CHAPTER 4: 

 

Of the Influence of Fortune on our Happiness.

 

 A SECOND thing which men charge with the guilt of their ruin, is Fortune. I might pass over this point slightly, because I have already cleared two great truths, which are of themselves abundantly sufficient to defeat this trifling objection; namely, First, That virtue and vice, wisdom and folly, are the things to which, generally, we owe our temporal prosperity or adversity; and consequently, that those, supposing the ordinary assistance of GOD, being in our power, these must be so too. Secondly, That we are assured of the assistance of GOD even in these things, as far as he shall see them truly subservient to our good. However, because the persuasion of the usefulness, nay, absolute necessity, of the favor of Fortune, has taken such deep root in the minds of men, I will bestow a little time on the consideration of this objection.

 

 First, What dost thou mean by Fortune If mere chance, then to envy the lot of others, or murmur at thine own, is folly; if Providence, then it is impiety; for whatever goodness, guided by unerring wisdom, does, must be so well done, that it cannot be mended; and whatever is merely in the power of a blind, giddy, and inconstant humor, (which is the ^notion by which men choose to express fortune,) can neither be prevented, fixed, nor regulated.

 

 But what is it, Secondly, thou dost put in the power of Fortune The understanding and liberty of men's minds j wisdom, temperance, industry, courage; and, in one word, virtue If thou dost not, she has no influence on thy happiness; she cannot prevent thy attainment of it; nor bereave thee of it when attained: if thou dost, thou dost enlarge the empire of Fortune too far. Let her rule and insult over soldiers, courtiers, lovers, and time-servers, but not over philosophers; let those who are her minions, be her slaves; let her _ dispose of money, lands, honors, fame; nay, if you will, crowns and sceptres too: virtue, and happiness, and souls, are too precious commodities to be the sport and traffic of Fortune. SOLOMON observed long ago,” Wisdom cries out, she uttereth her voice in the streets; she cries in the chief place of concourse, in the opening of the gates; in the city she utters her words.” Our SAVIOR, in the great day of the feast, cried, saying,” If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink; which is an invitation of the same nature with that of the Prophet: “ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that has no money; come ye, buy and eat, buy wine and milk, without money, and without price.”

 

 This ever was, and ever will be, true: A great fortune is not necessary for the attainment of faith, hope, or charity; and he that is endued with these cannot be miserable. You may learn the whole system of divine and important truths; you may acquaint yourself with all the beauty and enjoyments of virtue, at a very cheap rate; and you may learn temperance, fortitude, justice, modesty, constancy, patience, contempt of the world, without the assistance of much more wealth than will serve to feed and clothe you: and canst thou not be content with these possessions Is not this a sort of merchandise, to be preferred before that of fine gold

 

 I know the greater part of those -who accuse their fortune of their misery, pretend their circumstances of life are so incommodious, that they have not time to attend to-the great interest of the soul, or at least not with that application which they should. Alas, thus not the mean only, but almost all, talk, from the porter to the Prince: the circumstances of the one are too narrow; of another, too full of trouble, because too full of state: one complains that he is withdrawn from his great end, by the many temptations to which his rank and quality expose him; another, that he is daily fretted and indisposed, by the rugged conversation which he is necessarily obliged to bear with: one complains of too much business, another of too little; the hurry and multitude of things distract the one, infidel fears and anxious despondencies the other: one complains that his acquaintance and friends are too numerous, and intrench too far upon his precious hours; another is melancholy and peevish, because he looks upon himself either for his meanness neglected, or for his misfortune deserted and forsaken: company is burdensome to the one, and solitude to the other.

 

 Thus all conditions are full of complaints, from him that trudges on his clouted shoe, to him who can scarce mention the manners or the fortunes of the multitude, without some expressions of disdain. Thou fool, dost thou not see that all these complaints are idle and contradictious For shame, correct the wantonness of thy humour, and thou wilt soon correct thy fortune: learn to be happy in every state, and every place: learn to enjoy thyself, to know and value the wealth that is in thine own power; I mean, wisdom and goodness: learn to assert the sovereignty and dignity of thy soul. It is beneath the dignity of a soul, that has but a grain of sense, to make chance, and winds, and waves, the arbitrary disposers of his happiness; or, what is worse, to depend upon some mushroom upstart, which a chance smile raised out of hi& turf and rottenness, to a condition, to which his mean soul is so unequal, that he himself wonders at his own height.

 

 O how I hug the memory of those honest Heathens, who in a ragged gown, and homely cottage, bid defiance to fortune, and laughed at those pains and hazards, the vanity and pride of men, not their misfortune, drove them to! Men may call this pride, or spite in them; as the rabble does usually envy the fortune which it despairs of. But let the contempt of the world be what it will in a Heathen; let it be pride and peevishness, vain glory, or any thing, rather than a reproach to Christians. What say you to the followers of our LORD and Master Then said PETER,” Silver and gold have I none.” None What hast thou then, thou poor disciple of a poor Master A true faith, a god-like charity, an unshaken hope: blessed art thou amongst men; nothing can make thee greater, nothing richer, nothing happier, but heaven. You see plainly then, a man may be virtuous, though not wealthy; and that fortune which prevents his being rich, cannot prevent his being happy.

 

 This discourse will never go down: it is not calculated for this age. Go on then; let us try how far it will be necessary to condescend. You cannot be happy: Why Because you are not rich. Go then to God, and beg you may be rich. I have not the face to put up such arrogant requests to GOD: it is plain then, it is not necessary to be rich in order to be happy; for whatever is necessary to this, thou mayest with good assurance beg of GOD. But thy desires are more humble and modest: thou aimest at nothing but what is necessary; a fairer house, another servant, a dish or two of meat more for thy friends, a coach for thy convenience, and a few hundred pounds a piece more for thy children. O heavenly ingredients of a rational pleasure O divine instrument of human happiness! O the humble and mortified requests of modest souls! Well, if these things be so necessary, and these desires be so virtuous, if thou canst not be happy, and consequently must be miserable, without them; put up a bill, represent thy condition in it,—Such a one------wants a more commodious house, more servants, more dishes, &c., and desires the prayers of the congregation for support under this affliction.’ You are profane.' I would only let thee see the wantonness of thy desires: if thou thinkest this would expose thee to public laughter, go to thy Minister, unfold thy case to him, let him pray for thee; he is a good man, and his prayers will go far.’ You rally and ridicule me.' Enter- into thy closet; shut thy door: thou mayest trust GOD; he pities and considers even human infirmities. * I could even almost in my mind desire it of him; but I am ashamed to do it in a set and solemn prayer; I could almost make the petition in the gross, but I blush to think of descending to particulars.' Well, then, I see plainly that wealth, in any degree of it, is so far from being necessary to our happiness, it has so little of usefulness or conveniency in it, that in thy conscience between GOD and thee, thou canst not think it fit to complain of the want.

 

 But this answer will never satisfy him who complains of want, or of being engaged in continual troubles, and tossed by the daily changes and revolutions of the world: I confess it, it will not; but I must tell such a one, if SOLOMON'S observation be true,” The hand of the diligent maketh rich;” then his poverty is his crime as well as his calamity; he must redeem himself from this his punishment, by industry and prayer. As to calamities, this must be acknowledged, that the mind of a good and great man which stands firm upon its own basis, a good GOD, a good SAVIOR, and a good conscience, may remain unmoved when the earth trembles, and the sea roars round about him: changes, indeed, befall things temporal; but he leans not upon them. I may say farther, that he who, upon mature deliberation, and upon necessary obligations of duty, engages

 

himself in “a just cause, may be unfortunate, but he cannot be miserable: his sufferings carry a secret pleasure in them, and his misfortunes are full of hope and glory, if he consider, if he do not feed on vain and airy projects, and suffer himself to be transported by irrational, though seemingly just, passions. I must lastly add, that it is not the necessity of their affairs, nor the iniquity of times, which commonly involves and entangles men in public or private calamities; but some secret vanity, some blind impetuous passion, some ill-laid project, or some dishonorable fear.

 

 I might now presume I had given satisfaction to this objection; but the infection is got into the mass of blood, and has diffused itself through mankind, and it is not a slight medicine that can purge it out.

 

 My design, therefore, is to examine what real good or convenience there is in wealth; and that in such a sober and rational manner, as may be satisfactory and convictive to every unprejudiced mind.

 

 First, therefore, I will give some account, whence it is that men are so intent upon their worldly interest, so wholly bent upon being rich.

 

Secondly, I will state what is meant by a competency, and what the advantage and necessity of it are.

 

 Thirdly, I will consider what the natural tendency of wealth is. From all which it will easily appear, what connection there is between our fortune and our happiness. If we inquire whence it is, men are so intent upon the world; one reason is, a secret infidelity. Men are desirous to lay such a foundation as time cannot wear out, nor winds and tempests overthrow: they cannot trust Providence, till they see, or at least fancy, themselves in a condition to defy it; and this they look upon as a great piece of prudence, to provide for themselves a safe retreat from the storms and changes that generally pursue mankind: I cannot tell which is the greater, the folly or the impiety of this humor; for it is a wretched folly to flatter ourselves with the vain hopes of a security which is not to be found any where beneath heaven; or to imagine that a great estate is less liable to the blasts of fortune, than a small one: nor is the impiety one jot less than the folly; for what can be more wicked than, amidst so many undeniable proofs of a GOD, and Providence, to let the same anxious and jealous fears fill and disturb our minds, which would scarce be pardonable, if there were neither What greater affront can we offer to the goodness, the wisdom, the omnipotence and faithfulness of GOD, than to refuse to repose the care, the trust, of providing for us, upon Him, when he not only offers, but presses himself upon the employment.

