and recreations, is like him whofe garments are all made of fringes, and his diet nothing but fauce. 116. Vain wishes ferve only to punish us by the inquietudes they cause in us; it is actually to lead an unquiet life, to be happy only in hopes. 117. The coming in of people fucceffively after divine service has begun, diftracts the minds both of the minister and his audience; it fhews negligence in those that do it, and gives offence to them that fee it. 118. A man cannot be agreeable, and good company, unless he be able to think nicely, and readily lay up all that is faid in converfation, which he can never do, unlefs he has a good fund of wit, a faithful memory, and an imagination fuitable. It is requifite likewife to be a mafter of one's own mother tongue, and know all the niceties, beauties, and delicacies of it; without this, though our thoughts were the best in the world, we cannot expect they should please. 119. It is obfervable that daring and undertaking fellows have ever been the darlings of the populace, who are fo credulous as to take men's characters even from themfelves, and believe pretenders in every art to be really what they profess: Bold ignorance paffes upon the multitude for fense; confident knaves live upon credulous fools. 120. Unlawful love being an unmannerly gueft, we fhould guard against it, because we know not how late in the evening of life it may intrude for lodging. 121. Tranquillity, unlefs we look for it in God, is not to be had; it is he alone that can give it us; as foon as you fix your eyes upon him, you will defpife every thing you you have seen before; from that very moment you begin. to love him, you will forget every thing you loved before; and at the fame time your defires are directed towards him, you will renounce all the pretenfions you ever had to any thing in this world. 122. Health more to be defired than life is a truth not contradicted by that maxim, The end is better than the means; for I hold not health to be fubordinate to life, but life to health; being is the means, and well-being is the end. 123. Were men as jealous of God's honour, as they pretend to be of their own, they would foon fee the folly. and madness of their wild perfuits of revenge, and learn to forgive as they expect to be forgiven. 124. He who has lived one day has lived a thousand; ftill the fame fun, the fame earth, the fame world, the fame enjoyments; nothing more like this day than tomorrow: death only would be new to us, which is but the exchange of this bodily ftate for one that is all spiritual. But man, tho' fo greedy of novelties, has no curiosity for this; tho' unfettled in his mind, and still growing weary of whatever he enjoys, yet never thinks his life too long, and would perhaps confent to live for ever: what he fees of death makes a deeper impreffion on his mind, than what he knows of it; the fear of pain and fickness, the horror of the grave, makes him lofe the defire of knowing another world; and the frongeft motives of religion can but just bring him to receive his doom with fubmiffion. 125. Could men but make due reflections, that as their wealth and riches may increase every day, fo their fenfes which enjoy them decrease continually, the confideration would make them lefs covetous, and lefs ambitious. 126. Nothing is fo apt to harden people in their dif orderly courses, as to fee the fame practifed in others; certain actions, which appear abominable to us in our folitude, look with a quite different face when we see them commonly done. 127. The knowledge of our being we have by intuition, the existence of a God, reafon clearly makes known to us. No existence of any thing, only of God, can certainly be known, further than our fenfe informs us. 128. Liberty unfeasonably obtained is commonly intemperately used. 129. Industrious wifdom often prevents what lazy folly thinks inevitable. Industry argues an ingenuous, great, and generous difpofition of foul, by unweariedly perfuing things in the faireft light, and disdaining to enjoy the fruit of other men's labours wiahout deferving it. 130. Knowledge foftened with complacency, and a yielding sweetness of temper, make a man equally beloved and admired by all the world that knows him; but join'd with a fevere, morofe, and affuming behaviour, makes him not only fhunned, and feared, but mortally hated by every creature. 131. Emulation is a noble paffion; it is enterprizing," but yet juft; for it keeps a man within the terms of honour, and makes his conquefts for glory both fair and generous; because it ftrives to excel, only by raifing itself, and not by depreffing another. 132. The 132. The resemblance of truth is the utmost limit of poetick licence. Beyond the actual works of nature a poet may go, but not beyond the conceived poffibility of it. 133. There is not any benefit ever fo great or glorious in itself, but it may be exceedingly fweetned and improved by the manner of conferring it. 134. It is faid that when Ariftotle faw the books of Mofes, he commended them for fuch a majestick stile as might well become a God; but withal faid, that way of writing was not fit for a philofopher, because there was nothing proved, but matters were delivered as if they would rather command than persuade belief. 135. To pretend to have the world in contempt when we have none of it in poffeffion, and to talk scornfully of it before we know what it is, proceeds rather from little breeding, and lefs manners, than true magnanimity and greatness of foul. 136. The precepts and admonitions of a very good man have in them a great power of perfuafion, and are apt to move strongly, and to inflame others to go and do likewife but the good inftructions of a bad man are languid and faint, and of very little force, because they give no heart or encouragement to follow that counsel which they see he that gives it, does not think fit to take himself. 137. Those women who, by reason and virtue, have acquired a firmness and folidity of foul, are as fure repofitories of a fecret as the most mafculine confident; fuch therefore should be cleared of the general accufation, their example fhews the reft that nature has put D 2 them ナ them under no fatal neceffity of being thus impotent. A fecret is no fuch unruly thing, but it may be kept in; they may take the wife man's word for it: If thou haft heard a word let it die with thee, and be bold it will not burst thee. 138. I know no duty in religion more generally agreed on, nor more justly required by God, than a perfect fubmiffion to his will in all things; nor do I think any difpofition of mind can either please him more, or become us better, than that of being satisfied with all he gives, and content with all he takes away. None, I am fure, can be of more honour to God, nor of more cafe to ourfelves; for if we confider him as our maker, we dare not contend with him; if as our father, we ought not to miftrust him; so that we may be confident that whatever he does, is intended for our good, and whatever happens that we interpret otherwife, yet we can get nothing by repining, nor fave any thing by resisting. 139. He who lies under the dominion of any one vice, must expect the common effects of it. If lazy, to be poor; if intemperate, to be diseased; if luxurious, to die betimes. 140. If actions derive their guilt or piety from our intentions, then the meaneft foul may be a hero in religion: there can be no bounds fet to holy meanings; my actions may be confined and fettered by impoffibilities, but my intentions are free as angels. After the refurrection, to all eternity, is time enough to reward pious actions; but therefore that, between death and judgment, the holy foul fhall be fully rewarded for all good intentions: as it did often |