Pleasure to relifh favory and wholefome things, but to naufeate and reject fuch as are ungrateful and noxious to us; whence to the Soul proceeds all that Comfort, Joy and Vigour, which refults to the Body from a good Conftitution and perfect Health. Wisdom acquaints us with ourselves, our own Temper and Conftitution, our Propenfions and Paffions, our Habitudes and Capacities; a thing not only of mighty Advantage, but of infinite Pleafure and Content to us. No Man in the World lefs knows a Fool than himself. He hath wonderful Conceits of his own Qualities and Faculties; he affects Commendations incompetent to him, and foars at Employments furpaffing his Ability to manage. No Comedy can reprefent a Miftake more odd and ridiculous than his; for what he wanders, ftares and hunts after, but never can find or difcern, is himself. Wisdom procures and preferves a conftant Favour and fair Refpect of Men, purchafes a good Name, and upholds Reputation in the World: which things are naturally defirable, and commodious in Life. The compofed Frame of Mind, uniform and comely Demeanor, compliant and inoffenfive Converfation, fair and punctual Dealing, confiderate Motions and dextrous Addreffes of wife Men, naturally beget Efteem and Affection in those that obferve them: Whereas Folly is freakish and humorous, impertinent and obftreperous, inconftant and inconfiftent, peevish and exceptious, and confequently troublefome to Society, and productive of Averfion and Difrefpect. Wisdom inftructs us to examine, compare, and rightly to value the Objects that court our Affections, and challenge our Care; and thereby regulates our Paffions, and moderates our Endeavours, which begets a pleafant Serenity, and peaceful Tranquility of Mind. For when, being deluded with falfe Shews, and relying upon ill-grounded Prefumptions, we highly efteem and eagerly purfue things of little Worth in themselves, as we proftitute our Affections, mil-spend our Time, and lofe our Labour; fo the Event not answering our Expectation, our Minds thereby are confounded, disturbed and diftempered. Wifdom difcovers our Relations, Duties, and Concernments, in refpect of others with whom we converfe; diftinguishes the Circumftances, limits the Meafures, determinates the Modes, appoints the fit Seafon of Action; thus preferving Decorum and Order, the Parents of Peace; and preventing Confufion, the Mother of Iniquity, Strife and Difquiet. In fine, Wifdom acquaints us. the Nature and Reafon of true Religion, and perfuades us to the Practice of it; teaches us wherein it cenfifts, and

what

what it requires, the Miftake of which produceth daily fo many Mischiefs in the World. It fhews that it confifteth not in fair Profeffions, but in real Practice; not in a pertinacious Adherence to any Sect or Party, but in a fincere Love of Goodness, and Diflike of Naughtiness, wherever discovering itself; not in harsh Cenfuring and virulently Inveighing against others, but in carefully Amending our own Ways; not in a vain Oftentation of outward Performances, but in an inward Goodnefs of Mind, exerting itself in Works of true Devotion and Charity; not in a nice Orthodoxy, or politic Subjection of our Judgments to the peremptory Dictates of Men, but in a fincere Love of Truth, in a hearty Approbation of Compliance with Doctrines fundamentally good, and neceffary to be believed.

LESSON IX.

A View of the different Climes and Regions of the Earth.

OW oblique and faintly looks the Sun on yonder Climates, far removed from him! How tedious are the Winters there! How deep the Horrors of the Night, and how uncomfortable even the Light of the Day! The freezing Winds employ their fierceft Breath, yet are not fpent with blowing. The Sea, which elfewhere is fcarce confined within its Limits, lies here immur'd in Walls of Crystal. The Snow covers the Hills, and almoft fills the loweft Vallies. How wide and deep it lies, incumbent over the Plains, hiding the fluggish Rivers, the Shrubs and Trees, the Dens of Beafts, and Manfions of diftrefs'd and feeble Men!-See! where they lie confined, hardly fecure against the raging Cold, or the Attacks of the wild Beafts, now Mafters of the wafted Field, and forc'd by Hunger out of the naked Woods.-Yet not dishearten'd (such is the Force of human Breafts) but thus provided for by Art and Prudence, the kind compenfating Gifts of Heaven, Men and their Herds may wait for a Releafe. For at length the Sun approaching, melts the Snow, fets longing Men at Liberty, and affords them Means and Time to make Provifion against the next Return of Cold. It breaks the icy Fetters of the Main, where the vaft Sea-Monsters pierce thro' floating Islands,

