,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,life ,,sir ,,john ,,lubbock ,,contents4 ,,part ,i ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,duty ,,of ,,happiness ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,happiness ,,of ,,duty ,,chapter ,,iii ,a ,,song ,,of ,,books ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,choice ,,of ,,books ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,blessing ,,of ,,friends ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,time ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,travel ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,home ,,chapter ,,ix ,,science ,,chapter ,x ,,education ,,part ,,ii ,,chapter ,i ,,ambition ,,chapter ,,ii ,,wealth ,,chapter ,,iii ,,health ,,chapter ,,iv ,,love ,,chapter ,v ,,art ,,chapter ,,vi ,,poetry ,,chapter ,,vii ,,music ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,beauties ,,of ,,nature ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,troubles ,,of ,,life ,,chapter ,x ,,labor ,,and ,,rest ,,chapter ,,xi ,,religion ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,,progress ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man ,,preface ,those who have the pleasure of attending the opening meetings of schools and colleges1 and of giving away prizes and certificates1 are generally expected at the same time to offer such words of counsel and encouragement as the experience of the world might enable them to give to those who are entering life4 ,having been myself when young rather prone to suffer from low spirits1 ,i have at several of these gatherings taken the opportunity of dwelling on the privileges and blessings we enjoy1 and ,i reprint here the substance of some of these addresses 7omitting what was special to the circumstances of each case1 and freely making any alterations and additions which have since occurred to me71 hoping that the thoughts and quotations in which ,i have myself found most comfort may perhaps be of use to others also4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that ,i have not by any means referred to all the sources of happiness open to us1 some indeed of the greatest pleasures and blessings being altogether omitted4 ,in reading over the proofs ,i feel that some sentences may appear too dogmatic1 but ,i hope that allowance will be made for the circumstances under which they were delivered4 ,,high ,,elms1 ,,down1 ,,kent1 ,january #ahhg4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,twentieth ,,edition4 ,a lecture which ,i delivered three years ago at the ,working ,men's ,college1 and which forms the fourth chapter of this book1 has given rise to a good deal of discussion4 ,the ,pall ,mall ,gazette took up the subject and issued a circular to many of those best qualified to express an opinion4 ,this elicited many interesting replies1 and some other lists of books were drawn up4 ,when my book was translated1 a similar discussion took place in ,germany4 ,the result has been very gratifying1 and after carefully considering the suggestions which have been made1 ,i see no reason for any material change in the first list4 ,i had not presumed to form a list of my own1 nor did ,i profess to give my own favorites4 ,my attempt was to give those most generally recommended by previous writers on the subject4 ,in the various criticisms on my list1 while large additions1 amounting to several hundred works in all1 have been proposed1 very few omissions have been suggested4 ,as regards those works with reference to which some doubts have been expressed--namely1 the few ,oriental books1 ,wake's ,apostolic ,fathers etc4--,i may observe that ,i drew up the list1 not as that of the hundred best books1 but1 which is very different1 of those which have been most frequently recommended as best worth reading4 ,for instance as regards the ,sheking and the ,analects of ,confucius1 ,i must humbly confess that ,i do not greatly admire either2 but ,i recommended them because they are held in the most profound veneration by the ,chinese race1 containing #djj1jjj1jjj of our fellow-men4 ,i may add that both works are quite short4 ,the ,ramayana and ,maha ,bharata 7as epitomized by ,wheeler7 and ,st4 ,hilaire's ,bouddha are not only very interesting in themselves1 but very important in reference to our great oriental ,empire4 ,the authentic writings of the ,apostolic ,fathers are very short1 being indeed comprised in one small volume1 and as the only works 7which have come down to us7 of those who lived with and knew the ,apostles1 they are certainly well worth reading4 ,i have been surprised at the great divergence of opinion which has been expressed4 ,nine lists of some length have been published4 ,these lists contain some three hundred works not mentioned by me 7without1 however1 any corresponding omissions71 and yet there is not one single book which occurs in every list1 or even in half of them1 and only about half a dozen which appear in more than one of the nine4 ,if these authorities1 or even a majority of them1 had concurred in their recommendations1 ,i would have availed myself of them2 but as they differ so greatly ,i will allow my list to remain almost as ,i first proposed it4 ,i have1 however1 added ,kalidasa's ,sakuntala or ,the ,lost ,ring1 and ,schiller's ,william ,tell1 omitting1 in consequence1 ,lucretius and ,miss ,austen3 ,lucretius because though his work is most remarkable1 it is perhaps less generally suitable than most of the others in the list2 and ,miss ,austen because ,english novelists were somewhat over-represented4 ,,high ,,elms1 ,,down1 ,,kent1 ,august #ahij4 ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,life ,,part ,i ,all places that the eye of ,heaven visits ,are to the wise man ports and happy havens4 ,,shakespeare4 ,some murmur1 when their sky is clear ,and wholly bright to view1 ,if one small speck of dark appear ,in their great heaven of blue4 ,and some with thankful love are fill'd ,if but one streak of light1 ,one ray of ,god's good mercy gild ,the darkness of their night4 ,in palaces are hearts that ask1 ,in discontent and pride1 ,why life is such a dreary task1 ,and all good things denied4 ,and hearts in poorest huts admire ,how love has in their aid 7,love that not ever seems to tire7 ,such rich provision made4 ,,trench4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,duty ,,of ,,happiness4 ,if a man is unhappy1 this must be his own fault2 for ,god made all men to be happy4--,,epictetus4 ,life is a great gift1 and as we reach years of discretion1 we most of us naturally ask ourselves what should be the main object of our existence4 ,even those who do not accept the greatest good of the greatest number as an absolute rule1 will yet admit that we should all endeavor to contribute as far as we may to the happiness of our fellow-creatures4 ,there are many1 however1 who seem to doubt whether it is right that we should try to be happy ourselves4 ,our own happiness ought not1 of course1 to be our main object1 nor indeed will it ever be secured if selfishly sought4 ,we may have many pleasures in life1 but must not let them have rule over us1 or they will soon hand us over to sorrow2 and into what dangerous and miserable servitude doth he fall who suffereth pleasures and sorrows 7two unfaithful and cruel commanders7 to possess him successively8 #a ,i cannot1 however1 but think that the world would be better and brighter if our teachers would dwell on the ,duty of ,happiness as well as on the ,happiness of ,duty1 for we ought to be as cheerful as we can1 if only because to be happy ourselves1 is a most effectual contribution to the happiness of others4 ,every one must have felt that a cheerful friend is like a sunny day1 which sheds its brightness on all around2 and most of us can1 as we choose1 make of this world either a palace or a prison4 ,there is no doubt some selfish satisfaction in yielding to melancholy1 and fancying that we are victims of fate2 in brooding over grievances1 especially if more or less imaginary4 ,to be bright and cheerful often requires an effort2 there is a certain art in keeping ourselves happy2 and in this respect1 as in others1 we require to watch over and manage ourselves1 almost as if we were somebody else4 ,sorrow and joy1 indeed1 are strangely interwoven4 ,too often ,we look before and after1 ,and pine for what is not3 ,our sincerest laughter ,with some pain is fraught2 ,our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought4 #b ,as a nation we are prone to melancholy4 ,it has been said of our countrymen that they take even their pleasures sadly4 ,but this1 if it be true at all1 will1 ,i hope1 prove a transitory characteristic4 ,merry ,england was the old saying1 let us hope it may become true again4 ,we must look to the ,east for real melancholy4 ,what can be sadder than the lines with which ,omar ,khayyam opens his quatrains3 #c ,we sojourn here for one short day or two1 ,and all the gain we get is grief and woe2 ,and then1 leaving life's problems all unsolved ,and harassed by regrets1 we have to go2 or the ,devas' song to ,prince ,siddrtha1 in ,edwin ,arnold's beautiful version3 ,we are the voices of the wandering wind1 ,which moan for rest1 and rest can never find4 ,lo6 as the wind is1 so is mortal life-- ,a moan1 a sigh1 a sob1 a storm1 a strife4 ,if indeed this be true1 if mortal life be so sad and full of suffering1 no wonder that ,nirvna--the cessation of sorrow--should be welcomed even at the sacrifice of consciousness4 ,but ought we not to place before ourselves a very different ideal--a healthier1 manlier1 and nobler hope8 ,life is not to live merely1 but to live well4 ,there are some who live without any design at all1 and only pass in the world like straws on a river3 they do not go2 they are carried1 #d--;but as ,homer makes ,ulysses say1 ,how dull it is to pause1 to make an end1 to rest unburnished2 not to shine in use--as though to breathe were life6 ,goethe tells us that at thirty he resolved to work out life no longer by halves1 but in all its beauty and totality4 ,im ,ganzen1 ,guten1 ,schnen ,resolut zu leben4 ,life indeed must be measured by thought and action1 not by time4 ,it certainly may be1 and ought to be1 bright1 interesting1 and happy2 and1 according to the ,italian proverb1 if all cannot live on the ,piazza1 every one may feel the sun4 ,if we do our best2 if we do not magnify trifling troubles2 if we look resolutely1 ,i do not say at the bright side of things1 but at things as they really are2 if we avail ourselves of the manifold blessings which surround us2 we cannot but feel that life is indeed a glorious inheritance4 ,more servants wait on man ,than he'll take notice of4 ,in every path ,he treads down that which doth befriend him ,when sickness makes him pale and wan ,oh mighty ,love6 ,man is one world1 and hath ,another to attend him4 #e ,few of us1 however1 realize the wonderful privilege of living1 or the blessings we inherit2 the glories and beauties of the ,universe1 which is our own if we choose to have it so2 the extent to which we can make ourselves what we wish to be2 or the power we possess of securing peace1 of triumphing over pain and sorrow4 ,dante pointed to the neglect of opportunities as a serious fault3 ,man can do violence ,to himself and his own blessings1 and for this ,he1 in the second round1 must aye deplore1 ,with unavailing penitence1 his crime4 ,whoe'er deprives himself of life and light ,in reckless lavishment his talent wastes1 ,and sorrows then when he should dwell in joy4 ,ruskin has expressed this with special allusion to the marvellous beauty of this glorious world1 too often taken as a matter of course1 and remembered1 if at all1 almost without gratitude4 ,holy men1 he complains1 in the recommending of the love of ,god to us1 refer but seldom to those things in which it is most abundantly and immediately shown2 though they insist much on ,his giving of bread1 and raiment1 and health 7which ,he gives to all inferior creatures73 they require us not to thank ,him for that glory of ,his works which ,he has permitted us alone to perceive3 they tell us often to meditate in the closet1 but they send us not1 like ,isaac1 into the fields at even3 they dwell on the duty of self denial1 but they exhibit not the duty of delight3 and yet1 as he justly says elsewhere1 each of us1 as we travel the way of life1 has the choice1 according to our working1 of turning all the voices of ,nature into one song of rejoicing2 or of withering and quenching her sympathy into a fearful withdrawn silence of condemnation1--into a crying out of her stones and a shaking of her dust against us4 ,must we not all admit1 with ,sir ,henry ,taylor1 that the retrospect of life swarms with lost opportunities8 ,whoever enjoys not life1 says ,sir ,t4 ,browne1 ,i count him but an apparition1 though he wears about him the visible affections of flesh4 ,st4 ,bernard1 indeed1 goes so far as to maintain that nothing can work me damage except myself2 the harm that ,i sustain ,i carry about with me1 and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault4 ,some ,heathen moralists also have taught very much the same lesson4 ,the gods1 says ,marcus ,aurelius1 have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into real evils4 ,now that which does not make a man worse1 how can it make his life worse8 ,epictetus takes the same line3 ,if a man is unhappy1 remember that his unhappiness is his own fault2 for ,god has made all men to be happy4 ,i am1 he elsewhere says1 always content with that which happens2 for ,i think that what ,god chooses is better than what ,i choose4 ,and again3 ,seek not that things should happen as you wish2 but wish the things which happen to be as they are1 and you will have a tranquil flow of life4444 ,if you wish for anything which belongs to another1 you lose that which is your own4 ,few1 however1 if any1 can ,i think go as far as ,st4 ,bernard4 ,we cannot but suffer from pain1 sickness1 and anxiety2 from the loss1 the unkindness1 the faults1 even the coldness of those we love4 ,how many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word6 ,hegel is said to have calmly finished his ,phaenomenologie des ,geistes at ,jena1 on the #adth ,october #ahjf1 not knowing anything whatever of the battle that was raging round him4 ,matthew ,arnold has suggested that we might take a lesson from the heavenly bodies4 ,unaffrighted by the silence round them1 ,undistracted by the sights they see1 ,these demand not the things without them ,yield them love1 amusement1 sympathy4 ,bounded by themselves1 and unobservant ,in what state ,god's other works may be1 ,in their own tasks all their powers pouring1 ,these attain the mighty life you see4 ,it is true that ,a man is his own star2 ,our acts our angels are ,for good or ill1 and that rather than follow a multitude to do evil1 one should stand like ,pompey's pillar1 conspicuous by oneself1 and single in integrity4 #f ,but to many this isolation would be itself most painful1 for the heart is no island cut off from other lands1 but a continent that joins to them4 #g ,if we separate ourselves so much from the interests of those around us that we do not sympathize with them in their sufferings1 we shut ourselves out from sharing their happiness1 and lose far more than we gain4 ,if we avoid sympathy and wrap ourselves round in a cold chain armor of selfishness1 we exclude ourselves from many of the greatest and purest joys of life4 ,to render ourselves insensible to pain we must forfeit also the possibility of happiness4 ,moreover1 much of what we call evil is really good in disguise1 and we should not quarrel rashly with adversities not yet understood1 nor overlook the mercies often bound up in them4 #h ,pleasure and pain are1 as ,plutarch says1 the nails which fasten body and soul together4 ,pain is a warning of danger1 a very necessity of existence4 ,but for it1 but for the warnings which our feelings give us1 the very blessings by which we are surrounded would soon and inevitably prove fatal4 ,many of those who have not studied the question are under the impression that the more deeply-seated portions of the body must be most sensitive4 ,the very reverse is the case4 ,the skin is a continuous and ever-watchful sentinel1 always on guard to give us notice of any approaching danger2 while the flesh and inner organs1 where pain would be without purpose1 are1 so long as they are in health1 comparatively without sensation4 ,we talk1 says ,helps1 of the origin of evil2444 but what is evil8 ,we mostly speak of sufferings and trials as good1 perhaps1 in their result2 but we hardly admit that they may be good in themselves4 ,yet they are knowledge--how else to be acquired1 unless by making men as gods1 enabling them to understand without experience4 ,all that men go through may be absolutely the best for them--no such thing as evil1 at least in our customary meaning of the word4 ,indeed1 the vale best discovereth the hill1 #i and pour sentir les grands biens1 il faut qu'il connoisse les petits maux4 #aj ,but even if we do not seem to get all that we should wish1 many will feel1 as in ,leigh ,hunt's beautiful translation of ,filicaja's sonnet1 that-- ,so ,providence for us1 high1 infinite1 ,makes our necessities its watchful task4 ,hearkens to all our prayers1 helps all our wants1 ,and e'en if it denies what seems our right1 ,either denies because 'twould have us ask1 ,or seems but to deny1 and in denying grants4 ,those on the other hand who do not accept the idea of continual interferences1 will rejoice in the belief that on the whole the laws of the ,universe work out for the general happiness4 ,and if it does come-- ,grief should be ,like joy1 majestic1 equable1 sedate1 ,confirming1 cleansing1 raising1 making free3 ,strong to consume small troubles2 to commend ,great thoughts1 grave thoughts1 thoughts lasting to the end4 #aa ,if1 however1 we cannot hope that life will be all happiness1 we may at least secure a heavy balance on the right side2 and even events which look like misfortune1 if boldly faced1 may often be turned to good4 ,oftentimes1 says ,seneca1 calamity turns to our advantage2 and great ruins make way for greater glories4 ,helmholtz dates his start in science to an attack of illness4 ,this led to his acquisition of a microscope1 which he was enabled to purchase1 owing to his having spent his autumn vacation of #ahda in the hospital1 prostrated by typhoid fever2 being a pupil1 he was nursed without expense1 and on his recovery he found himself in possession of the savings of his small resources4 ,savonarola1 says ,castelar1 would1 under different circumstances1 undoubtedly have been a good husband1 a tender father2 a man unknown to history1 utterly powerless to print upon the sands of time and upon the human soul the deep trace which he has left2 but misfortune came to visit him1 to crush his heart1 and to impart that marked melancholy which characterizes a soul in grief2 and the grief that circled his brows with a crown of thorns was also that which wreathed them with the splendor of immortality4 ,his hopes were centered in the woman he loved1 his life was set upon the possession of her1 and when her family finally rejected him1 partly on account of his profession1 and partly on account of his person1 believed that it was death that had come upon him1 when in truth it was immortality4 ,it is however1 impossible to deny the existence of evil1 and the reason for it has long exercised the human intellect4 ,the ,savage solves it by the supposition of evil ,spirits4 ,the ,greeks attributed the misfortunes of men in great measure to the antipathies and jealousies of gods and goddesses4 ,others have imagined two divine principles1 opposite and antagonistic--the one friendly1 the other hostile1 to men4 ,freedom of action1 however1 seems to involve the existence of evil4 ,if any power of selection be left us1 much must depend on the choice we make4 ,in the very nature of things1 two and two cannot make five4 ,epictetus imagines ,jupiter addressing man as follows3 ,if it had been possible to make your body and your property free from liability to injury1 ,i would have done so4 ,as this could not be1 ,i have given you a small portion of myself4 ,this divine gift it is for us to use wisely4 ,it is1 in fact1 our most valuable treasure4 ,the soul is a much better thing than all the others which you possess4 ,can you then show me in what way you have taken care of it8 ,for it is not likely that you1 who are so wise a man1 inconsiderately and carelessly allow the most valuable thing that you possess to be neglected and to perish4 #ab ,moreover1 even if evil cannot be altogether avoided1 it is no doubt true that not only whether the life we lead be good and useful1 or evil and useless1 but also whether it be happy or unhappy1 is very much in our own power1 and depends greatly on ourselves4 ,time alone relieves the foolish from sorrow1 but reason the wise4 #ac and no one was ever yet made utterly miserable excepting by himself4 ,we are1 if not the masters1 at any rate almost the creators of ourselves4 ,with most of us it is not so much great sorrows1 disease1 or death1 but rather the little daily dyings which cloud over the sunshine of life4 ,many of our troubles are insignificant in themselves1 and might easily be avoided6 ,how happy home might generally be made but for foolish quarrels1 or misunderstandings1 as they are well named6 ,it is our own fault if we are querulous or ill-humored2 nor need we1 though this is less easy1 allow ourselves to be made unhappy by the querulousness or ill-humors of others4 ,much of what we suffer we have brought on ourselves1 if not by actual fault1 at least by ignorance or thoughtlessness4 ,too often we think only of the happiness of the moment1 and sacrifice that of the life4 ,troubles comparatively seldom come to us1 it is we who go to them4 ,many of us fritter our life away4 ,la ,bruyre says that most men spend much of their lives in making the rest miserable2 or1 as ,goethe puts it3 ,careworn man has1 in all ages1 ,sown vanity to reap despair4 ,not only do we suffer much in the anticipation of evil1 as ,noah lived many years under the affliction of a flood1 and ,jerusalem was taken unto ,jeremy before it was besieged1 but we often distress ourselves greatly in the apprehension of misfortunes which after all never happen at all4 ,we should do our best and wait calmly the result4 ,we often hear of people breaking down from overwork1 but in nine cases out of ten they are really suffering from worry or anxiety4 ,nos maux moraux1 says ,rousseau1 sont tous dans l'opinion1 hors un seul1 qui est le crime2 et celui-la dpend de nous3 nos maux physiques nous dtruisent1 ou se dtruisent4 ,le temps1 ou la mort1 sont nos remdes4 ,our remedies oft in ourselves do lie1 ,which we ascribe to heaven4 #ad ,this1 however1 applies to the grown up4 ,with children of course it is different4 ,it is customary1 but ,i think it is a mistake1 to speak of happy childhood4 ,children1 however1 are often over-anxious and acutely sensitive4 ,man ought to be man and master of his fate2 but children are at the mercy of those around them4 ,mr4 ,rarey1 the great horse-tamer1 has told us that he has known an angry word raise the pulse of a horse ten beats in a minute4 ,think then how it must affect a child6 ,it is small blame to the young if they are over-anxious2 but it is a danger to be striven against4 ,the terrors of the storm are chiefly felt in the parlor or the cabin4 #ae ,to save ourselves from imaginary1 or at any rate problematical1 evils1 we often incur real suffering4 ,the man1 said ,epicurus1 who is not content with little is content with nothing4 ,how often do we labor for that which satisfieth not4 ,more than we use is more than we need1 and only a burden to the bearer4 #af ,we most of us give ourselves an immense amount of useless trouble2 encumber ourselves1 as it were1 on the journey of life with a dead weight of unnecessary baggage2 and as a man maketh his train longer1 he makes his wings shorter4 #ag ,in that delightful fairy tale1 ,alice through the ,looking-,glass1 the ,white ,knight is described as having loaded himself on starting for a journey with a variety of odds and ends1 including a mousetrap1 in case he was troubled by mice at night1 and a beehive in case he came across a swarm of bees4 ,hearne1 in his ,journey to the ,mouth of the ,coppermine ,river tells us that a few days after starting on his expedition he met a party of ,indians1 who annexed a great deal of his property1 and all ,hearne says is1 ,the weight of our baggage being so much lightened1 our next day's journey was much pleasanter4 ,i ought1 however1 to add that the ,indians broke up the philosophical instruments1 which1 no doubt1 were rather an encumbrance4 ,when troubles do come1 ,marcus ,aurelius wisely tells us to remember on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle1 that this is not a misfortune1 but that to bear it nobly is good fortune4 ,our own anger indeed does us more harm than the thing which makes us angry2 and we suffer much more from the anger and vexation which we allow acts to rouse in us1 than we do from the acts themselves at which we are angry and vexed4 ,how much most people1 for instance1 allow themselves to be distracted and disturbed by quarrels and family disputes4 ,yet in nine cases out of ten one ought not to suffer from being found fault with4 ,if the condemnation is just1 it should be welcome as a warning2 if it is undeserved1 why should we allow it to distress us8 ,moreover1 if misfortunes happen we do but make them worse by grieving over them4 ,i must die1 again says ,epictetus4 ,but must ,i then die sorrowing8 ,i must be put in chains4 ,must ,i then also lament8 ,i must go into exile4 ,can ,i be prevented from going with cheerfulness and contentment8 ,but ,i will put you in prison4 ,man1 what are you saying8 ,you may put my body in prison1 but my mind not even ,zeus himself can overpower4 ,if1 indeed1 we cannot be happy1 the fault is generally in ourselves4 ,socrates lived under the ,thirty ,tyrants4 ,epictetus was a poor slave1 and yet how much we owe him6 ,how is it possible1 he says1 that a man who has nothing1 who is naked1 houseless1 without a hearth1 squalid1 without a slave1 without a city1 can pass a life that flows easily8 ,see1 ,god has sent a man to show you that it is possible4 ,look at me1 who am without a city1 without a house1 without possessions1 without a slave2 ,i sleep on the ground2 ,i have no wife1 no children1 no praetorium1 but only the earth and heavens1 and one poor clock4 ,and what do ,i want8 ,am ,i not without sorrow8 ,am ,i not without fear8 ,am ,i not free8 ,when did any of you see me failing in the object of my desire8 or ever falling into that which ,i would avoid8 ,did ,i ever blame ,god or man8 ,did ,i ever accuse any man8 ,did any of you ever see me with a sorrowful countenance8 ,and how do ,i meet with those whom you are afraid of and admire8 ,do not ,i treat them like slaves8 ,who1 when he sees me1 does not think that he sees his king and master8 ,think how much we have to be thankful for4 ,few of us appreciate the number of our everyday blessings2 we look on them as trifles1 and yet trifles make perfection1 and perfection is no trifle1 as ,michael ,angelo said4 ,we forget them because they are always with us2 and yet for each of us1 as ,mr4 ,pater well observes1 these simple gifts1 and others equally trivial1 bread and wine1 fruit and milk1 might regain that poetic and1 as it were1 moral significance which surely belongs to all the means of our daily life1 could we but break through the veil of our familiarity with things by no means vulgar in themselves4 ,let not1 says ,isaak ,walton1 the blessings we receive daily from ,god make us not to value or not praise ,him because they be common2 let us not forget to praise ,him for the innocent mirth and pleasure we have met with since we met together4 ,what would a blind man give to see the pleasant rivers and meadows and flowers and fountains2 and this and many other like blessings we enjoy daily4 ,contentment1 we have been told by ,epicurus1 consists not in great wealth1 but in few wants4 ,in this fortunate country1 however1 we may have many wants1 and yet1 if they are only reasonable1 we may gratify them all4 ,nature indeed provides without stint the main requisites of human happiness4 ,to watch the corn grow1 or the blossoms set2 to draw hard breath over plough-share or spade2 to read1 to think1 to love1 to pray1 these1 says ,ruskin1 are the things that make men happy4 ,i have fallen into the hands of thieves1 says ,jeremy ,taylor2 what then8 ,they have left me the sun and moon1 fire and water1 a loving wife and many friends to pity me1 and some to relieve me1 and ,i can still discourse2 and1 unless ,i list1 they have not taken away my merry countenance and my cheerful spirit and a good conscience4444 ,and he that hath so many causes of joy1 and so great1 is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness who loses all these pleasures1 and chooses to sit down on his little handful of thorns4 ,when a man has such things to think on1 and sees the sun1 the moon1 and stars1 and enjoys earth and sea1 he is not solitary or even helpless4 #ah ,paradise indeed might1 as ,luther said1 apply to the whole world4 ,what more is there we could ask for ourselves8 ,every sort of beauty1 says ,mr4 ,greg1 #ai has been lavished on our allotted home2 beauties to enrapture every sense1 beauties to satisfy every taste2 forms the noblest and the loveliest1 colors the most gorgeous and the most delicate1 odors the sweetest and subtlest1 harmonies the most soothing and the most stirring3 the sunny glories of the day2 the pale ,elysian grace of moonlight2 the lake1 the mountain1 the primeval forest1 and the boundless ocean2 'silent pinnacles of aged snow' in one hemisphere1 the marvels of tropical luxuriance in another2 the serenity of sunsets2 the sublimity of storms2 everything is bestowed in boundless profusion on the scene of our existence2 we can conceive or desire nothing more exquisite or perfect than what is round us every hour2 and our perceptions are so framed as to be consciously alive to all4 ,the provision made for our sensuous enjoyment is in overflowing abundance2 so is that for the other elements of our complex nature4 ,who that has revelled in the opening ecstasies of a young ,imagination1 or the rich marvels of the world of ,thought1 does not confess that the ,intelligence has been dowered at least with as profuse a beneficence as the ,senses8 ,who that has truly tasted and fathomed human ,love in its dawning and crowning joys has not thanked ,god for a felicity which indeed 'passeth understanding4' ,if we had set our fancy to picture a ,creator occupied solely in devising delight for children whom he loved1 we could not conceive one single element of bliss which is not here4 #a ,seneca4 #b ,shelley4 #c ,i quote from ,whinfield's translation4 #d ,seneca4 #e ,herbert4 #f ,sir ,t4 ,browne4 #g ,bacon4 #h ,sir ,t4 ,browne4 #i ,bacon4 #aj ,rousseau4 #aa ,aubrey de ,vere4 #ab ,epictetus4 #ac ,ibid4 #ad ,shakespeare4 #ae ,emerson4 #af ,seneca4 #ag ,bacon4 #ah ,epictetus4 #ai ,the ,enigmas of ,life4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,happiness ,,of ,,duty4 ,i am always content with that which happens2 for ,i think that what ,god chooses is better than what ,i choose4 ,,epictetus4 ,o ,god1 ,all conquering6 this lower earth ,would be for men the blest abode of mirth ,if they were strong in ,thee ,as other things of this world well are seen2 ,oh then1 far other than they yet have been1 ,how happy would men be4 ,,king ,,alfred',s ed4 of ,boethius's ,consolations of ,philosophy4 ,we ought not to picture ,duty to ourselves1 or to others1 as a stern taskmistress4 ,she is rather a kind and sympathetic mother1 ever ready to shelter us from the cares and anxieties of this world1 and to guide us in the paths of peace4 ,to shut oneself up from mankind is1 in most cases1 to lead a dull1 as well as a selfish life4 ,our duty is to make ourselves useful1 and thus life may be most interesting1 and yet comparatively free from anxiety4 ,but how can we fill our lives with life1 energy1 and interest1 and yet keep care outside8 ,many great men have made shipwreck in the attempt4 ,anthony sought for happiness in love2 ,brutus in glory2 ,caesar in dominion3 the first found disgrace1 the second disgust1 the last ingratitude1 and each destruction4 #a ,riches1 again1 often bring danger1 trouble1 and temptation2 they require care to keep1 though they may give much happiness if wisely spent4 ,how then is this great object to be secured8 ,what1 says ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,what is that which is able to conduct a man8 ,one thing and only one--philosophy4 ,but this consists in keeping the daemon #b within a man free from violence and unharmed1 superior to pains and pleasures1 doing nothing without a purpose1 yet not falsely and with hypocrisy1 not feeling the need of another man's doing or not doing anything2 and besides1 accepting all that happens1 and all that is allotted1 as coming from thence1 wherever it is1 from whence he himself came2 and1 finally1 waiting for death with a cheerful mind1 as being nothing else than a dissolution of the elements of which every living being is compounded4 ,i confess ,i do not feel the force of these last few words1 which indeed scarcely seem requisite for his argument4 ,the thought of death1 however1 certainly influences the conduct of life less than might have been expected4 ,bacon truly points out that there is no passion in the mind of man so weak1 but it mates and masters the fear of death4444 ,revenge triumphs over death1 love slights it1 honor aspireth to it1 grief flieth to it4 ,think not ,i dread to see my spirit fly ,through the dark gates of fell mortality2 ,death has no terrors when the life is true2 ',tis living ill that makes us fear to die4 #c ,we need certainly have no such fear if we have done our best to make others happy2 to promote peace on earth and goodwill amongst men4 ,nothing1 again1 can do more to release us from the cares of this world1 which consume so much of our time1 and embitter so much of our life4 ,when we have done our best1 we should wait the result in peace2 content1 as ,epictetus says1 with that which happens1 for what ,god chooses is better than what ,i choose4 ,at any rate1 if we have not effected all we wished1 we shall have influenced ourselves4 ,it may be true that one cannot do much4 ,you are not ,hercules1 and you are not able to purge away the wickedness of others2 nor yet are you ,theseus1 able to drive away the evil things of ,attica4 ,but you may clear away your own4 ,from yourself1 from your own thoughts1 cast away1 instead of ,procrustes and ,sciron1 #d sadness1 fear1 desire1 envy1 malevolence1 avarice1 effeminacy1 intemperance4 ,but it is not possible to eject these things otherwise than by looking to ,god only1 by fixing your affections on ,him only1 by being consecrated by his commands4 #e ,people sometimes think how delightful it would be to be quite free4 ,but a fish1 as ,ruskin says1 is freer than a man1 and as for a fly1 it is a black incarnation of freedom4 ,a life of so-called pleasure and self-indulgence is not a life of real happiness or true freedom4 ,far from it1 if we once begin to give way to ourselves1 we fall under a most intolerable tyranny4 ,other temptations are in some respects like that of drink4 ,at first1 perhaps1 it seems delightful1 but there is bitterness at the bottom of the cup4 ,men drink to satisfy the desire created by previous indulgence4 ,so it is in other things4 ,repetition soon becomes a craving1 not a pleasure4 ,resistance grows more and more painful2 yielding1 which at first1 perhaps1 afforded some slight and temporary gratification1 soon ceases to give pleasure1 and even if for a time it procures relief1 ere long becomes odious itself4 ,to resist is difficult1 to give way is painful2 until at length the wretched victim to himself1 can only purchase1 or thinks he can only purchase1 temporary relief from intolerable craving and depression1 at the expense of far greater suffering in the future4 ,on the other hand1 self-control1 however difficult at first1 becomes step by step easier and more delightful4 ,we possess mysteriously a sort of dual nature1 and there are few truer triumphs1 or more delightful sensations1 than to obtain thorough command of oneself4 ,how much pleasanter it is to ride a spirited horse1 even perhaps though requiring some strength and skill1 than to creep along upon a jaded hack4 ,in the one case you feel under you the free1 responsive spring of a living and willing force2 in the other you have to spur a dull and lifeless slave4 ,to rule oneself is in reality the greatest triumph4 ,he who is his own monarch1 says ,sir ,t4 ,browne1 contentedly sways the sceptre of himself1 not envying the glory to crowned heads and ,elohim of the earth2 for those are really highest who are nearest to heaven1 and those are lowest who are farthest from it4 ,true greatness has little1 if anything1 to do with rank or power4 ,eurystheus being what he was1 says ,epictetus1 was not really king of ,argos nor of ,mycenae1 for he could not even rule himself2 while ,hercules purged lawlessness and introduced justice1 though he was both naked and alone4 ,we are told that ,cineas the philosopher once asked ,pyrrhus what he would do when he had conquered ,italy4 ,i will conquer ,sicily4 ,and after ,sicily8 ,then ,africa4 ,and after you have conquered the world8 ,i will take my ease and be merry4 ,then1 asked ,cineas1 why can you not take your ease and be merry now8 ,moreover1 as ,sir ,arthur ,helps has wisely pointed out1 the enlarged view we have of the ,universe must in some measure damp personal ambition4 ,what is it to be king1 sheikh1 tetrarch1 or emperor over a 'bit of a bit' of this little earth8 ,all rising to great place1 says ,bacon1 is by a winding stair2 and princes are like heavenly bodies1 which have much veneration1 but no rest4 ,plato in the ,republic mentions an old myth that after death every soul has to choose a lot in life for the existence in the next world2 and he tells us that the wise ,ulysses searched for a considerable time for the lot of a private man4 ,he had some difficulty in finding it1 as it was lying neglected in a corner1 but when he had secured it he was delighted2 the recollection of all he had gone through on earth1 having disenchanted him of ambition4 ,moreover1 there is a great deal of drudgery in the lives of courts4 ,ceremonials may be important1 but they take up much time and are terribly tedious4 ,a man then is his own best kingdom4 ,he that ruleth his speech1 says ,solomon1 is better than he that taketh a city4 ,but self-control1 this truest and greatest monarchy1 rarely comes by inheritance4 ,every one of us must conquer himself2 and we may do so1 if we take conscience for our guide and general4 ,no one really fails who does his best4 ,seneca observes that no one saith the three hundred ,fabii were defeated1 but that they were slain1 and if you have done your best1 you will1 in the words of an old ,norse ballad1 have gained ,success in thyself1 which is best of all4 ,being myself engaged in business1 ,i was rather startled to find it laid down by no less an authority than ,aristotle 7almost as if it were a self-evident proposition7 that commerce is incompatible with that dignified life which it is our wish that our citizens should lead1 and totally adverse to that generous elevation of mind with which it is our ambition to inspire them4 ,i know not how far that may really have been the spirit and tendency of commerce among the ancient ,greeks2 but if so1 ,i do not wonder that it was not more successful4 ,i may1 indeed1 quote ,aristotle against himself1 for he has elsewhere told us that business should be chosen for the sake of leisure2 and things necessary and useful for the sake of the beautiful in conduct4 ,it is not true that the ordinary duties of life in a country like ours--commerce1 manufactures1 agriculture1--the pursuits to which the vast majority are and must be devoted--are incompatible with the dignity or nobility of life4 ,whether a life is noble or ignoble depends1 not on the calling which is adopted1 but on the spirit in which it is followed4 ,the humblest life may be noble1 while that of the most powerful monarch or the greatest genius may be contemptible4 ,commerce1 indeed1 is not only compatible1 but ,i would almost go further and say that it will be most successful1 if carried on in happy union with noble aims and generous aspirations4 ,what ,ruskin says of art is1 with due modification1 true of life generally4 ,it does not matter whether a man paint the petal of a rose or the chasms of a precipice1 so that love and admiration attend on him as he labors1 and wait for ever on his work4 ,it does not matter whether he toil for months on a few inches of his canvas1 or cover a palace front with color in a day2 so only that it be with a solemn purpose1 that he have filled his heart with patience1 or urged his hand to haste4 ,it is true that in a subsequent volume he refers to this passage1 and adds1 ,but though all is good for study1 and all is beautiful1 some is better than the rest for the help and pleasure of others2 and this it is our duty always to choose if we have opportunity1 adding1 however1 being quite happy with what is within our reach if we have not4 ,we read of and admire the heroes of old1 but every one of us has to fight his own ,marathon and ,thermopylae2 every one meets the ,sphinx sitting by the road he has to pass2 to each of us1 as to ,hercules1 is offered the choice of ,vice or ,virtue2 we may1 like ,paris1 give the apple of life to ,venus1 or ,juno1 or ,minerva4 ,there are many who seem to think that we have fallen on an age in the world when life is especially difficult and anxious1 when there is less leisure than of yore1 and the struggle for existence is keener than ever4 ,on the other hand1 we must remember how much we have gained in security8 ,it may be an age of hard work1 but when this is not carried to an extreme1 it is by no means an evil4 ,if we have less leisure1 one reason is because life is so full of interest4 ,cheerfulness is the daughter of employment1 and on the whole ,i believe there never was a time when modest merit and patient industry were more sure of reward4 ,we must not1 indeed1 be discouraged if success be slow in coming1 nor puffed up if it comes quickly4 ,we often complain of the nature of things when the fault is all in ourselves4 ,seneca1 in one of his letters1 mentions that his wife's maid1 ,harpaste1 had nearly lost her eyesight1 but she knoweth not she is blind1 she saith the house is dark4 ,this that seemeth ridiculous unto us in her1 happeneth unto us all4 ,no man understandeth that he is covetous1 or avaricious4 ,he saith1 ,i am not ambitious1 but no man can otherwise live in ,rome2 ,i am not sumptuous1 but the city requireth great expense4 ,newman1 in perhaps the most beautiful of his hymns1 ,lead1 kindly light1 says3 ,keep thou my feet1 ,i do not ask to see ,the distant scene2 one step enough for me4 ,but we must be sure that we are really following some trustworthy guide1 and not out of mere laziness allowing ourselves to drift4 ,we have a guide within us which will generally lead us straight enough4 ,religion1 no doubt1 is full of difficulties1 but if we are often puzzled what to think1 we need seldom be in doubt what to do4 ,to say well is good1 but to do well is better2 ,do well is the spirit1 and say well the letter2 ,if do well and say well were fitted in one frame1 ,all were won1 all were done1 and got were all the gain4 ,cleanthes1 who appears to have well merited the statue erected to him at ,assos1 says3 ,lead me1 ,o ,zeus1 and thou1 ,o ,destiny4 ,the way that ,i am bid by you to go3 ,to follow ,i am ready4 ,if ,i choose not1 ,i make myself a wretch2--and still must follow4 ,if we are ever in doubt what to do1 it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done4 ,moreover1 the result in the long run will depend not so much on some single resolution1 or on our action in a special case1 but rather on the preparation of daily life4 ,battles are often won before they are fought4 ,to control our passions we must govern our habits1 and keep watch over ourselves in the small details of everyday life4 ,the importance of small things has been pointed out by philosophers over and over again from ,a,esop downward4 ,great without small makes a bad wall1 says a quaint ,greek proverb1 which seems to go back to cyclopean times4 ,in an old ,hindoo story ,ammi says to his son1 ,bring me a fruit of that tree and break it open4 ,what is there8 ,the son said1 ,some small seeds4 ,break one of them and what do you see8 ,nothing1 my lord1 ,my child1 said ,ammi1 where you see nothing there dwells a mighty tree4 ,it may almost be questioned whether anything can be truly called small4 ,there is no great and no small ,to the soul that maketh all2 ,and where it cometh all things are1 ,and it cometh everywhere4 #f ,we should therefore watch ourselves in small things4 ,if you wish not to be of an angry temper1 do not feed the habit3 throw nothing on it which will increase it3 at first keep quiet1 and count the days on which you have not been angry4 ,i used to be in passion every day2 now every second day2 then every third2 then every fourth4 ,but if you have intermitted thirty days1 make a sacrifice to ,god4 ,for the habit at first begins to be weakened1 and then is completely destroyed4 ,when you can say1 ',i have not been vexed to-day1 nor the day before1 nor yet on any succeeding day during two or three months2 but ,i took care when some exciting things happened1' be assured that you are in a good way4 #g ,emerson closes his ,conduct of ,life with a striking allegory4 ,the young ,mortal enters the ,hall of the ,firmament4 ,the ,gods are sitting there1 and he is alone with them4 ,they pour on him gifts and blessings1 and beckon him to their thrones4 ,but between him and them suddenly appear snow-storms of illusions4 ,he imagines himself in a vast crowd1 whose behests he fancies he must obey4 ,the mad crowd drives hither and thither1 and sways this way and that4 ,what is he that he should resist8 ,he lets himself be carried about4 ,how can he think or act for himself8 ,but the clouds lift1 and there are the ,gods still sitting on their thrones2 they alone with him alone4 ,the great man1 he elsewhere says1 is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the serenity of solitude4 ,we may all1 if we will1 secure peace of mind for ourselves4 ,men seek retreats1 says ,marcus ,aurelius1 houses in the country1 seashores1 and mountains2 and thou too art wont to desire such things very much4 ,but this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men2 for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose1 to retire into thyself4 ,for nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire1 than into his own soul1 particularly when he has within him such thoughts that by looking into them he is immediately in perfect tranquillity4 ,happy indeed is he who has such a sanctuary in his own soul4 ,he who is virtuous is wise2 and he who is wise is good2 and he who is good is happy4 #h ,but we cannot expect to be happy if we do not lead pure and useful lives4 ,to be good company for ourselves we must store our minds well2 fill them with pure and peaceful thoughts2 with pleasant memories of the past1 and reasonable hopes for the future4 ,we must1 as far as may be1 protect ourselves from self-reproach1 from care1 and from anxiety4 ,we shall make our lives pure and peaceful1 by resisting evil1 by placing restraint upon our appetites1 and perhaps even more by strengthening and developing our tendencies to good4 ,we must be careful1 then1 on what we allow our minds to dwell4 ,the soul is dyed by its thoughts2 we cannot keep our minds pure if we allow them to be sullied by detailed accounts of crime and sin4 ,peace of mind1 as ,ruskin beautifully observes1 must come in its own time1 as the waters settle themselves into clearness as well as quietness2 you can no more filter your mind into purity than you can compress it into calmness2 you must keep it pure if you would have it pure1 and throw no stones into it if you would have it quiet4 ,the penalty of injustice1 said ,socrates1 is not death or stripes1 but the fatal necessity of becoming more and more unjust4 ,few men have led a wiser or more virtuous life than ,socrates himself1 of whom ,xenophon gives us the following description3--,to me1 being such as ,i have described him1 so pious that he did nothing without the sanction of the gods2 so just1 that he wronged no man even in the most trifling affair1 but was of service in the most important matters to those who enjoyed his society2 so temperate that he never preferred pleasure to virtue2 so wise1 that he never erred in distinguishing better from worse2 needing no counsel from others1 but being sufficient in himself to discriminate between them2 so able to explain and settle such questions by argument2 