they do is his, and not theirs, and therefore he ought to be confidered as the Person acting, and not they; and confequently the Guilt fhould be all his, from whofe Choice and Will the Evil flows, in which they are only Inftruments, not acted by Choice, but by the Neceffity of their Condition. The firft Part of this Excufe is evidently falfe, upon Suppofition that God is fuperior to Man; for if God be your supreme Master, then is it no Excufe to fay you ferved another Master, when you disobeyed him. The Excufe is likewife ridiculous; for though you depend upon Man for your Livelihood, yet you depend upon God for your Life; and Life is more than Meat; and therefore to difobey the Lord of Life to get a Maintenance is impious and foolish. But neither will the other Part of the Excufe do any better Service; for though we allow that the Evil you do is not of your own chufing or contriving, but that you act as an Inftrument of another's Will, yet will not this clear you of the Guilt of the Evil you do. This Excufe may serve for an Horse, but it will not ferve for a Man; for to Man God has given Reason and Judgment to govern and direct all his Actions; and that Reafon

Will make you a Principal in all the Evil you do. Poverty neither divests you of Reason, nor exempts you from the Rule and Government of it; and therefore the poor Man muft live by Reason, as well as the Rich, and must be judged by it too, and confequently can never be excufed for acting contrary to what his own Sense and Reason direct. From what has been faid, it is manifeft, that as the Law of your Condition obliges you to work and labour for your Support and Maintenance; fo the Law of Reason and Nature, which is a fuperior Law, obliges you to work only Things which are lawful and honest, that you may preferve a Confcience void of Offence towards God and towards Man.

But you may afk perhaps, what are lawful and honeft Employments? In Answer to this, it must be confidered, that the Work and Labour of the Poor depends upon the Wants and Defires of the Rich: For if a poor Man fpends his Time in doing what no body defires him to do, he may go unpaid for his Pains; and when he has done, be as far to feek for Bread as he was before. From hence it follows, that you must be confined to fome Work, which may answer

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to the Wants or Defires of Life. Now the Things which Men want, are either the Neceffaries, or Conveniencies, or Pleasures of Life; and all Trades or Callings are fubfervient to one or other of these.

God has made nothing neceffary to us, which is not lawful and honeft; and therefore it is lawful to provide whatever is necesfary to Life; and therefore all Trades and Employments which arise from the neceffary Wants of Life are lawful Trades. Under this Head come all the Works and Labours of Hufbandry, which fupply the World with Food, and Nourishment, and Cloathing; and all other Trades, which furnish us with fuch Things as we cannot well be without.

When Men are furnished with Neceffaries, they then look out for Conveniencies; and if rich Men may lawfully defire and enjoy the Conveniencies of Life, then poor Men may lawfully provide them by their Labour and Industry: And this is a large Field of Work. Whatever is useful or ornamental in Life may be reckoned under this Head: And Conveniencies must be estimated according to the Degrees and Quality of Men; and as long as Men feek the Conveniencies which are agreeable to their Station, and bear Proportion to

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the Plenty of their Circumstances, they are -blameless: If they exceed this Measure, they I fall into Pride and Extravagance, and the Sins confequent upon them, such as ruining themselves and their Families, and miffpending the Substance which God has given them. But fince all Conveniencies are fuitable to fome Condition or other, they may all be the proper Subject of the Labour of the Poor, who work indifferently for all, from the Prince to the Commoner, without inquiring, or being obliged to inquire, into the Circumftances or Condition of the Man who employs them, who alone is answerable for the Prudence of his Undertaking: And therefore likewife all Trades and Employ-ments, which provide Things useful or ornamental in Life, are lawful Callings.

ד

The next Thing which may furnish Work and Employment for Men are the Pleasures of Life, Some Pleasures are very innocent, - and some very wicked; and the Rule in this Cafe muft follow this Diftinction: Such Pleafures as the rich Man may lawfully enjoy, the poor Man may lawfully ferve him in; fuch Pleasures as are wicked may neither be enjoyed or provided without Guilt. I need not inftance in Particulars of either kind: To

ferve the Lufts and Paffions of Men; to make Vice easy and practicable; to remove the Obftacles which lie in Men's Way to wicked Pleasures, is directly to become the Servant of Sin: This is a plain Case.

But then there are fome Things which, according as they are used, may administer to innocent Pleasure, or to Vice and Immorality. Wine may make the Heart of Man glad, or it may destroy and drown his Reason, and fink him down to the Degree of a Brute. And hence a Question may arife, How far we may lawfully provide Things of this kind? And in the Cafe already mentioned it may be inquired, Whether it be lawful to keep Public Houses, which are fo often abused, and made ill Use of? Now, fince the Innocence or Wickedness of these Things nes altogether in the Use of them, he that uses them amifs may be to blame, and he that provides them may be innocent. If you buy a Sword, and stab a Man, you

that do the Murder are guilty, but not he that either made or fold the Sword. The fame will hold in the present Cafe: Public Houses are neceffary often to tranfact Bufinefs in, to entertain Strangers, or to receive Men who meet to be innocently chearful. These are