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prehensive Text, I fhall be as brief as possible in my Remarks.

I. PRUDENCE is the humane Effect of divine Wisdom. This comes from God, to dire& Man in that, as the firft River of the Fountain of all Duty; flowing with heavenly Gifts and Graces, into all the virtuous Actions upon Earth: as it is in Ecclef. Chap. i. Ver. 23. Wisdom raineth down Knowledge and wife Understanding, and bringeth to Honour, thofe that poffefs her in Truth. Cicero afferts, that a prudent Man cannot but be good of Courfe. The learned Socrates calls Prudence the Princefs of moral Virtues, teaching us the true Knowledge of our fupreme Good, the laft End of our Being, and the best Means of obtaining that Felicity. It does not only give us a perfect Idea of Good, but an exact Distinction of Evil. It is a Beam of the Sun; which not only inlightens our Understandings against Vice, but likewife warms our Affections into a Choice of Virtue, as willing as deliberate. The wife Bias compares it to the Sight among the Five Senfes, as the moft fubtile, piercing, and beautiful among all other Virtues for its Conduct and Direction. It is the beft Pilot in a Storm of Paffions. It can command the moft boisterous Sea into a Calm. It infures against all Ship-wrecks, by Memory, Understanding and Providence; the Three curious Eyes, by which Prudence views either Times or Things, past, present and to come, with the moft mature Deliberation. A prudent Man well remembers the First, injoys the Second, and forefees the Third, according to Ifocrates's Admonition. There is no, whe would have thought it, with him, as is affirm'd for a Folly by Demofthenes. Prudence appears

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1 in the Poffeffor of it, by the difcreet Government of his Perfon; whether of his good Manmers, and Conditions within, as Justice, Honour and Honesty: or his focial Practices and Tranfactions without the Body; as Sobriety of Diet, comely Entertainment, good Houfe-keeping, friendly Converfation, or commendable Ufe of his Substance and Riches. Thus he may foon become the wifeft King, Politician, or Oeconomift by difcerning good Things from bad; by neither giving, nor taking ill Counsel; by helping Innocency, and correcting Malice, according to the best Philofopher's Advice. He cannot alter his folid Mind through Praife or Difpraise, Fortune or Misfortune, Honour or Digrace. He can never be aftonish'd through Fear, difcourag'd through Violence, difturb'd through faise Accufations, prefs'd down with Sorrow, or pufft-up with Profperity.

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Changes, he abides conftant; in all Dangers, valiant; and in all Pleafures, abftemious, or Master of Himself. His Converfation gives Life to the Hearers, and charms them into Delight, as well as Attention. He is always pleasant in his Sports, facetious in his Difcourfe, and inftructive in his Diverfions. His very Laughter has the Power of exhilarating other People's Hearts. He can weep with Heraclitus, to lament; and laugh with Democritus, to ridicule the growing Vanities of the World. In fhort, this is the King of all Hearts; who can never be bewitch'd with Vice, nor wedded to fuch Witchcraft, as Rebellion against Heaven. Alexander the Great, always had this Saying of Homer's in his Mouth; In Counsel wife, and valiant in the Fight: taking Prowefs only for the Effect of a prince-like Prudence. He only com

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pell'd thofe he conquer'd to Happiness, under the benign Influences of his profperous Arms, A lawful Monarchy makes all People fo; if it was but univerfal! I leave Cafar to his own glorious Commentaries, who wrought more Exploits by this Virtue, than the Valour of his whole Army; whom his Whig-Enemy, Cicero, calls a Monster of Prudence, or a Prodigy of incredible Diligence: And for that very Reason, as well as other Arguments that might be alleg'd, no monarchical Writer ought to quote his Authority for any Government, but a CommonWealth. But I muft not be too prolix, or im-. prudent in the Application, while I ftudy Brevity.

