In fuch circumftances, the jiate on a coffin
might be the higheft panegyric which the



deceafed could receive; and a little fquare
ftone, infcribed with Ob. Ann. Mta. 80,
would be a nobler eulogium, than all the
lapidary adulation of modem epitaphs.

CcnmoiJJeur.

§ 19. The innocent Pleafures of Childhood.

As it is ufua} with me to draw a fecret
unenvied pleafure from a thoufand incidents
overlooked by other men, I threw rayfelf
into a fnort tranfport, forgetting my age,
and fancying myfelf a fchool-boy.

This imagination was ftrongly favoured
by the prefence of ^o many young boys, in
whofe looks were legible the fprightly paf-
fions of that age, which raifed in me a fort
of frmpathy. Warm blood thrilled through
every vein ; the faded memory of thofe en-
joyments that once gave me pleafuve, put on
more lively colours, and a thoufand gay
amufements filled my mind.

It was not without regret, that I was for-
fal.en by this waking dream. The chcap-
nefs of puerile delights, the guiltlefs joy they
leave upon the mind, the blooming hopes
that lift up the foul in the afcent of life, thC'
pleafure that attends the gradual opening of
the imagination, and the dawn of reafoQ, ■
made me think moft men found that ftage
the moft agreeable part of their journey.

When men come to riper years, the in-
nocent diverfions which exalted the fpirits,
and produced health of body, indolence of
mind, and refrefliing flumbersj are too oftea
exchanged for criminal delights, which fill
the foul with anguilh, and the body with
difcafe, Tlie grateful emplovment of admir-
ing and raifing themfelves to an imitation
of the polite ftile, beautiful images, and
noble fentiments of ancient authors, is aban-
doned for law-latin, the lucubrations of our
paltry news-mongers, and that fvvarm of
vile pamphlets which corrupt our tafte, and
infeft the public. The ideas of virtue which
the characters of heroes had imprinted ori
their minds, infenfibly wear out, and they
come to be influenced by the nearer examples
of a degenerate age.

In the morning of life, when the foul firft
makes her entrance into the world, all things
look frefli and gay ; their novelty furprizes,
and every little glitter or gaudy colour tranf-
ports the ftranger. But by degrees the fenfe
grows callous, and we lofe thatexquifite re-
li(h of triPies, by the time our minds fliould
be fuppofed ripe for rational entertainments.
I cannot make this reflection without being
touched with a commifcration of that fpecies
called btaus, the happinefs of thofe men
r.eceflarily



Book I.



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.



27



iieceffarily terminating with their childhood,
who, from a want of knowing other pur-
fuits, continue a fondnefs for the delights of
that age, after the relifh of them is decayed.
Providence hath with a bountiful hand
prepared a variety of pleafnrcs for the vari-
ous ftages of life. It behoves us not to be
wanting to ourfelves in forwarding the in-
tention of nature, by the culture of our
minds, and a due preparation of each faculty
for the enjoyment of thofe objefts it is capa-
ble of being affefted with.

As our parts open and difplay by gentle
degrees, we rife from the gratifications of
fenfe, to rellfn thofe of the mind. In the
fcale of pleafure, the loweft are fenfual de-
lights, which are fucceeded by the more
Ciilarged views and gay portraitures of a
lively imagination ; and thefe give way to
the fubliraer pleafures of reafon, which dif-
cover the caufes and defigns, the frame, con-
nexion, and fymmetry of things, and fill
the mind with the contemplation of intel-
leftual beauty, order, and truth.

Hence I regard our public fchools and
eniverfities, not only as nurferies of men for
the fervice of the church and fiate, but alfo
as places defigned to teach mankind the moft
refined luxury, to raife the mind to its due
perfeclion, and give it a tafte for thofe en-
tertainments -vvhich aiford the higheft tranf-
port, without the groffnefs or remorfe that
attend vulgar enjoyments.

In thofe blelied retreats men enjoy the
fweets of folitude, and yet converfe with the
greateft genii that have appeared in every
age ; wander through the delightful mazes
of every art and fcience, and as they gradually
enlarge their fphere of knowledge, at once
rejoice in their prefent poffefiiou'^j and are
animated by the boundlefs profpeft of future
difcoveries. There, a generous emulation,
a noble thirfl: of fame, a love of truth and
honou^rable regards, reign in minds as. yet
untainted- from the world. There, the llock
of learning tranfmitted down from the an-
cients, is preferved, and receives a daily in-
creafe ; and it is thence propagated by men,
who having finifhed their ftudies, go into
the world, and fpread that general knowledge
and good tafte throughout the land, which
is fo diftant from the barbarifm of its an-
cient inhabitants, or the fierce genius of its
invaders. And as it is evident that our
literature is owing to the fchools and uni-
verfities ; fo it cannot be denied, that thefe
^re owing to our religion.

