THE 
 
 SCHOOL OF WISDOM 
 
 OR, 
 
 AMf:RICAN MONITOR. 
 
 -' '* 
 
 , COSKTAININO 
 \ - ■ 
 
 A COPIOUS COLLECTION OF 
 V 
 
 SUBLIME AND ELEGANT EXTRACTS, 
 
 FEOM THE 
 
 310 ST E MINE N T IVRI TE'R S, 
 
 ON 
 
 MORALS, RELIGK^N&GOFERNMENT. 
 
 " We frequently fall into error and foil)-, not becaufe 
 the true principles of aftion are not known, but becaufe, 
 l"or a time, they are not remembered. He may therefore 
 juftly be numbei'ed among the benefaftors of mankind, who 
 contrafts the great rules of life into fliort fentenccs, that 
 )nay be ealily impreffed on the memory, and. taught by 
 frequent recollection to recur habitually to the mind." • 
 
 KAMBLER. 
 
 P HIL A D E L P Hh^i 
 
 PRINTED FOR M ATHE W' CARREY, 
 No. 118, Market-stree:t.^- 
 
 1800. 
 
 [ Cohy - righ i secured.'^ 
 
fH 
 
 5 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A HE feleaions of leffons for reading in fchools now in- 
 uie, are numerous, and many of them contain excellent 
 effays of various kinds. But in general, thole efiays are 
 too long, to be read at Once ; and when they are divided 
 into parts, and read at diiierent times, it is obvious that 
 the connedion is entirely broken, and. that a great part of 
 trp.e advantages .pnjpofed to-be derived from reading are loft. 
 
 To obviate this objeftion, the volume now offered to the 
 public, is principally compofed of Ihort paffages, each com- 
 plete i;,. itfelf, and independent of the reft. When children 
 i\;ad in chuTes, each may have an entire fubject. 
 
 To feme of the extradts, it may perhaps be objeaed, that 
 they are above the underftandlng of youth : But it is believed 
 their capacities are too frequently under-rated; and that it 
 often happens, through fuch a pernicious miftake, that they 
 fpend their time in reading idle tales and ftories, when they 
 might be employed in treafuring up a ftore of ufeful maximiS 
 to guide them tl^ugh the thorny path of life with fafety 
 and honour to themfelves and advantage to the community. 
 
 In making fflie feleftion, confiderable pains have been 
 taken. Many of the works of the moft celeiarated writers 
 have been carefsliy examined— and numerous paffages adorn 
 the work from Shakefpeare, Dryden, Milton, Pope, Ypung, 
 Watts, Rowe, Addilon, Swift, Brooke, Fielding, Hervey, 
 John Con, Price, Montefquieu and others of equal reputation. 
 To f:iniiriarir:e the riling generation with the perufal of 
 fuch iiluftrious writers, can hardly fail to prove falutary. 
 
 1 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 iil 
 
 Tlie introdliftion of political fentimcnts into a work 
 intended principally for youth, will probably b'e cenfured 
 by fome perfons. It may not therefore bs improper to 
 oiier the reaforis that led to the adoption of this plan. 
 
 In countries where the eftablillied form of government 
 is monarchy, moft of the elementary booics ufed to inPciuci: 
 children in their native language, are calculated to imprefs 
 on their youthful minds, a prejudice in favojr of the ex- 
 ifting order of things. National glory, (v/nich mrjans the 
 fpreading havoc and deftruclion among other nations), the 
 fplendor of monarchy, and the advantages of conqiieil, 
 are difplayed in the inoft captivating and glowing- colours. 
 This sjsiem is the result of profound policy. An earl\'- 
 bias is thus given to tlie mind, which in moft cafes " grov/a 
 with its growth," and often retains its influence to the laft 
 ftage of decrepitude. 
 
 And is not fuch a fyflem at leaft as proper and neceil'aw 
 in this country as elfewliere ? Should not endeavcars be 
 ufed to imprefs on the riling generation, a refoect a;ri 
 reverence for the forms of government under which wi- 
 live ? Our conftltutions are all grounded on the rights of 
 the citizens to liberty and the fecurity of proer :/, and on 
 the grand principle, that the officers of governmen!-, Ivp-'a- 
 lative as well as executive, are all the agents of the people, 
 deputed to perform for them thoie fundions which thsv 
 cannot execute themfelves. In every one of them are 
 recognifed thofe grand and fubiime truths, the defence of 
 whicli has rendered fo many men illuflrious in the Enrdil^h 
 annals — thofe principles for which 
 
 "-a Hampden ftruggled, and a Sydney blc.d" — 
 
 thofe principles, in fine, which are to be found in a greater 
 or lefs degree, through the writings of the bell men of all 
 ages and nations. 
 
 On this ground, it is prefumed that vaft advantages muft 
 accrue from fabjeaing to the perufal of you£h° fach a 
 variety of elegant palTages, tending to ftiew in the ftrongell 
 
 light the_ advantages of liberty, of peace, of good order 
 
 the dignity of human nature—to infpire an abhorrence of 
 war — and to dlfplay its tremendous' confeouences, in all 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 •tbeir native deformity, flripped of the impcfing glcfs which 
 artful and iiiterefted men liave fpread over them. 
 
 The names of the writers are generally given, partly 
 ?.s a tribute of gratitude towards thofe whofe writings 
 have ferved to complete this work — partly to facilitate a 
 comparifon between the fentiments of men in different 
 ages — and partly with a view of exciting the reader's 
 curiofity to fearch into their works complete. It is not 
 pretended that a fubiime truth can receive any corrobo- 
 ration from the celebrity cf the man who wrote it. Ther 
 fentiment, that 
 
 " The purcft treafure mortal times afford, 
 
 " Is f: otlefs reputation. That away, 
 
 " Men are but gilded loam or painted clay," 
 
 is an eternal axiom, and, whether fanclioned with the n.ai?ie 
 <;f a Shakefpeare or a Dennis, muft carry conviilion to 
 every corre(5l mind. In like, manner, the pofition in page 
 240,-—." >Io man is better born than another, unlefs he is 
 born vvith better abilities, and a more amiable difpo- 
 uaon," needs not the prop of Seneca's name to com- 
 mand affent. 
 
 With thefe few remarks this fmall work is fubniitted 
 to the candour and indulgence of the public, whofe deci- 
 iion on its utility . ftiall be acquiefced in by the editor. 
 }Ie may have eftimated too high the probable beneficial 
 eirefts of his. labours. This is fo common an error as to 
 be perliaps a venial one. But Avhatever may be its tendency 
 c r its faccefs, he can never be deprived of the folid fatif- 
 isciion arifing from a perfeft confcioufnefs of having ufed 
 }j!s mod earneft endeavours to promote the beft interefta 
 cf his fellow men. M. G. 
 
 December 1800, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 39 
 
 Ambition, Ottvqy, MalUt, spectator, Fielding, 27 
 
 ^8'<^5 - - Drjdeti, Goldsmith, Spectator, 30 
 
 Age and Youth, - . . _ . Johnson, 32 
 
 Adioiis, - - . - Francis, Spectator, 33 
 
 • Advice, . . Sedlej, Rambler, Spectator, 34 
 
 AfFedlion, - - . _ Toimg; 36 
 
 Anatomy, Sbectator, ib. 
 
 Aftonifliment, ' - ... Shakespeare, 57 
 
 Authority, - - . . . Jephson, 38 
 
 An.mals, - - - - S'^ectator, ib. 
 
 Aurhor, > - - . . ... Rambl.'.r, ib 
 
 Anger, - . . „ Rambler, Watts, 3( 
 
 ^t"''' ■ - , - - Drjden, 40 
 
 Aftronomy, - , _ Guardian, 41 
 
 Appearances, .... Rambler, 42 
 
 Avarice and Luxury, - _ . Spectator, 43 
 
 - - - - Z)?7f/fK, ib. 
 
 Apothecary, - .- . . Shakespeare, 44 
 
 Attachment, - . . . . Goldsmith, ib. 
 
 Ar rang'einent of Ideas,. -■ - . . IVatts 45 
 
 AblFiuence, - - . . . Spectator, ib, 
 
 , Adulation, - - ... Goldsmith, 46 
 
 - Ar-Ilccracy and Defpotifm, . » _ Burke 47 
 
 I Advcriity, - - . Spectator, Fielding ib, 
 
 Afferlbon, Tribute of . . . ^ sterne, 48 
 
 Affcaaticn, - - Spectator, Fieldinr, 49 
 
 Admiration, - _ . Fieldi":- sO 
 
 , Attention, - - - fi/wf 
 
 Agireaole Man, ..... 6';)ea'<7^or, 51 
 \ Ag,reeable in Company, - „ Spectator. 
 
 A 
 
 2 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
vi 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Afs, the dead 
 Apprehenfions, 
 P>eg-e:ai-, 
 E^rds, 
 
 Benevolence, 
 Bees and Butterfiles, 
 Beneficence, 
 Bees, 
 Blindnefs, 
 
 Sterne^- 
 Spectator, 
 yohnson, 
 Beckingham, 
 
 Watt's, 
 Fielding, 
 Dry den, 
 Tate, 
 
 Beauty, Dryden, Sedley, Otway, Gay, Lisle, Shake- 
 spectre, Sterne, _ . _ 
 
 - Otivay^ Blackmor^, Dryden, 
 
 Rotve, Martyn, Mallet, Pope, 
 - - - Dryden, 
 
 Johnson, Hill, Francis, Whitehead, Young, 
 
 - Gibber, 
 - - - - Toung, 
 
 - - - Dryden, 
 
 - - - - Glover, 
 
 Addison, 
 
 Spectator, 
 
 - ^ - - Fielding, 
 Idler, Watts, Fielding, 
 
 yohnson, 
 - Watts-y Gray, 
 
 Cowley, Cowper, 
 
 - - - Roscommon, 
 Fielding, Johnson, 
 
 Barlow, 
 Otway, 
 
 - - Haywood, 
 Guardian, Watts, 
 Jones, 
 Rowe, Tate, 
 Watts, Rambler, 
 Watts, 
 
 Johnson, Fielding, 
 Content, Dryden, Blackmore, Sterne, Rambler, Spec- 
 tator, Jacob, - - - 
 Continence of Scipio, - - Thomson, 
 
 Boar, 
 Brave, 
 Blufh, 
 Birth, 
 Blind Boy, 
 Building, 
 Clown, 
 Carap, 
 Cato, 
 
 Cleanlinefs, 
 
 Charafter, 
 
 Cuftom, 
 
 Complaint, 
 
 Chtirch-yard, 
 
 (Country Life, 
 
 Country Maiden, 
 
 Contempt, 
 
 Congrefs of 1774 
 
 Care, 
 
 Cenforioufnefs, 
 Converfationj 
 Clemency, 
 Companion, 
 Ciiriofity, 
 Cruelty, 
 Confcience, 
 
 55 
 55 
 ib. 
 57 
 ib» 
 ib» 
 58 
 59 
 
 ibt 
 
 61 
 
 63 
 
 ib, 
 
 ib. 
 
 65 
 
 ib, 
 
 66 
 
 ib. 
 
 67 
 
 ib, 
 
 68 
 
 ib, 
 
 69 
 
 70 
 
 71 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 ib, 
 
 75 
 
 75 
 
 77 
 
 78 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 79 
 
 ib, 
 
 80 
 
 Courage, 
 
 Brooke, Whitehead, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ".ourt, Ro'ivc, Mason, Montesquieu, Bolingbroke, Swift, 
 
 Churchill, ■ - - 
 Coward, - Shakespeare,- Dryden, Eiidibras, 
 
 CroiAide, 
 Crown, 
 Credulity, 
 
 Charitable Judgment, 
 Charity, 
 Confidence, 
 Cenfure, 
 Complaifance, 
 Coniblation, 
 Criticifm, 
 Cheerfulnefs, 
 Cunning, 
 Caiiles of War, 
 Conqueft, 
 Conquerors, 
 Clergyman, 
 Courts of Juftice, 
 
 Thomson, 
 Shakespeare, 
 JVatts, Idler, 
 Waits, 
 
 Fielding, Guardian, 
 Rambler, Idler, 
 Spectator, 
 Rambler, Guardian. 
 
 Rambler, 
 IdJer, 
 Spectator, 
 - . - Idler, 
 Svjift, Voltaire, Chur chill, 
 Churchill. Milton, 
 J Mercier, 
 
 - Coivper, 
 Constitution of New Hampshire, 
 Crimes and Punifliments, _ _ - ib. 
 
 Death, Irene, Rambler, Beaumont, Dryden, Toung, 
 Defamation, - - Sterne, Shakespeare, 
 
 Dependence, - - - Rambler, 
 
 Dogmatifm, - - - Watts, 
 
 Diffidence, _ - - _ . Rambler, 
 Defpotifm, Mo?itesquieu, Hehetiiis, Bible, Knight, 
 Gibbon, Cciuper, Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 Life of Pope, 
 - - - Goldsmith, 
 
 Prince of Abjssinia, 
 
 Dulnefs, 
 Dog, 
 Duty, 
 
 Duty and Happinefs, 
 Delay, 
 
 Drunkennefs, 
 
 Deception, 
 
 Defpdir, 
 
 Dillionefty, 
 
 Diftrels, 
 
 Domeftic Happinefs, 
 Diffentions, 
 
 Barloiv, 
 Rambler, 
 Fielding, 
 Rambler, 
 Fielding, Gay, 
 Seller, 
 Wandesford, 
 Coivper, Rambler, 
 Burke, 
 
 vu 
 
 85 
 
 er 
 
 ib, 
 
 88 
 ib. 
 
 90 
 91 
 92 
 ib. 
 
 ib, 
 94 
 ib. 
 94 
 95 
 96 
 98 
 99 
 101 
 102 
 ib, 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 ib. 
 10& 
 
 ib. 
 Ill 
 l\2 
 
 lb, 
 ib. 
 
 113 
 
 ib. 
 1 14 
 
 ib.- 
 115 
 
 ib.. 
 
 ib.. 
 IIZ 
 
 Equality of Mankind, Const itutiotts, Fenelon^ Diyden, 
 
 Swift, Rousseauy 
 
Viii 
 
 Empire, 
 Exercife,. 
 Education, 
 Error, 
 Ereedom, 
 Ely, 
 
 Erailty, 
 Eafting, 
 Freeman,. 
 Firft Pair, 
 Friigalicjr, 
 Favour, 
 iorg-ivenefs, 
 E^iiie, 
 Fate, 
 Fight, 
 Flattery, 
 Fortitude, 
 Fortune, 
 Fadtion, 
 Friend, 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 " " yohnson, 
 
 " " - Bambler^ 
 Drjden, Ramble'r, Spectator, 
 Ramblet 
 
 Gordon, Burke,. Co%vper, Watts, Freneau, 
 " " - Anonymous, 
 
 Sterne, 
 Anonymous, 
 " ' ' ~ ■ - Cowper, 
 
 Dvjight, 
 Rambler, 
 
 " " " - Fielding, 
 
 Sterne, Rambler, 
 ShaJ-espeare, Johnson, 
 Shakespeare, Drjden, 
 - - ifoivard, 
 
 - Johnson, Marsh, Rambler, 
 
 Shakespeare, Dryden, Ronve, Philips, 
 Havard, Buckingham, Hudibras, Johnson, 
 
 Spnrit of Besbot-ism, 
 
 p.j.^j ^^^''^ ^d^^r, Goldsmith, 
 
 Famion!''^' - ' " " ^^'''"ff^' Sterne, 
 Fair of An^erica, " . " ^^"^f' 
 
 Falfe Alarms, . I, ■ ;\'''''P^^'y'^ 
 
 ' - h^nrit of jJesbotism, 
 
 Gentlenefs of Addrefs, 
 1-alIantry, 
 ^entleman, 
 ^lory, , , 
 
 -ood -Breeding, . _ !< lu ^- 
 
 ^^'^P'^'^^^ Murphy, jLoe, Thom^^ 
 
 Gratitude, . . ; f'-^ldmg, 
 
 ' " " Frowde, Lyllo, 
 
 Savage 
 
 Watts, 
 Kcily, 
 Johnson, 
 ■Fhomson, 
 Fieldinp-. 
 
 119 
 ib. 
 120, 
 12X 
 ib. 
 124 
 ib.^ 
 ib, 
 125 
 ib. 
 127 
 ib, 
 ib. 
 128 
 ib. 
 129' 
 id. 
 ISO- 
 131 
 1 
 
 ib.- 
 
 134 
 
 isr 
 
 ib. 
 
 138 
 13a 
 140 
 141 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 142 
 ib. ■• 
 145 
 ib. 
 
 Good-nature, . . ^. , 
 
 Government, Johnson, Rambler, Burke, SbintTv^ 
 
 Mahet, joung, Rambkr^ Idler, 154. 
 
 \ 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 rravity, - - Shakespeare, Tou7ig, 153 
 
 Great Ones, < - Spirit of Despotism, 156 
 
 Grief, Addison, 157 
 
 (niilt, - Hajrjood, JVandesford, Griffith, 158 
 
 Good Senfe, ... - - Johnson, ib. 
 Good Humour, - . - Pope, Rambler, ib. 
 
 Gaiety, - - - Rambler, Cowper, 160 
 
 (ivpfies, - , . - - Coivper, ib. 
 
 Honefty, ... - Martjn, Mallet, 161 
 Honour, Shakespeare, Massinger, Ot-ivay, Halifax, 
 
 fohnson. Pope, - - - 162 
 Handfome and deformed Leg, - Franklin, 164 
 
 Happinefs, Drjden, Ro-we, Hcvard, Fielding, Johnson, 
 
 Idler, Goldsmith, - - 166 
 
 Hufband, _ . - - - Fielding, 168 
 Heaven, ------ Shirley, ib. 
 
 Hope, - Drj'den, Havard, Glover, Goldsmith, ib-^^ 
 Humility, - - Davenant, Derham, 109 
 
 Hypocrify, - Sterne, Fielding, Rambler, 170 
 
 Human Degradation, - - Barlow, ib. 
 
 Health, - - _ _ Keate, 171 
 
 Human Life, - - - Anonymous, ib. 
 
 Hiring Soldiers, - - Spirit of Despotism., 172 
 Hereditary Po\Yer, - - - Consiitutions, 17-3 
 Human Nature, - - Spectator, ib, 
 
 Idlenefs, - - Shakespeare, Rambler, Idler-, 174 
 Improvement of reafoning Faculty, - Watts, 175 
 Imprecatioji, - - - Miller, \77 
 
 Intercourfe with Mankind, - . Watts, 17 S 
 
 Im.prifonment, - .- - Shirley, 177 
 
 Ingratitude, - - Dryden, Madden, 178 
 
 Injuftice, - - . Havard, Fielding, ib. 
 
 Innocence, Shakespeare, Trap, Roscommon, Johnson, tb. 
 Independence, Churchill, Addison, Thomson, 179 
 
 Inftruftion of the People, Spirit of Despotism, 181 
 
 Informers, V; - - - - - Burke, 182 
 
 Infult, - - - _ Rambler, 183 
 
 Inveterate Abuflsy - - - _ Burke, ib. 
 Ill-breeding, -. - - . Fielding, ib. 
 
 Integrity, - ' - - , Johnson, 183 
 
 Indian, - - - - Rope, 184 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Ignorance, L . Johnsonj Goldsmith, id. 
 
 Judge, - - _ . Shakespeare, Nabb, 184 
 Juryman, - . . . _ Cooke, 185 
 
 Juftice, - - . . Waller, Guardian, ib. 
 
 Judgment, . .. . Rambler, 187 
 
 jealouiy of Tyranny, — . . , l^ee, ib. 
 
 Xing, Shakespeare, Webster, Fountain, Hopkins, Rotjc, 
 Bill, Dryden, Bolingbroke, Churchill, Burke, 
 Cowper, Spirit of Despotism, Montesquieu, 
 Swift, Fenelon, Mirabeau, - - I8§ 
 Liberty of Gonfcience, De Thou, Temple, Watts, Con- 
 
 stitutio?is. Price, MansfeUl, 
 God"u;in, Jefferson, Franklin, 
 Penn, - - _ 198 
 Liberty and Property, - ... Hervej, 208 
 Liberty, Drjden, Addison, Thomson, Havard, Hill, 
 . . _ Brooke, Coivper, Spirit of Despotism, Hume, ib, 
 
 L'^^^' - - - - Drjden, Havard,- %\\ 
 
 Lords, Cumberland, Goldsmith, Raynal, Burke, Bacon, 
 
 Churchill, Drjden, - - 213.. 
 
 ^f'^^' - - - - - Drjden, Rowe, 215 
 Licentioufnefs, ■ - Spirit of Despotism, Price, 2 
 Luxury, - - _ . Merrj^ CoTjper, 217 
 
 ^^'^'■'^ • - - - . Hudibras, 219 
 
 Laws, - Rousseau, Bacon, Burke, Johnson, ib. 
 
 Laws, ex port fado, - . Constitutions, 220 
 
 Liberty of tlie Prefs, Constitutions, Gordon, Hume, 221 
 Men, Lrjde7%,-. Pope, Sterne, Barlow, Spectator, 223 
 Mediocrity, . . . Ottvaj, CoKolej, 228 
 
 f^*^^"^)'' - - . Shakespeare;-: Sterne, ib. 
 
 .Monarch, - - - . . Gibber, 230 
 
 Magnanimity, - . - _ _ - ib, 
 
 ^t^.'^^'-s, - . . Johnson, Burke, ib. 
 
 ^^}'''^'''^^ ' - Constitutions, Washington, 231 
 
 Military- Power, Spirit of Despotism, Constitutions, 
 
 Washinjrton, - . 
 
 Modefty, - . - . . . Jllercier, 
 
 Magiftrates, . Spirit of Despotism, Constitutions] 
 Muufters of State, Srjift, Godvjln, Jvlandeville, Mon- 
 tesquieu, S,f7vell>j - - 236 
 
 10, 
 
CONTENTS., 
 
 xt 
 
 '^vobiUty, Roviie, Stephenson.) Dryden, Seneca, Spirit 
 
 of Despotism., - - - 
 
 Nature and Art, - - r Pope, 
 
 Negligence, - - ■ - - Johnson, 
 
 Natural Ariftocracy, - Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 Aon refiftanccj - - r Constitutions.^ 
 
 Nature, _ ^ - _ Spectator, 
 
 OppreiTion, - • - • - - - Burke, 
 Oaths, - - Bible, Shakespeare, Rajnal, 
 
 Old Soldier, 
 Primogeniture, 
 Paffion, 
 Patience, 
 
 Pavriotifm, r 
 
 Peace, 
 
 Perfecution, 
 
 Pit>-, 
 
 poverty, 
 
 Pride, 
 
 Providence, 
 
 Philofophy, 
 
 Phyfic, 
 
 Promifes, 
 
 Pride, 
 
 Partiality, ^ 
 
 Patronage, 
 
 Prcfeflion, 
 
 Praife, 
 
 Prudence, 
 
 Peeviflmefs, 
 
 Prodigality, 
 
 Politenefs, - 
 
 Private Vices, 
 
 Population,, 
 
 Political DifculTion, 
 
 P-eligion, 
 
 Refoliition, 
 
 Riches, ^ 
 
 Raillery, 
 
 Heputacion, 
 
 P.efignation, 
 
 Fcntham, 
 Spirit of Despotiiin, 
 
 - - >• Eaford, 
 
 MalJ.i'j, Rambler, 
 Whitehead, B'urke, 
 m Thomson, Burke, Pope, 
 Roive, Blackmore, Burke, 
 Johnson, Sterne, Rambler, 
 Rambkr, Idler, 
 Pope, 
 Cowper, 
 
 Jalmson, Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 Drjden., 
 Fielding,, 
 
 a St erne, Fieldi}:g.j Toun^ 
 
 - - Fielding; 
 
 Idler, 
 
 - - Fielding, 
 Rambler, Life of Pope, 
 
 - - - Fielding, 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 - - - Johnson, 
 
 'Rambler, 
 
 - - - Barlow, 
 
 Barlow, 
 Spirit of Despotism, 
 Miller, Toung, Blackmore, 
 Rambler, 
 
 Fielding, Rambler, Idler, Toung, 
 - - - Fielding, 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 Brotvn, Fielding, 
 
 235 
 242 
 ib, 
 ib. 
 
 243 
 ib, 
 
 344 
 ib, 
 
 246 
 ih. 
 247 
 ih, 
 2.48 
 249 . 
 251 
 253 
 253 
 25,4' 
 255 
 ib. 
 
 25r 
 
 258 
 - ib. 
 259 
 260 
 
 ib, 
 
 ib. 
 
 to. 
 261 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 262 
 
 ib. 
 263 
 264 
 266 
 
 ib. 
 269 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Ridicule, 
 
 •- 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 270 
 
 Recruiting, 
 
 
 Spirit of Despoti.^vi, 
 
 tb. 
 
 Rotaiion ot (Jihce, 
 
 - 
 
 Constitutions, 
 
 271 
 
 Riifiic Felicity, 
 
 - 
 
 Sterne, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Rights of Man, 
 
 - 
 
 Raynal, Constitutions, 
 
 272 
 
 Rich and Poor, 
 
 Paleji 
 
 ,. Jiurke, Goaivin, Lraobe, 
 
 276 
 
 "T > , ' 
 
 xieronnation. 
 
 Jjiirke, 
 
 280 
 
 Role, 
 
 
 TXT . , 
 
 Watts, 
 
 281 
 
 Rule or Lite, 
 
 
 JJeaandgc, 
 
 ■7 
 
 lb. 
 
 Retrofpedt of Life, 
 
 
 
 282 
 
 Jh.;0tS, 
 
 
 Spirit of Despotism,, 
 
 lb. 
 
 bcancial, 
 
 
 Havard, Stertie, Fielding, 
 
 283 
 
 bhame and Diigrace, 
 
 
 Sterne, 
 
 284 
 
 Self Importance, 
 
 Johnson, Spirit of Despotism.^ 
 
 285 
 
 Secrets, 
 
 
 - ~ Rambler, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Society, 
 
 
 Burke, 
 
 286 
 
 deduction, 
 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 287 
 
 Seeker, 
 
 
 - - - 
 
 lb. 
 
 Sufpicion, 
 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Spies, 
 
 
 Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 ib. 
 
 I yranny. 
 
 
 Burke, 
 
 289 
 
 lyrant, - ^ 
 
 
 Rofje, Burke, 
 
 • 7 
 
 10, 
 
 Time Paft, 
 
 
 Idler, 
 
 290 
 
 Titles, 
 
 Spirit 
 
 of Despstisvii^ Spectator, 
 
 291 
 
 Tritles, 
 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Taxation, 
 
 
 Burke, 
 
 292 
 
 Tnith, 
 
 
 Idler, 
 
 lb. 
 
 Toleration, 
 
 
 Burke, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Tendernefs to Animals, 
 
 Coiuper, 
 
 •7 
 
 lb. 
 
 To-day and to-morrow. 
 
 
 294 
 
 Virtue, 
 
 
 - Rambler, 
 
 295 
 
 Vanity, 
 
 
 Toung, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Vice, 
 
 
 Pope, 
 
 296 
 
 Uiurper, 
 
 
 Hudibras, 
 
 ib. 
 
 War, Johnson, Fenelouy 
 
 Voltaire, Young, Forteus, 
 
 
 MacJiiavel, 
 
 S-wifty 
 
 
 lb. 
 
 VvMiirde, 
 
 
 Franklin^ 
 
 300 
 
 Vvifdom, 
 
 
 Fielding^ 
 
 TOO 
 
 Want, 
 
 
 DrjdeU; 
 
 
 Wit, 
 
 
 Young., 
 
 ib. 
 
 Youth, 
 
 
 Forteus, Rambler, 
 
 304 
 
SUBSCRIBERS' NAxMES. 
 
 A. 
 
 i Abbott, William 
 Acklej, yohn B. T. 
 Adamsi T. B. 
 Albrecht, Charles 
 Allen, Enoch 
 A Hi bone, Thomas 
 Anderson, Thomas 
 Arbutton, Williara 
 Ashburner, yohn 
 Austin, Thomas 
 ■ Atery, Richard J, 
 B. 
 
 Bacon, John 
 
 Baker, Jacob 
 
 Baksr, John 
 
 Bald^oin, Josiah 
 
 Barber, J. 
 ► Barrington, Richard 
 
 Barrj, Jonatha?i 
 
 Barry, Joseph B, 
 
 Beatty, Sar.tuel 
 ■- Bedford, Gunning 
 
 Bender, Lctjis 
 
 Bennett, John 
 
 Bingham, Archiba^ 
 
 Bird, Joseph 
 
 Black, James 
 _ Blair, William 
 
 Boiler, Frede"ick 
 
 Bonsall, Jonathan, jun. 
 
 Borden, Samuel 
 
 Boyer, Isaac 
 
 Eritton, Joseph 
 Bro'tvn, Christian 
 
 Brotune, Peicr 
 Bro~iV7i, Jacob, 
 Broivn, William 
 Brown, William^ Jin:, 
 Bryant, JoJin T. 
 Budd, James 
 Buddy, Peter 
 Bunting, P. S. 
 Burdeji, Joseph 
 Burgess, Alary 
 C. 
 
 Caillebauzy, William 
 Caldrvell, James 
 Calchvell, Jonathan 
 Carapbell, Alexander 
 Can in , James 
 Carman, Samuel 
 Carrell, John . 
 Carr, William 
 Carswell, Samuel 
 Caufman, Jacob 
 Cavender, Charles 
 Cave, Thomas 
 Chanceller, William 
 Chap in, Nathan 
 Chaudron, S. 
 Coats, William 
 Cooper, Conrad 
 Conchy, John 
 Cor less, Mat ill: ai' . 
 Cornman, Joseph 
 Co-LLpertJnvait, Jose/>h 
 Croslcy, Joshua 
 Crossman, Henry 
 Cummins, John 
 
c 
 
 D. 
 
 Uahr.cy, Thomas J/. 
 Davis, Willi am 
 Bt'ford, John 
 Denis on., R. jun. 
 Deppe, Henry 
 2J es mond, TimotJi v 
 Dielhnbeck tf A'ewton 
 Diliman, J. W. 
 Dilworth, Richard 
 Donaldson, Isaac 
 Donahue, Ma7-garet 
 JJorsey, Benedict, jun., 
 Douglass, yl. 
 Diicomb, Vincent. 
 Dunioutet, y, B. 
 Dunlap, Jane 
 E. 
 
 Earrwst, Jacob 
 Eherle, -Frederick 
 F.isenbrcy, Peter 
 FJiet, Charlts 
 Fntjcer, Mary 
 Fngeard., Henry 
 F^ivinp-, V/illiam 
 Fvre, Manuel, jun, 
 
 r. 
 
 Ftaron, Joseph 
 Fisher, Martin 
 Fleminp-, C'liarles 
 G. 
 
 ( ■■ ■- 'rui's, Benjamin. F. 
 
 :c'(\r, Samuel 
 ijcriiand, John 
 Gillasspy, George 
 Goss, Joseph, Dr. 
 Grajfard. Fei^r 
 Grave ri. stin Pe ter 
 Greene^ Ficanor 
 Grccmvaj, Mrs. Tlannah 
 
 rot jun, Peter 
 <jro\:ery Jg':.'1 
 
 It. 
 
 Haines, Mahlo7i 
 FTallman, John' , 
 Hamilton, William 
 ■ Hamm, James 
 Flanse, Conrad 
 Flansell, Barnett 
 Hanson, Gr. Dorsey 
 Harby, John 
 Hare, C. W. 
 Harford^ Charles 
 Hayns, John B. 
 Helmuth, John K.- 
 Flelt, John H. 
 Henchman, Adam 
 Henderson, John 
 Henderson, Thomas 
 IFill, JoJin 
 Hinton, B. 
 Flockley, Frede r ic k 
 Haggard, FJiza 
 Hollovjell, E. 
 Holmes, Samuel 
 Flood, John P« 
 Hopkins, jolin 
 FIo%vell, £, 
 Huron, Laurence 
 I. 
 
 Innes, William,, sen. 
 Irving, David 
 
 J- 
 
 Jackson, Riciiard B«. 
 James, Otto 
 Jeanes, IsariiJi 
 Jones, Benjamin 
 Jones, David 
 Jones, wan am 
 Jo h nson , U i chard 
 Johnston, Jar- ^s 
 justice, John 
 
I Keelejy Math /'as 
 
 \ Keen^ William Jonas 
 
 \ Kellock, R 
 
 . Kelly, Hugh 
 
 i Kennedy ^ Anthony 
 
 I Kirk, Isaac 
 
 '. Kitts, Michael 
 
 Knox, James 
 
 Krips, John 
 j Kunckel, Philip C. 
 f Kurtz, Geoj-ge, Jun. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lacombe, John 
 Laidlcy, JameS 
 Lapsley, David 
 Larktnn, TJiomas 
 Latimer, Thomas 
 Leatherman, John 
 ! Leech, G. 
 
 Lei per, Thomas 
 Lenvis, Josepii S, 
 Lex, Peter 
 Lohra, John 
 Lojd, Joseph 
 Lybrand, Samuel ^ 
 Lynch, Edtvard 
 M.- 
 
 Ma_fett, Dxvoid 
 Malcolm, Joseph G^ 
 Mar ley, William 
 t Martin, Robert C. 
 Itlartin, William 
 Marshall, Amor' 
 JIason, Francis v 
 Mason, Hannah- 
 I JHassey, John 
 ' Mather, Louis 
 
 Mattern, AndrcKV 
 < Maxtvcll, Anthony 
 ? . Mayer, JVieholas 
 ^ Ml^Callmont, George 
 M^Monagal, John. 
 
 Meisson, Joseph' 
 Meldruw., Robert 
 Mickltjohn, John 
 Middleton, Walker 
 Midlen, Walter, 
 Miercken, Peter 
 Miller, John 
 Miller y Henry 
 Moller, John 
 3Iudey, Peter F.- 
 N. 
 
 Kelsoji, William 
 Nevjman, Thomas 
 Newport, J. 
 North, Joseph 
 O. 
 
 O'Brien, Mary-Isabella 
 Oliver, W. G.- 
 P. 
 
 Pancake, Philip 
 Pancoast, Samuel 
 Parmentier, Charles 
 Parneutt, Charles 
 Pascalis, Felix 
 Pass more, Thomas 
 Paul, Joseph M. 
 Payran, Stephen 
 Pearce, Thomas 
 Pearson, Thomas 
 Penington, Eckvard 
 Pepper, ^Geor^e 
 Peters, George 
 Pfcifer, Joseph . . 
 Phillips, John r 
 Phillips, Zalegmdn 
 Polk, J. 
 
 ^'•leen, James- 
 
 Rain, Thomas 
 Ralston, Gcorgs 
 Reel, Baltcs 
 Rchn, Casptev , 
 
Ives/iirt, Conrad 
 Reynolds^ James 
 Reynolds^ Samuel 
 Richards, Samuel 
 Ridgimy^ Burr 
 Rino, William 
 Robinson, jL W. 
 Robinson, JVilliam, sen, 
 Robinson, Willi a7n, jun, 
 Robsom, Geo7-ge 
 Rogers, Jacob 
 Rose, Cropley 
 
 • S. 
 
 Sattet-thwaite, Abel 
 Saunlier, John 
 Saurman, M. 
 Savage, John 
 Schneider, Casper 
 Shannon isf Robbins 
 Sharp, John 
 Shatv, R. 
 Shaler, Jacob 
 Shields, JDa'vid M, 
 Shields, Robert 
 Shultz, Charles 
 Shutze, George 
 Sickel, Laurence 
 Simmons, Hill 
 Simons, Joseph 
 Snotuden, Jo'^eph 
 Steinmctz, Joseph, jutu 
 Stilltvell, Savage 
 Smith, Catharine 
 Smith, Edtvard 
 Smith, John 
 Smith, William, juii* 
 Snyder, Adam 
 Spill ard, Mathew 
 Spooner, Jo tin ^ 
 Stimmel, Pltilip 
 Story, Samaiel ^ 
 Swain, Jamesj 
 Stveenej, Doyh 
 
 T. 
 
 ^cige, Roger 
 Thatcher, Richard 
 Thomas, Jacob 
 Thompscn, Alexander 
 Thompson, DaTiid 
 Thompson, John 
 Thompson, Samuel 
 Thursby, Edtvard 
 Tompkins, Samuel 
 T •uman, Evan 
 Turnbull, Alexander 
 Turner, Joseph 
 Tustian Thomas 
 U. 
 
 Uple, John 
 
 V- 
 
 Vallance, John 
 Vanarsdale, John 
 Van Beuren, Abraham 
 Vansise, Joseph 
 W. 
 
 Wall, George 
 Ward, John 
 Weaver, John 
 Webb, Robert 
 West, William., 
 Wetherill, Ilordecai 
 Wether ill, Samuel 
 Weyman, Jacob 
 Wharton, Moore 
 Vr'helen, Jofin 
 Wiley, William 
 Wiley, Williaj^i I* 
 Wilkins, James 
 IVilliams, 'Thomas 
 Wilmsr, Lambert, Jan., 
 Wilson, Margaret 
 Wolbert, Frederick 
 Woodruff, Archibald 
 IVoodside, Eliza 
 Wooldrich, Jonas 
 JVright, Antho'iiy- 
 Wright y Cakb 
 
American Monitor 
 
 O F 
 
 ELOCUTION. 
 
 Elocution is a branch of oratory, the pow- 
 er and in portanceof which is greater than is generally 
 thought ; infoinuch that eloqticnce^ takes its name 
 from it.* 
 
 It vias much cultivated by Quintilian, and before 
 him bv Cicero, and before him by M. Antonius; but 
 bef(;re his time, it was too much negleded by the 
 Koman or?tQrs : W hich made him fay, " he had feen 
 many men famous for eloquence, but not one of th^ 
 that unuerllood elocution." 
 
 * Elrquentia ah elequi. I nfe the word Elrcution here in 
 its coirnion and vulgar fenfe, to fignify utterance, delivery 
 or pronunciatior, in which fenie we frequently ufe it in the 
 Englifh lanpuape, and which its Latin etymolofry very well 
 juflifies; tbo' I know foroe good writers apply to it a different 
 idea, in conformitv to the fenfe in which the Latin orators 
 ufed the word elocutio. But it is no uncommon thing lor 
 derivative wurds in one language to be taken in a different 
 fenfp from that, in which the words they are derived from are 
 taken iu another. 
 
 B 
 
6 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 But what ftrefs was laid upon it by the Greek 
 orators, appears from that celebrated laying or Demof- 
 thenes ; who being afked, what was the firft principal 
 thing in oratory ? anfwered, Pronunciation ^ being 
 afked again, what was thefecond? replied, Pronunci- 
 ation. And what was the third ? Pronunciation. 
 Denoting that in his judgnnent the whole art, fpirit, 
 and power of oratory confillf d in this, 
 
 Cicero, and after him Qiiintilian, divided oratory 
 into five parts: i. Invention — by which we pro- 
 vide (;urrelves uith iuitable and lufficient materials 
 for adifcourle. 2. Difpolition— by which they meant 
 the divifion ot their fubjedl into parts and fentences, 
 according to the molt natural order ; and confequendy 
 the proper diftribution and arrangement of their ideas. 
 3. Elocution — by which they always meant, what we 
 call Didion; which confilts in fuiting our words to 
 our ideas, and the ftyle to the fubjed. 4. Memory, 
 or a faculty ot clearly difcerning and retainmgour ideas, 
 and of calling to mind the properelt words by which to 
 exprcfs them. 5 Pronunciation ^ or the art of ma- 
 naging the voice and gerture in fpeaking. 
 
 So that by pronunciation, the antients underftood 
 both Elocution and Adion ; and comprehended in it 
 the right management of the voice, looks, anti geiture. 
 To the former of thefe, viz. the right management of 
 the voice in reading or fpeaking ; which is indilferently 
 called by us, Elocution and Pronunciation, 1 ihalt here 
 confine myfelf. 
 
 The great defign and end of a good pronunciatioti is, 
 to ir.ake the ideas feem to come from the heart ; and then 
 they will not fail to excite the attention and aHedions 
 of thofe that hear us: from which the great bt nefit 
 and ufefuinefs ot this too much ne^letted art may be 
 leen. 
 
Of Elocution. 
 
 1 
 
 Of bad Pronunciation. 
 
 The feveral faults of pronunciation are thefe 
 following: 
 
 I . When the voice is too loud. 
 
 This is very difagreeable to the hearer, and very in- 
 convenient to the fpeaker. 
 
 It will be very difagreeable to the hearers, if they 
 beperfons of good talle: who will always look upon it 
 to be the efFedt either of ignorance or affe£lation. 
 
 Some will impute it to your ignorance, and fuppofe 
 that you were never inftrufted better fince you left the 
 reading fchool; where children generally get a habit of 
 reading in a high-pitched key, or a uniform elevated 
 voice, without any regard to emphafis, cadence, or a 
 graceful elocution. 
 
 Others will impute it to afFedation ; or a defign to 
 work upon their padions ; which will immediately de- 
 feat the defign, if you had it. For if you would etFec- 
 tually move^ the paffions, you muft carefully conceal 
 your intention fo to do: for as foon as the mind 
 perceives you have fiich a defign upon it, it will be u- 
 pon its guard. However, none but the inoft low, 
 weak, and mechanical minds will be affe£ted with 
 mere dint ot found and noife. And the padions fo 
 raifed, leave no lading or valuable efFeds upon the 
 mind, and anfwer no good purpofe or end ; btcaufe the 
 underltanding hath nothing to do with fuch impreflions, 
 and the memory no handle by which to retain or recall 
 them. Not to fay, it often anfwers a bad end ; afFeds 
 the mind in a wrong place, and gives it a falfe bias. 
 However this may be thought to become the ftage or 
 the bar, it leafl of all befits the pulpit ; where all ought 
 to be folemn, ferious, rational, and grave as the 
 fubjeds there treated of. 
 
 It is falfe oratory then to feek to perfuade or afFeil 
 by mere vehemence of voice. A thing that hath been 
 often attempted by men of mean furniture, low genius, 
 
8 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 or bad tafle, among the antienfs as well as the moderns* 
 A pradice which formerly gave the judicious Q^iin- 
 tilian great offence: who calls it not only clamouring, 
 but iurious bellowing; not vehemence, but downright 
 violence. 
 
 Befides, an overftrained voice is very inconvenient to 
 the fpeaker, as well as difguftful to judicious hearers. 
 It exhauiis his fpirits to no purpofe; and rakes from 
 him the proper management and modulation of his 
 voice according to the fenfe of his fubjed: and, what 
 is word of all, it naturally leads him into a tone. 
 
 Every man's voice indeed fhould fill the place where 
 hefpeaks; but if it exceed its natural key, it will be 
 neither rweer nor fott, nor agreeable, becaufe he will 
 not be able to give every word its proper and diftm- 
 gui(hing found. 
 
 2. Another fault in pronunciation is when the voice 
 is too low. 
 
 This is not fo inconvenient to the fpeaker, but is 
 as difagreeable to the hearer, as tb.e other extreme. 
 And indeed to the geiierajiry of hearers a too low voice 
 is much more difpleafing than a too loud one ; efpe- 
 cially to thofe who are troubled with an impediment 
 in hearing, and thofe who are befl pleafed with a 
 livirly and pathetic addrefs, as moft are. It is alwavs 
 ofFenfive to an audience to obferve any thing in the 
 reader or fpeaker that looks like indolence or inatten- 
 tion. The hearer will never be afFeded whilft he fees 
 the fpeaker indifferent. 
 
 The art of governing the voice confiits a good deal 
 in dexteroufly avoiding thefe two ext! ernes: at leaft, 
 this ought to be fird minded. And for a general rule 
 todiredlyou herein, I know of none better than this—- 
 carefully to preierve the key, that is, the command of 
 your voice; and at the fame time, to adapt^the eleva- 
 tion and llrength of it to the condition and number of 
 the perions you (peak to, and the nature of the place 
 you (peak in.— it would be altogether as ridiculous in 
 
\pf Ehcmion. 
 
 9 
 
 z general who is haranguing an army to (peak in a low 
 and languid voice, as in a perfon who reads a chapter 
 in a iamily to fpeak in a h)ud and ea^^er one. 
 
 3. Anotlier iault in pronunciation is a thick, haity, 
 cluiiering voice. 
 
 This is, whenaperfon tnumbles, or clips,-.or fwal- 
 ]ows his words, that is, leaves out fome ryllal)les in the 
 long words, and never pronounces lonie ot the iiiort 
 ones at all ; but hurries on witiioul any care to be Heard 
 di'dintlly, or to give his words their tull found, or his 
 hearers the full fen^eot them. 
 
 This is often owing to a defe<5l in the organs of 
 fpeech, or a too great flutter of the animal ipirits'; but 
 oftener to a bad habit uncorre£ied» 
 
 Demoi'thenes, the greatelt orator Greece ever produ- 
 ced, had, it is /aid, neverthelefs, three natural impedi- 
 iTients in pronunciation; all which he concjuercd by 
 invincible labour and perfeverance. One was a 
 weaknefs ot voice; which he cured by frcqnetitiy 
 declaiming on the fca-lht>re, amidlt the noife of the 
 waves. Another was a (hortneCs ot breath ; which he 
 mended by repeating his orations as he waikeci up a 
 hili. And the other was the fault i am fpeak ing of ; 
 a thick mumbling way of fpeaking; which lie broke 
 himfelf of by declaiming with pebbies in his mou h. 
 
 4. Another fault in pronunciation is when perluns 
 fpeak too quick. 
 
 There is fcarce any fault more common than this, 
 efpecially among young perfon's who imagine iheycan 
 read very well, and are not afraid ot beiuij; (topped Jn 
 their carreer by the u-nexpeited intervention of any hard 
 word. And fcarce aify bad habit of the voice i > con- 
 quered with tnore difficulty; tho' one would imagine 
 nothing is more eafy. 
 
 This rnanner of reading may do well enoi'gh when; 
 Vv'e.are examining leafes ; perufmg indentures; or 
 reciting ads ot parliament, where there is ahvavs a 
 
 B 2 
 
lo ■ American Monitor. W 
 
 great fuperflaity of words ; or in readinsf a newfpaper, 
 where there is but little niatter that aeferves our atten- 
 tion; but is very improper in reading books ot devo- 
 tion and inrtruaion, and efpecially the facred fcriptures, 
 where the folemniiy of the fubjedl or the weight of the 
 fenfe demands a particular regard. But it is moft of 
 ail inexcufable to lead forms of prayer in this manner 
 as ads of devotion. 
 
 The great difadvantage which attends this manner of 
 pronunciation, is, that the hearer lofes the benefit of 
 mpre than half the good things he hears, and would 
 fain remember, but cannot. /\nd a fpeaker (hould al- 
 ways have a regard to the memory, as well as the under- 
 landing, of his hearers. 
 
 5c It is alfo a fault to fpeak too flow. 
 Some are apt to read in a heavy, droning, fleepy 
 way; and through mere careleffnefs make paufes at 
 improper places. This is very difagreeable. But to 
 hem, hauk, fneeze, yawn, or cough, between the pe- 
 riods, is vaflly more fo. 
 
 A too How elocution is moft faulty in reading trifles 
 that do not require attention, it then becomes tedious. 
 A perfon that is addidted to this flow way of fpeaking 
 fliould always take care to reward the hearer's patience 
 with important fentiments, and compenfate the want 
 of^ words by a weight of thoughts ; . and give his 
 shicourfe its. proper quantity of folid fenfe, that, as we 
 ^ay, wbat it wants in length it may make out in 
 Ji'eadth; 
 
 Uut a'ioo flow elocution is a faulf very rarely to be 
 mnd, unlef^inaged people, and thofe who naturally 
 ijjeak fo in common converfation. And in thefe, if 
 me pronunciation be in all other refpcd^sjuft, decent, 
 
 . and proper ; and efpecially if thcfubiea be weighty or 
 
 \>n!ncate, his very excufable. 
 
 € 6. An irregular or uneven voice, is a great fault ih 
 reading. ^ 
 
^ Of Elocution* ii 
 
 That is, when the voice rifes and falls by fits and 
 ftarts, or when it is elevated ami depreiFed ininamrally 
 or unfeafonably, without regard to feme or itops ; or 
 always beginning a fentence with a high voice, and 
 concluding it with alow one, or vice versa; or alvvays 
 beginning and concluding it with the fame key. 
 Oppofite to this is 
 
 7. A flat, dull, uniform tone of voice, without 
 emphafis or cadence, or any regard to the fenfe or fub- 
 je6l of what is read. 
 
 This is a habit, which children who have been ufed 
 to read their leifons by wayof tafk, are very apt to fall 
 into, and retain as they grow up ; fnch a monotony as 
 attorney's clerks read in, when they examine an en- 
 grofled deed. This is a, great infelicity when it becomes 
 habitual ^ becaufe it deprives the hearer of the greateft 
 part of the benefit or advantage he might receive by 
 a clofe attention to the molt weighty and interefling 
 parts of the fubje6f, which fliould always be diftin- 
 guiQied or pointed out by the pronunciation — For a 
 juft pronunciation is a good commentary. 
 
 Laftly, the greateft and moft common fault of all is 
 reading with a tone. 
 
 No habit is more eafy to be contradled than this, 
 or more hard to be conquered. This unnatural tone 
 in reading and fpeaking is very various ; but whatever 
 it be, it is always difguftful to perfons of delicacy and 
 judgment. 
 
 Some have a womanifh fqueaking tone ; which, 
 perfons whofe voices are (hrill and weak, and over- 
 Itrained, are very apt to fall into. 
 
 Some have a finging or canting tone, which En- 
 thiifiaftic fpeakers generally much affe£l, and by which 
 their hearers are often much aftedled. Others afFe6i; 
 a high, fwelling, theatrical tone; who being ambiti- 
 ous of the fame of fine orators, lay too much emphafis 
 on every fentence, and thereby tfanfgrefs the rules of 
 true oratory. 
 
12 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Others afFe£t an awful and ftriking tone, attended 
 with folemn grimace, as it they would move you with 
 every word, whether the weight of the fubjedl bear 
 them out or not. This is what perfons of a gloomy 
 or melancholy caft of mind are mult apt to give into. 
 
 Some have a fet uniform ttuie of voice ; which I have 
 already taken notice of. — Others, an odd, whimfical, 
 whining tone, peculiar to themfelves, and not to be 
 defcribed — only that it is laying the emphafis on words 
 which do not require or deferve it. 
 
 It niufi: be acknowledged, there are fome kinds ot 
 tone which, though unnatural, yet, as managed by the 
 Ipeakers, are not very dUagreeable' — and the mind mufl 
 be much on its guard that can remain unmoved thereby. 
 
 When I have been afFeiled with hearing orators de- 
 liver common or oblcure fcntiments in fuch a Itriking 
 tone, I have endeavoured carefully to examine into the 
 true reafon of that emotion, or what it was that excited 
 that affe£Uon in my mind ; and have found that it 
 could not ari fe ircmi-i he mere tone of the fpeaker — 
 which of itfelf was unnatural and difagteeabie — nor 
 from the weight of the fubje6l — which was no more 
 than common— but from the earneilnefs, life and io- 
 lemnity with which he fpake, and his appearing him- 
 felf to be much afFecied with what he deiiveredj 
 which two things will never fail to move an audience. 
 And why they may not be as well obferved and prac- 
 tiied without a tone as with one, 1 cannot conceive. 
 And without thefe a tone itlelf would have no power 
 to move ; as it iiath no other fublerviency to raife the 
 pafCons than as it folemnizes the fubjeft, and feems 
 to ihew the fpeaker's heart engaged. Piiy that thofe 
 tvvo ends fhould not be anfwered by a better means! 
 and that a bad habit in the fpeaker, indu'ging a falfe 
 tafte in the hearers, fhould fecure one great end'^of ora- 
 tory by that which is the greateft abuTe of it ! 
 
 Our next enquiry is 
 
% Of Ekcutisn. 
 
 How TO AVOID A BAD PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 Tv) this end the few following rules may be of fer~ 
 vice. 
 
 1. If you would not read in too loud or too low a 
 voice, confider whether your voice be naturally too 
 low or loud ; and corredt it accordingly in your ordi- 
 nary converfation : by which means you will be better 
 able to corretSl it in reading. If it be too low, con- 
 verfe with thofe that are deaf ; it too loud, with thofe 
 whofe voices are low. Begin your periods with an 
 even moderate voice, that you may have the command 
 of it, to raife or fall it as the fubjedl requires. 
 
 2. To cure a thick conhifed cluttering voice, accuf- 
 tom yourfcif, both in converfation and reading, to pro- 
 nounce every word (liflin£l and clear. Obferve wuh 
 what deliberation fome converfe and read, and hovsf 
 full a founl they give to every word ; and imitate 
 them. D ) not atFed to contract your words, as fome 
 do, or run t a^o into one. This may do very well in 
 converfation, or. in reading familiar dialogues, but is 
 not fo decent in grave and foleinn fubjedts ; efpecially 
 in reading the facred fcriptures. 
 
 It apjjears from Demofthenes's cafe, that this fault 
 of pronunciation cannot be cured without much difii- 
 culty, nor will yon find his remedy efFedlual without 
 pains and perfeverance. 
 
 3. To break a habit of reading too fafl, attend dili- 
 gently to the fenfe, weight, and propriety of every fen- 
 tence you read, and of every emphatical word in it. 
 This will not only be an advantage to yourfelf, but 
 a double one to your hearers; for it will at once give 
 them time to do the farne, and exciie their attention 
 when they fee yours is fixed. A folemn patife after a 
 weighty thought is very beautiful andltriking. A well 
 timed ftop gives as much grace to fpeech as it does to 
 mufic. Imagine that you are fpeaking to perfons of 
 
^4 American Monitor. * 
 
 flow and unready conceptions ; and meafure not your 
 hearer's apprehenfion by your own. If you do, you 
 may poffibly out-run it. And as in reading you are 
 not at liberty to repeat your words and fentences, that 
 fhould engage you to be very deliberate in pronouncing 
 them, that their fenfe may not be lofl. The eafe and 
 advantage that will arife both to the fpeaker and hear- 
 er, by a free, full, and deliberate pronunciation is hard- 
 ly to be imagined. 
 
 I need lay down no rules to avoid a too flow pro- 
 nunciation ; that being a fault which few are guilty of. 
 
 4. Tu cure an uneven, defultory voice, take care 
 that you do not begin your periods either in too high 
 or too low a key; for that will necefl'arily lead you to 
 an unnatural and improper variation of it. Have a 
 careful regard to the nature and quantity of your points, 
 and the length of your periods ; and keep your mind 
 intent on the fenfe, fubjea,- and fpiril of your author. 
 
 1 he fame direftions are necefTary to avoid a mon- 
 otony m pronunciation, or a dull, fet, uniform tone of 
 voi.e. For i( your mind be but attentive to the fenfe 
 of your lubjea, you will naturally manage and mod- 
 ulate your voice according to the nature and importance 
 
 Laffly, To avoid all kinds of unnatural and difa- 
 greeable rones, the only rule is to endeavour to 
 fpeak with tlie fame eafe and freedom as you would 
 
 00 on the fame fubjedl in private converfation You 
 hear no body converfe in a tone unlt-fs they have the 
 uncouth accent of fome other country, or have got into 
 a habttot altering the natural key of their voice when 
 they aretalkmgof fome ferious fuhjed in religion. But 
 
 1 can lee no reaion in the world, that when in common 
 cotu erlauon we ip^ak in a natural voice with proper ac- 
 cetit and emphafis, yet as foon as we begin to read, or 
 talk of rtl.g„.n, or fpeak in f^u-bhc. ue iho.ild imme- 
 ntate.y allu.,,c a fiifF. aukwar.l. unnatural tone. If 
 we are indeed deeply; alieded with tiie iubjed we re? I 
 
Of Elocution. X5 
 
 or talk of, the voice will naturally vary according to the 
 palfion excited ; but it we vary it unnaturally, only to 
 feem afFedlcd, or with a defign to affedl others, it then 
 becomes a tone, and isbiFenfive. 
 
 In reading then attend to your fubje£l, and deliver it 
 juft in fuch a manner as yj^o would do if yon were 
 talking of it. This is the great, general and moft im- 
 portant rule of all; which, ir carefully obferved, will- 
 corredl not only this but almoft all the other faults of 
 a bad pronunciation ; and give you an eafy, decent, 
 graceful delivery, agreeable to all the rules of a right 
 elocution. For however apt we are to tranfgrefs thein 
 in reading, we follow ti.em naturally and eafily enough 
 in converiation4 And children wil! tell a (tory with 
 all the natural graces and beauties of pronunciation, 
 however aukwardly they may read the fame out of a 
 book. 
 
 Of good Pronunciation. 
 
 A good pronimciation in reading, is the art of 
 managing and governing the voice fo as to exprtfs the 
 full fenftand fpirit of your author in that ju(t, r.etent 
 and gracefu manner, which will not only initrudt but 
 atTe<^ the hearers ; and will not only raife in them the 
 fame ideas he intended to convey, b§fli the fame palfions 
 he really felt. This is tlie great end of reading to 
 others, and this end can only be attained by a proper 
 andjui^ pronunciation. 
 
 And [lence we may iearn wherein a good pronunci- 
 ation in fpeaking confiits ; which is nothing but a 
 natural, eafy, and graceiul variation of the voice, 
 ^ fuitable to the nature and importance of the fcntiments 
 we deliver. 
 
 A good ptonimciation in both thefe re(pc£ts is tnore 
 eafilv attained by fome than others j as fome can more 
 *reaiiily enter into the fenfe and fentir/ ents ot an atuhor, 
 •id more egfily deiiver their own, than others^ean j 
 
1 6 American ' Monitor. 
 
 and at the fame time have a boore .happy facih'ty of 
 exj- relling ali the j roper y'ar.iirtions.^hd modulations of 
 the voice than other- tui^^V9^^:^fJs, perfons u{ a quick 
 api It henfion, and a bi iflsflpw of aniWi Ip-irits (fetting 
 afide ail impediments of rht organs) nk^'e gmcrally a 
 nnoie lively, juH, and na^flfelJ elocmion than j erfonsof 
 a (low^perctption and a rieguVatic tail. / However, it 
 may* iri a good degree be attained by eVt^ry'oue that will 
 carefully attend to and pra^ice thofe juies that are 
 proper to acquire it. Which leads *me Aheretore to 
 confider 
 
 How A GOOD Pronunciation is to be 
 Attained. 
 
 To this end the obfervation of the following rules is 
 necellary. 
 
 Have a particular regard to Paufes, Emphafis, and 
 Cadence. 
 
 Of Pauses. 
 
 With refpe£f to paufes, you will in a great meafure 
 in reading bedireded by the con;mon lh»ps or points^ 
 viz. Comma (.j-Sltetpi-colon (;)~Coion (:)— Period 
 (.) — {nterr(ig3tion.i(?^-— and Adnjiration (!). 
 
 1 hefe points ferve two purpoles — to diltinguifh the 
 fenfe tjf.ihe author, and — to dired the pronunciation 
 
 the reader. — ^^A cpnitna (iops the voii.e, while we 
 fiiay privately tell onc-^a femi-colon, two — a colon/ 
 three - — and a period, lour. 
 
 1 o break a habit ot taking breath too often in read- 
 ing, accidlom yonrfelt to read long penocis, fuch as. 
 the fixteentiitt lines, in Milton's Paradife Luft. 
 
 Atrer iome%eighty and important lentiment, it will 
 ^'T^t^r to jiiake a longer paule'than oidinary ; and 
 efpeciaiiy towfrds the tioleor a^ication oMdifcourfer 
 
^thefe long p3iv^^^!^^^H|l^' '^'^y "'"'^^ 
 compofe and afteiSplieJ^^^BK^^*^ totliink. 
 
 J t will alTo be vcr)(''h^^|B^HP^'P^^''^'^'''^ ' '^"^^ 
 give his promipc-ietion the^fflfntage ol variety, whic'.i. 
 
 is always plcafitig to t^i^^Mpfrs. 
 
 Of Emphasis. 
 
 The next thing to be regarded in reading is the^» 
 Emphafis; and to He that it be always laid on the. 
 emphaticai word. 
 
 When we dillinguifli any particular fyllable in a 
 word with a (trong voice, it is called Accent; when we- 
 thus diltinguilh any particular word in a fentence, ii is 
 called Emphafis; and the word fo diftinguifhed the 
 Emphatical word. And the emphatical words (for 
 there are often more than one) in a fentence, are thofe 
 which carry a weight or importance in thcmfeives, or 
 thofe on which the fenfe of the reft depends ; and thcfe-- 
 muft always be diftinguifhed by a fuller and (tionger 
 found of voice, wherever they are found, whether in 
 the beginning, middle, or end of a fentence. Takefor- 
 inftance thofe words of the fatirilt. 
 
 G?t place and wealth, if poffible, witii prace, 
 If Hot, by any means get wealth and place. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 In thefe lines the emphatical words are accented ; and 
 which they are, the fenfe will always difcover. 
 
 Some fentences are fo full and comprehenlive, that 
 almoft every word is emphatical: For infiarce, that 
 pathetic expoiiulation in the prophecy of Ezekiel, 
 
 «' Y/hy will ye die 
 
 In this f>iort fentence, every word is emphatirafy rifin 
 on which 6^|||^vord you lay the emphafis, whether ti;e 
 
i8 
 
 American Monitor" 
 
 firft, fecond, third, or fourth, it ftrikes out a different 
 fenfe, and opens a new fubjedlot moving expoftulation. 
 
 Some fentences are equivocal, as well as fomc 
 words ; that is, contain in them more fenfes than one \ 
 and which is the fenfe intended can only be known by 
 obferving on what word the emphafis is laid. For 
 inrtance — Will you ride to town to-day?" — This 
 queition is capable of being taken in four different fen- 
 les, according to the different' words on which you lay 
 the emphafis. If it be laid on the word yau^ — the 
 anfvver may be — •« No, but I intend to fend my fervant 
 in my ftead." — If the emphafis be laid on the word 
 Tide — the proper anfwer might be — '* No, 1 intend to 
 walk it."— ^If you place the%mphafis on the word town 
 —it is a different queftion ; and the anfwer may be — 
 " No, for I defign to ride into the country." — And if 
 the emphafi'^ be laid upon the words to-day— fenfe 
 is flill fomething different from all thefe; and the 
 proper anfwer may be — " No, but I fhall to-morrow" 
 — Of fuch importance oftentimes is a right emphafis, 
 in order to determine the proper fenfe of what we read 
 or fpeak. 
 
 The voice mufl alfo exprefs, as near as may be, the 
 very fenfe or idea defigned to be conveyed by the em~ 
 phatical word ; by a ffrong, rough, and violeHt, or a 
 foft, fmooth, and tender found. 
 
 Thus the different palTions of the mind are to be 
 expreffed by a different found or tone of voice. Love, by 
 a foft, fmooth, languifhing voice ; — Anger, by a ffrong, 
 vehement, and elevated voice; — Joy, by a quick, fweet, 
 and clear voice ;— Sorrow, by a low, flexible, inter- 
 rupted voice;— Fear, by a deje£led, tremulous, hefita- 
 ting voice; — Courage hath a full, bold, and loud voice ; 
 — and Perplexity, a grave, fleady, and earnefl one. In 
 lixordiums the voice fhould be low ; — in Narrations, 
 diltinfl; ; — in Reafoning, flow ; — in Perfnafion, f^rong; 
 it fhould thunder in Anger — foften in Sorrow — f'ren- 
 b!e in Fea'*— -3i*^.d frek in Love. 
 
Of Elocution, 
 
 19 
 
 The variation of the emphafis muff not only diftin- 
 gui(h the va'rious pafGons defcribed, but the feveral 
 forms and figures of fpeech in which they are expreifed. 
 
 In a Profopopjeia, we muft change the voice as the 
 perfon introduced would. 
 
 In an Antithefis, one contrary iTiuft be pronounced 
 louder than the other. 
 
 In a CI irnax, the voice fhould always rife with ir. 
 
 in Dialogues, it (hould alter with the parts. 
 
 In Repetitions, it {hould be loudeft in the fecond 
 place. 
 
 Words of quality and didindion, or of praife or 
 dirpraife, muft be pronounced with a ftrong emphafis. 
 
 A^<? emphafis, is better tlian a wrong or tnifplaced 
 one. For that only perplexes ; this always miOe^ds ihe 
 mind of the hearer. 
 
 Of Cadence. 
 
 This is diredly oppofiie to emphafis. Emphafisis 
 raifing the voice, cadence is falling it; and when right-- 
 ly managed is very mufical. Befide cadence of voice, 
 there is cadence of ftile — That is, when the fenfe being 
 alraolt expreikd and perfedly difcerned by the reader, 
 the remaining words, which are only necelTary to com- 
 plete the period, gently fall of themfelves, without any 
 emphatical word among them, if our author's lan- 
 guage be pure and elegant, his cadence of (tile wiil 
 naturally dire£l the cadence of voice. 
 
 Cadence generally takes place at the end of a fen- 
 ?ence; unlefs it clofes with an emphatical word. 
 
 Every parenthefis is to be pronounced in Cadence; 
 that is, with a low voice, and quicker than ordinary ; 
 that it may not take off the attention too much from' 
 ihe fenfe of the period it interrupts. But all apoftrophes 
 •and profopopaeias are to be pronounced in emphafis. 
 
1 
 
 ^ jimet'icatt Monitor- { 
 
 Observations. J 
 
 If you would acquire a juft pronunciation in read- ] 
 'ing, you mu!t not^'only take in the full (enle, but | 
 enter into the fpirit of your author : For you can never i 
 convey the force and fulncfs of his ideas to anotiier, till : 
 you feel them yourfelf. No man can read an author ] 
 he does not perfectly underlland and talte.* \ 
 
 The fame rules are to be obferved in reading poetry 
 and |)roTe: Neither the rhyme nor the numbers Ihould \ 
 take off the aisention from the fenfe and (pirit of the | 
 ^author. It is this only that mult di red the pronunci- j 
 ation in poetry as well as profe. When you read verfe, | 
 you mult not at all favor the meafure or rhvme; that \ 
 often obfcures the fenfe and fpoils the pronunciation : j 
 For the gteat end of proivunciation is to elucidate and J 
 heighten the fenfe; liiat is, to reprefent it not only in j 
 a clear, but a (trong light. W iiatever then obitrutts j 
 this is carefully to be avoided, both in verfe and profe. j 
 Nay, thisotight to be more carefully obferved in read- ] 
 •DK verfe than profe ; becaufe the author, by a conltant ' 
 attention to his rneafure and rhyme, and the exaltation ; 
 of his language, is often very apt to obfcure his fenfe; i 
 1^ which therefore requires the more care in the reader to j 
 
 discover and diitsnguilh it by the pronunciation. And j 
 . ;f when you read verfe with proper paufe, cmphafis, i 
 and cadeiice, and a pronunciation varied and governed j 
 
 * The great rule which the mafters of ihetnric fo much '| 
 piefs, can never enough be reinembered ; that to make a i>*r.n ^ 
 ipeak well, and pronounce with a right emphafi?, l e ought j 
 thoroughly to uuderftand all t'laC hs fays, be fully perfuaded of J 
 it, and bring himfelfto have thofe affecTiions whici) I e defi es 
 to infufe iiiro others. He that is inwardly perAiaded of the j 
 ti-utk of what he fays, and that hath a concern about it in his J 
 mird, wiil prsnounce witli a natural vehemence that is far \ 
 ino-e lovely than a'l the ftrains that art can lead him to. An ,| 
 oratar muft endeavor to feel what he lays, and thea he will 
 •fpeak fo as to make others feel it. l 
 
Of Elocution' 
 
 21 
 
 the fenfe, it be not hartnonioas and beautiful, the 
 ..hilt is not in the reader but the author. And it the 
 , jr!"e be good, to read it thus will improve its harmony; 
 
 caufe it will take ofF that uniformity of found and 
 accent which lires the ear, and makes the numbers 
 iicavy and difagreeable. 
 
 Another important rule to be obferved in elocution 
 is — itudy Nature. — By this I mean your own natural 
 dirpofitions and affe6lions. And thofe fubjeds that are 
 inoft fuitable to them, you will eafily pronounce with 
 a beautiful propriety: and to heighten the pronuncia- 
 tion, the natural warmth of the mind (hould be per- 
 mitted to have its courfe under a proper rein and 
 regulation. 
 
 Study the natural difpofitions and afFeclions of 
 others. For fomt- are much more eafily imprelled and 
 moved one way, and fbme another. And an orator 
 fliould be acquainted with all the avenues to the heart. 
 
 Study the moll ea(y and natural way of expreffing 
 yourfelt, both as to the tone of voice and the tuode of 
 fpeech. And this is beft learned by obfervations on 
 common converfation — where all is free, natural, and. 
 eafy — where we are only intent on making ourfelves 
 underftood, and conveying our ideas in aftrong, plain, 
 and lively manner, by the moft natural language, 
 pronunciation and action. And the nearer our pro- 
 nunciation in public comes to the freedom and eafe of 
 that we ufe in common difcourfe — provided we keep 
 up the dignity of the fubje£l, and preferve a propriety 
 of expreflion — the more juil, natural, and agreeable it 
 will generally be. 
 
 Above all things, then, ftudy nature — avoid affecta- 
 tion — never ufe art, if you have not the art to conceal it, 
 For whatever does not appear natural, can never be 
 agreeable, much lefs perfuafive. 
 
 Endeavor to keep your mind coUe'ded and compo- 
 fed— Guard againlt that flutter and timidity of fpirit,; 
 
 C 
 
Amsrican Momior. 
 
 whsch 5S the common infeiicity of young, and efpecially 
 balhfu! perfons, when they fir(i begm to fpeak or 
 read in public. This is a great hindrance both to their 
 pror»unciatton and invention; and at once gives both 
 Jhemfelves and their hearers an unnecelTary pain, it 
 will by conflant oppofition wear off —and fhebert way 
 to give the mind a proper degree of aiTurance and felf- 
 command at fuch a time, is to be entire mafterof the 
 fubje^l — and a confcioufnefs that you deliver to your 
 audience nothing but what is well worth their hearing, 
 will give you alirong degree of courage. 
 
 Endeavor to be wholly engaged in your fubje6l ; and 
 when the mind is intent upon and warmed with it, it 
 will forget that awful deference it before paid to the 
 audience, which was fo apt to difconcert it. 
 
