A SERMON Preached before the KING, AT KENSINGTON, January 13. 1694/ 5. By J. LAMB, D. D. Dean of Ely, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty. Published by His Majesty's special Command. LONDON. Printed for Walter Kettilby, at the Bishop's-Head in St. Paul's Churchyard. 1695. JOB v. 2. The latter part of the Verse. — And Envy slayeth the one. PLUTARCH says of Human Passions, that they are not Evil in themselves, but Good Affections, which Nature has furnished us withal, for great and noble Purposes. De Virt. & Vit. Right Reason, Wisdom, and Discretion, are our principal Faculties, 'tis true; These aught to Command, and give the Rule; yet all our other Powers and Passions have their proper place, and are designed to signify and express, to attend and follow the Resolution of our Judgement, and to exert themselves so far as Reason shall direct. And were this Order well observed, how blest, how happy should we be? Our Motions all Harmonious, our Minds serene, our Ends well chosen, our Methods apposite, and we should be easy under all Events. But oh! how shamefully do we invert the Order of our Nature. How basely do we force our Reason, and make it truckle to a present Pleasure? How easily do we suffer an Intestine War, and submit to a perpetual Clashing, Tumult, and Disorder in ourselves. If Brutes could understand, they would rejoice in their Condition of Necessity, and despise our Estate of Liberty and Reason, when they observe how fatally we abuse them: How we Love and Hate, Desire and Eat, are Eager and Impatient, Vehement and Furious, beyond the Direction of our Reason, or the Value of the Object. And thus, by Indulging to our Passions, we destroy our Happiness; as well in all other Instances, as in those of my Text, for Malice Killeth the Foolish Man; and envy slayeth the silly one. I shall not trouble you with an account of the Wisdom, and Antiquity, of this Book of Job; the truth of the History, its Credit and Esteem; the vastness of his Riches, and the Prosperity of his Family; the Malice of the Devil, and the sad Catastrophe of his Affairs. It is enough that I observe the occasion of the Words, and then I shall proceed to the Argument itself. Chapter the third, at the first Verse, we find this Holy Saint in great Affliction on every side; and so much the more as he was deserted, or, which is worse, Chap. 6.14, etc. reproached and upbraided by his pretended Friends. For Eliphaz the Temanite, tho' he seems to pity and advise him, yet he loads him with Calumny, Cap. 2. 1●. and lays all manner of Evil to his Charge. That Ploughing Iniquity, and Sowing Vanity, he had Reaped the same, (Chap. 4.8.) That, by the blast of God he perished, and by the breath of his Nostrils he was consumed, Ver. 9 This is his Accusation, and this the Comfort they administer. But as for the Proof, it appears that he did not speak these things upon his Knowledge, or upon the Testimony of credible Men; but resolves, from a very uncertain Topick, that Job must needs be such an one, because he was Afflicted. Remember, I pray thee, (Ver. 7.) who ever Perished being Innocent, or where were the Righteous cut off. And, Call now, (Chap. 5. at the 1st. Verse) if there be any that will answer Thee, and to which of the Saints wilt thou turn? For Malice killeth the foolish Man, and Envy slayeth the silly one. And thus he insults this Holy Sufferer, and would have him believe, that he was this Malicious Man whose Vice had killed him, and this Envious Man whose Spite had slain him. Because Ambition and Envy are the common Vices of a plentiful Fortune, he concludes that Job must needs have been guilty of them, and is therefore Punished. But leaving Job to justify himself, as he does by appealing to God, Thou knowest that I am not Wicked, and that there is none can deliver out of thine hand, (Ch. 10.7.) And leaving him also to answer his Friend, and expose his Reasonings; For God destroys as well the Perfect as the Wicked, as he proves at large, Chap. 9.22, etc. Leaving, I say, the Dispute to them, the Maxim of the Text remains a Truth, which neither part denied, which all must allow, That, Envy slayeth the silly One. These Words are one entire unlimited Proposition, viz. That, Envy slayeth the Envious Man. And that we may more clearly understand it, and be more sensibly affected with it, I shall proceed, with all possible brevity, in this following Method. First, I will endeavour to explain the Vice, or what we understand by Envy, and when a Man may be said to be an Envious Man. Secondly, I shall inquire into the Truth of his Character, or how justly it is said of an Envious Man, that he is a silly one. Thirdly, I shall consider the fatal