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black suspicions haunt his hours of rest. Accustomed to view the characters of his neighbors in the most favorable light, he is like one who dwells amidst those beautiful scenes of nature, on which the eye rests with pleasure.. Whereas the suspicious man, having his imagination filled with all the shocking forms of human falsehood, deceit, and. treachery, resembles the traveller in the wilderness, who. discerns no objects around him, but such as are either drearyor terrible; caverns that open, serpents that hiss, and beasts. of prey that howl..

BLAIR.

LESSON XXXVIII.

SECTION IM..

The mortifications of vice greater than those of virtue

THOUGH

HOUGH no condition of human life is free from uneasiness, yet it must be allowed, that the uneasiness belonging to a sinful course is far greater, than what attends a course of well doing. If we are weary of the labors of virtue, we may be assured, that the world, whenever we try the exchange, will lay upon us a much heavier load. lt is the outside only, of a licentious life, which is gay and smil.. ing. Within, it conceals toil, and trouble, and deadly sorrow. For vice poisons human happiness in the spring, by. introducing disorder into the heart. Those passions which. it seems to indulge, it only feeds with imperfect gratifications; and thereby strengthens them for preying, in the end, on their unhappy victims.

It is a great mistake to imagine, that the pain of self de nial is confined to virtue. He who follows the world, as much as he who follows Christ, must "take up his cross ;" and to him assuredly, it will prove a more oppressive bur. den. Vice allows all our passions to range uncontrolled; and where each claims to be superior, it is impossible to gratify all. The predominant desire can only be indulged at the expence of its rival. No mortifications which virtue. exacts, are more severe than those which ambition imposes. upon the love of ease, pride upon interest, and covetousness

upon

upon vanity. Self denial, therefore, belongs, in common, to vice and virtue; but with this remarkable difference, that the passions which virtue requires us to mortify, it tends to weaken; whereas, those which vice obliges us to deny, it, at the same time strengthens. The one diminishes the pain of self denial, by moderating the demand of passion; the other increases it, by rendering those demands imperious and violent. What distresses, that occur in the calm life of vir. tue, can be compared to those tortures which remorse of conscience inflicts on the wicked; to those severe humilia. tions, arising from guilt combined with misfortunes, which sink them to the dust; to those violent agitations of shame and disappointment, which sometimes drive them to the most fatal extremities,and make them abhor their existence? How often, in the midst of those disastrous situations, into which their crimes have brought them, have they execrated the seductions of vice; and, with bitter regret, looked back to the day on which they first forsook the path of innocence !

BLAIR.

SECTION IV.

On Contentment.

CONTENTMENT produces, in some measure, all those effects which the alchymist usually ascribes to what he calls the philosopher's stone; and if it does not bring riches, it does the same thing by banishing the desire of them. If it cannot remove the disquietudes arising from a man's mind, body, or fortune, it makes him easy under them. It has' indeed a kindly influence on the soul of man, in respect of every being to whom he stands related. It extinguishes all murmur, repining, and ingratitude, towards that Being who has allotted him his part to act in this world. It destroys+ all inordinate ambition, and every tendency to corruption, with regard to the community wherein he is placed. It gives sweetness to his conversation, and a perpetual serenity to all his thoughts.

Among the many methods which might be made use of for acquiring this virtue, I shall mention only the two fol lowing. First of all, a man should always consider how much he has more than he wants; and secondly, how much more unhappy he might be than be really is:

First, a man should always consider how much he has

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more than he wants. I am wonderfully pleased with the reply which Aristipus made to one, who condoled him upon the loss of a farm: "Why," said he, “ I have three farms still, and you have but one; so that ought rather to be afflicted for you than you for me." On the contrary, foolish men are more apt to consider what they have lost, than what they possess; and to fix their eyes upon those who are richer than themselves, rather than on those who are under greater difficulties. All the real pleasures and con-veniences of life lie in a narrow compass but it is the bu mor of mankind to be always looking forward; and straining after one who has got the start of them in wealth and honor. For this reason, as none can be properly called rich, who have not more than they want, there are few rich men in any of the politer nations, but among the middle sort of people, who keep their wishes within their fortunes, and have more wealth than they know how to enjoy. Persons of a higher rank live in a kind of splendid poverty; and are perpetually wanting, because, instead of acquiescing in the solid pleasures of life, they endeavor to outvie one another in shadows and appearances. Men of sense have at all times beheld, with a great deal of mirth, this silly game that is playing over their heads; and, by contracting their de sires, enjoy all that secret satisfaction which others are al ways in quest of. The truth is, this ridiculous chase after imaginary pleasures, cannot be sufficiently exposed, as it is the great source of those evils which generally undo a na tion. Let a man's estate be what it may, he is a poor man if he does not live within it; and naturally sets himself tosale to any one that can give him his price. When Pittacus after the death of his brother, who had left him a good es tate, was offered a great sum of money by the king of Lydia, be thanked him for his kindness; but told him, he had already more by half than he knew what to do with. In fhort, content is equivalent to wealth, and luxury to poverty; or, to give the thought a more agreeable turn, " Content is natural wealth," says crates; to which I fhall add, luxury is artificial poverty. I shall therefore recommend to the consideration of those, who are always aiming at superflue ous and imaginary enjoyments, and who will not be at the trouble of contracting their desires, an excellent saying of Bion the philosopher, namely, "that no man has so much sare, as he who endeavors after the most happiness.”

