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death, and fay with the Apoftle Paul, I am now 'ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.' This is magnanimity indeed; this is the most folid glory to which any child of Adam can poffibly attain. I proceed, in the laft place, to make fome practical improvement of

what hath been faid

"

1. You may learn, from what has been faid that whenever honour differs from confcience, it is a treacherous guide; wherever fpirit and dignity of mind, as a worldly virtue, differs from true religion, and even from the fimplicity of the gofpel, it is falfe and fpurious. The gospel, it is true, will not fuffer men to feek revenge, or to delight in it. It will humble them in the fight of God, and make them felf-denied in the prefence of men, yet it will conftrain them not to refufe any duty to the one, or any useful fervice to the other. It will not fuffer them to be ambitious of higher places of honour and truft, but it will make them active and zealous in the duties of that place, in which they already are. It will not fuffer them to refent injuries and gratify revenge, but it will make them withstand a king upon his throne, if he prefume to interfere in the matters of their God. What is there here that is not noble?

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After all, the testimony in favour of true piety, is univerfal, if carefully attended to. Every one must acknowledge, that oftentation, and love of praise and whatever is contrary to the self-denial of

the

the gospel, tarnishes the beauty of the greatest actions. Courage and modefty, merit and humility, majefty and condefcenfion, appear with tenfold glory, when they are united; it is impoffible to feparate them; to divide, is to destroy them. They are like light and fhade in a picture, which are neceffary to each other, and which, by their union, constitute the beauty and augment the luftre of the piece. So true is this, that the highest polish that any perfon can receive in commerce with the world, is to have an apparent difpofition to prefer the intereft of others to his own, to guard against every degree of offence, and to be always ready to oblige. I have often been pleased with that obfervation of a foreigner of high rank+, that worldly politeness is only an imperfect imitation of Christian charity, it is nothing elfe but a ftudied appearance of that deference to the judgment and attention to the intereft of others, which a true Christian hath as the rule of his duty, and the disposition of his heart.

2. Suffer me to obferve, that as Chriftian magnanimity is more excellent than that of the world, it is alfo more practicable, and, in fact, more univerfal. Worldly magnanimity is what always requires fuch talents, as do not fall to the lot of many, and fuch opportunities for its exercife, as feldom occur. The road to heroifin is not open to every man. But that magnanimity, which is the fruit of true religion, being in

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The Prince of Conti.

deed

deed the product of divine grace, is a virtue of the heart, and may be attained by perfons of mean talents and narrow poffeffions, and in the very loweft ftations of human life. In fact, there have been, and are daily examples of it in every rank. We fee the heroic fortitude of the martyrs, as manifeft in those of early years, and the weakeft fex, as in any other; and whoever will vifit the folitary walks of life, may find, in the loweft ftations, humility, thankfulness, patience under affliction, and fubmiffion to providence, fuch as would do honour to the most approved virtue, and the moft enlightened mind. To defpife riches, and reftrain the motions of "envy and impatience, in a needy ftate, is perharps as truly noble as to improve them wifely in a higher. Thus, the honour which is chiefly defirable, is equally open to the rich and to the poor, to the learned and to the unlearned, to the wife and to the unwife, as it cometh from God, who is no refpecter of perfons. One of the best and happieft effects of ferious reflection is, to bring us, in a great measure, all upon a level, as indeed, in one most important refpect the magiftrate with his robes, the fcholar with his learning, and the day-labourer, that ftands unnoticed, are all upon the fame footing for we must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ.

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ADDRESS

TO THE

Students of the Senior Clafs.

On the Lord's Day preceding Commence

ment.

September 23. 1775.

Gentlemen,

A

s you have now finifhed the ufual courfe of study in this place, and are to enter upon public life in a variety of ways, as each fhall be determined by inclination or other circumstances, I willingly embrace the opportunity of addreffing an exhortation to you, at this important and interefting period of your lives. I

do

do not mean to fay much, if any thing, that you have never heard before; but to lay hold of your prefent fituation, with fome hope, that what may be faid now, will remain upon your memory, and have an influence upon your future conduct. That I may fpeak with the greater clearness and precision, I will divide what I have to fay, into three branches. 1. Your duty to God, and the intereft of your fouls. 2. The profecution of your studies, or the improvement of your talents, as members of fociety. 3. Prudence in your commerce with the world in general, your outward provifion and other circumstances in life.

As to the first of thefe, it is to all men of the greatest moment. Some of you, I know, and more, I hope, are intended for the fervice of Christ in the ministry. To this we have the univerfal fuffrage, that true religion is abfolutely neceffary, with which I heartily agree. But I wish thofe who are deftined for other employments, may not sometimes make a comparison here unjust in itself, and dangerous, perhaps even ruinous to their own fouls. Because true religion is neceffary to a minifter, and they are conscious to themselves, or at least fufpect that they are without religion; instead of laying to heart the things that belong to their peace, they only determine that they will follow fome other calling. But alas, though the difference to the public is very great, the difference to the perfons themselves,

feems

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