wicked practices, advocates of his fins; is this true love, is SERM. this faithful friendship? No furely; nor is it fuch toward LX. ourselves, when we employ our faculties in contrivance or achievement of any unlawful defigns, however fatisfactory to our defires. If we should indifferently (without regard to the laws of piety, justice, humanity, or decency) efpouse the interests of any person, so that for the promoting his designs, advancing his profit, gratifying his humour or pleasure, we fhould violate the commands of God, we fhould neglect the public good, we should work injury or mischief to our neighbour; would this dealing be allowable? Neither would it be fo, if for our own fake, in regard to our private intereft, we should thus behave ourselves. 2. If we do affect to hold free, fincere, cheerful, kind converfation with any perfon, for mutual inftruction and comfort, this is fociable and friendly; but if we maintain frothy, foul, malicious, anywife peftilent discourse, apt to corrupt, or to annoy him, this is loathfome: and fo it is, if we keep fuch intercourfe with ourselves, harbouring vain, impure, unjust, uncharitable thoughts in our minds. If we should defer regard to any man, answerable to his worth, we should thereby practise according to the good rules of humanity: but should we so affect or fancy any man that we fhould care for no man else, should pay no due respect, or perform any office of kindness otherwhere; should take no man's word, or mind any man's opinion befide, nor care to converfe with any other; would this be love, would it not be ridiculous fondness? It is no less, if in regard to ourselves we are so morose, furly, or neglectful. If we should comply with any man's reasonable defire, this were fair and courteous; if we fhould confide in the probable affistance of any person, this were modest prudence: but if we should entirely conform our practice to the will or humour of another, against the dictates of our own reason, and to the harm of ourselves or others; would this be love, would it not rather be vile and pitiful slavery? If we should without any ground, yea against SERM. plain reason, rely upon the help or direction of another, LX. would this be love, would it not rather be wild prefump tion? The fame therefore it must be in us, if we in like manner are devoted to our own will, or confident in our own ability. If we should commend any man for good qualities or good deeds, this is honeft; if we should encourage him in good undertakings, this is charitable: but to applaud his defects, to bolfter him in ill practice, this is flattery and treachery; and in fo doing toward others, we are not friends to ourselves, but traitors and parafites. By fuch reflections and comparisons we may, I think, competently understand the nature of that baftard selflove, which is fo vicious in itfelf, and productive of so many vices: but more fully to display, and withal to diffuade us from this vice, I fhall particularly infift upon the common forts thereof, fhewing the peculiar unreasonablenefs of each, and the mischiefs confequent from it. They are indeed usually combined and complicated in practice, and have much affinity both in their nature and fruit; but I fhall, as well as I can, abstract them one from the other, and so treat on them distinctly; they are thefe: Self-Conceit, Self-Confidence, Self-Complacence, Self-Will, SelfIntereft. These I shall handle in the following discourses. SERMON LXI. OF SELF-CONCEIT. 2 TIM. iii. 2. For men fhall be lovers of themfelves, &c. LXI. 1. THE first and most radical kind of vicious felf-love is SERM, felf-conceitedness; that which St. Paul calleth ro UжEρPрOviv, to overween, or to think highly of one's felf, beyond what he ought to think. This doth confift in feveral acts or inftances. Sometimes we in our imagination affume to ourselves perfections not belonging to us, in kind or in degree; we take ourselves to be other men than we are; to be wife, to be good, to be happy, when we are not fo; at least to be far wifer, better, and happier than we are. The pleafure naturally springing from a good opinion of ourselves doth often fo blind our eyes and pervert our judgment, that we fee in us what is not there, or fee it magnified and transformed into another fhape than its own; any appearance doth fuffice to produce fuch mistakes, and having once entertained them, we are unwilling to depose them; we cannot endure by fevere reflection on ourselves to correct fuch pleafant errors; hence commonly we prefume ourselves