expenfive finery; but as every one, they fay, has fomething to which he is particularly born, was eminently knowing in Bruffels lace.

The next year faw me advanced to the truft and power of adjufting the ceremonial of an affembly. All received their partners from my hand, and to me every ftranger applied for introduction. My heart now difdained the inftructions of a tutor; who was rewarded with a fmall annuity for life, and left me qualified, in my own opinion, to govern myself.

as

In a fhort time I came to London, and my father was well known among the higher claffes of life, foon obtained admiffion to the moft fplendid affemblies, and most crowded card-tables. Here I found myself univerfally careffed and applauded; the ladies praised the fancy of my clothes, the beauty of my form, and the foftness of my voice; endeavoured in every place to force themselves to my notice; and invited, by a thoufand oblique folicitations, my attendance to the playhouse, and my falutations in the Park. I was now happy to the utmost extent of my conception; I paffed every morning in drefs, every afternoon in vifits, and every night in fome felect affemblies, where neither care nor knowledge were fuffered to moleft us.

of men.

After a few years, however, these delights became familiar, and I had leisure to look round me with more attention. I then found that my flatterers had very little power to relieve the languor of fatiety, or recreate wearinefs, by varied amusement; and therefore endeavoured to enlarge the fphere of my pleasures, and to try what fatisfaction might be found in the fociety I will not deny the mortification with which I perceived that every man whose name I had heard mentioned with refpect, received me with a kind of tendernefs nearly bordering on compaffion; and that thofe whofe reputation was not well established, thought it neceffary to juftify their understandings, by treating me with contempt. One of these witlings elevated his creft, by afking me in a full coffee-house the price of patches; and another whispered, that he wondered Mifs Frisk did not keep me that afternoon to watch her fquirrel.

When I found myself thus hunted from all mafculine converfation by those who were themselves barely admitted, I returned to the ladies, and refolved to dedicate

my life to their fervice and their pleasure. But I find that I have now loft my charms. Of thofe with whom I entered the gay world, fome are married, fome have retired, and fome have fo much changed their opinion, that they scarcely pay any regard to my civilities, if there is any other man in the place. The new fight of beautics, to whom I have made my addreffes, fuffer me to pay the treat, and then titter with boys. So that I now find myself welcome only to a few grave ladies, who, unacquainted with all that gives either use or dignity to life, are content to pass their hours between their bed and their cards, without efteem from the old, or reverence from the young.

I cannot but think, Mr. Rambler, that I have reafon to complain; for furely the females ought to pay fome regard to the age of him whofe youth was paffed in endeavours to please them. They that encourage folly in the boy, have no right to punish it in the man. Yet I find, that though they lavish their first fondness upon pertnefs and gaiety, they foon transfer their regard to other qualities, and ungratefully abandon their adorers to dream out their laft years in ftupidity and contempt.

I am, &c. Florentulus.
Rambler.

§ 7. Omniscience and Omniprefence of the Deity, together with the Immenfity of his Works.

I was yesterday, about fun-fet, walking in the open fields, till the night infenfibly

fell upon me. I at first amufed myself with all the richness and variety of colours which appeared in the western parts of heaven: in proportion as they faded away and went out, feveral ftars and planets appeared one after another, till the whole firmament was in a glow. The blueness of the æther was exceedingly heightened and enlivened by the feafon of the year, and the rays of all thofe luminaries that paffed through it. The galaxy appeared in its most beautiful white. To complete the fcene, the full moon rofe at length in that clouded majefty which Milton takes notice of, and opened to the eye, a new picture of nature, which was more finely fhaded, and difpofed among fofter lights, than that which the fun had before difcovered to us.

As I was furveying the moon walking in her brightness, and taking her progrefs among the conftellations, a thought arofe

in me, which I believe very often perplexes and difturbs men of ferious and contemplative natures. David himself fell into it in that reflexion, When I confider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the ftars which thou haft ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the fon of man that thou regardeft him!' In the fame manner, when I confider that infinite hoft of stars, or, to fpeak more philofophically, of funs, which were then fhining upon me, with those innumerable fets of planets or worlds, which were moving round their respective funs; when I ftill enlarged the idea, and fuppofed another heaven of funs and worlds rifing ftill above this which we difcovered, and thefe ftill enlightened by a fuperior firmament of luminaries, which are planted at fo great a distance, that they may appear to the inhabitants of the former as the fars do to us; in fhort, while I purfued this thought, I could not but reflect on that little infignificant figure which I myself bore amidst the immenfity of God's works.