Effects of this Foolish Vice, or how certainly it will destroy him; for, Envy slayeth the silly one. Fourthly and Lastly, by way of Application, I shall humbly propose the proper Remedies of so great an Evil. I begin with the first of these, and shall endeavour to explain the Vice, or what is understood by Envy, and when a Man may be said to be an Envious Man. Now, Envy is a Regret of Mind, or an inward trouble at the Prosperity of another, eâ ratione, or for that reason only, because he is successful in the World. There are a great many Vices, as Ambition, Malice, Pride, and others, that carry a resemblance of it, and are related to it; but they either proceed from a different Principle, or terminate in some particular Object: They are confined and limited, but Envy is Indefinite. Thus Malice is a disgust to a particular Person or Company, upon supposition of Injury received; an Ambitious Man would attain to such a degree of Honour as he proposes to himself, but is well pleased that others should enjoy the rest. A Proud Man would be respected above his Merit, but is content, if ye will value him as he desires, to allow you something in return. But the Principle, the formal Reason of this singular Vice of Envy, is a Repining, a Gnawing, a Trouble in the Mind, that any Man should prosper. Whether his Enjoyments are any prejudice to him that envies them, or whether they are not; whether he has the same, or greater advantages in the World, or whether he has not; it is enough that his Neighbour is happy, he is not able to endure it. Thus Plutarch has defined it by, Spite Indefinite, and says, That it resembles the Disease called Opththalmia, a Disease in the Eye, which makes it unable to endure the brightness of any Light whatever. And with him Tully, and all Philosophers agree, Invidentia est aegritudo suscepta propter alterius res secundas, quae nihil noceant invidenti. Tusc. Quaes'. l. 4. That the Specific difference of Envy is Impatience at the Prosperity of another as such, or tho' it be in no wise prejudicial to him that envies it. This is the Vice of Envy; and it is more or less predominant and rancorous, according to the Tempers of Men, and the Indulgence that it finds. Sometimes it spits its Venom at the Throne of Heaven, and strikes at the Majesty of God Himself. Sometimes it is exercised upon Kings and Princes, and Persons of the highest Rank; yet Instances of such Extravagance are more rare, but the usual Objects of our Envy, are those of our own Condition; those with whom, as we think, we may pretend an equality, not far above us nor below us, but such as are upon or near our Level. The extremities of Fortune, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Simplic. in Epict. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Id. as the Philosopher observes, are for the most part free from Envy. Mighty Acquisitions, such as we can never hope for, are apt to extinguish it; and such an inferior Station as we are not likely to fall into, cannot easily provoke it. The usual Objects then of Spite and Envy, are those of the same Condition and Pretences; those that are in our Eye, those whom we emulate, and with whom we contend and strive. This is the Vice, and this is the Sphere of its activity. And, indeed, there is not any evil habit to which we are more inclined, than to this of Envying the felicity of our Neighbour; nor is there any more pernicious. Plerique sunt Invidi, says Tully, De Orat. maximèque est hoc commune vitium. Most Men are envious in some degree; nor is there any Vice so general as this. Nothing therefore can be more expedient than to expose this Monster, this corruption. of Human Nature, in its proper Colours. For tho' all Men are inclined to it, as I said, yet none can endure to own it, it is so contrary to Humanity, Friendship, Society, and Good Will, that every one detests the Imputation. But nevertheless, it is of so corroding a Nature, that it eats through the Heart, it makes its way through all its cover, and, in spite of all endeavours, it will break forth into the open Air, it may easily be discerned. For, Sometimes it appears without disguise; the Passion of the Envious overcomes him, and he drops his Guard, flies out into open Rudeness and scurrilous Expression. What He! What such an one! so contemptible a thing! it can never be! The news of another Man's success, ferments and swells him into Rage and Fury. They bark like a Dog, (says St. Augustin) and are pale in the face; they threaten with their Head, they wring their Hands, and gnash their Teeth. Nothing so ungrounded, if it be ill, that he will not say; nothing, Aug, Serm. 18. that has the least appearance of Truth, that