'^- I iM'""^ PERKINS LIBRARY JJuke University Kare iJooks Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Duke University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/somereflectionsuOOaste BOOKS written by the fame Author^ and fold ^^ William Parker, at the King's'Head in St. haul's Church- Yard. HE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, asPro- fefs'd by a D a u g h t e r of the Church of Eyigland. The Third Edition. Shewing, the due Behaviour of Women-, the Vices they ought to Shun^ and the Virtues they ought to Pra&ice. A Treatife very neceirary, in this dege- nerate Age, to confirm the Ladies in iheir 'Reli- gious Prir/cifksy and to inftrudt them in what they ought to beliei-e and pra&ife, in order to their 'Eternal Salvation. A Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their true and greateji Intereft, Part I. The Fourth Edition. A Serious Propos al to the Ladies, Part II. Wherein a Method is offered for the Improvement of their Minds. Letters concerning the Love of God, between the Author of the Propofal to the Ladiesy and Mr. John Norris : Wherein his late Difcourfe, Ihewing, diat it ought to be intire and exclufive of all other Loves, is farther cleared and juftificd. The fecond Edition. An Enquiry after Wit: Wherein the tri- fling Arguing, and impious Raillery of the late Earl of Shaftsbury-, in his Letter concerning Enthufiafm:^ and other profane Writers, are fully Anfwcr'd and juftly Expofed. The Second Edition. Moderation truly ftated : Or a Review of a late Pamphlet, intided, Moderation a Vertue. With a Prefatory Difcourfe to Dr. Ifyive^iant, concern- ing his late EfTayson Peace and War. /i^to. SOME REFLECTIONS UPON MARRIAGE With Additions. The FOURTH EDITION. LONDON: Printed for W i l 1. 1 a m P a r k e R, at the Kings Head in St. Paul's Church- Yard. M.DCC.XXX. .^ :? i ADVERTISEMENT. HESE Reflexions being made in the Country^ 'where the Book that occajiond them came but late to Hand, the Reader is dejird to excufe their Unfeafonahlenefs as well as other Faults 5 and to believe^ that they have no other Dejign than to Cor^ reH feme Ahufes^ which are not the lefs hecaufi Tower a?id Trefeription feem to authorize them. If any is fe needkjly curious as to inquire from what 44C440 Al^VERTISEMENT. fwloat Hand they come^ they may pleafe to know, that it is not good Manners to asky Jince the 'Title Vage does not tell them : We are all of us fiifficiently Vain^ and 'without doubt J the celebrated Name of Au- thor, which mojl arefo fond of had not been avoided hut for very good Reafons : To name but one ^ Who will care to pull upon themfelves an Hornet's Nefl: ? 'Tis a very great Faulty to regard rather Who it is that fpeaksy than What is fpoken 5 and either to fubmit to Authority^ when we floould only yield to Rea^ fon 5 or if Reafon prefs too hard, to think to ward it off by T^er final Ob^ je6fions and Reflexions. Bold Truths may pafs while the Speaker is In- cognito, but are feldom endurd when he is known 5 few Minds be' ing Adv ertisement. ing (irong enough to hear ^hat cori" t radios their Principles and ^rac" ticeSj ^without recriminating when they can. And though to tell the Truth he the mojl Friendly Office^ yet whofoever is fa hardy as to ven^ ture at it^ Jloall he counted an Enemy forfo doing. The Preface in the Lift Edition being extended to an uncommon Length, is now printed at the lat- ter End, as an Appendix. E KK At A. Page II. line if. read^owr^ p. 14. 1. f. r.fufficient., p. zi. 1. 10. dele in that; p. 97. 1. 10. after opfofe add /* ; p. 130. 1.6. r. Adulterer y — 1. 23. v. humbled, p. 131. 1. 2. for than read as; p. 1^6. \. 14. for was r, is. 44CM0 Booh Sold hy W. Parker.^ A Rchbifhop Sharp's Sermons. 4 Vols. •**■ Bifhop Moor's Sermons. 2 Vols. A Colleftion of above three hundred Receipts in Cookery, Phyfick, and Surger)', for the Ufe of all good Wives, tender Mothers, and careful Nurfes. By feveral Hands. The Fourth Edition : To which is added, a fecond Part, containing a great Number of excellent Receipts, for Preferving and Conferving of Sweet-Meats, crc. A Differtation of the Extreme FoUy and Danger of Infideli-v ; occafioncd by a late virulent Book, intitled, A Difcourfc on the Grounds and Reafons of the Chriflian Religion. By Thomas Curteis^ Redor of Wrotham in K.ent. Second Edition. Pr. 2x. An Inquiry whether a general Pradice of Virtue tends to the Wealth or Poverty, Benefit or Advan- tage of a People ? In which the Pleas offered by the Author of the Fable of the Bees, cr. Private Vices, Publick Benefits, for the Ufetulnefs of Vice and Roguery, are confidered \ with fome Thought? concerning a Toleration of Publick Stews. By the late Mr. Bluett. Pr. 2 s. 6d. The Hiftory of the Life and Sufferings of the Re- verend and Learned John WkkliW-, D. D. Warden of Canterbury Hall, and Publick ProfefTor of Divi- nity in Oxford^ and Reftor of Lutterivorth in JLe/"- ceflerjhire^ in the Reign of King Edward III. and Richard the II. j together with a Colledion of Papers relating to the faid Hiftory, never before Printed. By John Levjis, M. A. Minifter o( Margate in Kent. The Church Catechifm explained for the Ufe of the Diocefe of St. yifaph. By the Right Reverend Father in God PFUl. Beverrdge, D. D. late BilTiop of St. Afaph. Sixdi Edition. The Faith and Pradice of the Omxchoi England- Man. The Ninch Edition. Price ^d. Principles of the Cyprianic Age, with Regard to Epifcopal Power and Jurifdidion, aflerted and re- commended from the genuine Writings of St. Cy* Man liimfelf, and his Contemporaries. SOME REFLECTIONS UPON MARRIAGE. URIOSITY, which is lometimes an Occafion of Good, but more frequent- ly of Mifchief, by difturb- ing our own or our Neigh- bours Repofe, having induced me to read the Account of an unhappy Marriage, I thought an Afternoon w^ould not be quite thiown away in purfuing fuch Reflexions as it occafion'd. I am far from defigning a Satire upon Marriage, as fome pretend, either unkindly or B igno- Reflections Ignorant! y, through want of Rejle^ton in that Senfe wherein I ufe the Word. One wou*d have thought that Cardi- nal Mazarim^ whofe Dignity, Power and Riches, rendered him fo confidera- ble in the Eyes of all Europe ; and who, like moft great Minifters, aim'd at no- thing ib much as the aggrandizing him- felf and his Family, and who wanted no Opportunities of doing it, Ihould have taken his Meafures fo juftly as not to be difappointed : At leaft, that a Fa- brick rais'd with fo much Art and Coft, founded in the Oppreflion, and cement- ed with the Blood of the People, fhould not fo quickly have tumbled into the Duft after him. But fo it is, Providence, whether we think of it or no, over- rules our Anions and baffles our beft- concerted Projects : So that unlefs wc wilfully Ihut our Eyes, we cannot but difcern, that when Meji in Power and Honour leave God out of their Schemes, they have jio Under pandtng^ though their natural Genius be ever fo bright^ hut are upon Marriage. i are jilftly compared to the Beajis that pe^ rijh. The Ignorant and Fooli/lp fucceed quite as well as the fVorldly-ivife^ who carry nothing away with them when they die, neither will their Riches and Glory defcend as they intended. It is only by generous and worthy Adions that we are refcued from Oblivion, or from what is worfe, being remembred with Con- tempt and Execrations : So little Reafoa is there to envy any Man's Wealth and Greatnels, but much to emulate their Wifdoni and Vertue whofe Views extend to a more durable Felicity. 'T I s natural to wetl-turn'd Minds^ when they hear of any Pcrfon eminent in Wit and Beauty, adorn'd with Politc- nefs and Addrels, to wilh thefe may be accompanied and fupported by what is more valuable and laftiog, folid Senfe and real Yertue. One grieves at any Imputa- tion on fuch an engaging Charader, and if one cannot always find the favou- rite Perfon fortunate, one labours for the Confolation of finding them difcreet; B 0, and Reflections and even where their Condud is not wholly blamelefs, CornpafTion and Good- nature will take Place of Cenfure in a Noble, as well as in a Chriftian Heart. We find out fomething to excufe, fome- thing to regret, lamenting that fiich a Treafure fhould fall into unworthy Hands, infenlible of its Value, unskilful to preferve and improve it: We figh, we grieve, that any Perfon capable of being an Ornament to a Family, and Blef^ fing to the Age, Ihould only ferve as an unhappy Shipwreck to point out the Misfortune of an ill Education and un- fuitable Marriage, and the inexprefiiblc Danger of feeking Confolation and Relief, in any thing but Innocence and Vertue. They only who have felt it, know the Mifery of being forcM to marry where they do not love ; of being yok'd for Life to a difagreeable Perfon and impe- rious Temper, where Ignorance and Fol- ly (the Ingredients of a Coxcomb, who is the moft unfufFcrable Fool) tyrannizes over Wit and Senfe ; To be perpetual- upon Marriage. ly contradicted for ContradicHon-falve, and bore down by Aiithoritv, not by Argument ; to be denied one's moft in- nocent Defires, for no other Realon but the abfblute Will and Pleafure of a Lord and Mafter, whofe Follies a Wife, with all her Prudence, cannot hide, .^nd whole Commands fhe cannot but delpife at the fame Time that fhe obeys them. • Or, fuppofe on the other Hand, fne has married the Man fhe loves, hcap'd upon him the higheft Obligations, by putting into his Power the Fortune he coveted, the Beauty he profefs'd to adore j how foon are the Tables turn'd > It is her Part now to court and fawn j his real or pretended Pailion foon cools into Indifference, Ncglcd, or perhaps Aver- {ion. 'Tis well if he prefervcs a de- cent Civility, takes a little care of Ap- pearances, and is willing to conceal his Breach of faith. But lliall a Wife retaliate? God forbid ! no Provocation, though ever fo B 3 great. Reflect loMs great, can excufe the Sin, or lefTen the Folly : It were indeed a revenging the Injury upon herfelf jn the moft terrible Manner. The Italian Proverb ihews a much, better Way, If you would be re-, venged of your EncmieSy live well. Devotion is the proper Remedy, and the only infallible Relief in all Di- ftrefTes ; when this is negleded or turn'd into Ridicule, we run, as from one Wic- kednefs, io from one Misfortune, to an- other. Unhappy is that Grandeur which is too great to be good, and that which fets us at a Diftance from true Wifdom. Even Bigotry, as contemptible as it is, is preferable to profane Wit ; for that requires our Pity, but this deferves our Abhorrence. A Woman who fecks Confolation under Domeftick Troubles from the Gaieties of a Court, from' Gallantry, Gaming, rambling in Search of odd Ad- ventures, childifh, ridiculous and ill- natur'd Amufements, fuch as we find in ;he iip07i Marriage. the unhappy Madam M — 's MemotrSy the common Methods of getting rid of Time, that is, of our very Being, and keeping as much as we can at a Diftancc from ourfelvcs, will find thcfc are very infignificant Applications ; they hardly skin the Wound, and can never heal it, they even hurt, they make it feftcr, and render it almoft incurable. What an ill Figure docs a Woman make, with all the Charms of her Beau- ty, and Sprightlinefs of her Wit, with all her good Humour and infinuating Addrefs, though fhe be the beft Oecono- mift in the World, the mofl: entertain- ing Company, if (he remit her Guard, abate in the Severity of her Caution, and Striitnefs of her Vertue? If fhe neglects thofc Methods which arc necelhiry to keep her, not only from a Crime, but from the very Sufpicion of one? She juftifies the Injury her Husband has done her, by publifhing to the World, that whatever good Qualities Ihe may pof^ fefs, Difcrction, the Miftrcfs of all the B 4 Tcft, 8 Reflections reft, is wanting : Though fhe be really guiltlefs, fhe cannot prove her Innocence, the Sufpicions in her Prejudice are fo ftrong. When fhe is cenlur'd, Charity, that thinks no Evil, can only be filent ; though it believes and hopes the beft, it cannot engage in her Defence, nor apologize for irregular Actions. A N ill Husband may deprive a Wife of the Comfort and Quiet of her Life, give occafion of exercifing her Vertue, try her Patience and Fortitude to the iitmofb, which is all he can do; it is herfelf only that can accompliih her Ruin. I N vain we feek for Colours to var- nifii faulty Manners. An Advocate ihews the bell Side of his Wit, but the worft of his Integrity when he has an ill Caufe to manage: But to what Pur- pof? ? He cannot inipofe on the Judicious, his Colouring vanillics before their Eyes, . and a good deal of Malice, with a very little Senfe, will find the Weaknefs of his upon Marriage. his Arguments; fo much the more fiifpe- ded, by how much the more laboured : For Truth is plain and forcible, depend- ing on her own Strength ; fhe requires no more than to be placed in a proper Light, nor condefcends to Art or Infi- nuations, unlefs in Compaffion to the Weaknei's and Prejudice of Mankind. Nor are they lefs miftaken in regard of "Wit, which confifts not meerly in faying what is odd and out of the way ; Fools do this pretty often ; but Wit confifts in exprefling good Senfe in a furpridng, yet natural and agreeable Manner. There are fome Reafons, (for the Laws of God and Man allow Divorces in certain Cafes) though not many, that authorize a \\ ife*s leaving her Husband, but if any Thing fhort of abfolute Ne- ceflity, from irreclaimable Vice and Cru- elty, prevails with her to break thefe facred and ftrongeft Bonds, how is fhe expos'd to Temptations and Injuries, Contempt, and the juft Cenfure of the World. A Woman of Senfe, one fliou'd think, 10 Reflections think, could take but little Pleafurc in the Courtfhip and Flatteries of her Ado- rers, even when Ihe is fingle : But for a married Woman to admit of Love Ad- dreifes, is