823

On Fear, Rashness, Anger, &c.

Of Fear: the Vanity of it, and how to Master it. Rashness to be avoided; and something more on Anger.

(Communicated by Almagro.)

824

upon the gridiron, and braved the tyrant. The virgin Appollonia leaped into the fire. Anaxarchus was cheerful in the mortar, under the stroke of the hammer. Socrates took off his cup of poison, as if it had been a frolic, and drank a health to Critias. What is there now so terrible in the faggot, or the gibbet, or in the train of executioners, and officers of justice that attend it? Under this pomp and formality, which serves only to frighten fools, there lies Death; that

men, and children, have not only welcomed but courted. Set aside the noise, the hurry, and the disguise in these cases, and let every thing appear in its own shape, we shall find that there is nothing terrible in the matter, but the mere apprehension of it; and that it fares with us great boys as it does with little ones, our very nurses and our play-fellows, if they be but dressed up with a white sheet, or a vizard, are enough to put us out of our senses. Nay, we are the sillier children of the two kinds, for we are struck with a panic terror, not only at the counterfeit of a reality, but the very counterfeit of a counterfeit tor

1. "I HAVE known many people, without any visible, or so much as probable danger, run raving up and down, as if they were stark mad, upon the bare apprehension of some imaginary mischief to befal them. The torment they endure is unspeak-which so many thousands of men, woable; what betwixt the impression of a present, and apprehension of a mischief to come. There are many misfortunes which we create, and which have a being only in the imagination. There are others which threaten us, indeed, but afar off, and they will come soon enough of themselves, without being drawn on before their time. There are some persons so weak as to govern themselves by dreams and idle fancies, without any reasonable ground of conjecture at all; and to be startled at every foolish rumour. A word mistaken is enough to break their sleep; | and the apprehension of a great man's displeasure puts them directly out of their wits; not so much for the dis-ments us. pleasure itself as for the consequences of it. But these are vain thoughts, and the vainer the more troublesome. Truth has its measure and limits, but the imagination is boundless: and the main difference I find betwixt the suffering of a misfortune, and the expectation of it, is this: the grief for what hath befallen us, will be over; but the fear of what may befal us hath no end.

3. Bring every particular to a common cause; and let every man say to himself, I have a frail and mortal body, liable to distempers, sickness, and, in the conclusion, to death itself. All this I have known from a child, and the many ill accidents that threaten me. What have I now to fear? bodily sickness? My soul will be the better for it. Poverty? My life will be the safer for it, and the 2. He that would deliver himself sweeter for it. Loss of fortune? Why from the tyranny of fear, let him take then farewell all the cares and dangers for granted that what he fears will that accompany it. Loss of credit? come to pass, and then enter into a If I suffer deservedly, I shall detest computation upon the whole matter. the cause, but approve the justice :Upon this deliberation he will certain-if wrongfully, my conscience will be ly find, that the things he fears are nothing so terrible in themselves as in his false opinion of them. 'Tis a hard case for a man to be banished, or laid in irons, "Tis a terrible pain to be burnt alive. And yet we have many instances, not only of Christians, but infidels also, that have despised, and triumphed over all this; and more indeed than this amounts to. Stephen suffered death with a quiet constancy of mind, and prayed for his persecutors. Lawrence rejoiced

my comforter. Shall I fear a repulse, or a disappointment? There never was a man but wanted something or other that he desired. Banishment? I'll travel, and banish myself. Loss of my eyes? It will deliver me from many temptations. What if men speak evil of me? It is but what they are used to do, and what I deserve. Shall I fear death? It is the very condition I came into the world upon. Well! but to die in a strange country? All countries are alike to him that hath

On Anger, &c.-Soundness of Mind.

no abiding place here. But for a man
to die before his time! As if a man
should complain of having his shakles
knocked off, and being discharged
from a prison, before his time.
are not to look upon death as banish-
ment, or causes of mourning, as pun-
ishments, but only as tributes of mor-
tality. It is a senseless thing to fear

what we cannot shun.

827

On Soundness of Mind.-Answer to a

of perception. Perception cannot be properly accomplished, unless the person is perfectly free from external intrusion and internal perturbation. If any of the organs of sense are impaired by fatigue, age, or any accident, perception will be imperfect; witness the case of an aged person,-the sight is imperfect, the hearing is indistinct; none of the organs of sense perform their office so well in the old as they do in the young.

animal, and given sufficient attention accurately to perceive its construction, so as to have a complete perception of the different parts or members of which it is composed, he would, in the absence of the animal, be enabled to remember it. To recollect, is only a different figure for the same process, and implies, to re-gather, or collect, those parts which have been scattered in different directions. The perceptions we obtain by our different senses are all capable of being remembered, but in different ways. Those which may have been received from sight, may be collected by the pictures of the object which originally induced perception, and thus we might make a durable record of our visible perceptions. This does not apply to the other sensations. We can exhibit no

hardness; these admit of no picturesque representations as their record.

