THE RURAL SOCRATES, 69 



*'* hofpitals : Efbabliihnients of this fort are an iuva- 

 ** luable refource to the fick and decrepid ; but when 

 *' we receive into them the healthy and robuft, we open 

 *' a door to idlenels, and are acceffary to the deflruc- 

 *' tion of cur country." — In general he weighs every 

 qneilion, relatively to the influence it may have upon 

 the mind or manners. Thus an apparently great ad- 

 vantage would, in his edimation, be a really great evil, 

 if it tended to debauch the morals of the people. — ^On 

 this principle, he fets very little value on the fiouriihing 

 flate of commerce ; as he apprehends its mod general 

 effeds are to introduce an inordinate love of money, 

 debafe generous fentiments, and familiarize the mincj 

 with fraud. 



The uncommon fertility of the year T761, confider* 

 ably lowered the price of corn : The farmers, alarmed, 

 broke itito indecent and offenlive murmurs. The moft 

 fubilantlal amongfl them refufed to Cdl^ and took meaf- 

 ures to preierve their corn till the markets liioujd rife. 

 — Kliyogg, fo far from complaining, enjoyed a heart- 

 felt fatisfa£lion, that the poor laborer could eat his 

 morfel of bread at a moderate price : he got rid of his 

 corn at the current price, at the time he had been ac- 

 cuftomed to fell it ; convinced that it was better econ- 

 omy to employ immediately the fmall fum it amounted 

 to, -in the improvement of his lands, than to hoard it up 

 in a granary till a more lucrative opportunity, — He of- 

 ten is {hocked at the hypocrify of thofe men, who on 

 every bargain they flrike, whether they may have over- 

 reached their neighbor or not ; make a parade of the 

 benediction of heaven in their favor, and are always re- 

 peating, '' God be praifedl" The thanklgivings indeed 

 witli which they aifront the fupreme Being, arc, in gen- 

 eral, expredive of their inlatiable avidity after riches ; 

 which are almofl: always acquired to the injury of oth- 

 ers. The true manner of praifmg the Deity, is to be 

 contented v/ith what we h?>ve earned by indufcrious 



application. 



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