monies. To be a Christian is more than to be a Papist, an Episcopalian, a Presbyterian, or a Methodist. Christianity is a system of moral goodness; and the profession of faith in all its doctrines, and the performance of all its rites, without this fundamental element, are but as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, which please not the ear of Heaven, and meet not the necessities of men.

Wisdom and goodness are one; goodness and holiness are one; and holiness and happiness are one, bound together by indissoluble bands. The whole interest of men is conditioned on goodness; and through this on wisdom, and the whole end both of science and religion, is the promotion of goodness. Other things seem important from limited and partial views; and so they are, but goodness is good on the whole; its theater is the illimitable universe, and the period of its triumphs a boundless eternity. The ancient Stoics placed the supreme good in wisdom, and according to them, to be wise was both to be good and to be happy. Their agreement in this respect with Solomon is so striking, that it seems almost as if they had borrowed their principles from his inspired Proverbs. But their manner of sustaining and applying these principles is so original and peculiar, that we are compelled to regard them as the legitimate deductions of reason, and a part of that universal moral science which God has placed within the grasp of all men, and made independent of special revelations.

§521. There are many pretenders to wisdom, who are as destitute of it as the devil. True wisdom is that which is from above; "which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrsiy."—James iii. 17. But there is another principle which usurps the name and office of wisdom, which descendeth not from above; but is earthly, sensual, and devilish, the fruit of which is envying, strife, pride, and hypocrisy, selfishness, revenge, injustice, and cruelty, and the end of which is death.

Principles, like trees, are known by their fruits. Thorns do not produce grapes, nor thistles, figs; neither does true wisdom produce selfishness, pride, nor malignity; nor does its base counterfeit produce either holiness or happiness. Let us not be deceived; God is not mocked, and will not be over-reached or imposed upon. If we are truly wise, we shall be wise for ourselves as well as for others, and

reap from wisdom eternal benefits; but if we are unwise and wicked, no hypocritical pretensions to sanctity, and no self-complacent impressions of our superior excellence, and no factitious honors from men in being called Rabbi, Rabbi, will shield us from coming evil. Evil is at the door of the wicked; it lies in wait for him at every turn of life; besets, like a deceitful foe, all his paths; and at death, seizes and destroys him for ever. The doom of wickedness is sealed with a seven-fold certainty, and cannot be altogether escaped. The redeemed even are to be judged and dealt with like others, according to their deeds. Whatever favor is practicable will be shown them on account of the atonement; but they will not be cut loose from all responsibslity for their sins; and in proportion to their goodness will be their rewards.

CHAPTER III

NATURE AND OFFICE OF PRUDENCE.

§ 522. Prudence is a disposition to avoid possible evils, and is a department of the more general virtue of wisdom. It requires attention to objects with a view to determine what possible evils they may occasion, and then to put a fair and proper estimate upon those evils, and, as far as practicable, to avoid them. Providing against evils, is as legitimate an object of exertion as procurring good, and on the same grounds. Evil presses upon us with overpowering force, and repels us from actions tending to bring us into it, in the same way that good draws us to those of an opposite character. The pursuit of good requires to be continually modified by precautions to avoid evil, and cannot be effectual unless this is attended to.

Prudence requires to be learned. All persons are naturally imprudent as they are naturally inclined to take up with subordinate good without extending their views sufficiently to obtain adequate ideas of the supreme good. Our inquiries respecting possible good require to be extended from subordinate to the supreme good, in order that we may choose properly on this subject. But if we pursue good, either the subordinate or supreme, without any regard to

possible evils, we shall soon be in trouble. We must add to the consideration of good, that of evil; and from subordinate evils we must extend our views to those which are the greatest possible, in order to turn our agency to the best account. The pursuit of good is the appropriate object of wisdom, and avoiding evil that of prudence.

Prudence has taken rank as a distinguished virtue in all ages and nations. It was inculcated and strongly insisted upon by the Greek and Roman philosophers, and is powerfully enforced in the Scriptures, and in the works of most Christian moralists and divines. The occasions for the exercise of prudence are constant and innumerable, and the evils to be avoided are of every possible variety and magnitude, from those of a moment or hour, to those of a life or an eternity. A large proportion of the evils of this life are the effects of imprudence, and may be avoided by prudence. Good and evil are both before us, that we should pursue the former and avoid the latter; it is as necessary to avoid the evil as to pursue the good.

