Lord W. Kerr, G.C.B, 
 

 
 
CHOICE 
 
 E iM B L E M S, 
 
 NATURAL, HISTORICAL, FAB'JLOUS, 
 MORAL AND DIVINE, 
 
 FOA THE IMPROVEMENT AND PASTIME 07 
 
 Y G U T H. 
 
 ORNAMENTED W I T H 
 
 Near Fifty Handfoma Allegorlral E N G R AV I N G S, 
 
 D:figneJ on purpofe for this Work. 
 
 Wi'.h pleafmgand fanniliar Descriptions to each, 
 
 ill Prcfe and Verfe, 
 : r.'.p.g to dliphy the Bsauties and Morals oc 
 
 the Ancient F a s c l i s t 3. 
 The whole calculated to convey the gojderh Lefibn^ 
 of Inilruclion under a new and more delightful 
 Dr-fj. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE A M U SEME N T O r' 
 
 The Right Honourable Lord NEWDATTLE. 
 
 '■• S^y,poulJ tie pbil->ppbk mind difi,: n 
 
 ■" 'Thai gooitf ivhkb makes each huynblcr boj'om fain ? 
 
 '' Let fcbo'J-taugh: pr'iJe diJJf.Tnble all It can, 
 
 *•' 1'f.ejc little things are great to little niin.' 
 
 GolifrrJth. 
 
 L o N D u 2; : 
 
 :.-T£D TOR GEORGE R I E E V, IN C U R Z C X 
 STKEZT, .lAY FAIR. 
 
 MD.CC.LaXII, 
 

 TO T H S 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 Lady ELIZABETH KERR, 
 
 ELDEST DAUGHTER OP 
 
 The Rt. Hon. Lord ANCRAM, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 YOUR ladyfliip will imme- 
 diately perceive, that tlie 
 author of the iublequeiit allego- 
 ries, has availed himfelf of the 
 honour of your permiffion to 
 this dedication. 
 
 A 2 So 
 
( iv ) 
 
 So gracious a condefcenilon 
 is ftiil the more pleafmg to him^ 
 as it gives a peculiar propriety to 
 the addrefs of this publication. 
 ' — Elevated by nobility and pa- , 
 tronifed by innocence, while it 
 aims to recommend relipion, 
 morality, and all the Virtues. 
 
 Naturalifts, my lady, acquaint 
 us, that the Rofe in its infant 
 ftate, while in its bud contains, 
 in epitome, all the native fweet- 
 nefs, bloom and beauty of ma- 
 turity : — Thofe who beft know 
 your ladyfliip, can never accufe 
 me of flattery, while I prefume 
 
 to 
 
C V ) 
 
 to prophecy, from the evidence 
 of your dlfpofition, that the 
 latent hereditary ornaments of 
 your iUiiftrious family will in 
 you, one day fhine out with fu- 
 perior brightnefs, and juftly en- 
 title you, not only a bleffing to 
 vour inferiors, a "dorv to vour 
 lex; but, in a word, a pattern to 
 tiie nobility, your cotempora- 
 ries. 
 
 Thele inftruclive emblems, 
 
 written for the amufement of 
 your noble brother. The Pwight 
 Hox^iourable the Lord Newbattle, 
 claim a oarticular attention froTn 
 A 3 your 
 
( vi ) 
 
 your ladyfliip, a§' they recom- 
 mend the immediate paths ^ to 
 happinefs both- here and here- 
 after. 
 
 Be this EIrza's care, let this. 
 Her earlicfl: thoughts engage. 
 Be this the bufmers of her youth, 
 .And comfort cf her ac-e. 
 
 o 
 
 Attentive then, confult the mufc. 
 And each f^ir path purfue ; 
 J.ct's mend a world, by precept T, 
 And by exam.ple You, 
 
 Ypiir Ladyililp's fincere, 
 And moft obedient 
 Humble fervant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
( vU ) 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 /\ L L the happinefs and glon^ cf a flatc, 
 fays a celebrated writer, depend on tke 
 education of youth ; and it may be added, 
 there is not a more irni>ortant duty in- 
 cumbent on a parent than the early cultivation 
 
 of their tender offspring However liuie 
 
 the follovving trifles may appear on the fii-ll 
 \lc\v, it is humbly prefumed, that, on their 
 perufal, they will be found to -contribute 
 fcmevvhat towards that great and defrabieend. 
 — The author of the following fneets has 
 taken Nature for lus principle guide and it 
 has been his fole aim, to defcribe her in the 
 pureft forms ; in which he has it not To m.uch 
 at heart to be confidered as an elegant pG< t, 
 as to be approved for a good itioraliil. 
 
 Fable 
 
( vili ) 
 
 Fable has already empbyed many learned 
 and ingenious pens, both ancient and modern, 
 and as the emblematical hieroglyphic devices 
 of the Hebrews, Egyptians and other ancients 
 feem to aiFord iit fubjeifls for inuruftion, 
 it has been the Author's endeavour to fend 
 many of thefe into the vv^crld under a modern 
 habit— and if fome of them are found to be too 
 puerile for the learned eve, it niuil: be remem- 
 bered, that fuch were v/ritten for the amufc- 
 ment of a young nobleman not more than 
 nine years old. Yet, 
 
 ." Is itot the earth 
 
 " With 'various livifig creatures and the ah' 
 *' Replenijhed?-—They alj'o kno-My 
 " And reafon not conicmptihly i^"* 
 
 For many of the brute creatures feem fo 
 formed by inftinfl, as to make up an univerfal 
 fatire on mankind— For where is the unduti- 
 ful child but mufl be afhamed to, fee himfelf 
 outdone by the ftork in filial duty and affec- 
 tion ? the faithiefs fer/ant by the fidelity 
 
 of 
 
( ix ) 
 cf the dog, the nuggard by the lark, or the 
 man of indolence by the bee and woodpecker? 
 —The falfe friend, the iiicomlant lover may 
 here f nd pi-oper leHons to copy from. In 
 fine, there are fcarcely any perfons in life who 
 will not find fcmewhat here which may 
 fait their particular fituaticns, or inculcate in 
 their minds the mofc necefiary virtues. If 
 this great end be attained, the purpcfe of the 
 Author is fully anfwered ; if not, he can only 
 lament the ill fortune of his endeavours, but 
 truib, he fnall ever be happy in the integrity 
 of his good intentions. 
 
( •'' ) 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Emb. Page 
 
 I. A Young Stork carrying his old Parent 
 
 on his Back - - i 
 
 II. Harpocrates the God of Silence 5 
 
 III. A Boy and Bee-hive — 9 
 
 IV. A Dog lying Dead at his Mailer's Se- 
 pulchre - - - 13 
 
 V. The Senfitive Plant - - 17 
 
 VI. The Bat flying from the rifing Sun 21 
 
 VII. A Turtle Dove bemoaning its Mate 25 
 
 VIII. Hope - . - . 29 
 
 IX. The Sun-Flower — 33 
 
 X. A Crov/n of Gold and a Crown of Thorns 
 
 lying together ^, - 7 
 
 XI. 
 
( xl ) 
 
 Emb. Page 
 
 XI. Caftor and Pollux - - 41 
 
 XII. A Sun-Dial - - - 45 
 
 XIII. A Qusen and Shepherd's Boy 49 
 Xr/. Pallas armed - - 5.3 
 
 XV. Fortune, with her Wheel - ^y 
 
 XVI. A Bee upon a Rcie - 6i 
 XMI. The Crocodile and Traveller 6^ 
 XVTU. A Moth flying round a Candle 69 
 
 XIX. Diogenes - - 73 
 
 XX. A wounded Stag - - 77 
 
 XXI. AVine fupported, and another creeping 
 on the Ground - - 81 
 
 "^^XII. Apollo killing the Serpent Python S5 
 XXIII. A P,.Gck in the rnidll of ailoriny Sea 89 
 XXFv^. The Traveller and Snake 93 
 
 XXV. A Fi.li caught by an Angler 97 
 
 XXVI. The Return of the x^r~onauts loi 
 
 o 
 
 XXVII. A Boy and Butterfly 105 
 XXVill. An Eagle chained to a Log 1C9 
 
 XXIX. Leucothoe buried alive - 113 
 
 XXX. A Hog lying Dead in a Garden 117 
 
 XXXI. A Chariot driven violently down a 
 Precipice - - - - 121 
 
 XXXn. The rvloon in the Increafe 125 
 
 xxxni. A 
 
( xii ) 
 
 Hnib. Page 
 
 XXXIIL A Bird caught by a Fowler i 29 
 
 XXXIV. A Lion viewing' liimfelf in the 
 Water - - - 133 
 
 XXXV. Apoilo and Daphne - 137 
 
 XXXVI. A Role among Thorns 1 ± i 
 XXXVil. Tin^e - - 145 
 
 XXXVIII. The Woodpecker - 149 
 
 XXXIX. A Boy and Bird^s Neil 153 
 XL. The Peacock - - 157 
 
 XLI. Fame 161 
 
 XLII. An Eagle and Serpent - 165 
 
 XLIII. Narcifius admiring himfelf in a 
 
 Fountain - - - 169 
 
 XLIV. An Oak ilruck with Lightning 173 
 
 XLV. A Pelican feeding its Young 177 
 
 XLVI. The Tul]p and Myrtle 181 
 
 KLVII. A Pyramid overturned iSc 
 
CHOICE 
 
 E M B L 
 
 M 
 
 EMBLEM r. 
 Of FILIAL Duty AXD Affection. 
 
 See the young Stork his duteous wino- 
 prepare, " 
 
 His a-ed Sire to feed with conflart care ■ 
 O'erhjils and dales his precious load convWs 
 And the great debt of iual duty pavs '"' 
 Gr.tefal retm-n ! by Nature's feif dengn'd, 
 Ji fair example fet to Jiuman kind. 
 
 Should'ft thou refu.'-e thy parents needful aid 
 
 Be J'7r^/r^ " S" '^''°"^ ^"me upbraid 
 Be mindful ho%v they rear'd thy tende, vouth 
 
 f-^TC'^ thou with longlife andteeace be bl-ft 
 T.II Heayen ihall calllhee to eTernal 4ft. '^' 
 
 B THI ' 
 
( 2 ) . 
 
 THIS bird is generally elleemed an em- 
 biem of filial love, in fo much that it has ever 
 acquired the name of pious from the juil re- 
 gard it is faid to pay to afls of filial piety and 
 duty. 
 
 Storks live to a very advanced age ; the 
 confequence of which is, that their limbs 
 grov/ feeble, their feathers fall oiF, and they 
 are no ways capable of providing for their 
 own food or fafety. Being birds of pafiage, 
 they are under another inconvenience alfo, 
 which is, tliat they are not able to remove 
 themfelves from one country to another at the 
 ufual feafon. In all thefe circumllances, it 
 is reported that their young ones afiift them, 
 covering them with their wings and nou.rifh- 
 ing them, with the warmth of their bodies, e- 
 ven bringing them provifions in their beaks, 
 and carrying them from place to place on their 
 backs, or fupporting them with their wings -, 
 in this manner returning, as much as lies in 
 their power, the care which was bellowed on 
 them when they were young ones in the neft. 
 A ftriking example, of filial piety infpired by 
 Inftinft ; from which Reafon itfelf needs not 
 be aihamed to take example. 
 
 '' HO- 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 '•HONOUR thy father and thy mother, that 
 '' thy days may be long in the land which the 
 " Lord thy God giveth thee" was an exprefs 
 commandment, and the only one to which a 
 promife was annexed. — And among the 
 Ifraelites the fli'ghteft ofFence againft a parent 
 was punifhed in the moil exemplary manner. 
 
 Certainly nothing can be more juir or rea- 
 fonable than that we ftiould love, honour, 
 and fuccour thofe who are the very authors of 
 our being, and to whofe tender cares (under 
 
 Heaven) we ov/e the continuance of it during 
 the helplefs ftate of our infancy. 
 
 Love, charity, and an intercourfe of good 
 offices, are what undoubtedly we owe to al 
 mankind, and he who omits them is guilty 
 of fuch a crime as generally carries its puniili- 
 ment along with it j — but to our parents 
 more, much more than all this is due ; and 
 when v.c are fening them we ought to refieft 
 that whatever difficulties we <to throuii^h for 
 
 o o 
 
 their fakes, we cannot do more for them than 
 
 ihey have done for us, and that there is no 
 
 B 2 dr.nq-er 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 danger of our over-paying the vaft debt of 
 gratitude they, have laid us under. 
 
 In fine, we fliould confider that it is a duty 
 moft peculiarly infilled on by Heaven itfelf, 
 and if we obey the command, there is no doubt 
 but we Ihall alfo receive the reward annexed 
 to it. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
Of Silence. 
 
 LO here the portrait of that ancient pew 'r 
 Which fway'd before the world's great 
 
 natal hour, 
 Silence ! the Hill companion of the wife 
 That flirouds ev^i Folly in its deep difguife ; 
 " A living death that is of nothino- made, 
 '* In noon day's fun wrapp'd up in thickefi; 
 
 Ihade, 
 Blufli not, good youth to court his friendly 
 
 aid ; 
 Ke iliall your fecrets keep, your friends re. 
 
 tain.. 
 Improve your honour and fecure your gain. 
 
 Be not too rafh in fpeech, leil others find 
 The depth and fecrets of your inmoil: mind : 
 Silence may oft times make your fenfe extoll'd. 
 But the word fpoke can never be recall'd. 
 
 B 3 SILENCE 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 SILENCE was a quality fo much r^- 
 ver'd among fome of the ancients, that their 
 prielis and philofophers tried their initiates 
 and difciples by enjoining them taciturnity 
 for a certain fitted period, teaclung it as the 
 firit of ail fciences. 
 
 They likevvdfe paid divine honours to Silence, 
 worfhipping it as a deity, under the name of 
 Karpocrates, who was reprefented as in the 
 emblem, and whofe figure was fufhcientlyex- 
 prefTive of the moral they meant to inculcate. 
 
 It is a fure friend in difficulties ; it is a 
 charm aeainfl ano-er, and a kind of talifman 
 which generally gains its owner a knowledge 
 of the thoughts of others, while it leaves him 
 entirely mailer of his own. Though it is ufeful 
 to thofe of weak parts, yet need not the wife 
 be afhamed of it. In efFeft, it has this bell of 
 qualities, that it may do much good, but is 
 entirely incapable of harm. 
 
 AS 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 A S a vain babbler is generally the moil 
 ridiculous of mankind ; Co Silence is moftlv 
 a f.gn of wii'dom ; for if it fhould even fome- 
 times happen that the filent man is a perfon 
 cfmean talents, yet it muft be allowed at 
 leal^, to be one mark of his fagacity, that he 
 can devife the means to cover and conceal from 
 others his want of abilities. 
 
 When a man is juflly rebuked, Silence is of- 
 ten better than a laboured defence, as it is ge- 
 nerallythe true tokencf an ingenuous mind.— 
 And even when one is reproached unjuftly, how- 
 glorious is it to be iilent and anfwer only by 
 one's aftions 1 
 
 ** How beautiful is a Vvord in due feafcn !" 
 fays the wife man ; but he who is perpetually 
 talking is not likely to reap fuch a praife bc- 
 caufe he minds no feafon ; whereas one that 
 knows how to keep filence may eafily know 
 alfo by his obfervations on the difcourfe of 
 others when to fpeak ; and his words being 
 B 4. few. 
 
( 8 ) 
 few, are likely to be the more properly applied^ 
 aiid will be the more efteemed by the hearers. 
 — But in a multitude of words, there is often 
 a multitude of erroi^s, and to rule that little 
 member, the Tongue, is often more diffi- 
 cult than to govern a city. 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
 III. 
 
 Of the Daxgea of Pleasures. 
 
 BEHOLD the boy, forbidden fweets to 
 prove, 
 With lucklefs hand the honey'd hive remove. 
 Straight with an angry hum that founds to 
 
 arms, 
 Forth rufh the winged tribe, in all their 
 
 fwarms, 
 Too late, alas ! they make th' ciFender find, 
 That pleafure's hcney leaves a fting behind. 
 
 Learn hence ye heedlefs train, who gaily 
 glide 
 In youth's trim bark down life's uncertain tide, 
 That death oft lurks beneath fome gilded toy, 
 And poifon mingles in the cup of joy. 
 
 B 
 
 THE 
 
( 10 ) 
 THE thoughtlefs child overturns the 
 hive, in order to get at the honey ; he knows 
 that the bees' have fvveets, but he forgets that 
 they have alfo Hings. When he has done the 
 jnifchief, he perceives it too late; for the in- 
 duflrious people fhew him that they will not 
 be fo difturbed with impunity, and he finds 
 it impofiible to get the honey unlefs he were 
 able to deilroy thofe who guarded it. 
 
 Amazed at the confequences of his adlion, 
 he flies v.'ith precipitation; but is overtaken by 
 the infedls who fettling upon him, leave be- 
 hind them their ftings, the anguifh of which 
 may ferve as a perpetual memorial of his rafh- 
 nefs, and warn him how he attempts llolen 
 fweets for the future. 
 
 I N many people of a more mature age we 
 fee this emblem verified; and though common 
 experience might prevent the evil yet fo carelefs 
 are fome that they will make ufe of no experience 
 but their own, which is always dearly bought, 
 
 and 
 
( II ) 
 
 and may fometimes come too late to have the 
 eiFcft defircd by every lat'onal and thinking 
 perfon. 
 
 The wild and unthinking aUvays imagine 
 JicUn ivaters to be fweet, and hidden bread to 
 be pleafant ; and, proceeding on this maxim 
 they often plunge themfelves into the moil 
 ruinous circumflances, and repent only when 
 it is too late to amend them. 
 
 The misfortune is, tliat they go on without 
 confi deration, and when they find themfelves 
 attacked by evils they cry out " Who ikouU 
 have thought it?''* when in reality they them- 
 felves might have determined upon the event, 
 if they had thought at all, or believed the coun- 
 fel of thofe who wilhed to promote their wel- 
 fare. 
 
 But they will overturn the hive, they mufl 
 have the honey; while they little expefl the 
 iling;— when they feel it (like the boy in the 
 emblem,) furprize is added to their afHidion, 
 and their diilrefs is doubled by their being 
 no ways provided to fullain the accident. 
 
 If 
 
C 12 ) 
 
 If you would be wife, take not the honej 
 while tlie hive is fwarming, let not your plea- 
 fures be mixed with guilt, and then you may 
 reft fecure, that they will leave no fting be- 
 hind them^^ 
 
 EMBLEM. 
 
 
( ^3 ) 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
 IV. 
 
 O F F 
 
 I D E L I T Y, 
 
 BEHOLD the faithful beaft, refolv^i to 
 die 
 Near where his much lov'd mailer's afhes- lie. 
 Emblem of conftancy, he yields his breath 
 I' or ancient love, and keeps his faith by death. 
 
 Hence learn Fidelity ;— with grateful mind^ 
 Repay the courteous ; to your friends be kind: 
 Whatever fortune on your life attend. 
 The bell of treafures is a faithful friend. 
 
 THE 
 
THE Dog is of all animals the moil faith- 
 ful, as well as the moll fagacious. There 
 are few things which a good dog may not be 
 trained up to do to ferve his mafter, and if 
 he be well ufed there are fewer flill that he 
 will not do to defend him. 
 
 We have many inftances, both in ancient 
 and modern ilor)', of the fidelity of thefe crea- 
 tures and feme of their having been the caufe 
 of difcovering their mailer's murder by obfli- 
 nately refufmg to llir from his ccrpfe. Often 
 have they faved men's lives by interpofmg 
 againft thofe who offered them violence, and 
 have proved an ufeful and a faithful guard 
 both to their perfons and their properties. 
 
 Homer tells us, that after Troy was deflroy- 
 ed by the Grecians, UlyfTes returning from 
 the fiege in mean apparel having gone 
 through various dangers, and been abfent in 
 all- twenty years, was unknown to his queen, 
 and every perfon in his palace, but his dog 
 iccognized him. 
 
 ---Forgot 
 
( '5 ) 
 
 Forgot by all his own domelLic crew, 
 The faithful dog alone his mailer knew, 
 Unfed, unhous'd, neglecled, on the clay. 
 Like an old fervant now caihier'd he lay, 
 Touch'd with refentment to ungrateful man,. 
 And longing to behold his ancient lord again :. 
 Him when he faw, he rofe and crawl 'd to 
 
 meet, 
 ('Twas all he could) and fawn'd and lick'd his 
 
 feet, 
 Sciz'd with dumb joy— Then falling by his 
 
 fide, 
 Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and 
 
 died. 
 
