Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

SECTION II.

(The Infinitivas of Verbs are 10 be altered into their proper Moods and Tenses, &c.)

SHORTNESS OF LIFE-DUTIES OF KINGS.

"I AM Arcesius, the father of Laertes," said the old man; "I had finished my course before my grandson, Ulysses, departed for the siege of Troy. Thou wert then but an infant ind thy nurse's arms, but I conceived great hopes of thee, and they have not deceived me, since I see that thou art descended into Pluto's kingdom in search of thy father, and that the gods support theef in this enterprize. Oh! my happy child! the gods love thee, and are preDaring a glory for thee,s, which will equal that of thy father, and happy am I to see thee again! Cease to search for Ulysses here; he is still alive, and is reserved to be the restorer of our house in the island of Ithaca'. Laertes himself, though bowing under a weight of years, still enjoys" the light, and waits for his son coming to close his eyes. Thus mortals pass away like flowers which bloom in the morning, and wither and are trodden under

RAPIDITÉ; Laërte;- mes jours; enfant entre; pour chercher; te soutenir;- te préparer une gloire ;- heureux moi-même de ; de chercher ;-k pour relever; Ithaque ;courbé sous le ;- jouir encore de ;- que son fils vienne lu fermer les ;--P s'épanouir.

foot in the evening. The generations of men roll away like the waves of a rapid river: nothing can stop the tide of time, which draws after it every thing that seems the most immoveable. Thou thyself, O my son, my dear son,-thou who now enjoyest such a sprightly pleasurable youth,remember that this beautiful age is but a flower that withers almost as soon as it is blown. Thou wilt perceive thyself in.ensibly altert: the smiling graces, the sweet pleasures which attend thee-strength, health, joy, will vanish like a pleasing dream; nothing but a regretful remembrance will be left thee". Languid old age, that enemy to pleasure, will come and wrinkle thy brows, bow down thy body, weaken thy limbs, dry up the source of joy in thy heart, and make thee loath the present, fill thee with apprehensions of the future, and make thee insensible of all things but pain.

4 s'écouler; rien ne ;- d'une jeunesse si vive et si féconde en plaisirs ;---tte voir changer insensiblement;-v t'accompagnent;-" ne te rester qu'un triste souvenir; -* ennemie du;y rider ton front; te dégoûter du;-a pour l'avenir ;-bet te rendre ; à tout.

Continuation.

"THAT time appears to thee at a distanced, alas! thou deceivest thyself, my son; it comes apace, nay, it is already near. What advances with such as rapidity, is not far from thee; and the present fleeting moment is already at a distance1, since it ceases to be, the moment we speak, and can approach1 us* no more. Never, therefore, my son, rely on the present, but support thyself in ◄ éloigné ;- rapidement; que dis-je; tant de;-le moment présent qui s'enfuit ;-loin;- dans le moment que; - s'approcher ;- Ne compter donc jamais.

the rugged and thorny path of virtue, by the sight of the future. Prepare thyself, by the purity of thy manners and the love of justice, a mansion" in this blissful abode of peace.

"Thou shalt quickly see thy father; he will resume his authority in Ithaca; thou wert born° to reign after him; but, alas! my son, how deceitful is a crown! Viewed at a distance', nothing* is een but grandeur, lustre, and pleasure; but, when nears, it is beset with thorns. A private person may without reproach, lead a life of obscurity; but a king cannot, without dishonouring himself, prefer a life of* pleasure" and indolence, to the painful duties of government. He owes himself to his subjects; he is never permitted to be his own master: and his least oversights are of the greatest consequence because they make his people wretched and that sometimes for ages. He ought to curb the audacity of the wicked, to support innocence, to suppress calumny. It is not enough for him not to do any evil, he must do all the possible good of which the state stands in needa. Nay, it is not enough that he does good himself, he must likewisee prevent all the evils which others would do, were they not restrainedf. Be apprehensives, therefore, my.son,-be apprehensive of so langerous a situation; arm thyself with resolution against thyself, against thy passions, and against flatterers."-FENELON.

place; es né;-P pour régner; la royauté être trompeuse; de loin; mais de près;-t parsemée de ;- particulier; douce; il ne lui est jamais permis de ;— fautes ;

rendre; pendant des siècles ;-b réprimer ;-carréter; _d a besoin ;-- aussi ;— s'ils n'étaient retenus;- Crains ;— à s'armer de

AMADEUS V. COUNT OF SAVOY.

AMADEUS succeeded to the sovereignty in 1285. Aagh a prince of such small States he acoured the surname of Great, by his wisdom, and by his success. He gained by his conduct, the es:eem and friendship of all the principal powers" of Europe, who constituted him the arbiter of their difference; and he acquired" great renown from the defence of the Isle of Rhodes against the Turks. It was in memory of this single service that he took, for his arms, a Maltese cross", with the letters F. E. R. T., which signify-Fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit,- His valour kepts Rhodes.'

[ocr errors]

1 AMÉDÉE ; de si; ses succès ;- mpuissances; quérir; par la défense ;-P Ce étre ;- armoiries; de Malte; sauver.

il s'ac

QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY FOR A POET.

croix

Now resolved to be a poet, my sphere" of attention was suddenly magnified, no kind of knowledge was to be overlooked. I ranged mountains and deserts for images and resemblances, and pictured upond my mind every tree of the forest and flower of the valley. I observed, with equal care, the crags of the rock, and the pinnacles of the palace. Sometimes I wandered along the mazes of the rivulet, and sometimes watched the changes of the summer clouds. Nothing can be useless to a poet. Whatever is beautiful, and whatever is dreadful must be familiar to his imagination: he

↑ QUALITÉS NÉCESSAIRES À;- Ayant résolu de;-u la sphère de mon; s'étendit tout à coup; aucune; ne devait être négligée ;- parcourir ;-b pour y trouver des images ;-- comparaisons; et graver dans;-e le faîte; suivre les détours d'un ;- épier; Rien n'est.

must be conversant with all that is awfully vast or elegantly little1. The plants of the gardens, the animals of the woods, the minerals of the earth, and the meteors of the sky, must all concur to store his mind with an inexhaustible variety of objects; for every idea is useful for the enforcement or decoration of moral" or religious truth; and he who has most knowledge, will have most power of diversifying his scenes, and of gratifying his reader with remote allusionss and unexpected instruction.

But the knowledge of Nature is only half of whatt a poet ought to know; he must be acquainted with▾ the happiness and misery of every condition of life; he must observe the power of all the passions in all their combination, and trace" the changes of the human mind as they are modified by various institutions and accidental influences of climate or custom, from the sprightliness2 of infancy to the despondence of decrepitude. He must divest himself of the prejudices of his age or country; he must consider right and wrongd, in their abstract and invariable state: he must rise to general and transcendant truths, which will always be the samef.

His labour is not yet at an end: he must know many languages and many sciences; and that hiss style may be worthy of his thoughts, he must, by incessant practice, familiarize to himself every delicacy of speech and grace of harmony.-JOHNSON.

m

il faut qu'il ait une connaissance intime de;— majestueux et grand; petit mais élégant; à enrichir son esprit de ;inculquer ou orner les mœurs ;- les vérités ;-P le plus de moyens;- tableaux ;- plaire au;- par des allusions ;de ce que; il faut qu'il connaisse; et qu'il suive;diverses;-y l'influence; depuis la vivacité;-a l'abatement; se dépouiller ;- siècle;-d le bien et le mal;s'élever à ;-f que rien n'altère jamais;-8 et pour que son ;— en s'exerçant sans cesse ;-i qu'il se familiarise avec.

« AnteriorContinuar »