Lydia Sigourney

“ We love these skies which gathering clouds deform,
We lean too fondly on our house of clay,
Though every blast may sweep some prop away;
Yet wounded oft, as oft renew our toil,
To raise a fabric on this mould'ring soil,
And still we strive, forgetful of the grave,
To sink an anchor in the tossing wave.
But He, who marks us in our vain career,
Oft smites in pity what we hold most dear;
Spreads o'er the face belov'd the deathful gloom,
And hides a parent in the lonely tomb;
Makes the sad heart his strong correction feel,
Wounds to admonish, and afflicts to heal ”

“ PSALM CXIX.
"Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in my affliction."
HAD not thy righteous law been my delight,
When friends forsook and earthly comforts fled,
And cruel foes display'd their envious spite,
Most surely I had sunk among the dead,
And cold oblivion's dew had rested on my head.
Yet still I live, Oh, let my praise arise,
To Him who, cloth'd with majesty and might,
And seated in his temple of the skies,
Sends gifts to man, with peace, and life, and light ”

“ Crush vain resolves, and errors strengthen'd force;
Impart the meek desire, the hope sublime,
The thought that soars above the scenes of time,
The hand that toils untir'd for other's good,
And sets the seal to duty understood,
The humble heart, the sympathy sincere,
The smile for joy, for misery, the tear,
Balm for the wounded, for the drooping—aid,
A tranquil trust when ills of life invade,
The conscience clear, that leads to sweet repose,
And the warm thrill that pure devotion knows. ”

“ Far, far away I see a distant scene,
Tho' forests rise, and lakes are spread between;
Yet there the sad eye turns, and views with pain
A mourning mansion and a weeping train:
Low o'er a recent grave, the mourners bend,
Where sleeps in dust, the father and the friend.
Cold is that heart which shared in all my joys,
And deaf the ear that lov'd a daughter's voice,
And stiff the hand that dry'd my infant tears,
And lost the guardian of my early years.
Ah! who can tell how many pains and woes
Thrill'd thro' that frame before it found repose. ”

“ Upon thine arm of love, through every scene
Of this day's good or ill, or life or death.
And let my song of praise, O mighty God,
Rise with acceptance from this house of clay,
This earthly tenement, soon rent and broke:
And let me on the cold, dark flood of death
Be joyful in thee: let me wake the harp
Of seraph rapture, hymning to the praise
Of Him who was, and is, and is to come,
When time shall be no more, and death shall die;
And ages after ages rolling on,
Fill not the circle of Eternity. ”

“ What then can excite the pains of memory; if it is neither loss, or disappointment, unkindness, injury, or the death of beloved friends? It is the recollection of time mispent, and of duty forsaken! These awaken the pang of memory, and turn the eye with terror from the past.
Guard faithfully, my dear young friends, these avenues of regret, and in every situation and circumstance of life you will be happy. Neither age, sorrow, or disappointment can destroy your peace of mind, if you are supported by the consciousness of having performed your duty. ”

“ Which nature sheds on virtue's friends alone.
But when drear Autumn's stern and nipping air
Shall strip the heights of Montevideo bare,
And when brown and shapeless foliage flies,
Smit by the fury of the rending skies,
Before the hoary frost, and snowy flake,
Shall bind the billow of the gentle lake,
Oh, haste, the joys of other climes to prove,
Haste, to the genial warmth of social love;
Draw the strong bolts, that bar the entrance free,
To the fair dome of hospitality,
Cheer with reviving smiles a pensive train,
And make the eye of friendship bright again. ”

“ It has been very elegantly and truly said, "If the Spring put forth no blossoms, in Summer there will be no beauty, and in Autumn no fruit; so if youth be trifled away in indolence, maturity will be contemptible, and old age miserable." Let the spirit of this beautiful comparison animate us to greater diligence in the pursuit of useful knowledge, and to greater perseverance in vanquishing opposing difficulties. Recollect also that habits are now most easily formed. The youthful mind, where discordant passions are not suffered to predominate, is like wax to the soft impression of the seal. ”

