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She raiseth the lofs of a ftraw to the deftruction of thy fortune. While the vexeth thy foul about trifles, fhe robbeth thee of thine attendance to the things of confequence: behold, fhe but prophefieth what The feemeth to relate unto thee.

She spreadeth drowfinefs as a veil over thy virtues: fhe hideth them from those who would honour thee in beholding them; the entangleth and keepeth them down, while she maketh it most necessary for thee to exert them.

Lo, the oppreffeth thee with evil; and fhe tieth down thine hands, when they would throw the load from off thee.

If thou wouldst avoid what is base, if thou wouldst difdain what is cowardly, if thou wouldst drive from thy heart what is unjust, suffer not fadness to lay hold upon it.

Suffer it not to cover itself with the face of piety; let it not deceive thee with a shew of wisdom. Religion payeth honour to thy Maker; let it not be clouded with melancholy. Wisdom maketh thee happy; know then, that forrow in her fight is as a ftranger.

For what should man be forrowful; but for afflictions? Why fhould his heart give up joy, when the caufes of it are not removed from him? Is not this being miserable for the fake of mifery?

As the mourner who looketh fad because he is hired to do fo, who weepeth because his tears are paid for; fuch is the man who fuffereth his heart to be fad, not because he fuffereth ought, but because he is gloomy.

It is not the occafion that produceth the forrow; for, behold, the fame thing fhall be to another rejoicing.

Afk men if their sadness maketh things better, and they will confefs to thee that it is folly; nay, they will praise him who beareth his ills with patience, who maketh head against misfortune with courage. Applaufe fhould be followed by imitation.

Sadness is against nature, for it troubleth her motions: lo, it rendereth distorted whatsoever nature hath made amiable.

As the oak falleth before the tempeft, and raiseth not its head again; fo boweth the heart of man to the force of fadness, and returneth unto his ftrength no more.

As the fnow melteth upon the mountains, from the rain that trickleth down their fides, even fo is beauty washed from off the cheek by tears; and neither the one nor the other reftoreth itfelf again.

As the pearl is diffolved by the vinegar,

which feemeth at firft only to obscure its furface; fo is thy happiness, O man! swallowed up by heaviness of heart, though at first it feemeth only to cover it as with its fhadow.

Behold fadness in the public ftreets; caft thine eye upon her in the places of refort; avoideth fhe not every one? and doth not every one fly from her prefence?

See how the droopeth her head, like the flower whofe root is cut afunder! fee how fhe fixeth her eyes upon the earth! fee how they ferve her to no purpose but for weeping!

Is there in her mouth discourse? is there in her heart the love of fociety? is there in her foul, reason? Ask her the cause, she knoweth it not; enquire the occafion, and behold there is none.

Yet doth her strength fail her: lo, at length fhe finketh into the grave; and no one faith, What is become of her?

Haft thou understanding, and feeft thou not this! haft thou piety, and perceivest thou not thine error?

God created thee in mercy; had he not intended thee to be happy, his beneficence would not have called thee into existence; how dareft thou then to fly in the face of Majefty?

Whilst thou art moft happy with innocence, thou doft him most honour; and what is thy discontent but murmuring against him?

Created he not all things liable to changes, and dareft thou to weep at their changing?

If we know the law of nature, wherefore do we complain of it? if we are ignorant of it, what fhall we accufe but our blindness to what every moment giveth us proof of?

Know that it is not thou that art to give laws to the world; thy part is to fubmit to them as thou findeft them. If they distress thee, thy lamentation but addeth to thy

torment.

Be not deceived with fair pretences, nor fuppofe that forrow healeth misfortune. It is a poifon under the colour of a remedy; while it pretendeth to draw the arrow from thy breast, lo, it plungeth it into thine heart.

While fadnefs feparateth thee from thy friends, doth it not fay, Thou art unfit for converfation? while the driveth thee into corners, doth fhe not proclaim that she is afhamed of herself?

It is not in thy nature to meet the arrows of ill fortune unhurt; nor doth reason

require

require it of thee: it is thy duty to bear misfortune like a man; but thou must first alfo feel it like one.

Tears may drop from thine eyes, though virtue falleth not from thine heart: be thou careful only that there is cause, and that they flow not too abundantly.

The greatness of the affliction is not to be reckoned from the number of tears. The greatest griefs are above these teftimonies, as the greatest joys are beyond

utterance.

What is there that weakeneth the foul like grief? what depreffeth it like sadness ? Is the forrowful prepared for noble enterprifes or armeth he himself in the cause of virtue ?