 GRATITUDE and fidelity to our friends 
 are the bell qualities that can adorn cur na- 
 ture : The emblem of the dog is a very ftrik- 
 ing one, in this regard,, and is calculated to 
 convey the fevereft fatire on falfe friends and 
 ungrateful perfons. 
 
 There is nothing in which a man lliould be 
 mere cautious and deliberate than in his 
 
 choice 
 
( «6 ) 
 
 choice of a friend, but having once chof^^n 
 him, he ihould repofe in him all manner of 
 confidence, and in his turn keep his fecrets^ 
 and be ever ready to do him any manner of 
 fervice that is confiftent with the rules of reli- 
 gion and virtue ; he that requires any thing 
 contrary to thefe can never be a true friend ; 
 for that is properly fpeaking no friendfhip 
 which is not founded upon a virtuous bafis , 
 it is only a connexion of inter*'!!, which the 
 iirll puff of adverfe fortune will blow av/ay, 
 and fcatter to the winds of heaven. 
 
 But when you have really gotten a true 
 friend, 
 
 ** Grapple him to your foul with hooks 
 . of fieel" 
 
 Abide by him alike in profperity and in 
 adverfity, and let no change of circumflances 
 change your rerardt or fenices ;-— fo may you 
 expeifl affiftance in the time of your diftrefs 
 2ind a comforter in the day cf trouble. . 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 1/ ) 
 
 E M R L E M V. 
 
 Of Purity. 
 
 SO nicely form'd by nature's hidden laws,. 
 Lo ! from the touch the confcicus plant 
 withdraws. 
 Emblem of purity ; which fiill retires 
 From the rude glowing of unhallow'd fires ; 
 Yet ftill more weak the frequent touch it tries. 
 Droops in approaching, and by preilure dies. 
 
 Shun evil's firfl advance ; be timely wife. 
 Shrink at th' appearance ; fly the na7ne of vice 
 Like this fair plant th' empcifon'd touch avoid, 
 Nor be by too much confidence deilroy'd : 
 Stand not in your own llrength, for 'tis moflfure 
 That ills are eafier tc prevent than cure. 
 
 . THE 
 
( i8 ) 
 
 T H E Senfitive Plant is fo conftrucled by 
 Nature that it Ihrinks from the warmth of the 
 human touch— A property fo extraordinar)' for 
 whichvariouscaufes are affignedby philofophers 
 occafioned feme flrange ftories to be told of 
 this wonderful vegetable, one of which ^\•as 
 that it would not bear the touch of any but 
 challe perfons ; however the truth is, that it 
 retires dike from the approach of any hand, 
 as has been often experienced.— Among fome 
 papers of a late celebrated poet, there, is a 
 fable concerning it, on the plan of that of 
 Apollo and Daphne in Ovid.— He r-elates 
 that a certain nymph flying from the em.braces 
 of Pan the God of the woods, jufl as he was 
 en the point of overtaking her was changed 
 into this plant, and ftill retained, in a vegeta- 
 ble, the fame nice chaftity for which fhe had 
 been celebrated when a nymph— The fcory 
 is pretty,, and the metamorphofis aptly turned. 
 This Senfitive plant is to be found in the gar- 
 dens of the curious, and is generally much 
 efteemed by thofe v/ho delight in enquiries 
 i^nto the nature of the vegetable world :-— 
 
 But 
 
( 19 \ 
 Bat it is not allowed to be often handled be- 
 caufe frequent touching hurts its delicate 
 texture and in time it is fuppofed would 
 quite deilroy it. 
 
 I N this vegetable we may fee the fymbol 
 of a truly virtuous perfon, v/ho ihuns even 
 the fhadow of evil, and flarts at the thoughts 
 of vice— Thofe who fland in their own 
 nrength can never be fure that they fhall not 
 fdW ; and no difiance can be too far to be 
 removed from the habitations of the wicked. 
 " Vice to avoid" is virtue's earliefl: rule, 
 Wi^om's firft precept ** Not to be a fool.'* 
 
 To become familiar with the name of 
 vice is the firft introduclicn to the praftice 
 of it, and to fee ill adtions unmoved is the 
 iirlt ftep towards commiting them. 
 
 It is thus that people have been led by 
 degrees into the perpretation of crimes at 
 one time, which at another they would ha\'e 
 {huddered but to think en ; and then have 
 looked back with furprize upon their altered 
 ilate, and that loft innocence which they ne- 
 ver could poflefs again. 
 
 Ac- 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 AccuHom yourfelf therefore to Hirink like 
 ^ic plant in the emblem whenever vice ap- 
 proaches you. Prevent evil in its firll ftage, 
 and you will fave yourfelf many periods cf 
 unhappinefs. Affume a habit of virtue, and 
 it will grow every day eafier to you, fo may 
 you be enabled to refifc temptation ; for be 
 affured ycu can .never boafl: the, k<:^ degree 
 ®f freedom from any fiu till you fnaddcr at 
 the leafl fhadow of an inciiement to commit it» 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
I 21 ) 
 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
 Of Guilt. 
 
 VL 
 
 SEE where, with drowfy wing, the bird 
 of night 
 Bends from the rifmg fun, her fullen flight : 
 Opprefs'd and weakened by the morning ray. 
 She feeks in ihades to H umber out the day : 
 While the blithe Lark afcending chears the 
 
 eye, 
 Sin^s as he mounts, and feeks the'diHant fky. 
 
 Thus confcious Guilt its head detefted hides, 
 "Nor Heav'n's, nor .man's, nor day's broad 
 
 eye abides ; 
 %Vhile virtue ftill undaunted and ferene, 
 -With chearful brow, in open light is feen. 
 
 THE 
 
( " ) 
 
 THE Bat is a bird fo much accuRomed 
 to darknefs that it generally flies only by 
 night, and if at any time it is found abroad 
 in the day,' impelling it towards the fun, to 
 which it has a particular averfion, is a fure 
 method of furprizing and taking it. 
 
 This creature partakes partly of the nature 
 of a beaii and partly of that of a bird, its 
 body being formed fomevvhat like that of a 
 moufe, though it has wings wherewith it 
 m.ounts in the air; but its flight is always flug- 
 gilh and heavy, and its whole form is fright- 
 fully difagreeable. 
 
 THAT the B a t which in its flrll crea- 
 tion was formed a bird of night, fliould (\mn 
 the fun fliine, is by no means to be wondered 
 at. It follows its nature, and confequently 
 fulfils in every point the end for which it was 
 made. 
 
 Yet how much more do we admire the 
 fprightly Lark who with his morning fong 
 awakes the day, and foars towards heaven up- 
 on expanded wing ! 
 
 Would 
 
( =3 ) 
 
 \rould you apply the emblem ? In the 
 Lark behold the chearful opennefs of the vir- 
 t-uous and pious man, who is always found in 
 -the fair face of -day, and (while the drunkard 
 is retiring to his bed) is feen early rifen to 
 falute the day, and^ after the due tribute ren- 
 dered to the Being who prefen/ed him through 
 the perils cf dai'knefs, he goes chearfully about 
 his temporal concerns, and never feeks the 
 fliade but when repofe invites him to it. 
 
 Such is not the prasflice of the guilty man : 
 He is ever fond cf lurking in the dark, and 
 ftriving to cover his evil actions with the fable 
 .veil ot night, becaufe they will not bear the 
 teiL of open day. 
 
 He Jo-ves darknefs heiic'r than lights hecauje 
 his deeds are e-oil. 
 
 . When die Bat and the Owl ny, then he 
 goes abroad : He accomplillies his ill actions 
 when there is none to detecl him. He returns 
 in the morning ;— from the vs'orks of darknefs ; 
 I then he hides himfelf, and fays, who lliall 
 -difcover me ? 
 
 Yet 
 
( H ) 
 Yet there is On e who fees in fecrct ; He 
 ihall reward his evil openly : the punifhment 
 of his fins fhall be upon him ; and when 
 his deeds Ihall be revealed, he fhall have 
 no part in the Kingdom of Light, 
 
 M B L E M 
 
 i 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 H iVI B L E M 
 
 VU. 
 
 Of Constant Affection. 
 TIT ZITH plaintive cooings, lo ! the turtle 
 
 Laments the fate of his departed love. 
 His mate, once loll:, no comfort novs' he knows. 
 His little breail: with inward anguifh glows, 
 Nor lavv'ns nor groves his throbbing heart can 
 
 charm 
 Nor other love his languid bofom warm ; 
 Opprefs'd with, grief, he yields his latefi: 
 
 breath, 
 And proves, at laft his conllancy in death. 
 
 A proper leiTon to the fickle mind. 
 An emblem apt of tendernefsrefin'd. 
 Affection pure and undifTembled love, 
 y/hich abfence, time nor death can e'er 
 remove. 
 
 C THE 
 
. ( 26 ) 
 
 THE dove is the gentlefl; and inoft loving 
 of birds— for v/hich qualities the ancient 
 heathens feigned that the chariot of Venus the 
 goddefs of love, was drawn by turtle doves. 
 The conftancy of the dove is fuch, that it 
 is bscome a proverb, and when one of a pair 
 of turtles die?, the other generally pines itfelf 
 to death. So true is theV love and fo far are 
 they from a defire of chan-i^in :••.—— 
 
 A remarkable inftance of the pov/er of in- 
 flindl, and an example worthy of our imita- 
 tion. 
 
 THE dove and lai 
 for their gentlenefs, that they have been 
 adopted as fymbols of our moil holy religion, 
 and are always reprefented in the facred writ- 
 ings as the moll perfccl emblem.s of virtue and 
 cf innocence. 
 
 Conllancy 
 
( ^ ) 
 
 ■Conftancv, whether in love or fVIendihip, 
 is certainly one of the mofl. flriking proofs of 
 a great and noble mind, as hcklenefs is of the 
 contrary-: Love is but a more refined, a mere 
 tender friendfhip, and when that love is 
 lengthened by the more facred ties of mar- 
 riage it ought to be equally lalting and invio- 
 late. 
 
 Inmchailate, the joy or grief of either 
 pany muf> b^ ihared by the other, they muit 
 be borh as one, or happinefs can never be 
 expected. 
 
 -A-^^ ro promote this agreeing will, con- 
 i^ancy, xendemefs, and an allowance for the 
 frailties of humanity, are Indifpenfably necef- 
 f^ry.--^A-here thef^ are united there may be 
 'truly fald to be an union ^f fouls, ,vhich is 
 the greateil feiicit)- on earth. 
 
 The emblem of the dove is. one of thofe 
 
 leiTons drawn frcm nature, whereby the befc 
 
 ^ - amon-y 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 among us may profit ; fince we may well be 
 aihamed to be outdone either in conftancv or 
 tendernefs by any of the brute creation. 
 
 Then like the dove, let conflancy and 
 
 truth, 
 And fpotlefs innocence adorn your 
 
 youLh, \ 
 
 In ev'ry Hate the fame blefs'd temper 
 
 prove, 
 Be fix'd in friendfliip, and be true to 
 
 love« 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 E IVI B L E M Vm. 
 
 Of Necessary Confidence. 
 
 HO P E is the £rll great bleffing here 
 below. 
 The only balm that heals corroding woe : 
 It is the flafFof-age, the fick man's health, 
 The pris'ner's freedom, and the poor man's 
 
 wealth ; 
 The Tailors fafety; lalling as our breath, 
 It ftill holds on nor quits us e'en in death. 
 
 Encourage Hope which heals all human 
 care 
 The laft mad folly is a fad defpair. 
 Jf you are wife the dreadful fend avoid, 
 Nor be for want of Keav'n's befl giftdeftroy'd. 
 
 C 3 
 
 ALAS 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 I T is fald, in the eld heathen fable, thai: 
 when Prometheus had flolen fire from heaven, 
 with which he animr.ted mcital bodic?, 
 Jupiter, in anger to mankind, gave Pandora 
 a box which was clofe (hut, but which her 
 curiofity (as the God forefavv) prompting her 
 to open, out flew a varietv: of plagues and 
 evils, which immediately difperfed themfelves 
 ever the world. —Confounded and afconilhed, 
 Pandora at length fhut the fatal box again, 
 when all the rdA of its contents being ilea, 
 Hop-e alcne remained at the bottom, which 
 proved the only confolation to mniuiind for 
 the plagues that Jove had fent amongll; 
 them. 
 
 ir pe, according to our fyllem is doemed 
 one of the chriftian virtues, is reprefented as 
 ;n the Em.blem, leaning upon an anchor, 
 whereby is aptly expreflcd her fieadinefs and 
 trufl— In religious pi6lures fhe is moreover 
 generally painted with her eyes turned up 
 towards Heaven, in token of her confidence in 
 that help which comes only from above, and 
 
 wKich 
 
( 3> ) 
 
 which is indeed the only fure aid to truH to, 
 when man forlakes us, and when the llorms 
 of this world beat hard upon our bark and 
 tlireaten to wreck it. 
 
 ALAS! without Hope, of v.-hat value 
 would our mortal exillence prove ? How 
 fhould we be enabled to bear up under af- 
 fiiftions, what cordial fnould we have to op- 
 pofe to the thoufand heart-corroding cares, 
 which this frail life abounds with ! 
 
 It is tlien we avail ourfelves of this anchor, 
 and of the three chriftiau graces, are mcli 
 relieved by Hope, which leads on, thrcugii 
 Faith, to the pramife of happier days here, or 
 a better fiate hereafter. 
 
 To be without Hope would be the mcfl 
 dreadful of all earthly punifnments : it is the 
 refuge of the poor and nttdvy and renders the 
 difiribution of the lots of men belcw more 
 equal. Since the high and low, the rich and 
 pcor cannot with juftice be deemed fo widely 
 C ^ diiFe- 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 different in their eilates, when we confider 
 
 that 
 
 ** Thefe are placed in Hope and thofe in 
 fear." 
 
 Hope is, in fhort, our beft companion here 
 below, which leads us as it were by the hand 
 through the midft: of all difficulties and dan- 
 gers J and it mayjuilly be faid of it that it is 
 
 *• The cordial drop Heav'n in our cup 
 
 has thrown, 
 ** To make the naufeous draught of 
 
 life go down. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 IX. 
 
 1 
 
 Of Z i: a l towards God. 
 ^~|~^0 the all-chearing fun's enlivenLng rays 
 The grateful plant its op'ning leaves 
 difplays, 
 P>.ejoicing in his beams and radiance bright 
 Expands and opens with approaching light ; 
 But when dim night ex'iends her duiky fhade 
 Its clofing beauties iicken all and fade ! 
 The flow'r which Phoebus' warmth f.ril bade 
 
 to rife 
 Lives in his beams, and in his abfence dies. 
 
 Each human breafl may this example 
 move 
 To a£ls of gratitude and heav'nly love 
 To Hi m who gives us all cur hearts to raife. 
 Live in his light, and triumpii in his praife. 
 C 5 THE 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 THE Sun-flower was, according to the; 
 heathen fable, a nymph called Clytle, who 
 loved and was at firil beloved by Phoebus or 
 the fun, and afterwards bv him changed into 
 a flower, which ever mindful of the regard 
 Ihe once bore to him always turns itfelf to his 
 beams — This plant, as it has always been 
 remarked for its property of particularly turn- 
 ing to the fun, fo has it likev/ife been ever 
 efteemed an emblem of gratitude in general, 
 and in particular of that wliichis owing to God 
 our Creator, in whom we live and move, and 
 have our being, and by whom, he is prcm.ifed 
 the bleffings of a future llatc : a reafonable 
 tribute from mortals for fuch ineftimable 
 benefits 1 
 
 M A N m.ay learn gratitude from tlie 
 brutes, and often even fx'om the inanimate 
 part of the creation ; and indeed Nature her- 
 felf does not fail to teach him this leilbn, 
 which he muft take great pains to eradicate 
 from his heart before he can be fo bafe as to 
 
 become ungrateful. 
 
 h:vraiitude 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 Ingratitude (fays the fcrlpture) is 'Ojorfe than 
 the fin cf nvitch-craft, and that muil be a 
 heinous crime indeed, which is fpokcn of in 
 fuch terms in tlie facrcd writings. 
 
 He who can return evil for good, or who 
 can even neglecl to return a good ofnce, when 
 it is in his power, is io far from ever deferv- 
 ing again to be obliged or af/iiled, that he 
 does not ever defer^'e to live. 
 
 And if the gratitude we owe to cur friends 
 be fuch an indifpenfable duty, how much 
 greater is that which we owe to God, to 
 whofe paternal care we ar^ indebted fur all 
 we are and all we ever {Viall be !— - 
 
 How much does it beho^'e us to turn to 
 him as to our fun, in whofe beams we live, 
 and v.hofe face being withdrawn, we fliould 
 return to our primitive nothing. 
 
 Rcmemher thy Creator in the days of thy 
 youth, was the precept of a snan as wife as he 
 
 Vn J15 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 was virtuous, and of one who well knew that 
 
 this was not afruitlefs duty, but fuch an one 
 as would be returned I y unnumbered bleffings, 
 being fhowered on the heads of thofe who 
 attached them feives to it. 
 
 " For praife is Heav'n's juH due not" 
 
 paid in vain, 
 " But frill return'd in bleffings back . 
 
 again 
 *' As dews exhal'd defcend in fleecy 
 
 rain: 
 ** Then, like the flow'r which to the fun 
 
 difplays 
 ** Its orient colours, and invokes his 
 
 rays 
 " Still turn your heart to him who 
 
 reigns above 
 
 o 
 
 ** Whofe yoke is freedom, and whofe 
 tribute love !" 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 E M B L E IM X. 
 Of the Cares of Great nhss. 
 
 LO ! where ambition's emblem Ht appears. 
 That great reward which pays the toil 
 of ) ears, 
 Adorn'd with all the pomp of ftate, behold. 
 With jewels blazing rich, the Crown of Gold. 
 Near, ah ! too near, its fure companion lies, 
 The dire attendant on the dazzling prize, 
 The Crown of Thorns, whofe iharpell flings 
 
 await 
 On the vain pageantry' of regal llate. 
 
 Care follows Greatnefs ; guilt or fear annoy 
 The fceptred prince and all his peace dellroy. 
 And he who to pofTefs a crown is born. 
 For ev'ry glitt'ring jewel finds a thorn. 
 
 A MET 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 AMBITIOUS men can conceive no 
 good or happinefs but that which they ima- 
 gine mull arife from greatnefs ; yet he is of- 
 ten the objeft of their envy who (if the fecrets 
 of his heart were known) might more proper- 
 ty be faid to deferve their pity. 
 
 Of all the purfults of ambition, a Crown 
 is reckoned the moil noble and valuable ; and, 
 n the opinion of fome men, all human felicity 
 
 s centred in the circle of it. B ut were they 
 
 exalted to the dignity they covet fo much, it 
 IS certain they would foon find their error, 
 and be compelled by experience to confefs 
 that the Crown of Gold is infeparable from 
 a Crown of Thorns, vv^hich is for ever galling 
 the brow of majefty and poifoning all tiie joys 
 a monarch can expeft to tafle. 
 
 The reflexions which f-hakefpear puts into 
 the mouth of Prince Henry (afterwards the 
 great Henry V. who conquered the French at 
 Agincourt) are very applicable to this pur- 
 
 pofe Seeing the Crown lying on his 
 
 father's 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 father's pillow, he breaks ou*" '.r-to the fol- 
 lowing exclamation. 
 
 " Why doth the crown lie there upon his pil- 
 low 
 
 *' Being fj troublefome a bed fellow ? 
 
 *' O polilh'd perturbation 1 golden care ! 
 
 ** That keep'il; the ports of riiimbcr open 
 wide 
 
 " To many a watchful night I — He lleeps 
 wiih't now ; 
 
 '* Yet not fo found, nor half fo deeply fwect 
 
 *' As he whofe brow with homely biggen 
 bound, 
 
 '* Snores out the watch of night— O majefly ! 
 
 *•' Wjien thou doll pinch thy bearer, thou doit 
 fit 
 
 *' Like a rich armour worn in heat of day, 
 
 *' That fcalds with fafetv. 
 
 THAT to be great is to be he.ppy is one of 
 i;hofe errors which have almoil: r.t all ages pre- 
 vailed among the generality of manliind— But 
 tliat to be gocd is to be happy is a fecret referv- 
 ed for the wife and virtuous few, who are the 
 
 grace 
 
( 4° ) 
 grace and ornament of tlieinfelves, their 
 friends, and their country. 
 
