Life and Literature / Over two thousand extracts from ancient and modern writers, / and classified in alphabetical order

"It is a great blessing to possess what one wishes," said one to an ancient philosopher, who replied, "It is a greater blessing still, not to desire what one does not possess."

384

Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires, makes a wise and happy purchase.

—J. Balgury.

385

He that deserves nothing should be content with anything.

386

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

—Epictetus.

387

When the well is dry, then we all know the worth of water.

388

In conversation avoid the extremes of
Forwardness
and Reserve.

—Cato.

Conversation.—To please others we should talk on subjects they like and that interest them; avoid disputes, seldom ask questions, and never let them see that we pretend to be better informed than they are.

—Rochefoucauld.

390

The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit.

—Sir W. Temple.

391

Conversation is the music of the mind; an intellectual orchestra, where all the instruments should bear a part, but where none should play together.

—Colton.

392

Never argue in society; if any person differs from you, bow, and turn the conversation.

—Beaconsfield.

393

I never, with important air,
In conversation overbear.

—Gay's Fables.

394

One of the best rules in conversation is, never say a thing which any of the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid.

—Swift.

395

Conversation.—As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.

"So much they talked, so very little said."

396

To say nothing charmingly is a great gift.

397

Conversation.—In general those who nothing have to say contrive to spend the longest time in doing it.

—An Oriental Apologue.

398

With thee conversing, I forget all time.

—Milton.

399

It is better to turn back than to go astray.

—From the German.

400

He who converses with no one, learns nothing.

401

As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.

—Antisthenes.

402

Corporations have no souls:—Lord Chancellor Thurlow said, "that corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned; they therefore do as they like."

403

Corruption is a tree, whose branches are
Of an unmeasurable length: they spread
Ev'rywhere; and the dew that drops from thence
Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority.

—Beaumont and Fletcher.

404

The thatched cottage where one is merry, is preferable to a palace where one weeps.

—From the Chinese.

405

Good counsel never comes too late.

—German.

406

From a safe port 'tis easy to give counsel.

407

He that winna be counselled canna be helped.

—Scotch.

408

In many counsellors there is safety.

—From the Latin.

409

Cheerful looks make every dish a feast,
And 'tis that, that crowns a welcome.

—Massinger.

410

The countenance is frequently more expressive than the tongue.

411

A pleasing countenance is no slight advantage.

—Duport.

412

A smiling countenance indicates courtesy, joy, good humor and happiness.

413

The character of a man's native country is as strongly impressed on his mind as its accent is on his tongue.

—Rochefoucauld.

414

RURAL LIFE.

The fact that the following verses are heard to-day proves their "convenience," to say the least, for they were written by William Livingston in 1747:——

Mine be the pleasure of a rural life,
From noise remote, and ignorant of strife,
Far from the painted belle and white-gloved beau,
The lawless masquerade, and midnight show,
From lapdogs, courtiers, garters, stars,
Fops, fiddlers, tyrants, emperors, and czars!

—Christian Advocate

415

THE COUNTRY.

A breath of unadulterated air,
The glimpse of a green pasture, how they cheer
The citizen, and brace his languid frame.
Even in the stifling bosom of the town;
A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms
That soothe the rich possessor.
And are these not all proofs that man immured
In cities, still retains his inborn inextinguishable
Thirst of rural scenes, compensating his loss
By supplemental shifts the best he may?

416

LOVE OF COUNTRY.

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
"This is my own—my Native Land!"
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go—mark him well;
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim—
Despite those titles, power and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.

—Sir Walter Scott.

417

The wise men of Greece were asked which was the best governed country. Clemenese replied, "the people who have more respect for the laws than the orators."

418

He who loves not his country, can love nothing.

419

A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of courage.

—S. Smith.

420

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.

—Emerson.

421

The courtesy with which I receive a stranger, and the civility I show him, form the background on which he paints my portrait.

422

Courtesy on one side, never lasts long.

423

Men dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.

—Pope.