“ If deeds like these delight you, take your fill,
And shout, and triumph, in the groans of pain.
Since war you love, then arm you for the fight,
Bind on the shield, and grasp the sword, and throw
A stronger fence around the endanger'd home
Of those you love. And since for war you call,
Prepare for war; and train your infant sons
To deeds of daring; let no voice of peace
Or mercy reach them, lest it enervate
Souls given to war; but let the tale of blood
Sooth them to slumber, and the trumpet's clang
Break up their cradle dream. ”

“ The brilliancy of the first attracts for a time, but reason perceives it to be drawn by the mutable pencil of fancy, that the curtain of futurity rests upon it, and involves it in darkness. She looks on the tablet of memory; its traces are less glaring, but more perfect; they dazzle less, but are not fictitious. One charms us while we are under the sway of fancy, the other while we are controlled by reason; and we are taught to feel those to be the highest pleasures, which are tasted by a mind rational and serene. ”

“ That warn'd of snares, and dangers, unperceiv'd,
That taught to shun the beaten track of vice,
And love the path of duty, love the way
Of meekness and of mercy, not to prize
That loud applause which captivates the ear
And cheats the heart; but seek to follow Him,
Whose pure and spotless words will lead the soul
To better mansions, and a better life. ”

“ What though my heart its last red drop shall drain,
And I must slumber with the prophets slain;
Yet He, who summon'd from that distant rock,
The rough-clad man to leave his fleecy flock,
With strength will gird him, for his wants provide,
And hush the clamors of the sons of pride,
Or from these climes where fears and dangers roll,
Receive to endless rest the weary martyr'd soul. ”

“ Thus we find the aged invariably attached to the days that are gone, more than to those that are passing, or to come; even recollected pain loses its anguish, and the traces of memory though broken and imperfect are delightful to the eye that has grown dim to the illusions of hope. But to us, my young friends, who have never felt affliction to disgust us with life, or age to paralize the ardour of fancy, still to us memory opens a full source of pleasure. ”

“ Why should man fear death? Why should we fear to tread a narrow passage to a better world; to pass the portal of a temple immortal, not made with hands? It is the fear of futurity that plants thorns in the pillow of death. For if we were assured of the favour of Him who ruleth in that unseen world, if we were confirmed in our title to that incorruptible mansion, though the parting from present things might be painful, or the passage from them dreadful, yet we should lift up our heads, and rejoice, knowing that our redemption drew nigh. ”

“ He went forth fearlessly upon the face of the mighty deep; he surveyed the nations of the earth; he measured the distances of the stars, and called them by their names; he gloried in the extent of his knowledge, in the vigour of his understanding, and strove to search even into what the Almighty had concealed. And when I looked on him, I said. "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!" ”

“ Active and strong, with seraph goodness join'd;
Who saw the path her lonely footstep trod,
Not chosen by the world, tho' mark'd by God;
Who saw her tending down the vale of time,
With thoughtful energy, with hope sublime:
Who saw her sinking in her last repose,
Saw her lov'd life receive its gentle close;
Oh, might I with this image in my eye,
But learn like her to live, like her to die ”

“ Oft leading fancy's train she sports with youth,
Or lights the sage's eye with rays of truth;
With reason then she holds her measured tread,
And seeks the path where wisdom's flowers are shed;
Next hand in hand with hope her track pursues,
And brighter worlds in raptur'd vision views;
Now aids the prayer of piety to breathe,
Gives light to life, or calms the hour of death. ”

“ The youth in anguish bore the maid he lov'd,
But death and agony must shade the rest.
O scene of horror! Night of deep despair!
How each gay prospect, clad in fairest light,
Fades at the storm of grief, or cloud of care,
And sinks oblivious, in the gloom of night!
O bliss of earth! How bright and insincere;
Unworthy of the pains we all bestow! ”

