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fcurity and poverty; then preached, and confirmed his doctrine with prodigies; gave health to the fick, light to the blind, life to the dead: He died by men's malice, and rofe again by his own power; fent twelve fishermen to fubdue the world; fuccefs waited on their labours, and crowned their endeavours; fo that, in a few years, the chriftian religion fpread its conquefts beyond the bounds of the Roman empire. Prejudice, libertinism, and atheism, confpired its ruin; philofophers oppofed arguments; emperors, torments; and libertines, fenfuality : Yet christianity broke through the violence of the oppofition, it multiplied by difputes, and increased by perfecution; millions of martyrs loft their lives in the quarrel, they demonftrated the truth of their creed, by the conftancy of their invincible valour, though their torments were inexpreffible. So that, notwithstanding the chriftian religion has been fo furiously attacked by impiety and prophaness, it has always appeared holy, always victorious, and always triumphant; it has been proved by miracles, fealed with the blood of martyrs, teftified by the apostles, confirmed by reason, published by the very elements, and confeffed even by devils.

1072. The christian, that firmly believes, and trusts, in God, is not without his claim to a prefent advantage, tho' of a far differing nature from that of the atheists; he proposes to himself the fatisfaction of a man, those delights which may entertain his reason, not his sense, and which confift in the rectitude of a well informed mind. His religion is the perfecteft scheme of morality, and makes him a philofopher without the help of schools; it teaches him

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the art of fubduing his appetites, calming his paffions, and, in a word, makes him lord of himself, and by that gives him all the pleasures which result from fuch a fovereignty: Nor is he totally void even of the pleasures of fenfe, which, in many inftances, are greater to him than to those that most court them. Temperance cooks his coarseft diet to a greater guft, than all their studied mixtures. Chastity alfo makes one lawful embrace more grateful to him, than all the nauseating variety of their unbounded lufts; and contentment fwells his mite into a talent, and makes him richer than the Indies would do, if he defired beyond them: Nor is it a contemptible benefit that his moderation gives him an immunity from the fenfitive pains, which oft bring up the rear of inordinate fenfual pleasures: So that his condition, even fet in the worst light, in that very particular, wherein the atheist most triumphs over him, is not fo deplorable as it is reprefented; befides, even the utmost fufferings, which christianity can at any time require, are outvy'd daily by the effects of luxury and rage, and for one that has an opportunity to be a martyr for his God, thoufands become fo to their vices.

1073. By a moderate diet the ftrength of the body is fupported, the fpirits are more vigorous and active, humours attenuated, crudities and obftructions prevented, many infirmities checked and kept under, the fenfes preserved in their integrity, the ftomach clean, the appetite and digeftion good. If you have as many diseases in your body, as a bill of mortality contains, this one receipt of temperance will cure them all. By temperance men shut

up

up their days like a lamp, only by pure confumption of the radical moisture, without grief or pain. The sect of the Effenes among the Jews, by reafon of their fimple and abftemious diet, did ufually extend their life to one hundred years: By the fame means too, Laertius tells us, the Stoicks and Cynicks were very long livers. The author William de Britaine (from whom I writ this) fays thus of himself : "I have lived in the reign of five kings, yet can I by no other calculation, than that of my fins, be found to be old. By reason of the regularity of life, I have a perpetual spring in me; I never met with an autumn, or knew any thing of the fall of the leaf, but vigour and ftrength, like the fun in its glory, vifit all my quarters. After a small pittance, I find a found and quiet fleep all night, and at the peep of day I get up as fresh as the morning. All afflictions and calamities are to me welcome, for I never feel more the divine affistance and comfort, than in my greatest extremities; and, because I am under the protection of the Almighty, I take but little care of myself. I never beg of God but general bleffings, because he, in his divine wisdom, knows better what is good for me, in particular, than I for myself.”

1074. The reason why the very word or name of bridge appears not in all the scripture is, because the rivers of Paleftine were either fo fhallow, they were paffable by fords, or fo deep, that they were ferried over.

1076. It is matter of prudence, to have a care not to out-do one's master. All fuperiority is odious, but in a fubject over his prince, it is ever foolish or fatal: An accomplished man conceals vulgar advantages, as a modest wo

man

man hides her beauty under a negligent drefs. There are many who would yield in good fortune, or in good humour, but no body would yield in good wit, and leaft of all a fovereign. Princes are willing to be affifted, but not furpaffed; those who advise them, ought to speak as if they put them in mind of what they forgot, and not as teaching them what they know not.

1076. It is impoffible for men to love any thing, without some respect to their private interefts: And, we only follow our own inclination and pleasure, when we prefer our friends before ourselves; and yet this preference is the only thing that can render friendship perfect and fincere.

1077. A man of true piety, that has no defigns to carry on, like one of an established fortune, always makes the leaft noife. One never pulls out his money, the other never talks of religion, but when there is occafion for it.

1078. How often have I laughed, in my fleeve, to hear a country parfon explain the effects of drunkenness to his parish, that knew them as well as himself!

1079. Lewis Cornaro, a Venetian of quality and learning, wrote a book of the benefits of a fober life, and produced himself as a teftimony. He fays, to the fortieth year of his age, he was continually perplexed with variey of infirmities; at last he grew fo careful of his diet, that in one year, he was almost freed from all his difeafes, and never after ufed phyfick; he continued thus temperate to the eightieth year of his age, found, chearful, and vegete ; and fo entire and perfect in his ftrength, that, he affirm

ed,

ed, he could do most of those things he did in his youth, at fourscore years. At length, he died in his chair, with very little pain or fickness, and all his fenfes entire to the laft, in the year 1631.

1080. Those that want the organs of any fenfe, never can have the ideas belonging to that fenfe, produced in their minds, this is too evident to be doubted; and, therefore, we cannot but be affured, that they come in by the organs of that sense, and no other way: The organs themselves, it is plain, do not produce them; for then the eyes of a man in the dark would produce colours, and his nose smell rofes in winter: But we fee no body gets the relish of a pine-apple, until he tastes it.

1081. Difcretion is an admirable veil to hide manifeft imperfections, and a politick filence screens those unperceived weakneffes, which are betray'd by the filly dif courses that escape; we ought to be very cautious of talking before judicious people, left we tread awry. A grave and mysterious air may at least make it probable, that we are skilled in the business treated on, and give us an appearance of ability. I know not whether of the two faults is most blamable in a young man; a filly timorousness, attended with a sheepish and awkard look, which keeps him from opening his mouth; or an impudent presumption, that defines with a bold air, cenfures right or wrong, attacks the conduct of all the world, vents a thousand fooleries, and then careffes himself for them both are equally foolish, but it is easier to endure the filence of the one, than the frothiness and vanity of the other.

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