 An exalted Hation always brings with it a 
 weight of cares, and he is happier, who in the 
 humble vale of life, purfues his way in the 
 paths of reafon and of virtue, than he who 
 fhares the favours of a prince or the applaufes 
 of a giddy multitude. — 
 
 As for a monarch, if he is a tyrant, he muil 
 be in per DQtual fears of his fubjefts, if a good 
 prince, he mull be involved in perpetual cares 
 for them : Either way, he Hands a chance ne- 
 ver to taile of real happinefs ; and thofe prin- 
 ces who have gone through the world with 
 the greateft eclat have been ready to declare 
 that the Crown of Gold was ever accompanied 
 by one of Thorns and that he who refolves to 
 gratify his amhitioti, mull always expeft to 
 facriiice his haptim/s. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 M B L E M XI. 
 F Brotherly Love. 
 T O! here the valiant tv/ins, whofe glorious 
 Ml-J name 
 
 The Pcets confecrate to endlefs fame ! 
 
 wo bodies fway'd by one agreeing mind ; 
 Loving in life, and not in death disjoin'd. 
 For feats of arms through all the world 
 
 renown'd 
 For friendfhip morCf the brother chiefs v/ere 
 
 found :— 
 Thro' life's whole race one common fate they 
 
 ihare, 
 Alike united, or in peace or v/ar, 
 For Pollux, Castor fights; in battle flain, 
 Pollux for Castor begs new life in vain. 
 Vet half his days at length allov/'d to give, 
 Alternately they die, alternate live. 
 
 Learn hence true friendlhip and fraternal 
 love, 
 ' > oil 'ring grateful to the throne above ! 
 
 CASTOR 
 
C 42 ) 
 
 CASTOR and Pollux are faiJ • 
 have been the fons o£ Leda, the former Ix 
 ing begctton by Tyndarus, was mortal ; b.. 
 the latter being the ofFspring of Jupiter, ihav 
 ed in his father's iiiiiiiortaiity. 
 
 The flricl; friendlhip and more than bro- 
 therly love which rubfiiled between thef:; 
 chiefs was moft remarkable. Whether in 
 peace cr war t]\cy were'alvv'ays together ; tliey 
 had the fame defigns, the fame purmiis, and 
 were Avay'd by the fame fpirlt — Infomuch tiiat 
 none could be Pollux's friend wiihout being 
 beloved by Cailor ; none could be Caftor's 
 foe without being alfo the enemy of Pollux. 
 
 Tiiefe chiefs atchieved together many no- 
 ble adventures and were the companions of 
 Jafon, when he failed to fetch the golden 
 fleece from Colchis, at which time when the 
 Ihip Argo was in danger from a fconm, two 
 flrange fa"es wcr:- f^en h:;riT,Ierjly playing 
 round the heads of thefe youths, after which 
 a calm enfucd.— They took the city cf Athen , 
 and recovered their filler Helena, v.-ho h-.i 
 
( 43 ) 
 Been ftolen away by Thefeas, being at the 
 fame time To merclfal that they fparecl all the 
 citizens.— After this, iii a battle which they 
 fought with Lyncxus and Ida the fons of 
 Aphareus, near the mountain Taygctus, Caf- 
 tor (the mortal brother) was flain by Lyn- 
 CJEus, as LyncjEUS was by Pollux, who not 
 confbled by revenging lii3 brother's death 
 begged of Jupiter to make him immortal, 
 which rcquell not being granted, he intrcat- 
 ed that he might befcow half his own immor- 
 tality upon his brother, fo that they might 
 live- and die by turns, to v;li:ch Jupiter afTcnt- 
 ed ; but afterwards both were received into 
 heaven, ranked with the Gods and being 
 placed among the ftars, were known by the 
 name of Ge?nini, * 
 
 Thus far the fable, which has carried 
 friendfhip and brotherly love to the greateft 
 ! height pofiible— As to the truth of the fcory, 
 it may feem tliat thcfe brother chiefs were re- 
 markable for their agreement in every thing, 
 and by their union performed many great ex- 
 ploits — — A.t length, Cartor being killed, 
 
 and 
 
 * Or the Tv.in5. 
 
( 44 ) 
 and Pollux having flain Lyncasus, now finding 
 itimpoflible to live without his brother, fought 
 the firft occalion ot falling in battle, and thus 
 Ihared in his death to whom all his wifhes 
 could not reftore life once departed. 
 
 THIS is a fit Emblem of brotherly love, 
 and of the advantages arifing from fecial con- 
 nexions' — Man was by Nature framed for 
 fociety, and there can be no happinefs below 
 vvitliout its benefits— It is by this that we mu- 
 tually fupply each others wants, and enjoy 
 thofe bleflings of life, which without it we ne- 
 ver could purchafe. 
 
 Friendship is the deareft of all focial ties, 
 and adds the highell relifh to thefe bleffings. 
 There is not in the world fo unhappy a man 
 as he v/ho has not a friend, while he who is 
 poiTeffed of fuch a jewel as a true one, may 
 bear up under the fbrms of afflidlion, and 
 rife fuperior to the frowns of Fortune. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 »-...!:jy 
 
 
 EMBLEM Xn. 
 
 Of the Use ofTi.me. 
 
 ^T^R U E to the Sun the Dial fdll abides, 
 ■^ And points Time's courfe minutely as 
 
 it glides. 
 This bids us hailen to be wile and lliew. 
 How rapid in their courfe the minut»6 
 
 flow, 
 Seize on the winged hours v.ithout delay, 
 Nor trufl to-morrow while we live to day. 
 
 Time well employ'd is a moft certain gain, 
 Earnell: of pleafure, remedy for pain ; 
 The chief of blcfiings on its courfe attends, 
 Since on its ufe Eternity depends, 
 
 BEHOLD 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 BEHOLD how true the Dial is to tiie 
 Sun, and how exa<5lly it marks the hours 
 whofe courfe might othenvife pafs unnoticed 
 or unknown. 
 
 This ufeful invention we owe to the mathe- 
 maticians of ancient days, who thus furnifhed 
 men with the means of accurately diilinguifii- 
 ing the different parts of the da}% and divid- 
 ing them into equal portions, whereby la- - 
 hour and reft, fciidy and aniufement vvere 
 better regulated, and the vvaile of time {<:en. 
 in a momxCnt, without the trouble of tediou_' 
 calculations. 
 
 The Romans (mafters of the world) were 
 at one time fo ignorant of the ufe of DiaL- 
 that having taken one at the fiege of an erc- 
 my's city, the conful ordered it without any 
 alteration to be fixed up at Pvome ; but as it 
 was not calculated for the meridian of that 
 place, it went wrong, a thing which fur- 
 prized ever)^ body till at laft a mathematician 
 told them the reafon of it and remedied 
 the defeft. Dials,-and various other methods 
 
 cf 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 of marking the hour were ufeJ in Rome 
 ever afterwards. 
 
 NOTHING can be more ufeful to us 
 than that which points out the fwift fiigh.t 
 of time, and Jliews us how our days drav/ on 
 [to a conclufion, even while we are revelling in 
 Ithe fummer and the pride of life. 
 
 \ Ihe Dial is a kind of fdcnt monitor, - 
 wnijh, bv informing us how the hours fleet 
 away, feems to exhort us lo ir.akc a proper ufe 
 bf them, and not to wafte thofe precious mo- 
 Imcnts which an hour will come when we (hall 
 think of more worth than all the riches of the 
 earth, and u'hich then, all the riches of the 
 ear'Lh will not be-fuficient to purchaie for us. 
 
 Every good and v/ife mail will at certain 
 periods examine his own adions, and fee what 
 ufe he has made of pail time, and praife or 
 cenfure hinifelf accordingly. A celebrated 
 poet fays 
 
 *' EvV/GhoHcf my departed hours, 
 
 *' Oi- fmiles an Aiigel, or a Fury frowns." 
 
 Such 
 
( 4S ) 
 
 Such an examination will never fail to con- 
 vince us that we cannot be too careful how 
 we fpend the prefent tirae ; fince to employ- 
 that well will be the only means of our en- 
 joying that fatisfaclion here, which will be to 
 us a fort of earnelt of our future happinefs. 
 
 E M B L H :vr 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 E M B L E M Xm. 
 Of Human Grandeur. 
 
 BEHOLD how facred majefty is torn 
 V/ith racking pains, with care and an- 
 guifn worn, 
 "vVhile the poor fhepherd-boy the time beguiles 
 With rural fports and unaffedled fmiles, 
 
 'Tis not in grandeur, peace of mind to give, 
 .Nor live thofe happieft who in fplendor live. 
 Content alone thofe bleffings can beftow, 
 "Which teach the mind with heart-felt joy to 
 
 glow: 
 "Banifh wan care, and all herdifmal train, 
 And give true pleafure, unallay'd by pain. 
 
 HAP- 
 
( 50 ) 
 
 H A P P I N E S S is not to be bought with 
 gold, norfecLiredby the charms of grandeur. 
 Behold liere the Queen opprefled %vith grief 
 flies to folitude and melancholy Ihades, where 
 fhefits overwhelmed with forrow, and is almoU 
 perfuaded to put an end to her own exiftence. 
 —Her fbate divided by factions, and her pri- 
 vate peace of mind deilroyed by public cares 
 ilie remains a melancholy inllance of the trou- 
 bles that attend on greatnefs, and the facri- 
 fice thofe make who exchange their tranquility 
 for crowns and fceptres, and their peace for 
 the fplendor of dominion. 
 
 Not fo the Shepherd-Boy ; he, though poor, 
 is contented ; he rifes in health and he lies 
 down in happinefs.— The fun is" now fet; he 
 has folded his flock, and returns home whilt- , 
 ling over the plains ;— Majefty beholds his 
 ruftic gaiety, and fickens at the fight. She 
 cannot tafle thofe pleafures which dilate his 
 breaft, nor ihare in his ruftic joy. ---The e- 
 vent is, that fhe pines to death with forrow, he 
 lives happy in rural fimplicity, and in the en- 
 joyment 
 
( s> ) 
 
 joyment of his wiflies, becauie all his willies 
 are moderate. 
 
 FELICITY dwells not with princes ;- 
 {he is not the guefl of the great ones of the 
 €arth. It is long fince ihe fied from palaces, 
 and retired to the fcenes of fimple nature, to 
 dwell in rural quiet and become the com- 
 panion of the harmlefs village fwain. 
 
 Yet not there alone does fhe refide: Would 
 vou trace her dwelling, you muH follow the 
 footfteps of content, and the track will lead 
 you to her peaceful manfion. 
 
 But forget not that, as content is never to be 
 found except in the paths of virtue, if you 
 deviate from her ways you mull never expect 
 to find the road to happinefs ;— you will be- 
 come a wanderer, and the hope of your pil- 
 grimage will be loil. 
 
 For thcfe three are as infeparable as fire, 
 light, and heat ; v/here the one is, there you 
 will find the others, and the rewrtrd ihall be 
 fuch as will far tranfcend the pains you may 
 be at in acquiring fuch an inefiimable trea- 
 furei 
 
 D 2 IN 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 In the mean time, envy not the acqulli 
 tions of others ; for that is bafe and feliilli ~ 
 neither fay within yourfelf, *' Such an one is 
 happy, whilfl I am expofed to adverfity." 
 
 For you know not the fecrets of men's 
 hearts ; and it may be, that the perfon whom 
 3-0TI eileem happy is a prey to corroding grief, 
 and pines in fecret anxiet}\ At leaft, know 
 this : That the ftate of no hum.an being can be 
 determined till death clofes the fcene ;— and 
 the laft end of the good only can be happy. 
 Emulate their virtues, and, dotibtlefs, youlhaU 
 fliare in their felicity. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 5J )■ 
 
 i^" 
 
 
 E M B L E IVI 
 
 XR^ 
 
 Of W I s d o m» 
 
 BEHOLD with graceful mien the heavenly 
 maid, 
 Shines forth in ftrong and glitt'ring arms 
 
 array'd ! 
 The power of wlfdom in her looks flie fhews. 
 And ftands the terror of an Hoft of Foes. 
 
 Let Pallas' arts your cv'iy adion guide, 
 And more in wifdom than in ftrength confide. 
 If you with virtue and with pioidence arm. 
 No fraud can reach you, and no ibength can 
 
 harm : 
 Safe in your felf, your foes you may defy. 
 And vice and folly from your face fliall fly. 
 
 D 3 
 
 PALLAS 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 PALLAS, or Mi N E R V A was faid to be 
 the daughter of Jupiter ; fhe fprang out of 
 his head in a full aflembly of the Gods. She 
 fcon gave evident tokens of her divine de- 
 fcent, by her wifdom, the efrecls of which 
 were feen both in heaven and eartfi. She 
 afiifled her father Jupiter in his war vvitli the 
 giant Titan. — When fhe had a difpate with 
 Neptune, God of the fca, which of them 
 iliould give a city a name, it being agreed 
 that the power who produced the moft bene- 
 licial thing fhould have that right. Neptune 
 prefented them with a horfe. an emblem of 
 ttrength and courage, but Pallas gave them 
 an olive, an emblem of peace and plenty, on 
 which the difpute was determined in her fa- 
 vour, and fhe called the city Athens. 
 
 Thus far the fable, the moral of which is 
 plain ; wifdom fprang firfl from the fupreme 
 Being, and by that wifdom he overcomes 
 evil. — By wifdom, peace and plenty flourifh 
 in cities and civil focieties, and by its means 
 
 private 
 
( ;; ) 
 
 private men may be en;ibled to enjoy domcf- 
 tic happinels. 
 
 W H E N the Almighty gave King Solo- 
 mon his choice of blefLngs, he afkeJ fW 
 Wifdom, and length of days, riches and ho- 
 nour were added to them, becaufe God \va? 
 pleafed with his requefc, as he had aiked only 
 that which was fit and neceffary. 
 
 The man who is armed with true wifdom 
 has little to fear from the affauks of his ene- 
 mies ; becaufe he finds his refource in himjelf'j 
 while he that depends only on the help of 
 ethers is often deferted at his need, and finds 
 his miftake when it is too late to redify it. 
 
 Wifdom is the companion of virtue, as 
 folly is the filler of vice, and it is impoHible 
 for a wicked man to be truly wife j for if he 
 were fo he would fee the foolilhnefs of his evil 
 ways and turn from them.— V/ifdom is a fafe- 
 guard and a tower of defence and he that 
 trufts to her will ne^er have reafon to repent 
 his confidence. 
 
 D 4 Be 
 
( 56 > 
 
 Be Virtuous, be Wife, and be Happy; for 
 in the true fenfe of the words they are the 
 fame thing, and from virtue and prudence all 
 the good we can hope for in this world is de- 
 rived, without them we muH expe^ nothing 
 but mifery and anxiet)'. 
 
 MBLEM 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 EMBLEM XV. 
 Of Instability. 
 
 THIS is the fyren, whofe enchanting 
 fong 
 Draws the unthinking multitude along. 
 That feeds with faithlefs Hopes and luring 
 
 bait 
 The poor deluded wretch (he means to cheat ! 
 Men call her falfe, inconflant, cruel, vain. 
 Yet feek her favours with unweary'd pain. 
 Th' unhappy bear her frowns, ftill led away 
 With expectation of a better day, 
 Th' ambitious court her fmiles ; but ilill the 
 
 wife 
 Do her and all her gilded pomp defpifj. 
 
 Her fairy kingdom, her fantailic good 
 Avoid, and be more certain hopes purfu'd ; 
 TruH not to fickle Fortune's partial pow'r, 
 But, timely wile, employ tlie prefent hour.- — 
 D 5' ^ FOR 
 
( ;8 ) 
 
 FORT UN E w^s among the ancient 
 heathens of all powers reprefented as the moll 
 partial. — The old Romans worfhipped her 
 as a Deity ; but at the fame time it is to 
 be obferved, that they reprefented her as blind 
 and Handing on a wheel. Her blindnefs re- 
 prefents her undifcerning partiality, and the 
 wheel her ficklenefs ; juft emblems of her 
 conduft in the diflribution of thofe favours 
 which the wife will always learn to contemn. 
 
 That the heathen world, who made deities 
 almoft of every thing, Ihould afcribe divine 
 honours to Fortune is not at all wonderful 
 
 but in this more enlightened age, 
 
 it is moft ridiculous to make a goddefs 
 of her ; and yet what lefs do they do who 
 leave all to her power, and let the feafons 
 pafs away, day and night fucceed to each o- 
 ther without ever thinking how properly to 
 employ them, trufting all to Fortune and t^ 
 chance, and forgetting that fuccefs attends oa 
 honell induftry, and that poverty is the infe- 
 parable companion of idlenefs. 
 
 THERE- 
 
( J9 ) 
 
 THERE is not ajuftermaxim than '' That 
 Fortune is the Deity of Fools ;" they only 
 worihip her, they only leave every thino- iu 
 her power, while the wife and good man trulb 
 nothing to her but v/hat he cannot help, 
 bears her imiles with equanimity, and hc^ 
 frowns with fortitude. 
 
 Fools, en the other hand, not only worfhip, 
 but in fome fenfe /naks Fortune, according to 
 the old adage ; that is, they truft all to chance 
 and then complain of thofe evils whereof 
 themfelves are authors. 
 
 Thofe who would be candidates for fuccefs 
 in life fhould never rely on fo fickle a patro- 
 nefs ; in fhort, they fhould confider that there 
 is no fuch thing as chance, but that every 
 
 thing 
 
( 6o ) -^ 
 
 thing depends on their own indullry, accom- 
 panied by the blefling of Providence which 
 generally attends the wife and virtuous, and 
 is far more proper to truft to than fuch a 
 fickle friend as Fortune, who 
 
 *' Undifcerning, fcatters crowns and 
 chains.** 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 6i ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 X^'I. 
 
 Of I m p r V e m e X t. 
 
 LO the induflnous Bee employs tlie hours. 
 In Tipping fragrance from the various 
 fiow'rs : 
 No plant, no herb, that Nature's hand pre^ 
 
 pares. 
 But yields her Honey to reward her cares. 
 
 Learn by the Bee from eack event to find 
 Some hint of ufe or profit to your mind: 
 Nothing fo fmall bin you may draw from 
 
 thence 
 Improvement for your virtue or your fenfe. 
 Honey like this, life's evils will alTuage, 
 And yield you fweets in your declining age. 
 
 THE 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 THE Bee is a noble pattern of induilry 
 and prudence. She fettles upon every plant 
 and flower, and makes the moll: infignificant, 
 nay even the moil hurtful of them ufeful to 
 her purpofe.— Thus flie toils all tlie fummer, 
 while the days are fair, in order to get a itock 
 which (he lays by to fer\-e for winter, when 
 the herbs and flowers are dead, the trees de- 
 prived of their leaves, and the weather bad 
 and unfavourable. 
 
 Then the Bees retire to tJieir hive, which 
 is formed like a little Hate and governe-d by a 
 queen, who difpenfes juilice to her fubjedls. 
 It is faid that they bury their dead, punifli 
 criminals and drive the idle (which are called 
 drones) from their iiives.— They keep a regu- 
 lar order whether in war or peace, and as foon 
 as tlieir Queen dies, appoint another to fac- 
 ceed her and rule their little {late, which may 
 ferve as a pattern for a well-ordered commu- 
 nit/. 
 
 THE 
 
( 63 } 
 
 THE Bee is one of the aptefl emblems 
 of induftr)' and the art of extrafting good out 
 of evil, that can be found in Nature. It is 
 endued with an Inftind that Reafon itfcif 
 needs not be afhamed to copy, and its perfe- 
 verance is an admirable example for tke wifelt 
 of us to follow. 
 
 As the Bee in the fummer provides for itfelf 
 that which may ferve for its fupport in winter ; 
 fo ihould we in the fammer of our days take 
 care to lay in a llore of prof-table virtues and 
 good qualities, which m.ay render us jullly 
 admired in age, and enable us to fet a good 
 example to poilerity. 
 
 Like that indullrious InfeiSt likewife, we 
 fliould learn to make every occurrence of life 
 
 ftr- 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 ferviceable to us ; for nothing is Co rinall cr 
 
 minute but it may be made of ufe, nothing 
 fo bad in nature, but that we may draw from 
 it fome profit or iaftruflion, and thus by chuf- 
 rng the good, and avoiding the evil, may 
 purchafe to ourfelves peace here, and the hopes 
 of a brighter reward hereafter. 
 
 EMBLEM' 
 
(. ^5 ) 
 
 EMBLEM X^^IL 
 Of Deceit. 
 
 'ITT'OULD'ST thou, unthinking, to the 
 
 ^ ' Beaft draw near, 
 
 Caught by his plaintive cry and fraudful tear. 
 Ah ! fly in time the dreadful ftroke of fate 
 Nor Hay to feel it, and be wife too late. 
 
 Deceitful men and all their ma/.es Ihun, 
 Nor by difTembled forrows be undone. 
 If much they feem their adions to deplore. 
 Forgive their crimes, but trufl their words no 
 more. 
 
