Chap. XIII. ANTIEN.T METAPHYSICS. 272 



Any man who lives in this age, will be apt to think himfelf con- 

 cerned in the defence of it, and particularly a vain man will be 

 much pflended to hear of its degeneracy, of which he himfelf 

 mufl neceflarily participate more or lefs : For vanity, as I have elfe- 

 where obferved, goes, not only to the prefent age, but to the paft,' 

 and even to the future * ; and a vain man is difpofed to think him-- 

 felf, not only as good a man, or, perhaps, better than any of his 

 own age,but as good a man as ever was, or ever will be. But I do not 

 write to flatter either the vanity of any particular man, or of the 

 age in general ; but, on the contrary, the tendency of all my wri- 

 tings, is to corred a quahty which is always greateft where merit 

 is Ifeaft, which makes a man as contemptible as odious, and is 

 the greateft of all obftacles to his improvement in any thing.— To 

 vanity, therefore, I make no apology. 



But there are graver cenfurcrs, to whom I would defire to give 

 fatisfadion, if I could. Thefe will afk me, What good purpofe it 

 can ferve to Ihow us that w^e are degenerated, and are daily degene- 

 rating nvore and more, efpecially if it be true, what I have faid elfe- 

 where, that what grows worfe, and continues to grow worfe, muft 

 at laft come to an end f ? Is it not, it will be faid,adifcouragement 

 to every man who labours to ferve his country, to think that his la- 

 bours can only beftow upon his country a fhort reprieve, and that 

 it muft infallibly perilli at laft. 



But, to this I anfv/er, that no wife man will negled the care of 

 his Body, though he knows, with the greateft certainty, that it 

 muft perifh in a few years. The date of our body politic, it is ho- 

 ped, will be very much longer, and therefore a good citizen ought 

 to beftow more time and pains upon the care of it ; but, as cer- 

 tainly as King Hezekiah knew that the kingdom of Judah could 

 not laft, fo certainly a philofopher knows that we cannot continue 



(things 



• Origin and Progref^ of Language, Vol. ii. p. 422.. 

 \ Vol. ii. p. 29Z%. 



