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recommend a buckram dress, for the purpose of repelling familiarity, or inspiring with awe. But, simply, to help you to appear, what you ought to be, a pious, benevolent, amiable man; respectfully attentive to the welfare and comfort of all around you; and seeking, habitually and supremely, to promote the best interest of mankind.

By good manners, then, I beg you will understand me to mean, those manners which christian purity and benevolence recommend, and which, where those graces reign, they will ever be found substantially to produce. Dr. Witherspoon, in his "Letters on Education," while strongly urging the utility and importance of polished manners, remarks, that "true religion is not only consistent with, but necessary to, the perfection of true politeness ;" and fortifies his opinion by "a noble sentiment," as he calls it, of the Prince of Conti, viz. that "worldly politeness is no more than an imitation or imperfect copy of christian charity, being the pretence, or outward appearance, of that deference to the judgment, and attention to the interest of others, which a true christian has as the rule of his life, and the disposition of his heart." And, truly, we have only need to see an example of that unaffected kindness, affability, respectfulness, gentleness, and attention to the feelings and comfort of all around us, which

real religion at once demands and inspires, united with the gravity, dignity, and prudence becoming those who remember that for every word and action they must give an account ;— we have only, I say, to see this happy union of qualities fairly exemplified in human deportment, to be convinced that nothing can be more nobly beautiful or attractive, in the view of every thinking beholder, than the undissembled expression of pure christian feeling and, of course, that to be an humble and assiduous imitator of Christ, is the shortest way for a minister of the Gospel, or any other man, to exhibit the most perfect manners of which our nature is capable.

Cultivate

So much for the general principle. the christian temper, and you will always, in precisely the same proportion, lay the best and the only true foundation for the manners which I recommend. But if you wish to reduce this great principle to practice, two things are to be remembered.

The first is, that, as the growth of christian principle, in the individual heart, is a gradual process; as it is by no means a spontaneous affair, but requires the most assiduous and laborious culture; so the drawing out of that principle into all the practical duties of life, is far from being an easy task. It requires unceasing self-denial, prayer, and watchfulness; and em

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braces a large class of duties, which cannot be expected to be developed in all their relations and aspects, without being made the object of diligent and daily attention. Our pride, our vanity, our selfishness, our envy, our irascible feelings, our indolence, and indeed every corruption of our nature, are all so many obstacles to the faithful discharge of these duties. happens, moreover, that the application of christian principle to the various departments of social intercourse, in all their interesting and delicate details; in other words, the code of what may be called Christian morals, has been less happily illustrated and enforced by books than any other part of christian truth or duty. In its leading outlines, indeed, it has been often and well exhibited but the task of minutely filling up what the Scriptures have so divinely sketched, has never yet, unless I greatly mistake, been satisfactorily performed. And yet, perhaps, there is no subject which, on a variety of accounts, requires to be exhibited in more minute detail, or urged with more constant reiteration, than this. Still no popular, adequate treatise on this subject, so far as I know, is to be found. And, of course, those who desire to attain excellence in this department of duty, have the greater need to study it carefully for themselves, and to embrace every opportunity of becoming more and more at home in its requisitions.

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The second consideration which deserves our notice is, that many of those delicate proprieties of behaviour, which the laws of social intercourse demand, though founded, in general, on christian principle, may be considered as, in part, the result of conventional agreement among well-bred people. Of course,

to be adequately acquainted with them, requires no small knowledge of the world, as well as knowledge of the Bible, and of other good books. That young man will find himself egregiously deceived, who imagines that he can gain in his study all the information that is necessary on this subject. This would be just as unreasonable as to find any one expecting to attain eminence as a military commander, without ever seeing a field of battle. You must be acquainted with the actual world.

You must see

and study man as he is. You must become acquainted with the rules which regulate social intercourse, as exemplified in polished christian society. You must even become acquainted with "the world. which lieth in wickedness," and know something of the laws which govern the intercourse of those who make no profession of religion, that you may know how to understand and treat them; how to meet them on their own ground, and to adopt the best methods of conciliating and gaining them. You must not, for a moment, suppose that what is

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called a knowledge of the world, necessarily implies conformity to it. All that it implies, and all that I would recommend, is such an acquaintance with the assemblage of facts in relation to this subject, as will enable you to adopt them where they are good, or indifferent; to avoid them where they cannot be defended; and to make the whole subservient to the interest of your Divine Master.

Do you ask me, how the "knowledge of the world" of which I speak is to be obtained? I answer,-Not from books; they cannot teach it; though they may make useful suggestions, and may put you on the proper track for learning: which alone is the humble office I assign to this little volume.-Parents cannot always teach it; for frequently they possess it not themselves; and even when they do possess it, it is incomparably more difficult to be conveyed to others, than any species of book knowledge that can be named. Nor is it to be learned even by going continually into society, as many have done, who, nevertheless, were as ignorant of mankind at the end of a long life, as they were when they entered on their course.-But if you desire to learn it, you must, first of all, be in good earnest in paying close attention to the subject. You must feel its importance. While you study carefully the best examples left on record in the sacred Scriptures, you must

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