rival; by speaking as if he enjoyed favour of others, equally valuable; by treating affection as liable to change; and as losing a great proportion of its value by its unsteadiness.

18. The regulation of envy in him who feels it, in the envious, will generally, as the world now is, consist in restraint: to the best methods of restraining it, let us therefore, for the present, confine ourselves. And first, it is necessary, as a foundation, that we should learn to recognize every emotion of envy the moment it arises in our minds; how likely we are to deceive ourselves in this matter has been already shewn. (Art. 3.) Envy may be our real motive, when we are willing to persuade ourselves that we act from a better: but so long as we do not allow ourselves to be influenced by this passion, all rules of self-government, relating to it, must be vain. No man will attend to the right methods of resisting an enemy till he is aware that there is an enemy to be resisted. The jealous, in particular, are apt to do ill offices, and use unkind expressions, really from jealousy, when they flatter themselves that they are following the guidance of some better principle.

19. The method now mentioned is of the preparatory or preventive kind: a kind, which may in general be deemed very useful; to repair any damage can never be so useful as to prevent it: we will therefore recommend one or two more expedients of the same kind. One is, to accustom ourselves to distinguish between the colourings of fancy and the arguments of reason; and particularly, between the imagined means of happiness and happiness itself. We frequently envy persons, whom we should pity, if we knew their real condition in every respect: we see them possessed of some things which we account means of happiness; and prejudice leads us to conclude, that the means must produce the end; sometimes we make this conclusion when the reality is very different; when, if we were for a while in the situation of such persons, we should be very glad to recover our own. In such deception we are helped forward by finding a great effect from some small indulgence, and by rashly concluding, that a greater

indulgence in the same thing, such as our neighbour can have, would produce a proportionably greater happiness whereas it does not follow, because one glass of delicious liquor, when we labour under extreme thirst, occasions much pleasure and refreshment, that ten times the quantity would produce ten times the good: yet we frequently suffer ourselves to be mis-led by fallacies nearly as gross as this; and frequently our envy is built on no better foundation. This train of thought is the right one to enable us to feel the full force of some scriptural expressions; "Let not thine heart envy sinners"-"neither be thou envious against the evil-doers."

"I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." See Prov. xxiii. 17. and Psaim xxxvii. 1, and Ixxiii. 3.-The man of a jealous turn is apt to fancy that appearances imply more than they really do; his rival appears easy and secure; he immediately imputes to success what is merely the effect of indifference: or perhaps the person whose favour is the prize contended for, treats his rival with complacency and cheerfulness; and that he construes into attachment, when it is really occasioned by the want of attachment; or at least by the want of serious and ardent affection. Tastes, feelings, manners, vary so much, that no man can safely require from the person whose favour he values, any precise mode of behaviour, in more minute particulars.

20. It would frequently hinder us from being envious, if we were attentive to check our pride and vanity; and to cultivate in ourselves an habitual humility. The lower our estimate was of our own merit, the lower would be our pretensions; and when we did not pretend to have an equal claim with any man to any certain honour or advantage, we should not be uneasy at his success. Besides, it frequently happens, that our aim is not so properly to possess an advantage in preference to a rival, as to be known to have gained such a preference. The applause and admiration of the world is really our wreath and crown of victory: therefore to moderate our ardour for eminence and distinction would be, in effect, to moderate our envy. The jealous temper might frequently be cured by the virtue of huminty:

if a jealous man was to admit amongst his various deliberations such reasoning as this, what right have I to make myself unhappy because another is preferred before me? how easy is it to deserve such preference ! it would do more towards alleviating his uneasiness than laying circumstances together and forming a chain of suspicions.

