nor in them, is there any Deficiency or any Darknefs at all.

Excufe me, Theron; I fear, I have been preaching. The Importance of the Text, muft form my Apology. It is an Introduction, not to the Records of Hiftory, or the Tranfactions of Philofophy, but to the Riches of CHRIST.

Ther. If my Afpafio has been preaching, I can affure him for his Comfort, that his Audience has been very attentive; and though the Sermon was fomewhat copious, the Hearer neither flept nor gaped. -However, I fhould be glad to have the whole reviewed, and fummed up: that, if it has been large as the Pyramid, it may, like the Pyramid, terminate in a Point.

Afp. This then is the State of our Nature -The Image of the CREATOR is loft: Blindness is in the Understanding: Disorder in all the Affections. -In the Will, Enmity againft GOD, the fovereign Good: Inability to all that is fpiritual and heavenly; with a Propensity to whatever is fondid and earthly. -The whole Soul is deformed, distempered, rebellious. And fhall fuch a Creature lay claim to those amiable and facred Endowments, which may be a proper Recommendation to infinite Holiness?Is fuch a Creature qualified to perform thofe righteous Acts, which may approve themfelves to the Demand of GOD's Law, and to the Inflexibility of his Justice. Should he conceive the vain Hope, or make the vainer Attempt, I would now addrefs him, as Jehoafh formerly anfwered Amaziah.Amaziah King of fudah, elated with the little Victories he had obtained over the Edomites, began to fanfy himfelf invincible: Prompted by this foolih Imagination, he challenges Feboah King of Ifrael, to meet him in a pitched Battle; and receives this ironical Apologue, by way of Reply.Which for Gallantry of Spirit

and

煎

and Delicacy of Wit, for Poignancy of Satire and Propriety of Application, has feldom been equaled, perhaps never exceeded-The Thistle that was in Le banon, fent to the Cedar that was in Lebanon, faying, Give thy Daughter to my Son to Wife: and there paffed by a wild Beaft that was in Lebanon, and trode down the Thiftie *. What are we when we offer to establish our own Righteoufnefs, or prefume to juftify ourfelves before the moft High GOD-but defpicable Thiftles, that fanfy themselves ftately Cedars? And is not every Temptation, is not each Corruption, a wild Beaft of the Defart, which will trample on the impotent Boafter, and tread his haughty Pretenfions in the Duft?

DIALOGUE XIV..

SPASIO was employed in preparing for his Journey. Theron, free from Bufinefs, and difengaged from Company, had the greaft Part of the Day to himself. Which he fpent, in reviewing the Subftance of their late Conferences; not without intermingled Afpirations to GOD, for the Guid ance of his Divine SPIRIT.

At Evening, he went, like the Patriarch of old, into the Field to meditate, amidft-the Calm of Nature, to meditate on the Grace of the Gofpel.-The Sky was peculiarly beautiful, and perfectly clear; only where the fine Indigo received an agreeable Heightening, by a few thin and fcattered Clouds; which imbibed the folar Rays, and looked like penfile Fleeces of pureft Wool. All Things appeared with fo mild, fo majestic, fo, charming an Afpect, that, intent as he was upon a different Subject, he could not but indulge the following Soliloquy.

How

2 Kings xiv. 9.

+ Gen. xxiv. 63.

How delightful are the Scenes of rural Nature! Efpecially, to the philofophic Eye, and contemplative Mind. I cannot wonder, that Perfons in high Life, are fo fond of retiring from a confpicuous and exalted Station, to the Covert of a fhady Grove, or the Margin of a cooling Stream. Are fo defirous of quitting the fmoky Town, and noify Street; in order to breathe purer Air, and "furvey the Wonders of Creation, in the filent, "the ferene, the peaceful Villa."

"Tis true, in the Country, there are none of "the modih, I had almoft faid, meretricious Ornaments of that falfe Politeness, which refines People out of their Veracity. But an eafy Simplicity of Manners, with an unaffected Sincerity "of Mind.-Here, the folemn Farce of Ceremony "is feldom brought into Play; and the pleafing De"lufions of Compliment have no Place. But the "Brow is the real Index of the Temper, and "Speech the genuine Interpreter of the Heart."

