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Though this personage is generally reputed austere, and many shudder at his approach, and shiver in his presence, I have always found myself very comfortable in his company. He treats me with benignity, and after the very law of kindness. He amuses my imagination with his holydays and his pageants. He sooths my ear with merry musick, and he regales my palate with those Christmas pies, which my Mother Church has made so sweet and savoury. But this is only the least part of his benevolence. With his admirable admonitions he NOURISHES MY MIND. He urges me to forsake the Fair of Vanity and the mob of men, and by the radiance of his bright fires, and brighter lamps, to read, what deserves to be remembered, and to write what, possibly, some may read. The wind, and rain, and hail, that often beat about his dwelling I heed not, nor am I chilled into torpor by that benumbing Frost, and that cold, specious dissembler, Snow, who sometimes appear by his side. Let all the Demons of the Tempest howl for admission at my casement, I am careless of their importunity, for I have my Bible and my Shakspeare for my protection and solace.

At the very mention of the Blessed Book I open it, with reverence; and in the very elegant epistle to the Ephesians, what admirable advice do I receive from Saint Paul, and how appropriate, at this season, to my readers and to me. It is an injunction of Prudence, uttered with the most friendly voice of Caution. "See, then, that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time."

Whether the citizens of Ephesus, like most of the inhabitants of every other metropolis, were sometimes gay, and careless, and thoughtless, and dissipated, we are not ac

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curately informed, nor is it very material to inquire. It is highly probable, from the antithesis in the text, that they were so. Perhaps every Ephesian would waste many a year either asleep in the dormitory of Indolence, or broad awake and vociferous in the pavilion of Revelry, or wallowing in the sty of Intemperance. Prodigal of his fortune, prodigal of his health, and more lavish of his hours, he would lend them to every impertinent and perfidious borrower, and never think of redeeming the precious pledge. Such egregious Folly, and such audacious Vice deserved all the admonition of an Apostle. He could not behold these infatuated Ephesians, thus wandering in the mazes of Absurdity and Iniquity; all desperate on the very brink of Destruction; and all darkling in the shadow of Death. Like an experienced, a faithful, and a trusty guide, he indicates the paths of Honour, Peace, and Security, and then to each pilgrim exclaims, See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.

He does not content himself merely with suggesting a plan of Prudence, but correctly indicates the mode of its accomplishment. A better mode the wit of man could not devise, or even the cloquence of an Angel enforce. This was by REDEEMING THE TIME, as, with equal emphasis and elegance, it is expressed in the Epistle. This is one of those brilliant metaphors, by whose glory the Scriptures are so often illuminated, and whose splendour, like that of the Sun, is not merely a sparkling, but a salutary light. The weight of the Apostle's admonition is much more forcibly impressed by this figure than by that plainness of speech, which he judiciously employed on other occasions. With his usual artfulness of address, and his consum

mate knowledge of mankind, he re- | members that he is exhorting the opulent individuals of a splendid capital. He considers Time as an exchequer, from which exhausting draughts have been made, or rather as a valuable article of property, which has been rashly pledged, without, perhaps, the semblance of an equivalent. Hence he enjoins upon those, who have been too prodigai of this inestimable gift, to redeem it as soon as possible.

Ease, or any of the devices of Indolence. No; great gifts are necessary, great sacrifices must be made, great toil undergone, and painful privations suffered. So when Time, a personage much greater and richer than any above described, has been lost, or taken from us, we may not hope to enjoy a grateful connexion with him again, without paying the price of Labour, Assiduity, Care, and Perseverance. This seems not only intolerable, butimpossible to a vulgar spendthrift of his hours, to the dronish votary of Laziness, whose head is drench

By every man, whose time has been foolishly or vitiously squandered, it will be redeemed, it he follows apostolick advice, and walks cor-ed with all the poppies of Oblivion, rectly, carefully, and uprightly, like a wise and prudent sage, and not heedlessly and at random, like an idiot, or a drunkard.

During our celebration of the natal days of a new year, it will be a most salutary practice to reflect, with sorrow, upon those portions of the past, which we have lent to bad purposes, and to resolve, with firmness, to adopt every measure, in future, for the redemption of that Time, which has been in captivity to Folly, Indolence, or Oblivion.