 If the fight of your hearers, or any of them difcom- 
 pofe you, keep your eyes from them. 
 
 Be fure to keep up a life, fpirit, and energy in the 
 expreffion; and let the voice naturally vary according 
 to the variation of the ftile and fubje£l. 
 
 Whatever be the fubjecl, it will never be pleafing, 
 t iftheflyle be low and flat ; nor will the beauty of the 
 ilyle be difcovered, if the pronunciation be fo. 
 
 Cicero obferves there mufl be a glow in our flyle if 
 we would warm our hearers. And who does not ob- 
 i'erve hovv ridiculous it is fo pronounce the ard^ni 
 vcr^um in a cold lifelefs tone?-— The tranfition of the 
 voice muft always correfpond with that of the fubjedf, 
 ansi the paffions it was intended to excite. 
 
 To attain a jult and graceful pronunciation, you 
 fh'ouid accuitom yourfelves irequently to hear thofe 
 who excel in it, whether at the bar or in the pulpit— 
 where you will fee all the fore-mentioned rules cxein- 
 piified, and be able to account for all thofe graces and 
 beauties of pronunciation which always pleafed yoU) 
 but you did not knov^ why. 
 
 indeed, the Art of Pronunciaion, like all others, is 
 border !e?,r!.}cd by imitation than rule: But to be fid 
 
Of Elocution. 
 
 ^3 
 
 acquainted with the rules of it, will make the imitation 
 more eafy. You will obft rve a certain agreeablenefs 
 of manner in fome orator?, that is naturat to them, 
 not to be reduced to any rule, and to be learnt by imi- 
 tation only; nor by that, unleis it be in fome degree 
 natural to you. 
 
 You (hould frequently cxercife yourfelf to read aloud 
 according to the foregoing rules. — It is pradiiceonly 
 that mult give you the laculty of an elegant pro- 
 nunciation. This, like other habits, is only to be 
 attained by often repeated acts. 
 
 Orators, as well as poets, muft be born fo, or they 
 will never excel in their refpedive arts: But that part 
 of oratory which confifts in a decent and graceful pro- 
 nunciation, provided there be no defedt in the organs of 
 fpeech, may be attained by rule, imitation, and pradice ; 
 ■and, when attained, \\ ill give a beauty to Ipeech, a force 
 to thoughts, and a pleafure to the hearers, not to be 
 expreiled ; and which all will admire, but none can 
 imitate, unlefs they are firft prepared for it by art and 
 nature — In fliort, the great advantage of a juft pro- 
 nunciation is, that it will pleafe ail, whether they have 
 no tafte, a bad tafte, or a good tafte. 
 
 Of Action. 
 
 The action fliould be as eafy and as natural as the 
 elocution ; and, like that, muft be varied and directed 
 by the palfions. 
 
 An afFedted violence of motion is as difguftful as an 
 afFedted vehemence of voice ; and no adtion, as bad as 
 no emphafis — which two faults commonly go together, 
 as do the other two, juft before mentioned. 
 
 Thofe parts of the body that aie to be principally 
 employed in oratorical adtion, are the head, the face, 
 the eyes, the hands, and the upper part of the whole 
 body. 
 
24 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 The Head. 
 
 This fhould generally be in anerefl pofiure ; turning 
 ibmetimes on one fide, and fonietimes on the other, 
 that the voice may be heard by the whole audience, 
 and a regard paid to the feveral parts of it. 
 
 It (hould always be on the fame fide with the 
 action oi the hands and body, except when weexprefs 
 an abhorrence, or a refufal of any thing, which is done 
 by rejecting it with the right-hand, and turning away 
 the head to the left. 
 
 The Countenance. 
 
 In this is the feat of the foul and the very life of 
 a£lii)n. Every paffion, whilft uttered with the tongue 
 Ihould be painted in the face. There is often more 
 eloquence in a look than any words can exprefs. By 
 this we are awed, charmed, incenfed, foftened, grieved, 
 rejoiced, raifed, or deje£led, according as we catch 
 the fire of the fpeaker's pallion from his face. — Th'^re 
 is no end in recounting the force and efFe£ls ot this 
 dumb oratory ; which nature only teaches, and which 
 perfons of low pailions lofe all the advantages of. 
 Look well upon a good piece of painting where the 
 pailions are ftongly expreffsd, and you will conceive 
 the power of it. 
 
 The Eyes. 
 
 These fhould be carried from one part of the au- 
 dience to another, with it modeft and decent refpedl ; 
 which will tend to reca^and fix their attention, and 
 animate your own fpirif ia^. obferving their attention 
 fixed. But if their affeftions be lirongly moved, and 
 the obferving it be a means of raifing your own too 
 high, it will bs neceffary then to keep the eye from off 
 
Of Elocution. 
 
 25 
 
 ihem— For tho' an orator flioiild always be animated, 
 he Ihould never be overcome by his palfions. 
 
 In all appeals to heaven, and lometimes at the fo- 
 lemn mention of the name of ihe great God, the eyes 
 and the head fhould be turned upvt-ards. 
 
 In adoration, the hands and eyes (hould be lifted 
 up, and the head and body bowing down. 
 
 In folemn vows, exclamations and appeals to heaven, 
 the hands, head, and eyes (hould all be lifted up ; but 
 in humiliation and confeilion bowed down. 
 
 The language of the eye is inexprelTible. It is the 
 Avindo-.v of the foul — from which fometimes the whole 
 heart looks out at once, and fpeaks more feelingly 
 than all the warmeil (trains of oratory ; and comes 
 cfFeaually in aid of it, when the pafBon is too ftrong 
 to be uttered. 
 
 The Hands 
 
 The left hand fhould never be u fed alone, utilefs 
 it bt; to attend the motion of the head and eyes in an 
 addrefs to the audience on the left fide. 
 
 The right hand may be often ufed alone. 
 
 When you fpeak of the body, you may point to it 
 with the middle finger of the right hand. 
 
 When you fpeak of the foul or confcience, you may 
 lav the right hand gently on the breaft. — It (lionld be 
 often difplaycd wuh an eafy motion to favour an em- 
 phafis ; bist feldom cr never be quite extended. — All 
 its motions (liould be from the left to the right. 
 
 Both the hands difplayed, and the arms extended, is 
 violent adfion, and never jidi or decent unlefs the 
 audience be noify, and part of them at a diftance from 
 the fpeaker, and he is labouring to be heard ; and then 
 the-y (hould never be extended higher than the head, 
 unlefs pointing at fomething above the audience.* 
 
 • See Raphael's cartoon, reprefeatiog St. Paul preacbin2 at 
 Athens. 
 
26 
 
 Amen can Monitor. 
 
 The motion of the hand Oiould always coTrefponcI 
 with thofe of the head and eyes ; as they ftioiild with 
 the paffions exprefTed. 
 
 In deliberate proof or argumentation, no adlion is 
 more proper or natural than gently to lay the firft finger 
 of the right hand on the palm of the lef t. 
 
 Of what great ufe the proper motion of the hand is 
 in affifting pronunciation, and how many paflions may 
 be ftrongly indicated thereby, when attended with that 
 of the head and eyes, is not eafy to be defcribed, but is 
 foon obferved in common converfation. 
 
 The Posture of tjje Body. 
 
 This fhould be ufually ere£l ; not continually 
 changing, nor always motioniefs ; declining in adlsof 
 humiliation ; in ads of praife and thankfgiving, raifed. 
 
 It fhould always accompany the motion of the hands, 
 head, and eyes, when they are direSed to any particu- 
 lar part of the audience ; but never fo far as to let the 
 back be turned to any part of it. 
 
 But let it fuflSce juft to hint at thefe things. They 
 who defire to fee them more largely treated of, may 
 confult Qi^iintilian. 
 
 But after all, with regard to a6l ion, the great rule is 
 the fame as in pronunciation — to follow nature, and 
 avoid afFedation — The a6tion of the body, and the 
 feyeral parts of it, muft correfpond with the pronunci- 
 ation, as that does with the fiyle, and the ftyle with the 
 fiibjed. A perfed harmony of ail thefe completes 
 the orator. 
 
1 
 
 Leflbns^^ Elocution. 
 
 AMBITION. 
 
 — Ambition is at a diftance 
 
 A goodly profpedt, tempting to the view; 
 The height dehghts us, and the mountain top 
 Looks beautiful, becaufe 'tis nigh to heaven: 
 But we ne'er think how Tandy's the foundation, 
 Wiiat ftoims will batter, and what tempefts fhake it. 
 
 Otway. 
 
 Ambition! deadly tyrant ! 
 
 Inexorable mafter! what alarms. 
 
 What anxious hours, what agonies of heart 
 
 Are the fure portion of thy gaudy flaves ! 
 
 Cruel condition! could the toiling hind, 
 
 The (h ivering beggar, whom no roof receives. 
 
 Wet with the mountain lliower and crouching low 
 
 Beneath the naked clifF, his only home; 
 
 Could he but read the (fatefman's fecret breaft ; 
 
 But fee the horrors there, the wounds, the ftabs 
 
 From furious pa(fions and avenging guilt. 
 
 He would not change his rags and wretchednefs 
 
 For gilded domes and greatnefs I M \llet. 
 
 ,. T^^"^? who SIC not ambitious of 
 
 diftinguifhing themfelves in the nation or country 
 where they live, an.l of growing confiderable among 
 thofe with whom they converfe. There is a kind of 
 grandeur and refpea which the meaneft and molt in- 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 fignificasit part of mankind endeavor to procure in the 
 little circle of their friends and acquaintance. The 
 pooreft mechanic, the man who lives upon common 
 alms, gets him his fet of admirers, and delights in that 
 luperiority which he enjoys over thofe who are in fome 
 refpe6t beneath him. This ambition, which is nitu- 
 ral to the foul of man, might methinks receive a very 
 happy turn; and, \\ it were rightly dire6led, contribute 
 as much to a perfon's advantage, as it generally does to 
 his uneaOnefs and dilquiet. Spectator. 
 
 If we look abroad upon the great multitude of man- 
 kind, and endeavor to trace out the principles of adion 
 in every individual, it will, 1 think, feem highly 
 probable, that ambition runs through the whole fpe- 
 cies, and that every man, in proportion to the vigor of 
 hib complexion, is more or lefs aftuated by it. It is 
 indeed no uncommon thing to mett with men, 
 who by the natural bent of their inclinations, and 
 witliout the difcipline ot philofophy, afpire t^ot to the 
 heights of power and grandeur; who never fet their 
 hearts upon a numerous train of clients and dependen- 
 cies, nor other gay appendages of greatnefs ; who are 
 contented with a competency, and will not moled their 
 tranquility to gain an abundance. But it is not there- 
 fore to be concluded, that fuch a man is not ambitious.. 
 His defires may cut out another chaunei, and deter- 
 iTiiiie him to other purfuirs ; the motive may be, how-, 
 ever, it'll the fame; and in thofe cafes, iikewife, the 
 man may be equally pufhed on with the defire of 
 diihnS ion. 
 
 Though the pure confcioufnefs of worthy a£lions, 
 abftraded trom the view's of popular applaufe, be lo a 
 generous mind an ample reward; yet the defire of 
 diitiudtion was doubtiefs imj>lanted m our natures as 
 an iiddrioual incentive to exert ourfelves in virtuous 
 excellence. 
 
Jimh'itwu 
 
 29 
 
 This pafllon, like all others, is frequently perverted 
 to evil and ignoble piirpofes; fo that we may account 
 ^ for many of the excellencies and follies of life upon the 
 fame innate principles; to wit, the defire of being 
 remarkable. For this, as it has been differently cul- 
 tivated by education, Ifudy, and converfe, will bring 
 forth fuitable efFedls, as it falls in with an ingenious 
 companion, or a corrupt mind ; it does alfo exprefs 
 itfelf in adts of magnanimity or felfilh cunning, as it 
 meets with a good or weak underltanding. A it has 
 been employed in embellilhing the mind, or adorning 
 iheoutfide, it renders the man eminently praife-worthy 
 or ridiculous. Ambition, therefore, is not to be con- 
 fined only to one palTion or purfnit; for as the fame 
 humours, in conftitutions otherwife different, affedl 
 fhe body after different manners, fo ths fame afpiring 
 principle within us fometimes breaks forth upon one 
 obje6t, fometimes upon another. 
 
 It cannot de doubted, but that there is as great a 
 defire of glory in a ring of wreftlers or cudgel-players, 
 as in any other more refined cornpetitionfor fuperiority. 
 N o man, that could avoid it, would ever fuffer his 
 head to be broken, but out of a piinciple of honor. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
 Ambition raifes a fecret tumult in the foul ; it in- 
 flames the mind, and puts it into a violent hurry of 
 thought. It is flill reaching after an empty imaginary 
 good, that has not in it the power to abate or fatisfy it. 
 Moll other things we long for can allay the cravings of 
 their proper fenfe, and for a while fet the appetite at 
 reft; but fame is a good fo wholly foreign to our na- 
 ture, that we have no faculty in the foul adapted to it, 
 nor any organ in the body to relilli it ; an objtd of de- 
 lire p laced out of the pollibility of fruit ion. Ibid. 
 
 There is fcarce a man living, who is not adhiated 
 by ambition. When this principle meets with an 
 
3^ 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 honeft mind and great abilities, it does infinite iervice 
 to the world ; on the contrary, when a man only thinks 
 of difiinguilhing himfeU, without being thus qualified 
 for it, he becomes a very pernicious or a very ridicu- 
 lous creature. Jhd. 
 
 The great are deceived if they imagine they have 
 appropriated ambition and vanity to themfelves. Thefe 
 noble qualities fiourilh as notably in a country church, 
 or church-yard, as in the drawing-room, or in the clo- 
 fet. — Schemes have been laid in a veftry, which would 
 hardly difgrace a conclave. — Here is a miniftry, and 
 here is an oppofition — here are plots and circumven- 
 tions, parties and fadions, equal to thofe which are to 
 be found in courts. Fielding. 
 
 A G E. 
 
 Some few, by temp'rance taught, approaching flovv' 
 Todiltant fate, by eafy journeys go: 
 Gently they lay them down, as ev'ning fheep 
 On their own woolly fleeces (bitly fleep. 
 So noifelefs woiild 1 live fuch death to find ; 
 Like timely fruit, not fhaken by the wind, 
 But ripely dropping from the faplefs bough ; 
 And, dying,' nothing to myfelf would owe: 
 Thus daily changing, with a duller taffe 
 Of lefs'ning joys, 1 t)y degrees would wafte : 
 Still quittin^g groimd by unperceiv'd decay, 
 And fteal myfelf from life, and melt away. 
 
 DrydeNo 
 
 Age, that lefTens the enjoyment of life, increafes 
 our dcfire of living. Thole dangers, which in the vi- 
 gour of youth we had learned to defpife, alfume new 
 (errors as we grow old. Our caution increafing as our 
 years increafe, fear becomes, at la(t the prevailing paf- 
 
 J 
 
Age, 
 
 fion of the mind; and the fmall remainder of lif^is 
 taken up in ufelef f efforts to keep off our end, or pro- 
 vide for a coniinuedexiftence. Goldsm i th. 
 
 Of all the impertinent wiflies which we hear 
 exprelFed in converfation, there is not one more un- 
 worthy a gentleman, or a man of liberal education* 
 than that of wilhing one's felf younger. It is a 
 certain fign of a foolifh or a diffolute mind, if we want 
 our youth again only for the ftrength of bones and fi- 
 news wiiich we once were inafters of. It is as abfiird 
 in an old man to wi(h for the (trength of a youth, as it 
 would be in a young inan to wifh for the (frength of a 
 bull or a horfe. Thefe wilhes are both equally out ot 
 nature, which fhould direct in all things that are not 
 contradiitory to jufiice, law, and reafon. 
 
 Age in a virtuous perfon of either fex carrie?^ in it an 
 authority, which inakes it preferable to all the pleafures 
 of youth. If to be fainted, attended, and confulted 
 with deference, are inltances of pleafure, they are fuch 
 as never fail a virtuous old-age. In the enumeration 
 of the imperfedions and advantages of the younger and 
 later years of man, they are fo near in their condition, 
 that methinks it iliould be incredible we fee fo little 
 coirimerce of kindnefs between them. 
 
 If we confider youth and age with Tully, regarding 
 the affinity to death, youth has many more chances to 
 be nearer it than age; what youth can fay, more than 
 an old man, " 1 fhall live till night r" Youth catches 
 diftempers more eafily, its ficknefs is more violent, 
 and its recovery more doubtful. The youth, indeed, 
 hopes for many more days; fo cannot the old man. 
 The youth's hopes are ill grounded; for what is more 
 foolilh than to place any co^ifidence upon an uncertain- 
 ty \ But the old man has not room fo much as for hope 9 
 he is ftili happier than the youth; he has already en- 
 
32 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 jofed what the other does but hope for : one wifhes 
 to live long, the other has lived long. But, alas, is 
 there any ihiug in human lite, the duration ot which 
 can be called k)ng r There is nothing, which muft 
 «:nd to bevahied tor its continuance. iT hours, days, 
 months, and years, pafs away, it is n© matter what 
 hour, what day, what month, or what year we die. 
 The applaufe of a good adlor is due to him at whatever 
 fcene of the play he makes his Exit. It is thus in 
 the life of a man of fenfe ; a fhort life is fufficient to 
 manifeft himfelf a man of honour and virtue- ; when 
 he ceafes to be fuch, he has lived too long ; and, while 
 he is fuch, it is of no ccmfequence to him how long he 
 lliall be fo, provided he is fo to his life's end. 
 
 Spectator. 
 
 An old age unfupported with matter for difcourfe 
 and meditation, is much to be dreaded. No ftate can 
 be more deltituie ihan that of him, who, when the 
 delights of fenfe iorfake him, has no plealures of the 
 mind. Notes upon Shakespeare. 
 
 A G E AND Y O U T H. 
 
 He that would pafs the latter part of his life with 
 honour and decency, mult, when he is young, confider 
 ihat he (hall one day be old; and remember, when he is 
 old, that he has once been young. Johnson. 
 
 The notions of the old and young are like liquors of 
 different gravity and texture, which never can unite. , 
 
 In youth it is common to meafure right and wrong 
 by the opinion of the world, and in age toatt without 
 ■any meafure but intereft, and to lofe ihame without 
 Ribftituting virtue. 
 
Age and Touih. — Actions, 
 
 33 
 
 Such is the condition of life that fomething is always 
 wanting to happinefs. in youth we have warm hopes, 
 which are foon blafted by ra(hnefs and negligence ; and 
 great defigns, which are defeated by inexperience. In 
 age we have knowledge and prudence, without fpirit 
 to exert, or motives to prompt them : we are able to 
 plan fchemes and regulate meafiires, but have not timQ 
 renjainiiig to bring them to completion. Ibid. * 
 
 ACTIONS. 
 
 Our a£lions are our own ; their confequence 
 IJelongs to Heaven. The fecret confcioufnefs 
 Of duty well perform'd ; the public voice 
 Of praife that honours virtue and rewards it, 
 All thefe are yours. Francis. 
 
 We fliould caftall our af^ions under the divifion of 
 fuch as are in themfelves good, bad, or indifferent ; and 
 to dire£l them in fuch a manner, that every thing wc 
 do, may turn to account at that great day when every 
 thing we have done will be fet before us, 
 
 A good intention, joined to a good a£lion, gives it 
 its proper force and efficacy ; joined to an evil adlion, 
 extenuates its malignity, and in fome cafes may take 
 it wholly away ; and joined to an indifferent a£iion, 
 turns it into a virtue, and makes it meritorious, as far 
 as human anions can be fo. 
 
 In the next place, to confider in the fame manner 
 the influence of an evil intention upon our a£lions. An 
 evil intention perverts the beft of a6lions, and makes 
 them in reahty what the fathers have termed the vir- 
 tues of the heathen world, fo many shining sins. It 
 deftroys the innocence of an indifi'erent adlioh; and 
 gives an evil action all podible blacknefs and horror^. 
 
 D z 
 
34 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 or, in theemphatical language of holy writ, makes sin 
 exceeding sinful. 
 
 It is then of imfpeakable advantage to poHTefs our 
 Blinds with an habitual good intention,, and to aim ail 
 our thoughts, words, and adions at fome laudable end, 
 whether it be the glory of our maker, the good ot man- 
 kind, or the benefit of our own fouls. 
 
 Spectator. 
 
 A D V I C E. 
 
 When things go ill, each fool prefumes to advife, 
 And if more happy, thinks himfelf more wife; 
 All wretchedly deplore the prefent Itate, 
 And that advice feems bed which comes too late. 
 
 Sedley. 
 
 The chief rule to be obferved in the exercife of this 
 dangerous office of giving advice, is to preferve it 
 pure from all mixture of intereji or vanity ; to forbear 
 admonition or reproof when our confciences tell us 
 ihat they are incited, not by the hopes of reforming 
 faults, but the defire of (hewing our difcernment, or 
 gratifying our own pride by the mortification of 
 another, it is not indeed certain that the mort refined 
 caution will find a proper time for bringing; a man to 
 the knowledge of his own failings, "or the moft zea- 
 lous benevolence reconcile him to that judgment by 
 which they are deiedcd. But he who endeavours 
 only the happinefs of hun whom he reproves, will al- 
 ways have either the fatista^fion of obiaining or 
 deferving kindnefs : if he fucceeds, he benefits his 
 friend \ and if he fails, he has at leaft the confciou^neis 
 that he fufiers for only doing weil. Rambler. 
 
 Advice, a.s it always gives a temporary appearance 
 of fuperiority, can never be very grateiul, even when 
 it is molt necellary, or molt judicious ; but, for the 
 
Advice. 
 
 35 
 
 fame reafon, every one is eager to inftruft his neigh- 
 bours. To be wife or to be virtuous, is to buy dignity 
 and importance at a high price: but when nothing 
 is neceiiary to elevation but detedion of the follies or 
 the faults of others, no man is fo infenfible to the 
 voice of fame as to linger on the ground. Ibid, 
 
 There is nothing which we receive with fo muck 
 relu6lance as advice. We look upon the man who 
 gives it us, as offering an affront to our underitanding, 
 and treating us like children or idiots. There is no- 
 thing fo difficult as the art of making advice agreeable: 
 the pens of the ancients and moderns have been exercif. 
 ed upon this occafion. How many devices have been 
 made ufe of to render this bitter potion palatable! 
 Some convey their inffrudl-ion to us in the beff chofen 
 words; others in the moft harmonious numbers ; fome 
 in points of wit, and others in fhort proverbs. 
 
 But among all the different ways of givmg conn- 
 fel, that which pleafes the moff univerfally, \s fable: 
 it excels all others, becaufe it is the leaff Ihock- 
 ing, and therefore the moft delicate. This will ap- 
 pear, it we refledt, that upon the reading of a ta- 
 ble we are made to believe we advife ourfelves. We 
 perufe the author for the fake of the ftory, and con- 
 fider the precepts rather as our own conclufions than 
 his inftrudlions. This is confirmed by the examples 
 of the wife men of old, who chofe to give council to 
 their princes in this method ; an inflance of which we 
 have in a Turkish tale, which informs us, that the 
 Sultan Mahamoud, by his perpetual wars abroad, and 
 his tyranny at home, had glled his dominions with 
 ruin and defolation, and half unpeopled the Persian 
 empire. The Vifier (o this cruel Sultan pretended to 
 have learned of a certain Dervife, to underlfand the 
 language of birds ; fo that there was not a bird that 
 could open his mouth, but the Vifier knew what it 
 faid. ^ As he was one evening with the Emperor, 
 itt their return trom hunting, they faw a couple of 
 
American Monitor 
 
 owls upon a tree that grew near an old wall out of a 
 heap of rubbiOi. I would fain know, favs the SnUan, 
 ivhat these two swis are saying t ) one another ; listen to 
 their discourse, and give me an account of it. The Vilier 
 approached the tree, pretending to be very attentive to 
 the two owls. Upon his return to the Sultan, Sir,. 
 fays he, / have heard part of their conversation, but dare 
 not tell you what it is. The Sultan would not be fatis- 
 fied with fuch an anfwer, but forced him to repeat^ 
 word for word, every thing ttie owls had faid. Tou 
 mufi know then, faid the Vifier, that one of these owls 
 has a son, and the other a daughter, between whom they 
 are now upon a treaty of marriage. The father of the son 
 said to the father of the daughter, in my hearing: Bro- 
 ther, I consent to this marriage, provided you will settle up- 
 on your daughter ffty ruined villages for her portion. To, 
 which the father of the daughter replied ; instead of ffty, 
 1 will give her five hundred, if you please. God grant c. 
 iong life to Sultan Mahamoud ; whilst he reigns over us, 
 we shall never want ruined villages. 
 
 The ftory fays, the Sultan was fo touched with the 
 fable, that he rebuilt the towns and villages which had, 
 been deftroyed, and from that time forward confulted 
 the good of his people. SpectatoRo 
 
 AFFECTION. 
 
 Fathers alone, a father's heart can know 
 What fecret tides of {till enjoyment flow, 
 When brothers love : But if their hate fucceeds> 
 They wage the war, but 'tis the father bleeds. 
 
 Young. 
 
 ANATOMY. 
 
 Thofe who v^ere {killed in anatomy among the an- 
 cients, concluded, from the outward and inward make 
 of 3 human body, that it was the Y/ork oi a being 
 
Anatomy. ^Astonishment. 37 
 
 franfcendenily wife and powerful. As the world grew 
 more enlightened in this art, their difcoveries gave 
 them frelh opportunities ot admiring the conduit of 
 providence in the formation of a human body. Galeti 
 was converted by his dilledions ; and could not but 
 own a Supreme Being, upon a furvey of this his han- 
 dy work. There were, indeed, many parts, of which 
 the old anatomifts did not know the certain ufe : but 
 as they faw that molt ot thofe which they examined, 
 ■were adapted with admirable art to their feveral func- 
 tions, they did not queltion but thofe, vvhofe uies they 
 could not determine, were contrived with the fame 
 wifdom for their re(pe£tive ends and purpofes. Since 
 the circulation of the blood lias been toimd out, and 
 many other great difcoveries have been made by our 
 modern anatomifts, we fee new wonders in the human 
 frame; and difcern feveral important ufes for thofe 
 parts which the ancients knew nothing of. Jn ftiort, 
 the body of man is fuch a fubjedt, as Hands the utmoft 
 tclt of examination. Though it appears formed with 
 the niceft wifdom, upon the molt fnperficial furvey of 
 it, it Itill mends upon the fearch, and produces our 
 furprife and amazement in proportion as we pry into it. 
 What 1 have here faid of a human body, may be ap- 
 plied to the body of every animal, which has been the 
 lubjeil of anatomical oblervations. Spectator. 
 
 ASTONISHMENT. 
 
 T could a tale unfold, whofe lightefl word 
 
 Wou'd harrow up thy foul, freeze thy young blood, 
 
 Make thy two eyes, likeftars, ftart from their fpheres^ 
 
 Thy knotty and combined locks to part. 
 
 And each particular hair to fiand on end. 
 
 Like quills upon the fretful porcupine. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
38 
 
 American Moniior. 
 
 AUTHORITY. 
 
 ^ : Authority! 
 
 Thy vvorfhip'd fymbols round a villa'n's trunk 
 Provoke men's mockery, not their reverence. 
 
 Jephson» 
 
 ANIMALS, 
 
 It is aftoniiliing to confider the different degrees of 
 care that defcend from the parent to the young, (o far 
 as is abfoluJely neceifary for the leaving a pofterity. 
 Some creatures caft their eggs as chance diredls them, 
 and think of them no farther; as infe6l'; and feveral 
 kinds of fifh. Others of a nicer frame, find ont pro- 
 per beds todepofit them in, and there leave them ; as 
 the ferpent, the crocodile, and oftrich. Others hatch- 
 their eggs, and tend the birth till it is able to fhift for 
 itfelf. 
 
 What can we call the principle which diredls every 
 kind of bird to obfttrve a particular plan in the flnJ<3ure 
 of its neft, and diredls all of the fame fpecies to work 
 after the fame model? It cannot be imitation; for 
 though you hatch a crow under a hen, and. never let it 
 fee any of the works of its^own kind, theneftit makes 
 fhall be the fame, to the layingof a ftick, with all other 
 nefls of the fame fpecies. It cannot be reason; for 
 were animals endued with it to as greats degree as man, 
 their buildings would be as different as ours, according 
 to the different conveniences that they would propofe 
 to themfelves. Spectator, 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 The wickednefs of a loofe or profane author, in his 
 writings, is more atrocious than that of the giddy liber- 
 tine, or drunken ravilher , not only becaufe it extends 
 
Author. — Anger. 
 
 39 
 
 its effects wider fas a peflilence, that taints the air, is 
 more dellrudive ihan poifon iiitnfed in a draught) but 
 becaufe is is commuted with cool deliberation. By 
 the inftantaneous violence of define, a good man may 
 fometimes be furprifed before refiefl^ion can come to 
 his refcue : when the appetites have Itrengthened their 
 influence by habit, they are not eafily refitted or fup- 
 preffed ; but for ihe frigid villainy of Itudious lewdnefs, 
 for the calm malignity of laboured impiety, what 
 apology can be invented ? What puniliiment can be 
 adequate to the crime of him who retires to folitude, for 
 the refinement of debauchery ; who tortures his fancy, 
 and ranfacks his memory, only that he may leave the 
 world lefs virtuous than he foimd it; that he may in- 
 tercept the hopes of the rifing g neration, and fpread 
 fnares lor the ioul with more dexterity ? 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 ANGER. 
 
 Men of a passionate temper are fometimes not with- 
 out underfianding or virtue ; and are therefore not 
 always treated with the feverity which their neglect of 
 theeafeof ail about them might jultly provoke. They 
 have obtained a kind of prefcripiion'for their folly, and 
 are confidered by their companions as under a predomi- 
 nant influence that leaves them not mailer qf their 
 condiid or language — as ading without confcioufnefs, 
 and rufhing into mifchief with a mitt before their eyes. 
 They are therefore pitied rather than cenfured ; and 
 iheir fallies are paffedoveras the involuntary blows of 
 a man agitated by thefpafms of a convulfion. 
 
 It is furely not to be obferved without indignation, 
 vhat men may be found, of minds mean enough to be 
 fatisfied with this treatment; wretches whoare proud 
 to obtain the privilege of madmen, and can, without 
 fhame, and without regret, confider themfelves as re- 
 ceiving hourly pardons from their companions, and 
 
40 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 giving them conUnual opportunities of exerciiing their 
 pati&nceand boading their clemency. Rambler. 
 
 Nothing is more defpicable, or more miferable, than 
 the old age of a palfionate man. When the vigor of 
 youth fails him, and his amufements pall with fre- 
 quent repetition, his occafional rage finks, by decay of 
 ilrength, into peevilhnefs 5 that peevilhnefs, for want 
 of novelty and variery, becomes habitual ; the world 
 falls off from around him; and he is left, as Homer 
 expreifes it, to devour his own heart in folitude and 
 contempt. Ibid. 
 
 Our natures are fo perverfe and corrupt, that it is 
 very hard (or us to give a loofe to any angry paffion 
 againlt nmtn, without running into fome fentiments of 
 malice or revenge, and thereby finning againlt God. 
 Our anger is very apt to kindle about trifles, or upon 
 mere fiafpicion, without jull caufe ; or fometimes rifes 
 too high where the caufe may be jutt ; or it continues 
 too long, and turns into hatred : and in either of thefe 
 three cafes it becomes finful. 
 
 It is therefore with the utmoft caution that this 
 paflion (hould ever be fuffered to arife ; and unlefs we 
 quickly fiipprefs it again, we fliall be in great danger 
 of bringing guilt upon our fouls. The blelFed apoftle 
 therefore connects the permiflion, the caution, and re- 
 ftraint together, Eph. iv, 26. «« Be angry, and fin not: 
 " let not the fun go down upon your wrath." 
 
 Watts. 
 
 M T ^ 
 
 Mount yEtna thence we fpy, 
 Known by the fmoaky flames that cloud thefky: 
 By turns a pitchy cloud (he rolls on high ; 
 By turns hot embers from her entrails fly, 
 Andflakes 'ot mounting, flames that lick the fky. 
 
 } 
 
Mtna. — AstrQ>2omy. 
 
 41 
 
 Oft from her bowels maffy rocks are thrown, 
 
 And, Ihiver'd by the force, come piecemeal down : 
 
 Oft liquid lakes of burnmg fulphur flow, 
 
 Fed from the fiery fprings that boil below. 
 
 Enceladus, they fay, transfix'd hy Jove, 
 
 With blalted wings came tumbling from above ; 
 
 And where he fell th' avenging father drew 
 
 This flaming hill, and on his body threw : 
 
 As often as he turns his weary fides. 
 
 He lhakes thefolid ifle, and fmoke the heavens hides. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 ASTRONOMY. 
 
 In fair weather when my heart is cheered, and I 
 feel that exaltation of fpints which refults from light 
 and warmth, joined with a beautiful profpe6f of nature, 
 I regard myfelf as one placed by the hand of God in 
 the midftof an ample theatre, in which the fun, moon, 
 and (tars, the fruits alfo, and vegetables of the earth, 
 perpetually changing their pofitions or their afpefts, 
 exhibit an elegant entertainment to the underffanding 
 as well as to the eye. 
 
 Thunder and lightning, rain and hail, the painted 
 bow, and the glaring comets, are decorations of this 
 mighty theatre : and the fable hemifphere, ffudded with 
 fpangles, the blue vault at noon, the glorious gildings 
 and rich colours in the horizon, 1 look on as fo many 
 fuccelfive fcenes. 
 
 When I confider things in this light, methinks it is 
 a fort of impiety to have no attention to the courfc ot 
 nature, and the revolutions of the Heavenly bodies. To > 
 be regardlefs of th(^fe pha:nomena that are placed within 
 our view, on purpofe to entertain our faculties, and 
 difplay the wifdom and power of their creator, is an 
 affront to providence of the fame kind, (I hope it is 
 not impious to make fuch afimiie) as it would be to a 
 
 E 
 
42 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 good poet, to fit out his play without minding the plot 
 or beauties ot it. 
 
 And yet how few are there who attend to the drama 
 of nature, its artificial ftrufture, and thofe admirable 
 machines, whereby the paffions of a philolbpher are 
 gratefully agitated, and his fuu! afFe£ted with the fweet 
 emotions of joy and furprife! 
 
 How many are to be found who are ignorant that 
 they have all this while lived on a planet ; that the fun 
 is i'everal thoufaud times bigger than the earth; and 
 that there are feveral other worlds withm our view, 
 greater and more glorious than our own ! Ay, but fays 
 Ibme illiterate fellow, 1 enjoy the world, and leave 
 others to contemplate it. Yeb, you eat and drink, and 
 run about it \ that is, you enjoy it as a brute : but to 
 enjoy it as a rational being, is to know it, to be fenii- 
 ble of its greattiefs and beauty, to be delighted with its 
 harmony, and by tliefe reficdlions to obtain jult fenti- 
 tncnts of the Ahmighty mind that framed it. 
 
 The man who, unembarrafTed with vulgar cares, 
 leifurely attends to the flux of things in heaven and on 
 earth, and ubferves the laws by which they are govern- 
 ed, hath fecured to himfelf an eafy and convenient fear, 
 where he beholds with pleafure all that paffes on the 
 ilage of nature ; while tliofe about him are, fome faff 
 atleep, and others (Iruggling for the highelt places, or 
 turnmg their eyes from the entertainment prepared by 
 providence, to play at puih-pin with one another. 
 
 Within this ample cir*. mnterence of the world, the 
 glorious lights that are hung on high, the meteors in. 
 the middle region, the various livery of the earth, and 
 the pro'ufmn ot good thugs that diifinguilli the fea- 
 fjns, yield a profpe6l which annihilates all human 
 grandem-. Guardian. 
 
 APPEARANCES. 
 
 In the condition of men, it frequently happens that 
 grief and anxiety lie hid under tlie golden robes of 
 
Appearances. — Avarice and Luxury. 43 
 
 profperity; and the gloom of calamity is cheered by 
 feoret radiations of hope and comfort ; as in the works 
 of nature, the bog is fomeiimes covered with flowers, 
 and the mine concealed in the barren crags. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 AVARICE AND LUXURY. 
 
 When a government flourifhes In conquefis, and is 
 fecure from foreign attacks, it natiirady falls into all. 
 the pleafures of luxury ; and as theCe pleafures are very 
 expenfive, they put thofe who are addided to them 
 upon raifmg fre(h fupplies of money, by all the me- 
 thods of rapauouniefs and corrupt ion; fo that avarice and 
 luxury often become one complicated principle of ac- 
 tion, in thofe whofe hearts are wholly fet upon eafc. 
 magnificence at.d pleafure. The molt elegant and cor- 
 redt of all the Lr/Zm hiftorians obferves, that in his time, 
 when the mod formidable ftatcs in the world were fub- 
 dued by the Romans, the republic funk into thofe two 
 vice.., of a quite different nature, luxury and avarice • 
 an.l accordingly dcfcribes Catilme as one who coveted 
 the wealth of other men, at the fatre time that he 
 fquandered away his own. This obfervarion on the 
 commonwealth, when it w^as in the height of power 
 and riches holds good in all governments that are fet- 
 tled in a date of eafe and profperity. At fuch tim»s 
 men naturally endeavour to outfhine one another 7n 
 pomp and fplendor ; and having no fears to alarm 
 them from abroad, indulge themfelve. in the enicy- 
 ment of all they can get in their poifeflion ; which na- 
 turally produces avarice, and an immoderate purluic 
 alter wealth and riches. Spectator. 
 
 A V E R N U S. 
 
 Deep was the cave ; and. downward as it went 
 iTom the wide mouth, a rocky rough defcent. 
 
44 
 
 American Monitor^ 
 
 And here th' accefs a gloomy grove defends^ 
 
 And there th' unnavigable lake extends, 
 
 O'er whofe unhappy waters, void of light. 
 
 No bird prefumes to fleer his airy flight : 
 
 Such deadly (tenches from the depth ariTe, 
 
 And (learning Culphur that infeds the ikies. 
 
 From hence the Grecian bards their legends make, 
 
 And give the name Avernus to the lake. Dkyden-. 
 
 APOTHECARY. 
 
 I do remember an apothecary, 
 
 In tatter'd weeds, with overwhelming brows. 
 
 Culling of fimples. Meagre were his looks ; 
 
 Sharp mifery had worn him to the bones; 
 
 And in his needy (hop a tortoife hung. 
 
 An alligator flufF'd, and other (kins 
 
 Of ill-diap'd fiihes ; and about his (helves 
 
 A beggarly account of empty boxes. 
 
 Green earthen pots, bladders, and mufly feeds. 
 
 Remnants of pack-thread ; and old cakes of rofes. 
 
 Were thinly fcatter'd, to make up a (hew. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
 ATTACHMENT. 
 
 Our attachment to every obje£l around us, increafes, 
 in general, from the length of our acquaintance with 
 it. i would not choo(e, fays a French philofopher, to 
 fee an old poll pulled up, with which I had been long 
 acquainted. A mind long habituated to a certain let 
 of objeas, infenfibly becomes fond of feeing them; 
 vifits them from habit, and parts from them with re- 
 iuaance. From hence proceeds the avarice of the old 
 in every kind of po(re(rion. They love the world, and 
 all that it produces ; they love life, and all its advan- 
 tages; not becaufe it gives them pleafure, but becauie 
 they have known it long. Goldsmith. 
 
Arrangement of Ideas. — Abstinence. 
 
 45 
 
 ARRANGEMENT of IDEAS. 
 
 As a trader, who never places his goods in his fhop 
 or warehoufe in a regular order, nor keeps the accounts 
 of his buying and felling, paying and receiving, in a juft 
 method, is in the utmoft danger of plunging all his af- 
 fairs into confufion and ruin ; fo a ftudent, who is in 
 learch of truth, or an author or teacher, who commu- 
 nicates knowledge to others, will very much obftru£t 
 his defign, and confound his own mind, or the minds of 
 his hearers, unlefs he range his ideas in juft order. If 
 we would, therefore, become fuccefsful learners or 
 teachers, we muft not conceive things in a confufed 
 heap, but difpofe our ideas in fome certaia method,; 
 which may be moft eafy and ufeful both for'the under- 
 ftanding and memory.. Watts.. 
 
 ABSTINENCE. 
 
 The beft prefervative of health is temperance, whicK; 
 has thofe particular advantages above all other means 
 to attain it, that it may be pradifed by all ranks and 
 conditions, at any feafon, or in any place. It is a kind 
 of regimen, into which every man may put himfelf 
 without interruption to bufinefs, expence of money, 
 or lofs of time. IF exercife throw off all the fuperflui- 
 ties, temperance prevents them: if exercife clear the 
 vefleis, temperance neither fatiates nor overltrains 
 them: if exercife raife proper ferments in the hu- 
 mours, and promote the circulation of the blood, tem- 
 perance gives nature her full play, and enables her to 
 exert herfelf in all her force and vigour: if exercife 
 diflipate a growing diftemper, temperance ftarves it. 
 
 Nature delights in the moft plain and fimple diet : 
 every animal but man keeps to one difli. Herbs are 
 the food of this fpecies, fi(h of that, and fleih of the 
 third. Man falls upon every thing that comes in his - 
 
 E 2 
 
46 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 way ; not the ftnalleft fruit or excrefcence of the earth, 
 fcarce a berry or a mulhroom, can efcape him. I 
 would copy the if)riowing rules of a very eminent phy- 
 fician Make your whole repast out of one dish ; if you 
 indulge in a second, avoid drinking any thing strong till you 
 have finished your meal : At the same time abstain from 
 ah sauces, at least such as are not the most plain and sim^ 
 fie. And in the article of drinkiny, obferve Sir fVil- 
 liam Temples meth(id, viz. The first glass for myself, 
 the second for my friend, the third for good-humour, and 
 the fourth for mine enemies. 
 
 It is obferved by two or three ancient authors, that 
 Socrates, notwithltanding he lived in Athens Aurmgiho. 
 great plague, which has made fo much noife thi-o\igh- 
 out all ages, and has been celebrated at different times 
 by fuch eminent hands, notwithltanding he lived in the 
 time of this devouring peftilence, never caught the leaft 
 infedion; which thefe writers unanimouOy afcribe to 
 that uninterrupted temperance which he always ob- 
 ferved. Spectator. 
 
 ADULATION. 
 
 The man who is conftantly ferved up with adulation, 
 muft be a firlt-rate philofopher, if he can liften with- 
 out contra6\ing new alfeiiions. The opinion we form 
 of ourfclves, is generally meafured by what we hear 
 from others; and when they confpire to deceive, we 
 too readily concur in the delufion Among the num- 
 ber of much applauded men in the circle of our own 
 friends, we can recoiled but tew that have heads quite 
 Itrong enough to bear a loud acclamation of public 
 praife in iheir favor ; among the whole lift, we fhall 
 fcarce find one that has not thus been made, on fome 
 of his charadei, a coxcomb. Goldsm i th. 
 
Aristocracy and Despotism. 
 
 47 
 
 ARISTOCRACY AND DESPOTISM. 
 
 It is now found, by abundant experience, tbat an 
 ariftoctacy and a defpotirm differ but in name ; and 
 that a people who are in general exclnded from any 
 fhare of the legiflative, are to all intents and purpofes, 
 as much flaves, wlien twenty, independent of them, 
 govern, as when but one dotnineers. The tyranny 
 is even more felt ; as every individual of the nobles has 
 the haughtmefs of a fultan \ the people are more nnf- 
 erabie, as they feem on the verge of liberty, from 
 which they are forever debarred. This fallacious 
 idea of liberty, whilft it prefents a vain fhadow of 
 liappinefs to the fubjedl, binds fafler the chains of his 
 fubje6tion. What is left undone, by the natural a- 
 varice and pride of thofe who are raifed above the others 
 is coinpleted by their fufpicions, and their dread of 
 lofing an authority, which has no fupport in the 
 common utility of the nation. Burke. 
 
 ADVERSITY. 
 
 Plato lays it down as a principle, that whatever is 
 permitted to befall ajufi man, whether poverty, ficknefs 
 or any of thofe things w hich feem to be evils, lhall 
 either in life or death conduce to his good. My 
 reader will obferve how agreeable this maxim is to 
 what we find delivered by a greater authority. Seneca 
 has written a difcourfe purpofely on this fubjeil, in 
 which he takes pains, after the dotShine of xht StoicSf 
 to ftiew that adverfity is not in itfelf an evil ; and 
 mentions a noble faying of Demetrius, that nothing would 
 he more unhappy than a man who had never known uffliSiion : 
 he compares profperify to the indulgence of a fond 
 mother to a child, which proves its ruin; but the 
 affedion of the divine Being, to that of a wife father 
 who would have his fons exeicifed with hard labour^ 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 difappointment, and pain, that they may gather ftrength 
 anrl improve their fortitude. On this occafion, the 
 philofopher rifes into that celebrated fentiment, that 
 there is not on earth a fpeclacle more worthy the re- 
 gard of a creator intent on his works, than a brave 
 trtan fuperior to his fufFerings ; to which he adds, that 
 it nnafi: bea pleafnre to the Deitv himfelf, to look down 
 from heaven, and fee Cato^umdH the ruins of his coun- 
 try preferving his integrity. Spectator. 
 
 He that can heroically endure adverfity, will bear 
 profperity with equal greatnefs of foul ; for the mind 
 that cannot be dejedtd by the former is not likely to be- 
 tranfported with the latter. Fielding., 
 
 There are two confiderations, which, by properly 
 fixing our thoughts upon them» will gready fupport us 
 under all adverfities. The one is the brevity of life, 
 which, even at its longeft duration, the wifeft of men 
 hath compared to the fhort dimenfion of a fpan. And' 
 the fecond, the uncertainty of it. Could the moft 
 worldly men fee this in the light in which they examine- 
 all other matters, they would foon feel and acknowledge 
 the force of this way of reafoning. For which of 
 ,|hem would give any price for an eftate, from which 
 they are liable to be immediately eje6led;.or would, 
 they not laugh at him as a madman, who accounted, 
 himfellrich from.fuchan uncertain poffeffion.? Ibid.. 
 
 TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION, 
 
 My heart flops me to pay thee, my dear uncle Toby,. 
 once for all the tribute I owe thy goodnefs; here let 
 me thruft my chair afide, and kneel down upon the 
 ground, vvhilft I am pouring forth the vvarmefl fenti- 
 ments of luve for thee, and veneration for the excellency 
 of thy charader, that ever virtue and nature kindled 
 in a nephew's bofom.—. Peace and comfort reft 
 
'T ribute of Affection. — Affectation, 49. 
 
 for ever more upon thy head ! — Thou envtedft no man's 
 comforts, infultedlt no man's opinions. — Thou black- 
 enedft no man's charaiSler, — devouredft no man's bread: 
 gently, with faithful Trim behind thee, didd thou am- 
 ble round the little circle of thy pleafures, joftling no 
 creature in the way : — for each one's forrows thou 
 hadft a tear, — for each man's need thou hadft a (hilling. 
 "Whilft I am worth one, to pay a weeder, — the path 
 from thy door to thy bowling-green fhall never be 
 grown up — Whild there is a rood and a half of land 
 in the Shandy family, thy fortifications, my dear uncle 
 Toby, lhall never be demolifhed. Sterne. 
 
 AFFECTATION. 
 
 The great misfortune of afFedtation is, that men not 
 only lofe a good quality, but alfo contradl a bad one. 
 They not only are unfit for what they were defigned, 
 but they aflign themfclves to what they are unfit for; 
 and, inflead of making a very good figure one way, 
 make a very ridiculous one another. If Semanthe 
 would have been fatisfied with her natural complexion, 
 fhe might ftill have been celebrated by the name of the 
 Oiive-Beauty ; but Semanthe has taken up an afFefla- 
 tion to white and red, and is now diftinguiihed by the 
 character of the lady that paints well. In a word, 
 could the world be reformed to the obedience of that 
 famed didtate, follow nature, which tlie oracle of Del- 
 phos pronounced to Cicero, when he confulted what 
 courfe of ftudies he fhouid purfue, we fhould fee al- 
 moft every man as eminent in his proper fphere, as 
 Tully was in his ; and fhould in a very fhort time find 
 impertinence and afFedlation banifhed from among the 
 women, and coxcombs and falfe charaders from a- 
 mong the men. For my part, 1 could never confider 
 this prepofterous repugnancy to nature any otherwife, 
 than not only as the greateft folly, but alfo one of the 
 Cioil heinous crimes, fince it is a dired oppofition to 
 
r cjo American Monitor. 
 
 the dirpenfation of providence, and (as 7w//y expreUes \\] 
 like the lin of the giants, an adlual rebellion againft 
 heaven. Spectator. 
 
 7\fFe6tation proceeds from one of thefe two caufes 
 —vanity ox hypocrisy; for as vanity puts us on a{Fe6ling 
 falfe charailcrs, in order to purchafe applaufe; fo hy- 
 pocrily (eis us on an endeavor to avoid cenfure, by 
 concealing our vices under an appearance of their op- 
 pofite virtues. Fielding. 
 
 ADMIRATION. 
 
 He who propofes the fatisfaftion of his own pride 
 from the admiration of others, and will not lower 
 himfe f to thole who cannot rife to him, will never 
 gain his point equal to him who accommodates his 
 taientsto tifnes and occafions. In the company of the 
 former, every one is rendered unealy, laments his own 
 want of knowieiige, and longs for the end of the dull 
 aileinbly. With the latter, all are pleafed and con- 
 tented with tiiemletvrs, m their knf)^v!edge of matters 
 which ihey find worthy the confideration f)f a tnan of 
 fenfe. Admiration is involuntarily paid the former; 
 to the latter it is given joyfuliy. The former receives 
 it wiih envy and hatred; the latter enjoys it, as the 
 fweet fruit of good-will. The forjner is Ihunned, the 
 latter courted by all. Fielding. 
 
 / ATTENTION. 
 
 A^fludent (lionld labour by all proper methods to 
 . arcquire a ffeady fixation of thought. Attention is a 
 [ / very neceifary thing in order to improve our minds. 
 The evidence of truth does not always appear imrae- 
 diately, nor ff nke the foul at firlt fight. 'Tis by long 
 attention and in(pe6lion that we arrive at evidence, 
 and 11 is for want of it we judge falfely of many things, 
 
Atlention. — Agreeahk Man, 5I 
 
 We make ha(te to judge and determine upon a flight 
 and fu/.den vieiv; we confirm our guefles which anfe 
 from a glance; we pafs a judgment while we have but 
 a confuied or obfcure perception, and thus piunge our- 
 fclves into miilakes. This is like a man, who, walk- 
 ing in a milt, or being at a giea' diitance from any 
 vilible object, (fuppofe a trte, a man, a horft , or a 
 church) judges much amiis ot the tignre and fruaMon 
 and colours of it, and lomeiimes takes one for the other; 
 whereas if he would but withhold his iudgment, ti,l 
 he ccxne nearer to i', or ftay till cUarer light comes, 
 and then would fix his eyes longer upon it.^he would 
 fecure himfclt from tliofe miltakes. Watts. 
 
 Mathematical ftudit-s have a ftrange influence to- 
 wards fixing the attention of the mind, and giving a 
 fteadmefs to a wandering diipufition, becaufe they deal 
 much in lines, figures and numbers, which affeit and 
 pl.afe the fenfe and imagination. Hiltories have a 
 (trong tendency the faqie way; for they engage the 
 foul by a variety of ftr.fible ( CcurrefiUs when it has 
 begun, it knows not how tO^teave ofF ; it longs 10 
 know the final event, through a natural cu, iofity that 
 belongs to mankind. Voyaged; and travels and accounts 
 of ftrange countries and itrange appearances will aflitt 
 in this work. This fort of itudy detains the mind by 
 the perpetual occurrence and expediation ot fomethino- 
 new, and that which may gratefully ftrike the im laina^ 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 AGREEABLE MAN. 
 
 The defire of pleafing makes a man aoreeabie or tin- ' 
 welcome to thofc with whom he converfes, according 
 to the triotive from which that inclination appears to 
 «ow. Jf your concern lor pleafing oihers ar f. fro-n 
 innate benevolence, it never fails ,.t fuccefs ; .if from a 
 vanity to e.xcei, its difappointir.ent is no 'ef-^ cerr— ' 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 What v/e call an agreeable man, is he who Is endowed 
 with the natural bent to do acceptable thing?, from a 
 delight he takes in them merely as fuch ; and the at- 
 fedation of that charader is what conftitutes a fop. 
 Under thefe leaders one may draw up all thofe who 
 make any manner of fig\ire, except in dumb (how. 
 A rational and felea converfation is compofed of per- 
 fons who have the talent of pleafing with delicacy of 
 fenriments, flowing from habitual chaftity ot thought. 
 Now and then you meet with a man foexadlly formed 
 for pleaOng, that will make him gain upon every body 
 who hears or beholds him. This felicity is not the 
 gitt of nature only, but muft be attended with happy 
 circumftances, which add a dignity to the familiar be- 
 haviour which dillinguilhes him whom we call the a- 
 greeable man. It is from this that every body loves 
 and efteems Polycarpus. He is in the vigor of his age, 
 and the gaiety of his life ; but has paiTed through very 
 confpicuous fcenes in it : though no foldier, he has 
 fliared the danger, and aded with great gallantry and 
 generofity, in a decifive day of battle. To have thofe 
 qualities which only make other men confpicuous m 
 the world, as it were fupernumerary to him, is acir- 
 cumftance which gives weight to his molf indifferent 
 aaions; for as a known credit is ready cafh to a tra- 
 der, fo is acknowledged merit immediate diltin£fion, 
 
 uer, lo IS aLKiiuwicugcu im-ii^ mi .nv,v....>»- - . 
 
 and lerves in the place of equipage to a gentleman. 
 This renders Polycarpus graceful in mirth, important 
 in bufinefs, and regarded with love in every ordinary 
 occurrence. Spectator. 
 
 AGREEABLE IN COMPANY. 
 
 The true art of being agreeable in company (but 
 there can be fuch thing as art in it) is to appearl 
 well pleafed with thofe you are engaged with, and _ra-j 
 ther to feem well entertained, than to bring entertain- 
 ment to others. A man thus aifpofed, is not indeed. 
 
37;^? Dead Ass, 
 
 53 
 
 ^vhat we ordinarily call a good companion, but eflen- 
 tialiy is fucli, and in all parts of his converfation has 
 /bmething friendly in his behaviour, which conci Hates 
 inen's minds more than the highetl fallies of wit or 
 Harts of humour can poffibly do. The feebkncfs of 
 age, in a man of this turn, has fomcthing which Humid 
 be treated with refpeiSl even in a man no otherwiie ve- 
 nerable. The forwardnefs of youth, when it proceeds 
 from alacrity, and not infolence, has alfo its aliowan- 
 ces. The companion who is formed tor fuch by na- 
 ture, gives to every character in life its due regard, and 
 is ready to account for their imperfe£lions, and receive 
 their accomplifhtni'nts, as if they were his owth. It 
 mult appear that you receive law from, and not give 
 it to, your company, to make you agreeable. 
 
 SPtCTATOR. 
 
 TheDEADASS, 
 
 And this, faid he, putting the remains of a crufl 
 into his wallet — -and this Ihould have been thy portion, 
 kid he, hadlt thou been alive to have ihared it with 
 me. 1 thought by the accent, it had beenac apoftrophe 
 to his child; but 'twa> to his afs, and to the very afs 
 we had feen dead on the road, which had occafioned 
 La Fleurs mifadveu'ture. The man Teemed to lament 
 it much ; and it inltantly brought into my mind San- 
 cho's lamentation for his ; but he did it with more 
 true touches of nature. 
 
 The mourner was fitting on a Hone bench at the 
 door, with the afs's pannel and its bridle on one fide, 
 which he took up from time to time — then laid them 
 dovvn — look'd at them — and (hook his head. He thefi 
 took the cruft of bread out of his wallet again, as if to 
 eat it ; held it fome time in his hand — then laid it upon 
 the bit of his afs's bridle— look'd willfully at the little 
 arrangement he Iiad made — and then gave a figh, 
 
 F 
 
54 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 The fimplicUy of his grief drew numbers about him, 
 and La Fleur among the reft, whilft the horfes were 
 getting ready ; as 1 continued fitting in the poft-chaife, 
 1 could fee and hear over their heads. 
 
 — He faid he had come laft from Spain^ where he 
 had been from the furtheft borders of Franconia ; and 
 had got fo far on his return home, when his afs died. 
 Every one feemeddefiicnis to know what bufinefs could 
 have taken fo old and poor a man fo far a journey from 
 his own home. 
 
 It had pleafed heaven, he faid, to blefs him wi'h 
 three fons, the finelt lads in all Germany ; but having 
 in one week loft iwo of them by the fmali-pox, and the 
 youngeft tailing ill of the fame dtltemper, he was a- 
 fraid of being bereft of them all; and made a vow, if 
 Heaven would not take him from him alfo, he would 
 go in gratitude to St. Jago, in Spain. 
 
 When the mourner got thus far on his ftory, he 
 ftopp'dto pay nature her tribute — and wept bitterly. 
 
 He faid Heaven had accepted the conditions, and that 
 he had fet out from his cottage, with this poor creature, 
 who had been a patient partner f)f his journey— r-that 
 it had eat the fame bread with him all the way, and 
 was unto him as a friend. 
 
 Every body who ftood about, heard the poor fellow 
 with concern — La Fleur offered him money — the 
 mourner faid he did not want it — it was not the value 
 of the afs— but the lofs of him — The a(s, he faid, he 
 was affured, loved him, — and upcn this, told them 
 a long ftory of a mifchance upon their paifage over the 
 Pyrenean mountains, which had feparated them from 
 each other three days: during which time the afs had 
 fought him as much as he had fought the afs, and they 
 hadYcarce eat or drank till they met. 
 
 " Thou haft one comfort, friend," faid I, "at leaft, 
 *<■ in the lofs of the poor beaft ; I'm fure thou haft been 
 «a merciful mafter to him."— " Alas 1" faid the 
 mourner, •« i thought fo when he was alive— but now 
 
Rules for Moderating Apprehensions, 
 
 '« he is dead, I think otherwife I fear the weight of 
 
 " myfelf andmy afflidions together have been too much 
 " for him — they have fhortened the poor creature's 
 "days, and I fear I have them to anfwer for." — Shame 
 on the world ! faid 1 to myfelf — Did we love each 
 other but as this poor foul lov'd his afs — 'twould be 
 fomething. Sterne. 
 
 APPREHENSIONS, (Rules for Moderating.^ 
 
 First, What we fear may not come to pafs. No 
 human fcheme can be fo accurately projeded, but 
 fome little circiimftance intervening may fpoil it. He 
 who direds the heart of man at his pleafure, and un- 
 derftands the thoughts long before, may, by ten thou- 
 land accidents, or an immediate change in the incli- 
 nations of men, difconcert the moft fubtle projedl, and 
 turn it to the benefit ot his own fervants. 
 
 In the next place, we fliould confider, though the 
 evil we imagine, fliould come to pafs, it may be^much 
 more fupportable than it appeared to be. As there is 
 no prolperous flate of life without its calamities, fo 
 there is no adverfity without its benefits. Afk the 
 great and powerful, if they do not feel the pangs of en- 
 vy and ambition. Enquire of the poor and needy, if 
 they have not tafled the fvveets of quiet and content- 
 ment. Even under the pains of body, the infidelity 
 of friend?, or the mifconff rudions put upon our lau- 
 dable adions, our minds (when for fome time accuf- 
 tomed to thefe prelTures) are fenfible of fecret flowings 
 of comfort, the prefent reward of a pious refjgnation. 
 The evils of this life appear like rocks and precipices, 
 nigged and barren at a diflance ; but at our nearer ap- 
 proach we find little fruitful fpois and refrefhin^ 
 fprings, mixed with the harfhnefs and deformities of 
 nature. 
 
 In the iafl place, we may comfort ourfelves with this 
 coniideration, that, .is the thing feared may not reach 
 
56 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 us, fo we may not reach what we fear. Our lives 
 may not extend to that dread(ul point which we have 
 in viev/. He who knows all our failings, and will not 
 fuffer us to be tenapted beyond our ftrength, is often 
 pleafed, in his tender feverity, to feparate the foul from 
 its body and miferies together. 
 
 If we look forward to him for help, we fhall never 
 be in danger of falling down thofe precipices, which 
 cur imagination is apt to create. Like thofe who walk 
 upon a line, it we keep our eye fixed upon one point, 
 we may ftep forward fecurely ; whereas an imprudent 
 or cowardly glance on either fide will infallibly deftroy 
 us, ' SPECTATORt 
 
 BEGGAR. 
 
 Art thou a man, and fham'fl thou not to beg ? 
 
 Topra£lice fuch a fervile kind of life ? 
 
 Why, were thy education ne'er fo mean. 
 
 Having thy limbs, a thoufand fairer courfes 
 
 Offer themfelves to thy eleflion. 
 
 Either the wars might ftill fupply thy wants. 
 
 Or ferviceof fome virtuous gentleman. 
 
 Or honeft. labour : nay, what can I name, 
 
 But would become thee better than to beg ? 
 
 But men ol thy condition feed on floth. 
 
 As doth the beetle on the dung (he breeds in ; 
 
 Not caring how the metal of your minds 
 
 }s eaten with the ruft of idlcnefs. 
 
 Now, after me ; whate'er he be, that fliould 
 
 Relieve a perfon of thy quality, 
 
 While thou infift in this loofe defp'rate courfe, 
 
 I would cfteem the fin, not thine but his. 
 
 Ben-* Johnson- 
 
 BIRDS, 
 
 Thus when the big impending clouds appear, 
 And ftruggling winds proclaim fome tempeftnear^ 
 
Beggar. — Birds. 
 
 SI 
 
 The trembling birds the coming danger fly, 
 And feek for (helter from the low'ring fky, 
 In wild confiifion and affright divide, 
 The mourntul mate is lever'd from his bride ; 
 But when the gloom is clear'd, the ftorm o'er paft, 
 Each feeks his confort, with impatient hafle; 
 Grieves till Ihe's found ; when found, the joyful pair. 
 With warbling tranfporti, charm the lift'ning air. 
 
 Beckingham. 
 
 BENEVOLENCE. 
 
 There cannot be a more glorious objed in creation,, 
 than a human being, replete with benevolence, medi-r 
 rating in what manner he might render himfelf mofi: 
 acceptable to his Creator, by doing mofi good to hiS' 
 creatures. Fielding. 
 
 BENEFICENCE. 
 
 It feems rather extraordinary, that pride, which is- 
 conftantly flruggling, and often impofing on itfelf, tO' 
 gainfome little pre-eminence, Ihould fofeldom hint to 
 us the only certain, as well as laudable way, of fetting 
 ourfelves above another man, and that is, by becoming 
 his benefadlor. Fielding. 
 
 A tender hearted and compaflionafe difpofition, 
 which inclines iTien to pity and feel the rnistortunes of ^ 
 others, and which is, even for its own fake, incapable 
 of involving any man in ruin and mifery, is of all tem- 
 pers of mind the moft amiable; and though it feldom 
 receives much honor, is worthy of the higheft. Ibid.- 
 
 BEESand BUTTERFLIES. 
 
 The bees, are a nation ofchymifts ! to whom iiature 
 has Communicated the rare and valuable fecret of en- 
 
 F ^ 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 riching themfelves, without inipoverifliing others; 
 who extradt the moft delicious fyrnp from every fra- 
 grant herb, without wounding its fubllance, or dimin- 
 ilhing its odours. — 1 take the more notice of thefe 
 ingenious operators, becaufe 1 would willingly make 
 them my pattern. While the gay butterfly flutters her 
 painted wings, and fips a little fantaflic delight, only 
 for the prefent moment ; while the gloomy fpider, 
 worfe than idly bufied, is preparing his infidious nets 
 for defl;ru£tion, or fucking venom, even from the moft 
 wholefome plant; this frugal commiiHity are wifely 
 employed in providing for futurity, and collecting a 
 copious ftock of the moll balmy treafures. 
 ^Ip' Hervey» 
 
 BEES. 
 
 What various wonders may obfervers fee 
 In a fmall infedt, the fagacious bee! 
 ]Mark how the little untaught builders fquare 
 Their rooms, and in the dark their lodgings rear; 
 Nature's iriechanics they unwearied drive. 
 And fill, with curious labyrinths, the hive. 
 See what bright (trokes of archite6lure fhine 
 Thro' the wliole frame, what beauty, what defign! 
 Each odoriferous cell, and waxen tow'r. 
 The yellow pillage of the rifled flow'r, 
 JIas twice three fides, the only figure fit 
 To which the lab'reis may their (lores cofnmir. 
 Without the lofs of matter, or of room, 
 In all the wond'rou? ftruflure of the comb. 
 Nextview, fpedlator, with admiring eyes, 
 Inwhatjufl order all th' apartments rife ! 
 So regidar their equal fides cohere, 
 Th' adapted angles fo each other bear. 
 That by mechanic rules, refin'd and bold, 
 They are at once upheld, at once uphold. 
 Does not this flnil ev'n vie with rcafoPi's reach ? 
 
Bees, — Blindness, — Beauty. 
 
 Can Euclid more, can more Palladia teach ? 
 
 Each verdant hill th'induflrious chymilts climb, 
 
 Extra£l the riches of the blooming thyme; 
 
 And provident of winter long before, 
 
 They (lock their caves, and hoard their flow'ry flore. 
 
 In peace they rule their ftate with prudent care, 
 
 Wifely defend, or wage offcnfive war. 
 
 Mara, thefe wonders ofFer'd to his thought. 
 
 Felt his known ardor, and the rapture caught; 
 
 Then rais'd his voice, and in immortal lays, 
 
 Did high as heav'n the infedl nation raife. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 BLINDNESS. 
 
 All dark and comfortlefs ! 
 Where are thofe various objc£ts that but now 
 Employ'd my bufy eyes ; where are thofe eyes ? 
 Dead are their piercing rays that lately (hot 
 O'er flow'ry vales to diltant funny hills. 
 And drew with joy the vaft horizon in. 
 Thefe groping hands are now my only guides, 
 And feeling all my fight. 
 Shut from the living while among the living! 
 Dark as the grave amidll the buHling world ! 
 At once from bus'nefs and from pleafure barr'd f 
 No more to view the beauty of the fpring ] 
 Nor fee the face oi kindred or of friend 1 Tate, 
 
 BEAUTY. 
 
 Beauty, like ice, our footing does betray ; 
 Who can tread fure on the fmooth flippery way r 
 Pleas'd with the paflage, we glide fwiftly on, 
 And fee the dangers which we cannot fhun. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Beauty, thou art a fair but fading flow'ry 
 The tender prey of ev'ry coming hour. 
 
6o 
 
 American Mow tar. 
 
 In vniith, thou, comet-like, art gaz'd upon; 
 Bnt art portentous to thyCelf alone : 
 U'lpuniili'd thou to fevv wert ever given. 
 Nor art a bleffing, but a mark from heav'n 
 
 Sedley, 
 
 Angels were painted fair to look like you ; 
 There's in you all that we believe of heav'n. 
 Amazing brightnefs, purity and truth. 
 Eternal joy, and everlafting peace. Otwax* 
 
 My love is fairer than the fnovvy breaft 
 Of the tall fwan, whofe proudly fwelling chefl 
 Divides the waves. Her treflbs loofe behind, 
 Play on her neck, and wanton in the wind : 
 The rifing blulhes which her cheek o'erfpread. 
 Are op'ning rofes in the lilly's bed. Gay. 
 
 Array'd in all her charms, appear'd the fairj; 
 Tall was her ftature, unconfin'dher air; 
 Proportion deck'd her limbs, and in her face 
 Lay love infhrin'd, lay fweet attra6live grace ; 
 Temp'ring the awful beams her eyes convey'd,. 
 And, like a lambent flame, around her play'd. 
 No foreign aids by mortal ladies worn, 
 From {hells and rocks her artlefs charms adorn 
 For grant that beauty were by gems increas'd,. 
 'Tis render'd more fnfpedled at the leaft, 
 And foul defefls, that wou'd efcape the fight, 
 Start from the piece, and take a ftronger light: 
 Her chefnut hair, in carelefs ringlets, round 
 Her tcinples wav'd, with pinks and jes'mine crown'd. 
 And, gather'd in a filken cord behind, 
 Curl'd to the waiff, and floated in the wind. 
 O'er thefe a veil of yellow gauze Ihe wore, 
 With amaranths and gold embrplder'd, o'er 
 Her fnovvy neck, half naked to the viewj 
 Gracefully fell , a lobe of purple hue» 
 
Beauty. — Boar, 6i 
 
 Hiingloofely o'er her tender (hape, and tried 
 To Ihide thofe beauties that it could not hide. 
 • Thedanifels of her irain with tnirth and fong 
 Frolic behind, anJ laugh and fport along. LlSLEi 
 
 Beauty is but a vain, a fleeting good, 
 A ihiningglofs that fadeth fuddenly ; 
 A flower that dies when almoft in the bud, 
 A brittle glafs that breake'h prefently. 
 A fleeting good, a glofs, a glafs, a flower, 
 Loll, faded, broken, dead within an hour. 
 As goods when lofl, we know, are feldom found. 
 
 As fading glofs no rubbing can excite ; 
 As flowers, when dead, are trampled on the groun 
 
 As broken glafs no cement can unite ; 
 So beauty, blemifh'd once, is ever loft, 
 In fpite of phyfic, painting, pains, and coft. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
 V Beauty has fo many charms, one knows not how to 
 ;ak againft it; and when it happens that a graceful 
 figure is the habitation of a virtuous foul, when the 
 beauty of the face fpeaks out (he modefly and humility 
 of the mind, and thcjuflnefsof the pr'opoTtion raifes 
 our thoughts up to the heart and wifdom of the great 
 Creator, fomething may be allowed it,_and fomething 
 to the embellifhments which fet it off"; and yet, when 
 the whole apology is read, —it will be found at laft, that 
 beauty, like truth, never is fo glorious as when it goes 
 theplaineft. Sterne. 
 
 BOAR. 
 
 Forth from the thicket rufh'd another boar, 
 So large he feem'd the tyrant of the woods. 
 With all his dreadful briftl-s rais'd up high, 
 Thej feem'd a grove of fpears upon his back. 
 
