Illustration of Geographical Terms.

3. THE whole body of the earth and sea is called the Terraqueous Globe; three fourths of which is water, and one fourth land. The equator, commonly called the Equinoctial Line, is a great circle, equally distant from the poles, and divides the globe into two equal parts, called the north­ern and southern hemispheres—The poles are two points on the surface of the terraqueous globe, & diametrically opposite to each other, denominated the north and south pole.

4. LATITUDE is the distance of any par­ticular place, south or north from the equa­tor—The longitude of any place, is the east or west distance of its meridian, from some f [...]xed meridian, where longitude is reckoned to begin.—A continent is a large tract of land, containing several countries, &c.—An island is any quantity of land surrounded by water.—A peninsula is a piece of land [Page 3] encompassed by water, except on one side where it is joined to the continent, or other land.—An isthmus is a narrow neck of land, which joins a peninsula to the continent or other land.—A promontory is a point of land running out into the sea, the extremity of which is called a cape.—An ocean is a vast body of water; a sea or gulph, a smaller one.—A lake is a body of fresh water, sur­rounded by land.—A bay is a part of the sea, contained between two shores.—A strait is a narrow passage, whereby seas, gulphs, &c. communicate with the ocean.

General Description of the four Quarters of the GLOBE.

A general Description of the UNITED STATES.

11. THIS part of North-America was first settled by the English, about one hun­dred and eighty years ago, who remained masters of it until 1774, when the British parliament passed an act, laying certain du­ties upon all teas, &c. imported into Ameri­ca; and declared their right of taxing the colonies in all cases whatsoever: this the Americans considered as a grievance, and being apprehensive that it was only a pre­lude to other encroachments upon their li­berty, declared themselves independent of Great-Britain on the fourth of July, 1776, under the title of the THIRTEEN UNITED STATES of AMERICA.

12. EXTENT and BOUNDARY.] These states extend twelve hundred miles in length, and about one thousand in breadth; bound­ed [Page 7] on the north by the British territory of Canada & the Western Lakes; on the south by the Floridas and the river St. Mary; east, by the Atlantic Ocean and Nova-Sco­tia; and on the west by the river Missisippi.

13. PRODUCE.] Small grain of all kinds, Indian corn, tobacco, cotton, indigo, hemp, [...]lax, timber of various kinds; mines of iron, copper, coals, lead, &c. cattle, sheep, veni­son of various kinds; fish, fowl, fruits, ve­getables, &c. all in great abundance.

14. MANUFACTURES.] Naval stores, pow­der, cannon, and small arms, iron utensils of various kinds, tar, turpentine, pot and pearl ashes, linen, woollens, cottons, potteries, pa­per, maple sugar, &c. &c.

15. RIVERS.] The largest rivers in the United States are the Missisippi and the Ohio; the former is said to be above three thousand miles long, and the latter upwards of one thousand.

16. CAPITAL CITIES.] The most popu­lous cities in the United States are, Phila­delphia, New-York, Boston, Charleston (S. C.) and Baltimore: the first mentioned of which is the present seat of the federal government, and is situated on the banks of the river Delaware, about one hundred and twenty miles from the Ocean.

[Page 8] [...]7. GOVERNMENT, &c.] The govern­ment here is democratical—The executive and legislative officers of the federal union consist of [...] President, Vice-President ^*, a Senate and House of Representatives—The President and Vice-President are elected for four years, the Senators for six, and the Re­presentatives for two.

The United States are excelled by no country upon earth (of the same extent) in regard to the fertility of its soil—the number and size of its rivers, bays, lakes, mountains, &c ^†.

18. THE Protestant is the prevalent reli­gion throughout the United States—all sects and denominations enjoy the freedom of following that manner of worship which to them seems most acceptable to the deity.

Of the Eastern, or NEW-ENGLAND STATES.

19. THE states of New-Hampshire, Mas­sachusetts, Rhode-Island, and Connecticut, go by the general appellation of New-Eng­land—They are five hundred and fifty miles in length, and two hundred in breadth; bounded on the west and north by Canada and the state of New-York; on the north east by the British territory of Nova-Scotia; and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the S [...]und, which separates it from Long-Island.

20. THIS part of the United States was first settled about one hundred and seventy years ago, by a company of intrepid adven­turers, who emigrated hither from Old England on account of religious persecution.

Of the WESTERN TERRITORY.

62. THE United States possess an exten­sive territory, situated north west of the [Page 25] O [...]io, which, for fertility of soil and inland navigation, is inferior to no country upon earth; being watered by the great river Missisippi (which forms its western bounda­ry) the Ohio, and several other valuable rivers.

This Western Territory (which contains more square miles than Great-Britain and France taken together) has lately been erect­ed by Congress into ten Independent States, which are to be admitted into the Union at some future period.

A concise View of the several KINGDOMS, STATES, ISLANDS, &c. in the four Quarters of the Globe ^*.

means it animates and excites all nature, and is one of the principal causes of vegetation. It is the breath and life of the whole animal world, whether inhabiting the air, the earth, or the waters.

10. IT would be tedious to reckon up all the benefits of this useful and delicate ele­ment; let it suffice just to mention its won­derful powers in many engines; its admir­able property of conveying smells to our nose, sounds to our ears, and reflecting the light of the heavenly bodies to our eyes; also its great use and excellence in contri­buting by many other ways to the life, the health, the pleasure of all mankind.

OF THE CLOUDS, RAIN, HAIL, AND SNOW.

11. THE clouds are nothing but vapors raised from the waters, or from moist parts of the earth, partly by the solar, and partly by the subterraneous heat; which vapors, being lighter than air, mount upwards, until having reached such a region of the atmos­phere, as is of the same specific gravity with themselves, they are there suspended. After a while the watery particles which were at first too thin to be perceived, are so con­densed by the cold of superior regions, as to render them opaque enough to reflect the [...] [Page 72] fermenting with nitrous acid, they some times take fire, and generate thunder, lightning, and other fiery meteors. If high in the air, and far from us, they will do mischief; but if near us, may destroy trees, animals, or men—And the nearness or distance may be computed by the interval of time betwixt the flash and the noise. Dr. Wallis observes, that commonly the interval is about seven seconds, which, at eleven hundred and forty-two feet in a second (the rate at which sound travels) gives the distance about a mile and a half; but it is often nearer, and sometimes farther off. The effects of lightning are sometimes very surprising; it has melted a sword without hurting the scabbard, and broken the bones of a man without injuring his flesh, or even his skin. Its uses may be to purge the air, and purify the noxious va­pors which might otherwise grow pernicious.

OF EARTHQUAKES.

16. AN earthquake is the greatest and most formidable appearance of nature. It is a [...]ehement shake or agitation of that part of the earth where it happens, accompanied with noise like thunder, and frequently with eruptions of water, fire, smoke or wind, &c. The same ca [...]ses that produces evaporations of water, and all those meteors that roll over our heads, do also produce these other no less dreadful effects under our feet. For [Page 73] the earth abounding every where with ca­verns, veins, and canals, some full of water, others of vapors and exhalations, and ma­ny parts of the earth being replete with nitre, sulphur, bitumen, vitriol, and other com­bustibles; these, either from some fire they meet with, or from their collision against hard bodies, or their intermixture with other fluids, are kindled, by which means, bursting out into a greater compass, the place be­comes too narrow for them, so that pressing violently on all sides, the adjoining parts are shaken, a noise is heard like thunder, which continues until they have either found, or made a vent to discharge themselves.

OF THE TIDES.

17. THE tides are that flux and reflux, or ebb and slow of the sea, which is observed to happen nearly twice every day—It flows from south to north for something more than six hours, during which time it gradually swells, so that entering the mouth of rivers it drives back their waters towards their heads or springs; then seeming to rest for about ten minutes, it begins to ebb and re­tire back again from north to south for six hours more; and the waters sinking, the ri­vers resume their natural course. Then after a pause of ten minutes more, the sea begins to flow as before, and so alternately. The [Page 74] period of a flux and reflux is twelve hours and twenty-five minutes; so that the tides return later and later every day by fifty mi­nutes, now twenty-four hours and fifty mi­nutes is a lunar day, that is, the Moon passes the earth's meridian later and later every day by fifty minutes; so that the sea flows as often as the Moon passes the meridian, both under the arch, above the horizon, and that below; and ebbs as often as she passes the horizon, both at the eastern and western points; that is, both at the rising and the setting of it. When the Moon enters the first and third quarter; that is, at the new and full Moon, the tides are high and swift, and called spring tides: when she enters the second and last quarter, the tides are weaker, and are called neap tides. All these phaeno­mena of the tides are accounted for from the principles of graviation.

OF GOLD.

18. GOLD is the heaviest, purest, and most ductile of all metals—It is chiefly found in mines, though sometimes gold dust is found in the sand and mud of rivers, particularly in Guinea. The golden ore that is found in the mines is generally about one hundred and fifty, or one hundred and sixty fathoms deep, and is dug up in large pieces, which usually contain some other mineral matter, as anti­mony, vitriol, sulphur, copper, or silver, [Page 75] particularly the last. The manner of pre­paring and separating it is thus; they first break the ore with iron mallets pretty small, then carry it to certain mills, where it is ground to powder, after which they p [...]ss it thro' several sieves until it is exceeding fine.

19. THE powder thus prepared, they lay it in troughs, mix with it a sufficient quantity of water and mercury, and leave it in the fun and air for two or three days, after which the coarse and muddy earth is drawn out by hot waters, until nothing remains but a mass of mercury and gold; which are se­parated by distillation—The gold in this state is called Virgin Gold, which they melt in crucibles, and then cast into plates or ingots.

20. THERE are gold mines in most coun­tries in the world, though in Europe they are very sparingly scattered. The mines of Peru and Chili, in South-America, are the richest, though very fine gold is found in many parts of the East-Indies. The weight of gold is to that of water nearly as nineteen to one; and to that of silver near two to one. The pound weight of gold, or twelve ounces troy, is divided into twenty-four carets. Of all the properties of gold, its ductility is the most surprising: a single ounce of gold may be extended, by the gold-beater's hammer, to a surface of near one hundred and fifty square feet, and by the gold-wire drawers, [Page 76] it will be extended to upwards of a thousand, and yet remain so entire, as that the least [...]law shall not be perceived even by the help of a microscope.

OF SILVER.

21. SILVER is a white rich metal, and, except gold, the finest and most ductile of any: there are silver mines in all parts of the world, but those of Peru, and some other parts of America, particularly those of Potosi, are by far the richest.

22. THE silver ores, when first dug, are not of the same quality, colour, or value; some are white or ash colour, spotted with red or blue specks; but the richest, and that which is easiest wrought, is black; for the working of this nothing is required but to put it in the fire, where the lead evaporat­ing, leaves the silver pure; but the method of separating silver from the common [...]re, is much the same as that of gold; only that, to every fifty hundred weight of ore, is added one hundred weight of rock salt▪ The stand­ard of fine silver is twelve penny-weights, each consisting of twenty-four grains.

OF COPPER.

23. COPPER is a hard, dry, heavy, ductile metal, abounding much with vitriol▪ and an ill-digested sulphur, and found in mines, in [Page 77] most parts of Europe, but particularly in Sweden. It is dug up in large fragments of ore, which are first beaten small, then [...]ashed to separate the coarse and earthy parts from it, then sme [...]ed and cast in a kind of moulds to form large blocks called salmons, or cop­per cakes. This is the ordinary copper.

24. ROSE copper, is that which is melted once or twice more, and a quantity of tin and antimony added to each melting, to render it more beautiful: Virgin copper, is that which is sometimes, but seldom, found pure in mines. Certain proportions of cop­per and lapis calaminaries make brass: Cer­tain proportions of copper and tin, make bell-metal: Copper and brass melted in equal quantities make bronze for busts and sta­tues; and the rust of copper makes verdi­grease.

OF IRON.

25. IRON is a hard, dry, fusible, and duc­tile metal, consisting of earth, salt, and sul­phur; but all impure, ill mixed, and ill di­gested; which renders it very liable to rust. By often heating it in the fire, hammering it, and letting it cool of itself, it is softened; by extinguishing it when hot, in water, it is hardened.

26. THE process of making iron is as fol­lows; their first work is to calcine the ore, [Page 78] which is done in kilns, much like common lime kilns, which they fill up to the top with fuel and ore intermixed, and set [...]ing fire to it at the bottom, let it burn unti [...] [...]e fuel is entirely consumed. This is do [...] without melting the ore, and [...]rves to c [...]ume the more drossy part of it, and to make it mal­leable: after this they [...]arry it to the fur­naces, where, in a furious fire, that for months together is not suffered to flacken night or day, it is melted and [...]st into [...]ows, or pigs of iron, as they are commonly called; and lastly, it is taken from the furnace to the forge, where those pigs are wrought into common bars for use.

