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Article ON THE RETURN OF SPRING. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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On The Return Of Spring.
every gale breathes fragrance , and every prospect excites benevolence , contending armies are preparing the engines of destruction , and only wait the dreadful signal to " cry havock and Jet loose the ^ doo-s of war . " That the kindseason which diffuses happiness to every ° part of animated nature besides , should bring to man alarm , aiid apprehension , devastation , and distress . There is . surely some strange perverseness and depravity in mankindthat thus disposes it to run
, counter to the great order of Nature , and to act so contrary to those principles , which from their being supposed peculiar to the human heart , are called the principles of humanity . Perhaps it would be presuming to penetrate too far into the counsels of Providence , to examine whether wars do not form part of its secret system , or are necessary to the oeconomy of the world ; certain it isthat the "
, history of the world is nothingmore than the history of wars by which it has been agitated . The triumph , or downf'al of ambition , the alternate successes and mutual ravages of contending armies , the rise ancl decadence of empire , factions ; cabals , intrigues , and insurrections , form the principal subjects that engage the pen of the historianwhile the sterile of are
, years peace passed over in oblivious silence , as affording no subject of entertainment , no agreeable narrative to engage the attention of posterity . Those happy years , in which it may reasonabl y be presumed that every useful heart , contributing to the advantage or embellishment of social life , was cultivated with industry , are left unrecorded , as not worthy of remembrance . Those halcyon days , when every man
might " sit under his own vine , and under his own fig tree , " and enjoy the fruits of his labour unmolested , when not a cloud was seen on any face , or anxiety felt in any heart , are hurried over as barren wastes , where a dreary uniformity of prospect fatigues and disgusts the eye of the traveller . The turbulent passions and restless activity of ambition , can find no satisfactory employment in the enervating calm of it must
peace , for its own peculiar gratification shake off the inglorious languor , and to find for its sword matter of argument embroil a world . But it is almost always the fate of this passion , that the wars it excites , seldom produce any substantial advantages , ancl setting aside the false glory of destroying thousands of our fellow creatures , and laying towns in ashes , the contending parties usually sit down exhausted
just where they begun . It is not unlikely that if this vicissitude which we observe continually to take place in the universe , was to be suspended , much of that pleasure which arises from variety must be annihilated . We might be brought by the constant recurrence of the same blessings , to regard with listless indifferencewhat we should embrace with
, rapture , after passing through difficulty and clanger to obtain . The mariner who has been tempest-tost on a boisterous ocean , enters With more joy into his destined harbour , than he who has been wafted over a calm sea b y favourable gales . Contrasted with the horrors of war , we certainly must estimate more hi g hly . the blessings of K k 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Return Of Spring.
every gale breathes fragrance , and every prospect excites benevolence , contending armies are preparing the engines of destruction , and only wait the dreadful signal to " cry havock and Jet loose the ^ doo-s of war . " That the kindseason which diffuses happiness to every ° part of animated nature besides , should bring to man alarm , aiid apprehension , devastation , and distress . There is . surely some strange perverseness and depravity in mankindthat thus disposes it to run
, counter to the great order of Nature , and to act so contrary to those principles , which from their being supposed peculiar to the human heart , are called the principles of humanity . Perhaps it would be presuming to penetrate too far into the counsels of Providence , to examine whether wars do not form part of its secret system , or are necessary to the oeconomy of the world ; certain it isthat the "
, history of the world is nothingmore than the history of wars by which it has been agitated . The triumph , or downf'al of ambition , the alternate successes and mutual ravages of contending armies , the rise ancl decadence of empire , factions ; cabals , intrigues , and insurrections , form the principal subjects that engage the pen of the historianwhile the sterile of are
, years peace passed over in oblivious silence , as affording no subject of entertainment , no agreeable narrative to engage the attention of posterity . Those happy years , in which it may reasonabl y be presumed that every useful heart , contributing to the advantage or embellishment of social life , was cultivated with industry , are left unrecorded , as not worthy of remembrance . Those halcyon days , when every man
might " sit under his own vine , and under his own fig tree , " and enjoy the fruits of his labour unmolested , when not a cloud was seen on any face , or anxiety felt in any heart , are hurried over as barren wastes , where a dreary uniformity of prospect fatigues and disgusts the eye of the traveller . The turbulent passions and restless activity of ambition , can find no satisfactory employment in the enervating calm of it must
peace , for its own peculiar gratification shake off the inglorious languor , and to find for its sword matter of argument embroil a world . But it is almost always the fate of this passion , that the wars it excites , seldom produce any substantial advantages , ancl setting aside the false glory of destroying thousands of our fellow creatures , and laying towns in ashes , the contending parties usually sit down exhausted
just where they begun . It is not unlikely that if this vicissitude which we observe continually to take place in the universe , was to be suspended , much of that pleasure which arises from variety must be annihilated . We might be brought by the constant recurrence of the same blessings , to regard with listless indifferencewhat we should embrace with
, rapture , after passing through difficulty and clanger to obtain . The mariner who has been tempest-tost on a boisterous ocean , enters With more joy into his destined harbour , than he who has been wafted over a calm sea b y favourable gales . Contrasted with the horrors of war , we certainly must estimate more hi g hly . the blessings of K k 2