B r^ *L ^ \^ '•' ^sfe, ^ IIOOMhyn* AvwHM. SuH* 1100 SMvar Spring. Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 V Centimeter i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n 12 13 14 15 mm ■I ■ | i ^ i | ii ji| i i |i | ii| i|i|i |i| i ti|iyi|i ^i |ii | i|i^ i |ii|i^ l ^^^ "•." ■,.7/' . . = ■ Inches ' , f- 4 1.0 ut m itt lU |£ 12.2 > f .■ au mil . * S S 120 -t^ mil If 5 ■■ ■■■ 1.8 )lMl^ 1^ 41^ MONUFRCTURED TQ OHM STONDRRDS BV fiPPLIED IMRGE. INC. --«:^ '^ '. ^ . ■' i ■ _, ■ ' w. ;^ CIHM Microfiche Series (Monograplis) iCMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian inttluita f Of Hlatortcal MlcrqraprotfMQtlpna / InatHut Canadian da mlararaprodi^tlona hlttoriquaa O^ ^; TMhnical md WbNoraP*>ie NotM / N««m MchmquM at MMiofraphiqyM Jh$ ImtituM hM ammptMi to obtain the btat orifiMl copy avMlaMa for fitanint. FMtum of thlft ooRV wdich may ba MMiofraphlcaHv uni^ya. wrtiMi may altar any of ttM kiMfai kt tlia rafHoAietion, or wliMi may (ifnificantiy chanp tha mmmI mathod of f itaniiif . ara dMckadbahm. ^ ' □ Colourad co«ar«/ Couvartura da coulaur r~Q P(*'4iMi an ooulaur □ Colourad ink (i.a. othar than Mua or Mack)/ Encr* da coulaur (i.a. autra qua Maua ou noira) □ Coloured platas and/or illuttrationt/ Planchas at/ou iiiuttrationi an coulaur Bound with ottiar matarial/ flali* avac d'autras doeumanti □ Tight bindint may cauia thadom or dittortion 4ilont intarior margin/ La raiiura tarria paut catiMr di Tombra ou di ra dtetorsion la long da la maria inttriaura L'inttitut a mierof ibn* la toiaillaur axamplaira qu'il M • *«* POMiMa da M proeurar. Lat dMaih da eat ammplaira qui tont paut-«tra uniqua t du point da vua bibWoirapbiqua, qui pauvant modif iar una imapa raproduHa. ou qui pautMnt axitar una modification dam la mMioda normala da f iknaia tont indiquAs ci daitem. «',.■■ ^" . • /. ; □ Colourad papa*/ PapN da coulaur - D f PapM anoommapaat □ PftfM rattorad and/or laminatad/ Fatal rattaurAat at/ou pa N icul^ i D FifM ditcolourad, ttainad or foxail/ Npw d*colorAai. tachatiat ou piqutai ;-■"' ^ ... ■. □ FsflM^taehad/ PatMd*tach«as Ethowthroufh/ Tramparanca . • ■ ■ Q Quality of print varias/ Quality inipala da I'imprastion □ Continuous pagination/ Pagination continue D Blank laavas addad during restoration may appear vvithin tha text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ejouties k>rs d'une roittHiretion apparaissent dans la texte, mais, lorsque cela itait possiMe.cas peges n'ont Additional c«Nnments:/ Copy has manuscript Commantairas supplimentaires: □ d Includas indcM(es)/ Comprend un (des) index title on header taken from:/ Le titre de I'en-tlte provient: Title pege of issue/ Page de titre de la livratspn Caption of issue/ Titre de depart da la livraison r~~| Masthead/ G4nerk|ue (piriodiques) de la livraison annotations. this item is filmed at the reduction ratio choeked balbsv/ Ce document est f ilmi eu taux da riductibn indiqui ci-dassous. t 10X ux tix i7n 22X 26X XX 12X 16X 20X 24X 2«X □ 32X tiM eopy fHffMd h«r»4M« hMn r«produe«ci thanks to tM g«fMrMlty'0f r Tin W»IW< CIWOTli tf C«w ': * L'oxampMIro fNrnA fut raprodult g^icS i la ' g4nAroalti dot .... > .■; ."zr Tlw Ushii CiNWii sf C— ■<■ Afdiiwi Vi«twb Uiiww l ty AwMm ias Imagaa auhrantaa ont 4t* raprodultaa avae la plus grand aoin, opmpta tanii da la condition at da la nattatA da I'axamplal^ fllm4«'at an conformltA avao loa conditions du contrat da ..'fllmaga; Laa axomplalraa origlnaux dont la couvarturo an paplar act ImprimAo sent fllmto an^^oommanpant par la pramlar plat at mn tarminah^ salt par hi darnlAro paga qttl oomporta una amprainta d'Impraaalon ou dlllustratlon. solt par la sacond . plat, aalon lo eaa. Tous los autras asamplairas origlnaux aont fllmte an common^ant par la pramlAra paga qui comporto uno amprainta dimpraaslon ou dlllustratlon at ah tarmkiant par la damlAro paga qui comporto una talla amprainta. , Un das aymbdoa auW ants apparattra sur la damlAra Imago da chaqua microfiche, salon la cas: la aymbda -^ signlfia "A SUIVAI". I« symboio y signlfia "FIN**. _ Las cartas, planehas. tableaux, etc., pauvent Atro f ilmis i das taux da reduction dlf f «rants. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un akul cHoh*. II est filmA i pertir do Tangle aupArleur gauche, de gauche A droito. et de haut an bas. en prenant le nombre d'imeges nAcessalre. Los diagrammes suivsnts illustrent la mAthode. D 32X * ■ I * 2 - ^, ..kf^ ^ 'IT. ^r^. 1 m / 'V V. : f ■ , *■ ^ /, ^i^i^c.%^ I From . . . , ' ■ -■■"•■. \. THE LIBRJIRY- — OF— t( lUrkrtgjeU A nef^ecter of books is not wise,** An^aBuser of books it a viiiain." A keepar of borrowed books is a thief** % \ -'\ . p^e. Hit Doty 6f Happlneit ?I ^ ' cKAPTisnn. The HmpplneM of Duty ....,;,. ^^ CHAPTER IIL A Song of Books - . ^ CHAPTER IV. The Choice of Books. W CHAPTER V. W The Blessing of Friends........ ^'i'^ • 60 _' CHAPTER Vr. The Value of Time ,^ •••••• 73 ^ CHAPTER vrr. The Pleasures of Travel. g^ ^ CHAPTER Vlir. The Pleasures of Home.... • ^ "'"". „'»-W CHAPTER IX. Science v ' " • idi ^' CHAPTER X. BuucaUoa............ ;^ ^^ / .>!'', fi THE PLEASURES OF I^IFE. PART 11. CHAPTERI. Page. Ambition........... — 133 CHAPTER IL wealth .......,,. 142 CHAPTER III. Health : . CHAPTER IV. Lo?e.......«.. ..*.......,.. 161 CHAPTER V. Art. .................. 175 ^ CHAPTER VI. Poetry — .... jgg CHAPTER VII. Mliiilc......... .'..,..........., 200 CHAPTER VIII. The Beauties of Nature 214 CHAPTER IX. ^ The Troubles of Life . •••••••■•••I . ..^. . i'?!-,.. 235 CHAPTER X. Labor and Rest 243 CHAPTER XL Religion......... 251 CHAPTER XIL The Hope of Progress ..., 265 CHAPTER XIIL The Destiny of Mau.... ,......;,.............. ..271 y • V ,Vf" h-^*'!\f -^f"^ «J3FSrwijl?« .. / PREFACE Those who have the plewiufel)! attendinjf tte opening meetings of schools ftnd coUegef Sl^!if'^^ ^r^" PJ^a^^ certificates, w^ generally^ex^cted at the same time to offer wn^/''-'^.^^ '^^i^.'^Si ^ ^ expeHence of the world might enable them to give to those who J^re entering life. . • f,«^T ""yself naturally rather prone to suffer ^^.l^"^ T^^\l ^^® ** ««veral of these gathenngs t^en the opportunity of dwelling ou the prmleg^ and blessings we enjoy, and I repnnt here the substance 5f some of thSe i^resses (omitting what was special to the cu^mstances of aich case, and freely makmif any-alterations and additions which have sind occurred to me) hoping that the thoughts Sid quotetions m wluch I have myself found most comfort mav perhaps be of use to others also. ^ It 18 hardly necessary to say that I have not by any means referred to afl the sources of 22L^"'f * .''P®'' ^ us. some indeed of the 41 I '^ii'^nJaiakJbi^i'rl&s^'jeiiMktijljSt, -■'(*^,fT^,^ 8 , PREFACE, In reading over the proofs I feel that I may appear in some cases .too dogmatic, but X hope that allowance will be made for the circum- stances under which they were delivered. HioqElms, I>owv» Kent, Januan^, 1887. n * tei&fei/.. ^fw!w^'^n''<^'i / :^' THE PLEASURES OF LIF! CHAPTER 1. THE DUTY OP HAPPINESS* •>■ «*Ifaman ls..uiihappy this mmt be hia own faults i a to be bappy/^-EpicTETUs. / II a man is unnai: ibr Ck>d made all men «f ^" ^!- * ^^* ^^'' ^^ »8 ^e reach years of discretion, we most of us naturaUy ask our. selves what should be the main object of our fc^w""^-. ^/^'^ i^°«^ ^^« do not accept "the greatest good of the greatest number" S^n,^?^*n^''^"i® ru}^, .will yet admit that we should all endeavor to contribute as far as we nmy tothe happiness of our fellow-creatures. ih!fS5®^™*9y' however, who seem to doubt Vhetherit IS possible, or even right, that we «a«o ^^ ^appy ourselves. Our own happi- ness ought not, of course, to be our main ob-J iect, nor indeed will it ever be secured if self:! faWy sought. We may have many ploLur^^' l'S?^S! "^^^ ^" deUvewd at tb« HanU ,.t--./. w k > " « '^- \ " ~ - ;<: t-VL. ^ . , • »*«»^ 10 THE PLMAaUBBB OF LIFE, In life, but must not let pleasures have rule over U3 or they will soon hand us over to sor- row; and « into what dangerous and»miserable servitude does he fall who suffereth -pleasures and sorrows (two unfaithful and cruel com- manders) to possess him successively?"* 1 cannot, however, but tliink 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 Duty ; for we ought to be as cheerful as Ive can,if only because to be happy ourselves is a most effectual contribution to the happiness of others. Every one inust have felt that a cheerful friend is like a sunny day, which sheds its brightness on all around ; and most of us can, as we choose, make of this world either a palace or a prison. There is no doubt some selfish satisfactAon m yielding to melancholy ; in brooding over grievances, especially if more or less imagi- nary, in fancying that we are victims of fate. To be bright and cheerful often requ&es an effort; there is a certam art in keepmg our- selves happy; in this respect, as in others, we require to watch over and manage ourselves almost j^ if we were somebody else. ' As a nation we are prone to melancholy. It has been said of our countrymen that they take even their pleasures sadly. But this, if it be true at all, will, I hopfe, prove a transitory characteristic. "Merry England" was tlio * Seneca. j.^Acfc^S^Vi;*'' ^ ^igS'-Hl. THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. 11 old saying, and we hope it may become true Rgain. We must look to the East for real inelancholy. What can be sadder than tho lines with which Omar Khayyam opens hia <^Uiitrains. 1 quote- from Whinfield's tranala- tion: " We sojourn here for one short day or two, _: And ail the gain we get is grief and woo ; And tlien, loaving life's problems all unsolveu - And Mrassed By regrets, we have to go; " or the Devas' song to Prince Siddartha, in Edwin Arnold's beautiful version: "We are the voices of the Wandering wind. Which moan for rest, and rest can never find. Lo I as the wind is, so is mortal life— A moan, a sigh, a sob, a storm, a strife/* No wonder that under such circumstances. Nirvana— the oe«(Sation of sorrow-— should bo welcomed even at the sacriace of conscious- ness. But, on the contrary, ought we not to place biBfore ourselves a very different ideal- healthier, manlier, apd nobler hope ? " iM^ganzkn, guten, schonen. Hesolut J5U leben," ♦ /life certainly may be, and ought to be, bright, mteresting, and happy ; and, accordmg to the Italian proverb, "if all cannot live on the Piazza, every one may feel the sun." . K/we 4a.