I. If we confider the nature of the act here required, which is, to love; which when it is not a mere paffion, but under the government of our reafon, is the most natural, and eafy, and delightful of all the affections which God hath planted in human nature : whereas ill-will, and hatred, and revenge, are very troublesome and vexatious paffions. Both the devifing of mischief, and the accomplishment of it, and the reflexion upon it afterwards, are all uneafy; and the confequences of it many times pernicious to ourselves. The very defign of revenge is troublesome, and puts the fpirits into an unnatural fermentation and tumult. The man that meditates it, is always reftlefs; his very foul is ftung, fwells and boils, is in pain and anguifh, hath no eafe, no enjoyment of itself, fo long as this paffion reigns. The execution of it may perhaps be attended with fome prefent pleasure; but that pleasure is unreasonable and brutish, momentary and fhort, like a flash of lightening, which vanifheth in the twinkling of an eye.

It is commonly faid, that revenge is weet; but to a calm and confiderate mind, patience and forgiveness are fweeter, and do afford a much more rational, and folid, and durable pleasure, than revenge. The monuments of our mercy and goodness are a far more pleasing and delightful fpectacle, than of our rage and cruelty. And no fort of thought does ufually haunt men with more terror, than the reflexion upon what they have done in the way of revenge.

Befides that the confequences of this paffion do commonly prove very prejudicial to ourselves. For the revenge of one injury doth naturally draw on more, and will oblige us for the fame reafon to a new revenge of them; and this brings on a perpetual and endlefs circulation of injuries and revenges. So that whoever feeks revenge upon another, doth commonly in the iffue take it upon himself; and whilst he thinks to tranffer the injury which he hath received upon him that did it, he doubles it upon himself.

Such and fo great are the troubles and inconveniencies of a malicious and revengeful temper. But, there is no torment in love, as St. John excellently fays. To VOL. II.

X

be

be kindly affectioned towards all, to bear no grudge or ill-will, no thought of difpleafure or revenge towards any man, is the eafieft pofture, the most pleafant state of the mind. So that, if not for their fakes, yet for our own, we fhould love our enemies, and do good to them that hate us; becaufe to be thus affected towards all men, is as great a kindness to ourselves, as it is charity to others.

II. If we confider the qualification of the object. It is our enemy whom we are required to love. In whom though there be fomething that is justly difguftful, yet there is fomething alfo that is lovely; and if we perfift in our kindness to him, notwithstanding his enmity to us, the enmity may wear off, and perhaps at length be changed into a fincere and firm friendship.

It is true indeed, that with regard to our felves per fonal enmity towards us is one of the most inconvenient qualities that a man can have; but not therefore the worst in itself. If we could be impartial, and lay afide prejudice, we might perhaps difcern feveral very lovely qualities in him who hates us: and virtue is to be owned, and praised, and loved, even in an enemy. And perhaps his enmity towards us is not fo great and inexcufable a fault, as we apprehend. He is not perhaps our enemy to that degree, nor fo altogether without caufe, as we imagine. Poffibly we have provoked him; or by his own mistake, or through the malicious reprefentation of others, he may be induced to think fo. And are not we ourselves liable to the like misapprehenfions concerning others; of which we are many times afterwards convinced and afhamed? And fo may he; and then his enmity will ceafe, if we will but have a little patience with him, as we always wifh in the like cafe that others would have with us..

At the worst, though never fo fore and causeless an enemy, though never fo bad a man; yet he is a man, and, as fuch, hath fomething in him which the blindeft paffion cannot deny to be good and amiable. He hath the fame nature with our felves, which we cannot hate or defpife, without hatred and contempt of ourfelves. Let a man's faults be what they will, they do

not

not destroy his nature, and make him ceafe to be a

man.

The two great foundations of love, are relation and likeness. "No one thing (fays Tully) is so like, fo "equal to another, as one man is to another." What difference foever there may be between us and another man, yea, though he be our enemy, yet he is ftill like us in the main; and perhaps but too like us in that for which we find fo much fault with him, a proneness to offer affronts and injuries.

And there is an effential relation, as well as likeness, between one man and another, which nothing can ever diffolve, because it is founded in that which no man can diveft himself of, in human nature. So far is it from being true, which Mr. Hobbs afferts as the fundamental principle of his politicks, "That men 66 are naturally in a state of war and enmity with one "another;" that the contrary principle, laid down' by a much deeper and wifer man, I mean Ariftotle, is most certainly true, "That men are naturally akin "and friends to each other." Some unhappy accidents and occafions may make men enemies, but naturally every man is a friend to another: and that is the furest and most unalterable reafon of things which is founded in nature, not that which fprings from mutable accidents and occafions. So that whoever is recommended to us under the notion of a man, ought not to be looked upon by us and treated as an enemy.

