2. Giving good Advice. "In his own greatest desolations he administered reliefs to those about him, mixing advices with his prayers and twisting the tenderness of a friend to that of a christian, he then dispensed the best of legacies his blessings; most passionately exhorting the young growing hopes of the family, whose first innocence and bashful shame of doing ill he above all things laboured to have preserved, to be just to the advantages of their education, and maintain inviolate their first baptismal vows. Then more generally commended unto all the great advantage of mutual friendly admonitions on which occasion, when the good lady asked him what more special thing he would recommend unto her for her whole life, he briefly replied, uniform obedience: whereby (if we may take a comment from himself at other times) he meant not only a sincere reception of duty as such, because commanded, and not because it is this or that, pleasant or honorable, or perchance cheap or easy duty; but withal the very condition of obeying, the lot of not being to choose for oneself, the being determined in all proposals by human or divine command, and where those are left at large, by the guidance of God's Providence, or the assistance of a friend.— Fell's Life of Dr. Hammond.

3. The reproving of Error. "His charity of fraternal correction having only this caution of restraint the hearer's interest; of which he judged, that when advice did not do good, it was hardly separable from doing harm; and on this ground sometimes he did desist. But whenever he gave an admonition, he prefaced it always with such demonstrations of tenderness and good will, as could not fail to convince of the affectionate kindness with which it was sent, though it could not of the convenience or necessity to embrace it. And this he gave as a general rule, and enforced by his example, never to reprove in anger, or the least appearance of it. If the passion were real, that then was evidently a fault, and the guilty person most unfit to be a judge; if it were resemblance only, yet even that would be so like to guilt, as probably to divert the offender from the consideration of his failance to fasten on his monitor, and make him think not because he was in fault, but because the other was angry." Fell's Life of Dr. Hammond.

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4. Visiting the Sick. He was diligent to enquire who of his parish were sick, or any ways distressed, and would often visit them unsent for; supposing that the fittest time to discover to them those errors to which health and prosperity had blinded them. And having by pious reasons and prayers moulded them unto holy resolutions for the time to come, he would incline them to confession and bewailing their sins, with purpose to forsake them, and then to receive the communion, both as a strengthening of those holy resolutions, and as a seal betwixt God and them of His mercies to their souls, in case that present sickness did put a period to their lives."Walton's Life of Hooker.

Let us now proceed to consider the duties of servants towards their masters, since masters stand in the place of parents to all those who are employed in their service.

The voice of reason calls upon men to obey their masters. For reason suggests that masters know better what should be done than those who are under them.

The voice of conscience too loudly calls for this obedience. In this country all service is of the nature of a covenant between servant and master; and therefore conscience suggests that it must be right to fulfil the terms of that covenant. Besides as masters provide their dependants with the means of subsistence, conscience further teaches that it must be right to comply with the wishes of masters in all things lawful and honest. And what the voice of reason and conscience suggest, that the voice of God in Holy Scripture not only does not confute, but in this, and in every other instance, fully confirms. It is said to be the duty of servants to count their own masters worthy of all honour, (1 Tim. vi. 1.) to be obedient unto them with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as

unto Christ; not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not to men. (Eph. vi. 5, 6, 7.) Reason, conscience, and revelation all join, moreover, in strictly requiring servants to be honest towards their masters; and St. Paul exhorts servants to please them in all things, not answering again, not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity. (Titus ii. 9, 10.)

But the reciprocal duties of masters towards their servants are clearly implied and earnestly inculcated in holy scripture. As masters sustain towards their servants the character, so ought they to extend towards them the kindness of the parental relation, forbearing threatening knowing that they also have a master in Heaven. (Eph. vi. 9.) It is the duty of masters, moreover, not to oppress their servants and dependants, but to pay them well for their labour, according to the words Masters give unto your servants that which is just and equal; to be very careful not to use severity in punishing their faults, but always to lean to the side of mercy; and above all things to invite them to do that which is right by setting them a good example. From what has preceded it is evident that those masters entirely fail in their duty towards their servants who treat them in an arbitrary and overbearing manner, and who, when they do anything which displeases them, will not listen to any explanation of their conduct which they may have to give; whereas it is their bounden duty, as christians, to give them a fair hearing, and if after listening patiently to what they have to say in their defence, they shall after all judge them to be in fault, then to reprove them in a mild and temperate manner.