^j«».b^; if we da jMili. magnify ^ tnflmg troubles; if we resolutely look, I do * ■ '■ *Goethe. ■ •■'' ?>■■.■■ 12 THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. not say at the bright side of things, but at things as they really are ; if we avail ourselves of the manifold blessings which surround us, we cannot but feel how liiankful we ought to be for the " sacred trusts of health, strength, and time,"— for the glorious inheritance of life- Few of us, indeed, realize the wonderful pri^ege of living; the blessings we inherit, the glories and beauties of the Universe, which is our own if we clioose to have it so; the ex. t^t to which we can make ourselves what wo wish to be; or the power we possess of secuN. ingpeace, of triumphing over pam and sorrow. Dante pointed to the neglect- of opportu- nities as a serious fault ;" (t _ . , ,, — Man can dq vioIenGe To himself and his own blessings, aniffor this He, in the second round, nimt aye deplofe, With unavailing penitence, his crime. Whoe'er deprives himself oflife and light In reckless lavishment his talent wastes, And sorrows then when he should dwell in joy. tt Ruskin has expressed this with special al» lusion to the-marvolous peauty of this glo. ripu^.. world, too often taken us a matter of course, and remembered, il atall, almost with- out gratitude. «* Holy men," he complains, "in the recommending of the love ot God to us, refer but seldom to those things in which it is most abundantly and immedmtely shown ; thouffh they insist much on His giving- bl bread, and raiment, and health (which He -4S4^ lA-.' _ \ M THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. 18 gives to all inferior creatures), they require ua to thank Him for that glory of His works W-ich He has permitted us alone to perceive : they tell us often to ipeditate in the closet, but they send us not, like Isaac, into the flelda . at even ; they dwell on the duty of self-denial, but they exhibit not the duty of delight : " and yet, as he justly says elsewhere, "each of us, as we travel the way of life, has the choice, according to our working, of turning all the voices of Nature into one song of rejoicing ; or of withering and quenching her sympathy into a fearful withdrawn silence of condemnatioa or into a crying out of her stones and a shak- ing of her dust against us." ^^ May we not all admit, with Sir Henry Tay- - lor, that "the retrospect of life swarms with lost opportunities." St. Bernard, indeed^goe# so far as to state I that "nothing can work me damage except/ my^f ; the harM that I sustain I carry about/ wTOIfae, and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault." "TfBffie'Treathen moralists have taught very Much the same lesson. "The gods," says Marcus Aurelius, "have put all the means in man's power to enable him not to fall into real evils. Now that which does not make a man worse, how can it make his life worse ? " Epictetus takes the same line : " If a man is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is hisown^ult; for God has made all men to b3 happy." "I am," he elsewhere says, "al» ■: ■ . ■: ^ ■/.■ " ■ ■ V-V, - : V . . ■ -^ ■■:,/;- ■ . ■ ■'. r >■ .A -iJ^tr^- 14 TUE PLEASURES OF LIFE, wjiys content with that which happens ; for 1 tliink that what God chooses is better than what I choose.** And again : *^ Seelc not that thhigs which happen should happen as you wish ; but wish the things wliich happen to be ^ as they ar^, and you will have a tranquil flow of life, . . . If you wish for any tiling which belongs to another, you lose thab which Is your own. l Few, however, if any, can, I think, go as far as St. Bernard. We cannot but suffer from pain, sickness, and anxiety ; from the loss, the unkindness, the faults, even the coldness of those we love; How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word. Hegel is said to have calmly finished his Phasnomenologie dea Geistes at Jena, on the 14th October, 1806, not knowing anything whatever of the battle that was raging round him. But if we separate ourselves so much from the interests of those around us that we do not Sympathize with them in their suflferings, we shut ourselves out from sharing their joys, and lose far more than we gain. If we exclude svmpathy and wrap ourselves round in a cold chain-armor of selftshness, we exclude our- selves from many of the greatest and purest joys of life. To render ourselves insensible to 'pain we must forfeit also the possibility of happiness. \ It is, in fact, impossible to deny the exist- ence of evil, and the reason for it has long e^ 'X TBE PLEASURES OF LIFE, 15 ercised the human intellect The savage solves it by the supposition of evil spirits. The Greeks attributed the misfortunes cf men in great measure to the antipathies and jealousies of gods and goddesses. Others have hnagined • two divine principles, opposite and antngonis- tic— the one friendly, the other hostile to men. Much, however, of what we call evil i^. really gpod in disguise, and we should notf ** quarrel rashly with adversities not yet un- derstood, nor overlook the mercies often bound up in them."* .»Pain,for instance, is a warn- ing of danger, a very necessit^^of existence. But for it, but for the warnings which our feelings give us, the very blessings by which we are surrounded T^ould soon and inevitably prove fatal. Many of those who liave not studied the question are under the impression that the more dceply-seated portions of the body must be most sensitive. The very re. verse is the ease. The gkju is a continuous and ever watchful sentinel, ever on guard to give ua^notice of any approaching danger; while the flesh and inner organs, where pain would be without purpose, are, s6 long as they are healthy, comparatively without sensation. Freedom of action seems to involve the i ptosibility of evil. If any freedom of choice ^ bgfeft us, mud^must depend on the choice ^irrinake. In tnrirery nature of things, tVo and two cannot make five. Epictetus imaginea •SlrT. Erbwne^ ;,i«N ^ 16 THE PLSA8URE8 OF LJFS, v/ ^ Jupiter addressing man as ^Uows : " jy*^ *^ bein possible to make your body and youj mo^r^frc« from liabUity to in ury, I would Crd^ne To. AS this /ould not te. I have elven you a small portion of myself. ^ Thi/divine ffift It is for us to use wisely. It u h fart our most valuable treasure. "The . iou i fmu^^^^ all the others ^^.y^s^ss, Oan you then show nvam what way you have taken care of iW For il il not likely that you, who are so wise a man, ^5>tiSel^ Ja carelessly allow the mos valuable thing that you, possess to be neg- '^^:S:^^t'^il c^notbe aUogether avoided it is no doubt true that not only whether we lead good and useful, or evil and Sss lives, but also whether we are happy ^ orlfihappy, is very much in our own power, and deSs greatly on ourselves. "Timo S?one r?Ueves>e foolish from sorrow, but' Reason the wi^l"* and no one was ever yet ^ mide utterly miserable excepting by himself. We are, if not the masters, at any rate almost the creators of ourselves. v.^««fo^* .With most of us it is not so much great for. rows disease, or death, but rather the little "TuyXn^," which doud over the Bui^ of lifl ^How many of the troubles of hfe a-« insif^mflcant in themselves, and migut heavoided? ~^ •BpicteUn. ^^ Y '^-l^ijS TtTK RLKASTTRES OF LIFE, II How happy Ijotji^ might generally be mad* not for foolish quarrels, or misunderstandingn, fi8 they are well named I It is our own fault if we are querulous or ill-humored : ijor need we, thouffh this is less easy, allow ourselves to be made unhappy by the querulousness or ill-humors 'Of others. ^9]> of what we suffer we have brought en ourselves, if not by actual fault, at least by l^orance or thoughtlessness. Many of us fritter our life away. Indeed, I^ Bruyere says that "most men spend much of their lives in makhig'Tlre-Kgt'^ InlseRi^l© ; ^^ imta it ; ^ " Careworn man has, In all agei, : ISown vanity to reap despair." ■, Not only do we suffer much in the anticipa* won of evil, as " Noah lived many yearsulrffer the aflaiction of a flood, and Jerusalem was taken unto Jeremy before it was besieged," but we often distress ourselves greatly in the apprehension of misfortunes which after all never happen at all. \ye should doour best and wait calmly the result. We often hear of people breaking down from over- work, but in nine cases outipf ten they are really sufferinir from I Wori^ or anxiety. ^ « Nm maux nioraux," says Rousseau, « sont tous dans Popinion, hors un seul, qui est le cnme j et celui-la depend de nous: nos manx {hysiques nous detruisent, ou se detruisent* e temps ou la mprt sont nos remedes.'' -\ ,-■■" -1-t- "■•m 18 THETLEABURXa Otl'irE, This, however, applies to ^e K«>^«_.»ft With children of course it Is dlflerelit. It U customary, but I think It Is a mlstokei to speak of happy childhood. ChUdren, howev^i:, ar« often oyer-anxlous and acutely sensitive.^ JJaa 'ouirhtc#i3e a man and master of his fat^bul • ichUdfSn are at the mercy of those around thenu Mr RareV, the great horse-tamer, has tola us th^the has known an angry word raise the pulse of a horse ten beats In a minute. Thinlc &en how it must affect a child! It is small blame to the young if they are oyer-anxious ; but it is a danger to be striven against. " The terrors of the storm are chiefly ( felt in the parlor or thacabin." ♦ , . To Mve ourselves ^mt^mM^^Vf^ ^^ ^^ ^^1 rate pWblematical ej gMMP en kpir tm suffering. ^The rdBOl^rE^imW^^ Is not content with litUe is content with noth- Incf '♦ How often do we " labor for that which Sltisfleth not." We most of us give ourselves an imm^se amount of useless trouble ; encum- .t)6r ourselves, as it were, on the journey of lifo yinth a dead weight of unnecessary baggage. ^3Gid as « a man maketh his train lonp^eri^e makes his wings shorter." t In that delightful fairy tale, Alice through the Lookmg'ttlaet^ the " White Knight " 18 described as havmg provided himself on starting for a iourney with variety of odds and ends, includin|f a i^^ trap, in case he was troubled by mice • SiBi e r » o|h t Bacon, % ^ ■i?X ^ f. '"^IF'''* WSSSW^IP*!