For the same reason have a care of trifling with things important and momentous, or of sporting with things awful and sacred. Do not indulge a spirit of ridicule, as some witty men do, on all occasions and subjects. This will as unhappily bias the judgment on the other side, and incline you to pass a low esteem on the most valuable objects. Ever maintain a virtuous and pious frame of spirit. An indulgence of vicious inclinations debases the understanding and perverts the judgment. Sensuality ruins the better faculties of the mind. It is the virtuous man only, who is in a fair way to wisdom. " God gives to those that are good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy." Watch against the pride of your own reason, and a vain conceit of your own intellectual powers, with the neglect of the divine aid and blessing. The wisest of men advises us " to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not lean to our own understanding." Offer up therefore your daily requests to God, the Father of lights, that he would bless all your attempts and labors in reading, study, and conversation. Implore constantly his grace to direct your inclination to proper studies, and to fix your heart there. He can keep off temptations on the right hand and on the left. He can guard your understanding from error, and secure you from the danger of evil books and evil men, that might otherwise have a fatal effect, and lead you into pernicious mistakes. To conclude, let industry and devotion join together, and you need not doubt a happy result. "Incline thine ear unto wisdom, apply thy heart to understanding; cry after knowledge, and lift up thy voice; seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures: then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God; for the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." Have a care of, abstain from, be cautious of. Momentous, weighty, of great consequence. Spell awful, witty, maintain, vicious, own, only, con ceit. .Bias, incline, cause to lean, that which inclines a per son. Pass a low esteem, place a low value. Frame of spirit, state of mind, state of feeling. .Indulgence, gratification. Debases, makes base, brings low, sinks, degrades. Sensuality, excessive indulgence in the pleasures of sense. Vain conceit, too high an opinion. -Reason, mental faculties, the power by which man deduces one proposition from another, cause, principle, argument, ground of persuasion, rational ac count. Divine aid, assistance of God. Spell knowledge, intellectual, virtuous. Blessing, success, favor of God, benediction. Implore his grace, pray for his favor, ask him to influence your feelings. .Proper, fit, suitable, appropriate. Fatal, deadly, causing destruction, necessary, inevit able. Secure, defend. Change it into an adverb. .Otherwise, without his aid. .Pernicious, per-nish'ůs, destructive. Spell proper, studies, off, evil, pernicious, doubt. Heart, the vital part, the inner part, courage, affection. Spell join, devotion, doubt, heart, voice, understanding, knowledge. .Industry, in'dus-trė, assiduity, diligence. Seek her: See Personification in the Appendix. LESSON V. Of Books and Reading.-ABRIDGED FROM WATTS. The world is full of Books; but there are multitudes which are so ill written, that they are never worth any man's reading. Others may be valuable in themselves, for some special purpose, or in some peculiar science; but are not fit to be perused by any but those who are engaged in the particular science or business. It is therefore of vast advantage for improvement of knowledge and saving time, for a young man to have the most proper books for his reading recommended by a judicious friend. I would advise that the preface of a book be read, and a survey taken of the table of contents, if there be one, before the first perusal of the book. By this means you will learn with more ease and readiness what the author undertakes to teach. In your reading, mark what is new, or unknown to you before; and review those chapters, pages, or paragraphs. Unless a reader has an uncommon and most retentive memory, I may venture to affirm, that there is scarce any book or chapter worth reading once, that is not worthy of a second perusal;-at least, to take a careful review of all the lines or paragraphs which you marked, and of the sections which you thought most valuable. If three or four persons agree to read the same book, and each bring his own remarks upon it at some set hours appointed for conversation, and they communicate mutually their sentiments on the subject, and debate about it in a friendly manner, this practice will render the reading of any author more beneficial to them all, If several persons engaged in the same study, take into their hands distinct treatises on one subject, and appoint a season of communication once a week, they may inform each other in a brief manner concerning the sense, sentiments, and method of those several authors, and thereby promote each other's improvement, either by recommending the perusal of the same book to their companions, or perhaps by satisfying their int Spell written, purpose, perused, abridged. Special, spesh'ål, peculiar, select, uncommon. Change engage into a noun. Ans. Engagement. "Proper" is a primitive word: what adverb is derived from it? Spell recommended, survey, beneficial, brief. Judicious, prudent, wise, skilful, having a good judg ment. Is judiciously a primitive, or a derivative word? From what is it derived ? Preface, preffas, something introductory to the main design. Table of Contents, a table exhibiting the titles of the chapters, &c. of a book in the order in which they are actually arranged. Means. Is this form of the word used in the singular number? What is the singular form? Vary it. Paragraphs, divisions of a chapter, &c. marking a greater pause than at a period. Show the extent of a paragraph in the book. Is scarce a primitive, or derivative? derived from it? What adverb is Affirm, say, assert confidently, declare solemnly. Sections, divisions in a book, usually intermediate between a chapter and a paragraph. Change agree into a noun. Which is the primitive? which the derivative ? Mutually, reciprocally, in return, to one another. Change muiually into an adjective. From what is mutually derived ? Debate, discuss by argument, dispute, contest. What is distinct? What is distinctly? Is improvement a primitive, or a derivative? Why is it so called? quiries concerning it by conversation, without every one's perusing it. Remember that your business in reading or in conversation, is not merely to know the opinion of the author or speaker, but to consider whether that opinion is correct or not, and to increase your own knowledge on the subject. Deal freely with every author you read, and yield your assent only to evidence and just reasoning. If a writer maintains the same sentiments on a subject as you do, yet does not explain his ideas or prove his positions well, mark the faults or defects, and endeavor to do it better, either in the margin of your book, or rather in some papers of your own, or at least in your private meditations. Where the author is ob- _ scure, enlighten him; where he is imperfect, supply his deficiencies; where he is too brief and concise, amplify a little, and set the subject in a fairer view; where he is redundant, mark those paragraphs to be retrenched ; where he trifles and grows impertinent, abandon those passages or pages; where he argues, observe whether his reasons are conclusive; if the conclusion is true, and yet the argument weak, endeavor to confirm it by better proofs; where he derives any inference darkly or doubtfully, make the justness of the inference appear, and add further inferences, if such occur to your mind; where you suppose he is in a mistake, propose your objections and correct his sentiments; what he writes so well as to approve itself to your judgment, both as just and useful, treasure it up in your memory, as a part of your intellectual gains. If the method of a book is irregular, reduce it into form by a little analysis of your own, or by hints in the margin; if those things are heaped together, which should be separated, you may distinguish and divide them; if several things relating to the same subject are scattered up and down through the treatise, you may bring them all into one view by references; or if the matter of a book is really valuable and deserving, you may throw it into a better method, or reduce it to a better form by abridgment. All these practises will have a tendency to advance your skill, to improve your judg |