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have a good night's rest. Blessed Spirit, deign to prepare my heart for the morrow: favor us with such a view of the Saviour's glories as shall overwhelm us with love and gratitude! May self be subdued at the foot of the cross to rise no more; there may our souls find a settled peace! May temptations lose their power, while we are enabled to praise the Lord, and go forward!

It is time to prepare for the solemnities of the morrow; to dismiss worldly thoughts, and contemplate my approaching duties. First, I am to instruct the children; let me seek to have my mind deeply impressed with the value of their souls; let me pray fervently for wisdom to communicate instruction with cheerfulness, affection, and simplicity, remembering that my utmost efforts can avail nothing without the divine blessing. Next, I am to hear the word of God; and since I stand in so much need of instruction, let me endeavor to hear with greater attention and prayerfulness. But this is not all; I am about to attend that ordinance which, above all others, has a tendency to subdue the powerful corruptions of my nature. Blessed Spirit, condescend to prepare me, by thy special influence, for these important solemnities.

Saturday morning. The Sabbath will shortly be here; how ought I to prepare for it? By fervent prayer, holy ineditation, and leaving nothing undone of a worldly nature that would molest me. Is this, then, how I ought to prepare for the day of rest? Alas, how little I meditate! and when I attempt it, what disinclination I sometimes feel! O for repentance when I consider the past, and deep spirituality for the future. Amen.

How distressing to hear of the beauties of Jesus with eyes almost closed to them, and a heart, in a great measure, indifferent to his excellences! My fears at present rise high; but I know Jehovah is gracious and full of compassion. May we at all times practically believe it.

What cause have we as a church for thankfulness! Let me be careful that I am not satisfied with belonging to a prosperous body, without being myself in a flourishing condition.

O that I had but a right view of the character of Jehovah! I have been distressed all this day for the want of it.

In what a variety of ways may our comfort be destroyed; and when the mind is uncomfortable from outward circumstances, it is frequently unfitted for devotion, and thus spiritual troubles enter. What should we do at such times without the assurance that Jehovah constantly watches over us, and is never at a loss to accomplish our deliver

ance?

When Jehovah does not see fit to fulfil our wishes, how thankful we ought to be for any degree of acquiescence in his will.

This morning I enjoyed much in prayer, but alas! I soon found that spiritual pride had crept in. How transporting it is to think of being for ever free from sin! Ŏ that I may not fall short of that happiness!

Quite in a low mood this morning. I was thinking that I should always be the subject of sorrow. I took up a book, and in that I read an account of a singular turn of Providence for an individual, in raising her from sorrow to joy. Tais just suited my imagination, and I fell into a sleep, and dreamed of uninterrupted happiness. How great is my folly in both these instances. Why do I think so much of present things which are all uncertain, and so little of those which endure for ever? Nothing can ease a sorrowful heart like confidence in Jehovah.

How necessary does affliction seem to my real welfare. If things appear to be for a short

time calm and fair, how ready am I to indulge in visionary schemes; and then I require something to awake me. When shall I learn to live, and think, and speak as a Christian! I do not quite despair of this, because God has promised to complete his work; but I fear, lest I should be still slow to learn. - I find in myself too great a desire to justify my conduct when any little fault is pointed out to me. Let me not only aim in future to discover my weak side, but when discovered, to set a double watch on it.

Jan. 1814. When languor of body and mind come together, they increase each other. O for faith to pray for the removal of these dark clouds, and then for patience to wait the Lord's time for an answer! If I could but feel as I wish under afflictions, then-but ah, I do not! O for faith to confide in Jehovah! We have just received a letter which says, that yesterday there was a little alteration for the better in our dear friend. This is a cause for lively gratitude. Whatever Jehovah sends to his people must be for the best, therefore it should quell every tumult of our minds to know "It is the Lord." With him too all things are possible. He can speedily restore health when he has taken it away. But I am afraid our hopes have not much foundation in this instance. O for proper feelings under this trial, and for wisdom so to conduct myself, as to mitigate in some small measure the acute sufferings of —. Help me, Lord, to banish from my spirit whatever is trivial, and combine all my sympathies with his—————

How hard it is to possess all that sympathy and solicitude for those we love which is desirable, and yet to be careful for nothing. Great have been the anxieties of the past week; but it is gone, and probably the circumstances of the next may almost obliterate them from my recollection.

