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THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



tives and sacrificing repose, honour, wealth, 

 and even life itself, for the good of their coun 

 try, or for promoting the best interests of the 

 human race, we perceive in such examples 

 features of the human mind, which mark its dig 

 nity and grandeur, and indicate its destination 

 to a higher scene of action and enjoyment. 



Even in the annals of the Pagan world, we 

 find many examples of such illustrious virtues. 

 There we read of Regulus exposing himself to 

 the most cruel torments, and to death itself, 

 rather than suffer his veracity to be impeach 

 ed, or his fidelity to his country to be called in 

 question of Phocion, who exposed himself to 

 the fury of an enraged assembly, by inveighing 

 against the vices, and endeavouring to promote 

 the best interests of his countrymen, and gave 

 it as his last command to his son, when he was 

 going to execution, &quot; that he should forget how 

 ill the Athenians had treated his father&quot; of 

 Cyrus, who was possessed of wisdom, modera 

 tion, courage, magnanimity, and noble senti 

 ments, and who employed them all to promote 

 the happines of his people of Scipio, in whose 

 actions the virtues of generosity and liberality, 

 goodness, gentleness, justice, magnanimity, and 

 chastity, shone with distinguished lustre and 

 of Damon and Pythias, who were knit together 

 in the bonds of a friendship which all the ter 

 rors of an ignominious death could not, dis 

 solve. But of all the characters of the heathen 

 world, illustrious for virtue, Aristiden appears to 

 stand in the foremost rank. An extraordinary 

 greatness of soul, (says Rollin) made him supe 

 rior to every passion. Interest, pleasure, ambi 

 tion, resentment, jealousy, were extinguished in 

 him by the love of virtue and his country. The 

 merit of others, instead of offending him, be 

 came his own by the approbation he gave it. 

 He rendered the government of the Athenians 

 amiable to their allies, by his mildness, good 

 ness, humanity, and justice. The disinterest 

 edness he showed in the management of the 

 public treasure, and the love of poverty which 

 he carried almost to an excess, are virtues so 

 far superior to the practice of our age, that they 

 scarce seem credible to us. His conduct and 

 principles were always uniform, steadfast in the 

 pursuit of whatever he thought just, and inca 

 pable of the least falsehood, or shadow of flat 

 tery, disguise, or fraud, even in jest. He had 

 s-ich a control over his passions, that he uni- 

 G&amp;lt;rmly sacrificed his private interest, and his 

 private resentments, to the good of the public. 

 Themistodes was one of the principal actors who 

 procured his banishment from Athens; but, 

 after being recalled, he assisted him on every 

 occasion with his advice and credit, joyfully 

 taking pains to promote the glory of his great 

 est enemy, through the motive of advancing the 

 nublic good. And when afterwards the dis 

 grace of Themistocles gave him a proper op 



portunity for revenge, instead of resenting tne 

 ill treatment he had received from him, he con 

 stantly refused to join with his enemies, being 

 as far from secretly rejoicing over the misfor 

 tune of his adversary as he had been before 

 from being afflicted at his good success. Such 

 virtues reflect a dignity and grandeur on every 

 mind in which they reside, which appear in 

 compatible with the idea, that it is destined to 

 retire for ever from the scene of action at the 

 hour of death. 



But the noblest examples of exalted virtue arc 

 to be found among those who have enlisted them 

 selves in the cause of Christianity. The Apos 

 tle Paul was an illustrious example of every thing 

 that is noble, heroic, generous, and benevolent in 

 human conduct. His soul was inspired with a 

 holy ardour in promoting the best interests of man 

 kind. To accomplish this object, he parted with 

 friends and relatives, relinquished his native 

 country, and every thing that was dear to him 

 either as a Jew or as a Roman citizen, and ex 

 posed himself to persecutions and dangers of every 

 description. During the prosecution of his benevo 

 lent career, he was &quot; in journeyings often, in perils 

 of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by his own 

 countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils 

 in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils 

 in the sea, in perils among false brethren : in 

 weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, 

 in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in stripes 

 above measure, in cold and nakedness.&quot; Yet 

 none of these things moved him, nor did he count 

 his life dear to him, provided he might finish hig 

 course with joy, and be instrumental in accom 

 plishing the present and eternal happiness of his 

 fellow-men. In every period of the Christian 

 era, similar characters have arisen to demonstrate 

 the power of virtue and to bless mankind. Oui 

 own age and country have produced numerous 

 philanthropic characters, who have shone as lights 

 in the moral world, and have acted as benefactors 

 to the human race. The names of Alfred, Penn, 

 Bernard, Raikes, Neilde, Clarkson, Sharpe, 

 Buxton, Wilberforce, Yenning, and many others, 

 are familiar to every one who is in the least ac 

 quainted with the annals of benevolence. The 

 exertions which some of these individuals have 

 made in the cause of liberty, in promoting the 

 education of the young, in alleviating the dis 

 tresses of the poor, in ameliorating the condition 

 of the prisoner, and in counteracting the abomina 

 ble traffic in slaves, will be felt as blessings con 

 ferred on mankind throughout succeeding gene 

 rations, and will, doubtless, be held in everlasting 

 remembrance. 



But among all the philanthropic characters of 

 the past or present age, the labours of the late 

 Mr. HOWARD, stand pre-eminent. This illustri 

 ous man, from a principle of pure benevolence, 

 devoted the greater part of his life to active bone 

 ficence, and to the alleviation of human wretch- 



