enthusiasm are, on their first rise, much more furious and violent than those which partake of fuperftition; but in a little time become much more gentle and moderate. The violence of this fpecies of religion, when excited by novelty, and animated by oppofition, ap pears from numberless inftances; of the anabaptifts in Germany, the camifars in France, the levellers and other fanaticks in England, and the covenanters in Scotland. Enthusiasm being founded on strong spirits, and a prefumptuous boldness of character, it naturally begets the most extreme refolutions; especially after it rises to that height as to inspire the deluded fanatics with the opinion of divine illuminations, and with a contempt for the common rules of reason, morality and prudence.

'Tis thus enthusiasm produces the most cruel defolations in human fociety: But its fury is like that of thunder and tempeft, which exhaust themselves in a little time, and leave the air more calm and ferene than before. When the firft fire of enthusiasm is spent, men naturally, in fuch fanatical fects, fink into the greatest remifsnefs and coolness in facred matters; there being no body of men amongst them, endow'd with fufficient authority, whofe interest is concern'd to support the religious fpirit: No rites, no ceremonies, no holy observances, which may enter into the common train of life, and preserve the facred principles from oblivion. Superftition, on the contrary, fteals in gradually and infenfibly; renders men tame and fubmiffive; is acceptable to the magiftrate, and feems inoffensive to the people: Till at last, the

priest,

priest, having firmly establish'd his authority, becomes the tyrant and disturber of human fociety, by his endless contentions, perfecutions, and religious wars. How fmoothly did the Romish church advance in their acquifition of power? But into what difmal convulfions did they throw all Europe, in order to maintain it? On the other hand, our fectaries, who were formerly fuch dangerous bigots, are now become our greatest free-thinkers; and the quakers feem to approach nearly the only regular body of deifts in the universe, the literati, or the difciples of Confucius. in China.

MY third obfervation on this head is, that fuperAition is an enemy to civil liberty, and enthufiafm a friend to it. As fuperftition groans under the dominion of the priests, and enthusiasm is destructive of all ecclefiaftical power, this fufficiently accounts for the prefent obfervation. Not to mention, that enthufiafm, being the infirmity of bold and ambitious tempers, is naturally accompanied with a fpirit of liberty; as fuperftition, on the contrary, renders men tame and abject, and fits them for flavery. We learn from the Englife history, that, during the civil the independents and deifts, tho' the moft oppofite in their religious principles; yet were united in their political ones, and were alike paffionate for a commonwealth. And fince the origin of whig and tory, the leaders of the whigs have either been deifts or profeft latitudinarians in their principles; that is, friends to toleration, and indifferent to any particular fect of christians: While the fectaries,

wars,

who have all a ftrong tincture of enthusiasm, have always, without exception, concurr'd with that party, in the defence of civil liberty. The resemblance in their fuperftitions long united the high-church tories and the Roman catholics, in the support of prerogatiye and kingly power; tho' experience of the telerating spirit of the whigs feems of late to have reconcil'd the catholics to that party.

THE molinifts and jansenists in France have a thoufand unintelligible disputes, which are not worthy the reflection of a man of fenfe: But what principally distinguishes these two fects, and alone merits attention, is the different spirit of their religion. The molinifts, conducted by the jefuites, are great friends. to fuperftition, rigid obfervers of external forms and ceremonies, and devoted to the authority of the priests, and to tradition. The janfenifts are enthufiafts, and zealous promoters of the paffionate devo tion, and of the inward life; little influenc'd by authority; and, in a word, but half catholics. The confequences are exactly conformable to the foregoing reasoning. The jefuites are the tyrants and the flaves of the court: And the janfenifts preserve alive the small sparks of the love of liberty, which are to be found in the French nation.

ESSAY

ESSAY XIII.

'TIS

Of A VARICE.

IS eafy to observe, that comic writers exaggerate every character, and draw their fop, or coward with ftronger features than are any where to be met with in nature. This moral kind of painting for the stage has been often compar'd to the painting for cupolas and ceilings, where the colours are overcharg'd, and every part is drawn exceffively large, and beyond nature. The figures feem monftrous and difproportion'd, when feen too nigh; but become natural and regular, when fet at a distance, and plac'd in that point of view, in which they are intended to be furvey'd. For a like reason, when characters are exhibited in theatrical representations, the want of reality removes, in a manner, the perfonages; and rendering them more cold and unentertaining, makes it neceffary to compenfate, by the force of colouring, what they want in fubftance. Thus, we find in common life, that when a man once allows himfelf to depart from truth in his narrations, he never can keep within the bounds of probability; but adds ftill fome new circumftance to render his flories more marvellous, and to fatisfy his imagination. Two

men

men in buckram fuits became eleven to Sir John Falftaff before the end of his story.

can

THERE is only one vice, which may be found in life with as ftrong features, and as high a colouring, as need be employ'd by any fatyrift or comic poet; and that is AVARICE. Every day we meet with men of immenfe fortunes, without heirs, and on the very brink of the grave, who refuse themselves the most common neceffaries of life, and go on heaping poffeffions on poffeffions, under all the real presfures of the fevereft poverty. An old ufurer, fays the ftory, lying in his laft agonies, was prefented by the priest with the crucifix to worship. He opens his eyes a moment before he expires, confiders the crucifix, and cries, Thefe jewels are not true; I ca only lend ten piftoles upon fuch a pledge. This was probably the invention of fome epigrammatift; and yet every one, from his own experience, may be able to recollect almost as ftrong inftances of perseverance in avarice. 'Tis commonly reported of a famous mifer in this city, that, finding himself near death, he fent for fome of the magistrates, and gave them a bill of an hundred pounds, payable after his decease; which fum he intended should be difpos'd of in charitable ufes; but scarce were they gone, when he orders them to be call'd back, and offers them ready money, if they would abate five pounds of the fum. Another noted mifer in the north, intending to defraud his heirs, and leave his fortune to the building an hofpital, protracted the drawing of his will from day to day and 'tis thought, that if those interested in it

had