In the second place, every one ought to reflect how much more unhappy he might be, than he really is.-The former consideration took in all those, who are sufficiently provided with the means to make themselves easy; this regards such as actually lie under some pressure or misfortune. These

may receive great alleviation, from such a comparison as the unhappy person may make between himself and others; or between the misfortune which he suffers, and greater misfortunes which might have befallen him.'

I like the story of the honest Dutchman, who upon break. ing his leg by a fall from the mainmast, told the standers by, it was a great mercy that it was not his neck. To which,

since I am got into quotations, give me leave to add the say. ing of an old philosopher, who, after having invited some" of his friends to dine with him, was ruffled by a person that came into the room in a passion, and threw down the table that stood before them: "Every one," says he, “has his calamity; and he is a happy man that has no greater than this." We find an instance to the same purpose, in the life of Doctor Hammond, written by Bilhop Fell. As this good man was troubled with a complication of distempers, when he had the gout upon him, he used to thank God that it was not the stone; and when he had the stone, that he had not both these distempers on him at the same time.

I cannot conclude this essay without observing, that there never was any system, besides that of Christianity, which could effectually produce in the mind of man the virtue I have been hitherto speaking of. In order to make us con. tented with our condition, many of the present philosophers tell us, that our discontent only hurts ourselves, without being able to make any alteration in our circumstances; others, that whatever evil befalls us is derived to us by a fatal neces sity, to which superior beings themselves are subject; while others, very gravely, tell the man who is miserable, that it is necessary he should be so, to keep up the harmony of the universe; and that the scheme of Providence would be trou. bled and perverted, were he otherwise. These, and the like considerations, rather silence than satisfy a man. They may show him that his discontent is unreasonable, but they are by no means sufficient to relieve it. They rather give despair than consolation. In a word, a man might reply to one of hese comforters, as Augustus did to his friend, who advised im not to grieve for the death of a person whom he loved,

because

because his grief could not fetch him again: "It is for that very reason," said the emperor, “that I grieve.”

On the contrary, religion bears a more tender regard to human nature. It prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that bearing his afflictions as he ought to do, will naturally end in the removal of them. It makes him easy here, because it can make him happy hereafter.

LESSON XXXIX.

SECTION V.

ADDISON.

Rank and Riches afford no ground for Envy.

OF

F all the grounds of envy among men, superiority in rank and fortune is the moft general. Hence, the madiggity which the poor commonly bear to the rich, as engrossing to themselves all the comforts of life. Hence the evil eye with which persons of inferior station scrutinise those who are above them in rank; and if they approach to that rank, their envy is generally strongest against such as are just one step higher than themselves.Alas! my friends, all this envious disquietude, which agitates the world, arises from a deceitful figure, which imposes on the public view. False colors are hung out the real state of men is not what it seems to be. The order of society requires a distinction of ranks to take place; but in point of happiness, all men come much nearer to equality than is commonly imagined; and the circumstances, which form any material difference of happiness among them, are not of that nature which renders them grounds of envy. The poor man possesses not, it is true, some of the conveniences and pleasures of the rich; but, in return,he is free from many embarrassments to which they are subject. By the simplicity and uniformity of his life, he is delivered from that variety of cares, which perplex those who have great affairs to manage, intricate plans to pursue, many enemies, perhaps, to encounter in the pursuit. In the tranquility of his small habitation, and private family, he enjoys a peace which is often unknown at courts. gratifications of nature, which are always the most satisfac

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