It was chiefly, if not altogether, upon
religious ccnfiderations that princes, as well



as private perfons, have erefled colleges, and
affigned liberal endowments to Undents and
profeffors. Upon the fame account they
meet with encouragement and proteftion
from all chriftian ftates, as being elteemed a
neceffary means to have the facred oracles
and primitive traditions of chrillianity pre-
ferved and underltood And it is well
known, that after a long night of ignorance
and fuperftition, the reformation of the
church and that of learning began together,
and made proportionable advances, the lat-
ter having been the effed of the former,
vvhich of courfe engaged men in the ftudy
of the learned languages and of antiquity.

Guardian*
§ 20. On Chearfidnefs.

I have always preferred chearfulnefs to
mirth. The latter I confider as an aft, the
former as a habit of the mind.. Mirth is
Ihort and tranfient, cliearfu hiefs nx<-d and
permanent, Thofe are often raifcd into the
greateft tranfports of mirth, who are fubje<fl
to the greatelt deprellions of melancholy : on
the contrary, chearfulnefs, though it does
not give the mind fuch an exquifite gladnefs,
prevents us from falling into any depths of
forrow. Mirth is like a flafh of lightning,
that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and
glitters for a moment ; chearfulnefs keeps
up a kind of day light in the mind, and fills
it with a fteady and perpetual ferciiity.

Men of auftere principles f'ok upon mirth
as too wanton and diftblute for a ftate of
probation, and as filled with a certain
triumph and infolence of heart that is in-
confiftent wlch a life which is every moment
obnoxious to the greateft dangers. Writers
of this complexion have obferved, that the
facred Perfon who was the great pattern of
perfeftion, was never feen to laugh.

Chearfulnefs of mind is not liable to any
of thefe exceptions ; it is of a ferious and
compofed nature; it does not throw the
mind into a condition improper for the pre-
fent ftate of humanity, and is very confpi-
cuous in the charadfers of thofe who are
looked upon as the greateft philofophers
among the heathens, as well as among thofe
who have been deferN'edly efteemed as faints
and holy men among Chriftians.

If we confider chearfulnefs in three lights,
with regard to ourfelves, to thofe we con-
verfe with, and to the great Author of our
being, it will not a little recommend itfelf
on each of thefe accounts. The man who
is poflefled of this excellent frame of mind,
is not only eafy in his thoughts, but a per-



28



ELEGANT EXTRACTS,



Book T.



feft mafter of all the powers and faculties of
the foul : his imagination is always clear,
and his judgment undifturbed; his temper
is even and unrufiled, whether in adtion or
folitude. He comes with a relifh to all
thofe goods which nature has provided for
bim, taftes all the pleafures of the creation
which are poured about him, and does not
feel the full weight of thofe accidental evils
which may befal him.

If we confider him in relation to the per-
fons whom he converfes with, it naturally
produces love and good-will towards him,
A chearful mind is not only difpofed to be
affable and obliging, but raifes the fame
good-humour in thofe who come within its
influence. A man finds himfelf pleafed, he
does not know why, with the chearfulnefs of
his companion: it is like a fudden funlhinc,
that awakens a fecret delight in the mind,
without her attending to it. The heart re-
joices of its own accord, and naturally flows
out into friendihip and benevolence towards
the pcrfon who has fo kindly an effcft up-
on it.

When I confider this chearful ftate of
mind in its third relation, I cannot but look
upon it as a conftant habitual gratitude to
the great Author of nature. An inward
chearfulnefs is an implicit praife and thankf-
giving to Providence under all its difpenfa-
tions. It is a kind of acquiefcence in the
ftate wherein we are placed, and a fecret
approbation of the divine will in his conduct
towards man.

There are but two things, which, in my
opinion, can reafonably deprive us of this
chearfulnefs of heart. The firft of thefe is
the fenfe of guilt. A man who lives in a
ftate of vice and impenitence, can have no
title to that evennefs and tranquillity of mind
which is the health of the foul, and the na-
tural effeft of virtue and innocence. Chear-
fulnefs in an ill man deferves a harder name
than language can furnifh us with, and is
many degrees beyond what we commonly
call folly or madnefs.