OF LEAD.

27. LEAD is a coarse, heavy, soft, metal, containing mercury, some sulphur, and much bituminous earth. It is found in many coun­tries; when the ore is first dug out of the mines it is beaten small, washed clean in a running stream, and then sifted; after which it is melted in a furnace, with a strong char­coal fire▪ as it melts it runs through a canal on one side, leaving the earth, stone, and [...]oss amongst the ashes, and the workmen, with iron ladles, take it out, and upon sand cast it into what form they please.

OF TIN.

28. TIN is a whitish metal, not so hard as silver, nor soft as lead: the stannaries, or [Page 79] tin mines, in Cornwall and Devonshire (in Great-Britain) furnish the greatest part of the tin that is consumed in all Europe. The manner of preparing it, as related in the philosophical transactions, is thus—The mi­neral stone, or ore, being dug and drawn out of the mines, they break it in pieces with large iron mallets, then bring it to a stamping mill, where it is pounded with stampers, much like those of paper mills; and the water pas­sing through it, washes away the earthy parts, and leaves the metalic ones behind.

29. THIS done, they lay it on iron plates, and dry it in a furnace, and grind it very fine in a crasing mill; then wash it and dry it. In this state it is called black tin; to reduce it to white tin, its proper color, they carry it to a furnace filled with charcoal, where it is smelted. After it has passed through all these preparations, and is become cold, they forge it into plates, which finishes the process. Six pounds of brass, and fifteen pounds of lead, to an hundred pounds of tin, makes the composition called pewter.

MERCURY,

30. OR, as it is vulgarly called, quick­silver, is an imperfect metal, neither ductile nor malleable, but a fluid matter, resembling melted silver; it is found chiefly in Hunga­ry, Spain, and Peru; the method of sepa­rating [Page 80] it is—first to grind the mineral glebe, or ore, into powder, then pouring a great quantity of water upon it, they stir it about until the water becomes thick; then pouring it off, they put on fresh water, and repeat their work until the water comes off clear; and now all that remains at the bottom of the vessel is mercury, and other metaline matter. With this they intermix the dross, or refuse of iron, and putting the whole into large retorts, distil it; by which means all the heterogeneous metalic, and stony parts, are separated, and the mercury left pure.

31. THE chief properties of mercury are, that, gold excepted, it is the heaviest of all metals. It is also the most fluid of all bo­dies, that is, its parts cohere the least to each other, and are the most easily separated; it is extremely volatile, being convertible into fume by a very gentle heat; it easily enters and closely adheres to gold, less easily to silver, with difficulty to copper, and to iron not at all.

OF DIAMONDS.

32. THERE are many kinds of precious stones▪ but the diamond, by the ancients call­ed adamant, is the most valuable of them all. Its goodness consists in its water or color, lustre, and weight: And its defects a [...]e flaws, veins, sp [...]cks of red, or black sand, and a bluish or yellowish call. Diamonds are found [Page 81] only in the East-Indies, some i [...]s in mines, and sometimes in the sand of rivers▪ It is the hardest of all gems, in so much that it can only be cut and ground by itself, and its own substance.

33 THE manner of preparing them is first to rub them hard against each other, and the dust which is thus rubbed off the stones, serves to grind and polish them; and this is done by means of a mill, which turns a wheel of soft iron, sprinkled over with diamond dust mixed with oil of olives: The same dust, well ground, and diluted with water and vinegar, is used in the sawing of diamonds; which is per­formed with an iron or brass wire as fine as a hair.

Of the MAGNET, or LOADSTONE.

34. THIS wonderful stone is usually found-in iron mines: and is produced in most coun­tries of the world; particularly in China, Bengal, Arabia, England, Germany, &c. It is a heavy stone, something resembling the ore of iron, only closer and more ponderous. It is endowed with some surprising qualities and powers: It attracts iron, which will ad­here to it very strongly; which virtue it also communicates to the iron so attracted: In every magnet there are two poles, one of which points northward, and the other south­ward; and if the magnet be divided into [Page 82] ever so many pieces the two poles will be found in each piece. It is this property which has rendered it so useful in improving the art of Navigation; for by the help of a needle, proper [...] touched o [...] the Loadstone, the sailor direc [...] the course of his ship▪ to whatever quar [...]r of the world he pleases; the property of pointing towards the north, being communicated from the stone to the needle.

OF VEGETABLES, &c.

OF BIRDS.

40. If we consider the nature and forma­tion of birds in general, many reflections will naturally arise, and confirm in our minds the wisdom and goodness of God, in so wonderfully adapting their power to the uses and ends they were ordained to serve and pursue.

Of Quadrupeds, or Four-footed Beasts▪

OF FISHES.

OF SERPENTS.

OF INSECTS.

ELOCUTION consists [...]n a proper choice, and arrangement of words, as well as of ideas; and enables us to convey our senti­ments with accuracy, energy, and convic­tion.

THE component parts of elocution are— composition, elegance, tropes, figures, &c.

1. COMPOSITION regards grammatical ac­curacy and propriety, by imitating the phrase and order of words made use of by the most approved authors, in the style we would wish to write, whether it be the humble or sub­lime, &c. or whether the subject be philo­sophical, oratorical, or poetical.

2. ELEGANCE consists in the purity, ac­curacy, and politeness of language; and is chiefly acquired by studying the correctest writers, conversing with men of taste and refinement, and by frequent and accurate compositions.

[Page 112]3. A TROPE, is the accurate and elegant adorning of a word, by changing its plain and native sense to a relative and improved one.

Examples of Tropes; taken from Scrip­ture.

4. METAPHOR. ^*—The Lord is my rock; that is, my support. I am the true vine; that is, the Savior. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out, at the presence of the Lord—The lion of the tribe of Juda.

5. METONYMY. ^*—They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them; that [...]s, the writings of Moses and the Prophets, For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death until he come; that is, the contents of this cup. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

6. IRONY. ^*—Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes ▪ but, know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Go and cry unto [Page 113] the God [...] whom ye have chosen; let them de­liver you in the time of your tribulation. And it came to pass, at noon, that Elijah mocked them [the Prophets of Baal] and said, cry aloud; for he is a God; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or, peradventure, he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

7. A FIGURE is a certain mode of adorn­ing speech, so as to convey our ideas (or ex­press the passions) in a more emphatical man­ner than that which is natural and com­mon.

Examples of Figures; taken from Scrip­ture.

8. APOSTROPHE. ^*—I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy; why art thou cast down, my soul! hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him. Come now, and let us reason together— [...]aith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be [...]d like crimson, they shall be as wool.

[Page 114]9. CLIMAX. ^*—And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tri­bulation worketh patience, and patience ex­perience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ash [...]ed. For I am per [...]aded, that neither de [...]h, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, [...]or powers, [...] pre­sent, nor thi [...] to come, [...], nor depth, nor a [...] other [...] able to separate [...] from the love [...] [...]hich is in Christ su [...]r Lord [...] [...]ro man glory [...] m [...]n, for all [...]; w [...]ether [...]l, or Apo [...]s [...], world, or life, or death [...] or things to c [...]me; [...] are yours, and ye are Christs, and Christ is Gods.

10. PARABLE. ^*— [...]s snow in summer, and rain in winter, [...] is honor not seem­ly for a fool. B [...]essed is the man who walk­eth not in the counsel of the ungodly; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The un­godly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife, belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ear. Solomon.

OF PRONUNCIATION.

11. PRONUNCIATION, or the ornaments of utterance and gesture, consists in the judicious and elegant management of the voice and countenance; and a graceful action of the bo­dy and hands. The following quotation, taken from Dr. Blair's lectures, contain some ex­cellent observations on this branch of elo­c [...]tion.

12. "WHEN speaking in public, one should study to preserve as much dignity as possi­ble in the whole attitude of the body. An erect posture is generally to be chosen; standing firm, so as to have the fullest and freest command of all his motions; any in­clination which is used, should be forward towards the hearers, which is a natural ex­pression of earnestness. As for the counte­nance, the chief rule is, that it should cor­respond with the nature of the discourse, and when no particular emotion is expressed, a serious and manly look is always best. The eyes should never be fixed close on any one object, but move easily round the audience.

13. IN the motions made with the hands, consists the chief part of gesture in speaking. The ancients condemned all motions per­formed with the left hand alone; but I am not sensible that these are always offensive, though it is natural for the right hand to be [Page 116] more frequently employed. Warm emo­tions demand the motion of both hands cor­responding together: but whether one ges­ticulates with one or both hands, it is an im­portant rule that all his motions should be free and easy. Narrow and straitened move­ments are generally ungraceful, for which reason motions made with the hands are di­rected to proceed from the shoulder, rather than from the elbow.

14. PERPENDICULAR movements too, with the hands, that is, in a straight line up and down, which Shakespeare, in Hamlet, calls, "sawing the air with the hand," are seldom good. Oblique motions are in gene­ral the most graceful. Too sudden and nim­ble motions, should be likewise avoided. Earnestness can be fully expressed without them. Shakespeare's directions on this head are full of good sense; "Use all gently," says he, "And in the very torrent and tem­pest of passion, acquire a temperance that may give it smoothness."

OF DISPOSITION.

15. DISPOSITION signifies, the proper ranging of the parts of an oration, in an ac­curate and methodical [...]ner.

16. THE component parts of an oration, or declamation, are the following, viz.

[Page 117] Exordium, or introduction to the whole subject.

THE narration, or a brief history of our subject, in as plain, pleasing, and short a manner as possible.

THE proposition, or sum of the whole matter or subject in dispute.

THE confirmation, which tends to corrob­orate our subject, with all the force of ar­guments that we can procure, from reason and invention.

THE rhetorician's mode of ranging their subject, is somewhat similar to that of the Military General's in arranging their troops; that is, they place the strongest in the front, the weakest in the centre; and reserve a few of their best to the last; to vanquish their adversary, or cover the retreat, as occasion may require.

THE refutation, or confutation, which an­swers all our antagonists arguments, by making them appear to be false or absurd.

THE peroration, or conclusion of the whole, which by suming up the principal arguments made use of, should tend to move the passi­ons of our audience, so as to persuade them to acknowledge the force and conviction of them.

[Page 118]17. THE following Precepts, if duly observ­ed will greatly assist the Young Student, in the delivery of an Oration:

ORATIONS AND HARANGUES. ST. Paul's inimitable Oration, or Defence, before King Agrippa and F [...]st [...]s, the Ro­man Governor in Judea, as recorded in the New-Testament▪ Acts 26.

18. EXORDIUM. I think myself hap­py, King Agrippa, in as much as I shall ans­wer for myself this day before thee, touch­ing all the things whereof I am accused of [Page 119] the Jews; especially, because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews; wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

19. NARRATION.—My manner of life from my youth, which was at first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews which knew me from the beginning (if they would testify) that after the straitest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand, and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, in­stantly serving God, day and night, hope to come; for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

20. PROPOSITION.—Why should it be thought, a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? when God him­self has given assurance of it unto all men, in that he hath raised Christ from the dead.

21. CONFIRMATION.—As for my own part, most noble Festus, I own, I once verily thought, that even I myself ought to do many things contrary to the name of Je­sus of Nazareth. Which things I also did in Jerusalem. I punished the saints, oft, in every, synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them, even unto [Page 120] strange cities. In pursuit of which, as went to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests, at mid-day, O King, I saw, on the way, a light from Heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shinin [...] round about me, & them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why perse­cutest thou me? It is hard for thee to ki [...] against the pricks. And I said, Who art th [...] Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom th [...] persecutest. But rise and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee, for this pur­pose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of these things in which I will appear unto thee. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: But shewed first to them of Damascus, and at Je­rusalem, and throughout all the coast of Ju­dea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God.

22. REFUTATION. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me—Having therefore obtain­ed help of God, I continue until this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come: that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should [Page 121] shew light unto the people, and to the Gen­tiles.

23. PERORATION. THIS, most excel­lent auditors, is the real truth: Believe me, I am no pestilent fellow, nor mover of se­dition; but always endeavour, as much as in me lies, to preserve a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man: Nei­ther can the Jews prove the things whereof they now accuse me. Nor am I, Festus, beside myself; but speak thus freely before the king, because he knows these things to be true, yea, I am fully persuaded the king knows them all to be true; for they were not done in a corner. King Agrippa, be­lievest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. And would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

To ART.

