to any one duty, aiming to be as wise, as good, and as holy as possible. This is the first branch of Sincerity, which is of the greatest importance, as it is the foundation of Justice, Piety, and every other virtue. Be but honest to your own hearts, and true to your own best interests, and you will be sincere and faithful to God and Man.

LECTURE XLIX.

HAVING, in a preceding Lecture, pointed out some instances in which Sincerity is counterfeited and affected, and described this quality as referring to ourselves; I now proceed to consider Sincerity as it respects our fellow-creatures. And in this view of it, it is the most important of all mental qualities. It essentially af fects our whole conduct in private life, and upon the public theatre of the world. It intimately concerns us as parents and children, brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintance, fellow-subjects, and men, and above all, as Christians. In whatever station we may be placed, or in whatever relation we may stand to others, if we are desirous of filling up the former with propriety, or performing

rightly the duties of the latter, it becomes us to be upright and sincere. To this end we ought never to pretend to any virtues or excellencies, which we do not really possess, nor assume any character which does not sit upon us easily and naturally. Truth, Simplicity, Fidelity, and Honour, are the dress in which Sincerity always appears. The man whose soul is thus adorned, will, in the general course of his conduct, be open and unreserved. Having nothing to conceal, he will not fear to have his character exposed to public view, and in order to be thought just and honest, benevolent, and pious, he will take care to be really So. In his dealings with his fellow-creatures, he will always discover a spirit of equity and generosity, and rise superior to all the arts of low cunning and sordid selfishness. The means which are too often made use of by the mere men of this world, to purchase the honours, the riches, and the enjoyments of this world, he will think are much too dear a

C

purchase. Such a person will, above all things, be careful, upon all occasions

whatever, to speak the language of Truth. Not Temptation herself, in her most inviting form, will ever induce him to prevaricate with his conscience, or to be guilty of a falsehood. It will ever be the language of his heart, in dependence on the Divine assistance, " My integrity I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live." In this manner will Sincerity manifest itself in our general conduct towards our fellow-creatures. But there is one particular instance, in which it will not fail to discover itself, and in which it will always appear in a striking and amiable light, and that is in the difficult and important affair of commendation and reproof. I mention this duty, because it is not sufficiently attended to. The sincere man, keeping this maxim in morals ever in his eye, that "the obligation and the ability are of equal extent," and remembering, that "he who

our nature.

allows oppression, shares the crime," will, in this respect, as in all others, do all the good he can do. It is true, when we reprove a friend for his faults, we are often obliged to act contrary to inclination, private advantage, tenderness of disposition, and some of the strongest principles of Whoever then attempts to do good to another, at the expense of his own ease, pleasure, and interest, does by such self-denying virtue, give an unquestionable proof of his sincerity. He who is always ready to ascribe the praise due to a worthy action, though performed by a rival, or even by an enemy; and he who reproves his friend from a real necessity, and at the hazard of interest and friendship, has an undoubted right, in every instance of this kind, to be accounted a man of integrity. Such hard and costly proofs of virtue shew, that he prefers his Duty above every other consideration. But then in the business of reproof, in order to render it effectual, and convince the person reproved that