fcarce any fuch thing as Covetoufnefs; Ser. III, for we fhould likewife be equally indiffe

rent to the Disgrace of Poverty, and to the
Reputation of Riches. Neither is Restraint
by any means peculiar to one Course of
Life; but our very Nature, exclufive of Con-
fcience, and our Condition lays us under an
abfolute Neceffity of it. We cannot gain
any End whatever without being confined
to the proper Means, which is often the
most painful and uneafy Confinement.
And in numberless Inftances a prefent Ap-
petite cannot be gratified without such ap-
parent and immediate Ruin and Misery,
that the most diffolute Man in the World
chooses to forego the Pleasure, rather than
endure the Pain. Is the Meaning then to
indulge those Regards to our Fellow-Crea-
tures, and submit to those Restraints, which
upon the whole are attended with more Sa-
tisfaction than Uncafiness, and get over on-
ly those which bring more Uneasiness and
Inconvenience than Satisfaction? "Doubtless
this was our Meaning." You have changed
Şides then: Keep to this, be confiftent with
yourselves, and you and the Men of Virtue
are in general perfectly agreed. But let us
take Care and avoid Miftakes.
E 2

Let it not be

taken

Ser. III.taken for granted that the Temper of Envy, Rage, Refentment, yields greater Delight than Meekness, Forgiveness, Compaffion, and Good-will: Especially when it is acknowledged that Rage, Envy, Resentment, are in themselves meer Mifery, and the Satisfaction arifing from the Indulgence of them is little more than Relief from that Mifery; whereas the Temper of Compaffion and Benevolence is itself delightful, and the Indulgence of it, by doing Good, affords new pofitive Delight and Enjoyment. Let it not be taken for granted, that the Satisfaction arising from the Reputation of Riches and Power however obtained, is greater than the Satisfaction arifing from the Reputation of Juftice, Honefty, Charity. And if it be doubtful which of these Satisfactions is the greateft, as there are Persons who think neither of them very confiderable, yet there can be no doubt concerning Ambition and Covetousness, Virtue and a good Mind, confidered in themselves, and as leading to different Courses of Life; there can, I fay, be no doubt, which Temper and which Course is attended with most Peace and Tranquillity of Mind, which with moft Perplexity, Vexation and Inconvenience. And both

the

the Virtues and Vices which have been now Ser. III. mentioned, do in a Manner equally imply in them Regards of one Kind or another to our Fellow-Creatures. And with refpect to Restraint and Confinement ; whoever will confider the Restraints from Fear and Shame, the Diffimulation, mean Arts of Concealment, fervile Compliances, one or other of which belong to almost every Course of Vice, will foon be convinced that the Man of Virtue is by no means upon a Disadvantage in this Respect. How many Inftances are there in which Men feel and own and cry aloud under the Chains of Vice with which they are enthrall'd, and which yet they will not shake off? How many Instances, in which Perfons manifeftly go through more Pains and Selfdenyal to gratify a vitious Paffion, than would have been neceffary to the Conqueft of it? To this is to be added, that when Virtue is become habitual, when the Temper of it is acquir'd, what was before Confinement ccafes to be fo, by becoming Choice and Delight. Whatever Restraint and Guard upon ourselves may be needful to unlearn any unnatural Distortion or odd Gesture, yet in all Propriety of Speech natural

E 3

Ser. III. tural Behaviour must be the most easy and unreftrained. It is manifeft that, in the common Course of Life, there is feldom any Inconfiftency between our Duty and what is called Intereft: It is much feldomer that there is an Inconfiftency between Duty and what is really our present Intereft; meaning by Intereft, Happiness and Satisfaction. Self-love then, though confined to the Interest of the present World, does in general perfectly coincide with Virtue, and leads us to one and the fame Course of Life. But whatever Exceptions there are to this, which are much fewer than they are commonly thought, all shall be fet right at the final Distribution of things. It is a manifeft Abfurdity to fuppofe Evil prevailing finally over Good, under the Conduct and Administration of a perfect Mind.

The whole Argument I have been now infifting upon may be thus fummed up and given you in one View. The Nature of Man is adapted to fome Course of Action or other. Upon comparing fome Actions with this Nature, they appear fuitable and correspondent to it: From Comparison of other Actions with the fame Nature, there arifes to our View fome Unfuitableness or Difpro

Disproportion.

The Correspondence of Ser. III. Actions to the Nature of the Agent renders them natural; their Difproportion to it, unnatural. That an Action is correfpondent to the Nature of the Agent, does not arise from its being agreeable to the Principle which happens to be ftrongeft; for it may be fo, and yet be quite difproportionate to the Nature of the Agent. The Correfpondence therefore,or Difproportion,arifes from somewhat else. This can be nothing but a Difference in Nature and Kind, (altogether distinct from Strength) between the inward Principles. Some then are in Nature and Kind fuperior to others: And the Correspondence arises from the Action being conformable to the higher Principle; and the Unfuitableness, from its being contrary to it. Reasonable

Self-love and Confcience are the chief or
fuperior Principles in the Nature of Man:
Because an Action may be fuitable to this
Nature, though all other Principles be vio-
lated; but becomes unfuitable, if either of
those are.
Confcience and Self-love, if we
understand our true Happiness, always lead
us the fame Way: Duty and Intereft are
perfectly coincident; for the most Part in
this World, but intirely and in every In-
E 4
stance