Superior, becomes Honour and Refpect, and fhews itself in a chearful Obedience and a willing Submiffion to the Commands of Authority: Love, with refpect to our Equals, is Friendship and Benevolence: Towards Inferiors 'tis Courtesy and Condefcenfion: If it regards the Happy and Profperous, 'tis Joy and Pleasure, which Envy cannot corrupt: If it looks towards the Miferable, 'tis Pity and Compaffion; 'tis a Tenderness which will discover itself in all the Acts of Mercy and Humanity.

In negative Duties this Principle is no less effectual than in pofitive. Love will not permit us to injure, opprefs, or offend our Brother: It will not give us leave to neglect our Betters, or to defpife our Inferiors: It will restrain every inordinate Paffion, and not fuffer us either to gratify our Envy at the Expence of our Neighbour's Credit and Reputation, or our Luft by violating his Wife or his Daughter; but it will preferve us harmlefs and innocent: For Love worketh no Ill to its Neighbour. This Deduction of particular Duties from this general Principle was made by St. Paul long fince: Owe no Man, fays he, any thing, but to love one another: For be that loveth another bath fulfilled the Law. For this, Thou shalt not commit Adultery, Thou shalt not

kill, Thou shalt not fleal, Thou shalt not bear falfe Witnefs, Thou shalt not covet: And, if there be any other Commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this Saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no Ill to his Neighbour: Therefore Love is the Fulfilling of the Law, Rom. xiii. 8, &c.

This Notion of Love, as being the Fulness of the Law, and of all the Commandments being comprehended in this Saying, Thou fhalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf, will lead us to the true and natural Interpretation of a Paffage in St. James, which as it is commonly understood, is liable to great Difficulties and Objections, and to those who have plain Senfe, and can follow it, muft appear abfurd: Whosoever, fays he, shall keep the whole Law, and offend in one Point, he is guilty of all, Chap. ii. Ver. 10. This is a Position something strange, that an Offence against one Law should be a Breach of all Laws, however different they are in Kind and Degree; that he who commits Adultery, for Inftance, should therefore be guilty of Murder and Robbery, and other the like heinous Offences (nothing related to the Sin of Adultery. But let us confider the Apoftle's Reafon in the next Verfe: For he that faid, Do not commit Adultery, faid alfo, Da

not

not kill. Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a Tranfgreffor of the Law. This Reason, as Interpreters commonly expound it, amounts to this: All Laws are founded upon one and the fame Authority of God; therefore every Offence against any Law is a Contempt of the Authority upon which all Laws depend; and therefore every Act of Difobedience is a Breach of the whole Law, because fubverfive of that Authority upon which the whole Law ftands. But there are many Objections against the Reason thus ftated: First, 'Tis liable evidently to all the Difficulties of the Stoic's Paradox, That all Offences are equal: For, if the Guilt of Sin depends, not upon the Nature and Circumftances of the finful Action, but upon the Authority of the Lawgiver, then every Sin, being an Offence against the fame Authority, is of the fame Guilt and Heinoufnefs; and there will be no Difference between killing your Neighbour and your Neighbour's Horfe; for he that has forbid you killing your Neighbour, has likewife forbid you doing any Act to the Hurt and Detriment of your Neighbour. Secondly, The Apoftle's Inference in the latter Part of the Verfe does not answer to the Principle laid down in the former Part:

He

He that faid, Do not commit Adultery, faid alfo, Do not kill. This is his Principle; and he infers, Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a Tranfgreffor of the Law: No doubt of it; because there is a Law against Murder as well as against Adultery. But what is this towards fhewing that the Breach of one Law is the Breach of all? The Inference therefore should have been upon this Foot: Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou are guilty of all the Laws by disobeying the Author of all Laws.

But this Paffage of St. James will have another Appearance, when fairly examined. In order to it, we must look back to that which gave occafion to it, and follow the Apostle's Argument step by step. The whole depends upon the Notion, which is common to the Writers of the New Testament, That Love is the fulfilling of the Law. St. James confiders the whole Duty of Man to Man as contained in one Law, namely, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself: And then he argues rightly, he who offends in one Point is guilty of the whole Law: For, whether it be Theft, or Murder, or Adultery, that you commit, it matters not; for any of these Crimes, is inconfiftent with the Law, which

contains

contains and is the whole, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf. But hear the Apostle's own Words: In the eighth Verse you read thus, If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf: ye do well: Where, Firft, you are to obferve, that he calls this the Royal Law, not because given by Christ the King, as fome tell us, for all Laws are in that Sense Royal Laws; but because 'tis the firft fupreme Law, from which all others proceed, as diftinct Branches, and by which they must all be governed. Secondly, You must take notice what Strefs the Apostle lays upon their fulfilling this Royal Law: If ye fulfil the Royal Law-ye do well: That is, If you attend to it in all Instances, fo as not to offend against it in any Cafe, ye then will do well. The Apostle proceeds in the next Verfe, But, if have refpect to Perfons, ye commit Šin, and are convinced of the Law as Tranfgreffors. The Law in this Verfe is the fame Law that was mentioned before, that is, the Royal Law: If, fays he, you have any partial Regards, you will not then fulfil the Law of Love, but will be found to be Tranfgreffors of that Law: For, as it follows in the tenth Verfe, whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one Point, he is guilty of all. In

ye