ESSAY. 31Z seen the miracles of Christ and heard his doctrine, were much more culpable than Tyre and Sidon, whose great ignorance would render theircase more tolerable in the day of judgment. But to answer this question, let it be considered that there are other things besides knowledge that make sins snore or less heinous. The same crime committed under a small and single temptation, is much more Culpable than when the temptations are many and strong, whether they be within us or without us. Now if a person of a sharp and fretful constitution, or whose natural juices of the flesh are soured by long sickness and pain, should fall into frequent passions ofsinful anger, notwithstanding all his labour and watchfulness against it, he is not quite so criminal in the sight of God as another, who has no such peevish and fretful springs of passion in his nature, neither by original constitution, nor by any accidental distemper. The man that perpetually carries about withhim the vigorous and active seeds of any sinful appetite or affection, may take ten times more pains in mortification than another does who is of a happier tempera- ture, and yet may fall more frequently into his own peculiar ini- quities, and be overcome by the sin that easily besets hire : Nor is his guilt so great as it is in those who are blessedwith a better animal nature, but either take no care to guard against those sins, or perhaps excite nature to practise the same iniquities, beyond its own inbred appetite. And for this reason it is evident, that a person, who in different periods of life, com- mits the same sins, may deserve much more blame at one time than another ; so wanton practices are more hateful and criminal in old age, and slothfulness and inactivity in duty is a greater fault in the clays of youth ; because in those different sea- sons of human life, there is less temptation to those sins arising from the flesh. So fear, and sudden anger, and sorrow, wheresoever they are found excessive inpersons ofenfeebled constitutions labour- ing under sharp pains; or oppressed by nervous maladies, and weaknatural spirits, have not quite so much guilt in them as those sins would have in thesame persons, when they were in a stateof vigour and health; for then they had less uneasiness within to join with the provocations and temptations from without; and besides they were much more capable of bridling thb inferior powers, of countermanding the animal motions and evil fer- ments!: Then they could more easilymaintain awise self-govern- ment, they could range their_thoughts in better array to resist these sudden attacks of the flesh. I might add further also, thatunder these sort of infirmities, they aremore exposed to sudden surprises; the hurry of the na- tural spirits shakes the whole network of the nerves in a mu- tent ; they throw all the blood into the face at once : nr, by a v3
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