1 GENIUS. life, a bold and impatient man the easy; for one cannot brook war, nor the other peace. Epicurus. GENIUS-Rarity of. The proportion of genius to the vulgar, is like one to a million; but genius without tyranny, without pretension, that judges the weak with equity, the superior with humanity, and equals with justice, is like one to ten millions. Lavater. GENIUS-without Religion. Genius, without religion, is only a lamp on the outer gate of a palace. It may serve to cast a gleam of light on those that are without, while the inhabitant sits in darkness. GENIUS-True. Hannah More. So strong a wit did Nature to him frame, GENIUS-Wives of Men of. GENIUS tically, there was a little toiling steam tug, with heart of fire and arms of iron, that was hugging it close, and dragging it bravely on; and I knew that if the little steam tug untwined her arms and left the tall ship it would wallow and roll about and drift hither and thither, and go off with the refluent tide, no man knows whither. And so I have known more than one genius, high decked, full freighted, wide sailed, gay pennoned, that, but for the bare toiling arms, and brave, warm, beating heart of the faithful little wife, that nestled close in his shadow, and clung to him, so that no wind nor wave could part them, circumstance, would soon have gone down the and dragged him on against all the tide of stream and been heard of no more. No, I am too much a lover of genius, I sometimes think, and too often get impatient with dull people, so that, in their weak talk, where nothing is taken for granted, I look forward to some future possible state of development, when a gesture passing between a beautiful human soul and an archangel shall signify as much as the complete history of a planet, from the time when it curdled to the time when its sun was burned out. And yet, when a strong brain is weighed with a true heart, it seems to me like balancing a bubble against a wedge of gold. It takes a very true man to be a fitting | companion for a woman of genius, but not a very great one. I am not sure she will not embroider her ideal better on a plain ground than on one with a brilliant pattern already worked in its texture. But as the very essence of genius is truthfulness, contact with realities (which are always ideas behind shows of form or language), nothing is so contemptible as falsehood and pretence in its eyes. Now it is not easy to find a perfectly true woman, and it is very hard to find a perfectly true man. And a woman of genius, who has the sagacity to choose such an one for her companion, shows more of the divine gift in so doing than in her Send violets up and paint them blue. Lowell. finest talk or her most brilllant work of letters There is an ordinance of nature at which men of genius are perpetually fretting, but which does more good than many laws of the universe which they praise; it is, that ordinary women ordinarily prefer ordinary men. "Genius," as Hazlitt would have said, "puts them out." It is so strange; it does not come into the room as usual. It says "such things." Once it forgot to brush its hair. The common female mind prefers usual tastes, settled manners, customary conversation, defined and practical pursuits. And it is a great good that it should Nature has no wiser instinct. The average woman can make happy the average man; good health, easy cheerfulness, common charms, suffice. Harris. be so. GENIUS-Unconsciousness of. As effortless as woodland nooks GENIUS and CHARACTER. Oftentimes as I have lain swinging on the water, in the swell of the Chelsea ferryboats, in that long, sharp-pointed black cradle in which I love to let the great mother rock me, I have seen a tall ship glide by against the tide, as if drawn by some invisible tow-line, with a hundred strong arms pulling it. Her sails hung unfilled, her streamers were drooping, she had neither side-wheel nor sternwheel; still she moved on, stately, in serene triumph, as if with her own life. But I knew that on the other side of the ship, hidden beneath the great bulk that swam so majes or of art. GENIUS and HOME. Holines J Fuller. arts, or masters of hitherto occult sciences. scended. Thus his blood must needs be well Gratitude indeed demands that great and ori-purified who is gentilely born on both sides. ginal geniuses, whom God has enriched with extraordinary talents, by the due exercise of which they have become benefactors of the human race, should be loved and valued highly for their services; but when we look only at the instrument, and see not the hand of Supreme Benevolence that employs it for our benefit, we then overvalue man, and undervalue God; putting the former into the place of the latter, and making an idol of him; and if any will not worship this idol, a clamour is raised against them, and they are almost persecuted. Kirby. GENTILITY-Assumption of. There cannot be a surer proof of low origin, or of an innate meanness of disposition, than to be always talking and thinking of being genteel. Hazlitt. For your behaviour, let it be free and There is no character more deservedly esteemed than that of a country gentleman who understands the station in which Heaven and Nature have placed him. He is a father to his tenants, a patron to his neighbours, and is superior to those of lower fortune more by his benevolence than his possessions. He justly divides his time between solitude and company, so as to use the one for the other. His life is employed in the good offices of an advocate, a referee, a companion, a mediator, and a friend. Addison. GENTLEMAN-An English. I do not know a finer race of men than the English gentlemen. Instead of the softness and effeminacy which characterize the man of rank in most countries, they exhibit a union of elegance and strength, a robustness of frame and freshness of complexion, which I attribute to their living so much in the open air, and pursuing so eagerly the invigorating recreation of the country. Washington Irving. The man within whose reach Heaven has placed the greatest materials for making life happy, is an English country gentleman. Emperor Alexander. GENTLEMAN-a rare Person. Perhaps a gentleman is a rarer man than some of us think for. Which of us can point out many such in his circle, men whose aims are generous, whose truth is constant, and not only constant in its kind, but elevated in its GHOSTS. is objectless upon earth; that it predominates in the period of sinless infancy, are difficulties the solution of which might afford some probable insight into our ante-mundane condition, and a peep at least into the shadow-land of pre-existence. Lamb. GIFT-Manner of bestowing a. The manner of giving, shews the character of the giver, more than the gift itself. Lavater. GIFT-Every Man hath received a. Every man have received