216 Self -government elle. ntial to Wifdom. S E R M. his own fpirit ; he is like a city that is bro- IX. ken down, and without walls, Without order t'''' and beauty, without ftrength and fafety ; a confufed, irregular, and deformed heap, open to every affault, and defencelefs againft any invader. This, one would think, is a fubjed re» commended to our Rudy and application by the immediate interefl we have in it. What is it that can poílibly concern a man more than the art of felf government, the confe- quences of it fo nearly affeét him, and a perception of the advantages of it in inward tranquillity fo obvious, indeed, unavoidable, and of the difadvantage of neglecting it in the continual reproaches of his own heart ? Is it not very inexcufable for a man to be a ilranger to himfelf, and not to know how to make the bell of his own natural powers and affedions, fo as he may be carried to his proper perfeption, and enjoy all the hap- pinefs he is capable of? Would it not Phew a trifling and over - curious temper for a man to fpend his time in inquiring into the Elate, the fituation, the cufloms, policy, and laws of far diftant countries, and be a ftranger to his own, to which he hath fo near a rela- tion, and fo much a better opportunity of improving his knowledge to valuable pur- pofes ?
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