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§ 56. Exceffive Defire of Praise tends to corrupt the Heart, and to difregard the Adminitions of Conscience.

An exceffive love of praife never fails to undermine the regard due to confcience, and to corrupt the heart. It turns off the eye of the mind from the ends which it ought chiefly to keep in view; and fets up a falfe light for its guide. Its influence is the more dangerous, as the colour which it affumes is often fair; and its garb and appearance are nearly allied to that of virtue. The love of glory, I before admitted, may give birth to actions which are both fplendid and ufeful. At a diftance they ftrike the eye with uncommon brightnefs; but on a nearer and ftricter furvey, their luftre is often tarnished. They are found to want that facred and venerable dignity which characterifes true virtue. Little paffions and felfish interests entered into the motives of thofe who performed them. They were jealous of a competitor. They fought to humble a rival. They looked round for fpectators to admire them. All is magAll is magnanimity, generofity, and courage, to public view. But the ignoble fource whence thefe feeming virtues take their rife, is hidden. Without appears the hero; within, is found the man of duft and clay. Confult fuch as have been intimately connected with the followers of renown; and feldom or never will you find, that they held them in the fame efteem with thofe who viewed them from afar. There is nothing except fimplicity of intention, and purity of principle, that can ftand the teft of near approach and trict examina

tion.

Blair.

§ 67, That Difcipline which teaches to moderate the Eagerness of worldly Paffions, and to fortify the Mind with the Principles of Virtue, is more conducive to true Happiness than the Poffeffion of all the Goods of Fortune.

That difcipline which corrects the eagernefs of worldly paffions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens the mind with ufeful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of enjoyment from within itself, is of more confequence to real felicity, than all the provifion which we can make of the goods of fortune. To this let us bend our chief attention. Let us keep the heart with all diligence, fee

ing out of it are the iffues of life. Let us account our mind the moft important province which is committed to our care; and if we cannot rule fortune, study at leaft to rule ourselves. Let us propofe for our object, not worldly fuccefs, which it depends not on us to obtain, but that upright and honourable difcharge of our duty in every conjuncture, which, through the divine affiftance, is always within our power. Let our happiness be fought where our proper praife is found; and that be accounted our only real evil, which is the evil of our nature; not that, which is ei ther the appointment of Providence, or which arifes from the evil of others.

Ibid.

§ 68. Religious Knowledge of great Confolation and Relief amidst the Diftreffes of Life.

Confider it in the light of confolation; as bringing aid and relief to us, amidit the diftreffes of life. Here religion inconteftibly triumphs; and its happy effects in this refpect furnish a ftrong argument to every benevolent mind, for withing them to be farther diffufed throughout the world. For, without the belief and hope afforded by divine revelation, the circumftances of man are extremely forlorn. He finds himself placed here as a ftranger in a vaft univerfe, where the pow ers and operations of nature are very imperfectly known; where both the begin. nings and the iffues of things are involved in myfterious darkness; where he is unable to difcover with any certainty, whence he fprung, or for what purpofe he was brought into this ftate of existence; whether he be fubjected to the government of a mild, or of a wrathful ruler; what construction he is to put on many of the difpenfations of his providence; and what his fate is to be What a difconwhen he departs hence. folate fituation to a ferious, enquiring mind! The greater degree of virtue it poffeffes, its fenfibility is likely to be the more oppreffed by this burden of labouring thought. Even though it were in one's power to banish all uneafy thought, and to fill up the hours of life with perpetual amufement; life fo filled up would, upon reflection, appear poor and trivial. But thefe are far from being the terms upon which man is brought into this world. He is confcious that his being is frail and feeble; he fees himself befet with various dangers, and is exposed to many a melancholy

lancholy apprehenfion, from the evils which he may have to encounter, before he arrives at the close of life. In this diftreffed condition, to reveal to him fuch difcoveries of the Supreme Being as the Chriftian religion affords, is to reveal to him a father and a friend; is to let in a ray of the most chearing light upon the darknefs of the human eftate. He who was before a deflitute orphan, wandering in the inhofpitable defert, has now gained a fhelter from the bitter and inclement blaft. He now knows to whom to pray, and in whom to truft; where to unbofom his ferrous; and from what hand to look for relief.

It is certain, that when the heart bleeds from fome wound of recent misfortune, nothing is of equal efficacy with religious comfort. It is of power to enlighten the darkest hour, and to affuage the fevereft woe, by the belief of divine favour, and the profpect of a bleffed immortality. In fuch hopes, the mind expatiates with joy; and when bereaved of its earthly friends, folaces itself with the thoughts of one friend who will never forfake it. Refined reafotings, concerning the nature of the huaz condition, and the improvement which philofophy teaches us to make of every event, may entertain the mind when it is at cafe; may, perhaps, contribute to footh it, when lightly touched with forrow; but when it is torn with any fore diftrefs, they are cold and feeble, compared with a direct promife from the word of God. This is an anchor to the foul, both fure and fedfit. This has given confolation and refuge to many a virtuous heart, at a time when the most cogent reafonings would have proved utterly unavailing.

