that I have not laughed but in defence of my abfolute and relative

rights. The malignant fneer I heartily defpife; it differs as much from my kind of laughing, as mine from the fmiles of Providence.

It is the aim of more to be thought happy, than really to be fo; and as this object is more eafily obtained than fubftantial joy, I have given it chafe and have gained my point.I am called the happieft man in the Commonwealth, and I really fuppofe I am.

What naturally difpleafes most people, gives me pleafure; not becaufe I rejoice at the mifery of others; but as I take our intervals of evil to be far fhorter than those of good, I am pleased when evils come; because they are dreaded till paft, and because I know their speedy and frequent arrival will haften their departure. The convalefcent confider themselves exempts from difeafe and contagion; but the veteran in health looks at a fick bed with horror, be cause he knows he must have his

turn.

To be able to convert all these into laughter, is the art I boaft. Gay, when melancholy might bind me to defpair; lively, when fears and apprehenfions might immerfe every enjoyment in terror, I defy thefe puny ills, which devour half the happiness of man, and fing when nations bleed. I can philofophically ridicule what are vulgarly termed unavoidable evils, and fmile as meaningly at the death of a friend, as a churl at the death of his wife. What is irretrievably loft cannot be a moment recalled by grief, or the lofs diminished by weeping. My friend might have proved treacherous, and

then would have deferved the punifhment he now can never receive. My brother might have withdrawn himself from my fociety, and forever have debarred me the pleasures, the lofs of which, others would mourn inceffantly, but at which I smile and fay, Amen.

Call

A well meaning author writes not for emolument, but to make others happy. This excellence of difpofition I likewife arrogate to myfelf; for, reader, I give thee full liberty to be fo merry when thou speakest of me, or when thou heareft me laugh, and to pay fo little regard to my feelings as to laugh at me, as much as fhall be fatisfying. me ftupid; fay that I lack fenfibility; ftill I will not grieve thee with a charge of detraction; but at some more aufpicious feafon for the Laugher, make thee laugh at thy grofs miftake of a character, not the most laughable, but one who never laughs with more feeling fatisfaction, than when he knows he makes his species glad.

To be always witty, or always laughing, would be like living conftantly on fweet-meats; therefore, thou wilt find me always brief. Never will I tire thee by telling my dreams, or faying my prayers; thefe are domeftic duties, and fhall not trouble thee. I too highly value the public tafte to lavish much of my advice; but to be capable of pertinently laughing a rascal out of countenance, is worthy the attention of all thofe whofe attention I crave; and I am convinced that the art is never gained without much practice, and a few hints from one as much experienced as the profeffed Laugher.

-SELF.

THE true knowledge of ourselves is the most valuable of all fciences; and to attain it, the most neceffary of all acquifitions. Upon this knowledge depend the propriety of our actions, our fafety, and much of our present happiness.

These truths are generally affented to in theory, but seldom prove fufficiently operative on our practice. Few willingly fubmit to pursue the arduous examination, What they are -how constituted-what relation they stand in to other beings-and what is the nature, extent, and influence of their paffions and mental faculties? Almost every other kind of inquiry takes place of this, although it is the most important of any that can employ the mind of man. While we are folicitous to become acquainted with every thing without us, we voluntarily remain strangers to, and ignorant of ourselves.

Three reafons may be affigned for this neglect; the firft is, that from infancy we are taught to employ the greater part of our thoughts and attention on material objects, and in reasoning from, and about them, The fecond is, that an inquiry into the nature of our own minds, and the strength and influence of our fac ulties and paffions, requires a stronger exertion of thought than is agreeable to that indolence in which mankind are too apt to repofe. And the third is, that felf-examination often prefents a humiliating profpect to the mind, and convicts it of its own on folly and imprudence; and is that account difagreeable to us. On thefe caufes I fhall make a few observations.

BIAS.

The ufual mode of educating youth is very unfavourable to the knowledge of ourselves.-The years of infancy are spent in mere trifling and amufement. When the period of life arrives, in which the mental faculties begin to expand and acquire vigour, the hours of inftruction and ftudy are confined to the common beaten track of fchool-learning. The languages, arts, and fciences, clofe the scene, and finish the man. He is indeed taught the general fyftem of moral ethics, and perhaps fome care is taken to enrich his mind with principles of religion and virtue; but little or no care is exercised to excite in him an inquiry whence his various paffions arise-by what they are excited or reftrained-how he may best govern and direct them aright-and what is the nature and extent of those noble powers of reafon and understanding which he poffeffes.