American Monitoi\ 
 
 Foaming became at me, where I was pofted, 
 
 Whetting his huge long tuiks, and gaping wide. 
 
 As he already had me for liis prey : 
 
 Till brandilhiiig my weli-pois'd jav'Hn hign, 
 
 With this bold executing arm I (truck 
 
 The ugly brindled monlter to the heart. Otvvay. 
 
 So when furrounding huntfmen cad a fhow'r 
 Of hiiUng fpears againit fome mighty boar. 
 The grifly beaft, provok'd with ev'ry wound, 
 Rages, and cafts his threat'ning looks around. 
 High on his back his furious bridles rife, 
 And lightning flafhes from his raging eyes: 
 He toHes clouds of foam amidlt the air, 
 And, brandiftiing his fangs, invites the war. 
 
 BLACKMOREr 
 
 His eye-balls glare with fire, fufFus'd with blood. 
 His neck (hoots up a thick-fet thorny wood. 
 His briftled back a trench impal'd appears, | 
 And (lands ereded like a field of fpears. 
 Froth fills his chaps, he fends a grunting found. 
 And part he churns, and part betoams the ground. 
 For tu(ks,''^vvith Indian elephants he (trove, 
 And Jove's own thunder from his mouth he drove. 
 He fuffcrs not the corn its yellow beards to rear. 
 But tramples down rlie fpikes, and intercepts the yeaiv 
 In vain the barns expe6l their promised load. 
 Nor barns at home, nor ricks are heap'd abroad. 
 In vain the hinds the thrediing floor prepare. 
 And exercife their arms in eHipty air. 
 With olives ever green the ground isttrew'd, 
 And grapes ungather'd Ihcd their gen'rous blood. 
 Amid the fold he rages, nor the (heep 
 Their ihephefds, nor the grooms their bulls can keep. 
 
Brave. — Blush Birih, 
 
 BRAVE. 
 
 ♦The brave do never (hun the light ; 
 Jurt are their thoughts, atid open are their tempers ' 
 i'reeiy without difgutfe they love or hate : 
 Still are they found in the fair face of day, ' 
 And Hcav'nand men are judges of their anions. 
 
 ROWB, 
 
 * * * * * * The brave are ever tender 
 And fee] the miferies ot luficnng virtue. 
 
 Martyn. 
 
 The human race are Tons of forrow born • 
 And each mult have his portion. Vulgar minds 
 Kefufe. or crouch beneaih their load : tlie brave 
 iiear theirs without repumig. Mallet, 
 
 On valour's fide the t.dds of combat He ; 
 The brave live glorious, or lamented die! 
 'I he wretch who trembles in the field of fame. 
 Meets death, or, worie than death, eternal ihatne. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 BLUSH. 
 
 A crimfon blufh her beauteous face o'erfpreaJ, 
 > Varying her cheeks by turns wxih white and red. 
 1 he dnvmg colours, never at a (fay, 
 Run here and there, and flulh and fade awav. 
 Delightful change I thus Indian iv'rv (hows; 1 
 Which wuh the bord'ring paint of purple glows; I 
 Ur lilies damask'd by the neighb 'ring rofe! J 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 BIRTH. 
 
 Di.-ff}thou ne'er read, in difference of good, 
 1 IS more to ihine in virtue than in blood > 
 
 Johnson. 
 
American Monit'rf-- 
 
 Birth is a fhadow. Courage, felf-fuftainM, 
 Oui-lords fucceirion's phlegm — and needs noanceftors* 
 I am above defccat \ and prize no blood. Hill. 
 
 Among the titled great ones of the world, 
 
 Do they not fpringtrom Tome proud monarch's flatterer^ 
 
 Some tavoiiie miftrefs, or ambitious minifter. 
 
 The ruin his country, wluletheir blood 
 
 Roiis down thro' many a fool, thro' many a villain, 
 
 To Its now proud polIeiTors? Francis. 
 
 ■» « 4f » « * * » I'hv birth ? ' 
 
 Did I not early teach thee to delpife 
 
 Acafual good ? Thou art ihyieU, llyjfus. 
 
 Inform me, youth, would'lt thou be what thou art 
 
 Thus fair, thus brave, thus fenfibly alive 
 
 7 o glory's fineit feel ; or give up all 
 
 To be defcended from a line ol kings, 
 
 The tenth perhaps from Jove r — 1 fee thy cheek 
 
 Glows a repentant blufh. — Our greateft heroes. 
 
 Who've been on earth, the friends of human-kind^ * 
 
 Whofe great examples I would fet before thee, ' 
 
 Were once unknown like thee. — — 
 
 Whitehead.- 
 
 - — —Who firft the catalogue fhall grace? 
 
 To quality belongs the highell place. 
 
 My lord comes forward ; forward let him come! 
 
 Ye vulgar ! at your peril give him room ; 
 
 He It.mds for tame on his forefathers' feet, 
 
 By heraldry prov'd valiant or difcreet. 
 
 With what a decent pride he throws his eyes 
 
 Above I he man by three defcents lefs wile ! 
 
 If virtues at his noble hand you crave, 
 
 You bid hiia raife his fathers from the grave. 
 
 Men Ihouldprefs forward in fame's glorious chafe 
 
 Nobles look backward, and fa lofe the race. 
 
 Let high birth triumph ! What can be more greats' 
 Nothing — but merit in a low dtate, 
 
Blind Boy.^-^Buildhig. 65 
 
 To virtue's humbleft fon let none prefer 
 Vire, tho' defcended from the conqueror. 
 
 I Shall men,, like figures, pafs for high or hafc^ 
 Shght or imporran;, only by their piace ? 
 
 . Titles are marks of honed men, and wife ; 
 The (ool or knave that wear? a title, lies. 
 ^ff^\\ey that on glorious ancelfors enlarge. 
 Produce their debt, inltead of their difcharge. 
 *****, let thofe who proudly boalt their line. 
 Like thee, in worth hereditary Ihine. YouHG. 
 
 B L I N D B O Y. 
 
 O fay, what is that thing cail'd light. 
 
 Which I mud ne'er enjoy ? 
 What are the bleifings of the fight ? 
 
 O tell your poor blind boy ! 
 •Yon talk of wond'rous things you fee. 
 
 You fay, thefiin Ihmes bright ; 
 4 feel him warrn ; but how can he 
 
 Or .make it day or night ? 
 My day or night my fel f I make, 
 
 When'er 1 fleep or play ; 
 And could 1 ever keep awake. 
 With me 'twere always day. 
 • With heavy fighs I often hear 
 
 You mourn my haple/s woe ; 
 But Aire with patience I can bear 
 
 A lofs 1 ne'er can know. 
 Thin let not what J cannot have 
 
 My cheer of mind delhoy ; 
 Whilftthusi fing. i ama king, 
 
 Although a poor blind boy. Colley ^ i £. 
 
 BUILDING. 
 
 ^) v|||ho builds, and wants wherewith to ray . 
 ^, from which to run away. 
 G 
 
66 American Monitor, 
 
 In Britain what is many a lordly feat. 
 
 But a difcharge in full tor an eltate ? YounG* 
 
 CLOWN. 
 
 h downifh mien, a voice with riiftic found. 
 And (fupid eyes, that ever lov'd the ground j 
 The ruling rod, the lather's tonningcare, 
 Were exercis'd in vain on wit's defpair ; 
 The more inform'd, thelefs he underltood. 
 And deeper funk by flound'ring in the mud. 
 His 'corn and cattle were his only care; 
 And his iuprenie delight a country fair. 
 A quarter-ltafF, which hf: ne'er could forfake. 
 Hung half before, and half behind his back. 
 Hetrudg'd along, unknowing what he fought, 
 Aiid whittled, as he went, for want of thought. 
 
 Dryden, 
 
 CAMP. 
 
 I have been led by folitary care 
 To yon dark branches, fpreading o'er the brook, 
 Which murmurs thro' the camp ; this mighty campi 
 W^here once two hundred thouiand fons of war, 
 With relilefsdins awak'd the midnight hour. 
 ISow horrid Itiilnefs in the vacant lents 
 Sits undittnrb'd ; and the(e incelfant rills, 
 Whofe pebbled channel breaks their lliallow flreatDf 
 l^ ill with their melancholy founds my ears 
 As W I wander'd like a lonely hind, 
 O'er fome dead fallow, tar from all refort : 
 Unlefs that ever and anon a groan 
 Eurfts from a foldier, pillow 'd on liislhield 
 In turinent, or expiring with his wounds, 
 And turns my fi^^!d attention into horroi- 
 
Cato. -^Cleanliness^ 
 
 62 
 
 CATO. 
 
 Turn up thy eyes to Cato, < 
 I There may 'it thou fee to what a godlike height 
 I The Roman virtues lift up mortal man. 
 \ While good, and juft, and anxious for his friends, 
 ' He's ftill feverely bent againft himleU ; 
 
 Renouncing fleep, and food, and relt, and eafe ; 
 Pie (irives with thirit and hunger, toil and heat; 
 And when his fortune fets before him all 
 The pomps and pleafures that his fou) can wM'fh, 
 His rigid virtue wi'il accept of none. Addison. 
 
 CLEANLINESS 
 
 Is a mark of poHtenefs. It is univerflilly agreed 
 upon, that no one, unadorned with this virtue, can go 
 into company without giving a manifed offence. 
 The eafieror higher any one's fortune is, this duty 
 proportionably. The difFerent nations of the 
 world are as much diftinyuifhed by their cleanlinefs, 
 as bv their arts and fciences. The more any cc)untry 
 is ovilized, the more they confult this part of polite- 
 nefs. We need but compare our ideas of a female 
 Hottentot and an Enalifli beauty, to be fatisfied of the 
 truth of what hath been advanced. 
 
 In the next place, cleanlinefs may be faid to be 
 the Softer mother of love. Beauty mdeed moft com- 
 monly produces that pa (Hon in the mind, but cleahli- 
 Befs preferves it. An indifferent face and perfon, kept 
 in perpetual neatnefs, has won manv a heart from a 
 pretty flattern. Age itfeif is not imamiable, while it 
 -? preferved clean and unfullied : like a piece of metal 
 onftantly kept fmooth and bright, we look on it 
 tth more pieafure than on a new velfel which is 
 ankered with ruff. 
 
 igbf ()bferve farther, that, as cleanlinefs renders 
 10 others, lo it makes us eafy to ourfelves ; 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 that it is an excellent prefervative of health ; and tlial^ 
 feveral vices de(iru£live both to mind and body, are 
 inconfi'dent with the habit of it. But thefe reflections 
 1 fhall leave to the leifurc of my readers, and fhall 
 obferve in the third place, that it bearr. a great analogy 
 with puriiy of mind, and naturally infpires refined fen* 
 ritnents andpaflions. Spectator* 
 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 We fliould not be too hai1:y in beRowing either otii 
 praife orcenfure on mankind, fince we fhall orten find 
 fuch a mixture of good and evil in the fame charaiter, 
 that it may require a very accurate judgment, and a very 
 elaborate enquiry, to determine on which fide the 
 balance turns. Jt ielding. 
 
 The firR impreflions which mankind receive o^" us, 
 will be ever after difficuU to eradicate. How unhappy, 
 therefore, mud it be to fix our characters in Tie, be- 
 fore we can pcjlnbly know the value, or weigh the con- 
 ieqnences ot thofe actions which are to cltablifn our 
 future iepuiation. Ibid* 
 
 C.U S T O M. 
 
 Cuftom is commonly too ftrong for the mofl refolu-te 
 refolver, though furnilhed for the alTault with ail the. 
 weapons of phllofophy. *' He that endeavors to lice 
 himfclf from an ill habit (fays Bacon) mult not cha!>ge 
 too much at a time, left lie ihould be difcouraged by 
 difficulty; nor too little, for then he will make but 
 flow advances. Idler. 
 
 Suppofe we have freed ourfelves from the younger 
 priljudices of our education, yet we are in danger o 
 having our mind turned afide from truth by the infli " 
 eajce of general cultom. Our opinion of jiicats- 
 
Cusfotn. — Complaint. 
 
 69 
 
 drinks, of garments and forms of falntation, are in- 
 fluenced more by cullom, than by the eye, the ear, or 
 the ta(te. Curtom prevails even over fenfe iileit \ and 
 therefore no wonder it it prevail over reafon too. 
 What is it but ciiHom, that renders many ot the mix- 
 tures, of food and fauces elegant in Britain, whitli 
 would be aukward and naufeous to the inhabitants 
 of China, and indeed weie naufeous to us when we 
 firil tarted them ? what but cuftom could make th(.)fe 
 falutations polite in Mnfcovv, which are ridiculous ia 
 France and England f We call ourfelves indeed the po- 
 liter na'ions: but it is we who judge thus of ourfelves; 
 and that fancied politenefs is oftentimes more owing to 
 cultom than reafon. Why are the forms ot our pre— 
 fent garments counted beautiful, and thofe fafhious p£ 
 our anceftors the matter ot fcofFand contempt, which, 
 in their days, were all decent and genteel ? It is cultoin 
 that forms our opinion of drefs, and reconciles us by 
 degrees to thofe habits which at firfl feemed very odd 
 and monltrous. It muft be granted, there are fome 
 garments and habits which have a natural congruity 
 or incongruity, modefly or immodedy, gandinefs or 
 gravity ; though for the molt part there is but little rea- 
 fon in rhefe affairs; but what little there is of reafon, 
 or natural decency, cuftom triumphs over it all. Ii is 
 almoft impoilibie to perfuade a young lady that any 
 thing can be decent which is out of fafhion. 
 
 Watts. 
 
 Cuftom may lead a man into many errors ; hut it 
 juftifies none. Fiejlding. 
 
 COMPLAINT. 
 
 What cannot be repaired is not to be regretted. 
 The ufual fortune of complaint, is to excite con- 
 xmpt more than pity. Johnson. 
 
 G a 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 To hear complaints with patience, even when com- 
 plaints are vain, is one oi the duties of friendfhip : and^ 
 though it mult be allowed, that he fufFers ncioli like a 
 hero who hides his grief in filence, yet it cannot be 
 denied, that he who complains, acls like a inan — like 
 a focia! being, who looks for help from his fellow- 
 exeat u res. Ibid. 
 
 The C H URC H-Y A R D. 
 
 What a number of hillocks of death appear all 
 round us ! What are the tomb-ftunes, but memorials 
 of the inhabitants of that town, to inform us ot the 
 period of all their lives, and to point out the day when 
 it was faid to each of them, " Your time fhall be no 
 *• longer." O, may I readily learn this important 
 letron, that my turn is haitening too; fuch a little hil- 
 lock fhall fhortly arife for me in fome unknown fpot 
 of ground ; it ihall cover this fiefh and thefe bones of 
 miu'J in darknefs, and fhall hide them from the light 
 of the fun, and from the fight of man till the heavens 
 be no more. Watts, 
 
 Perhaps in this neglecEled fpot is laid 
 
 Some heart once pregnant with celeflial fire : 
 
 Hands that the rod of empire might have fway'dj. 
 Or wak'd to ecll:afy the living lyre. 
 
 But knowledge to their eyes her ainple pa^e, 
 Rich with the fpoils of time, did ne'er unroll'; 
 
 Chili penury reprefs'd their noble rage, 
 And froze the genial current of the fouL- 
 
 Ful! many a gem, of purefl ray ferene. 
 The dark uhfathomVi caves of ocean bear ; 
 
 Full many a fiow'r is born to bluih unfeen, 
 A^nd wade its fweetnefs on the defert air. 
 
 >onie village-Hampden, that with datmtlefs brea{l 
 The little tyrant of hi§^ fidds withftood; 
 
 / 
 
Country- Life. 
 
 Some mote inglorious Milton here may reft; 
 Some Cromwtll guiUlels ot his country's blood. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 C O U N T R Y-L I F E. 
 
 Happy the man, whom bounteous gods allow 
 With his own hands paternal grounds to plough ? 
 Like the firfl: golden mortals happy he, 
 From bus'nefs and the cares of money free! 
 No human dorms break ofF at land liis fleep, 
 No loud alarms of nature on the deep ; 
 From all the cheats of law he lives fecure. 
 Nor does th'afFronts of palaces endure. 
 Sometimes the beauteous marriageable vine 
 He ro the lufty bridegroom elm does join ; 
 Sometimes he lops the barren trees around, 
 And grafts new life into the fruitful wound; 
 Sometimes he fliears his flock, and fometimes he 
 Stores up the golden treafures of the bee, 
 He fees the lowing herds walk o'er the plain. 
 While neighb'ring hills low back to them again. 
 And when the feafon, rich as well as gay. 
 All her autumnal bounty does difplay. 
 How is he pleas'd th' increafingufe to fee 
 Of his well trufted labours bend the tree! 
 Oi which large ftores, on the glad facred days. 
 He gives to friends, and to the gods repays. 
 With how much joy does he beneath fome {hadej> 
 By aged trees' rev'rend einbraces made, 
 His carelefs head on the freih green recline. 
 His head uncharg'd with fear, or with defign! 
 
 COWLE i 
 
 God made the country, and man made the tov.'ii;-. 
 What wonder then, that health and virtue, gifts 
 That can alone make fweet the bitter draught 
 That life holds out to all, flbould moft abound 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 And leafl: be threatened in the fields and groves I' 
 
 PoiTefs ye, therefore, ye who, borne about 
 
 In chariots and fedans, know no fatigue 
 
 But that of idlenefs, and tafte no fcenes 
 
 But fuch as art contrives — poflefs ye ftill ^ 
 
 Your- element ; there only can ye Ihine, 
 
 There only minds like yours can do no harm. 
 
 Our groves were planted to confole at noon 
 
 The penfive wand'rer in their lhades. At eve 
 
 The moon beam Aiding foftly in between 
 
 The fleep ng leaves, is all the lij^ht they wifh. 
 
 Birds warb'ling all the mufic. We can fpare 
 
 The fplendor of your lamps, they but eclipfe 
 
 Our fofter fatellite. Your fongs confound 
 
 Our more harmonious notes. The thrulh departs 
 
 Scar'd, and th' offended nightingale is mute ; 
 
 There is a public mifchief in your mirth. 
 
 It plagues your country. Folly fuch as your's 
 
 Grac'd with a fword, and worthier of a fan. 
 
 Has made, what enemies could ne'er have done. 
 
 Our arch of empire, ff edfaft but for you, 
 
 A mutilated ilrudure foon to fall. Cowper, 
 
 C O U N T R Y-M AIDE N. 
 
 How happy is the harmlefs country-maid. 
 Who, rich by nature, fcorns fuperfluous aid! 
 Whofe modefl clothes no wanton eyes invite. 
 But, like her foul, preferve the native white. 
 Whofe little (lore her well-taught mind doespleafe; 
 N(ft pinch'd with want, nor cloy'd with wanton eafe. 
 Who, free from (forms which on the great ones fall, 
 Makes but few wilhes, and enjoys them all. 
 ISo care, but love, can difcompole htr breaff, 
 Love, of all cares, the fweeteft and the btlt • 
 
 ROSCOMMOM. 
 
Contempt — Congress of i']']4. 
 
 CONTEMPT. 
 
 Contempt of others is the trueft fymptom of a bafe 
 and bad he^rt— while it fuggefts itfelf to the mean 
 and the vile, and tickles their little fancy on every oc- 
 cafion, it never enters th.e great and good mind, but 
 on the ftron^eft motives: nor is it then a welcome 
 gueft ; a{K)rdmg only an uneafy fenfation, and brings 
 always with it a mixture of concern and compaffion. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 There is not in human natures more odious difpofi- 
 tion than a pronenefs to contempt, which is a mixture 
 of pride and ill nmure. Nor is there any which more 
 certainly denotes a bad mind ; for in a good and benign 
 temper there can be no room for this fenflition. That 
 which confl^itutes an obj^B: of contempt to the malevo- 
 lent, becomes the objeii ot other paffions to a worthy 
 and good-natured man ; tor in fuch a perfon, wicked- 
 nefs and vice mud raife hatred and abhonence ; and 
 weaknefs and folly will be ftre to excite compaslion ; 
 fo that he will find no obje<5l of his contempt in al' the 
 adionsof men. Uid. 
 
 The bafeft and meaneft f)f all . human beings, are 
 generally the mnfl forward to defpife others. So that 
 the moft contempiibie are generally the moft conteriip- 
 tuous. ibid. 
 
 Contempt is a kind of gangrene, which, if it feizes 
 one part of a character, corrupts all the reft by degrees- 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 CONGRESS OF 1774. (A vision.) 
 
^4 American Monttof* 
 
 He opes the caufe, and points in profpefl far, 
 Thro' all the toils that wait th' impending war— » 
 But, haplefs fage, thy reign mull foon be o'er, 
 To U na thy luitre and to ihine no more. 
 So the bright morning Oar, trom ihades of ev'n, 
 Leads up the dawn, and lights the front of heav'n 
 Points to the w aking world the fun's broad way, 
 Then veils hiso.vn, and Ihine'- above the day. 
 And fee great Walhington behind thee rife, 
 1 hy follov^ ing fun, to gild onr morning fkies ; 
 O'er fhadowy climes to pour the enliv'ning flame. 
 The charms of freedom, and the fire of tame. 
 Th' afcending chief adorn'd his fpiendid (eat. 
 Like Randoiph, enfign'd wi'h a crown of itate ; 
 Where the green patriot bay beheld, with pride^ 
 The hero's laurel fpringing by its fide ; 
 His fword hung ufelefs, on his graceful thigh> 
 On Britain tfill he cart a filial eye ; 
 But fov'reign fortitude his vifage bore, 
 To meet their legions on th' invaded Ihore. 
 
 Sage Franklin next arofe, in awful mien, 
 Andfrnird, unruffled, o'er th' approaching fcene 9 
 High, on !iis U)cks of age, a wreath was brae 'd, 
 Paiin of all arts, that e'er a mortal grac'd ; 
 Beneath him lies the fceptre kings have borne. 
 And crowns and laurels trom their temples torn* 
 l^afh. Rutledge, JetFerfon, in council great. 
 And Jay and Laurens op'd the rolls ot fate. 
 The Livingftons, fair freedom's gen'rou'? band. 
 The Lees, the Houftt)ns, fathers ot the land, 
 O'er climes and kingdoms turn'd their ardent eyes 
 Bade all the opprefs'd to fpeedy vengeance life j 
 All pow'rs of {fate, in their extended plan, 
 Rife from confeni to (hield the rights of man. 
 
Congress of 1774.— C/r^. 
 
 Now, graceful rifi.ng from his purple throne. 
 In radiant robts, immortal Hofmer (hone; 
 Mvr'ies and bays his leained temples bound. 
 The Hatefman's wreath, the p<iet's garland crown'd 
 Morals and iaws expand his hberal fool. 
 Beam from his eves, and in his accents roll. 
 Bur Id! an iinfeen hand the curtain drew, 
 And fnatch'd the patriot from the hero's view; 
 Wrapp'd in the Ihroud of death, he fees delcend 
 The guide of nations and the mnCes' friend. 
 Columbus dropp'd a tear. The angel's eye 
 Trac'd the freed fpirit mounting thro' the fky. 
 
 Adams, enrag'd, a broken charter bore. 
 And lawlefs a6ts of minilteria! pf)vv'r ; 
 Some injur'd right in each lo )(e leaf appears 
 A king in terrors and a land in tears ; 
 From all the guileful plots the veil he drew, 
 "With eye retortive look'd creation through ; 
 Op'd the wide range of nature's boundlefs plan, 
 Trac'd all the fteps of liberty and man ; 
 Crowds rofe to vengeance while his accents rung. 
 And Independence thunder 'd from his tongue. 
 
 Barlcw, 
 
 CARE. 
 
 What, in this life, which foon muftend. 
 Can all our vain defigns intend ? 
 From (hore to fhore why Ihould we run. 
 When none his tirefome felf can Ihun ? 
 For baneful care will liill prevail. 
 And overtake us under fail : 
 
 *Twill dodge the great man's train behind. 
 
 Out-run the doe, out fly the wind. 
 
 If then thy foul rejoice to day 
 
 Drive far to-morrow cares away ; 
 
 In calm content let all be drown'd ; 
 
 No perfedl good is to be lound. OtwaY. 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 C E N S O R I O U S N E S S. 
 
 O that the too-cenforious world would learn 
 This wholefome rule, and with each other bear ! 
 But tnan, as if a foe to his own fpecies, 
 Takes pleafure to report his neighbour's faults. 
 Judging with rigor every fmall oBence, 
 And prides himielf in fcandal. ^Few there are 
 Who, injur'd, take the part of the tranrgreffor. 
 And plead his pardon, ere he deigns to afk it. 
 
 E. Haywood^ 
 
 CONVERSATION. 
 
 The converfation ot moll: men is difagreeable, not 
 fo much for want of wii and learning, as ot good-breed- 
 ing and difcretion. 
 
 If you refolve to pleafe, never fpeak to gratify any 
 particular vanity or paflion of ycur own, but always 
 withadefign either to divert or inform the company. 
 A man who only aims at one of thefe, is always eafy 
 in his difcourfe. He is never out ot humour at being 
 interrupted, becaufe he confiders that thofe who hear 
 him, are the bell: judges whether what he was faying 
 could either divert or inform them. 
 
 A modeft perfon feldom fails to gain the good will 
 of thofe he converfes with, becaufe nobody envies a 
 man who does not appear to be pleafed with himfelf. 
 
 We ftunild talk extremely little of ourfelves. Indeed 
 "what can we fay \ It would be as imprudent to difco- 
 ver our faults, as ridiculous to count over our fancied 
 virtues. Our private and domeftic affairs are no lefs 
 improper to be introduced in converfation. What 
 df.es it concern the company how many horfes you 
 keep in your (fables ? Or whether your fervant is moft 
 knave t)r too! ? 
 
 A man may eq<".alU' affront the company be is in by 
 engrulfing ail the talk, or obferving a contemptuous 
 jiieuce. 
 
Comers atton* 
 
 17 
 
 Before you tel! a ftory, it may be generally not amifs 
 to draw a fliort charader, and give the company a true 
 idea of the principal perlon? concerned in it ; the 
 beauty of mni\ things coniifting not fo much in their 
 being faid or done, as in their being faid or done by 
 fuch a particular perfon, or on fuch a particular occa- 
 fion. 
 
 Notwithdanding all the advantages of youth, few 
 young people pleafe in converfation ; the reafon is, 
 that want of experience makes them pofiuv^e, and 
 what they fay is rather with a deiign to pleafe them- 
 felves than any one elfe. 
 
 It is certain that age itfelf fhall make many things 
 pafs well enough, which wouid have been laughed at 
 in the mouth of one much younger. 
 
 Nothing, however, i> more infupportable to men of 
 fenfe, than an empty formal inan who fpeaks in pro- 
 verbs, and decides all controverfies with a fhort fen- 
 tence. This piece of ftupidity is the more infufFera- 
 ble, as it puts on the air of vvifdom. 
 
 Whenever you commend, add your reafons for do- 
 ing fo : it is this which diflinguilhes the approbation 
 of a man of fenfe from the flattery ot fycophants, and 
 admiration of fools. 
 
 Raillery is no longer agreeable than while the whole 
 company is pleafed with it. I would leait of all be 
 underltood to except the perfon rallied. 
 
 Guardian. 
 
 Obferve this rule in general ; whenfoever it Iie<: in 
 your power to lead the converfation, let it br direded 
 to fome profitable point of knowledge or pradlice, fo 
 far as may be done with decency; and let not the dif- 
 Coiirfe and the hours be fuffered to run l(jofe wi hout 
 aim or defign, and when a fnbjed is itarted, pafs n )t 
 haftily to another, before you have brcught the prefent 
 theme of difcourfe to fome tolerable ilfut, or a joint 
 confent to drop it. Watts, 
 
 H 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 CLEMENCY. 
 
 - — - — Yet no attribute 
 
 So well befits th' exalted feat fupreme. 
 
 And power's difpofing iiand, as clemency. 
 
 Each crime mult from its quality be judg'd ; 
 
 And pity there ihoitld mterpo(e, wheie malice 
 
 Isnutth' aggrt'iror. , JoNES. 
 
 COMPASSION. 
 
 When mofl my Iveart was lifted with delighf, 
 If 1 withheld the moifel trom the hungry. 
 Forgot the widow s want and orphan's cry. 
 If 1 have known a good they have not lhar'd. 
 Nor call'd the poor to take his portion with me. 
 Let my reproachful enemies itand forth, and novs? 
 Deny the iuccour which 1 gave not ihem. Rowe. 
 
 How few, like thee, enquire the wretched out, 
 
 And court the offices ot foft humanity! 
 
 Like thee, relerve their rainient for the naked. 
 
 Reach out their bread to feed the crying orphan, 
 
 Or mix the pitying tears with thofe that v\eep! Ihid, 
 
 Compaflion proper to mankind appears. 
 Which nature witnefs'd whenfhe lent us tears. 
 Ot tender fentiments we only give 
 Thofe proofs: to weep is our prerogative; 
 To lliew by pitying looks and melting eyes. 
 How with a fufF'ring friend we fympathize. 
 Who can all fenfe of others' ills efcape. 
 Is but a brute at belt in human fhape. Tate. 
 
 CURIOSITY. 
 
 Reftraii) your needlefs curiofity, and all folicitoiis 
 enquiries into things which v^ere better unknown. 
 
Cruelty. — Conscience. 
 
 7^ 
 
 How many plentiful fprings of fear, forrow, anger, 
 and hatred, have been found out and broken up by this 
 laborious digging? Have a care of an overcurious fearch 
 into fuch things as might hav^ fafely reiTiained for 
 ever fccret, and the ignorance of therrt had prevented 
 many foolifh and hurtful pallions. A fond folicitude 
 to know all that our friends or our foes fav of us is 
 often recompenfed with vexing difquietude and anguilh 
 of foul. Watts. 
 
 Curiofity is one of the permament and certain cbar- 
 a6leriftics of a vigorous intellect. Every advance into 
 knowledge opens new profpedts, and produces new 
 incitements to further progrefs. Rambler. 
 
 CRUELTY. 
 
 Children fliould never be allowed to pradlice thofe di- 
 verfions that carry an idea of barbarity and cruelty 
 in them, tho' it be but to brute creatures. They 
 ihould not fet up cocks to be tormented with cudgels 
 thrown at thetn about Shrovetide; nor delight in giv- 
 ing a tedious lingeringdeath to a young litier of dogs or 
 cats, that may be appointed to be dedroved and drown- 
 ed, lelt they multiply too much in a houfe : nor ihould 
 they take pleafure in pricking, cutting or mangling 
 young birds which they have caught, nor nfing any 
 favage and bloody practices towards any creatures what- 
 foevcr ; left their hearts grow hard and unrelenting, and 
 they learn in time to pradlice thcfe cruelties on their 
 own kind, and to murder and torture their fellow- 
 mortais ; or at leaft to be indifferent to thair pain and 
 diftrefs, fo as to occafion it without remorfe. 
 
 Watts. 
 
 CONSCIENCE. 
 
 In vain afFecSled raptures flufh the cheek, 
 And fongs of pleafure warble from the tongue; 
 
American Monitor* 
 
 When fear and anguilli labonr in thehreat, 
 And all within is darknefs and cunltition. 
 Thus on deceitful iEina's flow'ry fi Je 
 Unfading verdure gla'js the roving eye, ^ 
 While fecret flames, with unex' inguilh'd rage 
 Infatiate on her waited entraUs prey, 
 And inelther treachVuus beauties into ruins. 
 
 JOHNSONi, 
 
 The good or evil we confer on others, very often, I 
 believe, recoils on ourfelves; for as' men of a benign 
 difptihtion enjoy their own a£ts of beneficence equally 
 w iLh thofe to whom they are done \ lo there are fcarce 
 any natures fo entirely diabolical, as to be capable of 
 doing injuries without paying thennfelves fonne pangs 
 fur the rum which they Bring on their fellow-creatures. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 CONTENT. 
 
 Content is wealth, the riches of the mind; 
 And h^ppy he who can that treafvire hod I 
 But the bale mifer itarves amidrt his dore, 
 Broods on his gold ; an f, griping itlU at more, 
 Sits fadly p'uing, and believes he's poor. DrydeMv 
 
 Content alone can all their wrongs redrefs. 
 Content, ;hat other name for h.ippuiefs; 
 'Tis equal ii our fortunes fhould augment. 
 And ftretch themfelves to the fame valf extent 
 With our deiires ; or thofe defires abate, 
 >Shrink and contraa themfelves to ti> our ftate. 
 Th' urdtappy man, flave to his wild defire, 
 Bv feeding It, foments the raging fire : 
 tlis gains augment his nnextingmfh'd thirft, 
 With plenty°poor, and with abundance curft, 
 
 ■ Blackmore« 
 
Content, 
 
 There IS fcarceanv lot fo low, but there is fomefhlng 
 in it to fatisfy the man whom it has betallcn ; Provi- 
 dence having fo ordered tilings, that in every itian's 
 cup, how bitter foever, there are fome cordial drops — 
 fome good circumftances, vvliich, if wifely extraded, 
 are fufficient for the ptirpofe he wants them — that is, 
 to make him contented, and, if not happy, at leaft 
 refigned. Sterne. 
 
 There are thoufands fo extravagant in their ideas of 
 contentment, as to imagine that it muft confill in hav- 
 ing every thing in this world turn out the way they 
 wifh — that they are to fit down in happinefs, and feel 
 themfelves fo at eafe at all points, as to defire nothing 
 better and nothing tnore. i own there are inftances of 
 fome, who feem to pafs through the world as if all their 
 
 paths had been ftrewed with rofe-buds of delight ; 
 
 but a little experience will convince us, 'tis a fatal ex- 
 ped^ation to go upon. — We are born to trouble; at\d 
 we may depend upon it whilft we live in this world we 
 fliall have it, though with intermiflions — that is, in 
 whatever ftate we are, vve ihallfind a mixture of good 
 and evil ; and therefore the true way to contentment is 
 •to know how to receive thtfe certain viciflitutles of life, 
 — the returns of good and evil, fo as neither to be ex- ■ 
 alted by the one, or overthrown by the other, but to 
 bear ourfelves towards every thing which happens with 
 fuch eafe and indifference of mind, as to hazard as lit- 
 tle as may be. This is the true temperate climate 
 fitted for us by nature, and in which every wife tnaa 
 would wifh to live. Ibid. 
 
 The foundation of content muff fpring up in a man's 
 own mind ; and he who has fo little knowledge of 
 hiitnan nature as to leek happinefs by changing any 
 thing but his own difpofitioii, will walle his life in 
 fruitlefs efforts, and multiply the griefs which he pur- 
 pofes to remove. Rambler. 
 
 H 2 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 Enqoirics after happinefs, and rules for ultaining u> 
 are not fo neceliary and ufefu! to mankind as the arts 
 of conr*)!ati(>n, and (iipporting one's (elf under afflic- 
 ti m. The utmort we can hope for in this world, is 
 contentment ; if we aim at any thing higher, we fhall 
 meet wish nothing but grief arid difappoi'itment. A 
 man (hould direirt all his Itudies and endeavours at 
 making himlelf eal'y now, and happy hereafter. 
 
 The truth of it is, if all the happinefs that is dif- 
 perfed through the whole race of mankind in this 
 world were drawn together, and put into the pofrefllon 
 of any fingle man, it would not make a very happy 
 being: though, on the contrary, if the miferiesof the 
 whole Ipecies were fixed in a fingle perfon, they would 
 make a very miierabie one. Spectator. 
 
 A man fhould always confider how much he has 
 more than he wants, i am wonderfully pleaftd witlj 
 the vepiy v»'liich Aristippus made to one who condoled 
 him upon the lofs ot a farm : fVhy, faid he, 1 have 
 three farms still, and you have but one ; so that I ought 
 rather to be ajfiicied for ysu than you for me. On the 
 contrary, fooltfh men are more apt to confider what 
 they have loll than what they polfeis ; and to fix their 
 eyes upon thofe who are richer than themfelves, rather 
 than on thofe who are under greater difficulties. All the 
 real pieafurt s and conveniences of life lie in a narroW' 
 ompafs ; but it is the huinourof mankind to be always' 
 iuoking forward, and (training after one who has gdt 
 •'he iiart of them in wealth and honour. Ibid, 
 
 I envy not the mighty great, 
 Thofe powerful rulers of ii)e (fatCj 
 'Who lettle nations as they pleafe, 
 . \nd govern at th' expence of eafe, r 
 Far happier the fhcpherd fwain, 
 Who daily drudties on the piain, 
 And nightly in (ome humh!e flied 
 Oa rtifhy piiiows iajs his head. 
 
Contlnetke of Sapio, 
 
 Nocurs'd ambition breaks his rert, 
 No faflious wars divide his brealt : 
 His flock, his pipe, and artleis fair, 
 Are ail his hope, and ail his care. 
 
 HiLDEBRAND JaCOB» 
 
 CONTINENCE OF SCIPIO. 
 
 — What with admiration 
 
 Strncic every heart was this. — A noble virgin, 
 
 Confpicuotis far o'er ail the captive dames. 
 
 Was mark'd the general's prize. She wept and blufh'd. 
 
 Young, ireih, and blooming like the morn. An eye 
 
 As when the blue fky trembles through a cloud 
 
 Of purelt white. A fecret charm combined 
 
 Her features and infus'd enchantment through them. 
 
 Her lhape was harmony. — But eloquence 
 
 Beneath her beauty lails ; which feem'd on purpofe. 
 
 By nature lavilh'd on her, that mankind 
 
 Might fee the virtue of a hero try'd 
 
 Almoft beyond the rtretch of human force. 
 
 Soft as flie pafs'd along, withdowncaft eyes. 
 
 Where gentle forrow fwell'd, and now and then 
 
 Dropto'er her modeft cheek a trickling tear. 
 
 The Roman legions languifh'd, and hard war 
 
 Fek more than pity. Ev'n their chief himfelf 
 
 As on his high tribunal rais'd he fat, 
 
 7'nrn'd from the dangerous fight, and chiding aflc'd 
 
 His officers, if by this gift they meant 
 
 To cloud his virtue in its very dawn. 
 *********** 
 
 She, queftion'd of her birth, in trembling accents, 
 
 With tears and blufhes broken, told her tale. 
 
 But when he found her royally defcended, 
 
 Of her Old captive parents the fole joy ; 
 
 And that a haplefs Celtiberian prince. 
 
 Her lover and belov'd, forgot his chains^ 
 
 His lult djininions, and for her alone. 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 Wept out his tender foul ; fuddeii the heart 
 
 Of this young, conquerifig, loving, god-iike Romao 
 
 p'elr all the great divinity of viitue. 
 
 His vvifliing youth Hood check'd, his tempting power 
 
 Rt ftrain'd by kind huinanity. At once 
 
 Hfc for her parents and her lover caii'd. 
 The various fcene imagine : how his troops 
 Look'd dubious on, and wonder'd what he meant j 
 While ftietch'd below the trembling fuppliants lay^ 
 Rack'd by a thoufand mingling paflions, tear 
 Hope, jealoufy, difdain, fubmiffion, grief, 
 Anxiety and love in every lhape. 
 To thefe as different fentiments fucceeded, 
 As mixt emotions, when the man divine 
 Thus the dread filenceto the lover broke. 
 «' We both are young, both charm'd. The right ol 
 ♦« war 
 
 Ha-^ put thy beauteous miftrefs in my power ; 
 " With whom I could in the molt facred ties 
 
 Live out a happy life : but know, that Romans 
 *• Their hearts, as well as enemies can conquer. 
 " Then take her to thy foul ; and with her take 
 «« Thy liberty and kingdom. In return 
 *• I aflc but this. When you behold thefe eyes, 
 «^ Tiiefe charms, with tranfport ; be a friend to 
 " Rome." Thomson* 
 
 COURAGE. 
 
 True courage but from oppofition grows ; 
 
 Apid what are fifty, what a thoufand flaves 
 
 Match'd to the finew of a fmgle arm 
 
 That ftrikes for liberty. BrOOKE. 
 
 This is true courage, not the brutal force 
 Of vulgar heroes, but ihe firm refolve 
 Of virtue and of reafon. He who thinks 
 Wiiliout their aid to fliine in deeds of arros^ 
 
Courage, -^Court, 
 
 Builds on a Tandy bafis his renown ; 
 
 A dream, a vapour, or an ague fit 
 
 May make a coward oi him Whitehead. 
 
 COURT. 
 
 Would you be happy, leave this fatal place; 
 riy from the court's pernicious.neighbourhood, 
 Where innocence is Ihunn'd, and blufhing modefly 
 Is made the fcorner's je(t ; where hate, deceit, 
 And deadly ruin, wear the niafks ot beauty. 
 And draw deluded fools with Ihews of pleafure, 
 
 ROWE, 
 
 " The nobleft proof of love 
 
 That Adielwold cat» give, is (lill to guard 
 Ydur tender beauties from tlie blafting taint 
 Of' courtly gales. The delicate foft tints 
 Of fnowy innocence, the crimfon glow 
 Ot blufhing modcdy, there all fly oft", 
 And leave the taded tace no nobler boaft 
 Than well-rang'd, lifelefs features. Ah, EHrida, 
 Siiould you bedtjom'd, which happier fate foibid! 
 To drag your hours thro' all that naufeous tcene • 
 Ot pageantry and vice \ vour purer breaif. 
 True lo its vu'tuous relift, foon would heave 
 A lervent iigh tor iimucence and irJarewood. 
 
 Mason. 
 
 Let us compare what the hiftorians of ail ages have 
 faid concerning the courts of monarchs, let us recolledl 
 the converfation and fentiments of people of all coun- 
 tries, in refpc £f to the v\ retched character of courtiers j 
 and we (hall find, that thtfe are not mere airy fpecnla- 
 tions, but tlling^ cunfirmed by a fad and melancholy 
 experience. 
 
 Ambuion j^uned to id'enefs, and bufinefs to pride; 
 a defile of obiaining riches without labour, and an 
 avciiiun lu liudi j fiaiter), tteachej)', perfidy, violaiiori 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 of engagement?! contempt of civil dutfes, fear of the 
 prince's virtues, hope from his weaknefs, but, above 
 all, a perpetual ridicule caft upon virtue, are, I think, 
 the charaderiitics by which maft courtiers in all ageS 
 and countries have been conltantly diftinguiihed. 
 
 MoNTIiSQUlEUr 
 
 All the proftitutes yvho fet themfelves to fale, all the 
 locufts who devour the land, v/ith crowds of (pies, pa- 
 rafires, and fycophants, and whole fwarms of litUe, 
 noifome, nameleft- infecls, will hum and buz in every 
 
 corner of the court, —A fort of men too low to be 
 
 much regarded, and too high to be quite negleded, the 
 lumber of every adminillration, the furniture of every 
 court. Thefe gilt carved things are feldom anfwera- 
 ble for more than the men on a chefs board, who arc 
 moved about at will, and on whom the condu£l of the 
 game is not to be charged Some of thefe every prince 
 muft have about him. The pageantry of a court re- 
 quires that he ftiould. Bolingbroke. 
 
 I have known courts tliefc thirty-fix years, and know 
 they dilfer; but in fome things they are extremely 
 conftant, Firrt in the trite old maxim of a rninilfer's 
 never forgiving thofe he bath injured. Secondly, in 
 the inOnceriry of thofe who would be thought the beft 
 friends. Thirdly, in the love of fawning, cringing) 
 and tale-bearing. Fourthly, in facriucing thofe, whom 
 we reallv vvilh well, to a point of interefl or intrigue. 
 Fifthly, in keeping everv thing worth taking, for thof? 
 who can do fervice or diifervice. Swift. 
 
 God help the inan, condemn'd by cruel fate 
 To court the feeming, or the r al great. 
 Much forrow he ieel, and futFcr more 
 1'han any flave tiiat labours at the oar. 
 By flavifli ii)cthod«; mult he earn to pieafe. 
 By fmuoih longu'd flatter), that cujlt couri disease^ 
 
Stipple fo every wayward mood ftrikerail, 
 And fhift with (hitting humour's peevidi gale. 
 To nature dead, he muR adopt vi!e art, 
 And wearafmile with auguilh in his heart. 
 A fenfe of honor would deltroy his fchemes, 
 And confcience ne'er mult fpcak unlefs in dream<?. 
 
 Churchill, 
 
 COWARD. 
 
 Cowards die many times before their death: 
 
 The vah'ant never talte oi deatii but once. 
 
 Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 
 
 ]t feems to me molt itrange, thai man Ihould fear; 
 
 Seeing that death, a neceil'ary end, 
 
 Will come when it will come. Sh akespii are. 
 
 Cowards have courage when thev fee not death, 
 And learful hares that fkulk in forms ail day, 
 Yet fight their feebie quarrels by the moon-iight; 
 
 I , g[jr valiant men 
 
 Siill luve the fun Ihould witnels what they do. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 As cheats to play with thofe ftill aim. 
 That do not underfland the game ; 
 S;> cowards never ufe their Hiight, 
 Butagainit fuch as will not fight. Hudisras, 
 
 C R O 1 S A D E. 
 
 * * * * Sure I am, 'tis madnefs. 
 Inhuman madnefs, thus, from half the world 
 To drain its blood and treafure, to neglcdl 
 Each art of peace, each care of government 
 And all for what ? By fpreading deloiation. 
 Rapine and (laughter o'er the other half, 
 1 o gain a conquelt we can never hold. 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 I venerate this land. Thofe facred hills, 
 
 Thofe vales, thofe cities, trod by lainis and prophets, 
 
 By God himfelf, the fcenes of heav'nly wonders, 
 
 Infpiie me with a certain awful joy. 
 
 But the fame God, my friend, pervades, fuftains. 
 
 Surrounds and fills this univerfal frame ; 
 
 And every land, where fpreads his vital prefence. 
 
 Hi? all-eniiv'ning breath, to me is holy. 
 
 Excufe me, Theald, if I go too far: 
 
 I meant alone to fay, I think thefe wars 
 
 A kind of perfecution. And when e'er 
 
 That moft abfurd and cruel of all vices. 
 
 Is once begun, where fhall it find an end ? 
 
 Each in his turn, or has, or claims a right 
 
 To wield its dagger, to return its furies ; 
 
 And firlt or lafl they fall upon ourfelves. 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 CROWN. 
 
 O poUfh'd perturbation! golden care! 
 That keep'ft the ports of flumber open wide. 
 To many a watchful night : fleep with it now: 
 But not fo fovmd, and half fo deeply fweet. 
 As he whofe brow, with homely biggen bound. 
 Snores out the watch of night. O majefty ! 
 When thou doit pinch thy bearer, thou doft fit 
 Like a rich armour, worn in heat of day. 
 That fcalds wuh fafeiy. Shakespeare. 
 
 CREDULITY. 
 
 The credulous man is ready to receive every thing 
 for truth, that has but the (hadow of evidence; every 
 new book that he reads, and every ingenious man with 
 whoin he converfes, has power enough to draw hull 
 into the fenuments of the fpeaker or writer. He has 
 fo much cumplailknce in him, or weaknefs of foul* 
 
■Credulity. 89 
 
 (hat he is ready to refign his own opinion to the firft 
 objedion which he hears, and to receive any fentiments 
 of another that areafferted with a pofitiveair and much 
 ailurance. Thus he is under a kind of iieceffity, 
 through the indulgence of this credulous humour, 
 either to be often changing his opinions, or to believe 
 inconfiflencies. 
 
 The man of contradidlon (lards ready to oppofe 
 every thing that is faid : he gives but a flight attention 
 to the reafons of other menjrom an inward fcornful 
 prefumption, that they have no flrength in them. 
 When he reads or hears a difcouife different from his 
 cwn fentiments, he does not give himfeif leave to con- 
 fider, whether that difcourfe may be true.; but employs 
 all his powers immediately to confute it. Your great 
 difputers, and your men of controverfy, are in contin- 
 ual danger of this fort of prejudice: they .contend often 
 for vidory, and will maintain whatfoever they have 
 alTerted, while truth is loft in the noife and tumult of 
 reciprocal contradidions ; and it frequently happens, 
 that a debate about opinions is turned into a mutual 
 reproach of perfons. Watts. 
 
 The prejudice of credulity may in fome meafure be 
 cured by learning to fet a high value upon truth, and 
 by taking more pains to attain it ; remembering that 
 truth often lies dark and deep, and requires us to dig 
 for It as hidden treafure ; and that falOiood often puts 
 on a fair difguife, and therefore we (hould not yield up 
 otir judgment to every plaufible appearance. It is no 
 part of civility or good breeding to part with truth, but 
 to maintain it with decency and candor. 
 
 A fpirit of contradidioii is fo pedantic and hateful, 
 that a man (hould take much pains with himfeif to 
 watch againft every inftance of it : he fhould learn f© 
 rnuch good-humour, at leaff, as never to oppofe any 
 thmg without juft and folid reafon for it: he (hould 
 abate Tome degrees of pride and morofenefs, which are 
 
 I 
 
do American Monitor. { 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 "i 
 
 never-failing ingredients in this fort of temper, and \ 
 
 ftould reek after fo much* honefty and confcience, as | 
 
 never to contend for conquefl or triumph ; but to re- \ 
 
 view his own reafons, and to read the arguments of his ; 
 
 opponents, if poffible, with an equal indifFerency, be ■ 
 
 glad to fpy a truth, and to fubmit to it, though it appear ; 
 
 on the oppofite fide. Jbid. j 
 
 i 
 
 Of all kinds of credulity, the moft obftinate and : 
 wonderful is that of political zealots ; of men who ! 
 being numbered, they know not how, or why, in any i 
 of the parties that divide a ftate, refign the ufe of their \ 
 own eyes and ears, and refolve to believe nothing that | 
 does not favour thofe whom they profefs to follow. | 
 
 Idler, 
 , i 
 
 CHAR IT ABLE JUDGMENT. [ 
 
 Let us take a furvey of the world, and fee what a mix- | 
 ture there is of amiable and hateful qualities among 
 the children of inen. There is beauty and comcHnefs ; | 
 there is vigour and vivacity ; there is good humour , 
 and compaffion 5 there is wit, and judgment, and in- j 
 duftry, even among thofe that are profligate and \ 
 abandoned to inany vices. Tliere is fobricty, and 
 love, and honefty, and juftice, and decency amongd 
 men that " know not" God, and believe not the gof- 
 pel of our Lord Jefus." There are very few of the 
 Ions and daughters of Adam, but are pofieOTed of 
 fomething good and agreeable, either by nature or 
 acquirement; therefore when there is a neceffary occa- , 
 lion to mention the vices of any man, we Hiould not , 
 fpca.k evil of him in the grofs, nor heap reproaches on i 
 liim by wholefaie. It is very difingenuous to talk fcan- 
 dal inYuperlatives, as though every man who was a fni- 
 ner, was a perfe6t villain, the very worft of men, all 
 over hateful and abominable. W/jtts. 
 
Charity. 
 
 91 
 
 CHARITY. 
 
 Though the goodnefs of a man's heart did not in- 
 cline him to ads of charity, one would think the defire 
 of honour (hould. For as building fine houfes, purchaf- 
 ing line clothes, pidures and other (lich like articles of 
 expenfe, Ihows nothing more than an ambition to be 
 refpeded above other people : would nor one great acl 
 cfcharity, one inftaiice of redeeming a poor family from 
 all the miferies of poverty, or reftoring an unfortunate 
 tradefman to the means of procuring a livelihood by 
 his indnliry, acquire more real refpeft and more 
 lafting honour ? The former are the works of other 
 people's hands— the latter the a£?s of his own heart. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 Though we may fometithes unintentionally bellow 
 our beneficence on the unw?orthy, it does not take 
 from the merit of the ad. For charity doih not adopt 
 the vices of its objeds. 
 
 Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, 
 fays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the exprefhons, 
 not the effence of this virtue. A man may befiow 
 great fums on the poor and indigent without being 
 charitable, and may be charitable when he is not able 
 to beRow any thing. Charity therefore is a habit of 
 good-will or benevolence in the foul, which difjoofes 
 us to the love, alliflance, and relief of mankind', ef- 
 pecially of thofe who iland in need of it. The poor 
 man who has this excellent frame of mind, is no 
 lefs entitled to the reward of this virtue, than the 
 tnan who founds a college. For my own part, I am 
 charitable to an extravagance this way : J never faw 
 an indigent perfon in my life, without' reaching out to 
 him fomeof this imaginary relief. I cannot but fym- 
 pathife with every one I meet that is in affliciion ; 
 and if my abilities were equal to my wifbes, there 
 ihould be neiiher pain nor poverty in the world.' . 
 
 Guardian, 
 
5-2 
 
 American Monitor^ 
 
 CONFIDENCE. 
 
 Self-confidence is the firft requifite to great undertak- 
 ings V yet he who forms his opinion of himfelf, with- 
 out knowing the powers of other men, is very liable to 
 error. Life of Pope. 
 
 There would be few enterprizes of great labour or 
 hazard undertaken, if we had not the power of magni- 
 fying the advantages which we perfuade ourfelves to 
 expedl from them. Rambler. 
 
 • 
 
 Nothing is more fatal to happinefs or virtue than 
 that confidence which flatters us with an opinion of one 
 own ftrength, and by affuring us of the power ot retreat, 
 precipitates us into hazard, Idleiu 
 
 CENSURE. 
 
 A cfood confcience is to the foul, what health is to. the 
 body^; it preferves a conftant eafe and ferenity ^ within 
 us, and more than countervails all the calamities and 
 afflidtions which can poihbly befall us. I know no- 
 thing fo hard for a generous mind to get over, as calum- 
 ny and reproach ; and cannot find any method of 
 quieting the foul under them, befides this fingle one, 
 of our being confcious to ourfelves that we do not defervc 
 ;hein. Spectator. 
 
 C O M P L A 1 S A N C E. 
 
 There are many arts of gracioufnefs and conciliation 
 vvhlch are to be praftifed without expence, and by 
 wliich thofc tuay be made our friends, who have never 
 received irom us any real benefit. Such arts, when 
 they include neither guilt nor meannefs, it is furely 
 reasonable to learn ; tor who would want that love 
 which is fo eafily to be gained I Rambler. 
 
Complaisance. 
 
 93 
 
 The univerfal axiom in which all complaifance is 
 included, and from which flow all the formalities which 
 ruftom has eftablilhed in civilized nations, is, " That 
 no man fhould give any preference to himfelf," a rule 
 fo comprehenfive and certain, that perhaps it is not 
 eafy for the mind to imagine an incivility without 
 fuppofing it to be broken. Ibid. 
 
 Wifdom and virtue are by no means fufficien^ 
 without the fupplemental laws of good breeding, to fe- 
 cure freedom from degenerating into rudenefs, or felf- 
 efteem from fwelling into infolence. A thoufand 
 incivilities may be committed, and a thoufand offices 
 negleded, without any remorfe of confcience, or re- 
 pr.oach from reafon. Jhid. 
 
 Complaifance renders a fuperior amiable, an e- 
 qual agreeable, and an inferior acceptable. It fmooths 
 diftindion, fweetens converfation, and makes every 
 one in the company pleafed with himfelf. It pro- 
 duces good-nature and mutual benevolence, encou- 
 rages the timorous, foolhes the turbulent, humanizes the 
 fierce, and diflinguifhes the fociety of civilized perfons 
 from a confufion of favages. In a word, complaifance 
 is a virtue that blends all orders of men together in a 
 friendly intercourfe of words and adions, and is fuited 
 to that equality in human nature which.every one ought 
 to confider, fo far as is confiftent with the order and 
 economy of the world. 
 
 If we could look into the fecret anguifh and affli6tioa 
 of every man's heart,, we fhould often find, that more 
 of it arifes from little imaginary diftrefles, fuch as 
 checks, frowns, contradidions, expreflionsof contempt, 
 and (what Shakejpeare reckons among other evils undec 
 the Sun) 
 
 The proud man's contumely. 
 
 The insolence of office, and the spurns 
 That patient merit of th' unworthy takes^ 
 
 i 2 
 
94 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 than from tlie more real pains and calamities of life. 
 The only method to remove thefe imaginary diftreffes 
 as much as poilible out of human life, would be the 
 univerfaipradiceof fuchan ingenuous complaifance as! 
 have been here defcribing, which, as it is a virtue, may 
 be defined to be, a conjlant endeavour to pleafe tboje 
 whom vje converfe with, Jo far as u>e may do it innocently. 
 
 Guardian. 
 
 C O N S O L A 1' I O N. 
 
 No one ought to remind another of misfortunes of 
 tvhich the fufferer does not complain, and which there 
 are no means propofed ot alleviating. We have no 
 right to excite thoughts which necertarily give pain, 
 whenever they return, and which perhaps might not 
 have revived but by abfurd and unfeafonable compaffion. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 Nothing is more offenfive to a mind convinced that 
 its dillrefs is without a remedy, and preparing to fubmit 
 quietly to irrefiftible calamity, than thofe petty and 
 conjedured comforts which unlkilful officioufneis 
 ■Jiinks it virtue to adminifter. 
 
 Notes upon Shakespeare. 
 
 CRITICISM. 
 
 He who is taught by a critic to diflike that which 
 pleafed him in its natural ftate, has the fame reafon 
 to complain of his inftruflor, as the madman to rail at 
 his doclor, who, when he thought himfelf mafter of 
 PerUi phyficked him to poverty. Idler. 
 
 CHEERFULNESS. 
 
 Ifwe confider cheerfulnefs in three lights, with re- 
 gard to ourfelves, to thofe v/e converfe v/ it h, and fo. 
 
',Chearfuin^ss. 
 
 95 
 
 the great author of our being, it will not a little re- 
 commend itfelf on each of thefe accotints. The man 
 who is poflelled of this excellent frame of mind is not 
 only eafy in his thoughts, but a perfe<Sl mafter of all 
 the powers and faculties of his foul : his imagination 
 is always clear, and his judgment undifhirbed: his 
 temper is even and unruffled, whether in adlon or in 
 folitude. Hecomes witharelKhtoall thofe goods which 
 nature has provided for him, taftes all the pleafures of 
 the creation which are poured about him, and does not 
 feel, the full weight of thofe accidental evils which may 
 befall him. 
 
 If we confider him in relation to the perfons whom 
 he converfes with, it naturally produces love and good- 
 will towards him, A cheerful mind is not only 
 difpofed to be affable and obliging, but raifes the fame 
 good-humour in thofe who come within its influence. 
 A man finds himfelf pleafed, he does not know why, 
 with the cheerfulnefs of his companion. It is like a 
 fjLidden funfhine that awakens a fecretdelightin the mind, 
 without her attending to it. The heart rejoices of its 
 own accord, and naturally flows out into friend{hip 
 and benevolence towards the perfon who has fo kindly 
 an effect upon it. 
 
 When 1 confider this cheerful flate of mind in its 
 third relation, I cannot but look upon it as a conftant 
 habitual gratitude to the great author of nature. An 
 inward cheerfulnefs is an implicit praife and thankf- 
 giving to providence under all its difpenfations. It is 
 a kind of acquiefcence in the fiate wherein we are 
 placed, and a fccret approbation of the divine will in 
 his condud towards man. Spegtat(ir. 
 
 CUNNING. 
 
 Cunning differs from wifdom as twilight from open 
 day. He that walks in the fun-fhine, goes boldly for- 
 ward by the iiearefi way ; he fees that when the path is 
 
95 
 
 American Moniton 
 
 llrait and even, he may proceed in fecurify, and when 
 it is rough and crooked, he eafily complies with the 
 turns, and avoids the obftrudions. But ihe traveller 
 in the dufk, fears more as he fees lefs ; he knows there 
 may be danger, and therefore fufpefls that he is never 
 fafe, tries every ftep before he fixes his foot, and 
 fhrinks at every noiie, left violence fhould approach 
 him. Cunning difcovers little at a time, and has no 
 other means of certainty than multiplication of ftrata- 
 getns, and fuperfluity of fufpicion. Yet men thus 
 narrow by nature and mean by art, are fometimes able 
 to rife by the mifcarriages of bravery and the opennefs 
 of integrity ; and by watching failures, and fnatching 
 opportunities, obtain advantages v^hich belong properly 
 to higher charaders. Idler. 
 
 CAUSES OF WAR. 
 
 Sometimes the quarrel between two princes is to de- 
 cide which of them (hall difpoflefs a third of his do- 
 minions, where neither of them pretend (o any right. 
 Sometimes one prince quarreleth with another, for fear 
 the other fhould quarrel with him. Sometimes a war 
 is entered upon bccaufe the enemy is too ftrong ; and 
 fometimes becaufe he is too weak. Sometimes our 
 neighbours want the things which we have, or have the 
 things which we want ; and we both fight till they take 
 ours, or give us theirs. It is a very juftifiable caufe of 
 war, to invade a country after the people have been waft- 
 ed by famine, de&royed by peltilence, or embroiled by 
 fadtions among themfelves. It is juftifiable to enter 
 into a war againft our neareft ally, when one of his 
 towns lie convenient for us, or a territory of land, that 
 would render our dominions round and compad. If a 
 prince fends forces into a nation, where the people are 
 poor and ignorant, he may lawfully put half of them 
 to death, and inake flaves of the reft, in order to civilize 
 and reduce them from their barbarous way of livings 
 
Causes of fPar. 
 
 97 
 
 It is a very kingly, honourable, and frequent pradlice, 
 \vhen one prince defires the affidance of another to fe- 
 cure him againft an invafion, that the afliftant, when 
 he halh driven out the invader, fhould feize on the 
 dominions himfelf, and kill, imprifon, or baniQi the 
 prince he came to relieve. Alliance by blood or mar- 
 riage is a frequent caufe of war between princes ; and 
 the nearer the kindred is, the greater is their difpofition 
 to quarrel. There is likewife a kind of beggarly prin- 
 ces in Europe, not able to make war by themfelves, 
 who hire out their troops to richer nations, for fo much 
 a day to each man, of which they keep three fourths to 
 themfelves, and it is the beft part of their maintenance. 
 
 Swift. 
 
 A genealogifl fets forth to a prince that he is defcend- 
 ed in a direft line from a count, whofe kindred, three 
 or four hundred years ago, had made a family compaft 
 with a houfe, the memory of which is extinguifhed. 
 That houfe had feme diftant claim to a province, the 
 laft proprietor of which died of an apoplexy. The 
 prince and his council inftantly refolve that this province 
 belongs to him of divine right. The province, which 
 is fome hundred leagues from him, protefts that it 
 does not fo much as know him ; that it is not difpofed 
 to be governed by him ; that before prefcribing laws to 
 them, their confent at leaft was neceUary : thefe allega- 
 tions do not fo mwch as reach the prince's ears ; it is 
 infiltedon that his right is inconteftible. He inftantly 
 picks up a multitude, who have nothing to do and no- 
 thing to iofe; clothes them with coarfe blue cloth ; puts 
 on them hats bound with coarfe white worfted ; makes 
 them turn to the right and left , and thus marches away 
 with them to glory. 
 
 Other princes, on this armament, take part in it tO; 
 the beft of their ability, and foon cover a fmall extent o^* 
 country with more hireling murderers, than Genpis 
 Kan, Tamerlane and Bajazet had at their heels. 
 
98 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 People at no fmall diftance, on hearing that fighting is 
 going forward, and that if they would make one, there 
 are five or fix Jousz. day for them, immediately divide 
 into two bands, like reapers, and go and fell their fervi- 
 ces to the beft bidder. 
 
 Thefe multitudes furioufiy butcher one another not 
 only without having any concern in the quarrel, but 
 without fo much as knowing what it is about. 
 
 Sometimes five or fix powers areengaged, three againO: 
 three, two againfi; four, fometimes even one againft five, 
 all equally detefting one another, and friends and foes 
 by turns, agreeing only in one thing, to do all the raif- 
 chief pofllble. Vgltaire. 
 
 Perplex'd with trifles through the vale of life, 
 Man flrives 'gainfl: man, without a caufe tor ftrife ; 
 Armies embattled meet, andthoufands bleed, 
 For fome vile fpot where fifty cannot feed. 
 Squirrels for nuts contend, and wrong or right, 
 For the world's empire kings ambitious fight. 
 What odds !— to us 'tis all the felf fame thing, 
 A nut, a world, a fquirrel, and a king. Churchill. 
 
 CON Q^U EST. 
 
 Stript of her gaudy plumes and vain difguife. 
 See where Arnbition, mean and loathfome^lies \ 
 •Refiedlion with relenllefs hand pulls down 
 The tyrant's bloody wreath and raviOi'd crown, 
 in vain he tells of battles bravely won, 
 Of nations conquer'd and of worlds undone: 
 Triumphslike thefe but ill with manicmd fult. 
 And fink the conqueror beneath tlie brute 
 
 CHURCf^ILL. 
 
 They err who count it glorious to fubdue 
 By conquefl: far and wide \ to overrun 
 Large countries^ and in field great battles win. 
 
Conquest. — Conquerors. 
 
 Great cities by aflanlt: what do thefe worthies 
 But rob, and fpoil, burn, flaughter, and enflave 
 Peaceable nations ? neighbouring or remote, 
 Made captive, yet deferving freedom more 
 Than thofe their conquerors, who leave behind 
 Nothing but ruin wherefo'er they rove ; 
 And all the flourifhing works of peace deft roy \ 
 Then fwell with pride, and muft be titled gods. 
 Great benefadlors of mankind, deliverers, 
 Worfhipp'd with temple, prieft, and facrifice : 
 One is the Ton of Jove, Mars the other, 
 'Till conquerror death difcovers them fcarcemen. 
 
 Roiling in brutifh fin. 
 
 Violent or ftiameful death their due reward. 
 
 Milton. 
 
 CON Q^U E R O R S. (A vision.) 
 
 Oppreded with gloomy melancholy, I threw my- 
 fclf on my bed, in order to forget what I had feen, 
 and ftill more what i had re^. Sleep foon invaded 
 my fenfes. Eternal Jiiftice appeared in the fky to 
 judge the fons of men. The fkekton of Alexander, of 
 Macedon, and that of a robber and murderer, were 
 fummoned to appear — «« Look, Alexander," faid 
 Juftice, «' Look upon thy competitor this robber 
 " wanted only power and flrcngth to equal thee, 
 
 and he would have made ufe of the fame means 
 " as thou to ravage the world. His courage was as 
 " great as ihine; but being conftrained by obftacles, 
 " he was obliged to murder his fellow-creatures by 
 " night. Thofe who attend to fee my laws put in ex- 
 
 ecution, were fortunately able to bring him to the 
 «' rcafff)ld ; there he confeffed his crimes, and acknow- 
 
 leJged he deferved the mod fbameful punishment. 
 
 " Wretch 1 where is the difFerence between this 
 «' robber and thee ? It is a pity thechaaifement did not 
 
100 
 
 American Mon iior. 
 
 i 
 
 *' fall on thy head. Power fupported thy Iron arm* ; 
 *' that crufhed mankind ; thou deftroyedft my laws by ] 
 " firing of towns ; thou didft oblige terrified mortals to ■ 
 
 eredt altars to thee ; thou didft ftab the bofom of | 
 " fxiendihip ; the kandal of thy vidories has led \ 
 *' kings aftray, who, taking example by thee, have ; 
 *• been unjuft. Approach, cruel Cffifar, thou who \ 
 ** wept before the Itatue of this murderer, ambitious ' 
 " of deferving fuch another. Nothing could (top thy \ 
 *' career, neither the genius of Rome, nor the tears of i 
 
 thy country. Armed with a poniard, thou ftabbedft ! 
 ** her whiHt (he invited thee to her arms. Thou de- 
 " ftroyedft the wifdom of fix ages of glory, in order to j 
 " eftablifli on their ruins horrible defpotifm. Get thee | 
 *' gone, thy name begins to be as deteftable as thofe 
 
 of Tamerlane, Attila, Charles the Xllth, and I 
 " Gengilkan. — Wife men have pro fori bed their odi- ; 
 *• ous and deftrudive genius ; it is only the blind mul- j 
 «• titude who are ftill feduced, and who, in their low | 
 " ideas, cannot difcriminate between the powerful ; 
 '* criminal who efcapes punifliment, and the tibfcure ' 
 " guilty who fuffers juftly. 
 
 " Princes, conquerors, generals, warriors, whate- ' 
 " ver pompous titles you bear, vile ambitious wretch- ! 
 " es, bloody nren, fhudder! — You have accuftomed 
 
 mankind to deftroy each other ; you have made war i 
 ** an habitual fcourge, and ever growing trade ; you | 
 " have dared to ernbellifh murder with the pompous j 
 '< name of glory ; it is you, undoubtedly, will be an- | 
 <« fwe.rable Tor rhe crimes you have made them com- 
 
 *^ mit ; ^but who ever comes to offer you the hand 
 
 «• ftained with blood, he that could put a flop to cru- 
 
 elty, or avoid being an accomplice in it, or has been 
 '< a volunteer to ferve your wrathful purpofes for bafe | 
 '* intereft ; he, I fay, will be as guilty as yourfelves. ■ 
 «« By what authority dare a mortal infii6l death ? Does i 
 
 not his exiftence belong to God who created him? 
 '* Deftruflion is an outrage againfl: the Divine Being- 
 
Clergyman, 
 
 lOI 
 
 " Shudder, cruel murderers, in my prefence! nothin* 
 ••can excijfe you j the blood of your brethren cries 
 *• aloud for vengeance. Even he who is ftained with 
 •• only one bloody rj)ot, jQiall be tormented feveral ages 
 *• by the devouring fire of repentance. You will {h!l 
 *• even fob with forrow, when the clemency of a mer- 
 *• ciful God will vouchfafe to abfolve youj for I 
 •' im\\\ tell you, that ftain is indelible. 
 
 •' Your motive was to merit the admiration offu- 
 '• ture ages. Well, you are condemned to fufFer until 
 •• that happy period when an enlightened people will 
 «' execrate war arad thofe who light the horrible torch. 
 "Alexander! thy name muft be held in detcftation 
 *• over all that country where thou wouldrt be deified • 
 *• all thofe who followed thy example muft be ranked 
 •• among the profligate villains before thou canft ex- 
 •• pea any forgivenefs.— May this time not be fo dif- 
 " tant as the reparation of thy crimes would require! 
 
 —Suffer patiently ; you;already begin to be deteftable' 
 •' thy exploits already begin to be looked upon as 
 •• barbarous and unjuft ; wife men have flampt with 
 '* difgrace thy impious imitators." 
 
