dwells in perpetual sweetness;" but the same eloquent writer observes: " it sits alone, and is confined." This, however, is not so correct, for a man need not be alone, when he can have the whole world for his company. But, it will be said, we hear continual complaints of the evils of celibacy from those who have felt them; but we hear nothing of the disadvantage of marriage from those who have tried the matrimonial state. This is true; but there is a sufficient reason for it. If a man be married, and if he be a prudent man, he will not often complain, for he cannot easily alter his condition; but if he be foolish, and lament his fate, and blame his companion, he will be despised. For it will be said, the man was a fool, he had no sagacity, he could not see where he was going; or, he is a poor chicken-hearted dupe to be ruled by a woman. And if he happen to be deceived, if his wife be unfaithful, there is almost as much contempt for the man as there is odium for the woman. Men, therefore, if they have any sense, will not complain. But if a man be single he may complain; for he may generally alter his condition; consequently, he is not deemed so unfortunate, and he is not treated with contempt; for the fact is, that people will not only avoid unhappiness, but they will shun those who are unhappy, especially if they cannot be relieved. A married man, therefore, feels more than he expresses; a single man, in many instances, expresses more than he feels. It is said that Shenstone and Thomson lamented the solitude of celibacy, but they were crossed in love, not by the objects of their attachment, but

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by death. A palace would be a prison if a man were confined in it against his will. Dr. Johnson said, in his later days," I want every comfort; my life is very solitary and very cheerless." But that is rather an argument against matrimony; the Doctor had been accustomed to a different state; and, besides this, he was almost always in pain, and he was never a contented man. From the great multitude of single persons, we must take those who have been compelled to endure that condition; and then compare others who have chosen it, with those who have chosen matrimony; and we shall discover, whether the quantity of happiness in the former, in proportion to the number, be not equal to that in the latter.

Marriage may be productive of great enjoyment or great sorrow, and so may celibacy. Matrimony is better for some persons and some conditions, celibacy is better for others. But happiness, in all cases, depends greatly on ourselves. There is, however, a great deal of querulousness among human beings; they find themselves uneasy, and as they must attribute it to something, they cast the blame on their state rather than their conduct; therefore, when Socrates was asked, whether it were better for a man to be married or single, he replied, "Let him do either, he will repent of it."

PART VI.

CHAP. I.

THE NATURE OF LIBERTY AND SLAVERY.

A GOOD government is to the state what health is to the body; if the functions of both are well regulated great advantages will follow. Liberty is the result of salutary laws; it does not exist in a state of barbarism, for a savage is dependent on himself; and, instead of being subject to a government, he is the slave of a thousand evils; nor does it exist in a despotic state, because the subjects of a despot are slaves; they are mere dependants on a tyrant. True liberty is the restriction of the individual for the good of the community, and the regulation of the community for the benefit of the individual. The subject is required to fulfil certain duties, he must give a portion of his property and services; while, in return, his safety is secured, and his family is established in peace. This is the origin and the character of a just law. "Legis virtus est," observes Zouch, "imperare, vetare, permittere, punire." To be without law is tyranny; to refine or alter the laws so as to make them, if possible, free from coercion, destroys their influence, and occasions anarchy.

Liberty is one of the greatest blessings which can be enjoyed by man. Its influence on human nature is like the enlivening power of the sun on vegetation. If a If a plant be confined to some dark and narrow place, where it has scarcely room to expand its branches and unfold its leaves, it becomes feeble, it throws forth no brilliant flowers, no grateful perfumes, its leaves are pale, and though it lives, it is "dead more than half.” Under the influence of a wise and just government the people are prosperous and happy-under the rule of a tyrant they are squalid and miserable. Freedom with poverty is incomparably better than luxury with tyranny. "It is better," observes Bishop Watson in one of his letters, "to bask in the sun, and suck a fortuitous sustenance from the scanty drippings of the most barren rock in Switzerland with freedom for my friend, than to batten as a slave at the most luxurious table of the greatest despot on the globe." Cowper exclaims:

"O could I worship aught beneath the skies
That earth hath seen, or fancy can devise,
Thine altar, sacred Liberty, should stand,
Built by no mercenary vulgar hand,

With fragrant turf, and flowers as wild and fair
As ever dress'd a bank, or scented summer air.
Duly, as ever on the mountain's height
The peep of morning shed a dawning light;
Again, when evening in her sober vest
Drew the gay curtain of the fading west;

My soul should yield thee willing thanks and praise,
For the chief blessings of my fairest days."

Government is necessary for man; for the ob

piness of human beings. The primitive form is that of a family, where the parent presides; but when families unite and form a tribe, some one who is endowed with superior ability, experience, and virtue, is chosen as the principal or chief. If the tribe increase, and become a great nation, the same kind of government would be termed monarchical. But the question would be, among so many persons, who was the most skilful, and who was the most virtuous? Some would contend for this man, and others for that; and thus wars would arise and devastate the country. To avoid this disadvantage, monarchy must be hereditary. But a king may be born a fool; in this case he must have guardians, or a regency must be appointed until the imbecile monarch dies, or the heir be capable of taking the reins of government. Or the ruler may be tyrannical and unjust; he may break down salutary laws, and make others for the countenance of his vices; then he must be restricted or deposed. The king is not superior to the laws any more than subjects are. The people are the support of the monarch, and the monarch is the support of the people: there is an equality of dependency and benefit. Hooker has compared the king and the people to a man and his wife. The man has power over the female, and so has the ruler over the subject; but as an improper course of conduct may occasion a divorce, so the same may occur with kings and the inhabitants of kingdoms. "Monarchy," observes Selden, "is an office which people choose for their own sake." The many are not for the few or the individual, but the individual for the many. Hobbes thotthat the people were the property of the