voke, now arrived to a more scandalous degree of rage and infolence than ever? Whence come they but from ill-nature and revenge, from a contempt of others, and defire to set forth our own wit? Did we write lefs for ourselves, we fhould fooner gain our readers, who are many times difgufted at a well-writ difcourse, if it carries a twang of oftentation: and were our temper as Christian as it ought to be, our zeal would be spent on the most weighty things, not on little differences of opinions. I have made no distinction in what has been faid between speaking and writing, because though they are talents which do not always meet, yet there is no material difference between them. They write beft, perhaps, who do it with the gentle and eafy air of converfation; and they talk beft, who mingle folidity of thought with the agreeableness of a ready wit. As for pronunciation, though it takes more with fome auditors many times than good fenfe; there needs little to be faid, in a difcourfe which is not addreffed to thofe that have bufinefs with the pulpit, the bar, or St. Stephen's Chapel; but to gentlemen and ladies, especially the latter, whom nature does for the most part furnish with fuch a mufical tone, perfuafive air, and winning address, as renders what they fay fufficiently agreeable in private converfation. And as to fpelling, which they are faid to be defective in, if they do not believe, as they are ufually told, that it is fit for them to be fo, and that to write exactly is too pedantic, they may foon correct that fault, by pronouncing their words aright, and spelling them accordingly. I know this rule will not always hold, becaufe of an imperfection in our language, which has been often complained of, but is not yet amended: however, a little obfervation in this cafe, or recourse to books, will affift us; and if at any time we happen to mistake, by spelling as we pronounce, the fault will be very venial, and custom rather to be blamed than we, Nothing Nothing has been faid of grammar, though we cannot write properly if we tranfgrefs its rules, fuppofing that cuftom, and the reading of English books, are fufficient to teach us the grammar of our own tongue, if we ed but in any measure attend to them. And though the ladies are generally accufed of writing falfe English, If I may speak my own experience, their mistakes are not fo common as are pretended, nor are they the only perfons guilty. What they moft commonly fail in, is the particles and connexion: and that generally through a brifknefs of temper, which makes them forget; or hafte, which will not fuffer them to read over again what went before. And indeed, those who speak true grammar, unless they are very careless, cannot write falfe, fince they need only perufe what they have writ, and confider whether they would exprefs themselves thus in converfation. PRIDE. HE fobriety of the foul ftands in a right governing its paffions and affections, and to that there are many virtues required. Humility may well have the first place, not only in refpect of the excellency of the virtue, but alfo of its usefulness towards the obtaining of all the reft; this being the foundation on which all the others must be built; and he who hopes to gain them without this, will prove like the foolish builder "who built his houfe upon the "fand." There are two forts of humility; as, the having a low and mean opinion of ourfelves, and the being content that others fhould have fo of us. The former is contrary to pride, the latter to vain-glory; both are as abfolutely neceffary to Chriftians as it is to avoid the contrary vices, The The fin of pride is fo great, that it caft the angels ont of heaven; and if we may judge of the fin by the punishment, it was not only the first but the greateft fin that ever the devil himself had been guilty of. We need no better proofs of its heinoufnefs, than that it is fo extremely hateful to God, that befides that inftance of his punishing the Devil, we may frequently find in the Scriptures, "every one that is proud in heart is an abomi"nation to the Lord." Again, "God refifteth the proud." Several other texts might be quoted to the fame purpose, but it is needlefs, the tenor of the divine writ being fo entirely againft this vice, that none who ever read it, can be ignorant of the great hatred God bears to this fin of pride. Now fince it is certain God, who is all goodness, hates nothing but as it is evil, it must needs follow, that where God hates in fo great a degree, there must be a great degree of evil. Pride is not more finful than it is dangerous. How many other fins does it draw us into? As humility is the root of all viriue, fo is this of all Vice. He that is proud fets himself up as his own God, and fo can never submit himfelf to any other rules or laws than what he makes to himself. "The ungodly is so proud that he careth not for God." The royal Pfalmift tells us, it is his pride that makes him