be so much more blest! How long will ye seek your happiness in selfish gratifications alone, neglecting those purer and better sources of joy, which flow from the affections and

the heart!

SECTION XII.

On the True Honour of Man.

BLAIR,

THE proper honour of man arises not from some of those splendid actions and abilities, which excite high admiration. Courage and prowess, military renown, signal victories and conquests, may render the name of a man famous, without rendering his character truly honourable. To many brave men, to many heroes renowned in story, we look up with wonder. Their exploits are recorded. Their praises are sung. They stand as on an eminence, above the rest of mankind. Their eminence, nevertheless, may not be of that sort, before which we bow with inward esteem and respect. Something more is wanted for that purpose than the con quering arm, and the intrepid mind. The laurels of the warrior must at all times be dyed in blood, and bedewed with the tears of the widow and the orphan. But if they have been stained by rapine and inhumanity; if sordid m riee has marked his character; or low and gross sensuality has degraded his life; the great hero sinks into a little man. What at a distance, or on a superficial view, we admired, becomes mean, perhaps odious, when we examine it more closely. It is like the Colossal statue, whose immense size struck the spectator afar off with astonishment; but when nearly viewed, it appears disproportioned, unshapely, and rude. Observations of the same kind may be applied to all the reputation derived from civil accomplishments; from the refined politics of the statesman; or the literary efforts of genius and eration. These bestow, and within certain bounds, ought to bestow, eminence and distinction on me They discover talents which in themselves are shining; and which become highly valuable, when employed in advancing the good of mankind. Hence they frequently give rise to fame. But a distinction is to be made between fame and true honour. The statesman, the orator, or the poet may be famous; while yet the man himself is far from being honoured. We envy his abilities. We wish to rival ther But we would not choose to be classed with him who p sesses them. Instances of this sort are too often found every record of ancient or modern history.

From all this it follows, that in order to discern where

man's true honour lies, we must look, not to any adventitious circumstance of fortune; not to any single sparkling quality; but to the whole of what forms a man; what entitles him, as such, to rank high among that class of beings to which he belongs; in a word, we must look to the mind and the soul. A mind superior to fear, to selfish interest and corruption; a mind governed by the principles of uniform Teerde and integrity; the same in prosperity and adversity ; which no bribe can seduce, nor terror overawe; heither by pleasure melted into effeminacy, nor by distress sank into dejection: such is the mind which forms the distinction and eminence of man. One, who in no situation of life, is either ashamed or afraid of discharging his duty and acting his proper part with firmness and constancy; true to the God whom he worships, and true to the faith in which he professes to believe; full of affection to his brethren of mankind; faithful to his friends, generous to his enemies, warm with compassion to the unfortunate; self-denying to little private interests and pleasures, but zealous for publie interest and happiness; agimous, without being proud; humble, without being mean; just, without being harsh; simple in his manners, but manly in his feelings; on whose words we can entirely rely; whose countenance never deceives us; whose professions of kindness are the effusions of his heart one, in fine, whom, independently of any views of advantage, we would choose for a superior, could trust in as a friend, and could love as a brother-This is the man, whom in our heart, above all others, we do, we must honour.

SECTION XIII

BLAIR

The influence of Devotion on the IIappiness of Life. WHATEVER promotes and strengthens virtue, whatever calms and regulates the temper, is a source of happiness. Devotion produces these effects in a remarkable degree. It inspires composure of spirit, mildness, and benignity; weakens the painful, and cherishes the pleasing emotions; and, by these means, carries on the life of a pious man in a smooth and placid tenor.

Besides exerting this habitual influence on the mind, devotion opens a field of enjoyments, to which the vicious are entire strangers; enjoyments the more valuable, as they peculiarly belong to retirement, when the world leaves us; and to adversity, when it becomes our foe. These are the two seasons, for which every wise man would most wish

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to provide some hidden store of comfort. For let him be placed in the most favourable situation which the human state admits, the world can neither always amuse him, nor always shield him from distress. There will be many hours of vacuity, and many of dejection in his life. If he be stranger to God and to devotion, how dreary will the gloom of solitude often prove! With what oppressive weight will sickness, disappointment, or old age, fall upon his spirits! But for those pensive periods, the pious man has a relief prepared. From the tiresome repetition of the common vani ties of life, or from the painful corrosion of its cares and sorrows, devotion transports him into a new region; and surrounds him there with such objects, as are the most fitted to cheer the dejection, to cahn the tumults, and to heal the wounds of his heart. If the world has been empty and deinsive, it gladdens hinr with the prospect of a higher and better order of things about to arise. If men have been gal and base, it displays before him the faithfulness of that Supreme Being, who, though every other friend fail will never forsake him. Let us consult our experience, and we shall find, that the two greatest sources of inward joy are, the exercise of love directed towards a deserving d ject, and the exercise of hope terating on some high and assured happiness. Both these are supplied by devotion? and therefore we have no reason to be surprised, if, on some occasions, it fills the hearts of good men with a satisfaction not to be expressed.

raise it

The refined pleasures of a pious mind are, in many res pects, superior to the coarse gratifications of sense. They are pleasures which belong to the highest powers and best affections of the soul; whereas the gratifications of sense reside in the lowest region of our nature. To the latter the soul stoops below its native dignity. The former, above itself. The latter, leave always a comfortless, ofte a mortifying, remembrance behind them. The former, are reviewed with applause and delight. The pleasures of sense resemble a foaming torrent, which, after a disorderly course, speedily runs out, and leaves an empty and offen sive channel. But the pleasures of devotion resemble the equable current of a pure river, which enlivens the fields through which it passes, and diffuses verdure and fe along its banks. To thee, O Devotion! we owe the highest improvement of our nature, and much of the enjoyment of our life. Thou art the support of our virtue, and the rest. of our souls, in this turbulent world. Thou composest the