The National Register. — London, England, 1811-06-30 00:00:00

E NATIONAL Ii TEMPERANCE. reepermnce is that economy of our passions, appetiteS, and inclinations, which is requisite to keep the bod 7 in health, and the mind in a state of action ; aMd, from a neglect of this virtue, proceed half the miseries of Eft!. A temperate habit can only be obtainid by saber and regular refl..:c:ion, and a perpetual atten tion to the first motions or inci:ements cf the passions ; regulat ing then► by the standard of reason, and preventing their acti vity from degenerating into disorder. Temperance, considered either religiously or plailosophically, is so essential to virtue, that it appears to be the parent of the other Cardinal v'rtues ; for the man who keeps his desires under the guidance of this beau tiful quality must be too reasonable to be unjust, must have too much equanimity to become impudent, and must possess too cool and collected a mind to he betrayed by any unforeseen ca lamity into a pusillanimous want of Fortitude; and he who con scientiously regulates his own desires (as a victory over one's own self is accounted the noblest) has, generally, too heroic a spirit not to feel a pleasure in making others happy, and to rejoice in the proper exercises of Charity. Temperance, simply defined, is merely avoiding excess, a thing easy to be understood, but, it should seem, not so easy to practice. Rank, fortune, situation, habit of mind and of body, aker the nature of Temperance so much in different persons, that it is almost impossible to lay down general rules for it ; but any man, by considering his own particular state, may easily frame rules for himself. Confirming our minds in virtuous habits must be our first care, and any indulgence that may enervate the mind is Lth.mperance ; our second care must be the health of the body, so requisite for the proper exercise of the mind, and of course, any enjoyment that injures that, is a breach of Temper ance. Our next corisiclerationsanust be .our rank, fortune, and situation in life : and to direct all our indulgencies by what we can afford, and what we should think reasonable in another upon a par with ourselves. What is Temperance in a man of rank or fortune may be unbounded excess in an inferior character, and what would be Temperance in the lower orders, would appear parsimony and selfishness in th !higher. To eat, drink, or sleep, beyond what is necessary for the health of the body; to take plea sure beyond what is necessary for the proper relaxation of the mind, or of a nature than may be lialile to vitiate the mind; to dress, or make what is called an appearance from the vain prin ciple of distinction, or the hope of admiration, are certain breaches of this virtue : and in rega: d to the nature of all these enjoyments, a due consideration must be made of our fortune and situation. Even exercise and in stry, tko-e necessary of health and virtue, must have their limit: ; tan great an indul gence of the first may produce idleness ; and if the latter is at tended with unnecessary care and anxiety, then it is likely to ge nerate covetousness and a want of social ail . ..lion. In short, all extremes ought to he avoided, for all extremes are vicious, and our best affections must be regulated by Terryerance, I,st they betray us into weakness and dotage. These are said to be hard times, perhaps they are, but I will ,venture to assert, and I imagine I am nut singular io my opinion, that our Intemperance is the principle, if not the only C3113C of our complaint. Let any considerate perscn take a view of the manners of the age (and I am not one of those crows who are for drawing comparisons with all former ages to the detriment of this) but let any one, I say, dispa-sionately survey our man ners, and then say honestly whether they are not the source of the evils we complain of—Luxury is our bane; 'tis that which drains our purses, enervates our minds, and undermines that blessed liberty so much our boast, and so littk the object of our gratitude; 'tis that which, as the parent of idleness, fills our streets with beggars and prostitutes, our Gazettes with bankrupt cies, and our jails with debtors and criminals. It is an evil that pervades all ranks, and levels all distinctions. We are more anxious-to see our children accompliJavel than wise; shining than good ; and what is the event. ? They won learn to deipise those