himself, to prevent the excision of the Jews, well may such a wretch as I am stop his pen.

178. All animated nature wishes for liberty, just as it does for life. This is as true of every living creature, as of a goldfinch, confined to a cage, which ceases not to attempt an escape, but when necessity forces it to feed, or when, on its perch, it sings a requiem to its slavery. In man, the desire of religious and civil liberty, rightly understood, can hardly be carried too far. I say rightly understood, because, as the goldfinch wishes not for a flight to America, but only to the neighbouring fields and bushes, so the proper liberty of man hath its bounds, marked out by reason and utility. If he is allowed to think, speak, and do, whatsoever is really beneficial to himself, and the society, of which he makes a part, it is enough. More might hurt him and others. For instance, if religion proposes rewards for his good actions, and threatens punishments for his bad ones; and he is allowed to choose which he will, is it not sufficient for a rational creature, well apprized of the difference between good and evil actions, and between happiness and misery? Again, if civil society secures to him the quiet enjoyment of property honestly earned, and, at the same time gives him to understand, that if he unlawfully grasps at the property of others, or attempts to maim or murder them, he shall be punished with forfeitures, imprisonment, or death, according to the quality of his crime; ought he not to be satisfied? Can society, in order to its own preservation, do more for him, or less for itself? But if he should be fool enough to take these religious and civil terms for cramps, rather than fences to his liberty and happiness, whatsoever it may be for him, it will be the preservation of liberty and happiness to others, if the divine or human magistrate shall please to deprive him of a liberty so abused. The former hath provided a dungeon; and the latter a jail, and then a grave, for such delinquents. To avoid the former, they skulk from conscience in infidelity; and, to keep out of the latter, they have recourse to cunning, bribes, perjury, and force, according to the danger imminent. Hence the daily increasing cry for liberty, in proportion to the increase of wickedness. The same degree of liberty, which is sufficient for an honest and quiet man, cannot suffice a trickster, a robber, or a cut-throat. These want a wider field to act in, and consider themselves as already enslaved, hampered, bolted, manacled, by religion, and the law of their country, as long as there is an

estate, a coffer, or a pretty woman, kept up from them. If men of this sort have found out there is no God, and that civil government is but a cunning combination of some long-headed great ones against the rest of mankind, they are fools to divulge such secrets, which, kept to themselves, might render all others the easy dupes of men so perfectly at liberty. Yet prompted by vanity, they take as much pains to spread them about, as they would the longitude, had they discovered it. I knew a great lord expend a hundred, to cheat a neighbour of five pounds, that he might set himself off among the lower admirers of artifice. But, it must be owned, they have somewhat more substantial than mere applause in view, in preaching down religion and law, for were both taken out of the way, the patrimony of the church, and all the fortunes of the laity might, in a state of anarchy, become the easy prey of men, as unfettered as the wind. But then, what would become of liberty? Why, the strong and the artful would have it all to themselves, till superior strength and art should soon place it, together with power, in the hands of a very few, and at length, in those of one. After all, it is folly to pant for liberty, or to complain of others for taking it from us, till we have better examined, whether we are, or can be, enslaved by any body, but ourselves. In the first place, liberty of thinking in matters of religion, or what you will, can never be even abridged, but by our own prejudices and passions. If these are once subdued or banished, freedom of thinking is the immediate consequence, which should be quickly followed by searching or trying all things, and that as quickly by holding fast that which is good, or best. In doing this, as to religion, we have infallible rules to direct us; and as to other matters, experience may sufficiently help us out, or if it fails us, it is no great loss to us. As to speaking, others being at liberty to hear us or not, here liberty must be divided; and probably it would be better for us to hold our tongues, than to chatter on without end. And as to acting, it is better we should be hindered, than permitted to do mischief. But if we would do good, God takes the will for the deed; and they must answer for it, who prevent us. When we are obstructed in our intentions to do good to ourselves, this is a benefit, as often as we are mistaken (which is very often) either as to the end or the means; and supposing neither to be the case, the good of others may so interfere with ours, that both cannot be accomplished. Our neighbours are seldom so unreasonable as to

thwart us, when they are to gain nothing by it. Yet if they come across us through mere wantonness or malice, they give us an opportunity to be revenged by the return of a benefit, which will do us more good than ten thousand of our best calculated endeavours could do. To conclude, if we wish to be really as free as it is possible for us to be, let us hear Infinite Wisdom, which saith to us, ' If you come to me, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,' shall exalt you into the glorious liberty of the children of God,' by making you truly sensible that neither your imperfect liberty, nor your sorry possessions in this world, were worth your low-minded anxieties about them; and that, in a very little time, you shall find yourself in a situation where your reason, your wish, and your will, shall be but one and the same thing; where all within you shall be uniform, and all about you in a perfect correspondence with all within you; where you shall be at liberty to love and enjoy for ever the source of all good, to the utmost extent of your desires; where you shall forget, and lose yourself in God.

