Platitudes

“ 'What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes? ”

“ Miss Carter was decidedly of the opinion that Mr. Vesey made such a "detestable" will because he was lacking in sound religious principles, and she expressed in plain terms her displeasure with her friend for mourning persistently over the loss of one who "so little deserved her tears." But the Sylph, lonely, middle-aged, and deaf, realized perhaps that her little day was over. Mrs. Montagu's profuse hospitality had supplanted "the biscuit's ample sacrifice." People no longer cared to sit back to back, talking platitudes through long and hungry evenings. ”

“ Again, has he greater experience of the pleasures of honour, or the lover of honour of the pleasures of wisdom?
Nay, he said, all three are honoured in proportion as they attain their object; for the rich man and the brave man and the wise man alike have their crowd of admirers, and as they all receive honour they all have experience of the pleasures of honour; but the delight which is to be found in the knowledge of true being is known to the philosopher only. ”

“ That songs of praise in sweetest tone
We may present before Thy throne.
To nought we've done, or e'er can do,
To Thee—to Thee alone is due
The praise, O fount of love!
We've earned destruction from Thy face,
Thou deal'st with us in love and grace.
Oh! may we meditate Thy grace,
Till heart shall burn and tongue shall praise,
And give angelic zeal,
That every throbbing pulse may be
A note of praise, O Lord! to Thee. ”

“ And no 'platitude' is a platitude until you have brought it so completely into your lives that there is no room for a fuller working of it out. So I come to you, Christian men and women, real and nominal, now with this for my message, that Jesus Christ seeks from you this first and foremost, that you shall be good men and women 'according to the pattern that has been showed us in the Mount,' according to the likeness of His own stainless perfection. ”

“ Then I, thinking on these words, and, as it were, ashamed of myself, departed from them, and went, saying to myself, 'Since there is such bliss in those words which praise my lady, why has my speech been of other things?' And I proposed to take always for my subject, henceforward, the praise of this most gentle lady. And thinking much on this, I seemed to myself to have taken too lofty a subject for my power, so that I did not dare to begin. ”

“ If you fully understand and appreciate the warnings which you have received, happy are you, if you give heed and obey the voice of the Lord your God, for great shall be your reward, and eternal shall be your glory. ”

“ Hear him, help him, and strengthen him when he prays with sincerity and a firm will. Lord, Thou who knowest all things, Thou knowest that I care nothing for the praise of men, for riches, for honors, either for him or for myself ”

“ In modern life nothing produces such an effect as a good platitude. It makes the whole world kin. ”

“ On arising from my kneeling posture, with my heart swelling with gratitude to God, beyond the power of expression, I felt—I knew that He had conferred on me what only an omnipotent being can confer—that which is of greater value than all the wealth and honors worlds can bestow. ”

“ And if, at the same time, a woman or a child discovers a sentiment of piety, or a juster way of thinking than mine, I ought to confess it by my respect and obedience, though it go to alter my whole way of life. ”

“ Does not the Lord know when we mean well? Does not He take note of our intentions? Would you, yourself, repulse anyone who paid you a compliment, however clumsily, if you thought he meant to please you by it? ”

“ The humblest calling, followed on the principles of the divine caller, is a true and divine calling, be it scavenging, handicraft, shop-keeping, or book-making. Oh for the day when God and not the king shall be regarded as the fountain of honour. ”

“ But she rejoined, ‘Tell me the truth of the case, that I may order my affair; and what wantest thou with the mug of water?’ ‘To give the broker a drink,’ answered he; whereupon she exclaimed, ‘There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ And repeated the following verses:
O thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet: Let clips and kisses not delude thy spright.
Softly, for fortune’s nature is deceit And parting is the end of love-delight. ”

“ Who shall decide for me—if not myself—on their claims?—who can judge for me what strength requires to be exercised, what pleasure to be enjoyed, what growth to be forwarded? All around me, everywhere, are the means of gratification,—I have but to reach forth my hand and grasp ”