 Mercier. 
 
 CLERGYMAN. 
 
 Would I dcfcribe a preacher, fuch as Paul, 
 Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own, 
 Paul fhould himfelf direft me. I would trace 
 His matter flrokes, and draw from hisdefign. 
 I would exprefs him fimple, grave, fincere ; 
 In doarine uncorrupt ; in language plain ; 
 And plain in manner. Decent, folemn, chafte, 
 And natural in jefture. Much imprefs'd 
 Himfelf, as confcious of his awful charge, 
 And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
 May feel it too. AfFeaionate in look, 
 
 K 
 
102 
 
 American Moniior. 
 
 And tender in addrefs, as well becomes 
 
 A meffenger of grace to guilty men. CowPER. 
 
 COURTS OF JUSTICE. 
 
 It is elTential to the prefervation of the rights 
 of every individual, his life, liberty, property, and 
 charader, that there be an impartial interpretation of 
 the laws and adminidration of juftice. It is the right 
 of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as 
 the lot ot humanity will admit. It is therefore not 
 only the beft policy, but for the fecunty of the rights 
 of the people, that the judges of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court fliould hold their offices fo longasMhey behave 
 well ; fubjea however to fuch limitavions on account 
 of age, as may be provided by the conftstution _of the 
 Hate ; and that they (hould have honourable falanes 
 afcertained and eftabliUied by (landing laws. 
 
 Constitution of New-Hampshire. 
 
 CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS. 
 
 In criminal profecutions, the trial of fads, in 
 the vicinity where they happen, is fo eflentiai to the 
 fecurity of the life, liberty, and eftate of the citizen, 
 that no crime or offence ought to be tried in any other 
 county than that in which it is committed : except in 
 cafes of general infurreaion in any particular county, 
 when it lhall appear to the judges of the fupenor court, 
 that an impartial trial cannot be had in the county 
 where the oiFence may be committed ; and "pon their 
 report, the legiQature lhall think proper to ^iireft the 
 trial in the nearelt county in which an impartial trial 
 can be obtained. . , 
 
 All penalties ought to be proportioned io me 
 nature of the offence. No wife legiflature wid alhX 
 the fame punKhment to the crimes of theft, forgery ana 
 the like, which they do to thofe of murder and irea- 
 
Death. — Defamation. 
 
 Ton; where the fame undiftinguifhing feverity is ex- 
 erted againfl all offences, the people are led to forget 
 the real di(lin£lion in the crimes thcmfelves, and'to 
 commit the moft flagrant with as Utile compundion as 
 they do the lightefl: offences : for the fame reafon, a 
 multitude of fanguinary laws is both impolitic and un- 
 jiift; the true defign of all punifliments being to re- 
 form, not to exterminate mankind. ibid. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 Refled that life and death, a,fFe6ling fotmds ! 
 
 Are only varied modes of ehcilefs being : 
 
 Refledl that life, like ev'ry other blefhng, 
 
 Derives its value from its ufe alone : 
 
 Not for itfelf, — but for a nobler end, 
 
 Th' Eternal gave it, and that end is virtue 1 
 
 When inconfiftent with a greater good, 
 
 Reafon commands to call the lefs away : 
 
 Thus life, with lofs of wealth, is well preferv'd. 
 
 And virtue cheaply fav'd with lofs of life. Irene. 
 
 It was perhaps ordained by Providence, (o hinder 
 us from tyrannifing over one another, that no indivi- 
 dual (hould be of fuch importance, as to caufe, by his 
 retirement or death, any chafm in the world. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 To neglea at any time preparation for death, is to 
 fieep on our poll at a fiege ; but to omit it in old age, 
 is to fleep at an attack. JJ^j^, 
 
 Nothing more certain than to die, but when 
 
 Is mofl uncertain : if fo, every hour 
 
 We (hould prepare us for the journey, which 
 
 Is not to be put off. I muft fubmit 
 
 To the divine decree, not argue it, 
 
 And chearfully welcome it. Beaumont. 
 
I04 American Monitor. 
 
 Now death draws near, a ftrange perplexity 
 Creeps coldly on me, like a fear to die. 
 Courage uncertain dangers may abate, 
 But who can bear th' approach of certain fate? 
 The wifed and the beft fome fear may {how, 
 And wilh to ftay, tho' they refolve to go. 
 As fome faint pilgrim ftanding on the Ihore, 
 Firfl: views the torrent he would venture o'er. 
 And then his inn upon the farther ground. 
 Loth to wade thro', and lother to go round ; 
 Then dipping in his (lafF, does trial make 
 How deep it is, and fighing pulls it back ; 
 Sometimes refolv'd to fetch his leap, and then 
 .Runs to the bank, but there (tops Ihort again % 
 So I at once 
 
 Both heavenly faith and human fear obey. 
 
 And feel before me in an unknown way. Dryden. 
 
 This vaft, this folid earth, that blazing fun, 
 
 Thofc fkies thro' which it rolls, mud all have end : 
 
 What then is man, the fmailefl part of nothing? 
 
 Day buries day, month month, and year the year ; 
 
 Our life is but a chain of many deaths : 
 
 Can then death's felf be fear'd r our life much rather: 
 
 Life is the defart, life the folitude ; 
 
 Destit joins us to the majority ; 
 
 'Tis to be born to Platos and Timoleons, 
 
 ' ris To be great for ever !■ 
 
 "Tis pleaiure, 'tis ambition then to die. Young. 
 
 DEFAMATION. 
 
 Does humanity clothe and educate the unknown 
 
 orphan i' Poverty, thou hafi no genealogies: — ' 
 
 See! is he not the father of the child? Thus do we 
 rob heroes of the beft part of their glory — their virtue. 
 Take away the motive of the a£l, you take away all 
 that is worth having in it ; — wreft it to ungenerous 
 
Dependence . — Dogmatism . 
 
 ends, you load the virtuous man who did it with infa- 
 my : — undo it all — I befeech you, give him back his 
 honor, — reflore the jewel you have taken from him — 
 replace him in the eye of the world — 
 
 It is too late. Stern e1 
 
 Good name in man or woman, dear my lord. 
 Is the immediate jewel ol their fouls; 
 Who fteals my purfe, fteals trafK-; 'tis fomething, no- 
 thing, 
 
 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been flave to thoufands; 
 
 But he that filches from me my good name, 
 
 Robs me of that, which not enriches him. 
 
 And makes me poor indeed. Shakespeare, 
 
 DEPENDElgCE. 
 
 There is no Rate more contrary-- to the dignity of 
 wifdom, than perpetual and unlimited dependence, in. 
 which the underftanding liesufelefs, and every motion 
 is received from external impulfe. Reafon is the 
 great diftinclion of human nature, the faculty by 
 which we approach to fome degree of alTociation with 
 celeftial intelligences; butks the excellence of every 
 power appears only in its operations, not to have rea- 
 fon, and to have it ufclefs and unemployed, is nearly 
 I he fame. Rambler. 
 
 DOG M A T I S M. 
 
 Maintain a conftant watch at all times againft a 
 dogmatical fpirit : fix not your afTent to any propofition 
 in a firm and unalterable manner, till you have fome 
 firm and unalterable ground for it, and till you have 
 arrived at fome clear and fure evidence ; till you have 
 turned the propofition on all fides, and fearched the 
 matter through and through, fo that vou cannot be mif-^ 
 
 K2 ' ; 
 
American MonUot\ 
 
 iaken. And even where you think you have fu!i 
 grounds of affbrance, be not too early, nor too frequent, 
 in exprefling this affurance in too peremptory and poi'- 
 jtive a manner, remembering that human nature is 
 always liable to miftake in this corrupt and feeble ftate. 
 
 Watts. 
 
 DIFFIDENCE. 
 
 Diffidence may check refolution and obilrud per- 
 formance, but compenfaies its embarrafimer.ts by more 
 important advantages: it conciliates the proud, and 
 foftens the fevere ; averts envy from excellence, and 
 cenfure frotn mifcarriage. Rambler. 
 
 DESPOTISM. 
 
 l am not of your opinion, with regard to defpotifm 
 and defpots. it appears to me horrible and abfurd to 
 the lafi degree, that a vidiole people (hould blindly fub- 
 iecl themfelves to the caprice of one Kian, even if he 
 were an angel. For my own part, I would not live 
 under him a fingle day. This angel may become in 
 2 moment a monfter thirfting after blood, Defpotifm 
 is to me the moft abominable and difguftful of all bad 
 governments ; man is perpetually crullied, debafed and 
 degraded by it. Look info hiftory, ancient and mo- 
 dern, and fee if ever there was one upon earth that was 
 not an infiilt on mankind, and thedifgrace of human 
 iiature. Montesquieu. 
 
 The mofl formidable enemy of the public welfare 
 is not riot or fedition, but defpotifm : it changes the 
 charailer of a nation, and always for the worfe: it 
 produces nothing but vices. Whatever might be the 
 power of an Indian fuUan, he could never torni mag- 
 nanimous fubje£ls ; he would never find among his 
 llaves-the virtues of free- men. Chemiflry can extract 
 
no more gold from a mixed body than is included in 
 it ; and the moft arbitrary power can draw nothing 
 from a fiave but the bafene's he contains.— 
 
 What is arbitrary power? The feed of cal am "ties, 
 that, Town in the bofom of a ftate, fprings up to bear 
 the fruit ofmifery and devaftation. Helvetius. 
 
 Then all the elders of Ifrael gathered themfelves to- 
 gether, and came to Samuel unto Ranr-ah, 
 
 And fdid unto him, Behold thou art old, and thy 
 fons walk not in thy ways : novv^ make unto us a king 
 to judge, us like ali the nations. 
 
 But the thing difpleafed Saniuel, when they fa'id. 
 Give us a king to judge us ; and Samuel praved unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 And the Lord faid unto Samuel, Hearken unto the 
 voice of the people in all that they fay unto thee; for 
 they have not rejeded thee, but they have rejeSed me 
 that I rtiould not reign over them. 
 
 Now therefore hearken to their voice: howbeit, yet 
 folemnly protelt unto them, and fhow them the man- 
 ner of the king that (hall reign over them. 
 
 And Samuel told ail the words of the Lord unto the 
 people that afked of him a king. 
 
 And he faid, this lhall be the manner of the king 
 that fhall reign over you : he will take your fons, and 
 appoint them for himfelf, for his chariots, and to be 
 his horfemen, and fome fliall run before his chariot. 
 
 And he will take your daughters to be confedioners, 
 and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 
 
 And he vv-ill take your fields, and your vineyards, 
 and your olive-yards, even the belt of them, and give 
 them to his fervants. 
 
 _ And he will take the tenth of your feed, and of your 
 vineyards, and give to his officers and to his fervants. 
 
 And he will take your men fervants and your maid 
 fervants, and your goodlieft young men, and your afles, 
 and put them lo bis work. 
 
American Moniior. 
 
 He will take the tenth of your (heep ; and ye fiiall be 
 his fervants. 
 
 And ye fhall cry out in that day, becaufe of your 
 king; and the Lord will not hear you in that day. 
 
 Samuely b. L chap. viii. 
 
 ■ — Lord fupreme o'er all this formal race, 
 The cedar claims pre-eminence of place; 
 Like feme great eaftern king, it Hands alone, 
 Nor letsth' ignoble croud approach its throne. 
 Spreads out its haughty boughs that (corn to bend, 
 And bids its (hade o'er fpacious fields extend ; 
 While in the compafs of its wide domain, 
 Heaven fheds its foft prolific fhow'rs in vain : 
 Secure and fhelter'd every fubjedl lies ; 
 But robb'd of moifture, fickens, droops, and dies. 
 
 O image apt of man's defpotic power, 
 Which guards and fhelters only to devour. 
 Lifts high in air the fplendours of its head. 
 And bids its radiance o'er the nations fpread ^ 
 While round its feet in filent anguifh lie 
 Hunger, defpair, and meagre mifery ! 
 
 R. P. Knight. 
 
 The lives and labours of millions are devoted to the 
 fervice of a defpotic prince, whofe laws are blindly o- 
 beyed.and whofe wifhes are inftantly gratified. Our 
 imagination is dazzled by the fplendid pi£lure ; and 
 whatever may be the cool didates of reafon, there are 
 few among us who would obftinately rcfufe a trial of 
 the comforts and cares of royalty. It may therefore 
 be of feme life to borrow the experience of Abdal Rah- 
 man, whofe magnificence has perhaps excited our 
 admiration and envy, and to tranfcribe an authentic 
 memorial which was found in the clofet of the deceafed 
 caliph. " I have now reigned above fifty years in 
 «« vi£lory or peace ;. beloved by my fubjefts, dreaded 
 *'by my enemies, and refpeSed by my allies. Riches 
 «« and honors, power and pieafure, have waited on m/ 
 
Despothm, igg 
 
 call, nor does any earthly blefling appear to have been 
 " wanting to my felicity. In this (ituation I have 
 *' diligently nutnber'd the days of pure and genuine 
 " happinefs, which have fallen to cny lot : they amount 
 **\o fourteen." Gibbon. 
 
 Such dupes are men to cuftom, and fo prone 
 
 To rev'rence what is ancient, and can plead 
 
 A courfe of long obfervance for its ufe, 
 
 That even fervitude, the worft of ills 
 
 Becaufe deliver'd down from fire to fon. 
 
 Is kept and guarded as a facred thing. 
 
 But is it fir, or can it bear the fhock 
 
 Of rational difcudion, that a man 
 
 Compounded and made up, like other men, 
 
 Of elements tumultuous, in whom luft 
 
 And folly in as ample meafure meet, 
 
 As in the bofoms ot the flaves he rules, 
 
 Should be a defpot abfolute, and boaft 
 
 Himfelf the only freeman of his land ? 
 
 Should, when he pleafes, and on whom he will, 
 
 Wage war, with any, or with no pretence 
 
 Of provocation giv'n, or wrong fuftain'd. 
 
 And force the beggarly laft doit, by means 
 
 That his own humour di61ates, from the clutch 
 
 Of poverty-* that thus he may procure 
 
 His thoufands, weary of penurious life, 
 
 A fplendid opportunity to die r 
 
 Say ye, who (with lefs prudence than of of old, 
 
 Jotham afcrib'd to his aflembled trees 
 
 Jn politic convention) put your trufl 
 
 r th' fhadow of a bramble, and reclin'd 
 
 In fancy'd peace beneath his dang'rous brajich, 
 
 Rejoice in him, and celebrate his fway. 
 
 Where find ye paffive fortitude ? Whence fprings, 
 
 Your felf denying zeal, that holds it good 
 
 Tolh-oke the prickly grievance, and to hang 
 
 His thorns with dreamers ot continual praifc? 
 
 COVVPER, 
 
no 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Defpotifm delights in war. It is its element. As 
 the bull knows, by inftinfl, that his ftrength is in his 
 horns, and the eagle trufis in his talons; fo the defpot 
 feels his puiflance moft, when furrounded by his fol- 
 diery arrayed for battle. With the fword in his hand, 
 and his artillery around him, he rejoices in his might, 
 and glories in his greatnefs. Blood mull: mark his 
 path ; and his triumph is incomplete, till death and 
 deftru(Slion ftalk over the land, the harbingers of his 
 triumphant cavalcade. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 What are the chief con fiderat ions with defpofs, previ- 
 oufly to going to war, and at its conclufion ? Evidently 
 the expence of money. Little is faid or thought of the 
 lives loft, or devoted to be loft, except as matters cf 
 pecuniary value. Humanity, indeed, weeps in filence 
 and folitude, in the fequeftered fhade of private life; 
 but is a fingle tear ftied in courts, and camps, and cabi. 
 nets? When men high in command, men of fortune 
 and family, fall, their deeds are blazoned, and they figure 
 in hiftory ; but vv'ho, fave the poor widow and the or- 
 phan, enquire alter the very names of the rank and file! 
 There they lie, a mafs ot human flelh, not fo mucli 
 regretted by the defpots as the horfes they rode, or the 
 arms they bore. While ftiips often go dovvn to the 
 bottom, (truck by the iron thuiuierbolts ol v> ar, and not 
 a lifeisfaved; the national lofs is ellimaied by ibe 
 defpot, according to the weigii! ot meta] w afti'd,;>iiid 
 the magnitiide and expence of the woodeti calile. -i 
 
 Ihil 
 
 Defpotifm! I would laitgh at all th)' extravagan'cies, 
 thy folenjii muirmery, thy baby banbl^s, thy airs cl 
 iji'olenct, thy finery *and trippery, if) impotent ind'hs 
 o\' i virtue, genius, and ail p- rlonal nicrir, thy ftruttingi 
 felt- pleafing mien and iangnage! I would cunfider 
 them ail with the eye ot j Dcmoci Ims, as aifoiding a 
 eonftant farce, an inexliauftible fund of merriment) 
 
Despotism.'-^Dulmss, in 
 
 (lid they not lead to the malevolent paflions, which, in 
 their effects, forge chains for men born free, plunder 
 the poor of their property, and fhed the blood of 
 innocence. Ibid* 
 
 Where God caufed the fun to fhine gaily, and fcat- 
 tered plenty over the land, delpots difFufed famine and 
 folirude. The valley which laughed with fcorn, they 
 watered with the tear of artificial hunger and diftrefs'; 
 the plain that was bright with verdure, and gay with 
 flowrets, they dyed red with gore. They operated on 
 the world as the bla(t of an ea(t wind, as a peililence, as 
 a deluge, as a conflagration. And have they yet ceafed 
 from the earth ? Calt your eyes over the phiins of Ruf- 
 fia, Poland, a great part ot Europe, the wilds ot Africa, 
 and the gardens of Afia; European defpotifm has 
 united with oriental, to unparadife the provinces of 
 India. Ibid. 
 
 Defpotifm is the grand fource of human misfortune, 
 tlie Pandora's box out of which every curfe has ilfued, 
 and fcarcely left even hope behind. Defpotifm, in its 
 extreme, is fata! to human happinefs, and, in all its 
 degrees and modifications, injurious. The fpirit of it 
 ought therefore to be fupprelled on the firft and flighteft 
 appearance. It fhouki be the endeavor of every good 
 man, as far as his befl abilities will extend, to extirpate 
 all arbitrary government from the globe. It (hould 
 be fwept from the earth, or trampled under foot, from 
 China to Peru. Ibid, 
 
 D U L N E S S. 
 
 Dulnefs or deformity are not culpable in themfelves, 
 but may be very juftly reproached when they pretend 
 to the honour of wit or the influence of beauty. 
 
 Life of Pope. 
 
li'Z ' American Monitor. 
 
 D O G. 
 
 Of al! the beafls that graze the lawn, or hunt the' 
 foreft, a dog is the only animal, that, leaving his fel- 
 lows, attempts to cultivate the friendlliip of man ; to 
 man he looks, in all his neceffities, with a fpeaking 
 eye, for affiltance ; exerts tor him all the little fervice 
 in his power, with chcarfulnefs and pleafure ; for him 
 bears famine and fatigue with patience and refignation: 
 no injuries can abate his fidelity ; no diltrefs induce 
 him to forlake his benefa£lor : ftudious to pleafe and 
 fearing to offend, he is ftill an humble, ftedfaft de- 
 pendant ; and in him alone fawning is not flattery. 
 How unkind, then, to torture this faithful creature, 
 who has left the foreft to claim the protedioii of man ! 
 How ungrateful a return to the trulty animal for all its 
 fervices! Goldsmith. 
 
 DUTY. 
 
 When we a£l according to our duty, we commit the 
 event to him by whofelaws our actions are governed, 
 and who will fulfer none to be finally puniflied for o- 
 bedience. But when in profpe6t of fome good, whe- 
 ther natural or moral, we break the rules prefer ibed to 
 us, we withdraw from the diredlion of fuperior wif- 
 dom, and take all the confequences upon ourfelves. 
 
 Prince of Abyflinia. 
 
 DUTYandHAPPINESS. 
 
 It is an undoubted truth, that our duty is infepara- 
 bly connected with our happinefs. And why fhoukl 
 we defpair of convincing every member of fociety of 
 a truth fo important for him to know ? Should any 
 perfon objedl, by faying, that nothing like this, has. 
 every^t been done j 1 anfwer, that nothing like this 
 
Delay. — Drunkenness. 113 
 
 has ever yet been tried. Society has hitherto been cm ft 
 with governments, whofe exiftence depended on t.ie 
 extin6lion of truth. Every moral light has been 
 fmothered under the bufhel of perpetual impolition ; 
 from whence it emits but faint and glimmering rays, 
 always infufficient to form any luminous fyflem on any 
 of the civil concerns of men. But thefe covers are 
 crumbling to the duft, with the governments which 
 they fupport ; and the probability becomes more ap- 
 parent, the more it is confidered, that fociety is capa- 
 ble of curing all the evils to which it has given birth. 
 
 Barlow. 
 
 DELAY. 
 
 The folly of allowing ourfelves to delay what we 
 know cannot be finally efcaped, is one of the general 
 weaknefles which, in fpite of the infirudion of moral- 
 3fts, and the remonfirances of reafbn, prevail to a 
 greater or lefs degree in every mind: even they who 
 moft fteadily withffand it, find it, if not the moft violent, 
 the moft pertmacious of their paffions, always renew- 
 ing Its attacks, and, though often vanquifhed, never 
 
 ^^ft^°yed- R-^MBLER. 
 
 DRUNKENNESS. 
 
 Nothing is more erroneous than the common obfer- 
 vation, that men who are ill-natured and quarrelfomc 
 when they are drunk, are very worthy perfons when they 
 are lober ; for drmk in reality doth not reverfe nature, 
 or create paffions in men which did not exift in them 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 There is not perhaps a more excellent inftitutioa 
 than that of Ptttacus, mentioned bv Aristotle in his 
 peiitics, by which a blow given by a 'drunken man was 
 more feverely punifhed, than if it had been given by one 
 
 L 
 
04 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 that was fober; for Phtacus (fays Aristotle) confidered 
 the utility of the public, (as drunken men are more apt 
 to (irike) and not the excufe which might othervtife be 
 allowed to their drunkennefs. Ihid. 
 
 DECEPTION. 
 
 Deceit and falfehood, whatever conveniencies they 
 may tor a time promifeor produce, are, in the fum oi 
 life, obftacles to happinefs. Thofe who profit by the 
 cheat diftruft the deceiver ; and the adl by which kind- 
 nefs was fought, puts an end to confidence. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 D E S P A I R. 
 
 Confidering the unforefeen events of this world, we 
 fnouldbe taught that ho human condition fliould in^ 
 fpire men with abfolute defpair- Fielding. 
 
 Unhappy man! with ftorms of p^fFion to(l, 
 "When firlt he learnt his vagrant child was loft, 
 On the cold floor his trembling limbs he flung. 
 And with thick blows his hollow bofom rung; 
 Then up he flatted, and with fix'd furprife, 
 Upon her pidurc threw his frantic eyes, 
 While thus hecry'd, " In her my life was bound, 
 «• Warm in each feature is her mother found : 
 *« Perhap-s defpair has been her fatal guide, 
 " And now fhe floats upon the weeping tide, 
 " Or on the willow hung with head reclin'd, _ 
 " All pale and cold fhe wavers in the wind; 
 
 Did I not force her hence by harfh commands? 
 
 Did not her foul abhor the nuptial bands ?" 
 Teach not, ye fires, your daughters to rebel, 
 By counfel rein their wills, but ne'er compel. Gav:. 
 
Distress. — Domestic Happiness. 115 
 
 DISHONESTY. 
 
 Difiioneft minds, juft like the jaundic'd fight. 
 See honeft deeds in a difhoiicfl; light : 
 Thro' clouds of gtiilt, the innocent they view, 
 And ftain each virtue with fome vicious hue. 
 The juft and good look with a different eye, 
 By generous hearts they generous adlions try : 
 Govern'd by honor, honor they revere, 
 And think each virtue, like their own, fincere. 
 
 Beller. 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 Has pify loft its mighty power to move, 
 
 That all my mournful forrovvs can't incline you, 
 
 To weigh my fufFerings with my real deferts? 
 
 Can you then fee me with a broken heart, 
 
 Wretched, wand'ring, and fbrfook by all, 
 
 Except th' infuiting rabble at my heels: 
 
 And as pinching need or thirrt or hunger, 
 
 Shall make me feek relief from door to door, 
 
 Perhaps receive harfh language and reproach, 
 
 Inftead of fuccour to fupply my wants. 
 
 Then after all the mis'ries of the day. 
 
 Soon as th' unwholefome night brings on its dews, 
 
 Under fome dropping eve, or leaflefs^hedge, 
 
 Shiv'ring andalmoft (iarv'd with piercing cold, 
 
 Repofe my weary limbs^ with toil fatigu'd. 
 
 Wandesford. 
 
 DOMESTIC HAPPINESS. 
 
 Domeflic happinefs, thou only blifs 
 Of Paradife that has furviv'd the fall ! 
 Though few now tafte thee unimpair'd and pure, 
 Or, tafting, long enjoy thee; too infirm 
 Or too incautious to preferve thy fweets 
 
ii6 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Unmixt with drops of bitter, which negledl 
 Or temper fheds into thy cryftal cup. 
 Thou art the nurfe ot virtue. In thine arms. 
 She fmiles, appearing, as in truth fhe is, 
 Heav'n born, and deftin'd to the Ikies again. 
 Thou art not known where pleafure is ador'd. 
 That reeling goddefs, with the zonelefs waill, 
 And wand'ring eyes, ftill leaning on the arm 
 Of novelty, her fickle frail fupport ; 
 For thou art meek and conltant, hating change, 
 And finding in the calm of truth- tried love, 
 Joys that her flormy raptures never yield. 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 The great end of prudence is to give chearfulnefs to 
 thofe hours which fplendor cannot gild, and acclama- 
 tion cannot exhilirate. Thofe foft intervals of 
 unbended amufement, in which a man fhrinks to his 
 natural dimenfions, and throws afide the ornaments or 
 difguifes which he feels, in privacy, to be ufelefs incum- 
 brances, and to lofe all efFed when they become 
 fafiiiliar. To be happy at hoine is the ultimate refult of 
 all ambition ; the end to which every enterprife and 
 labor tends, and of which every defire prompts the 
 profecution. It is indeed at home that every man muft 
 be known, by thofe who would make a j.ufl: eflimate 
 either of his virtue or felicity ; for fmiles and embroi- 
 dery are alike occafional, and the mind is often drefled 
 for fhow in painted honor, andfidlitious benevolence. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 Thehigheft panegyric that domeftic virtue can receive, 
 is the praife of fervants ; for however vanity or info- 
 lence may look down with contempt on the fufJ>age of 
 men undignified with wealth, and unenlightened by 
 educaiion, it very feldom happens that they comt-nend 
 or blame without juftice. Ibi4' 
 
Dissent ions i — Equalily of: Mankind. 
 
 117 
 
 DISSENTIONS. 
 
 In all difputes between the people and their rulers, 
 the prefumption is at leaft upon a par in favor of the 
 people. Experience may perhaps juftify me in going 
 farther. Where popular difcontents have been very 
 prevalent, it may well be affirmed and fupported, that 
 there has been generally fomething found amifs in the 
 conftitut ion or in t hecondudl of government. The people 
 have no intereft in diforder. When they do wrong, it 
 is their error and not their crime. But with the govern- 
 ing party of the ftate it is far otherwife. They cer- 
 tainly may a6t ill by defign as well as by miftake. 
 " The revolutions which occur in great ftates, are not 
 the efFe6t of chance or the caprice of the people. 
 " Nothing difgufts the grandees of a kingdom fo much 
 *' as a weak or deranged government. But the people 
 *' never revolt through a thirft of innovation, but 
 " through impatience of fulFering." Thefe are the 
 words of a great man; of a minilfer of (tate [Sully] 
 and a zealous alTerter of monarchy. What he fays 
 of revolutions is equally true of all great difturbances. 
 
 Burke. 
 
 E Q^U A L 1 T Y o F M A N K I N D. 
 All men are created equal. 
 
 r/flrfl/;W o/T N D E P E N D E N C E . 
 
 All men are born equally free and independent ; 
 therefore all government of right originates from the 
 people, is founded in confent, and inllituted for the 
 general good. 
 
 Constitution .s/'New-Hampshire.. 
 
 All men are born free and equal, and have certain 
 natural, eiTcntial,and unalienable rights ; among which- 
 
 L 2 
 
I [3 American Monitor* 
 
 may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defendin| 
 their lives and liberties ; that of acquiring, poffeffing, 
 and proteding property; in fine, that of feeking and 
 obtaining their fafety and happinefs. 
 
 Constitution ^Massachusetts.. 
 
 All men are born equally free and independent, and 
 have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights; 
 amongft which are, the enjoying and defending life and 
 liberty — acquiring, podefling and protedfing property 
 — and purfuing and obtaining happinefs and "fafety. 
 
 Constitution i5/"Vermont. 
 
 'WhzX is the race ot mankind but one family, widely 
 fcattered upon the face of the earth r all men by nature 
 are brothers. Fenelqn. 
 
 — Search we the fecret fprings, 
 
 And backwards trace the principles of things ; 
 
 There (hail we find, that when the world began, 
 
 One common mafs compos'd the mould of man ; 
 
 One paile of fieih an all degrees beftow'd. 
 
 And kneaded up alike with moift'ning blood. 
 
 The fame almighty power infpir'd the frame 
 
 With kindled life, and form'd the fouls the fame. 
 
 The faculties of intelle6l and will, 1 
 
 Difpens'd with equal hand, dii'pos'd with equal fkill, > 
 
 Like liberty indulg'd with choice of good or ill. J 
 
 M'hus born alike, from virtue firft began 
 
 The difference that diltinguifh'd man from man : 
 
 He claim'd no title from defcent of blood. 
 
 But that which made him noble made him good. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 There is no more inward value in the greateft empe- 
 ror than in the meanelt of his flibjeds. His body is 
 f ompofed of the fame fubftance, the fame partSj and vyitti 
 
JSmpire. — Exercise, 119 
 
 the fame or greater infirmities : his education is gen- 
 erally worfe, by flattery, idienefs, and luxury, and 
 tliofe evil difpofitions that early power is apt to give. 
 It is therefore againll; common fenfe, that his private 
 perfonal intereft, or pleafiire, ihould be put in the bal- 
 ance with the fafety of millions, every one of which 
 is his equal by nature. Swift.' 
 
 Men are not naturally opulent, courtiers, nobles, or 
 kings. We come into the world naked and poor : we 
 are all fubje6l to the miferies of life. 
 
 The rich have not better appetites than the poor,, 
 nor quicker digeftion the mafter has not longer arms 
 or Itronger than the fervant \ a great man is no taller 
 than tiiemeanell arti:4an. RoiJSEAU, 
 
 EMPIRE. 
 
 Extended empire,, like expanded gold, 
 Exchanges folid ftrength for feeble fplendor. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 EXERCISE. 
 
 Such is the conftitution of man, that labour mzy be 
 ftyled its own reward: nor. will any external incite- 
 ments be requifite, if it be confidered how much hap- 
 pinefs is gained, and how much mifery efcaped, by 
 frequent and violent agitation of the body. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 Exercife cannot fecure us from that dilTolution to 
 which we are decreed ; but, while the foul and body 
 continue united, it can make the aflbciation plealing, 
 and give probable hopes that they fliall be disjoined by 
 an eafy feparation. It was a principle among the an- 
 cients, that acute difeafes are from heaven, and chro- 
 nic, from ourfelves: the dart of death, indeed, falls 
 
I2Q 
 
 4-merkan Monilor* 
 
 from heaven ; but we poifon it by our own niifcon« 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Children, like tender Oziers» take the bow. 
 And as they firfl: are falhion'd, always grow : 
 For what we learn in youth, to that alone 
 In age we are by fecond nature prone. Dryden, 
 
 Phyfical knowledge is of fuch rare emergence, that 
 one man may know another half his life without being 
 able toeftimate his (kill in hydroftatics or aftronomy ; 
 but his moral and prudential character iinmediately 
 appears. Thofe authors, therefore, are to be read at 
 fchool, that fupply molt axioms of prudence, molt 
 principles of moral truth, and mofl: materials for con- 
 verfation ; and thefe purpofes are bed ferved by poets, 
 orators, and hiftorians. Life of Milton. 
 
 It ought always to be fteadily inculcated, that vir- 
 tue is the higheft proof of underftanding, and the only 
 folid bafis of greatnefs ; and that vice is the natural 
 confequence of narrow thoughts that it begins in 
 miftake, and ends in ignominy Rambler. 
 
 I confider an human foul without education, like 
 marble in the quarry, which fhews noneof its inherent 
 beauties, till the fkill of the polilher fetches out the 
 colours, make the furface ihine, and difcovers every 
 ornamental clould, fpot, and vein that runs through 
 the body of it. Education, after the fame manner, 
 when it works upon a noble mind, draws out to view 
 every latent virtue and perfedion, which, without fuch 
 helps, are never able to make their appearance. 
 
 Spectator. 
 
Error, — Freedom. 
 
 121 
 
 ERROR. 
 
 ' It is incumbent on every man who confults his own 
 Uignity, to retradl his error as foon as he diCcovers it, 
 ivithout fearing any cenfure fo much as that of his own 
 aiind. As jultice requires that all injuries fhould be 
 repaired, it is the duty of him who has feduced others 
 ay bad practices, or falfe notions, to endeavour that 
 fuch as have adopted his errors (hould know his retrac- 
 tation, and that thofe who have learned vice by his ex-, 
 ample, lliould, by his example, be taught amendment. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 FREEDOM. 
 
 Countries are generally peopled in proportion as 
 they are free, and are certainly happy in that propor- 
 tion ; and upon the fame tra6l of land that would 
 maintain a hundred thoufand freemen in plenty, five 
 thoufand flaves would ftarve. Liberty naturally draws 
 new people to it, as well as increafes the old ff ock ; and 
 men as naturally run, when they dare, from flavery 
 and wretchednefs. Hence great cities, lofing tiieir li- 
 berties, become defarts ; and little towns by liberty 
 grow great cities. Gordon. 
 
 Civil freedom is not, as many have endeavored to 
 perfuade us, a thing that lies hid in the depth of ab- 
 ftrufe fcience. It is a bleffing and a benefit, not an 
 [ abflrail fpeculation ; and ail the juft reafoning that can 
 be upon it, is of To coarfe a texture, as perfe£lly to fuit 
 the ordinary capacities of thofe who are to enjoy, and of 
 thofe who are to defend it. Far from any refemblance 
 to thofe propofitions in geometry and nietaphyfics, 
 which admit no medium, but mufl. be true or falfe in 
 all their latitude ; fecial and civil freedom, like ail o- 
 ther things in comrnon life, are varioufly mixed and 
 modified, enjoyed in very different degrees, and fhaped 
 
11% 
 
 American Monifar. 
 
 into an infinite diverfity of forms, according to the 
 temper and circumftances of every community. The 
 extreme oiWhQxXj (which is its abftraft perfedlion, but 
 its real fault) obtains no where, nor ought to obtain 
 any where. Becaufe extremes, as we all know, in 
 every point which relates either to our duties ©r fatif- 
 fadlions in life, are deftrudlive both to virtue and en- 
 joyment. Liberty too muft be limited in order to bt 
 poffefled. The degree of reftraint it is impoffible in 
 any cafe to fettle precifely. But it ought to be the con- 
 flant aim of every wife public counfel, to find out by 
 cautious experiments, and rational, cool endeavors, 
 with how little, not hoW much of this reftraint, the 
 community can fubfift. Burke, 
 
 Whofe freedom is by fufF'rance, and at will 
 Of a fuperior, he is never free. 
 Who lives, and is not weary of a life 
 Expos'd to manacles, deferves them well. 
 The flate thatftrives for liberty, though foil'd, 
 And forc'd t' abandon what fhe bravely fought, 
 Dtferves at ieaft applaufe for her attempt. 
 And pity for her lofs. But that's a caufe 
 Not often unfuccefsful \ pow'r ufurp'd. 
 Is weaknefs when oppos'd ; confcious of wrong, 
 'Tis pufillanimous, and prone to flight. 
 But Haves, that once conceive the glowing thought 
 Of freedom, in that hope itfelf poffefs 
 All that the conteft calls for-; fpirit, flrength,. 
 The fcorn of danger, and united hearts, 
 The furert prefage of the good they feek. 
 
 ^ C©WPER, 
 
 Tempt me no more. My foul can ne'er comport 
 With the gay flaveries of a court ; 
 
 I've an averfion to thofc charms. 
 And hug dear liberty in borh mine arms. 
 
 Go, vallal-fouls, go, cringe and wait, 
 And dance attendance at Honor io's gate ^ 
 
Trtedm. 
 
 123 
 
 Then run in troops before him to compofe his ftate: 
 Move, as he moves ; and, when he loiters, fland \ 
 You're but the fhadows of a man. 
 Bend when he fpeaks ; and kifs the ground : 
 Go, catch th' impertinence of found : 
 Adore the follies of the great : 
 Wait till he fmiles: but lo, the idol frown'd, 
 And drove them to their fate. 
 
 Thus bafe-born minds. But as for me, 
 
 I can and will be free : 
 Like a ftrong mountain, or fome (lately treej 
 
 My foul grows firm upright, 
 
 And as 1 ftand, and as I go, 
 It keeps my body "ft) ; 
 
 No, I can never part with my creation- right : 
 Let (laves and afTes ft<iop and bow, 
 I cannot make this iron knee 
 Bend to a meaner pT)"wer than that which form'd it 
 free. Watts. 
 
 When God from chaos gave this world to be, 
 Man then he form'd, and form'd him to be free, 
 In his own image ftampt the favorite race — 
 How dar'fl thou, tyrant, the fair flamp deface! 
 When on mankind you fix your abjed chains, 
 Nokmore the image of that God remains ; 
 O'er a dark fcene a darker fhade is drawn, 
 His work diihonour'd, and our glory gone ! 
 
 Freneau. 
 
 One truth is clear from nature, conffant ftill, 
 "Kings hold not worlds, or empires at their will 
 Nor rebels they, who native //wisw claim, 
 Conqueft alone can ratify the name — 
 But great the talk, refiftance to controul 
 When genuine -y/r/w^ fires the flubborn foul ; 
 The vyarlike beaff, in Lybian defarts plac'd 
 To reign the mafler of the fun-burnt wafte, 
 
■£24- 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Not tamely yleMs to wear a lervile chain : 
 
 Force may attempt it, and attempt in vain — — 
 
 Nervous and bold, by native valour led : 
 
 His prowefs (Irikes the proud invader dead. 
 
 By force nor fraud from freedom's charms beguil'd, 
 
 He reigns fecUte the monarch of the wild. Ihid. 
 
 F L Y. 
 
 Bufy, curious, thirfty fly, " 
 Drink with me, and drink as I % 
 Freely welcome to my cup, 
 Couldft thcu fip, and fip it Ugj^ 
 Make the moft of life you majT 
 Li-e is ffion, and wears away. 
 Both alike are mine and thine, 
 Haftening quick to their decliii^^ 
 Thine's a fummer, mine no more. 
 Though repeated to threefcore ; 
 Threefcore fummers, when they're gone^ 
 Will appear as Oiort as one.^: 
 
 F A S T I N G. 
 
 The mifer fafts. becaufe he will not eat ; 
 The poor man fafts, becaufe he has no meat ; 
 The rich manfafts, with greedy mind to fpare ; 
 The glutton falls, to eat the greater lhare . 
 The hypocrite, he farts, to fcem more holy ; 
 The righteous man, to puniili fin and folly. 
 
 FRAILTY. 
 
 The befl: of men appear fometimes to be (Irang 
 compounds of contraslidlory qualities: and, were th 
 accidental overfights and foliy of the wifett man,-— 
 failings and imperfeftioasof areligious man,— the halt 
 adls and pailionate words of a meek man j wers the 
 
Frteman, — First Pair. 
 
 12 
 
 to rife up in judgment againft them, — and an iil-na- 
 tured judge be fuffered to mark, in this manner 
 what has been done amifs — what charadler fo unex 
 ceptionableas to be able to ftand before him ? 
 
 Sterne. 
 
 FREE M A N. 
 
 He is thq.freeiTian w]mrn the truth makes free. 
 And all ape ilaves beM^ There's not a chain 
 That hellilh foes conred'rate for his liarm 
 Can wind around him, but he cafts it off 
 With as much cafe as Samfon his green withes. 
 He looks abroad into the varied field 
 Of Nature, and tho' poor, perhaps, compar'd 
 With thofe whofe manfions glitter in his fight. 
 Calls the delightful fcenery all his own. 
 His are the mountains, and the vallies his. 
 And the refplendent rivers ; his t'enjoy 
 With a propriety that none can feel, 
 But who, with filial confidence infpir'd, Ij^^ 
 Can lift to Heav'n an unprefumptuous eye. 
 And fmiling fay — My Father made them all ; 
 Are they not his by a peculiar right \ 
 And by an emphalis of ini'reft his, 
 WHiofe eye they fill with tears of holy joy, 
 Whofe heart with praife, and whofe exalted mind 
 With worthy thoughts of that unwearied love 
 That plann'd and built, and (till upholds a world. 
 So cloth'd, with beauty, for rebellious man ? 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 F 1 R S T P A I R. 
 
 The wide earth finifli'd, from his weflern throne. 
 In fplendid beauty look'd the gladfome fun ; 
 Calm were the fkies \ the fields with luftre crown'd. 
 And nature's incenfe fill'd th' etherial round. 
 
 M 
 
126 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Enflirin'd in facred light, the Maker flood, 
 Cornpiacent fmird, and own'd the work was good. 
 Then from his hand, in filent glory, came 
 A nobler form, and man his deltin'd name; 
 Ere6l, and tall, in folemn pomp he (tood, 
 And living virtue in his vifage glow'd. 
 Then, too, a fairer being fliow'd her charms ; 
 Young beauty wanton'd in her fnowy arms; 
 The heav'ns around her bade their graces fly, 
 And love fat blooming in her gentle eye. 
 O pair divine! fuperior to your kind ; 
 To virtue faOiion'd, and for blifs defign'dl 
 
 He, born to rule, with calm uplifted brow, 
 Look'd down majeftic on the world below ; 
 To heav'n, his manfion, turn'd his thoughts fnblime. 
 Or rov'd far onward thro' the fcenes of time ; 
 O'er nature's kingdom caft a fearching eye, 
 And dar'd to trace the fecrets ot the fky ; 
 On fancy's pinions fcann'd the bright abode. 
 And claim'd his friend, an angel, or a God. 
 
 Her ije indu'd with nature more refin'd, 
 A lovelier image, and a fofter mind. 
 To her he gave to kindle fweet defire, 
 Toroufe great thoughts, and fan th' heroic fire ; 
 At pity's gentle call to bend his ear ; 
 To prompt for woe the unaffecSled tear ; 
 In fcenes refin'd his foft'ning foul improve, 
 And tune his vviflies with the hand of love. 
 To her he gave with fv^'eetnefs to obey, 
 Infpire the friend, and charm the lord away ; 
 Each bleeding grief with balmy hand to heal, 
 And teach his rending hnews not to feel \^ 
 Each joy t' improve, the pious wifh to raile, 
 And add new raptures to his languid praife. 
 
 To this lov'd pair a blefs'd retreat was given, 
 A feat for angels, and an humbler heaven ; 
 Fair Eden nam'd : in fwift fuccefiion, there 
 Glad fcenes of rapture led the vernal year ; 
 Round the green garden, living beauty play'd ; 
 
Frugality, — Favour, — Forgiveness, 
 
 127 
 
 In gayprofufion earth her treafiires fpread ; 
 
 The air breath'd fragrance : (treams harmonious rung, 
 
 And love, and tranfporr, tun'd th' aerial fong, 
 
 DWXGHT. 
 
 FRUGALITY. 
 
 Frugality may be termed the daughter of prudence, 
 the fifter of temperance, and the parent of liberty. He 
 tliat is extravagant, will quickly become poor, and 
 poverty will enforce dependence, and invite corruption. 
 It will almoft always produce a paffive compliance 
 with the wickednefs of others, and there are few wlio 
 do not team by degrees to pradlife thofe crimes vvhicli 
 they ceafe to cenfure. RaivIbler. 
 
 Though in every age there are fome who, by bold 
 adventures or by favourable accidents, rife fuddenly 
 into riches, the bulk of mankind mufl owe their af- 
 fluence to fmall and gradual profits, below which their 
 expence muft be refolutely reduced. Ibid. 
 
 FAVOUR. 
 
 Beftowing one favour on fome men they think is 
 giving them a right to afk a fecond— the fird they look 
 upon as a gift — the reft are payments. Fielding. 
 
 FORGIVENESS. 
 
 The brave only know how t ■> .forgive ; — it is the moft 
 refined and generous pitch of virtue human nature can 
 arrive at. Cowards have done good and kind actions, 
 — cowards have even fought, nay fometimes, even con- 
 quered ; but a coward never forgave. — It is not in his 
 nature ; — the power of doing it flows only from a 
 ftrengthand greatnefs of foul, confcious of its owa 
 force and fecurity, and above the little temptations of 
 refenting every huitlefs attempt to interrupt its hap- 
 pinefs. Sterne. 
 
128 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Whoever confiders the weaknefs both of himfelf 
 and others, will not long want perfuafives to forgive- 
 nefs. We know not to what degree of malignity any 
 injury is to be imputed, or how much its guilt, if we 
 were to infpedl the mind of him that committed it, 
 would be extenuated by miftake, precipitance, or ne- 
 |;iigence. We cannot be certain how much more we 
 fee! than vvas intended, or how much we increafethe 
 raifchief to ourfelves by voluntary aggravations. We 
 may charge to defign the effe£ls of accident. We may 
 think the blow violent, only becaufe we have made 
 ourfelves delicate and tender; we are, on every fide, 
 in danger of error and guilt, which we are certain to 
 avoid only by fpeedy forgivenefs. Rambler. 
 
 FAME. 
 
 "^rheevil that men do, lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interred their bones. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Ill fhall we judge, if from the mouth of fame 
 
 We mark the chara£lers of vice and virtue. 
 
 Here pageants rife, made by tradition heroes, 
 
 Forra'd by the poet or the looie hiftorian ; 
 
 There you behold iraaginary gods, 
 
 Rais'd by the venal breach of flaves to heav'tt, 
 
 Swoln wfth the praife of fools, ignobly great, 
 
 By liilf, ambitio!>, lyranny or rapine \ 
 
 While the good prince, whofe (oft indulgent nature 
 
 Delights in peace, and bleiles all with plenty 
 
 Who fmile beneath him, is revii'd and cenfur'd. 
 
 As an ina£live, ufelefs, idle dron^. C. Johnson. 
 
 FATE. 
 
 There is a tide in the affairs of men» 
 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; 
 
Fate. — Fight. 
 
 129 
 
 Omitted, all the voyage of their life 
 
 I3 bound in (hallows, and in miferies. 
 
 On fuch a full fea are we now afloat* 
 
 And we muft take the current when it ferves, 
 
 Or lofe our ventures. Shakespeare. 
 
 Man makes his fate according to his mind : 
 
 The weak low fpirit fortune makes her flave. 
 
 But file's a drudge when hedor'dby the brave. 
 
 If fate weave common thread, he'll change the doom, 
 
 And with new purple fpread a nobler loom. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Heav'n has to all allotted, foon or late. 
 
 Some lucky revolution of their fate ; 
 
 Whofe motions if we watch and guide with fkill, 
 
 (For human good depends on human will) 
 
 Our fortune rolls as from a fmooth defcenr. 
 
 And from the firfl impreffion takes its bent ; 
 
 But if unfeiz'd, Ihe glides away like wind. 
 
 And leaves repenting folly far behind ; 
 
 Now, now fhe meets you with a glorious prize, 
 
 And fpreads her locks before lier as flic flies. Ibid. 
 
 FIGHT (for native Country.) 
 
 ■ To fight, iEmilius, 
 
 In a juft caufe, and for our country's fafety, 
 
 Is the beft office of the befl of men ; 
 
 And to decline it when thefe motives urge, 
 
 h infamy beneath a coward's bafenefs. Ha vard. 
 
 FLATTERY. 
 
 Of all wild beafls, preferve me from a tyrant. 
 And of all tame, a flatterer. Johnson, 
 
 M 2 
 
x^o American Monitor^ 
 
 , — Ceafe, ceafe this flati'ry ! 
 
 'Tis a mean, vicious habit thofe contrad:. 
 
 Who hide the fettrd purpofe of their foiiis 
 
 Under its fmooth and glitt'ring ornaments. 
 
 As they difdain'd the honeft company 
 
 Of plain and native truth. Marsh. 
 
 He that is much flattered, foon learns to flatter him- 
 felf. We are commonly taught our duty by fear or 
 fliame ; and how can they aft upon the man who hears 
 nothing but his own praifes r Life of Swift. 
 
 Neither our virtues or vices are all cur own._ If 
 there were no cowardice, there would be little info- 
 lence. Pride cannot rife to any great degree, but by 
 the concurrence of blandilhment, or the fufrerance of 
 tamenefs. The wretch who would fhrink and crouch 
 before one who fliould dart his eyes upon him with 
 the fpirit of natural equality, becoines capricious and 
 tyrannical when he fees himfelf approached with a 
 downcaft look, and hears the foft addreffes of awe and 
 fervility. To thofe who are willing to purchafe favor 
 bv cringes and compliance, is to be imputed the haugh- 
 ti'nefs that leaves nothing to hoped by firmnefs and in- 
 tegrity. Rambler. 
 
 FORTITUDE. 
 
 — In flruggling with misfortunes 
 
 Lies the true proof of virtue. On fmooth feas 
 ilow many bauble boats dare fet their fails. 
 And make an equal way with firmer velfels : 
 But let the tempell once enrage the fea» 
 And then behold the ftrong-ribb'd argofie 
 Bounding between the ocean and the air. 
 Like Perfeus mounted on his Pegafus ; 
 Then where are thofe weak rivals of the main ? 
 Or to avoid the tempefl-, fled to port, 
 
* Fortitude, — Fortune. i^j 
 
 Or made a prey to Neptune. Ev'n thus 
 
 Do empty Ihew and true-priz'd worth divide 
 
 In ftorms of fortune. Shakespeare. 
 
 Let fortune empty her whole quiver on me. 
 
 1 have a foul, that, like an ample (hield, 
 
 Can take in all, and verge enough for more : 
 
 Fate was not mine, nor am I Fate's, 
 
 Souls know no conquerors. Dryden. 
 
 With fuch unfhaken temper of the foul 
 
 To bear the fwelling tide of profp'rous fortune. 
 
 Is to deferve that fortune. Inadverfity 
 
 The mind grows rough by buffeting the tempeft ; 
 
 But in fuccefsdifTolving, fmks to eafe, 
 
 Andlofes all her firmnefs. Rowe. 
 
 Tho' plung'd in ills, and exercis'd in care. 
 
 Yet never let the noble mind defpair : 
 
 When prefs'd by dangers, and befet with foes. 
 
 The heav'ns their timely fuccour interpofe ; 
 
 And when our virtue finks, o'erwhelm'd with grief. 
 
 By unforefeen expedients bring relief. 
 
 A. Phillips, 
 
 FORTUNE. 
 
 Fortune fometimes adumes a rugged brow. 
 But to endear her fmiles, and make the turn 
 
 More welcome to us, as 'tis unexpedled ■ 
 
 How fweet is reft after a toilfome day ! 
 
 How pleafant light after a length of darknefs ! 
 
 How relifhing good fortune after ill ! Havard. 
 
 Fortune ! Made up of toys and impudence, 
 Thou common jade, that haft not common fenfe ! 
 But, fond of bus'nefs, infolently dares 
 Pretend to rule, and fpoil the world's affairs. 
 
132 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 She flaU'ring up and down, her favours throws "| 
 
 On the next met, not minding what fhe does, V 
 
 Nor why, nor whom fhe helps or injures, knows, j 
 
 Sometimes (he fmiles, then like a fury raves. 
 
 And feldom truly loves but fools or knaves. 
 
 Lev her love whom ftie pleafe, I fcorn to woo her ; 
 
 While (he flays with me I'll be civil to her; 
 
 But if (he offer once to move her wings, 
 
 I'll fling her back all her vain geugaw things ; 
 
 And arm'd with virtue, will more glorious ftand, 
 
 Than if the wanton bow'd at my command. 
 
 Buckingham, 
 
 Ay me ! what perils do environ 
 The man that meddles with cold iron ? 
 What plaguy mifchiefs and mif-haps 
 Do dog him ftill with after-claps I 
 For tho' Dame Fortune feem'd to fmile. 
 And leer upon him for a while : 
 She'll after (hew him, in the nick 
 Of all his honours a dog trick. 
 For Hudibras, who thought he'd won 
 The field as certain as a gun ; 
 And, having routed the whole troop» 
 With vidlory was cock-a-hoop : 
 Found in few minutes to his coft. 
 He did but count without his hoft ; 
 And that a turn-ftiie is more certain. 
 Than in events of war Dame Fortune. 
 
 HUDIBRAS. 
 
 Examples need not be fought at any great diftance, 
 to prove that fuperiority of fortune has a natural ten- 
 dency to kindle pride, and that pride feldom fails to 
 exert itfelf in contempt and infult. This is often the 
 effed of hereditary wealth, and of honors only enjoy- 
 ed by the merit of others. Johnson, 
 
Faction . — Friend. 
 
 ^33 
 
 FACTION. 
 
 From fa£lion and violence in the caufe of liberty, 
 xvhich difgrace the caufe itfelf, and give advantage to the 
 i favorers of arbitrary power, I most anxiously dissuade all 
 who love mankind and their country. Fadion and 
 violence are defpotic in the extreme. They bring all the 
 evils of tyranny, without any confolation, but that they 
 arcufually tranfient; whereas tyranny is durable. They 
 deftroy themfelves, or are deftroyed by force in the 
 I hands of a fuperior power. In either cafe, much is Isst 
 ' to the caufe of liberty ; becaufe the perfons who have 
 been betrayed by their paOions into exceOes, were 
 probably sincere; and if they had been alfo discreet 
 and moderate, would have been efFeaual as well as 
 zealous promoters of the public good. It is certain, 
 that very honeft men are very apt to be betrayed into 
 violence by their warmth of temper. They mean good 
 and do ill. They become the inftruments ofdifpaf- 
 fionate knaves ; and are often led into extravagances by 
 the very party againft whom they ad, in order that they 
 may be expofed, and become obnoxious tocenfure. 
 
 _ Wifdom is gentle, deliberate, cautious. Nothing 
 violent is durable. I hope the lovers of liberty will 
 fliew the fincerity of their attachment by the wifdom 
 of their condud. Tumultuary proceedings always 
 exhibit fome appearance of infanity. A blow (fruck 
 with blind violence may inflift a woinid or a bruife, 
 but It may fall in the wrong place ; it may even injure 
 the hand that gives it, by its own ill-direded force. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 FRIEND. 
 
 As fire and water are of common ufes, 
 An in their kinds efTential for fopport: 
 So is^a friend, juft fuch a friend as vou"; 
 
134 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 The joys of life are heighfen'd by a friend; 
 The woes of life are lelfen'd by a friend j 
 In all the cares of life, we by a friend 
 AfTiftance find— Who'd be without a friend I 
 
 Wandesford. 
 
 Thou think'ft me, fure, that abjeft flave thou art, 
 A flranger to the facred laws of friendfliip, 
 Whom generous fentiments could never warm. 
 Shall I, becaufe the waves begin to fwell, 
 And gathering clouds portend the riling florm, 
 Defert my friend and poorly fly to fhore ? 
 Let them come on, and raitle o'er my head : 
 To the full temper's rage expos'd together, 
 Safe in the bark of innocence we'll ride, 
 Outbrave the billows, and deride their tumult. 
 
 Frowde, 
 
 FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 Friendfhii)'s dear ties for gen'rous fouls were tuade, 
 When they relax, black woes our peace invade ; 
 Friendfhip from every ill can life defend, 
 Our guardian angel's but a faithful friend. Savage. 
 
 Friendfhip, thou greateft happinefs below ! 
 
 The world would be a defart, but for thee ; 
 
 And man himfelf, a nobler fort of brute : 
 
 Wherefore did Heav'n our god-like reafon give ? 
 
 To make the charms of converfation fweet ; 
 
 To open and unbofom all our woes : 
 
 For life's fure medicine is a faithful friend. TracY. 
 
 The two firm rocks on which all frienddiips ftand, 
 
 Are love of freedom, and our country's glory ; 
 
 Pietv, valour, ai.d paternal love 
 
 Form the a-'fing pi t : M'e other virtues 
 
 Cancoiii , beiit-hccnce, and mora"' -uft, 
 
 Are iuperllrudures, and adorn the dome. HavarK' 
 
JFrlendship, 
 
 A treacherous friend is the moO: dangerous enemy ; 
 and both rehgion and virtue have received more real 
 difcredit from hypocrites, than the vfittiefl profligates. 
 Of infidels could ever caft upon them ; nay, farther, as 
 thefe two in their purity, are rightly called the bands of 
 civil fociety, and are indeed the .o'reatcfl: of bleffings ; 
 fo when poifoned and corrupted wtth fraud, pretence, 
 and affedation, they have become the wrtrlt of civil cur- 
 fes, and have enabled men to perpetrate the moft cruel 
 mifchiefs to their own fpecies. Fielding. 
 
 The firmnefs and conftancy of a true friend is a 
 circumftance fo extremely delightful to perfons in any 
 kind of diftrefs, that the diftrefs itfclf, (if it be only 
 temporary, and admit of relief) is more than compen- 
 fated, by bringing this comfort with it. Ibid. 
 
 So many qualifies are neceflary to the poflibility of 
 friendfliip, and fo many accidents mufl: concur to its 
 rife and its continuance, that the greateft part of man- 
 kind content themfelvcs without it, and fupply its 
 place as they can with intereft and dependence. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 Many have talked in very exalted language of the 
 perpetuity of friendlhip : of invincible conftancy and 
 unalienable kindnefs ; and fome examples have been 
 feen of tncn who have continued faithful to their ear- 
 lieft choice, and whofe afFe£lions have predominated 
 over changes of fortune and contrariety of opinion. 
 But thefe inflances are memorable, becaufe they are 
 rare. The friendfhip which is to be pra^ifed or ex- 
 pected by common mortals, muft take its rife from 
 mutual pleafure, and mult end when the power ceafes 
 of delighting each other. Idler. 
 
 The mod fiital dlfeafe of friendfhip is gradual decay, 
 or diflike hourly increafed- by caufes too fiender for 
 
136 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 complaint, and too numerous for removal, Thofe 
 who are angry may be reconciled. Thofe who have 
 been injured may receive a rccompenfe ; but when the 
 defire of pleafing, and willingnefs to be pieafed, is fi- 
 iently diminifhed, the renovation of friendfhip is hope- 
 lefs ; as when the vital pov^'ers fink into languor, there 
 is no longer any ufe of the phyfician. Ibid. 
 
 There are few fubjeits which have been more writ- 
 ten upon, and lefs underltood, than that of iriendfiiip. 
 To follow the didates of fome, this virtue, .inftead of 
 being the aiujager of pain, becomes the fource of every 
 inconvenience. Such fpeculatifts, by expeding too 
 much from friendfhip, diflblve the connexion, and, 
 by drawing the bands too clofely, at length break them. 
 Almoft all our romance and novel-writers are of this 
 kind ; they perfuade us to friendfhips, which we find 
 impoffible to fuftain to the laft ; fo that this fweetner of 
 life, under proper regulations, is by their means, ren- 
 dered inacceffible or uneafy. It is certain, the beft 
 method to cultivate this virtue is by letting it, in fotue 
 meafure, make itfelf ; afimilitude of minds or ftucHes, 
 and even fometimes a diverfity of purfuits, will pro- 
 duce all thepleafures that arife from it. The current 
 of tendernefs widens, as it proceeds ; and two men 
 imperceptibly find their hearts warm with good-nature 
 for each other, when they were at firfl only in purfuit 
 of mirth or relaxation. 
 
 Friendlhip is like a debt of honour ; the moment 
 it is talked of, it lofes its real name, and affumes the more 
 ungrateful form of obligation. From hence we find, 
 that thofe who regularly undertake to cultivate friend- 
 Ihip, find ingratitude generally repays their endeavours. 
 That circle of beings, wliich dependence gathers round 
 us, is almoft ever unfriendly : they fecretly wifh the 
 term of their connexions more nearly equal ; and, 
 where they even have the molt virtue, are prepared to 
 referve all their afFedions for their patron, only in the 
 
Filial Piety, ^Fashion. 
 
 137 
 
 hour of this decline. Increafing the obligations 
 which are laid upon fuch minds, only increafes their 
 burthen ; they feel themfelves unable to repay the 
 immenOty of their debt, and their bankrupt hearts are 
 taught a latent refentment at the hand that isftretched 
 out with offers of (ervice and relief. Gold^ith. 
 
 FILIAL PIETY. 
 
 Have I then no tears for thee, my father ! 
 
 Can I forget thy cares, from helplefs years 
 
 Thy fcnde^rnefs for me ? An eye ftill beam'd 
 
 With love ? A brow that never knew a frown ? 
 
 Nor a harih word thy tongue ? Shall I for thefc 
 
 Repay thy (looping venerable age 
 
 With fliame, difquiet, anguilh and difhonour ? 
 
 Itmuft not bgr— Thou hrft of angels ! Come 
 
 Sweet Filial Piety, and firm my breafl ! 
 
 Yes, let one daughter to her fate fubmit. 
 
 Be nobly wretched, but her father happy. ThomsOxN. 
 
 — Pr'ythce, Trim, quoth my father,— What doft thou 
 mean, by " honouring thy father and thy mother 
 
 Allowing them, an't pleafe yotir honour, three half- 
 pence a day out of my pay when they grow old And 
 
 didftthou do that, Trim? faid r^r/ri— He did, in- 
 deed, replied my uncle Tohy — Then, Trim, faid Tor- 
 ick, fpnngmg out of his chair, and taking the Corpo- 
 ral by the hand, thou art the ht[\ commentator uport 
 that part of the Decalogue; and I honour thee more 
 tor It, Corporal Trim, than if thou hadff a hand in th" 
 Talmud ufelf. Sterne. 
 
 F A S H I O N. 
 
 There are few enterprifes " fo hopdefs as contcfls 
 with fashion, in which^he opjjoncncs are not only 
 
13B 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 made confident by their numbers, and ftrong by iheir 
 union, but are hardened by contempt of their aniagonift, 
 whom they always look upon as a wretch of low no- 
 tions, contraded views, mean converfation, and nar- 
 row fortune ; who envies the elevations which he 
 cannot reach ; who would gladly embitter the happinefs 
 which his inelegance or indigence deny him to partake; 
 and who has no other end in his advice than to revenge 
 his own mortification, by hindering thofe whom their 
 birth and tafte have fei above him, from the erijoyment 
 of their fuperiority, and bringing them" down to a level 
 ■with himfelf. Rambler. 
 
 Nothing exceeds in ridicule, no doubt, 
 A fool in fafliion, but a fool that's out; 
 His paifion for abfurdity's fo ftrong, 
 He cannot bear a rival in the wrong: 
 The' wrong the mode, comply ; more fewe.is fhewn 
 In wearing others' follies than your own. 
 If what is out of falhion molt you prize, 
 Methinks you fhould endeavor to be wife. Young, 
 
 > A I R OF A M E R I C A. 
 
 Ye blooming daughters of the weftern world, 
 Whofe graceful locks by artlefs hands are curl'd, 
 Whofe limbs of fymmetry, and fnowy breaft. 
 Allure to love, in fimple neatnefs dreft ; 
 Beneath the veil of modefty, who hide 
 The boaft of nature and of virgir; pride — 
 (For beauty needs no meretricious art 
 To find a paffage to the op'ning heart) 
 Oh make your charms ev'n in my fong admix'd, 
 My fong immortal by your charms infpir'd. 
 
 Though lavilh nature fheds each various grace, 
 That forms the figure, or that decks the face- 
 Though health, with innocence, and glee, the while 
 Dance in their eye, and wanton in their fmile — ' 
 
Fair of America. — Fahe Alarms. 139 
 
 Tho'mid the lilly's white, unfolds therore, 
 
 As on their cheek the bud of beauty blows, 
 
 Spontaneous blodom of thetranficnt flufli, 
 
 Which glows and reddens toafcarlet blufh, 
 
 What time the maid, unread in flames and darts, 
 
 Firft feels of love the palpitating ftarts, 
 
 Feels from the heart, life's quicken'd currents glide, 
 
 Her bofom heaving with the bounding tide — 
 
 Though fweet their lips, their features more than fair — 
 
 Though curls luxuriant of untortur'd hair 
 
 Grow long, and add unutterable charms. 
 
 While ev'ry look enraptures and alarms ; 
 
 Yet fomethingftill beyond th' exterior form, 
 
 With goodnefs fraught, with animation warra, 
 
 Infpires their aflions ; dignifies their mien ; 
 
 Gilds ev'ry hour ; and beautifies each fcene. 
 
 'Tis thofe p^cdions of fuperior kind. 
 
 The moral ofauties which adorn the mind : 
 
 'Tis thofe enchanting founds mellifluous hun^. 
 
 In words of truth and kindnefs on their tongue — 
 
 'Tis delicacy gives their charms new worth, 
 
 And calls the lovelinefs of beauty forth ; 
 
 'Tis the mild influence beaming from their eves. 
 
 Like vernal fun-beams, round coerulian flcies j 
 
 Bright emanations of the fpotiefs foul. 
 
 Which warm, and cheer, and vivify the whole 
 
 . Humphreys. 
 
 FALSE ALARMS. 
 
 . The proud fupporters of tyranny, in which they 
 hope to partake, have always ufed falfe alarms, falfe 
 plots, cunningly-contrived nicknames and watchwords, 
 to fet the unthinking people againft thofe who were* 
 promoting their greateft good. 1 
 When Chrifl began to preach, we read, in the fbv- 
 enth chapter of St. Luke, that the multitude and the 
 publicans heard him ; but the fcribes and the pharifecs 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 rejeSied the counfel of God towards them. They, like 
 aU perfons of (imilar temper and rank, fiourifhing by 
 abufes, could not bear innovation. 
 
 The moft powerful argument they ufed againfl him 
 
 v/as this quefiion : -iiave any the rulers and the 
 
 pharisees believed in him P In modern times the quef- 
 lion would have been, have any perfons of fafhion and 
 diftinclion given countenance to him I Does rny 
 lord — or my lady — or Sir Harry go to hear him 
 preach ? — Or is he fomebody whom nobody knows ? 
 —Such is the language of t!ie fpirit of defpotifm, in 
 iill times and countries. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 GENTLENESSofADDRESS. 
 
 The foftefl and sentleft addrefs to the erroneous, is 
 the bed way to convince them of ty^ir miftake. 
 Sometimes 'tis necelTary to reprefeiit to your opponent, 
 that he is not far ofF from the truth, and that you 
 would fain draw him a little nearer to it; commend 
 and eftablifh whatevef he fays that is juft and true, as 
 our blelfed Saviour treated the young Tcribe, when he 
 anfvvered well concerning the two great command- 
 ments ; '*Thou art not far, fays our Lord, from the 
 *' kingdom of heaven," Mar-^ xii. 34. Imitate the 
 inildnefs and condudi of the blefled Jefus. 
 
 Come as neai to your opponent as you can in all your 
 propofuions, and yield to him as much as you dare, in 
 a confiftence with truth and juitice. 
 
 'Tis a very great and fatal miftake in perfons who 
 attempt to convince or reconcile others to their party, 
 when they make the difference appear as wide as poi- 
 iible: this is lliocking to any perfon who is to be con- 
 vinced, he will choofe rather to keep and maintain his 
 own opinions, if he cannot come into yours without 
 renouncing and abandoning every thingthat he believed 
 
Gallantry, — Gentleman. — Glory. 
 
 141 
 
 before. Human nature mufl: be flattered a little as 
 well as reafoned with, that fo the argument may be 
 able to come at his underrtanding, which otherwife 
 will be thrufl offat a dillance. If you charge a man 
 with nonfenfe and abfurdities, with herefy and felf- 
 contradidlion, you take a very wrong ftep towards 
 convincing him, 
 
 Remember that error is not to be rooted out of the 
 mind of man by reproachings and railing*!, by flafhes 
 of wit and biting jells, by loud exclamations or iharp 
 ridicule: long declamations and triumph over our 
 neighbour's miftake, will not prove the way to con- 
 vince him ; thefe are figns either of a bad caufe, or of 
 want of arguments or capacity for the defence of a 
 good one. Watts. 
 
 A L L A N T R Y. 
 
 Gallantry, though a fafhionable crime, is a very de- 
 teftable one ; and the wretch who pilfers from us in 
 the hour of di{lrefs, is an innocent charader compared 
 to the plunderer \v!io wantonly robs us of happinefs 
 and reputation. Kelly. 
 
 GENTLEMAN. 
 
 Nor (land fo much on your gentility. 
 
 Which is an airy, and mere borrow a thing, 
 
 From dead meii's duft and bones : and rfone of yours. 
 
 Except you make, or hold it. B. Johnson,- 
 
 GLORY. 
 
 ' • There's not a hoi^iely peafant, 
 
 Ifgrac'd with innocence, iho' nurs'd in toil, 
 But boafts more glory than a tainted grandeur. 
 
 Sava€E. 
 
 N 2 
 
142 
 
 American Monito'r, 
 
 . -Real glory 
 
 Springs from the filent conquefi: of ourfelves j 
 
 And without that the conqueror is nought 
 
 But the firfl flavc. Thomson, 
 
 GOOD BREEDING 
 
 Is not confined to externals, much lefs to any par- 
 ticular drefs or attitude of the body ; it is the art of 
 pleafing, or contributing as much as pofilble to the eafe 
 and happinefs of thofe with whom you converfe. 
 
 ^ FlELDINS. 
 
 Perhaps the fummary of good breeding may be re- 
 duced to this rule, " behave unto all men, as you would 
 they fhould behave unto you. " — This will moll: cer- 
 tainly oblige us te treat ail mankind with the utmoft 
 civility and refpe(£l, there being nothing which we 
 defire more, than to be treated fo by them. The 
 ambitious, the covetous, the proud, the vain, the angry, 
 the debauchee, the glutton, are all loft in the charafter 
 of the well bred man ; or if nature (hould now and then 
 venture to peep forth, flie withdravv's in an inftant, and 
 doth not ihew enough of herfelf to become ridiculous, 
 
 Hid. 
 