he will not aggravate. Or if these grosser Transports are restrained, or entrusted only with his intimate Friends, yet the Distemper will appear, through all the various Disguises of it. For, Sometimes you may see it in his very Gratulations, and discern his Envy in his most kind expressions. Tho' it seems an easy matter, says St. Chrysostom, to rejoice with them that do rejoice, yet, in Truth, it is very difficult, Hom. 53. de Char. and he must be a Man whose Mind is exercised in Virtue, that can sincerely do it. For when with his Tongue he gives you joy, you may read his Trouble in his Face, in his uneasy manner and exotic Actions; in the rolling of his Eyes, in the convulsion of his Feet; in some involuntary Motion or other, in every part. Sometimes he vents his angry Tumour in a pleasing enarration of all the evil, or the darker part of your condition. Simplicius says of an Envious Man, That he is an Enemy to every one that is happy; and therefore if he cannot destroy him, he will at least dishonour, lessen, and undervalue him, as much as he can. He appears very well indeed, he will tell you, but no Man is happy in every part; his Age or his Infirmities, his Passions or his Troubles, his Crosses or Miscarriages, in these or those particulars, are such that I would not change Conditions with him. Nay, perhaps he will say, that He is sorry for it too, but you may be sure he dissembles, for he never hangs so long upon the brighter side of his Affairs; he only touches upon that, that he may introduce the other, (which he loves to hear and speak of) with the less suspicion. Sometimes his Envy bubbles out in vain Insinuations of his own Deserts. That he has endeavoured, tho' he says it, to merit what others obtain; but his Simplicity, or his Modesty, or his Ignorance of some kind of Arts, have kept him where he is; and if Fortune rule the World, he must have done. But there will come a Time— And thus, by a great many broken Expressions, you are to understand, that by how much he is not so happy as another, by so much he is injured; and that's some sort of ease and satisfaction to him. Sometimes it lurks in a vain pretence of Self-denial, of a mortified Temper, and a contempt of the World. Despicio Urbem! What I do not need, I do not Envy! Contents a Feast. Lord what a noise, what a dust they make! How much happier am I that aim at nothing, that hope for nothing, that would not be troubled with any more than I have? Thus Envy shelters itself under the Principles of Philosophy, (as the most Sacred things are liable to abuse) whilst they use them only as Vehicles of their Malice, to amuse the Hearer, and diffuse their Discontent with the greater Secrecy, and less reflection. The truth of the matter most commonly is this; They could not have their Will, and now they are convinced, as they make you believe, that there was nothing in it, if they had obtained it. They cannot destroy your Fortune, or reduce it to nothing in Fact, and therefore they please themselves, by making it nothing in Truth, in Worth and Value. Sometimes they throw their Envy upon their Spleen, and then they think they may vent it freely, and without reflection upon themselves; Complain, Revile, Arraign, Condemn, and be as Free and Witty with your Reputation as they please; and when they have done all the Mischief they can, beg Pardon for their Freedom, and hope you will ascribe it to the sourness of their Blood, and not believe 'tis their real Opinion or habitual humour. Sometimes it appears under a Cloak of Piety and Religion. Because a concern for the common Good, and a desire that Virtue may be rewarded, and Vice discouraged, are laudable Habits; therefore, as Plutarch observes, they vent their Malice under a Pretext of Virtue, and a Public Spirit. It is a sad thing, say they, to observe how Affairs are managed. Come, come! the World was never made for the Wicked! we shall see, e'er long, how the Mighty Ones are fallen, and then, The Meek shall inherit the Earth. And thus, by their envious Glosses, they profane the Sacred Writings, and forge a Title to other men's Estates. And therefore, Lastly, Envy will express itself as occasion offers, in Rapine, Violence and Murder. It is certainly a Vice of the most bitter Nature. When Wiles and Projects would not do, Saul sets his Servants, nay, Jonathan his Son, to Murder David; these failing, he sought to act the Villainy himself. The Envy of Joseph's Brethren prompted them to kill him out of hand; but Reuben's Vice was a little better natured, and he compromised the matter, and only sold him for a Slave. Indeed, he that cannot bear the Prosperity of his Neighbour, would certainly reduce him if he