foundation, which continually ftands in need
of props to fhore it up, and proves at laft
more chargeable than to have raifed a fub-
^antiai building at firft upon a true and folid
foundation ; for fincerity is firm and fub-
ftantial, and there is nothing hollow or
unfound in it, and becaufe it is plain and
open, fears no difcovery ; of which the crafty
man is always in danger, and when he thinks
he walks in the dark, all his pretences are fo
tranfparent, that he that runs may read them;
he is the laft man that finds himfelf to be
found out, andwhilil he takes it for granted
that he makes fools of oihejs, he renders
hinilelf ridiculous.



Add to all this, that fincerity is the moll
compendious wifdom, and an excellent in-
ftrument for the fpeedy difpatch of bufmefs;
it creates confidence in thofe we have to deal
with, faves the Ia1)our of many inquiries,
and brings things to an ilTue in -few words;
it is like travelling in a plain beaten road,
which commonly brings a man fooner to his
journey's end than bye-ways, in which mea
often iofe themfeives. In a word, whatfo-
ever convenience may be thought to be ia
falfhood and difTimulation, it is foon over;
but t]".c inconvenience of it is perpetual, be-
caufe it brings a man under an everlafiing
jealoufy and fufpicion, fo that he is not be-
lieved when he fpeaks truth, nor trufted per-
haps when he means honeilly. When a maa
has once forfeited the reputation of his in-
tegrity, he is kt fall, and nothing wii] thc.a
ferve his turn, neither truth nor fallliood.

And I have often, thought that God hath,
in his great wifdom, hid from men of faifc
and dilhcneft minds the wonderful advan-
tages of truth and integrity to the profperity
even of our worldly afifeirs; thefc men are fo
blinded by their covetoufnefs and arabition,
that they cannot look beyond a prefent ad-
vantage, nor forbear to feize upon it^
though by v/ays never fo indireft ; they can-
not fee fo far as to the remote confequences
of a fleady integrity, and the vaft benefit and
advantages which it will bring a man at laft.
Were but this fort of men wife and ciear-
fighted enough to difcern this, they would
be honefl out of very knavery, not out of
any love to honefty and virtue, but with a
crafty defign to promote and advance more
efFeftuaiiy their own interelb; and therefore
the juflicc of the divine providence hath hid
this trueil point cf wifdom from their eyes,
that bad men might not be upon equal terms
with the juft and upright, and ferve their own
wicked defigns by honefl and lawful means.

Indeed, if a man were only to deal in the
world for a day. and fhould never have oc-
caficn to converfe more with mankind, never
more need their good opinion or good word,
it were then no great matter (fpeaking as to
the concernments of this world) if a man
fpent his reputation all at once, and ventur-
ed it at one throw: but if he be to continue
in the u-orld, and would have the advantage
of converfation whillt he is in it, let him
make ufe of truth and fmcerity in all hia
words and aftions; for nothing but this will
laft and hold out to the end : all other arts
will fail, but truth and integrity will carry
a man through, and bear hira out to the lait.



5^



fetKGANT EXTRACTS,



S008I



i zi. Rules for the Kno=wledge of One's
Self.
Hypocrify, at the fafhionable end of the
town, is very different from that in the city.
The modilli hypocrite endeavours to appear
more vicious than he really is; the other kind
of hypocrite more virtuous. The former is
afraid of every thing that has the Ihew of re-
ligion in it, and would be thought engaged
in many criminal gallantries and amours,
which he is not guilty of: the latter aflumes
a face of fandf ity, and covers a multitude of
vices under a feeming religious deportment.
But there is another kind of hypocrify,
which diifers from both thefe, and which I
intend to make the fubjeft of this paper : I
mean that hypocrify, by which a man does
not only deceive the world, but very often
impofes on himfelf; that hypocrify which
conceals his own heart from him, and makes
him believe he is more virtuous than he
leally is, and either not attend to his vices, or
miftake even his vices for virtues. It is this
fatal hypocrify and felf-deceit, which is
taken notice of in thefe words, * Who can
' underftand his errors ? cleanfe thou me from
« my fecret faults.*

