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"A good preacher does not always deal in generals, but fre quently infifts upon particulars. To tell men, in general, that they are finners, and if they repent not, that they will go to hell, is but a vague way of preaching, and will, at best, make but a vague impreffion. But if you tell them, that to cheat or overreach their neighbours, to lie against the light of truth, and walk in the paths of cruelty, will bring down upon them certain deftruction; if you tell them, that whoever is addicted to fwearing, drinking, licentioufnefs, will, in fpite of mercy, pull down the ftroke of impending juftice, then you fpeak to every man's confcience, and every man knows what you mean; and if any spark of ingenuity remain in the bofom of the hearer, this addrefs will carry convic tion to his heart, and force him, on his peril, to relinquish either his confcience or his crimes.

"I would not have a fermon to be crouded with wit, nor would I wish it to be totally void of it. Too much might detract from its gravity; none at all might render it languid. A dull, infipid difcourfe, without nerves, without fpirit, without unction, though feriously delivered, and fuperlatively orthodox, makes but a drowsy audience and a drowfy religion; whereas proper ftrokes of grave and genuine wit, interfperfed at proper diftances, like stars in the firmament, give life and vivacity to a performance, and stimulate the attention of an audience.

"I would not have a preacher to be a fervile imitator, Servile imitation fuppofes the want of originality, which derogates from the merit of the man, and, of confequence, from the merit of the preacher.

"I would not have a preacher to borrow much, Borrowing from abroad fuppofes a deficiency at home, and a deficiency at home leads to contempt from abroad. Few are efteemed, who are much, in any fenfe, on the borrowing hand. Befides, he who retails old, patched, fecond hand preachings, cannot fo properly be called fermon maker, as a fermon-broker,

"I would not have a preacher to be a flave to his papers. For my own part, I fee no intrinfic evil in them, and am forry, that the prejudices of our country are foftrong against the ufe of them. Yet I cannot help thinking, that he, who pays little attention to his notes, delivers his fentiments with more grace and energy, than he who flavishly confults them; but if a man's memory does not serve him to repeat distinctly, it is better to read, than to repeat ungracefully.

I would not have a minister to be long in his performances. Long preachings are a certain mark of a bad preacher, who makes up in quantity, what he lacks in quality. A fhort preacher generally fays more in half an hour, than a long one does in half a day. And to fay the truth, I know nothing that tedious preachings are good for, but to make one half of an audience defert the church, and the other half fall afkeep when they are in it.

"I would with a preacher to have all his difcourfes feasoned with the fpirit of the gofpel. The gofpel is one of those things, of which a preacher fhould not be ashamed.

With regard to manner, an eafy, elegant address is to be wished for, pomp to be avoided, and rather no action than too much.

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In this refpect, even aukwardness is preferable to parade. The reafon is this; aukwardnefs may be complexional, or proceed from unacquaintance with the world; but parade ever flows from a defire of being confpicious upon falfe grounds.

"A good preacher diverfifies his manner according to the diverfity of his fubjects, but, upon the whole, is grave and folemn, and ever at the remoteft diftance from any thing that is light and trifling; as he knows that a ludicrous face is the most unbecoming that can poffibly be put upon a serious religion.

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"The fourth prefervative against contempt in a minifter, is to be a good man. This is the laft qualification, and, I may add, the beft. This is the top and crowning point, which finally completes the character. Without this, the deepest penetration of mind degenerates into a worthlefs fagacity, which transforms the image of God into the image of the Devil. Without this, the artificial fubtleties of philofophy are but the fcaffolds of pedantry, or the props of vice. Without this, the fublimeft exertions of eloquence are but founding brafs and tinkling cymbals, "like the tale of an idiot, full of found and fury, fignifying nothing." But an uniform fublimity of conduct gives a brilliancy to each perfection, and sheds a luftre on each accomplishment.

"It is true, fpecious and fhowy endowments may aftonish the croud, and make the vulgar ftare; but it is the native complexion of the mind which fixes the value of the man, and the confirmed habits of virtue only which call forth, from furrounding fpectators, the liberal fentiments of love and efteem. The heart is the true ftandard of the character; the life is the tranfcript of the heart. Our principles are the fprings of our actions; our actions are the touchstones of our principles.

