The younger brother had suffered a long and painful illness, and was so from exhaustion and depletion, that it was doubtful for some time, whether he would ever recover his strength. Though of great age, he is one of the most active men know; for, at a time of life when most men are and ailing, he performs all the ordinary duties of life with the energy and vigour of youth. "There can be little doubt that vice and luxury operate quite as strongly as any hereditary influence or physical debility, in making the mental faculties and inefficient." Every man must naturally look forward to a time when he will become and should lay up in his youth a provision for that period old and of his life in which he will no longer be able to work. The workmen had scarcely left the building, when the roof fell in with a loud crash; and on examining the ruins, it was discovered that the walls, being to support the weight of the roof, had consequently given way. "At my age, and under my I can have no relief but that which too religion furnishes me." Weighty-Heavy. Every thing is weighty, since weight is the natural tendency which all bodies have to the centre of the earth. Those bodies which have much weight, either in proportion to their bulk, or the strength applied to them, are heavy. Heavy qualifies what cannot be easily lifted. A bag of gold is heavier than a bag of feathers of the same size, because gold has more weight than feathers. The nature of the substance causes its weight. The quantity of the substance causes its heaviness. A pound of feathers and a pound of gold have equal weight; but feathers and gold have not equal heaviness. In a moral sense, the same difference is perceptible. A weighty affair is one which is intrinsically important; a heavy charge is one difficult to be got rid of. [K Hen. There ye shall meet about this weighty business. Henry VIII., ii. 2. Henry V., i. 2. That burden heavier than the earth to bear; In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world Is lightened Exercise. WORDSWORTH. 'Tintern Abbey."] "The finest works of invention are of very little the balance with what refines and exalts the rational mind." "Mersennus tells us, that a little child, with an engine of a hundred double pulleys, might move this earth, though it were much it is." -er than "Reverend patriarch," answered the emperor, "do not deem that we think lightly of your scruples, but the question is now, not in what manner we may convert these Latin heretics to the true faith, but how we may avoid being overrun by their myriads, which resemble those of the locusts by which their approach was preceded and intimated." "The subject is concerning the proportion that is required betwixt any move it." -ness of several bodies, or the and the power which may "Thus spoke to my lady the knight full of care, affair" " Whole-Entire. The parts of any object may be divided, but if they are not separated, that object may be called whole. Thus, if an orange be cut into several pieces, all the parts, taken together, will make up the whole orange. But if the orange be not cut, then it is entire. That is entire which has not been divided. That is whole which has suffered no diminution. (See To separate and To divide, p. 62.) [Ulys One touch of nature makes the whole world kin Oth. Troil. and Cress. ii. 3 one entire and perfect chrysolite. "An action is Exercise. Id.1 which is complete in all its parts; or, as Aristotle describes it, when it has a beginning, a middle, and an end." The 66 Looking down, he saw world filled with violence, and all flesh Corrupting each their way." "And all so forming an harmonious "Thus his "The conduct was made up of artifice and deceit." conquest of the passions is so difficult a work, that they who despair of it should think of a less difficult task, and only attempt to regulate them." "And feeling that no human being is -ly good, or -ly base, we learn that true knowledge of mankind which induces us to expect little and forgive much." "A ruined chapel, flanked by a solemn grove, still reared its front ; "There was a time, when Etna's silent fire His boots are the only thing splendid in his costume. -ly to Providence; if On-Upon. In speaking of objects of sense, we say that one thing is on another when the former is in contact with the upper surface of the latter. The preposition upon is often used synonymously with on; though it would be more correct to employ it only when the lower substance of the two is raised considerably from the floor or earth. According to this distinction, we speak of an object lying on the floor, but we place something upon a shelf. So also, a pigeon perched upon a house may fly down and light on the ground. A boy hangs his hat upon a peg, and throws his ball on the floor. on. In a secondary sense, upon shews a closer connection than "Upon the receipt of this letter, he gave orders, &c. (immediately.") "On the death of the king, &c. (i. e. in consequence of,) the prince succeeded to all his dominions and titles." The door of the cage being left open, the bird flew out, and after mak ing several turns in the air, perched it remained seated all the afternoon. Immediately the top of a high tree, where the receipt of this news, orders were given to pre pare every thing for an invasion. Nothing was seen destitution. all sides but the most abject misery and He was so weak, that he could proceed no further; and being suddenly ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SYNONYMES. THE synonymes ranged under this division are distinguished from each other by the active and passive qualities which they respectively contain. It must be understood that the terms active and passive are not here taken in a grammatical sense. There are many verbs, nouns, and adjectives, which, wholly independently of their grammatical nature, contain in the very ideas they represent either an active or a passive quality. The difference between the two adjectives contented and satisfied may be referred to this principle. The former qualifies one who has restrained his mind or desires within a certain limit. Here, there is evidently an action from within. On the other hand, the word satisfied refers to some one who is in a recipient or passive state. The contented man has acted upon his own mind. The satisfied man has been acted upon by others. In some cases, we even find the active and passive principle existing, under different circumstances, in the same word. Of this, the word fearful will furnish a curious example. When it signifies "inspiring fear," it is used in its active—when it means "filled with fear," it is used in its passive sense. A fearful man may mean, either one who makes others afraid, or one who is himself afraid. The difference in many hundred pairs of words may be determined by the ap plication of this principle; the same idea being found in both words; but the one possessing it in an active, and the other in a passive or recipient state. |