travagance on either fide. Which Notion of Humility I ground on those words of St. Paul, This I Say through the Grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think foberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of Faith, Rom. 12. 3. Wherein Humility is Described, First, Negatively, by a Man's not thinking of himself more highly than he ought; that is, by not thinking too well of himself, or setting too great a value upon himself, which is the very thing we call Pride. Secondly, Pofitively, by thinking Soberly; that is, Juítly and Truly, or with due Temper. Then we have here the Rule and Standard of this Sobriety in thinking of our felves, which we may come up to, but muft not exceed, and that is the Truth and Reality of our Endowments, according as God has dealt to every Man the measure of Faith. By which it may feem, that Humility is a fort of Temperance, and fo indeed it is, and fo the Apostle here calls it, with whom it is fever eis to cup ever to think Soberly or Temperately. It is a Temperance of Opinion in reference to our felves, and our own worth, and as all other parts of Temperance are, is founded upon Justice, and is doing Justice to our felves as well as to all the World, as confifting in a due and just Sense B 3 and

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and Estimation of our felves. Whence we may gather by the way how difficult a Vertue Humility is, it being one of the hardest things in the World for a Man rightly to know and understand himself. For which Reason, as well as for the great Influence it has upon the Conduct of our Manners, the knowledge of our felves has been fo much Inculcated as the general Principle of Morality. But Humility is more particularly concern'd in it, concerning which, that which I am now obferving, is, that the Primary and Radical Notion of it, is to have a true and juft Sense of our felves, to think of our felves as we truly are. But then becaufe we indeed are Mean, Vile, and Low, efpecially in this prefent ftate of corrupt Nature, and confequently cannot think of our felves truly and as we really are, unless we think Meanly of our felves; hence it is that we are obliged fo to think, because otherwife we cannot think truly. And fo Humility comes by this Means to Import a Base and a Low Opinion of our felves, and is generally fo represented both by Human and Divine Writers And accordingly is exprefs'd in Scripture by Poverty of Spirit, Lowliness of Heart and Mind, &c.

4 Again Secondly, when Humility is made to confift in a low Senfe and Opinion of our felves, I fuppele, that by our think

ing Lowly and Meanly of our felves is tò be understood our doing fo, not always in refpect of this or that particular Excellency or Endowment, but upon the whole. For it may be that we really have thofe particu lar Excellencies; and if we have them, why may we not think we have them? Indeed if we have them not, then 'tis Folly as well as Vanity to think that we have them. We deceive our felves, and make our felves Ridiculous and Contemptible to others. And therefore Humility does oblige us to fuch a low Opinion of our felves, as not to think that we have thofe Excellencies which we have not. For if a Man think himself to be Something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himfelf, as the Apoftle tells us, Gal. 6. 3. But if we really have them, to think that we have them, is not to deceive our felves, but to think rightly fo far; and what harm there fhould be in that, or what vertue in the contrary, is equally hard to conceive. For certainly, Humility is no Enemy to Truth, or a right Understanding, but the best Temper for it; and therefore fays the Wife Man, with the Lowly is Wifdom, Prov. 11. 2. Nor can it oblige us to be mistaken in the Judgment that we pafs upon our felves, any more than in other things or perfons. Nor is it after all to be conceiv'd, what Vertue or Excellence there fhould be in Ignorance

or Miftake (efpecially as to our felves, whom of all things we are chiefly concern'd to understand) that they fhould be thought worthy to be Ingredients in the Conftitution of one of the best and nobleft Vertues; which is neither like to derive any Credit from fuch an Original or Alliance. Indeed thinking thus truly of our felves will in fome fenfe (fometimes a Limited, and fometimes a Comparative Senfe) be to think Highly: But what then, if thinking thus Highly, we at the fame time think truly? I confefs, it might in fome Cafes perhaps be more fafe if Men were ignorant of their own worth, and their Light did not reflect home, it being not convenient for weak heads to fee the height of their Station; but whatever the Danger may fometimes be, there can be no actual fault or moral diforder in thinking the Truth, in thinking our felves to be what we are. And if we are confiderably Wife or Better than others (what Caution foever may be thought neceffary to be used before we think fo, that we may not be betrayed by the impofing partiality of Self-love) I fee no harm in thinking fe, any more than in thinking our felves to be Taller or Bigger than thofe whom we vifibly exceed in Stature or Bulk.

5. And indeed, in many Cafes, one can as little be avoided as the other. Light is very apt to ftrike the Eyes, and as I cannot

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well be ignorant of any fhining Vertue or Accomplishment in my felf, fo neither can I be an utter Stranger to the Comparative value of it. I cannot but think my self to be Wifer than a Fool or Changeling, and better it may be than a loofe Rake or profefs'd Debauchè. Nor is it any great Commendation that a Man would bestow upon himself by fuch a Character. But if it were, that does not neceffarily make fuch an Opinion of ones felf unlawful, however it may make the Publication of it Imprudent. For if a Man at Fifty, may think himself Wifer than he was at Five and Twenty, as having read more, thought more, and had more Experience; why may he not for the like Reasons think the fame of himself in relation to other Men, who ftand in the fame proportion to him, that he now does to his former felf? There is no doubt but that a well studied Divine may have a juft right to think that he understands Divinity better than one of the Farmers of his Parish; a Mafter may think he knows more than his Scholar, or else why does he pretend to Teach him; and any one that profeffes any Art or Science, to the ftudy of which he has Applied, perhaps Devoted himself, may warrantably think that he understands it better than one who never bestow'd any time or thought in it, though otherwife of good Understanding.

Nay