"A minifter, therefore, if he wishes for refpect, must join to the qualities of a good head, the best of all qualities, a good heart; and prove his being poffeffed of it, by a good life: for a tree is known by its fruit, and a fountain by its ftreams. Vice in a public character is the production of a monstrous birth, and cannot be viewed but with horror. But in fterling worth there is a kind of magnetism, which attracts, at once, the eye and heart of the beholder; nay, may I be allowed the boldness of the thought, there is a kind of omnipotence in fteady virtue, which compels mankind to refpect it, even against their will.

"A minifter, deftitute of truth and candour, is the most worthlefs thing in nature, the most despicable character on earth. He is a double-minded man, a fervant of two mafters; in the pulpit, the fervant of God; out of it, the fervant of the devil. He is the center of two contradictions; he preaches against his life, and lives against his preaching; by profeffion a faint, and by practice a mifcreant. What can be fo fhocking to the fentiments of mankind, as to hear a drunkard preach against drunkennefs, mifer against covetoufnefs, a debauchee against licentioufnefs, or a fatyriit against revenge? Nature cries fhame on fuch hypocrify, and the man's heart muft give the lie to his tongue. The com

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mon feelings of men must revolt at fuch duplicity, and their com mon fenfe exclaim against fuch barefaced impudence.

"A minifter, then, in order to procure refpect, must be a good man. For it will not do for a man to be at variance with himself, his practice to be oppofite to his profeffion, and his pretended principles the reverfe of his real ones. Averfion, hatred, contempt, must ever be the confequence of fuch bafe and difengenuous conduct.

"I, therefore, repeat it once more, and indeed it cannot be foo often repeated, a minifter, in order to procure refpect, muft be a good man. But when I fay this, I do not wish to give you the idea of a man of a morofe and gloomy difpofition, who is an enemy to the amufements of innocence, and dead to the pleasures of life; a man whose face is wrapped up in the clouds of melan choly, and on whofe tongue the cant of religion ever dwells; Alas! thefe are but the fplendid enfigns of hypocrify, and often indicate the abfence of religion. There may be much religion in the look, when there is but little in the heart; there may be much fhow, when there is but little fubftance. True goodness, like true happiness, does not affect the pomp and fplendor of a glittering outfide; but, substantial in its nature, difdains to counterfeit appearances. One is apt to fufpect a man's goodness to be theatrical, when of his goodness he is perpetually making theatrical difplays. A good man never wears the garb of more folemnity than he poffeffes, nor wishes to poffefs more than is rational. He does not distort the features of his mind or face, to affume a borrowed look; because he knows, that whatever is trained is unnatural, and whatever is unnatural is difgufting.

"But, by a good man, I wish to give you the idea of a man of fteady faith, unaffected piety, rational benevolence, and inflexible integrity; whofe fermons are the picture of his life, and whofe life is a commentary on his fermons; whofe foul is fuperior to the grofs indulgences of vice, and whofe affections are refined by the fublime entertainments of virtue.

"In short, a minifter should be religious, but not noify; pious, but not peevish; devout, but not morofe; ferious, but not fuperftitious he should be humble, but not grovelling; chafte, but not monkish; temperate, but not too abftemious; charitable, but not oftentatious: he should have gravity without gloominefs, and chearfulness without levity: he fhould be good-natured, but not filly; obliging, but not officious; focial, but not common: he he fhould have affability without meanness, complaifance without fawning, and apparent opennefs, but in fome cafes a real referve. He should temper the dignity of the minifter with the familiarity of the man, the fpirit of the gentleman with the candour of the christian, the wifdom of the ferpent with the innocence of the dove.

"This affemblage of amiable qualities will fecure him universal refpect. His character will be respected while he lives, his memory will be refpected when he dies; and in that country where

death

death is an eternal ftranger, he will be respected by angels,→ he will be refpected by God. O goodness, thou queen of beauties! who would not wish to poffefs thy charms? Who would not with to be clothed with thy honours? Who would not wish to wear thy crown?