Hence, when he has finifhed his education, and ripens into manhood, he is of nothing fo ignorant as himfelf. He has never examined the caufe of his ideas-whence his paffions arife-to what they most strongly tend-how they are best controlled-and what connexion the various powers of the understanding have with each other, and with the objects on which they are or ought to be exercifed.-Unaccuftomed to clofe thinking, he feldom acquires that juft train of reafoning by which alone difcoveries of this kind are made. Having never been taught to regulate his ideas with precifion, he is loft in a labyrinth. He appears a riddle to himfelf, which he cannot explain;

the

the employment becomes irkfome, and flies to fenfible objects for amusement and gratification.

By this voluntary renunciation of. their nobleft privileges, and neglect of their mental powers, men become ftrangers to themfelves, and remain contented in a state of ignorance, which often proves fatal to their peace and happiness. Of the fecret fprings of their own actions, and of the natural means Heaven has furnished them with to avoid error, and embrace truth, they have no clear ideas. Hence they flatter themselves into a belief that their errors fpring from, neceffity; that wifdom and virtue are not in any high degree attainable in this ftate of exiftence, and of course they are not endeavouring to arrive at that perfection of which their reafonable and intellectual nature is capable.

From the wart of knowing ourfelves, arife two of the greatest errors that the human mind is capable of, viz. ambition, and fuperftition. The man who has never, by a careful examination of his intellectual powers, difcovered their imperfection, confiders himfelf as a kind of an independent being, and fets up his reafon as the fupreme judge and god of his idolatry. Whatever he cannot comprehend by it, he ridicules, and ftamps with the epithet of enthusiasm. Hence he denies many of the fublimeft myfteries of the Chriftian religion, calls imperfection what he fancies fuch," and in the pride of his heart fometimes calls in queftion the Providence, or profanely arraigns the difpenfations and economy, of an All-Perfect Being.

Having by thefe means reafoned himself out of his religion, he foon, relaxes his fyftem of morals, and adapts it rather to the impulfe of his own paffions, than the nature of

things, or the revealed will of his Creator. Human laws now become the only check upon his conduct. His virtues are merely conftitutional, or fuch as he practises for the fake of obtaining the honour and applaufe of men. His vices are indulged in proportion to the strength of his paffions, or the opportunity he has of gratifying them with prefent fafety. To gain power, or wealth, or fame; is his principal study. At the fhrine of thefe deities, every wife, religious, and moral confideration is facrificed. His days are spent in pride, pleasure, and a difregard to every thing which becomes the humility of beings liable to innumerable errors and dangers, and the dignity of that immortal nature which they poffefs, and by which they are allied to angels.

In others, the want of knowing themfelves, produces effects of a different and oppofite nature. From this uncultivated ground fpring fuperftition and bigotry. Men of dull, phlegmatic conftitutions, feeing the general prevalence of fenfual paflions in others, and feeling their effects in themselves, have, through ignorance of the frame and conftitution of the human mind, wantonly pronounced human nature itself as altogether fallen, wicked, and devilith. They have not diftinguished between the natural powers of man as the gift of his Creator, and thofe powers when corrupted, debafed, and perverted, by wilful difobedience to the divine laws, and the unrestrained indulgence of the animal paffions. But because fome have darkened their underftandings by vicious practice, and perverted their reafon, thefe men condemn the whole together;-pronounce thofe noble powers themfelves corrupt; and exclaim with all the bitterness of an ignorant zeal against the use of them.-Hence

arife many of the grofs errors in religious fpeculation and practice, which are a fcandal to the profeffion of Christianity. Hence fpring bigotry, uncharitablenefs, and fpiritual pride; and hence proceed all the idle clamour of paffionate or weakheaded zealots against the exercise of men's reafon and understanding in matters appertaining to religion. Hence alfo arife falfe notions refpecting the Deity and his adorable at tributes, and the erroneous modes of worship which we fee adopted by the enthufiaftic and fuperftitious part of mankind, to the difgrace of religion itself.

