ESSAY XXIX. ON THE EVILS INCIDENTAL TO THE LOT OF MAN. "Hence good and evil mix'd; but man has skill CRABBE. Ir will be readily acknowledged by all who have experience in the affairs of the world, that no portion, not even the most prosperous and smiling season of their lives, has been exempted from care and embarrassment, or free from misfortunes, either real or imaginary, sufficient to interrupt their serenity, and often to destroy the whole comfort of their days. Whilst all admit this discouraging fact, many go much farther in asserting the prevalence of evil over the good things of this life: they say that its pleasures are all insipid or imaginary; its miseries real and poignant; and it is frequently from the very bosom of affluence and luxury, that com plaints arise of the pressure of affliction, and the emptiness and insufficiency of all human enjoyments. Thus, half mankind receive with thankless indifference those blessings which the other half is pining for in vain. As a sickly palate cannot relish the most delicious food, so a heart vitiated by worldly pursuits, becomes incapable of appreciating the gifts of Providence: were it otherwise, could it be possi ble for creatures blessed with life, light, health, energy, and unclouded faculties, to be insensible to all these sources of enjoyment? And yet, when to these are added ease, prosperity, friends, kindred, children; they still dare to let their murmurs be heard, and assert that there is no real happiness in life. In all stations we are equally liable to the pains of sickness, and the afflictions caused by death : but these are not habitual occurrences: such sufferings are rare, in proportion as they are severe; and, from the ease with which many people shake off the recollection of them, it is not unfair to conclude, that by such evils only a small portion of each person's life is usually embittered. The cares of our worldly possessions, which multiply as the good things of this life encrease; the disputes and intrigues, which wait upon ambition, and follow in the train of what the world calls pleasure;-the rankling of envy, the turbulence of passion, nay, the mere effervescence of impatience on the most trifling occasions; all these contribute more to make life miserable, than the direct visitations of Providence, which we may have been called upon to endure. Yet, even amongst those which I have enumerated, the most general cause of discontent is not to be found: it is not so much the pains as the tedium of existence, which causes men to assert that the evil of life outweighs the good; it is not so much the irritation of disappointment, or the depression of sorrow, under which they suffer; as the monotony of leisure unemployed, of amusements pursued at first with avidity, but without an object worthy to engross the thoughts; and the weight of hours undevoted to any purpose adequate to call forth the powers of a rational being. It is in these heavy moments of listless vacuity, that gloom and discontent intrude; and that men either sink into low spirits and misanthropy, or seek the excitement they require, in stimulants which encrease the evil, instead of removing it. They prolong amusement till it becomes dissipation, and have recourse to vice when dissipation fails. Many who drag on a painful and weary existence, might be restored to health of mind and cheerfulness, if their overflowing portion of the good things of this life were curtailed, and themselves obliged to labour for their daily bread. This is not less humiliating than true. But, without having recourse to any such violent remedy, the malady of habitual discontent admits of cure, provided that it be attempted while the mind is yet vigorous, and before long habit has rendered it impossible to adopt the only means which can prove efficacious for its removal. The first of these is constant and useful employment, adapted to the powers of the individual, but amounting almost to labour, either of body or mind. Let it not be objected that this is only substituting one kind of suffering for another; occupation is happiness, and the weariness produced by labour has nothing in common with that wretched lassitude, experienced by those who do nothing. Besides, employment may be seasoned with short intervals of leisure; and it is only necessary to incur as much fatigue as will make us sensible of the luxury of rest. Amusement may be indulged in with great moderation, and quitted before the appetite is sa tiated; so that, being forsaken with regret, it will be returned to with eagerness: mere amusement, unless thus sparingly used, must soon lose all its attractions, since it has no aim beyond the passing of a vacant hour, and, consequently, can neither employ the faculties, nor interest the heart. The life of man may be compared to a chase, of which those who join in it the most eagerly have the greatest enjoyment. It is true that its pleasures do not always depend so much on the importance of the game, as on the earnestness with which we follow it: still, the more worthy the object we have in view, the more animated and persevering will be the pursuit; and existence is only worth having to those who have some laudable aim to keep up the excitement, and reward the struggle. Admitting, then, as we safely may, that many of the evils of life are of our own creation, and depend on ourselves for their remedy; and setting aside those calamities which fall on all men heavily, yet not so frequently as to interrupt the daily tenor of their lives, or entirely to embitter their existence, it only remains to consider those accidental ills, which do not belong to either of the above classes, but which perpetually beset the |