3. The time must come, when its gilded vaults, which now spring so loftily, shall lie in rubbish beneath the feet; when, instead of the sound of melody and praise, the wind shall whistle through the broken arches, and the owl hoot from the shattered tower; when the gairish sunbeam shall break into these gloomy mansions of death, and the ivy twine around the fallen columns, and the foxglove hang its blossoms about the nameless urn, as if in mockery of the dead. Thus man passes away: his name perishes from record and from recollection: his history is a tale that is told; and his very monument becomes a ruin. Grandeur and Sublimity. IRVING. 4. THOU glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form Calm or convulsed, in breeze, or gale, or storm, Dark heaving,-boundless, endless, and sublime ! Of the Invisible ! - even from out thy slime, The monsters of the deep are made! each zone Obeys thee thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. 5. Eternal Hope! when yonder spheres sublime BYRON. Pealed their first-notes to sound the march of Time, When all the sister planets have decayed; And Heaven's last thunder shakes the world below, 6. Like the baseless fabric of this vision, CAMPBELL. The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, SHAKSPEARE. the sun himself 7. The stars shall fade away, Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds! ADDISON. LESSON XCIII. 92 7. MINION, a servile flatterer. 9. CHAM'PI-ON, a defender. 11. BAN'ISHED, exiled; expelled. 11. TRAITOR, one who betrays a trust. 11. AL-LEGI-ANCE, loyalty. 11. PROV-O-CA'TION, what excites anger. ERRORS.- Hev for have; thut for that; mock'ry for mock'er-y; nūm'rous for nu'mer-ous; fall zon for falls on; i'ron for i'ron [i'urn]. SELECTIONS IN PROSE AND POETRY. Continued. [The language of scorn, hatred, contempt mingled with defiance, or of threatened revenge, when deliberate, requires a deep and guttural voice, rather slow movement, forcible utterance, and very emphatic significancy of expression. But, when violent, it is loud and rapid in its utterance. The falling inflection prevails in the expression of these emotions. But, if irony or sarcasm is introduced, the circumflex is employed.] Scorn and Contempt. 1. Sir, I have no fear of any mischief that they can do us. Afraid of them! What! sir, shall we who have laid the proud British lion* at our feet, now be afraid of his whelps?† PATRICK HENRY. * BRITISH LION, the power of the English Government. ↑ WHELPS, (bere mean) American colonists who fled to England during the Revlutionary war, and afterwards wished to return. 5. Goliah. Say, where? Direct my sight. I do not war with boys. 6. David. I stand prepared; thy single arm to mine. 7. Goliah. Why, this is mockery, minion! it may chance To cost thee dear. Sport not with things above thee; But tell me, who, of all this numerous host, Expects his death from me? Which is the man Whom Israel sends to meet my bold defiance? 8. David. The election of my sovereign falls on me. 9. Goliah. On thee! on thee! by Dagon, 't is too much! Thou curled minion! thou a nation's champion! 'T would move my mirth at But trifling 's out of tune. any other time; And tempt me not too far!* HANNAH MORE. Bitter Sarcasm and Revenge. 10. O Rome! Rome!† thou hast been a tender nurse to me! Ay, thou hast given to that poor, gentle, timid shepherdlad, who never knew a harsher tone than a flute-note, muscles of iron, and a heart of flint; taught him to drive the sword through plaited mail and links of rugged brass, and warm it in the marrow of his foe. And he shall pay thee back, until the yellow Tiber is red as frothing wine; and, in its deepest ooze, thy life-blood lies curdled! Scorn, Hatred, Defiance, and Revenge. KELLOGG. 11. Banished from Rome! What's banished, but set free From daily contact of the things I loathe? "Tried and convicted traitor!" Who says this? * See chapter xvii. of the First Book of Samuel. ROME, see note, page 90. Who'll prove it, at his peril, on my head? But now my sword's my own. Smile on, my Lords! 12. But here I stand and scoff you: here I fling Your consul's merciful. For this, all thanks. Or make the infant's sinews strong as steel. 13. This day's the birth of sorrows! This hour's work Will breed proscriptions! Look to your hearths, my Lords! CROLY. * CATI-LINE [Lucius Sergius], a Roman of high rank, and the leading conspirator against Cicero, for the purpose of securing the Consulship of Rome, in the year 65 B. C. Cicero charged him with conspiracy before the Roman Senate; and, after his trial and conviction, and after the decree of banishment was read to him, Catiline made his reply in language similar to this extract from Mr. Croly's tragedy, and then rushed from the senate-chamber, and escaped. He was killed in battle in the year 62 B. C. † See note, page 123. LESSON' XCIV. 1. Diz'ZI-NESS, a whirling in the head. 3. HOR'RI-BLE, dreadful; awful. 7. CON-FOUNDS', perplexes; confuses. 8. AP-PALLS', frightens ; terrifies. 10. IM-MOR'TAL, deathless; eternal. 10. SHUD'DER-ETH, feareth. Articulate distinctly ft in swift, st in fast, rth in fourth, nth in seventh, th in eighth, nds in confounds, rms in alarms. SELECTIONS IN POETRY. [The language of extreme bodily pain, unsuppressed fear, alarm, and terror, is loud, high, vehement, and rapid in utterance, varying, however, according to the intensity of the excitement. The falling inflection prevails in the expression of these emotions. But the language of suspicion, apprehension, and suppressed fear, usually requires a suppressed voice, or an aspirated under-tone, combined with the tremor, or intermittent stress.] sick; With a swift dizziness; and my heart grows Dying! Oh! if I might only live! Unsuppressed Fear and Terror. 2. O, hark! what mean those yells and cries? His chain some furious madman breaks! He comes! I see his glaring eyes! Now, now, my dungeon grate he shakes! WILLIS. LEWIS. 3. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo;* down! Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs; and thy hair, Thy other gold-bound brow, is like the first; *BAN'QUO, a general of the king of Scotland's army, and progenitor of the royal house of Stuart. He was murdered by Macbeth, a usurper of the Scottish crown, about the year 1046. |