Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues, and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." Matthew vi. 1—4.

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They in whom the principle of benevolence is wanting, are either diseased or defective; they are minus in the full development of their intellectual powers; or they have been rendered selfish by the long continued irritation of bodily infirmity; or they are the victims of a far more fearful malady, even the disease of sin, which has crept into every corner of the heart, and perverted all the manifestations of mind; whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint; from the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in it." Isaiah i. 5, 6. And this is the real explanation, why so much malevolence in every hateful form is to be found in the world; why slander, detraction, and calumny are so frequently met with; why envy and jealousy rankle in the bosom; why harshness, and unkindness, and contempt so often assail us; why the eye does not look on the wretched to compassionate them, and the heart is not moved to pity; why duplicity and insincerity, and selfish interest so commonly intercept

our progress; why the shaft of ridicule is so frequently aimed against the just; and injustice and ingratitude possess their day of power, and almost forget that there is a to-morrow, a day of reckoning and retribution, a day, when all hearts will be laid open, and all will be judged according to the deeds done in the body.

But there is an unfortunate result attendant upon the frequency with which these fatal evils await us, and it is this; the heart which is expanded with early love to others, which beats with large desire to do good, and to diffuse happiness, and to think well of its neighbours, and to esteem them highly, and to place confidence in their uprightness, and just intention, and to think and to believe ill of no man; yet commerce with the world nips this youthful ardour, chills the effort of benevolence by repeated disappointment -contracts the heart by contact with the cold and heartless selfishness of others-induces distrust by the suffering experienced from having been deceived, and by witnessing the inconsistencies even of the good, and by observing that in any others unimpeachable uprightness is the waking dream of unsuspecting rectitude of intention. The effect of all this is to develop a degree of caution, which hesitates to take for granted the worth of its fellow men, and waits to prove their character, and to try their principles before it trusts its own welfare in their hands. Painful, though the consideration may be, this caution is necessary in the present state of society. But

then unfortunately it does not rest here; that which might have been advantageously employed as a measure of precaution only, is adopted as a principle of action; the mind broods over the miserable condition of society; it becomes aware of the little dependence that can be placed on the help of man; it suffers from injustice; it finds its confidence betrayed, its interests sacrificed to any selfish consideration, its friendships misplaced, its estimate of character falsified, its esteem engaged by unworthy objects, and by them thrown away as worthless; it becomes melancholy from such a detail of practical misery, and falls into hypochondriasis, or misanthropy, according to the prevailing physical temperament, and the principal characteristic of its preceding modes and habits of thought and feeling; suspicion and distrust exert their baneful influence over the mind, and by degrees, friendship and love, purity of motive, rectitude of action, esteem, respect, and consideration are all treated as mere illusions, from the deceitful influence of which they have escaped; an escape on which they congratulate themselves.

The truths of religion are the only sure antidote to this state of mind; by them it will be led to the cause of all this misery; by them it will learn its own proneness to evil, and that it is only preserved by the influence of divine grace; by them it will be taught to pity instead of resenting, and to forgive instead of seeking to return evil for evil, or even punishment for evil;

and thus again will it be brought round to the exercise of the principle of benevolence-that charity which can find no substitute in literary acquisition, and philosophical knowledge, or biblical learning, or devotional lore; that charity which must be a fruit of faith, and without which true faith can have no existence; that charity which consists not in simply feeding the hungry, or relieving the distressed, clothing the poor, administering to the wretched, healing the sick, or succouring the destitute; a principle which never fails under the most unpropitious circumstances, but remains as a ground of action," which suffereth long and is kind; which envieth not; which vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 Corinthians xiii. 4-7.

From this parent stock of benevolence, flow many of the blessings of society, the sweets of friendship, the delights of love, the endearments of relationship. We have already sketched, as far as our present design will permit, the influence of conjugal, parental, and filial affection; and in a future stage of our inquiry, the subjects of friendship and society will pass under review, so that we shall now direct our attention very shortly, to the nearest associated passion, viz. jealousy.

SECTION VI. Of Jealousy.

IT has been supposed, that the passion of jealousy arose from, and was an evidence of intense affection; and as such, it has been often palliated, excused, and almost vindicated. But this is a most mistaken notion; trace the operation of the principle, and watch its origin, and it will be found incompatible with the existence of perfect love.

The influence of jealousy is very early discernible in the young mind; and even the nursery is not exempted from its inroads. It consists in this feeling; a fear lest others should possess a greater share in the returns of affection, than we ourselves; or lest these returns should be unequal to the love we bear and manifest towards others. In either of these cases, it must be seen that want of confidence, distrust, and a consequent loss of respect, and esteem, are the sources from which these exhibitions of jealousy must flow. But it has been before shewn, that confidence, ingenuousness, respect, and esteem, are necessary to the production, and continuance of love; and if these be indispensable ingredients in the formation of affection, it follows, that their opposite principles cannot be received as evidence of the intensity, the highest, and most perfect state of the passion. The conclusion is absurd :