We cannot perceive the form or colour of an object, unless the eye is in a perfect state. We know not the nature of any sound, unless the ear is in a proper state. We know not how to perceive the difference between distinct odours, unless the organs of smell are in a healthy state. We know not how to distinguish between the qualities of bitter and sweet, un-pictures of odours, taste, sound, or less the organs of taste are in a perfect condition. We know not how to distinguish between hard and soft, heat and cold, except the organs of touch are unimpaired. The internal senses may be excited spontaneously, such as memory and imagination, although I think, if we were to watch the proceedings of our mind, we should generally find, that recollection, or memory, is not perfect without the intervention of those means which originally induced perception. If I endeavour to recal to mind the nature and colour of an object which I saw and distinctly understood ten years ago, it is more than probable that the ideas I may form of it will be erroneous, because we universally find that the absence of an object does, in a great degree, obliterate its image from the mind.

If a human being were gifted with

The memory of animals seems to be in a simple state. They have different perceptions through their organs. In many instances, these organs are more sensible than they are in the human species, but they are incapable of recording their perceptions by any signs or tokens. Their recollection can only be awakened from the recurrence of the object by which the perception was originally excited. Whereas man, by the possession of speech, and of the characters in which it is recorded, can, at all times, renew his recollection of the past.

Your's, respectfully,
LEO. LEDBROOK.

August 12, 1821.

(To be continued.)

his five senses, in a proper state, for Answer to a Query on the Consequence

the conveyance of those perceptions which they are destined to receive, and if he were allowed to exercise them for many years, what would he be without the power of recollection? no better than the walls of Westminster Abbey, after the commemoration of Handel. The nature of memory has received but little elucidation from the aggregate of works which have been written on the subject. There are two words, remember and recollect, of a similar meaning with the word memory, Anglecised from the Latin word memoria. Thus, if an individual have seen any particular

of Adam's Fall.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR,-The Query proposed by your Huddersfield correspondent S. (col. 650,) has frequently occurred to my mind;" Will the fall of mankind by Adam, and their redemption by Christ, be the means of procuring them greater felicity than they would have enjoyed, had Adam not transgressed the divine command?"

To this question, in a rather different form, an answer in the affirmative may, I think, with probability, be

829

Answer to a Query.-Observations on the Leech Worm. 830

"Worthy, the Iamb that died,—
To be exalted us,"

given. Though firmly convinced, that, ed Lord, not only may we regain our through the redemption by Christ, we loss by Adam, but, the cause, or sources, may attain higher degrees of felicity of our love being greater, may rise prothan we otherwise should have done, portionately higher in the scale of had man continued to live in sinless bliss; yea, whilst angelic beings, obedience to his Maker, yet I can in clothed with holiness and purity, surno wise conceive that we are warrant-round the eternal throne, and exulted to view the fall of man as a pro-ingly exclaim, curing cause, or mean, of this increase of happiness. By sin we became the subjects of misery, wretchedness, and death; through the redemption by Christ, we may become the inheritors of happiness and everlasting life: by the fall we became fit objects of the Divine mercy; by the love of God in Christ, we may be raised from the ruins thereof, and reinstated in that holy image wherein man was originally created.

To what degree of happiness our first parents, or their posterity, might have attained, had sin not entered into the world, must, perhaps, remain a mystery; being formed in the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness; -having the tide of their affections and desires turned towards Him as

their source;-dwelling in God, and God in them;-pure from every species of defilement;-loving God with all their heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, they must have lived indescribably happy;-formed from such a model, they must have partaken largely of the Divine nature, and consequently of that felicity which none but Deity can impart.

These might then have adored their Maker as the great creator and upholder of all things;-they might have viewed him as the God of providence, imparting, with a liberal hand, the various blessings they enjoyed; as a God of goodness and love, they might have marked his varied operations to promote their welfare and comfort; and, in worshipping him as such, have derived that satisfaction and delight which alone result from the strict performance of every moral obligation; but they would have been utterly unable to have adored him as the God of mercy and forgiving love, the Saviour of mankind!

we, in far more animating strains, may vie with the celestial hosts, and chant a nobler song ;

"Worthy the Lamb, our hearts reply,
For he was slain for us!"

