Philip III. king of Spain when he drew near the end of his days seriously reflecting on his past life and greatly affected with the remembrance of his mispent time expressed his deep regret in these terms "Ah! how happy would it have been for me had I spent in retirement these twenty-three years that I have possessed my kingdom." Often is the smile of gaiety assumed whilst the heart aches within though folly may laugh guilt will sting. There is no mortal truly wise and restless at once wisdom is the repose of minds. CHAP. IV. Sentences which require the insertion of the Period, &c.* Grammar, p. 242. Key, p. 97. THE absence of Evil is a real Good Peace Quiet exemption from pain should be a continual feast Worldly happiness ever tends to destroy itself by corrupting the heart It fosters the loose and the Violent passions It engenders noxious habits and taints the mind with false Delicacy which makes it feel a Thousand unreal Evils Feeding the hungry clothing the Naked comforting the afflicted yield more pleasure than we receive from those actions which respect only Ourselves Benevo lence may in this view be termed the most refined selflove. The Resources of Virtue remain entire when the Days of trouble come They remain with us in Sickness as in Health in Poverty as in the midst of Riches in our dark and solitary Hours no less than when surrounded with friends and cheerful Society The mind As every learner is supposed to know, that the first word in a sentence must have a capital letter, there would be little exercise of his judg. ment, in applying the period, if no words were distinguished by capital letters, but such as propriety required. The compiler has, therefore, in this and the following chapters, affixed capitals to many words, which should properly begin with small letters. This method, besides the use chiefly intended, will also serve to exercise the student in the proper application of capital letters. of a good man is a kingdom to him and he can always enjoy it We ruin the Happiness of life when we attempt to raise it too high A tolerable and comfortable State is all that we can propose to ourselves on Earth Peace and Contentment not Bliss nor Transport are the full Portion of Man Perfect joy is reserved for Heaven. If we look around us we shall perceive that the Whole Universe is full of Active Powers Action is indeed the Genius of Nature by Motion and exertion the System of being is preserved in vigour by its different parts always acting in Subordination one to another the Perfection of the Whole is carried on The Heavenly Bodies perpetually revolve Day and Night incessantly repeat their appointed course Continual operations are going on in the Earth and in the Water Nothing stands still. Constantine the Great was advanced to the sole Dominion of the Roman World A D 325 and soon after openly professed the Christian Faith. The letter concludes with this Remarkable Postscript "PS Though I am innocent of the Charge and have been bitterly persecuted yet I cordially forgive my Enemies and Persecutors' The last Edition of that valuable Work was carefully compared with the Original MS CHAP. V. Sentences requiring the application of the Dash; of the Notes of Interrogation and Exclamation; and of the Parenthetical characters. Grammar, p. 243. Key, p. 99. BEAUTY and Strength combined with Virtue and Piety how lovely in the sight of men how pleasing to Heaven peculiarly pleasing because with every Temptation to deviate they voluntarily walk in the Path of Duty. Something there is more needful than expense And something previous e'en to taste 'tis sense "I'll live to-morrow" will a wise man say Gripus has long been ardently endeavouring to fill his Chest and lo it is now full is he happy and does he use it Does he gratefully think of the Giver of all good Things Does he distribute to the Poor Alas these Interests have no Place in his breast. What is there in all the pomp of the world the Enjoyments of Luxury the Gratification of Passion conparable to the tranquil Delight of a good Conscience. To lie down on the Pillow after a Day spent in Temperance in beneficence and in piety how sweet is it We wait till to-morrow to be Happy alas Why not to-day Shall we be younger Are we sure we shall be healthier Will our passions become feebler and our love of the world less What shadow can be more vain than the life of a great Part of Mankind Of all that eager and bustling Crowd which we behold on Earth how few discover the path of true Happiness How few can we find whose Activity has not been misemployed and whose Course terminates not in Confessions of Disappoint ments On the one Hand are the Divine Approbation and immortal Honour on the other remember and beware are the stings of Conscience and endless Infamy As in riper Years all unseasonable Returns to the Levity of Youth ought to be avoided an Admonition which equally belongs to both the Sexes still mo e are we to guard against those intemperate Indulgences of Pleasure to which the young are unhappily prone The bliss of man could pride that blessing find Lent Heav'n a parent to the poor and me CHAP. VI. Promiscuous examples of defective Punctuation. SECT. I. EXAMPLES IN PROSE. See the Key, p. 100. WHEN Socrates was asked what man approached the nearest to perfect happiness he answered That Man who has the fewest wants She who studies her glass neglects her heart Between Passion and Lying there is not a Finger's breadth The freer we feel ourselves in the Presence of others the more free are they he who is free makes free Addison has remarked with equal Piety and Truth that the Creation is a perpetual Feast to the Mind of a Good Man. He who shut out all evasion when he promises loves truth The laurels of the Warrior are dyed in Blood and bedewed with the Tears of the Widow and the Orphan Between Fame and true Honour a Distinction is to be made The former is a loud and noisy Applause the latter a more silent and internal Homage Fame floats on the breath of the Multitude Honour rests on the Judgment of the Thinking Fame may give Praise while it withholds Esteem true Honour implies Esteem mingled with respect The one regards Particular distinguished Talents the other looks up to the whole character There is a certain species of religion if we can give it that Name which is placed wholly in Speculation and Belief in the Regularity of external Homage or in fiery Zeal about contested Opinions Xenophanes who was reproached with being timorous because he would not venture his Money in a Game of Dice made this manly and sensible Reply I confess I am exceedingly timorous for I dare not commit an evil Action He loves nobly I speak of Friendship who is not jealous when he has Partners of love Our happiness consists in the pursuit much more than in the Attainment of any Temporal Good Let me repeat it He only is Great who has the Habits of Greatness Prosopopoeia or Personification is a Rhetorical Figure by which we attribute Life and Action to inanimate objects as the Ground thirsts for Rain the Earth smiles with Plenty The proper and rational Conduct of Men with Regard to Futurity is regulated by two Considerations First that much of What it contains must remain to us absolutely Unknown Next that there are also some Events in it which may be certainly known and fore seen The Gardens of the World produce only deciduous flowers Perennial ones must be sought in the Delightful Regions Above Roses without Thorns are the growth of Paradise alone. How many rules and maxims of Life might be spared could we fix a principle of Virtue within and inscribe the living Sentiment of the love of God in the affections He who loves righteousness is Master of all the distinctions in Morality He was from the Benignty of his Nature erected this world for the abode of Men He who furnished it so richly for our accommodation and stored it with so much Beauty for our Entertainment He who since first we entered into Life hath followed us with such a Variety of Mercies this Amiable and Beneficent Being surely can have no pleasure in our Disappointment and distress He knows our Frame he remembers we are dust and looks to frail Man we are assured with such Pity as a Father beareth to his children. |