If the open profeflbrs of impiety deferve
the utmoft application and endeavours of
moral writers, to recover them from vice
and folly, how much more may thofe lay
a claim to their care and compaffion, who
are walking in the paths of death, while they
fancy themfelves engaged in a courfe of vir-
tue I I fhall therefore endeavour to lay down
fome rules for the difcovery of thofe vices
that lurk in the fecret corners of the foul ;
and to Ihew my reader thofe methods, by
which he may arrive at a true and impartial
knowledge of himfelf. The ufual means
prefcribed for this purpofe, are to examine
ourfelves by the rules which are laid down
for our direction in facred writ, and to com-
pare our lives with the life of that perfon
who afted up to the perfection of human
nature, and is the ftanding example, as well
as the great guide and inftrudlor, of tliofe
who receive his dodrines. Though thefe
two heads cannot be too much inlifted upon,
I fliall but juft mention them, fince they have
been handled by many great and eminent
i^riters.

I would therefore propofe the following
methods to the confider^tion of fuch as
would find out their fecret faults, and make
a true eftimate of themfelves.

In the firft place, let them confider well,
what are the charafters which they bear
among theit enemies. Ouj friends very



often flatter us as much as our own hearts;
They either do not fee our faults, or conceal
them from us, or foften them by their repre-
fentations, after fuch a manner, that we
think them too trivial to be taken notice of.
An adverfary, on the contrary, makes a
ftrifter fearch into us, difcovers every flavir
and imperfection in our tempers; and^
though his malice may fet them in too ftrong
a light, it has generally fome ground for
what it advances. A friend exaggerates a
man's virtues, an enemy inflames his crimes.
A wife man fhould give a j uil attention to
both of them, fo far .as they mr.y tend to the
improvement of the one, and the diminution
of the other. Plutarch has written an eil'ay
on the benefits Vv-hich a man may receive from
his enemies ; and among the good fruits of
enmity, mentions this in particular, " that,
by the reproaches which it cafts upon us, we
fee the word fide of ourfelves, and open our
e3'es to feveral blemiflies and defeds in our
lives and converfotions, which we fliould not
ha\-e obferved without the help of fuch ill-
natured monitors."

In order likewife to come to a true
knowledge of ourfelves, we fhould confider,
on the other hand, how far we may deferve
the praifes and approbations which the
world beftow upon us ; whether the adiona
they celebrate proceed from laudable and
worth)'^ motives ; and how far we are really
poffeficd of the virtues, which gain us ap-
plaufe among thofe with whom ^ve converfe.
Such a refledion is abfolutely neceffary, if
we confider how apt we are either to value
or condemn ourfelves by the opinion of
others, and to facrifice the report of our own
hearts to the judgment of the world,

in the next place, that we may not de-
ceive ourfelves in a point of .fo much im-
portance, we fhould not lay too gre'at a ftrefs
on any fuppofed virtues we poflefs, that are
of a doubtful nature : and fuch we may
efteem all thofe in which multitudes of men
diffent from us, who are as good and wife as
ourfelves. We fhould always ad with great
cautioufnefs and circumfpedion, in points
where it is not impoifible that we may be dc:
ceived. Intemperate zeal, bigotry, aad
perfecution, for any party or opinion, how
praife-worthy foever they may appear to weak
men of our own principles, produce infinite
calamities among mankind, and are highly
criminal in their own nature ; and yet hcnv
many perfons, eminent for piety, fuffer fuch
monftrous and abfurd principles of adion to
take root in their minds under the colour of
virtues i Fot my own part, I rauft own, I .



lEooK I.



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.



33



never yet knew any party fo juft and reafon-
able, that a man could follow it in its height
and violence, and at the fame time be inno-
cent.

