upon me, if I had not felt a particular love and kindness for you, I know not. I am sure the liberty I am now about to take proceeds from a sincere and hearty concern for your future welfare; and upon that ground, therefore, I hope it will be agreeable and acceptable to you.

I. In the first place, I must beg you often to reflect upon the great end for which you were sent into the world; which was, not to sport away your time in pleasure, nor only to get a fair estate, but to fit and prepare yourself for a happy eternity in the enjoyment of God, by a constant and universal obedience to all his holy laws; in comparison of which, all the labours of life are mere trifles. My reason for giving you this hint is, that, by having your chief business always in your view, you may be continually upon your guard, so that neither the pleasures nor business of life, nor the desires of growing rich, may ever cause you to forget that you are a stranger upon earth, and that your days are as a shadow, which will soon pass away.

II. In the second place, you must endeavour that this great end be prosecuted steadily and vigorously, by all those ways and means which God has established for the working out your salvation. You must resolve upon a holy and virtuous life, if ever you pretend to attain that happiness which God has promised. All other ways of getting to heaven are fallacious, and will in the end deceive you, if ever you are so unhappy as to trust to them; for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Now, the virtue and holiness I mean are of a large extent, and comprehend your duty to God, your neighbour, and yourself; and is what the apostle calls living "righteously, soberly, and godly in this present world." In order to this purpose, God has given us his holy word, to instruct us in the particulars of our duty;

which, therefore, you must frequently peruse with great application of mind. He has, moreover, encouraged our addresses to him, by promising to hear our prayers; which we must therefore offer to him in our closets, and in the public congregations, that we may receive strength and power from above to perform our duty. He has farther instituted the holy sacrament, to be "a continual memorial of the sacrifice of Christ's death, to convey to us the benefits of his sufferings." Therefore, if you sincerely desire the pardon of your sins, grace and assistance to conquer them, and to make a progress in all virtue, you must frequently approach the altar, where these blessings are to be found; and, indeed, a man must have but very slight notions of the benefits of Christ's death, that refuses to give this easy testimony of a thankful heart. You must frequently examine yourself, that you may exercise repentance where you inay fall short of your duty, and that you may thank God where you have been enabled to perform it. You must accustom yourself to meditate upon such divine subjects as occur in the course of your reading, that you may stir up all the faculties of your soul to a vigorous prosecution of them. The afore-mentioned means of grace are not to be rested in as the substance of religion, but are to be used as necessary to beget in us true piety and virtue; and except we aim at that in the use of them, they will not be acceptable to God. A man may be a bad man, and frequent them; and yet there is no being good without them, when the providence of God gives us the opportunity to enjoy them.

III. In the third place, I must desire you, as much as you can, to live by rule and method; to divide the day into such proportions, that a proper time may be assigned for all your actions; that the hours of your devotion, of your business, and your

diversions, may all be stated; thus time will not lie upon your hands, nor sting you with regret when past. While you are subject to the commands of others, you must be content to have your hours of business regulated by them. These you will quickly be acquainted with; and what are left to your own disposal must be employed partly in your prayers, in reading good books, and such as are otherwise commendable, both French and Latin, that you may not lose those languages you have taken so much pains to acquire.

IV. In the fourth place, I must advise you to diligence and industry in your business, which is the best method to make it succeed. "Seest thou a man," says Solomon, "diligent in his business, he shall stand before princes." The wisdom of man is distinguished by using proper and fit means to attain his end. Therefore, as you are concerned to support that character, and desire to bring to perfection what you project, you must never be careless or negligent in those things committed to your trust and management; for this is ever to offend against the duties of religion.

V. In the fifth place, since trade and commerce are pitched upon for your employments, never deviate from exact justice and uprightness in all your dealings. Every particular circumstance of life has its particular temptation; and a man that sincerely designs his duty will put his guard on that place where the greatest danger is apprehended. Frequent dealings with others present to us as frequent opportunities of over-reaching them; and the more a man is trusted, the better he is able to play the knave. Now, though I think as to this world that honesty is the best method of thriving, because it secures credit and reputation, which are the main instruments of trade and commerce, yet there are

some opportunities of unrighteous gain that require good principles of religion to keep a man right. Remember always, that no repentance will make our peace with God for ill-gotten goods without restitution, which makes that necessary work difficult and irksome; that, whatever varnish we are able to put upon our injustice before men, yet God sees through the whole deceit, and will one day judge us for it; and it contradicts the great rule laid down by our Saviour, of doing to others as we would they should do unto us.

VI. In the sixth place, I must not forget to enjoin you to take care to beware of covetousness, because the love of money is the root of all evil; and it is a secret poison, which destroys the souls of such men who otherwise appear sober and virtuous. Besides, this is a vice particularly incident to those that get estates by their own industry, and therefore it is the more necessary to give you warning of it. Be not, therefore, over-eager in the pursuit of riches; and when they increase, set not your heart upon them. To acquire them by unjust means is the perfection of covetousness. But this vice lurks in many other actions less notorious; as when a man pursues the world to the neglect of the duties of religion, even of prayer in his closet and family; when his mind is always anxious about the success of his projects; when the poor have no share of his gains; when he is sordid, and cannot find in his heart to enjoy moderately what he possesses, or, if he does, spends it upon his lusts; and when he makes riches his trust and confidence. Now the love of this world is enmity against God, and does as effectually debar us from heaven as all the extravagances of lewdness and debauchery.

VII. In the seventh place, I must put you in mind of keeping good company; by which I mean

chiefly men of pious and virtuous dispositions; though, with these qualifications, it may be extended to those of the best rank and quality where you reside, from whom you will be able to learn more than from those of an inferior education. And it is often seen, that a young gentleman, newly come into the world, is more frequently ruined by mean and inferior company than by conversing with his superiors, for whom, having a deference, he becomes more modest and humble in his behaviour; whereas, when he finds himself the top of the company, it disposes him to pride and vanity. It is difficult for those whose circumstances throw them into a great deal of company always to avoid that which is bad; and charity may sometimes oblige men to converse with such in order to their reformation, were there any probable hopes of making bad men better. But it is in every man's power to choose what persons he designs for friendship and frequent conversation; a matter of that importance, that it requires time and serious deliberation before you engage. Men of no principles of religion are not to be relied upon, having no foundation to support friendship-besides, they may be apt to infect you with scepticism; and men who believe religion, and act contrary to their principles, give but a scurvy proof of their sincerity, and by their bad example may insensibly corrupt your morals. Those we love have a mighty influence over us; therefore let not a wicked man become your intimate.

VIII. In the eighth place, I must advise you to obstinate temperance in drinking,-the best method to preserve health, and a virtue strictly enjoined by the Christian religion. There is no young man that converses in the world but who is more or less exposed to this temptation; but your particular situation of Smyrna, by reason of the frequent arrival of ships, will make it difficult for you not to exceed the