a love of piety, order, industry, frugality. Let us check every difpofition to luxury, effeminacy, and the pleasures of a diffipated life. Let us in public measures put honor upon modesty and felf-denial, which is the index of real merit. And in our families let us do the best by religious inftruction, to fow the feeds which may bear fruit in the next generation. We are one of the body of confederated ftates. For many reasons, I fhall avoid making any com. parisons at prefent, but may venture to predict, that whatfoever state among us fhall continue to make piety and virtue the standard of public honor, will enjoy the greatest inward peace, the greatest national happiness, and in every outward conflict will difcover the greatest conftitutional ftrength.

CHRISTIAN MAGNANIMITY.

SERMON 46.

Preached at Princeton, September, 1775, the Sabbath preceding the ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT; and again with Additions, September 23, 1787. To which is added, AN AD DRESS to the SENIOR CLASS, who were to receive the degree of BACHELOR of ARTS.

1 THESS. ii. 12.

That you would walk worthy of God, who hath called you into his kingdom and glory.

THE

HE prefent ftate was intended to be, and I think muft, by every perfon of reflection, be admitted to be a continual trial of the faith and conftancy of a Chriftian. It is therefore a duty we owe to others in general, but in a special manner, the elder to the younger, to give them faithful warning of the temptations and dangers, to which they muft, of neceffity, be expofed, if they mean to walk in the paths of piety and virtue. It hath often occur. red to me, in meditating on this fubject, that as false money is most dangerous, when it is likeft to the true, fo those principles, and that character, which approach the nearest to true religion, if notwithstanding they are effen. tially different from it, will be moft ready to impofe an an uncautious and unfufpecting mind. Therefore, if there

is such a thing as a worldly virtue, a system of principles and duty, dictated by the spirit of the world, and the stands ard of approbation or blame with the men of the world, and if this is at bottom, effentially different from, and fometimes directly oppofed to the fpirit of the gospel, it must be of all others, the most dangerous temptation, to perfons of a liberal education and an ingenious turn of mind.

Of

This, if I am not mistaken, is really the cafe. There are fome branches of true religion which are universally approved, and which impiety itself cannot speak against; fuch as truth and integrity in fpeech, honefly in dealing, humanity and compaffion to perfons in diftrefs. But there are other particulars, in which the worldly virtue, and the Christian virtue, feem to be different things. thefe I fhall felect one, as an example, viz. Spirit, dignity, or greatness of mind. This feems to be entirely of the worldly caft: It holds a very high place in the esteem of all worldly men: The boldeft pretenfions are often made to it, by thofe who treat religion with neglect, and religious perfons with difdain or defiance. It is also a virtue of a very dazzling appearance; ready to captivate the mind, and particularly to make a deep impreffion on young perfons, when they first enter into life. At the fame time, the gospel feems to ftand directly opposed to it. The humility of the creature, the abafement and contrition of the finner, the dependance and felf-denial of the believer, and above all, the shame and reproach of the crois itself, feem to conspire in obliging us to renounce it.

What fhall we fay then, my brethren? Shall we fay that magnanimity is no virtue at all, and that no such excellence belongs to human nature? Or fhall we admit that there is beauty and excellence in it-confeßing at the fame time, that it does not belong to religion, and only fay, that though we want this, we have many other and better qualities in its place? To this I can never agree; for every real excellence is confiftent with every other; nay every real excellence is adorned and illuftrated by every other. Vices may be inconfiftent with each other, but virtues never can. And, therefore, as magnanimi

ty is an amiable and noble quality-one of the greateft ornaments of our nature, so I affirm that it belongs only to true and undefiled religion, and that every appearance of the one, without the other, is not only defective, but falfe.

The Holy Scriptures, it is true, do chiefly infift upon what is proper to humble our pride, and to bring us to a juft apprehenfion of our character and ftate. This was wife and juft, because of that corruption and mifery into which we are fallen, the contrary would have been unjust. It is evidently more neceffary, in the prefent ftate of human nature, to reftrain pride, than to kindle ambition. But as the fcripture points out our original dignity, and the true glory of our nature, fo every true penitent is there taught to afpire after the nobleft character, and to entertain the most exalted hopes. In the paffage which I have chofen as the fubject of my difcourfe, you fee the Apoftle exhorts the Theffalonians to walk fuitably to the dignity of their character, and the importance of their pri vileges, which is a fhort but juft defcription of true and genuine greatness of mind.

My fingle purpose, from these words, at this time, is to explain and recommend magnanimity as a chriftian virtue; and I wish to do it in fuch a manner, as neither to weaken its luftre, nor admit any degree of that corrupt mixture, by which it is often counterfeited, and greatly debafed. Some infidels have in terms affirmed, that Chriftianity has banished magnanimity, and by its precepts of meaknefs, humility, and paffive fubmiflion to injury, has deftroyed that noblenefs of fentiment, which rendered the ancients fo illuftrious, and gives fo much majefty and dignity to the hiftories of Greece and Rome. In oppofition to this, I hope to be able to fhew that real greatnefs is infeparable from fincere piety; and that any defect in the one, muft neceffarily be a difcernible blemish in the other. With this view, I will, firft, give you the principles of magnanimity in general, as a natural quality; fecondly, I will fhew what is neceflary to give it real value, as a moral virtue; thirdly, fhew that it fhines with the most perfect brightnefs as a Chriftian grace; VOL. III. M