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Angels are men of a superior kind;
Angels are men in lighter habit clad, [flight,
High o'er celestial mountains winged in
And men are angels loaded for an hour,
Who wade the miry vale, and climb with
pain,

And slippery step, the bottom of the steep. Angels their failings, mortals have their praise;

While here, of corpse ethereal, such enrolled, And summoned to the glorious standard soon, Which flames eternal crimson through the skies.

Nor are our brothers thoughtless of their kin, Yet absent, but not absent from their love. Michael has fought our battles, Raphael sung Our triumphs, Gabriel on our errands flown, Sent by the Sovereign; and are these, O man! Thy friends and warm allies, and thou (shame

burn

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And all for love, and nothing for reward;
Oh, why should heavenly God to men have
such regard!
Edmund Spenser.

123. ANGELS, Music of

The multitude of angels with a shout
Loud as from numbers without number sweet,
With jubilee, and loud hosannas filled [rung
As from blest voices uttering joy, Heaven
The eternal regions; lowly reverent
Towards either throne they bow, and to the
ground,

With solemn adoration down they cast
Their crowns inwove with amarant and
gold-

In Paradise, fast by the tree of life,
Immortal amarant, a flower which once
Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
To Heaven removed, where first it grew, there
grows,

And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life, And where the river of bliss, through midst of Heaven,

Rolls o'er Elysian flowers her amber stream:
With these, that never fade, the spirits elect
Bind their resplendent locks inwreathed with
beams;
[bright

Now in loose garlands thick thrown off, the
Pavement, that like a sea of jasper shone,
Impurpled with celestial roses smiled.
Then, crowned again, their golden harps they
took-

Harps ever tuned, that glittering by their side
Like quivers hung; and, with preamble sweet
Of charming symphony, they introduce
Their sacred song, and waken raptures high:
No voice exempt-no voice but well could
join

Melodious part; such concord is in Heaven.
Milton.

124. ANGELS, Office of the. They are God's minist'ring spirits, and are His messengers of mercy, to fulfil [sent Good for Salvation's heirs. For us they

still

Grieve when we sin, rejoice when we repent;
And on the last dread day they shall present
The sever'd righteous at His holy hill,
With them God's face to see, to do His
will,
[meant
And bear with them His likeness. Was it
That we this knowledge should in secret seal,

Unthought of, unimproving? Rather say, God deign'd to man His angel hosts reveal,

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That man might learn like angels to obey; And those, who long their bliss in heaven to feel, [they. Might strive on earth to serve Him even as Bp. Mant.

125. ANGELS, Strife of

How oft do they their silver bowers leave,
To come to succor us that succor want!
How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The flittering skies, like flying pursuivant,
Against foul fiends to aid us militant!
They for us fight, they watch, and duly ward,
And bright squadrons round about us plant; Of the thin air than of the solid ground:

My dwelling had been situate beside
The myriads of a vast metropolis:
But now astonish'd I beheld, and lo!
There were more spirits than men, more
habitants

The firmament was quick with life.

As [forth

when The prophet's servant look'd from Dothan On Syria's thronging multitudes, and saw, His eyes being open'd at Elisha's prayer, Chariots of fire by fiery horses drawn, The squadrons of the sky around the seer Encamping. Thus in numbers numberless The hosts of darkness and of light appear'd Thronging the air. They were not ranged for fight,

But mingled host with host, angels with men.
Nor was it easy to discern the lost

From the elect. There were no horned fiends
As some have fabled, no gaunt skeletons
Of naked horror; but the fallen wore,
Even as the holy angels, robes of light;
Nor did their ruin otherwise appear [hate,
Than in dark passions, envy, and pride, and
Which like a brand upon their brow obscured
The lustre of angelic loveliness.

It was not open battle, might with might
Contesting; but uninterrupted war
Of heavenly faithfulness and hellish craft.
By every saint a holy watcher stood;
By some a company of blessed spirits;
Each had their ministry assign'd. And oft
From some superior chief the watchword
pass'd,

Or warnings came of stratagems foreseen,
Or tidings from the court of glory sped
From lip to lip more quickly than the
thoughts

Which men decipher from electric signs.
Far off their armor gleam'd. On the other

hand

The spirits of darkness freely intermix'd With all; innumerable legions arm'd; And, baffled oft, to their respective lords The thrones and principalities of hell Repairing, better learn'd their cursed lore To win or storm the ramparts of the heart Except to treachery impregnable.

