top-heavy, and the Bafis grows too narrow and weak for its own burden. Besides it is the common mark of Envy and Discontent, which watcheth fedulously all occasions to unhorfe it, and oftentimes prevails. When power proves too grievous and overburdenfome, it lof eth the end for which it is conferred, and makes people defperate and impatient, Entia nolunt male gubernari. If it be managed with] Prudence and Moderation, it is the greatest Benefit to humane Society: But it is the burden of him that hath it if it be managed tyrannically and exorbitantly; it fills the Mafter full of fears, the People full of rage, and feldom proves long lived. And what reafon haft thou to be proud of what is moft certainly thy burden, or thy danger, or both?

Again, Thou haft Strength, or Beauty, or Agility of Body. Indeed this thou haft more reason to call thy own, than any of the former: But yet thou haft no cause to Pride thy felf in it; thou canst not hold it long at beft, for Age will decay that Strength and wither that Beauty, and Death will certainly put a period to it; but yet probably this Strength or Beauty is not fo long lived as thy felf, no nor as thy youth; a difeafe, it may be, is this very moment growing upon thee, that will fuddenly pull down thy Strength and rafe thy Beauty, and turn them both into rottennefs and loathsomeness: Nay, let any obferve it that will, that Strength, and that Beauty that raiseth Pride in the heart, is of all other fhorteft lived, even upon the account of that very Pride: For the oftentation and vainglory of ftrength puts it forth into defperate and dangerous undertakings, to the ruine of the owner; and the Pride of Beauty renders the owner thereof fond of the Praife of it, and to expofe it to the view of others, whereby it becomes a temptation to Luft and Intemperance, both to the owner of it, and others, and in a little while becomes at once its own ruine, and shame.

Eut it may be thou haft Wit and Judgment, a quick and ready Understanding, and haft improved them by great Study and Obfervation, in great and profound Learning. This, I confefs, is much more thy own, than any of the former endowments; but moft certainly, it thou art

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proud of any of thefe, thou art not yet arrived to the higheft improvement of Understanding, namely, Wisdom. Folly and Madness may be confiftent with a witty, nay, a Learned Man, but not with a truly wife Man. And this thy Pride of thefe Endowments or acquefts ftill pronounceth and proclaimeth thee a Fool, for all thy Wit, and all thy Learning. For confider with thy felf, 1. That thy Wit and Learning are but pitiful narrow things, in refpect of the amplitude of the things that are to be known. Maxima pars eorum quæ fcimus, et minima pars eorum quæ nefcimus. Take the moft Learned Obfervant Philofopher that ever was in the World,he never yet was fully acquainted with the nature of those things that are obvious to ordinary obfervation,and near tohim; never was the Manyet in the World, that could give an accurate account of the nature of a Fly, or a Worm in its full comprehenfion, no not of a Spire of Grafs; much lefs of himfelf and his nobler Faculties; much lefs yet of thofe glorious Bodies that every day and night object themfelves out to our view. What a deal of Uncertainty, Inevidence, and Contradiction do we find in the Determination of the choiceft Wits and Men of greateft Learning, even in things that are obvious and objected in their out- fide, to all their Senfes? So that the greatest knowledge that Men attain to in the things of Nature, is little elfe but a fpecious piece of Ignorance dreffed up with fine words, formal methods, precarious fuppofitions, and competent confidence. Confider, 2. How brittle and unftable a thing thy Wits, thy Parts, thy Learning is. Though old Age may retain fome broken moments of thy Wit and Learning thou once hadft, yet the floridness and vigor of it must then decay and gradually wither, till very old Age make thee a Child again, if thou live to it: But befides that, a Fever or a Palfie and an Apoplexy may greatly impair, if not wholly deface and obliterate thy Learning, deprive thee of thy Memory, of thy Wit and Underftanding: Never be proud of fuch a privilege or endowment, which is under the mercy of a Difeafe, nay of a Diftemper in thy Elood, an aduft humour,an Hypocondriacal vapor,a cafual fume of

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lity of the mind is not barely in the external habit or counterfeited deportment; many times a Cynical, intolerable Pride is clothed with the Mantle of Humility: But principally it is rooted in the very mind it felf, and for the most part evidenceth its being there by these enfuing particulars.

1. A moft awful and fincere Reverence of the Great and Glorious God; a habitual proftration of our Souls always before him, as the great and glorious Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, in whofe prefence we always are, and to whom we owe an infinite fubjection and dependence.

2. A moft high and conftant Gratitude and Thankfulnefs of Heart and Soul to him, for all the good we have in us, or that is or can be enjoyed by us; recognizing him, as the Giver of our Being, of our Faculties, our Abilities, and Strength of Mind and Body, our Wealth, our Honour, our Comforts, our Hopes and Expectations; that he is not only the Giver of them, but the Sovereign Lord of them and may refume them when he pleafeth.

