Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1818-11-10
MISCELLANY.
From the Connecticut Courant.
THE BRIEF REMARKER.

THE BRIEF REMARKER.
/. He that despiseth small things shall fall
BIZ little and little" Ecclesiasticus.
THIS text, though apecrEphal, is conso-
nant to the whole tenor of human expert
ence.
Time, which is of such invaluable ac-
count to every human being, is made up
of little particles that ever are flying away
from us, ard never to return Nc never.
Time that ensueth
Is but the death of time that went before.
Youth is the death Of childhood age of youth"
How inconceivabiy small are the pass
ing moments yet they are not to be contin-
ued. For of these is the whole duration
Of life composed; and 1t is the assiduous
and wise use of moments, that crown life
with honour. On the other hand, by I'M
dervaluing the moments and neglecting to
employ them, whole days aud whole years
are lost.
We often complain of the shortness Of
the whole, and at the same time are daily
making prodigal waste OF the parts. We
carelessly throw away thousands and mill
ions of the small fractions of time; else, in
most cases we should have time enough. :
So it happens that in the acquisition of
knowledge, naany time and oft, the race
is not to the swift. Many vondeJai
boy, that contided altogether 10 the native
force of his genius, has been left far behind
bis contemporaries Of smaller talents, but of
unwearied assiduity. Nor does history
scarcely record the single instance OF a
man truly great in point of knowledge,
who did not diligently improve even the
small fractions OF fine. In short, with the
exception of few remarkable cases, much
more is effected by the dint of application
than by the dint Of genius. The tabled
mouse with unweariable diligence ate 10
twain the cable, which giant could not
have parted by main strength. And be-
sides, if it be of great value to know how
to bear tedious moments with fortitude and
patience, it is of still greater value to pre-
vent their being tedious: which can be &C
complished only by turning them to good
account, through assiduous diligence 10
proper and useful pursuits.
Nor is the apocryphal text that l am
commenting upon, Of less pertinent aPpli-
cation TO the interesting subjects OF econo-
my and morals. 1t is the hand of the dill
gent that maketh rich. Most estates have
been acquired by little and little by reg.
uIar and we'll applied industry by small
savings and by prudent care against
waste in the smallest matters. By these
means in long series OF years, estates
have grown up to such magnitude as the
owners themselves would be puzzled to &C
count for. They had net with nothing
that could be termed great good lack.
The wheel of fortune never turned them
out lottery prize, neither did they ever
gather single sheaf from the field of spec
ulation; and they themselves can hardly
see how their estates have waxed so large.
The truth of it however, is that small an
nuaI saving, so iudiciously managed as to
be made constantly productive, will in the
space of half century count up to the
magnitude of considerable wealth. On
the contrary, many of the estates that are
spent chiefly leak out in small streamlets.
The heirs or owners are neither stained
with gross vices, nor chargeable with wan
ton prodigality. But small things they
have condemned, or at least neglected.
And what from the lack of industry, or
the misapplication Of it, and what from
incessant little wastes indoor and out,
their all is gone at length, and they look a.
bout them deeply wondering how the ca
tastrophe hath happened.
We now turn to the consideration OF
morals ard here also, our text holds
true. No man scarcely commits crime
Of The blacklist grain till he hath ripened
himself for it by degrees. II is by little
and little, he plunges into the depths oftur-
pitude. He begins with Conforming small
things; with disregarding the minor plants
ia the code of morality and step by step,
he advances till at length he becomes ca
pable of crimes, of which the bare thought
would have struck him with horror at
the first outset.
Here, youth Of natural likeliness con-
sorts with the Idle and dissipated; not
because he feels any hankering for tie
intoxicating cup, but because he loves
sport and jollity. Presently however, his
moral nature is deteriorated. By imper-
ceptible degrees he slides into intemper-
ance, profanity, lewdness, deep gaming /;
and turns out at last either a desperate
villain, or lumpish sot.
There, youth of good parts, of consid-
cradle learning, and possessed of pleasing
social qualities--is seen nevertheless,
from his very cradle TO trespass often 10
the small way against truth and integrity.