318 The Evil and Folly -if Covetos fn f . S E R M. fions were of greater importance than they Xi. are to the enjoyment of life, yet the unfa- `^"'tisfied defire would deftroy it; for enjoyment dependeth in a great meafure upon opinion ; but the covetous heart never thinketh what it bath acquired fufficient; let pofi'efïion be heaped upon poffeffion, houle added to houle, as the prophet fpeaketh, and field to field, it is never enough, for the defire Bill increafeth with the increafe of wealth, and what in the beginning of life would have been looked on as a great elate, when it is attained, di- minifheth into a very fmall one, and new fchemes muff be laid, for compafl ng much more important defigns, which the profped always magnifieth and the poffefiion lef;en- eth. Thus we fee, that if life or happinefs doth not confift in the abundance of the things which a man poffeffeth, much lefs doth it confift in covetoufnefs, or the paffion- ate defire cf them ; on the contrary, it tak- eth away enjoyment, and the man who is thoroughly poffeffed with it truly is, what he is commonly called, miferable. Every pafìion is attended with uneafinefs and per- turbation to the mind, but that which can never be fatisfied, muff be the perpetual tor- ment of a man's life. And this, as it bath no
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