- THE PLEA8UBKS OF LIFM. I \ f !f I »da bef hive in case Ike came across a swari^ Hearne, In his J<>um«if to the Mouth of lA# CojfpmKine >River, teUitus that a few days after sfcfttimf^he met a party of Indians, who g annexed k If reat deal of his property, andWl earne saysls, *^The weight of our Iwmraire >mg so much lightened, our next day's jour- ney was much pleasanter." I ought, however, to add that the Indians broke up the philo- sophical instruments, which, no doubt were rather an encumbrance. What is evil ? We mostly speak of sufferings •nd^ trials ^s good, perhaps, in their results: but we hardly admit that they imy be good in themselves. Yet they are knowledge— how else to be acquired, unless by making men as gods, enablmg them to understand without experience. All that men ^o through" may bo absolutely the best for them— n© such thing as ' d^^* * ^'^ ^^^ customary meaning of the Indeed, " the vale best discovereth the hill " f and "pour sentir les grands biens, 11 faut qu'il oonnoisse les petits maux." % T- If we cannot hope that life will be all happi- Bess, we may at least secure a heavy balMioe on the right side, and even events which look Uke misiortune,^ boldly faced, may often be turned to good. Hehnholtz dates his start in LHdpiu^ tBacon. :# 'W -e: t 'X : . ^^ s3sflfe=MieBSesi!pBe9 t« ii ji . I igweii'— ww^iy ■/^d. 20 THE PLEA8URE8 OF LIFE. Bcience to an aUack of typhoid fev«r. ThU ; iUnrss led to his acquisition of a microscope She was enabled to purchase, owing to Ws havinff spent his autumn vacation of 1841 in the ho! piSl, prostrated by typhoid fever; Sinl a numl he was nursed without expense, SMrLveiyhe found himself in posses- 8^ oUhe savings of his small resources. v^?Under different circumstances," says Cas- telar-^^^BaV^la ^^ould undoubtedly have ^^'a go^-^band, a tender father a man SowHo history, utterlvpowerless to p^^^^^^ upon the sands of time and "P^^ «^^ .*J^™^^ b5u1 the deep trace which he has left; but mSprtune came to visit him, to crush te^ hearth and to impart that n^^^^^^^. "^"^i^ which characterizes a soul m grief, ^^ :Lfif that circled his brows with a crown ^ Sns was also that which wreathed t^^^^ with the splendor of imm^hty. I"^, rf.®^ w^ centered in the woman he loved, his life Was set upon the possession of her, and when ^Prfamilv finally rejected him, partly on ac- cointTKoLsion, and partly on account of his persoS, he believed that it was death that had^ome upon him, when in truth it was ^T^'when^troubles come^VIarcus Au. reUus wisely tells us to "remember on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply tWs principle, that th'^ 13 not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune^ wid he el^dWh^ie observea that we suffer mudi ■^ • TUE PLEASURES OF LIFE. 21 'm. more from the anger and vexation which we allow acts to rouse in us, than we do from the acts themselves at which we are angry and vexed. How much most people,, for instance, allpw themselves to be distracted alid disturbed by quarrels and famUy disputes. Yet in nina cases out of ten one ought not to suffer fromj being found fault with. Jf the condemnation^ ^ 18 just, it should be welcome as a warning :Jf| ;|ffr it is Undeserved, why should we allow & Wl .h /distress us? If misfortunes happen we do but make them worse by grieving over them. "I must die," again says Epictetua. "But must I then die sorrowing ? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament ? I must go into exile. Can I be prevented from going with cheerfulness and contentment? But I will put you in prison. Man, what are you sayingf You can put my body in prison, but my mind not even Zeus himself can over- power.'* Ify^ indeed, we cannot be happy, the fault is \ generally in ourselves. Epictetus was a poor/ slave, and yet how much w&rrwe him I - ^ " How is it possible," he says, " that a man who has nothing, who is naked, houseless, with- ' out a h^rth, squalid, without a slave, without a city, can pass a life that flows easily? S^, God has sent you a man to show you that it is possible. Look at me who am without a city, without a house, without possessions, without a slave ; I steep on the ground ; I have % ■ *■■ % m -*. j|, T^r ,;i ' -. 22 THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. v ^o wife, no chMren, no pwetorium, bujb only the earth and heavens, and one poorf^ak. And what do I want? Am I n^j||Bout sorrow ? Am I not without fear ? f iiif^f I nok free ? When did any of you see me fi^ingp in the object of my desire? or ever falling liito that which X would avoid? Did I ever blame God or man? Did I ever accuse any man? Did any of you ever see me with a sorrowful countenance ? And how do I meet with those whom you are afraid of and admire r Do not I treat them like slaves ? Who, when he sees ' me, does not think that he sees his kmg and master?'^. Think how much we have to be thankful for. Few of us appreciate the number of our everyday blessings ; we think they are trifles, and yet ** tJcBlel -©lake perfection, and perf eq- 4 tiott is no trm^," as Michael Angelo said. We forget them because tliiy ate always with us, and yet for each of us, as Mr. Pater well ob- serves of his hero Marius, " these simple giiEts, and others equally trivial, btead and wine, fruit and milk, might regain, that poetic and as it were, moral significance which surely be- longs to all the means of our daily life, could we but break through the veil of our familiar- ity with things by no^ means vulgar In them- selves." «* Let not," says Isaak Walton, ** the bless- 1 ings we receive aailyfr om God make us not to } value or not praiseHim" because they be com- ' mon ; let lis not forget to. praise Him for tbo , % THE BLKABUBBB OF LIFE. fanocent miyth and pleasure we ha^e met with since we mk togetfier. What would a blind man giveto Isee the pleasant rivers and mead- ows and flowfers and fountains: and this and may other likla blessmgs we enioy daUy.'» Gout^tment, we have been told by Epieu- w.^^^'^t'^^IA^^ ^«^* ^^t^ but in few wants. In thik fortunate couhtry, however. ^ may have mkny wants, and yet, if they ari oidy reasonable, We may gratify them auf^ Kature^rovidk without stmt the »ain re. qmsites of human\liappiness. « To watch the h^wP^' ''fu*^®,^^^!^"*^ s«<^> to draw hard breath^over the plWshare or spade; to read, to think, to love, to pray," these, says RusSn* "are the thrngs that make men happy " n **Ihave fallen mto the handsof tiueves." / Bays Jeremy Taylor ; « what then? Ther- have left me the sun andmoon, fire and water a lovmg wife and miny friends to pity me! and some to relieve me, and I can stiU di^ course ; and, unless I list they have not taken away my merry countenance and my cheerful spirit and a good conscience And he that Hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much m love with sorrow and pee^h. I pees who loses all these pleasures, and chooses ^ to sitdown on his little handful of thorns." / « When a man has such thmgs to thmk on. fud sees the sun, the moon, and ^tars, and en- |oys earth and sea, he is not soUtary or evwi ^ Epi^tetaa. 24 THE PLEAaUBSa OF LIFE, ■ v "Paradise indeed mightj" as Luther saic^ "•jiply to the whole world/^' What mote is there~ we could"asE*tbr ourselves? "Every sort of beauty," says Mr. Greg, "has been lavished on our allotted home*fDea,uties to en. rapture every sense, beauties to satisfy every taste; forms the noblest and the loveliesV colors the most gorgeous and the most delicate, D^rs the sweetest and subtlest, harmonies the most soothing and the most stirring ; the sunny glorjes of theday; the pale Elysian grace of moonlight, the lake, the mounta.in, the prim* rose, the forest, and t^he boundless ocean ; •silent pinnacles of aged snow' in one hemi- sphere, the marvels of tropical luxuriance in another; the serenity of sunsets ; the sublimity of storms; everythmg is bestowed in bound- less profusion on the scene of .our existence; we can conceive or desire nothing more ex- quisite'or perfect than what is round us every hour, and our perceptions are so framed as to be coMsciously alive to all. The provision made fo%pur fensuou8| enjoyment is m overflowing ' abundance ; so is that for the other elements of our complex nature. Who that has reveled in the openuag ecstasies of a young imagination, or the rich marvels'of the world of thought, does not confess that tiie intelligence has been dowered at least with a^ profuse a beneficence as the seises ? WJjo that ttas truly tasted and latliom^ humaoi love in its , dawning and crownmg joys^as not thanked God for a lelicity which indeed "passeth understand- / .)/ THE PLEASURES OF LJFK 26 fag?' If we had set our fancy to Dictnrfi a r aeator occupied solely in devis^g de^hTfor ^dren whom he loved, w6 could not conmVe ' one single element of bliss which is not h^^ V CHAPTERII. , TM! HAPPINESS OF DUTT* ^ ■;■■[■;■. ]5pictbtu8. " wSaVfli conquering I this lower earth Would be for men thTllest abode of mirth - If they were strong In Thee *™: As other tWngs of this world well are iidifln How happy would men l)e." ' Kino Alfbbd's ed. of Boethius»s Ctmaolationa Anthony sought for hnppinesa in love; Brutus in glgry ; Caesar in dtvmmion: the first found disgrace, the second disgus"^ time, and em. donf ."^ T""^""^ "^^^^ yet when we have done our best, w^ should wait the result S - peace ; content, as fipictetus says, "with that* w^ich happens, for what Go^ chooses is better ' than what I choose." "^vw _At any rat^ if we have not effected aU wo Vt^ ^ BhaU have influenced ourselves. It may be true^that one cannot do much. You are not Hercules, and you are not able , topurge away the wickedness of others: nor 2!fi ^i?/*"^ peseus,able to piHge awaytho evd thujigs of Attica. Clear away your owiu wSJ^f'Si^' ^'^!?' -^^"^^ ^^'^^^^s; cast ^^^^ Instead of Piwrustea and Sciron. sadneas, fe«rl • Omar UiifcyjraiB. ■;■ v"' A ■ ■■/■ a^-^"> £S TSE PLEASURSS OF LIFE, / ■■'•■/ desire, envy, malevolence, avarice, effeminacy, intemperance. But it is not possible to elect these tMngs otherwise than by lookinp^ to Uod onlv, by fixing your affections on Him only, by being consecrated by his commands." * To rule oneself is in reality the greatest triumph. **He who is his own monarch," say^ Sir T. Browne, ** contentedly sways the scepter of hhnself^ not envying^, the. glory to ciwwned heads and Elohjm of the earth ;" for those are really highest who are nearest to heaVen, and those are lowest who are farthest from it. True greatness has little, if anything, to do "with rank or power. / "Eurystheus beiiig what he was,'* says ^ictetus, "was not^ really king of Ar^ nov of Mycenae, for he bould not even rule himself; while Hercules purged lawlessness and intro- duced justice, though he was both naked and alone" We are told that Cineas, the philosopher, once asked Pyrrhus what he would do when he had conquered Italy. ".X will conquer Sicily.