E. H. Bickersteth.

126. ANGELS, Two.
Man hath two attendant angels,
Ever waiting at his side,
With him wheresoe'er he wanders,
Wheresoe'er his feet abide.
One to warn him when in danger,
And rebuke him if he stray:
One to leave him to his nature,
And so let him go his way.
Two recording spirits, reading
All his life's minutest part,
Looking in his soul and listening
To the beatings of his heart.
Each with pen of fire electric,

Writes the good and evil wrought; Writes with truth that adds not, errs not, Purpose, action, word, and thought. One, the Teacher and Reprover,

Marks each heaven-deserving deed; Graves it with the lightning's vigor;

Seals it with the lightning's speed;

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127. ANGER, Fruits of Full many mischiefs follow cruel wrath: Abhorred bloodshed, and tumultuous strife,

Unmanly murder, and unthrifty scath,

Bitter despite, with rancour's rusty knife, And fretting grief, the enemy of life;

All these, and many evils more, haunt ire. The swelling spleen, and phrenzy raging rife, The shaking palsy, and Saint Francis fire: Such one was wrath, the last of this ungodly tire. Edmund Spenser.

128. ANIMALS, Creation of.

The sixth, and of creation last, arose With evening harps and matin; when God said,

[kind, "Let the earth bring forth soul living in her Cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, [straight

Each in their kind." The Earth obeyed, and Opening her fertile womb, teemed at a birth Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms, Limbed and full grown. Out of the ground [wons

up rose,

As from his lair, the wild beast, where he In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den; Among the trees in pairs they rose, they

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With spots of gold and purple, azure and | No voice that shall be heard in his defence? no sentence to be passed on his oppressor?

green: These, as a line, their long dimension drew, Streaking the ground with sinuous trace;

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129. ANIMALS, Treatment of. Verily, they are all thine: freely mayest thou serve thee of them all:

They are thine by gift for thy needs, to be used in all gratitude and kindness; Gratitude to their God and thine,-their Father and thy Father,

Kindness to them who toil for thee, and help thee with their all:

For meat, but not by wantonness of slaying: for burden, but with limits of humanity.

For luxury, but not through torture: for draught, but according to the strength: For a dog cannot plead his own right, nor render a reason for exemption, Nor give a soft answer unto wrath, to turn aside the undeserved lash; The galled ox cannot complain, nor supplicate a moment's respite; The spent horse hideth his distress, till he panteth out his spirit at the goal; Also, in the winter of life, when worn by constant toil,

If ingratitude forget his services, he cannot

bring them to remembrance; Behold, he is faint with hunger; the big tear standeth in his eye;

His skin is sore with stripes, and he tottereth beneath his burden;

His limbs are stiff with age, his sinews have lost their vigor,

And pain is stamped upon his face, while he wrestleth unequally with toil;

Yet once more mutely and meekly endureth he the crushing blow;

That struggle hath cracked his heart-stringsthe generous brute is dead! Liveth there no advocate for him? no judge to avenge his wrongs?

Yea, the sad eye of the tortured pleadeth pathetically for him;

Yea, all the justice in heaven is roused in indignation at his woes;

Yea, all the pity upon earth shall call down a curse upon the cruel;

Yea,

the burning malice of the wicked is their own exceeding punishment. The Angel of Mercy stoppeth not to comfort, but passeth by on the other side, And hath no tear to shed, when a cruel man is damned. M. F. Tupper.

130. ANNIHILATION, Absurdity of.

Why life, a moment? infinite, desire?
Our wish, eternity? our home, the grave?
Heaven's promise dormant lies in human
hope:

Who wishes life immortal proves it too.
Why happiness pursued, though never found?
Man's thirst of happiness declares it is,
For nature never gravitates to nought:
That thirst, unquenched, declares it is not
here.

