Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1828-12-16
MORAL.

SELECTED FOR THE LANCASTER GAZETTE.
rive thank the correspondent who furnished us
with the series of selections of which the following
is one. His fasours are always most acceptable.l
KNOW THYSELF.
As we know our faces by reflection, so we
must know our hearts. We may as well
pretend to mark every line in our faces,
without the help of a mirror, as to tell the
inclinations and desires of our souls, the va
rious changes they are liable to from custom,
passion, and opinion, without looking into
ourselves frequently, carefully, and honestly.
We know that our passions areusually on
the wing, and in pursuit of worthy objects.
We find them every now and then, as 1t
were at rest; then they are concealed in
the heart, and so continue until some fresh
object calls them forth and thence it is that
every transient glance upon our hearts, will
not yield us thorough knowledge of our
selves; but that we must watch it continu-
ally, observe it in its different states, care
| fully unravel every action, with its circum-
stances, and see how it affected us, and what
manner of impression it made upon our
hearts. Let this be done in seriousness,
and frequently, and we should soon know
ourselves. But when, instead of this atten-
ton, we pass months and years without
turning our eyes inward, is it a thing to be
wondered at, if we are ignorant, and know
little more of what passes within us than the
beasts which perish know of what passes
within them?
The reasons why men have SO little
conversation with themselves are obvious
enough. Reflection cannot be performed
without some difficulty and pain, any more
than merchant can keep his day-book and
ledger without labour. Before we can re-
fleet and look into our hearts with steady
eye, we must collect our scattered thoughts,
bring them into order; and retire for q
while from the hustle and hurry of the world.
Many of our years pass away before we
can well discern between good and evil,
and after we reach state of manhood, some
calling takes up the chief of our hours, and
brings with it peculiar cares--indeed, every
mans life is an imperfect kind of circle,
which he repeats and runs over every day.
If therefore you call upon him to study his
own heart, he is pre-engaged-either he has
business to transact, or diversion to pursue,
or company to entertain, or some misfortune
has put him out of temper; SO that he finds
noithor leisure nor ineliaaAie> car loelr;ne,-
into himself
Some, like bad husbands of their estates,
are afraid to look inwards, lest they should
see the ruin which threatens them. They
are afraid of finding some fayourite indul-
gence to be criminal +, and not to be allowed !;
some cherished opinion to be absurd and
pernicious, and to be abandoned and avoid
ed; some deep rooted habits to be sinful,
and to be corrected and hated. It must
therefore be most disagreeable thing for
us to find, upon close inspection, that we
are not the persons we took ourselves to be !;
that we have neither the honesty, the virtue,
or the wisdom we supposed we had that
we are easily put out Of humour, and that
we have taken more pains to CRAFTY our re-
SENTIMENT than to oblige our best friends.
These are unwelcome discoveries, and we
had rather avoid the road which leads to
them, and die in our ignorance.