O'Connor's Chronicles of Eri. 
avail; reason and wisdom reject such, 
as misconceptions of vanity, 
Man would be’ thought to kiiow al} 
thin#s, even of \the air, aud for lack of 
wisdom’ flyeth to. deceitful faney, the 
vain; the ignorant, ‘the credulous is one, 
— wisdom) trath, and reason is one 
oftiers 8"! 
My Sot,Do thy utmost to attain to 
the certain knowledge of things of this 
world within the scope of thy under- 
stafiding: “List ‘not to idie dreams of 
airy fantasy ; ; contemplate ever so deeply 
on things thy senses cannot reach, all 
thy’ contemplations will come round to 
the’ point whereiit they commence ;— 
Where ?—They commenced in fancy— 
in fancy they’ will end. 
‘Are there not things in abundance 
level with thy comprehension wortby of 
all thy care ?—Hast thou not parents— 
the father who begat—the mother who 
bared and suckled, tenderly reared thee 
up, anxiously watched over thy helpless 
state—Hast thou none of thy mother’s 
womb—no partner of thy secret thoughts 
—thast tliow no children—are no friends 
thine 2— 
Hast thou nota name to be spoken of 
now,—to be remembered in after times? 
—how great the joy to hear the voice of 
praise raised in memory of our forefa- 
thers— what elory to the race—what an 
eXulfation io all those descended from 
their loins! 
‘Hard hath been the lot of him, whose 
spirit hath taken its flight to mingle with 
itS kindred elements, no mention made 
of him in times to come—untoward hath 
been the mind of him, who hath not left 
a trace of his existence amongst men— 
or to be remembered by reason only of 
his evil deeds. 
How glorious to gain immortality, by 
having infused a portion of his spirit into 
the children of man, to abide on the earth 
for ever. 
My Son,—Pursue not phantoms of 
imagination, study thyself{—call to mind 
continually ‘the materials of whieh thou 
art composed—if muchi of them is prone 
to the sluggishness of earth, tlie instabi- 
lity of water, the inconstaney' of nimble 
air, remember the fire of thy spirit hath 
power 10 controw! and direct, if thou wilt 
keep it pure. 
Oh! that man should suffer his pas- 
sions to subdue his reason, the fire of bis 
spirit. smothered, all but extinguished, 
—are earth, air, and water, more power- 
ful than fire?—is. matter more potent 
than spirit? 
Why delighteth man to do what he 
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condemneth in another ?—Why doth he 
unto his fellow, what he would not that 
his fellow.should do unto him? 
The heart of man is proud—he covet- 
eth power and_pre-emivence;,.he will 
gain them by deeds of evil, without re- 
flection ; he listencth 10 the voice of the 
. seducer, the false flattering,tongue that 
betrayeth—unruled passions. hurry him 
on—folly taketh dominion of such an 
one ; reason hath departed from him, his 
spirit was weak, 
My Son,—Let ali thy actions be such, 
that when thy bulk shall be inanimaie, 
thy spirit shall live for ever in the hicarts 
of men. 
My Son,—Hear the tale of times of 
old; hear of our race the renowned of 
the earth. What time. our fathers mark- 
ed not, is as ihe cloud that hath passed 
away, no note taken—no memorial pre- 
served: 
Let us speak of times measured by 
Baal in his circuit, as he moveth in his 
course to animate his children. 
How glorious is Baal, how good, how 
provident; doth he not produce the frnits 
that sustain the life of man ?—doth he 
not feed, and warm every living being? 
Doth he not give light. by “di ay, and 
impart a portion rot his. splendour to, his 
dwelling place to illumine the night,and 
mark the seasons? 
How terrible is Baal in his anger, 
when he sendeth forth his:messengers in 
fire, air, and water, and maketh the earth 
to tremble. All elements are his ser- 
vants. 
Hear of times marked—T have the 
rings of our fatbers; they hayé noted the 
rings of their times: L will mark the 
rings of my days. ‘fhou wilt mark those 
of thy days—so shall signs and. seasons 
be perpetual. 
Attend now, my,Son-—Our great: fa- 
thers dwelt on the left:sideof the sun’s 
rising, beyond the: sources) of the great 
waters. Of: days marked whilst Baal 
performed one thousand ‘and eleven cir- 
cuits in lis course: 
Then did they spread themselves from 
the flood of Sgeind even to the banks of 
Teth-gtis, 
Aid. when one thousand three Jiun- 
dred and four, rings. were, completed, 
then did our faihers: of these days pass 
to, this, side of 'T'eth- rBris, and, moying to- 
wards) the, sun’s. going, reach to. the 
Aflveidg-eis; and they became lords of 
all the lands: on: this side, and on that, 
they outstretched: their arms over all 
nations, with merey. 
And Absal, he it was who went out 
before 
