Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

PREFACE.

Missionary Societies, therefore, and every Institution calculated to hasten that renovated state in our world, shall have our humble but cordial advocacy.

Again, as in the first number of their Publication, the Conductors of the CHRISTIAN'S PENNY MAGAZINE declare, "that their Work shall not be Political, nor Sectarian, nor Controversial, except so far as regards Infidelity and Immorality. With them it will urge a determined warfare, as the worst enemies of our countrymen; yet the contest will be carried on in the spirit of that name, which has been assumed for the title of this Magazine." They therefore confidently ask the countenance of all who hold sacred Knowledge and Patriotism, Morality and Scriptural Religion.

EXPLANATION OF THE VIGNETTE IN THE TITLE PAGE.

THE four principal figures in the Vignette are intended to represent the chief PROTESTANT REFORMERS: Luther in the centre, Cranmer on his right hand, Knox on his left, and Calvin on his extreme right: each holding in his hand a manuscript or printed copy of the word of God. The Rock, on which they are standing, is intended to denote the TRUTH of the doctrine of the Divine Oracles; on which, as on an immutable Rock, the Reformers rested all their claims, in labouring to restore pure Christianity. Around the ROCK OF TRUTH, the waves of Error and Superstition are seen dashing; and in that sea appear plunged and struggling for existence, the four chief supporters of the Papal Antichrist. The principal figure represents His HOLINESS THE POPE, with his triple crown, grasping in one hand his once dreadful Bull, and in the other, his formerly terrible sceptre. On his right hand appears a bloated MENDICANT FRIAR; on the left, a wily JESUIT; and on his extreme right a ROMISH DIGNITARY, each with his peculiar symbols of hypocrisy, imposture, and terror; but all become useless to their possessors, in the presence of the published HOLY SCRIPTURES.

LUTHER, CALVIN, CRANMER, and KNOX, have laid Europe and the whole world under the greatest obligations to them, by their courageous, indefatigable, and successful labours; overthrowing the Priestcraft of Popery, that blasphemous "MAN OF SIN," and "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY," 2 Thess. ii; and restoring to the people the Holy Scriptures, as their only infallible directory in matters of Religion.

Although we have adorned our Periodical with the effigies of those illustrious men, we are not prepared to call either of them "Master." We esteem ONE infinitely more worthy, to whom alone we are directed by their imperishable writings: "One is our Master, even CHRIST, and all these are brethren." Our principles are those for which the Martyrs, especially the British Martyrs, shed their blood; and their united testimony declares, in the language of Chillingworth, "THE BIBLE-the Bible oNLY IS THE RELIGION OF PROTESTANTS: or, in the words of the Protestant clergy in Ireland, recently adopted as their noble maxim-"THE Bible—the whole Bible—AND NOTHING But the Bible.”

In our future labours we shall have occasion to pourtray more fully the immortal labours of Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, and Knox; and for that reason we shall only just notice a few particulars respecting them.

MARTIN LUTHER, the father of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was born at Isleben in Saxony, in 1483. He was educated for the law; but on becoming pious, in his twenty-first year, he retired to a monastery, to study for the service of religion. Providence directing him to a neglected Latin Bible, he became acquainted with the purity of Evangelical truth, and a most zealous preacher of the Gospel of Christ. In 1517, he began to oppose the impositions of Popery, especially in the sale of Indulgences, and the iniquitous courses of the priests and monks. In 1520 the Pope excommunicated Luther, when he publicly burnt the papal decrees before an immense concourse of

[ocr errors]

people, relinquishing all connection with the Bishop of Rome, and declaring him Antichrist. Luther commenced a translation of the Holy Scriptures into the German language, and completed that inestimable work, which incalculably served the cause of truth and religion. After a series of the most important services in the cause of Christ and of his country, Luther died in the full assurance of hope, in 1546.

JOHN CALVIN, the father of the Protestant Reformation in France, was born in 1509, at Noyon in Picardy. He was educated for the church at Paris, but in reading the Holy Scriptures, his mind was renewed, and led to discover the abominations of Popery. This led him to devote himself to the study of the law: but on embracing the doctrines of Luther, he was persecuted in France, on which he fled to Switzerland, where, in 1535, he published his celebrated work, entitled "Institutes of the Christian Religion," dedicated to Francis I, king of France. In the year following he settled at Geneva, where he continued a most laborious professor of divinity, and indefatigable preacher of the Gospel, with some intermissions, until his death in 1564. Calvin's fame for learning and piety was great throughout Europe, especially in England; and after the death of Luther, he was regarded as the chief pillar of the Protestant Reformation.

