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elty) do offend the mind with a difguftful refentment of SERM. them. XXVIII,

We may appeal to the confcience of each man, if he doth not feel diffatisfaction in that fierceness or frowardnefs of temper, which produceth uncharitablenefs; if he have not a complacence in that sweet and calm difpofition of foul, whence charity doth iffue; if he do not condemn himself for the one, and approve himself in the other practice.

λανθρωπίας

σκευάσμεθα:

Flavian.

This is the common judgment of men; and therefore Eis yag in common language this practice is ftyled humanity, as ἔργα ὑπὸ - beft forting with our nature, and becoming it; and the Oxateprinciple whence it fpringeth is called good-nature: and Flat the contrary practice is ftyled inhumanity, as thwart- CP. Ep. in Syn. Chalc. ing our natural inclinations, or divesting us of manhood; a. i. p. and its fource likewife is termed ill-nature, or a corruption 111. of our nature.

It is therefore a monftrous paradox, croffing the common fenfe of men, which in this loofe and vain world hath lately got fuch vogue, that all men naturally are enemies one to another: it pretendeth to be grounded on common obfervation and experience; but it is only an obferving the worst actions of the worst men; of diffolute ruffians, of villainous cheats, of ravenous oppreffors, of malicious politicians, of fuch degenerate apoftates from humanity; by whofe practice (debauched by vain conceits and naughty customs) an ill measure is taken of mankind. Ariftotle himself, who had obferved things as well as any of these men, and with as fharp a judgment, affirmeth the contrary, that all men are friends, and disposed to entertain friendly correfpondence with one anotherb: indeed to say the contrary is a blasphemy against the Author of our nature; and is spoken no lefs out of profane enmity

• Vinciov wãs ävdewros åv‡ęwπw » Qíkov. Arift. Eth. viii. 1. Rhet. i. 11. ̓Ενέθηκε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς φίλτρον τῇ φύσει τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ, ὥσε ἀλλήλες ἀγαπῶν. Chryf. in Eph. Orat. ii.

Συνδεσμῶν εἰς ὁμογνωμοσύνην ὁ ἀριςοτέχνης Θεὸς ἣν ἐδημιέργησε φύσιν τῇ διαθέσει rès Xóyw dioxovmśvws œuvicpıyęs, &c. Proclus Conftantinopl. Syn. Chale, A&. ziv.

SERM. against him, than out of venomous malignity against men: XXVIII. out of hatred to God and goodness they would disparage

τες πάντα

and vilify the nobleft work of God's creation; yet do they, if we found the bottom of their mind, imply themselves to admire this quality, and by their decrying it do commend it for it is easy to difcern that therefore only they flander mankind as uncapable of goodness, because out of malignity they would not allow it fo excellent a quality.

II. Let us confider what our neighbour is; how near in blood, how like in nature, how much in all confiderable refpects the fame with us he is.

Should any one wrong or defame our brother, we fhould be displeased; should we do it ourselves, or should we omit any office of kindness toward him, we should blame ourselves: every man is fuch, of one stock, of one blood with us; and as fuch may challenge and call for real affection from us.

Should any one mar, tear, or deface our picture, or fhew any kind of disrespect thereto, we should be offended, A taking it for an indignity put on ourselves; and as for Pasgos ourselves, we should never in fuch a manner affront or ἄλληλα συν- despite ourselves: every man is fuch, our most lively Plato Symp. image, representing us most exactly in all the main figures and features of body, of foul, of ftate; we thence do owe respect to every one.

άπτεσθαι.

Every man is another self, partaker of the fame nature, endued with the fame faculties, fubject to the fame laws, liable to the fame fortunes; diftinguished from us only in accidental and variable circumftances: whence if we be amiable or estimable, so is he upon the fame grounds; and acting impartially (according to right judgment) we fhould yield love and esteem to him: by flighting, hating, injuring, hurting him we do consequentially abuse ourfelves, or acknowledge ourselves deservedly liable to the fame usage.

Every man, as a Christian, is in a higher and nobler way allied, affimilated, and identified to us; to him therefore upon the like grounds improved charity is more due;

and we wrong our heavenly relations, our better na- SERM. ture, our more confiderable felves, in withholding it XXVIII. from him.

III. Equity doth plainly require charity from us: for every one is ready not only to with and feek, but to demand and claim love from others; fo as to be much offended, and grievously to complain, if he do not find it.

We do all conceive love and refpect due to us from all men; we take all men bound to wifh and tender our welfare; we fuppofe our need to require commiferation and fuccour from every man : if it be refused, we think it a hard cafe, and that we are ill ufed; we cry out of wrong, of discourtesy, of inhumanity, of baseness, practifed toward us.

A moderate refpect and affection will hardly fatisfy us; we pretend to them in the highest degree, difgufting the leaft appearance of difregard or difaffection; we can fcarce better digeft indifference than hatred.