Upon the approach of death especially, when, if a man thinks at all, his anxiety about his future interefts must naturally increase, the power of religious confolation is fenfibly felt. Then appears, in the roft ftriking light, the high value of the discoveries made by the Gofpel; not only life and immortality revealed, but a Mediator with God difcovered; mercy prochimed, through him, to the frailties of the penitent and the humble; and his prefence promifed to be with them when they are paffing through the valley of the fhadow of death, in order to bring them fafe into unfeen habitations of relt and joy. Here is ground for their leaving the world with comfort and peace. But in this fevere and trying period, this labouring hour

of nature, how fhall the unhappy man fupport himself, who knows not, or believes not, the hope of religion? Secretly confcious to himself, that he has not acted his part as he ought to have done, the fins of his paft life arife before him in fad remembrance. He wishes to exift after death, and yet dreads that exiftence. The Governor of the world is unknown. He cannot tell whether every endeavour to obtain his mercy may not be in vain. All is awful obfcurity around him; and in the midst of endless doubts and perplexities, the trembling reluctant foul is forced away from the body. As the misfortunes of life muft, to fuch a man, have been moft oppreffive; fo its end is bitter: his fun fets in a dark cloud; and the night of death closes over his head, full of misery. Blair.

§ 69. Senfe of Right and Wrong, independent of Religion.

Mankind certainly have a fenfe of right and wrong, independent of religious belief; but experience fhews, that the allurements of prefent pleasure, and the impetuofity of paffion, are fufficient to prevent men from acting agreeable to this moral fenfe, unless it be fupported by religion, the influence of which upon the imagination and paffions, if properly directed, is extremely powerful. We shall readily acknowledge that many of the greatest enemies of religion have been diftinguifhed for their honour, probity, and good-nature. But it is to be confidered, that many virtues, as well as vices, are conftitutional. A cool and equal temper, a dull imagination, and unfeeling heart, enfure the poffeffion of many virtues, or rather, are a fecurity against many vices. They may produce temperance, chaflity, honefty, prudence, and a harmless, inoffenfive behaviour. Whereas keen paffions, a warm imagination, and great fenfibility of heart, lay a natural foundation for prodigality, debauchery, and ambition: attended, however, with the feeds of all the focial and most heroic virtues. Such a temperature of mind carries along with it a check to its conftitutional vices, by rendering thofe poffeffed of it peculiarly fufceptible of religious impreffions. They often appear indeed to be the greatest enemies to religion, but that is entirely owing to their impatience of its reftraints. Its moft dangerous enemies have ever been among the temperate and chafte philofophers,

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Abfolute infidelity, or fettled fcepticifm in religion, we acknowledge, is no proof of want of understanding, or a vicious difpofition, but is certainly a very strong prefumption of the want of imagination and fenfibility of heart, and of a perverted underftanding. Some philofophers have been infidels; few, men of taste and fentiment. Yet the examples of Lord Bacon, Mr. Locke, and Sir Ifaac Newton, among many other first names in philofophy, are a fuficient evidence, that religious belief is perfectly compatible with the cleareft is perfectly compatible with the cleareft and moft enlarged understanding.

Ibid.

$71. Religion not founded on Weakness of Mind.

Several of thofe who have furmounted Several of those who have furmounted what they call religious prejudices themfelves, affect to treat fuch as are not alhamed to avow their regard to religion, as men of weak understandings and feeble minds: but this fhews either want of candour, or great ignorance of human nature. The fundamental articles of religion have been very generally believed by men the moft diftinguished for acutenefs and accuracy of judgment. Nay, it is unjuft to infer the weakness of a perfon's head on other fubjects, from his attachment even to the fooleries of fuperftition. Experience fhews, that when the imagination is heated, and the affections deeply interefted, they level all diftinctions of understanding; yet this affords no prefumption of a fhallow judgment in fubjects where the imagination and paffions have no influence.

Ibid.

ding defiance to God Almighty: it confifts in an active, refolute fpirit; in a spirit that enables a man to act his part in the world with propriety; and to bear the misfortunes of life with uniform fortitude and dignity. This is a ftrength of mind, which neither atheism nor univerfal fcepticifm will ever be able to infpire. On the chill all the powers of imagination; to decontrary, their tendency will be found to prefs fpirit as well as genius; to four the highest religious fpirit, and veneration for temper and contract the heart. The Providence, breathes in the writings of the ancient ftoics; a fect diftinguished for producing the most active, intrepid, virtuous men, that ever did honour to human na

ture.