could. And therefore the Envious are always ripe for Mischief: They bridle their Malice, or vent it with as little noise as may be, when they are not able to hurt; but whenever occasion offers, they by't like an Adder. When they act without restraint or fear, nothing can divert them. For Wrath is cruel, and Anger is outrageous, but who can stand before Envy, Pro. 27.4. These are a few of the more notorious Methods, by which the Envious express their Temper. And if we lay them altogether, and consider them impartially, we cannot choose but have an ill opinion of the Vice. For, I hope, by this time, it appears, that nothing in the World is more unworthy of a Man of Sense, of Truth or Honour. For an Envious Man is a malicious Hypocrite; if he should appear as he is, he would be banished out of all Society; and therefore he dares not own his Quality, but lives in a disguise, studies to be wisely spiteful, and hides his Rancour under every Cloak. But alas! his Nature will appear, and his Villainy will be detected. His Vice is very Foolishness; it will expose and ruin him at the present, it will destroy and kill him in the end. For Envy slayeth the silly one. And so I proceed, as I proposed, in the Second Place, to consider the truth of his Character, or how justly it is said of an Envious Man, that he is a silly one. And this was the second Head of Discourse proposed. It is observed by some that the Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render for (for Envy slayeth the silly one) may be also rendered verè, justè, meritò, and so the vulgar Latin translates it here, Verè parvulum occidit invidia, which adds a mighty Emphasis to the assertion of the Text, viz. That Envy slayeth the Envious Man, who is a silly one indeed, his Folly is extreme, apparent, and indisputable. Wisdom consists in three particulars: In a perfect Knowledge of our Happiness, or what is proper for us to pursue, and what to shun. In a right Understanding of the fittest means, whereby we may attain the Good, and avoid the Evil. In a skilful application of those means to their ends, that they may operate the most effectually towards the bringing our designs to pass. A Wise Man than is one who weighs, compares, and values things exactly; who governs his Passions, and keeps his Mind entirely free; who judges impartially, chooses rationally, and pursues his Ends with diligence and proper Application: Who clears his Way of all Obstructions that arise from himself, and can avoid, as much as may be, such as are not in his Power. Now Folly is directly opposite to Wisdom, and therefore if this be a true Account, or Character of a Wise Man, we cannot mistake the notion of a Fool. A Fool than is one whose Understanding is prejudiced, whose Judgement is not free; who is verned by his Passions, drawn into false Opinions, wild, unreasonable Ends, and destructive Measures. But such a silly one as this is, is that of my Text; he endures and cherishes a Vice that blinds his Reason, and puts him out of all possibility of being happy. Do but consider how odious, how despicable, how deserted such Men are; how they lose both their Interest and their Friends; and this alone is enough to manifest their Folly, and support their Character. No Man is self-sufficient, no Man is able to stand alone; we cannot be happy but by the Mediation, the good Will and Assistance of one another. But an Envious Man is a common Nuisance, that every one is offended with, and no Man can endure. Indeed he hopes to be hid; it is the only Malignity, as Plutarch observes, that no Man will own; but Envy is so rank a Poison, that it corrupts not one part only, but all the Man. Let him therefore gild over the bitterness of his Spirit as well as he can, it will taste of the Principle, it will discover itself in spite of Art. And thus, silly Man! whilst he designs to hurt his Neighbour, he destroys himself. His Spite and Indignation make him over-shoot all modest bounds. He is so impatient till you understand his Worth, and how contemptible those are of whom he speaks, that he thrusts it upon you, that he overloads you, and raises a prejudice against himself. Merito omni amico privari debes, eò quòd de nullo amicorum bono gaudere probaris. St. Aug. For every Man that is present (such is the benignity of the Human Nature) is a Friend to him that is aspersed, and looks awry upon his Enemy. It is but natural to reflect, that he must surely be a considerable Man, Nemo homini Contempto pertinaciter, nemo diligenter nocet. Sen. who is so industriously vilified. And thus the Dart that he shoots at his Neighbour, recoils upon himself. For there is such a complication of Evil Qualities in Envy and