24. O ART! thou distinguishing attribute and honor of human kind! who art not only able to imitate nature in her graces, but even to adorn her with graces of thine own! possessed of thee, the meanest genius grows deserving, and has a just demand for a por­tion of our esteem: Devoid of thee, the brightest of our kind lie lost and useless, and are but poorly distinguished from the most despicable and base. When we inhabited [Page 122] forests in common with brutes, nor other­wise known from them than by the figure of our species, thou taughtest us to assert the sovereignty of our nature, and to assume that empire, for which Providence intended us. Thousands of elegancies, pleasures and joys, owe their birth to thee; without which, life itself would be but an insipid possession.

25. WIDE and extensive is the reach of thy dominion. No element is there either so violent or so subtle, so yielding or so sluggish, as, by the powers of its nature, to be superior to thy direction. Thou dread­est not the fierce impetuosity of fire, but com­pellest [...]s violence to be both obedient and useful. By it thou softenest the stubborn tribe of minerals, so as to be formed and moulded into shapes innumerable. Hence weapons, armour, coin; and, previous to these, others of thy works and energies: Hence all those various tools and instruments, which impower thee to proceed to farther ends more excellent. Nor is the subtle air less obedient to thy power; whether thou willest it to be a minister to our pleasure, or utility. At thy command it giveth birth to sounds, which charm the soul with all the powers of harmony. Under thy instruction, we cross the seas; while that yielding ele­ment, where, otherwise, we sink (even water itself) [...] by thee taught to bear us; the [...]st ocean promotes that intercourse of [Page 123] nations, which ignorance would imagine it was destined to intercept. To say how thy influence is seen on earth, would be to teach the meanest what he knows already. Suffice it but to mention, fields of arable and pas­ture; lawns, groves, and gardens; cot­tages, villages, castles, towns, palaces, tem­ples, and spacious cities.

26. NOR does thy empire end in subjects thus inanimate: Its power also extends through the various race of animals; who, either patiently submit to become thy slaves, or are sure to find thee an irresistible foe. The faithful dog, the patient ox, the gene­rous horse, and the mighty elephant, are content, all, to receive their instructions from thee, and readily to lend their natural instincts or strength, to perform those offi­ces, which thy occasions call for. If there be found any species which are serviceable when dead, thou suggestest the means to in­vestigate and take them: If any be so savage as to refuse being tamed, or of natures fierce enough to venture an attack, thou teachest us to scorn their brutal rage, to meet, re­pel, pursue, and conquer.

27. SUCH, O art! is thy amazing influ­ence, when thou art employed only in these inferior subjects, on nature inanimate, or at best irrational: But whenever thou causest a subject more noble, & employest thyself in [Page 124] cultivating the mind itself, then it is th [...] becomest truly amiable and divine▪ the ever [...]lowing source of those sublimer beauties, of which no subject, but mind alone is ca­pable Then it is thou art enabled to exhi­bit to mankind the admired tribe of poets and orators; the sacred train of patriots and heroes; the godlike list of philosophers and legislators; the forms of virtues and equal polities, where private welfare is made the same with public, where crowds themselves prove disinterested, and virtue is made a national and popular characteristic.

28. Hail! sacred source of all these won­ders! thyself instruct me to praise thee wor­thily, through whom, whatever we do is done with elegance and beauty; without whom, what we do is graceless and deformed. Ve­nerable power! by what name shall I address thee? shall I call thee ornament of mind, or art thou more truly mind itself? it is mind thou art, most perfect mind; not rude, un­taught, but fair and polished: In such thou dwellest; of such thou art the form; nor is it a thing more possible to separate thee from such, than it would be to separate thee from thy own existence.

SCIPIO TO THE ROMANS.

29. ON this day, tribunes and Roman ci­tizens! I gained a signal victory, in Africa, over Hannibal and the Carthaginians. Since then, such a day ought to be free from strife and litigation, I shall immediately go from hence to the capitol to pay my adorations to the highest Jove, to Juno, Minerva, and the other Deities who preside over the sacred citadel; and I shall return them thanks, that both on this day, and many times beside, they have inspired me with the spirit and ability of doing essential service to the re­public. Let such of you, too, as have lei­sure, accompany me; and pray the Gods that you may ever have leaders like myself. For, as from the term of seventeen years, to the decline of life, you have always out gone my age by the honors conferred on me, so I have anticipated your honors by my actions.

IN PRAISE OF VIRTUE.

30. VIRTUE is of intrinsic value and good desert, and of indispensible obligation; not the creature of will, but necessary and im­mutable; not local or temporary, but of equal extent and antiquity with the divine mind; not a mode of sensation, but ever­lasting truth; not dependent on power, but the guide of all power.

[Page 126]31. VIRTUE is the foundation of honor and esteem; and the source of all beauty, order, and happiness in nature. It is what confers value on all the other endowments and qualities of a reasonable being, to which they ought to be absolutely subservient, and without which the more eminent they are, the more hideous deformities, and the greater curses they become. The use of it is not confined to any one stage of our existence, or to any particular situation we may be in, but reaches through all the periods and cir­cumstances of our beings.

32. MANY of the endowments and talents we now possess, and of which we are too apt to be proud, will cease entirely with the present state; but this will be our ornament and dignity in every future state to which we may be removed. Beauty and wit will die, learning will vanish away, and all the arts of life be soon forgot; but virtue will re­main for ever.

33. THIS unites us to the whole rational creation, and fits us for conversing with any order of superior natures, and for a place in any part of God's works. It procures us the approbation and love of all wise and good beings, and renders them our allies and friends.—But what is of unspeakably greater consequence is, that it makes God our friend, assimilates and unites our minds to his, and [Page 127] engages his almighty power in our defence: Superior beings of all ranks are bound by it no less than ourselves. It has the same au­thority in all worlds that it has in this. The farther any being is advanced in excellence and perfection, the greater is his attachment to it, and the more he is under its influence. To say no more, it is the law of the whole universe; it stands first in the estimation of the Deity; its original is his nature; and it is the very object that makes him lovely.

34. Such is the importance of virtue—Of what consequence, therefore, is it, that we practise it! there is no argument or motive, which is at all fitted to influence a reason­able mind, which does not call us to this.— One virtuous disposition of soul is preferable to the greatest natural accomplishments and abilities, and of more value than all the treasures of the world. If you are wise, then study virtue, and contemn every thing that can come in competition with it. Remem­ber, that nothing else deserves one anxious thought or wish. Remember, that this alone is honor, glory, wealth, and happiness. Se­cure this, and you secure every thing; lose this, and all is lost.

DESCRIPTIVE PIECES.

MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES IN ELOCUTION.

58. AS THERE is a worldly happiness, which God perceives to be no other than disguised misery; as there are worldly ho­nors, which, in his estimation, are reproach: So there is a worldly wisdom, which in his [...]ight, is foolishness. Of th [...] [...]ldly [...]is­dom, the characters are given in the scrip­tures, and placed in contrast with those of the wisdom which is from above. The one, is the wisdom of the crafty; the other, that of the upright: The one terminates in sel­fishness; the other, in charity: The one is full of strife and bitter envying; the other, of mercy and good fruits.

[Page 142]59. I AM persuaded, that neither death, nor life; nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers; nor things present, nor things to come; nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

60. COMPLAISANCE renders a supe­rior, amiable; an equal, agreeable; and an inferior, acceptable. It smooths distinction, sweetens conversation, and makes every one in the company pleased with himself. It produces good nature and mutual benevo­lence, encourages the timorous, sooths the turbulent, humanizes the fierce; and distin­guishes a society of civilized persons, from a confusion of savages. In a word, com­plaisance is a virtue, that blends all orders of men together in a friendly intercourse of words and actions, and is suited to that equa­lity in human nature, which every one ought to consider so far as is consistent with the order and oeconomy of the world.

61. CHARITY suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth [Page 143] not in iniquity; but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

62. SUPPOSE a youth, to have no pros­pect either of sitting in parliament, of plead­ing at the bar, of appearing upon the stage, or in the pulpit; does it follow, that he need bestow no pains in learning to speak properly his native language? Will he ne­ver have occasion to read, in a company of his friends, a copy of verses, a passage of a book or news-paper? Must he never read a discourse of Tillotson, or a chapter of the Whole Duty of Man, for the instruction of his children and servants? Cicero justly ob­serves, that address in speakin [...], is highly ornamental, as well as useful, even in pri­vate life: The limbs are the parts of the bo­dy, much less noble than the tongue, yet no gentleman grudges a considerable expence of time and money, to have his son taught to use them properly, which is very com­mendable. And is there no attention to be paid to the use of the tongue, the glory of man?

63. IT is pleasant to be virtuous and good, because that is to excel many others: It is pleasant to grow better, because that is to excel ourselves: It is pleasant to morti­fy [Page 144] and subdue our lust, because that is vic­tory: It is pleasant to command our appe­tites and passions, and to keep them in due order, within the bounds of reason and reli­gion, because that is empire.

64. LIFE is short and uncertain; we have not a moment to lose. Is it prudent to throw away any of our time, in tormenting ourselves or others, when we have so little for honest pleasures? Forgetting our weak­ness, we stir up mighty enmities, and fly to wound as if we were invulnerable. Where­fore all this bustle and noise! The best use of a short life is, to make it agreeable to ourselves, and to others. Have you cause of quarrel with your servant, your master, your king, your neighbour? Forbear a moment, death is at hand, which makes all equal. What has man to do with wars, tumults, ambushes? You would destroy your enemy? You lose your trouble; death will do your business while you are at rest. And after all, when you have got your revenge, how short will be your joy, or his pain? While we are among men, let us cultivate humanity, let us not be the cause of fear nor of pain to one another. Let us despise injury, malice, and detraction; and bear with an equal mind such transitory evils. While we speak, while we think, death comes up, and closes the scene.

PATHETIC PIECES.

On our Saviour's Nativity.

SOLILOQUY.

Insufficiency of Creatures to satisfy an Immortal Soul.

ODE TO ADVERSITY.

AN ADDRESS TO THE DEITY.

A PRAYER.
In Imitation of Pope's Universal Prayer. Written by a Young Lady near Philadelphia.

CONTENT.

CHOICE OF A WIFE.

ON BEAUTY.

A SONG.

THE WINTER'S WALK.

To a Gentleman who pays his addresses, to a very agreeable Lady, yet praises only her beauty.

AMANDA AND AMATOR. REAL LIFE.

Chapone's Commentaries on the Old and New Testament.
Of the SCRIPTURES as the RULE of LIFE.

1 AS you advance in years and under­standing, I hope you will be able to [...]ne for yourself the evidences of the christian religion; and that you will be con­vinced, on rational grounds, of its divine au­thority. At present such enquiries would demand more study, and greater power of reasoning, than your age admits of.

2. It is your part, therefore, until you are capable of understanding the proofs, to be­lieve your parents and teachers, that the Holy Scriptures are writings inspired by God, containing a true history of facts, in which we are deeply concerned—a true recital of the laws given by God to Moses, and of the precepts of our blessed Lord and Savior, de­livered [Page 169] from his own mouth to his disciples, and repeated and enlarged upon in the edi­fying epistles of his Apostles—who were men chosen from amongst those who had the ad­vantage of conversing with our Lord, to bear witness of his miracles and resurrection; and who, after his ascension, were assisted and inspired by the Holy Ghost. This sacred volume must be the rule of our life. In it you will find all truths necessary to be be­lieved, and plain and easy directions for the practice of every duty.

3. YOUR bible, then, must be your chief study and delight: but as it contains [...]any various kinds of writing, some parts obscure and difficult of interpretation, others plain and intelligible to the meanest capacity, I would chiefly recommend to your frequent perusal, such parts of the sacred writings as are most adapted to your understanding, and most necessary for your instruction.

4. OUR Saviour's precepts were spoken to the common people among the Jews; and were therefore given in a manner easy to be understood, and equally striking and in­structive to the learned and unlearned; for the most ignorant may comprehend them, whilst the wisest must be charmed and awed by the beautiful and majestic simplicity with which they are expressed. Of the same kind [Page 170] are the Ten Commandments, delivered by God to Moses; which, as they were designed for universal laws, are worded in the most concise and simple manner, yet with a ma­jesty which commands our utmost reverence.