Can it be pretended, that atheism or univerfal fcepticifm have any tendency to form fuch characters? Do they tend to infpire that magnanimity and elevation of mind, that fuperiority to felfith and fenfual gratifications, that contempt of danger and of death, when the cause of virtue, of liberty, or their country, required it, which diftinguish the characters of patriots and heroes? Or is their influence more favourable on the humbler and gentler virtues of private and domeftic life? Do they foften the heart, and render it more delicately fenfible of the thoufand nameless duties and endearments of a husband, a father, or a friend? Do they produce that habitual ferenity and chearfulness of temper, that gaiety of heart, which makes a man beloved as a companion? or do they dilate the heart with the liberal and generous fentiments, and that love of human kind, which would render him revered and bleffed as the patron of deprefied merit, the friend of the widow and orphan, the refuge and fupport of the poor and the unhappy?

The general opinion of mankind, that there is a strong connection between a religious difpofition and a feeling heart, appears from the universal dislike which

§72. Effects of Religion, Scepticism, and all men have to infidelity in the fair fex,

Infidelity.

Feebleness of mind is a reproach frequently thrown, not only upon fuch as have a fenfe of religion, but upon all who poffefs warm, open, chearful tempers, and hearts peculiarly difpofed to love and friendship. But the reproach is ill founded. Strength of mind does not confift in a peevish temper, in a hard inflexible heart, and in bid

We not only look on it as removing the principal fecurity we have for their virtue, but as the ftrongeft proof of their want of that foftnefs and delicate fenfibility of heart, which peculiarly endears them to us, and more effectually fecures their empire ever us, than any quality they can possess.

There are, indeed, fome men who can perfuade themselves, that there is no fupreme intelligence who directs the courfe

of nature; who can fee those they have been connected with by the strongeit bonds of nature and friendship gradually difappearing; who are perfuaded, that this feparation is final and eternal; and who expect, that they themselves fhall foon fink down after them into nothing; and yet fuch men appear easy and contented. But to a fensible heart, and particularly to a heart foftered by paft endearments of love or friendship, uch opinions are attended with gloom inexpreffible; they strike a damp into all the pleatures and enjoyments of life, and cut off thefe profpects which alone can comfort the foul under certain diftrefies, where all other aid is feeble and ineffectual.

Scepticism, or fufpenfe of judgment, as to the truth of the great articles of religion, is attended with the fame fatal effects. Wherever the affections are deeply interelled, a ftate of fufpence is more intolerable, and more distracting to the mind, than the fad affurance of the evil which is mott dreaded. Gregory.

73. Comforts of Religion. There are many who have paffed the age of youth and beauty, who have refigned the pleafures of that fmiling feafon, who begia to decline into the vale of years, impaired in their health, depreffed in their fortunes, ftript of their friends, their children, and perhaps ftill more tender connections. What refource can this world afford them? It prefents a dark and dreary wafte through which there does not iffue a fingle ray of comfort. Every delufive profpect of ambition is now at an end; long experience of mankind, an experience very different from what the open and generous foul of youth had fondly dreamt of, has rendered the heart almoft inacceffible to new friendships. The principal fources of activity are taken away, when thofe for whom we labour are cut off from us, thofe who animated, and thofe who fweetened all the toils of life, Where then can the foul find refuge, but in the bofom of religion? There the is admitted to thofe profpects of Providence and futurity, which alone can warm and fill the heart. I fpeak here of fuch as retain the feelings of humanity, whom misfortunes have foftened, and perhaps rendered more delicately fenfible; not of fech as poffefs that ftupid infenfibility, which fome are pleased to dignify with the name of philofophy.

It should therefore be expected that thofe philofophers, who ftand in no need themfelves of the affiftance of religion to fupport their virtue, and who never feel the want of its confolations, would yet have the humanity to confider the very different fituation of the rest of mankind, and not endeavour to deprive them of what habit, at least, if they will not allow it to be nature, has made neceflary to their morals, and to their happinefs.-It might be expected, that humanity would prevent them from breaking into the lait retreat of the unfortunate, who can no longer be objects of their envy or refentment, and tearing from them their only remaining comfort. The attempt to ridicule religion may be agreeable to fome, by relieving them from reftraint upon their pleafures, and may render others very miferable, by making them doubt thofe truths, in which they were most deeply interested; but it can convey real good and happiness to no one individual.

Ibid.

$74. Caufe of Zeal to propagate Infidelity.

