Likeness, resemblance, similitude. Why is the Holy Spirit compared to a dove? Matt. III. 16. Meek, humble, gentle, kind, not overbearing. Marches, goes forth. Whence the allusion? -Transportation, carrying over, sudden excitement, same as transport. Hindered, stayed by his mercy, or the repentance of men. -Spirit, soul, mind, air, not corporeal, immaterial being. Daughter of charity. Is this figurative or literal? Is -Right line, straight direction, proper manner, directly. Lark, bird which rises early in the morning, a bird which soars high. -Heaven, sky, atmosphere, blue vault; residence of happy spirits. Clouds, klouds. Of what are clouds composed? .Sighings, moanings, gusts. Why is a wind said to sigh? Motion, movement, impulse, soaring. Breath of the tempest, stormy wind. Whence the image e? Libration, balancing, state of being balanced. -Weighing, examining by a balance or scales, balancing. Prosperous, successful, happy, lucky, fortunate. -Below, under ground, in this world, beneath. Infirmities, weaknesses, sins, sufferings, guilt. and smooth like the face of heaven. Then his prayer ascends to heaven upon the wings of the Holy Dove, and dwells with God, till it returns like the useful bee, loaden with a blessing and the dew of heaven. LESSON XXXIII. On the Waste of Life.-FRANKLIN. Amergus was a gentleman of good estate; he was bred to no business, and could not contrive how to waste his hours agreeably; he had no relish for any of the proper works of life, nor any taste for the improvements of the mind; he spent generally ten hours of the four-and-twenty in bed; he dozed away two or three more on his couch; and as many were dissolved in good liquor every evening, if he met with company of his own humor. Thus he made a shift to wear off ten years his life since the paternal estate fell into his hands. of One evening as he was musing alone, his thoughts happened to take a most unusual turn, for they cast a glance backward, and he began to reflect on his manner of life. He bethought himself what a number of living beings, had been sacrificed to support his carcase, and how much corn and wine had been mingled with these offerings; and he set himself to compute what he had devoured since he came to the age of man. "About a dozen feathered creatures, small and great, have, one week with another," said he, " given up their lives to prolong mine, which, in ten years, amounts to at least six thousand. Fifty sheep have been sacrificed in a year, with half a hecatomb of black cattle, that I might have the choicest parts offered weekly upon my table. Thus a thousand beasts, out of the flock and the herd, have been slain in ten years' time to feed me, besides what the forest has supplied me with. Many hundred of fishes have, in all their variety, been robbed of life for my repast, and of the smaller fry some thousands. A measure of corn would hardly suffice me flour enough for a month's provision, and this arises to above six score bushels; and many hogsheads of wine and other liqu Lose the prayer, lose the influence of the prayer. Brow, broů, forehead. Smooth, tranquil, unruffled, gentle. Holy Dove. What is the reference? Why called dove? Bee. What are the characteristics of a bee? -Dew of heaven, moisture from the air, blessings from Amergus, latin term signifying spendthrift. Bred to, instructed in, taught, educated, trained to. Proper, appropriate, suitable, what ought to be performed. -Taste, inclination, disposition, sense of tasting, faculty, relish. Improvements, acquisitions, acquirements. -Liquor, any thing liquid, strong drink, distilled liquor. -Humor, yu'můr, moisture, temper of mind, whim, merriment. Made a shift, found means, made out. Wear off, lose, waste away, a colloquial expression. Paternal, father's, inherited from his father. Glance backward. What is this state of mind called? Sacrificed, slain, offered up in sacrifice. Carcase, body, life; the word is wanting in dignity. Set himself, began, undertook, went about. Compute, calculate, reckon, add up. Devoured, eaten, voraciously swallowed. -Creatures, krè'tshure, animal, any thing created, living being. Hecatomb, hek'å toom, offering of a hundred cattle. Choicest, selectest, most precious. Thousand, thoů'zånd. What are the evils of luxury, bodily and mental? Forest, wood. What food does the forest furnish? Repast, refreshment, sustentation, luxurious entertainment. -Fry, young fishes, spawn of fishes, multitude, company. -Score, account, reckoning, notch, twenty. ors have passed through this body of mine-this wretched strainer of meat and drink! And what have I done What a vast profusion all this time for God and man? of good things upon a useless life and worthless liver! There is not the meanest creature among all which I have devoured, but hath answered the end of its creation better than I. It was made to support human nature, and it has done so. Every crab and oyster I have eaten, and every grain of corn I have devoured, hath filled up its place in the rank of beings with more propriety and honor than I have done. Oh, shameful waste of life and time!" In short, he carried on his moral reflections with so just and severe a force of reason, as constrained him to change his whole course of life; to break off his follies at once, and apply himself to gain some useful knowledge, when he was more than thirty years of age. He lived many following years with the character of a worthy man and an excellent Christian; he died with a peaceful conscience, and the tears of his country were dropped upon his tomb. The world, that knew the whole series of his life, were amazed at the mighty change. They beheld him as a wonder of reformation, while he himself confessed and adored the Divine power and mercy which had transformed him from a brute to a man. But this was a single instance, and we may almost venture to write miracle upon it. Are there not numbers, in this degenerate age, whose lives thus run to utter waste, without the least tendency to usefulness? LESSON XXXIV. The Moon and Stars: A Fable.-MONTGOMERY. On the fourth day of creation, when the sun, after a glorious, but solitary course, went down in the evening, and darkness began to gather over the face of the uninhabited globe already arrayed in the exuberance of vegetation, and prepared by the diversity of land and water for the abode of uncreated animals and man,—a star— .Hogsheads, measures of liquids containing 60 gallons. Strainer, an instrument of filtration. Profusion, abundance, prodigality, lavishness. Devoured, swallowed, consumed, eaten. End, design, purpose, extremity of any material ex tent. Crab and oyster. In what waters are they caught? Rank, gradation, scale, assign a station. .Propriety, proper conduct, what is exactly fit. Shameful waste, because the waste brought shame on Amergus. Moral, serious, pious, religious. Constrained, forced, compelled. -Apply, betake, petition, make application. .Knowledge, from know. .Follies, eccentricities, waywardness. Excellent, from excel, eminent, .Conscience, faculty by which we judge of our own actions. Country. To what is his country likened ? Amazed, perplexed, confused, filled with wonder. Transformed, changed, converted; from form. .Miracle, mêr'å-kl, something above human power. .Degenerated, grown worse, deteriorated, worse than the former. Tendency, direction towards any object; from tend. What is a fable? What is an allegory? See App. In how many days was the world created? How many years since the creation of the world? What was created on the fourth day of creation? Gen. i. Uninhabited. What is the derivation of this word? -Globe, round body, world, artificial ball representing the world. ..Exuberance, fertility, abundance, luxuriant vegetation. Diversity, variety, interchanges. |