"When a man has such things to think on, and sees the sun, the moon, and stars, and enjoys earth and sea, he is not solitary or even helpless." [18] "Paradise indeed might," as Luther said, "apply to the whole world." What more is there we could ask for ourselves? "Every sort of beauty," says Mr. Greg, [19] "has been lavished on our allotted home; beauties to enrapture every sense, beauties to satisfy every taste; forms the noblest and the loveliest, colors the most gorgeous and the most delicate, odors the sweetest and subtlest, harmonies the most soothing and the most stirring: the sunny glories of the day; the pale Elysian grace of moonlight; the lake, the mountain, the primeval forest, and the boundless ocean; 'silent pinnacles of aged snow' in one hemisphere, the marvels of tropical luxuriance in another; the serenity of sunsets; the sublimity of storms; everything is bestowed in boundless profusion on the scene of our existence; we can conceive or desire nothing more exquisite or perfect than what is round us every hour; and our perceptions are so framed as to be consciously alive to all. The provision made for our sensuous enjoyment is in overflowing abundance; so is that for the other elements of our complex nature. Who that has revelled in the opening ecstasies of a young Imagination, or the rich marvels of the world of Thought, does not confess that the Intelligence has been dowered at least with as profuse a beneficence as the Senses? Who that has truly tasted and fathomed human Love in its dawning and crowning joys has not thanked God for a felicity which indeed 'passeth understanding.' If we had set our fancy to picture a Creator occupied solely in devising delight for children whom he loved, we could not conceive one single element of bliss which is not here." [1] Seneca. [2] Shelley. [3] I quote from Whinfield's translation. [4] Seneca. [5] Herbert. [6] Sir T. Browne. [7] Bacon. [8] Sir T. Browne. [9] Bacon. [10] Rousseau. [11] Aubrey de Vere. [12] Epictetus. [13] _Ibid_. [14] Shakespeare. [15] Emerson. [16] Seneca. [17] Bacon. [18] Epictetus. [19] The Enigmas of Life. CHAPTER II THE HAPPINESS OF DUTY. "I am always content with that which happens; for I think that what God chooses is better than what I choose." EPICTETUS. "O God, All conquering! this lower earth Would be for men the blest abode of mirth If they were strong in Thee As other things of this world well are seen; Oh then, far other than they yet have been, How happy would men be." KING ALFRED'S ed. of Boethius's _Consolations of Philosophy_. We ought not to picture Duty to ourselves, or to others, as a stern taskmistress. She is rather a kind and sympathetic mother, ever ready to shelter us from the cares and anxieties of this world, and to guide us in the paths of peace.