"Was slain!" O love immense! O
condescending grace!
for love, for endless gratitude, is here!
What cause
Say, if in the exercise of affections
of such amazing grace, being raised
such as these, in being the recipients
from such a depth of misery, in re-
flecting back such wondrous love, we
do not derive a greater degree of feli-
city, than if no such affections trad
been called into action, or no such
display of the loving kindness of our
God been given? "To whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth little.”

I am, yours respectfully,
AIZEOS.

125, Oxford-street, London,
August. 15, 1821.

Observations on the LEECH WORM, by a

Gentleman who kept one several years for the purpose of a Weather Glass.

A PHIAL of water, containing a leech, I kept on the frame of my lower sash chamber window, so that when I looked in the morning, I could know what would be the weather of the following day.

If the weather continues serene and beautiful, the leech lies motionless at the bottom of the glass, and rolled together in a spiral form.

If it rains, either before or after noon, it is found to have crept up to the top of its lodging; and there it remains till the weather is settled.

If we are to have wind, the poor prisoner moves through its limpid habitation with amazing swiftness, and seldom rests till it begins to blow hard.

To us, who are redeemed by Christ's most precious blood, belongs this sweeter and more glorious theme; 'tis our's to view the grand display of If a remarkable storm of thunder those endearing attributes of Deity, and rain is to succeed, for some days and share the glories of redeeming before it lodges almost continually grace. By the mediation of our bless-out of the water, and discovers great

831

On the Impropriety of trifling with Females.

uneasiness, in violent throws and convulsive-like motions.

832

These are men whose natural ardency leads them to express more than they intend. They are enthusiastic in their

In frost, as in clear summer-like weather, it lies constantly at the bot-friendship with females, which is too

tom. And in snow, as in rainy weather, it pitches its dwelling upon the very mouth of the phial.

readily converted by them into a warmer sentiment. A man of this character entrusts his female friend What reasons may be assigned for with the secrets of his heart; he prothese changes, I must leave philoso-bably states the obstacles which imphers to determine.-It appears to be affected in a way analogous to that of spirits and mercury in the weatherglass; and it seems evident, from the surprising sensations which it manifests, that an approaching change of weather, even days before it takes place, makes a visible alteration upon its manner of living.

Perhaps it may not be amiss to note, lest any of the curious should try the experiment, that the leech is kept in a common eight-ounce phial glass, about three-fourths filled with water, and covered on the mouth with a bit of linen rag. In the summer time, the water is changed once a week, and in the winter once a fortnight. This is a weather glass which may be purchased at a very trifling expense, and which will last a number of years.

How despicable does the character of that person appear, whose affections are continually roving from one object to another. But much more contemptible is he, who aims at every susceptible heart, and by words which ingeniously admit of two interpretations, intentionally ruins the peace of many an innocent and unsuspecting female.

But there are some who cannot be termed fickle in so high a degree, or be classed with those monsters whose delight it is to harrow up, and trifle with, the tenderest feeling which God has implanted in the female bosom.

peded his wishes with respect to a once favoured object of his attentions; and even hints that the written documents which had passed between them are consumed. The friend would naturally construe this to her own advantage, and conclude that she is not herself indifferent to him, otherwise he would not have made her his confidant. Thus she reasons: and if invectives against his former friend should escape his lips; if he names a quality of which he says she is deficient, and which the friend is conscious she herself possesses; if a countenance expressive of tenderness accompanies this acknowledgment,-the work is finished,-her affections are his, but his are not hers; though perhaps he might sometimes find it difficult to determine to which of his female friends the balance of his preference preponderated.

But the time may arrive, when he (perhaps after an absence) meets the object of his former regard. They compromise their disordered concerns, and again all is amicable. But where is the newly-made friend? She is passed by with a nod; and in order to exclude any suspicion of attachment to her from the mind of his present mistress, he sometimes behaves to her with incivility, or perhaps asperity. She now feels herself neglected, and spends her days and nights in unavailing grief, while he is blessed with the esteem of her now considered rival. She ventures to speak; but he answers her with indifference, and coldly thanks her for the "good advice" she has frequently given him. This is a stroke she little expected. She says no more, but calls to mind the many kind offices she has done for him; the many feeling expressions he has used, the many words, the many actions, from which she naturally inferred she was the next if not the only object of his affections. Sometimes she secretly upbraids him with ingratitude, and sometimes herself with folly and credulity.