 G O D- 
 
 It is not fo with him that all things knows 
 As 'tis with us, that fquareour guefs by fhews : 
 But moil it is prefufnption in us, when 
 The help of Heav'n we count the a<5l of men. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Tho^all the doors are fure, and all our fervants 
 As fore bound with their fleeps, yet there is one 
 That wakes above, whofe eye no fleep can bind. 
 He fees thro' doors, and darknefs, and our thoughts j 
 
God. 
 
 1 
 
 And therefore as we fhould avoid with fear, 
 To think amifs ourfelves before his fearch, 
 So fhould we be as cautious to (hun 
 A!I cauff , that others think not ill of us. 
 
 Chapman. 
 
 That mind muft furely err, whofe narrow fcope 
 
 Confines religion to a place or clime ; 
 
 A power unknown, thataftuates the world, 
 
 Whofe eye is juft, whofe ev'ry thought is wifdom. 
 
 Regards alone the tribute of the heart ; 
 
 Pride in his awful fight fhrinks back appall'd ; 
 
 Humility is eldeft born of Virtue, 
 
 And claims her birth-right at the throne of Heav'n. 
 
 Murphy. 
 
 Thou didfl, O mighty God ! exift 
 
 Ere time began its race; 
 Before the ample elements 
 
 FiU'd up the void of {pace : 
 
 Before the pond'rous earthly globe 
 
 In fluid air was ftay'd ; 
 Before the ocean's mighty fprings 
 
 Their liquid ftores difplay'd : 
 
 Ere through the gloom of ancient night 
 
 The ftreaks of light appear'd ; 
 Before the high ceJeftial arch 
 
 On ftarry poles was rear'd : 
 
 Before the loud melodious (pheres 
 
 Their tuneful round begun ; 
 Before thelhining roads of heav'n 
 
 Were meafur'd by the fun ! 
 
 jEre thro' the empyrean courts 
 
 One hallelujah rung ; 
 Or to their harps the fons of light 
 
 Ecftatic anthems fung : 
 
144 
 
 American Momior. 
 
 Ere men ador'd, or angels ktievv, 
 
 Or rirais'd thy wondrous name 5 
 Thy blifs, O facred Spring ol life ; 
 
 Thy glory, was the iasne, 
 
 - And wh:.n the pillars of the world 
 With fudden ruin break, 
 And all this vaitand goodly frame 
 Sinks in the mighty wreck ; 
 
 When from her orb the moon ihall ftart^ 
 
 Th' aflonifh'd fun roll back. 
 And all the trembling ftarry lainps 
 
 Their ancient courfe forfake ; 
 
 For ever permanent and fix'd, 
 
 From agitation free, 
 Unchang'd in everlafting years, 
 
 Shall thy exiftence be. Mrs. RowE. 
 
 Should fate command ime to the fartheft verge 
 Of the green earth, to dlftant barbarous climes. 
 Rivers unknown to fong; where firft the fun 
 Gilds Indian mountains, or his fetting beam 
 Flames on th' Atlantic ifles, 'tis nought to me ; 
 Since God is ever prefenr, ever felt, 
 In the void wade as in the city full ; 
 And where He vital fprcads, there mud be joy. 
 W^hen ev'n at laft the folemn hour lhall come, 
 And wing ray myftic flight to future worlds, 
 I cheerful will obey; there with new powers^ 
 Will rlfing wonders fing ! I cannot go 
 Where univerfal love not fmiles around, 
 Suftaining all yon orbs, and all their funs t 
 From seeming evil fiill educing good, 
 And better thence again, and better ftill, 
 In infinite progrefhon. — But I lofe 
 Myftlf in Him, in light ineffable! 
 Come then, expreffive filence, mufe his praife. 
 
 Thomson. 
 
Gaming. — Gratitude. 
 
 145 
 
 GAMING. 
 
 The votaries to gaming Oiould be fuch as xvant 
 helps for converfation ; and none fhould have always 
 cards in their hands, but thofe who have nothing but 
 the weather in their mouths ; tiius gaming would be 
 o[ fervice to the republic of wit, by taking away the 
 encouragers of nonfenfe. Fielding. 
 
 Gaming is a vice the more dangerous as it is de- 
 ceitful ; and, contrary to -every other fpecics of luxury, 
 flatters its votaries with the hopes of increafing their 
 wealth ; To that avarice itfelf is fo far from fecuriiig us 
 againft its temptations, that it often betrays the more 
 tlioughtlefs and giddy part of mankind into them, pro- 
 mifing riches without bounds, and thofe to be acquired 
 by the moll fudden, as well as eafy, and indeed pleafant 
 means. . ' Jhid. 
 
 GRATITUDE. 
 
 The wretch whom gratitude once fails to bind. 
 
 To truth or honor let hiiyj lay no claim ; 
 
 But ftand confefs'd the brute difguis'd in man. 
 
 And whenwewou'd, withutmolt deteftation, 
 
 Single fome moHfter from the traitor-herd, 
 
 'Tis but to faj, ingratitude's his crime, Frowde. 
 
 When gratitude o'erflows the (welling heart. 
 And breathes in free j^nd uncorrupted praiie 
 For benefits receiy'c^': propitious heaven 
 Takes fuch acknowledgment as fragrant incenfe, 
 And doubles all its bleffings. Lyllo. 
 
 GOO D-N A T U R E. 
 
 Good-Hature is that benevolent and amiable tefnper 
 of mind, which difpofes us to feel the misfortunes, and 
 
146 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 enjoy the happinefs of others ; and confequently puflies 
 us on to promote the latter, and prevent the former, 
 and that without abftra6l contemplation on the beauty 
 of virtue, and without the allurements or terrors ot re- 
 ligion. Fielding. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 To hinder infurredlion by driving away the peopfe, 
 and to govern peaceably, by having no fubjeds, is an 
 expedient that argues no great profundity ofpolitrcs. 
 To foften the obdurate, to convince the miftaken, to 
 mollify the refentful, are worthy of a ftatefman ; but it 
 affords a legiflator little felf-applaufe to confider, that 
 where there was formerly an infurreSion, there is now 
 a wildernefs. Johnson. 
 
 The general ftory of mankind will evince, that law- 
 ful and fettled authority is very feldom refilled when 
 it is well employed. Grofs corruption or evident im- 
 becility, is necelTary to thefuppreffion of that reverence, 
 with which the majority of mankind look upon their 
 governors, or thofe whom they fee furroimded by 
 fplendor, and fortified by power. Rambler. 
 
 All government, indeed every human benefit and 
 enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent a6l, is 
 founded on compromife and barter. We balance in- 
 conveniencies ; we give and take ; we remit fome 
 rights, that we may enjoy others ; and, wechufe rather 
 to be happy citizens, than fubtle difputants. As we 
 muft give away fome natural iiber^y, to enjoy civil ad- 
 vaniages ; fo we muft facrifice f )me civil liberties, for 
 the advantages to be derived from the communion and 
 fellowihip of a great empire. But in aril fair dealings* 
 the thing bought, muft bear fome proportion to the 
 purchafe pud. None will barter away the immediate 
 iewelof hisfoul Burke. 
 
Government, 147 
 
 To meliorate the condition of human nature, can 
 be the oniy rational end of government. It can- 
 not be defigned to favor one defcription of men, a mi^ 
 nority, at the expence of all others \ who, having re- 
 ceived life from him who alone can give it, received 
 at the fame time a right to enjoy it in liberty and fecu- 
 rity. This was the charter of God and nature ; which 
 no mortal, however elevated by conqueft or inheri- 
 tance, can annul or violate without impiety. All gov- 
 ernment which makes not the advancement of human 
 happinefs, and the comfort of the individuals who are 
 fubjeil to its control, the prime purpole of its opera- 
 tions, partakes of defpotifm. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 The majority of men are poor and'obfcure. To 
 them all party attachments to names and families, 
 little known as public benefadors, mufl appear 
 at once abfurd and injurious. They are the per- 
 fons who ftand in moft need of prote£lion and 
 afliftance from the powerful. The rich under all gov- 
 ernments, have a thoufand means of procuring either 
 comfort or defence. It is the mafs, the poor and 
 middling ranks, unknown to, and unknowing courts 
 or kings, who require all the alleviation which men 
 enlightened by knowledge, furnifhed with opulence, 
 elevated by rank, can afford to leilen the natural evils 
 'of life, aggravated by the moral and artificial. Govern- 
 ment poueires the power of alleviating, and foraetimes 
 of removing, that moral and phyfical evil which em- 
 bitters exiftence. How deplorable, when government 
 becomes fo perverted, as to increaf^ the evil it was de- 
 figned to cure. Yet this has been, and is now the cafe 
 on a great part of the globe ; infomuch that the learn- 
 ed and judicious Dr. Prideaux, whofe integrity is as 
 well known as his ability, ufed to fay, " that it was a 
 doubt with him, whether the benefit which the world 
 receives from government, was Tufficient to make a- 
 
14-8 
 
 American Monitor- 
 
 mends tar the calamities which it fiiffers from the fol- 
 lies, miftakes, and rnal-adminiftration oi thofe who 
 manage it." J^'^'^' 
 
 Few and evil are our days, even when they proceed 
 to their natural extent, and are attended with the com- 
 mon portion of health and profperity. _ Yet, as if a 
 superfluity of years and happinefs were lavifhed on men, 
 the chief bufinefs ot the greateft part of governments 
 on the whole earth has been to abbreviate life, topoi- 
 fon and embitter its fvveeteft pleafures, and add new 
 pungency to its anguifh. \et fee the falfe glitter oi 
 happinefs, the pomp and parade which fuch govern- 
 ments affume; obferve the gravity and infolence of fu- 
 periority which their minilters, their ftatefmen, and 
 their warriors, ailume, and you would imagine thera 
 a commiffioned regency, lord lieutenants fent by hea- 
 ven to rule this lower world, and to redlify all difor- 
 ders which had efcaped the vigilance of the Deity. 
 The time has been when they have adually claimed 
 the title of God's vicegerents, and have been literally 
 worihipped as gods by the fervile crew of courtiers ; 
 men gradually bowed down by defpotifm from the e- 
 red port of native dignity, and driven by fear to crouch 
 imder the mod degrading of all fuperftition, the poli- 
 tical idolatry of a bafe fellow-creature. Ibid. 
 
 I lay it down as an incontrovertible axiom, that all 
 who are born into the world have a right to be as happy 
 in it as the unavoidable evils of nature, and their own 
 difordered paffions, will allow. The grand objed ot 
 all good government, of all government that is not an 
 ufiirpation, muft be to promote this happinefs, to af* 
 fid every individual in its attainment and fecurity. A 
 government chieiy anxious about the emohimcnts of 
 office, chieHy employed in augmenting its own power 
 and aggrandizing its obfcquious inltruments, whilc_ it 
 negleds the comfort and fafety ot individuals in mid- 
 
Government* 
 
 149 
 
 tile or low life, is defpotic and a nuifance. It is found- 
 ed on folly as well as wickednefs, and, like the freaks 
 ofinfanity, deals mi fchief and mifery around, with- 
 out being able to afcertain or limit its extent and dura- 
 tion. It it fhould not be puniflied as criminal, let it 
 be coerced as dangerous. Let the (Iraight waiflcoat 
 be applied ; but let ment judging fellow men, always 
 fpare the axe. 
 
 For what rational purpofe could we enter into life ? 
 To vex, torment, and flay each other with the fword ? 
 To be and to make miferable? No, I firmly believe, 
 that the great King of kings, intended every fon and 
 daughter of Adam to be as happy as the eternal lavvs of 
 nature, under his control, permit them to be in this 
 fublunary ftate. Execrated and exploded be all ibofe 
 politics, with Machiavel, or the Evil Being, their au- 
 thor, which introduce fyftems of government and man- 
 ners among the great, inconfident with the happinefs 
 of the majority. Muft real tragedies be forever aft- 
 ing on the ftage of human life ? Muft men go on for- 
 ever to be tormentors and executioners of men ? Is 
 the world never to profit by the experience of ages? 
 Muft not even attempts be made to improve the hap- 
 pinefs of life, to improve government, though all arts 
 , and fciences are encouraged in their progrefs to per- 
 feftion ? Muft the grand art, the fiiblimeft fcience, 
 that of meliorating the condition of human nature, be 
 Hationary? No; forbid itreafon, virtue, benevolence, 
 religion! Let the world be made more and more com- 
 fortable, to all who are allowed the glorious privilege 
 of feeing the fun and breathing the liberal air. Ibid^ 
 
 The principal objefls of all rational governmenr, 
 fuch as is intended to promote human happinefs, are 
 two; to preferve peace, and to difFufe pler.iy. Such 
 governnnent will feldom tax the necefTaries of life. It 
 will avoid wars ; and, by fuch humane and wife poli- 
 cy, render taxes on necessaries totally fuperfluous. 
 
 O 
 
150 
 
 American Men! tor. 
 
 Taxes on necessaries are ufually caufed by war. The 
 poor, however, are not eafily excited to infurredlion. 
 It is a bafe calumny which accufes them. They are 
 naturally quiefcent; inclined to fubmimon by their ha- 
 bits, and willing to reverence all their fuperiors who 
 behave to them juftly and kindly. They deferve to be 
 iifed well. They deferve confidence. But oppreffion 
 and perfecution may teach them to lift their gigantic 
 arm, and then vain will be refinance. Let not wars 
 then be wantonly undertaken, which, befides their in- 
 juftice and inhumanity, tend more than any thing dfe, 
 by increafing taxes, to compel infurre<£tion. The 
 poor inan hears great praifes beftowod on the govern- 
 ment he lives under, and perpetual panegyrics on the 
 conftitution. He knows little of general politics. He 
 judges from the effects he feels. Ibid. 
 
 Care muft always be taken to guard againft all inde- 
 pendence in the rulers, on the fentiments of the peo- 
 ple, and to provide, that they fliall adminifter, not 
 their own power, but the powers of government. 
 
 Chipman's Principles of Government. 
 
 By the force of habit, and inveterate national preju- 
 dices, abufes are rendered facred, and not unfrequent- 
 ]y, come to be confidered as rightful privileges ; and 
 thofe inftitutions, which were the offspring of chance 
 or violence, to be extolled as the moft perfed produc- 
 tions of reafon, founded in the original and unalterable 
 principles of nature. Such was the Britifh government, 
 and fuch has been the force of habitual prejudice upon 
 the people of that kingdom. That government has, 
 indeed, received many improvements, with the im- 
 provements of the age ; but they have generally been 
 wrefted by force from the reigning powers, or mt^rPj' 
 fed in a revolution of the crown. Many refpediabie 
 charaders long confidered them as fo many violations 
 of the moft facred rights. The greater part of the na- 
 
Government. 
 
 tion appear futly perfuaded, that all farther improve- 
 ments are impra6ticable, and that becaufe their gov- 
 ernment was once the beft, perhaps, which exifted ia 
 the v/orld, it muft, through all the progreflive advan- 
 ces in knowledge, in morals, and in manners, con- 
 tinue the beft, a pattern of unchanging perfedion, 
 though, in its principles, it is much too limited for 
 the prefent ftate. It is probable that all improvements 
 in the government, will be oppofed and prevented by 
 thofe in power, who are interefted in the prefent or- 
 der of things, till the improvements of an enlightened 
 age, fliall produce a violent conculTion in the combat 
 with ancient prejudices, and ftruggle through a fcene 
 of tumult, outrage, and perhaps civil war, to arrive at 
 fome inconfiderable amelioration, in their conftitu- 
 tion- Ibid. 
 
 The government of the United States of America 
 ■ exhibits a new fcene in the political hiftory of the 
 world; a number of integral republics, each claiming 
 and exercifing all the powers of infernal fovereignty, 
 within the limits of their refpeaive jurifdiaions, 
 formed into one general government, with powers of 
 legiflation for all national purpofes, and the power of 
 executing all their laws, within the feveral ftates, on 
 the individual citizens, and that independently of the 
 local authority. The experiment was new, and the 
 fuccefs has, hitherto, exceeded the moft fanguine ex- 
 pedation of its advocates. A fituation fo complicated, 
 fo different from that of fimple governments, which 
 have been the fubjeft of thefe (ketches, ^will have an 
 efFedl, if not upon the laws of nature, from which the 
 general principles are ultimately derived, yet to give a 
 different modification to thofe principles, owing to 
 the different combinations and relative circumffances 
 of the conftituent parts ; and will have an influence on 
 its organization, and the execution of its laws. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
153 
 
 Ameyican Mantltr. 
 
 That government, that conftitution of fociety, the 
 principles of which dictate thofe laws, and thofe only, 
 which are adapted to the prefent ftate of men and man- 
 ners, and tend to fociai improvement, which are in- 
 iluenced by a fenfe of moral obligation, and fandion- 
 ed by the laws of nature, not oi favage folitary nature, 
 but of fociai nature, in its improved and improvable 
 ibte, is incontrovertibly good. So far as it deviates, 
 it is clearly jaulty. Upon a candid examination, up- 
 on a fair comparifon, it will be found, that a democra- 
 tic republic is alone capable of this pre-eminence of 
 principle. 
 
 Guarantee to every man, the full enjoyment of his 
 natural rights. Banifli all exduiive privileges ; all 
 perpetuities of riches and honors. Leave free the ac- 
 quifition and difpofal of property to fupply the occa- 
 fions of the owner, and to anfwer all claims of right, 
 both of the fociety, and of individuals. To give a fti- 
 mulus to induftry, to provide folace and alliftance, in 
 the laii helplefs ftages of life, and a reward for the at- 
 tentions of humanity, confirm to the owner the power 
 of direaing who (hall fucceed to his right of property, 
 after his death ; but let it be without any limitation, 
 or reilraint upon the future ufe, or difpofal. Divert 
 not the confequences of anions, as to the individual 
 adors, from their proper courfe. Let no preference 
 be given to any one in government, but what his con- 
 du6l can fecure, from the fentiments of his fellow ci- 
 tizens. Or property, left to the difpofal of the law, 
 let a defcent from parents to children, in equal pro- 
 portions, be held a facred principle ot the conltitution. 
 Secure but thefe, and every thing will flow in the 
 channel intended by nature. The operation of the e- 
 qual laws of nature, tend to exclude, or" correal: every 
 dangerous excefs. 
 
Grave. — Gravity. 
 
 ^53 
 
 GRAVE. 
 
 What will they then avail him in the grave? 
 His various policies, refin'd devices, 
 His (ubtle wit, his quick capacious thought 
 Will they go with him to the grave ? No, no ! 
 Why then Ihould he be proud ? Martyn. 
 
 GRAVITY. 
 
 1 tell thee what, Antonio, 
 
 There is a fort of men whofe vifages 
 
 Do cream and mantle like a (landing pond, 
 
 And do a willful ftilnefs entertain 
 
 With purpofe to be drell in an opinion 
 
 Of wifdom, gravity, profound conceit; 
 
 As who fhou'd fay, I am Sir Oracle ; 
 
 And when 1 ope my lips, let no dog bark.. 
 
 Oh, my Antonio 1 1 do know of thofe, 
 
 That therefore only are reputed wife. 
 
 For faying nothing. Shakespeare.. 
 
 Yet fubtle wights (fo blind are mortal men, 
 
 Tho' fatire couch them with her keened pen) 
 
 For ever will hang out a folemn face. 
 
 To put ofFnonfenfe witfi a better grace ; 
 
 As pedlars with fome hero's head make bold,. 
 
 llluftrious mark! where pins are to be fold. 
 
 What's the "bent brow, or neck in thought reclin'd ? 
 
 The body's wifdom to conceal the iKind. 
 
 A man of fenfe can artifice difdain, 
 
 As men of wealth may venture to go plain ; 
 
 And be this truth eternal ne'er forgot, 
 
 SoleiTinity's a cover for a fot. 
 
 1 find the fool, when I behold the fcreen; 
 
 For 'tis the wife man's int'reft to be feea. Young, 
 
 O Q. 
 
S54 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 GREATNESS. 
 
 Could great men thunder, 
 
 As Jove himfelf doth, Jove would ne'er be quiet; 
 
 For every pelting petty officer 
 
 Would ufe his heav'n for thunder : 
 
 Nothing but thunder. Merciful Heav'n 1 
 
 Thou rather with thy fharp and fulph'rous bolt 
 
 Split'U the unwedgeable and gnarled oak, 
 
 Than the foft myrtle: O, but man I proud man I 
 
 Drefs'd in a little brief authority, 
 
 (Moft ignorant of what lies molt aflur'd. 
 
 His glaily elfence,) like an angry ape. 
 
 Plays fuch fantaftic tricks before high heav'n, 
 
 As make the angels weep : who with our fpleens 
 
 V/ ould all themfelves laugh mortal. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
 Farewell, along farewell to all my greatnefs 1 
 This is the ftate of man ; to day he puts forth 
 The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow blodoms. 
 And bears his blufhing honours thick upon him ; 
 The third day comes a frofl, a killing froft ^ 
 And when he thinks, good eafy man, fuUfurely 
 His greatnefs is a ripening, nips his root ; 
 And then he falls as I do. I have ventur'd, 
 jLike little wanton boys that fwim on bladders, 
 Thefe many fummers in a fea of glory j 
 But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride 
 At length broke under me, and now has left me, 
 Vv'^eary and old with fervice, to the mercy 
 Of a rudeftream, that mufl: forever hide me. 
 Vain pomp and glory of this world, i hate ye! 
 I feel my heart new opened. Ibid. 
 
 — — — Since by your greatnefs, you 
 
 Are nearer heav'n in place, be nearer it 
 
 In goodncfs. Rich men Ibotild tranfcend the poor 
 
Greatness. 
 
 *55 
 
 As clouds th' earth ; rais'd by the comfort of 
 The fun, to water dry and barren grounds. 
 
 TOURNEUR, 
 
 They that are great and worthy to be fo, 
 
 Hide not their rays from meaneft plants that grow. 
 
 Why is the fun fet on a throne lo high, 
 
 But to give light to each inferior eye ? 
 
 His radiant eyes diftributc lively grace 
 
 To all according to their worth and place; 
 
 And from the humble ground thefe vapours drain. 
 
 Which are fent down in fruitful drops of rain. 
 
 Sir JoHK Beaumont. 
 
 Oh greatnefs ! bane of virtue and honor ! 
 tSure great and good can never meet in one. 
 Who would not rather wiOi in homely cells. 
 Or meanefl: cottages to lead his life, 
 Where dwells content, ineftimable prize ! Tracy. 
 
 What a fcene 
 
 Of folemn mockery is all human grandeur ? 
 Thus worfhipp'd, thus exalted by the breath 
 Of adulation, are my paffions footh'd ? 
 My fecret pangs alTwag'd? The peafant-hind 
 Who drives his camel o'er the burning wafte. 
 With heat and hunger fmote, knows happier days, 
 And founder nights than I . Mallet^ 
 
 Thrice happy they, who Heap in humble life. 
 Beneath the dorm ambition blows. 'Tis meet 
 The great fhould have the fame of happinefs, 
 The confolation of a little envy ; 
 'Tis all their pay, for thofe fuperior cares, 
 Thofe pangs of heart, their vafiTals ne'er can feel. 
 
 Young. 
 
 He that becomes acquainted and is inverted with 
 authority and influence, will in a Oiort time be con- 
 
156 American Moniior. 
 
 vinced, that, in proportion as the power of doing well 
 is enlarged, the temptations to do ill are multiplied and 
 enforced. Rambler. 
 
 The awe which great a£lions or abilities imprefs, 
 will be inevitably diminifhed by acquaintance, though 
 nothing either mean or criminal fhould be found ; be- 
 caufe we do not eafily confider him as great whom our 
 own eyes fhew us to be little; nor labour to keep 
 prefent to our thoughts the latent excellencies of him 
 who (hares with us all our weaknefles and many of our 
 follies ; who, like us, is delighted with flight amufe- 
 ments, bufied with trifling employments, and difturbed 
 by little vexations. Idler. 
 
 GREAT ONES. 
 
 There is nothing which I can fo reluctantly pardon 
 in the great ones of this world, as the little value they 
 entertain for the life of a man. Property, if feized or 
 lofl, may be reflored ; and without property, man may 
 enjoy a thoul'and delightful pleafures of exiftence. 
 The fun fhines as warmly on the poor as on the rich;, 
 and the gale of health breathes its balfam into the cot- 
 tage cafementon the heath, no lefs fweetly and falubri- 
 oiifly than into the portals of the palace. But can the 
 lords of this world, who are fo lavifh of the lives of 
 their inferiors, with all their boafted power, give the 
 cold heart to beat again, or relume the light of the eye 
 once dimmed by the fliades of death ? Accurfed defpots, 
 &ew ine your authority for taking away that which ye 
 T5ever gave, aud cannot give; for undoing the work of 
 God, and extinguilhing the lamp of life which was il- 
 luminated with a ray from heaven. Where is your 
 charter to privilege murder } You do the work of Sa- 
 tan, who was a dertroyer ; and your right, if you poifefs 
 any, mnfl have originated from the father of mifchief 
 and mvfery. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
Grief, i^f 
 
 "The common people," fays a fenfible author, 
 " generally think th^lgreat men havegrea/ minds, and 
 fcorn /wf adlions ; which judgment is fo falfe, that 
 thebafeftand worft of adtions have been done by thofe 
 csiWed great men. They have often difturbed, deceived 
 and pillaged the world ; and he who is capable of the high- 
 eft mifchief is capable of the meaneft. He who plun- 
 ders a country ol a million of money would, in fuitabie 
 circumftances, fteal a filver fpoon ; and a conqueror, 
 who ftands and pillages a kingdom, would, in an hum- 
 bler fituation, rifle a portmanteau." 1 (hould not, 
 therefore, choofe to expofe my watch or purfe in a 
 crowd, to thofe men who have plundered Poland, if, 
 inftead of pofifelling a crown of jewels, and the pocket 
 ot fubmiflive nations, they had been in the circumftan- 
 ces of a Barrington. Nor, though men fhoiild be cal- 
 led honorable, will it be fafe to truft our liberties to 
 their honor, without fome collateral fecurity. Ibid. 
 
 GRIEF. 
 
 But know, young prince, that valor foars above 
 What the vi'orld calls misfortune and afflidion ; 
 Thefeare not ills, elfe they would never fall 
 On heaven's firft fav'rites,'and the beft of men. 
 Heaven in bounty works up florms about us. 
 That give mankind occafion to exert 
 Their hidden ftrength, and throw out into pradlce 
 Virtues that fliun the day, and He conceal'd 
 In the fmooth feafons and the calms of life. 
 
 Addison. 
 
 Let us not, Lucia, aggravate our forrows, 
 
 But to kind heav'n permit th' event of things: 
 
 Our lives difcolor'd with the prefent woes, 
 
 May ftill grow bright and fmile with happier hours. 
 
 So the pure limpid ftream, when foul with ftains 
 
 Ofrufhing torrents, and defcending rains, 
 
158 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Works Itfelf clear, and as it runs refines, 
 Till by degrees the floating mirror fliines; 
 Refleds each flower that on the border grows, 
 And a new heav'n in its fair bofora fhows. Ibid. 
 
 GUILT. 
 
 The guilty ever are moft hard to pardon ; 
 
 Vice makes them ftubborn, haughty, and remorfelefs; 
 
 And as their views all centre in felf-lovs, 
 
 Soon hate what once controuls that darling paffion. 
 
 E. Haywood. 
 
 As by degrees from long, tho' gentle rains. 
 
 Great floods arife, and overflow the plains ; 
 
 So men from little faults to great proceed, 
 
 Guilt grows on guilt, and crimes do crimes fucceed. 
 
 WANDESFokD. 
 
 Fear of deteflion, what a curfe art thou ! O, could 
 the young and artlefs mind but know the agonies that 
 dwell with guilt, it would prefer the humbleft lot with 
 peace, to all that fplendid vice can e'er beftow. 
 
 Griffith. 
 
 GOOD SENSE. 
 
 Good-fenfe is a fedate and quiefcent quality, which 
 manages its pofleflions well, but does not increafe 
 them; it collects few materials for its own operations, 
 and preferves fafety, but never gains fupremacy. 
 
 JOHNSONi 
 
 GOOD HUMOUR. 
 
 Trufl; not too much your now refiftlefs charms, 
 Thofe, age or ficknefs, foon or late, difarms j 
 
Good Humour, 
 
 159 
 
 Good humour only teaches charms tolafl, 
 
 Still makes new conquerts, and maintains the part : 
 
 Love rais'd on beauty will like Uiat decay, 
 
 Our hearts may bear its {lender chain a day. 
 
 As flow'ry bands in wantonnefs are worn ; 
 
 A morning's pleafure, and at evening torn : 
 
 This binds in ties more eafy yet more ftrong 
 
 The willing heart, and only holds it long. Pope. 
 
 Good-humour may be defined, a habit of being 
 pleafed ; a conftant and perennial foftnefs of manner, 
 eafinefs of approach, and fuavity of difpofition ; like 
 that which every one perceives in himfelf, when the 
 firft tranfports ot new felicity have fubfided, and his 
 thoughts are only kept in motion by a flow fucceflion 
 of foft impulfes. Rambler. 
 
 Surely nothing can be more unreafonable than to 
 lofe the will to pleafe, when we are confcious of the 
 power, or (hew more cruelty than to choofe any kind 
 of influence before that of kindnefs and good-humour. 
 He that regards the welfare of others, Ihould make his 
 virtue approachable, that it may be loved and copied ; 
 and he that confiders the wants which every man feeh, 
 or will feel, of external afliftance, muft rather wifli to 
 be furrounded by thofe that love him, than by thofe 
 that admire his excellencies or folicit his favours; for 
 admiration ceafes with novelty, and intereft gains its 
 end and retires. A man whofe great qualities want 
 the ornament of fuperficial attractions, is like a naked 
 mountain with mines of gold, which will be frequent- 
 ed only till the treafure is exhaufted. Ibid. 
 
 Nothing can more fhew the value of good-humour^ 
 than that it recommends thofe who are deftitute of all 
 other excellencies, and procures regard to the trifling, 
 . j^-iendfaip to the worthlefs, and afledlion to the dull. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
Amerkan Monitor. 
 
 GAIETY. 
 
 Gaiety is to good-humour as animal perfumes to 
 vegetable fragrance. The one overpowers weak fpir- 
 its, the other recreates and revives them. Gaiety fel- 
 dom fails to give fome pain ; the hearers either ftraitt 
 their faculties to accompany its towerings, or are left 
 behind in envy or defpair. Good-humour boafts no 
 faculties, which every one does not believe in his own 
 power, and plcafes principally by not offending. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 Whom call we gay r That honor has been long 
 The boaft of mere pretenders to the name, 
 The innocent are gay — the lark is gay 
 That dries his feathers faturate with dew 
 Beneath the rofy cloud, while yet the beams 
 Of day-fpring overflioot his humble neft. 
 The peafant too, a witnefs of his long, 
 Himfelf a fongfter, is as gay as he. 
 But fave me from the gaiety of thofe 
 Whofe head-achs nail them to a noon-day bed ; 
 And fave me too from theirs whofe haggard eyes 
 Flafh defperation, and betray their pangs 
 For property ftripp'd off by cruel chance ; 
 From gaiety that fills the bones with pain, 
 The mouth with blafphemy. the heart with woe. 
 
 C0WPER» 
 
 GYPSIES. 
 
 I fee a column of flow rifing fmoke 
 O'er top the lofty wood that fkirts the wild. 
 A vagabond ufelefs tribe there eat 
 Their miferable meal. A kettle flung 
 Between two poles upon a flick tranfverfe. 
 Receives the raorfel j flefh obfcene of dog. 
 
Gypsies. — Honesiy. 
 
 Or vermin, or at beft, of cock purloin'd 
 
 From his accuftom'd perch. Hard faring race ; 
 
 They pick their fuel out of ev'ry hedge, 
 
 Which, kindled with dry leaves, juft faves unquench'd 
 
 The fpark of life. The fportive wind blows wide 
 
 Their fiutt'ring rags, and Ihows a tawny fkin, 
 
 The vellum of the pedigree they claim. 
 
 Great {kill have they in palmiftry, and more 
 
 To conjure clean away the gold they touch. 
 
 Conveying worthlefs drofs into its place. 
 
 Loud when they beg, dumb only when theyfleaL 
 
 Strange! that a creature rational, and caft 
 
 Inhuman mould, fhould brutalize by choice 
 
 His nature, and though capable of arts 
 
 By which the world might profit and himfelf. 
 
 Self banifh'd from fociety, prefer 
 
 Such fqualid floth to honorable toil. 
 
 Yet even thefe, though feigning ficknefs oft 
 
 They fwathe the forehead, drag the limping limb 
 
 And vex their flefh with artificial fores. 
 
 Can change their whine iato a mirthful note 
 
 When fafe occafion offers, and with dance 
 
 And muficof the bladder and the bag 
 
 Beguile their woes, and make the woods refound. 
 
 Such health and gaiety of heart enjoy 
 
 The houfelefs rovers of thy fylvan world ; 
 
 And breathing wholefome air, and wand'ring much. 
 
 Need other phyfic none to heal th' efFedls 
 
 Of loathfome diet, penury, and cold, Ibid. 
 
 HONESTY. 
 
 The man who paufes on his honefly ' 
 
 Wants little of the villain. Martyn. 
 
 Be honefty our riches. Are we mean 
 And humbly born ? the true heart makes us noble. 
 Thefe hands can toil, can fbw the ground and reap 
 
 P 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 For ibee and thy fweet babes ; our daily labour 
 Is daily wealth, it finds us bread and raiment. 
 Could Danilh gold do more ? Mallet. 
 
 HONOUR. 
 
 Let none prefume 
 
 To wear an unde(erved dignity : 
 
 O that eftates, degrees, and offices, 
 
 Were not derived corruptly ; that clear honor 
 
 Were purchas'd by the merit of the wearer ! 
 
 How many then fliould cover, that ftand bare ? 
 
 How many be commanded, that command ? 
 
 How much low peafantry would then be glean'd 
 
 From the true feed of honor ? How much honor 
 
 Pick'd from the chaff and ruin of the times, 
 
 To be new vann'd ? Shakespeare. 
 
 Mine honor is my life, both grow in one ; 
 Take honor from me, and my life is done. 
 Then, dear my liege, mine honor let me try ; 
 In that 1 live, and for that will I die. Ibid. 
 
 A. Speak the hefght of honor. 
 
 B. No man to offend. 
 
 Ne'er to reveal the fecrets of a friend ; 
 
 Rather to fuffer than to do a wrong : 
 
 To make the heart no ftranger io ilie tongue % 
 
 Provok'd, not to betray an enemy ; 
 
 Nor eat his meat, I choak with flattery ; 
 
 Blufl^efs to tell wherefore I wear my fears, 
 
 Or for wy confcience, or my country's wars: 
 
 To aim at'jiift things. If we have wildly run 
 
 Into otleWs.wifh them all undone. 
 
 'Tis poor in grief, for a wrong done, to die : 
 
 Honour to dare to live, and fatisfy. MassingeR 
 
 ^. -H,e was a m.an 
 
 That liv'd up to the ff andard of his honour, 
 
Honour* 
 
 And prized that jewel more than miiles ®f wealth : 
 He'd not have done a (hameful thing but once ; 
 Tho' kept in darknefs from the v/orld, and hidden, 
 He could not have forgiven it to himfcilf. Otway. 
 
 Not all the threats or favours of ac'rown, 
 A prince's whifper, or a tyrant's frown, 
 Can awe thefpirit, or allure the mind 
 Of him who to ftrid honour isinclin'd. 
 Tho' all the pomp and pleafure that does wait 
 On public places and affairs of ftate, 
 Should fondly court him to be bafe and great : 
 With even paflions and with fettled face, 
 He would remove the harlot's falfe embrace. 
 Tho' all the ftorms and tempefts fhould arife. 
 That church-Magicians in their cells devife, 
 And from their fettled bafis nations tear. 
 He would unmov'd the mighty ruin bear , 
 Secure in innocence, contemn them all, 
 And decently array'd in honour fall. 
 
 Earl of Halifax. 
 
 Among the Symerons, or fugitive negroes in the 
 South Seas, being a nation that does not fet them above 
 continual cares for the immediate neceilaries of life, ha 
 that can temper iron beff , is among them moil eRcem- 
 ed : and, perhaps, it would be happy for every nation, 
 \i honours and applauses were as jnftiy diltributed, and 
 he were mod diltinguiihed \vho!e abilities were moil: 
 iifeful to focieiy. How many chimerical titles to pre- 
 cedence, how many falie pretences to rcfpedl, would 
 this rule bring to the ground I Johnson. 
 
 Honor and fhame from no condition^ife : 
 h€i well your parr, there all the honour lies. 
 Fortune in men has fome fmall difF'rence made, 
 One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade ; 
 The cobler apron'd, and the parfon gown'd, 
 
164 Amencan Monitor. 
 
 The friar flooded, and the monarch crown'd. 
 
 *^ What differ more (yon cry) than crown and cowl !" 
 
 1 '11 tell you, friend ! a v/ife man and a fool. 
 
 You'll find, if once the monarch ads the monk, 
 
 Or, cobler-like, the parfon will be drunk, 
 
 Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow ; 
 
 The reft is all but leather and prunella. Pope. 
 
 S7?<f Handsome Deformed L EG. 
 
 There are two forts of people in the world, who 
 with equal degrees of health and wealth, and the other 
 comforts ©f lite, become the one happy, and the other 
 miferable. This arifes very much from the different 
 views in which they confider things, perfons, and e- 
 vents; and the effed of thofe different views upon their 
 (jv/n minds. 
 
 In whatever fituation men can be placed, they may 
 find conveniencies and inconveniencies : in whatever 
 company, they may find perfons and converfation more 
 or lefs pleafing: at whatever table, they may meet 
 with meats and drinks of better and worfe tafie, difhes 
 better and worfe drelfed : in whatever climate, they 
 will find good and bad weather : under whatever gov- 
 ernment, they may find good and bad laws, and good 
 and bad adminiflration of ihofe laws: in whatever po- 
 em, or work of genius, they may lee faults and beau- 
 ties ; in almoft every face, and every perfon, they may 
 difcover fine features and defeds, good and bad 
 mialities. 
 
 Under thefe circumftanccs, the two forts of people 
 above-mentioned, fix their attention— thofe who are 
 difpofed to be^happy, on the conveniencies of things, 
 the pleafant parts of converfation, the well drelfed 
 difhes, the goodnefs of the wines, the nne weather, &c. 
 and enjoy all with chcarfulnefs. Thofe who are to be 
 unhappy, think and fpeak only of the contraries. 
 Hence they are continually difcontented themfeives^ 
 
The Hari^some and Deformed Leg, 1 65 
 
 and, by their remarks, four the plcafures of fociety ; 
 offend perfonally many people, and make themfelves 
 every where difagreeable. If this turn of mind was 
 founded in nature, fwch unhappy perfons would be the 
 more to be pitied. But as the difpofition tocriticife, 
 and to be difgufted, is perhaps taken up originally by 
 imitation, and is, unawares, grown into a habit, which, 
 though at prefent flrong, may neverthelefs be cured, 
 when thofe who have it are convinced of its bad efFedls 
 on their felicity: I hope this little admonition may b» 
 of fervice to them, and put them on changing a habit, 
 which, though in the exercife it is chiefly an a£l of 
 imagination, yet has ferious confequences in life, as it 
 brings on real griefs and misfortunes. For as many 
 are offended by, and nobody loves this fort of people ; 
 no one fhews them more than the mofl common civili- 
 ty and refpedl, and fcarcely that ; and this frequently 
 puts them out of humour, and draws them into dif- 
 putes and contentions. If they aim at obtaining fome 
 advantage in rank or fortune, nobody wilhes them fuc- 
 cefs, or will ftir a ffep, or fpeak a word to favour tiieir 
 pretenfions. If they incur public cenfure or difgrace, 
 no one will defend or excufe, and many join to aggra- 
 vate their mifcondudl, and render them coinpletely 
 odious : if thefe people will not change this bad habit, 
 and condefcend to be pleafed with what is pleafing, 
 without fretting tfiemfelves and others about the con- 
 traries, it is good for others to avoid an acquaintance 
 with them \ which Is always difagreeable, and fome- 
 times very inconvenient, efpecially when one finds 
 one's felf entangled in their quarrels. 
 
 An old philofophical friend of mine was grown 
 from experience, very cautious in this particular, and 
 carefully avoided any intimacy with fuch people. He 
 had, like other philofophers, a thermometer to fhew 
 him the heat of the weather ; and a barometer, to mark 
 when it was likely to prove good or bad j but there be- 
 
 P 2 . 
 
i66 
 
 American Monitor- 
 
 ing no inftrament invented to difcover, at fsrft fight, 
 this unpleafing difpofitioa in a perfon, he, for that 
 purpofe, made ufe of his legs ; one ok which was re- 
 raarkab'y handfome, the other, by fome accident, 
 crooked and deformed. If a ftranger, at the firft inter- 
 view, regarded his ugly leg more than his handfome 
 one, he doubted him. If he fpoke of it, and took no 
 notice of the handfome leg, that was fufficient to deter- 
 mine my philofopher to have no further acquaintance 
 with him. Every body has not this two legged inftrii- 
 ment ; but every one, with a little attention, may ob- 
 ferve figns of that carping, fault-finding difpofition, and 
 take the fame refolution ot avoiding the acquaintance 
 of thofe infedled with it. I therefore advife thofe 
 critical, querulous, difcontented, unhappy people, that 
 if they wifh to be refpe6ted and beloved by others, and 
 happy in themfelves, they fhould leave off looking at ihi 
 ugly kg. ^ Franklin. 
 
 HAPPINESS. 
 
 No happinefs can be where is no reft, 
 
 Th' unknown, iinta!k'd-of man, is only bleft, 
 
 He, as in fome fafe clifF, his cell does keep, 
 
 From thence he views the labour of the deep : 
 
 The gold-fraught veffel, which tnad tempers beat. 
 
 He fees now vainly make to his retreat ; 
 
 And when from far the tenth wave does appear, 
 
 Shrinks up in filent joy he is not there. DrydeN. 
 
 -,To be good is to be happy : Angels 
 Are happier than men, becaufe they're better. 
 Guilt is the fource of forrow 5 'tis the fiend, 
 Th' avenging fiend that follows us behind 
 Wiih whips and ftings : the blefs'd know none of this, 
 But reft ineverlafting peace of mind, 
 And find :he height or all tf.eir heav'n is goodnefs. 
 
 FvOWE; 
 
Happiness, 
 
 What art thou, happinefs, fo fought by a!], 
 So greatly envied, yet fo feldom found i 
 Of what flrange nature is iby connpofition, 
 When gold and grandeur fue (o thee in vain r 
 The prince v/ho leads embattled thoufands forth. 
 And with a nod commands the univerfe, 
 Knows not the language to make thee obey j 
 Tho' he with armies ftrew the hoQile plain, 
 And hew out avenues of death, he (Hll 
 Lofes his way to thee, bccaufe content 
 
 Appears not on the road, to light him to thee : 
 
 Content and happinefs are then the fame ; ^- 
 
 And they are feldom found, but in the bed 
 
 Where unmolefted innocence refides. Havard. 
 
 There is nothing more difficult than to lay down any 
 fixed and certain rules for happinefs, or indeed to 
 judge with any precifion of the happinefs of others 
 from the kROwlcdge of external circumltances. There 
 is fometimes a little speck of black in the brighteft and 
 gayeft colours of fortune, which contaminates and 
 €leadens the whole. On the contrary, when all with- 
 out looks dark and difmal, there is often a secret ray of 
 light within the mind which turns every thing to real 
 joy and gladnefs. , Fielding. 
 
 All natural, and almoft all political evils, are inci- 
 dent alike to the bad or good. They are confounded 
 in the mifery of a famine, and not much diftinguifhed 
 in the fury of a faction. They fink together in a tem- 
 peft, and are driven together from their country by 
 invaders. AH that virtue can afford is quietness of con- 
 science, a fteady profpe£l: of a happier Rate, which will 
 enable us to endure every calamity with patiei)ce. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 The happinefs of the generality of people is nothing 
 if it is not known, and very little if it is not envied. 
 
 \ 
 
i68 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 It is itnponible to fornti a philofophic fyftem ofhap- 
 pinefs which is adapted to every condition in life; 
 fince every perfon who travels in this great purfuit, 
 takes a feparate road. The diiferent colours which 
 fuit different complexions, are not more various than 
 the different pleafures appropriated to particular minds. 
 The various fedts who have pretended to give lelTons 
 to inllt'udl men in happinefs, have defcribed their own 
 particular fenfations without confidering ours, have 
 only loaded their difciples with conftraint, without ad. 
 ding to their real felicity. Goldsmith. 
 
 HUSBAND. 
 
 The fillied fellows are in general the worfl: of huf- 
 bands: and it may be afferted as a fa6t, that a man of 
 fenfe rarely behaves very ill to a wife who deferves very 
 
 well. FlELDINS. 
 
 HEAVEN. 
 
 What a poor value do men fet on heav'n ? 
 Heav'n, the perfedlion of all that can 
 Be faid, or thought, riches, delight, or harmony, 
 Health, beauty ; and all thefe not fubjedt to 
 The wafte of time ; but in their height eternal ; 
 Loft for a penfion, or poor fpot of earth, 
 Favour of greatnefs, or an hour's faint pleafure ; 
 As men, in fcorn olf a true flame that's near. 
 Should run to light their taper at a glow-worm. 
 
 HOPE. 
 
 Hope, with a goodly profpedl feeds the eye, 
 Shews from a rifing ground pofieflion nigh ; 
 Shortens thediflance, or o'erlooks it quite, 
 So e*ify 'tis to travel with the fight. Dstden^ 
 
Hope.—'-HumiUtj, i 
 
 Call Hp your better reafon to your aid. 
 
 And hope the beft : that friendly beam is left 
 
 To chear the wretch, and lighten thro* his forrows 
 
 Nor can he fink fo low, but hope will find him : 
 
 The pleafing profpe£t of a better day 
 
 Shines thro' the gloom of life, and fhortens pain. 
 
 Havard. 
 
 OHope! fweet flatt'rer ! whofe delufive touch 
 Sheds on afflicSted minds the balm of comfort. 
 Relieves the load of poverty, fuftains 
 The captive, bending with the weight of bonds. 
 And fmooths the pillow of difeafe and pain. 
 Send back, th' exploring meflenger with joy 
 And let me hail thee from that friendly grove. 
 
 Glover. 
 
 The wretch condemn'd with life to part. 
 
 Still, dill on hope relies ; 
 And every pang that rends the heart 
 
 Bids expectation rife. 
 Hope, like the glimmering taper's light, 
 
 Adorns and cheers the way ; 
 And (till, as darker grows the night. 
 
 Emits a brighter ray. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 HUMILITY. 
 
 Would I had trod the humble path, and made 
 
 My induftry lefs ambitious: th. ilirub 
 
 Securely grows, the talleft tree ftands mofl? 
 
 In the wind ; and thus we diltinguifh the 
 
 Noble from the bafe : the noble find their 
 
 Lives and deaths ftill troublefome: 
 
 But humility doth fleep, whilft the ftorm 
 
 Grows hoarfe with fcoldins:. Davenant, 
 
American Momlor> 
 
 There are forae that ufe 
 
 Humility to ferve their pride, and feem 
 
 Humble upon their way, to be prouder 
 
 At their wifli'd journey's end. Denham. 
 
 HYPOCRISY. 
 
 Look out of your door, — take notice of that man: 
 fee what difquieiing, intriguing and fhifting, he is 
 content to go through, merely to be thought a man of 
 plain-dealing: — three grains of honefty would fave 
 
 him all this trouble — alas ! he has them not. 
 
 Sterne. 
 
 A hypocrite in fociety lives in the fame apprehenlion 
 with a thief, who lies concealed in the midft of the 
 family he is to rob; for this fancies himfelf perceived 
 when be is leafl: fo ; every motion alarms him ; he 
 "fears he is difcovered, and is lufpicious that everyone 
 who enters the room knows where he is hid, and is 
 coming to feize him. And thus, as nothing hates 
 more violently than fear, many an innocent perfon, 
 whofufpeds no evil intended him» is detefted by him 
 who intends it. Fielding. 
 
 The hypocrite (hews the excellency of virtue by the 
 neceHifv he thinks himfelf under of seeming to be'virtU' 
 oiis. ' Rambler. 
 
 HUMAN DEGRADATION. 
 
 I fee the noble nature of man fo cruelly debafed,— I 
 fee the horfe and the dog in fn many inQ^ncfs raifed to 
 a rank far fuperior to beings whom I muft acknowledge 
 as my fellow-creatures, and whom my heart cannot but 
 embrace with a fraternal affeclion which muft incre%|c 
 with the infults I fee them furTer.—l fee the pride ot 
 power and of rank mounted to fo ungovernable a height 
 
Health. — Human Life, 
 
 in ihofe whom accident has called to dire(5l,4he afTairs 
 of nations, — I fee the faculty of reafon fo completely 
 dormant in both thcfcclaffes, and morality, the indil- 
 penfible bond of iinion among men,.^ effedtually ban- 
 ifhed by the unnatural combinations, wliich in Europe 
 are called focietv, that I have been almoft determined 
 torelinquifn the difagreeable tallc which I hadprefcri- 
 bed to myfelf in the firft part of this work, and return- 
 ing to my country, endeavor in the new world to forget 
 the iniferies of thcold. Barlow. 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 — How fweet is thy return, O healt]\ ! thou rofy 
 cherub ! — my foul leaps forward to meet thee, whofe 
 true value thy abfence can only teach us I — When 
 thou comeft, %mih healing on thy wings ; when every 
 part, and nerve, and artery, are obedient to their 
 office \ and when this complicated machine is fo per- 
 fe£lly harmonized, that we perceive not that we have 
 any part, or nerve, or artery, belonging to us, how 
 fvveetly is the mind then attuned to receive pieafure from 
 every inlet of fenfc 1 
 
 — God of my life ! who numbereft my days, teach 
 me to meet with gratitude, or patience, the good or ill, 
 which in the tide of time fhall float down with them ! 
 but never withdraw from me ihofenative fpirits, which 
 have been the cheering companions of my fexiffeoce) 
 and have fpread a gilding upon every thing around mef 
 — that I may continue to view with rapture, theinex- 
 hauftible volume of nature that is thrown open before^- 
 me; on every page of which is charadered the im:^' 
 prefhon of thy omnipotent hand 1 Keate. ' 
 
 HUMAN LIFE. 
 
 Like as a damafic rofe you fee, 
 Of like the blollom on the tree 5 
 
172 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 Or like the dainty flower in May, 
 Or like tiie morning to the day ; 
 Or like the fun, or like the fliade. 
 Or like the gourd which Jonah had ; 
 E'en fuch is man, v/hofe thread is fpun. 
 Drawn out, and cut, and fo is done; 
 Withers the rofe, the bloflbm blafts, 
 The flower fades, the morning haftes ; 
 The fun doth fet, the ihadows fly, 
 . The grosind ponfumes, and mortals die. 
 Like to the grafs that's newly fprung, 
 Or like a tale that's new begun; 
 Or like a bird tkat's hers to-day. 
 Or like the pearled dew oi May ; 
 Or like an hour, or like a fpan, 
 Or like the finging of a fwan : 
 E'en fuch is man, who lives by breath, 
 Is here, now there, in life and death ; 
 The grafs decays, the tale doth end. 
 The bird is flown, the dews afcend ; 
 The hour is Ihort, the fpan not long, 
 The fwan's near death, man's life is done. 
 
 Like to the bubble in the brook, 
 Or in a glafs much like a look ; 
 Or- like the ihuttle in the hand, 
 Or- like the writing in the fand ; 
 Pr-Hke a thought, or like a dream, 
 Dr.like the gliding of the ftream ; 
 E'en fuch is man, who lives by breathp 
 Is here, novi^ there, in life and death ; 
 Tlrc bubble's burft, the look's forgot, 
 Thefliuttle's flung, the writing's blot; 
 
 i.e., thought is pah, the dream is gone, 
 The'water glides, man's life is done. 
 
 HIRING S O L D 1 E R S. 
 
 God, we r«;ad, made man in his own image ; 
 our Savidur taught us that he was the heir ot immor- 
 
Heredttarj Power. — Human Nature. ^-73 
 
 (ality. God made no diftin6lion of perfons; but 
 behold a being, born to a fceptre, though a poor, puny, 
 fhiveiing mortal like the reft, prefumes to fell, and 
 let out for hire, thefe images of God, to do the v/orlc 
 of butchers, in any caufe, and for any pay-mafter, on 
 any number of unoffending fellow creatures, who arc 
 ftanding up in defence of their hearths, their altars, 
 their wives, rheir children, and their liberty. Great 
 numbers of men, trained to the trade of human butche- 
 ry, are conftantly ready to be let to hire, to carry on 
 the work of defpotifm, and to fupport, by the money 
 they earn in this hellifh employment, the luxurious 
 vices of the wretch who calls them his property. Can 
 that ftate of human affairs be right and proper, which 
 permits a mifcreant, fcarcely worthy the name of a 
 man, funk in effeminacy, the flave of vice, often the 
 moft abominable kind ot vice, ignorant and illiterate, 
 debilitated with difeafe, weak in body as in mind, to 
 have fuch dominion over hundreds of thoufands, his fu- 
 periors by nature, as to let them out for pay, to murder 
 the innocent ftranger in cold blood ? 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 HEREDITARY POWER. 
 
 jNo office or place whatfoever in government, (hall 
 be hereditary — the abilities and integrity requifite in 
 not being tranfmiffible to pofterityor relations. 
 • Conftitution of Nkw-Hampshire. 
 
 H U M ANNA T U R E. 
 
 There is nothing v\'hich I contemplate with greater 
 pleafure than the dignity of human nature, winch of- 
 ten ir.evv^ii^li; in all conditions of life: for notwith- 
 hinding the 'degeneracy and meannefs that iscrept into 
 ' ■ ' " 'hourand occafions in which it breaks 
 
 a 
 
174 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 through its original corruption, and fhews what it once 
 was, and what it will be hereafter. I confider the 
 foul of man as a ruin of a glorious pile of building ; 
 where, amidft great heaps of rubbifh, you meet with 
 noble fragments of fculpture, broken pillars and 
 obelifks, and a magnificence in confufion. Virtue 
 and wifdom are continually employed in clearing the 
 ruins, removing thefe diforderly heaps, recovering the 
 noble pieces that lie buried under them, and adjufting 
 them as well as polfible according to their ancient fym- 
 metry and beauty. A happy education, converfation 
 with the fineft fpirits, looking abroad into the works of 
 nature, and obfervations upon mankind, are the great af- 
 fiftances to this neceflary and glorious wo-rk. But even a- 
 among thofe who have never had the happinefs of any of 
 thefe advantages, there are fometimes fuch exertions of 
 the greatnels that is natural to the mind of man, as fhew 
 capacities and abilities, which only want thefe acciden- 
 tal helps to fetch them out, and fhew^them in a proper 
 light. Spectator. 
 
 IDLENESS. 
 
 _ , What is man, 
 
 If his chief good, and market of his time 
 
 Be but to deep and feed ? A beaft — no more. 
 
 vSure he that made us with fuch large difcourfe, 
 
 Looking before and after, gave us not 
 
 I'hat capability and god-like reafon 
 
 Toruft in us unufed. Shakespeare. 
 
 It is in vain to put wealth within the reach of him 
 who will not flretch out his hand to take it. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 Indolence is one of thofe vices from which thofc 
 whom it once infeds are feldom reformed. 
 
 Rambleh. 
 
Idleness, 
 
 175 
 
 As piiJe is fometimes hid under humility, idlenefs 
 is often covered by turbulence and hurry. He that 
 negiedls his known duty, and real employment, nam- 
 rally endeavors to croud his mind with fomething that 
 may bar out the remembrance of his own folly, .and 
 does any thing but what he ought to do, with eager 
 diligence, that iie may keep himfelf in his own favor. 
 
 Idler. 
 
 Perhaps every man inay date the predominance of 
 thofe defires that difturb his life, and contaminate his 
 confcience, from feme unhappy hour when Uio mucii 
 leifure expofed him to their incurfions; for he has 
 lived with little obfervation, either on himfelf, or 
 others, who does not know that to be idle is to be 
 vicious. Rambler. 
 
 No man is fo much open to conviction as the idler; 
 but there is none on whom it operates fo little. 
 
 Idler. 
 
 Idlenefs can never fecure tranquillity ; tlie call of 
 reafon and of confcience will pierce the ciofefl pavilion 
 of the fluggard, and, though it may not have force ta- 
 drive him from his down, will be loud enough to hin- 
 der him from fieep. Thofe moments which he can- 
 not refolve to make ufeful, by devoting them to the 
 great bufinefs of his being, will ftill be ufurped by 
 powers that will not leave them to his difpofal ; re- 
 morfe and vexation v>'ill feize upon them, and forbid 
 him to enjoy v.'hat he is fo defirous to appropriate. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT of OUR REA- 
 SONING FACULTY. 
 
 Accuflom yourfelf to clear and diftindl ideas, to 
 evident prcpofitions, to Itrong and convincing argu- 
 
176 
 
 Amerkap. Monitor. 
 
 ments. Converfe much with thofe men, and thofe 
 books, and thofe parts of learning, where you meet 
 with the greateft ciearnefs of thought, and force ot 
 reafoning. The mathematical fciences, and particu- 
 larly arithmetic, geometry, and mechanics, abound 
 with thefe advantages : and if there were nothing valu- 
 able in them for the ufes of human life, yet the very 
 fpeculative parts of this fort of learning are well worth 
 our ftudy; for by perpetual examples they teach us to 
 conceive with clearnefs, to conneiSi: our ideas and pro- 
 pofitions in a train ot dependence, to reafon with 
 (trength and demonftration, and to diftinguifh between 
 truth and faHhood. Something of thefe fciences 
 fhould be ftudied by every man who pretends to learn- 
 ing, and that, as Mr. Lode expreiles it, «« not fo 
 much to make us mathematicians, " as to make ns 
 reafonable creatures." Watts. 
 
 INTERCOURS E with M A N K I N D. 
 
 Confine not yourfelf always to one fort of com- 
 pany, or to perfons of the fame party or opinion, ei- 
 ther in matters of learning, religion, or civil life, 
 left, if you fhould happen to be nurfed up or educated 
 in early miftake, you fhouid be confirmed and eftab- 
 lifhed in the fame miftake, by converfing only with 
 perfons of the fame fentiments. A free and general 
 converfation with men of various countries, and. of dif- 
 ferent parties, opinions and pradlices (fo far as may be 
 done fafeiy) is of excellent ufe to u>ndeceive us in many 
 wrong judgments which we may have framed, and to 
 lead us into jufter thoughts. It is faid, when the king 
 of Siam, near China, firft converfed with fome Eu- 
 ropean merchants who fought the favour of trading on 
 his coaft, he enquired of them fome of the common ap- 
 pearances of fummer and winter in their country ; and 
 when they told hini of water growing fo hard in their 
 
Imprecation. -^Imprisonment. 
 
 rivers, that men and horfes, and laden carriages paflTed 
 over it, and that rain fometimes fell down as white and 
 light as feathers, and fometimes almofl as hard as (tones, 
 lie could not believe a fyllable they faid ; for ice, fnow 
 and hail, were names and things utterly unknown to 
 hin'., and to his fubjedls in that hot climate: he there- 
 fore renounced all traffic with fuch fliameful liars, and 
 would not (uffer them to trade with his people. See 
 here the natural elfedts of grofs ignorance. 
 
 Converfatlon with foreigners on various occafions 
 has a happy influence to enlarge our minds, and fet 
 them free from many errors and grofs prejudices we 
 are ready to imbibe concerning them.. Watts. 
 
 IMPRECATION. 
 
 If, ye powers divine! 
 
 Ye mark the movements of this nether world, 
 
 And bring them to account, crufh, crufh thofe vipers^ 
 
 Who, lingled out by a communitj'-. 
 
 To guard their rights, (hall, for a grafp of air. 
 
 Or paltry office, fell them to the foe. Miller. 
 
 IMPRISONMENT, 
 
 Why fliould we murmur to be circumfcrb'd. 
 
 As if it were a new thing to wear fetters ? 
 
 When the whole world was meant but to confine us 5, 
 
 Wherein, who walks from one clime to another. 
 
 Hath but a greater freedom of the prifon : 
 
 Our foul was the firft captive, born to inherit 
 
 But her own chains ; nor can it be difcharg'd, 
 
 Till nature tire with its own weight, and then 
 
 We are but more undone, to be at liberty. 
 
 Shirley. 
 
1''% 
 
 American Monitor- 
 
 I N G R A T I T U D E« 
 
 He has profan'd the facred name of friend 
 
 And worn lit into vilenefs : 
 
 With how fecure a brow, and fpecious form. 
 
 He gilds the fecret villain 1 Sure that face 
 
 \\'"as meant for honefty, but heav'n mifmatch'd it ; 
 
 And furniHi'd treafon out with nature's pomp, 
 
 To make its work more eafy. 
 
 See how he fets his countenance for deceit, 
 
 And promifes a lie before he fpeaks. Dryden. 
 
 • -Where Ingratitude, that fin of npftarts, 
 
 And vice of cowards, once takes root, a thoufand 
 Bafe, grov'ling crimesclinground its monftrousgrowth, 
 Like ivy to old oaks, to hide its rottennefs. 
 
 Madden, 
 
 INJUSTICE. 
 
 The man who wears injuftice by his fide, 
 Tho' pow'rfid millions follow him to war, 
 Combats againlt the odds — againft high heav'n. 
 
 Ha VARD, 
 
 We upbraid the fun whofe father was hanged ; 
 whereas many a man who deferves to be hanged, was 
 never upbraided in his whole life. Fielding. 
 
 INNOCENCE. 
 
 What fironger bread-plate than a heart untainted ? 
 Thrice is he arm'd that has his quarrel juft \ 
 And he but naked, tho' lock'd up in fteel, 
 Whof? confcience with injuftice is corrupted. 
 
 Shakespearf. 
 
Innocence.-^Inde^endetiee. 
 
 179 
 
 We only who with innocence unfliaken, 
 
 Have ftood the aflaults of fort'jne, now are happy : 
 
 Fortho' theworft of inen, by high permiHion, 
 
 A while may f.ourifb, and tfie bell endure 
 
 The (harped trials of exploring mifery, 
 
 Yet let mankind from thefc examples learn, 
 
 That powerful villainy at laft (hall inourn, 
 
 And injur'd virtue triumph in its turn. Trap 
 
 .} 
 
 Virtue, dear friend, needs no defence; 
 The fureft guard is innocence : 
 None knew, till guilt created fear. 
 What darts or poKbn'd arrows were. 
 Integrity undaunted goes 
 Thro' Libyan fands and Scythian fnows. 
 Or where Hydaspes wealthy (ide 
 Pays tribute to the Persian pride. 
 
 Roscommon. 
 
 There are fome reafoners who frequently confound 
 innocence with the mere incn[)acity of guilt ; but he tha^ 
 never faw, or heard, or thought of (Irong liquors, can_ 
 not be propofed as a pattern of fobriety. Johnson^ 
 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Could men but know 
 
 The bleffings which from Independence flow. 
 Could they but have a (hort and tranfient gleam 
 Of liberty, tho' 'twas but in a dreanj, 
 They would no more in bondage bend their knee, 
 But, once made freemen, would be always free. 
 Bred in a cage, far from the feather'd throng, 
 The bird repays his keeper with his fong ; 
 But, if fome playful child fets wide the door. 
 Abroad he flics, and thinks of home no more \ 
 With love of liberty begins to burn. 
 And rather flarves than to his cage return. 
 
ito 
 
 Amirkan Monitor. 
 
 Hail Independence ! — ^tho' thy name's fcarce known, 
 Tho' thou, alas ! art osit of falhion grown, 
 Tho' all defpife thee, I will not defpife, 
 Nor live one moment longer than I prize 
 Thy prefence, and enj«y ; by angry fate 
 Bow'd'down, and almoft crufli'd, thou cam'ft, tho' late> 
 Thou cam'ft upon me, like a fecond birth. 
 And made me know what life was truly worth. 
 
 Hail independence ! — never may my cot, 
 Till I forget thee, be by thee forgot. Churchil. 
 
 — ^ What is life ? 
 
 'Tis not to (talk about, and draw frefli air>- 
 
 From time to time, or gaze upon the fun ; 
 
 *Tis to be free. When liberty is gone. 
 
 Life grows infipid, and has loft its relifh. 
 ****** 
 
 A day, an hour of virtuous liberty. 
 Is worth a whole eternity of bondage. Addison. 
 
 Hail! independence, hail! heav'n's next befl gift, 
 To that of life and an immortal foul ! 
 The life of life! that to the banquet high 
 And fober meal gives tafte \ to the bow'd roof 
 Fair-dream'd repofe, and to the cottage charms. 
 Of public freedom, hail, thou fecret fource ! ^ 
 Whofe flreams, from every quarter confluent, form 
 My better Nile, that nurfes human life. 
 By rills from thee deduc'd, irriguous, fed, 
 The private field looks gay, with nature's wealth 
 Abundant flows, and blooms with each delight 
 That nature craves. Its happy mailer there. 
 The only free-man, walks his pleafmg round: 
 Sweet- featured peace attending ; fearlefs truth i 
 Firm refolution ; goodnefs, bleflingall 
 That can rejoice ; contentment, furefl friend ; 
 And, ftill frefh ftores from Nature's book deriy'd>. 
 Philofophy, companion ever-new» 
 
Instruction of the People. 
 
 Thefe cheer his rural, and furtain or fire, 
 When into a6lion call'd, his bufy hours. 
 Mean-time true-judging moderate defircs, 
 CEconomy and tafte, combin'd direft 
 His clear affairs, and from debauching fiends 
 Secure his little kingdom. Nor can thofe 
 Whom fortune heaps, without thefc virtues, reach 
 That truce with pain, that animated eafe, 
 That feU-enjoyment fpringing from within ; 
 That independence, adlive, or retir'd. 
 Which make the foundeft blifs of man below : 
 But, loft: beneath the rubbilh of their means. 
 And drain'd by wants to nature all unknown, 
 A wandering, taftelefs, gayly-wretched train, 
 Tho' rich are beggars, and tho' noble, (laves. 
 
 My friends ! be firm ! nor let corruption fly 
 Twine round your heart indifToluble chains I 
 The (teel of Brutus burlt the grolTer bonds 
 By Ca;far call o'er Rome; but flill remain'd 
 The fdft enchanting fetters of the mind. 
 And other Cajfars rofe. Determin'd, hold 
 Your independence; for, that once deftroy'd. 
 Unfounded, freedom is a morning dream. 
 That flits asrial from the fpreading eye. Thomso^j- 
 
 INSTRUCTION of the PEOPLE. 
 
 Tlie people fhouid be tinfiured with philofophy and 
 religion ; and learn, under their divine inftru£iion, 
 not to confider titular diftin£lion and enormous riches 
 as the chief good, and indifpenfably requilite to the 
 happinefs oi life. A noble fpirit of perfonal virtue 
 fliould be encouraged in the rifing race. They (hould 
 be taught to feek and find refources in themfeives, in 
 an honed independence, in the poflellion of knowledges 
 in confcious integrity, in manlinefs of fentiment, in 
 contemplation and ftudy, in every thing which adds 
 vigor to the nerves of the mind, and teaches it to deem 
 
l82 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 all honors difgraceful, and all profits vile, which ac- 
 crue, as the reward of bafe compliance, and of a 
 dartardly defertion from the upright (iaudard of truth, 
 the unfpotted banner ot juftice. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism, 
 
 INFORMERS. 
 
 A mercenary informer knows no diftindlion. — Un- 
 der fuch a fyftem, the obnoxious people are flaves, not 
 only to the government, but they live at the mercy of 
 every individual; they are at once the flaves of the 
 whole community, and of every part of it; and the 
 worft and moft unmerciful men are ihofe on whofe 
 goodnefs they mofl depend. 
 
 In this fituation, men not only fhrink from the 
 frowns of the ftern magidrate, but they are obliged 
 to fly from their very places. The feeds of deftru6lion 
 are fown in civil intercourfe, in foetal - hatrifudes. 
 The blood of wholefome kindred is infeded ; their 
 tables and beds are furrounded with fnares ; all the 
 means given by providence to make life fafe and 
 comfortable, are perverted into inftruments of terror 
 and tormejit. This fpecies of univerfal fubferviency, 
 that makes the very fervanl who waits behind your 
 chair the arbiter of your life and fortune, has fuch a 
 tendency to degrade and debafe mankind, and to de- 
 prive him of that allured and liberal rtate of mind, 
 which alone can make us what we ought to be, that 
 I vow to God I would fooner bring myfelf to put a 
 man to immediate death for opinions I difliked, and 
 fo to get rid of the man and his opinios at once, than 
 to fret him with a feverifli being, tainted with the 
 jail diflemper of a contagious fervitude, to keep him 
 above ground, an animated mafs of putrefadion, cor- 
 rupted himfelf, and corrupting all about him. 
 
InsuJl. — Invehtate Abuse, 
 
 183 
 
 INSULT. 
 
 There are innumerable moclc5^f infult, and tokens 
 of contempt, for which it is not 6ary to find a name, 
 which vaniih to nothing in an attempt to defcribe 
 them, and yet may, by continual repetition, make day 
 pafs after day in forrow and in terror. Rambler. 
 
 INVETERATE ABUSES. 
 
 But there is a time, when men will not fufFer bad 
 things becaufe their anceffors have fufFered worfe. 
 There is a time when the hoary head of inveterate 
 abufe will neither draw reverence nor obtain protec- 
 tion. BUKKE, 
 
 ILL BREEDING. 
 
 Ill breeding, fays the abbe Bellegarde, is not a fihgle 
 defeft, it is the refult of many. It is fometimes a 
 grofs ignorance of decorum, or a fiupid indolence, 
 which prevents us from giving to others what is due 
 to them. It is a peevifli malignity, which inclines 
 us to oppofe the inclinations of thofe with whom we 
 converfe. It is the confequence of a foolifh vanity, 
 which hath no complaifance for any other perfon ; the 
 eiTe£l of a proud and whimfical humour, which foars 
 above all the rules of civility ; or laftly, it is produced 
 by a melancholy turn of mind, which pampers itfelt 
 with a rude and difobliging behaviour. 
 