THOMAS CRANMER, the father of the Protestant Reformation in England, was born in 1489, at Aslacton in Nottinghamshire. He was educated for the church at Jesus College, Cambridge. Luther's writings attracted the attention of Cranmer; by which he was led to search the Scriptures, to make them the only rule of his faith, and to favour the doctrines of the Reformation. Approving of Henry VIII divorcing his Queen Catherine, who had been before married to his elder brother, he was introduced to the king, and by him promoted in 1533 to be Archbishop of Canterbury. His influence with the king was exerted in favour of the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, which had been translated into English by Tindal. Cranmer employed his power, during the reign of Edward VI, in promoting the cause of pure Christianity, and made various preliminary arrangements towards perfecting the Reformation of religion in England: but in 1556, under Mary, he suffered martyrdom.

JOHN KNOX, the father of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, was born in that country at Haddington, or at the neighbouring village of Gifford. He was educated for the ministry in the Romish Church: but he imbibed the doctrines of the Reformation, partly from the martyr Wishart, and partly from his study of the Scriptures. Knox was some time chaplain to Edward VI, and one of the six Home Missionaries, licensed to preach the Gospel through the kingdom. He refused a bishopric, and retired to the continent, and assisted in the translation of the Geneva Bible. In 1559, he returned to Edinburgh, and became the principal agent in perfecting the Reformation in his native country, and establishing the church of Scotland. He died in 1572, greatly honoured by the prin cipal men in the kingdom.

[blocks in formation]

BRITONS! intelligent, pious, and generous Britons! A crisis has arrived in our history. Upon yourselves, under the blessing of Providence, much, far beyond all human calculation, depends, as to the interests of our country, and the circumstances of our posterity. "The schoolmaster is abroad," and we have become, not only a numerous people, but a nation of readers, from the highest to the lowest in society. This peculiarity may become an evil: but with a proper direction, it may be made to contribute to the virtue and the greatness, to the security and happiness of our country. Judiciously has the present Bishop of London said, in his first charge, "The almost universal diffusion of elementary knowledge furnishes the enemies of Revealed Religion with abundant materials to work upon: but then it also furnishes the friends of truth with the obvious means of counteracting the influence of erroneous doctrines, and of instilling sounder principles into the bulk of the community. Any attempt to suppress, or even to check, the spirit of inquiry which is abroad in the world, would not only be a vain and fruitless attempt, but a violation of the indefeasible liberty of the human mind, and an interference with its natural constitution. To impart to that spirit a right direction, to sanctify it with holy motives, to temper it to righteous purposes, to shape it to ends which lie beyond the limits of this beginning of our existence, will be the endeavour of those who desire to make the cultivation of intellect conducive to moral improvement, and to establish the Kingdom of Christ at once in the understandings and affections of mankind."

Intelligent and benevolent Britons! Shall our fellow countrymen be carried away with the stream of deistical Freethinking? Shall we become a nation of Infidels ? A large portion of the press holds a truce with Infidelity, and ridicules every thing sacred. Shall we be satisfied with their preoccupying and filling the minds of our mechanics, our labourers, and our youth, with that which is inflammatory and injurious? Sincerely may every true Christian rejoice, that there is much put forth that is "Scientific," "Entertaining," and "Useful:" but every one knows, that there is a mass of reading supplied in the cheapest form, of a character which is antichristian and destructive.

[blocks in formation]

cure the pernicious epidemic? Ponder seriously these momentous considerations.

A writer of no ordinary mind observes, "The storm which now threatens Europe is no passing cloud. The stream and tendency of opinion in Europe is eminently revolutionary; it is powerful to destroy, but weak to rebuild. Old institutions are rapidly falling before it; but the new institutions which were intended to supply the place of their predecessors, perish still more rapidly than those which they have supplanted. There is no stability, because there is little religion. But God is employing all these political changes and convulsions to introduce one great and permanent revolution, the change of the kingdoms of this world into the everlasting kingdom of the Saviour. The Christian, therefore, while he is warranted to rejoice that those civil and ecclesiastical tyrannies are falling on every side which have so long harred the entrance of the truth, and that freedom, which is the birth-right of every man, should at length be imparted in all probability to many nations, will yet regard this extension of liberty rather as a means than as an end, as accelerating the approach of the reign of the Just One, rather than as sufficient of itself to procure many lasting blessings to men who are as yet but indifferently prepared to receive them.