In the same manner the anxieties of time will soon close, and be succeeded by the unalterable joys or sorrows of eternity! Why, then, am I discouraged with a few difficulties? Why this deep concern for present happiness, and comparative insensibility to the future?

I feel that trials are hardly worth the name, when we have those with us who bear the heaviest half.

How anxious we should be for a sense of the divine forgiveness while in health, that when we are called to suffer and die, we may not have the consolations of religion to seek.

A simple and active dependance on the Saviour is the great object of Christian experience. May my trials be sanctified to this end, and then I shall glory in tribulation.

How delightful it must be to contemplate the perfections of Jehovah, and to have the heart filled with his love! To be for ever exploring the mysteries of Providence and redemption. Let me accustom myself to these employments now.

If we commenced the journey of life with opposite feelings to those which are commonly excited, how much disappointment should we escape! It is in vain that we anticipate an Eden in the wilderness!

I have deeply to lament my want of solemnity in the service of God. There is great danger of resembling the children of Israel, who thought lightly of the manna, because it fell in such abundance.

I was much struck to-day with the life of Hannibal. How affecting it would be to trace the decline and fall of empires, did we not know that there is one which cannot be shaken, and that it is in subordination to this kingdom that every other is giving way.

O for such vigorcus, constant, and glowing | culcation of right principles, and how desirable it love to the Redeemer, as shall put our doubts com- is that parents should concur in this great work. pletely to flight! 7. This day has passed as most of my days have recently done, without doing any thing worth relating. It is proper, however, to distinguish between inability and disinclination. It is painful when Providence excludes us from activity, but it is only sinful when we exclude ourselves. When Providence interposes, it may probably be to prepare us eventually for greater good. Let me not, therefore, give way to discouraging thoughts, but endeavor to improve my afflictions so as to be the better for them; and while I am limited to a narrow sphere of exertion, let me be doubly careful to seize those trifling opportunities of glorifying God, which I may once have overlooked.

We should not be contented with looking at ourselves; let us attentively examine the condition of others. Who is there I can cheer by my sympathy, uphold by my charity, strengthen by my assistance, or relieve by my prayers? O for the Spirit of Christ to rest upon me! My dear * * still promises fairly, but I want to see more decision of character. Our servants attend the means of grace, but I want them to feel more interested in their privileges. The dear children committed to my care are not so serious as I wish them to be. Let me aim to bless silently by my prayers, and wherever I can, let me second those prayers by my exertions.

When the love of Jesus fills the heart, there is nothing too hard to be endured. May this holy principle pervade my bosom! then I shall not only be ready to make great sacrifices occasionally, but be continually sacrificing my own will and desires. The love of Jesus affects me little; but my mind is continually harassed with the idea of eternal punishment. O that God would prevent me from indulging hard thoughts of himself.

8. A lady and gentleman came to tea; they were strangers to me, but from every one we may learn something. In one of these persons, I saw a pattern of deep humility and deadness to the world. The other reminded me, that by nature we are without God.

11. How necessary it is to fulfil the duties of each day as they occur.

12. Walked to Enfield. Saw some dear little ones at school. Could not help thinking of the suHow thankful we ought to be, that the pre-perior advantages of private education in early sent state supplies such a mixture of pain and plea- life. How surprising it is, that mothers can so sure. Were it always painful, life would soon be easily banish their offspring, rather than enjoy the useless and insupportable; were it always pleasant, felicity of teaching them with their own hands. we should consider death rather as an enemy than a friend. It is every thing to feel that the sorrows and uncertainties of the present state are overruled to fix our affections on the delightful realities of the

next.

May I never sink below an humble reliance on the Saviour, nor be ever tempted to raise above it!

Oct. 1817. As I was walking along the road indulging in revery, I was suddenly affected by the distress of a paralytic. A brutal man was amusing himself with her awkwardness. Poor thing, her sufferings roused me to a sense of my own mercies. 30. The illness of my friend confines me to the house. O it is a luxury to be permitted in any way to contribute to the comfort of others.