woriethan FolLy; it is a Crime fo ridiculous, that I will never believe a Woman of Senfe can be guilty of it. For what does a Man pretend when he whines and dangles after a married Wo-^ man ? Would he have her think he ad-^ mires her, when he is treating her with the laft Contempt ? or that he loves her, when he is trying his Arts to gratify his brutal Paflion, at the Price of all that is dear to her ? His line Speeches have either no Meaning, or a reproachful one ; he affronts her Underftanding as well as her Vertue, if he fancies Ihc can- not difcern, or wants Spirit to refent the Infults. She can look on him no other-i- wife than as the worft of Hypocrites, who flatters to betray, and fawns that he may ruin ; who is laying Snares to entangle her in a Commerce founded on Injuftice, and Breach of the molt facred Vows, carried on by Diilimulation, Treachery^ up07i Marriage. \\ Treachery, Lyes, and Deceit, attended with Fear and Anxiety, Shame, Re- niorfe, the bitter Stings of Guilt, whole fatal Confequences cannot be forefeen, the Icaft of which is the blafting of her Honour. And why all this Mifchief ? Why, bccaufe he profelTcs to think her amiable, and with the blacked: Trea- chery takes Advaiitage of her Weakncfs, and the too good Opinion fhe has enter- tained of him, to render her odious ! to render her contemptible to himfelf, as well as to the World. Who would be that unhappy Per- fon with all her Grandeur, Wit an4 Beauty, who gave Occafion to thcfe Re- Jietiions ? Who would live fo infamoufly, and die {o miferably ? Wha;)£ver Apo- logies the Interfiled may invent, what they call Gallantry will find a harlhcr Name with the Modeft and Difcrcet* Or elfe Gallantry, under whatever Form, niuft pafs for a fcandalous Amufement, not to be allow'd among Perfons of Ver- tue and Honour. It is indeed ridicu- lous 12 Reflections lous to talk of hartnlefs Gallantry; there is, there can be no fuch Thing : For befides the Umbrage and Scandal, a Chriftian muft be pure in Heart and Eyes ; ihe who has vovv'd her AfFedions to one, and is his Property, cannot with- out Injuftice, and even Perjury, parcel them out to more. I T is in Diftempers of the Mind as in thofe of the Body, a little Care and Prudence will prevent what requires a long and difficult Regimen to cure : Therefore in both Cafes the Aphorifm holds ; R^Jlft the Beginnings • be early on our Guard. There was a Time when the moll abandoned Sinner would have fhrunk with Horror, at what by De- grees becomes familiar, and, as they fan- cy, natural. The Sap is carryM on againft Vertue as artfully as againft a fortified Town, and the Approaches are as methodical : But in this the Cafe is different, the Befieged cannot fly; where- as Vertue is beft fecured by avoiding the Enemy. They are fenfiblc of this, and upon Marriage^ ij and therefore nothing more common than that filly Maxim, Ihaf Vertue is not Fertile till it has been tried. This is a Mortar-piece that has done more Exe- cution than all their other Arts^ for Self- confidence is always a Prelude to Deftru- 6tion. The Wife who liftens to Admi- rers runs into Temptation, and fports up- on a Precipice. For, as a noble Lord, who knew the World perfectly well, inftruds his Daughter, flie may as well play with Fire, as dally with Gallantry. I can fay nothing fo well upon this Sub- jed, as what is writ by this noble Au- thor, whom therefore I beg leave to tranlcribe : ** The ExtravagcVicies of tl: ^ Age " have made Caution more neceflfary ^ " and by the fame Reafon that the too " great Licence of ill Men, hath by " Confequence in many I'hings rcftrain^ " ed the lawful Liberty of thofe who " did not abufe it, the unjuftifiable " Freedom of feme of your Sex, have /g ///?:? of which is this, " I have a very mean " Opinion both of your Undcrftanding ^' and Vcrtue • you are Weak enough to " be impos'd on, and Vain enough to " fnatch at the Bait I throw ; there's no " Danger of your finding out myMean- " ing, or difappointing me of my Ends. " I offer you Incenfe^ 'tis true, but you *' are like to pay for't, and to make me " a Rccompcnce for your Folly, in inia- " gining I would give my felf this Trou- D 4 " ble, 40 Refbections " ble, did I not hope, nay, were I not " fure, to find my own Account in it. " If for nothing elfe, you'll ferve at " leaft as an Exercife of my Wit ; and '- how much foever you fwell with " my Breath, *tis I dcferve the Praife for " talking fo well on fo poor a Subject, " We, who make the Idols, are the " greater Deities ; and as we fet you up, " fo it is in our Power to reduce you to " your firft Obfcurity, or to fomewhat " worfc, to Contempt ; you arc there- '' fore only on your good Behaviour, " and are like to be no more than what *'"' we pleafe to make you. '* This is the Flatterer's Language afide, this is the true Senfe of his Heart, whatever his Grimace may be before the Company. A N D if this be the true Meaning of honourable Courtlhip, what is meant by that Jargon, that Profufion of JLove and Admiration which palTcs fof Gallantry, when either of the parties are married ? Is it not the utmoft Scurrihty, in that it fuppofes fhe is, or that he hopes to make upon Marriage. 41 make her, what good Manners forbids to name ? And fince he makes fo free with the Lady's Honour, can Ihe afford him a civiller Anfwer, than what her Foot- man may dehver with a Crab-tree? But I corred my felf, this might be the Air of a haughty Roman Prude ; our BrlttJJj Beauties are far more Gentle and Well-bred. And he who has the fame Defigns upon other Mens Relations, is fometimes fo civil as to bear with the Outrages offcr'd to his own. *t>^ Not but that 'tis pofTible, and fome- times Matter of Fad, to exprefs our felves beyond the Truth in Praife of a Perfon, and yet not be guilty of Flat- tery; but then we muft Think what we Say, and Mean what we Profefs. We may be fo blinded by fonie Paflion or other, efpecially Love, which in Ci- vil and Good-natur'd Perfons is apt to exceed, as to believe fome Perfons more defcrving than really they are, and to pay them greater Rcfpcct and Kindnefs than is in Striclnefs due to them. But this is not the prefent Cafe ; for our line Speech- Reflections Speech-makers doat too much on them- felves to have any great Paflion for another. Their Eyes are commonly too much fix'd on their own Excellencies, to view another's good Qualities through a Magnifying-Glafs ; at lea ft if ever they turn that End of tbe Perfpedive towards their Neighbours, 'tis only in Refped and Reference to themfelves. They are their own Centres, they find a Difpro- portion in every Line that does not tend thither, and in the next Vifit they make, you fhall hear all the fine Things they had faid, repeated to the new Object, and nothing remembred of the former but her Vanity, orlbmething elfe as ri- diculous, which lerves for a Foil, or a Whet to Difcourfe. For let there be ever fo many Wits in the Company, Converfation would languiih, and they would be at a Lofs, did not a little Cen- forioufnefs come in at a Need to help them. Let us then treat the Ladies as ci- villy as may be, but let us not do it by Flatter- iip07i Marriage. 4^ Flattering them, but by endeavouring to make them fuch as may truly delerve our hearty Efteem and Kindnels. Men ought really for their own Sakes, to do what in them lies to make Women Wile and Good, and then it might be hoped they themfelves woirid efFcclually Study and Pradice that Wifdom and Vertue . they recommend to others. But fb long as Men, even the bcft of them, who do not outrage the Women they pretend to adore, have bafe and unworthy Ends to ferve, it is not to be expeded that they fhould confent to fuch Methods as would certainly difippoint them. They would have their own Relations do well • it is their Intereft : but it fometimes happens to be for their Turn that another Man's fliould not, and then their Generofity fails them, and no Man is apter to find Fault with another's difhonourable Ani- ons, than he who is ready to do, or per- haps has done the fime\himfelf. And as Men have little Reafon to ex- pect Happiiicfs when they marry only for 44 Reflections for the Love of Money, Wit, or Beauty, as has been aheady ftiewn, fo much lefs can a Woman expect a tolerable Life, when fhe goes upon thefe Confiderati- ons. Let the Bufinefs be carried as prudently as it can be on the Woman's Side, a reafonable Man can't deny that ftie has by much the harder Bargain : J becaibfe fhe puts her felf intirely into her Husband's Power, and if the Matrimo- nial Yoke be grievous, neither Law nor Cuftom afford her that Redrefs which a Man obtains. He who has Sovereign Power does not value the Provocations of a Rebellious Subjed ; he knows how to fubdue him with Eafe, and will make himfelf obeyed : But Patience and Sub- miffion are the only Comforts that are left to a poor People, who groan under Tyranny, unlefs they are Strong enough to break the Yoke, to Depofe and Ab- dicate, which, 1 doubt, would not be allow'd of here. For whatever may be filid againfl PafTivc-Obedience in another Cafe, I fuppofe there's no Man but likes k very well in this j how much foever Arbi- upon Marriage. 45- Arbitrary Power may be diflik'd on a Throne, not Miitou, nor £, H — , nor any of the Advocates of Refiftance, would cry up Liberty to poor Female Slaves^ or plead for the Lawfulnefs of Refining a private Tyranny. I F there be a Difagreeablcnefs of Hu- mours, this, in my Mind, is harder to be born than greater Faults, as being a continual Plague, and for the moft Part incurable. Other Vices a Man may grow weary of, or may be convinced of the Evil of them, he may forfake them, or they him, but his Humour and Temper are feldom, if ever, put off. Ill-nature flicks to him from his Youth to his grey Hairs, and a Boy that's Humorous and Proud, makes a Peevifh, Pofitive, and Infolent Old Man. Now if this be the Cafe, and the Husband be full of Him- felf, obftinately bent on his own Way, with or without Realbn, if he be one who mull be always Admired, always Humour'd, and yet fcarce knows what will pleafe him ; if he has Profperity enough 4<^ Reflections enough to keep him from confidering, and to farniHi him with a Train of Flat- ^ terers and obfequious Admirers; and Learning and Senfe enough to make him a Fop in Perfedion ; for a Man can never be a compleat Coxcomb, unlefs he has a confiderable Share of thefe to value himfelf upon •' What can the poor Woman do ? The Husband is too Wife to be Advis'd, too Good to be Reformed, Jhe muft follow all his Paces, and tread in all his unreafbnable Steps, or there is no Peace, no Qiiiet for her j fhe muft Obey with the greatcft Exaclnefs, 'tis in vain to expect any manner of Compli- ance on his Side, and the more Ihe com- plies the more fhe may ; his fantaftical Humours grow with her Defire to gratify them^ for Age increafes Opinionatry in fome, as well as it does Experience ii> others. Of fuch foit of Folks as thefe it was that So/omcii/ fpake, when he faid, Seejl thou a Man wife jn his own Conceit^ there is more hope of a Fool than of him \ That is, the profligate Sinner, fuch a one being always a Fool in Solomon's Lan- upon Marriage. ^7 Language, is in a fairer Way of being convinc'd of his Folly, and brought to Reafon, than the Proud, Conceited Man. . That Man, indeed, can never be good at Heart, who is full of Himfelf and his own Endowments : Not that it is necef^ fary, becaufe it is not poffible (human- ly fpeaking) for one to be totally igno- rant of his own good Qualities, I had almoft faid, he ought to have a modeft Senfe of *em, othcrwife he can't be duly thankful, nor make the Ufe of them that is required, to the Glory of God, and the Good of Mankind ; but he views them in a wrong Light, if he difcerns any Thing that may exalt him above his Neighbours, make him over-look their Merit, or treat them with Negled or Contempt. He ought to behold them with Fear and Trembling, as Talents which he has freely receiv'd, and for which he is highly Accountable, and therefore they fhould not excite his Pride, but his Care and Induftry. And Reflections And if Pride and Self-conceit keep a Man who has fome good Qualities, and is not fo bad as the moft of his Neigh- bours, frpm growing better, it for cer- tain confirms and hardens the Wicked in his Crimes, it fets him up for a Wit, that is, according to modern Accepta- tion, one who rallies all that is ferious, a Contemner of the Priefts firft, and then of the Deity Himfelf. For Penitence and Self-condemnation are what his Haughtinefs cannot bear, and lince his Crimes have brought upon him the Re- proaches of his own Mind, fince he will not take the regular Way to be rid of them, which is, by Humbling himfelf, and making his Peace with Heaven, he bids Defiance to it, and wou'd, if he could, believe there is no future State, no After-retribution, becaule he has too juft Reafon to fear it. If therefore it be a Woman's hard Fate to meet with a difagreeable Tem- per, and of all others, the Haughty, Impe- tipon Marriage. 