 Fielding. 
 INTEGRITY. 
 
 Integrity without knowledge is weak, and generally 
 ufelefs ; and knowledge without integrity is dangerous 
 and dreadful. Johnson. 
 
American Monilor* 
 
 INDIAN. 
 
 Lo, the poor IndjS':i 1 whofe untutor'd mind 
 Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind ; 
 His foul, proud fcience never taught to rtray 
 Far as the folar walk, or milky way ; 
 Yet fimple nature to his hope has giv'n, 
 Behind the cloud-topt hill, an humbler heav'n; 
 Some fafer world in depth of woods cmbrac'd. 
 Some happier ifland in the wat'ry wade, 
 Where flaves once more their native land behold, 
 No fiends torment, no Chriflians thirll for gold. 
 To be, contents his natural defire, 
 He alks no angel's wing, no feraph's fire: 
 But thinks, admitted to that equal fky, 
 His faithful dog fliall bear him company. Pope, 
 
 IGNORANCE. 
 
 The man who feels himfelf ignorant, fhould, at 
 leaft, be modeft. Johnson. 
 
 AlTuming ignorance is, of all difpofitions, the moft 
 ridiculous : for, in the lame proportion as the real man 
 cf wifdom is preferable to the unlettered ruftic, fo 
 much is the ruftic fuperior to him, who without learn- 
 ing imagines himfelf learned. It were better that fiich 
 a man had never read; for then he might have been 
 confcious of his weakneYs: but the half-learned man, 
 relying upon his ftrength, feldom perceives his wants 
 till he finds his deception paft a cure. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 JUDGE. 
 
 May one be pardon'd, and retain th' offence? 
 In the corrupted currents of this world. 
 Offence's gilded hand may (hove by juftice; 
 
Juryman. — Justice, 
 
 tS 
 
 And oft 'tis feen, the wicked prize itfelf 
 
 Buys out the law ; but 'tis not fo above : 
 
 There, isnofhuffling; there, the adtion lies 
 
 In his true nature, and we ourfelves compell'd, 
 
 Ev'n to the teeth and forehead of our faults, 
 
 To give in evidence. Shakespeare. 
 
 For in a government 
 
 Th' offence is grcateft in the inftrument 
 That hath the pow'r to punifh ; and in laws 
 The author's trefpafs makes the fouleft caufe. 
 
 Nab8. 
 
 JURYMAN. 
 
 An office that requires the purefl: mind! 
 They whom their country choofe for fuch a truft, 
 Upon whofe verdi£l, as on fate, depend 
 Our properties, our lives, and liberties, 
 Shou'd to the awful feat of jufticc bring 
 An ear that's deaf to the deceiver's voice, 
 A breaft untainted, and a hand unftain'd : 
 And he that fills the folemn judgment-feat 
 Shou'd not too rafhiy pafs the dreadful fentence 
 On the accus'd, but weigh each circumftance 
 'Till not a fingle doubt's left in the fcale; 
 Then judge with reafon, and decree with truth. 
 
 Cooke. • 
 
 JUSTICE. 
 
 Of all the virtues, jufticeis the beft ; 
 Valor, without it, is a common pefl : 
 Pirates and thieves, too oft with courage grac'd, 
 Shew us how ill that virtue may be plac'd : 
 Tis our complexion makes us chafte or brave ; 
 Juftice from reafon, and from Heav'n we have : 
 
 R 
 
i86 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 All other virtues dwell but in the blood ; 
 That in the foul, and gives the name of good: 
 y^^j/zV^ the queen of virtues! Waller. 
 
 There is no virtue fo trETly great and god-like as 
 juftice. Moft of the other virtues are the virtues of 
 created beings, or accommodated to our nature as we 
 are" men. Juftice is that which is pradlifed by God 
 himfelf, and to be pradifed in its perfeflion by none 
 but him. Omnifcience and Omnipotence are requi- 
 iite for the full exertion of it. The one to difcover 
 every degree of uprightnefs in thoughts, words, and 
 adiions. The other, to meafure out and impart fuita- 
 ble rewards and puniftiments. 
 
 As, to be perfedly jud is an attribute in the divine 
 nature, to be fo to the utmoft of our abilities is the glory 
 of man. Such a one who has the public adminiftra- 
 tion in his hands, ads like the reprefentative of his 
 maker, in recompenfing the virtuous, and punching 
 the offender. 
 
 When a nation once lofes its regard to juftice ; when 
 they do not look upon it as fomething venerable, holy, 
 and inviolable ; when any of them dare prefume to 
 leifen, affront or terrify thofe who have the diftribution 
 of it in their hands ; when a judge is capable of being 
 influenced by any thing but law, or a caufe may be 
 recommended by any thing that is foreign to its own 
 merits, we may venture to pronounce that fuch a nation 
 is haftening to its ruin. 
 
 1 always rejoice when I fee a tribunal filled with a 
 man of an upright and inflexible temper, who, in the 
 execution of his country's laws, can overcome all pri- 
 vate fear, refentment, folicitation, and even pity itfelf. 
 "Whenever paffion enters into a fentence or decifion, fo 
 far will there be in it a tindure of injuftice. In fhort, 
 juftice difcards party, friendlhip, kindred, and is there- 
 fore always reprefented as blind, that we may fuppofe 
 her thoughts are wholly intent on the equity of a caufe, 
 
Judgment. ig-j 
 
 withtnit being diverted or prejudiced by objects foreign 
 if- Guardian. 
 
 JUDGMENT- 
 
 Nothing is more unjuft than to judge of a man by 
 too (hort an acquaintance, and too flight infpedlion ; 
 for it often happens, that in the loofe and thoughtlefs, 
 and dillipatcd, there is a ftcret radical worth, which 
 may fhoot out by proper cultivation. That the fpaik 
 of heaven, though dimmed and obftriifted, is yet not 
 extinguifhed, but may, by the breath of counfe! and ex- 
 hortation be kindled into a flame. To imagine that 
 every one who is not coinpleteiy good, is irrevocably- 
 abandoned, is to fuppofsthat all ai'e capable of the fame 
 degree of excellence ; it is, indeed, to cxafl from all, 
 that perfedion which none ever can attain. A nd fince 
 the pureft virtue is confiftent with fome vice, and the 
 virtue of the greatefl number, with almoft an equal 
 proportion of contrary qualities, let none too haftilv 
 conclude that all goodnefs is lort, though it may for a 
 time be clouded and overv^helmed \ for mofl minds are 
 the flaves of external circumftances ; and conform to 
 any hand that undertakes to mould them, roil down any 
 torrent of cullom in which they happen to be cauoht, 
 or bend to any importunity that bears hard agalnft 
 ^h^'"' Rambler. 
 
 JEALOUSY OF TYRANNY. 
 
 It may be faid, that a too great jealoufy of liberty is 
 equally dangerous with a too great confidence; that as 
 the latter may plunge us into flavery, the former may 
 into anarchy : I fhould allow fome weight to this 
 objedion, if in the whole courfe of our hiflory, a re- 
 futation, in a fingle inflance, could be produced ofthefe 
 pohtions i that the fpirit of liberty is flow to a6"t, even 
 
American Monltor<, 
 
 againft the wprft princes, and exerts itfelf in favour 
 of.the.beft with more efFed than any other fpirit what- 
 ft>ever. I muft therefore repeat that the keeping aUve 
 tRb jealous fpirit of liberty is a common caufe ; that a 
 deteftation of tyrants, or even of thofe who lean to ty- 
 ranny, is infeparable from this fpirit ; that Charles the 
 Firft' was a tyrant in principle and in adion \ that 
 thofe who labour to reconcile us to his condud and 
 charaaer, would deftroy the fpirit of liberty, and ulti- 
 mately eftabli(h the principle of non-refiltance ; that a 
 junto of mercenaries and court retainers do labour to 
 thefe purpofes ; that it is, therefore, the duty of every 
 common citizen, who has the intereft ol his country 
 at heart, to exert continually whatever force he has to 
 defeat their purpofes ; or, at leaft, weaken their infiu- 
 ence \ for in mechanics, the fmallelt force continually 
 •applied will overcome the moft violent rnotions com< 
 municated to bodies. Gen. Lee. 
 
 KING. ' 
 
 It is the curfe of kings to be attended 
 
 By flaves, that take their humours for a warrant, 
 
 To break into the bloody houfe of ftrife ; 
 
 And, on the winking of authority 
 
 To underftand a law, to know the meaning 
 
 Of dang'rous majefty : when perchance it frowns 
 
 More upon honour than advis'd refpeft. 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 
 Some would think the fouls 
 
 Of princes were brought forth by fome more weighty 
 Caufe than thofe of meaner perfons they are ^ 
 Deceived \ there's the fame hand to them ; the liKS 
 Paflions fway them : the fame reafon that makes 
 A vicar go to law for a tythe pig, 
 And undo his neighbours, makes them fpoil 
 
King. 189 
 
 A whole province, and batter down goodly 
 
 Cities with their cannon. Webster. 
 
 The ftudiesof princes feldom produce great effeds ; 
 for princes draw, with meaner mortals, the lot of un« 
 derftanding ; and fince of many fludents not more than 
 tne can be hoped to advance to perfedion, it is fcarce 
 to be expected to find that a prince. Johnson. 
 
 To enlarge dominions, has been the boaft of many 
 princes ; to diffufe happinefs and fecurity through 
 wide regions has been granted to few. Ibid. 
 
 Monarchs are always furrounded with refined fpirits, 
 fo penetrating, that they frequently difcover in their 
 matters great qualities, invifible to vulgar eyes, and 
 which, did not they publifli them to mankind, would, 
 be unobferved for ever. Ibid.. 
 
 What poor things are kings ! 
 
 What poorer things are nations to obey 
 
 Him, whom a petty paffion does command? 
 
 Fate, why was man made fo ridiculous ? 
 
 Oh! I am mortal. Men but flatter me. 
 
 Oh, Fatel why were not kings made more than men t 
 
 Or why will people have us to be more ? 
 
 Alas! we govern others, but ourfelves 
 
 We cannot rule ; as our eyes that do fee 
 
 All other things, but cannot fee themfelves. 
 
 Fountain.. 
 
 ' Kings are like other mifers. 
 
 Greedy of more: they ufe not what they have. 
 As merchants yent'ringon the faithlefs feas 
 For needlefs wealth, are driven by fudden florms 
 On banks of fands, or dalh'd againft the rocks j 
 And all they have is funk, and loft at once! 
 
 R 2 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 Kings nifli to wars, more faithlefs than the feas ; 
 Where more inconftant fortune waits their arms ; 
 Where, in a moment, one unhappy blow 
 Ruins the progrefs of an age before'. Hopkins. 
 
 Unbounded power and height of greutnefs give 
 
 To kings that luflre which we think divine ; 
 
 The wife who know 'em, know tiiey are but men, 
 
 Nay, fometiraes, weak ones too. Thecroud indeed, 
 
 Who kneel before the image, not the god, 
 
 Worfliip the deity their hands have made. Row£. 
 
 We view the outward glories of a crown ; 
 
 Butdazzl'd with the lullre, cannot fee 
 
 The thorns which line it, and whofe painful prickings 
 
 Embitter all the pompous fweetsof empire. 
 
 Happier the wretch, who at his daily toils, 
 
 Sweats for his homely dinner, than a king 
 
 3n all tlie dangerous pomp of roj^alty ! 
 
 He knows no fears of ftate to damp his joys ; 
 
 No treafon fhakes the humble bed he lies on 
 
 Nor dreads hepoifon in his peaceful bowls: 
 
 He fleeps contented in the guiltlefsarms 
 
 Of his unjealous conlbrt : — Frightful dreams 
 
 Break not his {lumbers, with the fhocking fighS- 
 
 Of bloody daggers, and ideal murders. 
 
 True, he's a llranger to the power of kings; 
 
 But then again, he is as much a ftranger 
 
 To kingly cares and miferies. HiLL» 
 
 Some kings the name of conquerors afliim'd 
 Some to be great, fome to be gods prefum'd. 
 But boundlefs pow'r and arbitrary lull, 
 Made tyrants flill abhor the name of juft :. 
 They (hun'd the praife this God-like virtue gives, 
 And f^ar'd a title that reproach 'd their lives. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
King. rcji 
 
 Kings, who have weak underrtandlngs, bad hearts, 
 and flrong prejudices, and all thefe, as it often happens, 
 inflamed by their pafTions, and rendered incurable by 
 their felf-conceit and prefuinption ; fuch kings are apt 
 to imagine, and they conduct themfelvcs fo. as to make 
 many of their (ubjeds imagine, that the king and the 
 people i-n free governments are rival powers, who (land 
 in, competition with one another, who have different 
 interefts, and muft of courfe have different views : that 
 the rights and privileges of the people are fo many 
 fpoils taken from the rights and- prerogative of the 
 crown ; and that the rules and laws, made for the ex- 
 ercife and fecurity of the former, are fo many dim.inu- 
 (ions of their dignity, and reflraints on their power, 
 A patriot king will fee all this in a far different and 
 much truer light.. He will make one and but one dif- 
 linftion between his rights and thofe of the people: he 
 will look on his to be a truR, and theirs a property; 
 and that his people who had an original right to the 
 whole by the law, of nature,. can have the fole indefea*. 
 fible right to any part, — 
 
 As well might we fay that a fliip is built, and load- 
 ed, and manned, for the fake of any particular pilot, 
 inftead of acknowledging that the pilot is made for the 
 fake of the fhip, her lading and her crew, who are al- 
 ways the owners in the political veflel, as to fay that 
 kingdoms were inffituted for kings, not kings for 
 kingdoms. To carry our allufion higher,, majefty isr 
 not an, inherent, but a reflected right. 
 
 Bo LING BROKE, 
 
 How much do they miflake, how little know 
 Of kings, of kingdoms, and the pains which fiow 
 From royalty, who fancy that a crown, 
 Becaufe it gliftens, muft belin'd with down. 
 With outfide fliow, and vain appearance caught, 
 They look no farther, end bj foUy taught, 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 Prize high the toys of thrones, but never find 
 One of the many cares which lurk behind 
 The gem they worfhip, which a crown adorns, 
 Nor once fufpedl that crown is lin'd with thorns. 
 O might refleflion folly's place fupply 
 Would we one moment ule her piercing eye. 
 Then ftiould we learn what woe from grandeur fprings, 
 And learn to pity not to envy kings 1 Churchill. 
 
 The king — with anxious cares oppr-efs'd. 
 His bofom labours and admits no relt. 
 A glorious wretch, he fweats beneath the weight 
 Of majefty, and gives up eafe for Hate. 
 E'en when his fmiles, which, by the fools of pride. 
 Are treafur'd and preferv'd, from fide to fide. 
 Fly round the court, e'en when, compell'd by form» 
 He feems moft calm, his foul is in a florm I 
 Care, like a fpedre, feen by him alone, 
 With all her neft of vipers, round his throne 
 By day crawls full in view; when night bids fleep» 
 Sweet nurfe of nature, o'er the fenfes creep. 
 When mifery herfelf no more complains. 
 And flaves, if poffible, forget their chains, 
 Tho' his fenfe weakens, tho' his eyes grow dim» 
 That reft which comes to all, comes not to him. 
 E'en at that hour, care, tyrant care, forbids 
 The dew of fleep to fall upon his lids ; 
 From night to night fhe watches at his bed ; 
 Now, as one mop'd, fits brooding o'er his head. 
 Anon fhe ftarts, and, borne on raven's wings, _ 
 
 Croaks forth aloud Sleep was not made for kings . 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Kings are naturally lovers of low company.— -They 
 are fo elevated above all the reft of mankind, that they 
 muft look upon all their fubjeas as on a level. They 
 are rather apt to hate than to love their nobility, on 
 
King. 193 
 
 account of the occafional refiftance to their will, which 
 will be made by their virtue, their petulance, or their 
 pride. It muft indeed be admitted, that many of the 
 nobility are asperfedly willing to ad the part of flat- 
 terers, tale-bearers, parafites, pimps, and bufFoons, as 
 any of the loweft and vilelt of mankind can poffibly be. 
 But they are not properly qualified for this objed of 
 their ambition. The want of a regular education, and 
 early habits, and fome lurking remains of their dignity, 
 will never permit them to become a match for an Ita- 
 lian eunuch, a mountebank, a fidler, a player, or any 
 regular praaitioner of that tribe. The Roman Em- 
 perors, almoft from the beginning, threw tbemfelves 
 into fuch hands, and the mifchief increafed every day 
 till the decline and final ruin of the empire. Burke. 
 
 Great princes have great playthings. Some have 
 play'd 
 
 At hewing mountains into men, and fome 
 
 At building human wonders mountains high. 
 
 vSome haveamus'd the dull fad years of life 
 
 (Life fpept in indolence, and therefore fad.) 
 
 With fchemes of monumental fame, and fought 
 
 By pyramids, and maufoleum pomp, 
 
 Short liv'd themfelves, t' immortalize their bones. 
 
 Some feek diverfion in the tented field, 
 
 And make the forrows of mankind their fport. 
 
 But war's a game, which, were their fubjeas wife, 
 
 Kings wt)uld not play at. Nations would do well 
 
 T' extort their truncheons from the puny hands 
 
 Of heroes, whofe infirm and baby minds 
 
 Are gratify'd with mifchief, and who fpoil, 
 
 Becaufe men fufter it, their toy, the world. 
 
 COWPES. 
 
 If kings were republicans in the proper fenfe, all 
 the people would be rojalifts. But when brilliant 
 
194 
 
 American Manitor, 
 
 honors and rainifterial employments are beftowed os 
 fools and knaves, becaufethey were begotten by ancef- 
 tors whom they difgrace, or poflTefs riches which they 
 abufe, government becomes a nuifance, and the people 
 feel an ariftocracy to be little better than an automaton 
 .machine, for promoting the purpofes of royal or minif- 
 terial defjwtirm. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 Inflead of wondering that fo many kings, un6t and 
 unworthy to be trufled with the government of man- 
 kind, appear in the world, I have been tempted to 
 wonder that there are any tolerable, when I have con- 
 fidered the flattery that environs them mod commonly 
 from the cradle, and the tendency of all thofe falfe no- 
 tions that are inftilled into them by precept and by ex- 
 ample, by the habits of courts, and by the interefted 
 felfifli views of courtiers. They are bred to efteera 
 themfelves of a diftin6l and fuperiorfpecies among men, 
 as men are among animals. 
 
 Louis the P'ourteenth was a ftrong inftance of the 
 c&i£l of this education, which trains up kings to be 
 tyrants, without knowing that they are fo. That op- 
 preffion under which he kept his people, during the 
 whole courfe of a long reign, might proceed, in Tome 
 degree, from the natural haughtinefs of his temper ; but 
 it proceeded, in a greater degree, from the principles 
 and habits of his education. By this he had been 
 brought to look on his kingdom as a patrimony that 
 defcended to him from his ■'nceftors, and that was 
 to be confidered in no other light : fo that when a very 
 confiderable man had difcourfed to him at large of the 
 miferable condition to which his people was reduced, 
 and had frequently ufed this word, I'elal, [the date;] 
 though the king approved the ftubdance of all he kad 
 faid, yet he was fliocked at the frequent repetition of 
 this word, and complained of it as of a kind oif inde- 
 cency to himfeif. 
 
King, 195 
 
 This capital error, in which ahnoft every prince is 
 ponfirmed by his education, has fo great extent and fo 
 general influence, that a right to do every thing iniqui- 
 tous in government may be derived from it. But, as if 
 this was not enough, the chara£lers of princes are fpoil- 
 ed many more ways by their education. 
 
 BoLINGBROKE. 
 
 I am not at all furprifed that in monarchies, cfpe- 
 cially in our own, there fhould be fo few princes wor- 
 thy of efteem. Incircled by corrupters, knaves, and 
 hypocrites, they accuftom themfclves to look upon their 
 fellow creatures with difdain, and to fet no value on a- 
 iiy but the fycophants, who carefs their vices, and live 
 in perpetual inadivity and idlenefs. Such is generally 
 the condition of a monarch. Great men are always 
 fcarce, and great kings ftill more fo. 
 
 Montesquieu. 
 
 Louis XIV. at once the greatefl: and meanefl: of 
 mankind, would have excelled all the monar<:hs in the 
 univerfe, if he had not been corrupted in his youth by 
 bale and ambitious flatterers, A flare during his 
 whole life to pride and vain glory, he never in reality 
 loved his fubjedls even for a moment; yet expe£led 
 at the fame time, like a true defpotic prince, that they 
 fliould facrifice themfelves to his will and pleafure. 
 Intoxicated with power and grandeur, he imagined the 
 whole world was created folely to promote his happi- 
 nefs. He was feared, obeyed, idolized, hated, morti- 
 fied, and abandoned. He lived like a fultan, and died 
 like a woman. 
 
 •It is therefore impoffible there fhould ever be a great 
 man among our kings, who are made brutes and fools 
 of all their lives, by a fet of infamous wretches who 
 furiound and befet them from the cradle to the grave. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
Imeruan Monitor. 
 
 Princes in their infancy, childhood, and youth, are 
 faid to difcover orodigious parts and wit, to fpeak things 
 that furprife and aftoniOi : ftrangc, fo many hopeful 
 princes , and fo many fharaeful kings ! 1 f they happen 
 to die young, they would have been prodigies ot wifdom 
 and virtue ; if they live, they are often prodigies indeed, 
 but of another fort. Swift. 
 
 How dangerous a fituation is royalty, in which the 
 wifeft are often the tools of deceit! A throne is fur- 
 rounded by the train of fubtlety and felf-intereft : inte- 
 grity retires, becaufe fhe will not be introduced by 
 importunity or flattery : virtue, confcious of her own 
 dignity, waits at a diftance till ftie is fought, and princes 
 feldom know where (he may be found; but vice and 
 her attendants are impudent and fraudful, infinuating 
 and officious, {kilful in diffimulation, and ready to re- 
 nounce all principles, and to violate every tie when it 
 becomes necelTary to the gratification of the appetites ot 
 a prince. How wretched is the man who is thus per- 
 petually expofed to the attempts of guilt, by which he 
 inuft inevitably periOi, if he do not renounce the nnulic 
 of adulation, and learn not to be offended by the plain- 
 nefs of truth! Fenelon. 
 
 The leaft fault a king commits produces infinite mif- 
 chief; for it difFufes mifery through a whole people, 
 and fometimes for many generations. Ihid. 
 
 Kings are generally miftruftful and indolent : mif- 
 truftful, by perpetually experiencing the artifices of the 
 defigning and corrupt; and indolent, by the plealures 
 that folicit them, and a habit of leaving all bufinefs to 
 others, without taking the trouble fo much as to thinK 
 for themfelves. 
 
 To princes who have been fpoiled by flattery, every 
 thing that is fincere and honeft appears to be ungra- 
 
cious and auftere. Such princes are eveivv^eak enough 
 to fufpea a want of zeal for their fervice and refpetl for 
 their authority, where they do not find a fervihty that 
 is ready to flatjer them in the abufe of their power. 
 They are offended at all freedom of fpeech, all generoh- 
 ty of fentiment, which they confider as pride, ceniori- 
 onfnefs, and fedition ; and they contraa a falfe 
 '4icacy, which every thing (hort of flattery difappoints 
 anddifgufts. 
 
 Such princes are a terror to mankind and mankind 
 ^ terror to them. They retire from the public eye 
 and immure themfelves in the palace. They love 
 darknefs, and difguife their charaflers, which however 
 are perfedly known ; the malignant curiofity of their 
 fubjeas penetrates every veil and inveffigates every fe- 
 cret ; but he that is thus known by all, know^s nobody. 
 The felf-interefted wretches thatfurround him rejoice 
 to perceive that he is inacceffible ; and a prince that is 
 inacceflible to men is inaccelfible to truth. Thofe 
 who avail themfelves of his blindnefs are bufy to ca- 
 lumniate or to banifh all that would open his eyes. 
 He lives in a kind of favage and unfociable magnifi- 
 cence, always the dupe of that impofition which he at 
 once dreads and deferves. He that converfes only with 
 a fmall number of men, almoft neccflarily adopts their 
 padions and their prejudices: and from paffions and 
 prejudices the beft are not free. He muft alio receive 
 his knowledge by report, and therefore lie at the mercy 
 of tale-bearers, a defpicable and deteflable race, who 
 are nouridied by the poifon that deftroys others; who 
 make what is little great, and what is blamelefs crim- 
 inal, who, rather than not impute evil, invent it ; 
 and who to anfvver their own purpofes, play upon the 
 caufelefs fufpicion and unworthy curiofity of a weak 
 and jealous prince, ' Z'^^^' 
 
American Monitor* 
 
 From the lips of your courtiers you have heard, and 
 hereafter you will much oftener hear, the groffcft flat- 
 tery. Should you do that which the fon of your Have 
 could at any time have done better than yourfelf, they 
 "will aflirm that ^ou have performed a most extraor dinar 
 act. Should you obey your paffions, they will affirm, 
 you have done well. Should you pour forth the blood of 
 your fubje£ts as a river does its waters, they will pro- 
 nounce, you have done well. Should you tax the free 
 air, they will affert you have done well. Should you, 
 powerful as you are, become revengeful, (fill would 
 they proclaim, you had done well. So they told the 
 intoxicated Alexander, when he plunged his dagger in- 
 to the bofom ©f his friend. Thus they add re (Ted Nero, 
 ■when he affaffinated his mother. Mikabeau. 
 
 Memorial to the King of Prussia. 
 
 LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 Experience teaches that thefword, the faggot, exile, 
 and profcriptions, are better calculated to irritate than 
 to heal a dileafe, which, having its fource in the mind, 
 cannot be relieved by remedies that a£l only on the 
 body. The mod efficacious means are found do6irines 
 and repeated inftru£lions, which iriakea ready impref- 
 fion when inculcated with mildnefs. Every thing 
 elfe bows to the fovereign authority of the magiftrates 
 and the prince ; but religion alone is not to be com- 
 juanded. 
 
 What the (foics have fo vauntingly afcribed to their 
 philofophy, religion has a higher claim to. Torments 
 appear trivial to thofe who are animated by religious 
 2,eal : the firmnefs with which it infpires them, dead- 
 ens the fentiment of pain ; nothing they are obliged 
 to futFer for its fake, however aggravated, occaiions 
 them I'urprize ; the knowledge of their ow n ftrengtli 
 enables them to bear every thing, while tbty are per- 
 
Ltlerty of Conscience. 
 
 199 
 
 fuailed that the grace of God fupports them. Though 
 the executioner appear before them, and exhibit to 
 their view the fword and the (take, their nninds are un- 
 daunted ; and regardlefs of the fufFerings that sre 
 preparing for them, they are attentive folely to their 
 duty: all their happinefs is in themfelves, and exter- 
 nal objedls make upon them but a feeble impreflion. 
 
 If Epicurus, whofe fyRem has been fo much decried 
 by other philofophers, has faid of the fage, that if he 
 were (hut up in the brazen bull of Phalaris, he would 
 not fail to declare: *'this fire afFe£ls me not, it is 
 not 1 that burn :" do we imagine that lefs courage 
 was confpicuous in thofe who by various torments 
 were put to death a century ago, or that lefs will be 
 difplayed by future martyrs, if perfecution be contin- 
 ued ? What was faid and done by one of them., when 
 he was fattened to the flake in order to be burned, is 
 worthy our notice. Being upon his knees, he began to 
 fingapfalm, which the fmoke and the flame could 
 fcarcely interrupt; and as the executioner, for fear of 
 terrifying him, lighted the fire behind, he turned and 
 faid : come and kindle it before me : if nre could have 
 terrified me, I fhould not be here ; it depended on ray- 
 felf alone to avoid it" De Thou. 
 
 Whofoever defigns the change of religion in a coun- 
 try or government, by any other means than that of a 
 general converfion of the people, or the greateft part 
 of them, defigns all the mifchiefs to a nation that ufer 
 to ufher in or attend the two greateft diftemipers of ;i 
 ffate, civil war or tyranny ; which are violence, op- 
 preilions, cruelty, rapine, intemperance, injuftice; and, 
 in fhort, the miferable efFufion of human blood, and 
 the confufion of all laws, orders and virtues among 
 men. Such confequences as thefe, 1 doubt, are fome- 
 thing more than the difputed opinions of any nian or 
 any particular afTembly of men, can be worth. 
 
 Sir William Temple. 
 
loo 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 A chrinian church allows all its metr.bers the mofi 
 perfea liberty %f men and chriftians. It is inconfift- 
 ent with perfecution for confcience fake : for it leaves 
 all civil rewards and punilhments to kingdonis, and 
 Hates, and the governors of this vi'orkl. It pretends to 
 BO power over confcienCe, to compel men to obedience; 
 no prifons, no axes, fire, nor fword. It gives its mi- 
 niilers power and authority to command nothing but 
 vvhat is found in the bible. Watts. 
 
 Every individual has a natural and unalienable right 
 to worlhip God according to the didates of his own 
 confcience and reafon^ and no fubje^ fliall be hurt, 
 jnolefted, orreftrained, in his perfon, liberty, or eftate, 
 for worlhipping God in the manner and feafon moft 
 agreeable to the didates of his own confcience, or for 
 his religious profeflion, fcntiments, or perfuafion ; pro- 
 vided he doth not difturb the public peace or difturb 
 
 thers in their religious worfhip. 
 
 Conftitution of Nev/-Hampshire. 
 
 All men have a natural and indefeafible right to 
 worihip Almighty God, according to the diaates of 
 their own confciences ; no man can, of right, be 
 compelled to attend, ered, or fupport any place ot 
 worlliip, or to maintain any miniftry, agamil his con- 
 fent; no human authority can, in any cafe what- 
 ever, control or interfere with the rights of confcience; 
 and no preference fhall ever be given, by law, to 
 any religious eflablifhments or modes of worlhip. 
 
 ConftitUtion of'PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 All men have a natural and unalienable right 
 to worQiip Almighty God according to thediaates ot 
 their own confciences and underUandmg ; and no 
 man ought, or of right can be compelled to attend any 
 religious worfhip, or maintain any mimftry, contrary 
 to, or againft his own free will and confent; and no 
 
Liberty of Conscience* 
 
 101 
 
 .•uthorify can or ought to be vefted in, or affiimed by, 
 any power whatever, that fliall in any cafe interfere 
 with, or in any manner control the right of cofifcience, 
 in the free exercife of religious worfhip. 
 
 Conftiiution of Delaware. 
 
 As il is the duty of every man to worfhip God 
 in fuch manner as he thinks raoft acceptable to him ; 
 all perfons, profefTing the chriftian religion, are equal- 
 ly entitled to protection in their religious liberty ; 
 wherefore no perfon ought by any law^ to be raolefted 
 in his perfon or eflate on account of his religious per— 
 fuafion or profeffion, or for his religious practice ; un- 
 lefs, under colour of religion, any man fhall difturb 
 the good order, peace or fafety of the ftate, or fhall in- 
 fringe the laws of morality, or injure others, in their 
 natural, civil, or religious rights ; nor ought any per- 
 fon to be compelled to frequent or maintain, or Con- 
 tribute, unlefs on contrafl, to maintain any particular 
 place of worfhip,. or any particular miniftry. 
 
 Conftitution of Maryland. 
 
 Ail men have a natural and unalienable right to wor- 
 fhip Almighty God according to the dictates of their 
 own confciences. 
 
 Conftitution of North-Carolina. 
 
 All men have a natural and indefeafible right to 
 ^vorfliip Almighty God according to the dictates ot 
 their own confciences; no man of right can be 
 compelled to atten^^ eredl, or fupport any place of 
 worfhip, or to maintain any miniltry againft his con- 
 fent ; no human authority can in any cafe whatever 
 control or interfere with the rights of confcience;. 
 and no preference fhall ever be given by law to any 
 religious focicties or modes of wor(hip. 
 
 Conftitution of Kentuck-T:.. 
 S 
 
202 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 The civil rights, privileges or capacities or an}' ■ 
 
 citizen ftiall in no ways be diminifiied or enlarged on i 
 
 account of his religion. Ibid, \ 
 
 Civil governors go miferably out of their proper pro- \ 
 
 vince whenever they take upon them the care of truth, | 
 
 or the fapport of any dodrinal points. They are not ■ 
 
 judges of truth, and if they pretend to decide about it, i 
 
 they will decide wrong. It is fuperftition, idolatry, \ 
 
 and nonfenfe, that civil power at prefent fupports I 
 
 alraolt every where, under the idea of fupporting facred | 
 
 truth, and oppofing dangerous error. i 
 
 All the experience of part time proves that the < 
 
 confequence of allowing civil power to judge of the \ 
 
 nature and tendency of doftrines, mull be making it a | 
 
 hindrance to the progrefs of truth, and an enemy to the \ 
 
 improvement of the world. — Anaxagoras was tried ; 
 
 and condemned in Greece for teaching that the fun and j 
 ilars were not deities, but maflfes of corruptible matter. 
 AccufatiQns of the like kind contributed to the death 
 
 of Socrates. The threats of bigots, and the fear of ] 
 
 perfecution, prevented Copernicus from publifliing, | 
 
 during his lifetime, his difcovery of the true fyftem of i 
 
 the world. Galileo was obliged to renounce the doc- j 
 trine of the niotion of the earth, and fuffered a year's 
 imprifonment for having aflerted it. Price. 
 
 Governments, no more than individual men, are in- \ 
 
 fallible. The cabinets of princes, and the parliaments ^ 
 of kingdoms, are often iefs likely to be right in their 
 
 eonclufions than the theorift in his clofet. What fyf- ; 
 
 tern of religion or government has not in its turn been \ 
 
 patronized by national authority ? The confequence ' 
 
 therefore of admitting this authority is, not merely at- ! 
 
 tributing to government a right to impofe fome, but \ 
 
 any or all opinions upon the community. Are Pagan- ; 
 ifm and chriilianity, the religions of Mahomet, Zoro- 
 
 iifttr, and Cosjucius, arc monarchy and ariftocracy in | 
 
Liberty of Conscience. 
 
 203 
 
 ail their forms equally worthy to be perpetuated among 
 mankind? Is it quite certain that the greateft of all 
 human calamities is change ? Has no revolution in 
 government, and no reformation in religion, been pro- 
 du6tive of more benefit than difadvantage r There is 
 no rpecies of reafoning in defence of the fuppreffion ot 
 herefy vi^hich may not be brought back to this mon- 
 flrous principle, that the knowledge of truth, and the 
 introdu£Hon of right principles of policy, are circum- 
 ftances altogether indifferent to the welfare of man- 
 kind. Godwin. 
 
 What bloodfhed and confufion have been occafion- 
 ed from the reign of Henry IV. when the firft penal 
 flatutes were enadted, down to the revolution in- 
 England, by laws made to force confcience ! There is 
 nothing certainly more unreafonable, more inconfiltent 
 with the rights of human nature, more contrary to the 
 fpirit and precepts of the ehriflian religion, more ini- 
 quitous and unjufl, more impolitic, than perfecution. 
 It is againfl natural religion, revealed religion, and 
 found policy. 
 
 Sad experience, and a large mind, taught that great 
 man, the prefident deThou, this doflrine. Let any 
 man read the many admirable things, which he hath 
 dared to advance upon this fubjedl, in the dedication ol 
 his hiftory to Henry IV. of France, (whkh I never 
 read without rapture) and he will be fully convinced,' 
 not only how cruel, but how impolitic it is to perfe- 
 cute for religious opinions. Lord Mansfield, 
 
 The error feems not fufEciently eradicated, that the 
 operations of the mind, as well as the a£ls of the body, 
 are fubjedl to the coercion of the laws. But our 
 rulers can have authority over fuch natural rights 
 only as we have fubmitted to them. The rights of 
 confcience we never fubmitted, we could not fubmitv 
 
204 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 We are anfvverable for them to our God. The legi- 
 timate powers of government extend to fuch ads on- 
 jy as are injurious to others. 
 
 Conftraint may makeaman worfeby making him a 
 hypocrite, but it will never make him a truer man. It 
 may fix him obftinately in his errors, but will not cure 
 them. Reafon and free inquiry are the only efFedual 
 agents againft error. Give a loofe to them, they will 
 fupport the true religion, by bringing every falfe one 
 to their tribunal, to the tefl; of their inveRigation. They 
 are the natural enemies of error, and of error only. 
 
 Jefferson. 
 
 Reafon and experiment have been indulged, and 
 error has fled before them. It is error alone which 
 needs the fupport of government. Truth can ftand by 
 itfelf. Subjed opinion to coercion: whom will you 
 make your inquilitors? Fallible men; men governed 
 by bad paffions, by private as well as public reafons. 
 And why fubjedt it to coercion ? To produce unifor- 
 mity. But is uniformity of opinion defirable ? No 
 more than of face and ftature. Intreduce the bed of 
 Procruftes then, and as there is danger that the large 
 men may beat the fmall, make us all of a fize, by lop- 
 pu)g the former and ftretching the latter. DiiFerence 
 of opinionjs advantageous in religion. The feveral 
 feds perfq^ the office of a cenfor morum over each 
 other. Is uniformity attainable? Millions of inno- 
 cent men, women, and children, fince the introdudion 
 of Chriftianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, im- 
 prifoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards 
 uniformity. What has been the efFed of coercion ? To 
 make one half of the world fools, and the other half 
 hypocrites ; to fupport roguery and error all over the 
 earth. ihid. 
 
 Pennfylvania and New- York, have long fub- 
 fifted without any religious eftabliQiment at all. 
 
Llherty sf Consciena, 
 
 205 
 
 The experiment was new and doubtful when they 
 made it. It has anfwered beyond conception. They 
 flourifti infinitely. Religion is well fupporied ; of va- 
 rious kinds, indeed, but all good enough; all fufficient 
 to preferve peace and order: or if a fe£l arifes, whofe 
 tenets would fubvert morals, good (enfe has fair play, 
 and reafons and laughs it out of doors, without fufFering 
 the ftate to be troubled with it. They do not hang 
 more malefa£tors than we do. They are not more 
 difhirbed with religious dilTeniions. On the contra- 
 ry, their harmony is unparalleled, andcanbe afcribed to 
 nothing hut their unbounded tolerance, becaufe there is 
 no other circumftance in which they differ irom every 
 nation on earth. They have made the happy difcovery, 
 that the way to filence religious difputes, is to take 'no 
 notice of them. Let us too give this experiment fair 
 play, and get rid, while we may, of thofe tyrannical 
 laws. It is true, we are as yet fecured againft them 
 by the fpirit of the times. 1 doubt whether the people 
 of this country would fuffer an execution for herefy, or 
 a three years imprifonment for not comprehending the 
 myfteries of the Trinity. But is the fpirit of the peo- 
 ple an infallible, a permanent reliance? is it govern- 
 ment ? Is this the kind of prote£lion we receive in 
 return lor the rights we give up r Befides, the fpirit of 
 the times may alter, will alter. Our rij^jl v*'iil be- 
 come corrupt, our people carelefs. A ^Igle zealot 
 may commence perfecutor, and better men be his vic- 
 tims. It can never be loo often repeated, that the 
 time for fixing every effential right on a legal bafis is 
 while our rulers are honeif, and ourfelves united. 
 From the conclufion of this war we Hiall be going 
 down hill. It will not then be neceffary to refort eve- 
 ry moment to the people for fupport. They will be 
 forgotten, therefore, and theirrights difregarded. They 
 will forget themfelves, but in the fole faculty or making 
 money, and will never think of uni»ing to effect a due 
 refpedl for their rig,hts. The {hackles, therefore/vvhigli 
 
2c5 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 fhall not be knocked off at the conclufion of this war, 
 will remain on us long, will be made heavier and 
 heavier, till our rights fliall revive or expire in a 
 convulfion. Ibid. 
 
 Almighty God being only Lord of confcience, author 
 of all divine knowledge, faith, and worfliip, who caa 
 only enlighten the minds and convince the underfland- 
 ing of people ; in due reverence to his fovereignty 
 over the fouls of mankind, and the better to unite the 
 Q^ieen's Chriftian fubjecas in intereft and afFe£lion,. 
 BE IT ENACTED, by JOHN EVANS, Efq ; by 
 the Qiieen's royal approbation Lieutenant Governor 
 under WILLIAM PENN, E(q ; abfolute proprieta- 
 rjr and Governor in chief of the province of Pennsylva- 
 nia ^nd territories, by and with the advice and confent 
 of the freemen of the faid province in General AfTembly 
 met, and by the authority of the fame, that no perfon 
 now, or at any time hereafter, dwelling or refiding 
 within this province, who fhall profefs faith in GOD 
 the Father, and in JESUS CHRIST his only Son, and 
 in the HOLY SPIRIT, On© God blefTed forever- 
 more, and fhall acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the 
 Old and New-TeQament to be given by divine infpi- 
 ration, and, when lawfully required, (hall profefs and 
 declare ^h^j^iey will live peaceably under the civil go- 
 vernmentHpall not in any cafe be molefted or prejudi- 
 ced for his or her conscientious perfuafion, nor fhall he 
 or Ihe be at any time compelled to frequent or maintain 
 any religious worfhip-place or miniflry whatfoever^ 
 contrary to his or her mind, but fhall freely and fully 
 enjoy his or her Christian Liberty in all refpeds, with- 
 out moleftation or interruption.'* 
 
 Laws of Pennsylnania. 
 
 • This law is inferted as a tribute of refpeft to the iiluftri- 
 ous Penn, the father of religious liberty \\^ the weftern \v0rl1i. 
 It was the firft law palTed on the landing of ibe emigrants, 
 but was repealed by ^ueen Ahjjb in council. It was re-en- 
 a^cd in 1705. 
 
Liberty of Conscience. 207 
 
 And it came to pafs, after thefe things, that Abra- 
 ham fat in the door of his tent, about the going down 
 of the fun. And behold. a man bent with age, was 
 coming from the way of the wiidernefs, leaning on a 
 flafF. And Abraham arofe, and met him, and faid 
 unto him, turn in, 1 pray thee, and waOi thy feet, and 
 tarry all night, and thou fhalt arife early in the morn- 
 ing, and go on thy way. And the man faid, nay, for 
 I will abide under this tree. But Abraham preffed 
 him greatly ^ fo he turned, and they went into the tent; 
 and Abral»m baked unleaven bread, and they did eat. 
 And when Abraham favv that the man bleffed not God, 
 he faid unto him, wherefore doft thou not worfhip the 
 mofl high God, creator of heaven and earth? And the 
 man anlwercd and faid, I do not worfhip thy God, 
 neither do I call upon his name: for 1 have made to 
 myfelf a god, which abideth always in my houfe, and 
 provideth me with all things. And Abraham's zeal 
 was kindled againft the man, and he arofe and fell up- 
 on him, and drove him forth with blows into the wii- 
 dernefs. And God called unto Abraham, faying, A- 
 braham, where is the ftranger ? And Abraham anfwer- 
 ed and faid, Lord, he would not worfliip thee, neither 
 would he call upon thy name ; therefore have I driven 
 him out from before my face into the wiidernefs. And 
 God faid, have I borne with him thefe kundred and 
 ninety and eight years, and nourifted him, and clothed 
 him, notwith(ianding his rebellion againft me- and 
 could it not thou, who art thyfelf a finner. bear with 
 him one night f* Pranklin. 
 
 * The circumftance which gave rife t© the above elegant 
 and inltruftive morceau, was, it is faid, as follows : Dr. Frank- 
 lin being oiice tc company where the difcourfe turned on the 
 }o,ly ot intolerance and perfecution, hs took up a bible, which 
 was at hand, and opening at Genjfis, he delivered this parable 
 extempore, in confirmation of whdt he bad advanced. The 
 hearers, ack^iowledging it was extremely appofite, exprefled 
 great furprife that fuch a remarkabk palTage of fcripture had 
 fo!oog efcaped theirngtice. 
 
American Monhor, 
 
 LIBERTY AND PROPERTY. 
 
 Liberty, that deareft of names, and property, that 
 belt of charaders, give an additional, and inexprellible 
 charm to everv delightful objed — See how the declin- 
 ing fun has beautified the weftern clouds ; has arrayed 
 th?m in crimfon, and fkirted them with gold. Sucn a 
 re^nement of our domeftic blifs, is property ; fuch an 
 improvement of our public privileges, is hberty— 
 When the lamp of day fhall withdraw his beams, there 
 will ftill remain the fame colleaion of floating vapours; 
 but O' how changed, how gloomy! the carnation 
 ftreaks are faded ; the golden edgings are worn away ; 
 and all the lovely things are loft in a leaden-coloured 
 louring fadnefs. Such would be the afpeft of all thefe 
 fcenes of beauty, and all thefe abodes of pleafure, it 
 expofed continually to the caprice of arbitrary fway. 
 
 LIBERTY. 
 
 - — ^Oh ! give me liberty ! 
 For were ev'n Paradife itfelf my prifon, 
 Still I fiiould long to leap the cryltal walls. 
 
 Dryden, 
 
 Remember, O my friends ! the laws, the rights, 
 The generous plan of power deliver'd down. 
 From age to age, by your renown'd forefathers ; 
 So dearly bought, the price of fo much blood 1 
 O let it never perifti in your hands ! 
 But pioufly tranfmit it to your children. 
 Do thou, great liberty infpire our fouls. 
 And make our lives in thy pofleffion happy ; 
 Or our deaths glorious in thy juft defence. 
 
 Addison. 
 
Llhnty^ 
 
 ^ — When liberty is Toft, 
 
 Letabjedl cowards live ; but in the brave 
 It were a treachery to themfclves, enough 
 To merit chains. Thomson. 
 
 How muft the glorious change transport us all. 
 When into freedom, tyranny is turn'd ? 
 When each may fay his fortune is his own, 
 And fleep in fulnefs of tranquillity ? 
 Then {hall wetalte the fweets of life and eafe. 
 Which happier climes have known : then, then enjov 
 That liberty, which Britain's fmiling ifle 
 So long has boafted thro' a length of years. 
 
 Havard. 
 
 1 'Tis liberty alone, that makes life dear : 
 He does not live at all, who lives to fear. Hi ll. 
 
 O liberty ! heav'n's choice prerogative ! 
 True bond of law! thou focial foul of property 1 
 Thou breath of reafon ! life of life itfelf ! 
 For thee the valiant bleed. O facred liberty ! 
 Wing'd from the fummer's fnare, from flattering ruin, 
 Like the bold ftork you feek the wint'ry (hore. 
 Leave courts, and pomps, and palaces to flaves, 
 Cleave to the cold, and reft upon the ftorm. ^ 
 Upborne by thee, my foul difdain'd the terms 
 Of empire— ofFer'd at the hands of tyrants. 
 With thee 1 fought this fav'rite foil ; with ihee 
 Thefe fav'rite fons I fought ; thy fons, O Irberty, 
 For ev'n anftong the wilds of life you lead them, 
 Lift their low rafted cottage to the clouds. 
 Smile o'er their heaths, and from the mountain tops 
 Jieam glory to the nations. Brooke. 
 
 ~ When he beheld the temple 
 
 Sacred to liberty, he cried aloud- — — 
 
 Here let us faQpfice, my noble friends, 
 
 T 
 
21 o American Monitor^ 
 
 «« To this beft blefling that adorns our Rome 
 To liberty, that makes our name rever'd ; 
 " To facred liberty— the gift of gods — 
 *' To liberty — their gift and their enjoyment ; 
 «• Which, did they want,— they could not be immor- 
 n tal." Hav.\ed. 
 
 The rich man that beholds the brave in chains 
 And pants not for his freedom, is a flave. Hii.L. 
 
 O liberty ! thou goddefs heav'nly-bright ! 
 Profufe of blifs, and pregnant with delight ! 
 Eternal pleafuresin thy prefence reign, 
 And fmiling plenty leads thy wanton train. 
 Eas'd of her load, fubjedion grows more light, 
 And poverty looks chearful in thy fight : 
 Thou mak'ft the gloomy face of nature gay, 
 Giv'it beauty to the fun, and pleafure to the day. 
 
 Addison. 
 
 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flowV 
 Of fleeting life its luftre and perfume. 
 And we are weeds without it. All conftramt. 
 Except what wifdom lays on evil men. 
 Is evil ; hurts the faculties, impedes 
 Their progrefs in the road of fcience ; blmds 
 The eyefight of difcov'ry, and begets 
 In thole that fuffer it, a fordid mind 
 Beftial, a meagre intellea, unfit 
 To be the tenant of man's noble form. Cowper. 
 
 Ina ftateof liberty, every man learns to value himfelf 
 as mani to confider himfelf as ""f "^^^"^^^J" 
 fyftem which himfelf has approved and contributed to 
 eftabliih; and therefore refolves to regulate his o^n 
 behaviour confiftently with its fafety and preservation. 
 He feels as a proprietor, not as a tenant. _ "e ^ve 
 the ftaie becaufe he participates m it. liis obeaienv 
 
Liberty. — Life, 
 
 211 
 
 H4kt {,he cold relu6lant reTult of t^ror ; but the lively, 
 cheerful, and fpkOAtaneous efFe£l of love. The viola- 
 tion of lavvSj. formed on the pure principle of general 
 beneficence, and to which heha5 given his full allent, 
 by a juff and perfe6l reprefentation, he confiders as a 
 crime of the deepelt die. He will inceifantly endea- 
 vour to improve it; and enter ferioufly into all poli- 
 tical debate. In the collifion of, agitated minds, 
 fparks will fometimes be emitted ; but they will only 
 give a favorable light f.nd a genial warmth. They 
 will never produce an iAijurions conflagration. 
 
 r Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 We fliall conclu^ this fubjecl, with obferving the 
 falfehood of the coi"nmon opinion, that no large Aate 
 could ever be modeled into a commonwealth, but that 
 fuch a form of government can only take place in a 
 city or fmall territc^ry. The contrary fcems probable. 
 Though it is more, difficult to form a republican gov- 
 ernment in an ex{_Oiifi\^^C(yiau.v. than-^ix^^ 
 is more facility, whenonce it is formed, of preferving 
 
 it fleady and uniform, without tumult and faction, 
 
 In a large government, which is modeled with malter- 
 ly fkill, there is compafs and room enough to refine the 
 democracy from the lower people who may be admit- 
 ted into the firft eledtions or firft concodfion of the 
 commonwealth, to the higher magiftrates, who direift 
 all the movements. At the fame time, the parts are 
 fo diflant and remote, that it is very difficult, either 
 by intrigue, prejudice, or paffion, to hurry them into 
 any meafures againfl the public intereii. Hume, 
 
 LIFE. 
 
 When I confider life, 'tis all a cheat: 
 Yet fool'd with hope, then favour the deceit; 
 Truft on, and think, to-morrow will repay : 
 To-morrow's falfer than the former day \ 
 
212 
 
 American Momtor, 
 
 Lies more, and while it fays we flial! be blefs'd 
 With fome new joys, cuts off what we po'Iefs'd : 
 Strange cozenage! none would live paft years again. 
 Yet all hope pleafure in what yet remain : 
 And from the dregs of life think to receive 
 What the firft fprightly running could not give, 
 i'm tir'd with waiting for this chymic gold, 
 Which fools us young, and beggars us when old. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 What art thou, life, fo dearly Isjv'd by all ? 
 What are thy charms that thus ti^^e great defirethee, 
 And to retain thee part with pomrtand titles ? 
 To buy thy prefence, the gold walching mifer 
 Will pour his mouldy bags of treafujre out. 
 And grow at once a prodigal. The wretch 
 Ciad withdifeafe and poverty's thin|coat, 
 Yet holds thee faft, tho' painful con^pany. 
 
 0 life ; thou univerfal wifti ; what ravt thou \ 
 
 1 ny morn is greeted by the flocks and herds; 
 And every bird that flatters with its note, 
 Salutes thy rifing fun : Thy noon approaching, 
 Then hafl:e the flies and ev'ry creeping infe<£l 
 To'balk in thy meridian ; that declining 
 
 As quickly they depart, and leave thy evening 
 To mourn the abfent ray : Night at hand,^ 
 Then croaks the raven tonfcience, time mifpent, 
 The owl defpair leems hideous, and the bat 
 Confufson flutters up and down — 
 Life's but a lengthen'd day not worth the waking for. 
 
 IIavard. 
 
 LORDS. 
 
 — — —Ye are lords : 
 
 A lazy, proud, unprofitable crew, 
 
 The vermin, gender'd froiB the rank corruption 
 
 Of a luxurious flate, Cumberland. 
 
Lor 3s. 
 
 213 
 
 The princes of Europe have found out a manner of 
 rewarding their fubje£ls, by prefenting them with a- 
 bout two yards of blue ribbon, which is worn about 
 the flioulder. They who are honoured with this mark 
 of diftindlion are called knights, and the king himfelf 
 is always the head of the order. Should a nobleman 
 happen to lofe his leg in battle, the king -prefents him 
 with two yards of ribbon, and he is paid for the lofs of 
 his limb. Should an ambaflador fpend all his pater- 
 nal fortune, in fupporting the honor of his coimtry a- 
 broad, the king prefents him with two yards of ribbon, 
 which is to be confidered as equivalent to his eftate. 
 In fhort, while an European king has a yard of blue or 
 green ribbon left, he need be under no apprehenfion o£ 
 wanting ftatefmen, generals, and foldiers. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 There is a fet of men in all the ftates of Europe 
 who aiiume from their infancy a pre-eminence, inde- 
 pendent of their moral character. The attention paid 
 them from the moment of their birth, gives them the 
 idea that they are formed for command ; they fooa 
 learn to diftinguilh themfelves as a diftincl fpecies, and 
 being fecure of a certain rank and ftation, take no 
 pains to make themfelves worthy of it. To this in- 
 Ititution we owe fo many indifferent minifters, igno- 
 rant magiftrates, and bad generals. 
 
 Abbe Raynal. 
 
 He is but a poor obferver, who has not feeu that the 
 generality of peers, far from fupporting themfelves in 
 a ftaieof independent greatnefs, are but too apt to fall 
 into an oblivion of their proper dignity, and run head- 
 long into an abjedl fervitude. ' Burke. 
 
 Let ftates that aim at greatnefs take heed how their 
 nobility and gentry do multiply too fa(t : for that ma- 
 ketli the common fubjefl grow to be a peafant and 
 
 r 2 
 
Anm'ican Monitor* 
 
 bafe fwain, driven out oi heart, and in efFe£l but a gen- 
 tlen:ian's labourer. Lord Bacon. 
 
 Princes and lords may flourifh or may fade, 
 A breath can make them as a breath has made 5 
 But a bold peafantry, a nation's pride. 
 When once deftroy'd, can never be fupplied. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 What is a lord? Doth that plain fimple word. 
 Contain fome magic {pell ? As foon as heard. 
 Like an alarm bell on night's dull ear. 
 Doth it {trike louder, and more ftrong appear 
 Than other words ? Whether we will or no. 
 Thro' reafon's court doth it unqueflion'd go 
 E'en on the mention, and of courfe tranfmit 
 Notions of fomething excellent, of wit 
 Pleafing, tho' keen, of humour free, tho' chafte. 
 Of fteriing genius with found judgment grac'd, 
 Of virtue far above temptation's reach, 
 And honour, which no malice can impeach ? 
 Believe it not — 'twas nature's firfl intent, 
 Before their rank became their punilhment. 
 They fhould have pafs'd for men, nor blufh'd to prize 
 The bleffings (he beftow'd.— She gave them eyes, 
 And they could fee — fhe gave them ears, they heard 
 The inftrumentsof flirring, and they ifirr'd — 
 Like us they were defign'd to eat, to drink. 
 To talk, and (ev'ry now and ihen) to think. 
 Til) they, by pride corrupted, for the fake 
 Of fingularity, difclaim'd that make ; 
 Till they, difdaining nature's vulgar mode, 
 Flew off, and ftruck into another road. 
 More fitting quality^ and to our view 
 Came forth a fpecies altogether new, 
 Something we had not known, and could not knoWj 
 Like nothing of God's making here below-— 
 Nature exclaim'd with worader — lords are things, 
 PFhick, never made by me, were made by kings* 
 
'Ltrds, — Love. 
 
 215 
 
 A lord (nor here let cenAire rafhly call 
 My juft contempt of feme, abufe of all \) 
 A mere, mere lord, with nothing but the name, 
 Wealth all his worth, and title all his fame, 
 Lives on another man, himfelf a blank, 
 Thanklefs he lives, or mult fomegrandfire thank 
 For fmuggled honors, and ill-gotten pelf. 
 
 Churchil. 
 
 You fay, a long defcended race, 
 And wealth, and dignity, and power, and place. 
 Make gentlemen, and that your high degree 
 Is much difparag'd to be match'd with me : 
 Know this, my lord, nobility of blood, 
 Is but a glitt'ring and fallacious good ; 
 The nobleman is he whofe noble mind 
 Is fill'd with inborn worth, unborrow'd from his kind. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 Love various minds does varioufly infpire j 
 
 He ftirs in gentle natures gentle fire. 
 
 Like that of incenfe on the altar laid: 
 
 But raging flames tempeftuous fouls invade : 
 
 A fire, which every windy paffion blows. 
 
 With pride it mounts, and with revenge it glows. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 The idle god of love fupinely dreams, 
 Amidft inglorious fhades and purling ftreams; 
 In rofy letters, and fantaftic chains. 
 He binds deluded maids, and fimple fwains ; 
 With foft enjoyments, woos them to forget 
 The hardy toils, and labour of the great : 
 But, if the warlike trumpet's loud alarms 
 To virtuous a6ls excite, and manly arms , 
 
2l6 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 The coward boy avows his abjedl fear, 
 On filken wings fublimc he cuts the air ; V 
 Scar'd at the furious noife and thunder of tjae war. J 
 
 RowE. 
 
 LICENTIOUSNESS. 
 
 Thofe who are poffeffed of exorbitant power, who 
 pant for its extenfion, and tremble at the apprehenfion 
 of lofing it, are always fiifficiently artful to dwell with 
 emphafis, on the evils of licentioufnefs ; under which 
 opprobrious name, they wifh to fligmatize liberty. 
 They defcribe the horrors of anarchy and confufion, in 
 the blackeft colors ; and boldly affirm, that they are 
 the neceflary confequences of entrufting the people 
 with power. Indeed, they hardly condefcend to recog- 
 nize the idea of the people j but whenever they fpeak of 
 the mafs of the community, denominate them the mob, 
 the rabble or the fwinifh multitude. Language is at 
 alofs for appellatives, fignificant of their contempt for 
 thofe who are undiftinguifhed by wealth or titles, and 
 is obliged to content itfelf with fuch words as reptiles, 
 fcuin, dregs, or the many-headed monfter. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 Licentioufnefs and defpotifm are more nearly allied 
 t1ian is commonly imagined. They are both alike in- 
 confiftent with liberty, and the true end of government ; 
 nor is thereany other difference between them, than that 
 one is the licentioufnefs of great men, and the other the 
 licentioufnefs of little men ; or that by one, the perfons 
 and property of a people are fubjedl to outrage and in- 
 vafion from a king, or a lawlefs body of grandees ; and 
 that by the other, they are fubje£l to the like outrages 
 from a lawlefs mob. In avoiding one of thefe evils, 
 mankind have often run into the other. But all well- 
 conftitated governments guard equally againft botfe. 
 
Licentiousness, — Luxury. 
 
 217 
 
 Indeed of the two, the laft is, on feveral accounts, the 
 leaft to be dreaded, and has done the leafl. mirchief. 
 It may truly be faid, if licentioufnefs has deftroyed its 
 thoufands, defpotifm has deftroyed its millions. The 
 former having little power, and no fyftem to fupport 
 it, neceffarily finds its own remedy ; and a people 
 foon get out of the tumult and anarchy attending ir. 
 But a defpotifm, wearing a form of government, and 
 being armed with its force, is an evil not to be con- 
 quered without dreadful ftruggles. It goes on from 
 age to age, debafing the human faculties, levelling all 
 diftin£tions, and preying on the rights and bleffings of 
 fociety. It deferves to be added, that in a ftate diftur- 
 bed by licentioufuefs, there is an animation which is 
 favourable to the human mind, and puts it upon exerting 
 its powers; but in a ftate habituated to defpotifm, all 
 is ftill and torpid. A dark and favage tyranny ftifles 
 every effort of genius, and the mind lofes all its fpirit 
 and dignity. Price. 
 
 LUXURY. 
 
 There, in her den, lay pompous luxury, 
 
 Stretch'd out at length ; no vice could boaft fuch high 
 
 And gen'ral vi6tories as fhe had won : 
 
 Of which, proud trophies there at large were fhewn. 
 
 Befides fmall ftates and kingdoms ruined, 
 
 Thofe mighty monarchies, that had o'erfpread 
 
 The fpacious earth, and ftretch'd their conqu'ring arms 
 
 From pole to pole, by herenfnaring charms 
 
 Were quite confum'd : there lay imperial Rome, 
 
 That vanquifh'd all the world, by her o'ercome : 
 
 Felter'd was th' old Affyrian lion there ; 
 
 The Grecian leopard, and the Perfian bear ; 
 
 With others, nunlberlefs, lamenting by: 
 
 Examples of the power of Luxury. May, 
 
American Monitor 
 
 Now bafket up the family of plagues 
 That wafle our vitals. Peculation, fale 
 Of honor, perjury, corruption, frauds. 
 By forgery, by fubterfuge of law. 
 By tricks and lies as num'rous and as keen 
 As the neceffities their authprs feel ; 
 Then caft them clofely bundl'd, ev'ry brat 
 At the right door. Profufion is the fire. 
 Profufion unreftrain'd, with all that's bafe 
 In charadter, has litter'd all the land, 
 And bred within the mem'ry of no few 
 A priefthood fuch as Baal's was of old, 
 A people fuch as never was till now. 
 It is a hungry vice : — it eats up all 
 That gives fociety its beauty, ftrength, 
 Convenience, and fecurity, and ufe. 
 Makes men mere vermin, worthy to be trapp'd 
 And gibbetted as taft as catchpole claws 
 Can feize the flipp'ry prey. Unties the knot 
 Of union, and converts the facred band 
 That holds mankind together, to a fcourge. 
 Pi-ofufion, deluging a (fate with lufts 
 Of grolTeft nature, and of worft efFeds, 
 Prepares it for its ruin. Hardens, blinds, 
 And warps the confciences of public men. 
 Till they can laugh at virtue; mock the fools 
 That truft them ; and in th' end, difclofe a face 
 That would have fhock'd credulity herfelf, 
 Unmafk'd, vouchfafing this their foleexcufe, 
 Since all alike are felfifh — Why not they ? 
 This does profufion, and th' accurfed caufe 
 Of fuch deep mifchief, has itfelf a caufe. 
 
 GowPER. 
 
 Increafeof pow'r begets increafe of wealth, 
 Wealth luxury, and luxury excefs ; 
 Excefs, the fcrophulous and itchy plague 
 That feizes firft the opulent, defcends 
 
Luxun,—~Law. 219 
 
 To the next rank contagious, and in (ime 
 
 Taints downward all the graduated fcale 
 
 Of order, from the chariot, to the plough. 
 
 The rich, and they that have an arm to check 
 
 The licenfe of the loweft in degree, 
 
 Defert their office ; and themfelves intent 
 
 On pleafure, haunt the capital, and thus 
 
 To all the violence of lawlefs hands, 
 
 Refign the fcenes their prefence might prote£l. 
 
 Authority herfelf not feldom fleeps, 
 
 Though refident, and witnefs of the wrong. Ibid, 
 
 LAW. 
 
 He that with injury is griev'd, • * 
 
 And goes to law to be reliev'd, 
 Js fillier than a fottifh chowfc, 
 Who, when a thief has robb'd his houfe. 
 Applies himfelf to cunning-men, 
 To help him to his goods again ; 
 When all he can exped to gain. 
 Is but to fquander more in vain. Hudibras, 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 The univerfal fpirit of all laws in all countries, is 
 to favour the ftrong in oppofition to the weak; and 
 to allift thofe who have pofleffions againft thofe who 
 have none. Rousseau. 
 
 One of the feven fages of Greece was wont to fay, 
 that laws were like cobwebs, where the fmall flies 
 were caught, and the great ones breakthrough. 
 
 Lord Bacon. 
 
 Afk of politicians the end for which laws were ori- 
 ginally defigned, and they will anfwer, that the laws 
 were defigned as a protsdion for the poor and weak. 
 
220 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 againfl: the opprelTion of the rich and powerful. But 
 furely no pretence can be fo ridiculous ; a man might 
 as well tell me he has taken off my load, becaufe he has 
 changed the burden. If the poor man is not able to 
 fupport hisfuit, according to the vexatious andexpen- 
 five manner eftabliflied in civilized countries, has not 
 the rich as great an advantage over him as the ftrong 
 has over the weak in a ftate of nature ? Burke. 
 
 To embarrafs juftice by multiplicity of laws, or to 
 hazard it by confidence in judges, feems to be the 
 oppolite rocks on which ail civil inflitutions have been 
 wrecked, and between which, legiflative wifdom has 
 never yet found an open paffage. Johnson. 
 
 Bad laws are the worft fort of tyranny. In fuch a 
 country as this, they are of all bad things the worft, 
 worfe by far than any thing elfe ; and they derive a 
 particular malignity even from the wifdom and found- 
 nefs ot the reft of our inflitutions. Burke. 
 
 LAWS (Ex poit facto.) 
 
 Laws, made to punifh for aftions done before the 
 exiftence of fuch laws, and which have not been decla- 
 red crimes by preceding laws, are unjuft, oppreflive, 
 and inconfiftent with the fundamental principles ot a 
 free government. 
 
 Conflitution of Massachusetts. 
 
 RetrofpeSive laws, punifhing offences committed 
 before the exiftence of fuch laws, are opprefTive and 
 unjuft, and ought not to be made, 
 
 Conftitution of Delaware. 
 
 Retrofpe£llve laws, punifhing fa£ts commi ted before 
 the exiftence of fuch laws, and by them only declared 
 criminal, are opprefTive, unjufl, and incompatible 
 
Liberty of the Press. 
 
 221 
 
 'svith liberty; wherefore no ex post faBo law ought to 
 be made. Conftitution of Maryland. 
 
 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 The liberty of the prefs is elTential to the fccurity of 
 freedom in a I'tate : it ought therefore to be inviolably 
 nreferved. 
 
 Conftitution of Nkw-Hampshire. 
 
 The people have a right to freedom of fpeech, and of 
 writing and pubiifhing their fentiments, concerning 
 the tranfadlions of government- — and therefore the free- 
 dom of the prefs ought not to be reftrained. 
 
 Conftitution oi Vermont. 
 
 As long as there are fuch things as printing and 
 writing, there will be libels : it is an evil arifing out of 
 a much greater good. — However it docs not follow- 
 that the prefs is to be funk for the errors of the prefs : 
 —for it is certainly of much lefs confequence that an 
 innocent man fhould now and then be afperfed than 
 that all men fhould be enflaved. 
 
 Many methods have been tried ta remedy this evil. 
 In Turkeyiand the Eaftern monarchies, all printing is 
 forbid; which does it with a witnefs ; , for if there can 
 be no printing at all, there can be no libels printed ; 
 and by the fame reafon there ought to be no talking, 
 left the people fliould talk treafon, blafphemy, or non- 
 fen fe; and for a ftronger reafon yet, no preaching, be- 
 caufe the orator has an opportunity of haranguing often 
 to a larger auditory than he can perfuade to read his lu- 
 cubrations : but I defire it may be remembered, that 
 thereis neither liberty, arts, fciences, learning, or know- 
 ledge in thefe countries. 
 
 But another method has been thought on in thefe 
 weftern parts of the world, much lefs efFeanal, and 
 yet more rnifchievous than the former, namely, to put 
 
222 ' Jmerkm Monitor. 
 
 the prefs' under the proteaion of the prevailing party, 
 and authorife libels on one fide only, and deny the 
 other fide the opportunity of defending themfelves. 
 
 What: mifchief is done by libels to balance all thefe 
 evils ? They feldom or never annoy an innocent man, 
 or promote any confiderable error, Wife and honeit 
 men laugh at thetB, and defpife them, and fuch ar- 
 rows always fly over their heads, or fall at their feet. 
 Moft of the world take part with a virtuous man, and 
 punifh cuiumny by their deteftation of it. The beft 
 way to prevent libels is not to deferve them. Guilty 
 men alone fear them, or are hurt by them, whofe ad- 
 dons will not bear examination, and therefore muft 
 jiot be examined. 'Tis fad alone which annoys them ; 
 for if you tell no truth, I dare fay you may have their 
 leave to tell as many lies as you pleafe. 
 
 The fame is true in fpeculative opinions. You 
 may write nonfenfe and folly as long as you think fit, 
 and no one complains of it but the bookfeller. But if 
 a bold, honeft, and wife book fallies forth, and attacks 
 ihofe who think themfelves fecure in their trenches, 
 then their camp is in danger, and they call out all hands 
 to arms, and their enemy is to be deftroyed by fire, 
 fword, or fraud. But 'tis fenfelefs to think that any 
 truth can fuffer by being thoroughly fearched, or exam- 
 ined into : or that the difcovery of it can prejudice right 
 teiigion, equal government, or the happinefsot fociety 
 in any refped : fhe has ib many advantages above er- 
 ror, that fhe wants only to befliown to gain admi'ation 
 and efkem ; and we fee every day that fhe bre?i.s the 
 bonds of tyrar ny and fraud, ai^d Ihines through the 
 mifts of fuperltition and ignorance : and what then 
 would fhe do, if thefe barriers were removed, and her 
 fetters taken ofF ? Gordon. 
 
 It is apprehended, that arbitary power would aeal 
 n upon us, were we not careful to prevent us progrc s, 
 ;nd were titere not an eafy method of conveying the 
 
Man. 
 
 223 
 
 alarm from one end of the kingdom to another. The 
 fpirit of the people muft frequently be roufed, in order 
 to curb the ambition of the court, and the dread of 
 roufing this fpirit muft be employed to prevent that 
 ambition. Nothing is fo efFcdual to this piirpwfe as 
 the liberty of the prefs, by which all the learning, wit 
 and genius of the nation may be employed ori the fide of 
 freedom, and every one be animated to its defence. 
 As long therefore as the republican part of our govern- 
 ment can maintain itfelf again fi: the monarchical, it 
 will naturally be careful to keep the prefs open, as of 
 importance to its own prefervation. Hume. 
 
