whether in the world or in retirement, with an abiding sense of the vast responsibility which he is under, and the awful account to which he will one day be called, before that Being, who lodges the welfare of so many millions in his hands. In fine, to borrow the words of the pious archbishop Secker, "It ought to be explicitly taught, and much dwelt upon, that religion extends its authority to everything: to the most worldly, the commonest, the lowest" (and surely, still more to the highest earthly) "things; binding us to behave reasonably, decently, humbly, honourably, meekly, and kindly in them all; and that its interfering so far, instead of being a hardship, is a great blessing to us, because it interferes always for our good."

Parasites have treated some weak princes as if they were not of the same common nature with those whom they govern; and as if, of course, they were not amenable to the same laws. Christianity, however, does not hold out two sorts of religion, one for the court, and one for the country; one for the prince, and another for the people. Princes, as well as subjects, who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, shall reap eternal life. As there is the same code of laws, so there is the same promise annexed to the observance of them: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." There are no exempt cases. The maxim is of universal application. There will be no pleading of privilege on that day, when the dead, SMALL and GREAT, shall stand before God; when they shall be "judged out of those things which are written in the book of God's remembrance, according to their works."

So far from a dispensation of indulgences being granted to princes, they are bound even to more circumspection. They are set on a pinnacle, the peculiar objects of attention and imitation. Their trust is of larger

extent, and more momentous importance. Their influence involves the conduct of multitudes. Their example should be even more correct, because it will be pleaded as a precedent. Their exalted station, therefore, instead of furnishing excuses for omission, does but enlarge the obligation of performance. They may avail themselves of the same helps to virtue, the same means for duty; and they have the same, may we not rather say, they have even a stronger assurance of Divine aid, since that aid is promised to be proportioned to the exigence; and the exigences of princes are obviously greater than those of any other class of men.

Power and splendour are not to be considered as substitutes for virtue, but as instruments for its promotion, and means for its embellishment. The power and splendour of sovereigns are confirmed to them by the laws of the state, for the wisest and most beneficial purposes. But these illustrious appendages are evidently not meant for their personal gratification, but to give impressiveness and dignity to their station; to be suitable and honourable means of supporting an authority, which Providence has made indispensable to the peace and happiness of society; and on the adequate energy of which, the security and comfort of all subordinate ranks, in their due gradations, so materially depend.

Can we hesitate to conclude, that at the last great audit, princes will be called to account, not only for all the wrong which they have done, but for all the right which they have neglected to do? Not only for all

the evil they have perpetrated, but for all that they, wilfully, have permitted? For all the corruptions which they have sanctioned, and all the good which they have discouraged? It will be demanded, whether they have employed royal opulence, in setting an example of wise and generous beneficence, or of contagious levity and voluptuousness? Whether they have used their influence in promoting objects clearly for the public good, or in accomplishing the selfish purposes of mercenary favourites ? And whether, on the whole, their public and private conduct tended more to diffuse religious principle, and sanction Christian virtue, or to lend support to fashionable profligacy, and to undermine national morality?

At the same time, it is to be remembered, that they will be judged by that omniscient Being, who sees the secret bent and hidden inclinations of the heart; and who knows that the best prince cannot accomplish all the good he wishes, nor prevent all the evil he disapproves:-by that merciful Being, who will recompense pure desires and upright intentions, even where providential obstacles prevented their being carried into execution by that compassionate Being, who sees their difficulties, observes their trials, weighs their temptations, commiserates their dangers, and takes most exact cognizance of circumstances, of which no human judge can form an adequate idea. Assured, as we are, that this gracious method of reckoning will be extended to all, may we not be confident, that it will be peculiarly applied where the case most expressly stands in need of it? And may we not rest persuaded, that if there is a spectacle which our Almighty Ruler beholds with peculiar complacency on earth, and will recompense with a crown of distinguished brightness in heaven, it is a SOVEREIGN DOING JUSTLY, LOVING MERCY, AND WALKING HUMBLY WITH GOD.

But is religion to be pursued by princes, only as a guide of conduct, a law, by which they are to live and act as a principle, which, if cultivated, will qualify them for eternal felicity? These are invaluable benefits; but they do not wholly express all that princes, in particular, need from religion. They, in an eminent degree, require consolation and support for this life, as well as a title to happiness in the life to come. They, above all human beings, need some powerful resource to bear them up against the agitations, and the pressures, to which their high station inevitably exposes them.

To whom on this earth are troubles and heart-aches so sure to be multiplied, as to princes, especially to those of superior understanding and sensibility? Who, of any other rank, are exposed to such embarrassing trials, such difficult dilemmas? We speak not merely of those unfortunate monarchs, who have undergone striking vicissitudes, or who have been visited with extraordinary calamities; but of such also whom the world would rather agree to call prosperous and happy! Yet, let him who doubts this general truth, read the accounts given by all our historians of the last years of king William, and the last months of queen Anne, and then let him pronounce what could be more trying, than those disappointments and disgusts which sunk into the very soul of the one, or those cares and agitations which finally destroyed the peace of the other.

If there be, then, any secret in the nature of things, any clearly infal

lible remedy by which such distresses may be assuaged, by which selfcommand, self-possession, and even self-enjoyment may be secured, in the midst of the greatest trials to which mortality is liable-would not this be an object to which the view of princes, even above all the rest of mankind, should be directed; and in comparison of which, they might justly hold cheap all the honours of their birth, and all the prerogatives of their rank?

