forrow offer itself to his view, fimply confidering it in a general view, he will be glad or forry according to the nature of the thing in question: but fhould this occafion of public joy interest him ever fo little, or in any manner prejudice his pretenfions, all on a fudden you will fee all his joy turned into forrow. In like manner, when a publick calamity gives him an opportunity of gaining any thing, all his forrow is turned into joy. If he ardently loves any one he will love him no longer, if he begin to coft him any thing; avarice will turn all his love into indifference and coldness. If reafon and common honesty oblige him to be of a party, who have justice on their fide, he will maintain, and even exaggerate their rights, and defend the equity of them, while his purfe is not engaged: engage his purse, and it is no longer the fame thing; what was juft is become now unjuft to him, he has quickly whys, and howevers in his mouth-but, however, we were mistaken in fuch a point,-why should we be obftinate in fuch, or fuch a thing? &c. (6) runt." &c. Refutatio Grovii Refponf. ad Celeusma. In epithets which were given them by one another. Adm. This great and excellent Reverendiffime - Digniffime fervant of Chrift, who was -Ornatiffime-Venerabilifdefcended by his mother's fime-Benigniffime-Scienfide from Rogers, the proto- tificentiffime-Singulariffime martyr, died in Newgate, Sociabiliffime-Vigilantif &c. after a confinement of feven- fime-Pientiffime-Sanctiffiteen weeks for confciencefake. 1685. Dr. Calamy's Acc. vol. ii. London. I might add another fource of puritanical mirth arifing from a contraft of qualifications of churchmen with the e-Beatiffime-&c. But I forbear. Vid. Hen. Bebelius de Abuf. Ling. Lat. (6) Avarice governs the tempers of interested men, and directs their actions in publick events. Were we to apply this In fine, his avarice gives the colour and tint to every subject, it is the fole rule, and measure, it makes things good or bad, juft or unjuft, reafonable or unreasonable according to its pleasure. Crimes are no longer crimes, if they agree with avarice, virtues are no longer virtues, when they oppose it. She reigns over the ideas of a mifer's mind and the emotions of his heart, fole arbitress in the judgments of his mind, fole directress in the confultations of his heart, fole governefs of all his paffions. (7) Ariftotle's definition of nature this to church-interefl, and to exemplify it by history, we could not choose a period more proper than that from the restoration of Charles II. to the death of queen Ann. The feveral turns of the times, the variety of temper discovered, the veering about of church-men according as the wind of intereft blew,, are finely defcribed, for the greater part of the time, by our excellent hiftorian Neal, of whofe fidelity no party has any just caufe to complain, except that of the Baptifts. (That they have, their hiftorian Crosby hath moft clearly fhewn, in his history of the Baptifts, and particularly in his preface to it.) The difpofition of too many of the clergy of thofe times is properly enough ridiculed in the well-known humourous fong called The Vicar of Bray. (7) Avarice reigns over a mifer. Mr. Claude compares avarice to an abfolute emVOL. II. can prefs extending her defpotifm over an abject flave. The books of Ecclefiaftes, and Proverbs, affimilate avarice to feveral things, each fignificant and expreffive: the following is very beautiful in its kind. Eccl. vi. 3. An untimely birth is better than a mifer. "Comparantur in his abortivus et avarus, quia fruftra natus uterque, cum finem nafcendi neuter adeptus. . . . In eo præfertur abortivus, quod ut bona, fic nec mala vitæ ulla fit perpeffus: avarus vero bonis vita caruit, ætatem vero fuam in mille malis et ærumnis tranfegit." Del Rio Adag. Sac. Par. ii. Ad. 307. Prov. xvii. 8. A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whither fo ever it turneth it profpereth. A bribe, like a diamond, fparkles in the eyes of intereited men, and money in all places, and on all occafions will prevail with them. L One can be no where better applied, fhe is the principle of motion and of reft; for fhe does all that the centurion in the gofpel did, fhe fays to one Go, and he goeth, to another Come, and he cometh, Do this, and he doth it: yea fhe goes farther than the centurion went; for fhe fays Paufe, and all things pause, Cease, and all things cease to be. (8) One of our divines, difcourfing on the inhumanity of the priest and Levite, mentioned by our Lord, Luke x. 31, 32. well observes—“ that it is unfair to tax the whole body of the clergy with ava rice, and inhumanity that at the acceffion of Conftantine great riches, and with them great temptations to avarice poured into the church that too many church-men, and particularly thofe in the church of Rome, especially the religious fraternities, had been fad examples of avarice that it was a fin more fcandalous in them than in others but that, as there were fome Zachariahs among the priests, and fome Barnabaffes among the Levites, fo there were fome liberal men among the Romish clergy, and more in other communities that foldiers, magifirates, and merchants had difgraced war, polity, and trade with avarice but that it would be unfair to blame the whole order