5. I THINK you will receive great plea­sure, as well as improvement, from the histo­rical books of the Old Testament; provided you read them as an history, in a regular course, and keep the thread of it in your mind as you go on. I know of none, true or fictitious, that is equally wonderful, inte­resting and affecting; or that is told in so short and simple a manner as this, which is o [...] a [...]l histories the most authentic.

6. I SHALL give you some brief di­rections concerning the method and course I wish you to pursue in reading the Holy Scriptures. May you be enabled to make the best use of this most precious gift of God this sacred treasure of knowledge; may you read the bible, not as a task, nor as the dull employment of that day only, in which you were forbidden more lively entertain­ments; but with a sincere and ardent desire of instruction, with that love and delight in God's word, which the Holy Psalmist so pa­thetically felt and described, and which is the natural consequence of loving God and virtue.

[Page 171]7. THOUGH I speak this of the bible in general, I would not be understood to mean, that every pa [...]t of the volume is equally in­teresting. I have already said, that it con­sists of various matter and various kinds of books, which must be read with different views and sentiments. The having some ge­neral notion of what you are to expect from each book, may possibly help you to under­stand them, and will heighten your relish for them.

8. I SHALL treat you as if you were per­fectly new to the whole; for so I wish you to consider yourself; because the time and manner, in which children usually read the bible, are very ill calculated to make them really acqua [...]nted with it; and too many people who have read it thus, without under­standing it, in their youth, satisfy themselves, that they know enough of it, and never af­terwards study it with attention, when they come to a maturer age.

OF GENESIS.

1. I NOW proceed to give you some short sketches of the matter contained in the dif­ferent books of the bible, and of the course in which they ought to be read.

2. THE first book, Genesis, contains the most grand, and, to us, the most interesting events that ever happened in the universe; [Page 172] the creation of the world, and of man; the deplorable fall of man, from his first state of excellence and bliss, to the distresses in which we see all his descendants continue; the sen­tence of death pronounced on Adam, and on all his race; with the reviving promise of that deliverance, which has since been wrought for us by our blessed Saviour; the account of the early state of the world; of the universal deluge; the division of man­kind into different nations and languages; the story of Abraham, the founder of the Jewish people▪ whose unshaken faith and obedience under the severest trial human nature could sustain, obtained such favor in the sight of God, that he vouchsafed to stile him his friend, and promised to make his posterity a great nation; and that in his seed, that is, in one of his descendants, all the kingdoms of the earth should be blessed. This you will easily see, refers to the Messiah, who was to be the blessing and deliverance of all nations.

3. IT is amazing that the Jews, possessing this prophecy, among many others, should have been so blinded by prejudice, as to have [...]xpected, from this great personage, only a [...]poral deliverance of their own nation from the [...]ction to which they were re­duced under the Romans—It is equally amazing, that some christians should even now confine t [...]e blessed effects of his appear­ance [Page 173] upon earth, to this or that particular sect or profession, when he is so clearly and emphatically described as the Saviour of the whole world.

4. THE story of Abraham's proceeding to sacrifice his only son, at the command of God, is affecting in the highest degree; and sets forth a pattern of unlimited resignation, that every one ought to imitate in those tri­als of obedience under temptation, or of acquiescence under afflicting dispensations, which fall to their lot. Of this we may be assured, that our trials will be always pro­portioned to the powers afforded us; if we have not Abraham's strength of mind, nei­ther shall we be called upon to lift the bloody knife against the bosom of an only child; but, if the almighty arm should be lifted up against him, we must be ready to resign him, and all we hold dear, to the divine will.

5. THIS action of Abraham has been cen­sured by some, who do not attend to the dis­tinction between obedience to a special com­mand, and the detestably cruel sacrifices of the Heathens, who sometimes voluntarily, and without any divine injunctions, offered up their own children, under the notion of ap­peasing the anger of their gods. An abso­lute command from God himself, as in the case of Abraham, entirely alters the moral nature of the action; since he, and he on­ly, [Page 174] has a perfect right over the lives of his creatures, and may appoint whom he will, either Angel or Man, to be his instrument of destruction.

6. THAT it was really the voice of God which pronounced the command, and not a delusion, might be made certain to Abraham's mind, by means we do not comprehend, but which we know to be within the power of him, who made our souls as well as bodies, and who can controul and direct every fa­culty of the human mind: and we may be assured, that if he was pleased to reveal him­self so miraculously, he would not leave a possibility of doubting, whether it was a real or an imaginary [...]eve [...]ation. Thus the sacri­fice of Abraham appears to be clear of all superstition; and remains the noblest instance of religious faith and submission, that was ever given by a mere man: we cannot wonder that the blessings bestowed on him, extended to his posterity.

7. THIS book proceeds with the history of Isaac, which becomes very interesting to us, from the touching scene I have mentioned, and still more so, if we consider him as the type of our Saviour. It recounts his marri­age with Rebecca—the birth and history of his two sons—Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes, and Esau, the father of the Edomites, or Idumeans, the exquisitely affecting story of [Page 175] Joseph and his brethren, and of his transplanting the Israelites into Egypt, who ther [...] multiplied to a great nation.

OF EXODUS.

1. IN Exodus you read of a series of wonders, wrought by the Almighty to rescue the oppressed Israelites, from the cruel tyranny of the Egyptians, who, having first received them as guests, by degrees re­duced them to a state of slavery. By the most peculiar mercies and exertions in their favour, God prepared his chosen people to receive, with reverent and obedient hearts, the solemn restitution of their primitive laws, which probably he had revealed to Adam and his immediate discendants, or which at least, he had made known by the dictates of conscience; but which time, and the dege­neracy of mankind, had much obscured.

2. THIS important revelation was made to them in the wilderness of Sinai, when, assem­bled before the burning mountain, ‘sur­rounded with blackness, and darkness, and tempest,’ they heard the awful voice of God pronounce the eternal law, impressing it on their hearts, with circumstances of ter­ror, but without those encour [...]gements, and those excellent promises, which were after­wards offered to mankind by Jesus Christ. Thus were the great laws of morality restor­ed [Page 176] to the Jews, and through them transmit­ted to other nations; and by that means a great restraint was opposed to the torrent of vice and impiety, which began to prevail over the world.

3. To those moral precepts, which are of perpetual and universal obligation, were su­peradded, by the ministration of Moses, many peculiar institutions, wisely adopted to dif­ferent ends, either to fix the memory of those past deliverances, which were figura­tive of a future and far greater salvation, to place inviolable barriers between the Jews and the idolatrous nations, by whom they were surrounded, or to be the civil law by which the community was to be governed.

4. To conduct this series of events, and to establish these laws with his people, God raised up that great prophet Moses, whose faith and piety enabled him to undertake and execute the most arduous enterprises, and to pursue, with unabated zeal, the wel­fare of his countrymen. Even in the hour of death, this generous ardour still prevail­ed: his last moments were employed in fer­vent prayers for their prosperity, and in rap­turous gratitude for the glimpse vouchsafed him of a Saviour far greater than himself, whom God would one day raise up to his people.

[Page 177]5. THUS did Moses, by the excellency of his faith, obtain a glorious pre-eminence among the saints and prophets in heaven; while, on earth, he will be ever revered as the first of those benefactors to mankind, whose labours for the public good have [...]n­deared their memory to all ages.

OF LEVITICUS, NUMBERS AND, DEUTERONOMY.

1. THE next book is Leviticus, which contains little besides the laws for the pecu­liar ritual observance of the Jews, and there­fore affords no g [...]eat instruction to us now; you may pass it over entirely, and, for the same reason, you may omit the first eight chapters of Numbers. The rest of Numbers is chiefly a continuation of the history, with some ritual laws.

2. IN Deuteronomy, Moses makes a reca­pitulation of the foregoing history, with zea­lous exhortations to the people, faithfully to worship and obey that God, who had worked such amazing wonders for them: he pro­mises them the noblest temporal blessings, if they prove obedient; and adds the most awful and striking denounciations against them, if they rebel or forsake the true God.

3. I HAVE before observed, that the sanctions of the Mosaic law, were temporal [Page 178] rewards and punishm [...]nts, those of the New-Testament are eternal [...] these [...]ast, as they are infinitely more forcible than the first, were reserved for the last, b [...] gift to mankind— and were revealed by the Messiah in the fullest and clearest manner.

4. MOSES, in this book, directs the me­thod in which the Israelites were to deal with the seven n [...]tions, whom they were appoint­ed to punish for their pros [...]igacy and idolatry, and whose land they were to possess, when they had driven out the old inhabitants: he gives them excellent laws, civil as well as [...]ligious, which were ever after the standing municipal laws of that people. This [...]ook concludes with Moses's song and death.

OF JOSHUA.

1. THE book of Joshua contains the con­quests of the Israelites over the seven nati­ons, and their establishment in the promised land. Their treatment of these conquered nations m [...]st appear to you very cruel and unjust, if you consider it as their own act, unauthorised by a positive command: but they had the mo [...] absolute injunctions, not [...]o spare these corrupt people—"to make no [...]ovenant with them, nor shew mercy to them, but utterly to destroy them;" and the rea­son is given, "les [...] th [...]y should turn away the Israelites from following the Lord, [Page 179] that they might serve other Gods."— The children of Israel are to be consider­ed as instruments, in the hands of the Lord, to punish those whose idolatry and wickedness had deservedly brought destruction on them: this example, therefore, cannot be pleaded in behalf of cruelty, or bring any imputation on the character of the Jews.

2. WITH regard to other cities, which did not belong to these seven nations, they were directed to deal with them according to the common law of arms at that time. If the city submitted, it became tributary, and the people were spared; if it resisted, the men were to be slain, but the women and children saved.

3. YET, though the crime of cruelty can­not be justly laid to their charge on this oc­casion, you will observe, in the course of their history, many things recorded of them, very different from what you would expect from the chosen people of God, if you sup­posed them selected on account of their own merit: their natural character was by no means amiable; and we are repeatedly told, that they were not chosen for their superior righteousness—"For they were a stiff necked people, and provoked the Lord with their rebellions from the day they left Egypt▪"— "You have been rebellious against the Lord, says Moses, from the day that I kn [...]w you, [Page 180] and he vehemently exhorts [...]em no [...] to [...] themselves that their success was, in any d [...] ­gree, owing to their own merit."

4. THEY were appointed to be the scourge of other nations, whose crim [...] rendered [...] fit objects for divine chastisement. F [...] [...]he sake of righteous Abraham, their son [...] [...] and perhaps for many other wi [...] reasons [...] discovered to us, they were selected from a world over-run with idolatry to preserve upon earth the pure worship [...] [...]ly God, and to be honored with the [...] of the Mes­siah amongst them. For this [...] were precluded, by divine comma [...], from [...]xing with any other people, and defended, by a great number of peculiar [...] and [...]bser­vances, from falling into the [...] practised by their neighbors.

Of JUDGES, SAMUEL, and KINGS·

1. THE book of Judges, in which yo [...] will find the affecting stories of Sampson and Jephtha, carries on the history from the death of Joshua, about two hundred and fif­ty years; but the facts are not told in the times in which they happened, which makes some confusion; and it will be necessary to consult the marginal dates and notes, as well as the index, in order to get any clear idea of the succession of events during that period.

[Page 181]2. THE history then proceeds regularly through the two books of Samuel, and those of Kings: nothing can be more interesting and entertaining than those of Saul, David, and Solomon: but after the death of Solomon, when ten tribes revolted from his son Re­h [...]boam, and became a separate kingdom, you will find some difficulty in understand­ing distinctly the histories of the two king­doms of Israel and Judea, which are blend­ed together; and by the likeness of the names, and other particulars▪ will be apt to confound your mind, without great attention to the different threads there carried toge­ther: the index here will be of great use to you. The second book of Kings concludes with the Babylonish captivity, 588 years be­fore Christ, until which time the kingdom of Judah had descended uninterruptedly in the line of David.

OF CHRONICLES, EZRA, NEHE­MIAH, AND ESTHER.

1. THE first book of Chronicles begins with a genealogy from Adam, through all the tribes of Israel and Judah; and the remain­der is the same history which is contained in the books of Kings, with little or no variation, until the separation of the ten tribes. From that period, it proceeds with the history of the kingdom of Judah alone, and gives, [Page 182] therefore, a m [...]e regular and clear account of the affairs [...] [...]udah, than the books of Kings. You may pass over the first book of Chronicles, and [...]he nine first chapters of the second book; but by all means read the remaining chapters, as they will give you more clear and distinct ideas of the history of Judah, th [...] that you read in the second book of Kings The second of Chronicles ends, like the second of Kings, with the Ba­bylonish cap [...]ity.

