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o be away from him, that he may show "all good fidelity" in this, as in every thing else. He is desirous of adding to the knowledge he has already gained, of learning something useful every day. And he is not satisfied if a day passes without making him wiser than he was before, in those things which will be of real benefit to him.

5. When he has a difficult lesson to learn, or a hard task to perform, he does not fret or murmur at it. He knows that his master would not have prescribed it to him, unless he had thought that he was able for it, and that it would do him good. He therefore sets about it readily; and he encourages himself with such thoughts as these: "My parents will be very glad when they hear that I have learned this difficult lesson, and performed this hard task. My teacher, also, will be pleased with me for my diligence. And I myself shall be comfortable and happy when the exercise is finished. The sooner and the more heartily I apply myself to it, the sooner and the better it will be done."

6. When he reads, his words are pronounced so distinctly, that you can easily hear and understand him. His copy book is fairly written, and free from blots and scrawls. His letters are clear and full, and his strokes broad and fine. His figures are well made, accurately cast up, and neatly put down in their regular order; and his accounts are, in general, free from mistakes.

7. He not only improves himself, but he rejoices in the improvement of others. He loves to hear them commended, and to see them rewarded. "If I do well," he says, "I shall be commended and rewarded too; and if all did well, what a happy school would ours be! We ourselves should be much more comfortable; and our master would have a great deal less trouble and distress than he has, on account of the idleness and inattention, of which too many of us are guilty."

8. His books he is careful to preserve from every thing that might injure them. Having finished his lesson, he puts them in their proper place, and does not leave them to be tossed about, and, by that means, torn and dirtied. He never forgets to pray for the blessing of God on himself, on his school-fellows, and on his teacher; for he knows that the blessing of God is necessary to make his education truly useful to him, both in this life, and m that which is to come.

9. And, finally, it is his constaat endeavor to behave well when he is out of school, as well as when he is in it. He rememDers that the eye of God is ever upon him, and that ne must us

last give an account of himself to the great Judge of all. And, therefore, he studies to practise, at all times, the religious and moral lessons that he receives from his master, or that he reads in the Bible, or that he meets with in the other books that are given him to peruse; and to "walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless "

LESSON LXXXV.

Select Sentences.

1. If the mind is well cultivated, it produces a store of fruit; if neglected, it is overrun with weeds.

2. The young are slaves to novelty;-the old to custom. 3. Ingratitude is more baneful than a pestilential vapor,— and more destructive to society than a band of robbers.

4. There is nothing honorable, that is not innocent;—and nothing mean, but what attaches guilt.

5. As, among wise men, he is the wisest who thinks he knows the least,―so, among fools, he is the greatest who thinks he knows the most.

6. Precipitation ruins the best contrived plan;-patience ripens the most difficult.

7. It was a saying of Socrates, that we should eat and drink in order to live; instead of living as many do, in order to eat and drink.

8. Men make themselves ridiculous, not so much by the qualities they have, as by the affectation of those they have not. 9. The injuries we do, and those we suffer, are seldom weighed in the same balance.

10. Never delay to a future period, that which can be done immediately, nor transfer to another, what you can perform yourself.

11. Be sincere in all your words,-prudent in all your actions, and obliging in all your manners.

12. Seriousness is the greatest wisdom,-temperance, the best medicine, and a good conscience, the best estate.

13. It is better to do and not promise, than to promise and not perform.

14. No station is so high, no power so great, no character so unblemished, as to exempt men from the attacks of rashness malice, or envy.

15. Contemporaries appreciate the man rather than the merit: but posterity will regard the merit rather than the man

16. Mystery magnifies danger, as a fog the sun; the hand that warned the eastern prince,* derived its horrifying influence from the want of a body.

17. True friendship is like sound health,—the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.

18. Young folks tell what they do,-old ones what they have done, and fools what they will do.

19. From prínciples is derived probability; but truth is obtained only from facts.

20. The volume of nature is the book of knowledge, and he becomes most wise, who makes the most judicious selection. 21. Title and ancestry render a good man more illustrious;but an ill one more contemptible. Vice is infamous, though in a prince; and virtue honorable, though in a peasant.

22. What you keep by you, you may mend and change;— but words once spoken can never be recalled.

23. What is the most constant of all things?-hope ;—because it still remains with man, after he has lost every thing else.

24. A just man should account nothing more precious than his word, nothing more venerable than his faith,—and nothing more sacred than his promise.

