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Show 910 Advice to Children. VoL. I; 16 • Chufe your Clothes for their U~efuln.efs ~or the Fa!hion, and for Covering ~ 99 and not Finery, or ro ple:.~fe a vain ~md m your fetves or others: T~ey arc ~ fallen Souls that think Clothes can gn·e Beauty to M~n. Tbe Life w 111~rt C ap. · than Raiment, Marth. 6. 25· Man cannot m.end Gods Wo~k, who can gtve neither Life nor Pans. They {hew little ER:eem for the W1fdom and Power of their Creator, that under-rare ~is Workman(hip (I was a g?ing to fay his Image) to a Taylor's Invcntto!l : Grofs Folly and Profanuy! Bnt do you, my dear Children, call to Mtnd who they were of_ old, that Jefus faid, rook fa much Care about what they fhoul~ Eat, Dr1n~, and pur on. 'Vere they not Gentiles, Heathens, a People Without God ln the World? Read Alntth. 6, :wd when you have d~ne that, perufe thofe excellent Paffa .. es of the ApofilePnu/and Pettr, 1 Trm. 2. 9, Jo, and t_Ptt. 3· 3· 5, where, ff you find the Exhortarion to Women only, conclude It was Effeminate, and a Shame then for Men to ute fuch Arrs and Coft upon their Perfon. Follow you the Example of thofe Primitive C~rifiians, and not Voluptuous Gentiles, that preverred the very Ordet of Thmgs: For t~ey fet Luft ab.ove Nature, and the Means above the End, and prefer~ed Van~ty tO: Convcmeo· cy: A wanton ExcCfs that hai no Senfe of. Gods 1\1ercJes, and therefore cannot make a right Ufe of them, and lefs yt_eld the Returns they defe_rve. In Chart thefe Intemperances are ~reat Enemies to Heahh and ro Pofienty; for they' difeafe the Body, ro~ Chtldren, and di~appoi~t. Charity, and are of Evil Example; very catchmg, as well ~s permc~ous Evtls. Nor do they end there : They arc fucceeded by other V1c~s, whtch made the Apofile p~t them together in his Epiltle to the Ga/atlllnt, Ch. 5· 20. 21. The Evtl Fruits of this Part of Intemperance, are fo many and great, that _upon a ferious Reftell:ion, I believe there is no~~ ~ountry, Town, or Farn1ly, almofi that does nor labour under theMdch1ef of tt. I recommend to your Perufal the Firfi Part of, No Crofs.no Cr~s»n, and of the A_ddrefs ro Pro· u.ftm1rs, in whic_h I.am more parucular m. my Cenfure of _a: As :.re the Authorities I bnng m Favour_ of Mo~er~uon. But the Vtrtue of T~mperance does not only regard Eanng, Dnnkmg, and Apparel: Bur Furniture:, Attendance, Expence, Gain, Parfimony, Hufinefs, Dh·:erfion, Company, Speech, Sleeping, Watchings, and every Paffion of the,M~nd,_ Love, Anger, Pleafure, Joy, Sorrow, Refi:mment, are. all. concernd m.n: Theretore hound vour Defires, learn your 'Vills SubjeChon, take Chnfi. for yo~r E~· ample 3s well as Guide. It was he that led and taught a L1fe of Fanh m Providence ard told his Difciples the Danger of the Cares and Pleafures of this \¥orll; they choaked the Seed of the Kingdom, fiifled an.d exti~guifhed Virrue in the Soul, and rendre~ Man ~a~ren of go~d F.rutt. Hts Sermon upon the Mount is one conunued D•v1ne Authonty m Favour of an Univerf31 Temperance. The Apofile, we11 a'"':are of the Neceffity of this Vinue, gave t.heCorinthitms a feafonable Caution . . Know ye n_ot, fays he, tbot rbty which run in a Race, run aU, but on_e rueiVetb the Pnze? So run that ye mny obtain. ~nd every_ Mmt that jlrrve~b for M.aflery, (or fee~eth ViE\:ory) H temperate m aU tbtngs: (he acts ~1fcreetly and wuh a nght Judgment) Now, they do it to obtam a Cor~upuble Crown, but u:e an !ncor· ruptible. 1 therefore fo run as not uncertnrn!y; fo fi.ghr . I, . not 41 ~ne :hat beatetb the ..d.ir : Bur I keep under my &dy~ and hnng tt mro Sub;eOron; left that by any Jl.1eant, when I have preached to or/){'rt~ I my ft!f jhould be· come il Caflaway, 1 Cor. 9· 2). 