"that induces God to command some actions, and "forbid others. They who extol the truth, beauty, "and harmony of virtue, exclusive of its conse

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quences, deal but in pompous nonsense; and "they who would persuade us, that Good and "Evil are things indifferent, depending wholly on "the will of God, do but confound the nature of "things, as well as all our notions of God himself, by representing him capable of willing contra"dictions; that is, that we should be, and be

happy, and at the same time that we should tor"ment and destroy each other; for injuries cannot "be made benefits, pain cannot be made pleasure, "and consequently vice cannot be made virtue by "any power whatever. It is the consequences,

therefore, of all human actions that must stamp "their value. So far as the general practice of any "action tends to produce good, and introduce hap

piness into the world, so far we may pronounce "it virtuous; so much Evil as it occasions, such is "the degree of vice it contains. I say the general "practice, because we must always remember, in "judging by this rule, to apply it only to the ge"neral species of actions, and not to particular "actions; for the infinite wisdom of God, desirous "to set bounds to the destructive consequences "which must otherwise have followed from the "universal depravity of mankind, has so wonder"fully contrived the nature of things, that our most "vicious actions may sometimes accidentally and "collaterally produce good. Thus, for instance, "robbery may disperse useless hoards to the benefit "of the public; adultery may bring heirs and

"good

"good humour too into many families, where they "would otherwise have been wanting; and mur"der free the world from tyrants and oppressors.

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Luxury maintains its thousands, and vanity its "ten thousands. Superstition and arbitrary power " contribute to the grandeur of many nations, and "the liberties of others are preserved by the per"petual contentions of avarice, knavery, selfish66 ness, and ambition; and thus the worst of vices, "and the worst of men, are often compelled by "Providence to serve the most beneficial purposes, "contrary to their own malevolent tendencies and "inclinations; and thus private vices become pub"lick benefits, by the force only of accidental cir"cumstances. But this impeaches not the truth of the "criterion of virtue before mentioned, the only solid "foundation on which any true system of ethicks can "be built, the only plain, simple, and uniform rule by "which we can pass any judgment on our actions; "but by this we may be enabled, not only to deter"mine which are Good, and which are Evil, but al"most mathematically to demonstrate the proportion "of virtue or vice which belongs to each, by com"paring them with the degrees of happiness or misery "which they occasion. But though the production "of happiness is the essence of virtue, it is by no “means the end; the great end is the probation of "mankind, or the giving them an opportunity of

exalting or degrading themselves in another state by their behaviour in the present. And thus in"deed it answers two most important purposes; "those are the conservation of our happiness, and

"the test of our obedience; or had not such a test "seemed necessary to God's infinite wisdom, and productive of universal good, he would never have "permitted the happiness of men, even in this life, to "have depended on so precarious a tenure, as their "mutual good behaviour to each other. For it is "observable, that he who best knows our formation, "has trusted no one thing of importance to our reason or virtue he trusts only to our appetites for "the support of the individual, and the continuance "of our species; to our vanity or compassion, for our "bounty to others; and to our fears, for the preser"vation of ourselves; often to our vices for the sup-'

port of government, and sometimes to our follies "for the preservation of our religion. But since "some test of our obedience was necessary, nothing "sure could have been commanded for that end so "fit and proper, and at the same time so useful, as "the practice of virtue: nothing could have been so

justly rewarded with happiness, as the production "of happiness in conformity to the will of God. It "is this conformity alone which adds merit to virtue, " and constitutes the essential difference between "morality and religion. Morality obliges men to "live honestly and soberly, because such behaviour "is most conducive to publick happiness, and con. "sequently to their own; religion, to pursue the "same course, because conformable to the will of "their Creator. Morality induces them to embrace "virtue from prudential considerations; religion "from those of gratitude and obedience. Morality "therefore, entirely abstracted from religion, can

"have nothing meritorious in it; it being but wisdom, prudence, or good economy, which like

health, beauty, or riches, are rather obligations "conferred upon us by God, than merits in us to"wards him; for though we may be justly punished "for injuring ourselves, we can claim no reward for "self-preservation; as suicide deserves punishment " and infamy, but a man deserves no reward or ho"nours for not being guilty of it. This I take to be "the meaning of all those passages in our Scriptures, " in which works are represented to have no merit "without faith; that is, not without believing in "historical facts, in creeds, and articles; but with"out being done in pursuance of our belief in God, "and in obedience to his commands. And now, "having mentioned Scripture, I cannot omit observ

ing that the Christian is the only religious or moral "institution in the world, that ever set in a right light these two material points, the essence and the "end of virtue, that ever founded the one in the production of happiness, that is, in universal be"nevolence, or, in their language, charity to all

men; the other, in the probation of man, and his " obedience to his Creator. Sublime and magnifi. "cent as was the philosophy of the ancients, all "their moral systems were deficient in these two "important articles. They were all built on the

sandy foundations of the innate beauty of virtue, "or enthusiastick patriotism; and their great point "in view was the contemptible reward of human glory; foundations which were by no means able "to support the magnificent structures which they " erected

E 3

" erected upon them; for the beauty of virtue, independent of its effects, is unmeaning nonsense; patriotism, which injures mankind in general for "the sake of a particular country, is but a more "extended selfishness, and really criminal: and all "human glory but a mean and ridiculous delusion, "The whole affair then of religion and morality, "the subject of so many thousand volumes, is, in "short, no more than this: the Supreme Being, in"finitely good, as well as powerful, desirous to dif"fuse happiness by all possible means, has created ❝ innumerable ranks and orders of beings, all subser"vient to each other by proper subordination. One "of these is occupied by man, a creature endued "with such a certain degree of knowledge, reason, " and free-will, as is suitable to his situation, and placed for a time on this globe as in a school of "probation and education. Here he has an oppor"tunity given him of improving or debasing his na"ture, in such a manner as to render himself fit for a "rank of higher perfection and happiness, or to de

grade himself to a state of greater imperfection and misery; necessary indeed towards carrying on the "business of the universe, but very grievous and bur"densome to those individuals, who, by their own "misconduct, are obliged to submit to it. The test of "this his behaviour, is doing good, that is, co-operat

ing with his Creator, as far as his narrow sphere of "action will permit, in the production of happiness. "And thus the happiness and misery of a future state "will be the just reward or punishment of promoting "or preventing happiness in this. So artificially by

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“this