Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-03-17
lPor tho Delaware 1uqulrcr.l
Aphorisms Old and New.

There is no need to read Aristotle, or Cicero
and Qiuntillian, to feel that an advocate who
begins by pompous exordium on the subject
of partition wall is ridiculous.
Nature renders men eloquent under the in
fuence of great interests or passions. A person
much excited sees things with a different eye
from other men. TO him all is the object OF
rapid comparison and metaphor; without pre-
meditation he views all who listen to him par
takers of his enthusiasm. St. Augustin OBJ
serves in his l53d book, " il is written that the
whole world belongs to the faithful, and inf
dels have not an abous that they possess le-
| ultimately. All the first christians thought of
war like the Qunkers and Dunkers Of the pres
ent day, and Bramins, both ancient and mod
ern. Turtulln is the Father who il the most
| explicit against legal species of murder which
our vile human nature renders expedient." No
custom, says he, Scan render this criminal le-
gitimate.n
Men may listen to good advice from their
friends, and IL steadily followed out may be of
some benefit But In all pursuits OF life let
your conscience be the chief of your councils.
The nebriate has hard road to travel while
he lives on bad whiskey, and much harder
eternity TO unrayel.
The Gospel makes no more Of directors than
confessors. Among the people whom our cour-
tesy call pagans, we do see that Scipio, Fabri-
cius, Cato, Titus, Tragan, or the Antonies, had
directors. 1t is well to have a scrupulous friend
TO remind you Of your duty, but no friend can
bestow on you clean conscience; this must
be your own good work.
The first exploit Of the Phencans was to go
towards Argos, to carry away the daughter of
the King Miachers, after which the Greeks, in
their turn, carried off Europa, the daughter of
the King Of Lydia, who meeting with one Of
his guards named Gyges, said TO him, "ThOu
must see my wife quite naked-it is absolutely
essential The Queen learning that she had
been thus exposed, said to the soldier, "fou
shall either die or assassinate my husband, and
reign in his stead Being very sensible man
for common soldier he chose the latter alter
native. and the assassination was accomplished
without difficulty.
Among the ages which followed the Angus
tian, that of Constantine merits particular dis
tinction. II Is immortalzcd by the great
changes which II ushcrcd into the world II
commenced, il is true, with bringing back bar
barianism. Not merely were there no Ciceros,
Horaees, and Virgils any longer to he found,
but there was not even IL Lucnn, or Seneca
there was not even philosopher and an accu-
rate historian. Nothing was to be seen but
eQuvOcal satires or mere panygrics There
Isl at present no relic of the government OF
Hugh Capet, in France, nor in England, or that
of the administration of William, the Bastard.
Fit be delightful to acquire knowledge il is
much more so to dffuse il for the benefit Of our
fellow creatures; for the noblcst reward of
science is the ignorant man instructed.
The Pyramids of Egypt are crumbled into
powder but the grasses which clothed the
soil, while the Pharoahs filled the throne, sub
sist to this day. How many monuments of the
Greeks and Romans, of stone, rivcted with iron,
have disappeared Nothing remains around
their ruins but the Expresses which shade thcml
o, how sterile the imagination Of man. conf
pared to the intelligence Of nature He has
produced no one thing Of which he has not bor-
rowed the model from her works.
LUKINS.