and so capable of discerning the character of others1 of confuting those who were in error1 and of exhorting them to virtue and honor1 he seemed to be such as the best and happiest of men would be4 ,but if any one disapproves of my opinion let him compare the conduct of others with that of ,socrates1 and determine accordingly4 ,marcus ,aurelius again has drawn for us a most instructive lesson in his character of ,antoninus3--,remember his constancy in every act which was conformable to reason1 his evenness in all things1 his piety1 the serenity of his countenance1 his sweetness1 his disregard of empty fame1 and his efforts to understand things2 how he would never let anything pass without having first carefully examined it and clearly understood it2 how he bore with those who blamed him unjustly without blaming them in return2 how he did nothing in a hurry2 how he listened not to calumnies1 and how exact an examiner of manners and actions he was2 not given to reproach people1 nor timid1 nor suspicious1 nor a sophist2 with how little he was satisfied1 such as lodging1 bed1 dress1 food1 servants2 how laborious and patient2 how sparing he was in his diet2 his firmness and uniformity in his friendships2 how he tolerated freedom of speech in those who opposed his opinions2 the pleasure that he had when any man showed him anything better1 and how pious he was without superstition4 ,imitate all this that thou mayest have as good a conscience1 when thy last hour comes1 as he had4 ,such peace of mind is indeed an inestimable boon1 a rich reward of duty fulfilled4 ,well then does ,epictetus ask1 ,is there no reward8 ,do you seek a reward greater than that of doing what is good and just8 ,at ,olympia you wish for nothing more1 but it seems to you enough to be crowned at the games4 ,does it then seem to you so small and worthless a thing to be good and happy8 ,in ,bernard of ,morlaix's beautiful lines-- ,pax erit illa fidelibus1 illa beata1 ,irrevocabilis1 ,invariabilis1 ,intemerata4 ,pax sine crimine1 pax sine turbine1 pax sine rix1 ,meta ,laboribus1 inque tumultibus anchora fixa2 ,pax erit omnibus unica4 ,sed quibus8 ,immaculatis ,pectore mitibus1 ordine stantibus1 ore sacratis4 ,what greater reward can we have than this2 than the peace which passeth all understanding1 which cannot be gotten for gold1 neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof4 #i #a ,colton1 ,lacon1 or ,many ,things in ,few ,words4 #b i4e4 spirit4 #c ,omar ,khayyam4 #d ,two robbers destroyed by ,theseus4 #e ,epictetus4 #f ,emerson4 #g ,epictetus4 #h ,king ,alfred's ,boethius4 #i ,job4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,a ,,song ,,of ,,books4 ,oh for a booke and a shadie nooke1 ,eyther in doore or out2 ,with the grene leaves whispering overhead ,or the streete cryes all about4 ,where ,i maie reade all at my ease1 ,both of the newe and old2 ,for a jollie goode booke whereon to looke1 ,is better to me than golde4 ,,old ,,english ,,song4 ,of all the privileges we enjoy in this nineteenth century there is none1 perhaps1 for which we ought to be more thankful than for the easier access to books4 ,the debt we owe to books was well expressed by ,richard de ,bury1 ,bishop of ,durham1 author of ,philobiblon1 written as long ago as #acdd1 published in #adgc1 and the earliest ,english treatise on the delights of literature3--,these1 he says1 are the masters who instruct us without rods and ferules1 without hard words and anger1 without clothes or money4 ,if you approach them1 they are not asleep2 if investigating you interrogate them1 they conceal nothing2 if you mistake them1 they never grumble2 if you are ignorant1 they cannot laugh at you4 ,the library1 therefore1 of wisdom is more precious than all riches1 and nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it4 ,whosoever therefore acknowledges himself to be a zealous follower of truth1 of happiness1 of wisdom1 of science1 or even of the faith1 must of necessity make himself a lover of books4 ,but if the debt were great then1 how much more now4 ,this feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who love reading4 ,i have friends1 said ,petrarch1 whose society is extremely agreeable to me2 they are of all ages1 and of every country4 ,they have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field1 and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences4 ,it is easy to gain access to them1 for they are always at my service1 and ,i admit them to my company1 and dismiss them from it1 whenever ,i please4 ,they are never troublesome1 but immediately answer every question ,i ask them4 ,some relate to me the events of past ages1 while others reveal to me the secrets of ,nature4 ,some teach me how to live1 and others how to die4 ,some1 by their vivacity1 drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits2 while others give fortitude to my mind1 and teach me the important lesson how to restrain my desires1 and to depend wholly on myself4 ,they open to me1 in short1 the various avenues of all the arts and sciences1 and upon their information ,i may safely rely in all emergencies4 ,in return for all their services1 they only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation1 where they may repose in peace2 for these friends are more delighted by the tranquillity of retirement than with the tumults of society4 ,he that loveth a book1 says ,isaac ,barrow1 will never want a faithful friend1 a wholesome counsellor1 a cheerful companion1 an effectual comforter4 ,by study1 by reading1 by thinking1 one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself1 as in all weathers1 so in all fortunes4 ,southey took a rather more melancholy view3 ,my days among the dead are pass'd1 ,around me ,i behold1 ,where'er these casual eyes are cast1 ,the mighty minds of old4 ,my never-failing friends are they1 ,with whom ,i converse day by day4 ,imagine1 in the words of ,aikin1 that we had it in our power to call up the shades of the greatest and wisest men that ever existed1 and oblige them to converse with us on the most interesting topics--what an inestimable privilege should we think it6--how superior to all common enjoyments6 ,but in a well-furnished library we1 in fact1 possess this power4 ,we can question ,xenophon and ,caesar on their campaigns1 make ,demosthenes and ,cicero plead before us1 join in the audiences of ,socrates and ,plato1 and receive demonstrations from ,euclid and ,newton4 ,in books we have the choicest thoughts of the ablest men in their best dress4 ,books1 says ,jeremy ,collier1 are a guide in youth and an entertainment for age4 ,they support us under solitude1 and keep us from being a burthen to ourselves4 ,they help us to forget the crossness of men and things2 compose our cares and our passions2 and lay our disappointments asleep4 ,when we are weary of the living1 we may repair to the dead1 who have nothing of peevishness1 pride1 or design in their conversation4 ,sir ,john ,herschel tells an amusing anecdote illustrating the pleasure derived from a book1 not assuredly of the first order4 ,in a certain village the blacksmith having got hold of ,richardson's novel1 ,pamela1 or ,virtue ,rewarded1 used to sit on his anvil in the long summer evenings and read it aloud to a large and attentive audience4 ,it is by no means a short book1 but they fairly listened to it all4 ,at length1 when the happy turn of fortune arrived1 which brings the hero and heroine together1 and sets them living long and happily together according to the most approved rules1 the congregation were so delighted as to raise a great shout1 and procuring the church keys1 actually set the parish bells a-ringing4 ,the lover of reading1 says ,leigh ,hunt1 will derive agreeable terror from ,sir ,bertram and the ,haunted ,chamber2 will assent with delighted reason to every sentence in ,mrs4 ,barbauld's ,essay2 will feel himself wandering into solitudes with ,gray2 shake honest hands with ,sir ,roger de ,coverley2 be ready to embrace ,parson ,adams1 and to chuck ,pounce out of the window instead of the hat2 will travel with ,marco ,polo and ,mungo ,park2 stay at home with ,thomson2 retire with ,cowley2 be industrious with ,hutton2 sympathizing with ,gay and ,mrs4 ,inchbald2 laughing with 7and at7 ,buncle2 melancholy1 and forlorn1 and self-restored with the shipwrecked mariner of ,de ,foe4 ,carlyle has wisely said that a collection of books is a real university4 ,the importance of books has been appreciated in many quarters where we might least expect it4 ,among the hardy ,norsemen runes were supposed to be endowed with miraculous power4 ,there is an ,arabic proverb1 that a wise man's day is worth a fool's life1 and another--though it reflects perhaps rather the spirit of the ,califs than of the ,sultans1--that the ink of science is more precious than the blood of the martyrs4 ,confucius is said to have described himself as a man who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgot his food1 who in the joy of its attainment forgot his sorrows1 and did not even perceive that old age was coming on4 ,yet1 if this could be said by the ,arabs and the ,chinese1 what language can be strong enough to express the gratitude we ought to feel for the advantages we enjoy6 ,we do not appreciate1 ,i think1 our good fortune in belonging to the nineteenth century4 ,sometimes1 indeed1 one may even be inclined to wish that one had not lived quite so soon1 and to long for a glimpse of the books1 even the school-books1 of one hundred years hence4 ,a hundred years ago not only were books extremely expensive and cumbrous1 but many of the most delightful were still uncreated--such as the works of ,scott1 ,thackeray1 ,dickens1 ,bulwer ,lytton1 and ,trollope1 not to mention living authors4 ,how much more interesting science has become especially1 if ,i were to mention only one name1 through the genius of ,darwin6 ,renan has characterized this as a most amusing century2 ,i should rather have described it as most interesting3 presenting us as it does with an endless vista of absorbing problems2 with infinite opportunities2 with more interest and less danger than surrounded our less fortunate ancestors4 ,cicero described a room without books1 as a body without a soul4 ,but it is by no means necessary to be a philosopher to love reading4 ,reading1 indeed1 is by no means necessarily study4 ,far from it4 ,i put1 says ,mr4 ,frederic ,harrison1 in his excellent article on the ,choice of ,books1 ,i put the poetic and emotional side of literature as the most needed for daily use4 ,in the prologue to the ,legende of ,goode ,women1 ,chaucer says3 ,and as for me1 though that ,i konne but lyte1 ,on bokes for to rede ,i me delyte1 ,and to him give ,i feyth and ful credence1 ,and in myn herte have him in reverence1 ,so hertely1 that ther is game noon1 ,that fro my bokes maketh me to goon1 ,but yt be seldome on the holy day1 ,save1 certynly1 when that the monthe of ,may ,is comen1 and that ,i here the foules synge1 ,and that the floures gynnen for to sprynge1 ,farwel my boke and my devocion4 ,but ,i doubt whether1 if he had enjoyed our advantages1 he could have been so certain of tearing himself away1 even in the month of ,may4 ,macaulay1 who had all that wealth and fame1 rank and talents could give1 yet1 we are told1 derived his greatest happiness from books4 ,sir ,g4 ,trevelyan1 in his charming biography1 says that--of the feelings which ,macaulay entertained toward the great minds of bygone ages it is not for any one except himself to speak4 ,he has told us how his debt to them was incalculable2 how they guided him to truth2 how they filled his mind with noble and graceful images2 how they stood by him in all vicissitudes-- comforters in sorrow1 nurses in sickness1 companions in solitude1 the old friends who are never seen with new faces2 who are the same in wealth and in poverty1 in glory and in obscurity4 ,great as were the honors and possessions which ,macaulay acquired by his pen1 all who knew him were well aware that the titles and rewards which he gained by his own works were as nothing in the balance compared with the pleasure he derived from the works of others4 ,there was no society in ,london so agreeable that ,macaulay would have preferred it at breakfast or at dinner to the company of ,sterne or ,fielding1 ,horace ,walpole or ,boswell4 ,the love of reading which ,gibbon declared he would not exchange for all the treasures of ,india was1 in fact1 with ,macaulay a main element of happiness in one of the happiest lives that it has ever fallen to the lot of the biographer to record4 ,history1 says ,fuller1 maketh a young man to be old without either wrinkles or gray hair1 privileging him with the experience of age without either the infirmities or the inconveniences thereof4 ,so delightful indeed are books that we must be careful not to forget other duties for them2 in cultivating the mind we must not neglect the body4 ,to the lover of literature or science1 exercise often presents itself as an irksome duty1 and many a one has felt like the fair pupil of ,ascham 7,lady ,jane ,gray71 who1 while the horns were sounding and dogs in full cry1 sat in the lonely oriel1 with eyes riveted to that immortal page which tells how meekly and bravely 7,socrates7 the first martyr of intellectual liberty took the cup from his weeping jailer4 #a ,still1 as the late ,lord ,derby justly observed1 #b those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness4 ,books1 again1 are now so cheap as to be within the reach of almost every one4 ,this was not always so4 ,it is quite a recent blessing4 ,mr4 ,ireland1 to whose charming little ,book ,lover's ,enchiridion1 in common with every lover of reading4 ,i am greatly indebted1 tells us that when a boy he was so delighted with ,white's ,natural ,history of ,selborne1 that in order to possess a copy of his own he actually copied out the whole work4 ,mary ,lamb gives a pathetic description of a studious boy lingering at a bookstall3 ,i saw a boy with eager eye ,open a book upon a stall1 ,and read1 as he'd devour it all2 ,which1 when the stall man did espy1 ,soon to the boy ,i heard him call1 ',you1 sir1 you never buy a book1 ,therefore in one you shall not look4' ,the boy passed slowly on1 and with a sigh ,he wished he never had been taught to read1 ,then of the old churl's books he should have had no need4 ,such snatches of literature have indeed1 special and peculiar charm4 ,this is1 ,i believe1 partly due to the very fact of their being brief4 ,many readers miss much of the pleasure of reading by forcing themselves to dwell too long continuously on one subject4 ,in a long railway journey1 for instance1 many persons take only a single book4 ,the consequence is that1 unless it is a story1 after half an hour or an hour they are quite tired of it4 ,whereas1 if they had two1 or still better three books1 on different subjects1 and one of them of an amusing character1 they would probably find that1 by changing as soon as they felt at all weary1 they would come back again and again to each with renewed zest1 and hour after hour would pass pleasantly away4 ,every one1 of course1 must judge for himself1 but such at least is my experience4 ,i quite agree1 therefore1 with ,lord ,iddesleigh as to the charm of desultory reading1 but the wider the field the more important that we should benefit by the very best books in each class4 ,not that we need confine ourselves to them1 but that we should commence with them1 and they will certainly lead us on to others4 ,there are of course some books which we must read1 mark1 learn1 and inwardly digest4 ,but these are exceptions4 ,as regards by far the larger number1 it is probably better to read them quickly1 dwelling only on the best and most important passages4 ,in this way1 no doubt1 we shall lose much1 but we gain more by ranging over a wider field4 ,we may1 in fact1 ,i think1 apply to reading ,lord ,brougham's wise dictum as regards education1 and say that it is well to read everything of something1 and something of everything4 ,in this way only we can ascertain the bent of our own tastes1 for it is a general1 though not of course an invariable1 rule1 that we profit little by books which we do not enjoy4 ,every one1 however1 may suit himself4 ,the variety is endless4 ,not only does a library contain infinite riches in a little room1 #c but we may sit at home and yet be in all quarters of the earth4 ,we may travel round the world with ,captain ,cook or ,darwin1 with ,kingsley or ,ruskin1 who will show us much more perhaps than ever we should see for ourselves4 ,the world itself has no limits for us2 ,humboldt and ,herschel will carry us far away to the mysterious nebulae1 beyond the sun and even the stars3 time has no more bounds than space2 history stretches out behind us1 and geology will carry us back for millions of years before the creation of man1 even to the origin of the material ,universe itself4 ,nor are we limited to one plane of thought4 ,aristotle and ,plato will transport us into a sphere none the less delightful because we cannot appreciate it without some training4 ,comfort and consolation1 refreshment and happiness1 may indeed be found in his library by any one who shall bring the golden key that unlocks its silent door4 #d ,a library is true fairyland1 a very palace of delight1 a haven of repose from the storms and troubles of the world4 ,rich and poor can enjoy it equally1 for here1 at least1 wealth gives no advantage4 ,we may make a library1 if we do but rightly use it1 a true paradise on earth1 a garden of ,eden without its one drawback2 for all is open to us1 including1 and especially1 the fruit of the ,tree of ,knowledge1 for which we are told that our first mother sacrificed all the ,pleasures of ,paradise4 ,here we may read the most important histories1 the most exciting volumes of travels and adventures1 the most interesting stories1 the most beautiful poems2 we may meet the most eminent statesmen1 poets1 and philosophers1 benefit by the ideas of the greatest thinkers1 and enjoy the grandest creations of human genius4 #a ,macaulay4 #b ,address1 ,liverpool ,college1 #ahgc4 #c ,marlowe4 #d ,matthews4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,choice ,,of ,,books4 ,all round the room my silent servants wait ,my friends in every season1 bright and dim1 ,angels and ,seraphim ,come down and murmur to me1 sweet and low1 ,and spirits of the skies all come and go ,early and ,late4 ,,proctor4 ,and yet too often they wait in vain4 ,one reason for this is1 ,i think1 that people are overwhelmed by the crowd of books offered to them4 ,in old days books were rare and dear4 ,now on the contrary1 it may be said with greater truth than ever that ,words are things1 and a small drop of ink1 ,falling like dew upon a thought1 produces ,that which makes thousands1 perhaps millions1 think4 ,our ancestors had a difficulty in procuring them4 ,our difficulty now is what to select4 ,we must be careful what we read1 and not1 like the sailors of ,ulysses1 take bags of wind for sacks of treasure--not only lest we should even now fall into the error of the ,greeks1 and suppose that language and definitions can be instruments of investigation as well as of thought1 but lest1 as too often happens1 we should waste time over trash4 ,there are many books to which one may apply1 in the sarcastic sense1 the ambiguous remark said to have been made to an unfortunate author1 ,i will lose no time in reading your book4 ,there are1 indeed1 books and books1 and there are books which1 as ,lamb said1 are not books at all4 ,it is wonderful how much innocent happiness we thoughtlessly throw away4 ,an ,eastern proverb says that calamities sent by heaven may be avoided1 but from those we bring on ourselves there is no escape4 ,many1 ,i believe1 are deterred from attempting what are called stiff books for fear they should not understand them2 but there are few who need complain of the narrowness of their minds1 if only they would do their best with them4 ,in reading1 however1 it is most important to select subjects in which one is interested4 ,i remember years ago consulting ,mr4 ,darwin as to the selection of a course of study4 ,he asked me what interested me most1 and advised me to choose that subject4 ,this1 indeed1 applies to the work of life generally4 ,i am sometimes disposed to think that the readers of the next generation will be1 not our lawyers and doctors1 shopkeepers and manufacturers1 but the laborers and mechanics4 ,does not this seem natural8 ,the former work mainly with their head2 when their daily duties are over the brain is often exhausted1 and of their leisure time much must be devoted to air and exercise4 ,the laborer and mechanic1 on the contrary1 besides working often for much shorter hours1 have in their work-time taken sufficient bodily exercise1 and could therefore give any leisure they might have to reading and study4 ,they have not done so as yet1 it is true2 but this has been for obvious reasons4 ,now1 however1 in the first place1 they receive an excellent education in elementary schools1 and in the second have more easy access to the best books4 ,ruskin has observed that he does not wonder at what men suffer1 but he often wonders at what they lose4 ,we suffer much1 no doubt1 from the faults of others1 but we lose much more by our own ignorance4 ,if1 says ,sir ,john ,herschel1 ,i were to pray for a taste which should stand me in stead under every variety of circumstances1 and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through life1 and a shield against its ills1 however things might go amiss and the world frown upon me1 it would be a taste for reading4 ,i speak of it of course only as a worldly advantage1 and not in the slightest degree as superseding or derogating from the higher office and surer and stronger panoply of religious principles--but as a taste1 and instrument1 and a mode of pleasurable gratification4 ,give a man this taste1 and the means of gratifying it1 and you can hardly fail of making a happy man1 unless1 indeed1 you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books4 ,it is one thing to own a library2 it is quite another to use it wisely4 ,i have often been astonished how little care people devote to the selection of what they read4 ,books1 we know1 are almost innumerable2 our hours for reading are1 alas6 very few4 ,and yet many people read almost by hazard4 ,they will take any book they chance to find in a room at a friend's house2 they will buy a novel at a railway-stall if it has an attractive title2 indeed1 ,i believe in some cases even the binding affects their choice4 ,the selection is1 no doubt1 far from easy4 ,i have often wished some one would recommend a list of a hundred good books4 ,if we had such lists drawn up by a few good guides they would be most useful4 ,i have indeed sometimes heard it said that in reading every one must choose for himself1 but this reminds me of the recommendation not to go into the water till you can swim4 ,in the absence of such lists ,i have picked out the books most frequently mentioned with approval by those who have referred directly or indirectly to the pleasure of reading1 and have ventured to include some which1 though less frequently mentioned1 are especial favorites of my own4 ,every one who looks at the list will wish to suggest other books1 as indeed ,i should myself1 but in that case the number would soon run up4 #a ,i have abstained1 for obvious reasons1 from mentioning works by living authors1 though from many of them--,tennyson1 ,ruskin1 and others--,i have myself derived the keenest enjoyment2 and ,i have omitted works on science1 with one or two exceptions1 because the subject is so progressive4 ,i feel that the attempt is over bold1 and ,i must beg for indulgence1 while hoping for criticism2 indeed one object which ,i have had in view is to stimulate others more competent far than ,i am to give us the advantage of their opinions4 ,moreover1 ,i must repeat that ,i suggest these works rather as those which1 as far as ,i have seen1 have been most frequently recommended1 than as suggestions of my own1 though ,i have slipped in a few of my own special favorites4 ,in any such selection much weight should1 ,i think1 be attached to the general verdict of mankind4 ,there is a struggle for existence and a survival of the fittest among books1 as well as among animals and plants4 ,as ,alonzo of ,aragon said1 ,age is a recommendation in four things--old wood to burn1 old wine to drink1 old friends to trust1 and old books to read4 ,still1 this can not be accepted without important qualifications4 ,the most recent books of history and science contain or ought to contain1 the most accurate information and the most trustworthy conclusions4 ,moreover1 while the books of other races and times have an interest from their very distance1 it must be admitted that many will still more enjoy1 and feel more at home with1 those of our own century and people4 ,yet the oldest books of the world are remarkable and interesting on account of their very age2 and the works which have influenced the opinions1 or charmed the leisure hours1 of millions of men in distant times and far-away regions are well worth reading on that very account1 even if to us they seem scarcely to deserve their reputation4 ,it is true that to many1 such works are accessible only in translations2 but translations1 though they can never perhaps do justice to the original1 may yet be admirable in themselves4 ,the ,bible itself1 which must stand first in the list1 is a conclusive case4 ,at the head of all non-,christian moralists1 ,i must place the ,enchiridion of ,epictetus1 certainly one of the noblest books in the whole of literature2 it has1 moreover1 been admirably translated4 ,with ,epictetus1 #b ,i think must come ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,the ,analects of ,confucius will1 ,i believe1 prove disappointing to most ,english readers1 but the effect it has produced on the most numerous race of men constitutes in itself a peculiar interest4 ,the ,ethics of ,aristotle1 perhaps1 appear to some disadvantage from the very fact that they have so profoundly influenced our views of morality4 ,the ,koran1 like the ,analects of ,confucius1 will to most of us derive its principal interest from the effect it has exercised1 and still exercises1 on so many millions of our fellow-men4 ,i doubt whether in any other respect it will seem to repay perusal1 and to most persons probably certain extracts1 not too numerous1 would appear sufficient4 ,the writings of the ,apostolic ,fathers have been collected in one volume by ,wake4 ,it is but a small one1 and though ,i must humbly confess that ,i was disappointed1 they are perhaps all the more curious from the contrast they afford to those of the ,apostles themselves4 ,of the later ,fathers ,i have included only the ,confessions of ,st4 ,augustine1 which ,dr4 ,pusey selected for the commencement of the ,library of the ,fathers1 and which1 as he observes1 has been translated again and again into almost every ,european language1 and in all loved2 though ,luther was of opinion that ,st4 ,augustine wrote nothing to the purpose concerning faith4 ,but then ,luther was no great admirer of the ,father4 ,st4 ,jerome1 he says1 writes1 alas6 very coldly2 ,chrysostom digresses from the chief points2 ,st4 ,jerome is very poor2 and in fact1 he says1 the more ,i read the books of the ,fathers the more ,i find myself offended2 while ,renan1 in his interesting autobiography1 compared theology to a ,gothic ,cathedral1 elle a la grandeur1 les vides immenses1 et le peu de solidit4 ,among other devotional works most frequently recommended are ,thomas ,kempis' ,imitation of ,christ1 ,pascal's ,penses1 ,spinoza's ,tractatus ,theologico-,politicus1 ,butler's ,analogy of ,religion1 ,jeremy ,taylor's ,holy ,living and ,dying1 ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress1 and last1 not least1 ,keble's beautiful ,christian ,year4 ,aristotle and ,plato again stand at the head of another class4 ,the ,politics of ,aristotle1 and ,plato's ,dialogues1 if not the whole1 at any rate the ,phaedo1 the ,apology1 and the ,republic1 will be of course read by all who wish to know anything of the history of human thought1 though ,i am heretical enough to doubt whether the latter repays the minute and laborious study often devoted to it4 ,aristotle being the father1 if not the creator1 of the modern scientific method1 it has followed naturally--indeed1 almost inevitably--that his principles have become part of our very intellectual being1 so that they seem now almost self-evident1 while his actual observations1 though very remarkable--as1 for instance1 when he observes that bees on one journey confine themselves to one kind of flower--still have been in many cases superseded by others1 carried on under more favorable conditions4 ,we must not be ungrateful to the great master1 because his lessons have taught us how to advance4 ,plato1 on the other hand1 ,i say so with all respect1 seems to me in some cases to play on words3 his arguments are very able1 very philosophical1 often very noble2 but not always conclusive2 in a language differently constructed they might sometimes tell in exactly the opposite sense4 ,if this method has proved less fruitful1 if in metaphysics we have made but little advance1 that very fact in one point of view leaves the ,dialogues of ,socrates as instructive now as ever they were2 while the problems with which they deal will always rouse our interest1 as the calm and lofty spirit which inspires them must command our admiration4 ,of the ,apology and the ,phaedo especially it would be impossible to speak too gratefully4 ,i would also mention ,demosthenes' ,de ,coron1 which ,lord ,brougham pronounced the greatest oration of the greatest of orators2 ,lucretius1 ,plutarch's ,lives1 ,horace1 and at least the ,de ,officiis1 ,de ,amiciti1 and ,de ,senectute of ,cicero4 ,the great epics of the world have always constituted one of the most popular branches of literature4 ,yet how few1 comparatively1 ever read ,homer or ,virgil after leaving school4 ,the ,nibelungenlied1 our great ,anglo-,saxon epic1 is perhaps too much neglected1 no doubt on account of its painful character4 ,brunhild and ,kriemhild1 indeed1 are far from perfect1 but we meet with few such live women in ,greek or ,roman literature4 ,nor must ,i omit to mention ,sir ,t4 ,malory's ,morte d',arthur1 though ,i confess ,i do so mainly in deference to the judgment of others4 ,among the ,greek tragedians ,i include ,aeschylus1 if not all his works1 at any rate ,prometheus1 perhaps the sublimest poem in ,greek literature1 and the ,trilogy 7,mr4 ,symonds in his ,greek ,poets speaks of the unrivalled majesty of the ,agamemnon1 and ,mark ,pattison considered it the grandest work of creative genius in the whole range of literature72 or1 as ,sir ,m4 ,e4 ,grant ,duff recommends1 the ,persae2 ,sophocles 7,oedipus ,tyrannus71 ,euripides 7,medea71 and ,aristophanes 7,the ,knights and ,clouds72 unfortunately1 as ,schlegel says1 probably even the greatest scholar does not understand half his jokes2 and ,i think most modern readers will prefer our modern poets4 ,i should like1 moreover1 to say a word for ,eastern poetry1 such as portions of the ,maha ,bharata and ,ramayana 7too long probably to be read through1 but of which ,talboys ,wheeler has given a most interesting epitome in the first two volumes of his ,history of ,india72 the ,shah-nameh1 the work of the great ,persian poet ,firdusi2 ,kalidasa's ,sakuntala1 and the ,sheking1 the classical collection of ancient ,chinese odes4 ,many ,i know1 will think ,i ought to have included ,omar ,khayyam4 ,in history we are beginning to feel that the vices and vicissitudes of kings and queens1 the dates of battles and wars1 are far less important than the development of human thought1 the progress of art1 of science1 and of law1 and the subject is on that very account even more interesting than ever4 ,i will1 however1 only mention1 and that rather from a literary than a historical point of view1 ,herodotus1 ,xenophon 7the ,anabasis71 ,thucydides1 and ,tacitus 7,germania72 and of modern historians1 ,gibbon's ,decline and ,fall 7the splendid bridge from the old world to the new71 ,hume's ,history of ,england1 ,carlyle's ,french ,revolution1 ,grote's ,history of ,greece1 and ,green's ,short ,history of the ,english ,people4 ,science is so rapidly progressive that1 though to many minds it is the most fruitful and interesting subject of all1 ,i cannot here rest on that agreement which1 rather than my own opinion1 ,i take as the basis of my list4 ,i will therefore only mention ,bacon's ,novum ,organum1 ,mill's ,logic1 and ,darwin's ,origin of ,species2 in ,political ,economy1 which some of our rulers do not now sufficiently value1 ,mill1 and parts of ,smith's ,wealth of ,nations1 for probably those who do not intend to make a special study of political economy would scarcely read the whole4 ,among voyages and travels1 perhaps those most frequently suggested are ,cook's ,voyages1 ,humboldt's ,travels1 and ,darwin's ,naturalist's ,journal2 though ,i confess ,i should like to have added many more4 ,mr4 ,bright not long ago specially recommended the less known ,american poets1 but he probably assumed that every one would have read ,shakespeare1 ,milton 7,paradise ,lost1 ,lycidas1 ,comus and minor poems71 ,chaucer1 ,dante1 ,spencer1 ,dryden1 ,scott1 ,wordsworth1 ,pope1 ,byron1 and others1 before embarking on more doubtful adventures4 ,among other books most frequently recommended are ,goldsmith's ,vicar of ,wakefield1 ,swift's ,gulliver's ,travels1 ,defoe's ,robinson ,crusoe1 ,the ,arabian ,nights1 ,don ,quixote1 ,boswell's ,life of ,johnson1 ,white's ,natural ,history of ,selborne1 ,burke's ,select ,works 7,payne71 the ,essays of ,bacon1 ,addison1 ,hume1 ,montaigne1 ,macaulay1 and ,emerson1 ,carlyle's ,past and ,present1 ,smiles' ,self-,help1 and ,goethe's ,faust and ,autobiography4 ,nor can one go wrong in recommending ,berkeley's ,human ,knowledge1 ,descartes' ,discours sur la ,mthode1 ,locke's ,conduct of the ,understanding1 ,lewes' ,history of ,philosophy2 while1 in order to keep within the number one hundred1 ,i can only mention ,moliere and ,sheridan among dramatists4 ,macaulay considered ,marivaux's ,la ,vie de ,marianne the best novel in any language1 but my number is so nearly complete that ,i must content myself with ,english3 and will suggest ,thackeray 7,vanity ,fair and ,pendennis71 ,dickens 7,pickwick and ,david ,copperfield71 ,g4 ,eliot 7,adam ,bede or ,the ,mill on the ,floss71 ,kingsley 7,westward ,ho671 ,lytton 7,last ,days of ,pompeii71 and last1 not least1 those of ,scott1 which indeed constitute a library in themselves1 but which ,i must ask1 in return for my trouble1 to be allowed1 as a special favor1 to count as one4 ,to any lover of books the very mention of these names brings back a crowd of delicious memories1 grateful recollections of peaceful home hours1 after the labors and anxieties of the day4 ,how thankful we ought to be for these inestimable blessings1 for this numberless host of friends who never weary1 betray1 or forsake us6 ,,list ,,of #ajj ,,books4 ,works by ,living ,authors are omitted4 ,the ,bible ,the ,meditations of ,marcus ,aurelius ,epictetus ,aristotle's ,ethics ,analects of ,confucius ,st4 ,hilaire's ,le ,bouddha et sa religion ,wake's ,apostolic ,fathers ,thos4 ,kempis' ,imitation of ,christ ,confessions of ,st4 ,augustine 7,dr4 ,pusey7 ,the ,koran 7portions of7 ,spinoza's ,tractatus ,theologico-,politicus ,comte's ,catechism of ,positive ,philosophy ,pascal's ,penses ,butler's ,analogy of ,religion ,taylor's ,holy ,living and ,dying ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress ,keble's ,christian ,year 99 99 99 99 99 ,plato's ,dialogues2 at any rate1 the ,apology1 ,crito1 and ,phaedo ,xenophon's ,memorabilia ,aristotle's ,politics ,demosthenes' ,de ,corona4 ,cicero's ,de ,officiis1 ,de ,amicitia1 and ,de ,senectute ,plutarch's ,lives ,berkeley's ,human ,knowledge ,descartes' ,discours sur la ,methode ,locke's ,on the ,conduct of the ,understanding 99 99 99 99 99 ,homer ,hesiod ,virgil ,maha ,bharata ,epitomized in ,talboys ,wheeler's ,ramayana ,history of ,india1 vols4 i4 and ii4 ,the ,shahnameh ,the ,nibelungenlied ,malory's ,morte d',arthur 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,sheking ,kalidasa's ,sakuntala or ,the ,lost ,ring ,aeschylus' ,prometheus ,trilogy of ,orestes ,sophocles' ,o,edipus ,euripides' ,medea ,aristophanes' ,the ,knights and ,clouds ,horace 99 99 99 99 99 ,chaucer's ,canterbury ,tales 7perhaps in ,morris' edition2 or1 if expurgated1 in ,c4 ,clarke's1 or ,mrs4 ,haweis'7 ,shakespeare ,milton's ,paradise ,lost1 ,lycidas1 ,comus1 and the shorter poems ,dante's ,divina ,commedia ,spenser's ,fairie ,queen ,dryden's ,poems ,scott's ,poems ,wordsworth 7,mr4 ,arnold's selection7 ,pope's ,essay on ,criticism ,essay on ,man ,rape of the ,lock ,burns ,byron's ,childe ,harold ,gray 99 99 99 99 99 ,herodotus ,xenophon's ,anabasis and ,memorabilia ,thucydides ,tacitus' ,germania ,livy ,gibbon's ,decline and ,fall ,hume's ,history of ,england ,grote's ,history of ,greece ,carlyle's ,french ,revolution ,green's ,short ,history of ,england ,lewes' ,history of ,philosophy 99 99 99 99 99 ,arabian ,nights ,swift's ,gulliver's ,travels ,defoe's ,robinson ,crusoe ,goldsmith's ,vicar of ,wakefield ,cervantes' ,don ,quixote ,boswell's ,life of ,johnson ,molire ,schiller's ,william ,tell ,sheridan's ,the ,critic1 ,school for ,scandal1 and ,the ,rivals ,carlyle's ,past and ,present 99 99 99 99 99 ,bacon's ,novum ,organum ,smith's ,wealth of ,nations 7part of7 ,mill's ,political ,economy ,cook's ,voyages ,humboldt's ,travels ,white's ,natural ,history of ,selborne ,darwin's ,origin of ,species ,naturalist's ,voyage ,mill's ,logic 99 99 99 99 99 ,bacon's ,essays ,montaigne's ,essays ,hume's ,essays ,macaulay's ,essays ,addison's ,essays ,emerson's ,essays ,burke's ,select ,works ,smiles' ,self-,help 99 99 99 99 99 ,voltaire's ,zadig and ,micromegas ,goethe's ,faust1 and ,autobiography ,thackeray's ,vanity ,fair ,pendennis ,dickens' ,pickwick ,david ,copperfield ,lytton's ,last ,days of ,pompeii ,george ,eliot's ,adam ,bede ,kingsley's ,westward ,ho6 ,scott's ,novels #a ,several longer lists have been given2 for instance1 by ,comte1 ,catechism1 of ,positive ,philosophy2 ,pycroft1 ,course of ,english ,reading2 ,baldwin1 ,the ,book ,lover2 ,perkins1 ,the ,best ,reading2 and by ,mr4 ,ireland1 ,books for ,general ,readers4 #b ,it is much to be desired that some one would publish a selection from the works of ,seneca4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,blessing ,,of ,,friends4 ,they seem to take away the sun from the world who withdraw friendship from life2 for we have received nothing better from the ,immortal ,gods1 nothing more delightful4--,,cicero4 ,most of those who have written in praise of books have thought they could say nothing more conclusive than to compare them to friends4 ,all men1 said ,socrates1 have their different objects of ambition--horses1 dogs1 money1 honor1 as the case may be2 but for his own part he would rather have a good friend than all these put together4 ,and again1 men know the number of their other possessions1 although they might be very numerous1 but of their friends1 though but few1 they were not only ignorant of the number1 but even when they attempted to reckon it to such as asked them1 they set aside again some that they had previously counted among their friends2 so little did they allow their friends to occupy their thoughts4 ,yet in comparison with what possession1 of all others1 would not a good friend appear far more valuable8 ,as to the value of other things1 says ,cicero1 most men differ2 concerning friendship all have the same opinion4 ,what can be more foolish than1 when men are possessed of great influence by their wealth1 power1 and resources1 to procure other things which are bought by money--horses1 slaves1 rich apparel1 costly vases--and not to procure friends1 the most valuable and fairest furniture of life8 ,and yet1 he continues1 every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses1 but not how many friends4 ,in the choice1 moreover1 of a dog or of a horse1 we exercise the greatest care3 we inquire into its pedigree1 its training and character1 and yet we too often leave the selection of our friends1 which is of infinitely greater importance--by whom our whole life will be more or less influenced either for good or evil--almost to chance4 ,it is no doubt true1 as the ,autocrat of the ,breakfast ,table says1 that all men are bores except when we want them4 ,and ,sir ,thomas ,browne quaintly observes that unthinking heads who have not learnt to be alone1 are a prison to themselves if they be not with others2 whereas1 on the contrary1 those whose thoughts are in a fair and hurry within1 are sometimes fain to retire into company to be out of the crowd of themselves4 ,still ,i do not quite understand ,emerson's idea that men descend to meet4 ,in another place1 indeed1 he qualifies the statement1 and says1 ,almost all people descend to meet4 ,even so ,i should venture to question it1 especially considering the context4 ,all association1 he adds1 must be a compromise1 and1 what is worse1 the very flower and aroma of the flower of each of the beautiful natures disappears as they approach each other4 ,what a sad thought6 ,is it really so2 need it be so8 ,and if it were1 would friends be any real advantage8 ,i should have thought that the influence of friends was exactly the reverse3 that the flower of a beautiful nature would expand1 and the colors grow brighter1 when stimulated by the warmth and sunshine of friendship4 ,it has been said that it is wise always to treat a friend1 remembering that he may become an enemy1 and an enemy1 remembering that he may become a friend2 and whatever may be thought of the first part of the adage1 there is certainly much wisdom in the latter4 ,many people seem to take more pains and more pleasure in making enemies1 than in making friends4 ,plutarch1 indeed1 quotes with approbation the advice of ,pythagoras not to shake hands with too many1 but as long as friends are well chosen1 it is true rather that ,he who has a thousand friends1 ,has never a one to spare1 ,and he who has one enemy1 ,will meet him everywhere1 and unfortunately1 while there are few great friends there is no little enemy4 ,i guard myself1 however1 by saying again--,as long as they are well chosen4 ,one is thrown in life with a great many people who1 though not actively bad1 though they may not wilfully lead us astray1 yet take no pains with themselves1 neglect their own minds1 and direct the conversation to petty puerilities or mere gossip2 who do not seem to realize that conversation may by a little effort be made most instructive and delightful1 without being in any way pedantic2 or1 on the other hand1 may be allowed to drift into a mere morass of muddy thought and weedy words4 ,there is hardly anyone from whom we may not learn much1 if only they will trouble themselves to tell us4 ,nay1 even if they teach us nothing1 they may help us by the stimulus of intelligent questions1 or the warmth of sympathy4 ,but if they do neither1 then indeed their companionship1 if companionship it can be called1 is mere waste of time1 and of such we may well say1 ,i do desire that we be better strangers4 ,much certainly of the happiness and purity of our lives depends on our making a wise choice of our companions and friends4 ,if our friends are badly chosen they will inevitably drag us down2 if well they will raise us up4 ,yet many people seem to trust in this matter to the chapter of accident4 ,it is well and right1 indeed1 to be courteous and considerate to every one with whom we are brought into contact1 but to choose them as real friends is another matter4 ,some seem to make a man a friend1 or try to do so1 because he lives near1 because he is in the same business1 travels on the same line of railway1 or for some other trivial reason4 ,there cannot be a greater mistake4 ,these are only1 in the words of ,plutarch1 the idols and images of friendship4 ,to be friendly with every one is another matter2 we must remember that there is no little enemy1 and those who have ever really loved any one will have some tenderness for all4 ,there is indeed some good in most men4 ,i have heard much1 says ,mr4 ,nasmyth in his charming autobiography1 about the ingratitude and selfishness of the world4 ,it may have been my good fortune1 but ,i have never experienced either of these unfeeling conditions4 ,such also has been my own experience4 ,men talk of unkind hearts1 kind deeds ,with coldness still returning4 ,alas6 the gratitude of men ,has oftener left me mourning4 ,i cannot1 then1 agree with ,emerson that we walk alone in the world4 ,friends such as we desire are dreams and fables4 ,but a sublime hope cheers ever the faithful heart1 that elsewhere in other regions of the universal power souls are now acting1 enduring1 and daring1 which can love us1 and which we can love4 ,no doubt1 much as worthy friends add to the happiness and value of life1 we must in the main depend on ourselves1 and every one is his own best friend or worst enemy4 ,sad1 indeed1 is ,bacon's assertion that there is little friendship in the world1 and least of all between equals1 which was wont to be magnified4 ,that that is1 is between superior and inferior1 whose fortunes may comprehend the one to the other4 ,but this can hardly be taken as his deliberate opinion1 for he elsewhere says1 but we may go farther1 and affirm most truly1 that it is a mere and miserable solitude to want true friends1 without which the world is but a wilderness4 ,not only1 he adds1 does friendship introduce daylight in the understanding out of darkness and confusion of thoughts2 it maketh a fair day in the affections from storm and tempests3 in consultation with a friend a man tosseth his thoughts more easily2 he marshalleth them more orderly2 he seeth how they look when they are turned into words2 finally1 he waxeth wiser than himself1 and that more by an hour's discourse than by a day's meditation4444 ,but little do men perceive what solitude is1 and how far it extendeth1 for a crowd is not company1 and faces are but a gallery of pictures1 and talk but a tinkling cymbal where there is no love4 ,with this last assertion ,i cannot altogether concur4 ,surely even strangers may be most interesting6 and many will agree with ,dr4 ,johnson when1 describing a pleasant evening1 he summed it up--,sir1 we had a good talk4 ,epictetus gives excellent advice when he dissuades from conversation on the very subjects most commonly chosen1 and advises that it should be on none of the common subjects--not about gladiators1 nor horse-races1 nor about athletes1 nor about eating or drinking1 which are the usual subjects2 and especially not about men1 as blaming them2 but when he adds1 or praising them1 the injunction seems to me of doubtful value4 ,surely ,marcus ,aurelius more wisely advises that when thou wishest to delight thyself1 think of the virtues of those who live with thee2 for instance1 the activity of one1 and the modesty of another1 and the liberality of a third1 and some other good quality of a fourth4 ,for nothing delights so much as the examples of the virtues1 when they are exhibited in the morals of those who live with us and present themselves in abundance1 as far as is possible4 ,wherefore we must keep them before us4 ,yet how often we know merely the sight of those we call our friends1 or the sound of their voices1 but nothing whatever of their mind or soul4 ,we must1 moreover1 be as careful to keep friends as to make them4 ,if every one knew what one said of the other1 ,pascal assures us that there would not be four friends in the world4 ,this ,i hope and think is too strong1 but at any rate try to be one of the four4 ,and when you have made a friend1 keep him4 ,hast thou a friend1 says an ,eastern proverb1 visit him often1 for thorns and brushwood obstruct the road which no one treads4 ,the affections should not be mere tents of a night4 ,still less does ,friendship confer any privilege to make ourselves disagreeable4 ,some people never seem to appreciate their friends till they have lost them4 ,anaxagoras described the ,mausoleum as the ghost of wealth turned into stone4 ,but he who has once stood beside the grave to look back on the companionship which has been for ever closed1 feeling how impotent then are the wild love and the keen sorrow1 to give one instant's pleasure to the pulseless heart1 or atone in the lowest measure to the departed spirit for the hour of unkindness1 will scarcely for the future incur that debt to the heart which can only be discharged to the dust4 #a ,death1 indeed1 cannot sever friendship4 ,friends1 says ,cicero1 though absent1 are still present2 though in poverty they are rich2 though weak1 yet in the enjoyment of health2 and1 what is still more difficult to assert1 though dead they are alive4 ,this seems a paradox1 yet it there not much truth in his explanation8 ,to me1 indeed1 ,scipio still lives1 and will always live2 for ,i love the