of either-and that there was nothing in the ministry it (8) As we cannot form an idea of love, hope, or avarice in the abstract, or independent of a perfon, it should feera the characters of vices, or virtues would be beft defcribed in their fubjects, where feripture affords examples. Where all the characters of a vice, or a virtue are not to be found in one perfon, several examples may be united to give a full defcription of the article in queftion. Just defcription is extremely difficult: but what an encouragement to reflect, that it is not in the power of human nature to love vice, or hate virtue, appearing in their own colours! Mr. Saurin characterifes patriotism in the perfon of Nehemiah, and covetousness in the unhappy Judas. After a just but terrible defcription of the vice in the man,-declaring, that he trembled at the idea of fach a monfter-and exclaiming with Virgil, O exe crable IV. OBSERVE THE RELATION OF ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER. (9) For example, always when in fcripture God is called a Father, the relation of that term to crable love of money! and fo on-he afks, whether this odious picture refemble Judas only he goes on, and compares his bearers with Judas, till he pities Judas, and turns all his indignation against them. His defign is to excite a perfect hatred of avarice, and thereby to deliver his hearers from its guilt and power at once. Thefe applications fometimes produce great effects. children al cuftom, to faunter about idle, afking each other what news?... is Philip dead? No: but by Jove he is fick, Com&c. Demoft. Phil I pare this defcription of the Corinthian church with it, Aeyw de 73]:, of a υμων λέγει, εγω μεν ειμι lauλe, 876 Se Απολλω, yw de Kepa, sya de Xp158. Μεμέρις αι ο Χρις ; μη Παν Assaugate used un εις το όνομα Παύλο εβαπλίκα 7 Euxapisa To De#, &c. Is the figure erotefis admired in the paffage above men How richly the infpired writings are ftored with materials of this kind every body knows; indeed we may fay of many beauties of the bible, as Mr. Addifon in the freeholder fays of a paffage in Kings (2 b. viii. c. 11, 12, 7 der; avops 13. verfes.) they only want a place in fome Greek and Roman writer to be univers fally admired. The orator's defcription of the idle lives of his countrymen is justly admired, ʼn Basπε, είπε μοι, περοντες αλλι. λων πυνθανεσαι λεγεται τι naivov;. ... τέθνηκε ο φιλιπ πως ο μα δι, αλλ' ασθένει tell us, Do you rather incline according to your ufu tioned? obferve this in Mat. xi. 7. To egnate): eis Thy Epapcv Jeasada.; nadamov wo ανε 8 σαλευόμενον; αλλά τι E ιδων ανθρώπου εν μαλακας ιματίοις ημφιεσμέ νον ; ιδο, οι τα μαλακά φο ροίζες εν τοις οίκοις των βασιλέων εισιν. αλλα τι εξήλθες deserpulius vai dega υμιν και περισσότερου προφήτο (9) Obferve the relation of fubjets to each other. Nothing introduces a greater confufion into a difcourfe of any kind than a violation of this rule. The putting together of fingle, unconnect L2 ed, children is evident, and we are obliged not only to remark the paternal inclinations, which are in ed, irrelative ideas produces a perfect wilderness, and, if a difcourfe fo compofed be animated with the ill tempers of the compofer, it refembles a wilderness full of tigers and lions, apes and panthers, ridiculous and terrible beafts. A violation of this rule produced almost all thofe expreffions, which fome zealots have collected and published under the title of Dijenters Sayings, and from which they pretended to derive proofs af principles, which the preachers never held. The truth is, the fashion of the last age in both preaching and praying was to compole of all manner of gatherings, without that accurate, afforting method, which maturer judgment has fince introduced. It was not the fafhion of any whole party, for each had judicious men: but it was the prevailing miftake of the bulk in all parties. There is, however, this difference between the publications of two parties; The epifcopal party publifhed by command of the head of the church, the church therefore is accountable: but among the other parties individuals only were cenfurable. "O Lord, who didft deliver David thy fervant,... Jet King Charles find fafety God under the fhadow of thy wings." What relation was there between David and King Charles I.? Prayer for Prefervation of the King. 1643. Let the happiness of the fuccefs of our fovereign fo to the very fkirts of his pcople." This thought feems to be taken from Pial.cxxxiii. 2. ointment went down to the fkirts of Aaron's garments. What have the skirts of Aaron to do with the poor in an English workhoufe? Thankfgiv. for Vict. at Edge-bill. Lord! look to the righteoufnefs of our cause. See the feamless coat of thy Son torne, the throne of thine anointed trampled on, thy church invaded by facrilege, and thy people miferably deceived with lies." What relation was there between the feamless coat of Chrift, the fale of church-lands, and the lies of the clergy? Thanksgiv. for Vict. in the North. All published by his Majesty's command. 1643. The compiler of thefe prayers, telling God Almighty a history of rebellion, fays, among other things, "We murmured against Mofes ;" and with equal propriety might I fay, You did more than murmur against Moles, you cut his head of before Whitehall! The |