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and those from whom they expect some favor; and at the same time, be quite indifferent to the rest of mankind. This is not to love our neighbor, but ourselves.

Children from their youth, are brought up in this opinion. They are taught to love only those, who do them good, and hate those who do them evil. Some parents seldom speak in their families of any thing, but the faults, vices, misconduct, and knavery of their neighbors, of those who envy, or do them wrong. Thus, by their example and conversation, they destroy in their children all love of their neighbor. Do such forgetful parents ever reflect upon the sad effects of the want of charity? Is it not on this account that men have so little respect and esteem for each other? Is not this the cause of treachery, animosity, impatience and murmurings, hard-heartedness to the poor and distressed; does it not create divisions in families, quarrels, jealousies and detractions? Finally, is it not the cause of all that discord, which dishonors Religion and ruins Christians?

It is then very important to instruct young people on this subject, and remove this fatal error. This error proceeds from the ignorance of three things. They do not know who those neighbors are, whom they are bound to love; for what motive they must be loved; nor in what this love consists.

I. Our neighbors are all, the poor and rich, the good and bad, friends and foes, and even those who do us the greatest injury. This obligation of loving all mankind, is so absolutely necessary, that without it we can never be saved. If there were but one individual that I did not love, this one alone would be sufficient to condemn me.

II. The motive for which they must be loved, is because they are all children of God, created to his image, and redeemed by the blood of his Son Jesus Christ; because God, who is our common Father, would have us love them as our brethren; and because our divine Savior has commanded us to love them, since he. himself loved all. It would indeed be unreasonable not to love those whom God loved more than his own life, and for whom, however unworthy, he has died.

III. This love consists in three things:-1. In wishing good to all. 2. In doing it, when we can. 3. In bearing with their defects, excusing and hiding their faults. Be

hold the true love of our neighbor, the mark of a true Christian, without which we cannot please God.

1. Wish good unto all, and be truly afflicted, when evil befalls them: consider all mankind, even your enemies, as your brethren. Be affable, meek and benevolent. Have compassion for the afflicted. Be not envious at the rich, and those in prosperity: love the good for virtue's sake; the wicked, that they may become good: desiring the perseverance of the former, and the conversion of the latter. If a man is wicked and a great sinner, we must hate his sin, which is the work of man; but we must love the man, who is the work of God.

2. Do good to all; for it is nothing to wish good to another, if we do it not when in our power. Now there are three sorts of good which we may procure to our neighbor; in his body, in his honor, and in his soul.

As to the good of his body, you ought to do two things. 1. Never to rob him of his property, or deprive him of his rights. You would commit an outrageous crime, you would, moreover, be obliged to return what you had taken, and to repair the injury done him in his rights. O! what a disgraceful crime, in young people, is that of theft! It is to be feared that they who accustom themselves to commit small and frequent thefts of fruit, nuts, cake, and the like, will one day become public robbers, and finish their life by a miserable end. 2. Assist your neighbors in their necessities, by your bounty and frequent alms. What an excellent virtue in a young man is compassion for the poor! Happy they who can say with Job, From my infancy mercy grew up with me. It will draw down upon them many blessings during life, and especially at the hour of death.

As for their reputation, you ought to preserve it for your neighbor as much as possible. Never speak with prejudice of the wickedness or crimes that he may have committed, unless it be for his own, or another's benefit. Hinder calumnies and detractions: prevent them as much as you can. If he is accused of a fault that he never committed, undertake his defence. If the ill he has done be discovered, endeavor to excuse him, and hinder its being spoken of any more: speak of some good he has done, or some good quality he possesses: show that de

traction displeases you, and exhort him who utters it to spare the reputation of his neighbor,

As for the good of the soul, which consists in virtue and salvation, which are the greatest of all goods, you must endeavor to procure them for your neighbor. You will effect this by praying for him, by endeavoring to withdraw him from vice, and the occasions of sin, by giving him good advice, and by mildly putting him in mind of his duty, or causing him to be admonished; by giving him prudent counsel and good example.

Endeavor to fulfil this office of charity above all, towards your friends, companions, domestics, and all with whom you live. It is to love our neighbor truly, when we love him for the good of his soul and eternal salvation; but it is to hate him, it is to be wanting in charity, to ruin his soul, in causing him to sin, in scandalizing him by words and pernicious example.

