PART I.

PIECES IN PROSE.

CHAPTER 1.

Select Sentences and Paragraphs.

CHAPTER II.

Narrative Pieces.

SECT. 1. No rank or possessions can make the guilty

mind happy,

2. Change of external condition often adverse

22

7. The journey of a day; a picture of human

life,

37

CHAPTER III.

Didactic Pieces.

SECT. 1. The importance of a good education,

2. On gratitude,

3. On forgiveness,

4. Motives to the practice of gentleness,

5. A suspicious temper the source of misery to

its possessor,

6. Comforts of Religion,

7. Diffidence of our abilities a mark of wisdom,

C

SECT. 8. On the importance of order in the distribu

t

tion of our time,

Page

51

9. The dignity of virtue amidst corrupt examples,53

10. The mortifications of vice greater than

those of virtue,

11 On contentment,

12. Rank and riches afford no ground for envy,

13. Patience under provocations our interest as

well as duty,

60

14 Moderation in our wishes recommended, 64

15. Omniscience and omnipresence of the Deity,

the source of consolation to good men,

66

CHAPTER IV.

Argumentative Pieces.

SECT. 1. Happiness is founded in rectitude of conduct, 71

2. Virtue man's highest interest,

3. The injustice of an uncharitable spirit,

4. The misfortunes of men mostly chargeable

on themselves,

5. On disinterested friendship,

6. On the immortality of the soul,

72

73

75

78

81

2. The cataract of Niagara, in Canada, North

America,

3. The grotto of Antiparos,

4. The grotto of Antiparos continued,

5. Earthquake at Catanea,

6. Creation,

7. Charity,

8. Prosperity is redoubled to a good man,
9. On the beauties of the Psalms,

10. Character of Alfred, king of England,

11. Character of Queen Elizabeth, .

SECT. 12. On the slavery of vice,

13. The man of integrity,"

14. Gentleness,

Page

100

. 102

103

CHAPTER VI.

Pathetic Pieces.

SECT. 1. Trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford, 106

2. An eminent instance of true fortitude of

mind,

3. The good man's comfort in affliction,

4. The close of life,

107

109

5. Exalted society, and the renewal of virtuous

connections, two sources of future felicity, 112

6. The clemency and amiable character of the

patriarch Joseph,

7. Altamont,

114

. 117

CHAPTER VII.

Dialogues.

SECT. 1. Democritus and Heraclitus,

2. Dionysius, Pythias, and Damon,

3. Locke and Bayle,

CHAPTER VIII.

Public Speeches.

135

SECT. . Cicero against Verres,

2. Speech of Adherbal to the Roman Senate, im-

ploring their protection against Jugurtha, 139

3. The Apostle Paul's noble defence before Fes-

tus and Agrippa,

4. Lord Mansfield's speech in the House of

Lords, 1770, on the bill for preventing the

delays of justice, by claiming the privilege

of Parliament,

143

145

150

CHAPTER IX

Promiscuous Pieces.

SECT. Earthquake at Calabria, in the year 1658,

2. Retter from Pliny to Geminius,

8. Detter from Pliny to Marcellinus, on the

death of an amiable young woman,

On Discretion,

3. On the government of our thoughts,

6. On the evils which flow from unrestrained

7. On the proper state of our temper, with res-

pect to one another,

8. Excellence of the Holy Scriptures,

9. Reflections occasioned by a review of the

blessings, pronounced by Christ on his dis-

ciples, in his sermon on the mount,

10. Schemes of life often illusory,

11. The pleasures of virtuous sensibility,

12. On the true honour of man,

Page

155

159

160

161

166

167

13. The influence of devotion on the happiness

of life,

14. The planetary and terrestrial worlds compa-

ratively considered,

15. On the power of custom, and the uses to

which it may be applied,

16. The pleasures resulting from a proper use of

our faculties,

17. Description of candour,

179

181

18. On the imperfection of that happiness which

rests solely on worldly pleasures,

19. What are the real and solid enjoyments of

human life,

20. Scale of beings,

21. Trust in the care of Providence recommend-

ed,

22. Biety and gratitude enliven prosperity,

23. Virtue, when deeply rooted, is not subject to

the influence of fortune,

SECT. 24. The speech of Fabricius, a Roman am-

bassador, to king Pyrrhus, who attempted

to bribe him to his interest, by the offer

of a great sum ́ of money,

Page

. 207

25. Character of James 1. King of England, 208

26. Charles V. emperor of Germany, resigns

his dominions, and retires from the world, 210

27. The same subject continued,

213

232

233

234

. 236

238

SECT. 1. The bears and the bees,

2. The nightingale and the glow-worm,

3. The trials of virtue,

4. The youth and the philosopher,

5. Discourse between Adam and Eve, retiring

to rest,

6. Beligion and death,