II.-PUNCTUATION.

SECTION I.

COMMA.

Rudiments, p. 17.

I. Self-conceit, presumption, and obstinacy blast the prospects of many a youth. Plain, honest truth needs no artificial covering. To live soberly, righteously, and piously comprehends the whole of our duty. Vicissitudes of good and evil, of trials and consolations, fill up the life of man. Health and peace, a moderate fortune and a few friends, sum up the elements of earthly felicity.

II. Sensuality contaminates the body, depresses the understanding, deadens the moral feelings, and degrades man from his rank in creation. The path of piety and virtue, pursued with a firm and constant spirit, will assuredly lead to happiness. Peace of mind being secured, we may smile at misfortunes. To say the least, they have betrayed great want of prudence.

III. Continue, my dear child, to make virtue thy principal study. To you, my worthy benefactors, am I indebted, under Providence, for all I enjoy. Come then, companions of my toils, let us take fresh courage, persevere, and hope to the end. Hope, the balm of life, soothes us under every misfortune. The patriarch Joseph is an illustrious example of chastity, resignation, and filial affection.

IV. He who is a stranger to industry, may possess, but he cannot enjoy. The goods of this world were given to man for his occasional refreshment, not for his chief felicity. Though unavoidable calamities make a part, yet they make not the chief part, of the vexations and sorrows which distress human life.

V. Be assured, then, that order, frugality, and economy are the necessary supports of every personal and private virtue. I proceed, secondly, to point out the proper state of our temper with respect to one another. Gentleness is, in truth, the great avenue to mutual enjoyment. I shall make some observations, first, on the external, and, next, on the internal condition of man.

VI. Vice is not of such a nature that we can say to it, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther." One of the noblest Christian virtues is, to love our enemies. Many too confidently say to themselves, "My mountain stands strong, and shall never be removed." We are strictly enjoined, not to follow a multitude to do evil.

SECTION II.

SEMICOLON.

Rudiments, p. 19.

I. The passions are the chief destroyers of our peace; the storms and tempests of the moral world. Heaven is the region of gentleness and friendship; hell, of fierceness and animosity. The path of truth is a plain and safe path; that of falsehood is a perplexing maze. Levity is frequently the forced production of folly or vice; cheerfulness is the natural offspring of wisdom and virtue.

II. That darkness of character, where we can see no heart; those foldings of art, through which no native affection is allowed to penetrate; present an object unamiable in every season of life, but particularly odious in youth. To give an early preference to honour above gain, when they stand in competition; to despise every advantage, which cannot be attained without dishonest arts; to brook no meanness, and to stoop to no dissimulation; are the indications of a great mind, the presages of future eminence and usefulness in life. As there is a worldly happiness, which God perceives to be no other than disguised misery; as there are worldly honours, which, in his estimation, are reproach; so there is a worldly wisdom, which, in his sight, is foolishness.

SECTION III.

COLON.

Rudiments, p. 20.

I. Virtue is too lovely to be immured in a cell: the world is the sphere of her action. Do not flatter yourself with the hope of perfect happiness: there is no such thing in the world. The three great enemies to tranquillity are vice, superstition, and idleness: vice, which poisons and disturbs the mind with bad passions; superstition, which fills it with imaginary terrors; idleness, which loads it with tediousness and disgust.

II. If he has not been unfaithful to his king; if he has not proved a traitor to his country; if he has never given cause for such charges as have been preferred against him: why then is he afraid to confront his accusers? By acquiring an humble trust in the mercy and favour of God, through Jesus Christ; by doing,

or at least endeavouring to do, our duty to God and man; by cultivating our minds, and properly employing our time and thoughts; by governing our passions and our temper; by correcting all unreasonable expectations from the world, and, in the midst of worldly business, habituating ourselves to calm retreat and serious reflection by such means as these, it may be hoped, that, through the divine blessing, our days shall flow in a stream as unruffled as the human state admits.

III. All our conduct towards men, should be influenced by this important precept: "Do unto others, as you would that others should do unto you." Philip III. king of Spain, when he drew near the end of his days, seriously reflecting on his past life, and greatly affected with the remembrance of his misspent time, expressed his deep regret in these terms: "Ah! how happy would it have been for me, had I spent in retirement, these twenty-three years that I have held my kingdom."

