CONTENTS.

PART I.

PIECES IN PROSE.

CHAPTER I.

Select Sentences and Paragraph.

CHAPTER II.

Narrative Pieces.

Ser. 1. No rank or possessions can make the guilty

mind happy,

2. Change of external condition often adverse

to virtue,

3. Haman; or the misery of pride,

4. Ortugrul; or the vanity of riches,

5. Lady Jane Grey,

6. The hill of science,

7. The journey of a day; a picture of human

life,

CHAPTER IIT,

Didactic Pieces.

Str. 1. The importance of a good education,

2. On gratitude,

page.

37

38

40

42

46

SECT. 3. On forgiveness,

4. Mtives to the practice of gentleness,

5. A suspicions temper the source of misery

to its possessor,

6 Comforts of religion,

7. Diffidence of our abilities a mark of wis-

dom,

8. On the importance of order in the distribu-
tion of our time,

9. The dignity of virtue amidst corrupt exam-

ples,

:

10. The mortifications of vice greater than
those of virtue,

11. On contentment,

55

56

57

59

60

63

64

12. Rank and riches afford no ground for envy, 68
13. Patience under provocations our interest as
well as duty,

14 Moderation in our wishes recommended,
15. Omuiscience and omnipresence of the Dei-
ty, the source of consolation to good
men,

70

72

74

CHAPTER IV.

Argumentative Pieces.

SECT. 1. Happiness is founded in rectitude of conduct, 78

2. Virtue man's highest interest,

3. The injustice of an uncharitable spirit,

4. The misfortunes of men mostly chargeable

on themselves,

5. On disinterested friendship,

. On the immortality of the soul,

ibid.

80

81

84

97

CHAPTER V.

Descriptive Pieces.

SECT. 1. The seasons,

90-

2. The cataract of Niagara, in Canada, N. A. 91
3. The grotto of Antiparos.

92

SECT. 4. The grotto of Antiparos continued,

5. Earthquake at Catanea,

6. Creation,

7. Charity,

8 Prosperity is redoubled to a good man,

9. On the beauties of the Psalms,

10 Character of Alfred, King of England,

11. Character of Queen Elizabeth,

12 On the slavery of vice,

13. The man of integrity,

14. Gentleness,ą

CHAPTER VI..

Pathetic Preccs.

SECT. 1. Trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford 108

2. An eminent instance of true fortitude of

mind

3. The good man's comfort in affliction,

4. The close of life,

5. Exalted society, and the renewal of virtu-

ous connexions, two sources of future

felicity.

109

111

ibid.

113

6. The clemency and amiable character of

the patriarch Joseph,

114

7. Altamount,

117

CHAPTER VII.

Dialogues.

SECT. 1. Democritus and Heraclitus,

2. Dionysius, Pythias, and Damon,

3. Locke and Bayle,

120

122

125

CHAPTER VIII.

Public Speeches.

SECT. 1, Cicero against Verres,

131

SECT. 2. Speech of Adherbal to the Roman Senate,

imploring protection against Jugurtha, 134

3. The Apostle Paul's noble defence before

Festus & Agrippa,

4. Lord Mansfield's speech in the house of

Lords, on the bill for preventing the

delays of justice, by claiming the privi-

leges of parliament,

5. An address to young persons,

138

140

144

CHAPTER IX.

Promiscuous Pieces.

SECT. 1. Earthquake at Calabria, in the year 1638, 148

2. Letters from Pliny to Geminus,

152

3. Letter from Pliny to Marcellinus on the
death of an amiable young woman, ibid.

4. On discretion,.

154

5 On the government of our thoughts,

6. On the evils that flow from unrestrained

157

passions,

159

7. On the proper state of our temper with

respect to one another,.

s. Excellence of the Holy Scriptures,

9. Reflections occasioned by a review of the

blessings pronounced by Christ on his

disciples, in his sermon on the mount.

161

163

10. Schemes of life often illusory,

11. The pleasures of virtuous sensibility,

12. On the true honor of man,

13. The influence of devotion on the happiness

14. The planetary and terrestial worlds com-

paratively considered,

-

15. On the power of custom, and the uses to

which it may be applied,

-

16. The pleasures resulting from a proper use

of our faculties,

1. Description of candor,

164

165

168

170

172

174

176

178

179

On the imperfection of that happiness

which rests solely on worldly pleasure, 180

SECT. 19. What are the real and solid enjoyments of

human life,

20. Scale of beings,

21. Trust in the care of Providence recom-

mended,

2. Piety and gratitude enliven prosperity,

23. Virtue when deeply rooted, is not subject

to the influence of fortune,

24. The speech of Fabricius, a Roman ambassa-

dor, to king Pyrrhus, who attempted

to bribe him to his interests, by the of

fer of a great sum of money,

25. Character of James 1. king of England,

26. Charles V. emperor of Germany, resigns

his dominions, and retires from the

world,

27. The same subject continued,

184

186

189

- 190

193

194

195

196

199