of his own life, or a careful observation upon the life of others, do at length generally confirm to us all.

Let us endeavour, then, to try the cause upon this iffue; and instead of recurring to the common arguments, or taking any one's word in the cafe, let us truft to matter of fact; and if, upon inquiry, it appears that the actions of mankind are not to be accounted for upon any other principle, but this of the infufficiency of our enjoyments, 'twill go farther towards the establishment of the truth of this part of the discourse, than a thousand speculative arguments which might be offered upon the occafion.

Now, if we take a furvey of the life of man from the time he is come to reafon, to the latest decline of it in old age-we fhall find him engaged, and generally hurried on in fuch a fucceffion of different purfuits, and different opinions of things, through the different stages of his life-as will admit of no explication, but this, that he finds no reft for the fole of his foot, on any of the plans where he has been led to expect it.

The moment he is got loose from tutors and governors, and is left to judge for himself, and purfue this fcheme his own way-his firft thoughts are generally full of the mighty happiness which he is going to enter upon, from the free enjoyment of the pleasures in which he fees others of his age and fortune engaged.

In confequence of this-take notice, how his imagination is caught by every glittering appearance that flatters this expectation.-Obferve what impref. fions are made upon his fenfes, by diverfions, music,

drefs, and beauty-and how his fpirits are upon the wing, flying in pursuit of them; that you would think he could never have enough.

Leave him to himself a few years, till the edge of appetite is worn down and you will scarce know him again. You will find him entered into engagements, and fetting up for a man of bufinefs and conduct, talking of no other happiness but what centres in projects of making the most of this world, and providing for his children, and children's children after them. Examine his notions, he will tell you, that the gayer pleafures of youth are only fit for those who know not how to dispose of themselves and time to better advantage. That, however fair and promifing they might appear to a man unpractifed in them they were no better than a life of folly and impertinence and fo far from anfwering your expectations of happiness, 'twas well if you escaped without pain.That, in every experiment he has tried, he had found more bitter than sweet, and, for the little pleasure one could snatch-it too often left a terrible fting behind it: Befides, did the balance lie on the other fide, he would tell you, there could be no true fatisfaction where a life runs on in fo giddy a circle, out of which a wife man fhould extricate himself as soon as he can, that he may begin to look forwards.- That it becomes a man of character and confequence to lay afide childish things, to take care of his interefts, to establish the fortune of his family, and place it out of want and dependence: and, in a word, if there is fuch a thing as happiness upon earth, it must confift in the accomplishment of this?

-and for his own part, if God fhould profper his endeavours fo as to be worth fuch a fum, or to be able to bring fuch point to bear-he fhall be one of the happiest of the fons of men.-In full affurance of this, on he drudges-plots-contrives-rifes earlylate takes reft, and eats the bread of carefulness, till at length, by hard labour and perfeverance, he has reached if not outgone, the object he had first in view. When he has got thus far-if he is a plain. and fincere man, he will make no fcruple to acknowledge truly, what alteration he has found in himself.

-If you ask him—he will tell you, that his imagination painted fomething before his eyes, the reality of which he has not yet attained to: that with all the accumulations of his wealth, he neither lives the merrier, fleeps the founder, or has lefs care and anxiety upon his fpirits, than at his firft fetting out

Perhaps, you'll fay, fome dignity, honour, or title only is wanting-Oh! could I accomplish that, as there would be nothing left then for me to wish, good God! how happy fhould I be! 'Tis ftill the iame-the dignity or title-though they crown his head with honour-add not one cubit to his happinefs. Upon fumming up the account, all is found to be feated merely in the imagination.-The fafter he has purfued, the fafter the phantom fled before him; and to use the Satirift's comparison of the chariot wheels,hafte as they will, they must for ever keep the fame distance.

But what? though I have been thus far difappointed in my expectations of happiness from the poffeffion of riches" Let me try whether I fhall

"not meet with it in the spending and fashionable "enjoyment of them."

Behold! I will get me down, and make me great works, and build me houfes, and plant me vineyards, and make me gardens and pools of water. And I will get me fervants and maidens, and whatsoever my eyes defire, I will not keep from them.

In profecution of this he drops all gainful pur- fuits—withdraws himself from the bufy part of the world-realizes-pulls down-builds up again. Buys ftatues,pictures-plants and plucks up by the roots-levels mountains-and fills up valleys turns rivers into dry ground, and dry ground into rivers.-Says unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and unto another, Do this and he doeth it; and whatsoever his foul lufteth after of this kind, he withholds not from it. When every thing is thus planned by himself, and executed according to his wish and direction, furely he is arrived to the accomplishment of his wifhes, and has got to the fummit of all human happiness !—Let the most fortunate adventurers in this way anfwer the question for him, and fay how often it rifes higher than a bare and fimple amusement and well, if you can compound for that-fince 'ts often purchased at fo high a price, and fo foured by a mixture of other incidental vexations, as to become too often a work of repentance, which in the end will extort the fame forrowful confeffion from him, which it did from Solomon in the like cafe,-Lo! I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do and behold all was vanity and

vexation of fpirit

under the fun.

-and there was no profit to me

To inflame this account the more-it would be no miracle, if upon cafting it up he has gone farther lengths than he first intended, run into expences which have entangled his fortune, and brought himself into fuch difficulties as to make way for the last experiment he can try—and that is, to turn mifer, with no happiness in view but what is to rife out of the little defigns of a fordid mind, set upon faving and scraping up all he has injudiciously spent.

In this laft ftage-behold him a poor trembling wretch, fhut up from all mankind—finking into utter contempt; fpending careful days and fleepless nights in pursuit of what a narrow and contracted heart can never enjoy and let us here leave him to the conviction he will one day find-That there is no end of his labour-That his eyes will never be satisfied with riches, or will fay-For whom do I labour and bereave myself of reft? This is alfo a fore travail.

I believe this is no uncommon picture of the difappointments of human life-and the manner our pleasures and enjoyments flip from under us in every ftage of our life. And though I would not be thought by it, as if I was denying the reality of pleasures, or difputing the being of them, any more than one would the reality of pain-yet I muft observe on this head, that there is a plain diftinction to be made betwixt pleasure and happiness. For though there can be no happiness without pleasure—yet the reverfe of the propofiton will not hold true. We are