Confider farther, that an enemy, even whilft he is exercifing his enmity towards us, may do us many acts of real advantage; which though they do not proceed from kindness, yet in truth are benefits. The malicious cenfures of our enemies, if we make a right use of them, may prove of greater advantage to us, than the civilities of our beft friends. We can easily afford, nay the wifeft of men can hardly forbear, to love a flatterer; to embrace him, and to take him into our bofom: and yet an open enemy is a thousand times better and lefs dangerous than he. It is good for many men that they have had enemies, who have many times been to them the happy occafion of reforming X. 2

thofe

thofe faults, which none but an enemy would have taken the freedom, I had almost faid, would have had the friendship, to have told them of.

But what if, after all, this enemy of ours, this hated man, prove to be one of our best friends? for fo reconciled enemies ufually are. And if any thing will reconcile an enemy, love and kindnefs will. An obftinate goodness is apt to conquer even the worst of men. It is hardly in the nature of man to withstand the kindness of one whom, by all that we could do, we have not been able to make our enemy. After a man hath done the greateft injury to another, not only to find no revenge following upon it, but the firft opportunity taken to oblige him, is fo very furprising, that it can hardly fail to gain upon the worst difpofition, and to melt down the hardest temper. So that we fhould love our enemies, if not for what they are at prefent, yet for what they may be, and in hope that by thefe means they may in time become our friends.

III. If we confider the excellency and generofity of. the thing itfelf. To love cur enemies, and to do good to them that hate us, is the perfection of goodness, and the advancement of it to its highest pitch. It is the most excellent and perfect act of the greatest and most perfect of all graces and virtues, I mean, charity; which by St. Paul is called the bond of perfection; and by St. James, the perfect and the royal law; because it infpires men with a greatnefs of mind fit for Kings and Princes, in whom nothing is more admirable than a generous goodnefs and clemency, even towards great enemics and offenders, fo far as is confiftent with the publick good. Love for love is but justice and gratitude; love for no love is favour and kindness: but love for hatred and enmity is a moft divine temper, a steady and immutable goodness that is not to be ftirred by provocation, and fo far from being conquered, that it is rather confirmed by its contrary: for if hatred and enmity do not extinguifh love, what can ? This is goodnefs indeed; not only without merit and obligation, without invitation or motive; but against all reafonable expectation, and in defpite of all temptation and provocation to the contrary.

SQ

So that to return good for evil and love for hatred, is one of the greatest arguments of a great mind, and of deep wisdom and confideration. For naturally our first inclinations and thoughts towards our enemies are full of anger and revenge; but our fecond and wifer thoughts will tell us, that forgiveness is much more generous than revenge. And a more glorious victory. cannot be gained over another man than this, that when the injury began on his part, the kindness should begin on ours. If both the ways were equally in our power, yet it is a much more defirable conqueft, to overcome evil with good, than with evil. By this, we can only conquer our enemy, and may perhaps fail in that; but by the other, we certainly conquer ourselves, and perhaps our enemy too; overcoming him in the noblest manner, and walking him gently till he be cool, and without force effectually fubduing him to be our friend. This, as one [Dr. Barrow] fitly compares it, is like a great and wife General, by art and ftratagem, by meer dint of skill and conduct, by patience and wife delay; without ever striking a stroke, or fhedding one drop of blood, to vanquish an enemy, and to make an end of the war without ever putting it to the hazard of a battle.

Revenge is blind and rafh, and does always proceed from impotency and weakness of mind. It is anger that fpurs men on to it; and anger is certainly one of the foolisheft paffions of human nature, and which commonly betrays men to the most imprudent and unreasonable things. So Solomon obferves, Prov. xiv. 29. He that is hafty of Spirit, exalteth folly; and again, Ecclef. vii. 9. Anger refteth in the bofom of fools. But to be able to bear provocation, is an argument of great wifdom; and to forgive it, of a great mind. So the fame wife man tells us, Prov. xvi. 32. He that is flow to anger, is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his fpirit, than he that taketh a city. It is a greater thing, in cafe of great provocation, to calm a man's own fpirit, than to ftorm and take a ftrong city.

Whereas the angry man lofeth and lets fall the government of himself, and lays the reins upon the neck