45^ Imperious, and Self-conceited are the moft fo, ihe is as unhappy as any Thing in this World can make her. For when a Wife's Temper does not pleafe, if fhe makes her Husband uneafy, he can find Entertainments Abroad ; he has a hun- dred Ways of relieving himfelf; but neither Prudence nor Duty will allow a Woman to fly out : her BufincTs and En- tertainment are at home ; and tho' he makes it ever i^o uneafy to her, fhe muft be content, and make her beft on't. She who eleds a Monarch for Life, who gives him an Authority, fhe cannot re- call, however he mifapply it, who puts her Fortune and Perfbn entirely in his Power, nay, even the very Defires of her Heart, according to fomc learned Ca- fuifts, lb as that it is not lawful to Will or Defire any Thing but what he ap- proves and allows, had need be very fure that fhe does not make a Fool her Head, nor a Vicious Man her Guide and Pat- tern ; file had beft ftay till Ihe can meet with one who has the Government of his own Palfions, and has duly regulated his E own 5^ Reflections own Defires, fince he is to have luch an abfolute Power over hers. But he who doats on a Face, he who makes Money his Idol, he who is charm'd with vain and empty Wit, gives no fuch Evi- dence, either of Wifdom or Goodnefs, that a Woman of any tolerable Senfe lhou*d care to venture her felf to his Condud. Indeed, your fine Gentleman's Ani- ons are now a-days fuch, that did not Cuftom and the Dignity of his Sex give Weight and Authority to them, a Wo- man that thinks twice might blefs her felf, and fay. Is this the Lord and Ma- iler to whom I am to promife Love, Honour and Obedience ? W^hat can be the Objed of Love but amiable Quali- ties, the Image of the Deity imprefs'd upon a generous and godUke Mind, a Mind that is above this World, to be fure above all the Vices, the Tricks and Bafenefs of it ; a Mind that is not full of it felf, nor contraded to little private Interefts, but which, in Imitation of that upon Marriage. . j I that glorious Pattern it endeavours to copy after, expands and difFufes it felf to its utmoft Capacity in doing Good. But this fine Gentleman is quite of ano- ther Strain, he is the Reverfe of this in every Inftance. He is, I confcfs, very fond of his own Dear Perfon, he fees very much in it to admire j his Air and Mien, his Words and Actions, every Motion he makes, declare it • but they muft have a Judgment of his Size, every whit as fhallow, and a Partiality as great as his own, who can be of his Mind. How then can I Love ? And if not Love, much lefs Honour. Love may arife from Pity, or a generous Defire to make that Lovely which as yet is not fo, when we fee any hopes of Succefs in our En- deavours of improving it ; but Honour fuppofcs fome excellent Qiialiti<^s al- ready, fbmething worth ourEfteem; but, alas ! there is nothing more contempti- ble than this Trifle of a Man, this meer Out-fidc, whofe Mind is as bale and mean as his external Pomp is glittering. His Office or Title apart, to which fome E 1 cere- 5^ Reflections ceremonious Obfervancc muft be paid for Order's fake, there's nothing in him that can command our Refped. Strip him of Equipage and Fortune, and fuch Things as only dazle our Eyes and Ima- ginations, but don't in any meafure af- fed our Reafon, or caufe a Reverence in our Hearts, and the poor Creature finks beneath our Notice, becaufe not fupported by real Worth. And if a Woman can neither Love nor Honour, fhe does ill in promifing to Obey, fince fhe is like to have a crooked Rule to re- gulate her Adions. A M E E R Obedience, fuch as is paid only to Authority, and not out of Love and a Senfe of the Juftice and Reafon- ablcnefs of the Command, will be of an uncertain Tenure. As it can't but be ■uneafy to the Perfon who pays it, ib he who receives it will be fometimes difap- pointed when he expeds to find it : For that Woman muft be endow'd with a Wifdom and Goodnefs much above what we fuppofe the Sex capable of, I fear much jipon Marriage. 53 much greater than any Man can pretend to, who can ^o conftantly conquer her Pallions, and divert her felf even of In- nocent Self-love, as to give up the Caufe when Ihe is in the Right, and to fubmit her inlightned Rcafon, to the imperious Dictates of *a blind Will, and wild Imagination, even when llie clearly perceives the ill Conlequences of it, the Imprudence, nay. Folly and Madnefs of fuch a Condud. And if a Woman runs fuch a Rifque when fhe marries prudently, according to the Opinion of the World, that is, when fhe permits her fclf to be difpos'd of to a Man equal to her in Birth, Edu- cation and Fortune, and as good as the moft of his Neighbours, (for if none were to marry, but Men of ftricl Vertue and Honour, I doubt the World would be but thinly Peopled) if at the verybeft her Lot is hard, what can fhe expect who is Sold, or any otherwife betray'd into mercenary Hands, to one who is in all, or moft refpects, unequal to her ? E 3 A 54 Reflections A Lover who comes upon what is call*d equal Terms, makes no very advanta- geous Propofal to the Lady he courts, and to whom he feems to be an humble Servant. For under many founding CompHments, Words that have nothing in them, this is his true Meaning- He wants one to manage his Family, an Houfe-keeper, one whofe Intereft it will be not to wrong him, and in whom therefore he can put greater Confidence than in any he can hire for Money. One who may breed his Children, taking all the Care and Trouble of their Educa- tion, to preferve his Name and Family. One whofe Beauty, Wit, or good Hu- mour and agreeable Converfation, will entertain him at Home when he has been contradided and difappointed Abroad ; who will do him that Juflice the ill-na- tur'd World denies him ; that is, in any one's Language but his own, footh his Pride and flatter his Vanity, by having always fo much good Senfe as to be on his Side, to conclude him in the Right, when others arc fo ignorant, or fo rude 3 as I upon Marriage. 55 as to deny it. Who will not be blind to his Merit nor contradict his Will and Plealure, but make it her Bufinefs, her very Ambition to content him ; whofe Softnels and gentle Compliance will calm his Pailions, to whom he may fafely dil^ clofe his troublefome Thoughts, and in her Breaft dilcharge his Cares • whole Duty, .Subniillion and Oblervance, will heal thofc Wounds other Peoples Oppo- fition or Negled have given him. In a word, one whom he can intirely Govern, and confequently may form her to his Will and Liking, who muft be his for Life, and therefore cannot quit his Ser- vice, let him treat her how he will. And if this be what every Man ex- pects, the Sum of his violent Love and Courtfliip, w hen it is put into Senfe, and rendred Intelligible, to what a line pals does flic bring her felf who purchafes a Lord and Mailer, not only with her Money, but with what is of greater Value, at the Price of her Difcretion! W ho has not fo much as that poor Ex- K 4 cufc, 6 Reflections cufe, Precedent and Example ; or if flie has, they are only fuch as all the World condemns? She will not find him lefs a Governor becaufe ihe was once his Su- perior, on the contrary, the Scum of the People are moft Tyrannical when they get the Power, and treat their Betters with the greateft Infolence. For, as the wife Man long fince obferv'd, A Servant when he Reigns, is one of thofe Things for which the Earth is difquieted, and which no body is able to bear. I T is the hardcft Thing in the World for a Woman to know that a Man is not Mercenary, that he does not act on bafe and ungenerous Principles, even when he is her Equal, becaufe being abfolute Ma- iler, fhe and all the Grants he makes her are in his Power, and there have been but too many Inftances of Husbands, that by wheedling, or threatning their Wives, by feeming Kindncfs, or cruel Ufagc, have perfuaded, or forc'd them out of what has been fettled on them, So that the Woman has in Truth no Se- curity tipon M A R R I A. G E. 57 curity but the Man's Honour and Good- nature, a Security that in this prefent Age no wife Perfon would venture much upon. A Man enters into Articles very readily before Marriage, and fo he may, for he performs no more of them after- wards than he thinks fit. A Wife muft never difpute with her Husband ; his Reafons are now, no doubt on't, better than hers, whatever they were before • he is fure to pcrfuade her out of her Agreement, and bring her, it muft be fuppos'd, frU/ingfyy to give up what Ihe did vainly hope to obtain, and what Ihe thought had been made fure to her. And if fhe fhews any Refradorinels, there are Ways enough to humble her ; fo that by Right or Wrong the Husband gains his Will. For Covenants between Husband and Wife, like Laws in an Ar- bitrary Government, are of little Force, the Will of the Sovereign is All in All. Thus it is in Matter of Fad, I will not anfwer for the Right of it j for if the Woman's Reafons, upon which thofe Agreements are grounded, are not juft and 5 8 Reflections and good, why did he confent to them ? Was it becaufe there was no other Way to obtain his Suit, and with an Intention to annul them when it fhall be in his Power ? Where then is his Sincerity ? But if her Reafons are good, where is his Juftice in obliging her to quit them ? He neither way ads like an equitable or honell Man. But when a Woman marries unequal- ly and beneath her felf, there is almoft Demonftration that the Man is fordid and unfair • that inftead of loving her he only loves himfelf, trapans and ruins her to ferve his own Ends. For if he had not a mighty Opinion of himfelf, (which Temper is like to make an ad- mirable Husband) he would never ima- gine that his Perfon and good Qualities could make Compenfation for all the Ad- vantages fhe quits on his Account. If he had a real Efteem for her, or valued her Reputation, he would not expole it, nor have her Difcretion call'd in Que- ftion for his fake j and if he truly lov'd her, upon Marriage. 59 her, he would not reduce her to Straits and a narrow Fortune, nor fo much as lef- fen her way of Living to better his own. For fince God has placed different Ranks m the World, put fome in a higher, and fome in a lower Station, for Order and Beauty's fake, and for many good Reafons ; though it is both our Wifdom and Duty not only to fubmit wicji Pa- tience, but to be thankful and well-fa- tisiied, when by his Providence we are brought low, yet there is no manner of Reafon for us to degrade our fclvcs j on the contrary, much why we ought not. The better our Lot is in this World, and the more we have of it, the greater is our Leifure to prepare for the next j we have the more Opportunity to exer- cife that God-like Qiiality, to tafte that Divine Pleafure, doing Good to the Bo- dies and Souls of thole beneath us. Is it not then ill Manners to Heaven, and an irreligious Contempt of its Favours, for a Woman to flight that nobler Employ- ment, to which it has ailign'd her, and thruft her fclf down to a meaner Drud- Co Reflections gery, to what is in the 'very literal Senfe a caring for the Things of the World, a caring not only to Plcafe, but to Main- tain a Husband ? And a Husband fo chofen will not at all abate of his Authority and Right to Govern, whatever fair Promifes he might make before. She has made him her Head, and he thinks himfelf as well qualified as the Beft to ad accordingly, nor has fhe given him any fuch Evidence of her Prudence as may difpofe him to make an Ad of Grace in her Favour. Beiides, great Obligations are what Su- periors cannot bear, they are more than can be returned; to acknowledge were only to reproach themfelves with Ingra- titude, and therefore the readicft Way is, not to own, but overlook them, or rather, as too many do, to repay them with Atfronts and Injuries. What. then is to be done ? How mull a Man choofe, and what Qualities muft incline a Woman to accept, that fo our married upon Marriage. ^i married Couple may be as happy as that State can make them ? This is no hard Queftion; let the Soul be principally confider'd, and Regard had in the firft place to a good Underftanding, a ver- tuous Mind; and in all other refpcds let there be as much Equality as may be. If they are good Chriftians and of fuitable Tempers all will be well; but I fhould be ihrewdly tempted to fulped their Chriftianity who marry after any of thofe Ways we have been fpeaking of. I dare venture to fay, that they don't ad according to the Precepts of the Gofpel, they neither Ihew the Wif- dom of the Serpent, nor the Innocency of the Dove; they have neither fo much Government of themfelves, nor fo much i Charity for their Neighbours ; they neither take fuch Care not to fcandalize others, nor to avoid Temptations them- felves, are neither fo much above this World, nor fo alfcclcd \«ith the next, as they would certainly be, did theChri- ftian Religion operate in their Hearts, did they rightly underftand, andfincerely pradife 6i Reflections praflife it, or adcd i^ideed according to the Spirit of the Gofpel. But it is not enough to enter wifely into this State, Care muft be taken of our Conduct afterwards. A Woman will not want being admonilh'd of her Duty ; the Cuftom of the World, Oeco- nomy, every Thing almoft reminds her of it. Governors do not often fuffer their Subjects to forget Obedience through their want of demanding it ; perhaps Husbands are but too forward on this Occafion, and claim their Right oftner and more imperioufly than either Dis- cretion or good Manners will juftify, and might have both a more chearful and conftant Obedience paid them if they were not fo rigorous in exading it. For there is a mutual Stipulation, and Love, Honour, and Worlhip, by which certainly Civility and Refped at leaft are meant, are as much the Woman's Due, as Love, Honour and Obedience are the Man's. And being the Woman is faid to be the weaker Veflel, the Man ftiould ' upon Marriage. (,-> fiiould be more careful not to grieve or offend her. Since her Rcafon is fuppos'd to be lels, and her Paffions ftronger than his, he fhould not give Occafion to call that Suppofition in Qiieftion by his pet- tifh Carriage and needlefs Provocations. Since he is the Maif^ by which very word Cuftom would have us underftand not only greateft Strength of Body, but even greateft Firmnefs and Force of Mind, he Ihould not play the little Ma^ fler fo much as to exped to be cocker'd, nor run over to that Side which the Wo- man us'd to be rank'd in ; for, accord- ing to the Wifdom of the Italians^ Will you? Is J poke n to Jtck Folks. Indeed Subjection, according to the common Notion of it, is not over eafy ; none of us, whether Men or Women, but have fo good an Opinion of our own Conduct, as to believe we are fit, if not to direct others, at leaft to govern our lelves. Nothing but a found Under- ftanding, and Grace, the beft Improver of Natural Reafon, can corred this Opi- nion, (5^ Reflections nion, truly humble us, and heartily re- concile us to Obedience. This bitter Cup therefore ought to be fweetned as much as may be ; for Authority may be preferv'd and Government kept invio- lable, without that naufeous Oftentation of Power, which ferves to no End or Purpofe, but to blow up the Pride and Vanity of thofe who have it, and to ex- afperate the Spirits of fuch as muft truc- kle under it. Insolence is never the EfFed of Power but in weak and cowardly Spi- rits, who wanting true Merit and Judg- ment to fupport themfelves in that Ad- vantageous Ground on which they ftand, are ever appealing to their Authority, and making; a Shew of it to maintain their Vanity and Pride. A truly great Mind, and fuch as is fit to Govern, tho' it may ftand on its Right with its Equals, and modeftly exped what is due to it even from its Superiors, yet it never con- tends with its Inferiors, nor makes uie of its Superiority but to do them Good. So upon Marriage. 