Atheifm, by which I mean a dilbelief of
a Supreme Being, and confequently of a
future ftate, under whatfoever title it Ihel-
ters itfelf, may likewife very reafonably de-
prive a man of this chearfulnefs of temper.
There is fomething fo particularly gloomy
and offenfive to human nature in the profped
of non-exiilence, that I cannot but wonder,
with many excellent writers, how it is pof-
ftble for a man to outlive the expeftaticn of
it. For my own part, I think the being of
a God is fo little to be doubted, that it i*



almoft the only truth we are fure of, and
fuch a truth as wc meet with in every objeft,
in every occurrence, and in every thought.
If we look into the charaders of this tribe
of infidels, we generally find they are made
up of pride, fpleen, and cavil : it is indeed
no wonder, that men, who are uneafy tc»
themfeives, (hould be fo to the reft of the
world; and how is it poflible for a man to
he otherwife than uneafy in himfelf, who is
in danger every moment of lofing his entire
exiftence, and dropping into nothing ?

The vicious man and Atheift have there-
fore no pretence to chearfulnefs, and would
ad very unreafonably, Ihould they endea-
vour after it. It is impoffible for any one
to live in good-humour, and enjoy his pre-
fent exiftence, who is apprehenfive either of
torment or of annihilation ; of being mife-
rable, or of not being at all.

After having mentioned thefe two great
principles, which are deftrudive of chear-
fulnefs in their own nature, as well as in
right reafon, I cannot think of any other
that ought to banifti this happy temper from
a virtuous mind. Pain and ficknefs, fliame
and reproach, poverty and old-age, nay
death itfelf, confidering the fhortnefs of their
duration, and the advantage we may reap
from them, do not defer ve the name of evils,
A good mind may bear up under them with
fortitude, with indolence, and with chear-
fulnefs of heart. The tofling of a tempeft
does not difcompofe him, which he is furft
will bring him to a joyful harbour.

A man J who ufes his beft endeavours to
live according to' the didates of virtue and
right reafon, has two perpetual fources of
chearfulnefs, in the confideration of his own
nature, and of that Being on whom he has
a dependance. If he looks into himfelf, he
cannot but rejoice in that exiftence, which
is fo lately beftowed upon him, and which,
after millions of ages, will be ftill new, and
ftill in its beginning. How many felf-
congratulations naturally arife in the mind,
when it refleds on this its entrance into eter-
nity, when it takes a view of thofe im-
proveable faculties, which in a few years,
and even at its firft fetting out, have made
fo confiderable a progrefs, and which will
be ftill receiving an increafe of perfedion,
and confequently an increafe of happinefs !
The confcioufnefs of fuch a being fpreads a
perpetual diftufion of joy through the foul of
a virtuous man, and makes him look upori
himfelf every moment as more happy that^
he knows how to conceive.

The fecond fource of chearfulnefs to a
good



iBcoic I.



MORAL And kELIGIOtrS.



^



good mind Is, Its confideration of that Be-
ing on whom we. have our dependence, and
in whom, though v^e behold him as yet but
in the firft faint difcoveries of his perfections,
we fee every thing that we can imagine as
great, glorious, or amiable. We find our-
ielves every where upheld by his goodnefs,
and furrounded with ant immenlity of love
and mercy. In fliort, we depend upon a
Being, whofe power qualifies him to make
us happy by an infinity of means, whofe
goodnefs ;ind truth engage him to make
thofe happy who defire it of him, and whofe
unchangeablenefs will fecure us ia this hap-
pinefs to all eternity.

Such confiderations, which every one
fhould perpetually cherifh in his thoughts,
will banifh from us all that fecret heavinefs
of heart which unthinking men are fubjeft
to when they lie under no real affliction, all
that anguifh which w-e may feel from any
evil that actually oppreffes us, to which I
may likewife add thofe little cracklings of
mirth and folly, that are apter to betray
virtue than fupport it; and eftablifla in us
fuch an even and chearful temper, as makes
Bs pleafmg to ourfelves, to thofe with whom
we converfe, and to him whom we are made
10 pleafe. Spe^ator,

y 21. On the Adn;antages of a chearful
Temper,

Chearfulnefs is, in the firft place, the
beft promoter of health. Repinings and
fecret murmurs of heart give imperceptible
ftrokes to thofe delicate fibres of which the
vital parts are compofcd, and wear out the
machine infenfiblyi not to mention thofe
violent ferments which they ftir up io the
blood, and thofe irregular difturbed mo-
tions, vi'hich they raife in the animal fpirits.
I fcarce remember, in my own obfervation,
to have met with many old men, or with
fuch, who (to ufe our Englifh phrafe) wear
well, that had not at lead a certain indo-
lence in their humour, if not a more than
ordinary gaiety and chearfulnefs of heart.
The'truth of it is, health and chearfulnefs
mutually beget each other; with this dif-
ference, that we feldom meet with a great
degree of health which is not attended with
a certain chearfulnefs, but very often fee
chearfulnefs where there i$ no s;reat decree
of health. ^ o

Chearfulnefs bears the fame friendly re-
gard to the mind as to the body : it baniflies
all anxious care and difcontent, foothes and
compofes the paflions, and keeps the foul In
» perpetual calm. B«t having already toughed



on this laft confideration, I ftiall here take
notice, that the world in which we are
placed, is filled with innumerable objedbr
that are proper to raife and keep alive this
happy temper of mind.