Perhaps there is nothing which at the present time gives so much insecurity to the whole fabric of society in this country, as the very unsatisfactory manner in which the relative duties of master and servant are now for the most part performed amongst us.

To suppose that all the blame rests with the servants and that none of it belongs to the masters is very absurd; and no reasonable man can refuse to admit that if masters in general were to treat their dependants in a more kind and christianlike manner, we should hear much fewer complaints about bad servants than we now do.

On this subject, however, let us attend to the language of one of the ablest modern writers.

'Let it be considered, then, what the world's want, and consequent unhappiness, is, which arises from this cause- that brethren of a common nature will not respect each other as they should;' that they will not duly acknowledge the instrumentality of all, under divine wisdom, towards accomplishing general good; nor feel the truth -that not one single creature redeemed into a common hope, is worthy to be trampled on, or despised.'

"And first let us take an instance, where such disorder arises from the want of consistent humility and justice. I will not here make appeal to acts of open violence and palpable oppression, but consider some of the consequences only of that disposition so very prevalent, which-while it will perhaps condemn the doctrine of man's corruption,' carried to any height, as a vision of enthusiasm, will yet coldly and systematically behave to fellow creatures upon the most positively implied calculation, that all are profligate and worthless;' only to be kept in order by severity and terror; or preserved in honesty, only as they are removed out of the reach of temptation,

Is it

“To take a case that is continually presenting itself, and of which all, with common consent, are ready to complain, as involving one of life's greatest wearinesses; let an estimate be made, under our present thought of the manner in which so many christian people discharge the relative duties of mastership' and ' servitude.' not so, that want of principle produces, on the one hand, a heartless and unthinking tyranny? Such as cannot possibly receive (in ordinary cases) more than that corresponding eye-service, which alone it deserves and on the other, a degenerate and servile spirit of fear? a fear whose subjects, being suffered to forget the surpassing value of the soul, and being never made sensible of their own strict equality in spiritual right, with the rulers whom they serve in matters temporal, are led to barter every better principle of fidelity in exchange for mere increase of worldly advantage, and freer personal license, in the seasons when the task of mechanical duty is suspended."-Miller's Bampton Lectures for 1817.

The following extract contains a beautiful illustration of what the behaviour of a master towards his servants ought to be.

Besides the great temper he expressed in all his public employments, in his family he was a very gentle master he was tender of all his servants; he never turned any away, except they were so faulty, that there was no hope of reclaiming them when any of them had been long out of the way or had neglected any part of their duty, he would not see them at their first coming home, and sometimes not till the next day; lest, when his displeasure was quick upon them, he might have chid them indecently. And when he did reprove them, he did it with that sweetness and gravity, that it appeared he was more concerned for their having done a fault, than for any offence given by it to himself.

"But if they became immoral or unruly then he turned them away; for he said, He, that by his place ought to punish disorders in other people, must by no means suffer them in his own house. He advanced his servants according to the term they had been about him; and would never give occasion to envy amongst them, by raising the younger clerks above those who had been longer with him. He treated them all with great affection, rather as a friend than a master, giving them often good advice and instruction."-Bp. Burnet's Life of Sir Matthew Hale.

The teachers of youth may also be considered as standing in the place of parents towards their scholars. It behoves scholars to reverence and obey their teachers, and to order themselves according to their directions; and it behoves teachers to follow the rule given to parents (whose deputies they are as to education) in Holy Scripture, and to bring up the children committed to their charge in the nurture and admonition of The Lord.

How faithfully Hooker performed the duties which a scholar owes to his teacher, may be learnt from the testimony of that teacher in his favour, cited in a former quotation; and how faithfully he afterwards performed the duties of a teacher towards a scholar may be learnt from the following

extract.

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The bishop (Sandys) said I will have a tutor to my son, that shall teach him learning by instruction, and virtue by example; and my greatest care shall be of the last; and (God willing) this Richard Hooker shall be the man, into whose hands I will commit my Edwin. And the Bishop did so about twelve months, or not much longer after this resolution."-Walton's Life of Hooker.

ESSAY THE EIGHTEENTH.

"In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."-Philip. ii. ver. 3.

Let us consider I. The nature of humility. II. The necessity of it. III. The means of attaining it. IV. The motives to urge its attainment. I. In speaking of the nature of humility we may define it to be a lowly, and therefore a true and just opinion of ourselves both as regards God and as regards man.