^ "And after Sicily?" "ThenAfrica.'? "And after you have conquered the world?'* "1 will take my ease and be merry." "Then," asked Cmeas, " why can yoW not take your ease and be merry now?" Moreover, as Sir Arthui Helps has wisely pointed out, "theen- largea view we have of the tTniverse must in iome measure damp personal ambition. What « Ti! Epictetus. m^ Tns PLEA8UtiE8 OF LIFE, 29 fl^* *^i^ ¥"^» Bheikh, tetrarch, or emperor t ""T^, ^'^ ^^ * '^it ' ^^ this little eknh y " ^ I " All rising tp great place," Bays Bacon «ia Jy a winding stair:" and " princes a?e liko heavenly bodies, which have much veiiera! tion butnorest." Moreover, there is a S deal of drudgery in the lives of courts^ &re- monials may be important, but they are te? ^^^ZV^ *^^^ "P ^^^««t ^^-^1 of time v^J^t^iT-^^ own best kingdom. But self. «oiI^£Tii8 ^truest and greatest monarchv J^rely comes by inheritance. EveryWof ui must conquer himself, and we may ^ so, if Ve tJike conscience for our guide and general Being myself enghged Si businesf, I was rather startled to find it laid down by no ksa a self-evident proposition) that commerce "is incompatible with that dignified life whfch it IS our wish that our citizens should llad and ,1'i^L-^.f "^ ^. *^^^^ ^^^^ elevatbnol mind with which it is our ambition to inspire ^^^L ^ }^'''^ "^t how far that may rea Iv tSrfhof -r^"*^^"^^^"* but If po, I do not ^ w^der that It was not more successful. i;#r • ^^ ^^ ^^"0 that the ordinary duties of nfLt^^,'^""^'yi.'^^^ ours^ommW, man: . Ufactures, agriculture;--the pursuits to which the vast majority are and ifl^ust be^evoted^ - liter burely this 13 not so. Wliether alifA '^ V fa noble ^Ignoble depends notonlh^ ciUli^ 'X '^I ■■-■;•■■-/ '■*■ ao TEE PLEASUUES OH^LIFE, \(i\ A which is adopted, but on the QJiirit in which 11 \a followed. The humblest life'may be noble, while that of the most powerful monarch or the greatest genius may be contemptible. What Ruskiii says of art is, with due moidiflca- tidn, true of life g^g^r^y. It does not mas- ter whether a mad^^i^aint the petal of a rose or the chasms jof a i)Fecipice, so that love and admiration attend on him as he labors, and wait forever on his work. It does not matter whether he toU for monthi^on a few. inches of his canvas, or cover a palace front witir color in a day, so only that it be with a solemn purpose, that he have filled his heart with patience or urged his hand to haste." ^ It is true that in a subsequent volume he refers to this passage, and adclA^ *' But though all is good for study and all is beautiful, some is better than the rest for the help and pleasure of others; and this it is our duty always to choose if we have opportunity,'' adding, how- ever, " being quite happy witn what is within our reach if we have not." Commerce, indeed, is not only compatible, J)ut iwould almost go further and say that it will be most successful, if carried orl in happy union wi,th noble aims and generous aspira- tions. We read of and admire the heroes of old, but every one of us has to fight his own Marathon and ThermopylsB ; every one meets the Sphinx sitting by the road he has to pass ; to each of us, as to Hercules, is offered the dioice of Vice and Virtue ; we may, like Paris, ■ \ THE PLEASURES OF LIFE. 81 gi^ the apple of ^e to Venus, or Juno, or .-.i^# ™»y ..indeed, quote Aristotle against him- l^.v^''^^ ^ ''^'^^'' '°^ *^® «ake of loisuro; ^7ha ^^."/^^'"'■y ?"^ "«^^"1 ^or the sake of the beaatiful in conduct." h«3?f n*'"® '"^"^ whb seem to think that wa ^^^"Vl ^» ^fi^jlp the world when life is less leisure than ever, and tho struffHe for existence is keener thaS it was of yore mnXtl 2*^her hand, w^ must remember how touch we Jave gamed ii security. % It may be an age of hard work, buS when this is not^i! ^tMnlri^^lil"^^'^^^^^^^ employment, and on tne whoW I believe tnto never was a^timA when modest merit and pStientindrtryw^^ more sure of reward. 1v^ must nol &iS be discouraged If success te sloW in coS nor puffed up if it comes qifekly; WeTh3 however, greatly misundeiitand the teacWmJ SnTnl^r"^' ^1 ^^" sLposed that inld? jocatmg philosophy he intended in any way to «^^ympathy with theTjoys and^oi^ ti^^,:^"^^^^.^^ suggested that TO Mght take a lesion from thS heavenly bodies: ' "SS5?*^hi®3^y *?«""«"<» Jo^nd them. - « * 12 TUE PLSAaUUES OF LIFE. "Boundod by theniHfllvei, an;! unobiionrant la what 8tat« God'i^ oilier works way bo, In their own tasks all thdir i)ower8 itouring, - These attain the mighty life you see." To many, however, this isolation would btt Itself moBt painful. Tlie Iieart is ** no island out ofif from other lands, but a continent that Joins to them," * though it is true that " A man Is his own star ; Our acts our ancels are For good or ill." ana that ** rather than follow a multitude to do evil," one should "stand like Pompey*a pillar, conspicuous by oneself, and single in integrity."! Newman, in i^brhaps the moat beautiful of his hymns, " Lead, kindly Light," says t ' Keep thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene ; one step enough for me.** But we must be sure that we are really fol- lowing, some worthy guide, and not out of mere laziness allowing ourselves to drift. We have a guide within us which will generally „lead us straight enough. Religion, no doubt, is full of difficulties, but if we are often puzzled what to think, we need ■eldom be m doubt what to do. •* To say well is good, ^ut to do well Is better ; Do wen is the spirit, and say well the letter ; If do well and say well were fit^ in on6 frame. ^ All were won, all were done, and got Were all the gaiuJ^, *Bacon. t Sir T. Browne.. THE PLEA8URES OF LIFE. S3 fti^Fi^?**^^ who appears to have well merited' the statue erected to him at Assos, ways : •' L««l me, O Zeua, and thou, O Dertlny. . %^% W that I am bid by you tolo • - 7^«Ji«:j I •!« ready. lHcwf„ot; I make myMlf a wretch i and atiU must follow." If we are ever in doubt what to do, it is • good rule to ask ourselvcB what we BJnkll wish " ^^r on the morrow that wo had done Moreover, the result in the lonir run will Ha. pend not so much on some 8 ngfe^Xio^ or on our action in a special cLl uTmlhei ^oZfli^^ ^''^''''^ ^^'^y "^° actually fought T^control our passions wo must govern ow ^^uU^^% ''^JP ^^*^^ «^«^ oursefves Z thj fimall details of everyday llf^*. ^ \. The importance of small* tthiM has pointed out by philosophers ,y^ ami a-am from ^sop downwards, "Great with ,out small makes a bad wall/- says a oS clopean times. In an old IIind(S story Ammi , and break It open. What is there?" The son said « Some small seeds » «Breakoneof &''^«M^"t1^7^^^^^^ "No'hfnrmy lord. « My ^child/^ said Amml, "where voi see nothing there dwells a migkytrer- It may -almost bo^ questioned, whether anythu^ can be truly callei small. «wijrtmag ^ .1:. ,\*».- ;^i- '■.'i' ■ 1 IT .1 .'. ■* a4 THE PLEASUBUS OF LIFE* •* There Is no great and no smalt To the soul that maketh all; And where it cometh all things are, And it Cometh everywhere," * -i **I£ then, you wish not to be of an angry temper,, do Jiot feed the habit : throw nothing on it which willincrease it : at first keep quiet, and count the days on which you have not been angry. I used to be in passion every day; now every second day ; then every third; then every fourth. But if you have mtermit-' ted thirty days, make a sacrifice to God. For •the habit at first begins to be weakened, and then is completely destroyed. When you can say, *I have not been vexed to-day, nor .the day before, nor yet on any succeeding day during two or three months; but I took care when some excitinj* things happened,' be as- sured that you are m a good way."t "The great man," says Emerson, " is he who in tlje midst, of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the serenity of solitude." And he closes his Conduct of lAfe with a striking allegory. The young mortid enters tiie Hall of the Firmament. The gods are sit- ting there, and he is alone with them. They gour on him gifts aiid blessmgs, and beckon im to their v^hropes. But between him and^ them 8Uddeni|^^'«^pear snow-storms of illu-' sions. He imagines hims^ in a vast crowd, whose behests he fancies he must obey. Tht t Epictetna. (T" \ TBB PLEABirBJBS OF ZIFS. ^ S6 mad crowd drives hither and thithnr .nH •ways this way and that. What L he that^^ should resist? He lets himseU be^rfSd •bout. How can he think or act for himself But when the clouds lift, there are^^^ hta}&'"' their thrones; they al^ S « 1— ffi? retreats," says Marcus AureUus, ' ajns, and thou too art wont to desire suSS mark of the most common sort of men for it ^f^*''^?°r' T?«"«^«' '•><>» Shalt SiZ to retire mto thyself. For nowhere eitlierwith more qmet or more freedom from trouWe d^ a man retire than into his own S mrt^ ttt7?^^^" ''■*!n''« him sucT 'ho^^ ftrfK^fuiJI^yt?- "^^ « --ediailT BaSs^Wottur ^"^ ^ • «« "iJi''''** " ^"iuous is wise; and he who> tmf'*^ ^°°^' *""* ^^ ^^^ ^ good fa/ But we cannot expect to be hapnv if wa do not lead pure and u^ful lives7^|J^ ^ company for ourselves we must 8tore*SS mmds *eU; flu them with & m"p™ ttouj^ts, with pleasant memoriM^fTto^ • EBg Alfred's Boc«i,M. " *j: 86 THE PLEASURES OF LIFE, ■ -i •nd reasonable hopes for the future, W€ must, as far as may be, protect ourselves from seif-reproaoh, from care, and from anxiety. We shall make our lives pure and happy, by resisting evil, by placing restraint upon our appetites, and perhaps even more by strength- . enmg and developing our tendencies to good. ^ We must be careful, then, how we choose, our thoughts. The soulis dyed by its thoughts ; f we cannot keep our minds pure if we allow them to dwell on detailed accounts of crime and sin. Peace of mind, as Ruskin beautifully observes, " must come in its own time, as the waters settle themselves into clearness as well as quietness ; you can no more filter jrour mind into purity than you can compress it into calm- ness ; you must Keep it pure if you would have 2^^it pure, and throw no stbn^ into it if you |Would have it quiet." ^ f Few men have led a wiser or more Virtuous J life than Soy^s, of whom Xenophon gives us the followmg description;^-*' To me, be- ing such as I have descrioed him, sopious that he did nothing without the sanc'tiOTT of the gods; so jjist, that he wronged no man even m the most Irifling affair, but was of service in l^e most important matters 'to those who enjoyed his society; so