The fick man, who is vexed at his condition, does but increase his diforder. A man, whole lot is poverty, and who bears it with patience, is not only exempt from grief and melancholy, but finds in it fome confolation; for, on the one hand, his underftanding and good fenfe not being disordered or perplexed by his afflic tion, he will find means to gain his bread honeftly; and, on the other hand, his neighbours, ftruck with admiration at his patience, fo full of reafon and prudence, will contribute what they can to comfort him. But he who repines, and flies into a paffion, adds wilful grief and melancholy to his misfortune; and, by keeping his mind bent on mifery, and by deploring it without ceafing, grows incapable of procuring himself the leaft relief, and puts himself out of condition to receive comfort from his friends, unless it be that charity, which is much less honorable and fatisfactory,than the relief and fupport which every man should receive from his own virtue, and his own conftancy. This patience is the effect of a knowledge of our duties; of a consciousness that we are able to perform them; and none but great and good minds can poffefs it."

The other virtue feems to have arifen from conditions of mifery, which were thought to be hopeless in this world. It is accompanied with weakness, indolence and difpair; it prevails moft in indolent and wretched focieties, and it is gradually leffened in more enlightened and happy enes. The language of it is, "fubmit; for it is in vain to firuggle; fubmit to every thing, for evil is the portion of humanity here. Rejoice in mifery, and be exceeding glad, for on this very account, great will be your reward in Heaven. The highest perfection of your virtue is to be indifferent to the events of this world, and to what becomes of you here; and to referve your good qualities and enjoyments for a better ftate."

In that difpofition which induces UB to bear life itself, when it becomes a matter of patience fo to do, there virtues are extremely different.

Shakspeare, whofe poetic genius always felected the best reafons which had been affigned for the moral he inculcated, but had no philofophic talents to inveftigate and to find out better, gives to Himlet the best reafons he knew of, for that patience which would prevent fuicide. "To die; to fleepTo fleep! perchance to dream...-ay, there's the rub;

For in that fleep of death, what dreams may come,

When we have fuffed off this mortal coil,

Muft give us paufe-there's the respect,

That makes calamity of fo long life. For who would bear the whips and fcorns of time,

Th' oppreffor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of defpis'd love, the law's delay,

The infolence of office, and the fpurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus

philofophical and untrue; for none but a malignant and implacable Being, fuch as the devil has been ima gined to be, could place men in a world overwhelmed with mifery, which they must not quit, on pain of being conveyed to one, infinitely inore miserable; and yet the whole of Shakespeare's reafoning amounts only to this; that the evils of this life are too great to be remedied, and too great to be borne; and that Ham Jet would kill himfelf, if he were not afraid that God would fend him into a world fill more wretched.

This reafon for patience, as I have obferved before, arofe trom wretcheduefs, united with extreme igno. tance; which would have laid wafe the earth by despair and fuicide, if it had no generated fpectres and fcenes of wretchednefs beyond the grave, to frighten men into patience.

But all this apparatus to oblige a man to bear harm, by fear of greater harm, would be, like the contrivances of children, to impofe on each other, to a perfon who really understood the general principles of the divine government, faw the intentions of nature, and felt himself capable of obeying them. He would reafon thus; "a man ought never to abandon life on any account; for it is unbecom

ing him to defert his ftation, of that his departure fhould look like a fight; if he quits it because he suffers for his errors and vices, he attempts to remedy his firft folly by a greater; if it be becaufe fortune perfecutes him, he deferts his principles, which teach him that there can be no evils in life, but what are contrary to that virtue and honefty which are guided by prudence; that there is no other good but what is virtuous and honeft; and that virtue and hopefty are in his own power."

Thefe principles lead a man dire&ly to the fountains of 'calamities, where alone they are to be corrected, They will firft teach him not to bear the confequences of his own faults, but to remove the occafions of them; they will give him a kind of knowJedge, which will be apt to allow for the faults of others, and will take off that rancor and indignation, with which ignorance always receives inju

ries. They will enable him to diftinguish between those difficulties which are ever in the way of great undertakings; and which train us gradually into a capacity to perform them; the defects with which mature has characterized us, and the miseries we receive from others; and they will give him patience, which will carry him through difficulties, and enable him to bear the misfortunes which he cannot avoid. By these means, he will mark that period, where life is retrogades in which the parts of man begin to difcompofe; and he will order it fo, that his defires fhall gradually weaken and difengage themselves. He will therefore go down the declivity of life, as he would a gentle defcent; bear the decay and extin&tion of his powers, as he finds his pathons fubfiding and extingu fhing; and he will fink into his grave, as he would do on his bed, after the honest discharge of these duties; and with that pleasing wearinefs and that calm content, which ever attend the consciousness of having spent an active, useful and happy day!

An

Effey on Patriotifm..

Tin HE love of our country is an inflexible determination of mind to promote, by all juftifiable means, the happiness of that fociety of which we are members; to attend to it with a warm and active zeal; to negle& no opportunity by which we may, without violating the great law of univerfal benevolence, advance her honour and intereft; end generously to facrifice to this governing principle all inferior regards and lefs extenfive claims of what nature foever.