 THE 
 
{ 66 ) 
 
 THE Crocodile is reported to weep over 
 its prey, and to fend forth a piteous and dif- 
 trefsful cry, in order to allure men or beails 
 to its haunts, that it may feize and devour 
 them. This flory is varioufly told. Some fay 
 that it devours whatever it catches, all to the 
 head, and then only weeps that no more is 
 left to fatisfy it* rapacious appetite* It is 
 moll likely,, on comparing the different ac- 
 counts, that this animal makes fuch a noife as 
 other creatures take for a complaint, though 
 probably it is only a found as common for it 
 to fend forth over its prey as the growling of 
 a cat over a moufe. However that be, Cro- 
 codile's Tears are become a Proverb, and a 
 moral of found prudence may be drawn from 
 the Emblem^ 
 
 AS 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 AS it is a man*sgi-eateft praife ** To be wijc 
 as a Serpent, and innocent as a Dove," Co 
 he who fufFers himklf to fall into the fnares 
 of defigning men v/ill quickly put it out of 
 his own power to be of femce to the good 
 and virtuous. 
 
 No principle is more noble than that of 
 forgiving injuries, and nothing fo wicked or 
 unprofitable as a rancorous revenge. Hea- 
 ven itfelf commands us to forgive our enemies : 
 but it is the height of folly for us to truil 
 thofe who have injured us. 
 
 There are a fet of people, w^ho, like the 
 Crocodile in the Emblem, will even feem to 
 lament over their former injuries in order to 
 have it in their power to do you frefh ones.. 
 Of fuch perfons beware. 'Do them no harm 
 
 but 
 
( 6S } 
 
 but take care not to put it into their power 
 
 to do you any. 
 
 If you would pafs through life with any 
 degree of fatisfadlion, it is neceflary that you 
 bej<jpri^and/;-«</f?//. Wifdom is the fiAer of 
 virtue ; join them both in your conduct, 
 and if it fhould happen that you do not enjoy 
 all the felicity you might expefl, you will at 
 leall have the comfort to defer --vs iu 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( ^9 ) 
 
 E M B L E M XVIir. 
 Of inordinate Desire. 
 
 THE bufy infe6\ hov'ring round the 
 light 
 Pleas'd with the taper's beams which gild the 
 
 night. 
 Still round and round in giddy circles fiies. 
 Till caught within the fcorching blaze it dies. 
 Ah ! filly thing the fource of all thy joy, 
 A beauteous mifchief, fhines but to deflroy, 
 Ev'n fo the youth who burns witli wild de- 
 
 fires, 
 Oft falls the victim of unh-allow'd fires. 
 
 Avoid the glitt'ring evil, fhun the fnare 
 Which Sin and Guile for artlefs youth 
 
 prepare : 
 Left with the Moth one common fate you 
 
 prove, 
 And perifh bv th' exceffes which vou love. 
 
 THE 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 THE Moth allured by the brightnefs 
 of the x:andle, plays round the flame, till at 
 laft it is confumed by its heat. A fit em- 
 blem this, of thofe unwary ones who play 
 roimd the verge of evil, till at length they 
 precipitate themfelves into infamy and 
 ruin.— 
 
 The fly, and many other winged infeds 
 have the fame propenfity to hovering round 
 any luminous body, and frequently die by 
 the heat, which is infeparable from that 
 brightnefs they fo much defire ; but none of 
 them all fo frequently find their fate in the 
 biaze as the Moth, which is almofl as fure to 
 perifh by the Candle as to perceive its light. --- 
 The Moth feeds chicHy upon cloth and wool- 
 len Huffs, and Is an animal of fo delicate a 
 texture that a flight touch crulhes it to pieces ; 
 it is therefore the lail creature in the world to 
 fuftain the attacks of fo terrible an enemy as 
 iire -, yet this enemy, in the refemblance of a 
 iriend, courts it to draw near, and afterwards 
 works its inevitable deftrudion, 
 
 WHAT 
 
( -> ) 
 
 WHAT an unhappy flate is theirs who will 
 not take warning by the end of others, nor 
 avoid the mifchiefs which have proved fatal to 
 many. 
 
 What numbers have experienced the fame 
 fate with the infecl in the emblem ! and 
 yet what numbers are daily running on, in 
 the fame manner to their ruin, fporting with 
 Tice and folly, and, as it were, making danger 
 their playfellow ;— all thefe cannot, or they 
 will not fee. That the end of thefe things is 
 Math : they will go on from one flep to ano- 
 ther, till at lail it is too late to recede ; then 
 they muft fmk at once in the gulph of mife- 
 ry, and only leave freih examples behind 
 *hem of what was already well enough known, 
 bat always too little regarded. 
 
 Shtm therefore all temptations if you are 
 wife, and be not deceived by appearances 
 Vice, folly, and danger, lurk often under the 
 mofl inviting forms ; but try the tree ; not 
 by Its appearance but by its fruit you fhall 
 know it. 
 
 " Sweetell 
 
^?'-'( 72 ) 
 
 '* Sweetell leaves the rofe adorn, 
 ^' Yet beneath them lurks the thorn ; 
 *' Fair and flow'ry is the brake ; 
 ** Yet it hides the fpeckled fnake/* 
 
 Confider and beware ; for he who would 
 ,avoid forrow, muft be wary in his Heps, and 
 .he who would fnun misfortune muft be care- 
 fui to take wifdom for his companion- 
 
 •EMBLEM 
 
( 73 ) - 
 
 E U B L E M XIX. 
 Of T e m p e r, a n c e. 
 
 W^H I L E drown'd in luxury von' feital 
 train, ^ 
 Court this frail world's felicity in -vain : 
 Behold the Cynic from his tub derides 
 Their idle mirih, and laughing ihakes his 
 
 fides ! 
 He who the world's great mafter* could 
 
 contemn. 
 Might iit, at eafe and laugh at vice and them 
 Few were his wants, and therefore few hi 
 
 us 
 
 woes 
 
 Ke who has nought to lofe no terrors knows ; 
 Not riches but contentmejit muil: procure 
 Our peace below, and make our blifs fecure. 
 
 Learn nought to covet : prize what is youi* 
 own. 
 And you're more bleft than he who £lls a 
 throne. 
 
 E DIO- 
 
 * Alexander t'le Great. 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 DIOGENES was a Grecian Phllofo- 
 pher who much admired poverty, and placed 
 his chief happinefs in content. His method 
 of living, however, was extraordinary, for, in- 
 liead of a houfe, he dwelt under the covert of a 
 tub, from whence e laughed at the luxuries 
 of the Great, and even went fo far as to fpeak 
 againil the ufe of v/hat are generally deemed: 
 the neceflaries of life, almoil: all of which he 
 contrived to fubfill without ; infomuch that 
 one day, feeing a boy drink out of the hollow 
 of his hand, he broke his pitcher, faying 
 that nothing was neceffary to him which it 
 was pofiible for any one to do without, 
 
 When Alexander for his conquefLS, fur- 
 named the Great, the fon of Philip, King of 
 Macedon once made him a vilit, and afeed 
 him, v/hat he ihould do for him ? " Nothing 
 (replied the Cynic) but Hand out of my fun-, 
 Ihine, and do not deprive me of that vvhichi 
 thou can'ft not give me."— -In fo little eftima- 
 tion did he hold princes or their favours. 
 To fay the truth his chief aim being content, 
 and his ccndud being founded on the maxim, 
 
 " That! 
 
( 75 ) 
 ^' That he who has leail wants is the happieU: 
 man/' if his wants were really as few as the 
 fupplies he afforded them, he might not un- 
 reaibnably be fuppofed to be as happy as any 
 one. 
 
 He was a great declaimer againft vice in 
 general, and againft luxury in particular : 
 and his raillery and that of his fedt was fo 
 fharp that their countrymen called them 
 Cy.mcs, that is, Snarlers, and this is the 
 appellation by which they are known where- 
 "ver their names are m.entioned in hiftory. 
 
 THERE can be no doubt but that the 
 happinefs of every man muft in a great mea- 
 fure depend on the difpofition of his mind ; 
 fife fnould we not every day fee fome people 
 happy with every thing that, to all outward 
 appearance, could contribute to their felicity, 
 whilft others, fcarcely poffefied of neceffaries, 
 feem merry and happy. 
 
 This v/as in fome degree the cafe of that 
 
 philofopher who, paffing through a public 
 
 E 2 fair. 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 fair, exclaimed " How many things are here 
 which I do not want ?" 
 
 In fhort as a late celebrated poet obferves 
 He laugh'd at all the vulgar's cares and 
 
 fears, 
 At tlieir vain triumphs, and their vainer 
 
 fears : 
 An equal temper in his mind he found, 
 When fortune flatter'd him, or when Ihe 
 frown'd. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XX. 
 
 o 
 
 FALSE Friendship. 
 
 ^T^HE Stag once wounded, 'tis in vain 
 
 1. he flies. 
 
 In vain to mingle v/ith the herd he tries ; 
 The herd avoid him, as mark'd out for death. 
 Till in defpair he drav/s his lateft breath. 
 His wayward fate all friendly aid denies : 
 Deferted at his utmoU need, he dies. 
 
 So thofe falfe friends v/hcm v/orldly int'reils 
 fway 
 When mifchiefs threaten will fly far away. 
 Balk in thy funfhine ; but in evil times 
 And louring days, feek out for warmer climes. 
 Chufe then with caution, if thou wouldH fuc- 
 
 ceed ; 
 A friend in poverty's a friend indeed. 
 
 E 3 IT 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 t T has often been remarked of the Hag 
 that, being wounded by the hunters, he at- 
 tempts to take ihelter among the firfl: herd of 
 deer that he efpie^, while thefc, on their part, 
 as induftrioufly avoid him, and to keep off 
 danger from themfelves, like falfe friends, 
 defert him, and abandon him to his fate, 
 which after many endeavours to efcape, he ge- 
 nerally m.eets with a courage infpired by de- 
 fpair, and dies lighting with his enemies. — 
 'I'jic dcferdon of his fpecies is beautifully 
 piftured by Shakefpear in his play called As 
 you Like it, in the following lines : 
 
 ■ -*' A poor fequefier'd Stag 
 
 " That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a 
 
 hurt, 
 " Did come to languifh there ; 
 " The wretched animal heav'd forth fuch 
 
 groans 
 *' That their difcharge did flretcii his 
 
 leathern coat, 
 *' Almoft to burfting, and the big round 
 
 tears 
 <' Cours'd one another down his innocent 
 nofe 
 
 " In 
 
( 79 ) 
 
 ** In piteous chace ; Anon a carclefs 
 
 held 
 " Full of the pafture jumped along by 
 
 him, 
 " And never ftay'd to greet him— -Aye ! 
 
 quolh Jacques, 
 *' Sweep ou, you fat and greafy citizens 
 *' Tisjiift thefaihion"— 
 
 This creature if he efcapes the hunters ge- 
 nerally lives to a great age— Some authors iay 
 he attains to 300 year?, but this fcems to be 
 a fable : However, that he is a very long- 
 lived animal is clear from many circumllances 
 inconteflably authenticated : 'Nature has en- 
 d'-ied iiim with a rc?markable fviftncfs of foot, 
 and the branches which vegetate from his head 
 are equally ufefai and ornamental. 
 
 T II E Pv E cannot be a fitter emblem of 
 falfe friendlhip than that which is here exhi- 
 bited—The Stag is wounded ; He flies from 
 his purfuers, who have marked liim out for 
 death, hefeeks, by mingling with the crowd, 
 to efcape tlieir notice. Where ihould he liope 
 for fhelter but among his own kind,— perhaps 
 E 4 the 
 
( So ) 
 the very herd of which he was once the leader : 
 He throws himfelf therefore upon their pro- 
 tedion : How vain are his defigns ! — They 
 are rcfolvcd not to fharc in his misfortunes. 
 They fiy, and teach him too late how little 
 he has to hope from their kindnefs — He falls 
 — and the confequence is that among all thefe, 
 every one in his turn experiences the fame 
 treatment from his fellow. 
 
 Jufl fo it fares with thofe friendihips wliich 
 are founded only upon intereil, which ha\'e 
 neither piety, virtue, nor mutual benevolence 
 for their bafis— In profperity, thefe m.en will 
 be ever ready at your command, either be- 
 caufe you do not want them, or becaufe they 
 know you will overpay their fervices. 
 Change the fcene to adverfity, and they 
 change with it— -They defert you— you will 
 ^nd no Ihelter with them, but, like the deer in 
 the fable, each will Ihift for himfelf and leaA'e 
 you to your fate. 
 
 Be careful then how you chufe a friend, 
 which is the greatell: of all earthly acquifitions ; 
 and above all things remember, that can 
 be no real friendfliip • which is founded 
 merely upon intereft. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 8i ) 
 
 E U B L E IVI XXI. 
 Of Education. 
 
 SE E in what evil plight yon' Vine ap- 
 pears, 
 Nor fpreading leaves, nor purple clufiers 
 
 bears ; 
 £ut if around the elm her arms fhe throw. 
 Or by fome friendly prop fupported grows. 
 Soon fhall the ftem be clad with foliage green. 
 And clufier'd grapes beneath the leaves be 
 
 feen. 
 
 Thus prudent care mufi rear the youthful 
 mind 
 By love fupported, and with toil refin'd : 
 'Tis thus alone the human plant can rife, 
 Unpropp'd, it droops, and unfupported, dies. 
 
 E c THE 
 
THE Vine never fiouriflies without a 
 prop or fupport. Like the fruit it bears, it is 
 of a focial nature, and rewards the friendly 
 fhade which fupports it with its purple trea- 
 fures. But if it is fuffered to creep along 
 without a prop, it will moll certainly difap- 
 point the hopes ot the planter, and prove 
 barren and ufelefs. 
 
 T H I S is a fit Emblem of Youth, which 
 if left to itfelf will never grow up in wifdom 
 
 or in virtue. To education alone muil 
 
 children be indebted for their morals, and 
 the care of the parents is always xdfible in the 
 conduct of their offspring. 
 
 When a youth has received a virtuous and 
 liberal education, no gratitude can be fuffi- 
 cient to difcharo-e the debt he owes to his- 
 parents ; £nce he is not only obliged to them: 
 for his Being, but alfo for all his hopes of 
 peace here, and of eternal happinefs hereafter. 
 
 Oh the other hand, he who has been neg^ 
 le^Tted in his youth has a heavy accufaticn to. 
 
 bring 
 
( 83 ) 
 
 b:lng againll: tliofe who reared him, vyhen 
 he comes to years of maturity ! Evil inclina- 
 tions, if not checked, will grow amazingly up- 
 on us, while good ones, if they be not pro- 
 perly encouraged, will fade and die away ; 
 and that wHl be too late deplored in age 
 which might have been rem.edied in our ear- 
 lier years. 
 
 How careful then ought parents and guar- 
 dians to be of their charge, of vv^hich they 
 mull one day render up an account, where no 
 idle excufes will be admitted, no evafion, nor 
 equivocation can avail them ! 
 
 If it be then found that they have been 
 carelefs in this great work, hov/ poignant 
 will be their fliame, and how fevere their 
 punifhment ! 
 
 But if they have faithfully difcharged thi^ 
 truft committed to them by Heaven itfelf, ho \v 
 great will be their honour, how glorious the 
 crown of their reward I 
 
 The education of chilc' ren is indeed a mat- 
 ter of fach confequence that it concerns no^ 
 only private perfons but the public in general 
 
 and 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 and that nation will always be the mofl vir- 
 tuous, and the moH refpedlable, whofe youth 
 are educated with the greateil care, and ara 
 earlieft inftrudled in the duties of men and 
 of chrillians. 
 
 Thefe, like the generous Vine, will fully 
 repay the pious care of the planter, and, while 
 they are known by their fruit, will refleft ho > 
 nour upon the hands that reared them. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 85 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Of resisting the Evil Principle. 
 
 BY great Apollo's arms the Python flain. 
 Lies llretch'd o'er many an acre on tk^^ 
 plain ; 
 The world rejoices from the monilicr freed. 
 The Godhead triumphs in the glorious deed,. 
 For feats like thefe, heroic chiefs of old. 
 In Fame's bright temple highell honour hold. 
 
 With valiant heart proceed in virtue's ways. 
 And gain the tribute of immortal praife ; 
 The monller Vice with all your'pow'rs engage. 
 And rife the Phabus of another age. 
 
 THE 
 
( ^0 ) 
 
 THE Serpent Python was a moniler, 
 which according to the fabulous account 
 fprung from the mud and ftagnated waters 
 that the general deluge left behind it. 
 
 This moniler, the God Apollo, (who is alfo 
 called Phoebus, engaged) and deftroyed it with 
 his unering arrows ! for which fervice divine 
 honours were paid him, and the Pythian 
 games eltabliilied. He had a celebrated tem- 
 ple at Delphos, where oracles were delivered 
 in his name by a prieilefs called Pythia, and 
 was next to Jupiter the moil eHeemed of all 
 the heathen Gods. 
 
 The fable fio^niiies that the delugre left be- 
 
 o o 
 
 hind it certain flagnant waters, and thefe pro- 
 duced pellilential vapours, which, however? 
 at length the beams of Apollo, Phoebus, or 
 the Sun, exhaled, and deftroyed their noxious 
 quality. 
 
 The 
 
( 8/ ) 
 
 The moral is, that vice and opprefllon oughi 
 to be courageouily refilled, and that thofe 
 who do eood to their fellow creatures deferve 
 to receive public honours at their hands. 
 
 IF we mean to atchieve praile-wcrthy 
 anions, we muft net be daunted at difficulties, 
 nor terrified-by oppofition We m.uft refolve 
 to vanquifli thefe obilacles which may arife, 
 and this refolution will he half the victory. 
 
 Wemuil moreover be ever ready prepared, 
 at every occafion to refill the Evil Principle, 
 which like the Python, in the Emblem, lays all 
 waile before liim. Clad in the armour of 
 virtue, v/e muft advance boldly to the com- 
 bat ; we muft conquer all bad inclinations* 
 and with the aftiftance of the Divine Grace, 
 make war upon the depravity and wickednefs 
 of our own nature. This is the conqueft we 
 
 Ihall 
 
( 88 ) 
 fTiall find hardeft to gain, but when obtained 
 
 it will fully recompence our toils ; fince he 
 
 that has his paffions at command is greater 
 
 than he who rules a kingdom, and the man 
 
 that vanquiihes himfelf is greater than he who- 
 
 triumphs over an enemy. 
 
 EMBLExM 
 
Sg 
 
 E M B L E .M XXIII, 
 
 Op Fortitude. 
 
 SAFE in its ftrength, the Rock's broad 
 bafe derides. 
 The roaring tempeils and tJie raging tides, 
 Unmov'd tho' Boreas blufter from on high. 
 Or Ocean lift his billows to the Iky : 
 Its fix'd foundations which by Heav'n were 
 
 call 
 \\TienTime began, withTime itfelffhall lall. 
 
 Be ftrorg, be (ledfall:, in fair virtue's 
 caiiie, 
 Nor fear reproof, nor covet vain applaufe; 
 Heed not of evil tongues the envious ftrife. 
 Nor the loud ftomis that rage through human 
 
 life: 
 On truth's firm bafis let your hopes remain. 
 And feas may rage, and tempefis roar in /-ain. 
 
 A ROCK 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 A R O C K in the midH of a troubled 
 ocean, attacked by tempers, and beaten by 
 the boiling Airges, is a juil: refcmblance of a 
 virtuous man bearing up uuder the florms of 
 afRiftion, and refilling every temptation to 
 abandon his innocence. This is he who has 
 built his houfe on a Rock : the rains and 
 the winds may come, and beat upon it, but 
 in vain ; becaufe its foundation h fledfail: 
 and cannot be removed. But he vvhofe con- 
 ftancy is not proof againil the ftorms of ad- 
 vernty is indeed like one who has founded his 
 houfe on the fand, which the firft tempell: 
 will be likely to overthrow, and to fvveep away 
 Its remembrance from under heaven. —To fuch 
 a man what avails it that he has been account- 
 ed virtuous, if he falls off in the day of trial, 
 if at length, when he is weighed in the bal- 
 lance he is found wanting?— His good deeds 
 will be forgotten, but his offence, will be 
 had in perpetual remembrance. 
 
 ADVERSITY is the tellof confaincy, it is 
 the fiery trial wliich when the virtuous have 
 
 gone 
 
1( 9' ) 
 »nne through, they are found as pure gold, 
 neither diminiihcd in weight nor value- 
 It is an eafy thing for a man to pofTefs him- 
 felf in the fummer and funiliine of life; it is 
 safy for liim to boall that virtue which never 
 et v/as tried, and to boail: of that fortitude 
 which he has never yet had occafion to exert ; 
 but true magnaninuty and greatnefs of- foul 
 are found in fuppcrting evils with refignation, 
 and refifting tenr.ptaticns with refoluticn. 
 
