John Purver Richardson

“ I know no duty in religion more generally agreed on, nor more justly required by God Almighty, than a perfect submission to His will in all things; nor do I think any disposition of mind can either please Him more, or become us better, than that of being satisfied with all He gives, and contented with all He takes away. None, I am sure, can be of more honor to God, nor of more ease to ourselves. For, if we consider Him as our Maker, we cannot contend with Him; if as our Father, we ought not to distrust Him: so that we may be confident whatever He does is intended for good ”

“ But woman's is comparatively a fixed, a secluded and a meditative life. She is more the companion of her own thoughts and feelings; and if they are turned to ministers of sorrow, where shall she look for consolation? Her lot is to be wooed and won; and if unhappy in her love, her heart is her world—is like some fortress that has been captured, and sacked, and abandoned, and left desolate. ”

“ Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
For he who blesses most is blest;
And God and man shall own his worth
Who toils to leave, as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth.
1064 Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.
1065 The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of all pleasures.
—Vauvenargues.
1066 I have also seen the world, and after long experience have discovered that ennui is our greatest enemy, and remunerative labor our most lasting friend. ”

“ For days and days together in his early life he was too poor to spend even a penny for his dinner; and he was accustomed, when dinner-time came, to tie his apron-string tighter to lessen the pang of hunger, and go on with his work till evening. Through years of hardship and drudgery his courage never forsook him; amidst ceaseless labor he strove unremittingly to improve his mind, studying astronomy, history, and metaphysics; and finally, from the humblest circumstances, he rose to occupy a conspicuous place as an author, a philosopher, and a metaphysician. ”

“ In after-life you may have friends, fond, dear, kind friends; but never will you have again the inexpressible love and gentleness lavished upon you which none but a mother bestows. Often do I sigh in my struggles with hard, uncaring world, for the sweet, deep security I felt when, of an evening nestling in her bosom, I listened to some quiet tale, suitable to my age, read in her tender and untiring voice. Never can I forget her sweet glances cast upon me when I appeared asleep, never her kiss of peace at night. Years have passed away since we laid her beside my father in the old church yard ”

“ Thou slumberest upon the earth more soundly than many a miser and worldling upon his bed of down. And the reason is—that thou hast a gracious God and an easy conscience. A stranger to all care, thou awakest only to resume thy play, or ask for food to satisfy thy hunger.
239 A full-blown rose besprinkled with the purest dew, is not so beautiful as a child blushing beneath her parents' displeasure, and shedding tears of sorrow for her fault. ”

“ Colton.
716 Those who speak always and those who never speak, are equally unfit for friendship.
717 He who never gives advice, and he who never takes it are alike unworthy of friendship.
718 He who is worthy of friendship at all will remember in his prosperity those who were his friends in his adversity.
719 Value the friendship of him who stands by you in a storm; swarms of insects will surround you in the sunshine.
720 No matter how poor and mean a man is, his friendship is worth more than his hate.
721 Good fruit never comes from a bad tree. ”

“ How many laborers must the competition, to have such things early in the market, keep in employment? You will hear it said very gravely, 'Why was not the half-guinea, thus spent in luxury, given to the poor? To how many might it have afforded a good meal? Alas! has it not gone to the industrious poor, whom it is better to support, than the idle poor? You are much surer that you are doing good when you pay money to those who work, as the recompense of their labor, than when you give money merely in charity. ”

“ Marchioness de Spadara.
1633 Religion is good for nothing one day in the week, unless it is also good for all the seven days.
1634 Religion is the knowledge of the most excellent truths; the contemplation of the most glorious objects, and the hope of the most ravishing pleasures, and the practice of such duties as are most servicable to our happiness, our peace, our health, our honor, our prosperity, and our eternal welfare. Virtue needs no outward pomp; her very countenance is so full of majesty, that the proudest pay her respect, and the profanest are awed by her presence. ”

“ When I take the history of one poor heart that has sinned and suffered, and represent to myself the struggles and temptations it passed through, the brief pulsations of joy, the tears of regret, the feebleness of purpose, the scorn of the world that has little charity, the desolation of the soul's sanctuary, and threatening voices within, health gone, happiness gone,—I would fain leave the erring soul of my fellow-man with Him from whose hands it came. ”

“ Why should good words ne'er be said
Of a friend till he is dead?
656 It is more dishonorable to distrust a friend than to be deceived by him.
—Rochefoucauld.
657 No life is so strong and complete, But it sometimes yearns for the smile of a friend.
—Wallace Bruce.
658 He was never a friend who ceased to be so—for a slight cause.
—Seneca.
659 A friend cannot be known in prosperity; and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.
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660 When a friend asks, there should be no tomorrow.
661 The best mirror is an old friend. ”

“ And God replied, "Iron is stronger than the mountains, for it breaks them." "And is there anything in Thy creation stronger than iron?" "Yes, fire is stronger than iron, for it melts it." "Is there anything stronger than fire?" "Yes, water, for it quenches fire." "Is there anything stronger than water?" "Yes, wind, for it puts water in motion." "O, our Sustainer, is there anything in Thy creation stronger than wind?" "Yes, a good man giving alms; if he gives it with his right hand, and conceals it from his left, he overcomes all things." ”

