Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

Young man," said Omar, "it is of little use to form plans of life. When I took my first survey of the world, in my twentieth year, having considered the various conditions of mankind, in the hour of solitude I said thus to myself, leaning against a cedar, which spread its branches over my head:

6. "Seventy years are allowed to man; I have yet fifty remaining. Ten years I will allot to the attainment of knowledge, and ten I will pass in foreign countries; I shall be learned, and therefore shall be honoured; every city will shout at my arrival, and every student will solicit my friendship. Twenty years thus passed, will store my mind with images, which I shall be busy, through the rest of my life, in combining and comparing.

7. "I shall revel in inexhaustible accumulations of intellectual riches; I shall find new pleasures for every moment; and shall never more be weary of myself. I will not, however, deviate too far from the beaten track of life; but will try what can be found in female delicacy. I will marry a wife beautiful as the Houries, and wise as Zobeide with her I will live twenty years within the suburbs of Bagdat, in every pleasure that wealth can purchase, and fancy can invent.

8. "I will then retire to a rural dwelling; pass my days in obscurity" and contemplation; and lie silently down on the bed of death. Through my life it shall be my settled resolution, that I will never depend upon the smile of princes; that I will never stand exposed to the artifices of courts; I will never pant for public honours, nor disturb my quiet with the affairs of state. Such was my scheme. of life, which I impressed indelibly upon my memory.

9. "The first part of my ensuing time was to be spent in search of knowledge, and I know not how I was diverted from my design. 1 had no visible impediments without, nor any ungovernable passions within. I regarded knowledge as the highest honour, and the most engaging pleasure; yet day stole upon day, and month glided after month, till I found that seven years of the first ten had vanished, and left nothing behind them.

10. "I now postponed my purpose of travelling; for why should I go abroad, while so much remained to be learned at home? I immured" myself for four years, and studied the laws of the empire. The fame of my skill reached the judges; 1 was found able to speak upon doubtful questions; and was commanded to stand at the

footstool of the calif. I was heard with attention; I was consulted with confidence; and the love of praise fastened on my heart.

11. “I still wished to see distant countries; listened with rapture to the relations of travellers; and resolved some time to ask my dismission, that I might feast my soul with novelty; but my presence was always necessary; and the stream of business hurried me along.Sometimes I was afraid lest 1 should be charged with ingratitude but I still proposed to travel, and therfore would not confine myself by marriage.

12. In my fiftieth year, I began to suspect that the time of travelling was past; and thought it best to lay hold on the felicity yet in my power, and indulge mysel in domestic pleasures. But at fifty no man easily finds a woman beautiful as the Houries, and wise as Zobeide. I inquired and rejected, consulted and deliberated, till the sixty-second year made me ashamed of wishing to marry. I had now nothing left but retirement; and for retirement I never found a time, till disease forced me from public employment.

13. Such was my scheme, and such has been its con sequences. With an insatiables thirst for knowledge, I trifled away the years of improvement; with a restless de sire of seeing different countries, I have always resided in the same city; with the highest expectation of connu bial felicity. I have lived unmarried; and with unalter able resolutions of contemplative" retirement, I am goinę to die within the walls of Bagdat."

SECTION XI.

a Re-lieve, ré-lèèv', to support, assist

Di-late, dé-låte', to extend, spread out, to relate at large

• At-trac-tive, at-tråkt'-tfv, inviting, alluring

d Coun-ter-bal-ance,köůn-tår bál ́-lånse. to act against with an opposite weight

DR. JOHNSON.

f Cor-di-al-i-ty, kôr-jé-ál'-è-tè, sincert ty, friendship

[ocr errors]

• Grat-i-fi-ca-tion, grát-ẻ-fe-ka-sh&n,% the act of pleasing

Mere-ly, mère'-lè, simply, only
El-e-vate, el-e-vate, to raise, dignify
En-no-ble, ên-nd'-bl, to raise to nobil
ity

E-strange, è-strånje', to withdraw, te
keep at a distance
Compe-tit-ion, hôm-pe-ush-ủn, râ
valry, contest

The pleasures of virtuous sensibility.

1. THE good effects of true sensibility on general vir tue and happiness, admit of no dispute. Let us consider its effect on the happiness of him who possesses it, and the various pleasures to which it gives him access. If he

Is master of riches or influence, it affords him the means of increasing his own enjoyment, by relieving the wants, or increasing the comforts of others.

2. If he commands not these advantages, yet all the comforts, which he sees in the possession of the deserv ing, become in some sort his, by his rejoicing in the good which they enjoy. Even the face of nature yields a satisfaction to him, which the insensible can never know.The profusion of goodness, which he beholds poured forth on the universe, dilates his heart with the thought, that innumerable multitudes around him are blest and happy.

3. When he sees the labours of men appearing to prosper, and views a country flourishing in wealth and industry; when he beholds the spring coming forth in its beauty, and reviving the decayed face of nature; or in autumn - beholds the fields loaded with plenty, and the year crowned with all its fruits; he lifts his affections with gratitude to the great Father of all, and rejoices in the general felicity and joy.