virtue of that man1 and that worth is not yet extinguished4444 ,assuredly of all things that either fortune or time has bestowed on me1 ,i have none which ,i can compare with the friendship of ,scipio4 ,if1 then1 we choose our friends for what they are1 not for what they have1 and if we deserve so great a blessing1 then they will be always with us1 preserved in absence1 and even after death1 in the amber of memory4 #a ,ruskin4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,time4 ,each day is a little life4 ,all other good gifts depend on time for their value4 ,what are friends1 books1 or health1 the interest of travel or the delights of home1 if we have not time for their enjoyment8 ,time is often said to be money1 but it is more-it is life2 and yet many who would cling desperately to life1 think nothing of wasting time4 ,ask of the wise1 says ,schiller in ,lord ,sherbrooke's translation1 ,the moments we forego ,eternity itself cannot retrieve4 ,and1 in the words of ,dante1 ,for who knows most1 him loss of time most grieves4 ,not that a life of drudgery should be our ideal4 ,far from it4 ,time spent in innocent and rational enjoyments1 in healthy games1 in social and family intercourse1 is well and wisely spent4 ,games not only keep the body in health1 but give a command over the muscles and limbs which cannot be overvalued4 ,moreover1 there are temptations which strong exercise best enables us to resist4 ,it is the idle who complain they cannot find time to do that which they fancy they wish4 ,in truth1 people can generally make time for what they choose to do2 it is not really the time but the will that is wanting3 and the advantage of leisure is mainly that we may have the power of choosing our own work1 not certainly that it confers any privilege of idleness4 ,time travels in divers paces with divers persons4 ,i'll tell you who time ambles withal1 who time trots withal1 who time gallops withal1 and who he stands still withal4 #a ,for it is not so much the hours that tell1 as the way we use them4 ,circles are praised1 not that excel ,in largeness1 but th'exactly framed2 ,so life we praise1 that doth excel ,not in much time1 but acting well4 #b ,idleness1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1 is the greatest prodigality in the world2 it throws away that which is invaluable in respect of its present use1 and irreparable when it is past1 being to be recovered by no power of art or nature4 ,life must be measured rather by depth than by length1 by thought and action rather than by time4 ,a counted number of pulses only1 says ,pater1 is given to us of a variegated1 aromatic1 life4 ,how may we see in them all that is to be seen by the finest senses8 ,how can we pass most swiftly from point to point1 and be present always at the focus where the greatest number of vital forces unite in their purest energy8 ,to burn always with this hard gem-like flame1 to maintain this ecstasy1 is success in life4 ,failure is to form habits1 for habit is relation to a stereotyped world3444 while all melts under our feet1 we may well catch at any exquisite passion1 or any contribution to knowledge1 that seems1 by a lifted horizon1 to set the spirit free for a moment4 ,i would not quote ,lord ,chesterfield as generally a safe guide1 but there is certainly much shrewd wisdom in his advice to his son with reference to time4 ,every moment you now lose1 is so much character and advantage lost2 as1 on the other hand1 every moment you now employ usefully1 is so much time wisely laid out1 at prodigious interest4 ,and again1 ,it is astonishing that any one can squander away in absolute idleness one single moment of that small portion of time which is allotted to us in the world 444 ,know the true value of time2 snatch1 seize1 and enjoy every moment of it4 ,are you in earnest8 seize this very minute1 ,what you can do1 or think you can1 begin it4 #c ,there is a ,turkish proverb that the ,devil tempts the ,idle man1 but the ,idle man tempts the ,devil4 ,i remember1 says ,hilliard1 a satirical poem1 in which the ,devil is represented as fishing for men1 and adapting his bait to the tastes and temperaments of his prey2 but the idlers were the easiest victims1 for they swallowed even the naked hook4 ,the mind of the idler indeed preys upon itself4 ,the human heart is like a millstone in a mill2 when you put wheat under it1 it turns and grinds and bruises the wheat to flour2 if you put no wheat1 it still grinds on--and grinds itself away4 #d ,it is not work1 but care1 that kills1 and it is in this sense1 ,i suppose1 that we are told to take no thought for the morrow4 ,to consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they toil not1 neither do they spin3 and yet even ,solomon1 in all his glory1 was not arrayed like one of these4 ,wherefore1 if ,god so clothe the grass of the field1 which to-day is1 and to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,it would indeed be a mistake to suppose that lilies are idle or imprudent4 ,on the contrary1 plants are most industrious1 and lilies store up in their complex bulbs a great part of the nourishment of one year to quicken the growth of the next4 ,care1 on the other hand1 they certainly know not4 #e ,hours have wings1 fly up to the author of time1 and carry news of our usage4 ,all our prayers cannot entreat one of them either to return or slacken his pace4 ,the misspents of every minute are a new record against us in heaven4 ,sure if we thought thus1 we should dismiss them with better reports1 and not suffer them to fly away empty1 or laden with dangerous intelligence4 ,how happy is it when they carry up not only the messages1 but the fruits of good1 and stay with the ,ancient of ,days to speak for us before ,his glorious throne6 #f ,time is often said to fly2 but it is not so much the time that flies2 as we that waste it1 and wasted time is worse than no time at all2 ,i wasted time1 ,shakespeare makes ,richard ,,ii4 say1 and now doth time waste me4 ,he that is choice of his time1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1 will also be choice of his company1 and choice of his actions2 lest the first engage him in vanity and loss1 and the latter1 by being criminal1 be a throwing his time and himself away1 and a going back in the accounts of eternity4 ,the life of man is seventy years1 but how little of this is actually our own4 ,we must deduct the time required for sleep1 for meals1 for dressing and undressing1 for exercise1 etc41 and then how little remains really at our own disposal6 ,i have lived1 said ,lamb1 nominally fifty years1 but deduct from them the hours ,i have lived for other people1 and not for myself1 and you will find me still a young fellow4 ,the hours we live for other people1 however1 are not those that should be deducted1 but rather those which benefit neither oneself nor any one else2 and these1 alas6 are often very numerous4 ,there are some hours which are taken from us1 some which are stolen from us1 and some which slip from us4 #g ,but however we may lose them1 we can never get them back4 ,it is wonderful1 indeed1 how much innocent happiness we thoughtlessly throw away4 ,an ,eastern proverb says that calamities sent by heaven may be avoided1 but from those we bring on ourselves there is no escape4 ,some years ago ,i paid a visit to the principal lake villages of ,switzerland in company with a distinguished archaeologist1 ,m4 ,morlot4 ,to my surprise ,i found that his whole income was #ajj a year1 part of which1 moreover1 he spent in making a small museum4 ,i asked him whether he contemplated accepting any post or office1 but he said certainly not4 ,he valued his leisure and opportunities as priceless possessions far more than silver or gold1 and would not waste any of his time in making money4 ,time indeed1 is a sacred gift1 and each day is a little life4 ,just think of our advantages here in ,london6 ,we have access to the whole literature of the world2 we may see in our ,national ,gallery the most beautiful productions of former generations1 and in the ,royal ,academy and other galleries the works of the greatest living artists4 ,perhaps there is no one who has ever found time to see the ,british ,museum thoroughly4 ,yet consider what it contains2 or rather1 what does it not contain8 ,the most gigantic of living and extinct animals2 the marvellous monsters of geological ages2 the most beautiful birds1 shells1 and minerals2 precious stones and fragments from other worlds2 the most interesting antiquities2 curious and fantastic specimens illustrating different races of men2 exquisite gems1 coins1 glass1 and china2 the ,elgin marbles2 the remains of the ,mausoleum2 of the temple of ,diana of ,ephesus2 ancient monuments of ,egypt and ,assyria2 the rude implements of our predecessors in ,england1 who were coeval with the hippopotamus and rhinoceros1 the musk-ox1 and the mammoth2 and beautiful specimens of ,greek and ,roman art4 ,suffering may be unavoidable1 but no one has any excuse for being dull4 ,and yet some people are dull4 ,they talk of a better world to come1 while whatever dulness there may be here is all their own4 ,sir ,arthur ,helps has well said3 ,what6 dull1 when you do not know what gives its loveliness of form to the lily1 its depth of color to the violet1 its fragrance to the rose2 when you do not know in what consists the venom of the adder1 any more than you can imitate the glad movements of the dove4 ,what6 dull1 when earth1 air1 and water are all alike mysteries to you1 and when as you stretch out your hand you do not touch anything the properties of which you have mastered2 while all the time ,nature is inviting you to talk earnestly with her1 to understand her1 to subdue her1 and to be blessed by her6 ,go away1 man2 learn something1 do something1 understand something1 and let me hear no more of your dulness4 #a ,shakespeare4 #b ,waller4 #c ,faust4 #d ,luther4 #e ,the word used ,greek3 merimnaesaete is translated in ,liddell and ,scott to be anxious about1 to be distressed in mind1 to be cumbered with many cares4 #f ,milton4 #g ,seneca4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,travel4 ,i am a part of all that ,i have seen4--,,tennyson4 ,i am sometimes disposed to think that there are few things in which we of this generation enjoy greater advantages over our ancestors than in the increased facilities of travel2 but ,i hesitate to say this1 not because our advantages are not great1 but because ,i have already made the same remark with reference to several other aspects of life4 ,the very word travel is suggestive4 ,it is a form of travail--excessive labor2 and1 as ,skeat observes1 it forcibly recalls the toil of travel in olden days4 ,how different things are now6 ,it is sometimes said that every one should travel on foot like ,thales1 ,plato1 and ,pythagoras2 we are told that in these days of railroads people rush through countries and see nothing4 ,it may be so1 but that is not the fault of the railways4 ,they confer upon us the inestimable advantage of being able1 so rapidly and with so little fatigue1 to visit countries which were much less accessible to our ancestors4 ,what a blessing it is that not our own islands only--our smiling fields and rich woods1 the mountains that are full of peace and the rivers of joy1 the lakes and heaths and hills1 castles and cathedrals1 and many a spot immortalized in the history of our country3--not these only1 but the sun and scenery of the ,south1 the ,alps the palaces of ,nature1 the blue ,mediterranean1 and the cities of ,europe1 with all their memories and treasures1 are now brought within a few hours of us4 ,surely no one who has the opportunity should omit to travel4 ,the world belongs to him who has seen it4 ,but he that would make his travels delightful must first make himself delightful4 #a ,according to the old proverb1 the fool wanders1 the wise man travels4 ,bacon tells us that the things to be seen and observed are the courts of princes1 especially when they give audience to ambassadors2 the courts of justice while they sit and hear causes2 and so of consistories ecclesiastic2 the churches and monasteries1 with the monuments which are therein extant2 the walls and fortifications of cities and towns2 and so the havens and harbors1 antiquities and ruins1 libraries1 colleges1 disputations and lectures1 when any are2 shipping and navies2 houses and gardens of state and pleasure near great cities2 armories1 arsenals1 magazines1 exchanges1 burses1 warehouses1 exercises of horsemanship1 fencing1 training of soldiers1 and the like2 comedies1 such whereunto the better sort of persons do resort2 treasuries of jewels and robes2 cabinets and rarities2 and1 to conclude1 whatsoever is memorable in the places where they go4 ,but this depends on the time at our disposal1 and the object with which we travel4 ,if we can stay long in any one place ,bacon's advice is no doubt excellent2 but for the moment ,i am thinking rather of an annual holiday1 taken for the sake of rest and health2 for fresh air and exercise rather than for study4 ,yet even so1 if we have eyes to see we cannot fail to lay in a stock of new ideas as well as a store of health4 ,we may have read the most vivid and accurate description1 we may have pored over maps and plans and pictures1 and yet the reality will burst on us like a revelation4 ,this is true not only of mountains and glaciers1 of palaces and cathedrals1 but even of the simplest examples4 ,for instance1 like every one else1 ,i had read descriptions and seen photographs and pictures of the ,pyramids4 ,their form is simplicity itself4 ,i do not know that ,i could put into words any characteristic of the original for which ,i was not prepared4 ,it was not that they were larger2 it was not that they differed in form1 in color1 or situation4 ,and yet1 the moment ,i saw them1 ,i felt that my previous impression had been but a faint shadow of the reality4 ,the actual sight seemed to give life to the idea4 ,every one who has been in the ,east will agree that a week of oriental travel brings out1 with more than stereoscopic effect1 the pictures of patriarchal life as given us in the ,old ,testament4 ,and what is true of the ,old ,testament is true of history generally4 ,to those who have been in ,athens or ,rome1 the history of ,greece or ,italy becomes far more interesting2 while1 on the other hand1 some knowledge of the history and literature enormously enhances the interest of the scenes themselves4 ,good descriptions and pictures1 however1 help us to see much more than we should perhaps perceive for ourselves4 ,it may even be doubted whether some persons do not derive a more correct impression from a good drawing or description1 which brings out the salient points1 than they would from actual1 but unaided1 inspection4 ,the idea may gain in accuracy1 in character1 and even in detail1 more than it misses in vividness4 ,but1 however this may be1 for those who cannot travel1 descriptions and pictures have an immense interest2 while to those who have traveled1 they will afford an inexhaustible delight in reviving the memories of beautiful scenes and interesting expeditions4 ,it is really astonishing how little most of us see of the beautiful world in which we live4 ,mr4 ,norman ,lockyer tells me that while traveling on a scientific mission in the ,rocky ,mountains1 he was astonished to meet an aged ,french ,abb1 and could not help showing his surprise4 ,the ,abb observed this1 and in the course of conversation explained his presence in that distant region4 ,you were1 he said1 ,i easily saw1 surprised to find me here4 ,the fact is1 that some months ago ,i was very ill4 ,my physicians gave me up3 one morning ,i seemed to faint and thought that ,i was already in the arms of the ,bon ,dieu4 ,i fancied one of the angels came and asked me1 ',well1 ,m4 l',abb how did you like the beautiful world you have just left8' ,and then it occurred to me that ,i who had been all my life preaching about heaven1 had seen almost nothing of the world in which ,i was living4 ,i determined therefore1 if it pleased ,providence to spare me1 to see something of this world2 and so here ,i am4 ,few of us are free1 however much we might wish it1 to follow the example of the worthy ,abb4 ,but although it may not be possible for us to reach the ,rocky ,mountains1 there are other countries nearer home which most of us might find time to visit4 ,though it is true that no descriptions can come near the reality1 they may at least persuade us to give ourselves this great advantage4 ,let me then try to illustrate this by pictures in words1 as realized by one of our most illustrious countrymen2 ,i will select references to foreign countries only1 not that we have not equal beauties here1 but because everywhere in ,england one feels oneself at home4 ,the following passage from ,tyndall's ,hours of ,exercise in the ,alps1 is almost as good as an hour in the ,alps themselves3 ,i looked over this wondrous scene toward ,mont ,blanc1 the ,grand ,combin1 the ,dent ,blanche1 the ,weisshorn1 the ,dom1 and the thousand lesser peaks which seem to join in the celebration of the risen day4 ,i asked myself1 as on previous occasions1 ,how was this colossal work performed8 ,who chiselled these mighty and picturesque masses out of a mere protuberance of the earth8 ,and the answer was at hand4 ,ever young1 ever mighty-with the vigor of a thousand worlds still within him-the real sculptor was even then climbing up the eastern sky4 ,it was he who raised aloft the waters which cut out these ravines2 it was he who planted the glaciers on the mountain slopes1 thus giving gravity a plough to open out the valleys2 and it is he who1 acting through the ages1 will finally lay low these mighty monuments1 rolling them gradually seaward1 sowing the seeds of continents to be2 so that the people of an older earth may see mould spread1 and corn wave over the hidden rocks which at this moment bear the weight of the ,jungfrau4 ,and the ,alps lie within twenty-four hours of ,london6 ,tyndall's writings also contain many vivid descriptions of glaciers2 those silent and solemn causeways 444 broad enough for the march of an army in line of battle and quiet as a street of tombs in a buried city4 #b ,i do not1 however1 borrow from him or from any one else any description of glaciers1 for they are so unlike anything else1 that no one who has not seen1 can possibly visualize them4 ,the history of ,european rivers yet remains to be written1 and is most interesting4 ,they did not always run in their present courses4 ,the ,rhone1 for instance1 appears to have been itself a great traveler4 ,at least there seems reasons to believe that the upper waters of the ,valais fell at first into the ,danube1 and so into the ,black ,sea2 subsequently joined the ,rhine and the ,thames1 and so ran far north over the plains which once connected the mountains of ,scotland and of ,norway--to the ,arctic ,ocean2 and to have only comparatively of late years adopted their present course into the ,mediterranean4 ,but1 however this may be1 the ,rhine of ,germany and the ,rhine of ,switzerland are very unlike4 ,the catastrophe of ,schaffhausen seems to alter the whole character of the river1 and no wonder4 ,stand for half an hour1 says ,ruskin1 beside the ,fall of ,schaffhausen1 on the north side where the rapids are long1 and watch how the vault of water first bends1 unbroken1 in pure polished velocity1 over the arching rocks at the brow of the cataract1 covering them with a dome of crystal twenty feet thick1 so swift that its motion is unseen except when a foam globe from above darts over it like a falling star2444 and how ever and anon1 startling you with its white flash1 a jet of spray leaps hissing out of the fall1 like a rocket1 bursting in the wind and driven away in dust1 filling the air with light2 and how1 through the curdling wreaths of the restless crushing abyss below1 the blue of the water1 paled by the foam in its body1 shows purer than the sky through white rain-cloud2 444 their dripping masses lifted at intervals1 like sheaves of loaded corn1 by some stronger gush from the cataract1 and bowed again upon the mossy rocks as its roar dies away4 ,but much as we may admire the majestic grandeur of a mighty river1 either in its eager rush or its calmer moments1 there is something which fascinates even more in the free life1 the young energy1 the sparkling transparence1 and merry music of smaller streams4 ,the upper ,swiss valleys1 as the same great ,seer says1 are sweet with perpetual streamlets1 that seem always to have chosen the steepest places to come down1 for the sake of the leaps1 scattering their handfuls of crystal this way and that1 as the winds take them1 with all the grace1 but with none of the formalism1 of fountains 444 until at last 444 they find their way down to the turf1 and lose themselves in that1 silently2 with quiet depth of clear water furrowing among the grass blades1 and looking only like their shadow1 but presently emerging again in little startled gushes and laughing hurries1 as if they had remembered suddenly that the day was too short for them to get down the hill4 ,how vividly does ,symonds bring before us the sunny shores of the ,mediterranean1 which he loves so well1 and the contrast between the scenery of the ,north and the ,south4 ,in northern landscapes the eye travels through vistas of leafy boughs to still1 secluded crofts and pastures1 where slow-moving oxen graze4 ,the mystery of dreams and the repose of meditation haunt our massive bowers4 ,but in the ,south1 the lattice-work of olive boughs and foliage scarcely veils the laughing sea and bright blue sky1 while the hues of the landscape find their climax in the dazzling radiance of the sun upon the waves1 and the pure light of the horizon4 ,there is no concealment and no melancholy here4 ,nature seems to hold a never-ending festival and dance1 in which the waves and sunbeams and shadows join4 ,again1 in northern scenery1 the rounded forms of full-foliaged trees suit the undulating country1 with its gentle hills and brooding clouds2 but in the ,south the spiky leaves and sharp branches of the olive carry out the defined outlines which are everywhere observable through the broader beauties of mountain and valley and sea-shore4 ,serenity and intelligence characterize this southern landscape1 in which a race of splendid men and women lived beneath the pure light of ,phoebus1 their ancestral god4 ,pallas protected them1 and golden ,aphrodite favored them with beauty4 ,olives are not1 however1 by any means the only trees which play a part in idyllic scenery4 ,the tall stone pine is even more important4444 ,near ,massa1 by ,sorrento1 there are two gigantic pines so placed that1 lying on the grass beneath them1 one looks on ,capri rising from the sea1 ,baiae1 and all the bay of ,naples sweeping round to the base of ,vesuvius4 ,tangled growths of olives1 and rose-trees fill the garden-ground along the shore1 while far away in the distance pale ,inarime sleeps1 with her exquisite ,greek name1 a virgin island on the deep4 ,on the wilder hills you find patches of ilex and arbutus glowing with crimson berries and white waxen bells1 sweet myrtle rods and shafts of bay1 frail tamarisk and tall tree-heaths that wave their frosted boughs above your head4 ,nearer the shore the lentisk grows1 a savory shrub1 with cytisus and aromatic rosemary4 ,clematis and polished garlands of tough sarsaparilla wed the shrubs with clinging1 climbing arms2 and here and there in sheltered nooks the vine shoots forth luxuriant tendrils bowed with grapes1 stretching from branch to branch of mulberry or elm1 flinging festoons on which young loves might sit and swing1 or weaving a lattice-work of leaves across the open shed4 ,nor must the sounds of this landscape be forgotten1--sounds of bleating flocks1 and murmuring bees1 and nightingales1 and doves that moan1 and running streams1 and shrill cicadas1 and hoarse frogs1 and whispering pines4 ,there is not a single detail which a patient student may not verify from ,theocritus4 ,then too it is a landscape in which sea and country are never sundered4 ,the higher we climb upon the mountain-side the more marvellous is the beauty of the sea1 which seems to rise as we ascend1 and stretch into the sky4 ,sometimes a little flake of blue is framed by olive boughs1 sometimes a turning in the road reveals the whole broad azure calm below4 ,or1 after toiling up a steep ascent we fall upon the undergrowth of juniper1 and lo6 a double sea1 this way and that1 divided by the sharp spine of the jutting hill1 jewelled with villages along its shore1 and smiling with fair islands and silver sails4 ,to many of us the mere warmth of the ,south is a blessing and a delight4 ,the very thought of it is delicious4 ,i have read over again and again ,wallace's graphic description of a tropical sunrise--of the sun of the early morning that turneth all into gold4 #c ,up to about a quarter past five o'clock1 he says1 the darkness is complete2 but about that time a few cries of birds begin to break the silence of night1 perhaps indicating that signs of dawn are perceptible in the eastern horizon4 ,a little later the melancholy voices of the goatsuckers are heard1 varied croakings of frogs1 the plaintive whistle of mountain thrushes1 and strange cries of birds or mammals peculiar to each locality4 ,about half-past five the first glimmer of light becomes perceptible2 it slowly becomes lighter1 and then increases so rapidly that at about a quarter to six it seems full daylight4 ,for the next quarter of an hour this changes very little in character2 when1 suddenly1 the sun's rim appears above the horizon1 decking the dew-laden foliage with glittering gems sending gleams of golden light far into the woods1 and waking up all nature to life and activity4 ,birds chirp and flutter about1 parrots scream1 monkeys chatter1 bees hum among the flowers1 and gorgeous butterflies flutter lazily along or sit with full expanded wings exposed to the warm and invigorating rays4 ,the first hour of morning in the equatorial regions possesses a charm and a beauty that can never be forgotten4 ,all nature seems refreshed and strengthened by the coolness and moisture of the past night1 new leaves and buds unfold almost before the eye1 and fresh shoots may often be observed to have grown many inches since the preceding day4 ,the temperature is the most delicious conceivable4 ,the slight chill of early dawn1 which was itself agreeable1 is succeeded by an invigorating warmth2 and the intense sunshine lights up the glorious vegetation of the tropics1 and realizes all that the magic art of the painter or the glowing words of the poet have pictured as their ideals of terrestrial beauty4 ,or take ,dean ,stanley's description of the colossal statues of ,amenophis ,,iii41 the ,memnon of the ,greeks1 at ,thebes--,the sun was setting1 the ,african range glowed red behind them2 the green plain was dyed with a deeper green beneath them1 and the shades of evening veiled the vast rents and fissures in their aged frames4 ,as ,i looked back at them in the sunset1 and they rose up in front of the background of the mountain1 they seemed1 indeed1 as if they were part of it1--as if they belonged to some natural creation4 ,but ,i must not indulge myself in more quotations1 though it is difficult to stop4 ,such extracts recall the memory of many glorious days3 for the advantages of travel last through life2 and often1 as we sit at home1 some bright and perfect view of ,venice1 of ,genoa1 or of ,monte ,rosa comes back on you1 as full of repose as a day wisely spent in travel4 #d ,so far is a thorough love and enjoyment of travel from interfering with the love of home1 that perhaps no one can thoroughly enjoy his home who does not sometimes wander away4 ,they are like exertion and rest1 each the complement of the other2 so that1 though it may seem paradoxical1 one of the greatest pleasures of travel is the return2 and no one who has not roamed abroad1 can realize the devotion which the wanderer feels for ,domiduca--the sweet and gentle goddess who watches over our coming home4 #a ,seneca4 #b ,ruskin4 #c ,morris4 #d ,helps4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,home4 ,there's no place like ,home4--,old ,english ,song4 ,it may well be doubted which is more delightful1--to start for a holiday which has been fully earned1 or to return home from one which has been thoroughly enjoyed2 to find oneself1 with renewed vigor1 with a fresh store of memories and ideas1 back once more by one's own fireside1 with one's family1 friends1 and books4 ,to sit at home1 says ,leigh ,hunt1 with an old folio 787 book of romantic yet credible voyages and travels to read1 an old bearded traveller for its hero1 a fireside in an old country house to read it by1 curtains drawn1 and just wind enough stirring out of doors to make an accompaniment to the billows or forests we are reading of--this surely is one of the perfect moments of existence4 ,it is no doubt a great privilege to visit foreign countries2 to travel say in ,mexico or ,peru1 or to cruise among the ,pacific ,islands2 but in some respects the narratives of early travellers1 the histories of ,prescott or the voyages of ,captain ,cook1 are even more interesting2 describing to us1 as they do1 a state of society which was then so unlike ours1 but which has now been much changed and ,europeanized4 ,thus we may make our daily travels interesting1 even though1 like those of the ,vicar of ,wakefield1 all our adventures are by our own fireside1 and all our migrations from one room to another4 ,moreover1 even if the beauties of home are humble1 they are still infinite1 and a man may lie in his bed1 like ,pompey and his sons1 in all quarters of the earth4 #a ,it is1 then1 wise to cultivate a talent very fortunate for a man of my disposition1 that of travelling in my easy chair2 of transporting myself1 without stirring from my parlor1 to distant places and to absent friends2 of drawing scenes in my mind's eye2 and of peopling them with the groups of fancy1 or the society of remembrance4 #b ,we may indeed secure for ourselves endless variety without leaving our own firesides4 ,in the first place1 the succession of seasons multiplies every home4 ,how different is the view from our windows as we look on the tender green of spring1 the rich foliage of summer1 the glorious tints of autumn1 or the delicate tracery of winter4 ,our climate is so happy1 that even in the worst months of the year1 calm mornings of sunshine visit us at times1 appearing like glimpses of departed spring amid the wilderness of wet and windy days that lead to winter4 ,it is pleasant1 when these interludes of silver light occur1 to ride into the woods and see how wonderful are all the colors of decay4 ,overhead1 the elms and chestnuts hang their wealth of golden leaves1 while the beeches darken into russet tones1 and the wild cherry glows like blood-red wine4 ,in the hedges crimson haws and scarlet hips are wreathed with hoary clematis or necklaces of coral briony-berries2 the brambles burn with many-colored flames2 the dog-wood is bronzed to purple2 and here and there the spindle-wood puts forth its fruit1 like knots of rosy buds1 on delicate frail twigs4 ,underneath lie fallen leaves1 and the brown brake rises to our knees as we thread the forest paths4 #c ,nay1 every day gives us a succession of glorious pictures in never-ending variety4 ,it is remarkable how few people seem to derive any pleasure from the beauty of the sky4 ,gray1 after describing a sunrise--how it began with a slight whitening1 just tinged with gold and blue1 lit up all at once by a little line of insufferable brightness which rapidly grew to half an orb1 and so to a whole one too glorious to be distinctly seen--adds1 ,i wonder whether any one ever saw it before4 ,i hardly believe it4 #d ,no doubt from the dawn of poetry1 the splendors of the morning and evening skies have delighted all those who have eyes to see4 ,but we are especially indebted to ,ruskin for enabling us more vividly to realize these glorious sky pictures4 ,as he says1 in language almost as brilliant as the sky itself1 the whole heaven1 from the zenith to the horizon1 becomes one molten1 mantling sea of color and fire2 every block bar turns into massy gold1 every ripple and wave into unsullied1 shadowless crimson1 and purple1 and scarlet1 and colors for which there are no words in language1 and no ideas in the mind--things which can only be conceived while they are visible2 the intense hollow blue of the upper sky melting through it all1 showing here deep and pure1 and lightness2 there1 modulated by the filmy1 formless body of the transparent vapor1 till it is lost imperceptibly in its crimson and gold4 ,it is in some cases indeed not color but conflagration1 and though the tints are richer and more varied toward morning and at sunset1 the glorious kaleidoscope goes on all day long4 ,yet it is a strange thing how little in general people know about the sky4 ,it is the part of creation in which ,nature has done more for the sake of pleasing man1 more for the sole and evident purpose of talking to him1 and teaching him1 than in any other of her works1 and it is just the part in which we least attend to her4 ,there are not many of her other works in which some more material or essential purpose than the mere pleasing of man is not answered by every part of their organization2 but every essential purpose of the sky might1 so far as we know1 be answer1 if once in three days1 or thereabouts1 a great1 ugly1 black rain-cloud were brought up over the blue1 and everything well watered1 and so all left blue again till next time1 with perhaps a film of morning and evening mist for dew4 ,and instead of this1 there is not a moment of any day of our lives when ,nature is not producing scene after scene1 picture after picture1 glory after glory1 and working still upon such exquisite and constant principles of the most perfect beauty1 that it is quite certain it is all done for us1 and intended for our perpetual pleasure4 #e ,nor does the beauty end with the day4 ,it is nothing to sleep under the canopy of heaven1 where we have the globe of the earth for our place of repose1 and the glories of the heavens for our spectacle8 #f ,for my part ,i always regret the custom of shutting up our rooms in the evening1 as though there was nothing worth seeing outside4 ,what1 however1 can be more beautiful than to look how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold1 or to watch the moon journeying in calm and silver glory through the night4 ,and even if we do not feel that the man who has seen the rising moon break out of the clouds at midnight1 has been present like an ,archangel at the creation of light and of the world1 #g still the stars say something significant to all of us3 and each man has a whole hemisphere of them1 if he will but look up1 to counsel and befriend him2 #h for it is not so much1 as ,helps elsewhere observes1 in guiding us over the seas of our little planet1 but out of the dark waters of our own perturbed minds1 that we may make to ourselves the most of their significance4 ,indeed1 ,how beautiful is night6 ,a dewy freshness fills the silent air2 ,no mist obscures1 nor cloud1 nor speck1 nor stain1 ,breaks the serene of heaven3 ,in full-orbed glory yonder moon divine ,rolls through the dark blue depths2 ,beneath her steady ray ,the desert circle spreads1 ,like the round ocean1 girdled with the sky2 ,how beautiful is night6 #i ,i have never wondered at those who worshipped the sun and moon4 ,on the other hand1 when all outside is dark and cold2 when perhaps ,outside fall the snowflakes lightly2 ,through the night loud raves the storm2 ,in my room the fire glows brightly1 ,and 'tis cosy1 silent1 warm4 ,musing sit ,i on the settle ,by the firelight's cheerful blaze1 ,listening to the busy kettle ,humming long forgotten lays4 #aj ,for after all the true pleasures of home are not without1 but within2 and the domestic man who loves no music so well as his own kitchen clock and the airs which the logs sing to him as they burn on the hearth1 has solaces which others never dream of4 #aa ,we love the ticking of the clock1 and the flicker of the fire1 like the sound of the cawing of rooks1 not so much for any beauty of their own as for their associations4 ,it is a great truth that when we retire into ourselves we can call up what memories we please4 ,how dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood1 ,when fond recollection recalls them to view4-- ,the orchard1 the meadow1 the deep-tangled wildwood ,and every lov'd spot which my infancy knew4 #ab ,it is not so much the ,fireside enjoyments1 ,and all the comforts of the lowly roof1 #ac but rather1 according to the higher and better ideal of ,keble1 ,sweet is the smile of home2 the mutual look1 ,when hearts are of each other sure2 ,sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook1 ,the haunt of all affections pure4 ,in ancient times1 not only among savage races1 but even among the ,greeks themselves1 there seems to have been but little family life4 ,what a contrast was the home life of the ,greeks1 as it seems to have been1 to that1 for instance1 described by ,cowley--a home happy in books and gardens1 and above all1 in a ,virtuous wife1 where thou dost meet ,both pleasures more refined and sweet2 ,the fairest garden in her looks ,and in her mind the wisest books4 ,no one who has ever loved mother or wife1 sister or daughter1 can read without astonishment and pity ,st4 ,chrysostom's description of woman as a necessary evil1 a natural temptation1 a desirable calamity1 a domestic peril1 a deadly fascination1 and a painted ill4 ,in few respects has mankind made a greater advance than in the relations of men and women4 ,it is terrible to think how women suffer in savage life2 and even among the intellectual ,greeks1 with rare exceptions1 they seem to have been treated rather as housekeepers or playthings than as the ,angels who make a ,heaven of home4 ,the ,hindoo proverb that you should never strike a wife1 even with a flower1 though a considerable advance1 tells a melancholy tale of what must previously have been4 ,in ,the ,origin of ,civilization ,i have given many cases showing how small a part family affection plays in savage life4 ,here ,i will only mention one case in illustration4 ,the ,algonquin 7,north ,america7 language contained no word for to love1 so that when the missionaries translated the ,bible into it they were obliged to invent one4 ,what a life1 and what a language1 without love4 ,yet in marriage even the rough passion of a savage may contrast favorably with any cold calculation1 which1 like the enchanted hoard of the ,nibelungs1 is almost sure to bring misfortune4 ,in the ,kalevala1 the ,finnish epic1 the divine smith1 ,ilmarinnen1 forges a bride of gold and silver for ,wainamoinen1 who was pleased at first to have so rich a wife1 but soon found her intolerably cold1 for1 in spite of fires and furs1 whenever he touched her she froze him4 ,moreover1 apart from mere coldness1 how much we suffer from foolish quarrels about trifles2 from mere misunderstandings2 from hasty words thoughtlessly repeated1 sometimes without the context or tone which would have deprived them of any sting4 ,how much would that charity which beareth all things1 believeth all things1 hopeth all things1 endureth all things1 effect to smooth away the sorrows of life and add to the happiness of home4 ,home indeed may be a sure haven of repose from the storms and perils of the world4 ,but to secure this we must not be content to pave it with good intentions1 but must make it bright and cheerful4 ,if our life be one of toil and of suffering1 if the world outside be cold and dreary1 what a pleasure to return to the sunshine of happy faces and the warmth of hearts we love4 #a ,sir ,t4 ,browne4 #b ,mackenzie1 ,the ,lounger4 #c ,j4 ,a4 ,symonds4 #d ,gray's ,letters4 #e ,ruskin4 #f ,seneca4 #g ,emerson4 #h ,helps4 #i ,southey4 #aj ,heine1 trans4 by ,e4 ,a4 ,bowring4 #aa ,emerson4 #ab ,woodworth4 #ac ,cowper4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,science4 ,happy is he that findeth wisdom1 ,and the man that getteth understanding3 ,for the merchandise of it is better than silver1 ,and the gain thereof than fine gold4 ,she is more precious than rubies3 ,and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her4 ,length of days is in her right hand1 ,and in her left hand riches and honor4 ,her ways are ways of pleasantness1 ,and all her paths are peace4 ,,proverbs ,,of ,,solomon4 ,those who have not tried for themselves can hardly imagine how much ,science adds to the interest and variety of life4 ,it is altogether a mistake to regard it as dry1 difficult1 or prosaic--much of it is as easy as it is interesting4 ,a wise instinct of old united the prophet and the seer4 ,the wise man's eyes are in his head1 but the fool walketh in darkness4 ,technical works1 descriptions of species1 etc41 bear the same relation to science as dictionaries do to literature4 ,occasionally1 indeed1 ,science may destroy some poetical myth of antiquity1 such as the ancient ,hindoo explanation of rivers1 that ,indra dug out their beds with his thunderbolts1 and sent them forth by long continuous paths2 but the real causes of natural phenomena are far more striking1 and contain more true poetry1 than those which have occurred to the untrained imagination of mankind4 ,in endless aspects science is as wonderful and interesting as a fairy tale4 ,there are things whose strong reality ,outshines our fairyland2 in shape and hues ,more beautiful than our fantastic sky1 ,and the strange constellations which the ,muse ,o'er her wild universe is skillful to diffuse4 #a ,mackay justly exclaims3 ,blessings on ,science6 ,when the earth seemed old1 ,when ,faith grew doting1 and our reason cold1 ',twas she discovered that the world was young1 ,and taught a language to its lisping tongue4 ,botany1 for instance1 is by many regarded as a dry science4 ,yet though without it we may admire flowers and trees1 it is only as strangers1 only as one may admire a great man or a beautiful woman in a crowd4 ,the botanist1 on the contrary--nay1 ,i will not say the botanist1 but one with even a slight knowledge of that delightful science--when he goes out into the woods1 or into one of those fairy forests which we call fields1 finds himself welcomed by a glad company of friends1 every one with something interesting to tell4 ,dr4 ,johnson said that1 in his opinion1 when you had seen one green field you had seen all2 and a greater even than ,johnson--,socrates--the very type of intellect without science1 said he was always anxious to learn1 and from fields and trees he could learn nothing4 ,it has1 ,i know1 been said that botanists ,love not the flower they pluck and know it not4 ,and all their botany is but ,latin names4 ,contrast this1 however1 with the language of one who would hardly claim to be a master in botany1 though he is certainly a loving student4 ,consider1 says ,ruskin1 what we owe to the meadow grass1 to the covering of the dark ground by that glorious enamel1 by the companies of those soft1 countless1 and peaceful spears of the field6 ,follow but for a little time the thought of all that we ought to recognize in those words4 ,all spring and summer is in them--the walks by silent scented paths1 the rest in noonday heat1 the joy of the herds and flocks1 the power of all shepherd life and meditation2 the life of the sunlight upon the world1 falling in emerald streaks and soft blue shadows1 when else it would have struck on the dark mould or scorching dust2 pastures beside the pacing brooks1 soft banks and knolls of lowly hills1 thymy slopes of down overlooked by the blue line of lifted sea2 crisp lawns all dim with early dew1 or smooth in evening warmth of barred sunshine1 dinted by happy feet1 softening in their fall the sound of loving voices4 ,my own tastes and studies have led me mainly in the direction of ,natural ,history and ,archaeology2 but if you love one science1 you cannot but feel intense interest in them all4 ,how grand are the truths of ,astronomy6 ,prudhomme1 in a sonnet beautifully translated by ,arthur ,o',shaugnessy1 has pictured an ,observatory4 ,he says-- ',tis late2 the astronomer in his lonely height1 ,exploring1 all the dark1 descries afar ,orbs that like distant isles of splendor are4 ,he notices a comet1 and calculating its orbit1 finds that it will return in a thousand years-- ,the star will come4 ,it dare not by one hour ,cheat ,science1 or falsify her calculation2 ,men will have passed1 but1 watchful in the tower1 ,man shall remain in sleepless contemplation2 ,and should all men have perished in their turn1 ,truth in their place would watch that star's return4 ,ernest ,rhys well says of a student's chamber-- ,strange things pass nightly in this little room1 ,all dreary as it looks by light of day2 ,enchantment reigns here when at evening play ,red fire-light glimpses through the pallid gloom4 ,and the true student1 in ,ruskin's words1 stands on an eminence from which he looks back on the universe of ,god and forward over the generations of men4 ,even if it be true that science was dry when it was buried in huge folios1 that is certainly no longer the case now2 and ,lord ,chesterfield's wise wish1 that ,minerva might have three graces as well as ,venus1 has been amply fulfilled4 ,the study of natural history indeed seems destined to replace the loss of what is1 not very happily ,i think1 termed sport2 engraven in us as it is by the operation of thousands of years1 during which man lived greatly on the produce of the chase4 ,game is gradually becoming small by degrees and beautifully less4 ,our prehistoric ancestors hunted the mammoth1 the woolly-haired rhinoceros1 and ,irish elk2 the ancient ,britons had the wild ox1 the deer1 and the wolf4 ,we have still the pheasant1 the partridge1 the fox1 and the hare2 but even these are becoming scarcer1 and must be preserved first1 in order that they may be killed afterwards4 ,some of us even now--and more1 no doubt1 will hereafter--satisfy instincts1 essentially of the same origin1 by the study of birds1 or insects1 or even infusoria--of creatures which more than make up by their variety what they want in size4 ,emerson avers that when a naturalist has got all snakes and lizards in his phials1 science has done for him also1 and has put the man into a bottle4 ,i do not deny that there are such cases1 but they are quite exceptional4 ,the true naturalist is no mere dry collector4 ,i cannot resist1 although it is rather long1 quoting the following description from ,hudson and ,gosse's beautiful work on the ,rotifera3-- ,on the ,somersetshire side of the ,avon1 and not far from ,clifton1 is a little combe1 at the bottom of which lies an old fish-pond4 ,its slopes are covered with plantations of beech and fir1 so as to shelter the pond on three sides1 and yet leave it open to the soft south-western breezes1 and to the afternoon sun4 ,at the head of the combe wells up a clear spring1 which sends a thread of water1 trickling through a bed of osiers1 into the upper end of the pond4 ,a stout stone wall has been drawn across the combe from side to side1 so as to dam up the stream2 and there is a gap in one corner through which the overflow finds its way in a miniature cascade1 down into the lower plantation4 ,if we approach the pond by the gamekeeper's path from the cottage above1 we shall pass through the plantation1 and come unseen right on the corner of the wall2 so that one quiet step will enable us to see at a glance its whole surface1 without disturbing any living thing that may be there4 ,far off at the upper end a water-hen is leading her little brood among the willows2 on the fallen trunk of an old beech1 lying half way across the pond1 a vole is sitting erect1 rubbing his right ear1 and the splash of a beech husk just at our feet tells of a squirrel who is dining somewhere in the leafy crown above us4 ,but see1 the water-rat has spied us out1 and is making straight for his hole in the bank1 while the ripple above him is the only thing that tells of his silent flight4 ,the water-hen has long ago got under cover1 and the squirrel drops no more husks4 ,it is a true ,silent ,pond1 and without a sign of life4 ,but if1 retaining sense and sight1 we could shrink into living atoms and plunge under the water1 of what a world of wonders should we then form part6 ,we should find this fairy kingdom peopled with the strangest creatures--creatures that swim with their hair1 that have ruby eyes blazing deep in their necks1 with telescopic limbs that now are withdrawn wholly within their bodies and now stretched out to many times their own length4 ,here are some riding at anchor1 moored by delicate threads spun out from their toes2 and there are others flashing by in glass armor1 bristling with sharp spikes or ornamented with bosses and flowing curves2 while fastened to a great stem is an animal convolvulus that1 by some invisible power1 draws a never-ceasing stream of victims into its gaping cup1 and tears them to death with hooked jaws deep down within its body4 ,close by it1 on