“ Never suffer yourselves to like or dislike without sufficient cause; let your attachments be sanctioned by reason, and your enmities mitigated by candour; let not the eye of the mind be blinded by prejudice, deceived by a gilded surface, or dazzled by the tinsel and trappings of time; but resolutely bear testimony in favour of virtue, how ever neglected, and of goodness, however despised, till eventually the admiration of virtue in others, may awaken you to practise it yourselves, and the love of goodness here, lead you to its perfect reward hereafter. ”

“ To you, my young friends, who are acquiring an education, I cannot express the peculiar worth and importance of memory. Of what use will it be, to listen to, or repeat sentiments however good, if they pass away as soon as they are repeated? Of what advantage will it be that you acquire knowledge with facility, if the mind neglects to retain it? If you are sometimes excuseable for not learning with ease, you can never be so, for forgetting what you have learned, since that depends upon your own choice, and not on the peculiar construction of the mind. ”

“ Can a mind wholly absorbed in the things of the world have a sincere desire, and ardent hope of Heaven? Can a heart that longs supremely for the grandeur and false splendour of life be right in the sight of God? Can a spirit that looks disdainfully upon merit unarrayed have a right estimation of man? ”

“ This is the natural pride and vanity of the human heart; it assumes as many shapes as fancy can devise; it flies from reproof, and when truth is painful "loves darkness better than light." Her object is to keep the soul ignorant of itself, to deceive it into compliance, to flatter it into submission, till her own empire is firmly established, and that bound in perpetual slavery. ”

“ To the earth, whence she was at first taken, consign we the body of our sister." They covered her with the damp soil, and the cold clods of the valley; and the worms crowded into her silent abode. Yet one sad mourner lingered, to cast himself upon the grave, and as he wept he said, "There is no beauty, or grace, or loveliness that continueth in man; for this is the end of all his glory and perfection." ”

“ Who drives thro' realms immense, his flaming car?
To visit Orion, and the morning star?
Who gave this pond'rous globe, with nicest care,
To balance lightly on the fluid air?
Who rais'd the mountains to their lofty height?
Who speeds the whirlwind in its trackless flight?
Who darts thro' dark disguise, his piercing ken,
To read the secret thoughts and ways of men?
Who gave the morning and the midnight birth?
Whose muffled step affrights the trembling earth? ”

“ In us who are young, an irritable, contentious temper is deeply inexcusable; for if there ever exist seasons, situations, or causes that palliate it, those palliations do not belong to us; to whom the cares of maturity, and infirmities of age, are unknown; whose spirits are unbroken by disappointment; whose path is illumined by hope: to whose eyes the imagery of nature is beautiful and new; and into whose hearts the whole creation seems to breathe a spirit of peace, harmony, and benevolence. ”

“ Give it power to censure folly, to encourage goodness, and to search those hidden motives which elude the eye of man. You will find yourselves both animated to virtue, and deterred from transgression by the thought of meeting, in the silence of your apartment, a condemning, or an applauding judge, an image of that tribunal before which we must all stand at the great day of scrutiny. ”

“ The love of goodness, wherever implanted, will expand and display itself in the virtues of the heart and of the life. Wherever these are perceived, though in poverty, depresion, or servitude, they are the transcript of a Divine Original; wherever you find them, though humbly clad, or despised among men, revere them; they are the genuine, though imperfect image of Him, who is good, and who doeth good unto all. Genuine virtue does not proclaim its own excellence, does not obtrude itself upon the notice of others, does not seek the applause of men ”

“ PSALM CXIX. 96.
"I have seen an end of all perfection."
I HAVE seen a man in the glory of his days, and the pride of his strength. He was built like the tall cedar that lifts its head above the forest trees; like the strong oak that strikes its root deeply into the earth. He feared no danger—he felt no sickness—he wondered that any should groan or sigh at pain. ”

“ As I pensively watch'd the decline of the light,
And listened, absorbed to the foot-fall of time.
And I said to my heart, as it rose in my breast,
"What wakes thee to sorrow, what moves thee to mourn?" ”