forrow offer itself to his view, fimply confidering it in a general view, he will be glad or forry according to the nature of the thing in question: but fhould this occafion of public joy intereft him ever fo little, or in any manner prejudice his pretenfions, all on a sudden you will see all his joy turned into forrow. In like manner, when a publick calamity gives him an opportunity of gaining any thing, all his forrow is turned into joy. If he ardently loves any one he will love him no longer, if he begin to coft him any thing; avarice will turn all his love into indifference and coldness. If reafon and common honefty oblige him to be of a party, who have juftice on their fide, he will maintain, and even exaggerate their rights, and defend the equity of them, while his purfe is not engaged: engage his purse, and it is no longer the fame thing; what was juft is become now unjuft to him, he has quickly whys, and howevers in his mouth-but, however, we were mistaken in fuch a point,-why should we be obftinate in fuch, or fuch a thing? &c. (6) runt." &c. Refutatio Grovii Refponf. ad Celeufma. In epithets which were given them by one another. Adm. Reverendiffime - Digniffime —Ornatissime — Venerabilif This great and excellent fervant of Chrift, who was defcended by his mother's fime-Benigniffime-Scienfide from Rogers, the proto- tificentiffime-Singulariffime martyr, died in Newgate, Sociabiliffime-Vigilantifafter a confinement of seven- fime-Pientiffime—Sanctifiteen weeks for confcience- me-Beatiffime-&c. &c. fake. 1685. Dr. Calamy's But I forbear. Vid. Hen. BeAcc. vol. ii. London. belius de Abuf. Ling. Lat. I might add another source of puritanical mirth arifing from a contraft of qualifications of churchmen with the (6) Avarice governs the tempers of interefted men, and directs their actions in publick events. Were we to apply În fine, his avarice gives the colour and tint to every fubject, it is the fole rule, and measure, it makes things good or bad, juft or unjust, reasonable or unreasonable according to its pleasure. Crimes are no longer crimes, if they agree with avarice, virtues are no longer virtues, when they oppose it. She reigns over the ideas of a mifer's mind and the emotions of his heart, fole arbitress in the judgments of his mind, fole directress in the confultations of his heart, fole governess of all his paffions. (7) Ariftotle's definition of nature this to church-intereft, and to exemplify it by history, we could not choose a period more proper than that from the restoration of Charles II. to the death of queen Ann. The feveral turns of the times, the variety of temper discovered, the veering about of church-men according as the wind of intereft blew, are finely described, for the greater part of the time, by Our excellent hiftorian Neal, of whofe fidelity no party has any just cause to complain, except that of the Baptifts. (That they have, their hiftorian Crosby hath moft clearly fhewn, in his hiftory of the Baptifts, and particularly in his preface to it.) The difpofition of too many of the clergy of those times is properly enough ridiculed in the well-known humourous fong called The Vicar of Bray. (7) Avarice reigns over a mifer. Mr. Claude compares avarice to an abfolute emVOL. II. can prefs extending her defpotifm over an abject flave. The books of Ecclefiaftes, and Proverbs, affimilate avarice to several things, each fignificant and expreffive: the following is very beautiful in its kind. Eccl. vi. 3. An untimely birth is better than a mifer. "Comparantur in his abortivus et avarus, quia fruftra natus uterque, cum finem nafcendi neuter adeptus.... In eo præfertur abortivus, quod ut bona, fic nec mala vitæ ulla fit perpeffus: avarus vero bonis vitæ caruit, ætatem vero fuam in mille malis et ærumnis tranfegit." Del Rio Adag. Sac. Par. ii. Ad. 307. Prov. xvii. 8. A gift is as a precious ftone in the eyes of him that bath it: whitherfoever it turneth it profpereth. A bribe, like a diamond, fparkles in the eyes of interefted men, and money in all places, and on all occafions will prevail with them. L One can be no where better applied, fhe is the principle of motion and of reft; for fhe does all that the centurion in the gofpel did, fhe fays to one Go, and he goeth, to another Come, and he cometh, Do this, and he doth it: yea fhe goes farther than the centurion went; for fhe says Paufe, and all things paufe, Ceafe, and all things cease to be. (8) at the acceffion of Conftantine great riches, and with them great temptations to avarice poured into the church -that too many church-men, and particularly thofe in the church of Rome, efpecially the religious fraternities, had been fad examples of avarice - that it was a fin more fcandalous in them than in others- but that, as there were fome Zachariahs among the priests, and fome Barnabaffes among the Levites, fo there were fome liberal men among the Romish clergy, and more in other communities that foldiers, magiflrates, and merchants had difgraced war, polity, and trade with avarice but that it would be unfair to blame the whole order of either-and that there was nothing in the ministry it (8) As we cannot form an idea of love, hope, or avarice in