If we confider the world in its fubfer-
viency to man, one would think it was made
for our ufe; but if we confider It in its
natural beauty and harmony, one would be
apt to conclude It was made for our pleafure.
The fun, which is as the great foul of the
univerfe, and produces all the neceffaries of
life, has a particular influence In chearing
the mind of man, and making the heart
glad.

Thofe feveral living creatures which are
made for our fervice or fuftenance, at the
fame time either fill the woods with thelj
mufic, furnifli us with game, or raife pleaf-
ing ideas in us by the delightfulnefs of their
appearance. Fountains, lakes, and rivers,
are as refrefhing to the imagination, as td
the foil through which they pafs.

There are writers of great diftin(^Ion, who
have made It an argument for Providence,
that the whole earth Is covered with green,
rather than with any other colour, as being
fuch a right mixture of light and ftiade,
that it comforts and itrengthens the eye in-
ftead of weakening or grieving It. For this,
reafon, feveral painters have a green cloth
hanging near them, to eafe the eye upon,
after too great an application to their colour-
ing, A famous modern philofopher ac-
counts for it in the following raaniier : All
colours that are more luminous, overpower
and diffipate the animal fpirits which ar«
employed ia fight ; on the contrary, thofe
that are more ohfcure do not give the animal
fpirits a fufiicient exercife ; whereas, the
rays that produce in us the idea of green,
fall upon the eye in fuch a due proportion,
that they give the animal fpirits their pro-
per play, and, by keeping up the ftruggic
in ajuft balance, excite a very pleafing and
agreeable fenfatlon. Let the caufe be what
it will, the effciSl is certain ; for which rea-
fon, the poets afcribe to this particular
colour the epithet of chearful.

To confider further this double end In the
works of nature, and how they are, at the
fame time, both ufeful and entertaining, we
find that the moft important parts In the
vegetable world are thofe wliich are the mofl:
beautiful. Thefe are the feeds by which the
feveral races of plants are propagated and
continued, and which are always lodged in
flowers or bloffom«. Nature feems to hide
her principal defign, and to be induftrious in

4Xi2kjng



ELEGANT EXTRACTS,



30

making the earth gay and delightful, while
Ihe is carrying on her great work, and intent
upon her own prerervation. The hufhand-
man, after the fame manner, is employed in
laying out the whole country into a kind of
garden or landfkip, and making every thing
fraile about him, whilft, in reality, he thinks
of nothing but of the harveft, and increafe
which is to arife from it.

We may furtlier obferve how Providence
has taken care to keep up this chearfi;:lnefs
in the mind of man, by having formed it
after fuch a manner, as to make it capable of
conceiving delight from feveral objects
which feem to have very little ufe in them j
as from the vvildnefs of rocks and deferts,
and the like grotefque parts of nature.
Thofe who are \erfed in philofophy may ftiil
carry this confideration higher, by obferving,
that if matter had appeared to us endowed
only with thofe real qualities which it actu-
ally poffeffes, it would have made but a very
joylefs and uncomfortable figure ; and why
has Providence given it a power of producing
in us fuch imaginary qualities, as taftes and
colours, founds and fmells, heat and cold,
but that man, while he is converfant in the
lower ftations of nature, might have his mind
cheared and delighted with agreeable fenfa-
tions? In fiiort, the whole univerfe is a
kind of theatre filled with objefts that either
raife in us pleafure, amufement, or admira-
tion.

The reader's own thoughts v/ill fuggefl to
him the vicifTitude of day and night, the
change of feafons, with all that variety of
fcenes which diverfify the face of nature,
and fill the mind with a perpetual fuccellion
of beautiful and pleafing images.

I fhall not here mention the feveral en-
tertainments of art, with the pleafures of
friendfhip, books, converfation, and other
accidental diveriions of life, becaufe I would
only take notice of fuch incitements to a
chearful temper, as offer themfelves to per-
fons of all ranks and conditions, and which
may fufEciently fhew us, that Providence did
not defign this world fnould be filled with
murmurs and rcpinings, or that the heart of
man iliould be involved in gloom and me-
lancholy.

