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BY THE EMINENTLY PIOUS AND LEARNED
MR. THOMAS BOSTON,

LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT ETTRICK.

JOHN ii. 24, 25. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men; and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man.

LUKE ix. 19. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. PROV. XXVII. 19. As in water face answereth to face; so the heart of man to man.

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The Late Rev. Mr. JAMES HERVEY, in his Dialogues, Vol. I, page 343, gives the following recommendation of this Book.

"SEE this work of grace, and procedure of conversion, "more copiously displayed, in a valuable little piece, en<titled, Human Nature in its Fourfold State, by Mr. "Thomas Boston, which, in my opinion, is one of our "best books for common readers. The sentences are "short, and the comparisons striking; the language is "easy, and the doctrine evangelical; the method proper, "the plan comprehensive, the manner searching, yet "consolatory.If another celebrated treatise is styled, "The Whole Duty of Man, I would call this, The WHOLE of Man; as it comprises what he was, originally :"what he should be, through grace; and, then, what ❝he will be in glory."

PREFACE.

IT is maxim among wise men, that the knowledge of persons is of as great use, in the conduct of human life, as the knowledge of things; and it is most certain, that he who knows the various tempers, humours, and dispositions of men, who can find out their turn of thought, and penetrate into the secret springs and principles of their actings, will not be at a loss to find out proper means for compassing his aims, will easily preserve himself from snares, and either evite or overcome difficulties. But the knowledge of human nature, morally considered, or, in other words, of the temper and disposition of the soul in its moral powers, is of much greater value; as it is of use in the concerns of an unchangeable life and world: he who is possessed of such a valuable branch of knowledge, is thereby capacitated to judge aright of himself, to understand true Christianity, and to conceive justly of perfect happiness and consummate misery.

The depravity of human nature is so plainly taught, yea, inculcated in sacred Scripture, and is so obvious to every thinking man's observation, who searches his own breast, and reflects duly on his temper and actings, that it is surprisingly strange and wonderful, how it comes to pass, that this important truth is so little understood, yea, so much disbelieved, by men who bear the name of GospelMinisters. Are there not persons to be found in a neighbouring nation, in the character of preachers, appearing daily in pulpits, who are so unacquainted with their Bibles and themselves, that they ridicule the doctrine of original sin as unintelligible jargon? If they are persons of a moral life and conversation, they seem to imagine, they cannot become better than they are; if they are immoral, they seem to indulge a conceit, that they can become virtuous, yea religious, when they please. These are the men who talk of the dignity of human nature, of greatness of mind, nobleness of soul, and generosity of spirit; as if they intended to persuade themselves and ers that pride is a good principle, and do not know

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