This may be effected by various means. Devotion, Virtue, Retirement, Labour, and Learning will all, in turns, lend their aid. The power of the three first of these auxiliaries has been so copiously and eloquently described by my predecessours, and as the limits of my paper, as well as the dreaded yawns of my readers, admonish me to be studious of brevity, I shall confine myself to the latter.

In the first place, to redeem Time, great Exertion is necessary. When a sovereign Prince, or a nobleman of distinction, or an opulent merchant falls into the hands of his enemies, or is captured by the buccaniers of the ocean, he is not ransomed by any of the expedients of

whose mouth never opens but to yawn, and who makes no other noise in the world than a snore. To such an oyster I do not address myself. But a son of Genius and Sensibility, a philosophick thinker, or an ambitious aspirant will remember and believe the correct sentiments of the poet Thomson:

Had unambitious mortals minded nought,
But in loose joy their time to wear away,
Had they alone the lap of Dalliance sought,
Pleas'd on her pillow their dull heads to lay,
Rude Nature's state had been our state today;
No arts had made us opulent and gay;
No cities e'er their towery fronts had rais'd,
With brother brutes the human race had
graz'd;

None e'er had soar'd to fame, none honour'd been, none prais'd.

If right I read, we Pleasure all require,
But should to Fame our hearts unfeeling be,
Then hear how best may be obtained this fee,
How best enjoy'd this nature's wide desire;
Toil and be glad. Let Industry inspire
Into our quicken'd limbs her buoyant breath;
Who does not act is dead: absorpt entire
In miry sloth, no pride, no joy he hath;
O, leaden hearted man, to be in love with
Death!

And would you learn to dissipate the band
Of those huge threat'ning Difficulties dire,
That in the weak man's way, like lions stand,
His soul appal, and damp his rising fire?
Resolve, resolve, and to be men aspire,
Have to mankind indulg'd; control Desire;
Exert that noblest privilege alone
Let godlike Reason form her sovereign,
throne,

Speak the commanding word-I will-and it is done.

In the last place, time may be gloriously redeemed by the powers of Genius, the auxiliaries of Applieation, and the pursuits of Literature. SALLUST, who in the knowledge of human nature is scarcely surpassed by Shakspeare himself, and whose profound histories are an eternal monument of the accu

racy of his assertions, tells us, that
it is the duty of all aspiring spirits,
strenuously to endeavour to rise
bove the mists of obscurity; and
hot without alertness, we shall but
surpass the brute creation, who
doomed by nature to grovel on
the earth. In another passage, he
claims, with an enthusiasm worthy
such a writer, that it was always
his opinion that the truest glory con-
ists in the efforts of GENIUS, and
that since our time of life is alike
ransitory and dubious, we should
remember, that in honest fame and
heir applause of posterity, there
found an existence beyond the
grave. It is genius alone, that has
a legitimate claim to glory and im-
mortality. Survey, he exclaims
with truth and eloquence, survey the
map of life, and you shall find the
predominance of intellect. The la-
bours of the husbandman, the ma-
riner, and the architect, all spring
from that powerful source. Yet
miraculous as it may seem, throngs
are found in every age careless of
ental improvement. Immersed
Indolence and Voluptuousness,
without knowledge, and without
ulture,they saunter through life,like
rangers in a foreign land; with a
firect inversion of the order of na-
ure, they deem reflection a pain,
and sensuality the only pleasure.
Whether, he continues in a tone of
merited contempt, whether a crew
hus listless crawl on the surface,

or sink to the centre is of trivial

importance. In either case, they

leave no MONUMENT of their existence. He alone is worthy of life and its enjoyments, who devotes his talents to some active pursuit, and goes in quest of Fame, either in the camp of Glory, or the groves of Science.

SENECA, a philosopher, a moralist, and a man of letters, holds a language, the very echo of that of the Roman historian. No man, strictly speaking, can live, who does not dedicate himself to a life of labour. The house of the loiterer is his grave. There we may erect a monument to the deceased, who has virtually anticipated his own obsequies. Even retirement, he concludes, is little better than being buried alive, unless dignified with the pursuits of literature.

