338 MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS. Reflection. Deluded souls ! that sacrifice Eternal hopes above the skies, And pour their lives out all in waste, To the vile idol of their taste! The high'st heav'n of their pursuit Is to live equal with the brute: Happy, if they could die as well, Without a Judge, without a hell ! XVII. The Table blessed. HOW do we upbraid and condemn the Romish clergy for pretending to consecrate the wafer for all the people, by mutter- . ing a few Latin words over it, which they cannot understand ! While We abhor the idolatry of the amass, yet we cannot help smiling at the silly superstition, and pity the ignorance of the multitude : They believe the bread sufficiently consecrated for them to all the purposes of their salvation, though they never joined with the priest in attending to the words of blessing : Nor indeed was it possible they should have their hearts engaged in that part of the worship, because it was performed in an un- known tongue. Who is there among us, that does not blame and reprove so absurd a practice ? And yet we imitate the same folly daily, and think ourselves unconcerned in the reproof. Formulo says grace constantly at a plentiful table, but he hurries over his words as a school -boy does his lesson, and he whispers in so low a voice, as though he were muttering some secret charm to consecrate the dishes. Does he think it sufficient if the words may be heard in heaven, while the company in the room know little of the matter, and the quickest ears can distin- guish no more than a few broken syllables? Yet I have heard this man maintain a fine argument against Popish superstition and the Latin liturgy : I haveheard him assert with very good ,reason, that no part of the bread is- sanctified to the people at ,.the holy sacrament by all the communion-service, where the hearts of the communicants are absent, and never join with the church in her prayers : Then why will not Formulo let his friends at the table ,join with him in his graces? No wonder that the family and the guests stare about thoughtless, and sit down to their food without a blessing, when the lips that pro- nounce it do not suffer the blessing to reach their ears. But chaplains are not the only persons culpable in this matter, nor are they always to blame. Asebion, a gay gentleman of one and twenty, was present at a table where God is addressed in, a more religious manner, and with a devout and becoming solemnity. He sits down and eats heartily ; he doubts not but the food is sufficiently blessed to his use, though he never raised his thoughts towards heaven, nor
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