“ To me it is as the desert; but you are free; return to your countrymen, revisit your father that he may again rejoice when he sees the sun rise in the morning, and the trees blossom in the spring!"
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1037 Little acts of kindness are stowed away in the heart, like bags of lavender in a drawer, to sweeten every object around them.
1038 A good man that has done a kindness never proclaims it, but does another as soon as he can; much like the vine which is satisfied by being fruitful in its kind, and bears a bunch of grapes without expecting thanks for it. ”

“ Oh! but, my friend, if this first meeting at the cottage were over, I think I could then be comfortable. But this is her first day of real experience: she has been introduced into an humble dwelling—she has been employed all day, in arranging its miserable equipments—she has for the first time known the fatigues of domestic employment—she has for the first time looked around her on a home destitute of everything elegant—almost of everything convenient; and may now be sitting down, exhausted and spiritless, brooding over a prospect of future poverty. ”

“ Then history will speak with clear voice of the deeds done on either side, and the citizens of the whole Union do justice to the memories of the dead, and place above all others the name of the great Southern chief. In strategy, mighty; in battle, terrible; in adversity, as in prosperity, a hero indeed; with the simple devotion to duty and the rare purity of the ideal Christian Knight,—he joined all the kingly qualities of a leader of men. It is a wondrous future indeed that lies before America ”

“ Boundless his wealth as wish can claim—
Despite those titles, power and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.
—Sir Walter Scott.
417 The wise men of Greece were asked which was the best governed country. Clemenese replied, "the people who have more respect for the laws than the orators."
418 He who loves not his country, can love nothing.
419 A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of courage. ”

“ Oberlin, the philanthropist, was profuse in his thanks, and offered money, which his benefactor refused. "It is only a duty to help one another," said the wagoner; "and it is the next thing to an insult to offer a reward for such a service." "Then," said Oberlin, "at least tell me your name, that I may have you in thankful remembrance before God." "I see," said the wagoner, "that you are a minister of the Gospel. Please tell me the name of the Good Samaritan." ”

“ Every good act is charity; your smiling in your brother's face, your putting a wanderer in the right road, your giving water to the thirsty is charity; exhortation to another to do right is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he has done in this world to his fellowmen. ”

“ Nothing can be more touching, than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every trivial roughness, while threading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental force to be the comforter and supporter of her husband under misfortune and abiding with unshrinking firmness, the bitterest blasts of adversity. ”

“ He who wears a smiling face is a practical philanthropist. He dispels the clouds of gloom that overshadow the brows of care, and the hearts of sorrow he meets in his life-paths, as the sun dispels the misty clouds of morning from the face of nature.
1798 A smile is ever more bright and beautiful with a tear upon it. ”

“ I was once congratulating a friend, who had around him a blooming family, knit together in the strongest affection. "I can wish you no better lot," said he, with enthusiasm, "than to have a wife and children. If you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you." And, indeed, I have observed that a married man, falling into misfortune, is more apt to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one ”

“ And all that in thy life is good,
Give thou thy heart in gratitude.
246 Words of praise are almost as necessary to warm a child into a genial life as acts of kindness and affection. Judicious praise is to children what the sun is to flowers. ”

“ Dwight.
1042 KINDNESS TO INSECTS.
Let them enjoy their little day,
Their humble bliss receive;
Oh, do not lightly take away
The life thou canst not give.
1043 Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness, is a valuable part of the business of life.
—Dr. Johnson.
1044 A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this: that when the injury began on his part, the kindness shall begin on ours.
1045
If you grant a favor, forget it ”

“ That outshines the fairest skin.
—Sir A. Hunt.
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105 FRAGILE IS BEAUTY.
Fragile is beauty: with advancing years
'Tis less and less, and, last, it disappears.
Your hair too, fair one, will turn grey and thin;
And wrinkles furrow that now rounded skin;
Then brace the mind and thus beauty fortify,
The mind alone is yours, until you die.
106 Beauty without kindness dies unenjoyed and undelighting.
—Johnson.
107
O bed! ”

“ But that be their own praise;
Nor will I borrow merit from the dead,
Myself an undeserver.
—Rowe.
68 He who constantly boasts of his ancestors, confesses that he has no virtue of his own.
—Charron.
69 Never mind who was your grandfather. What are you?
70
A good man's anger lasts an instant,
A meddling man's for two hours,
A base man's a day and night,
A great sinner's until death.
—Persian.
71 Have nothing to do with men in a passion, for they are not like iron, to be wrought on when they are hot.
72 Anger generally begins with folly, and ends with repentance. ”

“ To tell her that I have dragged her down from the sphere in which she might have continued to move in constant brightness—the light of every eye—the admiration of every heart!—How can she bear poverty? She has been brought up in all the refinements of opulence * * *"
I saw his grief was eloquent, and I let it have its flow; for sorrow relieves itself by words. ”

“ Beauty of mind is firm enthroned within.
102 There is the beauty of infancy, the beauty of youth, the beauty of maturity, and, believe me, ladies and gentlemen, the beauty of age.
103 Beauty with selfishness, is a flower without perfume. ”

“ N 1423 For art may err, but nature cannot miss.
—J. Dryden.
1424 Our nature exists by motion; perfect rest is death.
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1425 Good-nature, like a bee, collects honey from every herb. Ill-nature, like a spider, sucks poison from the sweetest flower.
1426 Good-nature is the beauty of the mind, and, like personal beauty, wins almost without anything else.
—Hanway.
1427 If you want to keep your good looks, keep your good nature. ”