temperate that he never preferred pleasure t5^"*tTfttife; so wise, that he never erred m distinguishm^ 1)etter from ^ worse ; needing no counsel from others, but being «ufficient \\\ himself to discriminate be- " tween them ; so able to explain and settle *i TBE BLBA8URE8 OF LIFE. 87 •nch questions by argument ; and so oapable ordiscerning the character of others, ofoon! luting those who were in error, and of exhort- ing themto idrtue and honor, he seemed to be* TOCh as the best and happiest of men would iS* \7 " *"y one disapproves of my opiniott let him compare the conduct of others with mat of Socrates, and determine accordinirlv " ,- Marcus Aurelius again has drawn for us a most instructive lesson m his character of Antonmus:-^* Do every thmg as a disciple of AttttfjjMs. Remember his constancy in every act which was coriformable to reason, and his- evenness in all things, and his piety, and the serenityof his countenance, and tiis sweetness ^fflfo'^w'^^^F''^ ""i ®™P*y fame, and hS efforts ta understand things; and how he would never let anything pass without havuwr first most carefully examined it and clearlv undersood it; and how he bore with t^^ j^» blamed him unjustly without blami^ them m return ; how he did nothingin a huriv! and how he listened not to calumnies, and h^ SSf. n!Jf !5''™'"5 ""^ manners and actions he ^n. L • ^'''®'' to reproach people, nor timid, nor suspicious, nor a sophist; with how little he was satisfied, such as lod^ng,be^ dress food, servants; how laborious ^and patientj how sparing he was m his diet; his f&mness, ' SS"^ "T^^T''^! ^ ^^ friendships ;^^he tolerated freedom of speech in th^e who o^ ^ ^sed his opinions ; the pleasure that he hS when any man showed hun anythijig bettwj I ■ di^ 1 '^v ... ....■.',. » V ■ . • ■..-.. t i~ V- 88 TBE PLS48UREB OF LiPX, and how pious he was without superstitioOt ImitatQ all this that thou mayest have as gooci a conscience, when thy last hour comes, as he had" ^uch peace of mind is indeed an inestunabla boon, a rich rewai^ pf duty fulfilled. * Well does Epictetus ask, *«Is there no reward ? Do vou seek a reward ereateif than doing^ what is good and just? At Olympla you wish for nothing more, but 2t seems to you enough to . be crowned at the gamesi Does it then seen^ to you so small and worthless a thing to b^ goda and happy?'* , ,. In St. Befnard?8 beautiful lines— ;'■ ^ * Paz ertt Ola fldeiibiu, illft beat» Inrevocabilid, InvariabUis, Intemerata. ' Fax sine crimine, pax sine turbine, pax irfne rixA, If eta laboribiifl, inqoe tmnnltibiis anchora flxa; Pax erit; pmnibuii nnica, SedquibnaP immacu) . FectQie mitibiiB ; ofdine stantibns, pre sacratis.* «> What gfeste^ happiness cim we have thaii thii? ^-- A *"■ WBM PLEAaUBSa OF XJOFML ■(}■ \.^:" \ CmPTERm. - ■ > BONO OF BOOKS.* " 2^^f6r a IWMkeand a shadie liooke, Hf»«i' In-a4oore or out; ^tne atreipte cryes all about. i ^ WMro Ijnaie reade all at my ease. Both of tifa^ newe and olde ; ^ Jtor aJolMS goode booke whereon to look«i. • Is better to toe than goIde.'» * ; ' ■ ' Old Ewenjsjs SoNO. . ^JiUtlwpriidleges we enjoj^ this nine, teenth centonr there is none, perhaps, for which we ought to be more thankful tlm for the easier access to books. ^ The debt we^ owe to books was weU ex- pressed b^ Ri^wd de 3W7, Bishop of 1)1115. ham, author oTTTrttoWJ*"^ publlsh&as lelive'^al toe Working MetfaCdlege. : V ■V, .. . i I 4P THE PZJUSUBEa OF LIFE, i ■ h \. ■ A ''\: mistake them, they never grumble ; if yon are i^orant, they canhot laugh at you." This feeling that l>ooks are. real frienda^is constantly presient tp all whoV|pve reading. **I have friends/r said Petrarch, «^ whose society is extremelj^ agreeable to me; they ,are of all ages an^ of pvery country. They have ^distinguished/ themselves botn in the cabinet and in th^ field, and obtamed high honors for their khowledge of the sciences. Ijb is easy to gain aiccess to thein, for they are always at my service, and I admit them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them. Some relate to me the events of past ages, whil^ others reveal to me the secrets of Ka- ture, Some teach me how to live, and othets l^W to die. Some by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits; while others i^ive fortitude to my" mind, and t^h me the important lesion how to restrain my desires, and to depend wholly on myselt They open to me, in short, the various avenues df all the arts andL sciences, and upon their in- formation I may safely Vely in all emergencies. Inretiim for all their services, ttiey only ask me to accommodate them with a convenient chamber in some comer of my humble habita- tion, where they may repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tran- quillity of retirement than with the tiimiUts KBOQiBty." V • „i^i«.,ra.,»;,.i-f^^,jii .^IS:' ^ • 1 ■K -i' ■fw4>- ■. \ TBS PLEASURBk OF LIFE. / H ** He that loveth a book,'* says Isaac Bariow ••will never want a faithful If rienar a whSte^ flome counselor, a cheerful companion, an ef- fectjaa^ «R)mforter. By study, by reading, by tnmking, one may innocently divert and pleas- antly entertain himself, as m all weathers, so in all fortunes," Southey took a rather more melahcholy view.'''" .\t ■ ■ ..-•■■ \' ■ ■- .: ' -^K ■ --^'S ;■■■■ ■■ ., "My days among the dead are passM. . Arqund me I beholTd, X Where'er these casual «>yes are ibtut. V The mighty minds of old ; ' " JJy"®^e'*-WHng friends ^re they. With whom I conirene day by tf ^otf.»» V ^,?^?7^® ^^ wisely said that a coUection of DooKflrld a real university. *^*w,,^- ,^v,.,. .. Tft6 importance of books has been appre. ciated m many quarters where we might leaflt expect it. Among the hardy Norsemen runes were supposed to be endowed with miraculoua power. There is an Arabic proverb, that "a wise man^s day is worth a fool's life," and though It rather perhaps reflects the spirit of the Califs than of the Sultans, that "the ink of Bcience is more precious than the blood of the martyrs." C onfucius is said to have described himself as a iJmHAvho ** in his eager pursuit of knowl- edge forgot his food, who m the joy of its attainment forgot his 8orrciw< and did not ev^ perceive that old age w^s coming on." \ *u A^ v*^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^ by the Chmeseand the Arabs, what language cai^ be strong enough to express the i^atitude we ought to feel for the advantages we enjoy I We do not ftppre- - cmte, I thmk, our good fortone in belonging to the nineteenth century. /Sbmetimes, indeed, one may be inclined to wish that one had not ■V ' *i'.. f^'i'lfT-^Ti"" 'i|f I 44 TBS PLEA8UBE8 OF LIFE, lived quite bo, Boon, and to long for a glirapM of the books, even the sohool-books, of one hiinrlrfirt ynftnt hratfe. A . lumtod y^airs ftt^o not only were books extremely expensive tSS. cumbrous^ many of the most delightful books were still uncreated — such as the works of Scott, "Ifliackeray, Dickens, Bulwer Lytton, and Trollope, not to mention living authors. How mucl^ more interesting science has be- come, especially if I were to mention only one name,^hroil^h the genius of Darwin I Renan has characterized this as a most amusing cen- tury; I should rather have described it as most interesting: presenting us with an endless vista of absorbing problems, with infinite op- portunities f Ivith more than the excitements, and less of the dangers, which surrounded our less fortunate ancestors. "" . Reading, indeed, is by no means necessarily study. Far f^om it. "I put," says Mr. Fred- eric Harrison,! in his excellent articl^rtBT'the «Ch0tC6*6f Bboks," «« I_put^he poetic and emotional sidel of UteratiifelailEHellro&TSe&l)^ loroauy use/T *'Tffw*¥'r6lj[)gue to the Legends of Oooik Women, Chailcer says ; » "And as i^r me, though that t konne but lytf), On bokes f or to rede I me delyte, >" And to him give I feyth and ful credence. And in mynlierte have him in reverence, . " Bo hertely, that ther is game noon, . l^hat fro my bokes maketh me to go J ^ ' /' /' I . ,r lit CI . ite i8 TBEPLBAaunB8 OF LtFE, wider the field the more im^^f'^i. ** Bhould benefit by the\e^ S^JSJ.*?"' ^t them, but that we should obmmence WtthXm .and they will certamly lead us ^ to otS /There are of course some broks whirh ^ iShr^ '"ark, learn, and tawarJyS^ ' Siii^"^ exceptions. As regards bv^r tte larger number, it is probably Sm to r^ them quickly, dweUing only on the^f ^ most^ important. passages. ^In ^ ™t"S^ *?»^V we Shan IcSe much, but wilk £o« by. ranging over a wider field. W mav i^ £55 think^ apply, to reading wSue^ m tLTi^lfw-}.'"* "^ ««a«is%ducati,m "SS say mat it 13 well to read everything of sonul. ^S^R* mmSbgpi even|hin£? InS way-^y we canlscertiiS tJie'Sof our o^ \^^ ^9\it w a general, though not^^S )W'^e1!fn™l^e$^-^^'«^'''*l^*5;W ^„^n^^^r. may suit himselt The _^l^e flay sit in our llbrtey and vet Iv. «« *«1 quarters of the earth. Wshiav tof™r,S?Tj3 tte world with Captain Ctook^C^J'^J Kwgsleyor RusWu, who viU show^ iJS^ 4- ■S ': -W'SSi?'* » Tan PLKAaUBHa OF LIFl 49 l^J^^^^^A T',7^«''°»ld see for onr- HumMdT^w™^ n itsdf has no limits for usr mmboidt ttoA HnnsohiEi wlB canr US fer «way to the mysterious nebula, far bevohd t^ KSnds"\ir° *^ "^ ' tigl^ KolSS S W.^^ space; history stretches out be. wnd nsi and geology will carry us back ftw Si w ""Kwof the material Universe i^- 1^® "^ °o* Hmited even to one S OS into a sphere none the less deli^h?ftir heoauseit acquires some traktagto State rtHi^*„«^?r;j"^'''' * ""rary. if wi^Kul ^&pn^f^-?^*«^-^««t»^ agar- fa^.Snl^4iT?r^^ "^ °"« drawtaS;fo?aU 18 open to ul including and espeoiaUv thefmit ^^ArJ^^^lt^^ ^' w^ichTe a™ Wd Mat our first mother sacrificed aU the rrat fe^J'* "nay read the most important hbto.' nes, the most excitinir volnmp > :^» 62 ■fe '■} ■ ,» , THJC PLBABURBa OF, Lirk :t % taken BufflcientbO(|Uy exercise/ and could tiierefore give any leisure they might have to ^i.. u • i ^^^^y- They have not done so as yet, it 18 true; hut this has been for obvious reasons. Now, however, liii the tojt place.! , they recen-) an excellent education milemw^l arjyiQhools, and^in the sgcondhave more e^STF access to tiie best books.^^ ve more easy/ ' i?SSi2^ ^^S observed Jie does not wonder at whalW s^flfer, but he often wonders at whJt Jh«VT ^V"^^^ much, no doubt,Trom . Whnfi^^^ ^^^^""^ ^^* ^« lose much more py our own ignorance. . It is one thing t^^.own alibrary ; it is. how- ever, another to. u^ it wisely. "iVsa^sX Joll?-,.