DISCOVERY. spirit of inquiry, so necessary to success, was characteristic of his mind. Hence he used to speak of himself as having been all his life but "a child gathering pebbles on the sea-shore." This shows the spirit in which he pursued his investigations; and he was accustomed modestly to say, that " if there was any mental endowment in which he excelled the generality of men, it was that of patience in the examination of the facts and phenomena of his subject." It was from one of the most simple incidents that Newton was enabled to disclose to the world the system of the universe-that of the fall of an apple-a thing that had been observed millions of times without any recognition and application of that principle which he discovered and carried out into the boundless universe. It is said to have taken place in his twenty-third year, when, during the prevalence of the plague in London, at his retreat in the country, he was one day sitting or lying under an apple-tree in his garden, and an apple fell beside him; he immediately began to reflect on the cause of the fall of the apple, which, attributing to the right principle the attraction of gravity-he extended it to the universe, and found that it was that which kept the sun in the centre of the solar system, the planets in their orbits as they revolve around him, and their satellites in their orbits around them. The existence of gravitation, or a tendency to fall towards the centre of the earth, was already known, as affecting all bodies in the immediate vicinity of our planet; and the great Galileo had even ascertained the law, or rate, according to which their motion is accelerated as they continue their descent. But no one had as yet dreamed of the gravitation of the heavens, till the idea now first dimly rose on the mind of Newton. The name of Galileo furnishes another illustrious example of important discovery from common occurrence, and of the triumph of science. Standing one day in the metropolitan church at Pisa, he noticed the movements of a suspended lamp, which some accidental disturbance had caused to vibrate. The application of this regular motion to the measurement of time suggested itself to him; and the invention of the pendulum was the resultthe principle of the most perfect measure of time that we have. Now this incident had no doubt been noticed thousands of times before by others; but it was reserved for the philosophic attention of Galileo to turn it to advantage, though he was not yet twenty years of age. "How striking an example is this for us," DISCOVERY. observes an eminent writer, "when we discover, or think we discover, any fact in the economy of nature which we have reason to believe has not previously been observed! Let it at least be verified and recorded. No truth is altogether barren; and even that which looks, at first sight, the very simplest and most trivial, may turn out fruitful in precious results." It was from a circumstance, if not similar, yet partaking of the nature of the same simplicity, that this philosopher discovered the noble instrument which has rendered him the most illustrious, and given his name the greatest notoriety. While he was residing at Venice, a report came to that city that a Dutchman had presented to Count Maurice of Nassau an instrument by which distant objects were made to appear as if near. This was all that was stated, and this was enough for the mind of Galileo. He set himself to work, and soon found that by a certain arrangement of spherical glasses he could produce the same effect. The discovery of the telescope was the result. To a very simple circumstance we owe the discovery of one of the most beautiful of modern arts. Prince Rupert one morning | noticed a soldier rubbing the rust off his gunbarrel, occasioned by the dew of the night before, and that it left on the surface of the steel a collection of very minute holes, resembling a dark engraving, parts of which had, here and there, been rubbed away by the soldier. The kind of engraving called mezzotinto was thus suggested to him, and its i invention the result of his experiments. The waving of a linen shirt hanging before the fire, in the warm and ascending air, or the ascending of smoke in a chimney, suggested | to Stephen Montgolfier the invention of the air-balloon, The discovery of galvanism affords another of those instances of a great result from a very simple occurrence. About the year 1790, Galvani, a professor in the University of Bologna, was engaged in a series of experiments to show the intimate connection between muscular motion and electrical action. One day some dead frogs, which were intended to make soup for his lady, who was ill, were lying on a table near an electrifying machine, when a student, in the absence of Galvani, was amusing himself with the instrument, and noticed that convulsive motions took place in! the muscles of one of the frogs, when touched by a piece of metal. Madame Galvani, a lady of great intelligence, communicated it to her husband, who afterwards discovered the means of exciting theso DISCOVERY. DISHONESTY. contractions at pleasure, by merely using two DISCRETION-in Speech. wires of different metals, independent of the There are three things that ought to be conelectrical machine. Thus was discovered gal-sidered before some things are spoken, -the vanism, one of the most powerful modes of electrical action, and which has been the means of some of the most brilliant discoveries and achievements in chemical science. There are other similar cases to these, which might be enumerated. It is in this way that many great inventions have been suggested. Printing was, no doubt, first thought of by an impression made, similar to that by a type, turned to proper advantage by genius. "It is a mark of superior genius," says Mrs. Mariet, in her Conversations on Natural Philosophy, "to find matter for wonder, observation, and research, in circumstances which, to the ordinary mind, appear trivial, because they are common; and with which they are satisfied, because they are natural; without reflecting that nature is our grand field of observation, that within it is contained our whole store of knowledge." The application of the power of electricity to machinery, so as to obtain any force, and which is said recently to have been done to some extent, will be one of the most brilliant achievements ever made in human science; and that of perpetual motion, in self-moving machines (if it can ever be effected), will far surpass every other discovery yet made. DISCREPANCY. Dr. Howard. Certain trifling flaws sit as disgracefully on a character of elegance as a ragged button on a court dress. Lavater. DISCRETION-Advantages of. There is no talent so