Christian piety, when real in itself, and when thoroughly established in the heart, and in the habits, Is this secret. When the mind is not only conscientiously, but affectionately religious-when it not only fears God as the Almighty Sovereign, but loves and confides in him as the allgracious Father; not merely inferred to be such, from the beauty and benignity apparent in the works of nature, but rationally understood to be such, from the discoveries of divine grace in the Word of God; and let us add, no less rationally felt to be such, from the transforming influence of that Word upon the heart: then, acts of devotion are no longer a penance, but a resource and a refreshment; insomuch that the voluptuary would as soon relinquish those gratifications for which he lives, as the devout Christian would give up his daily intercourse with his Maker. But it is not in stated acts merely that such devotion lives-it is an habitual sentiment which diffuses itself through the whole of life, purifying, exalting, and tranquillizing every part of it, smoothing the most rugged paths-making the yoke of duty easy, and the burden of care light. It is as a perennial spring in the very centre of the heart, to which the wearied spirit betakes itself for refreshment and repose.

In this language there is no enthusiasm. It is, in spite of the cold raillery of the sceptic, the language of truth and soberness. The Scriptures ascribe to Christian piety this very efficacy; and every age and nation furnish countless instances of its power to raise the human mind to a holy heroism, superior to every trial. "Were there not," says the sober and dispassionate Tillotson, "something real in the principles of religion, it is impossible that they should have so remarkable and so regular an effect, to support the mind in every condition, upon so great a number of persons, of different degrees of understanding, of all ranks and conditions, young and old, learned and unlearned, in so many distant places, and in all ages of the world, the records whereof are come down to us. I say so real, and so frequent, and so regular an effect as this, cannot, with any colour of reason, be ascribed either to blind chance or mere imagination, but must have a real, and regular, and uniform cause, proportionable to so great and general an effect."*

We are persuaded, that if the subject of this chapter be considered with an attention equal to its importance, eyery other virtue will spring up, as it were spontaneously, in the mind, and a high degree of excellence, both public and private, be instinctively pursued. In such a case, how happy would be the distinguished individual, and how inconceivably benefited and blessed would be the community!

Pious sovereigns are, at all times, the richest boon which Heaven can bestow on a country. The present period makes us more than ever

*Sermon XL.

sensible of their importance. A period in which law has lost its force, rank its distinction, and order its existence; in which ancient institutions are dissolving, and new powers, of undescribed character, and unheard-of pretension, are involving Europe in contests and convulsions, of which not human foresight can anticipate the end. In what manner we may be affected by this unprecedented state of things, what perils we may have to face, what difficulties to struggle with, or what means of final extrication may be afforded us, it is not in man to determine. But certain it is, that even in the most threatening circumstances, the obvious, unaffected, consistent piety of the sovereign, will do more to animate and unite a British public, than the eloquence of a Demosthenes, or the songs of a Tyrtæus; and it will be as sure a pledge of eventual success, as either the best-disciplined armies or the most powerful navies. Who can say how much we are indebted for our safety hitherto to the blessing of a king and queen who have distinguished themselves, above all the sovereigns of their day, by strictness of moral conduct, and by reverence for religion? May their successors, to the latest posterity, improve upon, instead of swerving from, their illustrious example!

ESSAYS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS:

PRINCIPALLY

DESIGNED FOR YOUNG LADIES.

As for you, I shall advise you in a few words: aspire only to those virtues that are PECULIAR TO YOUR SEX; follow your natural modesty, and think it your greatest commendation not to be talked of one way or the other.-ORATION OF PERICLES TO THE ATHENIAN WOMEN.

TO MRS. MONTAGU.

MADAM,-If you were only one of the finest writers of your time, you would probably have escaped the trouble of this address, which is drawn on you, less by the lustre of your understanding, than by the amiable qualities of your heart.

As the following pages are written with an humble but earnest wish to promote the interests of virtue, as far as the very limited abilities of the author allow, there is, I flatter myself, a peculiar propriety in inscribing them to you, Madam, who, while your works convey instruction and delight to the best informed of the other sex, furnish, by your conduct, an admirable pattern of life and manners to your own. And I can with truth remark, that those graces of conversation, which would be the first praise of almost any other character, constitute but an inferior part of yours.

I am, Madam, with the highest esteem, your most obedient humble Servant, HANNAH MORE.

Bristol, May 20, 1777.

INTRODUCTION.

It is with the utmost diffidence that the following pages are submitted to the inspection of the public: yet, however the limited abilities of the author may have prevented her from succeeding to her wish in the execution of her present attempt, she humbly trusts that the uprightness of her intention will procure it a candid and favourable reception. The following little Essays are chiefly calculated for the younger part of her own sex, who, she flatters herself, will not esteem them the less, because they were written immediately for their service. She by no means pretends to have composed a regular system of morals, or a finished plan of conduct: she has only endeavoured to make a few remarks on such circumstances as seemed to her susceptible of some improvement, and on such subjects as she imagined were particularly interesting to young ladies, on their first introduction into the world. She hopes they will not be offended if she has occasionally pointed out certain qualities, and suggested certain tempers and dispositions, as peculiarly feminine, and hazarded some observations which naturally arose from the subject, on the different characters which