they would cultivate only the arts of peace, and endeavour to aid, affift, comfort, and preferve one another! (These pleasing ideas may at least be indulged: in them there can be nothing extravagant, whatever there may be in the expectation of the realities.) That this would be of infinite, real, folid advantage to all princes, kingdoms, and communities, as well as to private perfons, is certain. What immense charges are princes, kingdoms, and states frequently at, befides the effufion of human blood, (the most deplorable expence, tho' too little regarded) to gain perhaps an inconfiderable town or country, very often not worth a thousandth part of the charge; and which at laft, after a monftrous profufion of blood and treafure, they many times cannot obtain! nay frequently, instead of gaining others properties, poffeffions, and dominions, the aggreffors and invaders lose their own; or if that happens not to be the cafe, how common is it, after two or more potent nations have been many years at war, impoverishing and deftroying each other, to leave off and fit down at last with what each poffeffed before the quarrel began? And even when great and extenfive conquefts are gained, they fometimes end in the ruin of the conquerors themselves. Of this truth the Romans, in particular, were an eminent

inftance:

inftance: their extended and enormous conquefts were a principal cause of the deftruc tion of their empire.

BUT there is ftill another confideration which ought, more than all others, to deter christians, in particular, from waging any unneceffary wars; and that is, not only the deftruction of mens bodies, but the precipitating their fouls, by fudden death, with all their fins on their heads, into everlasting perdition. Chriftians are taught, and pretend to believe, the foul to be of fuch value, that the gain of the whole world is not to be fet in competition with it "; yet fcruple not to be the means, fo far as they know, nay as they have the greatest reafon, on their own principles, to believe, of hurrying millions into eternal mifery, to gratify the ambition of one man, or for the fake of a trifling difpute or quarrel.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? Matthew xvi. 26.

ESSAY

ESSAY II.

63

SOME

PRESERVATIVES

AGAINST

CRUELTY,

And the DETESTABLE PRACTICE of

Making War Unneceffarily,

PROPOSE D.

SECTION I.

T is certain, as hath been already mentioned, that to fome perfons cruelty is na ned, that to

In

na

tural; a difpofition to it is brought into the world with them: others learn it by bad examples, are taught it by wicked precepts, or excited to it by divers other vices: it is alfo much strengthened by habit.

I

MANY

MANY children are no fooner capable of mischief, but we fee them delighted with acts of barbarity, which they firft exercise on infects, or fuch little animals they can mafter; and as they are too frequently encouraged in this abominable practice, inftead of being reproved or chastised for it, no wonder, as they grow up to maturity of age, they grow up alfo to maturity of wickedness.

WHEN a natural propenfity to this vice is obferved in children, great and early care should be taken to prevent its growth, and, if poffible, to eradicate it.

THE firft means made ufe of to reform rational creatures should always be to reafon with them. If in this cafe that method does not prove effectual, punishments must then be made ufe of, but on no account fuch as may harden the offender, or tend to make him desperate; for those are much more likely to confirm and increase, than diminish or cure the evil. Perhaps, when a child is wantonly or wickedly hurting a harmless animal, and reproof hath been tried without effect, he should be used fomewhat after the fame manner himself, and made to feel, in a proper degree, the like kind of pain he inflicts: this, accompanied with fuitable admonitions, might be of fervice to deter him from repeating the like. And if fuch a method,

with ftill greater feverity, was practifed upon adults, who for fport, or in mere cruelty, torment the dumb creation, I fee not what reason they would have to complain of injustice. Indeed dumb animals are frequently used, as if men thought them as void of feeling as they are of speech; whereas it is very probable, the feeling of fome of them may be more acute than that of the human fpecies. It is apparent, that smelling, which is a fort of feeling, is in dogs and fome other animals fo much quicker than in mankind, that it is quite aftonishing. Since there is fuch an amazing fenfibility of this kind in these creatures, is it not probable there may.. be a like fenfibility of pain? And if fo, what extreme mifery are they often put to for the gratification of a prepofterous pleasure, and a barbarous and inhuman temper?

THERE can be no doubt but all sportive fpectacles of cruelty are of a very evil tendency, and ought to be entirely abolished. Some perfons may think that fuch fights are a means of forming men to bravery, and probably this was one reason why they were fo much encouraged among the Romans; but this proceeded from a mistake: for it is falfe policy to endeavour to make men brave by inuring them to blood and cruelty: this may render them bold and wicked affaffins,

I