179. As the Romans grew more dissipated and debauched, it was but reasonable their moralists should grow proportionably more strict and severe. As our holy religion loses its hold of us, greater pretences of piety are set up by some who call themselves saints; and, as if much better men than the first Christians, or even the apostles, say they themselves are perfect. A question, therefore, hath arisen, whether men, in this life, may not arrive at perfection; a dangerous question this, for if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,' and may go on in our presumption, without fear, vigilance, and repentance, the most necessary helps to a good life; and, on the other side, if we believe perfection is not expected, we may be tempted to found our hopes of acceptance on very slight and partial ideas of piety and virtue, which must fail us in the event. Much is said on each side of this question, and that from Scripture, the dernier resort in all matters of this nature. The advocates for perfection allege a variety of passages, which seem at first sight to be conclusive. I shall mention but two of the strongest. Our Saviour commands us to be perfect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect;' and, surely, to imitate our Father, must be the duty of all his children; for if we are not like him, we cannot hope to make a part of his family, either here, or hereafter. But as he is absolutely perfect, and no creature in heaven, much less on earth, either is, or ever can

be, absolutely perfect, an infinitely lower degree of goodness must be understood as the meaning of this requisition, or no man can possibly be saved. An approach to perfection, and the nearer the better, is all that is in the power of the heavenly host. It is also in that of man, and must be all that is required of him. More is impossible; and, therefore, not required. In this I speak of man, as aided by the Holy Spirit, who forces the goodness of no man, much less is it his purpose to make a god of any man, another impossibility. But these words of Christ, be ye perfect,' must be understood with an eye to that charity he had been inculcating as exemplified by the goodness of God to the evil, as well as to the good, wherein we are to imitate him as the highest of all Christian virtues, and approaching nearer to divine goodness, than any other instance of goodness in us. These words seem to be added to this particular passage, because, to love our enemies, &c. is the highest advance towards Christian perfection, that a human creature can possibly arrive at. The other passage is, 'whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot commit sin, because he is born of God.' The child of God, as such, cannot commit sin; but, like the children of other fathers, he may some times act undutifully, and be corrected for so doing, without being turned out and disinherited. If he does not transgress beyond the terms of forgiveness, and sincerely repents, he shall be pardoned. The same apostle, St. John, in the same epistle, tells us, that if a man sees his brother sin a sin, which is not unto death, he shall ask, or intercede, for his transgressing brother, and,' though he is but a brother, 'he,' that is God,' shall give him,' his brother, 'life for them that sin not unto death.' The same apostle, and in the same epistle, saith, including himself,

if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, for we all sin. But if we confess our sins, he,' God, 'is faithful and just,' according to his promise, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' St. James saith also, including himself, 'we offend all.' The 'stars are not pure in the sight of God; and he hath seen folly,' or pravity, even in his angels.' What then can man be, who dwelleth in a house of clay,' although with St. John and St. James, he is among the best of Christians. We, as Christians, are under a covenant, not of works only, but of grace, mercy, and peace, with our Maker, who knows we are but dust and ashes. What

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then is the perfection so often mentioned in the gospel? It is not absolute, but Christian perfection. A man is said to be a perfect man, who, when come to full growth, hath a sound mind in a sound body. Yet, without impeachment to the aforesaid human perfection, his judgment may sometimes err, and his body be sometimes disordered, or wounded. In like manner, he is a perfect Christian, who believes in and loves God; who loves his brother also; who hates sin in thought, word, and deed; and does all the good he can to all men. Sins of infirmity, unless often repeated, and not amended, do not call his character, as a perfect Christian, into question. To illustrate this by facts, I need but just mention the cases of David, Jonas, and St. Peter. The prevarication of the last, after he had received the Holy Spirit, is on record. It is very remarkable, that this apostle, writing to the converted Jews, who, in great numbers, apostatized from the faith, before the destruction of Jerusalem, tells them, if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning; and that it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandments, delivered to them.' Of this his own memory might have given him peculiar feelings. St. Paul (writing to the same Jews, without adding his name, as in other epistles, because as the apostle of the Gentiles, the Judaising Christians did not love him) delivers himself to much the same effect with St. Peter, but in terms still more alarming and damnatory; 'It is impossible,' saith he, for them who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they fall away, to renew them again unto repentance.' I cite these passages, to shew the immense difference put by the Spirit of God between apostates and all others, called by the name of Christ. On these latter, Christ himself, and the Holy Spirit, perpetually inculcate the necessity of vigilance, prayer, and repentance; repeat to them innumerable reproofs, rebukes, exhortations, warnings, as to men, who may sin, and be recovered. Perhaps no man, Christ only excepted, ever carried the character of a Christian higher towards perfection than St. Paul, and yet he, writing to the Philippians, denies that he had then attained to perfection. He had,' as he tells