-But allowing these reflections to be too severe in this matter, that no fuch thing as envy ever leffened a man's character, or malice blackened it ;-yet the characters of men are not eafily penetrated, as they depend often upon the retired, unfeen parts of a man's life. The best and trueft piety is moft secret; and the worst of actions, for different reasons, will be fo too. Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide their virtues; and from a natural diftance and referve in their tempers fcarce fuffer their good qualities to be known :-others on the contrary, put in practice a thoufand little arts to counterfeit virtues which they have not, the better to conceal those vices which they really have; and this under fair fhows of fanctity, good-nature, generofity, or fome virtue or other,too fpecious to be seen through, too amiable and difinterested to be fufpected. These hints may be fuflicient to fhow how hard it is to come at the matter of fact :-)

-but one

may go a step farther,and fay, that even that, in many cafes, could we come to the knowledge of it, is not fufficient by itself to pronounce a man either good or bad. There are numbers of circumstances, which attend every action of a man's life, which can never come to the knowledge of the world, yet ought to be known, and well weighed, before fentence with any juftice can be passed upon him.-——— A man may have different views, and a different fense of things from what his judges have; and what he understands and feels and what paffes within him, may be a fecret treasured up deeply there for ever.— A man through bodily infirmity, or fome com

plexional defect, which perhaps is not in his power to correct, may be fubject to inadvertencies,to ftarts and unhappy turns of temper; he may lie open to fnares he is not always aware of; or, through ignorance and want of information and proper helps, he may labour in the dark in all which cafes, he may do many things which are wrong in themselves, and yet be innocent ;-at leaft an object rather to be pitied, than cenfured with feverity and ill-will. Thefe are difficulties which ftand in every one's way, in the forming a judgment of the characters of others. But, for once, let us fuppofe them all to be got over, fo that we could see the bottom of every man's heart; let us allow that the word-rogue, or honest man, was wrote fo legibly in every man's face; that no one poffibly could mistake it; yet still the happiness of both the one and the other, which is the only fact that can bring the charge home, is what we have fo little certain knowledge of, that, bating fome flagrant inftances, whenever we venture to pronounce upon it, our decifions are little more than random gueffes. For who can search the heart of man ;—it is treacherous even to ourselves, and much more likely to impofe upon others. Even in laughter (if you will believe Solomon) the heart is forrowful;-the mind fits drooping, whilft the countenance is ́ gay;- and even he, who is the object of envy to

those who look no further than the furface of his eftate, may appear at the same time worthy of compaffion to those who know his private receffes. Befides this, a man's unhappiness is not to be afcertained fo much from what is known to have befallen him;

-as from his particular turn and cast of mind, and capacity of bearing it.-Poverty, exile, loss of fame or friends, the death of children, the dearest of all pledges of a man's happiness, make not equal impref fions upon every temper. You will fee one man undergo, with scarce the expence of a figh,-what another, in the bitterness of his foul, would go mourning for all his life long :-nay, a hafty word, or an unkind look to a foft and tender nature, will frike deeper than a fword to the hardened and fenfe lefs. If thofe reflections hold true with regard to misfortunes,they are the fame with regard to enjoyments: we are formed differently.have differ ent tastes and perceptions of things;-by the force of habit, education, or a particular caft of mind,it happens, that neither the ufe or poffeffion of the fame enjoyments and advantages, produce the fame happiness and contentment-but that it differs in every man almost according to his temper and complexion fo that the felf-fame happy accidents in life, which fhall give raptures to the choleric or fan guine man, shall be received with indifference by the cold and phlegmatic;and fo oddly perplexed are the accounts of both human happiness and mifery in this world, that trifles, light as air, shall be able to make the hearts of fome men fing for joy; at the fame time that others, with real bleffings and advantages, without the power of ufing them, have their hearts heavy and discontented..

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Alas! if the principles of contentment are not within us, the height of station and worldly gran

deur, will as foon add a cubit to a man's ftature, as

to his happiness.

This will fuggeft to us how little a way we have gone towards the proof of any man's happiness,in barely faying,-Lo! this man profpers in the world, and this man has riches in poffeffion.

When a man has got much above us, we take it for granted that he fees fome glorious profpects, and feels fome mighty pleasures from his height;whereas could we get up to him—it is great odds whether we should find any thing to make us tolerable amends for the pains and trouble of climbing up so high.--Nothing, perhaps, but more dangers and more troubles ftill;--and fuch a giddinefs of head befides, as to make a wife man with he was well down again upon the level. To calculate, therefore, the happinefs of mankind by their ftations and honours, is the moft deceitful of all rules.-Great, no doubt, is the happiness which a moderate fortune, and moderate defires, with a consciousness of virtue, will secure a man.-Many are the silent pleasures of the honeft peasant, who rifes cheerfully to his labour. Look into his dwelling,-where the fcene of every man's happinefs chiefly lies ;-he has the fame domestic endearments as much joy and comfort in his children,—and as flattering hopes of their doing well, to enliven his hours, and glad his heart, as you could conceive in the most affluent station :And I make no doubt, in general, but if the true ac count of his joys and fufferings were to be balanced with those of his betters that the upshot would prove to be little more than this, that the rich man

had the more meat,

as warm,

-but the poor man the better

the one had more luxury,-more able

stomach; phyficians to attend and fet him to rights the other more health and foundness in his bones, and lefs occafion for their help;that, after these two articles betwixt them were balanced, in all other things they ftood upon a level;-that the fun fhines -the air blows as fresh, and the earth breathes as fragrant upon the one as the other ;and that they have an equal share in all the beauties and real benefits of nature. These hints may be sufficient to fhow, what I proposed from them,-the difficulties which attend us in judging truly either of the happiness or the mifery of the bulk of mankind, -the evidence being still more defective in this case (as the matter of fact is hard to come, at) than even in that of judging of their true characters; of both which in general, we have fuch imperfect knowledge, as will teach us candour in our determinations upon each other.

But the main purport of this discourse, is, to teach us humility in our reafonings upon the ways of the Almighty.

That things are dealt unequally in this world, is one of the strongst natural arguments for a future ftate, and therefore is not to be overthrown: nevertheless, I am perfuaded the charge is far from being as great as at firft fight it may appear; or, if it is

that our views of things are so narrow and confined, that it is not in our power to make it good.

But fuppofe it otherwife,that the happiness and profperity of bad men were as great as our ge