that that which is fallible, should not be

presumptuous.

All those who judge of the world by ideal, rather than actual models of excellence, are in some little danger of becoming too contemptuous;-the imagination can easily represent somewhat superior to what ever existed, or ever will exist; by assembling all the excellencies which nature has scattered, among many real beings, into one fictitious one; and, by omitting all defects, we have at once, a monster of perfection, to which our sad medley of good and evil, cannot be compared without disgrace.-Such is the case with the young, who despise imperfection, because extended observation has not yet shewn them, that the realities of life always fall far short of the pictures of the mind, and that they can easily conceive, what they never will be able to find. The increase of years, with many evils, brings this good,-that our expectations of life are more accommodated to its true state; we are no longer surprised at flagrant inconsistencies in character, nor disgusted, that

prejudice and weakness should twine round the loftiest virtues; we are contented with the mixtures of good and evil, as it has been mingled for us, and do not despise our species, because God has made them lower than the Angels.

Prudence is, perhaps, another cause, that checks the indulgence of contempt, as we advance in life; the world, we find, has inevitable difficulties enough, without the wanton exasperation of our fellow creatures. Contempt, is commonly mistaken by the young, for an evidence of understanding ; but no habit of mind can afford this evidence, which is neither difficult to acquire, nor meritorious when it is acquired; and, as it is certainly very easy to be contemptuous, so it is very useless, if not very pernicious. To discover the imperfections of others, is penetration; to hate them for those faults, is contempt: We may be clear-sighted, without being malevolent, and make use of the errors we discover, to learn caution, not to

gratify satire; that part of contempt, which

consists of acuteness, we may preserve ; its dangerous ingredient is censure.

Contempt, so far from being favourable to the improvement of the mind, is, perhaps, directly the reverse; it increases so rapidly, that 'it soon degenerates into a passion for condemnation; the sense of what is good, withers away, and the perception of evil becomes so keen, and insatiable, that every decision we make, is satire, not judgment. All things have a double aspect; the contemptuous man sees them only on one side, and does not believe they have any other; he has sacrificed an excellent faculty, to an unchristian, and malevolent indulgence.

Wisdom consists in doing difficult things, which the mass of mankind cannot do: there is a much more compendious road to reputation, in doing nothing, and in blaming every thing; in pointing out where others are deficient, without proving where we excel. In this way, a contemptuous person gives himself virtues by implication, as if the opposite perfection were immediately infused into his own mind, the moment he had discovered a defect in the mind of another. Real wisdom rather delights in positive exertions, and seeks for reputation, by shewing

what itself is, not by boasting what others

are not.

Contempt and conceit, are those faults which Christianity so often condemns, under the appellation of highmindedness; they are passions connected with hatred; and utterly incompatible with that simple and venerable benevolence, which our Saviour practised, loved, and taught; and, surely, if any one has a right to look down upon the world with contempt, it is not him who has just entered into it; if great actions, admirable qualities, and profound knowledge, are sources of superiority, they, most probably, will not be traced in that person, to whom so short a period of existence has yet afforded little leisure for thought, word, and deed.

Impatience of obscurity is another fault of which the young are very apt to be guilty; and a fault the more to be compassionated, because, by a very little management, it might be converted into a virtue. The highest virtue flows only from obedience to the will of God, as evinced in

an

the scriptures; but we must meliorate the wrong, if we cannot attain the right; and regulate that love of praise which we cannot extirpate. The best atonement we can make for loving the praise of men, is by loving that praise only which is given to actions difficult, meritorious, and good. Unfortunately, the young are so fond of attracting notice, that they are often induced to purchase it at any price;-by spirited extravagance,—supereminence in vice,—by a bold violation of the restrictions of society, -by paradox,-by a witty contempt for the good maxims which safely guide slower understandings, - by assuming a versatile profligacy of opinion, such as has sometimes marked brilliant men of extraordinary parts, by an unripe scepticism, which doubts before comprehension or discussion, -by levity, which laughs when the wise. tremble, and would mock at God, to gain a moment's applause from the lowest of his creatures. By this impatience, displaying itself in some one or other of these shapes, the young are often irretrievably ruined: They do not reflect that they must be little before they can be great; that the privilege