HORACE, who, although a man of pleasure, and a man of the world, was a very industrious writer, and who has bequeathed us brilliant proofs of his assiduity, as well as of his genius, declares, with uncommon energy, that he who wishes to win the chaplet of praise, and reach the goal of Fame, must task all his energy and alertness, and must not suffer the nerves of resolution to be relaxed, either by the witchery of women, or the warmth of wine.

Thus essential is the redemption of Time to the man of reason and reflection; and at the commencement of a year, let us cheerfully pay

the precious ransom. Amid the diversity of pursuits, which life supplies, every individual may discover some forthright path, which, diligently pursued. i have for its visto, either the Temple of Fame or Fortune. By arts, not less than by arms, a road may be opened to renown. But to he successful employment of our talents, Time must be husbanded, with a miser's care.

Let us snatch what hours we may from dull oblivion's slumber. Let us abridge many meals, and forego some. Let us trim the lamps of midnight, and court the solitude and tranquillity of morning. Above all, let us dread the disgrace of sinking into a listless inactivity, but remember in the most inauspicious period of our own, or country's fortune, that by every noble and strenuous exertion all may yet BE REDEEMED.

CLASSICAL LEARNING.

For The Port Folio.

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any consideration, give up his skill in the language of those authours. Every man of learning wishes that his son may be learned; and that not so much with a view to pecuniary advantage, as from a desire to have him supplied with the ral amusement. It is true that habit means of useful instruction, and libewill make us fond of trifling pursuits, and mistake imaginary for real excellence. The being accustomed to that kind of study, and, perhaps, also the pride, or the vanity, or simply the consciousness of being learned, may account for a part of the pleasure, that attends the perusal of the Greek and Roman writings. But sure, it is but a small part, which may be thus accounted for. The Greeks were more passionate admirers of Homer and Demosthenes; and the Romans of Viryil and Cicero than we; and yet were not under the necessity of employing so much time in the study of these authours; nor, consequently, so liable to contract a liking from long acquaintance, or to be proud of an accomplishment, which was common to them with all their countrymen.

The study of Greek and Latin being necessary to the perfection of the

sary to the permanence, and even puity, of the modern tongues; and consequently, to the preservation of our History, Poetry, Philosophy, and of every thing valuable in our literature.

One of the most essential duties ofa Literary Journalist is, not only to take care that the republick of letters should suffer no detriment, but that the dignity and honour of the wise and the learned should be constantly indicated to all, who aspire to intellectual eminence. Hence, nothing is a source of purer pleasure to the Editor of The Port Folio, than to have it often in his power to reposit, in that Miscellany, every liberal encomium, and every vigorous defence of that portion of Li-grammatical art, must also be necesterature, which is correctly denominated Classical. In the decline of the past year, we had the good fortune to obtain, from the pen of the late Dr. NESBIT, a series of speculations, upon a favourite topick. These deserve all the attention that our literary friends can give, and every honour that the Editor can bestow. They certainly claim a conspicuous place in this paper. and if they contribute to rouse, in any degree, an emulation to be skilled in those writers, who have constantly legimate Criticism and delicate Taste on their side, the Editor will be abundantly gratified. The classical authours need only to be accurately known, to be ardently admired. For as it is ascertained from the best authority, the admirer of Homer, and Demosthenes, of Virgil and Cicero, Xenophon, and Cæsar, Herodotus, and Li-thology, the works of the ancients, and of vy, will tell us, that he would not, for those moderns who have imitated them,

Can those, who wish well to Learning or mankind ever seek to depreciate so important a study? or will it be said that the knowledge of grammar is unworthy of a gentleman or a man of business, when it is considered that the most profound statesmen, the ablest oratours, the most elegant writers, and the greatest men that ever appeared on the stage of publick life. of whom I shall only mention. Julius Cæsar and Cicero, were not only studious of grammar, but most accurate gram

marians?

