be happy with them, if, for their sake, you forfeit all that is estimable in man. The favour of the great, perhaps, you think, is at stake; or that popularity with the multitude, on which you build plans of advancement. Alas! how precarious are the means which you employ in order to attain the end you have in view; and the end itself, how little is it worthy of your ambition! That favour which you pursue, of dubious advantage when gained, is frequently lost by servile compliance. The timid and abject are detected, and despised even by those whom they court; while the firm and resolute rise in the end to those honours, which the other pursued in vain.

PUT the case at the worst. Suppose not your fortune only, but your safety. to be in hazard? your life itself to be endangered, by adhering to conscience and virtue. Think, what a creeping and ignominious state you would render life, if, when your duty calls, you would expose it to no danger? If by a dastardly behaviour, you would, at any expense, preserve it. That life which you are so anxious to preserve, can at any rate be prolonged only for a few years more; and those years may be full of woe. He, who will not risk death when conscience requires him to face it, ought to be ashamed to live. -Consider, as a man,

and a Christian, for what purpose life was given thee by Heaven. Was it, that thou mightest pass a few years in low pleasures and ignoble sloth; flying into every corner to hide thyself, when the least danger rises to view? No: life was given that thou mightest come forth to act some useful and honourable part, on that theatre where thou hast been placed by Providence; mightest glorify him that made thee; and, by steady perseverance in virtue, rise in the end to an immortal state.

Son of Man, remember thy original honours! Assert the dignity of thy nature! Shake off this pusillanimous dread of death; and seek to fulfil the ends for which thou wert sent forth by thy Creator! -The sentiment of a noble mind is, I count not my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy. To the finishing of his course, let every one direct his eye; and let him now appreciate life according to the value it will be found to have when summed up at the close. This is the period which brings every thing to the test. Illusions may formerly have imposed on the world; may have imposed on the man himself. But all illusion then vanishes. The real character comes forth. The estimate of happiness is fairly formed. Hence it has been justly said, that no man can be pronounced either great or happy, until his last hour come. To that last hour, what will bring such satisfaction or add so much dignity, as the reflection on having surmounted with firmness all the discouragements of the world, and having persevered to the end in one uniform course of fidelity and honour? We remarked, before, the magnanimous beha

viour of the Apostle Paul, when he had persecution and distress full in view. Hear now the sentiments of the same great man, when the time of his last suffering approached; and remark the majesty and ease with which he looked on death. I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.* How many years of life does such a dying moment overbalance? Who would not chuse in this manner to go off the stage, with such a song of triumph in his mouth, rather than prolong his existence through a wretched old age, stained with sin and shame.

ANIMATED by these considerations, let us nourish that fortitude of mind, which is so essential to a man and Christian.-Let no discouragement nor danger deter us from doing what is right. Through honour and dishonour, through good report and bad report, let us preserve fidelity to our God and our Saviour. Though an host should encamp against us, let us not fear to discharge our duty. God assists us in the virtuous conflict; and will crown the conqueror with eternal rewards. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. To him that overcometh, saith our blessed Lord, I will grant to sit with me on my throne; even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne.t

* 2 Timothy, iv. 6, 7.

Rev. ii. 10.-iii. 21.

SERMON XXXVIII.

ON ENVY.

Charity envieth not.1 CORINTHIANS, xiii. 4.

ENVY is a sensation of uneasiness and disquiet, arising from the advantages which others are supposed to possess above us, accompanied with malignity towards those who possess them. This is universally admitted to be one of the blackest passions in the human heart. In this world we depend much on one another; and were therefore formed by God to be mutually useful and assisting. The instincts of kindness and compassion which belong to our frame, shew how much it was the intention of our Creator that we should be united in friendship. If any infringe this great law of nature, by acts of causeless hostility, resentment may justly arise. No one is to be condemned for defending his rights, and shewing displeasure against a malicious enemy. But to conceive ill-will at one who has attacked none of our rights, nor done us any injury, solely because he is more prosperous than we are is a disposition altogether unnatural; it suits not the human constitution, and partakes more of the rancor of an evil spirit. Hence, the character of an envious man is universally odious. All disclaim it; and they who feel themselves under the influence of this passion, carefully conceal it.

