and accountable agent, than that of the grovelling wretch who hoards his money in a bag which is never opened but with jealous care when he has a few more guineas or dollars to put into it. In both cases, wealth is turned aside from its legitimate channel, and perverted to purposes directly opposite to the will of the Creator, and the true happiness of mankind.

3. The folly of Avarice will appear, if we consider it in relation to rational enjoyment.

The rational enjoyment of life consists, among other things, in the moderate use of the bounties of Providence which God has provided for all his creatures-in the exercise of our physical and mental powers on those objects which are calculated to afford satisfaction and delightin the emotions of contentment and gratitude towards our Creator-in the sweets of an approving conscience-in the acquisition of knowledge-in the flow of the benevolent affections, in affectionate social intercourse with our fellow men, in the exercise of tenderness, sympathy, and good will towards others, and in that calmness or equanimity which remains unruffled amidst the changes of fortune, and the untoward incidents of human life. Now, in none of these respects can the covetous man experience the sweets of true enjoyment. He has it in his power to enjoy all the sensitive pleasures in which a rational being ought to indulge, yet he stints himself even of necessary comforts, and lives upon husks when he might feast himself on the choicest dainties, because it might prevent him from adding new stores to his secret treasures. He will shiver amidst the colds of winter, under a tattered coat, or a thread-bare covering, and sit benumbed in his apartment without a fire to cheer him, because the purchase of requisite comforts would diminish the number of his pounds, shillings, and pence. He will lie on a bed of straw, during the dark evenings of winter, like a mere animal existence, rather than furnish oil for a lamp, and will wallow like a sow amidst mire and filth, rather than give the smallest trifle to a person to clean his apartment. Of mental pleasures he can VOL. VI.

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scarcely be said to enjoy the smallest share, except in so far as the ideas of accumulated gold and silver are concerned. He is necessarily oppressed with restless anxiety. The objects of his covetousness are, in most instances, necessarily uncertain. He strives to obtain them, but is doubtful of success; his mind hangs between hope and fear; his desires are, however, continually exerted; he is on the rack as it were, till he sees the issue of his adventure, and in numerous cases, his hopes are blasted, and his schemes disconcerted; and when the plans of gain he had laid are frustrated, or a portion of his wealth destroyed by an unexpected accident, he feels all the pains and agonies of a man verging towards poverty and ruin. While a contented man may become rich, to every desirable degree, amid the full possession of serenity of mind, and self-approbation, the anxiety of the covetous is necessarily great and distressing; and that is one part of the punishment he inevitably suffers under the righteous government of God, on account of his infringement of the natural and moral laws of the universe. To the misery of perpetual anxiety are added incessant labour, and an endless and wearisome train of exertion to augment his gains and secure himself from losses. Like a slave or a mill-horse, he drudges on in a state of travail, and in an unceasing whirl of toil and effort, which leave no intervals for rational reflection and enjoyment; and, after all, his desires are still craving and still unsatisfied.

In the midst of such labour and mental efforts and perplexities, he meets with frequent disappointments. His deeds or obligations are found to be defective; his bills are refused to be discounted; his agents prove cheats and deceivers; storms will blow in spite of him, and sink his ships in the mighty waters; floods and inundations will sweep away the produce of his fields; his crops will fail; his cattle die; his debtors abscond or become bankrupts, and the devouring flames will seize upon his nouses and barns, or his shops and warehouses, and consume them to ashes. In all such cases, where a contented mind will endeavour to submit with calmness to the allotments of Providence, the mind of the covetous impugns the recti

tude of the Divine dispensation, and heaves with unutterable throes of agony and despair. In the language of inspiration "he is pierced through," or, compassed on every side "with many sorrows," and the inward language of his heart is-and it is awfully appropriate, "Ye have taken away my gods; and what have I more?" Amidst such misfortunes and mental pangs, he is frequently left without friends, without pity, or sympathy, or commiseration-pointed at with the finger of scorn, stung by the keen sarcasms of his neighbours, and considered as a fit mark for the shafts of contempt and derision, while the lashes of his own conscience add a keenness to his anguish. It is almost needless to add, that he derives no enjoyment from the exercise of kindness and benignity, from the pursuits of knowledge, the contemplation of nature, the affectionate association of his fellow-men, or the satisfaction which arises from deeds of beneficence, for his degrading pursuits leave him neither leisure nor relish for such refined gratifications. Who, then, that has any regard to rational enjoyment, would desire the state of mind, and the condition of such a wretched mortal, even although his bags were full of gold, and his barns filled with plenty.