As humility towards God has been separately treated of in a former Essay, the present one will be chiefly occupied in considering humility towards man.

The above definition of humility will be found to agree with the words of Bishop Jeremy Taylor where he says that humility is but a speaking truth, and all pride is a lie. Humility was unknown as a virtue to the ancient Heathens, and the word to express it was applied by them to mark their contempt for those whom they regarded as persons of a mean and abject spirit. Hence so far were they from imitating the humble, that they utterly despised them.

The ancient Jews did not cultivate humility, for they were for the most part (a few good men being excepted) remarkably proud and disdainful.

On the whole then we see that humility is a DISTINCTIVE virtue of christianity. But notwitstanding this is the case, the world (including many calling themselves christians) scouts it even now, and holds humility in as great abhorrence and contempt as ever the Heathens and ancient Jews did.

Yea so violently opposed is the world in general to unfeigned humility that it openly patronises and encourages the opposite feelings, and stamps with its highest approval what is called a high spirit; by which is meant a spirit which will brook no insult without retaliation, and will receive no injury without revenge. And this, be it remembered, is the feeling cherished by a large number of persons who profess to draw their religion from the Bible, in which such conduct is condemned as utterly inconsistent with a state of grace. And if it be asked why the practice of such people is so utterly at variance with the first and foundation principles of the religion which they profess? The answer is, when such people employ humble expressions in their prayers and addresses to Almighty God, such humble expressions in their mouths are mere expletives which they employ with their lips, but which they never suffer to enter their hearts, or to influence their practice. If they were consistent they would seek some religion which would allow full scope to their pride and haughtiness, and their contempt of humility. Humility towards man whenever it really and truly exists in the heart will invariably be distinguished (1) by gentleness of behaviour; and (2) by meekness of temper, both which graces are reckoned by St. Paul (Gal. 5.) among the fruits of The Spirit, and may be regarded as undoubted evidences of the existence of inward humility. II. Consider the necessity of humility (1) if we would please God; since it is written God resisteth the proud and giveth

grace unto the humble; and, Though the Lord be high yet he hath respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth afar off; and every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

When the disciples were puffed up with pride in expectation of obtaining the highest places in the kingdom of Christ, our Blessed Lord taught the absolute necessity of humility in the following words: Verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. St. Matthew xviii. ver. 3, 4.

But humility is necessary in the next place before any other christian virtue can be performed. That it is necessary before we can fulfil our other duties towards God, or at least before we can so fulfil them as they will be accepted by Him, was shewn at large in a former Essay; we will therefore now proceed to shew that humility is equally necessary before we can rightly fulfil our other duties towards man. Where true christian humility is wanting the breaking of other parts of the moral law follows almost as a matter of course: so that pride rather than overlook an affront, urges men calling themselves christians, to be guilty of murder by duelling; and therefore want of humility leads directly to the commission of a crime of the greatest moral turpitude; and in the lower ranks of life it will be found that pride often leads to similar acts of violence and revenge. Pride moreover will invariably lead to unthankfulness for benefits received both as to God and as to man. That this is truly so, will appear plain to all who consider, that a vain and exalted opinion of ourselves, as if the benefits we receive were not so great, or at least not greater than we deserve; is found to distinguish all those who are destitute of true christian humility. It is true indeed, that few people will venture to speak of their deserving benefits at the hands of God; but then they will speak of their superior deserts relatively to other people; and when they see persons whom they consider to be neither so pious nor so virtuous as themselves get on in the world much better than they do, then they will manifest a proud unthankfulness for what mercies they have; and their want of proper humility will so completely disqualify them for the performance of their other duties towards their neighbour, that they will be filled with envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness.

That the other duties which we owe to our neighbour cannot be performed without humility, will appear plain to all who consider that pride always destroys charity. For since pride may be defined to be an inordinate love of self, how can he who is under its influence love his neighbour as himself? How can he moreover who is destitute of humility, do justice to his neighbour, since he will slur over his own faults, and magnify his own good deeds; and in doing so will necessarily magnify the faults, and depreciate the good qualities of his neighbour? In the same manner it might be shewn that no other duty to our neighbour can be rightly fulfilled by one who is destitute of humility. On the whole then we see that humility is the foundation; and if there be not a good