Were the fun, which enlightens this part of the creation, with all the hoft of planetary worlds that move about him, utterly extinguished and annihilated, they would not be miffed, more than a grain of fand upon the fea-fhore. The fpace they poffefs is fo exceedingly little in comparison of the whole, it would fcarce make a blank in the creation. The chafm would be imperceptible to an eye, that could take in the whole compafs of nature, and pafs from one end of the creation to the other: as it is poffible there may be fuch a fenfe in ourselves hereafter, or in creatures which are at prefent more exalted than ourfelves. We fee many ftars by the help of glaffes, which we do not difcover with our naked eyes; and the finer our telescopes are, the more ftill are our difcoveries. Huygenius carries this thought fo far, that he does not think it impoffible there may be ftars whofe light is not yet travelled down to us fince their firft creation. There is no queftion but the univerfe has certain bounds fet to it; but when we confider that it is the work of infinite power, prompted by infinite goodness, with an infinite space to exert itself in, how can our imagination fet any bounds to it?

To return, therefore, to my first thought, I could not but look upon myfelf with fecret horror, as a being that was not worth the smallest regard of one who had fo great a work under his care and fuperinten

dency. I was afraid of being overlooked. amidst the immensity of nature, and loft among that infinite variety of creatures, which in all probability fwarm through all thefe immeasurable regions of matter.

In order to recover myself from this mortifying thought, I confidered that it took its rife from those narrow conceptions, which we are apt to entertain of the divine nature. We ourselves cannot attend to many different objects at the fame time. If we are careful to infpect fome things, we must of courfe neglect others. This imperfection which we obferve in ourselves, is an imperfection that cleaves in fome degree to creatures of the highest capacities, as they are creatures, that is, beings of finite and limited natures. The presence of every created being is confined to a certain measure of space, and confequently his obfervation is ftinted to a certain number of objects. The fphere in which we move, and act, and understand, is of a wider circumference to one creature than another, according as we rife one above another in the fcale of existence. But the wideft of these our spheres has its circumference. When therefore we reflect on the divine nature, we are fo ufed and accuftomed to this imperfection in ourfelves, that we cannot forbear in fome meafure afcribing it to him in whom there is no fhadow of imperfection. Our reason indeed affures us, that his attributes are infinite: but the poornefs of our conceptions is fuch, that it cannot forbear fetting bounds to every thing it contemplates, till our reafon comes again to our fuccour, and throws down all thofe little prejudices which rife in us unawares, and are natural to the mind of man.

We shall therefore utterly extinguish this melancholy thought, of our being overlooked by our Maker in the multiplicity of his works, and the infinity of thofe objects among which he feems to be inceffantly employed, if we confider, in the first place, that he is omniprefent; and in the fecond, that he is omnifcient.

If we confider him in his omniprefence: his being paffes through, actuates, and fupports the whole frame of nature. His creation, and every part of it, is full of him. There is nothing he has made, that is either fo distant, fo little, or fo inconfiderable, which he does not effentially inhabit. His fubftance is within the substance of every being, whether material or immaterial, and as intimately prefent to it, as that being is to itfelf. It would be an imper

fection in him, were he able to move out of one place into another, or to draw himfelf from any thing he has created, or from any part of that fpace which he diffused and fpread abroad to infinity. In fhort, to speak of him in the language of the old philofophers, he is a being whofe centre is every where, and his circumference no where.

In the fecond place, he is omnifcient as well as omniprefent. His omnifcience indeed neceffarily and naturally flows from his omniprefence. He cannot but be confcious of every motion that arifes in the whole material world, which he thus effentially pervades; and of every thought that is ftirring in the intellectual world, to every part of which he is thus intimately united. Several moralifts have confidered the creation as the temple of God, which he has built with his own hands, and which is filled with his prefence. Others have confidered infinite fpace as the receptacle, or rather the habitation of the Almighty: but the noblest and most exalted way of confidering this infinite fpace, is that of Sir Ifaac Newton, who calls it the fenforium of the Godhead. Brutes and men have their fenforiola, or little fenforiums, by which they apprehend the prefence and perceive the actions of a few objects, that lie contiguous to them. Their knowledge and obfervation turn within a very narrow circle. But as God Almighty 'cannot but perceive and know every thing in which he refides, infinite space gives room to infinite knowledge, and is, as it were, an organ to omniści

ence.

Were the foul feparate from the body, and with one glance of thought fhould ftart beyond the bounds of the creation,' fhould it for millions of years continue its progrefs through infinite fpace with the fame activity, it would ftill find itself within the embrace of its Creator, and encompaffed round with the immenfity of the Godhead. While we are in the body he is not lefs prefent with us, because he is concealed from us. Oh that I knew where I might find him! (fays Job.) Behold I go forward, but he is not there'; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he does work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himfelf on the right hand that I cannot see him. In fhort, reafon as well as revelation, affures us, that he cannot be abfent from us, notwithstanding he is undiscovered by us.

