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Violets pluck'd. . . . will never grow again.

Old English Ballad

He who filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.-Shakspeare.
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is-spotless reputation; that away,
Men are but gilded loam, or painted clay.
Shakspeare.

It is hopeless to recover a lost reputation.-Lord Bacon.

Amant refricare cicatricem.-Cicero.

Arbore dejecta, quivis ligni colligit.

Qui deliquit, supplex est omnibus.—Plautus.

Semel malus, semper malus. *

Mendaci homini, ne vere quidem dicenti credere solemus. Cicero.

Ne tentes sarcire malum nomen.

CONCLUSION. How careful, &c. . . .

THEME XXIX. A good Cause makes a stout Heart.

INTRODUCTION.-Nothing gives a man more confidence and boldness than the consciousness that his cause is just and honourable.

1ST REASON.-A mind conscious of right is not ashamed: and as shame is always cowardly, so the absence of it conduces to moral courage.

2ND REASON. A mind conscious to itself of honourable and honest intentions is not paralysed by any fear of being detected in what it is doing.

3RD REASON.-Conscious rectitude gives confidence to the heart, from a conviction of being in the path of duty.

4TH REASON. A good cause makes a stout heart, from a persuasion that God will maintain the right; and if "God be for us, who can be against us ?"

5TH REASON. The expectation of the approbation of man will also be an encouragement to those who are engaged in the cause of truth and justice.

6TH REASON. The just man will be further emboldened by the reflection, that his adversary's cause is a bad one, and cannot prevail against him.

7TH REASON.-Even to fail in a good cause is honourable; and, therefore, the upright mind is sustained by the double assurance mentioned by St. Paul, "Whether we live we live unto the Lord, or whether we die we die unto the Lord; living or dying we are the Lord's."

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8TH REASON. THE CONVERSE. He who is doing what he knows to be wrong is afraid to be seen: his heart is paralysed by a constant dread of detection, disgrace, and punishment; and the conviction that he is maintaining the wrong against an adversary who is armed with conscious honour and rectitude, will have a most pernicious influence upon his moral courage and physical strength.

SIMILES. AS bright armour will resist a musket ball far better than a rusty suit of mail; so a good cause is far stronger than a puissant arm raised to uphold what is wrong.

A good foundation makes a building firm; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon that house, it will not fall, because its foundation is secure: But a house built upon the sand cannot resist the rain, the floods, and the wind, but will fall when they beat against it, and great will be the fall thereof.

ship built of sound timber may weather the roughest sea; but one made of rotten planks cannot ride in safety through the smoothest water.

A dog stealing a bone is alarmed at the slightest sound,

and will run away; but, guarding a house at night, cannot be terrified by threats or danger.

A "thief doth fear each bush an officer;" but a soldier in the battle-field will stand fearlessly at the "cannon's mouth.

Boys engaged upon their duty are not afraid of the eye of their master; but every sound alarms them when they are doing what they know to be wrong.

Pure silver will resist the corrosive power of salt, grease, and vinegar; but German silver will tarnish even from the influence of the common atmosphere.

HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. According to Shakspeare's representation, Richard III., at the battle of Bosworth Field, was weighed down with the oppression of conscious guilt; but Richmond, being buoyed up with the conviction of the justice of his cause, fought like a lion and prevailed.

Macbeth started at every whisper of the wind, or shriek of the night-hawk, when he went to murder Duncan; but stood as an "eagle against a sparrow, or a lion against a hare," in the fierce contest against the Norwegian rebels.

Siecus Dentatus resisted a hundred adversaries sent to assassinate him with considerable success; for he killed fifteen, and wounded thirty others.

A usurper is in constant fear of conspiracies: thus common tradition says, that Cromwell wore armour under his clothes, and never went and returned by the same route.

Leonidas, at the straits of Thermopylae, was not afraid with 400 men to oppose Xerxes the invader of Greece, at the head of a million troops.

William Tell, with a handful of adherents, boldly resisted the Austrian multitude, and even repulsed it.

David, with a simple sling and stone, encountered Goliah the giant of Gath, and slew him.

The Lord said to the people of Israel, "If ye will not

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hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments . . . I will appoint over you terror . . . and ye shall flee when none pursueth you . . . I will also send faintness into your hearts in the land of your enemies, and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase you, and ye shall flee, as fleeing from a sword.-Leviticus, xxvi. 14. 17. 36., illustrated by Joshua, vii. 10-15., and Judges, ii. 14.

QUOTATIONS.-Honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. -Prov. xxix. 23.

The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.-Prov. xxviii. 1., Ps. liii. 5.

The very weight of Richard's guilt will crush him.

Shakspeare,

Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.

Shakspeare.

What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted?
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just;
And he but naked, though locked up in steel,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.
Shakspeare.

The thief doth fear each bush an officer.-Shakspeare. Conscience makes cowards of us all.-Shakspeare. Conscience is a dangerous thing, it makes a man a coward; a man cannot steal, but it accuseth him; a man cannot swear, but it checks him. 'Tis a blushing shamefaced spirit, that mutinies in a man's bosom, and fills one full of obstacles.-Shakspeare.

Still as they run they look behind,

They hear a voice in every wind,
And catch a fearful glance.-Gray.

When the mind proposes honourable ends, not only the virtues, but the deities also, are ready to assist.-Lord Bacon.

Innocence is the best armour

Integer vitæ, scelerisque purus,

Non eget Mauri jaculis nec arcu.-Horace.

Conscia mens recti Fama mendacia ridet.—Ovid.
Hic murus aheneus esto

Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa.-Horace.
Murus æreus conscientia sana.

Cassis tutissimus Virtus

Sola Virtus invicta.

Virtus mille scuta.

Magna vis est conscientiæ.-Cicero.

Conscientia convictus repente conticuit.—Cicero.

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THEME XXX. Contentment is the true Philosopher's Stone.

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INTRODUCTION. The ancient alchemists imagined it was possible to make a tincture, which would turn the baser metals into gold. This elixir, or tincture, has received the name of "The Philosopher's Stone :" * although no chemical skill can make a man rich by converting dross into gold; yet contentment can cast such a sunshine on his mind, as to make life a perpetual enjoyment.

1ST REASON. The desire of something unpossessed is the source of far more misery than positive pain is or actual destitution; but a contented mind is free from this misery, by being satisfied with its present lot, and wishing for nothing it does not possess.

2ND REASON. A contented mind not only desires nothing it does not enjoy, but also feels a perfect satisfaction in what it possesses.

It seems rather anomalous to call a tincture a stone; but it appears that the tincture was first converted into a solid substance, and then mixed with lead, iron, or tin, while both were in a state of fusion.

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