N° 601. Friday, October 1.

Ο άνθρωπG ευεργετὸς πεφυκώς. Antonin. Lib. 9.

T

HE following Effay comes from an Hand which has entertained my Readers once before.

NOTWITHSTANDING a narrow contract

ed Temper be that which obtains moft in the World, we must not therefore conclude this to be the genuine Characteristick of Mankind; because there are fome who delight in nothing fo much as in doing Good, and receive more of their Happiness at fecond hand, or by rebound from others, than by direct and immediate Senfation. Now though thefe Heroick Souls are but few, and to appearance fo far advanced above the grovelling Multitude, as if they were of another Order of Beings, yet in reality their Nature is the fame, moved by the fame Springs, and endowed with all the fame effential Qualities, only cleared, refined, and cultivated. Water is the fame fluid Body in Winter and in Summer; when it ftands ftiffened in Ice, as when it flows along in gentle Streams, gladdening a thousand Fields in its Progrefs. 'Tis a Property of the Heart of Man to be diffufive: Its kind Wishes spread abroad over the Face of the Creation; and if there be thofe, as we may observe too many of them, who are all wrapt up in their own dear felves, without any vifible Concern for their Species, let us fuppofe that their Good-nature is frozen, and by the prevailing Force of fome contrary Quality, reftrained in its Operations. I fhall therefore endeavour to affign fome of the principal Checks upon this generous Propenfion of the Humane Soul, which will enable us to judge whether, and by what Method, this most useful Prin

ciple may be unfettered, and restored to its native Freedom of Exercise.

THE first and leading Caufe is an unhappy Complexion of Body. The Heathens, ignorant of the true Source of Moral Evil, generally charged it on the Obliquity of Matter, which, being eternal and independent, was incapable of Change in any of its Properties, even by the Almighty Mind, who, when He came to fashion it into a World of Beings, muft take it as he found it. This Notion, as most others of theirs, is a Compofition of Truth and Error. That Matter is eternal, that from the firft Union of a Soul to it, it perverted its Inclinations, and that the ill Influence it hath upon the Mind is not to be corrected by God himself, are all very great Errors, occafioned by a Truth as evident, that the Capacities and Difpofitions of the Soul depend, to a great degree, on the bodily Temper. As there are fome Fools, others are Knaves, by Conftitution; and particularly, it may be faid of many, that they are born with an illiberal Cast of Mind; the Matter that compofes them is tenacious as Birdlime, and a kind of Cramp draws their Hands and their Hearts together, that they never care to open them unless to grafp at more. 'Tis a melancholy Lot this; but attended with one Advantage above theirs, to whom it would be as painful to forbear good Offices, as it is to these Men to perform them; that whereas Perfons naturally Beneficent often mistake Instinct for Virtue, by reafon of the Difficulty of diftinguishing when one rules them and when the other, Men of the oppofite Character may be more certain of the Motive that predominates in every Action. If they cannot confer a Benefit with that Eafe and Franknefs which are neceffary to give it a Grace in the Eye of the World, in requital, the real Merit of what they do is enhanc'd by the Oppofition they furmount in doing it. The Strength of their Virtue is feen in rifing against the Weight of Nature, and every time they have the Refolution to discharge their Duty, they make a Sacrifice of Inclination to Confcience, which is always too grateful to let its Followers go without fuitable Marks of its Approbation. Perhaps

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haps the entire Cure of this ill Quality is no more poffible, than of fome Diftempers that defcend by Inheritance. However, a great deal may be done by a Courfe of Beneficence obftinately perfifted in; this, if any. thing, being a likely way of eftablishing a moral Habit, which fhall be fomewhat of a Counterpoife to the Force of Mechanifm. Only it must be remembred, that we do not intermit, upon any Pretence whatfoever, the Cuftom of doing Good, in regard, if there be the leaft Ceffation, Nature will watch the Opportunity to return, and in a fhort time to recover the Ground it was fo long in quitting For there is this Difference between mental Habits, and fuch as have their Foundation in the Body; that thefe laft are in their Nature more forcible and violent, and, to gain upon us, need only not to be oppofed; whereas the former must be continually reinforced with fresh Supplies, or they will languish and die away. And this fuggefts the Reafon why good Habits, in general, require longer time for their Settlement than bad; and yet are fooner difplaced; the Reafon is, that vicious Habits (as Drunkenness for Inftance) produce a Change in the Body, which the others not doing, must be maintained the fame way they are acquired, by the mere Dint of Industry, Refolution, and Vigilance..

