Part 4 (1/2)

Most of the modern writers on dietetics, as well as those who have preceded thement of the quantity of food, usually consuly advise you to be rather abstemious as to _quantity_ of food, so I wish you not to be in the slightest degree fastidious as to its _quality_, provided it is wholeso Youbetter than another, and partake of what you prefer, when it coin the niceties of an epicure, and really appearing to care much about what he eats, and what he drinks When I coyman, I was often received, with alood taste of all kinds,--moral, intellectual, social, and _culinary_,--presided in an eree Every now and then, some particular dish made its appearance, under the impression that I was particularly fond of it Probably I had eaten of it some days before, because it chanced to be near rateful for the kindness and attention, but feltsupposed that I cared about one thing ood and wholeso your money in ices, and other delicacies, at the pastry-cook's and confectioner's You say that you are hungry;--

”--------Panis Latranteer would disdain a piece of dry bread, it certainly has no claim to be attended to at all You say that you can _afford_ to indulge yourself in the delicacies to which I have alluded I do not think that you can; at all events, your money may be more worthily spent--

”Non est nus quisquam, te divite? Quare Templa ruunt antiqua Deuive it to the deserving poor, or to the Church-building Society Few expenses are more unsatisfactory in retrospect,--I had alraceful_,--than those which have been incurred by sensual self-indulgence; incurred to gratify a vitiated palate and a pampered appetite

Self-denial is recommended by the classical writers of antiquity, as well as by the most sensible of modern authors; and, what is of infinitely ion But how shall self-denial be practised _at all_, if it cannot be practised in the low ain the paper of Addison, and the Satire of Horace, (the second of the second Book), from which I have es from that accurate observer of the habits and manners of social life, the son of Sirach:

_If thou sit at a bountiful table, be not greedy upon it, and say not, There is s that are set before thee; and devour not, lest thou be hated Leave off first for manners' sake; and be not insatiable, lest thou offend_

_A very little is sufficient for a man well nurtured, and he fetcheth not his wind short upon his bed_

_Sound sleep co; he riseth early, and his wits are with his of the belly, are with an insatiable man_

I remain, My dear Nephew, Your affectionate Uncle

FOOTNOTES:

[128:1] No 195

LETTER X

ENGLISH READING

MY DEAR NEPHEW,

When at Oxford, you will not havethat which has so the vacations, however, which occupy about half the year, you are ested to you, to give a good deal of your leisure to increasing your acquaintance with the classical writers of your own language

Both at Oxford and home, endeavour, on most days, to catch some little portion of tiious reading Melment of Law's ”Serious Call,” adopted by the Society for Proe, are two of the best books that occur toyou with the absolute necessity, of giving religion the first place in your thoughts and your heart You h in an hour Of the for 1784 I mention this as an evidence of its popularity

Soo I was requested by a friend, to reco person I named Nelson's ”Practice of True Devotion,” and have since seen no reason to alter my opinion Let that be one of the first books that you make use of If you read _one_ chapter each day (and do not read more), it will last you about three weeks After an interval of a year or so, go through it again

Take next for this purpose Jere (if you can borrow the book) what is said of this work by his highly-gifted and e from Heber's remarks I must allow myself to quote: ”But I will not select, where all e, and can hardly be read without admiration To clothe virtue in its ; to enforce with all the terrors of the divine law, its essential obligations; and to distinguish, in almost every instance most successfully, bethat is prudent and what is necessary; what may fitly be done, and what cannot safely be left undone;--this is the triumph of a Christian ree, achieved in his Discourse on Holy Living” You will recollect that this book ritten nearly two hundred years ago, and must not be surprised if you find a few expressions, and one or two sentiives in his Dedication, ”for the application of the counsels which follow,” applies to all books of a similar character ”They that will, with profit, make use of the proper instruments of virtue, must so live as if they were always under the physician's hand For the counsels of religion are not to be applied to the distempers of the soul, as ether with the spirit of afor ever: they must be used like nourishment, that is, by a daily care and le medicine, and upon the actual pressure of a present necessity”

The genuine spirit of Jeremy Taylor, with htful book, ”The Christian Year” Read it repeatedly

It is every where full of poetry, and of the purest devotional feeling

The more you are imbued with the spirit which pervades that beautiful volume, the more fit you will be to have your part in ”the co _the spirits of just men made perfect_