guilty! O wickedness, always full of fearful forebodings! FEAR. Then fear, the very worst prophet in misfortunes, anticipates many evils. TO-MORROW. It is unlawful for men to know what may be to Simonides of Ceos (Fr. 28, S.) says much to the same effect:bring forth, nor when you see a man happy, how long he will My house is chaste and my household gods stand on a lofty hill; a steep path up a rocky de-morrow. clivity leads to it: at first toilsome labor attends it, for I will not deceive: he who wishes to enter must exert all his energy: by and by high above thou shalt behold beneath thee the race of men. This is not unlike the following passage from Milton "On Education": "I will point out to you the right path of a virtuous and noble education; laborious, indeed, at the first ascent, but also so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospects and melodious sounds on every side, that the harp of Orpheus was not more charming." So Psalm xxxvii. 34: "Wait on the Lord and keep His ways." STATIUS. BORN ABOUT A.D. 61-DIED ABOUT A.D. 96. P. PAPINIUS STATIUS was the son of P. Papinius Statius, the preceptor of Domitian, being born at Naples. Of his personal history little is known, as he is mentioned by no ancient author except Juvenal. He gained the prize three times at the Alban games (Suet. Dom. 4). He is said to have been stabbed with a stilus by Domitian. Several of his works are extant. THE DEMAGOGUE. Then one whose nature was to attack the noble with the poisonous slander of his tongue, and who was unwilling to submit to the leaders placed over him, rose up to speak. A TIGER. As the tiger, when he hears the sound of the approaching huntsmen, rustles his spotted skin, shaking off his lazy sleep; he wakes to the combat, expands his jaws and points his claws; then bounds into the midst of the bands, and bears off his reeking prey, food for his bloody whelps. THE DESERVING. A just fortune awaits the deserving. ENVY. Being a mortal, do not pretend to say what to-morrow will be so; for the change is quicker than that of a long-winged fly." BLINDNESS OF MAN. O Chance, and the minds of men blind to futurity! MERCY. It is a noble act to bestow life on the vanquished. PEACE. Peace is sought for by the cruelty of war. LOVE OF LIFE. The love of life, the last that lingers in the human breast. SLEEP. Beside the cloudy confines of the western night and the distant Ethiopians, there is a musty grove, impenetrable to the brightest star, and under the hollow rocks an immense cave descends into the bowels of the mountain, where sluggish Nature has placed the halls of lazy Sleep and the drowsy god. Motionless Rest and dark Oblivion stand on guard, and torpid Sloth with never wakeful eye. At the porch sits Ease, and speechless Silence with close contracted wings, driving the murmuring winds from the roof, forbidding the foliage to rustle, or the birds to twitter: here no roaring of the ocean, though all the shores resound, no crashing of the thunder: the stream itself, gliding along the deep valleys close to the grotto, rolls silently between the rocks and cliffs: the sable herds and flocks recline at ease on the ground: the newly-sprung grass withers, and the vapor makes the herbage languid. Glowing Vulcan had formed a thousand statues of the god within: close by it is wreathed Pleasure; here, in attendance, is Toil inclined to rest: here the same couch receives Love and Wine: deep, deep within, he lies with his twin-brother Death, a sad image to none. Beneath the dew-bespangled cavern, the god himself, There is one above all others, who always acts released from cares, crowned with drowsy flow So Sophocles (Ajax, 669) says: "For all that is dreadful and all that is mightiest gives way to law. First snow-faced winters yield to fruitful summers, and the orb of murky night gives place to the day with his white steeds to kindle his light, and the blast of the dreadful winds hath lulled the roaring main, nay, all o'erpowering sleep looses where he has bound, nor always holds us capAgain Shakespeare ("Troilus and Cressida," act i. sc. 3) tive." says: "The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre, TACITUS. BORN ABOUT A.D. 59-DIED ABOUT A.D. 120. P. CORNELIUS TACITUS is supposed by some to have been born at Interamna, the modern Terni, but this is doubtful. We find him advanced to office by Vespasian, and to have been a favorite of his sons Titus and Domitian. He married the daughter of C. Julius Agricola, who was consul A.D. 77. He was prætor A.D. 88, and in the reign of Nerva, A.D. 97, he was appointed consul suffectus in the place of T. Verginius Rufus, who had died in that year. He was the intimate friend of Pliny the younger, and in the collection of Pliny's Letters we find eleven addressed to Tacitus. The precise time of his death is unknown, nor is it certain whether he left any family, though the Emperor Tacitus claimed to be descended from the historian. PRIVATE HATRED. It is lawful to bury private hatred when it is for the public advantage. So Romans (xiv. 19) : "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." TRAITORS. Traitors are hateful even to those who gain by their treason. HATRED. Sowing the seeds of hatred, which would lie hid for a long period, and gathering strength would spring up at some distant day. INSTABILITY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS. Alleging the instability of human affairs, and the danger always increasing in proportion to the eminence which a man reaches. PRUDENCE. We accomplish more by prudence than by violence. DOMESTIC EXPENSES. what is necessary for life, there is nothing in itIn domestic expenses, such as slaves, plate, and self excessive, nothing mean but what is made so by the circumstances of the parties. The only reason why the fortune of a senator should differ from the qualification of a knight is not that they are different in nature, but that they should excel each other in station, rank, and honors, and those other things which are for the recreation of the mind and the health of the body. Unless perhaps you are inclined to maintain that the most illustrious ought to submit to weightier anxieties and greater dangers, while they are without the means to soothe their anxieties and dangers. FALSE COMPASSION. If we yield to false compassion, industry will go to ruin, sloth will predominate, if man has nothing to hope or fear from his own exertions; all