 It is by the tefc of misfortune that the grea^- 
 «ft and bell of men have been proved ; it is to 
 their noble behaviour under it that they owe 
 (the titles of Good and Great.— The faints 
 tnd. mart^Ts among the primitive chrillians, 
 and Socrates, among the heathens, dying 
 fearlefs and undaunted for the teftimony of 
 truth, are charaflers which will ever be jullly 
 admired in this world as doubtlefs they were 
 rev/arded in a better Hate. 
 
 Learn then to copy fuch great examples, 
 and hold fail the truth even to death -, this is 
 
 to 
 
( 9^ ) 
 to lay your foundation on a Rock, which de- 
 
 £es the tempefl and Hands fecure amidll the 
 roaring waves of the ocean, which endeavour 
 in vain to Ihake it, becaufe its baiis is frc^^- 
 h^ and immQveabk* 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 : E :^.i B L E M 
 
 XXR^ 
 
 Of the U 
 
 Self-Dexial. 
 
 T T 7 1 T H haily ileps, at the firll dawn of 
 
 "The chearful traveller purfues his way ; 
 But tired at noon he feeks a fliady grove. 
 Of lofty trees, whofe branches meet above : 
 Conceal'd beneath the grafs the Serpent lies. 
 The fvvain draws near and by his venom dies. 
 
 Thus he who, leaving virtue's facred ways. 
 Securely through the paths of plcafure flrays, 
 Wounded by vice, his peace and honour loll, 
 'Buys late experience at too dear a coil : 
 To him who perfe^ceres alone are giv'n, 
 Fair fame on earth and endlcfs blifs in Heav'n. 
 
 A SER-- 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 A SEP. PENT concealed in the gi-af 
 is an apt emblem of fraud and vice, conceal 
 ed under fpecious appearances.— The Travel 
 ler goes on his road with chearfulnefs, during 
 the morning hours : lie doubts not but he Ihali 
 foon get to his journey's end, andexpecis no) 
 to meet with the leaft obRacle in his way. 
 
 But when he feels the heat increaiing, his 
 vi<your becins to relax. V/Ken the hours oi 
 noon arrive, he is abfolutely weak and faint 
 He beholds a wood fpread its inviting f : - ' ; 
 he coniiders not that to enter it, is to deviiite 
 from his road ; he thiaks nor what danger he 
 may encounter there. All his attention is 
 taken up in relieving himfelf from a prefent 
 inconvenience. 
 
 He enters the grove, he lofes himfelf 
 among its cool and agreeable windings. 
 When he would return, he finds himfelf per- 
 plexed as in a m.aze, and before he can regain 
 the road is bitten by a venemous reptile which 
 was concealed from his fight among the grafs. 
 —He now wiflies he had borne the heat of 
 
 the 
 
( 9J ) 
 
 tlie day : His blood is confumed with fires far 
 more intolerable, rle falters, he fmks under 
 his pains, and falls a viclim to his own im- 
 prudence. 
 
 VIRTUE is never fafe but when fat is 
 fecured by the guard of prudence : Difcretion 
 is her handmaid and Wifdom her counfeilor 
 ?.nd inrtru(rLor. 
 
 Caution is a necefTary lefT^n to be learned 
 by youth, and perfeverance one of the bell 
 qualities they can be endowed with. 
 
 When Fortune fmiles upon us, it is eafy to 
 go on in the praftice of virtue ; and a man 
 may eafily obtain the reputadon of being good 
 when he is fo circumftanced that he mull be- 
 come a moniler of vice to be -Lxsicked, 
 
 But this is counting his advantage before 
 the field is v/on. Let him be fubjed to the 
 rough florms of adverfity. Let him bear the 
 heat and burden of the dav. 
 
 TOil 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 Will he not then turn afide to the paths of 
 pleafure, and feek for relief in the bowers of 
 (diffipation ? 
 
 It is thus that many are loft who have be- 
 gun a good work, but have not had courage 
 and iefolution to go through with it. They 
 have turned afide from virtue -, all their good 
 works are forgotten, they have loft their re- 
 ward, and their memory is a bye-word to 
 poilerity. 
 
 But you v/ho would attain to the end of 
 your labours, follow not after their example. 
 Be you virtuous, and to your ^virtue join pru- 
 dence^ be prudent alfo, and to your pi'udence 
 ySixv pgrje-jerance \ fo ihall you not, fall into 
 the fnares of pleafure ; nor feel the envenom- 
 ed ftings of guilt and of remorfe, whofe bill 
 is fliarper than that of the ferpent, and whofe 
 poifon is more deadly than that of the veno- 
 mous adder. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 97 ) 
 
 E M B L E i\I XXV. 
 Of the Danger of Temptatiox. 
 
 TH E filly Fifh, while playing in the 
 brock, 
 Hath gcrg'd and fwallow'd the de(lru6live 
 
 hook ; 
 In vain he flounces on the quiv'ring hair, 
 Drawn panting forth to breathe the upper 
 
 air. 
 Caught bv his folly — in the glitt'ring bait. 
 He meets his ruin, and fubmits to fate. 
 
 Avoid bafe bribes ; the tempting lure dif- 
 play'd, 
 If once you feize you perifh felf-betray'd. 
 Be flow to take, when llrangers hafte to give. 
 Left of your ruin you the price receive. 
 
 THE 
 
( 9^ ) 
 
 THE fimple Filli fports on die furface of 
 the clear ftreams, while the wily Angler plies 
 his rod and line ;— often the timid animal ap- 
 proaches the bait, and as often he retires from it, 
 till at lalt, juil as the fun fhrouds his radiance 
 behind a cloud, he ventures to jump at the 
 ■fidlitious fly, fwallows it at once and with it 
 fvvallows the bearded hook. That moment 
 feals his ruin ; fmai^ting from the wound, he 
 llruggles, and endeavour:: to free himfeU", but 
 in vain. The Angler, giving full play to the 
 line, permits him to run away with it. But 
 this ftruggle only tends to make his ruin more 
 certain. He is fcon tired out, and then be- 
 ing lifted out of the water proves an eafy prey 
 to his foe. He pants, he expires in agonies, 
 yet owes his defcruclion to a llender hair : fo 
 often do feemine triiles tend to ruin and per- 
 dition. 
 
 W HAT a ft Emblem is this of thofe 
 
 heeJlefs perfons who fuffer thenifelves to be 
 
 i'luded by glittering temptations, or drawn 
 
 into 
 
( 99 5 
 
 into Hiares by the artinces of the vicious and 
 
 xiefienine. 
 
 C3 
 
 If for a while, like the Hfh, they play about 
 the hook, yet in fome unguarded moment, 
 when tJie light of their reafon is obfcured, they 
 fcize the fpecious bait, and then they find all 
 their flruggles ineffectual. He who has had 
 the art to catch, has generally the judgement 
 to fecure his prey. Such an one will but 
 fmile at their vain attempts to recover their 
 liberty, while he is fenfible thefe only fer\'e 
 ftjU farther to enthral them. The dye is call, 
 and they become the viclims of their own im- 
 prudence. 
 
 The offers of fome men are dangerous : be 
 not therefore led away by fpecious appearances : 
 think before you a£c, and let the chara<5ler of 
 the giver and the conditions he is likely to ex- 
 ad be well confidered before you receive the 
 gift. If it be the price of vice cr folly, fliun 
 it, as you hope for peace and honeH fame : 
 Each temptation you have avoided, will by re- 
 flexion ftrengthen you againil the next : 
 F 2 cuftom 
 
( lOO ) 
 
 cuftom will make the moft dhlicult felf-denials 
 eafy, and by one victory you will be enabled 
 to gain another. You will be thus delivered 
 from the fnares of vice, and felly (hall not 
 triumph over your fall. 
 
 EMBLE\) 
 
( loi ) 
 
 E M B L E M /v. 
 Of Perseverance. 
 
 JA S O N, a bold advent'rer, fail'd to claim 
 The precious prize v/hich rais'd his coun- 
 try's fame — 
 His vefTel bore the ficw'r of ancient Greece, 
 To Cokhis* fhore to claim tiie golden ficece ; 
 But firftthe brazer footed bulls he train'd 
 And with hard yokes their {lubborn necks 
 retrain 'd; f 
 
 Sow'd ferpent's teeth from which immediate^ 
 rofe, I 
 
 A grove of lances and a holl of foes : — ^ 
 And charm-d the watchful dragon to j 
 repofe. ^ J 
 
 Thef^ toils o'erpaft in peace he ends his d^ys, 
 And gains the tribute of immortal praife. 
 
 Be refolute in good, and you will find 
 All evils llirink before a conilant mind. 
 
 F3 THE 
 
( loz ) 
 
 THE golden fleece v.as the fkiu of a 
 golden ram which had been ofiered up to Ju- 
 piter, and was kept at Colchis, but on the 
 condition of being furrendered to any man 
 who could tame the King's brazen-footed 
 bulls which belched out fire and fmoke, gai n 
 the vidory over an armed troop chat were 
 to rife out of ferpent's teeth fown in the earth, 
 and charm to llcep a wakeful dragon which 
 guarded the fplendid prize. 
 
 To atchieve this adventure feveral Gi^cian 
 heroes failed for Colchis, the chief of v/honi 
 was Jafon the fon of ^Efon, a chief renown 'd 
 for courage and fortitude, who by the aiTiil- 
 ance of certain charms which he received from 
 Medea, the Colchian monarch's daughter, 
 yoked the bulls, overcame the armed men by a 
 ftratagem, caufed the dragon to fall into 
 a deep fleep and brought away the golden 
 fleece, together with the princefs who helped 
 him to obtain it. 
 
 The veflel they failed In was named Argo, 
 from whence thefe adventurers were termed 
 
 Argo» 
 
( IC3 ) 
 Argonauts : This was faid to be the firil 
 expedition of any confequence that the Greeks 
 ever undertook, and thofe who were concerned 
 in it were Tome of the moil famous heroes in 
 fabulous hiftor)'. 
 
 This is the tenor of the llory, which is 
 greatly mixed with fable. The truth feems 
 to be, that Jafon and his companions failed 
 to eilabliih a gainful commerce at Colchis, 
 in this their expedition they met with many 
 obdacles from the favage manners of the peo- 
 ple tliey had to deal with, but at lafl by per- 
 feve ranee overcame them, and happily return- 
 ed to their native countiy, crowned with all 
 the fucccfs their warmeft wifhes could have 
 icduced them to expeifl. 
 
 EXAMPLES like thefe of fortitude and 
 perfeverance in all laudable undertakings for 
 the beneiit of ourfelves, our friends, or our 
 country, carry their, application with them, 
 which can never be too much inculcated or 
 attended to. 
 
 F 4 If 
 
( 104 ) 
 
 If, like Jafon, we would bear away die 
 prize, like him we muA learn to deferve it ? 
 we mult hazard ourfelves againft the fierce, 
 we mufl not be afraid to oppofe the ftrong, 
 when virtue and the duty we owe to Heaven 
 and to our country demand it. Above all 
 things, we muft learn to curb our im moderate 
 paiTions ; thefe are the fiery bulls which we 
 muft break to the yoke. We mull conquer 
 the hoft of temptations, and charm to fleep 
 the Evil Principle which is always ready to 
 molefl us. 
 
 Finally we mufl never hope to vanquifh the 
 ftubborn temper of others, till we have firft 
 learned to fubdue our own, nor mufl we ever 
 expeft to atchieve any great adions unlefs we 
 are endowed with an unconquerable firmnefs. 
 and perfeverance. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( IC5 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Of "^'^ a I n- Pursuits. 
 
 FROM fultry noon till night's dull 
 ihades defcend, 
 Behold the boy his fruitlefs chace attend. 
 To gain the infecl's painted wings he flies 
 And pleas'd at lall: obtains the gaudy prize j 
 But whilll: its beauties he lun-eys with joy, 
 Thofe hands which feize them fatally deltroy. 
 
 Ev'n To thofe pleafures which we figh to 
 gain, 
 And facrifice our quiet to obtain, 
 VTith. gaudy flutt'rings, tempt us to purfue, 
 But while we grafp them, yanilh from our 
 
 view. 
 Or, gain'd, but ill reward our labour pail, 
 Cruih'd, as v,e feize them, by our eager hafte. 
 
 FS 
 
 THE 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 THE fimple Boy, fmitten with the gaudy 
 colours of the Butterfly, chaces it from flower 
 to flower with the utmoft eagerncfs. — The 
 fluttering infed ftill flies before him, flill 
 eludes his purfuit. At one time when he 
 thinks he has it jufl: within his grafp, it flips 
 away, and foars aloft in air ; at another, it 
 fkulks behind the leaves of a plant, and hides 
 itfelf from his curious fearch. 
 
 The hours flip away unperceived, and the 
 wanton lofes himfelf while he is purfuing his 
 prey. — The chace began at noon; he fuftains 
 the heat of the meridian hours ; the d.iv 
 declines, and he is not yet at the end of hi ■ 
 labour. 
 
 But, at length jufl at the time of the fun's 
 fetting, he furprizes the gay fluttering infed, 
 in the cup of a blue bell. Eagerly he hafles 
 to catch it, he fqueezes the fides of the flower 
 together to prevent the efcape of his captive ; 
 he does indeed moft efl^edually prevent it, but 
 
 r.t 
 
( 107 ) 
 
 at die fame time he defeats his own end, for 
 he cruflies the infect to pieces ; and thus by 
 his own eagernefs lofes the fruit of his toil, 
 and deiiroys that beauty wliich he coveted to 
 poflefs. 
 
 THIS is an apt Emblem of the impetuofity 
 of youth, which with a blind precipitancy pur- 
 fues vain pleafures that never can afford any 
 folid enjoyment. 
 
 PaiTion is ever Herce, headlong, and regard- 
 U{^s of confequences ; it is ready to encounter 
 all oppofition, to run through every danger, 
 for the moil trifling acquifition, and its hurry 
 often deiiroys the objedls on which its wifhes 
 have been fet, by no other means than its 
 eagernefs to poffefs them. 
 
 Paflion thus indulged can never contribute 
 any thing to felicity ; and he who knows not 
 what it is to be moderate in the purfuit of plea- 
 fures wilL never know what it is truly to enjoy 
 
 them. 
 
 And 
 
( lo8 ) 
 
 And moreover, we lliould ever 
 
 " Avoid to take the life we cannot 
 
 give, 
 " Since all things have an equal right to 
 live." 
 
 M B L E iVI 
 
( 109 ) 
 
 EMBLEM XXVin. 
 
 O F A M B I T I O X. 
 
 WH y would yon' Eagle proudly fear 
 fo high, ' 
 And flrive to emulate the dillant fky. 
 What? Sees fhe not the weight, andfirait'ning 
 
 band. 
 That all her powV with double force with- 
 
 Iknd. 
 In vain, fond bird, your pinions you extend, 
 Check'd in your flight, to earth you muft de- 
 
 fcend, 
 Ev'n fo would mad ambition wildly tow'r, 
 Boundlefs his wi(h, but limited his pow'r. 
 
 Remember all things have a certain bound. 
 Which once atralu'd your Ke plus ultra s 
 
 found : 
 Ambition fhun, if you would taile of peace. 
 For while its views extend, its forrows ft ill 
 increafe, 
 
 THE 
 
( no ) 
 
 THE Eagle is generally elleemed th- 
 ciiiefof birds — It flies higher than all other .^. 
 and bruilds its neil in the tops of the loftiell 
 trees, or on high rocks, polling it with ftones 
 in the former cafe to prevent its falling. The 
 long life and Iharp fight of this bird have 
 been much exaggerated : It has been reported 
 to live more than a century, and to fly always 
 dire£lly againfl the fun fixing its eyes on 
 him in his greateil fplendor. — Thus much 
 however, is certain, that the Eagle poiTefTcs 
 a very piercing flght, and lives to a great 
 age. It is a bird of prey, like the Vulture* 
 and others of that kind, and will, fometime;, 
 even attack living quadrupeds. 
 
 The Eagle has ever been reckoned an em- 
 blem of ambition. It v/as efteemed facred to 
 Jupiter among the heathens, as being fet apr. ■ 
 to carry his thunder, and was always reprc- 
 fcnted as one of the fymbols of that god. 
 
 I N the Emblem before us, we have an apt 
 reprefentation of ambition, which in fpite of 
 
 all 
 
( in ) 
 
 all its towering, mull ftill be confined to limits, 
 a circumftance perfectly againft its nature, 
 and which never fails of adminiilering caufe 
 of anxiet)' to its pofieilbr. 
 
 Can there be more flriking inftances of 
 this truth than thofe which are exhibited to 
 us in the perfon of Alexander, furnamed the 
 Great, fon of Philip, King of Macedon.— 
 This prince was contented to renounce his 
 father, and travel over burning defarts, to get 
 himfelf acknowledged the fon of the god Ju- 
 piter.— The fame prince having conquered 
 Perfia, and India and moft of thofe parts known 
 to the Greeks, wept becaufe he fuppofed there 
 was no more to conquer. Ridiculous madnefs I 
 Infatiable ambition ! This fon of the great 
 Jove died of a furfeit at Babylon in the bloom 
 of his years, and being too proud to admit 
 that any one deferved to fucceed him, he left 
 his empire to be divided and torn v.ith intef- 
 tine broils, which in a courfeof years made it 
 an eafy prey to the Romans, who led the laft 
 King of Macedonia in triumph through the 
 ftreets of Rome, and, at length, ftarved him 
 to death in a dungeon. 
 
 Such 
 
( 112 ) 
 
 Such are the fruits of ambition. It was 
 the firfi., and continues to be one of the great- 
 eft of follies — for, *^ by that fin fell the An- 
 gels ; how can man then (the image of his 
 maker) hope to win by it?" 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 113 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Of the Reward of Vice. 
 
 T O, here the nymph, by hex" own father's 
 
 JLj dooms 
 
 Lor.demn'd alive to periih in her tomb, 
 aufe fhe yielded to a flatt'ring tale, 
 i o'er her virtue let her .love prevail ; 
 groans no pity from a parent claim, 
 
 ji-- links bereft, at once, of life and fame. 
 
 Thofe who quit virtue Heav'n itfelf forfakes. 
 And of their fuff'rings no compaiTion takes; 
 Whom Heav'n forfakes muft feek relief ia 
 vain, 
 . ) their own parents and their kindred 
 train : 
 Shunn'd like a thing accurs'd in dull they fall 
 rhe dread of many, and the fcorn of all. 
 
 LEU' 
 
( 114 ) 
 
 LEUCOTHOE, was the daughter of 
 Orchamus, King of Perfia, With her the 
 god Apollo is faid to have been in love. She 
 was not virtuous or prudent enough to refill 
 his folicitations, and they carried on a ccr- 
 refpondence together v/hich they thought to^ 
 be a private one ; but this being difcovered 
 by one of Apollo's old favourites, the King 
 her father Vv^as foon made acquainted with it^ 
 Being a haughty prince, he could not endure 
 the difgrace which was put on his family by 
 this accident, and therefore, notvvithftanding 
 all his daughter's prayers and tears, com- 
 manded her to be buried alive. This terrible 
 fentence was accordingly executed, without 
 her receiving any relief from her lover.' 
 Hov/evcr after her death the fable fays, Apollo 
 whofe aid was too late to fave her, caufed tlie 
 frankincenfe tree v/hich weeps perpetually, to^ 
 fpring out of her grave. 
 
 THERE is a fnc contraft betv,'e^a 
 Daphne's flory and this of Leucothoe. The 
 ^^rmer eluded the fnares of vice and perfever- 
 ing in defence of her honour was beloved and 
 
 honoured 
 
( >i; ) 
 
 honvoured in her end : The latter yields to 
 unlawful folicitations, and periihes mifera- 
 bjy, negledled and defpifed by all, at the cx- 
 prefs command of her father, and without 
 having received the aid Ihe might have ex- 
 peeled from her lover, who appears, but too 
 late to fave her, and only pays a fort of 
 mournful tribute to her memory. 
 
 If we defire to be had In eftimatlon by 
 others, or aiTiiled by them in time of difcrefs, 
 we mull firft learn what is due to ourfelves and 
 act up to the dignity of our own Nature, by 
 not being defiled with vice, and fo rendering 
 ourfelves unworthy of fapport and alTiicance. 
 
