we might imagine, that the confused noise made by a com pany of talkers about nothing might give pleasure: but who that has seen the world can fall into this error? What! Superficial chat about the most common appearances of nature! Tiresome tittle tattle about the sun and the rain! Ill timed visits, perpetually returning, always a burden to those who pay, and to those who receive them! Are these the pleasures, which you prefer before a sensible useful conversation! Puerile mistake! It is the solid sense and utility of a conversation, that make the pleasure of it. Let your speech be always seasoned with salt.

Let us proceed to examine the other term, grace, St. Paul says, let your speech be always with grace. We have before intimated, that the apostle means by the word grace agreeableness, gracefulness. The word, grace, we allow, must often be taken in scripture in a very different sense: but two reasons determine us to take it here in this sense. 1. The nature of the thing. It was natural for the apostle, after he had spoken of what sanctifies conversation, to speak of what renders it insinuating. 2. The word is often taken in this sense in scripture. Thus the wise man says, Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain, Prov. xxxi. 30. And thus the psalmist, grace is poured into thy lips, Psal. xlv. 2.

But what is this grace? I think, we must have observed, that the disagreeableness of conversation generally proceeds from one of these five causes, either from extravagant raillery, or from proud decisions, or from bitter disputes, or from invincible obstinacy, or from indiscreet questions. Against these five vices we oppose five virtues, or to use the language of the text, five sorts of graces, which render conversation charming. The grace of compliance, the grace of humility, the grace of moderation, the grace of docility, and the grace of discretion. These we call the graces, the embellishments of conversation.

1. Extravagant

* Our author follows the reading of his own French version in Prov. xxvi. 30. La grace trompe, et la beaute s'evanouit. Our translation reads, Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain: but critics render the original words, gratia, gratiositas, vetustas morum, sermonum, actionum, gestuum. So that Mr. S. may be justified in giving this sense to the text. In the same sense, it should seem, is that famous passage in John i. 17. grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, to be taken. Grace signifies here affability, sweetness of deportment, propriety of behaviour, conformity between the good news he brought, and the graceful manner, in which he delivered the message.

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1. Extravagant raillery generally poisons conversation. Who can bear to be turned into ridicule? Who likes to have his own foibles exposed? Who would choose to be the subject of the wit of a company, especially when, not being able to return wit for wit, a man is obliged tacitly to own himself a genius inferior to those, who attack him? Abstract reasonings are not necessary to make this article plain, We appeal only to the feelings of such as make a trade of rallying others. How is it, pray, that you cannot bear to be rallied in your turn? Whence that gloomy silence? How is it, that your vivacity is extinct, and your spirits damped, unless you, as well as the rest of mankind, love to be respected?

We would substitute complaisance in the place of extravagant raillery. Instead of making a little genius feel his insignificance, we should stoop to his size. Courtiers understand this art well, and they know as well when to make use of it, either to obtain the esteem of a superior, or to acquire the friendship of an inferior, or an equal. See with what address they shew you to yourselves by your bright sides. Observe with what dexterity they entertain you with what you are pleased and interested in. And shall christian charity yield to worldly politeness?

2. A second vice, that poisons conversation, is proud decision. What can be more intolerable than a man, who stalks into company as a genius of the first order, who lays down his own infallibility as a first principle, who delivers out his nostrums as infallible oracles, as the decision of a judicature so high that it would be criminal to appeal from them? What aggravates the injustice of this character is, that these peremptory people are generally the most ignorant, and that their ignorance is the cause of their positiveness. A little ignorant genius, who hath never gone to the bottom of any one article of science, who knows neither the objections that lie against a subject, nor the arguments that support it, who knows nothing but the surface of any thing, quickly fancies that he perfectly comprehends, and can fully ascertain the subject of his attention. He does not know what it is to doubt, and he pities those, who do. On the contrary, a man of real knowledge, knows so well by his own experience the weakness of the human mind, and so thoroughly understands his own defects, that he keeps in himself a counterpoise for pride; he proposes his opinions only as problems to be examined, and not as decisions to be obeyed. This is what we call the grace of humility. A man ought to submit his judgment

judgment to the discussion of those, to whom he proposes it; he should allow every one a liberty of thinking for himself, and pre-suppose that if he has reason, so have others, that if he has learning others have it too, that if he has meditated on a subject, so have others. Even subjects, of the truth of which we are most fully persuaded, ought to be so proposed as to convince people that it is a love of truth, and not a high conceit of ourselves, that makes us speak, and thus we should exemplify the rule laid down by an apostle, Let nothing be done through strife, or vain gloy: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves, Phil. ii. 3.

3. bitter spirit of disputing is a third vice of conversation. Yield instantly, yield even when you have reason on your side, rest satisfied with knowing the truth yourself, when they, to whom you propose it, wilfully shut their eyes against it. The reason of this maxim is this. When a man refuses to admit a proposition sufficiently demonstrated, the more you press him the further he will recede from you. The principle, that induces him to cavil, is pride and not weakness of capacity: if you persist in shewing him the truth, you will irritate his pride by confounding it, whereas if you give his passion time to cool and subside, perhaps he will return of himself and renounce his error.