424

Courtship and Marriage.—"Their courtship was carried on in poetry." Alas! many a pair have courted in poetry, and after marriage lived in prose.

—Foster.

425

Courtship may be said to consist of a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.

—Sterne.

426

Covetousness.—A young man once picked up a sovereign lying in the road. Ever afterward, in walking along, he kept his eye fixed steadily upon the ground in hopes to find another. And in the course of a long life he did pick up, at different times, a goodly number of coins, gold and silver. But all these years, while he was looking for them, he saw not that the heavens were bright above him, and nature beautiful around. He never once allowed his eye to look up from the mud and filth in which he sought his treasure; and when he died—a rich old man—he only knew this fair earth as a dirty road to pick up money as you walk along. Thus you see the desire of having is the sin of covetousness.

—Dr. Jeffrey.

427

The coward only threatens when he is secure.

—Goethe.

428

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

429

Credit, like a looking-glass, broken once, is gone, alas!

430

He who doesn't take care of his credit will soon have none to take care of.

431

There are two directly opposite reasons why some men cannot get credit—one is because he is not known—the other because he is.

432

THE CRITIC.

The critic stood with scornful eye
Before a picture on the wall:
"You call this art? Now see that fly,
It is not natural at all.

It has too many legs, its head
Is far too large—who ever saw
A fly like that, so limp and dead,
And wings that look as if they—pshaw!"

And with a gesture of disgust
He waved his hand, when lo! the fly
Flew from the picture. "Ah! some dust,"
The critic said, "was in my eye."

—Henry Coyle.

Some one has said that finding fault is done on a smaller capital than any other business, and it is a very fascinating business, too, for people of—small calibre.

433

A man must serve his time to every trade,
Save censure; critics all are ready-made.

—Byron.

434

The culture of a man is like the changing of raw material into the manufactured article. The uncultured man is comparatively helpless and worthless.

—The Religious Telescope.

435

Curiosity! who hath not felt
Its spirit, and before its altar knelt?

436

Custom forms us all;
Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief
Are consequences of our place of birth.

—Hill.

D

437

Daughter.—To a father waxing old nothing is dearer than a daughter; sons have spirits of higher pitch, but less inclined to sweet endearing fondness.

—Euripides.

438

BEREFT OF AN ONLY DAUGHTER.

This day my loved one leaves me, and my heart
Is heavy with its grief: the streams of sorrow,
Choked at the source, repress my faltering voice.
I have no words to speak; mine eyes are dimmed
By the dark shadows of the thoughts that rise
Within my soul. If such the force of grief
In an old hermit parted from his nursling,
What anguish must the stricken parent feel
Bereft forever of an only daughter!

Weep not my daughter, check the gathering tear
That lurks beneath thine eyelid, ere it flow
And weaken thy resolve; be firm and true—
True to thyself and me, the path of life
Will lead o'er hill and plain, o'er rough and smooth,
And all must feel the steepness of the way,
Tho' rugged be thy course, press boldly on.

Honor thy betters; even be respectful
To those above thee. Should thy wedded lord
Treat thee with harshness, thou must never be
Harsh in return, but patient and submissive.
Be to thy menials courteous, and to all
Placed under thee considerate and kind:
Be never self-indulgent, but avoid
Excess in pleasure; and, when fortune smiles
Be not puffed up. Thus to thy husband's house
Wilt thou a blessing prove, and not a curse.

439

See here it is dawning
Another bright day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip uselessly away?

440

He mourns the dead who lives as they desire.

—Dr. E. Young.

441

One of the Fathers said: "That there is but this difference between the death of old and young men,—that old men go to death, and death comes to young men."

—Bacon.

442

THE REPROOF OF A FOOL.

