him, that he has all along neglected true wisdom; but then he will find that it is no easy matter to recover the right path, after having so long and so widely deviated from it,—that the course which he fell into through carelessness and want of consideration, is now confirmed by habit, almost beyond his power to quit it; and that the impressions and motives, to which he has been accustomed to yield, will continually recur upon him, and be attended with the same bad consequences as formerly, in spite of his utmost efforts to resist and get rid of their influence. In proof of this, it may be observed, that we seldom entertain any hope that a person who has been long addicted to any particular vice will ever be reclaimed from it. Let me mention a few instances. Do we hope that the drunkard, or the habitually dissipated and idle, will become sober, diligent, and attentive to business? or, if owing to some extraordinary cause, a reformation should take place, would it not be difficult to persuade us that such reformation is sincere, or that it will be permanent? Do we ever give full credit to the tales of a person who is notorious for lying? Nay, we do not believe him, even when he tells the truth; and we are far from expecting that he will ever come to be a person of such honour and veracity, as that he may be uniformly depended on. Has a man betrayed trust? Or has it been his practice to cheat and over-reach in his dealings? Will he be able to persuade you, that he is now become an honest man, and that you may with safety repose the same confidence in him, that you would do in a man of approved fidelity and integrity? Do we expect that ever the covetous man, whose first and almost sole object it is to amass wealth, the acquisition of which he prefers to his own ease, comfort, and character, nay, to every consideration that should weigh with a rational being;do we expect, I say, that such a one will become generous, disinterested, and charitable? It is needless to multiply examples; for, it is evident, that we may almost as soon expect, that the "Ethiopian will change his colour, and the leopard his spots, as that he who hath been long accustomed to do evil, will learn to do well." It is evidently, then, a matter of no slight importance with what principles we set out in life, nor is it by any means a matter of indifference, whether we set out with any principles at all. Hence, it becomes an inquiry of the utmost consequence, what those principles and rules of conduct are, by which, if we adhere to them, we may be preserved from vice and misery, and conducted to virtue and happiness. And as this is a subject which has engaged the attention of many, because every one is interested in it, so it is one, upon which we meet with the most abundant variety of advice. Some moralists dwell with rapture on the beauty and loveliness of virtue, which, they assure us, if we make it the subject of frequent and serious meditation, will so persuade us of her transcendant excellence, and so inflame our desires and animate our endeavours to possess her,-that this alone will prove a sufficient incitement to seek her paths, and to guide us in them ;-the aid of other motives and arguments for this purpose, such as the hope of reward, and the fear of punishment, being thus, they tell us, rendered unnecessary. Others, addressing themselves to our reason, speak of an abstract fitness of things, an unalterable rule of right, an eternal order and harmony established in the universe; and urge a conformity in our actions to this fitness-this rule of right, this order and harmony, is not only becoming, but indispensably incumbent upon creatures endowed with reason as we are. And they add, that were reason duly cultivated, and its dictates listened to and obeyed, such conformity would infallibly be the consequence. That virtue either is, or certainly brings, its own reward, and that vice either is, or certainly brings, its own punishment, is another argument often made use of to persuade us to the one, and to deter us from the other. The good man, generally speaking, is blessed with health of body, peace of mind, success in the world, respectability of character, and the love and esteem of his fellow men. In short, all those ingredients which constitute earthly happiness, can only be secured, and generally are so, by an innocent and virtuous course of life. On the other hand, it is found, that misery in some shape or other, and often in many shapes, seldom fails to overtake the man, who contemns, and lives in the habitual violation of the laws of virtue. Hence, a rational self-love, well informed and properly directed, would appear sufficient to determine our choice between a virtuous and a vicious course; and make us choose and pursue the former, as conducting to happiness and honour, and to shun the latter, as a road that will certainly terminate in misery and disgrace. The motives and arguments, which I have mentioned, may be of use, and no doubt, often are so. They are founded in truth, and fitted to produce conviction; and their influence upon minds that rightly apprehend, and duly ponder them, must be considerable. Were not this the case, they would not be so frequently and so warmly urged in Sacred Scripture, as we find they are. We are there exhorted to think of whatsoever things are true, honourable, pure, lovely, and of good report; to use our reason in judging in regard to what is right, and to offer to our Creator a reasonable service; and with respect to the good and bad consequences which respectively result to us, not only in a future world, but in the present, from a virtuous and vicious course of life, we can scarcely open our Bibles without meeting with arguments, expostulations, and exhortations, founded on this consideration. But, are the reasons and considerations, which have been stated, sufficient of themselves, and without the aid of any other principle, to persuade and determine us to choose and pursue the right course, and to deter us from the wrong one? Experience, nay, our own experience, I am afraid, but too certainly and woefully proves the contrary. If any person doubt this, let him who does so, only recollect, upon how many occasions in his past life, by yielding to the impulse of passion, by gratifying the cravings of appetite, and by preferring a mistaken to a real self-interest, he has acted in a manner contrary to his own conviction of what was becoming, right, and prudent. Let a teacher of youth try the effect of these arguments upon his pupils, abstaining at the same time his authority over them. succeeds in convincing from the usual exercise of them, of what is indeed perfectly true, that obedience to himself, strict attention and regular application to their studies, and correctness of behaviour in all respects, are what highly and especially becomes their age and situation; are what is right, and reasonable, and just, being no more than a fair return for the expense bestowed on their education; are what will render them objects of the warmest affection and greatest delight to their parents and friends, secure the good opinion and good wishes of all who know them, and afford themselves the delightful consciousness of having acted a proper part; and, finally, are what is indispensably necessary to qualify them for acquitting themselves usefully and respectably in the station they may fill, or the business in which they may be employed, or the duties they may have to discharge in after life. We shall suppose that the teacher succeeds in impressing a thorough conviction of the truth of all this upon their young minds. Would such conviction be alone sufficient to counteract their natural |