%schel, «I were to prav for /taatp '■^^^fT^ "^ ^^ '^ sl^aS^uSder eve^ variety of circumstances, and be a source of .i^essandc^^^ imd a shield agauist its ills, however thinS might go amiss and the world frown upon nS ' .It would be a taste for reading. I snefk nf i> SSL^r^® slightest degree as supers diig or , de^o^tmg from the higher officT and sure^ Zt «i^"f ^P^"^P}y ^^ religious principled l>^t as a taste, an instrument, and a mode of ^Infti. ^^^ifl^^H^'^- cave a maHh^ li2fA^^?tt^ his hands^i^Lct i^t 1 bav« often be^n astonished how little oaro >^^ '■) ■ ri- < J THE PI,EA8URE^ Of )(ilFE. . fi^ . ■' ' " , • ■ ' > ' ' ' prople devote to the selectieil of what ther r^. 3ooks, we, kiiow, are ahnost innumw- able; our hotirsfbrreadmg are, alas!; vei^ few. Aiid yet many people .rea&r almost bvJiaiaHi They will take any book jfchey ^ffig to find ma room at a friend's house: they will buy a :^el at A rallway^taU if it has aa attractive' title; indeed, I'believe in some oases even the bmaing affects their choice. -1^ Selection is. ; no doub^ farlfrom easy/ I;^hav©;^jften wished .some ond-wouldrecomni^d a list of ajifindred . good bookd. If w6 had 'such lists drawn up fey a few good guides they Would be mo^t ite£ ' fui; , P hav^ mdeed isometimeslheard it said ttml^ uiTeading every one must choose^or him.- Jetf, but tl^is reminds me ^f the reoommenda- tioji not to go ipto the waiter till you oait .sivmi. - ^: ■ ' In the abiience of such lists I hav^ picked put the books, most frequently njentioned with ' * Aja,Ty^** **« «> mtle r^. Witt jB»pictetu8 I think *"»»°*' "^~*- »'— - •' ';-•** , The ^Ttofecto of wit the effect it has ptodnccNl on the most nn! merousxaoeof menooMtitutes in IteSf^wSS^ act that they hare so profoliiidI# infl^M^ «i* "Views «t;i raUty/WS^^fifcrSS llTe Its prmcijauntertoli ftora»3St tt h«^ t ■ \ is::- !'*K '♦ ■■■/''■ # ■■-■ " ' ■ • ■ ' M I THE PLEASUfiSa OF LIFE. exercised, and still ekercises, on so many mill- ions of 9ur fellow-mea- I doubt whether in any other respect it will seem to repay perusal and to most persons probably certaiu extracts, not too numerous, lyould appeal 8uiOci0nt. •;"'•" ;/ :■ .^^r-v ■" . :,,::.-■.:.--' . . AESLwrijtings of the Apostolic Fathers have beeneoUected in ^Se^mmi^W^M^ It is but ay small one, and though TffifigThumbly ?®fiW8 t^atlw disappomted, they are per* baps/air the more curious from the contrast ( theyf aflford to those of the Apostles tKS&v] TOlves. Of the later Fathers I have included •ttaly^e Confeuiona of St. Augus^me, which m. Pusey lielected for the commencement of mQ jZibrcuy of the FMera and which, ^ he obsehres, has •* been translated again and f^aia into[almost every Europ^ean language, and in all l0yed ; " though Luther was of o^nion that he^f^wrote nothii» to the purpose concemmg xaitli;'" but then Luther was no great admirer of the Fathers. St. Jerome, he says> « iibites, Jlas ri very coldly; " Chrysostom "digresses fromtlie chief points; "St. Jerome is « verV poor V\ and in fact, he says, « the more I read the books of the Fathers the more I find my. self pflfended;?' while Renan, in his interestmg autoWogtaphy, oompared Geology to a Gothio •* Cath^ral,**elle a la grandeur, les vides im- mens^, etlepeudesoldit^." H An^ng other devotionar works most fre-r 3uently recommended arfe Thomas a Kempis's '"if2f!^.?/.^^'*'*?» ^"^"^ Spinoza's * :^y * }- %'-' TBW PLSA8USES OP iljpjp. i 1 J^- of another ciass. Th6 PoAVtV. of AfistoUe, ^ 5S^:^^«^» «^n«tJ the whole, at any C J^ythinar of the history of human thought, ^thouffh lam heretical enough to doubt whether toe latter repays the minute and^ laborious wudy often devoted to it. .Aristotle being the father, if not the creatoi^ \ of the modem scientiflo method, it has f<^! '^ l^^Ji^^'^Tsdtideed, almost inevitably-/ that m prmcipIS have become pjift of our very hitelleotual being, so that they seem now almost self ^Tident, while his actual obs^rva- tions, though very remarkable; as, for mstance. nhen he observes that bees on one ioumev confine themselves to one kmd^of flowet-fltifl Have been m many cases superseded by others, ^med on under* more favorable conditioiis! We must not be ungrateful to the great mas- jer, because his own lessons Jiave tauffht ua how to a B .*.•■ ■»" % tut PLM^aVBES OF LItm oonttnioted they might sometimes tell In ex- actly the opposite sense. If this method haa proved less fruitful, if in metaphysics we have made but little advance, that very fact in one point of view leaves the Dialogues of Socratea- aa instructive now as ever they were; while the problems with which they deal willalwaya rouse our interest, as the calm and lofty spirit whioh inspires them must command our ad* miration. [jJL would also mention Demosthenes'^ .i?f ^porom^ which Lord Brougham pronounced ythd^atest oration of the greatest of orators; ^ Xucretius, Plutarch's Lives, Horace, and at least the De OfficUil'pe Am*iii(a wA^^J^ Senectute ol Cia^Q. V -- ^^^ ■^^•-^.^f^-'-^:"^^- The great, epics of the world have always constitni^ one of the most popular branehea of literature. Yet how few, comparatively, ever read the Iliad or Odusaeu. Hesiod or YiriiL afterleitln^ school. - ^^^ Th e -^^wigenlied j our great Anglp^SaXOii ^0, i47»ernE|is tdflTinuSh iii^glecCe^ no dbul^ mracoount of its painful character. 3mnhUd Md Eriemhild, indeed, are far from perfecti but we meet with few such « live " women in Greek or Boman literature. Kor must I omit tp mention Sir T. Malory's Morte d* Arthw^ though I confess I do so mainly in defezenoo fo the judgment of 4)thers. , ;^ }r; 4m«i|f the Greek tragedians, .^S achvlna . If jot an his works, at any rate PrommSS^ef^ I B^Mi the aublimest poem iu Gr^BC^tMatari 1 1- • • A 'f' '; ':« -' ., ,-■- ■ :-^'- ■ . J 9 : »" . : 'j . :!:Xy" ,. '>».•.; C .-^ 'WW ■ '^-TU^^ '•■:.'■, f ■*1 .^ TBE PLSA8UBB3 ^F Liwm .IS' M Jott* apeAkit o! the "unrivaled m^mLt^!rzi the Agamemnon, and Mark PattW,^?^^ "i t "the pndes't work o( c^tWe'^M _ . the whofe range ol UteratW " • o?m M , pas given a most intcresSmf epitome In fhf ■/'■ ■■■■■- -y..- , ■ .. ■■#■ ..;i^- ■'■".- '^fc:_: ■ . ' . ^v^S^"' ^i ^ i ■J 1 I # ■\ 1' I- ■.#; • * 1 . * i # j .....; • -■ M ■ 1 ' 1 ■ mX:- ^:. :ii^' ■■ .if" 00 THE PLB43UBEa OFJJFS, (GermaniaV; and of modern historiaha, Cllv Sn*8 Decline and Faliy Hnme's Butory o/'k ^ffland, Carlyle's French HevoluHoHj GroteVi JBistorjj of Greece, Bind Green'd Short J]^imi\ oftheMnglishPeopU. ^i * ^^ Science is bo rapidly progresfiive that, though to many minds it is the most fruitful and Si- teresting subject of all, I cannot here rest on that agreement which, rather than my own opinion, I take as the basis of my list. I will therefore only mention Bacon's Kovttm Or^ x gannm. Mill's Logic, and Darwin's Origin of Species; in Political Economy, which some of our rulers now scarcely seem sufficiently to value, Mill, and parts of Smith's Wealth of NatioriB, for probably those who do not intend to make a special study of political economy would scarcely read the whole. Among voyages and travels, perhaps those most frequently suggested are CJook's Voyages^ {Humboldt's rra»«/tf, and Darwin's JV«»»,in recommending ^rfceleys i/wma/i Kn« I ^^ndennU) Dickens (pfJi^.cr a^d JW ; ^p«-/^ I 'oust ask, special favor, to count as one To any lover of books the verv mentinn a* memones. grateful recollections of p eaceful 4 • •4: •t i I I / ■ IkfT — •>. i -J' i.- i ''>"'*'"f ^. I i t I irt- H i* •- It2 TBE PLSASUBE8 OF LIFE. homo hours, after the labors and anxieties ol the day. How thankful we ought to be for these inestimable blessmgs, for this number. less host of friends who never weary, betrftv or forsake usi ^* LIST OF 100 BOOKS. " "^^^ h -^ivinff Authors are omitted - ^eBlble - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Bpictetus Aristotle's Ethics Analects of CJonfucius '. St. Hilaire's «' Le Bouddhi et sa relicion* Fake's Apostolic Fathers ^ jhos. & Kempis's Tmitaticm of Christ - bnfessions of St. Augustme (Dr. PusevV ; ITie Koran (^rtions of) , ' .Spinoza's Tractatus Theolomco-Politicua ; Comte's Qatechipm of Positive Philosophy - Piiscal's PenS4es «- ^ - ^Butler's Anilogy of Religion - -Taylor's Holy Living and Dymg -^ Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - Keble's Christian Year Plato's Dialogues ; at any rate, the Apoloff* Phaedo, and Republic - ^^^ Xenophon's Memorabilia ' Aristotle's Poiitica ^ v / ' • * -,■■ .f •i-^:i^3^-'i ■..P -^r5 :-^: V TBS PLEAaUBES OF Lin Qg ^mWhenes'a De Coroda^ Cicei^Officiis, De Plutarch's Lives - r Berkeley's Human Knowledge ixKxkQB On tlie Ckjndiict of the Understanding. Homer , H^iod ^ .V^ Vi%U ' . ^ Maha Bharata ( Epitomized in Talboys i>«^ i Wheeler's flistorv «f The Nibelungenlied Malory's Morte d'Arthur TheShekmg ^ uEschylu^'s PrometTOs . ^ Trilogy of Orestes Sophocles's CEdipus Euripidel^'s Med& * '^t^f^ ^"Sbts and aomb Lucretius . r "^"'ri^s^^^ ^^^^ <^*^ in Mbr^V i Sf 1®?^^"^^' o^ 1^ expurgated, in a , RKoV ^a^e's or Mrs. Hawei^) ^ **"v "^>/ "^ onakespeare ' ' > I)ant»'8 Divina Ctominedia^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ' •I I J J I 1 1 Mz. -^^j:- iy.--, ,*.■; * .- , THE PmlaUBES OF LIFJB, €4 Spenser's Fairie Queea -Bryden*s Poems ---Pcott's Poems ^Wordsworth (Mr. Arnold's selection Southey 's Thalaba the Destroyer ^ The Curse of Kehama Pope's Essay on Criticism Essay on Man Rape of the Lock Burns Byron'a Childe Harold XJray 'Herodotus Xenophon's Anabasis Thucydides Tacitus's Germania Xivy Gig>on's Decline and Pall ' Hume's History of England Grote's History of Greece -Carlyle's French Revolution "Green's Short History of England Lewes's History of England Arabian Nights - Swift's Gij^Uver's Travels Defoe's Rotmson Crusoe " Goldsmith's Vicar of #Vakefiel4 Cerv^ntes's Don Quixote BosT^ell's Life o^JohuAo^ JifoliSre e> ,» . ».'(-. ■:''^'^ <■'■ t .: • S\i &. m \-'^ THE PLEASURES OF LIFE, Sheridaii's TIib Critic, School for Scandal and • The Rivals , -^ Carlyle's Past and Present , - - irailes's'Self-Help Baton's Novum Organuin Smith's Wealth of Nations fpart of^ Hill's. Political Economy ' Cocffe?8 Voyages , ^.■ HumboWt's Travels White'fiT Natural History of Selbome -Darwin^s Origin of Species . Ijaturalist's Voyage -^Mill'sLogio % ' >i.\ -^ Bacon's Essays^ "Montai^e's E^ays Hume'sEssays "Macaulay's Es^ys Addison!8 Essays -Emerson^s Essays Burke's Select works ^ VoltaireVZadig • '^ . - Goethe's Faust, and Autobiography - Miss Austen's Enima, or Pride and Prejudioi «^ Thackeray's Vanity Fair ^ Pendennis • ^ iMckens's Pickwick ^ ' * .V J I •I ■ ■ . ' '' 1 ■■^ J L/nvjiu \A }yy erneii 1 • ■ . ■ " . ■*■--" *. ■ " . , 4i^>. •■■ f. M A I -♦ * "' '\ : ' ' , / . * " ■ .