 Neither are v.'g to cxpe£l that thofe who de- 
 lude us into evil actions, will be always ready 
 to proteifl us in the commifTion of them.— The 
 greater they are, the farther will they be re- 
 moved from us in the day of neceffity ; and 
 if they have any power, they will ufe it to 
 fcreen themfelves.-— A fruitlefs pity is the 
 mofl that can be expecled from them, and 
 that only exprefTed v/hen it is too late for 
 their compafTion to reflect any difhonour oa 
 themfelves or to give us any confolation. 
 
 Finally,, 
 
( i>6 ) 
 
 Finally, if we expect ordefjre tliat Heaven 
 fhould net forfake us, we fhould not forfiike 
 Heaven, and if we fli udder at the pu.niiT^mc-it: 
 of an offender we fhould learn betimes to avoid 
 the crimes which occafioned it. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 117 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Of THE JUST Punish ME XT OF the 
 Selfish. 
 
 H E grov'iing beaH whofe favage 
 ilrength deilroys, - 
 The flow'ry garden that the Rvain enjoys ; 
 Sliews that when in his beafliy pafbime flain, 
 His death alone can be his mailer's gain.— 
 
 The wicked feliifh man who gripes the poor. 
 And rates the injur 'd orphan from his door; 
 Like the bafe Swine his neighbour's peace 
 
 deftroys, 
 And all his pow'r in evil flill employs ; 
 When all his riches he has left behind. 
 Dying, alone he benelits mankind. 
 
 THE 
 
( ii8 ) 
 
 T H E Kog is of all beads the moft fa- 
 rage and untradable ; it is fvvayed by no- 
 thing but a favage fiercenefs and a ftupid 
 gluttony. Of moll other creatures made for 
 the ufe of man, fome profit may be gained in 
 their life. This in its death alone is ufeful, 
 and then it is more profitable than any ani- 
 mal of its own dimenfions. 
 
 \Vhen Boars run wild in the woods they 
 are the moll dreadful of all bealls, fir 11 be- 
 caufe of their great fiercenefs, and fecondly 
 on account of their ilupidity, which is fo 
 great that it makes them difregard their fafety, 
 and ruih on their own certain dellrudlion in 
 order to accom.plilh that of thofe whom they en- 
 gage with. —In fhort it is become fuch a proverb, 
 by vvhich to exprefs obHinacy, gluttony and 
 many evil qualities that to be faid to refem- 
 ble a Swine is the worll comparifon a man 
 can be fubjecl to. 
 
 N .A 
 
( "9 ) 
 
 NATURE feems to have fet us exam- 
 ples of good and e\"il qualities, even among 
 the brute creation, Thus the Lamb for Inno- 
 cence, the Ilorfe for Courage, the Ox for 
 Patience, the Serpent for Deceit, and the 
 Svvine in the Emblem before us, for Fiercencfs 
 and Senfuality. 
 
 It is a melancholy confideration that fome 
 men feem to have taken pattern by this grove- 
 ling beail, that they lead a life of gluttony 
 and drunkennefs, are entirely wrapped up in 
 felf-love and lofc to every thought of charity 
 and crood-will to their neighbours. 
 
 Such men can indeed do no other good to 
 the world but by their deaths, when if they 
 ha^-e any riches they may perhaps leave them 
 to others who will make a better ufe of thofe 
 gifts than tliey have dons. 
 
 There- 
 
( I20 ) 
 
 Therefore, if you would have men wlfli you 
 life and profperity, live in fuch a manner as 
 to be fendceablc to fociety ; for depend on it 
 if you copy the Swine's manners, you will 
 fhare the fame fate, that none will be forry 
 for your misfortune, or your death, while they 
 can reap nothing but injury from your life 
 and profperity. 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
( 121 ) 
 
 E IVI B L E M 
 
 xxxr. 
 
 Of Precipitation-. 
 
 w 
 
 HAT means that rafli and heedlefs 
 chariotf^er, 
 
 Down the fheep rock to urge his mad career ? 
 Sees he not round him various danrers ^row. 
 High cliffs above and yawning deeps below ? 
 Yet down the drear)-, dreadful path he hies, 
 i\Iadly meets ruin, and defpairing dies. 
 
 So fome wild youth to paflion gives the 
 rein, 
 And buys fhort pleafure with an age of pain. 
 For him defu-udlion fpreads the fatal fnare, 
 He fmks in gulphs of mis'ry and defpair. 
 
 THi 
 
■ ( 122 ) 
 
 THIS Emblem has formerly been ufcd 
 by Plato the Greek philofopher. He ufed to 
 fay that the foul or reafjii of man reprefented 
 a Charioteer, and his paflions wild Iiorfes, 
 which It was his bafmefs to reflrain, lefc they 
 fliculd huiry him on to ruin and deflrudlion. 
 
 Certainly it is but a fad confideration that 
 feme men iliould not have fo much govern- 
 ment over thcnifelves, as by habit they ac- 
 ciuire over their beafts— Tliefe are feen gene- 
 rally to turn, to iland fall, to proceed this way 
 or that, or to fcop in the mJdil of their career 
 as the driver would have them, and if he be 
 a fkilful man it is feldom that we have an in- 
 ftance of his failing in governing them. 
 
 But how many inl^ances have we of men's 
 paifions not fubmitting to the government of 
 their reafon ? a fad example cf people's neg- 
 lefting great matters, to attend to fmali ones, 
 
 and 
 
( 1^3 ) 
 and thinking it lefs worth their while to mind 
 the management of themfelves than that of 
 their horfes. 
 
 I F yoii would ever wifh to-8njoy peace 
 here or hereafter, you muft learn that great 
 and ufeful lefTon, to controul your pallions;— 
 like Jire and n.vafer they are good fen'ants but 
 terrible mailers, and if you do not learn early 
 to command them, they will certainly com- 
 mand you, and, in the end, will lead you to 
 inevitable deflrudlion. 
 
 Defer not this till to-morrow ; to-moirow 
 may never come, or, coming, it may be too 
 late. But above all, if you examine which is 
 the ruling pafTion, or inclination in your 
 heart, keep a check upon tliat, and by fuch a 
 method you will be moll likely to bring all 
 ^he reil under fubjeflion. It is the mailer- 
 key to ever}^ one's breail ; it will therefore 
 let you into the fecrets of your ovv^n heart, and 
 teach you fome part of that moil ufeful leiTon, 
 G 2 the 
 
( 124 ) 
 
 the knowledge of yourfelf, which is prefer- 
 able to all other fciences in the world. Above 
 all remember that conftancy is the bond of 
 piety and felf-denial the very tell of religion 
 and virtue. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( >25 ) 
 
 
 E AI B L .. ..I XXXII. 
 Of the Changes of Human Affairs 
 
 TH E beauteous moon renews her faded 
 light. 
 Not with her own, but borrow'd luHre bright. 
 Uncertain planet ! whofe great changes Ihew, 
 Th' unfl.ible flate of all things here below, 
 Tho' now but half her radiant form fhe Ihews, 
 Her waxing lullre every moment grows ; 
 Till to the Sun her glowing face fhe turns. 
 Drinks all his beams, and in full glory burns. 
 
 Thus all thino-s chancre widi time's revolv- 
 ing round. 
 And nothing permanent on earth is found, 
 Tho' now but half thy wifnes thou canft fhare, 
 Succeeding times thy fortune may repair. 
 But whate'er chance on thy concerns await'] 
 Scorn to do ill, in order to be great ; r* 
 
 Th^ meed of virtue is as fix'das Fate. J 
 G 3 THE 
 
( 126 ) 
 
 THE Moon, though a beautiful and an 
 ufeful planet, yet receives all her light from 
 the Sun, and is but as a mirrour or looking- 
 glafs to refled his beams Yet flie gives us 
 light in his abfence, rules the ebbing and 
 flcnving of the tides, and is particularly at- 
 tended to by phyficians in the treatment of 
 their patients. 
 
 Her periods of change in the month are 
 divided into four. 'Witfirjl quarter when Ihe 
 fhews but half her face, in the increafe. The 
 full Vv'hen flie is entirely enlightened.— The 
 lajt quarter when only half her face is again 
 to be feen, in the decreafe —And the Kex<j 
 Moon commences immediately after her being 
 entirely darkened.—- — All thefe areoccafioned 
 by her pofition with regard to the Sun \ the 
 more of his beams flie receives, the more light 
 file is in a condition of giving, and it is con- 
 fequently when flie turns her whole face ex- 
 adlly oppofite to him that fne is faid to be at 
 the Full, and refleds the ftrongeil luflre. 
 
 411 
 
( 12? ) 
 
 In the Emblem fhe p.ppenrs as juH befora 
 fhe enters the firft quarter, at which time 
 thouph fhe does not impart half the li^i-ht of 
 
 o to 
 
 the full moon, yet fhe gives figns of her in- 
 crcafe, from whence we may conclude that 
 we fhall foon fee her in her o:reatefl plGrv. 
 
 THE Moon has ever been reckoned a 
 f>Tnbol of inconfl:\ncy, from her perpetual 
 changes ; yet thefe are fuch as God Jini Na- 
 ture have appointed for her, and her various 
 courfe is doubtlefs as neceuary for the univerfe 
 as the conflancy of the mod fteady fixed ftar 
 we can obferve, or any other principle in 
 Nature. ' 
 
 Why then may we not conclude the fame 
 of Fate, vvhofe partiality we are (g ready to ac- 
 cufe, when it does not favour us— But who 
 was ever heard to accufe P\ite for the good 
 dealt to liim, though for aught he knew man/ 
 worthy people might be the worfe for it ? 
 
 G 4 To 
 
( 128 ) 
 
 To return to the moral of our Emblem.— 
 On this \ery change in the world may we 
 found a fyfcem of rational philofopliy, f nee 
 it teaches thcfe v/ho poflefs much, not to be 
 too proud of what they may foon be deprived 
 of, and comforts thofc who have but little, 
 and the captive and opprcfTed with the thought 
 that a day may come, even in this world, Vy'hen 
 thefe their forrows iliall have an end ; and if 
 not {o, that yet moH certainly time muil by 
 its revolutions brino- them esfe, and chano-e 
 their condition and their life together. 
 
 Defpond not therefore,^ though thou art not 
 arrived to the pofleiTion of thy wifhes — Think 
 on thefe morals and be wife — Above all 
 things, ilick to virtue for that will be fcund^ 
 unchangeable, and will certainly earn/ its re- 
 ward with it either here or hereafter. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 129 ) 
 
 EMBLEM XXXin. 
 Of the Snares of Vice. 
 
 A 
 
 H ! fee you yonder bird, devoid of 
 
 Whicli fang, and flutter'd near the fowler's 
 
 fnare 1 
 Too foon alas ! lier ftate {hQ will deplore, 
 Docm'd to a lonefome cage ; to mount no 
 
 more : 
 But plaintive notes, imprifon'd ftill to try. 
 And wifh in vain for native liberty. 
 
 Bev/are of vice, whofe empire will control!, 
 The native freedom of a gen'rous foul ; 
 Avoid her fnares, where certain mifchiefs wait 
 Nor rufh unthinking on deitru(^ive fate. 
 
 G s 
 
 BE 
 
( Jjo ) 
 
 BEHOLD how the filly bird ftruggles in 
 the fnare that the aitful fowler has contrived 
 for its deilruclion.— Too late the poor fiutter- 
 er iinds its fatal error, too late repents its 
 rajQinefs, when confined in a wiry prifon, and 
 obliged to pour its complaints in folitude; fit 
 Emblem of a man who by his vices or his fol- 
 lies has forfeited that chief of all blefiing- 
 heaven-born liberty. 
 
 A celebrated Ensliih traveller in France 
 mentions a very peculiar llory of a bird in 
 a cage, (which jufl at the time when he Vv'as 
 refieding on the Nature of confinement) fud- 
 denly cried " I can't get out"— And this fo 
 ftruck him that it at once convinced him cf 
 the blefiing of libert)%^ which he was now 
 difpofed to give to the poor bird alfo, which 
 
 iVill 
 
( «3i J 
 
 fall continued its note, and as the gentleman 
 
 was complaining' that he could net open the 
 C2;^-c, the Starling fiill cried " No, I can't 
 get cir:," and IHil more conf.rm'd the traveller 
 in his love of native freedom. 
 
 LIBERTY is indeed one of the moH 
 valuable bleilings in the v/orld, and life itfelf 
 is of little vvcrth without it. For this, wife 
 men have argued, heroes have died, and left 
 the glorious prize to pofterity. 
 
 Yet after all, it is in vain for any one to 
 
 fuppofe himfeli" free v;ho is not alfo virtuous, 
 
 when once we give way to cur pafHons like 
 
 the bird in the emblem, we are caught in the 
 
 fatal fnare which mull entangle us, and de- 
 prive us of our real liberty. 
 
 The 
 
( 132 ) 
 
 The {laves of vice and paiTion can never 
 be deemed free, and a flave he ever will be 
 who faffers his own bad inclinations to get 
 the better of him. 
 
 E Pvl E L E M 
 
( 133 ) 
 
 E r.I B L E M XXXIV. 
 Of Passion. 
 
 EH OLD the furious beair, more*) 
 
 X^ fierce he grows ! I 
 
 When the clear Icreain his proper image )> 
 
 {hews ! I 
 
 Nor for his own the hideous figure knows. J 
 
 So could we fee how paiiion's dreadful 
 frcrm, 
 And maddiug fury all our fouls deform, 
 Erafe God's image planted in our bread. 
 And change the man into a fava~e beail : 
 We fhould abhor ourfelves, the (hape difown. 
 And hate the f.^nd that put cur likenefs on. 
 
 THE 
 
( '34 ) 
 
 THE Lion, the Bull, and other fierce 
 creatures are particularly enraged at viewing 
 their own fhape in water or a glafs ; it is a 
 circumflance which, doubles their fury, fince 
 they there behold a dlitorted figure, which 
 inlancl impels them to make war upon. 
 
 To thefe animals it is not given to knov/ 
 that the fhape they are (o much ofrended with 
 is their own : they are not lennble that their 
 own rage makes them fuch frightful figures • 
 they take the hateful image for another fierce 
 creature, and immediately commence a f.gl v. 
 vvith it. 
 
 Heaven not having befcowed on the Lion 
 and flie Bull the facred gift of reafon, their 
 millake is natural, as their fury is excuiliblc. 
 In both thefe points they ad jufi as they were 
 ordained to act, and fill up that neceffary part 
 of the creation, which for wife ends they were 
 created to occupy : Man alone is blameable 
 when he runs counter to reafon, and reduces 
 himfelf to the fituation of the favage anim: 
 whofe fury and evil qualities he is abu:ad 
 
 enough to imitate. 
 
 THER 
 
( >3> ) 
 
 THERE is not a nercer fiend than Anger 
 when indulged, nox" a paiTion fo deteflable in 
 the iight both of God and Man—It leads to all 
 manner cf evil ; its way is in wickednefs, and 
 to thofe who encoura^^e it, its end mull be 
 certain defiruclion. 
 
 The dillinclion of father, mother, brother, 
 filler, friend, and every tender tie of human- 
 ity are loll when it rages, and it tempts men. 
 to commit in a moment fuch enormities as an 
 age of repentance is notfufiicient to atone for. 
 
 It is a fliort madnefs, whofe eiFecls are 
 equally terrible in thofe who indulge it, as in 
 thofe who are the objecls cf its rage ; it has 
 often led to real madnefs, to ruin, and to 
 death ; and he who gives way to it can no 
 more anfwer for his a£lions than if he were 
 drunk or lunatic, or pofTelled with an evil 
 fpirit at the time he i^ angry and enraged. 
 
 In fme, Anger is a vice of fuch a call that 
 it debafes God's image which is llamped upon 
 our nature, making us rather refemble dse- 
 mons than human creatures, and if paffionate 
 
 men 
 
( 136 ) 
 
 men could have a Ml and juft view of theni- 
 felves in all their deformity both of foul and 
 body, they mud bate themfelves, and like 
 the lion in the emblem make war with their 
 own image than which nothing m Nature can 
 be more hideous and detellable. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
E M B -L E M XXX\^ 
 
 Of Chastity. 
 
 -^HNE, the fairefi cf the woodland 
 
 train, 
 .llo long had woo'd, but woo'd in vain, 
 .it Isngh the god furpriz'd her in the ihade. 
 And flrove to gain with promis'd gifts the maid; 
 Her, fiill reiifting, o'er the plains he chac'd. 
 But when he chought the nymph to have em- 
 
 brac'd, 
 
 Inftead cf Daphne, 
 
 brisrht in 
 
 blooming 
 
 charms, 
 Surpriz'd, he clafped a laurel in his arms. 
 The tree belov'd frill bears his honor'd name. 
 Emblem of conquefl and of deathlefs fame. 
 
 Avoid temptation, though the gilded bait 
 Be deck'd v/ith all the pomp of guilty ftate. 
 Nor with the tempter llrive to try your 
 
 might :-— 
 Retire beumes ; — ^^your ccnqueil is in Highc. 
 
 D A P PI X E 
 
( 138 ) 
 DAPHNE (the daughter of Pencius the- 
 river-god) was To beautiful that Apollo or 
 Pha-bus, the God of day * was fmitten widi 
 her, and made her many oiters if flie would 
 confenc to his fuit, which fhe Hill refilling, 
 he ftrove at lall: to accomplifh by force that 
 which was denied to his requeft. But Daphne, 
 finding his purpofe, fought her fecurity in 
 flight. Apollo followed with a fwiftnefs not 
 to be matched by mortals, and was juil upon 
 the pM;)int of overtaking her ; when, in the 
 midil of her difirefs llie prayed moil earnef^Iy 
 that (he might be enabled to prefer/e her 
 
 chaftity, Her prayer v/as heard, and at 
 
 the inHant her purfuer came up v/ith her, he 
 found her changed into a laurel. 
 
 Apollo, though difappointed of his purpofe 
 could not but admire her conilarcy; lie 
 therefore pronounced the tree his own, and 
 confecrated it as facred to the rev/^rd of vir- 
 tuous adions.-- -The laurel has ever fmce 
 been e deemed as an emblem of excellency 
 either in arms or arts, to thofe who were 
 
 crowned 
 
 * S;;e Pantheon* 
 
( '39 ) 
 
 crowned with It : And what was cnce 
 Apollo's love has always been confide red as 
 his tree. — So far the ancient fable. 
 
 THE application is plain and ftriking^ 
 Nothing ought to be held fo dear as our in- 
 nocence, and, in fome cafes, we ihould be 
 content to part even with our being itfelf to 
 prefer\'e it. 
 
 Daphne fled from Apollo : She loft he^ 
 life but fhe preferv^ed her honour. Her fair 
 fame furvived her mortal body, and fhe 
 remained at once an emblem and a monument 
 of vijtue to poiierity. 
 
 Siie challenged refpecl even fi-om liim 
 who was moll difappointed, and at the very 
 time when he found himfelf foiled, he bore 
 teHimony to her honour and rewarded her 
 glorious conftancy. 
 
 Even they who feek to draw us into the 
 fnares of vice cannot help fecretly applaud- 
 ing us when they fee that, in fpite of all their 
 
( HO ) 
 arts, we flill procee d in the paths of virtue. 
 The harder the trial, the greater will be tlie 
 reward to thofe who perfevere. 
 
 .But above all things it is neceolary for us 
 to fly from tcir.ptation. There are none 
 who fland fo fcrong but that it is pofnbie they 
 may fall : How unwife then is it for us to 
 approach to the brink of a precipice, merely 
 to try whether v/e can bear to look down from 
 it with a Heady eye. Thofe who feek a 
 danger they may jfhun, deferve the ccnfe- 
 quences of their folly, when they meet it. 
 
 If we mean to triumph, let us take a dilrerent 
 courfe. Let us ily from evil that we may 
 overcome it ; when human aid fails us, let 
 us invoke Heaven itfelf to our affiliance : fo 
 fnall we be firengthened in our courfe, and in 
 the end, by flying, attain the laurels of 
 victory. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
E AI B L E M XXXVI. 
 
 O -F T H E V A N I T Y OF PLEASURE. 
 
 "13 E H O L D the beauty of yon' damaCc 
 -L3 roi^, 
 
 Joy of the eye, in gaudy pride it blows. 
 The fatting fun Ihall fee its bloom decay. 
 And all it ■ boafted beauties fade away : 
 The envious thorns its frap-nant leaves fur- 
 
 o 
 
 rf und, 
 Protect the blofTom, and th' unwary wound ; 
 Pleafure muft coil: too dear when bought witli 
 
 pain : 
 The Rofe Ihall wither, when the Thorns re- 
 
 With cautious hand pluck the vain flow'r 
 ofjoy, 
 Left hidden evil Ihould your foul annov. 
 
