Propbanefs, and Impurity, of thefe Books, not with a ferious Design of making your felf lewd, prophane, and impure, but only as it were in jeft, and to have a little Pleafure from them. Now this is the plain Meaning of this Excufe, which is as abfurd as any thing can well be fuppofed. It is as if a Man, who allows himself now and then to get drunk, and fwear, and rant, fhould fay in his Excufe, that he is for the most part very fober, and that when he takes thefe Liberties, it is not through any Defire or Liking of the Sin of Drunkennefs, but only as it were in jeft, and through the mere Gaity of his Spirits. You will ask, perhaps, if the Sin of reading Plays be like the Sin of Drunkenness. I answer, very like it, and perhaps equally grievous to the Spirit of God. For is not evil Thoughts, Vanity of Mind, and Impurity of Heart, the most dreadful State that we can be in? Can you therefore imagine that the feeding and entertaining your Mind with evil Thoughts, and impure Difcourfes, is a lefs Sin than drinking too much? What Rule of Reafon or Scripture have you to go by in fuch a Judgment? You may fanfy that there is fomething much more grofs and fhameful in Drunkenness, than in this Practice; but if you wou'd judge not by Fancy, but by the Light of Reli

Y 3

Religion, you would find, that it is a Drunkenness and Intemperance of the Mind, as grofs and shameful, as abominable in the Sight of God, and as contrary to Piety, as that ftupid Intemperance which conlifts in drinking too much.

ONE great Shame of Drunkenness, is this, that it fits us for Ribbaldry, and all the Folly of Discourse; that it makes us fay filly Things our felves, and be pleased with the most foolish Rant and extravagant Nonfenfe of other People. Are not you therefore doing that which is moft hameful in Drunkenness? And is it not a Sign of greater Impurity, and greater Want of Piety, for you cooly and foberly to feek and relith fuch Rant and Folly of Difcourfe, fuch prophane Jefts and Wantonnefs of Wit, as Men are most pleased with, when Drink has made them half mad. Now the liking of fuch Difcourfe as this, makes up great Part of the Guilt of Drunkenness, muft it not therefore imply a greater Guilt in you, who like fuch foolish Difcourfe when you are fober? Drunken Men like ill Difcourfe, because Reafon and Religion have then no Power over them; if therefore you have as falfe a Judgment, and relith a Difcourfe that is equally foolish and mad, must it not be owing to the fame Thing, becaule Reafon and Religion have

then

then no Power over you? Drunken Men like any fort of Madness; they are not nice in their Tafte; if a Discourse be but wild or lewd, they delight in it, but you like only a Madness that is put into Verfe, you only delight in the impure Defcriptions and Ravings of Luft, when they are adorned with beautiful Expreffions and made Musical to the Ear. So that the Difference betwixt you and a drunken Man does not confift in this, that you have a more religious Tafte, or Purity of Mind than he; but in this, that he likes all Sorts of Rant, and Wantonness of Difcourse, but you do not like it, unless it be in Rhime, and divided into Acts and Scenes. He likes a Song because it is a Song, but you do not like it, unless its Impurity and Prophanefs be made more Charming by foft and dying Sounds. If therefore a young Lady will go to Bed with her Play, fhe must not reckon her felf better Employed, than her Brother who is at the fame time half Mad over his Bottle. For it is impoffible to fhew, that the entertaining our felves with fuch evil Thoughts and filthy Communications is a lefs Sin, than to be Ranting over a Bottle. He that can do this, may also prove, that it is a lefs Sin to tell a Lye Y 4 when

when you are Sober, than when you are Drunk.

AGAIN, you fay in your Excuse, that you only read thefe Books now and then, to divert your Spirits, and that you mostly read good Books. Now this Excufe carries its own Conviction, for it acknowledges all that is neceffary to condemn it. For it owns that thefe Books are Vain and Corrupting, that they are of a contrary Nature to good Books, and naturally produce contrary Effects: And you reckon your felf only fecure from being hurt by them, for this Reafon, becaufe your Mind is fo well Seafon'd and Strengthned by the Ufe of good Books. But pray confider the abfurdity of all this. For this is faying, I venture into Temptations, not because I cannot avoid them, or am ignorant that they are Temptations, but because I know my felf to be Strong. I read impure Imaginations, filthy Jefts, and Prophane Harrangues, not because they are an harmless, innocent Diverfion, but becaufe the Purity and Piety of my Mind is too great to receive the leaft Injury from them.

Now nothing can be conceived more Abfurd and Irreligious than fuch an Excufe as this. Yet what Christian that reads Plays can poffibly make a better. For to

fay

fay that our Plays are not full of prophane Rant, filthy Fefts and grofs Difcriptions of Impurity, is the fame Thing as to fay that we have no Plays in English.

FARTHER, there is a proper Time for every Thing that is lawful to be done : Now can you tell me when it is tell me when it is proper for

a Christian to Meditate upon these Books. Is it to be left to your Temper to entertain your felf as it fuits with you, or can your Reafon point out the convenient Seafons for it? If you are blindly to follow your Temper, then you are in no better State, than other People who are blindly following other Tempers. If your Reafon can appoint any Time for fuch Entertainment, it must be because there is fome Time that is proper for it. Now the different Times or States of our Mind may perhaps be all comprehended under fome one of these.

THERE is a Time when our Hearts are more than ordinarily raised towards God, when we feel the Joys and Comforts of Religion, and enjoy a Peace that paffes all Understanding. Now I fuppofe Reafon will not allot this Time for the Diverfion of fuch Books.

THERE is a Time, when either thro' the Neglect of Duty, Remorfe of Mind, worldly Vexations, bodily Tempers, or

the