*:* - ■ ■ :•:■■ '"'"""' . iii \ :^'' " f ^^- ' ( .. - ■ ■_>4^s^s^;.r . HH ■■ !■■■■■ M J*-»» ■■», .1, 66 THE J»LEASUBES OF Zli^ liytton's Last Days of Pompeii George Eliot^s Adam Bede Kingsley's Westward db I Scott's Novels CHAPTEBY. TiSB BLESSIKO OF FBIBKD8** T "lleyseein tp take away the sun from the worM who withdraw friendship from life ; for we have ro» ceived nothing better from the Immortal Gods. notUins more delightful. "—CiCEBo. i ^^" ■,. • ■':■.. '■ \ •'■■ '■/ : . Most of those who have written in praise ol books have thought they could say nothipg better of them than to compare them to friends. /_.Soc^t(M s|M that «*all people have thei? /differwitnebjeicts of amhition— horses, dogs» I money, hofior, as the case may be ; but for hia - own part he would rather havefa good friend ti^an all these put together.*' ^nd again, men know "the number of their Mother possessiomj, although they might be very numerous, 1)ut of their friends; though but few, they were nofc only ignorant of the, numbe?^ but even when they attempted to reckon it to such as asked ^^ they set aside again some that they had previously counted among t^ir fnends ; so •The tnbstance of t^ was delimed at the London Wondii£]feii*s Colle|;e. \ I •i& '* a ''^JE^-t^ 'j f^^T'-U'r-M"*' T • yv vA TBE PLMA8UBE8 OF LIFE, little d^d they allow their friends to occud^ ^po^es^io^^^^^^^^ E2!^H ^ r^^^ others, would not a iro6d friend appeac far more valuable?" ^^ ^ /nf"^i® the value ot other thmM" sava ^^^T^^"^^^^ concei^'frilSS! - ship all have the same Opinion." \^hftVT«« be more foolish than, when men are >^^^^^^ ctfg^iea^ mfluence by their wealth, p^eran^ resources, to procure other thin^ wS a^ w«tiy vases— and not to proOure frienrfsr fh^ «*■■ '^ /- .%!■. ^^^ uiorta or less influei ®'^evi|--almost to chance; / Jvo doubt, much as worthy friends addliBB,^ lia^phiess and value of jSL we mi^ ^t mam depend, on ourserve8,\rd f^X Zf^ ^^T? ^^riend^r worst enLyf^ ^ "* i S^^^^P^^^»«^ti^a^at " there Si wl "^^'^^J^,^? in the world, a^d least 3 vi^k ■■1 ■■ ^P -V ^r *■" ■f 0': .j". II SI; ■■■ ■■-*" ■ 11! il 1 ■im u. * ''I >i(PBrate opinion,^ lijt; we may gol ^ iy; thai it is » tnile an^ miser- ^ to "Hrant true IriMs, \nthout #drld is but a wii^Biess.*' ANot :r">^':.'\ Elf; I'l vl n^m;f |>| ,; ' Ipftsul^tibMi^h & ffiena a m^^*^sseth hS fi^^,r thought! m^^u ea^y; he marshSth them ^^ ,^v > more oMerly i ^^* seeth how they look whea *- ; they ai^ turned^ into words j. flnaiiy, he wax- ,eth w|s^ thaisi^himsdlf; and thatjmore by an - i hour's ^iBoittse than hy a day's itieditatian." siC ,. ;i '♦ *^ But little do men perceii«fewhat soli- 1^^; . t^ is, ittid how lar ijb extendethy for a crowd ^ ' ' fe mt compauy, ahd laces are biht^a gallery , J of. picture!^, and talk but a tinkling cymbal V "With this I cannot altogether conpiup. Surely, fivdn strangers mafipbe %)st intei^pig ! anS many will agree Wth Dr. JohnsJKien, de- 8crl^mgjj)leasant evehiAg^ he, sflSbd it up r-" Sir„M«iad a good talk.'*™^"^^ .It is^lMuoubt true, as thcHMro^ of Breakfast Table says, that aJ^ Mk^ re bores, exoepit wheu.we want them. JJ BHftT homas Browne quaintly observes that MKhmking heads who have not learnt $b b J|ih^ are a prison to themselves if they be not with others ;, whereas, on the contrary, tliose whose thoughts J are in a fair and hurry within, are fibmetimea 41 V' 1 tH- ; ."i-iJlKiW'fiS^:^! i •*'J^ ; ^ y ^' Mfa '\i - ii'ss.i^ys-jii^. ■'■^•^■■■:*^-;^.:^-'-- "W'Mf^ ' ■■'■■ •«■ ', Li \- ^ r rifJf PLEASURES Or LfFE. 69 mJ^ * In another place, indeed, be quaU ttes the statement, and says, « Almost all wi pie descend to' meet." Even sol should ™n context. «^U associations,''^ he 6dds "ami ie a compromise, and, what is worerthe ve.^ WwHf n^""* :?^ *« «°*«^ of e^ch oS ^h "!S >»t»re8 disappears as they approach each other." What a sad thouRht f fcZ S T^ Fr* " "^ ^^ ^ And if it weii si would friends he any real advantage? I should , have thought that the influence oTfriends waa ewcUy the reverse • that the flower erf abe^S! tttll nature would expand, and the colore ctow chapter ? accideilt;^ris well and riffht in- f^^il^ T"^^^^ ^"* ^^onsider^^^ every ^B^wl^tmew thrown into contact "? ^.;n ^^le ^ saftie^^isifiess^'travels on the I reason, yhere cannot be a greater mistake ' These-^re only, in the trwds St PlutaiSf^e ■ i m V w,- l i*'f' ■'"-■■i-v -%.:i,-.:^ ''/■ ^ ' , i? ■■■: A . ■ j'- ." , ■' >'■ 70 |i x t. tBE PLEASURES OF LIFE, Idala and imafires Of friendship." If our f riendi are biidli^ chosea they will fnevitably dvag via down; if well the3^will raise us up. To bf friendly with every one is anoHher matter we must remember that there is no little enemy, and those who h^ve ever really loved any one, will have some tenderness for all ..T^®'"® t indeed -some goo4 in most men. «I ^ve heard much," says Mr. Na.^myth la hw cjarming autobio^aphy, "about the in- gratitude and selfishness of the world. It^ may have been my good* fortune, b# i have ^r^ff^'^PS"®?^? ^^^^"^ of thesd unfeeling ^^m^ Such also has been my owii ei " ^w.^^**'"°^''»''^«art8, kind deeds i" * , ."^ "®^* unkind returning. AIM I the gratitude of men ' Has oftener left me moiuinins." ulj^^^r ^^^^ wit|,Em^r^n that r7t7i5-*^''® ''!, ^^^ worlcf^, Friends such as we desire are dreams anrf^fables.i,; But a sublune hope cheers ever thd^aithful jMjart. that elsewhere in other regbhs^f the^^Siver^ sal power souls are now actfnfc endur^liff, %nd dannp which canlove us, ai& which^ cSn di^S!^'? ^^ ^^'^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^en he 1ec?«^lf !!'™ ^Spwation on the very sub- jects most commonly ^osen, and advises that it should be on;* none of the common subjecS ^nc^ about Gladiators, imm: iKvrse-races, nor |,;: \ ■-■ ■ : : ^^'N:^- :A ■-; -i f* • P% I THX PLEA8UBt!a OF XJFX. fl goat athle^s, nop about eatW or 4riiAlnir which are the usual subjects ; Ind ^p35 - not about men, as blaming thei • "^ bffSS«J seems to me of doubtfnr valito. Surelv MaiT^ ^ Awelius more wisely adX. that ^XL* V 22Sir^«l'*» delight thyse^ fCk o7S I •vftftnes of those who Kve wltirflir#„ - I -tance. thp activity of fil^ andthS'sJ. rf /' ■jurthervand the h'beralit/of a tuTSme otter good quality of a fourth, ^r notS Ailights so much as the examriea nf «.« ^ toes, when they aA exUwKThe L^ j'^ ttose who Uye with us aid pwsentth"Sh^ Mabundanoe, as far as fa possibK mSS fore we must keep them befSUgi" Yet W - often we know merely the MBSkt +1™ «^ our frieuds, or th^ «unW^e^?^r butnothmg whatever of their mind «sot _We must, moreover, be as carrfiS^tok^en ■ fafi"!^ as to make them. The afeot^S riiouldnot be mere*, tentsof anight- p& WS. fHS^'''tSrL--i«>!■ can z-jr-- " — "^apieiilsliip of Sdpio.'*/ If, then, we clMe mr friends for what they -* r^ *'•«» »ot for whaMhe^ave, and if we deserve X > «> peat a blesslSi?, then they will be always f with u% preserved in absence, and even a^^ter o^ith m the "amber of memory,?^ v^ ♦ ,§: !:Vy ( .*y ^'M i ■ I- - •» ■■^tf?|y?''ri«,^T-~ 'y^J " ^ " "° '% ■■# •I ;^ 1 * • XffJ? PL£A8UB£8 OF LIFE, 1$ CHAPTJSK VI. TBB Value op timb.* lS»cli .day taaUttle life. Ati other good gifts depend on time for their value. What are fends. boAs Vt health, the interest of travel or the deS ot d^perately to HerTEmlWS?^a|S| ) Jfitemity itself cannot reti^f Te.^'4 And in the words of Dank, - * "For who knows most, him loss of Ime most grieves.»' vllir^^t "^.«^ drudgery should be our ideaL Farfromit. Time spent in innocent and rationlS^ m healthyygames, is well and wisely spenti Gan^a not only keep the body in healthfbut ^^^^s^of this was deUvered at the Po» t ^f t V C- ' T t. Ill II If ■J* 74 Tfl:^ PLSA8UBM8 OF hWE. ^^ A (Winiand over the muscles and Umba Tm t^r'JT' *^ "^^fT*^"®^ Moreover, therS are temptations which strong exeraiw best enables us to resist. v«#^'*«*w«« ows / S,""l,"r '>"'""' wUUhatu' waiting Zt h * ~Jl»°'»8e »' J«i»"re is mainly tSHi ; may have the power of choosing our own work^ " Circles are praised, not that excel to largeness, but th' exactly fiuined • ; g> life we praise, that does excel Jrot m much time, but acting well." • "I^ness" says Jeremy Taylor, «lfl fba great^ prodigality in the world ; it throws K LT: *"^ ^"•TJ'able when ftis past. nttu?e." ^ '^^«^^ -' '-'■■■ I :'-i '> - :.,! -• '.1 , . ■', f :t-cA :-.L ■-:■'• :- .1;;..: '.i-. ';%• f^v TMM>LEAaU&m OrLSfM. 75 ;■;.:>>;; '.-'k.-;' greatest inuhber of vital for puretjt energy ? : "" — *^- welt8 undet our tofrwe m«v ^n ^^.' u ""i jmowiedge that seems, bv a. WUj^ hJ^^^i. * ' jet the spirit tree tot^Zment^^*^'^^ *" -^ MIS w^;^'^^'^":;:!?^ ; leiexence to time* » **Everv Tunmor.* , wita <>"^atprodigiou8 interest « ^iseiy laia . :SdiiS?^ s^^st.' -^-^^^'^'^ " ^ yon to Mrnest f «eli8 tJil« very miniit. I remember, says HUlard, " a satuical n™.m to which the devil is replanted MfitohinTfo,? -■*'( •■!,■: P ■ -1 --. if:/f- vk: I* \J- ": m- 76 X.. TSE TLEA8UBES OF LIFE, th6 naked hook.'* Th^ mind of the idler Iiu «eed preys upon itsfelf. •t, J^^6 l^uman heauj is like W miUstone in a mill ; when you put wheat undero it, it turns and grmds and bruisef the wheat to fl6up^-*i£ you put no wheat, it stili.giindfs on^^d grmds Itself away."* - » ^ ; . It is not. work, but care, that kill?, and it is ' n this sense, I -Bnppose, that we are told to "take no thought for the m6rrow." To «*con-H aider the lilies of the field, how they Ww- they toil not, neither da they spin: aiS yet even Solomon, m all his glory, was iot arr Jedl^ like one of these Wherefore, if God so cffi ^' the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to- morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not mu9h more clothe you; Oyeof little faith?" JhJ^?}?lo '"^^-^i ^ ^.^^«*^^^® to itiftx)se that the hlies are idle or imprudent Onthe conl ti^y, like all plants, tliey are most iJ^S^ ous,^and store up in their complex bulbs i great pajt of the nourishment of one yeai to qmcken the growth of the next. Care, oTthe «*^ bamJ,.they certainly know no^ ^^ . i^i^^^A^l^^ ]f ""W® *^a^ ^o toe at allV \ ^aI^^?^^ time," says Richard IL, "and now doth time waste me." #• "Houra have.^ings, fly up td time, and caiTy nisws of ou^ " r '0.:'^i ^■■1 «» « « *•- •■.•* Lather,. . .:: '■,, , ocott t6 B5 anxious about, to be disti be cumbered with pany cares." alithor of */^ All -our 'S y|h Liddell and idinmiiidi.ig^ r%, .- «} J* I - ».