Why cordial friendship riveted so deep,
As hearts to pierce at first, at parting, rend,
If friend and friendship vanish in an hour?
Is not this torment in the mask of joy?
Why by reflection marred the joys of sense?
Why past and future preying on our hearts,
And putting all our present joys to death?
Why labors reason?-instinct were as well!
Instinct far better-what can choose can err.
O, how infallible the thoughtless brute!
"Twere well his holiness were half as sure.
Reason with inclination, why at war?
Why sense of guilt? why conscience up in
arms?

Conscience of guilt is prophecy of pain,
And bosom counsel to decline the blow.
Reason with inclination ne'er had jarred,
If nothing future paid forbearance here.
Thus on.
these, a thousand pleas

uncalled,

All promise, some insure, a second scene;
Which, were it doubtful, would be dearer far
Than all things else most certain; were it
false,

What truth on earth so precious as the lie?
This world it gives us, let what will ensue;
This world it gives, in that high cordial, hope;
The future of the present is the soul. [next!
How this life groans, when severed from the
Poor mutilated wretch, that disbelieves !
By dark distrust his being cut in two,
In both parts perishes: life void of joy,
Sad prelude of eternity in pain!

Could'st thou persuade me, the next life could fail

Our ardent wishes, how should I pour out My bleeding heart in anguish, new as deep! O, with what thoughts (thy hope, and my

despair)

Abhorred ANNIHILATION blasts the soul,
And wide extends the bounds of human woe!
Edward Young.

131. ANNIHILATION, Advocates of Are there on earth (let me not call them men!)

Who lodge a soul immortal in their breasts,
Unconscious as the mountain of its ore,
Or rock, of its inestimable gem? [these
When rocks shall melt, and mountains vanish,
Shall know their treasure-treasure, then, no

more.

Are there (still more amazing!) who resist The rising thought? who smother, in its birth, [brutes? The glorious truth? who struggle to be Who, through this bosom-barrier burst their

way,

And, with reversed ambition, strive to sink?
Who labor downwards through the opposing
powers
[them,

Of instinct, reason, and the world against
To dismal hopes, and shelter in the shock
Of endless night?-night, darker than the
graves!

Who fight the proofs of immortality?
With horrid zeal, and execrable arts,
Work all their engines, level their black fires,
To blot from man this attribute divine,
(Than vital blood far dearer to the wise),
Blasphemers and rank atheists to themselves?
Edward Young.

132. ANNIHILATION, License of.
Duty! Religion!-These, our duty done,
Imply reward. Religion is mistake.
Duty!-there's none, but to repel the cheat.
Ye cheats, away! ye daughters of my pride,
Who feign yourselves the favorites of the
Ye towering hopes, abortive energies, [skies!
That toss and struggle in my lying breast
To scale the skies, and build presumptions
As I were heir of an eternity- [there,
Vain, vain ambitions! trouble me no more.
Why travel far in quest of sure defeat?
As bounded as my being be my wish.
All is inverted; wisdom is a fool.
Sense! take the rein; blind passion! drive

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How long shall sloth usurp the useless hours,
Unnerve thy vigor, and enchain thy powers;
While artful shades thy downy couch enclose,
And soft solicitation courts repose?
Amidst the drowsy charms of dull delight,
Year chases year with unremitted flight,
Till want now following, fraudulent and
slow,
[foe.

Shall spring to seize thee like an ambushed
Samuel Johnson.

134. ANXIETY, Misery of

Thou hast seen many sorrows, travel-stained pilgrim of the world,

But that which hath vexed thee most, hath been the looking for evil; though calamities have crossed thee and misery been heaped on thy head,

And Yet

ills that never happened have chiefly made thee wretched.

Verily, evils may be courted, may be wooed and won by distrust;

For the wise Physician of our weal loveth not an unbelieving spirit;

And to those giveth he good, who rely on his hand for good;

And those leaveth he to evil, who fear, but trust him not.

Ask for good, and hope it; for the ocean of good is fathomless;

Ask for good, and have it; for thy Friend would see thee happy;

But to the timid heart, to the child of unbelief and dread,

That leaneth on his own weak staff, and trusteth in the sight of his eyes,

The evil he feared shall come, for the soil is And ready for the seed,

suspicion hath coldly put aside the hand that was ready to help him. Therefore look up, sad spirit; be strong, thou coward heart,

Or fear will make thee wretched, though evil follow not behind.

