f which he for ever after remained inaccessible
to the weaknesses of other men(6).

(6) Life of Mahomet, by Prideaux.

It is the observation of sir Thomas Browne: "Man is a noble animal,
splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave." One of the most remarkable
examples of this is to be found in the pyramids of Egypt. They are
generally considered as having been erected to be the tombs of the kings
of that country. They have no opening by which for the light of heaven
to enter, and afford no means for the accommodation of living man. An
hundred thousand men are said to have been constantly employed in the
building; ten years to have been consumed in hewing and conveying the
stones, and twenty more in completing the edifice. Of the largest the
base is a square, and the sides are triangles, gradually diminishing as
they mount in the air. The sides of the base are two hundred and twenty
feet in length, and the perpendicular height is above one hundred and
fifty-five feet. The figure of the pyramid is precisely that which is
most calculated for duration: it cannot perish by accident; and it would
require almost as much labour to demolish it, as it did to raise it at
first.

What a light does this fact convey into the inmost recesses of the human
heart! Man reflects deeply, and with feelings of a mortified nature,
upon the perishableness of his frame, and the approaching close, so far
as depends upon the evidence of our senses, of his existence. He has
indeed an irrepressible "longing after immortality;" and this is one of
the various and striking modes in which he has sought to give effect to
his desire.

Various obvious causes might be selected, which should be calculated to
give birth to the feeling of discontent.

One is, the not being at home.

I will here put together some of the particulars which make up the idea
of home in the most emphatical sense of the word.

Home is the place where a man is principally at his ease. It is the
place where he most breathes his native air: his lungs play without
impediment; and every respiration brings a pure element, and a
cheerful and gay frame of mind. Home is the place where he most easily
accomplishes all his designs; he has his furniture and materials and the
elements of his occupations entirely within his reach. Home is the place
where he can be uninterrupted. He is in a castle which is his in full
propriety. No unwelcome guests can intrude; no harsh sounds can di