path even of the most happy and prosperous. Disappointment in our worldly affairs; vexations flowing from the infirmity of our nature; difficulty in adjusting the contending interests even of those we love; petty injuries, which irritate the temper; and ingratitude, which wounds the heart; these we must be prepared to meet with at every step; and to parry such attacks upon our happiness, or to meet them with calmness, and dismiss them as soon as possible from our thoughts, is the basis of what men call philosophy; and our peace of mind will bear an exact proportion to the degree in which we practise it. If we consider that all human grievances are cured by time, we shall be able to anticipate much of its healing influence by endeavouring to feel disappointments, from the first, in the same manner and degree in which we know they will affect us when we look back upon them after a certain lapse of time. Habitual cheerfulness can only belong to those who endeavour to reconcile their minds quickly to such evils as prudence cannot always avert, nor human contrivance remove. And if men neglect to use the means of happiness placed within their power, they have surely no right to accuse Providence of having caused the evil of life to outweigh the good. ESSAY XXX. ON HOPE. "Vitæ summa brevis spem nos vetat Inchoare longam." HOR. Ode iv. lib. i. "Hope humbly then, with trembling pinions soar." POPE. OUR recollections of the past may always be made useful, but they are seldom productive of unmixed satisfaction. Errors, which it is too late to amend; enjoyments, that can never return; friends, whom we are no more permitted to behold in this world; all rise in melancholy array; and happy are they who, in the motley annals of the past can refer to some virtuous deed performed, some evil propensity eradicated, or some good gift brought to perfection, which may encourage them to hope that they have not lived in vain. Such reminiscences, occurring amidst the less pleasing records of memory, like an oasis in the desert, may serve as a refreshment for the thoughts, although they offer no secure resting-place for the hopes. The time present, if less deeply tinged with melancholy than the past, is yet loaded with care, and harassed by the fatigues and interruptions to which the most even tenor of life is subject; and our best pleasures are so imperfect, that they owe their value chiefly to their variety; and it would be difficult to point out any period during which we have had such complete enjoyment of the present, as to desire its continuance: there is always some other pleasure to be seized, some other object to be pursued. Every occupation, from our most serious duties, to our lightest amusements, carries our thoughts to the future. The rich man speculates, the "Ille gravem duro terram qui vertit aratro, Perfidus hic caupo, miles, nautæque per omne Aiunt." HOR. Sat. i. lib. i. "Ce cultivateur qui rétourne péniblement la terre, ce cabaretier sans foi, ce soldat, ces marchands audacieux qui parcourent les mers, écoutez-les; ils ne supportent ces peines que pour procurer à leur vieillesse, quand ils auront amassé de quoi vivre, une retraite paisible, à l'abri du besoin."-Traduc. de MM. Campenon et Dépres. poor man toils; both look to futurity for the reward of their exertions: our cares, our thoughts, our desires, are all for the morrow, for that futurity which we may never behold; that morrow, whose uncertainty is illumined only by the blessed light of hope, by which Providence kindly leads us to the end of all worldly things: "L'ultima che si perde è la speranza *.” Hope, like every other good gift from Heaven, is liable to abuse: and it is worth consideration, to what extent we may safely avail ourselves of this unfailing cordial. In the conduct of worldly affairs hope is not only allowable, but necessary: we have no other. stimulus to industry, or encouragement to wisdom: we hope reasonably, that a well-grounded speculation will produce an advantageous result; that our health of body and of mind will continue unimpaired, and our lives be prolonged; that the friend, from whom we are parting, we may meet again in joy and prosperity; that present comforts may endure, and present sorrows pass away. So far hope animates our pursuits, alleviates our suf * Metastasio. 66 Hope travels through, nor quits us when we die." ferings, and answers the benignant purpose for which it was implanted in our breasts. But let us beware lest the enchanting visions, with which it delights to adorn the future, lead us to neglect the moments actually escaping into the gulph of the past, from whence not one can ever be retrieved. Let us not imitate those too sanguine characters, who neglect the means, while they are hoping for the result; and forget the seed-time, in their impatience for the harvest: who leave the course of their affairs to chance, and hope that they will terminate successfully; who embark on the dangerous stream of idle dissipation, and hope to avoid shipwreck. There are instances in which the concerns of such dreamers have been seen to prosper; but these examples of good fortune are rare, and, for the most part, only serve to tempt them onwards to more daring hopes, and more certain ruin. We ought to recollect, in all temporal affairs, that where there is much to hope, there is also much to fear: how much more when our prospect of eternity is in question: the Christian's hope of a joyful immortality is a divine spark, which must be diligently kept alive in our breasts; it must be cherished in the hour of health and enjoyment, as |