In this confideration of God Almighty's omniprefence and omnifcience, every uncomfortable thought vanishes. He cannot but regard every thing that has being, efpecially fuch of his creatures who fear they are not regarded by him. He is privy to all their thoughts, and to that anxiety of heart in particular, which is apt to trouble them on this occafion; for, as it is impotli-. ble he should overlook any of his creatures; fo we may be confident that he regards, with an eye of mercy, those who endeavour to recommend themselves to his notice, and in unfeigned humility of heart think them felves unworthy that he should be mindful of them. Spectator.

8. Motives to Piety and Virtue, drawn from the Omniscience and Omniprefence of the Deity.

In one of your late papers, you had OCcafion to confider the ubiquity of the Godhead, and at the fame time to fhew, that as he is prefent to every thing, he cannot but be attentive to every thing, and privy to all the modes and parts of its existence: or, in other words, that his omniscience and omniprefence are co-exiftent, and run together through the whole infinitude of pace. This confideration might furnish us with many incentives to devotion, and motives to morality; but as this fubject has been handled by feveral excellent writers, I fhall confider it in a light in which I have not feen it placed by others.

Firft, How difconfolate is the condition of an intellectual being, who is thus prefent with his Maker, but at the fame time receives no extraordinary benefit or advantage from this his prefence!

Secondly, How deplorable is the condition of an intellectual being, who feels no other effects from this his prefence, but fuch as proceed from divine wrath and indignation!

Thirdly, How happy is the condition of that intellectual being, who is fenfible of his Maker's prefence from the fecret effects of his mercy and loving-kindnefs!

Firft, How difconfolate is the condition of an intellectual being, who is thus prefent with his Maker, but at the fame time receives no extraordinary benefit or advantage from this his prefence! Every particle of matter is actuated by this Almighty Being which paffes through it. The heavens and the earth, the ftars and planets, move and gravitate by virtue of this great

principle

principle within them. All the dead parts of nature are invigorated by the prefence of their Creator, and made capable of exerting their refpective qualities. The feveral instincts, in the brute creation, do. likewise operate and work towards the feveral ends which are agreeable to them, by this divine energy. Man only, who does not co-operate with his holy fpirit, and is unattentive to his prefence, receives none of these advantages from it, which are perfective of his nature, and neceffary to his well-being. The divinity is with him, and in him, and every where about him, but of no advantage to him. It is the fame thing to a man without religion, as if there were no God in the world. It is indeed impoffible for an infinite Being to remove himself from any of his creatures; but though he cannot withdraw his effence from us, which would argue an imperfection in him, he can withdraw from us all the joys and confolations of it. His prefence may perhaps be neceffary to fupport us in our exiftence; but he may leave this our existence to itself, with regard to its happiness or mifery. For, in this fenfe, he may caft us away from his prefence, and take his holy fpirit from us. This fingle confideration one would think fufficient to make us open our hearts to all thofe infufions of joy and gladness which are fo near at hand, and ready to be poured in upon us; especially when we confider, Secondly, the deplorable condition of an intellectual being, who feels no other effects from his Maker's prefence, but fuch as proceed from divine wrath and indignation!

We may affure ourselves, that the great Author of nature will not always be as one who is indifferent to any of his creatures. Thofe who will not feel him in his love, will be fure at length to feel him in his difpleasure. And how dreadful is the condition of that creature, who is only fenfible of the being of his Creator by what he fuffers from him! He is as effentially prefent in hell as in heaven; but the inhabitants of thofe accurfed places behold him only in his wrath, and fhrink within the Яames to conceal themfelves from him. It is not in the power of imagination to conceive the fearful effects of Omnipotence incenfed.

But I fhall only confider the wretchednefs of an intellectual being, who, in this life, lies under the difpleasure of him, that at all times, and in all places, is intimately united with him. He is able to difquiet

the foul, and vex it in all its faculties. He can hinder any of the greatest comforts of life from refreshing us, and give an edge to every one of its flightest calamities. Who then can bear the thought of being an out-caft from his prefence, that is, from the comforts of it, or of feeling it only in its terrors? How pathetic is that expoftulation of Job, when for the real trial of his patience, he was made to look upon himfelf in this deplorable condition! Why.

haft thou fet me as a mark against thee, fo that I am become a burden to myfelf?' But, thirdly, how happy is the condition of that intellectual being, who is fenfible of his Maker's prefence from the fecret effects of his mercy and lovingkindness!

