He will feed his horse high enough to perform his journey, and carry him through the mire; but will not feed him to fuch a height, that the rider fhall neither be able to fit, nor command him,

In all these cafes, the common prudence of every man directs him to that just mediocrity, wherein both his honour and profit do apparently lie. And what we fay in fuch common cafes and concerns as thefe, is as true, and much more excellent in the foul's prudent government of its own body, unto which it was espoused in the womb, and is its dear and conftant partner, both in the present and future good or evil. It is the garment it wears, the inftrument it ufeth, and the field it cultivates, It must neither deny the body thofe neceffary fupports and comforts which God and nature allow it, nor yet surfeit and overcharge it with more than it is able to bear. In either of thefe extremes, the extreme folly of the foul is difcovered.

§3. Now the dethroning of reafon, and frequent oppreffions of nature, by the practice of drunkennefs, is the higheft, exaltation of folly in the foul of man; plainly manifesting its ignorance and inability to order and govern the body, to which it is married by a vital union.

Here is a foolish foul by mifgovernment, difhonouring and destroying its vigorous and comely body, under a pretence of love and kindness to it. We account it one of the greatest outward infelicities in this world, incident to a difcreet and virtuous woman, to be headed and governed by a fottifh fool, neither able to govern himself, or her, nor give a reason of his own actions or commands. A man whofe folly shall make, her blush in all fober companies he comes into, and forces her. upon fuch a course of life as the perfectly abhors, and will bring fpeedy ruin upon her; all men pity fuch a cafe as. this. And this is the very cafe of many a comely, vigorous. body.

Only such a woman hath two reliefs under her bondage, which the body of a drunkard wants. She can fometimes withdraw and retire from his company, and enjoy the relief of her. folitude, which the wretched body of a drunkard cannot do till death; but is tied day and night to the company of its foolish foul, which is frequently abufing it, and impofing upon it.

Befides, fuch a woman may haply overlive her vicious abufive husband, and fpend many a comfortable year in the world with a more difcreet, fober and religious partner of her life, whofe fobriety, difcretion, piety, and love, fhall make

full compenfation for all those years of mifery and flavery she endured before. But the cafe before us admits no fuch relief: for as long as ever the body lives and breathes, the foul is, and must be with it, and in it. And though death will for a time separate and divorce them, yet the body's fecond marriage at the refurrection, can be with no other but the fame foul which oppreffed and ruined it in this world. And this fecond marriage will be far worse than the first; for though it were the sottish foul's flave and drudge in this world, and suffered many a sickness, fhame, and lofs by its folly; yet in the world to come, it must be its partner and companion in helltorments for evermore, inafmuch as it was the inftrument the foul used in most of thofe fins committed by it in this world. And this is the cafe of all bodies married to, and governed by fouls that have neither reason nor religion enough prudently and foberly to order and govern their own bodies.

§ 4. Sad and doleful, therefore, are the lamentations and complaints of the bodies of drunkards, against the folly and tyranny of their fouls; and as juft as fad. Let me here therefore act the part of an advocate for your bodies, which is a part of yourselves, and to which, by the law of nature, you owe love, care, and honour; or, rather by a prosopopoeia, let me bring in the body fighing out its own complaints in the ears of its own foul, and thus bemoaning itself to it.

Oh, my foul! I have cause to lament the day that ever I was married to fuch a fottifh fool as thou art, who are deftitute both of wisdom and love to rule and govern me. I may justly resume Job's lamentation upon thy account, and fay with him: "Let the day perifh wherein I was born, and the night wherein it was faid, there is a man-child coneeived. Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghoft when I came out of the belly? For now fhould I have lien ftill, and been quiet, I fhould have flept; then had I been at reft."

I have been a perfect slave and drudge to thy unreasonable lufts and impofitions. I was once an active, vigorous, comely body, and hadft thou been wife and sober, I had been happy. But thou haft been a cruel tyrant to me, oppreffing and loading me with more than I was able to ftand under. Thou haft plunged me many times into those puddles of excess, wherein thou haft drowned thy own reafon, and my health. My well-mixed beauty is now turned into the colour of flaming fire; my hands and legs shake, my tongue falters, my ⚫ natural crafis and temperament is deftroyed. Thou haft

made me miferable in this world, and intendest to make me · more wretched in the world to come.

Sober nature gave me my stint and measure. I knew when it was enough, and gave thee fufficient items and intimations (amidst thy foolish frolics), that I could neither with honour or fafety bear one glass more. But thou waft deaf to all my moans, and fhewedft more mercy to thy horse than me. Sick or well, able or unable, live or die, I must take in the • full number of cups and bottles thou enjoinedeft me to take. Like another Pharoah, thou haft required of me the full tale, • whether I had ftrength to perform it or no. Yea, like ano⚫ther devil, thou haft fometimes caft me into fiery fevers, and watery dropfies; and will next caft me, if thou continue this course, into hell-fire itself.