the same stem1 is something that looks like a filmy heart's-ease4 ,a curious wheelwork runs round its four outspread petals2 and a chain of minute things1 living and dead1 is winding in and out of their curves into a gulf at the back of the flower4 ,what happens to them there we cannot see2 for round the stem is raised a tube of golden-brown balls1 all regularly piled on each other4 ,some creature dashes by1 and like a flash the flower vanishes within its tube4 ,we sink still lower1 and now see on the bottom slow gliding lumps of jelly that thrust a shapeless arm out where they will1 and grasping their prey with these chance limbs1 wrap themselves round their food to get a meal2 for they creep without feet1 seize without hands1 eat without mouths1 and digest without stomachs4 ,too many1 however1 still feel only in ,nature that which we share with the weed and the worm2 they love birds as boys do--that is1 they love throwing stones at them2 or wonder if they are good to eat1 as the ,esquimaux asked about the watch2 or treat them as certain devout ,afreedee villagers are said to have treated a descendant of the ,prophet--killed him in order to worship at his tomb3 but gradually we may hope that the love of ,science--the notes we sound upon the strings of nature #b--will become to more and more1 as already it is to many1 a faithful and sacred element of human feeling4 ,science summons us ,to that cathedral1 boundless as our wonder1 ,whose quenchless lamps the sun and moon supply2 ,its choir the winds and waves1 its organ thunder1 ,its dome the sky4 #c ,where the untrained eye will see nothing but mire and dirt1 ,science will often reveal exquisite possibilities4 ,the mud we tread under our feet in the street is a grimy mixture of clay and sand1 soot and water4 ,separate the sand1 however1 as ,ruskin observes--let the atoms arrange themselves in peace according to their nature--and you have the opal4 ,separate the clay1 and it becomes a white earth1 fit for the finest porcelain2 or if it still further purifies itself1 you have a sapphire4 ,take the soot1 and if properly treated it will give you a diamond4 ,while1 lastly1 the water1 purified and distilled1 will become a dew-drop1 or crystallize into a lovely star4 ,or1 again1 you may see as you will in any shallow pool either the mud lying at the bottom1 or the image of the heavens above4 ,nay1 even if we imagine beauties and charms which do not really exist2 still if we err at all it is better to do so on the side of charity2 like ,nasmyth1 who tells us in his delightful autobiography1 that he used to think one of his friends had a charming and kindly twinkle1 and was one day surprised to discover that he had a glass eye4 ,but ,i should err indeed were ,i to dwell exclusively on science as lending interest and charm to our leisure hours4 ,far from this1 it would be impossible to overrate the importance of scientific training on the wise conduct of life4 ,science1 said the ,royal ,commission of #ahfa1 quickens and cultivates directly the faculty of observation1 which in very many persons lies almost dormant through life1 the power of accurate and rapid generalization1 and the mental habit of method and arrangement2 it accustoms young persons to trace the sequence of cause and effect2 it familiarizes them with a kind of reasoning which interests them1 and which they can promptly comprehend2 and it is perhaps the best corrective for that indolence which is the vice of half-awakened minds1 and which shrinks from any exertion that is not1 like an effort of memory1 merely mechanical4 ,again1 when we contemplate the grandeur of science1 if we transport ourselves in imagination back into primeval times1 or away into the immensity of space1 our little troubles and sorrows seem to shrink into insignificance4 ,ah1 beautiful creations6 says ,helps1 speaking of the stars1 it is not in guiding us over the seas of our little planet1 but out of the dark waters of our own perturbed minds1 that we may make to ourselves the most of your significance4 ,they teach1 he tells us elsewhere1 something significant to all of us2 and each man has a whole hemisphere of them1 if he will but look up1 to counsel and befriend him4 ,there is a passage in an address given many years ago by ,professor ,huxley to the ,south ,london ,working ,men's ,college which struck me very much at the time1 and which puts this in language more forcible than any which ,i could use4 ,suppose1 he said1 it were perfectly certain that the life and fortune of every one of us would1 one day or other1 depend upon his winning or losing a game of chess4 ,don't you think that we should all consider it to be a primary duty to learn at least the names and the moves of the pieces8 ,do you not think that we should look with a disapprobation amounting to scorn upon the father who allowed his son1 or the ,state which allowed its members1 to grow up without knowing a pawn from a knight8 ,yet it is a very plain and elementary truth that the life1 the fortune1 and the happiness of every one of us1 and more or less of those who are connected with us1 do depend upon our knowing something of the rules of a game infinitely more difficult and complicated than chess4 ,it is a game which has been played for untold ages1 every man and woman of us being one of the two players in a game of his or her own4 ,the chessboard is the world1 the pieces are the phenomena of the ,universe1 the rules of the game are what we call the laws of ,nature4 ,the player on the other side is hidden from us4 ,we know that his play is always fair1 just1 and patient4 ,but also we know to our cost that he never overlooks a mistake or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance4 ,to the man who plays well the highest stakes are paid1 with that sort of overflowing generosity which with the strong shows delight in strength4 ,and one who plays ill is checkmated--without haste1 but without remorse4 ,i have elsewhere endeavored to show the purifying and ennobling influence of science upon religion2 how it has assisted1 if indeed it may not claim the main share1 in sweeping away the dark superstitions1 the degrading belief in sorcery and witchcraft1 and the cruel1 however well-intentioned1 intolerance which embittered the ,christian world almost from the very days of the ,apostles themselves4 ,in this she has surely performed no mean service to religion itself4 ,as ,canon ,fremantle has well and justly said1 men of science1 and not the clergy only1 are ministers of religion4 ,again1 the national necessity for scientific education is imperative4 ,we are apt to forget how much we owe to science1 because so many of its wonderful gifts have become familiar parts of our everyday life1 that their very value makes us forget their origin4 ,at the recent celebration of the sexcentenary of ,peterhouse ,college1 near the close of a long dinner1 ,sir ,frederick ,bramwell was called on1 some time after midnight1 to return thanks for ,applied ,science4 ,he excused himself from making a long speech on the ground that1 though the subject was almost inexhaustible1 the only illustration which struck him as appropriate under the circumstances was the application of the domestic lucifer to the bedroom candle4 ,one cannot but feel how unfortunate was the saying of the poet that ,the light-outspeeding telegraph ,bears nothing on its beam4 ,the report of the ,royal ,commission on ,technical ,instruction1 which has recently been issued1 teems with illustrations of the advantages afforded by technical instruction4 ,at the same time1 technical training ought not to begin too soon1 for1 as ,bain truly observes1 in a right view of scientific education the first principles and leading examples1 with select details1 of all the great sciences1 are the proper basis of the complete and exhaustive study of any single science4 ,indeed1 in the words of ,sir ,john ,herschel1 it can hardly be pressed forcibly enough on the attention of the student of ,nature1 that there is scarcely any natural phenomenon which can be fully and completely explained in all its circumstances1 without a union of several1 perhaps of all1 the sciences4 ,the most important secrets of ,nature are often hidden away in unexpected places4 ,many valuable substances have been discovered in the refuse of manufactories2 and it was a happy thought of ,glauber to examine what everybody else threw away4 ,there is perhaps no nation the future happiness and prosperity of which depend more on science than our own4 ,our population is over #ce1jjj1jjj1 and is rapidly increasing4 ,even at present it is far larger than our acreage can support4 ,few people whose business does not lie in the study of statistics realize that we have to pay foreign countries no less than #adj1jjj1jjj a year for food4 ,this1 of course1 we purchase mainly by manufactured articles4 ,we hear now a great deal about depression of trade1 and foreign1 especially ,american1 competition1 which1 let me observe1 will be much keener a few years hence1 when the ,united ,states have paid off their debt1 and consequently reduced taxation4 ,but let us look forward a hundred years--no long time in the history of a nation4 ,our coal supplies will then be greatly diminished4 ,the population of ,great ,britain doubles at the present rate of increase in about fifty years1 so that we should1 if the present rate continues1 require to import over #djj1jjj1jjj a year in food4 ,how1 then1 is this to be paid for8 ,we have before us1 as usual1 three courses4 ,the natural rate of increase may be stopped1 which means suffering and outrage2 or the population may increase1 only to vegetate in misery and destitution2 or1 lastly1 by the development of scientific training and appliances1 they may probably be maintained in happiness and comfort4 ,we have1 in fact1 to make our choice between science and suffering4 ,it is only by wisely utilizing the gifts of science that we have any hope of maintaining our population in plenty and comfort4 ,science1 however1 will do this for us if we will only let her4 ,she may be no ,fairy ,godmother indeed1 but she will richly endow those who love her4 ,that discoveries1 innumerable1 marvellous1 and fruitful1 await the successful explorers of ,nature no one can doubt4 ,what would one not give for a ,science primer of the next century8 for1 to paraphrase a well-known saying1 even the boy at the plough will then know more of science than the wisest of our philosophers do now4 ,boyle entitled one of his essays ,of ,man's great ,ignorance of the ,uses of ,natural ,things2 or that there is no one thing in ,nature whereof the uses to human life are yet thoroughly understood--a saying which is still as true now as when it was written4 ,and1 lest ,i should be supposed to be taking too sanguine a view1 let me give the authority of ,sir ,john ,herschel1 who says3 ,since it cannot but be that innumerable and most important uses remain to be discovered among the materials and objects already known to us1 as well as among those which the progress of science must hereafter disclose1 we may hence conceive a well-grounded expectation1 not only of constant increase in the physical resources of mankind1 and the consequent improvement of their condition1 but of continual accession to our power of penetrating into the arcana of ,nature and becoming acquainted with her highest laws4 ,nor is it merely in a material point of view that science would thus benefit the nation4 ,she will raise and strengthen the national1 as surely as the individual1 character4 ,the great gift which ,minerva offered to ,paris is now freely tendered to all1 for we may apply to the nation1 as well as to the individual1 ,tennyson's noble lines3-- ,self-reverence1 self-knowledge1 self-control3 ,these three alone lead life to sovereign power1 ,yet not for power 7power of herself ,would come uncalled for71 but to live by law2 ,acting the law we live by without fear4 ,in the vain and foolish exultation of the heart1 said ,john ,quincy ,adams1 at the close of his final lecture on resigning his chair at ,boston1 which the brighter prospects of life will sometimes excite1 the pensive portress of ,science shall call you to the sober pleasures of her holy cell4 ,in the mortification of disappointment1 her soothing voice shall whisper serenity and peace4 ,in social converse with the mighty dead of ancient days1 you will never smart under the galling sense of dependence upon the mighty living of the present age4 ,and in your struggles with the world1 should a crisis ever occur1 when even friendship may deem it prudent to desert you1 when priest and ,levite shall come and look on you and pass by on the other side1 seek refuge1 my unfailing friends1 and be assured you shall find it1 in the friendship of ,laelius and ,scipio1 in the patriotism of ,cicero1 ,demosthenes1 and ,burke1 as well as in the precepts and example of ,him whose law is love1 and who taught us to remember injuries only to forgive them4 ,let me in conclusion quote the glowing description of our debt to science given by ,archdeacon ,farrar in his address at ,liverpool ,college--testimony1 moreover1 all the more valuable1 considering the source from which it comes4 ,in this great commercial city1 he said1 where you are surrounded by the triumphs of science and of mechanism--you1 whose river is ploughed by the great steamships whose white wake has been called the fittest avenue to the palace front of a mercantile people--you know well that in the achievements of science there is not only beauty and wonder1 but also beneficence and power4 ,it is not only that she has revealed to us infinite space crowded with unnumbered worlds2 infinite time peopled by unnumbered existences2 infinite organisms hitherto invisible but full of delicate and iridescent loveliness2 but also that she has been1 as a great ,archangel of ,mercy1 devoting herself to the service of man4 ,she has labored1 her votaries have labored1 not to increase the power of despots or to add to the magnificence of courts1 but to extend human happiness1 to economize human effort1 to extinguish human pain4 ,where of old1 men toiled1 half blinded and half naked1 in the mouth of the glowing furnace to mix the white-hot iron1 she now substitutes the mechanical action of the viewless air4 ,she has enlisted the sunbeam in her service to limn for us1 with absolute fidelity1 the faces of the friends we love4 ,she has shown the poor miner how he may work in safety1 even amid the explosive fire-damp of the mine4 ,she hits1 by her anaesthetics1 enabled the sufferer to be hushed and unconscious while the delicate hand of some skilled operator cuts a fragment from the nervous circle of the unquivering eye4 ,she points not to pyramids built during weary centuries by the sweat of miserable nations1 but to the lighthouse and the steamship1 to the railroad and the telegraph4 ,she has restored eyes to the blind and hearing to the deaf4 ,she has lengthened life1 she has minimized danger1 she has controlled madness1 she has trampled on disease4 ,and on all these grounds1 ,i think that none of our sons should grow up wholly ignorant of studies which at once train the reason and fire the imagination1 which fashion as well as forge1 which can feed as well as fill the mind4 #a ,byron4 #b ,emerson4 #c ,h4 ,smith4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,education4 ,no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth4--,,bacon4 ,divine ,philosophy6 ,not harsh and crabbed as dull fools suppose1 ,but musical as is ,apollo's lute1 ,and a perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets ,where no crude surfeit reigns4--,,milton4 ,it may seem rather surprising to include education among the pleasures of life2 for in too many cases it is made odious to the young1 and is supposed to cease with school2 while1 on the contrary1 if it is to be really successful it must be suitable1 and therefore interesting1 to children1 and must last through life4 ,the very process of acquiring knowledge is a privilege and a blessing4 ,it used to be said that there was no royal road to learning2 it would be more true to say that the avenues leading to it are all royal4 ,it is not1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1 the eye that sees the beauties of heaven1 nor the ear that hears the sweetness of music1 or the glad tidings of a prosperous accident2 but the soul that perceives all the relishes of sensual and intellectual perceptions3 and the more noble and excellent the soul is1 the greater and more savory are its perceptions4 ,and if a child behold the rich ermine1 or the diamonds of a starry night1 or the order of the world1 or hears the discourses of an apostle2 because he makes no reflex act on himself and sees not what he sees1 he can have but the pleasure of a fool or the deliciousness of a mule4 ,herein lies the importance of education4 ,i say education rather than instruction1 because it is far more important to cultivate the mind than to store the memory4 ,studies are a means and not an end4 ,to spend too much time in studies is sloth2 to use them too much for ornament is affectation2 to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar3 they perfect nature1 and are perfected by experience4444 ,crafty men contemn studies1 simple men admire them1 and wise men use them4 #a ,moreover1 though1 as ,mill says1 in the comparatively early state of human development in which we now live1 a person cannot indeed feel that entireness of sympathy with all others which would make any real discordance in the general direction of their conduct in life impossible1 yet education might surely do more to root in us the feeling of unity with our fellow-creatures4 ,at any rate1 if we do not study in this spirit1 all our learning will but leave us as weak and sad as ,faust4 ,i've now1 alas6 ,philosophy1 ,medicine and ,jurisprudence too1 ,and to my cost ,theology1 ,with ardent labor studied through1 ,and here ,i stand1 with all my lore ,poor fool1 no wiser than before4 #b ,our studies should be neither a couch on which to rest2 nor a cloister in which to promenade alone2 nor a tower from which to look down on others2 nor a fortress whence we may resist them2 nor a workshop for gain and merchandise2 but a rich armory and treasury for the glory of the creator and the ennoblement of life4 #c ,for in the noble words of ,epictetus1 you will do the greatest service to the state if you shall raise1 not the roofs of the houses1 but the souls of the citizens3 for it is better that great souls should dwell in small houses rather than for mean slaves to lurk in great houses4 ,it is then of great importance to consider whether our present system of education is the one best calculated to fulfil these great objects4 ,does it really give that love of learning which is better than learning itself8 ,does all the study of the classics to which our sons devote so many years give any just appreciation of them2 or do they not on leaving college too often feel with ,byron-- ,then farewell1 ,horace2 whom ,i hated so6 ,too much concentration on any one subject is a great mistake1 especially in early life4 ,nature herself indicates the true system1 if we would but listen to her4 ,our instincts are good guides1 though not infallible1 and children will profit little by lessons which do not interest them4 ,in cheerfulness1 says ,pliny1 is the success of our studies--studia hilaritate proveniunt--and we may with advantage take a lesson from ,theognis1 who1 in his ,ode on the ,marriage of ,cadmus and ,harmonia1 makes the ,muses sing3 ,what is good and fair1 ,shall ever be our care2 ,thus the burden of it rang1 ,that shall never be our care1 ,which is neither good nor fair4 ,such were the words your lips immortal sang4 ,there are some who seem to think that our educational system is as good as possible1 and that the only remaining points of importance are the number of schools and scholars1 the question of fees1 the relation of voluntary and board schools1 etc4 ,no doubt1 says ,mr4 ,symonds1 in his ,sketches in ,italy and ,greece1 there are many who think that when we not only advocate education but discuss the best system we are simply beating the air2 that our population is as happy and cultivated as can be1 and that no substantial advance is really possible4 ,mr4 ,galton1 however1 has expressed the opinion1 and most of those who have written on the social condition of ,athens seem to agree with him1 that the population of ,athens1 taken as a whole1 was as superior to us as we are to ,australian savages4 ,that there is1 indeed1 some truth in this1 probably no student of ,greek history will deny4 ,why1 then1 should this be so8 ,i cannot but think that our system of education is partly responsible4 ,manual and science teaching need not in any way interfere with instruction in other subjects4 ,though so much has been said about the importance of science and the value of technical instruction1 or of hand-training1 as ,i should prefer to call it1 it is unfortunately true that in our system of education1 from the highest schools downward1 both of them are sadly neglected1 and the study of language reigns supreme4 ,this is no new complaint4 ,ascham1 in ,the ,schoolmaster1 long ago lamented it2 ,milton1 in his letter to ,mr4 ,samuel ,hartlib1 complained that our children are forced to stick unreasonably in these grammatick flats and shallows2 and observes that1 though a linguist should pride himself to have all the tongues ,babel cleft the world into1 yet1 if he have not studied the solid things in them as well as the words and lexicons1 he were nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man as any yeoman or tradesman competently wise in his mother dialect only2 and ,locke said that schools fit us for the university rather than for the world4 ,commission after commission1 committee after committee1 have reiterated the same complaint4 ,how then do we stand now8 ,i see it indeed constantly stated that1 even if the improvement is not so rapid as could be desired1 still we are making considerable progress4 ,but is this so8 ,i fear not4 ,i fear that our present system does not really train the mind1 or cultivate the power of observation1 or even give the amount of information which we may reasonably expect from the time devoted to it4 ,sir ,m4 ,e4 ,grant-,duff has expressed the opinion that a boy or girl of fourteen might reasonably be expected to read aloud clearly and agreeably1 to write a large distinct round hand1 and to know the ordinary rules of arithmetic1 especially compound addition--a by no means universal accomplishment2 to speak and write ,french with ease and correctness1 and have some slight acquaintance with ,french literature2 to translate ad aperturam libri from an ordinary ,french or ,german book2 to have a thoroughly good elementary knowledge of geography1 under which are comprehended some notions of astronomy--enough to excite his curiosity2 a knowledge of the very broadest facts of geology and history--enough to make him understand1 in a clear but perfectly general way1 how the larger features of the world he lives in1 physical and political1 came to be like what they are2 to have been trained from earliest infancy to use his powers of observation on plants1 or animals1 or rocks1 or other natural objects2 and to have gathered a general acquaintance with what is most supremely good in that portion of the more important ,english classics which is suitable to his time of life2 to have some rudimentary acquaintance with drawing and music4 ,to effect this1 no doubt1 industry must be our oracle1 and reason our ,apollo1 as ,sir ,t4 ,browne says2 but surely it is no unreasonable estimate2 yet how far do we fall short of it8 ,general culture is often deprecated because it is said that smatterings are useless4 ,but there is all the difference in the world between having a smattering of1 or being well grounded in1 a subject4 ,it is the latter which we advocate--to try to know1 as ,lord ,brougham well said1 everything of something1 and something of everything4 ,it can hardly1 says ,sir ,john ,herschel1 be pressed forcibly enough on the attention of the student of nature1 that there is scarcely any natural phenomenon which can be fully and completely explained1 in all its circumstances1 without a union of several1 perhaps of all1 the sciences4 ,the present system in most of our public schools and colleges sacrifices everything else to classics and arithmetic4 ,they are most important subjects1 but ought not to exclude science and modern languages4 ,moreover1 after all1 our sons leave college unable to speak either ,latin or ,greek1 and too often absolutely without any interest in classical history or literature4 ,but the boy who has been educated without any training in science has grave reason to complain of knowledge to one entrance quite shut out4 ,by concentrating the attention1 indeed1 so much on one or two subjects1 we defeat our own object1 and produce a feeling of distaste where we wish to create an interest4 ,our great mistake in education is1 as it seems to me1 the worship of book-learning--the confusion of instruction and education4 ,we strain the memory instead of cultivating the mind4 ,the children in our elementary schools are wearied by the mechanical act of writing1 and the interminable intricacies of spelling2 they are oppressed by columns of dates1 by lists of kings and places1 which convey no definite idea to their minds1 and have no near relation to their daily wants and occupations2 while in our public schools the same unfortunate results are produced by the weary monotony of ,latin and ,greek grammar4 ,we ought to follow exactly the opposite course with children--to give them a wholesome variety of mental food1 and endeavor to cultivate their tastes1 rather than to fill their minds with dry facts4 ,the important thing is not so much that every child should be taught1 as that every child should be given the wish to learn4 ,what does it matter if the pupil know a little more or a little less8 ,a boy who leaves school knowing much1 but hating his lessons1 will soon have forgotten almost all he ever learned2 while another who had acquired a thirst for knowledge1 even if he had learned little1 would soon teach himself more than the first ever knew4 ,children are by nature eager for information4 ,they are always putting questions4 ,this ought to be encouraged4 ,in fact1 we may to a great extent trust to their instincts1 and in that case they will do much to educate themselves4 ,too often1 however1 the acquirement of knowledge is placed before them in a form so irksome and fatiguing that all desire for information is choked1 or even crushed out2 so that our schools1 in fact1 become places for the discouragement of learning1 and thus produce the very opposite effect from that at which we aim4 ,in short1 children should be trained to observe and to think1 for in that way there would be opened out to them a source of the purest enjoyment for leisure hours1 and the wisest judgment in the work of life4 ,another point in which ,i venture to think that our system of education might be amended1 is that it tends at present to give the impression that everything is known4 ,dr4 ,busby is said to have kept his hat on in the presence of ,king ,charles1 that the boys might see what a great man he was4 ,i doubt1 however1 whether the boys were deceived by the hat2 and am very skeptical about ,dr4 ,busby's theory of education4 ,master ,john of ,basingstoke1 who was ,archdeacon of ,leicester in #abeb1 learned ,greek during a visit to ,athens1 from ,constantina1 daughter of the ,archbishop of ,athens1 and used to say afterwards that though he had studied well and diligently at the ,university of ,paris1 yet he learned more from an ,athenian maiden of twenty4 ,we cannot all study so pleasantly as this1 but the main fault ,i find with ,dr4 ,busby's system is that it keeps out of sight the great fact of human ignorance4 ,boys are given the impression that the masters know everything4 ,if1 on the contrary1 the great lesson impressed on them was that what we know is as nothing to what we do not know1 that the great ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before us1 surely this would prove a great stimulus1 and many would be nobly anxious to enlarge the boundaries of human knowledge1 and extend the intellectual kingdom of man4 ,philosophy1 says ,aristotle1 begins in wonder1 for ,iris is the child of ,thaumas4 ,education ought not to cease when we leave school2 but if well begun there1 will continue through life4 ,moreover1 whatever our occupation or profession in life may be1 it is most desirable to create for ourselves some other special interest4 ,in the choice of a subject every one should consult his own instincts and interests1 ,i will not attempt to suggest whether it is better to pursue art or science2 whether we should study the motes in the sunbeam1 or the heavenly bodies themselves4 ,whatever may be the subject of our choice1 we shall find enough1 and more than enough1 to repay the devotion of a lifetime4 ,life no doubt is paved with enjoyments1 but we must all expect times of anxiety1 of suffering1 and of sorrow2 and when these come it is an inestimable comfort to have some deep interest which will1 at any rate to some extent1 enable us to escape from ourselves4 ,a cultivated mind1 says ,mill--,i do not mean that of a philosopher1 but any mind to which the fountains of knowledge have been opened1 and which has been taught in any tolerable degree to exercise its faculties--will find sources of inexhaustible interest in all that surrounds it2 in the objects of nature1 the achievements of art1 the imaginations of poetry1 the incidents of history1 the ways of mankind1 past and present1 and their prospects in the future4 ,it is possible1 indeed1 to become indifferent to all this1 and that too without having exhausted a thousandth part of it2 but only when one has had from the beginning no moral or human interest in these things1 and has sought in them only the gratification of curiosity4 ,i have been subjected to some good-natured banter for having said that ,i looked forward to a time when our artisans and mechanics would be great readers4 ,but it is surely not unreasonable to regard our social condition as susceptible of great improvement4 ,the spread of schools1 the cheapness of books1 the establishment of free libraries will1 it may be hoped1 exercise a civilizing and ennobling influence4 ,they will even1 ,i believe1 do much to diminish poverty and suffering1 so much of which is due to ignorance and to the want of interest and brightness in uneducated life4 ,so far as our elementary schools are concerned1 there is no doubt much difficulty in apportioning the ,national ,grant without unduly stimulating mere mechanical instruction4 ,but this is not the place to discuss the subject of religious or moral training1 or the system of apportioning the grant4 ,if we succeed in giving the love of learning1 the learning itself is sure to follow4 ,we should therefore endeavor to educate our children so that every country walk may be a pleasure2 that the discoveries of science may be a living interest2 that our national history and poetry may be sources of legitimate pride and rational enjoyment4 ,in short1 our schools1 if they are to be worthy of the name--if they are to fulfil their high function--must be something more than mere places of dry study2 they must train the children educated in them so that they may be able to appreciate and enjoy those intellectual gifts which might be1 and ought to be1 a source of interest and of happiness1 alike to the high and to the low1 to the rich and to the poor4 ,a wise system of education will at least teach us how little man yet knows1 how much he has still to learn2 it will enable us to realize that those who complain of the tiresome monotony of life have only themselves to blame2 and that knowledge is pleasure as well as power4 ,it will lead us all to try with ,milton to behold the bright countenance of truth in the quiet and still air of study1 and to feel with ,bacon that no pleasure is comparable is the standing upon the vantage ground of truth4 ,we should then indeed realize in part1 for as yet we cannot do so fully1 the sacred trusts of health1 strength1 and time1 and how thankful we ought to be for the inestimable gift of life4 #a ,bacon4 #b ,goethe4 #c ,bacon4 ,,end ,,of ,,part ,i4 ,,the ,,pleasures ,,of ,,life4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,preface ,and what is writ is writ-- ,would it were worthier4 ,,byron4 ,herewith ,i launch the conclusion of my subject4 ,perhaps ,i am unwise in publishing a second part4 ,the first was so kindly received that ,i am running a risk in attempting to add to it4 ,in the preface1 however1 to the first part ,i have expressed the hope that the thoughts and quotations in which ,i have found most comfort and delight1 might be of use to others also4 ,in this my most sanguine hopes have been more than realized4 ,not only has the book passed through thirteen editions in less than two years1 but the many letters which ,i have received have been most gratifying4 ,two criticisms have been repeated by several of those who have done me the honor of noticing my previous volume4 ,it has been said in the first place that my life has been exceptionally bright and full1 and that ,i cannot therefore judge for others4 ,nor do ,i attempt to do so4 ,i do not forget1 ,i hope ,i am not ungrateful for1 all that has been bestowed on me4 ,but if ,i have been greatly favored1 ought ,i not to be on that very account especially qualified to write on such a theme8 ,moreover1 ,i have had1--who has not1--my own sorrows4 ,again1 some have complained that there is too much quotation--too little of my own4 ,this ,i take to be in reality a great compliment4 ,i have not striven to be original4 ,if1 as ,i have been assured by many1 my book have proved a comfort1 and have been able to cheer in the hour of darkness1 that is indeed an ample reward1 and is the utmost ,i have ever hoped4 ,,high ,,elms1 ,,down1 ,,kent1 ,april #ahhi4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,ambition4 ,fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise 7,that last infirmity of noble minds7 ,to scorn delights and live laborious days4 ,,milton4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,ambition4 ,if fame be the last infirmity of noble minds1 ambition is often the first2 though1 when properly directed1 it may be no feeble aid to virtue4 ,had not my youthful mind1 says ,cicero1 from many precepts1 from many writings1 drunk in this truth1 that glory and virtue ought to be the darling1 nay1 the only wish in life2 that1 to attain these1 the torments of the flesh1 with the perils of death and exile1 are to be despised2 never had ,i exposed my person in so many encounters1 and to these daily conflicts with the worst of men1 for your deliverance4 ,but1 on this head1 books are full2 the voice of the wise is full2 the examples of antiquity are full3 and all these the night of barbarism had still enveloped1 had it not been enlightened by the sun of science4 ,the poet tells us that ,the many fail3 the one succeeds4 #a ,but this is scarcely true4 ,all succeed who deserve1 though not perhaps as they hoped4 ,an honorable defeat is better than a mean victory1 and no one is really the worse for being beaten1 unless he loses heart4 ,though we may not be able to attain1 that is no reason why we should not aspire4 ,i know1 says ,morris1 ,how far high failure overleaps the bound ,of low successes4 ,and ,bacon assures us that if a man look sharp and attentively he shall see fortune2 for though she is blind1 she is not invisible4 ,to give ourselves a reasonable prospect of success we must realize what we hope to achieve2 and then make the most of our opportunities4 ,of these the use of time is one of the most important4 ,what have we to do with time1 asks ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 but to fill it up with labor4 ,at the battle of ,montebello1 said ,napoleon1 ,i ordered ,kellermann to attack with #hjj horse1 and with these he separated the #fjjj ,hungarian grenadiers before the very eyes of the ,austrian cavalry4 ,this cavalry was half a league off1 and required a quarter of an hour to arrive on the field of action2 and ,i have observed that it is always these quarters of an hour that decide the fate of a battle1 including1 we may add1 the battle of life4 ,nor must we spare ourselves in other ways1 for ,he who thinks in strife ,to earn a deathless fame1 must do1 nor ever care for life4 #b ,in the excitement of the struggle1 moreover1 he will suffer comparatively little from wounds and blows which would otherwise cause intense suffering4 ,it is well to weigh scrupulously the object in view1 to run as little risk as may be1 to count the cost with care4 ,but when the mind is once made up1 there must be no looking back1 you must spare yourself no labor1 nor shrink from danger4 ,he either fears his fate too much ,or his deserts are small1 ,that dares not put it to the touch ,to gain or lose it all4 #c ,glory1 says ,renan1 is after all the thing which has the best chance of not being altogether vanity4 ,but what is glory8 ,marcus ,aurelius observes that a spider is proud when it has caught a fly1 a man when he has caught a hare1 another when he has taken a little fish in a net1 another when he has taken wild boars1 another when he has taken bears1 and another when he has taken ,sarmatians2 #d but this1 if from one point of view it shows the vanity of fame1 also encourages us with the evidence that every one may succeed if his objects are but reasonable4 ,alexander may be taken as almost a type of ,ambition in its usual form1 though carried to an extreme4 ,his desire was to conquer1 not to inherit or to rule4 ,when news was brought that his father ,philip had taken some town1 or won some battle1 instead of appearing delighted with it1 he used to say to his companions1 ,my father will go on conquering1 till there be nothing extraordinary left for you and me to do4 #e ,he is said even to have been mortified at the number of the stars1 considering that he had not been able to conquer one world4 ,such ambition is justly foredoomed to disappointment4 ,the remarks of ,philosophers on the vanity of ambition refer generally to that unworthy form of which ,alexander may be taken as the type--the idea of self-exaltation1 not only without any reference to the happiness1 but even regardless of the sufferings1 of others4 ,a continual and restless search after fortune1 says ,bacon1 takes up too much of their time who have nobler things to observe4 ,indeed he elsewhere extends this1 and adds1 ,no man's private fortune can be an end any way worthy of his existence4 ,goethe well observes that man exists for culture2 not for what he can accomplish1 but for what can be accomplished in him4 #f ,as regards fame we must not confuse name and essence4 ,to be remembered is not necessarily to be famous4 ,there is infamy as well as fame2 and unhappily almost as many are remembered for the one as for the other1 and not a few for the mixture of both4 ,who would not rather be forgotten1 than recollected as ,ahab or ,jezebel1 ,nero or ,commodus1 ,messalina or ,heliogabalus1 ,king ,john or ,richard ,,iii48 ,to be nameless in worthy deeds exceeds an infamous history4 ,the ,canaanitish woman lives more happily without a name than ,herodias with one2 and who would not rather have been the good thief than ,pilate8 #g ,kings and ,generals are often remembered as much for their deaths as for their lives1 for their misfortunes as for their successes4 ,the ,hero of ,thermopylae was ,leonidas1 not ,xerxes4 ,alexander's ,empire fell to pieces at his death4 ,napoleon was a great genius1 though no ,hero4 ,but what came of all his victories8 ,they passed away like the smoke of his guns1 and he left ,france weaker1 poorer1 and smaller than he found her4 ,the most lasting result of his genius is no military glory1 but the ,code ,napolon4 ,a surer and more glorious title to fame is that of those who are remembered for some act of justice or self-devotion3 the self-sacrifice of ,leonidas1 the good faith of ,regulus1 are the glories of history4 ,in some cases where men have been called after places1 the men are remembered1 while the places are forgotten4 ,when we speak of ,palestrina or ,perugino1 of ,nelson or ,wellington1 of ,newton or ,darwin1 who remembers the towns8 ,we think only of the men4 ,goethe has been called the soul of his century4 ,it is true that we have but meagre biographies of ,shakespeare or of ,plato2 yet how much we know about them4 ,statesmen and ,generals enjoy great celebrity during their lives4 ,the newspapers chronicle every word and movement4 ,but the fame of the ,philosopher and ,poet is more enduring4 ,wordsworth deprecates monuments to ,poets1 with some exceptions1 on this very account4 ,the case of ,statesmen1 he says1 is different4 ,it is right to commemorate them because they might otherwise be forgotten2 but ,poets live in their books forever4 ,the real conquerors of the world indeed are not the generals but the thinkers2 not ,genghis ,khan and ,akbar1 ,rameses1 or ,alexander1 but ,confucius and ,buddha1 ,aristotle1 ,plato1 and ,christ4 ,the rulers and kings who reigned over our ancestors have for the most part long since sunk into oblivion--they are forgotten for want of some sacred bard to give them life--or are remembered1 like ,suddhodana and ,pilate1 from their association with higher spirits4 ,such men's lives cannot be compressed into any biography4 ,they lived not merely in their own generation1 but for all time4 ,when we speak of the ,elizabethan period we think of ,shakespeare and ,bacon1 ,raleigh and ,spenser4 ,the ministers and secretaries of state1 with one or two exceptions1 we scarcely remember1 and ,bacon himself is recollected less as the ,judge than as the ,philosopher4 ,moreover1 to what do ,generals and ,statesmen owe their fame8 ,they were celebrated for their deeds1 but to the ,poet and the ,historian they owe their fame1 and to the ,poet and ,historian we owe their glorious memories and the example of their virtues4 ,vixere fortes ante ,agamemnona ,multi2 sed omnes illacrimabiles ,urgentur ignotique long ,nocte1 carent quia vate sacro4 ,there were many brave men before ,agamemnon1 but their memory has perished because they were celebrated by no divine ,bard4 ,montrose happily combined the two1 when in ,my dear and only love he promises1 ,i'll make thee glorious by my pen1 ,and famous by my sword4 ,it is remarkable1 and encouraging1 how many of the greatest men have risen from the lowest rank1 and triumphed over obstacles which might well have seemed insurmountable2 nay1 even obscurity itself may be a source of honor4 ,the very doubts as to ,homer's birthplace have contributed to this glory1 seven cities as we all know laying claim to the great poet-- ,smyrna1 ,chios1 ,colophon1 ,salamis1 ,rhodos1 ,argos1 ,athenae4 ,to take men of ,science only4 ,ray was the son of a blacksmith1 ,watt of a shipwright1 ,franklin of a tallow-chandler1 ,dalton of a handloom weaver1 ,franhofer of a glazier1 ,laplace of a farmer1 ,linnaeus of a poor curate1 ,faraday of a blacksmith1 ,lamarck of a banker's clerk2 ,davy was an apothecary's assistant1 ,galileo1 ,kepler1 ,sprengel1 ,cuvier1 and ,sir ,w4 ,herschel were all children of very poor parents4 ,it is1 on the other hand1 sad to think how many of our greatest benefactors are unknown even by name4 ,who discovered the art of procuring fire8 ,prometheus is merely the personification of forethought4 ,who invented letters8 ,cadmus is a mere name4 ,these inventions1 indeed1 are lost in the mists of antiquity1 but even as regards recent progress the steps are often so gradual1 and so numerous1 that few inventions can be attributed entirely1 or even mainly1 to any one person4 ,columbus is said1 and truly said1 to have discovered ,america1 though the ,northmen were there before him4 ,we ,englishmen have every reason to be proud of our fellow-countrymen4 ,to take ,philosophers and men of ,science only1 ,bacon and ,hobbes' ,locke and ,berkeley1 ,hume and ,hamilton1 will always be associated with the progress of human thought2 ,newton with gravitation1 ,adam ,smith with ,political ,economy1 ,young with the undulatory theory of light1 ,herschel with the discovery of ,uranus and the study of the star depths1 ,lord ,worcester1 ,trevethick1 and ,watt with the steam-engine1 ,wheatstone with the electric telegraph1 ,jenner with the banishment of smallpox1 ,simpson with the practical application of anaesthetics1 and ,darwin with the creation of modern ,natural ,history4 ,these men1 and such as these1 have made our history and moulded our opinions2 and though during life they may have occupied1 comparatively1 an insignificant space in the eyes of their countrymen1 they became at length an irresistible power1 and have now justly grown to a glorious memory4 #a ,tennyson4 #b ,beowulf4 #c ,montrose4 #d ,he is referring here to one of his expeditions4 #e ,plutarch4 #f ,emerson4 #g ,sir ,j4 ,browne4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,wealth4 ,the rich and poor meet together3 the ,lord is the maker of them all4--,,proverbs ,,of ,,solomon4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,wealth4 ,ambition often takes the form of a love of money4 ,there are many who have never attempted ,art or ,music1 ,poetry or ,science2 but most people do something for a livelihood1 and consequently an increase of income is not only acceptable in itself1 but gives a pleasant feeling of success4 ,doubt is often expressed whether wealth is any advantage4 ,i do not myself believe that those who are born1 as the saying is1 with a silver spoon in their mouth1 are necessarily any the happier for it4 ,no doubt wealth entails almost more labor than poverty1 and certainly more anxiety4 ,still it must1 ,i think1 be confessed that the possession of an income1 whatever it may be1 which increases somewhat as the years roll on1 does add to the comfort of life4 ,unquestionably the possession of wealth is by no means unattended by drawbacks4 ,money and the love of money often go together4 ,the poor man1 as ,emerson says1 is the man who wishes to be rich2 and the more a man has1 the more he often longs to be richer4 ,just as drinking often does but increase thirst2 so in many cases the craving for riches does grow with wealth4 ,this is1 of course1 especially the case when money is sought for its own sake4 ,moreover1 it is often easier to make money than to keep or to enjoy it4 ,keeping it is dull and anxious drudgery4 ,the dread of loss may hang like a dark cloud over life4 ,apicius1 when he squandered most of his patrimony1 but had still #bej1jjj crowns left1 committed suicide1 as ,seneca tells us1 for fear he should die of hunger4 ,wealth is certainly no sinecure4 ,moreover1 the value of money depends partly on knowing what to do with it1 partly on the manner in which it is acquired4 ,acquire money1 thy friends say1 that we also may have some4 ,if ,i can acquire money and also keep myself modest1 and faithful1 and magnanimous1 point out the way1 and ,i will acquire it4 ,but if you ask me to love the things which are good and my own1 in order that you may gain things that are not good1 see how unfair and unwise you are4 ,for which would you rather have8 ,money1 or a faithful and modest friend4444 ,what hinders a man1 who has clearly comprehended these things1 from living with a light heart1 and bearing easily the reins1 quietly expecting everything which can happen1 and enduring that which has already happened8 ,would you have me to bear poverty8 ,come1 and you will know what poverty is when it has found one who can act well the part of a poor man4 #a ,we must bear in mind ,solon's answer to ,croesus1 ,sir1 if any other come that hath better iron than you1 he will be master of all this gold4 ,midas is another case in point4 ,he prayed that everything he touched might be turned into gold1 and this prayer was granted4 ,his wine turned to gold1 his bread turned to gold1 his clothes1 his very bed4 ,attonitus novitate mali1 divesque miserque1 ,effugere optat opes1 et quae modo voverat1 odit4 ,he is by no means the only man who has suffered from too much gold4 ,the real truth ,i take to be that wealth is not necessarily an advantage1 but that whether it is so or not depends on the use we make of it4 ,the same1 however1 might be said of most other opportunities and privileges2 ,knowledge and ,strength1 ,beauty and ,skill1 may all be abused2 if we neglect or misuse them we are worse off than if we had never had them4 ,wealth is only a disadvantage in the hands of those who do not know how to use it4 ,it gives the command of so many other things--leisure1 the power of helping friends1 books1 works of art1 opportunities and means of travel4 ,it would1 however1 be easy to exaggerate the advantages of money4 ,it is well worth having1 and worth working for1 but it does not requite too great a sacrifice2 not indeed so great as is often offered up to it4 ,a wise proverb tells us that gold may be bought too dear4 ,if wealth is