Sweep from his shiver'd hand the oppressor's spear!
How long by tyrants shall thy land be trod?
How long thy temple worshipless, O God!

BYRON.

* * * * *




FORTITUDE.


Without some degree of fortitude there can be no happiness, because,
amidst the thousand uncertainties of life, there can be no enjoyment of
tranquillity. The man of feeble and timorous spirit lives under
perpetual alarms. He sees every distant danger and tremble; he explores
the regions of possibility to discover the dangers that may arise: often
he creates imaginary ones; always magnifies those that are real. Hence,
like a person haunted by spectres, he loses the free enjoyment even of a
safe and prosperous state, and on the first shock of adversity he
desponds. Instead of exerting himself to lay hold on the resources that
remain, he gives up all for lost, and resigns himself to abject and
broken spirits. On the other hand, firmness of mind is the parent of
tranquillity. It enables one to enjoy the present without disturbance,
and to look calmly on dangers that approach or evils that threaten in
future. Look into the heart of this man, and you will find composure,
cheerfulness, and magnanimity; look into the heart of the other, and you
will see nothing but confusion, anxiety, and trepidation. The one is a