N® 212.. ⚫cit ? abeundum. Minitatur? extimifcendum. Does he live like a gentleman who is commanded by a woman » He to whom she gives law, grants and denies what he pleafes who can neither deny her any thing she asks, or refufe to do any thing he commands. To be fhort, my wife was extremely pleafed with it; "faid the Italian was the only language for mufic; and admired how wonderfully tender the fentiinent was, and how pretty the accent is of that language, with the reft that is faid by rote on that occafion. Mr Meggot is fent for to fing this air, which he performs with mighty ap plaufe; and my wife is in extafy on the occafion, and glad to find, by my being fo much pleafed, that I was at laft come into the notion of the Italian; for, faid fhe, it grows upon one, when one once comes to know a little of the language; and pray, Mr Meggot, fing again those " notes Nihil imperanti negare, nihil recufare. You may believe. I was not a little delighted with my friend Tom's expedient to alarm me, and in obedience to his fummonsI give all this story thus at large; and I am refolved, when this appears in the Spectator, to declare for my-felf. The manner of the infurrection I contrive by your means, which fhall be no other than that Tom Meggot, who is at our tea-table every morning, fhall read it to us ; and if my dear can take the hint, and fay not one word, but let this be the beginning of a new life without far-ther explanation, it is very well; for as foon as the Spectator is read out, I fhall without more ado, call for the • coach, name the hour when I shall be at home, if I come at all; if I do not, they may go to dinner. If my spoufe only fwells and fays nothing, Tom and I go out together, and all is well, as I faid before; but if he begins to command or expoftulate, you fhall in my next to you receive a full account of her refiftance and fubmiffion; for fubmit the dear thing muft to, SIR, Your most obedient humble fervant, •P. S. I HOPE I need not tell you that I defire this... be in your very next. may T. No 213. Saturday, November 3. -Mens fibi confcia recti. VIRG. En. 1. v. 608. A good intention. T is the great art and fecret of Chriftianity, if I may vantage, and direct them in fuch a manner, that every thing we do may turn to account at that great day, when every thing we have done will be fet before us. In order to give this confideration its full weight, we may caft all our actions under the divifion of fuch as are in themselves either good, evil, or indifferent. If we divide our intentions after the fame manner, and confider them with regard to our actions, we may difcover that great art and fecret of religion which I have here mentioned. A GOOD intention joined to a good action, gives it its proper force and efficacy; joined to an evil action, extenuates its malignity, and in fome cafes may take it wholly away; and joined to an indifferent action, turns it into virtue, and makes it meritorious as far as human actions can be fo. In the next place, to confider in the fame manner the influence of an evil intention upon our actions. An evil intention perverts the belt of actions, and makes them in reality what the fathers, with a witty kind of zeal, have termed the virtues of the heathen world, fo many fhining fins. It deftroys the innocence of an indifferent action, and gives an evil action all poffible blackness and horror, or, in the emphatical language of facred writ, makes fin exceeding finful. IF, in the laft place, we confider the nature of an indifferent intention, we shall find that it deftroys the merit of a good action; abates, but never takes away, the malignity of an evil action and leaves an indifferent action in its natural state of indifference. IT is therefore of unfpeakable advantage to poffefs our minds with an habitual good intention, and to aim all our thoughts, thoughts, words and actions, at fome laudable end, whether it be the glory of our Maker, the good of mankind, or the benefit of our own fouls. THIS is a fort of thrift or good-husbandry in moral life, which does not throw away any single action, but makes every one go as far as it can. It multiplies the means of falvation, increafes the number of our virtues, and dimi nishes that of our vices. THERE is fomething very devout, though not solid, in Acofta's anfwer to Limborch, who objects to him the multiplicity of ceremonies in the Jewish religion, as washings,. dreffings, meats, purgations, and the like. The reply which the Jew makes upon this occafion, is, to the bett of my remembrance, as follows; 'There are not duties enough (fays he) in the effential part of the law for a zealous and active obedience. Time, place, and perfon. · are requifite, before you have an opportunity of putting ." a moral virtue into practice. We have therefore, fays < he, enlarged the fphere of our duty, and made many 6 things, which are in themselves indifferent, a part of our religion, that we may have more occafion of fhewing our love to God, and in all the circumstances of life be doing fomething to please him. MONSIEUR St Evremond has endeavoured to palliate the fuperftitions of the