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that religious infcription, Afflavit Deus & diffipantur. He blew with his wind, and they were scattered.

It is remarked of a famous Grecian General, whofe name I cannot at prefent recollect, and who had been a particular favourite of fortune, that upon recounting his victories among his friends, he added at the end of feveral great actions, And in this Fortune had no share. After which it is observed in history, that he never prospered in any thing he undertook.

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As arrogance, and a conceitedness of our own abilities, are very fhocking and offenfive to men of fenfe and virtue, may be fure they are highly displeasing to that Being who delights in an humble mind, and by feveral of his difpenfations feems purposely to fhow us, that our own schemes or prudence have no fhare in our advancements.

Since on this subject I have already admitted feveral quotations which have occurred to my memory upon writing this paper, I will conclude it with a little Perfian Fable. A drop of water fell out of a cloud into the fea, and finding itself loft in fuch an immenfity of fluid matter,

broke

Deity? Doubtlefs, because the Poets efteemed it the greatest honour to be favoured by the Gods, and thought the best way of praifing a man was to recount thofe favours which naturally implied an extraordinary merit in the perfon on whom they descended.

Those who believe a future ftate of rewards and punishments act very abfurdly, if they form their opinions of a man's merit from his fucceffes. But certainly, if I thought the whole circle of our Being was concluded between our births and deaths, I should think a man's goodfortune the measure and ftandard of his real merit, fince providence would have no opportunity of rewarding his virtue and perfections, but in the prefent life. A virtuous unbeliever, who lies under the preffure of misfortunes, has reason to cry out, as they fay Brutus did a little before his death, O virtue, I have worfhipped thee as a fubftantial good, but I find thou art an empty name.

But to return to our firft point: Tho' prudence does undoubtedly in a great measure produce our good or ill fortune in the world, it is certain there are many unforeseen [accidents and occurrences,

which very often pervert the finest fchemes that can be laid by human wifdom. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Nothing less than Infinite Wisdom can have an abfolute command over Fortune; the highest degree of it which man can poffefs, is by no means equal to fortuitous events, and to fuch contingencies as may rife in the prosecution of our affairs. Nay, it very often happens, that prudence, which has always in it a great mixture of caution, hinders a man from being fo fortunate as he might poffibly have been without it. A person who only aims at what is likely to fucceed, and follows clofely the dictates of human prudence, never meets with thofe great and unforefeen fucceffes, which are often the effect of a fanguine temper, or a more happy rashness; and this perhaps may be the reason, that according to the common obfervation, Fortune like other females, delights rather in favouring the young than the old.

Upon the whole, fince man is fo fhortfighted a creature, and the accidents which may happen to him fo various, I cannot but be of Dr. Tillotson's opinion

in

very

in another cafe, that were there any doubt of a Providence, yet it certainly would be defirable there fhould be fuch a Being of infinite wisdom and goodness, on whofe direction we might rely in the conduct of human life.

It

It is a great prefumption to afcribe our fucceffes to our own management, and not to esteem ourselves upon any bleffing, rather, as it is the bounty of heaven, than the acquifition of our own prudence. I am very well pleased with a Medal which was ftruck by Queen Elizabeth, a little after the defeat of the invincible Armada, to perpetuate the memory of that extraordinary event. is well known how the King of Spain, and others, who were the enemies of that great Princefs, to derogate from her glory, afcribed the ruin of their fleet rather to the violence of storms and tempests, than to the bravery of the English. Queen Elizabeth, instead of looking upon this as a diminution of her honour, valued herself upon fuch a fignal favour of Providence, and accordingly in the reverse of the Medal above-mentioned has reprefented a fleet beaten by a tempeft, and falling foul upon one another, with

that

that religious infcription, Afflavit Deus & diffipantur. He blew with his wind, and they were Scattered.

It is remarked of a famous Grecian General, whofe name I cannot at prefent recollect, and who had been a particular favourite of fortune, that upon recounting his victories among his friends, he added at the end of feveral great actions, And in this Fortune had no share. After which it is observed in hiftory, that he never profpered in any thing he undertook.

we

As arrogance, and a conceitedness of our own abilities, are very fhocking and offenfive to men of fenfe and virtue, may be sure they are highly displeasing to that Being who delights in an humble mind, and by feveral of his difpenfations feems purposely to fhow us, that our own schemes or prudence have no fhare in our advancements.

Since on this fubject I have already admitted feveral quotations which have occurred to my memory upon writing this paper, I will conclude it with a little Perfian Fable. A drop of water fell out of a cloud into the fea, and finding itself loft in fuch an immenfity of fluid matter, broke

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