The bleffed in heaven behold him face to face, that is, are as fenfible of his prefence as we are of the prefence of any perfon whom we look upon with our eyes. There is doubtless a faculty in spirits, by which they apprehend one another, as our fenfes do material objects; and there is no queftion but our fouls, when they are difembodied, or placed in glorified bodies, will by this faculty, in whatever part of space they refide, be always fenfible of the divine prefence. We, who have this veil of flesh ftanding between us and the world of, fpirits, muft be content to know the fpirit of God is prefent with us by the effects which he produceth in us. Our outward fenfes are too grofs to apprehend him; we may however tafte and fee how gracious he. is, by his influence upon our minds, by. thofe virtuous thoughts which he awakens in us, by thofe fecret comforts and refreshments which he conveys into our fouls, and by those ravishing joys and inward fatis-factions which are perpetually springing. up, and diffufing themselves among all the, thoughts. of good men. He is lodged in. our very effence, and is as a foul within the foul, to irradiate its understanding, rectify its will, purify its paffions, and enliven all the powers of man." How happy therefore is an intellectual being, who by prayer and meditation, by virtue and good works, opens this communication between God and his own foul! Though the whole creation frowns upon him, and all nature looks black about him, he has his light and fupport within him, that are able to cheer his mind, and bear him up in the midft of all, thofe horrors which encompass him. He knows that his helper is at hand, and is always nearer to him than any thing elfe

can

can be, which is capable of annoying or terrifying him. In the midst of calumny or contempt, he attends to that Being who whispers better things within his foul, and whom he looks upon as his defender, his glory, and the lifter-up of his head. In his deepest folitude and retirement, he knows that he is in company with the greatest of beings; and perceives within himself fuch real fenfations of his prefence, as are more delightful than any thing that can be met with in the converfation of his creatures. Even in the hour of death, he confiders the pains of his diffolution to be nothing else but the breaking down of that partition, which stands betwixt his foul, and the fight of that being who is always prefent with him, and is about to manifeft itfelf to him in fulness of joy.

If we would be thus happy, and thus fenfible of our Maker's prefence, from the fecret effects of his mercy and goodness, we must keep fuch a watch over all our thoughts, that in the language of the fcripture, his foul may have pleafure in us. We must take care not to grieve his holy fpirit, and endeavour to make the meditations of our hearts always acceptable in his fight, that he may delight thus to refide and dwell in us. The light of nature could direct Seneca to this doctrine, in a very remarkable paffage among his epiftles; Sacer ineft in nobis fpiritus, bonorum malorumque cuftos et obfervator; et quemadmodum nos illum tractamus, ita et ille nos. There is a holy spirit refiding in us, who watches and obferves both good and evil men, and will treat us after the fame manner "that we treat him.' But I fhall conclude this difcourfe with thofe more emphatical words in divine revelation; ⚫ If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with C him.' Spectator.

$9. On the Immortality of the Soul.

I was yesterday walking alone in one of my friend's woods, and loft myself in it very agreeably, as I was running over in my mind the feveral arguments that eftablish this great point, which is the bafis of morality, and the fource of all the pleafing hopes and fecret joys that can arife in the heart of a reasonable creaturè. dered those several proofs drawn,

I confi

nity of its duration, has, I think, been evinced to almost a demonftration.

Secondly, from its paffions and fentiments, as particularly from its love of exiftence, its horror of annihilation, and its hopes of immortality, with that fecret fatisfaction which it finds in the practice of virtue, and that uncafinefs which follows in it upon the commiffion of vice.

Thirdly, from the nature of the Supreme Being, whofe juftice, goodness, wisdom, and veracity, are all concerned in this point.

But among these and other excellent arguments for the immortality of the foul, there is one drawn from the perpetual progrefs of the foul to its perfection, without a poffibility of ever arriving at it; which is a hint that I do not remember to have feen opened and improved by others who have written on this fubject, though it feems to me to carry a very great weight with it. How can it enter into the thoughts of man, that the foul, which is capable of fuch immenfe perfections, and of receiving new improvements to all eternity, shall fall away into nothing almost as foon as it is created? Are fuch abilities made for no purpofe? A brute arrives at a point of perfection that he can never pass: in a few years he has all the endowments he is capable of; and were he to live ten thousand more, would be the fame thing he is at prefent. Were a human foul thus at a ftand in her accomplishments, were her faculties to be full blown, and incapable of farther enlargements, I could imagine it might fall away infenfibly, and drop at once into a state of annihilation. But can we believe a thinking being, that is in a perpetual progrefs of improvements, and travelling on from perfection to perfection, after having juft looked abroad into the works of its Creator, and made a few difcoveries of his infinite goodnefs, wisdom, and power, muft perish at her first setting out, and in the very beginning of her enquiries?

A man, confidered in his prefent state, feems only fent into the world to propagate his kind. He provides himself with a fucceffor, and immediately quits his post to make room for him.

Hæres

Hæredem alterius, velut unda fupervenit undam. HOR. Ep. ii. 1. 2. v. 175. -Heir crowds heir, as in a rolling flood

CREECH.