6^ So that confidering the juft Dignity of Man, his great Wifdom {o confpicuous on all Occafions ! the Goodnefs of hi3 Temper, and Realbnablenefs of all his Commands, which make it a Woman's Intereft as well as Duty to be obfervant and obedient in all Things ; that his Pre- rogative is fettled by an undoubted Right and the Prefcription of many Ages ; it cannot be fuppos'd, that he fhould make frequent and inlblent Claims of an Au- thority fo well eftablifh'd and us'd with fuch Moderation, nor give an impartial By-ftander (could fuch an one be found) any Occafion from thence to fufped that he is inwardly confcious of the Badnels of his Title \ Ufurpers being always moft defirous of Recognitions, and bufy in impofing Oaths, whereas a Lawful Prince contents himfelf with the ufual Methods and Securities. And fince Power does naturally pufF up, and he who finds himfelf exalted, feldom fails to think he ought to be ib^ it is more fuitable to a Man's Wifdom F and 66 Reflections and Generofity, to be mindful of his great Obligations, than to infift on his Rights and Prerogatives. Sweetnefs of Temper and an obliging Carriage are fo jiiftly due to a Wife, that a Husband who muft not be thought to want cither Underftanding to l^now what is fit, nor Goodnefs to perform it, can't be fup- pos'd not to fhew them. For fetting afide the Hazard of her Perfonto keep up his Name and Family, with all the Pains and Trouble that attend it, which may well be thought great enough to deferve all the Relped and Kindnefs that may be 5 fetting this afide, though 'tis very confiderable, a Woman has ib much the Difadvantage in moff^ I was about to fay, in all Things, that fhe makes a Man the greateft Compliment in the World when fhe condefcends to take him for Better for Worfe. She puts her felf in- tirely in his Power, leaves all that is dear to her, her Friends and Family, to efpoufe his Interefts and follow his For- tune, and makes it herBufinefsand Duty to pleafe him ! W^hat Acknowledgments, what upon Marriage. 67 what Returns can he make ? What Gra- titude can be fufficient for fuch Obliga- tions? She ftiews her good Opinion of him by the great Truil: Ihc repoles in him, and what a Brute muft he be who betrays that Truft, or ads any way un- worthy of it ? Ingratitude is one of the bafeft Vices, and if a Man's Soul is funk fo low as to be guilty of it towards her who has {b gcneroufly oblig'd him, and who fo intirely depends on him, if he can treat her difrefpedfully, who has fo fully tellified her Efteem of him, Ihe muft have a Stock of \ ertue which he fhould blufh to difcern, if fhe can pay him that Obedience of which he is fo Unworthy. Superiors indeed are too apt to for- get the common Privileges of iMankind ; that their Inferiors Ihare with them the greateft Benefits, and are as capable as themfelves of enjoying the fupremeGood; that though the Order of the World re- quires an Outward Refped and Obedi- ence from fome to others, yet the iMind F 2 is 68 Reflections is free, nothing but Reafon can oblige it, 'tis out of the Reach of the moft ab- folute Tyrant. Nor will it ever be well either with thofe who Rule or thofe in Subjedion, even from the Throne to every private Family, till thofe in Au- thority look on themfelves as plac'd in that Station for the Good and Improve- ment of their Subjeds, and not for their own Sakes ; not as the Reward of their Merit, or that they may profecute their own Defires and fulfil all their Pleafure, but as the Reprefentatives of God, whom they ought to imitate in the Juftice and Equity of their Laws, in doing Good and communicating Bleilings to all be- neath them : By which, and not by fol- lowing the imperious Didates of their own Will, they become truly Great and Illuftrious, and worthily fill their Place, And the Governed for their Part, ceafing to envy the Pomp and Name of Autho- rity, fhould refpecl their Governors as placed in G o d's ftead, and contribute what they can to eafe them of their real Cares, by a chearful and ready Com- pliance, upon Marriage. 69 pliance, with their good Endeavours, and by affording them the Pleafure of Succefs in fuch noble and generous De- figns. For, upon a due Eftimate, Things arc pretty equally divided ; thofe in Sub- jedion, as they have a lefs Glorious, fb they have an eafier Task and a lefs Ac- count to give ; Whereas he who Com- mands, has in a great meafure the Faults of others to anfwer for as well as his own. 'Tis true, he has the Pleafure of doing more Good than a private- Peribn can, and fhall receive the Reward of it when Time fhall be no more, in Compenfation for the Hazards he runs, the Difficulties he at prefent encounters, and the large Account he is to make hereafter. Which Pleafure and Reward are highly defira- ble, and mofl worthy our Purfuit • but they are Motives which fuch as Ufurp on their Governors, and make them un- eafy in the due Difcharge of their Duty, never propofe. As for thofe other little Things that move their Envy and Am- F 3 bition, ^o Reflections bition, they are of no Efteeni with a juft Confiderer, nor will fuch as violently purfue, find their Account in them. But how can a Man refpe^t his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex ? When from his own Elevation he looks down on them as void of Underftanding, full of Igno- rance and Paflion, fo that Folly and a W^oman are equivalent Terms with him? Can he think there is any Gratitude due to her whofe utmoft Services he exacts as ftrid Duty ? Becaufe ftie was made to be a Slave to his Will, and has no higher End than to Serve and Obey him ? Perhaps we arrogate too much to our felves, when we fay this Material World was made for our Sakes : That its Glorious Maker has given us the Ufe of it is certain ^ but when we fuppofe any Thing to be made purely for our Sakes, becaufe we have Dominion over it, we draw a falfe Conclufion. As he who Ihould fay the People were made for the Prince who is fet over them, would Zip07t Marriage. 71 would be thought to be out of his Sen- fes as well as his Politicks. Yet even allowing that God, who made every Thing in Number, Weight and Mea- fure, who never ads but for fome great and glorious End, an End agreeable to His Majefty ; allowing that He created fucha Number of Rational Spirits mere- ly to ferve their Fellow Creatures, yet how are thele Lords and Mafters help'd by the Contempt they fhew of their poor humble VafFals ? Is it not rather an Hin- drance to that Service they expect, as being an undeniable and conftant Proof how unworthy they are to receive it ? None of God*s Creatures, ablblutely confider'd, are in their own Nature con- temptible y the meaneft Fly, the pooreft Infecl has its Ufe and Yertue. Contempt is fcarce a Human Paflion, one may ven- ture to fay it was not in innocent Man, for till Sin came into the World, there was nothing in it to be contemned. But Pride, which makes every Thing fcrve its Purpofes, wrefted this Paffion from F 4 hs 72 Reflections its only Ufc, fo that inftead of being aii Antidote againft Sin, it is become a grand Promoter of it, nothing making us more worthy of that Contempt we ftiew, than when, poor, weak, dependent Crea- tures as we are !' we look down with Scorn and Difdain on others. There is not afurerSign of a noble Mind, a Mind very far advanced to- wards Perfection, than the being able to bear Contempt and an unjuft Treatment from one's Superiors evenly and patient- ly. For inward Worth and real Excel- lency are the true Ground of Superiori- ty, and one Perfon is not in reality bet- ter than another, but as he is more Wife and Good. But this World being a Place of Trial, and governed by gene- ral Laws, juft Retributions being re- ferv'd for hereafter, Refped and Obe- dience many times become due for Or- der's fake, to thofe who don't otherwife deferve them. Now tho' Humility keeps us from over-valuing our felves or view- ing our Merit through a falfe and m^ag- nifyin« upon Marriage. 7j nifying Mediim^ yet it does not put out our Eyes, it does not, it ought not to deprive us of that plcafing Sentiment which attends our Ading as wc ought to Ad:, which is, as it were, a Forctafteof Heaven, our prelent Reward for doing what is juft and iit. ' And when a Su- perior does a mean and unjuft thing, as all Contempt of one's Neighbour is, and yet this does not provoke his Inferiors to refufc that Obfervance which their Stations in the World require, they cannot but have an inward Senfe of their own real Superiority, the other having no Pretence to it, at the fame Time that they pay him an outward Refped and Deference, which is fuch a flagrant Te- ftimony of the fincereft Love of Order, as proves their Souls to be of the highcft and nobleft Rank. A Man therefore for his own fake, and to give Evidence that he has a Right to thofe Prerogatives he affumes, Ihould treat Women with a little more Huma- nity and Regard than is ufually paid them. f4 Reflections them. Your whifling Wits may fcofFat them, and what then? It matters not, for they rally every Thing though ever fo facred, and rail at the Women com- monly in very good Company. Reli- gion, its Priefts, and thofe its moft con- ftant and regular Profeflbrs, are the ufual Subjects of their manly, mannerly and furprizing Jefts. Surprizing indeed ! not for the Newnefs of the Thought, the Brightnefs of the Fancy, or Noblenefs of Expreflion, but for the good Affurance with which fuch Thread-bare Jefts are again and again repeated. But that your grave Dons, your learned Men, and, which is more, your Men of Senfe, as they would be thought, Ihould ftoop fo low as to make Invectives againft the Women, forget themfelves fo much as to jeft with their Slaves, who have nei- ther Liberty, nor Ingenuity to make Reprizals ^ that they Ihould wafte their Time, and debafe their good Senle, which fits them for the moft weighty Affairs, fuch as are fuitable to their pro- found Wifdom and exalted Underftand- ingsl upon Marriage. f5 Jng5 ! to render thofe poor Wretches, more ridiculous and odious who are al- ready in their Opinion fufficiently con-, temptible, and find no better Exercife of their Wit and Satire, than fuch as are not worth their Pains, though it were poiTible to Reform them, this, this in-, deed may juftiy be wondrcd at ! I Know not whether or no Women are allow'd to have Souls ; if they have, perhaps it is not prudent to provoke them too much, left, filly as they are, they at laft recriminate, and then what polite ^nd well-bred Gentleman, though him- felf is conccrn'd, can forbear taking that lawful Pleafure, which all who under- ftand Raillery muft taftc, when they find his Jefts who infolently began to peck at his Neighbour, rcturn'd with Intereft upon his own Head ? And in- deed Men are too Humane, too Wife, to venture at i^, did they not hope for this EfFcd, and expect the Pleafure of finding their Wit turn to fuch Account : For if it be lawful to pry into a Secret, this yd Reflections this is, without doubt, the whole Dc- figa of thofe fine Difcourfes which have been made againft the Women from our great Fore-Fathers to this prefent Time \ Generous Man has too much Bravery, he is too Juil and too Good to affault a de- fencelefs Enemy, and if he d d inveigh againft the Women, it was only to do them Service ! For fince neither his Care of their Education, his hearty Endea- vours to improve their Minds, his whole- fome Precepts, nor great Example could do them good, as his laft and kindeft Ef- fay, he refolv'd to try what Contempt would do, and chofe rather to expofe himfelf by a feeming Want of Juftice, Equity, Ingenuity and Good-nature, than fufFer Women to remain fuch vain and infignificant Creatures as they have hitherto been reckoned ; and truly, Wo- men are fome Degrees beneath what I have thus far thought them, if they do not make the beft Ufe of his Kindnefs, improve themfelves, and, like Chriftians, return it. Let upon Marriage. 