Subject not thy felf to ills, where there are in return no advantages: neither facrifice thou the means of good unto that which is in itfelf an evil.

Of the ADVANTAGES MAN may acquire over his Fellow-Creatures.

1. NOBILITY and HONOUR. Nobility refideth not but in the foul; nor is there true honour except in virtue. The favour of princes may be bought by vice; rank and titles may be purchased for money: but thefe are not true honour.

Crimes cannot exalt the man, who commits them, to real glory; neither can gold make men noble.

When titles are the reward of virtue, when the man is fet on high who hath ferved his country; he who beftoweth the honours hath glory, like as he who receiveth them; and the world is benefited by it.

Wouldst thou wish to be raised, and men know not for what? or wouldst thou that they should say, Why is this?

When the virtues of the hero defcend to his children, his titles accompany them well; but when he who poffeffeth them is unlike him who deserved them, lo, do they not call him degenerate ?

Hereditary honour is accounted the most noble; but reafon fpeaketh in the cause of him who hath acquired it.

He who, meritlefs himself, appealeth to the actions of his ancestors for his greatnefs, is like the thief who claimeth protection by flying to the pagod.

What good is it to the blind, that his parents could fee? what benefit is it to the dumb, that his grandfather was eloquent? even fo, what is it to the mean, that their predeceffors were noble?

A mind difpofed to virtue, maketh great the poffeffor: and without titles it will raife him above the vulgar.

He will acquire honour while others receive it; and will he not fay unto them, Such were the men whom ye glory in being derived from?

As the fhadow waiteth on the fubftance, even fo true honour attendeth upon virtue.

Say not that honour is the child of boldnefs, nor believe thou that the hazard of life alone can pay the price of it: it is not to the action that it is due, but to the manner of performing it.

All are not called to the guiding the helm of state; neither are there armies to be commanded by every one: do well in that which is committed to thy charge, and praise fhall remain unto thee.

The wo

Say not that difficulties are neceffary to be conquered, or that labour and danger must be in the way of renown. man who is chaste, is the not praised? the man who is honeft, deferveth he not to be honoured?

The thirst of fame is violent; the defire of honour is powerful; and he who gave them to us, gave them for great purposes.

When desperate actions are neceffary to the public, when our lives are to be expofed for the good of our country, what can add force to virtue, but ambition?

It is not the receiving honour that delighteth the noble mind; its pride is the deferving it.

Is it not better men fhould fay, Why hath not this man a ftatue? than that they fhould ask, Why he hath one?

The ambitious will always be first in the croud; he preffeth forward, he looketh not behind him. More anguifh is it to his foul, to fee one before him, than joy to leave thousands at a distance.

The root of ambition is in every man; but it rifeth not in all: fear keepeth it down in fome; in many it is fuppreffed by modelty.

It is the inner garment of the foul; the first thing put on by it with the flesh, and the laft it layeth down at its feparation

from it.

It is an honour to thy nature when worthily employed; when thou directeft it to wrong purpofes, it fhameth and destroyeth

thee.

In the breaft of the traitor ambition is covered; hypocrify hideth its face under her mantle; and cool difimulation furnifheth it with fmooth words; but in the end men fhall fee what it is.

The ferpent lofeth not his fting though benumbed with the froft, the tooth of the viper is not broken though the cold clofeth his mouth: take pity on his ftate, and he will fhew thee his fpirit; warm him in thy bofom, and he will requite thee with death. He that is truly virtuous, loveth virtue for herself; he difdaineth the applaufe which ambition aimeth after.

How pitiable were the state of virtue, if fhe could not be happy but from another's praife? fhe is too noble to feek recompenfe, and no more will, than can be rewarded.

The higher the fun arifeth, the lefs fha dow doth he make; even fo the greater is the virtue, the lefs doth it covet praife; yet cannot it avoid its reward in honours. Glory, like a fhadow, flieth him who purfueth it; but it followeth at the heels of him who would fly from it: if thou courtest it without merit, thou shalt never attain unto it; if thou deferveft it, though thou hideft thyfelf, it will never forfake thee.

Purfue that which is honourable; do that which is right; and the applaufe of thine own confcience will be more joy to thee, than the fhouts of millions who know not that thou deferveth them.

