Act-Action.

An act is the simple exertion of physical or mental power. An action is a continued exertion of the faculties. An action takes up more time than an act. Many acts make up an action. We set about doing a kind action, viz. to reconcile two friends. Many acts are requisite to effect this purpose: e.g., the act of speaking to both parties; the act of walking, perhaps, from one to the other, &c. There is this difference between an act of folly and a foolish action: an act of folly is one in which folly is represented as the impulse; a foolish action is one which is qualified or specified as such when done. The degree of our merit depends upon our actions, not upon our acts. Acts are single; actions habitual.

[Lod. This heavy act with heavy heart relate Othello, v. 2.

when a foot-soldier, perceiving his purpose, rushed in between the combat

ants, and received the blow upon his arm.

For this brave

he was handsomely rewarded by his commander,

and immediately promoted to the rank of a sergeant.

Many persons judge wrongly of their neighbours, from not sufficiently considering the motives of their

He was in the

of shaking hands with a neighbour, when he was suddenly seized with a fit, and fell back senseless into an arm-chair. are generally caused by instinct or impulse;

Our

are more

which are apt to procure fame are not in their

nature conducive to ultimate happiness."

"I desire that the same rule may be extended to the whole fraternity of the heathen gods; it being my design to condemn every poem to the flames, in which Jupiter thunders or exercises any- of authority which does not belong to him."

Anguish-Agony.

A struggling against pain is the idea common to both these words. Agony denotes the bodily feeling, whilst anguish regards the state of mind. The throbbing of a wound produces agony; a mother feels anguish at the idea of being separated from her child. The word agony is used in a secondary sense to express the climax of any state of feeling, as found in the expressions, "an agony of doubt, an agony of suspense," &c. —i. e. the highest possible state of painful doubt or suspense. The agonies of death; the anguish of despair.

"The sun had now gone down-another day had passed without bringing us relief-several of the party had begun to suffer dreadfully from intense thirst, and two were in the

The

of death."

of the father when he heard of the fate of his wretched child is to be imagined rather than described; he fainted immediately on receiving the news, and it was a long time before he recovered his senses.

They had persecutors, whose invention was as great as their cruelty. Wit and malice conspire to find out such deaths, and those of such incredible that only the manner of dying was the punishment, death itself the deliverance.

The thoughts not only of what he himself was about to suffer, but also of the forlorn condition of his wife and family in the event of his death, filled his mind with

and despair.

He suffered such from the wound in his leg, that he could proceed no further on his journey.

"There is a word in the vocabulary more bitter, more direful in its import, than all the rest. Reader, if poverty, if disgrace, if bodily pain be your unhappy fate, kneel and bless Heaven for its beneficent influence, so that you are not tortured with the of remorse."

Artisan-Artist.

The word artisan signifies one who exercises a mechanical art: the word artist is properly applied only to those who practise the fine arts. Carpenters, masons, and shoemakers, are artisans; poets, musicians, and sculptors, are artists. The artisan works by rule, and uses his hands; the artist's occupation requires the exercise of a refined intellect and lively imagination. We shall thus easily distinguish the sign-painter from the historical painter. In an intellectual scale, the artisan ranks above the labourer, but below the artist. Ingenuity and contrivance are the qualities of a good artisan; creative power and refined taste are requisite for a great artist.

[Agam. The wise and fool, the artist and unread

"This poor woman's husband, who was an ingenious

had come

up to London in hopes of finding employment; but having failed in his attempt, had set off to return to Scotland, and was on his way back when I fell in with him."

of

Dannecker, the sculptor, one of the most celebrated modern Germany, was born at Stuttgard, October the 15th, 1758. Two of his works, viz. "Mourning Friendship," and the " Ariadne reclining on a Leopard," are distinguished for beauty and expression.

The close and densely-populated parts of London are inhabited chiefly by labourers, journeymen, and - whose health is undoubtedly as much impaired by the situations in which they are obliged to reside, as by the circumstances which force them to work so hard for their daily bread.

Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, were the greatest musical

world ever produced.

"If ever this country saw an age of

the

-s, it is the present; her painters, sculptors, and engravers, are now the only schools properly so called."

"The merchant, tradesman, and -—, will have their profit upon all the multiplied wants, comforts, and indulgences of civilized life."

Compunction-Remorse.

These words express degrees of repentance. Remorse is an intensive compunction. Compunction signifies a pricking of the conscience. Remorse denotes a gnashing or biting. The former is expressive of the sorrow caused by minor offences; the latter conveys an idea of the excessive pain the soul feels at the sense of its crimes, and is analogous to the feeling of bodily pain expressed by grinding or gnashing the teeth. Compunction is felt for sin; remorse for enormous crimes. A miser may feel compunction for his injustice; a murderer is agitated by remorse.

[Lady M. Stop up the access and passage to remorse;
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose

So farewell, hope; and with hope, farewell, fear;

Farewell, remorse:

Macbeth, i. 5

To feed remorse, to welcome every sting
Of penitential anguish, yea, with tears.

Exercise.

All his peace of mind was now destroyed by the

he felt for the

crimes of his early life; the images of his victims haunted him in his dreams, and in his waking hours he looked upon every stranger as an assassin.

This outcast of society pursued his wicked machinations without cessation; he felt no — for the injustice he was practising on the desolate widow and helpless orphan; all fell alike into his meshes, and as long as his coffers were filled, it signified nothing to him that it was at the expense of the sighs and tears of thousands.

He began at length to feel some

for the harshness with which he

had treated his brother, and wrote him an affectionate letter, in which he begged his forgiveness, and entreated that they should renew their former harmony.

"All men, even the most depraved, are subject, more or less, to of conscience."

-s

Diligence signifies the attention we pay to any particular object, because we prefer it to others. Industry is the quality of laying up for ourselves a store, either of knowledge or worldly goods. Diligence produces industry: it is applied to one object; industry, to many. To collect accurate information, evidence, &c., from various sources, we must be industrious. To become well-informed upon one subject, we must be diligent. The quality of diligence is not applied to animals. The bee and ant, however, are said to be industrious, because their instinct prompts them to lay up a

He was so

that before he was twelve years old, he was much

better informed on all subjects than most boys of his age.

My cousin studied with such

of the language.

that he soon made himself master

to every department

He immediately applied himself with great