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2. Thy food, thy clothing, thy convenience of habitation, thy protection from the injuries, the enjoyments of the comforts and the pleasures of life, all these thou owest to the assistance of others; and couldst not enjoy but in the bands of society. It is thy duty therefore to be a friend to mankind, as it is thy interest that man should be friendly to thee.

3. As the rose breatheth sweetness from its own nature, so the heart of a benevolent man produceth good works. He enjoyeth the ease and tranquillity of his own breast, and rejoiceth in the happiness and prosperity of his neighbour. He openeth not his ear unto slander; the faults and the failings of men give a pain to his heart.

4. His desire is to do good, and he searcheth out the occasion thereof; in removing the oppression of another, he relieveth himself. From the largeness of his mind he comprehendeth in his wishes the happiness of all men; and from the generosity of his heart, he endeavoureth to promote it.

5. The peace of society dependeth on justice; the happiness of individuals, on the safe enjoyment of all their possessions. Keep the desires of thy heart, therefore, within the bounds of moderation; let the hand of justice lead them aright. Cast not an evil eye on the goods of thy neighbour; let whatever is his property be sacred from thy touch.

6. In thy dealings with men be impartial and just; and do unto them as thou wouldst they should do unto thee. When thou sellest for gain, hear the whispering of conscience, and be satisfied with moderation; nor from the ignorance of the buyer make any advantage to thyself. Pay the debts which thou owest; for he who gave thee credit, relied upon thine honour: and to withhold from him his due, is both mean and unjust.

7. Finally; O son of society! examine thy heart, call remembrance to thy aid; and if, in any of those things, thou findest thou hast transgressed, take sorrow and shame to thyself, and make speedy reparation to the utmost of thy power.

8. Happy is the man who hath sown in his breast the seeds of benevolence; the produce thereof shall be charity and love. From the fountain of his heart shall rise rivers of goodness; and the streams shall overflow for the good of

mankind. He assisteth the poor in their trouble; he rejoiceth in furthering the prosperity of all men.

9. He censureth not his neighbour; he believeth not the tales of envy and malevolence; neither repeateth he their slanders. He forgiveth the injuries of men; he wipeth them from his remembrance; revenge and malice have no place in his heart. For evil he returneth not evil; he hateth not even his enemies; but requiteth their injustice with friendly admonition.

10. The griefs and anxieties of men excite his compassion, he endeavours to alleviate the weight of their misfortunes, and the pleasure of success rewardeth his labour. He calmeth the fury, he healeth the quarrels of angry men, and preventeth the mischiefs of strife and animosity. He promoteth in his neighbourhood peace and good will; and his name is repeated with praise and benedictions.

11. The providence of God is over all his works; he ruleth and directeth with infinite wisdom. He hath instituted laws for the government of the world; he hath wonderfully varied them in all beings; and each by his nature, conform to his will. His goodness is conspicuous in all his works; he is the fountain of excellence, the centre of perfection.

12. The creatures of his hand declare his goodness, and all their enjoyments speak his praise; he clotheth them with beauty; he supporteth them with food; and preserveth them from generation to generation. If we lift up our eyes to the heavens, his glory shineth forth; if we cast them down upon the earth, it is full of his goodness: the hills and the valleys rejoice and sing; fields, rivers, and woods, resound his praise.

13. But thee, O man! he hath distinguished with peculiar favour, and exalted thy station above all creatures. He hath endowed thee with reason to maintain thy dominion; he hath fitted thee with language to improve by society; and exalted thy mind with the powers of meditation, to contemplate and adore his inimitable perfections.

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14. And in the laws he hath ordained as a rule of thy life, so kindly hath he suited thy duty to thy nature, that obedience to his precepts is happiness to thyself. "O praise his goodness with songs of thanksgiving, and meditate in silence on the wonders of his love: let thy heart overflow

with gratitude and acknowledgement; let the language of thy lips speak praise and adoration; let the actions of thy life show thy love to his law."

LESSON CXXVI.

On Sincerity.

1. Sincerity, by which I mean honesty in men's dealings with each other, is a virtue praised by every one, and the practice of it is, I believe, more common than gloomy moralists are willing to allow. The love of truth, and of justice, are so strongly implanted in our minds, that few men are so hardened, or so insensible, as knowingly and deliberately to commit dishonest actions, and a little observation soon convinces those who are engaged in a variety of transactions, that honesty is wisdom, and knavery folly.