Roman-catholic religion with the fame kind of apology, where he pretends to confider the different fpirit of the Papifts and the Calvinifts as to the great points wherein they difagree. He tells us, that the former is actuated by love, and the other by fear; and that in their expreffions of duty and devotion towards the Su preme Being, the former feein particularly careful to do. every thing which may poffibly please him, and the otherto abstain from every thing that may poffibly displease him. BUT notwithstanding this plaufible reafon with which both the Jew and the Roman-catholic would excuse their refpective fuperftitions, it is certain there is fomething in them very pernicious to mankind, and deftructive to religion; because the injunction of fuperfluous ceremonies makes fuch actions duties, as were before indifferent, and by that means renders religion more burdenfom and difficult than it is in its own nature, betrays many into fins of omillion which they could not otherwife be guilty of, and fixes the minds of the vulgar to the fhadowy uneffential points, instead of the more weighty and more important matters of the law. THIS zealous and active obedience however takes place in the great point we are recommending; for if, instead of prefcribing to ourselves indifferent actions as duties, we apply a good intention to all our most indifferent actions, we make our very exiftence one continued act of obedience, we turn our diverfions and amufements to our eternal advantage, and are pleafing him, (whom we are made to pleafe) in all the circumftances and occurrences of life. IT is this excellent frame of mind, this holy officiousness (if I may be allowed to call it fuch) which is recommended to us by the apoftle in that uncommon precept, wherein he directs us to propofe to ourselves the glory of our Creator in all our moft indifferent actions, whether we eat or drank, or whatsoever we do. A PERSON therefore who is poffeffed with fuch an habitual good intention, as that which I have been here peaking of, enters upon no fingular circumftance of life, without confidering it as well-pleafing to the great Author of his being, conformable to the dictates of reafon, fuita. ble to human nature in general, or to that particular ftation in which providence has placed him. He lives in a perpetual fenfe of the divine prefence, regards himself as acting, in the whole courfe of his existence, under the obfervation and inspection of that Being, who is privy to all his motions and all his thoughts, who knows his downfitting and his up-rifing, who is about his path, and about his bed, and fpieth out all his ways. In a word, he remembers that the eye of his judge is always upon him, and in every action he reflects that he is doing what is commanded or allowed by him who will hereafter either reward or punish it. This was the character of those holy men of old, who in that beautiful phrase of fcripture, are said to have walked with God. WHEN I employ myself upon a paper of morality, I generally confider how I may recommend the particular virtue which I treat of, by the precepts or examples of the antient heathens; by that means, if poffible, to fhame those who have greater advantages of knowing their duty, and and therefore greater obligations to perform it in a better courfe of life: befides that many among us are unreafonably disposed to give a fairer hearing to a Pagan philofopher, than to a Chriflian writer. I SHALL therefore produce an inftance of this excellent frame of mind in a fpeech of Socrates, which is quoted by Frafmus. This great philofopher, on the day of his execution, a little before the draught of poifon was brought to him, entertaining his friends with a difcourfe on the immortality of the foul, has thefe words: Whether or no God will approve of my actions, I know not; but this I am fure of, that I have at all times made it my endeavour to please him, and I have a good hope that this my endeavour will be accepted by him. We find in thefe words of that great man, the habitual good intention which I would here inculcate, and with which that divine philofopher always acted. I fhall only add, that Erasmus who was an unbigotted Roman-catholic, was fo much transported with this paffage of Socrates, that he could fcarce forbear looking upon him as a faint, and defiring him to pray for him; or as that ingenious and learned writer has expreffed himself in a much more lively manner; When I reflect on fuch a speech pronounced by fuch a perfon, I can fearce forbear crying out, Sancte Socrates, ora pro nobis: O holy Socrates, pray for us. No 214. Monday, November 5. -Perierunt tempora longi Servitii Juv. Sat. 3. v. 124. DRYDEN. A long dependence in an hour is loft. DID fome time ago lay before the world, the unhappy for want of punctuality in the dealings of perfons above them; but there is a fet of men who are much more the objects of compaffion than even thofe, and thefe are the dependents on great men, whom they are pleased to take under their protection as fuch as are to share in their friendfhip and favour. These indeed, as well from the homage that |