3. All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul;
That chang'd through all, and yet in all the same,
Great in the earth, as in th' ethereal frame;
Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees,
Lives through all life, extends through all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent,

Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part,
As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart;
As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns,
As the rapt seraph that adores and burns ;
To him, no high, no low, no great, no small;
He fills, he bounds, connects and equals all.

4. Cease, then, nor Order imperfection name;
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame.
Know thy own point; this kind, this due degree
Of blindness, weakness, Heaven bestows on thee.
Submit in this, or any other sphere,

Secure to be as blest as thou canst bear;
Safe in the hand of one disposing Power,
Or in the natal, or the mortal hour.
All nature is but art unknown to thee;

All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony, not understood;

All partial evil, universal good ;—

And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
One truth is clear, "Whatever is, is RIGHT."

THE FALL OF ROME.

1. AFTER various wars and competitions, Constantine, in the year of Christ 320, became sole master of the Roman empire. He certainly did whatever could be done, by an accon.plished general and statesman, towards restoring the empire to its ancient glory. But, alas! he did not reign over the ancient Romans. His people. had been often de

When did Constantine become master of Rome ?

feated, humbled, enslaved, and trampled in the dust. The true Roman spirit was long since utterly extinguished; and as we have had occasion to observe, Italy itself was filled with a mighty heterogeneous mass of population, of no fixed character. His strong genius, for a moment, sustained, but could not ultimately save, the falling fabric.

2. The ambition of Constantine gave a more fatal blow to the Roman empire, than even the vices of Cornmodus. To secure to himself a glory equal to that of Romulus, he formed the resolution of changing the seat of empire. The place upon which he pitched as a new capital, and which should immortalize his name, was indeed well chosen. The ancient city of Byzantium enjoyed the finest port in the world, on the strait of the Thracian Bosphorus, which communicates with those inland seas, whose shores are formed by the most opulent and delightful countries of Europe and Asia. Thither Constantine caused the wealth of the empire to be conveyed; and directly a new and splendid city arose, which was able to rival ancient Rome. That proud capital, so long the mistress of empire, suddenly became but a satellite, and was forsaken of honor, wealth, and glory; since the emperor, and all who were devoted to his interest, used every possible means to exalt the new seat of empire.

3. This wound was deadly and incurable. It proved fatal not only to one city, but to the western empire. Rome was utterly abandoned by Constantine; nor was it much alleviated under his successors, among whom a permanent division of the empire taking place, Rome and Italy fell under the government of a series of weak, miserable, shortlived tyrants, who rose by conspiracy, and fell by murder, in rapid succession; till, in the 476th year of the Christian æra, Augustulus, the last of the Roman emperors, was conquered and dethroned by Odoacer, king of the Heruli, who, at the head of an immense army of barbarians, overrun all Italy, and put a period to the western empire.

4. Thus ended Rome, after having stood 1229 years. When we consider the length of her duration, her character, and the nature and extent of her resources, we shall not

What method did Constantine adopt to immortalize his name?What was the original name of Constantinople?-Who put a period to the Roman empire ?-When did he do it? How long had Rome then existed?

hesitate to pronounce her the most powerful and important city which ever existed, and as standing at the head of the first rank of cities. But if this remark is true of Rome in the times of which we are now speaking, it will serve to awaken our admiration, when we consider that Rome survived even this shock; and, as though she was destined to bear rule, from being the head of a most powerful empire, she soon became the head of an ecclesiastical institution not less powerful. She spread her wing over all the powers of Europe. 'They trembled at her mandates. She deposed monarchs at her pleasure, trampled on crowns and sceptres, and, for ten centuries, exerted the most despotic sovereignty. She is, even to this day, one of the finest cities in the world.

RISE OF MAHOMETANISM.

1. WHATEVER might have been the extraction of Mahomet, his property was small. He engaged himself as a servant to a rich widow of Mecca, who bestowed on him her hand and her fortune, and raised him to the rank of an opulent citizen. He is said to have been a man of extraordinary bodily and mental accomplishments. The former part of his character is probable, the latter is unquestionable. The endowments of his mind, however, were the gifts of nature, not of education, since, as it is asserted, he was wholly illiterate. Such was the man, who was destined to effect the greatest revolution in human ideas, as well as in human affairs, that has ever taken place since the establishment of Christianity. Inspired by enthusiasm or ambition, he withdrew to a cave about three miles from the city, and having there spent some time in silent contemplation, announced himself a prophet of the Most High, and proclaimed the religion of the Koran.

2. The religion then prevailing in Arabia was Zabaism, which, as in all other countries, had degenerated into the grossest idolatry; but as universal toleration and uncivilized

How did Mahomet acquire his riches ?-Where was the Koran written? What was the eligion of Arabia when Mahomet began his career?