38 HUMILITY REPRESENTED. stroke of the tongues of men ! That vexes and frets its own peace away for want of due honours from the world ! An the comforts and blessings of life are insipid or disrelishing, all the grandeur of circumstances, the sun-'shine of heaven, and the gaiety of the seasons, have no power to relieve or support us. The soul of Haman amidst all his honours of state and his end- less treasures is still pining away with inward vexation, and his life languishes from day to day, because Mordecai does not rise up to him and pay his compliments. Have a care, O my soul, of copying after this wretched cha- racter : Have a care of swelling to these painful dimensions of pride, lest thou render all the comforts of life tasteless for want of some little punctilio of honour which the world will not pay theè. Look upon thyself as a weak mortal, as a creature capa -, ble of mistake and folly ; this thought will keep the avenues of thy soul ever free and open for the counsels and warnings of thy friends, and make a kind and faithful admonition as welcome as a word of vain applause. And even when enemies reproach thee, thouwilt be suspiciousof thyself whether thou hast not deserved the reproach : Thou wilt make a fresh scrutiny into thy own heart, and enquirethere in secret, what real truth may be ming- led withthe unjustrevilings of men : And thus thou wilt be power- fully awakened to subdue every vice, to abandon every folly that tarnishes thy character, and make use of the rough language of amalicious world to burnish thy virtues and to keep them ever shining. V. The lower esteemwe have of ourselves, the more easily shall we bepleased with persons and things round. about us : We shall be more unmoved at the little accidents of life which may happen to cross our humour, and we shall rather pity than ter- rify those who chance to displease us where the will was not in it. What is it that fires our resentment at every little mistake or supposed mistake of those that attend on us ? What is it rouses our angry passions at every real or fancied miscarriage of those with whom we converse ? What is the spring of all this tu- mult of soul, this inward disturbance, but, the vain and exalted idea which we have conceived of ourselves ? As though we must be exempted from the common laws and incidents of our frail and mortal state? Let its colour over our guilt with the kindest salvos yet it is a certain truth, pride and passion are near a-kin, and they are most times joined together in the temper of men and in the conduct of life : Passion and pride are thus united in the descriptions of sin and in the rules of duty both in thebooks of moralityand in the languageof scripture. Prov. xxi. 24. Proud and haughty scorner is his mane, who dealeth in proud wrath. Prov. xii. 10. Only by pride rometh contention. Indulge the cue and you support the other : Subdue the oneand the other is
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