XI.

SER M. with their Fellow - Creatures, has left them in Danger of being less than Men in others. When they do well, No-body better; and when ill, Nobody worse. Whereas the Men of cooler and more Saturnine Conftitutions resemble the colder Countries; which, though they are not productive of thofe generous Fruits and rich Metals that ennoble the hotter Climates, are yet free from feveral noxious and baneful Animals wherewith the other abound. The Affections in These are gentle Ferments working in the Breast, which hinder it from fettling into Inactivity, but do not tranfport it into Exorbitances and intemperate Heats. They can more easily obferve the Apoftle's Precept, Be ye angry, and fin not.

Since the Scripture every-where not only condemns the groffer Acts of Vice, but forbids the leaft Approach or Tendency to it; the Apostle's Meaning cannot be this: "Indulge yourselves in Anger, provided

you fin not." No; we must not go to the utmost Verge of what we call lawful Anger, left we be unawares betrayed into what is not fo. Thin Partitions divide the Frontiers between what is merely innocent and what is unlawful; and the Transition from the one to the other is almost insenfible, and therefore almoft unavoidable, He that escapeth Danger is a fortunate

XI.

Man; but He that does not wantonly SER M. throw himself into it is a wife Man. After we have once given the Reins to our Paf-` fion, it becomes an unequal Task to stop it where we pleafe; it is in vain to fay, Hitherto fhalt thou go, and no farther. The much wifer Expedient is to fhorten the Line of our Liberty, and to watch the first Emotions of Anger. St. Paul's Meaning I therefore take to be this; "If you fhould happen to be angry, take Care that you

"do not fin."

There are fome who put fo strict an Interpretation on this Text as fupposes us to fin if we are angry at all; and confequently that Anger is in itself finful. But this is ftraining the Words to a Sense which is neither eafy nor natural; which is not countenanced from other plain Parts of Scripture; and which cannot be justified on the Principles of Morality. For Anger is one of the Pafions, and of the fame effential Kind with the others that are implanted in our natural Frame. Now, tho' God in the Beginning made Man upright, and free from any Incurfion of irregular Paffions; yet He must have foreseen the -Defects and Frailties that our Nature would become fubject to by the original Tranfgreffion; and foreseeing would not, we may safely fay, fuffer any Thing abfolutely and in itself inful or evil to remain in the

effential

SER M. effential Conftitution of our Nature. On XI. the contrary, the Paffions feem to be the material Subject out of which all our moral Virtue is formed. The Sum of our moral Duty confifts in bringing them to, and preferving them in, a true Balance. To endeavour therefore to root them out of the human Compofition, in order to render the Operations of our Reafon more perfect and eafy; would be just as rational a Project, as it would be to deftroy all the Subjects of a Prince in order to render his Government the more complete and abfolute. In a Word; the true and juft Character of Man is not to be without Paffions, but to bring them all to a proper Temper.

The Paffions, it is true, without Reason to prescribe and moderate their Motions, would, like the common Men in an Army, make but wild and disorderly Work? and therefore after their firft Rifing they ought not to stir one Step without regular Orders: but under a prudent Conduct it will be found, that the Intereft of moral Virtue will be greatly promoted by their Force and Activity. It is not the bare Apprehenfion of what is Right that determines us to act with Vigour and Refolution in the Pursuit of it; nor is it the bare Difcernment of what is Wrong that creates in us a fufficient Averfion to it. No: our Perception and Judgment, in both Cafes, must be rein

forced

XI.

forced by fome more active and alarming SER M. Principles; in the former Cafe like Spurs to incite, in the latter like Bits to reftrain: and these different Offices do our different Paffions refpectively undertake, and effectually execute.

Since then the fimple Act or Exercise of the Paffions is in itself indifferent, and becomes either good, or otherwife, by the Circumftance of the Object to which it is directed, the End it defigns, and the Degree of Temper wherewith it pursues that End; I propose in the following Discourse to ihew,

It, In what Cafes our Anger may be innocently indulged.

IIdly, When it becomes intemperate and unlawful.

IIIdly, As a general Motive to reftrain us from intemperate Anger, I will confider the Nature of it's oppofite Virtue, Meekness. And,

Laftly, Subjoin fome more fpecial Confiderations for the fame Purpose.

First then, I am to fhew in what Cafes our Anger may be innocently indulged.

And

SERM.
X I.

And here, that we may be able to form a more exact Judgment of the particular Cafes I fhall mention, it will be proper to apprise ourselves of the true Idea of Anger: which is defined, " a Displeasure of the Mind

arifing from the Apprehenfion of Injury, "together with a Defire of removing it. Injury muft here be distinguished from Natural Evil, which may be brought upon us either by Men undefignedly, by BruteCreatures, or even by Things inanimate: but Injury is Evil with Design, and therefore of a moral Confideration.

Again, the Defire of removing Injury, or the Vindication of ourselves from Injury, must be distinguished from Revenge: the latter fuppofes a Return of Injury, and nothing but a Return of Injury; but the former, though it may design bringing Evil, or Punishment on the Injurious Perfon, yet it designs it not as it is Evil, but as it is Good that is, that it may tend to, and procure, his Amendment and Reformation: and therefore fuch a Return is not Revenge.

From these Things thus premised, it will not be difficult to comprehend, that our Anger may be innocently indulged.

1. On the Approach of any injurious Aggreffor threatening our Deftruction, or ufing any Act of Violence that may endanger our Safety-Here the first Motions of our Anger spring from the Principle of

Self