furniture and garments, rare voices and music, costly lamps, wax-candles, and perfumes, by which men made God a being sensual like themselves. This was such a cross as flesh and blood could bear, but not such an one by which flesh and blood could be crucified. Such external means could never remove internal causes.- True worship was only from an heart prepared by God's holy Spirit, without which the soul of man was dead, and incapable of glorifying him. Unlawful self as it related to moral conversation, was to be seen in pride and other unlawful passions. Pride was the first capital lust of degenerate Christendom. It coveted inordinate knowledge. Such coveting had been productive of many evils.It coveted inordinate power. By such coveting it had broken the peace both of private families and of nations.It coveted inordinate honour and respect. By so doing, it had imposed degrading customs and fashions upon some. It had given false and flattering titles to others. But true honour and respect consisted not in observances like these. By so doing it had introduced terms into speech, which

were

were abhorrent from simplicity and truth. Such customs and fashions neither he nor his associates in religion, who were bound to deny the lusts of the flesh, could follow. -Pride too led people to an excessive value of their persons. It sought distinction by decorations, the very cost of which would keep the poor; but it became the beautiful to endeavour to make their souls like their bodies. It made distinction by blood and family; but God made all out of one blood and one family; there was no true nobility but in virtue.The proud man was a glutton upon himself; insolent and quarrelsome; cowardly and cruel; an ill child, servant, and subject, inhospitable, mischievous in power. -Avarice was the second capital lust. It had a desire of unlawful things. It had an unlawful desire of lawful things. It was treacherous and oppressive. It marked the false prophet, and was a reproach to religion.- -Luxury was the third capital lust. This was a great enemy to the cross of Christ. It consisted in voluptuous or excessive diet, which injured both mind and body; in gorgeous or excessive apparel, to the loss of innocence; and

in excess of recreations, contrary to the practice of the good men of old, whose chief recreation was to serve God and do good to mankind, and follow honest vocations. Sumptuous apparel, rich unguents, stately furniture, costly cookery, balls, masks, music-meetings, plays, and romances were not the many tribulations through which men were to enter the kingdom of God.

Against such things there were heavy denunciations. Man, having but few days, ought to spend his time better. Not only much good was omitted, but much evil committed, by a luxurious life. Such luxuries ought not to be encouraged by Christians. They made no part of the cup which Christ drank, and therefore they did not constitute the cup which his disciples ought to drink. Against these, as well as against all customs and fashions which made up the attire and pleasure of the world, he protested, as enemies to inward retirement, and as borrowed from the Gentiles, who knew not God. It was said in their favour, that they afforded a livelihood to many: but we were not to do evil that good might come. However convenient, yet if the use of them was prejudi

VOL. I.

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cial in example, they ought to be done away He concluded by an exhortation to tempetance, and to self-denial with respect to the customs and fashions in question, as the true means of preparing the way to eternal rest.

These were, as concisely as I have been able to give them, the great heads of the first part or division of the work, which took up no less than eighteen chapters. But no just idea can be formed of the merits of it by so partial an account: for each chapter was a regular dissertation of itself on the subject it contained; in which, as opportunity offered, he explained the nature and origin of the evil complained of; in which he exhibited a picture of its effects; in which he contrasted this picture, with that which might have been drawn where there had been self-denial; in which he reasoned, drew his inferences, and gave his warnings, enforcing all he said by a copious appeal to history, apostolical usage, and holy writ. In those chapters where he touched upon the practices of the world, from which he and his own religious society had departed, he took occasion. to defend their conduct in so doing; first, by exhibiting the reasons which they them

selves gave for it; and secondly, by maintaining its consistency both with the letter and the spirit of the Gospel. He considered too this their departure from such practices, by which they submitted to become singular and therefore more liable to ridicule, as that proper public declaration of their testimony against corruptive example, which was implied in the proper denial of self, or in the bearing of the cross of Christ.

The second part or division of the work consisted of a voluminous collection of the living and dying sayings of men eminent for their greatness, learning, or virtue, in divers periods of time, and in divers nations of the world.

First, he noticed the Greeks and Persians, making quotations concerning Cyrus, Artaxerxes, Agathocles, Philip,Alexander, Ptolomy, Xenophanes, Antigonus, Themistocles, Aristides, Pericles, Phocion, and twenty others.

Secondly, he gave anecdotes of the following persons among the Romans of Cato, Scipio Africanus, Augustus, Tiberius, Vespasian, and Trajan. Adrian and eight others were also included in this account.