THE TURF SHALL BE MY FRAGRANT SHRINE. THE Turf shall be my fragrant shrine; Even more than music breathes to thee! I'll seek by day some glade unknown, Of sunny brightness breaking through. There's nothing dark below, above, S. *Fii orant tacile. Greenock printed by R. Donaldson. THE VISITOR, OR, LITERARY MISCELLANY. No. IV. VOL. II. ON THE PLEASURES OF A WELL CULTIVATED MIND. THE benign hand of Providence has scattered flowers, as well as thorns, in the road of life; and the grand skill requisite, is to select those which are perennial; those which do not bud, blow, and wither in a day, from those which shine with transient Iustre, or conceal poisonous qualities under the beauties of a vivid foliage and variegated tints. Among the many arguments for a due cultivation of the mind by the pursuits and acquisitions of literature, few merit greater attention, than the consideration, that a well-cultivated mind enables those who enjoy the advantage of it, to derive the purest, the sweetest, the most elegant, and the least injurious pleasures from themselves, and from reflection. The man of taste and learning creates, as it were, a little world of his own, in which he exercises and improves his faculties; and he feels the most exalted satisfaction, arising from things, the existence of which is scarcely known to a vulgar mind. sage Where indeed shall we find objects capable of attaching the mind in every period of life, at all times, and in every situation, but in the walks of literature. "These studies," says Tully, in a paswhich cannot be too often repeated, "afford nourishment to our youth, and delight to our old age they heighten the enjoyments of prosperity, and, in adverse circumstances, supply resources and consolation: at home they are an inexhaustible fund of pleasure, and attended with no inconvenience abroad: they are our companions at night, our fellow travellers on a journey, and our society in rural retirement." With the same sentiments he elsewhere asks, "What then are all the pleasures of the festive board, the magnificence of the public games and exhibitions, compared with the enjoyments we derive from the studies of literature? Studies which, with men of sense and education, ever increase in attractions, as they themselves increase in years." Such were the sentiments of this illustrious Philosopher. He had roved with pleasure through all the various walks of learning; in every period of life they were his favourite haunts; and as Time moved on in rapid flight, he beheld Study his never failing companion-and scattering her sweetest flowers on his hoary head. In the idea of learning, as a source of unfailing intellectual pleasures, we are not to confine ourselves to classical studies, or to those abstruse investigations of science which require uncommon powers, and extraordinary efforts; not to those subjects only which exercise our reason, but those which are the proper objects of what we call Taste, and which give rise to an infinite variety of the most pleasing sensations, as well as the most sublime reflections. This Essay would be too diffuse, were I to point out the innumerable instances in which this observation may be exemplified.-Let us advert only to the beauties of the creation. That taste which is most commonly the result of a wellcultivated mind, fills us with admiration of the stupendous magnitude of the mundane system. It is charmed with the regularity, order, and proportion which every part of it displays; and the beauty and variety of colours which tinge the face of naturewith the fitness and utility of all its productions-with the inexhaustible diversity, and endless succession of new objects which it presents to view. Flowers disclose a thousand delicate or vivid hues : animals appear in comely symetry. Here the ocean expands its smooth and boundless surface: there the earth spreads a verdant carpet. Mountains rise with rugged majesty; the valleys wear a pleasant bloom; and even the dreary wilderness is not destitute of august simplicity. The day is ushered in by a splendid luminary, whose beams expose to view the beauties of the world, and gild the face of nature; and when the curtain of night veils terrestrial objects from our eyes, the wide expanse appears spangled with stars, and opens the prospect of innumerable worlds. Spring, Summer, Autumn, present us with natural beauties in the successive periods of their growth; and even stern Winter leaves many objects undestroyed, from which a vigorous and well cultivated taste may extract no inconsiderable degree of entertainment. It is difficult to be attached to the common objects of human pursuit, without feeling the sordid or the troublesome passions; but in the pursuits of literature, all is liberal, noble, generous. They require and promote that comprehensive mode of thinking, which overlooks the mean and little occupations of the vulgar mind. To the man of ele vated observation, the world appears as a theatre, in which the busy actors toil and weary themselves for his amusement. He sees the emptiness of many objects which are ardently pursued; he s acquainted with the false glitter that surrounds him; he knows how short and unsubstantial are the good and evil that excite all the ardour of pursuit and abhorrence; and can therefore derive a degree of delight from reflection, of which they who are deeply and successfully interested in them, can never participate. "It is true," says an elegant writer," that learning or literature should be pursued, as qualifying for the several professions of civil life; but excluding the motives of interest or ambition, it is to be cultivated for its own sake, by those who understand |