In whatever degree the punishment of an of fender is conducive, or his efcape dangerous, to the intereft of the community, in the fame degree is the party against whom the crime was committed bound to profecute, because fuch profecutions muft in their nature originate from the fufferer. Therefore, great public crimes, as robberies, forgeries, and the like, ought not to be fpared, from an apprehenfion of trouble or expence in carrying on the profecution, or from falfe fhame or misplaced compaffion. There are many offences, fuch as nuifances, neglect of public roads, foreftalling, engroffing, fmuggling, fabbath-breaking, profaneness, drunkenness, prostitution, the keeping of lewd or diforderly houses, the writing, publishing, or expofing to fale lascivious books or pictures, with fome others, the profecution of which being of equal concern to the whole neighbourhood, cannot be charged as a peculiar obligation upon any. Nevertheless, there is great merit in the perfon who undertakes fuch prosecutions upon proper motives; which amounts to the fame thing. The character of an informer is in this country undefervedly odious. But where any public advantage is likely to be attained by informa tions, or other activity in promoting the execu tion of the laws, a good man will defpife a prejudice founded in no juft reafon, or will acquit himself of the imputation of interefted defigns by giving away his share of the penalty. On the other hand, profecutions for the fake of the reward, or for the gratification of private enmity, where the offence produces no public. mischief, or where it arifes from ignorance or inadvertency, are reprobated under the general defcription of applying a rule of law to a purpose for which it was not intended. Under which defcription may be ranked an officious revival of the laws against popish priests, and dissenting teachers. CHAP. CHA P. XI. GRATITUDE. E XAMPLES of ingratitude check and difcourage voluntary beneficence: and in this the mischief of ingratitude confifts. Nor is the mischief fmall; for after all is done that can be done, towards providing for the public happiness, by prescribing rules of justice, and enforcing the obfervation of them by penalties or compulfion, much must be left to thofe offices of kindness, which men remain at liberty to exert or withhold. Now not only the choice of the objects, but the quantity and even the existence of this fort of kindness in the world, depends, in a great measure, upon the return which it receives; and this is a confideration of general importance. A fecond reafon for cultivating a grateful temper in ourselves is the following. The fame principle, which is touched with the kindness of a human benefactor, is capable of being affected by by the divine goodness, and of becoming, under the influence of that affection, a fource of the purest and most exalted virtue. The love of God is the fublimeft gratitude. It is a miftake, therefore, to imagine, that this virtue is omitted in the Chriftian fcriptures; for every precept, which commands us "to love God, because he "first loved us," prefuppofes the principle of gratitude, and directs it to its proper object. It is impoffible to particularize the feveral expreffions of gratitude, in as much as they vary with the character and fituation of the benefactor, and with the opportunities of the perfon obliged; which variety admits of no bounds. It may be obferved, however, that gratitude can never oblige a man to do what is wrong, and what by conféquence he is previously obliged not to do. It is no ingratitude to refuse to do, what we cannot reconcile to any apprehenfions of our duty; but it is ingratitude and hypocrify together, to pretend this reason, when it is not the real one: and the frequency of fuch pretences has brought this apology for non-compliance with the will of a benefactor into unmerited difgrace. It has long been accounted a violation of delicacy and generofity to upbraid men with the favours |