“ Such was the tenour of a conduct, which raised him, in the estimation of those who witnessed its excellence, to the character of a saint; but endeared him still more to their hearts, as a man who mingled sympathy with relief, and who added to the awful sentiment of veneration he inspired, the tender feeling of gratitude his mild benevolence was calculated to awaken.
Yet, over this bright display of virtues, scarcely human, one trait of conduct, something less than saintly, threw a transient shadow. ”

“ And the lover of honor—what will be his opinion? Will he not think that the pleasure of riches is vulgar, while the pleasure of learning, if it brings no distinction, is all smoke and nonsense to him? ”

“ Not thanks, not prayer seem quite the highest or truest name for our communication with the infinite, — but glad and conspiring reception, — reception that becomes giving in its turn, as the receiver is only the All-Giver in part and in infancy. I cannot, — nor can any man, — speak precisely of things so sublime, but it seems to me, the wit of man, his strength, his grace, his tendency, his art, is the grace and the presence of God. ”

“ Receive in [264] pawn my heart, my hand, and oath
To be thy own in love, in faith, and troth.
CONSCIENCE.
Thus you are fast, and yet myself am free.
PLEASURE.
I know in ruth thou wilt not me refuse.
CONSCIENCE.
I know not that; but other I'll not choose.
NEMO.
It is enough: Lord Pleasure, do not fear:
Conscience will use you as becomes her best.
PLEASURE.
And art thou Conscience? welcomer to me
Than either Love or Lucre.
CONSCIENCE.
God send grace I be!
NEMO. [Addressing POMP and POLICY.]
My lords, be pleas'd: ere long shall you be sped,
As much to your contents as Pleasure is. ”

“ In those who lead lives of quiet sincerity and humility, consecrated to choice studies and chosen friends. What sweet charm or commanding grandeur or satisfying worth can be looked for in persons, the highest palpitations of whose hearts are raised by the touches of pride, money, and vanity? More patience, sincerity, studious seclusion, meditative consecration, and steady sympathy are the foremost want of our age. ”

“ No hand, no heart, O LORD, but thine, Can help or pity wants like mine. The beggar's usual plea Relief from men to gain, If offered unto thee, I know thou would'st disdain: And pleas which move thy gracious ear, Are such as men would scorn to hear. ”

“ The men of speech who keep not silence, from praising continually,—who have kept me in the midst of waves, and supported me that I fell not, let them give praise in my stead, O my Lord!
8. For who has at any time sufficed, in presence of the grace,—of the mercies which surrounded him, that I should suffice to praise—the mercies that encompass me? ”

“ The previous speakers, instead of praising the god Love, or unfolding his nature, appear to have congratulated mankind on the benefits which he confers upon them. But I would rather praise the god first, and then speak of his gifts; this is always the right way of praising everything. ”

“ What from virtue floweth, yieldeth dear delight;
All else extern, is void of glory's light.
Only that pleasure which flows from domestic virtue is pleasure; all else is not pleasure, and it is without praise. ”

“ Since, then, the pleasures of each class and the life of each are in dispute, and the question is not which life is more or less honorable, or better or worse, but which is the more pleasant or painless—how shall we know who speaks truly? ”

“ And by what scale do you measure, so as to form a correct decision—is your standard of your own merit so accurately settled, that you can instantly perceive truth from flattery, appropriating just so much of a compliment as you deserve, and rejecting the rest. ”

“ Such obloquy, although intended to hurt, does but little if any injury to those against whom it is directed; but what may we think of the gentlemanly spirit of the men who descend to it? As for myself I cannot restrain a feeling of profound pity when beholding the spectacle of such conduct, and I turn with a sense of relief to the honorable men amongst them who have remained true to the nobler instincts of human nature. ”

“ We continually hear of the trials, sometimes of the victories, of Faith,—but scarcely ever of its pleasures. Whereas, at this time, you will find that the chief delight of all good men was in the recognition of the goodness and wisdom of the Master, who had come to dwell with them upon earth. ”