II. SPEECH is a divine Work of great Admiration; in which Prudence appears almost as much as in any other Action of humane Life. It ought to proceed from the Mouth of Wisdom, as well as the Abundance of an understanding Heart. 'Tis a great Virtue to speak little and well, to the Purpofe. 'Tis Sacrilege to polute, or defile fo holy a Thing, with prophane, vile, or filthy Talk. St. Matthew puts it upon the Tryal of Life and Death, Chap. xii. Ver. 35, 36, 37. according to the good or bad Treafure of the Heart, condemning, or acquitting the Speaker. Plutarch calls Speech, comparatively, the Nourishment of the Soul, that is easily corrupted, and becomes odious by Wickedness, Immorality, or Prophanation. The holy Scripture is full of this Truth; as Prav. Chap. xvii. Ver. 27, 28. He that hath Knowledge, Spareth bis Words: and a Man of Understanding, is of an excellent Spirit. Even a Fool when he holdeth bis Peace, is counted wife: and he that Shutteth his Lips, is efteem'd a Man of Understanding. And Pet. Chap. iii. Ver. 10. If any Man long

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after Life, and love to fee good Days, let him refrain his Tongue from Evil, and his Lips that they peak no Guile. For every Man fhall eat of the Fruit of his Mouth, to Salvation, or to Condemnation. In fhort, the true Government of the Tongue, is one of the greatest Virtues; which can never be fubverted, but by the grossest Folly, Madness, or Indifcretion. The wonderful Formation of Speech, by the Vibrations of Air into Sound, fhould perfwade us to the Admiration of Wisdom. Themistocles compared it to rich Tapestry unfolded, difplaying the glorious Figures of Hiftory to the Eye, as this does the hidden Thoughts of the Mind to the Ear. Democritus call'd Words, the Shadow of Works. Socrates faid, they were the vifible Similitudes, and lively Images of the Soul, in Expreffion. The Force and Efficacy of fine Speaking, is wonderful in the Hearers. Nothing can be more perfwafive than Oratory. Every Word that a Man fpeaks, ought to be a Law, not a Lie. Lying is the greatest Difgrace of the Gift. It betrays the Faculty into Difcredit and Unbelief. Philofophy is a Profeffion of ferious, grave, and weighty Matters; which excludes all frivolous Tittle-Tattle, trifling Banter, or vain Babbling. Agapetus compares the Tongue to a mufical Inftrument; which, if well manag'd, will play us a Tune, with all the Concords of a true Harmony of Virtue. Vocally confider'd, it will fing us a Song of Wisdom, directed by a religious Underftanding. Speech, like Gold, is beft when it has the leaft Drofs. It ought to contain a great Deal of good Doctrine in a little Compafs. Laconical Sayings, fhort and fententious, are the most inftructive, without any Battology. A few

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fignificant Words of Wit, well-contriv'd, are the most agreeably grave, graceful, and comprehenfive of Edification. Philip of Macedonia, threat'ning once verbosely, if he enter'd Laconia, what he would do; was anfwer'd with an IF. A Monofyllable, fometimes, proves the propereft Reply. However, the gravest Discourse mix'd with a little innocent Mirth, delightful Sweetnefs, and gracious Eloquence, void of all Diffoluteness, is very edifying, as well as agreeable to the Hearing. The Graces and the Muses wifely met together, as Euripides fays, make the most harmonious Affembly. Good Examples alfo fitly apply'd, are very profitable for Inftrution. Likeness is fo perfwafive, that a great Part of humane Life confifts in Imitation. ftotle condemns Prating among eloquent Pleaders. Phocion told Leofthenes once, for a verbose Oration he made, that his Words were like CypressTrees, very big and lofty; but bear no Fruit. Plato calls Babblers Thieves of Time; and Flutarch compares them to empty Veffels, that have more Sound than Solidity, more Noife than Nourishment. But the Intemperance of the Tongue is the worst of All, according to Bias. A perpetual Clack is grating to the Ear, and difturbs the Brain. It fpoils all well-mix'd Converfation, by ingroffing all the Talk to it felf. The Duplicates of our Eyes and Ears, ought to inftruct us better; that we ought to hear and fee much more than we speak. Great Men, or Princes, of all others, fhould fpeak very little, because their Words are often taken for Laws, Oracles, and Decrees. Nothing ought to escape their Mouths, without good Deliberation, for Fear of being mistaken: which made Tiberius manage all his publick Affairs by Writing. Si

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