 

 A second cause why we so eagerly pursue wealth, is sensuality: being strangers to the peace and joy of faith, insensible of the divine delight of charity, incapable of the ecstasies, of the full assurance of hope, and in general, of rational pleasure; what can be expected but that both wind and tide should drive us violently on another shore I mean, the whole force and inclination of our nature should impetuously tend towards sensual, worldly pleasures, and consequently, towards wealth, as the necessary instrument of them.’ You grant, therefore, that wealth is necessary to a pleasurable life’ 

 

 To a pleasurable one it is, to a pleasant one it is not. The sensual pleasure of a sensual man, 1: e., one who is all body and fancy, requires a good fund of wealth, but the temperate enjoyment of a virtuous man does not. I grant, that ease and rest are necessary to the sluggish, state to the proud, variety to the intemperate and the wanton, and to all this, wealth is necessary; but I deny that sloth or pride, intemperance (I will add niceness) or wantonness, is necessary to our happiness: nay, I will confidently affirm, that a vigorous mind and active body, are a much greater pleasure than sluggish ease; that a humble, if contented, state is much more easy than proud grandeur, and the ,*, “ the ostentation of life,” in ST. JOHN; that sober and thrifty temperance, is a far greater pleasure than variety; and the modesty, constancy, and friendship, of a virtuous affection, is not only a more calm, generous, and steady, but a more transporting satisfaction, than the fanciful rambles of a wandering lust. And I hope none will be so fond as to judge wealth necessary to the obtaining these virtues; if any are, their silliness is to be exploded, not seriously confuted. For who can believe, that ease is the best nurse of industry; that state and grandeur are the parents of humility and contentment; that affluence and daily delicacies are the most effectual instruments of abstinence; and that variety is the mother of chastity If not, then it is apparent how far serviceable wealth is; for all that lies in its power is to provide for us these temptations: but though a wise and virtuous man wants no wealth, I deny not but he needs a competency; what this is, is the next thing to be inquired: for this pretext of having what is enough, is frequently made use of to justify avarice and ambition.

 

 The measure of competency is the necessities of nature, not the extravagancies of fancy: a little heap, where frugal temperance and humble industry are the stewards, is a plentiful provision; but wherever wasteful luxury, and wanton fancy rule, plenty itself is a mere dearth. Competency, then, is the provision which the virtuous man needs as the support of life, and instrument of virtue; the modest wish of JACOB: “ Bread to eat, and raiment to put on.” (Gen. 28: 20.) The use and advantage of this is not to keep us or our children from being exposed to contempt, (that is too slight an evil for a Christian 10 dread,) but to the barbarous pity of rich and great friends. A second use of it is, that it helps to keep the mind erect and free; that it puts us into a capacity of employing our reason, and enjoying ourselves our own way; and leaves us not under any temptation to unmanly compliances, or unchristian jealousies and fears: for he whose ambition goes not beyond this will easily trust Providence, if he believe there be any; or his own industry, if he believe none: how he that separates providence and industry will thrive in this matter, I know not; but he that joins his own industry, with GOD'S blessing, obtained by prayer, can never miss of this his aim. Having proceeded thus far, I shall be more easily able to resolve,—

 

 Thirdly, What the value, what the necessity, of Riches is. But I do not call every thing wealth, that is not mere beggary: I have allowed of a competency as very convenient even for a virtuous man. In the next place, I trouble not myself about the grandeur or security of kingdoms, though, peradventure, the Scythian poverty, or Roman virtue, is a stronger bulwark, a better guard of these than the riches of Asia. And in the last place I do not inquire what use wisdom and virtue are able to makeof wealth, which can extract pleasure and happiness even out of troubles and afflictions, but what the natural tendency of wealth is. These things being observed, let us come to a trial of the matter. If contentment and security were the natural effects of wealth, if to be rich and to be happy were the same thing, then it were not to be wondered at, that wealth should be the great idol, and ambition of mankind: but if it neither frees men from those passions of the mind, nor those diseases of the body, nor other calamities which embitter life to the inferior part of mankind, what then is the advantage of it Let us stand still and consider: Do not hatred and anger, envy and anxiety, ambition and lust, reign more frequently and more insolently in the bosom of the great and wealthy, than of the laboring cottager Nay, I believe upon a narrow search, we shall find that some passions are the prerogative of a proud and insolent fortune, and are not incident to a mean one; such as haughty anger, irreconcilable hatred, an unlimited ambition, and an uneasy wantonness: the ploughman and the artist, the laborer and the hind, know none of these; ambition does not break their sleep, nor a niceness make them disgust their best meals; nor are they troubled with wild and ungovernable lust bred by excess, and nursed by gaudy bravery, deluding arts, and more deluding fancy.

 

 Nor are the rich more exempt from the diseases of the body than from the passions of the mind. Excessive meals, disorderly sleeps, much sloth and much wantonness, as they are the privileges of a gay fortune, so are they the sources of innumerable diseases: scurvies, gouts, rheumatisms, surfeits, putrid fevers, and I know not what, are the consequences of proud idleness, and excessive enjoyments, 1: e., of ill-governed wealth; whereas a plain table and a-sober life, regular and cheap pleasures, and moderate labor, beget and improve an entire habit of health, and prolong life to the utmost period of nature. This is a second great advantage of wealth, that it gives us a diseased body, and a short life.

 

 Sure then, the rich are the minions of fortune, and the disasters which oppress the rest of mankind touch not-them: on the contrary, all annals are stuffed with the calamities and misfortunes of these men; rifled wealth, defeated hopes, baffled ambition, blasted honors, broken power, and, in a word, mighty changes, are the argument of tragedies, and the subject of a loud and raving passion: whereas the strokes of fortune are soft and gentle, when they light upon the mean: these are not capable of tragical alterations; their minds are of a stronger temper, their bodies firmer, their senses not nice and delicate, and their little sufferings draw not after them the mournful pomp and state which attend the fall, I may call it the funeral, of a great one. Here envy insults not, malice traduces not, the petulant multitude do not follow the corpse with confused clamors and censures. But to come closer yet: What is it that makes up the comfort of human life A quiet state, faithful friends, good wives, and good children If we consider it, we shall find the life of man little beholden to wealth in these points: in all changes of time are not the rich the greatest sufferers The mark of envy, the prey of violence and usurpation Have they not more enemies as well as more friends than other men Friends did I say They have none. They have dependants, flatterers, companions, and ministers of their pleasures; no friends. 

 

 Hence is it, that nothing is more common than for those above us to wish for the content, the ease, and enjoyment of those below them: for the truth of it is, relations, which are the pleasure of men of middle fortune, are the burden and encumbrance of the rich and great: for in all their contracts and disposals, they are servants to their fortune, not their inclination. Marriages amongst these are the matches of estates, not minds; and therefore they attend not the temper or the honor of the families they link with: nay, what is worse, they have no regard to their education, or virtue, or wisdom: but money weighs all down, whatever objections are put in the opposite scale. In the whole method of their lives, they are slaves to their fortune, and to their reputation in the world, judging themselves obliged to live, not according to their reason, but their quality, and the humor, that is, the folly of the age. Nor dare they walk by any other maxims in the government of the nearest to them, or in the education of their children. In all these things they must do what becomes men of their figure, not what becomes true wisdom. Who sees not now, that upon the whole there is in this condition of life more encumbrance, and less true freedom; more of show, and less of enjoyment, than in any other

 

 If all this be true, you will be apt to conclude mankind is mad: if wealth neither makes us more wise, nor more healthy, nor more free in ourselves, nor more fortunate in our relations, what bewitches men into this extravagant dotage! What makes the world gaze upon, and envy, the rich, as the only happy creatures What makes us fawn upon them and flatter them, as the only powerful and great things the world has Something there is in it, arid that is this, We see the outside, the pomp, and pageantry of wealth; we see the gilt coaches, the rich liveries, the little town of buildings, gay furniture, and a whole squadron of dishes; and together with all this, the gaudy trappings the happy man is bedecked with; the port, the grace, the confidence, that all this gives to ignorance and nonsense: but if you consider this truly, you will find all this mere pageantry and apparition, nothing solid nor real in it. As far gay clothing, it is an advantage not worth the speaking of: it is the pride of children and the weakest of women. The little soul that converses no higher than the looking-glass, may help to make up the show of the world, but must not be reckoned among the rational inhabitants of it; serving only as images and ornaments to the stage, not actors on it. As to all the rest, they seem to enjoy some pre-eminence, but do not. The mean man eats his morsel with more pleasure, because more appetite; and sleeps with more delight, because with more ease; neither oppressed in body by luxury, nor in mind by care: “ 

 

 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.” All the rest, as numerous attendants, many dependants, flocks of parasites, and the like, are but mere encumbrance, the unwieldiness of a gross and heavy body. All these serve to increase the noise and hurry, the care and the pomp, but not the pleasure or enjoyment of the wealthy. Hence was that observation of SOLOMON: “ If riches increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit has the owner thereof, saving the beholding, of it with his eyes” A most extraordinary happiness this, To be the host of the neighborhood; to have one's house the rendezvous of the idle and the gluttonous, of buffoons and flatterers! And yet if the rich live otherwise, presently they grow infamous and stink; they are looked upon as Indian graves, where wealth is not laid up, but lost and buried. They are loaded with the curses of some, with the hatred of others, and the censures of all; and this is almost as bad as to be pestered with impertinence and flattery. This is the whole of the matter: if people gasp and admire, it is their ignorance; if they fawn or flatter, it is their baseness; but still remember, it is the people, it is the crowd that do this. Should a man of letters or of spirit be overawed by the laws of custom or some unhappy necessity into the commission of this idolatry, he could not but despise the idol he bowed down to, and see it a mere lump of wood or stone, not withstanding its gaudy dresses; though I acknowledge I comprehend not what can reduce them to this piece of shameful dissimulation. The soul that is great in itself, is so in despite of fortune; he that can live virtuously, can live happily in the lowest state; he that desires but little, has no need of much; he that can despise riches, can despise the insolence and pride of the rich. In one word, he that can command himself, needs be a slave to none.

