a man who thus flights our favours, because as yet unexperienced in their delights: no, rather let us attempt to feduce him from his wife pursuit of tranquillity, and teach him to reverence our power." Thus faying, they both, the better to disguise themselves, affumed the drefs of fhepherds, and accofted the ruftic in terms the most inviting, "Dear shepherd, how do I pity,cries Glory, your poor fimplicity; to fee fuch talents buried in unambitious retirement, certainly might create even the compaffion of the gods. Leave, pr'ythee leave a folitude deftined only for ignorance and ftupidity; it is doubly to die, to die without applause. You have virtues, and thofe ought to appear, not thus lie hid with ungrateful obftinacy.. Fortune calls, and Glory invites thee. I promise you a certainty of fuccefs: you have only to chufe, whether to become an author, a minifter of ftate, or a general; in either capacity, be affured of finding refpect, riches, and immortality." At fo unaccustomed an invitation, the fhepherd feemed incapable of determining. He hesitated for fome time between ambition and content, till at length the former prevailed, and he became, in fome measure, a convert. Avarice now came in to fix him entirely, and willing to make him completely the flave of both, thus continued the converfation. "Yes, fimple fwain, be convinced of your ignorance; learn from me, in what true happiness confifts. You are in indigence, and you mifcall your poverty temperance. What! fhall a man, formed for the most important concerns, like you, exhauft a precious life, only in ogling his miftrefs, playing upon his pipe, or fhearing his sheep. While the reft of mankind, blessed with affluence, confecrate all their hours to rapture, improved with art, fhall you remain in a cottage, perhaps fhuddering at the winter's breeze? Alas! little doft thou know of the pleafures attending the great. What fumptuous palaces they live in ; how every time they leave them feems a triumphal proceffion; how every word they pronounce is echoed with applaufe: without fortune, what is life but mifery?what is virtue but fullen fatisfaction ?Money, money, is the grand mover of the univerfe; without it life is infipid, and talents contemptible." The unhappy fhepherd was no longer able to refift fuch powerful perfuafions; his miftrefs, his flock, are at once banished from his thoughts, or contemptible in his eye. His rural retreat becomes taftelefs, and ambition fills up every chafm in his breaft: in vain did this faithful partner of all his pleafures and cares follicit his ftay; in vain expofe the numberlefs dangers he muft neceffarily encounter; nothing could perfuade a youthful mind bent on glory, and whose heart felt every paflion in extreme. How ever, uncertain what courfe to follow, by chance he fixed upon the mufes; and he began, by fhewing the world fome amazing inftances of the fublimity of his genius. He inftantly found admiffion among the men of wit, and he gave leffons to those who were candidates for the public favour. He publish'd criticisms to fhew, that fome were not born poets, and apologies in vindication of himself. But foon fatire attacked him with all its virulence; he found, in every brother wit, a rival, and, and, in every rival, one ready to depreciate whatever he had written. Soon, therefore, he thought proper to quit this feducing train, that of fer beds of roses, but fupply only a couch of thorns. He next took the field in quality of a foldier. He was foremoft in revenging the affronts of his country, and fixing his monarch on the throne; he was foremost in braving every danger, and in mounting every breach with a few fucceffes more, and a few limbs lefs, our fhepherd would have equalled Cæfar himself; but foon envy began to pluck the hardened laurel from his brow. His conquefts were attributed not to his fuperior fkill, but the ignorance of his rivals: his patriotism was judged to proceed from avarice, and his fortitude from unfeeling affurance. Again, therefore, the fhepherd changes, and, in his own defence, retired to the cabinet from the field. Here, become a thorough bred minifter of ftate, he copies out conventions, mends treaties, raifes fubfidies, levies, disposes, fells, buys, and lofes his own peace, in procuring the peace of Europe; he even, with the industry of a minifter, adopts his vices, and becomes flow, timid,fufpicious,and auftere. Drunk with power, and involved in fyftem, he fees, confults, and likes none but himself. He is no longer the fimple fhepherd, whofe thoughts were all honeft, and who spoke nothing but what he thought; he now is taught only to fpeak what he never in tends to perform. His faults difgufted fome, his few remaining virtues more at length, however, his fyftem fails, all his projects are blown up; what was the caufe of misfortune, was attributed to cor ruption and ignorance; he is arraigned by the people, and fcarcely efcapes being condemned to fuffer an ignominious death. Now too late, he finds the folly of having attended to the voice of avarice, or the call of ambition; he flies back to his long-forfaken cottage, again affumes the ruftic robe of innocence and fimplicity; and, in the arms of his faithful Sylvana, paffed the remainder of his life in innocence, happiness, and peace. On the qualifications