A course of elementary reading in science and literature, compiled by J.M. M'Culloch

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James Melville M'Culloch
1827
 

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Page 78 - Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, And didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, And her branches unto the river.
Page 176 - I speak in the spirit of the British law, which makes liberty commensurate with and inseparable from British soil; which proclaims even to the stranger and the sojourner, the moment he sets his foot upon British earth, that the ground on which he treads is holy, and consecrated by the genius of UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. No matter in what language his doom may have been pronounced ; — no matter what complexion incompatible with freedom, an Indian or an African sun may have burnt upon him ; — no...
Page 34 - Suli's rock, and Parga's shore, Exists the remnant of a line Such as the Doric mothers bore; And there, perhaps, some seed is sown, The Heracleidan blood might own. Trust not for freedom to the Franks— They have a king who buys and sells: In native swords, and native ranks, The only hope of courage dwells; But Turkish force, and Latin fraud, Would break your shield, however broad. Fill high the bowl with Samian wine! Our virgins dance beneath the shade— I see their glorious black eyes shine;...
Page 206 - As human nature's broadest, foulest blot, Chains him, and tasks him, and exacts his sweat With stripes, that Mercy with a bleeding heart Weeps, when she sees inflicted on a beast. Then what is man? And what man, seeing this, And having human feelings, does not blush And hang his head, to think himself a man? I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd.
Page 253 - Oh, how unlike the complex works of man, Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan ! No meretricious graces to beguile, No clustering ornaments to clog the pile, From ostentation as from weakness free, It stands like the cerulean arch we see, Majestic in its own simplicity. Inscribed above the portal, from afar Conspicuous as the brightness of a star. Legible only by the light they give, Stand the soul-quickening words — BELIEVE AND LIVE.
Page 255 - NOT seldom, clad in radiant vest, Deceitfully goes forth the Morn ; Not seldom Evening in the west Sinks smilingly forsworn. The smoothest seas will sometimes prove, To the confiding Bark, untrue ; And, if she trust the stars above, They can be treacherous too. The umbrageous Oak, in pomp outspread, Full oft, when storms the welkin rend, Draws lightning down upon the head It promised to defend. But Thou art true, incarnate Lord, Who didst vouchsafe for man to die ; Thy smile is sure, thy plighted...
Page 160 - Where the violets lie may now be your home, Ye of the rose-cheek and dew-bright eye, And the bounding foot-step, to meet me fly, With the lyre, and the wreath, and the joyous lay, Come forth to the sunshine, I may not stay! Away from the dwellings of care-worn men, The waters are sparkling in wood and glen, Away from the chamber and dusky hearth. The young leaves are dancing in breezy mirth, Their light stems thrill to the wild-wood strains, And youth is abroad in my green domains.
Page 110 - Bequeathed by bleeding Sire to Son, Though baffled oft is ever won. Bear witness, Greece, thy living page, Attest it many a deathless age ! While kings, in dusty darkness hid, Have left a nameless pyramid, Thy heroes, though the general doom Hath swept the column from their tomb, A mightier monument command, The mountains of their native land ! There points thy Muse to stranger's eye The graves of those that cannot die ! 'Twere long to tell, and sad to trace, Each step from splendour to disgrace...
Page 33 - You have the letters Cadmus gave, — Think ye he meant them for a slave? Fill high the bowl with Samian wine! We will not think of themes like these! It made Anacreon's song divine : He served — but served Polycrates, — A tyrant; but our masters then Were still, at least, our countrymen. The tyrant of the Chersonese Was freedom's best and bravest friend; That tyrant was Miltiades ! O that the present hour would lend Another despot of the kind ! Such chains as his were sure to bind. Fill high...
Page 178 - When she is tired with this prospect, then show her the blessed Jesus, humble and meek, doing good to all the sons of men, patiently instructing both the ignorant and the perverse. Let her see him in his most retired privacies ; let her follow him to the mount, and hear his devotions and supplications to God. Carry her to his table to view his poor fare, and hear his heavenly discourse. Let her see- him injured, but not provoked : let her attend him to the tribunal, and consider the patience with...

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