to be valued because it gives leisure1 clearly it would be a mistake to sacrifice leisure in the struggle for wealth4 ,money has no doubt also a tendency to make men poor in spirit4 ,but1 on the other hand1 what gift is there which is without danger8 ,euripides said that money finds friends for men1 and has great 7he said the greatest7 power among ,mankind1 cynically adding1 ,a mighty person indeed is a rich man1 especially if his heir be unknown4 ,bossuet tells us that he had no attachment to riches1 still if he had only what was barely necessary1 he felt himself narrowed1 and would lose more than half his talents4 ,shelley was certainly not an avaricious man1 and yet ,i desire money1 he said1 because ,i think ,i know the use of it4 ,it commands labor1 it gives leisure2 and to give leisure to those who will employ it in the forwarding of truth is the noblest present an individual can make to the whole4 ,many will have felt with ,pepys when he quaintly and piously says1 ,abroad with my wife1 the first time that ever ,i rode in my own coach2 which do make my heart rejoice and praise ,god1 and pray him to bless it to me1 and continue it4 ,this1 indeed1 was a somewhat selfish satisfaction4 ,yet the merchant need not quit nor be ashamed of his profession1 bearing in mind only the inscription on the ,church of ,st4 ,giacomo de ,rialto at ,venice3 ,around this temple let the merchant's law be just1 his weight true1 and his covenants faithful4 #b ,if life has been sacrificed to the rolling up of money for its own sake1 the very means by which it was acquired will prevent its being enjoyed2 the chill of poverty will have entered into the very bones4 ,the term ,miser was happily chosen for such persons2 they are essentially miserable4 ,a collector peeps into all the picture shops of ,europe for a landscape of ,poussin1 a crayon sketch of ,salvator2 but the ,transfiguration1 the ,last ,judgment1 the ,communion of ,st4 ,jerome1 and what are as transcendent as these1 are on the walls of the ,vatican1 the ,uffizi1 or the ,louvre1 where every footman may see them3 to say nothing of ,nature's pictures in every street1 of sunsets and sunrises every day1 and the sculpture of the human body never absent4 ,a collector recently bought at public auction in ,london1 for one hundred and fifty-seven guineas1 an autograph of ,shakespeare3 but for nothing a schoolboy can read ,hamlet1 and can detect secrets of highest concernment yet unpublished therein4 #c ,and yet ,what hath the owner but the sight of it with his eyes4 #d ,we are really richer than we think4 ,we often hear of ,earth hunger4 ,people envy a great ,landlord1 and fancy how delightful it must be to possess a large estate4 ,but1 as ,emerson says1 if you own land1 the land owns you4 ,moreover1 have we not all1 in a better sense--have we not all thousands of acres of our own8 ,the commons1 and roads1 and footpaths1 and the seashore1 our grand and varied coast--these are all ours4 ,the sea-coast has1 moreover1 two great advantages4 ,in the first place1 it is for the most part but little interfered with by man1 and in the second it exhibits most instructively the forces of ,nature4 ,we are all great landed proprietors1 if we only knew it4 ,what we lack is not land1 but the power to enjoy it4 ,moreover1 this great inheritance has the additional advantage that it entails no labor1 requires no management4 ,the landlord has the trouble1 but the landscape belongs to every one who has eyes to see it4 ,thus ,kingsley called the heaths round ,eversley his winter garden2 not because they were his in the eye of the law1 but in that higher sense in which ten thousand persons may own the same thing4 #a ,epictetus4 #b ,ruskin4 #c ,emerson4 #d ,solomon4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,health4 ,health is best for mortal man2 next beauty2 thirdly1 well gotten wealth2 fourthly1 the pleasures of youth among friends4 ,,simonides4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,health4 ,but if there has been some difference of opinion as to the advantage of wealth1 with reference to health all are agreed4 ,health1 said ,simonides long ago1 is best for mortal man2 next beauty2 thirdly1 well gotten wealth2 fourthly1 the pleasure of youth among friends4 ,life1 says ,longfellow1 without health is a burden1 with health is a joy and gladness4 ,empedocles delivered the people of ,selinus from a pestilence by draining a marsh1 and was hailed as a ,demigod4 ,we are told that a coin was struck in his honor1 representing the ,philosopher in the act of staying the hand of ,phoebus4 ,we scarcely realize1 ,i think1 how much we owe to ,doctors4 ,our system of ,medicine seems so natural and obvious that it hardly occurs to us as somewhat new and exceptional4 ,when we are ill we send for a ,physician2 he prescribes some medicine2 we take it1 and pay his fee4 ,but among the lower races of men pain and illness are often attributed to the presence of evil spirits4 ,the ,medicine ,man is a ,priest1 or rather a ,sorcerer1 more than a true ,doctor1 and his effort is to exorcise the evil spirit4 ,in other countries where some advance has been made1 a charm is written on a board1 washed off1 and drunk4 ,in some cases the medicine is taken1 not by the patient1 but by the ,doctor4 ,such a system1 however1 is generally transient2 it is naturally discouraged by the ,profession1 and is indeed incompatible with a large practice4 ,even as regards the payment we find very different systems4 ,the ,chinese pay their medical man as long as they are well1 and stop his salary as soon as they are ill4 ,in ancient ,egypt we are told that the patient feed the ,doctor for the first few days1 after which the ,doctor paid the patient until he made him well4 ,this is a fascinating system1 but might afford too much temptation to heroic remedies4 ,on the whole our plan seems the best1 though it does not offer adequate encouragement to discovery and research4 ,we do not appreciate how much we owe to the discoveries of such men as ,hunter and ,jenner1 ,simpson and ,lister4 ,and yet in the matter of health we can generally do more for ourselves than the greatest ,doctors can for us4 ,but if all are agreed as to the blessing of health1 there are many who will not take the little trouble1 or submit to the slight sacrifices1 necessary to maintain it4 ,many1 indeed1 deliberately ruin their own health1 and incur the certainty of an early grave1 or an old age of suffering4 ,no doubt some inherit a constitution which renders health almost unattainable4 ,pope spoke of that long disease1 his life4 ,many indeed may say1 ,i suffer1 therefore ,i am4 ,but happily these cases are exceptional4 ,most of us might be well1 if we would4 ,it is very much our own fault that we are ill4 ,we do those things which we ought not to do1 and we leave undone those things which we ought to have done1 and then we wonder there is no health in us4 ,we all know that we can make ourselves ill1 but few perhaps realize how much we can do to keep ourselves well4 ,much of our suffering is self-inflicted4 ,it has been observed that among the ancient ,egyptians the chief aim of life seemed to be to be well buried4 ,many1 however1 live even now as if this were the principal object of their existence4 ,like ,naaman1 we expect our health to be the subject of some miraculous interference1 and neglect the homely precautions by which it might be secured4 ,i am inclined to doubt whether the study of health is sufficiently impressed on the minds of those entering life4 ,not that it is desirable to potter over minor ailments1 to con over books on illnesses1 or experiment on ourselves with medicine4 ,far from it4 ,the less we fancy ourselves ill1 or bother about little bodily discomforts1 the more likely perhaps we are to preserve our health4 ,it is1 however1 a different matter to study the general conditions of health4 ,a well-known proverb tells us that every one is a fool or a physician at forty4 ,unfortunately1 however1 many persons are invalids at forty as well as physicians4 ,ill-health1 however1 is no excuse for moroseness4 ,if we have one disease we may at least congratulate ourselves that we are escaping all the rest4 ,sydney ,smith1 ever ready to look on the bright side of things1 once1 when borne down by suffering1 wrote to a friend that he had gout1 asthma1 and seven other maladies1 but was otherwise very well2 and many of the greatest invalids have borne their sufferings with cheerfulness and good spirits4 ,it is said that the celebrated physiognomist1 ,campanella1 could so abstract his attention from any sufferings of his body1 that he was even able to endure the rack without much pain2 and whoever has the power of concentrating his attention and controlling his will1 can emancipate himself from most of the minor miseries of life4 ,he may have much cause for anxiety1 his body may be the seat of severe suffering1 and yet his mind will remain serene and unaffected2 he may triumph over care and pain4 ,but many have undergone much unnecessary suffering1 and valuable lives have often been lost1 through ignorance or carelessness4 ,we cannot but fancy that the lives of many great men might have been much prolonged by the exercise of a little ordinary care4 ,if we take musicians only1 what a grievous loss to the world it is that ,pergolesi should have died at twenty-six1 ,schubert at thirty-one1 ,mozart at thirty-five1 ,purcell at thirty-seven1 and ,mendelssohn at thirty-eight4 ,in the old ,greek myth the life of ,meleager was indissolubly connected by fate with the existence of a particular log of wood4 ,as long as this was kept safe by ,althaea1 his mother1 ,meleager bore a charmed life4 ,it seems wonderful that we do not watch with equal care over our body1 on the state of which happiness so much depends4 ,the requisites of health are plain enough2 regular habits1 daily exercise1 cleanliness1 and moderation in all things--in eating as well as in drinking--would keep most people well4 ,i need not here dwell on the evils of drinking1 but we perhaps scarcely realize how much of the suffering and ill-humor of life is due to over-eating4 ,dyspepsia1 for instance1 from which so many suffer1 is in nine cases out of ten their own fault1 and arises from the combination of too much food with too little exercise4 ,to lengthen your life1 says an old proverb1 shorten your meals4 ,plain living and high thinking will secure health for most of us1 though it matters1 perhaps1 comparatively little what a healthy man eats1 so long as he does not eat too much4 ,mr4 ,gladstone has told us that the splendid health he enjoys is greatly due to his having early learnt one simple physiological maxim1 and laid it down as a rule for himself always to make twenty-five bites at every bit of meat4 ,go to your banquet then1 but use delight1 ,so as to rise still with an appetite4 #a ,no doubt1 however1 though the rule not to eat or drink too much is simple enough in theory1 it is not quite so easy in application4 ,there have been many ,esaus who sold their birthright of health for a mess of pottage4 ,moreover1 it may seem paradoxical1 but it is certainly true1 that in the long run the moderate man will derive more enjoyment even from eating and drinking1 than the glutton or the drunkard will ever obtain4 ,they know not what it is to enjoy the exquisite taste of common dry bread4 #b ,and yet even if we were to consider merely the pleasure to be derived from eating and drinking1 the same rule would hold good4 ,a lunch of bread and cheese after a good walk is more enjoyable than a ,lord ,mayor's feast4 ,without wishing1 like ,apicius1 for the neck of a stork1 so that he might enjoy his dinner longer1 we must not be ungrateful for the enjoyment we derive from eating and drinking1 even though they be amongst the least aesthetic of our pleasures4 ,they are homely1 no doubt1 but they come morning1 noon1 and night1 and are not the less real because they have reference to the body rather than the soul4 ,we speak truly of a healthy appetite1 for it is a good test of our bodily condition2 and indeed in some cases of our mental state also4 ,that ,there cometh no good thing ,apart from toil to mortals1 is especially true with reference to appetite2 to sit down to a dinner1 however simple1 after a walk with a friend among the mountains or along the shore1 is no insignificant pleasure4 ,cheerfulness and good humor1 moreover1 during meals are not only pleasant in themselves1 but conduce greatly to health4 ,it has been said that hunger is the best sauce1 but most would prefer some good stories at a feast even to a good appetite2 and who would not like to have it said of him1 as of ,biron by ,rosaline-- ,a merrier man ,within the limit of becoming mirth ,i never spent an hour's talk withal4 ,in the three great ,banquets of ,plato1 ,xenophon1 and ,plutarch1 the food is not even mentioned4 ,in the words of the old ,lambeth adage-- ,what is a merry man8 ,let him do what he can ,to entertain his guests ,with wine and pleasant jests1 ,yet if his wife do frown ,all merryment goes down4 ,what salt is to food1 wit and humor are to conversation and literature4 ,you do not1 an amusing writer in the ,cornhill has said1 expect humor in ,thomas ,kempis or ,hebrew ,prophets2 but we have ,solomon's authority that there is a time to laugh1 as well as to weep4 ,to read a good comedy is to keep the best company in the world1 when the best things are said1 and the most amusing things happen4 #c ,it is not without reason that every one resents the imputation of being unable to see a joke4 ,laughter appears to be the special prerogative of man4 ,the higher animals present us with proof of evident1 if not highly developed reasoning power1 but it is more than doubtful whether they are capable of appreciating a joke4 ,wit1 moreover1 has solved many difficulties and decided many controversies4 ,ridicule shall frequently prevail1 ,and cut the knot when graver reasons fail4 #d ,a careless song1 says ,walpole1 with a little nonsense in it now and then1 does not misbecome a monarch1 but it is difficult now to realize that ,james ,i4 should have regarded skill in punning in his selections of bishops and privy councillors4 ,the most wasted of all days1 says ,chamfort1 is that on which one has not laughed4 ,it is1 moreover1 no small merit of laughter that it is quite spontaneous4 ,you cannot force people to laugh2 you cannot give a reason why they should laugh2 they must laugh of themselves or not at all4444 ,if we think we must not laugh1 this makes our temptation to laugh the greater4 #e ,humor is1 moreover1 contagious4 ,a witty man may say1 as ,falstaff does of himself1 ,i am not only witty in myself1 but the cause that wit is in other men4 ,but one may paraphrase the well-known remark about port wine and say that some jokes may be better than others1 but anything which makes one laugh is good4 ,after all1 says ,dryden1 it is a good thing to laugh at any rate2 and if a straw can tickle a man1 it is an instrument of happiness1 and ,i may add1 of health4 ,i have been told that in omitting any mention of smoking ,i was overlooking one of the real pleasures of life4 ,not being a smoker myself ,i cannot perhaps judge2 much must depend on the individual temperament2 to some nervous natures it certainly appears to be a great comfort2 but ,i have my doubts whether smoking1 as a general rule1 does add to the pleasures of life4 ,it must1 moreover1 detract somewhat from the sensitiveness of taste and of smell4 ,those who live in cities may almost lay it down as a rule that no time spent out of doors is ever wasted4 ,fresh air is a cordial of incredible virtue2 old families are in all senses county families1 not town families2 and those who prefer ,homer and ,plato and ,shakespeare to hares and partridges and foxes must beware that they are not tempted to neglect this great requisite of our nature4 ,most ,englishmen1 however1 love open air1 and it is probably true that most of us enjoy a game at cricket or golf more than looking at any of the old masters4 ,the love of sport is engraven in the ,english character4 ,as was said of ,william ,rufus1 he loves the tall deer as he had been their father4 ,an ,oriental traveler is said to have watched a game of cricket and been much astonished at hearing that many of those playing were rich men4 ,he asked why they did not pay some poor people to do it for them4 ,wordsworth made it a rule to go out every day1 and he used to say that as he never consulted the weather1 he never had to consult the physicians4 ,it always seems to be raining harder than it really is when you look at the weather through the window4 ,even in winter1 though the landscape often seems cheerless and bare enough when you look at it from the fireside1 still it is far better to go out1 even if you have to brave the storm3 when you are once out of doors the touch of earth and the breath of the fresh air gives you fresh life and energy4 ,men1 like trees1 live in great part on air4 ,after a gallop over the downs1 a row on the river1 a sea voyage1 a walk by the seashore or in the woods ,the blue above1 the music in the air1 ,the flowers upon the ground1 #f one feels as if one could say with ,henry ,,iv41 ,je me porte comme le ,ponte ,neuf4 ,the ,roman proverb that a child should be taught nothing which he cannot learn standing up1 went no doubt into an extreme1 but surely we fall into another when we act as if games were the only thing which boys could learn upon their feet4 ,the love of games among boys is certainly a healthy instinct1 and though carried too far in some of our great schools1 there can be no question that cricket and football1 boating and hockey1 bathing and birdnesting1 are not only the greatest pleasures1 but the best medicines for boys4 ,we cannot always secure sleep4 ,when important decisions have to be taken1 the natural anxiety to come to a right decision will often keep us awake4 ,nothing1 however1 is more conducive to healthy sleep than plenty of open air4 ,then indeed we can enjoy the fresh life of the early morning3 the breezy call of incense-bearing morn4 #g ,at morn the ,blackcock trims his jetty wing1 ',tis morning tempts the linnet's blithest lay1 ,all nature's children feel the matin spring ,of life reviving with reviving day4 ,epictetus described himself as a spirit bearing about a corpse4 ,that seems to me an ungrateful description4 ,surely we ought to cherish the body1 even if it be but a frail and humble companion4 ,do we not own to the eye our enjoyment of the beauties of this world and the glories of the ,heavens2 to the ear the voices of friends and all the delights of music2 are not the hands most faithful and invaluable instruments1 ever ready in case of need1 ever willing to do our bidding2 and even the feet bear us without a murmur along the roughest and stoniest paths of life4 ,with reasonable care1 then1 most of us may hope to enjoy good health4 ,and yet what a marvellous and complex organization we have6 ,we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made4 ,it is ,strange that a harp of a thousand strings1 ,should keep in tune so long4 ,when we consider the marvellous complexity of our bodily organization1 it seems a miracle that we should live at all2 much more that the innumerable organs and processes should continue day after day and year after year with so much regularity and so little friction that we are sometimes scarcely conscious of having a body at all4 ,and yet in that body we have more than #bjj bones1 of complex and varied forms1 any irregularity in1 or injury to1 which would of course grievously interfere with our movements4 ,we have over #ejj muscles2 each nourished by almost innumerable blood vessels1 and regulated by nerves4 ,one of our muscles1 the heart1 beats over #cj1jjj1jjj times in a year1 and if it once stops1 all is over4 ,in the skin are wonderfully varied and complex organs--for instance1 over #b1jjj1jjj perspiration glands1 which regulate the temperature and communicate with the surface by ducts1 which have a total length of some ten miles4 ,think of the miles of arteries and veins1 of capillaries and nerves2 of the blood1 with the millions of millions of blood corpuscles1 each a microcosm in itself4 ,think of the organs of sense1--the eye with its cornea and lens1 vitreous humor1 aqueous humor1 and choroid1 culminating in the retina1 no thicker than a sheet of paper1 and yet consisting of nine distinct layers1 the innermost composed of rods and cones1 supposed to be the immediate recipients of the undulations of light1 and so numerous that in each eye the cones are estimated at over #c1jjj1jjj1 the rods at over #cj1jjj1jjj4 ,above all1 and most wonderful of all1 the brain itself4 ,meinert has calculated that the gray matter of the convolutions alone contains no less than #fjj1jjj1jjj cells2 each cell consists of several thousand visible atoms1 and each atom again of many millions of molecules4 ,and yet with reasonable care we can most of us keep this wonderful organization in health2 so that it will work without causing us pain1 or even discomfort1 for many years2 and we may hope that even when old age comes ,time may lay his hand ,upon your heart gently1 not smiting it ,but as a harper lays his open palm ,upon his harp1 to deaden its vibrations4 #a ,herrick4 #b ,hamerton4 #c ,hazlitt4 #d ,francis4 #e ,hazlitt4 #f ,trench4 #g ,gray4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,love4 ,love rules the court1 the camp1 the grove1 ,and men below and saints above2 ,for love is heaven and heaven is love4 ,,scott4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,love4 ,love is the light and sunshine of life4 ,we are so constituted that we cannot fully enjoy ourselves1 or anything else1 unless some one we love enjoys it with us4 ,even if we are alone1 we store up our enjoyment in hope of sharing it hereafter with those we love4 ,love lasts through life1 and adapts itself to every age and circumstance2 in childhood for father and mother1 in manhood for wife1 in age for children1 and throughout for brothers and sisters1 relations and friends4 ,the strength of friendship is indeed proverbial1 and in some cases1 as in that of ,david and ,jonathan1 is described as surpassing the love of women4 ,but ,i need not now refer to it1 having spoken already of what we owe to friends4 ,the goodness of ,providence to man has been often compared to that of fathers and mothers for their children4 ,just as a mother1 with sweet1 pious face1 ,yearns toward her little children from her seat1 ,gives one a kiss1 another an embrace1 ,takes this upon her knees1 that on her feet2 ,and while from actions1 looks1 complaints1 pretences1 ,she learns their feelings and their various will1 ,to this a look1 to that a word1 dispenses1 ,and1 whether stern or smiling1 loves them still2-- ,so ,providence for us1 high1 infinite1 ,makes our necessities its watchful task1 ,hearkens to all our prayers1 helps all our wants1 ,and e'en if it denies what seems our right1 ,either denies because 'twould have us ask1 ,or seems but to deny1 or in denying grants4 #a ,sir ,walter ,scott well says-- ,and if there be on ,earth a tear ,from passion's dross #b refined and clear1 ',tis that which pious fathers shed ,upon a duteous daughter's head4 ,epaminondas is said to have given as his main reason for rejoicing at the victory of ,leuctra1 that it would give so much pleasure to his father and mother4 ,nor must the love of animals be altogether omitted4 ,it is impossible not to sympathize with the ,savage when he believes in their immortality1 and thinks that after death ,admitted to that equal sky ,his faithful dog shall bear him company4 #c ,in the ,mahabharata1 the great ,indian ,epic1 when the family of ,pandavas1 the heroes1 at length reach the gates of heaven1 they are welcomed themselves1 but are told that their dog cannot come in4 ,having pleaded in vain1 they turn to depart1 as they say they can never leave their faithful companion4 ,then at the last moment the ,angel at the door relents1 and their ,dog is allowed to enter with them4 ,we may hope the time will come when we shall learn ,never to blend our pleasures or our pride1 ,with sorrow of the meanest thing that feels4 #d ,but at the present moment ,i am speaking rather of the love which leads to marriage4 ,such love is the music of life1 nay1 there is music in the beauty1 and the silver note of love1 far sweeter than the sound of any instrument4 #e ,the ,symposium of ,plato contains an interesting and amusing disquisition on ,love4 ,love1 ,phaedrus is made to say1 will make men dare to die for their beloved--love alone3 and women as well as men4 ,of this1 ,alcestis1 the daughter of ,pelias1 is a monument to all ,hellas2 for she was willing to lay down her life on behalf of her husband1 when no one else would1 although he had a father and mother2 but the tenderness of her love so far exceeded theirs1 that she made them seem to be strangers in blood to their own son1 and in name only related to him2 and so noble did this action of hers appear to the gods1 as well as to men1 that among the many who have done virtuously she is one of the very few to whom they have granted the privilege of returning to earth1 in admiration of her virtue2 such exceeding honor is paid by them to the devotion and virtue of love4 ,agathon is even more eloquent-- ,love fills men with affection1 and takes away their disaffection1 making them meet together at such banquets as these4 ,in sacrifices1 feasts1 dances1 he is our lord--supplying kindness and banishing unkindness1 giving friendship and forgiving anmity1 the joy of the good1 the wonder of the wise1 the amazement of the gods1 desired by those who have no part in him1 and precious to those who have the better part in him2 parent of delicacy1 luxury1 desire1 fondness1 softness1 grace1 regardful of the good1 regardless of the evil4 ,in every word1 work1 wish1 fear--pilot1 comrade1 helper1 savior2 glory of gods and men1 leader best and brightest3 in whose footsteps let every man follow1 sweetly singing in his honor that sweet strain with which love charms the souls of gods and men4 ,no doubt1 even so there are two ,loves1 one1 the daughter of ,uranus1 who has no mother1 and is the elder and wiser goddess2 and the other1 the daughter of ,zeus and ,dione1 who is popular and common1--but let us not examine too closely4 ,charity tells us even of ,guinevere1 that while she lived1 she was a good lover and therefore she had a good end4 #f ,the origin of love has exercised philosophers almost as much as the origin of evil4 ,the ,symposium continues with a speech which ,plato attributes in joke to ,aristophanes1 and of which ,jowett observes that nothing in ,aristophanes is more truly ,aristophanic4 ,the original human nature1 he says1 was not like the present4 ,the ,primeval ,man was round1 #g his back and sides forming a circle2 and he had four hands and four feet1 one head with two faces1 looking opposite ways1 set on a round neck and precisely alike4 ,he could walk upright as men now do1 backward or forward as he pleased1 and he could also roll over and over at a great rate1 whirling round on his four hands and four feet1 eight in all1 like tumblers going over and over with their legs in the air2 this was when he wanted to run fast4 ,terrible was their might and strength1 and the thoughts of their hearts great1 and they made an attack upon the gods2 of them is told the tale of ,otys and ,ephialtes1 who1 as ,homer says1 dared to scale heaven1 and would have laid hands upon the gods4 ,doubt reigned in the celestial councils4 ,should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts1 as they had done the giants1 then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them2 but1 on the other hand1 the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained4 ,at last1 after a good deal of reflection1 ,zeus discovered a way4 ,he said2 ,methinks ,i have a plan which will humble their pride and mend their manners2 they shall continue to exist1 but ,i will cut them in two1 which will have a double advantage1 for it will halve their strength and we shall have twice as many sacrifices4 ,they shall walk upright on two legs1 and if they continue insolent and will not be quiet1 ,i will split them again and they shall hop on a single leg4 ,he spoke and cut men in two1 as you might split an egg with a hair4444 ,after the division the two parts of man1 each desiring his other half1 came together4444 ,so ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us1 reuniting our original nature1 making one of two1 and healing the state of man4 ,each of us when separated is but the indenture of a man1 having one side only1 like a flat-fish and he is always looking for his other half4 ,and when one of them finds his other half1 the pair are lost in amazement of love and friendship and intimacy1 and one will not be out of the other's sight1 as ,i may say1 even for a minute3 they will pass their whole lives together2 yet they could not explain what they desire of one another4 ,for the intense yearning which each of them has toward the other does not appear to be the desire of lover's intercourse1 but of something else1 which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell1 and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment4 ,however this may be1 there is such instinctive insight in the human heart that we often form our opinion almost instantaneously1 and such impressions seldom change1 ,i might even say1 they are seldom wrong4 ,love at first sight sounds like an imprudence1 and yet is almost a revelation4 ,it seems as if we were but renewing the relations of a previous existence4 ,but to see her were to love her1 ,love but her1 and love for ever4 #h ,yet though experience seldom falsifies such a feeling1 happily the reverse does not hold good4 ,the deepest affection is often of slow growth4 ,many a warm love has been won by faithful devotion4 ,montaigne indeed declares that ,few have married for love without repenting it4 ,dr4 ,johnson also maintained that marriages would generally be happier if they were arranged by the ,lord ,chancellor2 but ,i do not think either ,montaigne or ,johnson were good judges4 ,as ,lancelot said to the unfortunate ,maid of ,astolat1 ,i love not to be constrained to love1 for love must arise of the heart and not by constraint4 #i ,love defies distance and the elements2 ,sestos and ,abydos are divided by the sea1 but ,love joined them by an arrow from his bow4 #aj ,love can be happy anywhere4 ,byron wished ,o that the desert were my dwelling-place1 ,with one fair ,spirit for my minister1 ,that ,i might all forget the human race1 ,and1 hating no one1 love but only her4 ,and many will doubtless have felt ,o ,love6 what hours were thine and mine ,in lands of ,palm and ,southern ,pine1 ,in lands of ,palm1 of ,orange blossom1 ,of ,olive1 ,aloe1 and ,maize and ,vine4 ,what is true of space holds good equally of time4 ,in peace1 ,love tunes the shepherd's reed4 ,in war1 he mounts the warrior's steed2 ,in halls1 in gay attire is seen2 ,in hamlets1 dances on the green4 ,love rules the court1 the camp1 the grove1 ,and men below1 and saints above2 ,for love is heaven1 and heaven is love4 #aa ,even when1 as among some ,eastern races1 ,religion and ,philosophy have combined to depress ,love1 truth reasserts itself in popular sayings1 as for instance in the ,turkish proverb1 ,all women are perfection1 especially she who loves you4 ,a ,french lady having once quoted to ,abd-el-,kader the ,polish proverb1 ,a woman draws more with a hair of her head than a pair of oxen well harnessed2 he answered with a smile1 ,the hair is unnecessary1 woman is powerful as fate4 ,but we like to think of ,love rather as the ,angel of ,happiness than as a ruling force3 of the joy of home when hearts are of each other sure4 ,it is the secret sympathy1 ,the silver link1 the silken tie1 ,which heart to heart1 and mind to mind ,in body and in soul can bind4 #ab ,what ,bacon says of a friend is even truer of a wife2 there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend1 but he joyeth the more2 and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend1 but he grieveth the less4 ,let some one we love come near us and ,at once it seems that something new or strange ,has passed upon the flowers1 the trees1 the ground2 ,some slight but unintelligible change ,on everything around4 #ac ,we might1 ,i think1 apply to love what ,homer says of ,fate3 ,her feet are tender1 for she sets her steps ,not on the ground1 but on the heads of men4 ,love and ,reason divide the life of man4 ,we must give to each its due4 ,if it is impossible to attain to virtue by the aid of ,reason without ,love1 neither can we do so by means of ,love alone without ,reason4 ,love1 said ,melanippides1 sowing in the heart of man the sweet harvest of desire1 mixes the sweetest and most beautiful things together4 ,no one indeed could complain now1 with ,phaedrus in ,plato's ,symposium1 that ,love has had no worshippers among the ,poets4 ,on the contrary1 ,love has brought them many of their sweetest inspirations2 none perhaps nobler or more beautiful than ,milton's description of ,paradise3 ,with thee conversing1 ,i forget all time1 ,all seasons1 and their change1 all please alike4 ,sweet is the breath of morn1 her rising sweet ,with charm of earliest birds2 pleasant the sun ,when first on this delightful land he spreads ,his orient beams on herb1 tree1 fruit1 and flower ,glistering with dew1 fragrant the fertile earth ,after soft showers2 and sweet the coming on ,of grateful evening mild2 then silent night ,with this her solemn bird and this fair moon1 ,and these the gems of heaven1 her starry train3 ,but neither breath of morn when she ascends ,with charm of earliest birds1 nor rising sun ,on this delightful land1 nor herb1 fruit1 flower ,glistering with dew1 nor fragrance after showers1 ,nor grateful evening mild1 nor silent night ,with this her solemn bird1 nor walk by moon ,or glittering starlight1 without thee is sweet4 ,moreover1 no one need despair of an ideal marriage4 ,we unfortunately differ so much in our tastes2 love does so much to create love1 that even the humblest may hope for the happiest marriage if only he deserves it2 and ,shakespeare speaks1 as he does so often1 for thousands when he says ,she is mine own1 ,and ,i as rich in having such a jewel ,as twenty seas1 if all their sands were pearls1 ,the water nectar1 and the rocks pure gold4 ,true love indeed will not be unreasonable or exacting4 ,tell me not1 sweet1 ,i am unkind ,that from the nursery ,of thy chaste breast and quiet mind ,to war and arms ,i fly4 ,true6 a new mistress now ,i chase1 ,the first foe in the field1 ,and with a stronger faith embrace ,a sword1 a horse1 a shield4 ,yet this inconstancy is such ,as you too shall adore1 ,i could not love thee1 dear1 so much1 ,loved ,i not honor more4 #ad ,and yet ,alas6 how light a cause may move ,dissension between hearts that love6 ,hearts that the world in vain had tried1 ,and sorrow but more closely tied1 ,that stood the storm1 when waves were rough1 ,yet in a sunny hour fall off1 ,like ships that have gone down at sea1 ,when heaven was all tranquillity4 #ae ,for love is brittle4 ,do not risk even any little jar2 it may be ,the little rift within the lute1 ,that by and by will make the music mute1 ,and ever widening slowly silence all4 #af ,love is delicate2 ,love is hurt with jar and fret1 and you might as well expect a violin to remain in tune if roughly used1 as ,love to survive if chilled or driven into itself4 ,but what a pleasure to keep it alive by ,little1 nameless1 unremembered acts ,of kindness and of love4 #ag ,she whom you loved and chose1 says ,bondi1 ,is now your bride1 ,the gift of heaven1 and to your trust consigned2 ,honor her still1 though not with passion blind2 ,and in her virtue1 though you watch1 confide4 ,be to her youth a comfort1 guardian1 guide1 ,in whose experience she may safety find2 ,and whether sweet or bitter be assigned1 ,the joy with her1 as well as pain divide4 ,yield not too much if reason disapprove2 ,nor too much force2 the partner of your life ,should neither victim be1 nor tyrant prove4 ,thus shall that rein1 which often mars the bliss ,of wedlock1 scarce be felt2 and thus your wife ,ne'er in the husband shall the lover miss4 #ah ,every one is ennobled by true love-- ,tis better to have loved and lost ,than never to have loved at all4 #ai ,perhaps no one ever praised a woman more gracefully in a sentence than ,steele when he said of ,lady ,elizabeth ,hastings that to know her was a liberal education2 but every woman may feel as she improves herself that she is not only laying in a store of happiness for herself1 but also raising and blessing him whom she would most wish to see happy and good4 ,love1 true love1 grows and deepens with time4 ,husband and wife1 who are married indeed1 live ,by each other1 till to love and live ,be one4 #bj ,for does it end with life4 ,a mother's love knows no bounds4 ,they err who tell us ,love can die1 ,with life all other passions fly1 ,all others are but vanity4 ,in ,heaven ,ambition cannot dwell1 ,nor ,avarice in the vaults of ,hell2 ,earthly these passions of the ,earth2 ,they perish where they have their birth1 ,but ,love is indestructible2 ,its holy flame forever burneth1 ,from ,heaven it came1 to ,heaven returneth2 ,too oft on ,earth a troubled guest1 ,at times deceived1 at times opprest1 ,it here is tried and purified1 ,then hath in ,heaven its perfect rest3 ,it soweth here with toil and care1 ,but the harvest time of ,love is there4 ,the mother when she meets on high ,the ,babe she lost in infancy1 ,hath she not then1 for pains and fears1 ,the day of woe1 the watchful night1 ,for all her sorrow1 all her tears1 ,an over-payment of delight8 #ba ,as life wears on the love of husband or wife1 of friends and of children1 becomes the great solace and delight of age4 ,the one recalls the past1 the other gives interest to the future2 and in our children1 it has been truly said1 we live our lives again4 #a ,filicaja4 ,translated by ,leigh ,hunt4 #b ,not from passion itself4 #c ,pope4 #d ,wordsworth4 #e ,browne4 #f ,malory1 ,morte d' ,arthur4 #g ,i avail myself of ,dr4 ,jowett's translation4 #h ,burns4 #i ,malory1 ,morte d' ,arthur4 #aj ,symonds4 #aa ,scott4 #ab ,scott4 #ac ,trench4 #ad ,lovelace4 #ae ,moore4 #af ,tennyson4 #ag ,wordsworth4 #ah ,bondi4 ,tr4 by ,glassfors4 #ai ,tennyson4 #bj ,swinburne4 #ba ,southey4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,art4 ,high art consists neither in altering1 nor in improving nature2 but in seeking throughout nature for 'whatsoever things are lovely1 whatsoever things are pure2' in loving these1 in displaying to the utmost of the painter's power such loveliness as is in them1 and directing the thoughts of others to them by winning art1 or gentle emphasis4 ,art 7caeteris paribus7 is great in exact proportion to the love of beauty shown by the painter1 provided that love of beauty forfeit no atom of truth4--,,ruskin4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,art4 ,the most ancient works of ,art which we possess are representations of animals1 rude indeed1 but often strikingly characteristic1 engraved on1 or carved in1 stag's-horn or bone2 and found in ,english1 ,french1 and ,german caves1 with stone and other rude implements1 and the remains of mammalia1 belonging apparently to the close of the glacial epoch3 not only of the deer1 bear1 and other animals now inhabiting temperate ,europe1 but of some1 such as the reindeer1 the musk sheep1 and the mammoth1 which have either retreated north or become altogether extinct4 ,we may1 ,i think1 venture to hope that other designs may hereafter be found1 which will give us additional information as to the manners and customs of our ancestors in those remote ages4 ,next to these in point of antiquity come the sculptures and paintings on ,assyrian and ,egyptian tombs1 temples1 and palaces4 ,these ancient scenes1 considered as works of art1 have no doubt many faults1 and yet how graphically they tell their story6 ,as a matter of fact a king is not1 as a rule1 bigger than his soldiers1 but in these battle-scenes he is always so represented4 ,we must1 however1 remember that in ancient warfare the greater part of the fighting was1 as a matter of fact1 done by the chiefs4 ,in this respect the ,homeric poems resemble the ,assyrian and ,egyptian representations4 ,at any rate1 we see at a glance which is the king1 which are officers1 which side is victorious1 the struggles and sufferings of the wounded1 the flight of the enemy1 the city of refuge--so that he who runs may read2 while in modern battle-pictures the story is much less clear1 and1 indeed1 the untrained eye sees for some time little but scarlet and smoke4 ,these works assuredly possess a grandeur and dignity of their own1 even though they have not the beauty of later art4 ,in ,greece ,art reached a perfection which has never been excelled1 and it was more appreciated than perhaps it has ever been since4 ,at the time when ,demetrius attacked the city of ,rhodes1 ,protogenes was painting a picture of ,ialysus4 ,this1 says ,pliny1 hindered ,king ,demetrius from taking ,rhodes1 out of fear lest he should burn the picture2 and not being able to fire the town on any other side1 he was pleased rather to spare the painting than to take the victory1 which was already in his hands4 ,protogenes1 at that time1 had his painting-room in a garden out of the town1 and very near the camp of the enemies1 where he was daily finishing those pieces which he had already begun1 the noise of soldiers not being capable of interrupting his studies4 ,but ,demetrius causing him to be brought into his presence1 and asking him what made him so bold as to work in the midst of enemies1 he answered the king1 ',that he understood the war which he made was against the ,rhodians1 and not against the ,arts4' ,with the decay of ,greece1 ,art sank too1 until it was revived in the thirteenth century by ,cimabue1 since whose time its progress has been triumphal4 ,art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness4 ,it trains the mind through the eye1 and the eye through the mind4 ,as the sun colors flowers1 so does art color life4 ,in true ,art1 says ,ruskin1 the hand1 the head1 and the heart of man go together4 ,but ,art is no recreation3 it cannot be learned at spare moments1 nor pursued when we have nothing better to do4 ,it is not only in the ,east that great works1 really due to study and labor1 have been attributed to magic4 ,study and labor cannot make every man an artist1 but no one can succeed in art without them4 ,in ,art two and two do not make four1 and no number of little things will make a great one4 ,it has been said1 and on high authority1 that the end of art is to please4 ,but this is a very imperfect definition4 ,it might as well be said that a library is only intended for pleasure and ornament4 ,art has the advantage of nature1 in so far as it introduces a human element1 which is in some respects superior even to nature4 ,if1 says ,plato1 you take a man as he is made by nature and compare him with another who is the effect of art1 the work of nature will always appear the less beautitiful1 because art is more accurate than nature4 ,bacon also1 in ,the ,advancement of ,learning1 speaks of the world being inferior to the soul1 by reason whereof there is agreeable to the spirit of man a more ample greatness1 a more exact goodness1 and a more absolute variety than can be found in the nature of things4 ,the poets tell us that ,prometheus1 having made a beautiful statue of ,minerva1 the goddess was so delighted that she offered to bring down anything from ,heaven which could add to its perfection4 ,prometheus on this prudently asked her to take him there1 so that he might choose for himself4 ,this ,minerva did1 and ,prometheus1 finding that in heaven all things were animated by fire1 brought back a spark1 with which he gave life to his work4 ,in fact1 ,imitation is the means and not the end of ,art4 ,the story of ,zeuxis and ,parrhasius is a pretty tale2 but to deceive birds1 or even man himself1 is but a trifling matter compared with the higher functions of ,art4 ,to imitate the ,iliad1 says ,dr4 ,young1 is not imitating ,homer1 but as ,sir ,j4 ,reynolds adds1 the more the artist studies nature the nearer he approaches to the true and perfect idea of art4 ,following these rules and using these precautions1 when you have clearly and distinctly learned in what good coloring consists1 you cannot do better than have recourse to ,nature herself1 who is always at hand1 and in comparison of whose true splendor the best colored pictures are but faint and feeble4 #a ,art1 indeed1 must create as well as copy4 ,as ,victor ,cousin well says1 ,the ideal without the real lacks life2 but the real without the ideal lacks pure beauty4 ,both need to unite2 to join hands and enter into alliance4 ,in this way the best work may be achieved4 ,thus beauty is an absolute idea1 and not a mere copy of imperfect ,nature4 ,the grouping of the picture is of course of the utmost importance4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds gives two remarkable cases to show how much any given figure in a picture is affected by its surroundings4 ,tintoret in one of his pictures has taken the ,samson of ,michael ,angelo1 put an eagle under him1 placed thunder and lightning in his right hand instead of the jawbone of an ass1 and thus turned him into a ,jupiter4 ,the second instance is even more striking4 ,titian has copied the figure in the vault of the ,sistine ,chapel which represents the ,deity dividing light from darkness1 and has introduced it into his picture of the battle of ,cadore1 to represent a general falling from his horse4 ,we must remember that so far as the eye is concerned1 the object of the artist is to train1 not to deceive1 and that his higher function has reference rather to the mind than to the eye4 ,no doubt ,to gild refined gold1 to paint the lily1 ,to throw a perfume on the violet1 ,to smooth the ice1 or add another hue ,unto the rainbow1 or with taper-light ,to seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish1 ,is wasteful and ridiculous excess4 #b ,but all is not gold that glitters1 flowers are not all arrayed like the lily1 and there is room for selection as well as representation4 ,the true1 the good1 and the beautiful1 says ,cousin1 are but forms of the infinite3 what then do we really love in truth1 beauty1 and virtue8 ,we love the infinite himself4 ,the love of the infinite substance is hidden under the love of its forms4 ,it is so truly the infinite which charms in the true1 the good1 and the beautiful1 that its manifestations alone do not suffice4 ,the artist is dissatisfied at the sight even of his greatest works2 he aspires still higher4 ,it is indeed sometimes objected that ,landscape painting is not true to nature2 but we must ask1 ,what is truth8 ,is the object to produce the same impression on the mind as that created by the scene itself8 ,if so1 let any one try to draw from memory a group of mountains1 and he will probably find that in the impression produced on his mind the mountains are loftier and steeper1 the valleys deeper and narrower1 than in the actual reality4 ,a drawing1 then1 which was literally exact would not be true1 in the sense of conveying the same impression as ,nature herself4 ,in fact1 ,art1 says ,goethe1 is called ,art simply because it is not ,nature4 ,it is not sufficient for the artist to choose beautiful scenery1 and delineate it with accuracy4 ,he must not be a mere copyist4 ,something higher and more subtle is required4 ,he must create1 or at any rate interpret1 as well as copy4 ,turner was never satisfied merely to reach to even the most glorious scenery4 ,he moved1 and even suppressed1 mountains4 ,a certain nobleman1 we are told1 was very anxious to see the model from whom ,guido painted his lovely female faces4 ,guido placed his color-grinder1 a big coarse man1 in an attitude1 and then drew a beautiful ,magdalen4 ,my dear ,count1 he said1 the beautiful and pure idea must be in the mind1 and then it is no matter what the model is4 ,guido ,reni1 who painted ,st4 ,michael for the ,church of the ,capuchins at ,rome1 wished that he had the wings of an angel1 to have ascended unto ,paradise1 and there to have beheld the forms of those beautiful spirits1 from which ,i might have copied my ,archangel4 ,but not being able to mount so high1 it was in vain for me to seek for his resemblance here below2 so that ,i was forced to look into mine own mind1 and into that idea of beauty which ,i have formed in my own imagination4 #c ,science attempts1 as far as the limited powers of ,man permit1 to reproduce the actual facts in a manner which1 however bald1 is true in itself1 irrespective of time and scene4 ,to do this she must submit to many limitations2 not altogether unvexatious1 and not without serious drawbacks4 ,art1 on the contrary1 endeavors to convey the impression of the original under some especial aspect4 ,in some respects1 ,art gives a clearer and more vivid idea of an unknown country than any description can convey4 ,in literature rock may