 

 After all, I think it were possible to evince the mischievousness of wealth as plainly I have its uselessness; but that were to press the point further than my present design requires: for my business was to show, either that fortune was not necessary to our happiness, or as far as it is, it was in our own power; both which I may now presume myself to have sufficiently performed.

 

CHAPTER 5:

 

Of Fate.

 

 AMONGST the many shifts and devices men have invented to quiet conscience, and at once to excuse and enjoy their lusts, this is none of the least, that they impute all to fate; not only the events that befall them, but even their crimes and follies; that is, they believe, or would be thought to do so, that all our affections and actions, and all events that befall us, are inevitable; that no prudence can prevent, no industry frustrate, the decrees of fate, against which we struggle but in vain. This is the fate taught first by DEMOCRITUS, EMPEDOCLES, HERACLITUS, and LECCIPPUS, and so derived down from age to age.

 

 It is a sign of a desperate cause, to dispute against common sense, and to defy the daily experience of mankind; and yet this the abettors of an universal fate (such

 

as this is) are guilty of. For they deny that liberty in man which all laws, divine and human, all exhortations and advices, all commendation and reproof, 1: e., plainly, GOD and man suppose; for if the mind of man were overruled,—if his present and future state were fixed and determined by a fatal and inexorable necessity; then as laws, advice, and exhortation, would be useless and impertinent, so all reproof and punishment would be unjust. And yet, though the assertion of fate be oppressed with all these absurdities, it wants not at this day its maintainers. There are who maintain a necessity in human affairs and events, derived from the influence of heavenly bodies; which notion of fate takes in the words of MANILIUS:—

 

 And there are others, who, though they condemn judicial astrology, do yet maintain such eternal decrees as imply a more inflexible fate than any Pagan but DEMOCRITUS^ and those just now mentioned with him, did ever hold; nay, a fate more impious than that of DEMOCRITUS; for what he imputed to senseless matter, these do to GOD; and as much more rigid as it is more impious than his, for he never thought of another life, wherein eternal misery should punish those actions that were unavoidable in this.

 

 Now the reason why this doctrine of fate is so greedily embraced and eagerly defended by many, is very plain: it feeds the vanity and curiosity of some, and the pride of others; it is a luscious pleasure to curious and vain minds, to fancy themselves able to spell out and interpret the laws of fate, and pry into the destinies of future ages; it is a delicious pleasure to the proud, and haughty, and ill-natured, to see themselves caressed and exalted by GOD as his particular favorites, while the miserable multitude, the rest of mankind, are excluded from-the capacity of happiness and heaven; and in general it is an acceptable opinion to the loose and profligate, since it is a ready apology for all manner of sins; for men might sin confidently and without remorse, if they did sin fatally; or rather, nothing could be branded with the infamy of sin, when whatever men did were the effect, the unavoidable effect of necessity, an act of obedience to those fatal laws which they could not transgress. TERTULLIAN therefore speaks very properly, when he says,—*, ' They impute the heat and sallies of their lust to stars and fate, being unwilling to charge themselves with the guilt of that which they own to be evil.' From this little that has been said, it appears of what importance it is to free men's minds from a persuasion so pernicious to the interest of virtue, the peace of the public, the happiness of men, and the honor of GOD. To which purpose, that I may contribute all I can, I will consider,—1. On which side stands the advantage of authority, whether for or against fate. 2. What plain reason and as plain revelation dictate in this point.

 

1. As to the first, there are two things material to be inquired after:—(1.) How far the dominion of fate was generally extended. And, (2.) What kind of necessity, or what degrees of it, were generally supposed to constitute fate.

 

 (1.) As to the extent of its power, this one thing is very remarkable, That the Heathens did exempt the mind of man from its sovereignty. The Poets indeed made the monarchy of fate so universal, that they believed the gods themselves subject to it. Thus Jupiter, in Homer, bemoans the fate of his Sarpedon, which he could not prevent. But it must be remembered, that this dominion of fate, though it limited the powers, did not necessitate the will, of their gods. And no wonder; for I never find that’ any but DEMOCRITUS extended the dominion of fate over the soul of man. All agreed that the mind of man was free, though events were fatal; they left man's true happiness, 1: e., wisdom and virtue, in his own power. And it deserves to be remembered, that they confined this fatality of events to this life; for such of them as believed the immortality of the soul, did also believe that its misery or happiness in that state, did depend on its behavior in this.

 

 (2.) The second thing considerable in the notion of fate, is, What kind of necessity, or what degrees of it, are supposed to render an event fatal The Stoics did indeed think that the necessity of fate was uncontrollable, irresistible, inevitable; but I do not find that others thought such a necessity, and nothing less, sufficient to make up fate; for they believed that evil might be diverted by prayers, sacrifices, and other religious rites, according to that of NEMESIUS:’ There are no influences, no aspects of stars, so fatal and irresistible, but that prayers and expiations may sweeten and mitigate them, or else prevail with those powers which govern them to divert their menaces.' Besides this, the distinction of fate into peremptory or conditional, was very well known to the Heathens. This last was a fate whose necessity depended upon some antecedent conditions, upon some suppositions which might or might not be Fulfillled. This SEBVIUS discourses largely of upon that place of VIRGIL:—

 

 Nam quid, nee fato, merita nee morte peribat,

 

Sed miser a ante diem.

 

 Before her day fell the unhappy maid, By love, not fate, nor her own crimes betray'd. Where he that pleases may see many instances of this conditional fate; and to come to an end, the necessity of fate, in the opinion of ARISTOTLE and EPICURUS, was not an inflexible, uncontrollable one, but one subject to alteration, to many impediments, being nothing” else but that efficacy in natural bodies, which the wisdom of man did often prevent, the industry and courage of man did often master, and chance did often hinder and overrule.

 

 By all this we see plainly how careful the heathens were* that the necessity of fate might not destroy the liberty of man: how earnestly they contended for such a fatality of events as might not cancel man's obligation to virtue, nor discourage him from the expectation and pursuit of happiness. For now to draw to a point, and to make some use of this recital of the pagan notions of fate: If we assert a Stoical fate, we yet leave the wise man whatever encouragement he can derive from the rewards of another life, and whatever satisfaction he can derive from virtue irt this. And certainly, though temporal events were fatal without any dependence upon the choice and actions of man, yet even on this supposition virtue were eligible, as that which teaches us to enjoy “prosperity, and bear bravely that adversity which we could not prevent. But if, with other Philosophers, we believe not only that the success of another life, but even that of this too, depends wholly upon our behavior, and that events are therefore only fatal, because those decrees of GOD which award happiness to the virtuous, and misery to the wicked, are fixed and immutable; then we could not desire more powerful encouragements to virtue, or more evident proof that it is in our own power to be happy. 

 

 If we grant the necessity that makes fate flexible and mutable, or if we suspend a fatal event upon conditions, as it were but reasonable to imagine that all evil ones are suspended, there will be no reason to question whether man's happiness be in his own power. If we make the fate which even wisdom and virtue cannot surmount, extend itself to some few things, and that” fate which drags only fools and sluggards in chains after it, more general and universal, we meet with-nothing in all this which can rationally deter the industry and hopes of any man. If, lastly, with ARISTOTLE and EPICURUS, we attribute no more force or strength to fate than to that efficacy of natural causes, which, as we experience every day, is not irresistible, (for the mind overcomes those inclinations we derive from natural temper and life may be lengthened or shortened by temperance of luxury; it being a flame which is not of itself so inextinguishable, but that it requires our care to cherish it,) then nothing is more evident than that it behooves us to act like men; since our reason and virtue have their necessary tendency and efficacy, as well as any other natural causes; and since the concurrence of our endeavors may so much more properly be supposed necessary to promote our happiness, than the influence of stars, as it has a more direct and immediate operation upon our affairs, than the motion of those heavenly bodies can have.

 

 And now, who would expect to find that fate in the Christian, which was banished the Pagan, world Who would expect that the mind of man should be fettered and bound by a more inexorable and deplorable necessity, now in this age of light and grace, than ever it was in the thickest darkness of Paganism Who could now believe that man's eternal success in another life, should be as fatal as ever the Stoic believed his temporal one in this Or who could ever imagine that Christians would charge that upon the decrees of a wise and good GOD, which the Heathens, out of their honor to him, ever refused to do For those of them who made fate entirely the decree of GOD, believed that in the dispensation of evils, GOD did wholly regard men's crimes and sins; that there was no other fate attended any man than what he was himself the author of. And they who believed a fatality of events, without any dependence upon the behavior of man, imputed it to matter, not to GOD; to the deficiency of the one, not to the will of the other.

 

 It is true, such a fate is not to be found in the Scriptures, as we shall see anon; nor is it to be found in the Fathers of the Church. We may find JUSTIN MARTYH, TERTU&LIAN, LACTANTIUS, and ST. AUGUSTINE himself, (however accused by some as a fatalist,) zealously disputing against the Pagan fate. What would they have done, had there been then such a notion of fate as has since prevailed amongst some Christians, which is briefly this:’ That the eternal misery of nineteen parts f the world, (I speak modestly,) and the eternal happiness of the twentieth, is fatal; that the means conducing to these ends are fatal; the one being shut up under the invincible necessity of natural impotence, the other being called and acted by grace irresistible; that this necessity of fate is the result of a divine decree; that this decree proceeded from mere arbitrary will, without any regard to the behavior of man.' They that cried out against the Pagan fate, that it subverted human life, that it defeated all laws, that it left man no use of his reason, that it left no place for rational hopes or fears, with what bitter invectives must they have assaulted this fate The Pagan fate left the will free: this bound and fettered; not only bereaved of natural power and liberty, (for we contend not about that,) but destitute of grace and divine assistance. The Pagan fate, in the opinion of a great many, if not most, did not teach a rigid and inflexible necessity: this doth. They amongst the Pagans who taught the necessity of fate inexorable, understood it of necessity in temporal events; but this fate extends itself to eternal ones. The Stoic, the great asserter of fate, acknowledged, nay, eagerly contended, that man might be virtuous and happy in despite of fate; but these men make human happiness and virtue the very object of their fate, making sin and misery, virtue and happiness, as fatal as any events whatever.

