incapaUe if attaining to Wifdom. 257 God, as it fölloweth, ver. i g. Let him make,S E x M. fpeed, and haflen his work that we may fee it, X. and let the cour fel of the holy One of Ifrael "Y draw nigh and come, that we may know it. Thus I have explained to you the charaEter of the fcorner, which is a compofition of pride, a contemptuous difbelief and rejec- tion of the principles of religion, and obfti= nacy in vice. I proceed in the Second place to ihow that it is, and muff neceffarily be the greateft obftruftion to mens becoming truly wife ; infomuch, that if the fcorner (as the text faith) feeketh dorn, yet he findeth it not. And this will eafily appear, if we attend to the particulars already mentioned. Firft, it is plain that pride is a great hinderance both to the at- tainment of knowledge and virtue ; who- ever hath a high conceit of himfelf, on whatever account it is, if he hath an excef- five value for any endowment, quality, or advantage of any kind, he is poffeffed of, he will defpife not only other men, whom he looketh upon as his inferiors, in that point which he efteemeth fo juftly diftinguifhing, but he will defpife other things which yet are acknowledged by a great many, indeed, the generality of men, to be very valuable V o L. III, S and
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