"The purpose of God is to overturn, overturn, overturn,' till He comes to whom by right the kingdom belongs, and these changes are likely to increase in rapidity and intensity, the nearer we approach to the advent of the universal King. While a Christian, therefore, gives thanks to God for the spread of liberty, he will be most anxiously desirous that God, by his Spirit, should teach men the true use of the blessing; nor will His views rest in these transitory mercies, or ever stop short of that glorious period when all shall partake of spiritual liberty as well as civil, and become partakers of the freedom and inheritance of the children of God."

Personally, as Christians, the servants of God have nothing to fear on earth, how tumultuous soever it may be; "for we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God." Still we have interests at stake, the greatest, and the dearest which can possibly be contemplated, next to our own personal salvation. Our children, and "our children's children," and our property, liberty, and privileges for their sakes, we must desire to transmit to them unimpaired as their inheritance. Their welfare, in every

B

respect, is involved in the character of the present and future age; and every thing which affects their interests must be dear to us-as men-as patriots-and as Christians.

The Conductors of the "Christian's Penny Magazine" hold sacred the principles of the Protestant Reand they deem it right to declare, that formation; their Work will not be Political, nor Sectarian, nor Controversial, except so far as regards Infidelity and Immorality. With them it will wage a determined warfare, as the worst enemies of our countrymen; yet the contest will be carried on in the spirit of that name, which has been assumed as the title of their Magazine.

Assistance and cooperation from their talented friends, they respectfully request, in rendering effectual this humble attempt to befriend their countrymen, and to make their labours the means of furnishing rational entertainment, useful instruction, and Christian edifica

tion.

EVILS OF POPULAR IGNORANCE. SOLOMON, by divine inspiration, has said, "That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good." Facts of the most appalling description, from every part of our country, at once prove and illustrate this heavenborn sentiment. Mr. Foster remarks

"One of the most melancholy views in which a human being can be presented to us, is when we behold a man of perhaps seventy years, sunk in the gross stupidity of an almost total ignorance of all the most momentous subjects, and reflect, that more than three thousand Sundays have passed over him, of which every hour successively has been his time, since he came to an age of some natural capacity for mental exercise. Perhaps some compassionate friend may have been pleading in his behalf, Alas! what opportunity, what time, has the poor mortal ever had? His lot has been to labour hard through the week, throughout almost his whole life. Yes, we answer, but he has had three thousand Sundays; what would not the most moderate improvement of so immense a quantity of time have done for him?-But the ill-fated man (perhaps rejoins the commiserating pleader) had no advantages of education, had nothing in any sense deserving the name. There, we reply, you strike the mark. Sundays are of no practical value, nor Bibles, nor the enlarged knowledge of the age, nor Heaven, nor Earth, to beings brought up in estrangement from all discipline of their minds.

"How many families have we seen, where the parents were only older and stronger animals than their children, where they could teach nothing but the methods and tasks of labour. They naturally could not be the mere companions, for alternate play and quarrel, of their children, and were disqualified by mental rudeness to be their respected guardians. There were about them these young and rising forms, containing the inextinguishable principle, which was capable of entering on an endless progression of wisdom, goodness, and happiness; needing numberless suggestions, explanations, admonitions, and brief reasonings, and a training to follow the thoughts of written instruction. But nothing of all this from the parental mind. Their case was as hopeless for receiving this benefit, as the condition for physical nutriment of infants attempting to draw it (we have heard of so affecting and mournful

a fact) from the breast of a dead parent. The unhappy heads of families possess no resources for engaging and occupying, for at once amusing and instructing, the younger minds; no descriptions of the most wonderful objects, or narratives of the most memorable events, to set, for superior attraction, against the idle stories of the neighbourhood; no assemblage of admirable examples, from the sacred or other records of human character, to give a beautiful real form to virtue and religion, and promote an aversion to base companionship.

