Laconics. 1. Every act of apparent disorder and destruction, is, when contemplated aright, and taking in an immeasurable lapse of ages, the most perfect order, wisdom, and love. 2. As it respects the history of our race, scarcely the first hour of man has yet passed over our heads; why then do we speak of partiality? 3. In turning our eyes to the regions of darkness, in the history of man, as well as to those of light, we are induced to reflect upon our ignorance, as well as up on our knowledge. 4. The natural history of man, is of more importance than that of all animals, vegetables, and minerals; and, in mastering the 505. BUFFOONERY-assumes a sly, arch, leering gravity; nor must it quit the serious aspect, though all should split their sides: which command of countenance is somewhat difficult, but not so hard to acquire, as to restrain the contrary sympathy-that of weeping when others weep. Examples will suggest themselves. COMMANDING requires a peremptory air, a severe and stern look: the hand is held out, and moved towards the person to whom the order is given, with the palm upwards, and sometimes it is accompanied with a significant nod of the head to the person address'd. If the command be absolute, and to a person unwilling to obey, the right hand is extended and projected forcibly towards him. We were not born to sue, but to command; Which, since we cannot do, to make you friends, former, we receive a key to unlock the mysteries Be ready-as your lives shall answer it, At Coventry, upon St. Lambert's day; There shall your swords-and lances ARBITRATE Silence, ye winds, That make outrageous war upon the ocean: And thou, old ocean! lull thy boisterous waves; Ye wavering elements, be hushed as death, While I impose my dread commands on hell; And thou, profoundest hell! whose dreadful sway Is given to me by fate and demi-gorgon- [gions; Hear, hear my powerful voice, thro' all thy reAnd from thy gloomy caverns thunder the reply. Begone! forever leave this happy sphere: For perjur'd lovers have no mansions here. Look round the habitable world, how few Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue. Happiness—does not consist so much in outward circumstances and personal gratifications, as in the inward feelings. There can be no true enjoyment of that, which is not honestly obtained; for a sense of guilt infuses into it a bitter ingredient, which makes it nauseous. What pleasure can the drunkard have in his cups, when he knows, that every drop he swallows, is so much dishonestly taken from his wife and children; and, that, to satisfy his brutal propensity, they are deprived of the necessaries of life? Anecdote. Dr. Franklin. The following epitaph, was written by himself, many years previous to his death: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripp'd of its lettering and gilding,) lies here food for worms; yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, (as he believed,) appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author." He is a parricide to his mother's name, And with an impious hand murthers her fame, That wrongs the praise of women; that dares write Libels on saints, or with foul ink requite The milk they lent us. None think the great unhappy, but the great. of the latter. 5. Some professors of religion boast of their ignorance of science; and some wouldbe philosophers, treat with contempt, all truths, that are not mathematical, and derived from facts: which show the greatest folly? Effects of Success. If you would revenge yourself on those who have slighted you, be successful; it is a bitter satire on their want of judgment, to show that you can do without them,-a galling wound-to the self-love-of proud, inflated people; but you must reckon on their hatred, as they will never forgive you. VARIETIES. They never fail, who die The ocean,-when it rolls aloud, And everlasting mountains reel, Hath laid the leaf and blossom low; And Joy hath dash'd it from his crest, To wither on her wither'd breast. Laconics. 1. To devolve on science the du 506. COMMENDATION-is the expression of the approbation we have for any object, in which ties of religion, or on religion the duties of science, we find any congruity to our ideas of excellence, natural, or moral, so as to communicate pleasure: as it generally supposes superiority in the person commending, it assumes the aspect of love (but without desire and respect,) and expresses itself in a mild tone of voice, with a small degree of confidence; the arms are gently spread, the hands open, with the palms upwards, directed toward the person approved, and sometimes lifted up and down, as if pronouncing praise. You have done our pleasures very much grace, fair O good old man, how well in thee-appears Sweet-was the sound, when oft, at evening's close, is to bind together the living and the dead. 2. The prevailing error of our times is, the cultivation of the intellectual faculties, to the neglect of the moral faculties; when the former alone are develop'd, the child has acquired the means of doing good or evil-to himself, to society, to his country, or to the world; but practical goodness alone, can preserve the equilibrium. 3. Many persons have an unfortunate passion for inventing fictions, merely for the purpose of exciting amazement in their hearers. 