Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in anywise to do evil.-Psalm, xxxvii. 8. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.-Matthew, v. 7, 43–45. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?-till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence; and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.-Matthew, xviii. 21-35. MODERATION IN ANGER. 99 Banish all malignant and revengeful thoughts. If your revenge be not satisfied, it will give you torment now; if it be, it will give you greater hereafter. None is a greater self-tormentor than a malicious and revengeful man, who turns the poison of his own temper in upon himself. The Christian precept in this case is, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath;" and this precept, Plutarch tells us, the Pythagoreans practised in a literal sense-" who, if at any time, in a passion, they broke out into opprobrious language, before sunset gave one another their hands, and with them a discharge from all injuries; and so, with a mutual reconciliation, parted friends."-MASON. A man asking Diogenes what course he should take to be revenged of his enemy, "Become a good man," answered the philosopher. There is a manner of forgiving so divine, that you are ready to embrace the offender for having called it forth.— LAVATER. He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man hath need to be forgiven.-LORD HERBERT. It has been a maxim with me to admit of an easy reconciliation with a person, whose offence proceeded from no depravity of heart; but where I was convinced it did so, to forego, for my own sake, all opportunities of revenge; to forget the persons of my enemies as much as I was able, and to call to remembrance, in their place, the more pleasing idea of my friends. I am convinced that I have derived no small share of happiness from this principle.-SHEN STONE. There are two things that affect the heart of every ingenuous man most deeply, namely, good-natured and generous offices from those to whom we have been injurious; and an ill-natured and unchristian treatment from those to whom we have been very kind and affectionate. As for the former, we can make a shift to bear their hatred, because we have deserved it: but we cannot bear their love; it quite confounds and overpowers us.-SEED. 584019 A GENTLENESS. In most circumstances, a gentle behaviour is much more likely to procure us respect, and to enable us to attain our ends, than a harsh, or proud, or threatening demeanour. The reason is, that when we try to do any thing by force with our fellow-men, we unavoidably raise a feeling of resistance in them. They do not like to be told to do a thing at their peril. Their pride rises at such a command, and they are disposed rather to refuse than to obey. If obliged to obey, they obey with reluctance, and do what is to be done as ill as possible, or in such a way as to be disagreeable to him who commands, just to revenge themselves upon him. If, on the contrary, we try gentle means, we do not offend the pride of the other party, or raise any other resisting feeling in him; and he does what we want with good will, and therefore satisfactorily. THE WIND, THE SUN, AND THE TRAVELLER: A FABLE. A dispute once arose betwixt the north wind and the sun, about the superiority of their power; and they agreed to try their strength upon a traveller, which should be able to get his cloak off first. The north wind began, and blew a very cold blast, accompanied with a sharp driving shower. But this, and whatever else he could do, instead of making the man quit his cloak, obliged him to gird it about his body as close as possible. Next came the sun; who, breaking out from a thick, watery cloud, drove away the cold vapours from the sky, and darted his sultry beams upon the head of the poor weather-beaten traveller. The man, growing faint with the heat, and unable to endure it any longer, first throws off his heavy cloak, and then flies for protection to the shade of a neighbouring grove. ALPHONSO, KING OF SICILY AND NAPLES. 101 JOSEPH HOLT AND THE CONVICTS. The men who have been banished to New South Wales for crimes committed in Britain, are obliged to work in chains on the farms of the free settlers, receiving only their food for their work, and always punished by flogging on the back when they are idle or disorderly. Some years ago, Mr Cox, a farmer, appointed one Joseph Holt to superintend the convicts who worked on his estate. Mr Holt, who was a man of good sense and considerable benevolence, resolved to try if he could manage the men by some better means than the fear of the lash. He therefore began to feed them a little better than formerly; he paid them for all they did beyond their stated tasks; and when any one stole from him, he called them together, and said, "There is a thief amongst you; till he is discovered, I stop all your extra allowances; it is therefore your interest to find him out: let him be found out accordingly, and punished by yourselves, for I do not wish that any man should be flogged." The convicts saw that this was just, and that Mr Holt wished to use them well. They therefore found out and punished the thief amongst themselves. By these means, theft and all other improper behaviour ceased in this band of convicts. There was never afterwards the least use for the lash amongst them, and they were all as comfortable and happy as it was possible for men to be in such a situation. ALPHONSO, KING OF SICILY AND NAPLES. This sovereign was one of the most prosperous of modern times, and chiefly through his gentle and benevolent dispositions. When only king of Arragon, he trusted entirely to the love of his subjects, amongst whom he used to walk without state and without guards. When some one suggested that he thus exposed himself to danger, he said, "A father has nothing to fear among his children," meaning that he considered his people as a family, of which he was the father. Seeing a galley about to sink with its crew and a number of soldiers, he leapt into a shallop or little boat, to go to its relief, saying, "I would rather share than behold their calamity." He was very ready to forgive offenders. A document containing the names of certain nobles who had conspired against him, being put into his hands, he instantly tore it in pieces, without looking into it. It was his maxim, that, while the good are secured by justice, the bad are won by clemency. In this He The kingdom of Naples, including Sicily, was left to him by its former ruler; but he had to contend with a rival before he could establish himself in that country. contest, his kind nature did as much as his arms. gained the important town of Gaeta entirely by an act of generosity. It was held out against him by his enemies, and starvation had reduced the inhabitants to great misery. To make their provisions last the longer, the garrison thrust out all the old people, the women, and the children. Alphonso had it in his power to drive back all these into the town, by which it must have been obliged so much the sooner to surrender. His officers recommended him to do this; but he could not bear to think of the misery which would have been the consequence. "I value the safety of so many of my fellow-creatures," said he, "more than a hundred Gaetas ;" and he allowed them to pass through his army. Every one exclaimed against his conduct as mad; but a little time proved that it was not only a benevolent but a wise act, for the citizens, melted by his generosity, soon after submitted to him of their own accord. Alphonso succeeded, in the year 1442, in establishing himself as King of Naples; from which period till his death, twenty-six years after, he was considered the most powerful and influential prince in Italy. He is distinguished in history by the name of ALPHONSO THE MAGNANIMOUS. THE CATARACT AND THE STREAMLET. Noble the Mountain Stream, Bursting in grandeur from its vantage-ground; Of brightness; thunder in its deafening sound! Mark how its foamy spray, Tinged by the sunbeams with reflected dyes, Arching in majesty the vaulted skies!— |