-/. ^- r^^ % <0.>: «» V9 ■.r ;-> "TBI! PLSASUBxk OF Lok fnyeta cannot entwat one of them nitw t« of every mmute we 11 newwoJ^StS aisms? them with better reporta, and not «nf , geroua mteUigenoe.'. How happy is it iXn . ^ey carry up not only the SaS LTt^-' ■fruits ;6f good, and.stay wfth the ^cKf ^favi? * wilf 2^^'°^°^ 5^ *i«e,''«ay3 Jeremy ^m in vanity andjf aXutte^byte arrin^ * ^^^^}^ tune ^rttii eSity""''! *-^ ""'"' ^ *"" accountslf f J* ^®, ^^""^ *« tfane required far sleen foB. meals, far dresshig and nn^sS^rT^S exercise, etc., how Uttllof our We iS/S our own disposal I - vur me is really at "I have lived," said Lamb. " nominallv^ «»- r^teotw"^ fn.mthem'tCK'ffl.. wvea lor other pfeople, and not for mvsplf nn^i n la not, however, the hours 'we live for other people jirhich shSuld'te deducted tat cnrell?.'''i^°.'f "«".''«' onesern^ a^ ' •MUtoii. t Jeremy Taylor. ■«»- ■ ■■«, 4; ■(§ '#■ •?i • ~ II '*' r L ** i t* 78 TME PZEASURES OF LIPS, '¥ t 1 ? \ -..■■■ V • It is wonderful, indeed, how^ much innocent liappmess we thoughtlessly throw ^way. An Eastern proverb says that calamities sent b^, - Jeaven may be avoided, but from thos^ w^ brmg on ourselves there is no escape. * »iig years ago I paid a visit to the princi-" pal lake villages of Switzerland in company witn a di^mgiiished archasologist, M. Morlot. To my surprise I found that his whole income "was £100 a year, part of wkch, moreover, he spent m making a small museum. ' I asked ma whether he contemplated accepting- aiiy post pr office, but he said certamly not. He valued his leisure and opportuttitie3 as priee- lesfs' possessions' far more than silver or goldj and would not waste any of his time in mak- ing money. _ ^ ^ ^ Just think of our a dvantages here in IxS* don 1 We have aCSs^'ttr the whole Uteratull of the^orld; we may see in our Nafional Gallery the. most beautiful productions of former generations, and in the Royal Academy and other, galleries works of the greatest liv- ing artists. Perhaps there is no one who has ever found thne to see the British Muaeum thoroughly.* Yet consider what it contauis; or rather, what does it not contam? The inoet gigantic of living and extinct aniinala, the marvelous monsters of geological ages, the . most beautiful birds and shells and minerals* thft most interesting antiquities, curious and fantastic specimens illustrating different races of men ; exquisite ge^ms, coins, glass, and china; '. ?*•■-'< ^" :> . / % ■-.'■ . V ■■ ■'■ i^-- ■-'<» ** '■^ •H^ B. f* 'A ^^ > THE PLEAaUBES OF LIFS. n .P^?^fir^?, garbles, the remains of tho Mauso- leum: of the temple of Drana of Ephesus : an- cient monuments of Egypt and Assyria the jruoe implements of our predecessors in Eng- land, w^o were coeval with the hippopotamus and rhinoceros, the muskox, and the mam^ moth ; and beautiful specimens of Greek and Koman art. In London we may unavoidably suffer^ but no 9ne has any excuse for beine And yet some ipeople' are d#. They talk of a better worMlo come, whinrWhatever duU- ness there mayle heje is all their own. Sir Arthur Helps has w^U laid: "What I dulL when y(Mi do ncfjjl^w ivhat gives its lovdi^ Jjess of fprm to Wlily, its d#;h of color to ^ the violet, 1^ fragrance to the rose: when ^ ym te^fc know in what consists the venom of ma^d^ ^ny l&ora, than you can imitate the gm mote^ent^ of the- dove. What! dull wh^n earth, air, and water are all alike mys- teries to you, and ,when as you stretch ou#- ^l^^^^.f'^^^^^^yoxxh^.YQ mastel-ed; while ^ tlie ti/rte Nature is inviting, yq^u to talk ear- nestly with her, tc^mnderstarid her, to subdue Jier, and to b§, blfessed by her ! Go away, man ; learn something, do something, understand s^ethmg; and 1<^ me hear no more of your to Tmtli We^ is a sacro^d gifO, 'ci^' CJHAPTERVn. / . THB P£BAStnEtl;S OF TRAVEL** i **I>un* pa rt of nil thar^ have seen."— Tbvntsoic i Ajtf sometimes dis|Josed to think tfiat thew are few things in wMch we of this generation enjoy greater advantages over our ancestors . than in the increased facilities of travel ; but I Hesitate to say this^ not because our advan- ta^^ are not great, but because I have already ipade the same remark with reference to..aav« ei-al other aspects of life. , ^^ The very word « travel " is suggestive. It Js a form of "travail"— excessive labor; and, as Skeat observes, it forcibly recalls the toil of travel in olden days. How different things are now! / It is sometimes said, that every one should travel on foot *'like "Thales, Plato, and Py- • ^ thagoras ; " we aj*e told thlit m these days of railroads, |)«ople rush through countries and*^ see npthing. It may be so; but thaffis ijot the fault of thd railways. They confer upon us thp inestimable advantage of being able, so tifjjidly and with so little fatigue, to visit couU^ • tries :wliicl> were iiiufjh less . accessible to our " * The substance 6f tliis wa^"4elivered at Oldham, o .. / „>• si ,\, W wi ^ T .i ^ \ " TEE PLEABtlBES OF LIFE, 81 Bnoe^tors. What a bleasiilg it is that not our own islands only— our IsmSing fields and rich ^ woods, the mountains -that are full of i^&6xs6 and the rivers of jov, the lakes and heather ' and hiUs, castled ana cathedrals, and many a spot immortalized in the history of our coun- try—but the sun and scenery of the South, " the Alps and palaces of Natlure, the blii^ Med- iterranean, the oilles of Europe, with all their '.memories and tre£^ures, are now brought" . within a few tiours of us. Surely no one who has the opportunity ghould omit to travel*^ The world belongs to him who has seen Mt, "* ' Bacon tells us that **the things to be seenr and observed are the courts of princes, espe- ci^iy when they give audience to ambassa- dors ; 'tile courts of justice while they sit and hear ca^es; and so of consistories, eocleaias- \tic; the churches and monasteries, with the "ifionuments which are therein extant; the walls and fortifications of cities and towns; ftnd so the havens and harbors,tjantiquities and rums, libraries, colleges, disputations and lectures when, any are ; shipping and navies ; /houses and gardens of state and pleasure near great cities; armories, arsenals, ms^gazineo, exchanges,, bur&es,' warehouses,- exercises of! " horsemanship, fencing, training of soldiers, and the like; (^medies, such whereunto the better sori of persons do resort ; treasuries of " jewels and robes ; cabinets and rarities ; and^ tQ cbnclude, whatsoever is memorable in thit luaces'where they-go." - ' fi, '' ' ; ' • ^ .- " • *-* .^'•' , 82 THE PLEASUBES OJF'ijFtL .-*<£* But this depends on the time atl^S^ dig. posal, and the <^bject with whichilwe traveL ^>af we can stay long in any om place, Bacon's ad>ace is no doubt excellent ; %ut lor the mo- ment I am thinking rather of an annual holt- day, taken for the sake of rest and health ; for fresh air and exercise rather th^ for study. Yet even so, if we have eyes to see, we cannot fad to lay in a stock of new ideas as well as a store of health. i We may have read the most vivid and accu- rate description," we may hare pored over maps and plans and pictures, and yet the reality ^ will burst on us like a revelation. This is true ntift only of mountains and glaciers, of palaces and cathedrals, but even of the simplest ex- amples/ ■ •■■■. /,■..> .|r For instance, likfe every one else, I, had read descriptions and seen p^tographs and pictures of the Pyj-amids. Thlir form is simplicity itself. I do n(3* know that I Could put inta words any chai|.cteristic of the original for which I wagjnot: prepiaij'ed\ It was not that' they were laifer ; it was ^idtthat they differed in form, m color, or situation. And yet, the uioment I saw them, I felt that my previous impression had been but a faint shadow of the reality. The actual sight 'seem*^ to give hfe to the idea. -|i---''v' •••■'■ Every one, I thmk^ who hi^ be6n in the East will agree that a week of oriental travel seems to bring put, with more than stereoscopic effect^ the pictures of patriarchal life as given us la ^ . '-^M -:\ ^ ^ ■y i / ^^. -^ -^^%-v-" ■x,. \% ^'^ :•?!■/ . \' , ■ *= ■ . ■^■ TBE PLEASUBfEa OJF LIFE. g3 ttje Old Testament. And what Is trtie of the Mid. Jestament is true of history generally To those who have been hi Athens or Rome, the history of Greece or Italy becomes far more interesting; while, on the other hand, some knowledge pfXhe history and literature enor- mously enhances^ the interest of the scenes themselves. V Good descriptions and pictures, however neip us to see much more than we should per- haps perceive for ourselves. It may even bo doubted whether some persons do not derive a more correct impression from a good drawin? or description, which brings out the salient pomts, than they would from actual, but un- aided, inspection. The idea may gam in ao- cpracy, Ih character, ancl even m detail, more than It misses in vividness. But, however tliia may be, for tly^se who cannot travel, descripi tions and pictures have an immense interest ; wile to those who have traveled, they will afford an ihexhaustible delight m reviving the memories of beautiful scenes and interesting expeditions. ■ It is really astonishmg how little most of mi BGQ of the beautiful world in which we live. Mr. Norman LOckyer tells us that wtoe traV- elmg on a scientific mission in the Rocky Mountams, he was astonished to meet an aged French Abbe, and could not help showing his surprise. The Abbe Observed this, and m the course of conversation explamed his presenoo in that (listant region. y ,-^v. / ■i!>^'. .4- u TUE PLEASUUES OF LIFE. w *« You were," he said, " I easily saw, surprised to find me here. The fact is, that some raonthg ago I was very ill. Uy physicians gave me lip, and one morning I seemed to faint and thou^t that I Was already in the arms of the Bon Dieu, and I fancied the angels came and asked m©» * Well, M. TAbbe, and how did you * like the beautiful world you have just left?* And then it occurred to me that 1 who had l)een all my life preachiug about heaven had . seen almost nothmg of the world hi which I was living. I determined, therefore, if it pleased Providence to spare me, to see- some- thing of this world ; and so here I am." Few of us are free, however much we might wish it, to follow the example of the worthy Abbe. But although it may not be possible for us to visit the Rocky Mountains, there are other countries nearer home which most of us might find time to visit. Though it is tfue that no descriptions can