Various

“ There are very few parts of the earth in which rivers are not found; and great, indeed, is their use to mankind.
Shall I tell you what a river is like? It is like the life of man—small at first; the little stream is like a little child, and plays among the flowers of a meadow; it waters a garden, or turns a puny mill.
As it flows on it gathers strength; and, like a child in youth, it becomes turbulent and impatient as it swells along. Now, like a roaring cataract, it shoots headlong down many a rock ”

“ What a delightful place is the fireside, in winter, where the parents and children are affectionate to one another; where there is obedience, quietness, kindness, all around! And let us not permit our thoughts to be confined to ourselves during this dreary season. Let us think whether there is not some neighbor, less fortunate than ourselves, to whom our kindness, our charity, our attentions may be a blessing.
Liberty.
Liberty is freedom from restraint. In its widest sense, it is the free permission to exercise our powers of body and mind as we please, without hindrance or restraint. ”

“ As proud as a peacock—as round as a pea; As blithe as a lark—as brisk as a bee. As light as a feather—as sure as a gun; As green as the grass—as brown as a bun. As rich as a Jew—as warm as toast; As cross as two sticks—as deaf as a post. As sharp as a needle—as strong as an ox; As grave as a judge—as sly as a fox. ”

“ If anybody wants to be scolded, they must not come to Bob Merry—I do not like to be scolded myself—and I never scold others. Still—still—my dear little friends, let me ask seriously, are we improving in mind, in temper, in graces of all kinds? Are you growing better, more intelligent, more wise, more dutiful, more sincere, more fond of truth, of mankind, and of God? If you are, I am glad of it: if not—my dear young reader, take old Robert Merry’s advice—which is this—be careful every day, every month, every year, to do better than the day, the month, or the year before. ”

“ I had never been in a court of justice before, and I certainly did not guess that this was a place that could bear such a title. I have seen a good deal of the world, and yet I am ready to declare that in no place, not even in the wilderness, among savages, is there a spot where men seem to me so rude, so ill-mannered, so unjust, so little humane, as in that place called a court of justice. The constable, the sheriff, the judge, and, above all, the lawyers, have the same heartlessness, the same disregard of the claims of one human being upon another. ”

“ The air is full of their sweets; and bees sing songs round them, and sip honey from their rosy lips.
They come in the first soft winds of spring, and shed their pure bloom on the white bosom of the snow; they seem to look at the sun with joy, and watch him through the day. At night, when the sun is gone to rest, they seem sad, hang their heads, and droop. ”

“ Having satisfied my curiosity with the wonders of Venice, I left that city and proceeded west, along the great plain of Lombardy, to Milan. All the country is cultivated like a garden, and produces the most abundant crops. Everywhere the lofty ridge of the Alps may be seen on the right, like a gigantic wall guarding this rich and beautiful region from the hungry invaders of the North. Yet in all ages this formidable barrier has proved insufficient to preserve Italy from their hostile irruptions. ”

“ The rich man, in his easy coach, and with his fat horses that have hardly enough to do to keep them from apoplexy, possesses a heart as hard as flint; while the humble wagoner, with a beast that drags one leg painfully after another, is ready to slave himself and his horse, out of mere good nature. Thus it is that riches turn the soul to stone; thus it is that poverty keeps the heart soft, and, like a generous, well cultivated soil, ever prepared to yield good fruits. ”

“ If one of us become a despot, and his will is law, he will still be a wretch, because he will be in the midst of the wretched. Every human bosom reflects the light or the shadow that falls on other bosoms. Man cannot live for himself alone. Let us then be wise and live for each other. Let us enter into a compact to secure each other’s peace. Let us adopt a system of government, which shall secure equal rights and equal privileges. This is just, fair, and wise. It is the only course to save the inhabitants of this island from misery and desolation. ”

“ The superior beauty and splendor of the prince’s party dazzled and pleased the eyes of the unthinking rabble, who are apt to look only at the outside of things; beside, they had been taught to look upon those of noble blood with respect; and, more than all, mankind are apt to be on the side which seems to be that of power, and likely to obtain success. It was for these reasons that the greatest portion of the spectators, cheered Phalax, while only a few, who reflected more justly, encouraged Abdael, the more humble and modest of the rival messengers. ”

“ We have yet much to learn and much to do, before we outstrip all other communities in the acquisitions and qualities that render human beings estimable. It is perfectly true, that, as a nation, we possess great advantages, but it is no less true that we have a strong propensity to pervert and abuse them. The good and evil of this world are much more equally balanced than we are apt to suppose. Under tyranny and oppression, the Italians exhibit a cheerfulness and good humor which might put the dissatisfied grumblers of our own land of liberty, to the blush. ”

“ Temacco, the keeper of the door of the damned, and Driso, the commander in chief of purgatory? Young man, you aspire to an honor of which peers and princes might be proud: but sir, I am not only a peer of Japan, with the oldest and best blood of the empire in my veins, but I am a father. Soonki is my only daughter, and she rules my heart. ”

“ Why do the people of every land love their particular country better than all other lands? Why does the Laplander prefer his climate of snows, and [Pg 83] bless Heaven that has sent him such a happy lot? Why does the Swiss, upon the shaggy sides of his mountains, where scarce the wild goat can find footing, delight in his rugged home, and, looking down upon the people of the luxurious valley beneath, lift his soul in thanksgiving to God, who has preferred him thus? All this shows, that man is made to love his children, his home, his country—to love the things which belong to himself. ”