be rock1 but in painting it must be granite or slate1 and not merely rock in general4 ,it is remarkable that while artists have long recognized the necessity of studying anatomy1 and there has been from the commencement a professor of anatomy in the ,royal ,academy1 it is only of late years that any knowledge of botany or geology has been considered desirable1 and even now their importance is by no means generally recognized4 ,much has been written as to the relative merits of painting1 sculpture1 and architecture4 ,this1 if it be not a somewhat unprofitable inquiry1 would at any rate be out of place here4 ,architecture not only gives intense pleasure1 but even the impression of something ethereal and superhuman4 ,madame de ,stal described it as frozen music2 and a cathedral is a glorious specimen of thought in stone1 whose very windows are transparent walls of gorgeous hues4 ,caracci said that poets paint in their words and artists speak in their works4 ,the latter have indeed one great advantage1 for a glance at a statue or a painting will convey a more vivid idea than a long and minute description4 ,another advantage possessed by ,art is that it is understood by all civilized nations1 whilst each has a separate language4 ,even from a material point of view ,art is most important4 ,in a recent address ,sir ,f4 ,leighton has observed that the study of ,art is every day becoming more important in relation to certain sides of the waning material prosperity of the country4 ,for the industrial competition between this and other countries--a competition1 keen and eager1 which means to certain industries almost a race for life--runs1 in many cases1 no longer exclusively or mainly on the lines of excellence of material and solidity of workmanship1 but greatly nowadays on the lines of artistic charm and beauty of design4 ,the highest service1 however1 that ,art can accomplish for man is to become at once the voice of his nobler aspirations1 and the steady disciplinarian of his emotions2 and it is with this mission1 rather than with any aesthetic perfection1 that we are at present concerned4 #d ,science and ,art are sisters1 or rather perhaps they are like brother and sister4 ,the mission of ,art is in some respects like that of woman4 ,it is not ,hers so much to do the hard toil and moil of the world1 as to surround it with a halo of beauty1 to convert work into pleasure4 ,in science we naturally expect progress1 but in ,art the case is not so clear2 and yet ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds did not hesitate to express his conviction that in the future so much will painting improve1 that the best we can now achieve will appear like the work of children1 and we may hope that our power of enjoying it may increase in an equal ratio4 ,wordsworth says that poets have to create the taste for their own works1 and the same is1 in some degree at any rate1 true of artists4 ,in one respect especially modern painters appear to have made a marked advance1 and one great blessing which in fact we owe to them is a more vivid enjoyment of scenery4 ,i have of course no pretensions to speak with authority1 but even in the case of the greatest masters before ,turner1 the landscapes seem to me singularly inferior to the figures4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds tells us that ,gainsborough framed a kind of model of a landscape on his table1 composed of broken stones1 dried herbs1 and pieces of looking-glass1 which he magnified and improved into rocks1 trees1 and water2 and ,sir ,joshua solemnly discusses the wisdom of such a proceeding4 ,how far it may be useful in giving hints1 he says1 the professors of landscape can best determine1 but he does not recommend it1 and is disposed to think1 on the whole1 the practice may be more likely to do harm than good6 ,in the picture of ,ceyx and ,alcyone1 by ,wilson1 of whom ,cunningham said that1 with ,gainsborough1 he laid the foundation of our ,school of ,landscape1 the castle is said to have been painted from a pot of porter1 and the rock from a ,stilton cheese4 ,there is indeed another version of the story1 that the picture was sold for a pot of porter and a cheese1 which1 however1 does not give a higher idea of the appreciation of the art of landscape at that date4 ,until very recently the general feeling with reference to mountain scenery has been that expressed by ,tacitus4 ,who would leave ,asia or ,africa or ,italy to go to ,germany1 a shapeless and unformed country1 a harsh sky1 and melancholy aspect1 unless indeed it was his native land8 ,it is amusing to read the opinion of ,dr4 ,beattie1 in a special treatise on ,truth1 ,poetry and ,music1 written at the close of the last century1 that ,the ,highlands of ,scotland are in general a melancholy country4 ,long tracts of mountainous country1 covered with dark heath1 and often obscured by misty weather2 narrow valleys thinly inhabited1 and bounded by precipices resounding with the fall of torrents2 a soil so rugged1 and a climate so dreary1 as in many parts to admit neither the amenities of pasturage1 nor the labors of agriculture2 the mournful dashing of waves along the firths and lakes3 the portentous noises which every change of the wind is apt to raise in a lonely region1 full of echoes1 and rocks1 and caverns2 the grotesque and ghastly appearance of such a landscape by the light of the moon3 objects like these diffuse a gloom over the fancy1 etc4 #e ,even ,goldsmith regarded the scenery of the ,highlands as dismal and hideous4 ,johnson1 we know1 laid it down as an axiom that the noblest prospect which a ,scotchman ever sees is the high road that leads him to ,england--a saying which throws much doubt on his distinction that the ,giant's ,causeway was worth seeing but not worth going to see4 #f ,madame de ,stal declared1 that though she would go #ejj leagues to meet a clever man1 she would not care to open her window to see the ,bay of ,naples4 ,nor was the ancient absence of appreciation confined to scenery4 ,even ,burke1 speaking of ,stonehenge1 says1 ,stonehenge1 neither for disposition nor ornament1 has anything admirable4 ,ugly scenery1 however1 may in some cases have an injurious effect on the human system4 ,it has been ingeniously suggested that what really drove ,don ,quixote out of his mind was not the study of his books of chivalry1 so much as the monotonous scenery of ,la ,mancha4 ,the love of landscape is not indeed due to ,art alone4 ,it has been the happy combination of art and science which has trained us to perceive the beauty which surrounds us4 ,art helps us to see1 and hundreds of people can talk for one who can think2 but thousands can think for one who can see4 ,to see clearly is poetry1 prophecy1 and religion all in one4444 ,remembering always that there are two characters in which all greatness of ,art consists--first1 the earnest and intense seizing of natural facts2 then the ordering those facts by strength of human intellect1 so as to make them1 for all who look upon them1 to the utmost serviceable1 memorable1 and beautiful4 ,and thus great ,art is nothing else than the type of strong and noble life2 for as the ignoble person1 in his dealings with all that occurs in the world about him1 first sees nothing clearly1 looks nothing fairly in the face1 and then allows himself to be swept away by the trampling torrent and unescapable force of the things that he would not foresee and could not understand3 so the noble person1 looking the facts of the world full in the face1 and fathoming them with deep faculty1 then deals with them in unalarmed intelligence and unhurried strength1 and becomes1 with his human intellect and will1 no unconscious nor insignificant agent in consummating their good and restraining their evil4 #g ,may we not also hope that in this respect also still further progress may be made1 that beauties may be revealed1 and pleasures may be in store for those who come after us1 which we cannot appreciate1 or at least can but faintly feel4 ,even now there is scarcely a cottage without something more or less successfully claiming to rank as ,art1--a picture1 a photograph1 or a statuette2 and we may fairly hope that much as ,art even now contributes to the happiness of life1 it will do so even more effectively in the future4 #a ,reynolds4 #b ,shakespeare4 #c ,dryden4 #d ,haweis4 #e ,beattie1 #aggf4 #f ,boswell4 #g ,ruskin4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,poetry4 ,and here the singer for his ,art ,not all in vain may plead2 ,the song that nerves a nation's heart ,is in itself a deed4 ,,tennyson4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,poetry4 ,after the disastrous defeat of the ,athenians before ,syracuse1 ,plutarch tells us that the ,sicilians spared those who could repeat any of the poetry of ,euripides4 ,some there were1 he says1 who owed their preservation to ,euripides4 ,of all the ,grecians1 his was the muse with whom the ,sicilians were most in love4 ,from the strangers who landed in their island they gleaned every small specimen or portion of his works1 and communicated it with pleasure to each other4 ,it is said that upon this occasion a number of ,athenians on their return home went to ,euripides1 and thanked him in the most grateful manner for their obligations to his pen2 some having been enfranchised for teaching their masters what they remembered of his poems1 and others having procured refreshments1 when they were wandering about after the battle1 by singing a few of his verses4 ,nowadays we are none of us likely to owe our lives to ,poetry in this sense1 yet in another we many of us owe to it a similar debt4 ,how often1 when worn with overwork1 sorrow1 or anxiety1 have we taken down ,homer or ,horace1 ,shakespeare or ,milton1 and felt the clouds gradually roll away1 the jar of nerves subside1 the consciousness of power replace physical exhaustion1 and the darkness of despondency brighten once more into the light of life4 ,and yet ,plato1 says ,jowett1 expels the poets from his ,republic because they are allied to sense2 because they stimulate the emotions2 because they are thrice removed from the ideal truth4 ,in that respect1 as in some others1 few would accept ,plato's ,republic as being an ideal ,commonwealth1 and most would agree with ,sir ,philip ,sidney that if you cannot bear the planet-like music of poetry 444 ,i must send you in the behalf of all poets1 that while you live1 you live in love1 and never get favor for lacking skill of a sonnet2 and when you die1 your memory die from the earth1 for want of an epitaph4 ,poetry has often been compared with painting and sculpture4 ,simonides long ago said that ,poetry is a speaking picture1 and painting is mute ,poetry4 ,poetry1 says ,cousin1 is the first of the ,arts because it best represents the infinite4 ,and again1 ,though the arts are in some respects isolated1 yet there is one which seems to profit by the resources of all1 and that is ,poetry4 ,with words1 ,poetry can paint and sculpture2 she can build edifices like an architect2 she unites1 to some extent1 melody and music4 ,she is1 so to say1 the center in which all arts unite4 ,a true poem is a gallery of pictures4 ,it must1 ,i think1 be admitted that painting and sculpture can give us a clearer and more vivid idea of an object we have never seen than any description can convey4 ,but when we have once seen it1 then on the contrary there are many points which the poet brings before us1 and which perhaps neither in the representation1 nor even in nature1 should we perceive for ourselves4 ,objects can be most vividly brought before us by the artist1 actions by the poet2 space is the domain of ,art1 time of ,poetry4 #a ,take1 for instance1 as a typical instance1 female beauty4 ,how labored and how cold any description appears4 ,the greatest poets recognize this2 as1 for instance1 when ,scott wishes us to realize the ,lady of the ,lake he does not attempt any description1 but just mentions her attitude and then adds-- ,and ne'er did ,grecian chisel trace ,a ,nymph1 a ,naiad1 or a ,grace1 ,of finer form or lovelier face6 ,a great poet indeed must be inspired2 he must possess an exquisite sense of beauty1 and feelings deeper than those of most men1 and yet well under his control4 ,the ,milton of poetry is the man1 in his own magnificent phrase1 of devout prayer to that eternal spirit that can enrich with all utterance and knowledge1 and sends out his seraphim with the hallowed fire of his altar1 to touch and purify the lips of whom he pleases4 #b ,and if from one point of view ,poetry brings home to us the immeasurable inequalities of different minds1 on the other hand it teaches us that genius is no affair of rank or wealth4 ,i think of ,chatterton1 the marvellous boy1 ,the sleepless soul1 that perish'd in his pride2 ,of ,burns1 that walk'd in glory and in joy ,behind his plough upon the mountain-side4 #c ,a man may be a poet and yet write no verse1 but not if he writes bad or poor ones4 ,mediocribus esse poetis ,non homines1 non ,di1 non concessere columnae4 #d ,second-rate poets1 like second-rate writers generally1 fade gradually into dreamland2 but the great poets remain always4 ,poetry will not live unless it be alive1 that which comes from the head goes to the heart2 #e and ,milton truly said that he who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things1 ought himself to be a true poem4 ,for he who1 having no touch of the ,muses' madness in his soul1 comes to the door and thinks he will get into the temple by the help of ,art--he1 ,i say1 and his ,poetry are not admitted4 #f ,but the work of the true poet is immortal4 ,for have not the verses of ,homer continued #bejj years or more without the loss of a syllable or a letter1 during which time infinite palaces1 temples1 castles1 cities1 have been decayed and demolished8 ,it is not possible to have the true pictures or statues of ,cyrus1 ,alexander1 ,caesar1 no1 nor of the kings or great personages of much later years2 for the originals cannot last1 and the copies cannot but lose of the life and truth4 ,but the images of men's wits and knowledge remain in books1 exempted from the wrong of time and capable of perpetual renovation4 ,neither are they fitly to be called images1 because they generate still and cast their seeds in the minds of others1 provoking and causing infinite actions and opinions in succeeding ages3 so that if the invention of the ship was thought so noble1 which carrieth riches and commodities from place to place1 and consociateth the most remote regions in participation of their fruits1 how much more are letters to be magnified1 which1 as ships1 pass through the vast seas of time and make ages so distant to participate of the wisdom1 illuminations1 and inventions1 the one of the other8 #g ,the poet requires many qualifications4 ,who has traced1 says ,cousin1 the plan of this poem8 ,reason4 ,who has given it life and charm8 ,love4 ,and who has guided reason and love8 ,the ,will4 ,all men have some imagination1 but ,the ,lover and the ,poet ,are of imagination all compact4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,poet's eye1 in a fine frenzy rolling1 ,doth glance from heaven to earth1 from earth to heaven1 ,and as imagination bodies forth ,the forms of things unknown1 the poet's pen ,turns them to shapes1 and gives to airy nothing ,a local habitation and a name4 #h ,poetry is the fruit of genius2 but it cannot be produced without labor4 ,moore1 one of the airiest of poets1 tells us that he was a slow and painstaking workman4 ,the works of our greatest ,poets are all episodes in that one great poem which the genius of man has created since the commencement of human history4 ,a distinguished mathematician is said once to have inquired what was proved by ,milton in his ,paradise ,lost2 and there are no doubt still some who ask themselves1 even if they shrink from putting the question to others1 whether ,poetry is of any use1 just as if to give pleasure were not useful in itself4 ,no true ,utilitarian1 however1 would feel this doubt1 since the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the rule of his philosophy4 ,we must not estimate the works of genius merely with reference to the pleasure they afford1 even when pleasure was their principal object4 ,we must also regard the intelligence which they presuppose and exercise4 #i ,thoroughly to enjoy ,poetry we must not so limit ourselves1 but must rise to a higher ideal4 ,yes2 constantly in reading poetry1 a sense for the best1 the really excellent1 and of the strength and joy to be drawn from it1 should be present in our minds1 and should govern our estimate of what we read4 #aj ,cicero1 in his oration for ,archias1 well asked1 ,has not this man then a right to my love1 to my admiration1 to all the means which ,i can employ in his defence8 ,for we are instructed by all the greatest and most learned of mankind1 that education1 precepts1 and practice1 can in every other branch of learning produce excellence4 ,but a poet is formed by the hand of nature2 he is aroused by mental vigor1 and inspired by what we may call the spirit of divinity itself4 ,therefore our ,ennius has a right to give to poets the epithet of ,holy1 #aa because they are1 as it were1 lent to mankind by the indulgent bounty of the gods4 ,poetry1 says ,shelley1 awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering it the receptacle of a thousand unapprehended combinations of thought4 ,poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world1 and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar2 it reproduces all that it represents1 and the impersonations clothed in its ,elysian light stand thenceforward in the minds of those who have once contemplated them1 as memorials of that gentle and exalted content which extends itself over all thoughts and actions with which it co-exists4 ,and again1 ,all high ,poetry is infinite2 it is as the first acorn1 which contained all oaks potentially4 ,veil after veil may be undrawn1 and the inmost naked beauty of the meaning never exposed4 ,a great poem is a fountain forever overflowing with the waters of wisdom and delight4 ,or1 as he has expressed himself in his ,ode to a ,skylark3 ,higher still and higher ,from the earth thou springest ,like a cloud of fire2 ,the blue deep thou wingest1 ,and singing still dost soar1 and soaring ever singest4 ,like a poet hidden ,in the light of thought1 ,singing hymns unbidden1 ,till the world is wrought ,to sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not4 ,like a glow-worm golden ,in a dell of dew1 ,scattering unbeholden ,its arial hue ,among the flowers and grass1 which screen it from the view4 ,we speak now of the poet as the ,maker or ,creator--,greek3 poiaetaes2 the origin of the word bard seems doubtful4 ,the ,hebrews well called their poets ,seers1 for they not only perceive more than others1 but also help other men to see much which would otherwise be lost to us4 ,the old ,greek word was ,greek3 aoidos--the ,bard or ,singer4 ,poetry lifts the veil from the beauty of the world which would otherwise be hidden1 and throws over the most familiar objects the glow and halo of imagination4 ,the man who has a love for ,poetry can scarcely fail to derive intense pleasure from ,nature1 which to those who love it is all beauty to the eye and music to the ear4 ,yet ,nature never set forth the earth in so rich tapestry as divers poets have done2 neither with so pleasant rivers1 fruitful trees1 sweet-smelling flowers1 nor whatsoever else may make the too-much-loved earth more lovely4 #ab ,in the smokiest city the poet will transport us1 as if by enchantment1 to the fresh air and bright sun1 to the murmur of woods and leaves and water1 to the ripple of waves upon sand1 and enable us1 as in some delightful dream1 to cast off the cares and troubles of life4 ,the poet1 indeed1 must have more true knowledge1 not only of human nature1 but of all ,nature1 than other men are gifted with4 ,crabbe ,robinson tells us that when a stranger once asked permission to see ,wordsworth's study1 the maid said1 ,this is master's ,library1 but he studies in the fields4 ,no wonder then that ,nature has been said to return the poet's love4 ,call it not vain2-they do not err ,who say that1 when the poet dies1 ,mute ,nature mourns her worshipper1 ,and celebrates his obsequies4 #ac ,swinburne says of ,blake1 and ,i feel entirely with him1 though in my case the application would have been different1 that ,the sweetness of sky and leaf1 of grass and water--the bright light life of bird1 child1 and beast--is1 so to speak1 kept fresh by some graver sense of faithful and mysterious love1 explained and vivified by a conscience and purpose in the artist's hand and mind4 ,such a fiery outbreak of spring1 such an insurrection of fierce floral life and radiant riot of childish power and pleasure1 no poet or painter ever gave before2 such lustre of green leaves and flushed limbs1 kindled cloud and fervent fleece1 was never wrought into speech or shape4 ,to appreciate ,poetry we must not merely glance at it1 or rush through it1 or read it in order to talk or write about it4 ,one must compose oneself into the right frame of mind4 ,of course for one's own sake one will read ,poetry in times of agitation1 sorrow1 or anxiety1 but that is another matter4 ,the inestimable treasures of ,poetry again are open to all of us4 ,the best books are indeed the cheapest4 ,for the price of a little beer1 a little tobacco1 we can buy ,shakespeare or ,milton--or indeed almost as many books as a man can read with profit in a year4 ,nor1 in considering the advantage of ,poetry to man1 must we limit ourselves to its past or present influence4 ,the future of ,poetry1 says ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold1 and no one was more qualified to speak1 ,the future of ,poetry is immense1 because in ,poetry1 where it is worthy of its high destinies1 our race1 as time goes on1 will find an ever surer and surer stay4 ,but for ,poetry the idea is everything2 the rest is a world of illusion1 of divine illusion4 ,poetry attaches its emotion to the idea2 the idea is the fact4 ,the strongest part of our religion to-day is its unconscious ,poetry4 ,we should conceive of ,poetry worthily1 and more highly than it has been the custom to conceive of it4 ,we should conceive of it as capable of higher uses1 and called to higher destinies than those which in general men have assigned to it hitherto4 ,poetry has been well called the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds2 it is the light of life1 the very image of life expressed in its eternal truth2 it immortalizes all that is best and most beautiful in the world2 it purges from our inward sight the film of familiarity which obscures from us the wonder of our being2 it is the center and circumference of knowledge2 and poets are mirrors of the gigantic shadows which futurity caste upon the present4 ,poetry1 in effect1 lengthens life2 it creates for us time1 if time be realized as the succession of ideas and not of minutes2 it is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge2 it is bound neither by time nor space1 but lives in the spirit of man4 ,what greater praise can be given than the saying that life should be ,poetry put into action4 #a ,see ,lessing's ,laocon4 #b ,arnold4 #c ,coleridge4 #d ,horace4 #e ,wordsworth4 #f ,plato4 #g ,bacon4 #h ,shakespeare4 #i ,st4 ,hailare4 #aj ,arnold4 #aa ,plato styles poets the sons and interpreters of the gods4 #ab ,sydney1 ,defence of ,poetry4 #ac ,scott4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,music4 ,music is a moral law4 ,it gives a soul to the universe1 wings to the mind1 flight to the imagination1 a charm to sadness1 gaiety and life to everything4 ,it is the essence of order1 and leads to all that is good1 just1 and beautiful1 of which it is the invisible1 but nevertheless dazzling1 passionate1 and eternal form4--,,plato4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,music4 ,music is in one sense far more ancient than man1 and the voice was from the very commencement of human existence a source of melody3 but so far as musical instruments are concerned1 it is probable that percussion came first1 then wind instruments1 and lastly1 those with strings3 first the ,drum1 then the ,flute1 and thirdly1 the ,lyre4 ,the early history of ,music is1 however1 unfortunately wrapped in much obscurity4 ,the use of letters long preceded the invention of notes1 and tradition in such a matter can tell us but little4 ,the contest between ,marsyas and ,apollo is supposed by some to typify the struggle between the ,flute and the ,lyre2 ,marsyas representing the archaic ,flute1 ,apollo the champion of the ,lyre4 ,the latter of course was victorious3 it sets the voice free1 and the sound ,of music that is born of human breath ,comes straighter to the soul than any strain ,the hand alone can make4 #a ,various myths have grown up to explain the origin of ,music4 ,one ,greek tradition was to the effect ,grasshoppers were human beings themselves in a world before the ,muses2 that when the ,muses came1 being ravished with delight1 they sang and sang and forgot to eat1 until they died of hunger for the love of song4 ,and they carry to heaven the report of those who honor them on earth4 #b ,the old writers and commentators tell us that ,pythagoras1 as he was one day meditating on the want of some rule to guide the ear1 analogous to what had been used to help the other senses1 chanced to pass by a blacksmith's shop1 and observing that the hammers1 which were four in number1 sounded very harmoniously1 he had them weighed1 and found them to be in the proportion of six1 eight1 nine1 and twelve4 ,upon this he suspended four strings of equal length and thickness1 etc41 fastened weights in the above-mentioned proportions to each of them respectively1 and found that they gave the same sounds that the hammers had done2 viz4 the fourth1 fifth1 and octave to the gravest tone4 #c ,however this may be1 it would appear that the lyre had at first four strings only3 ,terpander is said to have given it three more1 and an eighth was subsequently added4 ,we have unfortunately no specimens of ,greek or ,roman1 or even of ,early ,christian music4 ,the ,chinese indicated the notes by words or their initials4 ,the lowest was termed ,koung1 or the ,emperor1 as being the ,foundation on which all were supported2 the second was ,tschang1 the ,prime ,minister2 the third1 the ,subject2 the fourth1 ,public ,business2 the fifth1 the ,mirror of ,heaven4 #d ,the ,greeks also had a name for each note4 ,the so-called ,gregorian notes were not invented until six hundred years after ,gregory's death4 ,the ,monastery of ,st4 ,gall possesses a copy of ,gregory's ,antiphonary1 made about the year #ghj by a chorister who was sent from ,rome to ,charlemagne to reform the ,northern music1 and in this the notes are indicated by pneumss1 from which our notes were gradually developed1 and first arranged along one line1 to which others were gradually added4 ,but ,i must not enlarge on this interesting subject4 ,in the matter of music ,englishmen have certainly deserved well of the world4 ,even as long ago as #aahe ,giraldus ,cambrensis1 ,bishop of ,st4 ,david's1 says1 ,the ,britons do not sing their tunes in unison like the inhabitants of other countries1 but in different parts4 ,so that when a company of singers meet to sing1 as is usual in this country1 as many different parts are heard as there are singers4 #e ,the most ancient known piece of music for several voices is an ,english four men's song1 ,summer is a coming in1 which is considered to be at least as early as #abdj1 and is now in the ,british ,museum4 ,the ,venetian ,ambassador in the time of ,henry ,,viii4 said of our ,english ,church music3 ,the mass was sung by ,his ,majesty's choristers1 whose voices are more heavenly than human2 they did not chant like men1 but like angels4 ,speaking of ,purcell's anthem1 ,be merciful to me1 ,o ,god1 ,burney says it is throughout admirable4 ,indeed1 to my conception there is no better music existing of the kind than the opening of this anthem1 in which the verse ',i will praise ,god' and the last movement in ,c natural are1 in melody1 harmony1 and modulation1 truly divine music4 ,dr4 ,burney says that ,purcell was as much the pride of an ,englishman in music as ,shakespeare in productions of the stage1 ,milton in epic poetry1 ,locke in metaphysics1 or ,sir ,isaac ,newton in philosophy and mathematics2 and yet ,purcell's music is unfortunately but little known to us now1 as ,macfarren says1 to our great loss4 ,the authors of some of the loveliest music1 and even in some cases that of comparatively recent times1 are unknown to us4 ,this is the case for instance with the exquisite song ,drink to me only with thine eyes1 the words of which were taken by ,jonson from ,philostratus1 and which has been considered as the most beautiful of all people's songs4 ,the music of ,god save the ,queen has been adopted in more than half a dozen other countries1 and yet the authorship is a matter of doubt1 being attributed by some to ,dr4 ,john ,bull1 by others to ,carey4 ,it was apparently first sung in a tavern in ,cornhill4 ,both the music and words of ,o ,death1 rock me to sleep are said to be by ,anne ,boleyn3 ,stay1 ,corydon and ,sweet ,honey-sucking ,bees by ,wildye1 the first of madrigal writers4 ,rule ,britannia was composed by ,arne1 and originally formed part of his ,masque of ,alfred1 first performed in #agdj at ,cliefden1 near ,maidenhead4 ,to ,arne we are also indebted for the music of ,where the ,bee sucks there lurk ,i4 ,the ,vicar of ,bray is set to a tune originally known as ,a ,country ,garden4 ,come unto these yellow sands we owe to ,purcell2 ,sigh no more1 ,ladies to ,stevens2 ,home1 ,sweet ,home to ,bishop4 ,there is a curious melancholy in national music which is generally in the minor key2 indeed this holds good with the music of savage races generally4 ,they appear1 moreover1 to have no love ,songs4 ,herodotus tells us that during the whole time he was in ,egypt he only heard one song1 and that was a sad one4 ,my own experience there was the same4 ,some tendency to melancholy seems indeed inherent in music1 and ,jessica is not alone in the feeling ,i am never merry when ,i hear sweet music4 ,the epitaphs on ,musicians have been in some cases very well expressed4 ,such1 for instance1 is the following3 ,philips1 whose touch harmonious could remove ,the pangs of guilty power and hapless love1 ,rest here1 distressed by poverty no more2 ,here find that calm thou gav'st so oft before2 ,sleep1 undisturbed1 within this peaceful shrine1 ,till angels wake thee with a note like thine6 ,still more so that on ,purcell1 whose premature death was so irreparable a loss to ,english music-- ,here lies ,henry ,purcell1 who left this life1 and is gone to that blessed place1 where only his harmony can be exceeded4 ,the histories of ,music contain many curious anecdotes as to the circumstances under which different works have been composed4 ,rossini tells us that he wrote the overture to the ,gazza ,ladra on the very day of the first performance1 in the upper loft of the ,la ,scala1 where he had been confined by the manager under the guard of four scene-shifters1 who threw the text out of the window to copyists bit by bit as it was composed4 ,tartini is said to have composed ,il trillo del ,diavolo1 considered to be his best work1 in a dream4 ,rossini1 speaking of the chorus in ,g minor in his ,dal tuo stellato soglio1 tells us3 ,while ,i was writing the chorus in ,g minor ,i suddenly dipped my pen into a medicine bottle instead of the ink4 ,i made a blot1 and when ,i dried this with the sand it took the form of a natural1 which instantly gave me the idea of the effect the change from ,g minor to ,g major would make1 and to this blot is all the effect1 if any1 due4 ,but these of course are exceptional cases4 ,there are other forms of ,music1 which though not strictly entitled to the name1 are yet capable of giving intense pleasure4 ,to the sportsman what ,music can excel that of the hounds themselves4 ,the cawing of rooks has been often quoted as a sound which has no actual beauty of its own1 and yet which is delightful from its associations4 ,there is1 however1 a true ,music of ,nature1--the song of birds1 the whisper of leaves1 the ripple of waters upon a sandy shore1 the wail of wind or sea4 ,there was also an ancient impression that the ,heavenly bodies give out music as well as light3 the ,music of the ,spheres is proverbial4 ,there's not the smallest orb which thou beholdest ,but in his motion like an angel sings1 ,still quiring to the young-eyed cherubims2 ,such harmony is in immortal souls ,but while this muddy vesture of decay ,doth grossly close it in1 we cannot hear it4 #f ,music indeed often seems as if it scarcely belonged to this material universe1 but was ,a tone ,of some world far from ours1 ,where music1 and moonlight1 and feeling are one4 #g ,there is ,music in speech as well as in song4 ,not merely in the voice of those we love1 and the charm of association1 but in actual melody2 as ,milton says1 ,the ,angel ended1 and in ,adam's ear ,so charming left his voice1 that he awhile ,thought him still speaking1 still stood fixed to hear4 ,it is remarkable that more pains are not taken with the voice in conversation as well as in singing1 for ,what plea so tainted and corrupt ,but1 being seasoned with a gracious voice1 ,obscures the show of evil4 ,it may be true as a general rule that ,the man that hath no ,music in himself ,nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds ,is fit for treasons1 stratagems1 and spoils2 #h but there are some notable exceptions4 ,dr4 ,johnson had no love of music4 ,on one occasion1 hearing that a certain piece of music was very difficult1 he expressed his regret that it was not impossible4 ,poets1 as might have been expected1 have sung most sweetly in praise of song4 ,they have1 moreover1 done so from the most opposite points of view4 ,milton invokes it as a luxury-- ,and ever against eating cares ,lap me in soft ,lydian airs2 ,married to immortal verse ,such as the meeting soul may pierce1 ,in notes with many a winding bout ,of linked sweetness long drawn out2 ,with wanton heed1 and giddy cunning1 ,the melting voice through mazes running2 ,untwisting all the chains that tie ,the hidden soul of harmony4 ,sometimes as a temptation2 so ,spenser says of ,phaedria1 ,and she1 more sweet than any bird on bough ,would oftentimes amongst them bear a part1 ,and strive to passe 7as she could well enough7 ,their native musicke by her skilful art4 ,or as an element of pure happiness-- ,there is in ,souls a sympathy with sounds2 ,and as the mind is pitched1 the ear is pleased ,with melting airs or martial1 brisk or grave2 ,some chord in unison with what we hear ,is touched within us1 and the heart replies4 ,how soft the music of those village bells1 ,falling at intervals upon the ear ,in cadence sweet1 now dying all away1 ,now pealing loud again and louder still ,clear and sonorous1 as the gale comes on4 #i ,as touching the human heart-- ,the soul of music slumbers in the shell1 ,till waked and kindled by the master's spell1 ,and feeling hearts--touch them but lightly--pour ,a thousand melodies unheard before4 #aj ,as an education-- ,i have sent books and music there1 and all ,those instruments with which high spirits call ,the future from its cradle1 and the past ,out of its grave1 and make the present last ,in thoughts and joys which sleep1 but cannot die1 ,folded within their own eternity4 #aa ,as an aid to religion-- ,as from the power of sacred lays ,the spheres began to move1 ,and sung the great ,creator's praise ,to all the blessed above1 ,so when the last and dreadful hour ,this crumbling pageant shall devour1 ,the trumpet shall be heard on high4 ,the dead shall live1 the living die1 ,and music shall untune the sky4 #ab ,or again-- ,hark how it falls6 and now ,it steals along1 ,like distant bells upon the lake at eve4 ,when all is still2 and now it grows more strong ,as when the choral train their dirges weave ,mellow and many voiced2 where every close ,o'er the old minster roof1 in echoing waves reflows4 ,oh6 ,i am rapt aloft4 ,my spirit soars ,beyond the skies1 and leaves the stars behind2 ,lo6 angels lead me to the happy shores1 ,and floating paeans fill the buoyant wind4 ,farewell6 base earth1 farewell6 my soul is freed4 ,the power of ,music to sway the feelings of ,man has never been more cleverly portrayed than by ,dryden in ,the ,feast of ,alexander1 though the circumstances of the case precluded any reference to the influence of ,music in its noblest aspects4 ,poets have always attributed to ,music--and who would wish to deny it8--a power even over the inanimate forces of ,nature4 ,shakespeare accounts for shooting stars by the attraction of ,music3 ,the rude sea grew civil at her song1 ,and certain stars shot madly from their spheres ,to hear the ,sea-maid's music4 ,prose writers have also been inspired by ,music to their highest eloquence4 ,music1 says ,plato1 is a moral law4 ,it gives a soul to the universe1 wings to the mind1 flight to the imagination1 a charm to sadness1 gaiety and life to everything4 ,it is the essence of order1 and leads to all that is good1 just1 and beautiful1 of which it is the invisible1 but nevertheless dazzling1 passionate1 and eternal form4 ,music1 said ,luther1 is a fair and glorious gift from ,god4 ,i would not for the world renounce my humble share in music4 ,music1 said ,halevy1 is an art that ,god has given us1 in which the voices of all nations may unite their prayers in one harmonious rhythm4 ,or ,carlyle1 ,music is a kind of inarticulate1 unfathomable speech1 which leads us to the edge of the infinite1 and lets us for moments gaze into it4 ,let me also quote ,helmholtz1 one of the profoundest exponents of modern science4 ,just as in the rolling ocean1 this movement1 rhythmically repeated1 and yet ever-varying1 rivets our attention and hurries us along4 ,but whereas in the sea blind physical forces alone are at work1 and hence the final impression on the spectator's mind is nothing but solitude--in a musical work of art the movement follows the outflow of the artist's own emotions4 ,now gently gliding1 now gracefully leaping1 now violently stirred1 penetrated1 or laboriously contending with the natural expression of passion1 the stream of sound1 in primitive vivacity1 bears over into the hearer's soul unimagined moods which the artist has overheard from his own1 and finally raises him up to that repose of everlasting beauty of which ,god has allowed but few of his elect favorites to be the heralds4 ,there are but seven notes in the scale2 make them fourteen1 says ,newman1 yet what a slender outfit for so vast an enterprise6 ,what science brings so much out of so little8 ,out of what poor elements does some great master in it create his new world6 ,shall we say that all this exuberant inventiveness is a mere ingenuity or trick of art1 like some game of fashion of the day1 without reality1 without meaning8444 ,is it possible that that inexhaustible evolution and disposition of notes1 so rich yet so simple1 so intricate yet so regulated1 so various yet so majestic1 should be a mere sound1 which is gone and perishes8 ,can it be that those mysterious stirrings of the heart1 and keen emotions1 and strange yearnings after we know not what1 and awful impressions from we know not whence1 should be wrought in us by what is unsubstantial1 and comes and goes1 and begins and ends in itself8 it is not so2 it cannot be4 ,no2 they have escaped from some higher sphere2 they are the outpourings of eternal harmony in the medium of created sound2 they are echoes from our ,home2 they are the voices of ,angels1 or the ,magnificat of ,saints1 or the living laws of ,divine ,governance1 or the ,divine ,attributes2 something are they besides themselves1 which we cannot compass1 which we cannot utter1 though mortal man1 and he perhaps not otherwise distinguished above his fellows1 has the gift of eliciting them4 ,poetry and ,music unite in song4 ,from the earliest ages song has been the sweet companion of labor4 ,the rude chant of the boatman floats upon the water1 the shepherd sings upon the hill1 the milkmaid in the dairy1 the ploughman at the plough4 ,every trade1 every occupation1 every act and scene of life1 has long had its own especial music4 ,the bride went to her marriage1 the laborer to his work1 the old man to his last long rest1 each with appropriate and immemorial music4 ,music has been truly described as the mother of sympathy1 the handmaid of ,religion1 and will never exercise its full effect1 as the ,emperor ,charles ,,vi4 said to ,farinelli1 unless it aims not merely to charm the ear1 but to touch the heart4 ,there are many who consider that our life at present is peculiarly prosaic and mercenary4 ,i greatly doubt whether that be the case1 but if so our need for ,music is all the more imperative4 ,much as ,music has already done for man1 we may hope even more from it in the future4 ,it is1 moreover1 a joy for all4 ,to appreciate ,science or ,art requires some training1 and no doubt the cultivated ear will more and more appreciate the beauties of ,music2 but though there are exceptional individuals1 and even races1 almost devoid of any love of ,music1 still they are happily but rare4 ,good ,music1 moreover1 does not necessarily involve any considerable outlay2 it is even now no mere luxury of the rich1 and we may hope that as time goes on1 it will become more and more the comfort and solace of the poor4 #a ,morris4 #b ,plato4 #c ,crowest4 #d ,rowbotham1 ,history of ,music4 #e ,wakefield4 #f ,shakespeare4 #g ,swinburne4 #h ,shakespeare4 #i ,cowper4 #aj ,rogers4 #aa ,shelley4 #ab ,dryden4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,beauties ,,of ,,nature4 ,speak to the earth and it shall teach thee4 ,,job4 ,and this our life1 exempt from public haunt1 ,finds tongues in trees1 books in the running brooks1 ,sermons in stones1 and good in everything4 ,,shakespeare4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,beauties ,,of ,,nature4 ,we are told in the first chapter of ,genesis that at the close of the sixth day ,god saw every thing that he had made1 and1 behold1 it was very good4 ,not merely good1 but very good4 ,yet how few of us appreciate the beautiful world in which we live6 ,in preceding chapters ,i have incidentally1 though only incidentally1 referred to the ,beauties of ,nature2 but any attempt1 however imperfect1 to sketch the blessings of life must contain some special reference to this lovely world itself1 which the ,greeks happily called ,greek3 chosmos --beauty4 ,hamerton1 in his charming work on ,landscape1 says1 ,there are1 ,i believe1 four new experiences for which no description ever adequately prepares us1 the first sight of the sea1 the first journey in the desert1 the sight of flowing molten lava1 and a walk on a great glacier4 ,we feel in each case that the strange thing is pure nature1 as much nature as a familiar ,english moor1 yet so extraordinary that we might be in another planet4 ,but it would1 ,i think1 be easier to enumerate the ,wonders of ,nature for which description can prepare us1 than those which are altogether beyond the power of language4 ,many of us1 however1 walk through the world like ghosts1 as if we were in it1 but not of it4 ,we have eyes and see not1 ears and hear not4 ,to look is much less easy than to overlook1 and to be able to see what we do see1 is a great gift4 ,ruskin maintains that ,the greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something1 and tell what it saw in a plain way4 ,i do not suppose that his eyes are better than ours1 but how much more he sees with them6 ,we must look before we can expect to see4 ,to the attentive eye1 says ,emerson1 each moment of the year has its own beauty2 and in the same field it beholds every hour a picture that was never seen before1 and shall never be seen again4 ,the heavens change every moment and reflect their glory or gloom on the plains beneath4 ,the love of ,nature is a great gift1 and if it is frozen or crushed out1 the character can hardly fail to suffer from the loss4 ,i will not1 indeed1 say that a person who does not love ,nature is necessarily bad2 or that one who does1 is necessarily good2 but it is to most minds a great help4 ,many1 as ,miss ,cobbe says1 enter the ,temple through the gate called ,beautiful4 ,there are doubtless some to whom none of the beautiful wonders of ,nature2 neither the glories of the rising or setting sun2 the magnificent spectacle of the boundless ocean1 sometimes so grand in its peaceful tranquillity1 at others so majestic in its mighty power2 the forests agitated by the storm1 or alive with the song of birds2 nor the glaciers and mountains--there are doubtless some whom none of these magnificent spectacles can move1 whom all the glories of heaven and earth may pass in daily succession without touching their hearts or elevating their minds4 #a ,such men are indeed pitiable4 ,but1 happily1 they are exceptions4 ,if we can none of us as yet fully appreciate the beauties of ,nature1 we are beginning to do so more and more4 ,for most of us the early summer has a special charm4 ,the very life is luxury4 ,the air is full of scent1 and sound1 and sunshine1 of the song of birds and the murmur of insects2 the meadows gleam with golden buttercups1 it almost seems as if one could see the grass grow and the buds open2 the bees hum for very joy1 and the air is full of a thousand scents1 above all perhaps that of new-mown hay4 ,the exquisite beauty and delight of a fine summer day in the country has never perhaps been more truly1 and therefore more beautifully1 described than by ,jefferies in his ,pageant of ,summer4 ,i linger1' he says1 in the midst of the long grass1 the luxury of the leaves1 and the song in the very air4 ,i seem as if ,i could feel all the glowing life the sunshine gives and the south wind calls to being4 ,the endless grass1 the endless leaves1 the immense strength of the oak expanding1 the unalloyed joy of finch and blackbird2 from all of them ,i receive a little4444 ,in the blackbird's melody one note is mine2 in the dance of the leaf shadows the formed maze is for me1 though the motion is theirs2 the flowers with a thousand faces have collected the kisses of the morning4 ,feeling with them1 ,i receive some1 at least1 of their fulness of life4 ,never could ,i have enough2 never stay long enough4444 ,the hours when the mind is absorbed by beauty are the only hours when we really live1 so that the longer we can stay among these things so much the more is snatched from inevitable ,time4444 ,these are the only hours that are not wasted-these hours that absorb the soul and fill it with beauty4 ,this is real life1 and all else is illusion1 or mere endurance4 ,to be beautiful and to be calm1 without mental fear1 is the ideal of ,nature4 ,if ,i cannot achieve it1 at least ,i can think it4 ,this chapter is already so long that ,i cannot touch on the contrast and variety of the seasons1 each with its own special charm and interest1 as ,the daughters of the year ,dance into light and die into the shade4 #b ,our countrymen derive great pleasure from the animal kingdom1 in hunting1 shooting1 and fishing1 thus obtaining fresh air and exercise1 and being led into much varied and beautiful scenery4 ,still it will probably ere long be recognized that even from a purely selfish point of view1 killing animals is not the way to get the greatest enjoyment from them4 ,how much more interesting would every walk in the country be1 if ,man would but treat other animals with kindness1 so that they might approach us without fear1 and we might have the constant pleasure of watching their winning ways4 ,their origin and history1 structure and habits1 senses and intelligence1 offer an endless field of interest and wonder4 ,the richness of life is wonderful4 ,any one who will sit down quietly on the grass and watch a little will be indeed surprised at the number and variety of living beings1 every one with a special history of its own1 every one offering endless problems of great interest4 ,if indeed thy heart were right1 then would every creature be to thee a mirror of lifer and a book of holy doctrine4 #c ,the study of ,natural ,history has the special advantage of carrying us into the country and the open air4 ,not but what towns are beautiful too4 ,they teem with human interest and historical associations4 ,wordsworth was an intense lover of nature2 yet does he not tell us1 in lines which every ,londoner will appreciate1 that he knew nothing in nature more fair1 no calm more deep1 than the city of ,london at early dawn8 ,earth has not anything to show more fair2 ,dull would he be of soul who could pass by ,a sight so touching in its majesty3 ,this ,city now doth1 like a garment1 wear ,the beauty of the morning2 silent1 bare1 ,ships1 towers1 domes1 theatres1 and temples lie ,open unto the fields1 and to the sky2 ,all bright and glittering in the smokeless air4 ,never did sun more beautifully steep ,in his first splendor1 valley1 rock1 or hill2 ,ne'er saw ,i1 