Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie here."
The devoted conduct of Lockhart himself was worthy of his great
relative. The 'Life of Scott,' which he afterwards wrote,
occupied him several years, and was a remarkably successful work.
Yet he himself derived no pecuniary advantage from it; handing
over the profits of the whole undertaking to Sir Walter's
creditors in payment of debts which he was in no way responsible,
but influenced entirely by a spirit of honour, of regard for the
memory of the illustrious dead.
NOTES
(1) 'Social Statics,' p. 185.
(2) "In all cases," says Jeremy Bentham, "when the power of the will
can be exercised over the thoughts, let those thoughts be directed
towards happiness. Look out for the bright, for the brightest
side of things, and keep your face constantly turned to it.... A
large part of existence is necessarily passed in inaction. By day
(to take an instance from the thousand in constant recurrence),
when in attendance on others, and time is lost by being kept
waiting; by night when sleep is unwilling to close the eyelids,
the economy of happiness recommends the occupation of pleasurable
thought. In walking abroad, or in resting at home, the mind
cannot be vacant; its thoughts may be useful, useless, or
pernicious to happiness. Direct them aright; the habit of happy
thought will spring up like any other habit.
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