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enough to pray to God to make him better, he must then suppose himself to be past grace, and given over to a reprobate mind, which is a dreadful prospect.

Whatever the general reason of it may be, the fact is as I say. When the eye of one boy is upon another, it has a fascinating power, like that of a rattle-snake, to deter him from the practice of devotion: and few indeed have resolution enough to assert their right of approaching their Maker, and shewing that they were born of Christian parents. And what is this fiery trial that is so terrifying? What is it but the sneer of an idle companion, of no more force nor authority than the squalling of an infant? Yet such is the servility of the human mind, on some occasions, that the apprehension of this has more weight than all the terrors our religion has suggested to us; that is, than all the threatenings of provoked Omnipotence. If nature in youth were as it should be, it would be actuated on all occasions, especially on this the greatest of all, by a principle of generosity; and then one boy would encourage another to the practice of that duty, without which he can never expect to succeed in this world or the other. I knew one young gentleman who had given his worthy father a promise, that he would never, upon any consideration, omit to read over some one chapter of the Bible before he went to bed and I have reason to think he kept his word faithfully, without failing in several years, though the hour might be sometimes a little unseasonable. He is now risen to be one of the first characters in the state; and has done service to his country in almost every department of it.

In turning this matter over a little farther in my thoughts, it occurs to me, that none of the passions have so quick a feeling, and will bear touching so little, as pride; and that pride is always applied to,

for the exciting of those vain terrors which get the better of devotion. Why," says one, "you won't do so? They'll laugh at you." The power of this shallow artifice over the mind is inexpressible. The courage is blasted; and even common sense is put to flight for what becomes of his wit, who hazards the loss of all things, and chooses to be really dishonourable, lest he should be apparently ridiculous?

From the whole case this reflection arises, that no man can be a Christian, and perform his duty to God, until he can bear to be laughed at. This is the first victory the mind is to obtain over the world: and till it is obtained, no good can possibly be done. Yet in some natures the struggle will be very sharp; and I make no doubt but that there are many young gentlemen in the army, to whom it would be less trouble to face a cannon, than to stand the effect of a grin from a silly companion on a principle of devotion.

A popular preacher began his discourse with observing, that "Prayer is a natural duty:" and thus far the observation might be true, that the duty of prayer may be inferred and inforced on the principles of what we call natural reason: but whether the practice is natural to man, let any person judge when he has weighed the following fact, which was well remarked by the author of the Adventurer, that beggars in the middle of the winter will sit freezing upon the stone steps at a church-door all the time of divine service, rather than take shelter within it on the disagreeable conditions of joining in the devotions of the place. If he has an opportunity, let him also mark the behaviour of the boys of a public school, when they are altogether at the church; and then let him determine whether prayer, in a practical sense, is a natural duty.

LETTER XXII.

ON PARTIES.

You hear much of parties, and you complain that you can learn very little about their principles, though they have so much to say against one another. The pretensions of different parties are frequently brought into question in a great assembly, where you may possibly have a personal concern hereafter in the business of your country; and therefore you are certainly right in desiring to understand what they are. Some, you say, are called whigs, some tories; some affect to be neutral, declaring against all parties, and saying that men differ with one another only about words and names. Some say, whigs out of place are tories; and tories in place are whigs: which is to say, that there is no principle amongst us but that of self-interest; and thus you are left in total darkness as to the proper differences in opinion by which parties are guided.

The terms whig and tory are nick-names, with which the two parties of republicans and loyalists pelted one another, with great animosity, in the reign of Charles the Second: and are scarcely worth an explanation. To cut the matter as short as I can, and give you a general idea of their different views in a short compass, I must tell you, that these two parties take different sides in the great question concerning the origin of civil government. Some say, government is of God; by which it is meant, that his authority, in a certain sense, must take place in civil society, for its order and support; as his power prevails in the constitution of nature and they say,

there are difficulties in the subject, which can never be got over on any other supposition. Others say, that government is a human institution, and that all the power by which governors act is derived from those who are governed; as if you should say, that the captain of the ship has his commission from the

crew.

They who espouse this latter opinion, have endeavoured to clear the way to it by laying down four other very extraordinary propositions; which are these following.

First, that there was a time when there was no society amongst men, but they wandered about in a state of savage equality, as companions to the beasts; such as the poet describes them :

Cum prorepserunt primis animalia terris

Mutum et turpe pecus·

Hor. Sat. i. 3.

Secondly, that by some one wiser than the rest they were collected by degrees into society, and began to form a political body.

Thirdly, that when men could not be kept to their duty, they began to enact laws to keep them in order.

Fourthly, that when it was found by experience, that laws might be evaded by offences committed without witnesses, they endeavoured to work a persuasion in men's minds, that there was an invisible being, who could see into men's hearts, and would punish offences in another life; and thus the exigences of society would lead naturally to the invention of religion.

Not one of these propositions can be proved by any evidence of reason or history. As to the first of

them, if ever there was a time when men were savage, those men were in a state of degeneracy, and had lost the benefits of society.

As to the second, men were not originally collected into society, because they are in it by nature; inasmuch as all larger societies must have subsisted at first in single families, which would increase naturally into more extensive communities. To prevent that state of equality which is merely ideal, and never existed any where upon earth, a man and his wife, who are the rudiments of all larger society, were brought together with unequal powers; the wife being the weaker by nature, and subject to the husband; and the children, who follow the condition of the mother, are subject to the same authority. A learned and useful author, with whom you are acquainted, to avoid the force of this argument, is driven to the necessity of supposing that the wife hath an authority over the husband as the husband hath over the wife: but the contrary is self-evident; and therefore government arises of course from the condition of human nature; it is a necessary consequence of that natural law by which mankind is multiplied. The father of the family is the natural ruler of it; and none can be so absurd as to suppose, that the father derives his power from the children who are begotten of him: that power is the gift of his Maker, and follows by necessity from the order of nature.

You will find a great advantage, and avoid infinite confusion, by thus considering government in its actual rudiments. For all great things are best understood by considering them under their smallest formsmaxima e minimis: and till you can find some way of reducing complicated cases to simple ideas, you will scarcely be able to understand any thing clearly.

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