ANOTHER Thing which fufpends the Operations of Benevolence, is the Love of the World; proceeding from a falfe Notion Men have taken up, that an abundance of the World is an effential Ingredient into the Happiness of Life. Worldly Things are of fuch a Quality as to leffen upon dividing, fo that the more Partners there are, the lefs muft fall to every Man's private Share. The Confequence of this is, that they look upon one another with an evil Eye, each imagin ing all the reft to be embarked in an Intereft, that cannot take place but to his Prejudice. Hence are thofe cager Competitions for Wealth or Power; hence one Man's Succefs becomes another's Difappointment; and, like Pretenders to the fame Miftrefs, they can feldom have common Charity for their Rivals. Not that they are naturally difpofed to quarrel and fall out, but

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'tis natural for a Man to prefer himfelf to all others, and to fecure his own Intereft firft. If that which Men efteem their Happiness were like the Light, the fame fufficient and unconfined Good, whether Ten Thoufand enjoy the Benefit of it, or but One, we should fee Mens Good-will, and kind Endeavours, would be as univerfal.

Homo qui Erranti comiter monfirat Viam,
Quafi Lumen de fuo Lumine accendat, facit,
Nihilominus ipfi luceat, cum illi accenderit.

But, unluckily, Mankind agree in making choice of
Objects, which inevitably engage them in perpetual Dif-
ferences. Learn therefore, like a wife Man, the true
Eftimate of Things. Defire not more of the World than
is neceffary to accommodate you in paffing through it;
look upon every thing beyond, not as ufelefs only, but
burdenfom. Place not your Quiet in Things which
you cannot have without putting others befide them, and
thereby making them your Enemies, and which, when
attain'd, will give you more Trouble to keep, than Sa-
tisfaction in the Enjoyment. Virtue is a Good of a no-
bler kind; it grows by Communication, and fo little
resembles earthly Riches, that the more Hands it is
lodged in, the greater is every Man's particular Stock.
So, by propagating and mingling their Fires, not only
all the Lights of a Branch together caft a more exten-
five Brightness, but each fingle Light burns with a strong-
er Flame. And laftly, take this along with you, that
if Wealth be an Inftrument of Pleafure, the greatest
Pleafure it can put into your Power, is that of doing
Good. 'Tis worth confidering, that the Organs of Senfe
act within a narrow Compafs, and the Appetites will
foon fay they have enough: Which of the two therefore
is the happier Man? He, who confining all his Regard
to the Gratification of his own Appetites, is capable
but of fhort Fits of Pleasure? Or the Man, who, reck-
oning himfelf a Sharer in the Satisfactions of others,
efpecially those which come to them by his Means, en-
larges the Sphere of his Happiness ?
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THE

N° 601. THE laft Enemy to Benevolence I fhall mention is Ureafinefs of any Kind. A guilty, or a discontented Mind, a Mind ruffled by ill Fortune, difconcerted by its own Paffions, foured by Neglect, or fretting at Difappointments, hath not leifure to attend to the Neceffity or Reafonableness of a Kindness defired, nor a Tafte for those. Pleasures which wait on Beneficence, which demand a calm and unpolluted Heart to relish them. The most miferable of all Beings is the most envious; as, on the other hand, the most communicative is the happiest. And if you are in fearch of the Seat of perfect Love and Friendship, you will not find it till you come to the Region of the Bleffed, where Happiness, like a refreshing Stream, flows from Heart to Heart in an endless Circulation, and is preferv'd sweet and untainted by the Motion. 'Tis old Advice, if you have a Favour to request of any one, to obferve the fofteft times of Addrefs, when the Soul, in a flush of good Humour, takes a Pleasure to fhew it felf pleased. Perfons confcious of their own Integrity, fatisfied with themfelves, and their Condition,. and full of Confidence in a Supreme Being, and the Hope. of Immortality, furvey all about them with a Flow of Good-will. As Trees which like their Soil, they fhoot. out in Expreffions of Kindnefs, and bend beneath their own precious Load, to the Hand of the Gatherer. Now if the Mind be not thus eafy, 'tis an infallible Sign that it is not in its natural State: Place the Mind in its right. Pofture, it will immediately discover its innate Propenfion to Beneficence.

Monday