SECTION IV.

PERIOD.

Rudiments, p. 22.

I. The absence of evil is a real good. Peace, quiet, and exemption from pain would be a continual feast.

The resources of virtue remain entire, when the days of trouble come. They remain with us in sickness, as in health; in poverty, as in the midst of riches; in our dark and solitary hours, no less than when surrounded with friends and cheerful society. The mind of a good man is a kingdom to him, and he can always enjoy it.

If we look around us, we shall perceive that the whole universe is full of active powers. Action is indeed the genius of nature. By motion and exertion, the system of being is preserved in vigour. By its different parts always acting in subordination one to another, the perfection of the whole is carried on. The heavenly bodies perpetually revolve. Day and night incessantly repeat their appointed course. Continual operations are going on in the earth, and in the waters. Nothing stands still.

II. Constantine the Great was advanced to the sole dominion of the Roman empire, A. D. 325; and soon after openly professed the Christian faith.

The letter concludes with this remarkable postscript: "P. S. Though I am innocent of the charge, and have been bitterly persecuted, yet I cordially forgive my enemies and persecutors." The last edition of that valuable work, was carefully compared with the original MS.

SECTION V.

POINT OF INTERROGATION, &c.

Rudiments, p. 23.

Will

We wait till to-morrow to be happy: alas! why not to-day? Shall we be younger? Are we sure we shall be healthier ? our passions become feebler, and our love of the world less?

Beauty and strength, combined with virtue and piety-how lovely in the sight of men! how pleasing to Heaven! peculiarly pleasing, because with every temptation to deviate, they voluntarily walk in the path of duty.

On the one hand are the divine approbation, and immortal honour; on the other, (remember and beware,) are the stings of conscience, and endless infamy.

As, in riper years, all unseasonable returns to the levity of youth, ought to be avoided, (an admonition which equally belongs to both sexes,) still more are we to guard against those intemperate indulgences of pleasure, to which the young are unhappily prone.

II. A good heart. A wise head. A strong body. An obedient son. A diligent scholar. A happy parent. Shady trees.

A fragrant flower. affable deportment.

The verdant fields. A peaceful mind. An The king's prerogative. The scholar's duty. Deceit discovers a little mind. Idleness is the parent of vice and misery.

III. A boisterous sea.

cavern. Rapid streams. The spacious firmament. A mutual agreement.

The howling tempest. A gloomy A severe winter. Harmless doves. Cooling breezes. An open countenance. Relentless war. An incomprehensible

subject. A resolution wise, noble, and disinterested. A contented mind is an inestimable treasure.

IV. I am sincere. We honour them.

He is disinterested. They commend her. He

Thou art industrious.

You encourage us.

assisted me. We completed our journey. Their fears will detect them. Let us improve ourselves. Which was his choice? Whose books are these? Our best friends are those, who tell us of our faults, and teach us how to correct them.

V. Vice brings misery. Prepare your lessons. The book is his: it was mine. Her work does her credit. Your conduct met their approbation. All have talents to improve. Boast not of the favours you bestow. It is a great blessing to have pious and virtuous parents. Whatever purifies also fortifies the heart. They who have nothing to give, can often afford relief to others by imparting what they feel. Were we to survey the chambers of sickness and distress, we should frequently find them peopled with the victims of intemperance.

VI. The task is already performed. We often resolve, but seldom perform. He has been very diligent, and certainly deserves to succeed. We are curiously and wonderfully formed. When will they arrive? Where shall we stop? How sweetly the lark sings! There is certainly no greater felicity, than to be able to look back on a life usefully and virtuously employed.

VII. They travelled through France towards Italy. From virtue to vice the progress is gradual. We are often below our wishes, and above our desert. By this imprudence he was plunged into new difficulties. The best preparation for all the uncertainties of futurity, consists in a good conscience, and a cheerful submission to the will of Heaven.

VIII. My father and mother are in town, but my brother is in the country. We must be temperate, if we would be healthy. Though he is often advised, yet he does not reform. Neither prosperity nor adversity has improved him. Her talents are more brilliant than useful. There is nothing on earth so stable as to