2310.) 
gination; the faint copy, which only re- 
cals the original, seems to be. As the 
impressions ‘of sense are stronger than 
those of reminiscence, external pheno- 
mena are usually described as appear- 
ing, and :nternal phenomena as seeming. 
An object appears less, the farther it is 
off. Many things seem practicable, 
which are attempted i in vain. 
/ Mirth-——Cheerfulness. 
Mirth is an effort, cheerfulness a ha- 
bit of the mind; mirth is transient, and 
cheerfulness permanent; mirth is like a 
flash of lightning, that glitters with mo- 
mentary brilliance, cheerfulness is the 
day-light of the soul, which steeps it in 
perpetual serenity. Those are often 
raised into the greatest transports of 
mirth, who are subject to the greatest 
elepressions of melanchcly; whereas 
cheerfulness, though it does not give the 
Mind such exquisite gladuess, prevents 
our falling into any depths of sorrow.— 
Addison. 
Mirth is derived from the adjective 
merry, which is itself a contraction of 
anurrowy, it having, of old, been sup- 
posed, that the orgasms of excitement 
penetrated to the marrow; and that the 
men who had most marrow in their 
bones were the most liable to be exhila- 
rated by wine, or love: merry, there- 
fore, describes a gaiety bordering on in- 
toxication, while cheerful only describes 
the satisfaction which accompanies a 
comfortable digestion. 
Assura ince—Impudence. 
Assurance is the faculty of self-pos- 
session; or of saying and doing critical 
things, without uneasiness or perturba- 
tion of mind. 
Assurance, unaccompanied by a sense 
of propriety,anda taste for decorum,often 
degenerates into impudence, or shame- 
lessness. Yet they are not necessarily 
.connected. Among the vulgar, impu- 
dence may be found without assurance ; 
and, among the polished, assurance may 
be found without impudence.- Inter- 
course with the world progressively he- 
stows assurance; intercourse with the 
licentious, suffices to bestow impudence. 
Witl—Testament. 
Ifa man, before his death, gives di- 
rections, either by word of mouth, or 
in wrung, about the disposal of his pro- 
perty, such authentic directions consti- 
tute’ his Jast will; but they do not con- 
stitute his testament, unless they are re- 
daced to writing, and attested. <A tes= 
tament is a witnessed will, 
The lawyers have sought to introduce 
Contributions to English Synonomy. 
tion. 
ail 
another distinction, and to limit the word 
testament to personal property, to the 
distribution of goods and chattels; and 
the word will to real property, to the 
devise of land. In this technical sense, 
an infant at fourteen may make a testa- 
ment, but cannot make a will: a testa- 
ment requires executors, but a will ree 
quires no executor, 
_ Every testamentis a will; 
will is not a testament. 
Brute— Beast. 
Both these words are applied to anie 
mals, as distinguished from birds, insects, 
fishes, and man; but the term brute is 
confined to the untamed quadrupeds. 
We say, beasts of burden, never brutes 
of burden. The beasts of the field ; the 
brutes of the forest. : 
The man who abuses domestic bediute 
but every 
gence, and gets drunk, is called 2 beast ; 
the man who abuses his strength, and 
behaves cruelly, is called a brute. 
Dr. Trusler gives an opposite account 
of these words, - 
Fast— Hard. 
Fast and hard are both adverbs of mo- 
‘But as the momentum of a moving 
body is compounded of its rate of velo- 
city, and its weight of matter, according 
to philosophers; so, according to com- 
mon talk, to ran, to ride, or to rain, fust, 
describes the rate of velocity; while to 
run, toride, or to rain, herd, describes 
the weight of matter called into action, 
He who works fast will soon have done; 
he who works hard will soon be weary. 
Religion— Devotion—Piety—Sanctity. 
Religion is the bond which ties us to 
the Deity. Itis the external contract, the 
alliance made by others. Devotion is the 
wish to become agreeable to the Deity. 
It is the internal contract between man 
and his God. Piety is that filial senti- 
ment, which we feel for the father of all. 
Sanctity isthe habit of interior coercion, 
which a constant sense of duty to the 
Godhead inspires. 
He is religious, who adheres to the or- 
dinances of his country, or his sect. He 
is devout, whom this adherence has con-_ 
vinced of the duty of allegiance. He is 
pious, who regards the Deity neither 
as his equal, nor as his foe, but as his 
father and patron. Heissaintly, whose 
habits are affected by pious considera- 
tions. 
Sanctity is to piety what devotion ig 
to religion—the habit which results from 
acquiescence in the feeling. 
For a worldly person it is pao iee to 
be religious, Those are devout whose 
a 
