Essays on Life 



they are actually at the point to die, whereon 

 they become sublime. Then we place every 

 resource our hospitals can command at their 

 disposal, and show no stint in our considera- 

 tion for them. 



It is the same with all our interests. We 

 care most about extremes of importance and 

 of unimportance ; but extremes of importance 

 are tainted with fear, and a very imperfect fear 

 casteth out love. Extremes of unimportance 

 cannot hurt us, therefore we are well disposed 

 towards them ; the means may come to do so, 

 therefore we do not love them. Hence we 

 pick a fly out of a milk-jug and watch with 

 pleasure over its recovery, for we are confident 

 that under no conceivable circumstances will 

 it want to borrow money from us ; but we feel 

 less sure about a mouse, so we show it no 

 quarter. The compilers of our almanacs well 

 know this tendency of our natures, so they tell 

 us, not when Noah went into the ark, nor 

 when the temple of Jerusalem was dedicated, 

 but that Lindley Murray, grammarian, died 

 January 16, 1826. This is not because they 



could not find so many as three hundred and 



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