5 10 15 Passed o'er my soul. Sorrowing I cried, "Farewell, As on thy birthnight! Bright and watchful eyes, LESSON XLIII.-THE CHARACTER OF JESUS.-S. C. THACHER. [This extract is intended for practice on the 'middle', or average pitch of the voice, which belongs to serious communication in public reading or speaking, when not descending to the key of solemnity, nor rising to that of mere conversation. A moderately grave strain pervades the utterance, in such cases, and serves, if not overdone, to give earnestness and dignity to expression.] We find, in the life of Jesus, a union of qualities, which had never before met in any being on this earth. We find imbodied in his example the highest virtues both of active and of contemplative life. We 5 see united in him a devotion to God the most intense, abstracted, unearthly, with a benevolence to man the most active, affectionate, and universal. We see qualities meet and harmonize in his character, which are usually thought the most uncongenial. We see a force of character, 10 which difficulties cannot conquer, an energy which calamity cannot relax, a fortitude and constancy which sufferings can neither subdue nor bend from their purpose; connected with the most melting tenderness and sensibility of spirit, the most exquisite susceptibility to every soft and 15 gentle impression. We see in him the rare union of zeal 5 and moderation, of courage and prudence, of compassion and firmness; we see superiority to the world without gloom or severity, or indifference or distaste to its pursuits and enjoyments. In short, there is something in the whole conception and tenor of our Saviour's character so entirely peculiar, something which so realizes the ideal model of the most consummate moral beauty; something so lovely, so gracious, so venerable and commanding, that the boldest 10 infidels have shrunk from it overawed, and, though their cause is otherwise desperate, have yet feared to profane its perfect purity. One of the most eloquent tributes to its sublimity, that was ever uttered, was extorted from the lips of an infidel. Is there anything in it," he exclaims, 15 "of the tone of an enthusiast, or of an ambitious sectary? What sweetness, what purity in his manners; what touching grace in his instructions; what elevation in his maxims; what profound wisdom in his discourses; what presence of mind, what skill and propriety in his an20 swers; what empire over his passions! Where is the man, where is the sage, who knows how to act, to suffer, and to die, without weakness and without ostentation? 66 "When Plato paints his imaginary just man covered with all the ignominy of crime, and yet worthy of all the 25 honors of virtue, he paints in every feature the character of Christ. What prejudice, what blindness must possess us, to compare the son of Sophroniscus to the son of Mary! How vast the distance between them! Socrates, dying without pain and without ignominy, easily sustains his 30 character to the last; and if this gentle death had not honored his life, we might have doubted whether Socrates, with all his genius, was any thing more than a sophist. The death of Socrates, philosophizing tranquilly with his friends, is the most easy that one could desire; 35 that of Jesus, expiring in torture, insulted, mocked, execrated by a whole people, is the most horrible that one can fear. Socrates, when he takes the poisoned cup, blesses him who weeps as he presents it; Jesus, in the midst of the most dreadful tortures, prays for his infuriated 40 executioners.--Yes! if the life and death of Socrates are those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus are wholly divine." [] LESSON XLIV.-WOMAN.-MISS C. E. BEECHER. [The following piece exemplifies the medium, or average tone of ordinary, earnest conversation, in private company, and has its pitch higher on the scale, than the preceding lesson. The animation of the style, however, should not be permitted to carry the note up to the key of mere vivacity and exhilaration. The prevailing note, in the reading of this extract, is, properly, that of lively but respectful communication.] It is to mothers and to teachers, that the world is to look for the character, which is to be enstamped on each succeeding generation; for it is to them that the great business of education is almost exclusively com5 mitted. And will it not appear by examination, that neither mothers nor teachers have ever been properly educated for their profession? What is the profession of a woman? Is it not to form immortal minds, and to watch, to nurse, and to rear the bodily system, so fearfully and 10 wonderfully made, and upon the order and regulation of which, the health and well-being of the mind so greatly depend? But let most of our sex, upon whom these arduous duties devolve, be asked,-"Have you ever devoted any 15 time and study, in the course of your education, to a preparation for these duties? Have you been taught any thing of the structure, the nature, and the laws, of the body which you inhabit? Were you ever taught to understand the operation of diet, air, exercise, and modes of 20 dress, upon the human frame? Have the causes which are continually operating to prevent good health, and the modes by which it might be perfected and preserved, ever been made the subject of any instruction?" Perhaps almost every voice would respond,-" No; we 25 have attended to almost every thing more than to this: we have been taught more concerning the structure of the earth, the laws of the heavenly bodies, the habits and formation of plants, the philosophy of language, than concerning the structure of the human frame, and the laws 30 of health and reason. But is it not the business, the profession of a woman, to guard the health, and form the physical habits of the young? And are not the cradle of infancy, and the chamber of sickness, sacred to woman alone? And ought she not to know, at least, some of the 35 general principles of that perfect and wonderful piece of mechanism committed to her preservation and care? The restoration of health is the physician's profession, but the preservation of it falls to other hands; and it is believed that the time will come, when woman will be taught to understand something respecting the construc5 tion of the human frame; the philosophical results which will naturally follow from restricted exercise, unhealthy modes of dress, improper diet, and many other causes, which are continually operating to destroy the health and life of the young. 10 Again, let our sex be asked respecting the instruction they have received, in the course of their education, on that still more arduous and difficult department of their profession, which relates to the intellect and the moral susceptibilities," Have you been taught the powers and 15 faculties of the human mind, and the laws by which it is regulated? Have you studied how to direct its several faculties; how to restore those that are overgrown, and strengthen and mature those that are deficient? Have you been taught the best modes of communicating knowl20 edge, as well as of acquiring it? Have you learned the best mode of correcting bad moral habits, and forming good ones? Have you made it an object, to find how a selfish disposition may be made generous; how a reserved temper may be made open and frank; how pettishness 25 and ill-humor may be changed to cheerfulness and kindness? Has any woman studied her profession in this respect? It is feared, the same answer must be returned, if not from all, at least from most of our sex:-"No; we have 30 acquired wisdom from the observation and experience of others, on almost all other subjects; but the philosophy of the direction and control of the human mind, has not been an object of thought or study." And thus it appears, that, though it is woman's express business to rear the 35 body, and form the mind, there is scarcely any thing to which her attention has been less directed. LESSON XLV.-THE TREADMILL SONG.-O. W. HOLMES. [This humorous lyric is introduced to exemplify the 'high' pitch which belongs to gaiety and merriment. The note of the voice 18, in the reading of such compositions as this, quite above that of dignified conversation. It is, properly, that of the talking tone, excited to the mood of mirth, which is always comparatively high-pitched. It happens, also, to exemplify 'loud' and 'lively' utterance. The practice of passages of this description, imparts spirit and pliancy to the voice, and prevents habits of dull and monotonous reading. A high, ringing tone, such as we hear in the play-ground, should pervade the utterance, in the reading of this and similar compositions.] [1] The stars are rolling in the sky, 5 10 15 20 25 30 The earth rolls on below, And we can feel the rattling wheel Then tread away, my gallant boys, Why should not wheels go round about, Wake up, wake up, my duck-legg'd man, Arouse, arouse, my gawky friend, And shake your spider-legs: What though you 're awkward at the trade? So lean upon the rail, my lad, They 've built us up a noble wall So faster, now, you middle men, It 's pleasant work to ramble round Here tread upon the long man's toes; And punch the little fellow's ribs, And tweak that lubber's ear: He's lost them both :-don't pull his hair, Because he wears a scratch, But poke him in the farther That is n't in the patch. eye, Hark! fellows, there's the supper-bell, |