Thefe dexteroufly managed, fo as not to be too plain and open to Difcovery, are look'd upon by many as Signs of great Depth and Shrewdnefs, admirable Inftruments of Bufinefs, and neceffary Means for the compaffing our own Ends and Defigns; and pass for great Policy, as if the very Skill of governing and managing humane Affairs did confift in thefe little Tricks and Devices.

But he that looks more narrowly, and will have the Patience to obferve the End of them, will find them to be the greateft Follies; and that it is only for want of true Wisdom and Understanding that Men turn afide to Tricks, and make Diffimulation and Lies their Refuge.

It is Solomon's Qbfervation, that he that walketh uprightly walketh furely: but the Folly of Fools is Deceit. That is, the moft egregious Piece of Folly that any Fool can be guilty of is to play the Knave. Sed ftultus divertit ad Delos. To make use of these is a Sign that the Man wants Understanding to fee the plain and direct Way to his End.

I will not deny but thefe little Arts may serve a prefent Turn, and perhaps fuccessfully enough; but true Wifdom goes deep, and reacheth a great Way further, looking to the End of Things, and regarding the Future as well as the Prefent; and by judging upon the whole Matter and Sum of Affairs, doth clearly difcern, that whereas Craft and Cunning are only useful for the prefent Occafion, Integrity is of a lafting Ufe, and will be ferviceable to us upon all Occafions, and in the whole Courfe of our Lives.

And

And that Diffimulation and Deceit, tho' they may do fome prefent Execution in Business, yet they recoil upon a Man terribly afterwards, fo as to make him ftagger, and by Degrees to weaken, and at laft destroy his Reputation, which is a much more ufeful and fubftantial and lasting Instrument of Profperity, and Succefs in humane Affairs, than any Tricks and Deceits whatfoever. But to make out thefe clearer, I offer thefe following Confiderations.

Hypocrify and Infincerity is a very vain and foolish Thing; it is defigned to cheat others, but is in Truth a deceiving of ourselves. No Man would flatter or diffemble did he believe it were feen and difcovered. An open Knave is a great Fool, who deftroys at once both his Defign and his Reputation.

Truth and Reality have all the Advantages of Appearance, and many more. If the Shew of any Thing be good for any Thing, I am fure Sincerity is better; for why does any Man diffemble, or feem to be that which he is not, but "because he thinks it good to have fuch a Quality as he pretends to? For to counterfeit and diffemble, is to put on the Appearance of fome real Excellency Now: the best Way in the World for a Man to feem to be any thing, is really to be what he would seem to be.

Befides, that it is many Times as troublefome to make good the Pretence of a good Quality, as to have it; and if a Man have it not, it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it, and then all his Pains and Labour to feem to have it is loft. There is fomething 'unnatural in Painting, which a skilful Eye will

eafily difcern from native Beauty and Complexion.

It is hard to perfonate and act a Part long; for where Truth is not at the Bottom, Nature will always be endeavouring to return, and will peep out, and betray herfelf one Time or other.

Therefore if any Man think it convenient to feem good, let him be fo indeed, and then his Goodnefs will appear to every Body's Satisfaction. For Truth is convincing, and carries its own Light and Evidence along with it, and will not only commend us to every Man's Confcience but (which is much more) to God, who fearcheth and feeth our Hearts, fo that upon all Accounts Sincerity is true Wisdom.

Particularly, as to the Affairs of this World, Integrity hath many Advantages over all the 'fine and artificial Ways of Diffimulation and Deceit. It is much the plainer and eafier, much the fafer and more fecure Way of Dealing in the World: It hath lefs of Trouble and Difficulty, of Entanglement and Perplexity, of Danger and Hazard in it: It is the fhorteft and nearest Way to our End, carrying us thither in a ftrait Line, and will hold out and last longeft.

The Arts of Deceit and Cunning do continually grow weaker and lefs Effectual and Serviceable to them that use them: Whereas Integrity gains Strength by use, and the more and longer any Man practifeth it, the greater Service it does him by confirming his Reputation, and encouraging thofe with whom he hath to do, to repofe the greater Truft and Confidence in

him,

him, which is an unspeakable Advantage in the Business and Affairs of Life.

But a Diflembler muft always be upon his Guard, and watch himself carefully, that he do not contradict his own Pretence; for he acts an unnatural Part, and therefore must put a continual Force and Restraint upon himself.

Truth always lies appermoft, and if a Man do not carefully attend, he will be apt to bolt it out; whereas he that acts fincerely hath the easiest Tafk in the World, because he follows Nature, and fo is put to no Trouble and Care about his Words and Actions. He needs not invent any Pretences before-hand, nor make Excufes afterwards, for any Thing he hath faid or done.

But Infincerity is very troublesome to manage. A Man hath fo many Things to attend to, fo many Ends to bring together, as make his Life a very perplext and intricate Thing. A Liar had need of a good Memory, left he contradict at one Time what he faid at an-other.

But Truth is always confiftent with itself, and needs nothing to help it out; it is always near at Hand, and fits upon our Lips, and is ready to drop out before we are aware; .whereas a Lie is troublesome, and fets a Man's Invention upon the Rack, and one Trick needs a great many more to make it good.

The crafty Man is always in Danger, and when he thinks he walks in the dark, all his Pretences are fo transparent, that he that runs may read them: He is the laft Man that finds himself to be found out, and whilst he takes it

for

for granted that he makes Fools of others, he renders himself ridiculous.

Add to all this, that Sincerity is the most compendious Wifdom, and an excellent Inftrument for the speedy Dispatch of Bufinefs; it creates Confidence in those we have to deal with, faves the Labour of many Enquiries, and brings Things to an Iflue in few Words. It's like travelling in a plain beaten Road, which commonly brings a Man fooner to his Journey's End, than Byways, in which Men often lofe themfelves.

In a Word, whatsoever Convenience may be thought to be in Falfhood and Diffimulation it is foon over, but the Inconvenience of it is perpetual; because it brings a Man under an everlafting Jealoufy and Sufpicion, fo that he is not believed when he fpeaks Truth, nor trusted when perhaps he means honestly. When a Man hath once forfeited the Reputation of his Integrity, he is fet faft, and nothing will then ferve his Turn, neither Truth nor Falfhood.

Your artful cunning Tricksters are fo blinded by their Covetoufnefs and Ambition, that they cannot look beyond a prefent Advantage, nor forbear to feize upon it, tho' by ways never fo indirect. They cannot fee fo far as to the remote Confequences of a steddy Integrity, and the vaft Benefit and Advantages which it will bring a Man at laft.

Indeed if a Man were to deal in the World only for a Day, and should never have Occafion to converse more with Mankind, never more need their good Opinion, or good Word: It were then no great Matter (speaking as to

the