Chap. III.]

DUTY OF WORSHIPPING GOD.

85

mankind. But they are usually carried too far, and valued toomuch, by those who enjoy them ; and the spirit, which they tendto nourish, estranges and alienates brethren of the same greatfamily from each other, by causing discontent, distrust, jealousy,and envy. It is well, indeed, if they do not rouse the fiercer pas-sions of hatred, malice, and revenge. The magistrate feels thathe represents the state, and infers from thence, that the officialdignity, with which his person is clothed, must not be defiled bytoo much intercourse with the common people. Pride of birthmust not be soiled by the touch of any thing homebred andignoble. Learning cannot condescend to hold communion withignorance, and wealth looks down with insolence upon thepoor, the unfortunate, and the depressed. They move in dis-tinct and exclusive circles, studiously assorted on the groundof these distinctions, and their almost inevitable effect is, toimpair, if not to destroy the good feeling which ought to uniteall mankind by the bonds of a mutual sympathy and interest. If,at any time, the poor man is seen at the tribunal of the magis-trate, it is probably because he is dragged there to answer to thesuit or prosecution of some rich and fortunate oppressor. If hevisits the palaces of aristocratic pride, it is not to partake oftheir enjoyments, — these are reserved for guests made of likeclay with their proprietors.

u MateriA nostra constare, paribusque elementis.” *

If he enters the mansions ,of the rich and the halls of thelearned, he still finds that he is not permitted to participate inthe treasures which they contain.

4. The church is the only place, in which the various classesof mankind meet each other on any thing like equal terms. Inthe house of God, the exclusive spirit, nourished by the arti-ficial distinctions of human pride and power, stands rebukedbefore the immeasurable distance, by which the highest ofmortals is separated from the throne of the Almighty. Menare addressed there, not according to the wealth they have ac-quired, or the other distinctions by which they are known, butas alike the sinful children of a common parent, having similar

Juvenal, Sat. XIV. 17.