86 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



both of ends and means, particularly in reference 

 to our own interests, and to the good or evil which 

 may result from our choice. Temperance is that 

 virtue which moderates and restrains the sensual 

 appetites, ffotitude is that calm and steady 

 habit of the mind which either enables us bravely 

 to encounter the prospect of ill, or renders us 

 serene and invincible under its immediate pres 

 sure. Justice is that virtue which impels us to 

 give to every person what is his due. Now, 

 it could easily be shown, that love is the impel 

 ling principle which excites to the exercise of 

 all these virtues. It will lead us to pay a due 

 regard to our own comfort and interest, but not 

 so as to interfere with ihe interests or to obstruct 

 the happiness of others. It will teach us to pre 

 serve the dominion of the soul over sense and 

 passion, and to restrain the influence of the sen 

 sual appetites, from considerations drawn from 

 our own happiness, and from the good of others. 

 For, aa intemperance kindles the fire of resent 

 ment and the flames of lust, excites to boisterous 

 words and to lawless actions, wastes the sub 

 stance and reduces families to wretchedness 

 and ruin, it must be directly opposed to the prin 

 ciple of benevolence. It will inspire us with a 

 generous and heroic indifference to the preca 

 rious possessions of this mortal scene, and will 

 excite to activily and perseverance in promoting 

 human happiness, in the face of every difficulty 

 and obstruction, and in spite of obstinacy and 

 ingratitude, and of all the sneers and reproaches 

 that may be thrown out upon us on account of 

 the singularity of our conduct. And as Justice 

 is nothing else than the measure of benevolence, 

 it will uniformly direct us to give to every one 

 his due, and restrain us from withholding 

 from our neighbour any thing to which he is en 

 titled by equity or by law. And in cases where 

 the division of property is concerned , it will in 

 many instances be induced to relinquish its 

 right when only a few paltry pounds or shillings 

 are at stake, rather than run the risk of dissolv 

 ing the bonds of affection and friendship. 



The duties of morality have by other mora 

 lists, particularly by the moderns, been arranged 

 into the duties we owe to God, as piety, rever 

 ence, and confidence; the duties we owe toother 

 men, as fidelity, loyalty, humanity, and justice; 

 and the duties we owe to ourselves, as chastity, 

 sobriety, and temperance. From what has been 

 already stated, both in this and in several of 

 the preceding sections, it will obviously ap 

 pear, that all these classes of duties necessarily 

 flow from the operation of that primary, diffusive, 

 and ever active principle, which resides origin 

 ally in the Eternal Mind, and which pervades 

 the minds of all holy intelligences. 



Finally, The man who is animated by the noble 

 principle of benevolence, will endeavour to dis 

 charge with fidelity every social and relative 

 duty, and will feel an interest in the domestic 



comfort and the moral and religious Improve 

 ment of all around him. He will display the 

 activities of this holy affection more immediately 

 in the family in which he resides, as a friend, a 

 father, a husband, a son, or a brother ; perform 

 ing with punctuality all the duties which such 

 relations include ; promoting unity, harmony, 

 affection, and a reciprocal interchange of all 

 those offices of kindness, which tend to secure 

 mutual confidence, pleasure, and improvement. 

 From the family, his affections will be diffused 

 to the neighbourhood around, in al! the forms of 

 kindness, compassion, faithfulness, forgiveness, 

 charity, generosity, humanity, and justice. He 

 will contemplate every member of society as a 

 kinsman and a brother ; he will feel a fraternal 

 attachment; he will delight in his success and 

 prosperity, and will endeavour to encourage the 

 social virtues, and to multiply the sources ol 

 enjoyment wherever his influence extends. From 

 the circle of his immediate neighbourhood, his 

 affections will extend over all the nation to 

 which he belongs. Its prosperity and advance 

 ment in arts, sciences, and legislation, its peace 

 and tranquillity, and the wisdom and rectitude 

 of its rulers, will be the object of his fervent 

 prayers to the God of heaven. To watch over 

 its interests, to promote the improvement of its 

 constitution and its laws, to expose the intrigues 

 of bribery and corruption, to resist the efforts of 

 tyranny and ambition, and to defeat every en 

 croachment on its rights and liberties, in a manly 

 and Christian manner, he will consider as a 

 duty which he owes to his fellow-subjects, to his 

 rulers, and to succeeding generations. It will 

 be his chief aim, not so much to prevent men 

 from becoming thieves, and robbers, and mur 

 derers, as to make them pious, virtuous, and 

 useful members of the general community ; that 

 every one may live &quot; a quiet and peaceable life, 

 in all godliness and honesty.&quot; 



Nor will his benevolence be confined within 

 the limits of a narrow-minded and selfish patriot 

 ism : his affections will expand to surrounding 

 nations, and embrace the interests of every peo 

 ple, and will excite him to co-operate in every 

 scheme by which civilization and science, liberty 

 and Christianity, may be promoted among all the 

 tribes and kindreds of the earth. He will occa 

 sionally transport himself in imagination to dis 

 tant climes, and to the islands scattered over the 

 face of the ocean, and the joy or sorrow which 

 is felt in the hut of the Greenlander, in the In 

 dian wigwam, or among the tents of tho Tartars, 

 will find access to his feeling heart. An in 

 undation, an earthquake, the eruption of a vol 

 cano, a destroying pestilence, or the horrors ol 

 war, happening in Persia, China, or Japan, will 

 not be viewed with apathy or indifference, be 

 cause those countries are placed thousands of 

 miles beyond the boundaries of his own ; but he 

 will sympathise in the sorrows of those distant 



