every pretension to notice;-to blazon ourselves over with the arms, and insignia of our merits, and to be perpetually occupied with putting the rest of the world in mind of their inferiority ;-greatness is, then, infinitely attractive, when it seems unconscious of its self; when it is detected by others; not when it publishes, and praises its own importance;—when it is called forth, by the chances of the world, to eminence, and light; and is unconscious of the wonder, amid the praises, and acclamations of mankind.

A meek man does not exact minute, and constant attentions from his fellow-creatures; he is not apt to form an exaggerated estimate of the duties which are owing to him ;—he is grateful for little services, and affectionate for any slight mark of notice, and respect;-he attributes every act of benevolence, not to his own merits, but to yours; he is thankful for what has been conferred, without being incensed that more has been withheld: To give to the meek, is to lend to that Saviour whom they imitate; it is to confer favors upon a man

who is ever ready to repay them seven-fold, because his memory of them is tenacious, and his gratitude lively: his spirit burns with a consuming fire, till he can make the soul of his benefactor leap with joy.

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On the contrary, the most obliging disposition cannot keep keep pace with the pretensions of a proud man. The most arduous efforts to promote his interests, he considers as so many duties owing to his merits; no sacrifice is too humble, concession too flattering, no negligence venial, no momentary remission of benevolent exertion to be endured;-whatever you confer you lose, for whatever you deficient you suffer; it is a service abundant in punishment, and utterly barren of reward.

.

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If a meek man hides his own supe-riority, he is ever ready to do justice to the pretensions of others; the weak, the absent, and the defenceless, feel safe in his judgments; they are sure not to be tortured by asperity of speech, malignantly calumniated, or sacrificed to unprincipled ridicule ;—their

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virtues, and excellent qualities he is ever ready to acknowledge, because he has no motive to suppress them, his justice gives his innocence security, we repose on such a Christian character,—it is the shadow of a large rock in a weary land; we cast ourselves under it for refreshment, and peace, weary with the dust, and the heat, and the panting of life.

As man advances in civilization, the feelings of his mind becomes so vulnerable, and acute, that severity of invective, the mere power of inculpative words, becomes more intolerable than bodily pain, or any evil that fortune can impose. The intemperate expressions of anger, inflict wounds, which are never healed for a life, and lay the foundation of animosities, which no subsequent conciliation can ever appease. The tongue of a meek Christian is held with a bridle;-his words are yea, and nay, righteous, temperate, beautiful, and calm ; -remonstrance without bitterness,―firmness without passion, - pardon without reproach; he has not to lament that disgraceful, and unchristian violence of

speech which often excites as much remorse in those who indulge it, as indignation in those against whom it is directed, a virulence often used with as much freedom, as if men were proper, and candid judges of their own injuries, and with as much force as if every slight injury against ourselves, cancelled all the rights of humanity towards its author, and marked him out as the fit victim of impure, and unbridled invective.

The meek disciple of him, who was the meekest of all, is strongly impressed with the vanity, and unworthiness of every thing human; in whatever station he may place himself, relative to his fellow-creatures, he cannot deduce materials for pride, for he deems that the highest are low, and the strongest frail, and the earth an idle dream; while vulgar pride attaches the highest degree of importance to every thing, however distantly, and minutely related to itself; meekness, in viewing itself, and the earth upon which it is placed, trembles at the attributes, and works of God, and wonders that it should be remembered amidst the labyrinth of moving worlds.

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It subdues high-mindedness by reflecting on the ignorance with which human schemes are planned, the casualties by which they are interrupted, the unexpected consequences by which they are followed,— and the shortness of life by which they are frustrated, dissipated, and mocked. This view of the insignificance of life, intended for the cure of pride, may, by abuse, and misapplication, encourage levity, and inactivity; we are not to be careless in the government of ourselves, and in the adjustment of our conduct, because this world, contrasted with the sum of things is insignificant; and to pass through life in boisterous merriment, or supine indifference, because life is short ;-this world, so insignificant is the world in which we are destined to act, this life so short, is all that is granted us for probation; its narrow limits, its feeble powers, and its sad vicissitudes, cannot justify sloth or despair, though they ought to subdue pride, and to promote that ornament of a meek, and quiet spirit, which is so congenial to the gospel, and so well adapted to the condition of

man.