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The more a man speaks of himself, the less he likes to hear another talked of.

Nothing more strongly inculcates resignation, than the experience of our own inability to guide ourselves.

The friendships of the world can subsist no longer than interest cements them.

Expect no more from the world than it is able to afford you.

RULE XIII.

He who is a stranger to industry may possess, but he cannot enjoy.

Contrition, though it may melt, ought not to sink or overpower, the heart of a Christian.

The goods of this world were given to man for his occasional refreshment, not for his chief felicity.

It is the province of superiors to direct, of inferiors, to obey; of the learned, to be instructive, of the ignorant, to be docile; of the old, to be communicative, of the young, to be advisable and diligent.

Though unavoidable calamities make a part, yet they make not the chief part, of the vexations and sorrows that distress human life.

An inquisitive and meddling spirit often interrupts the good order, and breaks the peace of society,

RULE XIV.

Vice is not of such a nature that we can say to it, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further."

One of the noblest of the Christian virtues is, "to love our enemies."

Many too confidently say to themselves, "My mountain stands strong, and shall never be moved."

We are strictly enjoined, "not to follow a multitude to do evil."

RULE XV.

The gentle mind is like the smooth stream, which reflects every object in its just proportion, and in its fairest colours. Beware of those rash and dangerous connexions, which may afterwards load thee with dishonour.

Blind must that man be, who discerns not the most striking marks of a Divine government, exercised over the world. It is labour only which gives the relish to pleasure.

In that unaffected civility which springs from a gentle mind, there is an incomparable charm.

They who raise envy, will easily incur censure.

Many of the evils which occasion our complaints of the world, are wholly imaginary.

He who is good before invisible witnesses, is eminently so before the visible.

His conduct, so disinterested and generous, was universally approved.

RULE XVI.

The fumes which arise from a heart boiling with violent passions, never fail to darken and trouble the understanding. If we delay till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day, we overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not

to it.

By whatever means we may at first attract the attention, we

can hold the esteem, and secure the hearts of others, only by amiable dispositions, and the accomplishments of the mind. If the mind sow not corn, it will plant thistles.

One day is sufficient to scatter our prosperity, and bring it to nought.

Graceful in youth, is the tear of sympathy, and the heart that melts at the tale of wo.

The ever active and restless power of thought, if not employed about what is good, will naturally and unavoidably engender evil.

He who formed the heart certainly knows what passes within it.

To be humble and modest in opinion, to be vigilant and attentive in conduct, to distrust fair appearances, and to restrain rash desires, are instructions which the darkness of our present state should strongly inculcate.

RULE XVII.

The greatest misery is, to be condemned by our own hearts. The greatest misery that we can endure, is, to be condemned by our own hearts.

Charles's highest enjoyment was, to relieve the distressed, and to do good.

The highest enjoyment that Charles ever experienced, was, to relieve the distressed, and to do good.

RULE XVIII.

If opulence increases our gratifications, it increases, in the same proportion, our desires and demands.

He whose wishes, respecting the possessions of this world, are the most reasonable and bounded, is likely to lead the safest, and, for that reason, the most desirable life.

By aspiring too high, we frequently miss the happiness, which, by a less ambitious aim, we might have gained.

By proper management, we prolong our time; we live more, in a few years, than others do in many.

In your most secret actions, suppose that you have all the world for witnesses.

In youth, the habits of industry are most easily acquired. What is the right path, few take the trouble of inquiring.

RULE XIX.

Providence never intended, that any state here should be either completely happy, or entirely miserable.

As a companion, he was severe and satirical; as a friend, captious and dangerous; in his domestic sphere, harsh, jealous, and irascible.

If the Spring put forth no blossoms, in Summer there will be no beauty, and in Autumn, no fruit. So, if youth be trifled away without improvement, manhood will be contemptible, and old age, miserable.

RULE XX.

Be assured then, that order, frugality, and economy, are the necessary supports of every personal and private virtue.

I proceed, secondly, to point out the proper state of our temper, with respect to one another.

Here, every thing is in stir and fluctuation; there, all is serene, steady, and orderly.

!

I shall make some observations, first, on the external, and next, upon the internal, condition of man.

Sometimes, timidity and false shame prevent our opposing vicious customs; frequently, expectation and interest impel us strongly to comply.

CHAPTER II.

Containing insertions of the Semicolon and Comma.

Grammar, p. 264

Exercises, p. 149.

That darkness of character, where we can see no heart; those foldings of heart, through which no native affection is allowed to penetrate; present an object, unamiable in every season of life, but particularly odious in youth.

To give an early preference to honour above gain, when they stand in competition; to despise every advantage which cannot be attained without dishonest arts; to brook no meanness, and to stoop to no dissimulation; are the indications of a great mind, the presages of future eminence and usefulness in life.

As there is a worldly happiness, which God perceives to be no other than disguised misery; as there are worldly honours, which, in his estimation, are reproach; so there is a worldly wisdom, which, in his sight, is foolishness.

The passions are the chief destroyers of our peace; the storms and tempests of the moral world.

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