as Cowley has faid in another case, It is hard for a man to keep a fleady eye upon truth, who is always in a battle or a triumph. If we regard poverty and wealth, as they are apt to produce virtues or vices in the mind of man, one may obferve that there is a fet of each of these growing out of poverty, quite different from that which rifes out of wealth. Humility and patience, induftry and temperance, are very often the good qualities of a poor man. Humanity and good-nature, magnanimity and a fenfe of honour, are as often the qualifications of the rich. On the contrary, poverty is apt to betray a man into envy, riches into arrogance; poverty is too often attended with fraud, vicious compliance, repining, murmar and discontent. Riches expofe a man to pride and luxury, a foolish elation of heart, and too great a fondnefs for the prefent world. In fhort, the middle condition is most eligible to the man who would improve himself in virtue; as I have before fhewn, it is the most advantageous for the gaining of knowledge. It was upon this confideration that Agar founded his prayer, which for the wisdom of it is recorded in Holy Writ. Two things have I required of thee, deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty, nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Left I be full and deny thee, and fay, who is the Lord? or left I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. I fhall fill the remaining part of my paper with a very pretty allegory, which is wrought into a play by Ariftophanes the Greek comedian. It feems originally defigned as a fatire upon the rich, though in fome parts of it, 'tis like the foregoing difcourfe, a kind of comparison between wealth and poverty. the Chremylus, who was an old and a good man, and withal exceeding poor, being defirous to leave fome riches to his fon, confults the oracle of Apollo upon fubject. The oracle bids him follow the firft man he fhould fee upon his going out of the temple. The perfon he chanced to fee was to appearance an old fordid blind man ; but upon his following him from place to place, he at laft found by his own confeffion, that he M 2 was was Plutus the god of riches, and that he was just come out of the houte of a mifer. Plutus further told him, that when he was a boy, he used to declare, that as foon as he came to age he would diftribute wealth to none but virtuous and just men; upon which Jupiter confidering the pernicious confequences of fuch a refolution, took his fight away from him, and left him to ftrole about the world in the blind condition wherein Chremylus beheld him. With much ado Chremylus prevailed upon him to go to his houfe, where he met an old woman in a tatter'd raiment, who had been his gueft for many years, and whofe name was Poverty. The old woman refufing to turn out fo easily as he would have her. he threatened to baith her not only from his own houfe, but out of all Greece, if the made any more words upon the matter. Poverty on this occafion pleads her caufe very notably, and reprefents to her old landlord, that should he be driven out of the country, all their trades, arts and fciences would be driven out with her; and that if every one was rich, they would never be fupplied with thofe pomps, ornaments and conveniences of life which made riches defirable. she likewife reprefented to him the feveral advantages which the beftowed upon her votaries, in regard to their fhape, their health, and their activity, by preferving them from gouts, dropfies, unweildinefs, and intemperance. But whatever fhe had to fay for herself, he was at laft forced to troop off. Chremylus immediately confider'd how he might restore Plutus to his fight; and in order to it conveved him to the Temple of Afculepius, who was famous for cures and miracles of this nature. By this means the deity recovered his eyes and began to make a right ufe of them, by enriching every one that was diftinguished by piety towards the gods, and juftice towards men; and at the fame time by taking away his gifts from the impious and undeferving. This produces feveral merry incidents, till in the lalt act Mercury defcends with great complaints from the gods, that fince the good men were grown rich they had received no facrifices, which is confirmed by a priest of Jupiter, who enters with a remonftrance, that fince the late innovation he was reduced to a starving condition, and could not live upon his office. Chremylus, who in the begin-' ning of the play was religious in his poverty, concludes it with a propofal which was relifhed by all the good men who were now grown rich as well as himself, that they should carry Plutus in a folemn proceffion to the Temple, and inftal him in the place of Jupiter. This allegory inftructed the Athenians in two points, first, as it vindicated the conduct of Providence in its ordinary diftributions of wealth; and in the next place, as it shewed the great tendency of riches to corrupt the morals of those who poffeffed them. C 榮 N° 465 XXXXX Saturday, August 23. Quâ ratione queas traducere leniter ævum : XXXX} Hor. Ep. 18. 1. 