LETTERS ON THE IMPORTANCE, DUTY, AND ADVANTAGES OF EARLY RISING. ADDRESSED TO HEADS OF FAMILIES, THE man of BUSINESS, THE LOVER By A. C. Bucklande - And is there aught in sleep can charm the wise? To lie in dead oblivion, losing half The fleeting moments of too short a life? Total extinction of the enlightened soul! Thomson's Seasons-Summer. We are not of the night, nor of darkness: therefore let us 1 Thess. v. 5, 6. LONDON. PRINTED FOR TAYLOR AND HESSEY, No. 93, FLEET STREET. 1819. ΤΟ MRS. HANNAH MORE. MADAM, I AM very well aware that it is frequently the custom of those who are placed in similar situations to myself, to profess their hatred of flattery, and their determination to prove it by their conduct, and yet falsify their own professions, by conveying their adulation in the very language which is employed to reprehend it. But it is quite enough for me, to recollect that I am dedicating this series of letters to one, whose life is influenced by the principles, and whose opinions are formed upon the truths of the Bible, to check the feeling, however strong it may be, that would lead me to say what I iv may still conscientiously think. If praise could have produced in your mind those bad effects which too frequently attend it, you would long ago have been the victim of its fascination; and I should be much too late, as well as too inconsiderable, to add to its evil consequences. With regard to the subject of the succeeding Letters, I can only say, Madam, that it is connected in some measure with the leading principles which have been enforced by your writings. It is an important branch of "christian morals," and forms a distinguishing feature in " practical piety:" it is of great importance to the young, whose interests have always been so near your heart, and its adoption would be of essential benefit in that large and elevated class of society, whose "manners" have received a new impression from your delineation of them: whilst the motives from which it ought to proceed, are such as are inculcated in the writings of the great apostle of the Gentiles, and are presented in the pages of the whole of the sacred volume. That you, Madam, the morning of whose life has been so beneficially, and consequently, so happily employed, may enjoy a calmness of mind, and a " peace which passeth all understanding," proportionably increasing as the shades of evening advance around you, is the sincere wish, and shall form the earnest prayer of,. August, 1818. Madam, your very obedient and devoted servant, THE AUTHOR. |