27 Let us fee then what is their Part, what miift they do to make the Matri- monial Yoke tolerable to themfelves as well as pleafing to their Lords and Ma- ilers ? That the World is an empty and deceitfiil Thing, that 'thole Enjoyments which appear'd fo defirable at a Diftance, which rais'd our Hopes and Expectations to fiich a mighty Pitch, which we lb paffionately coveted, and fo eagerly pur- fued, vanifh at our lirft Approach, leav- ing nothing behind them but the Folly of Delufion, and the Pain of difappoint- ed Hopes, is a common Outcry ^ and yet, as common as it is, though we com- plain of being deceived this Inftant, we do not fail of contributing to the Cheat the very next. Though in reality it is not the World that abufes us, 'tis we abufe our felves; it is not the Emptinels of That, but our own falfe Judgments, our unreafonable Defires and Expeda- tions that torment us ; for he who ex- erts his whole Strength to lift a Straw, ought not to complain of the Burden, but ^8 Reflections but of his own difproportionate Endea- vour which gives him the Pain he feels. The World affords us all the Pleafurc a found Judgment can cxpeft from it, and anfwers all thofe Ends and Purpofes for which it was defign'd ; let us exped no more than is reafonable, and then we Ihall not fail of our ExpedationSi I T is even fo in the Cafe befbi^e us • a Woman who has been taught to think Marriage her only Preferment, the Sum- Total of her Endeavours, the Comple- tion of all her Hopes, that which muft fettle and make her Happy in this World, and very few, in their Youth efpecially, carry a Thought fteadily to a greater Diftance s, She who has feen a Lover dying at her Feet, and can't therefore imagine that he who profelTes to receive all his Happinefs from her, can have any other Defign or Defire than to pleaie her ^ whofe Eyes have been dazled with all the Glitter and Pomp of a Wedding, and, who hears of nothing but Joy and Congratulation j t who tipon Marriage. 7p who is tranfported with the Pleafure of being out of Pupillage, and Miftrefs not only of her felf, but of a Family too : She who is either fo fimple or fo vain> as to take her Lover at his Word, either as to the Praifes he gave her, or the Promifes he made for himfelf ; in fum, fhe whofe Expe for who can judge of her Happinefs but her felf? And whilft our Hearts arc violently fct upon any thing, there is no convincing us that we fhall ever be of another Mind. Our Paffions want no Advocates, they are always furnifh'd with plaufible Pretences, and thofe very Prejudices, which gave rife to this un- leafonable Paffion, will for certain give her Obftinacy enough to juftify and con- tinue in it. Befides, Ibme are fo ill ad- vis'd as to think to fupport one Indif- cretion ^ upon Marriage* ^^ cretion with another ; they would not have it thought they have made a falfe Step, in once giving Countenance to that which is not fit to be continued. Or perhaps the Lady might be willing enough to throw off the Intruder at firft, but wanted Courage to get above the Fear of his Calumnies, and the longer file fuffers him to buz about her, fhe will find ft the harder to get rid of his Im- portunities. By all which it appears, that fhe who really intends to be fecure, muft keep at the greateft Diftance from Danger, fhe muft not grant the lea/i In- dulgence, where fuch ill Ufes will be made of it. And fince the Cafe is fo. That Wo- man can never be in Safety who allows a Man Opportunity to betray her. Fre- quent Converfation does for certain pro- duce either Averfion or Liking, and when 'tis once come to Liking, it de- pends on the Man's Generofity not to improve it farther, and where can one find an Liftance that this is any Security ? H 1 There loo Reflections There are very many indeed which fhew it is none. How fenfible foever a Woman may appear of another's Indif- cretion, if Ihe will tread in the fame Steps, though but for a little Way, ftie gives us no Affurance that fhe will not fall into the fame Folly ; fhe may per- haps intend very well, but fhe puts it paft her Power to fulfil her good Inten- tions. Even thofe who have forfeited their Difcretion, the moft valuable Jewel next to their Vertue, and without which Vertue it felf is but very weak and faint, 'tis like, were once as well refolv'd as file j they had the very fame Thoughts, they made the fame Apologies, and their Refentment would have been every whit as great againft thofe who could have imagined they Ihould fo far forget them- felves. It were endlefs to reckon up the di- vers Stratagems Men ufe to catch their Prey, their difTerent Ways of infinuating, which vary with Circumftances, and the Lady's Temper, but how unfairly, how bafely upon Marriage. i oi bafely foever they proceed, when the Prey is once caught, it paflcs for lawful Prize, and other Men having the fame Hopes and Projeds, fee nothing to find Fault with, but that it was not their own good Fortune. They may exclaim againft it perhaps in a Lady's Hearing, but it is only to keep themfelves from being fufpeded, and to give the better Colour to their own Defigns. Some- times a Woman is cajol'd, and fometimcs hedor'd, fhe is fcduc'd to love a Man, or aw'd into a Fear of him : He defends her Honour againft another, or affumes the Power of blafting it himfelf; was willing to pais for one of no Confe- quence till he could make himfelf con- fiderable at her Coft. He might be ad- mitted at firft to be her Jejij but he carries on the Humour iJo far till he makes her his ^ he will either entertain or fcrve her as Occafion offers, and ibme Way or other gets himfelf intrufted with her Fortune, her Fame, or her Soul. Allow him but a frequent and free Gon- vcrlation, and there's no manner of Qiie- H 3 ftion loi Reflections ilion but that his Ingenuity and Appli- cation, will, at one Time or other, get the Afcendant over her. And generally the more humble and undefigning a Man appears, the more improbable it looks that he fhould dare to pretend, the greater Caution ftiould be us*d againft him. A bold Addrefs and good Aflurance may fbmetimcs, but does not always, take. To a Woman of Senfe an artificial Modefty and Humility is a thoufand times more dangerous, for he only draws back to receive the more Encouragement, and flie regards not what Advances fhe makes towards him, who feems to underftand himfelf and the World fo well as to be incapable of ma- king an ill Ufe of them. Would it not be unreafonable, and a Piece of Ill- breeding, to be fhy of him who has no Pretenfions, or only fuch as are Juft and Modeft ? What Hurt in a Vifit ? Or what if yifits grow a little more frequent ? The Man has fb much Difcernment, as to relifh her Wit and Humour^ and can ihe upon Marriage. 103 (he do lefs than be Partial to him who is fo Jiift to her ? He ftrives to pleafe and to render himfelf agreeable, or ne- ceflary, perhaps, and whoever will make it his Bufmefs, may find Ways enough to do it. For they know but little of Human Nature, they never confulted their own Hearts, who are not fenfible what Advances a well-manag'd Flattery makes, efpecially fromaPerfon ofwhoie Wit and Senie one has a good Opinion. His Wit at firft recommends his Flat- teries, and thefe, in Requital, fet off his Wit ; and fhe who has been us'd to this high-feafon'd Diet, will fcarce ever relilh another Converfation. H A v I K G got thus far, to be fure he is not wanting to his good Fortune, but drives on to an Intimacy, or what they are pleas'd, now a-days, though very unjuftly, to call a Friendfhip ; all is fafe under this facred Charader, which fets them above little Aims and mean Dc- figns. A Characler that mult be con- duded with the niceft Honour, allows H 4 the I ©4 Reflections the greatcft Trufts, leads to the higheft Improvements, is attended with the pureft Pleafures and moft rational Satisfadlion* And what if the malicious World, en- vious of his Happinefs, fhould take Of- fence at it, fince he has taken all due Precautions, fuch unjiift and ill-natur'd Cenfures are not to be regarded ; for his Part the Diftance that is between them checks all afpiring Defires, but her Con- verfation is what he muft not, cannot want : Life is infipid, and not to be en- dur'd without itj and he is too much the Lady's Friend, has too juft a Value for her, to entertain a Thought to her Difadvantage. Now if once it is come to this, God help the poor Woman ! for not much Service can be done her by any of her Friends on Earth. That Pretender, to be fure, will be the Darling, he will worm out every other Perfon, though ever fo kind and dilinterefted. For tho' true Friends will endeavour to pleafe in prdpr to ferve, their Gomplaifance never ? goes ) -' upon Marriage. loy goes fb far as to prove injurious ; the beloved Fault is what they chiefly ftrike at, and this the Flatterer always fooths \ fo that at laft he becomes the moft ac- ceptable Company, and they who are confcious of their own Integrity, are not apt to bear fuch an unjuft Diftindion, nor is it by this Time to any Purpofe to remonftrate the Danger of fuch an In- timacy. When a Man, and for certain much more when a Woman, is fallen in- to this Toil, that is, when either have been lb unwary and indifcreet as to let another find out by what Artifices he may manage their Self-love, and draw it over to his Party, 'tis too late for any- one who is really their Friend, to break the Snare and difabufe them. Neither Sex cares to deny them- felves that which pleafes, efpecially when they think they may innocently indulge it ; and nothing pleafes more than the being Admir'd and Humour'd. We may be told of the Danger, and (hewn the Fall of others, but though their \o6 Reflections their Misfortunes arc ever fo often of fo lively reprefented to us, we are all fo well aflur'd of our own good Condud, as to believe it will bring us fafe off thofe Rocks on which others have been Shipwrecked. We fuppofe it in our Power to fhorten the Line of our Li- berty whenever we think fit, not con- fidering that the farther we run, we fhall be the more unwilling to retreat, and unable to judge when a Retreat is necef- fary. A Woman does not know that ihe is more than half loft when fhe ad- mits of thefe Suggeftions ; that thofe Ar- guments ftie brings for continuing a Man's Converfation, prove only that Ihe ought to have quitted it fooner^ that Liking infenfibly converts to Love, and that when Ihe admits a Man to be her Friend, 'tis his Fault if he does not make ^limfelf her Husband. And if Men, even the Modefteftand the Beft, are only in purfuit of their own Defigns, when they pretend to do the Lady Service • if the Honour they \v0ui4 I upon Marriage, lo;^ would feem to do her, tends only to lead her into an imprudent, and therefore a diftionourable A(^ion ; and they have all that good Opinion of themfelves as to take every thing for Encouragement, Co that fhc who goes beyond a bare Ci- vility, though fhe meant no more than Refped, will find it interpreted a Favour, and made ill Ufe of, (for Favours, how innocent foever, never turn to a Lady's Advantage) what Shadow of a Pretence can a Woman have for admitting an In- timacy with a Man, whofc Principles are known to be Loofe, and his Pradices Licentious ? can fhe exped to be fafe with him who has ruin'd others, and by the very fame Methods he takes with her ? If an Intimacy with a Man of a fair Characler gives Offence, with a Man of an ill one, 'tis doubly and trebly fcandalous. And luppofe neither her Fortune nor Beauty can tempt him, he has his ill-natur'd Pleafure in deftroying that Vertue he will not pradife, or if that can't be done, in blafting the Re- putation of it at leaft, and in making the to8 Reflections the World believe he has made a Con- queft, though he has found a Foil. If the Man be the Woman's Inferior, bcfides all the Dangers formerly men- tioned, and thofejuft now taken Notice of, fhe gives fuch a Countenance to his Vices, as renders her in great meafure. Partaker in them ; and, it can fcarce be thought in fuch Circumftances, a Wo- man could like the Man if Ihe were not reconciled to his Faults. Is he her Equal, and no unfuitable Match, if his Defigns are fair, why don't they Marry, fince they are fo well pleased with each other's Converfation, which in this State only can be frequently and fafely al- low'd ? Is he her Better, and fhe hopes, by catching him, to make her Fortune, alas ! the poor Woman is neither ac- quainted with the World nor her felf ; fhe neither knows her own Weaknefs, nor his Treachery, and though he gives her ever fo much Encouragement to this vain Hope, 'tis only in order to ac-p coraplifh her Ruin. To be fure the mo^e upon Marriage. 109 more Freedom flie allows, the more ftie leflens his Efteem, and that*s not likely to increafe a real, though it may a pre- tended Kindnefs ; Ihe ought to fly, if file would have him purfue, the ftrideft Vertue and Referye being the only Way to fecure him. Religion and Reputation are fo fure a Guard, fuch a Security to poor dcfencelefs Woman, that whenever a Man has ill Defigns on her, he is fure to make a Breach into one or both of thefe, by endeavouring either to corrupt her Principles, to make her Icfs ftrid in De- votion, or to leffen her Value of a fair Reputation, and would perfuade her, that lefs than fhe imagines will fecure her as to the next World, and that not much Regard is to be given to the Cen- fures of this. Or if this be too bold at firfl, and will not pafs with her, he has another Way to make even her Love to Vertue contribute to its Ruin, by per- fuading her it never fhines as it ought, unlefs it is expos'd, and that fhe has no Reafon iio Reflections Reafbn to boaft of her Vertue unlefs flie has try*d it. An Opinion of the worft Gonfequence that may be, and the moft mifchievous to a Woman, becaufe it is calculated to feed her Vanity, and tends indeed to her utter Ruin. For, can it be fit to rufh into ' Temptations, when' we are taught every Day to pray againft them ? If the Trials of our Vertue render it illuftrious, 'tis fuch Trials as Heaven is pleased to fend us, not thofe of our own feeking. It holds true of both Sexes, that next to the Divine Grace a modeft Diftruft of thcmfelves is their beft Security, none being fo often and lb fhamcfully foil'd, as thofe who de- pend moft on their own Strength and Refolution. A s to the Opinion of the World, tho* one cannot fay 'tis always juft, yet ge- nerally it has a Foundation, great Re- gard is to be paid to it, and very good Ufe to be made of it. Others may be in Fault for pafling their Cenfures, but we certainly are fo, if we give them any the Icaft J >w upon Marriage: i i i leaft juft Occafion. And fince Reputa- tion is not only one of the Rewards of Vertue, that which always ought, and generally does attend it, but alfb a Guard againft Evil, an Inducement to Good, and a great Inllrument in the Hand of the Wife to promote the common Caufc of Vertue ^ the being Prodigal of the one, looks as if we fet no great Value on the other, and fhe who abandons her good Name, is not like to preferve her Innocence. A Woman therefore can never have too nice a Senfe of Honour, provided file does not prefer it before her Duty ; file can never be too careful to fecure her Charader, not only from the Sulpi- cion of a Crime, but even from the Shadow of an Indifcretion. 