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3. A third mark of the love of our neighbor is, to bear with his defects, to excuse his faults, as much as prudence will permit, and to think well of all. We should not be eager to blame, or judge others; nor to reprehend them, without being certain that they deserve it. are often mistaken in the judgment we form of individuals, either because we are misinformed, or prejudiced; or because we do not love them, or are at enmity with them. When we reprehend others, it should be done with prudence, and never with bitterness. Never reprehend an individual when the reprehension is not likely to produce his improvement, or the edification of others. If the neglect of correcting him, should make it appear that you approved his sin, then you should reprehend him with discretion.

In a word, the great rule of the love of our neighbor, consists in judging him by ourselves, and practising this important maxim which the Holy Scriptures and nature teach us, viz. never to do to another, what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. And also, do to others the good which in reason they would have done to you. Suffer, and bear with the defects of others, in charity, as you would wish that they would bear with yours, which are, perhaps, far greater. We cannot be said to love our neighbor if we are unwilling to suffer for him. God has for a long time borne with us, miserable as we

are in his divine sight; why then can we not bear with others?

THE DUTIFUL SON.

In a regiment of hussars, in Silesia, there was a brave soldier, who was extremely exact in all the duties of his station; but on account of age, and of his gray hairs, he was considered by his general as a blemish to the company in which he served. The general had long endeavored to persuade him to put himself upon the invalid establishment. It must be observed, that to be dismissed as an invalid, in Prussia, is nearly the same thing as to be condemned to starve, since its pensioners are allowed only three half pence per day for their support. It should also be remembered, that, in that country soldiers are enlisted for their whole lives; consequently, none are dismissed the service, but such as labor under incurable diseases, or are extremely old. This is sufficient of itself to justify the extreme horror felt by the Prussian soldier at the idea of being dismissed, however wretched his situation.

The old Hussar constantly refused to leave the company, and the more strenuously, as he was a married man, and his wife was but a little younger than himself. They would also lose the advantage of receiving towards their support, a portion of the pay of their son, an honest stripling, who, according to the regulations of the army, served in the same corps, and messed with his parents. The general, unable to impute the smallest fault to the father, and not daring to dismiss him on his own authority, determined to deprive him of his son, hoping, by this means, either through his grief or poverty, to get rid of him. To this effect, he wrote to the king, that he had in his regiment an excellent young soldier, who was too tall for a hussar, and offered him to his majesty for his regiment of guards, which he said would be a more proper situation for him.

The king accepted his offer, and the young man set out for the capital, leaving his parents in an affliction that was the more severe, as they knew that the regiment of guards was that of which every soldier had the greatest dread,

since, being always under the eye of the king, it was subject to a stricter discipline, and greater exertions than any other regiment. When the soldier arrived, the king wished to see him. Frederick, having slightly examined him, ordered him to put a suit of the uniform of the guards. When the hussar re-entered, in a dress so much handsomer than the one he had before been used to, the king asked him how he liked it. The young man replied, that he should always be pleased with any sort of uniform, if he had but the happiness to please his sovereing, by doing his duty well.

"Very well," said Frederick, "keep these clothes, remain here, do your duty, and I will take care of the rest. Your comrades will tell you what you have to do; but, my good fellow, you must be exact to a minute in your department: to this effect, you must be furnished with a good watch. Go, therefore, to the watchmaker, tell him you are in my service, and he will give you a good silver watch, for which he will ask you fifty crowns. You will want, besides, half a dozen of shirts, some stockings, cravats and pocket handkerchiefs, which will come to about as much more. Go and purchase these articles, and be always exact, faithful and discreet in my service. As to means for your subsistence and sundry expenses, I will allow you ten crowns per month, which will be sufficient to procure all you will want."

The first thought of the young soldier, in the midst of his joy, was directed to his parents: I have such an abundance of money," said he, "and my father and mother are in the greatest necessity! Is there no means of sending them the forty crowns given me for the watch, and of borrowing that sum of my fellow soldiers, on the condition of repaying them at the rate of five crowns per month? What remains will be quite enough for necessaries." He could not resist the idea, and accordingly he borrowed the forty crowns among several of his fellow soldiers. He procured the watch and relieved his parents.

But he was yet ignorant that kings know every thing, and the first law imposed by Fredrick on those who served him, was to disclose to him whatever facts they became acquainted with.

The next day he sent for his new recruit, and said to him, "I gave you money to buy a watch, and you sent it

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