requifite in a commentator upon the holy fcriptures. SIR, A Book of fo much importance as the Bible, which contains a revelation from the moft high God of every thing interefting and important to human creatures, ought to be read with the greatest reverence, and handled with the greatest caution: But to fit down as a commentator upon this facred book, and to profefs one's self a public expofitor of it, as it is one of the moft arduous, fo is it one of the moft folemn undertakings. Great are the abilities, and many are the qualifications neceffary for this purpose. No man fhould prefume upon it, without a perfect critical knowledge of the languages in which the fcriptures are written, without a competent understanding of the hiftory and antiquities, the genius and polity of the Jewish nation, without an acquaintance with the connected profane hiftory, the manners and cuftoms of ancient times. It is alfo abfolutely neceffary, that a commentator fhould understand the whole analogy of faith, as well as be a complete master of all the controverfies, troverfies, ancient and modern, with the tenets of the feveral fects and herefies; without a competent fkill in which he can never be able to elucidate those texts, which are applied in the fupport of thofe feveral opinions. Befides thefe qualifications, there is one, which all writers on the fubject have spoken of as indifpenfably requifite, that is, a pious and devout frame of mind; a fpirit like that, with which the fcriptures are written; without this, accompanied by a holy, fedate, and contemplative life, all the wifeft and best of chriftians have agreed, that no man is qualified to expound the oracles of God.---Serious application, continued labour, long experience much study, folid judgment, united with the qualifications abovementioned, might lead us to hope for valuable fruits in a commenta tor. Thefe, fir, are fome of the things requifite, and which, indeed, mu be found in every man, who defires his attempts upon the bible to fucceed. How great then must be the indignation of every fenfible man, and how fincere the concern of every true Christian, to fee this, moft venerable of all books, hackneyed through the hands of book fellers, and retailed daily, not for the great ends of piety, virtue, and know. ledge, but with the moft mercenary and selfish views.---Some there are, with grief I fpeak it, who dare to introduce into the world the oracles of truth with a lie in their mouths, with feigned names and falfe titles: Others, who think it enough, if, from the former labours of able and worthy men, they plunder without confcience, and without gratitude patch up their fheet, gain their fcanty guinea, and dine! while others, with unblushing hypocrify, pretend a zeal for the Lord, and a concern for the falvation of precious fouls; when it is notoriously known, that they are only the tools of bookfellers, and draw the hireling pen as if the inftruments of fcheming trade! while, without breach of charity, it may be faid of all, that they are eminently deficient in those leading qualifications which are neceffary to conftitute a commentator on the holy fcriptures:-this- tranflations of which how can they have the arrogance to propose to correct, who, I will venture to affirm, many of them cannot even read one of the languages at least in which those fcriptures were written. Thus much, fir, I thought due from me as an honeft man, and a well-wisher to Christianity, in order to undeceive the ignorant, but wellmeaning; to put a check, if poffible, to this fcandalous traffick; to throw a proper contempt upon the low and mercenary dealers in it, injurious as it is to the caufe of true religion and virtue: while at the fame time, I would be as forward, and would exhort all within my fphere to be fo, in promoting the labours of any man of known learning, known abilities, known experience, and known piety; but till fuch a one fhall appear amongst us, let us be content with thofe many useful and excellent comments we already have upon the fcriptures, nor be forward to encourage thofe who handle God's word only for hire, and steal honey from the hives of others, to fupply their own deficiences. As I know not any reafon why I fhould conceal my name, where the word of God, Truth, and and Religion, are fo much concern- I am, fir, of religion, while in England they are scarcely awakened into a fenfe of its duties, even in circumstances of the greatest distress. This diffolute and fearless conduct foreigners are apt to attribute to climate and conftitution; may not the vulgar, being pretty much neglected in our exhortations from the Some remarks on the modern manner pulpit, be a confpiring caufe? Our I' of preaching. T is allowed on all hands, that our English divines receive a more liberal education, and improve that education by frequent ftudy, more than any others of this reverend profeffion in Europe. In general also, it may be obferved, that a greater degree of gentility is affixed to the character of a student in England than elsewhere, by which means our clergy have an opportu nity of feeing better company while young, and of fooner wearing off those prejudices, which they are apt to imbibe even in the best regulated univerfities, and which may be justly termed the vulgar errors