632 The Folly of hazarding Vo1.I1. do. You fee then what the purchafe amounts to fuppofe a man couldgain the whole world, he wouldbe as far from contentment, ashe that poffetheth the leaft (hare and portion of it. Let us now confider in the Il. Place , the price that is here fuppofed to be paid for it; the man gains the whole world, but he lofeth his own Soul, that is, he ruines himfelf for ever; he de- prives himfelfof a happinefs infinitely greater than this world can afford, and that not for a little while, but for ever ; and he expofeth himfelf to a mifery fo great, as no man that confiders it , would endure for one hour, for all the Pleafures and Enjoyments of this world. And now thepurchafe may be allowed to be very confiderablé, when fo intole- rable a price is paid for it ; when for the prefent enjoyment of fo fhort and imper- felt a felicity, as this worldcan ofbrd, a man hath quitted his intereft in a bleffed immortality, and chofe to dwell with everlafling burnings. I am really afraid to tell you how much mifery is involved in thefe few words, of lofing a man's Soul; the confiderationof it is fofull of horror, that I am loth to enter into it. The lofs is great and irreparable ; great beyond all imagination ; for he that lo- feth his Soul, lofeth hinfell; not his being, that wouldbe a happy lofs indeed; but that Rill remains to be a foundation of mifery, and the Scene of perpetual woe and difcontent. The lofs of the Soul implies the lofs of God, and of happinefs, and all that is defirable and delightful to a reafonable creature; nay it does not only figni- fie the privation of happinefs, but the infliaion of the greateft mifery and torment. Could I reprefent to you thofe difmal Prifons, into which wicked and impure Souls are thruft, and the miferies they there endure, without the leaft fparkof comfort, or glimmeringofhope, how they are compaft about with woe, and lie wallowing in the flames , how they figh and groan under the intolerablewrath ofGod, the in- folent fcorn and cruelty of Devils, thefevere lafhes, and raginganguifh, and fearful defpair of their own minds, without intermiflion , without pity, without hope ; could I reprefent thefe things to you, you were not able to hear the leaft part of what thefe miferable wretches are condemned for ever to endure. And the lofs is not only vaft, but irreparable; the Soul once loft , is loft for ever We may part with our Souls to gain the world; but if we would give a thoufand worlds , we cannot regain our Souls. The Redemption of a Soul is precious , and ceafethfar ever. The lofs of it is fo great, that nothing can recompence it ; and fo fatal, that it is never to be repair'd. The happinefs that the man parts withal, who makes this mad bargain , is fo vafl, both in refpe& of the degree and dura- tion of it, that nothing can make amends for fo great a lofs; and the fufferings which theman expofethhimfelf to are fo dreadful, thatall the Kingdoms ofthe world and theglory of them can be no temptation to any man, to run the hazardof endu- ring them. Epicurus, who very well underftood the rates of pain and pleafure, is peremptory in this affertion, that it is a great follyfor any man to purchafe pleafure with equal pain; becaufe there is nothing got by it, they balance oneanother : it muff furely then be a ftrange madnefs in any man, for the tranfitory delightsofthis World, to forfeit the eternal pleafures of God's prefence, and for the joys ofa mo- ment, to live in pain for ever. And is it not then a prodigious folly that poffeffeth tanners, whocan be content- ed to venture their Souls, and their happinefs, their immortal Souls, and their e- verlafling happinefs, upon loch cheap and eafìe terms? The folly is great, if we only confider what an unequal price they pay for fo fmall a purchafe: but it is much greater, if we regard the foolilh order of their choice ; firft to pleafe them- felves with a fhadow and appearance of happinefs, and then to be really miferable afterward. If the happinefs were trueand real, it were an imprudent method. As if a man fhould chufe to enjoy a great Eftate for a few days, and to be extremely poor the remaining part ofhis life. If there were any neceffity of making fo une- qual a bargain, furely a man would refèrve the belt condition to the laft ; for pre- cedent fufferings and trouble do inightïly recommend the pleafures that are to enfue, and render themmore tafteful than theywould otherways have been; whereas the greateft heightning of mifery, the faddeft aggravation of an unhappy condition, is to fall into it from the height of a profperous fortune. It is comfortable foraman to
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