tives, though we make the law our inftrument, we are equally guilty,

But befides injurious treatment, the malice and hatred of our hearts have often another fource, and that is envy: and thus in the litany, envy, malice, and hatred," are all joined together with great propriety. The emotions of envy are generally cooler, and lefs violent, than thofe which arife from the refentment of injury; fo that envy is feldom fo mifchievous in its effects as revenge: but with regard to ourfelves, it is altogether as bad, and full as deftructive of the spirit of christianity. What is the religion of that man who, inftead of thanking Heaven for the bleffings he receives, is fretting himself continually with a difagrecable comparifon between himself and fome other. He cannot enjoy what he has, because another has more wealth, a fairer fame, or perhaps more merit, than himself. He is miferable, because others are happy.

But to omit the wickednefs of envy, how bfurd and foolish is it, in a world where we muft neceffarily expect much real mifery, to be perniciously inventive in producing it!

has forgiven us." As for our envious thoughts, as far as they relate to externals, let them fubfide in humility, acquiefcence, and fubmiffion to the will of God. And when we are tempted to envy the good qualities of others, let us fpurn fo base a conception, and change it into a generous emulation into an endeavour to raise ourselves into an equality with our rival, not to deprefs him to a level with us. Gilpin.

$57. Duties to ourselves.

Thus far the duties we have confidered come moft properly under the head of thofe which we owe to our neighbour; what follows, relates rather to ourselves. On this head, we are inftructed to keep "our bodies in temperance, fobernefs, and chaftity."

Though our fouls fhould be our great concern, yet, as they are nearly connected with our bodies, and as the impurity of the one contaminates the other, a great degree of moral attention is, of courfe, due to our bodies alfo.

As our firft ftation is in this world, to which our bodies particularly belong, they Befides, what ignorance! We fee only the are formed with fuch appetites as are requifite glaring outfide of things. Under all that to our commodious living in it; and the rule envied glare, many unfeen diftreffes may lurk, given us is, "to use the world fo as not to from which our ftation may be free: for our abufe it." St. Paul, by a beautiful allusion, merciful Creator feems to have beltowed hap-calls our bodies the "temples of the Holy pinefs, as far as station is concerned, with great equality among all his creatures.

Ghoft;" by which he means to imprefs us with a ftrong idea of their dignity; and to In conclufion, therefore, let it be the great deter us from debafing by low pleasures, what object of our attention, and the subject of our thould be the feat of fo much purity. To prayers, to rid our minds of all this curfed youth thefe cautions are above meafure necefintrufion of evil thoughts--whether they pro- fary, because their paffions and appetites are ceed from malice, or from an envious temper. ftrong; their reafon and judgment weak. Let all our malicious thoughts foften into They are prone to pleasure, and void of recharity and benevolence; and let us "for-flection. How, therefore, thefe young adgive one another, as God, for Chrift's fake, venturers in life may beft fteer their course,

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and

and use this finful world fo as not to abufe it, is a confideration well worth their attention. Let us then fee under what regulations their appetites fhould be reftrained."

By keeping our bodies in temperance is meant avoiding excefs in eating, with regard both to the quantity and quality of our food. We thould neither cat more than our ftomachs can well bear; nor be nice and delicate in our cating.

quences of intemperence are ftill worse. To enjoy a omfortable meal, when it comes be-fore us is allowable: but he who fuffers his mind to dwell upon the pleasures of eating, and makes them the employment of his thoughts, has at least opened one fource of mental corruption †.

After all, he who would most perfectly enjoy the pleafures of the table, fuch as they are, muft lock for them within the rules of tempeTo preferve the body in health is the end rance. The palate, accuftomed to fatiety, of eating; and they who regulate themselves hath loft its tone; and the greatest fenfualifts merely by this end, who eat without choice or have been brought to confefs, that the coarseft diftinétion, paying no regard to the pleasure of fare, with an appetite kept in order by temcating, obferve perhaps the best rule of temperance, affords a more delicious repaft, than perance. They go rather indeed beyond tem- the muft luxurious meal without it. perance, and may be called abstemious. A As temperance relates chiefly to eating, foman may be temperate, and yet allow himself bernefs or febriety relates properly to drinka little more indulgence. Great care, how-ing. And here the fame obfervations recur. ever, is here neceffary; and the more, as The ftricteft, and perhaps the best rule, is perhaps no precife rule can be affixed, after merely to fatisfy the end of drinking. But we have paffed the first great limit, and let the if a little more indulgence be taken, it ought palate loofe among variety. Our own dif- to be taken with the greatest circumfpeccretion must be our guide, which should be tion. conftantly kept awake by confidering the many bad confequences which attend a breach of temperance-Young men, in the full vigour of health, do not confider these things; but as age comes on, and different maladies begin to appear, they may perhaps repent they did not a little earlier practife the rules of tempe

In

With regard to youth indeed, I should be inclined to great ftriétnefs on this head. cating, if they cat of proper and fimple food, they cannot easily err. Their growing limbs, and frong exercife, require larger fupplics than full grown bodies, which must be kept in order by a more rigid temperance. But if more indulgence be allowed them in eating, lefs, furely fhould in drinking. With ftreng li-.. quars of every kind they have nothing to do; and if they fhould totally abftain on this head, it were fo much the better. The langour

us wicked, and because it makes us miserable.

our thoughts pure. If we do this, our words and actions will be pure of courfe. And that we may be the better enabled to do it, let us ufe fuch helps as reafon and religion prefcribe. Let us avoid all company, and all books, that have a tendency to corrupt our minds; and every thing that can inflame our paffions. He who allows himself in these things, holds a parley with vice; which will infallibly debauch him in the end, if he do not take the alarm in time, and break off fuch dalli-quillity, a whifper from virtue may be heard.

ance.