To fupport openly and avowedly the caufe of infidelity, may be owing, in fome, to the vanity of appearing wifer than the reft of mankind; to vanity, that amphibious paffion that feeks for food, not only in the affectation of every beauty and every virtue that adorn humanity, but of every vice and perverfion of the understanding, that difgrace it. The zeal of making profelytes to it, may often be attributed to a like vanity of poffeffing a direction and afcendancy over the minds of men; which is a very flattering fpecies of fuperiority. But there feems to be fome other cause that fecretly influences the conduct of fome that reject all religion, who, from the rest of their character, cannot be fuspected of vanity, in any ambition of fuch fuperiority. This we shall attempt to explain.

The very differing in opinion, upon any interefting fubject, from all around us, gives a difagreeable fenfation. This muft be greatly encreafed in the prefent cafe, as the feeling which attends infidelity or feepticifin in religion is certainly a comfortless one, where there is the least degree of fenfibility, Sympathy is much more fought after by an unhappy mind, than by one chearful and at eafe. We require a fupport in the one cafe, which in the other is not neceffary. A perfon, therefore, void of religion, feels himself as it were alone

in the midft of fociety; and though, for prudential reafons, he choofes, on fome occafions, to difguife his fentiments, and join in fome form of religious worship, yet this, to a candid and ingenuous mind, muft always be very painful; nor does it abate the difagreeable feeling which a focial fpirit has in finding itself alone, and without any friend to footh and participate its uneafinefs. This feems to have a confiderable fhare in that anxiety which FreeThinkers generally difcover to make profelytes to their opinions; an anxiety much greater than what is fhewn by thofe whofe minds are at cafe in the enjoyment of happier profpects.

Gregory.

$75. Zeal in the Propagation of Infidelity inexcufable.

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The excufe which infidel writers plead for their conduct, is a regard for the caufe of truth. But this is a very infufficient one. None of them act upon this princi. ple, in its largest extent and application, in common life; nor could any man live in the world, and pretend fo to do. In the purfuit of happiness, our being's end and aim, the difcovery of truth is far from being the most important object. It is true, the mind receives a high pleafure from the investigation and difcovery of truth, in the abstract fciences, in the works of nature and art; but in all fubjects, where the imagination and affections are deeply concerned, we regard it only fo far as it is fubfervient to them.-One of the first principles of fociety, of decency, and of good manners, is, that no man is entitled to fay every thing he thinks true, when it would be injurious or offenfive to his neighbour. If it was not for this principle, all mankind would be in a state of hoftility.

Suppofe a perfon to lofe an only child, the fole comfort and happiness of his life: when the first overflowings of nature are paft, he recollects the infinite goodnefs and impenetrable wisdom of the Difpofer of all events; he is perfuaded, that the revolution of a few years will again unite him to his child, never more to be feparated. With these fentiments he acquiefces, with a melancholy yet pleafing refignation, to the divine will. Now, fuppofing all this to be a deception, a pleafing dream, would not the general fenfe of mankind condemn the philofopher, as barbarous and inhuman, who should attempt to wake him out

# Pope.

of it?-Yet fo far does vanity prevail over good-nature, that we frequently fee men, on other occafions of the most benevolent tempers, labouring to cut off that hope which can alone chear the heart under all the preffures and afflictions of human life, and enable us to refign it with chearfulness and dignity!

Religion may be confidered in three different views. Firft, As containing doctrines relating to the being and perfections of God, his moral administration of the world, a future ftate of existence, and particular communications to mankind, by an immediate fupernatural revelation.-Secondly, As a rule of life and manners.— Thirdly, As the fource of certain peculiar affections of the mind, which either give pleasure or pain, according to the particular genius and fpirit of the religion that infpires them.

Ibid.

$76. Religion confidered as a Science.

In the first of thefe views, which gives a foundation to all religious belief, and on which the other two depend, Reafon is principally concerned. On this fubject, the greateft efforts of human genius and application have been exerted, and with the moft defirable fuccefs, in thofe great and important articles that feem molt immediately to affect the intereft and happinefs of mankind. But when our enquiries here are pushed to a certain length, we find that Providence has fet bounds to our reafon, and even to our capacities of apprehenfion. This is particularly the cafe with refpect to infinity, and the moral economy of the Deity. The objects are here, in a great measure, beyond the reach of our conception; and induction, from experience, on which all our other reafonings are founded, cannot be applied to a fubject altogether diffimilar to any thing we are acquainted with.-Many of the fundamental articles of religion are fuch, that the mind may have the fulleft conviction of their truth, but they must be viewed at a distance, and are rather the objects of filent and religious veneration, than of metaphyfical difquifition. If the mind attempts to bring them to a nearer view, it is confounded with their strangenefs and immenfity.

When we pursue our enquiries into any part of nature beyond certain bounds, we find ourfelves involved in perplexity and darknefs. But there is this remarkable difference between thefe and religious en

quiries;

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