he thares in their joys: Jethro, though an alien," rejoi"ced for all the good God had done to Ifrael;" and why should not we have as fenfible a concurrence with our fellow Chriftians? He who has fo, will find fomething to balance his own fufferings.

One would think that fo painful and fo impotent a vice as envy, fhould not be fo prevalent; but fuch is the pride of man's heart, that it cannot eafily be brought to be in humour with fubjection of any kind; and we are commonly fo favourable to ourselves, as to make up in our own imagination, the lofs of those advantages we envy in others; which vanity will go a great way to take off the rancour of this vice, where religion and virtue have not fuppreft it.

DETRACTION.

I

Believe there is hardly a man living, who is the leaft converfant with men or things paft and prefent, either in life or in history, but will acknow ledge that detraction was never carried to fuch an extravagance as it has been lately with us in England. Some hints have been given of it in the foregoing pages. I fhall now confider this vice more fully, and expofe the guilt and the mischief of it, which will doubtless be confirmed by all our experiences.

In doing this it will be neceffary: to difcourfe of detraction in ail, the parts of it, as well that of the tongue as that of the pen. And if there be thofe that ftretch their mouths against heaven, we are not to won der if there be more that will shoot their arrrows, even

bitter

bitter words, against the bett men upon earth. it was done in David's time: God and good men, as the revi Pfalmit affures us. had the mouths of wicked men "ftretched against them. '

As detraction is in some instances, one of the higheft ins, to it is certainly one of the most common, and efpecially of late. By being to common it becomes infenfible, and is a vice that above all others feems to have maintained not only its empire but its reputation ton Men are not yet convinced heartily that it is a fing or ́s any, not of fo deep a die, or fo wide an extent, * ́* is. They have, if not falle, yet imperfect notions of and by not knowing how far its circle reaches, na ^^. ten, like young conjurers, ftep beyond the m their fafety. Many who would itartle at în nafta, vhala ftomachs as well as confciences would rezan z ane scenity, do yet slide glibly into a detract methinks, perfons otherwife of trift codeftina) not frequently and habitually to thoughts of the guilt fimoothet te wa

Detraction is a flat contraticon "A

charity, "the loving our garnkuum,
which at once violates the ass mas
ble of the law, a ʼn as tram vide
looked on as no trifing as
fignification of the what he
committed on a ferghh

drawing or taking finns ting o
to the reputation. I. CERE
ing a man in pen
and efteemed in offer

traction, thougs Dufner. L
looked on as me

can have upon aseter some man's nature a gender be caries or reso

Intereft. It is true, many have improved this too far, blown up this fpark into fuch flames of ambition as have fet the world into a combuftion; fuch as Alexander, Cæfar, and others, who facrificed Hecatombs to their fame, fed it up to a prodigy upon a canibal diet, the flesh of men. In our days we have feen the chief reason for the moft unjust and bloody wars has been wound up in the fingle phrases of our honour and our glory; yet even these exceffes ferve to evince the univerfal confent of mankind, that reputation is a valuable and defirable thing. Nor have we only the fuffrage of men, but the attestation of God himself: "a good name *is better than great riches: again, a good name is better

than precious ointment." And the more to recommend it, he propofes it as a reward to piety and virtue, as he menaces the contrary to wickedness; "the memory of the 'juft fhall be bleffed, but the name of the wicked fhall "rot." Accordingly good men have in their estimate ranked their names in the next degree to their fouls, preferred them before goods or life. Indeed it is that which gives an inferior fort of immortality, and makes us even in this world furvive ourselves; this part of us alone continues verdant in the grave, and yields perfume when we are stench and rottennefs: the confideration whereof has fo prevailed with the more generous heathens, that they have chearfully quitted life in contemplation of it.

The love of liberty and glory has been always bleft with the applaufe of pofterity, however it may be depreft in the pursuits of it. Tyranny and the creatures of tyrants defpife that good name,, whofe odor is richer than the richest perfumes; they being black themselves, defire nothing but to blacken others; they confound fame and infamy, they indulge their luft of power, and look on every thing elfe as infipid or ridiculous; they are infenfible of shame, and do not care what any tongue can fay of them, as long as they can cut it out for it. But as these are monsters in morality, so

nothing

when the haughty and: from the receiver the rel to himself from the chari: for those whose constant ne to ask and receive with m. we should in prudence con fuch a mixture of feverity. encourage them to grow them into defperation of i.. vain in their manner of givi measure of it, if they wou ries of God's providence is of alms and charities to rity that founded this vast a.. world, that flocked it wit.. creatures, and endowed it v for the fupport and mainten of us live upon his alms, as charity for every breath of of bread we eat, and for ev Indeed what are all the good: many arguments of his infinit where about nature, confide providence, furvey all the v hands, you shall find them all character given of him by the P1and doft good." In relieving t:. others we act the part, and the ' mighty Father of beings, who i table, and carves to his whole c man" is a God to the unfortunate. of God; for man has in nothin of God as in doing good, whic divine and god-like thing that a What then can be more honourabl than to tread in the footsteps of fcribe his nature and actions, a god in the world? Surely did :