Detraction; of Curiosity, Conceit, and Pride; of Meddling, Judging, and Malicious Censure, as makes the Guilty nauseous to all; and no Man knows but he may be the next, that shall come under his Lash, and therefore every one despises and avoids him. Or if these things seem to affect his Happiness at too great a distance; if he could have Spirit enough to bear up against a general Contempt, against that Scorn and Neglect he must certainly meet with; yet his Vice itself is a constant Misery that cannot by any means be shaken off; it is of so Pestilent a Nature that it puts him out of all possibility of being happy, and makes him the most uneasy Creature in the World. No Being can be happy but in the way of his Nature. And therefore he that will grasp at that which is out of his Line, he that must have what he lists, and will have all things go according to his Mind, or will be angry, is sure to be always miserable. For the Goods of the World, of Body, Mind, and Fortune, are dispensed in Measures and Degrees amongst us all. No Man can command what he will, or hinder others as he pleases. No Man can be the best, or self-sufficient, or not wanting something that another Man enjoys. And therefore he that does not consider his Condition simply, as it is in itself, (and bring his Mind to a satisfaction in it) but with relation and respect to other Persons, shall never be easy whilst he lives. If another Man's Estate will sour the enjoyment of his own, he must be unhappy till he has ingross'd the World. If he will not suffer others to be under the same possibilities of good Fortune with himself; if he must be distinct from the rest of his kind, or neither endure himself nor them, he must of necessity be always Miserable, for the World will never be at his Command. But is not this a most horrible Infatuation, O! Invide qui nunquam quiescere potes! an ignoras quod omnis malitia habet aliquam felicitatis umbram, sed tu ipsa Invidia, nequissima peffis, totmentum sine refrigerio, morbum sine remedio, laborem sine Respiratione, poenam sine intermissione, famem sine saturitate, semper habere videris? Aug. Serm. 18. a blindness upon the Mind? Is he not a silly one indeed? He is not a Fool in a single Instance, but he has lost his Understanding. It looks like a Judgement of God upon a Man, a Punishment of Wickedness, rather than a Vice: For, as a Bird in a Net, he is always busy, always angry; striving, and fretting, and labouring in vain, till his Spirits are exhausted, and he has worked himself to Death. And thus much for the Character of an Envious Man, that he is a silly one. I proceed, as I proposed, in the Third Place, to consider the fatal effects of this foolish Vice, or how certainly it will destroy him. For Envy slayeth the silly one; it does not only expose him at the present, and make his Life uneasy to him, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Philosopher calls it, but it destroys him utterly, and kills him in the end. It affects his Body, vitiates his Mind, destroys his Soul, and ruins him in all Capacities. First, It affects his Body. It is not understood, that every Man that is Envious dies of Envy; but that the Distemper is Mortal, and every Man that labours under it, is in danger of Death: The causes are at work which naturally tend to produce the effect. For there is nothing plainer than that the Passions of the Mind have good or ill effects upon the Body, as they are managed. An easy cheerful steddiness of Temper, contributes very much to the Vigour, Health, and Pleasure of the Body; but a tetrical Humour, Envy, Peevishness, and Discontent, ferment and sour the Blood, precipitate the motion of the Spirits, urge outrageous Passions, fill the Mind with angry Thoughts, hinder Rest, destroy our Appetites, and take away all Enjoyment, breed Grief and Melancholy, and end in a sickly livid Look, in Lassitude, Consumption, and Despair. Nay, many times it affects the Head so far, that it makes the Envious his own Destroyer. Isoc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, says the Philosopher. And upon these Accounts, it is expressed in Scripture by a Fire that melts him, (Psal. 112.10.) by a Worm that gnaws him. by a Canker that frets him, (Psal. 37.1.) by Rottenness in his Bones, (Tarmes Ossium) that consumes and wastes him, (Prov. 14.30.) Thus Envy is a lingering Death, and he that is troubled with it has his Mortal Wound about him. It is a Poison that is slow but sure. And as Envy hurts the Body, so also in the Second Place, it vitiates the Mind, and destroys the Moral Life. Envy is the Corruption of the Human Nature, a base degeneracy into the bestial State. For what is the distinction between Us