1. v. 97. ' How thou may'ft live, how fpend thine age in peace: Or fears fhou'd fhake, or cares thy mind abuse, H CREECH. AVING endeavoured in my last Saturday's paper to fhew the great excellency of faith, I fhall here confider what are the proper means of strengthning and confirming it in the mind of man. Those who delight in reading books of controverfy, which are written on both fides of the queftion in points of faith, do very feldom arrive at a fixed and fettled habit of it. They are one day intirely convinced of its important truths, and the next meet with fomething that shakes and disturbs them. The doubt which was laid revives again and fhews itself in new difficulties and that generally for this reason, because the mind which is perpetually toft in controverfies and difputes, is apt to forget the reafons which had once fet it at reft, and to be difquieted with any former perplexity, when it appears in a new shape, N° 465 or is started by a different hand. As nothing is more laudable than an inquiry after truth, fo nothing is more irrational than to pafs away our whole lives, without determining ourselves one way or other in those points which are of the laft importance to us. There are in deed many things from which we may withhold cur affent; but in cafes by which we are to regulate our lives, it is the greatest abfurdity to be wavering and unfettled, without clofing with that fide which appears the moft fafe and the moft probable. The first rule therefore which I shall lay down is this, that when by reading or difcourfe we find ourfelves thoroughly convinced of the truth of any article, and of the reasonableness of our belief in it, we should never after suffer ourselves to call it into question. We may perhaps forget the arguments which occafioned our conviction, but we ought to remember the ftrength they had with us, and therefore ftill to retain the conviction which they once produced. This is no more than what we do in every common art and science, nor is it poffible to act otherwife, confidering the weakness and limitation of our intellectual faculties. It was thus, that Latimer, one of the glorious army of martyrs, who introduced the reformation in England, behaved himself in that great conference which was managed between the most learned among the proteftants and papifts in the reign of Queen Mary. This venerable old man knowing how his abilities were impaired by age, and that it was impoffible for him to recollect all thofe reafons which had directed him in the choice of his religion, left his companions, who were in the full poffeffion of their parts and learning, to baffle and confound their antagonists by the force of reason. As for himself he only repeated to his adverfaries the articles in which he firmly believed; and in the profeffion of which he was determined to die. It is in this manner that the mathematician proceeds upon propofitions which he has once demonftrated; and tho' the demonftration may have flipt out of his memory, he builds upon the truth, because he knows it was demonstrated. This rule is abfolutely neceffary for weaker minds, and in fome measure for men of the greatest abilities; but to thefe laft I would propofe in the fecond place, that they fhould fhould lay up in their memories, and always keep by them in a readiness thofe arguments which appear to them of the greateft ftrength, and which cannot be got over by all the doubts and cavils of infidelity. But, in the third place, there is nothing which ftrengthens faith more than morality. Faith and morality naturally produce each other. A man is quickly convinced of the truth of religion, who finds it is not against his intereft that it should be true. The pleasure he receives at prefent, and the happinefs which he promifes himfelf from it hereafter, will both difpofe him very powerfully to give credit to it, according to the ordinary obfervation that we are easy to believe what we wish. It is very certain, that a inan of found reafon cannot forbear clofing with religion upon an impartial examination of it! but at the fame time it is certain, that faith is kept alive in us, and gathers ftrength from practice more than from fpeculation. There is ftill another method which is more perfuafive than any of the former, and that is an habitual adoration of the Supreme Being, as well in conftant acts of mental worship, as in outward forms. The devout man does not only believe but feels there is a Deity. He has actual fenfations of him; his experience concurs with his reafon; he fees him more and more in all his intercourfes with him, and even in this life almoft lofes his faith in conviction. The laft method which I fhall mention for the giv ing life to a man's faith, is frequent retirement from the world, accompanied with religious meditation. When a man thinks of any thing in the darkness of the night,. whatever deep impreffions it may make in his mind, they are apt to vanith as foon as the day breaks about him. The light and no fe of the day, which are perpetually foliciting his fenfes, and calling off his attention, wear out of his mind the thoughts that imprinted themfelves in it, with fo much ftrength, during the filence and darkness of the night. A man finds the fame difference as to himfelf in a croud and in a folitude: the mind is stunned and dazzled amidst that variety of objects which prefs upon her in a great city. She cannot apply herself to the confideration of thofe things which M 4: are |