the abstract, or independent of a perfon, it should feem the characters of vices, or virtues would be best defcribed in their fubjects, where fcripture affords examples. Where all the characters of a vice, or a virtue are not to be found in one person, several examples may be united to give a full defcription of the article in queftion. Juft defcription is extremely difficult: but what an encouragement to reflect, that it is not in the power of human nature to love vice, or hate virtue, appearing in their own colours! Mr. Saurin characterises patriotism in the person of Nehemiah, and covetousness in the unhappy Judas. After a just but terrible defcription of the vice in the man,-declaring, that he trembled at the idea of fuch a monfter-and exclaiming with Virgil, O exe crable IV. OBSERVE THE RELATION OF ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER. (9) For example, always when in fcripture God is called a Father, the relation of that term to children crable love of money! and fo on-he asks, whether this odious picture refemble Judas only he goes on, and compares his bearers with Judas, till he pities Judas, and turns all his indignation against them. His delign is to excite a perfect hatred of avarice, and thereby to deliver his hearers from its guilt and power at once. There applications fometimes produce great effects. How richly the infpired writings are fored with materials of this kind every body knows; indeed we may fay of many beauties of the bible, as Mr. Addifon in the freeholder fays of a paffage in Kings (2 b. viii. c. 11, 12, 13. verfes.) they only want a place in fome Greek and Roman writer to be univerfally admired. The orator's defcription of the idle lives of his countrymen is justly admired, ʼn ßrasπε, είπε μοι, περίοντες αλλιλων πυνθάνεσθαι λεγεται τι καινον ; . . . . τεθνηκε ο φιλιππως ο μα δι, αλλ' απενει, tell us, Do you rather incline according to your ufu T .... al cuftom, to faunter about idle, asking each other what news?... is Philip dead? No: but by Jove he is fick, &c. Demoft. Phil. I. Compare this defcription of the Corinthian church with it, Λεγω δε τέλος ότι ένας θ up.wv deye!, gye mer efl Παυλο, εγω δε Απολλώ, εγω δε Κέφα, εγω δε Χριςό. Μεμέρισαι ο Χριςός μη Παν λε εσαυρώθε υπερ υμών; η εις το όνομα Παύλο εβαπλοπο Tuxαрisw TW Dew, &c. Is the figure erotefis admired in the paffage above men tioned obferve this in Mat. xi. 7. To snadele eis TnV ¿paμου θεασαθαι; καλαμον ύπο ανε/κ σαλευόμενον; αλλα τι 50TE Dev; avopetroV EV μαλακοις ιματίοις ημφιεσμε vov; ιδε, οι τα μαλακά φο ργιλες εν τοις οικοίς των βασι λέων εισιν. αλλα τι εξηλθετε deswegentur; var keyw υμιν και περισσότερον προφήτε. (9) Obferve the relation of fubjects to each other. Nothing introduces a greater confufion into a difcourfe of any kind than a violation of this rule. The putting together of fingle, unconnect L 2 ed, children is evident, and we are obliged not only to remark the paternal inclinations, which are in ed, irrelative ideas produces a perfect wilderness, and, if a difcourfe fo compofed be animated with the ill tempers of the compofer, it refembles a wilderness full of tigers and lions, apes and panthers, ridiculous and terrible beasts. A violation of this rule produced almost all thofe expreffions, which fome zealots have collected and published under the title of Diffenters Sayings, and from which they pretended to derive proofs of principles, which the preachers never held. The truth is, the fashion of the laft age in both preaching and praying was to compofe of all manner of gatherings, without that accurate, afforting method, which maturer judgment has fince introduced. It was not the fafhion of any whole party, for each had judicious men; but it was the prevailing miftake of the bulk in all parties. There is, however, this difference between the publications of two partics; The epifcopal party publish ed by command of the head of the church, the church therefore is accountable: but among the other partics individuals only were cenfurable. "O Lord, who didft deliver David thy fervant, Jet King Charles find fafety ... God under the fhadow of thy wings." What relation was there between David and King Charles I.? Prayer for Prefervation of the King. 1643 "Let the happiness of the fuccefs of our fovereign fow to the very skirts of his people." This thought feems to be taken from Pfal. cxxxiii. 2. ointment went down to the Skirts of Aaron's garments, What have the skirts of Aaroz to do with the poor in an English workhouse? Thankf giv. for Via. at Edge-bill. "Lord! look to the righteousness of our cause. See the feamless coat of thy Son torne, the throne of thine anointed trampled on, thy church invaded by facrilege, and thy people miferably deceived with lies." What relation was there between the feamless coat of Chrift, the Jale of church-lands, and the lies of the clergy? Thanksgiv. for Vit. in the North. All published by his Majefty's command. 1643. The compiler of these prayers, telling God Almighty a history of rebellion, fays, among other things, "We murmured againft Moles ;" and with equal propriety might I fay, You did more than murmur against Mofes, you cut his head of before Whitehall! The |