4. It may indeed be objected, that the same sensibility lays open the heart to be pierced with many wounds, from the distresses which abound in the world; exposes us to frequent suffering from the participation which it communicates of the sorrows, as well as of the joys of friendship. But let it be considered, that the tender melancholy of sympathy, is accompanied with a sensation, which they who feel it would not exchange for the gratifications of the selfish.

5. When the heart is strongly moved by any of the kind affections, even when it pours itself forth in virtuous sorrow, a secret attractivec charm mingles with the painful emotion; there is a joy in the midst of grief. Let it be farther considered, that the griefs which sensibility introduces, are counterbalanced by pleasures which flow from the same source. Sensibility heightens in general the human powers, and is connected with acuteness in all our feelings.

6. If it makes us more alive to some painful sensations, in return, it renders the pleasing ones more vivid and animated. The selfish man languishes in his narrow circle of pleasures. They are confined to what affects his own interest. He is obliged to repeat the same gratifications, till they become insipid.

7. But the man of virtuous sensibility moves in a wi

der sphere of felicity. His powers are much more frequently called forth into occupations of pleasing activity. Numberless occasions open to him of indulging his favourite taste, by conveying satisfaction to others. Often it is in his power, in one way or other, to sooth the afflicted heart, to carry some consolation into the house of wo.

8. In the scen s of ordinary life, in the domestic and social intercourse of men, the cordiality of his affections cheers and gladdens him. Every appearance, every description of innocent happiness, is enjoyed by him. Every native expression of kindness and affection among others, is felt by him, even though he be not the object of it. In a circle of friends enjoying one another, he is as happy as the happiest.

9. In a word, he lives in a different sort of world, from what the selfish man inhabits. He possesses a new sense that enables him to behold objects which the selfish cannot see. At the same time, his enjoyments are not of that kind which remain merelys on the surface of the mind. They penetrate the heart. They enlarge and elevate," they refine and ennoble it. To all the pleasing emotions of affection, they add the dignified consciousness of virtue.

10. Children of men! men formed by nature to live and to feel as brethren! how long will ye continue to estrange yourselves from one another by competitions and jealousies, when in cordial union ye might be so much more blest? How long will ye seek your happiness in selfish gratifications alone, neglecting those purer and better sources of joy, which flow from the affections and the heart?

SECTION XII.

2 Re-nown, re-noůn', fame, celebrity b Con-quest, kong'-kwêst, victory, sue cess in arms

e Fa-mous, fa'-mås, renowned, celebra-
ted

d Be-dew, be-du', to moisten, gently
e Rap-ine, rap'-In, plunder, violence
f Sor-did, sor'-did, foul, mean, covet-7
Su-per-fic-ial, sú-pêr-fish'-Al, lying on

the surface

BLAIR.

h O-di-ous, d'-dè-ůs, or d'-jè-ůs, hateful,
detestable, exposed to hate?
Co-los-sal, kỏ-los- sál, giant-like
j Er-u-dit-ion, êr-à-dish-ån, learning,
knowledge

Ri-val, ri'-val, competitor, emulator O ver awe, b-vůr åw', to keep in awe m Ef-fu-sion, &f-fü'-zhin, a pouring out,

waste

On the true honour of man.

1. THE proper honour of man arises not from some of

those splendid actions and abilities, which excite high admiration. Courage and prowess, military renowna signal victories and conquests, may render the name of a man famous, without rendering his character truly honourable. To many brave men, to many heroes renowned in story, we look up with wonder. Their exploits are recorded. Their praises are sung. They stand as on an eminence above the rest of mankind.

2. Their eminence, nevertheless, may not be of that sort, before which we bow with inward esteem and respect. Something more is wanted for that purpose, than the conquering arm, and the intrepid mind. The laurels of the warrior must at all times be dyed in blood, and bedewed with the tears of the widow and the orphan.

3. But if they have been stained by rapine and inhumanity; if sordid/ avarice has marked his character; or low and gross sensuality has degraded his life; the great hero sinks into a little man. What, at a distance, or on a superficials view, we admired, becomes mean, perhaps odious," when we examine it more closely. It is like the Colossal statue, whose immense size struck the spectator afar off with astonishment; but when nearly viewed, it appears disproportioned, unshapely, and rude.

4. Observations of the same kind may be applied to all the reputation derived from civil accomplishments; from the refined politics of the statesman; or the literary efforts of genius and erudition. These bestow, and within certain bounds, ought to bestow, eminence and distinction on men. They discover talents which in themselves are shining; and which become highly valuable, when employed in advancing the good of mankind.

5. Hence, they frequently ve rise to fame. But a distinction is to be made between fame and true honour. The statesman, the orator or the poet, may be famous; while yet the man himself is far from being honoured. We envy his abilities. We wish to rival them. But we would not choose to be classed with him who possesses them. Instances of this sort are too often found in every record of ancient or modern history.

6. From all this it follows, that in order to discern where man's true honour lies, we must look, not to any adventitious circumstance of fortune; not to any single sparkling quality; but to the whole of what forms a man ; what entitles him, as such, to rank high among that class of

« AnteriorContinuar »