“ The whole place is in a blaze of light from the multitude of coffee houses which line the arcades. The busy hum of chattering crowds, and the lively strains of music which fill the air, render it almost a scene of enchantment, the effect of which is much heightened by its contrast with the stillness and solitude of the remainder of the city. The commerce of Venice brings hither a great crowd of strangers from all parts of the Mediterranean,—Greeks, Turks, Austrians, Dalmatians, Moors, and all the trading population of Europe. ”

“ The remainder of our journey to Venice was through a region which exhibited a remarkable contrast to that which we had recently traversed. No mountains nor even hills diversified the face of the country. The whole extent was an immense uniform horizon. We were now in the great plain of Lombardy through which the Po rolls his waters into the Adriatic. For many miles beyond Ferrara the soil was marshy, and instead of fences, there were broad ditches covered with water lilies, which served to keep the cows and pigs from straying into the wrong meadows. ”

“ How it dances and capers in the brook; and how softly it slumbers in the pond.’
“‘Not so fast,’ said a beam of the sun, which, glancing among the trees, stood like a spirit of light; ‘not so fast, little boy, I have more to do than you think for; I have millions of plants to bring forth out of the earth, fruits to ripen, seeds to perfect. I am the least idle of anything; I go from world to world, from clime to clime: now I am melting the ice at the poles, and now bringing to maturity the vegetation of the torrid zone. I am never idle, even in playing on the waters. ”

“ I had no choice; so, depositing my trunk in this same den of the bears till better quarters could be found, I set off for a ramble through the city.
To a traveller who enters Rome as I did, at the waste end of the city, where he sees nothing but mouldering walls and heaps of grass-grown ruins, it is quite a matter of wonder to find, at the other extremity, such a collection of populous streets and splendid structures. My first steps were directed to St. Peter’s church, that ornament and wonder of modern Rome, the most magnificent edifice that the world ever saw. ”

“ What gives to life its glory? it is the smile of Him who formed the clouds to water the earth with rain, and to refresh all plants and herbs.
It is He who gives to life’s morning its bright joys; who in manhood’s prime, exalts us and sustains; who in the storm and darkness, like the rainbow, smiles upon us; and who, at even time, when death would draw his curtains round us, brightens the soul with hope.
Orang-Outang.
This animal possesses a countenance more nearly allied to man than that of any other. ”

“ Man loves to call things ‘mine,’ and ‘thine.’ Man is made by his Creator to identify things with himself, and to love them from such identity. Why, if all things are to be held in common, why does the mother, why does the father, love the child? It is not because it is more beautiful than other children, but because it is theirs? Why is man made to love that place which goes by the dear title of home? Why do we love our birth-place above all others, even though a cottage or a hut? Why, even if we reach the palace in after-life, is that birth-place the dearest spot on earth? ”

“ How have you borne the long and weary march of two thousand miles? Alas, that Alexis Pultova should have come to this! And yet, my brother, it may be good for you: I mean, it may promote your happiness. It may seem strange to you, for it surprises myself, to find a real pleasure in my toil. I once thought that labor was a curse, but I now find it a blessing. It is associated in my mind with the comfort and independence of our father; there is something soothing and consoling to think that I, poor I, can be so useful. ”

“ This is liberty without law. Such liberty as this could exist only in theory, for where society has enacted no law, the obligation of justice exists. A savage is as truly bound by the golden rule, “do to another as you would have another do to you,” as a member of civilized society; for even the savage has a sense of right and wrong. Truth and justice are intuitive perceptions and feelings in every human soul, and conscience enforces their observance. ”

“ Still higher up, and overlooking the convent, stands a hermitage, called Paradisino, perched, like an eagle’s nest, on a steep and projecting cliff. From this point, the prospect is still more extensive than from the convent. The eye traverses over a wide range of country towards the west. Ridge after ridge of blue heights appear down the valley, till the towers and domes of Florence strike the sight, at a distance, with the Mediterranean in dim perspective, far beyond. ”

“ What a great blessing is a great man who devotes himself to the good of his country! How ought such a man to be honored! How paltry, how base is that littleness of soul which leads some persons to run down the great and the good—the public benefactor!
Let the story of Fulton teach us all another lesson, which is this—When we feel that we are right in our devotion to any cause, let not the scoffs of the world move us. ”

“ A priest is, after all, a man, and has his affections as well as others. The idea of being once more in the land of his fathers, so engrossed his mind, that, when at last he fell asleep, his dreams were tissues woven out of the fond remembrances of father and mother, of brother and sister; of merry childhood, and ardent youth. ”

“ Too proud to condescend to labor with his own hands, he compels his wife to bear the drudgery of the lodge, a sure sign of the savage. He never forgives an injury, never forgets a kindness. In war he is brave and cunning, in religion superstitious and cruel.
His virtues and his vices are all those of a barbarian; and such, it is to be feared, he will ever be. The attempt to civilize the natives within the limits of the United States, has been made often and zealously for more than two hundred years, but in vain. ”

“ In thunder and lightning, moreover, their sky never affords anything approaching to the grandeur and sublimity of ours; at least, I witnessed nothing of the kind, during all the summer and autumn which I passed in this country. I missed, also, in my rambles about the country, the fresh and fragrant smell of the woods, which is so grateful to the senses of the traveller in our territories. Nowhere, excepting on the mountain-tops, and rarely even there, do we see thick woods, or anything exhibiting the wildness of nature and the freshness of a virgin soil. ”

“ If, then, the beasts and reptiles of the earth, who are so full of love for their offspring,—if they will care for them, provide for them, live for them, die for them,—how great do you suppose must be the love of a mother for her child? Greater than these, be assured; ay, far greater, for the mother looks forward for the time when the child shall become like a flower in full blossom. A mother’s love is the most powerful thing on earth! ”