4. Those who, without having sufficient knowledge of us, form an unfavorable opinion respecting us, do not injure us; they reflect on a pha ntom of their own imagination. The heart, like a tendril, accustomed to cling, Let it go where it will, cannot flourish alone; But will lean to the nearest, and loveliest thing, It can twine with itself, and make closely its own. Honor's a sacred tie, the law of kings, The noble mind's distinguishing perfection, That aids and strengthens virtue, where it meets her, And imitates her actions, where she is not. False honor, like a comet-blazes broad, But blazes for extinction. Real merit— Shines-like the eternal sun—to shine forever. No heart, and cannot feel; where'er she moves, It is in wrath; or pauses, 'tis in ruin : Her prayers-are curses; her communion-death; Eternity her vengeance; in the blood of her victims, Her red decalogue-is written- -(BIGOTRY.) She hath no head, and cannot think; she hath Of doing Injuries to Others. Propitious conscience, thou equitable and ready judge, be never absent from me! Tell me, constantly, that I cannot do the least injury to another, without receiving the counter-stroke; that I must necessarily wound myself, when I wound another. NATURE ALWAYS TRUE. Nature-never did betray The heart, that loved her! "Tis her privilege, Through all the years of this our life, to lead From joy to joy; for she can so inform The mind, that is within us, so impress, With quietness and beauty, and so feed With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues, Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men, The dreary intercourse of common life Nor greetings, where no kindness is, nor all Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb Our cheerful faith, that all that we behold Is full of blessings. Therefore, let the moon Shine on thee in thy solitary walk; And let the misty mountain winds be free To blow against thee; and, in after years, When these wild ecstasies shall be matured Into a sober pleasure; when thy mind Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms, Thy memory be a dwelling-place For all sweet sounds and harmonies, oh! then, If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief, Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts Of tender joy wilt thou remember me, And these my benedictions. S "You are welcome," said he, "my son here will show you where it is; no hand has touched it, but the one that covered it, that you might receive what you had lost." 508. THE PASSIONS. Plato calls the passions, | story of his loss, and when he had finished, the wings of the soul. According to this metaphor, a bird may be considered as the type of it; and, in applying this figure to the several characters of men, some are eagles, others are bats and owls; a few are swans, and many are geese; no phanix among them all. In another place, he styles the passions the chariot-horses of the soul; by which is implied, that though strong and fleet, they should be under command. COMPLAINING OF EXTREME PAIN. Search, there; nay, probe me; search my wounded Oh! I am shot! A forked burning arrow-- Laconics. 1. Owe nothing to your advancement, save your own unassisted exertions, if you would retain what you acquire. 2. When passion rules us, it deprives of reason, suspends the faculty of reflection, blinds the judgment, and precipitates us into acts of violence, or excesses; the consequences of which we may forever deplore. 3. With those who are of a gloomy turn of mind, be reserved; with the old, be serious; and with the young, be merry. 4. In forming matrimonial alliances, undue effort is made to reconcile everything relating to fortune, and family; but very little is paid to congeniality of dispositions, or accordance of hearts. 5. Moral knowledge is to be sought from the WORD of God; scientific knowledge from the works of God. 6. By union-the most trifling beginnings thrive and increase; by disunion--the most flourishing-fall to the ground. 7. Is not the union of CAPITAL, TALENT and LABOR, the SALVATION of the WORLD, temporally and spiritually? Why turnest thou from me? I'm alone Already, and to the seas complaining. What can thy imag'ry of sorrow mean? Secluded from the world, and all its care, Hast thou to grieve, or joy; to hope, or fear? Why should we anticipate our sorrows? 'Tis like those, who die-for fear of death. 509. CURIOSITY-opens the eyes and mouth, lengthens the neck, bends the body forward and fixes it in one posture, with the hands nearly as in admiration with astonishment: when it speaks, the voice, tone and gesture are nearly as in inqui-er-lame, were called to a distant place; but ry, which see; also Desire, Attention, Hope and Perplexity. CURIOSITY AT FIRST SEEING A FINE OBJECT. Varieties. 1. Good neighborhoods supply all wants; which may be thus illustrated. Two neighbors, one-blind and the oth how could they obey? The blind man carried the lame one, who directed the carrier where to go. Is not this a good illustration, Pros. The fringed curtains of thine eye advance, of faith and charity? Charity-acts, and And say what thou seest yonder. Mir. What! is't a spirit? Lo, how it looks about! believe, sir, It carries a brave form. But 'tis a spirit. faith-guides; i. e. the will-impels, and he understanding — directs. 