"In the Country, I acknowledge, we are feldom "invited to fee the mimic Attempts of human Art. "But we, every where, behold the grand and "masterly Exertions of divine Power.-No Theatre

erects its narrow Stage; furrounds it, with puny "Rows of afcending Seats; or adorns it, with a fhifting Series of gorgeous Scenery. But Fields "extend their ample Area; at firft, lightly clad withi

a Scarf of fpringing Green; then, deeply planted "with an Arrangement of fpindling Stalks; as a "few more Weeks advance, covered with a Pro“fufion of bearded or hutky Grain; at last, richly "laden with a Harvest of yellow Plenty."

"Meadows difclofe their beautiful Bofom; yield "a foft and fertile Lap for the luxuriant Herbage; "and fuckle Myriads of the faireft, gayeft Flowers, "which, without any vain Oftentation, or expen

five Finery, outvie each other in all the Elegance "of Drefs. Groves of various Leaf; arrayed in freshest Verdure, and liberal of their reviving

Shade; rife, in amiable, in noble Prospect, all "around.-Droves of sturdy Oxen, ftrong for La"bour, or fat for the Shambles; Herds of fleeky "Kine, with Milk in their Udders, and Violets in

their Noftrils; Flocks of well-fleeced Sheep, with "their fnowy Lambkins, frisking at their Side; thefe compofe the living Machinery.-Boundlefs Tracts "of bending Azure, varnished with inimitable Delicacy, and hung with ftarry Lamps, or irradiated with folar Luftre, form the ftately Cieling.--While "the early Breezes, and the evening Gales; charged "with no unwholefome Vapours, breeding no pefti"lential Taint; but fanning the humid Buds, and "waving their odoriferous Wings, difpenfe a thoufand Sweets, mingled with the most fovereign Supports of Health.And is not this School of Induftry, this Magazine of Plenty, incomparably "more delightful, as well as infinitely lefs dangerous, "than thofe gaudy Temples of Profufenefs and De"bauchery, where Sin and Ruin wear the Mafk of "Pleafure? Where Belial is daily or nightly worhipped with, what his Votaries call, modifh Rer creation, and genteel Amufement?"

Here indeed is no tuneful Voice, to melt in "Strains of amorous Anguifh, and transfufe the fickening Fondness to the Hearer's Breaft. No fkilful Artift, to inform the Lute with mufical Inchantment; to ftrike infectious Melody from the "Vrol; and foothe away the Refolution and Activi66 ty of Virtue, in wanton Defires, or voluptuous "Indolence. But the Plains bleat; the Mountains "low; and the hollow circling Rocks echo with the "univerfal Song Every Valley remurmurs to the "Fall of filver Fountains, or the liquid Laple of "gurgling

"gurgling Rills.-Birds, Muficians ever beauteous, 66 ever gay, perched on a thousand Boughs, play a "thoufand fprightly and harmonious Airs."

"Charmed therefore with the finest Views; lulled "with the fofteft Sounds; and treated with the rich"eft Odours; what can be wanting to complete the "Delight? Here is every Entertainment for the "Eye; the moft refined Gratifications for the Ear; " and a perpetual Banquet for the Smell; without ፡፡ any infiduous Decoy, for the Integrity of our "Conduct, or even for the Purity of our Fancy."

"O ye blooming Walks, and flowery Lawns, "furrounded with dewy Landfcapes! How often have "Patriots and Heroes, laid afide the Burden of Pow"er, and ftole away from the Glare of Grandeur, to enjoy themselves in your compofed Retreats! "-Ye moffy Couches, and fragrant Bowers, skirt"ed with cooling Cafcades! How many illuftrious Perfonages, after all their glorious Toil for the

*

public Good, have fought an honourable and wel"come Repofe in your downy Lap +?--Ye venerable "Oaks, and folemn Groves; Woods, that whisper "to the quivering Gale; Clifts, that over-hang the "darkened Flood; Who can number the Sages and

Saints, that have devoted the Day to Study, or re"figned a vacant Hour to healthy Exercife, be"neath your filvan Porticos, and waving Arches? That, far from the dull Impertinence of Man, "have liftened to the inftructive Voice of GOD; VOL. II.

F

Mihi me reddentis Agelli,

fays Horace of his little Country-feat.

and

Virgil was fo fmitten with the Amiableness of these Scenes, that he affigns them as an Habitation for happy Spirits, in the Regions of Elyfium.

Lucis habitamus opacis,

Riparumque Toros, & Prata recentia Rivis

Incolimus.