Confideration of the Means and Degrees; purfue fome few Principles, which they have chanc'd upon abfurdly; care not to innovate, which draws unknown Inconveniencies; ufe extream Remedies at firft, and that which doubles all Errors, will not acknowledge or retract them. Men of Age, object too much, confult too long, adventure too little, repent too foon, and feldom drive Business home to the full Period, but content themfelves with a Mediocrity of Succefs. Therefore it is good to compound Employments of both; for that will be good for the Prefent, because the Vertues of either Age, may correct the Defects of both; and good for Succeffion, that Toung Men may be Learners, while Old Men are Actors.

Devotion, Religion, Hypocricy, Church, Church

men.

*Religion does improve the Understandings of

Men, by fubduing their Lufts, and moderating their Paffions, which fully and darken their Minds, even by a natural Influence. Intemperance and Senfuality, and Fleshly Lufts, do debafe Mens Minds, and clog their Spirits, make them grofs and foul, liftlefs and unactive; they fink us down into Senfe, and glew us to thefe low and inferior things, like Bird-lime, they hamper and entangle our Souls, and hinder their Flight upwards; they indifpofe and unfit our Minds for the moft noble and intellectual Confiderations. So likewife the exorbitant Paffions of Wrath and Malice, Envy and Revenge, do darken and diftort the Underftandings of Men, do tincture the Mind with falfe Colours, and fill it with Prejudice and undue apprehenfions of things. There's

* There's no Corruption like Ecclefiaftical Avarice; no Cruelty fo merciless as that of a Debauch'd Churchman. 'Tis the Devil's Mafterpiece to begin there; for he knows very well, that the fcandalous Examples of a Perfidious and an Apoftate Clergy, are the ready way to bring the Holy Order of Priefthood it felf into Odium and Difgrace.

* There never was found any pretended confcientious Zeal, but it was always most certainly attended with a fierce Spirit of implacable Cruelty.

*No Treachery is fo Mortal, as that which covers itself under the Mask of Sanctity.

Tho' the feveral Members of a Church may feem to compose but one Body, yet they have a particular Religion accommodated to every one'sTemper, Humour, Inclination, Quality, and the Perfons they Converfe with.

He that countenances, encourages, or abets Mischief, does it.

The Seditious Lawyer or Divine, Kills no body with his own Hand, but by a falfe Glofs perhaps upon a Law, or a Text, he may caufe Ten Thoufand Swords to be drawn, without fpilling one drop of Blood immediately himself. Shall any man now, that wilfully and malicioufly procures the cutting of whole Armies to pieces, fet up for an Innocent? As if the Lives that were taken away by his inftigation, were not to be charged upon his account. He that covers Murder,Oppreffion, Sacrilege, Rebellion with a Cloak of Statute and Scripture, makes God and Government effectually the Authors of the Wickedness: And those are the baseft and worst of Bravo's, that employ Journeymen Mercenaries under them to do the Work. What is it, but to engage our Bibles and our Law-Books in a Confpiracy againit

against themselves? Shall he that gives Fire to the Train, pretend to wash his Hands of the Hurt that's done by the playing of the Mine? Humane Corruptions are as catching as Powder; as eafily enflam'd,and the fire afterwards as hard to be quench'd. That which a Man caufes to be done, he does himfelf, and 'tis all a-cafe whether he does it by Practice, Precept, or Example. In one word, he that kindles the Paffions of the Mobile, is anfwerable for the following Conflagration. When the Men of the long Robe have once Preach'd the People to Tinder, the leaft Spark fets 'em on fire, fo that they have no more to do, than to inculcate the Doctrine of Difobedience, and fo leave the Multitude to chew upon it. A Trumpeter in the Pulpit, is the very Emblem of a Trumpeter in the Field, only the Spiritual Trumpeter is the more Pernicious Inftrument of the two; for the latter ferves only to rouze the Courage of the Soldiers, without any Doctrine of Application upon the Text; whereas, the other Infufes Malice over and above, and Preaches Death and Damnation, both in one, and gives ye the very Chapter and Verfe for't.

* There's nothing cuts Religion like Religion it felf. Texts against Texts, and one Scripture made to fight against another; infomuch, that the Rule of Faith is perverted into a Doctrine of Herefie and Schifm, and the Gospel of Peace is made a Voucher for Sedition and Rebellion.

There is a Circulation obferv'd in the general Corruptions of Nations, fometimes Ignorance and Brutality overruns the World, that makes way for Superftition and Idolatry: When Mankind is dif gufted with thefe, then fantastical and Enthufiaftical Principles, and under thefe hypocritical Practices have their course, thefe being feen through, givegrear

occafions

occafions to Prophanenefs, and with that Atheism, and a disbelief of all Religion, at least of all Reyeal'd Religion, is nourished; And that is very eafily receiv'd by depraved Minds, but very hardly rooted out of them: For tho' it is very eafie to beat an enquiry into Things, out of all Speculative Atheism; yet when a disbelief of Sacred Matters,and a prophane Contempt of them, has once vitiated-a Man's Mind, it is a very extraordinary thing, and next to Miraculous, to fee fuch an one reduced.

It is with Philofophy in matters of Religion, as with a fort of Corrofive Powders us'd by Surgeons, to eat up rotten mortified Flesh, and which if not cautiously applied, will corrode the Sound Parts themselves, and cariate the very Bones. Thus Philofophy is often of great ufe to detect and confutę Errors, but if trufted too far, it will go near to overthrow all Revealed Religion. Baile.

*Whoever speaks against Religion, deferves to be torn in Pieces by the Mobb,whom he endeavours to Unchain.

"The Hypocrite hurts no Body but himself: The "Libertine, the whole Society.

Some People Preach and Pray themselves into Religion, as fome Philofophers difpute themselves out

of it.

*If a Divine defigns to Edifie by his Sermons, concerning the Punishments of the other World, let him renounce his Luft, Pride, Avarice and Contentioufnefs; for whoever would make me believe a Danger, he muft firft fhew me, that he is ap prehenfive of it himself.

*Nothing is more Natural, than for Extreams in Religion to beget one another, like the Vibrations of a Pendulum, which yet the more violently you

fwing it one way, the farther it will return the other.

Hypocrifie is a great Wickedness, and very odious to God, but by no means of fo pernicious Example as open Prophaneness,

Hypocrifie is a more modeft way of Sinning; it fhews fome Reverence to Religion, and does fu far own the Worth and Excellency of it, as to acknowledge that it deferves to be Counterfeited: Whereas, Prophanenefs declares openly against it, and endeavours to make a Party to drive it out of the World.

* Religion in a Magiftrate ftrengthens his Authority, because it procures Veneration, and gains a Reputation to it. And in all the Affairs of this World, fo much Reputation is indeed fo much Power.

The Soul is capable of greater Joys in the Imagination, than any which Nature has provided for it in the Body.

As the practice of all Piety and Vertue is agreeable to our Reafon, fo is it likewise for the Intereft of Mankind, both of Private Perfons, and of Publick Societies. Some Vertues plainly tend to the preservation of our Health, others to the improvement and fecurity of our Eftates; all to the Peace and quiet of our Minds; and which is fomewhat more ftrange, to the advancement of our Efteem and Reputation. For tho' the World be generally Bad, and Men are apt to approve nothing fo much as what they do themselves, yet I know not how it comes to pafs, Men are commonly fo juft to Vertue and Goodness, as to praise it in others, even when they do not practice it themfelves.

Curious