'Tis well worth her while to renounce the moft Entertaining, and, what fome perhaps, will call the moft Improving Company, rather than give the World a juft Occa- fion of Sufpicion or Cenfure. For be- fides the Injury that is done Religion, 2 which i 1 i Reflections which enjoins us to avoid the very Ap* pearance of Evil, and to do nothing but what is of good Report, flie puts her felf too much in a Man's Power, who will run fuch a Rifque for his Converfa- tion, and expreffes fuch a Value for him, as cannot fail of being made ufe of to do her a Mifchief. Preserve your Diftance then, keep out of the Reach of Danger, fly if you would be fafe, be fure to be always on the Referve, not fuch as is Morofe and AfFeded, but Modeft and Difcreet, your Caution cannot be too great, nor your Forefight reach too far ; there's nothing, or what is next to nothing, a little A- mufement and entertaining Converfation, loft by this, but all is hazarded by the other. A Man underftands his own Merit too well to lofe his Time in a Woman's Companyj were it not to di- vert himfelf at her Coft, to turn her in- to a Jcft, or fomething worfe. And where-ever you fee great Afliduities, when a Man infinuates into the Diverfions and Humours tipon Marriage. 1 1 j Humours of the Lady, liking and ad- miring whatever ihe does, though at the fame Time he feems to keep a due Di- ftance, or rather exceeds in the pro- foundeft Refped ; Rcfpe6l being all he dare at prefent pretend to : when a more than ordinary Deference is paid ; when fbmething particular appears in the Look and Addrefs, and fuch an Obfequioul^ nefs in every Action, as nothing could engage a Man to, who never forgets the Superiority of his Sex, but a Hope to be obfcrv'd in his Turn : Then, whatever the Inequality be, and how fenfible fo- ever he feems to be of it, the Man has for certain his Engines at work, the Mine is ready to be fprung on the firft Oppor- tunity, and 'tis well if it be not too late to prevent the poor Lady's Ruin, To wind up this Matter; If a Wo- man were duly principled, and taught to know the World, efpecially the true Sentiments that Men have of her, and the Traps they lay for her under i^Q -many gilded Compliments, and fuch % I feemingly »u Reflections feemingly great Refped, that Difgracc would be prevented which is brought upon too many Families; Women would Marry more difciectly , and demean themfelves better in a married State, than fomc People fay they do. The Foun- dation, indeed, ought to be laid deep and ftrong, fhc fhould be made a good Chriftian, and underftand why Ihe is fo, and then Ihe will be every thing elfe that is Good. Men need keep no Spies on a Woman's Conduct, need have no Fear of her Vertue, or fo much as of her Prudence and Caution, were but a due Senfe of true Honour and Vertue awa- ken'd in her; were her Reafon excited and prepared to confider the Sophiftry of thofe Temptations which would per- fuade her from her Duty ; and were ihe put in a way to know that it is both her Wifdom and Intereft to obferve it : fhe would then duly examine and weigh all the Circumftances, the Good and Evil of a married State, and not be furprized with unforefeen Inconveniencies, and •cither never confent to be a Wife, or mkicc upon A1!arriage. iiy inake a good one when fhe does. This would fhcw her what Human Nature /Vj as well as what it ought to be, and teach her not only what fhe may juftly expect, but what fhe muft be content with ; would enable her to cure fbme Faults, and patiently to illfFer what fhe cannot cure. Indeed nothing can alTure Obedi- ence, and render it what it ought to be, but the Confcience of Duty, the paying it for God's fake. Superiors don't right- ly underftand their own Intereft when they attempt to put out their Subjeds Eyes to keep them Obedient. A blind Obedience is what a Rational Creature fhould never pay, nor would fuch an one receive it, did he rightly underftand its Nature. For Human Adions are no otherwife valuable, than as they are con*. formable to Reafon ; but a blind Obe- dience is an Obeying without Reafon^ for ought wc know, againji it. God himfelf does not require our Obedience at this rate ; he lays before us the Good- J. a iiefs ii6 Reflections ncfs and Reafonablenefs of his Laws, and were there any thing in them whofe Equity we could not readily compre- hend, yet we have this clear and fuffi- cient Reafon, on which, to found our Obedience, that nothing but what's juft and fit, can be enjbin'd by a Juft, a Wife, and Gracious God; but this is a Realbn will never hold in relped of Mens Commands, unlefs they can prove themfelves Infallible, and confequently Impeccable too. It is therefore very much a Man's Intereft, that Women fliould be good Chriftians ; for in this, as in every other Inftance, he who does his Duty, finds his own Account in it. Duty and true In- tereft are one and the fame Thing, and he who thinks otherwife is to be pitied for being fo much in the Wrong : But what can be more the Duty of the Head> than to inftrud and improve thofe who are under Government ? She will freely leave him the quiet Dominion of this W^orld, whofe Thoughts and Expeda- y tions ^.iipon Marriage. 117 tions are plac'd on the next. A Profped of Heaven, and that only, will cure that Ambition which all generous Minds are fill'd with, not by taking it away, but by placing it on a right Objed. She will difcern a Time when her Sex Ihall be no Bar to the belt Employments, the higheft Honour ; a Time when that Di- ftindion, now fo much usM to her Pre- judice, fhall be no more ; but, provided file is not wanting to her felf, her Soul fhall fhine as bright as the greateft He- roe's. This is a true, and indeed, the only Confolation ; this makes her a fuffi- cient Compeniation for all the Negled and Contempt the ill-grounded Cuftoms of the World throw on her ; for all the Injuries brutal Power may do her, and is a fufficient Cordial to fupport her Spi- rits, be her Lot in this World what it may. But fome fagc Perfbns may, per- haps objcd, that were Women allow'd to improve themfelves, and not, amongft other Difcouragements, driven back by the I 3 wife Il8 Reflections wife Jefts and ScofFs that are put upon a Woman of Senfe or Learning, a Philofo- phical Lady, as fhc is call'd by way of Ridicule ; they would be too wife, and too good for the Men: I grant it, for vicious and foolifh Men. Nor is it to be wonder'd that He is afraid he Ihonld not be able to Govern them were their Underflandings improved, who is re- folv^d not to take too much Pains with his own. But thefe, 'tis to be hoped, are no very confiderable Number, the Foolifh at leaft j and therefore this is fo far from being an Argument againft Womens Improvement, that it is a ftrong ©ne for it, if we do but fuppofe the Men to be as capable of Improvement as the Women ; but much more, if, according to Tradition, we believe they have greater Capacities. This, if any thing, would flir them up to be what they ought, and not permit them to wafte their Time and abufe their Faculties in the Service of their irregular Appetites and unreafonable Defires, and fo let. poor contemptible Women, who have beei) ^..upon Marriage. 1 1^ h^zn their Slaves, excel them in all that is truly excellent. This would make them Blufh at employing an immortal Mind no better than in making Provi- fion for the Flefh to fulfil the Lulls thereof, fmce Women, by a wifer Con- dud, have brought themfelves to fuch a Reach of Thought, to fuch Exadnefs of Judgment, fuch Clearnefs and Strength of Rcafoiiing, fuch Purity and Elevation of Mind, fuch Command of their Pal- lions, fuch Regularity of Will and Af- fedion, and, in a Word, to fuch a Pitch of Perfection, as the Human Soul is ca- pable of attaining in this Life by the Grace of G o d ; fuch true Wifdom, fuch real Grcatnefs, as though it does not qualify them to make a Noife in this World, to found or overturn Empires, yet it qualifies them for what is infinite- ly better, a Kingdom that cannot be mov'd, an incorruptible Crown of Glory. Besides, it were ridiculous to fup- pofe, that a Woman, were Ihe ever fo much ,improv'd, could come near the I 4 topping 110 Reflections topping Genius of the Men, and there- fore why Ihoiild they envy or difcourage her ? Strength of^ Mind goes along with Strength of Body, and 'tis only forfome odd Accidents which Philofophers have not yet thought worth while to enquire into, that the fturdieft Porter is not the wifeft Man ! As therefore the Men have the Power in their Hands, fo there's no Difpute of their having the Brains to manage it I Can wc fuppofe there is fuch a Thing as good Judgment and Senfe Upon Earth, if it is not to be found among them: Do not they, generally Ipeaking, do all the great Adions and confiderable Bufinefs of this World, and leave that of the next to the Women? Their Subtlety in forming Cabals and laying deep Defigns, their Courage and Conduct in breaking through all Tyes, (acred and civil, to effecl them, not only advances them to the Poll: of Honour, and keeps them fccurely in it for twenty or thirty Years, but gets them a Name, and conveys it down to Pofterity for £oinc Hundreds j and who would look any upon Marriage. 121 any further ? Jiiftice and Injuftice are adminiftred by their Hands, Courts and Schools are filled with thefe Sages ; 'tis Men who difpute for Truth, as well as Men who argue againft it : Hiftories are writ by them ; they recount each other's great Exploits, and have always done fb. All famous Arts have their Original from Men, even from the Invention of Guns, to the Myftery of good Eating. And to fhew that nothing is beneath their Care, any more than above their Reach, they have brought Gamijig to an Art and Science, and a more Profit- able and Honourable one too, than any of thofe that us'd to be call'd Liberal! Indeed, what is it they can't perform, when they attempt it ? The Strength of their Brains Ihall be every whit as con- fpicuous at their Cups, as in a Senate-i Houfe, and, when theypleafe, they can make it pafs for as fure a Mark of Wif- dom, to drink deep, as to reafon pro- foundly ; a greater Proof of Courage, and confcquently of Underftanding, to dare the Vengeance of Heaven it felf, than 122 R E F L E C T I O N- S. than to ftand the Raillery of fome of the worft of their Fellow Creatures ! A G A I N, it may be faid, If a Wife's Cafe be as it is here reprefented, it is not good for a Woman to marry, and fo there's an End of Human Race. But this is no fair Confequence, for all that can juftly be inferr'd from hence, is, that a Woman has no mighty Obliga- tions to the Man who makes Love to her j file has no Reafon to be fond of being a Wife, or to reckon it a Piece of Preferment when fhe is taken to be a Man's Upper-Servant; it is no Advan- tage to her in this World j if rightly manag'd it may prove one as to the next. For ilie who marries purely to do good, to educate Souls for Heaven, who can be fo truly mortified as to lay afide her own Will and Defires, to pay fuch an intire Subniiflion for Life, to one whom fhe cannot be fure will al- ways deferve it, does certainly perform a more Herolck Ad:ion, than all the fa-? mous upon Marriage. 1 2 j mous Mafciiline Heroes can boaft of, ftie lufFers a continual Martyrdom to bring Glory to God, and Benefit to Mankind j which Confideration, indeed> may carry her through all Difficulties, I know not what elfe can, and engage her to Love him who proves perhaps fo much worfc than a Brute, as to make this Condition yet more grievous than it needed to be. She has need of a ftrong Reafon, of a truly Chriftian and well- temper'd Spirit, of all the Afliftance the beft Education can give her, and ought to have fome good Affurance of her own Firmnels and Vertue, who ventures on fuch a Trial ; and for this Realbn 'tis lels to be wonder'd at that Women marry off in hafle, for perhaps if they took Time to confider and reflccl upon it, they feldom would marry. T o conclude. Perhaps Tve faid more than moft Men will thank me forj I cannot help it, for how much Ibever I piay be their Friend and humble Ser- vant* 124 Reflection's vant, I am more a Friend to Truth. Truth is ftrong, and fome time or other will prevail ; nor is it for their Honour and therefore one would think not for their Intereft, to be partial to them- felves and unjuft to others. They may- fancy I have made fome Difcoveries, which, like Arcana Imperii^ ought to be kept fecret; but, in good earneft, I do them more Honour than to fuppofe their lawful Prerogatives need any mean Arts to flipport them. If they have ufurp^d, I love Juftice too much to wifh Succefs and Continuance to Ufurpations, which? though fubmitted to out of Prudence, and for Quietnefs fake, yet leave every- body free to regain their lawful Right whenever they have Power and Oppor- tunity. I don't fay that Tyranny ought^ but we find in Fati^ that it provokes the OpprefsM to throw off even a law- ful Yoke that fits too heavy : And if he who is freely eleded, after all his fair Promifes, and the fine Hopes he raised, prove-6 a Tyrant, the Confidcration that he upon Marriage. 