it is, because the true causes of this affection (namely, misapprehensions of the things feared, and inability to refift them) are encreased together with age, and therefore must needs produce their answerable effects. The firft of these causes proceeds from the weakness of the imagination; the other, from the lowness of the spirits, and imbecillity of the outward organs: The first makes the cause of fear to seem the greater; the other, to take the deeper impreffion. Imagination puts a double fallacy upon ancient men; first, it makes them undervalue themselves, and minorate their own abilities; and then it makes them overvalue the objects of fear, and make them far greater than they are; like fome perspective glaffes, that at both ends mifreprefent the things feen, yet with a contrary appearance, at one end making them appear leffer, and at a farther distance; and at the other end, greater and nearer than they ought. And hence it is, that they are fo timorous upon every the leaft occafion; that which is faid of wicked men may also be faid of old men ; They are in great fear where no fear is; Pfal. liii. 5. quæ finxêre, timent; the weakened imagination creating objects of fear unto itself, or at least much falfifying them, and encreafing them like the man in the gospel, that had but an half and a broken fight, He saw men as big as trees walking. Again, the dulness and hea

viness of the spirits, and the impotency of the members, render a man most obnoxious unto fear; the fpirits being of a strong, quick, and fubtile motion, are the principal inftruments of intercourfe between the foul and the body, and do confequently bring in the greatest aid and affistance against this paflion; but, in age they are benummed as it were, and congealed, fo that they cease much from their operation and motion, and can adminifter little or no courage at all.

Nor is it thus only with the fpirits, but the organical parts alfo of the body are in this. state made unfit for their functions, and altogether unferviceable to refift the very appearance of danger; and stand (as I may so say) ready. prepared for the entertainment of fear; the great confequences whereof, fuch as whiteness and stiffness of the hair, trembling of the joints and heart, impotency of speech, failing of the eyes, and astonishment, paleness of the face, horror, gnashing of the teeth, involuntary emiffion of excrements, are very easily produced in this condition; nay, they are most of them already there to be found, without an object to effect them; therefore no wonder if those things which are ra xvx κινδύνων to the frong man, prove φοβερώτατα to the decrepit.

These things were known to be true, without an instance; yet, I cannot but take no

tice of Jacob, who, while young and strong, did exceed moft men we read of, for courage and boldness; with what audacity did he manage the two great enterprizes of obtaining both the birth-right and the bleffing; and that while he was yet very young? with what courage did he undertake, and go through with a long and lonesome journey, an hard and a deceitful service? but when he was old he was of a more timorous spirit: it was fear let fall that paffage, If I am bereaved, I am bereaved, Gen. xliii. 14. Such news as one would have thought would have refreshed his heart, when he was old overcame it; for when it was faid Jofeph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt, Jacob's heart fainted, Gen. xlv. 26. Fear was a paffion fo ready at the door, that it ftept in firft, and had almost over-borne him, and left no place for joy to enter in. Good Eli, when he was very old, was very fearful, he timorously reproves the outrageous wickedness of his fons, 1 Sam. ii. 22. and after this black and dreadful enemy had once taken poffeffion of him, it followed him continually, and dogg'd him till he died. When the Ifraelites and Philistines were about to join battel, he fate in a fearful posture, and it is faid, his heart trembled, 1 Sam. iv. 13. and when the iffue was told him, he fell from off his feat backward, and his neck brake that he died; and the reason is added, for he was an

old

old man and heavy, ver. 18. I will not here be fo bold as thofe that fay (building their opinion upon the original word) his falling down backward and dying, was from a voluntary principle; but I dare fay, it was from, an inward one his age had so enfeebled him, that he was not able to bear the news of a defeat, especially fuch an one, wherein the ark of God was taken, but his darkfom inward foe, taking advantage hereupon, flrikes him furely, under the fifth rib, that he died.

The objects of old mens fears are here prefented unto us under a double notion; first, those things which are high, excelsa timebunt, aut de excelfo; they shall be afraid of that which is high Secondly, those things which are lower, more plain and obvious, even in the way; confternati in via, vel formidabunt in viis; fears fhall be in the way. Confternation and fearfulness do not furprize men, and overthrow them all at once; nemo repente fit timidiffimus; but they come on by degrees, and first those things that have more of dread in them become the objects of their fear: High things; high, either in refpect of place, as steep and eminent ways, hills, and mountains, steeples and towers, which formerly they could without fear afcend, and walk upon; or high, in respect of the air, as fiery meteors, strange apparitions, thunder and lightning, and fuch like or high, in refpect of abftrufeness, or

my

mysteriousness, as the deep and subtile points in divinity, about the effence of God, and the duration of eternity, about the immortality of the foul, and changes of the body, and many other things, which while young they could better have borne the discourse of: or high, in refpect of hardship, or difficulty; those great enterprises, and hazardous undertakings, which while ftrong they durft with boldness have ventured on, do now become a terror to them, even in the thought of them; but as age comes on, and their fears increase upon them, not only thofe things which are high, but even plain and eafy things become the objects of their fear; pavores in via: Mole-hills are now as dreadful as mountains were before; every thing that is near them, and about them; every thing that is plain and obvious; every matter that is facile, and easily attainable, bears itself with terror towards them; they are afraid of every thing they are doing: they walk in fear, sometimes, left peradventure they should dafh their foot against a ftone; fometime left that other people, heedlefly paffing by, should rush upon them, and injure them: being conscious to themselves of their own impotency, it makes them most obnoxious to this terrible paffion, which is the great change that is made upon the mind in the time of age.

The