21. A great help towards obviating the suggestions of envy would be, to exercise the mind in every thing that would give it a strong relish for moral and religious excellence; for truth, merit, virtue. In reality, the envious man values his own importance beyond all other objects to cure him of his fault, therefore, we would raise up in his mind other views and pursuits, more worthy of a rational and moral being: we would exhort him to bring himself to love and highly esteem religion, virtue, truth; to think their success more desirable than his being preferred to any one of whom he is envious; were he to adopt this opinion, he would say, shall I obstruct this useful discovery, that generous action, cr the interests of religion, because the manner in which they are carried on, happens to make me insignificant? No! such things are more truly valuable than any fame or self-esteem which I can acquire. (g) Shall I discourage the promotion of such merit as I now behold, because it is accidentally the means of throwing me into obscurity? No! let the world have all the profit of employing the best men in its service!-This manner of seeing things would make the suggestions of envy to be little heeded strong feelings of religion and virtue enlarge and soften the heart, and make the task of waving all competition easy to be performed; the pain of envy is overpowered by the pleasure of success in that which we think the most valuable and excellent. Nay, let a man be only a real enthusiast in any art or science, he will be more pleased with its advancement than hurt by finding himself of little iniportance in the work. And the same is true of any useful plan or undertaking. With regard to Jealousy, it may be observed, that a warm and high esteem of merit might dispose a man sometimes even to prefer his rival to himself: at least a man animated by such a spirit would never misrepre

sent or lower the merit of his rival,; nor would ever damp or discourage any conversation or intercourse, however likely to conciliate that favour which he himself desired, so long as it appeared to be the occasion of displaying any amiable or estimable qualities.

22. But suppose a man not to have furnished his mind with good principles, or that they have not their proper effect; suppose, in short, a man tormented with envy suppose that it fills his mind and corrupts his enjoyments: what practical directions are most suitable to one so situated? Let him not by any means conclude, how strong soever his feelings, that he has no resources. If he cannot stop the current of any sentiment, or imagines he cannot, let him endeavour to alter its direction. If he cannot clear his mind of uneasiness when he sees his neighbour surpass him, cannot he make his mental pain act as a spur to his own improvement? cannot he change sordid envy into generous emulation? We have talked of allowing some vehemence to passions (Part I. Art. 40.), and of using it for our own purposes: Emulation may perhaps have the rein given it as safely as any other passion; but envy, as opposed to emulation, ought to have no indulgence whatsoever. Nay even emulation taken singly, is not the best of all possible motives: he who aims at improvement, only with a view to surpassing others, will scarcely be uniform in his endeavours: when he has once secured a preference or superiority over his competitor, emulation has finished its work: and some other motive is requi site to preserve him from indolence, and inactivity. Nevertheless a change from envy to emulation is a change much for the better. What we have said of the good effects of Jealousy (Art. 13,) shews, that when a man has not succeeded in subduing a jealous spirit, it is; in his power to make such use even of his uneasiness, that it shall be the means of improving him in every quality that has a tendency to conciliate favour and

esteem.

23. If emulation has its imperfections, we must, as a supply, look out for some expedient more extensively useful. The Apostle says, "Charity envieth not:"

and we know by experience, that a genuine benevolence tends to turn the mind wholly from competition and rivalship. Let us then encourage in our minds a strong and habitual benevolence. Men envy those but faintly to whom they wish much good, or who wish much good to them: and when we shew a benevolent regard to any persons, they feel the more kindness towards us on that account. Thus benevolence weakens the power of envy, in several different ways. Moreover, towards a rival it is greatness and magnanimity: the mere attempt to shew benevolence to a competitor, must give a conscious dignity, an elevation of spirit, which must banish every low and mean sentiment from the human breast. In using only one word, in mentioning only the general term benevolence, we scarcely do justice to our own recommendation: were we to dwell on the different species of benevolence, on friendship, generosity, candour, kind sympathy, in joys and sorrows, our advice would appear much more striking. The mention of each species would operate as a distinct argument: cach would make us more sensible that it is the property of kindness to diminish envy.

24. If any say, they have not benevolence at command; that they have too strong a sense of the meanness, duplicity, and so forth, which their competitor has shewn, to be able to feel kindness towards him, we reply, if they are really desirous of feeling as they ought to do, they must at least attempt it. If they have been so little accustomed to self-government that they cannot command their sentiments, they may certainly command their words and actions: and kind words and actions gradually introduce kind feelings. Perhaps the first step might be, carefully avoiding all words and actions which were unkind. Thus the faults of him whom we envy, should be a subject on which we should not trust ourselves to speak, without the greatest necessity. Others may be obliged to censure him, for good purposes; but those who envy him may generally consider themselves as exempted by their situation from so dangerous a task. In like manner, actions which will bear an unfavourable construction, should be avoided with the greatest possible care. But moreover, any