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with Arms which can withstand the cryftal Rock: whilft others, who of themselves feem great as Islands, are by their. Bulk alone arm'd against all but Man, whofe Superiority over Creatures of fuch ftupendous Size and Force, fhould make him mindful of his Privilege of Reafon, and force him humbly to adore the great Compofer of thefe wonderous Frames, and Author of his own fuperior Wifdom.

But leaving thefe dull Climates, fo little favoured by the Sun, for thofe happier Regions, on which he looks moft kindly, making perpetual Summer; how great an Alteration do we find! His purer Light confounds weak-fighted Mortals; pierced by his fcorching Beams, fcarce can they tread the glowing Ground. The Air they breathe cannot enough abate the Fire which burns within their panting Breafts. Their Bodies melt; overcome and fainting, they feek the Shade, and wait the cool Refreshments of the Night. Yet oft the bounteous Creator beflows other Refreshments; he cafts a Veil of Clouds before them, and raifes gentle Gales; favoured by which, the Men and Beafts purfue their Labours; and Plants refreshed by Dews and Showers, can gladly bear the warmest Sun-beams.

And here the varying Scene opens to new Wonders. We fee a Country rich with Gems, but richer with the fragrant Spices it affords. How gravely move the largest of LandCreatures on the Banks of this fair River! How ponderous are their Arms, and vaft their Strength, with Courage, and a Senfe fuperior to the other Beafts yet are they tamed by Mankind, and brought even to fight their Battles, rather as Allies and Confederates, than as Slaves. But let us turn our Eyes towards thefe fmaller and more curious Objects, the numerous and devouring Infects on the Trees in thefe wide Plains: How shining, ftrong and lafting are the fubtle Threads fpun from their artful Mouths! Who befide the All-wife has taught them to compofe the beautiful foft Shells, in which reclufe and buried, yet ftill alive, they undergo fuch a furprifing Change, when not deftroyed by Men, who cloath and adorn themfelves with the Labours and Lives of thefe weak Creatures, and are proud of wearing fuch inglorious Spoils? How fumptuoufly apparelled, gay, and fplendid, are all the various Infects which feed on the other Plants of this warm Region! How beautiful the Plants themselves in all their various Growths, from the triumphant Palm, down to the humble Mofs!

Now may we fee that happy Country where precious Gems and Balfams flow from Trees, and Nature yields her

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moft delicious Fruits. How tame and tractable, how patient of Labour and of Thirft, are thofe large Creatures, who lifting up their lofty Heads, go led and loaden thro' thofe dry and barren Places! Their Shape and Temper fhew them fram'd by Nature to fubmit to Man, and fitted for his Service; who from hence ought to be more fenfible of his Wants, and of the divine Bounty thus fupplying them.