"Now imagine a week, month, or year, of the intercourse spent in such a domestic society, the course of talk, the mutual manners, and the progress of the mind and character; where there is a sense of drudgery approaching to that of slavery, in the unrelenting necessity of labour; where there is none of the interest of imparting knowledge or receiving it, or of reciprocating knowledge that has been imparted and received; where there is not an acre, if we might express it so, of intellectual space around them, clear of the thick universal fog of ignorance; where, especially, the luminaries of the spiritual heaven, the attributes of the Almighty, the grand phenomenon of redeeming mediation, the solemn realities of a future state and another world, are totally obscured in that shade; where the conscience aud the discriminations of duty are dull and indistinct, from the youngest to the oldest; where there is no genuine respect felt or shown on the one side, nor affection unmixed with vulgar petulance and harshness, expressed perhaps in wicked imprecations, on the other; where a mutual coarseness of manners and language has the effect, without their being aware of it as a cause, of debasing their worth in one another's esteem, all round; and where, notwithstanding all, they absolutely must pass a great deal of time together, to converse, and to display their dispositions towards one another, and exemplify what the primary relations of life are reduced to, when divested of all that is to give them dignity, endearment, and conduciveness to the highest advantage of existence."

THE ANTIQUITY OF THE BIBLE.

IN what point of view soever we regard the Bible, we must acknowledge that it is an extraordinary book. And whether we consider our readers as Britons or as Christians, we are persuaded that we shall render them an essential service by calling their attention to its Antiquity. We extract therefore the chapter with the above title, from a popular and valuable little work"The Companion to the Bible."

"That the Bible has existed from very remote ages, will not be disputed, except by those who are grossly ignorant. The proofs of its antiquity are, beyond all comparison, more numerous and convincing, than can be advanced in favour of any other book in existence. It has never been without its intelligent witnesses, and zealous guardians; though some of them have been the greatest perverters of its peculiar principles, or the bit. terest enemies of the Christian name.

"The Old Testament has been preserved by the Jews, in every age, with a scrupulous jealousy, and with a veneration for its words and letters, bordering on superstition; demonstrating their regard for it as divinely inspired. The Hebrews never were guilty of negligence in relation even to the words of their sacred books; for they used to transcribe and compare them so carefully, that they could tell how often every letter came over again in writing any book of the Old Testa

ment.

"The Old Testament contains, besides the account

of the former ages of the world, the code of the Jewish laws, both civil and religious; and the records of their national history, for more than one thousand nine hundred years, from the call of Abraham; as well as prophecies, which regarded a distant futurity, and which have respect to times yet to come. The celebrated Roman historian Tacitus, who lived in the apostolic age, speaks of the Jewish books as very ancient in his time. They were translated from the Hebrew into the Greek language more than two thousand and one hundred years ago; and they were possessed in both those languages by the Jews. By those Jews who lived among the Greeks, they were read in their synagogues every sabbath day, in the translation, the same as the Hebrew Scriptures were read by the native Jews: commentaries were written upon them by their learned doctors; copies of them were circulated in every nation where the Jews were scattered, and thus the sacred books were multiplied without number.

"The books of Moses, including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, were written more than three thousand and three hundred years ago, and nearly fifteen hundred years before the Christian era; many of the other books were published above a thousand years, and those of the elder prophets about eight hundred years before the advent of Christ.

As to the writings of uninspired men, they are modern compared with the Holy Scriptures. The earliest profane history which is known is that of Herodotus, in Greek; which was written no earlier than the time of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament writers. Somewhat more ancient than Herodotus, are the poems of Homer and Hesiod: the period in which they were written cannot be correctly ascertained; but those who allow them the remotest antiquity, place Homer only in the days of Isaiah the prophet, and Hesiod in the age of Elijah. It is not, indeed, agreed among the learned, whether there ever was such a person as Hesiod. The books of these ancient, uninspired writers are of a quite different character from the Holy Scriptures; they are filled with silly and absurd fables, and contain many impurities. They make no discovery of the just character of the only living and true God, though they contain much concerning religion. As to the history by Herodotus, it contains much that is merely fabulous and untrue; but as far as it records the transactions of his own age, or describes the things within the compass of his own observation, or details matters of fact of which he was correctly informed, his statements confirm the faithfulness and accuracy of the records contained in the holy and inspired word of the Lord."

[blocks in formation]

INFIDELITY Continues to rage! but "great is truth, and it must prevail!" May every possible effort be made to advance the one and confound the other! The unskilful villager and inexperienced youth require the friends of wisdom and virtue to fortify their minds against the influence of pernicious principles. May these classes never be forgotten by the intelligent advocates of morality and religion.