We fhould likewife be very apprehenfive
of thofe aftions, which proceed from natural
conftitution, favourite paffions, particular
education, or whatever promotes our worldly
intereft or advantage. In thefe or the like
cafes, a man's judgment is eafily perverted,
and a wrong bias hung upon his mind.
Thefe are the inlets of prejudice, the un-
guarded avenues of the mind, by which a
I thoufand errors and fecret faults find admif-
j fion, without being obferved or taken notice
of. A wife man will fufpeft thofe aftions
i to which he is diredled by fomething befides
; reafon, and always apprehend fome concealed
i evil in every refolution that is of a difputable
nature, when it is conformable to his parti-
cular temper, his age, or way of life, or when
it favours his pleafure or his profit.

There if nothing of greater importance to
V.S, than thus diligently to fift our thoughts,
and examine all thefe dark receffes of the
mind, if wewouldeftablifli our fouls in fuch
a folid and fubftantial virtue as will turn to
account in that great day, when it mult ftand
the teft of infinite wifdom and juftice.

I (liall conclude this eflay with obferving,
that the two kinds of hypocrify I have here
fpoken of, namely, that of deceiving the world,
and that of impofingon ourfelves, are touched
with wonderful beauty in the hundred thirty-
ninth pfalm. The folly of the firft kind of hy-
pocrify is there fet forth by refledions onGod's
omnifcience and omniprefence, which are
celebrated in as noble ftrains of poetry as any
other I ever met with, either facred or pro-
fane. The other kind of hypocrify, where-
by a man deceives himfelf, is intimated in
the two laft verfes, where the pfalmift ad-
drcffes himfelf to the great fearcher of hearts
in that emphatical petition; •' Try me, O
♦* God, and feek the ground of my heart ;
*' prove me and examine my thoughts : look
*' well if there be any way of vi'ickednefs in
•* me, and lead m.e in the way everlafting."
Spedator,

5 24. No Life f leafing to God, but that
'which is ujeful to Mankind. An eafiern
Story,

It pleafed our m.ighty fovereign Abbas
Carafcan, from whom the kings of the earth
derive honour and dominion, to kt Mirr.a
his fervant over the province of Tauris. In
the hand of Mirza, the balance of diftribu-
tion was fufpended with impartiality; and



under his adminiftration the weak were pro-
tefted, the learned received honour, and the^
diligent became rich : Mirza, therefore, was
beheld by every eye with complacency, and
every tongue pronounced bkiTmgs upon his
head. But it v/as obferved that he derived
no joy from the benefits which he diiFufed;
he became f enfive and melancholy; he fpent
his leifure in folitude ; in his palace he fat
motionlefs upon a fofa; and when he went
out, his walk was flow, and his eyes were
fixed upon the ground : he applied to the
bufinefs of ftate with reludance; and refolv-
ed to relinquilb the toil of government, of
which he could no longer enjoy the reward.
He, therefore, obtained permiifion to ap-
proach the throne of our fovereign; and
being alked what was his requeft, he made
this reply : " May the Lord of the world
" forgive the flave whom he has honoured,
" if Mirza prefume again to lay the bounty
" of Abbas at his feet. Thou haft given
" me the dominion of a country, fruitful aa
" the gardens of Damafcus; and a city
" glorious above all others, except that only
" which reflefts the fplendour of thy pre-
" fence. But the longeft life is a period
" fcarce fufiicient to prepare for death : all
" other bufinefs is vain and trivial, as the-
" toil of emmets in the path of the travel-
*' ler, under whofe foot they perifh forever;
" and all enjoyment is unfubftantial and
" evanefcent, as the colours of the bow that
«' appears in the interval of a ftorm. Suffer
*' me, therefore, to prepare for the approach
" of eternity ; let me give up my foul to
" meditation ; let folitude and filence ac-
" quaint me vv'ith the mylteries of devotion;-
'* let me forget the .world, and by the world,
" be forgotten, till the moment arrives in -^
" which the veil of eternity fliall fall, and I
" fhall be found at the bar of the Almighty."
Mirza then bowed himfelf to the earth, and
flood filent,

^Y the command of Abbas it is recorded,
that at thefe words he trembled upon the ■
throne, at the footftool of which the v/orld
pays homage ; he looked round upon his
nobles; but every countenance was pale, and
every eye was upon the earth. No man
opened his mouth ; and the king firft broke
filence, after it had continued near an hour.