2. Superficial writers, like the mole, often fancy themselves Pros. No, wench, it eats and sleeps, and hath deep, when they are exceeding near the As we have, such. Mir. I might call him A thing divine, for nothing natural, [such senses 510. DENYING--what is affirmed, is but an affirmation of the contrary, and is expressed like affirmation, pushing the open right hand from one, and turning the face another way. Denying a favor--see refusing, denying an accusation. "If I in act consent, or sin of thought, Be guilty-of stealing that sweet breath, Which was embounded in that beauteous clay, Let hell--want pains enough to torture me! I left him well. Anecdote. The Os-ti-ack Boy. A Russian surface. A dewy freshness fills the silent air, In full-orbed glory yonder moon divine The desert circle spreads, How beautiful is night! No station is in view, was traveling from Tobalsk to Reresow; and, Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky: Nor palm-grove islanded amid the waste. The widowed mother and the fatherless boy, Wander o'er the desert sands. tiack did not recognize him. He related the Delay--leads to impotent and snail pac'd beggary 511. DISMISSING-with approbation, is done Varieties. 1. The most disgusting vices-are with a kind aspect and tone of voice; the right often concealed under the fairest exterior. 2. A hand open and palm upward, gently raised to-knowledge of the human heart, is, by no means, wards the person: with displeasure-besides the look and tone of voice that suit displeasure, the hand is hastily thrown out towards the person dismissed, the back part of the hand towards him, and the countenance, at the same time, turned away from him. Chatillon says to king John: Then take my king's defiance from my mouth, K.J. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace: ING in sentiment, may be expressed nearly as Refusing, which see; and Agreeing in opinion, or being convinced, is expressed nearly as granting, which also see.DISTRACTION-Opens the eyes to a frightful wideness, rolls them hastily and wildly from object to object, distorts every feature; gnashes with the teeth; agitates all parts of the What folly can be ranker? like our shadows, detrimental to the love of all mankind. 3. One These, and a thousand mixed emotions more, For my past crimes-my forfeit life receive: The silver link, the silken tie, Which, HEART to HEART, and, MIND to MIND, Anecdote. Stan-is-laus, king of Poland, was driven from his dominion by Charles XII. of Sweden; he took refuge in Paris, where he was supported at the expense of the court of France. Some person complained to the duke of Orleans, (then regent,) of the great expense of the exiled monarch, and wished that he should be desired to leave. The duke nobly replied: "Sir, France has ever been, and I trust ever will be, the refuge of unfortunate princes; and I shall not permit it to be violated, when so excellent a prince as the king of Poland comes to claim it." The winds And rolling waves, the sun's unwearied course, He meant, he made us-to behold, and love, 513. EXHORTING, OF ENCOURAGING. is earnest persuasion, attended with confidence of success; the voice has the softness of love, intermixed with the firmness of courage; the arms are sometimes spread, with the hands open, as entreating; occasionally the right hand is lifted up, and struck rapidly down, as enforcing what is said. In a general, at the head his army, it requires a kind, complacent look, unless matters of offence have passed, as neglect of duty, &c. But wherefore do you droop? Why look you sad? Be stirring with the time; be fire—with fire ; Extremes. The sublime of nature is the sky, sun, moon, stars, &c. The profound of nature, is, gold, pearls, precious stones, and the treasures of the deep, which are inestimable as unknown. But all that lies between these, as corn, flowers, fruits, animals, and things for the mere use of man, are of mean price, and so common, as not to be greatly esteemed by the curious; it being certain, that any thing of which we know the true use cannot be invaluable: which affords a solution, why common sense hath either been totally despised, or held in small repute, by the greatest modern critics and authors. Varieties. 1. The arts are divided into the useful, and the polite, the fine, and the elegant; some are for use, and others for pleasure; Elocution is of a mixed nature, in which use and beauty are of nearly co-equal influence; manner being as important as matter, or more so. 2. Our government, is a government of laws, not of men; but it will lose this character, if the laws furnish no remedy for the violation of vested rights. 3. Nature has given us two eyes and two ears, and but one tongue; that we should see and hear more than we speak. 4. The weariness of study is removed by loving it, and valuing the results for their uses. 5. The three kingdoms of nature, are the Mineral, the Vegetable, and the Animal: minerals are destitute of organization and life; 514. FAINTING-produces a sudden relaxation of all that holds the human frame together-every sinew and ligament unstrung; the color flies from the vermillion cheek, the sparkling eye grows dim; down the body drops, as helpless and senseless as a mass of clay, to which it seems hasten-vegetables, or plants, are endowed with organizaing to resolve itself. And lo! sad partner of the genial care, Can snore upon the flint, when rusty sloth, ADDRESSED TO AN OFFICER IN THE ARMY. OH, that the muse might call, without offence, Her fix'd and wand'ring stars the azure sky; tion and life, but are destitute of voluntary motion How vain all outward effort to supply |