useful towards rising in the world. or which puts men more out of the power of fortune, than that quality generally possessed by the dullest sort of men, and in common speech called "discretion," -a species of lower prudence, by the assistance of which people of the meanest intellectuals pass through the world in great tranquillity, neither giving nor taking offence. For want of a reasonable infusion of this aldermanly discretion, everything fails. Had Windham possessed discretion in debate, or Sheridan in conduct, they might have ruled their age. Swift. Without discretion, people may be overlaid with unreasonable affection, and choked with too much nourishment. Jeremy Collier. DISCRETION-in Speech. manner, the place, and the time. Southey. DISCUSSION-Advantages of. Free and fair discussion will ever be found the firmest friend to truth. George Campbell. Whoever is afraid of submitting any question, civil or religious, to the test of free discussion, is more in love with his own opinion than with truth. Bishop Watson. DISDAIN-Character of. DISGUISE-Wickedness of. DISHONESTY-Characteristics of. That which is won ill, will never wear well, for there is a curse attends it, which will waste it; and the same corrupt dispositions which incline men to the sinful ways of getting, will incline them to the like sinful ways of spending. Matthew Henry. DISHONESTY-Sinfulness of. Who purposely cheats his friend, would cheat his God. Lavater. DISPOSITION (A. Good)-Security of. There is no security in a good disposition, if the support of good principles, (that is to say, of religion, of Christian faith,) be wanting. It may be soured by misfortunes, it may be corrupted by wealth; it may be blighted by neediness; it may lose all its original brightness; if destitute of that support. Southey. DISTANCE-Effects produced by. Distance in truth produces in idea the same effect as in real perspective. Objects are softened, rounded, and rendered doubly graceful; the harsher and more ordinary points of character are melted down, and those by which it is remembered, are the more striking outlines that mark sublimity, grace, or beauty. There are mists, too, in the mental as in the natural horizon, to conceal what is less pleasing in distant objects; and there are happy lights to stream in full glory upon those points which can profit by brilliant illumination. Sir Walter Scott. DISTINCTION-Effect of. Distinction, with a broad and powerful fan, Puffing at all, winnows the light away. Shakspeare. DISTINCTION-Love of. It has often been a matter of serious consideration to me, how much the natural love of distinction in man must be flattered by the sudden celebrity to which even the worst criminal stands forth, who is eminent for nothing but the greatness of his crime. He has perhaps lived a life of obscurity and want, till by some hideous act of atrocity he becomes the temporary hero of the day. Every newspaper is then thought insipid that has not a column devoted to him; his most trifling actions become objects of intense and universal interest; we are told how he eats, and DOCILITY. drinks, and talks, and sleeps. He is visited by the most eminent Christians; he is assured of the certainty of future blessedness. When the day of execution arrives, crowds assemble to witness his conduct and to admire his heroism. The sympathy of thousands is excited, -all gaze in breathless expectation to hear the least sound of his voice, and he dies like a martyr rather than a criminal. There is a degree of vanity in our naturo which the approach of death can scarcely overpower; and if there be a temptation to hypocrisy, or an occasion when hypocrisy is dangerous to the salvation of all, it is on such occasions as these, when a multitude beholds the greatest of criminals almost canonized as a saint; the least relic of him is carefully treasured, -the very rope on which he was suspended becomes an object of inestimable value; and we saw, on a late occasion, that when the offender became sufficiently notorious, he was finally represented on the stage. Consider how many individuals are longing for celebrity; how willingly men will sacrifice their lives for fame, and that a few would rather be thus known for their crimes, than They told me, by the sentence of the law, DIVINITY-Practical. He that is most practical in Divine things, hath the purest and sincerest knowledge of them, and not he that is most dogmatical. Divinity, indeed, is a true efflux from the Eternal light, which, like the sunbeams, does not only enlighten, but heat and enliven; and, therefore our Saviour hath in his Beatitudes connext Purity of heart with the Beatifical Vision. Smith, 1660. DOCILITY-Force of. A docile disposition will, with application, surmount every difficulty. Mantius. DOG (Poodle) - Described. A little, old, grey-muzzled curmudgeon, with an unhappy eye, that kindles like a coal, if you only look at him; his nose turns up, his mouth is drawn into wrinkles so as to show his teeth; in short, he has altogether the look of a dog far gone in misanthropy, and totally sick of the wor.d. When he walks, he has his tail curled up so tight, that it seems to lift his feet from the ground. This wretch is called Beauty. Washington Irving. Not many sounds in life (and I include all urban and all rural sounds) exceed in interest a knock at the door. It "gives a very echo to the throne where Hope is seated." But its issues seldom answer to this oracle within; it is so seldom that just the person we want to Lamb. see comes. By fearing to attempt. DOUBT-Misery of. And yet Coleridge. A kind of weight hangs heavy at my heart; To tell me Fate's at hand. DOUBT-Modest. Dryden. Modest doubt is call'd The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches To the bottom of the worst. Shakspeare. DREAMING-Nature of. Strange state of being! (for 'tis still to be) Senseless to feel, and with seal'd eyes to see. Byron. DREAMING-Rapidity of Thought in. A very remarkable circumstance, and an important point of analogy, is to be found in the extreme rapidity with which the mental operations are performed, or rather, with which the material changes on which the ideas depend are excited in the hemispherical ganglia. It would appear as if a whole series of acts, that would really occupy a long lapse of time, pass ideally through the mind in one instant. We have in dreams no true per DREAMS-Effects of. Dreams, in their development, have breath, And tears, and tortures, and the touch of joy; They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts; The fiend they found, At last distemper'd, discontented thoughts, DREAMS-like the Mists. DREAMS-Nature of. Milton. Parker. Know that in the soul Are many lesser faculties, that serve; 1 |