ence for ever. Socrates the good man, was now Socrates the beatified spirit: he had passed from Athens to the heavens.
Here, then, we behold an instance of human goodness, which, in a manner, represents to us the Divine Goodness; for all the excellences shewn by the former, are possessed by the latter, and infinitely more; all that is in the stream, is in the Fountain, and exhaustlessness besides.
Let us now descend to a later age. We shall find, in modern times, one, who for the virtues of disinterestedness and devotion to the good of mankind, as well as for the spirit of true humility and dependence on his God, is not unworthy of being placed by the side of the noble individual just described. We refer to John Howard, the philanthropist. Here we shall find another striking instance of goodness in a human being, which while it is a new assurance that such a quality exists, is also another proof of the character of Him from whom it was derived. We shall find here another true man, an image and likeness of his Maker; another type, exemplifying the nature of the great Prototype. In tracing the course of Howard, too, we may observe in a striking manner the hand of a Providence leading him on, preparing him for his work, and guiding him through it. And this fact will teach us one great truth, namely, that John Howard was not the first to feel for the poor prisoner, languishing in his dungeon: there had been an Eye long looking down—observing through the dark nights the sighing captive in his cell, watching him in every "turn on his straw," and noting every new "notch made upon the stick," as another sad day