being secure of subsistence, will look to their neighbors for support, being idle in their own business and a burden to the public. TRUTH. Truth is brought to light by time and reflection, while falsehood gathers strength from precipitation and bustle. HOW THE DEAD ARE TO BE REVERENCED. The chief duty of friends is not to attend the remains of the dead with unavailing lamentation, but to remember his wishes and execute his commands. So Proverbs (x. 7): "The memory of the just is blessed." FALSE GRIEF. None grieve with so much ostentation as those who in their hearts rejoice at the event. THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. In all nations the supreme authority is vested either in the people, the nobles or a single individual. A constitution composed of these three simple forms may, in theory, be praised, but can Even war is preferable to a wretched and dis-never exist in fact, or if it should, it will be but honorable peace. Franklin (Letter to Quincy, Sept. 11, 1773) says:"There never was a good war or a bad peace." And S. Butler (Speeches in the Rump Parliament) says:"It hath been said that an unjust peace is to be preferred before a just war." DISTEMPERS OF THE BODY AND MIND. Chronic diseases of the body thou canst not cure except by harsh and violent remedies; the heart, too, sick to the very core with vice, corrupted and corrupting, requires an antidote as strong as the poison that inflames our passions. So Matthew (xviii. 8):— "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire." SAYING OF TIBERIUS. We are informed by tradition that Tiberius, as often as he went from the Senate-house, used to exclaim in Greek, "Devoted men, how they rush headlong into bondage!" CONSPICUOUS BY ABSENCE. of short duration. EXAMPLE. Few are able by their own reflection to draw the line between vice and virtue, or to separate the useful from that which is the opposite; many learn experience by what happens to others. THE LAST OF THE ROMANS. Cremutius Cordus is accused of a new and, ti that time, unheard-of crime, that, having published a series of annals, he eulogized Brutus, he had styled C. Cassius the last of the Romans. CALUMNY. Calumny when disregarded is soon forgotten by the world; if you get in a passion, it seems to have a foundation of truth. POSTERITY. Posterity gives to every man his true value and proper honor. TALENTS PROSCRIBED BY TYRANTS. Wherefore we may well laugh at the folly of He shone with the greater splendor because he those who think that they are able by an arbitrary was not seen. This expression is the French "Briller par son absence." CHASTITY. act to extinguish the light of truth and prevent it reaching posterity. For genius triumphs under oppression; persecute the author and you enhance the value of his work. Foreign tyrants, and all who have adopted this barbarous policy, have When a woman has lost her chastity, she will done nothing but record their own disgrace, and shrink from no crime. of life, they may grant the blessing of an undis- | and fluctuating as the fancied pre-eminence which turbed, clear, collected mind, with a due sense of depends on popular opinion, when there is no laws, both human and divine. Of mankind I re- solid foundation to support it. quest, that, when I am no more, they will do justice to my memory, and with kind acknowledgments, record my name and the actions of my life. A MIND ENFEEBLED. When the mind of man is enfeebled by misfortunes, he bursts into tears. TYRANTS. So true is the saying of the great philosopher, the oracle of ancient wisdom, that if the minds of tyrants were laid open to our view, we should see them gashed and mangled with the whips and stings of horror and remorse. By blows and stripes the flesh is made to quiver; and in like manner, cruelty and inordinate passions, malice and evil deeds, become internal executioners, and, with increasing torture, goad and lacerate the heart. PLANS OF REFORMATION. Like most plans of reformation, it was embraced at first with ardor; but the novelty ceased, and the scheme ended in nothing. THE MOB. Things are neither good nor bad, as they appear to the judgment of the mob. MAN OF FORTITUDE. There are many who encounter adversity, that are happy; while some in the midst of riches are miserable: everything depends on the fortitude with which the former bear their misfortune, and on the manner in which the latter employ their wealth. CAPACITY FOR BUSINESS. Not for any extraordinary talents, but because he had a capacity of a level for business, and not above it. DEMOCRACY. A regular democracy holds too much of civil liberty; while the domination of the few differs but little from absolute monarchy. PRECEDENTS. The measure which I now defend by examples will, at a future day, become another precedent. It is now a new regulation; in time it will be history. EMBELLISHMENT OF A STORY. LOVERS' QUARRELS. Then there is the usual scene when lovers' are excited with each other, quarrels, entreaties, reproaches, and then fondling reconcilement. HOW PROJECTS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE ARE Projects of great importance are frequently frustrated by envy and fear. THE APPEARANCE OF NATURE REMAINS. The everlasting hills are not changed like the faces of men. DOING EVIL THAT GOOD MAY COME. Every striking example has some injustice mixed up with it: individuals suffer while the public derive benefit. THE AGENTS IN EVIL ACTIONS. The assistants in the commission of crimes are always regarded as if they were reproaching the act. NEW BROOMS. Magistrates discharge their duties best at the beginning, and fall off at the conclusion. THE DESIRE OF PERSONAL SAFETY. The desire of personal safety is always against every great and noble enterprise. LUST OF POWER. The lust of power is the strongest in the human breast. Shakespeare (" Henry VIII.," act iii. sc. 2) says:- THE DESIRE OF POWER. The desire of power is stronger than all other feelings. THE BOLD. Even the bravest men are not proof against a surprise. THE SLOTHFUL. Many enterprises succeed by trying, which seem impracticable to little minds. CUTTING JOKES. He had often made the prince the subject of his A story embellished merely to create astonish- raillery; and raillery, when seasoned with truth. While other men have been advanced to eminence by industry, this man succeeded by mere In human affairs there is nothing so unstable sluggishness and indolence. |