2. YOU must pursue the history in the book of Ezra, which gives an account of the re­turn of some of the Jews on the edict of Cyrus, and of the rebuilding of the Lord's temple.

3. NEHEMIAH carries on the history for about twelve years, when he himself was Governor of Jerusalem, with authority to re­build the walls.

4. THE story of Esther is prior, in time, to that of Ezra and Nehemiah; as you will see by the marginal dates: however, as it hap­pened during the seventy years captivity, and is a kind of episode, it may be read in its own place.

5. THIS is the last of the canonical books that is properly historical; and I would therefore advise, that you pass over what [Page 183] follows, until you have continued the histo­ry through the apocryphal books.

JOB.

1. THE story of Job is probably very ancient, though that is a point upon which learned men have differed: It is dated, how­ever, 1520 years before Christ. I believe it is uncertain by whom it was written, many parts of it are obscure; but it is well worth studying for the extreme beauty of the poe­try, and for the noble and sublime devotion it contains.

2. THE subject of the dispute between Job and his pretended friends, seems to be, whe­th [...]r the providence of God distributes the rewards and punishments of this life in ex­act proportion to the merit or deme [...]i [...] of each individual. His antagonists suppose that it does; and therefore infer, from Job's uncommon calamities, that notwithstanding his apparent righteousness, he was in realay a grievous sinner. They aggravate his sup­posed guilt, by the imputation of hypocrisy, and call upon him to confess it, and acknow­ledge the justness of his punishment.

3. JOB asserts his own innocence and vir­tue in the most pathetic manner, yet does not presume to accuse the Supreme Being of injustice. E [...]hu attempts to arbitrate the [Page 184] matter, by alledging the impossibility that so frail and ignorant a creature as man should comprehend the ways of the Almighty; and therefore condemns the unjust and cruel in­ference the three friends had drawn from the sufferings of Job. He also blames Job for the presumption of acquitting himself of all iniquity, since the best of men are not pure in the sight of God; but all have some­thing to repent of; and he advises him to make this use of his afflictions.

4. At last, by a bold figure of poetry, the Supreme Being himself is introduced, speak­ing from the whirlwind, and silencing them all by the most sublime display of his own power, magnificence, and wisdom, and of the comparative littleness and ignorance of man. This indeed is the only conclusion of the ar­gument, which could be drawn at a time when life and immortality were not yet brought to light. A future retribution is the only satisfactory solution of the difficulty arising from the sufferings of good people in this life.

OF THE PSALMS.

1. NEXT follow the Psalms, with which you cannot be too conversant. If you have any taste, either for poetry or devotion, they will be your delight, and will afford you a continual feast. The bible translation is far [Page 185] better than that used in the common prayer book, and will often give you the sen [...]e when the other is obscure. In this, as well as in all other parts of the scripture, you must be careful always to consult the margin, which gives you the corrections since the last translation, and it is generally prefer­able to the words of the text.

2. I WOULD wish you to seek some of the Psalms that please you best, and get them by heart; or at least make yourself master of the sentiments contained in them. Dr. Delany's life of David, will shew you the occasions on which several of them were composed, which add much to their beauty and propriety; and by comparing them with the events of David's life, you will greatly enhance your pleasure in them.— Never did the spirit of true piety breathe more strongly than in these divine songs; which, being added to a rich vein of poetry, makes them more captivating to my heart and imagination, than any thing I ever read.

3. You will consider how great disadvant­ages any poem must sustain from being ren­dered literally into prose, and then imagine how beautiful these must be in the original. May you be enabled, by reading them fre­quently, to transfuse into your own breast that holy flame which inspired the writer; to delight in the Lord and in his laws, like [Page 186] the Psalmist—to rejoice in him always, and to think "one day in his courts better than a thousand:" But may you escape the heart­piercing sorrow of such repentance as that of David—by avoiding sin, which humbled this unhappy king to the dust—and which c [...]st him such bitter anguish, as it is impos­sible to read without being moved.

4. N [...]T all the pleasures of the most pros­perous sinners would counterbalance the hundredth part of those sensations described in his penetential psalms, and which must be the portion of every man, who has fallen from a religious state into such crimes when once he recovers a sense of religion and vir­tue, and is brought to a real hatred of sin. However available such repentance may be to the safety and happiness of the soul after death, it is a state of such exquisite suffering here, that one cannot be enough surprised at the folly of those, who indulge sin with the hope of living to make their peace with God by repentance.

5. HAPPY are they who preserve their innocence unsullied by any great or wilful crimes, and who have only the common fail­ings of humanity to repent of; these are sufficiently mortifying to a heart deeply smit­ten with the love of virtue, and with the de­sire of perfection.

[Page 187]6. THERE are many very striking prophe­cies of the Messiah in these divine songs, par­ticularly in Psalm xxii. Such may be found scattered up and down, almost throughout the Old Testament. To bear testimony to him, is the great and ultimate end, for which the spirit of prophecy was bestowed on the sacred writers; but this will appear more plainly to you, when you enter on the study of prophecy, which you are now much too young to undertake.

OF THE PROVERBS, ECCLESIAS­TES, SOLOMON's SONG, THE PROPHECIES, AND THE APO­CRYPHA.

1. THE Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are rich stores of wisdom; from which I wish you to adopt such maxims as may be of infi­nite use both to your temporal and eternal interest. But detached sentences are a kind of reading not proper to be continued long at a time; a few of them, well chosen and di­gested, will do you much more service than to read half a dozen chapters together. In this respect they are directly opposite to the historical books, which, if not read in con­tinuation, can hardly be understood or re­tained to any purpose.

[Page 188]2. THE song of Solomon is a fine poem, but its mystical reference to religion, lies too deep for common understandings: if you read it therefore, it will be rather as a matter of curiosity than edification.

3. NEXT follow the prophecies; which, though highly deserving the greatest atten­tion and study, I think you had better omit for some years, and then read them with a good exposition, as they are much too diffi­cult for you to understand without assistance. Dr. Newton on the prophecies will help you much, when ever you undertake this study, which you should by all means do when your understanding is ripe enough; because one of the main proofs of our religion [...]ts o [...] the testimony of the prophecies; and they are very frequently quoted, and referred to in the New-Testament; besides, the sublimi­mity of the language and sentiments, through all the disadvantages of antiquity and trans­lation, must in very many passages, strike every person of taste; and the excellent mo­ral and religious precepts found i [...] them, must be useful to all.

4. THOUGH I have spoken of these books in the order in which they stand, I repeat, that they are not to be read in that order, but that the thread of the history is to be pursued, from Nehemiah to the first book of the Maccabees, in the Apocrypha; taking [Page 189] care to observe the chronology regularly, by refering to the index, which supplies the de­ficiencies of this history from Josephus's an­tiquities of the Jews. The first of Macca­bees carries on the story until within 195 years of our Lord's circumcision: the second book of the same narrative is written by a different hand, and does not bring the history so for­ward as the first; so that it may be entirely omitted, unless you have the curiosity to read some particulars of the heroic constan­cy of the Jews under the tortures inflicted by their heathen conquerors, with a few other things, not mentioned in the first book.

5. YOU must then connect the history by the help of the index, which will give you brief heads of the changes that happened in the state of the Jews from this time until the birth of the Messiah.

6. THE other books of the Apocrypha, though not admitted as of sacred authority, have many things well worth your attention; particularly the admirable book called Ec­clesiasticus, and the book of Wisdom. But in the course of reading, which I advise, these must be omitted until after you have gone through the Gospels and Acts, that you may not lose the historical thread.

Of the NEW TESTAMENT, which is constantly to be referred to as the rule and direction of our moral conduct.

1. WE come now to that part of scripture which is the most important of all, and which you must make your constant study, not only until you are thoroughly acquainted with it, but all your life long; because, how oftensoever repeated, it is impossible to read the life and death of our blessed Saviour, without renew­ing and increasing in our hearts, that love and reverence, and gratitude towards him, which is so justly due for all he did and suf­fered for us.

2. EVERY word that fell from his lips is more precious than all the treasures of the earth; for his ‘are the words of eternal life.’ They must therefore be laid up in your heart, and constantly referred to on all occasions, as the rule and direction of all your actions; particularly those very com­prehensive moral precepts he has graciously left with us, which can never fail to direct us right, if fairly and honestly applied; such as, "whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them." There is no occasion, great or small, on which you may not safely apply this rule for the direc­tion of your conduct; and whilst your heart honestly adheres to it, you can never be guilty of any sort of injustice or unkindness.

[Page 191]3. THE two great commandments which contain the summary of our duty to God and man, are no less easily retained, and made a standard by which to judge our own hearts, ‘to love the Lord our God, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our strength; and our neighbour (or [...]llow creature) as ourselves.’ ‘Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.’ Therefore, if you have true benevolence, you will never do any thing injurious to individuals or to so­ciety.

4. NOW, all crimes whatsoever are (in their remoter consequences, at least if not immediately and apparently) injurious to the society in which we live. It is impossible to love God, without desiring to please him, and as far as we are able, to resemble him; therefore, the love of God must lead to every virtue in the highest degree; and we may be sure, we do not truly love him, if we content ourselves with avoiding fra­grant sins, and do not strive in good earnest to reach the greatest degree of perfection we are capable of. Thus do those few words direct us to the highest christian virtue. In­deed the whole tenor of the gospel is to of­fer us every help, direction, and motive, that can enable us to attain that degree of perfection on which depends our eternal good.

Of the Example set by our SAVIOUR, and his Character.

1. WHAT an example is set before us in our blessed master▪—How is his whole life, from earliest youth, dedicated to the pursuit of true wisdom, and to the practice of the most exalted virtue!—When you see him, at twelve years of age, in the temple amongst the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions on the subject of religion, and astonishing them all with his understanding and answers—you will say, perhaps,—"Well might the S [...]n of God, even at those years, be far wiser than the aged; but can a mor­tal child [...]ulate such heavenly wisdom▪ Can such a pattern be proposed to my imita­tion▪ Yes certainly; remember that he has bequeathed to you his heavenly wisdom, as far as concerns your own good. He has left you such declarations of his will, and of the consequences of your actions, as you are, even now, fully able to understand, if you will but attend to them. If then you will imitate his zeal for knowledge, if you will delight in gaining information and improve­ment, you may even now become wise un­to salvation."

2. UNMOVED by the praise he acquired amongst those learned men, you see him meekly return to the submission of a child under those who appeared to be his parents, [Page 193] though he was in reality their Lord: you see him return to live with them, to work for them, and to be the joy and solace of their lives; until the time came, when he was to en­ter on the scene of public action, for his heavenly father had sent him from his own right hand, to take upon him the form of a poor carpenter's son.

3. WHAT a lesson of humility is this, and of obedience to parents! when having re­ceived the glorious testimony from heaven, of his being the beloved son of the most high, he enters on his public ministry, [...]hat an ex­ample does he give us, of the most exten­sive and constant benevolence. How are all his hours spent in doing good to the souls of men. Not the meanest sinner is below his notice:—to reclaim and save them, he condescends to converse familiarly with the most corrupt, as well as the most abject.— All his miracles are wrought to benefit man­kind; not one to punish and afflict them.— Instead of using the Almighty power which accompanied him, to the purpose of exalting himself, and treading down his enemies, he makes no other use of it than to heal and to save.

4. WHEN you come to read of his suffer­ings and death, the ignominy and reproach, the sorrow of mind, and torment of body, [Page 194] which he submitted to—when you conside [...] that it was all for our sakes—"that by his stripes we were healed," and by his death we were raised from destruction to everlast­ing life; what can I say, that can add any thing to the sensations you must then feel? No power of language can make the scene more touching than it appears in the plain and simple narrations of the Evengelists— The heart that is unmoved by it, can be scarcely human; but the emotions of ten­derness and compunction, which almost every one feels in reading this account, will be of no avail, unless applied to the true end; unless it inspires you with a sincere and warm affection towards your blessed Lord; with a firm resolution to obey his commands; to be his faithful disciple, and ever to renounce and abhor those sins which brought man­kind under divine condemnation, and from which we have been redeemed at so dear a rate.

5. REMEMBER that the stile of christian, or follower of Christ, implies a more than ordinary degree of holiness and goodness.— As our motives to virtue are stronger than those which are afforded to the rest of man­kind, our guilt will be poportionably greater, if we depart from it.