 MAN. 
 
 Behold of ev'ry age. Ri.pe manhood fee, 
 
 Decrepit years, and helplefs infancy : 
 
 Thofe who by ling'ring ficknefs lofe their breath, 
 
 And thofe who, by defpair, fuborn their death : 
 
 See yon mad foois, who for fome triva! right, 
 
 For love, or for miflaken honour, fight : 
 
 See thofe more mad who throw their lives away- ' 
 
 In needlefs wars, the flake which monarchs lay, 
 
 When for each others provinces they play. 
 
 Then as if earth too narrow were for fate. 
 
 On open feas their quarrels they debate ; 
 
 In hollow wood they floating armies bear; 
 
 And force imprifon'd winds to bring 'em near. 
 
 Drv'den. 
 
 Like leaves on trees the race of man is found, 
 Now green in youth, now with'ring on the ground. 
 Another race thefoH'wing fpring fupplies ; 
 They fall fucceffive, and fuccefhve rile : 
 So generations in their courfe decay ; 
 So iiourifh thefe when thofe are pall away. Pope. 
 
224 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 When I reflect upon man ; and take a view of Aaf- 
 dark lide of him which reprefents his life as open to fo 
 many caufes of trouble — when 1 confider how oft we 
 eat the bread of affliition, and that we are born to 
 it, as to the portion of our inheritance — when one runs 
 over the catalogue of all the crofs reckonings and for- 
 rowful items with which the heart of man is over- 
 chiirged, 'tis wonderful by what hidden refources the 
 mind is enabled to ftand it out, and bear itfelf up as it 
 doss, againft the impofitions laid upon our nature. 
 
 Sterne. 
 
 Men are gregarious in their nature; they form to- 
 gether in fociety, not merely from necellity, to avoid 
 the evils of folitude, but from inclination and mutual 
 attachment. They find a pofitive pleafure in yielding 
 allrftance to each other, in communicating their 
 thoughts and improving their faculties. This difpofi- 
 iion in man is the fource of morals; they have their 
 lounciation in nature, and receive their nourifhment 
 from fociety. The different portions of this fociety, 
 that call ihemfelves nations, have generally eftabiifhed 
 the principle of fecuring to the individuals who com- 
 pofe a nation, the cxclufive enjoyment of the fruits of 
 their own labour ; referving however to the governing 
 power the right to reclaim from time to time fo much 
 or the property and labour of individuals as fhall be 
 deemed neceflary for the public fervice. This is the 
 general bafis on which property, public and private, 
 has hitherto been founded. Nations have oroceeded 
 no faither. Perhsps in a more improved (tate of fo- 
 ciety, the time wiil corne, when a different fyltera 
 may be introduced ; when it fhall be found more con- 
 genial to the focial nature of man to exclude the idea 
 of feparate property, and with that the numerous evils 
 which feera to be entailed upon it. Barlow. 
 
 Hail man, exalted title! firfl and befl. 
 On God's own image bj his hand imprellj, 
 
Man. 
 
 225 
 
 To which at lafi: the reas'ning race is driven, ^ 
 And feeks anew what firil it gain'd from heav n. 
 O man, my brother, how the cordial flame 
 Of all endearments, kindles at the name ! 
 In every clime, thy vifage greets my eyes, 
 In every tongue thy kindred accents rife ; 
 The thought expanding fwells my heart with glee. 
 It finds a friend, and loves itfelf in thee. 
 
 Say then, fraternal family divine. 
 Whom mutual wants and mutual aids combme. 
 Say from what fource the dire delufion rofc, 
 That fouls like ours were ever made for foes ; 
 Why earth's maternal bofom, where we tread, 
 To rear our manfions and receive our bread. 
 Should blufli fo often tor the race flie bore,, 
 80 long be drench 'd with floods of filial gore ? 
 Why to fmall realms for ever reft confin'd 
 Our great afFeaions, meant for all mankind ? 
 Though climes divide us ; Ihall the Itream or fea,. 
 That forms a barrier 'twixt my friend and me, 
 Infpire the wifii his peaceful ftate to mar. 
 And meet his falchion in the ranks of war 
 
 Notfeas, nor climes, nor wild ambition's fire 
 In nations' minds could e'er the wKh infpire 
 Where equal rights each fober voice (hould guide. 
 No blood would ftain them, and no war divide. 
 'Tis dark deception, 'tis the glare of ftate, 
 Man funk in titles, loft in fmall and great ; 
 'Tis rank, diftinaion, all the hei! that fprings 
 From thofe prolific monfters, courts and kings. 
 Thefe are the vampires nurs'd on nature's fpoils ; 
 For thefe with pangs the ftarving peafant toils, 
 For thefe the earth's broad furface teems with grain, 
 Theirs the dread labours of the devious main y 
 And when the wafted world but dares refufe 
 The gifts opprefiive and extorted dues. 
 They bid wildflaughter fpread the gory plains, 
 The life-blood guftiing from a thoufand veins, 
 
 U 2 
 
226 
 
 Amsrican Momior, 
 
 Eredl their thrones amid the fangiiine floods 
 And dip their purpie in the nation's blood. 
 
 Tlie gazing crowd, of glittering ftate afraid, 
 Ad ore the power their coward meannefs made x 
 In war's fhort intervals ; while regal fhows 
 Still blind their reafon and infult their woes. 
 What Grange events for proud proceffions call !! 
 See kingdoms crowding to a birth-night ball I 
 See the long pomp in gorgeous glare difplay'd. 
 The tinfel'd guards, the fquadrun'd horfe parade; 
 See heralds gay, with emblems on their veit, 
 in tiilu'd robes, tall, beauteous pages dreft 5 
 Amid fuperior ranks of fplendid flaves, 
 Lords, dukes and princes, titulary knaves, 
 Confus'dly fhine their croffes, gems and ftars^ 
 Sceptres and globes and crowns and fpoils of wars. 
 On gilded orbs fee thundering chariots roll'd, 
 Steeds, fnorting fire, and champing bitts of gold, 
 Prance to the trumpet's voice ; while each alTumes. 
 A loftier gait, and lifts his neck of plumes. 
 High on a moving throne, and near the van,.. 
 The tyrant rides, the chofen fcourge of man ; 
 ClarioMS and fiutps and drums his way prepare. 
 And (houting millions rend the trotibled air ; 
 Millions, whofe ceafelefg toils the pomp fuftain, 
 W' hofe hour of (lupid joy repays an age of pain.. 
 
 Of thefe no more. From orders, llaves and kings? 
 To thee, O man, my heart rebounding fprings, 
 .Behold th' afcending blifs that waits thy call, 
 Heav'n's own bequefl, the heritage of all. 
 Awake to wifdom, feize lite protfer'd prize 
 From (hade to light, from grief to glory rife. 
 Freedom at lalt, with reafon in her train, 
 iixrends o'er earth her everlaiting reign. Ih'id. 
 
 Man, confidercd in himfelf, is a very helplefs and 
 a very wretched being. He is fubjedl every moment 
 to the grcatcd calamities and misfortunes. He is be- 
 
Mm. 
 
 227 
 
 fet with dangers on all fides, and may becon:e unhappy 
 by numberlefs cafuaUies, which he could not forefee, 
 nor had prevented had he forefeen them. 
 
 It is our comfort, while we are obnoxious to fo 
 many accidents, that we are under the care ofons who 
 dire6ts contingencies, and has in his hands the manaoe- 
 ment of Svery thing that is capable of annoying or 
 offending us ; who knows the affiftance we (land in 
 need of, and is always ready to be(tow it on thofe who 
 afk it of him. 
 
 The natural homage, which Hich a creature bears 
 to lo infinitely wife and good a being, is a firm reliance 
 on liim, for the bleffings and conveniencies of life, and 
 an habitual trult in him for deliverance out of all fuch 
 'dangers and difficulties as may befall us. 
 
 The man who alvvays lives in this difpofition of 
 mind, has not the fame dark and melancholy views of 
 human nature, as he who confiders himfelf abfl:ra6ledly 
 from this relation to the Supreme Being. At the fame 
 time that he reflefts upon his own weaknefs and im- 
 perfecSlion, he comforts himfelf with the contemplation 
 of thofe divine attributes, which are employed for his 
 lafety and his welfare. He finds his want of forefight 
 made up by the omnifcience of him who is his fapport. 
 He is not fenfible of his ov/n want of ftrength, when 
 he knows that his helper is almighty. In Ihort,. the 
 perfon who has a firm truft on the Supreme Being is 
 powerful in his power, wife by his wifdom, happy by. 
 fJis happinefs. lie reaps the benefit of every divine at- 
 tribute, and lofes his own infufiiciency in the fulnefs of 
 infinite perfeclion. 
 
 To make our lives more eafy to us, we are com- 
 manded, to put our truft in him, who is thus able to 
 relieve and fuccour us ; the divine goodnefs having 
 made fuch a reliance a duty, notwithdanding we Ihould 
 have been miferable had it been forbidden us. 
 
 Spectator. 
 
228 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 MEDIOCRITY. 
 
 Since wealth and pow'r too weak we find 
 To quell the tumults of the mind ; 
 Or fronm the monarch's roofs of (late, 
 Drive thence the cares that round him wait t 
 Happy the man with little blefs'd, 
 Of what his father left, pofTefs'd ; 
 No bafe defires corrupt his head. 
 No fears difturb him in his bed. 
 Thy portion is a w ealthy flock, 
 A fertile glebe, a fruitful flock, 
 Horfes and chariots for thy eafe, 
 Rich robes to deck, and make theepleafe : 
 For me a little cell I chufe, 
 Fit for my mind, fit for my mufe ; 
 Which foft content does bcft adorn, 
 Shunning the knaves, and fools I fcorn. 
 
 Otway. 
 
 If thou be wife, no glorious fortune chufe ; 
 Which 'tis but vain to keep, yet grief to lofe ; 
 For, when we place ev'n trifles in the heart. 
 With trifles too unwillingly we part. 
 An humble roof, plain bed, and homely board, 
 More clear untainted pleafures do afford, 
 Than all the tumult of vain greatnefs brings 
 To kings, or to the favourites of kings. Cowley^ 
 
 MERCY. 
 
 Not the king's crown, nor the deputed (word; 
 The marefchall's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, 
 Become them with one half fo good a grace. 
 As mercy does. 
 
 Alas! the fouls of all tricn once were forfeit, 
 And he that might th' advantage beft have taken;, 
 Found out the remedy : how would ye be, 
 
Mercy. 
 
 If he, who is the top of judgment, fliould 
 But judge you as you are ? Oh ! think on that. 
 And mercy then will breathe wi'thin your lips, 
 Like new made man. Sh akesi-eare. 
 
 The quality of mercy is not ftrain'd. 
 
 It droppeth as the gentle rain from heav'n 
 
 Upon the place beneath. It is twice bleft. 
 
 It blelTeth him that gives, and him that takes ; 
 
 'Tis mightieft in the might ieft ; it becomes 
 
 The throned monarch better than iiis crown * 
 
 His fceptre fhews the force of temporal pywer. 
 
 The attribute to power and majefty ; 
 
 Wherein doth fit the dread and fear of kings. 
 
 It is an attribute to God himfelf ; 
 
 And earthly power doth then fhew likefl God's, 
 
 When mercy feafons juftice. Jhtd. 
 
 My uncle Toby was a man patient of injuries ; — not 
 from want of courage; — where jufi: occafion prefented, 
 or called it forth, — I know no man under whofe arm 
 I would fooner have taken llielter ; — nor did this arife 
 from any infenfibility or obtufenels of his intelledual 
 parts ; — he was of a peaceful, placid nature, — no jar- 
 ring element in it,— all was mixed up fo kindly with 
 him ; my uncle Toby had fcarce a heart to retaliate 
 upon a fly : — Go, — fays he one day at dinner, to an 
 overgrown one which had buzzed about his nofe, and 
 tormented him cruelly all dinner time, — and which, 
 after infinite attempts, he had caught at laft — as it flew 
 by him ; — I'll not hurt thee, fays my uncle Toby, rifing 
 from his chair, and going acrofs the room, with ti\e 
 fly in his hand, — I'll not hurt a hair of thy head :— 
 Go, fays he, lifting up the faili, and opening his hand 
 as he fpoke, to let it efcape ; — go poor devil, get thee 
 •gone ; why fhould I hurt thee r— This world furely is 
 wide enough to hold thee and me, Sterne, 
 
230 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 MONARCH. 
 
 Why has the monarch fo much ufe for life ? 
 
 Yet in his health is levell'd wiih the peafant i 
 
 O painful majefty ! unequal ftatel 
 
 Not all thy gorgeous pomp, thy flags of power. 
 
 Thy dignities, dominions, ceremonies. 
 
 The crown, the fceptre, and the royal ball, 
 
 The purple robe, nor princely crowds, whofe prefs 
 
 Of duty intercepts the wholefome air; 
 
 Not all thefe glories, for one precious hour. 
 
 Can buy the beggar's health or appetite. Cibber, 
 
 MAGNANIMITY. 
 
 How much more fweet and worth our conftant 
 pray'r, 
 
 A mind unfhaken by the ftorms of care ! 
 Which can a vain and empty world defpife, 
 And with an upward flight afFe£l the fties ; 
 Which the gay trappings of the great contemnsj 
 Their founding titles, and their fliining gems. 
 Difcharg'd of all which happinefs debars, 
 She plants her converfation in the ftars ; 
 Looks on the clouds, and lower earth wiih fcorn. 
 And feeks that country were fhe firft was born. 
 
 MANNERS. 
 
 The manners of a people are not to be found in the 
 fchools of learning, or the palaces of greatnefs, where 
 the national character is obfcured, or obliterated by 
 travel or inftrudion, by philofophy or vanity ; nor is 
 public happinefs to be eftimated by the aflembliesof 
 the gay or the banquets of the rich. The great niafs 
 of nations is neither rich nor gay. They whofe ag- 
 gregate conftitutes the people, are found in the ftreets 
 
Militia. 
 
 and the villages ; in the (hops and farms ; and from 
 them, colledively confidered, muft the meafure of gen- 
 eral profperity be taken. As tiiey approach to delicacy, 
 a nation is refined; as their conveniencies are multi- 
 plied, a nation, at leaft a commercial nation, muft be 
 denominated wealthy. Johnson. 
 
 Manners are of more importance than laws. In a 
 great meafure the laws depend upon them. The law 
 touches us but here and there, and now and then. 
 Manners are what vex or foothe, corrupt or purify, 
 exalt or tiebafe, barbarize or refine us, by a conttant, 
 Heady, uniform, infenfible operation, like that of the 
 air we breathe in. They give their whole form and 
 colour to our lives. According to their quality, they 
 aid morals, they fupply them, or they totally deftroy 
 them. Burke. 
 
 MILITIA. 
 
 A well regulated militia is the proper, natural, and 
 fure defence of a Itate. 
 
 Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought 
 not to be railed, or kept up without confent of the 
 legiflature. 
 
 In all cafes and at all times, the military ought to be 
 under ftrid fubordination to, and governed by the civil 
 power. 
 
 No foldier in time of peace fhall be quartered in any 
 houfe, without the confent of the owner ; and in time 
 of war, fiich quarters ought not to be made but by the 
 civil magiftrate, in a manner ordained by the legif- 
 lature. Conititution of New-Hampshire. 
 
 A well-regulated militia is the proper, natural, and 
 fafe defence of a free government. 
 
 Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought 
 not to be raifed or kept up, without the confent of the 
 legiflature. 
 
/Imerican Monitor. 
 
 In all cafes, and at all times, the military ought to 
 be under ftridl fubordination to, and governed by the 
 civil power. 
 
 No foldier ought to be quartered in anyhoufe, in time 
 of peace, without the confent of the owner ; and in 
 time of war, in fuch manner only, as the legiflature 
 fliall dire6t. Conftitution of Delaware. 
 
 The fure and certain defence of a free people is a 
 well regulated militia ; and as {landing armies, in time 
 of peace, are dangerous to freedom, they ought to be 
 avoided, as far as the circumftances and fafety of the 
 community will admit ; and in all cafes the military 
 iliall be in ftr 161: fuberdi nation to the civil authority. 
 
 Conflitution of Tennessee. 
 
 The militia of thte country muft beconfidered as the 
 palladium of our fecurity, and the firft effectual refojt, 
 in cafe of hoftility. It is eflential, therefore, that the 
 lame fyftem (hould pervade the whole ; that the for- 
 mation and difcipline of the militia of the continent, 
 ihould be abfolutely uniform ; and that the fame fpe- 
 cies of arms, accoutrements, and military apparatus, 
 fhould be introduced in every part of the United States. 
 No one, who has not learned it from experience, can 
 conceive the difficulty, expence, and confufion, which 
 refult from a contrary fyftem, or the vague arrange- 
 ments w^ich have hitherto prevailed. 
 
 Washington. 
 
 The documents which will be prefented to you, 
 will fhew the amount, and kinds of arms and military 
 ftores now in our magazines and arfenals ; and yet an 
 addition even to thefe fupplies cannot with prudence 
 be negledled ; as it would leave nothing to the uncer- 
 tainty of procuring a warlike apparatus in the moment 
 of public danger. Nor can fuch arrangetriCnts, with 
 fuch objeds, be expoftd to the cenfure or jealoufy of 
 
Military Power. 
 
 the warmeft friends of republican government.^ They 
 are incapable of abufe in the hands of the militia, who 
 ought to poflTefs a pride in being the depolitory of the 
 force of the Republic, and may be trained to a degree 
 of energy, equal to every military exigency of the Uni- 
 ted States. 
 
 MILITARY POWER. 
 
 There is one circumftance in the condua of the tory 
 friends to abseluie sway, truly alarming to the champions 
 6t liberty. They are always inclined, on the fmallefl 
 tumult, to call in the military. They would depreci- 
 ate the civil powers, and break the conftable's ftaff to 
 introduce the bayonet. In their opinion, the beft ex- 
 ecutive powers of government are a party of dragoons. 
 They are therefore conftantly founding alarms, and ag- 
 gravating every petty difturbance into a riot or rebel- 
 fion. They are not for parleying with the many- head- 
 ed monfter ; they fcorn lenient meafures ; and while 
 their own perfons are in perfect fafety, boldly com- 
 mand the military to fire. What is the life or the 
 limb of a poor man, in their opinion ? Not fo much 
 as the life or limb of a favorite pointer or race-horfe. 
 They are always eager to augment the army. They 
 would build barracks in every part of the country, and 
 be glad to fee a free country over-run, like fome of 
 the cnflaved nations of the continent, from eafl: to weff, 
 from north to fouth, with men armed to overawe the 
 fancy advocates of charters, privileges, rights, and re- 
 formations. 
 
 Againft principles fo dangerous in public life, 'and 
 odious in private, every friend to his country, every 
 lover of his fellow creatures, every competent judge 
 of thofe manners, which fweeten the intercourfe of 
 man with man, will fhew a determined oppofition. 
 But how (hall he fliew it with efFedl ? Bv ridicule.. 
 
 X 
 
^34 
 
 American Menitor* 
 
 Nothing lowers the pride from which fuch principles 
 proceed, fo much as general contempt and derifion. 
 The iHfolence of petty defpots in private life fliould be 
 laughed at by an Ariftophanes, while it is rebuked by 
 a Cato. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 As, in time of peace, armies are dangerous to li- 
 berty, they ought not to be maintained, without the 
 confent of the legiflature ; and the military power fhall 
 always be held in exadt fubordination to the civil au- 
 thority, and be governed by it. 
 
 Conftitution of Massachusetts. 
 
 No (landing ariny fhall, in time of peace, be kept 
 up, without the confent of the legiflature ; and the mi- 
 litary (hall, in all cafes, and at all times, be in ftridl 
 fubordination to the civil power. 
 
 Conftitution of Pennsylvania. 
 
 No foldier (hall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any houfe, without the confent of the owner, nor, in 
 time of war, but in a manner to be prefcribed by law. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Standing armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought 
 not to be raifed or kept up, without confent of the le- 
 giflature. Conftitution of Maryland. 
 
 In all cafes, and at all times, the military ought to 
 be under ftridl fubordination to and control of the civil 
 power. 'lbtd» 
 
 No foldier ought to be quartered in any houfe, in 
 time of peace, without the confent of the owner ; and 
 in time of war, in fuch manner only, as the legiflature 
 lliall direa. - Ibi^- 
 
 No ftanding army fhall, in time of peace, be kept 
 up, without the confent of the legiflature j and the mi- 
 
Modesty. — Magistrates. 
 
 Utary fhall, in all cafes, and at all times, be in ftridt 
 fubordination to the civil power. 
 
 Conftitution of Kentucky. 
 
 No foldier (hall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any houfe, without the confent of the owner, nor in 
 time of war, but in a manner to be prefcribed by law. 
 
 - Ibid. 
 
 Overgrown military cftablifhments, under any form, 
 of government, are inaufpicious to liberty, and are to 
 be regarded as particularly hoftile to republican liberty. 
 
 Washington* 
 
 MODESTY. 
 
 What is more refpe^table, or more facred, than true 
 modefty ; who will dare bring a blufli on the cheek of 
 chafte beauty, ignorant of the myfteries of which fhe 
 has not even an idea ! Who will dare to blemilh the 
 carnaiion of a chafte countenance and a pure mind ; 
 break the feal of virtue, and a peaceful heart, that 
 fhame has not yet affedted ! even the depraved man feels 
 his fchemes die away; he reftrains the emotions of hi^ 
 impoifoned tongue, and his bold hand ; he is difarmed 
 by the glance where modeftafturance fliines ; he turns 
 afide, as the moft brutal wretch would turn the wheel 
 of his carriage, when it threatened to crufh an infant 
 ftretched on the road. Mercier. 
 
 MAGISTRATES. 
 
 As great refpeft is due to the office of the fupreme 
 magiftrate, fo alfo is great afFedion due to his perfon, 
 while he conduds himfelf with propriety, and confults 
 the happinefs of the people. The moft decorous lan- 
 guage lliould be ufed to him, the moft refpedful beha- 
 viour prefexved towards him j every mode adopted of 
 
236 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 fhewing him proofs of love and honor, on this side ido' 
 htry. Arduous is his tafk, though honorable. It 
 iliould be fweetened by every mode which true and 
 fincere loyalty can devife. 1 would rather exceed, than 
 fall Ihort of the deference due to the office and the man. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 AH pj:iwers refiding originally in the people, and 
 being derived from them, the feveral magiftrates, and 
 officers of government, vefted with authority, whether 
 legiflative, executive, or judicial, are their fubftitutes 
 and agents, and are at all times accountable to them. 
 
 Conftitution of Massachusetts. 
 
 All perfons inverted with the legiflative or executive 
 powers of government are the truftees of the public, 
 and, as fuch, accountable for their condu£l ; where- 
 fore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, 
 and public liberty manifeflly endangered, and all other 
 means of redrefs are ineffectual, the people may, and 
 of right ought, to reform the old or eliablilh a new 
 government. The do6lrine of non-refiftance, againfj: 
 arbitrary power and oppreffion, is abfurd, flavifh, and 
 deflrudive of the good and happinefs of mankind. 
 
 Conftitution of Maryland. 
 
 MINISTERS OF STATE. 
 
 I had formerly upon occafion difcourfed with niy 
 mafter upon the nature of government in general, and 
 particularly of our own excellent coultitutipn. deferved- 
 ly the wonder and envy of the whole world. But having 
 here accidentally mentioned a miniffer of ftate, he com- 
 manded me fome time after to inforn him, what fpe- 
 cies qS. yahoo I particularly meant by that appellation. 
 
 I told him, that a chief or firfl: minifter of ftate, who 
 was the perfon I intended to defcribe, was a creature 
 wholly exempt from joy and grief, love and hatred, pity 
 
Ministers of State. 
 
 237 
 
 and anger ; at lead makes ufe of no other paffions, but 
 a violent defire of wealth, power, and titles ; that he 
 applies his words to all ufes, except to the indication 
 of his mind , that he never tells a truth but with an in- 
 tent that you fhould take it for a lie: nor a lie, but 
 with a defign that you fhould take it for a truth ; that 
 thofe he fpeaks word of behind their backs, are in the 
 furefl: way of preferment ; and whenever he begins to 
 praife you to others, or to yourfelf, you are from that 
 day forlorn. The word mark you can receive is a 
 promife, efpecially when it is confirmed with an oath ; 
 after which every wife man retires, and gives over all 
 hopes. Swift. 
 
 Miniders and favorites are a fort of people who 
 have a date prifoner in their cudody, the whole man- 
 agement of whofe underdanding and adions they can 
 eafily engrofs. This they completely effeil with a 
 weak and credulous mader, nor can the inod cautious 
 and penetrating elude their machinations. 
 
 Miniders become a fort of miniature kings in their 
 turn. The king has been ufed to hear thofe things 
 only which were adapted to give him pleafure, and it 
 is with a grating and uneafy fenfation that he lidens to 
 communications of a different fort. He has been ufed 
 to unhefitating compliance; audit is with difficulty 
 he can diged expoftulation and oppofition. The tem- 
 porifing politician expeds the fame pliability in others 
 that he exhibits in hitnfelf ; and the fault which he can 
 lead forgive is an ill timed and inaufpicious fcru- 
 pulofity, 
 
 Expeding this compliance from all the coadjutors 
 and indruments of his defigns, he foon comes to fet it 
 up as a dandard by which to judge of the merits of al[ 
 other men. He is deaf to every recommendation but 
 that of a fitnefs for the fecret fervice of government, or 
 a tendency to promote his intered, and extend the fphere 
 oi his influence. The word man with this argument 
 
 X 2 
 
238 American MonUor, 
 
 in his favor will feem worthy of encouragement; the 
 beft man who has no advocate but virtue to plead for 
 him will be treated with fupercilioufnefs and negledl. 
 — To obtain honor, it will be necelFary to pay a fervile 
 court to adminiftration, to bear with unaltered patience 
 their contumely and fcorn, to flatter their vices, and 
 render ourlelves ufeful to their private gratification. 
 To obtain honors, it will be neceflary, by afliduity and 
 intrigue, to make to ourfelves a party, to procure' the 
 recommendation of lords and the good word of women 
 of pleafure and clerks in office. To obtain honor, it 
 will be neceffary to merit difgrace. The whole fcene 
 confifts in hoUownefs, duplicity, and falfehood. The 
 minifter fpeaks fair to the man he defpifes, and the flave 
 pretends a generous attachment, while he thinks of 
 nothing but his perfonal intereft. Godwin. 
 
 If you afk me where to look for thofe beautiful Ihi- 
 ning qualities of prime minifters and the great favorites 
 of princes, that are fo finely painted in dedications, 
 addreffes, epitaphs, funeral fermons, and infcriptions ? 
 J anfvver, there, and no where elfe. Where would 
 you look for the excellency of a ftatue, but in that part 
 which you fee of it ? It is the polifhed outfide only that 
 has the flcill and labour of the fculptor to boaft of ; 
 what is out of fight is untouched. Would you break 
 the head or cut open the breait to look for the brains or 
 ihe heart, you would only fbew your ignorance and 
 dcftrov the workmanihip. This has often made mc 
 compare the virtues of great men to your large china 
 jars; they make a fine Ihow, and are ornamental to a 
 chimney ; one would, by the bulk they appear in, and 
 the value that is fet upon them, think they might be 
 very ufeful, but look into a thoufand of them, and yos 
 wil] 5nd nothing but dufl and cobwebs. 
 
 Mandeville. 
 
 1 know not how it happens, but there is hardly ever 
 a prince fo bad but his minsfter i-s worfe : If he com- 
 
Nobility. 
 
 mlt any ill a£lion he is ftill prompted to it ; accordingly 
 the anibition of a prince is never fo dangerous as bafe- 
 nefs of foul in his counfellers. Montesquieu. 
 
 Oh ! what a mine of mifchief is a ftatefman! 
 Ye furies, whirlwinds, and ye treach'rous rocks, 
 Ye minifters of death, devouring fire, 
 Convulfive earthquake, and plague tainted air, 
 All you are merciful and mild to him, Sewel. 
 
 NOBILITY. 
 
 Were honour to be fcann'd by long dcfcent 
 
 From anceftors illuftrious, 1 could vaunt 
 
 A lineage of the greateft, and recount 
 
 Among my fathers, names of ancient (lory, 
 
 Heroes and godlike patriots, who fubdued 
 
 The world by arms and virtue : 
 
 But that be their own praife : 
 
 Nor will I borrow merit from the dead,, 
 
 Myfelf an undeferver. Rowe. 
 
 Virtue alone is true nobility : 
 Let your own adls immortalize your name 
 'Tis poor relying on another's fame : 
 For take the pillars but away, and all 
 The fuperftrudure mult in ruins fall : 
 Asa vine droops, when by divorce remov'd 
 From the embraces of the elm fhe lov'd. 
 
 Stephenson^ 
 
 _ „ Nobility of blood,. 
 
 Is but a glitt'ring and fallacious good : 
 
 The nobleman is he, whofe noble mind 
 
 Is fill'd with in-born worth, u n borrow 'd from his kind.. 
 
 The king of heav'n was in a manger laid, ^ 
 
 And took his earth but from an humble maid ; 
 
 Then what can birth or mortal men beftow. 
 
 Since floods no higher than their fountains flow I 
 
American Monitor^ 
 
 We, who for name and empty honour ftrive, 
 
 Our true nobility from him derive. 
 
 Your anceftors, who pufF your mind with pride. 
 
 And vaft eftates, to mighty titles ty'd, 
 
 Did not your honour, bur their own advance ; 
 
 For virtue comes not by inheritance : Dryden. 
 
 No man is nobler born than another, unlefs he is 
 born with better abilities and a more amiable difpofi- 
 ^'°":* T^^y '"^ke fuch a parade with their 
 
 faiTiiIy piaures and pedigrees, are, properly fpeaking, 
 rather to be called noted or notsrious than noble perfonl 
 I thought it right to fay this much, in order to repel the 
 infolencc of men who depend entirely upon chance and 
 accidental circumftances for dirtindion, and not at all 
 on public fervices and perfonal merit. Seneca. 
 
 Virtue is nobility. Perfonal merit, ufeful, generous, 
 benevolent exertion, the only honorable diftinaion. 
 The trappings which every taylor can make to clothe a 
 poor puny mortal, add no real dignity. Jn ages of 
 Ignorance, they might ftrike with awe. Thofe ages 
 are no more. Nor will they ever return, notwith- 
 flanding the efforts of petty defpots, (fearing the lofs 
 of thofe diftindions which they know they never 
 earned,) to keep the people in the groffeft ignorance. 
 
 God Almighty, who gives his fun to Ihine with as 
 much warmth and radiance on the cottage as on the 
 palace, has difpenfed the glorious privilege of genius 
 ar^l virtue to the poor and middle clafTes, with a bounty 
 perhaps feldom experienced in any of the proud pre- 
 tenders to hereditary or official grandeur. Let us call 
 to mind a few among the worthies who have adorned 
 the ages that have elapfed : Socrates ; was he mble in 
 the fenfe of a king at arms ? Would he have conde- 
 fcended to be bedizened with ribands, and ftars, and 
 garters? Cicero; was he not a mvus homof a man 
 unconneded with patricians, and deriving his glory 
 
JNohiliiy, 
 
 from the pureft fountain of honor, his own genius and 
 virtue ? Demofthenes would have fcorned to owe his 
 eftimation to a pedigree. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 The greateft fcholars, poets, orators, philofophers, 
 warriors, ftatefmen, inventors and improvers of the 
 arts, arofe from the loweft of the people. If we had 
 waited till courtiers had invented the art of printing, 
 clock-making, navigation, and a thoufand others, we 
 Ihould probably have continued in darkncfs to this hour. 
 They had fomething elfc to do, than to add to the 
 comforts and conveniencies of ordinary life. They 
 had to wor(hip an idol, with the incenfe of flattery, 
 who was often much more ftupid than themfelves, and 
 whofometimes had no more care or knowledge of the 
 people under him, or their wants, than he had of arts or 
 literature. 
 
 The education of the middle claflTes is infinitely bet- 
 ter than the education of thofe who are called great 
 people. Their time is lefs confumed by that vanity and 
 diffipation which enfeebles the mind, while it precludes 
 opportunity for reading and reflection. They ufually 
 have a regard to character, which contributes much to 
 the prefervation of virtue. Their honor and integrity 
 are valued by them, as pearls of great price. ' Thefe 
 are their ffars, and thefe their coronets. They are for 
 the moft part attached to their religion. They are 
 temperate, frugal, and induffrious. , In one particular, 
 and that one adds a value above all that courts can give, 
 they greatly excel the great, and that particular is fin- 
 cerity. They are in earneft in their words and deeds. 
 They have little occafion for fimulation and diflimu- 
 lation. Courtiers are too often varnifhed, fictitious 
 pcrfons, whom God and nature never made ; while 
 the people preferve the image unaffedted, which the 
 Supreme Being impreffed when he created man. 
 
24a 
 
 American Monitor, 
 
 NATURE AND ART. 
 
 Unerring nature, ftill divinely bright, 
 One clear, unchang'd, and univerfal light. 
 Life, force, and beauty, muft to all impart, 
 At once the fource, and end, and teft of art. 
 Art from that fund each juft fupply provides, 
 Works without (how, and without pomp befides*. 
 Infome fair body thus the fecret foul 
 With fpirits feeds, with vigour fills the whole. 
 Each motion guides, and ev'ry nerve fuftains ; 
 Itfelf unfeen, but in efFed remains. Pope. 
 
 NEGLIGENC E. 
 
 No man can fafely do that by others, which might 
 be done by himfelf. He that indulges negligence, 
 will quickly become ignorant of his own affairs ; and 
 he that trufts without referve, will at lafi be deceived. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 NATURAL ARI S T O C R A C Y. 
 
 That the beft and ablest men fhould govern the 
 worft and weakeft, is reafonable : and this is xhQ aristo- 
 cracy appointed by God and nature. But what do 
 we mean when we fay the beft and ableft men ? Do 
 we mean men of the beft families ; that is, men in 
 whofe families riches and titles have long been con- 
 fl)icuous ? By the ableft men, do we mean men who 
 poffefs the greateft power, by undue influence, in bo- 
 rough and county eledions, though the exertion of that 
 power be ftridlly forbidden by the law and conftitution ? 
 Or do we mean men of honeft, upright, and benevolent 
 hearts; of vigorous, well-informed, well exercifed 
 wnderftandings ? Certainly the latter fort, which forms 
 
l^on~Resistance. — Nature. 
 
 543 
 
 the aristocracy eftabliflied by God and nature. This is 
 gold ; the king's head ftamped upon it may make it a 
 guinea. The other is only copper ; and though the 
 iame impreffion may be made upon it at the mint, it is 
 ftill intrinfically worth no more than a halfpenny. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 NON-RESISTANCE. 
 
 Government being inftifuted for the common bene- 
 fit, the dodlrine of non-refiftance againft arbitrary 
 power and oppreflion is abfurd, flavifh, and deftrudlive 
 10 the good and happinefs of mankind. " 
 
 Conftitution of Tennessee. 
 
 NATURE. 
 
 Nature does nothing in vain ; the creator of the 
 univerfe has appointed every thing to a certain ufe and 
 purpofe, and determined it to a fettled courfe and 
 fphere of adion, from which if it in the lead deviates, 
 it becomes unfit to anfwer thofe ends for which it was 
 defigned. In like manner it is in the difpofitions of 
 fociety ; the civil economy is formed in a chain as well 
 as the natural ; and in either cafe the breach but of one 
 link puts the whole in fome diforder. It is, I think, 
 pretty plain, that moft of the abfurdity and ridicule that 
 yve meet with in the world, is generally owing to the 
 impertinent afFedation, of excelling in charaders men 
 are not fit for, and for which nature never defigned 
 them. 
 
 Every man has one or more qualities which may 
 make him ufeful both to himfelf and others ; nature 
 never fails of pointing them out, and while the infant 
 continues under the guardianfhip, fhe brings him on 
 in his way, and then offers herfelf for a guide ia 
 
244 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 what rcmaiias of the journey ; if he proceeds in that 
 courfe, he can hardly mifcarry : nature naakes good her 
 engagements ; for as fhe never promifes what ihe is 
 not able to perform, fo fhe never fails of performing 
 what Ihe promifes. But the misfortune is, men def- 
 pife what they may be matters of, and affedl what they 
 are not fit for ; they reckon themfelves already poflef- 
 fed of what their genius inclines them to, and fo bend 
 all their ambition to excel in what is out of their reach. 
 Thus they deftroy the ufe of their natural talents, in 
 the fame manner as covetous men do their quiet and re- 
 pofe ; they can enjoy no fatisfa£lion in what they have, 
 becaufe of the abfurd inclination they are pofTelTed 
 with for what they have not. Spectator. 
 
 OPPRESSION. 
 
 Men irritated by oppreffion, and elevated by a triumph 
 over it, are apt to abandon themfelves to violent and 
 extreme courfes. Burke. 
 
 OATHS. 
 
 Ye have heard that it hath been fald by them of old 
 time, Thou ihalt not forfwear thyfelf, but flialt perform 
 unto the. Lord thine oaths : 
 
 But I fay unto you, Swfear not at all ; neither by 
 heaven, for it is God's throne: 
 
 Nor by the earth ; for it is his footftool : neither by- 
 Jerufalem, for it is the city of the great king : 
 
 Neither flialt thou fwear by thy head, becaufe thou 
 canft not make one hair white or black : 
 
 But let your communication be yea, yea ; nay, nay; 
 for whatfoerer is more than thefe cometh of evil. 
 
 New Testament. 
 
Oaths, 
 
 245 
 
 It is great fin to fwear unto a fin, 
 But greater fin to keep a finful oath ; 
 Who can be bound by any folemn vow. 
 To do a murderous deed, to rob a man. 
 To force a fpotlefs virgin's chaftity, 
 To reave the orphan of his patrimony. 
 To wring the widow from her cuftom'd right. 
 And have no other reafon for his wrong, 
 But that he was bound by a folemn oath ? 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Whoever confiders the number of abfurd and ridi- 
 culous oaths necelfary to be taken at prefent in mod 
 countries, on being admitted into any fociety or pro- 
 feffion whatever, will be lefs furprifed to find prevari- 
 cation ftill prevailing, where perjury has led the way. 
 
 While good faith reigned upon the earth, a fimple 
 promife was fufficient to infure confidence. Oaths 
 owe their origin to perfidy. Man was not required to 
 call upon the God that heard him to witnefs his veraci- 
 ty, till he deferved no longer to be believed. Magiftrates 
 and fovereigns, to what do your regulations tend ? 
 You either oblige the man of probity to lift up his 
 hand, and call heaven to witnefs, which with him is a 
 requifition as injurious as it is ufelefs ; or you compel 
 an oath from the mouth of a reprobate. Of what 
 value can the oath of fuch a man appear to you ? If the 
 oath be contrary to his own fecurity, it is abfurd. If 
 it be confonant with his intereft, it is fuperfluous. 
 Does it argue a knowledge of the human heart, to give 
 the debtor his choice between his ruin and a falfehood ; 
 or the criminal his option between death and perjury ? 
 Will the man whom motives of revenge, interefi:, or 
 wickednefs, have determined to give afalfe teftimony, 
 be deterred by the fear of committing one crime more? 
 Is he not apprifed, before he is brought up to the tri- 
 bunal of juftice, that this formality will be required of 
 him r And has he not from the bcttom of his heart 
 
 Y 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 defpifed it, before he complied with it? Is it not a 
 fpecies of impiety to introduce the name of God in our 
 ■wicked difputes ? Is it not a fingular mode of making 
 heaven, as it were, an accomplice in the guilt, to fufFer 
 that heaven to be called upon, which never has contra- 
 didled nor ever will contradid the oath ? How intrepid, 
 therefore, muft the falfe witnefs become, when he has 
 with impunity called down the divine vengeance on his 
 head, without the fear of being convidted s' Oaths feem 
 to be fo much debafed and proftituted by their frequen- 
 cy, that falfe witnefles are grown as common as 
 robbers. Raynal. 
 
 OLD SOLDIER. 
 
 Once, gay in life, and free from anxious care, 
 J through the furrows drove the Ihining fliare— 
 I fawmy waving fields with plenty crown'd, 
 And yellow Ceres, joyous, fmile around ; 
 ^Till rous'd by freedom at my country's call, 
 I left my peaceful home, and gave up all. 
 Now forc'd, alas ! to beg my hard-earn'd bread. 
 This crazy body longs to join the dead : 
 Ungrateful country ! when the danger's o'er, 
 Your braved fons cold charity implore. 
 
 Children of wealth, in downy pieafure bred, 
 Pamper'd in eafe, by fav'ring fortune fed ; 
 Who view with thoughtlefs eye the humble poor, 
 That glean their fcanty meals from door to door ; 
 Ah! heave for me a fympathetic figh. 
 And wipe the falling tear from forrow's eye. 
 
 Fentham. 
 
 PRIMOGENITURE. 
 
 How unnatural is the anxious defire of ariftocratical 
 bigots to make, as they exprefs it, an eldelt fon ! to 
 ftarve, or at leaft to dirtrefs, a dozen fons and daughters, 
 
Passim. — Patience, 247 
 
 in order to leave behind them one great reprefentative, 
 who may continue to toil in the purfuit of civil pre- 
 eminence, for the gratification family pride. The 
 privileges of primogeniture eftablifh petty defpots all 
 over the land, who are interefted, and fufficiently inclin- 
 ed, from pride as well as interell, to promote the fpirit 
 ot defpotifm. They would have no obje£lion to the 
 feudal fyftem, in which the only diftinilion was that 
 of lords and vaffals. Not contented with engrofling 
 the property which ought to be fliared among their 
 brothers and filters, they claim privileges in confe- 
 quence of their property, and woald appropriate the 
 birds of the air and the beafis of the forelt for their re- 
 creation in the field, and their luxury at the table. 
 
 When the laws of nature, and eternal truth and juf- 
 tice, are violated, no wonder that defpotifm advances, 
 and man is degraded. Spirit ©f Despotism. 
 
 PASSION. 
 
 How terrible is paffion 1 how our reafon 
 Falls down before it ! whilft the tortur'd frame. 
 Like a fhip dafh'd by fierce encount'ring tides, 
 And of her pilot fpoil'd, drives round and round, 
 The fport of wind and wave. Bar ford. 
 
 PATIENCE. 
 
 O heav'n born patience ! fource of peace and reft, 
 Defcend ; infufe thy fpirit thro' my breaft. 
 That I may calmly meet the hour of fate. 
 My foes forgive, and triumph o'er their hate. 
 This body let their engines tear and grind : 
 But let not ail their racks fubdue my mind. 
 
 Mallet. 
 
 If what we fufFer has been brought on us by our- 
 felves, it is obferved by an antientpoet, that patience is 
 
248 
 
 American Moniior. 
 
 eminently our duty, fince no one ought to be angry at 
 feeling that which he has deferved. Jf we areconfci- 
 ous that we have not contributed to our own fufFerings, 
 if punifhmenc falls upon innocence, or difappointment 
 happens to induftry and prudence, patience, whether 
 more neceffary or not, is much eafier, fince our pain is 
 then without aggravation, and we have not the bitter- 
 nefs of remorfe to add to the afperity of misfortune. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 In thofe evils which are allotted us by Providence, 
 fuch as deformity, privation ©f any of the fenfes, or 
 old age, it is always to be remembered, that impati- 
 ence can have no prefent efFe£l, but to deprive us of the 
 confolations which our condition admits, by driving 
 away from us thofe, by whofe converfation, or advice, 
 ■we might be amufed or helped ; and that with regard 
 to futurity, it is yet lefs to be juftified, fince without 
 lelT'ening the pain, it cuts off the hope of that reward, 
 M'hich he, by whom it is infiidled, will confer upon 
 them that bear it well. Ibid. 
 
 In all evils which admit a remedy, impatience is to 
 be avoided, becaufe it waftes that time and attention in 
 complaints, that, if properly applied, might remove the 
 caufe. Ibid. 
 
 PATRIOTISM. 
 
 por all conne£lions elfe. 
 
 All private duties are fubordinate, 
 
 To what we owe the public. Partial ties 
 
 Of fon, and father, hufband, friend or brother, 
 
 Owe their enjoyments to the public fafety, 
 
 And without that were vain.- ' Whitehead^ 
 
 _ The patriot's breaft 
 
 No hopes, no fears, but for his country knows, _ 
 And in her danger lofes private woes. Ibid. 
 
Patriotism. — Peace. 
 
 249 
 
 Leara hence, ye Romans, on how fure a bafe 
 
 The patriot builds his happinefs ; no ftroke. 
 
 No keeneft, deadlieft, lhaft of adverfe fate. 
 
 Can make his generous bofom quite defpair, * 
 
 But that alone by which his country falls. 
 
 Grief may to grief in endlefs round fucceed. 
 
 And nature fufter when our children bleed : 
 
 Yet ftill fuperior muft that hero prove, 
 
 Whofe firft, bed paflion is his country's love. Ihid, 
 
 To be attached to the fubdivifion, to love the little 
 platoon we belong to in fociety, is the firft principle 
 (the germ, as it were) of public affe£lions. It is the 
 firft link in the feriesby which we proceed towards a 
 love to our country and to mankind. The interefts of 
 that portion of focial arrangement is a truft in the hands 
 of all thofe who compofe it ; and as none but bad men 
 would juftify it in abufe, none but traitors would bar- 
 ter it away for their own perfonal advantage. 
 
 Burke. 
 
 PEACE. 
 
 Give peace, give healing peace to two brave nations, 
 Fafigu'd with war, and Tick of cruel deeds 1 
 To carry on deftrudlion's eafy trade, ^ 
 AfHi£l mankind, and fcourge the world with war. 
 Is what each wicked, each ambitious man, 
 Who lets his furious paffions loofe, may do : 
 But in the flattering torrents of fuccefs, 
 To check his rage, and drop the avenging fword. 
 When a repenting people afk it of him. 
 That is the genuine bounty of a God. Thomson. 
 
 Fair peace ! how lovely, how delightful thou ! 
 By whofe wide tie, the kindred fons of men 
 Like brothers live, in amity coimbin'd. 
 And unfufpicious faith \ while honeft toil 
 
 Y 2 
 
American Monlfor. 
 
 Gives every joy, and to thofe joys a right, 
 
 Which idle, barbarous rapine but ufurps. 
 
 Beneath thy calm infpiring influence, 
 
 Science his views enlarges, art refines, 
 
 And fwelling connmerce opens all her ports. 
 
 Bleft be the man divine who gives us thee ! 
 
 Who bids the trumpet hufh his horrid clang, 
 
 Nor blow the giddy nations into rage ; 
 
 Who flieathes the murd'rous blade \ the deadly gun 
 
 Into the well-pil'd armoury returns ; 
 
 And every vigour from the work of death 
 
 To grateful induftry converting, makes 
 
 The country flourifli, and the city fmile, 
 
 Unviolated, him the virgin fings ; 
 
 And him the fmiling mother to her train ; 
 
 Of him the fhepherd, in the peaceful dale, 
 
 Chaunts : and, the treafures of his labour fafe, 
 
 The hufbandman of him, as at the plough, 
 
 Or team, he toils. With him the failor foothes, 
 
 Beneath the trembling moon, the midnight wave ; 
 
 And the full city, warm from ftreet to ftreet. 
 
 And (hop to fhop, refponfive, rings of him, 
 
 Nor joys one land alone ; his praife extends 
 
 Far as the fun rolls the diftufive day ; * 
 
 Far as the breeze can bear the gifts of peace, 
 
 Till all the happy nations catch the fong. Ihid. 
 
 A peace too eagerly fought, is not always the fooner 
 obtained ; and when obtained, it never can be every 
 thing we v.'ifh. The difcovery of y^^ment vvifhes 
 generally fruftrates their attainment-^janud your adver- 
 fary has gained a great advantage pVer you whea he 
 finds you impatient to conclude a treaty. There is in 
 referve, not only fomething of dignity, but a great deal 
 of prudence tot). A fort of cpurage belongs to nego- 
 ciation as well as to operations 'of the field, A nego- 
 ciator muft feem willing to hazard all, if he willies to 
 fecurc any material point. ' Burke. 
 
Peace. — Persecution, 
 
 Oh ftretch thy reign, fair peace ! from fliore to fhore. 
 
 Till conqueft ceafe, and flav'ry be no n^ore ! 
 
 Till the freed Indians in their native groves 
 
 Reap their own fruits, and woo their fable loves! 
 
 Peru once more a race of kings behold, 
 
 And other Mexicos be roof'd with gold! 
 
 Exil'd by thee from earth todeepeft hell, 
 
 In brazen bonds fhall barb'rous difcord dwell : 
 
 Gigantic pride, pale terror, gloomy care, 
 
 And mad ambition fhall attend her there : ^ 
 
 There purple vengeance bath'd in gore retires. 
 
 Her weapons blunted, and extindl her fires : 
 
 There hateful envy her own fnakes lhall feel. 
 
 And perfecutlon mourn her broken wheel : 
 
 There fa6lion roar, rebellion bite her chain, 
 
 And gafping furies thirft for blood in vain. Pope, 
 
 PERSECUTION. 
 
 : -To fubdue th' unconquerable mind. 
 
 To make one reafon have the fame efFeift 
 
 Upon all apprehenfions ; to force this 
 
 Or that man to think juft as I do ; 
 
 Impoffible ! unlefs fouls, which differ 
 
 "Like human faces, were alike in all. Rowe. 
 
 A fury crawl'd from out her horrid cell ; 
 The bloodielt minifter of death and hell. 
 Huge fuil-gorg'd fnakes on her lean fhouldershung, 
 And death's dark courts with their loud hiffing rung. 
 Her teeth and claws were iron, and her breath. 
 Like fubterranean damps, gave prefent death. 
 Flames, worfe than hell's, fhot from her bloody eyes, 
 And fire and fword eternally fhe cries. 
 No certain fhape, n(> figure regular, - 
 No limbs cliilinfl in th' odious fiend appear. 
 Her {qualid bloated belly did arife, 
 Swoln with black gore, to a prodigious fize, 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 Diftended vaftlyby a mighty flood 
 
 Of flaughter'd faints, and conftanl martyrs' blood. 
 
 Part flood out prominent, but part fell down, 
 
 And, in a flagging heap, lay waU'wing on the ground. 
 
 Horror, till now the uglieft fhape efteem'd. 
 
 So much out-done, a harmlefs figure feem'd. 
 
 Envy, and hate, and malice blufh'd to fee 
 
 Themfeives eclips'd by fuch deformity. 
 
 Her fev'rifh thirft drinks down afea of blood. 
 
 Not of the impious, but the juft and good ; 
 
 'Gainft whom fhe burns with unextinguifh'd rage, 
 
 Nor can th' exhaufted world her wrath affuage. 
 
 Blackmore. 
 
 It is injuflice, and not a miftaken confcience that 
 has been the principle of perfecution, at leaft as far as 
 it has fallen under my obfervation. Burke. 
 
 P I T Y. 
 
 It is the mark of a difhonefl mind 
 Not tocommiferate even the moft guilty. 
 He, who unmov'd beholds the wretch's pains. 
 Is fuch a wretch, as may deferve our pity. 
 
 Charles Johnson. 
 
 In benevolent natures the impulfe to pity is fo fud- 
 den, that, like inftruments of mufic, which obey the 
 touch — the objeds which are fitted to excite fuch im- 
 preffions, work fo inftantaneous an efFedl, that you 
 ■would think the will was fcarce concerned, and that 
 the mind was altogether paflive in the fympathy which 
 her own goodnefs has excited. The truth is — the 
 foul is generally in fuch cafes fo bufily taken up and 
 wholly engroffed by the objed of pity, that fhe does not 
 attend to her own operations, or take leifure to examine 
 the principles upon which fhe ads. Sterne. 
 
Poverty, 
 
 253 
 
 Pity is to many of the unhappy, a (ource of comfort 
 in hopelefs diftreffes, as it contributes to recommend 
 them to themfelves, by proving that they have not loft 
 the regard of others ; and heaven feems to indicate the 
 duty even of barren compalTion, byincliningus to weep 
 for evils which we cannot remedy. Rambler. 
 
 POVERTY. 
 
 Poverty has, in large cities, very different appearan- 
 ces. It is often concealed in fplendor, and often in 
 extravagance. It is the care of a very great part of 
 mankind to conceal their indigence from the reft. 
 They fupport themfelves by temporary expedients, and 
 every day is loft in contriving for to-morrow. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 It is the great privilege of poverty to be happy un- 
 envied, to be healthful without phyfic, and fecure 
 without a guard ; to obtain from the bounty of na- 
 ture what the great and wealthy are compelled to pro- 
 cure by the help of artifts, and the attendance of flat- 
 terers and fpies. Rambler. 
 
 There are natural reafons why poverty does not 
 eafily conciliate. He that has been confined from his 
 infancy to the converfation of the loweft claffes of man- 
 kind, muft neceffarily want thofe accompliihments 
 which are the ufual means of attracting favour ; and 
 though truth, fortitude, and probity, give an indifput- 
 able right to reverence and kindnefs, they will not be 
 diftinguifhed by common eyes, unlefs they are bright- 
 ened by elegance of manners ; but are caft afide, like 
 unpolifhed gems, of which none but the artift knows 
 the intrinfic value, till their afperities are fmootheds 
 and their incruftations rubbed away. Ibid, 
 
254 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 ^ Nature makes us poor only when we want neceffa- 
 ries, buf cuflom gives the name of poverty to the want 
 of fuperfluities. Idler. 
 
 The poor are infenfible of many little vexations 
 which fometimes embitter the poflTeffions and pollute 
 the enjoyments of the rich. They are not pained by 
 cafual incivility, or mortified by the mutilation of a 
 compliment ; but this happinefs is like that of a ma- 
 lefador, who ceafes to feel the cords that bind him 
 when the pincers are tearing his flefh. Johnson. 
 
 To be idle and to be poor have always been re- 
 proaches, and therefore every man endeavours, with 
 his utmoft care, to hide his poverty from others, and 
 his idlenefs from himfelf. Idler. 
 
 PRIDE. 
 
 Of all the caufes which confpire to blind 
 Man's erringjudgment, and mifguide the mind. 
 What the weak head with ftrongeft bias rules, 
 Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools. 
 Whatever nature has in worth deny'd, 
 She gives in large recruits of needful pride. 
 For as in bodies, fo in fouls, we find 
 What wants in blood and fpirits, fwell'd with wind : 
 Pride, where wit fails, fteps in to our defence, 
 And fills upall the mighty void of fenfe. Pope. 
 
 PASSION. 
 
 It is a very common expreflion, that fuch a one is 
 very good natured, but very paffionate. The expref- 
 fion indeed is very good-natured to allow paffionate 
 people fo much quarter: but I think a paffionate man 
 deferves the leaft indulgence imaginable. It is faid, it 
 is foon over : that is, ail the mifchief he does is quickly 
 
Providence. — Philosophy. 
 
 dirpafchcd, which, \ ihink, is no great recommendation 
 to favour. I have known one of thofe good-natnred 
 palTionate men fay in a mixed company, even to his 
 own wife or child, fuch things as the moft inveterate 
 enemy of his family would not have fpoken, even in 
 imagination. Spectator. 
 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Happy the man who fees a God employed 
 In all the good and ill that chequer life! 
 Refolving all events, with their efFeds 
 And manifold refults, into the will 
 And arbitration wife of the Supreme. 
 Did not his eye rule all things, and intend 
 The leaft of all concerns (fince from the leaft 
 The greateft off originate) could chance 
 Find place in his dominion, or difpofe 
 One lawlefs paiticle to thwart his plan. 
 Then God might be furpriz'd, and unforefeen 
 Contingence might alarm him, and difturb 
 The fmooth and equal courfe of his affairs. 
 
 CoWPER. 
 
 PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 One of the chief advantages derived by the prefent 
 generation from the improvement and difFufion of 
 philofophy, is deliverance from unneceiTary terrors, 
 and exemption from falfe alarms. The unufual ap- 
 pearances, whether regular or accidental, which once 
 fpread confternation over ages of ignorance, are now 
 the recreations of inquifitive fecurity. The fun is no 
 more lamented when it is eclipfed, than when it fets, 
 and meteors play their corrufcaiions without prognoftic 
 or prediaion. Johnson. 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 Many men in our times, who wifh to extend 
 and aggrandize that power, from whofe arbitrary boun- 
 ty they derive all the honour they are capable of acquir- 
 ing, endeavour to throw contempt on philofophy. It 
 may indeed be doubted whether they all know the 
 meaning of the word ; but they know it implies a me- 
 rit not derived from princes, and therefore they wifh 
 to degrade it. Their fountain of honour, they con- 
 ceive, has no refemblance, in its nature or efficacy, 
 to the famed fountains of Parnaflus : it conveys no in- 
 fpiration, except that which difplays itfelf in the tumor 
 of pride. 
 
 The prefent age has heard upftart noblemen give to 
 philofophers (whofe genius and difcoveries entitle them 
 to rank, in reafon's table of precedency, above every 
 nobleman in the red book} the opprobrious appellation 
 of wretches and mifcreants. Philofophy and philofo- 
 phers have been mentioned by men, whofe attainments 
 would only qualify them for diftinftion in a ball-room, 
 with exprellions of hatred and contempt due only to 
 thieves, murderers, the very outcafts and refufe of 
 human nature. Spirit of Pespotism. 
 
 Philofophy, fo far from deferving contempt, is the 
 glory of human nature. Man approaches by contempla- 
 tion to what we conceive of celeftial purity and excel- 
 lence. Without the aid of philofophy, the mafs of 
 niankind, all over the terraqueous globe, would have 
 funk in flavery and fuperftition, the natural confequen- 
 ces of grofs ignorance. Men at the very bottom of 
 fociety, have been enabled by the natural talents they 
 pofTeired, feconded by favorable opportunities, to reach 
 thehigheft improvements in philofophy ; and have thus 
 lifted up a torch in the valley, which has expofed the 
 weaknefs and deformity of the caftle on the mountain, 
 from which the oppreffors fallied, in the night ofdark- 
 nefs, and fpread defolation with impunity. Defpots, 
 the meaneft, the bafeft, the moft brutal and ignorant ol 
 
Philosophy. — Physic, 
 
 257 
 
 the human race, would have trampled on the rights 
 and the happinefs of men unrefifted, if philofophy had 
 not opened the eyes of the fufFerers, fhewn them their 
 own power and dignity, and taught them to defpifi: 
 thofe giants of power, as they appeared through the 
 mifts of ignorance, who ruled a vaflTal world with a 
 mace of iron. Liberty is the daughter of philofophy ; 
 and they who deteil the offspring, do all that they can 
 to vilify and difcountenance the mother. 
 
 But let us calamly confider what is the objed of this 
 philofophy, fo formidable in the eyes of thofe who 
 arebigotted to ancient abufes, who hate every improve- 
 ment, and who wifh to fubjed the many to the control 
 of an arbitrary few. Philofophy is ever employed in 
 finding out whatever is good, and whatever true. She 
 darts her eagle eye over all thebufy world, dete6ls error 
 and mifchief, and points out modes of improvement. 
 In the multiform ilate of human affairs, ever obnox- 
 ious to decay and abuie, it is her's to meditate on the 
 means of melioration. She vvifhes to demolifh nothing 
 but what is a nuifance. To build, to repair, to 
 ftrengthen, and to polifli, thefe are the works which 
 flie delights to pfan; and, in concerting the beft methods 
 of direSing their accomplifhment, (he confumes the 
 midnight oil. How can fhediflurb human affairs, lince 
 Ihe dwells in contemplation, and defcends not to action } 
 neither does fhe impel others to adion by the arts of 
 ^eluiive eloquence. She applies to reafon alone ; and 
 if reafon is not convinced, all that fhe has done, is fwept 
 away, like the web of Arachne. Uid. 
 
 PHYSIC. 
 
 By chace our long-liv'd fathers earn'd their food ; 
 Toil ftrung the nerves, and purify'd the blood : 
 But we, their fons, a pamper'd race of men, 
 Are dwindled down to threefcore years and ten : 
 
 Z 
 
American Manitor, 
 
 Better to hunt in fields for health unbought, 
 Than fee the Dodor for a pois'nous draught. 
 The wife for cure on exercife depend : 
 God never made his work for man to mend. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 PRO M I S E S. 
 
 The man who is wantonly profufe of his promifes, 
 ought to fink his credit as much as a tradefman would, 
 by uttering a great number of promifibry notes, paya- 
 ble at a didant day. The trueft conclufion in both 
 cafes is, tjjat neither intend, or will be able to pay. 
 And as the latter moft probably intends to cheat you of 
 your money, fo the former at lead defigns to cheat 
 you of your thanks. Fielding. 
 
 PRIDE. 
 
 O God! what is man! — even a thing of nought — a 
 poor, infirm, miferable, Ihort-lived creature, that paf- 
 fes away like a fhadow, and is haftening off the ftage, 
 where the theatrical titles and diftinO^ions, and the 
 whole niafk of pride which he has worn for a day, will 
 fall off, and leave him naked as a negleded flave.— 
 Send forth your imagination, I befeech you, to vievy 
 the laft fcene of the greatefl; and proudell: who ever 
 av/ed and governed the world — See the empty vapour 
 difappearingl one of the arrows of mortality this 
 moment fticks fafl: within him: fee — it forces out his 
 life, and freezes his blood and fpirits. 
 
 Approach his bed of ftate — lift up the curtain — re- 
 gard a monhent with filence. 
 
 Are thefecold hands and pale lips, aU that are left of 
 him who was canoniz'd by his own pride or made a 
 god of by his flatterers ? Sterne. 
 
Pride.' — Partiality. 
 
 259 
 
 Pride, according to the do6lrine of fome, is the uni- 
 verfal paffion. There are others, who confider it as 
 the foible of great minds; and others again, who will 
 have it to be the very foundation of greatnefs ; but to 
 real areatnefs, which is the union of a good heart with 
 a good head, it is almofl: diametrically oppofite ; as it 
 generally proceeds from the depravity of both, and al- 
 moft certainly from the badnefs of the latter. Indeed 
 a little obfervation will (how us, that fools are the moll 
 addiaed to this vice, and a little reflexion will teacli 
 us that it is incompatible with true underftanding. 
 Accordingly we fee that while the wifeft of men have 
 conftantly lannented the imbecility and imperfedion of 
 their own nature, the meaneft and weakeli have beca 
 trumpeting forth their own excellencies, and triiunph- 
 ing in their own fufficiency. Fielding. 
 
 To fhewthe ffrength and infamy of pride. 
 By all 'tis foUow'd, and by all denied. 
 What numbers are there, who at once purfue 
 Praife, and the glory to contemn it, too 1 Young. 
 
 PARTIALITY. 
 
 Let a man be never fo honeft, the account of his 
 own condudl will, in fpite of himfelf, be fo very 
 favourable, that his vices will become purified through 
 his lips, and, like foul liquors, well ftrained, will leave 
 all their foulnefs behind. For though the fa£fs them- 
 felves may appear, yet fo different will be the motives, 
 circumflances, and confequences, when a man tells his 
 own ffory, and when his enemy tells it, that we fcarce 
 recognize therfaft to be one and the fame. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 PATRONAGE. 
 
 A man confpicuous in a high ftation, who multiplies 
 hopes, that he may multiply dependents, may be con- 
 ficiered as a beafl: of prey. Idler. 
 
 PROFESSION. 
 
 The aUachment every man has to his own profefHonji 
 and the contempt he has for others, difcovers itfelf in 
 Jiumberlefs inftances. It has been faid of a geographer, 
 that he received no other pleafure from the JEn^'id of 
 Virgil, than by tracing out the vo}7age of iEneas in 
 the map — -and of a celebrated coach-maker, who juft 
 having Latin enough to read the ftory of Phaston in the 
 Metamorphofis, fhook his head, that fo fine a genius 
 for making chariots, as Ovid had, was thrown away on 
 making poems. Fielding. 
 
 PRAISE. 
 
 7'he real fatisfadlion which praife can afford, is 
 when what is repeated aloud, agrees with the whifpers 
 of confcience, by ihewing us that we have not endea- 
 voured to deferve well in vain. Rambler. 
 
 Men are feldom fatisfied with praife, introduced or 
 fbliowed by any mention of defedl. Life of Pope. 
 
 Some are lavifh of praife, becaufe they hope to be 
 repaid. Rambler. 
 
 PRUDENCE. 
 
 Goodnefs of heart, and opennefs of temper, though 
 they may give great comfort within, and adminifter to 
 an honeft pride, will by no means, alas ! do our bufinefs 
 in this world; prudence and circumfpedion are necef- 
 
peevishness. — Prodigality. 
 
 261 
 
 fary even to the beft of men. They are, indeed, as it 
 were, a guard to virtue, without which flie can never 
 be fafc. It is not enough that your defigns, nay, that 
 your adions are intrinfically good, you muft take care 
 they ftall appear fo. Fielding. 
 
 Prudence is a duty which we owe ourfelveE, and it 
 we will be fo much our own enemies as to negled it, 
 we are not to wonder if the world is deficient in dif- 
 charging their duty to us ; for when a man lays the 
 foundation of his own ruin, others too often are apt to 
 build upon it. 
 
 PEEVISHNESS. 
 
 He that refigns his peace to little cafualties, and 
 fufFers the courfe of his life to be interrupted by fortui- 
 tous inadvertencies or offences, delivers up himfelf to 
 the direaion of the wind, and lofes all that conffancy. 
 and equanimity, which, conftitute the chief praife of a 
 wife man. Rambler. 
 
 PRODIGALITY. 
 
 He feldom lives frugally who lives by chance. Hope- 
 is always liberal, and they that truft her promifcs,. 
 make little fcruple of revelling to-day, on the profits 
 of to-morrow. Johnson. 
 
 POLITENESS. 
 
 PoHtenefs is one of thofe advantages which we ne- 
 ver cfiimate rightly, but by the inconvenience of its 
 lofs. Its influence upon the manners is conftant and 
 uniform, fo that, like an equal motion, it efcapes per- 
 ception. The circumftances of every adion are io, 
 adjuiled to each other, that we do not fee where any. 
 
 Z 2 
 
262 
 
 American Monitora 
 
 error could have been committed, and rather acquiefce 
 in Its propriety, than admire its exadnefs. 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 When the pale of ceremony is once broken, rude- 
 nels and infult foon enter the breach. Bid. 
 
 PRIVATE VICES. 
 
 The abfurd and abominable dodrine, that private 
 vices are public benefits, it is hoped will be blotted from 
 the memory of man, and expunged from the catalogue of 
 human follies, with the fyftems of government which 
 gave it birth. The ground of this infulting dodlrine 
 as, that advantage may be taken ot the extravagant 
 foibles of individuals to increafe the revenues of the 
 Hate; as if the chief end of fociety were, to fteal money 
 for the government's purfe ! to be fquandered by the 
 governors, to render them more infolent in their op- 
 preflions! it is humiliating, to anfwerfuch arguments 
 as thefe ; where we muft lay open the moft degrading 
 retreats of proftiiufed logic, to difcover the pofitions on 
 which they are founded. But orders and privileges will 
 lead to any thing: once teach a man, that some are born 
 io command, and others to be commanded; and after that, 
 there is no camel too big for him to fwallow. 
 
 Barlow. 
 
 POPULATION. 
 
 No nation is yet fo numerous, nor any country fo 
 populous, as it is capable of becoming. Europe, taken 
 together, would fupport at leaft five times its prefent 
 number, even on its prefent fyftem of cultivation; and 
 how many times this increafed population may be 
 multiplied by new difcoveries in the infinite fcience of 
 fubfidence, no man will pretend to calculate. This of 
 
 \ 
 
Political Discussion. 
 
 263 
 
 itfelf is fufficient to prove, that fociefy at prefent has the 
 means of rendering all its members happy in every 
 refpcft, except the removal of bodily difeafc. 
 
 Barlow. 
 
 POLITICAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 What employment, in the bufy fcene in which man 
 engages from the cradle to the tomb, is more worthy 
 of him than political difcnffion? It affords a field for 
 intelledlwal energy, and all the fineft feelings of bene- 
 volence. It exercifes and flrengthens every faculty. 
 It calls forth latent virtues, which elfe had flept in the 
 bofom, like the diamond in the mine. And is this 
 employment, thus ufeful and honorable, to be confined 
 to a few among the race of mortals ? Is there to be a 
 monopoly of political adtion and fpeculation ? Why 
 then did heaven beftow reafon and fpeech, powers of 
 adlivity, and a fpirit of enterprize, in as great perfedion 
 on the loweft among the people, as on thofe who, by 
 no merit of their own, inherit wealth and high ffation? 
 Heaven has declared its will by its adis. Man con- 
 travenes it ; but time, and the progreffivc improvement 
 of the underftanding, will reduce the anomaly to its 
 natural re£litude. And if a few irregularities fhould 
 fometimes arife in the procefs, they are of no impor- 
 tance when weighed with the happy refult ; the return 
 of diftorted fyflems to truth, to reafon, and the will of 
 God. Occafional ferments, with all their inconve- 
 niences, are infinitely preferable to the putrefcence of 
 ff agnation. They are fymptoms of health and vigor ; 
 and though they may be attended with tranfient pain, 
 yet while they continue to appear at intervals, there is 
 no danger of mortification. Good hearts, accompa- 
 nied with good underflandings, feldom produce, even 
 where miftaken, lafting evil. They repair and com- 
 penfafe. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
264 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 " ■' " '~ True religion 
 
 Is always mild, propitious, and humble ; 
 Plays not the tyrant, plants no faith in blood. 
 Nor bears deftrudion on her chariot- wheels ; 
 But ftoops to poliQi, fuccour, and redrefs, 
 And builds her grandeur on the public good. 
 
 Miller. 
 
 Religion's all. Defcending from the fkies 
 To wretched man, the goddefs in her left 
 Holds out this world, and, in her right, the next; 
 Religion ! the fole voucher man is man : 
 Supporter fole of man above himfelf ! 
 Ev'n in this night of frailty, change, and death. 
 She gives the foul a foul that a6ls a god. 
 Religion! providence! an after-ftate! 
 Here is firm footing ; here is folid rock \ 
 This can fupport us ; all is fea befides ; 
 . Sinks under us ; beftorms, and then devours. 
 His hand the good man fattens on the fkies, 
 And bids earth roll, nor feels her idle whirl. 
 
