ove all things,
you will have the justice to bear in mind, that that country which gave
you birth, is, to the last hour of your capability, entitled to your
exertions in her behalf, and that you ought not, by acts of commission
or of omission, to visit upon her the wrongs which may have been
inflicted on you by the envy and malice of individuals. Love of one's
native soil is a feeling which nature has implanted in the human breast,
and that has always been peculiarly strong in the breasts of Englishmen.
God has given us a country of which to be proud, and that freedom,
greatness and renown, which were handed down to us by our wise and brave
forefathers, bid us perish to the last man, rather than suffer the land
of their graves to become a land of slavery, impotence and dishonour.

355. In the words with which I concluded my English Grammar, which I
addressed to my son James, I conclude my advice to you. 'With English
and French on your tongue and in your pen, you have a resource, not only
greatly valuable in itself, but a resource that you can be deprived of
by none of those changes and chances which deprive men of pecuniary
possessions, and which, in some cases, make the purse-proud man of
yesterday a crawling sycophant to-day. Health, without which life is not
worth having, you will hardly fail to secure by early rising, exercise,
sobriety, and abstemiousness as to food. Happiness, or misery, is in the
_mind_. It is the mind that lives; and the length of life ought to be
measured by the number and importance of our ideas, and not by the
number of our days. Never, therefore, esteem men merely on account of
their riches or their station. Respect goodness, find it where you may.
Honour talent wherever you behold it unassociated with vice; but, honour
it most when accompanied with exertion, and especially when exerted in
the cause of truth and justice; and, above all things, hold it in
honour, when it steps forward to protect defenceless innocence against
the attacks of powerful guilt.' These words, addressed to my own son, I
now, in taking my leave, address to you. Be just, be industrious, be
sober, and be happy; and the hope that these effects will, in some
degree, have been caused by this little work, will add to the happiness
of

Your friend and humble servant,

WM. COBBETT.

Kensington, 25th Aug. 1830.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN***

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