This is that elevated paffion of all others the moft neceffary, as well as moft becoming to mankind; and yet, if we believe the common com. plaints, of all others the leaft visible in the world. It lives, we are told rather in difcription than reality, and is now reprefented as an antiquated and forgotten virtue. Wretched picture of the human race! If this be a just representation, we are degenerate indeed, infenfible to the beauty of all

Social

facial duties, counteracting the common bonds of alliance with our fpecies, and checking the source of our moft refined fatisfactions.

There is in the fouls of men, a certain attractive power, which infenfi bly leads them to affociate, and concert the plan of mutual happiness. If any thing be natural to us,it must be that paffion which conduces to the prefervation of the fpecies. But nothing fo manifeftly contributes to that end, as this combining principle of fellow hip; which must therefore be as certainly derived from nature, as the love we bear to our offspring, or that which we have for each other. The public is, as it were, one great fami ly; we are all children of one common mother, our country; fhe gave us all our birth, nurfed our tender years, and fupports our manhood. In this light, therefore, our regards for her feem as natural as the implanted affection betwixt parents and children. It is then from the very frame of man, that the sense of a national brother-hood rifes, and a public is recognized by the fuffrage of unerring nature.

Whenever, therefore, this uniting inftin&t is obftructed in its operations by the unequal indulgence of private affeЯion, the ballance of the paffions is deftroyed, and the kind intention of the Creator no lefs imprudently than impiously perverted.

Public good is, as it were, a common bank, in which every individual has his respective share; and confequently, whatever damage that fuftains, the individuals unavoidably partake of the calamity. If liberty be deftroyed, no particular member can escape the chains. If the credit of the affociate body fink, his fortune Enks with it :---If then we have a true affection for ourselves, if we would reap the fruits of our industry, and enjoy our properties in fecurity, we muft ftand firm to the cause of public Virtue. Otherwife, we had better return to the raw herbage for our food, and to the inclemencies of the open sky for our covering; go back to uncultivated nature, where our wants would be fewer, and our appetites lefs. Such a fituation, notwithtanding all its inconveniencies, io far

preferable to a barbarous government; and far more defirable than the lot of flaves.

The kind Creator has clofely connected our intereft with our duty, and made it each man's happiness to contribute to the welfare of all his fellow citizens. But ftill the noble motive to a generous soul is that which fprings from the unselfish ap petite of diffusing the joys of life to all around him. There is nothing he thinks fo defirable, as to be the inftrument of doing good ;& the farther it is extended, the greater is his delight, and the more glorious his cha rafter. Benignity to friends and relations, is but a narrow (pirited qual ity compared with this; and perhaps as frequently the effect of ca price or pride, as of a benevolent temper. But when our flow of good will fpreads itself to all the fociety, and in them to diftant pofterity; when charity rifes into public fpirit, and partial affection is extended into general benevolence, then it is that man fhines in the higheft luftre, and is the trueft image of his divine Maker.

But notwithstanding all that has been faid in favour of this affection, laudable as it is, we are not, however, to forget, that it may be so conduct'ed as to become a very criminal paffion. If any affociated body, apprehending themselves fuperior to their neighbour ftates, fhould, for that reason only, invade their rights, this would be to undermine the very foundation of fociety,and confequently an unjuftifiable enterprize. Does true patriotifm infpire fuch condu&? Does the love of our own country teach us to aggrandize it by the ruin of another! Undoubtedly not; and if we think at all, we must allow fuch attempts utterly repugnant to the fundamental law of univerfal charity. Hard would be his fate, who fhould be commanded to fuch a fervice, and glorious the triumph of his foul, if he refolved to decline it ! In vain would be call in the example of ancient Rome, for his encouragement; for after all the extravagant encomiums beftowed upon her patriotifm, we fhall fcarce be able to clear it from the imputation of flagrant impiety,

piety. "Rome, early poffeffed with The nigh fanaticism of diftin&tion and empire," declared war against man kind; and out of that feverish fondnefs for renown, laid defolate all the known world. Their poffeffions, their habitations, their paintings, their fculptures, all their riches were the (poil of injured nations. Thus they erected to themfelves an empire, as unwieldy as it was unjuft, on the quins of their fellow creatures. What Then are all their beautiful lectures and pompous declamations on the love of their country? What their Jaboured orations in praise of liberty! Indifputable proofs indeed of their eloquence; but not fo of their humanity. If the language of benevolence were to conflitute the character, you must allow it due to theRomans; but if actions are to afcertain the rights, we shall find it a difficult task to make good their claim, though we were mafters even of their own eloquence. Look into the city, and behold the inhabitants; there will you find this celebrated freedom fpreading itself only among particular bran-, ches, and giving a few the licence to tyrannize over an infinite number of miferable flaves, rendered more wretched by having always before their eyes a disagreeable subject of comparifon. Look into the provinces, and you behold fcenes of the utmost barbarity and horror.