Nov. Nature has lost her verdure, but the husbandman does not sit down in despair. On the contrary, he redoubles his exertions. Surely his example deserves my imitation.

3. The morning of this day was very wet and gloomy. I had no idea of its turning out fine. About two, however, the clouds were dispersed, the sun shone out in all his glory, and it was a most delightful evening. From this let me learn not to despair. However dark and gloomy the morning of life, yet the evening may be serene, peaceful, and happy.

ness.

4. This morning I awoke praying against selfishO that this may not only be my sleeping, but my waking prayer! I walked out in the morning, but had occasion to regret that it was not a walk of usefulness. How desirable it is to pass each day worthy of an immortal being.

5. Attended the Missionary Prayer Meeting. There was not that deep feeling for the poor heathen which I wished to have witnessed; still, however, there was enough to reprove me.

6. I have been pleased to-day with reading a short tale, entitled "The Governess," not only because it corresponded with my own views of education, but because it supplied me with some valuable hints. The more I see of children, the more I feel the great importance of early cultivation. How necessary is the formation of good habits with the in

14. Less time than usual for reading. The older I grow, the more anxiety I feel for mental improvement; but I must beware of impatience even here.

We have just established a working school in connection with our Sabbath day instructions. What dispositions of mind should I labor after in this undertaking?

An intense desire to promote the glory of Jeho

vah.

Tenderest pity for souls.

A deep sense of my infinite obligations to Almighty love, for making me a partaker of the blessings of redemption.

A lively feeling of my entire dependance on the divine blessing.

A fervent spirit of prayer.

Great watchfulness, and an affecting sense of the infinite value of an immortal spirit.

Behold the sea and the dry land; the mountains filled with treasures, and the valleys covered with the richest produce. The stars twinkling in the firmament, and the moon walking in all her quiet radiance. Behold too the meridian sun, riding in all his glorious majesty, imparting life, and light, and heat to the whole creation; and when thou hast beheld, and admired, and extolled these works of an Almighty hand, remember they are nothing, absolutely nothing, to one immortal spirit!

Turn from the contemplation of nature to Calvary, and while thou beholdest the dying agonies of the Redeemer-while thou hearest his groanswhile thou art catching that expiring exclamation, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me," learn, if thou canst, the value of one soul!

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Let me inquire, in the next place, what encou ragements I have.

God has commanded the use of means.
God has blessed these means.
God has given me a spirit of prayer.
God has promised to answer prayer.
God has repeatedly said, that nothing done from
love to him shall lose its reward.

This is a period when our efforts to promote the Redeemer's cause are likely to be attended with peculiar success.

THE END.

THE GARDENER AND ROSE TREE.

"In a sweet spot which Wisdom chose, Grew an unique and lovely Rose; A flow'r so fair was seldom borne

A Rose almost without a thorn.
Each passing stranger stop'd to view
A plant possessing charms so new:
'Sweet Flow'r!' each lip was heard to say-
Nor less the Owner pleased than they;
Rear'd by his hand with constant care,
And planted in his choice parterre,
Of all his garden this the pride,
No flower so much admired beside.

"Nor did the rose unconscious bloom,
Nor feel ungrateful for the boon,
Oft as her guardian came that way,
Whether at dawn or eve of day,
Expanded wide-her form unveil'd,
She double fragrance then exhal'd.

"As months rolled on, the spring appear'd,

Its genial rays the Rose matur'd;
Forth from its root a shoot extends-
The parent Rose-tree downward bends,
And with a joy unknown before,
Contemplates the yet embryo flow'r.

"Offspring most dear (she fondly said,) 'Part of myself! beneath my shade, 'Safe shalt thou rise, whilst happy I, Transported with maternal joy, 'Shall see thy little buds appear, 'Unfold and bloom in beauty here. 'What though the Lily, or Jonquil, 'Or Hyacinth no longer fill

" The space around me-All shall be Abundantly made up in thee. 'What though my present charms decay, 'And passing strangers no more say 'Of me, 'Sweet flower!' yet thou shalt raise 'Thy blooming head, and gain the praise; And this reverberated pleasure 'Shall be to me a world of treasure. 'Cheerful I part with former merit, "That it my darling may inherit.

