life itself, upon which those conveniences depend; and death is accompanied with many things, which we are not obliged solicitously to covet. We are well prepared for it, when by continual thinking upon it we are so prepared, as not to be in any degree terrified with the approach of it, and at the resigning our life into his hands who gave it; and a temper beyond this is rather to be imagined than attained, by any of those rules of understanding which accompany a man that is in good health of body and mind; and the sickness and infirmity of either is more like to amaze and corrupt the judg ment, than to elevate and inspire it with any rational, transcendent, and practical speculations. The best counsel is to prepare the mind by still thinking of it, "Illis gravis est, quibus est repentina, facile eam sustinet qui semper exspectat.' No doubt it must exceedingly disorder all their faculties, who cannot endure the mention of it, and do sottishly believe (for many such sots there are) that they shall die the sooner, if they do any of those things which dying people used to do, and which nobody ought to defer till that season: and there cannot be a better expedient to enable men to pass that time with courage and moderate cheer

fulness, than so to have dispatched and setItled all the business of the world when a man is in health, that he may be vacant, when sickness comes, from all other thoughts but such as are fit to be the companions of death, and from all other business but dying; which, as it puts an end in a moment to all that is mortal, so it requires the operation of more than is mortal, to make that last moment agreeable and happy.

XI. OF FRIENDSHIP.

Montpellier, 1670.

FRIENDSHIP must have some extraordinary excellence in it, when the great philosopher as well as best orator commends it to us to prefer before all things in the world; "Ut amicitiam omnibus rebus humanis anteponatis:" and it must be very precious, when it was the circumstance that made David's highest affliction most intolerable, that his lover and his friend was put from him; and there could be no aggravation of the misery he endured, when his own familiar friend, in whom he trusted, was turned against him. This heroical virtue is pretended to by all, but understood or practised by very few, which

needs no other manifestation, than that the choleric person thinks it an obligation upon his friend to assist him in a murder; the unthrifty and licentious person expects that friendship should oblige him who pretends to love him, to waste all his estate in riots and excesses, by becoming bound for him, and so liable to pay those debts which his pride and vanity contract. In a word, there is nothing that the most unreasonable faction, or the most unlawful combination and conspiracy, can be applied to compass, which is not thought by those who should govern the world to be the proper and necessary office of friendship; and that the laws of friendship are extremely violated and broken, if it doth not engage in the performance of all those offices, how unjust and unworthy soever. And thus the sacred name of friendship, and all the generous duties which result from it, are dishonoured and discredited, as if they could be applied to the propagation of vice, or to the support of actions inconsistent with discretion and honesty. The son of Sirach had no such imagination, when he pronounces, that "a faithful friend is the medicine of life, and they that fear the Lord shall find him: if he be a gift that God bestows upon them who fear him, they will not lose both

the gift and the giver upon vile and ́unworthy employments. Let us therefore, lest this precious blessed composition be driven out of the world, by the falsehood and violence of those who pretend to adore it, or withdraw itself from mankind, because there are so few breasts prepared to receive and entertain it, in the first place, examine what in truth friendship is; what are the obligations of it; and what persons, by the excellence or corruption of their natures, are capable or incapable of being possessed of it, and receiving the effects of it. It may be, it is easier to describe, as most men have done who have writ of it, than to define friendship; yet I know not why it may not rightly be defined to be, an union between just and good men, in their joint interest and concernment, and for the advancement thereof: for it hath always been consented to, that there can be no friendship but between good men, because friendship can never be severed from justice; and consequently can never be applied to corrupt ends. It is the first law of friendship, if we believe Tully, who saw as far into it as any man since, "ut neque rogemus res turpes, nec faciamus rogati:" which puts an end to all their endeavours, who would draw any

corrupted liquor from so pure a fountain. Friendship neither requires nor consents to any thing that is not pure and sincere; they who introduce the least spot or crooked line into the draught and portraiture of friendship, destroy all its beauty, and render it so deformed, that it cannot be known. Let us then examine, from the integrity of this definition and institution, what the obligations of it are, and what friends are bound under that seal to do or suffer for one another.

I. The first and principal obligation is, to assist each other with their counsel and advice; and because the greatest cement that holds and keeps them together, is the opinion they have of each other's virtue, they are to watch as carefully as is possible that neither of them swerve from the strict rules thereof; and if the least propensity towards it be discovered, to apply admonition and counsel and reprehension to prevent a lapse. He who sees his friend do amiss, commit a trespass upon his honour or upon his conscience, do that which he were better not do, or do that which he ought not to do, and doth not tell him of it, do all he can to reform him, hath broken the laws of friendship; since there is no one obligation to be named with it; so that it may be said to be so much the sole