" Mirza, terror and doubt are come upon
♦' me. I am alarmed as a man who fud-
*" denly perceives that he is near the brink
*' of a precipice, and is urged forward by
*' an irrefiftible force : but yet I know not
" whether my danger is a reality or a dream,
«« I am as thou ^ix, a reptile of the earth :



34



ELEGANT EXTRACTS.



Book I.



*' my life is a moment, and eternity, in
** which days, and years, and ages, are no-
** thing, eternity is before me, for which
** I alfo ftiould prepare : but by whom then
** muft the Faithful be governed ? by thofe
*' only, who have no fear of judgment ? by
•* thofe only, whofe life is brutal, becaufe
" like brutes they do not confider that they
** fhall die? Or who, indeed, are the
** Faithful ? Are the bufy multitudes that
*• crowd the city, in a date of perdition ?
•* and is the cell of the Dervife alone the
" gate of Paradife ? To all, the life of a
** Dervife is not polTible : to all, therefore,
*' it cannot be a duty. Depart to the houfe
** which has in this city been prepared for
*' thy refidence : I will meditate the reafon
** of thy requefl ; and may He who illumi-
*' nates the mind of the humble, enable me
«' to determine with wifdom."

Mirza departed ; and on the third day,
having received no command, he again re-
queued an audience, and it was granted.
VVhen he entered the royal prefence, his
countenance appeared more chearful; he
drew a letter from his bofom, and having
kifled it, he prefented it with his right-hand.
** My Lord !" faid he, *' I have learned by
*' this letter, which I received from Cofrou
*' the Iman, who ftands now before thee, in
** what manner life may be beft improved.
** I am enabled to look back with pleafure,
** and forward with hope ; and I fhall now
** rejoice ftill to be the ftiadow of thy power
*' at Tauris, and to keep thofe honours
** which I fo lately wifhed to refign." The
king, who had liftened to Mirza with a
mixture of furprizeandcuriofity, immediate-
ly gave the letter to Cofrou, and commanded
that it Ihould be read. The eyes of the
court were at once turned upon the hoary
fage, whofe countenance was fuffufed with
an honeft bluih ; and it was not without
fome heutation that he read thefe words.

*' To Mirza, whom the wifdom of Abbas
*' our mighty Lord has honoured with do-
*■* minion, be everlafting health! When I
" heard thy purpofe to withdraw the blef-
** fmgs of thy government -from the thou-
** funds of Tauris, my heart was wounded
'• with the arrow of afRidtion, and my eyes
*' became dim with forrow. But who ihall
** fpeak before the king when he is troubled ;
*■' and who (liall b *> of knowledge, when
«' he is diftreflcd b> . ibt? To thee will I
•* relate the events of my youth, which thou
*' hart renewed before mc; and thofe truths
" which they taught me, may tlie Prophet
" multiply to thee!