'Haste then the hours which bid thee bloom, 'And fill the zephyrs with perfume!'

"Thus had the Rose-tree scarcely spoken,
Ere the sweet cup of bliss was broken-
The Gard'ner came, and with one stroke
He from the root the offspring took;
Tock from the soil wherein it grew,
And hid it from the parent's view.

"Judge ye who know a mother's cares
For the dear tender babe she bears,
The parent's anguish-ye alone
Such sad vicissitudes have known.

"Deep was the wound; nor slight the pain Which made the Rose-tree thus complain;

"Dear little darling! art thou gone'Thy charms scarce to thy mother known! Remov'd so soon !--So suddenly, Snatch'd from my fond maternal eye!

A FABLE.

'What hast thou done?-dear offspring! say, 'So early to be snatch'd away!

'What! gone for ever!-seen no more! 'For ever I thy loss deplore.

'Ye dews descend, with tears supply
'My now for ever tearful eye;

'Or rather come some northern blast,
'Dislodge my yielding roots in haste.
'Whirlwinds arise-my branches tear,
And to some distant regions bear

'Far from this spot, a wretched mother,
'Whose fruit and joys are gone together.'

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"As thus the anguish'd Rose-tree cry'd,
Her owner near her she espy'd;
Who in these gentle terms reprov'd
A plant, though murm'ring, still belov'd:-

"Cease, beauteous flow'r these useless cries, 'And let my lessons make thee wise. 'Art thou not mine? Did not my hand

Transplant thee from the barren sand 'Where once a mean unsightly plant, Expos'd to injury and want, 'Unknown, and unadmir'd, I found,

And brought thee to this fertile ground; 'With studious art improv'd thy form, Secur'd thee from the inclcment storm, And through the seasons of the year, 'Made thee my unabating care? 'Hast thou not blest thy happy lot, In such an owner-such a spot? But now because thy shoot I've taken, 'Thy best of friends must be forsaken. Know flow'r belov'd, e'en this affliction 'Shall prove to thee a benediction: 'Had I not the young plant remov'd, '(So fondly by thy heart belov'd)

'Of me thy heart would scarce have thought, 'With gra itude no more be fraught: '-Yea-thy own beauty be at stake Surrender'd for thy offspring's sake. 'Nor think, that, hidden from thine eyes, 'The infant plant neglected lies'No-I've another garden where 'In richer soil and purer air 'It's now transplanted, there to shine, 'In beauties fairer far than thine.

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"Nor shalt thou always be apart 'From the dear darling of thy heart 'For 'tis my purpose thee to bear

'In future time, and plant thee there, Where thy now absent off-set grows, . 'And blossoms a CELESTIAL Rose.

'Be patient, then, till that set hour shall come, 'When thou and thine shall in new beauties bloom 'No more its absence shalt thou then deplore, 'Together grow, and ne'er be parted more.'

"These words to silence hush'd the plaintive Rose,

With deeper blushes redd'ning now she glows,
Submissive bow'd her unrepining head,
Again her wonted, grateful fragrance shed-
Cry'd, 'Thou hast taken only what's thine own,
"Therefore, thy will, my Lord, not mine, be done.""

+

AND OTHER SUBJECTS.

BY BLAISE PASCAL.

A NEW TRANSLATION, AND

A MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE.

BY THE REV. EDWARD CRAIG, A. M. OXON.

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PREFACE.

THE original manuscripts of Mons. Pascal's Thoughts are deposited in the Royal Library of Paris. They were in the library of the Abbey of St. Germain des Pres, but having been saved from the fire in the year 1794, which consumed that building, they were deposited where they now lie. They are arranged in one large folio volume; and there is with them a copy, made at the time of printing the first edition of the work, most probably by M. Guerrier, a Benedictine monk, which very materially assists the reading of the original; but even with this aid, the difficulty is not small.

