166 THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIND. trary side by their own sinful appetites and passions, and bribed or biassed by the corrupt customs of the world. There is therefore a necessity not only of aclear and faithful representation of things to men, in order to convince their reason and judgment, but of all the skill and force of persuasion ad- dressed to the will and the passions. So Tully addressed the whole senate of Rome, and Demosthenes the Athenian people, among whomwere capacities and inclinations of infinite variety ; and therefore they made use of all the lightning and thunder, all the entreaties and terrors, all the soothing elegancies and the flowery beauties of language which their art could furnish them with. Divines in the pulpit have much the same sort of hearers, and .therefore they should imitate those ancient examples. The understanding indeed ought to be first convinced, by the plainest and strongest force of reasoning ; but when this is done, all the powerful motives should be used which have any just influence upon human nature, all the springs of passion should be touched, to awaken the stupid and the thoughtless into consideration, to penetrate and melt the hardest heart, to persuade the unwilling, to excite the lazy, to reclaim the obstinate, and reform the vicious part of mankind, as well as to encourage those who are humble and pious, and to support their practiseand their hope. The tribes of men are sunk into so fatal a degeneracy and dreadful distance fromGod, and from all that is holy and happy, that all the eloquence which a preacher is master ot; should be employed, in order to recover the world from its shameful ruin and wretch- edness by the gospel of ourblessed Saviour, and restore it to virtue and piety, to God and happiness, by the divine power of this 'gospel. O may such glorious masters of sacred oratory never be wanting in the pulpits of Great Britain. XXXVI. Shall I now speak something of my sentiments concerningpoesy? As for books of poesy, whether in the learn- ed or in the modern languages, they are of great use to be read at hours of leisure, by all persons that make any pretence to good education or learning ; and that for several reasons - L Because there are many couplets or stanzas written in poetic measures, which containa variety Al morals; or riles of practice relating. to. the common prudentials of mankind, as well as to matters of religion, and the poetic numbers, (or rÿhme, if therebe any) addvery considerable force to the memory. Besides, many an elegant and admirable sentiment or descriptionof things which are found among the poets, are well worth committing tb memory, and the particular measures of verse greatly assist us in recollecting such excellent passages, which might sometim@s raise our conversation from low and grovelling subjects. 2. In heroic verse, but especially in the grander lyrics, there arc sometimes such noble elevations of thought and passion as
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