266 1 he Evil andVnreafonablenes wont to fay, that, " To want nothing, is the Privilege of the Deity, and pro- " per to God alone; but to 4and in need of as few things as may be, is the Pti- " vilege of a Wife and GoodMan, and a State of Happinefs, next to that of God- " himself; becaufe he that hath the feweft Wants is the molt eafily fupplied, and " is next to him that is felf- fuulicient. Now a Man of moderate Delires bath in- finitely fewer Wants than a Covetous Man ; and becaufe his Defires are moderate, a moderate Eflate will fatisfie them : But the Wants of a Covetous Mind are never to be fupply'd, becaufe it bath order'd the Matter fo cunningly, as to want even that which it bath ; fuch aMan does not get Riches to fupply his Wants, but is content to want that he may be Rich ; infomuch that he bath not the Heart to ufe his Eflate for the Supply of his real Neceffities. How many do almoft flarte themfelves.in the midit of Plenty and Abundance ? There is no greater Sign of Poverty, than to be deeply in debt; now the Covetous Man lives and dies in debt to himfelf. Some Men have been fo Ihamefully penurious and flingy to themfelves, as even to die, to fave Charges, which yet perhaps is the moil gene- roua thing they ever did in their whole Lives, in refpeft to the World ; becaufe by this means fome Body may come to the Enjoyment of their Eflates, and that great Dunghil which they have been lo' long in raking together, may by this means come to be fpread abroad for the Publick Benefit. So that if a Covetous Man were poffefs'd of the Wealth of both the Indies, all this would not free him fromWant. A Poor Man's Wants may be fatisfied, when he bath obtained what he wants : But the Covetous Man labours of an incurable want ; becaufe he wants that which he hath, as well as that whichhe hath not, (2.) As for Contempt, Riches will not fecure a Covetous Man againft this nei- ther ; nay fo far is it from that, that he is commonly the more ridiculous and defpifed for living Poor in the midit of Abundance, than if he were really fo. Did I fav really fo ? He is the molt really Poor of all other Men. For as one Pays well, The Rich Poor Man is emphatically Poor. (3.) Neither will Riches free Men from bodily. Illnefs and Pain. The Rich are liable to as manyDifeafes, and as (harp Pains, as the Poor, and they have commonly lets Patience to bear them than thePoor; becaufe they have not been inured to other forts of Evils. They that have been accuftomed to labour, are generally bell fitted tobear Pain; the Rich are commpnly more tender and de- licate, and have a quicker Settle of Pain, more Matter, and greater quantity of Humours to feed a Difeafe, and to enflame it to a greater height. I mull not here forget that there is a fort of Rich Men, I mean the penurious Mifers, who flarve themfelves more than the Poor, and fare many times more hardly ; and for this Reafon, tho' they be not in danger of theDifeafes that come from Intemperance, and a plentiful Table; yet they are liable to the Difeafes which proceed from flarving and emptinefs 5 which the Phyficians fay are more dangerons than theother : So that neither the Prodigal nor the Niggardly Rich Man is fecured from Bodily Pains and Difeafes, by a great Eflate: (4.) Neither will Riches fecure a Man from being unhappy in his Friends and Relations. A great Eflate will not make a Man's Children either more Dutiful or Wife, than the Children ofmeaner Perlons 5 and if they be not fo, his Eflate cannot be fo great an Happinefs to him, as they may prove an AffliElion. Solomon tells us, that the veryFear and Apprehenfion of this did very much imbitter the Fruit of all his Labour; and he feems to fpeak it fenfibly, and very probably with a melancholy Refle&ion upon his Son Rehoboam, Ecclef. 2. r8, u9. Tea I hated allmy labour which I had taken under the Sun, becaufe 1fhould leave it unto the Man thatfhall be after me ; and who knows whether he Thal bea Wife Man, or a Fool? Yet /hall he have rule over all my labour, wherein I have labour'd, and wherein I have fliew'd my felt Wife under the Sun. Who knows whether he fhall be a Wife Man, or a Fool? He feems to fpeak doubtfully : But he had a very fhrew'd guefs what kind of Man his Son wouldmake ; for he fpeaks more defpondingly in the next Words, (ver. 20, 21.) therefore I went about to caul my heart to defpair of all the labour which Itook under the Sun; that is, when I thought ferioufly of it 1be- gan to think that all the Pains I had taken to get an Eflate, would be but to little purpofe ; ) Vl. Ï
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