• Other fouls have fet thee a better pattern in their more fober and prudent government of their bodies. They give their bodies the true pleasure of the creature, by keeping them to that happy mediocrity in which it confifts. They devote their bodies to the service of God; thou haft devoted me to the immediate service of the devil. A majestic beauty fits upon their faces; fottishnefs and folly upon mine. • Their knees are daily bowed in prayer to God; mine shake and tremble in the fervice of the devil, They enjoy pure and fanctified pleafures every day; but I am denied the fober pleasures of a beaft. Their bodies will be happy with their fouls in the world to come; but I must suffer eternally with thee, and for thee. Thou haft both confumed me, and thy eftate given to support me; and now I am like to suffer as much by want, as I have done by excefs; and all this thro' thy mifgovernment. Thefe feet (if thou hadft pleased to ⚫ command them) would as readily have carried thee to thy closet, or the affemblies of God's people, as to an ale-house or tavern. These fingers would have ferved to open and turn the bleffed pages, which contain the oracles of God, as to cog a dye, or have fhuffled and dealt a pack of cards. This tongue might have been melodiously employed in finging the praises of God among his people, as well as in fwearing, roaring, and finging among drunken fots and fools, if thou • hadft been endued with governing wisdom.

Thou knoweft I could do nothing without thee. Thou haft a defpotical power over all my members. They are at thy beck, and thou at the devil's. Better had it been for me, had I been the body of a contemptible worm or fly, than a body animated and governed by fuch a fottish foul as thou art,

And now, my foul, what haft thou to fay for thyfell? What tolerable account canft thou give to God or me, of thefe thy vile abuses of both?'

5. Now let us hear what the foul of the drunkard hath to plead, in its own excufe and defence, for all his wrongs á gainft God, mifchief to itself, ruin to his health, name, and eftate. They have various excufes, though not one found or rational one among them all. Such as they are, let them be tried by the rule of reafon, if any reafon be yet left in them, who daily dethrone it by this worfe than brutifh practice.

That which they fay for themselves, is this:"

1. That their bodies are ftrongly conftituted, more capacious to receive, and able to bear greater quantities of wine and ftrong-drink, than others are; and therefore, why should they not drink down, and glory over those that vie with them ?

2. Others fay, they would not take the course they do, but that when they are fober and folitary, they are fo prefied with the thoughts of their debts and incumbrances in the world, that they are upon a perfect rack, and they find nothing like good-fellowship in a tavern or ale-houfe, fo effectually relieving against the cares and anxieties of their minds.

3. Some will tell us, they are drawn into it by the fnare of pleafure; nothing being fo grateful to their palate, as their full load of generous wine, or ftrong drink. And feeing it is fo pleasant and delightfome to them, why fhould they deny and abridge themselves of their pleasures?

4. Others will profefs, they had never taken this course, which they find upon many accounts pernicious to them; but that they are not able in civility to deny their intimate friends and companions, efpecially fuch with whom they have concerns in trade and bufinefs; and they must drink as they do, or fuffer lofs in their trade; and beside that, be ftigmatized for fanatics.

5. They will alfo fay, they are obliged in point of loyalty, to pledge him that confecrates (as they catechreftically call it) the first glafs to the king, or perfons of quality and honour.

6. And, faftly, Some will tell us, they have plentiful estates, that will bear fuch expences; and fince their pockets ale full, why should not their heads and ftomachs be fo too?

Befides these fix apologies for drunkenness, nothing falls into my imagination, pleadable for this fin. We will weigh thefe that are pleaded, in the common balance of the reafon of mankind, and try the validity of them one by one. And for - Excufe I. And, firft, To what you fay of the capacities of

your bodies, ftrength and ability of your conftitutions, to receive and bear greater quantities of wine and ftrong drink, than others can; and therefore, why fhould you not give proof of it, when challenged, and get reputation to yourselves, by drinking down, and glorying over fuch as vie with you?

To this I reply three things, which must be laid in the counter-balance; and let the balance be held in the upright hand of your own reason.

1. A ftrong and vigorous conftitution will be readily ac knowledged to be so great an external bleffing and mercy, that no man of found intellectuals ought to do any thing to deftroy it; but is obliged to use all proper methods for the prefervation of it. If therefore temperance fhall be found to preserve it, and excess to impair and destroy it; let your own reason judge, which of thefe two courses you are obliged to take. Confult either the best phyficians, or your own and other mens experience; and they will tell you, That apoplexies, palfies, gout, and innumerable other diseases are bred by fuch exceffes, in the foundest and ftrongest conftitutions, and death itself haftened by fuch intemperate courfes; whereas temperance and fobriety might have made your lives more comfortable and durable. As ftrong as you are, frequent drunkenness will bring Cain's curfe upon your vigorous bodies, and make you go fhaking and trembling (as he did) about the world.

2. Let it be demanded of your own reason, whether it do really judge that God bestowed more ftrength and vigour upon your bodies, than he hath upon others, to arm a stronger enemy, than others are; to fight more vigoroufly against him, than others do, or can do? Or, whether it were not defigned, by him for greater use and service to his glory in the world, than others of his people (how willing foever they be) can do, for want of that strength you have? I am confident, no man of found intellectuals will dare to affert the former, or deny the latter.

3. And, lafliy, For your glorying in drinking down, and conquering others; you will certainly put your own reason to a bluth, by offering such a plea as this to it. You are not yet arrived to impudence enough, to deny drunkenness to be a fin; and your reafon is yet found enough, eafily and naturally to infer, that by how much the more any man exceeds and goes beyond others in fin, by fo much the greater finner that man is.

And as for the honour and glory you talk of, in exceeding
VOL. VIII.
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