“ I declared with a still sharper conviction, "with the wonderful charm of it for our purpose."
"And, pray, what do you call with such solemnity," she inquired, "our purpose?"
I had fairly recovered at last—so far from being solemn—an appropriate gaiety. "I can only, with positiveness, answer for mine! That has remained all day the same—to get at the truth: not, that is, to relax my grasp of that tip of the tail of it which you so helped me this morning to fasten to. If you've ceased to care to help me," I pursued, "that's a difference indeed. ”

“ And it is observable that he who had but two talents, gave up his account as cheerfully as he who had five; for our comfort, in the day of account, will be according to our faithfulness, not according to our usefulness; our sincerity, not our success; according to the uprightness of our hearts, not according to the degree of our opportunities. ”

“ Should Your Grace honour the following Poem, if it may deserve that name, with a perusal, you will, perhaps, consider me as a visionary Character.—Be that as it may,—I am quite awake to your Honour and Interest in the Counsels I have given you; and if your Grace should adopt them, you will awake also.—The Visions of Folly will vanish away;—and your eyes will open on the real prospect of wise and honourable days.
I am, Madam, with all due respect,
Your Grace's most sincere Friend,
And humble Servant,
* * * * *. ”

“ In short, every tone and glance, not proved, but simply assumed, that virtue was nothing more than--the economus of the stomach, the refectorist of the senses, the officiating priestess and daughter of the body. Love fared like virtue. ”

“ When I say that I am given to you by God, the proof of my mission is this:—if I had been like other men, I should not have neglected all my own concerns or patiently seen the neglect of them during all these years, and have been doing yours, coming to you individually like a father or elder brother, exhorting you to regard virtue ”

“ In the light of that perfect example, who among us does not blush for our errors—for our many endeavours to conceal what we have done, to appear better than we were, to seem to be pleasing God when we were pleasing ourselves, or to be aiming at God's glory when we were really consulting for our own interests? ”

“ He addressed the Being before whom angels veil their faces, with that humility of expression, with that pouring out of the heart in natural tones for a sinner's necessities, which plainly showed he was making a petition for wants which God alone could supply, and not framing forms of sentences to interest or please man. ”

“ If we cultivate the external forms of politeness from an indirect motive, that is, from the love of approbation, or from pride of character, it is the reward we love, and not the virtue; and if we gain this reward, it is only external and perishable ”

“ Should you hereafter win the love of an honorable and noble heart, (for such are sometimes found,) every honorable and noble feeling will prompt you to candor and truth, with regard to your personal relations. ”

“ Their main end and use is matter of life and necessity, though they may seem to us more considerable for their majesty and beauty. And so it is with gratitude; we love it rather for secondary ends, than for itself. ”

“ For ourselves, whatever particular graces thou knowest to be most necessary for each of us, but particularly that ardent charity and sincere humility which we know to have been the favourite virtues of thy adorable heart. ”

“ That is what we do when we elaborate beautiful sentences, fine combinations and harmonies, to please and not to profit, to be admired and not to instruct, to delight and not to touch you, to go away with your applause in our ears, and not to better your conduct. Believe me, I am not speaking at random: when you applaud me as I speak, I feel at the moment as it is natural for a man to feel. ”

“ The first and grossest envy is, to see others surpass me in temporal goods of wealth, honour, and dignity, favour with princes, beauty of body, and other such excellences. This is proper to worldlings, and springs from that pride which in the eighth meditation we called worldly pride. ”

“ When they are considered as our own acts; in other words, when we consider our own Prudence, Bravery, Justice, and Beneficence, we have associations with them of the following kind. With our own acts of Prudence and Bravery, we associate good to ourselves; that is, either Pleasure, or the cause of Pleasure, as the immediate consequent. ”

“ DO not you condemn me for the very thing that you are guilty of yourself;—but before I recriminate—let me be grateful, and acknowledge that heartfelt satisfaction which I ever feel from the praise of the good.—Sterne says—‘every worthy mind loves praise’—and declares that he loves it too—but then it must be sincere. ”