to be very confiderable, very excellent, very extraordinary persons, when in truth we are very mean and worthless: fo did St. Paul fuppofe when he faid, If a man think himself to be something, when he is Gal. vi. 3. nothing, he deceiveth himself; fuch was the cafe of that LXI. SERM. church in the Apocalypfe; Thou fayeft I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest Rev. iii. 17. not, that thou art wretched and miferable; they were like men in a dream, or in a frenzy, who take themselves for great and wealthy perfons, when indeed they are in a forry and beggarly condition: into the like extravagancies of mistake we are all likely to fall, if we do not very carefully and impartially examine and study ourfelves. Again; Sometimes we make vain judgments upon the things we do poffefs, prizing them much beyond their true worth and merit; consequently overvaluing ourselves for them; the most trivial and pitiful things (things which in themselves have no worth, but are mere tools, and commonly ferve bad purposes; things which do not render our fouls anywife better, which do not breed any real content, which do not conduce to our welfare and happiness) we value at a monstrous rate, as if they were the most excellent and admirable things in the world. Have we wit? how witlefs are we in prizing it, or ourfelves for it; although we employ it to no good end, not serving God, not benefiting men, not furthering our own good, or anywife bettering our condition with it; although we no otherwise use it, than vainly to please ourselves or others, that is, to act the part of fools or buffoons. Have we learning or knowledge? then are we rare perfons; not confidering that many a bad, many a wretched perfon, hath had much more than we, who hath used it to the abuse of others, to the torment of himself; that hell may be full of learned scribes and subtile difputers, of eloquent Rom. i. 21. orators and profound philosophers; who when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, opibus non but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; not confidering alfo how very defective our Mart. xi. 6. knowledge is, how mixed with error and darkness; how useless and vain, yea how pernicious it is, if not fanctified by God's grace, and managed to his fervice. Have we riches? then are we brave men, as fine and glorious in our conceit as in our outward attire; although the veriest Ardua res hæc eft, tradere mores. fools, the baseft and moft miferable of men, that go on SERM. the ground, do exceed us therein; although, as Aristotle LIX. faith, Most either not use it, or abuse it; although our wealth affordeth us no real benefit or comfort, but expofeth us to numberlefs fnares, temptations, and mifchiefs; although it hath no ftability, but eafily may be taken from us. Have we reputation? how doth that make us highly to repute ourselves in a slavish imitation of others! yet nothing is less substantial, nothing is lefs felt, nothing is so easily loft, nothing is more brittle and slippery than it; a bubble is not fooner broken, or a wave funk, than is the opinion of men altered concerning us. Have we power? what doth more raise our minds! yet what is that commonly but a dangerous inftrument of mischief to others, and of ruin to ourselves; at least an engagement to care and trouble? What but that did render Caligula, Nero, and Domitian fo hurtful to others, fo unhappy themselves? what but that hath filled the world with disasters, and turned all history into tragedy? Have we profperous fuccefs in our affairs? then we boast and triumph in our hearts; not remembering what the Wise Man faith, The profperity of fools destroyeth them; and Prov. i. 32. that experience fheweth, profperity doth usually either find or make us fools b; that the wifeft men (as Solomon) 2 Chron. the best men (as Hezekiah), have been befooled by it: thus are we apt to overvalue our things, and ourselves for them. There is no way indeed wherein we do not thus impose upon ourselves, either affuming false, or misrating true advantages; the general ill confequences of which misdemeanour are, that our minds are stuffed with dreams and fantastic imaginations, instead of wife and sober thoughts; that we misbehave ourselves toward ourselves, treating ourselves like other men than we are, with unfeemly regard; that we expect other men fhould have • Τῶν πολλῶν οἱ μὲν ἢ χρῶνται τῷ πλούτῳ διὰ μικρολογίαν, οἱ δὲ παραχρῶνται δι ἐσωτίαν. Arift. apud Plut. in Pelop. Rarus enim ferme fenfus communis in illa xxxii. 25. |