Nor are the enjoyments much superior, of the man who covets riches merely for the purpose of living in splendour and fashionable dissipation. To a rational mind conscious of its dignity, and of the noble powers with which it is furnished, how poor a gratification would it receive from all the pleasures and gewgaws that fascinate the worldly minded and the gay? Are the pleasures derived from rich viands, delicious wines, costly apparel, stately mansions, splendid equipages, fashionable parties and diversions, an enjoyment adequate to the sublime faculties, and the boundless desires of an immortal mind? How many of those who make such pleasures the grand object of their pursuit, are found the slaves of the most abject passions, with hearts overflowing with pride, rankling with envy, fired with resentment at every trivial affront, revengeful of injuries, and hurried along, by the ust of ambition, into every folly and extravagance?

Where such passions are continually operating, along with all their kindred emotions, and where benevolence is seldom exercised, it is impossible that true happiness can ever be enjoyed. And hence, we find, among persons of this description, more instances of suicide, and more numerous examples of family feuds, contentions, and separations, than among any other class of general society. So that there is no reason to desire the enjoyments of covetousness in whatever channel it may run, or whatever shape it may assume.

4. The folly and irrationality of covetousness appears, when we consider the immortal destination of man.

There are thousands of misers and other worldlings who are governed by the lust of ambition and covetousness, who admit the doctrine of a future state of punishments and rewards. Independently of those arguments which may be drawn from the nature of the human soul, its desires of knowledge and capacious intellectual powers, the unlimited range of view which is opened to these faculties, throughout the immensity of space and duration, the moral attributes of God, the unequal distribution of rewards and punishments in the present state, and other considerations,-there is a premonition and a powerful impression in almost every human mind, that the range of its existence is not confined to the present life, but that a world of bliss or woe awaits it beyond the grave. And, as vast multitudes of worldly and avaricious. characters are to be found connected with the visible church, or frequenting its services; by this very circumstance, they formally admit, that there is another scene of existence into which they enter at the hour of disso!ution.

Now, how irrational and inconsistent is it for a man to admit, that there is a world beyond the present which is to be the scene of his everlasting abode, and yet continue to have his whole thoughts and affections absorbed in pursuing the riches and transitory gratifications of the present life, without casting a serious glance on the realities of the invisible state, or preparing to meet them? If

we had just views of all the momentous realities, and the scenes of glory, and of terror, connected with the idea of an eternal world, and could contrast them with the vain and fleeting enjoyments of this mortal scene, we should perceive a folly and even a species of madness in such conduct, more astonishing than what is seen in any other course of action pursued by human beings. If a man have an estate in a distant country, on the proceeds of which a considerable portion of his income depends, he will not forget that he has an interest in that country; he will correspond with it, and will be anxious to learn intelligence respecting its affairs from periodical journals and other sources of information. If a person, on the expiry of ten years, has the prospect of entering on the possession of a rich inheritance, he will look forward to it, with longing expectations, and will employ his thoughts in making arrangements for enjoying it, though perhaps he may not live to take possession. Nay, we shall find many individuals spending weeks and months in melancholy and chagrin for the loss of a few guineas or dollars, and, at other times, deriving their chief pleasure from the prospect of a paltry gain. Yet strange to tell many such persons remain altogether insensible to the joys and sorrows of a future world, and never make the least arrangement in reference to that state; although there is an absolute certainty that it awaits them, and that it is possible they may be ushered into it before tomorrow's dawn. Can any species of folly with which men are chargeable, be compared with such apathy and indifference about everlasting things, when such things are admitted to have a real existence?

It is a dictate of wisdom, and even of common sense, that when a person has a prospect of occupying any office or condition in life, he ought to engage in that course of preparation which will qualify him for performing its duties and enjoying its comforts. But what preparation does the covetous man make for enabling him to relish the enjoyments, and to engage in the exercises of the eternal world? Will heaping up silver as the dust, and filling his bags with sovereigns and dollars, and con.