I the more inculcate this chearfulnefs of
temper, as it is a virtue in which our coun-
trymen are obfcrved to be more deficient
than any other nation. Melancholy is a
kind of demon that haunts our illand, and
often conveys herfelf to us in an eaflerly
wind. A celebrated French novelifr, in
oppouiion to thofe who begin their ro-



BOOK I.



mances with a fiowery feafon of the year,
enters on his ftory thus : • In the gloomy
' month of November, when the people of

* England hang and drown themfelves, a

* difconfolate lover walked out into the

* fields,' &c.

Every one ought to fence againfl: the
temper of his climate or conftitution, and
frequently to indulge in himfelf thofe con-
fiderations which may give him a ferenity of
mind, and enable him to bear up chearfully
againlt thofe little evils and misfortunes
which are common to human nature, and
which, by a right improvement of them,
will produce a fiitiety of joy, and an unin-
terrupted happinefs.

At the fame time that I would engage my
reader to confider the world in its molt
agreeable lights, I muft own there are many
evils which naturally fpring up amidft the
entertainments that are provided for us ; but
thefe, if rightly confidered, fhould be far
from overcalting the mind with forrovv', or
deftroying that chearfulnefs of temper which
I have been recommending. This inter-
fperfion of evil with good, and pain with
pleafure, in the works of nature, is very
truly afcribed by Mr. Locke, in his Eflay
upon Human tJnderftanding, to a moral
reafon, in the following words :

* Beyond all this, we may find another
' reafon why God hath fcattered up and

* down feveral degrees of pleafure and pain, •

* in all the things that environ and afFed us,
' and blended them together, in almofl: all

* that our thoughts and fenfes have to do

* with ; that we, finding imperfefiion, dif-
' fatisfatflion, and want of complete happi-

* nefs in all the enjoyments Vv-hich the crea-

* tures can afford ns, might be led to feek

* it in the enjoyment of him, with whom

* there is fulnefs of joy, and at whofe righ^
' hand are pleafures for evermore.'

SpeSator.



22.



On Truth. a?id Sbtcerity.



Truth and reality have all the advantages
of appearance, and many more. If the.fhew
of any thing be good for any thing, 1 ara^
fure fmcerity is better : for why does any
man difTemble, or feem to be that v/hich he
is not, but becaufe he thinks it good to have
fuch a quality as he pretends to? for to
counterfeit and diffemble, is to put on the
appearance of forne real excellency. Now
the befl way in the world for a man to feem
to be any thing, is really to be what he would
feem to be. Eefides, that it is many times
as lioublefcme to make good the pretence of

a good



Book I.



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.



3J



a good quality, as to have it; and if a man
}iave it not, it is ten to one but he is difco-
vered to want it, and then all his pains and
labour to fecm to have it is loft. There
is fomething unnatural in painting, which a
fiislful eye will eafily difcern from native
beauty and coiupJexion.

It is hard to perfoliate and aft a part long;
for where truth is not at the bottom, nature
will always be endeavouring to return, and
will peep Gist and betray herfeif one time or
other. Therefore, if any man think it con-
venient to feem good, let him be fo indeed,
and then his goodnefs will appear to every
body's fatisfaftion; fo that, upon all ac-
counts, fmcevity is true wifdcro. Particu-
larly as to the affairs of this world, integrity
hath many advantages over all the fine and
and artificial ways of difilmulation and de-
ceit ; it is much the plainer and ealler, much
the fafer and wore fexure way of dealing in
the world ; it has lefs of trouble and difficiilty,
cf entanglement and perplexity, of danger
and hazard in it; it is the fhorteft and
neareii way to our end, carrying us thither
in a ftrait line, and will hold out and lalt
longeft. The arts of deceit and cunning do
eontinually grow weaker and lefs efftftual
and ferviccable to them that ufc them;
*i'hereas integrity gains ilrength by ufe; and
the more and longer any man praciifeth it,
the greater fervice it does him, by confirm-
ing his reputation, and encouraging thofe
with whom he hath to do to repofe the
greateft truii and confidence in him, which
is an unfpeakable advantage in the builaefs
and affairs of life.

Truth is always confiftent with itlelf,
and needs nothing to help it out ; it is always
near at hand, and fits upon our lips, and is
ready to drop out before we are aware;
whereas a lie is troublefome, and fets a
man's invention upon the rack, and one
trick needs a great many more to make it
good. It is like building upon a falfe