SECTION IV: 44 fence has that man to the esteem and love ofmenwhose conduct is insupportable to all those who converse or dwell with him ? and what is it but the vast and vain idea he has ofhimself, that tempts him to suppose his will must be the absolute rule of duty and submission to all who are near him or concerned with him ? Let such persons declaim against tyranny as often and as loud as they please,and argue upon the theme with much wit and reason ; let them_ talk of liberty and slavery in philosophical and just discourses, and appear the most forward and zealous patrons of the freedom of mankind, yet if they were exalted to a throne they would be very tyrants, and the world around them must be all their slaves. Native vice and inbred iniquity would prevail even above their own good reasonings, and mould their practice into that absolute sovereignity and dominion which their own mind and conscience must ever condemn and which their own lips at special seasons have soplentifully and sojustly exposed. This is sufficiently evident by their conduct wheresoever they happen to have power : They are already little tyrants in their own little dominions, and ifthey have but one inferior belongs to them, he shall know and feel that they are lords and masters. If their will be crossed in some common affair of life, their loud . complaints shall break out at the windows and the doors : The walls of the house shall echo with the sound of their indignation, till the neighbours are alarmed and enquire into the domestic, mischief. Ye shall see these sons of humour rise from their table in a fury and renounce their food -.The breast swells with inward passion, and leaves no room for the refreshmentsof nature : The servants fly scattering into corners for fear : The peace of their dearest relatives is broken, the order of the family thrown into wild confusion, and the tempest rises so high in their own bosom, that it will require some hours to calm and compose it. Pride and humour have raised a storm, and it is no small labour to reduce the passions to peace, to smooth all the billows that roar and roll within, and to make the countenance serene again. And after all, what is the causeof this tumult? What gross and unpardonable crime gave occasion for such resentment and violence ? Perhaps dinner was not set upon the table exactly at the appointed moment, the clock has struck five minutes and the table is not covered ; or it may be the cook has not per- formed her part to such a precise degree of nicety and elegance as themaster expected, or as the mistress had taught her. "This dish is so insipid and seasoned so low, it is impossible to eat it, and the other is nothing but salt and fire." It is strange that for boththese reasons the passions must burn and theheart broil with fury : " What, saith he, shall I never be gratified at my own table ?" Or it is frosty weather and theplates are not quite warm enough, and therefore the master kindles ; " must I still be
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=