THE ENGLISH READER. PART I. Pieces in Prose. CHAPTER I. SELECT SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS. 1 SECTION I. a Dii-i-gence, dil-é-jense, industry, assiduity In-dus-try, in'-důs-trè, diligence, assiduity c Ma-te-ri-al, må-tè'-rẻ-ål, corporeal, essential Ac-qui-sit-ion, åk-kwė-zish'-ûn, the act of acquiring e En-dow-ment, ên-dou-ment, wealth bestowed, gifts of nature f Ba-sis, ba'-sis, the foundation of any thing g Pu-ri-fy, pù'-re-fl, to make or grow DILIGENCE, industry, and proper improvement of materiale duties of the young. The acquisition of knowledge is one of the most hon-` ourable occupations of youth. NOTE. In the first chapter the compiler has exhibited sentences in a great variety of construction, and in all the diversity of punctuation. If well practised upon, he presumes they will fully prepare the young reader for the various pauses, inflections, and modulations of voice, which the succeeding pieces require. The Author's "English Exercises," under the head of Punctuation, will afford the learner additional scope for improving himself in readmg sen tences and paragraphs variously constructed. C 28 ENGLISH READER. Part 1 Whatever useful or engaging endowments we possess, virtue is requisite, in order to their shining with proper lustre. Virtuous youth gradually brings forward accomplished and flourishing manhood. Sincerity and truth, form the basis of every virtue. Disappointments and distress are often blessings in dis guise. worid. Change and alteration form the very essense of the True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise. In order to acquire a capacity for happiness, it must be our first study to rectify inward disorders. Whatever purifies,& fortifies also the heart. From our eagerness to grasp, we strangle and destroy pleasure. A temperate spirit, and moderate expectations, are excellent safeguards of the mind, in this uncertain and changing state. There is nothing except simplicity of intention, and purity of principle, that can stand the test of near approach and strict examination. The value of any possession is to be chiefly estimated, by the relief which it can bring us in the time of our greatest need. No person who has once yielded up the government of his mind, and given loose rein to his desires and passions, can tell how far they may carry him. Tranquillity of mind is always most likely to be attained, when the business of the world is tempered with thoughtful and serious retreat. He who would act like a wise man, and build his house on the rock, and not on the sand, should contemplate human life, not only in the sunshine, but in the shade. Let usefulness and beneficence, not ostentation and vanity, direct the train of your pursuits. To maintain a steady and unbroken mind, amidst all the shocks of the world, marks a great and noble spirit. Patience, by preserving composure within, resists the impression which trouble makes from without. Compassionate affections, even when they draw tears from our eyes for human misery, convey satisfaction to the heart. They who have nothing to give, can afford relief to Our ignorance of what is to come, and of what is really good or evil, should correct anxiety about worldly suc cess. The veil which covers from our sight the events of 'succeeding years, is a veil woven by the hand of mercy. The best preparation for all the uncertainties of futurity, consists in a well ordered mind, a good conscience," and a cheerful submission to the will of Heaven. SECTION II. & Vic-tim, c In-tam-per-ance, in-têm'-për-anse, ex Folly for weaknesscepravity parentse, yu-ne-verse, the whole world cess in meat or drink, a want ofk Dis-trust, dis-trast', to doubt, suspi temperance cion d In-do-lence, in'-do-lênse, laziness l Cav-il, kav'-ll, to raise captious obe Cre-a-tor, krè-à-tår, God, one who creates m f Cur-rent, kůr rent, circulatory, run-n ning stream Frus-trate, frus'-trate, to defeat, balk o A Con-fer, kon-fêr', to bestow, discourse with i Ex-ter-nal, êks-ter'-nál, outward, ap jections, a captious argument Scep-tic-al, sep'-tik-ål, disbelieving In-di-ca-tion, in-de-ka-shån, mark, symptom Big-ot-ry, big'-gût-trè, blind zeal, superstition p Max-im, máks'-im, a general principle THE chief misfortunes that befall us in life, can be traced to some vices or follies which we have committed. Were we to survey the chambers of sickness and distress, we should often find them peopled with the victims of intemperances and sensuality, and with the children of vicious indolenced and sloth. To be wise in our own eyes, to be wise in the opinion of the world, and to be wise in the sight of our Creator, are three things so very different, as rarely to coincide. Man, in his highest earthly glory, is but a reed floating on the stream of time, and forced to follow every new direction of the current.f The corrupted temper, and the guilty passions of the bad, frustrates the effect of every advantage which the world confers on them. The external misfortunes of life, disappointments, poverty, and sickness, are light in comparison of those inward distresses of mind, occasioned by folly, by passion, and by guilt. No station is so high, no power so great, no character so unblemished, as to exempt men from the attacks of rashness, malice, or envy. : : 1 Moral and religious instruction derives its efficacy, not so much from what men are taught to know, as from what they are brought to feel. He who pretends to great sensibility towards men, and yet has no feeling for the high objects of religion, no heart to admire and adore the great Father of the universe, has reason to distrust the truth and delicacy of his sensibility. When, upon When rational and sober inquiry, we have established our principles, let us not suffer them to be shablished ken by the scoffs of licentious, or the cavils of the sceptical.m When we observe any tendency to treat religion or morals with disrespect and levity, let us hold it to be a sure indication" of a perverted understanding, or a depraved heart. Every degree of guilt incurred by yielding to temptation, tends to debase the mind, and to weaken the generous and benevolent principles of human nature. 'Luxury, pride, and vanity, have frequently as much influence in corrupting the sentiments of the great, as ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice, have in misleading the opinions of the multitude. Mixed as the present state is, reason and religion pronounce, that generally, if not always, there is more happiness than misery, more pleasure than pain, in the condition of man. Society, when formed, requires distinctions of property, diversity of conditions, subordination of ranks, and a multiplicity of occupations, in order to advance the general good. That the temper, the sentiments, the morality, and, in general, the whole conduct and character of men, are influenced by the example and disposition of the persons with whom they associate, is a reflection which has long since passed into a proverb, and been ranked among the standing maxims of human wisdom, in all ages of the world. a Vir-tue, vêr'-tshů, moral goodness d Hu-mane, hd-mane', kind, berievolent b Re-fine-ment, rè-fine-ment, a purify-e Tran-sient, tran'-shent, short, mo ing, improvement mentary dour e Vo-lup-tu-a-ry, vo-lop'-tshu-á-rẻ, one f Lus-tre, lås'-tår, brightness, spiengiven to pleasure 1 |