3. And consequently upon this, that we owe to that great and Sovereign Lord a due Employment of all, that he hath thus given us, to his Glory and Service; and that we muft therefore be accountable for them, to him who is our great Lord, Proprietor and Master.

4. A conftant Vigilancy and Attention of mind upon all our thoughts, words and actions; but especially, left we forget that habitude of Mind that we thus owe to Almighty God, and left pride, arrogancy, vanity, or vain-glory fteal in upon us; checking and plucking up the firft ebullitions and rifings, the firft buds and motions thereof.

5. Which is but the confequence of the former, a Sober Opinion concerning our felves, and all we do, and fay; not thinking of our selves above what we ought to think: and fince felf love fo naturally adheres to us, to be very jealous of our felves; especially in thofe actions that are good, or that meet with fome applaufe in the World; left we either value them too high, or over-value our felves by reafon of them; or left we are fhort in giving to Almighty God that Honour that is due to him, and to him only, for them. 6. A

6. A diligent, and impartial, and frequent Confideration, and Examination, and Animadverfion of, and upon our defects and failings; for thefe, and thefe only are truly and properly our own. There are a fort of artificial Pictures, that if a man look upon them one way, they represent fome beautiful comely perfon; but if we look upon them another way, they reprefent fome deformed or mishapen Monster; our own partiality to our felves prompts us to look upon the picture of our lives and actions, in that poition or posture that renders nothing but beautiful and virtuous; and we have feldom the Patience to look upon it, in that pofition that may render our Deformities and Vices; and thereupon we give our felves the denomination accordingly of Good and Virtuous, and either do not observe, or do not confider our own failings and defects. If we did as well confider our fins which we commit, as the duties which we perform: and if in the confideration of our duties, we did but confider how much more of duties we omit than we perform, and in the duties we perform, if we did confider how much deadnefs, formality, hypocrifie, vain-glory, felf-feeking, and other unhandfome ingredients were mingled with them; and fhould lay our fins, our omiffions, our defects in one fcale, and that which were really and truly duty and good, and worthy in another fcale, the beft of mankind would foon find that which was truly good, in the whole courfe of his life, were a pitiful, flender fcantlet, and would be infinitely out-weighed by his fins, omiffions and defects; and the due comparison and profpect of this, would quickly give him a Lecture of Humility; the good we do, would indeed make us thankful, but the good we omit, the evil we commit, and the deficiencies of our duties would make us humble.

7. Charitable Opinions of the perfons of others, as far as poffibly may be. It is true, that neither Religion, nor Charity commands, or allows, any Man to fay or think that that which is in it felf a fin, is not fo; as that Drunkennefs, or Whoredom, or Pride, or Vain-glory are not fins; the Law of God, and the Law of Nature tell us

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they are fins: But an humble Man, fenfible of his owni fins and failings, will not prefently be over-cenforious of Perfons, or pronounce them reprobates, or Men wholly deftitute of the hope of Salvation; but will pity their failings and backflidings; but yet not exterminate them from Heaven: And therein there must be duly confidered the difference between a private perfon and a publick perfon, whether Minifter or Magiftrate; the former, namely, a private perfon humility muft teach him compaffion, charitablenefs, gentleness; but the latter, being intrufted in a publick Ministration or Office, doth alterius vices agere, his perfonal humility, as a private perfon, muft teach him to be charitable, but yet not to be remifs or unfaithful in the exercise of his Office.

The farther confideration of the Principles and Companions of humility will appear in the confideration of the Fruits, and Advantages, and Benefits of true Humility.

And these I fhall reduce to these three Relations; 1. In relation to Almighty God; 2. In relation to the humble Perfon himself; 3. In relation to others. It is true that all Virtues, if they be true and real, have a connexion one with another; they are never fingle; for the fame principle that begetteth one, begetteth all the reft, and habituates, and influenceth the Soul in all its motions; but efpecially this virtue of Humility, when it is genuine and true, is ever accompanied with all thofe excellent Habits and Graces, that perfect the Soul; as the Fear and Love of God; Obedience to him; Dependance on him; Beneficence and Charity to mankind, and the like. But yet in the pursuit of the fruits and advantage of Humility, I fhall apply my felf to fuch as do most naturally, and with a kind of fpecial Reafon and Appropriation, belong to, or flow from this Virtue as fuch, and as do efpecially belong to its nature in a kind of abftract confideration.

I. Therefore, in relation to Almighty God, the humble Man hath in a special manner these two great advantages. 1. He receives Grace, or Favour, or Honour from God. 2.He receives Direction,Guidance and Counsel from God. Both which are fingularly promifid, and by a kind of fuitableness