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A Sermon
emulation , I fear , would soon die in every heart—and man sink into a brute . It is not enough for a virtuous man to do no ill—he must do good , be just , and live as when he dies he would wish he had lived . — 'Were it easy to act always agreeably to those maxims , Solomon would not have said , " I will be wise ; but it was far from me . " So many passions we have to oppose and conquer , before we can
obey the dictates of reason , that the ministers of the holy religion we profess , ought to employ the most gentle means to reclaim a man from his errors , and persuade him into the service of virtue . They should not ask of him the practice of duties which , at the best , are ridiculous or absurd—and fri ghten his imagination with the necessity of a perfection for which he was not created .
A good citizen will always be a tender parent , a faithful friend , and a generous protector of the unfortunate . —In the qualities which form that character , are comprehended all the virtues prescribed b y God and nature for his happiness , and that of the society . —Ask but what he can g ive—command but what he can execute—beware especially of making the love of his duty a mystery—for if he be not at
liberty to choose between vice and virtue , he may think the latter as fantastical as the means to force his faith in it are irrational and odious . The actions of men spring from their passions . —Those passions it should be the care of the legislature to direct , improve , or correct . — Let us not deceive ourselves—the honour of being thought virtuous , proves more often the cause of a generous action than virtue . —The self-applause of our own heart we do not always value so much as the
esteem of the public . Feed the love of glory in every breast—and you shall have men the most perfect that ever existed . Would princes substitute rewards for virtue , instead of inventing punishments for crimes , they would reign over men , and not over a world of ignorant and contemptible slaves . I liave described man as he ought to be , to have a right to . the ho-,
mages the world is always inclined to pay - to those whose qualities or virtues are beneficial to the public . —Whoever tells you that human nature can ascend still hi g her , is an impostor . Men ' are formed for a life of speculation no move than for a life of pleasure . —God has not given us passions , feelings , or faculties , to be thrown away upon chimeras—or amusements which leave behind but
ignorance or pain . There arc duties peculiar to every situation—properly attended to they would insure bur happiness , and contribute to that of others—to indolence , and the foolish pursuit of trifling joys , we may attribute that uneasiness which clouds our mind with discontent—and sometimes with the hatred of life . Unless we be industrious to blend business with leasure—the serious purposes of our existence with dissipation ,
p we must necessarily wander from the path of felicity and glory—and lead a life as uncomfortable to ourselves as unimportant to society . Let us attend to the wants of the mind- —and not force upon it a . variety of objects it disdains to be entertained with . When i | s
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Sermon
emulation , I fear , would soon die in every heart—and man sink into a brute . It is not enough for a virtuous man to do no ill—he must do good , be just , and live as when he dies he would wish he had lived . — 'Were it easy to act always agreeably to those maxims , Solomon would not have said , " I will be wise ; but it was far from me . " So many passions we have to oppose and conquer , before we can
obey the dictates of reason , that the ministers of the holy religion we profess , ought to employ the most gentle means to reclaim a man from his errors , and persuade him into the service of virtue . They should not ask of him the practice of duties which , at the best , are ridiculous or absurd—and fri ghten his imagination with the necessity of a perfection for which he was not created .
A good citizen will always be a tender parent , a faithful friend , and a generous protector of the unfortunate . —In the qualities which form that character , are comprehended all the virtues prescribed b y God and nature for his happiness , and that of the society . —Ask but what he can g ive—command but what he can execute—beware especially of making the love of his duty a mystery—for if he be not at
liberty to choose between vice and virtue , he may think the latter as fantastical as the means to force his faith in it are irrational and odious . The actions of men spring from their passions . —Those passions it should be the care of the legislature to direct , improve , or correct . — Let us not deceive ourselves—the honour of being thought virtuous , proves more often the cause of a generous action than virtue . —The self-applause of our own heart we do not always value so much as the
esteem of the public . Feed the love of glory in every breast—and you shall have men the most perfect that ever existed . Would princes substitute rewards for virtue , instead of inventing punishments for crimes , they would reign over men , and not over a world of ignorant and contemptible slaves . I liave described man as he ought to be , to have a right to . the ho-,
mages the world is always inclined to pay - to those whose qualities or virtues are beneficial to the public . —Whoever tells you that human nature can ascend still hi g her , is an impostor . Men ' are formed for a life of speculation no move than for a life of pleasure . —God has not given us passions , feelings , or faculties , to be thrown away upon chimeras—or amusements which leave behind but
ignorance or pain . There arc duties peculiar to every situation—properly attended to they would insure bur happiness , and contribute to that of others—to indolence , and the foolish pursuit of trifling joys , we may attribute that uneasiness which clouds our mind with discontent—and sometimes with the hatred of life . Unless we be industrious to blend business with leasure—the serious purposes of our existence with dissipation ,
p we must necessarily wander from the path of felicity and glory—and lead a life as uncomfortable to ourselves as unimportant to society . Let us attend to the wants of the mind- —and not force upon it a . variety of objects it disdains to be entertained with . When i | s