One thing ought to be our particular care, and that is, never to be unemployed. Ingenious amufements are of great ufe in filling up the vacuities of our time. Idle we thould never be. A vacant mind is an invitation to vice. Gilpin.

$58. On coveting and defiring other men's goods.

We are forbidden, next, "to covet, or fire other men's goods."

Firft, it makes us wicked. When it once gets poffeffion of the heart, it will let no good principle flourish near it. Moft vices have their fits; and when the violence of the paffion is fpent, there is fome interval of calm. The vicious appetite cannot always run riot. It is fatigued at leaft by its own impetuofity: and it is poffible, that in this moment of tran

But in avarice, there is rarely intermiffion. It hangs like a dead weight upon the foul, always pulling it to earth. We might as well expect to fee a plant grow upon a flint, as a virtue in the heart of a mifer.

It makes us miferable as well as wicked. The cares and the fears of avarice are proverbial; and it must needs be, that he, who depends for happinets on what is liable to a thousand accidents, muft of course feel as many diftreffes, and almost as many difapde-pointments. The good man depends for happiness on fomething more permanent: and if his worldly affairs go ill, his great dependance is ftill left. But as wealth is the god which the covetous man worthips (for "covetoufnefs," we are told, is idolatry,") a difappointment here is a disappointment indeed. Be he ever fo profperous, his wealth cannot fecure him against the evils of mortality; against that time, when he must give up all he values; when his bargains of advantage will be over, and nothing left but tears and defpair.

There are two great paths of vice, into which bad men cominonly ftrike; that of unlawful pleasure, and that of unlawful gain. -The path of unlawful pleasure we have juft examined; and have feen the danger of obeying the headftrong impulfe of our appetites. We have confidered alfo an immoderate love of gain, and have feen difhonefty and fraud in a variety of fhapes. But we have yet viewed them only as they relate to fociety. We have viewed only the outward action. The rule before us, "We muft not covet, nor defire other men's goods," comes a step nearer home, and confiders the motive which governs

the action.

Covetousness, or the love of money, is called in fcripture "the root of all evil;" and is called fo for two reafons; because it makes

But even a defiring frame of mind, though it be not carried to fuch a length, is always productive of mifery. It cannot be otherwife.

Sæviat, atque novos moveat fortuna tumultus;
Quantum hinc imminuet?-

HOR. Sat.

While we fuffer ourselves to be continually in queft of what we have not, it is impoffible that we fhould be happy with what we have. In a word, to abridge our wants as much as poffible, not to increafe them, is the trueft happinefs.

is neceffary to us, but to act as properly as we can ourselves; obferving as juft a mean as poflible between prodigality and avarice; and applying, in all our difficulties, to the word of God, where thefe great landmarks of morality are the most accurately fixed. We are much mistaken, however, if we We have now taken a view of what is prothink the man who hoards up his money ishibited in our commerce with mankind: let the only covetous man. The prodigal, us next see what is enjoined. (We are still though he differ in his end, may be as ava-proceeding with those duties which we owe ricious in his means. The former denies to ourfelves). Inftead of fpending our forhimfelf every comfort; the latter grafps at tune therefore in unlawful pleasure, or inevery pleafure. Both characters are equally creafing it by unlawful gain; we are required bad in different extremes. The mifer is" to learn, and labour truly (that is honestly) more deteftable in the eyes of the world, becaufe he enters into none of its joys; but it is a question, which is more wretched in himself, or more pernicious to fociety.

to get our own living, and to do our duty in that state of life, unto which it fhall please God to call us."-Thefe words will be fufficiently explained by confidering, first, that we all have fome ftation in life-fome particular duties to discharge; and fecondly, in what man

As covetoufnefs is efteemed the vice of age, every appearance of it among young perfons ought particularly to be difcouraged; becaufener we ought to difcharge them. if it gets ground at this early period, nobody can tell how far it may not afterwards proceed. And yet, on the other fide, there may be great danger of encouraging the oppofite extreme. As it is certainly right, under proper reftrictions, both to fave our money, and to spend it, it would be highly utefal to fix the due bounds on each fide. But nothing is more difficult than to raife thefe nice limits between extremes. Every man's cafe, in a thoufand circumftances, differs from his neighbour's: and as no rule can be fixed for all, every man of course, in thefe difquifitions, must be left to his own confcience. We are indeed very ready to give our opinions how others ought to act. We can adjust with great nicety what is proper for them to do; and point out their miftakes with much precition; while nothing

First, that man was not born to be idle, may be inferred from the active spirit that appears in every part of nature. Everything is alive; every thing contributes to the general good: even the very inanimate parts of the creation, plants, ftones, metals, cannot be called totallyinactive, but bear their part likewife in the general ufefulness. If then every part, even of inanimate nature, be thus employed, furely we cannot fuppofe it was the intention of the Almighty Father, that man, who is the moft capable of employing himself properly, fhould be the only creature without employment.

Alieni appetens, fui profufus. SAL, de Catal.

Again, that man was born for active life, is plain from the neceflity of labour. If it had not been neceffary, God would not originally have impofed it. But without it, the body would become enervated, and the mind corrupted. Idlenefs, therefore, is justly ef teemed the origin both of difeafe and vice.