New ways I must attempt, my grov'ling name
To raise aloft, and wing my flight to fame.

I, first of Romans, shall in triumph come
From conquer'd Greece, and bring her trophies home;
With foreign spoils adorn my native place,
And with Idumè's palms my Mantua grace.

The generality of mankind seem to imagine that the chief thing to be studied is, how to live voluptuously; and to this end, they are continually on the alert to pander to their vile passions and appetites, without once considering that each possesses a mind, which if cultivated with care and adorned with learning, is the most glorious of all the works which have emanated from the great Creator-a transcript of himself. I, for my own part, do not see in what these monsters of men differ from oxen, except in having the gift of speech; whereas oxen only low in every other respect they perfectly resemble each other. They have fat, bloated facesso have oxen; a marked stupidity of countenance— so have oxen; flabby unmeaning lips—so have oxen; they are always groveling upon the earth looking out for fodder-so are oxen; they drag along with them monstrous bellies, which four or five times a day they fill to repletion-so do oxen. In short the resemblance is so complete, that were it not for the aforementioned gift of speech, a natural historian would be fully justified in classing them with that species. These animals (for men they cannot be called), lull the generous spirit which was born within them, into a state of supineness and obscurity; and think nothing worthy to be learned, but what may place them on a level with a set of illiterate companions, as low sunk in the

scale of sensuality as themselves. But come thou more noble scion of man, whose soul is on fire with enkindling ardor;-I wish not so much to excite mankind in general, as to rouse the sons of genius from their state of torpidity;-come, I say, let us behold the beauty of our minds, and having beheld it, let us study to adorn it; and having adorned it, let us glory in the ornaments; and knowing the shortness of this our mortal life, let us secure an immortality by building ourselves a name which time itself cannot efface.. We are all sprung from celestial seed, thither let us return whence we derive our origin. Thus, as we behold the rays of the sun descending upon a certain space in the horizon, so shall the rays of the divine Mind shine upon us; but, unlike the natural orb, which withdraws its beams, and for a time leaves that space in darkness, the sun of knowledge shall enlighten us through the whole of our career with increasing splendor, and shall render us glorious objects to all beholders. Let us imitate the example of the lion, who, being the most noble of beasts, is naturally averse to society, and prefers the gloomy solitude of the forest to the company of inferior animals. Let no one acknowledge a greater than himself upon earth, Him only excepted who of his omnipotence framed the uniLet us purge our minds from fancy and vanities, and let nothing delight us but what is truly great; and thus, whatever may be the height of our ambition, we shall find that difficulties will vanish at our touch, and that there is nothing so arduous that we shall not be able to conquer it.

verse.

CHAPTER II.

We must love our studies and despise luxury.

HE who desires to enlist himself under the banners of learning, must cheerfully submit to labor as well by night as by day. He must fly from luxury, wantonness, and all other things which render the mind effeminate, as he would from a serpent: He must be willing to sleep rather upon stones and bare floors than upon a bed of down: He must accustom himself to eat such food as is best calculated to satisfy the cravings of nature; without having regard to any of those delicacies which only serve to pamper a depraved appetite, and engender a taste for voluptuousness. In short, he must consider all things, the more immediate object of which is pleasure, in the sensual acceptation of the word, as the greatest enemies to himself and his pursuits, and as such studiously avoid them.

Quisquis enim duros casus virtutis amore
Vicerit, ille sibi laudemque decusque parabit
At qui desidiam luxumque sequetur inertem
Turpis inopsque simul, miserabile transiget ævem.

He who contends with ills in virtue's name
Shall conquer; and acquire a glorious fame:
But him, who sunk in sloth and lux'ry lies,
The wise shall hate, and even fools despise;
A fearful death his shameful life shall end,
And to the grave unwept he shall descend.

Nevertheless he must take every possible care of his bodily health, for without that the mind will scarcely be able to effect anything of importance. He must be more willing to stand, than to sit at his ease; he must rather run, than walk leisurely along the path marked out for him. Let him never lay the weapons of his warfare out of his hands, but exercise himself in the constant use of them, for all these things add strength to the body, and vigor to the mind, for as trees which stand exposed to the rude blast of northern storms are more hardy than those which are sheltered from all but the southern and western breezes, so are we firmer and stronger when we have to contend with adverse circumstances; or when greater exertion than usual is required, than when we live in a state of uninterrupted prosperity, and are easily enabled to obtain whatever we may wish for. Our ability increases with our exertion, and decreases with the want of it. Nor can anything be truly great or meritorious which is not obtained by the sweat of our brow. For so it was ordained by the great Author of nature himself, that we should not attain to excellence without the greatest diligence on our own parts. Thus we find it to be the case, that those things which are obtained without trouble, are for the most part worthless in themselves, and as such come to an inglorious end: besides which, things easily acquired are lightly esteemed, and eventually become almost, if not altogether, useless to their possessors.

If any one think that knowledge is to be attained without labor, let him not unite himself with our forces. For in this our warfare, a greater degree of ardor and

a stricter discipline are necessary, than the armies of other generals are accustomed to exercise. Nor is this at all unreasonable, for they contend only for the sovereignty of some particular country, nay, perhaps their object may be only the possession of some insignificant city; but we grasp at the universe. They know that the honors they have acquired must, after the lapse of a few years, irrecoverably perish; but we limit our glory only by the end of the world and the consummation of time.

If, then, the young recruit of literature be not willing to undergo this discipline, and encounter these difficulties, let him withdraw himself from our bands, and let him remain, as he ever will remain, an useless burden to the community. Socrates, the wisest of all the ancient philosophers, was accustomed to say, that the root of learning was certainly bitter, but the fruit was truly delicious; and that although the cultivation of that root required more diligence and exertion than ordinary, the produce of the tree would amply repay the labor and anxiety of the husbandman. Therefore, whoever thou art, whose breast glows with the desire of acquiring knowledge; whose mind is fired with the love of glory; banish far from thee all effeminacy, levity, indifference, voluptuousness, and whatever may tend to extinguish the ardor of thy soul. The path we tread is truly a rugged one. Rugged, did I say? yea, we are borne onward across rocks, over precipices, through fires. Let it delight us to encounter the Scyllæ, the Syrtes, the Charybdes of the ocean of literature. If there be anything in the world more formidable than ordinary, let us immediately attack it,