Such a picture of conduct will at once present a clear idea to the mind of the reader;-it will call him to the pursuit of an excellence, which is quite attainable, which is, in itself, of great beauty and interest, and from the prosecution of which there will result, instead of the disheartening and perplexing feelings which are attached to the pursuit of a merely abstract virtue, a constant succession of cheerful and animating emotions derived from the consciousness of the value of the object on which our labours are expended, and from the delightful satisfaction, that, in pursuit of that object, we have before us an advantage which can be attained,— and which, amidst all the varying events of life, we may be actually realizing.

With the view of exhibiting such a picture of a good life, the Author means to take the conduct of one day as his fundamental conception,-showing what are the natural expressions given to the different parts of a day by Nature herself,-and what is the corresponding style of conduct, by the exhibition of which man should accommodate himself to the intimations of Nature.

This fundamental conception will be afterwards varied by rules appropriate to the changing incidents which give to different days a character and expression in some degree distinct from that of the more ordinary tenor of life.

This will be followed by some observations illustrative of the character of human life in general,— and fitted, it is hoped, to suggest important rules of conduct to those who are anxious to act up to the dignity of their place in life. Some important reflections will naturally occur in this part of the discourse, respecting the peculiar character of both the happiness and the virtue which are competent to man, as an inhabitant of this apparently mixed department of the Divine dominions. The difference between the Christian idea of a perfect man,—and that which was in use among the philosophers of ancient times, will naturally draw our attention ;and the treatise will be concluded by some remarks on the connexion which subsists between this outer court of the vast Temple of Nature, and the more august and enduring interests of that part of it which to us is but shadowed out by the objects and events of time.

The Author has now only to observe, that the

idea of taking the conduct of a day as the fundamental conception of this portion of his Work,-is not peculiar to him, though he intends his illustrations to be managed on a plan of his own. The ancient Pythagoreans,-and the monkish orders of the middle ages, both proposed rules of conduct founded on the same primary conception;—but to the productions of both of these the following observations seem to be applicable :

The precepts of Pythagoras were intended for a philosophic sect of a very peculiar character,―aimed at forming a style of conduct not entitled to the appellation of natural,—and, at all events, were too rigid and uniform to be capable of application to the living and constantly-changing interests of human life.

The monkish rules, also, were too particular,―too monotonous, that is to say,-too much founded on an idea, that all days might be conducted on one plan, they were also constructed with a view to the use of persons who had the disposal of their time almost entirely at their own choice,—and, above all, they aimed almost solely at the formation of a religious or devotional character.

The purpose of the Author is different in all these

respects. He wishes his directions to be not particular but general;—so that they may be capable of being varied, and adapted in their applications to the infinite diversity of circumstances amidst which life is constantly placing the various individuals of mankind. He wishes, in short, rather to offer a general idea of what a good life should be, than to give particular rules for all the changing incidents of life; --and, especially, he is anxious that his scheme of conduct may be so constructed as to admit the most ordinary duties of life into the character of services done to God.

DESCRIPTION OF A WELL-SPENT DAY.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE DIFFERENT SEASONS OF THE DAY.

IT deserves to be remarked, that Nature herself has affixed a distinct character to the different portions of the day, which no attentive mind can altogether overlook,—and which seems to point out, in a very interesting manner, the duties appropriate to these different portions.

Thus, the characteristics of the morning are stillness, freshness,-renovated strength,—and a reawakening, as it were, of the energies of Nature to a new course of action and of enjoyment.

It has been finely said, that, as human life has been so constituted, that every human being who is born into the world, is, in one sense," the first man' to himself, and looks upon Nature with the same