 THE 
 
( H^ ) 
 
 THE Rofe, the pride of the garden is 
 furrounded with fharp prickles, and he who is 
 too eager to pluck itvQ former Hands a chance 
 of being injured by the latter. 
 
 Yet after all, when the flower is obtained, in 
 a few fhort hours, it muft wither and die, its 
 beauty is loft and it is defpifed and rejefted by 
 thofe who prized it before. The Thorns will 
 remain even when the Rofe is withered, and 
 their fharpnefs ends only with their exiftence ; 
 be cautious then how you pluck the flower, 
 and forget not the Thorn which guards it. 
 
 EVEN fuch, fo tranfient, are the joys oi 
 life, which feem fo inviting and court us, as 
 it v/ere, to tafte them : they quickly v/ither 
 and die, but are furrounded with Thorns 
 whofe fmart is too often fslt long after the 
 fenfe of the pleafureis loft and extinguilhed. 
 
 Yet neither virtue nor prudence declare 
 againft the moderate enjoyment of the plea- 
 
 fures 
 
( 14-3 ) 
 fures of life ; but we are admoniHied not 
 to be too eager in our purfuit of them, left we 
 injure our health, our fortune, our reputation, 
 or which is llili worC^, our virtue. 
 
 The di&ren:e between a ruodcrate man, 
 and one who purlues after pleafures to an ex- 
 treme is thus beautifully defcribed by the 
 poet : where he fays that 
 
 " Eager t/jis its objeft would devour; 
 
 " T,bat tafte the honey, but not wound 
 the ilow'r. 
 
 And he who is in fuch haile after enjoy- 
 ment, is likely to wound himfelf alfo, at the 
 fame time that his eagernefs takes off from 
 the reliih he would other wife have for the ac- 
 quiiltion he has been at fo much pains to ob- 
 tain. 
 
 Learn then to fet no more than a due value 
 on the things of this world ; be not ovcr- 
 hafiy to gain them, and when you pofTefs 
 them be moderate in you r enjoyment ; {o fliall 
 
 you 
 
-( 144 ) 
 
 you be gratified with the beauty of the Rofe, 
 without wounding yourfelf with its Thorns ; 
 fo lliall yo;i enjoy the honey of pleafure, 
 while you avoid the Hing and venom of 
 
 remorfe. 
 
 EMBLEM ^■ 
 
( Hi ) 
 
 E IVl B L E M 
 
 xxxvir. 
 
 Of the Improvement of Life 
 
 TIME'S an hand's-breadth j 'tis a tale ; 
 'Tis a veflel under fail ; 
 *Tis an eagle in its way. 
 Darting down upon its prey ; 
 'Tis an arrow in its flight, 
 Mockin » the purfuing Tight ; 
 'Tis a fliort liv'd fading flow'r ; 
 'Tis a rainbow on a fhow'r ; 
 'Tis a moinentary ray. 
 Smiling in a winter's day ; 
 'Tis a torrent's rapid ftream ; 
 'Tis a fhadow ; 'tis a dream ; 
 'Tis the clofine watch of ni^ht. 
 Dying at the rifmg light ; 
 'Tis a bubble ; 'tis a figh : — 
 Ee prepar'dj O Man ! to die. 
 
 H r 1 :4 E 
 
( 146 ) 
 
 TIME is the great deflroyer of all things. 
 There is nothing in this world which mufl: 
 not fooner or later fiibmit to his ftroke, 
 none fo llrong as to refill, fo cunning as to 
 evade his power. 
 
 Yet this great deflroyer Heals on us, as it 
 were, unperceived : The Days, the Months, 
 the Years roll on : We content ourfelves with 
 faying " Time pafTes" without confidering 
 that ou,' time alfo pafles with it, and that every 
 moment brings us nearer to eternity. 
 
 How much more praife-worthy would it be 
 to mark each day of our exiilence v/ith fome 
 lid of religion or virtue, the remembrance 
 of which might live v/hen v/e ourfelves are 
 departed, and make our memory dear to the 
 good, and our deeds approved by Heaven. 
 
 Titus "\^efpafian. Emperor of Rome, (though 
 a heathen) was a man of fo good a difpofition , 
 that recoUedling one night as he fat at fupper 
 he had not done one good action that day 
 he cried out '• Friends I have loft a day."— 
 
 This 
 
( ^47 ) 
 This prince was furnamed by his people The 
 Delight of Man^i,^,....Happy are they who 
 know fo well the value of Time, and make fo 
 good an ufe of it. 
 
 HOW many are there amongfl us who 
 are for ever exclaiming againft the fliortnefs 
 of Ufe, and yet are not afhamed with the fame 
 breath to complain, that their Time hangs 
 heavy on their hands, and that the>^ know not 
 how to employ it f 
 
 But what an idle complaint is this, when 
 we confider that there cannot be any perfon 
 in any flation of life whatfoever, who has not 
 an opportunity of fpending his days in the 
 exercife of fomething that is inHrudive or ufe- 
 i"ul to himfelf or others?— « Go to the Ant 
 thou fluggard ! Confider her ways, and be 
 A^^ife!"— Nor is the ufeful employment of 
 Time confined to thofe only who muil get theij- 
 bread by the fweat of their brow. Every 
 good and wife man, however greatly he may 
 be exaltsd by fortune above his fellow-crea. 
 ^^ ^ turcs. 
 
(• 1+8 ) 
 tures, will find that he may ufe his Time to the 
 Glory of God, the fervice of his friends and 
 country, or in fome way that may be benefi- 
 cial to fociety. And he who attends to the 
 fecial duties of mankind, and is willing to 
 read the great Book of Nature, which God 
 hath fet open for his inftruaion needs never 
 chide the lagging hours, on the one hand, 
 fmce he will know how to employ them well, 
 nor complain of the fliorUiefs of human life, 
 on the" other hand, when he has an afTurance 
 that to the righteous man the end of Thnc is the 
 beginning of an happy Eternity. 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
EMBLEM XXX\'m. 
 
 Of Industry. 
 
 WITH what hard toil, with what iin- 
 ceafing cares, 
 The Woodpecker his icanty meat prepares, 
 Tho' fmall the feaft that mufl reward his 
 
 Sweet is tliat meal which honefl labour gains. 
 
 Be frugal, be induflrious, if you're wife. 
 The way to plenty through thefe maxims lies. 
 The Idle to ill ftars afcribe their ftate, 
 But Fools make fortune and deferve their Fate. 
 
 H3 
 
 THE 
 
( 150 ) 
 
 THE Woodpecker is a fmall bird, whofe 
 legs are Ihort, but its bill is of a confiderable 
 length, and its tongue lliarp like a horn, and 
 fortified with feveral little points. With this 
 it perforates the hollow branches of trees, and 
 then utters a loud cr)', not unlike a whillle, 
 the intent of which is to difturb any infefts 
 which may harbour in the wood, and when 
 they are all put into a commotion, by the afiift- 
 ance of its Iharp tongue it eafily catches and 
 devours them. 
 
 So much pains does this bird take to come 
 at a few minute reptiles which Nature has or- 
 dained for its prey, and on which alone, in- 
 confiderable as they feem, it is deftined to 
 fubfill-— 
 
 A true pattern of induftry, and an example 
 of perfeverance, which man need not be 
 afhamed to copy ; as the idle may learn an 
 ufeful lelTon from the labours of this little 
 animal. 
 
 AS 
 
( >5> ) 
 
 A S idlenefs is generally die root of mlf- 
 chief, fo is an honeH indullry the fcurce of 
 the moft laudable and in-2;enious undertakin<rs. 
 
 It is to this principle chiefly that we owe 
 thofe arts and manufactures which at this day 
 flourifa amongd us, and which add to the 
 convenience vind grandeur of the great, while 
 they fubfifl numbers of the lower clafs of peo- 
 ple, who without them m.uil be reduced to a 
 flarving condition, or have recourfe to beg- 
 ging, in order to procure a fubfulance. 
 
 In countries where fuch arts and manufac- 
 tures are encouraged, though it is certain that 
 nobody can guard againil ficknefs or other 
 accidents, yet, in general, all ranks of men are 
 enabled to get an honeft livelihood, by a pro- 
 per degree of induilry: — but fome prefer a life 
 of idlenefs to exerting their talents for the be- 
 nefit of themfelves and others ; yet thcfe are 
 ever crying out upon tlieir ill fortune, which 
 indeed is of their own making, and, while 
 they refufe to earn their bread, complain they 
 cannot procure it. Such may learn a leflbn cf 
 H 4 per- 
 
( ^r- ) 
 
 perfeverance from this emblem, Let them 
 put their fhoulders to the wheel and Hercules 
 will help them to lift their carriage out of the 
 mire. 
 
 if you feek the blefiings of Fortune fh-ive by 
 unremitted labour to attain them.--"Defer\'e 
 the bread you eat, and leave the red to Hca 
 ven . 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 153 ) 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
 XXXIX, 
 
 Of Evil and its Punishment. 
 
 WHILE the Aveet nightingale chaunts 
 forth her lays, 
 Her warbling tliroat the hidden neft betra\ ?, 
 Eager to feize it, haftes the thoughtiefs boy, 
 And all the motlier's comfort to deftroy ; 
 \^'hen lo ! the faithlefs branch in pieces broke, 
 Elis limbs are fhatter'd with the dreadful 
 llroke 
 
 So, when we feek fome dear-priz'd joy to 
 oa.in 
 
 o 
 
 And buy cur pleafure with another'' s pain. 
 Our flipp'r}' fleps to evil are betray 'd 
 We fill unoirv^'d in the fnare we made. 
 
 H5 
 
 TH 
 
( "54 ) 
 
 THE fweet-warbling nightingale chears 
 the lilent plains with her melodious fong ; — 
 the anfwering woods repeat the harmonious 
 trillings of her voice; when lo ! the wanton 
 boy, guided by the found draws near; he liftens 
 a while, and foon difcovers whence it comes. 
 Eager for the prize he haflens to rob the mo- 
 ther bird of her neft ; but as he climbs the 
 lofty tree, the bough that bears his un- 
 lucky weight gives way, and throws him on 
 the ground. He mourns his fall with tears, 
 and is at once difabled and difcouraged from 
 his enterprize. 
 
 This bird (fays the fable) was once a Phil- 
 omela, the daughter of Pandion, King of 
 Athens. She was abufed by Tereus King of 
 Thrace who had married her filler. This 
 tyrant afterwards deprived her of her tongue, 
 that fhe might not tell her griefs. But fhe 
 found her way to his court, and worked the 
 ilory in a fampler, which fhe prefented to her 
 filler Procne, v/ho revenged her hufband's 
 barbarity by killing the fon fhe had by him — 
 Philomela, [after this, being purfued by him 
 
 who 
 
( 155 ) 
 
 v%ho threatened her for being concerned in 
 his death, took winf^ and was changed into 
 a nightingale, which, mindful of its former 
 Hate, continues ever to fing mournful notes in 
 folitar)' places. 
 
 THEY who feek their own good at the 
 expence of that of others often meet with a 
 bitter difappoinment, and lament too late the 
 evils which themfelves have occafioned. 
 
 1{ every man would do to others as he would 
 wifh to be done by, evil would be banifhed 
 fi-om the world, peace and righteoufnefs vvculd 
 fiourilh, man v/ould drav/ nearer to the Di- 
 vine Nature, and earth would be a rcrrcfen- 
 tation of Heaven. 
 
 But while people will follow their own evil 
 inclinations, they have no right to complain 
 cf the ills they fuftain : fmce, as virtue makes 
 happinefs, vice muft at one time or another, 
 end in mifery. 
 
 In 
 
( «56 ) - 
 
 In particular, when a man endeavours by 
 force or fraud to prejudice his neighbour, if 
 the evil fhould recoil upon himfelf, its weight 
 13 double, becaufe he is confcious he deferved 
 it. Like the boy in the Emblem, he may be 
 faid to be the author of his own evil ; hecaiife 
 he laid a fnare fcr others and is fallen into the 
 inidj} of it himfelf, therefore his fate is un- 
 lamented, and in the day of his trouble there 
 ihall be none to afTid him. 
 
 E Jvl B L E M 
 
EMBLEM 
 
 XL. 
 
 B 
 
 Of Vain Glory. 
 E H O L D that filly bird, how proudly 
 
 Of the bright colours of his gaudy train ! 
 Ev'n to a proverb grown his idle pride 
 By outward iliew alone in worth fupply'd. 
 For no harmonious found, no chearful note, 
 Muft ever iilue from that hideous throat. 
 Nor of the hundred eyes that grace his tail, 
 Om one for fight, or real ufe avail. 
 
 O fon cf vanity be v»ife in time ! 
 Apply tlie moral of this homely rhyme, 
 To real I'joi-tb alone Ihould praifebe giv'n, 
 And real -->.'.■ ortb inherits it from Heav'n. 
 
 JUNO 
 
( >38 ) 
 
 JUNO, {iiys the fable, having fet Argus 
 who had loo eyes to guard and torment the 
 damfel lo who was transformed into a young 
 heifer, Hermes (or Mercury) commiffioned by 
 Jupiter, defcended from Heaven to deliver 
 her. 
 
 He found Argus bufily employed about his 
 charge, but fitting down by him began to tell 
 him llories, by virtue of which, and of his 
 charming rod he at length lulled all his hun- 
 dred eyes to fieep ; which being done, he 
 flew him by cutting off his head. — On which 
 Juno took the eyes of her fervant and placed 
 . them in the tail of the Peacock, a bird elleem- 
 ed facred to her who was in a great meafure 
 
 the Goddefs of Pride and Splendour. ^So 
 
 far Ovid. — As to the Peacock it is a bird 
 known in moll countries for its fine plumage, 
 which indeed feems to be all it has to boafl of; 
 for as to its voice, it is a moil frightful one, 
 and the flefh of it, though a rarity, is gener- 
 ally ovvn'd to have no very delicate flavour. 
 The pride this bird takes in its plumage and 
 the ill tone of its voice are both become equally 
 
 pro- 
 
( ■J9 ) 
 
 proverbs, and it is worth while to obfen-e 
 
 that the former circumfiance has ferved to 
 make the latter more remarkable. 
 
 LIKE the proud Peacock is the fon of 
 vanity — and furely it is more ridiculous in a 
 rational creature to indulge this pride than in 
 an unreafoning animal. 
 
 But what is the vain glorious man proud of— 
 his drefs ?— Surely the Peacock has more reafon 
 to be proud of what nature gave her than 
 man of that covering for which, at bel^, he is 
 obliged to the brutes or to the vegetable crea- 
 tion. 
 
 Is it of the beauties of his perfon that he is 
 vain. Let him confider how ihortly ficknefs 
 or accident may, hovy certainly old age 77iuji^ 
 if he attains it, deprive him of thofe. Let 
 him confider likewife, at befr, how worthlefs 
 they are without mental qualin-cations. A 
 £ne houfe unfurniined is but an uncomforta- 
 ble dwelling. 
 
( i6o ) 
 
 Yet to be vain of great talents Is ub- 
 furd — Whatever men poilefles comes from 
 Heaven ; to Heaven then let him give the 
 glory, and always remember that the wifeft 
 of men are far from the proudefl, according 
 to thofe lines of the poet. 
 
 ■ What is It to be wise ? 
 
 *' 'Tis but to know what l i t t l e 's to be 
 
 known, 
 •■* To fee all other s faults, and feel our 
 
 own. 
 
 \\\ ihort, let us argue the matter how v/e 
 will, every fenfible pcrfon muft be convinced 
 by reafon that nothing is fo odious as Pri df^ 
 liothinp; fochildiih as Vain Glory. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( i6i ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 Of Applau 
 
 XLI. 
 
 FAME! that llrange pow'r which ev'ry 
 moment grows : 
 *' And gather ftrength and vigour as fhe 
 
 goes, 
 ** Firft fmall with fear (he fwells to won- 
 drous fize, 
 " And llalks on earth, or tow'rs above the 
 
 ikies, 
 " Beneath her various plumes fhe ever' 
 
 bears, 
 ** A thoufand piercing eyes and lift'ning 
 
 ears, 
 " And with a thoufand mouths and bab- 
 bling tongues appears." 
 Lo ! to this goddefs ev'ry mortal bends, 
 ' And ilill from pole to pole her tyrant-reign 
 extends. 
 Wifdom and virtue will for ever claim 
 , The deathlefs honours of an honeft Fame, 
 V/here thefe are wanting weak is he who drav/s 
 His fund of glory from a vain apDlaufe. 
 
 FAME, 
 
( i62 ) 
 
 FAME, as reprefented in the Emblein, 
 was one of the deities of the ancients, who 
 defcribed her as a monftrous figure, and re- 
 ported her to be the daughter of the giant En- 
 celadus, v/ho warred with Jupiter. They (liy 
 that Terra or the earth being angry with the 
 gods for having dellroyed her oirspring, 
 brought forth this laft of monfters, which flie 
 
 fent into the world to publilh their excefTes. 
 ♦ • 
 
 Thus far the fable— Of this fictitious Be- 
 ing, the poets have given the moil: lofty and 
 extraordinary defcriptions — Though all feem 
 to have agreed that fhe did not always ftridlly 
 confine herfelf to truth nor reward people ac- 
 cording to their deferts. 
 
 ■ ' Some Ihe difgrac'd, and fome 
 
 v^Mth honours crown'd, 
 Unlike fuccefTes equal merits found : 
 Thus her blind filler fickle Fortune 
 
 reigns, 
 And, undifcerning, fcatters crowns and 
 chains. 
 
 But it needs not be wondered at, that the 
 heathens whofe fupreme Jupiter was defeftive 
 
 Ihould 
 
( >63 ) 
 
 ihould fuppofe all the fubfervent deities to be 
 imperfecl.-— 
 
 THE love of Fame is juflly dy'. A the 
 univerfal paiHon— All men feem pofTsfTed of 
 it;— but in their purfuit of applaufe, as in that 
 of happin efs, it falls out that various people 
 take diiferent roads to attain it. ' 
 
 In the delire itfelf there is certainly nothing 
 amifs ; it is implanted in our Nature as an in- 
 centive to virtue and, doubtlefs, to this we owe 
 many of the bell and greateft aftions which 
 have been performed ;— if it were taken away, 
 ithe world would become worfe than it is, as 
 Ithe force of example in the caufe of virtue 
 [would be far lefs prevalent. 
 
 But, as there is an excefs and likewife a per- 
 verfion of all things ; fo it is in regard to 
 Fam.e : Men often millake glaring characters 
 for <virtuoHs one?, and hence has arofe the 
 falfe glory which has been too often attributed 
 '.o the deftroyers of mankind Ihis is 
 Jie perverfion of Fame.— An excefs in court- 
 ing 
 
( i64 ) 
 ing her Favours is alfo an abufe too frequent. 
 —But thefe arc no arguments againft the 
 olorious emulation in the minds of the good to 
 excel in wifdom and virtue : where thefe arc 
 not the ends defigned, all applaufe is adula- 
 tion, and Fame an empty bubble ; fo that we 
 may well conclude 
 
 All praife is foreign but of true defert, , ^ 
 
 Plays round the head, but comes not neai^ 
 
 the heart.'* 
 
 
 emblem: 
 
( l6s 
 
 E M B L E M 
 
 XLII. 
 
 O 
 
 PRESSION. 
 
 FPv O A'l airy heights the rav'nous bird 
 .^ furvey, 
 
 With matchleis r.viftnefs daiting on her prey, 
 The helplefs, ftruggling victim ftrives in vain 
 From fuch a foe its freedom to regain, 
 Proudly fecure. (he Ikims the fkies along. 
 And haftens home to feed her hungry young ; 
 But when the wily Serpent's ftrcngth Ihe^ 
 
 tries. 
 And ftrives to bear aloft her fcaly prize 
 At once the vidor with the vanquilh'd die?. J 
 
 > 
 
 Beware of vice with lawlefs might combined: 
 All ills ate eafy to a wicked mind. 
 But if an ufeful lefion you would prove. 
 Be wife as Serpents, harmlefs as the dove. 
 
 THE 
 
( i66 ) 
 
 THE Eagle, as we have already obferved 
 is one of the ftrongeft of the feathered kind ; 
 — It is likewife the moft voracious-— It has 
 been faid of the lion that he will not prey up- 
 on carcaffes ; but the contrary is true of the 
 Eagle, which, notwithftanding, is no lefs 
 fierce in its attacks upon living animals- 
 Birds, Beafts, and even Serpents are its prey ; 
 and if the dove falls often a vidlim to this 
 feathered tyrant, the hare with all its fwiftnefs 
 cannot always efcape its pounces : {looping, 
 as it were from the clouds the dellroyer feizes 
 on the timorous creature, and carries her off 
 with incredible fwiftnefs---But when the 
 Eagle and the Serpent meet the combat is lon- 
 ger and more doubtful, for though borne 
 through the air by a force fuperior to his own, 
 the v/ily reptile ftruggling curls his angry 
 fpires, and often, even in that fituation, mor- 
 
 tallv 
 
( >67 ) 
 tally wounds his conqueror ; fo that he either 
 
 efcapes, or both fall down dead together. 
 