 

 In vain now shall any one of them think to excuse their doctrine from the imputation of fate, by telling us (as some do) that fate, in the Pagan notion, did involve GOD as well as man within the compass of necessity; that what they teach is nothing else but GOD'S voluntary decree. This is a miserable shift; for this doth not at all lighten the weight of that fatal necessity that lies upon unhappy man, to think that GOD is not subject to the same; nay, on the quite contrary, the Pagan notion was more easy to the mind, and whilst it freed GOD from the guilt of man's ruin, it freesTnan from all hard and irreligious thoughts of GOD.

 

 Numina cum videas dtris ohnoxia Fatn, Invidia possis exonerare Deos.

 

 Since heavenly Powers to eurs'd fate subject be, The gods you cannot but from envy free. It was pure piety in the Stoic to impute that fatality of event, which he thought independent of the good or ill behavior of man, to any thing rather than to GOD.

 

But I have done. I have sufficiently considered which way the stream of authority runs, and it evidently appears to be against all such notions of fate, as put it out of a man's power to be virtuous and happy, and determine his sin and misery wholly necessary and unavoidable. I will now proceed to consider,—

 

 2. What plain reason and as plain revelation dictate in this point. Thou dost believe fate, and therefore must despair of happiness; thy sense must be plainly this: All is in the power of fate, nothing in thine own, nothing that can contribute to make thee virtuous or happy. Whence can this necessity, this fate, proceed There are but two principles that were ever fancied to be the First Causes of all things, GOD and Matter. Dost thou believe this necessity proceeds from matter, from the motion of atoms, or the influence of stars This belief, as ST. AUGUSTINE argues, subverts the foundation of all religion; for he who believes that he depends upon fate, not GOD, can have no sufficient reason for the worship of that GOD, on whom he has no dependence. But this is that peradventure thou wouldest have. Well, when thou art able to prove reason and understanding to derive themselves from endless atoms; when thou canst find out any kind of natural motion of matter or atoms, which can be the cause of liberty or freedom in the will, any motion that can at once be necessary, (for so all motion of atoms must, be it of what kind it wilt,) and yet free too, for such all my deliberations and all my choices I make, prove the motion of the mind to be; then will I acknowledge a fate not only independent from, but, if thou wilt, superior to, GOD; then I will forbear all farther attempts of charity, as vain, and leave thee to thy fate and misery. But these are notions so absurd in themselves, that no similitudes, no arguments, can make them appear one jot more irrational than they do to all men of sense at the first hearing.

 

 But there are who suppose GOD the author of all things, and just suppose events fatal too. The former opinion was ridiculous; this is impious: for suppose mankind fatally guided by the influence of the stars, and that these stars have received this power and energy from GOD, is it not natural for every man to break out into the words of ST. AUGUSTINE: ’How outrageously do these men reproach Heaven, whilst they believe those crimes and villanies decreed by that august senate and glorious court in heaven, which had any city upon earth decreed, it had deserved to have been damned by the common vote, and razed to the ground by the united arms of mankind.' When I consider that the stars are the work of GOD; that their order and motion were prescribed by him; that whatever vigor and efficacy they have, they have received it from him; and then remember, that GOD is a most infinitely kind and good Being, I should easily be persuaded that they could shed no influence upon this lower world, but what were extremely beneficial to it. I could easily believe that, all the inclinations they form, (if they form any,) could be no other than innocent and virtuous; I can never believe that lust or falsehood, malice or cruelty, can come down from above, or that our minds should be impregnated with sin and folly by the influences of heaven. No, certainly; if there be any virtue in the stars that extends itself to man, it must rather be the seed of life, and health, and virtue, than of diseases, death, or vice.

 

 But this sort of fate, springing from the influence of any natural bodies is not only repugnant to reason, but to our sense and experience j for nothing is more plain than

 

that any such influence cannot affect the mind, but through the body; and we frequently find our reason asserting its power and dominion against all the force of the body. Nor doth reason only, but, in every nation, law and custom triumph over the strongest inclinations of nature. Since, therefore, that necessity which our natural tempers impose upon the mind, is the utmost fate that we can imagine to proceed from the influence of natural bodies, it is nonsense to suppose that fate insuperable or uncontrollable, which we see baffled and defeated every day, and in every nation.

 

 The sum of those reasons I have offered against fate, is this: If we make GOD the author of it, we impiously charge him with what is repugnant to his nature: for a good GOD cannot be the cause of man's sin and misery. If matter, we ridiculously suppose, that what is itself senseless and inanimate, should produce and govern a being endued with life, understanding, and liberty. If the stars, we run again into the same absurdities; for if they have their fatal influence from GOD, then, properly speaking, GOD is the author, they but the instruments, of our fate. If from themselves, then our dependance on, and worship of, GOD, is vain: and besides, we absurdly subject the reason and the liberty of the mind of man to the senseless tyranny of atoms. If from the consideration of the causes of fate, we descend to examine what our experience teaches us, what common sense informs us, each of them bears witness to the sovereignty and liberty of the mind of man.

 

 If we should come, in the last place, to examine what would be the consequences of a fatal necessity overruling man and human affairs, they are such as are not only grossly contradictious in themselves, but fatal and destructive both to the public and private good of mankind. It is true, were the liberty of doing evil taken from man, we should have no reason to complain; for then there would be nothing wanting to make the state of man happy as that of angels, but immortality; but to bereave man of all power to do good, to necessitate and compel him to be wicked, how dreadful are the effects which must follow this! He that stains his hands in the blood of his Sovereign or his parent, will accuse his stars, not himself; he that pollutes himself in the incestuous embraces of a mother or daughter, may defend his actions as his fate, not choice; and how readily shall we do all that rage or lust invites us to, when there is an excuse prepared for all we do For he is no more blameable who commits the evil which he could not help, than he is worthy of praise who did the good which he could not forbear. Were it true, that whatever mischief man did, he were necessitated to do, we might with more justice arraign the stars and atoms than malefactors; and all the instruments of mischief would be every jot as guilty and criminal as the man that used them. Were this true, we might as properly betake ourselves to magic and enchantments, as to advices and exhortations, when we would reclaim the vicious; nor yet could the one be more effectual than the other; for what could alter what is unalterable And for the same reason we might forbear our sacrifices and prayers, since what will be must be, and cannot be otherwise.

 

 You strive in rain with prayers to move The inexorable fates above.

 

Repentance and tears then may be, what SENECA calls expiation,—*, the deluding dreams of a superstitious mind, but could never procure any real advantage; so that on this supposition, what is now-thought to be the only wisdom, would be then the only folly of a sinner,—repentance.

 

 I think I may conclude here; for if it be not by this time evident, whether reason be for or against fate, we may justly despair of discovering what reason dictates in this or any other question. I will now proceed to examine, What plain text of Scripture speaks in this point. And here in the-first place we are to expect no other fate than what depends upon GOD: for the Scripture makes all things derive their original from him, and all things depend upon him. There is but one Creator, and one LORD, and therefore the creature can be subject to no laws but such as he enacts; so that whatever fate we now lie under, must be imputed to the voluntary decree of God. Is then the eternal ruin of man fatal and unavoidable If we inquire into the original of this unhappy necessity, it must be ultimately resolved in(.o the divine will: When GOD, then, decreed the inevitable ruin of man, under what notion did he consider his ruin Under that of misery, or that of punishment If under the notion of punishment, this implies plainly, that we may thank ourselves for our ruin. For punishment is nothing else but the infliction of that misery which our sin and folly have deserved. But if under the notion of misery, hew can this consist with the infinite goodness or wisdom of GOD Alas! how contradictory is this to Scripture There GOD swears that” He delights not in the death of a sinner: “ this decree would suppose him to delight in the death of the innocent. There he is represented,” full of compassion, and slow to wrath,” even upon repeated provocations; this decree represents him so addicted to wrath and cruelty, that he made a world on purpose to have whereon to exercise it; and doth exercise it merely for the delight he takes in it. The Scripture finally represents him full of love for mankind, and not only not desirous that they should perish, but extremely desirous that they should be partakers of everlasting life: this decree supposes him so utter an enemy to, and hater of, mankind, that he made the far greater part to no other end, but only to make them miserable.

 

 Let any unprejudiced person judge now, whether this be not as contradictory to the Scripture, as it is to sense; nor is it possible that any one, unless prejudiced, should look into Holy Writ, and not discern evidently that man's ruin is the effect of sin, not only willfully and presumptuously committed, but also obstinately and impenitently persisted in; and that GOD is so far from being fond of our sufferings and calamities, that he is ever bewailing the disappointment of his love, the defeat of his grace and mercy, by our obstinacy and impenitence. It is the voice of his SON, it is the voice of GOD: “ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” If therefore we desire to know what the will of GOD is, with respect to man, this is a full and plain declaration of it; there can be no other, much less any contradictory to this. If I may not confidently rely upon this declaration of the divine will, there is no revealed truth that I can depend upon; nor can revelation stand us in any stead; for nothing can be asserted with greater perspicuity, or stronger asseveration. But I have no scruples in me about this matter; I have no fears nor jealousies of any secret decree, or latent will, repugnant to his declared one; I am as sure that GOD is good and true, as that he is eternal or almighty: and were he not, we could reap but very little comfort from all other of his attributes, how great or glorious soever.

