CCXVII.

Of professional Character.-Camazini, a physician of Padua, wrote a book De Moribus Artificium; to show the peculiar distempers of tradesmen, arising from each re. spective trade. Might not a philosophic observer construct a work upon a similar plan, to mark the specific habitudes and manners of each respective order and profession?

In the course of such a disquisition, he would be led to observe, for instance, that insincerity in a courtier must be the ruling feature of his character. And why? Be cause, without allowing any thing to private humour, principle or affection, the men of this order accommodate themselves solely to times and persons. He might ascribe lying to an ambassador; because, being "sent to lie abroad for the good of his country," as Sir Henry Wotton defined his office, he preserves a habit of lying, even when the officiality or duty of so doing may not require it. A want of moral sense and sympathizing humanity would be found in men of the law; because, not regarding the distinctions of right and wrong, but only intent upon serving their clients, they are led to treat with indifference, and sometimes even sport with, the most injurious decisions against the most pitiable objects. The love of gain in all who traffic; because such have been habituated to consider money as the chief good, and to value every man according to what he is worth. And, lastly, an open systematical kind of knavery, in the honest farmer; who, without any regard to value in the commodity, professes to buy as cheap, and sell as dear as he can; and who, if you remonstrate against his offering a horse or cow for twice its worth, asks you with a sneer, "whether he

must not do the best he can for his family?" Would not, I say, all this be perceived, where professional spirit is not checked and counteracted by natural temperament? And thus through life, and every department of it; where the characters of men would be found in a compound ratio of temperament and profession; and be natural or artificial, according to the proportion in which these are combined. Sylva, or the Wood.

-CCXVIII.

A Compendious way to be Saved.-Some, who despair of being saved by works, turn Methodists, to obtain salvation by faith. They resemble the butler in Addison's Drummer. Having lost a silver spoon, he consults a conjurer; who promises the spoon again upon condition, that he should "drink nothing but small beer for a fortnight;" but the butler despairing to "recover it in this way, e'en bought a new one." Thus it is much easier to be saved by faith among the Methodists, or absolutions among the Papists, than by a course of moral practice: all sinners like it better, for the same reason that an epicure or `vo. luptuary had rather be cured by medicine, or Bath waters, than submit to abstinence and regimen.—Ibid.

CCXIX.

Of Warriors.-One cannot, without a mixture of indignation and contempt, and pity, observe, that such ambitious, cruel wretches, such madmen as we have been speaking of, should be able to trail at their heels vast numbers of men, through so many hardships, and sometimes remote parts of the world, only to gratify their own ambition; and for this purpose, those who compose op

posite armies, though, for the most part, perfect strangers, and without personal dislike or quarrel, should nevertheless meet with a determined resolution to destroy one another; and accordingly perform this inhuman, butcherly work with all the rage and fury imaginable.-Considerations upon War, Cruelty, &c.

CCXX.

Of Religions. All religions which did not proceed entirely from superstition, or where not contrived merely as engines of state, or to deceive the many for the sake of a few, must have been designed for the good and benefit of mankind; particularly to teach them to mortify some passions, regulate others, and render men peaceable, gentle, mild, compassionate, and beneficent; and the better and more perfect any religion is, the more productive of these excellent fruits one would reasonably expect it should be more especially, a religion which we are assured is instituted by God, must in an eminent degree be designed for these good purposes. Nevertheless, so it has happened, that all religions have been attended with contrary consequences, as strife, envy, malice, wars, persecutions, murders, and massacres; and the best of all religions have produced the most of these. It seems, indeed, by its effects, as if religion-the Christian religion especially-ca -came not to bring peace into the world, but a

sword.-Ibid.

CCXXI.

Of Disputes. If men disputed upon no subjects but those they understand, what a narrow compass would all disputes, especially on religion, be reduced to? And if all books on such subjects, and containing such controver

sies, as the writers themselves had no clear ideas of, were destroyed (as some will think it great pity but they should be) this would occasion a far greater destruction of books than the fire at Alexandria, by which 500,000 volumes were consumed.-Ibid.

CCXXII.

Vicious Habits.-Bad habits are with the utmost difficulty eradicated; perhaps, indeed, when they have taken deep root they become altogether unconquerable; because the continual indulgence of any leading propensity has a direct tendency to weaken the powers of volition, or to enervate the governing powers of the mind. Doctor Johnson says, that those who have contracted bad habits must get rid of them as well as they can: but he seems, at the same time, to consider it as a thing extremely improbable, that the conquest should ever be completely effected.

Johnson, no doubt, spoke from experience; and if he, whose reasoning powers were so strong, and who was so remarkable for forming decided opinions on every subject, found it almost impossible to relinquish practices which had become habitual, what must be the fate of inferior minds? must they resign themselves in despair, and give full way to pernicious indulgences? It is by no means our intention to inculcate the opinion, that reformation is impracticable: few cases of moral disease are so desperate as not to admit of a remedy: we would only caution those, who have never experienced the temptation, not to be too hasty in pronouncing the sentence of condemnation upon one who has fallen into a course of habitual erMinds of the first order are, perhaps, the most prone to run into extremes: and it is most true, that the unre

ror.

strained indulgence even of virtuous inclinations, in this civilized world, has a direct tendency to lead the amiable delinquent into the paths of error and of vice. Cold, phlegmatic beings-who never felt the inspiration of genius, the turbulence of passion, or the enthusiasm of virtue-who are unassailable by every motive that might lead them astray-who have pursued the path of prudent expediency because they were destitute of every species of vivid emotions-such beings are apt to condemn, with envious malignity, the aberrations of superior minds; but they ought to reflect that they are incapacitated by nature for being competent judges in these affairs. A man of genius, says some writer, should have the privilege of being tried by his peers. So a man, whose benevolence of character, whose warm and social feelings, and whose amiable eccentricities, have been the causes of his falling into vicious courses, when judgment is to be passed on his conduct, is entitled to a jury equally as benevolent, humane, and virtuous as himself.

When, by a long course of self-indulgence, we have lost that strength of mind which is necessary to enable us to persevere in any particular line of self-denial, the only remedy that remains is to dislodge one evil by the introduction of another; and as we are generally under the influence of some leading propensity, every change that is affected in our habits must be productive of advantage. The mind becomes unsettled; it is diverted from its vicious career; and there opens a possibility of giving it a different direction. When this is the case, nothing is so advisable as active employment; this is the shield which will defend us from the arrows of temptation; it presents some object which appears worthy of our exertions; and insensibly restores a portion of that energy of soul, which