(Continued from Vol. 4, p. 404.) Besides, without acquaintance with My

would not be intelligible. The ideal world is as necessary to be known, in order to understand the allusions to it, with which the poets abound, as the natural world is, in order to understand and judge of descriptive poetry. Nothing can please that is not distinctly perceived. If we are unacquainted with Mythology, the chief beauties of poetry will escape our notice; while an intelligent reader will receive the greatest pleasure from the judicious use of ancient fable, without running the hazard of being misled by it, as was the case with those who considered it as the rule of their faith and duty,

We observed, already, that soon after the appearance of the Christian Religion, the Stoick Philosophers endeavoured to disguise and explain away the fabulous History of the heathen gods, by supposing it to be merely allegorical, and to contain many maxims of moral wisdom under the vail of fiction. But it is easy to see, that they were driven to this expedient, by finding the impossibility of defending it as it stood in the popular traditions, which however different from each other, according to the various fancies of men, were all of them unworthy of the Deity, and lay exposed to severe censure and contempt from such as entertained difle. rent opinions. When Lucian, about the time of Adrian, employed the most severe and pointed raillery against their Mythology, it is likely that they exerted their ingenuity still more to allegorize their Mythology, and to defend it from the satire of that ingenious, though wicked writer.

The Lord Chancellor Bacon, and Mons. Freret, of the French Academy, have endeavoured, the one in his essays, entitied The Wisdom of the Ancients, and the other, in his discourse on Mythology, to make the ancients much wiser than they really were, and to attribute views and purposes to them, of which, it appears by their writings, that they were entirely ignorant. These authours have displayed their own ingenuity to advantage, but all their conjectures concerning the design and meaning of the Heathen Mythology, appear to be the product of their own fancies, and cannot persuade an intelligent reader, while he considers the total silence of the ancients themselves, who must have known infinitely better what allegories their Mythology contained, had it contained any, than their modern readers, at so great a distance of time.

Nor have those laboured to much better purpose, who have endeavoured to find all the heathen gods in the fragments of Ancient History preserved by some of the an cient authours. The high antiquity of these fables, and the little tradition we have left of those ages that were prior to the knowledge of letters, render such attempts entirely hopeless; to say nothing of the difference

in the traditions themselves, which cannot be conform to History. Jupiter has, by some, been supposed to be a King of Egypt, and by others, of Crete. The inhabitants of that island, possibly reckoning it for their honour, pretended to show the tomb of Jupiter in their country, for which reason they were considered as liars in the time of Lucan; nay, as early as that of Epimenides, from whom the Apostle Paul quotes a verse describing their character, though doubtless without the least reference to this story.

The machinery of the epick poetry of the ancients is taken wholly from their traditionary mythology. This confers a grandeur on their sentiments, which could not have been reached by simple narration. For if the prosopopæia, which is but the fiction of a moment, is found to produce dignity and animation in poetry, surely more is to be expected from the introduction of persons, imaginary indeed, but supposed always to exist, and to be possessed of powers and qualities superiour to those of ordinary men, not to mention that they were the objects of the popular worship and veneration.

In the use of mythology it is probable, that the poets did not always conform to popular tradition and belief, but varied or augmented the former fictions according to their humour and the nature of their subjects, and these additional fictions came, at last, to have an equal authority with those of older date. Thus Homer speaks of Castor and Pollux as mortal men, though succeeding poets exalted them into demigods. He likewise calls Hercules, the son of Amphitryon and the son of Jupiter in the same speech. From this we may gather that the divinity of Castor and Pollux was not thought of, and that the divinity of Hercules was not fully acknowledged in the days of Homer. The difference betwixt the mythology of Homer and Hesiod, though they lived in the same age, is an additional confirmation of the above observation.

The study of language is not a mere exercise of the memory, nor solely versant about words, as superficial observers imagine, but requires also the exercise of judgment and taste, and is calculated for the improvement of these faculties, perhaps in as high a degree as they are capable of receiving in earlylife. The knowledge of the very rules of construction depends on the knowledge of the sense of the authour, and as language is the expression of thought, the student is, in this manner, introduced to the knowledge of the operations of the human mind, and the manner in which it arranges and expresses its ideas. Hence Grammar is justly placed at the head of the liberal arts, and so far as it depends on fixed rules and principles, may be properly denominated a science.

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