When the MM. de Port Royal published their edition in 1670, they adopted an arrangement of the Thoughts into chapters, which was still very imperfect; and according to this arrangement, many other editions were published both in France and Holland. In the year 1776, Condorcet published an edition with notes, which, though better in the arrangement, was only a selection of about half the original Thoughts, such, in fact, as might answer his nefarious purpose of blunting the edge of Pascal's masterly arguments against infidelity; and by corrupting the text, and exposing it to ridicule in his comments, bringing his authority as a writer on the side of truth, into contempt. With this view, he appended to his edition a series of notes, of the profanity and wickedness of which, there can now be but one opinion. Some of these notes were Voltaire's; but two years afterwards, Voltaire published an edition of his own, with additional notes by himself, equally objectionable. In these editions, many of the Thoughts are mutilated and altered from the original text, to suit the particular purpose of these infidel writers, and almost all of them, on which any remark is made, are attacked by their keen and biting sarcasm.

Up to this period, therefore, no complete edition of the Pensees had appeared; but in the year 1779, an edition of the whole works of Pascal was sent forth, edited by M. Bossut. He had no occasion to leave out those passages, which the earlier editors withheld from fear of the Jesuits; and he had no wish to follow the dishonorable example of the two infidel philosophers. He printed, therefore, every thing which he could find, adding a number of Thoughts from the Histoire de Literature, of the Pere Desmolets, and collating the whole with the original papers. He adopted, in some measure, the order which Condorcet had chosen, but not without some improvements. Since then, two small editions of the Thoughts, with a few additional gleanings, were issued by M. Renouard, in the years 1803 and 1812; and in the year 1819, a very complete edition of the whole works was printed at Paris, the editor of which professes to have availed himself of every advantage which the labors of his predecessors set before him. From the text of this last edition, the present translation is made.

The translator is only aware of two English translations of the Thoughts being in existence. Neither of these is complete. They are both made from copies of the work, earlier than the edition of Bossut. One of them is a very antiquated version;

and the other is little more than a reprint of it, a little modernized in the style of expression, together with a few additional Thoughts. Many of the passages in both these, are so very ill rendered, as to convey no definite meaning whatever.

A fresh and a complete translation of the whole of the published Thoughts became desirable, that Pascal might be really known in this country to the English reader, according to his real merits. As far as the moral and religious Thoughts extended, this has been now attempted.

To translate Thoughts so inaccurately and imperfectly expressed as many of these are, and to give a close and literal rendering that would, at the same time, convey the sense, which, in the original, is really in some instances enigmatical and ques tionable, was a task of serious difficulty. The translator does not profess to have accomplished this. If he has done something towards the ultimate attainment of such a faithful version of this valuable book, he will feel thankful. And in the mean time, he will readily avail himself of the critical remarks of those who may differ from him, as to his conception of the author's idea in any place, with a view to reconsider the passage, in case the work should ever reach another edition. He has certainly not satisfied himself.

The first three chapters of the original work have been left out, as not being connected immediately with its general object. And the translator does not hesitate to avow, that he has withheld a few passages, which occur occasionally, on the subject of the peculiar tenets of the Romish Church because he did not feel warranted, by the mere wish to record faithfully in a translation, all the sentiments of an author, to circulate what he believes to be dangerous error, and which, from the strength and accuracy of other statements among which it was found, might lead some weak minds astray. Had the task of original publication devolved on him, he would have felt differently: for it is right that every man should have a fair opportunity of giving his opinions to the world. But in making a translation for the benefit of a subsequent age, it is perfectly equitable to select that which common consent has stamped with its approbation, and to leave out the few remains of prejudice and unscriptural opinion, which might borrow, from the sanction of such a name, an influence that thev ought not to have.

Finally, the translator does not hesitate to say, that the intervals of time, which the duties of an active pastoral charge allowed him to give to this work, and to the meditations which its pages suggested, have been among the happiest and most gratifying portions of his life; and, that if this ver sion, though imperfect, shall afford even a moderate share of such gratification to those readers who are shut out from the pages of the original, or shall lead others to seek for that pleasure in the original text, he will have realized an ample reward.

GREAT KING STREET EDINBURGH,}

1st June, 1825.

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