ther 12. And Joseph saw his brethren, and knew them, but made himself strange to them, and spake roughly to them, saying, Ye are spies. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 13. But Joseph said unto them, Ye shall not go hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Let one of your brethren be bound in prison, and go ye to carry corn for the famine of your houses, and bring your youngest brother unto me. 14. And their consciences reproached them; and they said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. 15. And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for 2 he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them; and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. And they returned unto Jacob their father, in the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them. 16. And Jacob, their father, said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children. Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away also. But my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If mischief befall him in the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 17. But the famine continued sore in the land; and when they had eaten up the corn, which they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said unto them, Go again and buy us food, and if it must be so, now take also your brother Benjamin, and arise and go unto the man. And they brought presents unto Joseph, and bowed themselves before him to the earth. 18. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well? is he alive? And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother; and he was moved with brotherly love and compassion; and he sought where to weep: and he entered his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself. F 19. Then he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put my cup, the silver cup, into the sack of Benjamin the youngest. And the steward did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their horses." 20. But Joseph commanded his steward to follow them, and to search their sacks, and to bring them back. And when Judah and his brethren were returned into the city, Joseph said unto them, What deed is this ye have done? The man in whose hands the cup is found, shall be my ser vant; and as for you, get you in peace unto your father. 21. But they said, Our father will surely die, if he seeth that the lad is not with us; and we shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, cause every man to go out from me; and there stood no man with him, whilst Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 22. And he wept aloud, and said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me, I pray you; and they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 23. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to save your lives by a great deliverance. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord over all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not. 24. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen; and thou shalt be near unto me, thou and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 25. And behold your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth which speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and all which ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 26. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them; and after that his brethren talked with him. And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. 27. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Invite hither thy father, and his household; and I will give them the good of the land of Egypt; and they shall eat the fat of the land. 28. And the spirit of Jacob was revived when he heard these tidings; and he said, My son is yet alive; and I will go and see him before I die. And he took his journey, with all that he had. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went to meet Israel, his father, to Goshen; and presenting himself unto him, he fell on his neck, and wept for some time. 29. And Joseph placed his father, and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land as Pharaoh had commanded. 30. This interesting story contains a variety of affecting incidents ; is related with the most beautiful simplicity; and furnishes many important lessons of instruction. 31. It displays the mischiefs of parental partiality; the fatal effects of envy, jealousy, and discord, amongst brethren; the blessings and honours with which virtue is rewarded; the amiableness of forgiving injuries; and the tender joys which flow from fraternal love and filial piety. The Pious Sons. 1. In one of those terrible eruptions of Mount Etna, which have often happened, the danger to the inhabitants of the adjacent country was uncommonly great. To avoid immediate destruction from the flames, and the melted lava which ran down the sides of the mountain, the people were obliged to retire to a considerable distance. Amidst the hurry and confusion of such a scene, (every one flying and carrying away whatever he deemed most precious,) two brothers, the one named Anapias, the other Amphinomus, in the height of their solicitude for the preservation of their wealth and goods, suddenly recollected that their father and mother, both very old, were unable to save themselves by flight. 2. Filial tenderness triumphed over every other consideration. "Where, cried the generous youths, shall we find a more precious treasure than they are, who gave us being, and who have cherished and protected us through life?" Thus having said, the one took up his father on his shoulders, and the other his mother, and happily made their way through the surrounding smoke and flames. All who were witnesses of this dutiful and affectionate conduct, were struck with the highest admiration; and they, and their posterity, ever after called the path which these good young men took in their retreat, "The field of the Pious." Respect due to Tutors. 1. QUINTILIAN says, that he has included almost all the duty of scholars in this one piece of advice which he gives them; to love those who instruct them, as they love the sciences which they study; and to look upon them as fathers, from whom they derive not the life of the body, but that instruction which is, in a manner, the life of the soul. This sentiment of affection and respect, disposes them to apply diligently during the time of their studies; and preserves in their minds, during the remainder of life, a tender gratitude towards their instructers. It seems to include a great part of what is to be expected from them. 2. Docility, which consists in readily receiving instructions, and reducing them to practice, is properly the virtue of scholars, as that of masters is to teach well. As it is not sufficient for a labourer to sow the seed, unless the earth, after having opened its bosom to receive it, warms and moistens it; so the whole fruit of instruction depends upon a good correspondence between masters and scholars. 3. Gratitude towards those who have faithfully laboured in our education, is an essential virtue, and the mark of a good heart. “Of those who have been carefully instructed, who is there," says Cicero, that is not delighted with the sight, and even the remembrance, of his preceptors, and the very place where he was educated?" Seneca exhorts young men to preserve always a great respect for their preceptors, to whose care they are indebted for the amendment of their faults, and for having imbibed sentiments of honour and probity 4. Their exactness and severity sometimes displease, at an age when we are not in a condition to judge of the obligations we owe them; but when years have ripened our understanding and judgement, we discern, that admonition, reprimands, and a severe exactness in restraining the passions of an imprudent and inconsiderate age, far from justifying dislike, demand our esteem and love. Marcus Aurelius, one of the wisest and most illustrious emperors that Rome ever had, thanked heaven for two things especially; for having had excellent tutors himself, and for having found the like blessing for his children. Ingenuity and Industry rewarded. 1. A RICH husbandman had two sons, the one exactly a year older than the other. The very day the second was born, he set in the entrance of his orchard two young appletrees of equal size, which he cultivated with the same care, and which grew so equally, that no person could perceive the least difference between them. When his children were capable of handling garden-tools, he took them one fine morning in the spring, to see those two trees which he had planted for them, and called after their names; and when they had sufficiently admired their growth, and the number of blossoms that covered them, he said, "My dear children, I give you these trees; you see they are in good condition. They will thrive as much by your care, as they will decline by your negligence; and their fruit will reward you in proportion to your labour.' 2. The younger, named Edmund, was industrious and attentive. He busied himself in clearing his tree of insects that would hurt it; and he propped up its stem to prevent its taking a wrong bent. He loosened the earth about it, that the warmth of the sun, and the moisture of the dews, might cherish the roots. His mother had not tended him more carefully in his infancy, than he tended his young apple-tree. 3. His brother Moses did not imitate his example. He spent a great deal of time on a mount that was near, throwing stones at the passengers in the road. He went among all the little dirty country boys in the neighbourhood, to box with them; so that he was often seen with broken shins and black eyes, from the kicks and blows he received in his quarrels. In short, he neglected his tree so far, that he never thought of it, till one day in autumn, he, by chance, saw Ed |