The pen of a ready writer, whereunto shall it be likened? Ask of the scholar, he shall know,--to the chains that bind a Proteus: Ask of the poet, he shall say,--to the sun, the lamp of heaven: Ask of thy neighbour, he can answer,--to the friend that telleth my thought: The merchant considereth it well, as a ship freighted with wares; The divine holdeth it a miracle, giving utterance to the dumb. It fixeth, expoundeth, and disseminateth sentiment; Chaining up a thought, clearing it of mystery, and sending it bright into the world. To think rightly, is of knowledge; to speak fluently, is of nature; To read with profit, is of care; but to write aptly, is of practice. No talent among men hath more scholars, and fewer masters: For to write is to speak beyond hearing, and none stand by to explain. To be accurate, write; to remember, write; to know thine own mind, write; And a written prayer is a prayer of faith: special, sure, and to be answered. Hast thou a thought upon thy brain, catch it while thou canst; Or other thoughts shall settle there, and this shall soon take wing: Thine uncompounded unity of soul, which argueth and maketh it immortal, Yieldeth up its momentary self to every single thought; Therefore, to husband thine ideas, and give them stability and substance, Write often for thy secret eye; so shalt thou grow wiser. The commonest mind is full of thoughts; some worthy of the rarest: And could it see them fairly writ, would wonder at its wealth. O precious compensation to the dumb, to write his wants and wishes; O dear amends to the stammering tongue, to pen his burning thoughts! To be of the college of Eloquence, through these silent symbols; To pour out all the flowing mind without the toil of speech; To show the babbling world how it might discourse more sweetly; To prove that merchandize of words bringeth no monopoly of wisdom; To take sweet vengeance on a prating crew, for the tongue's dishonour, By the large triumph of the pen, the homage rendered to a writing. With such, that telegraph of mind is dearer than wealth or wisdom, Enabling to please without pain, to impart without humiliation.