Now and then, it is true, you fee the conquered enjoying a little eafe moder a humane governor; but in general, their oppreffions were intolable, and their whole adminiftration no better than a courfe of hoftility and plunder. Nay, in countries where they were called in to rescue their allies from the invafion of enemies, it was their practice to turn a temporary deliverance into a permanent tyranny. For thefe reafons, it has been jufly faid of them, that they made an idol of Rome, and then, with fword in hand, commanded ali nations to fall down and worship the image which they had fet up.

It is our felic ty that we are not members of fuch a fociety. We live in a nation which drew not the fword for conqueft, but for juftice, not to introduce, but to prevent fla

very. The liberty we contend for, is not the licence of a few to tyrannize over multitudes; but an equal freedom to all fo far as is confiftent with good order, and the peace of government.

On INDUSTRY.

Fit be true that nature hath given

nothing to man but what requires labour and industry to get, doubtless it fhould be the effort of every one, fo to labour that they may obtain. Thofe who neglect their occupation, or refute to labour, will lofe the reward.

Of all the virtues which adorn and beautify the characters of a man, none fets it off to a greater admiration, or ought to be more valued by us, than induftry. For it is that alone which makes the artificer and labourer as ufeful and valuable as any members in fociety.

As providence hath allotted to men different ftations and conditions of life, and affigned them different gifts and talents to profit with, and different occupations and employments for the good of the whole; to be diligent and induftrious then, in the feveral provinces in which he hath placed us is a duty we owe to ourselves, that we may become ferviceable to mankind, and at the fame time merit their efteem.

The cares and anxieties of this world are often alleviated by the hand of Industry. For only let us fuppofe, that we have in our view a cottage where Contentment and Happines take up their abode, and Industry i its porter. Let us now take a furvey of the family, and fee what its mem bers are employed in. The firt obje? that prefents itself to us, is th aged Father, (who by an induftriou hand has brought up the family, nov able to affist him) giving orders to ini fons to go to cultivate his few acres c ground, on the produce of which perhaps, depends the maintenance c his family, while be, an to idleness, employs himself home. The next in view is th Mother, no less aftentive in her dut than the Father, who, after havia

enem

a

At in order the houfe, now employs her daughters in their refpe&tive callings of the day, while the performs her domeftic duty in providing for her family. But what a change hall we find, when our fpéculative attention is drawn afide to its neighbouring cottage, where nothing but difcord and animofities are to be seen, and where no proper regulations are kept up, and no government or obedieace to be found, but all libertines; in a word, industry is thut out, and idlenefs, anarchy and confufion, bear the fway.

The effects of idlenefs often prove fatal to inconfiderate youth, and thofe who appear lovers of it muft, doubtJefs, be enemies to industry; but let the fcene be changed, let us fee youth fpontaneously opening its inclination to the embraces of it, and giving it the rule over idleness.

When the feeds of induftry are well fown in the mind, and its inclination well cultivated by attentive labourérs, it is like a field, although barren, nevertheless by labour and perseverance, it will abundantly repay the labours of the husbandman.

From the admirable leffon which Elop gives us in the fable of the Ants and Grafhopper, we may learn never to lofe any prefent opportunity of providing against the future evils and accidents of life. For as the fummer is the feafon of the year, in which the induftrious and laborious hufbandman gathers and lays up. fuch fruits as may fupply his neceffities in winter; fo youth and manhood are the times of life which we should employ and beftow in laying in fuch a flock of all kinds of neceffaries, as may fuffice for the craving demands of helpless old

An Ellay on Love and Marriage:

I

KNOW not whence it proceeds,

that women are fu apt to take amifs every thing that is faid in difparagement of the married flate; and always confider a fatire upon matrimony as a fatire upon themselves. Do they mean by this, that they are the parties principally concerned, and that if a backwardness to enter into that ftate fhould prevail in the world, they would be the greatest fufferers? or are they fenfible, that the misfortunes and miscarriages of the married ftate are owing more to their fex than ours? I hope they do not intend to confefs any of thefe two particulars, or to give fuch an advantage to their adverfaries, the men, as even to allow them to fufpect it.

I have often had thoughts of comFlying with this humour of the fair fex, and of writing a panegyric upon marriage; but, in looking around for materials, they feemed to be of fo mixed a nature, that at the conclufion of my reflections, I found I was as much difpofed to write a fatire, which might be placed on the oppofite pages of my panegyric; and I am afraid, that as fatire is, on moft occafions, thought to have more truth in it than panegyric, I should have done their caufe more harm than good by this expedient, To mifreprefent facts is what, I know, they will not require of me. I must be more a friend to truth than even to them, where their interefts are oppofite.

I fhall the women what it is our fexs complains of moft in the married flate; and if they be difpofed to fatisfy us in this particular, all the other differences will be easily accommodated. If I be not mistaken, it is their love of dominion which is the ground of the quarrel; though it is very likely, that they will think it an unreasonable love of it in us, which makes us infft fo much upon that point. However this may he, no paffion feems to have more influence on female minds, than this for power; and there is a remarkable inftance in hiftory of its prevailing

above