defpife God; and when a man is once come to that, he is prepared for the commiffion of all fins. I might inftance in a multitude of particular fins which naturally flow from this of pride; as anger, which the wife man fets as the effect of pride, calling it proud wrath; ftrife and contention, which he again notes to be the offspring of pride," caly by pride cometh conten"tion:" And both these are indeed the most natural effects of pride. He who thinks very highly of himself, expects much fubmiffion and obfervance from others, and therefore cannot but rage and quarrel whenever he thinks it not fufficiently paid. It would be endless to mention all the bitter fruits of this bitter root. Pride not only betrays us to many fins, but also makes them incurable in us, for it hinders the working of all remedies. Thofe remedies muft either come from God or man: if from God, they must either be the way of meeknefs and gentleness, or elfe of fharpnefs and punishment. Now if God by his goodness effays to lead a proud man to repentance, he quite mistakes God's meaning, and thinks all the mercies he receives are but the reward of his own defert, and fo long it is fure he will never think he needs repentance. But if on the other fide God ufes him more fharply, and lays afflictions and punishments upon him, thofe in a proud heart caufe nothing but murmurings and hating of God, as if he did him injury in those punifhments. As for remedies that can be used by man, they again must be either by way of correction or exhortation. Corrections from men will fure never work more on a proud heart than thofe from God; for he that can think God unjuft in them, will much rather believe it of a man. And exhortations will do as little; for let a proud man be admonished, though never fo mildly and lovingly, he looks on it as a difgrace, and therefore instead of confeffing or amending the fault, he falls to reproaching his reprover, as an over-bufy or cenforious perfon, and for that greatest and most precious act of kindness, looks on him as his enemy. Now one that thus ftubbornly refifts all means of cure, muft be concluded in a moit degenerate ftate. The punishment that attends the fin of pride, will need little proof, when it is confidered that God is the proud man's profeft enemy, that he hates and refifts him, there can then be little doubt that he who has fo mighty an adverfary fhall be fure to fmart for it. How feverely is this fin threatened in Scripture? "Pride "goeth before deftruction, and a haughty fpirit before a “fall.” Again, speaking of the proud, the wife man affures us, though hand join in hand, yet they fhall not "be unpunished." The decree, it feems, is unalterable, and whatever endeavours are used to preferve the proud man, they are but vain, "for he fhall not go unpunished." This is very remarkable in the story of Nebuchadnezzar, 66 who, who, though a king, the greateft in the world, yet for his pride was driven from among men to dwell and feed with beafts. And it is most frequently feen, that this fin meets with very extraordinary judgments even in this life. But if it should not, let not the proud man think he has efcaped God's vengeance, for it is fure there will be a moft fad reckoning in the next. If God spared not the proud angels, but caft them into hell, let no man hope to fpeed better. The folly, as well as the fin of this vice, will appear if we confider the several things of which men are wont to be proud, as the goods of nature, the goods of fortune, or the goods of grace. By the goods of nature are meant beauty, ftrength, wit, and the like, and the being proud of any of thefe is a great piece of folly. We are very apt to mistake, and think ourselves handfome or witty when we are not, and then there cannot be a more ridiculous folly than to be proud of what we have not, and fuch every one efteems it in another man, though he never fuppofes it his own cafe, and fo never difcerns it in himfelf. Wherefore there is nothing more despicable amongst all men, than a proud fool; yet every man, that entertains high opinions of his own wit, is in danger of being thus deceived; a man's own judgment of himself being of all others the leaft to be trufted. But fuppofe we be not out in judging, yet what is there in any of these natural endowments which is worth the being proud of, there being fcarce any of them which fome creature or other has not in a greater degree than man? How much does the whiteness of the lilly, and the redness of the rose, exceed the white and red of the fairest face? What a multitude of creatures is there that far furpafs man in ftrength and fwiftnefs? And feveral others there are which as far as concerns any ufeful ends of theirs, act much more wifely than most of us. They are therefore often propofed to us in fcripture, by way of example, and it is then furely great unreasonableness for us to think highly of ourselves, for fuch things as are common to us with 1 |