But it is proper to consider, that among al! our passions, both good and bad, there are many different gradations. Sometimes they swim on the surface of the mind, without producing any internal agitation. They proceed no farther than the beginnings of passion. Allayed by our constitution, or tempered by the mixture of other dispositions, they exert no considerable influence on the temper. Though the character, in which envy forms the ruling passion, and reigns in all its force, be one too odious,

I hope, to be common; yet some shade, some tincture, of this evil disposition mixes with most characters in the world. It is, perhaps, one of the most prevailing infirmities to which we are subject. There are few but who, at one time or other, have found somewhat of this nature stirring within them; some lurking uneasiness in their mind, when they looked up to others, who enjoyed a greater share than had fallen to their lot, of some advantages which they wished, and thought themselves entitled, to possess. Though this should not embitter their disposition; though it should create the uneasiness only, without the malignity, of envy; yet still it is a disturbed state of mind; and always borders upon, if it actually include not, some vicious affections. In order, as far as possible, to remedy this evil, I shall now consider what are the most general grounds of the envy which men are apt to bear to others; and shall examine what foundation they afford, for any degree of this troublesome and dangerous passion.- -The chief grounds of envy may be reduced to three: Accomplishments of mind; advantages of birth, rank, and fortune; superior success in worldly pursuits.

I. ACCOMPLISHMENTS, or endowments of the mind. The chief endowment for which man deserves to be valued, is virtue. This unquestionably forms the most estimable distinction among mankind. Yet this, which may appear surprising, never forms any ground of envy. No man is envied for being more just, more generous, more patient, or forgiving than others. This may, in part, be owing to virtue producing in every one who beholds it, that high degree of respect and love, which extinguishes envy. But, probably, it is more owing to the good opinion which every one entertains of his own moral qualities. Some virtues, or at least the seeds of them, he finds within his breast. Others be vainly attributes to himself. Those in which he is plainly deficient, he undervalues, as either not real virtues, or virtues of very inferior rank, and rests satisfied that on the whole, he is as worthy and respectable as his neighbour.

The case is different, with regard to those mental abilities and powers which are ascribed to others. As long as these are exerted in a sphere of action remote from ours, and not brought into competition with talents of the same kind, to which we have pretensions, they create no jealousy. They are viewed as distant objects, in which we have not any concern. It is not until they touch our own line, and appear to rival us in what we wish to excel, that they awaken envy. Even then envy is, properly speaking, not grounded on the talents of others. For here, too, our self-complacency brings us relief; from the persuasion that,

were we thoroughly known, and full justice done to us, our abilities would be found not inferior to those of our rivals. What properly occasions envy, is the fruit of the accomplishments of others; the pre-eminence which the opinion of the world bestows, or which we dread it will bestow, on their talents above ours. Hence, distinguished superiority in genius, learning, eloquence, or any other of those various arts that attract the notice of the world, often become painful grounds of envy; not indeed to all indifferently, but to those who follow the same line of pursuit. Mere rivality, inspired by emulation, would carry no reproach; were not that rivality joined with obliquity, and a malignant spirit; did it not lead to secret detraction, and unfair methods of diminishing the reputation of others. Too frequently has such a spirit tarnished the character of those who sought to shine in the elegant arts; and who, otherwise, had a just title to fame.Let such as are addicted to this infirmity consider how much they degrade themselves. Superior merit, of any kind, always rests on itself. Conscious of what it deserves, it disdains low competitions and jealousies. They who are stung with envy especially when they allow its malignity to appear, confess a sense of their own inferiority; and in effect, pay homage to that merit from which they endeavour to detract.

But in order to eradicate the passion, and to cure the disquiet which it creates, let such persons farther consider, how inconsiderable the advantage is which their rivals have gained, by any superiority over them. They whom you envy, are themselves inferior to others who follow the same pursuits. For how few, how very few, have reached the summit of excellence, in the art or study which they cultivate? Even that degree of excellence which they have attained, how seldom is it allowed to them by the world, till after they die? Public applause is the most fluctuating and uncertain of all rewards. Admired as they may be by a circle of their friends, they have to look up to others, who stand above them in public opinion; and undergo the same mortifications which you suffer in looking up to them. Consider what labour it has cost them to arrive at that degree of eminence they have gained; and, after all their labour, how imperfect their recompense is at last. Within what narrow bounds is their fame confined? With what a number of humiliations is it mixed? To how many are they absolutely unknown? Among those who know them, how many censure and decry them?Attending fairly to these considerations, the envious might come in the end to discern, that the fame acquired by any accomplishment of the mind, by all that skill can contrive, or genius can execute, amounts to no more than a small elevation; raises the