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Cafteth he his eye towards the clouds, findeth he not the heavens full of his wonders? Looketh he down to the earth, doth not the worm proclaim to him, Lefs than omnipotence could not have formed me? While the planets perform their courfes; while the fun remaineth in his place; while the comet wandereth through the liquid air, and returneth to its deftined road again; who but thy God, O man! could have formed them? what but infinite wifdom could have appointed them their laws? Behold how awful their fplendor? yet do they not diminish: lo, how rapid their motions! yet one runneth not in the way

of another

Look down upon the earth, and see her produce; examine her bowels, and behold what they contain: hath not wisdom and power ordained the whole?

Who biddeth the grafs to fpring up? who watereth it at its due feafons? Behold the ox croppeth it; the horse and the fheep, feed they not upon it? Who is he that provideth it for them?

Who giveth increase to the corn that thou foweft? who returneth it to thee a thousand fold?

Who ripeneth for thee the olive in its time? and the grape, though thou knowest not the cause of it.

Can the meanest fly create itfelf; or wert thou ought lefs than God, couldst thou have fashioned it?

The beafts feel that they exift, but they wonder not at it; they rejoice in their life, but they know not that it fhall end: each performeth its courfe in fucceffion; nor is there a lofs of one fpecies in a thoufand generations.

Thou who feeft the whole as admirable as its parts, cant thou better employ thine eye, than in tracing out thy Creator's greatnefs in them; thy mind, than in examining their wonders?

Power and mercy are difplayed in their formation; juftice and goodness fhine forth in the provifion that is made for them; all are happy in their feveral ways; nor envicth one the other.

with this? In what fcience is knowledge, What is the ftudy of words compared but in the ftudy of nature?

When thou hait adored the fabric, enquire into its ufe; for know the earth produceth nothing but may be of good to thee. Are not food and raiment, and the reme

dies for thy difeafes, all derived from this

fource alone?

Who is wife then, but he that knoweth contemplateth it? For the reft, whatever it? who hath understanding, but he that fcience hath moft utility, whatever knowthe others; and profit from them for the ledge hath leaft vanity, prefer thefe unto fake of thy neighbour.

To live, and to die; to command, and to obey; to do, and to fuffer; are not thefe all that thou haft farther to care about? Morality fhall teach thee thefe; the Economy of Life shall lay them before thee.

Behold, they are written in thine heart, and thou needeft only to be reminded of them: they are eafy of conception; be attentive, and thou fhalt retain them.

All other sciences are vain, all other knowledge is boaft; lo, it is not neceflary or beneficial to man; nor doth it make him more good, or more honest,

Piety to thy God, and benevolence to thy fellow creatures, are they not thy great duties? What fhall teach thee the one, like the ftudy of his works? what fhall inform thee of the other, like understanding thy dependencies?

Of NATURAL ACCIDENTS. I. PROSPERITY and ADVERSITY. Let not profperity elate thine heart above measure; neither deprefs thy foul unto the grave, because fortune beareth hard against thee.

Her imiles are not stable, therefore build not thy confidence upon them; her frowns endure not for ever, therefore let hope teach thee patience.

To bear adverfity well, is difficult; but to be temperate in prosperity, is the height of wildom.

Good and ill are the tests by which thou art to know thy conftancy; nor is there ought elfe that can tell thee the powers of thine own foul: be therefore upon the watch when they are upon thee.

Behold profperity, how fweetly fhe flattereth thee; how infenfibly the robbeth thee of thy ftrength and thy vigour ?

Though thou hast been conftant in ill fortune, though thou haft been invincible in distress, yet by her thou art conquered: not knowing that thy ftrength returneth not again; and yet that thou again mayft need it.

Afliction moveth our enemies to pity: faccefs and happiness cause even our friends to envy.

Adverity is the feed of well-doing: it is the nurfe of heroism and boldness; who that hath enough, will endanger himself to have more? who that is at eafe, will fet his life on the hazard?

True virtue will act under all circumftances; but men fee moft of its effects when accidents concur with it.

In adverfity man feeth himself abandoned by others; he findeth that all his hopes are centered within himfelf; he roufeth his foul, he encountereth his difficulties, and they yield before him.

In profperity he fancieth himself fafe; he thinketh he is beloved of all that fmile about his table; he groweth carelefs and remifs; he feeth not the danger that is before him; he trusteth to others, and in the end they deceive him,

Every man can advise his own foul in diftrefs; but profperity blindeth the truth. Better is the forrow that leadeth to contentment, than the joy that rendereth man unable to endure diftrefs, and after plungeth himself into it.

Our paffions dictate to us in all our extremes moderation is the effect of wisdom.

Be upright in thy whole life; be content in all its changes: fo fhalt thou make thy profit out of all occurrences; fo fhall every thing that happeneth unto thee be the fource of praife.

