But to attempt fuch noble heights belongs only to the truly great, or the truly good. To difcard the lazy maner of reading fermons, or fpeaking fermons by rote; to fet up fingly against the oppofition of men, who are attached to their own errors, and to endeavour to be great instead of being prudent, are qualities we feldom fee united. A minifter of the Church of England, who may be poffeffed of good fenfe and fome hopes of preferment, will feldom give up fuch substantial advantages for the empty pleasure of improving fociety. By his prefent method he is liked by his friends, admired by his dependants, not difpleafing to his bifhop; he lives as well, eats and fleeps as well, as if a real orator, and an eager afferter of his miffion; he will hardly therefore venture all this to be called perhaps an enthufiaft; nor will he depart from cuftoms established by the brotherhood, when by fuch a conduct he only fingles himfelfout for their contempt.

CUSTOM AND LAWS COMPARED,

WHAT, fay fome, can give us a more contempti ble idea of a large ftate than to find it moftly governed by cuftom; to have few written laws, and no boundaries to mark the jurifdiction between the fenate and people? Among the number who speak in this manner is the great Montefquieu, who afferts that every nation is free in proportion to the number of its written laws, and feems to hint at a defpotic and arbitrary conduct in the present king of Pruffia, who has abridged the laws of his country into a very fhort compafs.

As

As Tacitus and Montefquieu happen to differ in fentiment upon a fubject of fo much importance, (for the Roman expreffly afferts that the state is generally vicious in proportion to the number of its laws); it will not be amifs to examine it a little more minutely, and fee whether a state, which like England is burthened with a multiplicity of written laws, or which like Switzerland, Geneva, and fome other republics, is governed by cuftom and the determination of the judge, is beft.

And to prove the fuperiority of custom to written law we fhall at leaft find hiftory confpiring. Cuftom or the traditional obfervance of the practice of their forefathers, was what directed the Romans as well in their public as private determinations. Cuftom was appealed to in pronouncing fentence against a criminal, where part of the formulary was more majorum. So Salluft fpeaking of the expulfion of Tarquin, fays, mutato more, and not lege mutata; and Virgil, pacifque imponere morem. So that in those

times of the empire, in which the people retained their liberty, they were governed by cuftom; when they funk into oppreffion and tyranny, they were reftrained by new laws, and the laws of tradition abolished.

As getting the antients on our fide is half a victory, it will not be amifs to fortify the argument with an obfervation of Chryfoftom's; "That the "enflaved are the fitteft to be governed by laws, "and free men by cuftom." Cuftom partakes of the nature of parental injunction; it is kept by the people themfelves, and obferved with a willing obedience. The obfervance of it muft therefore be a mark of freedom, and coming originally to a state from the reverenced founders of its liberty, will be an encouragement and affiftance to it in the defence of that blefling; but a conquered people, a nation of flaves,

6

flaves, muft pretend to none of this freedom, or thefe happy diftinctions, having by degeneracy loft all right to their brave forefathers free inftitutions, their mafters will in a policy take the forfeiture; and the fixing a conqueft must be done by giving laws, which may every moment ferve to remind the people enflaved of their conquerors, nothing being more dangerous than to truft a late-fubdued people with old cuftoms, that presently upbraid their degeneracy, and provoke them to revolt.

The wisdom of the Roman republic in their veneration for custom, and backwardness to introduce a new law, was perhaps the caufe of their long continuance, and of the virtues of which they have fet the world fo many examples. But to fhew in what that wisdom confifts, it may be proper to obferve, that the benefit of new-written laws are merely confined to the confequences of their obfervance; but cuftomary laws, keeping up a veneration for the founders, engage men in the imitation of their virtues as well as policy. To this may be afcribed the religious regard the Romans paid to their forefathers memory, and their adhering for fo many ages to the practice of the fame virtues, which nothing contributed more to efface than the introduction of a voluminous body of new laws over the neck of venerable cuftom.

The fimplicity, concifenefs, and antiquity of cuftom gives an air of majefty and immutability that infpires awe and veneration; but new laws are too apt to be voluminous, perplexed, and indeterminate ; whence muft neceffarily arife neglect, contempt, and ignorance.

As every human inftitution is fubject to grofs imperfections, fo laws muft neceffarily be liable to the fame inconveniencies, and their defects foon difcovered. Thus, through the weakness of one part,

all

all the reft are liable to be brought into contempt. But fuch weakneffes in a cuftom, for very obvious. reafons, evade an examination; befides, a friendly prejudice always ftands up in their favour,

But let us fuppofe a new law to be perfectly equitable and necessary; yet, if the procurers of it have betrayed a conduct that confeffes by-ends and private motives, the difguft to the circumftances dif pofes us, unreasonably indeed, to an irreverence of the Jaw itself; but we are indulgently blind to the most vifible imperfections of an old cuftom. Though we perceive the defects ourselves, yet we remain perfuaded that our wife forefathers had good reafon for what they did; and though fuch motives no longer continue, the benefit will still go along with the obfervance, though we don't know how. It is thus the Roman lawyers fpeak: Non omnium, quæ a majoribus. conftituta funt, ratio reddi proteft, et ideo rationes eorum quæ conftituuntur inquiri non oportet, alioquin multa ex bis quæ certa funt fubvertuntur.

Those laws, which preferve to themselves the greateft love and obfervance, muft needs be beft; but custom, as it executes itself, must be neceffarily fuperior to written laws in this respect, which are to be executed by another. Thus nothing can be more certain than that numerous written laws are a fign of a degenerate community, and are frequently not the confequences of vicious morals in a state, but the causes.

Hence we see how much greater benefit it would be to the ftate rather to abridge than increase its laws. We every day find them increasing; acts and reports, which may be termed the acts of judges, are every day becoming more voluminous, and loading the fubject with new penalties.

Laws ever increase in number and severity, until they at length are ftrained fo tight as to break themselves.

themselves. Such was the cafe of the latter empire, whose laws were at length become fo strict, that the barbarous invaders did not bring fervitude but liberty.

OF THE PRIDE AND LUXURY

OF THE

MIDDLING CLASS OF PEOPLE.

OF all the follies and abfurdities, under which this great metropolis labours, there is not one, I believe, that at prefent appears in a more glaring and ridiculous light than the pride and luxury of the middling clafs of people; their eager defire of being feen in a fphere far above their capacities and circumftances is daily nay hourly inftanced by the prodigious numbers of mechanics, who flock to the races, and gaming-tables, brothels, and all public diverfions this fafhionable town affords.

You fhall fee a grocer, or a tallow-chandler, fneak from behind the compter, clap on a laced coat and a bag, fly to the E. O. table, throw away fifty peices with fome fharping man of quality; while his induftrious wife is felling a penny-worth of fugar, or a pound of candles, to support her fashionable spouse in his extravagances.

I was led into this reflection by an odd adventure, which happened to me the other day at Epfom races, whither I went, not through any defire I do affure you of laying betts or winning thousands, but at the earnest requeft of a friend, who had long indulged the curiofity of feeng the sport, very natural for an Englishman. When we had arrived at the courfe, and had taken feveral turns to obferve the

different