regular and amifs within him; for inftance, how narrow and short-fighted a thing is the underftanding upon how little reafon do we take up an opinion, and upon how much lefs fometimes do we lay it down again! how weak and false ground do we often walk upon, with the biggest confidence and affurance; and how tremulous and doubtful we are very often, where no doubt is to be made! Again, how wild and impertinent, how busy and incoherent a thing is the imagination, even in the best and wifeft men; infomuch, that every man may be faid to be mad, but every man doth not fhew it! Then, as to the paffions, how noisy, how turbulent, and how tumultuous are they! how eafily are they ftirred and fet a-going; how eager and hot in the purfuit, and what strange disorder and confufion do they throw a man into, fo that he can neither think, nor fpeak, nor act, as he should do, while he is under the dominion of any one of them. Thus, let every man look, with a fevere and impartial eye, into all the diftinct regions of the heart; and, no doubt, feveral deformities and irregularities, that he never thought of, will open and disclose themselves upon so near a view; and rather make the man afhamed of himself, than proud. 2. A due improvement in the knowledge of ourselves, doth certainly fecure us from the fly and infinuating affaults of flattery. There is not in the world a bafer, and more hateful thing, than flattery. It proceedeth from fo much falfe nefs nefs and infincerity in the man that giveth it, and often difcovereth fo much weakness and folly in the man that taketh it, that it is hard to tell which of the two is moft to be blamed. Every man of common sense can demonstrate in speculation, and may be fully convinced, that all the praises and commendations of the whole world, can add no more to the real and intrinfic value of a man, than they can add to his stature. And yet, for all this, men of the best sense and piety, when they come down to the practice, cannot forbear thinking much better of themselves, when they have the good fortune to be spoken well of by other perfons. But, the meaning of this abfurd proceeding, feemeth to be no other than this: There are few men that have fo intimate an acquaintance with their own hearts, as to know their own real worth, and how to fet a juft rate upon themfelves; and therefore, they do not know, but that he who praises them moft, may be moft in the right of it. For, no doubt, if a man were ignorant of the true value of a thing he loved as well as himself, he would measure the worth of it according to the esteem of him who biddeth most for it, rather than of him that biddeth less. Therefore, the most infallible way to difentangle a man from the fnares of flattery, is, to confult and study his own heart; for, whoever does that well, will hardly be fo abfurd, as to take another man's word, before his own fenfe and experience. 3. Another 3. Another advantage from this kind of study, is this, that it teacheth a man how to behave himself patiently, when he has the ill fortune to be cenfured and abufed by other people. For, a man who is thoroughly acquainted with his own heart, doth already know much more evil of himself, than any body elfe can tell him; and when any one speaketh ill of him, he rather thanketh God, that he can fay no worfe. For, could his enemy but look into the dark and hidden receffes of the heart, he confidereth what a number of impure thoughts he might there fee brooding and hovering, like a dark cloud, upon the face of the foul; that there he might take a profpect of the fancy, and view it acting over the feveral fcenes of pride, of ambition, of envy, of luft, and revenge; that there he might tell how often a vicious inclination hath been reftrained, for no other reason, but just to fave the man's credit or intereft in the world; and how many unbecoming ingredients have entered into the compofition of his best actions. And now, what man in the whole world would be able to bear fo fevere a teft, to have every thought and inward motion of the heart laid open, and expofed to the .view of his enemies? But, 4. And lastly, Another advantage of this kind, is, that it maketh men lefs fevere upon other peoples faults, and less busy and industrious in spreading them. For, a man employed at home, infpecting into his own failings, hath not leisure enough to take notice of every little spot and blemish blemish that lieth scattered upon others: Or, if he cannot escape the fight of them, he always paffes the most easy and favourable conftruction upon them. Thus, for inftance, does the ill he knoweth of a man proceed from an unhappy temper and constitution of body? he then confidereth with himself, how hard a thing it is, not to be borne down with the current of the blood and spirits; and accordingly, layeth fome part of the blame upon the weakness of human nature; for he hath felt the force and rapidity of it within his own breast; though, perhaps, in another inftance, he remembereth how it rageth and fwelleth by oppofition; and though it may be reftrained, or diverted for a while, yet it can hardly ever be totally fubdued. Or, hath the man finned out of cuftom; he then, from his own experience, traceth a habit into the very first rise and imperfect beginnings of it; and can tell, by how flow and infenfible advances it creepeth upon the heart; how it worketh itself, by degrees, into the very frame and texture of it, and so paffeth into a second nature; and, confequently, he hath a just sense of the great difficulty for him to learn to do good, who hath been long accustomed to do evil. Or, laftly, Hath a falfe opinion betrayed him into a fin? he then calleth to mind what wrong apprehenfions he hath had of fome things himfelf; how many opinions that he once made no doubt of, he hath, upon a ftricter examination, found to be doubtful and uncertain; how many more more to be unreasonable and abfurd. He knoweth, further, that there are a great many more opinions that he hath never yet examined into at all, and which, however, he ftill believeth; for no other reafon, but because he hath believed. them fo long already, without a reafon. Thus, upon every occafion, a man intimately acquainted with himself, confulteth his own heart, and maketh every man's cafe to be his own, (and so puts the most favourable interpretation upon it.) Let every man, therefore, look into his own heart, before he beginneth to abuse the reputation of another; and then he will hardly be fo abfurd, as to throw a dart that will fo certainly rebound, and wound himfelf. And thus, through the whole courfe of his converfation, let him keep an eye upon that one great and comprehenfive rule of Christian duty, on which hangeth not only the law and the prophets, but the very life and spirit of the gospel too; Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even fo unto them. Which rule, that we may all duly obferve, by throwing afide all scandal and detraction, all fpite and rancour, all rudeness and contempt, all rage and violence, and whatever tendeth to make converfation and commerce either uneafy or troublesome, may the God of peace grant, for Jefus Chrift's fake, &c. Confider what hath been faid, and the Lord give you a right understanding in all things. To whom, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for ever. A PRO |