we have had of the fame State and Circumstances in ourselves. Thus a noble Heathen Poet introduces a certain great Perfon, telling how, from the Experience of Misfortunes in her own Circumstances, she had learned to pity and relieve the Unfortunate:

Haud ignara mali miferis fuccurrere difco.
Virg.

Having Experience of Misfortunes myself, fays fhe, I learn to relieve the Unfortunate. A very juft Thought; and I find God himself makes ufe of fuch an Argument in a more lively Manner to the People of Ifrael, against the Oppreffion of Strangers, Exod. xxiii. 9. Thou shalt not oppress a Stranger, fays he, for ye know the Heart of a Stranger, Jeeing ye were Strangers in the Land of Egypt. Now if this one Thing of Experience were observed, and applied to the Rule of my Text, what excellent Direction would it afford us in most of the Cafes of human Life? If ever ye were poor, think upon it; ye know the Heart of a poor Man, and what is the most proper Way to treat and comfort any fuch. If ever ye were in Debt, and had to do with a rigid Creditor, then ye know, when ye are Creditors, what is the most proper Way to behave yourselves towards your Debters. If ever ye were fick, and wanted Tendance, and Company, and Comfort of Friends, your own Experience, with the Help of this Rule, will teach you beft your Duty to fick People. If ever ye fuffered under harfh Mafters or Miftreffes; or were difheartned by fevere Fathers and Mothers, or Fathers or Mo

[SERM. thers-in-Law, or Tutors and Guardians; if ever ye were impofed upon by fraudulent or exacting Merchants, or oppreffed by infolent or arbitrary Magiftrates, Officers, or Commanders; then your own Experience, with the Application of this Rule, will beft teach you how to behave your felves, when ye are Mafters, or Miftreffes; Parents, or Parents-in-Law; Tutors and Guardians; Merchants, or Magiftrates, &c. or in any other of thofe States and Circumftances, of which ye have had Experience in any former Part of your Life.

But against this it may be objected, That the taking of this Courfe will caft us upon the contrary Extreme, as putting all the Weight of Self-love, and Self-intereft, into the other Scale. For it is not to be fuppofed, when we were in thefe other Circumstances, that our Sentiments were exactly juft, no more than they are now. But to this I answer; First, That this Method will bring our partial Sentiments much nearer a Poife than they would be otherwife, by ballancing the inordinate Self-love, which infinuates itself into all our Actions at prefent, with a former Self-love, which would have turned the Scale the other Way. Now the weighing these two one against the other, is the Way to find out the right, which is commonly in the Middle between them. But, Secondly, suppose this Method fhould carry us a little to the other Extreme, the Confequence will only be, that we fhall be a little kinder to our Neighbour than is exactly just; and this, I think, is no bad Confequence, as long as we ourselves are the other Party; what if we do intermix a little more Cha

rity, more Humanity, more Civility and good Ufage than is exactly our Neighbour's due, and fo yield a little of what in Strictness would be our own Right, is there any Harm in this? Never fear that too much Charity, or Goodness, or kind Confideration of our Neighbour's Circumstances, will do us any harm, if we should happen to go a little to that Extreme. But really there is no Occafion to fear the running to this Extreme at all, for Self-intereft is so strong, that if we strain ever so much against it, it will retain fomething of its prefent Crookedness; at least, there is no Fear that by all our Pains it will quite go back to its former Biafs, and incline to that Extreme, if we fhould ufe ever so much Art and Vigour to bend it that Way. The Method then to which I have been advifing you, is, only to ferve your Self-love, and Self-intereft, which are very crooked Inclinations, the fame Way ye ferve a crooked Stick, when ye would make it ftraight; ye bend it as far as ye can the contrary Way; not that ye mean to have it crooked that Way no more than the other, but because ye know that is the best way to overcome its present Crookedness, and to make it straight.

So much for the firft Advice, to facilitate the Rule of my Text; namely, the remembring and confidering what Sentiments we had formerly, when we were in the fame or like Circum ftances with our Neighbour, and the acting accordingly; which,by the by, is, though a very rational, yet a very uncommon Practice; for when Men grow rich and great, they foon forget what Thoughts and Sentiments they had when they were low and poor; at least, they do not care

actually to remember and call to Mindthefe Things. But now, Secondly, fuppofe we have never been in any fuch Circumftances ourselves, there are many other Ways, by which we may come to know what are the ordinary Sentiments of Men in the fame or like Cafe with those we

have to deal with. Next to Experience, the Examples of others, of which we have read, or which have been told us, or which we may have obferved our felves, if duly improved, will ferve to teach us what we would think just and fair in fuch and fuch Circumftances. Efpecially it is observed of domestick Examples, those I mean, in our own Family and near Friends, that they make almost as great an Impreffion, as the other Experiments we make in our own Perfons. Here then we have the Experience of our Fathers, and Mothers, and Predeceffors, and all our near Relations, Friends, and Acquaintance, to help us to this useful Piece of Knowledge, what Sentiments we should be of, if we were in fuch and fuch Circumstances, that fo we may be enabled to do by our Neighbour, as we should think it just and fair that he fhould do by us in the like Circumstances. So we find the People of Ifrael put in mind, not only of fuch Things as fell under their own Experience, but under the Experience of their Fathers and Progenitors. Thus the Prophet Jeremiah puts them in mind of their Father's Hofpitality, and Justice, and Honefty, to condemn their own Covetoufnefs and Oppreffion: Jer. xxii. 15. Did not thy Father eat and drink, and do Judgment and Justice, and then it was well with him? be judged the Caufe of the Poor and Needy,

then

then it was well with him.—But thine Eyes and thine Heart are not but for thy Covetousness, and for to fhed innocent Blood, and for Oppreffion, and for Violence, to do it. So the Advice to be hofpitable to Strangers, because they had been Strangers in the Land of Egypt, was often given, not only to themselves, but to the Pofterity of them who were fo oppreffed. This is the great Use we fhould make of all Hiftories, and all Examples, both for Imitation and Caution, even to learn, both from the Virtues and Vices of others, what is right, and what is wrong, and what unbiaffed Sentiments of Things we should have, if ever it come to be our own Cafe. But,

Thirdly, Where both these fail, and we have neither our own Experience, nor our Obfervation of the Experiences of others, to direct us to find out the real Sentiments we should have, if we were in fuch and fuch Circumstances, then the Knowledge of Mankind in general, together with an hearty and compaffionate Application of other Mens Thoughts and Circumstances to our felves, will qualify us to find out the right Temper of Mind and Thoughts for one in fuch and fuch particular Circumstances.

And therefore let us but endeavour heartily to make other Mens Cafe our own, and to have a true Sympathy and Fellow-feeling of it, and it will be no very hard Matter to enter into fuch Thoughts and Confiderations as are proper for their State. An univerfal Concern for, and good Will to, others, would go a great Way in this. We fee how pathetically an Attorney, or Advocate, will open, and plead for his Client's Caufe, only for fome knówn Confiderations, whereby he makes his Client's

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