Our divine Master has given us a comprehensive though simple rule, calculated for universal adoption, in reference not only to teachers, but also with respect to principles: "By their fruits ye shall know them." A short time ago, I was led to try its application in the case of deistical infidelity: not so much to satisfy my

own mind as to lead myself into a more grateful contemplation of the value of revealed religion, of "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord."

[ocr errors]

Mentioning to a gentleman of property and of professed liberality of thinking, a case of Christian charity, for which I was soliciting contributions, he made me an abrupt reply. With a tone and countenance expressive of ineffable contempt and self-complacency, he delivered himself in substance as follows: "I am one of those persons who do not believe in that book called the Bible, as divinely inspired. I regard it as the work of interested priests, contrived to uphold and support their craft. The noble mind of man does not need a divinely written law as its guide of life; and I do not believe that God ever gave a written revelation." I was astonished at the unhesitating boldness of this avowal, and a number of queries soon arose in my mind respecting the moral influence of such disbelief. What," said I, "is the real genius of this rejection of the Bible? Is it more rational, more virtuous, or blissful, than repentance towards God and faith in the doctrine of atonement by our Lord Jesus Christ? Does it sanctify the conjugal relation? Does it excite and direct parental and filial affection? Does it contribute to the endearments of domestic intercourse? Does it strengthen the social compact? Does it inspire the sacred flame of patriotism? Does it elevate the tone of universal philanthropy? Does it afford any powerful stimulus to virtue ?” 1 forbear to state what I know of the influence of Deism in the case to which I have made allusion. To each of the foregoing reasonable questions, veritable facts compelled me to give an unqualified negative. The practical denial of Christianity has never, in any age or nation, contributed, in the smallest degree, either to exalt the character, or to advance the happiness of man.

Are there, then, no moral benefits in existence, the fruits of Deism? If there be, where are they to be discovered? In what nation, or province, or city? Where is the town or village that they have blessed with elevating knowledge and fraternal concord? Do the fruits of Deism appear in asylums prepared for the foundling and orphan?-in the schools established for the instruction of the ignorant poor?-in the retreats erected for the repose of the aged?-in the hospitals endowed for the sick and diseased? Have its professors sent forth and supported missionaries to enlighten and civilize the barbarous and idolatrous nations?-or have they directed their united energies to emancipate the slave, and purchase liberty for the oppressed captive? Ah, no! None of these works of benevolence have been either accomplished or undertaken by the sons of infidelity, the votaries of Deism. Deism has reared to its immortal fame no monuments of mercy in any land in any quarter of the world.

Its spirit is indeed distinguished, but it is principally from being shrunk with selfishness. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," cannot possibly have any place in its system of morals. It has no golden rule of duty, nor any solid ground of immortal anticipation. Its gloomy futurity is bounded by the impenetrable darkness of the grave, at best by the yawning gulph of terrifying uncertainty.

Let the poor, the unlearned, and the young, learn to judge of principles by their fruits, and with abhorrence they will soon reject every attack upon their most holy faith. Thus they will be prepared to say, with Dr. Watts, that example of human excellence and universal benevolence,

"Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treach'rous art,
I'd call them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart."

ON THE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN NATURE.

SURROUNDED as we are by wonders of every kind, and existing only by a miraculous concurrence of events, admiration seems the natural avocation of our being; nor is it easy to pronounce amidst such a creation what is most wonderful. But few things appear more incomprehensible than the constant production and re absorption of matter.-An animal falls to the ground and dies, myriads of creatures are now summoned, by a call, by an impulse of which we have no perception, to remove it, and prepare it for a new combination; ehemical agencies, fermentation and solution, immediately commence their actions to separate the parts, and in a short time, of all this great body nothing remains but the framework or bones, perhaps a little hair or some wool, and all the rest is departed we know not whither! Worms and insects have done their parts; the earth has received a portion, and the rest, converted into gases and exhalable matters, has dispersed all over the region, which, received into vegetable circulation, is again separated and changed, becomes modified anew, and nourishes that which is to continue the future generations of life. The petal of the rose; the pulp of the peach; the azure and the gold on the wing of the insect; all the various productions of the animal and vegetable world; the very salts and compounds of the soil, are but the changes some other matters have undergone, which have circulated through innumerable channels since the first produetion of all things, and no particle been lost. Bearing in mind this assured truth, that all these combinations have not been effected by chance or peculiarity of circumstance, but the predeterinination of an Almighty Intelligence, who sees the station, progress, and final destination of an atom, what an infinity of power and intellective spirit does this point out! Au Omnipotence, the bodied minds of us poor creatures cannot conceive. Truly may we say, "who can find out the Almighty to perfection!"-Journal of a Naturalist.

