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"How gladly would the man recall to life
The boy's neglected sire! a mother too,
That softer friend, perhaps more gladly still,
Might he demand them at the gates of death."

LESSON VIII.—RULE VIII.

Cowper.

Snow or ice, when it melts, absorbs heat and produces cold. "Mark the effect of art upon a block of marble: how the skill of the polisher fetches out the colours, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, or vein, that runs through the body of it! What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul."—Addison.

"The moral system of nature, or natural religion, approves itself almost intuitively to a reasonable mind, upon seeing it proposed."—Bp. Butler.

"The saint or moralist should tread

This moss-grown alley, musing, slow;
He seeks, like me, the secret shade,

But not, like me, to nourish woe."—Cowper.

LESSON IX. RULE IX.

Thou say s thou dost not know where thou art.
It seems she is disappointed, and no one pities her.
We depend upon your assistance; for we need it.
I retired from the throng, and sat down to read.
Bad as the world is, respect is always paid to virtue.
It has often been done in this way, and has succeeded.
You will be wanted at home; do not tarry.

If we would honour merit, we must not judge by appearances: a visored villain may seem fair.

He should consider often, who can choose but once. What could have induced him to act in that manner? It would have been desirable to have had his company. "If the mind were left uncultivated, though nothing else should find entrance, vice certainly would."—Blair. Be not discouraged; your wishes may yet be gratified. The narrative of his dangers and escapes is interesting. Humility, as well as merit, engages esteem.

The injuries we do, and those we suffer, are seldom weighed in the same balance.

LESSON X. RULE X.

"The generality of his hearers were favourable to his doctrines."—Allen.

The public are often deceived by false appearances and extravagant pretensions.

'' A considerable number of the confederates were induced to abandon the counsels of the nuncio."—Hist, of Ireland.

LESSON XI. RULE XI.

Riches, honours, and pleasures, steal away the heart from religion.

On some occasions, mildness and forbearance are more powerful than vehemence and severity.

Virtue, diligence, and industry, joined with good temper and prudence, must ever be the surest means of prosperity.

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Await alike the inevitable hour:

The paths of glory lead but to the grave."—Gray.

LESSON XII. RULE XII.

"Man's happiness or misery is, in a great measure, put into his own hands."—Blair.

When sickness, infirmity, or reverse of fortune, affects us, the sincerity of friendship is proved.

Has not sloth, or pride, or ill temper, or sinful passion, misled you from the path of sound and wise conduct?

"Fools! who from hence into the notion fall,
That vice or virtue there is none at all.

If white and black blend, soften, and unite

A thousand ways, is there no black or white?"—Pope.

LESSON XIII. RULE XIII.

"Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."—Addison.

"The pleasures of sense resemble a foaming torrent: which, after a disorderly course, speedily runs out, and leaves an empty and offensive channel."—Blair.

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Loose, then, from earth the grasp of fond desire,
Weigh anchor, and some happier clime explore.'

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Young.

LESSON XIV. RULE XIV.

A habit of sincerity in acknowledging faults, is a guard against committing them.

"This is a measure founded on justice, supported by precedent, and warranted by necessity."—Allen.

"The bounty displayed in the earth equals the grandeur manifested in the heavens."—Murray.

Having sold his patrimony, he engaged in merchandise. "Amazed I stood, harrow'd with grief and fear."—Milton.

LESSON XV. RULE XV.

"How soon man's earthly enjoyments pass away!"—Allen. "We naturally look with strong emotion to the spot, where the ashes of those we have loved, repose."—D. Webster.

"Veturia's son's wife, Volumnia, who was sitting with her when the women arrived, and who was greatly surprised at their coming, hastily asked them the meaning of so extraordinary an appearance." Hooke.

"The soul that sees Him, or receives, sublimed,

New faculties, or learns at least t' employ

More worthily the powers she own'd before."—Cowper.

LESSON XVI. RULE XVI.

Prosperity gains friends, and adversity tries them. If you desire to be free from sin, avoid temptation. "The ancient Russians believed, that their northern mountains encompassed the globe."—Allen.

I disregard their imputations, because I do not merit them.
A judge ought to be influenced only by reason and evidence.
"May I, like thee, at least be loved, and live
For others' good—then die, but not unblest,
If one lost soul but learn

From me that heaven is home."

LESSON XVII.--RULE XVII.

Most of the troubles which we meet with in the world, arise from an irritable temper, or from improper conduct.

By the faults of others, wise men learn to correct their own.

"Who builds his hopes in air of your fair looks,
Lives like a drunken sailor on a mast;
Ready, with every nod, to tumble down
Into the fatal bowels of the deep."—Shakspeare.

LESSON XVIII. RULE XVIII.

At that hour, O how vain was all sublunary happiness! "Alas, said I, man was made in vain! how is he given away to misery and mortality !"—Addison.

"Ah, whither fled,—ye dear illusions, stay!

Lo! pale and silent lies the lovely clay."—Beattie.

LESSON XIX. RULE XIX.

Charles's resignation filled all Europe with astonishment. Eliza's sensibility is such, that her brother's misfortunes will greatly afflict her.

A dutiful son will hear his father's instructions.

"What is the bigot's torch, the tyrant's chain?
I smile on death, if heavenward hope remain.”

LESSON XX. RULE XX.

Campbell.

Do not insult a poor man: his misery entitles him to pity. When our vices leave us, we flatter ourselves that we leave them.

While riotous indulgence enervates both the body and the mind, purity and virtue heighten all the powers of human fruition.

What avails the show of external liberty, to one who has lost the government of himself?

LESSON XXI. RULE XXI.

Solid merit is a cure for ambition.

Meekness and modesty are true and lasting ornaments. Universal benevolence and patriotic zeal appear to have been the motives of all his actions.

We, who never were his favourites, did not expect these attentions; and we could scarcely believe it was he.

"I am, as thou art, a reptile of the earth: my life is a moment, and eternity—in which days, and years, and ages, are nothing—eternity is before me, for which I also should prepare."—Hawhesworth.

LESSON XXII. RULE XXII.

Titles of honour conferred upon those who have no personal merit, are like the royal stamp set upon base metal.

"In the varieties of life we are inured to habits both of the active and the suffering virtues."—Blair.

"By disappointments and trials, the violence of our passions is tamed."—Blair.

"In the death of a man there is no remedy."—Bible. In every region the book of nature is open before us.

LESSON XXIII. RULE XXIII.

"Leaning my head upon my hand, I began to figure to myself the miseries of confinement."—Sterne.

"Delightful task! to rear the tender thought,
To teach the young idea how to shoot,
To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind,
To breathe the enlivening spirit, and to fix
The generous purpose in the glowing breast."

Thomson.

LESSON XXIV. RULE XXIV.

You need not go. I heard my father bid the boy bring your trunk, and saw him go for it. I dare say it will be safe.

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Let him who desires to see others happy, make haste to give while his gift can be enjoyed."—Blair.

None but the virtuous dare hope in bad circumstances.

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LESSON XXV.—RULE XXV.

This proposition being admitted, I now state my argument. Return, my son, to thy labour: thy food shall again be tasteful, and thy rest shall be sweet."—Johnson.

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Adversity! how blunt are all the arrows of thy quiver, in comparison with those of guilt."—Blair.

"The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,

Had he thy reason, would he skip and play ?"—Pope. "All this dread order break—for whom?—for thee? Vile worm!-Oh madness! pride! impiety I"—Id.

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