Self-examination, and an acquaintance with the nature and extent of the powers and paffions with which we are endued, would difcover the folly and error of that inattention which is the object of my cenfure. Many have entered on this important task, but from the humiliating profpect which first prefents itself, have fhrunk back, and fought repofe in ignorance. They have discovered, that many of their actions, which gained the approbation of the public as well as themfelves, fprung from motives very different from thofe to which felf-flattery had afcribed to them. They fee temperance fometimes fpringing from the fear of difeafe; chastity from the dread of shame; honefty practifed with a view to intereft, and the confidence of mankind; and general regularity of manners, to obtain refpect and honour in the world. They perhaps feel an impulfe in themselves to many vices, which outward confiderations only tend to reftrain them from; and are confcious of so many secret faults, that the profpect becomes too painful to be long indulged.

N n

But fuch fhould confider, that whatever they fee of this kind, it is in their power to rectify. The weakness of their minds may be ftrengthened; its wanderings may be reftrained; its languor may be invigorated; its views may be di-. rected to proper objects, and its activity increafed. The natural tendency of the paffions may be explored and regulated; their career may be checked, or their force applied to fome useful and falutary purpose.

The knowledge of our ruling paffions, and to what they tend, will inftruct us to correct their influence, timely to retreat from the objects of their gratification, and to guard the avenues, through which danger may affail us.

Let the man, whofe ruling paffion is the indulgence of his appetites, beware of trufting himself at a feaft; or of joining the convivial circle over a bottle. If avarice govern him, let him call a little pride to his aid, as the leffer evil, which will beft. correct the other, by exciting him to defpife its meannefs. If ambition rule him, he should either retreat. from whatever feeds it, or render it a virtue, by fuffering it only to excite him to acts of public benefit to mankind. If honour and fame are. the objects of his purfuits, and have charms which he cannot refift, let him feek to obtain them by fuch a courfe of virtuous and honourable conduct as merits them.

Thus moft of our paffions may either be restrained within due bounds, by encouraging their oppofites, or rendered useful by turning them into proper channels. None of them were given to be extirpated or wholly reftrained. They are only to be regulated by the more noble facul

ties,

ties, under the influence of a fuperior principle.

Love is the parent of almost every virtue. Anger is neceffary to prevent our finking into a state of pufillanimity, which would' encourage every fpecies of infult and impofiAvarice and prodigality ftand oppofed to each other; in a public light, the one is neceffary to the being of the other; either fingly would foon prove deftructive to humian happinefs. Pride, although not the proper object of man's indulgence, may under fome circumftances be ufeful. It prevents our relaxing into ignorance and barbarifim; it is allo the parent of fhame; and shame prevents the open indulgence of ma ny vices in men who want a better motive. Ambition, although productive of many difmal confequences when indulged on a large feale, is often productive of good; when turned into proper channels, it be comes a fpecies of emulation which excites men to the moft noble and beneficent actions. This is alfo the cafe with the love of fame. -In onder to obtain it, many have attemptcd and accomplished things of the higheft importance and honour to ftates and nations, as well as individuals; and which none would have undertaken, without this powerful ftimulus. Thus, like the ele ments in the natural world, the paffions are all neceffary, and tend to correct each other in the mind of

man.

And with refpect to their prevalence in individuals, it has pleaf ed the Wife Author of all fo to conconftitute things here below, that "partial evil" is, in this fenfe, "univerfal good;" becaufe all condace. to the harmony and general order of the univerfe.

But a difcovery of the nature and

tendency of our paffions, and of the means to govern them, is not the whole advantage arifing from selfexamination. We find implanted in our minds many virtuous and kind affections, which are overlooked in the hurry of life, and which is our duty and intereft to cherish with the utmost care and diligence. These, by proper culture, will expand and bloom with increafing beauty and ftrength; and prove a fource of happinefs and comfort to ourselves and others. He who examines his own heart with attention, will fee that it is not-a fteril foil. The weeds and tares that frequently overfpread it, fhew its capability of producing the excellent fruits of virtue. The more he becomes acquainted with his weaknefs and ftrength, the more he will fee the neceflity of exerting the one to affift the other; and, with an humble heart, contemplate his own dignity and importance, as: a being formed for happinefs and immortality.

When he exalts his views to the nobler powers of reafon, understanding, and judgment, and examines their ftrength and extent, the profpect becomes more pleafing. He then fees that he is a compound of terreftrial and celeftial natures; that his prefent-imperfection arifes from his connexion with this world; a connexion that will foon be broken; and that, when releafed from the imprifonment and influence of thefe elements, he will fhine forth in all his dignity as an immortal creature of God.

When he confiders the force and extent of his intellectual powers even while clothed with this " mbrtal vefture of decay," and reflects on their more glorious expanfion in the world of fpirits, it will elevate his

views;