6. OUR Saviour appears to have had three great purposes, in descending from his glory, [Page 195] and dwelling amongst men. The first, to teach them true virtue, both by his exam­ple and precepts. The second, to give them the most forcible motives to the practice of it. by "bringing life and immortality to light," by absolute necessity of obedience to God's laws. The third, to sacrifice himself for us to obtain, by his death, the remission of sins, upon our repentance and reformation, and the power of bestowing on his sincere followers, the inestimable gift of immortal happiness.

A comparative View of the Blessed and Cursed at the last Day, and the Infe­ [...]ence to be drawn from it.

1. WHAT a tremendous scene of the last day does the gospel place before [...] eyes!—of that day, when you and every one of us, shall awake from the grave, and behold the Son of God, on his glorious t [...] ­bunal, attended by millions of celestial beings, of whose superior excellence we can now form no adequate idea—When, in presenc [...] of all m [...]nkind of those holy angels, and o [...] the great Judge himself, you must give an account of your past life, and hear your final doom, from which there can be no ap­peal, and which must determine your s [...]te to all eternity; then think, if for a moment you can bear the thought, what will be the [Page 196] desolation, shame and anguish of those wretch­ed souls, who shall hear these dreadful words; "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast­ing fire prepared for the Devil and his An­gels."—Oh! I cannot support even the idea of your becoming one of those undone, lost creatures!—I trust in God's mercy, that you will make a better use of that knowledge of his will, which he has vouchsafed to you, and of those amiable dispositions he has gi­ven you.

2. LET us therefore turn from this horrid, this unsupportable view, and rather to endea­vour to imagine as far as possible, what will be the sensations of your soul, if you shall hear our Heavenly Judge address you in these transporting words, "Come thou bles­sed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom pre­pared for you from the foundation of the world." Think what it must be to become an object of the esteem and applause, not only of all mankind assembled together, but of all the host of Heaven, of our blessed Lord himself, nay, of his and our Almigh­ty Father. To find your frail flesh changed in a moment, to a glorious celestial body en­dowed with perfect beauty, health, and agil­ity; to find your soul cleansed from all its faults and infirmities; exalted to the purest and noblest affections; overflowing with di­vine love and rapturous gratitude! to have [Page 197] your understanding enlightened and refined; your heart enlarged and purified; and every power and disposition of body, adapted to the highest relish of virtue and happiness; Thus accomplished, to be admitted into the society of amiable and happy beings, all united in the most perfect peace and friend­ship, all breathing nothing but love to God, and to each other; with them to dwell in scenes mere delightful than the richest ima­gination can paint—free from every pain and care, and from all possibility of change or satiety: but, above all, to enjoy the more immediate presence of God himself; to be able to comprehend and admire his adorable perfections in a high degree, though still far short of their infinity, to be conscious of his love and favor, and to rejoice in the light of his countenance!

3. BUT here all imagination fails: we can form no idea of that bliss, which may be communicated to us by such a near approach to the source of all beauty and good: we must content ourselves with believing, "that it is what mortal eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive." The crown of all our joys will be, to know that we are secure of possessing them for ever: what a transport­ing idea!

[Page 198]4. CAN you reflect on all these things, and not feel the most earnest longings after im­mortality? Do not all other views and de­sires seem mean and trifling, when compared with this? And does not your inmost heart resolve, that this shall be the chief and con­stant object of [...] wishes and pursuit, through the whole course of your life?

5. IF you are not insensible to that desire of happiness, which [...]eems woven into your nature, you cannot surely be unmoved by the prospect of such a transcendant degree of it; and that continued to all eternity; per­haps continually increasing. You cannot but dread the forfeiture of such an inheri­tance, as the most insupportable evil! Re­member then—remember the conditions on which alone it can be obtained. God will not give to vice, carelesness, or sloth, the prize he has proposed to virtue.

6. YOU have every help that can annimate your endeavours: you have written laws to direct you, the example of Christ and his disciples to encourage you, the most awak­ening motives to engage you, and you have besides, the comfortable promise of constant assistance from the Holy Spirit, if you deli­gently and sincerely pray for it.—O! let not all this mercy be lost upon you, but give your attention to this, your only important concern, and accept with profound gratitude, [Page 199] the inestimable advantages that are thus af­fectionately offered you.

7. THOUGH the four gospels are each of them a narration of the life, sayings and death of Christ; yet as they are not exactly alike, but some circumsta [...]ces and sayings omitted in one, are recorded in another, you must make yourself perfectly master of them all.

8. THE acts of the holy Apostles, endowed with the Holy Ghost, and authorised by their divine master, come next in order to be read. Nothing can be more interesting and edify­ing, than the history of their actions, of the piety, zeal, and courage, with which they preached the glad tidings of salvation; and of the various exertions of the wonderful powers conferred on them by the Holy Spi­rit, for the confirmation of their mission.

CHARACTER OF ST. PAUL.

1. THE character of St. Paul, and his miraculous conversion, demand your par­ticular attention—Most of the Apostles were men of low birth and education; but St. Paul was a Roman citizen; that is, he pos­sessed the privileges annexed to the freedom of the city of Rome, which was considered as a high distinction in those countries that had been conquered by the Romans—He was educated amongst the most learned sect [Page 200] of the Jews, and by one of their principal doctors.—He was a man of extraordinary eloquence, as appears not only in his writ­ings, but in several speeches in his own de­fence, pronounced before governors and courts of justice, when he was called to ac­count for the doctrines he taught.

2. HE seems to have been of an uncom­monly warm temper, and zealous in what­ever religion he professed: this zeal, before his conversion, shewed itself in the most unjustifiable actions, by furiously persecut­ing the innocent christians; but though his actions were bad, we may be sure his inten­tions were good; otherwise we should not have seen a miracle employed to convince him of his mistake, and to bring him into the right way.

3. THIS example may assure us of the mercy of God towards mistaken consciences, and ought to inspire us with the most enlarg­ed charity and good will towards those whose erroneous principles mislead their conduct: instead of resentment and hatred against their persons, we ought only to feel an ac­tive wish of assisting them to find the truth; since we know not whether, if convinced, they might not prove, like St. Paul, cho­sen vessels to promote the honor of God, and of true religion.

OF THE EPISTLES.

1. NEXT follow the Epistles, which make a very important part of the New Testa­ment; and you cannot be too much employed in reading them. They contain the most excellent precepts and admonitions, and are of particular use in explaining more at large, seve [...]al doctrines of christianity, which we could not so fully comprehend without them.

2. THERE are, indeed, in the Epistles of St. Paul, many passages hard to be under­stood: such in particular are the first eleven chapters to the Romans; the greater part of his Epistles to the Corinthians and Galatians, and several chapters of that to the Hebrews. Instead of perplexing yourself with th [...]se more obscure passages of scripture, I would wish you to employ your attention chiefly on those that are plain; and to judge of the doctrine taught in the other parts, by com­paring them with what you find in these. It is through the neglect of this rule, that many have been led to draw the most absurd doc­trines from the holy scriptures.

3. LET me particularly recommend to your careful perusal, the xii, xiii, xiv, xv, chapters of the epistle to the Romans. In the xiv chapter, St. Paul has in view, the difference between the Jewish and Gentile (or [Page 202] Heathen) converts, at that time: the former were disposed to look with horror on the latter, for their impiety in not paying the same regard to the distinctions of days and meats that they did; and the latter, on the contrary, were inclined to look with con­tempt on the former, for their weakness and superstition.

4. EXCELLENT is the advice which the Apostle gives to both parties: he exhorts the Jewish converts not to judge, and the Gentiles not to despise; remembering, that the kingdom of heaven is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost—Endeavor to conform yourself to this advice, to acquire a temper of uni­versal candor and benevolence; and learn neither to despise nor condemn any persons on account of their particular modes of faith and worship: remembering always, that goodness is confined to no party; that there are wise and worthy men among all the sects of christians; and that to his master, every one must stand or fall.

5. I WILL enter no farther into the seve­ral points discussed by St. Paul in his various epistles; most of them too intricate for your understanding at present, and many of them beyond my abilities to state clearly. I will only again recommend to you, to read those passages frequently, which, with so much [Page 203] fervour and energy, excite you to the prac­tice of the most exalted piety and benevo­lence. If the effusions of a heart, warmed with the tenderest affection for the whole human race; if precept, warning, encourage­ment, example, urged by an eloquence which such affection could only inspire, are capable of influenc [...] [...] your mind, you cannot fail to find, in such parts of his epistles as are adapted to your understanding, the strongest persuasives to every virtue that can adorn and improve your nature.

THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

1. THE Epistle of St. James is entirely practical, and exceedingly fine; you cannot study it too much. It seems particularly designed to guard christians against misun­derstanding some things in St. Paul's writ­ings, which have been fatally perverted to the encouragement of a dependence on faith alone, without good works. But the more rational commentators will tell you, that by the works of the law, which the Apostle as­serts to be incapable of justifying us, he means not the works of moral righteousness, but the ceremonial works of the Mosaic law, on which the Jews laid the greatest stress as necessary to salvation. But St. James tells us, that "if any man among us seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, that man's religion [Page 204] is vain;" and that "pure religion, and un­defiled before God and the Father, is this, to visit the fatherless and widow in their af­flictions, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Faith in Christ, if it produce not these effects, he declareth is dead, or of no power.

EPISTLES of St. PETER, and the first of St. JOHN.

1. THE Epistles of St. Peter are also full of the best instructions and admonitions, con­cerning the relative duties of life; amongst which are set forth the duties of women in general, and of wives in particular. Some part of his second epistle is prophetical; warning the church of false teachers, and false doctrines, which would undermine morality and disgrace the cause of christia­nity.

2. THE first of St. John is written in a highly figurative stile, which makes it, in some parts, hard to be understood: but the spirit of divine love, which it so fervently expresses, renders it highly edifying and de­lightful. That love of God and man, which this beloved Apostle so pathetically recom­mends, is in truth the essence of religion, as our Saviour himself informs us.

OF THE REVELATIONS.

1. THE book of Revelations contains a prophetical account of most of the great events, relating to the christian church, which was to happen from the time of the writer, St. John, to the end of the world. Many learned men have taken a great deal of pains to explain it; and they have done this, in many instances, very successful [...]y; but I think it is yet too soon for you to study this part of scripture, some years hence, per­haps, there may be no objection to your at­tempting it, and taking into your hands the best expositions, to assist you in reading such of the most difficult parts of the new testa­ment, as you cannot now be supposed to un­derstand.

2. MAY heaven direct you in studying this sacred volume, and render it the means of making you wise unto salvation: May you love and reverence, as it deserves, this blessed and invaluable book, which contains the best rule of life, the clearest declaration of the will and laws of the Deity, the reviv­ing assurance of favour to true penitents, and the unspeakably joyful tidings of eternal life and happiness to all the truly virtuous, through Jesus Christ, the Saviour and deli­verer of the world. Amen.

Religious Knowledge of great Consolati­on and Relief amidst the Distresses of Life.

1. CONSIDER it in the light of conso­lation; as bringing relief to us, amidst the distresses of life. Here religion incontesti­bly triumphs; and its happy effects in this respect, furnish a strong argument to every benevolent mind, for wishing them to be farther diffused throughout the world. For without the belief an [...] [...]pe afforded by di­vine revelation, the circumstances of man are extremely forlorn.

2. HE finds himself placed here as a stran­ger in a vast universe, where the powers and operations of nature are very imperfectly known; where both the beginnings and is­sues of things are involved in mysterious darkness; where he is unable to discover with any certainty, whence he sprung, or for what purpose he was brought into this state of existence; whether he be subjected to the government of a mild, or of a wrath­ful ruler; what construction he is to put on many of the dispensations of his providence; and what his fate is to be when he departs hence. What a disconsolate situation to a serious enquiring mind! The greater degree of virtue it possesses, its sensibility is likely to be the more oppressed by this burden of labouring thought. Even though it were in [Page 207] one's power to banish all uneasy thought, and to fill up the hours of life with perpetu­al amusement; life so filled up would, upon reflection, appear poor and trivial. But these are far from being the terms upon which man is brought into this world.

3. HE is conscious that his being is frail and feeble; he sees himself beset with vari­ous dangers: and is exposed to many a me­lancholy apprehension, from the evils which he may have to encounter, before he arrives at the close of life. In this distressed condition, to reveal to him such discoveries of the Supreme Being as the christian religion affords, is to reveal to him a father and a friend; is to let in a ray of the most chear­ing light upon the darkness of the human estate. He who was before a destitute or­phan, wandering in the inhospitable desert, has now gained a shelter from the bitter and inclement blast. He now knows to whom to pray, and in whom to trust; where to un­bosom his sorrows; and from what hand to look for relief.

