guft, to say—" I loath it: I would not live always ?"

If the former of thefe views of life be too gay, the latter is certainly too gloomy. The true medium is the afpect under which life is feen at the middle station in paffing from youth to age. By the help of long experience and cool reflection, it is there clearly perceived that this world is neither a paradife of flowers, nor a wildernefs of thorns; that though trouble and forrow are the common lot of mortals, this fad account is, through the bounty of Divine Providence, commonly far overbalanced by enjoyments and gratifications of various kinds, animal, focial, and intellectual. But that which above all tends to make us contented and thankful in our present condition, is the conviction which fuch an impartial furvey of life will afford us, that our present state of existence is a course of moral discipline, conducted by our Almighty Parent, by a due improvement of which we may pro

vide ourselves with a fund of peaceful reflections and comfortable hopes, abundantly fufficient to cheer the vale of old age, and even to infpire us with ferenity and peace in our last moments. good man hath hope in his death.

The

As the proper practical application of the furvey we have now taken of human life, let the young learn fobriety in their pursuit of pleasure, moderation in their expectation of happiness, and caution and prudence in forming and executing their plans of living; let those who are in the middle station of life be inftructed to give all diligence to improve the precious days of active usefulness which yet remain to them; let the aged be cautioned against the infirmities of morofenefs, cenforioufnefs, and discontent, to which their period of life is more peculiarly liable, and exhorted to render their last days comfortable to themselves and to all about them, by eafy affability, by cheerful good

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good-humour; and, as long as the powers of action remain, by kind endeavours to ferve and oblige: and, finally, let us all be taught fo to number our days as to apply our hearts unto wisdom.

On

On Humility.

ROMANS xii. 3.

Ijay, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.

To form an accurate judgment of things according to their real nature is a high and important attainment. With refpect to natural bodies, it is this which chiefly distinguishes the philofopher from the vulgar obferver of nature, and preferves him from mistakes and errors in the use and application of the objects around him to which the ignorant are continually liable. With refpect to religion, it is this which diftinguishes the rational worshipper of God from the enY A thufiaft

thufiaft: the former conceiving justly of God and religion, the latter forming weak and erroneous notions, and indulging idle and visionary fancies, concerning both. But there is nothing in which a judgment perfectly conformable to nature and truth is more defirable than in the opinion we form concerning ourfelves; for it is very evident, that if we entertain a wrong idea of our own natural powers, of our difpofitions and character, or of our condition and connexions in life, we fhall be in continual danger of being betrayed by our misapprehenfions into injurious errors of conduct. This will be equally true, whether we think too highly or too meanly of ourselves. But because felf-love commonly prevents the latter of these errors, the precepts of morality respecting this fubject are most frequently directed against the former. The apostle Paul thought the caution against thinking too highly of ourselves of fufficient importance to warrant a particular folemnity of intro

duction