 

 But blessed be GOD, if from examining those declarations of his will, which GOD has made us, we proceed to examine the manner and method of his government, as it relates to mankind, (which is another, and the only way left us to judge of his will and decrees,) we shall find no instance in the whole series of divine dispensations, which can create in us the least suspicion of lying under an arbitrary and tyrannical fate: nay, if we consider the acts of divine providence, we shall find quite the contrary; that GOD so governs the world, that the issues of things are not fatal and unavoidable, but dependant upon ourselves; that GOD is free, man free, and the event of things free from any inevitable necessity: GOD indeed is ever bound to do what is best, what is wisest, and can do no otherwise; this is the only fate that GOD is subject to: but a possibility of different events, is no way repugnant to his wisdom, justice, or goodness.

 

 In a proper sense therefore, there is no fate above him, that can impose a necessity upon him; nor does he impose any upon himself. If there were in any part of his government, a fatal and a peremptory necessity, we should certainly find the tracts and footsteps of it amongst inanimate and sensitive beings: but how great a liberty does GOD make use of in this part of his government The sun, whose course seems certain and invariable as the imaginary laws of fate, shall, if need be, stand stock still, or, what is more, move backward towards its east. An instance of both we read of in Scripture, when GOD thought fit to execute his judgments on the Amorites, and condescended to give Hezekiah a miraculous assurance of his mercy. The fire shall not exert its natural heat, but shall cease to burn and consume, and when he sees fit, (as in the case of the three children,) become as harmless as the morning light: the waters shall cease to flow, as did the Red Sea, when the army of Israel marched through it, and saw with horror and delight, the rolling waves stand fixed and unmoved as the rocks and shores that bounded them; and yet, what necessity, what fate can we conceive more immutable, whatever connexion of natural causes it be produced by than that which makes the sun move, the fire burn, the water flow If we consider his government of kingdoms, where, if any where, the periods and revolutions of misery and prosperity should seem fatal and immutable; here again, we shall find the footsteps of unquestionable liberty. Let us for instance consider GOD'S government of the Jews; what are the laws which GOD obliges himself to observe towards them: “ If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments and do them; then will I give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase; and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit: And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and your vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant; I will even appoint you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.” (Lev. 26: 3—5, 14—16.) Doth not GOD here lay life and death, good and evil before them Is not the one and the other to be the effect of their own choice, their own behavior Are we not reasonably to suppose the Israelites, at the time of their entering into that covenant, whereof these are the sanctions, as capable of happiness as they were of misery What was finally the issue of things The Jews revolted from GOD, and as he threatened they were harassed and exhausted by continual plagues and punishments.

 

 Well, did this happen so, because it could not happen otherwise Was this the event, the fatal event of things which GOD did really will, and immutably and peremptorily resolve from the beginning, notwithstanding whatever professions he might make of his sincere desire of the welfare and prosperity of that people Let GOD himself be the Judge, who best understands his own mind: “ O that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways,! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned their hand against their adversaries: The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him, but their time should have endured for ever.” By this, sure, if we can judge of the meaning of GOD by any of his expressions, we may safely conclude, not only that the obedience and prosperity of Israel were things possible, and consequently their disobedience and ruin were not fatal; but also that their obedience and prosperity were the things which GOD did most heartily and sincerely desire.

 

 If we come to GOD'S government of particular men, we may be sure that this i& of a piece with his government of mankind or kingdoms; it being nothing else but a more particular application of those universal laws of wisdom, goodness, and justice, by which he rules. An instance of liberty in temporal events we meet with in that voyage which ST. LUKE describes: (Acts 27: 10:) We have ST. PAUL fortelling the fate that was like to attend themselves and their ship, if they pursued the voyage they had resolved on: ver. 19, we meet with the accomplishment, in part, of his prediction; darkness and horror invades them, seas break in upon them, and at the same breach had death entered, had not divine Providence interposed in favor, and at the request of ST. PAUL. Was this their suffering fatal Was it unavoidable Had they not escaped the tempest, if they had believed ST. PAUL, and had not departed from Crete Or was their obstinacy and unbelief as fatal as the danger and damage which attended it The expostulation of ST. PAUL, ver. 21, will easily clear this doubt,” Ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, to have gained this harm and loss.” What then, shall we think the issues of eternity fatal, when those of time, wherein we are comparatively so little concerned, are free I Shall GOD not only leave us the use of our reason, but also assist us by the aid of his providence for the avoiding temporal evils, and will he allow us neither for the avoiding of eternal ones.' Must temporal ruin be the effect only of our sinful choice and obstinacy; eternal ruin the effect not of folly or sin, but fate No surely. How often do we find GOD in the Revelation, respiting his final sentence, and giving men space and time to repent But they repented not; and this was their obstinacy, not their fate: For if repentance had been impossible, to what purpose did GOD allow them time for it That they might fill up the measure of their iniquity. An excellent paraphrase! What shall I believe GOD says, He gave the sinner time to repent; thou sayest, he gave him time to sin. GOD says, he gave him time to make himself capable of mercy; thou sayest, He gave him time only to increase his guilt and punishment. How cruel are the mercies of some men! This is just such a favor as griping usurers vouchsafe the careless debtor, whose fortune they would swallow up.

 

 I have now, I hope, dispersed those clouds which seemed to hover over our heads, big with storm and ruin; I mean, those melancholy imaginations which terrify the superstitious minds of men. We may now boldly pursue, and possess ourselves of happiness: the way to it is open. There is no cruel deity, no spiteful fortune, no inexorable fate that will oppose us; there is no God but one of love and goodness, which moderates his almighty power, and tempers the severity of his justice; a GOD who compassionately desires our happiness, and delights in nothing more than in promoting it. All is lightsome and cheerful where he is j perfection and happiness dwell with him. *' In his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore.” He scatters and dissipates evil and troubles by the light of his countenance. Death and hell fly far from before him, and hide themselves in their own darkness. What can we apprehend from such a GOD as this is How can he delight in our misery, who is all love No, nothing but our guilt or folly can raise our fears; We may rest secure of his favor, if we do not despise it; nor can he ever be made our enemy, unless we first become the enemies of virtue and goodness: What then have we to fear

 

 There is no fate but the immutable law of GOD, that universal law, which adjudges happiness to the righteous, and misery to the wicked: These is no fortune but his providence, which is nothing but the execution of that one general law, and the application of its several parts, in particular instances: It is plain therefore, we have nothing now to fear but ourselves: if we be but true to our own reason, and faithful to our interest, we may confidently presume, both of the assistance and reward of Heaven; there is therefore nothing left now to excuse us from the guilt of our own ruin, but only that which is wont to be objected by such as are enslaved to some impious lust, and groan-under the weight of those chains which they made themselves; I mean, an incapacity of happiness; which is the fourth objection against the possibility of attaining happiness, and is now to be considered.

 

CHAPTER 6:

 

Of Incapacity.

 

 THEY who urge their incapacity as an objection against the possibility of attaining happiness, suppose happiness to consist in virtue, in the pleasure that flows from it, and the bliss that will eternally reward it. They acknowledge, could they but be virtuous, they should be happy; but they despair of obtaining such a conquest over their vices, as may suffice to render their life smooth, equal, and steady; and preserve the peace of their conscience; without which it is impossible that they should be filled with rational joy and peace, or abound in a rational hope.

 

 There may be three kinds of incapacities, which for distinction sake, I call natural, moral, and penal. Penal incapacity is that desperate state wherein man is by GOD immutably rejected both from pardon and assistance. Moral incapacity results from the absoluteness of that dominion which sin has established over men, through a long course of wickedness. Natural incapacity consists in such an unteachable stupidity of temper, or in such violent and invincible inclinations to vice, or in such a slightness, levity, and inconstancy of mind, as render men utterly unfit to receive any lasting impressions of virtue.

 

 I begin with this first; and here I desire to be excused if I do not take upon me to mark out the distinct bounds of nature and grace; these two sisters are not like those Chaldee brethren, ABRAHAM and LOT, that were too /nighty to dwell together. No; they delight to mix in loving embraces; their wealth and power increase by being united; I shall not dispute what power in man is a birthright, what a donative; for, alas! every thing he possesses is a grace, a favor of his Prince: His natural abilities are so many graces he derives from GOD, and as properly such, as any accession to them which is inspired afterwards: so that whenever I contend that any thing is in the power of man, I desire to be understood of all that power which GOD has invested him with, whether natural or supernatural.

 

 Did men vilify nature, to beget in themselves the more profound humility, and the more wakeful and solicitous industry; did they magnify divine grace, in order to inflame their importunity and industry in quest of it; this weie piety and devotion, not error: or however they might exaggerate the impotence of nature beyond strict truth, yet this would be a safe and pious error, as all humble and modest ones are: but when they endeavor to represent nature vile and corrupt, on purpose that they may the more licentiously pollute and abuse it, when they magnify and exalt divine grace out of a preposterous design to justify their neglect and contempt of it, it is not only an error, but a pernicious and fatal one; for he that abandons the use of his reason, renders himself incapable of a heavenly aid: GOD gives his grace to men, not beasts; I must therefore oppose this fancy, and endeavor to persuade men, that it is in their power to be virtuous and happy: nor can I think this assertion any ways injurious to the honor or goodness of GOD, if it be remembered, that whatever power I attribute to man, I acknowledge derived from GOD. I will therefore proceed, and try whether I cannot demolish this fort which stops our -way to happiness.