125 he was one's own Choice, will not render one more Submiflive and Patient, but I fear, more Refradory. For though it is very unreafonable, yet we fee 'tis the Courfe of the World, not only to return Injury for Injury, but Crime for Crime ; both Parties indeed are Guilty, but the Aggreffors have a double Guilt, they have not only their own, but their Neighbour's Ruin to anfwer for. A s to the Female Reader, I hope fhe will allow I've endeavoured to do her Juftice ; not betray'd her Caufe as her Advocates ufually do, under Pretence of defending it. A Pradice too mean for any to be guilty of who have the leaft Stn^c of Honour, and who do anv more than meerly pretend to it. I think I have held the Balance even, and not being confcious of Partiality, I ask no Pardon for it. To plead for the Op- prefs'd, and to defend the Weak, feem'd to me a generous Undertaking ; for though it may be fecure, 'tis not al- wavs 11^ Reflections ways Honourable, to run over to the ftrongeft Party. And if Ihe infers from what has been faid, that Marriage is a very happy State for Men, if they think fit to make it fo ; that they govern the World, they have Prefcription on their Side ; Women are too weak to difpute it with them, therefore they, as all other Governors, are moft, if not only, ac- countable for what's amifs ; for whe- ther other Governments in their Origi- nal, were or were not confer'd accord- ing to the Merit of the Perfon, yet cer- tainly in this Cafe, if Heaven has ap- pointed the Man to govern, it has Qiia- lified him for it : So far I agree with her : But if fhe goes on to infer, that therefore, if a Man has not thefe Qua- lifications, where is his Right ? That if he mifemploys, he abufes it ? And if he abufes, according to modern Deduction, he forfeits it, I muft leave her there. A peaceable Woman, indeed, will not car- ry it fo far, fhe will neither queftion her Husband's Right, nor his Fitnefs to govern. upon M A R R I A G F. 1 2/ govern, but how? Not as an abfolute Lord and Mailer, with an arbitrary and tyrannical Sway, but as Reafon go- verns and conduds a Man, by propofing what is juft and fit. And the Man who ads according to that Wifdom he af- fumes, who would have that Superiority he pretends to, acknowledged juft, will receive no Injury by any thing that has been offered here. A Woman will value Him the more who is io wife and good, when Ihe dilcerns how much he excels the reft of his noble Sex j the lefs he re- quires, the more will he merit that Efteem and Deference, which thofc who are fo forward to exad, feem confcious; they don't deferve. So then the Man's Prerogative is not at all infring'd, whilft the Woman's Privileges are fecured ; and if any Woman think her felf injur'd, ftie has a Remedy in refer ve, which few Men will envy, or endeavour to rob her of, the Exercife and Improvement of her Vertue Here, and the Reward of it Hereafter. W K 5 >: 1x8 Reflections When I made thefe Reflexions, I was of Opinion, that the Cafe of married Women, in compariion of that of their Husbands, was not a little hard and un- equal. But as the World now goes, I am apt to think, thit a Husband is in no defirable Situation ; his Honour is in his Wife's keeping, and what Man of Honour can be fatisfied with the Con- duct which the Licentioufnefs of the Age not only permits, but would endeavour to authorize as a Part of good Breeding? And what makes his Cafe the worfe, he muft diflemble his Uneafinefs, ftifle his Refentments, and not dare to take the proper Methods of preventing and curing the Diforder. So great is our Corruption, that fuch as pretend to make a true Eftimate of Human Life, and very freely Satirize both Sexes for lefler Crimes, are not afham'd to recommend this, prefcribing a known Sin as a Cure for what is not abfo- I upon Marriage, up ablblutely unlawful in it felf, though very pernicious in its Confequences, when carried to Excefs. Not that I would in any manner apo- logize for Gamin'g, which, when carried to Excefs, is ruinous to both Sexes, efpecial- ly to Women ; who, when given to this Vice, difregard their Husbands, and Oeco- nomy, neglect the Education of their Children, fpend their Fortunes as much as they can, and, which is not the leail Inconveniency, when they lofe to Men more than they are able to pay, they give iheir Creditor Opportunity to make infolent Demands. But fure, any Huf^ band, who is not funk to the loweft Degree of Infamy, had rather his Wife ihould wafte his Money at .^ladrllle^ than Intrigue with a ColoneL If Sin yott ma ft (fays an admirable Author, whofe Panegyricks arc Satires, and his Satires Panegyricks) m take Nature for your Guides Love has fome foft Ex cafe to footh your Pride, K Can ijo Reflections Can wc read this excellent Advice of this very moral Satirift , without re- mcmbring what the Pfalmijl fays of fbme of his Cotemporaries ; When thou fawejl a I'hlef thou confe'ntedjl unto him^ and haft been Partaker with the Adultery ? For, fure of all other Thieves he is the moft criminal, who (under Pretence of Friendftiip, perhaps) robs a Man of his moft valued Effeds, deprives him of his Honour, and of the Quiet and Comfort of his Life. Nature and Love, as they, injurl- oufly to both, mifcall their brutal Appe- tite, are very different from what our Author would reprefent them. Variety by no Means anfwers the End of Na- ture in providing for Pofterity. And enough has been faid, to fhew, that fuch Profeflions of Love are moil abufive, and the Effed of their Paffion the moft out- rageous Injury that Hatred can produce: A Woman is never fo eftedually humble^ upon Marriage. 13 ais the Scripture elegantly exprefles it, than when a Man obtains his Defircs. And if Ihe confents, Ihe renders her felf defpicable in his Eyes as well as in the Eyes of others. Thus the Engltfo Mufe very truly fings : ** 7'hat wretched She, who yields to guilty " Joyu *' ^ Man 7nay Pity, hut he must Defpife^ Whoever makes a true Eftimate of Chriftianity, who does not profefs it, becaufe as yet, 'tis the Religion of his Country, or for his Interefl, or fome fuch worthy Motive ; but upon full Convidion of its Divine Authority^ which he cannot want if he examines impartially, as a Matter of this Confe- qucnce defer ves ; fuch a Man will find Chriftianity requires the ftrideft Purity of Heart and Imagination, fincc in the thickcft Darknefs our Thoughts, as well as our Actions, are manifeft to our Judge ^ and, that whoever looks upon a Wo- / K a man 12Z Reflections, &c, man to Lull after her, has committed Adultery with her already in his Heart. Horfes and Bulls ^ and all the J^rutal Kind, Kange oet the Field, to no one She confind, ^bey know not Love, for Love is in the Mind. S'hefe following Nature are exempt from Blame^ Unconfcious or of Guilt, Kemorfe and Shame. But Man, unhappy Man ! puts out his Light, Keafon for fakes, to follow Appetite. Sinks down to Brute, and labours hut in vain, S'o he like them, without Remorfe or Shame ^^ ^0 Guilt, inevitably follows Pain. No Deeds ofDarknefs are conceal* dhy Night,' He fees IVho dwells in everlafting Light, And ev^ry Thought is open to His Sight. APPEN- ( ■» ) APPENDIX. I H E Rejle^or^ who hopes Reff^tfor is not bad EngViJIh (now Governor is happily of the Feminine Gender) guard- ed againft Curiofity in vain : For a certain ingenuous Gentleman, as Ihe is informed, had the Good-nature to own thefc Refledions, fo far, as to affirm that he had the Original MS. in his Clofet, a Proof fhe is not able to produce • and fo to make himfelf rcfponfible for all their Faults, for which, fhe returns him ail due Acknowledgment. However, the Generality being of Opinion, that a Man would have had more Prudence and Manners than to have Publifh'd fuch K 3 unfca- »j4 APPENDIX. unfeafbnable Truths, or to have betray'd the Arcana Imperii of his Sex ^ flie hum- bly confeiTes, that the Contrivance and Execution ©f this Defign, which is un- fortunately accus'd of being fo deftru- dive to the Governmenty''(of the Men, I mean) is intirely her own. She nei- ther advis'd with Friends, nor turn'd over antient or modern Authors, nor prudently fubmitted to the Corredion of ^ fuch as are, or fuch as think they arc good Judges, but with an EngViJh Spirit and Genius, fet out upon the Forlorn Hope, meaning no Hiirt to any body, nor defigning any thing but the publick Good, and to retrieve, if poffible, the Native Liberty, the Rights and Privi- leges of the Subjed. F A R be it from her to ftir up Sedition of any fort : none can abhor it more ; and fhe heartily wifhes, that our Matters would pay their Civil and Ecclefiaftical Governors the fame Submiflion, which ihey themfelves exact from their Do- meftick APPENDIX. tj5 mcftick Subje£ls. Nor can fhe imagine how fhe any way undermines the Mas- culine Empire, or blows the Trumpet of Rebellion to the Moiety of Mankind. Is it by exhorting Women, not to ex- peft to have their own Will in any thing, but to be intirely Submiflive, when once they have made Choice of a Lord and Mafter, though he happen not to be fo wile, fo kind, or even fb juft a Governor as was expeded ? She did not, indeed, advife them to think his Folly Wifdom, nor his Brutality, that Love and Worfhip he promifed in his Matrimonial Oath ; for this re- quired a FHght of Wit and Senfe much above her poor Ability, and proper only to Mafculine Underftandings. However, fhe did not in any manner prompt them to Refift, or to Abdicate the Pcrjur'd Spoufe, though the Laws of God, and the Land, make fpecial Provifion for it, in a Cafe, wherein, as is to be fear'd, few Men can truly plead Not Guilty. K 4 *Tis 1^6 A P P E N D I X. 'Tis true, through want of Lcarn- i/ig, and of that Superior Genius which Men, as Men, lay claim to, Ihe was igno- rant of the Natural Inferiority of our Sex, which our Mailers lay down as a Self- evident and Fundamental Truth. She favv nothing in the Reafon of Things, to make this either a Principle or a Con- cluiion, but much to the contrary ; it being Sedition at Icaft, if not Treafon, to aflert it in this Reign. For if by the Natural Superiority of their Sex, they mean, that every Man is by Nature fu- perior to every Woman, which is the ob- vious Meaning, and that which muft be ftuck to if they would fpeak Senfe, it would be a Sin in any Woman, to have Dominion over any Man, and the great- eft Queen ought not to command, but to obey, her Footman : becaufe no Mu- nicipal Laws can fuperfede or change the Law of Nature : So that if the Do- minion of the Men be fuch, the SaUque Law, as unjuft as Engl/fh Men have ever thought it, ought to take Place over all the Appendix. 137 the Earth, and the moft glorious Reigns in the Enghjh^ Damjh^ Caft'dian, and other Annals, were wicked Violations of the Law of Nature ! If they mean that fome Men are fu- perior to Jonie Women, this is no great Difcovery ; had they turn'd the Tables, they might have feen ih.2Xfome Women are iuperior iofome Men. Or had they been pleafed to remember their Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, they might have known, that One Woman is fupe- rior to j4ll the Men in thefe Nations, or clfe they have fworn to very little Pur- pofe. And it muft not be fuppos'd, that their Reafbn and Religion would fufFcr them to take Oaths, contrary to the Law of Nature and Reafon of Things. By all which it appears, that our Re- fiedor's Ignorance is very pitiable ; it may be her Misfortune, but not her Clime, efpecially fince fhe is willing to be better informed, and hopes ihe fhall never 138 APPENDIX. never be fo obftinate as to fhut her Eyes againft the Light of Truth, which is not to be charged with Novelty, how late fbever we may be blcfs'd with the Dil^ covery. Nor can Error, be it as an- tient as it may, ever plead Prefcription againft Truth. And fincc the only way to remove all Doubts, to anfwer all Ob- jedions, and to give the Mind entire Satisfaction, is not by Affirmngy but by Provingy fo that every one may fee with their own Eyes, and judge according to the beft of their own Underftandings ; Ihe hopes it is no Prefumption to infift on this Natural Right of Judging for her felf, and the rather, becaufe by quitting it, we give up all the Means of Rational Convidion. Allow us then as many Glafles as you pleafe to help our Sight, and as many good Arguments as you can afford to convince our Under* Handings : But don't cxad of us, we be- feech you, to affirm that we fee fuch Things as are only the Difcovery of Men who have quicker Senfes ; or, that we underftand, and know what we have by APPENDIX. 139 Hear- fay only; for to be {o exceflively Complaifant, is neither to fee nor to nn- derftand. That the Cuftotn of the World, has put Women, generally fpeaking, into a State of Subjedion, is not denied ; but the Right can no more be prov'd from the Fad, than the Predominancy of Vice can juftify it. A certain great Man, has endeavour'd to prove, by Reafons not contemptible, that in the Original State of Things the Woman was the Superior, and that her Subjection to the Man is an Effed of the Fall, and the Punifhment of her Sin : And, that ingenious Theo- rift Mr. //7j///c;«, aflerts, That before the Fall there was a greater Equality between the two Sexes. However this be, 'tis certainly no Arrogance in a Wo- man to conclude, that (lie was made for the Service of God, and that this is her End. Becaufe God made all Things for Himfelf, and a rational Mind is too ^oble a Being to be made for the Sake and Service of any Creature. The Ser- vice 140 APPENDIX. vice fhe at any Time becomes obligM tO pay to a Man, is only a Bufinefs by the Bye, juft as it may be any Man's Bufinefs and Duty to keep Hogs; he was not Made for this, but if he Hires himfelf out to fuch an Employment, he ought confci* entioufly to perform it. Nor can any thing be concluded to the contrary from St. Paul's Argument, i Cor. xi. for he argues only for Decency and Order, ao* cording to the preient Cuftom and State of Things : Taking his Words ftridly and literally, they prove too much, in that, Praying and ^rophe eying in tht Church are allowed the Women, pro- vided they do it with their Head covered as well as the Men \ and no Inequality can be inferred from hence, neither from the Gradation the Apoftle there ufes, that the Head of every Man is Chrifi, and that the Head of the Woman is the Man, and the Head of Chriji is God ; it being evi- dent from the Form of Baptifin, that there is no natural Inferiority among the Divine Perfbns, but that they are in all Things Coequal. The Apoftle, indeed, adds, ! APPENDIX. 