25. A hypocrite is hated by the world for seeming what he is not but he will be condemned by his Creator for not being what he seems.

26. The greatest friend of truth, is time,-her greatest enemy is prejudice, and her constant companion is humility.

27. When you have nothing to say, say nothing;—a weak defence strengthens your opponent, and silence is less injurious than a bad reply.

28. When the million applaud you, seriously ask yourself what harm you have done-when they censure you, what good?

29. Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by repetition; approved of by reflection; and strengthened by enjoyment.

30. Vice stings us, even in our pleasures,—but virtue consoles us, even in our pains.

31. Let fame be regarded, but conscience much more. It is an empty joy to appear better than you are ;-but a great blessing to be what you ought to be.

* See the 5th chapter of Daniel.

32. The first ingredient in conversation, is truth ;-the next, good sense; the third, good humour; the last, wit.

33. The man of virtue, is an honor to his country,—a credit to human nature, and a benefactor to the world. He is rich without oppression,-charitable without ostentation,-courteous without deceit,-and brave without vice.

34. The difference there is betwixt honor and honesty, seems to be chiefly in the motive. The honest man does that from duty, which the man of honor does for the sake of character. 35. Men's evil manners live in brass;-their virtues we write in water.

36. Fine sense, and exalted sense, are not half so valuable as common sense. There are forty men of wit for one man of sense; and he that will carry nothing about him but gold, will be every day at a loss for want of ready change.

37. A wise man will desire no more than what he may get justly, use soberly,-distribute cheerfully, and live upon contentedly.

38. You have obliged a man;-very well. What would you have more? Is not the consciousness of doing good a sufficient reward?

39. Agesilaus, king of Sparta,* being asked the means of establishing a high reputation, answered,-" Speak well, and act better."

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40. Cowards die many times; the valiant never taste of death but once.

41. If you want your business done, go;—if not, send. 42. Cruel men are the greatest lovers of mercy—avaricious men of generosity-and proud men of humility;—that is to say, -in others,-not in themselves.

43. He that is good, will infallibly become better; and he that is bad, will as certainly become worse;-for vice, virtue, and time, are three things that never stand still.

44. Socrates being asked what was the best mode of gaining a high reputation, replied, "To be what you appear to be." 45. If the spring put forth no blossoms,-in summer there will be no beauty, and in autumn no fruit. So if youth be trifled away without improvement,-manhood will be contemptible, and old age miserable.

* Sparta, a state of ancient Greece.

LESSON LXXXVI. & 6

Select Paragraphs.

1. BE studious, and you will be learned. Be industrious and frugal, and you will be rich. Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy. Be virtuous, and you will be happy.

2. Man, if he compare himself with all that he can see, is at the zenith of power;-but if he compare himself with all that ne can conceive, he is at the nadir of weakness.

3. We esteem most things according to their intrinsic merit; -it is strange MAN should be an exception. We prize a horse for his strength and courage,—not for his furniture. We prize a man for his sumptuous palace, his great train, his vast revenue; yet these are his furniture, not his mind.

4. The kindnesses, which most men receive from others, are like traces drawn in the sand. The breath of every passion sweeps them away, and they are remembered no more. But injuries are like inscriptions on monuments of brass, or pillars of marble, which endure, unimpaired, the revolutions of time. 5. Man, always prosperous, would be giddy and insolent ;always afflicted, would be sullen or despondent. Hopes and fears, joy and sorrow, are therefore, so blended in his life, as both to give room for worldly pursuits, and to recall from time to time the admonitions of conscience.

6. He, who would pass the latter part of his life with honor and decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been young.

*

7. The pensionary De Witt, being asked how he could transact such a variety of business without confusion, answered, -that he never did but one thing at a time.

8. He, who governs his passions, does more than he who commands armies. Socrates, being one day offended with his servant, said,- "I would beat you if I were not angry."

9. No rank in life precludes the efficacy of a well timed com pliment. When Queen Elizabethf asked an Ambassador how he liked her ladies, he replied,—“It is hard to judge of stars in presence of the sun.'

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*John De Witt, the famous pensionary of Holland, was born at Dort, in Holland, 1625. He was the greatest genius of his time, and the ablest politician; but was barbarously murdered by a mob, in 1672.

+ Elizabeth, queen of England, was born 1533, and commenced her reign in 1558. She was a person of accomplished manners, and a well cultivated mind. She died in 1603.

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