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duty? It is very poffible for a man who hath the appearance of religion, and is a great pretender to confcience, to be wicked and a hypocrite; but it is impoffible for a man who openly declares against religion, to give any reasonable fecurity that he will not be falfe, and cruel, and corrupt, whenever a temptation offers, which he values more than he does the power wherewith he was trufted. And if fuch a man doth not betray his cause and his master, it is only because the temptation was not properly offered, or the profit was too fmall, or the danger too great. And hence it is, that we find so little truth or juftice among us, because there are so very few, who, either in the fervice of the public, or in common dealings with each other, do ever look farther than their own advantage, and how to guard themselves against the laws of the country; which a man may do by favour, by fecrecy, or by cunning, though he breaks almoft every law of God.

Therefore, to conclude: It plainly appears, that unless men are guided by the advice and judgment of conscience, founded on religion, they can give no fecurity that they will be either good fubjects, faithful fervants of the public, or honest in their mutual dealings; fince there is no other tie, through which the pride, or luft, or avarice, or ambition of mankind, will not certainly break, one time or other.

Confider what has been faid, &c.

In this moral effay, (for I can scarce call it a fermon) the author inserts fome very striking obfervations upon fuch falfe no

VOL. II.

P.

tions

[Here the

tions of honour, as are too prevalent in the world. particular paffage is quoted, beginning thus, "The other falfe “principle, which some men fet up in the place of conscience," &c. p. 162. l. 10. and ending thus, “in order to revenge it by the “death of an adversary,” p. 163. 1. 6.]———But you must be weary of quotations: and, in excuse of those already made, I can only offer, that in comments upon original authors, quotations are often the best, and perhaps the only explanations that can fully answer the end proposed. I mean, that the original fpirit is fo volatile, as not to admit of the least transfusion. In ordinary compofitions, the effence may be extracted, and the subtileft parts diftilled but Swift's fermons appeared a chymical preparation of fo extraordinary and penetrating a nature, that I was refolved to fend you as much of the ethereal spirit as might be fafely conveyed by the post. ORRERY.

SERMON IV.

ON BROTHERLY

HEB. Xiii. I.

LOVE.*

Let brotherly love continue.

N the early times of the gofpel, the Christians were very much diftinguished from all other bodies of men, by the great and conftant love they bore to each other; which, although it was done in obedience to the frequent injunctions of our Saviour and his apoftles, yet, I confefs, there feemeth to have been likewise a natural reason, that very much promoted it. For the Chriftians then were few and scattered, living under perfecution by the Heathens round about them, in whofe hands was all the civil and military power;

This fermon is not in the first Dublin edition.

and

and there is nothing so apt to unite the minds and hearts of men, or to beget love and tenderness, as a general diftrefs. The firft diffentions between Christians, took their beginning from the errors and herefies that arose among them ; many of thofe herefies, fometimes extinguished, and sometimes reviving, or fucceeded by others, remain to this day; and, having been made inftruments to the pride, avarice, or ambition of ill-designing men, by extinguishing brotherly love, have been the cause of infinite calamities, as well as corruptions of faith and manners, in the Christian world.

The laft legacy of Chrift, was peace and mutual love; but then he foretold, that he came to fend a fword upon the earth. The primitive Chriftians accepted the legacy; and their fucceffors, down to the present age, have been largely fulfilling his prophecy. But whatever the practice of mankind. hath been, or ftill continues, there is no duty more incumbent upon those who profess the gospel, than that of brotherly love; which, whoever could restore in any degree among men, would be an inftrument of more good to human fociety, than ever was, or will be done by all the statesmen and politicians in the world.

It is upon this subject of brotherly love, that I intend to difcourfe at prefent; and the method I obferve, fhall be as follows.

1. I will inquire into the caufes of this great want of brotherly love among us.

P 2

2. I will

2. I will lay open the fad effects and confequences which our animofities and mutual hatred have produced.

3. I will ufe fome motives and exhortations that may perfuade you to embrace brotherly love, and continue in it.

I. I fhall inquire into the causes of this great want of brotherly love among us.

This nation of ours, hath, for an hundred years paft, been infefted by two enemies, the Papists and Fanatics; who, each in their turns, filled it with blood and flaughter, and, for a time, destroyed both the church and government. The memory of these events, hath put all true Proteftants equally upon their gaurd against both these adverfaries; who, by confequence, do equally hate us. The Fanatics revile us, as too nearly approaching to Popery; and the Papifts condemn us, as bordering too much on Fanaticifm. The Papifts, God be praised, are, by the wifdom of our laws, put out of all vifible poffibility of hurting us; befides, their religion is fo generally abhorred, that they have no advocates or abettors among proteftants to affift them. But the Fanatics are to be confidered in another light; they have had, of late years, the power, the luck, or the cunning, to divide us among ourfelves; they have endeavoured to represent all those who have been fo bold as to oppose their errors and defigns, under the character of perfons difaffected to the government; and they have fo far fucceed

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ed, that, now-a-days, if a clergyman happens to preach with any zeal and vehemence against the fin or danger of fchifm, there will not want too many in his congregation ready enough to cenfure him, as hot and high-flying, an inflamer of mens minds, an enemy to moderation, and difloyal to his prince. This hath produced a formed and fettled divifion between those who profess the fame doctrine and discipline; while they who call themselves moderate, are forced to widen their bottom, by facrificing their principles and their brethren to the encroachments and infolence of diffenters; who are therefore anfwerable, as a principal cause of all that hatred and animofity now reigning among us.

Another caufe of the great want of brotherly love, is the weakness and folly of too many among you of the lower fort, who are made the tools and inftruments of your betters, to work their defigns, wherein you have no concern. Your numbers make you of ufe; and cunning men take the advantage, by putting words into your mouths which you do not understand; then they fix good or ill characters to thofe words, as it beft ferves their purposes; and thus you are taught to love or hate, you know not what or why; you often suspect your best friends and nearest neighbours, even your teacher himself, without any reafon, if your leaders once taught you to call him by a name, which they tell you fignifieth fome very bad thing.

A third caufe of our great want of brotherly

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