Son. Befide, the philofophers were in fome degree dark and doubtful in respect of death and futurity; and in relation to this world, there is not a power in their difcourses, to preferve us from being undone. by allurements, in the midft of plenty, and to fecure our peace against the cafualties of fortune, and the torments of disappointments; to fave us from the cares and follicitudes which attend upon large poffeffions, and give us us a mind capable of relishing the good things before us; to make us eafy and fatisfied as to the prefent, and render us fecure and void of fear as to the future. These things we learn from revelation, and are informed by the facred records only, that if we are placed here in the midft of many fears and forrows, and are often perplexed with evils in this world; yet they are fo many warnings not to fet up our reft here, but to keep a ftedfaft eye upon the things which God has prepared for those who love him. It is the gofpel informs us, there is another fcene prepared for the moral world, and that justice only waits to fee the full proof of the righteousness, or unrighteoufnefs of men: that that fcene will open with the judgment feat of Christ, and we shall either receive glory and immortality, if we have obeyed the calls of grace

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to virtue and holinefs; or, be doomed to the most dreadful miferies, if we reject the counsel of God, and live quite thoughtless of the great concerns of eternity. These confiderations made me prefer reveled religion, in the beginning of my rational life. The morality of the antient philofophers I admired. With delight I ftudied their writings, and received, I gratefully confefs, much improvement from them. But the religion of our bleffed Lord I declared for, and look on the promised Meffiah as the most confummate bleffing God could beftow, or man receive. God having raised up his Son Jefus, fent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities. And would men but hear and obey this life-giving Redeemer, his Gofpel would reftore reafon and religion to their rightful authority over mankind; and make all virtue, and true goodness, flourish in the earth.

8. But I muft obferve that, by the relireligion, gion of the New Teftament, I do not mean any of those modern fchemes of religion, which discover the evident marks and fignafures of superstition and enthusiasm, or of knavery and impofture; thofe fystems which even miracles cannot prove to be true, because the pieties are abfurd, inconfiftent and contradictory. The notions that are not cha

characterized by the reason of things, and the moral fitnefs of actions, I confidered as repugnant to the veracity, wisdom, and goodnefs of the Almighty, and concluded, that that only could be christian religion, which beared the visible marks and fignatures of benevolence, focial happiness, and moral fitness, and was brought down from heaven to instruct mankind in the worship of One eternal mind, and bring them to repentance, and amendment of life. This was the religion I found in my Bible. I faw with pleafure, as I thoughtfully went through the divine pages, that natural religion is the foundation and fupport of revelation; - fupplies the defects of nature, but never attempts to overthrow the established principles of it; -cafts new light upon the dictates of reason, but never overthrows them. Pure theifm, and Chrift the appointed Mediator, Advocate, and Judge, by a commiffion from God the Father, to me appeared to be the Gospel ;and the directions of the holy Spirit, to believe in one fupreme independent first cause, and worship in fpirit and truth this one God and Father of All, in the name of Chrift Jefus; as the difciples of the Meffiah; to copy after the life of our bleffed Saviour, and to the utmost of our abilities, obey all his commands.-This was the religion I found in the writings of the apoftles, and I then

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Cofmogra

phy and

maticks.

determined to regard only this Gospel-doctrine. 9. The manner of my ftudying CofmoMathe-graphy and Mathematicks is not worth fetting down, as there was nothing uncommon in it. In the one I only learned to distinguish climates, latitudes, and the four divifions of the world; the provinces, nations, kingdoms and republicks comprized therein, and to be able to discourse upon them: - And in the other, I went no further than to make myself a master of vulgar and decimal aríth metick, the doctrine of infinite feries, and the application of algebra, to the higher geometry of curves. Algebra I was charmed with, and found fo much pleasure in refolving its queftions, that I have often fat till morning at the engaging work, without a notion of its being day till I opened the shutters of my closet. I recommend this study in particular to young gentlemen, and am fatisfied, if they would but take fome pains at first to understand it, they would have fo great a relish for its operations, as to prefer them many an evening to the clamorous pleafures; or, at least, not be uneafy for being alone now and then, fince their algebra was with them.

Method of

History.

10. In reading history, (my last years prinreading cipal employment, during my refidence in college), I began with the best writers of antient history and ended with modern times, epochs, centuries, ages; the extent of em

pires, kingdoms, common-wealths; their progrefs, revolutions, changes and declenfions; the number, order, and qualities of the Princes, that have reigned over thofe ftates and kingdoms, their actions military and civil; the characters and actions of the great men that flourished under them; and the laws, the arts, learning and manners, I carefully marked down, and obferved not only how the first governments were formed, but what the progrefs was of industry and property, which be called the generative principle of empire.

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When I had done with antient History, I fat down to the best modern ftories I could get, and read of diftant nations before I began to ftudy my country's conftitution, history and laws. When I had finished the hiftories of France, and Spain, and Italy, and Germany, and many more, then I turned to Great-Britain, and in the first place took a view of the English conftitution and government, in the antient books of the common law, and fome more modern writers, who out of them have given an account of this government. From thence I proceeded to our Hiftory, and with it joined in every King's reign the laws then made. This gave me an infight into the reason of our ftatutes, and fhewed me the true ground upon which they came to be made, and what C

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