ployed yourself to good purpose, and will not fail of your reward, if you should of fuccefs.

Let no man complain of the shortness of life, but he who can fay, he has never mispent one

hour.

Make fure, firft, and principally, of that knowledge, which is neceffary for you, as a man, and a member of fociety. Next, of what is neceffary in your particular way of life. Afterwards, improve yourself in all useful and ornamental knowledge, as far as your capacity, leifure, and fortune will allow.

If you would not have affliction vifit you liften, at once, to what it teaches.

twice;

Never caft your eye upon a good man, without refolving to imitate him. Whenever you fee an instance of vice or folly in another, let it be a warning to you, to avoid them.

Where is yesterday now? With the years before the flood. But, if you have employed it well, it ftands recorded above, to your eternal honour and advantage. If you have mispent, or neglected it; it will appear against you at the last day.

Would you have one general universal remedy for all diseases; ftudy religion. The only rational ground of confolation in the various diftreffes of life is the confideration, that religion proposes a pofitive reward for bearing with dignity, and improving by affliction, and that afflictions are

in truth our greatest bleffings, and proofs of the Divine favour.

If you unhappily fall into fome fatal miscarriage, which wounds your conscience, and makes your life a burden; confefs it, with all its circumstances, to fome judicious and tender-hearted perfon, in whose fidelity you can confide, and whofe advice may be of service to you. If it be of fuch a peculiar nature, that you do not think it prudent to confefs yourself guilty of fuch a thing, fend a full account of it, written in a difguifed hand, defiring an answer in writing. When you have the opinion of a judicious perfon upon the heinousness of your crime; which you may find, you have either, through felf-love, thought too flightly of, or, through an exceffive tenderness of confcience, blamed yourself too much for; imprefs your mind properly with a fenfe of your fault; humble yourself deeply before God; and refolve bravely no more to be guilty of fuch folly. When you have done fo, and find you can keep to your refolutions, it is not neceffary that you continue to afflict yourself without end for what is irrecoverably paft. The principal part of repentance is reformation.

I know no way of laying out a few fhillings to more advantage, either for profit or pleasure, than upon an entertaining and inftructing book. But this expence is greatly overdone by fome, and ill laid out by others.

While

While you are unhappy, because your taylor has not cut your coat to your mind, many an honest man would be glad to have one that would only keep out the cold; and cannot. While you are in a paffion with your cook, because he has fpoiled you one difh among fix, many a poor family, who are your fellow-creatures, and fellow Chriftians, are at a loss for bread, to supply the wants of nature. Think of this, and give over with fhame, your foolish and impious complaints against that goodness of Providence, which has placed you in circumstances so much above perfons of equal merit with yourself.

It is the unhappiness of human life, that in every man's conduct there has always been fome mifcarriage, or fome misfortune in his circumftances, which has prevented his carrying his improvements in knowledge, and virtue, the length which might have been wished, or imagined. To make the most of life, fuch a number of concurrences are neceffary, that it is no wonder they feldom all fall to the fhare of any one perfon. Health, long-life, fortune; great and various natural abilities, and a good difpofition; an extenfive education, begun early; indefatigable diligence to carry on improvements; a fett of acquaintance capable of assisting in the pursuit of knowledge, and of encouraging in virtue; and happening to live in an age favourable to freedom of enquiry. If we confider the improvements, fome towering geniuffes have made in knowledge,

and

and the lengths gone in exemplary virtue by many, who have laboured under innumerable difadvantages, we cannot help lamenting, that they were not favoured by Providence with the others, nor imagining what immense heights they muft, in fome circumstances, have reached. The moft remarkable concurrence of all kinds of advantages, that ever was; and the most stupendous effects in confequence of it, will probably, as long as this world lafts, be the admiration, and delight, of all who are judges of the fublime labours of the greatest of philofophers, and beft of men, the glory of our country, and of human nature. Yet even in him (though a fort of fuperior being, when compared with the rest of the fpecies) it is poffible to imagine fome circumftances different, and to the advantage. To what heights then may our nature rife in future ftates, when every poffible advantage fhall concur!

Do not pretend to neglect or trifle with your duty, unless you have found out unquestionable and demonstrative proof, that the general fenfe of mankind in all ages and nations, that virtue is the perfection of human nature, and the sure way to happiness, and vice the contrary; is a gross abfurdity and falfhood; that the Bible is a fogery; and that the belief of a judgment to come is a dream. If you be not as fure of all this, as that twice two are four, if there be the finallest poffibility that it may be otherwife, it is the very defperation of madness to run the leaft hazard of

the

the deftruction of your foul by living a wicked life.

Death-bed repentance, and death-bed charity are much of a kind. Men give up their vices and their money, when they can keep them no longer.

Can any perfon feriously think that he was formed capable of reafon, virtue, and religion, only to eat, drink, divert himself, and die?

Accuftom yourself to the ftrict observance of your duty in all refpects, and it will in time be as troublesome to omit, or to violate it, as it is to many people to practise it.

Study to grow every day wifer and better. For évery day brings you nearer to death.

It is strange to hear unthinking people defcant upon the actions of men of universally acknowledged abilities, and to see them take it for granted, that they have acted a part entirely inconfiftent with their known characters; which people very rarely do, and which it is therefore very unreasonable to fuppofe. If you were told of a mifer's having done a generous thing, would you not be apt either to doubt the fact, or to conclude, that it must have appeared to him a likely way of getting fomewhat? If you were told of a very paffionate man's bearing an infult with exemplary patience; would you not be surprized? Why then should you rafhly give into the belief, that a perfon, whofe good understanding you are apprized of has played the fool? or one, whose

integrity