The wife maketh every thing the means of advantage; and with the fame countenance beholdeth he all the faces of fortune: he governeth the good, he conquereth the evil: he is unmoved in all.

Prefume not in profperity, neither defpair in adverfity: court not dangers, nor meanly fly from before them: dare to defpife whatever will not remain with thee.

Let not adverfity tear off the wings of hope; neither let profperity obfcure the light of prudence.

He who defpaireth of the end, fhall never attain unto it; and he who feeth not the pit, fhall perish therein.

He who calleth profperity his good; who hath faid unto her, With thee will I eftablish my happiness; lo! he anchoreth his veffel in a bed of fand, which the return of the tide wafheth away.

As the water that paffeth from the mountains, kiffeth, in its way to the ocean, every field that bordereth the rivers; as it tarrieth not in any place; even fo fortune vifiteth the fons of men; her motion is inceffant, she will not stay; she is unstable as the winds, how then wilt thou hold her? When fhe kiffeth thee, thou art bleffed; behold, as thou turneth to thank her, fhe is gone unto another.

2. PAIN and SICKNESS.

The fickness of the body affecteth even the foul; the one cannot be in health without the other.

Pain is of all ills that which is moft felt; and it is that which from nature hath the feweft remedies,

When thy conftancy faileth thee, call in thy reafon; when thy patience quitteth thee, call in thy hope.

To fuffer, is a neceffity entailed upon thy nature; wouldst thou that miracles fhould protect thee from it? or fhalt thou repine, because it happeneth unto thee, when lo, it happeneth unto all ?

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As the production of the metal proveth the work of the alchymist; fo is death the teft of our lives, the effay which fheweth the standard of all our actions.

Wouldst thou judge of a life, examine the period of it; the end crowneth the at. tempt: and where diffimulation is no more, there truth appeareth.

He hath not fpent his life ill, who knoweth to die well; neither can he have loft all his time, who employeth the laft portion of it to his honour.

He was not born in vain who dieth as he ought; neither hath he lived unprofitably who dieth happily.

He that confidereth he is to die, is content while he liveth: he who ftriveth to forget it, hath no pleasure in any thing; his joy appeareth to him a jewel which he expecteth every moment he shall lose.

Wouldst thou learn to die nobly? let thy vices die before thee. Happy is he who endeth the bufinefs of his life before his death; who, when the hour of it cometh, hath nothing to do but to die; who wifheth not delay, because he hath no longer use

for time.

Avoid not death, for it is a weakness; fear it not, for thou understandeth not what it is all that thou certainly knoweft, is, that it putteth an end to thy forrows.

CATECHETICAL LECTURES.

$152. Introduction to the Catechifm.

our baptifmal vow, as a kind of preface The Catechifm begins with a recital of to the whole. It then lays down the great chriftian principle of faith; and leaving all myfterious inquiries, in which this fubject is involved, it paffes on to the rules of practice. Having briefly recited thefe, it concludes with a fimple, and very intelligible explanation of baptifm, and the Lord's Supper.

The catechifm then begins very properly, with a recital of our baptismal vow, as the beft preface to that belief, and those rules of practice, in which that yow engaged us. But before we examine the vow itself, two appendages of it require explanation-the ufe of fponfors-and the addition of a name.

With regard to the fponfor, the church probably imitates the appointment of the legal guardian, making the best provifion it can for the pious education of orphans, and deferted children. The temporal and the fpiritual guardian may equally betray their truft: both are culpable: both accountable: but furely the latter breaks the more facred engagement.

As to promifing and vowing in the name of another (which feems to carry fo harth a found) the fponfor only engages for the child, as any one would engage for another, in a matter which is manifeftly for his advantage: and on a fupposition, that the child hereafter will fee it to be fo

that is, he promises, as he takes it for granted, the child itself would have promifed, if it had been able.

With regard to the name, it is no part of the facrament; nor pretends to scriptural authority. It refts merely on ancient ufage. A custom had generally obtained, of giving a new name, upon adopting a new member into a family. We find it common among the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews; nay, we read that even God himself, when he received Abram into covenant, giving an early fanction to this ufage, changed his name to Abraham. In imitation of this common practice, the old chriftians gave baptifmal names to their children, which were intended to point out their heavenly adoption, as their furnames This is the complete ECONOMY of diftinguished their temporal alliance. HUMAN LIFE. From confidering the ufe of fponfors,

Think not the longest life the happieft; that which is beft employed, doth man the moft honour; himself fhall rejoice after death in the advantages of it.

and

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