never felt1 a calm so deep6 ,the river glideth at its own sweet will3 ,dear ,god6 the very houses seem asleep2 ,and all that mighty heart is lying still6 ,milton also described ,london as ,too blest abode1 no loveliness we see ,in all the earth1 but it abounds in thee4 ,but after being some time in a great city1 one feels a longing for the country4 ,the meanest floweret of the vale1 ,the simplest note that swells the gale1 ,the common sun1 the air1 the skies1 ,to him are opening paradise4 #d ,here ,gray justly places flowers in the first place1 for when in any great town we think of the country1 flowers seem first to suggest themselves4 ,flowers1 says ,ruskin1 seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity4 ,children love them2 quiet1 tender1 contented1 ordinary people love them as they grow2 luxurious and disorderly people rejoice in them gathered4 ,they are the cottager's treasure2 and in the crowded town mark1 as with a little broken fragment of rainbow the windows of the workers in whose heart rest the covenant of peace4 ,but in the crowded street1 or even in the formal garden1 flowers always seem1 to me at least1 as if they were pining for the freedom of the woods and fields1 where they can live and grow as they please4 ,there are flowers for almost all seasons and all places4 ,flowers for spring1 summer1 and autumn1 while even in the very depth of winter here and there one makes its appearance4 ,there are flowers of the fields and woods and hedgerows1 of the seashore and the lake's margin1 of the mountain-side up to the very edge of the eternal snow4 ,and what an infinite variety they present4 ,daffodils1 ,that come before the swallow dares1 and take ,the winds of ,march with beauty2 violets1 dim1 ,but sweeter than the lids of ,juno's eyes1 ,or ,cytherea's breath2 pale primroses1 ,that die unmarried1 ere they can behold ,bright ,phoebus in his strength1 a malady ,most incident to maids2 bold oxlips and ,the crown imperial2 lilies of all kinds1 ,the flower-de-luce being one4 #e ,nor are they mere delights to the eye2 they are full of mystery and suggestions4 ,they almost seem like enchanted princesses waiting for some princely deliverer4 ,wordsworth tells us that ,to me the meanest flower that blows can give ,thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears4 ,every color again1 every variety of form1 has some purpose and explanation4 ,and yet1 lovely as ,flowers are1 ,leaves add even more to the ,beauty of ,nature4 ,trees in our northern latitudes seldom own large flowers2 and though of course there are notable exceptions1 such as the ,horse-chestnut1 still even in these cases the flowers live only a few days1 while the leaves last for months4 ,every tree indeed is a picture in itself3 ,the gnarled and rugged ,oak1 the symbol and source of our navy1 sacred to the memory of the ,druids1 the type of strength1 the sovereign of ,british trees2 the ,chestnut1 with its beautiful1 tapering1 and rich green1 glossy leaves1 its delicious fruit1 and to the durability of which we owe the grand and historic roof of ,westminster ,abbey4 ,the ,birch is the queen of trees1 with her feathery foliage1 scarcely visible in spring but turning to leaves of gold in autumn2 the pendulous twigs tinged with purple1 and silver stems so brilliantly marked with black and white4 ,the ,elm forms grand masses of foliage which turn a beautiful golden yellow in autumn2 and the ,black ,poplar with its perpendicular leaves1 rustling and trembling with every breath of wind1 towers over most other forest trees4 ,the ,beech enlivens the country by its tender green in spring1 rich green in summer1 and glorious gold and orange in autumn1 set off by the graceful gray stems2 and has moreover1 such a wealth of leaves that in autumn there are enough not only to clothe the tree itself but to cover the grass underneath4 ,if the ,beech owes much to its delicate gray stem1 even more beautiful is the reddish crimson of the ,scotch ,pines1 in such charming contrast with the rich green of the foliage1 by which it is shown off rather than hidden2 and1 with the green spires of the ,firs1 they keep the woods warm in winter4 ,nor must ,i overlook the smaller trees3 the ,yew with its thick green foliage2 the wild ,guelder rose1 which lights up the woods in autumn with translucent glossy berries and many-tinted leaves2 or the ,bryonies1 the ,briar1 the ,traveler's ,joy1 and many another plant1 even humbler perhaps1 and yet each with some exquisite beauty and grace of its own1 so that we must all have sometimes felt our hearts overflowing with gladness and gratitude1 as if the woods were full of music--as if ,the woods were filled so full with song ,there seemed no room for sense of wrong4 #f ,on the whole no doubt1 woodlands are less beautiful in the winter3 yet even then the delicate tracery of the branches1 which cannot be so well seen when they are clothed with leaves1 has a special beauty of its own2 while every now and then hoar frost or snow settles like silver on every branch and twig1 lighting up the forest as if by enchantment in preparation for some fairy festival4 ,i feel with ,jefferies that by day or by night1 summer or winter1 beneath trees the heart feels nearer to that depth of life which the far sky means4 ,the rest of spirit found only in beauty1 ideal and pure1 comes there because the distance seems within touch of thought4 ,the general effect of forests in tropical regions must be very different from that of those in our latitudes4 ,kingsley describes it as one of helplessness1 confusion1 awe1 all but terror4 ,the trunks are very lofty and straight1 and rising to a great height without a branch1 so that the wood seems at first comparatively open4 ,in ,brazilian forests1 for instance1 the trees struggle upward1 and the foliage forms an unbroken canopy1 perhaps a hundred feet overhead4 ,here1 indeed1 high up in the air is the real life of the forest4 ,everything seems to climb1 to the light4 ,the quadrupeds climb1 birds climb1 reptiles climb1 and the variety of climbing plants is far greater than anything to which we are accustomed4 ,many savage nations worship trees1 and ,i really think my first feeling would be one of delight and interest rather than of surprise1 if some day when ,i am alone in a wood one of the trees were to speak to me4 ,even by day there is something mysterious in a forest1 and this is much more the case at night4 ,with wood1 water seems to be naturally associated4 ,without water no landscape is complete1 while overhead the clouds add beauty to the heavens themselves4 ,the spring and the rivulet1 the brook1 the river1 and the lake1 seem to give life to ,nature1 and were indeed regarded by our ancestors as living entities themselves4 ,water is beautiful in the morning mist1 in the broad lake1 in the glancing stream or the river pool1 in the wide ocean1 beautiful in all its varied moods4 ,water nourishes vegetation2 it clothes the lowlands with green and the mountains with snow4 ,it sculptures the rocks and excavates the valleys1 in most cases acting mainly through the soft rain1 though our harder rocks are still grooved by the ice-chisel of bygone ages4 ,the refreshing pour of water upon the earth is scarcely greater than that which it exercises on the mind of man4 ,after a long spell of work how delightful it is to sit by a lake or river1 or on the seashore1 and enjoy ,a little murmur in mine ear1 ,a little ripple at my feet4 #g ,every ,englishman loves the sight of the ,sea ,we feel that it is to us a second home4 ,it seems to vivify the very atmosphere1 so that ,sea air is proverbial as a tonic1 and makes the blood dance in our veins4 ,the ,ocean gives an impression of freedom and grandeur more intense perhaps than the aspect of the heavens themselves4 ,a poor woman from ,manchester1 on being taken to the seaside1 is said to have expressed her delight on seeing for the first time something of which there was enough for everybody4 ,the sea coast is always interesting4 ,when we think of the cliff sections with their histories of bygone ages2 the shore itself teeming with seaweeds and animals1 waiting for the return of the tide1 or thrown up from deeper water by the waves2 the weird cries of seabirds2 the delightful feeling that with every breath we are laying in a store of fresh life1 and health1 and energy1 it is impossible to over-estimate all we owe to the sea4 ,it is1 moreover1 always changing4 ,we went for our holiday this year to ,lyme ,regis4 ,let me attempt to describe the changes in the view from our windows during a single day4 ,our sitting-room opened on to a little lawn1 beyond which the ground drops suddenly to the sea1 while over about two miles of water were the hills of the ,dorsetshire coast--,golden ,cap1 with its bright crest of yellow sand1 and the dark blue ,lias ,cliff of ,black ,ven4 ,when ,i came early down in the morning the sun was rising opposite1 shining into the room over a calm sea1 along an avenue of light2 by degrees1 as it rose1 the whole sea was gilt with light1 and the hills bathed in a violet mist4 ,by breakfast-time all color had faded from the sea--it was like silver passing on each side into gray2 the sky was blue1 flecked with fleecy clouds2 while1 on the gentler slopes of the coast opposite1 fields and woods1 and quarries and lines of stratification begin to show themselves1 though the cliffs are still in shadow1 and the more distant headlands still a mere succession of ghosts1 each one fainter than the one before it4 ,as the morning advances the sea becomes blue1 the dark woods1 green meadows1 and golden cornfields of the opposite coast more distinct1 and the details of the cliffs come gradually into view1 and fishing-boats with dark sails begin to appear4 ,gradually the sun rises higher1 a yellow line of shore appears under the opposite cliffs1 and the sea changes its color1 mapping itself out as it were1 the shallower parts turquoise blue1 almost green2 the deeper ones deep violet4 ,this does not last long--a thunderstorm comes up4 ,the wind mutters overhead1 the rain patters on the leaves1 the coast opposite seems to shrink into itself1 as if it would fly from the storm4 ,the sea grows dark and rough1 and white horses appear here and there4 ,but the storm is soon over4 ,the clouds break1 the rain stops1 the sun shines once more1 the hills opposite come out again4 ,they are divided now not only into fields and woods1 but into sunshine and shadow4 ,the sky clears1 and as the sun begins to descend westwards the sea becomes one beautiful clear uniform azure1 changing again soon to pale blue in front and dark violet beyond3 and once more as clouds begin to gather again1 into an archipelago of bright blue sea and deep islands of ultramarine4 ,as the sun travels westward1 the opposite hills change again4 ,they scarcely seem like the same country4 ,what was in sun is now in shade1 and what was in shade now lies bright in the sunshine4 ,the sea once more becomes a uniform solid blue1 only flecked in places by scuds of wind1 and becoming paler towards evening as the sun sinks1 the cliffs which catch his setting rays losing their deep color and in some places looking almost as white as chalk1 while at sunset they light up again for a moment with a golden glow1 the sea at the same time sinking to a cold gray4 ,but soon the hills grow cold too1 ,golden ,cap holding out bravely to the last1 and the shades of evening settle over cliff and wood1 cornfield and meadow4 ,these are but a part1 and a very small part1 of the changes of a single day4 ,and scarce any two days are alike4 ,at times a sea-fog covers everything4 ,again the sea which sleeps to-day so peacefully sometimes rages1 and the very existence of the bay itself bears witness to its force4 ,the night1 again1 varies like the day4 ,sometimes shrouded by a canopy of darkness1 sometimes lit up by millions of brilliant worlds1 sometimes bathed in the light of a moon1 which never retains the same form for two nights together4 ,if ,lakes are less grand than the sea1 they are in some respects even more lovely4 ,the seashore is comparatively bare4 ,the banks of ,lakes are often richly clothed with vegetation which comes close down to the water's edge1 sometimes hanging even into the water itself4 ,they are often studded with well-wooded islands4 ,they are sometimes fringed with green meadows1 sometimes bounded by rocky promontories rising directly from comparatively deep water1 while the calm bright surface is often fretted by a delicate pattern of interlacing ripples1 or reflects a second1 softened1 and inverted landscape4 ,to water again we owe the marvellous spectacle of the rainbow--,god's bow in the clouds4 ,it is indeed truly a heavenly messenger1 and so unlike anything else that it scarcely seems to belong to this world4 ,many things are colored1 but the rainbow seems to be color itself4 ,first the flaming red ,sprang vivid forth2 the tawny orange next1 ,and next delicious yellow2 by whose side ,fell the kind beams of all-refreshing green4 ,then the pure blue that swells autumnal skies1 ,ethereal play'd2 and then1 of sadder hue ,emerged the deeper indigo 7as when ,the heavy-skirted evening droops with frost71 ,while the last gleamings of refracted light ,died in the fainting violet away4 #h ,we do not1 ,i think1 sufficiently realize how wonderful is the blessing of color4 ,it would have been possible1 it would even seem more probable1 that though light might have enabled us to perceive objects1 this could only have been by shade and form4 ,how we perceive color it is very difficult to comprehend1 and yet when we speak of beauty1 among the ideas which come to us most naturally are those of birds and butterflies1 flowers and shells1 precious stones1 skies1 and rainbows4 ,our minds might have been constituted exactly as they are1 we might have been capable of comprehending the highest and sublimest truths1 and yet1 but for a small organ in the head1 the world of sound would have been shut out from us2 we should have lost the sounds of nature1 the charms of music1 the conversation of friends1 and have been condemned to perpetual silence3 and yet a slight alteration in the retina1 which is not thicker than a sheet of paper1 not larger than a finger nail1--and the glorious spectacle of this beautiful world1 the exquisite variety of form1 the glory and play of color1 the variety of scenery1 of woods and fields1 and lakes and hills1 seas and mountains1 the glory of the sky alike by day and night1 would all have been lost to us4 ,mountains1 again1 seem to have been built for the human race1 as at once their schools and cathedrals2 full of treasures of illuminated manuscript for the scholar1 kindly in simple lessons for the worker1 quiet in pale cloisters for the thinker1 glorious in holiness for the worshipper4 ,and of these great cathedrals of the earth1 with their gates of rock1 pavements of cloud1 choirs of stream and stone1 altars of snow1 and vaults of purple traversed by the continual stars4 #i ,all these beauties are comprised in ,tennyson's exquisite description of ,oenone's vale--the city1 flowers1 trees1 river1 and mountains4 ,there is a vale in ,ida1 lovelier ,than all the valleys of ,ionian hills4 ,the swimming vapor slopes athwart the glen1 ,puts forth an arm1 and creeps from pine to pine1 ,and loiters1 slowly drawn4 ,on either hand ,the lawns and meadow-ledges midway down ,hang rich in flowers1 and far below them roars ,the long brook falling thro' the clov'n ravine ,in cataract after cataract to the sea4 ,behind the valley topmost ,gargarus ,stands up and takes the morning2 but in front ,the gorges1 opening wide apart1 reveal ,troas and ,ilion's column'd citadel1 ,the crown of ,troas4 ,and when we raise our eyes from earth1 who has not sometimes felt the witchery of the soft blue sky2 who has not watched a cloud floating upward as if on its way to heaven1 or when ,sunbeam proof1 ,i hang like a roof ,the mountain its columns be4 #aj ,and yet if1 in our moments of utter idleness and insipidity1 we turn to the sky as a last resource1 which of its phenomena do we speak of8 ,one says1 it has been wet2 and another1 it has been windy2 and another1 it has been warm4 ,who1 among the whole chattering crowd1 can tell me of the forms and the precipices of the chain of tall white mountains that girded the horizon at noon yesterday8 ,who saw the narrow sunbeam that came out of the south1 and smote upon their summits until they melted and mouldered away in a dust of blue rain8 ,who saw the dance of the dead clouds when the sunlight left them last night1 and the west wind blew them before it like withered leaves8 ,all has passed1 unregretted as unseen2 or if the apathy be ever shaken off1 even for an instant1 it is only by what is gross1 or what is extraordinary2 and yet it is not in the broad and fierce manifestations of the elemental energies1 not in the clash of the hail1 nor the drift of the whirlwind1 that the highest characters of the sublime are developed4 #aa ,but exquisitely lovely as is the blue arch of the midday sky1 with its inexhaustible variety of clouds1 there is yet a light which the eye invariably seeks with a deeper feeling of the beautiful1 the light of the declining or breaking day1 and the flakes of scarlet cloud burning like watch-fires in the green sky of the horizon4 #ab ,the evening colors indeed soon fade away1 but as night comes on1 ,how glorious the firmament ,with living sapphires6 ,hesperus that led ,the starry host1 rode brightest2 till the moon ,rising in clouded majesty1 at length1 ,apparent queen1 unveiled her peerless light1 ,and o'er the dark her silver mantle threw4 #ac ,we generally speak of a beautiful night when it is calm and clear1 and the stars shine brightly overhead2 but how grand also are the wild ways of ,nature1 how magnificent when the lightning flashes1 between gloom and glory2 when ,from peak to peak1 the rattling crags among ,leaps the live thunder4 #ad ,in the words of ,ossian-- ,ghosts ride in the tempest to-night2 ,sweet is their voice between the gusts of wind1 ,their songs are of other worlds4 ,nor are the wonders and beauties of the heavens limited by the clouds and the blue sky1 lovely as they are4 ,in the heavenly bodies we have before us the perpetual presence of the sublime4 ,they are so immense and so far away1 and yet on soft summer nights they seem leaning down to whisper in the ear of our souls4 #ae ,a man can hardly lift up his eyes toward the heavens1 says ,seneca1 without wonder and veneration1 to see so many millions of radiant lights1 and to observe their courses and revolutions1 even without any respect to the common good of the ,universe4 ,who does not sympathize with the feelings of ,dante as he rose from his visit to the lower regions1 until1 he says1 ,on our view the beautiful lights of heaven ,dawned through a circular opening in the cave1 ,thence issuing1 we again beheld the stars4 ,as we watch the stars at night they seem so still and motionless that we can hardly realize that all the time they are rushing on with a velocity far far exceeding any that man has ever accomplished4 ,like the sands of the sea1 the stars of heaven have ever been used as an appropriate symbol of number1 and we know that there are some #ge1jjj1jjj1 many1 no doubt1 with planets of their own4 ,but this is by no means all4 ,the floor of heaven is not only thick inlaid with patines of bright gold1 but is studded also with extinct stars1 once probably as brilliant as our own sun1 but now dead and cold1 as ,helmholtz tells us our sun itself will be some seventeen millions of years hence4 ,then1 again1 there are the comets1 which1 though but few are visible to us at once1 are even more numerous than the stars2 there are the nebulae1 and the countless minor bodies circulating in space1 and occasionally visible as meteors4 ,nor is it only the number of the heavenly bodies which is so overwhelming2 their magnitude and distances are almost more impressive4 ,the ocean is so deep and broad as to be almost infinite1 and indeed in so far as our imagination is the limit1 so it may be4 ,yet what is the ocean compared to the sky8 ,our globe is little compared to the giant orbs of ,jupiter and ,saturn1 which again sink into insignificance by the side of the sun4 ,the sun itself is almost as nothing compared with the dimensions of the solar system4 ,sirius is calculated to be a thousand times as great as the ,sun1 and a million times as far away4 ,the solar system itself travels in one region of space1 sailing between worlds and worlds1 and is surrounded by many other systems as great and complex as itself2 and we know that even then we have not reached the limits of the ,universe itself4 ,there are stars so distant that their light1 though traveling #ahj1jjj miles in a second1 yet takes years to reach us2 and beyond all these are other systems of stars which are so far away that they cannot be perceived singly1 but even in our most powerful telescopes appear only as minute clouds or nebulae4 ,it is1 indeed1 but a feeble expression of the truth to say that the infinities revealed to us by ,science1--the infinitely great in the one direction1 and the infinitely small in the other1--go far beyond anything which had occurred to the unaided imagination of ,man1 and are not only a never-failing source of pleasure and interest1 but seem to lift us out of the petty troubles and sorrows of life4 #a ,beattie4 #b ,tennyson4 #c ,thomas ,kempis4 #d ,gray4 #e ,shakespeare4 #f ,tennyson4 #g ,trench4 #h ,thomson4 #i ,ruskin4 #aj ,shelley4 #aa ,ruskin4 #ab ,ibid4 #ac ,wordsworth4 #ad ,swinburne4 #ae ,symonds4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,troubles ,,of ,,life4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,troubles ,,of ,,life4 ,we have in life many troubles1 and troubles are of many kinds4 ,some sorrows1 alas1 are real enough1 especially those we bring on ourselves1 but others1 and by no means the least numerous1 are mere ghosts of troubles3 if we face them boldly1 we find that they have no substance or reality1 but are mere creations of our own morbid imagination1 and that it is as true now as in the time of ,david that ,man disquieteth himself in a vain shadow4 ,some1 indeed1 of our troubles are evils1 but not real2 while others are real1 but not evils4 ,and yet1 into how unfathomable a gulf the mind rushes when the troubles of this world agitate it4 ,if it then forget its own light1 which is eternal joy1 and rush into the outer darkness1 which are the cares of this world1 as the mind now does1 it knows nothing else but lamentations4 #a ,athens1 said ,epictetus1 is a good place1--but happiness is much better2 to be free from passions1 free from disturbance4 ,we should endeavor to maintain ourselves in ,that blessed mood ,in which the burden of the mystery1 ,in which the heavy and the weary weight1 ,of all this unintelligible world ,is lightened4 #b ,so shall we fear neither the exile of ,aristides1 nor the prison of ,anaxagoras1 nor the poverty of ,socrates1 nor the condemnation of ,phocion1 but think virtue worthy our love even under such trials4 #c ,we should then be1 to a great extent1 independent of external circumstances1 for ,stone walls do not a prison make1 ,nor iron bars a cage1 ,minds innocent and quiet take ,that for a hermitage4 ,if ,i have freedom in my love1 ,and in my soul am free2 ,angels alone that soar above ,enjoy such liberty4 #d ,happiness indeed depends much more on what is within than without us4 ,when ,hamlet says the world is a goodly prison2 in which there are many confines1 wards1 and dungeons2 ,denmark being one of the worst1 and ,rosencrantz differs from him1 he rejoins wisely1 ,why then1 'tis none to you3 for there is nothing either good or bad1 but thinking makes it so3 to me it is a prison4 ,all is opinion1 said ,marcus ,aurelius4 ,that which does not make a man worse1 how can it make his life worse8 ,but death certainly1 and life1 honor and dishonor1 pain and pleasure1 all these things happen equally to good men and bad1 being things which make us neither better nor worse4 ,the greatest evils1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1 are from within us2 and from ourselves also we must look for our greatest good4 ,the mind1 says ,milton1 is its own place1 and in itself ,can make a ,heaven of ,hell1 a ,hell of ,heaven4 ,milton indeed in his blindness saw more beautiful visions1 and ,beethoven in his deafness heard more heavenly music1 than most of us can ever hope to enjoy4 ,we are all apt1 when we know not what may happen1 to fear the worst4 ,when we know the full extent of any danger1 it is half over4 ,hence1 we dread ghosts more than robbers1 not only without reason1 but against reason2 for even if ghosts existed1 how could they hurt us8 and in ghost stories1 few1 even those who say that they have seen a ghost1 ever profess or pretend to have felt one4 ,milton1 in his description of death1 dwells on this characteristic of obscurity3 ,the other shape1 ,if shape it might be call'd that shape had none ,distinguishable1 in member1 joint1 or limb2 ,or substance might be call'd that shadow seem'd1 ,for each seem'd either2 black he stood as night2 ,fierce as ten furies2 terrible as hell2 ,and shook a deadly dart4 ,what seem'd his head ,the likeness of a kingly crown had on4 ,the effect of darkness and night in enhancing terrors is dwelt on in one of the sublimest passages in ,job-- ,in thoughts from the visions of the night1 ,when deep sleep falleth on men1 ,fear came upon me1 and trembling1 ,which made all my bones to shake4 ,then a spirit passed before my face2 ,the hair of my flesh stood up4 ,it stood still1 an image was before mine eyes4 ,there was silence2 and ,i heard a voice saying ,shall mortal man be more just than ,god8 ,thus was the terror turned into a lesson of comfort and of mercy4 ,we often magnify troubles and difficulties1 and look at them till they seem much greater than they really are4 ,dangers are no more light1 if they once seem light2 and more dangers have deceived men than forced them3 nay1 it were better to meet some dangers half way1 though they come nothing near1 than to keep too long a watch upon their approaches2 for if a man watch too long1 it is odds he will fall asleep4 #e ,foresight is very wise1 but foresorrow is very foolish2 and castles are at any rate better than dungeons1 in the air4 ,some of our troubles1 no doubt1 are real enough1 but yet are not evils4 ,it happens1 unfortunately too often1 that by some false step1 intentional or unintentional1 we have missed the right road1 and gone wrong4 ,can we then retrace our steps8 can we recover what is lost8 ,this may be done4 ,it is too gloomy a view to affirm that ,a word too much1 or a kiss too long1 ,and the world is never the same again4 ,there are two noble sayings of ,socrates1 that to do evil is more to be avoided than to suffer it2 and that when a man has done evil1 it is better for him to be punished than to be unpunished4 ,we generally speak of selfishness as a fault1 and as if it interfered with the general happiness4 ,but this is not altogether correct4 ,the pity is that so many people are foolishly selfish3 that they pursue a course of action which neither makes themselves nor any one else happy4 ,every man1 says ,goethe1 ought to begin with himself1 and make his own happiness first1 from which the happiness of the whole world would at last unquestionably follow4 ,it is easy to say that this is too broadly stated1 and of course exceptions might be pointed out3 but if every one would avoid excess1 and take care of his own health2 would keep himself strong and cheerful2 would make his home happy1 and give no cause for the petty vexations which embitter domestic life2 would attend to his own affairs and keep himself sober and solvent2 would1 in the words of the ,chinese proverb1 sweep away the snow from before his own door1 and never mind the frost upon his neighbor's tiles2 though it might not be the noblest course of conduct2 still1 how well it would be for their family1 relations1 and friends4 ,but1 unfortunately1 ,look round the habitable world1 how few ,know their own good1 or1 knowing it1 pursue4 #f ,it would be a great thing if people could be brought to realize that they can never add to the sum of their happiness by doing wrong4 ,in the case of children1 indeed1 we recognize this2 we perceive that a spoilt child is not a happy one2 that it would have been far better for him to have been punished at first and thus saved from greater suffering in after life4 ,it is a beautiful idea that every man has with him a ,guardian ,angel2 and it is true too3 for ,conscience is ever on the watch1 ever ready to warn us of danger4 ,we often feel disposed to complain1 and yet it is most ungrateful3 ,for who would lose1 ,though full of pain1 this intellectual being1 ,those thoughts that wander through ,eternity2 ,to perish rather1 swallowed up1 and lost ,in the wide womb of uncreated thought4 #g ,but perhaps it will be said that we are sent here in preparation for another and a better world4 ,well1 then1 why should we complain of what is but a preparation for future happiness8 ,we ought to ,count each affliction1 whether light or grave1 ,god's messenger sent down to thee2 do thou ,with courtesy receive him2 rise and bow2 ,and1 ere his shadow pass thy threshold1 crave ,permission first his heavenly feet to lave2 ,then lay before him all thou hast2 allow ,no cloud of passion to usurp thy brow1 ,or mar thy hospitality2 no wave ,of mortal tumult to obliterate ,the soul's marmoreal calmness3 ,grief shall be ,like joy1 majestic1 equable1 sedate2 ,confirming1 cleansing1 raising1 making free2 ,strong to consume small troubles2 to commend ,great thoughts1 grave thoughts1 thoughts lasting to the end4 #h ,some persons are like the waters of ,siloam1 and require to be troubled before they can exercise their virtue4 ,we shall get more contentedness1 says ,plutarch1 from the presence of all these blessings if we fancy them as absent1 and remember from time to time how people when ill yearn for health1 and people in war for peace1 and strangers and unknown in a great city for reputation and friends1 and how painful it is to be deprived of all these when one has once had them4 ,for then each of these blessings will not appear to us only great and valuable when it is lost1 and of no value when we have it4444 ,and yet it makes much for contentedness of mind to look for the most part at home and to our own condition2 or if not1 to look at the case of people worse off than ourselves1 and not1 as people do1 to compare ourselves with those who are better off4444 ,but you will find others1 ,chians1 or ,galatians1 or ,bithynians1 not content with the share of glory or power they have among their fellow-citizens1 but weeping because they do not wear senators' shoes2 or1 if they have them1 that they cannot be praetors of ,rome2 or if they get that office1 that they are not consuls2 or if they are consuls1 that they are only proclaimed second and not first4444 ,whenever1 then1 you admire any one carried by in his litter as a greater man than yourself1 lower your eyes and look at those that bear the litter4 ,and again1 ,i am very taken with ,diogenes' remark to a stranger at ,lacedaemon1 who was dressing with much display for a feast1 ',does not a good man consider every day a feast8' 444 ,seeing then that life is the most complete initiation into all these things1 it ought to be full of ease of mind and joy2 and if properly understood1 would enable us to acquiesce in the present without repining1 to remember the past with thankfulness1 and to meet the future hopefully and cheerfully without fear of suspicion4 #a ,king ,alfred's translations of the ,consolations of ,boethius4 #b ,wordsworth4 #c ,plutarch4 #d ,lovelace4 #e ,bacon4 #f ,dryden4 #g ,milton4 #h ,aubrey de ,vere4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,labor ,,and ,,rest4 ,through labor to rest1 through combat to victory4 ,,thomas ,,kempis4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,labor ,,and ,,rest4 ,among the troubles of life ,i do not1 of course1 reckon the necessity of labor4 ,work indeed1 and hard work1 if only it is in moderation1 is in itself a rich source of happiness4 ,we all know how quickly time passes when we are well employed1 while the moments hang heavily on the hands of the idle4 ,occupation drives away care and all the small troubles of life4 ,the busy man has no time to brood or to fret4 ,from toil he wins his spirits light1 ,from busy day the peaceful night2 ,rich1 from the very want of wealth1 ,in ,heaven's best treasures1 peace and health4 #a ,this applies especially to the labor of the field and the workshop4 ,humble it may be1 but if it does not dazzle with the promise of fame1 it gives the satisfaction of duty fulfilled1 and the inestimable blessing of health4 ,as ,emerson reminds those entering life1 ,the angels that live with them1 and are weaving laurels of life for their youthful brows1 are toil and truth and mutual faith4 ,labor was truly said by the ancients to be the price which the gods set upon everything worth having4 ,we all admit1 though we often forget1 the marvellous power of perseverance1 and yet all ,nature1 down to ,bruce's spider1 is continually impressing this lesson on us4 ,hard writing1 it has been said1 makes easy reading2 ,plato is said to have rewritten the first page of the ,republic thirteen times2 and ,carlo ,maratti1 we are told1 sketched the head of ,antinos three hundred times before he wrought it to his satisfaction4 ,it is better to wear out than to rust out1 and there is a dust which settles on the heart1 as well as that which rests upon the ledge4 #b ,but though labor is good for man1 it may be1 and unfortunately often is1 carried to excess4 ,many are wearily asking themselves ,ah why ,should life all labor be8 #c ,there is a time for all things1 says ,solomon1 a time to work and a time to play3 we shall work all the better for reasonable change1 and one reward of work is to secure leisure4 ,it is a good saying that where there's a will there's a way2 but while it is all very well to wish1 wishes must not take the place of work4 ,in whatever sphere his duty lies every man must rely mainly on himself4 ,others can help us1 but we must make ourselves4 ,no one else can see for us4 ,to profit by our advantages we must learn to use for ourselves ,the dark lantern of the spirit ,which none can see by1 but he who bears it4 ,it is hardly an exaggeration to say that honest work is never thrown away4 ,if we do not find the imaginary treasure1 at any rate we enrich the vineyard4 ,work1 says ,nature to man1 in every hour1 paid or unpaid2 see only that thou work1 and thou canst not escape the reward3 whether thy work be fine or coarse1 planting corn or writing epics1 so only it be honest work1 done to thine own approbation1 it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought3 no matter how often defeated1 you are born to victory4 ,the reward of a thing well done is to have done it4 #d ,nor can any work1 however persevering1 or any success1 however great1 exhaust the prizes of life4 ,the most studious1 the most successful1 must recognize that there yet remain ,so much to do that is not e'en begun1 ,so much to hope for that we cannot see1 ,so much to win1 so many things to be4 #e ,at the present time1 though there may be some special drawbacks1 still we come to our work with many advantages which were not enjoyed in olden times4 ,we live in much greater security ourselves1 and are less liable to have the fruits of our labor torn violently from us4 ,in olden times the difficulties of study were far greater than they are now4 ,books were expensive and cumbersome1 in many cases moreover chained to the desks on which they were kept4 ,the greatest scholars have often been very poor4 ,erasmus used to read by moonlight because he could not afford a candle1 and begged a penny1 not for the love of charity1 but for the love of learning4 #f ,want of time is no excuse for idleness4 ,our life1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1 is too short to serve the ambition of a haughty prince or a usurping rebel2 too little time to purchase great wealth1 to satisfy the pride of a vainglorious fool1 to trample upon all the enemies of our just or unjust interest3 but for the obtaining virtue1 for the purchase of sobriety and modesty1 for the actions of religion1 ,god gives us time sufficient1 if we make the outgoings of the morning and evening1 that is our infancy and old age1 to be taken into the computations of a man4 ,work is so much a necessity of existence1 that it is less a question whether1 than how1 we shall work4 ,an old proverb tells us that the ,devil finds work for those who do not make it for themselves4 ,if we ,englishmen have succeeded as a race1 it has been due in no small measure to the fact that we have worked hard4 ,not only so1 but we have induced the forces of ,nature to work for us4 ,steam1 says ,emerson1 is almost an ,englishman4 ,the power of work has especially characterized our greatest men4 ,cecil said of ,sir ,w4 ,raleigh that he could toil terribly4 ,we are most of us proud of belonging to the greatest ,empire the world has ever seen4 ,it may be said of us with especial truth in ,wordsworth's words that ,the world is too much with us2 late and soon ,getting and spending1 we lay waste our powers4 ,yes1 but what world8 ,the world will be with us sure enough1 and whether we please or not4 ,but what sort of world it will be for us will depend greatly on ourselves4 ,we are told to pray not to be taken out of the world1 but to be kept from the evil4 ,there are various ways of working4 ,quickness may be good1 but haste is bad4 ,wie das ,gestirn ,ohne ,hast ,ohne ,rast ,drehe sich ,jeder ,um die eigne ,last4 #g ,like a star1 without haste1 without rest1 let every one fulfil his own hest4 ,newton is reported to have described as his mode of working that ,i keep the subject constantly before me1 and wait till the first dawnings open slowly by little and little into a full and clear light4 ,the secret of genius1 says ,emerson1 is to suffer no fiction to exist for us2 to realize all that we know2 in the high refinement of modern life1 in ,arts1 in ,sciences1 in books1 in men1 to exact good faith1 reality1 and a purpose2 and first1 last1 midst1 and without end1 to honor every truth by use4 ,lastly1 work secures the rich reward of rest1 we must rest to be able to work well1 and work to be able to enjoy rest4 ,we must no doubt beware that our rest become not the rest of stones1 which so long as they are torrent-tossed and thunder-stricken maintain their majesty2 but when the stream is silent1 and the storm past1 suffer the grass to cover them1 and the lichen to feed on them1 and are ploughed down into the dust4444 ,the rest which is glorious is of the chamois couched breathless in its granite bed1 not of the stalled ox over his fodder4 #h ,when we have done our best we may wait the result without anxiety4 ,what hinders a man1 who has clearly comprehended these things1 from living with a light heart and bearing easily the reins2 quietly expecting everything which can happen1 and enduring that which has already happened8 ,would you have me to bear poverty8 ,come and you will know what poverty is when it has found one who can act well the part of a poor man4 ,would you have me to possess power8 ,let me have the power1 and also the trouble of it4 ,well1 banishment8 ,wherever ,i shall go1 there it will be well with me4 #i ,the ,buddhists believe in many forms of future punishment2 but the highest reward of virtue is ,nirvana--the final and eternal rest4 ,very touching is the appeal of ,ashmanezer to be left in peace1 which was engraved on his ,sarcophagus at ,sidon1--now in ,paris4 ,in the month of ,bul1 the fourteenth year of my reign1 ,i1 ,king ,ashmanezer1 ,king of the ,sidonians1 son of ,king ,tabuith1 ,king of the ,sidonians1 spake1 saying3 ',i have been stolen away before my time--a son of the flood of days4 ,the whilom great is dumb2 the son of gods is dead4 ,and ,i rest in this grave1 even in this tomb1 in the place which ,i have built4 ,my adjuration to all the ,ruling ,powers and all men3 ,let no one open this resting-place1 nor search for treasure1 for there is no treasure with us2 and let him not bear away the couch of my rest1 and not trouble us in this resting-place by disturbing the couch of my slumbers4444 ,for all men who should open the tomb of my rest1 or any man who should carry away the couch of my rest1 or any one who trouble me on this couch3 unto them there shall be no rest with the departed3 they shall not be buried in a grave1 and there shall be to them neither son nor seed4444 ,there shall be to them neither root below nor fruit above1 nor honor among the living under the sun4' #aj ,the idle man does not know what it is to rest4 ,hard work1 moreover1 tends not only to give us rest for the body1 but1 what is even more important1 peace to the mind4 ,if we have done our best to do1 and to be1 we can rest in peace4 ,en la sua voluntade nostra pace4 #aa ,in ,his will is our peace2 and in such peace the mind will find its truest delight1 for ,when care sleeps1 the soul wakes4 ,in youth1 as is right enough1 the idea of exertion1 and of struggles1 is inspiriting and delightful2 but as years advance the hope and prospect of peace and of rest gain ground gradually1 and ,when the last dawns are fallen on gray1 ,and all life's toils and ease complete1 ,they know who work1 not they who play1 ,if rest is sweet4 #ab #a ,gray4 #b ,jefferies4 #c ,tennyson4 #d ,emerson4 #e ,morris4 #f ,coleridge4 #g ,goethe4 #h ,ruskin4 #i ,epictetus4 #aj ,from ,sir ,m4 ,s4 ,grant ,duff's ,a ,winter in ,syria4 #aa ,dante4 #ab ,symonds4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,religion4 ,for what doth the ,lord require of thee1 but to do justly1 to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with thy ,god4--,,micah4 ,pure religion and undefiled is this1 to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction1 and to keep himself unspotted from the world4--,,james ,i4 ,the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life4 #b ,,corinthians4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,religion4 ,it would be quite out of place here to enter into any discussion of theological problems or to advocate any particular doctrines4 ,nevertheless ,i could not omit what is to most so great a comfort and support in sorrow and suffering1 and a source of the purest happiness4 ,we commonly1 however1 bring together under this term two things which are yet very different3 the religion of the heart1 and that of the head4 ,the first deals with conduct1 and the duties of ,man2 the second with the nature of the supernatural and the future of the soul1 being in fact a branch of knowledge4 ,religion should be a strength1 guide1 and comfort1 not a source of intellectual anxiety or angry argument4 ,to persecute for religion's sake implies belief in a jealous1 cruel1 and unjust ,deity4 ,if we have done our best to arrive at the truth1 to torment oneself about the result is to doubt the goodness of ,god1 and1 in the words of ,bacon1 to bring down the ,holy ,ghost1 instead of the likeness of a dove1 in the shape of a raven4 ,the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life1 and the first duty of religion is to form the highest possible conception of ,god4 ,many a man1 however1 and still more many a woman1 render themselves miserable on entering life by theological doubts and difficulties4 ,these have reference1 in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred1 not to what we should do1 but to what we should think4 ,as regards action1 conscience is generally a ready guide2 to follow it is the real difficulty4 ,theology1 on the other hand1 is a most abstruse science2 but as long as we honestly wish to arrive at truth we need not fear that we shall be punished for unintentional error4 ,for what1 says ,micah1 doth the ,lord require of thee1 but to do justly1 to love mercy1 and to walk humbly with thy ,god4 ,there is very little theology in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 or indeed in any part of the ,gospels2 and the differences which keep us apart have their origin rather in the study than the ,church4 ,religion was intended to bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men1 and whatever tends to hatred and persecution1 however correct in the letter1 must be utterly wrong in the spirit4 ,how much misery would have been saved to ,europe if ,christians had been satisfied with the ,sermon on the ,mount6 ,bokhara is said to have contained more than three hundred colleges1 all occupied with theology1 but ignorant of everything else1 and it was probably one of the most bigoted and uncharitable cities in the world4 ,knowledge puffeth up1 but charity edifieth4 ,we must not forget that ,he prayeth best who loveth best ,all things both great and small4 ,theologians too often appear to agree that ,the awful shadow of some unseen power ,floats1 though unseen1 among us2 #a and in the days of the ,inquisition many must have sighed for the cheerful child-like religion of the ,greeks1 if they could but have had the ,nymphs and ,nereids1 the ,fays and ,faeries1 with ,destiny and ,fate1 but without ,jupiter and ,mars4 ,sects are the work of ,sectarians4 ,no truly great religious teacher1 as ,carlyle said1 ever intended to found a new ,sect4 ,diversity of worship1 says a ,persian proverb1 has divided the human race into seventy-two nations4 ,from among all their dogmas ,i have selected one--,divine ,love4 ,and again1 ,he needs no other rosary whose thread of life is strung with the beads of love and thought4 ,there is more true ,christianity in some pagan ,philosophers than in certain ,christian theologians4 ,take1 for instance1 ,plato1 ,marcus ,aurelius1 ,epictetus1 and ,plutarch4 ,now ,i1 ,callicles1 says ,socrates1 am persuaded of the truth of these things1 and ,i consider how ,i shall present my soul whole and undefiled before the judge in that day4 ,renouncing the honors at which the world aims1 ,i desire only to know the truth1 and to live as well as ,i can1 and1 when the time comes1 to die4 ,and1 to the utmost of my power1 ,i exhort all other men to do the same4 ,and in return for your exhortation of me1 ,i exhort you also to take part in the great combat1 which is the combat of life1 and greater than every other earthly conflict4 ,as to piety toward the ,gods1 says ,epictetus1 you must know that this is the chief thing1 to have right opinions about them1 to think that they exist1 and that they administer the ,all well and justly2 and you must fix yourself in this principle 7duty71 to obey them1 and to yield to them in everything which happens1 and voluntarily to follow it as being accomplished by the wisest intelligence4 ,do not act1 says ,marcus ,aurelius1 as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years4 ,death hangs over thee4 ,while thou livest1 while it is in thy power1 be good4444 ,since it is possible that thou mayest depart from life this very moment1 regulate every act and thought accordingly4 ,but to go away from among men1 if there be gods1 is not a thing to be afraid of1 for the gods will not involve thee in evil2 but if indeed they do not exist1 or if they have no concern about human affairs1 what is it to me to live in a universe devoid of gods1 or devoid of ,providence4 ,but in truth they do exist1 and they do care for human things1 and they have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into real evils4 ,and as for the rest1 if there was anything evil1 they would have provided for this also1 that it should be altogether in a man's power not to fall into it4 ,and ,plutarch3 ,the ,godhead is not blessed by reason of his silver and gold1 nor yet ,almighty through his thunder and lightnings1 but on account of knowledge and intelligence4 ,it is no doubt very difficult to arrive at the exact teaching of ,eastern ,moralists1 but the same spirit runs through ,oriental ,literature4 ,for instance1 in the ,toy ,cart1 when the wicked ,prince wishes ,vita to murder the ,heroine1 and says that no one would see him1 ,vita declares ,all nature would behold the crime--the ,genii of the ,grove1 the ,sun1 the ,moon1 the ,winds1 the ,vault of ,heaven1 the firm-set ,earth1 the mighty ,yama who judges the dead1 and the conscious ,soul4 ,take even the most extreme type of difference4 ,is the man1 says ,plutarch1 a criminal who holds there are no gods2 and is not he that holds them to be such as the superstitious believe them1 is he not possessed with notions infinitely more atrocious8 ,i for my part would much rather have men say of me that there never was a ,plutarch at all1 nor is now1 than to say that ,plutarch is a man inconstant1 fickle1 easily moved to anger1 revengeful for trifling provocations1 vexed at small things4 ,there is no doubt a tone of doubting sadness in ,roman moralists1 as in ,hadrian's dying lines to his soul-- ,animula1 vagula1 blandula ,hospes1 comesque corporis ,qua nunc abibis in loca3 ,pallidula1 rigida1 nudula1 ,nec1 ut soles1 dabis jocos4 ,the same spirit indeed is expressed in the epitaph on the tomb