in a national hiftory, which are more excellent

than others.

PERHAPS fome refined and fubtler capacity may fee the caufes of the exaltation of thefe faculties in men; but whoever looks on them at the hour of their being in highest perfection, has his eye turned on a wrong point of time.

WHATEVER must be the combining powers, which produce these phænomena, it is at their birth, and not at their full growth of manhood, that they must be discovered.

THAT there are happy periods, which are creative of fuch fuperiority in nature, can scarce be denied; because, generally more than one man receives the tincture of thefe excellencies at the fame time, and a general exaltation of human faculties reigns at one æra in the fame kingdom, more than at all others.

To fay then, that men have at all times -been alike, is to fay fomething which experience proves to be untrue; but to affert that the whole

circles of two kingdoms, from their dawning greatness to their final diffolutions, are much resembling one another, is what approaches very nearly to veracity; the whole progress of two nations ranged fide by fide, resemble one another in their parallel points, more than the fame kingdom at two different times; an old Briton and an old Roman, had more refemblance than Cincinnatus and Mark Anthony, or Sir Francis Drake and the late Admiral Mathews.

THE great care then, which fhould be the purfuit of every minifter, is to find proper objects for the foul of man, and preserve that selfconsciousness of its own greatness, which is natural to men of the most exalted fpirit.

No minifters have fo manifeftly mistaken the ways of governing men, as the late miniftry of this kingdom; one total ignorance of human nature, or defign of fubduing all hearts to the influence of money, has been the favourite fcheme; and because men have been purchased to do wrong, they have wainly imagined, that

they

they might be bought to do right, which is in many cafes impoffible.

THE ridicule which has been thrown upon patriotifm, honor, integrity, and religion, have done more real mifchief in a political fenfe, than millions of money, nay than any fum can restore.

THE laughing these things out of countenance has debased the spirit of the nation; and too much reasoning on every thing will have the fame effect, I mean what is called reasoning by the present half-thinkers of this ifland.

WHEN the facred notion, which is annexed to honor and thefe other qualities, are laughed away, there is an end to all true incentive amongst men; and if foldiers of any kind are animated by any other motive befides, it destroys the very idea of a foldier; there must be something that has the air of romantic in the manners of that nation which attempts great actions, and fucceeds.

IN the laft war, the navy had all the captures given to them, which were taken by the N 3 relpec

respective captains; by this means honor was laid to sleep, and many were broke for cowardice at the end of the war, who had gotten great riches during its continuation; the commander who was as active as Mercury, or any other thief, in catching merchant fhips and prizes, was as lame as Vulcan in pursuing a man of war, and an acquifition of honor.

THE nature of a foldier was by this means totally fubverted, by placing his motive to action on wrong springs, in the human compofition, There has never yet been à nation, who has greatly exalted itself by what is called fuperior reafon; fome kind of enthufiafm has been the fource of all great actions: felf-debating makes all pursuits cold and inanimate, and finds too little reality in any thing, to rifque much for the obtaining it; even country, wife, family and friends, are unequal to that production in a reafoner,

THE Greeks owed more to the love of their country, which animated them to the fervice of it, than to all their philofophers and fages; the Romans

Romans were fired to action by the fame incentive.

WITH all that knowledge which Boullainvilliers has fo liberally bestowed on the Arabs, they would have refted in their dry defarts, without daring any thing of confequence, a fet of thieves and plunderers, if Mahomet had not inflamed their minds by views of paradife, to actions of immortal daring.

WHAT have we feen in almoft our own times! the Dutch performing miracles to fave themselves and their moraffes from the Spaniard, when public virtue in poverty urged them to action; and now they are overwhelmd in wealth, as private men, they would fcarce move a finger to defend their county from invafion, because that public spirit is expired.

NOTHING then is fo weak in a minifter, as effacing the prevalency of thofe ideas, and pretending to fupply all by dint of money.

THEY may indeed bribe men to be affaflins, informers, and destroyers of their country, by means