of the literary republic. Yet with all these advantages it is very obvious, that the clergy are no where fo little thought of, by the populace, as here; and though our divines are foremoft, with respect to abilities, yet they are found laft in the effects of their miniftry; the vulgar, in general, appearing no way impreffed with a fenfe of religious duty. I am not for complaining of the depravity of the times, or for endeavouring to paint a profpect more gloomy than in nature; but certain it is, no perfon who has travelled will contradict me, when I aver, that the lower orders of mankind in other countries teftify on every occafion the profoundest awe divines feldom ftoop to their mean capacities, and they who want inftruction moft, find least in our religious affemblies. Whatever may become of the higher orders of mankind, who are generally poffeffed of collateral motives to virtue, the vulgar fhould be particularly regarded, whofe behaviour in civil life, is totally hinged upon their hopes and fears. Those who conftitute the basis of the great fabrick of fociety, fhould he particularly regarded; for in policy, as in architecture, ruin is most fatal when it begins from the bottom. Men of real fense and understanding prefer a prudent mediocrity to a precarious popularity; and, fearing to overdo their duty, leave it half undone. Their discourses from the pulpit are generally dry, methodi cal, and unaffecting; delivered with the most infipid calmnefs, infomuch, that fhould the peaceful preacher lift his head over the cushion, which alone he seems to address, he might discover his audience, instead of being awakened into remorse, actually fleeping over his methodical and laboured compofition. This method of preaching is, however, by fome called an address to reason, and not to the paffions; this is ftiled the making of converts from conviction; but fuch are indifferently acquainted with human nature, who are not fenfible, that men men feldom reafon about their debaucheries till they are committed; reason is but a weak antagonist when headlong paffion dictates; in all fuch cafes we should arm one paffion against another; it is with the human mind as in nature, from the mixture of two oppofites the refult is moft frequent neutral tranquillity. Those who attempt to reafon us out of our follies, begin at the wrong end, fince the attempt naturally prefuppofes us capable of reafon; but to be made capable of this, is one great point of the cure. There are but few talents requifite to become a popular preacher, for the people are eafily pleafed if they perceive any endeavours in the orator to please them; the meaneft qualifications will work this effect, if the preacher fincerely fets about it. Perhaps little, very little môre is required, than fincerity and affurance; and a becoming fincerity is always certain of producing a becoming affurance. Si vis me flere, dolendum eft primum ipfi tibi, is fo trite a quotation, that it almost demands an apology to repeat it; yet 'tho' all allow the juftice of the remark, how few do we find put it in practice; our orators with the moft faulty bashfulness, seem impreffed rather with an awe of their audience, than with a juft refpect for the truths they are about to deliver; they of all profeffions feem the moft bashful, who have the greatest right to glory in their commiflion. The French preachers generally affume all that dignity, which becomes men who are ambaffadors from Chrift; the English divines, like erroneous envoys, feem more follicitous not to offend the court to which they are fent, than to drive home the interests of their employer. The bishop of Maffillon, in the first fermon he ever preached, found the whole audience, upon his getting into the pulpit, in a difpofition no way favourable to his intentions; their nods, whispers, or drowsy behaviour, fhewed him that there was no great profit to be expected from his fowing in a foil fo improper: however, he foon changed the difpofition of his audience by his manner of beginning: "If, fays he, a caufe, the most important that could be conceived, were to be tried at the bar before qualified judges; if this cause interested ourselves in particular; if the eyes of the whole kingdom were fixed upon the event; if the moft eminent council were employed on both fides, and if we had heard from our infancy of this yet undetermined trial, would you not all fit with due attention, and warm expectation to the pleadings on each fide? Would not all your hopes and fears be hinged upon the final decifion? And yet, let me tell you, you have this moment a cause of much greater importance before you, a cause where not one nation but all the world are fpectators, tried not before a fallible tribunal, but the aweful throne of heaven, where not your temporal and tranfitory interefts are the subject of debate, but your eternal happiness or mifery, where the cause is still undetermined, but, perhaps, the very moment I am speaking, may fix the irrecoverable decree, that fhall last for ever; and yet, notwithstanding all this, you can hardly fit with 'patience to hear the tidings of your own falvation; I plead the caufe of heaven, and yet I am fcarcely attended to, &c." The ftile, the abruptnefs of a beginning like this in the clofet would appear abfurd, buc |