26 The 1.Unprofitablenefs of Sin in this Life; V©l.11 find it very hard to govern themfelves in it; for after Men have forfeited their Innocence, and broke in upon their natural Modefty, they are apt by degrees to grow profligate and defperate. Ifa Man gives way but little to his own vicious Inclinations, they will foon get head of him, and no Man knows how far they will hurry him at Taft. Betides that the Vices I am fpeaking of, Intemperance and Luft, have other great inconveniences attending them, they expofe Men more frequently, than moft other Vices, to occafions of quarrel, in which Men often lofe their own lives, or take away other Mens, by which they fall under the dangerof the Law, and the ftrokeof publick JuPice ; or if they etcape that, (as too often they do) theycannot fly from their own Confciences, which do commonly fill them with the horror and torment of fuch an A&ion all their days ; fo pernicious are the ufüal Confequences of thefe Vices, of which we fee fad inftances every day. Nor are there Vices lets hurtful toMens Eftates ; for they areextreamly expen- five and wafteful, and ufually make Men carelefs of all their bufinefs and concern- ments, liable to be cheated by thofe, whom they are forced to truft with their Affairs, becaufe they will not mind them themfelves, and to be abufed by crafty Men, who watch the opportunities of their folly and weaknefs, to draw them in- to foolifh bargains. It is an old Obfervation, thatmoreMen perifhby Intempe- rance, than by the Sword ; and I believe it is as true, that more Eftates are diffi- pated and wafted by thefe two riotous Vices, than by all other Accidents what- foever. And there is fcarce any notorious Vice, by which Men do not greatly fuller in their Reputation and good Name, even when thetimes are worft and moft dege- nerate ; any wicked courfe, whether of debauchery or injuftice, is a blemifh to a Man's Credit, not only in the efteemoftheSoberandVirtuous, butevenofthofe whoare loofe and extravagant ; for Men are fooner brought to pra&ife what is bad, than to approve of it, and dogenerally think all fin and wickednefs to be a ftain upon them, whatever in a fwaggering humour they may fay to the contrary. A clear evidenceof this is, that Men do fo ftudioufly endeavour to conceal their Vices, and arefo careful that as few asmay be fhould be confcious to them, and are fo confounded if they be difcovered, and fo out of all patience when they are upbraided with them ; a plain acknowledgment, that there things are fhameful in themfelves, and whatever face Men may put upon things, that they doinward- ly and at the bottomof their Hearts believe, that there Pra&ices are defervedlyof bad Reputation, and do, in the general opinion of Mankind, leave a blot upon them. Secondly, There are other fins, which tho' they are not ufually attended with. Confequences fo palpably mifchievous, yet are plainly unprofitable, and bring no mannerof advantage to Men. Of this fort is all kind ofProphanenefs, and cuftomary Swearing in common Converfation, there is neither profit nor pleafure in them. What doth the pro- fane Man get by his contempt of Religion ? He is neither more refpeaed nor better trotted for this quality; but on the contrary, it is many times really to his prejudice, and brings a great odium upon him, not only from thofe who fincerely love Religion, but from others alto ; tho' theyare confciousto themfelves, that they do not love Religion as they ought, yet they have a Veneration for it, and cannot endure thatany one thould fpeakflightly ofit. And 'tisas liard to imagine, where the pleafure of Profanenefs lies. Men can- not but at firft have a great relu&ancy in their minds againft it, and molt offer confiderable violence to themfelves, to bring themfelves to it ; and when it is grown more familiar, and their Confciences are become more fear'd and infenfible, yet whenever they are alone and ferious, or when any Affi&ion or Calamity is upon them, they are full offears and anguifh, their guilt flares them in the face, and their Confciences are raging and furious. And as allkind of Profanenefs is unprofitable, fo more efpecially cuflomary Swearing in ordinary Converfation, upon everyoccafion of paflìon, or any other trivial cattle, nay it may be without caufe, out ofmere habit and cuftom. Now what
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=