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But fee! not far from us that fertileft of Lands, water'd and fed by a friendly generous Stream, which ere it enters the Sea, divides itself into many Branches, to difpenfe more equally the rich and nitrous Manure, it beftows fo kindly and in due Time on the adjacent Plains. Fair Image of that fruitful and exuberant Nature, who with a Flood of Bounty bleffes all Things, and, Parent-like, out of her many Breafts fends the nutritious Draught in various Streams to her rejoicing Offspring!-Innumerable are the dubious Forms and unknown Species which drink the flimy Current; whether they are fuch as leaving the fcorch'd Defarts, fatiate here their ardent Thirft, and promifcuously engend'ring, beget a monstrous Race; or whether, as 'tis faid, by the Sun's genial Heat active on the fermenting Ooze, new Forms are generated, and iffue from the River's fertile Bed.-See there the noted Tyrant of the Flood, and Terror of its Borders! when fuddenly displaying his horrid Form, the amphibious Ravager invades the Land, quitting his watry Den, and from the Deep emerging, with hideous Rufh fweeps o'er the trembling Plain. The Natives from afar behold with Wonder the enormous Bulk, fprung from fo fmall an Egg. With Horror they felate the Monfter's Nature, cruel and deceitful; how he with dire Hypocrify, and falfe Tears, beguiles the Simple-hearted; and infpiring Tendernefs and kind Compaffion, kills with pious Fraud-Sad Emblem of that fpiritual Plague, dire Superftition! Native of this Soil, where first Religion grew unfociable, and among different Worshipers bred mutual Hatred and Abhorrence of each other's Temples. The Infection fpreads, and Nations now profane one to another, war fiercer, and in Religion's Caufe forget Humanity; whilft favage Zeal, with meek and pious Semblance, works dreadful Maffacre, and for Heaven's Sake (horrid Pretence!) makes defolate the Earth.

Here let us leave thefe Monfters (glad if we cou'd here confine 'em) and detefting the dire prolific Soil, fly to the vaft Defarts of thefe Parts. All ghaftly and hideous as they appear, they want not their peculiar Beautics. The Wildnefs pleases, we feem to live alone with Nature: We view

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her in her inmoft Receffes, and contemplate her with more Delight in thefe original Wilds, than in the artificial Labyrinths and feign'd Wilderneffes of the Palace. The Objects of the Place, the fcaly Serpents, the favage Beafts, and poifonous Infects, how terrible foever, or how contrary to human Nature, are beauteous in themselves, and fit to raise our Thoughts in Admiration of that divine Wisdom, so far superior to our fhort Views. Unable to declare the Ufe and Service of all Things in this Univerfe, we are yet affur'd of the Perfection of all, and of the Juftice of that Oeconomy to which all Things are fubfervient; and in refpect of which, Things feemingly deform'd are amiable, Disorder becomes regular, Corruption wholfome, and Poifons (fuch as these we have feen) prove healing and beneficial.

But behold thro' a vaft Tract of Sky before us the mighty Atlas rears his lofty Head, cover'd with Snow above the Clouds. Beneath the Mountain's Foot, the rocky Country rifes into Hills, a proper Bafis of the ponderous Mafs above; where huge embody'd Rocks lie piled on one another, and feem to prop the high Arch of Heaven.-See! with what trembling Steps poor Mankind tread the narrow Brink of the deep Precipices! From whence with giddy Horror they look down, miftrufting even the Ground which bears 'em, whilft they hear the hollow Sound of Torrents underneath, and fee the Ruin of the impending Rock, with falling Trees which hang with their Roots upwards, and feem to draw more Ruin after them. Here thoughtlefs Men, feiz'd with the Newnefs of fuch Objects, become thoughtful, and willingly contemplate the incefiant Changes of this Earth's Surface. They fee, as in one Inftant, the Revolutions of paft Ages, the fleeting Forms of Things, and the Decay even of this our Globe; whofe Youth and firft Formation they confider, whilft the apparent Spoil and irreparable Breaches of the wafted Mountain fhew them the World itfelf only as a noble Ruin, and make them think of its ap-i proaching Period But here, mid-way the Mountain, a fpacious Border of thick Wood harbours our weary'd Travellers, who now are come among the Ever-green and lofty Fines, the Firs and noble Cedars, whofe tow'ring Heads feem endless in the Sky, the reft of Trees appearing only Shrubs befide them. And here a different Horror feizes our fhelter'd Travellers, when they fee the Day diminish'd by the deep Shades of the vaft Wood, which clofing thick above fpreads Darkness and eternal Night below. The faint and gloomy Light looks horrid as the Shade itself; and the pro

found