Cease to anticipate misfortune,-there are still many chances of escape; But if it come, be courageous, face it and conquer thy calamity.

There is not an enemy so stout as to storm and take the fortress of the mind, Unless its infirmity turn traitor, and fear unbar the gates.

The valiant standeth as a rock, and the billows break upon him;

The timorous is a skiff unmoored, toss'd and mocked at by a ripple;

The valiant holdeth fast to good, till evil wrench it from him;

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133. ANT, Lesson from the. Turn to the prudent ant thy heedful eyes, Observe her labors, sluggard, and be wise: No stern command, no monitory voice Prescribes her duties, or directs her choice; Yet, timely provident, she hastes away To snatch the blessings of the plenteous day; When fruitful summer loads the teeming plain, [grain. Or She crops the harvest and she stores the

Or the feint of a subtle fencer, who measureth his thrust elsewhere; perchance a blessing in a masque, sent to try thy trust,

The precious smiting of a friend whose frowns are all in love;

Often the storm threateneth, but is driven to other climes,

And the weak hath quailed in fear, while the firm hath been glad in his confidence. M. F. Tupper.

135. APOSTLES, Miracles of the.

For them the fulness of His might is shown O'erleaping the strong bounds of Nature's law; Grim Death for them contracts his hasty stride;

His horrid messengers, disease and pain, Loose their remorseless grasp unwillingly, And leave their prey to ease and thankful

ness;

For them bright wisdom opens all her stores,
Her golden treasures spreading to their view,
Whilst inspiration's all-enlivening light
Hangs hovering o'er their heads in glittering
blaze;
[strain
Warmed by the ray, they pour the sacred
In eloquence seraphic. Charles Jenner.
136. APOSTLES, Pre-eminence of the.
Where is the fire which once descended
On thy apostles? Thou didst then
Keep open house, richly attended,
Feasting all comers by twelve chosen men.
The sun which once did shine alone,
Hung down his head and wished for night
When he beheld twelve suns for one,
Going about the world and giving light.
George Herbert.

137. APPAREL, Costly.

Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth, Fooled by those rebel powers that thee array, Why dost thou pine within, and suffer dearth,

Painting thy outward walls so costly gay?
Why so large cost, having so short a lease,
Dost thou upon thy fading mansion spend?
Shall worms, inheritors of this excess,

Eat up thy charge? Is this thy body's end?
Then soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss,
And let that pine to aggravate thy store;
Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross;
Within be fed, without be rich no more:
So shalt thou feed on death, that feeds on
[then.
And, death once dead, there's no more dying
Shakespeare.

men;

138. APPAREL, Poor.

Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor;

For 'tis the mind that makes the body rich: And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,

So honor peereth in the meanest habit.
What! is the jay more precious than the lark,
Because his feathers are more beautiful?
Or is the adder better than the eel,
Because his painted skin contents the eye?
O no, good Kate; neither art thou the worse
For this poor furniture and mean array.
Shakespeare.

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The little timid mendicant replies, [space"Give me so much of thy dominion's The boon is small, but will for me sufficeAs I can only by three steppings pace." The blinded Bali, mocking gave assent, [eye. And looked upon him with contemptuous Swift grew the dwarf through such immense extent, [the sky!

That one step spanned the earth, one more, Then looking round, with haughty voice he said,

[tell!" "The third where shall I take? Ŏ Bali, At Vishnu's feet the tyrant placed his head, And instantaneously was thrust to hell. Oriental, tr. by W. R. Alger.

140. APPEARANCES, Deluding. The world is still deceived with ornament. In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt, But, being season'd with a gracious voice, Obscures the show of evil? In religion, What damned error, but some sober brow Will bless it, and approve it with a text, Hiding the grossness with fair ornament? There is no vice so simple but assumes Some marks of virtue on its outward parts. How many cowards, whose hearts are all as false

As stairs of sand, wear yet upon their chins The beard of Hercules and frowning Mars, Who, inward searched, have livers white as

milk!

And these assume but valor's excrement,
To render them redoubted. Look on beauty,
And you shall see 'tis purchased by the

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