The I is worthy of aversion when it is principally confined to the person who uses it.
—Pascal.
952
What am I?
Naught! But the effluence of Thy light divine
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too.
Yes, in my spirit doth Thy spirit shine,
As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew.
Naught! But I live, and on Hope's pinions fly
Eager toward Thy presence; for in Thee,
I live, and breathe, and dwell, aspiring high,
Even to the throne of Thy divinity.
I am, O God, and surely Thou must be!
—Sir John Bowring's translation of
Derzhavin's "Ode to God."
953
Ideas are like beards; men do not have them until they grow up.
954
A young man idle, an old man needy.
955
Labor is the divine law of our existence; repose is desertion and suicide.
956
If you want anything done, go to a busy man;
Man of leisure never has time to do anything.
957
Lose this day loitering—'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory.
—Goethe.
958
If any man wish to escape idleness let him fall in love.
959
Better lose your labor than your time in idleness.
—Dutch.
960
Idleness must thank itself if it go barefoot.
—From the German.
961
I would not waste my spring of youth
In idle dalliance; I would plant rich seeds,
To blossom in my manhood and bear fruit
When I am old.
—Hillhouse.
962
Never remain ignorant for the want of asking questions.
963
Ignorance is often a voluntary misfortune.
—From the French.
964
Rather bear the ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of.
—Shakespeare.
965
Man's ills are in the main of his own seeking.
966
Those who imitate us we like much better than those who endeavor to equal us. Imitation is a sign of esteem, competition of envy.
967
LONGING AFTER IMMORTALITY.
It must be so—Plato, thou reasonest well!—
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years,
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.
—Addison.
968
Impertinence.—That man is guilty of impertinence who considers not the circumstances of time, or engrosses the conversation, or makes himself the subject of his discourse, or pays no regard to the company he is in.
—Fully.
969
Airs of importance are often the credentials of insignificance.
—Lavater.
970
LIVING WITHIN OUR INCOME.
Live within your income. Always have something saved at the end of the year. Let your imports be more than your exports, and you'll never go far wrong.
—Dr. Johnson.
971
All men are not susceptible to improvement.
972
It is better to have nothing to do than to be doing nothing.
—Attilus.
973
Men of all ages have the same inclinations, over which reason exercises no control. Thus, wherever men are found, there are the same follies.
—Fontenelle.
974
What madness to carry all one's income on one's back.
975
Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.
—Colton.
976
Fickleness.—Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro, as this Mr. —— ——?
—Shakespeare.
977
Mankind is made up of inconsistencies.
978
BEGIN IT.
Lose this day loitering, 'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
True indecision brings its own delays.
And days are lost, lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize the very minute;
What you can do, or think you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only begin it and the mind grows heated;
Begin it, and the work will be completed.—
—Goethe.
979
I hate dependence on another's will,
Which changes with the breath of ev'ry whisper,
Just as the sky and weather with the winds:
With the winds, as they blow east or west,
To make his temper pleasant or unpleasant.
—Crown.
980
INDEPENDENCE—CHECKED.
If any man can do without the world, it is certain the world can do quite as well without him.
—Hazlitt.
981
Living to-day on tomorrow's salary is a sure sign of financial indigestion.
982
Seek not every quality in one individual.
983
That is the best gown that goes most up and down the house.
984
THE INEVITABLE.
I like the man who faces what he must,
With steps triumphant and a heart of cheer;
Who fights the daily battle without fear;
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust
That God is God, that somehow, true and just,
His plans work out for mortals; not a tear
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,
Falls from his grasp; better with love a crust
Than living in dishonor; envies not,
Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,
Nor murmurs at his humble lot;
But with a smile and words of hope, give zest
To every toiler. He alone is great
Who by a life heroic conquers fate.
—Sarah K. Bolton.
985
The smiles of infants are said to be the first-fruits of human reason.
—Hudson.
986
THE NEW-COMER.
The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared,
The child is born, by many a pang endeared;
And now the mother's ear has caught his cry;
O! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
He comes, she clasps him, to her bosom pressed,
He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest.
She, by her smile, how soon the stranger knows;
How soon by his the glad discovery shows!
As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy,
What answering looks of sympathy and joy!
He walks—he speaks—in many a broken word,
His wants, his wishes, and his griefs are heard;
And ever, ever to her lap he flies,
Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise,
Locked in her arms, his arms across her flung,
That name most dear forever on his tongue.