4. IT is certain that when the heart bleeds from some wound of recent misfortune, no­thing is of equal efficacy with religious com­fort. It is of power to enlighten the darkest hour, and to assuage the severest woe, by the relief of divine favor, and the prospect of a blessed immortality. In such hopes the [Page 208] mind expatiates with joy; and when bereav­ed of its earthly friends, solaces itself with [...]e thoughts of one friend who will never forsake it. BLAIR.

IRREGULAR PLEASURES.

1. BY the unhappy excess of irregular pleasures in youth, how many amiable dis­positions are corrupted or destroyed! How many rising capacities and powers are sup­pressed! How many flattering hopes of pa­rents and friends are totally extinguished! Who but must drop a tear over human na­ture, when [...]e beholds that morning which rose so bright, overcast with such untimely darkness; that good humour, which once captivated all hearts; that vivacity which sparkled in every company; those abilities which were fitted for adorning the highest stations, all sacrificed at the shrine of low sensuality, and one who was formed for run­ning the fair career of life, in the midst of public esteem, cut off by his vices at the be­ginning of his course, or sunk for the whole of it into insignificancy and contempt! These, O sinful pleasure, are thy trophies! It is thus, that co-operating with the foe of God and man, thou degradest human honor, and blastest the opening prospects of human fe­licity. BLAIR.

The Necessity of depending for Success on the Blessings of Heaven.

1. LET me recall your attention to that dependence on the blessing of heaven, which, amidst all your endeavors after improvement, you ought continually to preserve. It is too common with the young, even when they resolve to tread the path of virtue and honor, to set out with presumptuous confidence in themselves. Trusting to their own abilities for carrying them successfully through life, they are careless of applying to God, or of deriving any assistance from what they are apt to reckon the gloomy discipline of reli­gion. Alas, how little do they know the dangers which await them? Neither human wisdom nor human virtue, unsupported by religion, are equal for the trying situations which often occur in life.

2. BY the shock of temptation, how often have the most virtuous intentions been over­thr [...]wn! Under the pressure of disaster, how oft [...] has the greatest constancy sunk! Des­titute of the favor of God, you are in no other situation with all your boasted abili­ties, than orphans left to wander in a track­less desert, without any guide to conduct them, or any shelter to cover them from the gathering storm. Correct, then, this ill founded arrogance. Expect not that your happiness can be independent of him who [Page 210] made you. By faith and repentance apply to the redeemer of the world. By piety and prayer seek the protection of the God of Heaven.

Experience to be anticipated by Reflection.

1. IT is observed, that the young and ig­norant are always the most violent in pur­suit. The knowledge which is forced upon them by longer acquaintance with the world, moderates this impetuosity. Study then, to anticipate, by reflection, that knowledge which experience buys at too dear a price. Inure yourselves to frequent consideration of the emptiness of those pleasures which excite so much strife and commotion among mankind. Think how much more of tr [...]e enjoyment is lost by the violence of passion, than by the want of those things which give occasion to that passion.

2. PERSUADE yourselves, that the favour of God, and the p [...]ssession of virtue, form the chief happiness of the rational nature.— Let a contented mind, and a peaceful life, hold the next place in your estimation.— These are the conclusions which the wise and thinking part of mankind have always formed. To these conclusions, after having run the race of passion, you will probably come at last. By forming them betimes, you would make a seasonable escape from [Page 211] that tempestuous region, through which none can pass without suffering misery, contract­ing guilt, and undergoing severe remorse.

A contented Temper the greatest Blessing and most material requisite to the pro­per Discharge of our Duty.

1. A CONTENTED temper is one of the greatest blessings that can be enjoyed by man, and one of the most material requisites to the proper discharge of the duties of every station. For a fretful and discontented temper renders one incapable of performing aright any part in life. It is unthankful and im­pious towards God; and towards men, pro­voking and unjust. It is a gangrene which preys on the vitals, and infects the whole constitution with dis [...]ase and putrefaction. subdue pride and [...]y, and you will take the most effectual method of eradicating this distemper.

2. YOU will no longer behold the objects around you with jaundiced eyes. You will take in good part, the blessings which provi­dence is pleased to bestow, and the degree of favour which your fellow-creatures are disposed to grant you. Viewing yourselves with all your imperfections and failings in a just light, you will rather be surprised at your enjoying so many good things, than [Page 212] discontented, because there are any which you want. From an humble and contented tem­per will spring a chearful one. This, if not in itself a virtue, is at least the garb in which virtue should be always arrayed.

3. PIETY and goodness ought never to be marked with that dejection which some­times takes rise from superstition, but which is the proper portion only of guilt. At the same time, the chearfulness belonging to virtue, is to be carefully distinguished from that light and giddy temper which characte­rises folly, and is so often found among the dissipated and vicious part of mankind.— Their gaity is owing to a total want of re­flection; and brings with it the usual conse­quences of an unthinking habit, shame, re­morse, and heaviness of heart in the end.

4. THE chearfulness of a well regulated mind, springs from a good conscience and the favour of heaven, and is bounded by temperance and reason. It makes a man happy in himself, and promotes the happi­ness of all around him. It is the clear and calm sun-shine of a mind illuminated by pi­ety and virtue. It crowns all other good dispositions, and comprehends the general effect which they ought to produce on the heart.

ON THE DEATH OF CHRIST.

1. THE redemption of man is one of the most glorious works of the Almighty. If the hour of the creation of the wo [...]ld was great and illustrious; that hour, when, from the dark and formless mass, this fair system of nature arose at the divine command; when, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy;"—no less illustrious is the hour of the restoration of the world; the hour, when, from con­demnation, and misery, it emerged into hap­piness and peace. With less external ma­jesty it was attended, but is, on that account, the more wonderful, that, under an appear­ance so simple, such great events were covered.

2. IN the hours of Christ's death, the long series of prophecies, visions, types, and figures, was accomplished. This was the center in which they all met; this the point towards which they had tended and verged, through­out the course of so many generations. You behold the law and the prophets standing, if we may so speak, at the foot of the cross, and doing homage. You behold Moses and Aaron bearing the ark of the covenant; David and Elijah presenting the oracle of testimony. You behold all the priests and sacrifices, all the rites and ordinances, all [Page 214] the types and symbols, assembled together to receive their consummation. Without the death of Christ, the worship and cere­monies of the law would have remained a pompous, but unmeaning institution. In the hour when he was crucified, "the book of the seven seals" was opened. Every rite assumed its significancy; every prediction met its event; every symbol displayed its correspondence.

3. THIS was the hour of the abolition of the law, and the introduction of the gospel; the hour of terminating the old, and begin­ning the new dispensation of religious know­ledge and worship throughout the earth.— Viewed in this light, it forms the most august aera, which is found in the history of man­kind.

4. WHEN Christ was suffering on the cross, we are informed by one of the Evangelists, that he said, I thirst; and they filled a spunge with vinegar and put it to his mouth. "Af­ter he had tasted the vinegar, knowing that all things were now accomplished, and the scripture fulfilled, he said, it is finished;" that is, this offered draught of vinegar was the last circumstance predicted by an ancient pro­phet that remained to be fulfilled. The vi­sion and the prophecy are now sealed: the Mosaic dispensation is closed. "And he bowed his head and gave up the Ghost."— [Page 215] Significantly was the veil of the temple rent in this hour; for the glory then departed from between the Cherubims. The legal high priest delivered up his urim and thum­mim, his breast plate, his robes, and his in­cense; and Christ stood forth as the great high-priest of all succeeding generations. By that one sacrifice, which he now offered, he abolished sacrifices for ever. Altars on which the fire had blazed, for ages, were now to smoke no more. Victims were no more to bleed. "Not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with his own blood; he now enter­ed the holy place, there to appear in the presence of God for us."

5. THIS was the hour of association and union to all the worshippers of God. When Christ said, "it is finished," he threw down the wall of partition which had so long di­vided the Gentile from the Jew. He gather­ed into one all the faithful out of every kin­dred and people. He proclaimed the hour to be come, when the knowledge of the true God should be no longer confined to one nation, nor his worship to one temple; but over all the earth, the worshippers of the father should "serve him in spirit and in truth." From that hour, they who dwelt in the "utmost ends of the earth, strangers to the covenant of promise, began to be "brought nigh." In that hour the light of [Page 216] the gospel dawned from a far on the British islands.

6. THIS was the hour of Christ's triumph over all the powers of darkness; the hour in which he overthrew dominions, and thrones, "led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." The contest which the kingdom of darkness had long maintained against the kingdom of light, was now brought to its crisis. The period was come, when "the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent." For many ages the most gross superstition had filled the earth.— "The glory of the incorruptible God was" every where, except in the land of Judea, "changed into images made like to corrup­tible man, and to birds and beasts, and creeping things." The world, which the Almighty created for himself, seemed to have become a temple of idols. Even to vices and passions altars were raised; and, what was entitled religion, was, in effect, a disci­pline of impurity. In the midst of this uni­versal darkness, Satan had erected his throne [...] and the learned and polished, as well as th [...] savage nations, bowed down before him.— But at the hour when Christ appeared on the cross, the signal of his defeat was given.— His kingdom suddenly departed from him; the reign of idolatry passed away—He was beheld to fall like lightning from heaven." [Page 217] In that hour the foundation of every Pagan temple shook; the statue of every false God tottered on its base. The priest fled from his falling shrine; and the Heathen oracles became dumb for ever.

7. DEATH also, the last foe of man, was the victim of this hour. The formidable appearance of the spectre remained, but his dart was taken away; for, in the hour when Christ expiated guilt, he disarmed death, by securing the resurrection of the just▪— When he said to his penitent fellow-sufferer, "To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise," He announced to all his followers the certain­ty of heavenly bliss. He declared, ‘The Cherubims’ to be dismissed, and the ‘fla­ming sword’ to be sheathed, which had been appointed at the fall, ‘to keep from man the way of the Tree of Life.’ Faint before this period, had been the hope, and indistinct the prospect, which even good men enjoyed of the heavenly kingdom. ‘Life and immortality were now brought to light.’ From the hill of Calvary, the first clear view was given to the world of the everlasting mansions. Since that hour, they have been the perpetual consolation of believers in Christ. Under trouble they sooth their minds; amidst temptations they support their virtue; and in their dying moments enable [Page 218] them to say, "O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?

OF PROVIDENCE.

1. THAT great prophet Moses, it is said, was called up, by a voice from heaven, to the top of a mountain; where, in a confe­rence with the Supreme Being, he was per­mitted to propose to him some questions concerning his administration of the universe. In the midst of this divine colloquy, he was commanded to look down on the plain be­low.

2. At the foot of the mountain there issu­ed out a clear spring of water, at which a soldier alighted from his horse to drink.— He was no sooner gone, than a little boy came to the same place, and finding a purse of gold, which the soldier had dropped, took it up and went away with it. Immediately after this came an infirm old man, weary with age and travelling, and having quench­ed his thirst, sat down to rest himself by the side of the spring: the soldier, missing his purse, returns to search for it, and demands it of the old man, who affirms that he had not seen it; and appeals to heaven in wit­ness of his innocence: the soldier, not be­lieving his protestations, kills him.

[Page 219]3. MOSES fell on his face, with horror and amazement, when the divine voice thus pre­vented his expostulation: be not surprised Moses, nor ask why the judge of the whole earth has suffered this thing to come to pass: the child is the occasion that the blood of the old man is spilt; but know, that the old man, whom thou sawest, was the murderer of that child's father.

OF NEATNESS, DECENCY, &c.

1. NEATNESS, cleanliness, and decency, to which we may add dignity of countenance, and demean [...]r, seem to have something re­fined and moral in them. At least we gene­rally esteem them indications of an orderly, genteel, and well-g [...]verned mind, conscious of inward worth, or the respect due to one's nature. Whereas nastiness, [...]lovenliness, auk­wardness, and indecency, are shrewd symp­toms of something mean, careless, and defi­cient; and betray a mind untaught, illibe­ral, unconscious of what is due to one's self or to others. How much cleanliness condu­ces to health needs hardly to be mentioned; and how necessary it is to maintain one's character and rank in life, and to render us agreeable to others as well as to ourselves, is as evident.

