Deity? Doubtless, because the Poets esteemed it the greatest honour to be favoured by the Gods, and thought the beft way of praifing a man was to recount those favours which naturally im-plied an extraordinary merit in the perion on whom they descended. Those who believe a future ftate of rewards and punishments act very absurdly, if they form their opinions of a man's merit from his fucceffes. But certainly, if I thought the whole circle of our Being was concluded between our births and deaths, I should think a man's goodfortune the measure and standard of his real merit, fince Providence would have no opportunity of rewarding his virtue and perfections, but in the present life. A virtuous unbeliever, who lies under the preffure of misfortunes, has reafon to cry out, as they fay Brutus did a little before his death, O Virtue, I have worhipped thee as a fubftantial good, but I find thou art an empty name. But to return to our first point: Tho prudence does undoubtedly in a great measure produce our good or ill-fortune in the world, it is certain there are many unforeseen accidents and occurrences, which very often pervert the finest fchemes that can be laid by human wif dom. The race is not always to the fwift, nor the battle to the ftrong. Nothing less than Infinite Wisdom can have an abfolute command over Fortune; the highest degree of it which man can poffefs, is by no means equal to fortuitous events, and to fuch contingencies as may rife in the profecution of our affairs. Nay, it very often happens, that prudence, which has always in it a great mixture of caution, hinders a man from being fo fortunate as he might poffibly have been without it. A perfon who only aims at what is likely to fucceed, and follows clofely the dictates of human prudence, never meets with thofe great and unfore feen fucceffes, which are often the effect of a fanguine temper, or a more happy rathnels; and this perhaps may be the reason, that according to the common obfervation, Fortune, like other females, delights rather in favouring the young than the old. Upon the whole, fince man is fo fhort fighted a creature, and the accidents which may happen to him fo various, I cannot but be of Dr. Tillotson's opinion in in another cafe, that were there any doubt of a Providence, yet it certainly would be very defirable there should be fuch a Being of infinite wisdom and goodness, on whofe direction we might rely in the conduct of human life. It is a great prefumption to afcribe our fucceffes to our own management, and not to cfteem our felves upon any bleffing, rather as it is the bounty of heaven, than the acquifition of our own prudence. I am very well pleased with a Medal which was ftruck by Queen Elizabeth, a little after the defeat of the invincible Armada, to perpetuate the memory of that extraordinary event. It is well known how the King of Spain, and others, who were the enemies of that great Princess, to derogate from her glory, afcribed the ruin of their fleet rather to the violence of ftorms and tempefts, than to the bravery of the English. Queen Elizabeth, instead of looking upon this as a diminution of her honour, valued her felf upon fuch a fignal favour of Providence, and accordingly in the reverse of the Medal above mentioned has reprefented a fleet beaten by a tempeft, and falling foul upon one another, with that that religious inscription, Afflavit deus & diffipantur. He blew with his wind, and they were fcattered. It is remarked of a famous Grecian General, whofe name I cannot at prefent. recollect, and who had been a particular favourite of Fortune, that upon recounting his victories among his friends, he added at the end of feveral great actions, And in this Fortune had no share. After which it is observed in hiftory, that he never profpered in any thing he under took. As arrogance, and a conceitedness of our own abilities, are very fhocking and of fenfive to men of fenfe and virtue, we may be fure they are highly difpleafing to that Being who delights in an humble mind, and by feveral of his difpenfations seems purposely to fhow us, that our own schemes or prudence have no share in our advancements. Since on this fubject I have already admitted feveral quotations which have occurred to my memory upon writing this paper, I will conclude it with a little Perfian Fable. A drop of water fell out of a eloud into the fea, and finding it felf loft in fuch an immenfity of fluid matter, broke broke out into the following reflection: Alas! what an infignificant creature am I in this prodigious ocean of waters; my existence is of no concern to the universe, I am reduced to a kind f of nothing, and am lefs than the leaft of the works of God.' It so happened that an Qifter, which lay in the neigh bourhood of this Drop, chanced to gape and fwallow it up in the midst of this its humble Soliloquy. The Drop, fays the fable, lay a great while hardening in the fhell, 'till by degrees it was ripened into a pearl, which falling into the hands of a Diver, after a long feries of adventures, is at prefent that famous pearl which is fixed on the top of the Perfian diadem. L Si fractus illabatur orkis Hor. MAN, confidered in himself, is a ve ry helpless and a very wretched Being. He is fubject every moment to the greatest calamities and misfortunes. He is betet with dangers on all fides, and may become unhappy by numberless ca fualties, |