Sir, have patience, replied my father; for I think it will presently appear that Saint Paul and the Protestant divine are both of an opinion. As nearly so, quoth Dr. Slop, as east is to west;-but this, continued he, lifting both hands, comes from the liberty of the press.

It is no more, at the worst, replied my uncle Toby, than the liberty of the pulpit, for it does not appear that the sermon is printed, or ever likely to be.

Go on Trim, quoth my father.]

"At first sight this may seem to be a true state of the case; and I make no doubt but the knowledge of right and wrong is so truly impressed upon the mind of man, that did no such thing ever happen, as that the conscience of a man, by long habits of sin, might (as the scriptures assure us it may) insensibly become hard;-and like some tender parts of his body, by much stress and continual hard usage, lose, by degrees, that nice sense and perception with which God and nature endowed it :-Did this never happen :-or was it certain that self-love could never hang the least bias upon the judgment;-or that the little interests below could rise up and perplex the faculties of our upper regions, and encompass them about with clouds and thick darkness :could no such thing as favor and affection enter this sacred court :-did wit disdain to take a bribe in it ;—or was ashamed to show its face as an advocate for an unwarrantable enjoyment:-or, lastly, were we assured that interest stood always unconcerned whilst the cause was hearing,—and that passion never got into the judgment-seat, and pronounced sentence in the stead of reason, which is always supposed to preside and determine upon the case; was this truly so, as the objection must suppose ;-no doubt then the religious and moral estate of a man would be exactly what he himself esteemed it; and the guilt or innocence of every man's life could be known, in general, by no better measure, than the degrees of his own approbation and censure.

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I own, in one case, whenever a man's conscience does accuse him (as it seldom errs on that side) that he is guilty; and unless, in melancholy and hypochondriac cases, we may safely pronounce upon it, that there is always sufficient grounds for the accusation.

"But the converse of the proposition will not hold true; —namely, that whenever there is guilt, the conscience must accuse and if it does not, that a man is therefore innocent. -This is not fact-So that the common consolation which

some good Christian or other is hourly administering to himself that he thanks God his mind does not misgive him; and that, consequently, he has a good conscience, because he has a quiet one,- -is fallacious;-and as current as the inference is, and as infallible as the rule appears at first sight; yet when you look nearer to it, and try the truth of this rule upon plain facts,-you see it liable to so much error from a false application;-the principle upon which it goes so often prevented;-the whole force of it lost, and sometimes so vilely cast away, that it is painful to produce the common examples from human life, which confirm the account.

"A man shall be vicious and utterly debauched in his principles; exceptionable in his conduct to the world; shall live shameless, in the open commission of a sin, which no reason or pretence can justify, a sin by which, contrary to all the workings of humanity, he shall ruin for ever the deluded partner of his guilt;-rob her of her best dowry; and not only cover her own head with dishonor,-but involve a whole virtuous family in shame and sorrow for her sake. Surely, you will think conscience must lead such a man a troublesome life; he can have no rest night or day from its reproaches.

"Alas! Conscience had something else to do all this time, than break in upon him; as Elijah reproached the god Baal,- this domestic god was either talking, or pursuing, or was in a journey, or peradventure he slept and could not be awaked. Perhaps he was going out in company with Honor to fight a duel; to pay off some debt at play; or perhaps Conscience all this time was engaged at home, talking aloud against petty larceny, and executing vengeance upon some such puny crimes as his fortune and rank of life secured him against all temptation of committing; so that he lives as merrily," [If he was of our church, though, quoth Dr. Slop, he could not]-" sleeps as soundly in his bed; and at last meets death as unconcernedly, perhaps much more so, than a much better man.'

[All this is impossible with us, quoth Dr. Slop, turning to my father, the case could not happen in our church. It happens in ours however, replied my father, but too often. -Iown, quoth Dr. Slop, (struck a little with my father's frank acknowledgment) that a man in the Romish church may live as badly; but then he cannot easily die so.'Tis little matter, replied my father, with an air of indif

ference, how a rascal dies.-I mean, answered Dr. Slop, he would be denied the benefits of the last săcraments.*— Pray, how many have you in all? said my uncle Toby,— for I always forget.-Seven, answered Dr. Slop.-Humph! -said uncle Toby; though not accented as a note of acquiescence, but as an interjection of that particular species of surprise, when a man, in looking into a drawer, finds more than he expected.-Humph! replied my uncle Toby.-Dr. Slop, who had an ear, understood my uncle Toby as well as if he had written a whole volume against the seven sǎcraments.-Humph! replied Dr. Slop (stating my uncle Toby's argument over again to him)-Why, Sir, are there not seven cardinal virtues ?-Seven mortal sins ?-Seven golden candlesticks-Seven heavens ?-'Tis more than I know, replied my uncle Toby.—Are there not seven wonders of the world? -Seven days of the creation ?-Seven planets ?-Seven plagues?—That there are, quoth my father with a most affected gravity. But prithee, continued he, go on with the rest of thy characters, Trim.]