[Page 220]2. THERE are certain motions, airs and gestures, which become the human counte­nance and form, in which we perceive a comeliness, openness, simplicity, and gracefulness; and there are others, which, to our sense of decorum, appear uncomely, affected, dis­ingenuous, and aukward, quite unsuitable to the native dignity of our face and form.— The first are in themselves the most easy, natural, and commodious; gives one bold­ness and presence of mind, a modest assurance, an address both awful and alluring; they bespeak candour and greatness of mind, raise the most agreeable prejudices in one's favour, render society engaging, command respect, and often love, and give weight and authority both in conversation and business; in fine, they are the colouring of virtue, which shew it to the greatest advantage in whomsoever it is; and not only imitate, but in some measure supply it, where it is want­ing. Whereas the last, viz. rudeness, affec­tation, indecorum, and the like, have all the contrary effects; they are burdensome to one's self, a dishonor to our nature, and a nuisance in society.

3. THE former qualities, or goods, are best attained, by a liberal education, by preserv­ing a just sense of the dignity of our nature, by keeping the best and politest company, but above all, by acquiring those virtuous and ennobling habits of mind which are de­cency [Page 221] in perfection, which will give an air of unaffected grandeur, and spread a lustre, truly engaging, over the whole form and deportment.

THE SPEAKER.

1. A CORRECT speaker does not make a movement of limb or feature, for which he has not a reason. If he addresses heaven, he looks upward—If he speaks to his fellow-creatures, he looks round upon them; and the spirit of what he says, or is said to him, appears in his look. If he expresses amaze­ment, or would excite it, he lifts up his hands and eyes. If he invites to virtue and hap­piness, he spreads his arms, and looks bene­volent. If he threatens the vengeance of heaven against vice, he bends his eye-brows into wrath, and menaces with his arm and countenance. He does not needlessly saw the air with his arm, nor stab himself with his finger. He does not clap his right hand upon his breast, unless he has occasion to speak of himself, or to introduce conscience or some thing sentimental. He does not start back, unless he wants to express horror or aversion. He does not come forward, but when he has occasion to solicit. He does not raise his voice, but to express some what peculiarly emphatical. He does not lower it, but to contrast the raising of it. His eyes, by turns, according to the humour of [Page 222] the matter he has to express, sparkle fury; brighten into joy; glance disdain; melt in­to grief, frozen disgust, and hatred; languish into love, or glare distraction.

A TABLE, Exhibiting the real, and supposed num­ber of inhabitants existing upon the face of the earth.

Kingdoms, &c.

No. Inhabitants.

Sweden,

3.000.000

Russia,

20.000.000

Denmark,

2.000.000

Poland,

8.000.000

Germany,

26.000.000

Prussia,

2.000.000

France,

24.000.000

United Netherlands.

2.300.000

Gt. Britain & Ireland,

12.000.000

Switzerland,

1.560.000

Bohemia,

3.000.000

Italy,

16.000.000

Portugal,

2.200.000

Hungary,

4.500.000

Spain,

10.000.000

Turky,

9.000.000

Total in Europe

145.560.000

Brought forward,

145.560.000

Assia is supposed at

450.000.000

Africa, at

150.000.000

America, ^* at

160.000.000

Total,

905.560.000

INTRODUCTION.

ARITHMETIC is the art or science of numbering; for as magnitude is the subject of Geometry, so is multitude, or numbers, the subject of Arithmetic; the whole art of which, depends chiefly, upon the thorough knowledge of the five follow­ing Rules (all the other rules being com­pounded of them) viz. Numeration, Addi­tion, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Di­vision:

The NUMERATION TABLE.

Note. The last line in the Numeration Table▪ is read thus; Nine hundred and eighty-seven million, Six hun­dred and fifty-four thousand, Three hundred and twen­ty-one. Here you see, that Units occupy the first place, towards the right hand; Tens the second; Hundreds the third; Thousands the fourth; Tens of thousands the fifth; Hundreds of thousands the sixth; Millions the seventh; Tens of millions the eighth; and Hundreds of millions the ninth, and last place.

SIMPLE ADDITION.

Simple addition teaches to add several numbers of one kind together, so as to make of them one total sum.

RULE. Begin at the right hand, or units rank, and carry 1 for every 10 contained in each rank, to the next row, and set down what is over; [Page 226] under the last rank, set down the whole amount.

Note. You must place Units under Units, Tens under Tens, and Hundreds under Hundreds, &c.

In reckoning the second Example here, I say 8 and 6 is 14, and 8 is 22, and 2 is 24; there are two tens in this row, and four over; I set down the 4 under the Units place, and carry 2 to the next row, and then say, the 2 that I carry, and 7, makes 9, and 9 is 18, and 7 is 25, and 5 is 30; this rank comes out an even number of tens, and nothing over, therefore I put down 0, in the place of tens, and carry 3, for the 3 tens, to the next row; again, the 3 that I carry and 6 is 9, and 6 is 15, and 4 is 19, and 6 is 25; this being the last row, I set down the wh [...]le amount, viz. Two Thousand Five-hundred and Four Yards.

SIMPLE SUBTRACTION.

Simple subtraction teaches to take a les­ser number from a greater, and sheweth the difference betwixt them.

RULE. Place the lesser number under the greater, taking care that each figure in both lines (of the same local value) stands in its proper place; namely, units under units, tens under tens, &c.

Note.—What you stop at in addition, you must borrow in subtraction.

Example 1.— [...]

In this example, after placing the lesser number under the greater, as the rule di­rects, I say, 4 from 1 I cannot, but 4 from 11 (here I borrow 10 from the next row, which I add to the 1) and there remains 7; then the 1, that I borrowed, and 9, make 10 (having borrowed 10 in the units place, I must here pay 1 to the tens row, as an equivalent for it) again 10 from 4 I cannot, but 10 from 14 (borrowing and paying as before) and there remains 4; then I say, the 1 that I last borrowed, and 5, is [...] from 7, and 1 remains: Here the work is done, [Page 228] and the difference between the two given numbers is 147.

To prove Subtraction, add the remainder to the lesser number, and the sum will be equal to the greater.

SIMPLE MULTIPLICATION.

Multiplication serveth instead of several additions. There are three things particular­ly to be observed, in this rule; viz. The Multiplicand, or sum multiplied, the mul­tiplier or sum multiplied by, the product or answer. The multiplicand and multiplier, when taken together, are sometimes called Factors.

RULE I. Let the factors be placed one under ano­ther, taking care to place, units under units, tens under tens, &c.

RULE II. When the multiplier consists of more places than one, there must be made as ma­ny several products as there are figures in the multiplier: let the first figure of every product stand directly under the multiplying [Page 229] figure: add these several products together, and their sum will be the total product.

RULE III. Cyphers at the right of either, or both factors, may be omitted in the operation, but must be annexed to the product.

RULE IV. When the multiplier is any composite number (as 6 times 6 is 36) multiply by those parts one after another, and the last product will be the total product sought. Multipli­cation is proved, by inverting the factors; but the most certain method of proving it, is by division.

THE MULTIPLICATION TABLE.

Examples in Multiplication.

Example 1. [...]

[Page 231] EXAMPLE II. Multiply 144 by 36, [...]

EXAMPLE III. [...]

In the f [...]rst example here, I begin at the right hand figure, and say, 4 times 4 is 16; here I put down 6 under the multiplying figure, and carry 1; then 4 times 6 is 24, and [...] that I carry is 25; in this line are 2 tens and [...] over; I set down the 5, and car­ry 2 to the next row for the two tens; lastly 4 times 5 is 20, and the 2 that I carry makes 22. I set down the whole here, and find the total of 564, multiplied by 4, to be 2256, as in the work.

SIMPLE DIVISION.

Division teacheth to find how often one number is contained in another; there are three certain parts in division viz. The divi­dend, [Page 232] or sum given to be divided; the divi­sor, or sum divided by; the quotient, or an­swer to the work: if any thing remains after the operation is done, it is called the remain­der▪ and if placed over the divisor thus, 53/75 forms a fraction.

To find how often the divisor is contained in the dividend;

TABLES, In ADDITION, of divers Denominations.

COMPOUND ADDITION.

Is the adding of several numbers together (having divers denominations, as pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings; dollars, dimes, &c.) into one total sum.

COMPOUND SUBTRACTION.

Compound subtraction teaches to find the difference between any two given numbers of divers denominations.

In the first example here, I say, 3 from 4 and 1 remains; again, 12 from 2, I can­not, therefore I must borrow 1 pound or 20 shillings (from the pounds line) and say, 12 from 20 and there remains 8, to which I add the 2 in the upper line, which makes 10; I put down the 10 in the shillings row, and then say, the 1 that I borrowed and 3 makes 4; lastly 4 from 5 and 1 remains; here the work is finished, and the balance unpaid is one pound ten shillings and one penny, as in the work.

MULTIPLICATION, Of Divers Denominations.

DIVISION, Of Divers Denominations.

OF REDUCTION.

Reduction, is the application of Multipli­cation and Division; in reducing numbers of one kind, or denomination, into other numbers of a different denomination, but re­taining [Page 246] still the same value. Great names are brought into small, by multiplication; and small names into greater ones by divisi­on: In all reductions, whether ascending, or descending, care must be taken to multiply or divide, by as many of the lesser, as makes one of the greater denomination.

OF DIRECT PROPORTION.

When more requires more, or less re­quires less; that is, when the third number is [Page 249] greater than the first, and requires the fourth, to be greater than the second; or when the third number is less than the first, and requires the fourth to be less than the second; it is then called Direct Proportion.

MERCHANTS ACCOUNTS. Or Rules of Practice,

So called, from their manifold uses and brevity in finding the value of any quantity of goods; by the given price of one integer.

Note. That any question in the Rule of Three, Direct, when the first term in the stating is an Unit, is more briefly done by the Rules of Practice.

Questions in Practice may be proved by the single Rule of Three.

TARE AND TRETT.

Tare is an allowance made to the buyer, for the weight of the cask, hogshead, bale, &c. that contain the goods; and is sometimes at so much per cask, or hogshead, &c. or at a certain rate per cent.

Trett is an allowance of 4lb. on the 104lb. granted on sundry sorts of goods for waste, dust, &c. Suttle is what remains after the deduction of the tare.

When the tare is at so much per cwt. to find the nett weight,

OF SIMPLE INTEREST.

Simple interest, is an allowance made by the borrower to the lender, for the use o [...] any sum of money for some space of time agreed upon; and is commonly at a certain rate per cent, as 6. or 7 l. for the use of 100 l. for one year.

To find the interest of any given sum for one year.

RULE. Multipl [...] the principal by the rate per cent. and divide the product by 100, the [Page 263] quotient is the interest required; which, multiplied b [...] the given number of years, gives the inte [...]st for any determined space of time.

What is the interest of £450. for one year; at 6 per cent.

[...]

Here I multiply the principal, viz. £.450 by 6, the rate per cent. and then divide by 100, as the rule directs; the quotient is £.27, which is the real interest of £.450, at £.6 per cent. for a year.

What is the interest of £. 1000 for 2 ¾ years, at £.6 per cent.

[...]

Answer, £. 165 interest for 2 ¾ years.

[Page 264]There are some other cases in simple and compound interest, which are omitted here, —as are also, rebate and discount, loss and gain, exchange, &c. all of which are readily done by the rule of three, and rules of prac­tice.

Rules for reducing the Currencies of the different States in the Union, into Sterling, or English Money.

To reduce Virginia currency (or any of the New-England states) into sterling—sub­tract one fourth from the given sum; the remainder is sterling. When you want to bring New-York, or North-Carolina curren­cies, into sterling—multiply by 9, and divide by 16; the quotient will be the answer in sterling.

The currencies of the following states, viz. New-Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylva­nia, and Maryland; are brought into ster­ling; by multiplying their respective curren­cies by 3, and dividing by 5.

To reduce the currencies of South-Caro­lina, and Georgia into sterling subtract the one 28th part, from the given sum.

OF ADDITION.

This money may be added, in the same manner that whole numbers are, in com­mon Arithmetic; namely, by carrying 1 for every 10, that you find in each row, to the next denomination towards the left hand; under the last row, set down the whole amount.

SUBTRACTION.

MULTIPLICATION.

DIVISION.

REDUCTION.

In 54 Eagles, 6 Dollars, 5 Dimes, and 4 Cents; how many mills?

[...]

Here I multiply, by as many of the les­ser denomination, as make one of the great­er (which is here, in a ten fold proportion) taking in the odd numbers in each row.

In 546, 540 Mills, how many Eagles?

[...]

Proof of the foregoing Example, namely, Fifty-four Eagles, Six Dollars, Five Dimes, and Four Cents.