PHILOSOPHY, MORAL. 



knee, and urge us to make the cultivation 

 and exercise of it the supreme pleasure 

 and end of our lives. In order to make 

 this appear more fully, we have only to 

 take a survey of human life, the reverse 

 of what we have already attended to. In- 

 juries are increased by mutual injuries, 

 till at last mutual sufferings oblige both 

 parties to desist: the increase and consti- 

 tution of human nature give numberless 

 admonitions to forbear; and the hand of 

 every man, and the power of every thing, 

 is against the malevolent. So that, if we 

 suppose a number of beings to be purely 

 malevolent, and consequently to have an 

 indefinite number of enemies, they would 

 first cease from their enmity on account of 

 their mutual sufferings, and become pure- 

 ly selfish, each being his" own sole friend 

 and protector ; and afterwards, by mutual 

 good offices, endear themselves to each 

 other ; so that at last each of them would 

 have an indefinite number of friends, and 

 thus would be indefinitely happy. This 

 is, in part, mere supposition ; but its ob- 

 vious correspondence with what we see 

 and feel in real lite, is a strong argument 

 both of the infinite goodness of God, and 

 consequently of the tendency ot all beings 

 to unlimited happiness through benevo- 

 lence. For the beings whom we have 

 supposed to set out with pure malevo- 

 lence, could no more rest at pure selfish- 

 ness, or any other intermediate point, than 

 they could at pure malevolence. And 

 thus the arguments, which exclude pure 

 malevolence, necessarily infer that pure 

 unlimited benevolence should be the ulti- 

 mate object of man. 



Culture of Benevolence. 



69. Tn order to augment the benevolent, 

 and suppress the malevolent affections, we 

 should diligently practise all such acts of 

 friendship, generosity, and compassion as 

 our abilities of any kind extend to ; and 

 rigorously refrain from all sallies of anger, 

 resentment, envy, jealousy, &c. For 

 though our affections are not directly and 

 immediately subject to the voluntary pow- 

 er, yet our actions are ; and, consequent- 

 ly, through them, our affections. He that 

 at first practises acts of benevolence by 

 constraint, and continues to practise them, 

 will at last have associated with them such 

 a variety of pleasures, as to transfer a great 

 instantaneous pleasure upon them, and 

 produce in himself the affections from 

 which they naturally flow. In the like 

 manner, if we abstain from malevolent ac- 

 tions and expressions, we shall dry up 



the ill passions which are the sources of 

 them. 



70. With the same objects in view, it- 

 will be of great use, frequently, to dwell 

 upon the great pleasures and rewards at- 

 tending on benevolence ; and also upon 

 the many evils, present and future, to 

 which the contrary disposition exposes us. 

 For thus we shall likewise transfer plea- 

 sure and pain by association upon these 

 dispositions respectively; and rational 

 sell-interest will be made to produce pure 

 benevolence, and to extinguish all kinds 

 and degrees of malevolence. 



71. Frequent and fervent prayer for 

 others, friends, benefactors, strangers, and 

 enemies, has a very great and decided 

 tendency to augment benevolence, and to 

 extinguish malevolence. All exertions of 

 our affections cherish them ; and those 

 made under the more immediate sense of 

 the divine attributes, have an extraordi- 

 nary efficacy, in this respect, by mixing 

 the love, awe, and other exalted emotions 

 of the mind attending our addresses to 

 God, with our affections towards man, so 

 as to improve and purify them. Petitions 

 for the increase of our benevolence, and 

 the suppression of our malevolence, have 

 the same tendency. Again, all medita- 

 tions upon the attributes of God, and par- 

 ticularly upon his infinite benevolence to- 

 wards all his creatures, have a strong ten- 

 dency to refine and augment our benevo- 

 lent affections. And, lastly, the frequent 

 consideration of our own unworthiness, 

 our entire dependence upon God, &c. 

 raises in us compassion for others, as well 

 as concern and earnest desires and pray- 

 ers for ourselves. And compassion, in 

 this imperfect probationary state, is an es- 

 sential and principal part of our benevo- 

 lent affections. 



Rules for the Conduct ofJ\fen towards each 

 otJier in Society. 



PRACTICAL BENEVOLENCE. 



72. Having now established the posi- 

 tion, that benevolence should be a prima- 

 ry pursuit of men, it follows that we 

 should aim to direct every action, so as to 

 produce the greatest happiness and the 

 least misery in our power. This is the 

 rule of conduct towards our fellow crea- 

 tures, which universal, unlimited benevo- 

 lence inculcates. But the application of 

 this rule in real life, is attended with con- 

 siderable difficulties and perplexities. It 

 is impossible for the most sagacious and 

 experienced to make any very accurate 