they ought to reverence, and self-willed to seek their own de struc:i:in. Effeminacy takes place of delicacy, false shame of modest, hypocrisy of candour, and nieritricious vanity of grate ful ingenuousness. This may be called the cant of a Cynic, but it is Laet th it cannot be coetratlictett The exercise of Tz nay leeice can June remedy this evil; let the parents practice that, and their children and dependents will follow their example; luxury will decliee, liberty improve, order be restored, and virtue tri umph ; the hardships of the times will he relieved by the appro priation to our wants of what is consumed by our vanities ; and we shall, I doubt not, find a good surplus to enable us to contri bute our proportion, according to our relative situations, towards opposing the implacable enemy of all liberty, whom Providence has permitted for some wise purpose, awhile to destroy the peace and comfort of Europe, without feeling the burthen ; and here let me remark, as this is an age boasting patriotism, that be is the only patriot, who in the situation appointed him, exerts himself for the improvement of his own mind, and of those com mitted to his charge ; who, in the circle wherein he moves, en deavours to set a strict example of justice, temperance, prudeece, fortitude, and charity; who grounds all his reasons on the profes sion of religion, and his hopes on the practice of it ; who unites self-love with social, and rigid honesty with good-nature. We boast of taste, but taste is a grace that can only emanate from Temperance ; let us practise that, and elegance and virtue w:11 go hand in hand ; physicians may take their own physic ; lawyers be nonsuited; our jails be emptied; our bankrupt Gazettes prove maiden ones; our highways be as .afe as our public streets; our public streets preSent no object to raise the blush of modesty, or the artfully raised commisseration of the perambulator; our workhouses become uninhabited, and our theatres present fur our entertainment nothing but the efforts of genius, regulated by the standard of g sod-sense, nature, and chastity; our churches will be frequented from holiness more than habit ; our social in tercourses become really " the feast of reason and the flow .saf soul ;" our firesides what they ought to be, terrestrial Paradises; and in short our country become es much the object of the imi tation of the world as it is of their envy. Jeer. 23, 1311. A IdAYMAN. CAMBRIDGE INSTALLATION. FRIDAY, MN,: `2B —This evening his Royal Highness • the D,:ke of Glouce.ter is expected at Trinity Lodge, at seven o'clock; when the Senior Beadle wait; upon him from the Vice- Chance!lor, to know when the Vice-Chancellor, Heads,. and Proctors, shall attend him. On Saturday morning, June 29, his Royal Highness will he InFtalled Chancellor.of the University. The Membefs of the University and other persons are to assemble in the Senate House at eleven o'clock ; the Noblemen in their proper habits, Doctors in their Robes ; Bachelors of Divinity in their Cassocks; Regents and Non-Regents. Bachelor's of I.aw and Physic, all in their Hoods and Caps; Bachelor Fellow-commoners in their Hoods and Velvrt Caps; and Uv.deriraduate Fellow-common er, in their proper habits. The solemnity will begin about twelve o'clock, when a de put4tion consiAing of Six Doctors (two in each faculty), Six Non-Regents, and Six Repents, will be sent from the Senate House to the Chancellor elt et at Trinity Lodge; whence, pre ceded by a Beadle, and attended by the deputation, he will corn; to the Senate I loule. At the steps of the Senate House, he is met by Dr. Douglas, V. C. who walk. up the Senate House at his Royat Highness's l'At hand, they ascend the Chair of State • his Royal Hi;.ll - standing at the left hand of the Chair, and the Vice- Chancellor on the right; the bird of music playing an over.. tut - , inunthiiately upon his Royal Highness's entering the Senate This being emlucl, the Vice-Chancellor makes a speech in Engi. - h, and tl.en pre,ents to his Royal Highness the-patent of office, which i, read alOud by the genior Proctor. He presents also to his Royal Highness the book of statutes. After this, the Vice-Chancellor taking his Royal Highnesi's right band in his own, the Senior Proctor administers the oath of office : his Royal Highness then is seated by the Vice-Chancellor in the Chair of State, and is thereby installed. After a pause, the