The Hermit of Dumpton Cave; Or, Devotedness to God, and Usefulness to Man, Exemplified in the Old Age of Joseph Croome Petit [By E. Strutt]. (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1823 Excerpt: ... of cares and ceremonies attendant on the pursuits of what is called civilized society, than a soul of highly devotional cast must desire, especially at such a stage of life, and after such a warning. It is incumbent on all of us, however, if we value our real and lasting happiness, frequently to withdraw our minds from these perplexing and low-thoughted cares, and to "commune with our own hearts, and be still." Well has it been said that "Wisdom's self Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude; Where, with her best nurse contemplation, She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings, That in the various bustle of resort Were all-to ruffled, and sometimes impaired." If it be true, as who will deny, that solitude and contemplation are friendly to the growth of wisdom, is it not at least equally so, that they are likewise powerful auxiliaries and faithful guardians of religious feeling? as it is sweetly and simply expressed by Cowper, whose life was an illustration of all that his muse so touchingly sets forth: "The calm retreat, the silent shade, With pray'r and praise agree; And seem by thy sweet bounty made For those who follow Thee.," "Solitude," says the eloquent Blair, "is the hallowed ground which Religion hath, in every age, chosen for her own. There her inspiration is felt, and her secret mysteries elevate the soul; there falls the tear of contrition, there rises towards heaven the sigh of the heart; there melts the soul with all the tenderness of devotion, and pours itself forth before him who made, ancf him who redeemed it." To cherish such feelings it was, that wise and good men in the earliest ages of Christianity sought in desarts and wildernesses a retreat at once from the temptations of the world, and from the persecutions of the heathens, whose mis...