made way for them, by their mutual hatred and animofities; and the nation has, under very unpromifing circumftances, maintained itself against foreign enemies, whenever it was fo happy as to preserve peace and tranquillity at home.

The late unhappy times of Charles the Firft were attended with this almoft peculiar felicity, that no foreign nation was at leifure to take advantage of our divifions. Europe was in arms; and the great powers too much in awe of each other, for any one to conceive hopes of fuccefs, had his ambition inclined him to lay hold of the opportunities, which our distractions offered. But though there was no enemy to ruin us, yet ruined we were. Such is the malignity of inteftine divifion!

When national quarrels grow extreme, and appear in arms, it is easy to foresee the fad confequences; and the coldest imagination may be able to paint to itself the miseries that muft follow. And whoever looks back upon the many years of distress, under which this country laboured in the late times; let him view them with impartial, or with partial eye; will fee enough to convince his judgment, how fatal a thing it is for a kingdom to be divided against itself. It will therefore be of little ufe to enlarge on this part of the argument; and I the more willingly pass it over, as it will fave you and me the pain of viewing various fcenes of woe, which that time, fruitful in mifery, would prefent before us.

But there are other evils, lefs difcernible, which spring from the same bitter root, and naturally prepare the way for the greater mifchiefs to follow after they are the first symptoms of public confu

fion; and as they influence greatly the virtue and morality of a nation, they are in a more especial manner the preacher's care.

National divifions are fometimes founded in material differences, such as affect the well-being and conftitution of a government; and fometimes owe their rife to accidents, and trifles unworthy of the concern of the public. In this refpect therefore every cafe muft ftand on its own bottom, and is fubject to no general obfervation. But all divifions, how different foever in their commencement, grow in their progrefs to be fo much alike; partly from the common depravity of men, who have not virtue enough to act honeftly in an honeft caufe; partly from the cunning of defigning men, who feldom want the art to direct the public difpute to the fervice of their private views; that there are evil effects which may be generally afcribed to all divifions, as the fruit which they naturally produce.

I. The zeal and warmth which attend public quarrels, are apt to get poffeffion of men's minds and affections fo far, as to render them in great measure unable to form a right judgment of things and perfons.

Without a right judgment in these refpects, it is impoffible for men to be of any service to their country. For a foundation for public good can never be laid in a wrong judgment of things and perfons. And yet, when contentions run high, fo hard is it, even for the cooleft heads, to form right judgments, that it is hardly poffible for them to get right information in any thing: the very language of the country is perverted by the zeal of parties;

honour and honesty are words which lose their natural meaning, and become merely relative to the notions of him who uses them; and when a perfon is represented to us under these fair and engaging characters, nothing can be certainly concluded, but that the man fo highly praised, and his orator, are both of a fide.

With as little juftice are terms of reproach dealt about, though commonly with a more liberal hand, as the refentments of anger and contempt are usually keener and more active than thofe of love and efteem. Men of difcernment on all fides fee the folly and iniquity of this practice; yet they carry on the work, without giving credit to themselves, for the fake of the multitude, who are greatly influ enced, and often prepared for mischief, by these devices. If we look into the large lift of malignants, delinquents, and perfons fufpected, or perhaps without fufpicion, charged as Papifts, in the late times, we shall find among them fome of the wifeft and best of the nation; who, could they have had the influence in public affairs which their worth and merit entitled them to, would have faved both their king and their country from oppreffion. But these men were made useless: and in like circumstances the best men will always be fo; for it must ever be their choice rather to fink under fuch artifices, than to thrive by the use of them; and the times leave them no other choice.

As it is with perfons, fo it is with things. To fee how obftinately and perversely men approve or difapprove almost every thing by the vitiated tafte of party, one would think that truth and reafon had

left the world, or that men were univerfally fallen blind. But neither have truth and reafon left the world, nor are men otherwife than wilfully blind. But when the appeal is made, as in popular cafes it is, to the multitude, the leaders find it much easier to direct their paffions, than their understandings. And what reafon is there to expect, that men fhould take the direction of their own eyes, when they refer themselves to the opinion and approbation of those who have none?

This blind attachment to things and perfons tends gradually to destroy the very notions of right and wrong, and to render virtue and common honefty of little or no fignificancy in public affairs. The lower part of the world foon grows to be infenfible of the difference; and by an habit of following a falfe rule of judging, they become incapable of making ufe of the true one. And when defigning men observe, that by doing right they cannot please their adverfaries, by doing wrong they cannot of fend their friends, they will foon disregard a diftinction, of fo little ufe either to their intereft or reputation. And hence proceeds that hardness of mind, which no reason, no conviction can fubdue.

How fatal an influence this must have upon the virtue and morality of any people, will appear by following this evil a few fteps further into fome of its natural and obvious confequences.

II. One great guard to virtue, and placed in the minds of men by the hand that formed them, is the fense of shame when we do ill; of the fame kind, and a twin of the fame birth, is the pleasure arifing from the praise of having done well. When men,

through the corruptness of their own hearts, get rid of these natural impreffions, they are, in the opinion of the world, profligate and abandoned. Of this kind the inftances are but few. But then, to make their natural paffions of any service to us, they must be kept true to their proper objects, good and evil; and whenever the judgment is fo corrupted as to lofe fight of this difference, the love of praise and the fear of fhame will become not merely useless, but mischievous and deftructive. And this must be the cafe, whenever a false standard of reputation is fet up. And when a nation or kingdom is divided, honour and reputation will be dealt out by a false measure, and fall to their share, who are best able, or moft forward, to serve and promote the measures of the intemperate zeal, which poffeffes the one or the other part of the divifion. Thus true honour and virtue are robbed of their natural forces; and the fense of shame and of praife are feduced into the service of a faction; and fo far perverted, as oftentimes to prove motives to actions base and dishonourable.

III. When praise and reproaches are distributed with fo little justice, it has another very ill effect in hardening men against reproach, even when they deserve it most. Reproach, when it falls indifcriminately on the best and the worst, lofes its proper effect; and bad men will take advantage of the ill judgment of the world in abufing the beft, to defpife all cenfure, how juftly foever paffed on themfelves. This will by degrees make men infenfible of the pleasure of doing brave and generous actions for the good of their country; they will grow