138' HAPPINESS OF SEPARATE SPIRITS. racters, in the best and most valuable sense of them could for -,` sake him at his entrance into heaven. He shone with eminence among persons of birth and title* on earth ; while his obliging deportment and affable temper ren- deredhim easy of access to all his inferiors, and made him the delight of all his friends. Though he knew what was due to his quality in this world, yet he of ected none of the grandeurs of life, but dailypractised condescension and love, and secured the respect of all, without assuming a superior air. Then surely he carried this temper with him to the upper world, where gentle- ness and goodness reign in the highest perfection ; and doubtless, he practises now all the saine graces of conversation among the blessed spirits there, but in a, far superior manner, according to the unknown laws and customs of that region of light and love. He had a taste for universal learning; and ingenious arts were his delight from his youth. Ile pursued knowledge in various forms, and was acquainted with many parts of human science. Mathematical speculations and practiceswerea favourite study with him in his younger years ; and even tohis old age, he maintained his acquaintance with the motions of the heavenly bodies, and light and shade whereby time is measured. And may we not suppose that there are entertainments amongst the works of Godon high to feast the spirits of such a genius? May they not in that upper region look down and survey, the various contrivances of divine wisdom, which created all timings in these lower worlds in number, weight and measure ? May not our exalted friend dive' glory there to his Maker, in the contempla -. tion of the same heavenly bodies, though he dwells in the region where night and shadows are never known, and above the need or use of sun-beams. But the bookof God, was his chief study and his divinest delight. His bible lay before him night and day; and he was well acquainted with the writers that-explained it best. He was desirous of seeing what the Spirit of" God said to men in the original languages. For this end, he commencedsome acquaint- ance with Hebrew whenhe was more than fifty years old : And that he might be capable of judging of thetrue sense of any text in time new testament, he kept his youthful knowledge of the Greek language in some measure even to the period of his life. But earthly languages are 'of little use in heaven. There are too manydefects and ambiguities in them to express the bright; the complete, and the distinct ideas of the separate spirits. We may allow our learned friend therefore to be divested of these *. His'grandfather, Sir Edward Hartopp, was created a baronet by ,King James I. 1619, which was but a few years after the 'first institution of that order;
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