27. In a~other Chapter he prcff~s th_e Tem· perance almoit to Iodifferency: But tlm I j.1y, Brrtbren, r,heTtme njhorr: it remainet!J then tbut both they that fJOve Wrves, he tU tho they had none; and thofe that u:ee'p a11bo' tfJey we~t nor; and tbty thor ~ejoyce, ot rbo' .tbt)1 Hjoyud not; m1d they tl1t1t _ufe t btrWor!d a1 not abufin_g rt. And _all thJs 11 nor without Reafon : He gwcs a very good one for 1t. For, faHh he, tbe Rifhion of the World pafferb away: bur 1 tcould bav_e Y_OU with(!ut C4rt[~bttff, 1 Cor. 7· 29.-32. It was for this Caufe he prefs d It fo hard upon Trtr11 to warn the Elders of that Time to be Sober, Gra\'c, Temperate, Tit. 2. 2. not eager, violent, obftinare, te_nacious, or inordinate in any Sort. He ,makes it an indifpenjlb\c Duty IR P•ftors of Churches~ that they b•s:/J. VoL. I. Ad vice to Children. ' 911 St!f-v:iHe~, foon Angry, given to Wine- or Ftbby lucre, but Lovrn cf J699 Hofp11altty, of Good ~Hen, Sobe-r~ ]11P, H~ly, Temper~:~u, Tir. 1. 7, 8. And -~ why ~o ? Becaufe a~:unft thefe ~xcelfenc yurues th~te i~ no Lzw, Gal. 5· 2~. Ch:1 . IlL I ~Ill fh_ut up. thts Head (bemg touch d uron 10 dtvers Places of this p Adv1ce) With rh1s one !JlOft comprehenfive PJff:tge of the Apoftle, 1-0ilip. 4. 5. . Ltt your ft~oderatron he known unto all Men, for rbc Lord is 11t Hand. As 1f he .had fJld, Tde Httd! Look to yMr Way.r! Hav~ a C1rt wbar y~ do! For the Lord is 1lCRr you, even at tb: Door; be .fur you. he mula your Srtf!s, rclls your Wanderings, and be will judge yo11, Let this Excel~ lent, thts Home and Clofe Sentence live in your Minds: Let it ever dwell upon your Spi~its, my Belo\•ed Childre~, and influence all your AE\:i:lns, ay, your Affe[hons and Thoughts. It 1s a noble Meafure, fuffi.cient to regulate the whole; they that have it are eafy :1s well as f:lfe. No Ex-tream prevails; the \'Vorld is kept at Arm's· End; and fuch have Power over their own Spirirs, which gives them the rruefi Enjoyment of themfelves a.nd \Vhar they have: A Dominion greater than thar of EmpireS. 0 may this Virtue be yours! You ha\'e Grace from God for that End, and it is fufticient: Employ it, and you C:lnoot milS of' Temperance, nor therein of the trueft Happinefs in all your Condufi. §. 13. I have chofen to fpea.k in the LJneuage of the Scripture; which is that of the Holy Ghoft, the Spirit of TrUth and Wifdom, that W:lnted no An or Direaion of Man to (peak by, and ex prefs ir !elf fitly to Man's Underfianding. But yet that bleffed Principle, the Eternal Word I begun with to you, and which is that Light, Spirit, Grace and Truth, I ha\'e ex· honed you to in all it's Holy Appearances or Manife!lations in your feh,es, by which all Things were ar fi r!l made, and M:~n enlightened to SJlvacion, is Pythaforru's great Light and Salt of Ages, AnaxagortU's' Divine Mind, Socrara s good Spirit, Timt£rn's unbegotren Principle, :tnd Author of all Light, Hieron"s God in Man, Plato's Eternal, Ineffable and Perfe8: Princi· ple of Truth, Zeno's Maker and Father of :tll, and Plotin's Root of the Soul: Who as they thus Uiled the Eternal Word, fo the Appeara, ce of it in Man, wanted not very fignificant Words. A domefiick God, or God wichin, fays Hie ron, Pphngora.t, Epi8ctM and &need; Genius Angel or Guide fays Socrattr and Tim~tm; the Light and Spiri r of God fays Pl~:~to i the Divine Principle in Man fays Plot in; the Divine Power and Reafon, the Infallible Immortal Law in the Mind's of Men, fJys Philo; and the L:~w and Living Rule of the Mind, the interior Guirle of the Soul, and everlafiing :Foundation of Virtue, f:I ys, Piutarch. Of ~vhich you ~ay_ read more in th~ firft Part of the Chrijl1an ~J~nkcr, and 1n the ConfutatJOn of .A.thtijm, by Dr. Cudworth. Thefe were fame of thofe virtuous Gen· tiler commended by the Apoftle~ Rom. 2. 13, 14, 15. that tho' they had not the Law given to them, as the Jews had, with thnfe ln!tcu· mental Helps and Advantages, yet, doing by Nlture the Things con .. rained in the Law, they became 3 Law unto themfelves. WILLIAM PENN. The End of tbe Firfr Volume. |
