himself to inviolable fidelity, by the most solemn engage ments. "It has always been a maxim with us," says he, "that it is never allowable, upon any pretence whatsoever, to commit injustice, not even in regard to those who injure us, nor to return evil for evil; and that when we have once engaged our word, we are bound to keep it inviolably; no interest being capable to dispense with it." Some time after the death of Socrates, the Athenians became sensible of their shameful outrage, which appeared in all its horrours. Athens was in universal mourning and consternation. The accusers were called to an account, and condemned to death, banishment, and treated with every kind of contumely; so that some of them killed themselves. Although Socrates discovered extraordinary sagacity in the perception of moral truth, it appears, from his construing his penetrating prompt judgment into a personal genius, or demon, that he had not divested his mind of the influence of the fantastic chimeras that were generally prevalent in those dark ages of ignorance and superstition. Another evidence of this, is, his faith in oracles, in sacrifices to imaginary fabulous deities, in a multiplicity of gods, &c. "The excellent instructions which Socrates delivered to the Athenians, in relation to the practical moral duties, entitled him to their respect and gratitude; but they still remained idolatrous, and "too superstitious," until, five hundred years after him,-" PAUL stood in the midst of Mars hill," and declared unto them the God" that dwelleth not in temples made with hands !" LESSON XCVII. The African Chief.-U. S. LITERARY GAZETTE. CHAIN'D in the market-place he stood, A man of giant frame, Amid the gathering multitude That shrunk to hear his name, All stern of look and strong of limb, His dark eye on the ground: And silently they gaz'd on him, As on a lion bound. Vainly, but well, that chief had fought→→ The scars his dark broad bosom wore Then to his conqueror he spake"My brother is a king: Undo this necklace from my neck, And take this bracelet ring, And send me where my brother reigns, And I will fill thy hands With store of ivory from the plains, And gold dust from the sands." 'Not for thy ivory nor thy gold A price thy nation never gave Shall yet be paid for thee; For thou shalt be the Christian's slave In land beyond the sea.' Then wept the warriour chief, and bade To shred his locks away; And, one by one, each heavy braid Before the victor lay. Thick were the platted locks, and long, And deftly hidden there Shone many a wedge of gold among The dark and crisped hair. "Look, feast thy greedy eye with gold, Long kept for sorest need: Take it-thou askest sums untold- Take it, my wife, the long, long day And my young children leave their play, 'I take thy gold,-but I have made His heart was broken-craz'd his brain- They drew him forth upon the sands, LESSON XCVIII. The Family Bible.-ANONYMOUS. How painfully pleasing the fond recollection That Bible, the volume of God's inspiration, At morn and at evening could yield us delight; And the prayer of our sire was a sweet invocation, For mercy by day, and for safety through night. Our hymns of thanksgiving with harmony swelling, All warm from the heart of a family band, Half rais'd us from earth to that rapturous dwelling Ye scenes of tranquillity, long have we parted; And wander unknown on a far distant shore. Blest Bible, the light and the guide of the stranger; I'll hasten and flee to the promised land; For refuge lay hold on the hope set before me, Reveal'd in the Bible that lay on the stand. Hail rising the brightest and blest of the morning, The star which has guided my parents safe home, A beam of thy glory my pathway adorning, Shall scatter the darkness and brighten my gloom. I'll bow to adore him, but not in a manger, Though age and misfortune press hard on my feelings, The God of the Bible that lay on the stand: LESSON XCIX. Night.-MONTGOMERY. NIGHT is the time for rest: How sweet, when labours close, Stretch the tired limbs, and lay the head Upon our own delightful bed! Night is the time for dreams, The gay romance of life, When truth that is, and truth that seems, Blend in fantastic strife ; Ah, visions less beguiling far Than waking dreams by daylight are! Night is the time for toil ; To plough the classic field, Night is the time to weep; To wet with unseen tears Hopes that were angels in their birth, Night is the time to watch; Ön ocean's dark expanse The full moon's earliest glance, That brings into the home-sick mind All we loved, and left behind. Night is the time for care; |