Year: 1860

suggest the enquiry, why do not men have
more frequent holydays? Why do we not
ottener indulge in unrestrained enjoyment
of the Present? King Solomon, and the
philosopher, Epicurus, were the only two
mortals OF historic note who boldly took
the ground, as the true philosophy of life,
that there is nothing better for man than
that he should eat and drink, and make his
soul enjoy good" The former started out
IN life, as most men do nowadays, actuated
by the desire to obtain what are known as
= the objects of noble ambition" and for
their attainment he sacrificed every simple
and substantial pleasure that, day by day,
passed by within his reach, UNDECIDED He
lived in the future, and struggled for wealth
and fame which he expected, some day, to
enjoy. He spent the best days of his life in
making great works and building houses,
and planting vineyards, and gathering silver
and gold, and the peculiar treasures of kings,
and in getting "great possessions of great





rusalem before him." And after having, in
great measure, attained what is generally
considered most valuable in the world and
being the wisest of the race, he finally set
tied down to the conclusion that the best
thing a man can do, is to eat, drink and
be merry" Epicurus, also, one of the most
clear-headed of the ancient scholars, estab-
lished school of philosophy founded upon
the principle that we should extract the ut
most possible good out of life, as we travel
along its path. The rest of mankind"
seem ashamed to acknowledge any interest
in present enjoyments, but talk gravely
about preparations for some future day
which never comes.


Man is distinguished from the animals by
having Past and Future as well as a
Present; and the evident intention of his
Creator was, that the two former should be
subservient to the latter-not that the latter
should be entirely sacrificed to the former.
But most men live wholly in the past and
future and utterly ignore the present. They
are either continually mourning over some
blunder or misfortune that has long since
gone by, but which memory keeps alive in
their minds or else, they are fretting any
sweating about some glittering but Elusive
scheme which hope tells them may be con-
summated in the days that are to come
Thus with their visions strained upon a
distant landmark, they are carried down
the peaceful stream of present existence
without seeing or enjoying one of the thous-
and beauties that decorate its shores.


1t does not follow that we should fail to
profit by the lessons of the past the object
of memory is to enable us to make the most
out of the circumstances by which, at each
moment, we find ourselves surrounded. 1t
does not follow that, in regulating our con-
duct to-day, we should ignoreits effect upon
our enjoyment of tomorrow; the future
may yet be the present. But the true the
ory of life for every mortal is Subject, of
course, to the performance of those duties
which each man owes to his fellow to ex-
aract the greatest possible enjoyment out of
the present, that is consistent with ra-
tional preparation for the future. And cv-
cry man, no matter how humble his condi-
ton, who will look around him, will dis
cover that the fountain of happiness is not
distant one, but that he passes every day,
thousand sources Of pleasure hitherto
unheeded.


Say we, therefore, unto you, in the lam
guage of the motto of Hyperion: "Look not
into the Past with sorrow, it comes not back
again ,risely improre the Present. it is thine;
90 forth 10 meet the shadowy Future with
out fear and with manly heart" So mote
it be.