"Another is sordid, unmerciful," (here Trim waved his right hand) "a strait-hearted, selfish wretch, incapable either of private friendship, or public spirit. Take notice how he passes by the widow and orphan in their distress, and sees all the miseries incident to human life without a sigh or a prayer." [An't please your honors, cried Trim, I think this a viler man than the other.]

"Shall not conscience rise up and sting him on such occasions?—No; thank God, there is no occasion. I pay every man his own; I have no debaucheries to answer to my conscience; -no faithless vows or promises to make up ;—I have dishonored no man's wife or child;-thank God, I am not as other men, adulterers, unjust, or even as this libertine, who stands before me. A third is crafty and designing in his nature. View his whole life, it is nothing but a cunning contexture of dark arts and unequitable subterfuges, basely to defeat the true intent of all laws,-plain dealing, and the safe enjoyment of our several properties.-You will see such a one working out a frame of little designs upon the ignorance and perplexities of the poor and needy man,-and raising a fortune upon the inexperience of a youth, or the unsuspecting temper of Lis friend, who would have trusted him with his life. When old age comes on, and repentance calls him to look back upon this black account, and state it over again with his conscience-Conscience looks into the Statutes

* Pron. sak'-kra-ments.

at large;-finds no express law broken by what he has done;-perceives no penalty or forfeiture of goods and chattels incurred;-sees no scourge waving over his head, or prison opening its gates upon him :-What is there to affright his conscience !-Conscience has got safely entrenched behind the Letter of the Law, sits there invulnerable, fortified with Cases and Reports so strongly on all sides;that it is not preaching can dispossess it of its hold."

[The character of this last man, said Dr. Slop, interrupting Trim, is more detestable than all the rest;-and seems to have been taken from some pettifogging lawyer amongst you:-amongst us, a man's conscience could not possibly continue so long blinded,-three times a year, at least, he must go to confession. Will that restore it to sight? quoth my uncle Toby-Go on, Trim, quoth my father. "Tis very short, replied Trim.-I wish it was longer, quoth my uncle Toby, for I like it hugely.-Trim went on.]

"To have the fear of God before our eyes, and, in our mutual dealings with each other, to govern our actions by the eternal measures of right and wrong:-The first of these will comprehend the duties of religion, the second those of morality, which are so inseparably connected together, that you cannot divide these two tables, even in imagination, (though the attempt is often made in practice,) without breaking and mutually destroying them both.

[Here my father observed that Dr. Slop was fast asleep.] "I said the attempt was often made ;—and so it is ;-there being nothing more common than to see a man who has no sense at all of religion, and, indeed, has so much honesty as to pretend to none, who would take it as the bitterest affront, should you but hint at a suspicion on his moral character, or imagine he was not conscientiously just and scrupulous to the uttermost mite.

"When there is some appearance that it is so,—though one is unwilling even to suspect the appearance of so amiable a virtue as moral honesty, yet were we to look into the grounds of it, in the present case, I am persuaded we should find little reason to envy such a one the honor of his motive.

"Let him declaim as pompously as he chooses upon the subject, it will be found to rest upon no better foundation than either his interest, his pride, his ease, or some such little and changeable passion as will give us but small dependence upon his actions in matters of great distress. "I will illustrate this by an example.

"I know the banker I deal with, or the physician I usu ally call in"-[There is no need, cried Dr. Slop, (waking) to call in any physician in this case.]

-To be neither of them men of much religion; I hear them make a jest of it every day, and treat all its sanctions with so much scorn as to put the matter past doubt. Well, notwithstanding this, I put my fortune into the hands of the one ;-and, what is dearer still to me, I trust my life to the honest skill of the other.

"Now let me examine what is my reason for this great confidence. Why, in the first place, I believe there is no probability that either of them will employ the power I put into their hands to my disadvantage. I consider that honesty serves the purposes of this life ;-I know their success in the world depends upon the fairness of their characters. In a word, I am persuaded that they cannot hurt me, without hurting themselves more.

"But put it otherwise; namely, that interest lay, for once, on the other side :-that a case should happen wherein the one, without stain to his reputation, could secrēte my fortune, and leave me naked in the world;-or that the other could send me out of it, and enjoy an estate by my death, without dishonor to himself or his art :-In this case, what hold have I of either of them!-Religion, the strongest of all motives, is out of the question ;-Interest, the next most powerful motive in the world, is strongly against me :What have I left to cast into the opposite scale to balance this temptation?-Alas! I have nothing,—but what is lighter than a bubble-I must lie at the mercy of Honor, or some such capricious principle-Strait security for two of the most valuable blessings -my property and myself.

"As therefore we can have no dependence upon morality without religion,-so, on the other hand, there is nothing better to be expected from religion without morality;nevertheless, 'tis no prodigy to see a man whose real moral character stands very low, who yet entertains the highest notion of himself, in the light of a religious man.

"He shall not only be covetous, revengeful, implacable, but even wanting in points of common honesty; yet in as much as he talks aloud against the infidelity of the age,-is zealous for some points of religion, goes twice a-day to church,-attends the săc'raments, and amuses himself with a few instrumental parts of religion,-shall cheat his conscience into a judgment, that for this he is a religious man,