of the ,duke of ,buckingham in ,westminster ,abbey-- ,dubius non improbus vixi ,incertus morior1 non perturbatus2 ,humanum est nescire et errare1 ,deo confido ,omnipotenti benevolentissimo3 ,ens entium miserere mei4 ,many things have been mistaken for religion1 selfishness especially1 but also fear1 hope1 love of music1 of art1 of pomp2 scruples often take the place of love1 and the glory of heaven is sometimes made to depend upon precious stones and jewelry4 ,many1 as has been well said1 run after ,christ1 not for the miracles1 but for the loaves4 ,in many cases religious differences are mainly verbal4 ,there is an ,eastern tale of four men1 an ,arab1 a ,persian1 a ,turk1 and a ,greek1 who agreed to club together for an evening meal1 but when they had done so they quarrelled as to what it should be4 ,the ,turk proposed ,azum1 the ,arab ,aneb1 the ,persian ,anghur1 while the ,greek insisted on ,stapylion4 ,while they were disputing ,before their eyes did pass1 ,laden with grapes1 a gardener's ass4 ,sprang to his feet each man1 and showed1 ,with eager hand1 that purple load4 ',see ,azum1' said the ,turk2 and 'see ,anghur1' the ,persian2 'what should be ,better4' ',nay ,aneb1 ,aneb 'tis1' ,the ,arab cried4 ,the ,greek said1 ',this ,is my ,stapylion4' ,then they bought ,their grapes in peace4 ,hence be ye taught4 #b ,it is said that on one occasion1 when ,dean ,stanley had been explaining his views to ,lord ,beaconsfield1 the latter replied1 ,ah6 ,mr4 ,dean1 that is all very well1 but you must remember1--,no dogmas1 no ,deans4 ,to lose such ,deans as ,stanley would indeed be a great misfortune2 but does it follow8 ,religions1 far from being really built on ,dogmas1 are too often weighed down and crushed by them4 ,no one can doubt that ,stanley has done much to strengthen the ,church of ,england4 ,we may not always agree with ,spinoza1 but is he not right when he says1 ,the first precept of the divine law1 therefore1 indeed its sum and substance1 is to love ,god unconditionally as the supreme good--unconditionally1 ,i say1 and not from any love or fear of aught besides8 ,and again1 that the very essence of religion is belief in a ,supreme ,being who delights in justice and mercy1 whom all who would be saved are bound to obey1 and whose worship consists in the practice of justice and charity toward our neighbors8 ,doubt is of two natures1 and we often confuse a wise suspension of judgment with the weakness of hesitation4 ,to profess an opinion for which we have no sufficient reason is clearly illogical1 but when it is necessary to act we must do so on the best evidence available1 however slight that may be4 ,herein lies the importance of common sense1 the instincts of a ,general1 the sagacity of a ,statesman4 ,pyrrho1 the recognized representative of doubt1 was often wise in suspending his judgment1 however foolish in hesitating to act1 and in apologizing when1 after resisting all the arguments of philosophy1 an angry dog drove him from his position4 ,collect from the ,bible all that ,christ thought necessary for his disciples1 and how little ,dogma there is4 ,pure religion and undefiled is this1 to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction1 and to keep himself unspotted from the world4 ,by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples1 if ye have love one to another4 ,suffer little children to come unto me4 ,and one lesson which little children have to teach us is that religion is an affair of the heart and not of the mind only4 ,why should we expect ,religion to solve questions with reference to the origin and destiny of the ,universe8 ,we do not expect the most elaborate treatise to tell us the origin of electricity or of heat4 ,natural ,history throws no light on the origin of life4 ,has ,biology ever professed to explain existence8 ,simonides was asked at ,syracuse by ,hiero1 who or what ,god was1 when he requested a day's time to think of his answer4 ,on subsequent days he always doubled the period required for deliberation2 and when ,hiero inquired the reason1 he replied that the longer he considered the subject1 the more obscure it appeared4 ,the ,vedas say1 ,in the midst of the sun is the light1 in the midst of light is truth1 and in the midst of truth is the imperishable being4 ,deity has been defined as a circle whose centre is everywhere1 and whose circumference is nowhere1 but the ,god is love of ,st4 ,john appeals more forcibly to the human soul4 ,the ,church is not a place for study or speculation4 ,few but can sympathize with ,eugnie de ,gurin in her tender affection for the little ,chapel at ,cahuze where she tells us she left tant de misres4 ,doubt does not exclude ,faith4 ,perplexed in faith1 but pure in deeds ,at last he beat his music out4 ,there lies more faith in honest doubt1 ,believe me1 than in half the creeds4 #c ,and if we must admit that many points are still1 and probably long will be involved in obscurity1 we may be pardoned if we indulge ourselves in various speculations both as to our beginning and our end4 ,our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting2 ,the soul that rises with us1 our life's star ,hath had elsewhere its setting1 ,and cometh from afar2 ,not in entire forgetfulness1 ,and not in utter nakedness1 ,but trailing clouds of glory do we come ,from ,god who is our home4 #d ,unfortunately many have attempted to compound for wickedness in life by purity of belief1 a vain and fruitless effort4 ,to do right is the sure ladder which leads up to ,heaven1 though the true faith will help us to find and to climb it4 ,it is my duty to have loved the highest1 ,it surely was my profit had ,i known1 ,it would have been my pleasure had ,i seen4 ,but though religious truth can justify no bitterness1 it is well worth any amount of thought and study4 ,i hope ,i shall not be supposed to depreciate any honest effort to arrive at truth1 or to undervalue the devotion of those who have died for their religion4 ,but surely it is a mistake to regard martyrdom as a merit1 when from their own point of view it was in reality a privilege4 ,let every man be persuaded in his own mind ,truth is the highest thing that man may keep4 #e ,to arrive at truth we should spare ourselves no pain1 but certainly inflict none on others4 ,we may be sure that quarrels will never advance religion1 and that to persecute is no way to convert4 ,no doubt those who consider that all who do not agree with them will suffer eternal torments1 seem logically justified in persecution even unto death4 ,such a course1 if carried out consistently1 might stamp out a particular sect1 and any sufferings which could be inflicted here would on this hypothesis be as nothing in comparison with the pains of ,hell4 ,only it must be admitted that such a view of religion is incompatible with any faith in the goodness of ,god1 and seems quite irreconcilable with the teaching of ,christ4 ,moreover1 the ,inquisition has even from its own point of view proved generally a failure4 ,the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the ,church4 ,in obedience to the order of the ,council of ,constance 7#adae7 the remains of ,wickliffe were exhumed and burnt to ashes1 and these cast into the ,swift1 a neighboring brook running hard by1 and thus this brook hath conveyed his ashes into ,avon2 ,avon into ,severn2 ,severn into the narrow seas2 they into the main ocean4 ,and thus the ashes of ,wickliffe are the emblem of his doctrine1 which now is dispersed all the world over4 #f ,the ,talmud says that when a man once asked ,shamai to teach him the ,law in one lesson1 ,shamai drove him away in anger4 ,he then went to ,hillel with the same request4 ,hillel said1 ,do unto others as you would have others do unto you4 ,this is the whole ,law2 the rest1 merely ,commentaries upon it4 ,the ,religion of the lower races is almost as a rule one of terror and of dread4 ,their deities are jealous and revengeful1 cruel1 merciless1 and selfish1 hateful and yet childish4 ,they require to be propitiated by feasts and offerings1 often even by human sacrifices4 ,they are not only exacting1 but so capricious that1 with the best intentions1 it is often impossible to be sure of pleasing them4 ,from such evil beings ,sorcerers and ,witches derived their hellish powers4 ,no one was safe4 ,no one knew where danger lurked4 ,actions apparently the most trifling might be fraught with serious risk3 objects apparently the most innocent might be fatal4 ,in many cases there are supposed to be deities of ,crime1 of ,misfortunes1 of ,disease4 ,these wicked ,spirits naturally encourage evil rather than good4 ,an energetic friend of mine was sent to a district in ,india where smallpox was specially prevalent1 and where one of the principal ,temples was dedicated to the ,goddess of that disease4 ,he had the people vaccinated1 in spite of some opposition1 and the disease disappeared1 much to the astonishment of the natives4 ,but the priests of the ,deity of ,smallpox were not disconcerted2 only they deposed the ,image of their discomfited ,goddess1 and petitioned my friend for some emblem of himself which they might install in her stead4 ,we who are fortunate enough to live in this comparatively enlightened century hardly realize how our ancestors suffered from their belief in the existence of mysterious and malevolent beings2 how their life was embittered and overshadowed by these awful apprehensions4 ,as men1 however1 have risen in civilization1 their religion has risen with them2 they have by degrees acquired higher and purer conceptions of divine power4 ,we are only just beginning to realize that a loving and merciful ,father would not resent honest error1 not even perhaps the attribution to him of such odious injustice4 ,yet what can be clearer than ,christ's teaching on this point4 ,he impressed it over and over again on his disciples4 ,the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life4 ,if1 says ,ruskin1 for every rebuke that we titter of men's vices1 we put forth a claim upon their hearts2 if1 for every assertion of ,god's demands from them1 we should substitute a display of ,his kindness to them2 if side by side1 with every warning of death1 we could exhibit proofs and promises of immortality2 if1 in fine1 instead of assuming the being of an awful ,deity1 which men1 though they cannot and dare not deny1 are always unwilling1 sometimes unable1 to conceive2 we were to show them a near1 visible1 inevitable1 out all-beneficent ,deity1 whose presence makes the earth itself a heaven1 ,i think there would be fewer deaf children sitting in the market-place4 ,but it must not be supposed that those who doubt whether the ultimate truth of the ,universe can be expressed in human words1 or whether1 even if it could1 we should be able to comprehend it1 undervalue the importance of religious study4 ,quite the contrary4 ,their doubts arise not from pride1 but from humility3 not because they do not appreciate divine truth1 but on the contrary they doubt whether we can appreciate it sufficiently1 and are sceptical whether the infinite can be reduced to the finite4 ,we may be sure that whatever may be right about religion1 to quarrel over it must be wrong4 ,let others wrangle1 said ,st4 ,augustine1 ,i will wonder4 ,those who suspend their judgment are not on that account sceptics1 and it is often those who think they know most1 who are especially troubled by doubts and anxiety4 ,it was ,wordsworth who wrote ,great ,god1 ,i had rather be ,a ,pagan suckled in some creed outworn2 ,so might ,i1 standing on this pleasant lea1 ,have glimpses that would make me less forlorn4 ,in religion1 as with children at night1 it is darkness and ignorance which create dread2 light and love cast out fear4 ,in looking forward to the future we may fairly hope with ,ruskin that the charities of more and more widely extended peace are preparing the way for a ,christian ,church which shall depend neither on ignorance for its continuance1 nor on controversy for its progress1 but shall reign at once in light and love4 #a ,shelley4 #b ,arnold4 ,pearls of the ,faith4 #c ,tennyson4 #d ,wordsworth4 #e ,chaucer4 #f ,fuller4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,,progress4 ,to what then may we not look forward1 when a spirit of scientific inquiry shall have spread through those vast regions in which the progress of civilization1 its sure precursor1 is actually commenced and in active progress8 ,and what may we not expect from the exertions of powerful minds called into action under circumstances totally different from any which have yet existed in the world1 and over an extent of territory far surpassing that which has hitherto produced the whole harvest of human intellect4 ,,herschel4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,hope ,,of ,,progress4 ,there are two lines1 if not more1 in which we may look forward with hope to progress in the future4 ,in the first place1 increased knowledge of nature1 of the properties of matter1 and of the phenomena which surround us1 may afford to our children advantages far greater even than those which we ourselves enjoy4 ,secondly1 the extension and improvement of education1 the increasing influence of ,science and ,art1 of ,poetry and ,music1 of ,literature and ,religion1--of all the powers which are tending to good1 will1 we may reasonably hope1 raise man and make him more master of himself1 more able to appreciate and enjoy his advantages1 and to realize the truth of the ,italian proverb1 that wherever light is1 there is joy4 ,one consideration which has greatly tended to retard progress has been the floating idea that there was some sort of ingratitude1 and even impiety1 in attempting to improve on what ,divine ,providence had arranged for us4 ,thus ,prometheus was said to have incurred the wrath of ,jove for bestowing on mortals the use of fire2 and other improvements only escaped similar punishment when the ingenuity of priests attributed them to the special favor of some particular deity4 ,this feeling has not even yet quite died out4 ,even ,i can remember the time when many excellent persons had a scruple or prejudice against the use of chloroform1 because they fancied that pain was ordained under certain circumstances4 ,we are told that in early ,saxon days ,edwin1 ,king of ,northumbria1 called his nobles and his priests around him1 to discuss whether a certain missionary should be heard or not4 ,the king was doubtful4 ,at last there rose an old chief1 and said3--,you know1 ,o ,king1 how1 on a winter evening1 when you are sitting at supper in your hall1 with your company around you1 when the night is dark and dreary1 when the rain and the snow rage outside1 when the hall inside is lighted and warm with a blazing fire1 sometimes it happens that a sparrow flies into the bright hall out of the dark night1 flies through the hall and then flies out at the other end into the dark night again4 ,we see him for a few moments1 but we know not whence he came nor whither he goes in the blackness of the storm outside4 ,so is the life of man4 ,it appears for a short space in the warmth and brightness of this life1 but what came before this life1 or what is to follow this life1 we know not4 ,if1 therefore1 these new teachers can enlighten us as to the darkness that went before1 and the darkness that is to come after1 let us hear what they have to teach us4 ,it is often said1 however1 that great and unexpected as recent discoveries have been1 there are certain ultimate problems which must ever remain unsolved4 ,for my part1 ,i would prefer to abstain from laying down any such limitations4 ,when ,park asked the ,arabs what became of the sun at night1 and whether the sun was always the same1 or new each day1 they replied that such a question was foolish1 being entirely beyond the reach of human investigation4 ,m4 ,comte1 in his ,cours de ,philosophie ,positive1 as recently as #ahdb1 laid it down as an axiom regarding the heavenly bodies1 ,we may hope to determine their forms1 distances1 magnitude1 and movements1 but we shall never by any means be able to study their chemical composition or mineralogical structure4 ,yet within a few years this supposed impossibility has been actually accomplished1 showing how unsafe it is to limit the possibilities of science4 #a ,it is1 indeed1 as true now as in the time of ,newton1 that the great ocean of truth lies undiscovered before us4 ,i often wish that some ,president of the ,royal ,society1 or of the ,british ,association1 would take for the theme of his annual address ,the things we do not know4 ,who can say on the verge of what discoveries we are perhaps even now standing6 ,it is extraordinary how slight a margin may stand for years between ,man and some important improvement4 ,take the case of the electric light1 for instance4 ,it had been known for years that if a carbon rod be placed in an exhausted glass receiver1 and a current of electricity be passed through it the carbon glowed with an intense light1 but on the other hand it became so hot that the glass burst4 ,the light1 therefore1 was useless1 because the lamp burst as soon as it was lighted4 ,edison hit on the idea that if you made the carbon filament fine enough1 you would get rid of the heat and yet have abundance of light4 ,edison's right to his patent has been contested on this very ground4 ,it has been said that the mere introduction of so small a difference as the replacement of a thin rod by a fine filament was so slight an item that it could not be patented4 ,the improvements by ,swan1 ,lane ,fox1 and others1 though so important as a whole1 have been made step by step4 ,or take again the discovery of anaesthetics4 ,at the beginning of the century ,sir ,humphrey discovered laughing gas1 as it was then called4 ,he found that it produced complete insensibility to pain and yet did not injure health4 ,a tooth was actually taken out under its influence1 and of course without suffering4 ,these facts were known to our chemists1 they were explained to the students in our great hospitals1 and yet for half a century the obvious application occurred to no one4 ,operations continued to be performed as before1 patients suffered the same horrible tortures1 and yet the beneficent element was in our hands1 its divine properties were known1 but it never occurred to any one to make use of it4 ,i may give one more illustration4 ,printing is generally said to have been discovered in the fifteenth century2 and so it was for all practical purposes4 ,but in fact printing was known long before4 ,the ,romans used stamps2 on the monuments of ,assyrian kings the name of the reigning monarch may be found duly printed4 ,what then is the difference8 ,one little1 but all-important step4 ,the real inventor of printing was the man into whose mind flashed the fruitful idea of having separate stamps for each letter1 instead of for separate words4 ,how slight seems the difference1 and yet for #cjjj years the thought occurred to no one4 ,who can tell what other discoveries1 as simple and yet as far-reaching1 lie at this very moment under our very eyes6 ,archimedes said that if you would give him room to stand on1 he would move the earth4 ,one truth leads to another2 each discovery renders possible another1 and1 what is more1 a higher4 ,we are but beginning to realize the marvelous range and complexity of ,nature4 ,i have elsewhere called attention to this with special reference to the problematical organs of sense possessed by many animals4 #b ,there is every reason to hope that future studies will throw much light on these interesting structures4 ,we may1 no doubt1 expect much from the improvement in our microscopes1 the use of new re-agents1 and of mechanical appliances2 but the ultimate atoms of which matter is composed are so infinitesimally minute1 that it is difficult to foresee any manner in which we may hope for a final solution of these problems4 ,loschmidt1 who has since been confirmed by ,stoney and ,sir ,w4 ,thomson1 calculates that each of the ultimate atoms of matter is at most #a_/ejjjjjjj of an inch in diameter4 ,under these circumstances we cannot1 it would seem1 hope at present for any great increase of our knowledge of atoms by improvements in the microscope4 ,with our present instruments we can perceive lines ruled on glass which are #a_/ijjjj of an inch apart2 but owing to the properties of light itself1 it would appear that we cannot hope to be able to perceive objects which are much less than #a_/ajjjjj of an inch in diameter4 ,our microscopes may1 no doubt1 be improved1 but the limitation lies not in the imperfection of our optical appliances1 but in the nature of light itself4 ,it has been calculated that a particle of albumen #a_/hjjjj of an inch in diameter contains no less than #abe1jjj1jjj of molecules4 ,in a simpler compound the number would be much greater2 in water1 for instance1 no less than #h1jjj1jjj1jjj4 ,even then1 if we could construct microscopes far more powerful than any which we now possess1 they could not enable us to obtain by direct vision any idea of the ultimate organization of matter4 ,the smallest sphere of organic matter which could be clearly defined with our most powerful microscopes may be1 in reality1 very complex2 may be built up of many millions of molecules1 and it follows that there may be an almost infinite number of structural characters in organic tissues which we can at present foresee no mode of examining4 #c ,again1 it has been shown that animals hear sounds which are beyond the range of our hearing1 and ,i have proved they can perceive the ultra-violet rays1 which are invisible to our eyes4 #d ,now1 as every ray of homogeneous light which we can perceive at all1 appears to us as a distinct color1 it becomes probable that these ultra-violet rays must make themselves apparent to animals as a distinct and separate color 7of which we can form no idea71 but as different from the rest as red is from yellow1 or green from violet4 ,the question also arises whether white light to these creatures would differ from our white light in containing this additional color4 ,these considerations cannot but raise the reflection how different the world may--,i was going to say must--appear to other animals from what it does to us4 ,sound is the sensation produced on us when the vibrations of the air strike on the drum of our ear4 ,when they are few1 the sound is deep2 as they increase in number1 it becomes shriller and shriller2 but when they reach #dj1jjj in a second1 they cease to be audible4 ,light is the effect produced on us when waves of light strike on the eye4 ,when #djj millions of millions of vibrations of ether strike the retina in a second1 they produce red1 and as the number increases the color passes into orange1 then yellow1 green1 blue1 and violet4 ,but between #dj1jjj vibrations in a second and #djj millions of millions we have no organ of sense capable of receiving the impression4 ,yet between these limits any number of sensations may exist4 ,we have five senses1 and sometimes fancy that no others are possible4 ,but it is obvious that we cannot measure the infinite by our own narrow limitations4 ,moreover1 looking at the question from the other side1 we find in animals complex organs of sense1 richly supplied with nerves1 but the function of which we are as yet powerless to explain4 ,there may be fifty other senses as different from ours as sound is from sight2 and even within the boundaries of our own senses there may be endless sounds which we cannot hear1 and colors1 as different as red from green1 of which we have no conception4 ,these and a thousand other questions remain for solution4 ,the familiar world which surrounds us may be a totally different place to other animals4 ,to them it may be full of music which we cannot hear1 of color which we cannot see1 of sensations which we cannot conceive4 ,to place stuffed birds and beasts in glass cases1 to arrange insects in cabinets1 and dried plants in drawers1 is merely the drudgery and preliminary of study2 to watch their habits1 to understand their relations to one another1 to study their instincts and intelligence1 to ascertain their adaptations and their relations to the forces of ,nature1 to realize what the world appears to them2 these constitute1 as it seems to me at least1 the true interest of natural history1 and may even give us the clue to senses and perceptions of which at present we have no conception4 #e ,from this point of view the possibilities of progress seem to me to be almost unlimited4 ,so far again as the actual condition of man is concerned1 the fact that there has been some advance cannot1 ,i think1 be questioned4 ,in the ,middle ,ages1 for instance1 culture and refinement scarcely existed beyond the limits of courts1 and by no means always there4 ,the life in ,english1 ,french1 and ,german castles was rough and almost barbarous4 ,mr4 ,galton has expressed the opinion1 which ,i am not prepared to question1 that the population of ,athens1 taken as a whole1 was as superior to us as we are to ,australian savages4 ,but even if that be so1 our civilization1 such as it is1 is more diffused1 so that unquestionably the general ,european level is much higher4 ,much1 no doubt1 is owing to the greater facility of access to the literature of our country1 to that literature1 in the words of ,macaulay1 the brightest1 the purest1 the most durable of all the glories of our country2 to that ,literature1 so rich in precious truth and precious fiction2 to that ,literature which boasts of the prince of all poets1 and of the prince of all philosophers2 to that ,literature which has exercised an influence wider than that of our commerce1 and mightier than that of our arms4 ,few of us make the most of our minds4 ,the body ceases to grow in a few years2 but the mind1 if we will let it1 may grow as long as life lasts4 ,the onward progress of the future will not1 we may be sure1 be confined to mere material discoveries4 ,we feel that we are on the road to higher mental powers2 that problems which now seem to us beyond the range of human thought will receive their solution1 and open the way to still further advance4 ,progress1 moreover1 we may hope1 will be not merely material1 not merely mental1 but moral also4 ,it is natural that we should feel a pride in the beauty of ,england1 in the size of our cities1 the magnitude of our commerce1 the wealth of our country1 the vastness of our ,empire4 ,but the true glory of a nation does not consist in the extent of its dominion1 in the fertility of the soil1 or the beauty of ,nature1 but rather in the moral and intellectual pre-eminence of the people4 ,and yet how few of us1 rich or poor1 have made ourselves all we might be4 ,if he does his best1 as ,shakespeare says1 ,what a piece of work is man6 ,how noble in reason6 ,how infinite in faculty6 in form and movement1 how express and admirable6 ,few indeed1 as yet1 can be said to reach this high ideal4 ,the ,hindoos have a theory that after death animals live again in a different form2 those that have done well in a higher1 those that have done ill in a lower grade4 ,to realize this is1 they find1 a powerful incentive to a virtuous life4 ,but whether it be true of a future life or not1 it is certainly true of our present existence4 ,if we do our best for a day1 the next morning we shall rise to a higher life2 while if we give way to our passions and temptations1 we take with equal certainty a step downward toward a lower nature4 ,it is an interesting illustration of the ,unity of ,man1 and an encouragement to those of us who have no claims to genius1 that1 though of course there have been exceptions1 still on the whole1 periods of progress have generally been those when a nation has worked and felt together2 the advance has been due not entirely to the efforts of a few great men1 but also of a thousand little men2 not to a single genius1 but to a national effort4 ,think1 indeed1 what might be4 ,ah6 when shall all men's good ,be each man's rule1 and universal ,peace ,lie like a shaft of light across the land1 ,and like a lane of beams athwart the sea1 ,thro' all the circle of the golden year4 #f ,our life is surrounded with mystery1 our very world is a speck in boundless space2 and not only the period of our own individual life1 but that of the whole human race is1 as it were1 but a moment in the eternity of time4 ,we cannot imagine any origin1 nor foresee the conclusion4 ,but though we may not as yet perceive any line of research which can give us a clue to the solution1 in another sense we may hold that every addition to our knowledge is one small step toward the great revelation4 ,progress may be more slow1 or more rapid4 ,it may come to others and not to us4 ,it will not come to us if we do not strive to deserve it4 ,but come it surely will4 ,yet one thing is there that ye shall not slay1 ,even thought1 that fire nor iron can affright4 #g ,the future of man is full of hope1 and who can foresee the limits of his destiny8 #a ,lubbock4 ,fifty ,years of ,science4 #b ,the ,senses of ,animals4 #c ,lubbock4 ,fifty ,years of ,science4 #d ,ants1 ,bees1 and ,wasps4 #e ,lubbock4 ,the ,senses of ,animals4 #f ,tennyson4 #g ,swinburne4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man4 ,for ,i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us4--,,romans viii4 #ah4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,destiny ,,of ,,man4 ,but though we have thus a sure and certain hope of progress for the race1 still1 as far as man is individually concerned1 with advancing years we gradually care less and less1 for many things which gave us the greatest pleasure in youth4 ,on the other hand1 if our time has been well used1 if we have warmed both hands wisely before the fire of life1 we may gain even more than we lose4 ,if our strength becomes less1 we feel also the less necessity for exertion4 ,hope is gradually replaced by memory3 and whether this adds to our happiness or not depends on what our life has been4 ,there are of course some lives which diminish in value as old age advances1 in which one pleasure fades after another1 and even those which remain gradually lose their zest2 but there are others which gain in richness and peace all1 and more1 than that of which time robs them4 ,the pleasures of youth may excel in keenness and in zest1 but they have at the best a tinge of anxiety and unrest2 they cannot have the fulness and depth which may accompany the consolations of age1 and are amongst the richest rewards of an unselfish life4 ,for as with the close of the day1 so with that of life2 there may be clouds1 and yet if the horizon is clear1 the evening may be beautiful4 ,old age has a rich store of memories4 ,life is full of ,joys too exquisite to last1 ,and yet more exquisite when past4 #a ,swedenborg imagines that in heaven the angels are advancing continually to the spring-time of their youth1 so that those who have lived longest are really the youngest2 and have we not all had friends who seem to fulfil this idea8 who are in reality--that is in mind--as fresh as a child3 of whom it may be said with more truth than of ,cleopatra that ,age cannot wither nor custom stale ,their infinite variety4 ,when ,i consider old age1 says ,cicero1 ,i find four causes why it is thought miserable3 one1 that it calls us away from the transaction of affairs2 the second1 that it renders the body more feeble2 the third1 that it deprives us of almost all pleasures2 the fourth1 that it is not very far from death4 ,of these causes let us see1 if you please1 how great and how reasonable each of them is4 ,to be released from the absorbing affairs of life1 to feel that one has earned a claim to leisure and repose1 is surely in itself no evil4 ,to the second complaint against old age1 ,i have already referred in speaking of ,health4 ,the third is that it has no passions4 ,o noble privilege of age6 if indeed it takes from us that which is in youth our greatest defect4 ,but the higher feelings of our nature are not necessarily weakened2 or rather1 they may become all the brighter1 being purified from the grosser elements of our lower nature4 ,then1 indeed1 it might be said that ,man is the sun of the world2 more than the real sun4 ,the fire of his wonderful heart is the only light and heat worth gauge or measure4 #b ,single1 says ,manu1 is each man born into the world2 single he dies2 single he receives the rewards of his good deeds2 and single the punishment of his sins4 ,when he dies his body lies like a fallen tree upon the earth1 but his virtue accompanies his soul4 ,wherefore let ,man harvest and garner virtue1 that so he may have an inseparable companion in that gloom which all must pass through1 and which it is so hard to traverse4 ,is it not extraordinary that many men will deliberately take a road which they know is1 to say the least1 not that of happiness8 ,that they prefer to make others miserable1 rather than themselves happy8 ,plato1 in the ,phaedrus1 explains this by describing ,man as a ,composite ,being1 having three natures1 and compares him to a pair of winged horses and a charioteer4 ,of the two horses one is noble and of noble origin1 the other ignoble and of ignoble origin2 and the driving1 as might be expected1 is no easy matter4 ,the noble steed endeavors to raise the chariot1 but the ignoble one struggles to drag it down4 ,man1 says ,shelly1 is an instrument over which a series of external and internal impressions are driven1 like the alternations of an ever-changing wind over an ,aeolian lyre1 which move it by their motion to ever-changing melody4 ,cicero mentions the approach of death as the fourth drawback of old age4 ,to many minds the shadow of the end is ever present1 like the coffin in the ,egyptian feast1 and overclouds all the sunshine of life4 ,but ought we so to regard death8 ,shelly's beautiful lines1 ,life1 like a ,dome of many-colored glass1 ,stains the white radiance of ,eternity1 ,until death tramples it to fragments1 contain1 as it seems to me at least1 a double error4 ,life need not stain the white radiance of eternity2 nor does death necessarily trample it to fragments4 ,man has1 says ,coleridge1 ,three treasures1--love and light ,and calm thoughts1 regular as infants' breath2 ,and three firm friends1 more sure than day and night1 ,himself1 his ,maker1 and the ,angel ,death4 ,death is the end of all1 the remedy of many1 the wish of divers men1 deserving better of no men than of those to whom she came before she was called4 #c ,it is often assumed that the journey to ,the undiscovered country from whose bourne ,no traveler returns must be one of pain and suffering4 ,but this is not so4 ,death is often peaceful and almost painless4 ,bede during his late illness was translating ,st4 ,john's ,gospel into ,anglo-,saxon1 and the morning of his death his secretary1 observing his weakness1 said1 ,there remains now only one chapter1 and it seems difficult to you to speak4 ,it is easy1 said ,bede2 take your pen and write as fast as you can1 ,at the close of the chapter the scribe said1 ,it is finished1 to which he replied1 ,thou hast said the truth1 consummatum est4 ,he then divided his little property among the brethren1 having done which he asked to be placed opposite to the place where he usually prayed1 said ,glory be to the ,father1 and to the ,son1 and to the ,holy ,ghost1 and as he pronounced the last words he expired4 ,goethe died without any apparent suffering1 having just prepared himself to write1 and expressed his delight at the return of spring4 ,we are told of ,mozart's death that the unfinished requiem lay upon the bed1 and his last efforts were to imitate some peculiar instrumental effects1 as he breathed out his life in the arms of his wife and their friend ,sssmaier4 ,plato died in the act of writing2 ,lucan while reciting part of his book on the war of ,pharsalus2 ,blake died singing2 ,wagner in sleep with his head on his wife's shoulder4 ,many have passed away in their sleep4 ,various high medical authorities have expressed their surprise that the dying seldom feel either dismay or regret4 ,and even those who perish by violence1 as for instance in battle1 feel1 it is probable1 but little suffering4 ,but what of the future8 ,there may be said to be now two principal views4 ,there are some who believe indeed in the immortality of the soul1 but not of the individual soul3 that our life is continued in that of our children would seem indeed to be the natural deduction from the simile of ,st4 ,paul1 as that of the grain of wheat is carried on in the plant of the following year4 ,so long indeed as happiness exists it is selfish to dwell too much on our own share in it4 ,admit that the soul is immortal1 but that in the future state of existence there is a break in the continuity of memory1 that one does not remember the present life1 and from this point of view is not the importance of identity involved in that of continuous memory8 ,but however this may be according to the general view1 the soul1 though detached from the body1 will retain its conscious identity1 and will awake from death1 as it does from sleep2 so that if we cannot affirm that ,millions of spiritual creatures walk the ,earth1 ,unseen1 both when we wake1 and when we sleep1 #d at any rate they exist somewhere else in space1 and we are indeed looking at them when we gaze at the stars1 though to our eyes they are as yet invisible4 ,in neither case1 however1 can death be regarded as an evil4 ,to wish that youth and strength were unaffected by time might be a different matter4 ,but if we are not destined to be immortal1 yet it is a desirable thing for a man to expire at his fit time4 ,for1 as nature prescribes a boundary to all other things1 so does she also to life4 ,now old age is the consummation of life1 just as of a play3 from the fatigue of which we ought to escape1 especially when satiety is super-added4 #e ,from this point of view1 then1 we need ,weep not for death1 ',tis but a fever stilled1 ,a pain suppressed1--a fear at rest1 ,a solemn hope fulfilled4 ,the moonshine on the slumbering deep ,is scarcely calmer4 ,wherefore weep8 ,weep not for death6 ,the fount of tears is sealed1 ,who knows how bright the inward light ,to those closed eyes revealed8 ,who knows what holy love may fill ,the heart that seems so cold and still4 ,many a weary soul will have recurred with comfort to the thought that ,a few more years shall roll1 ,a few more seasons come1 ,and we shall be with those that rest ,asleep within the tomb4 ,a few more struggles here1 ,a few more partings o'er1 ,a few more toils1 a few more tears1 ,and we shall weep no more4 ,by no one has this1 however1 been more grandly expressed than by ,shelley4 ,peace1 peace6 he is not dead1 he doth not sleep6 ,he hath awakened from the dream of life4 ',tis we who1 lost in stormy visions1 keep ,with phantoms an unprofitable strife1 ,he has outsoared the shadows of our night4 ,envy and calumny1 and hate and pain1 ,and that unrest which men miscall delight1 ,can touch him not and torture not again4 ,from the contagion of the world's slow stain ,he is secure1 and now can never mourn ,a heart grown cold1 a head grown gray1 in vain-- ,most men1 however1 decline to believe that ,we are such stuff ,as dreams are made of1 and our little life ,is rounded with a sleep4 #f ,according to the more general view death frees the soul from the encumbrance of the spirit1 and summons us to the seat of judgment4 ,in fact1 ,there is no ,death6 ,what seems so is transition2 ,this life of mortal breath ,is but a suburb of the life elysian1 ,whose portal we call ,death4 #g ,we have bodies1 we are spirits4 ,i am a soul1 said ,epictetus1 dragging about a corpse4 ,the body is the mere perishable form of the immortal essence4 ,plato concluded that if the ways of ,god are to be justified1 there must be a future life4 ,to the aged in either case death is a release4 ,the ,bible dwells most forcibly on the blessing of peace4 ,my peace ,i give unto you3 not as the world giveth1 give ,i unto you4 ,heaven is described as a place where the wicked cease from troubling1 and the weary are at rest4 ,but ,i suppose every one must have asked himself in what can the pleasures of heaven consist4 ,for all we know ,of what the blessed do above ,is that they sing1 and that they love4 #h ,it would indeed accord with few men's ideal that there should be any struggle for existence in heaven4 ,we should then be little better off than we are now4 ,this world is very beautiful1 if we could only enjoy it in peace4 ,and yet mere passive existence--mere vegetation--would in itself offer few attractions4 ,it would indeed be almost intolerable4 ,again1 the anxiety of change seems inconsistent with perfect happiness2 and yet a wearisome1 interminable monotony1 the same thing over and over again forever and ever without relief or variety1 suggests dulness rather than bliss4 ,i feel that to me1 said ,greg1 ,god has promised not the heaven of the ascetic temper1 or the dogmatic theologian1 or of the subtle mystic1 or of the stern martyr ready alike to inflict and bear2 but a heaven of purified and permanent affections--of a book of knowledge with eternal leaves1 and unbounded capacities to read it--of those we love ever round us1 never misconceiving us1 or being harassed by us--of glorious work to do1 and adequate faculties to do it--a world of solved problems1 as well as of realized ideals4 ,for still the doubt came back1--,can ,god provide ,for the large heart of man what shall not pall1 ,nor through eternal ages' endless tide ,on tired spirits fall8 ,these make him say1--,if ,god has so arrayed ,a fading world that quickly passes by1 ,such rich provision of delight has made ,for every human eye1 ,what shall the eyes that wait for him survey ,when his own presence gloriously appears ,in worlds that were not founded for a day1 ,but for eternal years8 #i ,here science seems to suggest a possible answer3 the solution of problems which have puzzled us here2 the acquisition of new ideas2 the unrolling the history of the past2 the world of animals and plants2 the secrets of space2 the wonders of the stars and of the regions beyond the stars4 ,to become acquainted with all the beautiful and interesting spots of our own world would indeed be something to look forward to1 and our world is but one of many millions4 ,i sometimes wonder as ,i look away to the stars at night whether it will ever be my privilege as a disembodied spirit to visit and explore them4 ,when we had made the great tour fresh interests would have arisen1 and we might well begin again4 ,here there is an infinity of interest without anxiety4 ,so that at last the only doubt may be ,lest an eternity should not suffice ,to take the measure and the breadth and height ,of what there is reserved in ,paradise ,its ever-new delight4 #aj ,cicero surely did not exaggerate when he said1 ,o glorious day6 when ,i shall depart to that divine company and assemblage of spirits1 and quit this troubled and polluted scene4 ,for ,i shall go not only to those great men of whom ,i have spoken before1 but also to my son ,cato1 than whom never was better man born1 nor more distinguished for pious affection2 whose body was burned by me1 whereas1 on the contrary1 it was fitting that mine should be burned by him4 ,but his soul not deserting me1 but oft looking back1 no doubt departed to these regions whither it saw that ,i myself was destined to come4 ,which1 though a distress to me1 ,i seemed patiently to endure3 not that ,i bore it with indifference1 but ,i comforted myself with the recollection that the separation and distance between us would not continue long4 ,for these reasons1 ,o ,scipio 7since you said that you with ,laelius were accustomed to wonder at this71 old age is tolerable to me1 and not only not irksome1 but even delightful4 ,and if ,i am wrong in this1 that ,i believe the souls of men to be immortal1 ,i willingly delude myself3 nor do ,i desire that this mistake1 in which ,i take pleasure1 should be wrested from me as long as ,i live2 but if ,i1 when dead1 shall have no consciousness1 as some narrow-minded philosophers imagine1 ,i do not fear lest dead philosophers should ridicule this my delusion4 ,nor can ,i omit the striking passage in the ,apology1 when pleading before the people of ,athens1 ,socrates says1 ,let us reflect in another way1 and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good2 for one of two things--either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness1 or1 as men say1 there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another4 ,now if you suppose that there is no consciousness1 but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by the sight of dreams1 death will be an unspeakable gain4 ,for if a person were to select the night in which his sleep was undisturbed even by dreams1 and were to compare with this the other days and nights of his life1 and then were to tell us how many days and nights he had passed in the course of his life better and more pleasantly than this one1 ,i think that any man1 ,i will not say a private man1 but even the great king will not find many such days or nights1 when compared with the others4 ,now1 if death is like this1 ,i say that to die is gain2 for eternity is then only a single night4 ,but if death is the journey to another place1 and there1 as men say1 all the dead are1 what good1 ,o my friends and judges1 can be greater than this8 ,if1 indeed1 when the pilgrim arrives in the world below1 he is delivered from the professors of justice in this world1 and finds the true judges1 who are said to give judgment there1--,minos1 and ,rhadamanthus1 and ,aeacus1 and ,triptolemus1 and other sons of ,god who were righteous in their own life1--that pilgrimage will be worth making4 ,what would not a man give if he might converse with ,orpheus1 and ,musaeus1 and ,hesiod1 and ,homer8 ,nay1 if this be true1 let me die again and again4 ,i myself1 too1 shall have a wonderful interest in there meeting and conversing with ,palamedes1 and ,ajax the son of ,telamon1 and other heroes of old1 who have suffered death through an unjust judgment2 and there will be no small pleasure1 as ,i think1 in comparing my own sufferings with theirs4 ,above all1 ,i shall then be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge2 as in this world1 so also in that2 and ,i shall find out who is wise1 and who pretends to be wise1 and is not4 ,what would not a man give1 ,o judges1 to be able to examine the leader of the great ,trojan expedition2 or ,odysseus or ,sisyphus1 or numberless others1 men and women too6 ,what infinite delight would there be in conversing with them and asking them questions4 ,in another world they do not put a man to death for asking questions2 assuredly not4 ,for besides being happier in that world than in this1 they will be immortal1 if what is said be true4 ,wherefore1 ,o judges1 be of good cheer about death1 and know of a certainty that no evil can happen to a good man1 either in life or after death4 ,he and his are not neglected by the gods2 nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance4 ,but ,i see clearly that to die and be released was better for me2 and therefore the oracle gave no sign4 ,for which reason1 also1 ,i am not angry with my condemners1 or with my accusers2 they have done me no harm1 although they did not mean to do me any good2 and for this ,i may gently blame them4 ,the hour of departure has arrived1 and we go our ways--,i to die and you to live4 ,which is better ,god only knows4 ,in the ,wisdom of ,solomon we are promised that-- ,the souls of the righteous are in the hand of ,god1 and there shall no torment touch them4 ,in the sight of the unwise they seemed to die2 and their departure is taken for misery4 ,and their going from us to be utter destruction2 but they are in peace4 ,for though they be punished in the sight of men1 yet is their hope full of immortality4 ,and having been a little chastised1 they shall be greatly rewarded3 for ,god proved them1 and found them worthy for himself4 ,and assuredly1 if in the hour of death the conscience is at peace1 the mind need not be troubled4 ,the future is full of doubt1 indeed1 but fuller still of hope4 ,if we are entering upon a rest after the struggles of life1 ,where the wicked cease from troubling1 ,and the weary are at rest1 that to many a weary soul will be a welcome bourne1 and even then we may say1 ,o ,death6 where is thy sting8 ,o ,grave6 where is thy victory8 ,on the other hand1 if we are entering on a new sphere of existence1 where we may look forward to meet not only those of whom we have heard so often1 those whose works we have read and admired1 and to whom we owe so much1 but those also whom we have loved and lost2 when we shall leave behind us the bonds of the flesh and the limitations of our earthly existence2 when we shall join the ,angels1 and ,archangels1 and all the company of ,heaven1--then1 indeed1 we may cherish a sure and certain hope that the interests and pleasures of this world are as nothing compared to those of the life that awaits us in our ,eternal ,home4 #a ,montgomery4 #b ,emerson4 #c ,seneca4 #d ,milton4 #e ,cicero4 #f ,shakespeare4 #g ,longfellow4 #h ,waller4 #i ,trench4 #aj ,trench4