Men, and Brutes, but the Social Virtues? but Right and Property? or the gratifying of ourselves with respect and safety to the interest of others? Envy therefore changes our very Nature, and superinduces another, but a most horrid, Form upon us. When Universal Justice and Mortality are laid aside, there is not in the World so mischievous a Being as Man. When the restraints of Virtue are losened, or put off, he is by so much the most Savage Creature, as Reason abused; that is, resolved into a selfish, spiteful Cunning, is the keenest, and the most able instrument of Mischief. Thus Envy never is alone; it is not a single Vice, but a radical Evil, that diffuses its Malignity into every part, and expels all Virtue out of the Soul. Omnes virtutes concremat, says St. Augustine, Omnia bona dissipat, omnia mala generat. Ser. 18. And, Where Envy and Strife are, there is Confusion and every Evil Work, says the Apostle St. James. And if Envy divests a Man of his Virtue and his Reason, it must of necessity destroy his Soul too; and thus it slayeth the silly one, in all his Capacities of Suffering. Envy is more directly contrary to the Nature of God, than any other Vice; more diametrically opposite to Love and Goodness, which are his very Definition, for God is Love, 1 John 4.8. Where then will the Envious Man appear, who has defaced the Image of God upon his Soul, and turned the Laws of his Nature off the Hinges, as St. Chrysostom, in one of his Homilies, expresses it. Or if he be a Christian, as we all are, it is so much the worse; for Christianity condemns him utterly; he is a Scandal to the Gospel, and aught to cast off the Profession of it. For Christianity is founded in Love; and our Saviour was introduced by the Heavenly Choir, with, Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men. And what was the Design of his Glorious Appearance, but to Reconcile us to God, to screen us from his Wrath, and establish Love and Amity in the World? And what was his Doctrine that he taught us? Was it not To Love our Neighbour as ourselves? Was it not to Learn of Him, to be Meek and lowly in Mind, and not to affect applause, superiority, or the highest Place? This then is Christianity, that we wish well to all Mankind, and are content with our own Condition; that we sympathise with our Neighbour, as Members one of another; Rom. 12. that we Rejoice with them that do Rejoice, and Mourn with them that Mourn; that we be not highminded, but apt to prefer one another in Honour: that we think no Evil, that we speak no Evil of any Man; but that we walk according to the Gospel, and not in Strife and Envying. This is the Life and Spirit of our Religion; and therefore Envy is opposed to Christianity, and represented as a Gentile, Heathen Disposition, (1 Cor. 3.3.) and the Envious are said to be Enemies, and at Enmity with God, St. James 4.5, 6, etc. and that they shall never Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, Gal. 5.21. No! to that Spirit, without all dispute, they must go, and with him they shall live, whose Image they bear, and who acted them here on Earth. He has rooted out of his Soul whatsoever was Divine, and now his Spirit is removed so far from God, that it can never be united to him, for He that Loves not, knows not God. Thus Envy is a Mark upon a Man; it is the effect of a Reprobate Mind, and a consignation of him to eternal ruin, Rom. 1.29. And thus, as briefly as I could, I have discussed the Nature, the Character, and the Effects of Envy. And do we yet believe the Scriptures? Do we allow the Proposition? Are we convinced in earnest that Envy is a foolish, and a destructive Vice? I am sure we may, for it cannot be represented so deformed, so fatal, as indeed it is. Would they not then, whose Tempers are a little tinctured with it, be delivered of it? Would they not return again to the easy cheerfulness, and candour of the Human Nature? 'tis never too late; Resolution, with a due application of means, will effectually cure the Evil. Be pleased but to observe these following Rules, and you shall never be troubled with the Distemper more. And this was the Fourth and last particular I proposed to consider, viz. The Methods of Recovery. And, in the First Place, he that would be free from Envy, must endeavour to deserve, as well as may be, both of God and Man. True Virtue gives a Man an Humble Opinion of himself; acquaints him with his own Defects, or what he is not, as well as what he is. It gives him such a solid Peace, as he would not lose to gain the World. It enlarges his Spirit, and makes him less solicitous about Rewards, calm and easy under any Disappointment. It is Virtue only that can subdue our Passions; but