836 CHRi8T1AN MORALITY: given than to me; Gal. iv. 15. And when the tame apostle writesto Philemon,whowas converted to the faith by his ministry, he gently insinuates the obligations he was under ; though I do not think proper to tell thee, saith he, how thou owest unto me even thine own sel; ver. 19. St. Paul speaks upon this principle in many places of his epistle ; 1, Cor. ix. 11. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing ifweshould reapyour carnalthings? And when he gives an account of the contribu- tion which the christians of Macedonia and Achaia made for the poor saints at Jerusalem, he expresses himself thus : It hatlt pleased them verily tomake this contribution, and theirdebtors they Ore. For.if the Gentiles have been modepartakers'of their spiri- tual things, their duty is also to minister unto them incarnal things; because it was from the Jews that the gospel first came forth, and was preached among the Gentiles ; Romn, xv. 27. There is some sort of gratitude due also to those who by their writings, ormore especiallyby their conversation órinstruc- tions, have improved our understandings, and added to our know- ledge in things natural or moral, as well as divine. There are some persons in the world, who have advanced theirintellectuals in a very sensible manner, by the company of their friends, but they have so much of pride and self reigning in them, that they refuse to acknowledge it : They would fain have theworld believe that it is the rich soil of their own understanding has produced this harvest of itself : They are ambitious and fond to have it thought that their notions areall their own. Though they plu- med themselves with borrowed feathers, they are unwilling to confess whence they received them, andpretend they are owing to nature only. But pride is a secret vice, and a cursed spring of injustice inmore instances than one, as I shall show hereafter.. After the benefits bestowedon our souls, we ought to con- sider what is due to those that have served our bodies, or our na- tural life. .Those that have healed our diseases, that have saved us from imminent dangers andcalamities, or present death ; those that have fed or clothed us, or supported life when we were poor and destitute : All these deserveparticular kindsofremembrance; and due returns of service. Those that have either vindicated our honour, or increased our reputation, and spread our good name in the world, stand entitled also to some agreeable returns of benefit. Do not let us imagine then, that gratitude is a mere heroic virtue, that we may pay or not pay at our pleasure; for nature dictates it to us, as a piece of strict commutative justice, and equity of dealing between man and man. We may be very pro -, party said to treat our neighbour unjustly, if we refuse to serve
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