 

 They who affirm a great part of mankind incapable of virtue, forget that they dishonor GOD whilst they reproach their nature: for were it so, to what end could we imagine such men endued with reason and understanding Not to worship, but defy their Maker. And was it for this end that they were made immortal too Had GOD made man only to take his pastime in the world, like the Leviathan in the waves, such a soul as that which moves the fish of the sea, or the beasts of the earth, had been most proper for this end: Then might he have enjoyed himself without reluctancy, without control, without remorse, without shame. What can be the proper work of a rational creature, to which you allow not a capacity of virtue and religion Until you can show me this, I can never believe that GOD should endue man with a rational and immortal mind, out of any other design than such a one as might become such a being created after his own image, which is the practice of holiness and virtue. This also, methinks, ought well to be weighed by all who assert man's impotence and incapacity of virtue; they disparage the Gospel, and reproach grace, as well as man with impotence and insufficiency; and yet both the one and the other is the power of GOD, and that in order to salvation. Do you consider, that if you suppose man by nature unable to do any thing that is good, and then utterly debar him from GOD'S grace, you introduce fate; for what more fatal necesssity can a wretched creature lie under than natural impotence, utterly destitute of divine assistance Or if you bereave grace of its sufficiency, do you not understand that the fatal necessity continues still the same There is no change in the man's condition; only in this hypothesis, grace is dishonored and reproached as well as nature. And this reflects very rudely too upon GOD; it calls the wisdom, the goodness, the sincerity, the power of GOD into dispute: it is inconsistent with the power of GOD, not to be able by his SPIRIT and truth to subdue and overpower the corruptions of nature; it is inconsistent with goodness, not to be willing to aid his poor creatures when they call upon him; inconsistent with his sincerity to afford them such aid as must tend to their greater mischief, not good; as grace itself would, if it were only sufficient to increase theiir guilt, but not to subdue their sin: This were indeed “ when a child asked bread to give him a stone, and whert lie asked fish to give him a scorpion.” It is, lastly, as inconsistent with the wisdom of GOD to confer grace to no purpose, as it was with his goodness to confer it to an ill one.

 

 These, with many others, are the absurd consequences which attend the denial of the universality, or sufficiency of grace; but if, on the other hand, we grant that GOD is ready to assist every man who calls on him in his endeavors after virtue and happiness, and that his assistance is sufficient to the end for which it is designed; then we must needs acknowledge that it is in every man's power to be good and happy: for it is no more than to acknowledge that man can do what he can do; or, which is all one, what GOD has put in his power to do.

 

 By what a crowd of arguments might I confirm this truth Why are not men good Why are they not happy Shall we say that GOD doth not vouchsafe them his grace Shall we impute men's misery to GOD Shall we charge that glorious and most perfect Being with want of compassion or sincerity towards his poor creatures How easy will it be for him to appeal to the sufferings of his SON; to the vigorous attempts and endeavors of his SPIRIT; to heaven and earth, stamped with the impress of his power and goodness, on purpose to teach, invite, and almost compel us to worship and obey him; to the various methods of his providence contriving and pursuing our happiness How easily, lastly, may he appeal for his purgation to our own consciences And these will tell us, as they ever do, in the distresses of our fortune, and the approaches of danger and death, to what we are to impute the cause of our ruin.

 

Thus I think, I have in general given a satisfactory answer to as many as plead natural incapacity against the possibility of being happy; however, that no discouragement, no scruple may remain, I will give a particular, though brief answer to each part of this objection. There are three things supposed by it to render man, naturally4ncapable of virtue and happiness. First, Violent and invincible inclinations to vice. Against this, as the most considerable part of the objection, the whole force of the precedent discourse was leveled, and therefore this needs no farther answer, only here it will be worth our remarking,. That those differences that are in the nature and temper of men, are not essential, but accidental; and, consequently, they may make the way to happiness more difficult to some than others, but impossible to none. The strongest inclination to virtue, (I speak of that which is the result of natural temper,) seems to me but a weaker inclination to vice; every man has naturally a propension to pleasure, and, consequently, the sensitive part of us to sensitive pleasure.

 

 This tendency of the sensitive part is natural to all; but in some it is more, in some less, violent: unless we may say upon one ground, it is equal in all; for the difference of tempers discovers itself rather in the different kinds of pleasure we pursue, than in the different degrees of our inclination to it: we are all equally allured, yet not by the same, but several objects, so that if lust prevail in one, ambition as much prevails in another, and covetousness in a third -,and in others, intemperance, or sloth: so that the difficulty of virtue seems much the same to all the sons of ADAM,. the strength of temptation consisting especially in our weakness, not in the excellency of the object we are takea with, but in our inclination to it: hence is it as difficult for one man to overcome his covetousness, as to another to overcome his lust; and restless ambition is as taking with some tempers, as lazy and delicious luxury with others. If this were well weighed, it would make us more mild and gentle in our censure of others, and not so soft and easy in excusing ourselves. It is further worth our observing, that every man's virtue derives some tincture from his constitution and temper, so that, generally speaking, it is not difficult to guess a man's natural constitution by the complexion of his religion: however, virtue ceases not to be virtue; nor will that slight allay of the natural constitution

 

extinguish its vigor, though it behooves every man to keep astrict and jealous guard upon his inclinations; (fornature soon revives even after it has been for some time buried;) and to labor most after that perfection, which does most contradict the particular vice of his constitution; for it will be otherwise morally impossible to gain a conquest over it, and as impossible to gain a rational peace and security without this conquest.

 

 A second thing, which is supposed in the objection to incapacitate man for happiness, is an unteachable stupidity, consisting in a slow conception and treacherous memory: it is true, indeed, the heathen philosophers did require in their scholars, the knowledge of many difficult matters, as antecedently necessary to virtue and happiness. All of them did, with one consent, require three things to complete -a virtuous and happy man: Nature, education or instruction, and custom. To the first, they attributed the disposition to virtue; to the second, the beginning; to the third, the easiness and constancy; and to all three together, the perfection of it. And hence it is, that they did distinguish between perfect and imperfect, social and philosophical virtue, and did not deem every nature capable of that virtue which was perfect and philosophical: but our blessed LORD and Master, the author of the Christian Philosophy, requires no such qualifications in those who will be his disciples; all that he requires is, a humble and an honest mind, freed from proud prejudices, possessed with a sincere love of the truth, and a sincere resolution of obeying it; accordingly, ST. PAUL observes, that such were most wrought upon by the preaching of the Gospel: “ Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but GOD has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and GOD has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty: and base things of the world, and things that are despised, has GOD chosen.” Nor will any one imagine, that acute and eminent parts are necessary to render a man capable of-being a Christian, who shall consider the brevity and plainness of the Christian faith and law. Doth it require a. deep and penetrating judgment, or a firm and tenacious memory, to enable us to understand or remember that plain and short summary of Christian practice “ The grace of GOD teacheth us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live righteously, soberly, and godly, in this present world: “ or, that as brief and perspicuous abridgment of the Christian faith “ This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and JESUS CHRIST whom thou hast sent: “ or, that excellent abridgment of both by ST. PAUL “ Repentance towards GOD, and faith in our LORD. JESUS CHRIST.” What stupidity of nature can render it an impossible task to us” to comprehend the two fundamental reasons of evangelical righteousness; namely, the subserviency of it to the happiness of this, and of another life, and the holiness of the GOD we worship 

 

 I do not write this, as if I meant to represent industry in search of divine truths, as superfluous and unnecessary; but to assure all, of how mean capacities so ever, of the success of it. Our duty is plain, and the path of duty is the most direct and compendious, one to the happiness of this life, and of another: for nothing is so taking with GOD, as a humble faith, devout, pure, peaceable, and charitable religion. As to worldly happiness, I know that a man's own virtue, supported by GOD'S SPIRIT, and guided by his truth, is the safest and the plainest guide he can follow in dark and tempestuous times; true policy consists not in that address or subtlety of spirit, which furnishes a man at all times with plausible shifts, but in that integrity and virtue that need none: this is that which will make us acceptable to all, and dear to the wise and good; slights, and tricks, and arts, may divert and entertain, but virtues charm and captivate: those may open us the way to men's houses and tables, but these to their bosoms, to their hearts. The sum of all is, great endowments of nature seem necessary for the attainment of unnecessary accomplishments; common endowments are sufficient to make us capable of virtue and happiness.

 

 A third thing, wherein the objection supposes natural incapacity to consist, is such a slightness, levity, and inconstancy of temper, as seems to render men neither fit for any close application, nor susceptible of any deep and lasting impression: it cannot be denied but that some are of such an airy, volatile, and various temper, that they seem to be designed for nothing serious, nothing great, as if they were the sport, not the work, of nature: but I have always observed, that nature makes up defects of one kind, by advantages of another: thus it happens here. Those constitutions which most want strength, most partake of softness and tenderness; so that they are as much more apt to receive impressions, as they are more unapt to retail them than others; like yielding air, which the gentlest stroke doth as easily divide, as it doth easily unite itself again. Now, if this be so, then the disadvantage of this temper is not so great as it is fancied, for though their passions last not long, they are easily raised; and, consequently, if our addresses to such a temper be but a little more frequently repeated, they cannot but prove successful, and such persons, by the frequent returns of holy passions, will grow habitually devout, and their devotion will be as steady, and more elevated, than that of a slower and firmer constitution: but after all, wherever there appears an exuberancy of this humor, this is to be imputed rather to their fortune than to their nature; a wanton fortune, and too indulgent an education, is generally attended with a gay, wanton, and unfixed mind. And it is true that it is a difficult matter for such minds as these, to attain to wisdom and virtue; but it is not because they cannot consider, but because they will not; let but such exchange their haunts of pleasure, for the house of mourning; let them but intermix the conversation of the wise and serious, with that of the giddy, fanciful, and frolicsome, and they will soon find their humour much corrected, and their minds better fixed: to all this, if- they could be persuaded to add the contemplation of a suffering SAVIOR, of a holy GOD, and a judgment to come; and to this, the devotion of the closet, made up of serious reflections on these subjects, and their own eternity; this would soon reduce their loose and scattered desires; it would soon recall the roving, wandering mind, and make it delight to dwell at home, in the company of wise, devout, and important thoughts.

 

 And now, I think, I have left no part of this objection, founded upon natural incapacity, unconsidered. Do men complain of their heaviness and stupidity Acute parts, and a tenacious memory, are not necessary to make us virtuous or happy. Do they complain of their violent inclinations to sin Reason, custom, faith, curb the most natural, or the most outrageous and ungovernable, appetites of man. Do they complain of the levity and inconstancy of their temper Let them retire from the flatteries and caresses of a wanton fortune, and a wanton conversation; let them acquaint themselves with the wise or the afflicted, with divine truths and their closets, and this will soon work a happy change upon them: if they are too soft and delicate for the bitterness and severity of these prescriptions, nothing but the much severer discipline of afflictions and judgments, can effect this cure.

