points out, is this: So far as subsistence is concerned, a wise man will pursue riches, because to that extent they are necessary to his existence, and consequently to his intellectual improvement. He will even go farther than this: For if he is not employed in promoting directly the progress of wisdom, he will labour to accomplish this indirectly, by endeavouring to promote the wealth of his country, and of mankind, which may have the effect of diffusing arts and intelligence more extensively over the face of this globe. But he will not suffer himself to become so stupid, or his understanding to fall so completely asleep, as to pursue wealth for its own sake, and for the mere purpose of hoarding up, and contemplating it with delight; that is to say, he will not suffer the passion of avarice to enter his mind. There is much difficulty in this, however. The human mind becomes so imperceptibly fond of the objects that occupy its thoughts, that the utmost attention is scarcely sufficient to prevent this passion from stealing into the mind. To avoid this, the highest vigilance is necessary. It must often be recollected that riches of themselves are of no value; that though the pursuit of them may be necessary to rouse the activity of ignorant men, yet that the possession of them to an individual is of little importance indeed. They can even seldom be rendered the means of doing direct good, that is

it

to say, of producing excellence. For although Providence improves men in an oblique manner, by leading them to pursue wealth, yet to bestow it at once upon them has usually a con trary effect. Although a very rich man, then, can do some harm in the world, he can seldom do much good. If he bestow his riches upon an individual, he injures that individual, by de priving him of at least one inducement to the exertion of his talents. The best use of great wealth, therefore, often consists in scattering it prudently among many persons, so as to produce as little mischief as possible; that is to say, so as not to render the acquisition of more of it unnecessary to them. But while man remains in this world, it is to be feared that the necessity of pursuing a certain degree of wealth will al ways render the passion of avarice a dangerous rock in his way towards a very high degree of intellectual excellence. The only security against that passion will be found to consist in the clear discernment of what is truly valuable, and worthy of being sought after by a rational being.

1

CHAP. XIII.

OF SELF-LOVE.

THE pleasures we enjoy and the evils we endure in life, by fixing themselves in the memory, produce an habitual desire of obtaining the one and of avoiding the other. This desire obtains the appellation of self-love. It is not a particular and distinct passion, but rather a ge neral term, expressing the result or effect upon the human mind, of occupying itself in frequent meditation upon the pleasures it has enjoyed, and of indulging in wishes for their repetition. Even the benevolent affections are in this respect selfish, that they are indulged on account of the pleasure they produce. They all arise out of our feelings as individuals, and terminate in an attention to these feelings. Hence it is that self-love, which may be said to include all the passions, has for its objects the preservation of ourselves as individuals, the increase of our individual pleasures, and the diminution of the pains wé endure.

This passion, when suffered to prevail and act without controul, is not less blind than any other passion, and is apt to lead men very far from the conduct which an enlightened understanding would approve. It leads men to prefer their present fancies and temporary gratifications to the lasting felicity which would arise from the improvement of their nature; and thus it defeats its own purposes. It has a great tendency to place mankind in a state of opposition to each other. Hence a combination of selfish men is easily broken. Such a combination is indeed very powerful, so long as its members are brought into no personal hazard; but as soon as this takes place, it becomes easy to divide them, and consequently to overcome the whole; for as each acts only for himself, the general welfare can be nothing to him when his share of it is lost. This is one of the reasons why selfish men so often govern the world in peaceable times; but in periods of political trouble they are frightened off the stage. They call themselves moderate men. Under this pretence

of moderation, which is mere cowardice or selfishness, they leave the field to more ardent spirits, and are disposed of at pleasure by every successive party.

In the hands of Nature, however, this passion produces many good effects. Without it the human race could not have long subsisted; it in

duces us to labour with incessant care for our own safety and subsistence; and thus it excites us to that constant activity, which ultimately produces our intellectual improvement. Amidst all the miseries of life, this passion usually proves sufficient to enable men and women to abstain from those means of self-destruction which are at every moment within their reach. It even tends, at times, to correct its own extravagancies. Our love of praise, for example, could not be gratified, were we avowedly, on all occasions, to prefer ourselves to others: that the passion may be gratified, therefore, it must sometimes give way; and thus self-love may assume the form of self-denial.

The passion of self-love points out our duty, and often leads us unconsciously to its fulfilment. In this world, it is not always in our power to do much for others; whereas it is always in our power to labour for our own preservation and improvement as individuals. It is therefore our duty to labour for ourselves in the first instance; and this duty the passion of selflove leads us to perform. It is the business of a wise man to subdue the passion so far as it may have a tendency to mislead him, and to fulfil the duty because it is a duty; that is, because it is necessary to his own intellectual improvement. As this improvement, or the production of accomplished minds in the universe,