THE TRUE PHILANTHROPIST is he who diffuses the most happiness and mitigates the most distress within his own circle; he is undoubtedly the best friend to his country and the world, since nothing more is necessary, than for all men to imitate his conduct, to make the greatest part of the misery of the world cease in a ROBERT HALL. moment. The limited resources of the Christian philanthropist, compared with the number and diversity of objects, soliciting his aid, renders selection indispensably necessary. On the one hand, he must not confine his regards to objects purely religious, though of the loftiest and most comprehensive order, to the neglect of that charity which draws out his soul to the hungry, and which visits the fatherless and widow in their affliction; and on the other, he must not limit his attention to the wants of life that now is, and remain an uninterested spectator of the efforts which are made around him to save a world from perdition. The two classes of objects should be combined in his regards. By descending to the one class, he will be keeping his benevolent feelings in a healthy, active, and vigorous state; and by ascending to the other, he will be giving them scope and expansion, diffusing_and multiplying them over the whole field of mercy. By a wise distribution of his means, he may connect himself with all the objects of beneficence, from the casual relief of the mendicant, to the combined, systematic, and mighty project of the Christian church, to make the Bible the book of the world. And as he marks the graduated scale of Christian charities which stand between these two extremes, he will conscientiously consider which are the charities that call for his especial aid, and the proportion of support which each demands. HARRIS' MAMMON. HOWARD THE PHILANTHROPIST.-I cannot name John Howard without remarking that his labours and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of mankind. He has visited all Europe, not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur; not to form a scale of the curiosity of modern art, but to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to remember the forgotten; to attend to the neglected; and to compare and to collate the distresses of all men of all countries. His plan is original, and it is as full of genius as it is of humanity. It was a voyage of discovery; a circumnavigation of charity. Already the benefit of his labour is felt more or less in every country; I hope he will anticipate his final reward, by seeing all its effects fully realized in his own time. He will receive, not by retail, but in gross, the reward of those who visit the prisoner; and he has so forestalled and monopolized this branch of charity, that there will be, I trust, little room to merit by such acts of benevolence hereafter. BURKE. John Howard, the subject of this well-merited eulogy, was born at Hackney, in the year 1726. His father, who kept a carpet warehouse near Smithfield, died when he was an infant, and his guardians bound him apprentice to Mr. Newman, a wholesale grocer, in the city of London. His constitution, however, was delicate; and having an aversion to trade, he purchased his indentures, and made a tour of France and Italy. In the year 1756, having embarked for Lisbon, the ship in which he sailed was taken by a French privateer, and he was made to taste the horrors of confinement and privation, which so strongly awoke his sympathy for those suffering the like miseries, that he spent his after years in visiting the prisons and hospitals of Europe, and in alleviating the sufferings and wretchedness of their inmates; in many of these efforts he was eminently successful. He died in 1720, at Cherson, a town of Russia, of a malignant fever, caught at the hospital of that place, where he was buried. Where there is the most love of God, there will be the truest and most enlarged Philanthropy. No other foundation is secure. There is no other means whereby nations can be reformed, than that by which alone individuals can be regenerated. In the laws of God, conscience is made the basis of policy, and in proportion as human laws depart from this ground-work, error and evil are the sure results. SOUTHEY. LINES ON HOWARD. Where are the mighty of the world, Their breath the flag of blood unfurled Hallowed their deeds and hymned their wrong. But thou mild Benefactor-thou, To burst the bonds of wretchedness Thy name, through every future age, In glory shall be shrined; Whilst other NIELDS and CLARKSONS show I know not if there be a sense, Balm to the sufferer's smart, The pitying tear, the sorrowing sigh And e'en when sickness damped thy brow, And many mourned that thou should'st be And blend with Pontic waves; A land whose sons were slaves; And oft the rugged Muscovite,— And see her offered roses showered Upon the grave of gentle Howard. J. H. WIFFEN, Author of Aonian Hours, &c. And behold a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live. But he willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came, and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him; and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out twopence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. LUKE X. 25-37. What is the first and great command ? And what the second?-As thyself, Who is my neighbour ?—He who wants The help that thou canst give: Jesus our blessed Saviour said, This do-and thou shalt live. ANON. Blame not the fates, nor call their lot unkind, LADY NORTHAMPTON. Look round our world; behold the chain of love, POPE. BROTHERLY LOVE.-This commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Our God is love, and all his saints 1 JOHN IV. 21. The heart with love to God inspir'd Teach us to love each other, Lord, Heirs of the same immortal bliss, So shall the vain contentious world, And wondering say, as they of old, ANON. MERCY, CLEMENCY, &c. MERCY; tenderness; goodness; pity; willingness to save; clemency; mildness; unwillingness to punish. JOHNSON. |