 

 Under this head of natural incapacity, that other objection from moral incapacity, has been sufficiently answered; for custom is at most but a second nature. That expression of the Prophet,” Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots then may ye also learn to do good, who are accustomed to do evil;” is but a pathetic exaggeration (which is usual in a prophetic style) of the difficulty, not an assertion of the impossibility, of an habitual sinner's change: what has beert done, and daily is done, can be done; and it is in vain to prove what no man can deny. ST. PAUL, when he had recited a catalogue of such sinners as should not enter into the kingdom of GOD, afterwards adds,” 

 

 And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the LORD JESUS, and by the SPIRIT of our GOD.” And TERTULLI.AN appeals to the power and efficacy of the Christian Religion, visible in the extirpation of vicious habits, as a proof of its divine original; nor are such instances as these wanting at this day. These, as they do now refute all the idle excuses of sinners, so will they one day be urged in judgment against them, to convince them that they owe their ruin to their sloth and obstinacy, not their impotence.

 

 Whoever shall now reflect upon all that has been said, will easily be able to conclude, that we have no enemy without us, none within us, that can necessitate us to be miserable: misery may be our choice, or punishment; it can never be our fate: our natural corruption may invite and incline us, but can never force and compel us to be wicked: for there is no temptation, no inclination, which GOD'S grace and our industry are not able to resist and overcome; so that now there remains no other incapacity of happiness than what is penal, which is the next thing to be spoken to.

 

 Penal incapacity consists in GOD'S final and immutable rejection of man from grace and pardon. On this, all that is necessary to be observed here, is, First, That this state of final rejection from grace and pardon, is penal; a state to which nothing but men's voluntary transgressions can betray them; and those too, transgressions of the deepest guilt, and most crying aggravations; for surely, nothing less can provoke a GOD,” who delights to exercise loving-kindness and mercy,” a GOD of infinite long-suffering and patience, to pass a sentence of eternal ruin and damnation upon any of his creatures. Secondly, That no mistaken fancies of the unpardonableness of our state may tempt us desperately to renounce GOD, our SAVIOR, and virtue; it behooves us to consider what ought to be the proper influence of this persuasion, that there is such a penal state on this side the grave.

 

 First, If they who believe such a state will act consonant to their own opinion, they must not allow themselves in a course of willful gin, lest they be insensibly betrayed into that dreadful state.

 

 Secondly, Since impenitence and hardness of heart is an inseparable consequence of that dreadful sentence which excludes men from grace and pardon; no man can rationally conclude himself in this state, till he has made all possible attempts to recover himself from his sin, and that without success: and because,-- 

 

 Lastly, No man can conclude his endeavor unsuccessful, till death surprise him in an impenitent state; for habitual sinners have become eminent saints, and lapsed Christians, nay, apostates, have not only recovered their former state, but redeemed their crimes by more than ordinary degrees of repentance, devotion, and charity. Therefore, no man must give over his attempts of subduing his corruptions, while GOD continues him in the land of the living: these rules, if observed, will, I question not, render the persuasion of such a penal state, as the objection supposes, very profitable and useful to some, and not pernicious to the eternal interest of any.

 

 Having thus cleared my assertion, That happiness is attained here, from such objections as seem to derive any countenance from reason; there remain but two more that I can think of; the one whereof presses hard upon me, under a pretended authority of revelation; the other urges the experience of mankind. I will begin with the former, and consider with what aspect revelation regards the happiness of this present life, and whether there be any thing in it that forbids the hopes, or obstructs the attainment, of it.

 

 Religion is no Enemy to our present Happiness. IF men were not very ingenious in framing excuses of their folly, and in the contrivance and pursuit of ruin, it would seem very strange, that the Gospel, which was designed to be the great instrument of our happiness, should be alleged to discourage and damp our endeavors after it; that the Gospel, whose great end is to fill our minds with joy, peace, and hope, should be traduced as an enemy to our pleasure; but so it is, and therefore, resolving to leave no obstacle unremoved, I will examine this fancy. Religion ever had, and always must have, the character of its Author visibly stamped upon it: nothing that is not infinitely kind, and infinitely wise, can be found in any part of revelation truly divine; from whence we may rationally conclude, that the great aim of GOD in establishing religion, is to advance the happiness of man; and to advance it in a method consonant to those natural principles he has implanted in him: nor did any one inspired author ever think otherwise” He that keepeth the law,” says SOLOMON, u happy is he.” 

 

 “ Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them: happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.1” That this was to be understood of present happiness, is apparent from what follows: “ Length of days are in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those that lay hold upon her,” And though the Gospel, as a higher and more perfect dispensation, doth propose to us as our great end, life and immortality, yet it doth by no means exclude us from happiness here; but rather establishes it upon proper and firm foundations.” Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Now the fruit of the SPIRIT is joy, peace. Now the GOD of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, and make you abound in hope through the power of the HOLY GHOST. Godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Nor can I, indeed, conceive how the state of a righteous and holy soul should be other than a happy one: The confident expectation of heaven, must needs be more transporting, than the richest fancy of a sinner, and that security both in respect of this, and a future life, which a good man enjoys in the protection of GOD, and the assurance of his favor, must infinitely exceed any thing that a sinner can attain to, and must exclude those uneasy fears which frequently interrupt the sinner's enjoyment, and overcast his hopes: he that loves GOD and virtue, cannot but be happy in the daily practice and enjoyment of what he most delights in: and he, lastly, that has subdued his passions, and overcome the world, cannot but reap the daily fruits of so glorious a conquest, and be constantly entertained with pleasing reflections, and delightful prospects; and yet, if he should enjoy nothing else, that liberty, magnanimity, divine charity, and enlargement of soul, which he thereby gains, were an abundant reward of this victory. The sum of all is this: A good man has the best title to the blessings of this life, and the glories of another: he enjoys this world with as great security, as wisdom and moderation, and has an assured hope of a far better when he quits this; the anticipations of which, by faith, love, and hope, do at once facilitate and confirm his conquest over all unworthy lusts, and entertain him with inexpressible satisfaction and pleasure.

 

 But what becomes now of the doctrine of the cross This is a very soft and mild commentary upon that of our SAVIOR: “ If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” This is not so formidable an objection, as it must at first sight seem; for doubtless, the pleasures even of confessors and martyrs did far outweigh their sufferings whilst they lived; and when they suffered death itself, the time was come to exchange temporal for eternal happiness. I think, then, the death of martyrs and confessors is rather a great confirmation than confutation of this opinion: teaching us plainly, that in despite of all calamities, it is not only possible to live, but to die, happily. From this little I have said on this occasion, it is easy to shape an answer to what is objected from ST. PAUL,: “ If in this life only we have hope in CHRIST, we are of all men most miserable.” It is indisputably true, that had these Christians been destitute of that hope which was their support, they had sunk under the weight of such sufferings, and so had been most miserable of all men: but since their hopes did not only support them under their afflictions, but also render them more than conquerors; all that can follow hence is, that the resurrection and eternal life are unquestionable truths, and that he who believes them as firmly as the confessors and martyrs did, may, like them, be happy, though a thousand seas of calamities and troubles should break in upon him.

 

 As to mortification, which is a duty of perpetual obligation, (for the purity of religion is still the same,) this did at first signify the renunciation and extirpation of Jewish and Pagan lusts, according to that of ST. PAUL, ”Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry;” it still signifies the same thing, and whatever difficulty we are to encounter in the performance of this duty, it must be vanquished, for it is impossible to be wicked and happy: a wicked man is his own hell, and every passion, every lust, is a fiend, a fury, that doth outrage and torment him; and all this, the Heathens themselves did not only constantly acknowledge, but also paint out with as lively eloquence as any Christian could ever do: their experience (over whom sin had an uncontrolled dominion) most effectually convincing them of the outrages, tyranny, and unspeakable mischiefs of wicked and abominable passion; nay, so manifest is it, that the -subduing these irregular passions is necessary to our happiness, that even the Epicureans themselves (notwithstanding their confining the happiness of man to this short life) did yet look upon themselves as extremely injured by TULLY, and others, when they represented themselves as revolted from, and enemies to, virtue. It is not my business here to examine what foundation for virtue their philosophy could leave; it is enough that they could not but acknowledge it as necessary to happiness.

 

 To come to a conclusion: The Scripture is so far from denying, that it affirms the possibility of attaining happiness; nor are the sufferings of confessors and martyrs, or the doctrine of mortification, inconsistent with the true happiness of man: that affliction is not, the example of those very martyrs and confessors triumphing over it does sufficiently evince; that mortification is not, is unanimously confessed, even by such as were entirely devoted to the pleasures of this life. I have now spoken to all those objections which oppose the possibility of attaining happiness, with any show of reason, or pretence of divine authority: it is now high time I should proceed to answer those who oppose not reasons, but observation and experience.

 

CHAPTER VIII.

 

Of Matters of Fact or Experience.

 

 AFTER all the pains I have taken to show that the search after happiness is a rational undertaking; to demonstrate the possibility of attaining it, and to disperse all objections to the contrary, there remains still one objection, which, if true, were sufficient to discourage the endeavors of the most virtuous. Which is this:—

 

 It is true, happiness may be found in speculation, but rarely, if ever, in possession: the number of the happy ia extremely small; and most men, if not all, when they have worn life to its last period, may give that account of it which the aged Patriarch did to PHARAOH: “Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.”

 

 Happiness! What is it Or where is it In what distant coasts or unknown regions does it dwell Who and where are the darlings of Heaven, to whose lot it happens Shall we, like BAJAZET, think poor, silly, lazy peasants, happy O happy shepherd, who hadst neither Sebastia nor Orthobales to lose: as if secure beggary, and slothful want, were happiness: happy thus might I call the man born blind; he has no eyes to lose.