66 Now, my reverend fathers and brethren, to relieve your patience, upon which, I am afraid, I have already enchroached, I will truft to your own prudence the application of what has been advanced, and will conclude a long difcourfe with a fhort obfervation. Let us respect ourselves, then men will refpect us; let us revere our character, then men will revere it. Dignified, as we are, with the illuftrious title of ambaffadors from God, let us discover fentiments worthy of our exalted mafter, and actions worthy of our exalted character. Let our minds be stored with useful knowledge, and our lives be adorned with active virtue. Whatever we let flip, let us hold faft our integrity, and with approving confciences return to the duft. Then, when the grave shall restore its facred trust, the fea give up its dead, and earth and hell release, their prisoners, faints fhall embrace us with celeftial love, angels welcome us to their sweet fociety, the Redeemer fet on our heads the immortal crown, the Kings of Kings become our refuge, and the God of Gods himself our everlasting habitation. Amen!"

[To be concluded in our next.]

Letters from an English Traveller [Martin Sherlock, Efq.] tranflated from the French, originally printed at Geneva. With Notes, 4to. Cadell.

If our traveller at aiming at eafe, had not fallen into the careless, we fhould with pleafure have confidered him the legitimate, literary fon of Montagne; as his letters bear fuch a resemblance to those of that celebrated writer.

His judgment as a critic deferves commendation; his candour every praife, and for delicacy of compliment he élaims our admiration.

We extract his firft letter: because it contains fome circumftances that should immortalize the man who is, fo justly, the admiration of all Europe-the King of Pruffia. BERLIN, O&. 10, 1777.

"The King of Pruffia is every where known as a great king, a great warrior, and a great politician; but he is not every where known as a great poet and a good man. Marcus Aurelius, Ho race, Machiavel, and Cæfar have been his models, and he has almoft furpaffed them all, I have never heard of a human be VOL. XI. Kk

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ing that was perfect this monarch also has his faults; but take bim for all in all, he is the greatest man that ever exifted.

"At the beginning of his life he published his Anti-Machiavel, and this was one of the completest strokes of Machiavelifm that ever was made. It was a letter of recommendation of himself that he wrote to Europe at the inftant when he formed the plan of feizing Silefia.

"To his fubjects he is the jufteft of fovereigns; to his neighbours he is the most dangerous of heroes; by the former he is adored, by the latter he is dreaded. The Pruffians are proud of their Great Frederick, as they always ftyle him. They speak of him with the utmoft freedom, and at the fame time that they criticise feverely fome of his tastes, they give him the highest eulogiums. He was told that fome one had fpoken ill of him. He afked if that perfon had 100,000 men? He was answered, No. Very well,' faid the king, I can do nothing; if he had :00,000 men, I would declare war against him.'

"The character of this age, in which men are the most mistaken, is this prince; and the reafon is, that they confound two parts of his character, and form only one opinion on two points, each of which requires a feparate opinion. The King of Pruffia has occafioned the death of fome thousands of men; and yet the King of Pruffia is a merciful, tender, and compaffionate prince. This feems a contradiction, but it is a certain truth. He must first be confidered as a conqueror, where he is not fuffered to listen to the voice of humanity. When heroifm is out of the question, we must examine the man. It will be faid that this is a fubtlety. I deny it, and appeal to history: What clemency is more generally acknowledged than that of Julius Cæfar? What conqueror

has fhed more blood?

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"I own to you, that, when I entered Pruffia, I had fome judices against the king: these are the reafons that made me change my opinion.

"He was forced to marry the queen, and though he has never lived with her, he loves him, because he has always treated her with refpect, and has always had a regard for her. She has a palace at Berlin, and another at Schenhaufen, where the paffes the fummer. Her court, which she holds twice a week, is brilliant and numerous, because it is known that the king is fenfible of the attention that is fhewn her. She has fome hesitation in her fpeech; but the is the best princefs in the world, and the king efteems her highly.

"The prince's Amelia is oppreffed with infirmities and years. She has lost the ufe of one arm and the fight of one eye. She has wit and an improved understanding; and the king never goes το Berlin for five hours but he paffes three with this fifter.

"The following incident was related to me by her Royal Highnefs the reigning Duchefs of Brunswick: While fhe had the fmall-pox, the king went to fee her; fhe was thought to be in great danger; he threw himself on his knees by her bed-fide,

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