As with soft accents round her neck he clings,
And cheek to cheek her lulling song she sings,
How blest to feel the beating of his heart,
Breathe his sweet breath, and kiss for kiss impart,
Watch o'er his slumbers, like the brooding dove,
And if she can, exhaust a mother's love!
—From Littell's Living Age.
987
NO ONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR HIS INFIRMITIES.
A hound, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly coming up, fiercely abused the dog. The hound looked up and said: "It was not my fault, master; my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have been, than to be blamed for what I am."
988
PERSONAL INFLUENCE.
"On a cold winter evening," said Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently, "I made my first call on a rich merchant in New York. As I left the door and the piercing gale swept in, I said:
"What an awful night for the poor?
"He said come back for a moment; and in a very few minutes brought me a roll of bank bills, and said:
"Please hand these for me to the poorest people you know.
"After a few days I wrote him the grateful thanks of the poor whom his bounty had relieved, and added:
"How is it that a man so kind to his fellow creatures has always been so unkind to his Saviour as to refuse him his heart?
"That sentence touched him to the core.
"He sent for me to come and talk to him, and speedily gave himself to Christ. He has been a most useful Christian ever since. But he told me I was the first person who had talked to him about his soul in twenty years. One hour of work did more for that man than the pulpit effort of a life-time."
—Selected.
989
HIS MOTHER'S INFLUENCE.
It is reported that a young man being examined preparatory to joining the church was asked—"Under whose preaching?" The prompt reply—"I was converted under my mother's practising." Did any preacher ever utter so powerful a sermon as the young man embodied in those few words?
990
It is a common thing for men to hate the authors of their preferment, as the witnesses of their mean original.
991
At the first entrance into thy estate keep a low sail; thou mayest rise with honor; thou canst not decline without shame; he that begins as his father ended, will be apt to end as his father began.
992
Some grave their wrongs on marble; He more just,
Stooped down serene, and wrote them on the dust;
Trod under foot, the sport of every wind,
Swept from the earth, and blotted from His mind;
There, secret in the grave, He bade them lie,
And grieved they could not escape the Almighty's eye.
993
One is keen to suspect a quarter from which one has once received a hurt. "A burnt child dreads the fire."
994
The noblest remedy for injuries is oblivion.
—From the French.
995
Hath any wronged thee?
Be bravely revenged;
Slight it, and the work is begun;
Forgive it, and 'tis finished.
He is below himself who is not above an injury.
996
A man hurts himself by injuring me: what, then shall I therefore hurt myself by injuring him?
997
Ink—Described:—The colored slave that waits upon thought; a drop may make a million think.
—Byron.
998
The innocent are gay.
—Cowper.
999
There is no real courage in innocence.
1000
What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to the law.
—Seneca.
1001
Better confide and be deceiv'd
A thousand times by treacherous foes,
Than once accuse the innocent
Or let suspicion mar repose.
1002
It is only the vulgar who are always fancying themselves insulted. If a man treads on another's toe in good society, do you think it is taken as an insult?
1003
I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the man who has forgiven an insult.
1004
POLITICAL INTEGRITY.
The borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II, chose Andrew Marvell, a young gentleman of little or no fortune, and maintained him in London for the service of the public. With a view to bribe him, his old school-fellow, the Lord Treasurer Danby, went to him in his garret. At parting, the Lord Treasurer slipped into his hands an order upon the treasury for £1000, and then went into his chariot. Marvell looking at the paper, called after the treasurer—"My lord, I request another moment." They went up again to the garret, and the servant boy was called—"What had I for dinner yesterday?" "Don't you remember, sir, you had the little shoulder of mutton that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the market?" "Very right. What have I for dinner today?" "Don't you know, sir, that you made me lay up the blade-bone to broil?" "'Tis so; very right. Go away." "My lord, do you hear that? Andrew Marvell's dinner is provided; there's your piece of paper, I want it not. I knew the sort of kindness you intended. I live here to serve my constituents. The ministry may seek men for their purpose; I am not one."
1005
Integrity is to be preferred to eloquence.
—Aeschines.
1006
The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions.
—Junius.
1007
One of dull intellect cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise, nor stand, like a man of sense.
—La Bruyere.
1008
God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.
—Bacon.
1009
Respect other people's opinions;
Intolerance is usually an index of weakness.
1010
Irresolution.—Don't stand shivering upon the bank; plunge in at once and have it over.
—Haliburton.
