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" Happiness Is prceseribed * but to b © enjoyed ; and such is the benevolent arrangement © f Divine PcavideBce , that wherever there is a moral preparation for it , it follows of course ; . of this nature are tjie pleasures and advantages of virtuous friendship . Its duties * supposing it to be formed , are deducible , with sufficient certainty and precision , from the ligpht of nature and the precepts of Scripture , fcttti none more sacred ; btit in the &ct of farming it the mind disdains the fetters of prescription , and is left to be determined by the impulse of feeling and the operation of events . c < Besides , were friendship inculcated as a matter of * indisoensable obligation ,, ^^ . . ^ ^*^
endless embarrassments would arise iu determining at what period the relation shall commence ; whether with one or with more ; and at what stage in the
progress of mutual attraction , at what point , the feelings of reciprocal regard shall be deemed to reach the maturity which entitles them to the sacred name of friendship /'—Pp . 9 , 10 .
We are much gratified by the contrast which Mr . Hall draws between ordinary friendship and friendship that is truly virtuous : < 4 Friendship founded on worldly principles , is natural ,, and though composed
of the best elements of nature , i& not exempt from its mutability and fr ^ ifyy ; , the latter is spiritual , and therefore unchanging and imperishable . The friendship which is founded on kindred tastes and congenial habits , apart from piety , is
permitted by the benignity of Providence to embellish a world which , with all its : magnificence and beauty , will shortly pass away : thai which has religion for its .
basis , will ere long be transplanted to adorn the paradise of God . "—P . 16 , Concerning the narratives of the resurrection of Lazarus and of the last scenes of our Saviour ' s life , in the Gospel of John , Mr . Hall says ,
< c the author places us in the very midst of the scenes that he describes : we listen to the discourses , we imbibe
the sentimeuts of the principal actors ; and , while he says nothing of himself , he lays open the whole interior of his character . Wu feel ourselves introduced , not so much to the acquaintance of an inspired apostle , as to that of the most amiable of men . "—P . 19 . In delineating the moral habits of Dr . Ryland , who appears to have been an eminently upright and pious man , Mr . Hall suggests a very admirable interpretation of a precept occurring
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M ' R not t © be Review . ?—alls Sermon on the £ > ea £ h of Ur . yland . 173 * _ __ , ba ^ L M - a ¦ - - __ __ . __» __ . ? j ____ . - —_ ^ L * ^ m , ¦ w *— - - . ^ v ^ b , 5 ^_ -. - - ¦ ^ A . » - m- ^ aM ^ w ^^ k ^^ B ^ ltft ^ n ^—¦ . * - then ies
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The preacher occup a yet larger portion of his genxnont in dea * canting , very elegantly , though generally , on the delights and advantages of the friendship which piety cements , sanctifies and exalts . It is not until we reack the sixteenth page that we find him treating of the
passage on which he professes to discourse . His sketch of the history , his estimate of the writings , and his delineation of the character of " him who leaned on the bosom of Jesus , " constitute , we think , the most valuable part of the sermon ; while they admirably introduce a discriminating and affectionate notice of the late Dr .
Ryland , and an eloquent practical address to those who sate under his ministry . The following observations upon patriotism are extremely judicious : "In all well-ordered polities , if we may judge from the experience of past ages , the attachment of men to their
couutry is iu danger of becoming an absorbing principle ; not merely inducing a forgetfulness of private interest * but of the immutable claims of humanity and justice . Iu the most virtuous times of the Roman Republic , their country was the idol , at whose shrine her greatest patriots were at all times prepared to offer whole hecatombs of human victims :
the interests of other nations were no further regarded than as they could be rendered subservient to the gratification of her ambition ; and mankind at large were considered as possessing no rights but such as might with the utmost propriety be merged in that devouring vor
tex . With all their talents and their grandeur they [ read , the Romans ] were unprincipled oppressors , leagued iu a determined conspiracy against the liberty and independence of mankind . Iu the eyes of an enlightened philanthropist , patriotism , pampered to such an excess ,
loses the name of virtue ; it is the bond and cement of a guilty confederation . It was worthy of the wisdom of our great legislator to decline the express inculcation of a principle so liable to degenerate into excess , and to content himself with prescribing the virtues which are sure to develope it , as far as is consistent with
the dictates of universal benevolence /'Pp . 6 , 7 . Some of the preacher ' s remarks upon friendship , are distinguished by the same excellent sense and the same felicity of language :
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1826, page 173, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2546/page/45/
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