some gift-no man all gifts; and this, rightly considered, would keep all in a more even temper; as, in nature, nothing is altogether useless, so nothing is self-sufficient. This, duly considered, would keep the meanest from repining and discontent -even him that hath the lowest rank in most respects; yet something he hath received that is not only a good to himself, but rightly improved, may be so to others likewise. And this will curb the loftiness of the most advanced, and teach them not only to see some deficiencies in themselves, and some gifts in far meaner persons which they want; but, besides the simple discovery of this, it will put them upon the use of lower persons, not only to stoop to the acknowledgment, but even withal to the participation and benefit of it; not to trample upon all that is below thembut to take up and use things useful, though lying at their feet. Some flowers and herbs that grow very low are of a very fragrant smell and healthful use. GIFTS-when most Acceptable. Leighton. GLUTTON. GIFTS-Useless. He was one of those men, moreover, who possess almost every gift except the gift of the power to use them. Kingsley. GIFTS-Proportionate Value of And, with them, words of so sweet breath composed, As made the things more rich: their perfume lost, Take these again: for to the noble mind I never cast a flower away, The gift of one who cared for me; A little flower-a faded flower, But it was done reluctantly. L. E. Landon. GLORY-Characteristics of. As to be perfectly just is an attribute of the Divine nature, to be so to the utmost of our abilities is the glory of man. Addison. Presents which our love for the donor has Glory, the casual gift of thoughtless crowds! rendered precious, are ever the most acceptable. GIFTS-freely Bestowed. Ovid. Glory, the bribe of avaricious virtue ! GLORY-Impartiality of. Johnson. Glory darts her soul-pervading ray On thrones and cottages, regardless still True glory takes root, and even spreads: all false pretences, like flowers, fall to the ground; nor can any counterfeit last long. Tully. I GLUTTON-The. Such, whose sole bliss is eating, who can give But that one brutal reason why they live. Juvenal. He that prolongs his meals, and sacrifices his time, as well as his other conveniences, to his luxury, how quickly does he outsit his pleasure; and then, how is all the following time bestowed upon ceremony and surfeit! until at length, after a long fatigue of eating and drinking and babbling, he concludes the great work of dining genteelly, and so makes a shift to rise from table, that he may lie down upon his bed; where, after he has slept himwelf into some use of himself, by much ado, he staggers to his table again, and there acts over the same brutish scene: so that he passes his whole life in a dozed condition, between sleeping and waking, with a kind of drowsiness and confusion upon his senses, with what pleasure it can be, is hard to conceive. All that is of it dwells upon the tip of his tongue, and within the compass of his palate. worthy prize for a man to purchase with the loss of his time, his reason, and himself. South. A Swinish gluttony GOD-Adoration of. While earthly objects are exhausted by familiarity, the thought of God becomes to the devout man continually brighter, richer, vaster; derives fresh lustre from all that he observes of nature and Providence, and attracts to itself all the glories of the universe. The devout man, especially in moments of strong religious sensibility, feels distinctly that he has found the true happiness of man. He has found a Being for his veneration and love, whose character is inexhaustible, who, after ages shall have passed, will still be uncomprehended in the extent of his perfections, and will still communicate to the pure mind stronger proofs of His excellence, and more intimate signs of His approval. Channing. GOD-All in all. It is a poor philosophy and a narrow religion, which does not recognise God as all in all. Every moment of our lives, we breathe, stand, or move in the temple of the Most High; for the whole universe is that temple. Wherever we go, the testimony to His power, the impress of His hand, are there. Ask of the bright worlds around us, as they roll in the everlasting harmony of their circles; and they shall tell you of Him, whose power launched them on their courses. Ask of the mountains, that lift their heads among and above the clouds; and the bleak summit of one shall seem to call aloud to the snow-clad top of another, in proclaiming their testimony to the Agency which has laid their deep foundations. Ask of ocean's waters; and the roar of their boundless waves shall chant from shore to shore a hymn of ascription to that Being, who hath said, Hitherto shall ye come and no further.' Ask of the rivers; and, as they roll onward to the sea, do they not bear along their ceaseless tribute to the ever-working Energy, which struck open their fountains and poured them down through the valleys? Ask of every region of the earth, from the burning equator to the icy pole, from the rock-bound coast to the plain covered with its luxuriant vegetation; and you will not find on them all the record of the Creator's presence; Ask of the countless tribes of plants and animals: and shall they not testify to the action of the great Yes, from every portion, from every department of nature, comes the same voice: everywhero we hear Thy name, O God; everywhere we see Thy love. Creation, in all its length and breadth, in all its depth and height, is the manifestation of Thy Spirit, Source of Life? Ne'er looks to Heav'n amidst his gorgeous feast, and without Thee the world were dark and But with besotted, base ingratitude, Crams, and blasphemes his feeder. dead. The universe is to us as the burning Milton. bush which the Hebrew leader saw: God is GOD. ever present in it, for it burns with His glory, and the ground on which we stand is always holy. How then can we speak of that Presence as peculiarly in the sanctuary, which is abroad through all space and time? Francis. GOD-Appeal to. Give me, O Father, to Thy throne access, GOD-the Fountain of Beatitude. And with Thee rich; take what Thou wilt away. GOD-An Indian's Conceptions of. Who is it that causes the rain to rise in the high mountains, and to empty itself into the ocean? Who is it that causes to blow the loud winds of winter, and that calms them again in the summer? Who is it that rears up the shade of those lofty forests, and blasts them with the quick lightning at His pleasure? The same Being who gave to you a country on the other side of the waters, and gave ours to us; and by this title we will defend it. Quoted by Lord Erskine. Rules universal nature. Not a flower Of His unrivall'd pencil. He inspires Of flavour or of scent in fruit or flower, Cowper |