mate, barely having been born in the fame SERM artificial District or Divifion, becomes the I. Occafion of contracting Acquaintances and Familiarities many Years after: For any thing may ferve the Purpose. Thus Relations meerly nominal are fought and invented, not by Governours, but by the lowest of the People; which are found fufficient to hold Mankind together in little Fraternities and Copartnerships : Weak ties indeed, and what may afford Fund enough for Ridicule, if they are abfurdly confidered as the real Principles of that Union: But they are in Truth meerly the Occafions, as any 'thing may be of any thing, upon which our Nature carries us on according to its own previous Bent and Bias; which Occafions therefore would be nothing at all, were there not this prior Difpofition and Bias of Nature. Men are fo much one Body, that in a peculiar Manner they feel for each other, Shame, fudden Danger, Refentment, Honour, Profperity, Distress; one or another, or all of these, from the focial Nature in general, from Benevolence, upon the Occafion of natural Relation, Acquaintance, Protection, Dependance; each of thefe being diftinct Cements of Society. And therefore to have

I.

SERM. no restraint from, no regard to others in our Behaviour, is the fpeculative Abfurdity of confidering ourselves as fingle and independent, as having nothing in our Nature which has respect to our Fellow-Creatures, reduced to Action and Practice. And this is the fame Abfurdity, as to fuppofe a Hand, or any Part to have no natural Respect to any other, or to the whole Body.

BUT allowing all this, it may be asked, "Has not Man Difpofitions and Principles "within which lead him to do Evil to

others, as well as to do Good? Whence cc come the many Miseries elfe, which Men are the Authors and Inftruments of to " each other?" Thefe Questions, so far as they relate to the foregoing Difcourse, may be answered by asking, Has not Man also Difpofitions and Principles within, which lead him to do Evil to himself, as well as good? Whence come the many Miseries elfe, Sickness, Pain and Death, which Men are the Inftruments and Authors of to themfelves?

IT may be thought more eafie to answer one of these Questions than the other, but the Answer to both is really the fame; that Mankind have ungoverned Paffions

which they will gratifie at any Rate, as well SER M to the Injury of Others, as in Contradicti- I. on to known private Intereft: But that as m there is no fuch thing as Self-hatred, fo neither is there any fuch as thing Ill-will in one Man towards another; Emulation and Refentment being away; whereas there is plainly Benevolence or Good-will: There is no fuch thing as Love of Injustice, Oppreffion, Treachery, Ingratitude; but only eager Defires after fuch and fuch external Goods; which, according to a very ancient Obfervation, the most abandoned would choose to obtain by innocent Means, if they were as eafy, and as effectual to their End: That even Emulation and Refentment, by any one who will confider what these Paffions really are in Nature *, will be found nothing to the Purpose of this ObC 2 jection :

* Emulation is merely the Defire and Hope of Equality with or Superiority over others, with whom we compare our felves. There does not appear to be any other Grief in the natural Paffion, but only that Want which is implied in Defire. However this may be fo ftrong as to be the Occafion of great Grief. To defire the attainment of this Equality or Superiority by the particular Means of Others, being brought down to our own Level, or below it, is, I think, the diftin& Notion of Envy. From whence it is eafy to fee, that the real End, which the natural Paffion Emulation, and which the un

lawful

I.

SERM.jection: And that the Principles and Paffions in the Mind of Man, which are diftinct both from Self-love and Benevolence, primarily and most directly lead to right Behaviour with regard to Others as well as Himfelf, and only fecondarily and accidentally to what is Evil. Thus, though Men to avoid the Shame of one Villany are fometimes guilty of a greater, yet it is easy to fee, that the original Tendency of Shame is to prevent the doing of fhameful Actions; and its leading Men to conceal fuch Actions when done, is only in confequence of their being done; i. e. of the Paffions not having answered its first End.

IF it be faid, that there are Perfons in the World, who are in great Meafure without the natural Affections towards their Fellow-Creatures: There are likewife Inftances of Perfons without the common natural Affections to themselves: But the Nature of Man is not to be judged of by either of these, but by what appears in the common World, in the Bulk of Mankind.

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lawful one Envy aims at, is exactly the fame; namely, that Equality or Superiority: And confequently, that to do Mifchief is not the End of Envy, but meerly the Means it makes use of to attain its End. As to Refentment, fee the Eighth Sermon.

I AM afraid it would be thought very SER M. Arange, if to confirm the Truth of this Ac- L count of Humane Nature, and make out the Juftness of the foregoing Comparison, it fhould be added, that from what appears, Men in Fact as much and as often contradict that Part of their Nature which respects Self, and which leads them to their own private Good and Happinefs; as they contradict that Part of it which refpects Society, and tends to publick Good: That there are as few Perfons, who attain the greatest Satisfaction and Enjoyment which they might attain in the present World; as who do the greatest Good to others which they might do Nay, that there are as few who can be faid really and in earnest to aim at one, as at the other. Take a Survey of Mankind: The World in general, the Good and Bad, almost without Exception, equally are agreed, that were Religion out of the Cafe, the Happiness of the prefent Life would confift in a Manner wholly in Riches, Honours, fenfual Gratifications; infomuch that one scarce hears a Reflection made upon Prudence, Life, Conduct, but upon this Suppofition. Yet on the contrary, that Persons in the greatest Affluence of Fortune are no happier

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