There was a certain nobleman who kept a fool, to whom he one day gave a staff, with a charge to keep it till he should meet with one who was a greater fool than himself. Not many years after, the nobleman fell sick, even unto death. The fool came to see him: his lord said to him—"I must shortly leave you." "And whither are you going?" said the fool. "Into another world," replied his lordship. "And when will you come again? Within a month?" "No." "Within a year?" "No." "When then?" "Never." "Never!" said the fool, "and what provision hast thou made for thy entertainment there, whither thou goest?" "None at all." "No!" said the fool, "none at all! Here then, take my staff; for with all my folly, I am not guilty of any such folly as this."

443

The divinity who rules within us, forbids us to leave this world without his command.

—Cicero.

444

When a man dies, they who survive him, ask what property he has left behind. The angel who bends over the dying man, asks what good deeds he has sent before him.

445

Happy is, or ought to be, the man who owes nothing.

446

If you would avoid paying debts, avoid incurring them.

447

But wealth and power have no immortal day,
For all things ripen only to decay.

448

DECISION.

Lose this day loitering,—'t will be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
The indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute,
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated,—
Begin,
And then the work
Will be completed.

—J. W. Von Goethe.

449

Let him that hath done the good office conceal it; let him that hath received it disclose it.

450

NOBLE DEEDS.

He built a house, time laid it in the dust;
He wrote a book, its title now forgot;
He ruled a city, but his name is not
On any tablet graven, or where rust
Can gather from disuse, or marble bust.
He took a child from out a wretched cot,
Who on the state dishonor might have brought,
And reared him to the Christian's hope and trust.
The boy to manhood grown, became a light
To many souls, preached for human need
The wondrous love of the Omnipotent.
The work has multiplied like stars at night
When darkness deepens; every noble deed
Lasts longer, than a granite monument.

—Sarah H. Bolton.

451

"He wishes well" is worthless, unless the deed go with it.

—Plautus.

452

Deformed.—Mock not at those who are misshapen by nature. He that despiseth them despiseth God that made them.

—Dr. Fuller.

453

Away with delay! it always injures those that are prepared.

—Lucan.

454

Do not delay: the golden moments fly!

—Longfellow.

455

True delicacy, that most beautiful heart-leaf of humanity, exhibits itself most significantly in little things.

456

Nothing prevents our being natural so much as the desire to appear so.

—Rochefoucauld.

457

Remember that your dependents have seldom a full power of replying to you; and let the recollection of that make you especially considerate in your dealings with them.

—Sir Arthur Helps.

458

Honorable descent is in all nations greatly esteemed; besides, it is to be expected that the children of men of worth will be like their fathers.

—Aristotle.

459

When any great design thou dost intend,
Think on the means, the manner, and the end.

—Sir J. Denham.

460

The desires of man increase with his acquisitions.

—Dr. Johnson.

461

DESTINY.

Ships that pass at night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

—Longfellow.

462

INSCRIPTION FOR A SUN-DIAL.

The shadow by my finger cast
Divides the future from the past:
Before it sleeps the unborn hour
In darkness, and beyond thy power:
Behind its unreturning line,
The vanished hour, no longer thine:
One hour alone is in thy hands—
The Now on which the shadow stands.

—Henry Van Dyke.

463

RISE ABOVE YOUR DIFFICULTIES.

Not till after the death of a member of Parliament, a prominent county magistrate, the owner of large estates, and an active, public-spirited man in all local and national matters, was it known by those who had not seen him, that it was but the misshapen block of a man that had lived this active, manly life.

He was born with neither legs nor arms. After his death his story was told: how he resolved, when but a boy, to act and live as did other boys, without regard to his horrible misfortune; how he persisted in studying every book, in learning every game, in joining in every amusement possible to him, with his companions. How, to the last year of his life, he held himself to be as responsible as other men, and bravely paid every tithe of duty to God and to his fellows.

Even in lesser matters in life he pressed to the front. He was the most genial, witty guest at social dinner tables. Strapped to his horse, he hunted foxes in Yorkshire, or tigers in India, and with his brothers made long journeys in other parts of the world. Everywhere his cheerfulness and gaiety gave new life to duller souls.

Is there no lesson for us all in the life of this gallant gentleman?

—Youth's Companion.