 YouNG» 
 
 Religion ! oh thou cherub heavenly bright ! 
 Of joys unmixt, and fathomlefs delight ! 
 Thou, thou art all; nor find 1 in the whole 
 Creation aught, but God and my own foul. 
 
 Thy force alone, religion, death difanns^ 
 Breaks all his darts, and every viper charms. 
 Soften'd by thee, the grifly form appears 
 No more the horrid objecl of our fears. 
 We undifmay'd this awful power obey. 
 That guides us thro' the fafe tho' gloomy way 
 Which leads to life, and to the bleff abode, 
 What ravifti'd minds enjoy what here they ovvn'd a 
 God. 
 
Religion. 
 
 We grant, a train of mifchiefs oft proceeds 
 From fuperftitious rites and penal creeds ; 
 But view religion in her native charms, 
 Difperfing bleffings with indulgent arms, 
 From her fair eyes what heav'nly rays are fpread ? 
 What blooming joys fmile round her blifsful head ? 
 Offspring divine ! by thee we blefs the caufe, 
 Whoform'd the world, and rules it by his laws ; 
 His independent being we adore. 
 Extol his goodnefs, and revere his pow'r. 
 Our wond'ring eyes his high perfeflions view, 
 The lofty contemplation we purfue, 
 'Till ravifli'd, we the great idea find, 
 Shining in bright impreflions on our mind. 
 
 Infpir'd by thee, gueftof celeftial race, 
 With generous love we human kind embrace; 
 We provocations unprovok'd receive, 
 Patient of wrong, and eafy to forgive; 
 Prote6l the orphan, plead the widow's caufe. 
 Nor deviate from the line unerring juftice draws* 
 
 Thy luftre, bleft effulgence ! can difpel 
 The clouds of error, and the gloom of hell ; 
 Can to the foul impart etherial light. 
 Give life divine, and intelle£tual fjght : 
 Before our ravifh'd eyes thy beams difplay 
 The op'ning fcenes of blifs, and endlefs day ; 
 By which incited, we with ardor rife, 
 Scorn this inferior ball, and claim the fkies. 
 
 Tyrants to thee a change of nature owe, 
 Difraifs their tortures, and indulgent grow. 
 Ambitious conquerors, in their mad carreer, 
 Check'd by thy voice, lay down the fword and fpear. 
 The boldeft champions of impiety, 
 Scornful of heav'n, fubdu'd or won by thee, 
 Before thy hallowed altars bend their knee. 
 Loofe wits, made wife, a public good become, 
 The fons of pride an humble mien aifume, 
 
266 
 
 American Moniior. 
 
 The profligate in morals grow fevere, 
 Defrauders juft, and fycophants fincere. 
 
 Blackmore. 
 
 RESOLUTION. 
 
 When defperate ills demand a fpeedy cure, diflrufi: 
 is cowardice, and prudence folly. Johnson. 
 
 Marfhal Turenne, among the acknowledgments 
 which he ufed to pay in converfation to the memory 
 of thofe by whom he had been inftruded in the art of 
 war, mentioned one, with honour, who taught him 
 not to fpend his time in regretting any miftake which 
 he had made, but to fet himfelf immediately, and vi- 
 goroufly, to repair it. Patience and fubmiflion fhould 
 be carefully diftinguiflied from cowardice and indo- 
 lence; we are not to repine, but we may lawfully 
 llruggle ; for the calan?ities of life, like the neceffities 
 of nature, are calls to labour, and exercifes of dili- 
 gence. Rambler. 
 
 To have attempfed much is always laudable, even 
 ■when the enterprize is above the flrength that under- 
 takes it. To reft below his own aim, is incident to 
 every one whofe fancy is adive, and whofe views are 
 comprehenfive ; nor is any man fatisfied with himfelf, 
 becaufe he has done much, but becaufe he can conceive 
 ^^^^^e. Johnson. 
 
 _ Nothing will ever be attempted if all poffible objec- 
 tions muft be firft overcome. Ihid. 
 
 RICHES. 
 
 The more experience we have of the world, the 
 more that experience fliould fhow us how little is in 
 the power of riches ; for what indeed, truly defirable, 
 
Riches. 
 
 can they beflow upon us ? Can they give beauty to the 
 deformed, ftrength to the weak, or heahh to the infirm ? 
 Surely if they could, vi'e fliould not fee fo many ill-favo- 
 red faces haunting the aflemblies of the great, nor would 
 fuch numbers of feeble wretches languilhintheircoach- 
 es and palaces ? Can they prolong their own poffefTion, 
 or lengthen his days who enjoys them r So far otherwife, 
 that the floth, the luxury, the care which attend them, 
 fhorten the lives of millions, and bring them with pain 
 and mifery to an untimely grave, Where, then, is 
 their value, if they can neither embellifh, nor ftrengihen 
 our forms, fweeren, or prolong our lives } Again, can 
 they adorn the mind more than the body ? Do they not 
 rather fwell the heart with vanity, puff up the cheeks 
 with pride, fhut our ears to every call of virtue, and 
 our bowels to every motive of compafilon. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 Whoever fliall look heedfuUy upon thofe who are 
 eminent for their riches, will not think their condition 
 fuch, as that he fhould hazard his quiet, and much 
 lefs his virtue, to obtain it ; for all that great wealth ge- 
 nerally gives above a moderate fortune, is more room for 
 the freaks of caprice, and more privilege for ignorance 
 and vice ; a quicker fucceflion of flatteries \ and a lar- 
 ger circle of voluptuoufnefs. Rambler. 
 
 1 1 is obferved of gold, by an old epigrammatift, " that 
 to have it, is to be in fear, and to want it, to be in for- 
 row." Ibid. 
 
 Every man is rich or poor, according to the propor- 
 tion between his defires and enjoyments. Any en- 
 largement of riches is therefore equally deflruiSlive to 
 happinefs with the diminution of poli'eflion ; and he 
 thai teaches another to long for what he fliall never ob- 
 tain, is no lefs an enemy to his quiet, than if he had 
 robbed him of part of his patrimony. Ibid. 
 
a68 
 
 Ameritan Monitor. 
 
 Whofoever rifes above thofe who once pleafed thcra» 
 Felves with equality, will have many malevolent ga- 
 zers at his eminence. To gain fooner than others 
 that which all purfue with the fame ardour, and to 
 which ail imagine themfelves entitled, will for ever 
 be a crime. When'thofe who ftarted with us in the 
 race of life, leave us fo far behind, that we have little 
 hope to overtake them, we revenge our difappointment 
 by remarks on the arts of fupplantation by which they 
 gained the advantage, or on the folly and arrogance 
 with which they poffefs it ; of them whofe rife we 
 could not hinder, we folace ourfelves by prognofticating 
 the fall. Riches, therefore, perhaps do not fo often 
 produce crimes as incite accufers. Ibid. 
 
 Of riches, as of every thing elfe, the hope is more 
 than the enjoyment. Whilft we confider them as the 
 means to be ufed at fome future time, for the attain- 
 ment of felicity, we prefs on our purfuit ardently and 
 vigoroufly, and that ardor fecures us from wearinefs of 
 ourfelves ; but no fooner do we fit down to enjoy our 
 acquifitions, than we find them infufEcient to fill up 
 the vacuities of life. Idler. 
 
 Can gold calm paffion, or make reafon fliine ? 
 Can we dig peace, or wifdom from the mine ? 
 Wifdom to gold prefer; for 'tis much lefs 
 To make our fortune, than our happinefs ; 
 That happinefs which great ones often fee. 
 With rage and wonder, in a low degree, 
 Themfelves unbleft ^ the poor are only poor ; 
 But what are they who droop amid their ftore ! 
 Nothing is meaner than a wretch of ftate ; 
 The happy only are the truly great 
 Peafants enjoy like appetites with kings. 
 And thofe bell fatisfied with cheapeft things. 
 Could both our Indies buy but one new fenfc, 
 Our envy wou'd be due to large .expence ; 
 
Railkry. — Reputation, — Resignation. ^69 
 
 Since not, thofe pomps, which to the great belong, 
 Are but poor arts to mark them from the throng. 
 
 Young. 
 
 RAILLERY. 
 
 The raillery which is confident with good- breeding, 
 is a gentle animadverfion on Ibme foible, which, while 
 it raifes the laugh in the reft of the company, doth not 
 put the perfon rallied out of countenance, or expofe 
 him to lhame or contempt. On the contrary, the 
 jeft ihould be fo delicate, that the objedl of it fhould be 
 capable of joining in the mirth it occafions. 
 
 FlEtPING. 
 
 REPUTATION. 
 
 The pureft treafure mortal times afford. 
 
 Is fpotlefs reputation : That away, 
 
 Men are but gilded loam, or painted clay. 
 
 A jewel in a ten-times barr'd-up cheft, 
 
 Is a bold fpirit in a loyal breaft. Shakespeare. 
 
 RESIGNATION. 
 
 Bid her remember that the ways of heav'n, 
 
 Tho' dark, are juH: : that oft fome guardian pow'r 
 
 Attends unfeen, to fave the innocent ! 
 
 But if high heav'n decrees our fall, — O bid her 
 
 Firmly to wait the ftroke ^ prepar'd alike 
 
 To live or die. Brown, 
 
 When any accident threatens us, we are not to def- 
 pair ; nor, when it overtakes us, to grieve. We mufl- 
 fubmit in all things to the will of providence, and not 
 fet our afFedions fo much on any thing here, as not to 
 be able to quit it without reludance. Fielding. 
 
 A a 
 
American Montioi^. 
 
 RIDICULE. 
 
 He that indulges himfelt in ridiculing the little im- 
 perfedions and weaknefles of his friends, will in time 
 iind mankind united againft him. The man who fees 
 another ridiculed before him, though he may, for the 
 prefent, concur in the general laugh, yet, in a cool 
 hour, will confider the fame trick might be played a- 
 gainft himfeli ; but when there is no fenfe of this 
 danger, the natural pride of human nature rifes againft 
 him, who, by general cenfures, lays claim to general 
 fuperiority. Rambler. 
 
 RECRUITING. 
 
 The vanity of the poor men is to be worked upon 
 at the cheapeft rate poifible. Things we are accuf- 
 tomed to, we do not mind, or elfe what mortal, that 
 never had feen a foldier, could look, without laughing, 
 upon a man accoutred with fo much paltry gaudinefe 
 and a{Fe6ted finery ? The coarfeft manufa£lure that can 
 be made of wool, dyed of a brick- duft color, goes down 
 with him, becaufe it is an imitation of fcarlet orcrim- 
 fon cloth ; and to make him think himfelf as like his 
 officer as it is poffible, with little or no coft, inftead of 
 filver or gold lace, his hat is trimmed with white or 
 yellow worfted, which in others would deferve bedlam ; 
 yet thefe fine allurements, and the noife made upon a 
 calf-ikin, have drawn in and been the deftrudlion of 
 XTiore men in reality, than all the killing eyes and be- 
 witching voices ol women ever flew in jeff. To-day 
 the swine-berd puis on his red coat, and believes every 
 body in earneft that calls h\vc\ gentleman ; and two days 
 after, serjeant Kite gives him a swinging rap with his 
 cane, for holding his mufket an inch higher than he 
 ihould do. — When a man refleds on all this, and the 
 ijfage they generally receive — their pay — and the care 
 
Rotation of office, — Rustic Felicity. 
 
 271 
 
 that is taken of them when they are not wanted, mnft he 
 not wonder how wretches can be fo filly, as to bs proud 
 of being csWtd gentlemen soldiers f Yet if they were 
 not fo called, no art, difcipiine, or money, would bs 
 capable of making them fo brave as thoufands of them 
 are. Spirit of despotism. 
 
 ROTATION ofOFFICE. 
 
 A long continuance, in the firfl executive depart- 
 ments of power or, truft, is dangerous to liberty ; a 
 rotation, therefore, in thofe departments, is one of the 
 bed fecurities of permanent freedom. 
 
 Conditution of Maryland. 
 
 RUSTIC FELICITY. 
 
 Many are the filent pleafures of the honeff peafant ; 
 who rifes cheerfully to his labour : — look into his 
 dwelling, — where the fcene of every happinefs chiefly 
 lies : — he has the fame domeftic endearments, — as 
 much joy and comfort in his children, and as llattering 
 hopes of their -doing well, — to enliven his hours and 
 glad his heart, as you could conceive in the moft afllu- 
 ent ftation. — And I make no doubt, in general, bui if 
 the true account of his joys and fufferings were to be 
 balanced with thofe of his betters, — that the upfhot 
 would prove to be little more than this, — that the rich 
 man had the more meat, — but the poor man the better 
 ftomach ; the one had more luxury, — more able phy- 
 fscians to attend and fet him to rights ; — the other morc 
 health and foundoefs in his bones, and iefs occafiori 
 for their help ; ttoat, after thefe two articles betwixt 
 them were balanced, — in all other things they flood 
 upon a level: — that the fun fhines as warm, — the air 
 blows as frelh,— and the earth breathes as fragrant 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 upon the one as the other : and that they have an equal 
 Hiare in all the beauties and real benefits of nature. 
 
 Sterne. 
 
 R I G H T S O F M A N. 
 
 Abfiird prejudices have perverted human reafon, 
 and even ftifled that in(tin£l which teaches animals to 
 refiR opprei'Iion and tyranny. Multitudes of the hu- 
 man race really believe themfelves to be the property of 
 a finali number of men who opprefs them. Such is 
 !he fatal progrefs of that original error, which impofttire 
 has either produced or kept up in the mind of man. 
 May true knowledge revive thofe rights of reafonable 
 being?, v/hich, to be recovered, need only to be felt! 
 fages of the earth, philofophers of every natioHi it is 
 vour's- alone to make laws by pointing out thefe rights 
 50 your fellow citizens. Take the glorious refolution 
 to inftruil your fellow creatures, and be aflured that if 
 uuth is longer in difFufing and eftablifhing itfelf than 
 e.rror, yet its empire is more foiid and lafting. Error 
 P a (Fes away ; but truth remains. Mankind, allured by 
 tlie expectation of happinefs, the road to which you 
 will (how them, will liften to you with attention. 
 Excite a fenfe of fhame in the breafts of thofe nume- 
 rous hireling flaves, who are always ready at the com- 
 mand of their mafters, to defirey their fellow citizens. 
 Roufe all the powers of human nature to oppofe this 
 i'ubverfion of (ocial laws. Teach mankind that liberty 
 is the inftitution of God ; authority that of man, 
 Expofe thofe myfterious arts which hold the world in 
 chains and darknefs ; let the people be fenfib'e how far 
 their credulity has been impoCed upon ; let them re- 
 aflume with one accord the ufe of their faculties, and 
 vindicate the honor of the human race. 
 
 Abbe Raynai,, 
 
l^ighfs of Man. 
 
 We hold tbcfe truths to be felf-evident, that all men 
 are created equal ; that they are endowed by their cre- 
 ator with certain unalienable rights ; that among thefe 
 are life, liberty, and the purfuit of happinefs ; that to 
 lecure thefe rights, governments are inftituted among 
 men, deriving their jurt powers from the confeHt of 
 the governed ; that whenever any form of government 
 becomes de(tru6live of thefe ends, it is the right of thu 
 people to alter or to abolifh it, and to inditute new 
 government, laying its foundation on fuch principles, 
 and organizing its powers in fuch form, as to them 
 fhall feem rnoft likely to efFecl their fafety and happi- 
 nefs. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that govern- 
 ments long eftablilhed ihould not be changed for light 
 and tranfient caufes ; and accordingly all experience' 
 hath fliewn, that mankind are more difpofed to fufFer, 
 while evils are fufFerable, than to right theinfelves by 
 abolifhing the forms to which they are accuftomed. 
 — But when a long train of abufes and ufurpations, 
 purfuing invariably the fame objefit, evinces a defign 
 to reduce them under abfoiute defpot'i.fm, it is their 
 right, it is their duty, to throw off fuch government, 
 and to provide new guards for their future fecurity. 
 
 Declaration of I ndependencf.. 
 
 All men have certain natural, elTential and inherent 
 rights — among which are the enjoying and defendinq 
 life and liberty, acquiring, pofieffing and pro(e<Sling 
 property; and, in a word, of feeking and obtainin.g 
 happinefs. Conftitution of Ne w-Hampsmire. 
 
 All power is inherent in the people; and all free 
 governmeHts are founded on their authority, and infti- 
 tuted for their peace, fafet)', and happinefs, For the 
 advancement of thofe ends, they have, at all times, aa 
 unalienable and indefeafible right, to alter, reform, or 
 abolifh their government, in fuch manner as they may 
 think proper. Conftitution of Pennsyl vania, 
 
 A a 2 
 
Americm Monitor. 
 
 The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, 
 to aiTembie together lor their common good, and to 
 appiy to thofe inverted with the powers of government, 
 for r'edrefs of grievances, or other proper purpofes, by 
 petition, addrefs, or remonftrance. Ibid. 
 
 The right of the citizens to bear arms, in defence 
 of themfelves and the ftate, lhall not be queftioned. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 Perfons intruded with the legiHative and executive 
 powers, are the truftee-j and fervants of the public, 
 and, as fiich, accountable for their conduct ; where- 
 fore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, 
 and public liberty manifertly endangered, by the Iegi(- 
 lative fingly, or a treacherous combination of both, 
 the people may, and of right ought toertablifh a new, 
 or reiorna the old government. 
 
 Conftitution of Delaware. 
 
 The right, in the people, to participate in the le- 
 giflaiure, is the foundation of liberty and of all free 
 K;()vernment ; and for this end, all elections ought to 
 be free and frequent ; and every freeman, having ("uf- 
 iicient evidence of a permanent common interefl with, 
 and attachment to the community, hath a right of fut- 
 irage. Ibid. 
 
 All government of right originates from the people, 
 
 is founded in compa6l only, and inftituted folely for 
 
 the good of the whole. 
 
 Conflitution of Maryland. 
 
 No man or fet of men are entitled to exclufive or 
 .eparateemolimients or privileges from the communi- 
 ty, but in confideraiion of public fervicea. 
 
 ConRitution of North-Carolina, 
 
Rights of Man. ^75 
 
 The people have a right to affemble together, to 
 confult for Lir commorrgood. to Ml tr.c.r repre- 
 Natives, and to apply to the legiaature, fur redrefs 
 of grievances. 
 
 All power being originally inherent in, and confe- 
 nua ly derived from the people; therefore, a 1 oftcers 
 2 gov rnment. whether leg^atwe or executive are 
 "heir truftces and fervants. and at all tunes, in a legal 
 wav. accountable to them. 
 
 ^^>' Conftitution of Vermont. 
 
 Government is, or ought to be. inftituted for the 
 coi^mon benefit, proteaion and fecunty of the people, 
 Sn. or communhy. and not for the P-tKular emo 
 lament or advantage ot any fingle man. family, or let 
 of men who are a part only of that community : and 
 the community hath' an indubitable, unalienab e^ and 
 indefeafible right, to reform or alter government ni 
 fuch manner as lhall be. by that commumty, judged 
 to be moft conducive to the public weal. ^^.^^ 
 
 All power is inherent in the people, and all fHe 
 governments are founded on their authority, and n- 
 flituted for their peace, fafety and happinefs : for the 
 advancement of thofe ends, they have at all times an 
 unaSle and indefeafible right to alter, reform, or 
 abolim the government in fuch ^ ^^^/^ 
 
 think proper. Conftuution of Tennessee. 
 
 AH power is inherent in the people, and all free 
 governments are founded on their authority, and in ti- 
 nted for their peace, fafety. and happinefs. For he 
 advancement of thofe ends, they have at all times an un- 
 ;i enabirand indefeafible right to alter, reform or abo- 
 iifo their government, in fuch manner as they may 
 think Fopi^ Conftitution of Kentucky. 
 
276 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 RICH AND POOR. 
 
 If you fliould Tee a flock of pigeons in a field of corn ; 
 and if (inftead of each picking u here, and what it liked, 
 taking jnft as much as it wanted and no more) you fhalt 
 lee ninety-nine of them gathering all thev get into a 
 heap; referving nothing for themfelves, but the chafl' 
 and refufe; keeping this heap for one, and that the 
 weakeft perhaps, and worft pigeon of the flock ; fitting 
 round and looking on, all the winter, whilft this one 
 was devouring, throwing about, and wafting it; and. 
 if a pigeon more hardy or hungry than the reft, touched 
 a gram of the hoard, all the others inftantly flying 
 upon it, and tearing it to pieces: if you fhould fee this, 
 you vyould fee nothing more, than what is every day 
 praftifed and eftabliihed among men. Among men 
 you fee the ninety and nine, toiling and fcraping to- 
 gether aheap of fuperfluities for one ; getting nothing 
 for themfelves all the while, but a little of the coarfeft 
 of the provifion, which their own labour produces ^ 
 and this one oftentimes the feebleft and worft of the 
 whole fet, a child, a woman, a madman, or a fool ; 
 looking quietly on, while they fee the fruits of all their 
 labor fpent or fpoijed ; and if one of them take or touch 
 a particle of it, the others Join againft him, and hane 
 him for the theft. Pa ley. 
 
 The raoft obvious divifion of fociety, is into rich 
 and poor ; and it is no lefs obvious, that the number of 
 the former bears a great difproportion to thofe of the lat- 
 ter. The whole bufinefs of the poor is to adrainifter 
 to the idienefs, folly, and luxury of the rich ; and that 
 of the rich, in return, is to find the beft methods of 
 confirming the flavery and increafing the burdens of 
 the poor. In a ftate of nature it is an invariable law, 
 that a man's acquifitions are in proportion to his la- 
 bours. In a ftate of artificial fociety, it is a law a? 
 conftant and as invariable, that ihofe who labour moft. 
 
Rich and Poor. :277. 
 
 coioy the fewea things; and that thofe who labonr 
 not at all, have the greatelt number of enjoyments. A 
 conftitution of things this ftrange and ridiculous be- 
 yond expreffion. We fcarce believe a thing when we 
 are told it, which we aaualiy fee before our eyes every 
 day without being the lead furprifed. I fuppofe that 
 there are in Great- Britain upwards of an hundred 
 thoufand people employed in lead, tin, iron, copper, 
 and coal mines ; thefe unhappy wretches fcarce ever 
 fee the light of the fun ; they are buned in the bo vv- 
 els of the earth ; there they work at a fevere and dil- 
 mal talk, without the leaR profped of being delivered 
 from it; they (ubfilt upon the coarfeft and worft fort 
 of fare ; they have their health miferably impaired, 
 and theirlives cut (hort. by being perpetually confined 
 in the clofe vapour of thefe malignant minerals. Aji 
 hundred thoufand more at leaft are tortured wiihout re- 
 miflion by the fufFocating fmoke, intenfe fires, an^i 
 conftant drudgeiy ilcCt^.Tary in refining and managing 
 the produas of thofe mines. If any man informed us 
 that two hundred thoufand innocent perfons were con- 
 demned to fo inmlerable Havery, how Oiould we pity 
 the unhappy fufFerers, and how great would be our 
 juft indignation againft thofe who infliaed lo crua 
 and ignominious a puniniment? This is an mftance, 
 I could not wifh a (tronger, of the numberlefs things 
 which we pafs by in their common drefs. yet which 
 fhock us when they are nakedly reprefented. But this 
 number, confiderable as it is, and the flavery with all 
 its bafenefs and horror, which we have at home, is 
 nothing to what the reft of the world affords of the fame 
 nature. Millions daily bathed in the poifonous damps 
 and deftruaive effluvia of lead, filver, copper, and ar- 
 fenic. To fay nothing of thofe other employments, 
 thofe ftations of wretchednefs and contempt in which 
 civil fociety has placed the numerous enfans perdus of 
 her army. Would any rational man fubmit to one of 
 the mofl tolerable of thefe drudgeries, for all the artifi- 
 
^7^ American Monitor. 
 
 cial enjoyments which policy has made fo refuit from 
 them? By no means. And yet need I fuggeft, that 
 thofe who hnd the means, and thofe who arrive at the 
 end, are not at all the fame perfons. On confidering 
 theltrangeand unaccountable fancies and contrivances 
 of artihcial reafon, 1 have fomewhere called this earth 
 the Bedlam of our (yllem. Locking now upon the ef- 
 iects of (ome of thofe fancies, may we not with equal 
 reafon call it l.kewife the Newgate and the Bridewell 
 of theuniverfe? Indeed the blindnefs of one parrot 
 mankind co-operating with the frenzy and villainy of 
 the other, has been the real builder of this refpeaable 
 fabric of political fociety. And as the bHndnefs of 
 mankind has caufed their flavery, in return, their flate 
 of llavery is made a pretence for continuing them in a 
 Itate of bhndneis ; for the politician will tell you grave- 
 ly that their life of fervitude difqualifies the greater 
 part of the race of man for a fearch of truth, and fup- 
 phes them with no other than mean and infufficient 
 ideas. This is but too true ; and this is one of the 
 reafons for which 1 blame fuch inftitutions 
 
 In a mifery of this fort, admitting fome few lenitives, 
 and thofe too but a few, nine parts in ten of the whole 
 race of mankind drudge through life. Burke. 
 
 la the moft refined [fates of Europe the inequality 
 of property has rifen to an alarming height. ' Valt 
 numbers of their inhabitai^ts are deprived of almoft e- 
 very accommodation that can render life tolerable or 
 fecure. Their utmoft indultry fcarcely fuffices for 
 their kipport. The women and children lean with an 
 infupportable weight upon the efforts of the man, fo 
 that a large family has in the lower order of life be- 
 come a proverbial oxpreffion for an uncommon degree 
 of poverty and wretchednefs. If ficknefs, or fome of 
 thole cafualties which are perpetually incident to an ac- 
 tive and laborious life, be fuper-added to thefe burdens, 
 She dituefs is ftill greater. 
 
Rich and Poor. 
 
 It feems to be agreed that in England there is lefs 
 wretchednefs and diftrefs than in mod of the kingdoms 
 of the continent. In England the poor's rafes amount 
 to the fum of two millions fterling per annum. It has 
 been calculated, that one perfon in feven of the inhabi- 
 tants of the country derives at fome period of his life 
 afliftance from this fund. If to this we add the per- 
 fons, who, from pride, a fpirit of independence, or the 
 want of a legal fettlement, though in equal diftrefs, re- 
 ceive nofuch affiftance, the proportion will be confide- 
 rably increafed. 
 
 I lay no ftrefs upon the accuracy of this calculation ; 
 the general fa6l is fufficient to give us an idea of the 
 greatnefs of the evil. Godwin. 
 
 Their's is yon houfe that holds theparifh poor. 
 Whole walls of mud fcarce bear the broken door \ 
 There where the putrid vapours fl-ggmgplay, 
 And the dull wheel hums doleful through the day : 
 There children dwell, who know no parents' care, 
 Parents, who know no children's love, dwell there ; 
 Heart-broken matrons on their joylefs bed, 
 Forfaken wives, and mothers never wed j 
 Deje£led widows with unheeded tears, 
 And crippled age with more than childhood feavs! 
 The lame, the blind — and, far the happieft they 1 
 The moping ideot and the madman gay. 
 
 Here too the fick their final doom receive, 
 Here brought, amid the fcenesof grief, to grieve: 
 Where the loud groans from fome fad chamber flow 
 Mixt with the clamours of the croud below ; 
 Here forrowing, they each kindred forrow fcan. 
 And the cold charities of man to man : 
 Whofc laws indeed for ruin'd age provide. 
 And rong compulfion plucks the fcrap from pride; 
 Bu. uil that fcrap is bought with many a figh, 
 And piide embitters what it can't deny. 
 
 Say ye, opprell by fome fantaftic woes, 
 
28o 
 
 American Monitor^ 
 
 Some jarring nerve that baffles yourrepofe; 
 Who prefs the downy couch, while flaves advance 
 With timid eye, to read the diftant glance; 
 Who with fad prayers the weary dodor teafe, 
 To name the namelefs, ever-new difeafe ; 
 Who with mock patience dire complaints endure, 
 Whic!) jeal pain and that alone can cure ; 
 How would ye bear in real pain to lie, 
 Defpis'd, negle6ted, left alone to die? 
 How would ye bear to draw your lateft breath. 
 Where all that's wretched paves the way for death I 
 Such is that room which one rude beam divides. 
 And naked rafters form the floping fides ; 
 Where the vile bands that bind the thatch are feen, 
 And lath and mud are all that lie between ; 
 Save one dull pane, that, coarfely patch 'd, gives vvay 
 To the rude tempeft, yet excludes the day : 
 Here, on a matted flock, with duft o'erfpread, 
 The drooping wretch reclines his languid head ; 
 For him no hand the cordial cup applies, 
 Nor wipes the tear that ftagnates in his eyes ; 
 No friends with foft difcourfe his pain beguile. 
 Nor promife hope till ficknefs wears a fmiie. 
 
 Crabbe, 
 
 REFORMATION. 
 
 Reformation is one of thofe pieces which mufl: be 
 put at fome diftance in order to pleafe. Its greateft 
 tavourers love it better in *the abftradt than in the fub- 
 ftance. When^ny old prejudice of their own, or any 
 intereft that they value, is touched, they become fcru- 
 pulous, they become captious, and every man has his fe- 
 perate exception. Some pluck out the black hairs, feme 
 the grey ; one point muft be given up to one; another 
 point muft be yielded to another; nothing is fufFer- 
 ed to prevail upon its own principles : the whole is fo 
 frittered down, and disjointed, that fcarcely a trace of 
 
Rose.-^Ruk of Life. ^Wi 
 
 the original fcheme remains ! Thus, between the re- 
 fiftance of power, and the unfyftematical procefs of 
 popularity, the undertaker and the undertaking are 
 both expofed, and the poor reformer is hided off t hi 
 llage, both by friends and foes. Burke. 
 
 ROSE. 
 
 How fair is the rofe ! what a beautiful flow'r ! 
 
 The glory of April and May ! 
 But the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour ; 
 
 And they wither and die in a day. 
 
 Yet the rofe has one powerful virtue to boaft. 
 
 Above all the flow'rs of the field: 
 When its leaves are all dead, and fine colours are lofl, 
 
 Still how fweet a perfume will it yield ! 
 
 So frail is the youth and the beauty of men, 
 Tho' they bloom and look gay like the rofe : 
 
 But all our fond care to preferve them is vain ; 
 Time. kills them as faft as he goes. 
 
 Then I'll not be proud of my youth or my beauty. 
 
 Since both of them wither and fade ; 
 But gain a good name by well doing my duty ; 
 
 This will fcent like a rofe when I'm dead. 
 
 Watts, 
 
 RULE 0 F L I F E. 
 
 Live while you live, the epicure will /ay. 
 And take the pleafure of the prefent day r ' 
 Live vv'hile you live, the facre'd preacher cries, 
 And give to God each moment as it flies. — 
 Lord, in my view let both united be! 
 I live in pleafure when I live to thee. 
 
 Doddridge. 
 
 B b 
 
 i J 
 
2S^. ' American Monitor. 
 
 RETROSPECT of LIFE. 
 
 Riches, chance may take or give 5 
 
 Beauty lives a day, and dies ; 
 Honour lulls us while we live; 
 
 Mirth's a cheat, and pleafure flies. 
 
 Is there nothing worth our care? 
 
 Time, and chance, and death our foes ; 
 If our joys fo fleeting are. 
 
 Are we only tied to woes ? 
 
 Let bright virtue anfwer no ; 
 
 Her eternal powers prevail. 
 When honours, riches, ceafe to flow, 
 
 And beauty, mirth, and pleafure, fail. 
 
 RIOTS. 
 
 Riots, tumults, and popular commotions, are in- 
 deed truly dreadful, and to be avoided with theutmoft 
 care by the lovers of liberty. Peace, good order, and 
 lecurify to ail' ranks, are the natural fruits of a free 
 conftitution. True patriots will be careful to difcou- 
 rage every thing which tends to deftroy them ; not only 
 becaufe whatever tends to defl;roy them, tends to de- 
 ifroy all human happinefs, but alfo becaufe even an 
 accidenta,! outrage in popular aflemblies and proceed- 
 ings, is ufed by the artful to difcredit the caufe of li- 
 berty. By theutmoft attention to preferving the pub- 
 lic peace, true patriots will defeat the malicious de- 
 figns m fervil^^courtiers ; but, whatever may hap- 
 ■gtR, they will not defert the caufe of human nature. 
 Through a dread of licentioufnefs, they will not for- 
 fake the flandard of liberty. It is the part of fools to 
 fall upon Scylla in ftriving to avoid Charybdis. 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
Scandal. 
 
 SCANDAL. 
 
 There is a luft in ^an no charm can tame, 
 Of loudly publifliing his neighbour's lhame : 
 On eagle's wings, immortal, fcandals fly, 
 While virtuous anions are but born and die. 
 
 Havard. 
 
 What other man fpeaks fo often and fo vehemently 
 againft the vice of pride, fets the weaknefs of it in a 
 more odious light, or is more hurt with it in another, 
 than the proud man himfelf? It is the fame with the 
 paffionate, the defigning, the ambitious, and fotne o-^ 
 ther common characters in life; and being a confe- 
 quence of the nature of fuch vices, and almoft infcpa- 
 rable from them, the efFefts of it are generally fo grofs 
 and abfurd, that where pity does not forbid, it is pleafant 
 to obferve and trace the cheat through the feveral 
 turnings and windings of the heart, and dete£l it 
 through all the lhapes and appearances which it puts 
 on, Sterne. 
 
 How frequently is the iionefly and integrity of a 
 man difpofed of by a fmile or fhrug ! — how many 
 good'and generous anions have been funk into oblivion, 
 by a diftruftful look, or ftampt with the imputation of 
 proceeding from bad motives, by a myfterious and fea- 
 fonable whifper ! 
 
 Look into companies of thofe whofe gentle natures 
 jfhould difarm them, we fhall find no better account. 
 . — How large a portion of chaftity is fent out of the 
 world by diftant hints, — nodded away and cruell| 
 winked into fufpicion, by the envy of thofe who are 
 paft all temptation of it therafelves 1 How often does 
 the reputation of a helplefs creature bleed by a report 
 — which the party, who is at the pains to propagate it, 
 
 lieholds with much pity and fellow-feeling that fhe 
 
 IS heartily ferry for it, — — hopes in God it is not true t 
 
American Monitor, 
 
 however, as archbifhop Tillotfon wittily obferves upon 
 it,^is refolvcd, in the mean time, to give the report her 
 pafs, that at leaft it may have fair play to take its for- 
 tune in the world,— to be believed or not, according 
 to the charity of tliofe into whofe hands it (hall happen 
 ^^^^'1^ Ibil 
 
 The tongue of a viper is lefs hurtful than that of a 
 llanderer, and the gilded fcalesofa rattle-fnake lefs 
 dreadful than the purfe of the oppreflbr. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 The company of a flanderer fhould always be a- 
 voided, except you choofe to feaft on your neighbour's 
 faults, at the price of being ferved up yourfelf at the 
 tables of others; for perfonsof this ftamp are generally 
 impartial in their abufe. Indeed it is not always pof- 
 fible totally to efcape them ; for being barely known 
 to them, is a fure title to their calumny; but the more 
 they are admitted to your acquaintance, the more you 
 will be abufed by them. Jbid. 
 
 SHAME AND DISGRACE. 
 
 They who have confidered our nature, afBrm, that 
 ihame and difgrace are two of the moft infupportable 
 evils of humaa life: the courage and fpirits o( many 
 have maftered other misfortunes, and borne themfelves 
 up againftthei^; but the wifeft and beft of fouls have 
 not been a match for thefe ; and we have many a tra- 
 gical- inftance on record, what greater evils have been 
 run into, merely to avoid this one. 
 
 Without this tax of infamy, poverty, with all the 
 burdens it lays upon our fle(h — fo long as it is virtu- 
 ous, could never break the fpirits of a man ; all its 
 hwnger, and pain, and nakednefs, are nothing to it, 
 they have fome counterpoife of good; andbefides, they 
 are directed by Providence, and muft be fubmitted to : 
 
Self-importance. — Secrets. 285 
 
 but thofe are affliaions not from the hand of God or 
 x\2iinx^—'* for they do come forth of the dust," and molt 
 properly may be faid to spring out of the ground, zn<\ this 
 is the reafon they lay fuch ftrefs upon our patience,— 
 and in the end create fuch a diftrult of the world, as 
 makes us look up and pray, Let me fall into thy hands, 
 OGsd! but let me not fall into the hands 6f mm. 
 
 Sterne. 
 
 SELF-IMPORTANCE. 
 
 Every man is of importance to hlmfelf, and there- 
 fore, in his own opinion, to others ; and fuppofing 
 the world already acquainted with all his pleafures and 
 his pains, is, perhaps, the firft to publilh injuries or 
 misfortunes which had never been known unlefs rela- 
 ted by himfelf, and at which thofe that hear him will 
 only laugh ; for no man fympathizes with the forrows 
 of vanity. Life of Pope. 
 
 Obferve one of thefe perfons, who fwells to an un- 
 natural fize of felf-confequence, from the emptinefs 
 of his head and the pride of his heart, entering a coffee- 
 houfe or public room at a watering place. To fhewr 
 his contempt of all around him, he begins whsthng, 
 or beating a tune with his fingers or with a ftick on 
 the table. He (lands with his back to the fire, hold- 
 ing up the fkirts of his coat, protruding his lips, pick- 
 ing his teeth, adjufting his cravat, furveying his buckles, 
 and turning out his knees or toes ; (hewing, by every 
 fign he can think of, his own opinion of his owa 
 importance, and his fovereign contempt for the com- 
 pany. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 SECRETS. 
 
 To tell our own fecrets is generally folly, but that 
 folly is without guilt. To communicate thofe with 
 
 B b 2 
 
286 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 which we are entrufted, is always treachery, and trea- 
 chery for the moft part combined with folly. 
 
 Kambler. 
 
 The vanity of being known to be triifted with a fe- 
 cret, is generally one of the chief motives to difclofe 
 It ; for. however abfurd it may be thought to boaft an 
 honor by an ad which (hews that it was conferred 
 without merit, yet moft men feem rather inclined to 
 confefs the want of virtue than of importance, and 
 more vi^illingly fliew their influence, though at the ex- 
 pence of their probity, than glide through life with no 
 other pleafure than the private confcioufnefs of fidelity, 
 which, while it is preferved, muft be without praife, 
 except from the fmgle perfon who tries and knows it,' 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 From the earlieft dawnings of policy to this day, 
 the invention of men has been fharpening and improv- 
 ing the myffery of murder, from the full rude effays of 
 clubs and ffones, to the prefent perfedlion of gunnery, 
 cannoneering, bombarding, mining, and all thefe fpe- 
 cies of artificial, learned, and refined cruelty, in which 
 we are now fo expert, and w hich make a principal part 
 of what politicians have taught us to believe is our 
 principal glory. 
 
 It is an incontedible truth, that there is more havock 
 made in one year by men, of men, than has been made 
 by all the lions, tygers, panthers, ounces, leopards, hy- 
 enas, rhinocerofes, elephants, bears, and wolves, up- 
 on their feveral fpecies, fince the beginning of the 
 v.orld ; though thefe agree ill enough with each other, 
 and have a much greater proportion of rage and fury 
 in their compofition than we have. Burke. 
 
Seduction. 
 
 287 
 
 SEDUCTION. 
 
 There is not perhaps in all the ftores of ideal an- 
 ouifli, a thought more painful than the confcioufnefs 
 of having propagated corruption by vitiating princi- 
 ples ; of having not only drawn others from the paths 
 of virtue, but blocked up the way by which they (hould 
 return ; of having blinded them to every beauty but the 
 paint of plsafure ; and deafened them to every call» but 
 the alluring voice of the fyrens of deftru6lion. 
 
 Rambler. 
 
 S E C K E R, (Archbishop of Canterbury.) 
 
 While Seeker liv'd, he fhew'd how feers fhould live; 
 
 While Seeker taught, heav'n open*d to our eye ; 
 When Seeker gave, we knew how angels give; 
 
 When Seeker died, we know e'en faints muft die. 
 
 SUSPICION. 
 
 Sufpicion is no lefs an enemy to virtue, than to hap- 
 pinefs. He that is already corrupt is naturally fufpi- 
 cious ; and he that becomes fufpicioas, will quickly 
 be corrupt. Rambler. 
 
 He that fuffers by impofture, has too often his virtue 
 more impaired than his fortune. But as it is necefTary 
 not to invite robbery by fupinenefs, fo it is our duty 
 not to fupprefs tendernefs by fufpicion. It is better 
 to lufrer wrong than to do it ; and happier to be fome- 
 times cheated, than not to truft. Ibid, 
 
 SPIES. 
 
 At whatever period fpies, informers, falfe witnefles, 
 and pretended plots are adopted by men in power^ 
 
American Monitor. 
 
 to ftrengthen themfelves in office, and deftroy vir- 
 tuous oppofition, there is reafon to fear in fpite of 
 all profeffions of the contrary, that the tyrannic fpirit 
 of the degenerate Casfars waits but for opportunities to 
 difplay itfelfin aas of Neronian atrocity. Power is 
 deficient ; but inclination is equally hoftile to the mafs 
 of mankind, denominated the people, wh®m fome po- 
 liticians fcarcely condefcendto acknowledge as poffeffed 
 of any political exigence. 
 
 The employment of fpies and informers is a virtual 
 declaration of hoftilities againft the people. It argues 
 a want of confidence in them. It argues a fear and 
 jealoufy of them.^ It argues a defire to deftroy them by 
 ambufoade. It is, in civil government, what ftrata- 
 gems are in a ftate of war. It tends alfo to excite re- 
 taliation. Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 A hired fpy and informer will, by an eafy tranfition, 
 become a falfe witnefs, even in trials where liberty and 
 life are at ftake. In trials of lefs confequence, there is 
 no doubt but that his confcience will ftretch with the 
 occafion. His objea is not truth or juftice; but filthy 
 lucre ; and when he afpires at great rewards, great mutt 
 be his venture. Having once broken down, as a 
 treacherous fpy, the fences of honor and confcience, 
 nothing but fear will reftrain him, as a witnefs, from 
 overleaping the bounds of truth, juftice, and mercy. 
 He will rob and murder under the forms of law ; and 
 add to the atrocity of blood-guiltinefs, the crime of 
 perjury. No man is fafe, where fuch men are coun- 
 tenanced by officers of ftate. They themfelves may 
 perifti by his falfe tongue ; fufFeringthe vengeance due 
 to their bafe encouragement of traitors to the public, 
 by falling unpitied vidims to his difappointed treach- 
 ery. The peftilential breath of fpies and informers is 
 not to be endured in the pure healthy atmofphere of a 
 free ftate. It brings with it the fickly defpotifm of 
 oriental climes. ' /^/^, 
 
Tyranny. — Tyrant. 289 
 
 TYRANNY. 
 
 Tyranny is a poor provider. It neither knows how 
 to accumulate, nor how to extradl. Burke. 
 
 A great deal of the furniture of ancient tyranny is torn 
 to rags ; the reft is entirely out of lafliion. Ihid* 
 
 TYRANT. 
 
 -Proud, impatient 
 
 Of aught fuperior, ev'n of heav'n that made him : 
 Fond of falfe glory, of the lavage pow'r 
 Of ruling without reafon, of confounding 
 Jull and unjuft, by an unbounded will ; 
 By whom religion, honour, all the bands 
 That ought to hold the jarring world in peace, 
 Were held the tricks of ftate, fnares of wife princes, 
 To draw their eafy neighbours to deftrudion, 
 To wafte with fword and fire their fruitful fields: 
 Like fome accurfed fiend, who, 'fcap'd from hell, 
 Poifons the balmy air thro' which he flies ; 
 Heblafls the bearded corn, and loaded branches, 
 The lab'ring hind's beft hopes, and marks his way with 
 ruin. RowE. 
 
 There is hardly any prince without a favorite, by 
 whom he is governed in as arbitrary a manner as he 
 governs the wretches fubjeded to him. Here the ty- 
 ranny is doubled. There are two courts and two 
 interefls ; both very different from the interefts of the 
 people. The favorite knows that the regard of a tyrant 
 is as inconftant and capricious as that of a woman ; 
 and concluding his time to be fliort, he makes hafle to 
 fill up the mealure of his iniquity, in rapine, ia luxury, 
 and in revenge. Every avenue to the throne is fhut 
 up. He opprefTes, and ruins the people, whilft he 
 
290 American Monitor. ^ 
 
 perfuadesthe prince, that thofe murmurs raifed by his 
 own oppreffion are the effeds of difaffedion to the 
 prince's government. Then is the natural violence of 
 defpotifm inflamed, and aggravated by hatred and re- 
 venge._ To deferve vs^ellof the ftate is a crime againft 
 the prmce. To be popular, and to be a traitor, are 
 confidered as fynonymous terms. Even virtue is dan- 
 gerous, as an afpiring quality, that claims an efteem by 
 itfelf, and independent of thd^ountenance of the court. 
 What has been faid of the chief, is true of the inferior 
 officers of this fpecies of government ; each in his pro- 
 vmce exercifing the fame tyranny, and grinding the 
 people by an oppreffion, the more feverely felt, as it is 
 near them, and exercifed by bafe and fubordinate per- 
 fons. For the gxoh of the people, they are confidered 
 as a mere herd of cattle; arid really in a little time be- 
 come no better; all principle of honeft pride, all fenfe 
 of the dignity of their nature is loft in their flavery. 
 The day, fays Homer, which makes a man a Have, 
 takes away half his vjorth ; and in fadl he lofes every 
 impulfe to aaion, but that low and bafe one of fear. 
 —In this kind of government human nature is not on- 
 ly abufed, and infulted, but it is adualiy degraded and 
 funk into a fpecies of brutality. Burke. 
 
 The punilhment of real tyrants is a noble and awful 
 adt of juflice; and it has with truth been faid to be 
 confolatory to the human mind. Ihid 
 
 TIME PAST. 
 
 Whether it be that life has more vexations than 
 comforts, or what is in event juft the fame, that evil 
 makes deeper impreffions than good, it is certain that 
 few can review the time paft, without heavinefs of 
 heart. He remembers many calamities incurred by- 
 folly ; many ©pportunities loft by negligence. The 
 lhades of the dead rife up befere him, and he laments 
 
Tiiks.—T rifles* 
 
 the companions of his youth, the partners of his araufe- 
 ments, the affiftants of his labours, whom the hand 
 of death has fnatched away. Idler. 
 
 TITLES. 
 
 Moft of the titles of nobility, and other civil diftinc- 
 tions, were taken from war : as a marquis, a duke, a 
 count, a baron, a landgrave, a knight, an efquire. 
 The inventors of arts, the improvers of life, thofe who 
 have mitigated evil and augmented the good allotted to 
 men in this world, were not thought worthy of any 
 titular diftindlions. The rcafon is indeed fufficiently 
 obvious: titles were originally beftowed by defpotic 
 kings, who required and rewarded no other merit but 
 that which fupported them by violence in their arbi- 
 trary rule. In fome countries they are now given, for 
 the fame reafons, to thofe who eflFedl the fame purpo- 
 fes, not by war only, but by corruption. ^ 
 
 Spirit of Despotism. 
 
 The death-bed fhews the emptinefs of titles in a 
 true light. A poor difpirited (inner lies trembling un- 
 der the apprehenfions of the ftate he is entering on ; 
 and is afked by a grave attendant, how his holinefs does ? 
 Another hears himfelf addreiled under the title of 
 highnefs or excellency, who lies under fuch mean cir- 
 cumftances of mortality as are the difgrace of human 
 nature. Titles at fuch a time look rather like infults 
 and mockery than refpe6t. Spectator. 
 
 TRIFLES. 
 
 Trifles always require exuberance of ornament. 
 The building which has no ftrength, can be val- 
 ued only for the grace of its decorations. The 
 pebble muft be polifhed with care, which hopes to be 
 
^9^ American Momisr. 
 
 valued as a diamond, and words ought furely to be 
 laboured, when they are intended to ftand for things. 
 
 Rambler, 
 
 TAXATION. 
 
 Taxing is an eafy bulinefs. Any projeaor can 
 contrive new impofitions ; any bungler can add to the 
 Old. but IS It altogether wife to have no other bounds 
 to your impofitions, than the patience of thofc who are 
 to bear them? ^^^^^^ 
 
 TRUTH. 
 
 There is no crime more infamous than the violation 
 oi truth: it is apparent, ihat men can be fociablc 
 beings no longer than they can believe each other. 
 When (peech is employed only as the vehicle of falfe- 
 fiood, exery man muft difunite himfelf from others, 
 inhabit his own cave, and feek prey only for himfclf. 
 
 Idler. 
 
 TOLERATION. 
 
 We all know, that toleration is odious to the into- 
 lerant ; freedom to opprefibrs; property to robbers; 
 and all kinds and degrees of profperity to the envious. 
 
 Burke. 
 
 TENDERNESS TO ANIMALS. 
 
 The heart is hard in nature, and unfit 
 For human fellowfliip, as being void 
 Of fympathy^ and therefore dead alike 
 w- iTf^ friendftiip both, that is not pleas'd 
 VVith Ijght of animals enjoying life. 
 Nor feels their happinefs augment his own. 
 
Tenderness to Animals. 
 
 The bounding fawn, that darts acrofs the glade 
 
 When nonepurfues, through mere delight of heart, 
 
 And fpirits buoyant with excefs of glee ; 
 
 The horfe as v/anton, and almoft as fleet, 
 
 That fkims the fpacious meadow at full fpeed, 
 
 Then Hops, and Inorts, and throwing high his heels. 
 
 Starts to the voluntary race again ; 
 
 The very kine that gambol at high noon. 
 
 The total herd receiving firft from one 
 
 That leads the dance a fummons to be gay. 
 
 Though wild their ftrange vagaries, and uncouth 
 
 Their efforts, yetrefolv'd with one confent, 
 
 To give fuch aft and utt'rance as they may 
 
 To ecftacy too big to be fupprefs'd — 
 
 Thefe, and a thoufand images of blifs, 
 
 With which kind nature graces ev'ry fcene 
 
 W^hsre cruel man defeats not herdefign, 
 
 Impart to the benevolent, who wifli 
 
 All that are capable of pleafure pleas'd, ^ 
 
 A far fuperior happinefs to theirs. 
 
 The comfort of a reafonable joy. Cowper. 
 
 I would not enter on my lift of friends 
 (Though grac'd with polifh'd manners and fine fenfe, 
 Yet wanting fenfibility) the man 
 Who needlefsly fets foot upon a worm. 
 An inadvertent ffep may crufh the fnail 
 That crawls at ev'ning in the public path ; 
 But he that has humanify, forewarn'd. 
 Will tread afide, and let the reptile live. 
 The creeping vermin, loathfome to the fight, 
 And charg'd perhaps with venom, that intrudes, 
 A vifitor unwelcome, into fcenes 
 Sacicd to neatnefs and repofe — th' alcove. 
 The chamber, or refe£lory — may die : 
 A neceflTary a6l incurs no blame. 
 ^5Tot fo, when held within their proper bounds, 
 And guiltlels of offence, they ranse the air, 
 
 C c ^ 
 
294 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 Or take their paftinie in the fpacious field : 
 
 There they are privileg'd ; and he that hunts 
 
 Or harms them there is guihy of a wrong, 
 
 Difturbs the economy of nature's reahn, 
 
 Who, when (he form'd, defign'd them an abode. 
 
 The fum is this. — If man's convenience, heahh, 
 
 Or fafety, interfere, his rights and claims 
 
 Axe paramount, and muft extinguifh their's. 
 
 Eife they are all — the meaneil: things that are — 
 
 As free to live, and to enjoy that life, 
 
 As God was free to form ihem at the firfl, * 
 
 Who, in his fov 'reign wifdom, made them all. 
 
 Ye, therefore, who love mercy, teach your fons 
 
 To love it too. The fpring-time of our years 
 
 Is ioon dilhonor'd and defil'd in moft 
 
 By budding ills, that afk a prudent hand 
 
 To check them. But, alas ! none fooner fhoots. 
 
 If unreftrain'd, into luxuriant growth, 
 
 Than cruelty, moft dev'lilli of them all. 
 
 Mercy tx) him that fhows it, is the rule 
 
 A.nd righteous limitation of its a£t. 
 
 By which heav'n moves in pard'ning guilty man ; 
 
 And.hethat fhows none, being ripe in years, 
 
 And confcious of the outrage he commits, 
 
 Shall leek it, and not find it in his turn. ' Ihid. 
 
 T.O-DAY AND TO-MORROW. 
 
 To-day man's drefs'd in gold and filver bright, 
 Wrapt in a fhroud before to-morrow night ; 
 To-day he's feeding on delicious food. 
 To-morrow dead, unable to do good ; 
 To-day he'§ nice, and fcorns to feed on crumbs, 
 To-morrow he's himfelf a difh of worms./ 
 To-day he's honour'd and in vaft elteem, 
 To'iBorrow not a beggar values him j 
 To-day he nles f'roiti a velvet bed, 
 
Virtue, — Vanity . 2.95 
 
 To-morrow lies in one that's made of lead ; 
 To-day his houfe, tho' large he thinks but fmall,- 
 To-morrow no connmand, no houfe at all ; 
 To-day "has forty fervants at his gate, 
 To-inorrow fcorn'd, not one of them will wait ; 
 To-day perfum'd, as fweet as any rofe, 
 To-morrow (links in every body's nofe ; 
 To-day he's grand, majeftic, all delight, 
 Ghaftful and pale before to-morrow night ; 
 Trae, as the fcripture fays, " man's bte's a fvun, 
 The prefent moment is the life of man.^ 
 
 VIRTUE. 
 
 He that would govern. his anions by the laws of 
 virtue, muft regulate his thoughts by the laws cf rea- 
 fon ; he muft keep guilt from the recefles of his heart, 
 and remember that thepleafures of fancy and the emo- 
 tion of defire, are more dangerous as they ar^ more 
 hidden, fince they efcape the awe of obfervatbii, and 
 operate equally in every fituation, without thevoncur- 
 rence of external opportunities. 
 
 To dread no eye and to fufpeft no tongue.^phc 
 great prerogative of innocence; an exemption ^nted 
 only to invariable virtue. But guilt has always it*> 
 horrors .and folicitudes; and to make it jet mon- 
 fhameful and deteftable, it is doomed often to iiand i. 
 awe of thofe, to whom nothing could give influence 
 weight, but their power of betraying. Ih^ 
 
 V A N I T Y. 
 
 So Wea1c are human kind by nature made, 
 Or to Ifuch weaknefs by their vice betray 'd, 
 Alrnigl""'y vanity ! to thee they owe 
 Their zeVl of pleafure and the balm of woe. 
 Thou, Hkt the fun, all coulours doft contain. 
 
296 
 
 American Monitsr. 
 
 Varing like rays of light on drops of rain ; 
 For ev'ry foul finds reafons to be proud, 
 Tiio' hifs'd and hooted by the pointing crowd. 
 
 Young. 
 
 VICE. 
 
 Vice is a mbnfter of To frightful mien. 
 As, to be hated, needs but to be feen ; 
 Yet feen too oft, familiar with her face. 
 We firft endure, then pity, then embrace. Pope. 
 
 USURPER. 
 
 As when the fea breaks o'er its bounds. 
 And overflows the level grounds ; 
 Thofe banks and dams, that likea fkreen 
 Did keep it out, now keep it in : 
 So when tyrannic ufurpation, 
 Invades the freedom of a nation, 
 Thofe laws o' th' land that were intended 
 'To keep it out, are made defend it. 
 
 HUDIBRAS, 
 
 WAR. ; ■ 
 
 As war is the extremity of evil, it is furely the duty 
 thofe whofe ftation ent rolls them with the care of 
 Jiations, to avert it from their charge. There are dif- 
 cafes of an animal nature which nothing but acnputation 
 ^ an remove ; fo there may, by the depravation of 
 iiuman pafTions, be fometimes a gangrene in colle£^-recl 
 life, for which fire and the fword are thejipce/rary 
 remedies; but in what can ficill or caution be better 
 ihewn, than in preventing fuch dreadful opetationSi 
 while there is room for gentler methods. 
 
 , ' Jo-iNso? 
 
War. 
 
 297 
 
 War never fails to exhauft the ftate, and endanger 
 its deftruaion, with whatever fuccefs it is carried on. 
 Though it may be commenced with advantage, it can 
 never be finifhed without danger of the mod fatal rc- 
 verfe of fortune. With whatever fupeiiority of ftrengih 
 an engagement is begun, the lead miftake, the flighted 
 accident, may turn the fcale and give vidory to the e- 
 nemy. Nor can a nation that fhould be always vic- 
 torious profper : it would deftroy itfelf by deltroying 
 others : the country would be depopulated, the 
 foil untilled, and trade interrupted : and what is 
 worfe, the beft laws would lofe their force, aiid a cor- 
 ruption of manners infenfibly take place. Literature 
 will be neglected among the youth; the troops, con- 
 fcious of their own importance, will indulge them- 
 felves in the moft pernicious licentioufnefs with impu- 
 nity, and the diforder will neceffarily fpread through 
 all the branches of government. Fe melon. 
 
 It is unqueftionably a very notable art to ravage 
 countries, deftroy dwellings, and one year vvith ano- 
 ther, out of a hundred thoufand men to cut ofF forty 
 thoufand. This invention was originally cu'tivatedby 
 nations alfembled for their common good. It is other- 
 wife in our time. ' 
 
 An odd circumftance in this infernal enterprize is, 
 -*that every chief of thefe ruffians has his colours confe- 
 crated, and folemnly prays to God before he goes 
 deftroy his neighbour. If the llain in a battle do not 
 exceed two or three thoufand, the fortunate comman- 
 der does not think it worth thanking God for ; but if, 
 befides killing ten or twelve thoufand men, he has been 
 fo far favoured by heaven as totally to deftroy fome re- 
 markable place, then a verbofe hymn is fung in four 
 parts, compofed in a language unknown to all the com- 
 batants. Voltaire. 
 
 C c 2 . 
 
298 
 
 American Monitor* 
 
 It is wonderful with what cool nefs and indifference 
 the greater part of niankind fee war commenced. Thofe 
 ihat iiear of it at a diflance, or read of it in books, but 
 have never prefented its evils to their minds, confider 
 it as little more than a fplendid game, a proclamation, 
 an army, a battle, and a triumph. Some indeed mufl 
 ])eril]i in the mofi: fuccefsful field, but they die upon 
 the bed of honor, resign their lives amidst the joys of 
 conquest y and, filled with England' s glory, smile in death, 
 
 T"he life of a modern foldier is ill reprefented by he- 
 roic fi6fion. War has means of deftru6)ion more 
 iorrnidable than the. cannon and the fword. Of the 
 thoiifands and ten thoufands that perifhed in our late 
 t ontefts with France and Spain, a very fmall part ever 
 : \ \ e ftroke of an enemy ; therefl languiflied in tents 
 antl thips, amidft dannps and putrefadion ; pale, tor- 
 pid, fpiritlefs, and helplefs ; gafping and groaning, 
 isnpitied among men, made obdurate by long continu- 
 ance of hopelefs mifery ; and were at laft whelmed in 
 pits, or heaved into the ocean, without notice and 
 without remembrance. By incomtnodious encamp- 
 ments and lunvholefome Itaiions, where courage is 
 ufelers, and enterprize imprafticable, fleets are filently 
 difpeopled, and armies fluggiflily melted away. 
 
 Thus is a people gradually exhauffed, for the moft 
 ]>art with little efFedl. The wars of civilized nations 
 make very flow changes in the fyflem of empire^* 
 Tiie public perceive fcarcely any alteration but an in- 
 creafe of debt ; and the few individuals who are bene- 
 fited, are not fuppofed to have the clearefl right to 
 ibicir advantages. I f he that fliared the danger enjoy- 
 ed the profit, and after bleeding in the battle grew rich 
 •Ify the vi6lory, he might fhew his gains without envy. 
 Kiu at the conclufion of a ten years war, how are we 
 recoinpenced for the death of multitudes and the ex- 
 pence of millions, but by contemplating the fudden 
 glories of paymaiters and agents, coniradlors and 
 
commiffaries, whofe equipages (hine like meteors, 
 and whofe palaces rife like exhalations. 
 
 Thefe are the men who, without virtue, labour, or 
 hazard, are growing rich as their country is impove- 
 riflied; they rejoice when obftinacy or ambition adds 
 another year to flaughter and devaftation ; and laugh 
 from their delks at bravery and fcience, while they are 
 adding figure to figure, and cypher to cypher, hoping 
 for a nev/ centradl from a new armament, and com- 
 puting the profits of a fiege or tempeft. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 One to deflroy is murder by the law ; 
 And gibbets keep the lifted hand in awe. 
 To murder thoufands, takes a fpecious name. 
 War's glorious art, and ^ives immortal fame. 
 
 When,- after battle, I the field have feen 
 Spread o'er with ghadly fliapes, which once were men j 
 A nation crufh'd 1 a nation of the brave ! 
 A realm of death ! and on this fide the grave! 
 Are there, faid 1, who from this fad furvey, 
 This human chaos, carry fmiles away ? 
 How did my heart with indignation rife ! 
 How honeft nature fwell'd into my eyes! 
 How was I Ihock'd, to think the hero's trade 
 Of fuch materials, fame and triumph made ! 
 
 Young, 
 
 Firfl Envy, eldeft born of hell embrued 
 Ker hands in blood, and taught the fons of men 
 To make a death which nature never made, 
 And God abhorr'd ; with violence rude to break 
 The thread of life ere half its length was run, 
 Anrf .rob a wretched brother of his being. 
 With jVoy Ambition favv, and foon improv'd 
 TheexeC"rab!e deed. 'Twas not enough 
 By fubtle fraud to fnatch a fingle life, 
 Puny impidty i v/hole kingdoms fell 
 
300 American Monitor, 
 
 To fate the lufl of power : more horrid ftill, 
 The fouleft ftain and fcandal of our nature 
 Became its boart. One murder makes a villain ; 
 Millions a hero. Princes were privileged 
 To kill ; and numbers fandlified the crime. 
 Ah ! why will kings forget that they are men ? 
 And men that they are brethren ? Why delight 
 In human facrifice? Why burft the ties 
 Of nature, that fhouldknit their fouls together 
 In one foft bond of amity and love r 
 Yet ftill they breathe deftrudion, (till go on. 
 Inhumanly ingenious, to find out 
 New pains for life, new terrors for the grave. 
 Artificers of death I flill monarchs dream 
 Of univerfal empire growing up 
 From univerfal ruin. Blaft the defign, 
 Great God of hofts, nor let thy creatures fall 
 Unpitied viftinris at ambition's Ihrine ! Porteus. 
 
 He Vv'ho makes war his profeffion cannot be other- 
 wife than vicious. 
 
 War makes thieves, and peace brings them to the 
 gallows. Machiavel. 
 
 A Soldier is a being hired to kill in cold blood as 
 many of his own fpecies, who have never offended him, 
 as poffibly he can. Swift. 
 
 The W H 1 S T L E. 
 
 When I was a child, at feven years old, my friends 
 on a holiday, filled my pocket with coppers. I went 
 diredly to a (hop where they fold toys for children r, 
 and being charmed with the found of a whistle, tK-at 1 
 met by the way in the hands of another boy, I volun- ^ 
 tarily offered him ail my money for one. I ihien Came ; 
 home, and went whiflling all over the hc/)ufe, much : 
 pleafed vin\i my whistle, but difiurbing all 'the family. , 
 
The Whistle. 
 
 My brothers, and fifters, and coufins, underftanding 
 the bargain I had made, told me I had given four 
 times as much for it as it was worth. This put me 
 in mind what good things I might have bought with 
 the reft of my money; and they laughed fo much at., 
 me for my folly, that I cried with vexation; and the 
 reflexion gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave 
 me pleafure* 
 
 This however was afterwards of ufe tome, the im- 
 preflion continuing in my mind ; fo that often, when 
 I was tempted to buy forae unneceflary thing, I faid 
 to myfelf. Don't give too much for the whistle: and fo I 
 faved my money. 
 
 As I grew up, came into the world, and obferved the 
 aftions of men, I thought I met with many, very ma- 
 ny, who gave too much for the whistle. 
 
 When I faw any one too ambitious of court favors, 
 facrificing his time in attendance on levees, his repofe, 
 his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps his friends to attain 
 it, I have faid to myfelf, This,man gives too much for his 
 whistle. 
 
 When 1 faw another fond of popularity, conftantly 
 emploving himfelf in political buftles, negleding his 
 own affairs, and ruining them by that negled ; He 
 fays, tndeedy fays I, too much for his whistle. 
 
 If I knew a mifer, who gave up every kind of tom- 
 fortable living, all the pleafure of doing good to others, 
 all the efteem of his fellow-citizens, and the joys of be- 
 nevolent friendfhip. for the fake of accumuiatmg 
 
 ■vealth : Poor man, fays I, you do indeed pay too much for 
 
 ^our whistle. 
 
 ^When I meet a man of pleafure, facrificing every 
 laudab.'e improven:ient of the mind, or of his fortune, to 
 mere corporeal fenfations; Mistaken man, fays I, you 
 are pnmclmg fain for yourself, instead of pleasure ; you give 
 too much for your whistle. _ 
 
 If I fee one fond of fine clothes, fine furniture, hne 
 equipages, all above his fortune, for which he coniraas 
 
303 
 
 American Monitor. 
 
 debts, and ends his career in prifon ; Alas, fays t, he 
 has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle. 
 
 When I fee a beautiful, fweet-tempered girl, marri- 
 ed to an ill natured brute of a hufband : W'hat a pity it 
 7.S, fays I, that she has paid so much for a whistle. " 
 
 In fhort, I conceive that great part of the miferies 
 of mankind were brought upon them by the falfe efti- 
 mates they had made of the value of things,-and bv their 
 giving too much for their whistles. Franklin, 
 
 W I S D O M. 
 
 Wifdom, whofe lelTons have been reprefented as fo 
 ard to learn, by thofe who were never at her fchool, 
 only teaches us to extend a fimple maxim, univerfaliy 
 known, atid followed even in theloweft life, a little 
 farther than that life carries it, and this is, not to buy at 
 too dear a price. 
 
 Whoever takes this maxim abroad with him into 
 the grand market of (he world, and conftantly applies 
 it to honours, to riches, to pleafures, and to every 
 other commodity which that market affords, is a wife 
 man, and muR be fo acknowledged in the worldly fenfe 
 of the word ; for he makes the beft of bargains ; fmce 
 in reality he purchafes every thing at the price only 
 of a little trouble, and carries' home^all the good things 
 I have mentioned, while he keeps his health, his inno- 
 cence, and his reputation, the common prices whic' 
 are paid for them by others, entire to himlelf. | 
 From this moderation likewife he learns two leflfoji 
 which complete his charader ; firft, never to be ir/iox- 
 icated when he hath made the beft bargain, nor dejeded 
 ■when the market is empty ; or when its xrommodities 
 are to dear for his purchafe. Fielbing. 
 
Want.— Wit. 
 
 3 
 
 WANT. 
 
 V 
 
 Want is a bitter and a hateful good, 
 Becaufe its virtues are not underftood : 
 Yet many things, impelTible to thought, 
 Have been by need to full perfedlion brought. 
 The daring of the foul proceeds from thence, 
 Sharpnefs of wit, and adive diligence. 
 \udence at once and fortitude it gives : 
 ', if in patience taken, mends our lives : 
 ew'n that indigence that brings me low, 
 .lakes me my felf, and him above, to know. 
 A good which none would challenge, few would chufe, 
 A fair pofleffion, which mankind refufe. 
 If we from wealth to poverty defcend. 
 Want gives to know the fiatt'rer from the friend. 
 
 - Dryden. 
 
 W I T. 
 
 Time ms fervent petulance may cool ; 
 For though he is a wit, he is no fool. 
 In time he'll learn to ufe, not waftehis fenfe, 
 Nor make a frailty of an exellence. 
 His brifk attack on blockheads we fhould prize; 
 Were not his jefl as a flippant with the wife. 
 He fpares nor friend nor foe ; but calls to mind. 
 Like dooms-day, all the faults nf all mankind. 
 
 What tho' wit tickles r tickling is unfafe. 
 If ftill 'tis painful while it makes us laugh. 
 Who, for the poor renown of being fmart. 
 Would leave a fling within a brother's heart ? 
 
 Parts may be prais'd ; jj^ d- nature is ador'd ; 
 Then draw your wit as Wclom as your fword. 
 And never on the weak^^ or you'll ap^ar, 
 As there no hero, no great genius herp. 
 As in fmooth oil the ra^or beft is whet, 
 So wit is by poiitenefs iharjpcft fet ; 
 
Armrican Monitor^ 
 
 • want of edge from their oiFence is feen ; 
 pain us leaft when exquifitely keen, 
 fame nien give is for the joy they find; 
 j-^aa is thejefter^ when thejoke's unkind. Young 
 
 YOUTH. I 
 
 Down the fmooth ftream of liCe theftripiing 
 Gay as the morn ; bright glows the vernal %, 
 Hope fwells his fails, and paffion fteers his cour! 
 ^ Safe glides his littie bark along the fhore 
 I Where virtue takes her ftand ;^ but if too far 
 oHe launches fQrthJ3£^yQnd.difcj:etioiL's maxJ^^ 
 'Sudden the tempeft fcowls, the (urges roar. 
 Plot hisfairday, and plunge him in the deep. 
 O fad but fure mifehance ! O happier far 
 To lie like gallant Howe 'inidft Indian wilds 
 A breathlefs corfe, cut off by favage hands 
 In earlieft prime, a generous facrifice 
 To freedom's holy caufe, than fo to fall. 
 Torn imniature from life's meridian joys, 
 Aprsyto vice, intemp'rance, and difeafe. 
 
 PoUTEUs. 
 
 That the higheft degree of reverence Ihould be paid 
 youth, and that nothing indecent Oiould be fufFered 
 ^^o approach their eyes, or ears, are precepts extorted by 
 fenfe and virtue^ trom an ancient writer, by no means 
 eminent, for chaftity of il^oughL _ The fai^e kind,; 
 though not the fame degree of caution is required in 
 every thing which is laid before them, to fecure them' 
 from unjnft prejudices, perverfe opinions, and incon- 
 gruous combinations oPi^a^s. Rambler. 
 
 T H E END. 
 
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