Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Generous Sentiments On The Prosperity Of Others, Conducive To Our Own Happiness.
¦ Could we but assume the generous and manly resolution of banishing those mean prejudices which too generally hang about us , and fairly settle ourselves on the broad and honest consideration that the happiness of those we are contemplating is as far from being Unmixed as our own -condition ; that cares and anxieties are concealed in their pleasures and enjoymentsand that even they also
, have their objects of envy to render their own situation less comfortable ; our thoughts would return home , like the industrious insect , with a store of rich satisfaction to our minds , not to be balanced by millions of wealth . But to render _ that satisfaction permanent , to convert even the homely cottage into a palace , really to possess great riches , by
meeting poverty with indifference , and misfortunes with steadiness , by enduring- their violence with a vigour animated b y hope ; to bear the fatigues ^ of laborious industry with content , to retire from them with the smile of pleasure , to partake of the coarse repast with appetite , and to rest without fear in a sound repose , our minds should be employed at home on our own affairs ; we should exercise our thoughts on our own condition , and labour in the discovery and application of
such means as are the most suitable to the rendering it easy and pleasant ;—when we turn our attention ou the flourishing state of others , so fin- from exciting malevolent sentiments and an envious discontent , it should animate us to still greater exertions . Fortune is not to be courted by indolence , but to be pursued with lint-emitted activity . Fortitude , quickened by disappointment , is the toward
greatest step s prosperity . A generous emulation excited by the success of others is a commendable quality , mid when persevered in rarel y fails to be rewarded ; but the labours of the envious man are , generallv , like the exertions of the maniac , fatiguing , multifarious , and fruitless . Widely has the Governor of the universe spread his bounties , infinitel
y are they dispersed , and justly are they proportioned to the different capacities and conditions of them who are dependent on his goodness . — . What is allotted to each is exactly suited to his case , to his talents , and to his wants ; and the only rational ground for us to expect an addition to our comforts is to feel gratitude for what we possess , to regard the prosperous situation of others with a calm indifference , and to cherish the warm wish of benevolence for them who are placed in a more distressed state than ourselves .
_ The many scenes of prosperity which strike our observation should kindle the consolatory reflection that the cornucopia of blessings is not exhausted , and that persevering activity may , at length , be crowned with a similar share of success . ° He who is actuated by such sentiments will never want assistance to help him on to the hill of fortune his labours will be lihtened b
; g y encouragement , and his occasional misfortunes removed by the sympathetic attentions of friendship . _ To feel uneasiness at another person ' s advantage , and to repine at lus situation ; is a species of dishonesty , and like fraud , in general ,, 3 B x
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Generous Sentiments On The Prosperity Of Others, Conducive To Our Own Happiness.
¦ Could we but assume the generous and manly resolution of banishing those mean prejudices which too generally hang about us , and fairly settle ourselves on the broad and honest consideration that the happiness of those we are contemplating is as far from being Unmixed as our own -condition ; that cares and anxieties are concealed in their pleasures and enjoymentsand that even they also
, have their objects of envy to render their own situation less comfortable ; our thoughts would return home , like the industrious insect , with a store of rich satisfaction to our minds , not to be balanced by millions of wealth . But to render _ that satisfaction permanent , to convert even the homely cottage into a palace , really to possess great riches , by
meeting poverty with indifference , and misfortunes with steadiness , by enduring- their violence with a vigour animated b y hope ; to bear the fatigues ^ of laborious industry with content , to retire from them with the smile of pleasure , to partake of the coarse repast with appetite , and to rest without fear in a sound repose , our minds should be employed at home on our own affairs ; we should exercise our thoughts on our own condition , and labour in the discovery and application of
such means as are the most suitable to the rendering it easy and pleasant ;—when we turn our attention ou the flourishing state of others , so fin- from exciting malevolent sentiments and an envious discontent , it should animate us to still greater exertions . Fortune is not to be courted by indolence , but to be pursued with lint-emitted activity . Fortitude , quickened by disappointment , is the toward
greatest step s prosperity . A generous emulation excited by the success of others is a commendable quality , mid when persevered in rarel y fails to be rewarded ; but the labours of the envious man are , generallv , like the exertions of the maniac , fatiguing , multifarious , and fruitless . Widely has the Governor of the universe spread his bounties , infinitel
y are they dispersed , and justly are they proportioned to the different capacities and conditions of them who are dependent on his goodness . — . What is allotted to each is exactly suited to his case , to his talents , and to his wants ; and the only rational ground for us to expect an addition to our comforts is to feel gratitude for what we possess , to regard the prosperous situation of others with a calm indifference , and to cherish the warm wish of benevolence for them who are placed in a more distressed state than ourselves .
_ The many scenes of prosperity which strike our observation should kindle the consolatory reflection that the cornucopia of blessings is not exhausted , and that persevering activity may , at length , be crowned with a similar share of success . ° He who is actuated by such sentiments will never want assistance to help him on to the hill of fortune his labours will be lihtened b
; g y encouragement , and his occasional misfortunes removed by the sympathetic attentions of friendship . _ To feel uneasiness at another person ' s advantage , and to repine at lus situation ; is a species of dishonesty , and like fraud , in general ,, 3 B x