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.

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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."

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

41. If y 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.

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 he 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 compliment. When Queen Elizabeth asked an Ambassador how he liked her ladies, he replied,—“It is hard to judge of stars in presence of the sun.'

* 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.

10. We too often judge of men by the splendor, and not by the merit of their actions. Alexander demanded of a pirate whom he had taken, by what right he infested the seas?"By the same right," replied he, boldly," that you enslave the world. I am called a robber, because I have only one small vessel;—but you are styled a conqueror, because you command great fleets and armies."

11. Francis I.* consulting with his Generals how to lead his army over the Alps into Italy,-Amarel, his fool, sprung from a corner, and advised him to consult rather,—how to bring it back.

12. Men are too often ingenious in making themselves miserable, by aggravating, beyond bounds, the evils which they are compelled to endure. I will restore thy daughter again to life," said an eastern sage to a prince who grieved immoderately for the loss of a beloved child,—“ provided thou art able to engrave on her tomb, the names of three persons who have never mourned." The prince made inquiry after such persons; -but found the inquiry vain,--and was silent.

13. When Dariust offered Alexander ten thousand talents to divide Asia equally with him, he answered,- "the earth cannot bear two suns,-nor Asia two kings." Parmenio, a friend of Alexander's, hearing the great offer Darius had made, said,--“ were I Alexander, I would accept it,"“ so would I,” replied Alexander, were I Parmenio."

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14. When Agesilaus, king of Sparta, heard any one praised, or censured, he remarked, "that it was as necessary to know the characters of the speakers, as the characters of those who were the subjects of their opinions."

15. Alcibiadest was one day boasting of his wealth and immense estates in the presence of Socrates. This wise Athenian, in order to repress his ostentatious spirit, led him to a map, and desired him to point out Attica. After searching for some time, Alcibiades, with some difficulty, discerned it ;-Socrates then requested him to look for his own estate; the young man replied, that he should not be able to find it, in so small a space.

* Francis I., king of France in A. D. 1515. He is known as the opponent and rival of Charles V., emperor of Germany,-also, as the patron of the arts and sciences. He died 1547.

+ Da-ri-us III., the last king of the ancient Persian Empire. He was conquered by Alexander the Great, and at last treacherously assassinated by Bessus, his own general, B. C. 331.

Pronounced Al-se-bi-a-dees, an illustrious Athenian General, and a disciple of Socrates. He died B. C. 404, aged 46.

"Why, then," replied Socrates, "are you so inflated with pride, concerning a mere point of land?"

16. No hero makes so distinguished a figure in ancient history as Alexander the Great.* His courage was undaunted,— his ambition boundless, his friendship ardent,—his taste refined; and, what is very extraordinary, he appears to have conversed with the same fire and spirit with which he fought. Philip, his father, knowing him to be very swift, wished him to run for the prize at the Olympic Games. "I would comply with your request," said Alexander, "if kings were to be my competitors."

17. L'Estrange, in his Fables, tells us that a number of boys were one day watching frogs at the side of a pond ;—and that, as any of them put their heads above water, they pelted them down again with stones. One of the frogs, appealing to the humanity of the boys, made this striking observation;"Children, you do not consider, that though this may be sport to you, it is death to us.'

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18. One day, when the moon was under an eclipse, she complained thus to the sun of the discontinuance of his favors: "My dearest friend," said she, "why do you not shine upon me as you used to do?" "Do I not shine upon thee?" said the sun;- "I am very sure I intend it." "Oh no!" replies the moon," but I now perceive the reason. I see that dirty planet, the earth, has got between us."

19. To a man of an exalted mind, the forgiveness of injuries is productive of more pleasure and satisfaction, than obtaining vengeance. The emperor Adrian,‡ one day, seeing a person who had injured him in his former station, thus addressed him : "You are safe;-I am Emperor."

20. Cyrus, when a boy, being at the court of his grandfather, Astyages, engaged to perform the office of cup-bearer at table. The duty of this officer, required him to taste the liquor before

* A king of Macedon.

+ Pronouneed Le-Strange, an English gentleman. born 1616, and died 1705.

‡ Adrian, a Roman emperor, in A. D. 117. He was distinguished for his personal accomplishments and mental acquirements. He reigned prosperously 22 years, and died in the 63d year of his age.

Cyrus the Great, king of Persia. He dethroned his grandfather, Astyages, established the Persian empire, took Babylon, liberated the Jews,and was at last killed in the battle against Tomyris, queen of the Massagetæ, B. C. 530.

§ Pronounced As-ti'-a-gees, a king of Media, 594 B. C.

presenting it to the king. Cyrus, without performing this ceremony, delivered the cup in a very graceful manner to his grandfather. The king observed the omission, which he imputed to forgetfulness. No! replied Cyrus, I purposely avoided tasting it, because I feared lest it should contain poison;-for lately, at an entertainment, I observed that the lords of your court, after drinking it, became noisy, quarrelsome, and frantic.

21. A certain passenger at sea, had the curiosity to ask the pilot of the vessel, what death his father died of. What death! said the pilot;-why, he perished at sea, as my grandfather did before him. And are you not afraid of trusting yourself to an element that has proved thus fatal to your family? Afraid! by no means. Is not your father dead? Yes, but he died in his bed. And why then, returned the pilot, are you not afraid of trusting yourself in your bed?

22. Honor is unstable, and seldom the same;-for she feeds upon opinion, and is as fickle as her food. But virtue is uniform and fixed, because, she looks for approbation only from him, who is the same yesterday-to-day-and for ever. Honor feeds us with air, and often pulls down our house to build our monument. She is contracted in her views; and is buffeted by the waves, and borne along by the whirlwind. But virtue is enlarged, and infinite in her hopes,—and has an anchor sure and stedfast, because it is cast in heaven. The noble Brutus* worshipped honor, and in his zeal mistook her for virtue. In the day of trial he found her, but—a shadow-and a name.

23. When thou doest good, do it because it is good ;-not because men esteem it so. When thou avoidest evil, flee from it because it is evil;-not because men speak against it. Be honest for the love of honesty, and thou shalt be uniformly so. He that doeth it without principle is wavering.

24. A wise man endeavors to shine in himself;-a fool to outshine others. The former is humbled by the sense of his own infirmities;-the latter is lifted up by the discovery of those which he observes in others. The wise man considers what he wants; and the fool, what he abounds in. The wise man is happy when he gains his own approbation; and the fool, when he recommends himself to the applause of those about him.

25. It is pleasant to be virtuous and good, because that is to excel many others;-it is pleasant to grow better, because that

* Marcus Brutus, a Roman General, engaged in the conspiracy against Julius Cesar.