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fuitable to one who knows his true intereft, and how to purfac it by proper methods.

13. I have in this effay upon difcretion, confidered it both as an accomplishment and as a virtue, and have therefore defcribed it in its full extent; not only as it is conversant about worldly affairs, but as it regards our whole existence; not only as it is the guide of a mortal creature, but as it is in general the director of a reasonable being. It is in this light that difcretion is reprefented by the wife man, who fometimes mentions it un. der the name of difcretion, and fometimes under that of wil dom.

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14. It is indeed (as defcribed in the latter part of this paper) the greateft wisdom, but at the fame time in the power of ev ery one to attain. Its advantages are infinite, but its acquifition eafy; or, to speak of her in the words of the apocryphal writer," Wildom is glorious, and never fadeth away, yet the is eafily feen of them that love her, and found of fuch as feek her. 15." She preventeth them that defire her, in making herfelf firft koown unto them. He that fecketh her early fhall have no great travel: for he shall find her fitting at his doors. To think therefore upon her is perfection of wisdom, and whe. fo watcheth for her fhall quickly be without care. For the goeth about feeking fuch as are worthy of her, fheweth herself favorable unto them in the ways, and meeteth them in every thought."

1,

I

ON CLEANLINESS.

Spedator, No. 631..

Hav

HAD occafion to go a few miles out of town, fome days fince, in a ftage coach, where I had for my fellow travel. lers, a dirty beau, and a pretty young Quaker woman. ing no inclination to talk much at that time, I placed myfelf backward, with a defign to furvey them, and pick a fpeculation cut of my two companions. Their different figures were fuffi. cient of themfelves to draw my attention.

2. The gentleman was dreffed in a fuit, the ground whereof had been black, as I perceived from fome few paces that had efcaped the powder, which was incorporated with the greateft part of his coat; his perrywig, which coft no fmall fum, was after fo flovenly a manner caft over his shoulders, that it feem ed not to have been combed fince the year 1712; his linen which was not much concealed, was daubed with plain Spanish From the chin to the lowest button, and the diamond upon his

finger (which naturally dreaded the water) put me in mind how it fparkled amidit the rubbish of the mine where it was firft dif

covered.

3. On the other hand, the pretty Quaker appeared in all the elegance of cleanlinefs. Not a fpeck was to be found on her. A clear, clean, oval face, juft edged about with little thin plates of the pureft cambric, received great advantages from the shade of her black hood; as did the whitenefs of her arms from that fober-coloured ftuff in which he had cloathed herfelf. The plainnefs of her drefs was very well fuited to the fimplicity of her phrafes, all which put together, tho they could not give me. a great opinion of her religion, they did of her innocence.

4. This adventure occafioned me throwing together a few hints upon cleanliness, which I fhall confider as one of the half virtues, as Ariftotle calls them, and fhall recommend it under the three following heads: As it is a mark of politeness; as it produceth love; and as it bears analogy to purity of mind.

5. Firt, it is a mark of politenefs. It is univerfally agreed upon, that no one, unadorned with this virtue, can go into com pany without giving a manifeft offence. The eafier or higher any one's fortune is, this duty rifes proportionably-The different nations of the world are as much diftinguished by their cleanlinefs as by their arts and fciences. The more any country is civilized, the more they confult this part of politenefs. We need but compare our ideas of a female Hottentot with an English beauty, to be fatisfied of the truth of what hath been advanced.

6. In the next place, cleanlinefs may be faid to be the fofter mother of love. Beauty, indeed, moft commonly produces that paffion in the mind, but cleanlinefs preferves it. An indif ferent face and perfon, kept in a perpetual neatnefs, hath won many a heart from a pretty flattern, Age itself is not unamiable, while it is preferved clean and unfullied: like a piece of metal conftantly kept fmooth and bright, we look on it with more pleafure than on a new veffel that is cankered with ruft.

7. I might obferve further, that as cleanlinefs renders us agreeable to others, fo it makes us eafy to ourfelves; that it is an excellent prefervation of health; and that feveral vices de ftructive both to mind and body, are inconfiftent with the habit of it. But these reflections I shall leave to the leifure of my readers, and shall obferve in the third place, that it bears a great analogy to purity of mind, and naturally inspires refined fentiments and paffions.

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AMERICAN SELECTION.

8. We find, from experience, that thro the prevalence of cuftom, the moft vicious actions lofe their horror, by being made familiar to us. On the contrary, thofe who live in the neigh borkood of good example, fly from the first appearances of what is fhocking. It fares with us much after the fame manner as our ideas. Our fenfes, which are the inlets to all the images conveyed to the mind, can only tranfmit the impreffion of fuch things as ufually furround them; fo that pure and unfullied thoughts are naturally fuggefted to the mind, by thofe objects that perpetually encompafs us when they are beautiful and elegant in their kind.

9. In the Eaft, where the warmth of the climate makes cleanliness more immediately neceffary than in colder countries, it is made one part of their religion: the Jewish law (and the Mahometan, which, in fome things, copies after it) is filled with bathings, purifications and other rites of the like nature. Tho there is in the above named covenant reasons to be affigned for thefe ceremonies, the chief intention undoubtedly was to typify inward purity and cleanlinefs of heart by thofe outward washings.

10. We read several injunctions of this kind in the book of Deuteronomy, which confirm this truth, and which are but ill accounted for by saying, as fome do, that they were only infti. tuted for convenience in the defert, which otherwise could not have been habitual for so many years.

11. I fhall conclude this effay with a ftory which I have fomewhere read, in an account of Mahometan fuperftition. A Dervife, of great fan&tity, one morning had the misfortune, as he took up a cryftal cup which was confecrated to the prophet, to let it fall upon the ground, and dash it in pieces. His fon coming in fome time after, he stretched out his hand to blefs him, as his manner was every morning; but the youth going out, ftumbled over the threshold, and broke his arm. A's the old man wondered at these events, a caravan paffed by in its way from Mecca. The Dervife approached it to beg a bleffing; but as he ftroked one of the holy camels, he received a kick from the beast, that forely bruifed him. His forrow and a. mazement increased upon him, till he recollected, that through hurry and inadvertency, he had that morning come abroad with out washing his hands.

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