§ 523. We ought to be prudent in respect to the care of our health. Imprudent exposures of health are the occasion of much sickness, and of many premature deaths. Exposure to influences adapted to produce sickness, is often inevitable, and cannot be provided against by human foresight; but in the immense majority of cases, it may be avoided by previous attention and consideration; or if not entirely avoided, such protection may be obtained, as will generally prevent injury. The office of prudence in the preservation of health and life, is one of the greatest importance. It leads us to moderate our labors according to our powers, so as not to produce sickness by excessive labors. Health is often irreparably injured by excessive labors, which are entirely unnecessary. A great day's work is made greater than it need be, to the injury, and sometimes permanent injury of health, and excessive exertions are made in lifting heavy objects, to no useful purpose, or to purposes of only trivial importance. By proportioning their exertion to their powers, persons will perform the greatest amount of labor on the whole, and obtain to the greatest extent the rewards of labor. A person that is habitually imprudent in the employment of his powers of productive industry, can never be a profitable laborer. His imprudent expenditures of health and strength, will essen

tially impair his powers, and render him on the whole unprofitable. Other things being equal, the powers of effective labor possessed by individuals will be proportiona ble to their prudence, and the imprudent will always be inferior to the prudent, and the less prudent to the more prudent.

§ 524. Prudence in respect to property relates to its acquisition, preservation, and consumption. Prudence in the acquisition of property is a disposition to choose safe modes of acquisition, in preference to those which are unsafe; regular employments, in preference to irregular, and those which afford certain returns in preference to those which are uncertain. A prudent man will avoid entering into uncertain and hazardous speculations; and will not deem it proper to hazard the loss of a little which he may possess, for the chance of obtaining much more, provided there is an equal chance of his losing all; and he will regard a little safely invested worth more than many times as much held by an uncertain tenure.

The imprudent seldom become rich; and if they become rich, they seldom continue so. Prudence is as necessary to the continued acquisition of property as industry. A single act of imprudence_often occasions the loss of the accumulations of years. Imprudently becoming responsible for the debts of a friend, imprudently investing property in stocks which are of an uncertain value, or the value of which depends on contingencies, forming imprudent connections in business, and trusting persons imprudently, have ruined multitudes, and are continually operating in the ruin of multitudes. Prudence is an essential requisite in the character of a business man, to give him any reasonable prospect of success; and no degree of enterprize and energy, or of zeal and industry, can compensate for the want of it. Prudence in the preservation and consumption of property is next in importance to the same virtue in the acquisition of it. Multitudes can acquire property who cannot preserve it. The preservation of property is an object of much importance; and it is usually better for persons never to become rich, than to become so to be again reduced to poverty; and persons enjoy more happiness in a continual course of poverty, than in a transient condition of wealth and affluence, succeeded by poverty. The preservation of wealth requires prudence in the investment, use and con

sumption of it. If it is invested in unsafe modes, it may be lost; if it is not properly taken care of, it may be wasted ; and if disproportionably consumed, it may be exhausted. Every rich man ought to set apart a capital sufficient for all the essential purposes of life, not on any account to be consumed or diverted from its appropriate objects, as a means of his permanent and comfortable support; and his current expenses ought to be restricted within the proceeds of this capital, and of other sources of income. Poor men ought to make it a constant object to acquire such a capital, and so to proportion their expenses to their incomes, as every year to make some progress in the accomplishment of this object. They may not always succeed in this, but they ought always to aim at it, and to fail of its accomplishment as seldom and as little as possible. To live beyond one's income, is, in ordinary cases, highly improvident and unjustifiable.

§525. Friends are generally objects of choice. A few are provided for us by the customary arrangements of Divine Providence, such as our parents and children, and a few other near relations. But in most cases, to have particular persons attached to us as friends, we must make choice of them as such, and use means to secure their friendship. Our choice in this case must necessarily be restricted to such as we have the means of securing, but of those whom we may be able to secure, some may be chosen greatly to our advantage. Thousands have been ruined by the injudicious choice of friends, who might otherwise have been prosperous and happy. Even monarchs and heads of governments are not exempt from the common responsibility in this respect. A judicious choice of friends conduces much to men's prosperity and happiness, and an injudicious choice of friends involves them in many difficulties. Well chosen friends are pillars to support the authority of their sovereigns, and are of great service by their timely advice and counsels; and ill chosen friends are the curse of monarchs as they are of private persons.

Young men and women by a judicious choice of friends may attain degrees of respectability and happiness, which would otherwise be entirely beyond their reach. Friends are useful for counsel and co-operation, and as direct objects of enjoyment. Their principles and examples also powerfully affect us as objects of imitation. Well chosen friends