 

 Or shall we call the gaudy swarm which (like flies and insects in gleams of sunshine) buzz and flutter in the rays and warmth of prosperity Shall we call these happy Ah! these are they which furnish theatres and poets with tragic stories: amongst these, restless passions, contemptible levity, ungovernable insolence, withered and meagre envy, wandering lust, empty pride, loud and senseless confidence, and, finally, shameful and fearful sins^ have their abode: and can we call those happy who are infested with such legions of evils They are their own burden, whilst they are others' envy.

 

 Shall we, then, call the busy, trading world, happy These would have thought it a happiness not to have needed to trade or toil; they love wealth, but most admire

 

 Bes nan parta labore sed relicta.

 

 Not gold they laboring dig themselves in mines, But what the toiling ancestor resigns To his more happy issue.

 

If this be so, one would think I might boldly present you with the envied glory of mighty Princes, as an unquestionable instance of happiness: but, alas, the wisest of the heathen gods preferred the happiness of AGLAUS, before that of GYGES and the wisest of men (in his times at least) preferred the happiness of TELLUS, before that of Caiffisus! And this sentence seems not only to deny those particular Princes happy, but also to pronounce the very state of royalty incapable of happiness; indeed this state, when active, and glorious, is full of fears, and cares, and hazards; when sluggish and inactive, full of shame. What can be the happiness of a state too big for friendship or for pleasure For love is the business and enjoyment of equals; obedience is all subjects can offer, or monarchs receive: all higher and nearer approaches to the throne, are but intrusions of ambition and design; nor can I possibly discern what satisfaction the great mortal can take in any expressions of duty or affection, which he can never distinguish from the fawning and flattery of those who in their hearts despise and hate him: how shall he now that any truly love him, when none dare slight him Or how shall he discern who serves him out of duty, where every man even obtrudes himself upon his commands out of interest In a word, the passions of a Prince are so much greater than other men's, as is his mind and fortune; his conversation is not with the minds of men, but with faces, or rather masks and disguises. And as to his pleasures, his gust of them is very flat, being cloyed and surfeited by his affluence. And whereas all other men, as the ambitious, the vain-glorious, the covetous, the lover, seem to rise above themselves in the acquisitions of those pleasures they aspire to; the monarch debases himself, descends and stoops below his fortune to meet his. And yet I am not of APOLLO'S nor SOLON'S mind; I cannot think there is any great happiness in the ignorance and the quietness of a laboring cottager.

 

 I would have my tranquility spring not from the ignorance, but reason, of my mind; from the right government of my passions, not from the meanness of my education or fortune. For the same reason I do not call men happy, whose slow and easy temper, like the waters of the Dead Sea, is not to be moved even by wind or storm; I do not call stupidity a calm; the soul that is insensible of trouble, is so of joy too: whoever is incapable of any deep impression, is so of any serious reflection: and what is the state of such a man I would not have my life pass by like a dream, whilst fleeting or imperfect images of things do scarce awake, and too slightly affect, my drowsy or dazzled sense.

 

 Whom then shall we call happy Surely if any, the knowing and learned: these are the souls that converse with heaven, that dwell continually in the pure light, and feed upon the bread, the joys of angels. But, alas! if happiness were the inseparable companion of learning, how came the adored CATO to be led by pride, and humor, and vain glory, through burning sands and dreadful deserts How came he, in a mood of desperate discontent, to die his own murderer Whence was it that the learned and eloquent TULLY, after so many brave discourses of the contempt of death and pain, and briefly, all human evils, did sink so poorly under the weight of his misfortunes If learning did put men in possession of happiness, why was our VERULAM so utterly a stranger to happiness in both fortunes, as unable to govern and enjoy prosperity aright, as to bear up under adversity If learning were so sovereign an antidote against misery, if philosophy were such a paradise, why do the learned leave their sacred shades to haunt the houses of great ones, or the courts of Princes Why do they fawn and cringe, and with all imaginable assiduity labor to insinuate themselves into such men whose esteem for them is ajust scandal to them, and their favors but so many public marks of reproach O vilest servitude! And yet after all, even this equals not the baseness, the slavery of those who prostitute themselves to the multitude, and make an ignorant and insolent herd, the arbitrary sovereigns of their principles, their liberty, their happiness, for this depends upon their popularity. O how far should I prefer the independent drudgery of an honest mind, before this unmanly servitude!

 

 The men then whom I call happy, are such as are possessed of true and solid goods, and those such as Fortune cannot give nor take away: such were CHRIST and his Apostles, and such are all those at this day as are transformed into the glory and image of the divine nature, by the energy of the divine Spirit, and divine truths. Let us consider, therefore, what the state of CHRIST and his Apostles was in this life: I will not take notice of those ecstatic pleasures, which they felt when they did those godlike works which we call miracles. What triumph could be equal to theirs, who saw diseases, devils, and death, subject to their commands What joy could be equal to theirs, when they gave life to the dead, sight to the blind, and strength to the lame To what a height were wonder and delight raised in each of these performances For nothing could be more wonderful than the power, or delightful than the charity, conspicuous in them: but this I pass over, because this power is not to be attained by us: let us come to that which is, I mean, the virtues of CHRIST and his Apostles: “ He had not a place to lay his head: “ it is true; but how truly great was he in himself How much above the mean and unmanly desires of ambition, covetousness, or lust He indulged himself in no sensual pleasures, it is true; but how calm that soul, which no angry or envious passion disturbed, where nothing but sacred love dwelled The love of GOD, the love of man, and the rational and wise love of himself How happy that soul which was. illuminated with divine knowledge, supported by an unshaken faith, filled with joyful reflections and glorious hopes That soul which in the silence of the night, and the retirements of the mount, did pour forth itself in prayers and hallelujahs; that soul which, full of GOD and full of heaven, had no room for uneasy cares It is true, our SAVIOR met death with pale looks and pangs of soul; but it is as true, that his faith surmounted his fears; his agony endured but for a little while; an undisturbed peace, and a settled serenity of mind, followed it, and his trouble and pain in death, like the eclipse that attended, did but overcast the light within, not extinguish it. Who could finish the last act of life with more humble majesty, or with more settled peace In the life and death of our dear LORD, we behold that of his disciples, for they were all followers of him, as they desired we should be of them: what can be happier than their state here was Their life was regular, their joy steady and rational, their love of GOD vigorous, their charity to man fervent and diffused; their desires, as to the world, modest; their minds resolved and brave in afflictions, cheerful and composed in death itself.

 

 Let it stand then as an unshaken truth, that happiness may be attained in this life: for what the followers of our LORD attained to, that may we; their natural passions and infirmities were the same with ours; our trials and temptations are less than theirs; we serve the same GOD, we are guided by the same truths, supported by the same power, elevated by the same hopes; we have the same peace bequeathed us, the same Spirit, the same heaven promised us, and we march under the conduct of the same •” Captain of our salvation,” who” by his death has abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light.”

 

 To look back now upon this whole section, and sum up the substance of it: GOD who made us, made us on purpose to be happy: for what other design could infinite Love propose to itself in our creation And proposing to himself this end, he endued us with faculties and capacities that might fit us for the contemplation and enjoyment of himself and his works. The world provided by him for our entertainment, he filled with all things that could minister either to our necessities or delight: here GOD has planted us, not as inhabitants, but sojourners; for this is but our state of probation. Angels had their times of trial; so have men: here he would have us aspire after that life angels lead in heaven; for we are one day to be equal to them: here he would have us learn and practice those virtues which fit us for the society and enjoyment of that kingdom, wherein dwells righteousness; for the consummation of all our endeavors, desires, and hopes: but when we make heaven the abode, the seat of perfect happiness, we do not thereby suppose that it is banished from earth rather, on the contrary, if that state be the consummation of all things, it is necessary to be concluded, that every step we advance nearer to it, we mount and ascend higher, into brighter, calmer, and purer regions: heaven is like a glorious building, whose access is full of delight and beauty; for as that youth which precedes our manhood has its sweetness, its beauty, its natural perfection and pleasure; so has this mortal state which precedes our angelical, its proper degree of perfection and blessedness: and this is no small one neither. When our mind, filled with divine charity, becomes free, generous, resolved, constant, cheerful, meek, gentle, devout, heavenly; when it has so familiarly acquainted itself with heaven, that the sins and pleasures of the sensual part of the world, look like the manners and entertainments, not only of a foreign but barbarous country; and when, lastly, by its frequent retirements from the body, and daily commerce with rational and spiritual pleasures, it not only asserts its sovereignty over it, but begins to live so independent of it, that at the last when it shall in death mount up upon the wings of pure flame to heaven, it shall not suffer as if the body needed to be torn from it, but shall let it fall, as ELIJAH did his mantle. Those complaints, therefore, which we make against our present state, and those reproaches with which we vilify our nature, are false and unjust, for we are by GOD created and designed for happiness; and this happiness, GOD has been pleased to put in our own power, to place within our reach: we lie under no necessity, no fatality, but what our own vices betray us to; nor do we stand in need of the indulgences of Fortune; the tranquillity and pleasure of a virtuous man is an image of GOD'S own; it springs from within, not from without. It is true, there are difficulties which obstruct our progress to happiness; but they are such as all wise and good men have conquered; it is true, nature labors under its infirmities, that is, sensual pro-pensions and inclinations; but it is strengthened and supported by reason, by revelation, by grace: we may fall, it is true, a sacrifice to GOD'S wrath, but it must be after we have lived long in contempt of his mercy, and obstinate defiance of his grace. Methinks these considerations should raise and exalt the mind of man; they should inspire us with desires and hopes worthy of rational and immortal souls; like the Israelites when they marched out of Egypt, we should dream of nothing but triumph, glory, and happiness.