THE PICTURE OF THE MIND.

1. Painter, you're come, but may be gone;
Now I have better thought thereon,
This work I can perform alone;
And give you reasons more than one.

2. Not that your art I do refuse;
But here I may no colours use.
Beside, your hand will never hit,
To draw a thing that cannot sit.

8. You could make shift to paint an eye,
An eagle towering in the sky,
The sun, a sea, or soundless pit;
But these are like a mind, not it.

4. No, to express this mind to sense,
Would ask a heaven's intelligence;
Since nothing can report that flame,
But what's of kin to whence it came.

5. Sweet mind, then speak yourself, and say,
As you go on, by what brave way
Our sense you do with knowledge fill,
And yet remain our wonder still.

6. I call you, Muse, now make it true:
Henceforth may every line be you:
That all may say, that see the frame,
This is no picture, but the same.

7. A mind so pure, so perfect fine,
As 'tis not radiant, but divine;
And so disdaining any trier,
'Tis got where it can try the fire.

8 There, high exalted in the sphere,
As it another nature were,
It moveth all, and makes a flight
As circular as infinite.

9. Whose notions when it will express
In speech, it is with that excess
Of grace, and music to the ear,
As what it spoke it planted there.

10. The voice so sweet, the words so fair,
As some soft chime had stroked the air;
And though the sound had parted thence,
Still left an echo in the sense.

11. But that a mind so rapt, so high,
So swift, so pure, should yet apply
Itself to us, and come so nigh

Earth's grossness; there's the how and why.

12. Is it because it sees us dull,

And sunk in clay here, it would pull
Us forth, by some celestial sleight,
Up to her own sublimèd height?

13. Or hath she here, upon the ground,
Some paradise or palace found,
In all the bounds of beauty, fit
For her t' inhabit? There is it.

14. Thrice happy house, that hast receipt
For this so lofty form, so straight,
So polished, perfect, round, and even,
As it slid moulded off from heaven.

15. Not swelling, like the ocean proud,
But stooping gently, as a cloud,
As smooth as oil poured forth, and calm
As showers, and sweet as drops of balm.

16. Smooth, soft, and sweet, in all a flood,
Where it may run to any good;

And where it stays, it there becomes
A nest of odorous spice and gums.

17. In action, wingèd as the wind,
In rest, like spirits left behind

Upon a bank, or field of flowers,
Begotten by the wind and showers.

18. In thee, fair mansion, let it rest,

Yet know, with what thou art possessed,
Thou, entertaining in thy breast

But such a mind, mak'st God thy guest.

-Ben Jonson (1574–1637).

DESIRABLE OBJECTS OF ATTAINMENT.

1. Aim at the attainment of clear and accurate habits of thought.-Thinking is the exercise which strengthens the mind, and without which, no progress can be made in mental cultivation. A man may read, and hear, and talk he may devour volumes, and listen to lectures every night and yet, if he does not think, he will make after all but little if any improvement. He must think, he must turn over subjects in his mind; he must look at them on every side; he must trace the connection between ideas, and have everything orderly arranged.

2. A man may even think a great deal, and not think clearly; his mind may be at work, and yet always in confusion; there may be no clear arrangement; and it is quite possible to mistake muddiness for depth. There are some men who appear very thoughtful, but, from never aiming at accurate habits of thought, they talk most unintelligibly. There seems to be neither beginning nor middle nor end in what they say; all is a confused jumble. Now, writing carefully is a good plan for acquiring habits of clear and connected thought, since a man is more likely to detect the disorder of his thoughts in writing than in talking.

3. Aim at independence of mind.-There are some men who go in leading-strings all their days. They always follow in the path of others without being able to give any reason for their opinions. There is a proper mental independence which all should maintain; self-respect and

the stability of our character require it. The man who forms his opinion entirely on that of another can have no great respect for his own judgment, and is likely to be a changeling. When we consider carefully what appeals to our minds, and exercise upon it our own reason, taking into respectful consideration what others say upon it, and then come to a conclusion of our own, we act as intelligent beings.

4. This proper independence of mind is far removed from presumptuous self-confidence, than which there is nothing more severely to be condemned. Presumption is the associate of ignorance; and it is hateful in the extreme to hear some half-taught stripling delivering his opinions with all the authority of an oracle. This is not what we mean by mental independence; and it is hoped none will mistake what has been said. We refer to a modest yet firm and independent exercise of judgment upon subjects which the mind understands; in short, we intend only the opposite of that slavish habit which makes one man the mere shadow of another.

5. Acquire habits of observation.-This is all-important. We live in a world of wonders; and a thousand objects appeal to our observation, and will repay it. How much is to be learned by a proper use of the eyes and ears! Books may teach us much, but observation in some respects may teach us more. That practical knowledge, so useful in the progress of life-that tact in business, so desirable -can be gained only in this way. Observation, as a mode of study, is the cheapest and most convenient of all. It may be carried on almost anywhere and everywhere, because nearly in all places in which we are, there is something to be learned if we are disposed to receive instruction.

6. Observation is connected with curiosity; the one sharpens the other, and they produce a mutual influence. Now, when curiosity prompts a wish to know more than we do on any particular subject, and we have the means of information in an intelligent friend, we should never lose the opportunity of making the needful inquiries.

Let not false pride, lest we should betray ignorance, prevent us from asking a question when it can be answered. How much knowledge do we often lose by wishing to appear wiser than we really are! Mr. Locke, on being asked how he had contrived to accumulate a mine of knowledge so rich, deep, and extensive, replied, “That he attributed what little he knew to the not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to the rule he had laid down of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics chiefly, that formed their own professions and pursuits."

7. Cultivate humility.-Humility is the attribute of great and noble minds, and how beautiful does it appear! Sir Isaac Newton, in the true spirit of humility, spoke of himself, at the close of life, as a child who had spent his time in gathering pebbles on the shore, while the ocean lay untraversed; and Mozart, just before he died, said, "Now I begin to see what might be done in music." These expressions were worthy of the men, and they invest their genius with greater loveliness, because they throw over it the graceful mantle of humility. They in fact knew much, and this taught them how much more remained to be known. They ascended to a high elevation on the mountain of knowledge, but this only gave them a better idea of the loftiness of the summit.

8. If the circle of light be large, the boundary of darkness will be equally so; and the more we know, the more we shall be convinced of our own ignorance. This is true enough; but we cannot remember it too often and too much, especially in the commencement of the pursuit of knowledge. Then the young aspirant often fancies he knows everything; whereas, in fact, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. Conceit and fancied superiority are the besetting sins of the mind when it is beginning to acquire knowledge. This must be checked. If the great apostles of science and philosophy confessed they knew so little, what ground of boasting can there be for the tyro in their schools.

9. When tempted to pride themselves on their attain