Ecclus

xxxiii. 18,

&c.

this head. Hear me, O ye great men of the people, and hearken with your ears, ye rulers of the congregation.

What is it, that he would introduce with fo much folemnity; commanding those in authority, and teaching the teachers of mankind? — Give not thy fon, and wife, thy brother, and friend, power over thee while thou liveft: and give not thy goods to another; left it repent thee, and thou intreat for the fame again. As long as thou liveft, and haft breath in thee, give not thy felf over to any.

Yet there is an errour on the other fide. As liberality without measure may be imprudent, extreme parfimony would be cruel. Too great a depreffion of those whom you must advance at your death, will spoil both the grace and value of your gift; making your heirs unhappy, firft in the tedious expectation, and then in the aukward poffeffion of a fortune they were never taught to use, or to enjoy.

Nor

Nor fons alone, but daughters, by fuch ill-judged œconomy, have been greatly injured; and have taken a dangerous revenge. They cannot indeed be justified; but neither are you excufable. And you should remember, that as you are joined in the blame, you will find yourselves certainly to partake in the confequences, whatever they be. Befides the dishonour, the diftrefs will always reach you. Your happiness is involved in their's: You fail on the fame bottom. And whatever you acquire, or keep, you may appear splendid, and be called fortunate: but you will never be happy, while you have children that are miferable and infamous.

But if, on the contrary, by your attention, and encouragement, by a fuitable education, and a conftant kindness tempered, or rather heightened by discretion, you can, with God's bleffing, make them good; in the first place, you will do them

Prov. xvii.

6,

the greatest service that is poffible; secondly, you will discharge your own conScience, and acquit yourselves faithfully of the great truft repofed in you by Providence; and laftly, you will reap your reward in their merit, and feel the comfort of all their happiness, both in this world, and that which is to come. Besides the many inftances of gratitude and affection to be expected from fuch children, which may prove to be useful, and will always be pleafing; you will participate of all their welfare, reflected, as it were, into your own bofom; as your kindness laid the foundation of their felicity, the influence is reciprocal; and their virtues, and those of their children after them, will to you be matter of conftant and growing fatisfaction. Children's children are the crown of old men: and the glory of children are their fathers.

There is yet one thing more you are to provide for your children, which must

not

not be overlooked; itself one of the most efficacious means of doing them service; and fuch as may be properly joined with every other instance of your attention and tenderness: I mean the filent but perfuafive admonition of your own virtuous life, and good example. With what face, or with what fuccefs, can any one reprimand his family for irregularities, which he commits; or exhort to virtues, that he only talks of? Parents, we fee, have an additional reason to be religious and exemplary, over and above the motives that are common to all chriftians. They cannot do themselves mifchief, without great hazard to those whom they have brought into the world. Teftify your affection for your children, in the most important inftance both to yourselves, and them. Go before them in every thing that is good: Inftruct, and lead them too, in the way to heaven. Though poor, you will give them a noble fortune, if you teach them to be good chriftians. Your

L 4

Your example may be better to them, than any eftate. But what amends will you make them, by all the kindness you can fhew, or the poffeffions you may provide, if it fhould be owing to you, that they are cut off at last from the inheritance of the faints in light, and condemned to have their portion for ever, where fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth?

SER