2. But though, according to this acceptation of the phrase, men are seldom insincere, or literally dishonest, in the ordinary transactions of life; yet, I believe, there is another and a higher species of sincerity, which is very seldom to be met with in any degree of perfection; I mean that sincerity which leads a man to be honest to himself, and to his own mind, and which will prevent him from being imposed upon, or deceived by his own passions and inclinations. From that secret approbation which our mind leads us to give to what is virtuous and honourable, we cannot easily bear the consciousness of being dishonest.

3. Hence, therefore, when men are desirous to give way to their evil inclinations and passions, they are willing, nay, at times, they are even at pains to deceive themselves. They look out for some specious apology, they seek for some colour and disguise, by which they may reconcile their conduct to the appearance of right, and may commit wrong, under the belief that they are innocent, nay, sometimes that they are acting a praiseworthy part.

4. Thus there are men who would abhor the thought of deceiving themselves; and, while they believe that they are sincere, and are really so, in the restricted sense in which I have used this word, are, in all the important actions of their life, under the influence of deceit.

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STEELE.

LESSON CXXVII.

Extract from the Speech of the Hon. R. Y. HAYNE, in reply to Hon. D. WEBSTER, in the Senate of the United States, on the principles of the Constitution, Jan. 1830.

1. The honourable gentleman of Massachusetts, after deliberating a whole night upon his course, comes into this chamber to vindicate New England; and instead of making up his issue with the gentleman from Missouri, on the charges which he had preferred, chooses to consider me as the author of those charges, and losing sight entirely of that gentleman, selects me as his adversary, and pours out all the vials of his mighty wrath upon my devoted head. Nor is he willing to stop there.

2. He goes on to assail the institutions and policy of the South, and calls in question the principles and conduct of the State which I have the honour to represent. When I find a gentleman of mature age and experience of acknowledged talents and profound sagacity-pursuing a course like this, declining the contest from the West, and making war upon the unoffending South, I must believe, I am bound to believe, he has some object in view that he has not ventured to disclose.

3. Mr. President, why is this? Has the gentleman discovered in former controversies with the gentleman from Missouri, that he is over matched by that senator? And does he hope for an easy victory over a more feeble adversary? Has the gentleman's distempered fancy been disturbed by gloomy forebodings of "new alliances to be formed," at which he hinted? Has the ghost of the murdered CoALITION come back, like the ghost of Banquo, to "sear the eye-balls of the gentleman," and will it not "down at his bidding?" Are dark visions of broken hopes, and honours lost for ever, still floating before his heated imagination?

4. If it be his object to thrust me between the gentleman from Missouri and himself, in order to rescue the East from the contest it has provoked with the West, he shall not be gratified. Sir, I will not be dragged into the defence of my friend from Missouri. The South shall not be forced into a conflict not its own.

5. The gentleman from Missouri is able to fight his own battles. The gallant West needs no aid from the South to repel any attack which may be made on them from any quar

ter. Let the gentleman from Massachusetts controvert the facts and arguments of the gentleman from Missouri, if he can-and if he win the victory, let him wear its honours: I shall not deprive him of his laurels.

6. In commenting upon my views, in relation to the public lands, the gentleman insists, that it being one of the conditions of the grants, that these lands should be applied to "the common benefit of all the States, they must always remain a fund for revenue;" and adds, "they must be treated as so much treasure." Sir, the gentleman could hardly find language strong enough to convey his disapprobation of the policy which I had ventured to recommend to the favourable consideration of the country.

7. And what, sir, was that policy, and what is the difference between that gentleman and myself, on this subject? I threw out the idea, that the public lands ought not to be reserved for ever, as 66 a great fund for revenue;" that they ought not to be "treated as a great treasure:" but, that the course of our policy should rather be directed towards the creation of new states, and building up great and flourishing communities.

LESSON CXXVIII.

The same continued.

1. In the course of my former remarks, Mr. President, I took occasion to deprecate, as one of the greatest evils, the consolidation of this Government. The gentleman takes alarm at the sound. "Consolidation, like the tariff," grates upon his ear. He tells us 66 we have heard much of late about consolidation; that it is the rallying word for all who are endeavouring to weaken the Union, by adding to the power of the States."

2. But consolidation (says the gentleman) was the very object for which the Union was formed; and, in support of that opinion, he read a passage from the address of the President of the Convention to Congress, which he assumes to be authority on his side of the question. But, sir, the gentleman is mistaken. The object of the framers of the constitution, as disclosed in that address, was not the consolidation of the Government, but "the consolidation of the Union,"

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