a Spirit truly Good, will become, insensibly, the Master of itself. Again, If you would be free from Envy, you must bring your Mind to a good Opinion of your own Condition. The Imperfection of our present State, or our Capacity of enjoying a great deal more than we can have here, dispose us to a continual desire of that which we have not, and a loathing of that which we have; or to set a greater value upon the Possessions of others, and less upon our own than they deserve. But we shall never be clear of Envy till we have disciplined our Minds into a better Opinion. For that which we eagerly desire, we shall be angry if we don't obtain. He than that would be easy in his Mind, must govern his Desires, and make the best of what he has: He must be glad that he enjoys so many things, and that he needs, or wants, so few. There is, upon the matter, an equal destribution of Good. If one has Riches, another has Health; if one has Honour, another has Wisdom; and no Man's Case is either all Evil, or all Good. He therefore who would be free from Envy, must turn his Eyes within. We live amongst innumerable Contingencies; we cannot have all, or what we will: And therefore accept of your Lot, and be thankful that it is no worse, Sic ver● Invidiam effugies: Si te non ingesseris oculis, si bona tua non jactaveris, si scieris in sinu gaudere. Sen. or there can be no end of your Misery. You cannot be a Lion and Lap-Dog, a Soldier and a Philosopher, says Plutarch, Sparta is your Province, look well to that, and acquit yourself as you should do. Thirdly and Lastly, He that would be free from Envy, must wean his Affections from the World, and learn to value it at no higher a rate than it deserves. Glittering appearances possess our Minds with vain Imaginations, and delude us into false Opinions; these stimulate Desire, and that produces Discontent and Envy. He than that would be easy and quiet in his Mind, must look upon the World in a better Light. He must consider what it is not, as well as what it is; or that the Possession of the Universe, if he could Command it, would not recompense the Misery, the Weight, and Anguish, that Envy brings upon us. All Earthly things, says Seneca, are trivial alike; in their outward Face; indeed, they seem to differ, but, in truth, they are equally vain; they are hardly worth our care, but much below our Envy. USE. What then remains, but that we endeavour to subdue our Passions, to Master our Spirits, and live according to Reason in the World. He is certainly the Wisest Man, who passes his Life with calmness and tranquillity of Mind; with a prudent manly Steddiness and Composure: Who values things according to Weight and Measure, and pursues his Ends in a due proportion; who keeps his Happiness within his Power, and is not a Slave to things without him. And he's the best Christian, without Dispute, who comes the nearest to the Pattern of the Holy Jesus; who has imbibed, and is united to the Laws of his Religion; who shines in the Ornament of a Meek and quiet Spirit; who is resigned entirely to the Will of God, and satisfied in all Events. What sincere and solid Joy, what Honour in the World, what glory to God, what regard to the Gospel, would such a Christian Temper cause? What an easy Passage through all the various Fortunes of this present Life does it procure? till we arrive at last to a perfect, settled State, where we shall be filled as full as we can hold; where no Emulation, Envy, or Despair can enter; where there will be an eternal sympathy between God and Us; where one only Principle, one Motion, one Desire, one Life, one Joy, shall act us all for ever. To which may God, etc. Amen. FINIS. Books Written by the same Author, and Printed for Walter Kettilby. 1. A Dialogue between a Minister and his Parshioner, concerning the Lord's Supper. Principally designed for the Instruction of those that never yet received. To which are annexed three several Discourses, of Love to God, to our Neighbour, and to our very Enemies, 8vo. 2. A Sermon Preached before the King at Windsor, June, 13. 1680. on Matth. 6. 26. 3. A Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor, Feb. 5. 1681. on Psal. 119.165. 4. The Liberty of Humane Nature Discussed, Stated, and Limited; in a Sermon on 1 Cor. 6.12. 5. A Sermon Preached before the King and Queen at White-Hall, Jan. 19 1689. on Prov. 22.4. 6. A Sermon Preached before the Queen at White-Hall, Jan. 24. 1690. on Tit. 2.10. 7. A Sermon Preached before the King and Queen at White-Hall, on Sunday Jan. 15. 1692. on Isaiah 57.21. These seven by the Reverend J. Lamb, D. D. Mr. Tho. Lambe's Stop to the Course of Separation, 8vo. — 's Fresh Suit against Independency, 8vo.