" Under the inrtruftion of the phyfician
Aluzar, I obtained an early knowledge
of his art. To thofe who were fmitten
with difeafe, I could adminifter plants,
which the fun has impregnated with the
fpirit of health. But the fcenes of pain,
languor, and mortality, which were per-
petually rifmg before me, made me often
tremble for myfelf. I favv the grave open
at my feet : I determined, therefore, to
contemplate only the regions beyond it,
and to defpife every acqaifition which 1
could not keep. I conceived an opinion,
that as there Vas no merit but in volun-
tary poverty, and filent meditation, thofe ;
who defired money were not proper ob-
jeds of bounty ; and that by all who werr
proper objects of bounty money was dc
fpifed. I, therefore, buried mine iii the
earth ; and renouncing fociety, I wan-
dered into a wild and fequeftered part of
the country : my dwelling was a cave by
the fide of a hill; I drank the running
water from the fpring, and ate fuch fruits
and herbs as I could find. To increafe
the aufkrity of my life, I frequently
watched alt night, fitting at the entrance
of the cave with my face to the eaft, re-
figning myfelf to the fecret influences of
the Prophet, and expefting illuminations
from above. One morning after my
nodurnal vigil, juft as I perceived the
horizon glow at the approach of the fun,
the power of fleep became irrefiftible, and
I funk under it. I imagined myfelf Itill
fitting at the entrance of my cell ; that
the dawn increafed ; and that as I looked
earneftly for the firft beam of day, a dark
fpot appeared to intercept it. I perceived
that it was in motion ; it increafed in
fize as it drew near, and at length I dif-
covered it to be an eagle. I ftill kept
my eye fixed ftedfaftly upon it, and fav/ it
alight at a finall diftance, where 1 now
defcried a fox whofe two fore legs appear-
ed to be broken. Before this fox the
eagle laid part of a kid, wliich fhe had
brought in her talons, and then difap-
peared. When I awaked, I laid my fore-
head upon the ground, and bleiTed the
Prophet for the inftrudtion of the morn-
ing. I rev iewed my dream^ and faid thus
to myfelf: Cofrou, thou halt done- well
to renounce the tumult, the bufinefs, and
vanities of life : but thou haft as yet only
done it in part ; thou art ftiil every day
bufied in the fcarch of food, thy mind is
not wholly at reft, neither is thy truft in
Providence complete. . What art thou
«' taught



]^00K i.



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.



35



•** taught by this vifion ? If thou haft fecn
«' an eagle commiffioned by Heaven to feed
-" a fox that is lame, fhall not the hand of
•* Heaven alfo fupply thee with food; when
♦• that which prevents thee from procuring it
** for thyfelf, is not necefiity but devotion ?
** I v/as now fo confident of a miraculr.us
" fupply, that I negleded to w.ilk cut for
" my repaft, which, after the firft chy, I
•* expefted with an impatience that left me
•• little power of attending to nny other ob-
•' jeft: this impatience, however, Ilaboiirod
** to fupprefs, and perfiiled in m}' refolutioh ;
«♦ but my eyes at length began to fail me,
*' and ray knees fmote each other; I threv/
** myfelf backward, and hoped my weaknefs
** would foon increafe to infenfibility. But I
** viKs fuddcnly roufed by the voice of an
•* invifible being, who pronounced thefe
■*♦ v/ords : ' Cofrou, I am the angel, who by
the command of the Almighty have regif-
tered the thoughts of thy heart, which J am
now comraiiTioncd to reprove. While thou
waft attempting to become wife above that
which is revealed, thy folly has perverted
tlie inftruction which was vouchfafed thee.
Art thou difabled as the Fox ? haft thou not
l-ather the powers of the Eagle? "A rife, let
the Eagle be the objed:>.of thy emulation.
To paiuand ficknefs, be thou again themef-
fenger of eafe and health. Virtue is not reft,
but aftion. If thou doft good to man as an
evidence of thy love to God, thy virtue will
be exalted from m.oral to divine ; and that
happinefs which is the pledge of Paradife,
will be thy reward upon -earth.'

