The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

ON HAPPINESS.

TRUE and BLISS is the Union of Heaven.

Happiness implanted in every immortal Mind, not to be extinguished.---Man may lose his Happiness;
but cannot lose his Thirst for it, that DESIRE
not satisfied, is what we call Misery.---As soon
as we step into the World we are saluted with
Groans and Lamentations, and hear little else
until we get out of it.---From the Man that
wields the Sceptre, to him who serves at the
Gate, every one has a mournful Tale to tell--
they vary in Particulars, but unite in the Dis-
mal, and form such a Din the Voice of Rea-
son is seldom heard, and the Blessings of Hea-
ven, although poured down in one ceaseless
Shower, cannot stop the Cry of Complaint--
Ignorance, Ingratitude, and Profaneness, are the
Parents of this great EVIL under the Sun.
The grand Error lies here. Infinite Wisdom
has inseparably connected the Duty and Hap-
piness of all rational Beings, and Man vainly
attempts to separate what Heaven has united,
--He will not do his Duty, and therefore can-
not be happy- and under continual Disap-
pointments he continually groans.
The Voice of Wisdom cries in the Ear of
Reason, "Man, be wise, honour thy Maker
as thy supreme Delight. imitate him in Righ-
teousness and universal Beneficence,--spread
your Influence to promote human Felicity to
the most extended Circle,--Pleasure shall then
spring up in thy Mind to sweeten all the va-
rious Scenes of Life, and be a Fountain of De-
light forever.--He that will not hear & obey,
must be unhappy--he may ride in the Chariot
of Power, possess Mountains of Wealth, be
dandled in the Lap of smiling Fortune, and
lean his Head on her downy Pillow, yet be
wretched--never enjoy even in faint Idea, one
Moment of Pleasure truly sublime, such as
touches the noble Soul.
Common Complaint conveys a Language
not much to the Honour of him who utters it.
it proclaims the absence of Virtue, and is of-
ten but little better than Blasphemy, carrying
in it a Reflection upon infinite Wisdom! And
never destitute of that supreme Gratitude which
should animate the human Mind to breathe
nothing but the Incense of Praise.
Human Happiness consists not in Ease but
in Action; not in present Enjoyments, but in
noble Pursuits--Our Desires are unbounded,
cannot be satisfied with limited Pleasures,
therefore should pursue infinite Good.--The
most exquisite Pleasures arise from Benefi-
cence.---To communicate Happiness gives
Pleasure to the eternal MIND, and in this hea-
venly Channel all rational Beings must receive
theirs.--Such a Pursuit enlarges, ennobles, and
polishes the human Mind,--while it encircles
the whole human Race in its benevolent Arms,
it burns with a generous Ardour to spread Vir-
tue and Happiness round the Globe!--Noble
Deeds are immortal, they don't die with the
Day, but travel through Life and feast the
Mind with the most sublime and exquisite De-
light such-as cannot enter into an ignoble
Mind to conceive of, nor Words fully paint.
Little Incidents in Life that disturb narrow
grovelling Minds, are lost in the Sublime--
The noble Soul, like Britains floating Castles,
rides out every Storm. While little Barks are
buried with the Surf and die beneath the
Waves, the lofty Ship feels a propitious Gale
that wafts her to the Port--thus the noble
Mind sails over the Sea of Time! And Life
becomes one tranquil golden Stream, "Calm
as the Night and bright as the Day," growing
in Pleasure and shining with brighter Beams
until rolling Years wind up the human Scene,
and Heaven opens on the Mind consummate
Day!

INSIGHT.