141 adds, that the Man is the Glory ofGoT>^ and the fVoman the Glory of the Mjh^ SCc. But what does he infer from hence ? ' He fays not a Word of Inequality, oir natural Inferiority ; but concludes, that a Woman ought to cover her Head, and a Man ought not to cover his, and that even Nature it J elf teaches us, that if a Mail have long Hair it is a Shame unto him. Whatever the Apo file's Argu- ment proves in this Place, nothing can be plainer, than that there is much more faid againft the prefent Fafhion of Mens wearing long Hair, than 'for that Supre- macy they lay claim to. For by all that appears in the Text, it is not fo much a Law of Nature, that Women fliould obey Men, as that Men fhould not wear long Hair. Now how can a Chriftian Nation allow Falhions contrary to the Law of Nature, forbidden by an Apo- ftle, and declared by him to be a Sliame to Men? Or if Cuftom may make an Alteration in one Cafe, it may in another, but what then becomes of the Nature and Reafon of Things? Befides, the Conclufion M APPENDIX. Conclufion the Apoftle draws from his Argument concerning Women, viz. that they Jhoiild have Power on their Head5\ lecaufe of the Angels^ is fo very obfcurc; a Text, that that ingenious Paraphraft, who pleads fo much for the Natural Subje^ion of Women, ingenuoufly con feffes, that he does not underftand it, Probably it refers to fome Cuftom amon the Corinthians y which being wel known to them, the Apoftle only hin at it, but which we arc ignorant of, an therefore apt to miftake him. 'Tis like] that the falfe Apoftle whom St. Paa^ writes againft, had led Captive fome their rich and powerful, but Jtlly Wb> men^ who having as mean an Opinio: of the Reafon God had given them, ai any Deceiver could defirc, did not, lik the noble-minded Bereans, fearch th Scriptures whether thoje things were Jo^ but lazily took up with having Men Perfons in admiration, and followed thei: Leaders blindfold, the certain Rout t Deftrudlion. And it is alfo probable that the fame cunning Seducer imploy'd thefc APPENDIX. 143 thefc Women to carry on his own Dcfigns, and putting them upon what he might not think lit to appear in himfelf, made them guilty of indecent Behaviour in the Church of Corinth. And therefore St. 'J^aul thought it neccffary to reprove them lb feverely, in order to humble them ; but this being done, he takes care in the Conclufion to fet the Matter on a right Foot, placing the two Sexes on a Level, to keep Men, as much as might be, from taking thofe Advantages which People who have Strength in their Hands, are apt to aflume over thofe who can't contend with them. For, fays he, iS/ ter, relieve the Poor to eafe their own Compaffions, read pious Books, fay their Prayers, and go to Church, becaufe they have been taught and us'd to do fo, without APPENDIX. 177 without being able to give a better Rca- fbn for their Faith and Pradice! Let them not by any means afpire at being Women of Underftanding, becaufe no Man can endure a Woman of Superior Scnfe, or would treat a reafonable Wo- man civilly, but that he thinks he ftands on higher Ground, and,- that ilie is ib wife as to make Exceptions in his Fa- vour, and to take her Mcafures by his Diredions ; they may pretend to Senfe, indeed, fince meer Pretences only render one the more ridiculous ! Let them, in fliort, be what is call'd very Women, for this is mofl acceptable to all Ibrts of Men- or let th^m aim at the Title of good devout Women, fince fome Men can bear with this ; but let them not judge of the Sex by their own Scantling: For the great Author of Nature and Foun- tain of all Perfection, never defignM that the Mean and Imperfed, but that the moft Compleat and Excellent of His Creatures in every Kind, fhould be the Standard to the reft. N To ,78 APPENDIX. T o conclude ; If that Great Queen who has fubdiied the Proud, and made the pretended Invincible more than once fly before her ; who has Refcued an Em- pire^ Reduced a Kingdom, Conquer'd Provinces in as little Time almoft as one can Travel them, and feems to have chained Victory to her Standard ; who difpofes of Crowns, gives Laws and Liberty to Europe, and is the chief In- ftrument in the Hand of the Almighty, to pull down and to fet up the great Men of the Earth ; who conquers every where for others, and no where for her felf but in the Hearts of the Conquer'd, who are of the Number of thofe who reap the Benefit of her Triumphs ; whilft ihe only reaps for her felf the Lawrels of difinterefted Glory, and the Royal Pleafure of doing Heroically j if this Glory of her own Sex, and Envy of the other, will not think we need, or does not hold us worthy of, the Pro- tedion of her ever vidorious Arms, and Men APPENDIX. 179 Men have not the Gratitude, for her fake at leaft, to do Jufticc to her Sex, who has been fuch a univerfal Bcnefadrefs to theirs : Adieu to the Liberties, not of this or that Nation or Region only, but of the Moiety of Mankind ! To all the great Things that Women might per- form, inlpir'd by her Example, encou- raged by her Smiles, and fupported by her Power ! To their Difcovery of new Worlds for the Excrcife of her Good- nefs, new Sciences to publifh her Fame, and reducing Nature it felf to a Sub- jedion to her Empire! To their deflroy- ing thofe worft of Tyrants Impiety and Immorality, which dare to ftalk about even in her own Dominions, and to de- vour Souls almoft within View of her Throne, leaving a Stench behind them Icarce to be correded even by the In- cenfe of her Devotions ! To the Wo- men's tracing a new Path to Honour, in which none fhall walk but fuch as fcorn to Cringe in order to Rife, and who are Proof both againft giving and N 2 receiving i8o APPENDIX. receiving Flattery I In a Word, to thofe Halcyon, or, if you will, Millennium Days, in which the Wolf and the Lamb fhall feed together, and a Tyrannous Domination, which Nature never meant, fhall no longer render ufclefs, if not hurtful, the Induftry and Underftand- ings of half Mankind! FINIS. BOOKS lately Trinted for, and Sold hy William Parker. at the King'5 Head in St, Paul's Church- Yard. FOLIO. A Compleat Hillory of Evgland, to the Death of ■"■ King iVilliavi IK. with Iar2;e Notes. Colleded by the late Biiliop Kennet. VVith the Effigies of all the Kings, from the Originals : Engraven by the bcft Maftei-s.' -x Vols. Tuifindorf^ Law of Nature and Nations \ in eight Books. Done into EngHjb by Bafd Kcnvet^ D. D. To which are added, all the large Notes by Mr. Barbeyrac. TheFourdi Edition, carefully correcfted. Guillims Difplay of Heraldry : The iixth Edition, improv'di with large Additions of many hundred Coats of Arms, under their refpe6live Bearings; with good Audiorities from the Ajhvioleaii Library, Sir George Macken7.te^ c^-c. The Natural Hiftory of Ncrthamptonjljire \ with fomc Account of the Antiquides. To which is an- ncx'd, A Tranfcript of Doomfday-Book, fo far as it re- lates to that County. By JoLvi Moreton, M. A. Rec- tor of Oxe?ido?i in the fame Coimty, and F. R. S. The Cambridge Concordance to the Holy Scrip- tures: Together with the Books of Apocrypha-^ and the various Readings bodi of Texts and iVl.irgin, in a more exa6t Method than has hitherto been extant. The fifth Edition, very accurately corrected. The Works of the famous Nicholas Machiavel) Citizen and Secretary of Florence ; newly and faith- fully Tranflared into Englijh. The Third Edition, carefully corrected. The Works of the moft' exemplary Chriftian Mr. IVilliam Allen-t conliiling of thirteen dilUnd Tra^s on Booh Sold Jj; W. Parke SL. on feveral Subjeds. With a Sermon preached at his Funeral by Bifhop Kidder : To which is prefix'd, a Preface concerning the Autlior and his Writings j by John Williams^ late Bifhop of Chichefter. ^U A R TO. Common-Place Book to the Bible. LittletoTi's Didionary. Religion of Nature delineated. Tour ?ief oris compleat Herbal, 39 Numbers, to be continued. Price i s. each. The Hiftory and Antiquities, Ecclefiaftical and Civil, of the Ille of Thanet in Kent. By J. Leivis, M. A. The Hiftory and Antiquities of the Abby and Church of Fever/ban? in Kent:, of the adjoining Priory of T>avhigton and Ma'rfon-Dieu of Ofpringe, and Parifh oiBoSion Suhtus le Bleyne^ &cc. By _/. Lewis, M. A- OCTAVO and TWELVES. An Anfwer to the DiOTenters Pleas for Separation : Or, an Abridgment of the London Cafes. Wherein the Subftance of ihofe Books is digefted into one fhort and plain Difcourfe. The 6th Edition. By Thomas Bennet, D. D. late Vicar of St. Giles\ Crip- plegate. Bifliop Bull's Sermons, with hJs Life. By Mr. Helfon., in 4 ^'^ols. The Book of Pfalms made Et for the Clofet ; with Colledls and Prayers out of the Liturgy of the Church of England, &c. particularly adapted, with Tides to each Pfalm. Dr. Comber'' s fliort Difcourfes upon the whole Common-Prayer, defigned to inform the Judgment, and excite the Devotion of luch as daily ufe the fame. The Fourth Edition. Civil Policy, a Trearife concerning the Nature of Government. Wherein the Reafons of the great Di- verfity to be obferved in the Cuftoms, Manners, and Ufages of Nations, arc Hiftoricallv explained, and Remarks made upon the Changes of our Englifh Confti- Books Sold hy W. ]? AtiKEK, Conftitutions, and the different Meafures of our fe- veral Kings. By a Dodtor of Phyfick. Bifhop CitmherlancTs Sajtchoniatbo's Phanician Hif- tory. — — Origines Gentium Aiitiquijttione : Or, At- tempts for Difcovering the Times of the firft Planting of Nations . In feveral Trails. N. B. Thefe two Pieces of Bifhop CumberJaiuT^-, con- tain a Confutation of the new Notion of Chrono- logy advanced by Sir Ifaac Kewtou. Drel'mcourfs Chriftian's Defence againft the Fears of Death ^ with fealbnable Direftions how to prepare our feh'es to Die well. The 12th Edition. A Defence of Dioccfin Epilcopacy, in Anfwer to a Book of Dr. David Clarkfonj lately publillied, intitu- led Frimitive Epifcopacy. By H. Maurice^ D. D. The Second Edition. Sir Joh>i F/tf^er's Treatife of the Afthma. -^d Edit. The Frauds of the RomiJJ} Monks and Priefts, fee forth in eight Letters. The 5th Edition. With Ob- fervations on a Journey to Naples: Wherein the Frauds of the Romijb Monks and Priefts are further difcovered. Lately written by a Gentleman in his Journey to Ifalyy and publiflicd for the Benefit of the Public k. 2 Vols. The Gentleman inftrufted in the Condud: of a vir- tuous and happy Life. In Three Parts. W^ritten for the Inftrudion of a young Nobleman. To which is added: A Word to the Ladies. By way of Supple- ment to the Firft Part. The Gardeners and Florifts Di^flionary : Or, A com- pleat Syftem of Hotticulrure. In 2 Vols. By Philip Miller J Gardener of the Botanick Garden at Chelfea. The genuine Ufe and Neccftity of the t^^'o Sacra- ments : Namely, Baptifm and the Lord's Supper ; without Obligations frequently to receive the latter. The Hiftoiy of E7?gland, faithfully extracted from authentick Records, approved Manufcripts, and the moft celebrated Hiftories of this Kingdom, in all Lan- guages, whether Ecclefiaftical or Civil, with the Effi- gc.5 of the Kings and Queens. 5th Edition. 2 Vols. Olyff's Pradical Expofition on the Church Cate- cliifm. 2 Vols. Lawful- Booh Sold by W. Parke r. Lav/fulnefi of Infant Baptifm improv'd from Scrip- ture: With the Right that the Infants of Chriftian Pa- rents have to be Baptized. Wherein alfo Mr, Gales Refledions on Dr. Walh Hiftory of Infant Baptifm are examined and refuted, fo far as they came in the Way of this Difcourfe j and all the Objedtions and Arguments of other Antipaedobaptifts, that are of any Weight, are taken off. By the Rev. Mr. Oweuy Vicar of Jford in SnJJex. Bilhop Potter's Dilcourfe of Church Government ; wherein the Rights of the Church, and the Supre- macy of Chi-iitian Princes are vindicated and ad_ jufted. Third Edition. Pious Communicant : Containing whatever is ne- ceffary to perfuade and prepare us for that and all other Duties of Devotion, and prevent all Scruples concerning them, (d^'c. Fatlier ^ef?iels Moral Reflexions upon every Verfe of the New Teftament, in order to make the Reading of it more profitable, and the Meditation more eafy. In four Vols. N. B. Thofe Gentlemen that have the Firft and Second Volumes, are deured fpeedUy to fend for the Third and Fourth, othei-wife they will find it difiicult to com pleat them, there not be- ing fo many Printed of the two laft as of the former Volumes. Reflexions upon Learning ; v,'herein is fnewn the Infufficiency thereof, in its feveral Particulars, in order to evince the Ufefulnefs and NeceiTity of Re- velation. The fixch Edition, By a Gentleman. The Scripture Do6trine of Chriffc's Divinity : or, The adorable Nature, voluntar}' Subjedion, and neceffary Supremacy of the Son of God, confider'd : In fix Sermons j preach'd on leveral Occafions. By Sam. yohnfon^ M. A. Vicar of Great Torringtoni Redior of Little Tvrrivgton. Where may be had Gratis-^ a Catalogue of Books (being Part of the Stock of two Bookfellers who have lately left off Trade) which are to be fold very cheap unbound till Michaelmas next, the Prices printed in the Catalogue afterward, at the former Prices, % Due :f' 392.5 A853S 440440 \