" At thefe words I was not lefsaftoniflied
*' than if a mountain had been oAcrturned
** at my fctt. I humbled myfelf in the duft ;
" I returned to the city; I dug up ray trea-
•* fure; I was liberal, yet I became rich.
*« My ikill in reftoring health to the body
*♦ ga\e me frequent opportunities of curing
'** the difeafes of the foul. I put on the
*• facred veftm.ents: I grew eminent beyond
*' my merit : and it was the pleafure of the
" king that I fhould ftand before him. Now,
" therefore, be not offended ; I boaft of no
•* knowledge that I have not received ; As
'* the fands of the defart drink up the drops
*' of rain, or the dew of the m.orning, fo do
** I alfo, who am but duft, imbibe the in-
** ftruftions of the Prophet. Believe then
** that it is he who tells thee, all knowledge
•' is prophane, which terminates in thyfelf;
** and by a life wafted in fpeculation, little
** even of this can be gained. When the
** gates of Paradife are thrown open before
*• ti;ee, thy rahd fliali bs utadhzid in a



" moment ; here thou canft little more than
" pile error upon error; rherethoufhalt build
" trutli. Waitjtherefore, for the glorious vili-
" on; and in the mean time emulate the Eagle.
" Much is in thy pov/er; and, therefore,
" much is expeded of thee. Though the
" Almighty only can give virtue, yet^
" as a prince, thou may'flltiraulate thole to
" bcnsilcence, who aft from no higher motive
" tlian immediate intcreft: thou canft not
" produce the principle, but may'ft enforce
'' the praftice. The relief of the poor is
" equal, whether they receive it from cften-
" tation, or charity ; and the efteft of exam-
" pie is the fame, whether it be intended to
" obtain the favour of God or man. Let
" thy virtue be thus diffufed; and if thou
" believeft with reverence, thou fhalt be ac-
'* cepted above. Farewell; May the fmilc
" of Him who refides in the Heaven of
" Heavens be upon thee ! and againft thy
" name, in the volume of His will, ma/
" Happinefs be written!"

The King, whofe doubts like thofe of
Mirza, were now removed, looked up with
a fmile that communicated the joy of his
mind. He-difmiffed the prince to his go-
vernment ; and commanded tliefe events to be
recorded, to the end thatpofi;erity may know
" that no life is pleafmg to God, but that
" which is ufeful to Mankind."

Ad'^jenturer,

§ 25. Froiiidence pro^'ed from Animal
Injiina.

I muft confefs I am inftnitely delighted
with thofe fpeculaticns of nature which are
to be made in a country life; and as my_
reading has very much lain among books of
naturathiftory, I cannot forbear recolleaing,
upon this occafion, the fevcral remarlcs
which I have met vvdth in authors, and com-
paring them with v/hat falls under my own
obfervation ; the arguments for providence^
drawn from the natural hiftory of animals,
being, in my opinion, demonftrative.

The make of every kind of animal is dif-
ferent from that of every other kind; and
yet there is not the leaft turn in the mufcles
or twill in the fibres of any one, v/hich docs
not render them more proper for that par-
ticular animal's way of life, than any other
caft or texture of them would have been.

. The moft violent appetircs in all creatures
are hji and hunger: the Jirft is a perpetual
call upon theni to propagate their kind; the
latter to preferve themfelves.

It is auon:lh.ing to confider the difterent
decrees of care that defcend from the parent

'^ D 2 "of



ELEGANT EXTRACTS,



Book V



of the young, fo far as is abfoKitely neceffary
for the leaving a pofterity. Some creatures
caft their eggs as chance direcS:s them, and
think of them no farther, as infefts and fe-
veral kinds of fifh ; others, of a nicer frame,
find out proper beds to depofit them in, and
there leave them, as the ferpent, the croco-
dile, and oftrich; others hatch their eggs and
rend the birth, until it is able to fhift for
itfelf.

What can we call the principle which di-
rects every different kind of bird to obferve
a particular plan in the ftrufture of its'nelt,
and direfts all of the fame fpecies to work
after the fame model ? It cannot be imita-
tmt\ for though you hatch a crow under a
hen, and never let it fee any of the works of
its own kind, the neft it makes Ihall be the
iiune, to the laying of a ftick, with all the
ncfts of the fame fpecies. It cannot be
rcajou ; for were animals endued with it to
as great a degree as man, their buildings
would be as different as ours, according to the
different conveniencies that they would pro-