ferving of credit, profit, and pleasure, which are but fecondary external things, fubfervient to the first.

But those that are written for the enriching the head with needful notions, furnishing the understanding with practical rules, and rectifying the affections; as alfo those that are defigned for the preservation of health, curing of diseases, and prolonging of life; that is, those that aim at fecuring to us a found mind in a found body: these, of a certain, are the usefulness of all writings, and best deserve our most serious study and obfervance.

Accordingly, I have fixed upon these fubjects, and have caft my two mites, namely my Moral Collections, and my Phar

Pharmacopoeias, into the corban, as believing I was born a citizen of the world, and not for myfelf only, and not knowing how I could serve the public better.

As to the matter of commendation and cenfure, I endeavour to neither, exalted nor dejected, nor any way concerned about either of them.

And that partly upon confideration, that they are in the hands of the vulgar, who taking nothing right, difpenfe both these not according to merit, but caprichio, and generally to the wrong perfons.

But chiefly because praife and dispraise are things that belong to this world only, which I am every day more and more

fenfible

A 3

fenfible I must fhortly leave; and therefore am pluming and preparing myself to take wing into the world of fpirits, where there is no more regard had to the foolings, the flatteries, and flouts of the little human infects creeping upon the earth, than to the actions of filly emmits crawling upon their hillock.

For in that state, they that are miserable fhall feel, and can think of nothing but misery; but the happy will be filled up to the utmost of their capacity, with beatific vision, wonder, joy, rapture, ecstasy, ineffable, inconceivable, and inceffant for ever and ever.

GOOD READER,

I suspect I may have written some things twice; if not the fame in words, yet in

fense;

fenfe; which I defire you to pass by favourably; forafmuch as you may well think it was as difficult and dull a thing for me, in so great a number of independent fentences, to find out the repetitions, as it would be in a vast heap of different coins and medals, confusedly thrown together, to pick out here and there one that bore the fame and like

inscription, with fome other among

them.

Befides the pains, fuch a fearch would coft me more time, than I can afford it; for my glass of life running now low, I must not fuffer one fand to fall in wafte, nor spend one minute in picking of straws.

And

And moreover, my aged eyes being grown weak and dim, I fear they will become quite dark, by much perusing and poring; or at least fo far, fo as to render me unable to perfect feveral papers now lying by me, which I would willingly make a prefent of to you.

But to conclude this, fince in matters of advice precept must be upon precept, and line upon line, I apologize in the words of St. Paul, To write the fame things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is fafe.

XXX