ments, and greater perfection of the intellectual faculties, than that more limited benevolence, which is treated of by the heathen moralifts, which was hardly ever thought to extend farther than to a love of one's own countrymen, and which admitted flaves to none of the privileges of men, but ` confidered them as no other than the property of their mafters. But, in the eye of a Chriftian, Jew and Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free, are all equal. The boafted attachments of private friendship are not more endearing than that mutual love which Chrift recommends to his difciples. But, whereas, private friendship was, with the Greeks and Romans, the perfection, and almost the end of all virtue, the brotherly love of chriftians is only confidered as a branch of a more extenfive benevolence, and leads to the love of all the human race. It is evident, that the duties of contentment, truft in divine providence, meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness of injuries, are more infifted on by Christ and his apostles, than by any of the heathen philofophers; and thefe virtues certainly require a greater comprehenfion of mind than any other focial duties. Children are quick in their refentments, their anger is prefently excited, and they are unable to conceal what little malice or revenge they are capable of; but, in proportion as men advance in age, in experience, and, confequently, in intellect, they are able to overlook affronts, and to fufpend, or wholly to fifle their refentments; because they are able to take in more diftant confequences of paffions and actions; and the fentiments which are fuggefted by thefe extensive views, moderate and overpower thofe which are prompted by their prefent fenfations. Christianity, therefore, by extending these duties, fuppofes, and thereby favours and promotes a fill greater advance in intellectual perfection. To act like a christian, a man must be poffeffed of true greatness of mind, a felf-command, fortitude, or magnanimity, which is infinitely more fuperior to the difguifed revenge of which fome arc capable, and which they can brood over for years, than this is fuperior to the quick refentments of children. It requires a more juft juft knowledge of things, more experience, and more forefight. It Thus does the chriflian fcheme appear to be perfectly confonant to nature. fuppofes a ferics of difpenfations, in which the human mind is operated upon, and its improvement promoted in a manner analogous to that in which it is actually operated upon, and its improvement promoted every day. As the one, therefore, is conducted according to the ordinary providence of the divine being, the other is what might be expected from his extraordinary difpenfations. Both thefe fchemes have the fame great object in view, and in both of them the fame end is gained by the fame methods. For, in fact, the only inftrument employed is that great and extenfive principle of affciation of ideas, which is fo confpicuous in the human mind, and which, according to the admirable theory of Dr. Hartley, furnishes the fiamina for all its other properties, and is the fource of all our faculties. It is by this principle of affociation, that our views are enlarged to take in diftant objects, objects, but objects that have a real connection with thofe that are prefent. And it is an habitual attention to these affociated circumftances of our actions, that gives them an influence as if they were prefent. As virtue, with all its confequences in this life, is eligible upon the whole, we are led, by this principle of affociation, to chufe and practice it, without any other guide than nature and common providence; but as virtue, with all thofe more extenfive confequences, which revelation informs us of, is infinitely more eligible; we are led, by the fame principle of affociation, to love it with more ardour, and to practice it with more conftancy; becaufe, by the help of thofe lights, which are furnished by the extraordinary providence of Almighty God, in the revelation of his will to mankind, we fee it to be a thing in which we are more deeply interested, than we could otherwife have known ourfelves to be. INSTITUTES |