a sensitive soul, but to us a mind also; and, to speak distinctly, that spirit, which is peculiar to man, and whereby he is raised above all other animals, ought to be called mind rather than soul *. Be this as it may, it is hardly possible to say, how vastly the human mind excels the other with regard to its wonderful powers, and, next to them, with respect to its works, devices, and invention. For it performs such great and wonderful things, that the brutes, even those of the greatest sagacity, can" neither imitate, nor at all understand, much less invent: nay man, though he is much less in bulk, and inferior in strength to the greatest part of them; yet, as lord and king of them all, he can, by surprising means, bend and apply the strength and industry of all the other creatures, the virtues of all herbs and plants, and, in a word, all the parts and powers of this visible world, to the convenience and accommodation of his own life. He also builds cities, erects commonwealths, makes laws, conducts armies, fits out fleets, measures not only the earth, but the heavens also, and investigates the motions of the stars. He foretells eclipses many years before they happen; and, with very little difficulty sends his thoughts to a great distance, bids them visit the remotest cities and countries, mount above the sun and the stars, and even the heavens themselves.

But all these things are inconsiderable, and contribute but little to our present purpose, in respect * Animus potius dicendus est quam anima.

of that one incomparable dignity that results to the human mind from its being capable of religion, and having indelible characters thereof naturally stampt upon it. It acknowledges a God, and worships him; it builds temples to his honour; it celebrates his never-enough exalted Majesty with sacrifices, prayers, and praises, depends upon his bounty, implores his aid, and so carries on a constant correspondence with heaven: and, which is a very strong proof of its being originally from heaven, it hopes at last to return to it. And, truly, in my judgment, this previous impression and hope of immortality, and these earnest desires after it, are a very strong evidence of that immortality. These impressions, though in most men they lie over-powered, and almost quite extinguished by the weight of their bodies, and an extravagant love to present enjoyments; yet, now and then, in time of adversity, break forth, and exert themselves, especially under the pressure of severe distempers, and at the approaches of death. But those, whose minds are purified, and their thoughts habituated to divine things, with what constant and ardent wishes do they breathe after that blessed immortality! How often do their souls complain within them, that they have dwelt so long in these earthly tabernacles! Like exiles, they earnestly wish, make interest, and struggle hard to regain their native country. Moreover, does not that noble neglect of the body and its senses, and that contempt of all the pleasures of the flesh, which these heavenly souls

have attained, evidently shew, that, in a short time, they will be taken from hence, and that the body and soul are of a very different, and almost contrary nature to one another: that therefore the duration of the one depends not upon the other, but is quite of another kind; and the soul, set at liberty from the body, is not only exempted from death, but, in some sense, then begins to live, and then first sees the light. Had we not this hope to support us, what ground would we have to lament our first nativity, which placed us in a life so short, so destitute of good, and so crouded with miseries; a life which we pass entirely in grasping phantoms of felicity, and suffering real calamities: so that, if there were not, beyond this, a life and happiness that more truly deserves these names, who can help seeing, that of all creatures man would be the most miserable, and, of all men, the best the most unhappy.

For although every wise man looks upon the belief of the immortality of the soul as one of the great and principal supports of religion, there may possibly be some rare, exalted, and truly divine minds, who would choose the pure and noble path of virtue for its own sake, would constantly walk in it, and, out of love to it, would not decline the severest hardships, if they should happen to be exposed to them on its account; yet it cannot be denied, that the common sort of christians, though they are really and at heart sound believers and true christians, fall very short of this attain

ment, and would scarcely, if at all, embrace virtue and religion, if you take away the rewards; `which, I think, the Apostle Paul hints at in this expression, “If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men the most miserable *." The Apostle, indeed does not intend these words as a direct proof of the immortality of the soul in a separate state, but as an argument to prove the resurrection of the body; which is a doctrine near akin, and closely connected with the former. For that great restoration is added as an instance of the superabundance and immensity of the divine goodness, whose pleasure it is, that not only the better and more divine part of man, which, upon its return to its original source, is, without the body, capable of enjoying a perfectly happy and eternal life, should have a glorious immortality, but also that this earthly tabernacle, as being the faithful attendant and constant companion of the soul, through all its toils and labours in this world, be also admitted to a share and participation of its heavenly and eternal felicity; that so, according to our Lord's expression, every faithful soul may have returned into its bosom, "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over t."

Let our belief of this immortality be founded entirely on divine revelation, and then, like a city fortified with a rampart of earth drawn round it, let it be outwardly guarded and defended by rea

* 1 Cor. xv. 19.

+ Luke vi. 38.

son; which, in this case, suggests arguments as strong and convincing as the subject will admit of. If any one, in the present case, promises demonstration, "his undertaking is certainly too much*;" if he desires or expects it from another, "he requires too much t." There are indeed very few demonstrations in philosophy, if you except the mathematical sciences, that can be truly and strictly so called; and, if we enquire narrowly into the matter, perhaps we shall find none at all; nay, if even the mathematical demonstrations are examined by the strict rules and ideas of Aristotle, the greatest part of them will be found imperfect and defective. The saying of that philosopher is, therefore, wise and applicable to many cases: "Demonstrations are not to be expected in all cases, but so far as the subject will admit of them." But, if we were well acquainted with the nature and essence of the soul, or even its precise method of operation on the body, it is highly probable we could draw from hence evident and undeniable demonstrations of that immortality which we are now asserting: whereas, so long as the mind of man is so little acquainted with its own nature, we must not expect any such.

But that unquenchable thirst of the soul, we have already mentioned, is a strong proof of its di

* Μέγα λίαν το επιχείρημα.

† Μέγα λίαν τό αἴτημα.

† ἐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἀποδείξεις αιτήσεων, αλλ' εφ' όσον δέχεται τό ὑσπο κείμενον