follow must pass in the inculcation of precepts already collected, and assertions of tenets already received; nothing is henceforward so odious as opposition, so insolent as doubt, or so dangerous as novelty. -Rambler, vol. 3.

Misery.

If misery be the effect of virtue, it ought to be reverenced; if of ill fortune, it ought to be pitied; and if of vice, not to be insulted; because it is, perhaps, itself a punishment adequate to the crime by which it was produced; and the humanity of that man can deserve no panegyric, who is capable of reproaching a criminal in the hands of the executioner.

Money.

Life of Savage.

To mend the world by banishing money is an old contrivance of those who did not consider that the quarrels and mischiefs which arise from money, as the sign, or ticket, of riches, must, if money were to cease, arise immediately from riches themselves; and could never be at an end till every man was contented with his own share of the goods of life.

Notes upon Shakspeare, vol. 6.

Motives.

Nothing is more vain than at a distant time to examine the motives of discrimina. tion and partiality; for the inquirer, having considered interest and policy, is obliged, at last, to omit more frequent and more active motives of human conduct; such as caprice, accident, and private affections. Life of Roger Ascham.

Method.

As the end of method is perspicuity, that series is sufficiently regular that avoids obscurity; and where there is no obscurity, it will not be difficult to discover method. Life of Pope.

Moderation.

It was one of the maxims of the Spartans not to press upon a flying army; and therefore their enemies were always ready to quit the field, because they knew the danger was only in opposing.

Letter to Douglas.

Negligence.

No man can safely do that by others, which might be done by himself. He that indulges negligence will quickly become

ignorant of his own affairs; and he thal trusts without reserve will at last be deceived.

Nations.

Rambler, vol. 4.

Such is the diligence with which, in nations completely civilized, one part of mankind labours for another, that wants are supplied faster than they can be formed, and the idle and luxurious find life stagnate, for want of some desire to keep it in motion. This species of distress furnishes a new set of occupations; and multitudes are busied, from day to day, in finding the rich and the fortunate something to do. Idler, vol. 1.

Opinion.

The opinion prevalent in one age, as truths above the reach of controversy, are confuted and rejected in another, and rise again to reception in remoter times. Thus the human mind is kept in motion without progress. Thus, sometimes, truth and error, and sometimes contrarieties of error, take each other's place by reciprocal invasion. Preface to Shakspeare.

Opportunity.

To improve the golden moment of oppor

tunity, and catch the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life. Many wants are suffered which might have once been supplied, and much time is lost in regretting the time which had been lost before.

The Patriot.

He that waits for an opportunity to do much at once may breathe out his life in idle wishes, and regret, in the last hour, his useless intentions and barren zeal.

Obligation.

Idler, vol. 1

To be obliged is to be in some respect nferior to another, and few willingly indulge the memory of an action which raises one whom they have always been accustomed to think below them, but satisfy themselves with faint praise and penurious payment, and then drive it from their own minds, and endeavour to conceal it from the knowledge of others.

Parents.

Rambler, vol. 4

In general, those parents have most reverence, who most deserve it; for he that lives well cannot be despised.

Prince of Abyssinia.

Patriot.

A patriot is he, whose public conduct is regulated by one single motive, viz. the love of his country; who, as an agent, in parliament, has for himself neither hope nor fear; neither kindness nor resentment; but refers every thing to the common interest.

Passion.

The Patriot.

The adventitious peculiarities of personal habits are only superficial dies, bright and pleasing for a while, yet soon fading to a dim tint, without any remains of former lustre. But the discrimination of true passion are the colours of nature; they pervade the whole mass, and can only perish with the body that exhibits them. Preface to Shakspeare.

Progress of the Passions.

The passions usurp the separate ccmmard of the successive periods of life. To the happiness of our first years, nothing more seems necessary than freedom from restraint. Every man may remember, that if he was left to himself, and indulged in the disposal of his own time, he was once