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fecondly, the beft men would be often the most miscrable: I mean, as far as happinefs or mifery are to be measured from pleafing or painful fenfations; and, fuppofing the prefent to be the only life we are to lead, I fee not, but that this might be efteemed the true measure of them.

First, Were there no life after this, men would be more miferable than beafts: for in this life, it is plain that beasts have, in many refpects, the advantage of them; inafmuch as they enjoy greater fenfual pleasures, and feel fewer corporal pains, and are utter ftrangers to all thofe anxious and tormenting thoughts which perpetually haunt and difquiet mankind.

The pleafures of fenfe are probably relifhed by beasts in a more exquifite degree than they are by men; for they tafte them fincere and pure always, without mixture or alloy, without being diftracted in the purfuit, or difquieted in the ufe of them.

They follow nature in their defires and fruitions, carrying them no further than the directs, and leaving off at the point at which excefs would grow troublesome and hazardous; so that their appetite is not deftroyed or dulled, by being gratified, but returns always fresh and vigorous to its object. Hence their organs are generally better difpofed than ours, for receiving grateful impreffions from fenfible objects; being lefs liable to be vitiated by difeafes, and other bodily accidents, which diforder our frame, and extremely leffen the complacence we have in all the good things of this life that furround us. Nor are the pleafures,

which the brutal part of the creation enjoy, fubject to be leffened any way, by the uneafinefs which arifes from fancy and opinion. They have not the art of growing miferable upon the view of the happiness of others; it being the peculiar privilege of thinking beings, when they are otherwife fufficiently bleffed, to create trouble to themselves, by needlefs comparisons.

They are under no checks from reason and reflexion, which, by reprefenting perpetually to the mind of man the meannefs of all fenfual gratifications, do, in great meafure, blunt the edge of his keenest defires, and pall all his enjoyments. They are not aware of a fuperior good, or of any higher end, to which they might be ordained. They feel no inward reproaches for tranfgreffing the bounds of their duty, and the laws of their nature. They have no uneafy presages of a future reckoning, wherein the pleafures they now tafte must be accounted for; and may, perhaps, be outweighed by the pains, which fhall then lay hold of them. None of their fatisfactions are impaired by the fear of lofing them, by that dread of death, which hangs over the mere natural man; and, like the hand-writing on the wall, damps all his mirth and jollity; and by which he is, as the apostle speaks, all his life-time fubject unto bondage; Heb. ii. 15. that is, in a mean, dejected, flavish ftate of mind. In a word, they have no concern for what is past, no uneafy expectations of what is to come; but are ever tied down to the prefent moment, and to the prefent enjoyment, and in that they are vigorously and totally employed.

In these refpects, it may be truly affirmed; that,

if we had hope in this life only, men would be really more miferable than beafts; and on the fame account.

Secondly, The beft of men would be often the most misereable. For their principles give them not leave to tafte fo freely of the pleafures of life, as other men's do; and expose them more to the troubles and dangers of it.

The principles of good men give them not leave to tafte fo freely of the pleafures of life, as other men's do: for their great and prevailing principle is, to fit as loofe from thofe pleasures, and be as moderate in the ufe of them, as they can; in order to maintain the empire of the mind over the body, and keep the appetites of the one in due fubjection to the reafoning powers of the other. No fmall part of virtue confifts in abstaining from that, wherein fenfual men place their felicity; in "mortifying the deeds of the body, and making no provifion for the flesh to fulfil the lufts thereof," Rom. xiii. 14. A truly good man thinks himself obliged, not only to forbear thofe gratifications, which are forbidden by the rules of reafon and religion, but even to restrain himself in unforbidden inftances, when, by allowing himself in what is innocent, he would either run the rifque of being further betrayed into what is not fo, or would breed matter of offence to his weak and misjudging neighbour. He lives not for himself alone, but hath a regard in all his actions to the great community wherein he is enclofed; and gives the reins, therefore, to his appetites no further, than the indulging them is confiftent

confiftent with the general good and happiness of foceity.

He is fo far from grafping at all the advantages and fatisfactions of this world, which are poffible to be attained by him, that he thinks the bounding of his defires and defigns within the line which his birth and fortune have marked out, to be a great and indifpenfable duty: He hath "learned, in whatsoever ftate he is therewith to be content ;" Phil. vi. 11. and doth not, therefore, eagerly afpire after an higher condition of life, is not over-folicitous to procure to himself a larger sphere of enjoyment.

From thefe and many other confiderations (which I need not mention) it is manifeft, that the best of men do generally enjoy leaft of the pleasures and fatisfactions of life: It is as manifeft, that they are most expofed to the troubles and dangers of it.

They are determined to live up to the holy rule, by which they have obliged themselves to walk, whatever may be the confequences of it, though fore evils and great temporal inconveniencies fhould fometimes attend the discharge of their duty. The hypocrite hath the art of bending his principles and practice always to whatever is for his convenience, and of falling in with the fashion of a corrupt and wicked world: But the truly upright man is inflexible in his uprightness, and unalterable in his purpofes; nothing can make him remifs in the practice of his duty, no profpect of intereft can allure him, no fear of danger can difinay him.

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and licentious times. and to become a by-word and a reproach on that account among the men of wit and pleasure. He is not for our turn, (will they fay, as their words are represented in the book of Wifom)" He is clean contrary to our doings; he was made to reprove our thoughts; he is grievous unto us, even to behold; for his life is not like other mens, his ways are of another fashion," Wif. ii. 12,14, 15. And thefe ill thoughts, once entertained, will (we may be fure) as occafion offers, be followed by worfe ufage.

Some Chriftian virtues (for inftance, humility and meeknefs) do, as it were, invite injuries: For it is an encouragement to bafe and infolent minds to outrage men, when they have hopes of doing it without a return. If it be a man's known principle, to depart from his right in a fmall matter, rather than break Chriftian peace; Ill men will be tempted to make illegal and unjust encroachments upon him. He who refolves to walk by the gofpel-rule of forbearing all attempts, all defires of revenge, will probably have opportunities every now and then given to exercife his forgiving temper.

Thus good and pious perfons are, by the nature and tendency of their principles, more expofed to the troubles and ill accidents of life, as well as greater ftrangers to the pleafures and advantages of it, than other lefs confcientous men are: And, on both thefe accounts, what the apoftle lays down in the text is evidently and experimentally true; that, " if in this life only they had hope, they were of all men moft miferable.

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