CRIME IN ENGLAND AND WALES, &c. THE number of criminals committed during the last year, throughout England, has been in the proportion of 1 to 740 inhabitants; in Wales, I to 2,320; in Scotland, 1 to 1,130; and in Ireland, I to 490. In London and Middlesex, the proportion of commitments has been higher than in any other county in England, being 1 criminal to 400 inhabitants. In Surrey, the proportion is I to 680; in Kent, 1 to 730; in Sussex, I to 750; in Essex, 1 to 650; in Hertfordshire, 1 to 520; in Bedfordshire, 1 to 710. In the manufacturing districts, the proportion is, in Lancashire, 1 to 650; in Warwickshire, 1 to 480; in Gloucestershire (including Bristol), 1 to 630; in Nottinghamshire, 1 to 750; in Cheshire, 1 to 630. In the more remote counties, the proportion is small; that of Northumberland being only 1 to 2,700; in Westmoreland, 1 to 2,500; in Durham, 1 to 2,460; and in Cornwall, 1 to 1,600. In Rutland also, the proportion is very much smaller than in the adjacent counties. In Wales, the highest proportion of offenders is found in the most populous County, Glamorgan; while Cardigan presents the lowest proportion of crime in any county of the United Kingdom, being only 1 to 4,920. In the large manufacturing counties of Scotland, the proportion is nearly as high as in England: in Edinburgh it is 1 to 540; in Lanark, the most populous county, 1 to 600. In Ireland, the highest proportion of crime is in the city of Dublin, where there has been 1 criminal to 96 inhabitants: in the eity of Waterford, the proportion is

I to 125. Of the counties in Ireland, that which has the largest proportion is Longford, being 1 to 260: the lowest proportion is in Downshire, which has only I criminal to 990 inhabitants. Of the total number of persons convicted in Ireland, viz. 9,902, only 262 were sentenced to death; and of these, 95 were for offences against the person: of the 262 sentenced to death, 39 suffered.-Eclectic Review for April 1832.

Crime is well ascertained to be the consequence of ignorance: ignorance not merely of letters, but of pure, scriptural religion. He is therefore the best friend to the people, who is most successful in promulgating the unadulterated truths of Christianity.

ON A TEAR.

Oh that the chemist's magic art
Could crystallize this sacred treasure!
Long should it glitter near my heart,
A secret source of pensive pleasure.
The little brilliant, ere it fell,

Its lustre caught from Chloe's eye,
Then, trembling, left its coral cell-
The spring of sensibility.

Sweet drop of pure and pearly light!

In thee the rays of virtue shine; More calmly clear, more mildly bright, Than any gem that gilds the mine. Benign restorer of the soul,

Who ever flies to bring relief, When first we feel the rude control Of love or pity, joy or grief.

The sage's and the poet's theine,

In every clime, in every age;
Thou charm'st in fancy's idle dream,
In reason's philosophic page.
That very law which moulds a tear,

And bids it trickle from its source, That law preserves the earth a sphere, And guides the planets in their course.

MY BOOK OF WISDOM.

Mr. EDITOR,

ROGERS.

If you think any of the extracts from my "Book of Wisdom," will be useful to your readers, I shall be gratified by your using them in the projected "Christian's Penny Magazine." I herewith send you. a few of them.

"No revenge is more heroic, than that which torments envy by perseverance in doing good."

"Money, like manure, does no good till it is spread. There is no real use of riches, except in the distribution: the rest is all conceit, or delusion."

"Pitch upon that course of life which is the most excellent; and habit will render it most agreeable and delightful."

"There is but one way of fortifying the soul against all gloomy presages and terrors of the mind; and that is, by securing to ourselves the friendship and protection of that Being, who disposes of events, and governs futurity."

"Truth is always consistent with itself, and needs nothing to help it out. It is always near at hand, and sits upon our lips, and is ready to drop out before we are aware: whereas a lie is troublesome, and sets a man's invention upon the rack; and one trick needs a great many more to make it good in appearance."

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »