382 `l'/ e Ble1Tednej of the Peace - makers. S E R M. falfe bottom, no tolerable fyftem of morali- XIV. ty can be formed, nor any fcheme for the happinefs of mankind. But the truth is, the love of peace, and a delire to promote the common good of fociety, hath a deep foundation in our nature, which ought to be acknowledged to the praife of its wife and good author ; and though the felfifh affeEti- ons immoderately indulged often produce diforders; and from the lulls of men that war in their members, come wars and fightings, yet no one calmly confidering it can doubt but thefe are culpable irregularities, deviati- ons from the natural law of humanity, and that the charmer of a peace -maker is an amiable one. To underfiand this fubjed the better, we may confider the various relations and fo. cieties into which men have entered, and from the different kinds of them, different notions of peace neceffarily arife, and a di- verfity of offices for cultivating and prefer- ving it. There is indeed previous to any vo. luntary agreement, a common obligation lying upon all men to love their Neighbours, that is, all who partake of the common human nature, and to promote their happinefs and their peace. This duty the rule of our reli- gion hath not neglected, for the apofile en- joineth
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