This evidenceth our opinion and confcience to be, that we ought to pay the greatest refpect and kindness to our neighbour: for it is plainly unjust and ridiculously vain, to require that from others, which we refufe to others, who may demand it upon the fame title; nor can we without self-condemnation practise that which we deteft in others.

In all reafon and equity, if I would have another my friend, I must be a friend to him; if I pretend to charity from all men, I must render it to all in the fame kind and measure.

Hence is the law of charity well expreffed in those terms, of doing to others whatever we would have them do Matt. vii. to us; whereby the palpable equity of this practice is demonftrated.

IV. Let us confider that charity is a right noble and worthy thing; greatly perfective of our nature; much dignifying and beautifying our foul.

It rendereth a man truly great, enlarging his mind unto a vast circumference, and to a capacity near infinite; fo that it by a general care doth reach all things,

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SERM. by an univerfal affection doth embrace and grafp the XXVIII world.

By it our reafon obtaineth a field or fcope of employment worthy of it, not confined to the flender interefts of one perfon or one place, but extending to the concerns of all men.

Chryf. in Charity is the imitation and copy of that immenfe love, Eph. Or. 9. which is the fountain of all being and all good; which made all things, which preferveth the world, which sustaineth every creature: nothing advance thus fo near to a resemblance of him, who is effential love and goodness; who freely and purely, without any regard to his own advantage or capacity of finding any beneficial return, doth bear and express the highest good-will, with a liberal hand pouring down showers of bounty and mercy on all his creatures; who daily putteth up numberlefs indignities and injuries, upholding and maintaining those who offend and provoke him .

and

Charity rendereth us as angels, or peers to those glorious and bleffed creatures, who, without receiving or expecting any requital from us, do heartily defire and delight in our good, are ready to promote it, do willingly ferve and labour for it. Nothing is more amiable, more admirable, more venerable, even in the common eye opinion of men; it hath in it a beauty and a majesty apt to ravifh every heart; even a spark of it in generosity of dealing breedeth admiration, a glimpse of it in formal courtesy of behaviour procureth much esteem, being deemed to accomplish and adorn a man: how lovely therefore and truly gallant is an entire, fincere, conftant and uniform practice thereof, iffuing from pure good-will and affection!

Love indeed or goodness (for true love is nothing else but goodness exerting itself, in direction toward objects

- Ἡμᾶς εἴτις ερωτήσεις, τί τὸ τιμώμενον ὑμῖν καὶ προσκυνώμενον, πρόχειρον εἰπεῖν ἡ ἀγάπη; ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἡ ἀγάπη ἐσὶ, ῥῆσις τῇ ἁγία Πνεύματα, καὶ τᾶτο χαίρει μᾶλλον ἀκύων ὁ Θεὸς, ἤ τι ἄλλο. Naz. Οr. 14.

Καθ' εκάτην ὑβρίζεται τὴν ἡμέραν, παρῶν καὶ ὁρῶν, καὶ ἀκέων, κ' οὔτε σκηπτὴν ἀφῆκε, &c, Chryf. Ande, y'.

capable of its influence) is the only amiable and only ho- SERM, nourable thing: power and wit may be admired by fome, XXVIII. or have fome fond idolaters; but being fevered from goodness, or abstracted from their fubferviency to it, they cannot obtain real love, they deferve not any esteem: for the worst, the most unhappy, the most odious and contemptible of beings do partake of them in a high meafure; the prince of darkness hath more power, and reigneth with abfolute fovereignty over more fubjects by many than the Great Turk; one devil may have more wit than all the politic Achitophels, and all the profane Hectors in the world; yet with all his power and all his wit he is moft wretched, most deteffable, and most despicable: and fuch in proportion is every one, who partaketh in his accurfed difpofitions of malice and uncharitableness. For,

On the other fide uncharitableness is a very mean and Sen. de Tranq. iil base thing: it contracteth a man's foul into a narrow compass, or ftraiteneth it as it were into one point; drawing all his thoughts, his defires, his affections into himself, as to their centre; fo that his reafon, his will, his activity have but one pitiful object to exercise themfelves about to fcrape together a little pelf, to catch a vapour of fame, to prog for a frivolous femblance of power or dignity, to footh the humour or pamper the fenfuality of one poor worm, is the ignoble subject of his bufy care and endeavour.

By it we debase ourselves into an affinity with the meanest things, becoming either like beafts or fiends; like beafts, affecting only our own present fenfible good; or like fiends, defigning mischief and trouble to others.

It is indeed hard for a man without charity, not to be worse than an innocent beaft; not at least to be as a fox, or a wolf; either cunningly lurching, or violently ravening for prey: love only can restrain a man from Ezek. xxij. flying at all, and feizing on whatever he meeteth; from 27. biting, from worrying, from devouring every one that is weaker than himself, or who cannot defend himself from his paws and teeth.

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