 Thus his cunning ferves either to deli\er or 
 
 revenge him, while the poor innocent hare 
 
 falls a.n eafy victim to the great opprefTor.-— 
 
 I T is thus that unfufpecling innocence is 
 often loft and ruined : It is thus that guilty 
 greatnefs triumphs in deftruflion. \'irtue 
 alone cannot always be fafe from the danger 
 of flander or oppreHlon.— -Caution is there- 
 fore a good companion, and a necefTary 
 guard to keep us from the force or fraud Oi 
 arbitrar)^ or defigning men. 
 
 It is a great mifcake of thofe who fuppofe 
 Prudence to be incompetible w ith Goodnefs— 
 A low and vicious cunning may indeed juftly 
 be deemed fo ; but fome of the moft virtuous 
 charaflers that have graced humanity, have 
 
 abb 
 
( 1 68 ) 
 alfo been the mof! remarkable for wifdom, 
 
 which has been confpicuous in all their con- 
 dud even to the end of their days, and tj-aHf- 
 mitted in their writings to pofterity. 
 
 Follow their example ; follow the precepts 
 of ONE greater than them. Adopt the Ser- 
 pent's wifdom, though you avoid being taint- 
 ed with his guile, left like the timerous hare 
 you become an eafy prey to the wicked, be- 
 caufe they apprehend they have nothing to 
 fear from you, and that you are not endued 
 nith prudence enough to efcape them. 
 
 H M J] L E M 
 
( i69 ) 
 
 EMBLEM XLIL 
 Of the Vanity of Self-Love. 
 ^r^ HE fond NarcifTus in the chn^ftal flood, 
 jL His own fair form v.ith fecretpleafure 
 view'd, 
 Of his own face enamoured oft retires, 
 When the warm fun darts forth meridian fire?. 
 To the clear fountain, there enraptur'd lies,-* 
 In vain to catch the fleeting fhadow tries, y 
 And fmit with hopelefs love defp^'ring dies. J 
 The Theban nymphs a ruilic tomb prepare. 
 Rend their fair garment?, tear their golden 
 
 hair : 
 But to a flow'r transform'd the corpfe remains. 
 Which Hill his name and memory fullains. 
 
 The felf-admiring vouth whofe weake 
 mind, 
 Is flill to childifh vanity inclin'd. 
 Will f nd too L;te by the vain fliew betray'd. 
 He courts indeed thejljado^oj of ajhade. 
 
 I NAR- 
 
( I70 ) 
 
 NARCISSUS, accordingto Cvld, was 
 a beautiful youth, who delighted in hunting, 
 and was beloved by Eccho, then a nymph. 
 However, he equally flighted her and all his 
 admirers, at length viewing his own face in a 
 fountain, fell in love with himfelf, and con- 
 ftantly reforted to the ilream to court his own 
 fhadow in the water. 
 
 But when he perceiv'd the beautiful form 
 to retire as often as he withdrew, and to mock 
 his purfiiit when he^Hretclied out his arms to 
 embrace it, he fell into the erea-tefl: agonies 
 of paiTion, and v/ith vain prayers invoked the 
 infubilantial form. 
 
 Tho' convinc'd at lafl:, of his midake, and 
 afiiired that the figure he faw was only the 
 reflexion of himfelf, he yet could not conquer 
 his unhappy paiTion, but Hill continued to 
 pine with a prepofterous love of his own per- 
 {cn — Thus his form wafied, his beauty de- 
 cayed, and the breath of life at la,il fcrfook 
 him: but v>'hen his body was fought for to be 
 interred, in its flead they found a flower 
 
 v/hich 
 
( l-I ) 
 
 which irill retains his name, and perpetuates 
 his memory. 
 
 Such is the fiory, in which the fabulill: feems 
 to have included a very flriking moral again ft 
 A'anity and Self-Love, vs'hich is worthy of 
 fuiviving to future ages, and being handed 
 down to pofterity. 
 
 THERE is not a greater vanity or folly 
 than thofe of Self-love and Self-admiration ; 
 he who inclines to them will court a vain 
 fhadov/ and will ever like the youth in the 
 fable, find himfelf difappointed. 
 
 And befides, what tribute of applaufs, wliat 
 fiiare of honeft fame can he expect to receive 
 at the hands of others, who is ever employed 
 in admiring his own perfon, and founding 
 forth his own praifss f 
 
 But it happens to too many perfons of weak 
 minds, as it did to NarciiTus, that they fuffer 
 themfelves to be led away with fuch vanities 
 before they know that they are poffeffed by 
 them and, are far gone in the intoxication of 
 I 3 Self 
 
( 172 ) 
 
 Self-love before they are aware of It— The ill- 
 habit, flrengthened by cuftom thus grows too 
 powerful for their reafon, and the confequence 
 is that they often become the authors of their 
 own misfortunes only by loving themfelves too 
 
 well. 
 
 Refled on this and prevent the growing 
 evil ; confider thefe things and be wife ; for 
 he who is too proud of himfelf is not in the 
 road to fuccefs, 6i^t he that himhleth himfelf 
 fhcdl he etcalied. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Of the Danger of Greatness. 
 •^T 7 ITH dreadful force, the lofty tree of 
 
 Is ft ruck and rent by lightning from above, 
 MofTy and old its fniver'd trunk appears, 
 The growth of ages, yet unhurt by years ; 
 Long had it flourifh'd and with (lately pride, 
 The utmoft force of fighting winds defy'd. 
 Bat yet in dufi: its honours llrctch'd at lailr. 
 In dreadful ruin by th' a:therea1 blaft ; 
 While the low Ihrub, in far more humble 
 
 ftate. 
 Unknown to Greatnefs, Hands fecure from 
 
 i^te. 
 
 Would you fecurity and peace obtain ? 
 Contented in a private ftate remain. 
 
 I 3 THE 
 
( '74 ) 
 
 THE Oak is one of the ftrongeft trees of 
 the forell. It is faid to be a century in grow- 
 ing, to continue a century in perfedion, and 
 to be a century more in decaying — Hcwe\ er 
 this account may be exaggerated, yet it is 
 certain that it flourilhes a long time, of which 
 we have many inflances in this land™ This 
 tree is generally found to refill the greateil 
 tempefcs, except v/hen,as in the Emblem, it is 
 Uruck by lightning, which fometimes cleaves 
 it to the ground. 
 
 The Oak was efceemed facred among the 
 Romans — It flood at Caefar's gate, together 
 v/ith the laurel; which was held in high ve- 
 neration ; and they even pretended to have 
 fome^ which delivered oracles— The ancient 
 Britons, the firfi inhabitants of thefe ifiands, 
 alfo held it facred, as they alfo did Mifletoe, 
 and fome of their Druids or Priells are faid 
 to have delivered their lectures on the religion 
 
 ol 
 
( 175 ) 
 
 of their country, from tlie fpreading branches 
 of this lofjy tree. 
 
 THIS Emblem is well adapted to repre- 
 fent die dangers generally infeparable from 
 greatnefs, and the fecurity of a private and 
 obfcure flation. To be great is to be fet as a 
 mark for all the ihafti of misfortune, to be 
 expofed to all the ftorms of adverfe Fate, 
 which generally delights in fporting with 
 perfons in exalted flaticns. To live in an 
 humble fituation is the niol likely v/ay to 
 efcape tempefts on tlie troubled fea of life, 
 and to get fafe at' lail into the harbour of 
 peace and tranquility. 
 
 That man is happieft who having little to 
 fear, and much to hope, and can fet a juH: 
 bound to his v/ifhes, and thereby never re- 
 duce himfelf, by afpiring at grandeur, to tlie 
 contrary fituation. Content dwells not 
 I 4 with 
 
( 1:6 ) 
 
 with power, neicher is vSecurity the child oi* 
 wealth and honours : If thou wouldft tarts 
 the ferene joys of life, fly far from greatnefs, 
 and make thy abode with the daughter of 
 fimplicity. 
 
 £ M B L E M 
 
( 177 ) 
 
 E rvl B L E M XLV. 
 Of Heavenly Love. 
 
 TKE tender Pelican with ceafelefs care?, 
 Protecls her young ones and their food 
 prepares, 
 From her own breall the nourifhment proceeds. 
 With which, as with her blood, her brocd 
 
 {he feeds : 
 Emblem of Heavn's fupernal graces known. 
 And parents love to deareit children Ihewn^ 
 
 To God above and to your friends below, ^ 
 
 Still let your breall with zeal and duty glow : 1 
 
 Much to your parents, more to heav'n you | 
 
 owe. J 
 
 Tin 
 
( 173 ) 
 
 THE Pelican is a bird whofe name Is 
 well enough known to moil people. It has 
 given rife to many llrange llories, the prin- 
 cipal of which is, that of its feeding its 
 young with its blood, which, however, upon 
 examination, has not proved to be true. But 
 this creature has a bag or pouch in which it 
 puts provifion to fupply their wants, and 
 doubtlefo the manner of the female's takina 
 
 o 
 
 it from that repofitory appeared to the firll 
 obfervers of it, as if Ihe had made an opening 
 in her breafl:, and nouriihed them vAih their 
 blood ; and from thence occafion has been 
 taken to make it a fymbol of Chriflianity 
 Hovv'ever, as the matter really flands, the Pe- 
 lican may with great propriety be elleemed as 
 :.n Emblem of the cares of Heaven and our 
 parents, to which at all times in general, but 
 
 more 
 
{ J79 ) 
 
 more particularly in youth, we are To highly 
 
 indebted for the prefeiTation of our Being, 
 and which conrequently claim from us tlie 
 fuicerefi: returns of gratitude and love. 
 
 I N this Emblem is cxprefTed the ftate 
 of dependance we are in, on the one hand, and 
 tjie great goodnefs of God on the other, who 
 equally fupplies our temporal and our fpiritual 
 wants, and who fent his only Son to be a 
 propitiation for cur fins, who as it were 
 riourifned us witli his blood, and hy ivhcje 
 
 Jli'lpei ai-<? are healed. The Pelican indeed 
 
 if ihe had granted this fupply ^rom hsr own 
 vitals would have done it only to her brocd ; 
 but the great Author of our falvation did this 
 for widied oiFenders, he died even for his 
 
 greateH 
 
( i8o ) 
 greateft enemies, and bore our fins that he 
 
 might be made righteoufnefs for us, and that 
 we might proceed from grace to grace till at 
 laft we v/ere made heirs of his glorious inhe- 
 ritance. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( ISI ) 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
 XLYL 
 
 Of False Appearances. 
 
 C E E the gay Tulip dipp'd in various dyes. 
 Blooms in full pride beneath the vernal 
 ficies ; 
 But when the v/intry clouds deform the year 
 How faded will that beauteous form appear ' 
 Not fo the Myrtle, deck'd in chearful green. 
 The humble plant among the flow'rs is feen ; 
 What tho' it boail: no varied colours bright, 
 That drink Sol's radiance or refleft his light ; 
 Yet ever green and fragrant it remains. 
 Nor change of feafons, nor oi' time fullains» 
 
 Emblem of real Vv'orth, whofe gloomiell houf 
 Tranfcends the blaze of pomp, excels the 
 pride of pow'r. 
 
 THE 
 
( '82 ) 
 
 THE Tulip is reckoned by the iloriils 
 one of the moH: beautiful flowers our gardens 
 produce 3 its colours fhining in the fun with 
 all the glow of variegated beauty — But this 
 is only a Ihort-lived excellence ; it is not cal- 
 culated to ftand the change of feafons, nei- 
 ther has it any fragrance to boaft of. Its 
 worth confiding only in its hues, which fad- 
 ing, it is pafTed by unregarded, becaufe it has 
 nothing intrinfic to recommend it. 
 
 But the Myrtle difperfes a fvveet fragrance 
 round about it, and though it produces no 
 various coloured flowers to o-litter in the fun- 
 
 o 
 
 beams, yet it- always preferves Nature's ov\'n 
 hue, and flourifliing an ever-green through 
 tlie year, is admired for its conftancy. 
 that renders it preferable to ail thofe gaudy 
 tints of the Tulip which only bloom to fade 
 . and are equally devoid of fragrance as they 
 are of continuance. 
 
 W E are not always to trull to appearances, 
 tior to conclude on the merit of perfons or 
 
 the 
 
( >83 ) 
 
 the worth of things from their outward form 
 and ihew, fince there is nothing more com- 
 mon in the world than for people to ^ffcR be- 
 ing what they are not, and thofe often make 
 the greatell Ihcw of worth, who have in 
 reality, the leail to recommend them. 
 
 Not only pom.p and fplendour, wit and ta- 
 lents, but even virtue and religion are aiietLtec', 
 by fuch as are far from being poffefled of ei- 
 ther ; and he who is led away by the dazzling 
 appearance in either of thefe cafes prefers the 
 Tulip to the Myrtle, and mufl expcd to fuc- 
 ceed accordingly. 
 
 Be not therefore haily in your determina- 
 tions in regard to m.en or things ; but fry all 
 things, and hold faji that lijhich is bzjl. 
 Trull not merely to the boaft of peoples abili- 
 ties, nor the warmth of their profeffions to 
 ferve you, leil you be taken merely with the 
 wind of words, and deferted in time of adver- 
 fny. 
 
 Above all, be careful how you are deceived 
 Ijy an afFedlation of fandlity of manners, 
 which is too often ufed as a cloak for evil, 
 
 and 
 
( 184 ) 
 and a fnare to delude the unwary into vice- 
 Be more attentive to deeds than words, and 
 do not make connexions too haflily leil: you 
 repent them at leifure. 
 
 Take care to be well acquainted with the 
 difpofition of m.en ; for by their fruits you 
 Jhall krio^LV thern ; and remember that thofe 
 who make the greateic profelTions are feldom 
 the m.oil friendly, and that conilancy and fm- 
 cerity are the infeparable companions of vir- 
 tue and merit. 
 
 EMBLEM 
 
( i35 ) 
 
 
 E M B L E I'.I XLVIL 
 
 Of the Frailty of sublu- 
 nary T a I X G £. 
 
 f^ H E lofty pile that rear'd its head To 
 
 .. high. 
 AfpiriRg flill and pointing to the f/Ly, 
 The boafl of ages, but their boall in vain : 
 O'ertum'd atlafl andlevell'd with the plain. 
 So falls the pride of life ; Cd worlds muR fall, 
 And one long, lafl cblivion bury all. 
 
 Time conquers all things : Would you Time 
 furvive. 
 Be good, and in your virtuous actions live, 
 For virtue fhail refill: the tyrant's fvvay, 
 dnA bloom, and fiourifh in eternal day. 
 
 THUS 
 
( i86 ) 
 
 THUS mull the moft lofty and the 
 llrongefc edifices decay! if they efcape fiorms, 
 tempeilis, and earthquakes, yet muil they 
 yield at lail to Time and their glories be buried 
 in tlis duifc. 
 
 Pyramids are juflly reckoned the greatefl 
 infiiances of the folly and vanity of mankind. 
 —The life for which thofe famous ones in 
 Egypt were erefted was only for their kings 
 to be interred in.— And it is even fcdd by 
 fome writers that a mon^irch who had built 
 one of them for this purpofe, v/as not after 
 death fuffered to be laid in this his monu- 
 ment becaufe he had been a great tyrant in 
 •life ; and, amongft other accufations brought ; 
 again ft him, was that of having caufed a num- i 
 ber of innocent men to lofe their lives in exe- 
 cutir,? this maq^nificent plan ;— a flriking- in- 
 Hance of the vanity of men's defires, who often 
 defeat by their vices and follies thofe ends 
 thsy are prompted to purfae, by their 
 ambition. 
 
 TAKE 
 
( 'S- ) 
 
 r A K E a view of tlie ruins of antiquity, 
 and remember O man, the frail flate of thy 
 mortality I— Art thou.nch and great, is thy 
 name known throughout the world, and do 
 thy lofty buildings afpire to the cloud g ? Yet 
 a lictle while, and thou Ihalt fink in duft.' 
 Thy edifices and thy monuments too muft at 
 length decay and leave no traces behind them. 
 
 Where now is Babylon ? Where is the feat 
 of Solomon ? Where is wife A^thens ? and 
 where ancient Rome, the miilrefs of the 
 world ? Where are thofe mighty cities once 
 fo famous upon earth ?-— Of fome there is net 
 left even a Hone upon a Hone, and others are 
 remembered only in their ruins. 
 
 E'en as an infubftantial pageant faded 
 The cloud-capt tow'rs, the gorgeous 
 
 palaces. 
 The folemn temples, the great globe 
 
 itfeif; 
 Yea, all which it inherit, fliall difiblve. 
 And like the bafelefs fabric of a vifion 
 Leave not a wreck behind. 
 
 Be 
 
( i88 ) 
 
 Be aflured then, O man, who glorieil in thy 
 llrength and might that there is nothing folid 
 but peace of mind, nothing permanent but vir- 
 tue ; She alone fhall lafc through the ages and 
 grow brighter through the endlefs rucceiTion. 
 v)f Eternitv. 
 
 INDEX 
 
( iSp ) 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 
 
 Emb. Page 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 A MBITION 
 •^•^ Applaufe 
 
 B 
 
 XXVni 109 
 XLI 151 
 
 Brotherly Love 
 
 C 
 
 XI 41 
 
 Conftant Affeftion 
 
 - 
 
 VII 25 
 
 Confidence 
 
 - 
 
 VIII 29 
 
 Cares of Grandeur 
 
 - 
 
 - X 37 
 
 Changes of Human AiFairs 
 
 XXXII 125 
 
 Chaility 
 
 ' 
 
 XXXV 137 
 Deceit 
 
( 19° ) 
 
 
 Emb. 
 
 Page 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 Deceit _ _ . 
 
 XVII 
 
 ^65 
 
 Danger of Temptation 
 
 •XXV 
 
 97 
 
 
 XLIV 
 
 173 
 
 81 
 
 E 
 
 Education - - - 
 
 XXI 
 
 Evil Principle (of refilling) 
 
 XXII 
 
 85 
 
 Evil (its Punifhment) 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 153 
 
 F 
 
 Filial Duty and AfFcilion 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 Fidelity 
 
 IV 
 
 13 
 
 Falfe Friendfliip 
 
 . XX 
 
 11 
 
 Fortirade 
 
 xxm 
 
 89 
 
 Falfe Appearances 
 
 XLVI 
 
 181 
 
 Frailty of fublunary Things 
 
 XLVII 
 
 185 
 
 Guilt 
 
 Human Grandeur 
 
 H 
 
 VI 21 
 
 XIII 49 
 Inllability 
 
( '91 ) 
 
 I 
 
 Emb. Page 
 
 Inilabillty 
 
 XV 
 
 57 
 
 Improvement 
 
 XVI 
 
 6i 
 
 Inordinate Defire 
 
 XVIII 
 
 69 
 
 InduHry 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 129 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 Love, (heavenly) 
 
 * XLV 
 
 KS 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 Oppreffion 
 
 XLII 
 
 165 
 
 P 
 
 
 
 Pleafure (its Danger) 
 
 III 
 
 9 
 
 Purity 
 
 V 
 
 17 
 
 Perfeverance "" - 
 
 XX\'I 
 
 lOI 
 
 Paniiiiment of the Selfilh 
 
 XXX 
 
 117 
 
 Precipitation 
 
 XXXI 
 
 121 
 
 P anion 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 133 
 
 Pleafare (its Vanit;v) 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 HI 
 
 S 
 
 Silence 
 
 II 
 
 5 
 
 Self^Denial (its Uk) 
 
 XXIV 
 
 93 
 
 Snares of Vice 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 129 
 
 
 Temperance 
 
( i92 ) 
 
 Emb. Page 
 
 Temperance 
 Time 
 
 XIX 7,, 
 XXXVII 145 
 
 UfeofTlme 
 Vain Purfuits 
 Vice (its Pveward) 
 Vain Glory 
 Vanity of Self-Love 
 
 Wifdom 
 
 XII 
 
 W 
 
 45 
 
 XXVII 105 
 
 XXIX 113 
 
 XL 147 
 
 XLIII 169 
 
 XIV S3 
 
 Zeal towards God 
 
 IX 
 
 ^^ 
 
 F INI 0. 
 
22 1>^ 
 
 THE GETTY CENTEK 
 UBRARY 
 
 
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