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ing our Saviour's prohibition: they rather seem to comply with another direction, which he has left us: "Let your light fo fhine before men, that they

may fee your good works, and glorify your "father which is in heaven." If it be neceffary to propofe a precife diftinction upon the fubject, I can think of none better than the following. When our bounty is beyond our fortune or station, that is, when it is more than could be expected from us, our charity should be private, if privacy be practicable; when it is not more than might be expected, it may be public: for we cannot hope to influence others to the imitation of extraordinary generosity, and therefore want, in the former cafe, the only juftifiable reafon for making it public.

Having thus defcribed feveral different exertions of charity, it may not be improper to take notice of a fpecies of liberality, which is not charity in any fenfe of the word: I mean the giving of entertainments or liquor, for the fake of popularity;, or the rewarding, treating, and maintaining, the companions of our diverfions, as hunters, shooters, fishers, and the like. I do not say that this is criminal: I only fay that it is not charity; and that we are not to fuppofe, becaufe we give, and give to the poor, that it will stand in the place, or fuperfede the ob ligation, of more meritorious and difinterested bounty.

III. The pretences by which men excuse themselves from giving to the poor.

"That they have nothing to fpare," i. e. nothing, for which they have not provided fome other ufe; nothing, which their plan of expence, together with the favings they have refolved to lay by, will not exhauft: never reflecting whether it be in their power, or that it is their duty to retrench their expences, and contract their plan, "that they "may have to give to them that need;" or rather that this ought to have been part of their plan orign liv.

2. "That

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2. "That they have families of their own, and "that charity begins at home." The extent of this plea will be confidered, when we come to explain the duty of parents.

3. "That charity does not confift in giving "money, but in benevolence, philanthropy, love "to mankind, goodness of heart, &c. Hear St. James. "If a brother or fifter be naked, and def

titute of daily food, and one of you fay unto "them, depart in peace, be you warmed and filled, "notwithstanding ye give them not thofe things which "are needful to the body, what doth it profit?" (James ii. 15, 16.)

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4.

"That giving to the poor is not mentioned in "St. Paul's defcription of charity, in the thirteenth chapter of his firft Epiftle to the Corinthians." This is not a description of charity, but of goodnature; and it is not neceffary that every duty be mentioned in every place.

5. "That they pay the poor rates." They might as well allege that they pay their debts; for the poor have the fame right to that portion of a man's property, which the laws affign them, that the man himself has to the remainder.

6." That they employ many poor perfons :"for their own fake, not the poor's-otherwise it is a good plea.

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7. "That the poor do not suffer fo much as we imagine; that education and habit have recon"ciled them to the evils of their condition, and "make them eafy under it." Habit can never reconcile human nature to the extremities of cold, hunger and thirst, any more than it can reconcile the hand to the touch of a red-hot iron: befides, the question is not, how unhappy any one is, but how much more happy we can make him.

8. "That these people, give them what you " will, will never thank you, or think of "it." In the first place, this is not true

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fecond place, it was not for the fake of their thanks that you relieved them.

9. "That we are liable to be impofed upon.” If a due enquiry be made, our merit is the fame: befide that, the diftrefs is generally real, whatever has been the cause of it.

10. “That they should apply to their parishes.” This is not always practicable: to which we may add, that there are many requifites to a comfortable fubfiftence, which parish relief does not always fupply; and that there are fome, who would fuffer almost as much from receiving parish relief, as by the want of it; and lastly, that there are many modes of charity, to which this answer does not relate at all.

1. "That giving money encourages idleness "and vagrancy." This is true only of injudicious and indifcriminate generosity.

12. "That we have too many objects of charity "at home, to bestow any thing upon ftrangers; "or that there are other charities, which are more "ufeful, or stand in greater need." The value of this excufe depends entirely upon the fact, whether we actually relieve thofe neighbouring objects, and contribute to thofe other charities.

Befide all these excufes, pride, or prudery, or delicacy, or love of cafe, keep one half of the world out of the way of oblerving what the other half fuffer.

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CHAP. VI.

RESENTMENT.

RESENTMENT may be distinguished into anger and revenge.

By anger, I mean the pain we fuffer upon the receipt of an injury or affront, with the ufual effects of that pain upon ourselves.

By revenge, the inflicting of pain upon the perfon who has injured or offended us, farther than the just ends of punishment or reparation require.

Anger prompts to revenge; but it is poffible to fufpend the effect, when we cannot altogether quell the principle. We are bound also to endeavour to qualify and correct the principle itself. So that our duty requires two different applications of the mind: and for that reafon anger and revenge may be confidered separately.

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CHA P. VII.

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ye angry and fin not ;" therefore all anger is not finful: I fuppofe, because fome degree of it, and upon fome occafions, is inevitable.

It becomes finful, or contradicts however the rule of fcripture, when it is conceived upon flight and inadequate provocations, and when it continues long.

1. When it is conceived upon flight provocations; for "charity suffereth long, is not eafily provoked.” "Let every man be flow to anger." Peace, long fuffering, gentleness, meekness, are enumerated among the fruits of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22, and compose the true Christian temper, as to this article of duty.

2. When it continues long; for "let not the ❝ fun go down upon your wrath."

Thefe precepts, and all reasoning indeed upon the fubject, fuppofe the paffion of anger to be within our power and this power confifts not fo much in any faculty we poffefs of appeafing our wrath at the time (for we are paffive under the fmart which an injury or affront occafions, and all we can then do is to prevent its breaking out into action), as in fo mollifying our minds by habits of just reflection, as to be lefs irritated by impreffions of injury, and to be fooner pacified.

Reflections proper for this purpose, and which may be called the fedatives of anger, are the following: the poffibility of miftaking the motives from which the conduct that offends us proceeded;

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