St. Paul was an excellent model of this grace of modera tion, unto Jews he became as a Jew, to them that were without law as without law, all things to all men, 1 Cor. ix. 20. Why? was it idleness, or cowardice? Neither, for never was servant more zealous for the interest of his master, never did soldier fight with more courage for his prince. It was owing to his moderation and charity. Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews, to them that are without law, as without law, that I might by all

means save some.

4. Obstinacy is incompatible with the grace of docility, a necessary ingredient in agreeable conversation. To persist in maintaining a proposition because we have advanced it, to choose rather to heap up one absurdity upon another than to give up the first, to be deceived a thousand times rather than to say once, I am mistaken; what can be more contrary to good manners in conversation than these dispositions? It is a high enjoyment to open ones eyes to the light, when it rises on us, and to testify by a sincere recantation that we proposed our opinions rather with a desire to be instructed in what we did not know, than to display our abilities in what we did understand.

Finally,

Finally, indiscreet questions are a fifth pest of conversation, questions which put a man's mind upon the rack, and reduce him to the painful dilemma either of not answering, or of betraying his secrets. Too much eagerness to pry into other men's concerns is frequently more intolerable than indifference; and to determine, in spite of a man, to be his confident, is to discover more indiscreet curiosity than christian charity. St. Paul reproved the widows of his time for this vice, and in them all succeeding christians. Younger widows learn to be idle, and not only idle, but tattlers also, and busy bodies, speaking things which they ought not, 1 Tim. v. 11. 13. The grace opposite to this vice is discretion.

My brethren, the truths you have been hearing are of the number of those, to which in general the least attention is paid. Few people have ideas of piety so refined as to include the duties, which we have been inculcating. Few people. put into the list of their sins to be repented of the vices we have been reproving, few therefore are concerned about them. Yet there are many motives to engage us to use extreme caution in our conversations. I will just mention a féw.

First, Vices of conversation are daily sins, they are repeated till they form a habit, by slow degrees they impair and destroy conscience, and in a manner the more dangerous because the process is imperceptible, and because little or no pains are taken to prevent it. Great crimes have a character of horror, which throws us off at a distance. If we happen to be surprized into a commission of them through our own weakness, the soul is terrified, repentance instantly follows, and repetition is not very common: but in the case before us, sin makes some progress every day, every

day the enemy of our salvation obtains some advantage over

us, every day renders more difficult and impracticable the great work, for which we were created.

Secondly. By practising these vices of conversation we give great ground of suspicion to others, and we ought to be persuaded ourselves, that our hearts are extremely depraved. It is in vain to pretend to exculpate ourselves by pretending that these are only words, that words are but air, empty sounds without effect. No, says Jesus Christ, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, Matt. xii. 84. Hence this saying of St. Chrysostom, The tongue of ten blushes to speak what the heart dictates; but the heart

having no witness, gives itself up to irregular passions. It is only owing to a superfluity of depravity within, that the tougue renders it visible. If then our reputation be dear to us, if we have at heart the edification of our neighbours, if we wish to assure our hearts that we are upright in the sight of God, who continually sees, and thoroughly knows us, let our conversation be a constant and irreproach able witness.

Lastly. The judgment of God should be a prevalent motive with us. You have heard it from the mouth of Jesus Christ. You will be required to give an account in the day of judgment for every idle word. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned, Matt. xii. 36, 37. We judge of our conversations only by the impressions they make on our minds, and as they seem to us only as sounds lost in the air, we persuade our selves they cannot materially affect our eternal state. But let us believe eternal truth; by thy words thou shalt bejustified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Dreadful thought! For which of us can recollect all the vain words he has uttered the last ten years? They are gone along with the revolutions of time, they expired the moment they were born. Yet they are all, all registered in a faithful memory, they are all, all written in a book, they will be all one day brought to our remembrance, they will be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and will contribute in that day to fix our eternal doom. O Lord! enter not into judg-' ment with thy servant! O God! cleanse thou me from secret faults! Psal. cxliii. 2. and xix. 13. These are three motives to animate us to practise the duty under consideratlon. We will add three rules to help us the more easily to discharge it.

1. If we would learn to season our conversation, we must' choose our company. This is often disputed, however, we affirm, conformity of manners is the bond of this commerce. Seldom does a man pass his life with a slanderer without calumniating. Few people keep company with libertines unless they be profligate themselves. Example carries us away in spite of ourselves. A pagan poet advanced this maxim, and St. Paul by quoting hath consecrated it. Evil communications corrupt good manners, 1 Cor. xv. 33. Let us begin a reformation of our conversation by selecting our companions.

* Chrysostom. Tom. i. Hom. 43. in Matth.