That thou hast lost thy money? Nay, think of those that have not even bread to eat, and the thought of thy loss will cease to grieve thee. And in such things as are grievous to thee, mourn not the things that have happened; but for the disasters that have not happened give thanks. Hadst thou riches, and didst thou lose them? Weep not for the loss, but give thanks for the time thou didst enjoy them. Say with Job, Have we not received good things at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?' Bear in mind those who have suffered more than thyself. Then only sigh and weep, when thou hast committed sin; though even then with moderation, remembering that where there is relapse there is return, and where offence there reconciliation. But seest thou others in luxury, and thyself in poverty, thyself in homespun garments and others in costly robes? Look not on these things alone, but also on the miseries that rise out of them. In thy poverty, consider not the wretchedness alone, but also the advantages which attend it. For wealth has indeed a cheerful mask, but its inside is full of gloom. Now poverty is the reverse of this. Wert thou to pierce the foldings of each man's conscience, in the soul of the poor thou wouldst see great security and freedom; but in that of the rich, confusion, disorder, tempests. Dost thou grieve to see him rich? Remember that he is much more annoyed than thyself, when he beholds one richer than he. As thou enviest him, even so doth he another; in this he has no advantage over thee. Thou art aggrieved to see him in office, and thyself in a private station, and among the governed. Reflect that the day of his resignation will also come. And even before that day, remember the tumult, the

trials, the fatigues, the flatteries, the toilsome days and the sleepless nights he has to endure.

When, therefore, thou seest one that is rich, think of one that is richer than he, and thou wilt find him in the same condition as thyself. After that, look on him that is poorer than thyself, and consider how many pine in dungeons and pray for death, day by day. Poverty in itself breeds not sadness, nor wealth, pleasure; both the one and the other bear their origin in the manner we receive them. Begin with the lowest grade of humanity; the scavenger is grieved and vexed, that he cannot be rid of a business so much beneath him; but if thou rid him of this, and place him in a position where he has abundance, he will grieve again that he has not more than he wants; grant him more, and he will wish to double it, nor torment himself and thee less than before; grant two or three-fold, and he will be out of heart again, because he has no part in state affairs; provide him with this also, and he will account himself a wretched man that he has not one of the highest offices of the state. When he hath obtained this honor, he will mourn that he is not ruler; and when ruler, that he is not so of a whole nation; and when of a whole nation, that he is not of many nations, and then of the whole world. And so, his course of thought going on without end, permits him not to take real pleasure in any thing. Seest thou not, then, that though from a mean and abject wretch thou make a man king, thou canst not remove his restlessness of heart, without first correcting his turn of thought, enamoured as he is of vanity and ambition.

Now, look at the reverse of the picture. Suppose thou shouldst bring down from a lofty station, one

who hath consideration in the world, thou wilt not cast him into dejection. Let us descend the same ladder; bring down the Satrap from his throne, and pretend to deprive him of that dignity. I say, that he will not on this account vex himself, should he bear in mind the things of which I have spoken. He will not so much reckon up the things of which he has been deprived, but what he hath still,-the glory arising from his office. Take away this, and he will reckon up them who are in private stations, and have never ascended to such sway, and his riches will suffice to console him; cast him from this, and he will look to those who have a moderate estate; deprive him of this, and he will think of those who have to wrestle with hunger, and endure the horrors of a prison; bring him into the prisonhouse, and his mind will turn to those who writhe under pain and miserable diseases, compared to which his situation will appear tolerable. I therefore repeat it, that neither is wealth the foundation of pleasure, nor poverty, of pain; they are only so, as seen by the eyes of the mind. Neither in honors, nor even in a diadem, can the mean-spirited find satisfaction; while the self-denying, even in bonds and fetters and poverty, will enjoy a pleasure lofty and pure.

There is, indeed, another consolation, but in a high strain of morality, far transcending the gross conceptions of the multitude. And what is this? That wealth is nothing, poverty nothing, disgrace nothing, honor nothing; that, in the end, all these things differ but in mere words. And along with this, there is another consideration, greater still: the wholesome and soothing consideration of the things to come, as well evil as good, the things

which alone are really evil, and really good. Let us, then, taking all this into account, by every means frame ourselves aright: so shall we never greatly afflict ourselves concerning the casualties of human life. When we see rich men portrayed in a picture, do we feel disposed to envy them, any more than as seeing poor men represented there, we should call them wretched and pitiable? And yet these figures are surely more abiding than those whom we term rich and poor. The rich man endures in the picture longer than in the reality of things; for the picture may reach to hundreds of years, but the other may be suddenly cut off in the midst of his possessions. Meditating, then, on all these things, let us from all quarters build up cheerfulness of mind, as a bulwark against irrational care and excessive sorrow. Thus may we pass the present life in peace of heart, and obtain the only enduring good things, the blessings of the life to come; through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be all glory, honor, dominion, and power, now and for ever, world without end. Amen,

PROVIDENCE.

The ungrateful and unfeeling say, that the Almighty, in order to prove his wisdom and goodness, should have established an equality and compensation among men. Tell me, ungrateful mortal, what sort of things they are which thou deemst to be of God's goodness, and what equality thou meanest? 'Such a one,' thou wilt say, has been a cripple from his childhood; another is mad, and is possessed; another has arrived at extreme old age, and has spent his whole life in poverty; another in the most painful diseases,-are these the works of Providence? One man is deaf, another poor, while another impious, yea, utterly impious, and full of ten thousand vices, enjoys wealth, entertains courtezans and parasites, is owner of a splendid mansion, and lives an idle life.' And many instances of this kind they string together, and weave a long reckoning of complaint against the Providence of God. What then? do these things take place without a presiding Providence? What are What are we to say to them? If to the Greeks, who tell us that the universe is governed by some presiding power, we would say, in return, What, then, are the things in question, which are without a providence? How is it, then, that ye reverence Gode, and worship genii and horses? For if there is a Providence, some one or other superintends the whole? But if any, whether Christians or Heathen, should be impatient at this, and be wavering, what shall we say to them?

Tell me, could so many things be